College of San Mateo • www.sanmatean.com

Impeachment debated

San MateanTHE

Ribbon cutting ceremonyinsideSee page 2

Letters spark controversy over use of funding on campus Rachel Nielsen

The San Matean

Friction between CSM faculty members occurred over the ad-ministration’s use of funding. Dif-ferent parties on campus recently sent letters to Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s office.

The initial letter sent made the allegation that the District is using bond and taxpayer funds as a per-sonal fund for Chancellor Gala-tolo and President Michael Claire.

President Michael Claire is-sued one of the letters defending his methods of spending, where he underlined and typed in bold-

faced font, “The allegations in the letter are completely false and malicious.”

In five pages, he addressed nine separate issues proposed in the faculty member’s letter.

The issues ranged from reduc-tion or elimination of programs and/or classes, use of the dental

Volume 174, Number 6 April 25, 2011

hygiene program, money allocat-ed to fund construction for Half Moon Bay facilities, the finished project of the College Center, rea-soning behind construction to the Horticulture gardens, Claire elim-inating CSM’s chief financial offi-cer, unknown usage of Measure G funds and Chancellor Galatolo’s

elective position.Claire mentioned budget cuts

early in the letter to Speier. “The District has endured very large budget cuts over the past few years and is facing an additional loss of $8-$12 million next year,”

Budget cuts underway

CSM President Michael Claire-hinted a potential budget cut rang-ing from $2.6 to $3.9 million by the 2012-2013 academic year in an April 20 all-campus budget meeting.

Claire opened the meeting by telling an audience of roughly 60 attendees that the college has a stable financial outlook for the next academic year. However, he stated that a long-term plan needs to be created now.

In July 2011 CSM will start to take the first set of recommenda-tions so they can assess what pro-grams and classes need to be cut.

The cuts will not take place un-til the 2012-13 academic year. By discussing and coming up with a plan now, they are hoping to pro-vide students with enough time figure out what classes they need to take in order to help them trans-

Matt FurtadoThe San Matean

fer, said Claire. The preliminary budget for

CSM is about $23.290 million, but the amount of forecasted ex-penses come out to about $23,990 million creating a negative $700 thousand difference.

The cuts will also cause an es-timated 2,200 people to stop at-tending.

CSM’s budget was just $13 million in 1980, which is the equivalent to only $35,243,000 in today’s society.

“Our problem is that we were built for 1980 funding levels,” said Claire. “Programs will be eliminated and service levels and delivery methods will change.”

Many students have already been affected by the budget cuts.

“(The budget) limits how many classes I can take per semester and makes it harder to transfer to a four-year because acceptance is restricted,” said student Ariel An-derson, 18.

Bulldogs avenge last season loss to OhloneSee page 6

Students aid homeless in San FranciscoSee page 4

Varsha RanjitThe San Matean

The ASCSM Student Senate held a meeting on Monday, April 18 proposing the impeachment of Associated Student Body President, Viv-ian Abellana.

Word about impeachment first started when unau-thorized fliers were spotted around campus regarding a proposal to impeach Abellana on account of abuse of veto power based on dis-crimination.

Campus security was notified of these fliers on Thursday, March 31 by two students. Campus security is still in the process of handling this case, said John Wells, head of

public safety on campus. “About six buildings were involved with the spread of these fliers,” said Wells. “We will continue to investigate and view a lot of file footage.”

These fliers violate several school policies which can be cited in the Student Code of Conduct. The clearest and most evident rule that was violated was Section 1.D.d., which discusses engaging on dis-criminatory behavior based on age, sex, religion, etc.

The flier is not only libelous, but it also had no stamp of approval from the Office of Student Life to be officially and publicly published.

The fliers were spread in response to Abellana’s veto to proposals for funding two events: the AB-540 Teach-In event held by Latinos Unidos and a comedy show held by the Gay-Straight Alliance.

“Regarding these passionate See “impeachment” on page 5

efforts to impeach me, I pray that God heal their hearts and that they can accept the fact that there’s no breaking down a cowgirl,” said Abellana.

She stated that her main reasons for the vetos were based on funding concerns at the April 11 meeting — a week after the fliers were origini-ally spread on campus. However, the veto was later overridden in the meeting by a vote by the senate.

Approximately 64 senators, stu-dents and guests attended the April 18 meeting. Campus life coordina-tor Aaron Schaefer started off the meeting by stating that the group was not discussing impeachment.

“Keep in mind this meeting is not about accusing, not about at-tacking,” said Schaefer. “Take time to listen to what everyone is saying and remain civil.”

Break it down• ProgramassessmentsbeginJuly2011• Preliminarybudget—$23.290million• Projectedexpenses—$23.990million• Estimatedbudgetcut—$2.6to3.9million• EstimatedstudentstodropCSM—2,200

See “garden budget” on page 5

Damian Ross, right, sprints in the 100-meter alongside Kasey Hayes, left. Ross moved into No. 8 in CSM’s record book with a 10.93 mark on April 20. He now ranks as the No. 2 performer in the Coast Conference. Samantha Hoffman placed third in the 100-meter with a 12.82 outing.

Photo by Erin Browner of The San Matean

Ross smashes record

Vivian Abellana

Leonie ScottPhoto courtesy of Facebook

Skyline student found dead

San Bruno Police are investigating the possible suicide of 20-year-old Skyline student Leonie Scott. San Bruno Police found Scott’s body at Skyline Boulevard and College Drive on Sunday, April 17 around 8:25 a.m.

“She left her residence on foot at 11 a.m.,” said Millbrae Chief of Police Neil Telford. “There was an extensive search from Saturday into Sunday until the body was found.”

Scott, a San Bruno resident, came home upset about an argument she had with her boyfriend Sat-urday morning. Scott left her house, leaving behind her purse, wearing a coat and pajamas. Scott’s mother became concerned about her daughter’s safety due to the nature of some of her remarks,

Will HennesseyThe San Matean

See “Scott” on page 5

News

Associated Students Election for 2011-12 Sign-UpMonday, Apr 25 (Due by April 28)Bldg. 17, Room 112, Office of Student LifeAll Day Event

Priority Enrollment Program (PEP)Tuesday, Apr 26All Day Event

University of California, Davis Campus VisitWednesday, Apr 27, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Bldg. 01, Room 115

Summer & Fall 2011 WebSMART Priority registration - Con-tinuing StudentsWednesday, Apr 27All Day Event

Last day to withdraw officially from a semester-long class with assurance of a ‘W’ gradeThursday, Apr 28All Day Event

Spring Informal Dance ConcertFriday, Apr 29, 1 p.m.Bldg. 3, Theatre

CSM Math Boost WorkshopsSaturday, Apr 30, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Bldg. 14, Room 103

University of California Berkeley Campus VisitTuesday, May 3, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.Bldg. 1, Room 115

