Josefina Baltodano, the interim vice-president of student services, brought news of potential stipends for student volunteers, to the Associated Students of Laney College (ASLC) meeting Thursday, Oct. 31.
She said giving stipends for volunteer work is standard at other schools, and obtaining them for Laney students is one of her goals.
Baltodano, who usually works at the University of California, Berkeley, (UCB), has been acting as Laney’s VP of student services since April.
She said her time in the position will end once it is permanently filled, and she invited students seeking to transfer to UCB to contact her for advice. Other announcements she made included:
• Laney’s hiring board interviewed the last candidate for director of finance and administrative Services on Nov. 6, and a vote will be held on who will fill the position Nov. 12.
• A search is also currently ongoing to fill the position of vice-president of instruction. The duties of this office are currently being attended to by Laney president Elñora Webb with Baltodano’s assistance.
• Former Dean of Applied Arts, Marco Menendez’s position will be filled by an interim dean while a search for a permanent replacement is conducted. Menendez, who will be the VP of Instruction at Chabot College in Hayward, starts his new job Nov. 18.
Mark Wilson, Laney’s representative on the Peralta student council, expressed concern at the Oct. 24 ASLC meeting that 15 serious Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations were cited on Peralta campuses over one year ago. He said the violations have yet to be corrected. For example, student senator Antoinette Rossi stated she recently injured her finger while opening a door on account of a hole in the wall on the Laney campus. She later found out her finger had been broken in the incident.
Wilson told the ASLC on Oct. 31 that the Peralta student trustee sent out an email to the four campus presidents requesting five years of budget audits for the associated students.
Wilson said the associated students of all the Peralta campuses are having trouble accessing their funds. He stated he has been working with the former district vice-chancellor of finance in attempting to obtain this information for students for about three months. Not having success at the district level he said he was advised by the vice-chancellor “that if the district by was not going to supply the information, we have to go back to the campuses to get it.”
It was announced that a blood drive will be held Wednesday, November 13, 2013 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the student lounge area near the ASLC office on the third floor.
The cost of the first comedy show, which was held Oct. 25, was discussed. Professional comedians were hired for a fee of $1,000. The first show was presented for free, but the hope of the ASLC was to eventually start charging admission to the show to offset cost.
It was decided that the budget should be reduced for the next comedy show reduced, and a motion for a budget of $750 was proposed. The motion passed by a vote of 7–1–0.
It was announced that a movie night will be held November 18, featuring Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee. Admission will be free and snacks will be sold to raise money. A recent movie night was successful in raising about $40.