Monthly Archives: April 2015

Call for Candidates for the 2015-2016 Academic Senate Governing Council

Skyline College faculty are advised that positions are open on the 2015-2016 Academic Senate Governing Council.  The Skyline College Academic by-laws and constitution are available here: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/academicsenate/bylawsconstitution.php

The Skyline College Academic Senate handbook, detailing duties of the senate, is available here: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/academicsenate/about.php

The position of president is a two-year position held by Kate Williams Browne for 2014-2016.  All remaining open positions include:

  • Vice President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Curriculum Committee Chair
  • Educational Policy Chair
  • Professional Personnel Chair
  • Research Chair

Interested faculty may fill out a statement of candidacy, located at http://www.skylinecollege.edu/academicsenate/minutesagendas.php, and send it to Leigh Anne Shaw, chair of the nominations committee, at shawl@smccd.edu by May 6, 2015.  The nominations will be made at the May 7 Senate meeting, and additional nominations may be made from the floor on that day.  The election will take place via online balloting from May 8 until May 14.  The results will be announced on May 15 at the end of year celebration.

Article by Leigh Anne Shaw on behalf of Kate Williams Browne

Dr. James Loewen Speaks at Skyline College

Dr James LoewenOn Wednesday, April 8, Skyline College welcomed award-winning sociologist, historian, and best-selling author, Dr. James Loewen as part of the Skyline College Lecture Series: A Call to Consciousness.  Dr. Loewen is best known as the Author of Lies my Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong.

Dr. Loewen spoke to the audience about his most recent research and publication The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The “Great Truth” about the “Lost Cause”.  The book confronts national misconceptions of the causes behind secession of the Southern states and subsequent myth-making that occurred after the American Civil War that was designed to defend slavery and promote white supremacy throughout the United States.

Dr. Loewen also encouraged students and faculty to engage in dialogue and research about Sundown Towns, city or neighborhood in the United States that was purposely all-white. The term came from signs that were posted stating that people of color had to leave the town by sundown. “Until we solve the problem of sundown neighborhoods and towns we do not have a chance of solving America’s race problem,” Loewen said.

More information about Dr. Loewen and his research is available at http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/.

Join Skyline College Students, Faculty and Staff at the San Bruno Relay for Life

relay for life photo collageSkyline College’s own Phi Theta Kappa Chapter planned and implemented the first Relay for Life in San Bruno, which was held at Skyline College about 6 years ago. Since then it has grown larger every year, and has since been moved to Capuchino High School. This year the event will take place on Saturday, April 25th from 9:30 am to 11 pm.

Relay for Life began as a mission to honor cancer survivors, remember those that have been lost, and fight back against this devastating disease.  Team members raise funds for the American Cancer Society, which are used directly to advanced research and support free services offered to cancer patients and their caregivers. Prior to the Relay for Life event, team members work hard to gather donations, and plan special events such as the Survivor Pancake Breakfast and Paint the Mall Purple to raise awareness in the community.  On the day of the event, teams take turns walking or running around the track. Events can be up to 24 hours long, and because “cancer never sleeps,” each team is asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times.

The Skyline College community is welcome to be involved by joining the committee that makes this event happen, taking part in the fund raising, and supporting those affected by cancer by attending and enjoying the event. All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to join our team “Skyline Striders” by visiting RelayforLife.org/SanBrunoCa and looking up our team name, or to even start their own team!

Even if you can’t join a team, please join us on the day of the event to take part in this meaningful day of remembrance – we hope to see you there.

Article by Jaimelynn Alvarez and Alana Utsumi

Annual Juried Student Art Exhibit Opens Next Week at the Skyline College Art Gallery

Juried Student Art Exhibit PosterSkyline College Art Gallery is proud to present our annual Juried Student Art Exhibit, a group exhibition featuring artworks by the very talented students here at Skyline College. The exhibition will be on view in the Gallery from April 20 through May 15.  A reception for the Artists will be held on Wednesday, April 22, from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.  Refreshments and music will be served.

For more information, including hours, please visit the gallery website

Article by Paul Bridenbaugh

Meet Your Major Fair a Success!

meet your major fair participants  On Tuesday, April 14 the Career Services Center hosted the 1st Annual Meet Your Major Fair.  The focus of this campus-wide event is to assist students in selecting their major and to promote their direct engagement with instructional faculty in their decision-making process.  Over 300 students attended the fair between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. and the overwhelming response has been very positive from students and faculty.

A special thank you to the Associated Students of Skyline College which sponsored silicone wristbands for students with slogans reading: Majoring in Justice4All, Innovation, Art Making, Wellness, Deep Thoughts, or Change Making.   These slogans highlighted the different reasons students decide upon a major, focusing on the impact that major will have.

meet your major fair students at tableIn addition to this, students had the opportunity to share their views on their decision making process and what they hope their Major will allow for them, through two interactive boards.

