GC Summit changing servers

GROSSMONT COLLEGE–To provide a more versatile format, the GC Summit is in the process of changing servers.   We have encountered some technical difficulties in making the move, but hope to have them fixed soon.  In the meantime, please keep two web addresses in mind.

The up-to-date Summit report may be found at the following web address: https://gcsummit.wordpress.com

The site to which we are moving, for which a new format is being selected, is www.gcsummit.com   Although the second site can now be accessed, it is neither up to date, nor does it appear as it will in the future.

Please bear with us as we make this transition.

Thank you,

Donald H. Harrison
Journalism Instructor
Grossmont College

Saga of disappearing, reappearing parking

By Issac Jeitler

GROSSMONT COLLEGE – At the start of each semester, students face impacted classes, scheduling conflicts and other woes. At the forefront of these issues is the first one students face upon arriving on campus. The parking issue.

However, by this time of the semester, the parking situation has seemed to ease. What happened?

“Life happens,” responds Tim Flood, vice president of administrative services and director of campus facilities operations and maintenance. In a taped interview, he noted that some students drop courses, or withdraw from school to take jobs, as a semester progresses. As they do so, parking spots all over the campus are freed up.

However, he said, parking troubles will occur again during the semester when a new concurrent 8-week session gets underway. New students will stay on campus all day, trying to crash courses for which they could not pre-enroll. Many also will wait in lines trying to obtain financial aid. Eventually, their paperwork will be completed and their schedules will be settled, no longer necessitating them to stay on campus as long. As a result, parking spots will turn over more often.

The good news for all students, Flood said, is that the area of the campus now housing a modular village for administrators and staff will once again be turned into a parking lot “somewhere late in the spring semester” after the new administration building and student center are completed.

To hear excerpts of the interview on parking with Tim Flood, please click: Flood on Parking.

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Jeiter is a student in Media Comm 132. He may be contacted at issac.jeiter@gcsummit.com

Grossmont profiles: Ricks, McCoy and Lego

By Barbara Boyd

GROSSMONT COLLEGE –Walking around the campus can bring you into contact with many interesting people. Recently, I had a chance to learn a little about three of them.

A volunteer with a cause

Joshua Ricks

Joshua Ricks, who is taking a critical thinking class on campus, has been working on a drive to help the Boys and Girls Club.

He seeks old clothes, canned food, shoes, toys, and anything else that can be used to help kids from impoverished families. He’ll be out on the Main Quad on Wednesday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m in the quad collecting donations for the boys and girls at the Boys and Girls Club.

District gathers student ideas for future educational programming

By Dylan Burke

GROSSMONT COLLEGE—The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District periodically holds Educational Master Planning Forums to identify aspects of the two colleges that people like and to learn what students believe should be improved.

Thirteen students on Wednesday, Sept. 21, attended such a forum in Building 34, room 170, to discuss what Grossmont needs to do in the long run to make for a better school.

In a meeting with Chancellor Cindy L. Miles and Jerry Buckley, senior dean for research and planning, students were asked three questions: One, what is the going well at the colleges that we need to be sure we don’t lose? What works for you? Two, what would make it even better? Three, what else do you want us to know?

Michael Wais, a comparative literature student, said he felt Grossmont is an excellent school, but wishes that there was a location closer to him. While internet classes are okay, he said he would prefer more face-to-face interaction.

The consensus among the attendees was that Grossmont College has an excellent faculty and staff. “The staff gives a lot of attention to the individual student,” Wais said.

Of the 13 students, seven said they are studying at Grossmont for their third year; one student had been on campus four years; 10 students were working toward Associates of Art degrees, 12 students anticipated transferring to a 4- year institution; two students were working at full time jobs and four students had part time jobs.

The purpose of the event was to gather input concerning where Grossmont is headed for 5, 10, 15 or 20 years in the future.

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Burke is a student in Media Comm 132; he may be contacted at dylanb@gcsummit.com

Winning volleyball coach fears complacency

By Dylan Burke

GROSSMONT COLLEGE- The Women’s Volleyball team’s record is nearly perfect and has made its coach, Jamie Ivers, prouder than ever about its performance.

The Griffins on Tuesday night, Sept.20,  defeated Saddleback 3-0 here at Grossmont and as they improved their record to 7-1.  This
game played was a make up for one originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9.

“We may be 7-1 but we have the big target on our backs now so we have to be sharp every day in practice and every night in our matches because teams will play harder against you than they will other teams,” Ivers said. “Everyone is looking to take us down.”

Coach  Ivers has been kept busy reviewing videotape of the games in order to get her team ready to play for the next one.

“There is always something you need to improve on, or be more consistent at,” Ivers explained. “I feel we still have more growth in certain areas which makes me even more excited as we head into conference and playoffs,” she said.  We have a great
group of women this year who are really on board and buy in to what we are trying to accomplish this year”.

As a matter of fact the only thing according to Coach Ivers that is concerning is not being concerned at all, “I feel like there is a huge problem if you don’t think there is anything to work on as a head coach. Nobody is perfect and we are no
exception to that.”

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Burke is a student in Media Comm 132; he may be contacted at dylanb@gcsummit.com

Dead Man’s Cell opens Oct. 6

Dead Man¹s Cell Phone By: Sarah Ruhl Directed By: Martin Katz Oct. 6,7,8,12,13,14,15 at 7:30PM Oct.8 & 15 at 2:00PM 2011 A café. A dead man. And a cell phone that won¹t stop ringing. When Jean, a stranger from the next table, decides to answer it she sets in motion a chain of events that is, by turns, baffling, mysterious, comic, and grim. And as Jean becomes involved with the dead man¹s wife, mother, mistress, and brother she begins to suspect that her life will never be the same again.

