Volume 172, Number 1 February 8, 2010 College of San Mateo • www.sanmatean.com

San MateanTHE

A four-member student Senate taskforce has been formed to help Haiti. Chaired by Jeff Stanley, the com-mittee is expected to bring Senate up to speed on ideas and ways to raise funds for the Haiti relief fund. An account has been set up through

“We are looking into this organi-zation called CARE that looks into providing food, water and shelter, the basic needs. “The other organization is called International Medical Corp and they specialize in treating victims and providing medical but more importantly in educating them on how to get clean water, medical

Senate task force mobilizes for Haiti relief fundPetero Qauqau

The San Matean

Nick Zirbes and Alex FarrThe San Matean

associated students to start gather-ing donations and two international organizations have been selected to benefit from the CSM Haiti relief said Aaron Schaefer, Students Activities Coordinator. Schaefer said his department is still working on an overall plan and pulling resources in together despite budget constraints. More coverage on page 3

Story continues on page 3

remedies and sustainable develop-ment so when the U.S moves away, Haitians will be able to help and look after themselves,” he said. Student Activities has also orga-nized flyers and posters to inform students on the fundraising drive. They are also in talks with EOPS to have someone who has recently returned from Haiti, brief students

on situation on the ground level. According to Schaefer, “People tend to open their wallets more when they understand the problem. Associated Student President Steffi Santana said that the Sen-ate was keen on the project but proper procedures would have to be followed.

About 400 attended as faculty and the occasional student made their presentations Feb. 3 and 4 during “The Teach-In,” at the CSM Little Theater. “If you want your demands met, create an independent social move-ment. This is a crisis of priorities, not of budgets,” said Dan Kaplan, Executive Secretary of the Ameri-can Federation of Teachers (AFT) . Mar. 4 is the date of a mass rally against budget cuts at San Francisco’s Civic Center, while a daylong protest in Sacramento is planned for Mar. 22. “The entire Bay Area labor move-ment supports the Mar. 4 demon-stration,” Kaplan said. A civil rights activist and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) member during the turbulent ‘60s, Kaplan believes in peaceful and lawful demonstration. “We need to organize indepen-dently against these budget cuts,” he said.

John ServatiusThe San Matean

Cutback protest on 3 campuses

“I believe we need to fight back. Many people are opposed to these cuts, but many are cynical. “They believe there is no alterna-tive. Tax the rich and convert war funds to human needs (referring to the Federal $700-plus billion Federal defense budget and the $50 billion allocated to education).” Property taxes account for 98 percent of the district’s income, according to Susan Petit, a retired foreign language and English professor. “Property taxes are down because property is worth less due to the recession,” she said. “The state budget is (only) up 2.2 percent. More students are at community colleges because they could not get into CSUs. Admis-sion closed (early) this spring, and 3,914 students were denied admis-sion to SMCCD,” she continued as her PowerPoint presentation flashed across a large screen in the background. “Tuition only pays 7 percent of educational costs,” she said. “We’ve been hit by a triple

Students sign up for the “March in March”, at the teach-in held on Feb. 3 at the CSM theaterPhoto by Cecile Basnage of The San Matean

A former CSM football player was killed in a drive-by shooting in Hayward Jan.3 and police have no suspects. William Robert Vatuvei, 19, a former No. 44 linebacker for the Bull Dogs, was sitting in a parked car with his cousins when the murder occurred, according to his mother, Fiona. She said her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time. “I’ve heard that it’s gang related, she said. Will is a family person and not a gang member, referring to her son in the present tense. He has an upbringing good boy.” Mr. Vatuvei was born in New Zealand and came to the U.S. when he was six years old in 1991, ac-

cording to his mother. While at CSM, she said, her son was recruited by Oregon State and Stanford Universities to play football. The family moved to Patterson last summer and Mr. Vatuvei was

going to complete his first two years of college at Modesto Community College. He was a drama major, but football was his first love, she said. A funeral mass and vigil was held at All Souls Catholic church in Hayward on Jan. 12 where Mr. Vatuvai and his family were regular congregants. “He had a bright future and loved everything about the game, said CSM Defensive Coordinator Tim Tulloch. Hayward Police Public Informa-tion Officer Chris Orrey was called out of town unexpectedly, and Inspector Michael Woods of the investigations unit did not return calls seeking comment. “They have leads, but they want everything to be concrete before they make an arrest,” Fiona said.

