Retrospect back on Pg 7
Read about what during Skyloween on Pg 3
November 3, 2011
Volume XXX - Issue 6
Read about Trojan Chat with Veronica Uy on Pg 8
www.theskylineview.com
Assault investigation ongoing San Bruno police conducting investigation into assault By Matt Pacelli
Skyline Against the Cuts volunteers man a booth.
Photo by Will Nacouzi/The Skyline View
Students participate in rally against the cuts Rally held to voice concerns over cuts By Nina Smirnov In an attempt to stimulate and inform the Skyline student body, Skyline Against the Cuts held an inquad informative event on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event, organized by student Michael Madden (who has been involved in Occupy movements throughout the Bay Area), was a collective effort made by Skyline Against the Cuts, the Black Student Union, Gay-Straight Alliance and LASO. Students’ voices could be heard over loudspeakers in the quad as they called out to fellow students in an attempt to promote activism and action against ever-increasing budget cuts. “The situation with the cuts [in California] is becoming very serious,” Madden said. “We’re here with an essential proposal to actually block the UC Regents from meeting on the 16 of November at UCSF, where they will vote on increasing fees at UC campuses 81 percent over three or four years, making total tuition come to $22,000, excluding books and housing. We’re talking about the death of public education here in California.” Despite the fact that they are lacking their original organizer in addition to their faculty adviser, Skyline professor Michael Hoffman, Skyline Against the Cuts garnered
interest from students looking to make a difference. “I started helping pass out flyers and started getting really involved in [Skyline Against the Cuts],” says first-semester student Elisa Jimenez, who volunteered at the event. “It’s affecting [students]. There are a lot of people that we passed out flyers to and they [say] they’ll come by, and you know they’re not actually going to come by because they’re
“We’re talking about the death of public education here in California” -Michael Madden not that interested. But it’s because they don’t know; they don’t know exactly what’s happening. We need to educate them to show them that this is how it’s affecting you, and this is what’s going to happen.” The green table cloth donning the Skyline Against the Cuts table caught the eye of several students who, upon walking up to the table, could pick up information on Skyline Against the Cuts and sign their name on a pledge sheet to participate in events during November. Students
who wrote their email address on this list will be sent emails informing them of upcoming opportunities to organize and protest. “We want classes!” says secondsemester student Gabriela Saucedo. “We need this. This is our education—that’s what we need. It’s simple, isn’t it?” According to an informative sheet titled “Budget Cuts and Skyline College,” “Enrollment in community colleges has grown by 44 percent in the last 15 years, yet funds have continually been divested. The college system would have grown 5.5 percent in 2009-10, but instead has shrunk by 4.8 (percent)!” This was but one of the many facts given to students in hopes of motivating students to act. “A right to education is being eaten away much faster than we would have expected because things are becoming so serious,” Madden said. “What we’re really talking about when we’re talking about cuts is we’re talking about the end of access to education for people of color.” For more information on what you can do to participate in upcoming acts of civil disobedience, students are welcomed to attend Skyline Against the Cuts meetings, which take place every Wednesday
An ongoing investigation is being conducted into the alleged sexual assault that occurred on the Skyline campus on Tuesday, Oct. 25. According to a press release made by the San Bruno Police Department, the incident took place at roughly 8:30 p.m. on the first floor of Building 1. The victim informed police that she was in a vacant classroom when an unknown male entered and sexually assaulted her, fleeing shortly after. The suspect is described as a white male, standing at 5’11, between the ages of 25 and 30. He has an athletic build and a tattoo or scar on his neck. The investigation is being conducted by the San Bruno police and is being led by Detective Sergeant Troy Fry. According to Commander Hanlon of the San Bruno Police Department, information could not be released about the nature of the incident or future courses of action that the police may undertake because the investigation is ongoing. Skyline’s campus security has responded by increasing patrols conducted on the campus in an effort to maintain safety and reassure students, as elaborated by Skyline Chief of Public Safety Brian Tupper. “We’ve added extra patrols, at least until the month of November,” Tupper said. “Basically, the idea is more visual deterrence.” Tupper
also added that there were certain actions that students could take to further assure their security, such as travelling in a group or requesting a security escort from campus security. The assault mars what is an otherwise positive security record for Skyline, as indicated by past data from ope.ed.gov, a government website which gives information on frequency of reported crimes of U.S. schools. Only one aggravated assault had occurred in the past three years, and no crimes of a sexual nature had been reported. Skyline student government has begun to discuss possible means through which to deal with the incident, as elaborated by student government senator Mark Lipkin. “It (the assault) was mentioned in the meeting,” Lipkin said. “We discussed setting up some sort of support system for the victim, but nothing has been enacted yet.” Students such as Isabel Maranan have also begun to take their own measures to ensure further safety. “I have evening classes, and sometimes it is really dark,” Maranan said. “Me and my friends started walking in groups.” The investigation is ongoing, and any students with any information are urged to call the San Bruno Police at 650-616-7100 or SMCCCD Public Safety at 650-738-4199.
Photo by Matt Pacelli/The Skyline View
Room 1118, where the assault took place, is now off limits