EDUCATION

4 Sac State student protesters get disciplinary actions

2011-05-06T01:36:23Z

Four Sacramento State University students are facing disciplinary actions from the college for their participation in the three-day sit-in sy Sacramento Hall, which ended April 16 at 3:30 a.m. with police in riot gear.

Last Thursday, the students – Nora Walker, Yeimi Lopez, Amanda Mooers and Mildred Garcia – had their first hearing inside Lassen Hall with a disciplinary officer, as many of their supporters stood in front of the building wearing tape across their mouths and carried signs with messages like “Defending education is not a crime” and “Silence is the quest before the storm.”

In recent weeks, the protesters ignited a proverbial flame on campus that spread across an estimated 1,500 supporters who participated in rallies, the sit-in and a mock funeral, which proclaimed the death of education but the rebirth of the student movement.

The students refused to go on record as to what resulted from their hearing or what the charges entailed, and their supporters suggested they keep silent to the press while their hearings are under way, but it was suggested that a “no camping on campus” ordinance was violated.

Supporters marched behind the four students from the University Union Forest Room, where beforehand they discussed the aftermath of the student protests and the university's decision to call the police to break up the sit-in early that Saturday morning.

Mooers said they weren't given a reason from the campus administration why the four of them were selected when there were 27 students who spent the night inside Sacramento Hall. There were no arrests, and demonstrators maintained peaceful the entire time. They left Sacramento Hall upon request that Saturday morning, and it wasn't until then that they were told to leave. When the police moved in to take action, students said there were four students awake out of the 27.

Protest leaders have asked people to sign letters to Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez, showing their support for the students organizing and calling the administration's actions “unnecessarily aggressive.”

The students felt that the situation escalated when it didn't need to. For police to come in like that was a miscalculated use of force and a gross insult to those who were sleeping, they said in the forum.

Lopez, the designated police liaison for the protesters, said that when she approached police with questions on that Friday night/Saturday morning, she was told that they could no longer release information, that they were following the orders given to them.

Student Pat Pavlovich said he was studying in the Arc but was asked to leave by police even though he wasn't part of the protest. Asked why, the police said — according to Pavlovich — well, what if the protesters came in and destroyed the computers?

“They were shutting down other areas of study,” Pavlovich said. “That's when I decided to join the protesters. Doors were locked. I thought that was pathetic that (administrators) were going to starve students.”

The university has stated in media reports that it spent $14,000 in police overtime during the occupation and gave health and safety reasons as to why they locked Sacramento Hall with protesters inside, stating that all the people inside were affecting the air quality.

Forum panelist Lindsay Curtis said she found it ironic that administration had a concern with air quality, but they didn't leave the doors open. And Kevin Wehr, president of the capitol chapter of the California Faculty Association, said while there was insinuation that students were costing the university the police overtime, there were other pathways campus officials could have taken to avoid the
costs.

There seemed to be a basic message throughout the forum – that administration didn't do enough to prevent the sit-in and protests from escalating. Protesters said they had no idea that the protest was going to continue as long as it did. They just wanted the administration to take a stand, one way or another, on their demands – which has included stopping management during the fiscal crisis and for a promise from campus President Alexander Gonzalez to support Assembly Bill 1326, which calls for a fee on oil and gas extraction to support higher education.

While Gonzalez did post his response, Mooers said protesters asked him to be their leader and take their demands to the California State University Board of Trustees.

Curtis said California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed has been against those demands, so it would have taken a lot for Gonzalez to publicly support the protesters.

“Many have suggested we take our demands to the capitol, but if the system is broken, going to the capitol won’t help much,” Curtis said.

A week after the sit-in, some of the Sac State protesters joined other similar protests at Fullerton and Northridge State Universities.

The Fullerton administration made peace with the students, but Esteban Hernandez said the demands of students there were unlike those of the Sac State protesters. Fullerton protesters, he said, came up with a “watered-down resolution” that said something like “every person is entitled to equitable education ... but the administration took it as an opportunity to do good for the school.”

Wehr said response from the state legislature has been positive for the student protesters. Leland Yee called in his support on speaker phone and Assemblyman Richard Pan came down to the protest showing his support. His press secretary said Pan would find it very troubling if disciplinary action was taken against any of the students.

While other media reported the protests were organized by CFA, Wehr said that was not the case.

“The campus administration has made some insinuations both to the press and in their own communications to the campus that the students were put up to this by the faculty union,” Wehr said in a letter to all union members. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

In fact, he said the union was as surprised as anyone when the students decided to stay in Sacramento Hall. But once this course of action was taken, Wehr said CFA provided some support to the students by sending e-mails to the campus community and providing some food, water and art supplies.

Wehr said the union found it “offensive to suggest that students are not capable of undertaking their own political analysis and moving to take direct action based on what they see going on around the world and in their own backyard,” he wrote.

Local teacher releases children's Harvey Milk workbook

2011-04-14T03:58:41Z

Whitney Avenue Elementary School fourth grade teacher Angela F. Luna recently self-published a children's workbook aimed at fostering compassion and understanding toward the LGBTQI community.

Luna, a member of the Equality Action Now leadership, said the activist group encouraged her to work on LGBTQI curriculum for school-age children after the first Harvey Milk Day on May 22, 2009.

What resulted is her new 32-page book called “In Celebration of Harvey Milk: Educational Materials for Grades 4 through 12” that honors the memory of the gay rights activist who was assassinated in 1978.

To Luna, it was Milk's courage to be himself at a time when it wasn't popular to do so that she admires so much. “That inspires me everyday,” she said.

“In this day and age, 30 years later, people are still afraid to come out … (Milk's) courage is so amazing to me,” she said.

Luna was not able to get married because of Prop 8, but now she doesn't care what the opposition may or may not do in response to her book. As a teacher, she said, she has a responsibility to teach her students about Harvey Milk because youth are at risk.

“I just care that students are safe at school,” she said.

Since it has been published, the LGBT Task Force for the Sacramento City Unified School District sent out a memo to all district staff stating that the book is available upon request to SCUSD teachers who wish to review it. (Whitney Elementary is a San Juan School District school.)

When Luna piloted the book last year in her classroom, students had to get permission slips signed by their parents to participate. Of the 22 in her class, eight opted out of the lesson.

“I feel it's another form of discrimination … In a sense, the children who could have benefited most weren't able to participate,” Luna said.

One activity incorporated in the lesson plan for the book has students determine when the phrase “That's so gay” is used with a negative connotation. Another has students determine whether a statement about Milk such as – He realized he was gay at the age of 27 – is true or false.

Luna said many of the students were surprised that Milk knew his sexual identity at 14 years old and that he was not just an activist in the gay rights movement but also fought for elderly and disabled people's rights.

“They didn't (call him) a hero,” Luna said, “but I could tell they were impressed he helped so many people.”

Luna said she hopes that this year, with a new administrator on campus, students won't have to get permission slips signed to participate in the workbook activities.

