Daily Archives: October 21, 2016

New Building Safety Measures

Door Hardware

“Left: Views inside three classroom doors which have no method to secure the door without a key. Right: View inside a retrofitted door with a simple push-button lock to secure the door in an emergency.”

Increasing classroom safety is a top priority at Skyline College.  Public Safety personnel can already remotely lock down many campus buildings at a moment’s notice. The District is now implementing improved security measures for securing individual rooms within our buildings.

In phase one of the project which was completed this summer, many classroom door locks were equipped with a push-button, which allows faculty and students to quickly lock the classroom door from the interior in an emergency.  An additional benefit to faculty and staff of the new push-button lock is that it is now simpler to secure doors when closing a room, as it eliminates the need for a key when locking the door from the exterior.

In the next phase, this push-button locking function will be extended to include study rooms, conference rooms and offices to provide quick locking from the inside without a key.  This installation is to be completed this winter.

Lastly, a code-compliant security solution is being devised for future installation at doors with panic bars (“crash bars”) as well as for doors with electrified locks ACAM (Access Control and Alarm Monitoring).  While doors with electrified access currently can be remotely secured by Public Safely, the new emergency device to be installed will enable individuals to quickly secure the door from the inside, even before Public Safety has been notified of a crisis situation, thus saving precious moments.

Article by Virginia Rocha

El Camino High School Students Discover ASTEP

astep studentsSkyline College invited 30 students from El Camino High School to attend our Discover ASTEP Day on October 13, 2016.  Discover ASTEP was created to allow local African-American high school students the opportunity to sit in on college classes in order to create valuable, lasting, educational experiences.  The goal of the day was to introduce high school students to collegiate level instruction, demystify the idea that community college is the 13th grade, and allow the students to organically interact with current college students to share information and experiences.

The students were welcomed by Maurice Goodman, Board of Trustees, and Lasana Hotep, Dean of Student Equity and Support Programs.   Afterwards the students attended Nathan Jones’ ENGL 110 course and Danielle Powell’s COMM 110 course where they were able to interact with college level subject materials and current ASTEP students.

The students really enjoyed the experience.  Some of their takeaways were:

  • Learning about time management
  • Understanding the difference between college and high school
  • Recognizing that community college is still college (vs. an easier version of college or the 13th grade)
  • Appreciating the ability to have discussions about race

Highlights included:

  • Jones’ class and discussion about race
  • Black Lives Matter debate and discussion
  • Talking with current students and gaining helpful insights
  • Lunch

Thank you to ASTEP students and faculty, the Division of Student Equity and Support Programs, and the Outreach Office for welcoming the El Camino students.

Article by Lauren Ford