OAKLAND — Gerald Wallace didn’t just steal the ball from Warriors forward David Lee, he took the game away from Lee and Golden State.
Lee led his team against New Jersey for 43 minutes, until he gave up a crucial turnover and momentum to the Nets, which won 102-100 Friday at Oracle Arena.
This is the first of seven home games the Warriors lost to the Nets since 2005 and the second loss to New Jersey this season.
It is also Golden State’s fourth straight loss as it heads to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Sunday.
There are 16 games left this season, which concludes at the end of April.
“We didn’t close ’em when we had ’em and it came back to bite us,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “I’m embarrassed and disappointed in the way my team played in the second half.”
Lee was the energy force behind the Warriors all game, but Wallace showed up on a night his All Star point guard Deron Williams was mostly absent as a scorer, but the two New Jersey Nets left the game with an exclamation mark at its end.
After Williams missed his second free throw with 4:08 remaining in the game¬, David Lee came down with the rebound at the baseline.
As Lee was looking for the outlet pass, Wallace came from behind, poked the ball out and made a layup to bring the Nets within three points.
New Jersey took the 102-100 lead with 51.8 seconds left to play. It was the first lead for the Nets after the Warriors took a 4-3 lead less than 2 minutes into the game.
Wallace finished with 24 points on 7-16 from the field. He was 2-2 for 3-point shooting, 8-9 from the free-throw line and the only player to have double-digit rebounds (18). He had five assists, six steals and a crucial shot block to preserve the Nets’ win.
He swatted Charles Jenkins at the buzzer, which would have tied the game and sent it to overtime.
“(Jenkins) was to make a decision off the high pick-and-roll,” Jackson said of the final possession. “He got himself too deep, got in some trouble. Great defense by Gerald Wallace.”
Williams was 2-13 from the field and 1-6 from behind the 3-point arc, finishing with only 9 points. However, he did finish with 20 assists — many of which found their way to Wallace.
Williams even got a block to save his team’s lead with less than 30 seconds left in the game.
Lee finished with 27 points on 12-16 from the field and 3-4 shooting free throws. Rookie Charles Jenkins finished with 18 points and 12 assists.
“It’s a great learning experience to never take your foot off the gas pedal,” Jenkins said. “No matter how much you’re up, it doesn’t matter (until) the clock hits double-zeros.”
The Nets overcame a 19-point deficit, capitalizing on 11 Golden State turnovers and scoring 60 points in the second half.
Lee said the Warriors “collapsed” after the break, which allowed an experienced Nets team (18-35) an opportunity to overtake a Warriors squad (20-30) with four rookies, two of who are in the starting lineup.
“It’s unacceptable,” Lee said. “As well as we played in the first half, we played worse in the second.”
Lee played all but 4:10 of the first half and was crucial in the Warriors’ 51-42 lead.
He had 22 points, shooting 10-13 in the first two quarters.
All six of Lee’s first shots were good, establishing his role and the position in which the Warriors would be the rest of the game. He missed his seventh shot with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.
Williams could not find the basket in the first half, registering only two points, which he made on a pair of free throws midway through the second quarter. But he did have nine assists at the break.
Kris Humphries and Gerald Green finished with 20 points each for the Nets.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Board approves LMC’s Brentwood Center
EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on March 21, 2012. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.
With the approval of the California’s Board of Governors, Los Medanos College’s Brentwood satellite campus will be an official education center starting with the 2012-13 academic year and will begin construction plans for a permanent facility by 2015.
LMC and Contra Costa Community College District leaders met with the 17-member panel, which writes policy for the state’s 72 community college districts, in Sacramento on March 5 for the approval that will increase annual allocations to the district by $1.1 million.
Education centers are off-campus locations offering college courses. The Brentwood Center is the second official center in the district; Diablo Valley College has an education center in San Ramon. Contra Costa College does not have a center, but it has outreach programs in El Cerrito and Hercules.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to get the campus on a permanent, district-owned facility,” district Governing Board Trustee John Nejedly said. “It allows us greater stability and control over the location. We can design a facility specifically for our needs rather than the converted space we’re in now.”
The current location of the Brentwood Education Center on Sand Creek Road, 12.6 miles east of LMC’s main campus in Pittsburg, is in an old Lucky Supermarket shopping center.
“Now it’s a community college shopping center,” Nejedly, who represents Southeastern Contra Costa County, said after a laugh.
LMC Interim President Richard Livingston, who has been at the college for more than three decades, said the Brentwood Education Center was founded 14 years ago and moved to its current location 10 years ago. The process for finding a new location, he said, began two years ago.
The center has 11 classrooms and a computer lab, which Livingston said are always occupied and over-enrolled.
To be a state-approved center, campuses need to be planned to continue at least 10 more years, generate at least 500 Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES), have an on-site administrator and offer programs leading to certificates or degrees through the parent institution.
FTES is the total units taken by all students on a campus, divided by 12. It is the formula used to allocate funding to community colleges.
Tim Leong, district public information officer, said the Brentwood Education Center consistently generated over 500 FTES since the 2002-03 academic year. He said projected enrollment could reach 1,900 FTES by the 2017-18 academic year.
To accommodate so many more students, district officials want to construct a 17-acre facility by the Vineyards at Marsh Creek on the south side of Brentwood by 2015.
The construction would need additional funding through the state, a voter-approved bond or a long-term loan, district Chief Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said.
The building, Livingston said, would have all courses, lab space and equipment required to transfer to a four-year university following an Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) education plan.
For Brentwood residents to take a bulk of those required courses at LMC, they have to drive down Highway 4, which bottlenecks from four lanes to two in Pittsburg, causing traffic congestion.
Pyle said, “It’s a real pain to have to drive on Highway 4.”
With the approval of the California’s Board of Governors, Los Medanos College’s Brentwood satellite campus will be an official education center starting with the 2012-13 academic year and will begin construction plans for a permanent facility by 2015.
LMC and Contra Costa Community College District leaders met with the 17-member panel, which writes policy for the state’s 72 community college districts, in Sacramento on March 5 for the approval that will increase annual allocations to the district by $1.1 million.
Education centers are off-campus locations offering college courses. The Brentwood Center is the second official center in the district; Diablo Valley College has an education center in San Ramon. Contra Costa College does not have a center, but it has outreach programs in El Cerrito and Hercules.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to get the campus on a permanent, district-owned facility,” district Governing Board Trustee John Nejedly said. “It allows us greater stability and control over the location. We can design a facility specifically for our needs rather than the converted space we’re in now.”
The current location of the Brentwood Education Center on Sand Creek Road, 12.6 miles east of LMC’s main campus in Pittsburg, is in an old Lucky Supermarket shopping center.
