NEWS
November 19, 2010 · Volume 58 · Issue 6
Page 4
RIVERSIDE RESIDENTS HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN COMMITTEE BY BIANCA JOHNSON city council,” Riverside City Clerk ColSENIOR WRITER
Riverside residents have the chance to enact “a government for the people by the people” by applying for the Riverside Charter Review Committee to a make a difference in the community. The charter is in the city’s constitution, which is adopted by the votes of the people. The charter describes council members’ powers and duties, when council elections are held, the structure of city government and additional rules. “The charter requires that once every eight years, the city council appoint a citizen’s committee to take a look at the charter, review it and offer any recommendations for changes to the
leen Nicol said. “If recommendations are moved forward, the council will put the measures on the ballot, because the charter cannot be changed without voter approval.” The city council will appoint nine members to fully review the charter and recommend to the city council which charter amendments, if there is any, to be on the ballot following the regular municipal election for the mayor. The city clerk is accepting applications now through Dec. 1. In order to apply, one must be a registered voter in the city of Riverside. Since the process has just started, only 2-3 applications have been turned in so far. “Throughout the month of De-
cember, we will do the process of reviewing the applications, conducting interviews and making the appointments,” Nicol said. “The goal in the tentative calendar is that the charter reviews committee would begin their work in January.” The “Charge and Scope of the Work for 2011/2012” document states that the committee considers whether the charter meets the needs of the city of Riverside currently, whether it will meet the needs in the future and whether it should be revised to address those needs. The last review, back in 2004, the council put 12 possible changes on the ballot and voters approved nine of them. In the article, “Riverside: City charter review committee approved” by The
Press Enterprise, the approved changes consisted of requiring that each ward be represented on city boards, that the city to have an ethics code and placed the police review commission into the charter so only voters can change or eliminate it. Due to the fact that the charter is 31 pages long, it will take a while for the committee to review the document. “It will probably take a year for them, it took a year last time to thoroughly go through the charter,” Nicol said. “It is a yearlong commitment.” The charter states that the duties and powers of the committee are to hold public meetings to receive input on proposed charter amendments and present a final report with recommendations to the city council by the last Tuesday in
May preceding the next regular municipal election for mayor. Besides being involved in local government, there are also many benefits in serving the committee. “They learn a lot about local government, the workings of the charter, meet and speak with elected officials and meet other people in the community,” Nicol said. “Some people find it very rewarding to participate in the decision making process that will have a direct effect on their community and their neighborhoods.” If you are a resident of Riverside and are interested in applying for the committee, applications are available online at http://www.riversideca.gov/city_ clerk/ or the City Hall, 3900 Main St.
ASCBU embraces new members and ideas BY JJ STEELE
SPORTS EDITOR
The Associated Students of California Baptist University made changes to their student representation this semester. Freshman representatives were elected, remaining positions were filled by appointment and a new constitution was pushed for approval. At first, all positions were to be won by students through an election process, but nine positions were not filled in time. These positions were then filled by appointment. Taylor Brewton, president of ASCBU, and the rest of the executive council were in charge of figuring out what to do with the vacant positions that were not filled after the spring 2010 elections. “The election process is always best, just because it’s open to the student population as to who they want to be in ASCBU. In this case we didn’t have people run for the majority of the positions,” Brewton said. In the current student constitution, ASCBU is given the power to appoint the positions that are not filled during the election process in the spring. “We chose to open it up to the student population and have them do some type of application so that we know that they are interested and then interview them in groups with a few of us from executive council,” Brewton said. The executive council then took the information that they had gained from the group interviews and put the applicants into the positions that they needed to be filled. The new student constitution plans to change the amount of sena-
tors that are selected to represent the students. With too many students being elected to interpret the students, the student government is challenged with the over-representation of the student body. “The changes [to the constitution] we’re hoping, will help us better represent the student population. That’s the biggest change that we hope to pass in the constitution,” Brewton said. Eight new freshman students were elected or appointed to represent their living areas and classmates. The freshman class president is Harvey Hettinga and the vice president is Kate McPhillips. Jonathan Frey was elected Secretary and Treasurer. Tori Offerman was selected to represent the Cottages. Isaac Monroe and Daniel Kari represent Smith Hall as President and Vice President. Christine Lopez was voted in as the Simmons Hall President and Sam Scissons was elected Vice President. Of the eight students that were appointed to positions in ASCBU, Dustin Schanaker is one of three seniors to join student government. As the senior secretary and treasurer, Schanaker is in charge of taking notes and making requisitions for funds to use for events. “We have different events that we propose and we are given a set budget per semester. If we have an event that we estimate to be a couple thousand [dollars], we take that from fees,” Schanaker said. The money used to pay for the events comes from the student fees that are paid each semester by CBU students. ASCBU plans and organizes these events.
Aaron Kim displays his winning piece entitled “Chess.”
Photo by Mike Sampson
Gallery grows under Green-Hodges BY JENNY MINER
MANAGING EDITOR For two hours on Monday, Nov. 1, students filed in and out of the Metcalf Gallery in Wallace Theatre to view their peer’s art work and vote for their favorite pieces at the 3rd Annual Art Competition. Nicole Green-Hodges hosted the competition. Green-Hodges is an adjunct professor in the Department of Communications and Visual Arts who is now in charge of presenting the galleries. She will plan a variation of art events each month and plans on bringing in artists from downtown and out-ofstate. “My goal is to help the gallery grow. I want people to be aware of the art department and help people take advantage of opportunities,” Green-Hodges said. “As gallery person, my goal is to give exposure and accessibility to students.”
California Baptist University hired Green-Hodges, also an artist, in 2007 to teach specific courses. She is now teaching Gallery Methods and Art Appreciation. Her Gallery Methods class assisted in putting together the art competition. Jenny Price, sophomore, is one of the students that was a part of the planning. Price, along with two others in the class, put the pieces into their proper categories (drawings, paintings, photography, 3-D media and digital and new media), then measured and hung the work in an aesthetically pleasing display to replicate a gallery. “I think it is good that students give support to other students. I want this to be a fun environment for students to come,” Price said. Price also implemented Green-Hodges’ idea to have a multilayered gallery, meaning music would be included.
At the request of Price, Daniel Greenwalt, guitarist for New Song choir, played acoustic guitar for the enjoyment of the browsers. Students were able to cast one ballot towards their favorite piece of art. The artist with the most votes, Aaron Kim, received the CBU Choice Award for his raku fired piece “Chess.” Kim also received the Ceramics Award and the Best-in-Show Award for this art submission. “Winning those awards is a great feeling and was surprising,” Kim said. “Everyone has a different taste in art, so I’m glad they liked it.” Other awards given were to Ashley Setzler for her painting, “Heart Strings.” Michael Ring won for his drawing, “The Boy in the Turban,” Andrew Thill for his Photography, “Raymond’s House” and to Rachel Blackmon for her Digital Media submission, “Cubed.” Winners received cash prizes for their submissions.