Luna has taught for 16 years and was a finalist for the San Juan Unified School District's Teacher of the Year in 2011. She currently is a candidate for National Board Certification.

The book is available to the public on Amazon.com

Local prof. discusses white nose syndrome among bats

2011-04-08T05:18:08Z

A deadly fungus that has killed about a million bats on the east coast, known as white nose syndrome, has local biologists worried because it's spreading westward.

They're uncertain, however, whether the fungus, which relies on cold temperatures, will mutate into something that can survive warmer Sacramento-like winters, explained Winston Lancaster, an associate professor of biological sciences at Sacramento State University who has been studying bats since the 1980s.

“What's the greater likelihood is that it will be different. We just don't know what to expect,” Lancaster said. “So there is good reason to believe that in a drier climate and in an open sort of roost, like we have in bridges here, it may not ever be established.”

But biological organisms adapt. So the question, Lancaster said, is whether the fungus will still have the same pathogenic effect on these animals. “Maybe, maybe not,” he said.

Found in one cave in New York, white nose syndrome has resulted in the death of 95 percent of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) population and has killed some bats from other species as well, Lancaster said.

He added that it's thought that the fungus was brought to the United States in 2006 from Europe by the shoes or clothes of tourists. More recently, scientists have seen it move down the Appalachian Mountains and west to Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, not much can be done to stop white nose syndrome from spreading, but here on the other side of the continent, scientists can see the storm coming, Lancaster said.

“We have time to react.… We need to make sure we have our methods of handling animals such that we won't be the agent of dispersal,” he said.

What's likely to happen is that someone will inadvertently spread this on their shoes or on their clothing, he said, so officials have been trying to restrict access to infected areas. “But it becomes an extremely difficult thing to do – to completely close caves. It's very expensive and it's very difficult to accomplish.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has called for a moratorium on caving activities in the affected areas and recommends that any clothing or equipment used in such areas be decontaminated after each use.

So when Lancaster takes graduate students in a few weeks to the Sutter Buttes to catch bats, they have to follow the new protocol.

“We never did this before,” Lancaster said. “We only started this last year. All these protocols are meant to change our behavior so that, if I catch a bat that has this fungus on it … I'm not going to inadvertently transfer that fungus to a bat that lives in a totally different place.”

Lancaster explained that the fungus has been found around bats' wings, mouths and ears when they are hibernating in caves during winter and seems to disrupt their hibernation patterns.

“It is known they do wake up and it's not sure why they are waking up,” he said. “Are they looking for water? Are they trying to look for food?” Lancaster continued, noting that the bats don't have enough energy to go through the winter if they're waking up from hibernation early.

When animals go into hibernation, Lancaster explained, they let their bodies get cold so they can save energy, but after a few days, they need to take a few hours to warm up. That spike in temperature accounts for 90 percent of their energy use, he said. But if the animals are waking up and staying awake longer than those spikes, they're in danger of running out of energy before the winter is over.

In warmer Sacramento, bats don't hibernate but go down into a torpor, or deep sleep, after their daily roost to allow their body temperatures to drop.

“These are tiny animals with fast metabolisms, so if they had to keep their metabolism up to full speed all day long, they would have to eat more,” he said. “(Here) they go into mini hibernations every day unless temperatures stay down below 50 degrees at days at a time.”

It's thought that the Mexican free tail, a common local bat species, may be an asymptomatic carrier, meaning it might not be affected by the fungus, but tens to be a migratory animal. So there's the possibility it could carry spores from one roost to another, Lancaster said.

Many farmers are in favor of protecting bats because they not only eat the insects that damage their crops but unlike chemical pesticides, they turn insects into fertilizer. On the Yolo Causeway, hundreds of thousands of Mexican free tail bats work in farmers' fields.

According to an article in Science Magazine titled “Economic Importance of Bats in Agriculture” the loss of bats due to white nose syndrome and wind turbines states estimate a loss of $3.7 billion per year in North America.

To learn more about white nose syndrome, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/

5-star restaurant put on by 4th graders

2011-04-07T00:19:15Z

Forty-eight fourth graders at Oak Ridge Elementary School transformed the cafeteria into a five-star restaurant Tuesday night that featured local celebrity chefs, fine linen and a dinner made with ingredients from the Sacramento farmers market.

With the help of about 10 chefs from Mulvaney’s Building & Loan restaurant and Jeff Clark of Nugget Markets, the students acted as servers, chefs and hosts to the VIP guests, who upon entry were handed a bit of the bubbly – some sparkling apple cider in champagne glasses.

“The idea is to help kids experience the learning skills of entrepreneurship,” said Stella Ruiz of Miracles and Milestones, the group that organized the four-month restaurant program.

From the first day of the program to Tuesday’s culmination, the kids were treated like partners in a real business, Ruiz said. Students had to interview for their jobs on the sales, public relations, interior design and finance teams. They held business meetings after school and on Saturdays. They made sales calls to sell tickets at the Capitol, City Hall and other locations around Sacramento.

City Councilman Jay Schenirer, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond and Vance Raye, presiding justice of the Third District Court of Appeal, were among the local VIPs who purchased $60 tickets to the dinner.

The kids also learned the ins and outs of the restaurant business from Mulvaney’s chefs and Clark, including how to plan, cook and serve gourmet meals.

Called the “Saturday café” volunteers and local chefs helped students, where they learned to cook breakfast tacos, smoothies and dishes from around the world.

“The kids were so excited to be involved that some would show up at 7:30 a.m. for the 9 a.m. program on Saturdays,” Ruiz said. “They want to work.… We've had a lot of fun,” Ruiz said.

“They learned teamwork and how to delegate amongst each other because it takes many different hands – the more hands the better,” Mulvaney's restaurant manager John Oldham said.

Last weekend, Oldham said students learned the menu and on Sunday they did all of the shopping at the farmers market so that they could see “where the food comes from.”

Student Christhian Bravo, 9, was a server on Tuesday who said she learned a lot from the program but her favorite part was meeting the other students in her grade.

This was the fifth year that chefs have helped worked with students at the school and the program is expected to happen again next year, Ruiz said.

School superintendents urge lawmakers to put tax extensions on June ballot

2011-03-29T01:39:38Z

School superintendents from across the state convened on the west steps of the Capitol on Monday to urge lawmakers to get tax extensions on the ballot in a June special election, which they said is necessary to avoid a $4.6 billion reduction in public school funding.

Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Johnathan Raymond said time has run out and that legislators need to get the tax extensions put on the ballot this week, since county clerks need 88 days to prepare for an election.

“We are here because we represent children in California, and that, I think, is a point getting missed in our message,” said Raymond.

“I look right in front of me and I see two yellow school buses. We all know what that means, a field trip to the state Capitol. Well, what's the most important civic lesson that we can possibly tell them? That a government for the people, by the people is truly representative,” Raymond said.

He urged legislators to put the measure on the ballot and let the people of California decide the future.

“It's not a Republican issue. It's not a Democrat issue. It's a basic issue of representation and democracy,” Raymond said.