“Now it’s a community college shopping center,” Nejedly, who represents Southeastern Contra Costa County, said after a laugh.
LMC Interim President Richard Livingston, who has been at the college for more than three decades, said the Brentwood Education Center was founded 14 years ago and moved to its current location 10 years ago. The process for finding a new location, he said, began two years ago.
The center has 11 classrooms and a computer lab, which Livingston said are always occupied and over-enrolled.
To be a state-approved center, campuses need to be planned to continue at least 10 more years, generate at least 500 Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES), have an on-site administrator and offer programs leading to certificates or degrees through the parent institution.
FTES is the total units taken by all students on a campus, divided by 12. It is the formula used to allocate funding to community colleges.
Tim Leong, district public information officer, said the Brentwood Education Center consistently generated over 500 FTES since the 2002-03 academic year. He said projected enrollment could reach 1,900 FTES by the 2017-18 academic year.
To accommodate so many more students, district officials want to construct a 17-acre facility by the Vineyards at Marsh Creek on the south side of Brentwood by 2015.
The construction would need additional funding through the state, a voter-approved bond or a long-term loan, district Chief Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said.
The building, Livingston said, would have all courses, lab space and equipment required to transfer to a four-year university following an Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) education plan.
For Brentwood residents to take a bulk of those required courses at LMC, they have to drive down Highway 4, which bottlenecks from four lanes to two in Pittsburg, causing traffic congestion.
Pyle said, “It’s a real pain to have to drive on Highway 4.”
Presidential finalists make first impressions at forum
EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on March 21, 2012. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.
The mist cleared, the curtains drew and the final four college presidential candidates were unveiled to the campus community, which one of them will permanently lead beginning July 1.
Finalists to replace McKinley Williams, who retired in December 2011 after five years as Contra Costa College president, shared for one hour — and one hour only — their personalities and leadership approaches at an open forum in the Fireside Room on Thursday from 12:30 to 5:15 p.m.
Brian Ellison, Christopher Villa, Deborah Budd and Denise Noldon, college and district administrators from outside of the Contra Costa Community College District, answered questions selected and read by a moderator. Afterward, Williams led each candidate on a tour of the college service area.
Community College Search Services search consultant Kevin Ramirez said no one from within the district applied for the job.
The four candidates, whose names were revealed March 12 and who were selected from a pool of more than 30 applicants, answered written questions submitted by the audience of more than 40 concerned and curious students, faculty, staff and managers regarding in which direction the candidates would steer the college during economic crisis and leadership transition.
“It’s important to come in and learn about who is running as the presidential candidates,” ASU Rep. Mariah Fowler said.
“Schools everywhere are being cut,” the social sciences major said. “Students should be aware of what’s going on for the school to evolve and move on because it desperately needs to.”
Questions and responses addressed state funding augmentations, spending decisions and boosting morale in this era of budget cuts.
But no question asked directly how the candidates would deal with the 60 course sections that will be reduced next semester, the $1 to $1.5 million that will be cut from the college’s $25 million operational budget or the $10 per unit increase to student fees starting during the 2012 summer session.
District Chancellor Helen Benjamin, CCC president from 1999-2005, and the college Screening Committee, a shared governance committee including each constituency group on campus, met Monday to discuss the forum.
Dr. Benjamin’s final selection will be made by April 11 and presented to the district Governing Board for approval May 23. The new president’s term would begin July 1 with the start of 2012-13 academic year.
The search for the college’s 13th president started in September 2011 and cost $17,500, Community College Search Services Senior Partner Al Fernandez said.
The last president from outside of the district was Dr. Doreen “Candy” Rose, who came from Mission College in the West Valley-Mission College District in Santa Clara, in 1984.
Dr. Rose was president until Benjamin replaced her as interim president in December 1997. Benjamin was the district’s first African-American college president and was later unanimously selected by the Governing Board to become chancellor in 2005.
“All four (candidates) left great impressions. The chancellor has her hands full,” said Governing Board Trustee John Marquez, who represents CCC’s service area in the district. “(The candidates) all brought different perspectives.”
Dr. Ellison, the first to speak Thursday afternoon, is the vice president of instruction and student services at San Diego Continuing Education, a mostly noncredit institution, and began his career at Merced College as a psychology and sociology professor.
Ellison was stiff and the only speaker not to take the microphone from the stand anytime during his hour. He stood with his feet together and his palms flat on the lectern.
He said the CCC mission statement, which emphasizes Career Technical Education (CTE), academic skills and transfer — and strategic plan are comparable to his tasks at SDCE in the San Diego Community College District.
“Those are two fantastic documents,” said Ellison, a graduate from San Diego Mesa College. “They’re easy to embrace and support.”
Immediately comfortable in front of the audience and camera taping the forum, Dr. Villa made his audience laugh within a minute or two, which was the first time during the forum.
The data-driven Fresno City College vice president of student services spoke second, is from Los Angeles and has worked at higher education institutions for more than 30 years.
“There is tremendous diversity here,” Villa said. “I thrive on that. I like it.”
He said he and his wife went for a drive around San Pablo and West County before the forum and saw the different regions of the service area.
“From that experience, I’m very excited about applying here,” he said.
After Villa’s hour, Dr. Budd, Peralta Community College District vice chancellor of educational services, took the floor.
Budd has been in administration since starting her career as an athletic director and physical education teacher in the Alameda Unified School District in 1989.
Budd said despite the deteriorating higher education budget in the state, it is a time for imaginative solutions to help student services.
“Sometimes crisis creates innovation,” she said after the forum, walking across the Amphitheatre from the Fireside Room to the Student Life Center. She then introduced herself to the ASU Board and took Williams’ tour.
Dr. Noldon, the vice president of student development and enrollment management at Folsom Lake College, about 28 miles east of Sacramento, closed the forum.
At the end of her hour in the spotlight, the Berkeley High School graduate said, “I hope you get a person to take you to the next level. If that person is not me, I’ll be watching from afar to see how well you do.”
After she spoke, she walked across Padilla Plaza and waited for Williams, whose mustache has grown into a beard with patches of grey and white since retiring.
Williams became president in 2006 after serving a year as interim president and coined the phrase, “Contra Costa College, a premier community college right in your own backyard.”
Noldon said she shared a vision for CCC with Williams, dropping the familiar line, “premier community college.”
Questions at the forum were submitted to Business Services Manager Mariles Magalong, head of the Screening Committee, before they were selected and read to the candidates by Ramirez, the moderator.
He said more than 40 questions were submitted and he tried to group them by themes.
Ramirez asked questions to reveal the candidates’ dealings with budget issues, leadership styles and embracing a diverse campus, but did not ask about how or which cuts they would make.
