After more than 50 years, the South Bay Power Plant crumbled as a set of explosions demolished the facility, making way for the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan. Shortly after 7:00 a.m., on Saturday, February 2, 2013, here is what the implosion looked like from across the bay in Imperial Beach, Calif.

Science fiction’s iconic television series”Babylon 5” might not exist, nor any of the brilliant screenplays created by its gifted writer J. Michael Straczynski. Latin music superstar, songwriter and producer Julieta Venegas and her half dozen Grammy Awards might never have found voice. John Fox, a Super Bowl coach, and former Charger’s defensive tackle Ogemdi Sharron Nwagbuo could be selling footballs at Wal-Mart. Seattle Mariners clean-up hitter John Jaso might be sweeping out Taco Bell. Telemundo sports anchor Humberto Gurmilan might never have seen his way beyond his wheelchair. Ayded Reyes would likely have been deported.

Luckily this sample of brilliantly talented students began their journeys at SWC and had faculty who cared about them.

Straczynski began writing and producing plays here. Venegas wrote songs and perfected her performance skills in the SWC music department. Nwagbuo earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore when he recorded 55 tackles and 10 sacks. Fox played football on the same field. Now he is head coach of the Denver Broncos. California’s top-ranked 2011 community college cross-country runner Ayded Reyes is now on a full university scholarship and training for the 2016 U. S. Olympic team. Jaso played for iconic baseball coach Jerry Bartow. Gurmilan was News Editor of The Sun and a forensics star.

California’s theatre, sports, television media, journalism, arts and communication programs are being slashed and burned, all to balance the budget of a cash-starved higher educational system.

It is not a new story, but it is a sad one. America repeatedly stamps out enriching programs in tough economic times and seems doomed to let bad history repeat itself. Leaders in government and education making these decisions are doing so by dollars and cents. What we need is a way to budget this one-sidedness with dollars and sense.

SWC has some elite programs. Its Mariachi Garibaldi is the best collegiate mariachi on the planet Earth. Period. SWC’s brilliant Concert Choir is soon to add the Festival of the Aegean on the Greek Island of Syros to its long list of invitations. And the college’s journalism program is winning state, national and international awards. Its newspaper is ranked #1 in competition against cream of the crop universities across the nation.

For a college that few people in the nation know exists, co-curricular programs are ambassadors to the wider world and sources of pride for our challenged community. These programs inspire students to spend hours and hours working above and beyond to excel. Some enriching programs are expensive, but if our government and college administrators put in 10 percent of the time and effort that the students do to make these programs a success, our nation and our college would be humming.

Here is my challenge to SWC leadership. Do not settle for clichéd, two-dimensional thinking. Do not think you can cut your way out of our dilemma. Do not preside over the diminishment of this great college.

It is time to stop thinking like bean counters balancing books and save these programs with the spirit of entrepreneurs. Rather than paying expensive consultants, invest in grant writers to help the professors that spend endless unpaid hours begging for money to keep their programs afloat.

Ask even more from our dedicated Educational Foundation. Holding a gala every year to support student scholarships is terrific, but creating an event where proceeds spread across special programs can be just as valuable to student success. Our Associated Student Organization works to fund campus clubs that contribute to the community, but virtually nothing to support programs that invest in our students’ futures. Money is out there and many philanthropists are looking for viable programs to invest in. Build the programs, invest in organizing college and faculty alumni and start thinking outside the box to find a way. Many students’ livelihoods depend on it. Our nation depends on it.

It is time to stop treating these programs as burdens of a budget and celebrate them as gateways to the community and the world. It is possible that a future president, queen of country music, national watchdog reporter, hall of fame baseball player, Oscar-winning film director or concert violinist is spending hours investing in their future in one of SWC’s special programs.

When making fiscal decisions that affect student learning outcomes, remember this: If there is no way in, there is no path to success.

http://www.theswcsun.com/co-curricular-programs-need-more-protection/

December 19, 2012

Courtesy Photos/ U. S. Navy Reservist, Lt. Cmdr. Luís Nuñez Jr.

Dry freezing temperatures and a whole lot of snow.

Dressed in full battle rattle—an armored protective vest, M4 semiautomatic rifle, a Beretta M9 semiautomatic pistol at the side, a Kevlar battle helmet, ballistic eyewear, strap cutters, tourniquets and several magazines in clear reach.

For U. S. Navy Reservist, Lt. Cmdr. Luís Nuñez Jr., that was last Christmas in Afghanistan.

It was at a spring administrative retreat training when Nuñez, director of the Medical Lab Technician (MLT) program at the National City HEC, received a phone call from his captain with news that he was “tagged” to go to Afghanistan. With less than eight weeks to prepare, he began to get his affairs in order, both at home and at the college.

“I was in shock,” Nuñez said. “I knew I would eventually be tagged. My orders came in the first week of June with a reporting date of active duty in July.”

Before he knew it he found himself in a hot, sticky Louisiana summer at Fort Polk for 10 weeks of rigorous combat training.

“We would qualify in weapons training then go into simulations out in the field,” he said. “We had IED training with simulated explosions. They had towns set up like in Afghanistan as they threw scenarios at us. They observed how we handled it, how we fired, when we called in for troops. They even had helicopters come in for evacuation drills, dealing with casualties, combat.”

Following active duty for 14 years, both as enlisted then as an officer, Nuñez began reserve duty in 2008. His background includes service as a Navy corpsman lab technician and Medical Service Corps lab officer. He said he had basic combat training as a former corpsman and a lab technician, but the intense combat training was more than he expected.

