Graphic by Allen S. Lin

On Nov. 6, 2012, the public will cast their votes for the next President of the United States, or will they? Read the full story

The Spectator staff will bring home a few more awards from the 2011 State JACC (Journalism Association of Community Colleges) Convention, which takes place April 7 – 9 at the Double Tree in Sacramento. Mail in competition winners include: Sean Jones, Abraham Rodriguez, Michael Lopes and Alexis Daniel.

Former Advisor and late Mr. William B. Johnson was honored during the opening speeches and award presentation at this years conference. Johnson was posthumously given the Distinguished Service to Journalism award and awards were also presented in his honor by Johnson’s wife and Chabot faculty member Michelle Sherry. Also a page was dedicated to him in the conference schedule book, to remind all of his presence and greatness.

Additionally former Editor In Chief, Spencer Holladay won volunteer of the year at the State Conference.

Multimedia editor Sean Jones brings home four awards, one of which is first place, though Jones is no stranger to winning at these events. Former Motoring editor and current intern at the East Bay Express, Abraham Rodriguez brought home one award for front page layout. Former Scene editor, Michael Lopes brings home an award for inside page layout, this is not his first award. Current managing editor Alexis Daniel won her first award this year for front page layout.

At the end of the Fall 2010 semester, Spectator editors selected the best work from Spring 2010 and Fall 2010 to submit for various competitions. Categories ranged from front page layout, photo illustration, feature photo, sports action, critical review, news story, feature story and many more. This competition is between all California Community College newspapers.

Mail in competition results

And the award goes to…

Sean Jones, Honorable Mention, Informational Graphic

Alexis Daniel, Abraham Rodriquez, & Sean Jones, Honorable Mention Front Page Layout -Tabloid

Michael Lopes, Honorable Mention, Inside Page Layout – Tabloid

Sean Jones, First Place, Sports Action Photo

Sean Jones, Fourth Place Online, Photo Essay

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The Conference, what is it?

The conference is an annual event that alternates between So Cal and Nor Cal every year. Community Colleges from around the state join together to attend workshops led by industry professionals and participate in on-the-spot competitions.

Some workshops include newspaper design by former Spectator editor, current Art Director of Vegas Inc, Spencer Holladay; Multimedia on the Cheap by Kim Komenich from San Jose State; additionally professionals from SF Weekly, Patch, Fox-40, San Francisco State, The Sacramento Bee, The Los Angles Times, and many more.

If interested in sponsoring the Spectator for future conferences you can make a tax-deductible donation through the Chabot College Foundation. For more information on donations click here.

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On the spot

In addition to mail in competitions, newspaper students from around the state are given an opportunity to compete in on the spot competitions that simulate the tight deadlines to produce quality material like in the real world. Some of these competitions include: feature writing, team feature, news design and layout, critical review and more.

The staff that are attending this year’s conference are Editor in Chief, Ian Williams; News Editor, Antone Tucker; Focus Editor, Lamyra Hal; Managing Editor, Alexis Daniel and Staff Writer, DaSean Smith.

News editor, Antone Tucker and staff writer, DaSean Smith participated in the Team Feature. The Team Feature has a pair go out to a specified event and take photos, video, audio and notes, then go back to the hotel and compile them in to a slide show.

Editor In Chief, Ian Williams and Focus editor Lamyra Hal participated in the feature writing competition. This competition gives you only the use of an alpha-smart, AP style book and dictionary to make an amazing story.

This year the Spectator staff did not win an award for on the spot competitions, but next year we hope to do so.

This 2011 spring semester will officially mark, what looks to be like, the end of the Chabot College Foundation.
Budget cuts continue to play out on campus and have resulted in the termination of programs and layoffs of multiple staff members across the board. One of the more recent casualties in this process is the Chabot College Foundation led by Assistant Director Heidi B. Finberg.
In a letter obtained by the Spectator, written by Dr. Joel Kinnamon, chancellor of the Chabot – Las Positas Community College District, and addressed to Foundation Chairman Shelia Young, regarding the foundation it reads as follows:

“We viewed all materials related to the creation of the Foundation and District. This included review of all meeting minutes, emails, and related documents since the inception of the Foundation. This review resulted in a legal opinion from Chabot – Las Positas Community College District counsel on October 1, 2010. … The legal opinion concluded that the Foundation is established as an Auxiliary of the District and concluded that the District could not continue expending any resources toward the Foundation.”

