ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Styling a New Career
Cosmetology supported Elva Salinas as she studied to become an English literature professor

In His Element
Mesa College chemistry professor loves being in the classroom, opening students’ eyes to the wonders of science.

College for Kids
City College’s child development program would have to double to in size to meet current demand.

Parking 101
The first lesson for Mesa College students is the art of finding a parking space.

Lighten Up
Marilyn Biggica shares her low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar recipes for health with students in community cooking classes.

Go With the Flow
Dorothy Simpson has adapted to the waves of innovation in business communication technologies.

News Beat
Veteran journalist guides Mesa College student reporters to create an award-winning campus newspaper.

Close Encounters
Despite cramped locker rooms, no interview areas or parking spaces, the College Police Department continues to keep campuses safe.

Chancellor's Page
The children of baby boomers flood classrooms beyond capacity and state funding.

Development News
Washington Mutual donates $35,000 for future teachers project; EDS equips classroom for computer training.

Factoids
Miscellaneous tidbits of news

Newsmakers Accomplishments of faculty and staff…

Unlike their parents who may have voluntarily participated in sit-ins on college campuses during the protests of the ’60s, far too many of these young adults were sitting on classroom floors because there weren’t enough chairs. Like their parents, however, they were making a strong statement. The message of these students is that education is very important to them. Unfortunately, not all of them were able to get the classes they need because the colleges have run out of room and resources.

More than 10,500 students were on waiting lists to get into already overflowing classes during the first weeks of the college semester. By the middle of September, the colleges were able to accommodate only 4,700 students on the waiting lists.

Community colleges throughout California had record increases in students this fall, up 6.9 percent statewide over the same time last year, yet San Diego’s colleges surged even higher with a 12.5 percent increase. In fact, the increase in our enrollment in San Diego — nearly 5,000 students — is greater than the total enrollment at several community colleges in California.

Faculty and staff made valiant efforts to serve all students. Miramar professor Mike McPherson agreed to accept 57 students in one of his psychology classes that normally caps at 40 students. Mesa College professor Roger Gee also took students over his accounting class cap of 35, but he still had to turn away 23 students. Some 50 students were crammed into a math class, but an additional 30 students had to be turned away. These scenarios were repeated in classroom after classroom and in science and occupational laboratories.

California’s higher education master plan, which has been in place since 1960, guarantees access to education for all who can profit from instruction. The challenges at our colleges and Centers for Education and Technology bring into question whether we are fulfilling that promise.

In a revision of the state’s education master plan, a final report released this year by the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education states, “The students who have been served least well in our public schools, colleges and universities — largely students from low-income families and students of color — also make up an ever greater proportion of California’s increasing population; we must extend to them the same degree of educational promise that has been provided to the generations of California students that preceded them.”

For the sake of current and future generations of San Diegans and all Californians, we must find the will and the way to make the promise of educational opportunity a reality.