The Ranger, Oct. 16, 2017 by The Ranger

R ANGER

An independent forum of free voices serving San Antonio College since 1926 and the Alamo Colleges since 1945 Volume 92 • Issue 4

THE oct

2017 Journalism-photography program at San Antonio College

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On Oct. 20, this college presents a campuswide party to bring in the community. The event will be 5-9 p.m. The annual SACtacular will be filled with live music, DJs, balloon animals, face painting and a petting zoo.

The event will conclude with a showing of “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” The event is free and open to the public. Student organizations will be fundraising. These organizations will offer food and drink for varying prices to fund activities. Austin P. Taylor

College could add health clinic Administrators would like to incorporate nursing and medical assisting programs. By Zachary-Taylor Wright zwright9@student.alamo.edu

David Esquivel, physical therapy sophomore and Regulators player, tries to run past two Gunners, business real estate freshman Samuel Chavarria and business administration sophomore Jamal Rouse, but gets his flag ripped off by Chavarria during a 7-on-7 flag football game Oct. 5 at Olmos

Park Basin. The Gunners lost to the Regulators 56-0. The office of student life sponsored the game, and the next game will be 4:30-7 p.m. Oct. 19 at Olmos Park Basin. To play, male and female students can sign up in the office of student life, room 256 of Loftin. Brianna Rodrigue

Drug addiction up; need for counselors climbs Generational substance abuse is a local problem, counseling intern says. By Collin Quezada

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Substance abuse and drug addiction are increasing problems in San Antonio, and city officials need to do more to solve the problem, Chris Lopez, graduate of this college’s human services program, said Sept. 26 in an interview. “People aren’t bad; they just make bad decisions,” Lopez said, referencing the daily tribulations faced by addiction-riddled individuals in predominantly low-income areas of San Antonio.

Lopez is a counselor intern at the Northwest San Antonio Treatment Center. With massive amounts of illegal substances, in addition to prescription drugs legally purchased at local pharmacies, a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration estimates more than 12 percent of the 1.4 million people living in San Antonio are likely to be addicted to some form of drug. Frequent drug abuse and the consequential addiction to legal and illegal substances have destroyed the lives of countless Americans with an upward trend in drugrelated deaths soaring past the 64,000 mark in 2016, a 14 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention. That death total has doubled over the past decade from more than 30,000 deaths in 2006. Heroin, an overtly lethal drug when taken out of moderation, is the only one that surpassed synthetic opioids as the agent for almost 13,000 drug-induced fatalities. San Antonio, much like the rest of the nation, faces a substance abuse epidemic in lieu of mass drug trafficking across national borders. In San Antonio, over 795,000 pounds of marijuana, 8,000 pounds of cocaine, 500 pounds of methamphetamine and 110 pounds of heroin were hauled within the city

See ADDICTION, Page 2

Trustees debate dual credit, tuition increase CIP expansion, reduced state appropriations and increased exempt tuition create financial need. By Zachary-Taylor Wright zwright9@student.alamo.edu

The board of trustees debated the district’s priority of dual credit students and a potential tuition increase at the special board meeting Oct. 7 at Palo Alto College. Dr. Diane Snyder, vice chancellor for finance and administration, said the district is poised to experience a “perfect storm” in 2018. As state appropriations are down, tuition-exempt enrollment is up and the $450 million Capital Improvement Plan will cause an increase in maintenance and operation costs. Snyder said the disparity between gross tuition and exemptions and waivers is larger than the district has seen in past years. She said gross tuition in

the district is $1.9 million more than budgeted for, but exemptions and waivers were $2.9 million more than budgeted. Snyder said the district was able to avoid raising tuition rates in the past because of the consistent increase in tax revenue, but the increase in maintenance and operations costs after the CIP implementation will require a tuition increase if the board does not want to raise the tax rate. District 2 trustee Denver McClendon said the board has been discussing dual credit for years and asking if the district was “breaking even” between revenue and exemptions. McClendon asked if the cost of dual credit students should be passed on to the school districts to avoid losing money. Snyder said her department

Dr. Yvonne Katz, chair of the board of trustees of the Alamo Colleges, leads a meeting Oct. 7. The board discussed problems and solutions for student tuition, the increase and decrease of enrollment in the past few semesters, and priority of the colleges to take care of international students. Aaron Garcia provided numbers detailing the revenue deficit. She explained that the school districts already have a cost because Alamo Colleges and the school districts agreed to a cost-share model. Snyder said school districts

provide faculty and the Alamo Colleges pays a stipend to alleviate the cost of faculty. She said the district charges school districts $100 per class section offered at this district.

