The power of the printed word is revamped in the Porter exhibit. Photo by Devika Agarwal.

When people think of art, the word “bookmaking” might not pop into their heads. But as the Porter Sesnon Gallery will show in the new “Book as Medium: Holding/Withholding Text” exhibit, opening on Jan. 27, every aspect of bookmaking is an art.

Technology like Amazon’s “Kindle” has already begun pushing print to the sidelines, with the electronic book reader currently being shipped to over 100 countries, and 300,000 books available to download.

“We are hoping to encourage writers, poets, and self-publishers to rekindle — no pun intended — the art of bookmaking,” said Shelby Graham, gallery director and co-curator of the exhibit. “The digital age can help make these beautiful books.”

Graham explained all the steps that go into making a book — from the binding to the printing to the cover art. “Each phase of a book has its own history,” she said. “Rarely is a book made by one person.”

The “Book as Medium” exhibit will be showcasing work from about 25 artists from different parts of the country and even the world. It culminates with a bookmaking demonstration at the Cowell Press by UCSC instructor Gary Young on March 5, before the exhibit closes on March 6.

Young, who teaches bookmaking classes on campus, replaced Professor George Kane after his passing in 2009. The exhibit is dedicated to Kane, who taught the class for 27 years.

Although Santa Cruz is a well-known bookmaking hotspot, there will also be work from artists in Canada and France.

Felicia Rice — a local book artist, UCSC alumna and the co-curator of this exhibit — was the mastermind behind the campus show.

Rice has earned many honors in her work. Most recent among them was the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship, wherein four local artists are chosen, out of 46 candidates, to receive a $20,000 grant.

She worked carefully to choose the artists featured in this exhibit.

“It’s really a step-by-step process, working with the artists,” Rice said.

After artists accepted the invitation, Graham and Rice had to work closely with them to figure out how they wanted their art displayed.

Some artists had to send two copies of their books: one to display open, and one to show closed. Some of the books can be touched and played with, some must be touched carefully with gloves, while others are too delicate to touch.

“Books are a special type of art that don’t necessarily hang on a wall,” Graham said. “They are often interactive, intimate and one-on-one.”

The book art for this show ranges from a traditional bound book with print inside, to a book that is a box and opens up like a puzzle to reveal the pages. One book is a string of frames, in which the page of the book is suspended in the frame using thread.

“All of the artists could find a cheaper or more mechanical way to make these books, but it’s not about that,” Graham said. “This exhibit gives us the chance to look at books in a different manner.”

There are many steps that go into the making of these books that most people never suspect.

“Every component is handmade,” said Leslie Fellows, manager of the Sesnon Gallery.

It even gets tricky when figuring out whom to credit for some of the work, because the pieces are often collaborations.

“We want the gallery to become a forum to discuss ideas, and start a dialogue about the future of books,” Graham said.

College students come into contact with books every day, but not always in the ways that the “Book as Medium” exhibit will show.

“It’s important to have a show like this at a university,” Graham said. “It’s important to learn that a book can be many things.”

Men’s Basketball
1/22 vs. Chapman (away), 79-60 (loss)
1/23 vs. La Sierra (away), 56-55 (win)
1/24 vs. University of Dallas (away), 58-57 (loss)

Men’s Tennis
1/16 vs. UC Davis (away), 5-1 (loss)

Men’s Volleyball
1/16 vs. Cal Baptist (home), 3-1 (win)

Women’s Basketball
1/23 vs. University of Dallas (away), 78-67 (loss)
1/24 vs. Chapman (away), 61-49 (loss)

Women’s Tennis
1/23 vs. Santa Clara (away), 1-0 (loss)

{Upcoming Athletics}

Men’s Basketball
2/6 vs. UC Merced (home) at 8:30 p.m.

Men’s Tennis
1/29 vs. Lewis and Clark (away) at 6 p.m.
1/30 vs. Whitworth (away) at 10 a.m.
1/30 vs. Whitman (away) at 6 p.m.
1/31 vs. Linfield (away) at 9 a.m.

Men’s Volleyball
1/29 vs. Baruch (home) at 7 p.m.
1/30 vs. Baruch (home) at 3 p.m.
2/5 vs. Stanford (away) at 7 p.m.

Women’s Basketball
1/28 vs. Bethany (home) at 6 p.m.
2/4 vs. Simpson (away) at 7 p.m.

Women’s Tennis
1/31 vs. CSU Bakersfield (home) at 12 p.m.
2/6 at NDNU (away) at 2 p.m.

Army veteran Dani Molina served in the Persian Gulf before becoming supervisor of the VETS program at UCSC. Courtesy.

Peer mentors undergo a 10-day training to learn about campus resources. Courtesy.

Molina mans the office at the ARC, awaiting UCSC students in search of mentoring or advice. Photo by Kathryn Power.

Erica Ronquillo spends her time attending sociology classes, studying for exams and leading a student organization, just like many UC Santa Cruz undergraduates. Her life is normal compared to most, except for one thing: at any moment, Ronquillo could be called into active duty in Iraq. Ronquillo, a Marine Corps reservist, is one of about 100 student veterans who attend UCSC.

UCSC is just one place where veterans, many of whom never expected to attend college, are taking advantage of the benefits of the post-Sept. 11 GI Bill to pursue higher education.

Veteran Education and Team Support (VETS), a fairly new program started by student veterans at UCSC, is receiving national attention for its unique way of providing support to students during the difficult transition from military service to a university.

“VETS is a support system,” said Luis Padilla, a Marine Corps veteran who served for six years in Kuwait, Iraq and on reserve. “They really do go above and beyond to help you.”

From Tragedy to Teamwork

Although Services for Transfer and Re-Entry Students (STARS) had always served veteran students, they didn’t have a specialized program for them until 2008. The original funding for VETS came from the mother of Pat Tillman, a professional football player who left his contract with the Arizona Cardinals to volunteer in the Iraq War.

