RANGER THE
Jan. 30, 2009
Volume 83, Issue 12
Serving San Antonio College and the Alamo Community College District
Single copies free
A forum of free voices
Textbooks break the bank
Page 3 Professor recounts JFK inauguration Page 5 MLK Day celebrates civil rights leader Page 8 New phone system being installed Page 12
Photo illustration by Tyler Cleveland
www.theranger.org • The Ranger
2 • Jan. 30, 2009
Officials Chancellor: Dr. Bruce H. Leslie 201 W. Sheridan, Bldg. B, San Antonio, TX 78204-1429 Work: 485-0020 Fax: 208-8149 E-mail: bleslie@mail.accd.edu District 1: Dr. Bernard Weiner 929 Manor Drive, Ste. 7, San Antonio, TX 78228 Work: 735-9151 E-mail: bweinermd@satx.rr.com District 2: Denver McClendon 3811 Willowwood Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78219 Work: 281-9141 E-mail: denvermcclendon@satx.rr.com District 3: Anna Bustamante 511 Ware Blvd., San Antonio TX 78221 Work: 882-1603 Fax: 927-4557 E-mail: abustamante20@mail.accd.edu District 4: Marcelo S. Casillas 115 Wainwright, San Antonio, TX 78211 Home: 922-6815 Fax: 923-3167 E-mail: mcasillas19@mail.accd.edu District 5: Roberto Zárate 4103 Buffalo Bayou, San Antonio, TX 78251 Phone: Not available E-mail: rzarate11@mail.accd.edu District 6: Dr. Gene Sprague 14722 Iron Horse Way Helotes, TX 78023 Work: 567-5544 Fax: 520-9185 E-mail: sprague@uthscsa.edu District 7: Charles Conner 13306 Hunters Hollow, San Antonio, TX 78230 Home: 493-7176 Fax: 493-7909 E-mail: cconner8@mail.accd.edu District 8: Gary Beitzel 15403 Forest Mist, San Antonio, TX 78232 Home: 496-5857 E-mail: gbeitzel@accd.edu District 9: James A. Rindfuss 109 Laburnum, San Antonio, TX 78209 Home: 828-4630 Work: 375-2555 Home Fax: 832-8292 Office Fax: 375-0301 E-mail: jrindfus@mail.accd.edu
Presidents San Antonio College, Dr. Robert E. Zeigler 486-0959, rzeigler@mail.accd.edu Northeast Lakeview College, Dr. Eric Reno 486-5484, ereno@mail.accd.edu Northwest Vista College, Dr. Jacqueline Claunch 486-4900, jclaunch@mail.accd.edu Palo Alto College, Dr. Ana M. “Cha” Guzman 486-3960, aguzman@mail.accd.edu St. Philip’s College, Dr. Adena W. Loston 486-2900, aloston@mail.accd.edu
Online When you see this symbol, go to www.theranger.org for more info.
Academic Council Jan. 22 meeting Faculty Senate Jan. 23 meeting 50th anniversary architecture exhibit Moody muralist left artistic legacy Longtime nursing professor recalled Pell Grant founder dies at 90 GALA dances night away in Koehler Faculty compensation study explained
Destiny Mata
Blotter
Jan. 22 — An individual reported theft of personal property in Sutton. No suspects located.
San Antonio College
Jan. 1 -- An individual reported damage to district property.
Jan. 23 — An individual reported theft of personal property in the campus center. No suspects located.
An individual reported theft of vehicle. The vehicle was recovered in the area of Park Place.
Jan. 24 — An individual reported graffiti in the men’s bathroom of Bowden. No suspects located.
Jan. 2 — An individual reported a suspicious vehicle parked on property. The vehicle was impounded.
An individual reported theft of personal property in Norris. No suspects located.
Jan. 6 — An individual reported a verbal argument between two males in Lot 26. All found to be OK. Jan. 8 — An individual reported a suspicious male in Lot 23. The male was found to be feeling ill but refused medical attention. Jan. 9 — An individual was arrested for an active warrant in Moody. Jan. 12 — An individual reported a personal vehicle being burglarized in the parking garage. No suspects. An individual reported a suspicious male in the area of Chance. An individual reported a suspicious male in the area of the gymnasium. An individual reported a suspicious male in the parking garage. Jan. 13 — An individual reported a suspicious male in the area of the gymnasium. A male was found to have an active warrant. Jan. 14 — An individual reported a personal vehicle being burglarized in Lot 26. No suspects located. An individual reported a suspicious male in the area.
Southwest Campus
Injury:
A female driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries after a car accident at the intersection of West Evergreen and Lewis about noon Jan. 23. The accident happened when a vehicle driven by Ariel Johnson, American Sign Language freshman, collided with the vehicle driven by the injured driver. An individual reported lost district property in the visual arts center. An individual reported a suspicious male. Jan. 23 — Two non-district individuals issued criminal trespass warnings in McCreless. An individual reported theft of district property in Moody. Palo Alto College Jan. 5 — An individual reported theft of district property from the applied technology building. An individual reported grafitti on campus. No suspects located. Jan. 6 — An individual reported damage to district property in the maintenance building.
Complainant refused prosecution. An individual reported theft of personal property. No suspects located. Jan. 19 — An individual reported an activated alarm in the college student center. All found secure.
An individual reported an irate student in the student center.
Jan. 12 — An individual reported theft of personal property in the cafeteria. No suspects located.
An individual reported lost district property at campus police office. St. Philip’s College Jan. 5 — Unrelated to the district, an individual was issued a criminal trespass warning in Watson.
Jan. 7 — Two males issued citations for disorderly conduct in Sutton.
An individual reported a male and female fighting outside. No one found in the area.
Jan. 7 — An individual reported missing district keys taken from her home.
An individual reported grafitti on district property in Watson Fine Arts. No suspects located.
An individual reported a verbal disturbance between two male employees in the gymnasium. All found secure.
Jan. 9 — An individual reported an irate male in the fine arts building. All was found to be secure.
An individual reported grafitti on district property of the continuing education center. No suspects located.
Officer assisted BCSO in locating two individuals.
Jan. 9 — An individual reported two suspicious males in the area outside. No males located.
An individual reported theft of personal property in the gymnasium. No suspects located. Jan. 20 — An individual reported a fight in the area of Moody. No fight located. Jan. 21 — An individual reported lost district property in Chance. An individual reported suspicious activity in a men’s restroom in chemistry-geology building. No one located. An individual reported a suspicious male in the area of Moody. All found secure. Jan. 22 — An individual reported an odor of smoke near nursing and allied health. Facilities advised. An individual reported youths pulling on locked doors in Loftin. No one was located. An individual reported a suspicious male selling magazines in the area of McCreless.
Jan. 13 — An individual reported a suspicious male looking into vehicles in Lot 11. Jan. 14 — An individual requested assistance with unlocking a vehicle in Lot 0. Individual reported being injured in natatorium gymnasium. EMS treated the individual. An individual reported getting a protective order against a former boyfriend.
Jan. 6 — Individual reported theft of money from safe in the bookstore.
Jan. 12 — An individual reported a personal vehicle being stolen. No suspects located. An individual reported personal vehicle being burglarized in Lot 11. No suspects located Jan. 13 — An individual reported a personal vehicle being stolen from Lot 1. No suspects located.
Jan. 14 — An individual reported theft of personal property in Bowden. No suspects located. Contact Information
Emergency 222-0911 General DPS 485-0099 Weather Line 485-0189
An individual reported an injured coyote on campus in the area of child development center. Animal control was contacted.
An individual reported an irate male in the student center. All found secure. Jan. 15 — An individual reported previous incidents with an estranged husband.
An individual reported a suspicious male in the area of Moody.
An individual reported an off-campus incident with an ex-girlfriend. Campus police assisted.
An individual reported a group of males being loud in Loftin.
An individual reported being assaulted by a boyfriend in Lot 11.
Northwest Vista College
Jan. 8 — An individual reported an irate student in Manzanillo.
Officer assisted BCSO in locating an individual near the campus center. Individual not located.
Jan. 19 — An individual reported being injured in the gymnasium. EMS treated the individual.
Jan. 20 — An individual reported theft of district property in administration. No suspects located.
Jan. 22 — An individual reported a vehicle with a door open in Lot 8I.
Jan. 15 — An individual reported a male being loud while inside the library at Moody. All found secure.
Jan. 10 — An individual reported an activated alarm in the student center. All was found secure.
Jan. 16 — An individual reported a suspicious vehicle in the area. All found secure.
Jan. 7 — An individual reported theft of district property in Juniper. No suspects located.
An individual reported damage to a personal vehicle in Lot 26.
Jan. 18 — An individual reported an activated firm alarm in Chance. All found secure.
Jan. 14 — An individual reported theft of gas from vehicle in Lot 5. No suspects located.
Jan. 21 — An individual reported damage to personal vehicle in Lot 1.
An individual reported power outage in the student center. The facilities division was advised.
Jan. 16 — An individual reported a suspicious female.
property in Watson.
Jan. 15 — An individual reported an irate student in the business office. No contact made with student.
An individual reported a personal vehicle being burglarized near the applied science building. Prosecution declined. An individual reported being assaulted by a male student in the science building. Jan. 17 — An individual reported lost personal property to the campus police office. Jan. 20 — An individual reported a suspicious male in the area of the cafeteria. All found secure. An individual reported lost personal
An individual requested assistance in unlocking his vehicle in Lot 0. Jan. 14 — An individual reported a suspicious male in the area. Jan. 20 — An individual reported theft of personal property in Manzanillo. No suspects located. Jan. 21 — An individual reported an odor of gas in Palmetto. All found secure. An individual reported being injured in Cypress. Medical treatment refused. Jan. 23 — An individual reported a suspicious male looking into vehicles in Lot 21. Northeast Lakeview College Jan. 5 — An individual reported theft of district property in the academic building Jan. 6 — An individual reported theft of district property in the academic building. Jan. 7 — An individual reported a vehicle accident at the entrance of the campus. No vehicles located. An individual reported theft of personal property in the academic building. No suspects located. Jan. 14 — An individual reported an unlocked gate in the learning resource center. All found secure. An individual reported found property in the bookstore. The item was returned to the owner. An individual reported items in his office moved around in the academic building. Jan. 15 — An individual reported theft of personal property. No suspects located. Jan. 20 — An individual reported being injured in Building 8300. Medical treatment refused. Suspicious male in the science building. All found secure. An individual reported damage to district property in Building 8300. An individual reported a hit and run vehicle accident. Sheridan Campus, West Houston and Central Texas Technology Center had no January reports.
www.theranger.org • The Ranger
Graduation Project wants you
Tyler Cleveland
A degree audit will determine a student’s eligibility for an associate degree and graduation.
No substitute for being there, on time, counselor says Missed information may be the key to the rest of the course, she said.