If the tax extensions don't make it on the ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown has said he will move to an “all cuts” budget to address the state’s $26 billion shortfall.

An “all cuts” budget would devastate K-12 funding, triggering massive layoffs, a loss of programs such as sports, summer school and bus transportation and hurt schools in low-income areas,

“This is not a new tax. It is one we already pay, and a successful ballot measure would not increase it, only allow us to pay a bit longer with the belief that we will exit from this budget chaos,” said Riverside Unified School District Superintendent Rick Miller.

Extensions placed on a November election rather than June, don’t hold any water said Fresno Unified School District Superintendent Mike Hanson.

“Frankly, November does us very little good,” he said. Hanson said districts will spend the 2011-12 school year decimating programs for students across the entire state. To imagine a November election with tax extensions passed, districts would then have to attempt to rebuild what they tore down.

Moreover, Hanson said districts have exhausted the one-time money that has been kept in reserves to get them through tough times.

Some districts have eliminated home-to-school transportation, summer school programs, adult education and programs such as: sports, drama, yearbook, and speech and debate. Moreover, it's common to see class sizes of 40 students or more.

In addition, school years have become shorter, where students aren't guaranteed 180 school days a year anymore. Some districts have not been able to adopt new textbooks at the time when standards have been updated.

The worst-case scenario budgets will trigger massive layoffs, and districts have been taking those steps already. Thousands of teachers were pink-slipped earlier this month. About 300 (of the nearly 1,100) statewide districts have reported a total of 19,000 teacher pink slips.

In the past, districts have used pink slips for temporary teachers and then hired some back, but superintendents now are saying these pink slips are basically to keep the balanced budget in place they’re required to have by law, Hanson said.

Earlier this year, the Natomas Unified School District announced that a state takeover would be imminent if concessions weren't made by unions and if the tax extensions weren't passed. (http://sacramentopress.com/headline/46012/Assemblyman_Pan_leads_Natomas_Unified_town_hall_meeting)

Meanwhile the SCUSD board voted to balance the district's projected “worst-case” budget shortfall of $22.35 million by eliminating financial support for extracurricular activities and reducing the district’s counseling staff by 37 percent, eliminating one assistant principal position at each high school and raising K-3 class sizes at two grade levels. They previously approved raising class sizes for all other grades – including 40 students per teacher at the high school level.

At a glance (courtesy of the Education Coalition, www.protectourstudents.org):
-California has cut $18 billion from K-12 public schools in the last three years
-A reduction of $1,900 per student has occurred over the last three years
-If taxes are not extended, Brown has said he will ask for an “all cuts” budget
-An “all cuts” budget could lead to $4.6 billion reduction in public school funding
-That amounts to an additional $754 cut per student in 2011-12
-A $19,492 cut per classroom
-Statewide teacher layoffs of 52,874
-Class size increase of 18.2 percent
-California already ranks 43 in the nation in per-pupil spending
-California ranks 50 in staff-to-student ratios

Rosa Parks Middle School becomes a 'priority school'

2011-03-26T00:06:13Z

Elementary school Principal Robert Sullivan will be taking over Rosa Parks Middle School to help turn it around after it was added to a list of schools needing improvement last week.

According to the district office, Sullivan began with SCUSD at age 17, when he landed a job as a custodian at Tahoe Elementary School to help pay for college, eventually working his way up to instructional aide and then teacher. He was an assistant principal at John Still K-8 School until taking over as principal at John Sloat seven years ago.

Under Sullivan’s tenure at John Sloat, student test scores have risen dramatically. The school improved its state-measured Academic Performance Index (API) base from 664 in 2005 to 761 in 2009 – a 97-point gain toward a target of 800 points. John Sloat is ranked ninth out of 10 on the API scale when compared to similar schools. In 2005-06, 39.7 percent of students achieved proficiency on the California Standards Tests in math. In 2009-10, that grew to 61.2 percent. In 2009-10, Hispanic student scores rose a 38 points.

Sullivan will remain at John Sloat for the rest of this school year. The principal position at that school has been posted, and the district plans to hire his replacement in the coming weeks. The current principal at Rosa Parks will finish the year and then be released. (fired?)

The decision to include Rosa Parks in the Priority Schools program was made after weighing several factors, including student academic performance, according to SCUSD.

The middle school, which serves about 475 students, dropped 33 points on the API scale last year. With an API of 624, it has the lowest student tests scores of any middle school in SCUSD.

The school has also struggled to close achievement gaps. Scores for African-American students plummeted 57 points last year, scores for students with disabilities fell 39 points.

According to the district, principals at the six original priority schools report better attendance, greater family participation, fewer suspensions and generally happier students, which they attribute to a better learning environment.

Raymond emphasized that funding for Rosa Parks’ addition to the Priority School program will come from “categorical” funds – money from the federal government earmarked for high-poverty schools.

At Rosa Parks, 100 percent of students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch, the federal poverty threshold. Because the Priority Schools are funded categorically, Rosa Parks’ inclusion will have no effect on the district’s anticipated budget of $22.35 million – the projected amount if current temporary taxes are not extended by voters.

“But it’s not all about funding. It’s about these schools being 'Incubators of Innovation,' ” said Gabe Ross, SCUSD chief of communications on Friday. “These sites are places where new techniques and programs are piloted, with the goal of expanding successful practices district-wide. We’ve also said that priority schools will be the first in line for additional resources and opportunities when they become available.”

Priorities schools, Ross said, do get some additional resources (categorical dollars), which include some extra staffing (an extra assistant principal, instructional aides).

The district’s other priority schools are: Father Keith B. Kenny Elementary, Jedediah Smith Elementary, Oak Ridge Elementary, Will C. Wood Middle School, Fern Bacon Middle School and Hiram Johnson High School.

Local school tries for Hmong dual immersion

2011-03-24T14:14:06Z

By fall, Sacramento's Susan B. Anthony Elementary School may be the first public school in California and the second nationwide to implement a Hmong/English dual-language program.

The only thing that may prevent such a program from taking off is a lack of interest among parents and students, so Lee Yang, Sacramento City Unified School District administrator of elementary curriculum and professional development has reached out to Hmong elders and clan leaders about appealing to the Hmong community.

“We can have the program, but if there are no kids, you can't really have it, right?” Yang said. “We are expecting there will be interested folks out there because this is not only designed for Hmong. This is a Hmong language immersion program for all kids, regardless of what language you speak.”

Currently, Susan B. Anthony has a total of 269 students, and of those, 151 speak Hmong, and Yang said he plans on visiting the only other school in the United States that has such a program: Jackson Preparatory Magnet School in St. Paul, Minn.

Like the program in St. Paul, this program at Susan B. Anthony is set to begin with one kindergarten and one first grade classroom. This will continue to expand through high school by adding one class per grade every year. This program will follow the existing Spanish and Chinese immersion programs currently in the Sacramento schools.

At the kindergarten level, the 90-10 percent model, where instruction is provided in the Hmong language 90 percent of the time and the remaining 10 percent is done in English, will be implemented. Progressively each year, instruction in Hmong will reduce by 10 percent, and instruction in English will increase by 10 percent. The transition to 100 percent English will occur between fifth and sixth grades.

