Spring 2013 - Issue 4

A N AT I O N A L PA C E M A K E R AWA R D N E W S PA P E R

Volume 56, Issue 4

theswcsun.com

January 14 - March 4, 2013

Stewart resigns from governing board

By Thomas Baker News Editor

Kristina Saunders/staff

LAST STRAW — William Stewart (second from left) shows frustration during a presentation by Vice President of Human Resources Albert Roman on personnel reductions and criteria for program cuts. Stewart shocked the campus community by resigning in protest two days later.

Governing board rules out layoffs of college faculty

By Nickolas Furr and Enrique Raymundo Staff Writers

Following a tense four-and-a-half hour closed session, the Southwestern College Governing Board announced it would not send March 15 layoff notices to the college faculty. This elicited subdued reactions of relief from the faculty present at 11 p.m. and anger from Bruce MacNintch, the head of SWC’s classified employee union.

The decision to not send the notices came just 11 days before the district’s March 15 deadline required by the state to lay off faculty.

Board President Humberto Peraza read a statement into the record explaining why the board had chosen to remain in negotiations with the faculty union – the Southwestern College Educators’ Association (SCEA) – instead of initiating layoffs to help solve the campus budget crisis.

“The damage layoffs would cause the community would far outweigh any assistance it w ould provid e MacNintch to balancing the budget,” Peraza said.

MacNintch, president of the SWC chapter of the California State Employees’ Association (CSEA), reacted angrily to the decision.

“We negotiated, being told layoffs would occur if we didn’t agree to this deal, and now they won’t happen anyway,” MacNintch said.

CSEA had accepted a 5 percent pay cut under the threat of district layoffs.

SWC administration has been locked in budget negotiations with the three main constituency groups – SCEA, CSEA and the Southwestern Community College District Administrators’ Association (SCCDAA) – for several months. At the February board meeting Albert Roman, SWC’s vice president of human resources, outlined the process by which layoffs could take place.

Though the SCEA accepted a 5 percent please see Layoffs pg. A3

Citing frustration over college administration’s threats of layoffs and his inability to get accurate budget figures, Southwestern College Governing Board Member William Stewart resigned on March 1, only four months after he was elected. His resignation sent a shockwave through the campus community. Board members, administrators, faculty and classified employees expressed disbelief, disappointment, confusion and anger in the sudden and unexpected decision by the board’s newest member.

Stewart informed The Sun that he was resigning out of frustration with district administrators, whom he said were not providing complete and accurate information to board members or union negotiators.

“ Without information, all the information (his emphasis), oversight is a sham,” he wrote in his letter of resignation.

Stewart said he believes Southwestern College has a history of governing boards making important decisions without doing their due diligence. The results, he said, were catastrophic.

“They didn’t do careful examination of the finances and the financial records and we’ve seen where that’s taken Southwestern before,” he said.

Stewart compared the current state of district negotiations and fiscal management to the Titanic. In his letter he referenced Titanic Captain Edward Smith, who went down with the doomed ocean liner in 1912. please see Resignation pg. A4

CSEA and SCCDAA accept salary reduction deals Faculty rejects notion that it ‘owns’ part of college’s deficit, contract talks to continue

By Thomas Baker News Editor

Most Southwestern College employees and board members acknowledge that the district has budgetary challenges. Getting them to agree on what that number is has been a problem.

SWC administrators warn of a $6.8 million deficit in Fiscal Year 13-14.

They are insisting that salary reductions and layoffs may be necessary. Recently though, that figure has ben whittled down to about $5 million by some senior administrators.

With ongoing savings from a 10 percent cut to supply budgets along with $792,770 in new money from the state, the projected deficit for next year is around $5 million, according to documents from Vice President of Business and Financial Affairs Steve Crow.

Classified union and management meet and confer representatives generally agree with the figures. Faculty union leaders soundly reject them.

Last May, all bargaining units on campus agreed to a one-year, five percent salary cut in order to temporarily solve what administrators call a “structural deficit.” please see Budget pg. A4

Ernesto Rivera/staff

Judge change delays arraignment hearing Academic

By Nickolas Furr and Lina Chankar Staff Writers

Following nearly six weeks of delays, Superior Court Judge Ana España pushed back the arraignment hearing of former Southwestern College administrators a third time, to April 12. España said she wanted to review the material and “understand what the issues are.” There are 60,000 different documents involved, according to San Diego County District Attorney estimates.

Arraignments were originally scheduled to begin Jan. 7 at the San Diego Central Courthouse. Judge Timothy Walsh pushed back the date of arraignments until Jan. 30 and moved the location of the court to the South County Courthouse in Chula Vista. Judge Stephanie Sontag was to preside. The District Attorney’s office filed a motion to move the case

back to San Diego, but last week Walsh ordered it to remain in South County, citing the fact that since most defendants and the school districts were from this part of the county, the case should remain in Chula Vista.

On Feb. 15, Sontag assigned the case to España.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis began issuing indictments in the South Bay Corruption Case in December 2010. Dumanis called it the largest corruption case of its kind in San Diego County history. So far the D.A.’s office has filed 232 criminal charges against 15 elected officials, school administrators and school contractors in three different school districts. There have been complaints about the size of the courtroom, which seats about 30 people. After defendants and members of the press are allowed inside, there are only seats

D

for five or six members of the public.

With the trial in Chula Vista, many members of the public who queue up outside the courtroom expressed concern that they might never be able to attend the trial.

Raj K. Chopra, former Southwestern College superintendent, and former SWC trustees Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominguez, join four others with SWC connections – Nicholas Alioto, former vice president of business and finance; John Wilson, former facilities director; Greg Sandoval, former interim superintendent; and Arlie Ricasa, current EOPS director.

Chopra, Salcido, Dominguez, Alioto and Wilson have all been charged with crimes for actions related to SWC. Sandoval and Ricasa have been charged with crimes for actions related to Sweetwater Union High please see Arraignment pg. A2

ue to funding cutbacks in recent years, Southwestern College has reduced funding to academic programs, including the printing budget of the Southwestern College Sun. Printing of this issue was paid for by contributions by faculty, employees and members of the community. We thank you! Journalism students hope to print at least two more times this semester. Please send contributions to: Journalism Trust Fund, c/o Eileen Zwierski, School of Arts and Communication, Southwestern College, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910.

You may also go onto theswcsun.com/donate.

Amanda L. Abad Editor-in-Chief

Senate votes for shorter semesters

By Jaime Pronoble and Melissa Burciaga Staff Writers

Southwestern College’s budget may not be the only thing on campus that is shrinking.

Students may soon enjoy shorter semesters, too.

SWC’s Academic Senate voted 28-1 to support the compressed calendar system, which would mean shorter semesters from 18 weeks to 16 without cutting any time from classes.

Dr. Mink Stavenga, dean of instructional support services, said nearly half of the state’s 112 community colleges are still on the 18-week calendar and there is much debate about whether or not the compressed calendar would be beneficial for all students.

Stavenga said aside from having a shorter semester, almost all classes could meet twice a week, as opposed to three, and class sessions would increase from 50 minutes to 80 minutes.

“More learning takes place in 80 minute please see Calendar pg. A2

A2

Yolanda Salcido Former SWC Governing Board Member

13 counts, including accepting a bribe by member of legislature, perjury, wrongful influence and conflict of interests.

Arraignment: More than 230 corruption counts await defendants Continued from Page A1

School District. Ricasa is a Sweetwater trustee. Sandoval is a former trustee, but is now an administrator at Moreno Valley Community College.

Sweetwater trustees Jim Cartmill and Bertha Lopez join previous SUHSD defendants Pearl Quinones, Jesus Gandara, Ricasa and Sandoval.

Indictments now include all five members of the 2006-2010 SUHSD governing board, along with former superintendent Gandara.

San Ysidro district superintendent

Thomas Baker, editor

news

Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013—Vol. 56, Iss. 4

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: news@theswcsun.com

John Wilson

Nicholas Alioto

Arlie Ricasa

Former SWC Director of Business and Operations

Former SWC Vice President of Business and Financial Affairs

SWC Director of EOPS/ Sweetwater HSD Trustee

12 counts, including conspiracy to commit a crime, conspiracy to defraud, receiving a bribe, perjury and wrongful influence.

34 counts, including extortion, conspiracy to commit a crime, accepting a bribe by member of legislature, receiving a bribe and perjury.

16 counts, including conspiracy to commit a crime, conspiracy to defraud, receiving a bribe and filing a false instrument.

Manuel Paul was also charged, along with San Ysidro trustee Yolanda Hernandez. She failed to appear on Jan. 7, but has since been arraigned.

The 14th and 15th persons included in this round of indictments are Jeff Flores, president of Seville Construction Services, and financier Ga r y C a b e l l o. Fl o re s h a s b e e n involved with several projects on the SWC campus and he is the former employer of Henry Amigable, who has already pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanors from the first round of indictments. Cabello helped to finance municipal school bonds and calculate the interest and impact on district taxpayers.

C h a r g e s f i l e d by t h e d i s t r i c t attorney’s office came from San Diego County grand jury findings.

Raj K. Chopra Former SWC Superintendent

13 counts, including perjury, receiving a bribe and conflict of interest.

Following motions by the defendants’ lawyers, those findings are currently sealed. But the charges are public information. They include multiple counts of extortion, accepting bribes, accepting bribes from members of the legislature, perjury, conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to commit a crime. Alioto, Wilson and Ricasa all had further charges leveled against them.

Chopra was one of four of the 15 defendants not to appear in court. He also did not appear on Jan. 7 or Jan. 30. His attorneys said he was suffering from “ill health” and “depression.”

This time, attorney Mike Attanasio claimed that a 977 waiver had been filed on Chopra’s behalf so he would not have to be present. No reason was offered. The court accepted the waiver.

Paul was also absent on a 977 waiver.

Alioto and Gandara both flew back to California for Jan. 30 arraignments from Wisconsin and Texas, respectively.

Given the issues with the courthouse location, Sontag allowed attorneys for both men to advise them that their clients did not have to appear last week. Neither appeared. Alioto also failed to appear on Jan. 7.

Following her review of the documents, España said she plans to hear motions on April 12 to keep the findings of the grand jury sealed. She will also hear motions to demur and dismiss the case on the grounds that there is no legal basis to bring the case to trial. Dominguez is one of four who are seeking demurrer, according to attorney Vikas Bajaj. It is still unknown whether arraignments will actually continue on that day.

Last week defense attorneys requested the rights to file 977 waivers to allow their clients to skip the April court appearance. España said she “would have no objection to that.”

España was involved with a Sweetwater case in May 2010. She denied a request for an order of protection to make Stewart Payne, a district parent, stay at least 100 feet away from trustee John McCann, following a parkinglot incident after a board meeting.

The district attorney’s office has not charged McCann with any corruption charges, and he remains the only current unindicted member of the Sweetwater board.

At this time, Alioto, Salcido and Cabello are receiving taxpayer-funded legal assistance from court appointed public defenders.

Dean proposes parcel tax to fund academics

By Thomas Baker News Editor

Benjamin Franklin once said there are two certain things in life: death and taxes.

Southwestern College dean Dr. Joel Levine said residents of the district may not have much say over the former, but should reconsider the latter.

Levine has proposed that SWC consider called a parcel tax that residents would approve via the ballot to fund higher education. Unlike traditional bond measures that may only be used on construction, Levine said a parcel tax could be used for a variety of college needs, including instruction, which has suffered severe cuts for nearly a decade.

California Senate Constitutional Amendment Five (SCA 5) introduced by State Senator Joe Simitian would lower the amount of votes needed to pass a parcel tax from a super majority of 66.7 percent to 55 percent. This would overturn a portion of Proposition 13, a 1978 property tax reform initiative, which requires any special local tax to by 66.7 percent. In order for the state constitutional amendment to pass both chambers of the legislature must agree. on the change with a super majority of 66.7 percent.

State Senators Mark Leno, Jerry Hill and Fran Pavley introduced SCA 3, which is similar to the Simitian proposal.

Advocates of a parcel tax argue that voters who approved Proposition 30 in the 2012 general election, may be willing

to support a measure to alleviate fiscal problems at local community college and K-12 districts. Opponents say it is fiscally irresponsible to go back to the voters for more money and that SWC should make due with what it has.

Levine, dean of the School Languages and Literature, disagrees. He said many districts have turned to parcel taxes since 2006. In the general election last fall, 25 parcel taxes were on the ballot in California. Of those, 16 were approved by voters, he said, including the state’s largest community college.

“We had a phone conference with Peter Goldstein, the vice chancellor of finance at City College of San Francisco, and we spoke to him for about 20 or so minutes,” said Levine. “It occurred to us, if we were doing some research, to go to the horse’s mouth and ask someone who has already tried it and get some lessons from him.”

Humberto Peraza, SWC governing board president, said he would like more information on the process.

“It is an interesting idea and I think we want to give all ideas due consideration,” he said. “ I would certainly give Levine’s idea (consideration), but would like to look at the details of what is being worked on.”

Academic Senate President Randy Beach said the college needs the extra revenue, but he does not know how the community would react to another tax on the ballot.

He said there is a growing feeling on campus that the idea of a parcel tax should

at least be looked at.

“There is no right time to ask people to pay more money,” said Beach. “There doesn’t exist a right time for that. Before we start asking people to give us more money, we should make very sure that we are running an efficient ship.”

Faculty union president Eric Maag said the SCEA would be supportive of a parcel tax and does not believe that the administration would be against one.

Lillian Leopold, chief public information officer, said the district has not discussed going out and creating a campaign to support a parcel tax.

Levine said the only way a parcel tax would make it to the ballot is if all constituency groups on campus support the idea.

“It might take work, it might be extremely complex, but who said something that is extremely valuable should be easy?” he said.

A parcel tax could be used to restore funding to academic programs, Levine said, some of which have been cut by 75 percent since 2002. Operational budgets have been starved for years, he said, and that is diminishing the quality of many programs that require supplies, technology or outside services. He referenced Einstein’s famous statement, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

“Let’s give a parcel tax serious look,” Levine said. “It might be the answer we need.”

Calendar: Compressed calendar would create 16-week semesters Continued from Page A1

blocks rather than 50 minutes,” he said.

Stavenga said it would also be beneficial for students who have difficulty with the English language.

Another added benefit would be more flexibility for working students. They would be able to have the same amount of class time and potentially be available for more hours at work.

Despite the benefits mentioned for the compressed calendar, Academic Senate President Randy Beach said contention remains, particularly from science professors with concerns about laboratory times.

“If you are going to make each of those class times a little longer, then that is eventually going to take away opportunities to have classes,” said Beach. “The classes would have to be there longer, so instead of scheduling eight labs a day, you could only schedule six.”

Beach said not all SWC faculty agree that students would succeed better if they were taking the same amount of information and activity in a shorter week.

During a forum that explored the potential pros and cons of the 16-week calendar a great majority spoke in favor of

Dalia Ildefonso/staff

THE GREAT DEBATE — Steven Detsch and Barry Horlor (l-r) spoke at a debate held by the Academic Senate on the compressed calendar. Senators voted 28 to 1 to support a change to the 16-week compressed calendar.

the compressed calendar.

