SCENE THE
Summer Issue 2
July 20, 2018
Cosand move
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See page 2
Frozen treats See page 3
New Greenhouse See page 8
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
College reverses tuition hike
By Jason Ethridge The Scene staff Forest Park students will find a bit more cash in their pockets this fall, thanks to St. Louis Community College’s decision to reverse a 5 percent tuition increase. The action followed news in late June that the college would be getting more funding than expected from the state of Missouri. “This is all about the students,” said STLCC Chancellor Jeff Pittman. “This plays right into our mission about being accessible, keeping costs down and keeping tuition Pittman low.” STLCC announced in March that tuition would go up from $110.50 to $115.50 per credit hour, effective this fall. That was largely because of thenGov. Eric Greitens’ proposal to cut $68 million from the state budget for colleges and universities. But Greitens resigned in May amid scandal, and Lt. Gov. Mike Parson took his place. On June 29, Parson signed a Missouri budget for fiscal year 2018-2019. House Bill 2003 had restored the higher-education cuts planned by Greitens and allocated more than $140 million to community colleges. Last week, Pittman expressed gratitude to both the Missouri General Assembly and governor’s office. “We’re just so thankful for the Legislature and the bipartisan support for restoring our core funding to the previous year amount,” he said. Incoming Forest Park student Xavian Kimbrough was happy to hear the news about lower tuition. This fall will be his first semester on campus. “It always feels good to not pay extra,” said Kimbrough, 24, who eventually plans to earn a network engineering degree. Reversal of the tuition increase could save STLCC students $1.7 million per semester based on current enrollment figures, according to a college press release. The increase had gone into effect July 8 and therefore didn’t affect students
See Tuition page 6
DACA student fights for her rights
She moved from Mexico at age 8 By Daniel Shular The Scene staff
Protesting against injustice is a rite of passage for many college students, but Areli Munoz-Reyes is protesting to keep from being deported. The Forest Park student is a Mexican immigrant who was brought to the United States as a child and one of about 700,000 recipients of deportation protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA. The program was created by former President Barack Obama in 2012. President Donald Trump attempted to end it last year, but in April a federal judge ordered the government to continue offering DACA protection. “Once the Trump administration took over, we kind of knew the risk of losing it, but that just made us resist more and unite as a community,” said Munoz-Reyes, 22, of University City. Her resistance includes regularly carrying signs and speaking at protests as a community organizer with a group called Cosecha Missouri. “Cosecha” means harvest in Spanish. “We fight for dignity, respect and permanent protection for the 11 million undocumented people in the United States,” she said.
Source of inspiration
Last spring, St. Louis Community College knew of 29 students with DACA protection on its campuses, but the col-
Photo by Daniel Shular
Areli Munoz-Reyes speaks to a crowd of protesters on the steps of the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis during a Families Belong Together rally on June 14. lege stopped asking for this information in April, according to Nez Savala, STLCC communications manager. After Trump threatened to end the DACA program, STLCC Chancellor Jeff Pittman released a statement in September. He specifically mentioned Munoz-Reyes as a source of inspiration. “Areli is one of nearly a million young people affected by this pending decision and caught between continuing life as usual or going back into the shadows,” he
wrote. “Areli is not giving up. She will continue her studies and continue to lend her voice as a DACA advocate. “The college’s core values and commitment to diversity and inclusion call for us to be vigilant and genuine when it comes to the success of our students. While we’re in the education business, we also support the ‘whole’ student.” Munoz-Reyes also has made an impression on Layla Goushey, sponsor of the Global Studies Club and Global Education coordinator at Forest Park. “She has done a lot,” Goushey said. “I’d say something that has impressed me about her is her knowledge of the entire DACA issue (and) the history of how legislation has progressed. “She’s really added to discourse on campus. The conversation around immigration in general on campus, and that helps all of our students, no matter what their original perspective was. … I just admire her drive and her courage, frankly.”
Escaping poverty
Rock gardening
Photo by Daniel Shular
Forest Park housekeeper Jose Cigaran pulls weeds while landscaping around the Forest Park staff parking lot on July 18, enjoying a break from a string of upper-90 degree days in the St. Louis area. Other housekeepers spent their time edging and trimming.
