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Volume 76 Number 1 Copyright © 2010 Diablo Valley College - The Inquirer

Thursday, February 25, 2010

www.theinquireronline.com

We hope to build a student movement that will hold these politicians’ feet to the fire. -Frank Runninghorse

“

Students will soon shell out more money to park their wheels, but they will be able to buy semester passes online and use debit/credit cards for the machines.

Beginning this summer, the price of a semester parking permit will rise from $35 to $40, while daily passes will cost $3 instead of $2.

The fee hike was approved 4-1 by the governing board Dec. 9 over the objections of board member Tomi Van de Brooke and student trustee Christina Cannon, who does not have a vote.

Although the district’s budget crisis was cited as a reason for the increase in presentations to student leaders, 75 percent of the $5 increase in semester passes ($3.75) will go to an outside company to manage the online and debit/credit card purchases, according to a re-port given to the board before the vote.

The new rates were supposed to take effect this semester, but district spokesman Tim Leong said DVC still needs to “work out the bugs” before students can pay for day passes with credit or debit cards,

Citations, however, increased as of Jan. 1, with a parking ticket now costing $40 instead of $35.

In addition to providing a new service, Police Chief Charles Gibson told student leaders the parking fee increase would ease $235,000 in budget cuts to his department, which includes police aides and maintenance of campus parking lots.

See PARKING, page 6

Oksana YurovskyStaff writer

Pleasant Hill may not be a hotbed of political activism like Berkeley, but DVC students care about college fee hikes and other campus issues.

Students for a Democratic Society will hold a rally at 11 a.m. March 4 in the patio area between the cafeteria and student union building to protest the state-wide community college fee increases and to organize a student political move-ment at DVC.

“We hope to build a student movement that will hold these politicians’ feet to the fire,” said Frank Runninghorse, a long-time student and SDS community member.

In July 2008, community college fees rose from $20 to $26 per-unit and the state’s fiscal crisis resulted in a massive closure of classes at California’s community colleges.

While some in SDS prefer a general strike of the school in addition to a rally, many mem-bers say such radical action isn’t realistic right now.

The key, they say, is to show up. “We want to get people involved and stand up for the their rights,” said Julia Jordan,

a global studies major who joined SDS to raise awareness that something can be done about the budget cuts.

SDS member Nick Holmes said, “We know we’re at the birth of a new civil rights movement, so we need to build our warriors.”

Political science professor John Kropf, said he likes SDS and its political activism but cau-tioned it’s harder for commuter schools like DVC to form large activist groups because stu-dents do not live on campus and often work part- or full-time jobs.

A goal of the March 4 rally is to build support for the “March in March” rally March 22 when California educators and students travel to Sacramento to protest the increasing costs of at-tending college, Runninghorse said.

The Associated Students of DVC and the Inter Club Council have yet to take a stand on the rally, but ICC President Francisco Hinojosa said he believes the ASDVC will officially support it.

“We can only hope that more clubs [are] as passionate about keeping the doors open for students to still attend college,” Hinojosa said. “I like the [rally]. It speaks to the American spirit, and I miss that spirit around our campus”.

SDS members plan to leave DVC after the March 4 rally and meet up at Civic Center in San Francisco with other activists to protest the higher education budget cuts.

“We need to make the politicians fear us and respect us,” Runninghorse said.

Contact Jonathan Roisman at [email protected]

Jonathan RoismanStaff writer

students

say no to

fee hikesSDS students rally DVC

community to pre-vent statewide com-munity college fee increases

”

Jubilation greeted the Accreditation Commission of Junior and Community Colleges’ announcement that DVC is no longer one step away from becoming a satellite campus of Los Medanos or Con-tra Costa College.

By moving DVC from “show cause” (the bottom rung of the proverbial ladder) to “probation,” the Commission placed the college one step closer to full accredita-tion. But the clock continues to tick.

DVC has until October 2010 to satisfy all of the Commission’s recommenda-

tions outlined in its evaluation team’s re-port of November 2009.

“We really felt a huge sense of relief and accomplish-ment,” said Presi-dent Judy Walters of her reaction to the Commission’s Feb. 1 letter, which arrived by fax.