Professor of History Barry Horlor spoke in favor of the 16-week calendar and said it would mean more time for office hours and teacher preparation.

Staff Development Coordinator Dr. Diana Kelly said she researched colleges with similar socioeconomic conditions as SWC and found that all levels of math were more positive with a longer calendar schedule.

Hari Buenfil, 25, an anthropology major, said she is in favor of the school switching to a compressed calendar system.

“I think this is the correct choice because the semester is way too long and the fact that

it is long allows students to be idle because they know they have some time to catch up with their schoolwork,” said Buenfil. “This change will better prepare students because this will not let students slack off. This change will prepare students so that they can be successful at a university.”

Buenfil said she does not believe there will be any negative consequences if the change is made because it is not a significant amount of time that is being removed from the semester.

SWC’s Calendar Committee is the next stop for the proposal, then the powerful Shared Consultation Council.

NEWS

The Southwestern College Sun

Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013—Vol. 56, Iss. 4

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VP says scheduling classes ‘an art and a science’ Summer

By David McVicker Photo Editor

W

hen it comes to cutting classes from future catalogues, administrators are now forced to choose between classes that have high enrollment or are essential for certificates and degrees. Or, as Ben Affleck’s character said in “Argo,” “the best of bad choices.”

Proposition 30 will save Southwestern College from drowning, administrators have said, but the institution is still treading water. SWC faculty must come to an agreement on what class sections to keep and what to trim.

Kathy Tyner, vice president of academic affairs, said she hopes this method maintains class viability.

“Scheduling is an art and a science,” she said. “It’s kind of like if you were going to invest in the stock market.

Unless you have a crystal ball, you really don’t know what is going to happen.”

Tyner said deciding which courses to offer is becoming increasingly difficult as funding shrinks and enrollment swells.

“How we set up the schedule depends

Book swap program is a hidden SWC ‘gem’ Professor insists sell/ swap program saves students money

By Lina Chankar Campus co-editor

Textbook prices continue to soar and in most cases books cost more than Southwestern College classes.

Some SWC faculty and student representatives are implementing a sell/swap program and a scholarship in an attempt to mitigate the high price of textbooks.

Phil Saenz, professor of political science, said he wants to revive a sell/swap program at SWC through the bookstore’s website. Saenz said this money-saving program needs to be effectively marketed so students can benefit from it.

“Problem is that it’s a hidden feature,” said Saenz. “Nobody knows anything about it. So I thought this needs to be publicized.”

Students can advertise their books for sale or buy books from other students through the online feature.

“It’s similar to a campus Craig’s List,” said Saenz. “It’s the best way to help students save money by selling and buying books from other students.”

B e n y Pa s t r a n a , b o o k s t o re operations manager, said he will work to create awareness of the program by advertising the feature on the campus bookstore Facebook page at the beginning and ending of each semester.

The book swap information was posted on Facebook at the end of fall semester, however, no awareness of the program was posted at the beginning of the Spring 2013 semester.

Sa e n z s a i d h e a l s o w a n t s t o implement a book scholarship for students in the spring. Donations will come from SWC faculty and staff through voluntary payroll deductions.

In the meantime, Saenz is implementing the Fidelio Saenz Book Scholarship, a $250 scholarship for students with financial need.

Associated Student Organization President Juan Espinoza said the ASO has a book swap task force to implement advertising for the program and student government representatives are interested in providing more services for next semester.

“The ASO will be advertising to spread the word about the online book swap system during Welcome Week on Jan. 15 and 16 near the Student Center,” he said.

Joe Fighera, acting bookstore director, declined to be interviewed f o r t h i s s t o r y a n d re f u s e d t o comment on the book swap.

on how much revenue the state is going to provide for us to pay for classes,” she said. “The state has informed us last year that they were going to reduce the amount they paid us by 5.6 percent.”

With more than 320 associate degree and certificate options offered at SWC, Tyner said the task of deciding if a section is more important than another is daunting.

“All you can do is, with the best thought possible, lay out your plan,” she said. “It may not work the way you want it to, but I won’t necessarily call it a backfire. I think it’s a learning experience.”

Dinorah Guadiana-Costa, chair of world languages, said the main campus and the Higher Education Centers need to work together to provide a full range of classes for students.

“Unfortunately, we have not had much dialogue in terms of what classes would be best to be offered here (main campus) versus there (HECs),” she said. “I think that since the students are who we serve we need to make sure, especially during times of (budget) cuts, we coordinate our efforts so that if we are not able to offer some classes

Layoffs: Board decides against layoffs, says harm to community is too great Continued from Page A1

pay cut last spring, union leaders refused to accept another cut, claiming the administration was penalizing employees rather than seeking budget cutting measures that would not directly affect education.

As an example, English professor Andrew Rempt said he questioned the amount of funds being spent on consultants, claiming “every time I open an email, there’s news of a new one.”

“It bothers me because I’m currently taking a 5 percent pay cut in the name of saving programs and jobs,” he said. “But the college spent $425,000 on consultants for master plans.”

CSEA and SCCDAA recently agreed to another two years of a 5 percent pay reduction as a means of narrowing the budget deficit and protecting non-teaching jobs. This cut is, essentially, an extension of the one-year 5 percent pay cut of last year.

If an agreement between SCEA and the college administration is not reached, the faculty’s salaries and jobs might remain intact. But the board has already ratified the deals with classified employees and administrators, and those pay cuts will remain in place, according to Roman.

MacNintch, who negotiated for CSEA to take the cut in lieu of layoffs, reacted strongly to the board’s decision.

“Now I have to go back to my constituency and tell them the last four months of negotiations are bullshit,” he said.

CSEA negotiator Silvia Lugo challenged the board and administration to prove they worked out a reliable, trustworthy deal.

“If I find out that you took us into negotiations in bad faith and with bad numbers, mark my words, we will use every power of the union to go after the vice presidents and the board,” Lugo said.

The meeting follows Friday’s surprise

here that are full yet we needed to cut them because of budget that they possibly be the ones offered there.”

English, math and science sections have been identified as high priority, s a i d G u a d i a n a - C o s t a . Tr a n s f e r has moved to the forefront of the discussion. This may mean more rudimentary skill sections in reading and English compared to foreign language or creative and performing arts, she said.

Sections with high priority are also feeling the pinch. Randy Beach, professor of English, said he sees courses in his department rapidly disappearing.

“In spring 2012, here on the main campus, the English department offered 174 sections,” he said. “In spring 2013 it will be 117 courses.”

SWC’s world languages department has been dealt a huge blow when it comes to course cuts, according to Guadiana-Costa. American Sign Language and Chinese courses have been completely dropped from the main campus and will only be offered at the HECs. Portuguese, Filipino and Japanese have been reduced to one

introductory course each for spring 2013.

Guadiana-Costa said she is worried about students’ transfer.

“We sliced and diced our remaining world language programs,” she said.

“We have, in fact, already taken away approximately 30 percent of our students’ opportunities to get a career, to earn an associate degree, and to transfer. Since many of these students are at-risk, I’m certain many from that vulnerable group will not return to college.”

Students nearing transfer may have problems completing the final steps of their education at SWC, GuadianaCosta said. Advanced courses often have lower enrollment than introductory classes, but they are critical transfer students. Tyner agreed, and said the college is mindful of that fact.

“It is not uncommon for that third capstone course to be a lower enrolled class, nothing you can do is going to change that,” she said. “There’s some lack of persistence of students as they move from one to the next and it could be for a variety of reasons. That’s kind of the natural thing that happens.”

calls for 75 percent of a community college’s classes to be taught by full-time professors.

Southwestern College has operated for a number of years under a waiver that allows the college to hire fewer professors.

“We are already grossly out of order,” she said. “Our current numbers are around 75 to 25, but they’re in the wrong direction.

It’s a logical fallacy to believe we will not be held accountable, believing that others are doing it so we can, too.”

Weigel said that all constituencies should be involved in decision-making.

Kristina Saunders/staff “What we need in this collective NO MAS — Corina Soto holds up a sign at community is inclusion, not exclusion,” a recent governing board meeting condemning she said. what she called unnecessary spending by the Lugo, who is also SWC performing administration. arts coordinator, was one of five employees wrongfully fired by a previous resignation of recently-elected trustee administration and reinstated by the William Stewart, who cited difficulty succeeding one. She said she wanted to see getting accurate college financial March 15 pass with no pink slips sent out. information that was not “artificially “I don’t want to see any faculty person inflated.” He said that accurate numbers lose their job,” she told the board. “I don’t should be used to negotiate with college want to see any classified employee lose employees. their job. You promised us that when you “It is my opinion that Southwestern has said that you would keep everybody on a precious resource in its employees, not the boat.” dangerous adversaries,” he wrote in his She said she had a better understanding letter of resignation. of that than most.

References to Stewart’s resignation were “I know what it feels like to be laid minimal, instead focusing on the possibility off based on lies,” she said. “And I’m still of layoffs and the college’s future. Before suffering from that episode and I don’t adjourning to the closed-door session, the want to see it happen to anybody else.” board heard about 30 minutes of public Following the board’s announcement, input from professors and administrators the faculty union called off a planned picket union president Silvia Cornejo-Darcy, who and possible job actions. Faculty members commended the board for working hard expressed relief that the threat of layoffs for two years to “eliminate corruption” is gone, but many said that they thought from the campus.

Stewart’s resignation demonstrated that the “I believe that is true” she said, “and I just district was not able or not willing to share want you to know that your management accurate budget forecasts. team is working hard to accomplish that, Peraza said the board’s action was a show too.” of good faith and he called on the faculty Marnie Weigel, an English adjunct, union to reciprocate. Negotiations have said that not knowing the actual budget resumed. numbers caused a multitude of problems, such as underfunding academic programs Contributions by Thomas Baker, Albert and being out of compliance with state Fulcher, David McVicker, Kristina Saunders, staffing laws. California Education Code and Kasey Thomas.

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school classes set to return About 360 sections to be offered due to additional funds from Sacramento

By Jaime Pronoble Assistant News Editor

Summer school at the Chula Vista campus will return with 360 sections, a marked change from last year’s skeletal offerings. College officials said they expect seats to fill up fast.

A c a d e m i c S e n a t e Pr e s i d e n t Randy Beach said there will also be sections offered at the satellite centers in San Ysidro, National City and Otay Mesa.

Last summer almost all summer classes were held at the satellites in an effort to help them gain “center status” and a $1 million funding bump from the state. Chula Vista hosted very few classes.

Dr. Mark Meadows, dean of the School of Social Sciences, Business and Humanities, said that there is a need for classes during the summer and the distribution of classes, whether they are in the fall, spring or summer, is all a matter of enrollment management. Summer classes are expected to fill quickly, he said. “ I t h i n k t h e re i s a l w a y s a n advantage of attending summer school,” he said, “depending on where you are at in your degree plan and what kind of student you are.”

Meadows said a majority of summer students come back to SWC for summer courses from the UC and CSU systems.

Not everyone agrees that summer classes are a good use of funding during this period of financial distress at SWC. Professor of Learning Skills Corina Soto said funds should have been used to add fast track classes to the spring semester.

“We should close all Southwestern College campuses for four weeks, except for all legally mandated programs like nursing,” she said.

“This campus should be open when classroom doors are open with some leeway to run needed data programs to set up for fall and spring semesters.”

Students are awarded the largest amounts of financial aid in the fall and spring semesters, Soto said, therefore the number of classes offered during those times should be increased. She said this would be a greater benefit to students.

“Southwestern cannot do more with less,” she said. “We have less, so we should do less, but let’s do what it is we are able to do very well.”

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Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013—Vol. 56, Iss. 4

NEWS

The Southwestern College Sun

Resignation: Stewart said his departure was the only way to bring real change Continued from Page A1

“If I am the captain of a vessel and I see clearly to port, but I have one blind spot to starboard, and I have crew members that will not provide me with a clear view off my starboard bow,” he wrote, “then I as captain am taking a grave risk to continue forward, a risk for me an my crew and all the passengers on board. I, for one, am unwilling to take such a risk.”

He also said he could not abide by the district’s negotiating strategies, “including the threat of layoffs.”

“When layoffs are being discussed first in negotiations with employees, it is clearly a sign of a top-down governance model,” he said.

College president Dr. Melinda Nish and her vice presidents are “good people,” he said, but “the way they approach their problem solving is radical.”

Stewart said he was also dissatisfied with SWC’s campus governance culture, which he said was not shared governance, but merely “advisory.” The San Diego City College District, where he is a faculty member, has a truly collaborative shared governance system with meaningful input from all sectors of the district, he said. SWC, Stewart said, has a powerless Shared Consultation Council that the superintendent is free to ignore.

Stewart said governance at SWC is from the top down in violation of the California Educational Code and state laws calling for shared governance of state community colleges.

“Shared governance means they’re sharing in the governing process, so it’s not a top-down system,” he said. “Shared consultation suggests they (staff) have a role as an advisor. I personally do not

Rick Flores/staff

CALM BEFORE THE STORM — William Stewart (c) at his final meeting as an SWC trustee. The San Diego City College philosophy professor resigned suddenly to protest difficulty in obtaining accurate budget information from college administrators and lack of meaningful shared governance.

SWC President Melinda Nish denied there was a problem with either and said she was sorry to see Stewart leave the board.

believe the direction faculty and staff would be inclined to move so quickly to discussions on layoffs if the whole college process involves a real collaborative model.”

Stewart said he is very frustrated with the lack of transparency at SWC and its inability or unwillingness to provide accurate budget figures to board members.

“From my perspective when board members are not permitted to have access to the information to the point where they can analyze it, then they effectively don’t have access. That’s sort of like token access because to do careful in depth analysis means you have to study it. It doesn’t mean somebody waves a sheet in front of you.”

Stewart said there was particular information that he was not permitted to have pertaining to the budget.

“Any of the stuff I could draw down from public sites I could have just like anybody else could,” said Stewart. “Other documentation that I and the board have specifically asked for, I was not permitted

to carefully examine it. Information that is vital for making decisions that are going on right now and I can’t make important decisions without truly understanding the numbers behind it.”

He said it is a board member’s responsibility to be properly informed.

Without the proper information, he said, he cannot fulfill his duty.

“I’m not going to act as if I am fulfilling my fiduciary duty, like a good custodian, when in fact I am not being permitted to do so,” he said.

Governing Board President Humberto Peraza said he is disappointed that Stewart chose to resign. He said this college and board have committed itself to make changes after a decade of corruption.

“This is a tough job,” said Peraza. “As a board you have disagreements, but do your best to work together to make significant changes to correct a corrupted system. As a board, we have successfully accomplished needed changes.”

Peraza said it is like being a football coach, when you lose a player you find a player that will want to work with the team to make needed changes.

“Southwestern College has been through tougher times than this,” he said. “We will get through this and we will find someone to fill the board seat and continue our work and commitment that I have seen the board work so hard on since becoming a board member.”

Faculty union president Eric Maag said he agreed with Stewart’s comments regarding lack of transparency and shared governance, but losing Stewart on the board is “devastating.”

“It means we have not moved forward with shared governance,” he said. “We have to find a way to provide transparency through all facets of the college so that we can finally move forward from the problems we faced in the past and the problems that we continue to face.”

