Last night, the Governing Board of Southwestern College played host to a packed house for its sudden evaluation of Superintendent Raj Chopra. Every spectator seat was filled to capacity with teachers, students, incoming board members Tim Nader and Norma Hernandez, and outspoken members of the public. Campus police were forced to turn some away due to safety regulations.
It began with Oral Communications - when people are allowed to speak their piece. Many did - including several new faces: students, teachers, and members of the public - and most gave the same message:
"It's wrong to shove this evaluation down the throat of the college, and it seems a blatant attempt by the outgoing board members - Salcido and Dominguez - to affect a change that the new board should undertake."
The board then retired behind closed doors, which is the policy for all personnel matters. After about two and a half hours, they returned to a still-full room. An attorney for the district read their action. To paraphrase broadly:
"The board has decided that Dr. Chopra's current contract will continue as it is, and no other change will take place."
They then adjourned with no other words and left.
This appears to be the second option I described as possible in the last column: allowing any action regarding Dr. Chopra's contract to be left for the incoming board. But several oddities trouble me - and many others that were there.
Dr. Chopra appeared to be gloating early in the meeting, though by the end, he did seem a little worse for wear.
The agenda for next week's actual GB meeting has been changed to include an item regarding Dr. Chopra's evaluation. This might hint at a further evaluation to come. I am not certain, but I believe that the attorney stated that the evaluation tonight covered the period up to August of this year - not including September and October, which is when some of the truly questionable actions of his has taken place - including actively fundraising for incumbents Dominguez, Salcido, and Valladolid. This seems odd to me, and it was noted that this seems very curious.
Allow me to state for the record: I may very likely be wrong about the dates mentioned. If I am, please correct me, and I will make the edits to this blog.
Lastly, there is the question of why? Why did this need to be done now? There was no urgency to have a meeting that ended with "no other action." Surely Dr. Chopra's evaluation could have been discussed in closed-door session before next week's regular board meeting. So what was the point?
Given the fact that this lame-duck board has already called one "special" meeting on Dr. Chopra's behalf, it is no stretch to assume that they might call another before the outgoing incumbents terms end at the end of November.
Is this a game? And why are they playing it? Let's have your theories and ideas in the comments section below.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
SWC Outgoing Board Throws Surprise Meeting for Raj Chopra, Spits on the School to Say Goodbye
I can't believe I'm having to post this...
Our esteemed Governing Board has decided to throw one last insult to the school, the students, the faculty, the administration, and the community.
Though they only evaluated Raj Chopra last May, they have decided to perform an emergency evaluation for him tomorrow night. There will be one of four outcomes of this evaluation:
1. They will fire him. This won't happen. The outgoing board - Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominguez - and Terri Valladolid, who will continue with the new board, don't have the self-respect or respect for the college that it would take to fire this angry, incompetent buffoon.
2. They will pass the decision on to the new board: Valladolid, along with Nick Aguilera and Jean Roesch, and board members-elect Tim Nader and Norma Hernandez. I don't think this will happen either, because it would mean Jorge and Yolanda would give away the bulk of their power to the ones that defeated them.
3. They will extend Chopra's contract. This is a very possible outcome, meaning that the new board would then have to reverse the decision of this one, and might mean a prolonged fight. But it could very much happen.
4. They will buy out Chopra's contract for a fat paycheck. Ding! Ding! Ding! If the board does as I suspect they will, they'll issue him a check behind closed doors, and he can have it in the bank first thing Monday morning. By Tuesday, he'll be checking the want ads for a school with no hiring standards, or with a governing board friendly to Yolanda.
What will happen? The school will be out several hundred thousand taxpayer dollars and we will no longer have a superintendent. That's half-good, but not good.
So the question is: who wants to lie down and let that happen? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that 4 of the 5 on the lame-duck board vote to buy out his contract - Valladolid, Salcido, Dominguez, and Roesch.
Jean Roesch needs to know that if she agrees to go along with this, when she runs in two years, we'll throw every bit of effort into sending her packing.
Terri Valladolid needs to know that if she tries to pull this, she'll have alienated herself from the rest of the board for the duration of her four-year term. Considering that she has a few frayed edges of a political career left, she might consider what will happen when she's just a bench-warmer for four years - she'll go from useless to laughingstock.
Jorge doesn't care about his legacy. He's had his butt handed to him in two consecutive elections and he'll never get elected to anything. But you'd think that a man with as much intelligence and gravitas would have the decency to do the right thing.
But I'm afraid he won't. He'll line up with the ones that disrespect him to pad the wallet of Raj Chopra - who couldn't even be bothered to give Jorge a "nice try" after his defeat, but had volumes to speak about Yolanda's courageous run.
And then there's Yolanda. There's nothing we can say or do to convince her not to spend all that money on a final "go screw yourself" to the college. All that will happen is that she'll appear to be exactly what I - and others - have said all along what she is: mean-spirited, disrespectful, corrupt, uncaring, and spiteful.
Tomorrow the Board is meeting in its usual location - Room 214 on the Chula Vista campus of Southwestern College. The first part of the meeting will be open to the public and the public should be allowed to speak during Oral Communication. The second part will be behind closed doors, as it is a personnel matter. The third part will be in public. The Board must inform us what happened at that time.
We're going to need people in seats. We need these lame ducks to realize they can't get away with this scot-free. We need people who will remember what happens, so in two years, or four years, we'll have a core group of people who know what we'll be fighting for then.
Once again we need you.
The meeting starts at 5:30 pm. I recommend coming early 15 minutes or so, to get a seat. If you want to speak, you'll need to fill out a yellow card for this. This is an emergency meeting, so it won't be run like a regular board meeting - and it's likely to be just a bit more lively.
Come join us. We can't let them get away with this insult.
Our esteemed Governing Board has decided to throw one last insult to the school, the students, the faculty, the administration, and the community.
Though they only evaluated Raj Chopra last May, they have decided to perform an emergency evaluation for him tomorrow night. There will be one of four outcomes of this evaluation:
1. They will fire him. This won't happen. The outgoing board - Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominguez - and Terri Valladolid, who will continue with the new board, don't have the self-respect or respect for the college that it would take to fire this angry, incompetent buffoon.
2. They will pass the decision on to the new board: Valladolid, along with Nick Aguilera and Jean Roesch, and board members-elect Tim Nader and Norma Hernandez. I don't think this will happen either, because it would mean Jorge and Yolanda would give away the bulk of their power to the ones that defeated them.
3. They will extend Chopra's contract. This is a very possible outcome, meaning that the new board would then have to reverse the decision of this one, and might mean a prolonged fight. But it could very much happen.
4. They will buy out Chopra's contract for a fat paycheck. Ding! Ding! Ding! If the board does as I suspect they will, they'll issue him a check behind closed doors, and he can have it in the bank first thing Monday morning. By Tuesday, he'll be checking the want ads for a school with no hiring standards, or with a governing board friendly to Yolanda.
What will happen? The school will be out several hundred thousand taxpayer dollars and we will no longer have a superintendent. That's half-good, but not good.
