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viewpoints An Associated Collegiate Press two-time national Pacemaker award-winning newspaper, serving as the voice of the students since 1922.
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VOL. XCVII, NO. 3
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OCTOBER 6, 2016
Vice president steps down
Nathan Miller stepped down as vice president due to backlash for controversial tweets DIEGO D. GARCIA @Dee_Noir
Riverside Community College District Board of Trustee member Nathan A. Miller resignation from his position as vice president was made public Sept. 26. Miller was elected to the Board in 2012 and currently remains the representativetrustee for Area 1, which consists of Eastvale, Norco and Corona. RCCD Academic Senate President Mark Sellick presented a vote of no confidence to the Board on Sept. 20 in which he expressed his dismay with Miller in regards to his tweets made about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The tweets contained a meme that showed a hangman standing at a gallows, with text at the bottom that reads “I’m Ready for Hillary.” President Virginia Blumenthal formed a Board of Trustees Ethics Advisory Committee that night to investigate the claims made against Miller. RCCD Secretary Tracy Vackar and Trustee Mary Figueroa were assigned on Sept. 20, to oversee that task force. This committee could only motion to censure or strip Miller from the title of vice president.
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Nathan Miller announced that he stepped down as vice president of the Board of Trustees on Sept. 26. Dariush Haghighat, president of the to Miller’s retweets as “sexist and violent,” Faculty Association says that Miller has in rhetoric. been playing “Russian roulette,” with the Miller’s resignation as vice president vice president position and did not heed was announced to Figueroa and Vackar his past advice and mentoring. He refers before any action could be taken but Vackar
and Figueroa concluded that Miller was in direct violation of Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges Accreditation Standard IV.C. 11. The standard states that an accredited individual must refrain from displaying a political partisan when assuming a position on an educational board. According to Vackar, the law restricts an individual or group of individuals from removing a member of their board from their elected representative position. Vackar and Figueroa later moved to issue a governance committee to review and consider updating Board Policy 2715 in conjunction with ACCJC IV.11. Vackar said that RCCD’S Code of Ethics is outdated. “It was so loose that it was difficult to corral. The only opportunity it gave us was to censure,” she said. Haghighat says that he commends the Board — primarily Vackar and Figueroa — for going “beyond the call of duty,” while investigating Miller’s code of conduct. Haghighat also said that Miller’s resignation was not sincere and that he, along with the Faculty Association will not be satisfied until Miller steps down from the Board entirely. “We will not be satisfied until he resigns from the board all together. His resignation is a step forward,” Haghighat said.
Retreat held by ASRCCD may violate Brown Act CRYSTAL OLMEDO & LAURA M. TAPIA @RCCViewpoints
An open meetings act violation may have occurred when protesters and press were denied access to an Aug. 16 Associated Students of Riverside Community College District retreat. ASRCCD met to receive training on disaster preparedness, sexual harassment and assault awareness and emotional IQ in room 140 of the Charles A. Kane Building at Riverside City College. Lawyers from the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the First Amendment Coalition stated via email that the groups were in violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act. “As a general matter, any time the majority of the members of such an association, such as a student government
board, convene in a particular place, they must abide by the Brown Act’s various requirements,” Lelia Knox of the FAC said. “Including the requirement that such meetings must be open to the public. “It would seem a retreat would be a ‘meeting’ to which the agenda, notice and public attendance and comment requirements of the Brown Act would apply,” she continued. “Particularly if the board is hearing information on topics that come within its subject matter jurisdiction.” RCC student Natalie Lopez shared her thoughts on the subject matter of the retreat. “I would have found it beneficial,” Lopez said. “Most students don’t know how to handle a situation like that. So it would be helpful to know so you could help others in a situation like that.” Nikki Moore, legal counsel for the CNPA echoed what Knox said and added
that the act provides the notice procedure that should be followed when there is a meeting. Although an agenda was not posted prior to the meeting. Knox did note that the act sets forth certain types of gatherings that are not considered meetings. Those gatherings include: the attendance of a majority of the members at a conference that is otherwise open to the public, or at a public meeting organized by someone else, or at any open meeting of another agency, or at a purely social or ceremonial occasion as long as at such occasion the members do not discuss agency business. “But a retreat is not per se within one of these exemptions, particularly where the retreat was organized specifically for the members of a particular legislative body,” she said. “The retreat is a purposeful effort to provide the board with the opportunity
to hear and consider information related to matters that come before it, such gathering would seem to fall directly in the definition of ‘meeting.” Under the direction by the administration the retreat was to remain invite only, according to student activities coordinator, Deborah Hall. Hall declined to comment when asked again Sept. 7 about the direction given by administration. “It was not a legislative meeting,” she said. “That ASRCCD retreat was for invited guests only.” RCC President Wolde-Ab Isaac said on Sept. 7 that he gave no specific direction to not allow student media to attend the event, but said he told them to allow invited parties only. “No one asked me about Viewpoints,” Isaac said. “The only thing was they were
See BROWN ACT on Page 2