Maag said SWC needs a governing board that is well informed to provide leadership to the college. He said the Southwestern College Education Association (SCEA) union also lacks clear

Budget: Classified president expresses anger over announcement

information that it needs to bargain in fair practice.

Board member Norma Hernandez said she is surprised and saddened by the news of Stewart’s resignation.

“It was in December that I had the privilege of swearing Stewart in and I believe he brought good perspective and very valuable ideas to the board,” she said. “The role of the board has a lot of challenges and complexities, and we are not always going to agree and we don’t not always think the same. It behooves us to work together.”

Hernandez said the board takes its oversight role very seriously. She also said the college is still in the process of getting its information and financial reporting systems in place, and patience is required.

Nish said she disagreed with Stewart’s comments regarding lack of shared governance at SWC. She said governance policy is in compliance with state law. Nish also said the SWC Shared Consultation Council has been very valuable to the college and its voice has been embraced by both the administration and the governing board.

“I was very excited to have Bill on board because I thought he brought with him a perspective that added to the board,” said Nish.

Governing board member Tim Nader said he tends to have the same views as Stewart when it comes to the role of the board, as well as appropriate interactions between the board and the rest of the campus community.

“I think as to the financial issues I was listening with an open mind to different points of view and I really had not made up my mind yet on some of the issues that he’s talking about,” he said. “I very much regret Bill’s decision to resign. I think he had extremely valuable insights on financial issues and that he was hoping to contribute those insights to improve our deliberations, our decision making and, frankly, I was hoping he would contribute those insights.”

Nader said he is sympathetic to Stewart’s position and hopes he will continue

confidential groups made a similar deal with the district.

“When the gun is pointed at your head and the trigger is cocked, that’s how they negotiated with three of the groups,” said MacNintch. “Now they say we don’t believe Continued from Page A1 in violence.”

This year classified, confidential and No deal has yet been reached with the management employees agreed to another faculty union. two years of cuts. Faculty, however, have “At this point there was a resolution refused to go along. SWC’s governing board passed by our representative body which announced it will not layoff employees. basically does state that they do not want Nearly half of the $5 million deficit us to negotiate salary cuts,” said has already been found through Professor of Communication deals with the California School Eric Maag, the SCEA president.

Employees Association (CSEA) “That’s really the only functional and Southwestern Community “They part of that resolution. The rest College District Administrators can’t is probably either symbolic or Association (SCCDAA). Some unnecessary.” classified employees and their plan a Maag said the faculty union negotiators expressed anger that budget does not believe the $5.8 million the board pulled layoffs from the based on deficit is an accurate figure since table for faculty. the district has not provided “I wish they decided that back what they the SCEA with information in November when we were hope will showing how much has been in negotiations,” said Bruce saved this year from vacant MacNintch, CSEA chapter happen” positions, cuts to the Part Time/ president. “We were told if there Over Load (PTOL) budget was not an agreement by each of and section reductions. He said Bruce the groups, that group would have with accurate information and to come up with their share. If the MacNintch accurate numbers progress can share couldn’t be found through CSEA President be made towards reaching an negotiations, it would have to be agreement with the district. found through job reductions.

“We filed several official That’s layoffs.” requests and we tried to request MacNintch said the CSEA it in the meetings and we’re told would renegotiate if the district was willing, we’d be given it, but it never happens,” said but the problem of a structural deficit Maag. “So we’re forced to do the official remains. requests so that we can get that information.

“They keep talking about magic money But when we got that information back it’s coming down from Sacramento,” he said. been sometimes inaccurate and does not “But they can’t plan a budget based on what reflect the savings that are being accrued they hope will happen. They have to plan a this year.” budget on what they know will happen. As Earlier this month SWC Governing of right now we’re $5 million short.”

Board Trustee William Stewart made the A deal reached between the classified same charges in a letter of resignation that union and SWC district ultimately amounts shocked the campus community. Crow to a five percent reduction in salary, through said he has provided SCEA with all the furlough days, for the classified staff for documents that have been requested from the next two years. Administrator and his office.

contributing to the board.

Randy Beach, Academic Senate president, said he was surprised at Stewart’s unexpected resignation.

“I know he had a real vision and a real commitment to making Southwestern as best as it could be,” said Beach. “I have no animosity towards him personally, he made the decision he needed to make and I hope that we can learn from this situation. So that we can ask ourselves: what are we doing that would cause a board member to become so frustrated and feel that he could not make any decisions based on what he was given?”

Professor Robert Unger, SCEA grievance chair, said he had great hopes Stewart would help the board find budget solutions and clear all of the confusion of the past.

“I hope that Bill’s choice to resign would be a wake up call for SWC and for the South Bay that the corruption and mismanagement of SWC budget and the administrative structure is far more fractured than we had previously been led to believe,” he said.

Classified union negotiator Silvia Lugo said she is upset about Stewart’s decision to leave the board.

“I don’t know what info he has or doesn’t have,” she said. “I’m saddened and disappointed that he feels that way. We have a new executive team in place and a much stronger board in place, a more capable board that I felt confident with them governing as well as the executive team. I know I don’t always agree with their way of conducting business, but I have to trust to a certain degree that they’re working in the best interest of the college.”

Bruce MacNintch, California School Employees Association chapter president, said he was sorry to lose Stewart and that five board members are better than four.

“If he felt he was in a position that he could not take the necessary actions then that was his solution to the problem,” said MacNintch.

SWC Articulation Officer Veronica Burton said it is disenfranchising to lose Stewart from the board three months into a four-year term.

“After the 2010 and 2012 elections we finally saw a positive change,” she said. “It’s not there now. It is not in our administration and it is not in our board.

This is damaging to the college, but I believe what he said is true.”

Stewart said his resignation is the best chance to force meaningful change at SWC. “The people who for sure, for positive, were not responsible in any way for the negative financial outcome, are going to be the ones who pay the price,” said Stewart. “I cannot live with that.”

Contributions by Ana Bahena, Albert Fulcher, Nickolas Furr, Rick Flores, Lina Chankar, Kasey Thomas and David McVicker.

“There have been some additional requests for information and I know that they are being provided that as well,” he said.

A student success focus from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges will further constrain where existing and new funds will be directed, according to Dr. Rebecca Wolniewicz, student learning outcome coordinator.

“Requirements for adequate staff, resource and organizational structure are not new,” she said. “What is new is the expectation that there be funds oriented to provide support and student learning. Institutions will be evaluated on how our resources are distributed to support student success.”

Wolniewicz said the ACCJC also expects funds to be allocated to programs that support student success when times are tough. She said she believes cuts over the years to PTOL, tutoring, learning assistance services in library hours and classes will have a negative impact on SWC’s 2015 accreditation self-evaluation report.

“The cuts we make today, just this month, are going to affect our ability to stay accredited in the future,” she said.

“So when you make your considerations please consider student success and that new requirements of moving our resources towards them.”

Governing Board President Humberto Peraza said he expects around $2 million in extra revenue from the state.

“We’re all working very hard on spending a lot of time on the budget, trying to figure out what our budget is going to look like,” he said. “Steve Crow is working very hard, Melinda is working very hard, we’re trying to make sure if there are changes to our budget they’re included. If there are vacancies and savings, we can include those.”

Peraza said the district needs to create a realistic budget and make decisions based on it.

“It took a long time to get into this mess, it took a long time to destroy the foundation of this college,” he said. “We’re rebuilding this college brick by brick and that takes a long time.”

Jan. 14 - Mar. 4, 2013 Volume 56, Issue 4

VIEWPOINTS

The Southwestern College Sun

A5

Editorials, Opinions and Letters to the Editor

Opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The Sun Staff, the Editorial Board or Southwestern College.

Angela Van Ostran

Healing after sexual assault can take years

Editor-in-Chief

Amanda L. Abad Production manager

David McVicker

S

SENIOR STAFF

Ana Bahena Serina Duarte Albert Fulcher Nickolas Furr News

Thomas Baker, editor Kasey Thomas, associate Jaime Pronoble, assistant Viewpoints

Michael Stinson, editor Saharai Salazar, assistant Campus

Daniel Guzman, co-editor Lina Chankar, co-editor Arts

Daphne Jauregui, editor Rick Flores, assistant Amanda L. Abad, editor Steven Uhl, assistant Online

Anna Pryor, co-editor Ernesto Rivera, co-editor Fernando Garcia, videographer Photography

David McVicker, editor Copy Editor

Enrique Raymundo Margie Reese Staff Writers

Robert Aguirre Itzel Alonso Saira Araiza Nicholas Baltz Joaquin Basauri Lee Bosch Patrick Bromma Melissa Burciaga Despina Coca John Domogma Ashley Dykes Christine Galvan Maria Gutierrez Jose Guzman Jacob Harris Nicole Hernandez Alma Hurtado Erika Luna Mason Masis Osiris Morales Kimberly Ortiz Brianna Perea Gonzalo Quintana Ana Raymundo Guillermo Sanchez-Aladana Irving Vargas Marianna Saponara cartoonists

Alisa Alipusan Victor Ballesteros Joaquin Junco Jr. Adrian Martinez Michelle Phillips Photographers

Amparo Mendoza Marshall Murphy Kristina Saunders Karen Tome Business manager

Amanda L. Abad Advisor

Dr. Max Branscomb

Honors

Student Press Law Center National College Press Freedom Award, 2011 National Newspaper Association National College Newspaper of the Year, 2004-12 Associated Collegiate Press National College Newspaper of the Year National Newspaper Pacemaker Award, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 General Excellence Awards, 2001-12 Best of Show Awards, 2003-12 Columbia University Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence, 2001-12 California Newspaper Publishers Assoc.

California College Newspaper of the Year, 2012 Student Newspaper General Excellence, 2002-12 Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence, 2001-13 First Amendment Award, 2002, 2005 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards 1999-2012 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech, 2012 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Pacesetter Award 2001-12 General Excellence Awards, 2000-12 San Diego County Fair Media Competition Best of Show 2001-03, 2005-2012 American Scholastic Press Association Community College Newspaper of the Year Community Colleges San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award

Joaquin Junco Jr./Staff

editorial

Sports

The Issue: William Stewart’s resignation underscores lingering problems with veracity and trust.

Our Position: All factions of the college need to stop fighting and work together.

Students suffer as leaders fight

William Stewart’s stunning Friday evening resignation from the governing board was a profound disappointment to the editorial board of this newspaper which voted unanimously last fall to endorse the cheerful and brainy philosophy professor. We would have preferred that he had stayed and fought for students against an administration that has eviscerated academic programs rather than make his dramatic act of principle. We were thrilled to have a professor on the board and very sorry to see him go.

Having said that, it is time to examine his stated reasons for leaving. In his resignation letter Stewart made many very valid points that reflect what a lot of people on and off this campus have been saying for months. SWC seems to be out of the corruption frying pan and into the incompetence (or inexperience) fire.

Stewart expressed extreme disappointment in the administration for what he called its inability to provide full and accurate budget forecasts.

He is not alone. Faculty union leaders have been saying the same thing for months. There are two possible explanations: intentional deception or inexperience. We are going to give our green administration the benefit of the doubt for the time being and go with the latter. It is not a valid excuse, but it beats the alternative. Dr. Melinda Nish gambled her presidency on a universallycriticized $100,000 gambit to boost vice president salaries by nearly $25,000 so she could attract “quality candidates.”

So far we are forced to wonder if the taxpayers are getting their money’s worth. We will not, at this time, question anyone’s motives. It is beyond debate, however, that the fearless five at the top of the pyramid have committed a series of very serious blunders, including the VP raises, the toxic threat of layoffs, calculation errors, misleading emails and picking unnecessary fights.

The current governing board has worked tirelessly to clean up the filth that the Chopra regime left in its wake and cast aside the perception that there is corruption afoot. Tim Nader, Norma Hernandez and Humberto Peraza deserve our appreciation for cleaning out the barn. The current board has done an admirable job picking up the pieces and restoring a college in shambles. It should, however, be a little more realistic about their administrators and dial back

Online Comments Policy The Sun reserves the right to republish web comments in the newspaper and will not consider publishing anonymously posted web comments or comments that are inflammatory or libelous. Post web comments at theswcsun.com.

the lavish praise that is not yet deserved. The board needs to stop coddling administrators and hold them accountable for the mistrust and anger they have caused on campus.

There is an aura of mistrust between the administration, faculty and staff reminiscent of the Chopra years that needs to be addressed. This mistrust can be eliminated only by teams willing to work honestly with one another, not against each other, to solve the college’s sizable problems.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, “To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies, and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.”

The administration owes this college that obligation. We need clear, complete and unbiased data from the leaders of this campus without cherry picking. Then, and only then, can we engage in a meaningful discussion.

Freedom of information and transparency remains a struggle on this campus and the campus newspaper has endured its share of highhandedness by some (not all) administrators. That makes it easy to believe that Stewart and faculty negotiators have experienced the same thing.

Dr. Nish is in the 15th month of her 24-month contract. She still needs and deserves the opportunity to show us she is up to this job, at least until December. Faculty need to shred the no-confidence petitions and give the lady a chance.

A few well-intended suggestions to our president from your loyal students: Be humble. You are new to the job and our community, and you do not know everything. No one expects you to. Stop acting like you do.

Listen. Really listen. We liked the Dr. Nish Listening Tour last year. That was a great idea.

Time for another.

Remember your reason for being here. You are here to serve students, not to put notches on the handle of your gun. Stop looking at everything as winning and losing. Let’s all win.

Faculty and employees, take a deep breath and get back to the table. Our accreditation body is watching and so is the community. As Mr. Peraza said, play nice. The board has offered an olive branch, take it graciously and work together to drain this swamp. Together we can do this!

Letters Policy

Send mailed letters to: Editor, Southwestern College Sun, 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910. Send e-mailed letters to southwestern_sun@yahoo.com. E-mailed letters must include a phone number. The Sun reserves the right to edit letters for libel and length and will not consider publishing letters that arrive unsigned.

exual assault is devastating, as women’s rights advocates and health professionals have shown.

Young healthy women, however, are not the only rape victims. Elderly and people with disabilities are just as likely to experience sexual trauma and are considered vulnerable, easy targets by predators.

Research shows that one in four women will be assaulted in their lifetime. That number more than doubles for women with disabilities and is 33 percent more likely for a male with a disability.

A person who has been assaulted may become more sensitive to their surroundings, fear loud noises, question their instincts, lack self-esteem and doubt their own self-worth. Some become hypersexualized, creating a false sense of control by having indiscriminate sex, others self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Many withdraw entirely, refusing human contact and pushing others away emotionally and physically, out of fear and self-protection.

Anger, anxiety, humiliation and depression can lead to emotional isolation, though the chances of discussing the real problem lie only with the survivor’s ability to trust another person with their feelings and talk about their experience.

Men in most cultures are discouraged from showing emotion or expressing their fears and pain. This can be compounded even further if a boy (or a man) is sexually assaulted. Bottling up these fears with fragile cork-like coping mechanisms can recapitulate the anxieties and reinforce the need to be more “manly” and hide emotions that make them feel weak or inferior.