So the question is: who wants to lie down and let that happen? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that 4 of the 5 on the lame-duck board vote to buy out his contract - Valladolid, Salcido, Dominguez, and Roesch.
Jean Roesch needs to know that if she agrees to go along with this, when she runs in two years, we'll throw every bit of effort into sending her packing.
Terri Valladolid needs to know that if she tries to pull this, she'll have alienated herself from the rest of the board for the duration of her four-year term. Considering that she has a few frayed edges of a political career left, she might consider what will happen when she's just a bench-warmer for four years - she'll go from useless to laughingstock.
Jorge doesn't care about his legacy. He's had his butt handed to him in two consecutive elections and he'll never get elected to anything. But you'd think that a man with as much intelligence and gravitas would have the decency to do the right thing.
But I'm afraid he won't. He'll line up with the ones that disrespect him to pad the wallet of Raj Chopra - who couldn't even be bothered to give Jorge a "nice try" after his defeat, but had volumes to speak about Yolanda's courageous run.
And then there's Yolanda. There's nothing we can say or do to convince her not to spend all that money on a final "go screw yourself" to the college. All that will happen is that she'll appear to be exactly what I - and others - have said all along what she is: mean-spirited, disrespectful, corrupt, uncaring, and spiteful.
Tomorrow the Board is meeting in its usual location - Room 214 on the Chula Vista campus of Southwestern College. The first part of the meeting will be open to the public and the public should be allowed to speak during Oral Communication. The second part will be behind closed doors, as it is a personnel matter. The third part will be in public. The Board must inform us what happened at that time.
We're going to need people in seats. We need these lame ducks to realize they can't get away with this scot-free. We need people who will remember what happens, so in two years, or four years, we'll have a core group of people who know what we'll be fighting for then.
Once again we need you.
The meeting starts at 5:30 pm. I recommend coming early 15 minutes or so, to get a seat. If you want to speak, you'll need to fill out a yellow card for this. This is an emergency meeting, so it won't be run like a regular board meeting - and it's likely to be just a bit more lively.
Come join us. We can't let them get away with this insult.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Victory!
I am starting this post at 3:00 a.m. to bring you the news: Southwestern College now has a new Governing Board!
Just a few moments ago, 100% of the ballots were reported, and both Norma Hernandez and Tim Nader defeated their incumbent opponents, Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominguez.
Norma captured almost 54% of the vote, over Yolanda's 46% bought-and-paid-for-by-those-damned-contractors votes.
And in his field of four, Tim left the rest in the dust, with a 9-point margin of victory over his closest competitor, Jaime Mercado. It must be noted that Jorge Dominguez earned a little more than 13% of the vote, coming in fourth of four, behind Bud McLeroy.
Unfortunately, in the Jesseca-Terri race, incumbent Terri Valladolid eked out a 2-point win over Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez. Terri won with only 1600 votes more than Jesseca, of more than 60,000 votes cast.
This may not have been victory for Jesseca today, but it was a fantastic showing for a first-time politico. In one fell swoop, she earned more votes than Ms. Salcido did, and single-handedly kicked the legs out from under the vaunted Valladolid "dynasty."
With pro-student incumbent Nick Aguilar, we now have majority of the Governing Board. I would strongly suggest that a few members of the administration start updating their resumes, stat.
Can I get a great big, "thank you!" to our candidates for the brutally hard campaigns they fought?
And I want to say "thank you!" to everyone who stood with the students, the faculty, and the community by voting for Norma, Tim, and Jesseca.
The November board meeting is coming up on us fast. I suggest we all get together then and watch the spectacle that is sure to come. It's a changing of the guard, and it's about time.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Who Should I Vote For? 36 Facts About the Governing Board Race at Southwestern College
WHO SHOULD REPLACE THE INCUMBENTS?
1. Norma Hernandez spent 31 years working for Southwestern College as a counselor, faculty member, administrator, and the president of the college. She is respected and loved by members of all the departments – and the public – and has made her belief in the importance and value of education known. In her words, “I am committed to restoring the vital educational contributions that Southwestern College can provide to our region.”
2. Tim Nader is a former mayor of Chula Vista, and a two-term city councilman. He spent seven years working as a criminal prosecutor for the Attorney General’s office. After his term as mayor he ran two different non-profit corporations. He spent time in Central Asia with a foreign aid program after 9/11. He returned, spent six years working as a child support attorney, before returning to the Attorney General’s office. He has vast experience in working with complex legal issues and understands how to oversee a multi-million dollar budget. He grew up in a family of educators and believes education to be a cornerstone to a strong community.
3. Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez is the CEO of the San Diego Learning Center, one of the fastest-growing supplemental education centers in the region. She has spent more than 15 years in the education field and founded SDLC in 2001. She has been a member of the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for seven years, and was elected Chairwoman of the Board in 2010. In 2006, she was honored as Entrepreneur of the Year. She is also active National Latina Business Women Association/The Latina Chamber. She has opened five different SDLC locations, and implemented new, unique strategies to create a positive, individual atmosphere for the students she serves.
WHY SHOULDN’T I VOTE FOR THE INCUMBENTS? ACCORDING TO THEM, THEY’RE GREAT. WELL, TO START WITH… THERE’S THE INCUMBENTS’ DISHONESTY –
4. SWC is not in the worst financial crisis of its history. This is the refrain that the incumbents (Yolanda Salcido, Terri Valladolid, and Jorge Dominguez) used to slash classes and lay off employees. They estimated that without those cuts, that the school would be broke. Instead, the school ended up with a $14 million balance, and the “savings” caused by the class cuts could only be estimated at $500,000. What happened? The school was not in the financial crisis they claimed. It was making money.
5. Classes have been cut. Though the incumbents insist that no classes were cut, hundreds of adjunct faculty members were let go and their classes removed from the catalog. These included Basic Skills classes, core classes, classes necessary for students seeking certification, and – most troubling – dozens of classes necessary for students seeking to transfer to a four-year school.
6. Contrary to the incumbents’ continual lie, there were layoffs. Jorge, Yolanda, and Terri insist that “there were no layoffs.” Ask them who Linda Gilstrap, Silvia Lugo, Elisandra Singh, Nevada Smith, Fernando Poveda, and Richard Tibbits are. These are some names of laid-off faculty that I know off the top of my head. There are more – hundreds more.
7. Not only were there layoffs, but at least one employee was screwed over twice. Elisandra Singh challenged the board’s decision to lay her off and replace her with a Los Angeles-based contractor who got paid more and worked less than she did. An impartial arbitrator heard the case and said that the school, without question, should return her to her job and give her the back salary she had lost. The board voted to say “hell, no” to Ms. Singh and refused to give her her job back. They not only laid off employees, but they went out of their way to make sure they stayed laid off.
8. The incumbents are falsely claiming that SWC is “fully accredited” and that there are no problems. The truth is that it will be next spring before WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) makes any decision on the school’s status. SWC is “on track” to make the changes necessary, but they are not complete yet. Considering that much of the work left to be done must be done by the Board, we believe that a Board willing to participate in shared governance will succeed where this one will likely fail.