The Latin Music ExperienceWednesday, May 4, 7 to 9:30 p.m.Building 3

San Francisco State University Campus VisitThursday, May 5, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Bldg. 1, Room 115 Symphonic Band ConcertThursday, May 5, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.Building 3

ASCSM’s 1st Annual WTF: Film FestivalFriday, May 6, 7 p.m.Building 3 Spring Benefit ConcertSaturday, May 7, 12 to 3 p.m.CSM Plaza Jazz Ensemble ConcertMonday, May 9, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.Building 3

SPORTS

CSM Baseball vs. Mission CollegeTuesday, Apr 26, 2:30 p.m.CSM

CSM Softball vs. Ohlone CollegeTuesday, Apr 26, 3:00 p.m.Ohlone College

CSM Track Coast FinalsWednesday, Apr 27, 1 p.m.San Jose City College

CSM Baseball vs. Gavilian CollegeThursday, Apr 28, 2:30 p.m.CSM

CSM Track Coast FinalsSaturday, Apr 30, 10 a.m.San Jose City College

CSM Track NorCal TrialsFriday, May 6Modesto Junior College

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

by Kyle Laplante

Page 2 • The SAN MATEAN April 25, 2011

Campus Blotter Friday, April 15, 10:22 p.m. – A vehicle hit a woman crossing a crosswalk on W. Perimeter Rd. and knocked her down. The female student immediately got up without any major injuries and was able to walk to the class she was heading to. The driver has not yet been identified.

This information was provided by Chief John Wells of CSM Public Safety.

— Kyle LaplanteThe San Matean

Bldg. 10 opens with ribbon cuttingVarsha Ranjit

The San Matean

A crowd of 300, including stu-dents, staff and community mem-bers attended the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceramony of the $90 million College Center on Thursday April 14. The opening ceremony started with an introduction by CSM Presi-dent Michael Claire. The College Center has been in the making since late 2005. “It’s exciting to see it go from concept to reality,” said Claire. Claire shared the significance of how the College Center is a building on campus that accurately parallels the quality of academics and diver-sity of student life represented on campus.

ment and Counseling Services recently moved into the building and both were accessible to students on opening day as well. The bookstore was open to students before the event and was one of the first services that moved into the new building. Tempo-rary lockers are also available for students to store their personal belongings when shopping in the bookstore or visiting the center in general as well. The College Center features many new student services such as the Learning Center, where students and professors are able to interact, laboratories and classrooms for the Digital Media program, as well as a variety of food venues.

The program progressed with some closing words by Diana Bennett, the Academic Senate President, as well as a Digital Media professor, Annette Perot. The ceremony concluded with a speech from student Alex Quintana who explained how the building will enrich student life. Admissions and Records depart-

Photo by Varsha Ranjit of The San Matean

Chancellor cuts the ribbon.

CCCs could turn away students Kayla Figard

The San Matean

California Community Col-leges might be forced to turn away 400,000 students next fall to offset the increasing budget cuts due the legislature’s failure to place a tax extension on the ballot this June. “This is a very real possibil-ity,” said Kathy Blackwood, Chief Financial Officer for the district in an email. “The Community College League of California’s worst case scenario shows a workload reduction of 14.3 percent. That means that community colleges will have to serve over 14.3 percent fewer students,” she said. According to the CCLC, if the tax package is approved, $400 million would be cut from the community colleges and an estimated 150,000 students would be turned away. “The item has already failed to get on the ballot,” said Blackwood. “The only option now is for the

legislature to approve the tax ex-tensions without an election and then put an item on a later ballot that would have the voters ratify the taxes.” “I am not assuming any tax extension at this time, as I believe it is too late for that,” she said.

According to the CCLC, if the June tax package fails and Prop 98 (a bill that helps fund K-14 education) is minimally funded, $620 million would be cut from the community colleges system wide and an approximate 264,000 students would be lost. If the June tax extension fails and Prop 98 is suspended, 400,000 students state-wide would be turned away from the community college system, according to the CCLC.

“Cuts would go to $800 million and would be partially offset by a fee increase of $66 per unit,” said Blackwood. “It’s really a function of the impact that reduced state apportionment will have on our ability to serve stu-dents with considerably less funds,”

said District Chancellor Ron Galatolo in an email. The district will use its reserves to get through 2011-2012 without major cuts, but in 2012-2013 the district is likely to be cut $7 to $8 million, said Blackwood.

“CSM’s share of that would probably be about $2.5 mil-lion,” she said. Fees are likely to go up again in 2012-2013 to $46 per unit. “(The cuts) would reduce our enrollment by about 3,400 full time equivalent students,” said Blackwood. “At that level of cuts, we will have to see programs affected and really focus on our core missions and values,” she said.

“This is a very real possibility.”– Kathy Blackwood

San Mateo Community Col-lege Board of Trustees President Richard Holober is running for San Mateo County Supervisor in the May 3 Consolidated Local Special Election.

Although the SMC Board of Supervisors does not have control over San Mateo Community Col-lege District, can-didates are ad-dressing issues that affect students.

Holober, 58, is pushing issues that will affect students living in SMC such as health care benefits, social services and welfare.

“He is very dear to making sure everyone has a good quality of life,” said Patricia Miljanich, a member

Erin BrownerThe San Matean

Trustee runs for county supervisorof the SMCCD board and supporter of Holober’s campaign.

Students using public transpor-tation will be affected by cuts to Caltrain and county budgets. Cal-train will experience a $30 million shortage that will affect its 40,000 daily commuters.

If elected, Holober said he will find a dedicated source of funding to continue Caltrain’s “effective system.”

SMC’s $82 million in budget cuts will also affect SamTrans. “The bus is vital for students to get up the hill,” said Holober.

“Not everyone understands the importance of community colleges, but he does,” said Miljanich. “He can open up the dialogue in Sac-ramento.

We need a representative that’s coming from an educational per-spective.”

Candidates in the race for Su-

pervisor are most concerned with the district’s budget. Holober has served on the SMCCD Board of Trustee for 13 years. With Ho-lober’s plan to cut non-essential programs in the community col-leges, this has increased enrollment, according to Holober.

“We are now serving more students with fewer dollars,” said Holober.

Holober said his most capable opponents in the race include Cali-fornia Deputy Attorney General Gina Papan and San Mateo Union High School District board mem-ber David Pine who is endorsed by Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

Holober’s supporters include all members of the SMCCD board, Senator Barbara Boxer, and clas-sified employees in AFT and CA School employees chapter 33. Holober and Milajanich agree his campaign is in the lead.

Richard Holober

See page 4 for QR code to video coverage of this story

NewsApril 25, 2011 The SAN MATEAN • Page 3

A Libyan born professor ex-plained his perspectives in for-eign intervention, Libyan protests and its immense effects on his family.

“Everyone’s looking at Libya like a cash cow…it’s akin to sharks circling a wounded animal,” said Tarek El-Jarrari, a psychology professor at Skyline College born in Belghazi, Libya.