Rape is not sex. Nor is it intimate. Some say rape is worse than murder, because the victim survives and has to live with it for the rest of their lives.

Though there are many types of rape, they are almost always about power.

Regardless of why or how it happened, it is never the victims’ fault. Rape is an act of violence that can cause severe emotional and physical pain.

Survivors must struggle to reclaim their body, and the act can be a powerful, cleansing rebirth of the self. Whether through piercings, tattoos, yoga or selfdefense classes, there are a number of ways to reclaim the body after assault, though not all of them are positive. Alcohol abuse, drugs, self-cutting and indiscriminate sex can keep a victim suspended in that painful event without even realizing it.

They prevent victims from facing their experience and starting the healing process.

It does not have to take years of therapy to push through that haze of fear.

Recovery starts with just talking. Find someone trustworthy and start talking.

It won’t be easy, but it helps. Friends or family members may or may not relate to your situation, but sharing can be very liberating. Hiding what they’ve been through can be more painful for the victim than the rape itself. Simply stating “I just need you to listen” can be the first step in evolving from “victim” to “survivor.” It is the first step to empowerment.

People in a relationship with a rape survivor can feel helpless, powerless, angry and frustrated. Partners are also susceptible to withdrawing. They may fearing making things worse though they want nothing more than to make it go away. Open communication is crucial. Partners should know that their support and patience can be a catalyst for a survivor to reclaim their bodies and minds. It may feel like a betrayal or a weakness wanting to talk to someone outside of the relationship, but partners need support as well and can please see Assault pg. A6

Angela may be reached at angela.vanostran@gmail.com

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Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013 Volume 56, Issue 4

viewpoints

The Southwestern College Sun

Campus shootings raise big questions

By Michael Stinson A perspective

Americans seem unable to ever agree about gun control, even after sickening mass killings of innocent people. We do seem to agree that these are the result of mental illness.

Chula Vista’s City Council recently passed its own gun control measure in hopes of stopping the innocent slaughter of youth. Southwestern College’s campus police department is hoping to add assault rifles to its inventory in an effort to protect students.

Restricting the types of guns one can purchase or limiting the magazine capacity may feel good, but it ignores the illness behind the shootings.

Mental illness is a stigmatized phrase, reserved for private conversations, whispered in hushed tones. We no longer lock up the mentally ill in asylums or give them frontal lobotomies, but mental illness is still an all-to-common malady.

An armed elephant in the room cannot be ignored.

Ignoring mental illness allows America to depict shooters as sub-human demonic entities rising from the depths of hell.

Truth is a lot uglier. A shooter is someone’s brother, son, father, uncle or husband.

Many remember April 20, 1999 for the Columbine shooting in Colorado.

Shooters Eric Harris, a clinical psychopath, and Dylan Klebold suffered from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), according to the FBI. A month later Thomas Solomon Jr. armed with a pistol and a rifle, claimed to hear voices when he shot six people in Georgia. Five years later in 2005 Jeffrey Weise, who was being treated for depression, shot 12 killing seven at the Red Lake Massacre with a shotgun and pistols. Seung-Hui Cho, who had a severe anxiety disorder and MDD, killed 32 and wounded 17 at Virginia Tech using two pistols. Most recently came the pointless slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary

by Adam Lanza who had several guns, including an assault rifle. He killed 27 innocent people, mostly children. Lanza’s brother said the shooter suffered from a personality disorder. Mental illness is the common denominator in all these shootings.

Our nation’s treatment of the mentally ill is negligent at best, immoral at worst.

For too long people with mental illness were something locked away in the basement, sometimes literally.

Warehousing the mentally ill in large asylums with no freedom or dignity was

Assault: Healing begins by talking about it Continued from Page A5

better be there for support if they are able to understand and cope with their own feelings.

Fear and desire may seem like two separate entities, but there is a link between the two that runs deeper than emotion. For a person who has survived sexual assault who has not yet come to realize the strength in their survival, these two wildly conflicting feelings can deepen the chasm connecting them to the rest of the world. This can take a toll on both the survivor, their friends or partners.

Survivors need to pick up the phone, text, talk, e-mail or make an appointment to talk to someone. Choosing to be a survivor is the first step. The Southwestern College Women’s Center offers welltrained male and female counselors who are standing by to help men or women.

No one has to survive rape alone.

Thinking

Out Loud

How would you generate revenue for Southwestern College?

Adrian Martinez/Staff

culturally acceptable 60 years ago.

President Reagan’s administration exacerbated the mental illness and homeless problem. Reagan cut the budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development from $83 million in 1978 to a meager $18 million in 1983. This spilled the mentally ill out on the street by the hundreds of thousands, fueling a simmering American disaster.

Circumstances have not changed much.

Mental illness is still seen as shameful, weak or sub-human. People often hide the symptoms in shame until it is too late to receive treatment, as seen by the record amount of suicides by our brave servicemen.

Society needs to remove the stigmatization that accompanies the mentally ill. By doing so, friends and family are more likely to

share any haunting thoughts that occupy their minds. It is time to bring it out of the shadows. Mental illness is no different than a broken bone or sprained ankle. Not only will we be saving the lives of the mentally ill by catching and treating them early, we may also curb the senseless slaughter seen around the country.

Documenting mental illness instead of hiding or shaming it can make firearm background checks more effective. It is currently too easy hide the illness, subsequently background checks come up clean. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) restricts vital medical information to be shared with anyone, including state and federal agencies running background checks for gun purchases.

Mental health practitioners and HIPAA

need changing to put some teeth in the background checks, while protecting patient privacy. It is time for honest dialogue to save the children.

What we do not need to do is take away the rights of law-abiding citizens.

The United States is a unique nation with legions of citizens who considers its founding documents as gospel and believe that taking away the people’s ability to protect themselves is criminal. Limiting ammunition clips and taking away certain types of guns are half-baked solutions.

SWC’s campus police can get assault rifles and Chula Vista can try to pass new guns laws to curb violence. But until there is dialogue and discussion to treat the mentally ill, there is no solution. Until then, child-size bulletproof vests should be on every school supply list.

Metropolitan Transit System misses the school bus

“Use the corner lot to build dorms/ apartments for students to rent and the bottom floor as a rentable business center.”

Diana Cortes, 22 – Psychology

“Better promotion of vendors on campus like Jason’s Coffee Cart, Timeout Café and Tradewinds Café.”

Roman Rodriguez,21 – Theatre

“Build solar panels on campus so we can reduce energy costs and eventually it will increase revenue.”

Cyrill Maclan, 20 – Math

Joaquin Junco Jr./Staff

By Saharai Salazar A perspective

As the economy continues to sputter, owning a car has become a luxury for many. Biking, skating or walking are decent options if students live in the neighborhood and enjoy working up a sweat. For everyone else there are taxis and buses. Taxi fares are downright unreasonable for most students, so the only alternatives left are the large vehicles operated by Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), San Diego’s regional public transit provider.

Navigating by bus or trolley may not be glamorous, but it gets the job done.

MTS advertisements suggest their bus and trolley systems are a better way to travel. Going places should not be a challenging task or at least that is what they say.

Ask any student sitting on the benches in front of the bus stops, however, and they will tell you a different story.

Cramped, dirty, overcrowded buses rarely arrive on time, breed theft and harassment, and underserve students taking evening and night classes.

Many students have no other option

than to use public transportation, but it can be a grind. Early morning rushhour commuters brave chilly weather and fight frantically among themselves to earn a spot on bus and trolley fleets that are frequently behind schedule.

Travelers are packed in like sardines, leaving no room for the disillusioned stragglers who are forced to wait an extra 15 minutes for the next bus to arrive.

Pass by the H Street and Palomar Street trolley stations at 7:30 a.m. and there will be a lengthy, winding line of irritated students waiting anxiously to board a bus that was supposed to arrive 10 minutes ago. Once on board, holding a handrail or seat is luck of the draw. Any sudden stops made by the bulky vehicles trigger a domino effect among the unlucky freestanding riders.

Students crammed in like a 64-pack of crayons makes buses moving dens of theft. There have been reports of stolen cell phones, wallets and bus passes, plucked from an unassuming victim’s pocket, purse or backpack. It is tricky for commuters to tell the difference between an accidental bump on the shoulder and a sneaky attempt at pickpocketing,

making them easy targets for theft.

MTS employees must abide by company regulations concerning maximum occupancy for the safety and comfort of their riders, which obviously does not happen.

Southwestern College students face another challenge in regards to their arduous commute. Only two bus routes, the 709 West and the 712 West, leave campus after 6:20 p.m. and complete their entire course. One lone bus, the 709, departs from SWC after 9:30 p.m., when many exhausted students are scuffling out of their night classes.

Most night classes are out at 9:20 p.m., which does not give students much time to discuss important matters with their teachers or even use the restroom.

Many SWC students have no other form of transportation, work during the day, have children or family members to look after, or have other prior commitments. Night courses are the only opportunity they have to continue their education. These students cannot leave their classes early without being penalized, hindering their academic performance in the class. Disillusioned,

defeated and faced with enormous difficulties in finding a safe and affordable way home, these students often drop out.

MTS, like any other business, takes many factors into account before making scheduling and operating decisions.

In this struggling economy, extending service to one group often means cutting another. MTS could accommodate the needs of students taking night classes by adding two evening departures to the routes that run through SWC. Adding an 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. departure for routes 705 and 707 would significantly benefit many students living in the South Bay. To offset the cost of operation, MTS could raise fees for student monthly and semester passes by 50 cents. On bus routes where congestion is a habitual problem, buses could adopt the morning rush-hour commute trolley schedules and leave every seven minutes instead of every 15 minutes, for a period of two to three hours. This would relieve many of the safety, comfort and theft concerns that many riders have. Students, as well as all the other travelers who utilize MTS services to get around, deserve a pleasant, reliable journey.

“Use the theatre buildings and Mayan Hall to screen student and locallyproduced films and charge admission fees.”

Michael Odom, 26 -- Photography

“Sell the naming rights of campus buildings to interested companies.”

Scott Finn – Counselor Complied By David McVicker and Steven Uhl

Michael Stinson, editor

viewpoints

Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013 Volume 56, Issue 4

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: viewpoints@theswcsun.com

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SWC needs to stop coddling stalkers, dangerous students

Joaquin Junco Jr./Staff

By Amanda L. Abad A perspective

John Lennon once said, “The postman wants an autograph. The cab driver wants a picture. The waitress wants a handshake. Everyone wants a piece of you.”

On Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon was murdered by a stalker, Mark David Chapman, after receiving an autograph from Lennon earlier that day. Chapman was obsessed

with murdering him. Six out of nine psychiatrists found Chapman to be psychotic.

Stalking is not reserved for the famous. It happens right here at Southwestern College.

Getting our Dean of Student Affairs to do something about it has been a problem.

More than half of female victims and more than one-third of male victims of stalking indicated that they were stalked before they

were 25-years-old, according to NIPSVS. At SWC, 65 percent of people are 25 years old and younger. For victims of campus stalking, it may seem like there are not any safe places. While in class, the victim will watch the door the whole time and think of how to escape if their stalker walks in. Walking around campus can be intimidating. Every corner, bush and tree are spots the stalker can be watching its

victim.

Like a vulture, the stalker waits until its victim is too weak and exhausted from the nasty games they have been playing. The victim may get dropped from classes, due to absences because of stalking, or fail classes for fear of getting sexually and physically assaulted if a runin with the stalker occurs. Some of the only things a victim can concentrate on are forming escape routes in their mind and memorizing where all the exits are.

One in six women and one in 19 men in the United States have “experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed,” according to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NIPSVS).

The most common stalker is the Simple Obsessional Stalker. The stalker and victim have some form of a relationship. Once the relationship has ended, the stalker feels wronged and will try to make amends or seek retribution. This includes old flames, as 66.2 percent of female victims were stalked by a current or former intimate partner, compared to 41.4 percent of male victims, according to the NIPSVS. The second type of stalker is the Love Obsessional Stalker. This stalker is a stranger or an acquaintance who develops a fixation on the victim. The Love Obsessional Stalker attempts to live out their fantasies and expects the victim to play along. If the victim does not reciprocate the stalker’s feelings, the stalker will begin to harass the victim.

The third type of stalker is the Erotomanic Stalker. This stalker believes that the individual they love loves them back, but very rarely do they know the victim who is often of higher social standing.

Typically, the Erotomanic Stalker is an obsessed fan, or celebrity stalker.

Not all stalkers are seriously mentally ill, but the most extreme and dangerous ones are. Mentally ill stalkers generally suffer from a personality disorder or psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia.

It is important to inform campus police, if you are being stalked. Be prepared by bringing a detailed list of what has been happening and evidence like voicemails, emails and text messages. Also consider getting a restraining order against the stalker. Carrying a weapon may not be the best decision. Pepper spray can go wrong, and other more dangerous weapons that are not allowed on campus can get you in trouble if caught with them, or hurt, if not properly trained.

Self-defense classes may be a better option.

In a study by the Royal College of Psychiatrists reported that, “73 percent of victims reported changes in lifestyle as a response to stalking behavior, 56 percent reported agitation as a psychological symptom, 44 percent anxiety, 41 percent sleep disturbance, 35 percent nausea and 28 percent depression.” One in eight victims lose time from work, and “130,000 victims were fired from or had been asked to leave their jobs because of stalking,” according to a Sept. 2012 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics on Stalking Victims in the U.S. A stalker gets a $1,000 fine and/or one year in prison if found guilty of stalking.

That punishment is nothing compared to what the victim had to go through, including the health issues the victim will develop because of this unwanted experience. Being stalked should be the last thing students should be thinking about while on campus. Our administrators responsible for protecting us need to stop kicking the can down the road and get serious. It is time for the entire campus to stand up and say we are not going to take it anymore.

College budgets for burgers, not books

Food joints are open more hours than library, Academic Success Center

By Steven Uhl and Jacob Harris A perspective

M

Adrian Martinez/Staff

aybe it is true that the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but the fastest way to a fouryear university is through the library.

Southwestern College has a headscratching priority problem when it comes to academics. Students have already suffered from class cuts, eviscerated supply budgets and classes shipped off to the white elephant Otay Mesa satellite. Now they face the cafeteria/library conundrum. It is easier to score some high-priced burgers and fries than access to reference books and computers in the library.

Semester by semester, cash-strapped

SWC is closing down earlier. Ironically, though, SWC’s food venues are open more hours than the library, Academic Success Center and gym. Instead of improving student GPAs and health levels, SWC is pushing fried foods and sugary snacks at inflated prices. (A slice of pizza costs $4 at the Time Out Café when across the street a whole pizza at Little Caesar’s is just $5.)

Students cannot get classes, tutoring or library time, but there are always pork rinds to fall back on. Priorities should be flipped. It would be more logical to close the cafeteria earlier and keep academic facilities open as beacons of knowledge and citadels of assistance.

Friday afternoons the campus is

as empty as the O-K Corral before a gunfight. Our library closes at 1 p.m., yet the cafeteria stays open for an hour longer, desolate because most of the students have already gone home.

Chips yes, Chekhov, no. Soda, sure, Shakespeare, so sorry. SWC officials probably do not mean to put more value into food services than into the success of their students, but appearance is important, too, and SWC’s shuttering of its $17 million library looks bad.