9. All three of them have lied and lied and lied about many different facts. They have done so in public, at fundraisers, in board meetings, to the press, and in paid advertising.
THE INCUMBENTS’ INCOMPETENCE –
10. The incumbents don’t know how to run a board meeting. Incapable of handling literally the most basic part of their positions, the Board has to hire a paid parliamentarian to tell them if they can do this, do that, say this, say that, vote this way, or hear what someone has to say.
11. Jorge Dominguez can’t stay awake for the meetings. I’ve shown you the pictures of him dozing through Governing Board meetings; you’ve seen them. What you may not know is that this happens so often that it has become a joke among the teachers and those of us who attend the meetings.
12. The incumbents don’t understand “shared governance,” a foundation of running a college. With shared governance, the faculty is allowed to participate in decision-making. At SWC, they are often locked out of the process entirely. Committees are usually headed by an administrator and a faculty member. At SWC, they are often headed by two administrators and no professor.
13. The incumbents believe that their 10:00 pm “bed time” is more important than getting work done. At board meetings, unless the press or a lot of the public are there, they simply end discussion at 10:00 and call it a night. Even if there are reports to be heard, work to be done, or problems to solve, they will simply push it back to another month.
THE INCUMBENTS’ DISRESPECT –
14. The incumbents have no respect for the members of the public, the students, or the teachers that attend governing board meetings. When members of the public speak to them, they can often be found doodling, looking down, looking away, whispering, or spending some time in the washroom.
15. The incumbents have no respect for the voters who looked forward to seeing them at the Candidates’ Forum in October. Every candidate for every seat was invited to an impartial candidate forum in October. The only ones who showed up were challengers – Tim Nader, Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez, Norma Hernandez, and Bud McLeroy. Not one of the incumbents thought their presence at the SWC Candidate Forum was important.
16. Yolanda and Terri don’t respect fellow Board member Nick Aguilar. Aguilar, who often opposes the others, is often ignored, alienated, and insulted by Yolanda and Terri – who seem to simply not want to hear what he has to say.
17. Yolanda Salcido and Terri Valladolid don’t even respect Jorge Dominguez. Last year, a voting bloc of Salcido, Valladolid, and fellow board member Jean Roesch overturned the traditional position of Board President – which was supposed to be Dominguez’s position. Instead, they voted to give Salcido the position, and began their program of building an empire for themselves.
THE INCUMBENTS’ LACK OF CHARACTER –
18. Yolanda Salcido faked an endorsement from student government president Manny Lopez, and when he insisted at a board meeting that he did not endorse her, she refused to comment, apologize, or even look at him.
19. Yolanda Salcido has collected $100,000 in campaign contributions from contractors that come to her looking for million-dollar contracts.
20. Terri Valladolid was fined $1,200 by the California Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to file six required semi-annual campaign statements.
21. Jorge Dominguez was late filing various campaign statements and numbers, but wasn’t fined. At least he got his done eventually.
22. Jorge Dominguez announced his retirement last winter then ran for mayor of Chula Vista. Receiving only about 11% of the vote, he “forgot” that he was retiring.
23. The incumbents allowed administration higher-ups to fundraise for them, in a blatant show of conflict of interest. Superintendent Chopra held fundraisers for Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominguez. Vice President Alioto held a fundraiser for Yolanda Salcido and Terri Valladolid.
24. Superintendent Chopra used official campus literature to help campaign for the incumbents. Using the “News from SWC” newsletter, Chopra attacked Norma Hernandez (without naming her) and tried to rebut (badly) every single point the challengers had brought up in the past two months.
25. The incumbents blame Norma Hernandez for their troubles. Norma was Superintendent of SWC a few years ago. At the time, the Board was micro-managing her at all levels. After they fired a vice-president, which they couldn’t do, she resigned from office – due to the constant interference she was getting from the board, also known as the incumbents. WASC issued a list of several things the school needed to do to keep accreditation, and most of them were laid at the feet of the board itself. Their response? To blame Norma, who wasn’t even involved.
26. Yolanda Salcido claims that Norma “sneaked away in the night.” Untrue. Norma Hernandez received a farewell celebration from members of the administration, student body, and the faculty before she left.
THE INCUMBENTS’ CONTINUAL SUPPORTING OF A CORRUPT, FAILED ADMINISTRATION –
27. The incumbents continue to support Superintendent Raj Chopra and Vice-President Nick Alioto, even though incidences of their malfeasance, corruption, and base stupidity continue to come to light. Chopra has been known to scream – literally, scream – at employees, including one (Elisandra Singh) who reported that he screamed into her face so close that he spat on her while doing it. They also gave him a $15,000 raise during their financial crisis (unlike Norma Hernandez, who took a pay cut during her tenure at SWC). And Alioto has come under fire time and time again for influence peddling, conflicts of interest, shady financial dealings, and more. Many of these can be found on this blog, and I’m not going to list them again.
28. The incumbents supported Chopra’s budget plan – the one that slashed classes, laid off teachers, and sent a couple thousand students home for the last time. When Nick Aguilar asked for a special meeting to discuss any other possible solutions, the rest ignored and supported Chopra’s apocalyptic vision of education.
29. The incumbents supported the administration’s attack on four professors who were deemed to have “incited a riot” during a student-led budget protest (even though one was nowhere near the place). This led to massive national media attention that reflected badly on the board and administration.
30. The incumbents participated in a bogus “investigation” to cover up the administration’s actions at that time. This “investigation” still claimed students and faculty responsible, though they were seemingly unable to find a witness who was there, not a student, not an administrator, and not a teacher – me.
31. The incumbents supported the administration’s plan to “expose and isolate extremists” – those being people that opposed them: students, members of the public, teachers, civic organizations and so on.
32. The incumbents supported the administration’s plan to shut down the Southwestern College Sun newspaper. Not one word was ever spoken by the board to condemn the administration’s actions to attack Freedom of the Press. This was the second time in one year that national media attention focused on the school, again reflecting badly on the board and administration.
33. The incumbents cobbled together an “evaluation” of Chopra, when it became clear to the public that he was incompetent. In doing so, they removed the faculty from the evaluation process – the first time that had been done in the history of the school. Even Jorge Dominguez denounced the evaluation – allegedly created by Yolanda Salcido – as being “totally unquantifiable.” He described it as, “how do you feel about the job he is doing?” and so on.
34. The incumbents ignored the faculty’s concern about that evaluation. They are on record as dismissing a faculty-created evaluation (one more similar to the one that SWC used before this) as ‘just a few malcontents.’ Those few malcontents were approximately 95% of the few hundred professors who participated and gave him a failing grade.
35. The incumbents continue to support Nick Alioto, even though he doesn’t qualify for his job. A requirement of his position of Vice-President of Business and Finance is a CPA license. He has never been licensed in California, and has let his Wisconsin license expire.
36. YOU CAN HELP BRING POSITIVE CHANGE! Change to Southwestern College and to the South Bay. You can make this happen today by voting for Norma Hernandez, Tim Nader, and Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez.
