Union
El Camino College
May 12, 2011
With winter session cut,
What’s next for spring? Alma Zazueta Staff Writer
After a week-long struggle between administration and faculty groups, a proposal to eliminate the 2012 winter intersession appears to have prevailed. Now the fate of the spring semester hangs in the air, with early talks of adjusting the full calendar year having already taken place. “This is still a process for moving the spring session forward, some people might think it’s for the winter intersession but it’s not, winter intersession is pretty much gone,” Tom Fallo, EC president, said. During an emergency meeting the Calendar Committee brought up a proposal to have spring semester start earlier and end prior to June. This means that the spring 2012 semester would begin Jan. 21 instead of Feb. 11, and end May 18 instead of June 8. However, the calendar presented last week is still not official. There will be a second meeting with the Calendar Committee to discuss and vote on any changes. Fall would remain the same under this proposal, starting Aug. 27 and ending Dec. 16. “There has been a lot of discussion
about it and they seem to be completely inflexible, but to shift the start date of spring will basically eliminate the possibility of ever even having a winter session again,” Jeffrey Cohen, math professor, said. Cohen strongly opposes the cut of winter session, but says that if it is cut it would be best to keep the winter session gap and keep the start of spring as it is. “If we have no winter classes but we leave the calendar the same, then our students can go to other colleges, take winter classes and come back in the spring,” Cohen said. “Otherwise students who choose to take winter classes will not be able to come back because we would have already started,” he said. The decision to eliminate winter session was made as the result of future budget cuts coming to community colleges, an official said. The campus could now be facing a possible $11 million budget cut, Francisco Arce, vice president of academic affairs, said during the meeting. Although the shift in the start date for spring semester would have no impact in the amount of savings for the college, cutting winter will. “Part of the rationale for the winter was to cut the associated cost with it such as library service, and maintaining
Torrance, Calif
Putting the pieces together
buildings, we’ve estimated those costs in $100,000,” Jeanie Nishime, vice president of student and community advancement, said. Despite this, faculty and students disagree with the idea of adjusting the calendar. “Everyone acknowledges that there are cuts and there are going to have to be sacrifices, but we could keep winter intact and make a neat percent cut in fall,” Christina Gold, Academic Senate president, said. Meanwhile Edwin Arredondo, 20, communications major, said that the spring semester “should stay the same because students are accustomed to it and students can take classes at another college.” Despite the opposition from faculty groups and students, the restoration of winter session is no longer an option. The new proposed calendar comes only a few months after Nishime promised there wouldn’t be any changes to the college calendar for at least two more years during a forum last October, Cohen said. But even with their discontent, instructors and faculty members will continue to serve the school. “I’ve been here many years, I love my job and I’m not going anywhere,” Cohen said.
Jose Flores /Union Andrea Palacios, 21, fashion design major, works on sewing together an article of clothing on her machine during class. Eric Farrell /Union
Associated Students Organization gets new members Tayani Davis Staff Writer
Keep a close eye on campus, because changes may be on their way thanks to the newly elected Associated Students Organization (ASO) members. Rebekka Asher was voted the president elect of ASO after serving as the Senator of Natural Sciences. “I feel like being a president elect is such a privilege, and it energizes me. We are all here for the same purpose but as president of ASO I can help students get to that purpose,” Asher said.
Asher, who will officially be president in the fall semester, said that understanding how the current slumping economy affects students will be a big focus for her. “How the economy is I just want to provide a sense of hope for students next fall and inform students on how important education is. I want students to look at ASO as guidance,” Asher said. Asher’s other main goal is to increase awareness to students as to what ASO is. She was elected after an 876 student-voter turnout for the elections.
