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“Journalism allows its readers to witness history. Fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it.” - John Hershey
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VOL. 99, NO. 7 DECEMBER 3,
2020
An Associated Collegiate Press two-time national Pacemaker award-winning newspaper, serving as the voice of the students since 1922.
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Faculty criticize board meetings
Long reports leave stakeholders unengaged, they argue ERIK GALICIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Riverside Community College District faculty have raised concerns that the current structure of Board of Trustees committee meetings is cutting i n t o t h e d i s t r i c t ’s s h a r e d governance processes. The board holds two meetings per month: a committee meeting on the month’s first Tuesday and
a regular meeting on the second. Committee meetings are meant for the review and discussion of items prior to them being voted on at regular meetings. But instructors say administrators’ lengthy reports on items result in an overload of information at committee meetings. They argue the reports fall on deaf ears and that the statistical bombardment makes it difficult to engage in meaningful conversation about the issues.
“It’s long-winded, somewhat endless presentations of lots and lots of information that’s impossible to digest in one sitting,” said Rhonda Taube, RCCD Faculty Association president. Faculty are recommending that committee meetings return to a more conversational style, where they receive reports in advance so they can read through the information before it is presented.
According to Dariush Haghighat, Riverside City College Faculty Association vice president, committee meetings were characterized by a productive exchange of ideas during the leadership of former district Chancellor Salvatore G. Rotella. The change in the meetings’ structure, he said, came during the tenure of Rotella’s
WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS
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See BOARD on page 5
WHAT’S INSIDE: Living Desert hosts virtual summit
COVID-19 infographic details local statistics
NEWS
5 RCC Emeritus Wall honors past instructors
LIFE See ZOO on pages 6-7 JOYCE NUGENT | VIEWPOINTS
Visitors at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert eagerly pay for the opportunity to hand-feed giraffes Nov. 24.
RCC prepares for new CSU requirement Academic Senate constructs ethnic studies discipline for next fall CHEETARA PIRY ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Riverside City College is working to include an ethnic studies discipline in its course catalogue by fall 2021 despite a state-imposed time crunch. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the ethnic studies requirement for California State University graduation into law Aug. 17, making California the first
state to do so. The CSU Board of Trustees voted Nov. 18 to mandate that students set to graduate in 2024-25 and beyond complete, at minimum, one 3-unit course in ethnic studies during their lower division coursework. The requirement is set during lower division coursework so Community Colleges will have to offer ethnic studies classes by fall 2022 at the latest in order for students to successfully transfer to CSUs.
Deborah A. Brown, an RCC history instructor helping to ensure the college completes the task, said the burden on Community Colleges was exacerbated due to the time-frame allowed to meet compliance. Many colleges were unprepared to administer professors and classes in such a short time. “There are many Community Colleges that have no ethnic studies,” she said. According to Brown, there are
only four faculty in the Riverside Community College District at this time who are officially certified in ethnic studies. The specific requirements for teaching ethnic studies at Community Colleges are very limiting, Brown said. Ethnic studies is centered on the study of one of four historically defined racialized
See ETHNIC on page 3
10 August Burns Red performs virtual concert
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