1. Norma Hernandez spent 31 years working for Southwestern College as a counselor, faculty member, administrator, and the president of the college. She is respected and loved by members of all the departments – and the public – and has made her belief in the importance and value of education known. In her words, “I am committed to restoring the vital educational contributions that Southwestern College can provide to our region.”
2. Tim Nader is a former mayor of Chula Vista, and a two-term city councilman. He spent seven years working as a criminal prosecutor for the Attorney General’s office. After his term as mayor he ran two different non-profit corporations. He spent time in Central Asia with a foreign aid program after 9/11. He returned, spent six years working as a child support attorney, before returning to the Attorney General’s office. He has vast experience in working with complex legal issues and understands how to oversee a multi-million dollar budget. He grew up in a family of educators and believes education to be a cornerstone to a strong community.
3. Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez is the CEO of the San Diego Learning Center, one of the fastest-growing supplemental education centers in the region. She has spent more than 15 years in the education field and founded SDLC in 2001. She has been a member of the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for seven years, and was elected Chairwoman of the Board in 2010. In 2006, she was honored as Entrepreneur of the Year. She is also active National Latina Business Women Association/The Latina Chamber. She has opened five different SDLC locations, and implemented new, unique strategies to create a positive, individual atmosphere for the students she serves.
WHY SHOULDN’T I VOTE FOR THE INCUMBENTS? ACCORDING TO THEM, THEY’RE GREAT. WELL, TO START WITH… THERE’S THE INCUMBENTS’ DISHONESTY –
4. SWC is not in the worst financial crisis of its history. This is the refrain that the incumbents (Yolanda Salcido, Terri Valladolid, and Jorge Dominguez) used to slash classes and lay off employees. They estimated that without those cuts, that the school would be broke. Instead, the school ended up with a $14 million balance, and the “savings” caused by the class cuts could only be estimated at $500,000. What happened? The school was not in the financial crisis they claimed. It was making money.
5. Classes have been cut. Though the incumbents insist that no classes were cut, hundreds of adjunct faculty members were let go and their classes removed from the catalog. These included Basic Skills classes, core classes, classes necessary for students seeking certification, and – most troubling – dozens of classes necessary for students seeking to transfer to a four-year school.
6. Contrary to the incumbents’ continual lie, there were layoffs. Jorge, Yolanda, and Terri insist that “there were no layoffs.” Ask them who Linda Gilstrap, Silvia Lugo, Elisandra Singh, Nevada Smith, Fernando Poveda, and Richard Tibbits are. These are some names of laid-off faculty that I know off the top of my head. There are more – hundreds more.
7. Not only were there layoffs, but at least one employee was screwed over twice. Elisandra Singh challenged the board’s decision to lay her off and replace her with a Los Angeles-based contractor who got paid more and worked less than she did. An impartial arbitrator heard the case and said that the school, without question, should return her to her job and give her the back salary she had lost. The board voted to say “hell, no” to Ms. Singh and refused to give her her job back. They not only laid off employees, but they went out of their way to make sure they stayed laid off.
8. The incumbents are falsely claiming that SWC is “fully accredited” and that there are no problems. The truth is that it will be next spring before WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) makes any decision on the school’s status. SWC is “on track” to make the changes necessary, but they are not complete yet. Considering that much of the work left to be done must be done by the Board, we believe that a Board willing to participate in shared governance will succeed where this one will likely fail.
9. All three of them have lied and lied and lied about many different facts. They have done so in public, at fundraisers, in board meetings, to the press, and in paid advertising.
THE INCUMBENTS’ INCOMPETENCE –
10. The incumbents don’t know how to run a board meeting. Incapable of handling literally the most basic part of their positions, the Board has to hire a paid parliamentarian to tell them if they can do this, do that, say this, say that, vote this way, or hear what someone has to say.
11. Jorge Dominguez can’t stay awake for the meetings. I’ve shown you the pictures of him dozing through Governing Board meetings; you’ve seen them. What you may not know is that this happens so often that it has become a joke among the teachers and those of us who attend the meetings.
12. The incumbents don’t understand “shared governance,” a foundation of running a college. With shared governance, the faculty is allowed to participate in decision-making. At SWC, they are often locked out of the process entirely. Committees are usually headed by an administrator and a faculty member. At SWC, they are often headed by two administrators and no professor.
13. The incumbents believe that their 10:00 pm “bed time” is more important than getting work done. At board meetings, unless the press or a lot of the public are there, they simply end discussion at 10:00 and call it a night. Even if there are reports to be heard, work to be done, or problems to solve, they will simply push it back to another month.
THE INCUMBENTS’ DISRESPECT –
14. The incumbents have no respect for the members of the public, the students, or the teachers that attend governing board meetings. When members of the public speak to them, they can often be found doodling, looking down, looking away, whispering, or spending some time in the washroom.
15. The incumbents have no respect for the voters who looked forward to seeing them at the Candidates’ Forum in October. Every candidate for every seat was invited to an impartial candidate forum in October. The only ones who showed up were challengers – Tim Nader, Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez, Norma Hernandez, and Bud McLeroy. Not one of the incumbents thought their presence at the SWC Candidate Forum was important.
16. Yolanda and Terri don’t respect fellow Board member Nick Aguilar. Aguilar, who often opposes the others, is often ignored, alienated, and insulted by Yolanda and Terri – who seem to simply not want to hear what he has to say.
17. Yolanda Salcido and Terri Valladolid don’t even respect Jorge Dominguez. Last year, a voting bloc of Salcido, Valladolid, and fellow board member Jean Roesch overturned the traditional position of Board President – which was supposed to be Dominguez’s position. Instead, they voted to give Salcido the position, and began their program of building an empire for themselves.
THE INCUMBENTS’ LACK OF CHARACTER –
18. Yolanda Salcido faked an endorsement from student government president Manny Lopez, and when he insisted at a board meeting that he did not endorse her, she refused to comment, apologize, or even look at him.
19. Yolanda Salcido has collected $100,000 in campaign contributions from contractors that come to her looking for million-dollar contracts.
20. Terri Valladolid was fined $1,200 by the California Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to file six required semi-annual campaign statements.
21. Jorge Dominguez was late filing various campaign statements and numbers, but wasn’t fined. At least he got his done eventually.
22. Jorge Dominguez announced his retirement last winter then ran for mayor of Chula Vista. Receiving only about 11% of the vote, he “forgot” that he was retiring.
23. The incumbents allowed administration higher-ups to fundraise for them, in a blatant show of conflict of interest. Superintendent Chopra held fundraisers for Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominguez. Vice President Alioto held a fundraiser for Yolanda Salcido and Terri Valladolid.
24. Superintendent Chopra used official campus literature to help campaign for the incumbents. Using the “News from SWC” newsletter, Chopra attacked Norma Hernandez (without naming her) and tried to rebut (badly) every single point the challengers had brought up in the past two months.
