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College of San Mateo • www.sanmatean.com

San MateanTHE

Volume 175, Number 7 Dec. 5, 2011

Zenelia Mejia, 25, leads CSM students and faculty in the popular Colombian aerobic exercise. Participants paid a fee and proceedings were donated to Extended Opportunities and Programs.

Zumba! raises pulsePhoto by Jeffery Gonzalez of The San Matean

Studentconvicted

A CSM student accused of assaulting a fellow student was convicted of assault and battery resulting in great bodily injury in August.

John Williams, 19, of Foster City was sentenced to three years after agreeing to a plea bargain.

Williams was originally charged with battery causing immense bodily injury, assault with intent to infl ict great bodily harm and resist-ing arrest. As part of the deal, two of the charges were dropped.

“There are a lot of versions to what happened,” said San Mateo County Assistant District Attorney Marguerite Clipper. “It’s hard to establish what happened exactly.”

Williams allegedly approached the victim, a male student in the staff parking lot outside of Building 16.

After a brief dispute Williams struck the victim who fell, hit his head on the pavement and became unconscious. He later went into a coma.

Defense attorney Cristina Mazzei was unavailable for comment. See “Puente” on page 6

Cuts force another CSU tuition increase

California may face $2 billion in “trigger” cuts to programs includ-ing a $102 million cut to California Community Colleges, according to a fi scal outlook document released on Nov. 16 by the Legislative Ana-lyst’s Offi ce.

The cuts would be the result of a projected $3.7 billion shortfall in revenues.

“Our forecast of revenues is based upon national and state eco-nomic data, including tax data and employment data,” said Steve D. Boilard, director of higher educa-

Puente program’s return to CSM pending

The Puente program for Latino students may be revived at CSM in time for the fall 2012 semester.

Puente is a statewide program organized by the University of California that has been active since 1981. It is designed to help Latino students gain high academic achievement and to address low success rate of such students.

Latinos tend to be the fi rst to at-tend colleges in their families, said Teeka James, English professor. Guidance to help these students with no previous knowledge gives them a better opportunity at trans-ferring to UCs.

CSM previously had their own program that fi rst started in the late 90s. James was among the teachers involved in the fi rst Puente group.

“It worked as an English and career class,” she said. “Basically it was a learning community.”

Puente is formatted into two phases. The fi rst phase, the devel-opmental phase, puts students in a English 838 or 848 class paired with a Career 121 class.

During phase two, the students are put into an English 100 class with the same teacher, said James Carranza, CSM Academic Senate President, also involved with the program then.

Carranza explained how the col-lege has shown interest in getting the program back in the works.

“We’ve identifi ed a need for the Puente program,” he said. “We’ve been working on it.”

The counselor dedicated to the Puente program retired in 2000 and

See “Triggers” on page 6

More budget cuts forecastedtion for the LAO, in an email to The San Matean.

When the budget was adopted in June, the governor’s budget plan set up tiers of “trigger” cuts to be enacted if the revenue falls short.

If revenue falls between $1 bil-lion and $2 billion, the fi rst tier of budget cuts will be enacted. If it falls more than $2 billion, the second tier of budget cuts will be enacted. If the LAO is correct, both tiers of cuts will be triggered.

Final decisions on the cuts will be made by the Department of Finance in December.

Kayla FigardThe San Matean

The California State Universi-ties were forced to raise tuition by another nine percent starting fall 2012 due to an increased drop in state funding.

The decision, fi nalized by CSU trustees on Nov. 16, will affect un-dergraduate and graduate students.

Tuition will increase to $498 a year for a full-time undergraduate, said Stephanie Thara, spokesperson for CSU chancellor’s offi ce, in an email to The San Matean.

Tuition fees and campus-based fees average $6,519 per year system-wide, according to a CSU 2012 student fee report.

Varsha RanjitThe San Matean

“Without the tuition increase or the dollars from the state to make the increase unnecessary enroll-ment will be greatly impacted,” said James Postma, Chair Academic Senate of the CSU.

“That is the main reason the chan-cellor and the trustees that voted to raise the fees did so; there is no other way to keep the doors of the CSU open,” said Postma.

The 2011 to 12 undergraduate tuition fee rate for up to six units is $3,174, on average.

The fee for students pursuing more than six units is $5,472 on average as well.

“In the past, we have not seen a decline in applications or enroll-ments due to fee increases,” said

Jazz festival showcaseshigh schooljazz bands See page 5

Teacherprescribes hands-on methodsSee page 4

CSMdominates the BulldogBowlSee page 7

Graphic courtesy of Paige Marlatt Dorr

Trigger cuts may lead to unfunded enrollment in the CCCs.

Graphic by Yasmine Mahmoud

CSU tuition will increase a total of 18 percent from 2010.

Erasmo MartinezThe San Matean

Ellen Griffi n, Director of University Communications at San Francisco State University.

The undergraduate tuition fee is consistent amongst the colleges of the CSU system.

Students also pay campus fees, which could cost up to $1,047 in addition to the tuition fees.

These fees, such as health service and student body association fees, vary in cost by campus.

About 45 percent of CSU stu-dents will not see an increase in their payments because it would be covered by grants and fi nancial aid, said Griffi n.

The increase will not affect fi -nancial aid. Financial aid increases with the tuition, said Thara.

The fee increase will consider-ably impact students who do not have adequate fi nancial aid or who are from middle-income families, said Postma.

Shaun CarmodyThe San Matean

“If you think about what it would be like for the CSU to accept no freshman or no transfer students next fall, even you might be in favor of the fee hike,” said Postma.

News

Stress Relief WeekTuesday, Dec. 6 and Wednesday, Dec. 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Building 17

Notre Dame de Namur University Campus VisitTuesday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Building 10, Dining Area

Cal State East Bay Campus VisitTuesday, Dec. 6, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.Building 10, Dining Area

Counseling WorkshopTuesday, Dec. 6, 9 to 11:30 a.m.Bldg. 10, Room 191

Counseling WorkshopWednesday, Dec. 7, 4:30 to 7 p.m.Bldg. 10, Room 191

Reinstatement WorkshopWednesday, Dec. 14, 2 to 4 p.m.Bldg. 10, Room 191

Counseling WorkshopWednesday, Dec. 14, 4:30 to 7 p.m.Bldg. 10, Room 191

MUSIC

CSM Jazz ConcertMonday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.Building 3, Theatre

World Beat GrooveWednesday, Dec. 7, 7 to 9 p.m.Building 3, Theatre

CSM Fall Dance ConcertFriday, Dec. 9, 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 9 p.m.Building 3, Theatre

SPORTS

CSM Basketball vs. Mission CollegeSaturday, Dec. 10, 5 p.m.Building 8, Gym

CSM Basketball Invitational TourneyFriday, Dec. 16, Start time TBABuilding 8, Gym

CAMPUS BRIEFSIf there is an event that readers would like listed in Campus Briefs, please submit it to The San Matean at Bldg. 10, Room 180, or [email protected], or call 574-6330. Submissions should be typed neatly.

by Daryl Legaspi-Gobrera

Page 2 • The SAN MATEAN Dec. 5, 2011

said Laderman. The class is set to meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m.