ElJarrari was in Libya this January and said that signs of the brewing revolution were virtually nonexistent in Tripoli.

“There was a great deal of con-struction, it seemed rather boom-

Libyan professor shares views Yasmine Mahmoud

The San Matean

ing,” said ElJarrari. “(There was) no implication by demand for change of regime.”

The threat of war between the United States and Libya is based upon whether or not the United States deploys foot soldiers on Libyan grounds.

The U.S., the European Union and other nations have begun to enforce the no fly zone over Trip-oli, Libya initiated by NATO.

Citizens of Libya are banding together in order to protest what they feel is an unjust government. ElJarrari said that the rebels who are “people like you and me,” need to negotiate a solution with Qadhafi before the occupation “hijacks the revolution from the people,” said ElJarrari.

Early on, the protests in Tripoli were violent.“In downtown Trip-oli…according to his eyewitness

report he saw three people hit by live gunfire,” said ElJarrari about his brother.

The situation in Libya “is not Egypt, and not Tunisia,” said El-Jarrari. “Nobody knows what (Qadhafi) is capable of, and no-body knows what (Qadhafi) has done.”

ElJarrari’s family in Tripoli have been direct victims of Qa-dhafi’s regime. “He is still miss-ing…of three weeks,” said ElJar-rari on his brother-in-law.

Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi, 68, has been control-ling Libya since 1969, without any official title or duty. The pro-tests broke out due to the closeted outrage of the Libyan people, who were influenced by recent revolu-tions in other Arab countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.

“These people have never held

a gun, let alone an automatic ri-fle,” said ElJarrari.

The Libyan struggle is not only felt in ElJarrari’s home on the out-skirts of Tripoli, but in the U.S. as well.

Married with two daughters, ages four and eight, ElJarrari said that the news of the attacks and protesting is greatly affecting his older daughter.

“She’s very conscious of it. Whenever we talk to (our family) in Libya she wants to talk to them herself,” said ElJarrari. “There is an underlying fear. If she hears something on the news she im-mediately asks if her grandparents are okay.”

ElJarrari first came to the U.S. in order to attend the University of Wisconsin where he received a Bachelor’s degree in psychol-ogy. After earning his degree,

he moved back to Libya for two years, where he worked in a men-tal health clinic in order to give back to his community.

“He worked with kids in private practice with different needs…it was pretty interesting him hav-ing the experience with a country with a different culture, with kids in bad situations,” said Dominic Biancalana, 19, former student of ElJarrari.

China and Russia have heavy investments in the Libyan oil bar-racks. U.S. intervention could turn this into a cold war, ElJarrari said.

“I can see this turning into a standoff issue between the Unit-ed States, Europe, China, and Russia,” said ElJarrari.“We are witnessing a cultural revolution, seeing a shift in the cultural para-digm (it’s) absolutely historic. My people, my country!”

Student-athletes were awarded with certificates for their work in the Athletes as Readers and Leaders program on Wednesday, April 13.

The program was the idea of a high school football coach and a community college teacher in Napa to have athletes go to cam-pus childcare facilities.

The athletes would interact with the kids by reading, playing and becoming good role models for the children.

Since it has become success-ful, other librarians and coaches

Alexandra LujanThe San Matean

Bulldog athletes are readers and leaders to childrenstarted similar programs on other campuses.

Lorrita Ford, CSM Library Direc-tor, donated books. Athletic Directors and coaches asked many students to participate.

Louise Piper, Child Care Direc-tor, has made it possible for the program to be suc-cessful on our campus.

“Having this program at CSM gives the athletes a chance to have an involvement with their com-munity,” said Andreas Wolf, Dean of Physical Education.

Fight for garden still goingThe plans for replacement of

the CSM garden and greenhouses with a 170-space staff parking lot is still under discussion.

As of April 18, the greenhouses will be demolished but certain ar-eas of the garden are going to be preserved.

“I feel that we have made some progress because they are going to keep the north part of the garden, and the dogwood tree…at least some of it will be preserved,” said Tricia Gardener, 21.

Construction will begin on May 2, said Fauzi Hamadeh, Account-ing Technician, Office of Student Activities.

At an Associated Students CSM meeting Monday, April 18, the

Student Senate discussed plans for becoming more involved with preserving the garden.

The theme of this year’s Earth

Yasmine MahmoudThe San Matean

Day has been changed from ‘Wa-ter Conservation’ to ‘Saving the Garden’ based upon the Save the Garden Club’s presentation.

“Curriculum drives this cam-pus, not parking,” said Bailey Gi-rard, 18, a student senator.

Many students are unaware of the garden’s scheduled demoli-tion, but the Associated Student Senate is planning on holding the Earth Day events to increase con-sciousness of the issue.

“On behalf of the club, one step that we can take is to get student support,” said ASCSM President Vivian Abellana.

While some students are un-informed of the issue, Save the Garden Club has much support throughout the campus.

“We have 400 signatures col-lected on campus,” said Gardener. “95 percent are students.”

The garden’s destruction will cause damage to the floristry and horticulture departments, which are unique to the SMCCD.

“It’s a botanical teaching gar-den, that’s what it was designed to

Photo by Yasmine Mahmoud

Tricia Gardener

“It was great to have it close to home on campus and have a com-munity outreach here,” said Wolf.

“Kids look up to them as athletes and it’s great for our athletes to walk over here and to read to them and boost the kids self-esteem,” said Michelle Warner, CSM women’s

basketball coach. Many of the student-athletes

believe that participating has made a difference in their own lives.

“This has made me enjoy doing it because the kids are really cool and energetic and its something that I always want to do when I’m here at

CSM,” said Franch-esca Roth, 18.

Roth is a basketball player and one of the participants.

“I went to read to the kids and dressed up and played with them. I

could really tell they paid attention when I was there and were engaged and learned a lot,” said Sarah Ball-ing, 19, basketball player.

In addition to their certificates received from CSM, the athletes also received certificates from Congresswoman Jackie Speier for their work in the program.

“Having a workload of both an athlete, student and being able to do this to show how important the community is,” said Mark Nogales, Field Representative for Speier.

“Seeing the kids ask all the time if the athletes are coming and seeing them run when they come shows how much influence it has had on the kids,” said Piper.

CSM’s honor society, Alpha Gamma Sigma attended the an-nual spring conference in Ontario, Calif. on April 1 and 2, bringing home two awards, including one for academic excellence.

About 495 students at the con-ference represented 42 different community colleges throughout the state. On Saturday night there was an awards ceremony where AGS gave away many awards and scholarships for academic and community service, which totaled to $39,050.

Matt FurtadoThe San Matean

Campus honor society receives academic awardsCecilie Sorensen, 22, an interna-

tional student at CSM and member of AGS, was awarded the Kathleen D. Loly award, which recognizes academic excellence. Along with the award, Sorensen received a $800 scholarship.

