College of San Mateo • www.sanmatean.comVolume 172, Number 7 May 3, 2010

San MateanTHE

Reedkeeps the campusbeautifulSee page 4

500-win mark hit by Head CoachSee page 5

Alum scores 3 years with NFL See page 6

See “Ad hoc” on page 7

Photo by Cecile Basnage of The San Matean

Nick Choy, 18, Rod de Guzman, 20, and Anthony Mao, 19, prepare to teach a breakdancing workshop in Building 8 as part of the Bay Area National Dance Week.

About 60 faculty, staff and students crowded into Bldg. 36 Room 309 on April 23 to discuss budget reductions for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

The all-campus meeting, spon-sored by the Ad Hoc Steering Com-mittee, invited all stakeholders to express their views about ongoing campus budget problems during the current downturn.

“We were very pleased with the turnout,” said Laura Demsetz, co-chair of the committee.

“There was attendance from all across the college— students, fac-ulty, and administrators, which is

an indication of the importance of the decisions that will be made in response to budget cuts. The goal of this effort is to identify decision-making criteria that are broadly supported across the campus com-munity,” Demsetz said.

Demsetz and Huy Tran, also a co-chair of the Ad Hoc Commit-tee, organized the meeting to get feedback from the attendees.

April 16 was the first of many such meetings.

“By May 1, we should know if the campus supports or doesn’t support the criteria,” Demsetz said.

A 19-page e-mail was to have been sent to all constituencies pos-ing a list of questions and asking respondents to rank criteria at the

Photo courtesty of Annie Marouty

Which do we cut?

Jeffrey Gonzalez andJohn Servatius

The San Matean

A Cañada budget cut protest group hosted a human rights activ-ist speaker on Tuesday, April 27, to educate and unite communities affected by cuts.

Cañada Strikes Back, a student group dedicated to fighting the budget cuts, invited immigrant rights activist Jose Sandoval to speak to a crowd of over 40 students in advance of several community solidarity marches.

Sandoval, of the group Volun-tarios de la Comunidad, addressed the audience in Spanish, which was then translated by organizer Lilliam Castellanos.

“Our group has members of all sorts— from those who practically can’t read, to those with doctor-ates,” said Sandoval, in translation, who described himself as a car

washer as well as an activist.“We are a completely volunteer

group and we put our emphasis on human rights,” said Sandoval. “We emphasize human rights because we are human and we’re being treated like we aren’t.”

Voluntarios de la Comunidad members work in collaboration with the Immigration Law Re-source Center on issues of im-migration and labor law, and have members throughout the Bay Area, and around the country. They can be found at voluntariosdelacomu-nidad.org.

At the root of their emphasis on human rights, Sandoval refers the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948, article one of which reads “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and

conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brother-hood.” The remaining 29 of the 30 articles reflect a similar perspective on human rights.

“It’s all written down and it’s all

violated,” said Sandoval.To honor the anniversary of the

signing of this declaration by the UN, Voluntarios de la Comunidad members and supporters march every December 10 and distribute word about, and copies of, the 30 articles of the declaration and the rights guaranteed within, rain or shine.

Sandoval and Cañada Strikes Back organizers also encouraged participants to join other immigrant rights protests— a day of silence and march from Aragon High School to St. Matthews Church in San Mateo on April 30, a march in San Jose on May 1, or another march in San Francisco on May 1.

Sandoval especially called on the crowd to “know where they live,” referring not to the streets on which they live, but to the local politics of where they live. He encouraged the audience to learn who their local

representatives are, at the local and state level, as well as the federal. As an illustration of what he meant, he provided the phone number for the White House to the audience— (202) 224-3121.

“It’s only in service 24 hours a day,” said Sandoval. “We can use it, but we don’t. Why? Because we don’t know it.”

The crowd seemed startled, hear-ing this point. “It was a fountain of information that I didn’t know, I’ve been in the country 32 years and I didn’t know that number,” said student Rosa Juarez, 47.

“It all ties together,” said orga-nizer Liliam Castellanos, of the relation between immigrant rights and budget cut protests, “that’s why we had it (the event) at 5 p.m., to really connect the students. There’s so much of a disconnect between the night classes and the day classes. It’s important to unite.”

Activist shares passion for human rightsAlex Farr

The San Matean

activist Jose Sandoval

Photo by Alex Farr of The San Matean

Special Editorial: ‘Egg on our face,’ broken process

CSM student Annie Marouty, 27, joined hundreds Saturday, April 24, in commemorating the 1915 Armenian Genocide by walking across the Golden Gate Bridge.

A March 23 Academic Senate meeting proved that the Program Improvement and Viability (PIV) process, which aimed to restructure the journalism program as well as other media programs at CSM, is clearly a broken and flawed process. How will this affect future programs that need to undergo PIV? How will the committee ever come to a conclusion as to what will the new Digital Media Program (DGME) look like? More importantly, how much taxpayer money has been spent on this process and how much

See “Broken process” on page 7

StudentS break it down

1915 genocide remembered

more is the school willing to spend on something that is clearly not working? The San Matean demands to know how much taxpayer money is being spent on such a question-able process at a time when the state has no money.

The Senate has recommended that the Media PIV group be re-constituted and now the group will spend the summer and possibly even the fall semester working on PIV. “I believe the Fall schedule is almost complete and the San Matean courses are in the fall sched-

ule ... The fall schedule is set and will remain as planned,” Marilyn Lawrence, chair of The Media PIV committee wrote in an e-mail to The San Matean’s Executive Edi-tor. “We anticipate that CSM’s PIV process will be completed by early fall. Once the program is approved through the PIV process, it must then go through the regular title 5 approval and then to the state chancellor’s office,” continued Lawrence.

Lawrence has confirmed that

Page 2 • The SAN MATEAN News May 3, 2010

Campus Blotter Sat. April 17, 10:44a.m.—A woman noticed a dog locked in a car parked three rows from the farmer’s mar-ket tents in lot C2. Concerned about the dog on a warm day, she called the police. When the San Mateo Police went to check for the car, they couldn’t find it, so they assumed that it must have left.

Information provided by Lt. Mike Brunicardi of the San Mateo Police Department.

If there is an event that readers would like listed in Campus Briefs, please submit it to The San Matean at Bldg. 19, Room 123 or sanmatean@smccd.edu. Submissions should be typed neatly. For more information, call 574-6330.

Page 2 • The SAN MATEAN

CSM Jazz ConcertMonday, May 3, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.CSM TheatreFor information, e-mail galisatusm@smccd.edu, or call 574-6163. ASCSM Spring Fling: Into the BlueMonday, May 3 to Friday, May 7, all dayCSM Upper QuadFor information, e-mail hamadehf@smccd.edu, or call 574-6141. Attention Problems: What ADHD is and what it isn’tTuesday, May 4, 1 to 2 p.m.Bldg. 14, Room 215Learn about ADHD and how to distinguish attention problems associated with ADHD.For information, e-mail sinarle@smccd.edu, or call 378-7227. CSM Scholarship Awards CeremonyWednesday, May 5, 3 to 4:30 p.m.CSM TheatreFor information, e-mail chadwick@smccd.edu, or call 574-6514. CSM Symphonic Band ConcertThursday, May 6, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.CSM TheatreFor information, e-mail galisatusm@smccd.edu, or call 574-6163.