“I did fairly well with the transition to full combat readiness,” he said. “But the training they had there goes above and beyond what I would normally go through, or what a doctor or nurse would.”

Nuñez said his first stop was in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where his team split up. He soon was bound for Kabul. He said the capital of Afghanistan, with a population of about 4 million, was biblical at first sight.

“I saw so much poverty it was a shock,” he said. “People were herding sheep through the city, dirt everywhere, and dust and mud holes. The level of poverty they lived in was nothing I had seen before. I realize that there are different levels of poverty throughout the world, but I think it is more so in Kabul.”

Nuñez worked with the Medical Training Advisory Group in a mentorship program at the National Military Hospital of Kabul, a 400-bed facility built in the late 1970s by the Russians.

Nuñez said working in full body armor and being armed at all times was rigorous. Even the 400 meters to and from the compound to the hospital was dangerous. A force protection team comprised of the National Guard escorted them.

“They were all over the compound and in constant communications with the teams and there were several times we had to evacuate,” he said. “When threats were coming in, or gunfire in the background, unsure of where it was coming from, we would have to get out of the building and back to base.”

Nuñez went out on several convoys as part of the NATO team that took him to the opposite side of the city.

“We had to keep our combat skills up with quick reaction drills,” he said. “Or we would go to the large NATO base and meet with our leadership team. We didn’t mingle with the Afghans out in the streets, only with members of the Afghan National Army.”

His entire team was medical professionals. Americans, Canadians and Greeks worked together training Afghan professionals in every aspect of medical care and procedures. Interpreters translated everything into Dari, including documents. Nuñez said the Afghans had the knowledge, but as a population did not believe much in written procedure.

Teams trained and developed written procedures for the operation of all parts of the medical field, holding all hospitals accountable to a higher standard in procedures.

Col. Quadir, Nuñez’s Afghan counterpart, had 30 years of military service and worked with several previous American mentors. Quadir created a validation team of medical professional experts that traveled to the five regional hospitals with a standardized checklist for each part of the hospital. They would grade the hospitals on a number scale, determining if they could operate facilities without NATO support.

Nuñez said after six months of intense training they were able to start turning responsibilities over to their Afghan counterparts.

“The U.S. is pulling out in 2013,” he said. “And the training group grew smaller and smaller. At the height of my arrival, we had a large team of about 60 and when I left, it was cut in half. Most of this was the work done by the American teams. As the departments became independent we would send someone back early and not send in a replacement.”

Nuñez said he did a great amount of online training in the weeks before departure, got his family affairs in order and had to be sure the MLT program continued in his absence. Myrna Bryant, a clinical chemistry instructor, said he brought two professors from Balboa Naval Hospital to fill in as director. She said the program is independent and Nuñez’s experience was central to its status as one of just two accredited MLT programs in California.

“We run a tight ship here,” she said. “We missed him and were always happy to hear he was safe as he kept in touch. We knew he would do a great job in helping the people of Afghanistan.”

Former student Alejandro Tolentino, hired by Rady Children’s Hospital to operate a small lab at a local clinic in Chula Vista before his graduation, said Nuñez models hard work, high standards and leadership as a teacher.

“He is motivated, poised, structured, methodical and on point,” he said. “When he was in Afghanistan I was honored to be class president and share his motivation and dedication to future students as well as the community. Though he was back east, we all succeeded with a 100 percent pass rate for the entire class.”

Victor La Fond, a certified MLT and former student, said when Nuñez went to Afghanistan everyone worried. He said he first met him with his 3-month-old daughter as he was deciding whether to take the program. A stringent program, Nuñez warned him it would be difficult for a young family man. La Fond said he looked at his daughter and told him, “I’ve got to do something for her.” Nuñez let him in the program.

“I’ve been in his debt from that day on,” said La Fond. “Everything in my life that I have now is because of him.”

La Fond said Nuñez challenged him to do things he never thought he could and without his thorough process, starting the program and getting it accredited, things would not be as solid for his students in the workforce.

“Professionally and personally, Luís is a great guy,” he said. “I’m buying a house thanks to my education. A nice four bedroom in a great neighborhood near an elementary school my kids will go to. I think that about sums it up.”

Nuñez said the MLT program offers an Associate’s degree for graduates as technicians in clinical hospitals.

“It is a great paying job,” he said. “Between $24 and $26 upon graduation, take a national certification exam, get a state license and 95 percent of the program’s graduates have been hired.”

After a year-long active duty tour, missing Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, his anniversary and his daughter’s sweet 16 birthday, Nuñez said June 25 has new meaning.

“I’ll never forget that day I got back,” said Nuñez. “The sacrifices we made over there, being away from our family, I don’t know how we did it. I just spent my first Thanksgiving in two years with my family. I was so thankful to sit down and break bread with them, enjoy the moment and look forward to the Christmas break.”

November 28, 2012

Mexican poet Javier Sicilia lost his 24-year-old son Juan Francisco last year after going into a bar with six of his friends run by a drug cartel. All suffered a violent death.

After his son’s murder, Sicilia founded the Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad (Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity) in Mexico. His crusade swept across borders in Latin America as many victims, like him, joined a movement to end what he called a lost and needless war.

Caravan for Peace is a call to action for the governments of the United States and Mexico to find solutions to the War on Drugs.