The Chabot College Foundation has been in service since 2003 and was once led by full-time Director Richard Talmo who resigned in 2007. The torch was passed on to Assistant Director Finberg who came to the program in 2006. Since this time the Foundation has raised over $2 million, including an $800,000 grant awarded to the Foundation for the building of the San Leandro Chabot Center.
Finberg officially works at Chabot as an administrator, a position which, in comparison to faculty and staff, does not include labor union representation. Instead Finberg’s position is held by a one- to two-year contract, which in this case is not being renewed.

The Foundation raises money for classes, co-curricular programs and campus clubs. This includes funds for travel, uniforms, conferences and competitions, bridging the gap between the school, the community and alumni.

“We have been the vehicle for tax deductible donations. I don’t know how the campus will handle donations from donors that want tax deductions,” said Finberg.

The transfer of donated funds to Chabot College has to be received by an organization holding a 501(c)(3) non-profit, officially making it a charitable non-profit. Chabot College cannot do this because it’s a public institution and government funded.

In the case of direct funding it is reported that all funds within school accounts are subject to “sweeps,” meaning that what is needed by the school can be taken.
“I really feel the Foundation has made a difference in the lives of students for the past eight years, effectively attracting fresh volunteers and community leaders who have made real connections with the campus. Personally I am sad and will continue to volunteer for organizations like SBBC, International Club and others,” said Finberg.

In past events the Foundation has funded the GSA’s San Francisco Pride float and the International Club events, which would have to charge more for ticket prices if not matched by ASCC and the Foundation.

Currently the schedule is still full for the Foundation, including the Forensics raffle April 28, the Puente 30^th Anniversary celebration April 29, Auto Tech recognition night May 10, and SBBC recognition night May 21.

“I had to turn down theater arts because we can’t take on any new projects,” said Finberg.

Las Positas Foundation Director Dr. Kaye is in the middle of a two-year contract and will remain there. Chabot’s Foundation has a pro bono lawyer for consultation and is currently not pursuing any legal action.

On April 4 there was a meeting held by the chancellor informing the Foundation that they could possibly have to pay back some salaries already paid. The estimates range up to $1.3 million, but as of now there has been no decision made.

“The Foundation has no control of salaries, positions, or hiring and firing of an individual,” said Finberg. Currently there is no outcome or plans to address, replace or repair the mode and function of the Foundation on this campus.

“The Foundation has been a great supporter of the students, always willing to help fundraise for scholarships. Even recently they donated all of the sodas that were sold at our ASCC Talent Show,” said Ray Cornejo, ASCC vice president.

As another success story the Foundation helped organize and finance the swim teams’ recent wine & beer tasting fundraiser on April 1.

“The climate has always been at a place where fundraising is crucial, and a lot of it falls on the backs of the coaches … to absorb the cost of running a team. … What the Foundation does reaches so far into the community and it’s definitely an important cog …. My question is, how do you replace that?” said Head Swim Coach Greg Kubicki.

As for student scholarship fundraising and everything else mentioned, there will be no paid Foundation staff and no direction in the handling of nonprofit fundraising on this campus.

Should colleges guarantee or promise you a job after graduation? Some say they do, some say that they will help you, and some say you’re on your own.

California’s community college system is subsidized by the taxpayers. So students don’t pay full price, paying instead a very small percentage of the fee to attend.

We as Californian students should be appreciative of taxpayers, because if it wasn’t for them we would be paying full price.

That being said, though, I believe that schools should promise you a job or at least help you find one.

Don’t you think that if schools promised you jobs, more and more people would actually attend college? Just think about how nice it would have been if, when you sent your application to Chabot and got accepted, there had been an option to request a job guarantee upon graduation.

Chabot students would be happy to know that there future would be right around the corner. Unfortunately, colleges can help you find a job, but they aren’t legally forced to find you one.

