Wow! Thursday morning, during a campus disaster drill, nobody seemed to care or did not know what to do.
Some students and faculty calmly walked out of their respected buildings and stood outside the school.
There were a lot of students just wandering around campus however.
There was not much of a police presence on campus, at least not a noticeable one.
Business as usual was continued outside of the evacuated buildings.
The student trustee election was still going on as if there was no campus evacuation and the candidates, along with their supporters, were still passing out fliers to students that passed by.
Even though it was only a drill, it should still be taken seriously.
If it isn’t being taken seriously, is it really helping anyone? Why even have the drill if it is not done properly?
Maybe the campus should have the drills more often, because once a year just is not enough.
Making it at least once a semester seems reasonable because there are new students on campus every semester and it would help them.
If a disaster occurred right now, not many people would be adequately prepared for the real thing.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
A day late or a story short
This last week we came out a day later than usual but it was for a good reason.
There was a story developing and it was in our best interest to come out a day late.
The Board of Trustees has been contemplating whether what action if any was going to be taken in the matter of school president Dr. Noelia Vela.
There was a board meeting on Wednesday night and there was an item on the agenda pertaining to the situation.
Therefore, if we came out on Wednesday we would have missed the story if anything had happened.
Nothing did come out of the meeting but it was still crucial that I held off.
If I did not hold the paper one and a decisions was made then I would have not been able to put it into print until a week later.
This whole, Dr. Vela situation has actually been a great learning experience for me.
Watching the whole thing unfold and hearing all the stories that people have on their dealings with Dr. Vela has been eye opening.
No matter what the outcome the Board of trustees needs to come to a conclusion so everyone can get on with the business of education.
There was a story developing and it was in our best interest to come out a day late.
The Board of Trustees has been contemplating whether what action if any was going to be taken in the matter of school president Dr. Noelia Vela.
There was a board meeting on Wednesday night and there was an item on the agenda pertaining to the situation.
Therefore, if we came out on Wednesday we would have missed the story if anything had happened.
Nothing did come out of the meeting but it was still crucial that I held off.
If I did not hold the paper one and a decisions was made then I would have not been able to put it into print until a week later.
This whole, Dr. Vela situation has actually been a great learning experience for me.
Watching the whole thing unfold and hearing all the stories that people have on their dealings with Dr. Vela has been eye opening.
No matter what the outcome the Board of trustees needs to come to a conclusion so everyone can get on with the business of education.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
A recap of the semester so far
Since the paper is a little, more than halfway over I thought I would recap the semester so far and tell about my experiences as Editor-in-Chief.
The vote of no confidence
First off, the biggest news stories so far is that the Faculty Senate voted in favor of no confidence in the ability of Dr. Noelia Vela and the classified voted to support the Faculties decision.
This story is not going away soon the Board of Trustees still has to make a decision what they will do and the Faculty and Dr. Vela are still in discussions on how to fix the problems that the senate feels is the reason for its vote.
Reconstruction of the campus
One of the reasons the Faculty Senate decided to vote no confidence was due to the lack of communication with the Master Plan.
It felt left out of the decision making process.
Something that people miss about this is that for the most part campus reconstruction is a good thing.
It rebuilds many of the buildings on campus that is much needed.
However, it does this at a great cost especially to the Athletic Department.
It take away instructional space that is, at least the department thinks is much needed.
There must be a compromise so the school can begin construction of much need new buildings.
My Time as Editor-in-Chief and thoughts about where the paper needs to go
Well I think we have done many of the things that I wanted to do at the beginning of the semester and I believe that there has been a lot of improvement since the semester began.
However, I do think that I have let down the community of Cerritos College in some ways.
First of I promised that the Website would be updated twice a week and so far I have not been able to do this.
I thought that I would be easier then it turned out to be and for that, I apologize.
Also, even though, I believe that we have done a great job covering the campus we can do better.
This year sports has not been covered as well as I hoped.
Last year I was Sports Editor and covered most of the sporting events that occurred on campus, but this year because of covering other at time and just taking on too much at others, I have not been able to do that this year.
I apologize to the teams on campus and over the remaining five paper we have I will try to rectify this.
One thing I believe will help not only the paper but also the students at Cerritos is the creation of a MySpace page.
I we can reach a larger audience and get students more involved in the campus.