“I’m flattered and honored to have received the scholarship,” said Sorensen. “AGS has helped me become a greater leader and team player and I’m so grateful to have been a part of this organization for the past three semesters,” she said.

CSM sent 17 members to the conference, which is the most they have sent in a few years. “One main reason for this is that our current

AGS president, Niko Larot, helped organize a bus ride for our students and students for chapters at other lo-cal Bay Area community colleges,” said David Laderman, a co-adviser for CSM’s AGS chapter.

“We had six different schools with us, all from the Bay Area, with all chapters working towards the same goal,” said Larot.

“It took a lot of planning but what it resulted for us was a lot of understanding of different schools and learning and seeing the leadership happening there,” he said.

The five other Bay Area schools that went to the conference with

CSM included: College of Marin, Diablo Valley College, Contra Costa College, City College of San Francisco and Mission College.

The CSM chapter of AGS also won an award for the best depic-tion of the convention theme in the name tag contest which was just one of the three contests held at the conference.

Other than the awards that they won, the CSM chapter is very excited about their outreach to students around campus and the work they have accomplished in the past few semesters, said Larot.

“Before I joined AGS, there was about six or seven members in the

meetings, but now we have about 40 members coming to our meetings,” said Larot.

AGS holds many different activi-ties and community service events through out the semesters to try and reach out to the community through volunteer work, all of which help members of the pro-gram get involved with the school and community around them.

“This group has really helped me get active with every school activ-ity that there is,” said Sorensen.

“I was really able to get that friend connection at AGS too, so I am also grateful for that,” she said.

Emergency evacuation drill was held during classes on Monday, April 18. Students and faculty gathered to the closest designated area for eight minutes before classes began again.

Photo by Rachel Nielsen of The San Matean

All hands on deck for emergency drill

be,” said Horticulture and Floris-try Professor Linton Bowie.

While plans are indefinite, “no

matter where it will be, there will definitely be a garden…and that’s awesome,” said Gardener.

“Kids look up to them... It’s great for our athletes... to

boost the kids self esteem.”– Michelle Warner

Tarek ElJarrari

Campus LifePages 4 • The SAN MATEAN April 25, 2011

CSM students care for homeless

What’s This? Download a barcode scanning app for

your smartphone and scan this for video of the ribbon-cutting ceremony

CSM student Matias Bordaverri founded a project to help feed and clothe the homeless in San Francisco. The project has served more than 5,000 meals and just celebrated its one-year anniver-sary on Sunday, April 17.

Before founding the non-profit organization Xtreme C.A.R.E. (Compassion, Assistance, Respon-sibility and Empathy), Bordaverri, 35, worked as a chef for his own catering company called Whisk.

“I saw all the food that was be-ing wasted and I started thinking about how it could be used,” said Bordaverri.

After talking to CSM Ethnic Stud-ies Instructor Frederick Gaines, Bordaverri came up with a way to break social barriers and help the homeless— using food.

“With food it’s sort of natural,” said Bordaverri. “We have man-aged to bring in people from all different backgrounds.”

Bordaverri’s classmate Javier Fiaschi started volunteering with the organization soon after it started.

“It’s funny because I was thinking the same thing— to do something

Kayla FigardThe San Matean

with the leftover food,” said Fias-chi, 41.

The organization, which is volunteer and donation based, started feeding 40 people and now feeds up to 470 each event. Last year, it served more than 5,000 meals and 3,000 pieces of clothing.

On the third Sunday of every month, Xtreme C.A.R.E. volunteers come together at Sixth Street and Mission in San Francisco to feed and give out clothing to the homeless.

“We try to help people in need,” said Fiaschi. “If someone feels that they are in need when walking by, then great, take the help.”

In order to serve over 300 people, a lot of preparation needs to be done. Five regular volunteers work all month long to make these events possible. The volunteers pick up donations, sort and wash the clothes then prepare food.

“We get lots of donations from schools, local shops and the com-munity,” said Bordaverri. “We don’t take money because it defeats the purpose of volunteering.”

Bordaverri is speaking with Gaines on creating an extra credit portion in his course for students who volunteer for one of the events. Students will be able to get direct

Xtreme C.A.R.E. volunteers help sort clothing and food to benefit the homeless during an event in San Francisco. Thevolunteers spend the day passing out meals and helping the less fortunate.

Photo courtesy of Xtreme C.A.R.E.

contact in the field that they are planning to work in.

“Matias (Bordaverri) inspires me because he actually is doing something about it,” said Gaines.

“I would like to encourage more students to do what he’s doing.”

“We have a great group of people here,” said Bordaverri. “We are completely open, so feel free to

contact us.”To donate or volunteer, students

and faculty can contact Bordaverri through Xtreme C.A.R.E.’s Face-book page.

JACC awards CSM student journalistsCSM Journalism students were

honored on Saturday, April 9 for their print and video reporting of last fall’s San Bruno pipeline fire.

“…This is awesome,” said the judges about the students’ coverage of the devastating fire. “It’s a story that got national coverage. Your staff was there, tackling various angles. You related it to students, campus and showed how students were impacted.”

The Journalism Association of Community Colleges is a state-wide organization, which pre-sented the awards during a three-day conference April 7 to 9. The

Alexandra LujanThe San Matean

annual event provided different workshop sessions on reporting, design and photography.

Judges awarded students “Gen-erally Excellent” in the Enterprise Story/Series category for their cov-erage. The category is not ranked and only cites the best work. The judges awarded selected students for additional honors in photogra-phy, video and advertising.

The students were also honored in March for that same coverage on the fire, this time competing with four-year colleges. The event was hosted by the California College Media Association.

The winners included: Cecile Basnage, Margaret Baum, Roger Boucher, Raymond Cheung, Alex

Farr, Jeffrey Gonzalez, Tyler Huff-man, Bruno Manrique, Jason Pun and Sylvia Vasquez.

Mario Ayala, Gonzalez and Pun won third place in the Web/Broad-cast News category for an online update about the fire.

“Timely and informative,” the judges said of the video coverage. “Excellent footage, good cross-section of people, equal to profes-sional news stories.”

Amongst the attendees, 567 students and 47 faculty members were awarded plaques and certifi-cates.Basnage was also awarded third place in the Photo Essay Story for her print and photo coverage of a campus dance event.

Petero Qauqau received an Hon-

orable Mention for a football photo.Ben Ebrahimzadengan was given

a second place award for Student-Designed Advertisement for his full-page cartoon of a superhero-journalist. The ad aimed to help enroll students in the journalism program.

Kayla Figard, Editor of The San Matean, sent in a reference letter, personal statement and clips to win a $100 scholarship.

“The CSM Journalism program is under financial pressure and required donations for its students to attend the event,” said Journal-ism Adviser Ed Remitz. “Even then, unfortunately, the number of students who could participate was reduced from years past.”

“Going to the conference was inspirational and interesting,” said Figard. “Talking to other colleges about financial difficulties and sto-ries they have published is an amaz-ing way to connect.”