Their job is to provide you with and education so you can be someone in life. It would be nice if they can provide all students with a job, but then where would the hard work pay off? We must struggle a little too then feel good, and feel that we have succeeded.

As you know there are many types of schools. There are private universities, CSU’s, community colleges, private institutions, etc. Jose Antonio Acosta graduated from UTI (Universal Technical Institute) in the summer of 2010.

Acosta graduated as an automotive, diesel, industrial, collision and repair technician. He hoped to at least make a salary of 50 k a year. The programs to be a certified mechanic through Ford took about 52 weeks, at a cost of $15,000 over two years.

Acosta graduated in April, and it wasn’t until August that he got a job. He now works with Ford in Chinchilla, California and makes nine dollars an hour. So do you think that that $15,000 was worth paying?

We must understand that things can’t be handed down to you right away, but this man just graduated from a private university and is making minimum wage.

Susana Chavez attends Chabot; she works full time while attending school full time. She said “I think schools should promise you jobs, because there isn’t really much out there. I mean really, once people graduate they go from something to nothing.

Daniel Colima is a senior at San Lorenzo high school, and he said, “I am going to graduate soon, and I don’t think I want to go to college because will there be jobs for me in 2020?”

Chavez insists that people drop out of or never even enroll in college because there are some jobs that pay you $15 an hour and you don’t need a degree. Many people settle for these jobs, she said.

This may be one reason people that attend school drop out, fearing they may not be able to find a job right away.

I think that schools should promise you a job because you are paying to get and education. You work hard to graduate and some compensation should be guaranteed.

Women’s Basketball

6:09 p.m.
At the end of the first half, Chabot Glads led by one point with a score of 27 – 26. Now 9 minutes into the second half the Glads have fallen behind by 4 points with a score of 33 – 37.

6:12 p.m.
Glads score a 2 point shot that is shortly followed by a 2 point shot made by Skyline College, bringing the score 35 – 40.

Sean Jones

Gladiators step all over the Trojans to get to the ball.

Lexophilia | Chabot Spectator

Lady Glads play hard against Skyline College.

6:13 p.m.
Chabot’s #24, Charnay Bell scores a 2 point shot which is followed by a 3 point shot made by the Trojans, bringing the score 37 – 43.

6:20 p.m.
39 – 45

6:29 p.m.
Less than 1 minute left in the second half and the score is 46 – 52. The lady glads could pull this off.

6:36 p.m.
Lady glads lose for second time this week, with a score this time of 46 – 55 against Skyline. After this evenings game the Lady Glads have 12 wins and 9 losses.

Men’s Basketball

Going into tonight’s game the Chabot’s men’s team has 13 wins and 6 losses. Skyline College has 8 wins and 9 losses.

7:00 p.m.
The starting line up for Skyline College:
#11, Chris Crowder
#15, Si,on Enciso
#23, Jahrail Taylor
#32, Deonte Smith
#35, Marcus Dunlap

The starting line up for Chabot College:
#5, Kurtis Ong
#22, Randy Newell
#32, Chammar Grissom
#33, Colin Chadwick
#34, Jacob Noisat

7:03 p.m.
First points in the game were a 3 point shot by Chabot College followed by another shot by #22, Randy Newell for 2 points. 5 – 0.

Sean Jones

Chabot's #22 Randy Newell dashes past opposing players from Skyline.

7:06 p.m.
5 – 7

7:10 p.m.
11 – 8

7:14 p.m.
14 – 15

7:15 p.m.
Chabot’s #23, Howie Manzo made two free throw shots making the score 16 – 15. Shortly after though skyline made a two point shot, 16 -17

7:26 p.m.
28 – 23

7:37 p.m.
37 – 29

7:41 p.m.
With seconds on the clock Chabot’s # 30 Joshua DeLaTorre made a 3 point shot. The hald time score is 40 -29.

8:00 p.m
Chabot’s #5, Kurtis Ong makes a 3 point shot. The score is 45 – 33.

8:01 p.m.
45 – 37

8:08 p.m.
Chabot’s #31, Tobias Royal makes a 3 point shot, bringing the score to 51 – 38

8:10 p.m.
54 – 38

8:15 p.m.
62 – 41

8:16 p.m.
Chabot’s #43, Kyle Lucket makes a slam dunk. 64 – 41.