Film 200 emphasizes 1970’s American fi lm.

The course will cover the fi lm school generation and directors such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Stephen Spiel-berg.

Students will learn about the infl uence of European art fi lms, counter-culture, the Watergate scandal, the Vietnam war and new sex and race politics. This class will meet on Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m.

“These classes will help students with the fi lm festival,” said Lader-man. These new courses should bring more fi lm students to CSM.

“I love it, he’s a great professor,”

CaMpUS Blotter Wednesday, Nov. 9, 4:05 p.m. — A CSM football player was injured during practice on the football fi eld. A Health Center nurse was sent out to stabilize him and called an ambulance to take him to a hospital for treatment.

This information was provided by Chief of Security John Wells. — Ariana Anderberg

The San Matean

The fi lm program is set to expand with new course offerings starting this spring.

Film 215: Film and New Digital Media along with Film 200, Film in Focus: 1970’s Hollywood have already been added to the spring catalog.

“These classes are CSU and UC transferable,” said Professor Laderman.

Film 215 explores the new role of digital media in the art of fi lm and digital media, such as computer animation, video games and the Internet.

“There’s going to be a new video projection system in Building 10,”

Film program bolsteredsaid student Sharon Ho, who has taken Film 100 and Film 200. “It’s a shame he’s the only professor here.”

Ho plans on taking Film 200 again and Film 215 next semester.

The fi lm program here at CSM is relatively small compared to other community colleges.

“It sucks because it is going to take me longer to get my A.A.,” said Ho. The new courses will bring a new element to fi lm making the connection between digital media and fi lm more tangible.

“I’m interested in how Pixar and Dreamworks fi lms are made,” said Ho.

Students interested in learning about fi lm and making fi lms are encouraged to enroll in these new courses, said Laderman.

Mintoy TillmanThe San Matean

CorreCtion In an article titled “‘Occupy’ movement continues to grow at CSM” in the Nov. 9 issue of The San Matean, student Brandon Snyder’s fi rst name was omitted from the article. In the same issue, it was also incorrectly reported that the CSM Veteran’s Center had opened.The San Matean regrets the errors.

CSM’s journalism program and its student writers were recognized for excellence in its staff, website, its print paper,and its professional-ism with fi ve awards at a regional conference in Sacramento.

The annual Northern California conference for the Journalism As-sociation of Community Colleges held at Sacramento State University hosted 18 colleges and about 300 people attended.

The conference provided the young journalists with workshops and on-the-spot competitions, allowing them to showcase their talents while learning from other writers.

In the news writing competition, the students were asked to listen to a key note speaker, gather as much information from other sources and then type out a story using and Al-

CSM journalism program honoredGiselle Suarez

The San Matean

pha Smart keyboard in 15 minutes. The San Matean’s editor Kayla

Figard participated simply for the experience and the thrill of com-petition, she took second place, said Figard.

“I didn’t expect to win,” said Figard. “It was just really exciting to compete against 100 other col-leagues and then to prove that hard work does pay off,” she said.

Jeffery Gonzalez, Senior Staff Writer won fi rst place in opinion writing and second place in photo illustration.

“I wasn’t surprised because we have a really great program at CSM, but it does feel good to get recogni-tion for something you like doing,” said Gonzalez.

An honorable mention was awarded to Managing Editor Yas-mine Mahmoud for her participa-tion in the Copy Editing contest.

“It was a great opportunity to be surrounded by our future colleagues

and to learn from professionals,” said Mahmoud.

CSM also acquired the two top awards for general excellence for its newspaper and website.

“Receiving an award for online material represents how we’re keeping up with a new age of social media,” said Varsha Ranjit, website editor for the San Matean. “Being a community college and being junior journalists, it’s a good stepping stone for future careers.”

Though the newspaper came back to San Mateo adorned with awards, it served not only as a learning experience but also as bonding opportunity for the staff.

“It’s good for comradery,“ said Journalism Professor and Advisor, Ed Remitz.

“This kind of honor helps the students develop strong portfolios that help them in their four year studies and in reaching their career goals,” he said.

The district approved an increase in its facilities rental fees to take effect on Dec. 1, after analyzing prices from other school districts.

The colleges in the district allow rooms in each college to be rented out to the general public.

Ann Mitchell, CSM accounting technician, makes reservations for these types of events through contracts.

“(The facilities) can be rented for special events that usually consist of 1 to 3 days,” she said. “Classrooms, conference rooms, track and fi eld, gyms, theater, et cetera are all avail-able for rent.”

People who rent the facilities must present a certifi cate for general liability insurance while paying a deposit to put a hold on renting the

Facilities rental prices increaseErasmo MartinezThe San Matean

rooms. Depending on what you are renting, the cost will vary, said Mitchell.

“The purpose of charging (a fee) is to recoup utility cost, custodial and engineering cost and to be able to maintain the spaces in a profes-sional manner,” said Tom Bauer, Vice Chancellor.

A board report from Oct. 26, titled “District Facilities Rental Fee Increases” states that the “current fee structure has been in place since 2006.” Excluding the overtime rates for facilities staff from that untouched fee structure, the fees have not changed since 2000.

The new prices were infl uenced by the price of rental fees at other school districts. It was stated in the report that during the summer, the district evaluated its prices for the general population. A survey was used to compare several California

Community Colleges’ own fees to the district.

A $20 application fee will be required for all renters. As the old fees did, particular rental situations determine prices by the hour.

Non-profi t users must pay a lower fee for the facilities. For instance, it costs $30 to rent 50 or less class-rooms each hour, whereas a profi t user must pay $50 for the hours.

Most rentals have a three-hour minimum to them, except the dance studio, tennis courts and track fi eld. Staff can only work for two hours and are paid from $40 to $60.

“The fees will be reviewed by the district regularly to ensure that we are recouping all of these actual costs,” said Bauer. The district, he added, will also be doing this to ensure the “fees are within a reasonable range of like facilities across the peninsula.”

We got it covered!The San Matean, Building 10,

Room 180650-574-6330,

[email protected]

Video Journalism?

CSM implemented a net price calculator to help full-time, fi rst-time students determine what they may spend on expenses based on data from students with similar cir-cumstanc-es.

T h e calculator was added to the fi-n a n c i a l aid ser-vices part of CSM’s w e b s i t e this summer, long before the Oct. 29 deadline set by the U.S. Depart-ment of Education, said Claudia Menjivar, director of fi nancial aid services.

The net price calculator is a result of the Higher Education Opportu-nity Act, which was signed into law Aug. 14, 2008.

