Clarion 8/29/12

Illustrated by Sydney Presley

Citrus College

Clarion August 29, 2012 Volume LXVII Issue 1

Meet the new guys.................................pgs. 6 & 7 Kick it with men’s soccer........................pg. 9 Where are the workers?.........................pg. 5 Come visit our new website..........................................

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

QUOTE of the

DAY

“A professor is someone who talks in someone else’s sleep.” ­­- W.H. Auden

Announcements Parking Permits Make sure you have a valid parking permit displayed on the front windshield in the lower, driver’s side corner of your vehicle. On Aug. 29 Campus Safety will begin issuing tickets to vehicles that do not display a valid permit, are parked facing out of a parking stall and to students parked in stalls designated as Client or Staff parking. Parking tickets are now $35.

Student IDs The Library Photo ID Office, located on the first floor of the library, will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the first two weeks of school.

Citrus College Day at the LA County Fair Citrus College Day at the Los Angeles County Fair will be Wednesday, Sept. 12. Students, faculty and staff can obtain free admission by presenting valid Citrus College identifications or business cards, along with a coupon for free admission.

Coupons can be picked up in the Campus Center or can be downloaded from: www.lacountyfair.com.

Click on Education and Community at the top, then College Days, and then Citrus College. Limit one free admission per coupon and not valid with any other offer. The coupon is only valid on Sept. 12.

Campus Budget Forum An all-college budget forum will take place on August 30 from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the Center for Innovation Room 159.

TAG Workshops Attend a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) Workshop to learn how you can guarantee your transfer admission to one of the seven accepting UC campuses.

Two TAG Workshops are being offered: The first is scheduled for Sept. 18 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. in SS 281 and will be discussing TAG criteria for UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

The second TAG workshop will take place on Sept. 25 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. in SS 281 and will be discussing TAG criteria for UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz.

RSVP by visiting the Career/ Transfer Center on the second floor of the Student Services building or by calling (626) 914-8639.

News LOCAL

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

STATE

Gold Line project boundaries extended

Park takes steps to protect public health

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed AB1600 into law, which amends the Metro Gold Line Construction Authority’s legislation to extend the Gold Line to Montclair in San Bernardino County.

AB1600 officially makes Montclair an extension city and gives the San Bernardino Associated Governments a non-voting seat on the Authority’s board.

The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and the San Bernardino Associated Governments have agreed that the rail line should be extended from the Azusa-Citrus Avenue station not just to Claremont, but across the county line.

The Gold Line is funded and operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority so it will need authorization from San Bernardino County to operate the line in Montclair.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

The recent diagnosis of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in four Californians, two of whom died, has prompted Yosemite National Park to contact roughly 1,700 visitors who stayed in Signature Tent Cabins at Curry Village from mid-June through August to seek immediate medical attention if they show signs HPS that begins with fever and aches, but can progress rapidly to life-threatening illness.

“Because people often don’t get sick from hantavirus until one to six weeks after exposure, we are encouraging anyone who stayed in Curry Village since June to be aware of the symptoms of hantavirus and seek medical attention at the first sign of illness,” Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher said.

HPS is the result of a virus caught through contact with droppings, urine or saliva of infected rodents. Yosemite remains open, but those who have question or concerns regarding hantavirus can contact the park directly at (209) 372-0822.

Source: National Park Services

NATIONAL

GLOBAL

Federal trial opens challenging voter ID law

India limits social media, text messaging

A federal trial regarding South Carolina’s voter identification law, which requires specific photo identification be shown in order to vote, began on Aug. 27 with state Sen. George “Chip” Campsen III citing examples of fraud including vote buying, voter rolls indicating that women going to the polls had already voted and reports that voters were registered in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Under questioning from Justice Department attorney Anna Baldwin, Campsen agreed that his examples did not involve a type of fraud that requiring photo identification would address.

The Justice Department decided that South Carolina’s law violates Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voters. Campsen and House author of the bill, Rep. Alan Clemmons, deny that the law was intended to racially discriminate and that their goal is to detect and deter identification fraud. Closing arguments for the trial are scheduled for Sept. 24.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

The Indian government imposed a two-week limit of five text messages a day, which was later raised to 20, and pressured Internet firms and companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google to block hundreds of websites and user accounts.

Indian officials are reacting to problems that began in July when members of the Bodo tribe and Muslims in northeastern India clashed over politics, land and jobs resulting in 75 deaths and 300,000 people being displaced.

The fighting has continued on social media sites.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Wednesday urged India to respect Internet freedom. Facebook said in a statement it was “working through” requests from the Indian government to filter content.

The Google Transparency report has India as one of the countries topping the list of those that routinely asked Internet companies to remove content in 2011.

Source: Los Angeles Times

The Clarion has a new online home

www.ccclarion.com Log on to answer this week’s Campus Question: How do you get your textbooks?