The mist cleared, the curtains drew and the final four college presidential candidates were unveiled to the campus community, which one of them will permanently lead beginning July 1.
Finalists to replace McKinley Williams, who retired in December 2011 after five years as Contra Costa College president, shared for one hour — and one hour only — their personalities and leadership approaches at an open forum in the Fireside Room on Thursday from 12:30 to 5:15 p.m.
Brian Ellison, Christopher Villa, Deborah Budd and Denise Noldon, college and district administrators from outside of the Contra Costa Community College District, answered questions selected and read by a moderator. Afterward, Williams led each candidate on a tour of the college service area.
Community College Search Services search consultant Kevin Ramirez said no one from within the district applied for the job.
The four candidates, whose names were revealed March 12 and who were selected from a pool of more than 30 applicants, answered written questions submitted by the audience of more than 40 concerned and curious students, faculty, staff and managers regarding in which direction the candidates would steer the college during economic crisis and leadership transition.
“It’s important to come in and learn about who is running as the presidential candidates,” ASU Rep. Mariah Fowler said.
“Schools everywhere are being cut,” the social sciences major said. “Students should be aware of what’s going on for the school to evolve and move on because it desperately needs to.”
Questions and responses addressed state funding augmentations, spending decisions and boosting morale in this era of budget cuts.
But no question asked directly how the candidates would deal with the 60 course sections that will be reduced next semester, the $1 to $1.5 million that will be cut from the college’s $25 million operational budget or the $10 per unit increase to student fees starting during the 2012 summer session.
District Chancellor Helen Benjamin, CCC president from 1999-2005, and the college Screening Committee, a shared governance committee including each constituency group on campus, met Monday to discuss the forum.
Dr. Benjamin’s final selection will be made by April 11 and presented to the district Governing Board for approval May 23. The new president’s term would begin July 1 with the start of 2012-13 academic year.
The search for the college’s 13th president started in September 2011 and cost $17,500, Community College Search Services Senior Partner Al Fernandez said.
The last president from outside of the district was Dr. Doreen “Candy” Rose, who came from Mission College in the West Valley-Mission College District in Santa Clara, in 1984.
Dr. Rose was president until Benjamin replaced her as interim president in December 1997. Benjamin was the district’s first African-American college president and was later unanimously selected by the Governing Board to become chancellor in 2005.
“All four (candidates) left great impressions. The chancellor has her hands full,” said Governing Board Trustee John Marquez, who represents CCC’s service area in the district. “(The candidates) all brought different perspectives.”
Dr. Ellison, the first to speak Thursday afternoon, is the vice president of instruction and student services at San Diego Continuing Education, a mostly noncredit institution, and began his career at Merced College as a psychology and sociology professor.
Ellison was stiff and the only speaker not to take the microphone from the stand anytime during his hour. He stood with his feet together and his palms flat on the lectern.
He said the CCC mission statement, which emphasizes Career Technical Education (CTE), academic skills and transfer — and strategic plan are comparable to his tasks at SDCE in the San Diego Community College District.
“Those are two fantastic documents,” said Ellison, a graduate from San Diego Mesa College. “They’re easy to embrace and support.”
Immediately comfortable in front of the audience and camera taping the forum, Dr. Villa made his audience laugh within a minute or two, which was the first time during the forum.
The data-driven Fresno City College vice president of student services spoke second, is from Los Angeles and has worked at higher education institutions for more than 30 years.
“There is tremendous diversity here,” Villa said. “I thrive on that. I like it.”
He said he and his wife went for a drive around San Pablo and West County before the forum and saw the different regions of the service area.
“From that experience, I’m very excited about applying here,” he said.
After Villa’s hour, Dr. Budd, Peralta Community College District vice chancellor of educational services, took the floor.
Budd has been in administration since starting her career as an athletic director and physical education teacher in the Alameda Unified School District in 1989.
Budd said despite the deteriorating higher education budget in the state, it is a time for imaginative solutions to help student services.
“Sometimes crisis creates innovation,” she said after the forum, walking across the Amphitheatre from the Fireside Room to the Student Life Center. She then introduced herself to the ASU Board and took Williams’ tour.
Dr. Noldon, the vice president of student development and enrollment management at Folsom Lake College, about 28 miles east of Sacramento, closed the forum.
At the end of her hour in the spotlight, the Berkeley High School graduate said, “I hope you get a person to take you to the next level. If that person is not me, I’ll be watching from afar to see how well you do.”
After she spoke, she walked across Padilla Plaza and waited for Williams, whose mustache has grown into a beard with patches of grey and white since retiring.
Williams became president in 2006 after serving a year as interim president and coined the phrase, “Contra Costa College, a premier community college right in your own backyard.”
Noldon said she shared a vision for CCC with Williams, dropping the familiar line, “premier community college.”
Questions at the forum were submitted to Business Services Manager Mariles Magalong, head of the Screening Committee, before they were selected and read to the candidates by Ramirez, the moderator.
He said more than 40 questions were submitted and he tried to group them by themes.
Ramirez asked questions to reveal the candidates’ dealings with budget issues, leadership styles and embracing a diverse campus, but did not ask about how or which cuts they would make.
‘Everything’s on the table’
EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on March 14, 2012. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.
There is no one way to describe the state’s economic situation or its impact on morale at Contra Costa College.
Faculty members are frustrated, managers are overwhelmed and most students say it just plain sucks.
“This semester, I signed up late and couldn’t get in the (math and business) classes I wanted,” business major Isamu Scott said while sitting against the back wall of AA-118 before his Math 118 class Monday.
WebAdvisor shows 44 students enrolled in the class, which has a maximum of 40.
“It sucks,” he said with the hood of his gray sweatshirt pulled over his short black hair. “You’re in doubt the whole time. You don’t know how long you’ll be here. You don’t know if you’ll get the things you need. It sucks.”
The 2011-12 academic year is the fourth straight year of budget cuts to CCC, its district and all of the 112 California community colleges, which serve 2.5 million students each year.
Further cuts are planned.
To close a $21.3 million districtwide funding shortage this year, 68 classified staff positions were eliminated or redefined starting July 1, 2011.
About $4 million of CCC’s nearly $25 million operating budget for the 2011-12 academic year was cut at the same time, but additional cuts followed. Two mid-year trigger cuts and a deficit dropped on the community college system resulted in an additional $840,000 deficit funding for the college in 2011-12, CCC Director of Business Services Mariles Magalong said.
She said the trigger cuts, caused by a statewide revenue shortfall mostly from student enrollment fees and property taxes not reaching projections, pushed a $120,000 deficit to $450,000 for the college. When the state announced an additional $149 million shortage Feb. 21, Magalong said it “ramped up” the deficit, almost doubling it to $840,000 at CCC.
