The anger Volume 93 • Issue 11 San Antonio College A forum of free voices since 1926
Feb. 25, 2019 WWW.THERANGER.ORG
District to review removing financial holds for former students If approved, the program will begin in the fall. By Sergio Medina smedina104@student.alamo.edu The board of trustees plans to review the Fresh Start program for students at the next regular board meeting Feb. 26. Under the program, former students who left without graduating and with financial holds of $500 or less on their records could re-enroll. During the committee-of-the-whole meeting Feb. 19, Dr. Diane Snyder, vice
chancellor for finance and administration, said the program would encourage students to return to college. In an interview Feb. 19, President Robert Vela said, “It’s really giving students that have had a balance over the years, like, let’s say they leave for some reason, and you owe the district $120 or something like that, and you haven’t been able to come back because you haven’t paid that.” That becomes a registration hold, he said. Snyder said there are about 277,000
people in San Antonio who have college credit but no credential. “There are about 9,000 of those that have been at Alamo Colleges before and have owed us some old balances,” she said. Unpaid balances prevent these students from re-enrolling or asking for an academic transcript for other schools. “So with this program, what we’re calling Fresh Start, we’re really going after these small, old, unpaid balances to us that prevents them from registering and completing a degree or certificate,”
Snyder said. She said returning students would have to enroll for at least six credit hours; after completing them with a C or better, the district would “scholarship” their old balance. Students will be able to enroll in financial aid to pay for the courses, if needed. Students will be encouraged to attend a financial literacy workshop, develop academic plans with advisers and interact with student advocacy services. “Because life happens — other challenges — and we now have a lot of other
services that we can connect these students to,” Snyder said. If approved, the program will go into effect in the fall. While promoting the program is still under planning, Chancellor Mike Flores suggested mailing information to students. District 7 trustee Yvonne Katz said, “This is really, really a super idea. Nine thousand students, I mean that’s a huge number of students out there that we should be able to contact and get them back in.”
Advisers now take appointments Lifestyle concerns are also subjects students can discuss in sessions. By Samantha Woodward sac-ranger@alamo.edu Advisers have begun seeing students through appointment-based scheduling with limited walk-ins. Christine Horton, director of institution-based advising, said Feb. 8 that an appointment link was sent to students’ email; however, students can call to schedule an appointment. Appointments are based on adviser availability, according to a flyer in the advising area on the first floor of Moody Learning Center. “We are very excited with this new scheduling because it allows us to gather information on the student and any necessary documents the student might need before they see us,” she said. Advisers help students register for classes and assist them with issues such as communicating with professors, housing, food and child care, she said. Advisers undergo professional training from the Center for Adult and Experiential Learning after they are hired. They are required to attend three training sessions. They attend 60-70 hours of training and pass a certification test to become a master certified adviser. “We have 40 institutionbased and special population advisers on campus,” Horton said. Every adviser is assigned 350 students. Some advisers are located in the departments in the institutes they are assigned to. The college has divided all courses of study into five institutes. They are Creative and Communication Arts, Science
and Technology, Health and Biosciences, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Public Service. “We have about 12 different areas where advisers are embedded on campus,” Horton said. A few programs that have already implemented these changes are American Sign Language, law enforcement and fine arts. “We are not done yet. The process is done slowly to ensure everything is running smoothly.” The advising department also will implement a feature on the SAC app called “Who is My Adviser?” so students can know who their advisers are, she said. “Communicate with your assigned adviser,” she said. “We want to help. Schedule an appointment to meet with your assigned adviser at least once a semester. Connect with us on social media and share feedback so we can improve your future experience.” She also stressed students should check their ACES emails for updates and information. Appointments can be scheduled by email or by calling. Hours for advising are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday and Thursday, 8-11:30 a.m. Tuesday 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesdays 8-11:30 a.m. Friday. Walk-in visits are 1-7 p.m. Tuesday, 8 a.m.-noon Wednesday and 1-5 p.m. Friday. Hours may vary for the Victory Center, empowerment center and disability support services. For information, call 210-212-5266
Guest panelist Mario Marcel Salas praises Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna for always freeing slaves he encountered during a Black History Month panel focused on African-American migration and its impact on San Antonio Feb. 19 in the nursing complex. Salas is a commissioner of the city’s Tricentenial Commission and has done extensive research on African-Americans in San Antonio. Lionel Ramos
Addiction therapy alternative to medication Professionals can’t predict addiction, professor says. By Dean Contreras sac-ranger@alamo.edu A therapy used to treat depression could now help treat people with addiction, Dr. Diana Martinez, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center said Feb. 15 in the nursing complex at an event sponsored by the Human Services Club. Martinez explained to about 40 students the neurological changes that happen in alcohol and drug addiction that could benefit from transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy. “Addiction is treatable,” Martinez said. San Antonio qualifies as a high intensity drug trafficking area by the Drug Enforcement Agency,
and marijuana is the most commonly used and seized drug. Marijuana triggers receptors to release dopamine, a chemical in the brain that gives pleasure. “Sluggish dopamine is fixed with drug use, but it is static to permanent change,” Martinez said about drugs tricking the brain and the dopamine reward system. Receptors are decreased in drug abusers, which leads to dopamine levels being low. She said she is in the beginning stages of applying the therapy to stimulate receptors in the brains of people with addiction. The therapy is done through a machine attached to the head that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in certain regions of the brain. It is used for depression treatment, but the biology of why the therapy works is not understood, she said.