After he was killed by friendly fire, Tillman’s mother Mary became an advocate for military accountability. On a book-signing stop at Capitola Book Café, she called STARS to see if they knew of any organizations in Santa Cruz where she could donate her proceeds to benefit veterans.

STARS director Corinne Miller gave Tillman the names of several organizations, but at the same time considered starting a veteran group under STARS.

“We did a focus group and asked veterans, ‘What kind of services would you like?’” Miller said. “They identified that a peer mentor program would be best.”

Capitola Book Café decided to donate the proceeds of the signing to STARS, and this became the seed money for VETS.

In 2008 the VETS program beat out over 200 similar programs nationwide, including veterans’ programs at UCLA and UC Berkeley, to win a $100,000 Success for Veterans Grant from the ACE/Wal-Mart Foundation.

“UCSC is working very hard and the amount they have accomplished is incredible,” said Christopher Lopez, an outreach representative of the Santa Cruz County Veterans’ Center in Capitola.

With the grant, VETS hopes to expand outreach to community colleges, increase retention efforts, hold more social events and build ties with non-veteran students and the community. After the grant ends in June 2011, the VETS program will have to find another source of funding.

Student to Student, Soldier to Soldier

Today, the VETS program is run under STARS and is located in the Academic Resources Center (ARC). The program offers peer mentoring, sends out a biweekly newsletter, and holds social events and even meetings with local political representatives where veterans can voice their concerns.

“Student veterans aren’t used to the same things other students are used to,” said Daniel Wilson, VETS coordinator and Coast Guard veteran. “They enter into a world where there’s a very ‘group’ mentality. You learn not to ask questions, or at least not dumb questions. They’ve adapted and then they come here to a university where quite honestly, individual work is more highly valued.”

For many veterans, peer mentoring is successful because it is similar to the environment of the military, where teamwork is encouraged. Entering a university can be a difficult transition for veterans because it requires a higher level of individual interaction.

Asking questions is also vital in a university, whether in the housing office or a discussion section — whereas in the military, questioning leadership is often discouraged, leaving one more likely to turn to a comrade rather than a higher-up.

“They’re coming from a very structured environment to a fairly unstructured environment,” STARS director Miller said.

Many students who come to a UC straight out of high school are trained in ways to navigate bureaucracy, while those who entered the military might not get that opportunity.

“The groups that get washed out are minority groups, groups that are low-income, that don’t have a lot of socioeconomic opportunities, and a lot of times that’s the group that veterans are in,” Wilson said. “They went into the military in the first place because it’s a ladder for socially and economically disadvantaged people to get somewhere, whether it’s a career out of the military or an education.”

VETS peer mentors undergo training in which professionals from many campus departments — including Financial Aid, the Disability Resource Center, the Career Center, and Counseling and Psychological Services — inform mentors of the resources available on campus. The mentors can then share these resources with their peers, as well as help them take advantage of their military benefits.

Currently the VETS program serves approximately 20 to 30 student veterans on campus. This peer mentor program, and many veterans’ presence at UCSC in the first place, would not be possible without the GI Bill.

The New GI Bill

Although educational benefits have been an incentive for military service since the 1940s, the post-Sept. 11 or “new” GI Bill greatly expanded the opportunities for veterans to pursue higher education.

The GI Bill provides money to people who have been in the armed services and wish to pursue an education afterward. The bill also covers those on reserve and, in some cases, dependents of military personnel.

Lopez of the Veterans’ Center calls it “a beautiful thing,” and believes that “it’s really helping a lot of people change their lives.”

The new GI Bill first came into effect this academic year. The old GI Bill, which was passed in 1984, reimbursed veterans’ tuition with about $900 a month.

“If you live in California, especially in the Silicon Valley or in the Bay Area, you know that $900 a month won’t even cover rent — much less your tuition or the cost of your books or food,” Wilson said.

The new bill provides a student veteran’s full tuition, up to the most expensive public university in the state; a housing stipend based on actual housing prices; and a book stipend of $1,000 per year. The vast improvement in the new bill was partially due to the formation of Student Veterans of America, a national group that lobbied Congress for increased support of student veterans.

“It really covers your whole-life cost of going to school,” Wilson said of the new bill.

Marine Corps veteran Padilla had always planned on joining the Marines, but never really planned on going to college.

“I was 17 when I enlisted,” Padilla said. “I knew that was going to be it.”

He became interested in UCSC while enrolled in community college, but it was the GI Bill that made it possible for him to attend. Although Padilla was deployed to Iraq for two years after his first quarter at UCSC in 2007, he returned and plans to graduate this spring with a degree in history. He hopes to attend graduate school for a degree in international relations.

Dani Molina graduated from UCSC in December 2009 with a degree in Latin American and Latino studies, and now serves as supervisor of the VETS program. Growing up in a low-income neighborhood, Molina had few opportunities.

“I always had this ambition that college was the way out of these barrios that I grew up in in south central Los Angeles,” he said. “I’m almost certain that if I wouldn’t have enlisted in the military and taken advantage of the educational benefits, I wouldn’t be here at UC Santa Cruz. I wouldn’t be the VETS supervisor. I wouldn’t have provided a lot of the support that I have so far.”

While at UCSC, Molina studied abroad in Chile and interned for Congressman Sam Farr. He also developed a passion for helping underprivileged youth, and hopes to attend graduate school for academic advising or another field promoting higher education. Unlike many other California students, Molina was able to graduate debt-free because of the GI Bill.

Life as a Veteran at UCSC

Veterans contribute some unique attributes to the campus community.

“They bring a sense of purpose and focus,” STARS director Miller said. “They’re highly motivated people and very skilled.”

For many student veterans the idea of coming to UCSC was daunting, and not because of its academic rigor.

“I’d seen articles about [anti-military protests] … when I first came here, and I thought that was the sentiment of the entire student body,” Padilla said. “I thought, ‘If I show any sign that I’m a veteran or have been overseas, I’m going to get that kind of reaction.’”