By Michelle Franco An associate degree will give a student more employment opportunities and an edge in getting those jobs, Counselor Rosa Maria Gonzalez said Monday. “It might give you the little extra edge when applying for a job,” she said. She is part of the Graduation Committee in charge of organizing the Graduation Project. This is an effort by the college to increase the number of graduates. “Many of the faculty and staff have an associate degree. It is great for a résumé. “It is a milestone to get them motivated and continue on; it is not to discourage getting a bachelor’s degree. They are just getting it (associate degree) along the way.” Students who obtain an associate degree can earn up to $7,000 or more on an annual income than a high school graduate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Students with an associate degree may also be eligible for a Texas Grant upon transfer. The program is to provide money for students who qualify and would like to attend a public or private nonprofit institution of higher education in Texas. Students with an associate degree might also have an opportunity to learn skills in either technical areas or general academics needed for transfer and employability, she said. This year the college is trying to push graduation opportunities on students to make graduation a top priority. Efforts include providing counseling and advisement regarding the associate degree requirements and making the providing information on the process of applying for graduation. Students typically follow a transfer plan, which includes a core curriculum that must be accepted by all Texas public colleges, allowing for a smoother transition for transfer
Jan. 30, 2009 • 3
By Jade Villarreal
Counselor Rosa Maria Gonzalez points to a Project Graduation sign outside her office in Room 123 in Moody Learning Center Monday, Jan. 26. Gonzalez hopes to inform and motivate students to get a associate degree. students, she said. While completing the core curriculum for a specific major, students may also become eligible for an associate degree. The first step for students who are interested in obtaining an associate degree is to perform a degree audit, which can be done online or with a counselor. A degree audit shows how courses apply to a specific degree plans. Students are strongly encouraged to visit with a counselor to receive a preliminary degree evaluation and to discuss degree options and appropriate catalog year, she advised, noting that audits on the Web site are not always accurate. Students who qualify for graduation have the option to participate in the actual ceremony or simply apply for the degree to be received by mail. However, there are no fees for any of the graduation process. The college provides caps and gowns. Students who wish to participate in com-
mencement must submit an application by Feb. 27. If students miss the Feb. 27 deadline, they must meet on March 2-March 27 with a counselor or with an adviser in the department of the student’s major, and if qualified, may still participate in the commencement. If students do not wish to participate in the graduation ceremony, then the deadline for applications is May 1. Commencement is scheduled for 10a.m. May 9 at Municipal Auditorium, 100 Auditorium Circle. Applications are available online on the college Web site or may be picked up in the admissions and records office in Room 216 of Fletcher Administration Center. All applications must be submitted to admissions and records For more information, contact Gonzalez in Room 123 of Moody Learning Center or call 733-2752 or 733-2984. Or students may e-mail her at rgonzalez1@mail.accd.edu.
Textbooks shrink students’ wallets More frequent editions, curriculum and contract with district influence prices. By Jason B. Hogan At the beginning of every semester, students can empty their pockets for $300 to $500 to purchase required textbooks required for their courses. Textbook manager Andrea Brown of the San Antonio College Bookstore owned by Follett Corp., said the amount students spend varies depending on the number of courses and sometimes the curriculum. She said nursing students, for example, pay a more significant amount for books compared to students enrolled in a basic core curriculum. But that rule of thumb did not apply to an English literature book. Last summer, English Professor Jane Focht-Hansen discovered the college book store had been selling a book for English 2378, Women’s Literature, for more than the publisher’s suggested retail price after students complained of its high-dollar value. A copy of the book can be found on the Pearson Higher Education Web site for $107. Focht-Hansen said the book was selling in the book store for $120 brand new and $60 used at the time. After she complained to book store management, 36 hours later, the price was decreased to the publisher’s listing. “Why charge more than the manufacturer’s price for a 2001 copy?” Focht-Hansen asked. Book store manager Amy Terpin said Follett is allowed contractually to increase book price by no more than 25 percent of publisher prices. That 25 percent accounts for the publisher’s list price, not the suggested retail price, Terpin said. The list price dictates how much the publishers charge book stores. Brown said the 25 percent increase starts after the publisher’s list price. She said instructors do not “take into consideration that there is a markup” from the book store’s initial charge. Focht-Hansen said at the beginning of her summer course, used books could hardly be found. The combination of the price and the scarcity of the book do not seem fair, she said. Many of her students resorted to using online-posted texts at Web sites such as Project Gutenberg, which boasts being the first producer of free electronic books, or e-books. The collection was gathered through thousands of volunteers. “Why not?” Focht-Hansen asked. “They are free and it’s posted.” The bookstore refuses to fully stock textbooks until they are certain classes are filling for each semester, Focht-Hansen said. To determine how many books to order, the book store looks at sales history and the projected enrollment for a course along with other factors. There is not a certain percentage of textbooks each semester that the bookstore stocks, Brown said. The number of books bought back depends on a department’s textbook adoption for that semester. When the bookstore receives the first requests for textbook adoptions, Follett determines the buy back rate for used books. But if the
instructor wants a new book, Brown said that will have a dramatic effect on buy backs. And then there are times when materials that accompany texts are not viable products for all district students. Liberal arts freshman Vince Rojas is enrolled in Math 0302 at Northeast Lakeview College. The course requires “Beginning and Intermediate Algebra,” fourth edition, by Elayn Martin-Gay and published by Prentice Hall. When Rojas purchased the book, he found that the included CD was formatted only for Windows operating systems and was not compatible with his Macintosh home computer. Rojas brought his dilemma to the attention of his instructor, Joann Holliday. There was little that she could do since the CD’s limitations were left to the publisher’s discretion. “It’s not a problem for me, but I could see how it could be for others,” Rojas said. Brown said the only thing they could do at the book store for an issue such as Rojas’ is contact the publisher and find out if they offer cross-based CDs for both Macintosh and Windows. But that would fall on the department and their textbook adoption to make sure the book and its materials would accommodate all of their students, she said. English Instructor Mariano Aguilar is the textbook committee chair for this college. The committee oversees relations between the college bookstore and the district, whether it’s related to pricing or textbook availability for students. “It’s basically more of a watchdog kind of thing,” Aguilar said. Aguilar believes textbook publication companies have been steadily increasing the rate of new editions. Brown said publishers used to print new editions every year during January or February. Now books are also being reproduced in October, Brown said, decreasing reprints from every year to sometimes six months. “They will add color and move a chapter and then up the price,” Brown said. She said the bookstore does not know until they order the books. So the frequency in the textbook market has reduced to every six to nine months. “How do they go to a new book and it hasn’t even been a year yet?” Brown said. “It’s bad for the students.” Aguilar attributed the saturation of editions for a sole textbook in the market to money. “Publication companies only make money off new editions,” Aguilar said. “So when stores sell old editions, the companies make no money.” The state Legislature hasn’t become sufficiently interested in the problem of textbook prices to address it, Aguilar said. State Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, held subcommittee hearings a few years ago to address the issue, Aguilar said. Hochberg invited publishers, teachers and students to the hearings. “So far, it hasn’t gotten out of committee,” Aguilar said. “If even a state representative can’t get this under control, it shows how big the situation has gotten.”
Attending class consistently and being an active participant in classes may translate into success during one’s college career and beyond. “Attendance is just so basic; it’s so important,” counseling Chair Emma Mendiola, said in an interview Jan. 26. “It’s everything, really. You can’t benefit from the class if you aren’t there.” Mendiola also said that the basic expectation is that students will come to class. “It’s really a part of their responsibility as students to show up. I think most instructors want students to be in their class and to be active participants. It makes it really more fun for the instructor as well. You know, when the students are there and engaged in what they’re doing.” To ensure that students attend class consistently, faculty and staff are encouraged to take roll daily, especially at the beginning of the semester. “There are sometimes mix-ups with students thinking that they signed up for a class and actually being signed up for that class,” Mendiola said. “A lot of the time, there are payment issues so students actually wind up not enrolled for a class they think they’re enrolled for and they go to class not being on the roll. So there are a lot of issues like that, that can happen at the beginning of the semester, which is why our staff is really encouraged to check their roll.” Some students miss class because they are not motivated or interested enough to attend. That is the case with biology sophomore Natalie Robles. “The amount I attend is depending on how motivated I feel to actually go to a class. A good professor with engaging lectures makes me want to attend class more often. “Other than that, it’s hard to find ways to motivate myself to attend and engage in classroom discussion. I never went to my math class, so I think that having a genuine interest in the class also contributes to how much I attend,” she said. Mendiola said students should find ways to motivate themselves. “There are as many ways to motivate yourself as there are people. You know, it may not be your favorite class, but nonetheless it’s leading to something bigger and students need to try to keep the bigger picture in mind,” Mendiola said. “I think all of us who’ve been to college had classes we weren’t particularly fond of, but we still needed to get through those classes to get the gold ring, to get the main prize. “That kind of persistence and perseverance translates into qualities that will help you in any walk of life whether it’s school or your job, or even your personal life.” Searching for a career is usually what students deal with after graduating college. While employers look at transcripts and grade-point averages when hiring, class attendance is also a deciding factor. “You know, in general employers want the same qualities for their employees that we would like to see in students in terms of meeting their responsibilities for that particular role, so attendance is important in either setting,” she said. “I feel that employers are thinking that good habits that are acquired during college or even before that are going to be habits that someone takes into the work place.” Students who consistently miss class sometimes deal with the conflict of being dropped from a course after many absences, or even failing a class because they didn’t drop it before the drop date. “Once you miss class and depending on the class - some classes you miss one session or you’re late or whatever - you could miss a whole lot of information that subsequent information will be building on. “If you miss that piece, than you’re lost from then on. “Students could also be dropped from their classes or sometimes they just stop going and they think that they’re dropped, but really they haven’t been so they could wind up with an F and then not understand how that happened, which is a big problem we see a lot.” Mendiola strongly advises students to keep in contact with their professors if the need to miss class arises, especially if one has used all of the allotted absences. She said she feels that most professors will be understanding based on the student’s situation. “I think any professor would work with you if they see that you’re being responsible and you’re in contact with them, they know that you really are wanting to be an active participant in the class but there’s just something that’s preventing that at that point in time.” According to the district attendance policy, students may be dropped from a course if they have missed more than four times in a Tuesday-Thursday class, or six times in a Monday, Wednesday, Friday class. It states that, “Both tardiness and early departure from class are forms of absenteeism.” It is required that a course’s syllabus provide for specific details in reference to the attendance policy. It is the student’s responsibility to monitor their absences and drop the course for a W, or withdrawal, before the drop date of that semester. If students fail to withdraw from a course and stop attending class, they may face a failing grade. Students entering college for the first time in fall 2007 are subject to the six-course drop ruling, which states that the student is limited to six course drops in the entire college career. As of fall 2005, students who have registered for the same course three times will have to pay an out-of-state tuition rate for the course. This applies to failing grades as well as drops.
4 • Jan. 30, 2009 Melissa Toscano Lazcano
People
www.theranger.org • The Ranger Melissa Toscano Lazcano
Strut, two, three: Models from Icon and Nonstop Modeling & Photography agencies strut their stuff in a fashion show during the Black and White Winter Ball fundraiser sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Association Jan. 16 in Koehler. See related story online.
Tyler Cleveland And then: Architecture sophomore Brandon McCottry (from left), communications sophomore Joe Chapa, music freshman Alyssa Bernal, business sophomore Julian Ramirez, and art freshman Renee Sanchez sing to Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” east of Loftin Tuesday. Ramirez and McCottry look forward to performing with their band, Stereo 4 front, in Loftin on Fridays.
Up and away: Internationally known Las Vegas juggler Tim St. John performs a magic and juggling show Jan. 21 in Loftin. The event was sponsored by the office of student life.
