Te Southwestern College Sun news

Aug.17 - Oct.1, 2011Vol. 55, Iss. 1

17
Budget: Whittaker
looking for additional
$2 million in savings
Continued from Page 16
Closure of northbound lanes causes many SWC students to miss classes
defcit at the end of the year, but his
understanding of the proposed budget
is that the college is working to save $2
million more than already proposed
cuts, leaving only a defcit of $3 million.
Temple said the goal is not to spend $2
million of the reserve funds requested.
We dont have a specific way of
achieving this at this time and we will
be reporting monthly to the board
with progress on our expenditures, our
progress on obtaining revenues and any
other questions the board might have,
said Temple.
Interim Superintendent Denise
Whittaker said the $2 million would not
only come from salary savings and lower
expenditures of supplies, materials,
contracts and service.
Our goal is to reach $2 million, if
not more, said Whittaker. It would be
savings in all parts of the budget. Te
salaries will be the largest part of that
because of the vacant positions we are
trying not to backfll.
Nader said in reviewing the past few
years of budget the actual ending fund
balance has been about $5 million less
than the projected ending fund balance.
And if history held then the actual
fund balance (2011-12) would again
end up at in the neighborhood of a little
more than $13 million as opposed to a
little over $8 million, said Nader.
Temple said the proposed budget
makes the assumption that everything
budgeted will be expended.
You are kind of comparing apples to
oranges, said Temple. Tat is where we
are committing the fund balance of $5
million. Do we expect to spend all of
that $5 million? No, we do not. Temple
said last years budget savings was due to
a very conservative efort by the district
in the spring semester not to use funds.
Tere have been a number of years
as I have looked at the budget where
there have been cutbacks year, after
year, after year, said Temple. I do not
expect you to have that kind of fallout
that you had in the past or unexpended
dollars because there is a demand of
need out there.
Templ e sai d much of budget
misunderstandings are difficult-to-
understand state requirements in
submitting budgets and are most often
higher projections than expenditures.
Professor of Japanese Andy MacNeill,
SWCs Budget Committee co-chair said
what is seen in the proposed budget are
imaginary numbers because the state
has not yet released ofcial fgures to
the district.
Tis is a forecast and the expenditures
are high and they are not going to be
what we actually wind up with at the
end of the year. Tis is the way it has
always been, he said.
Budget committee members have
attempted to build a budget that will
not disrupt programs with mid-year
cuts, MacNeill said. Te hope of the
committee is that the SWC budget is a
worst case scenario.
It is not going to be this $8.6 million
fund balance, it is probably going to be
about $10.6 million, said MacNeill.
For the very first time we are very
comfortable with what these numbers
say. We are all on the same page of what
the numbers should say.
Director of Finance Wayne Yanda said
the phenomena that occurred over the
past few years will not occur for fscal
year 2011-12.
Five million is a stretch and trying
to save an extra $2 million is very
challenging, said Yanda. I think we
could push it if we held back on some
of the positions and cut some of the
services. I would estimate that it would
be between $10 and $10.6 million in
the ending fund balance.
Whittaker said her goal is to identify
as soon as possible the $2 million in
savings. She said the big ticket items
are going to be in salaries of positions
that are not backflled. Once the $2
million target is reached additional
savings beyond will divert to the Shared
Conciliation Council prioritization list
to meet some of the colleges unmet
needs, Whittaker said.
Tis is a real tricky process because
we are robbing Peter to pay Paul. But
the needs dont go away so we still have
to fnd dollars in the long run, she said.
Nader said he heard members of this
budget committee have worked this
process better than any time in recent
history.
If we have to come back for any mid-
year cuts it will not be because the budget
committee has not done its job, but the
states failure to do its job, said Nader.
UCSD: Requirements
for transfer guarantee
will stifen in 2012
Continued from Page 1
your Transfer Center Director as a
Transition Pipeline participant, he or
she will be held to the 3.5 or better
GPA.
In May SWC representatives met
with the UCSD president and board of
overseers to discuss alternative options
for students. Tere were some wins and
some losses for SWC students, said
Jaime Salazar, an SWC Transfer Center
Coordinator.