In a bi-national movement, political activists, citizens and 110 victims of violence in the United States and Mexico joined forces in San Diego for a 30-day, 6,000-mile journey to 27 cities and across 17 states to Washington D.C. Sicilia and his caravaneros delivered their message of peace and hope to the White House, calling for an International Day of Action for Peace in Mexico on September 12.

Led by Sicilia and Border Angels founder Enrique Morones, the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity/Marcha Migrante VIII kicked off at Friendship Park on August 12, and began its sojourn to the White House. Morones said more than 150 civic organizations along the way provided food, shelter and care for all and the caravan met hundreds of volunteers, victims and supporters at each stop.

Morones said it is vital for people to realize the consequences of the escalating violence on both sides of the border since the two nations declared the War on Drugs. He said the campaign left innocent casualties in its wake, with more victims falling to failed policies and drug violence every day.

“Over the past six years the War on Drugs has left more than 70,000 dead and more than 20,000 missing in Mexico alone,” he said.

Los caravaneros called on Mexico and the U.S. to enter into a dialogue about alternatives based on evidence and forward-thinking options for drug regulation. Morones said it is essential that the importation of assault weapons into Mexico stops, that concrete steps are taken to combat money laundering, and that both nations re-examine the militarized border and criminalized immigrants.

As the activists gathered to begin their journey, California Senator Juan Vargas and U.S. Congressman Bob Filner met the caravan at Friendship Park with Senate and Congressional resolutions declaring August 12 a “Day of Peace” in San Diego County.

Filner said he stood with Sicilia to confirm their mutual humanity and call for new thinking by federal agencies in the U.S. and Mexico.

“I have worked in non-violent campaigns in the U.S. and throughout the world,” he said. “It is up to government of America to claim some responsibility here. This is not a Mexican problem. This is our problem.”

Dozens gathered for a candlelight vigil later that evening at Chicano Park. After moving a performance of “Misa Azteca” by the Southwestern College Concert Choir, one by one victims of the Drug War spoke of their losses. They hoped their heart-breaking experiences would be the beginning of change.

Gretchen Burns Bergman, lead organizer of Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign, said both countries have suffered senseless tragedies, the erosion of human rights and loss of liberties due to the punitive policies that fuel the violence of the drug cartels. She said her son spent more than a decade “cycling through the criminal justice system” for possession of marijuana.

“We are losing our sons and daughters to drug war violence, to accidental overdose death, and to mass arrest and incarceration,” she said. “It is time for families to unite, stand side by side, sister to sister, mother to mother, cross borders to demand no more Drug War for the sake of our children and future generations.”

Aracely Rodriquez, mother of Luis Ángel León, a federal police officer who refused to cooperate with a drug cartel, was murdered in the state of Michoacán. Rodriquez said the heartbroken people of Mexico found solace and a voice in the heart of Javier Sicilia.

“We have walked across this border with you to unite our pain with your pain,” she said. “I believe in my heart with all of the people with us here now that in uniting our pain we can create a change.”

Sicilia said he dedicated himself to protesting the War on Drugs and the escalating violence. His crusade travels across many borders of the world now and he said he brings his message for change in peace and love, not hate and anger. After 40 years of this war declared by President Nixon, “all is left are the dead, the missing loved ones and the innocent that lost their homeland,” said Sicilia.

“We are losing our democracy and we are losing our frame of reference of life-that we are human beings,” he said. “The only people that benefit from this are the lords of death, the lords of war and lords of pain.”

In Washington Sicilia and los caravaneros spoke to scholars, staff and guests at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, associate director of Latino Affairs and Immigration Julie Chavez Rodriquez, U.S. Mexican Ambassador Anthony Wayne, and members of Congress and the Senate.

Sicilia said there has been no reduction in America’s consumption of drugs, only an epidemic of murder and violence.

“We bring our disappeared children that never approached a dealer,” he said. “We bring defenseless orphans and widows. We bring young people, children of misery, because the Mexican government and the other places of Latin America allocate more American money to the promotion of war than to social programs that have found shelter in the crime and have ended up butchered.”

Sicilia said he dreams his daughter and his grandson will be able to go back to Mexico some day unafraid that someone will kill them like his son was killed.

“I dream that all those who have been displaced by this war and are absolutely defenseless will be able to return to their homes with their families while being assured that nobody will harm them.”

Michael Schnorr’s world-famous murals in Chicano Park tower over the small but revered piece of tierra santa that was once the epicenter of the Chicano Rights Movement and is the globe’s greatest outdoor Latino art gallery. His ambitious Dia de Los Muertos pieces span hundreds of yards of the Tijuana side of the border fence, warning would-be crossers that el norte can be peligroso for migrants.

Not bad for an Anglo man and Muslim convert.

America’s burgeoning border art community lost a visionary pioneer in July when Schnorr jumped from the same Coronado Bridge that features his stunning murals. His suicide shocked and saddened legions of admirers, including hundreds at Chicano Park who gathered for an emotional memorial. Schnorr had recently retired as a Southwestern art professor after 39 years.

Art major David Bonafede said he was devastated by the news of Schnorr’s death and that Schnorr remains a teacher, mentor and friend in his heart.

“No matter how hard or how easy you think something is, he always made you look at things from a different perspective,” he said. “He never let you quit and he always made you finish.”

Bonafede said he did a biography on Schnorr for his art history class and came to know his mentor well. He said he loved not only his art, but also his sense of humor.

“I remembered when I asked why he chose art, he looked at me and laughed and said, ‘To meet girls,’” he said. “But more than that, he taught me to never give up, never second guess myself, even though you are your own worst critic.”