Martinez said she sees the correlation of people with addiction having weak dopamine receptors and the therapy affecting them as an opportunity to find a new method of treatment for addiction. There needs to be alternative ways that are safer and have larger chances for success, she said Her main obstacle is getting enough funding and waiting for federal grants to be approved. She said most people are not aware of their chance to become addicted to substances, and many forms of treatment for addiction are dangerous. According to a report from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, between 9 and 30 percent of those who use marijuana can develop a degree of marijuana use disorder. In an interview after the presentation, Martinez said she first started the discussion of addiction with her son when he
reached high school because that is an environment where drugs had the possibility of entering his life. “It started when I told him not to accept drugs from anyone, and his friends were listening, too. Then once his friends told their parents, they became interested, too,” Martinez said. She now gives presentations to high schools and colleges to explain the methods and science of addiction treatment. “Teenagers develop habits that stay for their entire life,” she said. “That includes addictions.” She advised everyone to avoid drug and alcohol use because professionals can’t predict if someone is able to become addicted. The institute has guidelines to start the path to treating an addiction, Martinez stated. Visit the NIDA website at www.drugabuse.gov.
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Opinion 3
Staff Editor Sergio Medina Managing Editor Rogelio Escamilla News Editor Lionel Ramos Web Editor James Russell Staff Writers Breonica Broussard, Dean Contreras, Sandy Cordell, Travis Doyle, Julian Gonzales, Geoffrey Hovatter, Marlon Anthony Juarez, Marissa Macias, Janie Medelez, Sarah F. Morgan, Jackie Muralles, Matthew R. Perez, Alberto Ramirez, Michael Smith, Isacc Tavares, Samantha Woodward Photographers Mitchell Gawlik, Deandra Gonzalez, Brittney Maria Moreno, Brianna Rodrigue Photo Team Andrea Moreno, Amaru Ruiz Illustrators Raia Blankenship, Amanda Graef
©2019 by The Ranger staff, San Antonio College,
Amanda Graef
Give more benefits to current students Encouraging current students to graduate should be prioritized. The Alamo Promise program pledges to cover Bexar County high school seniors’ tuition for two years if they apply for financial aid in fall 2020. The minimum GPA required is 2.0. This program is unfair to students already enrolled at this college. The most students at this college can get is two free summer classes if they take 18-24 credit hours during the spring and fall semesters. This policy ignores students who can’t take 18-24 credit hours because
of work and family. Students are working to pay for classes that have become more expensive after tuition rose from $86 per credit hour in fall 2018 to $99 in spring 2019. This is not the same opportunity Alamo Promise gives to untested high school students. There is unfair treatment between incoming high school seniors and existing students in this college. It’s a roll of the dice if students should invest in going to college, paying for books that are overpriced and
will only be used once, or focus on getting a job that pays well. If all a student has to do is get a 2.0 GPA and meet financial aid requirements for Alamo Promise, what encourages them to do any better in college? The requirement should be raised to 3.0. Instead of two years, Alamo Promise for high school seniors should only cover the first semester, so new students can get a taste of what college is like. Then, the program should incrementally cover more of already enrolled
Editorial
students’ tuition as they continue their classes over the two-year period. This would reward students who are dedicated to progressing in their education. What about the existing students enrolled? Is there not something more this college can do to encourage the students already here to complete? This college could invest the money allotted for incoming high school students and instead help pay for the last semester for students who are at the end and need those last few classes to top off their journey here. That would be a fair use of district and community funding.