8:17 p.m.
64 – 43

8:27 p.m.
70 – 45

8:32 p.m.
74 – 48

8:36 p.m.
80 – 53, Less than a minute left.

8:38 p.m.
CHABOT WINS!!!! 82 – 55

Gladiators collapsed in front of Falcons

Chabot Gladiators (6-3, 2-2) had the West Hills Falcons (3-6, 2-2) right where they wanted them, yet it was not enough to win in Coalinga as they fell short, 37-34.

The game came down to the last drive. The Gladiators were winning 34-30. A good punt by Ryan Bosque backed the Falcons up against their own 4-yard line. Then quarterback Steven Hurt and the Falcons marched down 96 yards on 11 plays on the Gladiators who were seeking their 4^th road win in five tries.

On the first play the Falcons’ Steven Hurtr found receiver Darrel Ashberry for a 40-yard gain to give the Falcons a little breathing room.  When the same drive went to a huge 3^rd and 8, Hunter hit sophomore Michael Bowman for a 16-yard gain.  The drive was capped when Hurt found Dewayne Lorick for the 6-yard touchdown.

The game was close statistically.  Time of possession was even at 30 minutes apiece.  Quarterback Travis Gardner had a rare off game.  The Gladiators were able to stay relevant behind the play of workhorse Bryan Jones (26 carries, 118 yards, and 2TDs).

Some highlights from the game include:

• The Gladiators fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and were drowning 30-7 by halftime.
• The Falcons first two scores came on runs of 56 yards and 1 yard by Gabriel Love and Rasuel Thomas respectively.
• The Gladiators responded when Gardner found receiver Joe Castro for the 8-yard strike.
• Momentum shifted right back to the Falcons on the next two possessions; Hunter found Lowick for scores with 43 yard and 49 yards.  Sandwiched between the two big plays was a safety.
• The Gladiators were able to reel off 24 unanswered points.
• With four minutes left in the second quarter, linebacker York Leapaga stepped in front Hunter’s pass. The turnover gave the Gladiators possession at midfield.
• With Gardner struggling to complete a pass, the Gladiators turned to Jones. Jones was able to get them 40 yards on 5 carries in the drive, including an impressive 20-yard scoring run.
• Special teams and defense led the third quarter comeback.  In the quarter, the Gladiators managed 20 points. After the defense forced a quick three and out, Castro’s 39 yards punt return put the Gladiators on the Falcons 4 yard line.  Gladiators only managed a field goal.
• On the Falcons next possession, cornerback stud Joshua Pride intercepted Hurt first pass attempt and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.  This was Pride’s fourth interception in the last two games, three for which he has returned for touchdowns.
• A Bryan Jones 7 yard touchdown run late in the quarter gave the Gladiators their first lead at 34-30.  But the long drive by the Falcons ended the Gladiators hopes of coming home with the win

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The Gladiators figure to have their hands full this week as they will host powerhouse De Anza College (6-3, 4-0).  De Anza is coming off a 29-21 victory of Los Medanos, in which they scored 26 second half points.  De Anza is also in the process of a five game winning streak.

The Gladiators and the Seahawks of Cabrillo College met Friday afternoon in the sweltering early fall heat for the first game of Coast Conference league play. The Gladiators (2-4-1), disappointed by a 2-0 defeat, were looking for their first win in three games following a scoreless draw on the road at Contra Costa College and a 1-0 loss at home to West Hills of Lemoore.

The Seahawks (1-7-0), playing their fourth straight game on the road, had yet to score any points in the season but managed their first win following a 3-1 loss to Evergreen Valley last Tuesday, Sept. 21.

Although the Gladiators had a number of opportunities in the first half, with Raoul Noumbissi on target from inside the six yard box with a couple of strong headers, Coach Igwe failed to find a fruitful striking partnership.

This forced Chabot to rely on the defense and goalkeeper Anthony Ahode in particular, who made a fine save on a low shot from Seahawks striker Adrian Silva with 25 minutes to go in the first half.

Nonetheless, Cabrillo was always dangerous on the counterattack and started to exploit cracks in the Gladiator defense as the first half neared its conclusion.