Advice & Wisdom Student PanelSponsored by ESL department and LEAThursday, May 6, 8 to 9:35 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.Bldg. 3, Room 148, Cañada Campus Zawaya ConcertSaturday, May 8, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.CSM TheatreFor information, e-mail souranoff@smccd.edu, or call 574-6191. President’s Lecture SeriesWednesday, May 12 noon to 1 p.m.CSM TheatrePresident’s Lecture series continues with guest speaker Michael Pollan.For information, e-mail souranoff@smccd.edu, or call 574-6191. CSM Spring Dance ConcertThursday, May 13, 3 p.m.CSM TheatreFor information, e-mail boltons@smccd.edu

Sand and Sorrow: A Documentary About DarfurThursday, May 13, 5 p.m.Community Pangea Club, Building 17, Student Lounge Psychology/Philosophy Film SeriesFriday, May 14, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.CSM TheatreFor information, e-mail souranoff@smccd.edu, or call 574-6191. Student Music Department ConcertFriday, May 14, 7 to 9 p.m.Bldg. 2, Room 110, Choral RoomMusic students perform original compositions. For information, e-mail jacksonj@smccd.edu.

Sports Track and FieldNorcal Trials, Friday, May 7, 10 a.m. American RiverNorcal Finals, Friday, May 14, 10 a.m. American River

CorreCtionThe San Matean would like to apologize for an error in the April 19 issue of the San Matean. The paper pub-lished a photo of the band Native Elements in the ‘Music for children’s center’ story, which was courtesy of Native Elements but mistakenly attributed to Petero Qauqau of The San Matean. The San Matean apologizes for this error and regrets any confusion this may have caused.

Petero QauqauThe San Matean

Check out

SanMatean.com

for more stories, pictures and archives of past issues.

World War II veteran William James Walsh, a former CSM and Cañada administrator known for his devoted public service, died April 10. He was 94.

At his memorial service, held at Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame April 19, longtime colleague and family friend James Wyatt spoke highly of Bill, as he was known among family and friends, as a dedicated and honest public servant who always found kind excuses for other’s shortfalls.

“He would not say anything bad or unkind about a person,” said Wyatt, a former Cañada and Sky-line administrator. “When I would go to him complaining, he would say probably it’s because of this or that, never anything harsh. If you couldn’t get along with Bill, you couldn’t get along with anyone.”

“I first got to know him when I came to Cañada, he was serving as the Dean of Men and later Director of Student services,” Wyatt said. “He was very supportive of my application later to become Direc-tor of Student Activities at Skyline College.”

Mr. Walsh’s eldest daughter Bar-bara Walsh Hansen recalled that her father’s kindness knew no bounds.

Her father easily made new friends and was always ready to help if anyone needed a roof over their head or had a roof that needed fixing, she said.

“One time he met an Irish group in San Francisco, made friends with them and asked them where they were going to spend the night,” Hansen said. “They showed him a map asking where to find Golden Gate Park and that was it – he gave them his number and address and offered them a place to stay.”

“I also remember him offering a Nigerian student lodging, after meeting the student on the hill on his way to enroll in school with his luggage still in hand,” Hansen said.

Mr. Walsh was born in Chicago on Sep. 27, 1915. He moved to California to attend the University of California Berkeley, where he graduated in 1938 with a degree in Chemistry.

He continued studying the fol-

lowing year in order to receive his California teaching credential.

He was a perennial student and attended Northwestern University to continue his work in chemistry. Mr. Walsh also received training courtesy of the US Navy at Cornell University, and was awarded a Ford Fellowship to study at Columbia University. He also received a master of science in Chemistry from Montana State University.

Mr. Walsh is survived by his wife of 37 years, Donna, and his children: Barbara Walsh Hansen, William Jr., Michael, David and Virginia Gottlieb.

He is also survived by his eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Mr.Walsh was predeceased by his son, Jim.

Mr. Walsh began his teaching career at Oroville High School. He then taught at Burlingame High from 1942 to 1956 with a short break for service in the U.S. Navy during WWII.

He joined the San Mateo Junior College District in 1956 and served as Dean of Men at CSM until 1968 when he became Director of Stu-dent Services at Cañada College.

Mr. Walsh retired in 1977 and then spent his time traveling the world with his wife and his many friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Mr. Walsh’s name to Pathways Hospice Foun-dation, 395 Oyster Point Blvd., Ste 128, South San Francisco, CA 94080.

-Jessica RitterThe San Matean

Doreen JoinerThe San Matean

Millions of dollars not being ap-plied for through financial aid and the department is working to get the word out.

Presentations about financial aid are given to ESL reading, writing and remedial classes whose instruc-tors give their permission to do the presentations in their classes, said Director of Financial Aid Services, Claudia Menjivar.

Financial Aid Awareness Month, held every year between April and May, starts the week of May 3 this year. This event, which used to be held by Building 5N, will be held between Buildings 14 and 16, in the quad area.

The event will show students, step by step how to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as the FAF-

SA, and inform them of deadlines to have all in, said Menjivar.

The Financial Aid office also coordinates with the Student Body Government to speak at the Spring Fling events, by sending out emails and putting up flyers.

For students that feel intimidated by computers, there is also a room next to the financial aid office avail-able to use, where they can get help if needed, said Menjivar.

“We promote financial aid via radio or TV ”, said Menjivar. The office has spoken about financial aid on radio station 106.1 KMEL and has also done interviews on television channel, Univision 14.

“The Federal Government push-es financial aid departments to make the FAFSA easier to fill out,” said Financial Aid Technician, Eric Utsumi. “The Congress makes the laws and the Department of Educa-tion makes the FAFSA forms based

on the Congress’ laws.” Starting about May 2010, the

Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education will be working to make the FAFSA form easier to fill out. There will be a question on the form asking if students want all of their tax in-formation inputted on their FAFSA forms, said Utsumi.

“There are students who might be eligible if they were applying for financial aid but just aren’t apply-ing for it, for whatever reason and it’s hard for us as an office to know who those are because for the most part once we contact the student, we answer those questions and get them to fill out the application”, Utsumi said. “You know, we do our best through our outreach events to get out to as many students as possible to know about the application and what financial aid they might be eligible for.”

Financial aid needs applicants

Photo courtesy of Barbara Walsh Hansen

William “Bill” Walsh

Adminstrator rememberedCampus Briefsby Julie Myhre

NewsMay 3, 2010 The SAN MATEAN • Page 3

Journalists capture state honors

The CSM Library waived all late fines for students last week, in hopes of getting back overdue books.

From April 26 to May 1, the li-brary excused fines on late books, excluding fines for books from the reserve section, damaged books or accounts that are in the collections status.

“It’s a way to have students return books that they may have been holding on for a long time due to studies, or money,” said Bryan Gerbig, library support specialist.

This is a common service that standard library systems use to get books back into library circulation.

“I believe this is the first time we’ve done this,” said Teresa Morris, reference librarian. “We have heard of other libraries doing this type of amnesty, so we are trying it out.”

The only requirements to have fines waived to return the book, in good condition, to the library anytime last week. “If you bring a book in and it is owned by us and it is part of the circulation collec-tion, we will waive the fines,” said Morris.