A government-funded, accredited institution has to keep its library, Academic Success Center and health center open longer than its hash house. Students can get cheap food across the street, but only our library dishes up food for thought.

Bait-and-switch of professors is unfair to conscientious students

By Ailsa Alipusan A persepective

Good college students want to learn from good professors. That is why so many of us conduct extensive research into Southwestern College faculty and plan our schedules to get certain teachers.

So imagine the feeling when we enter the classroom on the first day and see someone else standing at the front.

A last-minute switch in faculty is an academic slap to the face. Teaching style and class organization are essential to a student’s success within a course, so staffing is as valuable to a student as a spot on the waitlist. Opinions and ratings that reveal teachers grading and lecture style, as well as aspects of personality, are important. These characteristics help a student to make informed choices. By basing decisions specific to academic and learning preferences, we can learn more and earn better grades.

Fighting for spots in classrooms, with waitlists commonly into the double digits, students often work hard and plan ahead to get favored teachers because their sections fill up the fastest.

It is not only a crushing disappointment to lose the professor we wanted to study with, it can also affect our grades and our futures. Some professors have unique skills and experiences, not to mention industry and academic contacts

we may need.

Ciara Yegin, 20, a biochemistry major, had two unannounced faculty switches this semester.

Yegin was left with an instructor unfamiliar to the school. She said the complications stemming from the adjunct’s inexperience with the SWC system made for a rocky beginning to the semester.

“Class was not run smoothly,” she said.

Difficulties such as these are avoidable.

Beverly Stretch, 22, a chemistry major, said she has experienced staff switches in four different classes during her time here at SWC. These inconveniences have left Stretch feeling apprehensive towards the registration process, she said.

“I try to look at all the possibilities of classes for my schedule and never take a class where I know absolutely nothing abqout the instructor, due to my past experiences,” she said. “I take an active approach in knowing what to expect from my teachers before I take the course.”

Stretch, like other students, recognizes the importance of professors to the collegiate journey.

“I have my aims set on certain types of teachers that I know I will learn a lot from,” she said. “College in itself isn't an easy ride, but having instructors that are easy to understand and are truly there for their students make a big difference.”

These silent switches rob students of

Ailsa Alipusan/Staff

academic satisfaction, leaving some, like Stretch, feeling agitated and forced to “accept the changes without a say in the process.”

Maybe SWC needs to start making adjustments that foster strong academics rather than cost cutting. Universities often put stellar professors in large

auditoriums so hundreds of students can benefit. Teaching assistants grade papers and help manage the large classes.

Maybe it’s time to put professors-indemand in Mayan Hall.

California community colleges are starting to pressure students to transfer in two years. F grades and W’s are no

longer tolerated. Sometimes, though staffing is everything. Certain professors are a bad match. SWC needs to respect that and be consistent in its catalogue listings.

Bait and switch is illegal in the world of commerce. Southwestern College should have the same standards.

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campus

Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013 — Vol. 56, Iss. 4

LIVE

FROM the

The Southwestern College Sun

va ican

STORY by Amanda L. Abad

ROME—Katia Lopez-Hodoyan lives the old saying, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” That, and she also covers the pope.

With the Vatican and the entire Catholic world in a frenzy over the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis, the former Southwestern College Sun News Editor finds herself in the middle of the world’s biggest story, scanning the rooftop of The Vatican for the white smoke that means the world has a new pope.

As The Vatican correspondent for the Global Spanish News Agency, LopezHodoyan reports on Rome and The Holy See for Spanish language TV stations all over the planet. She has done something a billion Catholics would like to do and got face time with the Holy Father.

“I did get to meet Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus,” she said. “I was able to cover his meeting with the Prime Minster of the Czech Republic, Petr Necas, in May 2012. The Pope constantly has diplomatic meetings with different world leaders. There are dozens of reporters who want to cover these meetings, but it’s just impossible. Journalistically, right now it’s the place to be, of course, with the election of a new Pope.”

Lopez-Hodoyan said people often forget that the Vatican is the smallest country in the world, but it is full of life.

“Rome is amazing, beautiful and to a certain point even magical,” she said.

“There is just so much history here. They don’t call it the Eternal City for nothing.

Chaos and drama are just part of the city.

It seems like there is an ancient work of art in every corner. If you want to just walk around, you can—there is no need for a car.”

Lopez-Hodoyan said her parents are from Tijuana. When they were dating, her father crossed the border every day to work, but after marriage, they moved to Chula Vista. They enrolled Katia and her two sisters at a school in Tijuana to learn Spanish and to be in tune with their Mexican heritage, she said, and going back and forth across the border was part of her daily routine.

“For me, it was simply what I had to do to go to school,” she said. “Whenever I ask my mom ‘Wasn’t it hard for you to cross the border for so many years just to take us to school?’ she said, ‘Sure it was.

But when you decide you’re going to do something and you believe in it, you do it, and that’s it.’”

After finishing high school at Our Lady of Peace Academy in San Diego, LopezHodoyan attended Southwestern College in the summer of 1998. She decided to try a journalism course at SWC and said her professor Dr. Max Branscomb had a lot to do with helping her to find her career path.

“It started off as just a class,” said LopezHodoyan, “but it quickly turned into a lot more. It was interesting, challenging, intriguing and constantly changing. It was everything I wanted in a career. I thought my writing was acceptable, just okay, nothing unusual. But Max would

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME — (Clockwise from top l) Former SWC Sun editor Katia LopezHodoyan reports the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI for a global audience. The Vatican is the world’s smallest nation but the capital of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. More than 1 million people crowd St. Peter’s Square in anticipation of the selection of a new pope. Lopez-Hodoyan greets Pope Benedict XVI prior to an interview. Lopez-Hodoyan covering the election of Pope Francis I, the Argentine Cardinal who is the first Latino pontiff.

please see Vatican pg. B7

Design by Amanda L. Abad, Daniel Guzman & David McVicker

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Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013, Volume 56, Issue 4

SPORTS

The Southwestern College Sun

Jaguars scratching toward the playoffs

By Nicholas Baltz Staff Writer

Baseball coach Jerry Bartow refuses to act his age and his 2013 Jaguars refuse to lose.

Strong defense and clutch hitting, two things that were missing last year, has the septuagenarian Bartow making like a 20-year-old and busting out his headfirst “victory” slide into home, much to the delight of the fans and horror of his older friends.

It is early in the season, but Southwestern (11-4), is already thinking playoffs. Bartow’s dirty uniform is proof of that.

SWC notched its 11th win of the season after an 18-3 conquest of San Diego City College. Catcher Cody Sos led the way offensively, driving in six RBI as the Jags moved to a 4-0 start in the division standings.

Sos has been key to the success, leading the team with three homeruns and 16 RBI this season. He said nothing begats winning like winning.

“It’s obviously a confidence booster, when we’re playing good, it makes us excited to keep on going out and winning games,” said Sos. The Jags are riding a four game winning streak after victories over Palomar, San Diego Mesa and Imperial Valley. SWC crushed Imperial Valley, with eight Jags driving in runs in a 15-2 rout. They Photos by David McVicker followed with an 8-0 victory against San ON A ROLL —(clockwise from top) Outfielder Albert Mikell beats the throw back to first base Diego Mesa, but their rival Palomar would in the 9-5 win against Chaffey College. Infielder Wesley Aguilar smacks a line drive in the 11-3 not go down without a fight. victory against Cerro Coso College. Pitcher Juwan McCray throws heat in the second game of the In an emotionally charged game, Palomar double-header against Victor Valley College. stole the lead and momentum in the sixth inning, scoring five runs to make it 7-4.

The Jags roared right back with five runs

of their own in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead for good.

Outfielder Justin DiStefano drove in a run to take an 8-7 lead, and then Sos capped off the comeback with an insurance run as the Jags held on for an exciting 9-8 win. Kiki Medina got the win on the mound, but it was the bats that carried the day. DiStefano and third baseman Hector Montes combined for five RBI for a Jags offense that has averaged an impressive seven runs a game so far this season.

Pitching ruled when the Jags defeated Cerro Coso twice, 2-0 and 11-3. Agustin Lopez threw eight scoreless innings and allowed just four hits in a dominant game one performance. He had nine strikeouts and holds a 4-1 record in 6 starts this season.

In the second game, Cerro Coso’s pitchers lost their control. They threw six wild pitches and walked two batters as the Jags scored nine runs in one inning to take an 11-1 lead.

They rolled off six wins in a row before suffering their first loss to Chaffey College in extra innings, 6-4. SWC rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie it up, but Chaffey scored two runs in the 10th to end the game.

The Jags followed with their first home loss of the season against East Los Angeles, 6-2. Ample scoring opportunities were missed, leaving five runners on base and not scoring until the final inning. Despite the losses, Montes remained upbeat.

“There’s a lot of things we need to work on, but we’re off to a good start,” he said.

Victor Valley gave SWC a handful as well, but this time Montes refused to let his team lose. Locked in a 3-3 struggle in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and a

runner on third, Montes smacked the ball past the defense for the game-winning run and a 4-3 victory. Montes rounded for home only to be mobbed by his teammates as they celebrated the big win.

Montes said he loves to hit when the game is on the line.

“Ever since I was little I loved being under pressure,” he said. “Things slow down for me. I was just waiting for a fastball.”

The Jags found themselves down in their second Victory Valley matchup, until outfielder Victor Serna tied it up 4-4 on a fielder’s choice. Later that inning, Sos broke the game open with a two-run single that made it 6-4. The defense did the rest as Lopez pitched six scoreless innings to close it out, 9-4.

When Lopez isn’t frustrating batters on the mound, he’s an everyday starter at first base that continues to find ways to help the team win.

The Jags overpowered Chaffey College after Lopez smacked a two-run homerun just over the left field wall to breakup a scoreless game.

“It was my favorite pitch, an inside fastball,” he said. “I had a feeling it was gone, but I didn’t know because the field is so far.”

SWC went on to a 5-0 victory thanks to great pitching by Kiki Medina, who was named Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week for his complete game, four-hit shutout.

Only Sos, Medina and DiStefano returned from last season’s talented but turbulent team that won 21 games, but a great freshman class has the Jags clawing for a PCAC division title.

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Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013 — Vol. 56, Iss. 4

Sports

The Southwestern College Sun

Jags miss playoffs with 3-9 conference record

By Joaquin Basauri Staff Writer

P

layoff perennials, the Southwestern College men’s basketball team endured a tough rebuilding year and a 10-7 season.

“I’m so glad we won 10 games,” said head coach John Cosentino.

“But I’m thinking how did we win 10 games? We had a tough schedule and we were not the most talented team in the conference this season.

Other teams celebrated when they beat us this season, because we’ve been the best team for so long.

We’ve won for so many years that this season was a shock.”

SWC got off to a good start with strong non-conference wins against tough teams, three of those wins against teams who made the playoffs last year. But things began to go sour after a strong 2-0 start to conference play. Inexperience may have been the culprit, accord to freshman guard Darnell Williams.

“The whole team was pretty much freshman,” he said, “so we were just trying to find what our roles were, but as the season went on we were able to figure out who could do what and where to pass the ball to.”

Cosentino blamed a potpourri of reasons.

“It’s a combination of not having a leader on the court, overrating some of our recruits and me trying to constantly figure things out,” he said. “But even when we lost, we never quit playing and that’s a testament to our team.”

Freshman guards Dominique Miller and Williams were major ingredients of a winning formula late in the season. Both began to adjust to conference play and started to find holes in opposing defenses.

“Dominique is so good because he’s versatile and you put him out there and teams have to match up with him,” said Cosentino. “The

only position that’s set is Dom’s position. He’s someone you can build around and with Darnell, I started him early and I kind of buried him on the bench. I should have had him starting all along. He will be the best defensive guard in the conference next season because he can guard anybody.”

Jags Guard David Scarafone provided the perimeter shooting this season that forced the zones to play all the way out and create space for Williams and Miller to drive in.

“I tried to play to Scarafone’s strengths, but I just should have put him out there,” said Cosentino.

“Some of his threes should have been four point shots, he’s beyond NBA stuff. I used to tell him to shoot until he got hot. The team would laugh at me, but I’d tell him to start shooting as soon as he passed half court.”

Cosentino said the Jag’s had four talented redshirt freshman ready to play next season in addition to the players coming back next season.

“All the guys want to come back, but the competition’s going to be a lot stiffer,” he said. “And that competition can only make the team better.”

Cosentino said he plans to build around Miller next season and he hasn’t given up on the team. Miller said he is up to the challenge.

“Yes we are all young and have almost no experience,” said Miller, “but were still learning and we will build from here.”

With most of the players looking to return and more talent waiting to break into the first team, Cosentino said it is easy to be excited about next season.

“I’ve been coaching for almost 35 years and I learned probably more this year than I did the last couple of years,” he said. “I’m a work-inprogress and I’m excited about next season’s team.”

The

Give Go and

DANIEL GUZMAN

Mental health joins pro sports conversation A

David McVicker/Staff

HIGH ON THE FUTURE—Jags guard Dominique Miller is a cornerstone of Coach John Cosentino’s 2014 plans.

SUPPORT THE SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE SUN www.theswcsun. com/donate

thletes have to be strong from the neck down. Competitors need healthy minds, too.

Unfortunately, professional sports organizations have been surprisingly slow to make the mind-body connection. Stress, pressure and brutal challenges await young professional athletes, and many need support for their psyche they cannot get on the training table. America’s sports landscape is littered with the sad stories of gifted athletes who crumbled in the spotlight.

Mental health can take a beating in the brutally competitive arena of professional sports. Pressure to perform at a consistently high level can adversely affect an athlete’s behavior on and off the field. Anxiety disorders, for example, should be handled with the same amount of caution as creaky knees. It is the responsibility of the teams to provide athletes with physical care as well as mental health care.

College sports are way ahead of the pros on mental health. A reference guide provided by the NCAA titled “Managing Student-Athletes’ Mental Health Issues,” emphasizes the importance of mental health.

Student stars handed off to the pros often fall through the cracks. Royce White, a first-round draft pick of the Houston Rockets, has yet to see the court because of a dispute over how to manage his Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which can cause fatigue, difficulty concentrating, muscle aches, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat. White wanted the Rockets to acknowledge his mental illness and appoint a mental health professional to evaluate his availability to perform.

White and the Rockets recently reached a yet-to-be-disclosed agreement that will undoubtedly be closely watched.

Khalil Greene, a former Major League shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals, was not so lucky. He suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), an illness that prevented him from fulfilling his richly promising career. It is uncertain what a professional mental health assessor could have done for Greene’s career, but it is possible that with proper mental health support the gifted shortstop could still be an All-Star.

Other Major League Baseball players struggled with anxiety disorders, including the brilliant AllStar Jim Eisenrich, who also worked valiently to overcome Tourette’s syndrome. Eisenrich, who hit .361 for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996, actually retired from baseball for four years to deal with the affliction, the prime of what could have been a Hall of Fame career.

