ARTS
EL CAMINO COLLEGE
RISING STAR ACTS IN ‘FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON,’ P. 6
October 9, 2014
SPORTS
PHOTO ESSAY
TECH ARTS COURSES OFFER HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE, P. 7
SOCCER TEAM WINS 2-1 AGAINST EAST L.A. COLLEGE, P. 10
THE UNION eccunion.com
CHANCELLOR VISITS EC COMPTON CENTER
The Union reported a male was arrested for multiple offenses in October 2013, including burglary, following an incident in a lockerroom.
Thomas Schmit
Opinions Editor @ECCUnionThomas
Increasing student access to California community colleges and ensuring those students’ success are the system’s two largest priorities, Brice Harris, California community college chancellor, said in a presentation at the EC Compton Center Oct. 2. “When you look at the oldest part of our workforce, we are still third in the globe in terms of higher education attainment,” Harris said. “However, as our population gets younger and younger, our population gets much less competitive, and in fact we are now 14th in the globe in terms of higher education attainment.” This loss of competitiveness has “terrified” federal legislators, and has been one of the signs of the system’s need to refocus its efforts on these priorities, he added. At its height in 2008, the CCC had about one of every 11 adults enrolled in a college, a number that’s fallen to about one out of every 14 today due to “education rationing,” Harris said. “That’s a denial of access to the one thing people in a financial crisis need most, which is an education,” Harris said. With funding from Proposition 30, the system will have the money to rectify that problem for the next several years. Whether success would continue past the next few years would depend on continued funding from the state level, Harris said. “If you don’t want more of our colleges to struggle, you have to fund us to help them before they begin to struggle,” Harris said he’d explained to Governor Jerry Brown.
Torrance, California
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A trash can was set on fire on the west side of Schauerman Library, seeming to be intentionally set with newspapers and a cigarette found nearby, The Union reported in September 2013. In October 2013, a football player was arrested for “possession of firearms at a public institution,” EC Police Chief Michael Trevis said in an email at the time.
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Report courtesy of the El Camino College Police Department
This updated version of the crime report shows corrections to two categories. The crime report is published Oct. 1 every year in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Act.
CRIME REPORT STATS STILL DON’T ADD UP Jessica Martinez
Co-editor-in-chief @ECCUnionJessica
I
n accordance with the Jeanne Clery Act, colleges nationwide are required to report and publish certain crime statistics by Oct. 1 every year, with the crimes dating back three calendar years. Last week, the El Camino Police Department published their report, available on their website. But the report was inaccurate. The morning after the report was published, EC Police Chief Michael Trevis said discrepancies were found. Even after the report was updated, the numbers still don’t match up with what the Union has published. “I believe (the report) is accurate based
upon the reports that we have,” Trevis said. “We try our best to accurately report discrepancies because we feel being truthful and transparent for students and parents is so important.” Officer Jan Caldwell, who prepares the report, said the revised report is accurate to the “best of (her) knowledge.” She added the numbers still don’t add up because the federal government has different definitions of crimes than the state government does. According to the original report released last Wednesday, there were six liquor law violation disciplinary referrals and 12 drug abuse violation disciplinary referrals in 2013. In the updated report, both categories have zeros next to them. Liquor law violations arrests were reported as zero in the original report in the
same year, but the number has been updated to five. Drug abuse violations arrests were zero in the original report, but it’s been updated to 11. Caldwell said the reason behind the inaccurate numbers was that she “miscounted” when she was going through the reports. The updated report still shows there were zero weapon violations arrests in 2013. However, in October 2013, a football player was arrested on campus by ECPD for “possession of firearms at a public institution,” Trevis said in an email at the time. In May 2013, The Union reported ECPD responded to a suspicious vehicle in an Alondra Park parking lot. A male in the car was arrested for possession of cocaine. On the report, there’s a section for crimes that take place around campus, but the crime
wasn’t reported on it. Caldwell said the reasoning behind this is that that parking lot was “far away,” adding only crimes along the fence line and sidewalks are included in the report even though ECPD responded to the incident. She said some crimes that are published in Police Beat won’t be on the report because they’re farther away from campus, including the Alondra Park incident. The Alondra Park entrance is about .2 miles from EC property, according to the app Sports Tracker. “Honestly, I’m the one who decides as far as I go (to count reported crimes),” Caldwell said. “There are so many things on the fence. It’s judgment calls.” — See Crime report, Page 2
TEXTBOOKS WRITTEN BY FACULTY LOWER STUDENTS’ SCHOOLING COSTS
Wendy Lopez
Staff Writer @ECCUnionWendy
NEWS LINE
Rising educational costs attract millions of students to community colleges every year because of lower tuition and book rates. EC students have encountered books written by faculty that either assist those in financial need or have slowly merged students into a lucrative industry. There are about 20 faculty members currently selling their books or workbooks in the Book-
store. The pricing for these materials can be as low as $23.95 or extend as high as $115.95, according to bookstore records. Gabriela Peraza, social work major, chose to attend a community college due to her immigration status and her unavailability to file for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Peraza and her parents paid for her first two years at EC out of pocket. According to EC’s Board Policy 4045, Textbooks and Instruction, “The responsibility for the selection of textbooks rests with
the faculty teaching the subject.” Peraza recently became eligible to receive a Governor’s Fee Waiver. This assistance covers her courses, but not her books. “Every semester, I try to get deals on books or see if I can purchase different editions to lower the cost,” Peraza said. “This semester, because I am not full-time, I paid about $400 for my books, but last year the price was almost $500.” Communications professor Mark Crossman is on sabbatical this fall to work on his book, “Bur-
den of Proof.” Sabbatical allows faculty members to file a petition to update their books and receive pay and full benefits, Claudia Striepe, co-Academic Senate president and librarian, said. “Faculty textbooks are really cheap. We encourage them due to high cost,” Patrick Papetti, assistant book buyer, said. “There are huge benefits of having low cost textbooks. As far as cost, national books would not be as beneficial.” Many faculty members said they purposely planned for their books to remain at a low cost for
students facing financial struggles. “Cost is definitely an issue. I’ve kept my text soft cover and free of pretty pictures,” Crossman said. “Other textbooks use examples that are generally outdated and not particularly interesting to our students.” Communications professor Rosemary Swade said that she currently has four workbooks that are required for her class. The workbooks are varied among her six classes, and every class consists of about 30 to 35 students. The four pack bundle is on sale
Transfer Day Fair comes to Library Lawn
UC Workshop open for all students
Blood drive to take place in Student Activities Center
Workshop offered for undecided majors
The Transfer Day Fair will be taking place on the Library Lawn from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 9. There will be more than 70 representatives from universities to look at and learn more information about. For more information, call 310-660-3593, ext. 3408.
There will be a workshop for students who are planning on transferring to any UC in the Distance Education Center from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14. This workshop will help students learn the requirements to apply. For more information, call 310-660-3593, ext. 3408.
From Oct. 19-22, there will be a blood drive taking place on the east side of the Student Activities Center. The drive is hosted by ICC once a semester and is presented by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. For more information, call 310-660-3593 ext. 3500.
In a partnership between the Career Center and the Transfer Center, there will be an Undecided Students Workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Distance Education Center Oct. 21. For more information, call 310-660-3592, ext. 6137.
at the Bookstore for $115.95 but Swade added that each book earns her a one dollar profit. Swade makes an estimated $180 each semester from her students. “Another faculty member here suggested that I write my own packages,” Swade said. “They are very practical and useful outside of academia.” English professor Dr. Sue Bachmann coauthored “Between Worlds” with now retired professor Dr. Melinda Barth. — See Faculty books, Page 2
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