Former bulldog slain in HaywardJohn Servatius

The San Matean

whammy,” according economics professor John Kirk. “The official unemployment rate is 12 percent,” he said, but counting

the unemployed, underemployed (those working part-time, but want-ing full-time jobs) and the discour-aged, the full unemployment rate is

21 or 22 percent. “Education, prisons and social programs get 93 percent of the state budget,” he said.

Cañada students and faculty reacted to budget cuts with a call for unity at their teach-in, Feb. 3, while tensions ran high at Skyline. The student organization Cañada Strikes Back is hosting weekly

student meetings to brainstorm strategies for action. Teachers likewise voiced their concerns for the future of community colleges, expressing the sentiment: as classes are cut, students and teachers both lose. “I may not be here in the fall. I haven’t been offered a class. But

you know what? If I don’t stand up now, I may not have a class anyway,” said Adjunct Professor Robert Ovetz. San Fransisco State University representatives on the Cañada panel proposed alternatives to protests. They stressed unified action,

strengthened by means of face-to-face conversations, reaching out beyond the campus community, and even possible campus building occupations or state wide general strikes. “You can ask for it, or you can take charge of it,” said Jasmine LeBlanc, an SFSU representative.

“If the system isn’t functioning for the majority of the people, then it needs to be destroyed and rebuilt,” said Jamal Jones, another representative of SFSU. Meanwhile disagreements flared into heated debate as students

Cañada unites, Skyline clashes over budget

The San Mateo Police have arrested an El Granada man who was seen on campus Wednesday, Feb. 3, with firearms. The suspect, identified as Merit Frank Draven, 30, from El Granada, was booked on three counts of weapon possession; possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm on a college campus, possession of a concealed firearm, said Stephen Wagstaffe, Chief Deputy District Attorney for San Mateo County. Police arrested the suspect after they responded to reports of two men with a gun in Galileo parking lot, said Lieutenant Mike Brunicardi of the San Mateo Police Department . Draven was released on $40,000 bail at 11:52 p.m. on Wednesday Feb. 3. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Mar. 11. The district attorney’s office has not yet examined the case, or determined what charges may be filed, said Wagstaffe. It is still unclear if Draven was a CSM student. The San Mateo Police Department reminds the public that, in “person with a gun” type incidents, they should call 911 immedi-ately, keep their distance, not take action themselves, try to note specifics about descriptions and locations, and try not to panic.

— Alex FarrThe San Matean

Arrest for guns

Alex FarrThe San Matean

Barbara Flores, a CSM em-ployee for 31 years, remembered for running the concession stand at football home games, died on Dec. 29. She was 58.

Mrs. Flores worked in the Student Activities Office, helped develop the student run Café In-ternational, and participated in CSM’s commencement exercises, as well as running the concession stand before her retirement in 2007.

“She served as a second mom to our students and that was her greatest legacy at CSM,” said for-mer co-worker Fauzi Hamadeh.

“A go-to person, always help-ful and someone loved by the stu-dents,” said Krystal Romero, an-other co-worker of Flores.

“She loved her job because she got to make an impact on helping students on a daily basis while forming long-lasting rela-tionships with colleagues who became close friends,” said Diana Flores, her daughter-in-law.

“Whenever she was around, no matter what mood I was in at

Campus Briefsby Mintoy Tillman

Campus Blotter Wed., Jan. 20, 10:28 a.m. A bomb threat was called into the administration Bldg. 18 was inspected by security, and again by SFPD bomb sniffing dogs. No explosives or other suspicious devices were found. The San Mateo Police Department asks anyone with any information about the male caller to contact them. Information can be reported to the San Mateo Police Investigation Unit at (650) 522-7650, or via the Anonymous Witness Hotline at (650) 522-7676.

Mon., Jan. 25, no time provided Two suspects were seen leaving Hillsdale Lot 1 following a car break in. The two were in an older, silver Honda; the last three digits of whose license plate are 299. If you see this vehicle, or anyone suspiciously peeking into parked cars, please call CSM Public Safety at 574-6415.