In 2006, the campus group Students Against War protested military recruiters’ presence at a campus job fair, causing the recruiters to vacate at the request of the students. Nevertheless, Padilla and other veterans say that they received more support here than they expected.

“Students can separate their political beliefs with the actuality of a person,” Padilla said.

“I’ve heard people talk about how there’s this history of anti-military sentiment, and I think it’s still around,” Molina said. “But there definitely aren’t anti-veteran feelings here. I’m not shy about telling people that I’m a veteran. … There’s a real, authentic, caring relationship here with students.”

However, not all student veterans have had completely positive experiences. Marine Corps reservist Ronquillo said she often overhears conversations in which other students speak negatively about the military, and that makes her hesitant to talk about her experiences.

“There’s a misconception that because you’re in the military you have a certain idea about the conflicts [in Iraq and Afghanistan], which is absolutely not true,” Ronquillo said.

Although most students are able to separate their political beliefs from their ideas about veterans, there is always more work to be done. One goal of VETS is to increase communication between all members of the university community, and by doing so increase understanding between people.

“I hope and wish that that caring relationship grows here, especially at UCSC, where anti-war and pro-war politics are not involved with the veterans and their needs,” Molina said. “We can continue to grow the relationship between the veteran and non-veteran community. … That’s what our veteran program is going to do here.”

despite a 33.5 percent reduction of the library’s open hours, further budget shortcomings mean more cutbacks are necessary — this time from the collections department. Photo by Nita-Rose Evans.

The doors to the McHenry Library opened to more than 1 million visitors last year hoping to find a quiet place to study, a helpful librarian, an online journal, or a book on reserve.

However, some of these services are in danger. Library administrators are currently implementing a cumulative 14.5 percent reduction. Online resources, which include journals and databases, are some of the services being reconsidered.

“This is the first time we’ve had to go after collections in a major way,” said Kerry Scott, chair of the library’s collection development department.

The proposed cutback in online resources comes in response to an overall cut in the library budget. This year the library received $1.9 million less than in the fiscal year 2007-2008.

“Everyone is going to be impacted,” Scott said. “We really didn’t want to have to make these cuts. It’s not why we became librarians. We’re cognizant of how horrible this is.”

According to the university library’s website, the collections budget in particular needs to be reduced by approximately $1 million. This is attributed in part to campus budget reductions, but also to inflation and the rising cost of journal publishing.

Scott’s position normally entails purchasing books and serials, licensing databases, and signing up for online resources, along with teaching classes about how to use the online resources and working at the reference desk. However, because of the $780,000 permanent cut to online resources, she has started making decisions about which online databases and subscriptions the school cannot afford.

“Instead of identifying material to pick up, I identify material to cancel,” Scott said.

Online subscriptions such as “Chemistry and Industry,” which costs the library $925 per year, and humanities materials such as “Acronyms, Initialisms and Abbreviations,” which costs $5,386 per year, are both on the chopping block.

From late November through December, faculty were encouraged to give their input on what materials to cancel. Kerry also looked at usage statistics before adding materials to the list.

In a presentation given by executive librarian Ginny Steel, the cumulative permanent reduction of the library budget was projected to be 28.8 percent: 14.4 percent this year and a proposed 14.4 percent next year. To implement these cuts, there has been a 33.5 percent reduction in open library hours.

“In spring 2008, we were open 99 and three-fourths hours per week,” said Ken Lyons, a university librarian. “Now we’re open 67 hours per week.”

Lyons has been working for the UCSC library for nine years and has seen three major cuts in his time, but never one so severe as this.

As his coworkers retire or leave for personal reasons, there is no money to replace them, and the librarians are forced to cover their work.

“There are not enough people to maintain services as there should be,” Lyons said. “We’re living in 2010 making 1999 wages. After nine years, I’m just now making a few hundred dollars more a year than I made at the post office carrying mail. You put in more effort, get a higher degree, and expect to be enumerated appropriately, but that’s not the case.”

~~~~~~

For a complete list of materials on the list of proposed cuts, visit library.ucsc.edu/collections/budget-reduction-process.

Student Regent Jesse Bernal is a graduate student at the Gevirtz School of Education at UC Santa Barbara. He is a voting member of the Board of Regents, but his term will end on June 30. Photo by Isaac Miller.

Jesse Cheng is a fourth-year Asian-American studies major at UC Irvine. Currently the Student Regent Designate, Cheng will begin his one-year term as a voting member of the board on July 1. Photo by Kathryn Power.

Compiled by:
Arianna Puopolo – City on a Hill Press Co-Editor in Chief
Ben Gevercer – City on a Hill Press Reporter
Sarah Naugle – City on a Hill Press Reporter

City on a Hill Press joined student regent and UCSB graduate Jesse Bernal and student regent designate Jesse Cheng, a fourth-year at UC Irvine, at the regents’ meeting Jan. 20 to discuss the future of the state and university, as well as the appointment process for the next student regent. The Jesses are a team and they complement each other well. Many of their responses may seem fragmented because of one interrupting the other, to add to or modify the other’s response.

~~~~~

CHP: Are you feeling optimistic about the budget in light of the governor’s new proposal?

Cheng: [Optimistic] has a lot of positive connotation to it. There’s not a positive connotation to the governor’s budget.

Bernal: I’d say ‘less disappointed’ is more accurate.

CHP: Do you think the Governor’s request for $6 billion is feasible?

Bernal: It was smart strategically for the state to tie it to the federal government, because then you can divert the pointing of the fingers to someone else. It doesn’t really benefit us. It makes things a little more shaky … at least the current budget is in the right direction and it’s sending a more positive message than we have had in the past. Education should be a priority. It’s a different message, especially in such a tight budget year, to say that we’re still important.

CHP: How do you feel about the idea of cutting from prisons and moving toward privatization?

