Demotion from athletic team to club and lack of funds hurt the start of this year

Back row: LaShay Cash, Emiliana Wilheim, Monica Villanueva, Jonathan Flores, Tory Teasley, Leslie Miller – Front row: Nicolette Shyam, Andrea Ceballos, Edy Gomez. [Tammy Lere/Staff Photo]

The Chabot cheerleading squad recently had tryouts and assembled a squad of 13 including both men and women who want to lead Chabot to better school spirit, but starting from the ground up has proved difficult for them. Read the full story

The proverbial hammer is in our hands once again and it is up to Chabot students and faculty to start swinging. On Thursday, Jan. 27th, a meeting to address the budget crisis head-on gathered in the Little Theater during the noon “College Hour.”

Chabot President Dr. Barberena began with an essential first step, recognizing the school’s successes, which included the new buildings recently constructed as well as the handful under remodel. More importantly, the amazing instructors we have on campus were then recognized, as Dr. Barberena stated that students look to Chabot College as a “beacon” of education in the region.

Kathy Kelley followed as the gears shifted from current standing towards looking to the future. Individual responsibility was the loud declaration.“We do not get the word out.”The viewpoint of the community seems to be that Chabot faculty is “overpaid, under worked, and unsuccessful.”

Yet the instructors are teaching 106% of the students they are being paid for. One instructor was even recognized, although not by name, for adding 80 students to his classes refusing to turn away students who are seeking an education.

The (Chabot) Budget Crisis Task Force has been broken down into five “working groups.” These groups have specific goals to rebuild the college’s budget. The five groups are Social Networking, Curricular and Campus/System-wide Change, Day-to-Day Money Saving Practices, Communication/Political, and Revenue Generating.

Students are key ingredients for these groups, especially in social networking. Kathy Kelley pleaded that students “Get involved! How long have you been waiting in lines? How hard is it to get into classes?”The reasons for these frustrations are due to budget cuts and unless the student body gets involved then these things are likely to continue.

There are many ways for students to get involved. With the access to Facebook and Twitter, it is easy for students to spread the word about Chabot. The outlined message of the task force is simple. Students are encouraged to share Chabot College’s achievements, student success’s, the schools expertise for the workforce, public relations, and the contribution to the society in the local community. Included is the correction of misguided information about the college.

ASCC (Associated Students of Chabot College) President Don Bosco Hu was one of the few students who attended the meeting. We want to work together to save money for the college as a whole.” Don expressed his concern about the $400 million gap in the state budget for community colleges. He encourages students to come out for the March in March to protest budget cuts to education.

Evelyn Carmack is also a student getting involved. She is starting a club here on campus that will address the Budget Cuts directly through student participation and is looking for fellow concerned students. This is an issue that has affected all of us. Our typical indifference will only continue the turmoil. It is up to us to take a stand. Get involved!

Juggling a family, friends, school and work is a daily chore that doesn’t get easier

There is a conflict in the lives of students. We are being pulled in all directions with work, family, school and the possibility of fun.

Many students hold down full time jobs while going to school to make ends meet. They are single parents trying to make sure their children get proper care, and that their own homework gets done.

Work isn’t really an option anymore for most students, it has become a requirement just to pay for books.

Most financial aid while under the age of 24 requires your parents information in the calculation of what your need is. But in all reality most students in the Chabot College community don’t have the luxury of parents paying for school in any way. They are lucky if their parents let them stay at home rent free.

Additionally more students are finding themselves having to make the hard decision of whether or not to go to school at all.

Some jobs aren’t flexible and keep employees at work longer then the hours they are scheduled. Students are negotiating with teachers about tardies and times of finals hoping to create some sort of balance.

Returning students have it even harder, the transition of family and work to school life isn’t always easy. The idea of having to let go of comfortable habits of going out and choosing to not have a car or to live on your own just to afford school is not a pretty thought.

Families often become an issue for students. What do you do when your child is sick or has a doctor’s appointment? Not everyone has a support network of family and friends.

Many parents end up missing class because of family conflicts.

The in-class experience isn’t meant for commuter students with families who rely on them as the sole provider and care taker.