Murals painted by Schnorr gazed down at family, friends, colleagues and students as they gathered on July 14 at Chicano Park to celebrate the life of Schnorr.

Tables of balloons, flowers, candles and notes to the artist were scattered throughout the iconic grounds. Pools and eddies of mourners and celebrants formed around each shrine, shapes changing as Schnorr’s friends moved from place to place. Hard hatted restoration workers stood shoulder to shoulder in solidarity.

Under a gray, cloudy sky, all eyes turned to the park stage and the central shrine to the missing artist. As the first music notes dedicated to him and his family began to echo across the park, the gloom broke apart and the sun began to beat down on the celebration.

Schnorr’s admirers spoke of his talent and compassion, played music in his honor or told a story about him. Calpuli Mexica, a Mexican folk dance group that practices three days a week under Schnorr’s murals at Chicano Park, performed in his honor.

When Schnorr’s wife, Axa Negron-Schnorr, went forward with their four children and several nieces and nephews, they released a pair of doves. One immediately soared into the trees. The second one landed next to the central shrine and gazed up at the crowd placidly.

“Michael is with us!” someone shouted.

As his family, friends and vivacious art energized Chicano Park, it seemed that he was.

Schnorr, a soft-spoken man, created art that was loud, powerful and shouted down inhumanity. He once transformed a Southwestern College lawn into a symbolic migrants’ cemetery by planting hundreds of white crosses with dead inmigrantes’ names hand-painted on each one. He traveled to Afghanistan, Argentina and other troubled nations to create art that cried out for freedom and justice. A former Catholic who converted to Islam, Schnorr possessed an aesthetic that was stunning in its breadth and rich in its depth. When United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson visited Tijuana to study the immigration situation, she asked to meet with only one American. It was Michael Schnorr.

SWC’s quiet megaphone for human rights could seem sullen, his friends said, but had the heart of a revolucionario visionario. Schnorr painted injustice and protest, but spoke with eternal hope and optimism.

“Change is not a dream,” Schnorr once wrote. “We can leap over history and monsters. Not even the stars are out of reach. Barriers, walls and fences must be moved. Must be broken down between countries, between people, between neighborhoods.”

Schnorr’s paint brush moved barriers and moved people by prodding them to reconsider their points of view, his friends said at his memorial. Schnorr himself, they insisted, was a work of art.

November 28, 2012

Without truly knowing all the origins of my genealogy, I am certain that the blood of many cultures runs through my veins. That is what makes me American. I am a self-contained mixture, a melting pot of immigrants and Natives blended during our country’s short life.

My father was in the military and I was born in Stuttgart, Germany. We returned to my grandparent’s home in Tennessee when I was a toddler. My first recollections of life are from a much simpler place in time.

Farm life shaped many of the characteristics that I have carried through life. Even at the age of three there was work to do. Everyone contributed to the home, safety and care of the family. In the beginning I worked with the women in the garden and kitchen. Sometimes my only job was to sit on the washing machine while it was spinning so it would not bounce off the back porch.

I learned as I watched my grandfather do his daily routine of tending to the animals in the barn, moving cattle from one pasture to another. He had fields, crops, woods, lakes and many animals during those years. Both of my grandparents influenced a strong family and work ethic that I use every day of my life.

I learned that work is hard, but fruitful. My family taught me the joy of many simple things in life. Even though at the time there were many new electronics emerging, we sat around on the porch to listen to stories about our heritage, religion and some good tall tales-or listened to radio and music. My grandfather was a preacher and built a church right down the road from the house so farmers in the area could meet and worship.

Most people have work to survive. Life can be wonderful and it can be just as cruel. Principles that I learned as a farm sprout follow me to this day. They are innate. Family, in any form, is one of the only truths in life you can count on. Though I protest religious dogma, faith and hope are a necessity.

Another part of me is rebellious, always asking questions folks do want asked. I have the spirit of a wanderer and am not afraid to venture into the unknown, unexpected or the “unacceptable.” My mother often referred to me as a gypsy. When asked who was the black sheep of the family, my two brothers lovingly point to me.

“Unacceptable,” I use loosely. What is unacceptable to one person can be a strong passion for another. This has roots in many things, including culture, family upbringing, life experiences and circumstance.

All of the traits, even those that I consider weak and dangerous, are the threads that make up the elaborate tapestry of me. I cling to these threads, for without them, my tapestry would unravel.

Woven together, the threads of my tapestry struggle against each other, but hold together as a single piece. Though many of them plague me, I learned to embrace the intimate diversity of myself.
That constant struggle is the journey of life. Learning to hold to these qualities takes me a step closer to accepting the diversity of the world around us.

http://www.theswcsun.com/true-tolerance-comes-through-self-acceptance/

HOME FROM THE BATTLEFIELD — Lt. Cmdr. Luis Nuñez director of the SWC medical laboratory technician program, presents superintendent Dr. Melinda Nish, an American flag that was flown over Kabul, Afghanistan. The flag is displayed at the National City HEC. / Albert Fulcher 

Written by: Albert Fulcher / Campus Editor

November 28, 2012

As the sun set over the dusty Kabul sky in Afghanistan, the red, white and blue symbol of freedom flew above the U.S. forward operating base. In time-honored military fashion, Lt. Cmdr. Luis A. Nuñez Jr., U.S. Navy Reserves, saluted as the color guard started down the flag, knowing its ultimate destination would be Southwestern College.

