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NEWS
The Southwestern College Sun • Nov. 21, 2019 – Volume 63, Issue 2
news@theswcsun.com
Lawsuit: Six years
and nine requests for gunfire investigations
Continued from pg. 1
Rights prohibits the college from releasing the investigations. Tinkov and The Sun’s Editorial Board reject the claim. On Aug. 23, 2013, Cash entered SCPD offices and removed his district-issued service weapon from its holster for reasons unknown and the weapon discharged, police sources told The Sun that year. A single shot penetrated the wall, narrowly missing three employees in the adjacent room. After a police investigation concluded that Cash was negligent and fired his Glock handgun on purpose, Nish tucked the report away and ordered another, this time by an acquaintance from Orange County. The second investigation cleared Cash of wrongdoing and he was permitted to return to work after five weeks on paid administrative leave. Last summer, after six years and at least nine attempts to procure the investigation’s findings, Tinkov initiated the process of obtaining a myriad of other records that have been withheld by the college. Tinkov’s assistance followed an avalanche of media attention that descended on the college after administrators attempted to force The Sun to surrender the work product of student journalists. An article from Voice of San Diego written by former Sun Editorin-Chief Katy Stegall reported on sexual misconduct by former biology professor John Tolli resulted from a portion of the records Tinkov requested. It took two years for Stegall to obtain information about Tolli’s resignation from SC. More records pertaining to Tolli are expected to be released without litigation, but the Cash inquiry has not yet been settled. Nish’s decision to reinstate Cash was enormously controversial, according to former members of The Sun staff, faculty and community members. SC Professor of Anthropology Dr. Mark Van Stone was among those who said it did not make sense to reinstate Cash. “The story demands details, I want more details,” he said. “Why are the details a secret?” All avenues of obtaining Cash’s gunfire investigation have been exhausted and there is no other choice but to go to court, according to the complaint filed by The Sun. “The Sun has attempted numerous times to report on this story, but has been stymied at every turn by the District’s refusal to disclose information relating to this dangerous incident, as well as the circumstances of Chief Cash’s 2017 resignation under a cloud of allegations and substantive misdeeds,” the complaint reads. Trevin Sims, an attorney representing the college, argued that Cash’s gunfire does not fall into the four categories of California Senate Bill 1421, 2018 legislation that requires disclosure of records pertaining to police misconduct. While one of the four categories involves discharging a firearm, Sims argued Cash is exempt from the records disclosure because he did not intend to shoot someone. Murillo said she is in full support of bringing the issue to court for direction. “Southwestern College does not oppose disclosure of the records requested in a court petition filed by The Southwestern College Sun concerning (the incident),” she said. “We, however, believe the College is prohibited by law from disclosing these records without a court order determining that these records are in fact disclosable.” Cash had a controversial five-year career at the college. He was accused of covering up sexual assaults, misuse of public funds, inaccurate crime log reporting, and illegally hiring and arming friends to serve as campus police. He was placed on paid leave in 2013 pending the gunfire investigation and reinstated after five weeks. He was suspended a second time for nearly a year in 2017. A pair of investigations were launched to examine the 2013 incident. SCPD Sgt. Robert Sanchez conducted the first investigation, which concluded that Cash was negligent and the discharge of his district-issued Glock handgun was intentional. A subsequent investigation conducted by Betty P. Kelepecz, a retired San Diego Harbor Police chief, called the gunshot an accident and recommended that Cash be reinstated. So Nish did just that. “We are pleased to have Chief Cash returning to work today,” she said in a campus email. “The district fully supports the return of Chief Cash as the head of the police department.” Cash later resigned as campus police chief in early 2017 during a closed session of a special board meeting. He remained on paid administrative leave until Dec. 31, 2017 when his resignation took effect. Tinkov and Sims continue to negotiate The Sun Editorial Board’s California Public Records Act request for the Cash investigations.
Fernando A. Martinez/Staff
BILINGUAL IS BETTER — Molly McHargue (l), Jessica Island and English Professor Michael Wickert at the first DEBER program meeting at Southwestern College. DEBER is funded by a $3.5 million federal grant whose aim is to train more bilingual educators for regional secondary schools.