“I think it’s good for people that owe some money because it can cut them some slack,” said Ana Macias, 20, dental assisting student.

The amount of books returned were not tracked by the library because the service was done as

Julie MyhreThe San Matean

Julie MyhreThe San Matean

Library waives overdue fines for one week event

Photo by Julie Myhre of The San Matean

Panatsorn Ruchit, 30 returns a book during no-fine week.

a courtesy to the community, but the library did notice a positive response from the patrons.

“It has been a very popular thing,” said Nick Dellaporta, library support specialist. “People have inquired about it and we’ve had a very positive response on it. It’s been a program that I think people have been pleased with.”

There was no definite answer as to whether the service will be re-peated, but the library staff seemed very pleased with the idea of pos-sibly repeating the event annually.

“I think this would be a good thing to continue because a lot of people probably can’t afford to pay off overdue fines,” said Kevin Gomez, 22, psychology major.

Past and current staff writers of The San Matean won awards in two separate contests in recent weeks for their in-depth news and feature writing and reporting.

The Journalism Association of Community Colleges, which held their annual state convention April 8 to 10 in Los Angeles, awarded The San Matean ‘general excellence,’ the highest achievement, for an in-depth news series following the budget dilemmas at CSM.

The series followed the financial struggles during the past year. The reporters who worked on the series included Laura Babbitt, Margaret Baum, Erin Browner, Alexa Hem-ken, Courtney Jamieson, Christine Karavas, Dylan Lewman and John Servatius.

Angela Greco, a former staff writ-er was also awarded an honorable mention in feature writing for her story on the biology program’s crit-ters housed in the science building.

“It’s an impressive array of awards— but after working on

the paper with some of the award winners, I’m more surprised by how much I’ve learned from them than I am surprised that they won awards,” said Alex Farr, editor of The San Matean.

More than 600 students and teachers from numerous junior colleges across California attended the conference.

Writers from The San Matean were also honored by the statewide, four-year college journalism orga-nization, the California College Media Association, which held an awards dinner on April 17 at Hearst Castle with more than 200 in attendance.

Senior Staff writer John Servatius and former News Editor Laura Bab-bitt were awarded second place in the less-than-weekly news category.

Servatius was honored in the Best Breaking News category for his coverage, in March 2009, of the sentencing of Sarith Soun, 27, in the 2006 killing of Skyline College student Boris Albinder, 19.

The judges commented that Servatius used “very strong quotes” and had a “good understanding of

the legal system.”Babbitt’s column about returning

to college after a career in industry was honored in the Best Personal Opinion Column category.

“She writes from the heart,” wrote the judges of Babbitt. “Laura’s topic is timely and important.”

“Our program focuses on training by producing the best newspaper and website possible for our campus and district,” said Ed Remitz, CSM Journalism Adviser. “It is especially heartening that professionals find the work worthy of notice.”

Alexis Terrazas, CSM journalism graduate who was Sports Editor for San Francisco State’s Golden Gate [X]press, was awarded first place in the Best Sports Story category for weekly newspapers.

His story covered a former SFSU wrestler who was slain by his girlfriend.

The judges wrote Terrazas had a “compelling opening with great details” and that they “really could feel the mother’s pain through the description. Good background as well. Gave me a reason to care about the man who was killed.”

African refugee to discuss documentary on Sudan at CSMJeffrey GonzalezThe San Matean

An African refugee from Darfur will introduce and discuss Paul Freedman’s documentary about Sudan on May 13, in the Building 17 student lounge.

“Sand and Sorrow,” Freedman’s film, is a documentary about Darfur and its genocide. As part of diversity week, the CSM club Community: Pangaea, with the help of student Mario Rosetti, is putting together the event to promote awareness of life and culture around the world,

said club founder Ehab Samaan. Muhammad Suleiman, a Suda-

nese refugee, is coming as part of the presentation. He is scheduled to introduce the documentary and answer questions after the show. Suleiman grew up in Sudan and has lived through the country’s turmoil. He has done similar, informative events at other colleges.

Suleiman and Freedman both attended a presentation of the film last year at Las Positas Community College in Livermore, Ca, where they did a Q&A for the audience.

Individual members of Pangaea

will also do mini presentations of similar genocidal events from around the world.

“We want to not only raise aware-ness of what’s happening in Darfur, but also show that such atrocities have been happening all over the planet in the history of civiliza-tion,” said Club Secretary Melanie Medeiro. She herself will do a 2 to 4 minute presentation on genocide in South American countries.

“Mario (Rosetti) got in contact with Freedman somehow, and came to me with the idea of bringing the movie to CSM towards the begin-

ning of the semester” said Chair of Ethnic Studies and advisor to the Pangaea Club, Professor Frederick Gaines. “I told him I knew the perfect group to help him, and sent him to Ehab (Samaan).”

Samaan is the founder and presi-dent of the Pangaea Community club. Samaan started the group, according to him, about a year ago.

“I began the club to apply the principles and ideas of unity to our environment and help our community members achieve their academic goals through study groups, one-on-one tutoring, and

assistance with the financial aid process, as well as applying for scholarships,” said Samaan.

The club meets weekly and has participated in many community service oriented activities in recent semesters, such as toy drives, chari-table family adoption programs, tutoring and beach clean-ups.

Samaan said he wanted to have more on-campus club activity, and saw an opportunity in diversity week.

“I was happy to hear Mario wanted our help, and even happier to help,” said Samaan.

Christine KaravasThe San Matean

Voting polls – open this week only – will determine next year’s student senate.

All candidates were required to submit their applications by April 28, and attend a meeting, where Fauzi Hamadeh and Aaron Schaefer of Student Activities, explained campaigning regulations and the ballot counting procedure.

“The Associated Students is neutral during this,” Schaefer said.

Candidates are not allowed to campaign in “neutral areas,” includ-ing the ASCSM office, the Office

of Student Life and its adjoining lounge.

Candidates are also not allowed to be seen or heard campaigning within 30 feet of the polls, although they are allowed to enter the area to vote.

“If you’re found within the poll-ing area without justifiable cause, you will be asked to leave,” Hama-deh told the candidates during the April 28 meeting.

Candidates are also prohibited from offering any sort of bribe in exchange for votes.

ASCSM regulations define a bribe as anything of value, includ-ing candy, pens, bracelets and guitar

picks, Schaefer explained.“You can give a button out

because it’s not really an item of value,” Schaefer said.

“If we find out there has been bribing, there will be consequenc-es,” Hamadeh said.

The neutral ASCSM Elections

Committee, which organizes the senate elections, may provide candy or other items to encourage students to vote, “but not for any one candidate,” Hamadeh said.

Ballot counting will be started Friday, May 7, and could be ex-tended into the following week.

“Once the majority of (campaign posters) have been pulled down, we can start counting the ballots,” Schaefer said.

Any complaints about the pro-cess need to be registered before the election box is opened, Hamadeh said, because all decisions are final.

“There is no higher authority you can appeal to,” he said.

Only the elections commission or Student Activities can call for a recount of the votes.

“Go vote, be heard,” said Brayan Pelayo, 19, sociology major. Pelayo is running for the first time, for ASCSM president. “It’s up to people to inject ideas and provide innovative ideas on campus.”