Information provided by Lt. Mike Brunicardi of the San Mateo Police Department.— Alex Farr

The San Matean

If 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. Submissions should be typed neatly. For more information, call 574-6330.

Page 2 • The SAN MATEAN News February 8, 2010

first, she always made my day and made me feel better,” said Doro-thea Widmer, a former student who worked with Mrs. Flores at the Café International.

“She provided a warm and welcoming presence for the thou-sands of students that she served over the years,” President Mi-chael Claire wrote in a memo to all staff.

Flores was born Jan. 25, 1951 and was raised in South San Fran-cisco. She lived on the Peninsula

for most of her life, relocating to Roseville with her husband Al Flores after her retirement in 2007.

She loved reading, keeping up with current events, and espe-cially loved traveling.

She also enjoyed cooking and “beating the contestants on Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune”, said family members.

She is survived by her hus-band Al, as well as her children Justin, Joseph and Tiffany, her brothers Steven, Paul and Mark, her sister Susan, numerous nieces and nephews, and her dog Bailey.

“She will be missed by all and has left a special place in the hearts of those who knew her,” said Diana.

“We love her very much and know that she will continue to in-spire us to celebrate and live life with passion and positivity,” she said.

Services were held on Jan. 2 in Roseville, California. The family requests donations in Mrs. Flores’ memory be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718; www.cancer.org

Flores was ‘2nd mom’

Photo courtesy of Diana Flores

Barbara Flores

Deadline to pay feesThursday, February 11

Holiday - Lincoln’s BirthdayFriday, Februrary 12

Declared RecessSaturday, February 13, and Sunday, February 14

Holiday - President’s DayMonday, February 15

Sports

Men’s Baseballv. Laney College, Tues, Feb. 9, 2pm, Oaklandv. Solano College, Thurs, Feb. 11, 2pm, San Mateov. Solano College, Sat, Feb. 13, 1pm, Vacavillev. Cabrillo College, Tues, Feb. 16, 2pm, Aptosv. Sacramento City College, Fri, Feb. 19, 2pm, San Mateo

Women’s Basketballv. Hartnell College, Wed, Feb. 10, 5:30PM, San Mateov. City College of SF, Fri, Feb. 12, 7pm, San Mateov. Las Positas, Wed, Feb. 17, 7pm, San Mateov. Chabot, Fri, Feb. 19. 5:30pm, Hayward

NewsFebruary 8, 2010 The SAN MATEAN • Page 3

Rising district enrollment is making it harder for students to get classes. Dr. Henry Villareal, Dean of En-rollment Services at CSM, said that preliminary records show 10,980 students enrolled, up from 10,407 in Spring 2009, a 5.5 percent increase. Skyline and Cañada Colleges could not be reached for information about their enrollment figures. The Director of Community and Government Relations for the dis-trict, Barbara Christensen said that Skyline College has enrollment of 9,655, up from 9,503, a 1.6 percent rise from a year ago.

CSM enrollment on the riseWilliam Hennessey

The San Matean

Petero QauqauThe San Matean

Against all odds, hopeful Hubo.Photo by Jeff Gonzales of The San Matean

Student’s worry over Haiti Painful! That’s how a 28-year old Haitian native and electronics student describes the aftermath left by the 7.0 earthquake that struck his native country on Jan. 12, killing an estimated 200,000. When first told of the tragedy by a friend at work, Hubert Santill’s reaction was, “What happened to Cité Soleil?” Braving the rain and cold to attend CSM on Jan 19, Santill discovered that school had been closed due to power failure and his Electronics 231 class had been cancelled. His problems were the least of

his worries as his focus turned to his native Haiti and major concerns on how much of the relief funds collected all over the world would be spent on the Haitian people, as suffering increases on a daily basis. “As I see in Haiti, the most beau-tiful cars that I have ever seen are owned by the people that are in non-governmental organizations, and then I look at the children in the street they cannot eat and then people that receive money on their name have some expensive or beautiful cars make me feel 10-years from the time they were there the situation is becoming worse,” Santill said. Pursuing an AA Degree in Electronics at CSM, Santill is