Professor recalls JFK inaugural The Ranger • www.theranger.org
Jan. 30, 2009 •5 AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive
A trip to Washington, D.C., shows the importance of traveling and seeing places only imagined.
went to the Smithsonian Museum, visited George Washington’s house and saw where Abraham Lincoln was shot. Whitecotton, who admits to not being a fan of speeches or politics, had a liberal Democratic stepfather but grew up a conservative Republican. By Vanessa M. Sanchez He thought President Obama had a good speech at his inauguration, one that was better As a 14-year-old, photography than most. Professor Fred Whitecotton had no However, Whitecotton, who grew interest in politics, but he took the up a hard worker on a ranch, believes opportunity his high school gave the having a job well done is what matfreshman to attend the inauguration of ters most. Republican or Democrat, a President John F. Kennedy in 1961. president saying one thing says nothEvery four years, his high school ing, he said. in Uvalde took a group of students to Once the D.C. festivities were Washington, D.C., for the presidential complete, Whitecotton and his high inauguration. school classmates flew to New York For $1,300, each student bought a City for the second half of their trip. Fred Whitecotton train ticket from Uvalde to San Antonio, He said, in 1960, people could view a plane ticket from San Antonio to D.C. the city from top of the Statue of and paid for the rest of the 10 to 12 days, Liberty, which they did, along with a day and a half of which was spent traveling. visiting the United Nations, and ice skating in Whitecotton said, while in D.C. an “interesting Rockefeller Plaza. point (was), we almost froze to death, cause it was “All this stuff you heard about and read about, snowing.” maybe you saw it on TV, we got to see ourselves,” Whitecotton said, “They told us where it (the he said. parade) was going to be at and we just walked out He also remembered the thrill in seeing snow and looked at it; we just went out and half froze and the value of visiting historic places and being to death.” exposed to different cultures. Later that day, they visited one of the balls, Once the teachers and chaperones showed the Whitecotton said. Back then, there were about five group around the nicer parts of town, they took balls, a small number compared to the more than them to the Bowery, a neighborhood where the 50 offered today. homeless resided on the winter cold streets. Whitecotton said the ball they visited was tarWhitecotton said they were told to take a geted more to adults, but they went and had an look and stare off at the “bums,” which had an experience to remember. impact on him to the point where he felt sorry After visiting the inauguration, the group for them.
President John F. Kennedy gives his inaugural address at the Capitol in Washington after he took the oath of office in this Jan. 20, 1961, file photo. Listening in front-row seats, from left, are Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; former Vice President Richard M. Nixon, Kennedy’s campaign opponent; Sen. John Sparkman of Alabama; and former President Harry Truman. Over the course of the trip, however, Whitecotton said a major difference was that “they had a lot more lights in New York City than in Uvalde.” Whitecotton also said the trip taught him about his classmates, some of whom, he said, had a hard time traveling and got homesick. It was an experience for Whitecotton and the group to see outside the small town life. Almost three years after they returned, that town grieved when Kennedy was assassinated Nov. 22, 1963. Whitecotton was sitting in a drafting class when the principal called him, along with two other Eagle Scouts, to the office. He and the other Eagle Scouts were told the news and were asked to lower the flag to half
staff. He said: “Funny, stuff like that, you’ll always remember where you were.” Whitecotton said following the flag lowering, the school put the radio over the intercom, informing everyone; shortly after, people were sent home. Remembering the trip, Whitecotton said it taught him that it is important to travel. Years later in his life, when his children were entering high school, Whitecotton took them to New York City and D.C. There, Whitecotton visited the Smithsonian Museum, where he learned it would take 72 years to view completely and viewed New York from the observation deck of the World Trade Center.
Economics professor cuts a figure at inauguration
Lea Thompson
Texas Ball draws revelers in formal attire and boots while celebrities add glitter to inauguration.
where he worked through the Carter administration. Though the Spencers moved to Texas in 1980, they were later invited to the Reagan inauguration. While they were invited to that inauguration, Spencer said, she tried not to let the formal business part take over so she could still have fun. “I was such a people watcher; being By Vanessa M. Sanchez a professor, I was just fascinated with everything,” she said. In comparison to Reagan’s inauguration, Spencer said, “This time After many months of keeping current with debates and deciding I was just part of everyone.” on a candidate, economics Professor Susan Spencer finally flew to She also said she had more fun this time because she traveled with Washington, D.C., to celebrate the inauguration of friends, visited with her daughter recently returned President Barack Obama along with almost 2 milfrom the diplomatic corps in Afghanistan, walked lion other Americans. the museum-lined mall and simply observed. Share your stories of “The inauguration made everyday things excitThe night before the inauguration, Spencer inaugurations online ing; who can really say coming down an escalator attended the Texas Ball where the crowd kicked up in the comments is exciting,” Spencer said about the elation she its heels to the “Cotton-Eyed Joe” in fancy dress felt Jan. 20. She said the inauguration was such with cowboy boots. section of any of our a large moment in history that it brought people While waiting for the president to be sworn in inauguration stories. together, strangers were polite and travelers from the next morning, she noticed and was amazed by around America stood in unity to witness the the many examples of new media and the celebrimoment of change. ties who provided some glamour. “It was a big moment for the nation,” Spencer said. “I saw everySpencer said she did not recognize all the stars but clapped when one taking that in at a level of appreciation.” others around her did. Despite the excitement, Spencer took time to remember another Nonplussed, Spencer is now in the company of the biggest star of day: her first participation in an inauguration, that of the wildly the moment. She purchased a life-size, cardboard cut-out of Obama, popular Ronald Reagan in 1981. Her husband, Roger, an economics which brightens up the economics department office. professor at Trinity University, was appointed by former President Go by Room 323 of Chance Academic Center to pay your Gerald Ford to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, respects.
Note-taking jobs available Notes from math and science classes are in high demand.
By Henry A. Chavarria
Student services assistant Delia A. De Luna has a goal of hiring 100 note takers this semester. The job requires little or no college experience and offers up to 19 hours a week at an hourly rate up to $6.75. After just two weeks of school, the department has 53 employees and volunteers but still struggles to fill the demand for math and science note-takers of any level. As a note-taker, students will be required to write classroom notes for students with disabilities, provide students and supervisor with copies of notes and record time spent note-taking on a daily time sheet. Applicants should either be enrolled or be knowledgeable of the course content, have good communication skills and the ability to write detailed and legible notes from classroom instruction. Students who already do this for themselves are already halfway through the hiring process. The next step is to log onto http://accdpeoplelink.accd.edu, fill out an application, click on search job openings and select the job title “notetaker.” For further details or for help with any problems applying online call De Luna at 486-0022 or visit disability support services, in Room 124 of Chance Academic Center.
Economics Professor Susan Spencer brought her presidential inauguration memento to the economics department.
Smoking ban violations abound By Jeff Reese Although the Alamo Community College District passed a rule in August 2006 prohibiting the use of all forms of tobacco, students continue their use in many parts of the campus. President Robert Zeigler said students and faculty members have complained to him about the violations, many of which take place in isolated locations. “I notice when I go to the parking garage, I will see people smoking there at the edge of the parking lot,” Zeigler said. “Another area is on Dewey Street, as you walk toward McAllister, there are smokers there we are trying to deal with.” The policy in the San Antonio College Bulletin 2008-09 reads: “Smoking is not permitted on the San Antonio College Campus or any other ACCD campus. This includes parking lots and any other property owned by the Alamo Community Colleges.” According to district policy, the campus
Department of Public Safety will give a $12 citation to those who smoke. DPS will also give further penalty to repeat offenders. However, art sophomore Charles Bazaldua said the policy, which he called “ridiculous,” is not well enforced. “I think we should be able to smoke wherever we want as long as it’s not indoors and they have proper designated areas on campus,” Bazaldua said. “People are going to smoke regardless of what the policy is.” Zeigler, known for keeping an active and healthy lifestyle, very much supports the rule because of his health patterns. “We really started doing things here before the district policy came into place, and I was delighted that the board did support a policy that prohibited smoking all across the district campuses,” Zeigler said. Early childhood education sophomore Sarah Dugas said she would like a place
for her and other smokers to dispose of waste; she added that taking care of such trash is a responsibility that comes with smoking. “Just give us someplace where we can actually put our cigarette butts out,” Dugas said. “It would be nice if people would stop throwing them on the ground, so I could see the reason they don’t want us to smoke on campus, because people are too lazy to put it out and put it in the trash can.” Those who object to smokers, such as business administration freshman John Lopez, cited the possibility of student trouble with allergies. “Some of us might be allergic to it,” Lopez said. “It bothers me a lot if I’m sitting near it and I can smell it; I’m not allergic, but it bothers me.” Those interested in taking classes to help curb their urges can get in contact with Paula Daggett in the college health center by calling 733-2790.
www.theranger.org • The Ranger
6 • Jan. 30, 2009
Photos by Tyler Cleveland
St. Philip’s celebrates inauguration
Supporters of President Obama jump to their feet and scream after he was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States during an inauguration ceremony at St. Philip’s College Jan. 20.
Indoor, outdoor screens attract viewers for historic event. By Melissa Toscano Lazcano
Sandra Berbino, a St. Philip’s alumna from 1968, stands for the national anthem sung by music sophomore Hannah Rymers during the televised inauguration ceremony at St. Philip’s College Jan. 20.
St. Philip’s College, a historically black college and Hispanic-serving institution, was a rallying point to observe Barack Obama’s induction as the first African-American to take the oath of office and become the 44th president of the United States Jan. 20. The inauguration celebration was hosted outdoors in the campus mall with two screen projectors, which the sun, unfortunately, made difficult to watch. An indoor screen was prepared in the Heritage Room with seating available for first comers and which, by 10 a.m., reached its capacity. Jason Fabianke, chair of the social sciences program at St. Philip’s, said in a Jan. 16 press release that a small reproduction of the Washington Monument would make locals “feel as if they are on the (National) Mall on a cold day in Washington.” The event started with a welcome from St. Philip’s President
Adena Loston, followed by the flag escort presentation of the colors from the district department of public safety and the national anthem performed by music sophomore Hannah Rymers. “It’s a very special day,” Loston said. “Today, we have a true model that our students, our black and brown students, can identify with.” For Regis Shephard, chair of fine arts, it made him think of his grandparents’ struggles. His grandfather had to go in the back door of facilities even after fighting in World War II, he said. “I wish they had been here to see America, as a country, take the step,” Shephard said. “Also, I think it’s nice to see the diversity of people engaged in the celebration of the spirit of these kind of people wanting to see progress,” he said. “I’m enjoying the diversity of the celebration and just the sense of good spirits that are out there. It may not last forever, but it’s just great to be a part of it.” Social work sophomore Ashley Rodriguez is hopeful for better financing of education with the new presidency. “We have to pay all this money
Screens are set up in the mall at St. Philip’s College for an inauguration ceremony to watch Barack Obama being sworn in as president Jan. 20. The screens were difficult to see because of glare. out of pocket and you ask for help and it’s not given to you because of certain other reasons,” she said. “It’s time for us middle class and lower to get up and do better for ourselves in life like they say they want us to do.” Kinesiology sophomore Rashad Alexander said he will tell his kids and grandkids about this day.
“I really didn’t think it was ever going to happen,” he said. “It’s amazing.” Senior multimedia specialist Greg Jones said the new administration would be “a good role model” for his year-old son. “Everybody came together for the best interest of the country,” Jones said.
The Ranger • www.theranger.org
Premiere
‘Eyes on the Prize’ to open Black History By Giselle Guadron Black History Month at this college begins Tuesday with a video series in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center. “Eyes on the Prize” is a documentary that talks about the American civil rights movement. Blackside, Inc. produced the documentary over a 12-year period. The firm is one of the oldest minority-owned film and television production companies. Volume 1 of the series begins Tuesday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and the series continues through Feb. 23. The national theme for this year’s observation is “The Quest for Black Citizenship in the Americas.” The national theme is chosen every year by the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History. This organization, housed at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was established in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson and is credited with founding Black History Month. Counselor Carolyn Foster has
been the chairperson for Black History Month at this college for at least six years. She said that the theme “talks about the NAACP and the struggle to sustain and maintain equal citizenship for all.” Foster hopes students “get renewed awareness of AfricanAmerican culture.” She also hopes that Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration piques students’ interests and desire to learn more about the achievements of AfricanAmericans. Foster attended the inauguration and said seeing it gives her a story she will share with her grandchildren one day. She described the event as “breathtaking.” Foster saw history in the making when she witnessed Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration. She flew to New York City and stayed with a friend, and they drove to the inauguration. That is why she had no trouble flying out the next day like so many others stuck at the airport. She recalls seeing so many people, witnessing a moment that
Jan. 30, 2009 • 7 Fred Nockroes
Events
will be in history books. “One day when I have grandchildren, and they see the pictures in history books, I can tell them that I was there,” she said. Before Black History Month officially opens at this college, Gemini Inc. will present “Sterling Houston’s Black and Blue: 400 Years of Struggle and Transcendence” at 7 p.m. Monday in the auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center. It is a repertory piece that combines jazz and blues music with documents from the slave era. The performance also includes actors. It is an annual performance done in memory of the playwright. Faculty and staff and the student organization, the Black Student Alliance, have planned events for Black History Month. Other events are lectures, an African-American poetry readin, displays on health issues, a young people’s conference and a gospel concert. Events are free and open to the public. Call 733-2680 for information.