Noting that DVC had “completed significant amounts of good work to ad-dress the deficiencies noted in the Com-mission’s action letter of January 2009,” it encouraged the college “to continue its

work to fully address all deficiencies.” In its confidential report to the commis-

sion in November 2009, the evaluation team said, “The climate [of DVC] has changed from one of isolation and resistance to inclusion and par-ticipation.”

Walters attrib-uted some of that change to the DVC community’s

stunned reaction a year ago to being placed on “show cause,” a finding that requires the college to resolve all noted

problems within two years or face clo-sure.

“Everyone said we don’t want to be tagged with these old names and these old labels anymore,” Walters said. “We are working together.”

English professor Keith Mikolavich, who served as co-chair of a work group within DVC’s accreditation oversight task force said, “Going on ‘show cause’ forced us to change. We knew we had problems but when someone from the outside says ‘get your house in order,’ it gets you a lot more focused.”

“We don’t want to be tagged with these old names and these old labels anymore.”

- Judy WaltersDVC President

Troy PattonStaff writer

See PROBATION, page 6

EDITORIAL ENTERTAINMENT

Students pay more,college gets less

Storytelling

Festival:

Speakers bring soul, wisdom and passion to DVC.

Page 3

Rally in the Valley:Fight for your right

Students can influence the changes needed.Page 5

Accreditation status moves to ‘probation’

FEATURESThis ain’t your normal 24...hours in Iraq.

Inquirer staff writer Chris Clark recounts his experiences on his tour in Iraq during wartime.

Page 2

Chris Corbin / The Inquirer

2Thursday, February 25, 2010

IS CERTAIN IN IRAQ

The night-vision goggles cast the road in a soft green glow, a familiar if otherworldly view of Iraq. We watch for maybe 10 minutes but see nothing unusual. To 26 Recon Ma-rines, it’s just an ordinary dirt road, marked by a few potholes.

The night air seems cooler, that is to say it’s only about 100 degrees. The sand still radiates the scorching heat that blis-tered the land throughout the day. We’ve hung our bottles in wet socks out-side Humvee windows just to bring the water to a drinkable temperature. Inside, we sit drenched

in sweat, wishing for even the slightest breeze.

We are a special opera-tions unit, sent on a deep reconnaissance mission into unfriendly territory. For most of us, this is another day on the job. Only two “boots,” Marines on their first tour, have yet to wit-ness the brutality that not even the most elite train-ing prepares you for.

I can’t help but think back to the year before. Will we see as much com-bat? I pray not. During our briefings, we were told that the insurgency had sub-sided. But nothing is cer-tain in Iraq.

The moon and stars il-luminate the desert land-scape, and Humvee head-lights catch the odd cat or dog scampering across

the road. We almost al-ways travel at night. At least since a couple years back, when a “daisy chain” of IEDs hit us one morn-ing.

With every rock and pothole, I bang against the metal armor. The 100 pounds of gear and am-munition I carry weigh more heavily as the hours pass.

The dirty bulletproof win-dow to my left and the legs of the machine gunner in the turret limit my vision, but anything helps. We’ve escaped death before be-cause one person spotted something out of place.

Around 2 a.m., we dis-mount at a house on the outskirts of a village. We sleep in shifts until dawn, six men pulling security, 20 men on the dirt floor. After a breakfast of stale MREs and warm water, we begin a day of patrols and “knock-and-talks” to gain a feel for the locals.

This place is like the countless other villages I’ve been to. Many of the 30 or so flat-topped brick houses look as if they’re in mid-construction.

Children run and play in the streets, some kicking a beaten-up soccer ball, oth-

ers holding out their hands to us, “Mister, mister, chok-oolat.” Men squat outside their homes, smoking cig-arettes and drinking tea, while veiled women return from the river in twos and threes, heavy baskets of water on their heads.

We observe custom and speak only with the men. They’re polite, but hardly forthcoming. By the end of the day, we pack up to leave with no new intel on insurgent activity in the area.

I cram into the fourth vehicle with five other Ma-rines. We’re hot and tired, and the Humvee is like an oven. No one looks for-ward to another night-long drive, but we’re in unusu-ally high spirits. We joke with one another and try to make light of having eight months still ahead of us until we’re home.