From the bookstore

Online/rent

From other students

Check out from the library

Scan this QR Code with a QR Code reader on your smartphone to access the new Clarion website!

Follow us on Twitter @CCClarion

Got News? We want it!

Email Clarion Editor-in-Chief David Tate at ClarionEIC@ccclarion.com Call us (626) 914-8586 Stop by the Clarion Newsroom in TC 123

CLARIONnews

3 Convocation 2012 looks to build on record year Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Students and employees challenge each other to help boost nationwide completion rates.

David Tate

Editor-in-Chief

A

“College of Completion” was the theme of Citrus College’s Fall 2012 Convocation on Aug. 24, where staff, faculty, and administrators were challenged to sign a “Count Me In” pledge to bolster student success.

Music professor Bruce Langford led the annual gathering of the college’s employees—faculty, classified staff and managers— starting things off with a solo rendition of the opening lines of “Tomorrow” from the musical “Annie.”

Langford was interrupted, led offstage and placed through several comic versions of redress by John Vaughan, interim Haugh Performing Arts Center director.

Before his final costume change, he was replaced by 12-year-old singer Berlynn Milliken, who belted out the closing lines of the song to great applause.

Afterward, Perri delivered her opening remarks, which emphasized the growing need for postsecondary education countrywide.

“Across the nation, there is a

David Tate Citrus College Clarion

Music Professor Doug Austin holds a “Count Me In” posterboard for softball coach Jackie Boxley to sign during Convocation 2012. This year’s theme was “A College of Completion.” rallying cry for reform in all segments of higher education, especially community colleges,” Perri said, [referencing to a 2010 speech

by President Barack Obama] that pledged to add eight million college graduates to the population by 2020.

In what has become a reoccurring event at convocation, Perri later highlighted some of the accolades Citrus had received over the past year in her state of the college address—chief among them a record number of gradu-

ates and degrees awarded during the 2012 graduation ceremony.

She also lauded the addition of 11 new transfer degrees that guarantee community college graduates priority admission when transferring to CSUs. Students Alejandra Morales and Susan Vong of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society then introduced the Citrus College Completion Corps.

“The objective of the Completion Corps is to dramatically increase certificates and associate’s

degrees by the year 2020,” Vong said.

To close out the convocation, college employees were invited on stage to sign large posterboards with the words “Count Me In” prominently displayed beneath the Citrus College logo.

Additional high points of the morning included presentation of the college’s “Shining Stars” awards, which recognize employee accomplishments in different categories, and employee longevity awards.

History professor Brian Waddington, the recipient of the Shining Star for Life Long Learning, said he was honored to be recognized.

“College is about inquiry, wanting to know, wanting to learn,” Waddington said. “To have influenced somebody in that direction is outstanding.”

But the loudest applause greeted recently retired library media technician Shirley Porch, who was honored for her 40 years of service at Citrus College.

“The year was 1972. Watergate was making headlines, a gallon of gas cost 55 cents and Shirley Porch was a new employee at Citrus College,” Langford said in his introduction to her longevity award.

“I will miss the college environment and working with the Citrus family,” Porch said in a statement.

“However, I am looking forward to starting a new adventure outside of Citrus.”

On the first day of classes, Completion Corps representatives assisted students with accessing their college email addresses, provided them with a student success to-do list, and asked them to sign the completion pledge.

David Tate can be contacted at clarionEIC@ccclarion.com or (626) 914-8586.

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

CLARIONnews

Student workers decline for fall 2012

Student workers become the latest group to be hit by the statewide budget crisis.

Martha Amescua

Clarion Photo Technician

C

McClatchy-Tribune Media services

hanges in the number of required units for student employees and budgetary cutbacks at Citrus are causing a significant decrease in campus jobs available for student workers. Exact numbers were unavailable due to the transition from student services to human resources.

In fall 2011, students were required to be enrolled in six units.

Now, in order to be a student worker, they must carry 12 units or more.

Manager of human resources/ staff diversity, Brenda Fink, said that with the cost of classes going up, “It’s a luxury to be a full-time student in many households.”

Fink also said that students who do meet these requirements may inquire about open positions by checking with the department of

Tensions ease at board of trustees Board meetings return to normalcy following the approval of a contentious raise.

David Tate

Clarion Editor-in-Chief

T

hings seemed to have calmed down for Citrus College’s board of trustees since the July 17 meeting that left board members hurling accusations at one another, but resulted in a raise for superintendent/president Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D. Perri, whose base pay was about $215,000 over the 2011-12 school year, now stands to make an additional four percent in pay each year until 2016, contingent on a positive work evaluation. In the final year of her contract, Perri is expected to make close to $251,000.

In addition, Perri would receive 2.83 vacation days a month, with an option to cash out at the end of the year at a rate of about $1000 a day.