The U.S. Department of Educa-tion provided a template with the requirements for the calculator on Oct. 29, 2009 and institutions were to post their net price calculator two years from that date.

The calculator CSM uses factors fi nancial aid, age, living arrange-ment, residency, income, as well

News featureDec. 5, 2011 The SAN MATEAN • Page 3

Price calculator implementedDaryl Legaspi-Gobrera

The San Matean

as any dependants the student may have and then gives results based on data from the previous academic year.

The net price comprises estimated costs of tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, personal expenses minus the estimated total grant aid for the student.

“None of this information is set in stone,” said Yesenia Mercado, fi nancial aid assistant for Cañada College.

The amounts on there — the cur-rent cost of fees and enrollments — are in the process of being updated, said Mercado.

Because other colleges in the U.S. — vocational, community colleges, independent colleges, et cetera — participating in Title IV fi nancial aid programs are also required to have net price calculators, students picking out a college will be able to compare net prices utilizing an identical or similar system.

However, schools are not limited by the template provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Students are able to add more questions for data to factor into the net price.

This can make the tool more useful for students who must take other variables into consideration when working higher education costs into their budget.

Graphic by Yasmine Mahmoud of The San Matean

The net price calculator was added to CSM’s website recently.

Studentcostsvarygreatly

As the cost of tuition increases, so does the amount of students’ expenses.

The fi re science, dental, nursing and cosmetology programs offered at CSM require students to spend a lot of money on supplies, textbooks, tuition, parking, student representa-tive, health services and material fees each semester. The main issue regarding the price of textbooks is that textbooks are often only used during a semester period.

“Books change every semester due to each professor,” said Juan Reyer, a CSM bookstore employee.

To receive an Associate in Sci-ence Degree in Fire Technology, 60 units of completion are required with a total of $2,160 for the cost of tuition.“I hope the prices of textbooks and tuition won’t de-tour students from taking the fi re technology classes,” said Keith Marshall, the CSM Fire Director.

To receive a Certificate of Achievement, 33 to 38 units of completion are required with a cost of $1,188 to $1,368 not including $819 spent on textbooks.

“It’s reasonable, but diffi cult to fi nd a used textbook because each semester a new edition of textbooks is released,” said fi re technology student Ben Veader, 21.

CSM Dental Assisting Program requires 60 units of completion and a total of $2,160 for tuition cost. To receive a Certifi cate of Achievement 32 to 40.5 units of completion are required with a total of $1,152 to $1,440 and not including the outstanding cost of $1,236 for textbooks and $617 for the Dental Assisting Kit.

“It’s a fair price comparing with other schools, but it’s a lot of money to be paid at once,” said dental as-sisting student Krysten Koontz, 22.

The CSM cosmetology program provides students with an estimated 14 months training period which allows them to earn college units toward an Associate of Arts degree. The program cost an average of $5,100 and the expenses include the kit, books, supplies, and uniform.

“It seems like a lot of money at fi rst, but in the end it is well worth it because it is much cheaper com-pared to other beauty schools,” said Olivia Maldonado, 20, also a cosmetology student.

Carlos MesquitaThe San Matean

Claudia Menjivar

Financial aid still available

As budget cuts increase and tuition rises, students continue to fi ght the struggle of paying for col-lege. Financial aid is an alternative students rely upon to alleviate the growing cost of college.

The federal government deter-mines eligibility for fi nancial aid. Students must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, have valid social security numbers, maintain in good academic standing and prove that they are qualifi ed to obtain a college education.

In addition, a student must certify that he or she will only use fi nancial aid for educational purposes and that he or she is not in default on a federal student loan and do not owe money on a federal student grant.

There are several different types of federal fi nancial aid: grants, work-study and student loans.

Kayla Figard and Varsha RanjitThe San Matean

to create awareness of fi nancial aid for community college students.

“The campaign is intended to let students know that fi nances should not be a barrier to higher education and that fi nancial aid is available year-round to help cover fees, books, supplies and other education related expenses,” said Paige Marlatt Dorr, Director of Communications for the CCC chancellor’s offi ce.

Campaign activities will gear-up in the spring to ensure current and prospective students are aware of the many different types of fi nancial aid available.

“We do not want to lose students because cost is a barrier or because they are not aware of all of their options,” said Dorr.

When students transfer to univer-sities, they must adjust to the higher tuition levels. Larger amounts of money are awarded to accomodate .

nie Thara, spokesperson for CSU chancellor’s offi ce, in an email to The San Matean. “Scholarships are typically the only types of fi nancial aid that have different requirements for each.”

Scholarships are not based solely on fi nancial need. California also offers fi nancial aid in the form of Cal Grants and loans.

Loans are student aid funds that need to be paid back with interest. There are several types of loans a student may apply for: Perkins, Direct Stafford, Direct PLUS and Direct Loan Consolidation.

CSU offers its own form of fi nan-cial aid through its State University Grant program.

SUG provides awards based on fi nancial aid that covers a portion of the state tuition fee for eligible undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students.

CSU’s Educational Opportunity Program grant provides awards to economically and education-ally disadvantaged undergraduate students.

“Financial aid is not tied to CSU budget cuts,” said Thara.

Financial aid increases with the cost of tuition.

Credit card debt plagues college studentsCredit card debit is a problem

encroaching on many college stu-dents as they begin to become more fi nancially independent.

A survey regarding credit card use that was distributed to a ran-dom sample of 100 CSM students showed that nearly half of them use credit cards. 67 percent of students do not use their parent’s credit card, meaning they already started to work on their credit history.

Credit cards help students start

Manuel OrbegozoThe San Matean

their credit earlier for future im-portant purchases such as a home or a car, said Ben Peras, Bank of America branch manager of the El Camino branch in San Mateo.

“Anybody 18 and over can have a credit card, and in some cases they need a cosigner that is usually a parent,” he said.

The consequences that students can encounter when obtaining a credit card includes having their credit score ruined due to interest raises and missed payments that create debt. The survey shows that 19 percent of students are in debt

due to their credit cards.“College students have more

expenses such as housing. You can’t blame credits cards for being in debt, especially if education prices keep going up,” said Peras.

Most students charge their credit cards zero to $50 dollars a week, spending evenly on entertainment, food and gas.

“I think students end up in debt because they want the newest items and they just continue to spend and spend with money they don’t have,” said CSM student Michael Norton, 19.

Graphic by Yasmine Mahmoud of The San Matean

The results from a survey show the amount of CSM students in debt.

Do you have a credit card?

Credit card- Yes: 42 percent No: 58 percent

Charges per week:

$0-50: 66 percent

$50-100: 10 percent

$100+: 24 percentIn debt:Yes: 19 percent

No: 81 percent

CCC Campaign

CSU Financial Aid

UC Financial AidFinancial aid for the University

of California system is provided in a variety of forms to students, in-cluding scholarships, fellowships, loans, grants and work-study.