Cabrillo scored the opener seven minutes into the second half as forward Jason Olivo sped past Gladiator defender Erick Chavez on the right wing and found his striking partner Ismael Rios, whose powerful shot was tipped by Ahode into the back of the net.

Chabot came close to equalizing ten minutes later as Noumbissi once again made solid contact but headed wide, and again five minutes later when his shot just went wide of the near post.

However, the Seahawks had just too much team speed on the wings as the Gladiator defense began to tire. Cabrillo midfielder Brian Lopez, who gave the Gladiator defense fits all day, was fouled inside the box in the 67^th minute of play, giving the Seahawks a penalty.

Edgar Bedolla converted from the spot to give Cabrillo a 2-0 lead that was never really threatened for the rest of the game.

Coach Igwe said, “We competed, but I’m having trouble finding goal scorers at the moment,” and that he was going to “try to put different pairs of strikers on the field” until he finds something that works.

Chabot’s next match is lined up against City College of San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 1, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.

Are you taking the right classes to reach your educational goals? When you’ve satisfied Chabot’s requirements for an Associate Degree, will you be eligible for transfer into a California University?

When you’ve met the requirements for a successful transfer, will you automatically be eligible for that Associate’s Degree?
For a lot of students in California community colleges, the answer is no!

Senate Bill 1440, introduced by Senator Alex Padilla in February 2010, proposes an amendment to current educational law (known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act) which is intended to correct this confusion in California Community Colleges.

SB 1440, cited as the Community College Associate Degree and Recognition of Student Transfer Act, proposes that curriculum requirements for earning Associate Degrees and transferring to California State Universities be streamlined so that students can fulfill both in a timely and cost effective manner.

Legislation’s position on this bill is that preparing students for transfer into a four year university is a core function of community colleges, pointing out that the future of our economy is dependent on the education of our residents.

Inconsistencies between requirements for transfer and graduation from community colleges have left several students ineligible for graduation, transfers, and even scholarships.
Senator Padilla is ready to put a stop to this with SB 1440, but is everyone else on board?

California Universities are opposed to SB 1440, arguing that this bill will cause them to lower their admission standards.

They use the example that completion of the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) would guarantee admission into a University of California, when under the current law, the student would not be eligible to enroll.

So what does this mean to us as Chabot students?

This bill could very well become a law, and we’ll have government backing to ensure that this confusion doesn’t continue.
If not, we’ll have our pink slips, blue slips, and online databases of CSU requirements IF you know what university you want to go to, and subject to change should you decide to switch majors.

The California state budget for fiscal year 2010-11 is currently undergoing intense scrutiny in Sacramento after a gridlock between Democrats and Republicans. The legislature up until this point has not been able to produce the voting consensus needed in order to officially approve the budget plan.

It is this delay that has been exasperated by extended periods of debate along the two major party lines over classic battleground ideology, cutting taxes or imposing tax hikes. These factors are of particular interest seeing how the state budget currently fails to make up for most of a $19 billion deficit.

After a couple days of deadlock the plan moving forward remains to be a proposed tax swap, decreases in sales tax to be enacted this year followed by increases in next year’s income taxes.

While this sounds productive for holiday spending it does not address the major issues of concern which have been looming in California for quite some time. This refers to the demographics and competing interests which come into conflict with each other when legislatures and committees decide who gets what.

Specifically major issues revolve around the big four: K-12, health and welfare, higher education, and corrections. All of these represent different levels of priority for different groups in our increasingly diverse state.

One example is this year’s widely held student protests against budget cuts to higher education.

According to Jean Ross of the California Budget Project, “At the very least the new proposal has worse consequences for the middle class than it does the wealthy in 2010-11.”

A fact about the California budget is that it is ever changing as legislatures and analysts can only predict shortfalls and revenue to a certain extent. With the state’s demographics changing and population increasing there is significant strain on almost all programs.

Since seniors are living longer than in past years and “baby boomers” are about to join them California’s health care system will have to endure increasing strain. Also, with one of the highest state populations in the country, where 5-18 year old’s are reaching record levels, the same can be said about K-12 and higher education systems.

