News
OCTOBER 6, 2010
THE GUARDSMAN
College resurrects summer session By Patrick Makiri
said. “I was depending on taking
After a one year hiatus, City College students will again be offered a summer session so they can continue working towards their degrees at the institution they attend during the rest of the year. Volume 150, Issue Chancellor Don 4Griffin said $3 million has been set aside from the general budget to reinstate the summer session after the 85 percent cut to the 2010 summer course list, which left many students scrambling to fill their summer schedules and stay on track to graduate. “I wanted to go to Skyline College in Pacifica, but it was too far,” City College electrical engineering student Steven Ni
able to transfer.” Numerous local institutions reached out to stranded City College students. California Institute of Integral Studies, SF State and Mills College all put out ads last year encouraging City College students to use their classrooms to continue studying through the summer. Griffin said students will be able choose from more than 50 percent of the course list for a, “robust 2011 summer session.” But Alice Murillo, the vice chancellor of academic affairs, said it was still unclear how the 2011 summer session would look compared to the previous year. “The percentage of courses offered will be finalized once we have a 2010/2011 budget, and we
NEWS: THE C&T: Arab culture embraced at Union Square event Child development program receives grant last Page 3 to be GUARDSMAN summerstate courses year
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Dream Act fails to clear senate
SPORTS: Women’s soccer sweeps passed Cañada Page 10
By Jose Torres THE GUARDSMAN
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assess our fall and spring enrollments and student need,” she said. “Unless things change with the legislature, fees will be $26 per unit,” Administrators are awaiting the same information to decide which campuses will be operating this summer. Griffin articulated the need for summer session to keep students on track for a successful tenure
at City College. Both retention and graduation rates have been a major point of concern among administrators, and summer courses help students who need to catch up on missed units, or for those who need the summer work to fulfill graduation requirements.
The Senate narrowly defeated the Development, Relief and Education for October 6, 2010 Alien Minors Act on Sept. 21, rendering undocumented students ineligible for financial aid and rescinding an opportunity for citizenship. “The DREAM Act would help undocumented students. So many work hard, struggle and when they do get the degree, it is still uncertain,” Latina/o Services Network counselor Leticia Silva said. Needing at least 60 votes to clear the Senate, the bill was opposed by every Republican and three Democrats—Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, and Senators Lincoln and Pryor of Arkansas. The voting came down to a 56-43 defeat. The DREAM Act has been constantly amended from its inception to appease opposition. It has been floating about congress since Senator Orin Hatch, of Utah, first introduced it in 2001, according to a Bill of Summary and Status from the Library of Congress’ website. Reid attached the DREAM Act as an amendment to the $726 billion Defense Authorization Bill which also included a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” “The news was sad, all the hope was gone like air being taken away. I know that sooner or later the government will do something because it can’t be like this forever,” City College student Ernesto Nava said. The proposed DREAM Act would have given students the opportunity to gain permanent resident status on the conditions that they lived in the US for at least five years and were under 16 when brought to the country. The bill would have also required an applicant to: be under the age of 35, have a high school diploma or GED and either be in college or have served two years in the military to be considered for permanent U.S. citizenship. “I had mixed feelings, but my peers did nothing wrong,” City College student Mark Stevenson said. “They are unjustly paying for their parents’ mistake. If it was up to me I would say ‘yes, let’s let the students study and improve their lives while doing a service to the country.’” “I have friends that have been here a long time and they are no different than me. We all want to better ourselves.”
A Nightmare
THE DEATH OF THE DREAM ACT: for undocumented students and youth Email: pmakiri@theguardsman.com
Pilot program changes registration dates By Isaiah Kramer THE GUARDSMAN
At the student equity hearings last February, concerns about class availability prompted a pilot program for the fall semester that gave early registration dates to 2010-graduates from the San Francisco Unified School District who enrolled at City College. Before this program was initiated, all incoming students had registration dates later than those of continuing students. As implemented, the program gave SFUSD students the same registration date as continuing students. “New incoming high school students couldn’t get their classes,” Gohar Momjian, an assistant to the chancellor said, alluding to the program’s purpose. Approximately 1,000 students, or 1 percent of City College’s total population, come from SFUSD annually. This year, only a third of the 1,000 completed matriculation within the given time frame to receive early registration. “The students have to complete the matriculation process: testing, orientation and counseling in order to qualify for priority registration,” admissions counselor Monika Liu said. This gives students an incentive to matriculate by promising a full schedule, inclusive of core classes that, otherwise, is seen as difficult to attain.