“It’s very difficult to keep having to manage these cuts,” she said. “It’s so overwhelming to me.”
The next year, 2012-13, will be the fifth consecutive year of cuts. In each of those years, the state Chancellor’s Office has required colleges to budget for fewer students.
The budget reductions make all programs and services vulnerable to cuts.
“Particularly in this budget climate, everything’s on the table,” CCC Interim Vice President Donna Floyd said.
Dan Henry, CCC interim president, said in 2011-12 the college has more than 6,000 Full-Time Equivalent Students and needs to get that number down to 5,475 for 2012-13.
Henry said that goal is a hedge position resting between two projections reliant upon the outcome of November’s statewide tax measures. If the tax initiatives pass, an FTES goal of 5,585 will be adopted, but if voted down, CCC would have to readjust for a goal of 5,274.
FTES, calculated by taking the total number of course units in which all students at the college are enrolled and dividing that number by 12, is the number of units required of a full-time student. FTES is how the state allocates funds for community colleges.
Henry said at least $1 to $1.5 million would be taken out of the operating budget for the next academic year and the college’s budget for serving students will be cut further.
“This many years of significant cuts is unprecedented in my career that’s pushing 40 years,” said Henry, 63, who started teaching in the district in 1973 as a math professor at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg. “We’ve had difficult times before, but never year-after-year cuts.
“It’s really taking a toll on the college,” he said.
To meet that budget in the fall 2012 semester, the college will offer 60 fewer course sections, Dr. Floyd said.
And the cuts will continue until at least 2013-14, regardless of whether the tax measures pass in November.
The only thing that has not been reduced is the cost of student fees, which will increase in the summer by $10, costing students $46 per unit. Last year’s $10 increase was enacted to increase state revenues, but instead created $107 million of the surprise $149 million revenue shortage because more students became eligible for Board of Governors fee waivers.
The number of courses offered has decreased and staffing was reduced this year to the minimum needed to keep the college running.
“It is painful not only for staff, but for students,” district Director of Communications Tim Leong said. “(There will be) either (fewer) courses or less services or a combination of both.
“I wish I could give you some positive spin on it,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re faced with some difficult budget decisions.”
This spring, CCC offers 43 sections fewer than in the spring 2011 semester, a 5.8 percent decrease, according to the Office of District Research.
Those records also show a 4.7 percent decrease in FTES at CCC from last spring.
Faculty workload on this campus dropped 8 percent this semester compared to spring 2011, research shows. Workload is also called Full-Time Equivalent Faculty and is calculated in the same manner as FTES.
The only increases to college statistics were the seat count and productivity.
District Senior Dean of Research and Planning Tim Clow said seat count is the number of students enrolled in each section and productivity is FTES divided by workload.
The seat count difference between the two spring semesters is an increase of 2,075 students this semester and an improved productivity of 4.7 percent in 2012, Dr. Clow said.
“(CCC) still got 2,000 more cheeks in the seats, yet cut back 43 course sections,” Clow said. “That’s a huge amount.”
Cutting sections reduces the budget and the chances of registering for necessary classes to graduate or transfer to a four-year university on schedule.
“I just feel sorry for students,” said CCC senior administrative assistant Shondra West, who has worked at the college for 12 years. “Coming from Admissions and Records, processing graduation evaluations, I know how difficult it is to sit out a semester.
“You have to put everything on hold. It’s difficult in every aspect,” she said. “I’m sympathetic for students. It’s challenging to stay on track with graduation or to transfer.”
West, Classified Senate President, said there are no district plans to cut additional staff next year after nearly 70 staff members in the district were let go or had their titles redefined at the beginning of this academic and fiscal year.
“We’re down to the bare bones left to do the work,” West said. “I feel confident that we’ll be able to maintain the staff we have so far until the district informs us otherwise.”
Faculty, part-time professors in particular, however, are afraid for their jobs, which continue to demand more from the instructors.
Tristan Saldana teaches two English 1C courses this semester and both sections of his Critical Thinking and Advanced Composition classes were overenrolled. A critical thinking course is required to transfer to a University of California or California State University.
He said 45 students showed up for both of his classes, which are planned physically and academically for only 30 students.
“There was not enough space in the classroom and it was over the enrollment limit (set by the English department),” he said.
“Stress definitely increases from a student perspective and an instructor point of view,” he said. “When there aren’t enough sections offered because of cuts, students are waiting for next semester; it slows progress down.”
For instructors, he said, it is an overburden, which administrators are sensing.
“I feel some frustration,” Floyd said. “Many faculty have been taking way more students in their class than the class (maximum).
“The question is raised: Do we stop taking students over the max?” she asked. “It’s frustrating because there is no definitive answer for that.”
Saldana said more anxiety is added because he does not know if he, a part-time professor at CCC for two years, will have a job next semester as a result of the inevitable budget cuts.
“It is day-to-day, semester-to-semester, moment-to-moment,” he said. “Part-time instructors live with the moment-to-moment (reality) of not knowing if they’re going to have a job (next semester).”
Daniela Castillo, a nursing major in the same Elementary Algebra class as Scott, said their class was so full the first few days of instruction that students sat anywhere there was an empty area available to them.
“There was a crowd of people,” she said. “They were sitting on desks, sitting on chairs and sitting on the teacher’s chair.”
She said as courses continue to be cut, the problem worsens.
“It is harder to concentrate in classes (that are) more full,” she said. “Classes would be more full (with next year’s cuts). It sucks. It’s scary.”
There is no one way to describe the state’s economic situation or its impact on morale at Contra Costa College.
Faculty members are frustrated, managers are overwhelmed and most students say it just plain sucks.
“This semester, I signed up late and couldn’t get in the (math and business) classes I wanted,” business major Isamu Scott said while sitting against the back wall of AA-118 before his Math 118 class Monday.
WebAdvisor shows 44 students enrolled in the class, which has a maximum of 40.
“It sucks,” he said with the hood of his gray sweatshirt pulled over his short black hair. “You’re in doubt the whole time. You don’t know how long you’ll be here. You don’t know if you’ll get the things you need. It sucks.”
The 2011-12 academic year is the fourth straight year of budget cuts to CCC, its district and all of the 112 California community colleges, which serve 2.5 million students each year.
Further cuts are planned.
To close a $21.3 million districtwide funding shortage this year, 68 classified staff positions were eliminated or redefined starting July 1, 2011.
About $4 million of CCC’s nearly $25 million operating budget for the 2011-12 academic year was cut at the same time, but additional cuts followed. Two mid-year trigger cuts and a deficit dropped on the community college system resulted in an additional $840,000 deficit funding for the college in 2011-12, CCC Director of Business Services Mariles Magalong said.