originally from the north of Haiti, a place called Cap Haitian, but was educated in Port au Prince before migrating to the U.S. He hopes to head back home to his native Haiti one day, and start a construction company to help people. “My friend told me something has happened in Haiti, so I tried to get information on what exactly is going on and I see it on TV. “The magnitude of what was happened; I was feeling that I was like in the middle of it, so my first question was what happened to Cité Soleil?” Cité Soleil, pronounced as Site Solèy in Creole, which means Sun City in English, is a shanty town

in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.Its population is reported to be 200,000-300,000, all of whom live in extreme poverty. Even though none of his family or friends was harmed, the CSM Electronics student continues to share in the pain that most who lost family and friends feel, the pain that all Haitians feel. Santill remembers the place he grew up in, went to the supermar-ket, and walked down the street, attended school on TV and feels his people’s pain, a feeling that brings tears to his eyes and is in-describable.Donations in aid of the Haiti Relief Fund can be made at Building 19, Room 111.

Cañada College has an enrollment of 6,819, up from 6,267, an 8.8 percent rise from last year. Total student enrollment in the district is 27,454, up from 26,171, a 4.9 percent rise. Villareal believes some of the reason for the increased enrollment is the economy’s continued decline. People are losing jobs, so they are going to community college to upgrade or gain job skills. State universities are contributing to the rise of enrollment because of limited admittance of new and transfer students. That number is expected to grow for the Fall 2010 semester and beyond, said Villareal. An

increase to the student population is not the only trouble the school will encounter. More state budget cuts could affect the amount of classes available to the increasing student population.

met with their student senators at Skyline. Students wanted sanction for protests and saw the student senators as an obstruction of their voice. Officials in student senate, meanwhile, claimed that students failed to adhere to accepted proce-dures, justifying their resistance. Students were inspired, despite

continued from page 1Skyline protest clash

Less available classes will make it difficult to fulfill transfer require-ments. Tuition increases are likely com-ing up in the near future and could happen as early as this summer, or

the upcoming fall semester. The state would be asking community colleges to increase their tuition by 30 percent. That would be 32 dollars per unit, rather than 26 dollars a unit.

tensions over how to proceed. Fac-ulty and students nevertheless felt unable to breach particular topics, “Teachers need to be on board, we’re participating and teachers still have classes,” said Renee Daniel, 20. Lori Adrian, Vice President of Student Services called for coop-

eration between Student Senate and protesters. Adrian urged students and faculty to participate in the student senate sponsored budget panel, scheduled for Feb. 24. “That’s the goal, to have faculty and students unite,” said Adrian, who felt that perceived conflicts were the result of poor logistics.

Is it over for Obama?

opiNioN & public forum February 8, 2010Page 4 • The SAN MATEAN

editorial Back Talkby Cecile Basnage

Tough timesThere is talk that the Community College League of California

is already proposing a 30% increase in fees from $26 to $32 per unit ahead of more budget cuts expected for May.

The preliminary budget for 2010-2011 submitted by Gov. Schwar-zenegger shows major cutbacks to education.

More cuts should be expected in May, when the state has more accurate information on the estimated receipts and annual expenses are taken into account.

Enrollment Services at CSM record a 5.5 percent increase for the Spring 2010 semester from Spring 2009 semester.

These numbers, provided by Dr. Henry Villareal, Dean of Enroll-ment Services in an article by William Hennessey, will not be official until Census Day on Feb 13 and the number is expected to increase for Fall semester 2010.

How many take notice that waiting lists and the number of walk-in for classes for the Spring 2010 semester have increased rapidly.

With programs and classes cut, students must understand that it will take longer to graduate or transfer as there are fewer teachers to teach and fewer classes to attend.

Students will have to compete for the number of available seats per class, and with enrollment expected to grow next semester, one should wonder at where he or she will stand with regards to being enrolled in a class.

With cuts affecting all educational institutions statewide, the com-petition for a spot in a class will be tougher as CSU students will try to get extra credits in Community College’s as classes are cut.

It is advisable to register as soon as possible for the next semester when registration for the fall semester 2010 is open.

That is for fees alone, who knows what to expect with the cost of text books, is it going to rise as well, considering the economic situa-tion?

