Which is more important, fee hikes or girls in panties?
Girls in panties, obviously. Just ask The DVC Inquirer.
After grabbing the latest issue of the school newspaper on my way to class Thursday morning, my dorky, journalistic excitement was quelled as soon as I read the cover story. In it, writer Ariel Messman-Rucker reports on a fraudulent Facebook profile displaying provocative photos of ASDVC President Lindsay St. Hill. While the profile was not created by St. Hill, the pictures and videos on the profile were legitimate, some of which show St. Hill topless or scantily clad in lingerie.
You learn from the article that St. Hill took these photos and videos to beef up her modeling profile and is understandably weary to have them all but advertised on the front page of the DVC “news” paper.
But wait! Don’t put that paper down! Because once you’re finished reading the cover gossip column, you can look below the fold to read about a shooting that took place at DVC last week, not to mention the announcement that registration fees are likely to hike to $40 a unit next semester.
Seriously, Inquirer? My advance apologies to my fellow classmates who count themselves as staff of this paper, but this is appalling.
After reading the St. Hill story, I intuitively turned to the opinion page, expecting an editorial justifying this publishing decision. And what do you know! There it was.
In this editorial, the reader is told that the DVC Inquirer, after weighing its moral options, viewed this “legitimate news story” as pertinent enough to bypass St. Hill’s right to privacy.
“We chose to go ahead with the story because St. Hill is the public “face” of DVC students…The fact that St. Hill made a conscious choice to pose for sexually suggestive photos and videos raises questions about her judgment,” said the DVC Inquirer editorial.
I could make a decent argument as to why this story should not have been published at all, but that isn’t even what upsets me. What upsets me is that The Inquirer deemed this story more important than any other that was published this issue. What is the justification for that? Just as the staff of The Inquirer questioned the judgment of St. Hill, the student body should question the judgment of a newspaper that would rather showcase the personal transgressions of one young woman than alert students to fee hikes that could affect the entire institution.
In all fairness, the story did make an interesting read. I was intrigued enough to finish the entire story (which may have been the longest of the semester, by the way). Which only reinforces my fear that The Inquirer chose this story as front-page fodder specifically for its sensationalism. It’s an effective strategy, one implemented by most weekly tabloids. It also reeks of yellow journalism with its sensational approach.
Bravo, Inquirer.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Blog 4: Trees are your friends!
Stop reading this and go outside. Really. Americans are not spending enough time outdoors and I feel it contributes to our stress-laced culture more than most people realize.
According to National Public Radio, the percentage of Americans taking part in nature-based activities has declined at more than 1 percent each year since the late 1980s, meaning that participation is down 18 to 25 percent from historic peak levels.
In a technologically-centric culture, we continue to rely on gizmos and gadgets to entertain us. I can remember even just ten years ago how much more time my friends and I spent outside- playing sports, exploring the creek near my house or just walking around the Martinez waterfront. But slowly, that free time started to fill up with mall excursions, video game sessions or visits to the movie theater. Family camping trips turned into Disneyland visits and nature became something reserved for the hippies.
But four years ago I practically fell into a job as a counselor at a Girl Scout camp. I lived and worked in the Sierra Nevadas for a month and a half with no Internet, no cell phone and certainly no video games. Tiring at times, frustrating at others, by the end of the summer that experience stood as one of the best I’d ever had. From that point on I made a conscious effort to spend more time in nature and it’s a resolution that has greatly improved my personal life and emotional health.
Fight with the roommate? Just take a hike through the hills.
Boy trouble? Nothing works quite as well as a walk by the water.
Worn down by the daily grind? Camping trip, please!
Nature keeps me sane. When times are bad, a walk through the green-carpeted hills reminds me that daily struggles are trivial compared to the enormous beauty that surrounds us. In good times, a trip with some friends into Tilden Park offers the perfect setting for my sunny disposition.
Marissa Perez, a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz, a campus known for its natural beauty, said, “I like to go to the beach or the woods because it’s so quiet. I can just listen to nature and really clear my head. It also helps when I have to think, because I can tune out everything else except the problem at hand.”
Environmentalists preach that we need to save the world. I often think the more effective approach would be to get people out and experiencing the natural world so that they understand how IT can save THEM. Outdoor activities like hiking, fishing, camping or rock climbing can reduce stress, put you in touch with something greater than your own problems and help get you into shape.