See TUITION, Page 2

The college president and other administrators are working with health agencies to develop a clinic at this college in the nursing and allied health complex. In an interview with The Ranger Oct. 7, President Robert Vela said administrators at this college are working with several health systems to construct a survey for students to provide an understanding of what services students want included. “I mean, what are the students looking for, so we can try to tailor something if one of those entities would be interested in partnering with us,” Vela said. Vela charged Robyn Stassen, coordinator of student success, with starting a “needs assessment” to survey students on what services they would like in a medical clinic. Stassen said administrators have spoken with University Health Systems and Baptist Health Systems, but administrators are approaching all established health systems. Vela said a clinic would help in college administrators’ efforts to meet anti-poverty goals. Vela said Dr. Lisa Alcorta, vice president of student success, is in charge of the efforts. In an interview Sept. 29, Alcorta said administrators need to determine what agency to work with, how a student’s insurance would be addressed and if the space would be rented by an agency. Alcorta said development of the clinic is in the preliminary stages, so administrators do not have any details. Vernell Walker, dean of professional and technical education, said the proposed clinic “more than likely” will be more comprehensive than the health center offered at this college before 2011. She said the proposed clinic could offer services such as cholesterol and diabetes testing; inoculations, such as meningitis and flu vaccines; headache relief; first aid; and physician referrals. Walker said the previous health center was like having a school nurse in grade school. “I really don’t know all the reasons why it was closing, but it was really like having a school nurse, like you have a school nurse at the elementary school,” Walker said. “That’s kind of what we had. But this is going to be a little more than that.” Walker said college administrators have spoken with representatives from University Health Systems by phone about the college’s demographics and plan to have a campus visit. She said the agency wanted to know the student enrollment, number of employees and about the surrounding community. In an interview with The Ranger Sept. 26, Mike Legg, director of enterprise risk management, said St. Philip’s College is the only one of the Alamo Colleges to maintain a health center. Brenda Major, licensed vocational nurse at St. Philip’s College’s Southwest Campus health center, said St. Philip’s College’s health centers open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Major said the centers dress wounds and provide over-the-counter medication, administer first-aid care and offer physician referrals for students and employees.

ead the full story at www. theranger.org.

2NEWS

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limits in 2016, according to the San Antonio Police Department website at sanantonio.gov/ sapd. Lopez said the growing problem of opioid abuse is most visible among low-income residents. “In impoverished areas of San Antonio, they face struggles everyday and decide to turn to these substances,” he said. This threat is intensified by the city’s close proximity to the Mexican-American border, where the flow of illegal substances being transported between South Texas and Mexico has labeled San Antonio as one of the country’s “high intensity drug trafficking areas” by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Additionally, the pre-eminent issues with drug abuse are not restricted to health complications later in life. Many who break the law to acquire opiods and other drugs are “75 percent more likely to tumble down the slippery slope of the criminal justice system,” according to a 2016 report by the National Institute of Justice. Lopez said many of the 620 to 700 patients treated everyday at the San Antonio Treatment Center where he interns are “young and troubled.” “Generational drug abuse is the real problem here,” Lopez said. “Children learn from their parents, and that becomes the norm.” It’s common for adolescents to observe addictive patterns in a familial setting and develop addictions of their own, according to a 2007 report by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The Northwest San Antonio Treatment Center is one of 10 treat-

