“It’s time for a frank talk with readers about the Mercury News”. I could not help but notice this headline in the Sunday, September 13 edition of the Mercury News. I made an instant connection with this article, written by columnist Mike Cassidy. I appreciated Mr. Cassidy’s forthright manner in addressing the condition of the news industry in general, and the status of the Mercury News in particular.
We all know that the newspaper business has changed dramatically. The deterioration of the economy coupled with the proliferation of cheap electronic devices, speedy internet access, and new advertising models have led to a substantial decline in advertising and subscription revenues. I am a faithful reader of the “Merc” and other local papers. However, I will admit that I canceled my subscription once I discovered that my iPhone could double as a bedside clock radio and an electronic newspaper—an entire newsstand really. Yes, I miss the feel of a real paper with a cup of coffee in my hand. I have made the transition nonetheless.
However, what really drew me to the article was the parallel between the situation at the Mercury News and our own college. In fact, much of what Mr. Cassidy had to say could apply to our entire system of post-secondary education.
For CSM, it is clear that the revenues we receive from the state will no longer support us even at a time of burgeoning enrollments. We are needed more than ever. Yet, we are already operating at a high level of efficiency–the fat and the muscle are gone. As I mentioned at our all-college budget meeting earlier this week our next round of budget adjustments will be very painful. The sad reality is that we will need to eliminate or reduce programs, services and course offerings in order to survive.
It is time that we had a frank talk about CSM. Like the Mercury News, we will need to make difficult decisions among competing demands while trying to serve our community as best as possible. In doing so, we must not lose sight of our mission, our institutional priorities, and above all, our commitment to providing a quality education to those who need us the most.
#1 by Erin Scholnick on September 25th, 2009
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Good points! As I mentioned to you awhile back and again today, when Assemblyman Hill was speaking to our students, I really think we need to investigate community partnerships to help support our school. Our community college is an integral partner in the success of our community and I think that it makes good sense to investigate corporate sponsorship opportunities with our some of our neighbors in the ‘community.’
For example, one of the biggest challenges for our community includes the large number of people who are being laid off with no chance of returning to their former jobs. Many of these people are looking to the community colleges to provide them with the resources to learn new skills. I think we should consider talking to any number of the very successful computer hardware and software developers in the region and create programs that will train workers to gain employment within these companies and others like them.
I would welcome the opportunity to establish an exploratory committee to investigate these relationships. I bet we can find some stimulus money to pay for some of this research! It is a great public/private partnership!
#2 by Mario Mihelcic on September 28th, 2009
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I believe that we are at a point where we need to think about how best to serve the students currently enrolled at CSM with the already limited services. It seems like we can’t take on anymore students due to the lack of state funding and that creating more programs to enroll students is the wrong direction. Not that I think what Erin is suggesting is a bad idea. PG&E had a great program set up at another community college in the manner Erin described. My personal concern is for the students who may be pushed out of community colleges, because of the lack of financing from the state. Where will they go then? Unskilled into an already troubled employment market. We can’t keep building up while the foundation is cracked. In fact, it appears that we will need to tear it down first.
What struck me about the comparison between newspapers and the state of community colleges is that our core vision and goals cannot change. We forget, but journalism wasn’t always daily newspapers in every major city. So, maybe it is time for something new to take shape.
Our community colleges live in a time when the public has lost interest in financing our educational system. For whatever “justified” reasons. So, we have to change, but hopefully maintain the vision you outlined at the last all-campus meeting. I think if that vision gets lost amid the managed hiring, defunding positions, program cuts, etc. then we get in trouble.
#3 by Kathleen Steele on September 29th, 2009
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Yes, Mike, we absolutely need to talk about the dire implications of the state economy. All our programs are vulnerable. But as a faculty member in this difficult economic climate, I find it gratifying to see the improvements at CSM made possible by the bond measure.
I think that one such change, the speed bumps along Hillsdale are a great safety measure, and I fully support the decision to use them as a speed deterrent. At the same time, I wanted to share some concerns.
When crossing CSM’s speed bumps, I always stop my car fully, apply no pressure to the accelerator at all and simply release the brake. But my car still rocks really, really hard. Since my car crosses the speed bumps several times a day (sometimes as many as eight times in a single work day), I am really worried about the damage to my suspension and shock absorbers! At this rate, by the end of the semester, my car will have substantial damage, and with the bad economy, my husband and I are on a strict budget and cannot afford any extra repairs.
There are speed bumps on the road where I live in Palo Alto, but they are more gentle and I have no trouble at all moving very slowly and smoothly over them. Is there anything you can do to modify the bumps, so they keep motorists moving slowly yet don’t damage the cars of staff and students?
#4 by Ken Erickson on September 30th, 2009
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I agree about the speed bumps: they are overkill and will cause damage to suspension systems. The same problem exists at Skyline. The person responsible for the installation did not do their homework!
#5 by Mike Claire on October 6th, 2009
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Dear Kathleen and Ken. Thanks for your comments about the speed bumps. I have taken your concerns forward to our Facilities Department and have asked that they look at other potential solutions. The entire campus loop road is scheduled to be repaved once construction is complete. We will look at the possibility of installing permanent speed “humps” with the assistance of a traffic engineer at that time.
#6 by Jack Yaco on November 2nd, 2009
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CSM was an architectural treasure, a highlight of San Mateo County, a beacon of beauty and civility atop the hill. But now we are witnessing the wholesale destruction of its architectural heritage, and the construction of buildings that not only do not respect the College’s architectural heritage and context, but are bland behemoths more suitable for the Hillsdale Shopping Center than the inspiring archetectural environment CSM was.
I’m an alumnus & loved CSM & am now very reluctant to support a District so determined to destroy one of the County’s great architectural environments.