Munoz-Reyes moved from Tlaxcala, Mexico, to University City with her mother when she was 8 years old to escape violence and poverty. Her father already was living in the United States and working as a line cook. “My family crossed the border for a better life,” Munoz-Reyes said. “I don’t blame them for bringing me here. (My father) got a job and saw that it would be an opportunity for us to have a better life.” Before DACA was established, un-
See DACA page 2
News
District workers transitioning to Forest Park By Joshua Phelps The Scene staff
St. Louis Community College has sold and vacated its headquarters in downtown St. Louis, and some district employees have found new homes on the Forest Park campus. About 25 departments left the Cosand Center this spring. Of those, 10 moved to Forest Park. “We all moved to new locations,” said Communications Manager Nez Savala, who now is at Forest Park with the rest of the marketing and communications staff. Other departments settling in at Forest Park include career and technical education; central student records; curriculum, assessment and international education; enrollment management; enrollment operations; institutional research; registrar; transcripts; and student affairs. The college original- Dutt ly had planned to house some Cosand Center employees, including Chancellor Jeff Pittman, in the new Center for Nursing and Health Sciences, which is under construction at Forest Park and scheduled to open next year. But that plan has changed. “The new building is for health sciences,” Savala said. “There were discussions a while ago, long before I got here … It was possible that the fourth floor would be (used as an) office and administrative place for the college, but that’s not going to happen.” Another former Cosand Center employee who has moved to Forest Park is Nicole Dutt,
the district’s transfer articulation specialist. She handles incoming college transcripts and also serves as Missouri reverse transfer coordinator for STLCC. Dutt’s new office is on the second floor of the Student Center, near advising. Before joining STLCC, she worked on a Jefferson College campus. “I was used to being on a campus, so being at the Cosand Center was a little different,” she said. “I still liked it, but I’m really enjoying being back on a campus. I think I will probably see students much more now.” Dutt also missed having access to a library and cafeteria at the Cosand Center. At Forest Park, she’s near both. As far as changes in Dutt’s working conditions, it’s a mixed bag. She had her own office at the Cosand Center, but no windows. Now she works in a cubicle, which means less space, but she has a skylight. “Nothing has been negative (at Forest Park),” Dutt said. “Everyone has been very nice and accommodating to everyone who’s still trying to figure out how to get around on campus.” Colleen Phillips, district coordinator of alumni relations, moved from the Cosand Center to STLCC’s Corporate College location on McKelvey Road in Bridgeton. That facility is dedicated to corporate education and professional development. Phillips was at Forest Park on July 11 for a meeting. She described Corporate College as easy to navigate, and her work habits have largely remained the same. Parking is much easier. But commuting has gotten more complicated for Dutt, who rides MetroLink. Now
Photo by Fred Ortlip
The Cosand Center, former STLCC headquarters at 300 S. Broadway in St. Louis, is slated for demolition in favor of a 33-story apartment complex. she has to transfer from train to bus at the Central West End station. “With the Cosand Center, it was nice because … it’s a straight shot,” she said. “I got on at UMSL North (and got) off right at Ballpark Village. So there was no changing.” Phillips and Dutt liked working in downtown St. Louis, but they’re glad to be away from “baseball traffic.” The Cosand Center was directly across the street from Busch Stadium. “After the Cardinals game, it was very hard to get out of the building, let alone to your car,” Dutt said. “I was kind of getting
sick of smelling the hot dogs.” Cosand Center staff started moving to other STLCC locations in March. Eight departments went to the Corporate College building, including the STLCC Board of Trustees and chancellor’s offices. Other departments landed on the Meramec and Florissant Valley campuses and at Harrison Education Center. The Cosand Center was at 300 S. Broadway. The brick building will be demolished to make way for a 33-story apartment complex, according to a Feb. 26 story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
DACA documented immigrants brought to the United States as children lived in fear of deportation, even if they had lived in their native countries for only a short time. DACA didn’t grant citizenship but allowed recipients to work or attend school with permits that must be renewed every two years, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. “It was a huge relief for myself, but also my parents ’cause they would always be stressed about me going out with friends, seeing a movie,” Munoz-Reyes said. “I couldn’t be a regular teenager because of that fear. “When I applied to DACA, and Obama gave the executive order, it was such a relief,” she added. “And I think it empowered me to speak out more because I had that protection.”