Nuñez, program director of the medical laboratory technician program at the National City Higher Education Center (HEC), said it was significant to him that he chose the flag. He said he wanted to bring home a symbol of his yearlong duty in war-torn Afghanistan where he and his comrades established clinical laboratories.

“I chose a flag for the National City Center because the closeness I feel with my team at the college is as strong as the team I served with in Afghanistan,” he said. “It was my way of letting them know that while I was away, they were there with me.”

As Southwestern celebrated its own time-honored Veteran’s Day ceremonies, Nuñez presented his gift to Superintendent Dr. Melinda Nish.

“Receiving a flag from the field is a true honor,” she said. “It is a special symbol of recognition from Lt. Cmdr. Nuñez to all of us at Southwestern. This flag will forever be a symbol of all the contributions of veterans, past and present. On behalf of the entire Southwestern College community, I thank Luis Nuñez for this honor.”

In a smaller but emotional ceremony, Nuñez, along with Nish, brought the flag to its final destination.

Christine Perri, National City HEC dean, said the first thing that comes to her mind when she looks at the flag is that it is a privilege having Nuñez working there.

“Nuñez represents all the things filled with goodness and kindness in the world,” she said. “Through his willingness to protect our liberties and freedom here, I am grateful he is home safely.”

In traditional shadowbox fashion the red, white and blue adorns the National City HEC. A reminder that many past, present and future veterans not only serve the nation, but serve the Southwestern College community with as much honor.

http://www.theswcsun.com/a-new-home-for-battle-tested-old-glory/

A HISTORY STITCHED IN TIME — Arrested, tortured and raped before fleeing Chile, resilient Professor Cecilia Ubilla travels the world displaying hand-stitched arpilleras (tapestries) created in secrecy by women who lived through atrocities during Agusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

Written by: Albert Fulcher and Amparo Mendoza / Staff Writer

November 28, 2012

Chile’s brutal coup d’état left blood on the hands of the American CIA and the multinational corporation but it bloodied poor Chileans.

It was the poor of Chile that suffered the brutality of the Chilean military’s ousting the democratic Popular Unity government in 1973 and the murder of President Salvador Allende. Professor Cecilia Ubilla, from Curicó, was swept up in the violence. She was thrown in jail, tortured and repeatedly raped by members of the militia before she could escape.

Dictator Augusto Pinochet, his military and the elite class of Chilean society crushed the Popular Unity movement supported by the middle class and the poor.

As Chilean democracy unraveled, women told stories of atrocities by weaving arpilleras, colorful tapestries. A common cultural bond between women, arpilleras before the coup were pieces of artistic expressions in miniature tapestries that traditionally recounted family life, social events and cultural expressions.

They grew darker during the oppressive Pinochet era, little hand-crafted works of defiance that chronicled the suffering of the Chilean people.

“Every time you see embroidery and beautiful things of all kinds of Latin America, ask if there is some pain there and if there is a hidden message about inequality,” said Ubilla.

Harassed and abused by Pinochet’s misogynistic military, Chilean women secretly gathered in churches and homes to stitch the personal stories of atrocities under the rule of a ruthless dictator.

Ubilla was abandoned by her own Pinochet-supporting family. She eventually fled Chile and has not returned.

“I have fear,” she said. “I also have a big pain that prevents me from going back because my family always supported the military. They were against me and I do not want to see them again. I have lived a lonely life, but at least I am at peace with my conscience.”

She carried with her a suitcase full of arpilleras, smuggled out of Chile through the Swiss Embassy in Santiago, to show the world the little-told history of Chilean’s poor through the eyes and hands of its women.

Chile is a democracy now, Ubilla said, and the government is stable, but she is waiting for funding to take these remaining arpilleras to the great museums of Chile, a reminder of the country’s past struggles and inhumanity.

“I will not forget and I will not forgive,” she said. “My duty and my job as a human on this planet is to denounce these atrocities.”

Ubilla and her invaluable arpilleras came to Southwestern College hosted by the School of Language and Literature. Professor of Spanish Dinorah Guadiana-Costa said the presentation by la Profesora Ubilla was like no other she had ever seen.

“I did not know anything about these arpilleras,” she said. “What a way of maintaining and telling the history of Chile!”

http://www.theswcsun.com/brutal-chilean-history-stitched-in-folk-art/

October 19, 2012

“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”— C. S. Lewis

Prepare for the casualties of Senate Bill 1456, the Student Success Act of 2012. Single parents with two children that need a couple business courses to get that $2 pay raise? Adios! Teenagers that fell through the cracks of a dysfunctional high school district and with no diploma? Sayanara! Older students seeking self-improvement, underserved minorities and immigrants working on basic skills? Hit the camino, amigo.

There’s more. Students that struggle to maintain a C average and do not make the grade in difficult courses face the possibility of losing financial aid.

Introduced by Senator Alan Lowenthal and with recommendations from the California Student Task Force, this bill is a culmination of a yearlong evaluation by community college personnel and lawmakers whose aim is to narrow the gate at community colleges and force fewer students through faster.

SB 1456 combined with the defeat of Proposition 30 would hit California Community Colleges with the brutality of Hurricane Katrina. Most students will be blindsided by a legislative decision they never saw coming. It is not Armageddon, but it is pretty close.

Praised by legislators and administrators as a way to improve the lousy 30 percent transfer rate of community colleges and get more students into the workforce, the bill is, nevertheless, a giant leap backwards. In a nation that is screaming for an educated populace competitive in today’s global economy, SB 1456 left the neediest behind.

