Mesa Legend - ARCHIVES - Vol. 40, Issue 9


Volume 40, Issue 9. Today is .

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Volume 40, Issue 9.
February 4, 2003

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District focuses on community issues
By Dan Smith
Mesa Legend

A “doctor appointment” occurred on campus recently, at least that’s how President-elect of Maricopa County Community College District (MCCD) Governing Board, Ed Contreras described the Community Listening Session that took place in the Navajo Room on Jan. 23.

PHOTO BY CARLY SCHORMAN/MESA LEGEND

MCCD Governing Board Members at the community listening session that took place on Jan. 23 in the Navajo Room.

The event was designed to check the “pulse” of Maricopa Community Colleges to see if it matched the “heartbeat of the community,” said Contreras at the beginning of the gathering. The assembly was headed by the MCCD Governing Board and the audience of community members filled the room, members of the board spoke as well as local citizens.

The brunt of the orators offered praise to the Governing Board of MCCD, but some criticism came from speakers such as East Valley NAACP President Laverne DeCosta who chastised MCCD because they “are guilty of having obstacles,” for African Americans who seek promotion. DeCosta implied that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC is responsible for the majority of African American promotion in the District.

Other criticism came in support for minority groups of Maricopa County when foreign language professor Dr. Elias Esquer pointed out that a commuA “doctor appointment” occurred on campus recently, at least that’s how President-elect of Maricopa County Community College District (MCCD) Governing Board, Ed Contreras described the Community Listening Session that took place in the Navajo Room on Jan. 23.

The event was designed to check the “pulse” of Maricopa Community Colleges to see if it matched the “heartbeat of the community,” said Contreras at the beginning of the gathering. The assembly was headed by the MCCD Governing Board and the audience of community members filled the room, members of the board spoke as well as local citizens.

The brunt of the orators offered praise to the Governing Board of MCCD, but some criticism came from speakers such as East Valley NAACP President Laverne DeCosta who chastised MCCD because they “are guilty of having obstacles,” for African Americans who seek promotion. DeCosta implied that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC is responsible for the majority of African American promotion in the District.

Other criticism came in support for minority groups of Maricopa County when foreign language professor Dr. Elias Esquer pointed out that a community college “has to reflect the community,” and that MCC’s Hispanic faculty, “does not reflect the community.” Esquer cited the need for Hispanic role models on the payroll to mirror the demographic of the area.
The importance of creating a world class work force to compete in a global economy was stressed by the President of East Valley Partnership, Roc Arnett. Arnett emphasized the need for “agility in the work force.”

Arnett pointed out the need to “raise the bar of the work force,” and later during the session came under scrutiny for his use of the words “capture,” and “harness,” while referring to the Hispanic community.
“We do not want to be captured, we do not want to be harnessed,” said member of the Commission on Excellence in Education, Pete Moraga, showing dissent at the podium towards Arnett’s comments.
The credibility of Arnett was backed at the end of the session by Dr. Donald Campbell who attested to the sincere concern that Arnett has for minorities by citing Arnett’s work with them in the past. Campbell also echoed earlier sentiments about the need of bringing more of the Hispanic population into the work force.

ASMCC President Art Betancourt spoke at the session calling for an emphasis on career reentry, additional curriculum and improvement of transportation and parking. Betancourt appealed to the board to “be diligent to protect the needs and dreams of students.”

Also addressed during the presentations was the master plan for MCCD in conjunction with the upcoming bond election. Lionel Diaz, the Director of Facilities, Planning and Development stated that by 2012 MCCD could be serving 425,000 students and that “master plans will provide access that is such a key as we move forward.”
During the meeting, graphics of the new plans for campuses of MCCD were showcased. Dr. Joseph Pearson, Director of Extended Campus explained the basic goal of the plan is to “retain the overall user friendly nature of the, (MCC) campus, but also become better integrated, so that students have access to logically connected areas (of the campus).” A three-story parking structure and a three-story building are to take over the parking lot on the north side of the Elsner library in 2010 if the bond passes.

More consolidated academic clusters, greenway buffers and building renovations are all intended projects to be implemented as part of the master plan. The Red Mountain Campus is also projected to be able to accommodate up to 12,000 students in upcoming years as part of the plan.

Preceding the speakers, political science major Will Gillespi, uttered his apprehension about the lack of presence by his peers at the event saying, “I’m a little concerned that I’m the only one concerned, it’s a lot of money that’s going to be changing hands (referring to the bond).”

A variety of issues were addressed during the MCCD Community Listening Session by various community members harboring a multiplicity of viewpoints. In upcoming installments of the Legend there will be special reports investigating the thoughts of these local citizens, and the possible implications of implementing some of their ideas.

SPECIAL REPORT SERIES

Feb. 25: Demographic reflections: Is MCC as culturally and racially diverse as the community?

March 11: MCC on Centennial Way, is the idea of a campus in downtown Mesa a good one, what would it entail?

April 8: What is the possibility of implementing four year degree programs at MCC, would it be a valuable option to MCC students?

April 22: What are the implications of the increased use of E-learning and is MCC purchasing technology in ways beneficial to the local economy?

May 6: How is MCC reaching out to the disadvantaged, are they doing enough to reach out to low income community members?