Grant supports bilingual ed Department of Education funds aim to create more bilingual educators, SDSU partnership welcomes SC students By Gamaliel Carreno Arango Campus Editor
Spanish may be the loving tongue, but woe be unto bilingual children “talkin’ Mexican” in the wrong place. English professor Michael Wickert recalled a traumatic fourth grade experience in Yuma when his teacher punished students who were caught speaking “Mexican” in his class. Students were not allowed to go to lunch, the restroom or water fountain until the “misbehaving kid” was punished, he remembered. Fast forward to 2019 where, at least in the borderlands, “bilingual is better.” Southwestern College received a $3.5 million Department of Education grant to create proficient bilingual educators. A partnership between SDSU’s School of Education and SC provides students the opportunity to transfer to SDSU and earn teaching credentials as bilingual instructors. Developing Effective Bilingual Educators with Resources (DEBER), under the direction of Wickert, strives to aid aspiring educators to become culturally responsive teachers. “Our goal is to assist students interested in becoming bilingual teachers and who want to transfer to SDSU,” he said. “It is designed to develop bilingual educators, but through this we are going to have stipends for students that are going to help them with general expenses for school.” DEBER will help SC scholars become familiar with the SDSU campus and create connections at the university. Wickert said SDSU faculty will visit SC to meet DEBER scholars and develop relationships. “We want to create an environment where when students eventually do transfer they already know a number of the faculty at SDSU,” he said. “They are going to know these people by their name, they are going to have some familiarity with the campus.” SC student Julia King, 19, a liberal studies major,
Fernando A. Martinez/Staff
LINGUISTIC TALENT NEEDED — SC student Camilo Marizcal tutors math at San Ysidro High School. He said it is imperative that SDSU train more bilingual K-12 teachers.
DEBER GRANT The National Science Foundation awarded Southwestern College and San Diego State University a $5 million S-STEM grant. $3.2 million goes to Southwestern College. l
l Up
to $10,000 in scholarships for 30 chemistry and biochemistry students per year for two years.
l Transfer, career
and graduate school application workshops.
said she feels supported by the DEBER program. “It’s hard to go through by yourself, so to know that I can go ask questions and have that extra support is awesome,” she said. SC student Camilo Marizcal, 18, a computer science major, said he wants to become a math teacher. DEBER has helped him to understand the process of pursuing a K-12 teaching career. Wickert said DEBER will create educators who can understand underrepresented students. “Teachers who have that kind of background can create a greater sense of inclusivity in our classrooms,” he said. Marizcal said it is crucial to have bilingual teachers in the borderlands. He currently works at San Ysidro High School as a tutor in a bilingual math class. He said the difference between English classes and bilingual classes is noticeable. Students are more willing to participate, ask questions and to interact, he said, if they have someone who speaks their language. He said he has seen students turn in blank papers because they do not understand. “It is not that they are not smart, it is just that they do not have the same opportunity of speaking the language, of understanding,” he said. “They have the potential, but without the help they cannot succeed.” King said the DEBER program has created focus on the community’s shortage of bilingual teachers. “I think it is exposing a need we have in (the Sweetwater Union High School District),” she said. “We need more bilingual teachers here and by giving extra support (I am hopeful) it will pull in more students who want to pursue bilingual education.” King said many Latino students need to improve their Spanish and non-Latinos need more exposure to proper Spanish. Wickert said the program is in the early stage of development and he is searching out students who may be candidates. “We need really good students that are going to provide good input,” he said. “(Then) we can really improve.” He said DEBER will be up and running in spring 2020.
Nurses will no longer respond to classroom emergencies By Fernando A. Martinez Assistant Photo Editor
College nurses may be done making house calls. Administrators changed the college’s first responders policy last spring, but did not inform employees until September. In the meantime, the unannounced change in policy led to confusion and concern during the summer. Psychology instructor Shannon Pagano was teaching her human sexuality course in June when student Aranda Rosario noticed a classmate in distress. “Then all the sudden the girl behind me started having a seizure,” she said. Pagano said one of her students ran to the nurse’s office. Rosario said the police arrived without any medical assistance.
“Then the police showed up, but without the paramedics,” she said. “They were like ‘We’re here’ but it was like ‘Okay, so you didn’t bring the paramedics, so what’s the point?’” SC’s PIO Officer Lillian Leopold said changes in the protocol occurred early in the spring semester. Health Services Director Brett Robertson said the changes were not announced until September. “We just decided to notify the college early this (fall) semester, when everybody would come back and it was a new year, rather than right at the end of the school year when people are heading for the exits,” he said. Robertson said the college used to send nurses to classrooms, but it was not a good practice because they are not trained to respond to emergencies. Chief of Police Davis Nighswonger said
he supported the move. “Paramedics are first responders and police officers are first responders,” he said. “We are going to make an initial assessment and ask ‘Is this a life-threatening situation?’ If it is, then we need to take emergency life-saving medical measures, like CPR. If that is not the case, we make an assessment. For the most part, we are going to rely on the paramedics to come out.” Pagano said she did not know about the changes made to medical emergency protocols. “There was no global announcement that the nurses no longer come to classrooms,” she said. “I (was not) told until I was in the middle of a crisis.” Rosario concurred. “I was shocked because I had never experienced (an emergency like this),” she said. “I didn’t know that the nurse could not
come into the room and it was something that was really, really eye opening.” Pagano said the misunderstanding made her feel at the time that the college was not taking the seizing student’s situation seriously. Leopold said SC was the only community college to send nurses to classrooms. She said when nurses assess medical emergencies and determine that paramedics are needed, it causes a delay in care. Robertson concurred. “If someone’s in a real emergency, every minute counts,” he said. “All of these factors come together into a decision that we needed to make about what was best for safety and responding quickly in emergencies.” Robertson said students and employees should call extension 6691 or 911 in an emergency.