25. The incumbents blame Norma Hernandez for their troubles. Norma was Superintendent of SWC a few years ago. At the time, the Board was micro-managing her at all levels. After they fired a vice-president, which they couldn’t do, she resigned from office – due to the constant interference she was getting from the board, also known as the incumbents. WASC issued a list of several things the school needed to do to keep accreditation, and most of them were laid at the feet of the board itself. Their response? To blame Norma, who wasn’t even involved.
26. Yolanda Salcido claims that Norma “sneaked away in the night.” Untrue. Norma Hernandez received a farewell celebration from members of the administration, student body, and the faculty before she left.
THE INCUMBENTS’ CONTINUAL SUPPORTING OF A CORRUPT, FAILED ADMINISTRATION –
27. The incumbents continue to support Superintendent Raj Chopra and Vice-President Nick Alioto, even though incidences of their malfeasance, corruption, and base stupidity continue to come to light. Chopra has been known to scream – literally, scream – at employees, including one (Elisandra Singh) who reported that he screamed into her face so close that he spat on her while doing it. They also gave him a $15,000 raise during their financial crisis (unlike Norma Hernandez, who took a pay cut during her tenure at SWC). And Alioto has come under fire time and time again for influence peddling, conflicts of interest, shady financial dealings, and more. Many of these can be found on this blog, and I’m not going to list them again.
28. The incumbents supported Chopra’s budget plan – the one that slashed classes, laid off teachers, and sent a couple thousand students home for the last time. When Nick Aguilar asked for a special meeting to discuss any other possible solutions, the rest ignored and supported Chopra’s apocalyptic vision of education.
29. The incumbents supported the administration’s attack on four professors who were deemed to have “incited a riot” during a student-led budget protest (even though one was nowhere near the place). This led to massive national media attention that reflected badly on the board and administration.
30. The incumbents participated in a bogus “investigation” to cover up the administration’s actions at that time. This “investigation” still claimed students and faculty responsible, though they were seemingly unable to find a witness who was there, not a student, not an administrator, and not a teacher – me.
31. The incumbents supported the administration’s plan to “expose and isolate extremists” – those being people that opposed them: students, members of the public, teachers, civic organizations and so on.
32. The incumbents supported the administration’s plan to shut down the Southwestern College Sun newspaper. Not one word was ever spoken by the board to condemn the administration’s actions to attack Freedom of the Press. This was the second time in one year that national media attention focused on the school, again reflecting badly on the board and administration.
33. The incumbents cobbled together an “evaluation” of Chopra, when it became clear to the public that he was incompetent. In doing so, they removed the faculty from the evaluation process – the first time that had been done in the history of the school. Even Jorge Dominguez denounced the evaluation – allegedly created by Yolanda Salcido – as being “totally unquantifiable.” He described it as, “how do you feel about the job he is doing?” and so on.
34. The incumbents ignored the faculty’s concern about that evaluation. They are on record as dismissing a faculty-created evaluation (one more similar to the one that SWC used before this) as ‘just a few malcontents.’ Those few malcontents were approximately 95% of the few hundred professors who participated and gave him a failing grade.
35. The incumbents continue to support Nick Alioto, even though he doesn’t qualify for his job. A requirement of his position of Vice-President of Business and Finance is a CPA license. He has never been licensed in California, and has let his Wisconsin license expire.
36. YOU CAN HELP BRING POSITIVE CHANGE! Change to Southwestern College and to the South Bay. You can make this happen today by voting for Norma Hernandez, Tim Nader, and Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez.
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Governing Board Shows Their Hate to You and Your Family
Para Español
Hate is a strong word. It’s an ugly word. But sometimes it’s an accurate word. It’s a word that we teach our children not to use. But more importantly, we teach them not to hate.
Rarely does anyone say, “I hate you.” But too often they demonstrate hatred. They look at others with cold eyes and tight-lipped mouths. They stare at those they hate, not even blinking – because, to them, blinking is a sign of weakness, a lessening of the hate they feel. Or if they prefer not to stare, they simply refuse to meet your eyes, dismissing you as not worth looking at.
They speak to others in a condescending way, believing that they are not worth speaking to. They insult others – sometimes directly to their faces, and sometimes behind their backs. If they do speak to you, they do so through clenched teeth and closed mouths. They demonstrate hate without having to say it.
They disrespect you. They lie to you. They lie about you. They treat you as an object, something to be used, abused, and discarded when they are through with you.
You are nothing to these people.
The Southwestern College Governing Board has a lot of hatred to give. Whether or not you want it, whether or not you deserve it… they will demonstrate their hatred of you. They have done so in the past, they are doing so right now, and unless things change on November 2nd, they will continue to do so in the future.
Simply so they could keep a lot of money in the bank – money that should have been spent on classes and teachers – your father, the adjunct professor, was laid off. They did not care that without him in front of that class, there would be no one to teach his students.
Your children – the ones who are attending SWC to get their Associates’ degree, or the ones trying to get enough credits to transfer to UCSD, or the ones trying to get a certificate so they can get a better job – are the ones who are suffering.
All so the Board can have $14 million in the bank.
Your wife, who worked for the school, was laid off. She was qualified for the job she held. She very likely attended Southwestern College herself, and loved the idea that she could work for the people that had given her that important education. But like the professors, she was let go.
For her, it was even worse. The college still needed the work done, but she wasn’t there to do it. Instead, the administration hired a “consultant” to do the work that she had done. They paid them more, and worked them less. When they were finished, the consultants went back to Los Angeles, giving nothing back to the community that you and your wife belonged to.
And when you spoke up at a board meeting and asked about these layoffs, what did the Governing Board do?
They lied. They told you that there were “no layoffs of any kind.”
And then they lied to the Union-Tribune, and to The Star News, and La Prensa San Diego, and to any other newspaper and television that would listen.
“We had no layoffs.” Jorge Dominguez, Terri Valladolid and Yolanda Salcido have told everyone that. They’ve bought ads in those same newspapers, and sent flyers to your mailbox that read – in bold type:
“There were no layoffs of any kind.”
But your father, or your wife, is now unemployed and looking for whatever work they can get. You know better. You know there were layoffs. And you know that the Board is lying.
Your son, who is working for the Southwestern College Sun newspaper is labeled an “extremist” by the board, because he disagrees with what they are doing. He is one of those students who were told that they are running a lousy newspaper, because what they should be doing is making the college and the board look good.
Yet the Sun is given awards again and again, and is called “the best community college newspaper in America.” He is earning valuable work experience at the best student newspaper there is. He will have a very good note on his transcript: “staff member at the Southwestern College Sun.”
But if the board has their way, the Sun would cease to exist. And they do not care about your son, his experience, or his transcript.
And if your son is caught carrying a laptop computer out of the newspaper office to work on a story, the campus police can stop and threaten him with arrest. They did so this year to four journalism students – students who were doing nothing more than they needed to do for their class.
The board has $14 million in the bank. That’s what’s important to them. Not your son.