Classified staff members were the largest group in attendance at the meeting, but nine out of the 10 speakers who shared public remarks before the meeting began— including students and community members—voiced their opinion against the raise.

When trustees Susan Keith, Patricia Rasmussen and Joanne Montgomery all voted in favor of the and overrode dissenting board members Edward Ortell and Gary Woods, most of the classified staff members in attendance got up and walked out of the meeting.

The legality of the raise was called into question a month later

by San Dimas resident Gil Aguirre, who sent a demand letter to the board of trustees alleging

that board members violated the Brown Act—California’s version of open government law—and stipulated that the board rescind the raise and admit to making the violations.

Aguirre said that after reading the Clarion’s coverage of an exchange between trustees Rasmussen and Ortell during the July 17 meeting, his alarm bells started going off. Rasmussen accused Ortell of “grandstanding in front of the public” for voting no. “It is bad boardsmanship to come back after the fact and deny what is approved in closed session,” she said.

The ball is in their court.

The next step will be largely dictated on how they respond.

-Gil Aguirre

Open government advocate

In the demand letter, Aguirre points to California Government Code 54957, the section of the Brown Act that states, “Closed sessions held pursuant to this subdivision shall not include discussion or action on proposed compensation except for a reduction of compensation that results from the imposition of discipline.”

Aguirre says he has no relationship with Citrus College and is just “an open government advocate.”

But this is not the first time he has been involved with a school district and the Brown Act. On Aug. 16, 2010, Aguirre and attorney Kelly Aviles sent a similar demand letter to the Pomona Unified School District. Pomona Unified would issue a statement from their legal counsel later in the year

acknowledging the infractions, which involved placing information items on the board meeting agendas.

The Citrus College trustees confirmed that they have received the letter, which came with a Sept.

17 deadline for action.

“We will take [the letter] under advisement with our attorney,” Rasmussen said. “Until then, we will take no further action.”

Less than a week after the demand letter was submitted to the board, an Aug. 21 meeting was abruptly canceled less than a day before it was scheduled when the board agenda was not posted more than 72 hours beforehand.

Though the provision of the Brown Act that sets agenda policies has been suspended, most public offices continue to abide by the law.

“It’s kind of unbelievable,” said trustee Gary Woods. “I’ve been on the board since 1982 and that’s never happened before.”

As a result, the trustees met Aug. 24, the same date of Citrus College’s convocation. This version was much more muted than the July 17 meeting, as the biggest action item was approving the hires of various employees.

Aguirre did not say whether or not he would attend the next meeting of the board.

“The ball is in their court,’” Aguirre said. “The next step will be largely dictated on how they respond.”

The next board meeting is Sept. 11, 4 p.m. in CI 159.

David Tate can be contacted at clarionEIC@ccclarion.com or (626) 914-8586.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

student resources, which now handles all student employment.

She recommended that students continue to check throughout the semester, because as a department’s needs change, so do students’ ability to stay employed.

Each department is also responsible for notifying human resources when a position has been vacated and is ready to be filled.

The amount of money each department dean is given requires him or her to interpret the funding as they feel would benefit them most. All budgets are based on what was budgeted the previous year. Each department manager, in conjunction with their faculty and staff, makes the decisions for the coming semester.

Many departments need student workers and in several cases, putting students to work is beneficial to their future careers.

Unfortunately, decreases in each department’s allocated resources by the Board of Trustees forces managers to cut back on funds that they would allocate toward student workers, resulting in cutbacks.

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“In light of the budget cuts everyone is exposed to, everyone does what they can with what they have,” said Carol Horton, vice president of finance and administrative services.

“We should all learn to do more, with less.”

Horton also said that for many years, Citrus College never had a layoff, but that has changed with the worsening economy.

Reducing the number of student workers and temporary employees saves. The focus has to be on what the students need, and each department determines that differently.

Every department across campus is facing this dilemma, leaving them to take on more responsibilities and more projects because vacant positions cannot be filled, neither by students nor anyone else. As Fink put it, “No one is winning.”

Martha Amescua can be contacted at mamescua@ccclarion.com.

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

CLARIONspotlight

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Vice President -Nayiri Baghdassarian

Treasurer -Michael Cazares

ASCC Liason -Tyler Hernandez

Secretary -Jordon Lowndes

Citrus College Student Trustee -Crescencio G. Calderon

Senator -Joseph Billeter

Senator -Sean Gonzales

Senator -Said Lopez

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2012 ASCC members ASCC President’s letter to students

E

ASCC President

steemed students of Citrus College:

Greetings! My name is Andy Navarro and as your ASCC President for the 20122013 school year, I would like to welcome you to our humble yet amazing school. What is ASCC, you ask? Let me break it down.