Many students are back at school with the hopes of a better career option in the near future, tired of the dead end job they have with no hopes of advancement.

Chabot is a great place to get a higher education, but it’s a constant struggle.

With the economy in such a slump, job competition is high and most of the job choices for full-time students is retail or restaurant work. Students get to go to school all day and then drive to work and spend 8 hours working till 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., go home do homework and wake up at 8 a.m. and do it all over again.

Choices are made daily by thousands of students on whether or not school will take a back seat. This choice is not an easy or a happy one.

In a typical two-year institution many are taking 3, 4 or 5 years to finish.

This college is full of everyday superheroes. The Spectator commends these people for their hard work and their ability to not lose hope when things become so overwhelming that many would normally give up.

To read about the struggles of returning students click here.

As I sit and type this article in the library, which is not only the center of campus but the original location of the introduction of WiFi to Chabot’s campus, I think to myself how sad it is that when I finally can connect to our WiFi the signal is weak, or fades out entirely. Thus I am currently using the WiFi that my cell provider can provide to me through my smart phone.
What is the purpose of WiFi if students can’t even utilize it properly? Is it that the school set up the WiFi thinking not many students would bother with it? Or is it that we are just cheap and like so many things at this school, far behind in technology?
I do understand that we are in the state of an economic collapse nationwide , and to build a stronger infrastructure would be
costly. But does it really make any more sense to continue spending the money we have now for inferior service? I spent two semesters going to Las Positas where their WiFi was in perfect working order and available in all the classrooms.
Is it because Chabot is in “ghetto” Hayward that we cant have quality WiFi, or is it because the college district was able to get more funding for rich white upper middle class Las Positas? I find it discerning that within our own community college district there are disparities between the two schools. Chabot is the founding campus of the two and has been around longer than Las Positas, but seems to be left in the dust behind Las Positas.
I have attended Chabot a long time, and was excited to find out we would finally get WiFi, but since that announcement I have been sorely disappointed with the execution and quality of internet connection and availability.
At this time we are supposed to have WiFi available at 15 locations on campus, one of which is the library: you may recall how well that worked out for me. Another is building 800, where I have an English class on Tuesday nights, and have yet to establish a connection with our WiFi.
Well, here’s hoping that maybe by the time my kids enroll, Chabot will have fixed its WiFi.

Chabot Financial Aid is spreading the word, Apply!

Financial aid is money provided by the federal government, the State of California, and administered by Chabot College to help cover costs associated with attending college at Chabot.
Financial aid comes in several forms: Board of Governor’s Fee Waiver (BOG Waiver), which waives enrollment fees and allows for a $20 parking permit for qualifying California residents, Grants and Scholarships, Work Study, which allows students to work part time to earn funds for college, and Student Loans.
In order to receive any of these students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online using the previous year’s tax and income information.
Chabot College’s Financial Aid Department has kept statistics dating back to the start of the last decade, and thanks to the declining economy the numbers of students receiving financial aid has jumped from just shy of 8,000 in 2007-08 to almost 13,000 in 2009-10.
The department expects that mark to be broken this year with two months remaining in the calendar year. Kathy Linzmeyer, Chabot College Financial Aid Director, doesn’t think that the Chabot student population overall is taking full advantage of the financial aid services made available to them.
“I think there are a lot of students who don’t think they need financial aid at a community college. Let’s face it, it’s only $26 a unit. But financial aid doesn’t just go to pay tuition and fees, it can be used for living expenses, rent, and transportation,” said Linzmeyer.
As a result, there are a lot of misconceptions and, perhaps, a lack of awareness about the role that the Financial Aid Department plays in the average Chabot student’s life.
According to the Chabot College Class Schedule, all new and returning students will now receive e-mail communications from the Financial Aid Department via their ZoneMail e-mail address, as the Department will no longer be sending out physical mail reminders.
Linzmeyer was critical of the current FAFSA application saying, “The Department of Ed is trying their best to make the process simpler, and in doing so we actually think they (the government) are making it a lot more difficult on the back end, as you can enter something incorrectly. It might eliminate questions that we might need information for. A lot of students don’t input the correct financial data or enter zero, and few college students have zero income.”
The best financial aid advice, according to Linzmeyer, is to attend the free FAFSA Help Nights offered each first and third Wednesday of the month by financial aid staff. Held in the Student Online Services Lab in Room 709, the workshops are meant to help students with all their financial aid needs from answering financial aid questions to helping fill out the 2010-11 FAFSA.
The workshops take place from 5-6:30 p.m. and students must bring 2009 tax forms (W-2, Federal Income Tax, and untaxed income), Driver’s License or State ID, Social Security Card, and, if applicable, spouse or parents’ SSN’s and dates of birth, and Permanent Resident Card number.
The ideal time to submit financial aid paperwork is in February to be ready for the following fall semester, since end of year tax paperwork is received in January. It also makes things easier for the staff who process last minute paperwork over the summer and right before the start of the fall semester.
It is also a good idea in order to meet the March 2 priority filing for Cal Grant and Pell Grant deadlines.
For more information in the meantime:
•    Attend the FAFSA Help Nights – held on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 5 p.m.
• • •
Visit www.chabotcollege.edu/finaid Visit FAFSA.gov Call the Financial Aid Frequently Asked Questions Hotline
at 510-723-6746 •    Check ZoneMail for updates •    Read the financial aid information available in the free copy
of the fall 2010 semester edition of the Chabot Class Schedule