Your daughter has only one class left before she can transfer to one of the University of California schools. But because of the class cuts, she now has to wait. There are students from all over the district who are one or two classes away from being able to transfer, but they can’t. The class she needs is only offered one time, and hundreds of students are trying to get into it. If she’s lucky, maybe next semester she can get in. If not… maybe she can find a job without that education.
Ask around. You’ll find any number of daughters and sons in the same situation she’s in. This is not her fault. It is the fault of our administration and our board. They do not care. The board members buy ads in the newspapers, and announce that there have been “no reductions in the number of classes.”
Tell your daughter that – the girl who has been waiting for six months or a year to take that one class.
The board members are telling people now that the school is “fully accredited.” What they’re not telling you is that they are still on probation from WASC – the group that oversees accreditation in California schools. And unless the board takes responsibility for the terrible way they do things, SWC may very well lose accreditation next year.
And those credits your children have earned will suddenly be worthless.
Then tell all this to your husband. He works hard to keep the bills paid, to keep dinner on the table, to make sure that your children can go to college and get the educations that they want. Tell him.
At work, he hears some other talking about Southwestern College. Someone asks about the laid off teachers, or the students who can’t go to school anymore, or possibly losing accreditation. And someone else answers:
“I heard from Yolanda Salcido” or “Terri Valladolid” or “Jorge Dominguez – none of that happened. Those are lies, made up by extremists.”
Tell him when he comes home and your daughter is still waiting to get into that class.
And tell him it’s not right to hate. He, and you, and your children, and your wife, and your parents are all better than that. They are better than the Governing Board.
Because even though the board loves that money, and they really love their jobs, they don’t care about you at all.
Hate is a strong word, an ugly word. But sometimes it’s an accurate word.
On November 2nd, vote for those who don’t hate you. Vote for those who want to see the professors working, and the students learning, and the employees doing their jobs instead of Los Angeles consultants. Vote for those who won’t lie to you, and about you. Vote for those who believe that those millions of dollars should be spent and not hoarded. Vote for those who believe that they owe the college, not that the college owes them.
On November 2nd, vote for Norma Hernandez, Tim Nader, and Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez. You can end the hate.
(Spanish translation by Marielle Ceja.)
Hate is a strong word. It’s an ugly word. But sometimes it’s an accurate word. It’s a word that we teach our children not to use. But more importantly, we teach them not to hate.
Rarely does anyone say, “I hate you.” But too often they demonstrate hatred. They look at others with cold eyes and tight-lipped mouths. They stare at those they hate, not even blinking – because, to them, blinking is a sign of weakness, a lessening of the hate they feel. Or if they prefer not to stare, they simply refuse to meet your eyes, dismissing you as not worth looking at.
They speak to others in a condescending way, believing that they are not worth speaking to. They insult others – sometimes directly to their faces, and sometimes behind their backs. If they do speak to you, they do so through clenched teeth and closed mouths. They demonstrate hate without having to say it.
They disrespect you. They lie to you. They lie about you. They treat you as an object, something to be used, abused, and discarded when they are through with you.
You are nothing to these people.
The Southwestern College Governing Board has a lot of hatred to give. Whether or not you want it, whether or not you deserve it… they will demonstrate their hatred of you. They have done so in the past, they are doing so right now, and unless things change on November 2nd, they will continue to do so in the future.
Simply so they could keep a lot of money in the bank – money that should have been spent on classes and teachers – your father, the adjunct professor, was laid off. They did not care that without him in front of that class, there would be no one to teach his students.
Your children – the ones who are attending SWC to get their Associates’ degree, or the ones trying to get enough credits to transfer to UCSD, or the ones trying to get a certificate so they can get a better job – are the ones who are suffering.
All so the Board can have $14 million in the bank.
Your wife, who worked for the school, was laid off. She was qualified for the job she held. She very likely attended Southwestern College herself, and loved the idea that she could work for the people that had given her that important education. But like the professors, she was let go.
For her, it was even worse. The college still needed the work done, but she wasn’t there to do it. Instead, the administration hired a “consultant” to do the work that she had done. They paid them more, and worked them less. When they were finished, the consultants went back to Los Angeles, giving nothing back to the community that you and your wife belonged to.
And when you spoke up at a board meeting and asked about these layoffs, what did the Governing Board do?
They lied. They told you that there were “no layoffs of any kind.”
And then they lied to the Union-Tribune, and to The Star News, and La Prensa San Diego, and to any other newspaper and television that would listen.
“We had no layoffs.” Jorge Dominguez, Terri Valladolid and Yolanda Salcido have told everyone that. They’ve bought ads in those same newspapers, and sent flyers to your mailbox that read – in bold type:
“There were no layoffs of any kind.”
But your father, or your wife, is now unemployed and looking for whatever work they can get. You know better. You know there were layoffs. And you know that the Board is lying.
Your son, who is working for the Southwestern College Sun newspaper is labeled an “extremist” by the board, because he disagrees with what they are doing. He is one of those students who were told that they are running a lousy newspaper, because what they should be doing is making the college and the board look good.
Yet the Sun is given awards again and again, and is called “the best community college newspaper in America.” He is earning valuable work experience at the best student newspaper there is. He will have a very good note on his transcript: “staff member at the Southwestern College Sun.”
But if the board has their way, the Sun would cease to exist. And they do not care about your son, his experience, or his transcript.
And if your son is caught carrying a laptop computer out of the newspaper office to work on a story, the campus police can stop and threaten him with arrest. They did so this year to four journalism students – students who were doing nothing more than they needed to do for their class.
The board has $14 million in the bank. That’s what’s important to them. Not your son.
Your daughter has only one class left before she can transfer to one of the University of California schools. But because of the class cuts, she now has to wait. There are students from all over the district who are one or two classes away from being able to transfer, but they can’t. The class she needs is only offered one time, and hundreds of students are trying to get into it. If she’s lucky, maybe next semester she can get in. If not… maybe she can find a job without that education.
Ask around. You’ll find any number of daughters and sons in the same situation she’s in. This is not her fault. It is the fault of our administration and our board. They do not care. The board members buy ads in the newspapers, and announce that there have been “no reductions in the number of classes.”
Tell your daughter that – the girl who has been waiting for six months or a year to take that one class.
The board members are telling people now that the school is “fully accredited.” What they’re not telling you is that they are still on probation from WASC – the group that oversees accreditation in California schools. And unless the board takes responsibility for the terrible way they do things, SWC may very well lose accreditation next year.
And those credits your children have earned will suddenly be worthless.
Then tell all this to your husband. He works hard to keep the bills paid, to keep dinner on the table, to make sure that your children can go to college and get the educations that they want. Tell him.
At work, he hears some other talking about Southwestern College. Someone asks about the laid off teachers, or the students who can’t go to school anymore, or possibly losing accreditation. And someone else answers:
“I heard from Yolanda Salcido” or “Terri Valladolid” or “Jorge Dominguez – none of that happened. Those are lies, made up by extremists.”
Tell him when he comes home and your daughter is still waiting to get into that class.
And tell him it’s not right to hate. He, and you, and your children, and your wife, and your parents are all better than that. They are better than the Governing Board.