Monday Performance: “Sterling Houston’s Black and Blue: 400 Years of Struggle and Transcendence” presented by Gemini Ink 7 p.m. in auditorium of McAllister. Tuesday Film: “Eyes on the Prize,” Vol. 1-4, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Continues Feb. 4, 5, 19, 23, 24. Feb. 10 Lecture: AfricanAmerican Poetry Readin with lecture by San Antonio Express-News columnist Cary Clack 10:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m. in the craft room of Loftin. Feb. 11 AIDS Testing: Black Student Alliance providing AIDS testing 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in the college health
center. 12.
Continues Feb.
Jazz Band: Regency Jazz Band performing 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the food court of Loftin. Feb. 13 Event: Black Student Alliance hosting a dating game 11a.m.-1 p.m. in the LSC food court area. Feb. 17 Lecture: “African Presence in Mexico” 9:30 a.m. in Room 120 of visual arts. Feb. 19 Exhibition: The Patron Motorcycle Club 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the mall. Feb. 20 Concert: Chuck and the Guiding Clouds Gospel Concert 7 p.m. in the auditorium of McAllister.
Destiny Mata
Berne Smith
John Belcher during dress rehearsal playing three roles in “Mariner” in the theater in McCreless Thursday, Jan 29.
Play depicts Columbus in a different light By Dani Williams Theater and speech communications presents “Mariner,” the untold story of Christopher Columbus. Columbus is depicted in the play as a self-serving, crazed individual obsessed with greed and his findings of the “New World.” Columbus goes through an ordeal, particularly when he finds himself stuck in purgatory for his injustice against humanity. “Mariner” opens at 8 p.m. Feb. 5-7 and Feb. 12-14 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 8 and 15 in the theater in McCreless Hall. This event is free for students, staff and faculty at this college; general admission is $10 and children will not be admitted. This play is considered too violent by the director and theater Professor Jim Mammarella. “Mariner” is written by Don Nigro. “This gives viewers a different side of Christopher Columbus, which the history books don’t necessarily tell you about,” theater freshman Jordan Nicholes, 18, who plays Christopher Columbus, said. “Considered revisionist history because it doesn’t glorify or make Columbus a hero, it’s a play that tells you what Columbus was really like,” Mammarella said.
Columbus will soon figure out that he has passed on to the next life, but is stuck in between worlds. The play also goes through flash backs of Columbus’ life. Purgatory is his holding spot where he will have to defend his sins and will be put on trial to see if he makes it into heaven. Princess Juana the Mad, a featured character played by theater freshman Sarah Ofsdahl, will help defend Columbus when on trial for his wrongdoing, Nicholes said. The large cast consists of 21 students who began working on the play before the Christmas break and returned before school began to continue their rehearsals.The setting of “Mariner” will show a beach and a ship-wrecked boat called the Santa Maria, one of three ship used through Columbus’ voyages. The set is being designed by Debbie Coates, technical theater director. She started with a smaller design of how she wanted the stage setting to look and brought it to life on stage. Some of Columbus’ high points in “Mariner” are his love interest and discovery of the “New World.” Low points were his encounter with Amerigo Vespucci, his betrayal of his men, death and break up with his wives and going insane. During Columbus’ four voyages, he captured, enslaved and killed thousands of natives from the “New World,”
Mammarella said. “It takes a much darker approach of Christopher Columbus than he’s portrayed in history books,” Nicholes said. While Columbus was exploring Hispaniola, there were about 250,000 natives on land and after his fourth voyage there were only a few thousand left due to his brutality, Mammarella said. “We celebrate Columbus Day and we really shouldn’t. He wasn’t a really nice person,” Mammarella said. “The only people who helped him and loved him were the women in his life,” he said. Columbus was married twice; his first wife was named Felipe and the second Beatriz and these were a few of the women who stood by Columbus’ side through his most impudent time. “It’s a dark comedy and it’s so funny; critics will be wondering why am I laughing at that,” theater sophomore Laura Tomerlin said. Tomerlin will be playing Crocodile Woman, Rosaura and a native girl. Being in several plays, Kate Trottier said she is not a student, is retired and calls herself a “theater groupie.” She and theater sophomore Lori Roman will share the roles of Queen Isabella, Mama and Pig Woman. “This play has interesting characters, it will make people laugh and cry simultaneously,” Mammarella said.
Faculty art exhibit opens Monday By Lea Thompson The “Selected Works 2009: Visual Arts (full-time) Faculty Exhibition” will open Monday in the gallery of the visual arts center. The exhibition will feature the works of studio art and digital design faculty members in the visual arts and technology department. The exhibit will run until March 20. Professor Liu Qing, the exhibitions program chair, said Monday she did not know how many works will be displayed because most of the faculty who will contribute had not yet submitted their work. The art will then be selected and arranged throughout the gallery. Instructor Berne Smith is the first of the faculty to display his artwork. Smith’s recent project “Color Harmonies Series” has been installed on the second floor of the gallery. The six-poster series serve as different visually appealing methods of organizing information about architecture and art education. Quing said the exhibit will not include an opening ceremony or lecture by the artists. The exhibit was not planned as far in advance as most in the department because the department had planned to move out while the building underwent remodeling, Professor Tom Willome said. The remodeling has been postponed for about six months, he said. The department decided about three weeks ago to organize a faculty show as a “filler exhibit” until the student art show in April. The request for contributions from faculty was on short notice so organizers do not know how many works they will have to display. Hours of the gallery are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. For more information, call the visual arts and technology department at 733-2894.
8 • www.theranger.org
Jan. 30, 2009 • 9
The Ranger Destiny Mata
Destiny Mata
Tyler Cleveland
Adean Word watches the march from the parking lot of her nursing home on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan 19. Word worked as a fifth and sixth grade math teacher in San Antonio Independent School District for 26 years.
Tyler Cleveland
San Antonio celebrates MLK’s dream in Obama
Pamela Ross and her 9-year-old niece, Christine Brown, respond to a speech Jan. 19 at Pittman-Sullivan Park for the Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration.
Thousands turn out to celebrate MLK Day and the inauguration of Barack Obama. By Trey Randolph Visions of a better nation dominating the thoughts of thousands of marchers and attendees of San Antonio’s annual Martin Luther King Day march is nothing new. However, the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was celebrated more than ever on Jan. 19 as the march in his honor displayed more than just a commemoration of his life and civil rights work. For many, it was also a chance to welcome a new president who embodies King’s dream. The overwhelming support for Barack Obama the day before his inauguration as the 44th president of the United States was on full display in the form of signs, T-shirts, hats and other memorabilia. It was also on the lips of many marchers. “Today’s march is a very historical event, especially for some guys like myself who are (age) 62-plus,” said marcher Herbert C. Nance Sr. “We’ve experienced a whole gamut of things from segregation, to integration, to seeing Martin Luther King’s dream come to a reality, and it’s fantastic. “I never thought it would happen in my lifetime.” Nance was representing the Phi Alpha chapter of Omega Psi Phi, an international fraternity known for social work. The fraternity had a blood mobile set up in Pittman-Sullivan Park at the end of the march, Nance said. Nance’s graduating class of 1965 was the last class to graduate from O.L. Price High School in Taylor before it became integrated. He later attended Houston-Tillotson College, a historically African-American college in Austin, as well as the University of Texas at San Antonio. Nance estimated he has attended every Martin Luther King march in San Antonio except three. “We used to take (our children) out of school before (it was declared a) holiday because this is real important,” Nance added. “This is something worthwhile.” Nance summed up the importance he took in the march because of his experiences. “I went from what they call ‘the cotton fields to college,’” he said. Nance said he enjoys seeing King’s “dream (become) a reality where somebody who looks like me can set a positive tone.”
Jay Juls and Orchid Williams reach the end of the MLK March at Pittman-Sullivan Park Jan. 19.
Lea Thompson
Destiny Mata
“America’s the greatest country in the world because you can be anything you want to be if you set your mind to it,” he said. San Antonio’s Martin Luther King Day march began at MLK Freedom Bridge at 3500 Martin Luther King Drive and ended at Pittman-Sullivan Park at 1101 Iowa. The theme of this year’s march was “Education: March from the Dream to Reality.” The slow march started at 10 a.m., and took over 45 minutes for all marchers to pass the starting line and continue on the almost three-mile march. Marchers waved, chanted or sang while onlookers returned in kind. The University of the Incarnate Word was represented by many student organizations including Campus Ministry, Standout Alliance and Students with Disabilities, as well as members of the football team. Incarnate Word student Arnie Segura said this was the first year he participated in the march, and he very much enjoyed it. “I came to get a new experience,” Segura said. Greg Jones, multimedia specialist at St. Philip’s College, feels the march celebrates the past achievements of others that have brought this nation to this point. “A lot of people marched years ago to get to this point that we could have our first black president,” Jones said. “That means a lot, you know, for me having a child, for my son to be able to see that as a role model; for these older folks that never thought that to be a reality – to see that before they pass on. So that means a lot, it means a whole lot.” Olivia McCarthy just recently moved from her home of about 60 years at 2019 Martin Luther King Drive. She said she used to watch the parade from her porch every year and never thought she would see an African-American president. “It means a lot to me,” McCarthy said. “I just can’t believe all this is happening.” Deborah Knapp, KENS 5 news anchor, acknowledged the underlying importance of the march. “This year is really what the dream was all about,” she said. “In my family, we always celebrated Martin Luther King Day with my children because I don’t think I would have my job (without Dr. King’s work),” Knapp said. “My children have a Hispanic heritage, and they wouldn’t have the opportunities that they have today without Martin Luther King.” “He really made it possible for women and minorities to achieve,” Knapp continued. “How incredible that we are having this march and tomorrow we are inaugurating an African-American as our president.”
