EL CAMINO COLLEGE September 18, 2014
Senate Bill 850 is game changer
Union T h e
Warriors lost to the Ventura College Pirates Saturday, 33-30, Page 8
eccunion.com
Staff Writer @ECCUnionJessG
Staff Writer @ECCUnionAryn
- See B.A. Degrees, Page 2
Salary protests see end
Jessica Gualotuna
Aryn Hicks
On the way to being implemented, Senate Bill 850 would allow 15 community colleges to participate in a statewide baccalaureate degree program. The pilot program would launch Jan. 1 with each participating community college offering one bachelor’s degree per district. The pilot program would begin no later than the 2017-18 academic year. Students involved in the program would not be charged fees higher than the baccalaureate degree programs at the California State Universities or Universities of California. The students would have until the 2022-23 academic year to complete their degree, according to the bill. “This gives students a career path,” Claudia Striepe, Academic Senate co-president, said. “They can complete full degrees all at one place.” SB850 was introduced by Senator Marty Block of San Diego. The program would allow California to produce one million baccalaureate degrees in order for the state to remain economically competitive, according to the bill. “This would raise the impression of community colleges from an institution that offers A.A’s to four-year degrees,” Striepe said. It would provide students with the skills needed to get jobs in the vocational fields like health,
Torrance, California
Amira Petrus/ Union
Vanessa Winstead, 49, health major, takes a break to smoke between her classes. Winstead is one of many at EC who will be affected if the proposed smoking ban goes into place.
College Council’s plan to ban smoking on campus ignites Jessica Martinez
Co-editor-in-chief @ECCUnionJessica
Students could soon call EC a smoke-free college, as College Council has decided to move forward with the “full restriction” of smoking on campus, Christina Gold, former Academic Senate president, said in an email. At a board of trustee meeting this year, e-cigarettes and other forms of tobacco use were added to the plan, Gold said. “If they want to make the change (to ban smoking), I’m all for it,” Vanessa Winstead, 49, health major, said. “It will make me stop.” Years ago, College Council began discussions about the smoking
policy, she said. Faculty, staff, and students were surveyed. “Given the results of that survey, College Council decided to move forward with restricting smoking to designated spots on campus,” Gold said. But, due to the high cost of the construction of the designated areas and the difficulty of finding places on campus that could become those areas, the plan never happened. The only smoking restriction at EC now is one in accordance with state law, not one the college has put forth itself, Gold said. Of five select colleges in Los Angeles County, all but one has designated smoking areas on - See Smoking Ban, Page 2
Area colleges with designated smoking areas Long Beach City College Mt. San Antonio College Pierce College Santa Monica College
Area colleges with no designated smoking areas Cerritos College El Camino College
Information on other community college smoking policies could not be obtained by deadline.
Five percent posters around the school were a constant reminder of how much faculty and staff wanted an agreement on their salary settlement. Their chants and marches helped move forward into what they believe was long overdue. El Camino College Classified Employees (ECCE) and the Federation of Teachers (ECCFT) got their salary raise. Ken Brown, vice president of the board of trustees, said, “Staff and teachers are satisfied about the agreement that was settled at the board of trustee meetings.” Because of the different salaries for the faculty and classified unions, Brown was not able to say the exact percentage that was negotiated. Those on Step A to Step E on the salary schedule get a raise each time they move a level, but not until recently did they add Step F, which is what the staff salary was fighting for. Luukia Smith, president of ECCE, said, “We showed loyalty and (we) care about this institution but we fought for eight or nine months (and) it doesn’t affect all classified employees.” This means the certain ranges the staff and faculty are in will make more money than other paid positions. The staff or faculty who works for years will move upward, but once they reach Step F, they will see the additional step that everyone was fighting for. Smith said since 2008, there has been no raise, “so people are - See Salary Talks, Page 2
Finding a new home in a crowded place To passersby, it may just look like an old hotel, but it’s been home to El Camino students for months Jessica Martinez
Co-editor-in-chief @ECCUnionJessica
John Fordiani/ Union
NEWS LINE
Malik Wildermuth, 18, undecided major, waits for the bus outside Studios on Cabrillo. He’s one of 22 students living at the unit.
In a renovated hotel located on the corner of two busy streets in old Torrance, EC students mingle with those just like them, those with unfamiliar faces in unfamiliar places. The Studios on Cabrillo, “dormitory style student housing,” as described in the brochure, is located at Carson Street and Cabrillo Avenue and has 39 units with room available for 65-70 students, set up by the El Camino College Foundation. There are students who attend California State Universities Fullerton and Long Beach and Loyola Marymount University occupying the space, Angie Covarrubias, on-site manager,
said. “The board (Director of the Foundation Katie Gleason is part of) said there was a need in the community” for student housing like this since there’s not much like it in the South Bay, Wayne Dolan, project manager, said. The first level of the space consists of four tables for students to do homework, couches and a TV, a kitchen, and a ping pong table. The second has single, large single, and double bedrooms and bathrooms. Covarrubias said the students regularly have movie nights and potlucks in the first floor community room. Gleason added a local language school rented out a group of rooms during the summer, putting the building at full occupancy. “This is proving to be a successful project,”
Gleason said. Both Gleason and Dolan said the response from the students has been positive, adding the proximity to retail and entertainment is a plus. A part of the job Dolan has enjoyed is a global community coming together under one roof. Many students living there come from around the country and even other countries. “It seems like students were feeling that impact,” Dolan said. “I’ve enjoyed seeing the world through other people’s opinions.” Although it’s still early in the project, Dolan said talks of expanding the same kind of idea are happening and the bumps with the first project are starting to smooth out, leaving the group optimistic about moving forward.
Dating Violence Awareness Workshop
UC Strategy Workshop
Long Beach State Admissions Workshop
Hispanic Heritage Month
A Dating Violence Awareness Workshop will take place in the East Lounge Activity Center Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. Dating violence can happen to any teen at any time and this workshop will go over tips and actions to watch for. For more information, call 310-660-3593 ext. 3394.
On Wednesday, there will be a UC Strategy Workshop taking place from 1-2 p.m. in the Distance Education Center. This will help students transfer from EC to a UC. For more information, call 310-660-3593 ext. 6137.
There will be a CSU Long Beach Admissions Workshop in the Distance Education Center from 1-2 p.m. Thursday. This relates to students who plan on attending Long Beach State in the near future. For more information, call the Transfer Center at 310-6603593, ext. 3408.
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, there will be food and a music celebration on the library lawn Sept. 30. The festivities will take place from 1 to 2 p.m.This will be the second time this event will be taking place. For more information, call 310-660-3813.
- See Student Housing, Page 2
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