1819 N. Main Ave., San Antonio, TX 78212-3941. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission. The Ranger news outlets, which serve the Alamo Community College District, are laboratory projects of classes in the journalism-photography program at San Antonio College. The Ranger is published Mondays except
Take advantage of the student advocacy center The center provides case management services, snacks and clothes.
during summer, holidays and examinations. The Ranger Online is available at www.theranger. org. News contributions accepted by telephone (210-486-1773), by fax (210-486-9292), by email (sac-ranger@alamo.edu) or at the editorial office (Room 212 of Loftin Student Center). Advertising rates available by phone 210-486-1765 or as a download at www.theranger.org. The Ranger is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press and the Texas Community College Journalism Association. Guest Viewpoints: Faculty, staff, students and community members are welcome to contribute guest viewpoints of up to 450 words. Writers should focus on campus or current events in a critical, persuasive or interpretative style. All viewpoints must be published with a photo portrait of the writer. Letters Policy: The Ranger invites readers to share views by writing letters to the editor. Space limitations force the paper to limit letters to two doublespaced, typewritten pages. Letters will be edited for
The student advocacy center on this campus offers a variety of social services, and students in need should take advantage of the help being provided. The center offers a food pantry, clothes closet, book voucher program, snack pantry and case management services through referrals. The stop-and-go snack pantry is available simply by signing in with a Banner ID. The snack pantry is a great resource for all students, allowing them to take a snack and drink and quickly move on to class. The snacks include cookies, chips, crackers, fruit and candy. The drinks offered are usually flavored, carbonated or regular water. As far as the other services go, they are reserved
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for students who express a dire need of assistance in finding food, shelter or other basic neccessities. Stress from worrying how to pay the bills and buy groceries is not going to help anyone’s GPA. These students should access The Store, which includes food and toiletries, such as deodorant, toothpaste and bars of soap. If they qualify, students, staff and faculty members in need can get two bags of items from The Store twice a month. This also applies to the clothing closet. The center also provides social workers (most of whom have graduated from this college’s social work program) who councel students and guide them through their tough days or help them apply for public assistance programs such as SNAP, WIC or Medicaid. The help provided by the center is essential to some students, but supplies can be limited.
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spelling, style, grammar, libel and length. Editors reserve the right to deny publication of any letter. Letters should be emailed to sac-ranger@alamo. edu or submitted online. Letters also may be brought to the newspaper office in Room 212 of Loftin Student Center, mailed to The Ranger, journalismphotography program, San Antonio College, 1819 N. Main Ave., San Antonio TX 78212-3941 or faxed to 210-486-9292.
Those who can afford to should donate. The center takes donations of food, new toiletries and clothes. Donations should be taken to the lobby of the center. The center is a useful resource that not only helps those in need get what they require, but enables those in better positions to help out and contribute to the wellness of their peers. The hours of operation are: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. the first Saturday of every month. For more information, call social work Professor Lisa V. Black, at 210-486-1003 or email her at sacsocw@alamo.edu. Make sure to get help if you need it or donate if you can because one day it might be you who needs help.
Editorial
Panel discusses social media practices for journalists By Janie Medelez
Freelance photographer V. Finster speaks about ethics on social media from her experiences with family members at the SPJ Ethics Panel Feb. 8 in Loftin. Deandra Gonzalez
Duvoisin was one of three speakers at
The open-ended availability of social
the “Perspectives on How to Use Social
media, its lack of intervening authority
Media in Journalism” panel hosted by the
and the sense of empowerment it gives
Society of Professional Journalists.
to people are dangerous, Marc Duvoisin,
Joey Palacios, reporter at Texas
editor of the San Antonio Express-News,
Public Radio, and V. Finster, former SPJ
said at a Feb. 8 panel in the Fiesta Room
student chapter president, were also on
of Loftin Student Center.
the panel.