The first board stated “I Will Choose My Major Based On…” and asked students to choose one of three options: “Following My Passion,” “Making a Difference” or “Something I’m Good At.”

The second board stated “I Hope My Major Will Allow Me To…” and asked students to choose a response, including: Provide for my family and help others w/ life; Give the life I didn’t have to my kids; Engineer the FUTURE; Make a change in my Latino community; Travel and see the world; Wake up every day with a smile on my face; Become an awesome Math teacher

Meet your major fair teachersTo view/download photos from the Meet Your Major Fair, check out the Flickr Album.

Over 45 faculty, staff, and students participated in this event by representing their academic programs.

A very special thank you goes to participating programs, which included:

Business, Education, and Professional Programs Division

  • Automotive Technology
  • Business
  • Cosmetology & Wellness
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Hospitality & Tourism Management

Science, Math, and Technology Division

  • Allied Health
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Earth Sciences
  • Emergency Medical Technology
  • Energy Systems Technology Management
  • MESA / Engineering
  • Math
  • Surgical Tech & Central Services Tech
  • Telecommunications / Network Technology

Social Science and Creative Arts Division

  • Art
  • History
  • Humanities
  • Film
  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences

Language Arts Division

  • Communications Studies
  • English & Reading
  • World Languages
  • Literature
  • Journalism

Global Learning Division

  • Global Learning Programs

Give Us Your Feedback

We ask that Faculty/Staff participating or attending the Meet Your Major Fair take a moment to complete the survey at the link below:

Survey:  http://goo.gl/forms/XwxJVzmJAp

Article and Photos By Lezra Chenportillo

Student Carpool Parking Pilot

Sustainability Forum Winners Sustainability contest winner, Angelique Fuentes, is launching a pilot project to test out the development of student-run carpools.   Angelique’s goal is to help Skyline College reduce its carbon footprint and the amount of vehicles on campus.  From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28 – Thursday, April 30 and on Tuesday, May 4 – Thursday, May 7, Angelique and fellow students will use a small section of Lot M to provide spaces to carpoolers.

Angelique’s effort began on November 13, 2014, when over 100 students including Angelique piled into the Solar and Building Science Learning Center in Pacific Heights. The students from different backgrounds and majors were all there for one purpose: the Sustainability Forum. The Sustainability Forum was organized by campus and district members Joe Fullerton, Jennifer Mair, Christopher Koh, Carmela Gaspar, Bruce Greenstein, Carla Grandy and Carina Anttila-Suarez, in hopes of inspiring students to become change-makers on campus in the context of sustainability. The big goal of the forum was to identify and fund student projects that would make Skyline College a more sustainable campus.

Sustainabiltiy forum group voteThree months later on February 10, 2015, 100 students attended the Sustainability Forum Voting Night, where students presented projects that would make help create a more sustainable campus. Students used iClickers to vote for proposals and enjoyed pizza in Building 6.  Angelique Fuentes won $1,000 to support her proposal – a carpooling pilot project that would gauge the effectiveness of an institutionalized carpool system. Jose Iniguez received $500 for a campus aquaponics system that he wanted to start as an educational tool in the classroom. Yanni Guo won $1500 for a proposed Earth Day event focused on reducing the amount of bottled water purchased on campus.

After the students presented, the audience voted for each project based on the impact it would create for the campus. The students, under the guidance of Carina Anttila-Suarez, Carla Grandy, Christopher Koh and Joe Fullerton, immediately started working on their projects, and are close to completion. Carla Grandy who is advising Angelique feels that “this transportation study is a great opportunity to both encourage students to carpool and also to see how the logistics can work. Since so many Skyline students drive, it is really important to find a way that they can do it more sustainably. The pilot project will allow us to see how it would be best to implement a program and what types of incentives to offer and help students to learn the benefits of carpooling. “

All the student efforts are exciting, however by its nature, the set-up of Angelique’s carpool project has been very intricate and complex. Angelique will lead students who will promote, set up and monitor the carpool area. Impressively Angelique has been coordinating with John Doctor of Facilities and Chief Robert Dean of Public Safety to section off part of the coveted Lot M parking spaces to incentivize students to carpool during Carpool Week from April 28-30 and May 5-7. She has also worked with Eugene Whitlock for legal counsel, Linda Bertellotti for event planning, Cherie Colin for marketing services and enjoys the strong support of President Regina Stanback Stroud. Many thanks are sent to the Facilities Department for supporting this student initiative by providing cones, flags and signs. In addition the group wants to thank the public safety staff who will be assisting student volunteers by periodically doing rounds in the designated section of the lot.

