(Dusty Knapp/College of the Desert)

(Dusty Knapp/College of the Desert)

Dusty Knapp /Courtesy Photo

Do you have photos from this event?

Send your photos to: chaparral@collegeofthedesert.edu

(Dusty Knapp/College of the Desert)

(Dusty Knapp/College of the Desert)

Dusty Knapp /Courtesy Photo

Do you have photos from this event?

Send your photos to: chaparral@collegeofthedesert.edu

Community colleges across the state have joined the fight against the Student Success Task Force (The Guardsman/Courtesy Photo)

The California Community College Student Success Task Force is a name that parodies itself.

The task force, charged with revolutionizing community colleges across California, assembled an eighty-page document that will tear apart junior colleges as we know them.

The Task Force’s report is meant to shape the laws of Sacramento politicians, and the report and the recommendations within will be seen as the view of all of us. We can’t let that happen.

The report recommends dismantling noncredit courses, making one-size fits all tests for the diverse state of California, disassembling local college boards, overcharging students returning for their second degrees, and requiring any student not transferring to a university within a strict two year deadline to pay outrageously expensive out-of-state fees.

The Task Force recommendations will benefit higher-income students more, while students who struggle and work through school will be hit hardest. These recommendations would close off higher education to California’s 99 percent and slam the door shut behind them.

The Student Success Task Force is funded almost entirely by private interests, including The Lumina Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Some of these private interests have ties to private businesses that would directly benefit from the privatization of community college services, which the report recommends California to do. We cannot let the one percent take away California’s most accessible means of upward mobility. The Task Force is aiming to have all of it’s

Proposals written into legislation by January, 2012.

This isn’t just a matter of politics; red versus blue, republican versus democrat, or part of some high minded bar-room argument on what our values in education should be. In as little as a year, the legislation enacted by the Task Force would wreck the lives of over 200,000 Californian students: your neighbors, your family, your friends and any California citizen who has ever held the dream of a college degree.

We at The Guardsman want to arm you in this fight against the one percent: inside this issue we have a pullout section that shows you every proposal by the Task Force, and on this front page we have a list of phone numbers and emails so you can let our government know that you support community colleges.

Join us by calling up our government between the dates of December 7 and January 30, and joining us with a united voice. Now is the time to take action. Take on the fight, take a stand, and join the Community Colleges of California in the most critical battle we’ve ever faced: the battle for the soul of our education.

by Ivan Delgado
Staff Reporter

Construction on the new Communications building begins with the traditional groundbreaking with shovels. (Ivan Delgado/The Chaparral)

Construction on the new Communications building kicked off with the celebratory groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. The ceremony took place at College of the Desert, across the courtyard from the Cravens Student Services Center.

The ceremony began with a speech by President Jerry Patton, who acknowledged that the new building was a part of the Measure B bond project that was passed in 2004. Measure B has provided funding for projects such as  the Cravens Student Services Center, the Barker Nursing Complex, and the East Valley Campus in Mecca. The purpose of the bond measure is to update the facilities on the aging campus for decades to come.

“These facility improvements have offered the first major upgrade since the college was built,” said Patton, “We have architects busy designing a new fine arts building, a new campus in downtown Indio, and a  new campus in Palm Springs”.

Jerry Patton was followed by Tony Disalvo, Dean of Communications and Humanities, along with a few Communications major students. The first student was Ellis Rodriguez, who is currently enrolled in American Sign Language 3, and President of the American Sign Language Club. Ruben Ramirez, former COD student applying for a Master’s degree in creative writing in various schools across the country. “I encourage the hearing individuals who are students at COD to learn our language, so that we can enjoy as much associations support as we can,” signed Rodriguez.

The Communications building is set to house programs such as English Composition, English as a Second Language, Literature, Reading, and Speech Communication. The building will also provide language courses which include French, German, Italian, Japanese, and American Sign Language. According to Tony Disalvo, the new Communications building will bring the English teaching faculty under one roof, “providing an updated office space, and sorely needed meeting rooms for both the full time and adjunct faculty.”

There will be four computer assisted Language Arts classrooms, 20 technologically enhanced general classrooms, and several dedicated spaces for showcasing the many accomplishments and successes of students at COD.

Site preparation has already begun on the 35,500 square foot building, and it is one of several Phase One projects paid for by the $346.5 million bond issue. This project however, is estimated to cost $17.3 million, and will complete in the Spring of 2013. By law, bond proceeds can only be used for facilities, and cannot be used to help offset the more recent state budget cuts to operations.

by Ani Mikaelian
Staff Reporter 

(Christmas/Courtesy of last.fm)

As Christmastime draws closer each year, there is a tradition that keeps encouraging musicians to release holiday albums. It’s only a matter of time before new artists and groups fall into line and put together a festive compilation to entertain their fans, and draw in new ones who show deep interest in pop-cultured Christmas carols.

The twenty-eleven holiday season has seen albums from She & Him, Michael Bublé, and Lady Gaga. Each artist has provided their own rendition of popular hits such as “Sleigh Ride,” “Baby, it’s Cold Outside,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “White Christmas.”