Thi s wi l l be the l ast year the
University of California, San Diego will
be allowing students to transfer with a
3.0 TAG transfer, he said.
SWC was informed in Spring 2011
that TAG students would need to have
a 3.5 GPA beginning with the Fall
2012 admission cycle. SWC requested
a meeting with Chancellor Mary Fox
to discuss alternative options for SWC
students. Salazar said the higher GPA
requirement will hurt students from
this community and could lessen the
diversity of the UCSD student body.
Raising the GPA isnt about student
success, its about reducing the number
of applicants, said Salazar.
A lot of students are disappointed
and concerned about where they are
going to be able to meet the GPA
requirements to be eligible to transfer.
Jose Luis Gonzales, 22, expressed
conficting emotions.
I think its a good idea because
school funding and space wont be
wasted on students who dont really
care, he said. But on the other hand, I
think its ridiculous because theyre not
taking into consideration the students
who are already struggling to transfer.
Students interested in applying for
TAG are encouraged to visit www.
swccd.edu/transfer.
By Ernesto Rivera
Assistant News Editor
Trafc at the San Ysidro border crossing
came to a snarling halt. Scafolding used
to support overhead construction of
new immigration facilities collapsed on
the top of incoming vehicles, raining
concrete and inj uring 11 peopl e.
Northbound lanes closed for the day as
rescue and construction workers cleared
debris blocking the worlds busiest
border crossing.
Travelers scrambled to the Otay and
Tecate ports of entry, causing havoc
all along the border and forcing many
people to abandon cars and walk.
As news of the event spread across
campus, members of the large community
that commutes over the border daily
were left to wonder if they could return
home.
I couldnt cross and go home to
Tijuana, said Elizabeth Ramos, 19,
psychology and photography. I had to
stay with my aunt.
Trafc was diverted to the Otay Mesa
crossing, five miles east, driving the
border wait times up to four and a half
hours for vehicles and two hours for
pedestrians.
Tey closed the border and everybody
had to go to the Otay border, said Aldo
Loera, undeclared. So, on a regular basis
in Otay, it takes about two hours to cross
the border, and that day it was double
the time.
I have friends that cross but they
didnt come to school on time, said
Raquel Ramirez, 20, hotel operations
management. Tey had to go to the
Otay border.
Pedestrian trafc opened eight hours
later at the San Ysidro border and
13 of the 24 lanes were reopened by
midnight. By Saturday only three lanes
were closed and by Sunday all lanes had
been reopened.
Professor of Spanish Angelina Stuart
said the situation reminded her of 9/11
because many of her ESL students missed
class that day because the border was
closed.
Im sure this week afected classes
as well, said Stuart. I am fnding that
more and more of my own students are
moving to this side of the border in order
to avoid the horrendous trafc.
Adjunct ESL Instructor Carol Stuardo
said most of her students had crossed
earlier that morning and heard of the
construction accident later in the day
from family or news sources.
My students read about it or got texts
during class and were quite concerned,
she said. However, the next day they
told me they had no problem crossing
the border because the border had
opened at midnight.
Felix Tuyay, professor of social sciences
and humanities, said the mishap created
a mess and thinks the construction
workers should be more careful, but his
classes were not afected.
Many students said their families
were afected. Arturo Gonzales, 22, said
his mom could not get her migraine
medication.
She couldnt get across the border
to get her medicine so she had to go
through Tecate, he said. It was even
worse because she couldnt make it across
there either, because there was so much
trafc. My grandma had to come all the
way around from Tecate and bring her
medicine.
Felipe Rogel, 18, an art major, was on
his way to Tijuana to go see his dad, but
could not get through because of the
trafc jam.
Students expressed disbelief that
something like this could happen.
I was surprised because I thought it
was safe, said Luis Canett, 19, biology.
Its a federal property so you think
everythings safe.
Safety was also a concern for students.
Tey should keep in mind that they
should be more careful of how the
bridge is built, said Nancy Valcazar, 18,
undecided.
Many students who crossed early that
morning said they were unafected by
the border tie up.
I was a little worried about getting
home, said Laura Campos, English.
But I knew the situation would be
taken care of.
MARSHALL MURPHY/STAFF
GRINDING TO A HALT: A construction scafolding that crashed down on cars prevented hundreds of SWC students from crossing into the U.S.
to attend class.
Border collapse rumbles into the classroom
outstanding support for college press
freedom.