Cheng: That’s not our field. That’s not our fight. We have nothing against corrections. We have nothing against rehabilitation. It’s the idea that we’re going to recognize higher education as a priority above prisons. For a good future of California you would want to fund more people to a university than to the prison system. That’s what the constitutional amendment kind of symbolizes­—

Bernal: —The governor pitting education against corrections is questionable. Any increase or lack in funding for higher education is something I support—

Cheng: I support any increase in funding for the higher education system.

CHP: In the past, student regents have worked from a sort of platform. Do you two have a platform?

Bernal: The interesting thing about this year is that our agenda has kind of been set for us. The commission on the future has kind of taken up our lives. The cool thing is that some of the goals we had are being talked about. The commission is actually working on some things with AB-540.

Here, our meeting was interrupted by a UCOP staff member who called Bernal away. His presence was required in the conference room.

CHP: Would you say that student action in the past has influenced what the regents are discussing and putting on the table right now?

Cheng: Yeah. With recent student actions — and a variety of student actions, I don’t just want to focus on the radical ones — have made student activism part of the political equation. When you discuss something now you’re going to think, ‘How are students going to react to this?’ Or, ‘How can we mobilize students toward this direction?’ Before we weren’t really factored in as part of Sacramento advocacy. Now we’re really in tune there. What you heard in there was a bunch of regents saying ‘Yeah, we recognize you as a force, we would like to be a part of that force, we would like to work together, we can’t do this without you.’ That’s really critical and that’s something that wasn’t necessarily there before the actions in November.

CHP: Do you think the presence of students at the regents’ meetings, whether they’re taking action or not, affects the votes or influences decision-making and the discussions that are held?

Cheng: It influences decision-making and the rhetoric that’s going around the table. I don’t know if any votes change in that last minute, but it sets up foundations to consider for the future.

One of the big things that really hurt in November is that there were no students in the room when the fee increase vote actually happened … because the students got kicked out right beforehand. That really hurt us because it’s a different thing to vote — maybe you’re still going to vote for a fee increase, but it’s very different to see the students you’re voting a fee increase on. That emotional resonance is different.

Today there weren’t really students out there on the table. That’s a really significant thing, that nobody’s out there. The fact that there’s no students out there doesn’t look good for us.

I wish more students would just randomly show up at these things. It would be healthy for the regents.

You were there in November, but where were you in the regent meeting before or the regent meeting before that? When the furlough meeting came up, there were only five students in the crowd. The furlough vote was something that really had long-term effects on the student population. And we need to speak out about all those impacts — not just the fee increases. All the ones that affect faculty and thus affect us … continued long-term student involvement.

If you come out to one meeting it’s not necessarily going to change that discussion, but if you come out to all the meetings of that year, the regents are going to take notice. It changes the frame of our debate.

CHP: A lot of students really feel that the regents are the enemy. In what ways are they not?

Cheng: We talk about where they are now. But we don’t talk about where they came from. They’re here for a reason. We might see them as an outside entity, but they see us as very integral to who they are and their lives. They might not have as much interaction with the students as we want them to or as they need to, but that doesn’t mean the passion isn’t there … the students interacting with the regents and getting the regents to interact with them more [means] that we’re going to see that growth come out and more of that humanity come out.

They’re not getting paid. And that’s because maybe they have millions on the side anyway. These are clean-cut operations. The highest-paid regents at the University of California are me and Jesse Bernal because we get part of our tuition reimbursed for doing this work. I got a salary increase because we raised fees.

CHP: How are you balancing your undergraduate education with being student regent?

Cheng: I’m going to do a positive spin on this, because we’re doing a recruitment tour and I want people to apply. It’s actually very possible to balance. Professors are really understanding, especially if they know what you’re working for. You’re going out there and you’re fighting for access and affordability and quality of education. Part of it is about balancing. This is one of the most amazing educational opportunities I’ve ever had. The education you get doing this is different than anything else you’ll experience at the UC, so it’s almost worth putting in all the time and effort to balance it.

CHP: What qualities are you looking for in the next student regent?

Cheng: Collaboration. The ability to work in teams. This has to be a close pair. You have to be able to learn quickly. You have to adapt extremely quickly. You have to be able to think from multiple perspectives. And it’s really mentally exhausting, so you have to have that stamina to do that day-in and day-out.

Every student regent brings very different traits to the table. You have to speak very eloquently. You have to be passionate. If you’re very passionate about fighting for student issues and fighting for the University of California, then this is where you should be. This isn’t worth what you’re going to get on your resume. You have to have passion.

~~~~~~

Student regent designate Jesse Cheng will visit UCSC on his recruitment tour next Friday, Jan. 5. Students interested in applying to be the next student regent or having the opportunity to speak with your UCOP student representative may join Cheng at the Bay Tree Conference Room Redwood Lounge from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

~~~~~

Woman caught stealing yogurt, sics dog on security guards

Jan. 20, 3:54 p.m. — Security guards at Trader Joe’s caught a 21-year-old Santa Cruz woman, Natalie Gambelin, stealing yogurt and called Santa Cruz Police. Gambelin ran out of the store but was tackled by security. As she was being taken back into the store, she called her dog, who was outside, to attack security. The large dog ran toward the security guards, growling and barking. Security rushed the woman into a side door of the store, unhurt. When officers arrived, Gambelin was arrested for burglary, being under the influence of a controlled substance, a probation violation, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Vandals flood Mission Street office with garden hose

Jan. 21, 8:58 a.m. — Officers responded to Karon Properties on the 1100 block of Mission Street for a report of vandalism. Sometime Thursday night, vandals threw a rock through a window, fed a garden hose through the hole, and turned the water on, flooding the office. The water caused about $2,000 in damage to the office floor. The motive behind the flooding remains unknown.

