The Senate committee of State Affairs is discussing SB 1164 which would allow Concealed Handgun License holders to take their guns on to college campuses. The committee is meeting in the Senate Chamber.
“I don’t want to see Texas students picked off like sitting ducks by some deranged madman as has happened on other campuses,” said Senator Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, at the committee hearing. Wentworth is of many author and co-authors of SB 1164. The senate bill is identical to HB 1893 which made it out of the House committee on Public Safety on April 8.
“I think it is a terrible idea. I’m not even sure why they are considering [allowing guns on campus],” says John Woods, a University of Texas Graduate student and was a student at Virginia Tech during the deadly shooting in 2007. Woods said he was surprised the House bill made it out of committee and now he hopes the Senate bill does not make it to out of its committee.
“I’ve spoken to survivors and they have all said the same thing, ‘Guns would not have helped. It all happened too quickly,’” said Woods.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Changing the Legal Smoking Age
Having a smoke seems to be getting harder by the day. ACC is thinking of banning smoking on campus altogether. Read the Accent story here. Now the Texas Legislature is proposing changing the legal age a person can purchase tobacco from 18 to 19.
The Senate passed bill SB 1049 on Wednesday by a vote of 25 to 5. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
The purpose of the bill is to keep cigarettes out of high schools were cigarettes purchased legally by an 18 year old student then get shared to younger classmates.
Four other states have changed the smoking age to 19: New Jersey, Alabama, Alaska and Utah.
Currently a minor who purchases or is in possession of tobacco can be sent to community service, forced to attend a tobacco awareness class, be fined 250 dollars and lose their driver’s license.
So if an 18 year old is not responsible enough to drink or smoke why should he or she be allowed to vote, drive or join the military?
Check out the editorial in the Accent about the proposed smoking ban at ACC.
The Senate passed bill SB 1049 on Wednesday by a vote of 25 to 5. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
The purpose of the bill is to keep cigarettes out of high schools were cigarettes purchased legally by an 18 year old student then get shared to younger classmates.
Four other states have changed the smoking age to 19: New Jersey, Alabama, Alaska and Utah.
Currently a minor who purchases or is in possession of tobacco can be sent to community service, forced to attend a tobacco awareness class, be fined 250 dollars and lose their driver’s license.
So if an 18 year old is not responsible enough to drink or smoke why should he or she be allowed to vote, drive or join the military?
Check out the editorial in the Accent about the proposed smoking ban at ACC.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuition Cap Bills in Committee
The House Higher Education committee will meet today at 2 pm and a number of bills proposing to put a cap on tuition at institution of higher education will be discussed. Check the committee schedule here.
Monday, April 13, 2009
ACC Wants to Drop the Six-Drop Rule
ACC administration is asking state representatives to back legislation that would remove community colleges from the six drop rule.
“We feel that our students at community college are not just students who pay their full tuition, take a full load and then all the other things they do in their life is study,” says Linda Young, Special Assistant to the President for External Affairs at ACC. “They are people who work, some of them work two jobs, some of them come part time, some of them take a full load and work full time.”
Students at ACC many times have responsibilities outside of the classroom, like family obligations and jobs, and there will be times when they have to drop a class to take care of those responsibilities, says Young.
The current policy states that students may only drop six courses throughout their entire undergraduate career. There are some exceptions to the policy. For example if there is a death in the family or there is a change in work schedule, a student can drop a course without it counting against them if they provide the proper documentation.
“The key is for students to be successful in their courses and that is what we really concentrate on,” says Dr. Kathleen Christensen VP of Student Support and Success Systems. She feels the six drop rule is unnecessary because ACC already monitors the course completion rate of all credit students and has a policy in place for dealing with students who drop too many courses.
Representative Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, has submitted a bill, HB 3518, that would free community colleges from the burden of the six drop rule.
“I had an uncomfortable feeling,” says Alonzo of the six drop rule when it was first made part of Texas Education policy. So when ACC’s office of External Affairs asked if he could write a bill dealing with the issue, Alonzo gladly complied.
“For junior college folks it’s kind of a different situation,” says Alonzo. “I think we need to look at helping students out.”
The bill is in the House Higher Education committee and Alonzo thinks it has a chance at being passed but encourages students who have a strong opinion on the six drop rule to email him and let him know how they feel.
“It is important if there are students who feel very strongly about it to let me know,” says Alonzo. “I think its right and that’s why I introduced the legislation but the more support that you have for it the better.”
“We feel that our students at community college are not just students who pay their full tuition, take a full load and then all the other things they do in their life is study,” says Linda Young, Special Assistant to the President for External Affairs at ACC. “They are people who work, some of them work two jobs, some of them come part time, some of them take a full load and work full time.”
Students at ACC many times have responsibilities outside of the classroom, like family obligations and jobs, and there will be times when they have to drop a class to take care of those responsibilities, says Young.