This year more students have enrolled while there has been a reduction in funding, teachers and basic courses. The fact remains the same for most programs all while state revenues are not matching the need for increasing efficiency and infrastructure that call for more spending in a deficit.

With no full-proof solutions in place disagreements on the best way to proceed will continue to flower.

According to Barbara O’Conner, director emeritus of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento, “There are a ton of undecided out there and so there will be lots of unhappy campers out there on the campaign trail if we don’t have a state budget.”

With November’s election drawing near there’s no telling what direction the budget will take further down the road, but what can be said is that the two running candidates have similar yet competing interests.

Both candidates claim they know what’s best for California’s schools, jobs and social programs.

According to Republican candidate, and former E-Bay CEO, Meg Whitman, she “will institute a system that grades our schools A-F. Meg will also support other interventions for under-performing schools, such as school closures and staff replacement, to hold schools accountable for their performance.”

Meg Whitman’s brochure mentions public schools and the UC system but fails to mention community colleges.

Democratic candidate Attorney General Jerry Brown mentions them directly however.

Brown states, “Per pupil spending lags behind most other states … higher education is also suffering in California, especially in the last decade. From a system that was essentially tuition free, fees have skyrocketed at both the University of California and California State University systems. When I was Governor … the state devoted three to four times more to higher education than to prisons; today that ratio is even. That’s not right.”

Either way one looks both claim to have solutions to a very real and worsening problem, and the current budget is sure to change in the time to come in light of the different approaches. This coincides with the inability of the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) and legislatures to predict exactly how the economy and demographics will continue to change.

The state budget affects the well being of the state and all who reside in California. If looking for a more active role in this matter remember to vote in this November’s election.

Editorial

Today the Academic Policy Council will be meeting from 2:25 p.m. to 4 p.m. “in response to recent reported incidents of student forgery of priority numbers,” as Ming-Lun Ho wrote in a recent e-mail sent to Chabot faculty and staff.

Students are cheating the system and, in fact, cutting the line when it comes time to add classes. One may wonder if students are now hacking the CLASS-Web system. The answer for now is no, at least from what is known. But non the less this in unconscionable.

So how or why would someone do this?

With the rise in unemployment and the delay in a resolution with the state budget, Chabot has been put in between “a rock and a hard place” like many colleges in California. While student enrollment is at an all time high, Chabot is being forced to cut staff and classes until the state of the economy can be resolved.

The lack of classes has led students to think up new ways to get into classes that are already full. Typically, when a class is full students who would like to add show up the first day of class with their priority number. The more units a student has completed the higher his or her priority number.

It was brought to the Spectator’s attention, along with that of many Chabot faculty and staff, that students are so desperate to get into classes they are faking their priority numbers with Photoshop and other software that can digitally manipulate the number.

According to internal e-mail discussions between instructors, some students have been coming to them with odd priority numbers, whether it be because the numbers aren’t aligned properly on their printout or the number they have submitted is unusually high.

What most students don’t realize is that, firstly, the priority number indicates three different things. Specifically, the numbers in the middle represent the number of units one has completed.

Instructor Diane Zuliani noted a student who “handed [her] a print-out, ostensibly from CLASS-Web, with a priority number that not only looked odd, [but] the digits were not correctly aligned. … that indicated she had completed over seven hundred units at Chabot.” Zuliani did not accuse the student but did suggest the student go to Admissions and Records to verify the priority number.

Counselor Jane Church explained, “The number students show is a six digit number which includes the matriculation priority number, which could be a 07. A typical number would look like this: 070459. The middle three numbers represent the number of units completed at Chabot. The last number is a random number. So in the example above the student completed 45 units at Chabot.” This information can be found at http://www.chabotcollege.edu/admissions/registration/priority.asp.

Additionally, once a student is added in a class the individual’s priority number shows up on the roster. So, instructors can see if students are lying later, which would give cause to drop them for fraud.

At this time there is no precedent in the CLPCCD (Chabot-Las Positas Community College District), but if things like this continue the colleges are bound to come up with a set punishment.

At the Spectator we hope a punishment is determined in this recent trend, and will keep students informed when we know more.