For individual UCs, the amount of aid a student is eligible for is determined by the college’s Cost of Attendance and their own fi nancial aid programs.

“The budget cuts from the state have impacted the UC signifi-cantly and while those cuts have also brought about tuition and fee increases, fi nancial aid has always been a priority,” said Katy Maloney, Director of the Financial Aid Offi ce at UC Davis.

Eligibility for fi nancial aid varies within each individual college in the UC system. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units.

“We have many programs in place to ensure that students with the greatest need are minimally affected by these increases,” said Maloney.

California Community Colleges have created a statewide campaign

“California State University pro-vides a total of $2 billion a year in fi nancial aid from federal, state and university sources,” said Stepha-

Every level of public higher education has made efforts towards helping students more aware of the fi nancial help available for their education

News/Campus LifePage 4 • The SAN MATEAN Dec.5 , 2011

Cafeteria food quality discussedStudent representatives ex-

pressed concerns at an Oct. 12 College Axillary Services Advisory Committee meeting regarding the price, quality and quantity of food served by Pacific Dining Food Service Management.

Associated Students of CSM Vice President Daniella Navarrete announced the concerns of the stu-dents demand for lower food prices and larger serving sizes.

“We had a great meeting where the concern of the students was dis-cussed,” said Matt Schmeeckle, a member of ASCSM and an affiliate of the committee regarding the cost of food at Pacific Dining.

“I believe the food is priced fair and if we push for lower prices, the food quality will suffer,” said Schmeeckle.

Some students filed a complaint

against Pacific Dining, calling for more affordable plate combina-tions.

“I believe the quantity and price is too expensive for the standard quality,” said student Michael Mackintosh, 22.

Some have cited that prices do not accommodate low student earnings.

“I think the food is really good, but the price is really high compared to a student’s income,” said student Steven Kind, 29.

Tom Bauer, Vice Chancellor of Auxiliary Services and Enterprise Operations, addressed student concerns about the food.

“We explained that all of the meat is actually apportioned out in advance, much like Subway does, so that every sandwich has the same amount of meat and cheese,” said Bauer, addressing a student’s com-plaint of a sandwich that appeared to be lacking compared with the price.

Bauer instructed the attendees to

always communicate concerns and questions directly to any of the se-nior staff including Rick McMahon, Octavio Amezcua, Lenny Ramos and Donny McKercher so that they could address issues immediately rather than several days, weeks or months later.

A conversation about pricing in general was held at the CASC meet-ing. Bauer shared with the group the experience they had back in 2005 and 2006 before Pacific Dining was a CSM food service partner.

At the time, they chose the most affordable vendor.

“The results were disastrous,” said Bauer. “There were literally upwards of 20 to 30 complaints to me each week from students and staff about the quality of food.”

Pacific Dining uses the high-est quality products and has high expectations to maintain a suitable amount of staff to accommodate student needs, said Bauer.

Carlos MesquitaThe San Matean

In the Mix By Erasmo Martinez

What do you think of the ‘Twilight’ culture?

Tom Bell, 19Undecided, San Mateo

“I love it, I’m for team Jacob. It’s a legitimate culture.”

Jon Buhey, 17Undecided, South San Francisco

“It’s cool. It’s a story that came from someone’s idea”

Elaina Revilla, 18English, South San Francisco

“It’s cool that so many people love it, but it’s overwhelming how they show their love.”

Jonathon Carusa, 18Undecided, Daly City

“It’s whatever. If it’s your thing, it’s your thing.”

Christine Irizarry, 18Digital Media, San Francisco

“I think it’s fine to have interest, but obssesion is a little crazy.”

Art by Yasmine Mahmoud of The San Matean

Many students feel they pay too much for food at Pacific Dining.

Students also filed a request ask-ing for campus vending machines to offer healthier alternatives.

The problem is that they simply do not sell, said Bauer. The vend-ing company is not going to keep

machines if the products do not sell, he said.

“What we strive to do is come up with a mix of healthier snacks and other snacks that people want to buy,” said Bauer.

Basic skills: ‘there is no quick fix’The Basic Skills Initiative Com-

mittee from CSM and Cañada co-hosted attended an event Nov. 16 featuring Dr. Kathleen Gabriel. About 30 faculty members from both colleges attended.

Gabriel, who is an assistant professor at California State Uni-versity, Chico, presented a variety of strategies for professors to imple-ment in their classrooms.

“I enjoyed Dr. Gabriel’s presen-tation because of its interactive approach, active engagement of the participants, and because most

Varsha RanjitThe San Matean

of the instructional techniques can be adapted to any discipline,” said Dean of Admissions Henry Vil-

lareal.The presentation focused on concepts from Gabriel’s book, “Teaching Under-prepared Stu-dents: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education”.

“There is no quick fix,” said Gabriel, regarding low student performance. She also stated that faculty inevitably make the biggest difference and that student interac-tion in the classroom is key.

Gabriel had the group perform a variety of activities, all of which could be altered to be used in the classroom.

“I believe faculty participants benefited from Dr. Gabriel’s pre-

Photo by Shaun Carmody

Kathleen Gabriel

sentation as she provided examples of instructional techniques that she herself as an instructor has used to engage students in the classroom,” said Henry Villareal, Dean of En-rollment Services.

A number of science faculty will use clickers starting next semester, which will help students feel “more engaged,” said science profes-sor Linda Hand. The clickers are remote devices used for students to interact in PowerPoint presenta-tions and similar lectures.

“Hands-on learning is more ef-fective,” said Hand. Many of the activities focused on student to student interaction, such as having

individuals introduce themselves to each other as an icebreaker activity.

The responsibility of goals and pursuing those dreams goes to stu-dents, said Gabriel. She discussed the responsibilities of faculty to encourage faculty-student contact themselves, especially with the availability office hours.

CSM allows students to retake placement tests, which is a process that Gabriel considered as “very motivating” and “very valuable” in how it documents a student’s growth.

“If we know they are academi-cally capable,” said Gabriel. “Stu-dents will raise their performance.”

Compass initiative awarded public funding

National Give Student a Com-pass initiative was awarded $1.1 million in funding in October 2011 to rethink General Education classes that students have to take in CCCs in order to transfer.

The project’s idea comes from Association of American Colleges and Universities. The initiative

Larisse BorelliThe San Matean

helps different institutions in California State University System, Oregon University System and the University of Wisconsin System.

AACU wants to focus commu-nity college experience in hands-on-classes. The main goal of the program is to engage students with classes that help them with their majors’ choice. The project is mainly focused to help students that need financial help.

“It will help particularly the students economically disadvan-taged,” said Jean Mach, English professor.

AACU received grants from the Rosalinde, Arthur Gilbert Foundation and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, according to its website.

