YCCD Debates Armed Security Bv MARIA LONG Armed? No
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Columbia College's New Student Newspaper - Vol. 1, Issue 2 March 23, 2005 YCCD debates armed security Bv MARIA LONG armed? No. Unarmed security is STAFF WRITER low key and works very well. If "I honestly don't like the idea of having guns on anything serious were to happen- the Code three: lights and sirens. campus at all. I feel pretty safe about walking around sheriff's department would respond The SWAT team, special op immediately." . forces: "Move! Move! Move!" Visions canip~is and I thin~ people wt1Z be sketchier if they see Despite the discussion at the of Columbine at Columbia. secunty gu.ards wzth guns." District level, there are ilo plans to It couldbappen; and.if it did, how put armed security on the Columbia prepared would Columbia College be Heidi Sharp campus-. to deal with such a situation? "The key is we hire quality Although the worst-case scenario Student personnel," says Greg Elam, lead hasn't happened, the Yosemite campus security officer at Columbia Community College District Council College. "Staff comes well equipped has been discussing the is.me of with years of experience and a an'ned security on campus. security officers. It consistently ranks carrv firearms, but I am in favor of mandated 24-hour campus secw.;ity A survey done by l.os Rios a& one of the safest comm.unity hiring sworn police officers. It is a training, as required by the state. We Community College District found colleges m the United States. sign of the times." pr.ovide excellent, superior customet that 60 to 70 percent of community James H . Williams, Interim . In -recent years there ha'Ve been service." colleges hav.e armed security, Chancellor of Yosemite Community two incidents at MJC that required From emergency call-boxes, free with more colleges moving in that College District, which runs Modesto immediate police response. shuttle and escort services during all direction. Some. are contracted Junior College and Columbia College, :For Columbia College, that campus hours, jump starting vehicles solely through their county sheriff's said armed campus security is worth jurisdiction lies -v..'ifu the Tuolumne and assisting people who've Jocked department., some combine unan:ned talking abouL County Sheriff's Department. their keys in the car - the security - campus security with certified law· ''We need to begm the planning Sheriff Dick Rogers said his department at Columbia College enforc1m1ent. stages," he said. ''I'm not in favor department is up to the task. provides services that average Since 1968,, Columbia College has of arming security officers, as they "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," served the campus with professional do not have the training required to Rogers said. "Do you need to be See GUNS, Page 4 • In this Bv ARIEL ScHNEIDER Issue ... STAFF WRITER The roost diverse ariety of student oncampuscanmosllike1ybe found in the automoti e technology dass. Ranging from high school drop ·outs to tudents in their 80s, the auto · tech class has 31 students-and they meet five da ' S a week for general training in the automotive.field. uto tech i nationallv accredited by the National Automotive Students prepare Technicians Education Foundation for Ultimate Frisbee (NATEF) and there are eight areas challenge. that instructors . · are re.quired to Page 9 train their tudents in. The training areas are engine repair; automatic transtoissions and transaxle ; manual INDEX drive trains and a ]es; saspensian ARIEL SCHNEIDER/PANHANDLER PHOTO Student Chris Winters works on the fuel system on a Ford F250. ·. Opinion 2 and ste~ring; brakes; elemical and electronic systems; heating and air clas into two sections for training: job in auto tech is to prepare students Tlze Spot 5 canditioning sy terns; and engine beginning and advanced students. for the job market and industry. Sports 9 performance. Next year they will incorporate all "TI1ere is a profile need; a high Cros word 12 Merlin Bart and "Erik Andal are the students into one class for a team demand for trained and certified the automotive vocational education : . teaching. ._ . ...