ASCC stands for the Associated Students of Citrus College. I am the leader of the Student Government on campus. The ASCC Executive Board’s job to make sure that YOUR voice is heard

in the decision-making processes that affect the students. Professors and other school employees are represented by unions as well and, let me tell you, their representatives are fierce in their efforts to ensure their constituents are given their fair piece of the proverbial pie. As your head representative, I want to assure you that my board and I will have the same level of passion, when advocating for your benefits. We will be knowledgeable, assertive, and, most of all, diligent in our duties as the voices of you, the student body.

That being said, all of our efforts to bring more classes, services, and enjoyable activities to you will be fruitless if we don’t get feedback and support from the most vital part of the college population: you. If we lose sight that students are the heart and entire purpose of our school, we will keep having to make concessions,

Senator -Alex Mohtashem

Commissioner-at-Large -Carlos De La Torre

teachers. Get informed as to what legislation affects your educational process. Write your local legislator a letter and let him/her know how the cuts have affected you personally. Keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to join -Andy Navarro us in lobbying against further cuts ASCC President to our schools. The most effective way to influence the legislamaking our college experience tive process is to put a face to the less memorable and contributive voices they hear.

I strongly encourage you all to to our educational and professional futures. The time to voice vote in this November’s election.

This ballet will include Governor your opinion is NOW. The administration is doing a Brown’s Tax Initiative, Proposiphenomenal job to help us adapt tion 30, and it is the only initiaduring these dire financial times tive that gives community colleges but they cannot do anything if the more money so we can add more student body is apathetic toward classes and provide more educathe changes the state is imposing tional options for community colon us. Talk to us, let us know what lege students. I strongly encouryou want changed at Citrus. Much age you all to take the time and more importantly, get involved. research Prop. 30 and encourage Join a club. Come to our board everyone you know that is of lemeetings. Meet your administra- gal voting age to register to vote tors. Develop rapport with your and show support for the election,

Talk to us, let us know what you want changed at Citrus.

Much more importantly, get involved.

Senator -Mariana Vega

Commissioner of Public-Relations -Brandi Garcia

when polls open. The California community college system is the largest of its kind in the world and it has produced countless success stories of students who have achieved their dreams and became assets to our society and economy.

We are the Associated Students of Citrus College. You are the Associated Students of Citrus College. Lest we forget that without us, the school is merely a beautiful ghost town of empty buildings with no purpose. Your voice is crucial to your future.

Let’s work together and make your college years amazing. Visit me in my office in the campus center. Let’s talk.

Have a phenomenal semester.

-Andy Navarro ASCC President

Senator -Izabella Villegas

Commissioner of Community Relations -Art Corral

Commissioner of Activities -Alejandra Morales

Commissioner of Athletics -Meechelle Sansom

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

CLARIONspotlight

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

Freshmen faculty Class of 2012 I am very passionate about physical activity and nutrition—and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

-Andrew Silva Kinesiology

I have a drive to help students succeed and become amazing innovators in our industry.

-Ann Everett

Question: What should your students know about you?

I’m excited to learn all the ins and outs of counseiling and shared governance.

-Deanna Smedley

Counseling

I want to share my passion and enthusiasm for science with my student.

-Dr. Barbara Juncosa

Cosmetology

Biology

My ultimate goal is student success and empowerment.

Biology

Automotive Technology

I’m a pretty easy going guy, but I expect my students to work for and take pride in

DSP&S

I care about helping [students] through their journey of self-discovery.

their success.

-Dr. Christine Goedhardt

-Mariano Rubio

-Michelle Hernandez

Mathematics

Language Arts

I am fair and unbiased; it’s important to me that

I am easy to talk to and

students feel free to see me

for help during my office

for help with anything they

hours.

love when students come in

need.

-Victoria Dominguez

-Eric Odegaard

President’s letter to students

Citrus College External Relations

D

ear Students: It is a pleasure to welcome you to Fall Semester 2012 at Citrus College! I hope you enjoyed your summer and that you are ready to begin or continue your educational journey with renewed energy.

Our faculty and staff are eager to

support your success through our comprehensive academic programs and support services.

Citrus College has again proven its reputation as an outstanding institution of higher learning.

At last June’s Commencement ceremony, more than 1,300 associate degrees were conferred upon 1,066 students— the largest graduating class in the college’s history. In addition, the college received local, state and national recognition in other areas, such as its services to student veterans and the opportunities available in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics— or STEM. These achievements, and more, are featured in a publication, “Citrus Rocks,” which is

2012-2013 is “Citrus College: A College of Completion.” Faculty, proven its reputation as an staff and students who attended the August 24 Convocation were outstanding institution of invited to sign a “Completion higher learning.

Pledge--Call to Action in Support of Students.” This document -Geraldine m. Perri outlines Citrus College’s belief Superintendent/President in the value of community colleges and the students it serves, as well as its dedication to increasavailable on the college’s Web ing the number of students who site. will successfully complete their The college’s past accomplish- education. The call to action ments fuel its future. The new also challenges members of both mission statement speaks to Cit- the college and the external comrus College’s commitment to the munities to use their talents and “successful completion of trans- resources to make student comfer, career/technical education, pletion a reality for more Citrus and basic skills development.” College students.