Thelma Johnson, 8, Cam’ron Thomas, 5, and Bryce Gable, 8, carry tribute signs during the Martin Luther King march. The many churches located along the march route were holding celebrations. Dominion Church of God in Christ was playing King’s “I Have A Dream” speech over a loudspeaker. The Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church welcomed onlookers to watch the parade from its property. Shiloh’s marquee displayed a simple quote conveying the ideals of many in the march: “Life isn’t fair, but it’s good.” Local companies including Valero, USAA and City Public Service had large groups of marchers. About 500 marchers wearing red H-E-B T-shirts chanted, “Who are we? H-E-B!” while some carried individual oversized letters spelling out “We Believe” across the middle of their march line. The march ended at Pittman-Sullivan Park about two hours after it began. The park transformed into a sea of people with numerous radio station booths blasting music, vendors selling food, drink and Martin Luther King or Barack Obama apparel and people everywhere celebrating the day. Festivities continued on the stage located in the southwest corner of the park with the MLK Commemorative Program. Tennessee Nathanson, 2008 Fiesta Queen of Soul, alluded to the next day’s inaugural festivities as she spoke of King’s legacy. “As we march today, we await tomorrow. Without
his dream yesterday, we would not be facing the reality and the promise of tomorrow. As we march today in commemoration, we shall revel in celebration of the coming of a new day,” Nathanson said. State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon was in Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration, but she sent a video message for the commemorative program. “We should always remember what Dr. King stood for as we honor this great man here today,” McClendon said in her video message. She urged the crowd to remember those who inspired King and to take the time to read King’s “I Have A Dream” speech and “really make the effort to understand what it says and to try to live by it.” Mayor Phil Hardberger, who led the march locked in arms with other marchers, also spoke at the commemorative program. “There is a new day for peace and justice for everybody not only in San Antonio and not only everybody in the United States but for what it means to once again burn brightly the light of freedom and justice over the United States to the rest of the world,” Hardberger said. “This day is not possible without you, the citizens of San Antonio,” Gloria Ray, MLK Commission chair, said to the crowd. “(This is a) march out of history and into hope.” The keynote speaker was Manuel V. Scott, a member of the original Freedom Writers depicted in the 2007 movie of the same name. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Erin Gruwell, a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, Calif., and her students. Scott said his mother was from San Antonio. Scott described his early life in a broken home, his struggles with drugs and crime, and his rise above the negative factors surrounding him. Scott thanked “every one of you who works day in and day out in the trenches where there are no cameras and there is no march and there are no television reporters.” “You’re working out of your commitment to make a difference in the lives of the people around you,” he continued. “Thank you for working together, for marching together, for praying together, for standing up for freedom together.” Scott closed his speech with a reading of the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. The poem insists one’s life is not shaped or defined by one event but by many attributes for which to strive, echoing King’s dream of people being judged not “by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” in his historic speech from the summer of 1963.
Mayoral hopeful Diane Cibrian (second from left) and Mayor Phil Hardberger, escorted by police Chief William McManus, lead the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day March Jan. 19.
Thousands march to celebrate the largest MLK march in the nation on the morning of Jan. 19 on Martin Luther King Drive.
Flick Picks Black History Month Roots (1977) – LeVar Burton, Ben Vereen. Kunta Kinte is abducted and sold into slavery in the American South. Amistad (1997) – Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne. An African tribal leader, abducted into slavery on a ship bound for Cuba, leads a mutiny in a case that winds up before the Supreme Court. Glory (1989) – Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington. Based on the letters of Col. Robert G. Shaw, who led a company of black soldiers in the Civil War. A Time to Kill (1996) – Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey. A black man takes the law into his own hands after his daughter is murdered, and getting a fair trial is a challenge. Mississippi Burning (1998) – Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe. Two FBI agents are sent to a small southern town to investigate the disappearance of two white civil rights workers and their black assistant. The Color Purple (1985) – Danny Glover, Whoopie Goldberg. A black woman impregnated by her father and married to an abusive husband finds the courage to stand up for herself. Malcolm X (1992) – Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett. Biography of Malcolm X, the famous AfricanAmerican leader who converts to Islam, regrets his preaching against white people and is assassinated. Jungle Fever (1991) – Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra. A successful, married and black executive is concerned that racial tensions will make an already taboo relationship worse. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) – Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier. A young woman brings her perfect, but black, fiancé home to meet her liberal, white parents. Driving Miss Daisy (1989) – Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy. A 20-year relationship overcomes the differences between an aging Southern woman and her black driver.
10 • Jan. 30, 2009
Upcoming
www.theranger.org • The Ranger
Today Feb. 9 SAC Transfer: Appointments with Texas A&M Kingsville System Center-San Antonio from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099. Exhibit: Botanical paintings by Marcia Gygli King at the San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones. Continues through April 12. $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for students with ID, and $3 for children. Call 978-8100. Exhibit: “Fashions in Art: 1870s to 1920s” at the Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway, in the Betty Coates Textile Gallery. Continues through Feb. 15. Call 357-1900. Sunday Event: Free tours at 2 p.m. at Museo Alameda, 101 S. Santa Rosa. Continues 2 p.m Sundays and 6 p.m. Wednesdays. Call 299-4300.
SAC Transfer: Appointments with Texas State University at San Marcos 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099.
Feb. 20
Performance: St. Petersburg String Quartet at 7:30 p.m. in the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall of Trinity University. Call 999-8212. SAC Meeting: Students in Free Enterprise 9:25 a.m.10:40 a.m. in Room 308 of academic instruction. Continues Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call 486-0197. Feb. 11 SAC Transfer: Appointments with Texas State 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099.
Trinity Performance: “Icarus’ Mother” and “Action” by Sam Shepard at 8 p.m. in the Jane and Arthur Stieren Theater of Trinity University. Continues Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays through Feb. 22 and Feb. 25-28. Feb. 21 Event: “Weekend Family Adventure: Build It!” 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at the Witte Museum. 3801 Broadway. Adults $7, seniors $6 and children $5. Call 357-1900. Feb. 23
SAC Event: Karaoke Mondays 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Continues Feb. 16. Call 7332641.
SAC Transfer: Our Lady of the Lake University 9 a.m.noon in the second floor lobby of McCreless and appointments noon-1 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099.
SAC Meeting: Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists 2:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. in Room 144 of Chance. Continues Mondays. Call 486-0953.
SAC Transfer: University of the Incarnate Word 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in the second floor lobby of McCreless. Call 733-2099. SAC Performance: Guitar recital by Peter Carey at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of McAllister. Call 733-2731.
SAC Transfer: Appointments with Texas State University - San Marcos 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099.
Feb. 12
SAC Transfer: University of the Incarnate Word 9 a.m.3:30 p.m. in McCreless. Call 733-2099.
Lecture: “Anti-evolution in America: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design” by Ronald Numbers at 7 p.m. in Chapman Auditorium of Trinity University. Call 999-8426.
SAC Transfer: University of Texas at San Antonio 9 a.m.11 a.m. in the second floor lobby of McCreless and appointments 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099.
SAC Transfer: Texas A&M University 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in second floor lobby of McCreless. Call 733-2099.
Feb. 10
Monday
Tuesday
Feb. 19
Feb. 13 SAC Event: Coffee Night and open mic 6 p.m.-9 p.m. in the Round in Loftin Call 733-2520.
SAC Transfer: University of Texas at San Antonio 9 a.m.-11 a.m. in the second floor lobby of McCreless and appointments from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099. Feb. 24 SAC Transfer: Our Lady of the Lake University 9 a.m.noon in the second floor lobby of McCreless and appointments from noon-1 p.m. Call 733-2099. SAC Transfer: St. Mary’s University 8:30 a.m.-11 a.m. in the second floor lobby of McCreless and appointments from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099. Feb. 25 SAC Event: Transfer Fair 9 a.m.-noon in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Call 733-2099. Feb. 26
Wednesday Feb. 14 Speaker: “Chinese Religions as a Model for Interreligious Dialogue” by Randall Nadeau noon at the Coates University Center of Trinity. Call 999-8404. Film: “The Trap” at 7 p.m. in Room 040 of Northrup Hall of Trinity. All films subtitled in English. Call 9997213.
Event: “A Night at the Witte: Hanging out with the Helix” at the Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway. Continues Fridays through May 23. Call 357-1900.
Lecture: poetry reading by Stephan Burt at 7 a.m. in the gallery of Dicke Art Building at Trinity University. Call 999-8406. SAC Transfer: University of the Incarnate Word 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in the second floor lobby of McCreless. Call 7332099.
Feb. 15 SAC Meeting: Gay and Lesbian Association 2 p.m.-3 p.m. in Room 612 and 613 of Moody. Continues every Wednesday. Call 486-0902. SAC Meeting: Psych Club 2 p.m.-3 p.m. in Room 607 of Moody. Continues Wednesdays. Call 733-2604. SAC Meeting: American Institute of Architecture Students 4 p.m.-5 p.m. in Room 251 of Chance. Continues Wednesdays. Call 733-2842.
Feb. 27 Event: “The Birth of the Bustle!” Discussion with Witte curator Michaele Haynes at 2 p.m. at the Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway. Call 357-1900. Feb. 16
SAC Transfer: Schreiner University 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m. in the second floor lobby of McCreless Call 733-2099. Thursday SAC Transfer: Appointments with Texas State University at San Marcos 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099. SAC Transfer: St. Mary’s University 8:30 a.m.-11 a.m. in the second floor lobby of McCreless and appointments 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 733-2099.
SAC Transfer: Appointments with Texas State at San Marcos 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the transfer center. Call 7332099.
SAC Concert: Choral concert sponsored by the music department at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of McAllister. Call 486-0255. February 28 Event: “Hotel For Dogs Event” by Regal Cinemas Alamo Quarry from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Regal Cinemas Alamo Quarry, 255 E. Basse. Call 804-1115.
Feb. 17 Speaker: “Just Suppose: Jerry Uelsmann and Maggie Taylor” by photographers Uelsmann and Taylor at 7 p.m. in the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall of Trinity Univerisity. Call 999-8406. Feb. 18
Feb. 7 Exhibit: “Genome: The Secret of How Life Works” at the Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway. Continues through May 25. Call 357-1900.
SAC Lecture: “Tales From the Field” by Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of McAllister. Call 733-2482.
SAC Transfer: Schreiner University 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m. in the second floor lobby in McCreless. Call 733-2099.
Calendar Legend SAC: San Antonio College NVC: Northwest Vista College SPC: St. Philip’s College PAC: Palo Alto College NLC: Northeast Lakeview College SWC: South West Campus For coverage in Upcoming, call 486-1773 or e-mail to sac-ranger@mail.accd.edu two weeks in advance.
The Ranger • www.theranger.org
Jan. 30, 2009 •11
Melissa Toscano Lazcano
Hip-Hop Youth Summit hits themes of education, reputation By Melissa Toscano Lazcano Education and reputation were themes strongly emphasized during this year’s Hip-Hop Youth Summit. As part of the Martin Luther King Commemoration, St. Philip’s College hosted the fourth annual Summit Jan. 17 with workshops and entertainment geared toward the city’s youth. The BEAT AIDS Coalition Trust provided free HIV testing to registered participants. San Antonio Fighting Back and the Eastside Boys and Girls Club sponsored a poster-making event, part of the anti-drug youth activities, to showcase the march theme and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. One of the panel discussions, “Today’s Boys, Tomorrow’s Leaders,” intended for young men from 8 to 18, was presented by John Martin, director of student life at St. Philip’s College, in the Heritage Room. “Reputation is what people go by,” Martin said, explaining the importance of making good decisions. Surcie Thompson, vice chair of
the board of the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, also spoke during the panel to stress the importance of pursuing an education rather than jail time. “Discrimination is not about skin color, is about education,” Thompson said. He asked the audience to raise a hand if they knew about community issues, such as drugs and crime. “Then everybody here is very intelligent,” he said. Two other sessions were conducted simultaneously. Jametra Johnson, a junior at Rick Hawkins High School, is already taking the right steps toward her career as a pediatrician by participating in the St. Philip’s dual-credit program. “I thought the ladies panel was very interactive,” she said, referring to the health and beauty discussion in the “Today’s Girls, Tomorrow’s Women” panel in Watson Fine Arts auditorium. Bobby Herring, a rapper who goes by Tre 9, presented “Business of Hip Hop and Entrepreneurship.”
Raquel Bonds of Primelending, Charlinda Nance of Eyetex Vision Centers, San Antonio Silver Stars forward Morenike Atunrase and Kim Roxie of Lamik Beauty Store discuss “Today’s Girls, Tomorrow’s Women” at the Hip-Hop Youth Summit Jan. 17 in Watson at St. Philip’s College as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration.
Associate director of student life on administrative leave First reported no longer working for district, student life director confirms leave status. By Brianna Roberts Gil Castillo, the associate director of student life, is on administrative leave. Student Life Director Jorge Posadas at first said
Castillo no longer worked for the district but later Wednesday confirmed that Castillo was on administrative leave. Castillo, reached by telephone, said he was on administrative leave from the college, but he was still employed. President Robert Zeigler declined to comment, citing privacy in personnel issues but said that a staff member could be placed on administrative leave for a variety of reasons, not necessarily all punitive.