Transfer center offers…well, transfer options!

Mary Rider at Transfer Center (Photo: Christina Torres)

By Christina Torres

GROSSMONT COLLEGE—When it comes time to transfer, where will students go? That is a question that Grossmont officials recommend that students ask themselves long before they are ready to transfer.  The  Transfer Center on campus was established to help in this process.

According to Mary Rider, university transfer coordinator at Grossmont, the Transfer Center has racks filled with specialized information for transfer questions.  If a student is uncertain about  the process to follow, center staff  can provide information that would be hard to get at a 30-minute meeting with the Counseling office.

For the current semester,  many students were denied entrance to SDSU because they had problems in their supplementary application process.  Rider said 90% of Grossmont students didn’t attend an application workshop sponsored by the Transfer Center at which such problems could have been anticipated and resolved.

Commentary: POW monument evokes strong emotions

Unveiling of Liberation Moment statue at Miramar National Cemetery (Photo: SDJW)

By Philip Tipple

SAN DIEGO–On Friday Sept. 16, I had the honor, privilege and pleasure of attending the unveiling of the Prisoner of War (POW) statue, “Liberation Moment,” at the Miramar National Cemetery.  I wish more Americans were aware of the sacrifice made by all US military service personnel, especially our POWs, and make known that we stand behind both our POWs and all our soldiers, no matter the situation.

I grew up wanting to be in the Marine Corps since I was seven-years-old, and after listening to what World War II vets had to say and I was enraged at their Japanese and German captors for not following the international code of conduct for captured  prisoners of war.

People at the ceremony expressed a gamut of emotions, ranging from overwhelmed, to excited and happy, to enraged and angry.  Most were excited and happy that our POWs have received recognition for their valor in service overseas.

The ceremony was overwhelming to me, being that it was my first time ever attending something like it. I was very happy to sit down and talk with any and all of the vets who attended. They had endured pure agony and hell, all because they were fighting for the freedom of the United States of America. Honor, valor and heroism were shown by each and every one of those vets, and I can’t leave out our current soldiers fighting overseas right now. I would like to give a big “OORAH!”  for all our soldiers and vets who have ever served. Thank you for your service and God Bless the U.S.A!

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Tipple is a student in MediaComm 132; contact him at philipT@gcsummit.com

Seven Texans on Grossmont football team

By David Hurst

GROSSMONT COLLEGE — On Jay Z’s song Big Pimpin, Native Texan Pimp C (Port Arthur) ask the listener with a boastful mix of pride and passion, “Now what y’all know about them Texas boys?!!” The Lone Star State is a high school football hotbed like no other. One can look to the number #1 selling, and award nominated Friday Night Lights book, movie, and television franchise to see that.

College campuses from all over the country usually are represented by native Texans and Grossmont is no different. The 2011 roster features seven such players: Running Back Dontae Williams (Houston/Aldine High School), Joseph Carheel, Wide Receiver (San Antonio/ Madison HS), Rion Smalls (Laredo/United HS), Blake Bullard (Killeen) and three players from El Paso: Twin Brothers Marcus and Eldredge Calhoun (Austin HS), and Kicker Andres Carrillo (Bel Air HS). “There’s a lot of talent there,” says head coach Mike Jordan.

Being from the same state is one thing. But getting the players to agree on whose city best represented the Lone Star State was a dubious task. “West Texas all day,” said Eldredge Calhoun, who recorded a big 62 yard interception return in the Griffins 37-40 loss to Southwestern College. “South Texas all day,” countered Smalls. “Centex is where it’s at,” boasts Bullard who is from the Central Texas football hotbed, Killeen, Texas.

Cross-country Coach Robert Claessen’s 19-year career longer than some team members’ lifespan

By Jessyka Holguin

GROSSMONT COLLEGE — Coach Robert Claessen is easily recognized on campus. He often can be seen riding his bike or running around campus with a pack of young women! The women’s cross country mentor has coached track for 19 years– as long as some team members have been alive!

He said has been interested in running since he was a child and was naturally drawn to the running trails around Lake Murray. Injuries prevented him from competing in cross country as a college student here at Grossmont. However, he later started coaching cross country at Humboldt State College.  The coach said some of his favorite experiences were running through the fog and forests up there in northern California.

He also has run in different countries and says, if he could. he would love to travel all over the world.

The coach said ths season his main goal is for everyone on Grossmont’s team to be healthy and to have fun with the work outs. He said that one of the great things about cross country is that it transfers into everyone’s personal life. It helps people deal with challenges and makes them stronger for it, he said.

This year’s team has a positive drive and a desire to help one another out, Claessen said.  He added this is one of the reasons he predicts that the team will do really well in the conference this year. Cross Country has much to be proud of at Grossmont , with teams in 7 out of 8 years making it to the Southern California Conference. If the team does well in this conference it will get the opportunity to run in the state championships.

What sets Grossmont’s team apart from other competitors is that it has great access to mountains and trails within a few miles of the campus, Claessen said.  For example, Cowles Mountain and Mission Trails Regional Park are weekly work out sites for the team. These work outs get the team ready forcompetitions elsewhere.

The coach noted that the season is still young and there still are openings on the Women’s Cross Country Team.  He said Cross Country is a sport that requires people to work out all year in order to compete. Claussen said one of the attractions of Grossmont’s Cross Country Team is that everyone becomes like a family. This not only is a benefit for the individual members; it is a key to the team achieving its goals, he said.

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Holguin is a student in Media Comm 132.  She may be contacted at jessykah@gcsummit.com