As such, the institutional focus for I am very proud of the fact

Citrus College has again

that the concept for “Citrus College: A College of Completion” originated with the Citrus College chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Last spring, these students presented a research project on the nationwide Community College Completion Core Program at the Honors Transfer Council of California’s annual conference. Their work has inspired a college initiative that will positively affect student completion for many years to come.

Thank you for choosing Citrus College. I hope you experience a productive academic year.

Sincerely, Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D. Superintendent/President

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

CLARIONspotlight

Health care for veterans goes mobile

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

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Citrus College finds a new way to make life easier on its student veterans.

David Tate

Clarion Editor-in-Chief

Kolby Rousseve

Clarion Sports Editor

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ccessible health care can be hard to come by these days, especially for veterans. So when the Citrus College Veterans Center collaborated with the Veterans Administration of Long Beach on July 27, the school became the first community college in Southern California to host a V.A. mobile medical unit.

Local veterans got a sense of what the future in health care holds for them when Monica Christianson, project director at the Veterans Center, met with LBVA personnel to address the inconveniences many vets face when trying to access health benefits.

“Instead of taking a three or four-hour trip to Loma Linda or Long Beach, they would just come to us,” she said.

Christianson met with the Region 8 Veterans Program

directors in April. Richard Beam, director of public and community affairs of the V.A. of Long Beach, was then hammered with questions and concerns regarding improving accessible health care for veterans. During the meeting, he stated, “If somebody wants to host it, I’ll bring the unit to you.”

Region 8 is comprised of 14 community colleges in Southern California, including Rio Hondo, Mt. San Antonio and Citrus.

But Beam said that he didn’t get many takers on the offer after the meeting’s conclusion.

“Monica [Christianson] was the only one to come up and say, ‘We are ready,”’ Beam said.

After a successful July 17 event, the LBVA made a second visit to Citrus on Aug. 20, this time accompanied by Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif. For veteran Fernando Salazar, the easy access to this care was a positive experience for him.

“I used it and it was really successful,” said Salazar. “I would definitely recommend it for more

Monica Christianson Veterans Center

Student veterans pose for a photo with Veterans Administration of Long Beach’s director of public affairs Richard Beam (front, middle) in front of an LBVA mobile health unit. people because it’s really good service.”

The mobile team conducted basic health and eligibility screening; screening for readjustment behavioral issues, including PTSD, and provided direct assistance for other social readjustment issues.

“We’re going to try to do it at least monthly, maybe every six weeks,” Christianson said. “It just depends on the need of the area and the veterans.”

Christianson and Beam are currently working on improving the new service by incorporating telemedicine into the Veterans Center. In theory, service members would be able to video conference from a

computer terminal in the Veterans Center with LBVA health care professionals.

Beam said this could make a huge impact on troubled vets, who often neglect to seek help for mental issues because of the negative stigma associated with seeing a psychologist.

“If somebody had an appointment, they could come in on their lunch break,” Beam said. “Their buddies don’t have to know, and they can sit down [privately] with

a mental health professional. We could take a ‘C’ student and turn them into a ‘B’ or ‘A’ student from the mentoring.”

In terms of accessibility, Christianson says this would put the college Veterans Center in a category of its own.

“Bringing the unit here is a big deal,” Christianson said. “This hasn’t happened anywhere in Southern California at all. It’s going to put us at the top.”

David Tate and Kolby Rousseve can be contacted at clarionEIC@ccclarion.com & krousseve@ccclarion.com.

Students spend less on textbooks as prices rise The Owl Bookshop and Hayden Memorial Library are just two of the places on campus trying to make textbook purchases easier on students.

Mariana Vega

Clarion Correspondent

S

tudent spending on textbooks has declined over the last four years from an average of $702 to $655 annually according to a study conducted by OnCampus Research, a division of the National Association of College Stores.

“As we are working with publishers on price negotiation, making custom items and getting rid of hardcovers we are able to get a better price for textbooks,” said Owl Bookshop Manager Eric Magallon.

However, Magallon said that the prices at the Bookshop have actually increased due to a publisher price hike.

Research suggests that as prices climb, students are adapting to the change by buying books from other students, online from websites like chegg.com and Amazon. com, or skipping the buying process altogether and renting them.

The first week of the semester is the best time to buy and sell books, since both supply and demand are at their peaks. The book buyback program is also available to students who want to sell their used books.

The Book Buyback tents will

I buy books online, or anywhere I can find them at a better price . . . with this economy you have to look everywhere to save a buck.

-Christina Osuna

Art major

operate just outside of the Bookshop Aug. 30-31 and Sept. 10-11, beginning at 9 a.m.