“I’m pleasantly surprised how many people showed up to run,” said Brittany Arthur, 18, cognitive science and art major.

Arthur served as an ASCSM senator during the 2009-2010 academic year and is running for senator for next year. “Next year should be fun,” she said.

(Left to Right) Brayan Pelayo and Brittany Arthur

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Polls open for next year’s student senate

eNtertaiNmeNtPage 4 • The SAN MATEAN May 3, 2010

Justin Gure, 19Undecided, San Mateo “I think vampires are cool guys because they suck women’s blood and aren’t afraid of anything.”

Do you think vampires are cool? In the Mix

By Cecile Basnage

Helena Ngirkelau, 18Business, Redwood Shores “I think vampires are lame, Twilight is really dumb, and Edward Cullen is not even that hot.”

Doug Kirkwood, 18Criminal Psych, San Mateo “I think vampires used to be cool, when they fed on people’s life forces, but now it’s blown up.”

Christina Johnson, 18Pre-vet, Oakland

“Yes, they have veins.”

Yaneris Mendiola, 19Undecided, Daly City

“No, because I think they’re scary.”

Name : Carol ReedTitle: Lead Grounds Keeper Age: 52

SM: What do you do at CSM?CR: My official title is Lead Grounds Keeper. I’m the lead of a crew of six, myself included, we cover the entire campus which is over 150 acres. Our duties are to keep the campus clean from trash, landscaping, trimming, weeding, planting and tree trimming. We also maintain the baseball, football, softball fields and the track along with the throwing area which is used for discus and hammer throwing. There are also specific projects that we work on through the year, I have a very hard working crew. SM: How does extreme weather effect you and your crew?CR: During a rain storm we check and make sure the drains are working correctly, there are 142 drains all over the campus. Heavy winds leave fallen tree branches and other debris that needs to be removed as soon as possible. SM: Any cool appliances?CR: We got to test a few garbage cans with solar panels, once the garbage can is full the lid closes and the garbage is compacted into a small cube and the garbage can is ready to be used again. There is a chance we will eventually have a couple of these gar-bage cans on campus. SM: How many trash cans are currently on campus.CR: There are 150 trash cans on campus, we empty them out a couple times a day, more if needed. SM: Where were you born and what schools did you attend?CR: I was born at Mills Hospital, attended Hillsdale High School and I received an art degree from San Jose State. I’ve also taken classes at CSM and the Academy of Art. SM: How long have you worked at CSM?CR: For the last 13 years. SM: What led you to pursue a career at CSM?CR: I was taking horticulture classes at CSM during the semester I was offered a position. I decided to leave my current job and take the position at CSM. My boss allowed me to come in an hour early and stay an hour late in order to accommodate my new class schedule. I continued to take horticulture classes which I found very useful in my field.

SM: Can you remember any unusual occurrences on campus?CR: During the last basketball season, the visiting teams bus driver was lost and driving around the campus, at some point he accidentally and unknowingly punctured the fuel tank causing the diesel fuel to spill. He continued to drive all over the campus looking for the gym while spilling the fuel everywhere, eventually 120 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled. We had the San Mateo Fire Department on scene along with HAZMAT trucks.

SM: Do you own any pets?CR: Yes a miniature Australian Shepherd named Boo. She used to wander up and down Hillsdale Blvd and all over CSM. I tried

interacting with her but she was frightened, it took eight months before she allowed me to touch her. I called the SPCA to get a trap for her and we’ve been living happily ever since. SM: Any siblings?CR: I have a brother Glen and his family who live up in Folsom. My mom Lucile who is 82 lives in San Mateo and is in better shape than ever, she worked at the District office for 10 years.

SM: What music do you like?CR: I enjoy listening to rock’n’roll, jazz and bluegrass. I play the banjo, I’ve been playing since late 70’s – early 80’s.

SM: Favorite Film?CR: Disney’s “Fantasia.” SM: Do you have any hobbies?CR: I enjoy ceramics and glass blowing.

Campus Spotlight

-Marcin MarciniakThe San Matean

(Above) Carol Reed takes five on a maintenance crew truck.

(Right) Boo, a stray who used to roam the CSM campus, has found a happy home with Carol.

Photo courtesy of Carol Reed

Photo by Marcin Marciniak of The San Matean

sportsMay 3, 2010 The SAN MATEAN • Page 5

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

Swimmers shine at conference finals

Bulldogs close season in high fashion

Winning during the regular sea-son brings satisfaction, winning at the Coast Conference Finals brings medals — and that’s what the CSM swimming team brought home.

The Bulldogs competed from Thursday, April 22 to Saturday, April 24 in a meet at West Valley College in Saratoga.

The women’s team racked up the hardware early in the first day of competition, winning gold in the 200-meter freestyle relay despite anchor Suzanne Brown’s goggles breaking just before the race.

“At first I was like ‘oh no!’,” said Brown, 19. “Honestly, I was thinking about keeping the lead more than my goggles. I totally couldn’t see the wall to do my turn, so I waited and I flipped really close to the wall.”

The women went on to win two bronze medals in the 400-meter

medley and 800-meter freestyle respectively.

Andrea Chan, who entered her main three individual events as the No. 1 seed, did not disappoint, bringing home the gold in all three.

The freshman sensation reg-istered times of 1:01.79 in the 100-meter individual medley, 2:12.20 in the 200-meter individual medley, and a 59.59 in her specialty; the 100-meter butterfly.

“I’d say I did about a seven out of 10 in this meet,” said Chan, 18. “I was kinda tight and not tapered as much as I wanted to, but I have state’s (finals) so I’m tapered for that.”

Najelah Najdawi received a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle, and the silver in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke.

“I do want to acknowledge credit where credit is due,” said coach Randy Wright. “Both Andrea and Najelah were a part of the Burlin-game Club swim team, and senior

coach Chris Culp should be given a lot of the credit for their success.”

Other notables were the men’s team getting fourth place in the 200-meter medley relay.

The team, consisting of Carlos Sanchez, Chris Garner, Ryan Smith, and Nicky Reynicke fell short of placing in their events.

Garner, though, finally broke 50 seconds, with a personal record of 49.66 in his split of the 400-meter medley relay.

“My relay starts were right on,” said Garner, 20. “I stood at the back of the block and timed it just right, so when my teammate came in I had a step forward to get that momentum to pop off the block.”

With only one last meet to go, a mix of nerves and excitement clash prior to the event.

“The state finals is a big meet, al-most like CCS for high school,” said Chan. “I’m pumped and nervous at the same time, but I think I’ll do really well because I’m rested and

I have a fast suit. The adrenaline rush is gonna be awesome.”

Freshmen Najdawi and Chan will

compete for the last time this season at the state finals at Mt. San Antonio College from April 29 to May 1.

The Bulldogs hosted their last game of the season and avenged an earlier loss, shutting out the Chabot College Lady Gladiators 6-0.

CSM (13-3 conference, 27-11 overall) played arguably the stron-gest game of a 10-game end-of-the-season stretch.

With a second place already clinched in the Coast-North Con-ference, the Bulldogs looked to fine-tune their overall game.

Bulldogs’ ace Lauren Cole started off striking out two batters in the first inning, outfielder Anna Dea would get the third out; catch-ing a fly ball at right field.

