6 Campus Life
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016
Students walks fashion runway
Finding higher education in the Latino community SJCC student encourages minority students to keep going with their education BY VIRIDIANA CASTELLANOS TIMES STAFF
A Latina student who felt alone on campus made a difference. Peruvian student Margot Uchicua photographs students, from Latin America, who have English as their second language and who are pursuing a higher education. “When I started my very first English as a Second Language class at SJCC , I thought I would find a lot of Latino students in my class, but I was in for a big surprise when I realized I was the only Latino student,” Uchicua said. Uchicua, who came to the United States in 2013, is now majoring in graphic design and aiming to transfer to Cal Poly. She said she was shocked to find out that “the Latino population; the big minority in this country, only a few were attending college.” Uchicua came up with the project idea where the aim is to encourage Latino students to keep going with their education by displaying other minority students in their situations Then, she adds the script to the photographs and includes name, place of birth, major and
PHOTO BY DAVID XAVIEL / TIMES STAFF
Tony Nguyen, 63, displays his dinosaur-like costume entirely made of newspaper.
Communication class designed Shakespeare era clothing on campus BY DAVID XAVIEL TIMES STAFF
The Small Groups communication class put on a Project Runway show outside the Technology Center on Thursday, May 19, in which groups displayed their creativity through costumes. Instructor Leslyn McCallum said that the event was an exercise in creativity that was inspired by the display of Elizabethan costumes at a Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore. McCallum added that creativity is an important aspect of communication and teamwork because creativity requires brainstorming and listening.
“It’s one of the few classes where students get to know each other so well,” McCallum said. The event was judged by the Dean of the Language Arts Division Keiko Kimura. Group 4 won with their costume as modeled by Tony Nguyen, 63, a medical assistance major, and designed by Rolando Salom, 28, a fine arts and media arts major. Kimura praised all the groups but said she loved Nguyen’s swagger down the walkway. Nguyen was clearly trusting his group members because he said, “I haven’t seen myself in the mirror yet.”
sometimes whether they are dreamers or not. The term “dreamers” refers to individuals in the U.S. who were brought to this country at an early age without any documentation but have assimilated to this country’s culture and have been educated in the U.S. school systems. “I think the project is pretty cool because it’s sort of going against the whole ‘Hispanics/ Latinos don’t go to college because they can’t handle it’ stereotype,” said Maria Briseno, who is majoring in business management and was part of Uchicua’s project. “All the students who are part of my project are a great example of perseverance and overcoming (obstacles),” Uchicua said. “Some of them are the first generation to attend college, and for all of them, English is their second language.” She said she believes that the Latino community is playing an important role in different areas of this country; such as economic, social and political arenas. Therefore, it is crucial to pursue a college education and create a big impact in society. Uchicua is looking for more students to photograph, she wants to expand her project and have more role models for other students. If you want to be part of this project email her at margot.uchicua@gmail.com “I want to show them that we all can move forward,” Uchicua said. “I know it is hard, and sometimes we feel like giving up, but there is no success if there isn’t any sacrifice.”
Online courses continue to grow within San Jose City College community Goodbye Moodle, hello Canvas BY LARRY L. HARRIS TIMES STAFF
Distance Education Coordinator Heidi M. Kozlowski said online classes have grown from three courses to 67 classes since 2003. “Students demand for convenience because of changing work hours, or parental responsibilities fuel the flexibility of online course growth,” Kozlowski said. “Online courses give the student the opportunity to graduate from a flexible and convenient course schedule. The online courses give the equalivant of the on-campus experience.” Online classes allow faculty to teach from out of the area and high priced housing market. Moodle, the current learning management system will soon be replaced by Canvas, but this decision was quite thorough.
Academic Senate President Jesus Covarrubias wrote in an email, “Currently faculty is being provided with training, and both platforms are still available for now. In the end, we hope that this change will be more beneficial to students.” Covarrubias added, “The Online Education Initiative (OEI) is providing incentives statewide for all California Community Colleges to adopt Canvas. We know that SJSU (San Jose State University) uses this platform as well.” Vice Chancellor of Information Technology, Ben Seaberry said, “Canvas is very feature rich, can be accessed and easy to use from a smart phone with its mobile application and has 24/7 hour support.” Ken Torre, online instructor of AJ 127 Intro to Judicial Branch, is still skeptical of the move, but supports the change. Torre said, “I have not examined Canvas so far. My first training is in June; however I support SJCC’s change from Moodle to Canvas.” The migration from Moodle to Canvas will be complete by summer 2017. This article was written in May 2016.