Volume 136, Issue 1
Prop.
54 Puts Students at Risk
Oct. 7 decision may close door on data collection
By
Mousa Rebouh
Guardsman Staff Writer
While the Governor's recall grabs all the headlines, voters in the Oct. 7 special election will also be asked to decide another issue that potentially will have longer-lasting and deeper effects on how the California government serves it citizens.
 Photo By Laurina Marcic Students and staff prepare campus against Proposition 54. |
The largest minority-serving college institution in California, the community college system, stands to lose major funding for students services aimed at fighting inequalities based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, if Proposition 54 passes on Oct. 7.
Prop. 54 is highly likely to be approved by voters as it touches on two hot buttons: race and privacy. Current polls show support for Prop. 54 is between 45-50 percent while those would vote no number about 35 percent.
It has wide backing among Republicans. And millions of dollars have been raised by its proponents to give TV viewers an overdose of political advertising during the couple weeks before the election.
The text of Prop. 54 reads: "The state shall not classify any individual by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting or public employment." It seems difficult to disagree with such plain language but the simple wording does not describe the effect that some students and faculty expect should the resolution pass.
"Not having such data will affect us as a number of federal, state, and other grants, directly related to instruction and academic support, require reports based on racial and ethnic categories, " said Robert Gabriner, director of re-search, planning and grants.
Last year City College received a $1.7 million Title III grant because it is recognized as a minority-serving institution.
"It's not a good idea because we won't be able to precisely tell what kinds of injustices happen," said Antonio Arenas, a 23-year-old City College student and mentor with the Students Supporting Students peer-mentoring program.
State Education Secretary Kerry Mazzoni said, "Proposition 54 would be potentially damaging to the students we need to be focusing on. It would return us to a situation in which these students are invisible or ignored."
The California Basic Edu-cation Data System, which collects information for academic research, admissions and enrollment, financial aid, outreach efforts, faculty and academic employment, and institutional planning and research.
Proposition 54 is sponsored by UC Regent Ward Connerly, who also spearheaded the campaign to end affirmative action in public education through the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996.
A huge list of educators, health experts, religious and labor leaders, civil rights advocates and elected officials, including the California Community College Board of Governors and California Federation of Teachers, oppose the measure.
A statewide coalition called Asian Pacific Americans for an Informed California is leading the opposition campaign to defeat Proposition 54.
At City College, students, faculty, and staff are starting a campaign to inform the student body and community about Proposition 54 and its impacts on education.
A Freedom School session on the ballot measure is scheduled for Friday Sept. 5 at 2pm at the Ocean Campus Student Union.
A campus-wide teach-in and many district-wide activities are planned for the week prior to Sept. 22, the deadline to register new voters.
Opponents have the measure will have few options if the initiative is successful. If Proposition 54 passes, schools around the state will need to shift towards socioeconomic factors, and a student's first language, as data to replace classification by race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Student Transfers to U.C. Continue to Increase
By
Abbey Hayward
Guardsman Staff Writer
The numbers of students using California community colleges as a stepping stone for admission to the Univer-sity of California continues to grow.
This year 14,665 Califor-nia community college students transferred to the University of California system for the fall 2003 semester, 7.6 percent more than 2002. That is the fifth consecutive year of transfer growth for University of California campuses state-wide.
All major racial and ethnic groups have registered system-wide increases and California residents have accounted for 13,415 of the transfers, an increase of 7.2 percent since 2002, reports the office of University of California President Richard C. Atkinson.
In 1999 a "partnership agreement" was formulated between the University of California system and Gov-ernor Gray Davis' administration. Since then the transfer rate has increased by 26 percent.
University of California accepts nearly 8 out of every 10 transfer applicants.
"The continued growth in transfer admissions to Uni-versity of California is very encouraging," said Thomas Nussbaum, chancellor of the California community colleges. "The commitments we made followed by years of hard work are producing historic results."
Transfer admissions programs have been set up throughout the community college system.
The honors program at City College, through the completion of allotted coursework and the maintenance of a minimum grade-point average, guarantees admission to University of California Irvine, and greatly increases odds at UCLA and other University of California schools.
In 2004 the University of California system is employing a Dual Admissions Program, designed for high school students who don't fully meet acceptance requirements after their senior year. They will be able to complete a community college University of California oriented curricula and transfer into their sophomore year.
The record shows that community college students who transfer into University of California do just as well as those who entered in at their freshman year. University of California and California Community colleges alike are committed to continued growth in the transfer acceptance. With a 6% annual increase since 1997, that goal continues to be realized.
Students Express Cynicism Over Upcoming Recall Election
By
Charlette Cook
Guardsman Copy Editor
"I have lost faith in the voting machine," Anita Allahdin said.
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Students do not express much confidence in the ability of the recall to address issues they view as more pressing.
Ghee Phua said, "Is this necessary? We have our priorities wrong in this country. The recall is a waste of money."
"I didn't vote for Bush and I will vote no against the recall," said Jacob Miss, an organic chemistry student.
"It looks bad, I think this is a huge mess and it brings down the stature of the United States, specifically California," Miss said.
Matt Williams said, "I am not willing to have a recall, it's a joke."
"We voted Davis into office fair and square," said Benito Romero, a graduate of City College. "He has let me down and I don't think that I will register to vote this year."
According to the polls Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and actor Arn old Schwarzenegger are the front-runners to replace Governor Gray Davis should the recall pass.
Henry Arguedas said, "I think that Bustamante is the better democratic candidate. Gray Davis is toast, but I believe that in the future they should reevaluate the recall process."
"I believe in the recall process, Chuck Cusumano said, "but I don't feel there is a just reason for this one."
"I am undecided who I will vote for governor," said Cusumano. "I would like one of the candidates to reconsider socialized health care in this country. That is a big concern to me. I believe that everyone deserves health care."
Students revealed over and over again their concern that not one of the candidates has stated just how much more they are going to cut into education funds.
In response to how has the college budget cut affected him, Jose Ferrer said, "I have to work more hours to afford regular college hours, it's more hectic schedule and it cuts out a lot of my social time."
Daniel Rowan said, "It means I have to work more and that means I have less time to study and that spirals into poor grades. Davis isn't great but I don't see anyone else I would vote for."
"Why are we broke?" Daria Johnson asked. "How will Davis increase jobs in California?"
"I just don't want my property taxes to increase," Sabrina Hall said.
By
Abbey Hayward
Guardsman Staff Writer
The Guardsman was awarded first place in General Excellence by the Peninsula Press Club in its annual Bay Area Collegiate Newspaper Contest this June, beating out Stanford and Berkeley, schools with respected national reputations.
Originally started by the San Francisco Examiner in 2002, the contest judges college newspapers in the Greater Bay Area. Entries included Cal Berkeley, Stanford, San Francisco State, and Santa Clara University.
The Guardsman staff won the first-place honors in General Excellence and News Page Design by Jonathon Villar. Third-place prizes went to Clare Huston for Editorial Commentary, Clare Huston and Jim Bach for Editorial Cartoons.
Guardsman journalists are on a roll, having captured 18 awards at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) state conference this April.
Earning the General Excellence award at the JACC conference marked the seventh consecutive year that Guardsman journalists have been recognized in distinction.
Juan Gonzales, journalism department chair and faculty adviser to the student journalists, claims this running legacy is an appreciation of their dedication.
"Winning general excellence in the Peninsula Press Club awards is a tribute to the students commitment to excellence and their passion for writing, design, photography, and the overall look of the paper" Gonzales said.
"I have been lucky to work with such dedicated students."