An $11 million Hayward budget cut adds onto an additional $8 million in ongoing reductions, declaring “California is in the worst fiscal crisis in decades.” As the summer of 2010 ended Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) released “Mapping the Road to Fiscal Recovery” in preparation of the new 2010-11 school year.

Districts’ budgets gutted key elements in the environment of education, becoming a skeleton lacking academic nutrients. Parents and educators alike have grown weary in the demand for excellence while there is a decline in resources and academic exposure. Yet K12 public school offers a hearty meal of education for free.

The publication revealed the district had reduced or eliminated summer school, increased class sizes, cut art and music, closed libraries, eliminated school nurse positions and cancelled sports programs. An unsigned California budget mapped the impact of Hayward public schools loosing educating abilities.

Hayward steers to embrace the educational impact. The district has concerns of quality with loss in several departments: building, maintenance, instructional materials, administrative staff and teachers.

There are 23 elementary schools in Hayward, including one which puts an emphasis on the arts and science, Faith Ringgold School of Arts and Science. Some of the local elementary principals stick to an enthusiastic and academic statement, such as Clara Prada of Longwood Elementary.

The school teaches grades K-6 and has approximately 719 students with an average of 22 kids per teacher. Prada indicated that the school curriculum “includes the California standard-based language arts and mathematic series, and offers daycare (upon availability), English immersions, and bilingual classes.”

There is no denying the district is struggling to feed students academically with limited tools to do so. Surprisingly, the independent, online based study program offered by California Virtual Academies and powered by K12 hasn’t become more of a controversial solution to Hayward and other districts.

K12 could be considered a conflict of interest to the traditional system of education but to some parents the program is comparative to a charter school with financial scholarships. However, there are always pros and cons so parents should do their homework.

For more information about HUSD budget cuts and troubles:

http://husd.k12.ca.us/images/PDF/Newsletters/fiscal%20news%20%237%20eng.pdf

For more information about the K12 program:

http://www.k12.com/cava

California residents have come together to ask, “Will the grass be greener on the other side?”   This year’s November 2^nd election will present the legalization of marijuana, Proposition 19, to California voters. Condensed, the proposition allows legal permission for adults 21 years and older to posses, cultivate, and transport marijuana for personal use.

If the Proposition is passed, the sale and distribution will be in the hands of the government, allowing them to decide on tax and revenues. California residents will be able to grow 25 feet of crop for personal use in the privacy of their own homes or in a licensed establishment.

Cannabis has sprouted from California soil for decades; yet the subject of use, distribution and sale has caused major controversy between a variety of smokers and non smokers alike. Coming November, California voters will be able to decide which way the wind will blow.

As stated in the California Voters Guide, voting ‘No’ on the measure would mean possession, and cultivation would remain illegal under state law. All personal, commercial, and commercial related marijuana activity would remain illegal, unless protected under the existing medicinal marijuana law.