Students are looking in different places and using online resources to find better prices for the materials they need.

“I try to cut back on spending as much as I can,” said student Kyle Garza, who still likes to have the latest edition of textbooks. “I use the Owl Bookshop to buy my books.”

“Profits from the bookstore help pay for services on campus,” said Magallon, who pointed out some of the advantages of buying textbooks at the Bookshop. “We have a refund policy available and mark downs on textbooks that need to be unloaded.”

The Owl Bookshop also offers textbook rentals through its website: owlbookshop.rentsbooks. com.

“I tend to rent books,” said

McClatchy-Tribune Media Services

Nationwide Surveys show student spending on textbooks decreasing, but that may be because prices are on the rise. nursing major Jordon Lowndes.

“If I don’t have the money, I wait until I’m able to use my Cal Grant to buy the book.”

Others use online resources to find a better price on textbooks.

“I buy books online, or anywhere I can find them at a better price,” said art major Christina Osuna. “I don’t like selling them because you don’t get what you pay for them. They change all the time, so I just build my own library. With this economy you have to look everywhere to save a buck.”

Other students use financial services that are available to them such as Extended Opportunity

Programs and Services and Financial Aid. “I buy my books through the aid that I get from EOP&S,” said student Roberto Villagomez. “I buy them used to save money.”

Many textbooks are on reserve in the Citrus College library.

Texts for most general education courses are available for a twohour period on site.

“A lot of students use the reserved books,” said library media assistant Carmen Mexia. “They are able to use the textbooks they need when they don’t have the money. It makes it hard when they have to compete for a book in a limited amount of time.”

The Hayden Memorial Library has a small selection of books available to check out for a threeweek period, renewable once.

“Use the material you buy,” said Magallon. “Find out how the educational material is going to be used.”

Mariana Vega can be contacted at mvega@ccclarion.com.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Owl football amped for opener

SPORTS

The Fighting Owls’ football team looks to start fresh in a new conference in their home opener against the Pasadena City College Lancers this Saturday.

David Tate

Editor-in-Chief

A

David Tate Citrus College Clarion

Fighting Owl Football is ready to kick off their 2012 campaign.

Their home opener comes Sept. 1 against Pasadena City College.

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

6-4 season would have been good enough for a Central Division West conference championship in fall 2011 for Owl football (3-7, 3-2 CDW) before an ineligible player resulted in the Southern California Football Association stripping 3 wins and a conference title from the program.

But head coach Ron Ponciano doesn’t believe that the events of last year won’t be a source of any extra motivation for his team to perform in 2012. His players agree with him—to an extent.

“I’m not gonna lie, it hurt real bad knowing that we had all that talent and drive [for a championship] and we couldn’t get it,” said sophomore safety Rodney Frederick-Mathews. “At the same time

I know it’s ours and we earned it, but last year was last year and we have to let that go.”

Now the Fighting Owls have taken their talents to the SCFA’s tougher National Central Conference, where the first test for Citrus comes in the shape of the Pasadena City College Lancers.

The team says they are excited for the move to despite the stiffer level of competition.

“We have a lot of good, fast athletes that have their heads on straight,” said sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Kepley. “I’ve got high expectations for us . . . we should do better than we did last year.”

In watching film on PCC, Ponciano said what jumped out at him was the Lancers’ athleticism.

“They’ve got some exceptional athletes,” Ponciano said. “It comes down to mental toughness, soundness, and the ability to tackle.”

And though expectations are running high teamwide, the head coach constantly reminds his team not to take anything for granted.

“We will mind the gap,” Ponciano said. “That means you set goals and then you play the game.

Expectations and results are two different things, and it’s key that we handle the gap between [those two] well.”

“This is arguably one of the toughest schedules Citrus College has ever had in the history of the school,” Ponciano continued.

“There is not one easy team on our schedule. Not one.”

The Owls host PCC Sept. 1 at 1 p.m.

David Tate can be contacted at clarionEIC@ccclarion.com or (626) 914-8586.

Men’s soccer team regroups

A disappointing 2011 leaves the men’s soccer team with nowhere to go but up.

David Tate Citrus College Clarion

Men’s Soccer is looking to bounce back from a forgettable 2011 season.

Kolby Rousseve

Clarion Sports Editor

A

new year means new beginnings, not only for students and faculty but also for the athletics department.

And this year the men’s soccer team is looking forward to a chance to start new.

In the fall 2011 season, the Fighting Owls finished 5-11-5 overall, with a 3-8-3 record in Western State Conference play.

The poor showing did not sit well with head coach Fred BruceOliver, who said that the team has usually done exceptionally well, with more than just a few good years.

Bruce-Oliver came to Citrus in 1997 as head coach and also coaches over at nearby Claremont High School. The CHS Wolfpack won its second CIF championship under BruceOliver’s reign in 2011.