ment clinics in San Antonio that offer methadone, an opioid medication that Lopez said “blocks opioid receptors from that feeling of euphoria, allowing patients to function normally.” Even then, the city’s funding for drug treatment institutions is largely inadequate, he said. He believes attention should be directed toward prevention programs. “Opioid-specific prevention programs in elementary schools at low-income regions in San Antonio are essential,” Lopez said. “We aren’t making a great enough effort to inform our youth of the consequences they may know of but don’t fully understand.” The need for drug counselors will expand. Courses offered under the human services program at this college provide students the means to become a part of the solution. Without having to attend a four-year institution, students may become eligible for Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor licensure attainment and renewal, allowing them to work as drug counselors under the Texas Department of State Health Services after two years. The human services program here was the first in Texas to be accredited by the National Addiction Studies Accreditation Commission. A projected 22 percent employment growth rate is expected by 2024 in the drug counseling field, according to U.S. News, ranking the occupation as No. 5 in the best social services jobs to pursue. This number will continue to grow under the new parameters implemented by the justice system as drug offenders are beginning to receive “treatment-oriented sentences” as opposed to jail time. For information on the program, call Coordinator Ed Bergen at 210-486-1255.

ADDICTION from Page 1

oct 16 2017

TUITION from Page 1 McClendon asked if the decreased tuition revenue was a short-term problem. Snyder said the problem was not short term. She said the revenue shortfall reflects the board’s decision to avoid raising tuition, the decrease in state appropriations and the 100 percent tuition waiver for dual credit students. District 4 trustee Marcelo Casillas asked if the district would still lose money if the native student population, which is students who enroll directly at Alamo Colleges, increased and asked why the tuition-paying enrollment is flat. Snyder said an increase of student population would not resolve the issue if exempt enrollment continues to grow. She said tuition-paying enrollment tends to decrease when unemployment is low and increase when unemployment increases because people without jobs go back to school. Snyder said the Alamo Institutes and Alamo Enroll initiatives should allow the district to increase native student enrollment. McClendon asked if there are alternative solutions to the revenue shortfall to avoid a tuition increase. District 5 trustee Roberto Zárate said the board needs to review the reimbursements the school districts are receiving for dual-credit hours because dual credit students are meeting the requirements for a category of state appropriations, which is student success points. Zárate said there are three categories for state appropriations, including general appropriation, core operation and success points. Zárate said dual credit programs are an unfunded state mandate, allowing school districts to take advantage because the college districts absorb most of the cost while school districts stand to benefit. In opposition to a tuition increase,

McClendon said the board’s priority should be native students rather than dual credit students. He said college students would suffer from a tuition increase. District 1 trustee Joe Alderete argued McClendon was “segregating” collegeonly students from dual credit students, saying they are both important. McClendon asked if the revenue shortfall would exist if the district did not have a dual credit program. Snyder said no. Alderete defended the dual credit program and asked how the board can save good programs. He said there are school districts ready to “jump ship” because the dual credit program is too expensive. McClendon argued the dual credit program should not be supported to the detriment of native students, using the sale of doughnuts as a metaphor. “So if I sell doughnuts, and I give the doughnuts away, I’m going to move more doughnuts,” McClendon said. “Which is correct, but for the sustainability of your business, it’s not doing it.” Alderete responded, said the board was not talking about doughnuts but students. “I understand what you’re saying,” Alderete said. “But, this is not a doughnut. This is part of the future of our city and our county and our state.” McClendon said the board needs to find a way to advocate for both native and dual credit students. Casillas reminded the board that the dual credit program is a tax-funded initiative and said dual credit students pay taxes. In response to Snyder’s presentation, Zárate said the history of tuition increase should show the change in cost per dual credit hour rather than a percentage increase. He said seeing a 5 percent increase makes him think, “We’re going to kill these kids,” but he could understand an increase of a few dollars per credit hour.