“I’m proud of our staff’s ability to continue to win awards on a story that got national coverage,” said Figard.

“Our students gained much from the workshops with the awards and the judges comments a tremendous resource for them,” said Remitz.

“It is especially rewarding to see that our students met the demand-ing challenge of covering a major local event at a level professionals have singled out for honors,” said Remitz.

Rancho Mateoby Patrick Carhart and Yasmine Mahmoud

Patrick Carhart and Yasmine Mahmoud © 2011

News/Campus LifeApril 25, 2011 The SAN MATEAN • Pages 5

Sander Bonvanie, 19Undecided, Foster City

“I don’t even know what the College Center is.”

How will you use the new College Center?

In the Mix

Michael Winslow, 19Undecided, Half Moon Bay

“I have large breaks between classes so I go to the cafeteria to relax and get coffee.”

Rachel Williams, 19Nursing, Pacifica

“To get food and eat.”

Andrei Prisecar, 21Sociology, Moldova

“Just for studies and recreational activities.”

Zack Radcliffe, 20Kinesiology, Union City

“To relax and study.”

A CSM professor was featured in Drum! Magazine this month for his unique style of music and the influence politics had on it.

John Santos has been teach-ing Afro-Latin Percussion En-semble at CSM for four years but has been in-fluencing percussionists for four decades. Santos, a San Francisco native, grew up listening to his

Kyle LaplanteThe San Matean

Professor featured in Drum! magazinegrandfather’s jazz band and started getting interested in the jazz genre from an early age but never thought he would become a teacher.

“I have been showing people this type of music for a long time,” said Santos, 55. “Because of the unique-ness of the music it is hard to come by. It was not taught in schools or anything.”

“I started gathering a lot of information from a collection of books and tapes and after a while people started asking me to teach it,” he said.

Santos has taught all over the world including places such as Latin America, Germany and many other

places in Europe. “I was reluctant at first to teach,

but I got convinced to do it and finally gave in,” said Santos.

The music that Santos produces has a lot of political influence. “The nature of this type of music is very political.

It came through colonial history, so it reflects a lot of what people went through in the early history of this country in regards to slavery and hatred,” said Santos about his music.

“It is a chance to stand up for human rights and speak up against the travesties that happened. I like to express my opinions through my

music,” he said. Santos started his own record

label; ‘Machete Records’ in 1984 and runs it from his home.

He has recorded all of his music there, including the project he is currently working on - ‘Filosofía Caribeña’ which he recently played at the Jazz Festival at Herbst The-ater in San Francisco.

The project is a sextet which includes a drum set, bass, piano, trumpet, flute and a saxophone,.

Before starting Filosofía Cari-beña, Santos was a part of a group called Machete Ensemble which lasted from 1985 to 2006 and included about 11 people.

“I loved playing in Machete Ensemble,” Santos said. “I never planned to leave and never wanted to leave the group but the economy broke it up.”

Machete Ensemble played all over the world including the 1997 Havana Jazz festival in Cuba but ended its 21-year stint by play-ing the 2006 San Francisco Jazz Festival.

“Santos is a world class percus-sionist and well known for his expertise in Afro-Cuban music,” said Mike Galisatus, a CSM music professor and colleague of Santos. “We are lucky to have him on the staff.”

Continued from Page 1Impeachment

The agenda regarded the discus-sion of the impeachment proposed on the April 11 meeting by student guest Justin Hoffman.

Student senators talked about the issues as representatives, the main

focus on a lack of communication and understanding between the senators and Abellana. Many of the solutions proposed to improve group dynamics were mainly di-rected towards Abellana. These included requests for more involve-

ment, better communication and more representation by Abellana.

Senator Jenna Finegold pointed out the student senate meetings only started having larger audiences when word about impeachment spread around campus.

She noted how torn the senate has become.

“I feel like there’s a lack of respect among senators,” said Finegold. “There’s a feeling of being trampled upon.”

The senate has a couple more

events planned for the school year, yetevident misunderstanding and tension between senators and the president remain.

“We need to drop it all,” said Finegold. “We can drop it for four weeks.”

he wrote.“We are rated No. 20 out of the

community colleges and a lot is the fact that students can do field activities,” said Tania Beliz, a CSM Biology Professor. “It’s so critical for people to get jobs,” she said.

“...justify why to keep the Hor-ticulture program and the gar-dens, because they want a large staff parking lot. It is not lack of demand for the program, or hav-ing the best interests of students in mind, but a construction schedule that is driving the destruction(s) of our facilities,” was written in

the initial letter sent to Congress-woman Speier by the faculty member.

Claire immediately addressed this issue. “This allegation is false,” wrote Claire. Claire con-tinued to describe the lack of en-rollment of the Horticulture and Floristry programs.

“Given the lack of enrollment and lack of majors in the program, it is doubtful that either program will survive the latest round of budget cuts,” wrote Claire.

The issue of CSM’s chief finan-cial officer or CFO being elimi-nated was addressed by stating the position eliminated was dean

of administrative services. The District uses a CFO, Kathy Black-wood, for all three colleges.

President Michael Claire could not be reached for comment. Con-gresswoman Speier’s office has yet to respond to The San Matean regarding these issues or what has come of the letters received.

Continued from Page 1Garden budget

Manuel OrbegozoThe San Matean

Gay Straight Alliance spreads awareness through comedy

The Gay-Straight Alliance club assembled three local gay come-dians for a crowd of more than 50 people for a comedy Fest held on April 21 in the main theater.

At the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transsexual Comedy Fest, come-dians enlightened the audience with jokes about their everyday life. The list of Bay Area comedians included Ronn Vigh, Loren Kraut and Natasha Muse.

San Francisco actor Scot Free hosted the event. Free towered 6

feet, 5 inches tall and was dressed as his drag persona, Pippi Love-stocking.

“Transgender means I used to be a boy, but then I got better,” explained Muse to an enthusiastic crowd about her sex change.

Muse and Kraut competed in the final round of the annual Battle of the Bay Comedy Competition in 2009. Muse was the winner of the 2010 competition.

Kraut, a former special educa-tion teacher, described herself as the “most pathetic lesbian in SF.” She explained her views about her lifestyle as a lesbian and received

an ovation. “Just because one is a lesbian,

doesn’t mean I want to sleep with every woman!,” said Kraut. “That would just make me a straight man.”

Kraut spoke about her obses-sive-compulsive disorder, which she used to force the audience to re-arrange seats, remove their sweaters and take their legs off the seats. Muse moved away from the gay topic and pulled a card that no one expected- her Spanish speaking Chihuahua.

“When someone stops and starts talking to my Chihuahua

and asks ‘You’re so cute, what’s your name?’ I say ugh, sorry he doesn’t speak English. He speaks Spanish,” said Muse.

Event-planning started in Feb-ruary and Mike Jensen, President of GSA described it as a “long and terrifying experience.”