With this in mind, his basic

expectation for the year is for the team to be competitive. “The other goal is not only to compete but to win the league,” BruceOliver said. “That’s always a goal.”

Team captains Danny Valdez and Omar Nunez are also focused on winning. As returning sophomores, they understand how important it is to win this season in their last year of eligibility. “We are definitely motivated to win more games this year,” Valdez said.

With the toughest competitors likely to be Santa Barbara and Oxnard, Valdez and Nunez know they have their work cut out for them. However, they say the team has the potential to fulfill their goals.

“The base of our team is mostly returners, so I think that’s really going to help us out since we already have the experience of playing one year together,” said Valdez. He mentioned that some

freshmen players have surprised both captains with what they can bring to the field.

“And we know each other a lot better than we did last year, so we have a better chemistry when we play together,” Nunez said.

As the team prepares for a successful season, everyone expresses a positive attitude.

“We have really high expectations,” Valdez said. “We are here to win.”

As of press time, the Clarion has not received the results of the Owls’ Aug. 28 game against the San Bernardino Valley Wolverines.

The Owls’ next game is against the Cuyamaca Coyotes Aug. 31 at 4 p.m.

Kolby Rousseve can be contacted at krousseve@ ccclarion.com

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

11

Forum Waiting to exhale : The waitlist debate

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Marvin Trigo can be contacted at mtrigo@ccclarion.com.

......................................................

obody likes to stand outside of a classroom for two hours, only to be told there are no seats available. For Citrus College students, this waste of time is no longer a problem, as the new waitlist system gives them a good indication of if they will be accepted or turned away.

Everyone likes to be welcomed and the waitlist is a form of acceptance to many. Not having a waitlist is like telling a student “Try your luck again next time.” With the waitlist, they no longer have to wait outside with their fingers crossed, hoping that someone who has registered is a no-show.

Some students have to return to the next class meeting to find out if they will be able to add. Those who have to travel great distances feel the burden of traffic delays and the high cost of gas. The waitlist helps save time and money.

According to the Citrus College website, the waitlist provides a 24 hour window of opportunity to add a class after a seat has become available.

Once a student is added to the list, he or she will receive an

email to add a class. If they drop a course, another student form the list will move up in position depending on the number of students who drop. The userfriendly interface moves students one step closer to achieving their goals from the comfort of their own homes.

Desperately attempting to add classes on the first day of school is not fun. The waitlist makes this experience much less stressful.

No one likes to have headaches on the first day of school.

Mount San Antonio College’s waitlist accommodates only 10 students per course. Mt. SAC is a larger, overpopulated institution, so its waitlist does not accommodate as many students who are trying to enroll at once.

There are 20 positions on the waitlist at Citrus College, which increases the chances of being able to add. A student can be on a waitlist for multiple classes, reducing time wasted running back and forth to fill holes in their own schedules.

The waitlist is easy, accurate and reliable. It is a great improvement over the registration roulette of past semesters.

PLEASE Take a

number

Con

Clarion Staff Writer

.......................................................

Marvin Trigo

Pro

The waitlist increases the ability a student has to successfully add new classes.

Editor’s corner: Where are you?

Has the San Gabriel Valley gone mute?

David Tate

Editor-in-Chief

W

hy don’t we hear from you?

Any Clarion staffer, past or present will tell you that getting a community college, student-run newspaper out on time takes a small miracle. As of 12:28 a.m. yesterday, I honestly don’t know if I’m even going to be able to put the issue you’re holding out on time. Hope I made it.

We would all love to have somebody dictating perfectly edited articles in our ears. The closest we’ll ever come to that is when a hot-breathed editor is hunched over your shoulder correcting your work. We have to track down sources, take our own photographs and deal with what seems like a thousand setbacks over the course of 14 days.

But the reason we do this is so that you, the present and future members of the Citrus community have an accurate picture of what life on campus is like at this moment in time.

A community we rarely hear from.

Over the past six months, the Clarion has only received one letter to the editor. During that same time period, we’ve written more than 200 articles. At about 350 words apiece, that means we get one letter for every 70,000 words we write, and I rounded down. Remember, these are words we write about you.

I’m not sure how we’ve made it this far like this. Every journalism book I’ve read stresses the need for the same things: a thirst for knowledge, accuracy in reporting and keeping the interests of your readers in mind.

(And everything I’ve seen on Worldstarhiphop.com has told me that if you talk about someone, they’ll usually want to find you.

Not necessarily for good.)

So I thought, “What if they just don’t know how to reach us?”

The Clarion newsroom is located in the Technology Center building, room 123. We’re just north of the auto classes in the TE building, due south of the cosmetology center, kind of east of the Veterans Center and directly west from a bunch of plants. They look like the plant version of Koosh balls.