Frank LoMonte, executive director
of the SPLC, said the threats delivered
to Te Sun and newspaper advisor Max
Branscomb were almost inconceivable
in America.
It is in no small part thanks to these
students persistent and truthful reporting
that the reign of President Chopra and
his puppets on the Board of Trustees
ended last year, he said, and that the
new trustees enacted more protective
policies to prevent such fagrant disregard
for First Amendment principles from ever
recurring.
Te Sun will join 25 colleges since
1984 to be awarded the College Press
Freedom Award.
For never wavering from their
journalistic mission in the face of
adversity, and for keeping the presses
running when those in power wanted
them shuttered, the editors and staff
of Te Sun are richly deserving of the
College Press Freedom Award, said
LoMonte.
Before the turnaround in college
leadership last fall, The Sun and
SWCs former administration often
faced off over the papers coverage
of plagiarism by the superintendent,
misappropriation of college funds,
conficts of interest between governing
board members and contractors, bribing
of college administrators and many other
controversies. Te publication drew the
ire of former superintendent Raj K.
Chopra and other administrators for
publishing content deemed controversial
and unfattering to college leadership,
said Albert Fulcher, editor-in-chief.
Te Sun was out in front of coverage
of issues that eventually generated
wide-spread media attention. Local and
national media outlets bombarded the
college when four faculty members were
suspended for attending a peaceful rally
against class cuts and again when former
vice president Nicholas
Alioto solicited donations
to support two governing
board candidates from
construction companies
he had just awarded
contracts to. Alioto was
also exposed by Te Sun
for accepting personal
gi fts from the same
companies.
Chopra and Alioto
declared war on Te Sun
in the fall of 2009 after
Branscomb refused to
give Alioto the names
of faculty members who
paid for a full-page No
Confidence in Chopra
advertisement in The
Sun. Alioto hired an
a u d i t o r t o l o o k
for irregularities in
newspaper advertising
sales. When that efort
wa s uns uc c e s s f ul ,
Alioto refused to pay
printing bills and froze
Sun budget lines. The
college also stripped
Branscomb of reassigned
time for advising the
Sun. Branscomb refused
to resign and supervised
the newspaper for two
years without pay.
Preceding a closely
contested governi ng
board election in fall
2010, Chopra threatened the paper with
a shut down, promising consequences for
Branscomb and the Dean of Arts and
Communications Donna Arnold if Te
Sun went to print.
Staf members decided to get creative,
said Fulcher.
We brought the matter to media
attention immediately and started raising
money to put that issue out ourselves,
said Fulcher. We werent going to give
in to threats. We did what we had to.
Staf members raised enough money
to print every issue that semester and
hired an Orange County printer after
school ofcials intimidated Te Suns
regular printer and threatened to cancel
college printing contracts. Issue #1 of
fall 2010 was lost, but Issue #2 broke
the story of Aliotos pay for play
with contractors and architects. The
Sun later broke a story about Aliotos
dumping of nearly $5 million in college
funds that he miscalculated rather than
funding hundreds of classes he had
earlier recommended eliminating. SWC
lost nearly half of its classes
under the Chopra-Alioto
regime.
Tis award is to us as an
Oscar is to an actor, said
John Carter, former editor-
in-chief. It reflects the
integrity and passion with
which our young journalists
accomplish their tasks. Te
only diference is Te Sun
had no script to follow.
Dave Waddell, newspaper
faculty advisor of Te Orion
at Chico State University,
s ai d he recommended
the paper to SPLC for its
i ndomi tabl e resol ve to
continue printing.
I nominated The Sun
f or t hi s award f or i t s
courageous defense of a free
press against what I would
characterize as a corrupt
admi ni strati on seeki ng
desperately, arrogantly and
ruthlessly to silence the
student newspaper, he said.
But they failed. Tey failed
because Te Sun would not
be intimidated. I admire
them for standing up to the
attack and for winning this
battle.
Chopra and Alioto, along
wi th hal f a dozen vi ce
presidents and directors,
resi gned f ol l owi ng the
November 2010 elections
that changed the board majority. At least
two faced District Attorney and Grand
Jury investigations.
Student leaders and Branscomb will
accept the award at the ACP and College
Media Advisors National College Media
Convention Oct. 26-30 in Orlando,
Florida.
Award: Newspaper
honored for defense of
the First Amendment
Continued from Page 1