Dean Ray Hernandez who has been a great supporter of the Sustainability Ambassador Network (SAN), our campus group working for Skyline College to implement best green practices said “This is a wonderful opportunity for students to address environmental issues and build community at the same time.  The last mile to get to Skyline is not as easily accessible via public transit; the carpool initiative makes great sense as a way to minimize environmental impact.”

This is a great reminder of the potential that students, like Angelique, Jose and Yanni have to create positive change on campus. It also reminds us how important it is to have faculty, staff, and administration to support and guide our students to successfully implement impactful projects on campus.

Written by Carina Anttila-Suarez & Christopher Koh

Panel Discussion on LGBT Issues Addresses Youth Suicide, Recent Legislation and the Challenges to Advocacy

tom ammiano panelist eventTom Ammiano, former assemblyman from San Francisco and new instructor in Social Science at Skyline College, Tom Bauer, Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services for the SMCCCD, and Rosemary Bell, professor of history at Skyline College, presented a panel on some important issues facing the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.  Each spoke about personal experiences as a member of this community, applied that experience to a broad social issue and suggested ways to meet the challenges.

President Regina Stanback Stroud welcomed the panel and the audience, Professor of Chemistry A. J. Bates spoke about the contributions and interests of the campus Gay-Straight Alliance, and Donna Bestock, Dean of Social Science/Creative Arts introduced the panelists.

Tom Ammiano spoke about his own path to public office and the challenges that face an openly gay elected official.  He credited Harvey Milk, with whom he was closely associated, with persuading him that a strong public voice would be both appropriate and effective—and it has been.  His path includes nearly three decades as a teacher, civil rights leader, educator, Supervisor, and Assemblyman.

A native of New Jersey, Tom earned his B.A. from Seton Hall and his Master’s Degree in special education from San Francisco State University. He taught English to children in South Vietnam as part of a Quaker program until 1968, when he returned to San Francisco to become a public school teacher shortly after the Tet Offensive.  He was the first openly gay public school teacher in San Francisco.

Tom was elected to the San Francisco School Board in 1990. In 1994, Tom won citywide election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. In 2000, after the institution of district elections, Tom was elected District 9 Supervisor, and he represented the Mission District, Bernal Heights and Portola neighborhoods. Tom was elected to the 13th Assembly District in 2008.

In the Assembly, Tom served has chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee as well as chair of the LGBT Caucus.  His influence was broad while in the assembly.  In addition to his attention to LGBT issues, he made contributions to Proposition 13 loopholes, treatment of prisoners, homeless youth, immigrant rights and many other issues.

Tom is teaching Social Science 680SC Civil Rights: the LGBT Struggle for Equality this semester and will be teaching the course again in the fall.

Tom Bauer spoke about being born and raised in New York and growing up on Long Island which was a very conservative place in the 1970’s and 1980’s. As a young boy, Tom always knew he was different. He knew that he did not look at girls the way the rest of his friends did.  He never spoke to anyone about his feelings and instead buried them deep inside and tried to fit in as best he could.  In many ways he thinks society has come a long way since then.  And yet the statistics on suicides by LGBT youth are alarming and much higher than for straight youth.  Rejection by families, religious institutions and the community in general are still prevalent.  This, he said, causes many LGBT youth to be self-loathing and to feel that they must hide who they are.

Tom considers himself very out, loud and proud. Tom sees one of his roles in the District as one where he is able to show people that gay people have much to contribute.  Tom is particularly sensitive to the needs of young men and women who are struggling with their sexuality.  By setting a positive example, Tom hopes to inspire those around him who are struggling to take the first step and talk with someone about their feelings.  They will find as he himself found that being gay is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. He urges that we all provide the safe place where LGBT youth can come to the same positive attitude, accepting themselves as worthy human beings.

Rosemary Bell, often known as Rosie, spoke about recent legislation in states like Indiana and Arkansas that purported to protect religious freedom but would actually have permitted discrimination against members of the LGBT community.  She cited historical precedents and the ways that they were challenged.  She noted that this time the laws met with immediate public outcry, including from the Walton family who own Walmart, they persuaded the states that they need to modify these laws. Her own story parallels that of her co-panelists.  She knew at a young age that she was attracted to women, but was terrified of admitting that since homosexuality was considered a mental illness until 1973.  She was Brooklyn born and educated, and as she says, California liberated.  She relocated to San Francisco in 1980 when the AIDS crisis was just beginning.

In 1985, Rosie took the Shanti Project training where she became an emotional and practical support person for people with AIDS.  Rosie is not a “front of the march” activist.  She prefers to work behind the scenes, particularly with youth who might be struggling with their sexual identity.  Rosie founded the Gay-Straight Alliance at Skyline College in the early 2000s, after two gay students came to her voicing their concerns about homophobic slurs they heard in the Student Center.  She and Carlos Colombetti worked hard to make the GSA successful and it is still a safe place for all students.  She also led a project entitled “I Can’t Believe You Said That!” with Bridget Fischer and Lori Slicton to raise awareness on campus about verbally abusive language.