Yang said the staff members at the school are already qualified with BCLAD teaching credentials with an emphasis in Hmong Der and Mong Leng.

“But we're at the very early stage at this time,” he said. “At this point, we are in the process of exploring exactly how it will look.” He added that students who wish not to participate in the dual-language program won't have to, since traditional classes will also be offered.

This time last year, the school district began putting together the Chinese immersion program at Elder Creek Elementary. Going into its second year, Yang said he is thrilled to have 13 students on the waiting list already. Coupled with the excitement of that program and the success of the Spanish dual-language immersion program at Cesar E. Chavez Intermediate School (See stats here), Yang said he is excited about the Hmong program also because it's new territory.

By the fourth and fifth grade levels, Yang said that students who participated in the Chinese Immersion Program in San Francisco had very successful rates of proficiency on the standardized tests, and by second grade, they tested equally to their English-only counterparts. While students who are in Spanish dual-language immersion programs are tested in Spanish, Yang said tests are not offered in Chinese or Hmong.

To engage the community, the district has planned two informational meetings. The first will take place on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for the Susan B. Anthony School community, and on Thursday, March 31, at 6 p.m., the district will convene a meeting for the larger Sacramento County community. The school is located at 7864 Detroit Blvd.

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

High school students participate in peace week

2011-03-19T02:43:43Z

Hundreds of teens from several regional high schools staged a “Peace Rally” on Friday inside the City Council Chambers to bring attention to rising gang violence and an increase in teen crime victims. Hosted by the Sacramento Youth Commission, the rally culminated a week of peace-related activities on various campuses throughout Sacramento.

Some of the schools had assemblies and some held a “Challenge Day” where students tried to make new friends between various cliques on campus, explained Lyndsy Gholson, staff assistant with the Sacramento Youth Commission.

“Students thought it was time for change … There's a lot going on in terms of gang-affiliated violence. There's youth violence. There's fighting. They thought there needs to be peace at their schools, so they established a peace week. They don't want no more of their fellow students to die,” Gholson said.

During the rally students heard from an array of supporters: Sacramento City Councilman Jay Schenirer, City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, the E-Legal Tag Team (spoken word duo), nuclear weapons disarmament activist Matt Taylor and peer Adrian Gutierrez.

Sheedy said she was impressed with the turnout. “You all came together for one cause. Well, I am right there with you.” She said that while she doesn't have a singing voice, like that of E-Legal, she has her own tag-team, the eight members of the city council.

She said she is sick of the violence and sick of mothers losing their children. “We don't need that in our community. We need peace. We need friendship. We need coming together.”

Echoing her support, Schenirer said while he's only been on the council for four months, Friday's event was the best thing to happen inside that room.

Taylor said he first heard about Peace Week about a month ago and he didn't know how to take it. He said he works with “some of the best peace makers” in the world: Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, doctors, children. “But when I came here today,” he said, “I am speechless. I am amazed.”

Before the rally, William Schmidt, 14, said he has seen gang fights at Luther Burbank High School, and after witnessing those he wanted to become involved in Peace Week. Schmidt said he's been made fun of because of the way he looks.

“It hurts but you have to know how to take care of it and get past it.” He said he doesn't think students visit counselors enough. “We have counselors but some people are just afraid. They find it embarrassing, so they hide. That's when stuff goes wrong,” he said.

Evelyn Ramos, Luther Burbank High School Leadership Advisor, said she is available to students who are bullied and that students tend come to approach her more than other teachers she works with. She wants other teachers to commit to stopping youth violence.

“We (as teachers) need to make it a point at the beginning and say, 'This is not OK.' ”

Ramos said cyber-bullying and phone harassment have been problems that have come to her attention. She's heard of burn pages, where students devote entire web pages that are meant to insult or hurt someone. While they get disabled fairly quickly, Ramos said, they happen.

She said the whole concept of peace works for her since there is a range of issues stemming from minor heckling to gang violence.

Schmidt added, “I know (Peace Week) is not going stop violence and fighting all together. But I know at least it will raise awareness until gradually violence will go down.”

Natomas Unified declares impasse with classified staff

2011-03-17T01:38:16Z

The Natomas Unified School District has declared an “impasse,” or stalemate, with the California School Employees Association, chapter 745 over labor negotiations.

The district is optimistic that a state mediator will move the district and the classified staff toward reaching an agreement that, according to a press release, would “adequately address the district's fiscal crisis and avoid a state takeover.”

As part of the district's overall plan to achieve these cuts and minimize their impact on students and programs, each employee group, including all administrators, has agreed to take reductions of 7.9 percent of salaries and benefits, but the CSEA has not.

According to the press release from the district office, the district believes it is necessary to declare an impasse to obtain the assistance of a state mediator.

CSEA Chief Negotiator and immediate past president Omega Brewer said on Wednesday that the district was not willing to accept the union’s offer of 14 to 20 furlough days.

The CSEA indicated earlier this month that union members had agreed to a 7.9 percent cut, which equaled 15 to 19 furlough days, but when the district came to the union with the supporting documents to have the agreement ratified, it was 19 to 24 furlough days.

See more of the story as it developed http://sacramentopress.com/headline/46882/Natomas_schools_closer_to_state_take_over.

Students march for higher public ed funding/tax extensions

2011-03-15T00:31:30Z

The rain didn't stop an estimated 13,000 college students and faculty from marching on the State Capitol Monday to demand legislators work out their differences and put tax extensions on the ballot, which educators have said would make next year's cuts more bearable.

Students were bused from all over the state to the Towe Auto Museum, where the march officially began. Called the “March in March,” Monday's protest was the fourth year in a row that the same group came out to the Capitol in such large numbers.

As it stands now, Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 assesses a $1.4 billion cut to higher education, including $500 million to University of California schools and the California State University system and $400 million to community colleges.

Over the past few years, California's public post-secondary systems have experienced unpredictable fee increases, employee furloughs, layoffs and, for the first time, enrollment reductions prevented access to qualified California residents state the offices of the California State Student Association and Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

In reaction to Brown's budget proposal, California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott said the proposed cuts hurt colleges' ability to serve students and will harm California's economic recovery.

“These are difficult times for California, and there's no way to avoid the pain of budget cuts,” he said. “However, if our community colleges sustain reductions of this magnitude, we anticipate up to 350,000 students will be turned away next year.”

Scott said if just 2 percent more of California's population earned associate degrees and 1 percent more earned bachelor's degrees, the state's economy would grow by $20 billion.

“Those educated workers would generate state and local taxes of $1.2 billion a year, and 174,000 new jobs would be created in California,” he said.

“The UC, CSU and California Community Colleges can get our state headed back in the right direction,” he added, “but we cannot do it with continually shrinking budgets. Remember, higher education is not a cost to California, but an investment.”

Sacramento City Community College Student Body President Justin Turner said the number of students from his campus nearly doubled from last year, and nonetheless, many classes have been eliminated from the schedule.

