Campus Guns

STAFF EDITORIAL

TESS DONOHOE / SPECIAL TO THE GUARDSMAN

As campus police actively pursue a proposal that would equip them with firearms, we as students must carefully consider both sides of an issue that potentially screams controversy and affects our environment everyday.

Numerous questions are raised, but the most important one is clear: Will guns in the hands of campus police make the school safer?

With 15 weapons-related incidents last year alone, we must examine what a safe campus truly is. That number might not seem too high for a community of 110,000, but it’s 15 more times an officer has to face a suspect whom they are ill-equipped to contain. Currently, City College and the Napa Community College District are the only places of higher learning in the Bay Area that forbid campus police officers from carrying guns.

The jurisdiction that campus police cover is like a small city, and it presents many of the same dangers. With 110,000 students to protect, perhaps pepper spray and a baton are not enough. As trained and certified peace
officers, they must exercise the same duties as regular police officers, but without the extra protection.

Campus police officers do wear bulletproof vests, but that is only a small step in outfitting them with the proper tools to carry out their jobs.

These men and women are dedicated to protecting our safety. We should support efforts to protect theirs.

e-mail: editorial@theguardsman.com

Degree or Not Degree: That is the Question

BY DAVIDE GUALANDI

They say college is that time of our lives when we get to know ourselves and test our intellectual abilities. It also seems to coincide with our wildest party days, as some of us speculate that we will never have so much fun again.

The truth seems to be different. With greed and competition ruling our government and economy, we are taught we should clear our minds as early as possible, choose a path, put some blinders on and collect achievement after achievement.

In the United States, in the midst of a so-called recession, students can’t really quantify how much their higher education will be worth when they graduate. They could take that huge student loan to pay for their graduate studies, live the next four years wondering how many figures their salary will be and solve a multitude of algebra problems to find out how many years it will take to pay those student loans back.

Uncertainty isn’t good for my heart and the United States credit system seems to aim at it with its unsympathetic numbers.

Lately I’ve felt jealous of classmates that are finishing their associate degrees knowing that a decent five-figure salary is awaiting them outside City College. They seem to be free from debt and confident about the path of their professional careers.

I watch them get hired. Then I look at my transcript, with all these general education units I've piled up, excited about the next chapter of my academic adventure, but simply terrified at the idea of staying broke until I have a degree in my hand.

The Hidden Costs of War

BY STEVE MOWLES
Editor

COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS

The figures listing the dead and wounded in Iraq don’t really convey the story of those who are left to live the life of pain, a life without the ability to do even the simple things they once took for granted, a life of losing loved ones that will never return.

Our soldiers and the people of Iraq face a reality that mere facts and figures cannot portray. This is a reality that can only be understood through experience.

Some of our soldiers returned home with a loss that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Many have traded their health and independence for a life-long dependency on someone else for their basic needs. They have to live with the sights, sounds and smells of war imprinted on their consciousness.

The widows and families of our soldiers are the uncounted wounded in any war. There are also those who are left to care for a soldier who is damaged or scarred beyond repair.

Our soldiers return home to a country that is largely indifferent to or ignorant of their sacrifice. They are expected to quietly return to their former lives without fanfare or recognition. Their only reward is the knowledge of the service the troops have performed.

These are the costs we must really weigh when deciding to go to war. Are we ready to pay the price or ask someone else to pay it for us?

Sometimes the cost may be too high; sometimes it may be a painful necessity.

e-mail: metronews@theguardsman.com

COMING IN

Faculty Poll

Do you think the governor cares about students’ education?

Yes: 64% (9 out of 14)
No: 36% (5 out of 14)


“I think he does, but is unsure how to best express it and how best to implement changes and reforms in education.”
Todd M. Rigg, astronomy

“No. The governor may seem to have suddenly become more liberal regarding education, but it's only a ruse.”
Betty Dvorson, English

ON THE RECORD

What's your New Year's resolution?

Adalberto Gonzales

“No resolution. Waiting for the things to come out and see how I can handle it. Go with the flow.”

Emily Stoev

“I’m gonna try to take more pictures of my life and friends to remember the good moments in time.”

Lauren-Ann Valeros

“My New Year’s resolution is to do good in everything I ultimately choose to do.”

Rabiah Harrison

“I will try to cope with the current political environment in this country without losing my mind.”

Shea Hooper

“I want to start my own heavy metal band and skateboard more.”

Ya Oin Tan

“I changed my hairstyle and I’m thinking of changing majors from design to health care.”