Grants will assist CCCs develop classes with more support in giv-ing students enough experience to

make the leap from CCCs to CSUs.“Right now many CCC students

are getting classes just to fill the boxes, but if they get into classes that are hands-on they can get their interest increased” said Mach.

The program’s goal is to make a change in GE classes, with a higher impact in the students’ learning habits.

The majority of students agree they need hands-on courses in order

to better their curriculum and get internships.

“I think it would be very helpful since as soon as someone decides on a major, wanting to transfer or finish up with associates will help finish as fast as they can and earn-ing enough experience, instead of spending time and money not helping them to get where they want and need to be,” said Rebecca Bauer, 20, nursing student.

Campus LifeDec. 5, 2011 The SAN MATEAN • Page 5

“(The toy drive) caught fire, it was infectious”

– Bill CallahanStudent

Senate launchestoy and food drive

Student senators began work to collect toys and canned food for the second annual Holiday Angels charity drive. The drive benefits children be-tween the ages of two and eight in the CSM community. The toys collected will be do-nated to the Child Development Center, CalWORKS and EOPS/CARE, all CSM programs estab-lished to provide assistance for families in the college. The canned foods collected will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank, a San Mateo County charity orga-nization. “(Holiday Angels) is for those who will have a hard time getting Christmas presents due to other priorities during economic restric-tions,” said student senator Jeff Stanley. Collection bins have been placed in the office of student life, the book-store, admissions department, and the San Mateo Athletic Club area. ASCSM will be accepting dona-tions from Nov. 9 through Dec. 7, said Stanley. The toy drive is being organized by Stanley and the Academic En-hancement Committee.

Jeffery GonzalezThe San Matean

“We really hope the campus as a whole gets involved,” said Stanley. To get club participation in the canned food and toy drive, ASCSM started a competition within the clubs. A point system is assigned to toys and cans of food, and the club with the most points wins the prize. First place prize is $300, second place gets $200, and the third place will receive $100. “It’s one of the coolest things CSM

has done,” said student Bill Callah-an, one of last year’s Holi-day Angels organizers.

“It’s an in-house project to help in-house people,” said Callahan. The first Holiday Angels toy drive brought in so many toys, Callahan said he and the rest of the group spent hours dividing and wrapping the presents. The group received much sup-port from all the departments of CSM, he said. “It caught fire, it was infectious,” said Callahan. ASCSM has supported the ef-forts of the CDC, and understand the importance of children and their future, said Karen Wiggins-Doweller, on of the master teachers at the CDC. “We hope to raise enough gifts for each child who is involved with those programs,” said Stanley.

Photo by Shaun Carmody of The San Matean

The Career Fair in Building 10 drew a large crowd of students.

CSM hosts high school jazzLocal Bay Area high schools

showed off their musical talent on Nov. 18 in the 15th Annual Jazz Festival.

The performance featured 18 of the top high school jazz bands in the Bay Area including Mills High School, San Mateo High School, Acalanes High School and Home-stead High School.

All the performing high schools were given 30 minutes of perfor-mance time to entertain the crowd.

All the schools played on stage in the CSM theater for an audience so packed, many people attending had to sit on the stairway leading to the theater seats. Even outside, students’ instruments overflowed the theater lobby while they waited for their turn to jam out.

Gabe Carhart,18, a drummer

from Half Moon Bay was among the performers.

He played the drums for his high school while they performed a few numbers, including “Late Night Dinner” and “High Impact.”

“One of our band members was late, but we still went on,” he said. “I think (the Jazz Festival) is a great chance for high schools to watch each other.”

Siobhan Bauer, 17, found her first year at the jazz festival to be a “more relaxed” event in relation to other performances, she said.

She played the alto saxophone, soprano saxophone and the clarinet in her performance.

“Changing an instrument for each song was a little stressful,” she said.

While students had been the main showcase, the music directors of each high school performed in the Monday Evening Jazz Ensemble.

The Monday Evening Jazz En-

semble had the opportunity to play with Grammy winning saxophonist Tom Scott. Workshops were also offered. A saxophone workshop was led by Tom Scott, who spoke

Erasmo MartinezThe San Matean

about his experience in the music business. A rhythm section work-shop also provided information on being a successful rhythm section of a jazz band.

Mike Galisatus, CSM music professor, organized the event.“We started out as a small festival with about eight bands,” he said. “Now we’re maxed out.”

The Hillsdale High School jazz band performs at the 15th annual CSM Jazz Festival in Building 4.

CSM’s Career Center hosted the Autumn Career fair on Nov. 16, where employers distributed job information and sought out potential employees. There were about 62 tables filled with recruiters looking to hire, with students and community members flocking around them. The career fair was put together by Eileen O’Brien, director of the Career Services Center, with assistance from Ron Visconti, a self-employed counselor who has put together more than 300 career fairs together in the past 25 years. “We put together these things to make students understand what a career really is” said O’Brien. O’Brien talked about how many students graduate college without understanding what a company wants of an employee. Jamie Giovoni, owner of a business called The Right Approach, a business involved with helping students, took part in the career fair as an employer. “I need people to help with my business, includ-ing tutors,” Jamie Govoni said. There were many other places looking to hire employers such as Wells Fargo, Sprint and radio station Jazz FM. “The career fair is much more accommodating this year and bigger,” Henry Pan, member of ASCSM. Building 10 was the perfect place to have it compared to Building 16, he said. A “Connecting Students to Careers” program is being discussed. “The program would help students find their passions and focus on students who are undecided about their major,” said O’Brien. The program would not be put together until spring 2012.

—Deidre CurielThe San Matean

Semi-annual career fair:job opportunities

Photo by Shaun Carmody of The San Matean

Photo by Shaun Carmody of The San Matean

Professor Lisa Melnick teaches kids from childcare center yoga, as a part of their new program Health Eats, Active Feet, funded by Sequoia Healthcare District’s Healthy Youth Initiatives.

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Yoga prof teaches kids

Campus Life/NewsPages 6 • The SAN MATEAN Dec. 5, 2011

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For CCCs, this means $30 mil-lion in tier one and $72 million in tier two.

In addition to the $102 million reduction in General Fund appor-tionment, CCCs would increase fees to $46 per unit, effective sum-mer 2012, a 77 percent increase in a one-year period.

“That’s a lot of money,” said student Jose Manuel Barajas, 22. “I already pay for gas and bills — it’s too much.”

If these cuts are triggered, there will be fewer classes and services available to students.

Continued from Page 1Triggers

“This means many Califor-nians may opt not to pursue a college education because they simply cannot get the classes they need,” said Paige Marlatt Dorr, Director of Communications for the CCC chancellor’s offi ce. “For those students already at-tending a community college, it could take longer for them to reach their educational goals,” said Dorr.

Financial aid will not be affected by the cuts or fee increases directly. But certain types of fi nancial aid require a specifi c number of units.