__ ________ ___ __. •; program instructors. They split the··. Bart and Andal_explain that their See AUTO, Page 4 2 Tm: PANHANDLER March 23, 2005 OPINION Royal Sound Off! Thoughts We want to hear ROYAL H. GARRISON Panhandler 0, Anything Else 2 from you. Send your Letters We're a little To the Editor: lynchmobs. "Prospector," on the to the Editor to: too conservative other hand, refers to the diverse panhandler@yosemite. I agree with Kirsti Dyer, you population of workers from all to call ourselves have chosen a lame name, with a over the world who came here cc.ca.us. "open-minded" here in the Mother myriad of negative connotations. seeking their fortune. Letters must be Lode. I say this being a long-term While we are rethinking names signed, and should be Tuolumne County resident myself. consider "Claimjumpers." During George Melendrez the goldrush, claimjumpers Fire Tech. on topics relevant to Sometimes I'm afraid I may be were criminals, who commonly the Columbia College the only one who feels this way. So I met their fate at the hands of More Letters are on page 10 audience. set out to interview the very people I speak of. This quest led me to the nationally known Nesler family. You remember the Nesler court cases that gave Sonora its unwanted publicity. I was overjoyed to be granted an interview from one Nesler family member. I met with Kandy Nesler. She wanted the interview in my office, without tapes and notes. "How racist is the Mother Lode?" I asked. After a long pause, and in a soft whispering voice, she answered. "We have a lot of skinheads and generations of isolated people here, with a very narrow-minded view point. Even my own family is very racist, one of the most racist in the community. We've prided ourselves on our racist belief in this county, always have since my father ran the Columbia Airport in the late '60s." I asked why she agreed to an THEP_ H DLER interview. Rachael Rajewski, Editor in Chief "You're a nice guy who's been here a long time," she said. "You asked for News Daniel Shepherd, Editor The Spot Guy Sibbald, Editor an interview with the Red & White Susan Tinsley Ariel Schneider families of this mountain, you have our Maria Long Noelle Rafferty Taylor Hunt respect enough to talk to you and give Sports Matt Cushman, Editor our viewpoint firsthand." Opinion Royal H. Garrison IV, Editor • I had to ask: "Does your family Adviser Steve Elliott have ties to any such groups?" The Panhandler is published bi-weekly at Columbia College, 11600 Columbia College Drive, Sonora, CA 95370. All material copyright protected. Letters to the editor are the opinion of the She looked me dead in the eye. authors and do not reflect the views of the Panhandler, its staff or Columbia College. Letters may "Remember, we have ties to be edited for length or content. them all, from biker, to redneck and Reach us at 209-588-5388 or [email protected] everything in between." March 23, 2005 T HE P ANHANDLER 3 NEWS VVild goose chasing is Penny's job Bv RovAL H. GARRISON IV will start after the waterfowl until STAFF WRITER they take to the air. Her keen sight can spot a single goose at over 300 yards This is a job for the dogs. and will alert Elam to the intruder. Good thing Penny is one. , At the begging of last spring This well-trained officer has her school year, the campus had over 99 work cut ,out for her here at Columbia wild geese and domestic pets left to College. run wild, here at the college reservoir. Penny's specialty is goose Thanks to Penny, there are now but herding, earning the title; "Goose a few. The school has tried many Buster." different things over the year to rid The sleek black-and-white Border the lake of old geezers, but nothing collie seen running around the worked as well as a dog. campus is not a stray, but the nemesis This dog is not trained to catch of the g~ese ~at have establish :residence at Coliiinbia College's San See PENNY, Page 10 Dlego Reservoir. For many years, the lake has been invaded by hundreds of geese and other migratory water.fowl.. Penny is a project of Greg Elam, head security officer, who paid for the six month goose-chasing training academy out of his own wages. Penny is a volunteer staff member seven days a week here on campus. And she's aheady making the media scene. Penny has already her own video, which is featured on the college's web page. It was produced last sununer by the Disabled Students Program and Services Coordina,tor Dean Kelly Marshall _to introduce Penny's arrival. Watching Penny work is a pleasure in itself. ROYAL H. GARRISON/PANHANDLER PHOTO , Penny doesn't move urifl being Public Safety officer Greg Elam poses with Penny. told by Elam to do so. Then Penny Supplemental Instruction h·elps with hard classes Bv SusAN TINSLEY lea~er, said Rodts. STAFF WRITER SI offers a unique approach to incorporate course material with There is a special program on reasoning and study skills, according campus that helps students succeed to Harrelson. It enhances student in difficult classes, and not many performance and retention of difficult students know about or make use of subjects. it. "SI works because it targets It's called Supplemental historically difficult courses in an Instruction (or SI for short.) It is an informal setting that is facilitated by academic resource for all students trained leaders," said Rodts.