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Volume 88 Issue 2 • Sept. 20, 2013
210-486-1773 • Single copies free
Heads up
Intern on assignment at Navy Yard shooting By Carlos Ferrand
cferrand@student.alamo.edu
Date a banned book “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and the “Goosebumps” series may not have a lot in common, but they do share one designation: both are on the list of books that have been banned from some public schools and libraries. This college’s library will celebrate Banned Book Week with a freedom-to-read event called Blind Date with a Banned Book. The American Library Association sponsors Banned Book Week in cooperation with libraries across the country. A variety of banned books will be available for check out. Along with books, librarians will distribute an assortment of date night goodies. Titles such as “The Catcher and the Rye” and “To Kill a Mocking Bird” will be among the books available. Most of the books on the list are banned for sexual content, language or racial discussions. Most banned books come into question when parents find the content not suitable for their children, Librarian Celita DeArmond said. “Every good library contains something that offends somebody.” Blind Date with a Book will be 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 27 and 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 28 on the third floor of Moody Learning Center. For more information and a list of banned books, visit sacguide.libguides.com/banned.
Carlos Ferrand
Budget cuts strain English program At this point in the semester, the English lab is usually buzzing with students. However, budget cuts have left it eerily quiet. English lab hours have been cut by nearly two-thirds, English Chair Mike Burton said. In spring, the English lab was open 12 hours a day, five days a week with a tutoring staff of seven. Today, the lab is down to one tutor who is not permitted to work more than 19 hours a week.
See ENGLISH, Page 3
Former Ranger editor Zahra Farah, a senior at Texas State University on an internship for the Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C., covered the Washington Navy Yard shooting Monday. Her story “13 dead in Washington Navy Yard Shooting” was distributed to The Post, Ohio University’s independent student-run newspaper, and Kansas City infoZine, Kansas City metro area digital magazine, by the news service. Farah, editor of The Ranger in spring 2011, is in her third internship, after graduating from this
college in 2011. Danger and fear did not really register with Farah as she covered the shooting, she said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “You just want to get the story,” Farah said. “You just want to get the information and let people know what is going on.” A reporter’s focus completely changes, and fear or danger does not register, she said. The same rules apply when covering something on campus or a national event. In May 2010, Farah was serving as the news
The Alamo Colleges’ board of trustees voted unanimously to implement a $1 international education fee pending a majority vote of students from all five Alamo Colleges in its regular monthly board meeting Tuesday in Room 101 of Killen Center. The assessed fee is $1 per student per semester. The fee is intended to assist students interested in study abroad programs. “This is going to be a great opportunity for our students,” Carol Fimmen, director of international programs, said. The fee is scheduled for implementation in spring. No procedure for a district-
wide vote was discussed during the meeting. Fimmen said that there is no plan in place at the moment for a vote, but the goal is still to have the fee in place by spring registration. “We will have to move quickly on this,” she said. Spring registration traditionally begins in November. During an interview following the meeting, District 1 trustee Joe Alderete Jr. said he was looking forward to seeing how the voting process would unfold. “We need to have the students have the say in this because it is coming out of their pocket,” Alderete said. “It is very important for students to have a role, especially
Ticketing for parking violations begins Oct. 1. By Katherine Garcia
kgarcia203@student.alamo.edu
when the impact of that role sometimes affects some students and not others,” he said. “So in a true democracy, you want to reflect the opinion of all those involved.” Alderete called the vote “a good learning situation. How do we even get people to voice their opinion through their vote?” District 2 trustee Denver McClendon said the opportunity for students to explore other cultures and study abroad is very important, but the assessment of a $1 fee should not be decided by trustees. He said when every student is assessed a fee but only a small number participate, that deci-
See STUDENTS, Page 10
See LOFTS, Page 3
See INTERN, Page 10
Students to vote on $1 fee cferrand@student.alamo.edu
Lofts tenant parking in college garage
Police will begin ticketing vehicles in campus lots Oct. 1 if they do not have parking permits or are parked illegally. “We do that so people have plenty of time to get their decals,” Police Chief Don Adams said. All students pay a campus access fee of $25 per semester, which gives them two options: They can receive up to two parking decals or receive a free VIA Metropolitan transit bus pass from the business office in Fletcher Administration Center. As of Sept. 13, 17,434 parking decals have been mailed, and as of Thursday, 1,018 bus passes have been requested, assistant bursar Michelle Gable said Thursday. Students who don’t get a parking or bus pass don’t get a refund, said Tim Rockey, dean of continuing education and workforce development. “You pay the one fee. That way everyone’s granted access to the campus and all its resources,” he said. Officials do not agree on how the fee will be used to enhance access for students. Revenue from the parking permit fee increases access for all students, John Strybos, associate vice chancellor of facilities, told The Ranger Sept. 10. For example, he said funds can be used to support online classes or increase the library’s database collection. According to http://www.alamo.edu/sac/ parking-permits/, however, “revenue generated is dedicated to parking facilities, construction and maintenance, and at board option, excess fees may be designated for student scholarship funds.” In presenting the proposed fee to Alamo Colleges trustees May 14, Diane Snyder, vice chancellor of for finance and administration, said the fee would be used for paying debt service on district parking garages and repairing parking lots and roadways. Even though students are required to pay the $25 fee, parking in the college’s garage will require an additional $1 each time they exit likely beginning in the spring semester after gates at entrances are installed and functioning. Rockey said the garage gates should be completed by mid-October with winter break being the latest completion deadline. Administrators with reserved parking in the garage pay $150 in addition to the $50 campus parking permit. Student garage parking permits are not available and won’t be, said public information officer Julie Cooper. When students or employees enter the garage, they will receive a ticket from a kiosk by the gate. When they leave, they must return the ticket and pay $1. Drivers must pay the fee every time they exit the garage. Cash, credit or debit are accepted. The unmanned kiosks will be emptied of cash daily to prevent theft. According to a minute order during the May 14 Building, Grounds and Sites Selection
Performance artist S.T. Shimi thrills the crowd with a fire dance at Southwest School of Art carnival Thursday to celebrate visual arts Professor Rebecca Dietz’s photography exhibition. The exhibit “Wonder Worlds” warranted a festival fitting of its name with various booths offering cotton candy and tarot card and face readings. Casey Alcala
By Carlos Ferrand
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