As my eyes adjust to the night-vision goggles, Iraq again turns an eerie green. I feel as if I’m en-tering some sort of dream, a hazy consciousness that can be sparked to clarity at any moment.

Leaving the village, we round a small bend.

First there’s a blind-ing flash, then a deafen-ing sound as my Humvee lurches into the air.

My heart jumps to my throat, and in that split-second I know: A roadside bomb. A pressure-plated IED that, somehow, four vehicles passed without

detonating. Vehicle Five, about 15 feet behind us, is hit hard, its entire front end gone.

I scramble out of my Humvee and enter a night-mare. Gunny, our platoon sergeant, lies in a crater the size of a Volkswagen, his legs blown apart.

Flesh and blood are scattered across the road and paint the inside of the wrecked vehicle. Dazed Marines stumble through the smoke and dust. Doc, our corpsman, is ty-ing tourniquets to Gun-ny’s mangled legs as the ground around them turns darker.

In a rational world, there would be shock and emo-tion. But in war, cruelty is commonplace. So there is calmness in our move-ments.

Time becomes abstract. I don’t know if hours or minutes pass before the CH-46 hovers above. The

steady beat of the blades are deafening as the chop-per sets down. Through the night-vision goggles, the dust-filled air looks like a lunar sandstorm. We load Gunny into the chop-per, and the bird takes off.

We are ordered to stay until backup comes.

I dig in on the side of the road, hidden in some reeds. Through a sleep-less night, I again watch Iraq basked in a surreal green. Marines about me quietly shift their weapons and whisper into radios.

At daybreak, I’m relieved that I’m still alive. But it starts up before long. First come the mortar rounds and 50 cal. sniper fire, then the cracking of AK-47s.

I wonder if I’ll live to see the next day. Humvee wreckage and a deep cra-ter are yards away, a grim reminder that nothing is certain in Iraq, not even an ordinary dirt road.

Chris ClarkStaff writer

NOTHING“We are a special operations unit, sent on a deep reconnaissance mission into unfriendly territory. For most of us, this is another day on the job.”

“This place is like the count-less other villages I’ve been to.”

Sgt. Chris Clark carries an M-4 rifle in the province of Al Anbar, Iraq.

Photos Courtesy of Chris Clark

Left to right, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Thurmond and Marine Sgt. Tyler Fedelchak patrol a village in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

3Thursday, February 25, 2010

A current exhibit in the DVC library features a se-ries of paintings by Walter Crew, a Bay Area artist and long-time DVC stu-dent.

Created in the past 10 years, the work includes Native American and Western cultural themes, animal and bird art and some acrylic, abstract col-lages and paintings.

The exhibit features bright colors in oil, acrylic, pastels and mixed media.

Crew began his art ca-reer in 1999, when he took a beginning water-

color painting class after a 25-year, non-art career.

From there, he took all of the art classes, leading to the advanced painting classes he currently at-tends. He also belongs to three local art groups and shows his paintings throughout Contra Costa County.

In an e-mail interview, Crew said painting “relax-es and soothes” him.

“I love to paint,” he said. “I usually paint most every day, and it is, for sure, my therapy.”

Crew said he likes to explore different areas, like the use of collage and abstract elements. He is

also a photographer, and his photos taken at the zoo or out walking are ref-erences for some of his paintings.

DVC librarian Ruth Si-son she selected Crew’s work for this library art ex-hibit. The ongoing exhibits rotate every few months.

“It is my pleasure to have this show at this time of my life,” Crew wrote in his artist statement. “If not now - when?”

Contact Annie Scciacca at [email protected]

Talking animals, shape-shifting snakes, Malaysian pirates, knights, a woman born from a melon, and a dragon appeared onstage Feb. 18 in the Performing Arts Center.

But the building did not burn down from such a gathering, since these peoples and creatures came from the mouths of guest storytellers Charlie Chin, Patrick Ball, and Car-los Baron.

Despite starting later than planned, anthropology professor Steve John-son welcomed the audience with a brief lecture on traditional storytell-ing, the earliest form of entertain-ment and education.