Letters must be signed and must include the printed name and telephone number. Students should include classification, major, campus and Banner ID. Employees should include title and telephone number. For more information, call 210-486-1773. Single Copy Policy: Members of the Alamo Community College District community are permitted one free copy per issue because of high production costs. Where available, additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting The Ranger business office. Those who violate the single-copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and college discipline.
Writing center aims to improve students’ writing
Move-in date for new district support offices delayed
By Mitchell Gawlik
By Lionel Ramos
The writing center in Room 203 of Gonzales Hall provides an open computer lab, tutoring and workshops to help students improve their writing. In a Feb. 6 interview, English Professor Jane Focht-Hansen, writing center director, said all kinds of
students come to the center for help. There are many strong writers who come to the center to simply get their work peer reviewed and properly formatted, she said. “The data shows, and we replicate it all the time, that when you talk to someone about your writing, you get better with it,” she said.
The expected move-in date for the $55 million district support offices has been postponed from March to May or June because of inclement weather, John Strybos, associate vice chancellor
of facilities, said during a phone interview Feb. 15. Strybos said there is not yet a cost associated with the change of date nor are any of the employees who are to move there adversely affected. The website, www.
newdso.blog/, is designated to update the public, but the last update was posted Jan. 31. Strybos said the lack of quick updates on the new DSO page are because of problems with the district’s main website.
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Features
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College photographer retires after 39 years By Sergio Medina smedina104@student.alamo.edu Feb. 1, 1980, was the day photographer Leonard Ziegler began his job at this college. Since then, Ziegler’s objective has been to showcase campus life. On Feb. 28, 39 years later, he will retire. “I’ve always been a photographer, started when I was in high school,” he said. A resident of the South Side, Ziegler attended Harlandale High School, graduating in 1973. His photography interest began thanks to his brother, Lionel Ziegler, who photographed weddings. Leonard Ziegler helped him edit photos. “I was the one in charge of doing special effects,” he said in an interview Feb. 18. “Back then, there were no computers. Everything was done in the camera; so I did double exposure images for him.” An example of his work included photographing the ceremony inside the chapel and saving the photo for later. Ziegler would then go to the reception to photograph the couple, where he had them pose — heads together, looking down. By setting an attachment that would block the bottom of the camera lens, a double exposure could be accomplished. “When we got it back, it was an image of them with their heads together, kind of looking down over their ceremony,” Ziegler said. He enrolled at this college 1975-1978, hoping to obtain a degree in photography. Unfortunately, at the time, the college did not offer a photography degree. “So I took advertising art,” Ziegler said. “Back then, it was called advertising art. “It was so that you could get a job, working in a newspaper, or design firm or even an advertising agency,” he said. After college, he got a job at John McGee Advertising Associates. “I wanted a photography job and there weren’t any available at the time,” he said. He said he wasn’t happy being a paste-up artist for the advertising agency. “This is what they called them back then,” he said, laughing. “I was the guy who put together all the obituaries in the newspaper. “Any newspaper in town,” he added. “I would put them together and submit them so they could run them in the newspaper.” Ziegler’s friend, Tom Palmer, who worked at the library and audiovisual center at this college in the late 1970s, notified Ziegler about an open photographer position. “So the money I was making at the agency, which wasn’t much but still, it was money enough for me to put together a portfolio,” Ziegler said. “I put together my portfolio, I interviewed, and I got it.” Ziegler began his job by creating slides on copy stands for instructors to use in their classrooms. “I used to process all the slides; I used to process black and white; I used to process all the color,” he said. “We had two labs of black and white and a