“This put the students in a situation which may prolong their transfer, AA degree, or certificate program at city college,” Turner said. “As the cuts increase, the classes will, too, which will also turn students away and may push some students away from getting a education.” he said.

If the proposed budget passes, with all the cuts hitting higher education, classes may further disappear and double in size.

“It's a scary thought. To think when Gov. Brown was in office the first time, you could go to a community college nearly free ... Wow, have times changed,” Turner said.

Organizers said that the protests have helped higher education funding in the past. According to Community College Student Senate President Alex Pader ~~Lee Fuller~~ , at this time last year, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget asked for a $60 per unit hit at the two-year schools. “We rebelled against them and got them down to $26,” Fuller said.

Fuller, 48, is a returning student at Coastline College. He lost his job when the economy tanked and said he now sees more and more older students.

Cutbacks to classes and student services, including counselors, has been one of the biggest obstacles this year.

“The counselors are there to help the students, and if students are there to figure it out on their own, they take wrong classes, they take too many classes, too few classes – it just delays the process over and over,” Fuller said, adding that there are some counseling departments that have been reduced to one or two people, and they're dealing with 60,000 students.

Shortly after the noontime rally, students filled the Capitol rotunda and chanted, “Save our schools,” for a few minutes while other students sent postcards to their legislators asking for more funding.

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to this story after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and the correct information has been added.

Associated Students President gives address at CSUS

2011-03-09T05:50:46Z

Student involvement at a commuter school like Sacramento State has given the Associated Students, Inc. president, Terry Martin, an added task of making the student government organization visible.

ASI members have gone to residence halls to promote their organization. They have gone to local businesses to offer discounts to students who have their student identification, known to students as the OneCard. And they have helped raise funds to keep the Hornet bus line going.

From fees, class sizes and campus life, to the future direction of ASI, Martin addressed student concerns Tuesday in the University Union lobby and suggested that students get involved if they want to see a change. He said students have complained about “poor academic advising,” which has kept students in school longer.

He said the college has begun a course on public advocacy, which teaches students how to get their message across to legislators. “Even though students can vote, they don't have a lot of money, so the class helps give them political power,” Martin said.

The State Hornet, Sacramento State's student newspaper, reported that currently programs that are impacted include graphic and interior design, nursing and business courses and that, next year, the school will be further impacted in psychology, health science and criminal justice. The article states that, currently, psychology classes are set to max out at 25 students, but some professors are seeing up to 44 students in a course.

http://www.statehornet.com/news/impaction-set-to-affect-more-majors-1.2040841

Martin suggested that students join school committees and clubs and noted that the California State University Board of Trustees is looking for student representation on its board. He also noted that in response to Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget of slashing $500 million to CSUs, and students from around the state will converge on the Capitol on March 14.

The ASI office encouraged students to participate and “express their disappointment.”

Organized by California State Association and Student Senate for California Community Colleges, student leaders will lead students on a march from Raley Field to the West Steps of the State Capitol, where a press conference will take place. Buses will be available at Sac State to transport students to Raley Field for the start of the march. Students will meet at Raley Field, and the march will begin at 10 a.m. The march will end at the west steps at 11 a.m., and a press conference will be held at noon.

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

School board approves cuts to teachers, sports and band in 'worst-case scenario' budget

2011-03-05T01:43:38Z

The Sacramento City Unified School District board unanimously voted to balance the district's projected “worst-case” budget shortfall of $22.35 million by eliminating financial support for sports, drama, yearbook, newspaper, marching band, cheerleading and speech and debate.

The proposal is to eliminate “extra pay for extra-duty stipends,” uniform replacements funds, athletic trainer funds and co-curricular transportation funds for a savings of $1.26 million, according to the district.

Board members also voted to reduce the district’s counseling staff by 37 percent, eliminating one assistant principal position at each high school and raising K-3 class sizes at two grade levels. The board previously approved raising class sizes for all other grades – including 40 students per teacher at the high school level.

“It's a horrible scenario. The superintendent and board will still continue to look for ways to fund these programs,” said spokesman Gabe Rosson Friday morning.

The district is racing to meet a March 15 deadline to present a balanced budget to the Sacramento County Office of Education or risk receiving a “negative” rating, which could lead to state takeover. This year’s budgeting process is especially challenging, as the state’s funding of K-12 districts hinges on voters extending current temporary taxes in a June 7 special election.

Gov. Jerry Brown is asking for a two-thirds vote in the State Legislature for such a measure and has given legislators a March 10 deadline. If the taxes are not extended, SCUSD will face a $22.35 million shortfall.

Sacramento Teachers Associated President Linda Tuttle said Friday afternoon that she was shocked the cuts went as deep as they did.

So far, the Legislature has not placed tax extensions on the ballot, but Tuttle said she believes it's more than likely they will make it as the Sacramento Metro Chamber announced its support of the tax extensions.

Tuttle said she calls on voters to choose to fund programs they had when they were students. “What do voters value? These are the things they had in schools. We're at the mercy of the voters,” she said.

Tuttle said that if the tax extensions do get on the ballot and pass, the budget situation would be bearable to teachers. They would have to “only cut 6-9 million – we can do that … oh golly, cut only 6-9 million: That's a ridiculous statement.”

Raising class sizes, which must be negotiated with unions, reduces the need for teachers. The board also approved layoff notices to certificated staff, which includes teachers, counselors and other positions.

Tuttle said that teachers agreed last year to keep class sizes down by giving $95 a month to the district. If the worst-case scenario materializes and class sizes go up, she said the union might seek legal action, though they are hoping they won't go that route.

“These proposed cuts are terrible,” said Superintendent Jonathan Raymond. “There isn’t an expendable position in our district. We have no surplus staff. We have no programs that are simply ‘icing on the cake.’ Sports, drama, yearbook – these are programs students need and deserve. Often, these so-called ‘extras’ are the only reason kids come to school.”

SCUSD’s worst-case shortfall is on top of $177 million in cuts to SCUSD’s budget in the last nine years – a 35 percent reduction in what was once a $500 million budget. Even if voters pass tax extensions in a special election, it is projected that more cuts will be needed to balance SCUSD’s budget for next year, due to the lingering recession and enrollment declines in some areas.

As soon as the 3 p.m. bell rang at Hiram Johnson High School, band teacher Kevin Goings was joined with seven students who are part of a drum lineup who, as music director Luana Hernandez said, were playing just to play.

“We're investing in you right now,” Goings, said when one of them missed a beat. The group gathers about four days a week after school and was started about two years ago when Goings revamped the program, explained Hernandez.

Hernandez noted that because stipends are going to be cut, more impoverished schools will suffer more than others.

To raise awareness of budget issues, the district has been holding a series of community forums. The district also has asked its community to participate in a budget priorities survey, which is available at www.scusd.edu.

In a letter to employees, Raymond urged family members, friends and neighbors throughout the state to contact their elected officials to support getting the tax extensions on the June 7 ballot.