Leadoff hitter Alyssa Jepsen ig-nited things offensively by crushing a line drive double to left center field off southpaw pitcher Shannon Merritt. She later advanced to third after Nicole Cardoza’s bunt single, and then scored after a wild pitch.

Cole struck out five of six batters in the first two innings, including three in a row in the second.

“Coach and I were in tune during the game, so we were pretty much in control,” said Cole, 20.

CSM once again displayed

solid hitting in the bottom of the third, with one out remaining; in-fielder Meggan Craviotto smashed a ground single down the alley, which got a timely bounce near the outfield wall. By the time the ball was thrown to the infield, Craviotto

was safe at third base.“It felt great to hit that blooper

triple,” said Craviotto, 19. “We all knew we were a better team than Chabot, and we had to show them, so we did.”

Craviotto scored after Tatiana

Photo courtesy of Robert Hilario

Photo courtesy of Doug Williams

Nicole Cardoza (#25) hits a bunt single against Chabot College.

Coach Doug Williams

CSM head coach Doug Williams reached the 500-win plateau with a win against Mission College on Thursday, April 15.

Williams, currently in his 16th season as head coach, hit his mile-stone victory in a close road game in Santa Clara after the Bulldogs held Mission College scoreless for the last two innings in a 5-4 win.

“After the game, (assistant) coach Vogel mentioned (the mile-stone) to the team, we had a small celebration, very low key,” said Williams.

A Carlmont High School and CSM alumni, Williams played for legendary coach John Noce from 1984-1986, getting a conference championship in his last stint at CSM.

He went on to play Division I baseball at UC Santa Barbara for two years.

“Coach Noce taught me and other players about commitment,” said Williams “That’s something quite demanding, but believing in it pays off.”

Williams has averaged 32 wins in the past 15 seasons, winning more than 70 percent of his games in the process.

“I teach my players that being a Bulldog is bigger than just base-ball,” said Williams. “I want you to be a good person, a good scholar, and a good teammate. Camaraderie is an important quality to have and I make sure my players know that.”

During Williams’ tenure, 174 out of 183 players have transferred to four-year schools or signed profes-sionally.

The most recent success being

former All-American pitcher Scott Feldman, who recently signed a three-year contract extension with the Texas Rangers.

In this 2010 season, the Bulldogs are ranked No. 4 in Northern Cali-

fornia with an impressive line of wins against top tier teams.

CSM has beaten No. 3 Sacra-mento City College twice, includ-ing a dominant 6-0 shutout back on Mar. 31, No. 2 Chabot College twice, and No. 7 Cosumnes River College (formerly No. 1).

Williams now has a 501-202 win-loss record in his CSM coaching career, the last win coming in a 16-12 slugfest against Chabot College on Saturday, April 17.

Reflecting on his 16 years of coaching tenure at CSM, Williams mentioned what makes his team so special. “My personal achieve-ments can take a back seat,” said Williams. “The effort and com-mitment that this team shows day after day makes me proud to coach them.”

With only six games remaining in the season, Williams keeps his

goals in near sight.“Our goal every year is to keep

improving and play our best base-ball at the end of the year,” added Williams. “Every game is going to be tough from now on.”

Williams assures the most mean-ingful game he’s coached at CSM was a loss a couple of years back, which was the last game his father Don got to witness.

“To lose someone so close to me, the person who taught me what I know and love… it was hard,” said Williams. “He was a consummate father in terms of being there, from the time that I was 4 years old, he spent countless hours playing with me, watching games on TV… I miss him.”

A small plaque of his father is located in the baseball press box that reads “Still watching from the best seat of the house.”

Head coach reaches 500-win milestone after 16 seasons

Grelli’s pop out single to left field. Chabot’s third baseman Jennifer Ybarra was charged with the error.

Lefty hitter Tai Vegas hit a “Bal-timore chop” triple over Merritt, driving home Morgan Elkins and making the score 5-0.

“I felt really confident at the plate since I hit very well against them the last time we faced them,” said Vegas, 19.

Vegas and Craviotto teamed up for three put outs in the top of the fifth inning, providing great support for their pitcher.

“I have to thank my pitcher for hitting her spots and helping make the hits so much easier for me to play,” added Vegas.

Craviotto put her bat to work once again, hitting a ground single to left middle field; she then scrapped her way to third after an Ybarra throw-ing error. Craviotto would go on to score the last run of the game after an errant pitch.

The Bulldogs did not let up defen-sively as Cole struck out Cheyanne Bennitt for the second time. Her pitching effort was followed by a smooth 1-6-3 double play to end the top of the sixth.

“Turning the double play was huge because it ended the inning

and picked up our pitcher,” said Jepsen, 19. “LC (Cole) put the ball in the right spot and I was able to turn it on time. Double play op-portunities don’t come that often, so when the situation does arise we need to execute.”

CSM closed out the last inning with three consecutive put outs.

“We took every play as if it were the last out,” said Craviotto. “We stayed focused every pitch, to every out, to every inning.”

“I wanted to pitch a perfect game, but fell short,” said Cole, who fin-ished with six strikeouts, allowing only two hits in the game. “It felt real good to beat them like we did.”

The CSM softball team has now shutout three straight conference opponents. They’ve also scored 37 runs in the past four games while allowing only one in the process.

With this game being the last of the regular season, the sophomores shared memories amongst each other going into the playoffs.

“Believe it or not, this season flew by,” said Craviotto. “It didn’t hit me until after the game, I realized these are the last few games I get to play with Tatiana Grelli, we have been playing ball together since we were practically toddlers.”

Photo by Tommy Hart of The San Matean

From left to right: Suzanne Brown, Zoe Davidson, Andrea Chan, and Najelah Najdawi celebrating their 200 free relay gold medals.

May 3, 2010 Page 6 • The SAN MATEAN

Sharon HoThe San Matean

Former Bulldog scores NFL contract

Local high school seniors experience college for a day

In a world where most players enter college football programs with years of Pop Warner and high school playing experience, Ray-mond Emanuel Hisatake stands out.

Hisatake, 23, a former CSM Bulldog defensive lineman, signed a three-year free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers on April 24, and will be suiting up in a No. 62 Panthers uniform.

He received a $10,000 signing bonus and will have a first year salary of $320,000.

“It’s a storybook tale,” said his former CSM head coach Larry Owens.

“Ray having never played any football at high school to have an opportunity to play professional football and get paid for it, I am really excited for him. We at CSM love him a lot and are very happy for him and his family.” he said.

Hisatake never played a football game before he came to CSM, said Owens.

When he first came for tryouts, he wasn’t sure what the pads were and how to put them on.

“Ray was easy to coach,” said Owens. “He would do everything you tell him to and he worked very hard and has come a long way.”

“I am very thankful and very blessed,” said Hisatake. “I gave my best and am happy that I will

be able to represent CSM and the coaches.”

Hisatake graduated from West-moor High in Daly City, a school that did not have a football program, in 2004 and enrolled at CSM with the intention of joining the track-and-field program.

“It was very hard to get a full-ride scholarship to college through track-and-field,” said Hisatake. “I spoke to a few colleges, and I found out that I was good but not good enough (to get a scholarship).”