As for the environmental movement, the best way to garner support for a cause is to make the cause relevant to as many people as possible. The more people spend time in and appreciate nature, the more they will favor legislation that seeks to protect it. Just a thought, Green Party.
My challenge to you all is to go do one thing this week that requires you to interact with nature. Be it a hike, a bike ride or even a little bit of gardening. Do it! You’ll be glad that you did.
Photos by Colleen McCullough
Monday, March 15, 2010
Blog 3: You cant hurry school, no you just have to wait...
Everybody has a love/hate relationship somewhere in their life. Maybe yours is with your mother, your boss, your girlfriend or your professor. Mine has always been with school.
In high school, there were two points to note on each of my report cards: An average of 35 absences in each class, each semester, (no exaggeration) and a GPA of 3.5 or above. I was always good at school -- I just hated being there.
My senior year, I received acceptance letters to two UCs and three CSUs. Most I threw in the trash, unopened. I had spent 12 years of my life being told what to do, and I wasn’t quite ready for another round of instructions. So I took some time off.
After working and traveling for a year, I started at UC Santa Cruz but quickly decided that college wasn’t for me.
Or wait. Was it?
To be sure, I enrolled at CSU Northridge the following fall, completing a year's worth of credits before deciding I REALLY didn’t want to be in college, and instead began a short-lived career in marketing. For a year, I was content. I was working 40 hour weeks in an office, occasionally jetting off for a business convention here or a trade show there.
Until this past June when I watched a friend graduate from UC Santa Cruz, and I was struck with an overwhelming sense of longing. I felt like a barren woman looking at a baby. For the first time in my life, I wanted to be in school. Not because everyone said I should, or because I wanted to make more money but because I simply wanted to be there. To sit in a lecture hall, to take notes, to make coffee runs to the bookstore. I missed the student life.
And now, nine months later, here I am, concocting blogs for my news writing class.
I know many students who have taken paths similar to mine- an on-and-off relationship with school that has led them from school to work, to work to school. Sometimes, like me, they return to complete their program of study. Many others do not.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.4 million students enrolled in colleges nationwide in 2009. But don’t be fooled by the numbers or the guidance counselors because nearly half of those students will not obtain a degree. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 58 percent of first-time freshman enrolled in a four-year university program in 2000-01 completed their degree within six years.
What is going on? Why do so many students attend college only to drop out? Some percentage may be attributed to economic hardship or unforeseen life changes, like having a child or losing a parent. But I think the larger problem is that many students go to college before they even belong there.
How enthusiastic are you about having to do something you don’t actually want to? Probably not so much. Yet so many high school seniors head off to college because they are told, by society, or teachers, or their parents, that it’s just “what you do.”
It’s rash. It’s reckless. College is a major life decision. Would you comply that easily if you were choosing a mate, or deciding to have kids? My point is, there is no set time a person will be ready for college. The time isn’t right just because you’re 18, or because you’re graduating from high school. Sometimes, it's never right. And that’s perfectly fine.
Taking two years off of school made an impact in the life as well as the academic career of DVC student Hayley Willer who said, “The time away from school was the right choice for me. It allowed me to grow from the high school scene and develop a personality, and I appreciate education more now.”
I encourage students to take time off to decide who they are and what they want before they go to college. I reckon we’d see that drop-out rate lower dramatically if they did. I personally needed the time to mature and reflect before returning to school. Now I am here by choice. Happily might I add.
In high school, there were two points to note on each of my report cards: An average of 35 absences in each class, each semester, (no exaggeration) and a GPA of 3.5 or above. I was always good at school -- I just hated being there.
My senior year, I received acceptance letters to two UCs and three CSUs. Most I threw in the trash, unopened. I had spent 12 years of my life being told what to do, and I wasn’t quite ready for another round of instructions. So I took some time off.
After working and traveling for a year, I started at UC Santa Cruz but quickly decided that college wasn’t for me.
Or wait. Was it?
To be sure, I enrolled at CSU Northridge the following fall, completing a year's worth of credits before deciding I REALLY didn’t want to be in college, and instead began a short-lived career in marketing. For a year, I was content. I was working 40 hour weeks in an office, occasionally jetting off for a business convention here or a trade show there.
Until this past June when I watched a friend graduate from UC Santa Cruz, and I was struck with an overwhelming sense of longing. I felt like a barren woman looking at a baby. For the first time in my life, I wanted to be in school. Not because everyone said I should, or because I wanted to make more money but because I simply wanted to be there. To sit in a lecture hall, to take notes, to make coffee runs to the bookstore. I missed the student life.
