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Student Trustee calls for change
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Hillary’s email scandal continues
viewpoints An Associated Collegiate Press two-time national Pacemaker award-winning newspaper, serving as the voice of the students since 1922.
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VOL. XCVII, NO. 2
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
Wells Fargo admits major foul
Millions of customers effected by ghost accounts being created in their name MISTY SEVERI @MistySeveri
Riverside City College students were left worried after Wells Fargo fired 5,300 of its employees on Sept. 8 for opening 2 million unknown and unwanted accounts for existing customers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Wells Fargo $100 million for the widespread illegal practice of secretly opening unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts. $50 million of the fine went towards the city and county of Los Angeles. While $35 million of the fine Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The problem that has been going on nationwide for five years. Although it has not been reported that customers in Riverside have been affected by this news, RCC students have expressed concerns regarding the issue and are considering closing their accounts due to a lack of trust. “This is our bank,” said
JESSICA VELOZ | VIEWPOINTS
Riverside City College student withdraws cash at the Wells Fargo ATM machine outside the Cesar Chavez Building
Alexandria Jordan, an RCC student. “This is where we are putting our money, we should be able to feel safe about that and I just don’t feel safe.” The Riverside branch at 6189 Magnolia Ave., which provides service to RCC, declined to comment. Other students like Natsumi Kanashiro are supportive of Wells Fargo, but want more information before switching to another bank. “Although this has happened
recently, I think we would stay until we heard more about it,” said Kanashiro, “We’ve spent a lot of time with them, they’re always very honest with us, very one on one.” Kanashiro added that he would consider withdrawing his account only if the issue became a bigger problem. A Wells Fargo executive commented on the situation. “On average 1 percent of employees have not done the right thing and we terminated
them” said John G. Stumpf, Wells Fargo chief executive officer in a Washington Post article. “You want to get perfection. When we’re not perfect, I feel accountable,” said Stumpf. The investigation is still ongoing, although it is clear that multiple violations occurred. The violations include opening deposit accounts, transferring funds without authorization, applying for credit cards without authorization,
issuing and activating debit cards without authorization and creating phony email addresses to enroll consumers in onlinebanking services, according to a CFPB press release. An article from CNNMoney details how employees who failed to meet their daily goals were reprimanded and told to do “whatever it takes to meet individual sales quotas,” according to allegations in the California lawsuit. “One former Wells Fargo employee ... said he experienced this firsthand, he said managers told him to open unauthorized accounts and when customers called to apologize and say it was a mistake.” In response, Wells Fargo is being ordered to refund fees and charges that were paid because of these unauthorized accounts. “It’s important to note that we sent letters and communicated with customers through their statements to let them know if they were impacted and refund them any fees they may have incurred,” said Richele Messick, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo. “The average refund was $25 and that was completed during the first quarter of this year. However, if anyone has questions we invite them to reach out to us.”
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Student Equity Program provides food vouchers LESLIE SANTIBANEZ-MOLIA @RCCviewpoints
With the arrival of the fall semester the Student Equity Program is here to help students who are in need of textbooks, free gas money and food. Textbooks are materials students use to pass a course. Without a reliable mode of transportation or access to textbooks, students tend to drop courses. The Guardian describes college in America being filled with, “too many barriers beyond tuition costs holding
students back from higher education.” They addressed that in 2014, “Germany realized that education bills as small as $1,300 discouraged students from attending school.” Riverside City College now has a plan to counter the difficulties students face in college. The plan is known as the Student Equity Program. RCC’s Student Equity Report describes the goal of the program as, “beginning with a basic equity principle ... don’t lose the student.” The program has a priority of helping students succeed in college. “Their goal is to ensure that all students are getting equitable access to programs
… and are succeeding at rates that are proportional to their population,” said instructor of history and ethnic studies, Kristi Woods. To gain a clearer understanding on their students,RCC gathered data. This data focuses on Student Equity groups and how their success rates are compared to other Equity groups. These Equity groups are based on students backgrounds and the distinct challenges they face in college. For instance Asian Pacific Islander, Latinos and African American students may have different obstacles. The executive summary addresses the reasons behind the
challenges these groups of students face. Previous RCC programs often failed to assist students from these groups. RCC’s SEP Report mentioned how, “the programs were often dependent … on faculty and staff willing to put in additional time to make such programs work effectively.” This would result in students not improving their success rates, thus creating gaps. To counteract these gaps the SEP Report plans to, “address systemic institutional barriers that impede students success.” Anyone can be part of the program, but must meet one requirement to qualify for
See EQUITY on Page 3