Overall, I am happy with the performance of the staff and I hope that I can continue to improve and finish the semester with five strong papers.
The vote of no confidence
First off, the biggest news stories so far is that the Faculty Senate voted in favor of no confidence in the ability of Dr. Noelia Vela and the classified voted to support the Faculties decision.
This story is not going away soon the Board of Trustees still has to make a decision what they will do and the Faculty and Dr. Vela are still in discussions on how to fix the problems that the senate feels is the reason for its vote.
Reconstruction of the campus
One of the reasons the Faculty Senate decided to vote no confidence was due to the lack of communication with the Master Plan.
It felt left out of the decision making process.
Something that people miss about this is that for the most part campus reconstruction is a good thing.
It rebuilds many of the buildings on campus that is much needed.
However, it does this at a great cost especially to the Athletic Department.
It take away instructional space that is, at least the department thinks is much needed.
There must be a compromise so the school can begin construction of much need new buildings.
My Time as Editor-in-Chief and thoughts about where the paper needs to go
Well I think we have done many of the things that I wanted to do at the beginning of the semester and I believe that there has been a lot of improvement since the semester began.
However, I do think that I have let down the community of Cerritos College in some ways.
First of I promised that the Website would be updated twice a week and so far I have not been able to do this.
I thought that I would be easier then it turned out to be and for that, I apologize.
Also, even though, I believe that we have done a great job covering the campus we can do better.
This year sports has not been covered as well as I hoped.
Last year I was Sports Editor and covered most of the sporting events that occurred on campus, but this year because of covering other at time and just taking on too much at others, I have not been able to do that this year.
I apologize to the teams on campus and over the remaining five paper we have I will try to rectify this.
One thing I believe will help not only the paper but also the students at Cerritos is the creation of a MySpace page.
I we can reach a larger audience and get students more involved in the campus.
Overall, I am happy with the performance of the staff and I hope that I can continue to improve and finish the semester with five strong papers.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The road to Stockton
The women’s basketball team beat Antelope Valley Saturday and are now going to the to Stockton to compete in the quarter finals of the state tournament.
The Cerritos College sports program has had a great year already.
The Falcons have already won the women’s soccer title and the men’s team made to the quarterfinals.
The women’s water polo team won its first ever playoff game.
And the wrestling team finished second in the state this year.
No matter what happens to the women’s basketball team it is a great accomplishment by a great group of student athletes.
During Saturday’s game the team played with great heart, allowing only seven points in the first half and creating nine turnovers.
This is the first time since 2002 the Falcons have made it to the quarterfinal round.
The team has played well all season and is getting exactly what it deserves, a chance to prove itself against the best teams California has to offer.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The vote is in
The Faculty Senate of Cerritos College voted on Tuesday in favor of no confidence for school President/Superintendent Dr. Noelia Vela.
Vela voiced that she would have liked the senate to push back the vote to give her a chance to discuss the problem it had with her.
But, the senate deiced overwhelmingly to go ahead with the vote.
This was a historic event.
The Faculty Senate has never voted no confidence in the school president.
But besides that what will happen next?
What will the Board of Trustees do with the information that is being provided from the Faculty Senate about what led to its decision?
I guess we will have to wait and see what will all come about after the historic vote by the senate.
I just hope that the Board of Trustees puts in the same amount of effort in making its decision that the senate put in its.
Vela voiced that she would have liked the senate to push back the vote to give her a chance to discuss the problem it had with her.
But, the senate deiced overwhelmingly to go ahead with the vote.
This was a historic event.
The Faculty Senate has never voted no confidence in the school president.
But besides that what will happen next?
What will the Board of Trustees do with the information that is being provided from the Faculty Senate about what led to its decision?
I guess we will have to wait and see what will all come about after the historic vote by the senate.
I just hope that the Board of Trustees puts in the same amount of effort in making its decision that the senate put in its.
Monday, February 18, 2008
A vote of no confidence
With the upcoming vote of no confidence on Dr. Noelia Vela, president/superintendent of Cerritos College, I thought I would throw a few questions I had out there.
First off why are is the Faculty Senate voting no confidence is because it wants change for the better or just change for sake of change.
Is Vela really that bad? Sure, she really does not talk t anyone at the Talon Marks and what have heard is that she really is not that great of a communicator.