Still, that did not stop Hisatake from winning the 2006 Coast Con-ference Track & Field Champion-ship in discus throwing.

“I thought that since CSM had a football team, I might as well try out and hope to get into a Division III college football program,” said Hisatake.

Instead, after greyshirting in 2004 and playing as a defensive lineman in 2005 and 2006, Histake won a scholarship to a Division I football program at the University of Hawaii.

At UH, he switched to playing in the offensive positions of left tackle, right guard and left guard.

“When I first saw and met Ray, we were in spring football and he was working out with the track team,” said CSM Defensive Line Coach David Heck. “6’4 and 330 pounds does not come around too often. I remember his first play in his first game where he got driven

down the field 15 yards and could not get off the block. Now he is the one driving people 15 yards down the field.”

After graduating from UH on Dec. 20, 2009 with a bachelor de-gree in sociology, Hisatake spent three months in Arizona preparing for his Pro Day on April 1.

“I did well enough in the individ-ual drills and managed to impress the Chicago Bear and Carolina Panther scouts,” said Hisatake. “The Carolina Panthers gave me a call after the draft offering me a contract.”

“Coach Heck was one of the first people outside of my family that I called,” Hisatake said. “I consider Coach Heck my family and I still keep in touch with Coach O (Ow-ens), (CSM Defensive Coordinator) Coach Tulloch and my Bulldog teammates; I will never forget the bonds of friendship I made with them.”

“I felt so proud and thankful about Ray signing a pro contract; it couldn’t have happened to a nicer kid,” said Heck. “Coming from where he came from and never play-ing football to signing a pro contract is the reason I coach; just for him to have the opportunity to be in this position is a great thing. I think this is what junior college football is all about. Giving opportunities to young men that they didn’t have coming out of high school.”

“I’m happy for Ray,” said Bull-

dog teammate Tevita Halaholo. “He’s an athlete. I remember him doing perfect splits in the locker room; biggest dude I’ve ever seen do the splits. He will do a great job in the NFL.”

“The coaches at CSM, they helped me a lot,” said Hisatake. “Coach Owens gave me an oppor-tunity to play despite me not hav-ing any football experience. I am proud to be part of a great football program at CSM which also helped me get ahead academically; I was able to graduate early from CSM with an AA majoring in liberal arts. Due to the program, I am the first in my family to graduate with a college degree.”

“There are three things that I am really happy for him about- first that he got a scholarship to University of Hawaii, then when he got his bachelor’s degree there, and now when he gets a shot at playing foot-ball professionally,” said Owens.

“Ray represents what we all mean when we speak of being a Bulldog,” said CSM Football Head Coach Bret Pollack. “He exemplifies our culture and fighting spirit of ‘Play Hard, Never Quit’ which rings true for all Bulldogs in the classroom, in the weight room, on the field, and in life. Ray continues to exemplify that culture and at the same time provide motivation for current and future CSM students and athletes.”

Photo courtesy of Bay’bee Joy Saleapaga.

Raymond Emanuel Hisatake at Pro Day, April 1, 2010.

Dylan Lewman, 20, inspired by his grandmother’s bout with breast cancer, has taken action by organizing an electronic and trance benefit party.

Lewman, a CSM student and pro-moter for local raves and parties, put

his talents to work self-advertising his May 7, “Dancing for Boobs: A Pink Prom” benefit.

The event, which will benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, will include DJ’s from around the Bay Area who have volunteered their time free of charge.

“I feel like I’m doing something that counts,” said Tyler Jackson, 24,

Student organizes benefit for breast cancerNick Zirbes

The San Matean

Dylan Lewman fliers cars to promote a benefit for breast cancer.

Patrice Reed-Fort, 31 (left) goes over psychology requirements with Yasmin Mora, 18 (right).

Photo by Christine Karavas of The San Matean

Photo by Bruno Manrique of The San Matean

a DJ playing at the event. “It shows that a lot of people care - getting this many artists to donate their time to support one thing.”

The benefit will begin with a pre-party, with the main event doors opening at 8 p.m, at the Mist Ultra Club. The presale tickets are set at $10, and $20 at the door; with event lasting until 2 a.m. the following Saturday.

While Lewman is taking up this endeavor on his own, he is not alone in his struggle.

“This is actually the 2nd cancer benefit I’ve played for free this year…if I can use my resources as a DJ and radio host to draw aware-ness and fundraising for research, count me in,” said Ross fm, a DJ/Radio host of House Nation on Movin 99.7.

About 40 local high school seniors came to CSM Tuesday, April 27, to learn about the col-lege experience through Preview Day, an event organized by the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services.

The event’s main purpose was to educate teens about college by allowing them to experience, for a few hours, what a normal day at the college feels like.

“What we’re doing is giving a high school student the opportunity to meet a CSM student and receive guidance,” said EOPS Program Ser-vices Coordinator John Vehikite. “That way, they learn the ropes on how to do great at school.”

“We try to find students that

might qualify for EOPS,” Vehikite said. “That way they’re not only being informed about college life in general, but also about becoming an EOPS student.”

The students started off the day at 8:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast.

After an ice breaker activity, the high school students were partnered up with current EOPS students who took each senior to one of their classes, and gave them a tour of the facilities.

“It’s been fun and interesting so far,” said Teresa Trujillo, 17, a Pen-insula High School student. “I’m kind of anxious to shadow someone already. It’s mind-blowing knowing that I’m so close to going to college and about to get a feel of it soon.”

Yasmin Mora, 18, a Capuchino High School senior was assigned

to shadow Patrice Reed-Fort, 31, a psychology major.

Mora accompanied Reed-Fort to her 10 a.m. math class in Building 16, where she got an insight to factoring binomial equations.

“This class is similar to Capu-chino’s since the teacher interacts with the students and solves their questions,” said Mora.

The EOPS staff set-up a lunch at noon.

After dining, the seniors at-tended a one-hour orientation service which explained some of the programs and services available at the college.

“I’m glad the turnout is as good as it is,” said Program Services Coordinator Tami Hom. “During the ice breakers, students knew a lot of our questions, they really impressed us.”

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

News

News & opiNioNMay 3, 2010 The SAN MATEAN • Page 7

end according to their priorities: flat changes (across the board); focus on courses that serve multiple goals; focus on most popular paths to student goals; focus on areas of demonstrated success; focus on associate(degree)/transfer core; focus on programs than can develop into “gems;” and, campus vision/identity.

Other criteria will be added as the Ad Hoc Committee synthesizes the information within the returned questionnaires.

Deadlines for the Steering Com-mittee: May 2, feedback from the emailed questionnaires and ad-ditional ideas submitted through web form; May 1 - 14, Steering Committee synthesizes feedback; May 17 - 21, results distributed campus-wide for final evaluation; May 26, results forwarded to Insti-tutional Planning Committee and President to inform budget planning for 2011 - 2012.

Topics for discussion at the April 23 meeting ranged from whether a particular course “demonstrating success” determined its value to CSM, to deciding if high registra-tion numbers were a good basis to fund courses.

“There are some classes that could triple their students if there were resources,” said Bruno Maule, business professor.

“We might have to lose some of

this stuff forever. Unless there’s a huge change, some things will not come back. We have to be honest, let’s not talk about it like there’s some dream day that it’s all com-ing back,” said Katherine James, English professor.