“We originally only had one co-median but then decided to bring more local comedians so people can connect better,” said Jensen.

The club is trying to bring diver-sity to campus with similar events that help put an end to bullying and to homophobic slurs, said Kat Alvarado, Vice-President of GSA.

Direction and coordination of the show was credited to Helen Souranoff, CSM theater and events manager.

Photo courtesy of Sashka LeahyPippi Lovestocking

Continued from Page 1Scott

San Bruno Police were notified.The cause of Scott’s death ap-

pears to be suicide, San Bruno

police told The San Matean, but they have not officially confirmed it. “It’s an open death investigation,” said Telford.

According to Telford, the coro-ner’s exam can take a few days or weeks.

Toxicology results and other lab

work were conducted. There is no set time for when the official results will be available.

Scott suffered a gunshot wound

to the chest, said Robert Foucrault, the County of San Mateo Coroner. Scott’s case is still being investi-gated as a suicide, Foucrault said.

John Santos

by Matt Furtado

sports April 25, 2011Page 6 • The SAN MATEAN

Ohlone bites the dust in CSM win

Second baseman Michael Kathan, left, makes the turn as the feed from shortstop Riley Goulding was on time to start the 6-4-3 double play in a 2-0 win.

Second baseman Michael Kathan sprints towards first base after contact in CSM’s 2-0 win against archrival Ohlone College on Tuesday, April 12.

Left fielder Bo Walter rounds third base after a Cody Zimmerman single.

Devin Bradley throws a fastball as he finished with four strikeouts.

The CSM baseball team avenged a state finals loss to Ohlone College, winning 2-0 on Tuesday, April 12; extending their win streak to eight in a row. The Bulldogs (20-7, 14-2 Golden Gate Division) started pitcher Devin Bradley, who threw four consecutive 1-2-3 innings to start the game. Bradley went into the fifth inning with a perfect game until a one-out error from third baseman Cody Zimmerman allowed a runner to reach first base. Ohlone (15-13, 10-7 Pacific Coast Divi-sion) fought back as first baseman Cody DeMara hit a double into left-center field to put runners on second and third with one out. Bradley forced a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Renegade catcher Joel Thys after head coach Doug Williams called for an intentional walk to the previous batter. With momentum from the double play, CSM led off the inning with two consecutive singles from center fielder Justin Maffei and second baseman Michael Kathan. Maffei advanced to third base as CSM first baseman Chris Killeen hit into a double play.As Maffei got his lead off of third base, Ohlone starting pitcher Alika Pruett threw a pitch in the dirt which squeaked a few feet away from Thys. Maffei capitalized and scored as the throw home from the catcher did not come

in time to stop the run giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. “Well they had a really good pitcher on the mound so I knew we had to take advantage of any chance to score that we had,” said Maffei. “And when I was on third I knew that he had been throwing his off-speed stuff in the dirt, so I was anticipating it and got a good read and was able to use my speed to score.” Bradley was taken out of the game in the seventh inning with runners on first and second being replaced by right-handed pitcher Josh Fredendall. Bradley finished his scoreless outing pitching six and a third innings, striking out four and giving up three hits.

Fredendall continued where Bradley left off, forcing a double play to end the in-ning and holding the Renegades scoreless for the rest of the game, earning the save. “Fredendall is more of a strikeout guy and I felt that with his fastball and slider we had a better chance of getting a strikeout or double play and it worked out,” said Williams. “It’s good to see our guys Bradley and Fredendall pitch well and they both executed very well.” Prior to this win, it had been two years since CSM beat Ohlone. “It felt great,” said Maffei. “We played them tough last year. They came back from eight runs down to beat us at CSM last year and then this year they beat us in the bottom of the ninth when we played them at Ohlone… but I’m

glad we got them because it was payback for the state championship last year.” Close games have been a rarity for the Bulldogs as they have outscored their op-ponents 87 to 18 during their eight-game winning streak. “Last week we did score a lot of runs, but you have to expect games like these,” said Williams. “We had an umpire that had a big zone on both sides. Our pitchers took advantage of it and their pitchers took advantage of it, and that’s why the game was 2-0.” The Bulldogs will host conference rival Mission College on Tuesday, April 26 at 2:30 p.m. and Gavilan College on Thursday, April 28 at 2:30 p.m. CSM hopes to make its way back to the state championship again in effort to get the first state title in school history. “Well we still have a few league games left and a league championship to worry about,” said Maffei. “But as long as we con-sistently hit, pitch and defend well and get hot in the playoffs, anything can happen.”

Bulldogs struggle to score early but find late boost with aggressive base-running from Justin Maffei and Mark Hurley. Bradley and Fredendall combine for 5 strikeouts and 4 hits allowed. Win ends 2-year drought against cross-divisional rival Renegades as CSM chases top spot.

Left fielder Mark Hurley slides safely into third base for his second steal of the game. Hurley would score CSM’s second run after a Riley Goulding double.

—Story by Matt FurtadoPhotos by Marcy Palacios

The SAN MATEAN • Page 7April 25, 2011 sports

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

Chan leads charge for historic 1st titleThe women’s swimming team

earned its first Coast Conference title in school history — and the bragging rights are bigger than ever.

Trailing De Anza College by 94 points and Chabot College by 64 prior to the competition, the Bulldogs grinded day-by-day at the conference finals held at Ohlone College in the weekend of April 21 to 23.

Given that the competition is ‘swimming and diving’ (a craft CSM lacks in its athletic curricu-lum), other schools were able to rack up points for one-meter and three-meter diving while CSM stands at a flat zero every year, creating a large deficit to come back from.

CSM was forced to shave the deficit day by day, as swimming

coach Randy Wright planned his swimmers’ races strategically with a pair of aces under his sleeve — swimming prodigies — Andrea Chan and Najelah Najdawi.

“While other girls have been used to winning races all-season long, they’re up for a rude awak-ening at Ohlone,” said a confident Wright. “Andrea and Najelah are gonna go in there and snatch the gold from them. That has been the plan all along.”

Wright figured that with a year of competition experience, Chan and Najdawi could swim their off-events during regular season meets to get well-rounded, but keeping them in shape in practice so they’d take the competition by storm at the right time.

The Bulldogs responded early on Thursday as the women swept gold in all of their five races.

“Those wins were a great way

Photo by Amy Black of The San Matean

Andrea Chan, right, dives into the pool in the last meet prior to

to start off the meet and it gave us all a better understanding of what we were here to do,” said freshman Shelbi Campbell. “It wasn’t ‘til I received my first gold medal that I realized this was it.”

“Randy keeps pushing me to get faster and faster. He has inspired all of us to do our best and keeps inspiring us throughout the day,” added Campbell prior to competing on Saturday.

Campbell earned four gold med-als in the relays and one in the 100 butterfly, totaling seven overall.

