Inside Skyline College is a newly developed website that serves as a resource for faculty, staff and administration of the college. This site takes the place of the former Faculty/Staff site. The goal of the page was to shift internally-focused information from the public website into an easy to use portal format. Much of the information on the site contains quick links to easily access information of interest.

The site is still a work in progress, so feedback about what would be helpful for you and your department to see/be able to access from this portal is welcome. Please contact Cherie Colin at colinc@smccd.edu with any feedback.

Thank you to Liz Gaudet, Web Programmer Analyst who worked diligently in conceptualizing and implementing the site.

Article by Cherie Colin with help from Liz Gaudet

The Kababayan Learning Community and the Center for Innovative Practices through Hip Hop Education and Research (CIPHER) hosted a book launch last week in the Multicultural Center Hosting Gallery for Empire of Funk:  Hip Hop and Representation in Filipina/o America. This two-day panel on April 16th and 17th featured artists Mario “Nomi” de Mira of Power Struggle, Hopie Spitshard, and Leo Docuyanan; activists and community organizers DJ Kuttin Kandi and Leo Esclamado; as well as educators Dr. Roderick Labrador, Professor of Ethnic Studies at University of Hawai’i, Mānoa and Mark Villegas, Ph.D. candidate in Culture and Theory at UC Irvine, along with Skyline College’s own Nate Nevado and Janice Sapigao.  These contributors to the anthology spoke on their experiences as Filipin@s in Hip Hop, part of an incorporated lesson in the Kababayan Learning Community’s English 100 courses taught by Liza Erpelo.

The panels, engaging students, faculty, and community members, provided a conversation space around Filipina/o American hip hop aesthetics, community building, the geography of Hip Hop in Filipina/o America, sexuality and power, activism and praxis, visual culture, and navigating the Hip Hop industry. The conversation continued beyond Skyline College as the contributors to Empire of Funk also presented a panel at this year’s Association for Asian American Studies conference in San Francisco on April 19th as well as a book launch celebration later that night at Oakland’s Institute for Sustainable, Economical, Educational and Environmental Design (I-SEED).

The book gives readers a thoughtful introduction to an often-overlooked aspect of American society and culture.  It can be used in courses dealing with race and ethnicity, American youth culture, popular culture in America, and immigrant communities.

Quotes from the book:

“We hope that this book will be a start of a bigger conversation about the role Hip Hop has played in the lives of Pilipina/o Americans. It’s just begun. For many ethnic groups who became integral parts of Hip Hop, the culture was dismissed as a passing fad. But in reality, Hip Hop has decided to stay in Pilipina/o American communities, and actually has become for us a main mode of expression and a crucial method of organizing.”

– DJ Kuttin Kandi, “Introduction: A Hip Hop Story to Tell: It’s Just Begun”

“Hip-hop comes from the specificity of the urban U.S. version of Afrodiasporic Blackness–that is undeniable–but it has also always been open to the presence of multiraciality and polyculturalism.  Our question should not be how to privilege one of these facts over the other, but how to understand their co-evolution, and their implications for cultural strategies to eradicate racism and anti-Blackness.”

– Jeff Chang, “Foreword: For the Moment”

To find out more about Empire of Funk or to purchase a copy of the book, please visit http://empireoffunk.com/.  For more information about the Kababayan Learning Community, please contact Liza Erpelo at erpelol@smccd.edu.  For more information on CIPHER, please contact Nate Nevado at nevadon@smccd.edu or log on www.skylinecollege.edu/cipher.

Article by Melanie Espinueva | Photos taken by Liza Erpelo

The 2014 Skyline Shines Award Nominations are now open! The purpose of the awards is to recognize individuals or groups who help Skyline College to shine in terms of its quality of programs and services and its reputation for quality. Two awards will be made annually, one to a member or group of Skyline College employees and one to a member or group from the community. Please submit your nomination(s) by Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at noon to the President’s Office. Download the application here.