Article by Donna Bestock

International Student Program Hosts Multilingual Hour  

Multilingual HourInternational Student Program (ISP) and the International Affairs Student Club (IASC) together hosted Multilingual Hour on April 1, 2015. Members of IASC took the initiative in teaching four different languages: Korean, Turkish, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.

The event started off with Mandarin Chinese. Jiahui Tan or “Kelly”, an international student from China, taught the audience how to say useful phrases such as “Thank you” and “You are beautiful/handsome.” Following Kelly’s Chinese lessons, Yi Rui Gwee or “Tiffany” from Malaysia and Sun-kyoung Chun or “Sunny” from South Korea, presented Korean pop culture and associated vocabulary, using fun YouTube videos as teaching aides. Next were the Japanese lessons lead by Yidi Feng, who spent her K-12 years in Japan. Yidi introduced the Japanese phrase that was chosen as the 2014 phrase of the year in Japan. Finally, Emre Kabayel, a student from Turkey, taught the audience some words used by teenagers in his native country.

The event was well attended by Skyline College students and staff members. After the language lessons, the audience mingled with the presenters and enjoyed delicious snacks and drinks from Taiwan, China and Japan

ISP will continue to provide international and cultural events and programs for Skyline College students, faculty and staff members and the greater Skyline College community. Please check our future events on the ISP website at: www.skylinecollege.edu/international/

Article and Photo by Chikako Walker

Skyline College Students Shine at Phi Theta Kappa Induction

Phi Teta Kappa Induction CeremonyWith friends and family in attendance, 70 students from Skyline College, 32 from CSM, and 27 from Cañada were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society for the Spring 2015 semester. On April 10 Beta Zeta Nu, the Cañada College chapter, hosted the induction ceremony for new members of Phi Theta Kappa from the three colleges. It is a tradition to alternate the induction ceremonies between the three chapters. Greg Anderson, Cañada College Vice President of Instruction, gave the keynote address and commended the members on their academic achievement. Some of the new Skyline College Phi Theta Kappa members are shown in the photo.

Article & Photo by Chris Case

Transfer Students Tour SFSU & UC Berkeley

Students Visit BerkeleyOn Friday, March 20, the Transfer Center hosted a tour of San Francisco State University. In addition to a campus tour, students attended a general admissions presentation conducted by our college representative, Doris Fendt. Doris discussed in detail admissions requirements, dates and deadlines students need to be aware of, and how to make their transfer from Skyline College to SF State possible.  The students were engaged in the presentations and asked a lot of questions. In addition to Doris’ presentation, Paul Mendez, another SF State Representative, presented on the Transfer Articulation Bridge (TAB) Program, a course offered to Skyline College students that is designed to serve underrepresented students. Paul discussed with the students the benefits of the course and how it prepares students for the transition from Skyline College to SF State.

For many students this was the first time they had traveled to SFSU and for some it was the school they had applied to for the Fall 2015 semester. Many students discovered that there were many options and resources available to them and one student felt that the tour “… was really good for planning my future.”  The personal connection students made with SFSU admissions staff and faculty is invaluable in their preparation and comfort in preparing to transfer to SFSU.

On Friday, April 10, in collaboration with TRiO, the Transfer Center also hosted our UC Berkeley college tour where over 40 students had the opportunity to hear from the UC Berkeley College Representative, Bryan Martinez, who also serves our students here at Skyline College through the Transfer Alliance Project. He has scheduled one-on-one advising appointments and provides additional support to underrepresented students. Bryan was not only able to host an admissions presentation, but to our surprise he organized a student panel. Students had the opportunity to hear first-hand from the panelists their experiences transferring from a community college to UC Berkeley. Many of the students on the tour expressed that they found the admissions presentation informational and the panel presentation insightful. One student expressed that thanks to the presentation and tour, “…UC Berkeley is not an impossible school [to get into] and that there are numerous resources.” Another student wrote, “I really love the community support at Skyline College and the opportunities to visit campuses…Great Tour. Thank you Transfer Center and TRiO.”

Many thanks to Doris Fendt, Paul Mendez, and Bryan Martinez for taking time out of their day to provide the presentation. The students benefited tremendously thanks to their dedication and support. And a special thanks goes to the Transfer Center staff, faculty, and TRiO for helping to organize and support this trip.

Campus tours have been identified as a critical part of transfering by the Skyline College Transfer Initiative and we are excited to say that the tours that were offered this semester have all proven to be very successful and beneficial to all the students that attended.

Article and photo by Michele Haggar