Eisenrich is a living, breathing example that mental health issues can be overcome if dealt with directly and effectively. In 1990 he was the first recipient of the MLB Tony Conigliaro Award for the player who has overcome a signficant obstacle in life. He now runs the Jim Eisenrich Foundation for children with Tourette’s syndrome in Kansas City.

Doctors have final say if athletes are physically able to play and there should be the same collaboration with mental health professionals to determine if an athlete’s psychological state is adequate to participate.

Brawn is nothing without brains.

Mental health is inseparable from performance. Pro sports need to join the 21st century and start treating athletes holistically.

The Give & Go can be reached at TheSWCGiveandGo@gmail.com.

Amanda L. Abad, editor

sports

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: sports@theswcsun.com

Jan. 14 - Mar. 4, 2013 — Vol. 56, Iss. 4

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SWC’s softball team play hardball Lady Jags aiming for back-to-back playoff appearance

By Steven Uhl and Gonzalo Quintana Staff Writers

T

here is nothing soft about softball star Gabrielle Beasley.

The hard-hitting, hard throwing shortstop-pitcher works hard, plays hard and is hard to ignore.

Beasley is leading her hard-charging teammates on a playoff run worthy of last year’s historic season when the Lady Jags made its first-ever postseason appearance. After a pedestrian start to the season, SWC has become downright hard to beat.

Beasley almost single handedly destroyed the Victor Valley Rams.

She hit a two run triple and pitched a shutout in a 9-0 romp the umpires called for the mercy rule.

SWC next clobbered San Bernardino Valley College, 12-4. Beasley led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.

SBVC scored two runs in the second inning to take the lead, but not for long. Beasley singled in a run, knotting the score, 2-2. SBVC came up to bat and scored three runs to take the lead and they thought the game was over until the Jags were at bat when outfielder Jessica Ramirez hit in two runs making the score 5-4 Jags.

“I had confidence that if I got on base, my teammates hitting after me would keep the rally going and make sure I scored,” said Ramirez.

In the bottom of the inning Jags put together a nice rally capped by a tworun single by Beasley. Infielder Erika Forget hit a two run home run, and the rout was on with the Jags winning, 12-4.

“The girls took advantage of the opportunities and whole heartily took control of the situation towards our advantage,” said head coach Yasmin Mossadeghi.“We executed bunts and solid hits when we had base runners on.”

Early in the season SWC lost a double header to the College of the Desert Roadrunners, 2-1 and 4-3. The Lady Jags started strong as Beasley pitched a one-two-three first inning. She then led off the game for the Jags with a base hit, followed by infielder Stephanie Beltran, who was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. COD’s pitcher threw a pitch in the dirt, which scored the Jags’ first run.

The Roadrunners scored in the third when a COD batter hit a line drive double down the right field line, which put them up 2-1. The Jags closed out the inning when infielder Sonia Mazon gunned down a runner trying to score at the plate, preventing further damage.

SWC’s dugout became more and

Photos by David McVicker

HARDBALL TACTICS —(l) Pitcher Gabrielle Beasley lays down a bunt against Riverside City College. (above) Third basemen Ariel Bochniak denies San Bernadino Valley College runner third base. The Lady Jags went on to win 12-4.

more vocal – cheering on their fellow teammates.

When the bottom of the seventh arrived, each voice drowned out the next until the dugout cheers became one unintelligible roar. Jag batters, however, were impatient at the plate swinging at pitches in the dirt to end the game.

In the second game of the doubleheader against College of the Desert, the Lady Jags lost 4-3.

With a runner at second, Mazon hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning.

“I honestly just wanted to make solid contact and on base,” said Mazon.

The Lady Jags did have their chances to put the game out of reach early when they loaded the bases up but a single run did not cross the plate. In the following inning, COD loaded the bases and with one swing of the bat the Jags were down 2-4.The Jags scored on a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-3. COD bounced back with two runs and took a 4-3 lead. Mother Nature then finished off the Lady Jags. Heavy rain began to fall and the umpires called the game in favor of the Roadrunners.

SWC lost to Riverside City College,

4-1 in the season opener.

Riverside’s leadoff batter started the gam e w i th a tr i p l e a n d w a s knocked in on a single with two outs in the top of the first to make the score 1-0, Tigers. Beasley settled down with two strikeouts in the inning.

“I try to forget it, move on to the next batter, and focus on getting three outs so the runner does not score,” said Beasley.

RCC was threatening in the third

inning with a runner on third but came up empty with a nice block of the plate by catcher Nikki Berumen.

“I got an adrenaline rush and was excited to block the plate because that’s my favorite thing to do as a catcher,” she said.

Lady Jag players showed signs of life when they were able to get a runner on base, but left her stranded.

RCC added another run in the top of the fourth were on the attack again in the fifth with runners in scoring

possession and no outs, but Beasley was able to keep her composure and get two outs. RCC got a clutch hit, however, and ran the score to 4-0.

Beasley singled in a run in the sixth to make it a 4-1 final.

Moassadeghi said the early season games have gone well, even the closes losses, and she expects a late-season run like last year’s. The Lady Jags have momentum—and Beasley—on their side.

See what is new on the SWC web!

Southwestern College offers more than 40 career and technical degree and certificate programs that prepare students for entry into a chosen career, to upgrade job skills in order to advance to a higher paying position, and in many cases prepares students for transfer to a four-year college or university.

Our programs are designed to prepare students in two years or less to be ready for a promising career that leads to employment that: • Provides economic security and personal satisfaction

• Provides improved opportunities for advancement • Is in tune with the latest developments and industry forecasts • Involves the use of the most modern techniques and equipment • Offers opportunities to use individual skills, abilities and creativity • Opens doors to further education, both in college and in employer sponsored programs To learn more about these new and innovative programs, go to: www.swccd.edu/ ctecareers

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Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013 Volume 56, Issue 4

The Southwestern College Sun

ARTS > REVIEW

Faculty photo exhibit lacked needed focus

By Itzel Alonso Staff Writer

Photos by David McVicker

Soft lights

FEETS OF WONDER— Tap dance virtuosos from the California Rhythm Project dazzled an appreciative crowd at the dance studio. CRP are performer/preservationists who keep live the uniquely American dance form.

Hard Taps

excellent combination

> REVIEW

By Fernanda Gutierrez // Staff Writer

T

ap dance, like jazz, is a uniquely American art form born of the collision of African slaves and Irish immigrants in the ports of the Old South. Hand-in-hand, step-bystep, new Americans – whether they arrived here voluntarily or in chains – blended their rhythmic, musical dance traditions to form the clattering, dynamic style that has spanned centuries.

The Southwestern College dance department brought The California Rhythm Project, a tap dance company whose mission is to promote, preserve and develop tap dance and other rhythmic dance forms, for an evening of concussive, propulsive artistry. Each of the 12 performances took the audience around the world and through time.

Starting out with a touch of the Irish, five dancers rattled along to the fast-paced tempo as they locked arm-in-arm to “Rise and Shine Acapella.” It was a riff of “River Dance” on the Mississippi River. “ C r u c i a l C o u n t r y B r e a k d o w n” w a s a n

acknowledgement of tap’s African roots and the performers did the Mother Continent proud. Dancers displayed a combination of grace and power, thunder and gentle rain.

Best outfits award goes to the SWC Tap Ensemble for its “Log Cabin Blues” ensemble, a delight to the eye. Women in fitted black pants and sequined silver crop tops moved playfully while the men, dressed in tuxedos, followed along. Their performance was rough around the edges, but charming.

Mother and daughter Nancy Boskin-Mullen and Adi Mullen delivered the most emotional performance of the night. Tapping to a smooth piano accompaniment, they displayed a synchronized connection that was touching.

All members of The Rhythm Project and SWC’s Tap Ensemble came out for a thunderous finale to “Shim Sham.” An appreciative audience clapped their hands as the dancers clomped their feet. The California Rhythm Project tapped into something good.

Photography faculty took a shot at an exhibition of their own in the Southwestern College Art Gallery that showed much creativity, but was something less than picture perfect.

“Faculty Photography” lacked focus, and tried too hard to be edgy and hip. There were, however, some great shots.

Some pieces drew onlookers immediately, like two floor-to-ceiling pixelated images. Others were more challenging, such as four cream color drapes with a letter at the far right corner of each one.

There were sublime creations among the chaos. Assistant Professor of Photography John Pickell captured an image of a woman’s complete body and distorted the photo into threeinch pixels to display a silhouette.

Marv Slobben also scored with three black and white photographs. One was a woman standing underneath a light pole playing her guitar with a face that spoke of serenity and loneliness.

Another photo displayed Jimmy, an older man in what seemed to be a begging or praying position. His lips were in a thin line and he had a stare that went through viewers’ souls. The third photo seemed to be an old rock star tired of his lifestyle and ready for retirement.

Professor of Photography Micajah Truitt captured a baby crawling on the

Photos by David McVicker

sidewalk curiously approaching a dead rat.

A second photograph presented a pair of manly hands trying to help what seemed to be a child trapped between rocks.

Apart from the three educators art there was not really anything exceptional. Too many looked like advertising.

Robert Heinecken, a legendary UCLA professor and photographer, once said, “There is a vast difference between taking a picture and making a photograph.”

He was right. A photograph should communicate a message and a feeling.

“Faculty Photography” may have had a message, but students weren’t feeling it.

No crack pots in fiery SWC ceramics program

By Steven Uhl Assistant Sports Editor

SOUND AND FURY— (above) Professor Mary Jo Horvath is art in motion. (upper l) California Rhythm Project dancers show that tap is a moving conversation. (l) Mother-daughter dynamos Nancy Boskin-Mullen and Ali Mullen delivered a touching performance.

David McVicker/staff

LOOK TO THE SKY — Photography professor Matt Micajah Truitt’s exquisite piece “Kite Worship.”

John Lewis doesn’t want to hear any more whining about “starving artists.”

Like so many hip 21st century men and women, Lewis understands that art and creativity is our future.

Southwestern College’s gifted professor of ceramics said the arts provide a pathway for the development of intelligence and problem solving like no other subjects. He had his own epiphany at his Wisconsin community college.

“When I started talking to my professors, I realized how many jobs related to arts existed such as working in a museum or designing clothes,” he said.

That is when he said he decided he would make art his number one priority. Lewis said he enjoyed using ceramic materials more than other media a n d w a s s p e l l b o u n d by t h e process. Southwestern College had the foundation in place for a great ceramics program, he said.

He decided he would pursue an education degree to work as an art teacher.

He quickly found out, however, that he did not like teaching young children as much as he thought he would. College students, he concluded, are where it’s at, and SWC is the place to teach them. “ We h a v e a nice set of art courses that are offered for students who are art majors and those who are not is extreme beneficially to the community,” he said.

Lewis earned an MFA f ro m t h e Un i ve r s i t y

of North Texas and was hired at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in New Castle, Maine.

“I would drive and deliver the supplies to the school, load the work up and get it fired,” he said. Then received an offer to manage ceramics facilities at 500x Gallery in Dallas. please see Clay pg. B6

Daphne Jauregui, editor

arts

The Southwestern College Sun

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: arts@theswcsun.com

> REVIEW

Roll over Paganini, teen virtuoso is the news African-American History Month event showcases violin prodigy

By Saira Araiza Staff Writer

L Karen Tome/staff

A HEAVENLY TALENT — Annelle Kazumi Gregory is just 17 years old, but put on a masterful performance in Mayan Hall.

egend has it that the prodigious violinist Niccolò Paganini sold his soul to the devil in trade for his talent. Any deal Annelle Kazumi Gregory may have made had to involve angels. She can make her violin sing like one.

Gifted is hardly sufficient to describe the 17-year-old virtuoso who gave a spell-binding African-American History Month performance in Mayan Hall. No sulfur on this young lady.

Gregory lit up “Summerland,” a romantic and dreamy song by William Grant Stills, and fired up the audience.

Tchaikovsky’s “Violin concerto, MTVS 2 and 3,” was no match for Gregory, who channeled the Russian masterpiece through her lithe fingers, nor was J.S. Bach’s “Sonata No.1 for

solo violin, Adagio and Fugue.”

She captured Bach’s dramatic and intense composition like a tiger by the tail, handling a strong and beautiful beast that devours lesser talents.

Young Gregory played like an old soul on Mozart’s “Concerto No. 4, MVT 1.”

Her brief description before the selection was unnecessary as her artistry told the story itself.

Maestro Paganini himself came back to life in “Caprice No. 5.”

Gregory raced along with the quick, energetic melody like an Olympic sprinter, charging down the track with elegant explosiveness.

If the devil is in the details he may soon find himself out of work.

Gregory plays a heavenly violin and she is still learning. That is a divine thought.

Cheerful music professor hits all the right notes

By Rick Flores Assistant Arts Editor

Rick Flores/staff

Sometimes you have to blow your own horn… especially if you are a French horn virtuoso.

Professor of Music Dr. Cynthia McGregor is too polite to be described as brassy, but she can elevate a horn section with her power and artistry.

McGregor started her collegiate career at California State University Hayward for two years, then transferred to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and earned degrees in French horn performance and music theory. Grad school followed at Northwestern University for degrees in music theory and music performance. At Northwestern she played in the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, Kenosha Symphony and Chicago Civic Orchestra.

Southwestern College beckoned in 2004 and McGregor joined the faculty. She became a full professor in 2009 and has kept her performance chops up playing for the Orquesta de Baja California and the La Jolla Symphony.

SWC is like an orchestra, she said, with a colorful variety of players.

“I love the diversity this school has to offer,” said McGregor. “I wanted to go to a college and help students who want to learn to become competitive when they transfer as music majors to a university.”

Born in the foothills of the San

Francisco East Bay, McGregor said she was intrigued by music at a very young age and started piano lessons when she was six.

“Although I did not really enjoy it much, I began playing violin in the third grade and from there my love for music skyrocketed,” said McGregor.

In secondary school she learned to play the flute and her beloved French horn.

“I absolutely loved being in the marching band in high school and I also played horn in the California All-State Honor Band my junior year,” she said. “After being in the All-State Honor Band I then realized that I wanted to go to college and study music theory and play my French horn.”

Sh e a l s o i n v i t e s s o m e o f t h e ensembles she plays in, such as Hornswoggle and La Jolla Brass Quintet, to SWC to play concerts students can enjoy.

John Lorge, conductor of Hornswoggle, is a McGregor fan.

“She is so talented and is a wonderful horn player and a pleasure to work with on the professional level,” he said.

Students agree.

“She is really funny and super nice!” said Camila Halm, 19, a music major. “Honestly, she is the most approachable professor that I’ve ever had. She really knows her stuff and she makes it really fun to learn.”

B5

Spring Arts Preview APRIL 3

Windsor Hills Consort: Music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance & Baroque 7:30 p.m, Room 801

APRIL 10

Women’s History Month Street Painting Festival 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cesar Chavez Center

Euphoria Brass: New Orleans Style Jazz 7:30 p.m, Room 801

APRIL 11

Women’ s History Month Street Painting Festival from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

APRIL 17

Freemonts: Gulf Coast Rhythm and Blues 7:30 p.m, Room 801

APRIL 17-20, 2427

The Laramie Project 7:30 p.m, Mayan Hall $8 Students/Seniors/Staff $12 General Admission

KEY TO HAPPINESS — Music professor Dr. Cynthia McGregor is popular with students and in demand as a French horn virtuoso.

