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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2011)
ngwsed@clackamas.edu Wednesday, May 11,2011 The Clackamas Print 3 ditorial: Measure compounds debt /¡th May 17 fast approach- Clackamas County voters Id have received their bai ty now. On the ballot there item that if you vote “yes” jive Clackamas Community ;ge $130 million. We at The kuinas Print feel that you Id vote “no” on the bond lie bond measure, if passed, Id give the college money to id on building renovations ■structure improvements, technologies, possibly Ing the Oregon Institute of Biology building and pay off the existing debt of the pony campus. b March, the college present- i detailed look into the out ing debt of both the 2000 j measure and the certifi- lof participation we took for ding the Harmony campus, ording to the college, at the of this fiscal year in June, ¡rill still have an outstanding nee of more than $32 mil- on the 2000 bond measure more than $17 million for mony. That is a total of over million that the college is bted for on these two items ut with , such a deep hole sbt, should we take out our els and dig deeper? This measure would take care le debt for Harmony but d also saddle us for more $162.6 million worth of bond debt. A portion of the bond is intended to upgrade technology for the automotive, manufactur ing and science departments so that students may learn and be ready for the in-demand jobs that require technology that CCC doesn’t currently have.. This is an investment opportunity that CCC should have been work ing on for a long time, since the surge in popularity of the hybrid car. We should aggressively pur sue more grants and donations of equipment before we put ourselves further in debt. And the same can be applied for the manufacturing department. In the previous months, Robert Delgatto, manufacturing instructor and president of the ful 1-time faculty association, has stated in the board of education meetings that both Boeing and Nike are interested in hiring or including CCC students in their summer internships instead of outsourcing. Since they seem to be very interested in the programs at CCC and both companies have manufacturing jobs in the state, it would seem to be a “no-brainer” to attempt a corporate sponsor ship. Both companies are finan cially stable, interested in our students and their jobs require ski 1 Is on some of the latest man ufacturing technology available. A private company’s sponsor 19839 S. Hwy. 213 egon City, Oregon, 97045 Call: (503) 655-6540 Fæg $03) 65t^^|-ÿ WWW ship at a public institution may seem blasphemous, but it would help all parties. Corporations would receive not only media attention but potentially very skilled workers for their plants. Students will get the skills and experience on current technol ogies they need along with a potential internship that could lead to a career in their field. The college would get the equipment it needs at minimal cost, with a potential of getting even more manufacturing students. Also, the county wouldn’t have to foot BT/A swcTz a deep hole of debt, should we take out our shovels and dig deeper? the bill. Buying OIT will potentially cost tiie college $16 million, according to Louis De Sitter, a spokesman in favor to the bond. However, the state is willing to match CCC’s $8 million towards the building. The college is also planning to use the bond monies to build a new build ing that they are currently call ing the “Advanced Technology Learning Center.” “It will be a large building with warehouse style classrooms with mechanics in it that will allow you to move in and out of big technologies really quickly,” said De Sitter. Buying OIT will only increase the depth of the hole we are digging. The building that we would be buying is aging and will possibly require a rea sonable amount of maintenance. The college deferred the main tenance of many of the build ings, elevators and other items the bond will pay for in favor of keeping programs alive and to delay laying off instructors. If we deferred a lot of bur maintenance costs, then what will the addition of two new buildings do? Both will be fed erally required to be accessible by the disabled. Roofing issues will be the same as any other building in Oregon and by the sound of the mechanisms inside this “Advanced Technology Learning Center,” the possibili ties for a technical malfunction would not only affect one class but every class that is taught in there until it is fixed. Also, the idea of the tech learning center brings back the idea of the corporate sponsor ships. The practice of ignoring the maintenance of the Oregon City campus in favor of pro grams and instructors is noble but questions whether or not the college will appropriately handle things in the fiiture with two new buildings. There are other things that the college can do to reduce conges tion for classroom space. Marry the idea of live Web streaming with lectures. If there are high- demand classes that are based around lecture, such as politi cal science, math and computer science, the school can set up a service that will allow students to view lectures via the internet. Will it increase workload on the instructor? Yes. Will it increase the class’s capacity for more students? Yes. Will it cost the college money? Yes and no. By implementing this idfea, the seats for classes can open up dramatically. Those that can access the class via a high speed internet connection can give their physical class seat to someone else who needs it The college can al so tack on a technology fee on the “virtual” class registration to help maintain and pay off the cost of the system. The college also has three large areas that can house up to quadruple the amount of stu dents that any regular class can: Gregory Forum, the Osterman Theatre and the theater in McLoughlin. These areas would be ideal for lecture classes that are in high-demand if the above webcast idea is inconceivable. The college has not done everything to prepare for where we are today. As stated in this editorial, there are several alter natives to burdening this college Studio, 1,2 & 3 Bedroom Apartment Homes High Speed Internet & Cable Capabilities Washer & Dryer Appliances* 24 hour Fitness Gym One Block from Clackamas Community College liliiil. ' - .Jib