“We have to begin looking at the demographics. Where will we be in five years? Long term. Because we won’t be able to reinvent ourselves every five years,” said James Rob-ertson, history professor.

Suggestions were also made to re-allocate courses to Community Education or to one of the other colleges in the district.

Faculty also discussed which classes were most important to stu-dents, transfer or vocational classes.

“The students come first. That’s in our vision. It’s in our mission,” said Tran.

“Reductions will affect us all. We need students to get involved. Student involvement is what we want,” said ASCSM Vice President, Alex Quintana.

Besides participating in the all campus meeting, Quintana is or-ganizing a budget forum on May 11 for students.

“Discussions related to bud-get cuts can be threatening and contentious, but the discussion at the meeting stayed collegial and constructive,” said Demsetz about the meeting.

“Feedback worked to change re-ductions in the fall of 09,” she said.

Ad HocContinued from page 1

Continued from page 1committee members will be paid for work they contribute over the summer and into the fall if necessary. How much have these members already been paid over the course of the last 20 months? The school is considering cutting a program for budget issues, yet they are spending money for a commit-tee to continue to spend more time reviewing it. How does that make any sense?

A Committee Advisory Board (CAB) will be created to help guide the PIV process. “All of the faculty in DGME were asked to provide at least two names of people that are in the industry and to make sure our program serves our students and the media community. Kathy Ross, dean of business/technology, and I are taking those names and contacting them to see if they would be interested in participating in helping to guide our program. We are trying to have representation from all forms of media; graphics, journalism, multimedia, broadcast-ing and audio/video production,” Lawrence wrote in an e-mail. “The PIV group and faculty will meet with the Community Advisory Board (CAB) once it is established. The work of the CAB will direct the work of faculty over the summer and Fall. Any changes would take effect after that work is completed.”

“According to the PIV process, any college group can request that a program be reviewed under PIV. This particular request came from the Budget Planning Committee, a shared governance group consist-ing of faculty, staff, administrators and student representatives. The request occurred because the jour-nalism program has suffered from chronic low enrollment for many years. The Academic Senate ap-pointed members from the faculty-

at-large to the Media PIV group. In addition, the faculty in the affected programs were invited and strongly encouraged to participate actively in this process,” read a August 24, 2009 letter from President Michael Claire to The San Matean.

The group of programs including Film Production, Graphics, Jour-nalism, Multimedia, and Broad-casting (as a resource only) was originally identified to be reviewed under PIV during the 2007-2008 academic years.

The faculty committee presented recommendations to the Academic Senate in December 2008, which were approved by the senate and were scheduled to be implemented by Fall 2010. The Media PIV com-mittee has spent the last 20 months trying to implement these recom-mendations and is now having to reconvene after all their work.

A memo was sent from Academic Senate Vice President Huy Tran to The Committee on Instruction (COI) on March 10 expressing concerns about how the DGME program is being reorganized. “There is a lack of coherence, the old programs did not form into a single program, not all faculty were involved in the course outline process, some courses may not fit into the PIV recommendation, some courses were not revised, and there is possible duplication of courses within DGME and across other divi-sions,” read the memo. The senate requested that All DGME course agendized for the 3/11 COI meeting be placed on hold until the Senate reviews them, courses reviewed and subject to approval by COI be placed on hold until reviewed by the senate, courses not vetted by all DGME faculty be removed from the COI agenda, and the banking of all Broadcast, Graphics, Multimedia, and Journalism classes. COI did

not honor the request and decided to move forward knowing that is-sues existed.

At the March 23 Academic Sen-ate meeting some faculty expressed concerns that they have worked for 20 months and want to teach the classes they have spent so much time on. Some members of the senate pushed for PIV to move for-ward, while others voiced concern as to why this issue was not on the agenda as an action item.

Tania Beliz, one of the Media PIV committee members, explained that outside experts identified by faculty fed into the committee’s recom-mendations. Curriculum needs to be tight, and courses need to feed into each other, Beliz said. “The DGME group needs to abide by PIV recommendations. DGME courses had dismal enrollments and we need to cancel classes with fewer than 20 students.” DGME faculty need to come together and if they don’t follow recommendations, the program should be eliminated, she continued.

“We need to say if a recommenda-tion has been made, do it or you’re out. We had a process. If you don’t play ball, you’re not in the game. President Claire has told the Board to let the process go forward. If it is running its course and not doing what it should, we have egg on our face. It has got to work,” said Beliz to the group.

This idea is completely absurd. The process hasn’t worked so far, but the senate keeps pushing for-ward with the idea that this has to work. What is the reasoning behind this? Is it simply to avoid embar-rassment or to keep the “egg” off the faces of those who worked for 20 months on the process? The process

itself isn’t working. Someone needs to come in and restructure it. How can a program be restructured and developed into something sucess-ful from a process that clearly does not work? How long can we afford to let this go on? Hasn’t it already gone on long enough?

Rosemary Nurre, treasurer for the senate suggested a districtwide ap-proach. “After two years at this, we must do something - cut it or keep it. It is not fair to the faculty, the program, or the students to let this continue for years,” she said. “The Senate must get tough, or let some-body else get tough ... Unless the Media Advisory Committee finds severe problems, why move away from the PIV report? Otherwise, what good is all the PIV work?”

At another Academic Senate meeting on April 27, tensions ran high. A Media faculty member criticized the process and claimed that there was a hidden agenda all along.

“We’ve run into an absolute nightmare of conflicting direc-tives, hidden agendas... it’s just been hell,” Ed Seubert, graphics professor said in the meeting. “The process itself is deeply, deeply flawed,” he continued.

“We know we had numbers and articulation problems, and we were willing to work on that, but the way it (the PIV process) was handled was somewhat disgraceful ... There was a hidden agenda at the begin-ning of this thing,” said Seubert.

Seubert explained that when he asked Lawrence how she saw the process working itself out, she said she saw all five departments con-solidated into one. “ There was a hidden agenda,” he repeated.

The San Matean contacted Seu-

bert for an interview and he declined to comment any further.

What are these hidden agendas that are being referred to? Is the hidden agenda to dispose of The San Matean completely and turn it into a capstone project, as was originally suggested in the PIV report? Are there other hidden agendas? Does this have anything to do with the administration wanting a paper that it can be proud of?

The original PIV document reads, “This committee does not want to impact students’ First Amendment rights to chose the stories covered, but to make this print product one that reflects well on this program and the campus.”

“I respect and understand First Amendment rights, and a student paper should be produced by stu-dents with no interference,” wrote President Michael Claire in an e-mail last May. “ But with that right comes the responsibility of producing an accurate paper that is well written.”

The San Matean strives to produce the best newspaper and website possible and uses both as tools for students to learn the craft of journalism. The role of a student newspaper is not to reflect well on the campus, but to report the news and provide an independent voice on campus .

Over the last year the publica-tion has asked several questions of the administration and Lawrence. These questions remain unan-swered. The San Matean demands to know what is meant by the admin-istration wanting the paper to reflect well on the campus. It’s time for the administration to elaborate on this concept and explain themselves. These answers are long overdue.