Chan was dominant throughout the competition, showing why she remains undefeated in her two-year career at CSM. She was named Coast Conference Most Outstand-ing Swimmer after earning seven gold medals.

“This is an amazing end to the best two years of college,” said Chan. “This conference title is

something that we share and can look back on 10 years from now.”

CSM’s women medaled in 15 of 18 races, bringing home 11 gold, three silver and a bronze medal; while the men earned three gold, one silver and five bronze.

“There’s was a lot of ground to

make up this weekend, but if there was a team that could do it — this is the one,” said Wright.

Chan, Najdawi, Campbell along with Sophia Hommes, Masa Oto and Alvaro Andaluz will compete at state finals from April 28 to 30 at East Los Angeles College.

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

All-State shortstop to ink with Santa ClaraSophomore softball utility player

Alyssa Jepsen committed to Santa Clara University on Friday.

The 2010 All-State shortstop and Coast-NorthConference Player of the Year is soon to sign her letter of intent after debating between two Division I schools from the West Coast Conference — Loyola Marymount University and Santa Clara, which she’s set to attend in the fall.

“I knew I was going to get a great education no matter where I went,” said Jepsen, a Communica-tions major.

“LMU was a perfect choice for softball, but it was like trying to fit a square peg in a circle. It just would

Photo by Bruno Manrique

Alyssa Jepsen

not work out. There were some major factors that I didn’t want to risk in choosing LMU — credits transferring, major, etc.,” she said.

“There were also some personal factors that I needed to take in consideration and being closer to home is something that is important

to me,” Jepsen said.The 5-foot-7 Notre Dame High

(Belmont) grad batted barely over a .300 average in 2008 for the Ti-gers, but after a year of inactivity at Arizona State University, Jepsen returned hungrier than ever, hit-ting a team-leading .435 for the Bulldogs as a freshman.

Jepsen’s dazzling shortstop play, poise at the plate and stat-stuffing numbers were an evident choice for Player of the Year.

“When I arrived at CSM I was still very immature,” said Jepsen, 20. “I thank coach (Nicole Borg) for never judging me based on other people’s comments and treating me like her daughter. She is one of the most caring people I’ve ever met and she will do anything to help someone out when in need.

She is a take nothing, give every-thing type of woman.”

As a sophomore;Jepsen’s num-bers stand out from the rest as she leads the conference in hits (52), runs scored (48), doubles (15), stolen bases (17) and strikeout to at bat ratio (.049).

“I am leaving CSM as a better student of the game and a more mature and rounded individual,” said Jepsen.

The 20-year old has transitioned from her natural shortstop position to a starting pitcher, adding depth to the rotation and sporting a 14-5 record with a 2.09 ERA and 78 strikeouts.

“As a pitcher’s mother you have the ulcer,” said her mother, Cindy Jepsen.

“She pitched back when she

was 10 and here I am 10 years later watching her on the mound again. I’m not as nervous as I was back then, but it’s amazing to see how far she’s come,” she said.

Jepsen has a big task at hand as the Santa Clara Broncos sport an 11-game losing streak and a 6-23 overall record.

“Any program that I’m a part of, I know I’ll positively impact it,” said a confident Jepsen. “Like I’ve said before — I lead by example, I consider myself to be that type of player. I feel that I can be a factor of the uprising of the organization.”

Jepsen and the Bulldogs still have unfinished business, sitting a win away from a conference championship, which they will dispute visiting archrival Ohlone College on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Small ball helps struggling Dogs top Mission Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

A recently hot-batting CSM softball team struggled to hit against sixth-place Mission Col-lege, ultimately pulling a 4-0 win last Tuesday in the last home game of the season. The Bulldogs (26-9, 12-2 Coast-North Division) did not let up despite their struggles at the plate, manufacturing runs with small ball and savvy base-running. The Saints (4-20, 3-12) limited host CSM to a lone hit through four innings after CSM hit a combined .463 average in their last two games. CSM got its offense started in the fifth inning with an Annabel Hertz bunt single. Hertz stole second and then third, making it all the way home after an outfield

Annabel Hertz hits a bunt single to drive in the fourth run of the game in the sixth inning.

Photo by Bruno Manrique

error. “I knew I was gonna make it safely to second because I had a good jump and the catcher didn’t really have an arm,” said Hertz who finished with three stolen bases. “When coach asked me to steal again, she signaled to slide into the inside of the bag because she wanted me to get in the way of the ball and the shortstop. It worked perfectly! The ball hit my knee and went into the outfield, so it was easy for me to run home,” she said. The first two CSM runs came unearned in the fifth; the third came in an RBI single by leadoff hit-ter Alyssa Jepsen as the Bulldogs posted three runs in the inning. Hertz added an extra run on the sixth with another bunt single that drove in pinch runner Mary

Ganal. Hertz finished 2-for-3 at bat with an RBI and a score.

The hosts hit a combined 6-for-25 against lefty Cherlyn Trujillo (4-20), scoring only two earned runs. “It’s very important to find ways to win,” said first baseman Samantha Pacheco. “When we don’t hit, we have to bunt our way to a win.” Alyssa Jepsen pitched a one-hitter through six innings, walking four and tossing four strikeouts. Callie Pacheco came in relief in the seventh, striking out two in her short stint at the circle. “I have the upmost confi-dence calling bunt plays because we have been doing it all-year long,” said head coach Nicole Borg. CSM stole six bases and had six different batters strike out. Samantha Pacheco (0-for-3) saw her streak of nine straight hits

BULLDOG SCOREBOXBaseball:4/2 vs. De Anza College (W) 3-24/5 vs. Monterey-Peninsula College (W) 14-14/7 @ Mission College (W) 11-54/9 @ Chabot College (W) 17-34/12 vs. Ohlone College (W) 2-04/15 @ Chabot College (W) 10-84/16 vs. CCSF (W) 6-34/19 @ West Valley College (L) 4-124/21 vs. Chabot College (L) 1-34/22 @ De Anza College (W) 11-1

Softball:4/2 vs. Ohlone College (W) 9-84/3 vs. Sacramento City College (L) 5-104/5 @ Hartnell College (W) 9-14/7 @ De Anza College (L) 5-64/12 vs. Foothill College (W) 14-84/14 vs. CCSF (W) 14-54/19 vs. Mission College (W) 4-04/21 @ Chabot College (L) 0-1

Swimming:Coast Conference Finals @ Ohlone College:First Women’s Coast Conference Title at CSMWomen: Gold (11), Silver (3), BronzeMen: Gold (3), Silver, Bronze (5)State Finals Qualifiers:A. Chan — 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 100 butterflyN. Najdawi — 50 freestyle, 50 breast, 100 breastS. Campbell — 200 IM, 50 butterfly, 100 butterflyA. Andaluz — 400 IM, 100 breast, 200 breastM. Oto — 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly

