THE SKYLINE VIEW The Voice of Skyline College, San Bruno, Calif.
October 27, 2022
theskylineview.com
Issue 2
Gov. Newsom signs bill to eliminate tuition Tuition for SMCCCD students will be cost free beginnning in Spring 2023 after Governor Newsom signs bill By Joshua D. Picazo Editor-In-Chief
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 893 into law on Sept. 30, allowing the San Mateo County Community College District to lower or eliminate student enrollment fees. SB 893 was introduced by State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, in January. It was a bill that tuition-free community college advocates had championed all year. The bill offers fee waivers and amended a previous law that had required community college students to pay $46 per unit per semester. California already had the lowest tuition rates for community colleges in the country, according to Education Data., and this bill will make access to higher education even more affordable. The bill passed the state senate by a unanimous vote of 40-0 on Aug. 24 in the final hurdle before reaching Gov. Newsom’s desk. It passed each previous vote unanimously. Gov. Newsom’s Office’s official Press release stated, “California continues to make
The bill will also address costs of textrbooks, travel expenses and others.
historic investments to transform our education systems! With new bills signed into law last week, more students will graduate from college faster – increasing student success and saving students money.” According to the bill, the funding for this will come from “local unrestricted general funds.” Students across college campuses, including at Canada
College, had been rallying to get support for this bill’s passage. SMCCCD Student Trustee Lesly Ta said this bill signifies a huge step forward for higher education accessibility. “Free community college is an effective step to help close equity gaps and bring families out of poverty,” Ta said. “I can’t see a better use of SMCCCD’s funds than to support San Mateo County residents by
Joshua Picazo/The Skyline View
providing access to higher education.” Attendance rates have steadily fallen since the 2010-11 school year, and
lawmakers, as well as educators, hope this bill will entice students to return. In that time, there has been a 31% decrease in enrollment. Even more shocking is that low-income student enrollment declined by 57% between Fall 2016 and Fall 2021. Some students at Skyline College welcomed the bill’s signage. “… I have a scholarship, but I do know it is expensive. Funding for transportation [is needed] with gas prices being expensive,” sophomore Skyline College student Mario Hernandez said. The California College Promise part of the bill is expected to cover expenses such as transportation. It is unclear if a future bill will expand the program to other districts in the state.
Decreasing numbers of low-income students have been applying to SMCCCD Courtesy of SMCCCD Board of Trustees
Public safety Skyline College aims to improve networking for Latinx students Skyline College hosted several events to bring together Hispanic staff members and students on campus officer struck by car on Skyline campus By Graham Breitbarth & Joshua Picazo Multiemedia Editor and Editor-in-chief
A public safety officer was struck by a vehicle shortly before noon on Wednesday at San Bruno’s Skyline Campus. The incident occurred in Lot C on the south side of the campus. The vehicle in question was moving approximately 20 miles per hour according to Skyline College’s official statement, causing the officer to sustain injury to their arm and wrist. The speed limit on the parking lot is 25 miles per hour. Two of The Skyline View staff members were on scene after first responders arrived. The officer is expected to make a full recovery.
ASSC hosted several events on campus during Hispanic Heritage Month Ryan Samm
By Joshua D. Picazo Editor-in-chief
Skyline College hosted several events to expand outreach to its Latinx students during Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs yearly from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. These events included a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration kickoff on Sept. 15, as well as “Dia De La Comunidad” and “Dia De La Mission,” put
together by the Associated Students of Skyline College (ASSC). More than 30% of Skyline College’s enrolled students identified as Hispanic during the Fall 2021 semester, according to a fact sheet provided by Skyline College. “The main purpose of this event was to inform our Latino and Latina students that we, as Skyline employees… [are] coming together to build a network, to
build this community, to build this comunidad,” said Martin Marquez, the DREAM Center’s program services coordinator. “[These programs serve] to remind our people that our folks are here and there needs to be more visibility and more representation, but taking that further and saying how can we model this network of professionals so that we can model this for our own students and they can build their own community, and we can be that model that they look at and say ‘man there’s so many Latino and Latina professionals that get together… now it’s our turn’.” Marquez said he hopes
the Comunidad program will expand to become a district-wide chapter, including Cañada College and College of San Mateo as the program matures. During the closing event, which took place on Oct. 13, students spoke about what they felt the district and college could do to serve their community better. Students explained that they thought more advertising for these events, authentic Hispanic food “that felt like home” served on campus, and study abroad programs in Latin America could be expanded to embrace the Hispanic student population further. Giovanna Souza, a Skyline College freshman of Brazilian descent, also explained that she felt the school could better embrace Brazilian American students and be more inclusive of all Latin American cultures with regards to events. “Bring your own food events [or] events surrounding food would be well-attended,” Souza said.