She said the trigger cuts, caused by a statewide revenue shortfall mostly from student enrollment fees and property taxes not reaching projections, pushed a $120,000 deficit to $450,000 for the college. When the state announced an additional $149 million shortage Feb. 21, Magalong said it “ramped up” the deficit, almost doubling it to $840,000 at CCC.
“It’s very difficult to keep having to manage these cuts,” she said. “It’s so overwhelming to me.”
The next year, 2012-13, will be the fifth consecutive year of cuts. In each of those years, the state Chancellor’s Office has required colleges to budget for fewer students.
The budget reductions make all programs and services vulnerable to cuts.
“Particularly in this budget climate, everything’s on the table,” CCC Interim Vice President Donna Floyd said.
Dan Henry, CCC interim president, said in 2011-12 the college has more than 6,000 Full-Time Equivalent Students and needs to get that number down to 5,475 for 2012-13.
Henry said that goal is a hedge position resting between two projections reliant upon the outcome of November’s statewide tax measures. If the tax initiatives pass, an FTES goal of 5,585 will be adopted, but if voted down, CCC would have to readjust for a goal of 5,274.
FTES, calculated by taking the total number of course units in which all students at the college are enrolled and dividing that number by 12, is the number of units required of a full-time student. FTES is how the state allocates funds for community colleges.
Henry said at least $1 to $1.5 million would be taken out of the operating budget for the next academic year and the college’s budget for serving students will be cut further.
“This many years of significant cuts is unprecedented in my career that’s pushing 40 years,” said Henry, 63, who started teaching in the district in 1973 as a math professor at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg. “We’ve had difficult times before, but never year-after-year cuts.
“It’s really taking a toll on the college,” he said.
To meet that budget in the fall 2012 semester, the college will offer 60 fewer course sections, Dr. Floyd said.
And the cuts will continue until at least 2013-14, regardless of whether the tax measures pass in November.
The only thing that has not been reduced is the cost of student fees, which will increase in the summer by $10, costing students $46 per unit. Last year’s $10 increase was enacted to increase state revenues, but instead created $107 million of the surprise $149 million revenue shortage because more students became eligible for Board of Governors fee waivers.
The number of courses offered has decreased and staffing was reduced this year to the minimum needed to keep the college running.
“It is painful not only for staff, but for students,” district Director of Communications Tim Leong said. “(There will be) either (fewer) courses or less services or a combination of both.
“I wish I could give you some positive spin on it,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re faced with some difficult budget decisions.”
This spring, CCC offers 43 sections fewer than in the spring 2011 semester, a 5.8 percent decrease, according to the Office of District Research.
Those records also show a 4.7 percent decrease in FTES at CCC from last spring.
Faculty workload on this campus dropped 8 percent this semester compared to spring 2011, research shows. Workload is also called Full-Time Equivalent Faculty and is calculated in the same manner as FTES.
The only increases to college statistics were the seat count and productivity.
District Senior Dean of Research and Planning Tim Clow said seat count is the number of students enrolled in each section and productivity is FTES divided by workload.
The seat count difference between the two spring semesters is an increase of 2,075 students this semester and an improved productivity of 4.7 percent in 2012, Dr. Clow said.
“(CCC) still got 2,000 more cheeks in the seats, yet cut back 43 course sections,” Clow said. “That’s a huge amount.”
Cutting sections reduces the budget and the chances of registering for necessary classes to graduate or transfer to a four-year university on schedule.
“I just feel sorry for students,” said CCC senior administrative assistant Shondra West, who has worked at the college for 12 years. “Coming from Admissions and Records, processing graduation evaluations, I know how difficult it is to sit out a semester.
“You have to put everything on hold. It’s difficult in every aspect,” she said. “I’m sympathetic for students. It’s challenging to stay on track with graduation or to transfer.”
West, Classified Senate President, said there are no district plans to cut additional staff next year after nearly 70 staff members in the district were let go or had their titles redefined at the beginning of this academic and fiscal year.
“We’re down to the bare bones left to do the work,” West said. “I feel confident that we’ll be able to maintain the staff we have so far until the district informs us otherwise.”
Faculty, part-time professors in particular, however, are afraid for their jobs, which continue to demand more from the instructors.
Tristan Saldana teaches two English 1C courses this semester and both sections of his Critical Thinking and Advanced Composition classes were overenrolled. A critical thinking course is required to transfer to a University of California or California State University.
He said 45 students showed up for both of his classes, which are planned physically and academically for only 30 students.
“There was not enough space in the classroom and it was over the enrollment limit (set by the English department),” he said.
“Stress definitely increases from a student perspective and an instructor point of view,” he said. “When there aren’t enough sections offered because of cuts, students are waiting for next semester; it slows progress down.”
For instructors, he said, it is an overburden, which administrators are sensing.
“I feel some frustration,” Floyd said. “Many faculty have been taking way more students in their class than the class (maximum).
“The question is raised: Do we stop taking students over the max?” she asked. “It’s frustrating because there is no definitive answer for that.”
Saldana said more anxiety is added because he does not know if he, a part-time professor at CCC for two years, will have a job next semester as a result of the inevitable budget cuts.
“It is day-to-day, semester-to-semester, moment-to-moment,” he said. “Part-time instructors live with the moment-to-moment (reality) of not knowing if they’re going to have a job (next semester).”
Daniela Castillo, a nursing major in the same Elementary Algebra class as Scott, said their class was so full the first few days of instruction that students sat anywhere there was an empty area available to them.
“There was a crowd of people,” she said. “They were sitting on desks, sitting on chairs and sitting on the teacher’s chair.”
She said as courses continue to be cut, the problem worsens.
“It is harder to concentrate in classes (that are) more full,” she said. “Classes would be more full (with next year’s cuts). It sucks. It’s scary.”
Federal law limits Pell Grant eligibility
EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on March 7, 2012. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.
David Baker is the last of his kind.
The business major in his second semester at Contra Costa College is a high school dropout receiving financial aid.
He passed the required assessment test, called the Ability-to-Benefit (ATB) test, when he was a student at Central New Mexico Community College, qualifying him for a Pell Grant through FAFSA. He passed the test again when he came to CCC.
But beginning July 1, a high school diploma or its equivalent will be required for new students to receive federal aid.
The 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 23, 2011, significantly changes requirements for federal aid qualifications.
The goal is to limit federal funding to students who have not earned a bachelor's degree, taking college-level courses.
Included in the law is a mandatory high school diploma or its equivalent for students enrolling in college for the first time after July 1, 2012.