Young activist
At the end of June, Munoz-Reyes traveled to Boston, partly to help shut down Suffolk County Detention Center, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is holding some undocumented immigrants who have been detained. “We were there for three days, doing training, doing workshops, learning how to build movement in your local community,” she said. “I learned a lot more about Cosecha, the Harvest Movement, and what I can do here locally in Missouri to keep the momentum going.” DACA is protected for now, but there are still obstacles for Missouri students in the program, not only from the Trump administration, but also from the Missouri General
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“My family crossed the border for a better life. I don’t blame them for bringing me here. (My father) got a job and saw that it would be an opportunity for us to have a better life.” — Student Areli Munoz-Reyes Assembly. Senate Bill 224, which became law in 2015, required students receiving scholarships from the A+ Scholarship Program to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. This excluded DACA students, even those who had met all other requirements. Munoz-Reyes protested in downtown St. Louis at the time. House Bill 2003, which recently outlined the higher-education budget for Missouri colleges and universities, includes a provision that requires undocumented immigrant students to pay international tuition rates instead of in-state or out-of-state rates. “(Chancellor Pittman) sent out a letter saying he supports DACA students, but if he really does support that, he should start talking about us paying in-state tuition,” Munoz-Reyes said. STLCC’s in-state tuition rate is $110.50 per credit hour, which equals $2,652 for two semesters with 12 credit hours each. The international rate is $225.50 per credit hour,
raising tuition to $5,412 a year.
Tough break
Munoz-Reyes will have to pay the higher rate, beginning this fall, despite the fact she has lived in University City most of her life. It’s a tough break for a student held in high regard at Forest Park. “There are some students you love to have conversations with, and she was one of those students,” said psychology professor Gary Forde, who had Munoz-Reyes in one of his classes. “She’s very brave to be doing all of (her activism), especially in the state of Missouri,” he said. As for DACA students having to pay higher tuition, Forde added, “Can you imagine how those kids feel? To think they did everything right.” The STLCC Foundation has a private scholarship fund for undocumented immigrant students who meet certain academic guidelines. It could help offset the higher tuition rate. “They’re looking for funding mostly, and
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so there’s a lot of foundation scholarships that we give them,” said Glenn Marshall, manager of enrollment services at Forest Park. “… We are trying to make sure we get them some information for (other) scholarships, so they can get some funding to go to school.”
Caring staff
Munoz-Reyes has found Forest Park faculty and staff to be caring and supportive, asking her for periodic updates and offering assistance. Counselor Sandra Knight has been particularly helpful because she can speak Spanish and answer questions from her parents, who don’t speak English. Knight has dealt with DACA students who were stressed out because of family members being deported. “The other issue of concern to them is the economic situation, the financial situation, because those students have to pay international student fees, and that creates a lot of stress,” Knight said. “Even though we have some funding that supports them, it’s sometimes difficult for some of them to keep up with the GPA, to keep up with work and try to make money to help their families.” Munoz-Reyes plans to major in human services and wants to keep working for a non-profit organization that helps undocumented immigrant families. “I know the struggle because I’ve been there,” she said. “I have family members that have gone through the system. I went through the education system myself, so I know how it feels to have nobody really there for you.”
July 20, 2018
Campus chatter Jason Konopka, 37, cybersecurity “Luigi’s Real Italian Ice has the smoothness of sherbet, but it’s only ice.”
Jeanette Hurley, 50, bakery-pastry arts “Frozen hibiscus margaritas from Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant in downtown Maplewood.”
Ricky Angus, 26, general transfer “A vanilla frozencustard cone at Ted Drewes.”
Allison Flad, 21, computer science “Any kind of mint ice cream.”
Jordan Blake, 23, radiology “Grape Popsicles. I’ve been eating them for a long time.”