Losers will be minority students from the working class borderlands families. In other words, us.

Making students and colleges more accountable is fine. Prioritizing transfer and certificate students is defensible. But coupled with a decade of brutal budget cuts and no foreseeable respite for years to come, these small bandages are not enough to fix America’s gaping educational wounds. Left in its wake is an automated education assembly line, stamping out transfer and certificated students like widgets in a production factory. Everyone else can start careers at Taco Bell or KFC.

Under the regime of SB 1456, prospective community college students will be forced to declare majors as high school seniors and all but forbidden to change majors. Gone are the days students can sample academic disciplines to find their passion. Californians will become more like the imagination-impaired Chinese, forced into a life path before they are old enough to vote.

The Student Success Act of 2012 will ration education in the system that brings the largest and quickest return. It is penny wise but pound foolish, and will only accelerate California’s high education decline and economic meltdown.

http://www.theswcsun.com/new-law-removes-community-from-community-college/

Humberto Peraza interview

Governing Board Vice President Humberto Peraza was appointed last August during a time of turmoil and controversy. He said he decided to run for election to the board to continue his work to reform SWC and clean up the college’s reputation following the “pay for play” scandal that led to numerous felony charges against former college administrators and board members. He is a small business owner, and formerly policy director for San Diego City Council President Ben Hueso, regional director for Senator Barbara Boxer and district chief of staff to Congressman Bob Filner.

Married with two young boys, Peraza said he has coached soccer, football and Little League baseball. His wife is also a professional.

“We are a family that is constantly on the move,” he said. “That is a full-time job in itself. My parents, my aunts and my wife’s parents all live here so our family is a South Bay family. This is our home and I want to make sure that the education is good for our kids.”

Peraza said he brings experience and knowledge of the community to the college and this has fueled his efforts to reform old policies and demand transparency.

“Ultimately, I want to do something that leaves something for our children,” he said. “I am running so that the board stays on the right track. It has pushed in the right direction and hired a new superintendent. We have done more things in one year than most boards and governmental entities have done in three or four. You have instructional, ethics and campaign reform. We started the community benefits agreement. Countless things in between are happening and have been accomplished.”

Peraza said community members still have concerns about accreditation, Proposition R and past corruption. He said the current board majority is reforming the college and that “house cleaning” continues. “(The previous) board has been completely wiped out,” he said. “There is a new superintendent in town and she wiped out the (corrupt) staff. We continue to push and create reforms.”

Peraza said it takes people of courage to stand in the face of adversity.

“I have enjoyed working with this board and the superintendent to continue changes,” he said. “It has been my honor and I would consider myself lucky if I can continue to do it for four more years. We are still in the tunnel but we can see the light at the end. Perception is important. Doing the right thing, being a transparent, open government creates trust on campus in the community. I am running to continue to make those reforms, see that finished and see Southwestern College become the shining example for the rest of the region.”

Peraza said budget is the biggest challenge today and if Proposition 30 fails SWC faces “devastating” cuts to classes and programs.

“My hope is if that Prop 30 passes, that gives us a little more flexibility to stay within the budget, to be able to handle the services for the people and the students that we service right now,” he said. “That is important to make sure that we can actually educate people and that we have the faculty, staff, teachers and counselors. I don’t think anyone can come up with a sweeping solution and if they say they can, they are lying to you. If someone has a solution for a $10 million budget cut, I would love to hear it. I think that our solutions have to be looked at long term.”

Peraza said he has advocated for revenue generation as an alternative to constant cutting. He said the stadium is an example of an underutilized college resource and could generate revenue hosting local and international professional soccer, rugby and concerts.

“I have heard from experienced educators that up to 25 community colleges will close and cease to exist if the tax initiative does not pass and that is a very scary thought,” he said. “Things (in California are) getting worse and worse.”

Peraza said Senate Bill 1456, based on the Student Success Task Force Recommendations, has good ideas but is also troubling. Passed last month, the legislation narrows the mission of community colleges to transfer and certificate attainment. It will require all incoming freshmen to declare majors and have an educational plan aimed to get them through community college in two years instead of the current average of four.

“The whole thing about having people coming in and deciding what their major is going to be and turning it into almost like a factory, you are in and out in two years, not everybody works that way,” he said. “There are many students that do not know what they want and they come to community college for exactly that reason.”

Working students have it much tougher these days, Peraza said, and cannot take as many classes as the new legislation will require.

“Some will be left out in the cold and that is my biggest concern,” he said. “Not everybody is the same. It cannot be this cookie cutter ideal that everybody fits into this one box. It doesn’t work that way.”

Speech and press freedom are essential, Peraza said. He pledged to always fight for First Amendment rights for all while he is on the board.

“Student reporters (in colleges have) freedom of the press,” he said. “To me, the free press is untouchable. It should not be impacted in any way or influenced by anyone on this campus, including myself, and the administration. There should never be a time, like the (past) administration that tried to block printing of the newspaper just because they do not like what you write.”

Peraza said he is working to introduce a local hiring process that helps veteran and disabled-owned companies.

“One of the reasons is to ensure that local people get (college construction) jobs,” he said. “People that are paying for those bonds should be the ones (who benefit). If we can do that we can revitalize our local economy rather than money going somewhere else.”

Peraza said he is able to make tough decisions.