Some arguments against Prop 19 say that legalization will post as a public safety threat; they say that law will allow drivers to smoke while under the influence as well as provide more access to juveniles. Some current Medicinal Marijuana Patients also fear it may conflict with current medicinal marijuana laws.

Ryan Rodriguez (Electronic Engineering) says, “I feel that Sacramento is balancing the books on the backs of marijuana users, growers, and medical patients. As a reform law, I believe it accomplishes very little; as a current med patient, I currently have more rights than the new law would give. I’m of the belief that marijuana use should be a personal choice, not a government concern. It’s a scheme to attach new regulations and new taxes onto something that can be readily cultivated on the North American continent.”

In contrast, the California Voters Guide also states, voting ‘Yes’ on Proposition 19 would mean the state of California will take on commen sense control of marijuana. Marijuana regulation would be similar to alcohol; which means it will only be available to adults 21 years and older while road and workplace safety are enforced. With legalization, strict penalties for distributing to minors, public smoking and driving under the influence will follow.

Prop 19 activists, Ethan Weiss says, “[Legalization would allow] less power to Colombian drug cartels- 60% of their revenue comes from marijuana in the United States, 13% of this comes from California.” Supporters also say that legalization will contribute to police priorities; this will allow police officers to focus more on violent crimes rather than the arrest of non-violent cannabis consumers.

Local artist, Pest (Song Writer/Producer) says, “In the Bay area, [marijuana] is so easy to obtain… I guess I am for it, it’ll keep a lot of ‘innocent’ people from getting tickets and jail time.”

Read Up on Proposition 19 at: http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/19/

Register to Vote at: http://www.presidentialelection.com/register_to_vote/california.htm

Unbalanced budget and potential state takeover looming on horizon for candidates

The Eden Chapter of the League of Women Voters hosted the Hayward Unified School District Candidate Forum at Hayward City Hall’s Council Chambers this past Monday for the eight remaining candidates running for three open seats on the board.

Moderator Suzanne Barba kept to a strict one hour format, with each candidate receiving ninety seconds to answer questions on the truancy rate, budget cuts, adult school programs, and bilingual education before wrapping up with a one minute summary of their candidacy.

The 2010 race is notable not only for those who are running but for those who have retired from the race. Hayward Unified School District Board President Paul Frumkin III decided to step down in August, citing a lengthy nine and a half year term of service and the recent death of his father as his reasons for not seeking re-election.

However, Frumkin also mentioned that he had become disillusioned at what he referred to as  “inappropriate behavior and antics” of board members during meetings and expressed disappointment that Hayward residents had not displayed more outrage.

Frumkin’s withdrawal leaves five candidates vying for the four year term after Sabrina Becerra and Gabriel Jimenez also stepped aside, leaving parent Lisa G. Brunner, former State Assemblywoman Audie Bock, Hayward Adult School teacher William McGee, and retired former teachers Sue Lafferty and incumbent Sheila Sims vying for two seats, while incumbent Jesus Armas, Lawrence M. Fitzpatrick, and Annette Walker are all in competition for one seat, but for a shorter, two-year term.

Meanwhile, former Hayward City Councilwoman Anna May and her fiancé, former Hayward City Manager Greg Jones, decided against jointly running for the school board as both cited various personal and professional goals as well as opportunities in community service for dropping out of the race, but May mentioned that “a lot had transpired in the last few months”, with particular focus on the district’s unbalanced budget.

The Department of Education’s newest report on the fiscal soundness of school districts throughout the state noted that Hayward will not meet financial obligations for the fiscal years 2009-10 and 2010-11 with a shortfall of some $209 million dollars, and faces takeover by the State of California if it cannot submit a balanced budget by September 8th. Unless negotiations with the teachers union succeed, the District faces the likelihood that they would only serve in an advisory capacity to the State.

Lafferty was quick to mention that the cuts should be made the “furthest away from the classroom”, while Armas noted that he was the only candidate with experience balancing budgets, and said that the only way to avoid such a predicament in the future would be to “increase attendance, which in turn increases revenue”, with the candidates all in agreement that the children should be the priority when it comes to making cuts.