“We need the public to understand that years of the state balancing its budget on the backs of kids has eliminated all the easy solutions to public education under-funding,” Raymond said. “As a colleague of mine recently said, not only is all the ‘low-hanging fruit’ gone, the tree is gone.”

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

Natomas schools closer to state take over

2011-03-04T04:14:16Z

The California School Employees Association Chapter 745 announced last week, that its membership voted to reject the tentative agreement with the Natomas Unified School District.The agreement, if ratified, would have been a major step toward avoiding state takeover and establishing fiscal solvency for the district.

On Jan. 11, the District and CSEA's Negotiations Team reached a tentative agreement with respect to furlough days for the 2011-12 school year, reflecting a 7.9 percent reduction in total compensation.

After negotiating with CSEA nine times since September, district officials said they were disheartened to hear of the rejection.

But to local CSEA Chief Negotiator and immediate past president Omega Brewer, the situation as presented by the district has been “marred with misinformation.” She said it's been a challenging process and that they have every intention on reaching an agreement.

The members wanted an agreement to reflect an equal cut across the board while taking into account how many days a year each person works, she said.

Brewer said the union agreed to the original concessions that the district now says they rejected. She said union members had agreed to a 7.9 percent cut, which equaled 15 to 19 furlough days but when the district came to the union with the supporting documents to have the agreement ratified, it actually reflected 19 to 24 furlough days.

After talking with the district about the discrepancy, Brewer said the district gave the excuse that it was a “calculation error.”

Superintendent Bobbie Plough said on Thursday that while there was an initial miscalculation, it was acknowledged and dealt with in a timely fashion.

“There were questions, and the district agreed to report back to the association. We did it as soon as we could … We made it a priority,” Plough said.

Brewer said the classified staff agreed to give 24 furlough days for this current year but part of agreement was to not backfill.

“Not only did Natomas Unified backfill (classified positions), they backfilled with substitute teachers at $300-$400 per day,” Brewer said.

That was an agreement that was assigned last year, and Plough is new to the district. The superintendent said that as soon as she was aware that was going on, the district immediately stopped the practice.

“I was shocked that was happening. It doesn't make any sense. When that came to my attention, I directed that to stop,” she said.

Brewer said that the union had every right to file unfair labor practice, but it didn't.

“There's not a lot of trust (of the district) from the classified perspective.... If you want things done right, you have to pay for that. There are employees willing to pay that cost. All this mismanagement hurts our children,” she said.

Asked if she feared what would happen if the state took over the district, Brewer said she doesn't know if the union members are scared. “Given actions that have gone on with this district, I don't know if it might be best.”

On Wednesday night, the district and the union worked on the issue again.

“It was a positive session,” Plough said. “I believe we have a structure of a tentative agreement that can be supported by the group.”

The sooner the parties come to an agreement, the better, she said, as for each passing day of not having a ratified agreement, the district moves closer to state takeover.

Earlier this year, the Natomas Teachers Association ratified a tentative agreement with the district that contained furlough days and certificated staff lay-offs totaling a 7.9 percent reduction in total compensation for the 2011-12 school year.

In November, the Board of Trustees approved a 7.9 percent reduction in total compensation during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years for all district management and unrepresented staff.

Last month, Assemblyman Richard Pan said he is required to ask the Legislature for a state “take-over bill,” which he then called a “holding position.” At the time, he recommended that unions and staff make concessions three years out.

http://sacramentopress.com/headline/46012/Assemblyman_Pan_leads_Natomas_Unified_town_hall_meeting

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

Mayor Johnson conducts 'State of the Schools' address

2011-03-01T21:05:10Z

Joined by Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, Mayor Kevin Johnson called for everyone – parents, teachers, community members, union members and students – to work toward making Sacramento one of the finest public education systems in the nation at his first monthly 'State of the Schools' meeting at Oak Park’s Guild Theater on Monday night.

To make the goal a reality, Johnson called for supporters to sign onto a new educational nonprofit called Stand Up, which he stated will focus on five key pillars of great school systems: accountability, parent engagement, human capital, high-quality school choices and effective policy.

Ali said that across the country, a new kind of movement is needed for great change, one that can be an engine for the economy. By 2023, she said more than half of the nation's children will be non-white children of color and by 2050, over half of the nation's adults will be non-white adults.

“That means we have a demographic imperative of closing the achievement gap,” she said.

“It's not just the moral stuff that brings all of you here,” Ali said. “We know schools ought to be the promise of a country, that schools where you could go level the playing field, close the opportunity gap. But you also know there are far too many communities across the country, including right here in Sacramento – the kids that need the most … often get (left behind).”

One in 25 black test takers actually meets the college-ready benchmark, compared to about one in three of their white counterparts, Ali said.

Even if an achievement gap is closed, Ali said, the United States would still be floundering as a country. The most recent international data shows that the nation is now 14th in reading among 34 of developed or developing countries.

Ali shifted her talk to Sacramento, stating that schools in Sacramento “are showing us the way.”

Restating President Barack Obama's goal of making the United States the leader in the world of the percentage of graduates by 2020, Ali said to achieve that, there would need to be 6 million to 8 million more people with college degrees.

Also sharing the stage were a few dozen public school students wearing T-shirts with the words “STAND UP.”

One of the students said she attends PS7 and asked if there would be more “schools like that” to which Johnson replied: “Yes, we're looking to replicate.” He said they're looking at building a school a year over the next five years.

In his State of the City address last month http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/44017/Johnson_presents_agenda_at_State_of_the_City, Johnson identified education reform as one of his top priorities for 2011, and just last week, he and fiancée Michelle Rhee announced Sacramento as the new home for her nonprofit organization, StudentsFirst.

Stand Up Deputy Director Andie Corso said she often gets asked why a mayor should be involved in education, as there is no authority, no budget and no connection to the schools. She said that what they've found out over the last two years is that there is no effective way to govern a city without looking at the interest of its youngest citizens.

Johnson serves as chair for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's Mayors Advisory Council, and he leads the newly formed U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Public Education.

Johnson said teacher retention policies of “last in, first out” are outdated and needs to be changed. The policy, he said, is without regard to performance. The mayor said there are about a dozen states talking about these policies and that he would like to see California change.

“We're not there yet,” he said. “But superintendents locally are going to have to make decisions in the coming weeks and months on who they are going to keep and not keep. Thank goodness if people would say they shouldn't lay off people without looking at if they're teaching effectively or not. It doesn't make any sense.”

Ali said the U.S. Department of Education is seeing “real signs of hope.” She said a few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Education held a labor management conference in Denver.

Interested districts were asked to bring their superintendents, school board presidents and union presidents. They were asked to discuss principles of a new kind of bargaining that puts students at the center. Department officials didn't know how many districts would attend, but she said 100 were put on the waiting list. National union presidents sat with the local chapters to think through a new kind of bargaining that could promote closing the achievement gaps.

“So, in the same way everyone has to leave their comfort zones,” Ali said, “we are seeing that happen in a way that is productive and positive.”

