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News
Wednesday October 19, 2011
Los Angeles | COLLEGIAN
Discrimination Alleged by Dean
Dean from Page 1
Photo by Tanya Fllowers /Collegian Family members of Violeta Monleon -Berg smiled as they gathered outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center courtroom, moments after Judge Monica Bachner passed sentence on former LACC instructor, Ronald Berg.
Berg Sentenced to 25 years Berg from Page 1 The sentence hearing provided the victim’s family with an opportunity to speak. Abner Monleon, the victim’s brother, addressed the court and spoke with great emotion about the loss of his sister, calling Berg a “bastard”. Monleon spoke directly to Berg, whose eyes shifted downward. “Shame on you,” Monleon said. Stifling sobs, he concluded by saying: “What is left for you is a place to rot, and that is hell.” There were 15 members of the Monleon family and some of them dabbed their eyes with tissue during the hearing.
‘No Jobs, No Hope and No Cash’
Judy Cintron, Berg’s sister also spoke, saying that her brother had been “mentally ill since childhood.” She told the court that she would have helped her brother more had she known the depths of his mental illness. She said what happened was ‘‘sad’’. Berg stared at his sister as she spoke. The judge allowed Cintron to read a letter she had prepared begging the court for a lighter sentence. “I live out of state and was not aware of his extreme mental state,” Cintron said. “There are only two of us. Our parents are deceased. I can only hope and pray.” Finally, Judge Bachner asked the
The meeting held on Oct. 11 was open to the administration, faculty and students. At the end of Carlson’s speech the audience was able to ask questions and come up with solutions that would help save money for LACC as well as bring in revenue. Solutions included renting out classrooms, looking for grants, ensuring that lights were turned off at the end of every school day to save on utilities and eliminating printers in the buildings with copiers to save money on toner. The administration is hoping that the Los Angeles Community College District’s funding to LACC will be the same, but there is a possibility that the budget could decrease if the economy
doesn’t improve. “I understand the economy is in a bad situation but so are we,” said Genesis Juarez, a criminal justice major. “We’re the future, right? So how can we progress if the tuition prices are constantly rising? This can cause people to drop out and take more hours at work. It will make it harder for students.” At the end of the meeting, Moore ensured that the administration was doing its best to bring in revenue. She assured that increasing filming on the campus was a possibility, and noted that the swap meet held on the campus parking lot on the weekends, which is run by The Foundation, is bringing in some revenue. Whether that would sufficiently help with the upcoming deficit is unclear. “What’s very sad is that this room isn’t packed—faculty, staff, everyone needs to hear how critical this is. This is just too bad for people not to realize and not have the information,” said an attendee who chooses to remain anonymous.
Police Wire
Investigation
No Jobs from Page 1
Oct 3 2011 Crime Incident: Student vehicle fire Location: Parking Lot 1 Oct. 3 2011 Campus Incident: Staff member reports purse stolen Location: Child Development Center Oct. 3 2011 Campus Incident: Staff member reports laptop stolen Location: Chemistry Building Oct. 3 2011 Campus Incident: Student reports USB left behind (lost) Location: Library Oct. 4 2011 Campus Incident: Student reports lost iPod Location: Library Oct. 4 2011 Campus Incident: Student reports wallet stolen Location: Women’s Gym Oct. 5 2011 Campus Incident: Staff member reports vehicle vandalized Location: Parking Lot 4 Oct. 5 2011 Campus Incident: Student reports ring stolen from restroom Location: Science/Technology Building Oct. 6 2011 Campus Incident: Student reports bicycle stolen Location: W Gym Bike Racks Oct. 6 2011 Campus Incident: Student reports lost voice recorder Location: Library Oct. 6 2011 Campus Incident: Student reports lost money Location: Library Oct. 6 2011 Campus Incident: Employee reports lost wallet Location: Jefferson Hall
Investigation from Page 1 The “Los Angeles Times” reported that from 1998 to 2003, Marez had worked for a construction management firm owned by Art Gastelum, owner of Gateway Science & Engineering, Inc., a company that
72-year-old if he had anything to say. The courtroom stood still. All eyes shifted toward Berg. “I am very sorry about this happening,” Berg said. “I don’t know what came over me. I am not a violent person.” Judge Bachner sentenced Berg to serve out his sentence in a California state prison, with an additional two years of imprisonment to be served before the commencement of the 25-year sentence. Berg looked at his sister one last time before the bailiff ushered him out of the courtroom and off to jail.
His actions resulted in an official censure and reprimand, which Eastcott accepted. In his words, the reprimand amounted to a “slap on the wrist.” “The college president signed it, and this entire document was put in my record,” he said. “[That] should have been the end of it.” But it wasn’t. During the summer months, the investigation was reopened. Sources familiar with the inner workings of the college expressed puzzlement over this decision, saying that it is not unusual for faculty members to occasionally pay for services in order to ensure that classes continue to run smoothly. Inexplicably to Eastcott, he was singled out for administrative leave. Four months have passed since the leave began and Eastcott has not taken legal action. Both Los Angeles City College and Moore are the subjects of an unlawful termination lawsuit, and the LACCD is currently appealing a $1.2 million dollar award to a former employee for discrimination and failure to prevent retaliation. Eastcott says he would prefer a different route, and would only consider legal action as a last resort. He has however, contacted his union. “It’s a personnel matter, so I can’t really comment,” said the President of LACCD Administrators association/Teamsters Local 911 and Campus Representative Allison Jones. “All I can say right now is that we are working on supporting him and [taking] some action, but I can’t disclose what it is right now.”