Because even though the board loves that money, and they really love their jobs, they don’t care about you at all.
Hate is a strong word, an ugly word. But sometimes it’s an accurate word.
On November 2nd, vote for those who don’t hate you. Vote for those who want to see the professors working, and the students learning, and the employees doing their jobs instead of Los Angeles consultants. Vote for those who won’t lie to you, and about you. Vote for those who believe that those millions of dollars should be spent and not hoarded. Vote for those who believe that they owe the college, not that the college owes them.
On November 2nd, vote for Norma Hernandez, Tim Nader, and Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez. You can end the hate.
(Spanish translation by Marielle Ceja.)
La Junta de Gobierno te odia a ti, y a tu familia.
In English
Odio es una palabra muy fuerte. Es una palabra grotesca. Pero veces es una palabra muy precisa. Es una palabra que enseñamos a nuestros hijos a no usar. Pero aun mas importante, les enseñamos a no odiar.
Raramente alguien dice, “te odio.” Pero muchas veces demuestran desagrado. Miran a otros con una mirada fría y labios firmes. Los miran fijamente, sin tan siquiera parpadear – porque para ellos, el parpadeo es una señal de debilidad, un decremento al odio que ellos sienten. En cambio otros prefieren no mirar fijamente, ellos simplemente se niegan a mirarte como si no valieras la pena.
Ellos le hablan a los demás de una manera condescendiente, creyendo que no son lo suficientemente importantes para hablarles. Insultan a otros – unas veces directamente en su presencia, otras a escondidas. Si deciden dirigirte la palabra, lo hacen con dientes apretados y boca cerrada. Demuestran el odio sin tener que decirlo con palabras.
Te faltan al respeto. Te mienten. Mienten sobre ti. Te tratan como si fueras un objeto, algo que pueden usar, abusar y desechar cuando ya no lo necesitan.
¡No eres nada para esta gente!
La Junta de Gobierno del Colegio Southwestern tiene mucho desagrado por ofrecer. Te guste o no, lo merezcas o no…ellos demostraran su desagrado hacia ti. Lo han hecho en el pasado, lo hacen en este momento; a menos que hagamos un cambio el 2 de Noviembre, ellos continuaran haciéndolo en el futuro.
Esto es solo para que ellos puedan mantener su dinero y economía en el banco – dinero que debe de ser usado en cursos para estudiantes y maestros – tu padre, el profesor adjunto, fue despedido temporalmente. A ellos no les importo que si no estaba el enfrente de su clase, no habría nadie para enseñar a sus alumnos.
Tus hijos, los que atienden el Colegio Southwestern para obtener su grado académico, los que están terminando sus unidades para transferirse a la Universidad, al igual que los que buscan un mejor trabajo – son los que están sufriendo en todo momento.
Todo esto, para que la Junta de Gobierno pueda tener $14 millones en el banco. ¿Es justo?
Tu esposa, la que trabajo para nuestra escuela, también fue despedida temporalmente. Ella califica para el trabajo que tiene. Ella también muy probablemente atendió el Colegio Southwestern, y a ella le fascino la idea de poder trabajar para la gente que la ayudo a tener esa educación tan importante. Pero al igual que otros profesores, fue descansada.
Para ella, fue peor. El colegio aun necesitaba de su trabajo, pero ella ya no estaba ahí para hacerlo. En cambio, el centro de administración contrato a un “asesor” para hacer el trabajo que ella hace, o mejor dicho, hacía. Les pagaron más, y trabajaron menos. Cuando tales terminaron su labor, regresaron a Los Angeles, sin darle absolutamente nada a la comunidad a la que tú y tu esposa pertenecen.
¿Y cuando nosotros nos dimos a escuchar en la Junta de Gobierno preguntando acerca de estos profesionales que fueron despedidos temporalmente, que hizo la Junta de Gobierno?
Ellos mintieron. Y nos dijeron que no había “descanso de ningún tipo.”
Y después ellos le mintieron al periódico “The Union-Tribune”, al ¨The Star News,” “La Prensa San Diego” y a cualquier otro medio periodístico o televisivo que los hubiera escuchado.
“No tenemos despidos temporales.” Jorge Domínguez, Terri Valladolid y Yolanda Salcido les han comentado a todos. Ellos han comprado anuncios en esos mismos periódicos y enviados flyers y anuncios a tu correo electrónico donde dice con letras resaltadas:
¨No ha habido despidos temporales de ningún tipo¨
Pero tu padre, tu esposa están ahora desempleados y buscando cualquier trabajo donde puedan trabajar. Tú sabes mejor que nadie. Tú sabes que fueron despedidos. Y también tú sabes que la Junta de Gobierno te está mintiendo.
Tu hijo, quien está trabajando para el periódico “The Southwestern College Sun,” está siendo etiquetado como extremista por la Junta de Gobierno, solo porque ellos están en desacuerdo con lo que están haciendo. El es uno a los que se les dijo que están manejando un periódico vil y malo.
Aun que a nuestro periódico “Sun” se le ha reconocido una y otra vez, y es llamado ¨El mejor periódico colegial en América.” Esta ganando experiencia laboral muy valuable en el mejor periódico estudiantil que hay. El tendrá una excelente nota en su expediente: “Miembro del equipo en ¨The Southwestern College Sun.”
Y esos créditos por terminar que tus hijos han hecho con tanto esfuerzo, repentinamente no tendrán valor de ningún tipo.
Después, dile todo esto a tu esposo. El, que también trabaja para poder pagar sus recibos, para tener comida en la mesa, para asegurarse que tus hijos puedan ir al colegio y que tengan la educación que merecen. Díselo a él también.
En el trabajo, el escucha a otros hablar sobre el Colegio Southwestern, nuestra escuela. Alguien pregunta sobre los profesores que fueron despedidos temporalmente, de los estudiantes que ya no pueden ir a la escuela por falta de clases, o los que probablemente pierdan sus créditos que han hecho con tanto esfuerzo. Cuando alguien más pregunta, “Yo escuche de Yolanda Salcido” o “Terri Valladolid” o “Jorge Domínguez” – “¡Nada de esto ha pasado! Esas son mentiras, hechas por extremistas”
Díselo cuando llegue a casa y tu hija aun este esperando poder registrarse en una clase.
También dile que no es bueno odiar. El, tú, tus hijos, tu esposa, y tu familia son algo mejor que eso. Son mejores que la Junta de Gobierno.
Porque aunque la Junta de Gobierno ame ese dinero, y ellos también amen su trabajo, a ellos; ni tú, ni nadie les importa.
Recuerda que el odio es una palabra muy fuerte. Es una palabra grotesca. Pero veces es una palabra muy precisa.
El 2 de Noviembre, vota por esos a los que tu no odias. Vota por esos que quieren ver a los profesores trabajar, y a los estudiantes aprender. Para los empleados que hacen su trabajo en lugar de por los “asesores” de Los Angeles. Vota por los que no te mentirán, y no mentirán sobre ti. Vota por los que creen y saben que esos millones de dólares deben de ser bien usados en tus hijos y su futuro, y no acumulados o tirados a la basura. Vota por los que creen que le deben al colegio, y no que el colegio les debe a ellos.