“Stories penetrate your subcon-scious,” Johnson said. “They enrich our lives and let us glimpse the world through someone else’s eyes.”

The role of music in stories was featured more than in previous sto-rytelling festivals.

“Music can change the conscious-ness of the audience,” Johnson said before playing an ocarina, which was a replica of a 4,500 year-old instru-ment found in Mexico and shaped like a woman with three eyes and three mouths. It filled the air of the modern theater with an ancient, meditative melody.

Johnson also played “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors and “Lodi” by Creedence Clearwater Revival on an African guitar, encouraging the audi-ence to sing and clap along.

Chin began the first story of the event by playing a traditional Chi-

nese banjo to create the mood of an-cient China.

His story was in the traditional Chinese storytelling form, wherein the teller begins a tale with charac-ters who also tell a tale within a tale. These stories, although seemingly unrelated, eventually come together in the end by returning to the first tale with an overlying moral.

In his performance Chin used a fan as a prop and visual aid, represent-ing everything from a boat to a bottle of wine.

Ball, the next performer, played a brass, stringed Celtic harp while tell-ing the medieval tale of Tristan and Isolde, a story of romance and chiv-alry.

Much like Chin’s banjo, the crystal-line melody of the harp transported listeners to another place and time. From the back rows, the strings of the harp were nearly invisible, mak-ing Ball’s hands seem to conjure the music out of thin air.

Baron, a professor of theater arts from San Francisco State, did not tell one story, but several varying in length and subjects ranging from Latin American folklore to personal experiences living under a military dictatorship.

The Ethnic Storytelling and Mu-sicology Festival concluded with a night performance featuring musi-cal groups Andrew Carriere and the Cajun All Stars, The Frank Samuels Band, and The Spirit Roots Ensem-ble.

Contact David Matteri at [email protected]

Advertisement

Long-time student shows off his stuff

Courtney Johnson / The Inquirer“Polar Bears” by Walter Crew is one of the many pieces currently displayed in the library through March 27 as a special exhibit.

David MatteriStaff writer

Music and stories

Annie SciaccaStaff Writer

Steve Johnson, above, who plays the guitar for The Frank Samuels Band also coordinates the ethnic storytelling and musicology festival. Annie Staninet, left, plays the fiddle for Andrew Carriere and The Cajun All Stars.

Travis Jenkins / The Inquirer

Chris Corbin / The Inquirer

Chinese American Storyteller Charlie Chin, tells a story within a story in the tea house tradition to an audience during the Ethnic Storytelling and Musicology Festi-val on Feb. 18 2010.come alive at DVC

“Music can change the consciousness of the audience.”

- Steve JohnsonFestival organizer

American River College dashed DVC’s hopes for an improved playoff seed Feb. 19, with the Vikings unable to recover from an early deficit.

The No. 2 team in the Big 8 Conference, now 19-8, defeated DVC 61-50 in its last regular home game of the season.

DVC had clinched a spot in the playoffs with a 73-53 win Feb. 16 over Sacramento City Col-lege. But the loss Friday dropped the Vikings to 17-11 overall and 7-7 in the Big 8 Conference, seed-ing them at No. 11.

It was the third meeting between DVC and ARC this season and DVC’s first loss to the team.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” head coach Steve Coccimiglio said before the game. “[It’s] going to be a chal-lenge…They don’t want to lose to us three out of three times.”

The Vikings struggled early offensively, unable to score on any of their first 14 possessions.

Forward Brandon May, who led the Vikings with 12 points, was finally able to put DVC on the board nearly midway through the first half. May’s bas-ket sparked a 6-0 run by DVC, cutting the Beavers lead to nine.

ARC led 24-13 at the half, but the Vikings’ of-fense picked up in the sec-ond half when guard, Dan Daviess opened it up with a three-point field goal.

The Vikings trailed by double digits for the ma-jority of the game.

DVC rallied to cut the lead to eight, but the Bea-vers sealed the game with an easy layup and two Viking turnovers with less than a minute to play.

“It’s a disappointing way to end the season,” Coc-cimiglio said. “We got

outhustled and outplayed completely.”

Forward Jordan Estrada echoed his coach’s state-ments, “We didn’t play our best. We didn’t make hus-tle plays in the first half, and we missed some big free throws.”