Members of the Student Equity Task Force on Priority Registration are establishing relations with SFUSD high schools in an outreach effort to get students on the fast track to matriculation. The outreach involves direct contact with various counselors, administrators and principals from the 17 SFUSD high schools. Task force members provide information and opportunities for students to enroll at the college with the appropriate help. “All the data shows that if you get them fresh from high school and give them a fulltime schedule, then they are more likely to succeed,” Associate Dean Laurie Scolari said. “The success rate goes down as the years go by after high school.” The 321 students that took advantage of the priority registration were able to enroll in 56 percent more courses than the previous year with an average 12.7 credits per student. This fall, 70 percent of the SFUSD graduates took English and 74 percent took math, compared to 47 percent and 22 percent the previous year. Amid the enthusiasm and positive data, there is concern about how it has affected students who are already enrolled. “There has to be balance between the needs of high-school students enrolling, and those of students already progressing through the college,” Darlene Alioto, chair of the social science department, said.
In a school bombarded by budget cuts, new students had little chance of getting their essential courses. The program sought to rectify that situation without negatively affecting continuing students. “SFUSD students should be given the same priority as continuing students, not better, not worse,” Griffin said. “We don’t want to close the door on beginning or continuing students.” Of the classes cut last year, 65 percent will be reinstated so as to, “not penalize or hurt continuing students,” Griffin said. “That will cost $4 million; we will do fundraising to get it.” Aside from being a service to SFUSD students, the priority registration program seeks to attract students to City College. When there are perpetually closed courses, widespread cuts and closure of summer school, the college suffers a loss of prospective students, Chancellor Griffin said. The pilot has been deemed effective by the Student Equity Task Force on Priority Registration. They plan to recommend it to the chancellor, who is himself optimistic about the program. Though it seems likely for another round, it is undecided if the program will resume and in what form. Another meeting will be held Oct. 14, 2010. Email: ikramer@theguardsman.com
Child development department benefits from grant By Gayle Yglesias THE GUARDSMAN
City College’s Child Development and Family Studies Department, along with the Cesar E. Chavez Institute of SF State, was awarded a grant through Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California Gang Reduction Intervention and Prevention program. CalGRIP is a program Schwarzenegger proposed in 2007 that aims to prevent at-risk youth from being exposed to gang-related activities. According to the CalGRIP website, the program spent more than $31 million in state and federal funding on local anti-gang efforts.
This includes job training, education and intervention programs. It gave law enforcement tools to closely track gang leaders, both inside state prisons and after prisoners are released on parole. City College, in partnership with SF State, received an $80,000 grant, which will be used to recruit students into afterschool programs as youth workers. “The grant was officially awarded to the school this July,” Kathleen White, the chair of City College Child Development and Family Studies Department, said. “Start-up began this semester and as of right now we are just doing outreach.” Fliers are currently circulating
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City College with information on opportunities, outcomes, support and enrollment requirements. Some opportunities include paid work experience (while enrolled in the program), placement assistance in after-school programs and the ability to work with children. According to a Schwarzenegger’s press release, the process was a competitive one. Applications for these grants were judged on over 20 different factors, including the “number of gangrelated homicides and other crimes, demographic information and use of evidence-based practices.” “I think the purpose of the program is a nice way to invest
money in our youth by trying to get them off the streets. It will definitely make an impact and steer them away from joining gangs and getting involved in gang-related activities,” SF State student Christine Yanga said. There are many communitybased organizations that support City College and SF State such as Larkin Street Youth Services, White said. Key partners include California Age Consortium, Growing and Learning Opportunities and the San Francisco Department of Children.
Email: gyglesias@theguardsman.com
Email: jtorres@theguardsman.com