> REVIEW

SWC improv group loves making up, breaking up

By Gonzalo Quintana Staff Writer

Sometimes it is better to plan ahead, but other times it’s more fun just to make it up as you go.

Members of the Southwestern College Improvisation Group like to live life on the edge and tackle whatever comes along. Like gifted Jazz musicians, they create their art on the spot. They are pretty darn funny, too.

SWC’s team put on a laugh-filled show at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza, opening for the acclaimed play “Clybourne Park.” Giovanni Alva and his crew were a tough act to follow.

Alva, a theatre major, made the performance an audience-driven event and asked the crowd for ideas.

One memorable skit took place on a pier. With the actors quickly a l t e r n a t i n g , Je we l l K a r i n e n a n d Amanda Guerrero played the part of birds flying over the pier while aiming at their human targets. When their turn came up, Luciano Guitian and Jonathan Ortiz portrayed the roles of

two men meeting on a blind date, sadly they were cut off by a quick switch. When they returned, they were on another date, which ended with Ortiz proposing to Guitian.

When the audience was asked about their favorite fairy tales, someone yelled out “Jack and the Beanstalk,” which led to the final skit. Karinen and Guitian were the humans, with Ortiz as the giant. This particular skit came with one caveat, they would perform it as Russians, Italians, and finally, as Ethiopians, as mandated by the audience. As Russians they drank Vodka constantly and spoke of Communism, while also trying to climb the beanstalk before the Americans beat them to it, a reference to the Moon landing. Their Russian accents were hilarious and a true highlight of the show.

Feisty Professor of Theatre Mark Pentilescu is the godfather of the SWC Improv. He said he was very happy with his students’ performances. More important, so was the audience.

Clay: Lewis shapes college ceramics program in his edgy, creative image Continued from page B4

He worked as the ceramic technician and an adjunct instructor. Lewis said he was content working in Dallas, but wanted to run a program he could shape. He was hired as a tenure track assistant professor by SWC in 2008.

George Essex, who has serve as an instructional lab technician in the ceramics studio since 1995, said Lewis has pulled SWC into the 21st century.

“When John Lewis came to SWC five years ago he brought a new attitude and has since created a more progressive ceramics program,” he said.

Lewis is also co-director of the campus art galley and advisor of the popular Clay Club. He recently took the Clay Club to the Robert and Frances Museum of Art at CSU San Bernardino.

Goyo Flores, a retired theater instructor, is a Lewis fan.

“John Lewis promotes student art work not only on campus, but also at the Third Avenue Gallery,” said Flores.“ Our work just gets better with him. He relates well with students of all ages.”

David McVicker/staff

FEAT OF CLAY — Ceramics master John Lewis has inspired students to think beyond pots and plates to make ceramics an elite art form.

B6

Jan. 14 - Mar. 4, 2013 — Vol. 56, Iss. 4

CAMPUS

The Southwestern College Sun

Renaissance woman a warrior for the disabled

SWC alumnae is a barrier breaker

By Ailsa Alipusan Staff Writer

Angela Van Ostran rolls over the toes of adversity and races over the speed bumps of life in her wheelchair like Ben-Hur in a chariot, Vin Diesel in a hot rod or Bruce Springsteen on Thunder Road.

No retreat, baby, no surrender.

A 2012 SDSU graduate, Southwestern College Student of Distinction and disability rights warrior, Van Ostran

is hard of hearing and has Cerebral Palsy, but is an athlete, musician, awardwinning writer, crusader, mentor and mother. Sometimes all in the same day.

Cerebral Palsy can emerege during infancy or early childhood. It permanently affects control of motor skills, often requiring those affected to rely on wheelchairs. Van Ostran said her mother, Debbie Zukas, tried hard to support her.

“I was the only one with a disability in my

Serina Duarte/Staff

DISABILITY RIGHTS WARRIOR — SDSU graduate and Southwestern College alumnus, Angela Van Ostran is an athlete, musician, award-winning writer, leader, diplomat, human rights crusader and mother - often all in the same day.

family,” she said. “Getting around without skills when she dazzled a room of students a car or wheelchair held me back from all during a talk on the possibilities of that I wanted to do.” people with disabilities having children.

Van Ostran struggled with Van Ostran’s wizardry extends to music. She was a pianist and her changing body until a transformative moment at Greg “I went from violinist with orchestra-level Greg Rogers talent who had an uncanny Rogers Elementary. ability to play by what she heard.

“Someone suggested to my and being “I couldn’t read sheet music mother that I start going to this surrounded (as a child), but I could listen school, that it would be a good and play by ear from the radio,” fit,” said Van Ostran. “It had all by all these she said. “I found out there was these awesome things to do and people like people like me.” me to being an orchestra class (in junior high), so I dropped the home Her first brush with adversity economics class I was taking.” came when she decided to the only Van Ostran won several volunteer for the school’s safety disabled state and national journalism patrol. student in awards at The Sun, including The school district and police the entire national column writing department questioned Van awards from the Society of Ostran’s ability to keep other school.”

Professional Journalists. She kids safe. served as Viewpoints Editor “I was told it was never been Angela Van Ostran and Managing Editor. SWC done before, which just spurred honored her in 2010 with its me on even more,” she said. highest honor, the Student of “No” was not an acceptable Distinction Award. answer. She was soon the first Van Ostran earned a bachelor’s in disabled crossing guard at Greg Rogers Elementary, the first of many barriers psychology from San Diego State University, but not before shaking up the status quo. broken.

Transfer to Montgomery Junior High As the SDSU American Sign Language Club President and Vice President of School was a jolt.

“It was a culture shock,” she said. “I went SDSU’s President’s Advisory Committee on from Greg Rogers and being surrounded by Disability as Diversity, Van Ostran’s soft all these people like me to being the only voice was heard loud and clear. She also lead the foundation of the revolutionary SDSU disabled student in the entire school.”

As walking grew more difficult, Student Ability Network, an academic s w i m m i n g b r o u g h t e q u a l i t y. fraternity for disabled students.

Van Ostran is a member of the Disability “I felt weightless and free in the pool,” she Rights California Board of Directors. said. “Once I was in, I just took off.”

“We deal with legislation for disability She was a natural in the water and became an eight-time regional champion rights and spread awareness in the and a member of the United States community,” she said.

Word choices are important Van Ostran Disabled Swim Team. She also earned a spot on the U.S. Paralympics swim team, said, especially when applied to the disabled community. Disabled citizens should not be but declined.

“I’d just had a baby, so my priorities, and labeled as having “special needs,” she said.

“They are just different needs, needs that time, had just shifted,” she said.

Motherhood is wonderful, Van Ostran make us equal,” she said.

She does not have a problem said. Her relationship with her 16-year-old with the word “gimp,” however. son, River, is special.

“He grew up using my wheel chair as a “We live in a culture that wishes to take walker,” she said. “Sometimes he had to back words with negative connotations, make his own drinks and sometimes tie his but I feel it is important to embrace them,” own shoes. We couldn’t always explore parts she said.

Van Ostran, like most of us, admits to of the park because they weren’t accessible.”

River got a life-long lesson about the enjoying a day off.

“My perfect day would be me disabled.

“I didn’t sugar coat things with him,” in my pajamas, no work, watching movies I haven’t seen with captions said Van Ostran.

She said their bond has become (and) drinking Kool Aid,” she said.

Van Ostran has not seen many films an important part to Van Ostran’s a d v o c a c y o f d i s a b i l i t i e s t o d a y. recently. Too busy fighting, advocating and SDSU instructor Mendy McClure speaking out. Maybe someday there will be witnessed Van Ostran’s communication a film about her.

Coaching Corps volunteers aim to change children’s lives

By Daphne Jauregui Arts Editor

F

or many pover ty-stricken c h i l d re n , a n o p p o r t u n i t y to play youth sports is transformational. It’s usually their coach that does the transforming.

Southwestern College students can now sign up to serve as miracle workers thanks to Coaching Corps, a volunteer program that places college students to serve as football, soccer, basketball and baseball coaches in low-income communities in San Diego County.

Sheilagh Polk, Coaching Corps director of communications, said the organization is always searching for dedicated students who are passionate about kids, sports and volunteering.

“Coaching Corps exists to interrupt the conditions of poverty and ensure that all kids – regardless of where they live – have access to the life-changing benefits of sports and a committed and caring coach,” she said.

Student chapters are in full swing at San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. Southwestern College is Coaching Corps’ next target. An introductory meeting with the SWC ASTRA Club led to the commitment by Professor of Health and Exercise Science and former SWC head football coach Walt Justice to serve as faculty advisor.

Monisha Taylor, a SWC student and a volunteer for the last year and a half at the Jackie Robinson YMCA in San Diego, said her favorite part of a coaching is seeing children’s faces light up.

“Kids can see the enjoyment that you have as a coach and they can have that same enjoyment when they’re out their

doing their practices,” she said.

Taylor said that her experience with Coaching Corps helped her become a basketball coach at Mar Vista High School.

Coaching Corps is looking for students to lead flag football, soccer, basketball, softball and swimming t e a m s . Tr a i n i n g s e s s i o n s w i t h experienced coaches will prepare volunteers to take over their own teams.

Robert Johnson, the San Diego Regional Coordinator for Coaching Corps, is a Pop Warner football coach who said he has had youngsters go on to play high school sports.

“I think my favorite part of this is just seeing the relationships that get built with the volunteers, how they connect with the kids and how they are able to be role models for them,” he said. “When I started coaching on my own, I started to see these kids gravitating towards me. Kids were reaching out to me outside of practice and that made me feel like I really am having an impact on them.”

Johnson said the program gives college students an opportunity to David McVicker/Staff give back to the community and MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES — Coaching Corps volunteers play a game of tag to help to develop leadership skills and children break out of their shell and become familiar with the program. responsibility.

Sahar Osmani, president of the Coaching Corps chapter at SDSU, said she wants to share something more make that difference.” competitive teams when they are older, than just her time as a volunteer.

Passion for sports made her want to Osmani said.

“Children growing up today don’t start a new chapter, Osmani said.

“Just seeing that I had gotten them have the privileges that we had growing “I wanted to get more involved,” so riled up and inspired to continue up, they are not getting the afterschool she said. “I loved the fact that I was to push themselves to a further limit activities or sports we had,” she said. coaching, but I wanted to see if I could was when I noticed that those kids “Physical education is getting cut out do more than coach. I decided I wanted had changed my life,” she said. “They of school programs. Getting involved to get more people to do it as well.” changed my life more than I had with Coaching Corps allows you to She loves to see her kids try out for changed theirs.”

la Visionaria Ana Bahena

SWC has many great teachers, fine role models

V

ery soon my generation will define what the world will be like. It is up to us to make it a better place.

I don’t want fame or fortune. I want to do something meaningful.

I want to inspire my community. I want to make a difference. The best way to help shape the future is to become a teacher.

My dad barely graduated elementary school and my mom earned a high school diploma, but my parents never truly realized the importance of an education. My teachers showed me the importance of education by being caring, inspirational, challenging and engaging. They motivated me to be a better person.

Some people think teachers do the bare minimum— come to class, talk for hours, assign busy work, then leave. That has not been my experience. I’ve been lucky to have great role models and I plan to make them proud.

I understand that not everyone learns the same way. I will use different methods to teach my students, so the information is not lost and jumbled with everything else they need to know. Being an educator is more than just teaching, they need to go beyond the textbook and tests, and see their students as more than just an ID number.

What is a “good” teacher? I say it’s the underpaid, exhausted and proud who are great. Teaching isn’t something you get into for the money. It is less than a career and more of a calling. It is something done out of pure love. With the absence of teachers, the world would be dull and unfulfilling. Everyone has a calling and teachers help their students find that.

And it’s not just about teaching what the state mandates, life lessons are important, too. It’s much more than facts and theories. It’s about teaching something that will stay with them, when all else fails.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”

Erin Gruwell is a graduate of Bonita High School. In 1994, she began teaching at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach. After receiving a class of freshmen who were not motivated to learn, she reached out to them by asking them to keep journals. Writing journals became a place of peace for students and as the journals were shared with their classmates anonymously, students who were once strangers became family. All of her students graduated from high school and some went off to college, something no one expected of them but Gruwell.

Many teachers at Southwestern College are already following in Gruwell’s footsteps. Psychology professor Jan Koontz uses music to teach students different topics.

With her method, these topics are easily learned. English adjunct James Wenzell uses different YouTube videos to teach his students critical analysis, which engages them and keeps it interesting. Communications professor Candice Taffolla-Schreiber uses different elements to teach so the learning environment is never the same. Her methods stimulate the mind. Reading instructor June Goodrich never gives lectures.

Instead, she uses current events and personal experiences to teach. Her students also use journals to write about what they are learning, which please see Bahena pg. B7

Reach Ana Bahena by email at ana. alicia.bahena@hotmail.com.

Daniel Guzman and Lina Chankar, co-editors

Campus

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: campus@theswcsun.com

Vatican: Foreign correspondent is a witness to history Continued from Page A8

cheer me on and motivate me. Over time I thought, ‘maybe I do have what it takes.’”

Ken Pagano, who worked with LopezHodoyan at The Sun, said she always smiled, told people to stay positive and never let anyone down. He said he saw her talent from the get go.

“Katia always had the right attitude about her goals right from the beginning,” said Pagano. “That kind of outlook doesn’t come naturally, it has to be coached. Look at where she is now, her career has taken her from reporting bi-national issues, cross-cultural issues to international issues. She has focus, determination and a support system in her parents and in the newsroom.”

During her two years at SWC LopezHodoyan was the News Editor at The Sun,

an ASO senator and a 2000 Student of Distinction Award winner.

Telemundo sports anchor Humberto Gurmilan said he met Lopez-Hodoyan at The Sun and they became good friends. He said she was a great writer from the beginning.

“I think the sky is the limit for her,” said Gurmilan. “She’s already doing things in her profession that others take years to do or even never get a chance to experience. I think she will continue to succeed in all her endeavors and no one will be surprised.”

After SWC she transferred to the University of San Francisco and earned a Bachelor’s degree in media studies. Soon after, Lopez-Hodoyan was ready to work for a newspaper.

“I wanted to be a print journalist,” she said, “but local newspapers weren’t really hiring at the time. Print journalism was still strong, but I wasn’t having any luck. After about six months of looking and sending applications, I was hired at Univision, a Spanish language TV station in San Diego.

I was an assignment desk editor, so basically the person who helps reporters coordinate their stories for the newscasts.”

While at Univision Lopez-Hodoyan freelanced for the bilingual newspaper La Prensa de San Diego, writing in English and Spanish. Next she was hired as a writer and producer for NBC’s “Mi San Diego,” a newscast in Spanish. That show eventually shut down, but being bilingual, she said her manager and news director gave her an English on-air reporting job at NBC San Diego.

Sammy Castañon, Editor-in-Chief of The Sun in Spring 1999, said the newspaper was always blessed to have great writers and Lopez-Hodoyan was one of them. She was always so dedicated and hard-working, he said, and he remembered telling her that she had what it took to go very far at The Sun and in anything she chose to do.