Woman robbed downtown

Jan. 21, 10:48 a.m. — A 25-year-old woman was robbed at Mission and Laurent streets. She told responding officers that she was attacked by an unknown female suspect, described as a Latina in her late 20s or early 30s, about 5’6” and 160 pounds, wearing all-black clothing. The suspect approached the woman and grabbed her purse. When the victim tried to fight back, she was knocked to the ground and kicked in the cheek. The suspect escaped with the victim’s purse.

Double Homicide in Lower Ocean Neighborhood

Jan. 23, 4:51 a.m. — Officers responded to 145 Canfield St. #6 for a report of shots fired. Officers found two men in the living room of the apartment dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Police identified the men as Alejandro Nava-Gonzalez, 21, and Oscar Ventura, 18, both Mexican immigrants. Police said that about 10 people were in the apartment for a small gathering when the shooting occurred. A judge has issued an arrest warrant but had the arrestee’s name sealed, as police are still seeking information regarding the motive of the killings, including possible gang ties. The double homicide marks the second and third Santa Cruz homicide victims of 2010. There were a total of four homicides in Santa Cruz for 2009. (read more…)

Illustration by Kenny Srivijittakar.

It’s printed on our dollars, in ink that runs as deep as the currency itself. It’s preached in our pledge of allegiance, mixed in with words like “the republic,” “liberty” and “justice.” It’s embedded in voter mentality, regardless of promises for ideological objectivity. Yet still we deny religion’s attachment to our country’s credos, ones where the “American way” and religious affiliations are far too close for comfort.

But what of the weapons? The ones we use in the name of democracy, hoping they will blow peace through the streets of tattered towns? Surely there is separation there. No — on Jan. 18, coded references to select New Testament passages were found inscribed on high-power rifle scopes sent to the U.S. Military.

Trijicon, the Michigan-based company that manufactures the scopes, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army.

However, U.S. Military rules specifically prohibit the representation or promotion of any religion, in an attempt to separate American wars on terror from religious crusades. Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing for Trijicon, however, claims that “there is nothing wrong or illegal with adding them,” stating that the inscriptions “have always been there.”

Furthermore, the company’s vision, according to their mission statement, has always been guided by their values in an effort to protect individual freedoms, ignoring the First Amendment principle of a separation between church and state.

“We believe that America is great when its people are good,” the company’s website reads. “This goodness has been based on Biblical standards throughout our history, and we will strive to follow those morals.”

The rapid backlash against Christian fundamentalism has now hit a literal high, with Trijicon’s beliefs etched onto weapons that preach power over the people. Through this, they speak on behalf of the American ideology — that of the citizens, the soldiers and, most alarmingly, the war itself.

We are embedded in a war that has the aura of a now-defunct administration all around it. Our image, our goals, our nation have been represented as aggressors, and beyond the distant citizens, it’s the soldiers on the front lines who are being most mishandled and misrepresented. To ask them to risk their lives in the name of a war being branded with religious ideologies is an appalling revelation — one that requires immediate restoration.

Spokespeople for the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps both said their services were unaware of the biblical markings, stating publicly “it is not the policy of the Army or the Department of Defense to put religious references of any kind on its equipment.” And Trijicon has already removed a majority of the Bible verses, even going so far as to send kits with tools to remove the lettering on the existing weapons.

But the damage is already done. The Muslim Public Affairs Council has publicly stated that this will only further the extremists who believe that the United States is simply carrying out a religious crusade in Asia and the Middle East. And Al Jazeera reports that the scopes have already been distributed to Afghan soldiers with the intention of providing the Taliban with further propaganda.

Though how can we call it propaganda on behalf of the Taliban when the reality is that the military has been purchasing these scopes for years? And while they claim to have never known about the embedded verses, what this marks is yet another in a long line of religious and governmental violations.

To turn this war — one already bathed in controversy and misinformation — into a battle of religious zealots furthers the already-tarnished image of our country overseas. Misrepresenting information abroad, misrepresenting American citizens, misrepresenting the soldiers put in harm’s way — verses once meant to guide, once meant to give clarity to their devout believers, are instead being utilized as war tactics, leaving any hope for true separation between religion and government as only achievable through a miracle.

The Ethnic Resource Center, located next to the Bay Tree Bookstore, allows students to intern and participate with various ethnic organizations on campus. Photo by Rosario Serna.

UCSC students work in the quiet, free space at the Lionel Cantú GLBTI Resource Center, located in Merrill College. Photo by Rosario Serna.

Reorganization plans for UC Santa Cruz’s six resource centers are on hold. This follows faculty and student criticism last quarter of a plan proposed by Alma Sifuentes, dean of students and associate vice chancellor of student affairs.

Sifuentes proposed reducing the number of program coordinators, lowering classification for the directors, and creating two administrative positions — a lead administrator and assistant — for the resource centers, which include the African-American, American Indian, Asian-American/Pacific Islander (AAPI), Chicano/Latino, GLBTI, and Women’s Centers.

While the lead administrative position was key to the purpose of reorganizing the centers, Sifuentes said in November that she is open to hearing alternative proposals.

“My interest is to serve the students,” Sifuentes said. “… We have budgetary constraint problems. I am open to whatever people want to do here.”

The initial reorganization timeline set a goal of Dec. 1, 2009 for all plans to be finalized so that Vice Chancellor Felicia McGinty could present the proposal to Executive Vice Chancellor David Kliger. Kliger will make the final decision. However, after a proposal was not agreed upon, the process slowed down.

Deb Abbott, director of the Lionel Cantú GLBTI Resource Center, argues that the initial timeline for feedback was too hasty for a decision that will have a major impact on the centers.

“The resource centers are funded by student referendum funds,” Abbott said. “It is important for the process to be slowed down so that a wide range of students can have input into the reorganization scenarios being considered.”

Sifuentes formed the proposal to create administrative efficiencies in anticipation of a budget shortfall. By redirecting administrative tasks, Sifuentes said staff would be more accessible to students, which is a priority the Division of Student Affairs has set in all reorganization plans.