Students without a high school diploma or its equivalent who qualified for a Pell Grant and attended college prior to the implementation of the new law in July will still have the ATB option until their six-year duration window expires.
The changes also include retroactively reducing the duration of a student's eligibility for federal aid from 18 full-time equivalent semesters to 12 and increasing the award maximum per year to $5,550.
Pell Grants account for the majority of government-funded student aid at CCC, district Senior Dean of Research and Planning Tim Clow said.
"The largest, single-most important financial aid is Pell Grants," Dr. Clow said.
At CCC, 2,887 students are receiving nearly $10.4 million in Pell Grant funds this academic year out of about $11.3 million total in student aid from the state and federal governments, Clow said.
CCC Interim Dean of Students Vicki Ferguson said the changes will impact the college's community tremendously.
"It is really going to be devastating to that population that doesn't have a high school diploma or GED," she said.
Clow said that of the 1,395 new students at CCC in the 2011 fall semester, 761 self-reported they had a high school diploma and 100 more said they had a GED.
A diploma is not required for admission or graduation from CCC. The ATB test was implemented in 1996 as an alternative for students without a diploma or its equivalent who needed federal aid.
CCC matriculation services coordinator Kenyetta Tribble said students can keep retaking the ATB test until they pass it.
The ATB test will still be allowed for returning students — those who have received a grade (A through F, I or P) within two semesters of applying for Pell Grants.
She said passing the ATB test would place students in Math 115 and at the reading level for either English 142B or 110A and a writing level for English 142A or 139.
The ATB test was one of two options for students without a diploma or its equivalent. They could also receive federal aid by completing 6 units or 225 hours of college instruction.
But starting this summer, those options are gone.
African-American studies major Re Thomas said her brother at Laney College in Oakland did not qualify for financial aid this semester because he did not graduate from high school.
As a result, he took out loans and worked part time to pay for his classes.
"It made him decide he wouldn't go back next semester because they told him he could still not get financial aid," the first-semester student said. "It makes students feel undeserving because they don't have a high school diploma or GED.
"It's not right," she said. "You can't flip burgers without a degree."
Sitting in the Student Services Center in front of the Financial Aid Office on Thursday, Thomas said federal aid should be available to everyone who needs it.
"Education should be offered to everyone, especially with financial aid," she said. "Not everybody is financially set to pay for books, pay for classes and pay for transportation."
Baker said the changes to Title IV funding "help America," but student services managers disagree.
"It's huge. It's a huge impact," Ferguson said.
"Contra Costa is known as meeting students where they are and assisting them through the process to academic success," she said. "It's a roadblock."
College managers agree students would be stuck. They would be unable to pay for their education without a job, but not be able to get a job without an education.
Admissions and Records Director Michael Aldaco said, "That's scary, really scary.
"It's a huge burden on students who look at Contra Costa as a last resort," he said. "It's tremendously unfair."
ASU President Rodney Wilson said the policy is not balanced.
"It's a continued rationing of resources Instead of serving those most in need, we (as a state) only want to serve those who already have the resources," he said.
David Baker is the last of his kind.
The business major in his second semester at Contra Costa College is a high school dropout receiving financial aid.
He passed the required assessment test, called the Ability-to-Benefit (ATB) test, when he was a student at Central New Mexico Community College, qualifying him for a Pell Grant through FAFSA. He passed the test again when he came to CCC.
But beginning July 1, a high school diploma or its equivalent will be required for new students to receive federal aid.
The 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 23, 2011, significantly changes requirements for federal aid qualifications.
The goal is to limit federal funding to students who have not earned a bachelor's degree, taking college-level courses.
Included in the law is a mandatory high school diploma or its equivalent for students enrolling in college for the first time after July 1, 2012.
Students without a high school diploma or its equivalent who qualified for a Pell Grant and attended college prior to the implementation of the new law in July will still have the ATB option until their six-year duration window expires.
The changes also include retroactively reducing the duration of a student's eligibility for federal aid from 18 full-time equivalent semesters to 12 and increasing the award maximum per year to $5,550.
Pell Grants account for the majority of government-funded student aid at CCC, district Senior Dean of Research and Planning Tim Clow said.
"The largest, single-most important financial aid is Pell Grants," Dr. Clow said.
At CCC, 2,887 students are receiving nearly $10.4 million in Pell Grant funds this academic year out of about $11.3 million total in student aid from the state and federal governments, Clow said.
CCC Interim Dean of Students Vicki Ferguson said the changes will impact the college's community tremendously.
"It is really going to be devastating to that population that doesn't have a high school diploma or GED," she said.
Clow said that of the 1,395 new students at CCC in the 2011 fall semester, 761 self-reported they had a high school diploma and 100 more said they had a GED.
A diploma is not required for admission or graduation from CCC. The ATB test was implemented in 1996 as an alternative for students without a diploma or its equivalent who needed federal aid.
CCC matriculation services coordinator Kenyetta Tribble said students can keep retaking the ATB test until they pass it.
The ATB test will still be allowed for returning students — those who have received a grade (A through F, I or P) within two semesters of applying for Pell Grants.
She said passing the ATB test would place students in Math 115 and at the reading level for either English 142B or 110A and a writing level for English 142A or 139.
The ATB test was one of two options for students without a diploma or its equivalent. They could also receive federal aid by completing 6 units or 225 hours of college instruction.
But starting this summer, those options are gone.
African-American studies major Re Thomas said her brother at Laney College in Oakland did not qualify for financial aid this semester because he did not graduate from high school.
As a result, he took out loans and worked part time to pay for his classes.
"It made him decide he wouldn't go back next semester because they told him he could still not get financial aid," the first-semester student said. "It makes students feel undeserving because they don't have a high school diploma or GED.
"It's not right," she said. "You can't flip burgers without a degree."
Sitting in the Student Services Center in front of the Financial Aid Office on Thursday, Thomas said federal aid should be available to everyone who needs it.
"Education should be offered to everyone, especially with financial aid," she said. "Not everybody is financially set to pay for books, pay for classes and pay for transportation."
Baker said the changes to Title IV funding "help America," but student services managers disagree.
"It's huge. It's a huge impact," Ferguson said.
"Contra Costa is known as meeting students where they are and assisting them through the process to academic success," she said. "It's a roadblock."
College managers agree students would be stuck. They would be unable to pay for their education without a job, but not be able to get a job without an education.
Admissions and Records Director Michael Aldaco said, "That's scary, really scary.
"It's a huge burden on students who look at Contra Costa as a last resort," he said. "It's tremendously unfair."
ASU President Rodney Wilson said the policy is not balanced.
"It's a continued rationing of resources Instead of serving those most in need, we (as a state) only want to serve those who already have the resources," he said.