“We always kept in touch after our time at SWC,” said Castañon. “I ended up in TV news. And I got a call from Katia one day asking me all these TV-related questions. Turns out she had been offered an assignment desk editor position at Univision 17 here in San Diego. I answered her questions and told her to go for it!

Next thing I know, she was reporting for NBC San Diego’s “Mi San Diego” Spanish newscasts ... and eventually for NBC San Diego. Even though I’ve been an associate producer at News 8/KFMB-TV for the past eight years, I was extremely always proud to see Katia at NBC 7. She deserves all the success she has gotten in this business. Good things happen to good people and Katia is very good at what she does. And it all started at The Sun!” Lopez-Hodoyan said her job at Univision was unique and a great learning experience. She said she loved the news stories and chaos, but remembers being stressed out. Lopez-Hodoyan admitted she had moments of doubt and wondered, “Am I cut out for this?”

“Difficulties are part of life,” she said.

“There are challenges in any job. In this profession you have to be willing to work long hours. You constantly feel ‘on the clock,’ but it’s just part of it. It’s definitely worth it, though. Looking back, I can say I have no regrets, but I am where I am today because people gave me a chance.”

But looking back, she said she realized the old saying is true, that parents know best.

Lopez-Hodoyan said her parent’s decision about her border-spanning education has definitely been the key to her success.

“Being from the border region and being fully bilingual and bicultural has opened so many doors. My parents say they never really thought about it as a ‘success formula.’ They wanted me to know and understand my Mexican heritage first hand. I think this fact

Jan. 14 - Mar. 4, 2013 — Vol. 56, Iss. 4

B7

Courtesy Photo

AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE — SWC Sun alumnae Katia Lopez-Hodoyan looks on as Pope Benedict XVI becomes the first pontiff to send a message via Twitter. Her work for Rome Reports is broadcast around the globe in English and Spanish.

made it easier for me to make the plunge and move to Rome. Like my parents said, ‘you make a decision, and you follow through.’

But with that being said, there is no place like home. I just signed another one year extension to my contract, but eventually I do want to go back to Chula Vista.”

Lopez-Hodoyan has succeeded in a business that is extremely competitive and ever-changing. Castañon said he sees her keeping up with these changes, and growing stronger and more confident as a TV news reporter.

“Even though we all knew she was destined for great things, I don’t think Katia ever imagined she would be an international TV news reporter,” he said. “She was able to break into the business on her own terms

and has earned the respect and admiration of everyone in every newsroom she has worked in. She also never stops learning or updating her journalism skills. And Katia has kept up with the new focus on the Internet and social media in TV news.

Word travels fast in our business. And the only stories I hear about Katia from colleagues are positive ones. She always wanted to travel the world, so she’s in the best possible position right now. I’d love to see her as a TV anchor or the host of her own news show. If she wants to go down that road, the possibilities are endless.

But that’s what’s so great about her. She’s not afraid to take chances. She puts 1000 percent in everything she does. And that has taken her far in life and in her career.”

Homeboy-turned-author Bahena: SWC has connects with students

excellent professors

Talented National City native couldn’t read in second grade

Continued from Page B6

By Kasey Thomas Associate News Editor

N

ational City native Matt de la Peña has had his novels made into major motion pictures and won prestigious national writing awards.

Not bad for a guy who flunked second grade because he could not read.

Peña spoke at the Southwestern College Guest Writers Series and explained how a reluctant reader became a respected writer.

“It’s not that I didn’t like books,” he said, “it’s more that I wasn’t exposed to books when I was young. I never saw my dad with a book, never saw my mom with books.”

Peña said he broke through his selfdefinition of being the “dumb kid” when he attended college.

“What contributed to me not being a reader was what happened to me in second grade,” he said. “At the end of the year, the teachers called my parents into the classroom and said we can’t let Matt go into third grade because he can’t read. So my parents came out and said ‘hey you’re going to have to repeat second grade.’ I thought, honestly, if I can’t get into third grade I must be kind of a dumb kid.”

Poetry was the entry point into writing career he said. In high school he wrote poems about girls he liked.

They were not very good, he admitted, especially one where he compared a girl’s face to a cumulous cloud.

Students who attended said they enjoyed the talk.

“Matt de la Peña’s presentation was exceptional,” said Taylor Soto, 19, a paralegal major. “He was a very humerous guy, which made his presentation more entertaining for his audience. My favorite story he told us, was the one where he ‘stalked’ his junior high or high school crush and wrote her a love poem.”

When a professor gave him the book “The Color Purple,” Peña said he began exploring ethnic writers, including Mexican-American authors.

From there Peña began writing short stories about a boy named Danny who grew up in National City. These stories helped shape his books.

“I liked talking about him because he was the only one in his family that wasn’t full Mexican and he felt that

David McVicker/Staff

FAILURE FUELED SUCCESS — Author Matt de la Peña reads excerpts from his acclaimed novel “Mexican Whiteboy” to students attending SWC’s Guest Writer Series.

that was his fault,” said Peña. “He felt guilty for not being Mexican enough.

I wrote maybe seven of those stories and maybe one or two of them were decent, but they became the basis for this book.”

In 2011 Peña’s book “Ball Don’t Lie” was made into a motion picture which featured Ludacris, Nick Cannon and Emelie de Ravin. Peña also co-wrote the screenplay.

Pe ñ a s p o k e a b o u t h i s w r i t i n g experience and how his life shaped h i s w r i t i n g . He f i n i s h e d o f f h i s presentation by reading from his book “Mexican WhiteBoy.” “He was a Mexican among the white boys and a white boy among the Mexicans,” he read.

Peña has given his presentation at schools all across the country, he said, because he wants to serve as an inspiration to students.

“I really enjoyed the presentation because he was entertaining,” said Mariel Quinto, 19, major undeclared.

“The stories he told from his experiences were extremely interesting and his way of telling his stories way enjoyable. wIn the presentation he explained how being held back helped him realize that he needed to excel. He also explained how reading impacted his life in a positive way.”

promotes critical thought.

History instructor Richard Gibson is very passionate and it rubs off on his students. He fights for what he believes in.

When Arizona passed a law in 2010 that banned schools from teaching ethnic studies, like Mexican-American History, Gibson told his class this was wrong. He even went out to Arizona and stood on the picket lines. His passion to do what is right is passed on to his students and he instills the lesson of “practice what you preach.”

These are some of the educators at SWC who are doing more than the bare minimum. They silently work wonders in their classroom every day, without recognition and rarely receiving praise.

Teachers have the power to transform failures into scholars, to alter the course of a student’s life and to shape them as individuals.

Educators are invaluable, their worth cannot be measured.

The community needs to stand with its educators. We shouldn’t be thinking about pay cuts or layoffs, we should be appreciating our educators much more.

B8

campus

Jan. 14 - March 4, 2013 — Volume 56, Issue 4

The Southwestern College Sun

A champion gone too soon...

Phil

Lopez

Friends and admirers remember the SCEA leader as a towering figure on campus

C

ondensing Phil into 250 words is difficult, but so was he. He heartily embraced the role of curmudgeon, yelling out the car window at slow moving pedestrians or moaning loudly when gas bags droned on and on and on at meetings. That last bit will always be my favorite. I was a terrible audience for Phil because I loved it when he moaned or rolled his eyes, saying “Geez,” right in front of the perceived offender. How many times did he toss out an insulting metaphor or simile in a meeting? Not enough times for me. So he was a real PITA, but he was also generous to a fault and a true crusader who spent enormous chunks of his life helping others. He always opened his house for anyone who wanted to hold a party or a rally or a meeting. Here’s a cliché come to life: I told him once I really liked this one shirt he had on, and he asked me what size I wore, and started to take it off. He was going to give me the shirt off his back! The night he died, he called me to tell me a funny story and see how I was recovering from some complicated health BS, but I was napping, so I missed the call. I still have the voicemail where he promises to call later. It breaks my heart that he’ll never keep that promise.

-Andrew C. Rempt

Serina Duarte/staff

IN YOUR FACE —(top) Phil Lopez in 1976, the year he started teaching at Southwestern College. The widely-admired professor and union activist died unexpectedly in December.

Phil didn’t talk a lot about teaching, not because it wasn’t important to him, but because I think he felt his role was more to keep us informed about what was going on at the college, in the New Yorker, and on the basketball court. He wasn’t one of those professors who felt it was their job to tell everyone else how to teach. Even if he thought we all didn’t read enough, he respected and trusted our philosophies of instruction. We all knew that students were the most important thing.

The observant, however, could not help but pick up bits and pieces of his wisdom. Early each semester, sign-in sheets—one for each class he was teaching-would appear on his office door. Mistaking the lists for a student conferencing schedule, at first I thought Phil was being very conscientious to be meeting with students the first two weeks of classes. His purpose was actually simpler and more direct: he wanted his

students to know where his office was so that they could find him. And they did—throughout the semester, a steady stream of students came into the 400 building to see Mr. Lopez. If Phil wasn’t around, we could always assure the student he would be soon because his door was open and the light was on.

The 400 building was our water cooler, and Phil could often be found sitting in the area right outside my office that we unceremoniously call The Chairs.

Invariably, if a student came by, waiting nervously for an instructor to arrive for office hours, Phil would invite the student to sit. “This area is for you, too,” he would say.

I got to know Phil best as a teacher after he passed.

On the last day of finals, Dean Joel Levine and I huddled over dozens of portfolios, working out how to grade Phil’s classes. The process entailed reading several pieces of writing from each student, along with Phil’s remarks. It was a wonderful glimpse into his approach: In person, Phil often gruffly complained about how his students (like his colleagues) didn’t read. In the margins of these papers, though, he read their work, responded, supported and cajoled them. Through multiple revisions, he pushed them to do their best, and when he felt they’d achieved it, he would write, “Done!” at the top of their papers.

In return, his students were inspired. It was difficult to read their final reflections, composed prior to Phil’s death. Student after student expressed gratitude for Phil’s help, for how much they had learned, for what the class meant to them. One student wrote, “Thanks to you, Mr. Phil, I might be the first person in my family to make something of themselves.”

-Leslie Yoder Phil was a fighter. He enjoyed being in a conflict, but not just any conflict. He liked to fight for the little guy. Protecting those who were unable to protect themselves was his passion. He had been an adjunct professor for many years and knew the plight of those “freeway flyers.” He knew that they had few rights and little power, so he became their champion. The Vested Adjunct Policy, and later contract language, came in lion’s share from him.

But he didn’t stop there. He felt a kinship with

all the staff, administrators and faculty on campus.

He had been here for decades and SWC was his home. We were his family. He did not hesitate to step forward when anyone on campus was treated unfairly. He had a true sense of justice, and little patience for those who didn’t. He would sit out in the campus courtyard smoking his cigarette between classes or meetings. Students, staff and faculty would often wander by and ask advice. He would offer both practical and philosophical observations, and I never tired of either.

Sometimes I would wander to his smoky corner even when I had no questions on contracts or justice.

He was just a pleasure to listen to as he was extremely well read. He could offer wonderful insights into areas from linguistics to astronomy, from social science to religion. I feel that over the last decade, I learned more from Phil than I did in college or in law school.

The students have lost a great teacher. We have lost a great champion.

-Rob Unger The writerly Phil Lopez: he had arty friends— LeRoy, Michael, me, a couple painters; Hemingway, Huck Finn, the Dylans, Bob and Thomas, Yeats, Neruda, his son, Nick. The guy read with hunger and laughter and could write lightning (I say this about you, Phil, because I like the sound…and hold it to be true).

A year ago he smiled in my direction, “Can you believe we’re going to be 64, like in “When I’m Sixty-Four”? and so now for Phil, forever. And the Roman à clef novel he intended to pen, maybe Southwestern Confidential, will not be, forever. The educator and the music man and the SCEA Prime Mover, dexterous and red shoes and forthright, but my nod and image and embrace toward him is this: writerPhilwriter.

-Jane Tassi

Phil Lopez, like Senator Hubert Humphrey years ago, was a happy warrior. He was Don Quixote in a Hawaiian shirt, battling against injustices and rescuing damsels (and gentlemen)

Diana Innocencio/Staff

FREE SPEECH CRUSADERS —Professors Andrew Rempt, Janet Mazzarella and Lopez speak out against Chopra-era speech restrictions.

in distress. Phil had a better won-lost record than Señor Quixote, however, and took on real beasts like inequality and repression of free speech instead of windmills. Phil’s targets hit back, but he never flinched.

Phil was a chain-smoking, Shakespearequoting man-about-campus who seemed to always be nearby. He was genuinely interested in what everyone was doing and loved to chat about what was up. He was the rare person who always made you the subject of the conversation and inevitably made you feel valued, talented and relevant.

Journalism students on this campus owe Phil a tremendous debt of gratitude for his unwavering support of their First Amendment rights and his ferocious defense of The Sun when a previous administration attempted to silence the student newspaper. He immediately mobilized political support, funding sources and community awareness. He also provided much appreciated encouragement with his impromptu pep talks to students (and their advisor) during their darkest hour. It is easy to stand next to a buddy who just won an Oscar, but it is a true friend who will stand next to you when bullets are flying.

Phil took bullets for many of us over the years and by doing so saved people’s jobs, improved his colleagues’ quality of life and showed us the true meaning of service leadership.

-Max Branscomb Beatles or Stones?

Phil used to say that the answer to that question, for anyone growing up in the sixties, told you all you needed to know about someone’s politics, their worldview. The Beatles were: “All you Need is Love,” “Let it Be,” and “Eleanor Rigby.” The Stones were: “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Street Fighting Man,” and “Under My Thumb.”

Phil started college in 1965 (USC). Malcolm X had been assassinated that February. Watts went up in flames in August. The country was deeply divided over civil rights and the draft hung over everyone’s

heads. Hippie culture was still on the cusp of the national scene (the Summer of Love was still two years away), but even back then, Phil would’ve rejected the whole peace and meditation vibe.

He believed in confrontation and political struggle. He was a Stones guy.

I must’ve played music with Phil (and others) more than 100 times at the big yellow house on 2nd Avenue. It has beautiful oak floors and the acoustics are just awesome. If you had on a good pair of boots you could really get a good stomp to go along with the 12-bar blues we would play.

That was his thing: The blues.

He couldn’t really riff to country, folk or even to norteño music, which he loved. Phil played the blues and he could really fly on the keyboard, accordion or the piano.

We had about 20 or 30 songs in our limited repertoire: Bonnie Rait’s, “Sweet and Shining Eyes,” T- Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday” and even The Band’s “The Weight.” But some songs were de rigueur: the Stone’s, “Love in Vain,” “No Expectation,” or the one we’d almost always close with when we had enough beer in us to knock it dead: “Wild Horses.”

Some nights we sounded pretty good, but it was really a private thing. In 10 years we probably never played for any more than a dozen people or so. It was just a living room band, but man did we have some fun. I can still see him sitting at the keyboard fingers flying over the keys. He was most at ease playing music. The confrontational, cranky Phil was gone. He was happy and generous, praising you beyond your abilities. Just thankful you broke away to visit him, thankful to be giving in to the Friday night muse.

Nos vemos Viejo!

-Alejandro Orozco