“We need the people with the most courage,” he said. “I am not worried about where else I am going to go, or where I am going to be. I am here to make sure that students get educated when there are cuts. What is the most important thing on this campus? Educating students, period.”

William “Bud” McLeroy interview

William “Bud” McLeroy grew up in Otay Mesa and calls South Bay his home. A full-time San Diego firefighter for 22 years, he is a six-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran with 30 years service in the Army Reserves. He is a commandant (superintendent) of the 80th Training Command. He owns a small business that manufactures surfboards and is in the process of opening a Hawaiian food restaurant.

McLeroy, running for Seat 3, said he spent his entire life in service and possesses the experience, expertise and heartfelt desire to serve the college and his community.

A self-described family man with four children, McLeroy said serving SWC is important to him because he and some of his children attended the college. He said he considers it a great asset to the South Bay. Students would be his top priority, he said.

“No matter who you are, your income level, you can always count on Southwestern to give you the chance to better yourself,” he said. “In the past two years, I don’t think the college itself has been running in an organized fashion that meets its potential. Recently it has come under investigation through the legal system as far as corruption. It is being able to do the right thing for the people in the community where I grew up in.”

Former SWC administrators and board members Nick Alioto, Greg Sandoval, John Wilson, Yolanda Salcido and current employee Arlie Ricasa have been charged with felonies by the San Diego County District Attorney. Former superintendent Raj K. Chopra has fled prosecution. All except Ricasa resigned from SWC following the 2010 governing board election. Humberto Peraza, who currently holds trustee seat #3, was appointed in August 2011, after the district attorney indictments and the mass resignations.

McLeroy said he could not turn his back to the problems he saw with the college because if he did he would be turning his back on his community.

“They are in trouble,” he said. “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be a fireman. I wouldn’t be in the military. I want to help this community and this school as much as I can. It comes from the bottom of my heart. It is not a political move. The challenges that I see, the state has cut the funding for colleges and universities. But the colleges and the universities still want to run on the same money they did before. In order to cut so that it doesn’t affect the outcome of the students we have to know how to actually place ourselves in the position to do better.”

McLeroy said he was wounded in Iraq in 2003. After rehab he went back into the reserves. For the next three years he focused to make sure that every soldier under his command was well trained.

“I had to because upon graduation day the next year they would all be deployed to a combat zone,” he said. “I gave them the upmost in respect and the upmost in knowledge so they could survive.”

Promoted to commandant after three years, he said he retained his personal commitment to all students and that he will carry this philosophy as a college board member.

“When it comes to why I am best for the job here, I’ve done this. I have a proven track record,” he said. “Failure is not an option in my school. I don’t want you to quit. I don’t want you to give up and I don’t want you to fail.”

McLeroy lost a leg in 2003. He became the first one-legged firefighter and the first amputee service member. He said he had to set an example for his family and considers Southwestern as a part of that family.

“I can come here, evaluate and make it better so students can get a better education,” he said. “If we spend money foolishly that money can’t go to the kids. I will give every ounce of energy in my body to make sure students succeed. I have to make my school survive over the incompetence that has been here.”

McLeroy said he understands that not everyone at the college is corrupt, but said the college needs to rethink expenditures and utilize the potential of the satellite campuses.

“I learned that as a teacher, as a department head and as an administrator in the military,” he said. “I feel that I can do the job. I have done it. I am not the guy coming in that doesn’t know about the school and I am not the guy coming in that doesn’t know what is involved. I am the guy that has done it and through the grace of God has made things happen and said let’s do it here.”

McLeroy said if Proposition 30 fails everything at SWC is vulnerable and the college will be hit hard. He said it is important that whomever is elected knows how to balance a budget and understands the education system and management.

“Two years ago when I sat down in debates, I said it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said. “Now we are at the governor’s bill that says we have to pay taxes. If you look at all the bills that have wanted to raise taxes, people say no. The governor passed a budget stating that this bill would pass. That was wrong. I was able to raise the GPA and lower the cost of business.”

He said holding people accountable is essential and though it appears that the college is coming out of scandal, it is not.

“They are still investigating findings there,” he said. “It is easy to be corrupt when you are doing it for the wrong reason.”

He said it is not enough to “squeeze by” accreditation status and that he has the experience to deal with accreditation issues. In his experience, he said, he took his school from barely passing by to full accreditation with a Center of Excellence status.

“Being a board member, you are a leader,” he said. “We need to get away from the corruption part and actually get back into the education part. People won’t remember us for the education, they will remember us for the corruption. Part of changing that is changing the people that are in power. We just need to make a clean break. We need to build our reputation up.”

McLeroy said freedom of speech and the press are rights of the American people, and that it is important that people receive unbiased information.

“I love freedom of speech, freedom of the press and I love freedom,” he said. “If I didn’t I would have never gone to war. Journalists can be the most fantastic journalist in the world if they learn to eliminate the emotional. I know in the past about people wanting to stifle the speech here. You can’t stifle speech. Just like me if I would have skewed my instruction one way or another, I would have had a student die.”

William Stewart Interview

William Stewart, a professor of philosophy at San Diego City College, is running for seat No. 1 on the Southwestern College Governing Board. Dr. Jean Roesch currently holds the seat, but is not running for re-election.

Stewart said he is a California native who moved to San Diego to complete graduate work at UCSD. Afterwards he went on to work at City College where he has taught for 26 years. He lives in Bonita.

Stewart said he wants to help SWC and give back to the community.