However, is that worth the money the school will have to use to fire her?
Will the Board of Trustees fire Vela if the Faculty Senate votes no confidence?
The Board of Trustees is a group of elected officials and the voters would probably not like it if it fires a woman that it just gave a three-year extension too.
If she is fired what steps will be taken to ensure that the school will not have to do this again?
If it fires Vela is should seriously take a look at changing the way the school hires people or in a few years we will be going through the same thing.
First off why are is the Faculty Senate voting no confidence is because it wants change for the better or just change for sake of change.
Is Vela really that bad? Sure, she really does not talk t anyone at the Talon Marks and what have heard is that she really is not that great of a communicator.
However, is that worth the money the school will have to use to fire her?
Will the Board of Trustees fire Vela if the Faculty Senate votes no confidence?
The Board of Trustees is a group of elected officials and the voters would probably not like it if it fires a woman that it just gave a three-year extension too.
If she is fired what steps will be taken to ensure that the school will not have to do this again?
If it fires Vela is should seriously take a look at changing the way the school hires people or in a few years we will be going through the same thing.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
What, no Hot Dogs?
What is a baseball game with no hot dogs?
During the game on Friday, snack bar wasn’t open so I was not able to enjoy two of the biggest traditions in baseball.
No peanuts sold and no hot dogs on the grill that and without those things it did not even feel like a baseball game.
Besides that, it was fun going to my first college baseball game and my first game of the new year.
Whenever the baseball season starts, I get hyped up because there is nothing better then watching a game during and eating some hot dogs and peanuts.
The team did not play well mostly because the pitching absolutely sucked.
The Falcons got off to a good early start scoring four runs in the in the first three innings but only scored one in the last five.
The starter, George Sanchez, went three solid innings then lost control and walks killed him.
The bullpen did not do much better.
Other then the game I saw that the players take care of their own field. They watered it and raked it I just thought that was interesting.
There also was a scout in attendance; I hope they weren’t looking for pitching.
During the game on Friday, snack bar wasn’t open so I was not able to enjoy two of the biggest traditions in baseball.
No peanuts sold and no hot dogs on the grill that and without those things it did not even feel like a baseball game.
Besides that, it was fun going to my first college baseball game and my first game of the new year.
Whenever the baseball season starts, I get hyped up because there is nothing better then watching a game during and eating some hot dogs and peanuts.
The team did not play well mostly because the pitching absolutely sucked.
The Falcons got off to a good early start scoring four runs in the in the first three innings but only scored one in the last five.
The starter, George Sanchez, went three solid innings then lost control and walks killed him.
The bullpen did not do much better.
Other then the game I saw that the players take care of their own field. They watered it and raked it I just thought that was interesting.
There also was a scout in attendance; I hope they weren’t looking for pitching.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Just a few observations
Snow Day
Covering the Snow Day at the Child Development Center was fun because see people that really care about molding the next generation is so heart warming.
In addition, as an alumnus of the Child Development Center it was cool because it brought back so many memories such as being dropped off by my mom with my cousin.
The facility of the Child Development Center along with most teachers are under appreciated but do such a great job sculpting young minds.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball team looks strong and is poised to go far in the playoffs this season.
Another thing is that the players are so fun to interview because unlike the men they don’t talk in clichés.
Upcoming Accreditation
With accreditation, loaming the college held a conference to tell the facility members what to expect for the accreditation team.
Vice-President Bill Farmer told the attendees what it is like being on an accreditation team.
He also said the team would walk around to talk to students to find out what they think about the school.
Talon Marks
This will be the first week we have back-to-back issues so this is we will prove how good we will be.
We have some thing we need to improve on but if we continue to improve, we will have a very good paper this year.
Covering the Snow Day at the Child Development Center was fun because see people that really care about molding the next generation is so heart warming.
In addition, as an alumnus of the Child Development Center it was cool because it brought back so many memories such as being dropped off by my mom with my cousin.
The facility of the Child Development Center along with most teachers are under appreciated but do such a great job sculpting young minds.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball team looks strong and is poised to go far in the playoffs this season.
Another thing is that the players are so fun to interview because unlike the men they don’t talk in clichés.
Upcoming Accreditation
With accreditation, loaming the college held a conference to tell the facility members what to expect for the accreditation team.