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson discuss education reform

2011-02-26T01:24:12Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson and his fiancée, renown education reformer Michelle Rhee, took the stage Thursday night for their first speaking event in Sacramento at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria to talk about the changing landscape in the world of education.

They held hands, finished each other's sentences, and answered questions from moderator Steven C. Currall, dean of the UC Davis management school as well as some from the crowd of a few hundred attendees. Their appearance came on the heels of the announcement that Rhee's nonprofit educational advocacy organization, StudentsFirst, is now officially headquartered in Sacramento.

The two come from very different backgrounds – Rhee was born into a wealthy family that provided her with a private education while Johnson is a product of the public school system. But their message was the same: Every student should have a good education, no matter where he or she grows up.

Rhee has been in the spotlight for what many deem controversial past practices, and she did not shy away from discussing her political legacy in Washington, D.C., where she most recently worked as public schools chancellor. As she said on Thursday, in the 20 years of her career thus far, she's probably hired and fired more people than anyone else.

In her first year as the chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools, Rhee closed 24 schools, laid off hundreds of teachers – dozens without notice – and her office was ground zero for teacher union protests.

She has said repeatedly, and again on Thursday, that the country's states’ and school districts’ policies of “last in, first out” is outdated and needs to be changed. The policy, she said, is simple – the last teachers hired are the first teachers fired, regardless of how good they are.

To Rhee and her supporters, teachers' impact on students play no role in those decisions. Quoting research from The Economist, she stated that if districts took the bottom-performing 6 percent of teachers and replaced them with average-performing teachers, scores would soar to the top percentile.

Along with Rhee and Johnson, Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker announced earlier this week the launch of a campaign called “Save Great Teachers,” a national campaign that would permanently eliminate the “last in, first out” policy, which they said rids the nation's school systems of effective teachers.

But while Rhee supporters boast improved student achievement, The Washington Post has reported that significant achievement gaps remain between students in high-performing and low-performing school districts, and between white and Black students in the D.C. district.

If Rhee plans on making the same impact in Sacramento that she did in D.C., California Teachers Association President David Sanchez, said in an interview on Friday, “Good luck.”

The CTA is not too afraid at this point, since Rhee can't be involved in any California school district’s layoffs unless she is part of a school district, which she is not.

“She is someone who made it on Time (Magazine), on Oprah. She's the darling of what we call unproven reform, but she's not a state superintendent, not a legislator, she's just someone who is using her celebrity status to make an impact…. I would imagine she is trying to do the same thing (in Sacramento),” Sanchez said.

But in D.C., Sanchez noted, Rhee forgot to tell teachers one thing: why they were being fired.

Rhee said she is a “huge believer” in mayoral control of low-performing schools, as opposed to a school board type of governance.

Speaking to the audience, she said, “You're in a position right now, where you have management, the school board, who are usually elected through union-supported dollars. So, you have unions on both sides of the bargaining table.”

“That's never going to get you a contract.… If we want to change the policy (to benefit) children, you have to change that dynamic.”

Asked whether it was the composition of school boards or the way they get elected, Rhee said that, in a school board-run district, the superintendents will say they spend 50 to 70 percent of their time trying to implement policy just to get five votes and therefore spends his/her time ineffectively.

Shortly after Rhee and he first met, Johnson said they gathered with other “top reformers” such as the then superintendent of schools in Chicago, Arne Duncan, in addition to the founders of Teach for America for a three-day summit in Aspen.

“We were outside of the public sector … and we talked about how we were going to change the world,” Johnson said. “It became very clear that we were going to go back to our respective communities, do what we were doing, but not really change the world.”

To truly make a change, he remembers thinking at the time, the reformers should do two things: One should become superintendent of schools, and another should become mayor.

StudentsFirst staff said Friday that they are currently scouting properties in Sacramento for their headquarters, and since they are looking to expand, there will be job opportunities in town.

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

Assemblyman Pan leads Natomas Unified town hall meeting

2011-02-19T01:04:24Z

Assemblyman Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) led a town hall meeting for the Natomas Unified School District community at Inderkum High School on Thursday night where he and Superintendent Bobbie Plough laid out a plan to help the district prevent a state takeover, or “receivership.”

The town hall meeting came on the heels of a prediction made by County Superintendent David Gordon that NUSD would end up with a negative fund balance in the coming years.

If that projection comes true, then the district would lose local control with a state-appointed receiver in place and a disempowered school board.

As the state legislator for the governing district, Pan said he is required to ask the Legislature for a “take-over bill,” which he called a “holding position for right now.” Pan recommended that unions and staff make concessions three years out.

NUSD management and the Natomas Teachers Association have already agreed to a 7.9 percent pay cut for the 2011-2012 school year, and the district is hopeful that classified staff will agree to similar cuts.

In addition, NUSD, like many districts across the state, has responded to the fiscal crisis by working on two budgets of its own – one that hinges on the hope that tax extensions make it on the June ballot and pass, and a second budget that doesn't. Plough said the second budget would reflect a $350 cut per student or, in other words, a 6 percent additional cut.

“If tax extensions pass and we get agreements from (the) teacher’s association and classified for the 2012-2013, we will make it as a district,” she said. “We need to look at cash flow, and we need to maintain it over the next two years.”

Pan said the state Legislature's goal is to pass a budget at the beginning of March in order to get the tax extensions on the ballot in June. While Pan said the Republicans have not been supportive of putting measures like these on the ballot, he said that doesn't mean Democrats won't be able to find two Republicans who would break from their caucus.

“I'm hopeful colleagues on the other side of the aisle will step up and recognize what impact (the state budget) will have on their school districts,” he said. “We're not the only district having challenges.”

Assuming the extensions are put on the ballot, Pan noted the added difficulty of requiring a two-thirds vote.

NUSD is in a unique and more dire situation than most because it is experiencing declining enrollment due to the economy, and because students are leaving the district schools for charters. Plough said that 300 leave per year to charters, and 100-125 leave because of the economy. District-wide, there are 12,000 students; 3,000 of them have opted for charters.

At the meeting, Assembly Appropriations Committee staff member Kimberly Rodriguez said that because the cost in education is “90 percent people,” NUSD will have to suffer further layoffs or get concessions from unions.

“Savings is going to be people,” she said.

According to the district website, there will be a budget workshop on Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. at the education center located at 1901 Arena Blvd.

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

Sac State launches 'One Student' campaign for sexual assault awareness

2011-02-16T16:39:54Z

“One sexual assault is too many. One student can make a difference.” So goes the slogan for the “One Student” campaign which kicked off locally at Sacramento State University on Tuesday with volunteers collecting pledges from students stating that they would not tolerate sexual assault and that they would themselves be respectful when talking about sex in general.

The campaign doesn’t coincide with any tragic event in particular, it's a response to all sexual violence in general said senior Megan Olson who was collecting pledges inside the student union.

“Students can make a difference in their individual actions. It can be as small as intervening at a party…. Education is the best way to spread any message. (We are) educating students that they can make a difference in stopping sexual violence,” Olson said.