We have just received notification that Dr. Cornell West is ill and will not be able to present his lecture on Wednesday, April 30, 2014. We are currently in talks with his staff to reschedule the event in the near future. Tickets for the event will remain valid for the later date.

We wish Dr. West well and appreciate your understanding.

Skyline College

Tickets are no longer Available! Watch the Live Stream Here

Proudly sponsored by the Associated Students of Skyline College, Skyline College President’s Innovation Fund, 

Center for Student Life and Leadership Development, and The African-American Success Through Excellence and Persistence.

 

Skyline College’s TRiO Student Support Services (SSS) Program provides wrap around services for TRiO students on their path to graduate and transfer to a four-year university within four years. An important component to these wrap around services is the academic support TRiO offers. This week, TRiO would like to feature English and ESOL support that includes tutoring and case-management services to TRiO students that are taking English, ESOL, or other courses that contain a reading and writing component. For students who take advantage of this resource, case-management includes a beginning assessment to evaluate students’ reading and writing abilities as well as their confidence in the field, tutoring by appointment, or drop-in tutoring, a re-evaluation mid-semester (progress report) in order to assess where students are with their initial goals, and an end-of-semester assessment.

Students who take advantage of this valuable resource may receive an extended period of time for tutoring, depending upon their individual needs. And even the most experienced students can benefit from English tutoring, not only for assistance on assignments, but also for the mutual benefits of thought-provoking academic discussion. In fact, here’s what a couple of student’s had to say:

“TRiO English tutoring has been very helpful to me because of my sight disabilities and the fact that I have been away from college for so many years. It has also sharpened my computer and English Language skills. I am very appreciative for Ms. Daniels’ assistance.”

-Charles Newton

“TRiO has given me more confidence in writing essays and has helped me to keep my interest in my class and stick to my academic goals.”

-Naing Aung Min

For any questions about TRiO or the academic support provided, please feel free to contact TRiO at 650-738-4144 or visit the department in The Learning Center in Building 5.

Article by Chanel Daniels and Mary O’Connor I Photo by Yenni Galvez

This weekend over 50 Skyline College students will come together in the main theater to present the Tony award-winning musical “Avenue Q.”

Avenue Q will challenge your preconceptions about poverty, homophobia, sexuality, racism…. and puppets!

Described as “Sesame Street for grown-ups,” many characters in the musical are played by puppets. Zany and adult-themed, this laugh-out-loud musical revolves around a recent college grad who moves into a shabby apartment building on Avenue Q “in an outer-outer borough of New York City.” Puppet and human friends struggle to find jobs and dates, while each looks to find their own “purpose” in life.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN.
This production involves mature content and adult humor.

Friday, April 24, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.
Skyline College Theater

Tickets at the door:
General $10/ Skyline College Students $5

Aricle by Jude Navari and Amber Steele

Career Assessment Month a Success!
As Career Assessment Month comes to a close, the Career Center was able to administer and interpret assessments for over 200 students! Interns from SF State, Janet Ramirez and Nereida Angulo, pictured, assisted in interpreting assessments and giving students more insight into their results. Students from Kent Gomez and Arielle Smith’s Counseling classes as well as Mike Fitzgerald’s Physical Education students joined in taking assessments and receiving interpretations throughout the month. Many students dropped by to join in as well. The Center appreciates all those who attended and hopes to have offered some insight into potential careers and majors which students should pursue. The Career Center offers career assessments year round, so feel free to visit the center in Building 1 Room 1219B anytime!

Jamba Juice Partners with Career Services Center for ongoing Hiring
Jamba Juice visited Skyline College on Wednesday, April 22nd for an on campus hiring event. Within 2 hours, the district manager interviewed 12 students and received 18 applications for local openings at over 30 stores along the Peninsula and San Francisco area. This is the first collaboration of many to come with Jamba Juice and other local employers. Jamba Juice is a great fit for many students – they offer flexible schedules, part-time and full-time work, and provide training for students with no previous work experience. Please refer interested students to the Career Services Center, where they can complete and submit an application.