Opinion: Don't know Don't care
EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on March 7, 2012. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.
A person who speaks three languages is called trilingual, and two is bilingual.
However, to speak one language is called being American.
This joke paints with a broad brush this country's views of foreign languages and, while it is hyperbolic, it reflects the United States' perception of those outside its borders and others looking in.
Americans undervalue foreign languages. It is obvious when looking at the level of funding, time of instruction and the politicians representing the American citizenry.
More than half of the world's population speaks at least two languages, François Grosjean writes in his book "Bilingual: Life and Reality." But only 10 percent of Americans, about 50 million people, are multilingual.
By systematically producing a "monolinguistic" populace, a message is sent to other countries that "If you don't speak my language, I don't care what you have to say."
In this age of globalism, everyone should be at least bilingual and American schools and politicians need to support multilingual education.
Even in California, one of the most diverse places in the world, foreign language learning is not a priority.
It is not at Contra Costa College and definitely not in California high schools.
The state's Department of Education does not require foreign language studies to graduate from high school. Instead, it requires one year of foreign language or a performance or visual art.
Nonetheless, the department does not reinforce foreign languages.
Only 10 states have high school foreign language requirements and two-thirds of all graduates never studied a foreign language.
However, California's public universities have foreign language requirements for incoming freshmen.
The UCs require two years of the same foreign language in high school for incoming freshmen and transfer students, but the high school courses also count when transferring. The CSUs do not have a foreign language requirement for transfer students.
The systems do not require all students take additional foreign language courses to graduate once accepted.
But speaking a second language is not like riding a bike.
For one to remain proficient in reading, writing and conversation, it takes focus and practice.
The two years spent in high school learning fruits and vegetables from a poorly recorded instructional cassette are long forgotten after four years in college unless that six-year-old shopping list is glanced at periodically.
Although there are 120 sections teaching 11 languages throughout the Contra Costa Community College District, the variety of language courses available at CCC is abysmal.
CCC offers two languages in eight sections: seven in Spanish and one in Mandarin (Chinese 120).
The course title is not even the name of the language. This is also the case at Los Medanos College where its two Tagalog courses are called Elementary Filipino I and II.
The campuses most like CCC in the district are LMC and Diablo Valley College centers.
DVC's San Ramon Center offers 10 sections in Spanish and sign language. The Brentwood Center has six sections of the same languages.
Spanish is the only language with more sections than sign language.
Forty-four sections of Spanish are offered across the district on all five sites. Sign language is taught in 19 sections on every campus in the district but CCC. Twelve sections of Japanese are held at DVC in Pleasant Hill.
Of the three most popular languages in the district, Spanish is the only one offered at CCC.
DVC exclusively teaches six languages in the district: 12 sections of Japanese, six of German, four of Russian, two of Arabic and one of Persian. Nine sections of Italian and 10 of French are offered between LMC and DVC.
The variety of courses throughout the district represents not only the variety of residents in the area, but also their diverse interests.
The desire of students to communicate across cultures is strong, but the support from politicians is lacking.
In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama said it was "embarrassing" that he was not multilingual.
Since Franklin Roosevelt, 67 years ago, the U.S. has not had a multilingual president. Jimmy Carter spoke "un poco" Spanish and Bill Clinton studied German, but the last two presidents could not speak any other foreign language, even though George W. Bush was governor of Texas and Obama was a senator in Illinois, states with high Spanish-speaking populations.
Voters need to stop electing politicians who do not promote multilingual education from elementary school through college.
The arrogance of isolationism and the appreciation of ignorance continues to manifest itself.
Like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the president's chief foreign affairs adviser, laughably said in 2008, "'Sí se puedi' [sic] is right. Yes we can."
A person who speaks three languages is called trilingual, and two is bilingual.
However, to speak one language is called being American.
This joke paints with a broad brush this country's views of foreign languages and, while it is hyperbolic, it reflects the United States' perception of those outside its borders and others looking in.
Americans undervalue foreign languages. It is obvious when looking at the level of funding, time of instruction and the politicians representing the American citizenry.
More than half of the world's population speaks at least two languages, François Grosjean writes in his book "Bilingual: Life and Reality." But only 10 percent of Americans, about 50 million people, are multilingual.
By systematically producing a "monolinguistic" populace, a message is sent to other countries that "If you don't speak my language, I don't care what you have to say."
In this age of globalism, everyone should be at least bilingual and American schools and politicians need to support multilingual education.
Even in California, one of the most diverse places in the world, foreign language learning is not a priority.
It is not at Contra Costa College and definitely not in California high schools.
The state's Department of Education does not require foreign language studies to graduate from high school. Instead, it requires one year of foreign language or a performance or visual art.
Nonetheless, the department does not reinforce foreign languages.
Only 10 states have high school foreign language requirements and two-thirds of all graduates never studied a foreign language.
However, California's public universities have foreign language requirements for incoming freshmen.
The UCs require two years of the same foreign language in high school for incoming freshmen and transfer students, but the high school courses also count when transferring. The CSUs do not have a foreign language requirement for transfer students.
The systems do not require all students take additional foreign language courses to graduate once accepted.
But speaking a second language is not like riding a bike.
For one to remain proficient in reading, writing and conversation, it takes focus and practice.
The two years spent in high school learning fruits and vegetables from a poorly recorded instructional cassette are long forgotten after four years in college unless that six-year-old shopping list is glanced at periodically.
Although there are 120 sections teaching 11 languages throughout the Contra Costa Community College District, the variety of language courses available at CCC is abysmal.
CCC offers two languages in eight sections: seven in Spanish and one in Mandarin (Chinese 120).
The course title is not even the name of the language. This is also the case at Los Medanos College where its two Tagalog courses are called Elementary Filipino I and II.
The campuses most like CCC in the district are LMC and Diablo Valley College centers.
DVC's San Ramon Center offers 10 sections in Spanish and sign language. The Brentwood Center has six sections of the same languages.
Spanish is the only language with more sections than sign language.
Forty-four sections of Spanish are offered across the district on all five sites. Sign language is taught in 19 sections on every campus in the district but CCC. Twelve sections of Japanese are held at DVC in Pleasant Hill.
Of the three most popular languages in the district, Spanish is the only one offered at CCC.
DVC exclusively teaches six languages in the district: 12 sections of Japanese, six of German, four of Russian, two of Arabic and one of Persian. Nine sections of Italian and 10 of French are offered between LMC and DVC.
The variety of courses throughout the district represents not only the variety of residents in the area, but also their diverse interests.
The desire of students to communicate across cultures is strong, but the support from politicians is lacking.
In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama said it was "embarrassing" that he was not multilingual.