The Vikings have a healthy team and hope to redeem themselves in the playoffs.

“We’re going to come out strong,” forward Bran-don Thomas said. “We just need to start off strong, knock down shots, and play defense.”

The Vikings will play their first playoff game Feb. 26 at No. 6 Foothill.

4Thursday, February 25, 2010

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A DVC engineering major recently com-plained about a common problem: side con-versations that distract from the professor’s

lecture.“I paid

good money to listen to a professional expand my knowledge, not to have it reduced by updates about ‘Sur-

vivor,’” he said. “Nobody raises their hand either.

“Everybody just blurts out whatever comes to mind.”

The great thing about living in a free coun-

try is that we have the right to express our opinions

But does this precious liberty extend to dis-tracting side conversations in class?

Just because you can have an opinion doesn’t mean you have to share it. You know, decency.

Listen to this self-described “big talker:” “There were just several classes I didn’t feel challenged enough to pay attention, and I didn’t worry about the people around me.”

Indeed, the teacher can set the tone. “If it’s a class where the professor doesn’t

say anything, the conversations will some-times last the entire class,” says a recent DVC graduate.

Another student told me that her friend got into a physical altercation after confronting someone about his incessant side-chats.

She added her husband is more often plagued by off-topic conversations in his hu-manities classes than his science classes.

Since it’s the season of academic self-improvement, what with our recent success in the Accredi-tation Crisis, let us also recover from our crisis of conscience and let the ex-pert talk when class is in session.

Contact Christopher C. Long at [email protected]

The Inquirer supports the on-campus rally March 4 to protest fee hikes and budget cuts that have forced the closure of classes and drastically re-duced funds for programs like EOPS, CalWORKS and Disability Support Ser-vices.

Sponsored by Students for a Democratic Society, the rally begins at 11 a.m. in the area between the Student Union and the cafeteria.

Afterwards, SDS mem-bers will move their activ-ities to the San Francisco Civic center to join in a larger protest event at 5 p.m.

We support the efforts of SDS to build a politi-cal movement at DVC.

A February 2009 report by the National Cen-ter for Public Policy and Higher Education stated that community colleges enroll most of the low-income, first-generation and Latino students in the state.

These are students who may attend classes part time or on weekends, support families and receive financial aid, including grants and loans.

As you can see, it’s not easy to raise support for a cause from students on a commuter cam-pus. Witness the exodus from overcrowded DVC parking lots, Monday through Thursday, as stu-dents leave immediately after classes for jobs or other commitments.

This makes community college students a per-fect target for the governor and state legislators to unleash their fee hikes and service reduc-tions.

Community college fees went up 30 percent as of July 2008, from $20 per unit to $26 per unit.

And hundreds of students scrambled unsuccessfully to get into closed classes this semester after DVC cut about 147 classes from its spring and summer 2010 schedule because of the budget crisis.

Even now, the college is putting together a reduced fall 2010 schedule and con-sidering the elimination of some of the less popular sports teams.

It’s time to demand an end to these cuts.

By attending the March 4 rally, we can tell those in power we will no longer let them shuffle the burden of

their budget shortfalls onto the students. And later in the month, on March 22, we can

support the statewide “March in March” rally in Sacramento.

A visible and vocal student presence forces those in power to act. We can prove we are not so easy a target by simply showing up and being seen.

If you think you can’t afford to miss a day of class to attend the Sacramento rally, just wait un-til you can’t afford class at all.

The words “dating,” “love,” “sex” and “pas-sion” should never be associated with pain,

manipulation, abuse and ne-glect.

Yet too many young people, most often women, allow them-

selves to be put in bad situations without the courage or will to leave.

The boyfriend of a woman I know says and does unforgivable things to her. He also plays mind games that keep her in turmoil.

This is emotional and psychological abuse.

According to stoprelationshipabuse.org, one in three women will experience relation-ship abuse in her lifetime.

Another website, relationship-tips-for-you.com, says domestic violence is still the single biggest threat of injury to women, more than heart attacks, cancer, strokes, car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.

And womensissues.about.com, says that

around 80 percent of young women subject-ed to physical abuse in their dating relation-ships continue to date their abuser.

