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The Santa Monica College Newspaper
Volume XCIX, Issue 12
www.thecorsaironline.com
Informing Since 1929
Protestors target BP “green” gas station
AS proposes change to constitution By John Stapleton IV Staff Writer Recent changes to the Associated Students Constitution will be available to the student body for approval during next week’s special election. The ballot will contain three items, the first of which asks students whether or not they approve the proposed constitutional amendments. These most recent amendments mostly clarify the special election process itself, and establish the Joint Council as solely responsible for determining student fees. This duty applies directly to the other two special election items, both of which are proposals for increasing the AS fee: a Student Representation Fee of one dollar, and a Student Organizing Fee of $1.50. These proposed changes would increase the Associated Student Fee from $19 to $21.50 if approved. AS president Cameron Henton describes the Student Representation Fee as a way to finance “advocacy and efforts along those lines,” allowing Santa Monica College students to represent the college before city, county and state governments. Henton posited
See ‘AS constitution changes’ on page 3
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
By Dan Bluemel Opinion Editor
Police investigate the scene of the shooting at Pico and Lincoln Boulevards.
Katie Madejska Corsair
Shooting at Pico and Lincoln By Guiliana Dakdouk Managing Editor A black SUV was pulled over near Pico and Lincoln Boulevards for a field-sobriety test early yesterday morning when the passenger opened fire at a Santa Monica Police Department officer. According to officers at the scene, the passenger shot one officer below his bulletproof vest
and proceeded to run away from the scene. The officer was hospitalized and is now in stable condition. The alleged gunman was hiding for about three hours until K-9 officers and the SWAT team found him at nearly 5:10 a.m. Officers shot and hit the suspect but it has yet to be determined whether the suspect fired at the officers beforehand. The extent
of his injuries is unkknown. More than 10 police officers from different divisions moved into the area to search for the gunman. Local residents were asked to stay inside to maintain public safety. The driver of the black SUV was arrested on suspicion of DUI. At the time of press, his identity, as well as the gunman’s, was not made public.
Demonstrators picketed a British Petroleum gas station in Los Angeles Wednesday, May 12, to demand that the U.S. government seizes the company’s assets to pay for clean-up and provide compensation for those affected by the ongoing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Activists chose BP’s signature “green” Arco gas station, located at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Robertson Boulevard, as the site of their protest. The “Seize BP” campaign was initiated by the ANSWER Coalition, an anti-war and social justice organization. According to the group, over 10,000 people have signed the Seize BP petition calling for the confiscation and reinvestment of assets. The demonstration occurred on the second day BP America executives, along with Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron executives, were questioned by a Congressional subcommittee over the Deepwater Horizon oil rig leak. Responsibility was a point of debate amongst company executives during the questioning, which President
See ‘BP oil protest’ on page 4
Student president Cameron Henton looks back at AS accomplishments By Daniel Ross Staff Writer
Daniel Ross Corsair Santa Monica College Associated Students President Cameron Henton presides over the last Board of Directors meeting for the current government, this past Monday at Santa Monica College. Henton will transfer the keys to his office to Tiffany Inabu, who will be president next semester.
It’s Friday afternoon. Another school week has drawn to a close and Associated Students President, Cameron Henton, is aware of another deadline looming ominously on the horizon. “We’re soon into the transitional stage between one government and the next,” says Henton as he prepares to relinquish his position to Tiffany Inabu, AS president elect. Henton has only a few weeks remaining with which to push through any last minute reforms, and a review of his government’s performance over the past year by the board of trustees figures prominently on his to-do list. And so, to the background hum of a student government anxiously waiting out their last few weeks in office, Henton talks candidly about the endeavors of the AS to revisit
their original campaign promises, offering in the process some stark advice to their successors. “I don’t think we’ve achieved all that we should have achieved,” says Henton, referring to their struggle to cultivate a community spirit within the college and to raise student awareness of the AS – an integral part of his manifesto. Quickly though, he moves to a topic that has not only factored heavily in recent decision making, but one in which he feels the AS has more than proven its mettle – the college’s budget woes. “It’s been a tough year for the college, and various departments have asked us for more money in order to maintain student services…which we’ve been able to provide. However, it means that the rollover into next years balance won’t be as big as it usually is.” The drop, Henton predicts, could be as big as $120,000 – to
a rollover of just $80,000 – but he feels justified that the AS has made the right decision to prop-up the college financially, singling out the Big Blue Bus as just one of the many services their support has helped to maintain. “[AS] can do that for about one more year…probably, but if the budget crisis continues, I don’t see how we could maintain that level of support.” Another area in which Henton feels a certain level of personal satisfaction is the introduction during his tenure of the Leadership Academy. A program designed to better prepare students for positions of leadership, it has been somewhat of a pet project for Henton, and he hopes to see it institutionalized at SMC. “It’s a great opportunity to train
See ‘Henton looks back’ on page 3