Also coming soon… the Spring Job Fair on May 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Building 6. This event is open to the public and in partnerships with California EDD and Workforce Development / Peninsula works. Over thirty employers to participate, another twenty community resource providers, and a resume review sessions will be available.

For additional information regarding employment opportunities, please contact Lezra Chenportillo, Employment and Internships Coordinator at (650) 738 -7054 or chenportillol@smccd.edu.

Article by Brian Jenney

On April 9, 2014, the Skyline College Enactus Club welcomed Lisa Lilienthal, founder of Green Earth PR Network, writer and public relations consultant to campus as part of the Business Speaker Series Event. The Event was hosted by Enactus, YEP, and KBD.

Lisa has more than 20 years of experience in mission-based marketing. She is a founding affiliate of the Green Earth PR Network, a writer, and a public relations consultant. The Green Earth PR Network works with clients to assist them in tapping into sustainability issues concerning their business. She is very passionate about green technology and sustainability.

Enactus President Steven Wong warmly welcomed the group. The Enactus Club chose Enactus member Nicole Harris to introduce the speaker. She is a Skyline College student, who has overcome adversity as a legally blind person, and is very active on campus with Enactus, BSU and is a candidate for ASSC president.

Lisa’s presentation highlighted the notion of companies creating a brighter, sustainable world by promoting and advancing the concepts of sustainable production and consumption. She highlighted the journey of successful businessman, Ray Anderson, the chairman and founder of Interface, Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial and residential carpets. Anderson first turned his focus toward the environment in 1994 when he read The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken.

This book transformed Ray’s business philosophy as he felt the industrial system is destroying the planet and only industry leaders are powerful enough to stop it. The company’s vision, through his direction, changed promising to eliminate any negative impact on the environment by the year 2020 through the redesign of processes and products, the pioneering of new technologies, and efforts to reduce or eliminate waste and harmful emissions while increasing the use of renewable materials and sources of energy to stop it.

The attendees were mesmerized by Lisa’s storytelling, slide show, and YouTube clips. To finish off the evening on a sweet note, the Enactus Club raffled off gift cards and invited the crowd to take a moment to have a quick one on one conversation with Lisa.

Article by Renee Bass and Christine Roumbanis

On Saturday, April 19, Skyline College hosted the Priority Enrollment Program (PEP) for graduating seniors.  Over 100 students attended the event, including students who drove from Southern California.  This event was an informative day as students participated in placement testing, orientation and met with counselors to create their Student Education Plans (SEP).  In return, students received an early registration date for summer/fall registration.

Special thanks to the following individuals who coordinated this successful event:

Adriana Armas                        Staff Assistant, Enrollment Services

Nadia Tariq                             Division Assistant, Counseling

Florentino Ubungen                Outreach Coordinator

In addition, many thanks to our College Ambassadors, Counseling Division, Enrollment Services, Office of Marketing, Public Relations and Communications and Testing Office for their contribution and time on this eventful day.

Article by John Mosby

 

The Global Mentorship & Leadership Project is actively recruiting students to participate in its pilot mentorship program: Education Across the Miles-Liberia.

The Global Mentorship & Leadership Project is designed to expose Skyline College students to mentorship and leadership through the African Diaspora. This is done through face to face mentoring sessions with local professionals, networking events and interacting with students from around the world, via international video-conferences. Education Across the Miles– Liberia, focuses on young women. All young women in the program are mentored by members of the SF Links, a professional service organization that’s committed to improving the lives of underserved youth. Five Skyline College students have been selected to participate in the program, all of whom interact with nine students from Liberia on a monthly basis.

The Global Mentorship Leadership Project is an initiative developed in partnership between the African Diaspora Program at Skyline College, the African American Success Though Excellence & Persistence Learning Community (ASTEP), and Grand Bassa Community College in Liberia and the San Francisco Chapter of the Bay Area Links, Inc., (SF Links) an international professional service organization primarily composed of professional African American women.

To refer students to the Global Mentorship Project or for more information, please contact Pcyeta Stroud. Email: stroudp@smccd.edu

Article by Pcyeta Stroud