The current policy states that students may only drop six courses throughout their entire undergraduate career. There are some exceptions to the policy. For example if there is a death in the family or there is a change in work schedule, a student can drop a course without it counting against them if they provide the proper documentation.
“The key is for students to be successful in their courses and that is what we really concentrate on,” says Dr. Kathleen Christensen VP of Student Support and Success Systems. She feels the six drop rule is unnecessary because ACC already monitors the course completion rate of all credit students and has a policy in place for dealing with students who drop too many courses.
Representative Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, has submitted a bill, HB 3518, that would free community colleges from the burden of the six drop rule.
“I had an uncomfortable feeling,” says Alonzo of the six drop rule when it was first made part of Texas Education policy. So when ACC’s office of External Affairs asked if he could write a bill dealing with the issue, Alonzo gladly complied.
“For junior college folks it’s kind of a different situation,” says Alonzo. “I think we need to look at helping students out.”
The bill is in the House Higher Education committee and Alonzo thinks it has a chance at being passed but encourages students who have a strong opinion on the six drop rule to email him and let him know how they feel.
“It is important if there are students who feel very strongly about it to let me know,” says Alonzo. “I think its right and that’s why I introduced the legislation but the more support that you have for it the better.”
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
ACC Lobbying for Fair Share of Employee Healthcare Funds
Money for employee healthcare is a key issue ACC administration is talking to state representatives about during the 81st State Legislative session.
Members of the board of trustees, the president of ACC, and the office of External Affairs have all taken the time to call, send letters and talk face to face with central Texas state representatives about the issue of Proportionality.
Under the current state policy institutions of higher education receive funding for employ healthcare that matches or is proportional to the state funds the institution receives. ACC and other community colleges across the state receive much of their funding from local sources and they receive a smaller amount of state funds than larger four-year institutions. Therefore ACC and other community colleges do not receive the same amount of money for employee healthcare that larger four-year institutions do.
“Proportionality is being applied unfairly,” said Linda Young, Special Assistant to the President for External Affairs at ACC. If proportionality is once more included in the budget bill it could cost ACC $2.6 million in the coming two years. The money for employee healthcare has to come from somewhere says Young and that could mean higher tuition or more fees in the future.
In a letter sent to local state representatives signed by Dr. Stephen Kinslow, President of ACC, and Nan McRaven, Chairperson of the ACC Board of Trustees, the administration asks representatives to exclude proportionality from the budget bill and to support bills in the House (HB 2083) and Senate (SB 41) “which would resolve the Proportionality issue.”
“Those bills would say that this formula for figuring how we support benefits for faculty in higher education would not apply to community colleges which don’t get the same amount of funding that the four year (universities) do,” said Young.
“For our students to be successful we have to have top notch educators and we do and we want to continue to attract and retain our faculty and our administrators and professional staff,” said Nan McRaven, Chairperson of the ACC Board of Trustees. For ACC to attract and retain faculty and staff the college needs to be able to offer things like healthcare to its employees. McRaven says the issue of proportionality affects employees, students and the wider ACC community.
“If the state isn’t doing it (providing funds for healthcare) then it falls on our local community and that takes away dollars that we could be spending on our students,” says McRaven.
Members of the board of trustees, the president of ACC, and the office of External Affairs have all taken the time to call, send letters and talk face to face with central Texas state representatives about the issue of Proportionality.
Under the current state policy institutions of higher education receive funding for employ healthcare that matches or is proportional to the state funds the institution receives. ACC and other community colleges across the state receive much of their funding from local sources and they receive a smaller amount of state funds than larger four-year institutions. Therefore ACC and other community colleges do not receive the same amount of money for employee healthcare that larger four-year institutions do.
“Proportionality is being applied unfairly,” said Linda Young, Special Assistant to the President for External Affairs at ACC. If proportionality is once more included in the budget bill it could cost ACC $2.6 million in the coming two years. The money for employee healthcare has to come from somewhere says Young and that could mean higher tuition or more fees in the future.
In a letter sent to local state representatives signed by Dr. Stephen Kinslow, President of ACC, and Nan McRaven, Chairperson of the ACC Board of Trustees, the administration asks representatives to exclude proportionality from the budget bill and to support bills in the House (HB 2083) and Senate (SB 41) “which would resolve the Proportionality issue.”
“Those bills would say that this formula for figuring how we support benefits for faculty in higher education would not apply to community colleges which don’t get the same amount of funding that the four year (universities) do,” said Young.
“For our students to be successful we have to have top notch educators and we do and we want to continue to attract and retain our faculty and our administrators and professional staff,” said Nan McRaven, Chairperson of the ACC Board of Trustees. For ACC to attract and retain faculty and staff the college needs to be able to offer things like healthcare to its employees. McRaven says the issue of proportionality affects employees, students and the wider ACC community.
“If the state isn’t doing it (providing funds for healthcare) then it falls on our local community and that takes away dollars that we could be spending on our students,” says McRaven.
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