EDITORIAL 3 www.theranger.org/EDITORIAL

Oct 16 2017

Letters to the editor: guns on campus Article: “Alamo Colleges police, SAPD respond to report of handgun, find no threat”

J. Carbajal

Student, not success fee The college should stop the gimmicks and start hosting quality events. Charging students a dollar per hour of enrollment to fund community-building events and spiritenthusing sports is a concept most people can get behind, but the nearly $300,000 a year of the student activity fee needs to be spent wisely. When the majority of student activity fee money is going toward salaries and intramural sports coaches, the events funded by the leftover fee funds are bound to be lackluster. This college used to host events that engaged students and inspired them to achieve great things, with speakers who held national clout and meaningful events that fostered school pride. As every event seemingly draws smaller and smaller crowds, one can see the poorly planned spending of the student activity fee. Unenthusiastic counseling

booths with college pens and badges makes food the primary lure for students. A spinning wheel, cheap phone chargers and a speaker blasting Billboard’s Top 100 may not be the ideal conditions to entice and procure hordes of spirited collegegoers. If this college really wants to draw students together and to develop a sense of school pride, the office of student life needs to start putting money toward Pulitzer-Prizewinning speakers, Oscar-nominated actors and so on. Give the students something to see or stop expecting them to show up for scraps. Either stop hiring coordinators and assistants that leech on the student activity fee so the student activity fee can afford noteworthy speakers and fund club activities, or the student success staff may need to brush up on some magic tricks and entertaining gags worth drawing the masses.

Editor: Through this article people can read exactly where guns are permitted and where they are not to be permitted. I don’t think that just everyone should be able to carry weapons. If everyone can carry a weapon, then we would have another Virginia Tech incident. Any madman with a gun is a madman that I wish to not come close to. The sad fact of the matter is this, we live in a sick world. We live in a world that is slowly fading away. In ways, we are only helping to progress the land in which we call home. Human nature is sick in that sense. The thought of gun control is something that needs to be watched quite closely. Just like many things we have today, if you offend one, you offend all. The actions of a madman can be stopped with a bullet. A madman’s gun can be his only true friend. To try and avert bad situations, we must realize that something bad will eventually happen. How bad will it be? I don’t know; no one truly knows. When will it be? When you least expect it. To end killing, we must fix human nature. Austin Hano Criminal Justice Sophomore

Editor: I also hope to get an update on whether they found the person in question. The article did mention that the report was not finalized yet. Will this be a reoccurring topic throughout the semester? If so, in what way? This topic has the potential to unite the student community and the readers of The Ranger. The topic of rights and governments in all its capacities are always a hot topic. Troy A. Resendez History Sophomore Editor: I first heard of the student with a concealed handgun after I left class. I found it hard to believe that a person with a gun is in the same building as me. But when I first read the article, I felt terrified that there was a chance that the man could have a gun not only endangering me but anyone in the building as well. I am glad that The Ranger could detail what happened and if the man really did carry a weapon. I also found it interesting that the female student reported that she had seen a student with a handgun, and I believe that she was being paranoid and scared. But I believe it wasn’t her fault for being scared. The police did a good job to check on the suspect and made sure everything was safe. Zuriel Ontiveros Art Freshman

ONLINE NOW www.theranger.org Two groups plan LGBTQ History Month events

Faculty talk morale, PGR By Austin P. Taylor

By Shamona Wali October is internationally observed as the time to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history in the United States. A student organization and a college committee are sponsoring events for LGBTQ History Month in October. The Gay Ally and Lesbian Association, known as GALA, is hosting three events to showcase LGBTQ history and observe Oct. 11, which is celebrated as National Coming Out Day.

STAFF Managing Editor Austin P. Taylor Web Editor Zachary-Taylor Wright Features Editor Alison Graef Pulse Editor J. Del Valle Staff Writers Kimberly Brown, Sarah Centeno, Tania Flores, Karla Sanchez Hernandez, Timothy Hernandez, Dillon Holloway, Collin Quezada, Sasha D. Robinson, Alan Torres, Shamona Wali,

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Faculty learned the entire biology faculty has win-win agreements at the Faculty Senate roundtable Sept. 29 in the visual arts center. Justin Tipton, electrical engineering and plasma physics sophomore, jabs engineering sophomore Francisco Cardona Oct. 11 during the 14th annual Olympic-style boxing event in the mall. Tipton won the match. Practices are 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday in the craft room of Loftin. Brianna Rodrigue

ee more boxing news at www.theranger.org

Visuals Editor Deandra Gonzalez

Music Business Club attracts 35 members By Dillon Holloway The music business program has started a student organization for communication majors.