No one would say what prompted the move, how long the leave would last or what condition would end the leave. According to the Association of Texas Professional Educators Web site, administrative leave is “a general term for the temporary removal from a job assignment.” The employee continues to receive both pay and benefits while on leave and the duration of a leave can be as short as a day and as long as needed depending on the situation, the Web site
said. Most often, a staff member is placed on administrative leave when there is an allegation against them but employees can also be placed on administrative leave for other reasons unrelated to the school.
Gil Castillo
12 •Jan. 30, 2009
The Ranger • www.theranger.org
Training seminar highlights incentives, motivations in drug treatment By Laura V. Garcia Good behavior warrants rewards, and incentives provide motivation. At least, the National Institute on Drug Abuse is counting on it. Substance-abusing clients have shown to benefit from this strategy, also known as contingency management. Behavioral therapy tactics are used everywhere
Volume hinders phone switch By Vanessa M. Sanchez A new phone system, Voice Over Internet Protocol, also known as VoIP, is being installed on campus, a process that should be complete in February, Usha Venkat, director of technology and communications at this college, said. Venkat said the majority of phones were supposed to be installed last week; however, the college is still working on replacing phones in the visual arts and technology center, Koehler Cultural Center, music hall, Nail Technical Center and the law enforcement training center. Because of renovation projects around campus, some buildings take longer than others, she said. “The major phones will be put in by January, and the system should finish by February,” Venkat said. Les Germer, coordinator of college technology, said with thousands of numbers to change, it takes weeks, possibly months to finish the project. Germer said hindering the process is the lack of access to rooms at certain times. At present, the VoIP online directory is the best way to look up new numbers. For numbers that have yet to be changed, a vacant spot will show, telling viewers to check the older directories. These new phones are enabled with options to set ring tones, dial by name, dial by initials and more. For those who may seem confused on the ins and outs of the phones, tutorials are available online, which include how to answer and make phone calls, answer another person’s phone and how to use each button. For more information and to find the tutorials, visit http://www.accd.edu/it/support/voiptutorials.html.
from the workplace to mental health institutions. Research shows that motivational incentive programs using low-cost reinforcement in conjunction with on-site urine screening promotes higher rates of treatment retention and abstinence from drug abuse. Human services, a program within the psychology department, will sponsor a behavioral therapy training at 8 a.m. Feb. 6. The four-hour training called Promoting Awareness of Motivational Incentives will be in
Room 120 of the visual arts center and is being offered to students free of charge. Students studying chemical dependency counseling are not the only students to benefit from this training. “A lot of us have family members that are affected by this,” program coordinator Kathyrn Miller said. “It’s not rare.” The training is provided by the Gulf Coast Addiction Technology Transfer Center.
They work along with educational institutions, such as the University of Texas at Austin’s department of social work, to promote effective strategies and share practical knowledge with counselors. Professor Edwin R. Bergen said any student dealing with people of all ages in their career, especially those in child development courses, may be interested in attending. There are only 40 spots available, and a light breakfast will be provided. To register, call 733-2605.
Board devises free tuition plan to encourage return to college By Martin Herrera Trustees approved a plan Jan. 22 to offer free tuition to individuals with at least 45 college credits and who have been out of school for at least two years. Former students taking advantage of the Return to College program will have to maintain a minimum number of credit hours each semester and complete their course of study in a degree program within two years. During discussion of the item in the board’s Audit, Budget and Finance Committee before the regular meeting, Chancellor Bruce Leslie characterized the program as an incentive for people who have made a past effort in getting an education to finally get their degree. In light of today’s troubled economy, Leslie said, people might find it advantageous in the job market if they can complete a degree program. Trustees voiced concern about the appearance of being unfair to students who regularly attend classes now and pay full tuition and fees. In response, James McLaughlin, vice chancellor for finance and administration, pointed out the board would receive a report after three years and could discontinue the program if they felt the need had been met. McLaughlin stated that according to the district’s records, there are 2,755 students who have completed 45 credit hours and 3,860 students who have completed 35 hours; neither of the groups obtained a degree. Citing his experience with similar programs in other districts he has worked for, he said approximately 50 percent of the students returned who
had dropped out previously. After the fourth year of the program, he said, the program was no longer effective as the need had been met. Students would also have to apply for financial aid to cover some of the costs, he said. Looking for reassurances, District 6 trustee Gene Sprague asked if there would be an incentive for students to complete their program, such as repayment of tuition if they did not. Leslie and McLaughlin expressed concern with difficulty in making those collections, especially if the student is struggling financially. Sprague then asked if students could pay the tuition up front and be reimbursed upon completion of the program. The financial incentive, Leslie responded, would then be lost. Leslie said students who fail to adhere to the program’s eligibility requirements, such as the minimum number of credit hours per semester, would lose the ability to take advantage of the offer. They could continue taking classes, but they would then incur the full tuition and fees. This, he said, ought to be enough of an incentive for any student serious about completing an education. However, Sprague expressed doubts in a phone interview Thursday that free tuition would be enough to entice some students to return. “I don’t think the finances have been the main reason for people dropping out,” he said. “From the data they showed us, I would look at this as a time constraint issue due to families, jobs and other things that there just wasn’t time for school.” “Sometimes it might be money,” he continued, “but I think it was because they could not afford
to take time away from work.” Supportive of the program and eager to clarify the perception he was looking to penalize students who might not complete the program, Sprague said, “What I want to see is incentives. There’s a big difference between penalties and incentives.” “Someone has to feel there’s some built-in incentives in that program to help motivate them to invest seriously in coming back to school … We don’t want someone coming back who is not going to be serious about it,” he said. District 2 trustee Denver McClendon cautioned committee members against placing too many barriers that will defeat the purpose of the program, which he described as “to recapture lost souls.” Addressing a question about the program’s financial impact to the district, McLaughlin pointed out the obvious loss in tuition revenue but anticipated any extra costs incurred for adding extra sessions would be reimbursed by the state. Again responding to the perception that the program is unfair to current students, Sprague said, “I can certainly understand their feelings. This is a very short-term program. I don’t see it, on that basis, as terribly unfair to people who are in school at the present time.” “We would love to see people get back to school and finish their degree. To me, that would be the best thing ever,” Sprague concluded. The chancellor will present final details of the program to the board for consideration in February with an anticipated start for the Flex 2 session.
The Ranger • www.theranger.org
Pulse
Jan. 30, 2009 • 13
Men’s basketball kicks off semester in winning form Women’s team struggles to score in season opener. By James Bosquez The Rangers won their first road game of the semester by defeating the Tigers of St. Philip’s College 76-59 Wednesday to start the semester 2-0. Education freshman Mark Green’s 21 points led The Rangers scoring. Green hit four consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half of play, which quickly separated the halftime score of 31-31. Business freshman Dermon Smith put the cap on the Rangers’ second-half run with a huge slam over two Tiger defenders that brought the crowd of 100 spectators to their feet and energized the Ranger bench. Smith, the Rangers’ verbal leader on the floor, hit the free throw after being fouled on his dunk, and the Rangers never looked back as the Tigers played in a daze the remainder of the game. Finance freshman Arthur “A.J.” Govan contributed 18 points, and his cool hand at the free-throw line stopped any threat of a Tiger run as he converted six of seven free throws down the stretch. The game had started quickly as Green converted a 3-point play off the opening tip, but the game immediately screeched to a halt as the Tigers inexplicably passed the ball around the top of the arc for nearly three minutes on their first possession. The Rangers held their defensive positions until the Tigers finally took
Jennifer Davison calls for a pass from teammate Monica Papara against Southwest Texas Junior College Jan. 21. their first shot 2:40 into the game. The Tigers didn’t make a bucket until 13:03 remained in the half, at which point the Rangers led 12-3. The Rangers seemed ready to cruise to another comfortable lead when the Tigers came alive and began a streak of offensive rebounding and put backs that had the teams tied going into the locker room at the half. Coach Aaron Tavitas stressed to his team at halftime to box out and hold the Tigers to just one possession to push the score back out. The Rangers banged the boards in the second half and were able to play subs late in the game after Green and Smith’s heroics.
This is Tavitas’ second semester, and he is getting the team to respond to his hard-nosed brand of coaching. “I tell them every day that there are three keys we need to focus on: take care of the ball, keep them to one shot and out, and hit our free throws down the stretch,” Tavitas said. The Rangers’ first win of the semester came by defeating the Cowboys of Southwest Texas Junior College 78-61 Jan. 21 in Gym 2 of Candler Physical Education Center. The Rangers were led in scoring by Smith with 19 points, including three shots from beyond the arc. Govan contributed 18 and forensic science freshman Johnny Taylor anchored the low-post with 12 points coming from the paint. The Rangers jumped out early and led at halftime by a score of 53-25 and coasted most of the second half. The Cowboys went on a late run but were too far behind to ever present a real threat. The imposing Curtis Dilworth led the Cowboys in scoring, but the Rangers defense kept him frustrated, holding him to 19 hard-earned points. Tavitas was pleased with the win but frustrated with his team’s play in the second half after turnovers and helter-skelter play gave the Cowboys an opportunity to put up some points. “If we don’t have to push the ball, then we don’t,” Tavitas said during a time-out after the Rangers committed another turnover.
Photos by Melissa Toscano Lazcano
A.J. Govan drives to the hoop against Southwest Texas Junior College in Gym 2 of Candler Jan. 21. The Rangers’ second unit maintained the lead, but Tavitas sees room for improvement from his relief men. “This isn’t the YMCA; not everyone gets to play. If you’re going to screw up, you better screw up with all your might,” Tavitas said in his post-game talk with his team. This kind of expected accountability has the Rangers playing more as a unit, and Tavitas believes it will give them a sense of pride in how they play their game. “This team needs an identity and a feeling of tradition. That starts with winning,” Tavitas said. The SAC women’s team fell victim to the Cowgirls of Southwest Texas in a 28-63 one-sided loss. The Cowgirls used their depth and speed to
run out to a 12-27 halftime lead. In the second half, the Cowgirls pushed the game out of reach by forcing turnovers and scoring with sharp threepoint shooting. Jennifer Davison led the SAC women’s team in scoring with 17 points Coach William Dykes attributed the loss to players being unfamiliar with one another and believes they will improve with more practice. “I expect a lot in their development. This is a mature group,” Dykes said. The women’s team is working on incorporating new players into the system. “You all look like you want to learn,” Dykes said to his team after the loss. Depth is also an issue for the women’s team. They had only eight players dressed for the game and had to go against a full roster of 12.
Opinion
14 • Jan. 30, 2009
Editorials
www.theranger.org • The Ranger Edgar Puente
Free tuition rewards lack of academic progress As part of the plan, students in the Return to College program are required to finish their studies and earn an associate degree within two years, and are required to map out an education plan with a counselor. What happens if they don’t finish within the allotted time? Who foots the bill of all that lost money? Students in the program are expected to apply for financial aid to help the district bear the burden, and the district expects the state could reimburse up to $1 million for the extra class hours generated in a couple years. Considering the current state of our nation’s economy, the district should not assume any money to mysteriously appear in any number of years. Instead, the district should focus on making money the traditional way – from students who pay for their education, whether it is their own money, loans or financial aid. The district should focus on tangible money coming in to the coffers, rather than money promised in the future. Many middle-income families make enough money to disqualify a student for financial aid, but still not enough to comfortably afford higher education. Are these students expected to suffer without even having a chance to succeed at college?