Since Franklin Roosevelt, 67 years ago, the U.S. has not had a multilingual president. Jimmy Carter spoke "un poco" Spanish and Bill Clinton studied German, but the last two presidents could not speak any other foreign language, even though George W. Bush was governor of Texas and Obama was a senator in Illinois, states with high Spanish-speaking populations.
Voters need to stop electing politicians who do not promote multilingual education from elementary school through college.
The arrogance of isolationism and the appreciation of ignorance continues to manifest itself.
Like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the president's chief foreign affairs adviser, laughably said in 2008, "'Sí se puedi' [sic] is right. Yes we can."
Student-protesters fill Capitol
EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published on AccentAdvocate on March 5, 2012. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.
SACRAMENTO — Students are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it anymore.
Protest organizers said 10,000 community college and university students from all of the state's higher education campuses, including about 90 from Contra Costa College, rallied against budget cuts and student fee increases during the annual March in March rally at the Capitol on Monday.
"We march today with the purpose to give voice to the other 364 days of the year," San Jose City College student Karrawinds Salters said in front of the Capitol. "Education is our right."
The two-hour-long, multifaceted "Fund Our Future" demonstration started with a march from Southside Park downtown, leading to a rally with speeches in the Capitol Mall. Students were also lobbying state legislators inside the Capitol to stop cutting education.
The ASU contracted two yellow school buses, which took at least 35 protesters in each, for the protest while another 10 ASU representatives followed in a van.
"(State lawmakers) are trying to cut a significant portion of (CCC's) budget," ASU President of Clubs Mikhael Bunda said. "The ASU has a responsibility to students and represent what students need."
More than a half-billion dollars has been cut by the state from community college budgets in the 2011-12 academic year.
The state initially cut $313 million from its 112 community colleges at the beginning of the year. Then, two mid-year trigger cuts reduced funding by a combined $102 million. Last month, the state was caught off guard by a surprise $149 million deficit, which also has to be settled by the end of the semester.
These cuts are in addition to student fee increases from $20 per unit in fall 2007 to $46 per unit starting this summer.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said at the rally that the cost of higher education has tripled in the last decade and doubled in the last five years.
University of California Associated Students Sen. Sydney Fang said, "It's upsetting to see the state balance its budget on the backs of students. We need to find sensible solutions and revenue for education and public services."
Leaders from the community college, Cal State University and UC systems all spoke at the rally on the West Steps.
"I don't see UC, CSU or community college students (protesting). I just see students," Cal State-Stanislaus ASI President Mehran Khodabandeh said. "The only way we can have any change happen in this system is to be united."
The group presented a unified front throughout the day and asked everyone to update their Twitter page with the hashtag #supporthighereducation.
During the mile-long walk from the park to the Capitol, student-protesters shut down traffic with the help of police and made noise so all of downtown Sacramento knew the rally was happening.
"I think (the protest) sucks," California Labor and Workforce Development Agency employee Michael Wiesenburger said as protesters marched past his office at 722 Capitol Mall, two blocks from the Capitol building.
Leaning on a black cane under a large mold of the California state seal, wearing black sunglasses over his prescription glasses and smoking tobacco from a black and brown pipe, Wiesenburger, a Navy veteran, said, "These kids could be in class or go out and get a job.
That's what I did when I was their age."
Even members of the Legislature who supported the march heard opposition during the rally.
When Speaker of the Assembly John Peréz, author of the Middle Class Scholarship, spoke in front of the Capitol, students broke into a chant.
Promoting his legislation to close corporate loopholes and reduce the cost of attending a UC or CSU by two-thirds for middle class students, the chant wanted Peréz to back up his claims.
"We have to keep the promise to our students," he said.
Students replied, "Show us! Show us!"
SACRAMENTO — Students are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it anymore.
Protest organizers said 10,000 community college and university students from all of the state's higher education campuses, including about 90 from Contra Costa College, rallied against budget cuts and student fee increases during the annual March in March rally at the Capitol on Monday.
"We march today with the purpose to give voice to the other 364 days of the year," San Jose City College student Karrawinds Salters said in front of the Capitol. "Education is our right."
The two-hour-long, multifaceted "Fund Our Future" demonstration started with a march from Southside Park downtown, leading to a rally with speeches in the Capitol Mall. Students were also lobbying state legislators inside the Capitol to stop cutting education.
The ASU contracted two yellow school buses, which took at least 35 protesters in each, for the protest while another 10 ASU representatives followed in a van.
"(State lawmakers) are trying to cut a significant portion of (CCC's) budget," ASU President of Clubs Mikhael Bunda said. "The ASU has a responsibility to students and represent what students need."
More than a half-billion dollars has been cut by the state from community college budgets in the 2011-12 academic year.
The state initially cut $313 million from its 112 community colleges at the beginning of the year. Then, two mid-year trigger cuts reduced funding by a combined $102 million. Last month, the state was caught off guard by a surprise $149 million deficit, which also has to be settled by the end of the semester.
These cuts are in addition to student fee increases from $20 per unit in fall 2007 to $46 per unit starting this summer.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said at the rally that the cost of higher education has tripled in the last decade and doubled in the last five years.
University of California Associated Students Sen. Sydney Fang said, "It's upsetting to see the state balance its budget on the backs of students. We need to find sensible solutions and revenue for education and public services."
Leaders from the community college, Cal State University and UC systems all spoke at the rally on the West Steps.
"I don't see UC, CSU or community college students (protesting). I just see students," Cal State-Stanislaus ASI President Mehran Khodabandeh said. "The only way we can have any change happen in this system is to be united."
The group presented a unified front throughout the day and asked everyone to update their Twitter page with the hashtag #supporthighereducation.
During the mile-long walk from the park to the Capitol, student-protesters shut down traffic with the help of police and made noise so all of downtown Sacramento knew the rally was happening.
"I think (the protest) sucks," California Labor and Workforce Development Agency employee Michael Wiesenburger said as protesters marched past his office at 722 Capitol Mall, two blocks from the Capitol building.
Leaning on a black cane under a large mold of the California state seal, wearing black sunglasses over his prescription glasses and smoking tobacco from a black and brown pipe, Wiesenburger, a Navy veteran, said, "These kids could be in class or go out and get a job.
That's what I did when I was their age."
Even members of the Legislature who supported the march heard opposition during the rally.
When Speaker of the Assembly John Peréz, author of the Middle Class Scholarship, spoke in front of the Capitol, students broke into a chant.
Promoting his legislation to close corporate loopholes and reduce the cost of attending a UC or CSU by two-thirds for middle class students, the chant wanted Peréz to back up his claims.
"We have to keep the promise to our students," he said.
Students replied, "Show us! Show us!"
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