“What I suggested to the resource center directors was a higher-level lead,” Sifuentes said. “Why not move all of the administrative stuff into this one position? That way [the directors] don’t have to worry about [administrative tasks].”

Budget reductions outlined during reorganization consultation with students showed a potential drop of $149,719 from the resource centers’ collective budget, projecting the remaining funds at $590,017.

According to the budget, reductions come with the anticipation of increased costs for campus services, employer retirement contributions, possible cuts of 10 percent resulting from the employee furlough program, and an additional 10-percent cut in July.

“We are building accountability right now,” Sifuentes said. “So everyone should be looking at their programs and services and looking for efficiencies, and wherever possible reorganize to be able to maintain office hours and direct services to students.”

Sifuentes pointed out that the same benefits are paid for full and part-time employees. Therefore, she suggested UCSC reduce the number of program coordinators from six part-time to four full-time positions. Administrative efficiencies would be created by pooling staff resources and efforts by sharing program coordinators.

Leda Hernandez, the Student Union Assembly (SUA)’s commissioner of diversity, disagrees with the creation of a new lead position for resource centers.

“A budget crisis is not the best time to suggest a new administrator,” she said.

Hernandez joined a workgroup with Nancy Kim, the AAPI Resource Center and Women’s Center director, and Pablo Reguerin, Retention Services’ executive director.

The workgroup is reviewing student consultation from various student groups including: SUA, college governments, African/Black Student Alliance, Asian-Pacific Islander Student Alliance, Filipino Student Association, Student Alliance of North American Indians, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o De Aztlan, Engaging Education and the Network.

“The SUA hasn’t taken an official stance, but some officers have,” Hernandez said. “Students are opposed to a reorganization that creates an administrative position while cutting the existing staff.”

The cumulative $100,000 salaries for the proposed lead administrative position and that of the position’s full-time assistant would come out of the centers’ existing budgets.

They would be supported by salary savings, created by reclassifying the center directors to a lower pay-grade and reducing the number of program coordinators to four full-time coordinators for the six centers.

Currently, each center has its own program coordinator. However, most are working part-time, and the Chicano/Latino Resource Center has a vacancy in the position.

“Administrative efficiencies don’t build communities,” Hernandez said. “We are the only UC that does not have an ethnic studies department — the community that would develop there is coming from the resource centers and student organizations instead.”

The Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity (CAAD) under the Academic Senate took notice of the proposed reorganization in a letter submitted to Sifuentes and Reguerin.

Bettina Aptheker, chair of CADD and feminist studies professor, wrote on Dec. 4, “We think it is a waste of valuable resources to appoint an(other) executive director to oversee all of the resource centers. … This is precisely the reintroduction of a management position that many have suggested is redundant and unnecessary, and adds yet another layer of bureaucratic management at a considerable cost.”

The letter goes on to suggest that upgrading all of the program coordinators to full-time employment, and allowing the directors to retain classifications and pay grades, would improve staff retention.

While the proposal would not have meant pay cuts for the current center directors, a reclassification would mean that newly hired directors would have a lower salary, which could make recruitment difficult.

“The reorganization is still on the table, it’s just not being discussed right now,” Hernandez said. “Our feedback will be taken under advisement, but in the end, it’s up to Alma [Sifuentes], Felicia [McGinty] and Kliger. … I don’t think enough research and planning has gone into this proposal. Student Affairs is always making these drastic changes, and we don’t really know how they are going to impact students in the long run.”

While the proposal has been put on hold, discussion on how to move forward is expected to pick back up in the next few weeks, as the workgroup continues to meet with Sifuentes and as Hernandez brings the debate back to the SUA.

Illustration by Kenny Srivijittakar.

The Santa Cruz Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) is preparing to make an important decision as to whether or not UC Santa Cruz should be allowed to expand into the undeveloped area known as North Campus.

In a 2008 comprehensive settlement agreement, the university agreed to apply to LAFCO, a local boundary commission, to expand water and sewer services to North Campus. This agreement is seen as a promising start to improving campus-community relations, because it has settled many lawsuits — brought by the city and community groups — regarding the expansion proposed in UCSC’s Long-Range Development Plan.

The 2008 deal stipulates that in return for expansion of these services to North Campus, the university is obligated to house 67 percent of the anticipated additional 4,500 students on campus. However, if LAFCO delays approval or denies the university’s application, UCSC is no longer required to house the promised amount of students.

Vice Mayor Ryan Coonerty, who is also a UCSC legal studies professor, explained the importance of LAFCO’s approval to the future of campus-community relations.

“If LAFCO doesn’t approve of the deal it would be bad for both sides,” Coonerty said. “For the city, housing students on campus is a very big deal because it not only takes the pressure off of housing for the city, it also means that there is less traffic to the university.”

LAFCO’s executive officer Pat McCormick said that the housing provision of the agreement, which depends on the commission’s approval, would not influence its decision.

“LAFCO will make its decision based on its mission and its responsibilities under state law,” McCormick said. “But we are certainly aware of the way the agreement is structured.”

McCormick said that LAFCO must take a finalized Environmental Impact Report (EIR) into account before making any decisions. The comment period on the first draft of the EIR, which enabled groups and individuals to suggest changes or additions to the report, ended on Jan. 19. A finalized EIR will be released after all of these concerns are taken into account.

The EIR reveals that while the expansion of water and sewer services can be accommodated during normal conditions, water is short during the dry summer months and in drought conditions. McCormick said that LAFCO had read the draft EIR and suggested, among other things, that the final EIR adequately address the potential burden that the additional consumption would place on water resources.

“LAFCO is asking for the EIR to have additional drought mitigations,” McCormick said. “What more can the city and the university do to reduce additional demand during drought periods if that occurs?”

Bill Kocher, the Santa Cruz water director, explained that there is enough water to meet the needs of UCSC expansion, and that this increase has been expected and prepared for since the 2008 agreement was reached.

“The truth is that an amount of water exists in the system,” Kocher said. “We’ve already anticipated their need for that water in our planning. It has already been admitted to them, in a sense.”