Put in what you want back from education The beginning of a semester brings new students to the college experience. For some, it is merely a continuation of their educational career from high school or another institution while others might be returning after a period of many months or even years. Whichever scenario the student may be coming from, success in higher education is obtainable if the student takes personal responsibility for it. The adage “you get out of something exactly what you put in,” certainly applies here. To get something out of it, a student must put in time, effort and, unfortunately, money. Outside of tuition and fees, textbooks are the largest expense a student will incur, but without them, students put themselves at a disad-
vantage right from the start. No matter what the state of the economy may be at any particular point in time, students can always use relief on the price of books. Any means to provide that relief on the part of the district or in the free market will always be appreciated. Regardless of the cost, however, students need to make that investment. No matter how a student meets the monetary commitment to education, success will always come down to personal motivation and commitment. Regular attendance, completing assignments and active participation in classroom discussions are essential to the learning experience. Books, pens and paper in a fashionable backpack are nothing more than a burden on the wallet, and maybe a shoulder, if never used.
Flawed smoking policy unenforceable A fundamental principle on which this country is founded is to protect the rights of the individual as long as those rights do not infringe on the rights of others. When policies are enacted to prohibit a behavior that enjoys support from a sizable part of the population, it can be difficult to enforce and “criminalizes” a segment of society.
The right to health is the issue addressed by smoking policies and the district was correct as an organization to err on the side of nonsmokers. However, the policy fails to recognize the freewill of the smoking population by not providing an acceptable compromise: designated smoking areas. The college should enforce the rules or provide places to smoke.
Correction
In an online article posted Oct. 21 and subsequent print article published Oct. 24, The Ranger listed the incorrect date of death for Frederic A. Weiss, a radiotelevision-film professor at this college. Weiss passed away on Oct. 18.
RANGER THE
The Alamo Community College District approved a new initiative called Return to College that will grant free tuition to former college students who have not attended college in two years but previously earned 45 hours or more from any college. The goal of the initiative is to increase graduation rates throughout the district as well as to give serious students who were close to completing a two-year degree a chance to finish, regardless of their initial reasons for quitting. Institutional research coordinator Sonia V. Valdez said of the 955 graduates in fall 2006, just over 20 percent had transferred to a fouryear institution by the next fall. While this is an admirable undertaking that could potentially enable thousands of people to earn a twoyear degree that was otherwise out of their grasp, what about the rest of us who don’t qualify for the program? Just because a student has been taking classes consistently, should he or she be required to pay hundreds more than the person in the next seat just because of diligence or a luckier lot in life? What about the student who has been out for two or more years, but earned fewer credits than the required 45? Furthermore, how will this affect tuition rates for those who pay to attend college?
Staff
Editor Martin Herrera Managing Editor Trey Randolph Opinion Editor Brianna Roberts Photographers Tyler Cleveland Melissa Toscano Lazcano Photo Team Destiny Mata Illustrator Fred Nockroes Edgar Puente Production Manager James Bosquez Production Team Regis L. Roberts Chris Castillo Staff Writers José Castillo, Henry A. Chavarria, Michelle Franco, Laura Garcia, Giselle Guadron, Jason B. Hogan, Rennie Murrell, Jeff Reese, Vanessa M. Sanchez, Lea Thompson, Jade Villarreal, Dani Williams Web Administrator Charles Cima Circulation Eddie San Miguel The Ranger, the student newspaper at San Antonio College, is a laboratory project of the journalism classes in the Department of Journalism-Photography, published Fridays except during summer, holidays and examinations. News contributions accepted by telephone (486-1773), by fax (733-2868), by e-mail (sac-ranger@mail.accd.edu) or at the editorial office (Room 212 Loftin Student Center). Advertising rates available upon request (486-1765). The Ranger is available online at http:// www.theranger.org. The Ranger is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the Associated
Collegiate Press, the Texas Community College Journalism Association and the Associated Press. ©2009 by The Ranger staff, San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio, TX 78212-4299. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission. 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 double-spaced, typewritten pages. Letters will be edited for spelling, style, grammar, libel and length. Editors reserve the right to deny publication of any letter. Letters should be mailed to The Ranger, Department of Journalism-Photography, San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio TX 78212-4299. Letters also may be brought to the newspaper office in Room 212 of Loftin Student Center, e-mailed to sac-ranger@mail.accd. edu or faxed to 733-2868. Letters must be signed and must include the writer’s printed name, classification, major, Social Security number and telephone number. For more information, call 486-1773. Single Copy Policy: Because of high production costs, members of the Alamo Community College District community are permitted one free copy per issue. Where available, additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting The Ranger business office. Newspaper theft is a crime. Those who violate the single copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and subject to college discipline.
Op-Ed
The Ranger • www.theranger.org
Jan. 30, 2009 • 15
Vehicle theft becomes tragedy of errors, injustices With the cold night air on my face, I paced back and forth, racking my brain trying to remember exactly where I parked. I was certain this was the spot but … no car! Just to be sure, I walked down one end of the block to the other where there is a parking lot I sometimes use. Still nothing. I fetched my cell phone from my pocket and dialed the non-emergency line for the San Antonio Police Department. A woman’s voice Viewpoint by calmly answered on the other end. Martin Herrera I explained to the woman that my car was missing. Her voice seemed to take on a compassionate tone as she then asked for my license plate number and vehicle description. Remembering that I had neglected to pay several parking tickets, I asked her to first check if it had been towed. A few clicks of the keyboard could be heard through the phone as she checked. No, it had not been towed. The only logical conclusion to come up with then was that it had been stolen. “Another officer will call you back to file the report,” said the woman. “I’m sorry.” With nothing to do but wait for a call and find another way home, I walked back to work. I’ll figure out my next move from there, I thought. Only a few minutes had passed and my phone began to ring. I answered it. The officer introduced himself and began to ask questions about the vehicle and where I had parked it. He was courteous throughout but was careful not to raise my hopes for a quick recovery. He finished the call by reading off the case number. People at work noticed I had returned and began asking questions. “Oh, no! Are you serious?” was the typical response after I told them what had happened. “How are you going to get home?” For the next several weeks, “How are you going …” was the recurring phrase in my life. All of the things I had to do — work, school, grocery shopping — had to be adjusted to accommodate my sudden lack of transportation. I wondered if the person who stole my car had thought, even just for a moment, of the inconvenience he or she was causing. Probably not. People who steal don’t care about other people as much as they do about themselves. They’re selfish, I thought. Maybe they’re not selfish, I then began to wonder. What if they are sick? By “sick,” I meant addicted. Addicts do things to support a
Forgo Blackboard Vista Editor: Last September, Regis L. Roberts posted a story about the migration of online faculty and classes to Windows Blackboard Vista (the article can be found at: http://media.www.theranger.org/media/ storage/paper1010/news/2008/09/19/Features/ Get-Plugged.In.Online.Instruction.Tools.Should. Make.Life.Easier.Vice.Chancellor-3439818.shtml). I can understand and appreciate the district’s desire to have every professor move to the same system. The idea being easier comprehension, cohesion and a single platform across-the-board would lend simplicity to something that can often be convoluted. I can see how theoretically, this might make it easier for students and teachers to initiate and maintain communication for online classes. The problem is that San Antonio College doesn’t actually have a very good track record of implementing online technology (I’m sorry, it’s true). I’d like to point to the instability that we’ve all experienced with PALS (many of my professors refuse to use PALS for this very reason), and the issues revolving around the student services portion of the ACCD Web site (where one can view grades, add/drop classes, view schedules, etc). We students are often frustrated to find that it’s not available during certain time-frames and constantly being “logged off” the system while simply trying to navigate between links. (This is probably just an administrative problem, but come on — a Web site with hours? Just leave the server turned on overnight!) As it is, there are already at minimum three different log-ins and Web sites that I, as a student, am required to keep track of if I want to get anything done. The system is already convoluted, difficult to use, and certainly not streamlined. We do not need another platform. While I have never taken a class that uses Blackboard, I have heard from others that it is cumbersome and full of bugs, that even after a year on the ground have not been worked out. Professors here use a myriad of ways to communicate with their students with online classes. Bulletin boards are popular (Yahoo!, Google);
habit that they wouldn’t otherwise do. An addict is a slave, a victim in my book. What if the person took my car to support their family? What if they were so desperate they thought they had no other choice? That would be sad, wouldn’t it? Any compassion that would bubble up to the surface would soon dissipate in the frigid December air I found myself in as I made my way around town. Fortunately, a VIA bus route passes two blocks from my house, the very route that would take me to work and school. A few blocks in the other direction, another route heads to the grocery store. During the daytime, VIA was a viable option. But late at night, a taxi was needed to return home from work. It became the routine over the next couple of weeks as every few days, I would call to inquire about the car. Still no word. Then, nearly two weeks later, the word finally came. It was recovered. The officer on the phone gave me a number of an impound lot near Steves and Probandt where it had been taken. Immediately, I dialed the number I was given and was told that it was no longer stored there. It had been taken to the Growdon Vehicle Storage Facility, now known as the United Road Towing Vehicle Storage Facility, just south of Highway 90. I hung up and called that lot. The person on the other end of the phone confirmed that it had been picked up and it was in the lot. They described the condition of the vehicle and ran down the itemized list of charges to remove it. Almost $800 to get it back! Ridiculous! How can it be? After going through the list of charges once again, I began to piece this puzzle together. As it turns out, the vehicle was never stolen. In fact, it had been sitting safely inside a storage yard the entire time. What happened? The city’s parking enforcement impounded the vehicle for unpaid fines. Didn’t I ask about that on Day 1? Now, they want hundreds of dollars in storage fees alone for something I thought was stolen. I couldn’t afford it then though: tuition was due. I would have to find another way. Angered, I made some calls to the city. Parking division told me they had indeed impounded the vehicle. They had to, court’s orders. But why did it take so long to tell me? Why didn’t anybody know on the night I reported it stolen?
Since the new towing contract, I was told there have been some glitches in the system. Apparently, according to the department official I spoke with, communication has been one of those problems. The official suggested I speak with someone in the municipal court system about getting the storage fees waived. A sympathetic hearing official understood my plight and agreed to waive the storage fees. After paying my fines, I walked out of there with a court order in hand to release the vehicle. But things were not that simple. By now, the fees had risen to more than $900. There was no way a towing company employee at the now privately run impound lot was going to hand over the car without first asking questions. Not even a cell-phone conversation directly with Chief William McManus resolved the matter. Did Municipal Court have the authority to waive fees on a contract that was administered by the police department? That was the question no one was willing to definitively answer on a Saturday afternoon. It would have to wait until Monday. Monday came and more calls were made. McManus had his staff research the matter. Several phone calls more with his administrative staff and things began to clear up. The storage fees would be waived. The car has since been removed from the impound lot, fines and fees paid minus the $900-plus for storage. According to the chief’s office, procedures for proper notification were not followed. Somewhere the system failed. They were not directly to blame, but they were sorry. His staff was very helpful, almost eager to make things right. They were taking and making calls long after the normal working hours of city employees. Ultimately, the situation was resolved but not without several weeks of inconvenience and stress. The matter certainly warrants closer scrutiny while known weaknesses in communication still exist. What, if anything, did they learn? While trying to get through the red tape of getting my car back, I thought about others who legitimately had their vehicles stolen and how, if recovered, they would be victimized once again by the storage and towing fees when they went to get their car out. When asked if there was a 24-hour grace period on the storage fees for stolen vehicles, Luisa, an employee who answered the phone at the impound lot on Growdon Road, said no. Vehicles immediately incur towing and storage fees amounting to $165 on the first day, she said. Towing fees I can understand, but storage? Where is the justice in that?