“If (students with fi nancial need) cannot get into the classes they

need, they will get less aid and may not be able to continue their education,” said Dorr.

The number of students apply-ing for fi nancial aid is expected to increase.

“Budgets and cuts are appor-tioned out to colleges based on the number of students enrolled system-wide,” said Dorr.

“This means, the more students a college has, the more funding it will receive or, the fl ip side, the larger the cuts will be,” said Dorr.

The San Mateo County Com-munity College District usually takes about 2 percent of the cuts,

which in this case would translate into $2 million.

“We budgeted for both triggers to be pulled in our district budget,” said Kathy Blackwood, chief fi -nancial offi cer for the district in an email to The San Matean.

This may lead to further reduc-tions in classes, programs and operations, said District Chancellor Ron Galatolo. “The recent failure of Measure H will only make mat-ters worse.”

CCC Chancellor Jack Scott has directed community college presidents to retain courses that help increase basic math and English skills and lead to job retraining, certifi cates, degrees and transfer when implementing cuts.

“One of our main points is for CCC to reduce taxpayer-subsidized support for programs that are designed primarily for personal enrichment/recreational purposes,” said Paul Steenhausen, principal fi s-cal and policy analyst for the LAO, in an email to The San Matean.

“Currently, the CCC system’s third largest discipline (after math and English) is physical education,” said Steenhausen.

CSU and UC systems will take a

$100 million cut each if revenues fall $1 billion short of the budgeted amount. The LAO offi ce predicts this will be the case.

“I think the universities knew going into this year that the triggers were likely to be pulled and I’m told that they’ve already prepared for the cuts by preparing contingency funds,” said Boilard.

“My advice would be to make hard choices about priorities that need to be preserved and lower-priority costs that can avoided,” said Bouilard.

“For example, I’d advise them not to pursue salary increases for their employees at this time,” he said.

The trigger cut affects the cur-rent academic year. The CSU will not raise tuition for the remaining 2011-2012 academic year.

“If the trigger cut is pulled, the CSU will be left with zero reserves,” said Stephanie Thara, spokesperson for the CSU chancellor’s offi ce.

“Facilities, such as labs and class-rooms need to be renovated, but if the state slashes the CSU budget by another $100 million these necessary maintenance measures will need to be put off,” said Thara.

Continued from Page 1Puentethe program ended.

The college is now looking to have a full-time counselor, ex-plained James.

“Counseling is spread really thin,” he said. “There are only three full-time counselors.”

A full-time counselor will be the main coordinator for the program, allowing it to have full attention instead of faculty trying to circulate time dedicated to it.

Students will also be provided with fi eld trips to UCs through a

UC leadership program. These fi eld trips consist of con-

ferences at the visited colleges and workshops for the Puente students.

The program leads to higher suc-cess rates, said Carranza.

“(Students) feel connected and take pride in being part of some-thing,” he said. “Puente is another opportunity for students to connect to the campus.”

The college is in the process of evaluating faculty positions for next year, with the counselor position among them.

Professor retires after 47 years CSM professor Irving Witt of-fi cially retired in 1993. But at the age of 90, he continues to teach on a post-retirement contract, making him the oldest professor in the district. Witt is a sociology professor with decades of experience in the classroom. He began teaching in the early 1950’s, when he was 31 years old.After 59 years of teaching, Witt plans to retire for good next semes-ter, said political science professor Frank Damon. Witt has taught at three different colleges, San Francisco City Col-lege, CSM, and San Francisco State University. His fi rst job as a teacher was at SFCC where he worked for eight years. He then went to teach at SFSU

Jeffery GonzalezThe San Matean

for a couple years before coming back and settling down at CSM, he said. Witt originally began teaching at CSM in 1964, when there was turmoil among teachers about the loyalty oath that required teachers to promise to stick to strictly anti-communist policies and theories, in the early 1960’s. There were people who thought they had dangerous political con-nections, so they either left or were fi red, he said. “There was a sudden need for replacements,” he said. “I disliked the loyalty oath, but I was not an activist against it.” He did however become active on campus when he began a speaker series in the 1960’s that brought experts from different disciplines to campus to give lectures. Guests varied from historians of Berkeley and Stanford to an author whose expertise was abominable

snowmen, according to Witt. When political battles over racial integration in San Mateo began in the mid-1960’s, Witt became involved by doing sociological studies and fi ghting for city-wide integration. “At the time, some people wanted to integrate only in the low income

neighborhoods,” said Witt. “I wanted integration all over the city.” His interest with racial and ethnic relations began during his time in the army infantry, he said. He was the head of an all African-American unit in charge of protect-ing airplanes in Guadalcanal from Japanese attacks. “Things were not that rosy for the black offi cers,” said Witt.At his military camp in the South, Witt was shocked by the level of separation in the dining halls and discrimination in the towns. “That is what was so troublesome about the south, people coming into those areas would not know what to do. They would get caught up one way or another,” he said. Observations like these led him to pursue the study of sociology, according to Witt. Witt graduated from UC Berkeley after his tour in Guadalcanal and began teaching shortly after.

“(Witt) is not only the oldest profes-sor in the school, but by far one of the most dedicated as well,” said Damon. Though Witt admits to not being as involved with student activism as he used to be, he still loves inter-acting with young minds, he said. “Part of it is strong interest in articulate students willing to to talk and be organized in their thinking,” said Witt. “Really bright students can make the whole class a different experience.” One project he does routinely has students fi nd a common social pattern and contradicts it to observe people’s reactions. One such project could include wearing two different shoes on each foot. The results are always interesting and keep him coming for more, said Witt. “He was my professor,” said CSM professor Rudy Ramirez. “It was a really long time ago.”

Photo by Jeffery Gonzalez

Irving Witt

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sports The SAN MATEAN • Page 7Dec. 5, 2011

Football wins Bulldog Bowl in finaleAny doubt that the CSM football

squad couldn’t beat the tougher competition in NorCal conference play was completely blown out of the water, Saturday Nov 19, as they dominated 14th ranked Diablo Val-ley College 62-44 in the Bothman Bulldog Bowl.

All it took was a half’s worth of scoring, but the Bulldogs added 24 extra points, capped off by two interception returns for touchdowns late in the 4th quarter.

“That’s the way you want to

go out,” said linebacker D.J. Mc-Donough.

The scoring started on CSM’s first play from scrimmage with a Jonathan Willis 65-yard pass to An-toine Turner and did not stop. The Bulldog offense was only forced to punt three times throughout the game.

The offense relied heavily on the rush and it paid off, the ground attack collected 422 yards (277 in the first half alone). The less-used, yet equally effective passing game produced 159 yards in and 4 touch-downs in the air.

“Head coach (Bret) Pollack does a phenomenal job producing a bal-anced attack,” said defensive coor-dinator Tim Tulloch. “When you do that, it’s like asking the (opposing) defense to pick their poison.”