And now, nine months later, here I am, concocting blogs for my news writing class.
I know many students who have taken paths similar to mine- an on-and-off relationship with school that has led them from school to work, to work to school. Sometimes, like me, they return to complete their program of study. Many others do not.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.4 million students enrolled in colleges nationwide in 2009. But don’t be fooled by the numbers or the guidance counselors because nearly half of those students will not obtain a degree. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 58 percent of first-time freshman enrolled in a four-year university program in 2000-01 completed their degree within six years.
What is going on? Why do so many students attend college only to drop out? Some percentage may be attributed to economic hardship or unforeseen life changes, like having a child or losing a parent. But I think the larger problem is that many students go to college before they even belong there.
How enthusiastic are you about having to do something you don’t actually want to? Probably not so much. Yet so many high school seniors head off to college because they are told, by society, or teachers, or their parents, that it’s just “what you do.”
It’s rash. It’s reckless. College is a major life decision. Would you comply that easily if you were choosing a mate, or deciding to have kids? My point is, there is no set time a person will be ready for college. The time isn’t right just because you’re 18, or because you’re graduating from high school. Sometimes, it's never right. And that’s perfectly fine.
Taking two years off of school made an impact in the life as well as the academic career of DVC student Hayley Willer who said, “The time away from school was the right choice for me. It allowed me to grow from the high school scene and develop a personality, and I appreciate education more now.”
I encourage students to take time off to decide who they are and what they want before they go to college. I reckon we’d see that drop-out rate lower dramatically if they did. I personally needed the time to mature and reflect before returning to school. Now I am here by choice. Happily might I add.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Blog 2: An "Alarming" Budget Crisis...I'm So Punny!
If you had class at DVC this past Thursday at 1p.m., chances are you didn’t learn very much.
An unidentified individual pulled at least one of the fire alarms on campus, forcing students to empty out of classrooms just in time to see the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) march around campus with their picket signs.
Five minutes after the switch was pulled, my political science classmates and I stood outside the lecture hall while the alarm wailed incessantly with no signs of giving up. My professor dismissed us, as continuing class under such conditions was impossible.
As I write this, no perpetrator has been identified and SDS’s official stance on the matter is that the club was not involved. Whoever pulled that switch, it seems obvious to me that his or her intent was to gather support for the rally. And it was a sound strategy. According to The Inquirer Online, the number of rally participants jumped from 50 to 200 after the alarms had been set off.
I am conflicted over this event. My initial reaction was one of amusement and appreciation. A disruptive way to gain support for their cause, but sometimes disruption is the best way to get attention. I was personally in support of this rally- I feel like every student at DVC should be concerned about and angered by the fee hikes and budget cuts to public education.
In explaining why students should attend the rally, Nicolas Holmes of ASDVC and SDS said “We are all suffering [and] paying more. These are historic opportunities to awaken the sleeping giant-the 2.9 million students in [California] Community College. But the awakening should not stop there.”
I feel much the same.
At the same time, I DID pay those fees, despite the “hiking” and I paid them so I could sit in class and learn. If only for one day, the alarms denied me of that. While one interrupted lecture may not be the greatest loss, I’m sure other classes were taking tests, or working on labs, or doing any number of things that were relevant to their education and impeded by the fire alarm.
I suppose the question is: Did they go too far? My answer: Probably.
But then again, hasn’t the public education crisis gone too far?
I'll leave that answer up to every student.
An unidentified individual pulled at least one of the fire alarms on campus, forcing students to empty out of classrooms just in time to see the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) march around campus with their picket signs.
Five minutes after the switch was pulled, my political science classmates and I stood outside the lecture hall while the alarm wailed incessantly with no signs of giving up. My professor dismissed us, as continuing class under such conditions was impossible.
As I write this, no perpetrator has been identified and SDS’s official stance on the matter is that the club was not involved. Whoever pulled that switch, it seems obvious to me that his or her intent was to gather support for the rally. And it was a sound strategy. According to The Inquirer Online, the number of rally participants jumped from 50 to 200 after the alarms had been set off.
I am conflicted over this event. My initial reaction was one of amusement and appreciation. A disruptive way to gain support for their cause, but sometimes disruption is the best way to get attention. I was personally in support of this rally- I feel like every student at DVC should be concerned about and angered by the fee hikes and budget cuts to public education.