EOPS has had to cut its free text book and bus pass service.It is advisable to share copies with students who have them or

check if they have copies in the library.For those that drive to school, should they expect an increase to

fuel prices? Anything is possible in these tough times.President Obama in his State of the Union address on Jan 28

showed us that he was not quitting easily.Despite the odds stacked against him, he assures the nation that he

is going to fight on and fight for change.A very good example for all students here at CSM.We must fight the cuts to education, we must fight having to take

longer to graduate and we must fight and ensure we enjoy the best in our public school system.

In doing so, we must march on the Californian State Capitol in Sacramento and demand our state ‘elects’ that we have had enough, and if there are to be cuts it must begin in their own backyard beginning with them.

Miriam Guerrero, 21Criminal Justice, Redwood City

“I think he’s stepping up, hopefully he can do what he said.”

Simone Cappadocia, 21Accounting/Astron., San Mateo

“I wouldn’t say it’s over. But miracles will have to be performed.”

First Amendment update:Waiting for a meeting spin CyCle

Nature vs. Nurture, long a question asked when judging an individual... but can it be used for judging events? An experiment in applying this framework to events may prove insightful. In the one corner, we have Nature: Text messages and e-mails went out to students and faculty amid se-vere storms on Tuesday Jan. 19, 6:40 a.m. “CSM: Power is out at CSM. Campus closed until further notice. Check www.collegeofsanmateo.edu for updates.” Power was not restored, and classes were cancelled until 5 p.m. In the opposite corner, we have Nurture: “Earlier today CSM received a bomb threat.” reported e-mails sent to CSM Employees on Wednesday Jan. 20, 12:09 p.m. “Security Officers were dispatched to BLDG 18 to investigate. ... SMPD searched the building and used bomb sniffing dogs, which is part of their standard protocol,” added the e-mails. Neither Tuesday nor Wednesday posed a disaster to the college. However both were tests of the school’s protocols for handling events that can come up. The occurrence of these two events on the first and second days of the Spring 2010 semester, so close upon the heels of one another, tempts a comparison of the ef-fectiveness of protocols. CSM is a competitive college, after all. There was no real competition though. Nature “won” this match-up handily. She shut down the entire college for a day, while the poor behavior of whomever was responsible for the bomb threat merely forced Security, the San Mateo police, the San Francisco police, and some bomb sniffing dogs to inspect Bldg. 18 a couple of times. Clearly, the implication is that the college’s protocols are far less prepared for natural events than for man-made events. Nature is more of a threat on campus than Nurture. As climate change continues to make nature less predictable, it is hard not to speculate that the continued fixation on man-made threats, on “evil doers”, might actually contribute to making the campus, and the country at large, less safe. On the other hand, the science clearly indicates that nature itself is increasingly man-made. This irony is liable to persist until someone develops a technique for training severe-storm-sniffing dogs, flash-flood-sniffing dogs, wild-fire-sniffing dogs, and so on. While talk of such training may sound histrionic, it does serve to underscore a hope that an acknowledgement of man’s growing influence over the bad behavior of nature may be necessary before an equalization of the priorities given to natural and man-made event preparations can begin. A long overdue equalization, it could be argued.

— Alex Farr The San Matean

The San Matean is involved in a dispute with the administration concering the future of its newspaper and website.

A meeting was requested to resolve the issue in Dec., but a date has not yet been set. See sanmatean.com for details on the dispute. Nature vs. Nurture

Staff: Taylor Bickel, Julie Burns, Toi Cheung, Carina Collins,

Chris DePass, Ashley Farabee, Tevye Friedlander, Jeffrey Gonzalez, Tommy Hart, Christopher Haynes, William Hennessey, Doreen Joiner, Trygve Katigbak, Bruno Manrique, Marcin Marciniak, Marjorie Mopas,

Julie Myhre, Tannith Patterson, Jessica Ritter, Will Ruddock, Michelle Wang, Nick Zirbes

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. Advertis-ing 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.

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alex farr

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Evan Kaltschmud, 21Business, San Mateo

“Yes. And it’s about time.”

Brianna Hansen, 19Nutrition, San Mateo

“I think he’s doing his job- he’s getting out there in the public.”

Aaron Delgado, 16Undecided, San Mateo

“I wouldn’t say it’s over, because nothing has really changed.”

Roy Howard, 33Business, East Palo Alto

“Personally I’m not seeing any change. It’s still slow.”