One Student campaign has taken off nationally even though it has its roots in community, said Victim Advocate Jessica Heskin, who has been in the position for 10 years.

Heskin believes campaigns like One Student help because of its focus on “bystander intervention.”

“If you are at a party, at a bar, and you see something go wrong, it's your job to intervene even if you don't know the people involved,” Heskin said, adding that studies have shown that when bystander intervention campaigns are combined with “rich production campaigns” (which include self defense classes), a positive impact develops in terms of campus climate and student empowerment.

As a victim advocate for the university, Heskin is on-call. Anytime a student reports sexual assault, a hate crime, or stalking, the university pages her and she comes to help, informing victims of their rights and options.

Heskin said she has the power to arrange for things like medical or psychological care, counseling and restraining orders.

“Let's say the victim says, 'I don't want to talk to a cop.' That is their right, and I still provide all the supportive services outside the legal system,” she said.

Sacramento State has 28,000 students, and most of the assaults Heskin handles are off-campus. So even if a student is assaulted at a party downtown, she is still able to give services. She said it's unusual for a college to have a victim advocate position, noting that she may be the only one in the entire CSU system.

According to a Nov. 18, 2010 report by Lori Varlotta, vice president for Student Affairs, statistics indicate Sacramento State is a relatively safe campus.

It is ranked 61st out of 450 campuses nationwide and seven out of 44 in California by the FBI Safe School Index. In her report, she lays out “Initiatives to Enhance Campus Safety,” which include:

1. Adding more blue light phones to select areas – Residence Halls
2. Augmenting outside lighting
3. Bolstering the CSO – Community Service Officer Program
4. Increasing vehicle patrol – including a truck with flashing lights
5. Maintaining bike patrol program
6. Increasing the use of video surveillance is under consideration

Jessica Spohn is a student manager for health and wellness program on campus, and she explains that sexual assault can be a difficult topic because nobody really wants to talk about it.

“It is something that is very personal, but what we're trying to do is to get the message out that it's OK to talk about it. Because most people do know their perpetrator. It's not the stranger coming out from behind the bushes kind of thing,” she said

Spohn said there are various resources to help out including: campus police, the victim advocate,
free counseling and psychological services and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans-gender/ Women's resource center.

Sacramento State campus police can be reached at all hours at 278-6900 for emergencies and 278-6851 for non-emergency calls. Blue phone are found outdoors all around campus; no dialing is necessary. You can also use any wired phone on campus and dial 86900 for emergency or 86851 for police non-emergency. The campus police department is located directly east of parking structure three.

Monica Stark can be reached at monica.stark@sacramentopress.com

River City High School seniors participate in marriage fundraiser

2011-02-15T02:59:43Z

West Sacramento's River City High School seniors began what they call a “Marriage Fundraiser” on Valentine's Day, which will last one week and attempt to bring much needed funds for extracurricular activities such as their senior trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and San Francisco. Unlike marriages issued by the state, anyone can get married and it costs only $1

It was a marriage free-for-all in the cafeteria. Students lined up at lunchtime and gathered with their friends. Some married their best friends and others married more than one friend. Ceremonies were held that included an exchange of vows and ring pops. Once completed, some chose to have their picture taken and receive a marriage certificate.

The senior class hopes to raise at least $200.

“The students here at River City love this fundraiser, which is partly the reason why we do it every year,” said Associated Student Body President Michelle Truong, “Not only do we want to raise money, but we also want to have some fun here at River City because high school is not all about academics.”

Same-sex couples ask for marriage certificates

2011-02-15T02:54:50Z

Gay couples and their straight friends came to the Sacramento County Clerk-Recorder's office on Valentine's Day seeking marriage certificates to protest the ban on gay marriage.

As loved ones held hands and formed a line inside the office, they were individually asked by Chief Deputy Donna Allred if they were married and if their union consisted of a man and a woman. But when asked, Equality Action Now founder replied, “Female. Female. I'm married.”

Reynolds and her wife got married shortly before the passage of Proposition 8, during the brief window in which same-sex marriage licenses were issued between June 16, 2008 and Nov. 5, 2008, when they ended.

The petition to marry coincided with cities nationwide in which same-sex couples requested marriage licenses at their local County Clerk’s Offices. The effort, Request Marriage Sacramento, attempted to raise awareness of the harms and the impact the inability to marry brings their families.

The year before Reynolds and her wife were married, they had a commitment ceremony, Reynolds said at a press conference Monday. Their granddaughters asked, “What is a commitment ceremony?” Reynolds told the girls, who were ages 3, 4 and 5 at the time, “It's where your grandmothers say they're going to love each other forever.”

A year later, Reynolds told the girls that she was getting married, to which the girls responded, “Yay, you're getting married. That means you'll be together forever.”

Reynolds pointed out that at 3, 4 and 5, and at 4, 5 and 6 – the word marriage makes a difference.

“They know what marriage means, and I am here to say, legally this is a civil rights fight, and we are gonna show up until all people have equal rights,” she said.

The organizers were not asking the clerk to break the law on Monday. According to Ken Pierce, an organizer of Request Marriage Sacramento, it's the awareness that there are thousands of same-sex couples who are in committed relationships, some of which have families and are not given equal rights under the law.

This is the 10th year this event has taken place, and it will continue every year until gays have full marriage equality, he said.

“We want adults who pay taxes and are citizens to experience what it is like for a governmental representative to look them in the eye and tell them that they don't have the same rights as other adult, taxpaying individuals,” Pierce said.

That's why straight supporters of gay marriage were encouraged to come out and go into the clerk's office with a same-sex partner and experience what the same-sex couples experience everyday.

Julie Tindall, Sacramento County Chapter Leader of Marriage Equality USA, is one of the straight supporters who believes that everyone should have the same rights as her.

“I was born with the right to marry. So why would people have to fight for a right I was born with? That's just awful to me,” said Tindall, who signed on with Marriage Equality right after the passage of Prop. 8. “That's when I felt that it was time to become involved.”

While the Prop. 8 case still remains in court, organizers hope this is the last year they will need to demonstrate the fact that the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer community is the subject of state-sanctioned discrimination. Tindall said the discrimination fueled by Prop. 8 is not necessarily supported by the Sacramento County clerk's office.

“People like to say that the voters have spoken – the will of the people. That's an argument I hear a lot. I think we all do,” said Tindall.

“Well, guess what? When the people vote, we do not have the right to violate the United States Constitution … 52 percent of California voters violated the right of a group of people by writing discriminatory language in our state constitution. And that is not acceptable,” continued Tindall.

For 22-year-old Joey O’shea, Valentine’s Day is a day when people celebrate their love for one another. However, he said he finds it hard to believe that one day he will be able to celebrate his marriage on Valentine's Day because of recent events.

“Marriage just isn't a piece of paper that says that you and your spouse are together. Marriage is a bond that tells the world that I love this person no matter what. We all fall in love, whether we are gay or straight. Love has no bounds, no walls and neither should marriage,” said O'shea.