Este 2 de Noviembre, vota por Norma Hernández, Tim Nader, y Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez. Con tu voto, podemos terminar el odio.
--Translated by Marielle Ceja
Odio es una palabra muy fuerte. Es una palabra grotesca. Pero veces es una palabra muy precisa. Es una palabra que enseñamos a nuestros hijos a no usar. Pero aun mas importante, les enseñamos a no odiar.
Raramente alguien dice, “te odio.” Pero muchas veces demuestran desagrado. Miran a otros con una mirada fría y labios firmes. Los miran fijamente, sin tan siquiera parpadear – porque para ellos, el parpadeo es una señal de debilidad, un decremento al odio que ellos sienten. En cambio otros prefieren no mirar fijamente, ellos simplemente se niegan a mirarte como si no valieras la pena.
Ellos le hablan a los demás de una manera condescendiente, creyendo que no son lo suficientemente importantes para hablarles. Insultan a otros – unas veces directamente en su presencia, otras a escondidas. Si deciden dirigirte la palabra, lo hacen con dientes apretados y boca cerrada. Demuestran el odio sin tener que decirlo con palabras.
Te faltan al respeto. Te mienten. Mienten sobre ti. Te tratan como si fueras un objeto, algo que pueden usar, abusar y desechar cuando ya no lo necesitan.
¡No eres nada para esta gente!
La Junta de Gobierno del Colegio Southwestern tiene mucho desagrado por ofrecer. Te guste o no, lo merezcas o no…ellos demostraran su desagrado hacia ti. Lo han hecho en el pasado, lo hacen en este momento; a menos que hagamos un cambio el 2 de Noviembre, ellos continuaran haciéndolo en el futuro.
Esto es solo para que ellos puedan mantener su dinero y economía en el banco – dinero que debe de ser usado en cursos para estudiantes y maestros – tu padre, el profesor adjunto, fue despedido temporalmente. A ellos no les importo que si no estaba el enfrente de su clase, no habría nadie para enseñar a sus alumnos.
Tus hijos, los que atienden el Colegio Southwestern para obtener su grado académico, los que están terminando sus unidades para transferirse a la Universidad, al igual que los que buscan un mejor trabajo – son los que están sufriendo en todo momento.
Todo esto, para que la Junta de Gobierno pueda tener $14 millones en el banco. ¿Es justo?
Tu esposa, la que trabajo para nuestra escuela, también fue despedida temporalmente. Ella califica para el trabajo que tiene. Ella también muy probablemente atendió el Colegio Southwestern, y a ella le fascino la idea de poder trabajar para la gente que la ayudo a tener esa educación tan importante. Pero al igual que otros profesores, fue descansada.
Para ella, fue peor. El colegio aun necesitaba de su trabajo, pero ella ya no estaba ahí para hacerlo. En cambio, el centro de administración contrato a un “asesor” para hacer el trabajo que ella hace, o mejor dicho, hacía. Les pagaron más, y trabajaron menos. Cuando tales terminaron su labor, regresaron a Los Angeles, sin darle absolutamente nada a la comunidad a la que tú y tu esposa pertenecen.
¿Y cuando nosotros nos dimos a escuchar en la Junta de Gobierno preguntando acerca de estos profesionales que fueron despedidos temporalmente, que hizo la Junta de Gobierno?
Ellos mintieron. Y nos dijeron que no había “descanso de ningún tipo.”
Y después ellos le mintieron al periódico “The Union-Tribune”, al ¨The Star News,” “La Prensa San Diego” y a cualquier otro medio periodístico o televisivo que los hubiera escuchado.
“No tenemos despidos temporales.” Jorge Domínguez, Terri Valladolid y Yolanda Salcido les han comentado a todos. Ellos han comprado anuncios en esos mismos periódicos y enviados flyers y anuncios a tu correo electrónico donde dice con letras resaltadas:
¨No ha habido despidos temporales de ningún tipo¨
Pero tu padre, tu esposa están ahora desempleados y buscando cualquier trabajo donde puedan trabajar. Tú sabes mejor que nadie. Tú sabes que fueron despedidos. Y también tú sabes que la Junta de Gobierno te está mintiendo.
Tu hijo, quien está trabajando para el periódico “The Southwestern College Sun,” está siendo etiquetado como extremista por la Junta de Gobierno, solo porque ellos están en desacuerdo con lo que están haciendo. El es uno a los que se les dijo que están manejando un periódico vil y malo.
Aun que a nuestro periódico “Sun” se le ha reconocido una y otra vez, y es llamado ¨El mejor periódico colegial en América.” Esta ganando experiencia laboral muy valuable en el mejor periódico estudiantil que hay. El tendrá una excelente nota en su expediente: “Miembro del equipo en ¨The Southwestern College Sun.”
Y esos créditos por terminar que tus hijos han hecho con tanto esfuerzo, repentinamente no tendrán valor de ningún tipo.
Después, dile todo esto a tu esposo. El, que también trabaja para poder pagar sus recibos, para tener comida en la mesa, para asegurarse que tus hijos puedan ir al colegio y que tengan la educación que merecen. Díselo a él también.
En el trabajo, el escucha a otros hablar sobre el Colegio Southwestern, nuestra escuela. Alguien pregunta sobre los profesores que fueron despedidos temporalmente, de los estudiantes que ya no pueden ir a la escuela por falta de clases, o los que probablemente pierdan sus créditos que han hecho con tanto esfuerzo. Cuando alguien más pregunta, “Yo escuche de Yolanda Salcido” o “Terri Valladolid” o “Jorge Domínguez” – “¡Nada de esto ha pasado! Esas son mentiras, hechas por extremistas”
Díselo cuando llegue a casa y tu hija aun este esperando poder registrarse en una clase.
También dile que no es bueno odiar. El, tú, tus hijos, tu esposa, y tu familia son algo mejor que eso. Son mejores que la Junta de Gobierno.
Porque aunque la Junta de Gobierno ame ese dinero, y ellos también amen su trabajo, a ellos; ni tú, ni nadie les importa.
Recuerda que el odio es una palabra muy fuerte. Es una palabra grotesca. Pero veces es una palabra muy precisa.
El 2 de Noviembre, vota por esos a los que tu no odias. Vota por esos que quieren ver a los profesores trabajar, y a los estudiantes aprender. Para los empleados que hacen su trabajo en lugar de por los “asesores” de Los Angeles. Vota por los que no te mentirán, y no mentirán sobre ti. Vota por los que creen y saben que esos millones de dólares deben de ser bien usados en tus hijos y su futuro, y no acumulados o tirados a la basura. Vota por los que creen que le deben al colegio, y no que el colegio les debe a ellos.
Este 2 de Noviembre, vota por Norma Hernández, Tim Nader, y Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez. Con tu voto, podemos terminar el odio.
--Translated by Marielle Ceja
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