Our number here: (626) 9148586. The number for our adviser, Meg O’Neil is the same but for the last digit: (626) 914-8588.

The number for our dashingly handsome (single) editor-in-chief is (909) 749-4908.

If you don’t like hearing other people’s voices or finding out how somebody isn’t nearly as goodlooking as they say they are, you can tell us how you feel by going to ccclarion.com/letters.

I’ve even put the guidelines for what letters we print to the right so you don’t have to go searching. I’ll still tell you right here that we run pretty much anything our readers send us, barring hate speech and poetry. (But poetry in the form of a letter…)

Worried about hurting someone’s feelings? Don’t be. Us journalists are naturally thick-skinned.

We voluntarily send in our work to be ripped apart. It makes our writing better for you to read.

And at the end of the day, we’re student writers. Some of us will go on to make a career in journalism, but the majority of us won’t write another article after leaving the Clarion. That means we’ve got 16 weeks to get it right, and we need as much help as we can get.

David Tate can be contacted at clarionEIC@ccclarion.com or (626) 914-8586.

The waitlist gives students the same chances as before when trying to add a class.

Mariana Vega

Clarion Staff Writer

E

nrolling for classes at Citrus College has become a competition of chance.

Students are now using the waitlist as a form to hopefully register for the classes they need.

However, this does not seem to have a significant improvement on the chances of a student trying to add classes before the session begins.

Students may waitlist for multiple classes, but it has been my experience the waitlist is only beneficial to those students whose registration deadline is earlier. New students who have to waitlist for classes can only hope that students who register before them change their mind and decide that they don’t want to take a class anymore.

I had the opportunity to use the waitlist firsthand during the summer semester. I was able to enroll in one out of the few classes I had waitlisted for.

I arrived at Citrus College one hour before my class started to avoid being late. When I got into my class I found a line of approxi-

mately 20 students trying to add the class. These students were both on the waitlist and add-ins.

This semester you can expect registered, waitlisted, and add-in students to fight more than ever for a spot in a class. The registered students will have more trouble getting to their destinations due to the large amount of hopeful students that are on campus taking the parking spaces and trying to add a class. It becomes the same game of odds of getting a class when classes begin.

For students who were not as lucky as me, it will be nightmare.

Competing for a class will be harder and more aggressive. The waitlist is no longer in effect after the first day of class; therefore, waitlisted students will be faced with competing for available spots with the large amount of new and continuing students looking to fill holes in their schedules.

The waitlist may not be too terrible. It just does not take care of the real problem: there are not enough classes. In the words of the “Hunger Games”, “may the odds be ever in your favor.”

Mariana Vega can be contacted at mvega@ccclarion.com.

citruscollege

clarion Editor in Chief David Tate Managing Editor Emily Rios Design Editor Sasha Winterer Art Director Sydney Presley Photo Supervisor Frank Ram Photo Technician Martha Amescua Sports Editor Kolby Rousseve

A&E Editor Brandi Garcia Staff Writer Marvin Trigo Correspondents Anthony Vidales Mariana Vega Instructional Assistants Emily Rios Stacy K. Long Adviser Margaret O’Neil

The Clarion is produced by journalism students and is distributed every other Wednesday during the semester. Ads are not endorsed by the Clarion. Editorials are the opinion of at least 75 percent of the Editorial Board.

All other opinion is that of the writer. Views expressed do not represent those of the adviser, faculty, administration, Associated Students of Citrus College and/or CCCBOT. Libel will not be published. The Clarion welcomes feedback from our readers. If you have any gripes, questions, or comments ... we want to hear from you! All correspondence must include your student ID#, major and signature. Letters may be edited for content.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

CLARION

Citrus College Clarion ccclarion.com

Glendora Police officers prepare to sweep a classroom.

Glendora police train at Citrus

T

he year 2012 isn’t over yet, but it seems there have been enough shooting incidents nationwide over the past nine months to last a lifetime.

The Glendora police department chose Citrus College as the site of their live shooter training for three days on Aug. 13, 14 and 16.

For those who kept up with the headlines, Aug. 13 was the same day a Texas constable died in a shooting just outside of Texas A&M University.

The live shooter training in-

cluded hostage situations, booby trapped corridors and navigating unfamiliar territories.

Glendora police officials said that the training not only benefits the police officers honing their skills, but the entire community.

“What we have found by studying active shooter scenarios from the past several years is that shooters are looking for an area where they can have a large number of potential victims,” said Glendora Police Department Cpl. Tim Henderson. “With this in mind, we’re able to tailor our trainings to meet these kind of threats.”

Glendora Police officers enter the scene of a mock school shooting.

Photos by: David Tate and Anthony Vidales

Senior officer William Turnley gets a call on his walkie talkie as a second officer suits up for an exercise.

Detective Josh Price crouches in a planter to assess the situation.

Glendora Police stack up on a door to engage the threats inside.