Photographer Leonard Ziegler demonstrates the first self-portrait pose he learned in his first photography class at this college. His last day will be Feb. 28. Brianna Rodrigue color lab, and we would do all the processing there.” Ziegler did not have a studio at the time, so he had to turn his office into one to meet the demand of portraits. “At a school, that’s a lot of work,” he said. “That was not my strong point at first, but I adapted and did the best I could. That was a challenge for me, photographing people. I like to photograph landscapes and buildings, but it worked out; I grew into it.” Now, a typical day for Ziegler involves lining up his assignments, which convey campus life — activities, events and people. “Nothing is quite specifically written as to what I’m supposed to shoot but just to convey what’s going on around campus,” he said. He checks for assignments to cover on a given day, besides those reserved ahead of time. Additionally, he photographs portraits for the school’s website. The transition from film to digital in 1999-00 made his job considerably easier, he said. “(When) the digital age started, I was going to quit because I was standing in the dark room for long periods of time; my feet were just killing me,” Ziegler said. “I couldn’t take it anymore, and they were asking for more and more images, quickly, and I couldn’t produce them fast enough because everything takes time in a wet, dark room. But when digital came around, I went, ‘Wow, this is
very cool.’” He said with film, the process to photograph an event becomes methodical, a specific amount of photos, subjects and composition agreed upon. “Nowadays, if I go to graduation, I’ll easily shoot 1,000 pictures at a graduation,” Ziegler said. “I’m really impressed with the equipment, the modern day equipment,” he added. He said he works with as many as 10,000 photos a semester. “I really enjoy my job, I like doing it; I like photography; I like the challenge that it’s never the same — everyday usage is different. That’s probably what’s kept me here for so long, but I have other things I want to do, after 39 years.” For Ziegler, the evolution of the campus, additions to infrastructure, are among the most noticeable changes he has seen in his time here. “I used to park right in front of Moody (Learning Center), and now all the parking is on the outside (edge of campus),” he said. He reminisced on the people he has seen throughout his time here. “I got to see all the different people, all the different presidents that have come through,” Ziegler said. “Dr. (Robert) Zeigler, one of the ones that stand out the most. He did a lot for me; he gave me encouragement, what he did mostly.” He said students’ goals have not changed much. “They all have the same career goals; they all
have the same desires; they all have the same wants and needs,” he said. He said the campus is better prepared to meet student concerns now than three decades ago. “Before, you would come and it was all up to you,” he said. “You didn’t receive that much help. You had to know what you wanted, you had to know where to go, who to call.” He said information is considerably more accessible now thanks to technological advances. Now, Ziegler has his mind on the future. “I like the outdoors, I like going fishing; I like all those things, but I just don’t have the time to do any of that when you’re working,” he said. “I’ve reached an age where I want to do something else,” he added. Living on a small plot of land on the Southwest Side, Ziegler said his focus will be turned to spending time with his grandchildren, travel, working outdoors, cars and his and his wife’s ministry. “I like being outside; I like doing work outside,” he said. “We have chickens, and the land is always needing care. “Because I grew up around junkyards, I know a lot about cars,” Ziegler said. At his ministry, “Living Faith Closet,” Ziegler and his wife give away clothes, shoes and toys to those in need every first Saturday of the month. The ministry is part of Living Faith Church, 7801 Marbach Road. “We’re in the process of getting a building built for that, so we can store the clothes,” he said. Spending time with his family will be one of his biggest priorities after retirement, Ziegler said. “I’ve had a couple of scary health issues come up and it made me realize time is short, so I want to spend a lot of time with my family and my surroundings,” he said. “What’s happened to me is that I’ve turned into, instead of a taker, I’ve turned into a giver now, and I want to give. Now that I’m able to give, I want to give my time, my resources, my abilities, my talents to other things that are going to be eternally important.” He said an example of that is giving time to his children, a loving trait that will be passed down to his family’s future generations. “And that encompasses everything I’m going to do: going to church, being with my family, with my photography — I plan to do photography for myself, instead of doing photography for someone else,” Ziegler said. “I’m looking forward to that. “I used to say, ‘I’m just a photographer,’ you know?” he said. “But people, my employees, my superiors, my staff, peers — they’ve all treated me with such respect. That’s the kind of really good people that are here at SAC. They treated me with a lot of respect; I give them a lot of credit for that. A lot of criticism, they gave me constructive criticism, so I could become better, and all of that was really, really great. I’m just impressed by that. “I’ll miss that part, but like I said, I got other things to do,” he said, laughing.
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Naod Rezene, biology sophomore and guard, scores 2 points against a Northwest Vista defender Feb. 20 at Huisache Hall at Northwest Vista. The Rangers defeated the Wildcats 85-77. The Rangers’ next game is at 8 p.m. Feb. 27 against Texas A&M University-San Antonio in Gym 1 of Candler. The women’s team plays at 6 p.m. Brianna Rodrigue