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.