After pounding the Vikings 38-10 in the first half, an otherwise domi-nant defense gave up two scoring runs of 27 and 30 yards by DVC’s Alec Pica.

“When you play bowl games, you’re playing good teams” said Tulloch. “(DVC) averages 40 points a game, they’re no slouch.”

McDonough, co-captain of the defense, said the team’s previous defeats taught them to never un-derestimate opponents.

“After losing the opening game, we used (the defeat) to prepare ourselves (for tough opponents),” said McDonough. “It comes down to who wants it more.”

Despite the brief scoring ex-

Water polo comes up short in playoffsLady Bulldogs came up short in the first round of playoffs finish-

ing in fifth place, after a two game winning streak.CSM’s goal keeper, Daria Kekuewa, went into the weekend games

as the state’s second place goal keeper.After 20 saves against Ohlone College and 15 saves in their game

against Santa Rosa, Kekuewa ranked first in the state.Assistant coach Najelah Najdawi said, “Daria finished as Saves

Leader and second Team All Norcal, which is impressive for a freshman.”

Her usual defense was hindered due to a broken finger injury from practice. Kekuewa blocked five of eight attempted goals against Ohlone College.

“The water pushed off and we couldn’t position ourselves to make the save,” said coach Randy Wright.

CSM’s offense ran through its plays, gaining momentum and making one key pass which tied the game in the fourth quarter.

“We took a bunch of girls from high school backgrounds that lacked success and collectively became more than just team play-ers,” said Wright.

Leading scorer Gianna Mendez finished the season with All Coast Honors but came short of earning the All-American title.

“(Mendez) could go to the next level,” said Wright. Paige Ramstack has the potential to play for Sonoma, he said.

Losing the playoffs was a disappointing finish to the season, said Wright.

“It’s been a wild year, but now that it’s over we’re leaving a last-ing impression,” he said.

As sophomore players retire from the team, Najdawi says she is proud that they ended together as a team.

“Our goal was to finish third place like last year but we’ve had some tough losses because the girls got too nervous and didn’t overcome the big teams in conference play,” added Najdawi.

— Giselle SuarezThe San Matean

Freshman track star on the rise

Student Alejandra Marin is run-ning toward being the Bulldog lead in women’s cross country.

“She (Marin) had done well at Half Moon Bay High School,” said head cross-country coach Joe Magnan.

She has definitely brought her talent to the college level, said Magnana.

Marin struggled with her train-ing early on in the season due to scheduling conflicts with her job at Starbucks and her full-time student work load, forcing her to practice and train by herself, she said.

“I finally found a schedule that works for me,” said Marin, 18. “I still train on my own time af-ter classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but now I run with the team on Tuesdays and Thurs-

there.”Marin ran the lead for the ma-

jority of the Coast Conference Championships, but later on fin-ished in 10th place.

“Alejandra led most of the way throughout the race, but still ran well,” said Magnan.

Getting momentum back proved to be hard when she had to sprint back to where she had mistakenly ignored the right turn.

“I was still in the lead but I wasted energy, it was like losing gas,” said Marin.

Even with the fallback, Marin’s performance was enough to place the cross-country team in the up-coming state competition in Fres-no.

“Our season would have been done, but I guess I put us back so now we have to train hard for two weeks,” said Marin, who will continue running for the team in spring.

days.”The time Marin spends practic-

ing with her team allows her to progress with the team opposed

to training alone.

“When I’m by myself, there’s no one there to notice a difference in my speed so I don’t know

how fast I’m going in relation to the difficulty of the workout,” said Marin.

The support and praise she re-ceived from Magnan is a pushing factor for self improvement, she said.

“(Magnan) is always telling me, ‘you could be better, just make the right choices,’” said Marin. “If more girls were ahead of me, I wouldn’t care. Now that I know I’m in the lead, I want to stay

Football team concludes with wins After a two game winning streak, CSM defeated Laney College, 41-13 on Nov. 12 in the last game of the season. “It was a back and forth game in the first half,” said Defensive and Assistant Head Coach Tim Tulloch. “The game broke open in the second half when we were able to run the score.” In the past, CSM has had close games that were decided under seven points. This year was dif-ferent as the Bulldogs rolled to a 62-24 victory over Bay Area foe, Diablo Valley College in the Both-man Bulldog Bowl.

Sol LadvienkaThe San Matean

After winning the game against Laney College, CSM (7-3) was bowl eligible. “We finished on a good note,” said linebacker D.J. McDonough. A number of Bulldogs were hon-ored with All NorCal Conference Honorable Mentions, for their ef-forts this season. Freshman running back Jerrell Brown was second on the team with rushing for 544 yards on the season, making first team offense. Along with Brown, sophomore offensive lineman, Hoko Fanaika made first team offense and sophomore Paul Bevilacqua earned second team honors. Sophomore wide-out Antoine Turner left it all on the field as he

played his final game in a Bulldog uniform. Turner recorded seven receptions for 125 yards and scored the Bulldogs’ first three out of four scores in the Bothman Bulldog Bowl getting the team out to a 28-0 lead. Freshman standout linebacker Tevita Lataimua led the NorCal Conference in total tackles with 86. Lataimua added another inter-ception in the Bothman Bulldog Bowl which was returned for a touchdown, totaling two intercep-tions on the year. “(Lataimua) plays the same po-sition that 49er’s Patrick Willis plays,” said Tulloch, who coached Lataimua on the defense. “He’s made plays all season for us.”

Corner back Nate Jackson was also named first team defense. Jack-son’s interceptions were noticed all season, by adding two more to his season of five in the Bothman Bulldog Bowl, Jackson led the team with seven interceptions. As part of the first team defense, the Bulldogs’ sophomore line-backer, Justin Sagote makes the list for a second consecutive season. Not featured in Tim Tulloch’s line backing core was sophomore D.J. McDonough. McDonough was second on the team with 51 total tackles, recorded four sacks and posted two interceptions. “D.J.’s a great player, but I couldn’t get all of my line backing core all defense honored,” said Tulloch.

“He’s going to be great at the next level with a good program.” Rounding out the honors, sopho-more cornerback, Alex “Hub” Hub-bard was third on the team with 50 total tackles and three interceptions of his own. On the defensive line, sophomore Barrett Wangara was named first team defense with defensive lineman teammate, Ly-man Faoliu, making second team defense. The Bulldogs return next season with a few familiar faces. Quarter-backs Jonathan Willis and Blake Plattsmier will continue to battle for the starting QB position. Jerrell Brown will do the running duties, and a lock down defense led by La-taimua, Faoliu, and Troy Boyland.

Photo by Shaun Carmody of The San Matean

Bill Nyantyaki (16) scores a touchdown despite being pursued by Diablo Valley’s Keoriss Berry.

Shaun CarmodyThe San Matean

change in the third quarter, the Bulldog defense dominated, con-ceding just 126 yards rushing and 217 passing.