Vice-President Bill Farmer told the attendees what it is like being on an accreditation team.
He also said the team would walk around to talk to students to find out what they think about the school.
Talon Marks
This will be the first week we have back-to-back issues so this is we will prove how good we will be.
We have some thing we need to improve on but if we continue to improve, we will have a very good paper this year.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Too many Propositions
I have been researching the propositions on the ballot for the upcoming election on Feb. 5, especially prop. 92, and I have realized I thing for sure and that is there are too many Proposition on the ballot.
Propositions are not necessarily a bad thing, but with so many on the ballot this year and with the presidential primary at stake as well how really has the time to make an informed decision about propositions to vote yes on and what ones to vote no on.
In the past, I have always voted no on the propositions that were on the ballot because I thought to myself is this not the job of the elected officials, that’s what we pay them for don’t we.
However, this year is different, at least for me, because there is a proposition that directly affects college students, Prop. 92, so I took the time and researched and I still haven’t figured out which way I will vote.
Both sides make a compiling argument, but which side is right and what are they not telling me.
I just think that the people that have the time to read each law carefully enough to make an educated decision are the one people that are elected as our representatives and if they make a mistake then we fire them and hire new leaders.
Propositions are not necessarily a bad thing, but with so many on the ballot this year and with the presidential primary at stake as well how really has the time to make an informed decision about propositions to vote yes on and what ones to vote no on.
In the past, I have always voted no on the propositions that were on the ballot because I thought to myself is this not the job of the elected officials, that’s what we pay them for don’t we.
However, this year is different, at least for me, because there is a proposition that directly affects college students, Prop. 92, so I took the time and researched and I still haven’t figured out which way I will vote.
Both sides make a compiling argument, but which side is right and what are they not telling me.
I just think that the people that have the time to read each law carefully enough to make an educated decision are the one people that are elected as our representatives and if they make a mistake then we fire them and hire new leaders.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A reporter's responsibility
Recently, the Talon Marks published an editorial stating the concerns we had with the effectiveness of the student body President Jason Macias and Vice President Michael Barrita.
They had campaigned on three major issues that are establishing a recycling program, having healthier food choices for students and textbook rental/exchange.
None of these, however, have come to fruition and the editorial was written because of that reason and that reason only.
As reporters, we have a responsibility to serve as public watchdogs over all government agencies.
And as citizens of Cerritos College, we have a right to voice our displeasure with the government.
If we did not write this editorial about our concerns, we would be letting our readers, who depend on the press to let them know when issues either good or bad surface.
At a recent ASCC Senate meeting, Macias and Barrita demanded a public apology and this will never happen.
I will not apologize for an opinion, because after all that is what an editorial is and I will never apologize for the truth.
Furthermore, I am the one who is responsible for the content of the Talon Marks, not my editors and not my writers, and will never ask my staff members to apologize for my actions.
They had campaigned on three major issues that are establishing a recycling program, having healthier food choices for students and textbook rental/exchange.
None of these, however, have come to fruition and the editorial was written because of that reason and that reason only.
As reporters, we have a responsibility to serve as public watchdogs over all government agencies.
And as citizens of Cerritos College, we have a right to voice our displeasure with the government.
If we did not write this editorial about our concerns, we would be letting our readers, who depend on the press to let them know when issues either good or bad surface.
At a recent ASCC Senate meeting, Macias and Barrita demanded a public apology and this will never happen.
I will not apologize for an opinion, because after all that is what an editorial is and I will never apologize for the truth.
Furthermore, I am the one who is responsible for the content of the Talon Marks, not my editors and not my writers, and will never ask my staff members to apologize for my actions.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The first edion of this semester's Talon Marks
With the first night of productions finished I can finally take a deep breathe and relax for a minute.
It was a good night we got finished with some time to spare and whether the paper is good or bad, hopefully good if not great, the entire staff has something to be proud of.
The new staff member’s will see of cool it is to have a story in print and they will be remind that all their hard work paid off.
The returning staff members, most who are on the production team, should feel a great sense of accomplishment.
With every member of my staff, working together the paper could not have came out and I thank them for that because they make me look good.
But, the people I have to thank the most getting the paper out the most are my editors.
Tonight we worked hard to get the paper ready for but since last week, they have been working on putting pages together and learning how to put pages together and that made my job easy tonight.