Letters instant-messenger programs with “office hours” lend instant communication capabilities to students and their teachers; even the dusty old listserv still gets some use. The roll-out of Blackboard Vista is in full swing now (with all professors required to migrate to the new system by the spring of 2010), and professors as well as students are experiencing heightened levels of frustration. Not only is the roll-out going poorly (crashing problems, system unavailability, difficulty for both students and staff to login), but one has to question the wisdom of trying to “fix something that’s not broken.” In my online classes, I’ve never had a problem using any of the programs that the professors use to communicate (and in many cases, most were already installed on my computer, anyway). Many of these are systems that we students are familiar with, grew up using and are comfortable with. Students these days are technologically savvy, doing things on the Internet almost instinctively: Twittering, instant-messaging, uploading files (documents, videos and audio) to the Internet without any kind of problem or issue. We also are not having any problems doing our online classes, locating our assignments online, and communicating with our professors even when they don’t use Blackboard Vista. Those that aren’t technologically savvy are going to struggle just as hard with Blackboard as they would with any other platform, so that isn’t a valid reason to change platforms. In addition to that, we are in a situation right now in our district where we are struggling to cover paper costs for printing, we can’t afford tutors anymore, and they are talking about cutting back the pay of our professors who teach over the summer. Yet at the same time, we’re buying an expensive piece of software, hiring techs to implement it, and paying what is probably quite an expensive fee for (what will need to be ongoing) technical support that many students are having to wait on hold for very long periods of time; only to find out their problem’s can’t be solved ... You cannot tell me that this is a good, feasible idea with the financial climate we are in right now. I would ask the administration to stop trying to meddle with the methods of our professors. There is even talk about homogenizing the
curriculum across the district which is bad enough—we choose our college campus based upon not only our choice in studies, but from the words and experiences of friends and family that we trust. That is an arguments for a different day, but I implore the administrations to stop tying the hands of our professors, who are intelligent, educated and experienced. They do not need constant oversight and interference, and you’re only hindering them from doing their jobs. Jennifer Moyes Liberal Arts Sophomore
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Nursing grads great Editor: For some of you who did not know I was hospitalized during the Christmas holidays, I went in Christmas Eve and was discharged New Year’s Eve. The reason that I am writing this little letter is because when I was in the hospital (Northeast Baptist Hospital), there were some wonderful nurses who took care of me, and much to my surprise, 90 percent of the nurses were San Antonio College grads. They were very professional and also had a sense of humor, and as some of you know, when you are down, a little laughter helps you get better. My hat is off to the great nursing department that has taught them how to be great nurses. Thanks, Dr. (Lula) Pelayo (district director of nursing) and also to your great nursing faculty for a job well done. To this year’s graduating class, you have a spe-
cial task in following the great tradition that our SAC nurses are the very best. And to the entering class, study hard and listen to your instructors because a lot of them have been there, and they have the experiences to go along with their expertise. Gil C. Castillo Associate Director Student Life
Ready for change Editor: This years’ election has been a phenomenal one. Every state had record-setting numbers of people registering to vote. The nation witnessed record-breaking numbers of young people heading out to take part in the democratic process to pick the person who will lead our country for the next four years and, hopefully, change it for the better. There were many great things that were unveiled during this election process. One was that the country was ready for a change, and inevitably elected the first minority president into office. The second was that the youth of the nation should never be counted out of any race no matter what previous election data said about young voter turnout. I thought it was great that the young people of our country handled everything so seriously and took the time to cast their votes for an issue that is extremely imperative to the progress of our nation. Young people are often counted out of the equation when it comes to deciding how things are going to be run in our country, but that era is coming to an end. Obama made it his goal to reach out to young people because they are the ones who have the power to change the world and decide how things are going to be shaped for the future. The youth hold the future in their hands, for they will one day control it, and they made their voices heard by casting their votes and choosing the person they wanted to lead them. I am personally ready for change. I am ready for things to move toward that road of transition, and watch the country get shaped back into the melting pot of nations it once was. I am ready for a productive four years. I am ready to be heard. Julianne Cantu President Student Government Association
Jan. 30, 2009 • 16
The Ranger • www.theranger.org
Blaze leaves many residents homeless, bereft Destiny Mata
Fire officials blame overloaded socket for fire, which resulted in $300,000 in damages.
Destiny Mata
By Trey Randolph The fire that ripped through San Pedro Apartments at 502 San Pedro Ave. Tuesday evening destroyed more than the building. Lenette Parker-Carlson and her daughter Michelle Gonzales lost most of their possessions in the fire. Tyler Cleveland Gonzales, 21, said she and her three children, ages 1 through 4, were enjoying a nice evening at home, watching TV and playing. She was writing a letter to her husband, Michael, who was deployed by the Army to Iraq Dec. 13. After her husband’s deployment, Gonzales and her children moved into her mother’s one-bedroom apartment at San Pedro Apartments because she “didn’t want to be alone.” Carlson thought her boyfriend was mistaken when he arrived home and mentioned a peculiar smell. “He came in and he kept saying, ‘I smell something, I smell something,’” Heat melts the paint from a Carlson said. street sign. “Out of nowhere we hear running, and this man bangs on our door screaming for us to get out (because) the apartment was on fire,” Gonzales said. “It was just a blur.” Upon exiting the burning building, Gonzales realized she could not find her oldest son, Xavier, 4. She was going to run back into the apartment to find her son but was grabbed by a man who had seen the boy and had saved him. Immediately after being informed of her son’s safety, Gonzales’ front door burst into flames. “I don’t even know who that man was, but he saved my son’s life, and he saved my life,” Gonzales said. “He was like an angel.” Gonzales said her family just celebrated Xavier’s fourth birthday last week with a superhero party, and all of his presents were destroyed. Because they had been enjoying a quiet evening at home, Gonzales and her children were not dressed for the cold weather. “There (were) a lot of women trying to give me clothes for my
Lenette Parker-Carlson salvages her belongings from the fire at San Pedro Apartments at San Pedro Avenue and Marshall Street. children because all of it blew up in the flames,” Gonzales said. The low temperature for Tuesday night was recorded at 35 degrees. Gonzales said she didn’t have a way to contact her husband and inform him of the fire because she had just received the first letter from him and the address was on the envelope which was destroyed in the blaze. Angela Crandell has lived in Apartment 6 the past year taking care of her elderly uncle. Crandell said she was sick in bed and if her husband had not been there, she and her uncle probably would not have made it out of the building due to his poor health and her illness. James Cordaway lived in Apartment 11, but was at work when the fire occurred. He was informed of the fire by a friend and immediately left work to go to the scene. Gonzales listed many complaints concerning the upkeep of the building, including electrical problems and a leaky roof. Crandell said the landlord, Marcus Zertuche, never fixed anything because tenants “complained too much.” “We wouldn’t have been complaining if he would’ve fixed something,” Crandell said. Cordaway acknowledged the difficulty in “getting his attention” when something needed repair.
Firefighters on Wednesday are still extinguishing the blaze that gutted the two-story San Pedro Apartments Tuesday night. “The only time he did speak with me was to try to get me to move in at another complex of his,” Cordaway said. “But after this, no.” Zertuche told the Ranger Tuesday that all maintenance requests were sent to his maintenance worker and every effort was made to fix any problem. San Antonio Fire Department information engineer Deborah Foster said the cause of the fire was determined to be an overloaded electrical socket and damages were estimated at about $300,000. Cordaway said he was going to be staying with a friend while the Red Cross helped him locate a new apartment. “Everything’s going to (turn out) fine,” he said. Gonzales is less convinced how her future will turn out and said she was worried about how she and her children would survive with no possessions or place to live. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” Gonzales said. “My kids have nothing.” Donations for the Gonzales family can be made by contacting Cassandra Krist at 316-6444.
Student’s band spreads own brand of pop rock
James Bosquez
By James Bosquez Inside the narrow walls of The Warhol, groups of 20-somethings clutch their Lone Stars and huddle together to create the illusion of warmth. Brad Repka is wrestling with a tangle of input cables as his band mates tune up behind him. Repka pauses for a moment and looks at the 45 people in front of him. Another crowd is about to hear The Motion Census for the first time, and Repka fails at hiding the excitement flickering in his eyes. The Motion Census has been playing with its current line-up since last spring and in that time has been spreading their unique brand of pop rock to venues all over Texas. Repka’s distinctive voice and trademark keys are assets in helping the band carve out its own niche in a market that is oft apathetic to original local music. On this night, the attention of the subdued crowd is immediately focused as Repka strikes his keyboard and the first haunting notes of the band’s opener, “Lullaby,” ring out. His startlingly powerful voice reverberates without warning off the red walls of The Warhol. The next 40 minutes displays the band’s range as they navigate through their set, which includes incredibly personal ballads such as “Adelaide” and more traditional pop fair in “Hey You.” The band is fresh off of an in-store album signing at a local Best Buy earlier that day, and the energy of the show reflects the potential for success the band has just tasted. To Repka, English sophomore, just being able to play his music live is a realized dream that he is constantly hoping to improve upon, whether in front of 200 screaming people in Corpus Christi or a smattering of head-bobbing patrons in Austin. “We played a show at Fitzgerald’s in Houston that was your stereotypical bad show; people just sitting at the bar and talking without really paying attention. Then I saw two teenage girls singing every word to ‘Adelaide.’ That’s kind of like someone buying your art,” Repka said. “To see those girls singing that and to know someone is really paying attention means everything,” Repka said. Repka’s lyrics are highly personal and are used as an outlet to confront past relationship hardships and heartbreaks. The heart-on-his-sleeve theme is prevalent throughout many of the band’s songs. Although Repka writes the lyrics, he encourages input from the other members of the band. “We’re always focusing on ways to expand. If it doesn’t
Local rock band The Motion Census led by front man and lead singer Brad Repka performs Jan. 17 at The Warhol. sound good when we’re sober and it doesn’t sound good when we’ve had a six pack, it doesn’t work,” said Repka of the writing process. The band released its first album in January 2008 titled “For Those Who Didn’t … ” from which the majority of their live material comes. The band has gone through several line-up changes since that release, with Repka being the only remaining member of that production. The band currently features Jacob Leal on lead guitar, Eric “Fayce” Smith on rhythm guitar, John Ethridge on bass guitar and David Fodor on drums. The group’s individual influences span the musical spectrum, but Repka attributes Butch Walker, Something Corporate and U2 as having the largest impact on the band’s music. Repka’s vocal talent stirs up comparisons to Ian Astbury of The Cult and Ed Kowalczyk of Live. Although Repka has a background of 16 years in music, his vocal capabilities were discovered by accident only two years ago while he was working
as a bartender. “I sang some karaoke as a joke,” said Repka. After an overwhelmingly positive response from the crowd, Repka realized he had another musical talent to compliment his ability on piano. Having gone into the Army straight out of high school, Repka had never had the opportunity to focus on his passion for music. Growing up outside Corpus Christi in the small town of Calallen, Repka jumped at the opportunity to gain new experiences and get away from home. Four of his eight years in the Army were spent piloting helicopters, and it wasn’t until his discharge that life allowed an opportunity to pursue his musical aspirations. “I just want to write good music. If I can write that one good song that someone remembers 20 years down the road, then I did my job,” Repka said. That kind of enthusiasm manifests itself on stage, as Repka plays up his role as band leader,
coming off the stage when not playing the keyboard and crooning to the clusters of girls shyly hovering in the front row. As he retreats to his comfort zone behind the keyboard and prepares to unfurl his soul with lyrics like “I really said I loved you once or twice,” it’s apparent on Repka’s face that The Motion Census has just begun to make their mark on the Texas music scene. “Our music will take you back to first loves and school buses,” proclaims Repka. “It appeals to everyone from little sister to grandma.” The Motion Census will be playing at Jack’s Patio Bar Feb. 6, headlining a four-band bill. Jack’s Patio Bar is located at 2950 Thousand Oaks. The show begins at 9 p.m. “For Those Who Didn’t … ” is available online in digital format and can be purchased directly from the band’s Web page at http://www.myspace. com/themotioncensus. Hard copies are also available at http://cdbaby.com.