What’s Your Favorite Summertime Frozen Treat?
Isabelle Bellinger, 20, journalism “I go to Ted Drewes for the Dottie (concrete with mint, chocolate and macadamia nuts) for the combination of flavors.”
By Timothy Bold Yunis Abdalla, 17, general transfer “I’ve loved lime Popsicles since my childhood.”
Andrea Nichols, sociology professor “Starbucks’ hazelnut double shot in a can. I put it in the freezer until it’s in a slushy state. Delicious!”
Giovanni Bland, 38, nursing “Edy’s rocky road ice cream. It’s got a cold and sweet taste with a hydrating effect.”
Diana Gerardot, surgical technology program director “The orange freeze milkshake from Steak ’n Shake. It taste like a Creamsicle.”
Kylie McCarthy, 19, nutrition “I make s’mores with Oreo cookies out of different custards from Ted Drewes.”
Adam Suddarth, 20, mechanical engineering “Red and blue freeze pops. Sometimes I would let them melt to drink the juice.”
Layout by Andreal Luedde
July 20, 2018
The Scene www.thescenefp.com
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Four nursing students study in the Forest Park cafeteria on J Melissa Roy, 30, Bria Howard, 26, and Carita Douglas.
AD In the of Fore Photo by Destini Clark
Stu Bundy, lead heating and cooling engineer, checks one of the air conditioning control panels on the fourth floor of F Tower on July 11. The campus has 600 such panels, which require periodic maintenance.
Seth Owens, right, lead instructor of the Commercial Dr Singh, 37, as CDL student Clarence Mixon, 26, practices Forest Park campus July 18. General studies student Starr Letta, 26, studies on the main floor of the library.
Photo by Joshua Phelps
Layout by And
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July 20, 2018
Photo by Daniel Shular
July 11. They are, clockwise from left, Latashia Anderson, 33,
Day e Life est Park Photo by Timothy Bold
Ceramics technician Marija Lajsic, 31, hand-builds small objects from porcelain in the Forest Park Art Annex.
Photo by Daniel Shular
river’s License program, speaks with CDL student Raj zone circle training with a semitruck and trailer on the
Photo by Timothy Bold
Ceramics student Gladys Tapia, 77, prepares to attach a handle to a cup in the Forest Park Art Annex.
dreal Luedde
July 20, 2018
The Scene www.thescenefp.com
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News Tuition
who enrolled in summer classes. Students who paid for fall classes at the higher rate after July 8 should already have received refunds, according to Pittman and Forest Park interim Provost Julie Fickas. “There’s always a positive feeling with this sort of change,” Fickas said. “It creates a positive feeling for students and the administration.” Fickas expressed pride in the fact that STLCC was the first Missouri institution to decrease tuition after passage of House Bill 2003. “We’ve been getting a lot of press about it,” she said. Beyond tuition, STLCC students will pay $1 more in technology fees this fall. The money will be used to update technology, including the replacement of PCs and Macs in some classrooms; and make improvements
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to online education, according to Pittman. Forest Park general transfer student Alexandria Delaney, 22, wishes tuition was even lower but has no problem with the higher technology fee. “Technology is kind of the future,” she said. “Computers, phones, all of that. I don’t mind losing the extra dollar.” Pittman hopes the news about lower tuition will attract more students to STLCC, noting that part of the college’s mission is being affordable and accessible. But he emphasized that the best part about the state funding news is that it will make things easier on current college students. “This is a savings of $1.7 million for the students that they will not have to pay in tuition,” he said. “To me, that’s the impact of this. It’s just tremendously good news for the whole St. Louis region.”
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Managing editor: Timothy Bold
Business/web manager: Victor Paletta Reporters/photographers: Joshua Phelps, Jason Ethridge, Destini Clark, Daniel Shular, Bethany Tyler, Soroda Nasiri Illustration/design: Arrak Hutcherson, Jayy Dixon, Andreal Luedde Faculty advisers: Teri Maddox, Fred Ortlip
The Scene is a publication written and designed by students at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. The office is in F Tower, Room 408. The telephone number is (314) 644-9140. The e-mail address is the_scene_fp@yahoo.com. All text, photos, graphics and other content are property of The Scene and may not be used without permission. Views expressed are not necessarily those of St. Louis Community
College, its Board of Trustees or administration. The Scene welcomes opinion pieces and letters to the editor. They should be signed and include the writer’s student or staff number. They can be mailed to the above addresses or delivered by hand. We reserve the right to edit for length and taste. The Scene will run classified ads for students free of charge. They should be submitted in the manner described above.