In explaining why students should attend the rally, Nicolas Holmes of ASDVC and SDS said “We are all suffering [and] paying more. These are historic opportunities to awaken the sleeping giant-the 2.9 million students in [California] Community College. But the awakening should not stop there.”
I feel much the same.
At the same time, I DID pay those fees, despite the “hiking” and I paid them so I could sit in class and learn. If only for one day, the alarms denied me of that. While one interrupted lecture may not be the greatest loss, I’m sure other classes were taking tests, or working on labs, or doing any number of things that were relevant to their education and impeded by the fire alarm.
I suppose the question is: Did they go too far? My answer: Probably.
But then again, hasn’t the public education crisis gone too far?
I'll leave that answer up to every student.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Blog 1: I couldn't care less...actually, I could
An epidemic is sweeping through my generation. It’s infected the vast majority of my peers, and I believe it is the greatest threat currently facing our country: Political inaction. Our nation is slowly turning into a country of sedentary citizens, and as I get older, I get progressively more terrified by this prospect.
According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), a nonpartisan research center for the civic and political engagement of young Americans, 52 percent of American adults under the age of 30 voted in the 2008 presidential election.
Due partially to Obama’s youthful following this figure was a 5 percent increase from the 2004 presidential election. While an improvement, I still find this statistic startling. That means nearly half of all adults 18-30 simply did not care enough to partake in the most historic election our country has seen. I know many would argue that with the mechanics of the Electoral College one vote does not count, but I beg to differ. The idea that citizens have a say in the appointment of their leaders is a powerful notion. As a California voter, I realize my vote in a presidential election probably doesn’t mean all that much. But the act of going to the polls makes me feel like I’ve participated in my democracy, an act that I believe is ultimately a civic responsibility.
I realize the rampant inaction of America’s young adults is in part because of our current political environment. Decisions are made by representatives who are meant to rule in our best interests but often do not. Policies and laws are shrouded in bureaucratic verbiage that alienates voters, particularly those who are green to the political scene. The media is peppered with celebrity gossip instead of stories of political import. Senators and congressman rage partisan battles that seem to accomplish next to nothing. Believe me, I get it.
But we are a nation of more than 300 million people. Consider what 300 million voices raised together could accomplish. Sure, we are a representative democracy, but we are still a government whose power is vested in the people, if they would only harness that power. Consider the public education crisis in California. According to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, there are 2.9 million community college students in the state. Imagine if every student made a phone call to his representative, or wrote a letter to her senator. Even the most seasoned politician cannot ignore the sound of nearly 3 million fists knocking at her door. So stop crying and go get yourself heard. What have you got to lose if you do? I fear far less than what you'd lose if you didn't.
According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), a nonpartisan research center for the civic and political engagement of young Americans, 52 percent of American adults under the age of 30 voted in the 2008 presidential election.
Due partially to Obama’s youthful following this figure was a 5 percent increase from the 2004 presidential election. While an improvement, I still find this statistic startling. That means nearly half of all adults 18-30 simply did not care enough to partake in the most historic election our country has seen. I know many would argue that with the mechanics of the Electoral College one vote does not count, but I beg to differ. The idea that citizens have a say in the appointment of their leaders is a powerful notion. As a California voter, I realize my vote in a presidential election probably doesn’t mean all that much. But the act of going to the polls makes me feel like I’ve participated in my democracy, an act that I believe is ultimately a civic responsibility.
I realize the rampant inaction of America’s young adults is in part because of our current political environment. Decisions are made by representatives who are meant to rule in our best interests but often do not. Policies and laws are shrouded in bureaucratic verbiage that alienates voters, particularly those who are green to the political scene. The media is peppered with celebrity gossip instead of stories of political import. Senators and congressman rage partisan battles that seem to accomplish next to nothing. Believe me, I get it.
But we are a nation of more than 300 million people. Consider what 300 million voices raised together could accomplish. Sure, we are a representative democracy, but we are still a government whose power is vested in the people, if they would only harness that power. Consider the public education crisis in California. According to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, there are 2.9 million community college students in the state. Imagine if every student made a phone call to his representative, or wrote a letter to her senator. Even the most seasoned politician cannot ignore the sound of nearly 3 million fists knocking at her door. So stop crying and go get yourself heard. What have you got to lose if you do? I fear far less than what you'd lose if you didn't.
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