Coonerty explained that the 2008 deal actually encourages UCSC’s conservation efforts, since the university must pay a premium for any additional water consumed. UCSC also agreed to abide by water rationing during times of drought. He used these examples to demonstrate improved cooperation between the university and the city.

“The city and the university are working together like they never worked together before,” Coonerty said. “We’re doing collaborative planning, UCSC is putting in new water-saving conservation efforts — really working together.”

However, Coonerty warned that the period of improved cooperation brought about by the 2008 settlement agreement could come to an end if LAFCO denies approval, causing the housing provision of the deal to fall through.

“One of my other fears is if this breaks down, we’ll go back to the days where we didn’t talk to them and they didn’t talk to us,” Coonerty said. “We can get a lot more done to improve the quality of life for everybody through cooperation.”

Senior setter Eric Rowell is an important asset to the men’s volleyball team, and was recently named AVCA Men’s Division III Player of the Week. Photo by Morgan Grana.

On a rainy Monday in the lower plaza of College Eight, the West Field House doors were propped open slightly by a pile of magazines. The loud ruckus filtered out into the evening through the crack: faint sounds of young men shouting and chanting. Inside the gym, the bright lights shone down on the UCSC men’s volleyball team as they practiced late into the night, working toward their goal of another National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Final Four berth.

The team’s setter, senior Eric Rowell, has stood out lately throughout the league for his spectacular play.

“Eric’s like the quarterback of the team,” head coach Jonah Carson said. “He’s touching the ball every round, every point.”

Indeed, Rowell is considered a team leader — he returns as one of three starters, and one of the few who have been here long enough to experience playing in the DIII Final Four playoffs.

“Eric could be one of three setters to take their team to the Final Four three times,” Carson said.

Many of his team members have high praise for Rowell, but since the beginning, he has been an integral part of the UC Santa Cruz men’s volleyball team.

Even as a freshman, Rowell could feel the pressure mounting on his shoulders.

During his first year at UCSC, the men’s volleyball team battled their way into the Final Four and Rowell acknowledges he felt anxious in the spotlight.

“As a freshman setter, I was extremely nervous,” Rowell said. “I didn’t want to screw it up for all the older players on the team.”

But even being a freshman setter stands as evidence for his talent and prowess. Rowell is one of only a handful of players to earn starting spots all four years on the team, and recently accepted an award naming him the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s DIII National Player of the Week. With all that Rowell accomplishes for the team, coach Carson sees his player as someone who epitomizes what an athlete should be.

“I think in the time that we train, the time that we practice, it’s clear that he’s a champion, just as we’re a championship team,” Carson said. “His commitment level to volleyball shows that working harder and getting better is something that Eric enjoys every day.”

Rowell is now the center of attention in the world of college volleyball, but his start in the sport was a family affair.

“I started playing volleyball in the sixth grade,” Rowell said. “My sister played in high school, I followed her into the sport and I just enjoyed it a lot.”

While residing in Los Gatos during his childhood years, Rowell played for one of Northern California’s most prestigious volleyball clubs, Bay to Bay, and participated in his high school’s spring team and Los Gatos’ champion football team.

Although he is now a senior in college, Rowell has not forgotten his roots. He practices in Santa Cruz every night, but also finds time to drive back to San Jose on weekends in order to coach at Bay to Bay and the San Lorenzo High School girl’s JV volleyball team.

According to Carson, nothing compares to the amount of dedication Rowell puts into the program, but what is most evident in Rowell is his knowledge and love of the game.

“What defines Eric as one of the best is his ability to deal with adversity,” Carson said. “He can deal with bad calls or when the team isn’t playing as well, and that is characteristic of a champion.”

(from left to right)

“Team Coco because it’s the one I see on Facebook the most.”
Samantha Stone
First-year, Crown
Molecular Biology

“Jay Leno, man. He has better music.”
Jack Ramm
Third-year, International student
Creative Writing

“Team Conan. I’m more loyal to Conan than Jay. And he stuck it to the company, which is cool.”
John Bruce
Fourth-year, Cowell
Literature

“I would say Jay Leno. Just because I got to sit in the audience one time when Jessica Simpson was on. He seems really fun and down-to-earth.”
Brittany Arvizu
Third-year, Oakes
Marine Biology

Compiled by Mitchell Quesada & Nita-Rose Evans.

(from left to right)

“Corporations have more power right now than individuals, even though individual rights are more important.”
Timothy Clark
Fourth-year, Stevenson
Feminist studies

“No, I feel they have ulterior motives. I think it’s crazy, the blatant control they have in funding campaigns right now!”
Helen Morrison
Third-year, Cowell
Business & Sociology

“No, because they are not individuals, they are conglomerates!”
Allison Chapple
Third-year, Stevenson
Health sciences

“I would say that they should not, because corporations and individuals do not always have the same interests.”
Adan Cantere
Fourth-year, Crown
Linguistics

Compiled by Alejandro Trejo & Morgan Grana.

]]> http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2010/01/28/public-discourse-14/feed/ 0 http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2010/01/28/the-corporate-grab-for-democracy/ http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2010/01/28/the-corporate-grab-for-democracy/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:44:20 +0000 City on a Hill Press http://www.cityonahillpress.com/?p=8466

Illustration by Joe Lai.

For some, Costco festers like a hemorrhoid on the edge of town.

Watching oversized packaging spill out from oversized shopping carts is enough to make them swear king-sized ketchup is the end of gluttonous good sense.

Whole Foods’ arrival forced many Santa Cruz residents to pick aisles in the showdown of the supermarkets. The natural food giant that less than a year ago opened its 279th store was met with equal parts contempt and celebration. Open-minded Santa Cruzans flocked to the new stores, eager to gobble up “affordable” organic produce and products. Die-hard New Leafers look like they’ve eaten a bad bowl of gluten-free farfalle when they hear the name of the national chain that touts local purchasing, yet carries kiwi fruit year-round and ships chickens from its California farms to its Connecticut shelves.