Broken process funded by tax dollars

Adviser: Ed Remitz

Member ofJournalism

Association of Com-munity

Colleges

Should carrying a loaded handgun be legal?

opiNioN & public forum May 3, 2010Page 8 • The SAN MATEAN

editorial Back Talkby Cecile Basnage

Flag polling

Minh Tran, 20 Electrical Eng., San Mateo “Yeah, because a woman needs it to protect her.”

Miguel Vega, 21 Philosophy, San Mateo

“A loaded gun doesn’t make anything safe. You have to think about people around you, not just yourself. “

spin CyCle

Do you know where your tax dollars go?

stAff: Julie Burns, Toi Cheung, Carina Collins, Christopher DePass,

Ashley Farabee, Tevye Friedlander, Jeffrey Gonzalez, Tommy Hart, Christopher Haynes, William Hennessey,

Doreen Joiner, Marcin Marciniak, Julie Myhre, Petero Qauqau, Jessica Ritter, Will Ruddock, Jeff Stanley

the sAn MAteAn is a First Amendment newspaper published bi-weekly during the academic year by the Journalism 120, 300, 690 and 850 students at College of San Mateo as a medium for campus communication and laboratory for classes. Opinions, letters and commentary reflect only the opinion of the writer, and not necessarily the opinion of the sAn MAteAn. Letters to the Editor and opinion articles are welcome, although they may be edited for style, space, content and libel. Mail or deliver letters to Building 19, Room 123, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402.

Telephone: 650-574-6330. E-mail: sanmatean@smccd.edu. All letters must be signed and accompanied by phone numbers or addresses to verify authorship. Names may be withheld upon request. Advertis-ing that conforms to San Mateo County Community College District regulations is welcome. the sAn MAteAn reserves the right to refuse advertising. Single copies are free —additional copies 25 cents each.

Adviser: Ed Remitz

Founded in 1928

Advertising: Jennifer Mills415-359-2772 • jmills@sfexaminer.com

CollegeMember ofCalifornia

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San MateanTHE

nick Zirbes

maNagiNg editor

cecile bAsnAge

photo editor

bruno MAnrique

sports editorsenior stAff Writers:

Christine Karavas, John Servatius

MArgAret bAuM

executive editor

Alex fArr

editor

MichAel cArter

marketiNg maNager

Ben Garcia, 18 Ethnic Studies, Foster City

“It’s like a double-edged sword. People are going to do it regardless, just like gangs.”

Yuvashri Chandra, 18 Women Studies Belmont “You should have guns for protection because people are crazy these days.”

Rimi Bhatti, 19 Nursing, Sacramento

“I don’t think people need to carry them, because people get pissed off and angry and might just use it.”

Casey Schmall, 18 Mathematics, Belmont “It is an amendment, we have the right to carry guns, but I don’t think people should abuse their rights.”

The public has a right to access information in the possesion of any public agency and attend any public meetings to make sure they know what is happening in their community. With budget cuts looming over the state it is more important than ever for taxpayers to know how their money is being spent and how decisions being made locally will effect them. Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), a champion of First Amendment rights and the author of several open government bills, established a committee on Public Records and Open Meeting Laws which will help ensure that public agencies adhere to transparency laws. The Senate approved Yee’s request to establish the committee, which he will chair beginning March 25. The committee will increase public access to documents and proceedings, according to Yee. Yee has authored two laws in the past few years which allow taxpayers to enforce their rights pertaining to open government. In 2009, he authored SB 786 “which protects the rights of individuals to enforce open government laws without a fear of a significant financial burden and ensures that public entities act with great transparency.” He also authored SB 1696 in 2008, which “allows greater public access to government contracts as well as audits and reviews of public agencies.” Both journalists and taxpayers can and do use The California Public Records Act and Open Meeting Laws to keep local agencies in check and find out how their money is being used. The Public Records Act is designed to give the public immediate access to information in the possession of public agencies. “Public records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the agency and every person has a right to inspect any public record,” according to The First Amendment Project, a non-profit, public interest law firm and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and promoting freedom of information. “All state and local agencies including any officer bureau, or department; any board, commission, or agency created by an agency including advisory boards; and nonprofit entities that are legislative bodies of a local agency” must adhere to the public records act. There are some exemptions including attorney-client discussions, home addresses, and personnel and medical files. The Ralph M. Brown Act states that meetings of public bodies must be open and public and that actions may not be secret. “Local agencies including counties, cities, schools, and special districts all must adhere to the Brown Act” according to The First Amendment Project. Cheers to Yee for creating such a committee to be sure that the public is allowed the information it deserves at a time when it is more important than ever to be sure our money is being spent wisely.

—Margaret BaumThe San Matean

The San Matean would like to congratulate the campus Veterans’ Al-liance for its success navigating the labyrinthine bureaucratic process to get approval to fly the POW-MIA flag on campus during the weeks of related holidays— such as Memorial Day.

The process has taken over a month, beginning in college council, then being brought to the academic senate, then to each department, then back again— requiring overall approval at each step of the process.

While the importance of a democratic process of review for something like the flying of the flag is appreciated, in the context of the titanic changes that looming budget cuts will create, the time that it took to ap-prove is somewhat troubling. If every decision the college makes takes this much time relative to the complexity of the issue, will the college be able to adapt quickly enough in the face of budget cuts?

How long should the Art On Campus Committee, which is trying to decide who should sit on a committee that will decide whether or not to buy art for the campus, and which art to buy, be expected to make its decisions? Even the AOCC pales in complexity though, in comparison with the Steering Committee, which is working to determine the relative worth, from greater to lesser, of programs in the face of course elimina-tions. How long will it take to make those decisions?

It is hoped that, with issues of greater complexity, more resources and a greater sense of priority will be devoted to the subjects.

In the mean time, once again, congratulations to the Veteran’s Alliance.

Not just what I likeThe creation of the new Art On Campus Committee, at a time of re-

cord budget cuts, brings up the question of whether the college should be spending on art at all— the short answer is yes.

At the academic senate meeting of April 27 a sculpture on the Cañada campus, which cost $250,000, was mentioned as a potential example of the sort of thing that the college couldn’t afford to spend money on. Meanwhile, spending $61 million on a fitness center drew only praise as a worthwhile addition to the college, and the Budget Planning Com-mittee asks for more than $3.8 million for technology improvements.

The art department, though, is as much a part of the college as physi-cal education, sports, horticulture, or multimedia classes. Moreover, on-campus art is as justifiable an addition to the campus as fountains, land-scaping, or gardens, and hence should qualify for bond money use. So, why is it ok to discuss the possibility of dispensing with art on campus? How is it reasonable to suggest that art be put on hold while new build-ings are erected, the greenhouse is torn down and replaced with parking lots and a new one, or millions are spent on tech renovations?

The idea was also brought up that there should be more representation from outside the art department in deciding on the art to be acquired for the campus. Apparently the idea is that non-expert opinions can be valuable with regards to art— but did the history department, for ex-ample, have any input on final designs for the fitness center? Will the art department be consulted regarding the specifications for the requested tech upgrades?

Since when has a college decided that non-expert opinions should hold as much sway as those of experts?

Hopefully the members of the new AOCC will at least consider these points, now that non-expert opinions will carry so much weight. And hopefully those voices around the college that see art as being less valu-able than new parking lots will re-consider their positions.

correspondent: Sharon Ho