“I was looking for some way to have an impact on the community in a positive way and where I could model it for my children,” said Stewart. “I’m very conscious with this idea that if I want my two kids to have the right priorities it is very important that my wife and I live the right priorities.”

Stewart has worked in the California Community College system since the age of 21, he said. It combines his interest in community service with his love of education.

“I’m not looking for Southwestern to give me something, I’m looking to give Southwestern something,” he said. “I’m looking to give my time and energy. I have no political ambition. That’s not my agenda here.”

A business man in real estate, Stewart said he has knowledge of budgets.

“I think I bring to the board a very student-centric perspective because the questions are: how are the students being served? Is our budget best focused on meeting the needs of our students?” said Stewart.

Stewart supports Proposition 30 because it will help maintain current levels of classes and student services.

“If Proposition 30 passes then we can look at expanding those services, that’s going to be very helpful,” he said. “If it doesn’t pass I think we’re really going to have to look at a line item review of the budget to see how this school is going to continue running at a lower funding while still not having our students take most the hits.”

Stewart said students have taken a disproportionate hit due to these cuts because an easy place to cut is funding for adjunct faculty, part-time jobs that pay students and non-contract staff.

“Basically, the best decisions you can make are sometimes not the easiest ones you can make,” he said. “So I will be looking at the line items which require harder decisions, but decisions that are going to protect the services for the students.”

Freedom of discourse is essential to higher education, Stewart said. He said he would not permit administration to restrict free speech or free press rights as the Chopra/Alioto administration did.

“Here we are, a collective of individuals, and the suggestion that we should restrict student discourse to me would be a frightening idea,” he said.

Stewart said he is impressed with SWC even with the devaluation of education that is currently occurring in California. He said the state must reinvest in education. During a visit to the main Chula Vista campus he pointed to some aging infrastructure.

“See that board?” he asked. “That board right there is about a $400 board. If we don’t paint it for three more years there will be dry rot and you’ll have to replace the whole board. We can spend $20 on a can of paint or pay $500 later to replace the whole thing. That’s generally speaking how the state has been running the budget. When I come to SWC it’s that kind of basic pragmatism that I’ll be bringing here.”

Elizabeth Jean Roach

Elizabeth Jean Roach is an educator running for seat No. 1 on the Southwestern College governing board.

Originally from Arizona, Roach said she has lived in the South Bay for 16 years, mostly in Chula Vista. She has been involved in education since 1987, she said, and since then has worked at a charter school as well as home schooling.

On her own at 16, Roach started taking classes at Southwestern Community College in New Mexico and then Mesa Community College in Arizona, she said. She transferred to Arizona State University and then Brigham Young University in 1988 where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in secondary education and went on to teach for 20 years.

“As this seat came open I thought what a wonderful opportunity it would be to give back a community college because there is no way I could have gotten a college degree without community college in my life,” she said.

After reading a story called “The Big Jump” as a child, she said, her outlook on the method to solving problems was changed.
“By the end of this story the character finds out that the big jump is just a series of little tiny jumps and then he was able to go to where he needed to go,” she said. “I think that’s one of the things I would like to bring to the college. Whatever the obstacle, it’s not a big jump, it’s just lots of little tiny jumps and if we can just keep after it we can overcome anything.”

With four children growing older and going through the educational system, Roach said her main motivation for running for seat No. 1 is to make SWC the best that it can be.

“This is a great opportunity, this is a great school,” she said. “ This was an opportunity and I wanted to be a part of it. To make it a better part of the community and a better part for my family.”

Roach said her prime focus is to help students achieve their goals.

“I’m willing to work hard for this and for the school so that people that want to get certificates and job training can do that, people that want to transfer to universities can do that, people that want to take swim classes can do that,” she said.

One of the biggest issues Roach said she sees at SWC is low graduation rates. She expressed interest in seeing these rates increase. She said that there is a disconnect between students leaving high school and entering a community college. SWC needs more outreach to high schools, she said.

Technology can be better applied to help students find classes, she added.
“If we have one teacher we can open up a class in ways we couldn’t if we just had one classroom, 30 chairs,” she said, “but with technology we can make it available at more times and for more people.”

Roach said student success should be an issue a local community college should tackle in its own manner rather than only through legislative action at the state level.

“In school we talk about keeping local jurisdiction, let’s take care of our own housekeeping, let’s do our own chores here,” she said.

Roach said SWC is over-dependent on Sacramento for its finances.

“Financial aid and grants can be found through other sources, there is a lot of opportunity out there,” she said. “I would like to see other sources found. It would make us stronger and less dependent on the budget in Sacramento, which we know is in trouble.”

Forecasting the failure of Proposition 30, Roach said SWC needs to “consolidate, see what we can do for less, look at budgets and see what we can trim and what we can do smarter.” She said SWC should prepare for funding cuts rather than hoping for increases.

Roach said she is incorruptible.
“I started by saying I am not a union puppet and I’m not,” she said. “I’ll listen to the needs of the unions. I’m personally very concerned with faculty.”

Roach said she believes in the First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and freedom of speech, but only to a point, that point being where safety is involved.

“I think we need a vision for the future, I think we need a plan to get there, I think we need to work hard to get there because they’re our dreams, our lives, our futures,” she said. “So if we have those four keys, if we have a vision, if we have a plan, if we are willing to work hard and we have support, I think any student that comes here should be able to succeed in a reasonable amount of time. So let’s take our feet off the brakes and hit the gas and see student achievement take off.”

http://www.theswcsun.com/interactive/election/index.html