The Hayward Adult School and its recent struggles were also highlighted by the candidates, who lauded the student run coffee shop for particular praise, and were unanimous in their calling for a completely self sufficient adult school, as it would be, according to Fitzpatrick, “devastating to the community” if the school was to close. Bock called on local corporations to help fund course curriculums, while Brunner noted that an online “Cyber High” did not work for adult students, who she felt “need teachers” in order to support literacy at all levels, while Armas touted his endorsement from the local carpenters and trade union and mentioned Eden Area ROP as a successful example of school districts working together.

The subject of bilingual education was another hotly debated issue, with Brunner noting that Hayward is “the second most diverse city in the state of California”, and proficiency in English “fast tracks their lives”. Walker, a former bilingual education teacher,, addressed the crowd in both English and Spanish and noting that it takes between five to seven years of language learning in order to become proficient. Sims called for “English emergent programs”, and proposed spending the first forty eight minutes of school time for English language development, while Lafferty was much more direct: if the students don’t want to learn English, tough!

Each candidate was given one minute to summarize their campaigns at the end of the forum.

Fitzpatrick remarked that the “kids were getting the shaft”.

Bock was adamant that Hayward would not turn into another Oakland, Lafferty stressed the importance of finding out what’s happening from asking the right people, Walker and Brunner called for people to be proud of their school district, Sims called herself a “catalyst for change”, while Armas expressed desire to finish the job he had started in March of this year, while returning the Hayward Unified School District to “past glory”.

When it comes to managing time with school, work, family and fun, people have come to understand that reliable transportation is a necessity. However, if in the market for a car and lacking thousands of dollars on hand one will most likely need a loan. What exactly does this involve?

The bottom line when applying for a loan is a person’s credit.  Credit is what is used to determine an individual’s ability to and likelihood he or she will pay the loan back in a timely manner. A person’s credit score is highly significant as it is the main way a dealership can determine whether or not he or she poses a risk.

Dealerships will check buyers’ credit scores but it is a good idea for an individual to review his or her credit report beforehand. There are tons of online resources for this purpose. Not only are most of these services free, but for the most part a person can usually access his or her credit report immediately.

There are sites such as annualcreditreport.com where one can view and print credit reports from all three bureaus. Then there are other sites, such as creditreport.com, where an individual can enter personal credit card information and enroll in credit monitoring services.

These services will alert participants when any change to their credit reports has been posted and show credit scores for each credit bureau. Sites such as this one usually offer a 30-day free trial period and cost about $6 per month after that.

If at all possible it’s wise for a person to pay off any collections before signing up for a loan. The best way to enter a loan situation is debt free. If this is the case dealerships will be more confident in working with the individual, and staying on top of bills and debt also alleviates a lot of stress.

If by chance a person’s credit is not so great or even horrible dealerships will usually just charge him or her more interest to cover any risk factors. Interest is the percentage of money the dealer charges a consumer for making monthly payments as opposed to paying the total balance upfront.

The higher a credit score the lower interest will be. This is important because if paying 20 percent interest on a three year loan one could end up paying almost double the loan amount agreed upon.

An individual’s income and budget are also important. The Web site automotive.com lists lots of helpful tips and information regarding car loans. According to the site, a person can easily calculate his or her budget by listing all monthly income and subtracting all monthly expenses.

If a person’s budget allows for a $300 car note and the car of his or her dreams is $375 per month it might not seem like a big difference. However, budgets should be tight. An extra $75 a month could make the difference in whether or not an individual can keep up with his or her monthly payments.

Automotive.com also touches on car related expenses such as insurance, gas and maintenance. These are all things a person should think about before entering a car loan agreement. Minor mechanical emergencies are a fact of life, and without a little money set aside for them a person can lose the use of a car with a monthly payment he or she must continue to pay.

If an individual becomes overwhelmed and can’t keep up with car payments the result can be the repossession of his or her vehicle.  Not only can this be inconvenient and embarrassing, but repossession will negatively affect a person’s credit score, and may prevent him or her from getting another car loan in the future.

A car loan is one of the easiest types of financing to get, but people need to be aware of everything involved. At the end of the day, the cost of owning a car is a lot more than a monthly payment.

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.