Tomorrow the first issue of the paper comes and there will be some haters out there and to any of them I have a couple of things to say, the first is don’t just hate to hate.
And just remember we are the ones that are putting ourselves out there everyday for the entire school to criticize we put ourselves out to the entire world through our Web site, www.talonmarks.com, do you.
Finally don’t be jealous of the great writer and editors we have on staff this semester as well as the last semester.
It was a good night we got finished with some time to spare and whether the paper is good or bad, hopefully good if not great, the entire staff has something to be proud of.
The new staff member’s will see of cool it is to have a story in print and they will be remind that all their hard work paid off.
The returning staff members, most who are on the production team, should feel a great sense of accomplishment.
With every member of my staff, working together the paper could not have came out and I thank them for that because they make me look good.
But, the people I have to thank the most getting the paper out the most are my editors.
Tonight we worked hard to get the paper ready for but since last week, they have been working on putting pages together and learning how to put pages together and that made my job easy tonight.
Tomorrow the first issue of the paper comes and there will be some haters out there and to any of them I have a couple of things to say, the first is don’t just hate to hate.
And just remember we are the ones that are putting ourselves out there everyday for the entire school to criticize we put ourselves out to the entire world through our Web site, www.talonmarks.com, do you.
Finally don’t be jealous of the great writer and editors we have on staff this semester as well as the last semester.
Friday, January 11, 2008
The 2008 Talon Marks Editors
We just finished the first week of school and I am excited about what the semester will bring.
The new staff members seem to be very competent and we have a few people that returned from last year.
Last year’s editor in chief Steven Martin is back and will be the online editor this semester.
He already has helped me immensely and is making my job a lot easier.
Tim Dickerson who was the news editor last semester will be the managing editor this semester and he has been a big help as well.
Arturo Florian was new to the Talon Marks last year and will the opinion editor this semester.
Michael Agudo has been on the staff for a couple of semesters now will be taking the photo editor position.
And Lonisha Thompson who is new to the staff will be and arts and entertainment editor. She has a great attitude and has already been impressive with her writing abilities.
The new staff members seem to be very competent and we have a few people that returned from last year.
Last year’s editor in chief Steven Martin is back and will be the online editor this semester.
He already has helped me immensely and is making my job a lot easier.
Tim Dickerson who was the news editor last semester will be the managing editor this semester and he has been a big help as well.
Arturo Florian was new to the Talon Marks last year and will the opinion editor this semester.
Michael Agudo has been on the staff for a couple of semesters now will be taking the photo editor position.
And Lonisha Thompson who is new to the staff will be and arts and entertainment editor. She has a great attitude and has already been impressive with her writing abilities.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Please allow me to introduce myself
This is my second semester on the Talon Marks and I am taking over the role of editor-in chief.
Last semester I was the sports editor, I really enjoyed what I was to do in that capacity, and I am ready for the new challenge of being the chief.
In this blog, I just want to explain some of the decisions that were made for the print edition of the paper.
I want to show the readers the thought process behind the paper.
I already started some of the design changes that I will make such as putting the teaser at the bottom of the first page and adding an index to the front page.
I am also adding a box on the opinion page for the stat of the week.
I want to put different stats such as crime and transfer rates from Cerritos College.
In addition, this semester we will update our web site, www.talonmarks.com twice a week instead of once a week, which was done in pervious semesters.
This will take more time and effort on the part of the entire staff but I believe this is an important change and it will help us move into thinking about the web site more than just the print edition.
The paper will also feature a section that shows what crimes happened on campus that week.
Last semester I was the sports editor, I really enjoyed what I was to do in that capacity, and I am ready for the new challenge of being the chief.
In this blog, I just want to explain some of the decisions that were made for the print edition of the paper.
I want to show the readers the thought process behind the paper.
I already started some of the design changes that I will make such as putting the teaser at the bottom of the first page and adding an index to the front page.
I am also adding a box on the opinion page for the stat of the week.
I want to put different stats such as crime and transfer rates from Cerritos College.
In addition, this semester we will update our web site, www.talonmarks.com twice a week instead of once a week, which was done in pervious semesters.
This will take more time and effort on the part of the entire staff but I believe this is an important change and it will help us move into thinking about the web site more than just the print edition.
The paper will also feature a section that shows what crimes happened on campus that week.
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