Don’t forget the compilations made up by various artists. This year Starbucks will be blasting the Let It Snow album which features Andrea Bocelli, Bob Dylan, Death Cab For Cutie, and Elvis Presley among many others.

On top of that there is also This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday Vol. 2, a collection of acoustic hits by Jack Johnson, Matt Costa, Rogue Wave, and a few similar artists.

The winter holidays offer so much versatility when it comes to songwriting, whether it be about the family coming together, celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or even appreciating the snow and extra blankets.

These musicians want to keep the spirit alive by singing and playing it for your very own ears.

by Ivan Delgado
Staff Reporter

College of the Desert football team. (College of the Desert/Courtesy Photo)

There is a lot of value that students can gain from their participation in athletics including team-building, leadership development, and academic discipline. However, in a time of unprecedented budget crisis affecting the college, in a time when classes are being cut, should everything be looked at?

It turns out, everything is being looked at. So far, 129 items have been reviewed by the College Planning Council (CPC), which is looking into how much is being spent on athletics, as well as staffing structures, parking fees, and activities, to try and balance the budget.

According to Adrian Gonzalez, dean of student support program and services, there has been discussion about the cost of the college’s athletics program, but the results of that discussion are to be turned in to the CPC, and will be made public in February. As of this writing, no recommendation have been made by the Co-Curricular Think Tank regarding the athletics program.

In a time of economic crisis, and classes being cut with more students being turned away each year, how has the athletics program managed to stay afloat when $60,000 worth of cuts have already been made?

One answer is the football team’s self-sufficiency. Out-of-state students coming to COD pay higher fees in order to remain on campus. “There are a lot of student athletes that are from out-of-state, so they are paying more money to this college team to take classes here,” said Gonzalez.

Students coming in from out-of-state, whose fees are dramatically higher than those who are native to the valley, generate a majority of the athletics program’s budget. The reason being, is that this money does not go to the state, it goes directly to the school.

According to Dean Dowty, interim coordinator of the athletics program, in a program consisting of 400 students, 50-60 athletic students ranging from international to nationwide, contribute up to $350,000 in fees. The athletics program works with a budget of $800,000, so almost half of the program’s budget is derived from students who are not from the valley.

Dowty specified that the athletics budget employs close to 50 people, on a budget that would cost three or four full-time instructors. On average, a coach is paid less than $5,000 a year.

What do students think about when athletics comes to mind? For student-athletes themselves, sports come in second to academics.

“What’s interesting about student athletes is that they have to take a certain number of units to even be eligible, and maintain a solid GPA just to be eligible to play,” said Gonzalez. “Compared to the broader group of students, student athletes tend to have a pretty decent GPA.”

Unlike co-curricular classes where students sign up, athletics maintains strict rules that students have to follow. “In athletics, there is a very specific academic achievement that has to be going on at all times to be a part of it,” said Dowty.

“Students have to be taking a minimum of 12 units per semester, with a minimum of nine transferable credits,” said Dowty.

The athletic department is projected to provide 15-20 full scholarships and millions of dollars in scholarship money.

The COD Roadrunner football team started off hot, winning four of its first five games of the season. Unfortunately, the Roadrunners were not able to keep pace, losing three of the remaining five games on the schedule, all to teams that were playoff bound.

For the team as a whole, the year has not been easy. One teammate was stabbed, off the field.  And then the team had to endure several close games with anything but happy endings.  Through it all though, players were able to keep their poise and finish out the season.

by Jayel Aheram
Editor-in-Chief

Source: RealClearPolitics.com

Despite months of being crowned the inevitable Republican nominee by the corporate media, Mitt Romney’s polling numbers have been steady. With the exception of New Hampshire where he enjoys a 40 percent support, there seems to be a hard ceiling of support all over the country.

Jonathan Bernstein pointed out that Romney’s mediocre numbers do not mean GOP primary voters hate Romney; they are just not passionate about him. So it could be that Romney will consolidate this support and turn that ceiling into a floor.

The thing that is worth noting, however, is the fact that unlike Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain whose poll numbers surged because of increased media coverage, Romney’s numbers have remained constant despite consistent, overwhelming, and positive media coverage.

I argue that Bachmann, Perry, and Cain’s numbers surged because of increased coverage. It is not until that coverage became overwhelmingly negative due in large part to these candidates’ numerous gaffes that their numbers tanked. If Romney were ever to experience the same level of mocking media scrutiny that Bachmann, Perry, and Cain had to and deservedly suffered, could anyone in the pundit class still say with a straight face that Romney is the “inevitable” nominee?

It is bizarre to me that the conservative GOP base have come to accept Romney’s flip-flops while at the same time harshly condemning the other candidates for doing similar things. Will partisan GOP and principled conservatives play along with the approved corporate media narrative that Romney will be the nominee?

