Hitting a new pitch SPARTAN DAILY
Thursday September 8, 2011 Volume 137, Issue 6
Crowded classrooms present challenges, compromise learning SJSU’s course section availability stagnates due to rising enrollment by Christina Molina Staff Writer
Student and faculty voices are being raised in regards to crowded classrooms and overenrollment this semester at SJSU. According to the office of institutional
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as a Spartan. Hertler is playing his first season on the men’s soccer team after four years as a Spartan baseball player. Photo by Vernon McKnight / Spartan Daily
— see page 8 —
SEE OVERCROWDING PAGE 2
First-time students as a percent of total SJSU population
25% 20%
9.1%
10.2%
7.9%
9.6% Transfers 6.7%
15% 10%
17.6%
18.0%
2006
2007
18.2%
14.8%
16.5%
2009
2010
5%
by Brittany Patterson Staff Writer
The eighth annual SJSU Community Connections Fair brought 50 community- and campus-based volunteers, as well as service-oriented organizations, to Paseo de San Carlos on Wednesday. Held in conjunction with Fall Welcome Days, the fair was hosted by the SJSU Center for Community Learning and Leadership, the Chavez Community Action Center and SJSU Student Involvement. “The purpose is two part,” said professor Michael Fallon, co-director for the center. “Community organizations present their services, but at the same time, a lot of our students are interested in volunteering, service-learning, community service and community engagement.” Fallon said this year there was no administrative support available
the services and programs Sacred Heart offers. They also held a workshop that touches on what it means to be “community united,” a campaign that is a core part of Sacred Heart’s mission, and discussed why volunteering is important. Junior sociology major Thy Truong said many of her classes require community involvement. “I’m here just to learn what types of organizations are out here,” she said. “I think it’s really an easy way to get involved.” One of the vendors, CommUniversity, a partnership between SJSU, the City of San Jose and local neighborhood organizations, was giving out free bags and offering internships. “We’ve had a lot of people stop, especially from fraternities,” project coordinator Elizabeth Figueroa said. Choy said the main goal of the event was to connect students to the community. “These are the opportunities you need to get perspectives on the world or get that job later on,” she said.
Drink of the week A&E, p. 3
Cloud
Music Tech, p. 4
Sourced from five-term enrollment data via SJSU Office of Institutional Research website. Infographic compiled by Leo Postovoit and Francisco Rendon / Spartan Daily
Local institutions encourage growth of new businesses by Brittany Patterson Staff Writer
You probably wouldn’t know what the building is by passing its doors. Bright green and orange signage adorns the five story historic building, which is located on the corner of Third and Santa Clara streets. This is the San Jose Entrepreneur Center — a place that houses six businesses in the business of helping businesses. The center was established in 2000 as a joint venture between the Small Business Association, Cisco and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, according to its website. “All of us provide free counseling and low-cost training, but for different markets,” said Gail Buettgenback, business service coordinator for the Small Business Development Center Silicon Valley, one of the offices housed in the Entrepreneur Center. The offices within the center include: AnewAmerica Community Corpora-
3RD
Area organizations present opportunities for service learning
within the CCLL for the fair — instead, three student leaders worked together to find a sponsor for the event and make improvements. “This year we’ve had a lot more outside and inside workshops,” said Yan Yin Choy, A.S. director of student rights and responsibilities and one of the student leaders who helped organize the event. The workshops’ topics included social justice and financial literacy education. The official sponsor, Technology Credit Union, donated $1,000 which helped pay for food for the partners and prizes for the raffle, including passes for The Tech museum. “They were pleased with our financial literacy event last year and agreed that students need more financial literacy and were pleased to help,” Fallon said. Some community organizations were also offering internships, Fallon said. Carol Stephenson, community involvement coordinator for Sacred Heart, a nonprofit organization that promotes shared responsibility to overcome poverty, said the fair is a great way to talk to students about
2008
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On-campus event connects students with San Jose community involvement
0%
Freshmen
San Jose Entrepreneur Center
SANTA CLARA
SJSU
Map by Leo Postovoit / Spartan Daily
tion, a group that helps new immigrants and refugees who want to be business owners; the Greater San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which aims to help members who are seeking global entrepreneurship opportunities; and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley, a group that focuses on local markets in the Bay Area and holds classes in both English and Spanish. The Silicon Valley Small Business
SEE ENTREPRENEUR PAGE 2
Remembering 9/10/2001 Opinion, p. 6 View exclusive stories and multimedia at
spartandaily.com
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SJSU senior forward Craig Hertler (center) vies for the ball against the Fresno Pacific’s Luke Tyler during the Aug 26 soccer match. Hertler scored a goal in the 4-1 defeat over the Sunbirds, the first of his soccer career
research’s website, this semester has had a mass increase in the total number of seats per college at SJSU and in fill rates, the percentage of classes full per college. “Every single semester, there are any more students trying to add my class, and these are students who are really in need of the units or they are going to loose their financial aid, and there is nothing I can do about it because the class is full,” philosophy professor Karin Brown said.
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Spartan Daily Serving San José State University since 1934 Volume 137 / Issue 6
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