And you’d be hard-pressed to find a loyal local, a frequent buyer at Shopper’s Corner or Staff of Life, who’d step foot in any of New Leaf’s nine locations scattered around the Central Coast.

Major chains have been trying to cut ribbon in Santa Cruz for years, relentlessly circling the 55,000-plus person college town like a pack of hyenas. Local government and voter outcries have staved them off for years, including a longtime bid by Target to build within Scotts Valley city limits. But on Jan. 21, the U.S. Supreme Court, 2,840 miles away, handed down a decision that reverberates in cities across the country, in lives everywhere, and has implications far graver than where you buy your next grapefruit.

To briefly recap, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to lift bans on unlimited spending by companies and unions in federal election advertisements. Their ruling allows them to place ads for, or against, individual candidates and initiatives.

The decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has gotten reams of editorial attention and airtime. Everyone, it seems — everyone but corporations, heads of major unions, and advocacy groups — has lambasted the ruling for reversing over 100 years’ worth of laws designed to keep moneyed interests from directly influencing the electoral process.

This year, Schwarzenegger gets the boot, Boxer vies against three Republicans for the open U.S. Senate seat, and three state supreme court benches need to be filled by black robes. We should mention that the state positions of attorney general, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, and board of equalization member — which collects taxes that bolster the general fund — all have “for hire” signs. Any number of these candidates and the policies they support or denounce could be triumphant or vanquished by the cheapest, relatively speaking, advertisement paid for by a special-interest group.

What will democracy look like in just a few months if a corporation with $7 million to spend on a campaign ad can create the most disseminated means of influencing the public? What will our hometowns look like? What will Santa Cruz look like?

Loggers have been kept out of certain parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains, thanks to deals struck with environmental protection agencies and conservationist groups. But let’s say our county’s state assemblyperson, senator or governor won their election due to propagandized commercials paid for by logging companies — and suddenly the trees look a lot greener than they normally do. Switch out loggers for pharmaceutical companies who want to build new testing facilities at UC Santa Cruz, or a tech firm that holds key politicians in its pocket and needs a new campus built where a state park now flourishes, and the reality of the ruling is sobering and scary.

This Supreme Court decision renders the average citizen powerless to meaningfully influence elections, but only if we let it.

Congress has its hands tied as this ruling was based on constitutional law, but the knots are loose enough that they can wiggle in tougher campaign finance reform to counteract the court’s audacious action. We voters can let them know that we will not stand for the unraveling of American democracy and will not sit mute as greedy corporations, opportunistic unions, and biased advocacy groups dictate policy and politicians. Enough is enough. We’ve apparently lost the courts, but we haven’t lost our voices.

Photo by Rosario Serna.

Despite a unanimous vote to pass a ban on smoking in multiple public areas in Santa Cruz last October, the American Lung Association (ALA) gave Santa Cruz a “D” grade on its annual tobacco report card.

After the ban’s passing, which prohibited smoking in various outdoor areas including Pacific Avenue, West Cliff Drive, Beach Street and city parks, the city received a “B” grade in the outdoor air portion of its report card, but got subpar grades in the areas of reducing tobacco sales and smoke-free residences.

City Councilmember Don Lane, one of the authors of the original smoking ban, said that only time will tell whether the ban is ultimately successful.

“It’s just starting to have an effect,” Lane said. “It’s been pretty small because the signs that actually say ‘No Smoking’ on Pacific Avenue and in a couple other places just went up a month ago, so it’s a little soon to say that it has had an effect.”

According to Lane, police at the downtown post have expressed that the ban is beginning to have a positive impact. According to statistics from the Santa Cruz Police Deparment, 65 citations have been issued, each of them for a fee of $20.

However, some businesses on Pacific Avenue have yet to notice any real changes. Jorge Meza, who works at Bonesio Liquors downtown, said that few people adhere to the ban.

“I’ve heard of a couple people getting tickets … but I see people walking up and down smoking,” Meza said.

Meza went on to say that more focus should be put on helping people quit their tobacco addictions rather than punishment. Lane holds a similar view about the purpose of the ban.

“That’s really more the point — not to just clamp down on everybody, but to just say that this is a smoke-free area, and please respect it,” Lane said.

Kristin Jauregui, staff leader of the Bonny Doon Garden Company, said that the ban should accomplish more.

“It’s pretty bad for our flowers, and I have a few employees who have asthma and they prefer people don’t smoke down there,” Jauregui said. “It was one of those things where they just had nothing better to do. If they’re going to ban smoking, they should enforce it.”

Donald Gould, a regular visitor to Pacific Avenue, expressed his ambivalence toward the ban.

“I guess it would be a good thing if they enforced it,” Gould said. “I wouldn’t mind going down a side street to smoke.”

Protection from exposure to second-hand smoke, which is a significant health concern, is one of the main objectives of the ban. Smoke-free outdoor air is a major priority of the ALA and this factors into deciding tobacco report card grades.

Serena Chen, the regional policy director of the ALA in California, said all of the cities in Santa Cruz County received D grades. She praised Santa Cruz city officials’ efforts to cut down outdoor smoking, but said there was still room for improvement.

“They shouldn’t feel bad about getting a D,” Chen said. “I know that sounds kind of horrible, but there are a lot of cities that are still in the F range. The fact that they got a D and advanced in outdoor air is really great.”

According to Chen, some of the things the city of Santa Cruz can do to raise its grade include creating a mandatory tobacco sales license, placing restrictions on smoking at public events, and requiring landlords to have smoke-free apartments.

She also stressed that the grade was not a judgement on the Santa Cruz community at large, but rather reflects potential areas where the city can improve its policies regarding tobacco.

“It’s really up to your elected city officials as to how much protection they want to implement into their laws,” Chen said. “You can certainly get a B. You can certainly try harder than a D or an F.”