Also, 80 percent of teens believe verbal abuse is a serious issue for their age group.

But these statistics are not reliable, since much of the time mental, emotional and physical abuse is not reported.

Dating should be fun and carefree. A new girlfriend or boyfriend should add happiness, not take it away.

Sadly, people often stay in bad relation-ships, because they think it will get better.

It won’t.They think that this behavior is normal.It’s not.They think that their partner will try harder,

just because he or she has apologized. They won’t.When a friend or acquaintance tells me

about her boyfriend’s abusive behavior, I want to scream, “Leave now. You’re so much better than this.”

But this rarely works.People are “creatures of habit,” and too of-

ten they return to the situation they just com-

plained about.If only we had a place on campus where

students could get help from trained mental health counsel-ors. Sometimes an outsider can help you see things a friend cannot.

But wishing for such a thing during endless budget cuts is a joke.

Sometimes all we can do is just be there for one another.

And that means having the courage to voice our concerns, even if the friend can’t appreciate it in that moment.

How have the budget cuts affected you?

Talking out of place annoys classmates

Editorial Board

Editor in chief: Ariel Messman-RuckerNews editor: Julius ReaFeatures editor: Scott BabaEntertainment editor: Troy PattonSports editor: Curtis Uemura Opinions editor: Jonathan RoismanCo-online editors: Christopher C. Long, Annie SciaccaCopy Editor: Nick SestanovichInstr. lab coordinator : Ann StenmarkAdvisor: Jean Dickinson

Staff

Photo chief: Chris CorbinPhotographers: Travis Jenkins, Court-ney Johnson, Jesse ThompsonCartoonist: Christopher C. LongReporters: Oksana Yurovsky, Julie George, Carrie Soldati, Brian DeAngelis, Kamille Simmons, Travis Wonacott, Yuno Imai, Christa Balingit, Lina Per-vez, David Matteri, Christian Villanueva, Chris Clark, Chelsea Brandt

The InquirerDiablo Valley College

321 Golf Club Road, H-102Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

The Inquirer is published on Thursday mornings during the school year by the journalism students of Diablo Valley Col-lege. All unsigned articles ap-pearing on the opinions page are editorials and reflect a two-thirds majority opinion of the ed-

itorial staff. All signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writer or artist and not necessarily those of the Inquir-er, Diablo Valley College of the Contra Costa Community Col-lege District.

Phone: 925.685.1230 ext. 2313Fax: 925.681.3045

E-mail: [email protected]: www.dvc.edu/journalism

www.theinquireronline.com

DVC’s accessibility depends on students

Alec Pica, 17Transfer Studies

“It seems that there are more students and less teachers. A lot of people are having trouble getting into classes.”

Interviewer: Christopher LongPhotographer: Annie Sciacca

Winner of the 2008 JACCGeneral Excellence Award

Christopher C. LongStaff writer

Love should never be a battlefield

Julie George Staff writer

Britney Smith, 17Transfer Studies

“I barely got into a class. Education is one of the most important things. They shouldn’t cut any-thing.”

Bruno Rodriguez, 19

Business Major

“I’m a little worried about the fees for international students next semester.”

Jasmine Balderas, 18

Biological Sciences

“I really saw a difference in the number of classes between this semester and last.”

Thursday, February 25, 2010

5

Christopher C. Long / The Inquirer

“Does this pre-cious liberty ex-tend to distracting side conversations in class?”

I’m currently in my first year here at DVC, and I find it shocking that there is no boys

soccer team here. I have wondered why this was for a very long time now. I have even

gone so far as to e-mail the DVC president, but I get nothing in return. I really think that DVC could have a state-ranked men’s team, if only we had one. Maybe your sports editors or a

different department could do a story answering this question, because I know that I’m not the only one curious about this.

Cody Nordstrom

Contact Julie George at [email protected]

“Dating should be fun and care-free.”

CLASSIFIED PLACEMENT

INFORMATION

$1.50 a line2 line minimum. 32 char-acters per line includes punctuation & spaces

Copy and payment due the Monday before pub-lication date.

For more information call 925.685.1230 ext 2313 or stop by The Inquirer office.