Track & Field:4/19 - 4/20 Nor-Cal MultisD. Ross: 1st place 100 m.10.93S. Hoffman: 3rd place 100 m. 12.82

end. In the previous two games, the Mills alumna went a combined 8-for-8 with a walk, eight runs and five RBIs. “We didn’t win today like we should have had,” said Hertz. “We won with small ball - at the end of the day, it’s another win in the book and one step closer to that championship.” “It always feels good to win, I guess it was a good day for us not to hit,” said Borg. “If we had to pick a day, then today was a good day.” CSM will visit Chabot College on Thursday, April 21 at 3 p.m. and Ohlone College on Tuesday, April 26 at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs could clinch the Coast Conference title with both wins or an Ohlone loss. The title would be CSM’s first since 2007.

opiNioN & pubLiC forum April 25, 2011Page 8 • The SAN MATEAN

editorial

Ribbons and recession

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

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

the saN mateaN is printed thanks to a generous donation of printing services by the San Francisco Newspaper Company

and John P. Wilcox, President and Publisher.

adviSer: Ed Remitz

adverTiSing: Melissa Berger(415) 359-2721 • mberger@sfexaminer.com

California College

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Colleges

Back Talkby Matt Furtado

STaff:Amy Black, Estrella Benavides, Donovan Gomez,

Kyle Laplante, Alexandra Lujan, Yasmine Mahmoud, Manuel Orbegozo, Marcy Palacios,

Chris Palomarez, Petero Qauqau, Varsha Ranjit

MaTT furTado

maNagiNg editor

Bruno Manrique

sports editor

rachel nielSen

VisuaLs editor

Kayla figard

editor

Will henneSSey

Copy editor

Founded in 1924

San MateanTHE

The economic crises of the state are no secret. Tuition hikes are af-fecting a lot of students and the budget problems seem to be escalating. While the money coming from the construction bonds paid for the new College Center, the amount seems inconceivable at a time like this.

The Center itself is nice with different venues for eating, a new place to get coffee and is a new home for different educational programs and some administration. “The cost of the whole building was approximate-ly 90 million dollars, including all the landscaping involved,” said Mike Claire, CSM President. The amount seems unfathomable when differ-ent programs within the district are struggling to survive.

While construction bonds are not solutions to financial woes, they pose questions about the priorities of those in charge. Why is 90 million dollars used so nonchalantly on a new building? With a ceremony to celebrate its completion to boot.

Some look at bonds and feel they should only be used for what they are intended: the money for construction should only be used for con-struction. That can be understandable. But who decides what is most important? 90 million dollars just seems a bit excessive for a building.

spin CyCle

In the majority of conversations about Twitter, friends laugh and make the “tweet tweet” joke. While this social media website may not be taken seriously by some, many students are jumping on the Twitter wagon.

CSM student Tariq Ismael uses Twitter “reli-giously.” “The people I follow on Twitter are the ones I wish I went to high school with,” said Ismael, 21. He also follows bands and celebrities such as deadmau5, whose top tweet is “You don’t know me, hater.”

Student Alex Pu-lisci, 26, uses Twit-ter to promote his local band, At Our Heels. Even CSM, the CSM Library and news sources have a Twitter account to imme-diately update followers.

There is the never-ending debate of which is better— Twitter or Facebook. Student Bianca Gon-zalez believes Facebook is enough for her and her friends’ “ramblings.” “Besides I don’t need any more faculties for embarrassment,” said Gonzalez, 21.

There is a difference between Facebook and Twitter that many do not see. The best way to gain friends’ interest on Facebook is to share pictures, relationship statuses and video updates. On Twitter one doesn’t have to give out personal information to gain followers.

Highly followed Twitter accounts such as Lady

To tweet or not to tweet

Are you hurt by CSU turnaways?

Clarisa Calimbas, 19Kinesiology, South S.F.

“I don’t feel like I’m good enough for them.”

Rebecca Asbury, 19American History, Foster City

“No, I didn’t apply to any CSUs.”

Ruby Chan, 28Accounting, Caribbean

“It just sucks because we all try to get in there to get a good job.”

Zita Chavez, 20History, San Mateo

“Kind of yeah, I have to make a new plan of what to do.”

Ben Clark, 31Computer Prog., Woodside

“No not really, I’m transferring to Stanford.”

Sean Hoffman, 21Undecided, San Carlos

“I don’t know if it will affect me yet.”

erin BroWner

eNtertaiNmeNt editor

PaTricK carharT

oNLiNe editor

Next time put it on the agenda

The fliers distributed on campus March 31 demanding the impeach-ment of ASCSM President Vivian Abellana were libelous, unauthorized and a waste of time.

The fliers expressed no evidence for the claims they made and were not approved by the Office of Student Life. Abellana has been accused without evidence. She has rights like every other student and faculty member on campus and these fliers violated those rights.

Not only were the fliers libelous but they were a waste of campus security’s time. Campus security had to spend time collecting all the fliers and figuring out who distributed them instead of doing their every day duties.

Furthermore, the flier encouraged people to come to the Senate meet-ing on April 11 to impeach Abellana, but since it was not on the agenda, there was an insufficient amount of time to deal with the issue. The impeachment hearing was pushed to the following Monday, April 18.

The fliers did create a campus-wide awareness of the issue, but for what purpose? To get other students to support gossip and form cliques against Abellana? How immature can one get?

Yes, student activism is important. But it only works if it is done in responsible ways. Distributing libelous and unauthorized fliers is not a responsible way to handle one’s issues.

Instead of acting on impulse and immaturity, why not think before we act? For example, a representative from each of the alleged victimized parties could have gone to a senate meeting and expressed their concern in a calm manner. It would have been easily put on the agenda for the next meeting and no one’s time would have been wasted.

Though it might be one’s first instinct to act without thinking, we must try to remember that it is always important to look at things in a broader scope.

So yes, participate in student activism, but do so responsibly and ma-turely.

Gaga, Barack Obama and the New York Times tweet about upcoming events, daily activities or provide links to websites and videos. Users can mention any public user in their tweets, so there’s that thrill that maybe a celebrity saw the tweet. Twitter gives users the access to contact the famous accounts and the pos-sibility of recognition and reply.

The account dedicated to satirical Harry Pot-ter comments, Lord_Voldemort7 tweeted “#high-

s choo l t augh tme that if you’re an un-popular, whiny girl you will be killed in a bathroom by a giant snake.” Lord_Voldemort7 has almost one million followers.

A user’s feed can consist of sports updates, celebrity commentary or friends complaining about their Monday, depending on what the user is interested in following. Twitter is what the user makes of it.

Another top tweet includes one from an unverified account tweeting as comedian Tracy Morgan, “Face-book asks what I’m thinking. Twitter asks what I’m doing. Foursquare asks where I am. The Internet has turned into a crazy girlfriend.”

Morgan has a point. Which outlets should internet users participate in and which should they eliminate? Are things getting out of hand? Probably.

—Erin Browner The San Matean

“Twitter is what the user makes of it.”

– Erin Browner