“One of my goals next semester is to create more awareness on our campus. It is hard to advocate when you don’t have students support because no one knows we exist,” Asher said. To achieve more recognition on campus she said she plans to have more small awareness events, with possibly one event a month just so students can gain knowledge of ASO and its members. Jasmine Hormati, new vice president elect, said she also plans to make students even more aware of ASO and
what their organization entails. “Moving into this position it gives me the chance to make myself more available to the students so they are aware of who ASO is,” Hormati said. Hormati’s goal for next semester is to keep students better informed and more aware of what is going on around their campus. She also wants to develop better connections with the 14 other schools in our district to gain ideas from them and apply it to our school as well. “I definitely want to keep students more informed next semester not only
with what is going on around campus but statewide issues that can affect our school,” Hormati said. Melina Mossberg, new Public Relations Officer elect, looks to help out her ASO peers. Her goal is to finish the goals that the former Public Relations Officer Nicole Reinertsen’s already started. “As Public Relations Officer elect I can reach out to students and get them to see the positive side of things, be more spirited and more comfortable on campus,” Mossberg said.
Acceptance rates decline despite increase in college applications Ashley Curtin Staff Writer
It is that time of year when students rush to their mailboxes and stay by their computers patiently waiting for college admission decisions. But the college acceptance rate continues to drop as students now apply to more colleges. “This is a growing trend and I encourage students to apply to multiple campuses,” Sue OdaOmori, Transfer Center coordinator and counselor, said. “This gives students a lot of options and broadens their horizon.” The recent trend set by students has caused a 7 percent increase in college applications, according to the Los Angeles Times. But this increase comes with a decline in the college admittance rate. According to UCLA’s Profile of Admitted Transfer Students, the rate dropped
NEWS LINE Anthropology Student Research Symposium The Anthropology Club is hosting an Anthropology Student Research Symposium tomorrow at the Haag Recital Hall from 1 to 3 p.m.
from 33 percent admitted in 2009 to 29 percent in the fall of 2010. And as California faces proposed budget cuts, it will continue to limit the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems’ admissions, Oda-Omori said. She feels it is important that students start applying to both private and out-of-state colleges. “There is an increase in applications to UC and CSU colleges,” she said. “Therefore it is impacting the admission rate and the CSU system must reduce the number of students they admit.” With a possible fee increase, UC and CSU systems’ tuition is now comparable to that of private colleges Oda-Omori said. “If you compare them, there is not much of a cost difference,” she said. “There are also many scholarships (private colleges) have to offer so it is very appealing to students.”
Classified Professional Development Week Next week is Classified Professional Development Week where everyone can take part in informative personal and professional development activities. More information can be found on the college website.
For Lisa Nena, 21, English major, private colleges were the only ones on her list. She will attend Azuza Pacific University (APU) in the fall and even though she said it might cost a little more, she is excited about the opportunity. “I feel that private colleges have a higher acceptance rate,” Nena said. “Also I am transferring in as a junior which at a CSU I would have transferred as a sophomore.” Other students feel that applying to many different colleges will give them a better chance of being accepted to a college. “It is important for me to apply to as many colleges as I can,” Tray Thompson, 26, broadcast journalism major, said. “At first I was only looking at UC and CSU colleges but now I am interested in private colleges too. Things are so tight and I don’t want to be disappointed,” he said.
Day with Dominguez informational session California State University, Dominguez Hills will be on campus today for an event called “Day with Dominguez” located on the Schauerman Library Lawn from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
While students look to keep their options open, some are interested in staying in the geographical area. This forces them to apply to multiple colleges in the UC and CSU systems. “I am first applying to colleges in the UC system,” Jessica Sullivan, 18, English major, said. “If I don’t get accepted, I will move on and apply to some CSU colleges.” But the trend is causing tougher competition for students. “When I was first out of high school and applying for college, it was quite a bit easier compared to now,” Stephen Valiza, 22, business major, said. As many student wait for college admission decisions, a feeling of uncertainty lingers for the years to come. “At this point, we can’t focus on just one or two colleges,” Thompson said. “We need to apply to many for a better chance to get in.”
Strategies for registration session this Monday
Get help with navigating MyECC Portal
A “Strategies for Registration” session is Monday from 2:30 to 4 p.m. telling students how to use time management to plan around there schedule. Interested persons may visit the Special Resource Center.
There will be a session Monday from 4 to 5 p.m. assisting students on how to navigate the MyECC portal. This session will take place in the Special Resource Center; please ask front desk for location upon arrival. -Tayani Davis