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July 20, 2018
Beyond Ridiculous
Opinion
By Andreal Luedde
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Putin says the Russians didn’t interfere in our election, and I believe him.
U.S. intelligence says the Russians interfered in our election, and I believe them.
Sean Hannity says U.S. intelligence interfered in our election, and I believe him.
Chaos University
July 20, 2018
By Arrak Hutcherson
The Scene www.thescenefp.com
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News
Former study hall goes green in C Tower
Greenhouse plays scientific role for biology students By Timothy Bold The Scene staff
Many people have no idea that Forest Park has a greenhouse. It’s in Room 410 on the fourth floor of C Tower, between the biology department office and prep room. “The name is just ‘The Greenhouse,’” said Angela NewMyer, associate biology professor, who runs the facility. The greenhouse measures 15 by 24 feet
Carniverous plants are grown in the deter insect pests.
with a sloping glass ceiling. A giant shade goes up and down with the press of a button. Against one wall is a “swamp cooler” (evaporated air cooler) that produces humidity. The greenhouse is being used as a laboratory for biology students who are growing vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and green beans; flowers such as calla lilies and daisies; and carnivorous plants that stop gnats and other bugs from eating the other plants. “Having this place saves the college money, not buying from distributors and becoming self-reliant, producing our own,” NewMyer said. “Investing in the greenhouse in the long run is going to benefit the department and the Brown Bag Cafe,” she added. NewMyer was referring to an STLCC program that provides food to needy students. A greenhouse is a room or structure made of transparent materials that keeps air and plants at a regulated temperature. Forest Park had a greenhouse before in the same spot. But it closed in the early ’90s and became a study hall. Three years ago, Forest Park added biology as one of its science majors. The greenhouse was designed to give students in its two classes, Biology 140 and 141, a place to do Photo by Daniel Shular independent research and experiments greenhouse to hands-on with live specimens and
Photo by Daniel Shular
Angela NewMyer, biology professor at Forest Park, sprays insecticidal soap on plants in the new greenhouse. “ E v e n t u a l l y, samples. “Investing in the greenhouse we’re going to “It’s beneficial start seedlings (in to have areas to do in the long run is going to the Forest Park research,” said Tegreenhouse) and resa Alvarez, bibenefit the department and start transporting ology department them outside,” chair. the Brown Bag Cafe.” Alvarez said. Workers began “We’re hoping to renovations on — Professor Angela NewMyer get some garden the greenhouse space once the last year, and it rehealth center is complete.” opened in March. She was referring to the new Nursing and The project was funded by a $5.2 million state grant that also paid for science-lab Health Sciences Center, which is under conrenovations on other St. Louis Community struction and expected to open next spring on the Forest Park campus. College campuses.
One small step...
The St. Louis Science Center is playing host to the traveling exhibition “Destination Moon,” celebrating the 49th anniversary of man landing on the moon. The exhibition features the Apollo 11 command module Columbia that orbited the moon, as well as nearly two dozen other artifacts from the first successful lunar mission. The exhibition runs through Sept. 3. General admission pricing is $10 for adults and $8 for children and seniors. Admission is free on July 24 and Aug. 28. The Science Center, just east of the Forest Park campus on Oakland Avenue, is one of four museums nationwide to host the exhibition.
Clockwise from above, the Columbia spacecraft that carried three astronauts on the moon mission in July 1969. An oversize replica of the front page of The New York Times with a looping video of astronaut Neil Armstrong communicating with mission control in Houston after he made the first steps on the moon. The hatch door from the Apollo 11 command module Columbia. Armstrong is pictured saluting the American flag after stepping foot on the moon. Photos by Fred Ortlip
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July 20, 2018