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March 12, 2020
News
NEWS BRIEFS Student Safety Town Hall RCCD police will hear students’ safety concerns and answer questions in the Bradshaw Hall of Fame Conference Room on March 24 from 12:30-2 p.m. Our Bodies, Our Minds This is a two hour workshop that explores the impact of sexual violence on mental health. The workshop touches on how to support loved ones that have survived sexual violence. It will be held in the Bradshaw Hall of Fame Conference Room on March 23 from 1-3 p.m. CalFresh and MediCal Students will be able to apply for CalFresh and MediCal services at the Quad Corner on March 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Blood Drive Life Stream Blood Bank will be on campus collecting blood donations on March 18 and 19 in the Quad Corner area from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Self-Defense Workshop The Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center will present escape, risk reduction and fighting tips in the Bradshaw Hall of Fame Conference Room on March 18 from 2-3 p.m. Enrollment Services Webinar A presentation will cover the “five key steps to make difficult conversations easier” in the Charles A. Kane 202Q Conference Room on March 18 from 11 a.m. to noon. All of these dates are subject to change due to possible regulations to come involving the containment of the coronavirus.
To s t a y u p - t o date on upcoming campus events, visit the Viewpoints calendar listed at viewpointsonline.org. If you have events happening on campus that you want featured on the calender, send information about the event to viewpoints. news@gmail.com.
JACOB QUEZADA | VIEWPOINTS
A greenhouse will share space with the Outdoor Plant Lab. Virginia White hopes that the greenhouse will be finished by next year.
GARDEN from page 1 garden/urban farm,” Dean of Instruction Scott Blair stated in an email on Dec. 2. “While support of instruction shall be the priority of the academic space, the ongoing work of the community garden/urban farm, as a secondary use of the property, should be considered under the direction of the discipline experts.” Three of the garden’s 12 plots are now reserved for academics, according to White. When the four plots surrounding the gazebo free up in the summer, they will likely be open for community use. Availability of plots for community use in the fall term, however, will depend on the academic needs of the courses offered. “Being tied to classes does not mean that other people can’t use the space,” White said at the ASRCC Senate meeting. “What it means is that the courses are going to determine how much space they need and then how much space we can allot for public use.” Several current and former members of the RCC Urban Farm and Student Sustainability Collective are unhappy with the transfer of authority and new regulations. Some even created a petition to make their voices heard. There are concerns that reducing space in the garden will reduce food production for hungry students. There are protests to the emergence of the plastic tool sheds and the imminent greenhouse because the garden would no longer be a model of complete sustainability. Many
feel that the community aspect is being taken away from the garden. “It’s an important space,” said Beverley Eskew, former member of the collective. “It’s crosscultural, it’s cross-disciplinary and there’s not too many spaces like it on campus.” Sustainability Collective President Stephanie Fowler fears that limiting access to the garden will hinder its original mission. She and several alumni voiced their concerns about the recent changes to the garden at the ASRCC Senate meeting on March 3. “We don’t have access to that space, we have been left out of any talks of the organization of it or how the space will be used in the future,” Fowler said.
“Other than [how] we’ve come to find out that they have put restrictive locks on our ways to get into that place . . . There is no connection or communication with the students as far as how we can continue to use that space. It’s just all been done.” White said that her sole supervision of the space is temporary while everyone gets used to the transition. The greenhouse was originally going to be included in the Math and Science Building. But it was scrapped from the final build, according to White. “Other areas were scouted out and ultimately what made the most sense was putting it in the community garden,” said Mark Sellick, the district’s Academic Senate president.
According to White, designating the garden as an academic space will influence facilities decisions and guarantee its existence for at least 10 more years. “They have been trying to find a greenhouse space for a long time,” said Micah Carlson, a former RCC student who was part of the initial group that started the community garden. “The garden came up in the conversations multiple times and it got saved multiple times.” Members from the Student Sustainability Collective will meet with the ASRCC Supreme Court to continue to negotiate for space in the Outdoor Plant Lab. “I feel like we should share a space with the OPL,” said Royce Li. “That sounds reasonable.”
JACOB QUEZADA | VIEWPOINTS
ASRCC’s treasurer Corey Wilson, left, and their president Angel Contreras speak to the Student Sustainability Collective after the Senate meeting on March 3.