6Thursday, February 25, 2009

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The “MySitePortal” sys-tem due out as a beta at the end of summer session 2010 has finally arrived.

The district launched it Feb. 17.

Once logged in, students can check the weather stats for DVC and LMC, as well as the Brentwood and San Ramon satellites. A monthly calendar also shows the user’s upcom-ing classes.

Though there is still some work to do, it con-tains links to campus ser-vices, student clubs, DVC press releases and the In-quirer.

Daniel Abbott, the dis-trict’s director of admin-istrative information sys-tems, said the delay was due to concerns about the performance of certain key areas of the system.

Go to insite.4cd.edu and use your current user-name and password from WebAdvisor for the log-in information.

And the best part? No warning about ex-

ceeding the maximum number of cookies.

Christopher LongStaff writer

The Commission’s evaluation team found the college had fully satisfied three problem areas.

They included improv-ing its curriculum process to include “timely, system-atic review” of courses and programs, creating a cal-endar for Student Learn-ing Outcomes and identi-

fying program SLOs and creating a well-designed, technology plan.

Problem areas partially satisfied included clarify-ing decision-making roles, developing planning tied to the DVC’s mission statement and budget, de-veloping a process of pro-gram review, and improv-ing communication among DVC’s various constituent

groups.DVC has an Oct. 15,

2010 deadline to correct remaining problems and submit its next report to the Commission.

“Basically, we need to complete what we said we were going to do,” said in-terim executive dean Ted Wieden.

Wieden said he will meet with Walters and the

heads of work groups in the coming weeks.

One focus will be ana-lyzing whether any of the plans devised over the past year to correct prob-lems need to be changed, said Susan Lamb, vice president of instruction.

“A lot of these processes are new, “ Lamb said. “So we have to look at them and say, ‘Is this how we want it?’ and make some adjustments.”

But in an interview, Lind-say St. Hill, president of the Associated Students of DVC, accused the dis-trict of not being complete-ly honest about the need for this fee increase.

“I feel like they were us-ing the budget cuts as a good time to pass it,” she said in an interview.

St. Hill said the fee was presented as a tradeoff to laying off students police aides who patrol campus parking lots.

But according to Gib-son, this was not the case. He and Vice Chancellor Kindred Murillo said the increase was prompted

by the need for a more ef-ficient way for students to buy parking passes.

“If you can register [for classes] online,” Murillo said, “why can’t you buy a parking pass online?”

Although some new revenue would go toward parking maintenance and paying student aides, Murillo said these were “secondary” to online park-ing permits.

Cannon, the district stu-dent trustee, declined to be interviewed by the In-quirer, but district board member Van de Brooke said she made a “com-pelling case for not raising fees we have control over” at the Dec. 9 meeting.

“We should be looking at more creative options,” Van de Brooke said.

Cannon presented the board with several ideas, such as increasing fees only for “priority parking” or charging faculty and staff to park.

Chancellor Helen Ben-jamin said Cannon’s sug-gestions are receiving at-tention, although she said some may be “hard to implement.”

Governing board Presi-dent Sheila Grilli called the parking fee increase “minimal.”

Parking....Continued from page 1

Becoming a note taker gives you an opportunity to help others, plus make money. Disability Support Services needs nearly double the 65 students who take notes for

fellow classmates with disabilities. Despite a barrage of fliers and e-mail messages to teachers asking them to make class

announcements, the need falls short of demand, said DSS coordinator Lisa Martin. When matching note takers with students who need the service, DSS goes through the

list of classes both are taking to see the overlap.This semester, out of all the available note takers on the list, Martin said she had close

to 300 sections listed, totaling 500 classes. Only 10 positions matched the requests, Martin said via e-mail messages. DSS encourages students to apply, even they lack confidence. “If they are willing to learn, we’re willing to teach.” Martin said.Note taker, Brad Peck admits he was “a sloppy writer” before the job gave him an op-

portunity to organize his notes and get motivated to do well in class.Note takers earn $100 per semester, per class, although some prefer a DSS certificate

for Volunteer Service instead of money. Note taker Arina Semionenkova said she took the job for two reasons. “I need the

money and I want to help other students,” she said. Disabilities that require note taking services range anything from inability to see the

blackboard or hear the instructor to brain injuries, developmental delays or attention deficit disorder.