“Coach Tulloch and all of the other assistant coaches got us pre-pared,” said defensive back Alex Hubbard. “We executed and got the job done.”

“It was an outstanding perfor-mance, overall,” said Tulloch. “A great way to finish.”

Photo by Shaun Carmody

Bulldog Jonathan Willis won offensive player of the game.

Alejandra Marin

Giselle SuarezThe San Matean

opiNioN & pubLiC forum The SAN MATEAN • Page 8Dec. 5, 2011

The San MaTean is a First Amendment newspaper published bi-weekly during the academic year by the DGME 260, 261, 265 and 270 students at College of San Mateo as a medium for campus communication and laboratory for classes. Opinions, letters and commentary reflect only the opinion of the writer, and not necessarily the opinion of The San MaTean. Letters to the Editor and opinion articles are welcome, although they may be edited for style, space, content and libel. Mail or deliver letters to Building 10, Room 180, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402. Telephone: 650-574-6330. E-mail: [email protected]. All letters must be signed and accompanied by phone numbers or addresses to verify authorship. Names may be withheld upon request. Advertising that conforms to San Mateo County Community College District regulations is welcome. The San MaTean reserves the right to refuse advertising. Single copies are free —additional copies 25 cents each.

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Spin CyCle

Students everywhere are experiencing the same problems. Budget cuts have devastated education and still, students are expected to attend college because it is the only way to get a job.

While it is frustrating to see programs get cut and overflowed wait lists and it is easy to blame the administration, why not find out for yourself why a certain program was cut instead of assuming it was ir-rational?

The whole school would benefit from learning more about the admin-istrative and planning process.

The San Matean met with CSM President Michael Claire and Public Information Officer Beverley Madden on Nov. 21 to discuss the way major decisions are made.

The staff learned about the planning cycle, the plans themselves and all the committees it takes to make decisions on these plans. There is a student representative on each of these committees.The meetings are public and if you can’t attend, talk to the student representative.

The decisions are not made randomly, but are made after extensive quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation of the research. This includes student surveys and focus groups. All of the documents are public and can be found on the CSM website.

Finding out facts for yourself is what makes the process of learning meaningful. Knowing there is a legitimate reason for program and class cuts, overfilled wait lists and tuition increases makes it easier to take.

Defining censorshipIn many countries, it is easy to see signs of censorship — whether it

is a crossed-out navel in a fashion advertisement, a song that is banned on the radio or a book that has been taken off the press.

Fortunately, in the U.S., this problem is less prominent but still com-mon. A prime example of this is the proposed federal Stop Online Pi-racy Act, which would allow the government to enforce websites by blocking those that contain or are suspected to contain pirated content.

But who is to say what content could be blocked? This poses a dan-gerous question of what the SOPA could do to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of American citizens. While this act is shrouded in good intentions, it allows for easy abuse of power.

When presented with the right to censor content, it makes it nearly impossible for the average citizen to judge what is or is not copyright infringement.

If passed, many Internet freedoms would be abolished. While copy-right violations are a monumental issue for many media organizations and companies, these groups still rely on First Amendment freedoms in order to produce content and should not fall prey to the false sense of security that the SOPA proposes to provide.

Media outlets often maintain their content in-house, by enforcing their content through constant Internet searches, where the companies alert websites of breaches and perform content take-downs when au-thorized to do so.

If media companies and the federal government want a more efficient way to track their unlicensed content, that issue needs to be addressed in-house. Using and developing more advanced tracking information for their content could be a better way for companies and the govern-ment to maintain the fidelity of their intellectual properties.

Facts behind decisions

Sol ladvienKa

sports editor

editorial Back Talkby Erasmo Martinez

While at work, I overheard a co-worker explain-ing her origins to another co-worker.

The co-worker and I seemed interested in what she had to say until she explained she was, “like one percent Spanish.”

We agreed that this was a ridiculous statement. That was a possibility, and she tried to justify it by explaining her grandparent’s backgrounds while still making it unclear why she would be “like one percent Spanish.”

It is possible for others to face similar situations because of ethnicity.

Many try making their heritage more interest-ing with percentages or claiming to be a mix of cultures. But people won’t pay attention to all the specifics. Figuring out cultural background creates common ground between people.

Often I find myself having to deal with these “icebreaker” situations in order to relate to people. For instance, I’ll encounter someone who appears to not speak Spanish chatting away in Spanish within minutes of meeting me.

They notice my hostility toward Spanish and find out I do not speak it despite being of multiple Latin heritages. They want to know why and how I never learned the language while trying to under-stand me.Trying to create common ground can also lead to uneasy situations, when the person attempt-ing to do so lacks tact.

A Filipino friend of mine became upset when I had mistaken someone of Asian decent for being Filipino. At first I expected to hear “Why should

Paving roads of common ground

I know, because I’m Filipino,” but instead he lashed out at me for not being able to tell the guy was Japa-nese.

I explained it was the guy’s darker skin color that made me assume. He told me to look at the faces to tell the difference.

His explanation allowed me to picture myself in his position. I tried to see if he would be comfortable in telling me if the guy was Filipino because I felt com-mon ground already.

Obviously my assumption proved I needed to relate to him more. This incident has made me veer away from holding hostility towards the Spanish speakers I previously mentioned.

In many environments we try to destroy the wall others seem to hide behind. Just recently a friend I had not seen in a while expressed her discomfort by asking if my name was Spanish and if I was Spanish.

Then we spoke of race and where she was from, resulting in a more meaningful conversation. It is typical--like asking someone if they are from Texas because of a southern accent or a Dodgers fan be-cause they are from LA.

We all end up finding out each other’s back round in order to connect with them and further a meaning-ful human bond.

In retrospect, my co-worker might have been in the process of connecting with my other co-worker, but there is already common ground when you can laugh at someone for being “like one percent Spanish.”

—Erasmo MartinezThe San Matean

• ExcEllEncE in Journalism, sociEty of ProfEssional Journalists, norcal, 2011

• GEnEral ExcEllEncE, nEwsPaPEr, Jacc norcal, 2011• GEnEral ExcEllEncE, wEbsitE, Jacc norcal, 2011

Paulo Pangan, 19Finance, South San Francisco

“It didn’t affect me at all. It’s a pretty cool design.”

Gizell Hernandez, 18Nursing, San Francisco

“It doesn’t have the full description, so I have to look online.”

Natman Galligani, 18Undecided, Pacifica

“I like it because it’s easy access like a newspaper.”

Brionna Wallace, 19Business, Daly City

“I think it was harder. With the book it was easier.”

Johnny Nava, 18Film, New Zealand

“It’s a lot better than booklets cause it’s more organized.”

How does the new class schedule affect you?

Madelaine Nevarez, 19Business, San Francisco

“It’s a lot of work to go back and forth between the computer and paper.”