The corporate media intends to be the GOP’s kingmaker with the nomination of Romney… and thus handing the election to Barack Obama.

by Will Guzman
Section Editor

(Charles Fortis/Courtesy Photo)

The beach bowl game ended with College of the Deser’s loss, but that did not stop quarterback Charles Fortis from receiving an award for offensive MVP.

Fortis threw for 330 yards with two touchdowns in the game. Fortis kept a high mentality going into the game and his focus was the main key.

“As a sophomore, we knew it was our last game so the week of practice we trained are hardest,” said Fortis. “We were focused along with the coaches and I knew in my mind if we played College of the Desert football we could win the game, but football is a funny game.”

“I wasn’t expecting to receive an award, my teammates helped me out to get the award. I couldn’t do it by myself,” a surprised Fortis said after receiving his award. “We did good, my whole line helped me out and my receivers of course put up good numbers.”

Fortis, originally from San Bernardino, claims he was better at baseball than at football. It was not until Coach Dean Dowty approached him and suggested he play quarterback, that Fortis decided to hit the field as a football player.

With the bittersweet night behind him, Fortis can only look forward to a promising future.

by Lucinda Perez
Online Manager

Veteran Santa Mike Allen hides a smile under his beard as a child tells him her Christmas wishes at the Palm Springs tree lighting ceremony on Thurs. Dec. 1. (Sofie Casassa/The Chaparral)

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Palm Springs Festival of Lights parade. On Dec. 3, like every year before, those who sat out along the Palm Springs streets to watch the lighted floats were treated to a special appearance from Santa Claus.

Michael Allen, an insurance agent from Palm Springs, has played Santa Claus for the Festival of Lights since the inaugural parade 20 years ago. Allen was an obvious fit for the role, with his previous 24 years as the official Santa Claus for the city of Palm Springs. As the official Santa Claus, Allen also visits the Palm Springs Christmas tree lighting ceremony every year.

“My big heart and maybe my big belly,” Allen says, is why he has continued to play Santa Claus for 44 years around the valley.

He does not take his official Santa Claus title lightly. He takes all measures to portray Father Christmas as authentically as possible. Allen says in the past he has used multiple wigs and suits, and has even had his hair professionally done so that he can better look the part for everyone he entertains during the Christmas season.

As the official Santa Claus of Palm Springs, many years ago, Allen even taught Santa Claus classes. Included in the lesson plan for the other Kris Kringles who put on the big, red suit is to have the proper, believable responses for the questions asked by the curious children they entertain. One of the common questions Allen gets from children is “where are your sleigh and your reindeer?” Allen’s answer to the young, inquiring minds of those children is usually something like, “they are at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, playing in the snow. They like it where it is really cold.” Of course, already with their vivid imagination captured, he continues “The nice people let me ride the tram down and gave me a ride here.” Allen believes in the importance of keeping up the character for all of the children and making himself as real as he can be for their benefit and imagination.

“I’ve got the belly and the laugh, and that’s important because […] the kids eight to twelve will question you,” he says. Those kids are the ones who will inevitably try to tug on his beard and disprove him as the real Santa Claus. “I sit back and tell them to give it their best shot,” he explains. When they tug at his beard, the children’s response is always the same, “Oh wow, it really is real!”

Another trick of Allen’s, for his Christmas night appearances, is to take the children outside and show them the red light of the Palm Springs Tram, shining atop the Valley mountains. He explains to the children that the red light shining is actually Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer’s shiny, glowing nose.

In addition to his official duties for the city of Palm Springs, over the years, Allen has also played Santa for several celebrities and some presidents. He has been Santa for Sonny Bono, Frank Sinatra and Gerald Ford. He also does special appearances for different events and at hospitals.

Allen explains that not much has changed in playing jolly old Saint Nicholas. He says, “The little girls still want Barbie dolls and the little boys still want fast toys.” He has no plans to retire from his role any time soon. He enjoys playing Santa Claus, and will continue to play the character until he is no longer able.

by Christopher Livingston
Staff Reporter

As the California budget cuts continue, they have affected departments like education and the post office. Next on the list: law enforcement.

The California Department of Justice reported that out of 52 anti-gang and drug task forces, only 18 will remain. Among the sectors to be eliminated are the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and the Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence. 227 arrests have been made this year in these departments, according to Violent Crime Gang Task Force Commander Ken Bambrick. The agencies were also notable for playing a role in the conviction of Scott Peterson, who murdered his pregnant wife in 2002.

In Riverside County, the Sheriff’s Department will take over the void the budget cuts will leave. “The agencies are still all participating in the task forces. Just the supervision of those task forces will become the responsibility of the sheriff’s department,” Chief Deputy Rodney Vigue told KESQ. Statewide, 171 special agents will be laid off due to the budget cuts.

The Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES), a program that puts physicians and law enforcement together to track down people who are misusing prescription drugs, will also be affected by the cut. According to a report issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prescription (CDC), prescription painkiller overdoses are nationally reaching “epidemic levels” — tripling within the past decade alone.

As the planned cuts have been announced, retaliation is imminent. The California State Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) is working towards a plan to stabilize funding for the agencies and keep the threatened jobs alive.