Clothesline project offers hope to survivors By Tania Flores This college is observing Domestic Violence Awareness Month with the Clothesline Project Walk Against

Domestic Violence, which featured people writing messages on T-shirts Oct. 9 and marching to Loftin Student Center to display them Oct. 10.

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oct 16 2017

Dropout to high art: Student’s art exhibited around the world By Alison Graef

the next two years at this college taking art classes and basics. Erik Parker, 49, artist and alumnus of this Parker had only sketched with a pencil college, did not set out to become a globally before coming to this college, but his father recognized artist. It was years of struggling was an actor, so he was familiar with the large in public school and some run-ins with law scale of sets. enforcement that ultimately set him on the He was immediately drawn to large-scale path to painting. acrylics on canvas. Parker was born in 1968 in Germany to “The size of an empty canvas reminded military parents and moved with his family me of scenery before it had been painted,” to San Antonio in 1971. Parker said. He struggled in the public school set“I was in. I didn’t even give it a second ting. At Judson High School, he said he was thought. I was like ‘I’m in. Let’s do this.’” labeled as a troublemaker and poor student Eduardo Rodriguez, art professor and forby the staff and teachers. mer student at this college, became friends Parker said the school did not recognize with Parker when they took art classes he had dyslexia. together. “They should have realized that back in “This program historically has a great elementary school and dealt with it then, foundational experience for people,” but what they did in my elementary school, Rodriguez said. “It has a serious influence on which is part of Judson school district, was people developing as young artists.” just take you out in the hall and whip you. Parker said former art Professor Melesio You know, paddle you because you were “Mel” Casas, Chicano artist, activist and being lazy, or whatever, disruptive,” said writer, had a big impact on him through his Parker, who was interviewed by phone. large-scale work of acrylics on canvas. The negative labels became self-fulfilling He was drawn to Casas’ incorporation of prophecies when Parker internalized and both pop imagery and Chicano slang in his believed them. work. “And then you figure, ‘Wait, I’m nothing “It’s like saying, ‘Here’s someone who is but a troublemaker, because that’s what they academically a professor, and at the same tell me,’” Parker said. “So then you become time, he’s using language in his paintings,’” what they tell you.” Parker said. Parker will speak about “I was drawn to the idea his art and share his story that he was incorporating 10:50 a.m.–12:05 p.m. Oct. 19 street vernacular into high in Room 120 of the visual art by way of American pop arts center. The lecture is free iconography.” and open to faculty, staff, Parker said former art students and community Professor Mark Pritchett members. taught him the concept of After dropping out of discipline and the weight of Erik Parker, responsibility in art. high school in 10th grade, artist and alumnus Parker was faced with proba“Mark Pritchett was, like, tion for offenses related to super scary,” Parker said. “He delinquency, including driving while intoxiwas teaching a bunch of young punks how to cated and public intoxication. be responsible for what they make. He made He was given a choice, however, to either you serious about what you did.” cut his probation in half by getting his GED Parker said Pritchett taught him the lanor to get out of it completely by attending guage of art and how to defend and improve community college. his art through Pritchett’s critique process. “I walked into San Antonio College, went “It was kind of ‘art by fear’ for very young, to the art department and saw a bunch aspiring artists,” Parker said. “Now I’d give of Chicano dudes painting and I was like, him a run for his money, but then I was ‘Dude, I’m in!’” Parker said. young.” Parker started classes in 1990 and spent Parker said the faculty and staff in the agraef@student.alamo.edu

like I t’sextreme “sport without

the injury. You just keep pushing yourself.”