“It could [also] be temporary like a broken hand,” Martin said.Janet Richards, who uses the service because of her illegible handwriting, said in an

e-mail interview that, note takers help her stay on track, and prevent her from feeling “left behind.”

Note takers allow deaf student Darlene Johnson to pay more attention to lectures and not miss important information.

“I do not have note takers for all classes that I have been taking in the past,” she said in an e-mail interview.

Note takers are expected to take readable notes in class and make some understand-able formatting changes.

“Good notes consist of whatever is on the board and what the instructor is lecturing,” Martin said.

And benefits are twofold: Students with disabilities get equal access and the informa-tion they need; note takers improve their skill and class attendance.

“It’s a win-win,” Martin said.Job applications are available in Student Services Center Building, room 202A.

Yuno ImaiStaff writer2/25/10JRNAL 126

Notes not taken

Contact Yuno Imai at [email protected] Corbin / The Inquirer

Districtportalopens

Transfer myths busted

MF

yth

VS.

act

The Transfer Center has a new motto: “Your bachelor’s degree starts at DVC.” But few students know where the center is located, never mind how critical its services are to making their stay at DVC as productive – and brief – as possible.

Consequently, myths substitute as facts. “You should wait until a later semester to pick a major so you can experi-ence classes,” says student Donny Dewitt, who is not alone in this belief. Yet, this is one of the biggest myths.

Probation....Continued from page 1

Myth You don’t need to choose a major right away.

Fact As budget cuts con-tinue at both DVC and the UC/CSU campuses, class-es are becoming harder to get into.

Thus, if students don’t plan ahead and choose a major early, they may need to stay at DVC for an extra year to complete transfer requirements, says Trans-fer Center staff member Joanne Davi.

Myth You don’t need to visit the Transfer Cen-ter until you are ready to transfer.

Fact Transfer require-ments change and applica-tion deadlines vary.

“You could be here a lot longer if you don’t visit the transfer center as soon as you’ve picked out a major and a school,” Davi says

A number of students vis-ited the Center for the first time after the fall admis-sions deadline had passed

Myth Private schools and out-of-state schools are more expensive than a UC or CSU campus.

Fact Less than 10 per-cent of students attending a private college pay full tuition, says Center Coor-dinator Regan Ronayne.

The Washington Post recently reported that stu-dents at private colleges nationwide receive an av-erage of $14,400 in grant aid and tax benefits every year.

Myth Completing the requirements for an as-sociate of arts or science degree allows you to trans-fer.

Fact Students who sim-ply complete the AA/AS degree classes are fulfill-ing DVC’s requirements, which often are different from those required by transfer institutions.

“Degree requirements should be completed in ad-dition to transfer require-ments,” Ronayne says.

Contact Lina Pervez at [email protected]

Lina PervezStaff writer

Thursday, February 25 – Friday, April 16Graduation speaker application period

Thursday, Feb. 25 - Saturday, March 27Walter Crew art exhibit, “if not now – when”DVC Library8 a.m. – 9 p.m., M – Th; 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., F; 12 p.m. – 4 p.m., S

Thursday, Feb. 25Brown Bag Lecture Prudence Crandall AbolitionistSU – 20412:30 p.m.

DVC Hall of Fame Induction CeremonyAthletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony$30 Tickets include dinnerThe Norseman6 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 26Relay for Life Organizational MeetingSU – 21011 a.m.

Monday, March 1 – Wednesday, March 3Drama auditionsBetty’s Summer Vacation

Monday, March 1Speech and Debate Team MeetingWeeklyPAC – 1062 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Tuesday, March 2College Success Workshop: Write Thesis and Topic Sentences SRVC Language Center1 – 2:15 p.m.SU – 2045:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 3College Success Workshop: Resiliency and Student SuccessSU – 2042:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 4Communication and Outreach Work GroupMonthly meetingsBFL Community Conference Room10 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.

CALENDAR

Contact Christopher C. Long at [email protected]

Contact Oksana Yurovsky at [email protected]

Contact Troy Patton at [email protected]

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