As part of his administrative leave, Eastcott says that Moore requested that the Vice President of Administrative Services, Paul Carlson escort him off campus. He was denied access since to the campus. However, in an email dated Aug 23, 2011, Eastcott wrote: “This is to formally notify you and the LACC administration that I will be taking a night class at LACC this fall. Whereas I am a California resident, and whereas LACC is an open public institution, and whereas the Education Code is very specific that a student cannot be barred from public community colleges except for student discipline or substandard performance issues, I have a right to appear on campus unannounced and unescorted while performing my student responsibilities.” Several other faculty members have since tried to intervene on Eastcott’s behalf. During a meeting of the LACCD Board of Trustees on July 13, 2011, faculty and staff members from City College addressed the Board: Jayesh Bhakta, Alfredo Herrera, and Roger Wolf. All of them criticized the administration for putting Eastcott on administrative leave. They strongly defended the dean, praising him as a man of integrity and competence. Herrera also suggested a double standard at work, alluding to an investigation into improprieties in the English Department that have not resulted in administrative leave for anyone. A letter by faculty members read: “He has consistently shown a very
high level of integrity in his actions and decisions. Dr. Eastcott is clearly motivated by a strong desire to serve the college and promote student success at LACC. “ The trustees had no comments in response to any of the speakers. The meeting records close the matter with the words: “Actions taken: None.” Wolf, Department Chair of the Math Department, was able to confirm that he had spoken on behalf of Eastcott. However, when asked about discriminatory practices by the Administration, he refused to comment, calling such notions “speculation.” “I have no knowledge of this,” Wolf said. Still, Eastcott maintains that he was unfairly singled out. “In late May, I was talking to Kim Perry, the outgoing vice president, about the possibility of Jamillah Moore picking one of us [long-term faculty members] to fill her [Perry’s] position for a year, while they did a search. And Kim Perry’s words were: ‘She [Moore] wants to clean house,” Eastcott said. Eastcott maintains that the decision to place him on administrative leave was “happening unjustly”, and that it was costly: “My salary continues at the same rate as when I was performing my duties. In addition, my temporary replacement is earning a dean’s salary, effectively costing the tax payers double what is necessary,” Eastcott said.
UCLA Welcomes Transfers By Tanya Flowers
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block greeted more than 300 students in the Cub Center to renew the partnership between UCLA and LACC. Block unveiled a long white, blue, and yellow Community College Partnership banner that stretched across the stage in his first presentation at LACC. A panel of educators came from UCLA to encourage students to transfer to their campus. “I want to encourage all of you who are thinking of transferring to our campus to do so,” Block said. “Transfer students add a dimension to our campus that’s really important ... you add to our diversity.” The goal of the visit was to discuss relevant issues and concerns that many community college students may face while transferring to a four-year university.
“[At] the Center for Community College Partnership, the main focus is to increase the number of students who come from first generation lower income communities to help prepare them for university,” said Alfred Herrera, Director of Community College Partnership. “We provide a series of programs and activities that start with the Summer Residential Academic Program ... developing an educational plan, financial literacy and scholars programs.” Many students continue to be concerned about the realities of having to pay for college. On campus, work opportunities are offered and financial information is provided to help lessen the difficulty of the transition. “I recently graduated from LACC this summer, I am planning to transfer to Cal State L.A. because,
offers “Project and Construction Management”. Gastelum is said to be a campaign donor for the elected College District Trustees and a major contractor on the construction program. In a recent audit, State Controller John Chiang claimed that the District had broken its own rules in hiring Marez. The Board of Trustees had asked
City Controller Wendy Greuel to review the hiring, despite the fact the City Controller has no legal authority in this matter. In a statement dated Sept 7, 2011, Board of Trustees President Miguel Santiago said: “City Controller Wendy Greuel has established an impeccable reputation for thoroughness and independence. I look forward to working with her to increase the transparency and
Photo by Hayden Velasquez /Collegian UCLA Chancellor Gene Block urged students to apply for transfer to UCLA during a stop at the Cub Center on Oct.6.
I’m a re-entry student ... UCLA is an option but I am concerned because I know that the Pell grant and Cal grants are under attack...,” said Linda Tong a recent City College graduate. “It’s a huge concern when financial aid packages are being slashed and you’re trying to stay in college.” Ronald Johnson, director of financial aid at UCLA says that the intention is to produce more grants for students and assist with minimizing student debt. Johnson explains that the accountability of our bond program.” Greuel’s independence and effectiveness has since been called into question when it became apparent that she had personally supported Board of Trustees member Mona Field during her March 8, 2011, re-election campaign. Greuel’s endorsement can still be found on Field’s Facebook page, raising questions about the nature of the connection between
economic crisis response team was established through the generosity of Chancellor Block. “We provide emergency grant assistance to the students so that we’re not just perpetuating their problem by giving them more loans, we’re trying to resolve the issue,” Johnson said. “We understand that not only our lower income students are facing problems with financing, but also understand some middle income families are as well facing those concerns.”
Greuel and the Board of Trustees. Now, it appears that the Los Angeles District Attorney is taking on the investigation. District Chancellor Daniel LaVista said in a statement, “We will fully cooperate with the D.A. and remain confident that the office will conclude that the selection of Policy Masters Inc. was fully justified and compliant with all applicable laws.”