“Power Shift” is a 45-by-40-inch acrylic and collage on canvas created by Erik Parker, artist and alumnus of this college, in 2017. Courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery, N.Y. fine arts department more than prepared him to transfer to the University of Texas at Austin. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in 1998 at State University of New York at Purchase. He entered the university able to make large-scale paintings and speak intelligently about his work. “Honestly, it changed my life in so many ways that I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for everyone there,” Parker said of his experience at this college. “The quality of education you got at that time for the money and the attention you got was amazing.” Parker moved to The Bronx, New York City, in 1996, and then to Brooklyn. He moved with $200 to his name and his firstborn baby daughter. He said that was the place to be as an artist, so he went. He met and married his wife, Brooke, in Brooklyn and now has three daughters. Today, he lives 900 feet from his studio in Brooklyn. He said he is always working to improve his skill and incorporate new imagery and use of color in his work.

“It’s like extreme sport without the injury,” Parker said. “You just keep pushing yourself.” Parker said his distinct and colorful style is not produced from a particular inspiration but rather as a reaction to living. “Inspiration comes from just so many different things,” Parker said. “It’s kind of just being a human being right here and right now, in this place, in this time, and reacting to it, but not intentionally,” Art Professor Debra Schafter invited Parker to speak at this college. “He’s had an incredible career. It’s just incredible,” Schafter said. She said Parker has an impressive average of five exhibitions a year and has had more than 35 solo shows since 2000. Parker’s artwork is exhibited around the world in museums in the U.S., United Kingdom, Europe, Japan and Scandinavia. “It’s heavy times,” Parker said. “It calls for good art.” Schafter said students and faculty in the department are excited for Parker’s return. “He’s legendary in the department,” Schafter said.

College Council hears new graduation goal Upcoming holds may keep students from enrolling. By Austin P. Taylor

ataylor160@student.alamo.edu

President Robert Vela outlined a new “wildly important goal” for this college Oct. 10 in the visual arts center. This college’s new WIG is to award 6,253 degrees/certificates to students upon completion of their programs in this academic year. “It seems like every year the goals get more ridiculous,” Vela said. “But every year, we keep hitting the goals set for us. I’m confident we’ll get it done.” This WIG was set by the Alamo Colleges district. College Council met to discuss account holds, the new director of Sinkin Eco Centro and other activities of this college. The enrollment period for the spring semester will begin in

November, but before it opens, many students may find they have two new registration holds on their accounts. The two holds students are likely to encounter are the Haven hold and a personal identification number hold. The Haven hold was established in accordance with Title IX. Students must take a 30-minute online training course that supplies them with information on Title IX. Students will see this hold on their accounts Nov. 1. The PIN hold is harder to notice because it doesn’t appear on students’ accounts until they’ve started registering for classes. The only warning students will receive before this hold activates is an email from the advising department, so students should be on the

lookout for that email. “The PIN hold is set up to get students into advising once they’ve reached a certain number of credit hours,” said Christi Horton, director of advising. Horton said the hold only takes effect for students when they reach completion of 15, 30 and 45 credit hours. This is to ensure students go to advising to make sure they’re on track for graduation. “Once you’ve crossed these benchmarks, you should speak with an adviser,” Horton said. “These three benchmarks are critical points in a student’s career.” Unless these holds are taken care of, students cannot register for classes. The Title IX training is on the ACES website. and the PIN hold can be taken care of by scheduling a meeting with an adviser. Meredith Miller, former

President Robert Vela discusses the importance of graduation rates at this college during College Council Oct. 10 in visual arts. He discussed the positive impact Employee Development Day Oct. 27 will have on faculty morale and commended the chairs for recent improvements to departments. Randle Hemmitt program coordinator for the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, has been hired as the new director of Sinkin Eco Centro. Miller worked at Texas State for 10 years, where she managed research, community outreach and education programs focused on environmental restoration and mitigation.

As director of Sinkin Eco Centro, Miller hopes to enhance the program’s community involvement and get students involved with projects that will educate them on resources and sustainability. “Eco Centro has a unique place within the community,” Miller said. “It has the ability to tie the college and the district to the community and students.”