NEWS April 3, 2014

bate gives both sides weight

Bishop, international relations, argues against the faculty union's salary proposal in the Campus Theater on March 31. The EC debate team
event to frame the ongoing negotiations between the district and teachers.
the educational process,
ide the best education
, debaters from
expressed that their
goal was to provide
with information from
so they can be-
more independently
....
and debater for the opposition
team, said. "I think it definitely
opened some people's eyes. I
hope it allowed some people to
see that both sides have a certain
level of merit."
The performance offered stu-
dents a greater understanding of
the topic and many came away
with some newfound knowledge.
"It gives me more informa-
tion and a deeper understanding.
I saw the signs, but I didn't know
as much about it before," Taylor
Meyer, 21 , computer science rna-
..._
- _ : _ ~ - ~
jor, said.
Other students echoed Mey-
er's appreciation for the way the
debaters framed the issue.
"I came in with an opinion al-
ready. I feel everyone in general
has an opinion, whether or not
they have information. I think
they did a good job presenting
both sides," Areli Navarro, 18,
criminal justice major, said.
The opposing team concluded
their argument with a compro-
mise that offered faculty more
than what the district had of-
Ii'C' O'T'T .uT'T01'o.TI:!-
fered.
"I think it is interesting that
the opposition wanted to do the 5
percent for the first year, then the
1.5 percent and so on. Nobody
on the debate team supported
what the district was offering,"
Francesca Bishop said. "I think
it should come up from what the
district is offering. The fact is we
are 13th paid of 16 community
colleges. We are three from the
bottom."
POLICE BEAT
Grand theft leaves Coca-
Cola flat out of business
March 19, 11 a.m.-A grand
theft report was made at the sta-
tion. A representative of the Coca-
Cola company stated that a vend-
ing machine was missing from an
area of the field house. There are
currently no witnesses to the theft.
Driving fumble leads to
nasty tumble
March 27, 10:50 a.m.-Of-
ficers responded to a traffic col-
lision report on Redondo Beach
Boulevard, just west of the bridge.
A male student stated that he was
driving west bound on the periph-
eral road by Lot H when his gas
pedal became stuck, and he lost
control of his vehicle. The ve-
hicle swerved left, drove over the
embankment, and landed in the
middle of the number two lane of
Redondo Beach Boulevard. In the
process, the car flipped, landing
driver-side door down. Paramed-
ics were called, but the driver did
not suffer any significant injuries,
and was released.
Alleged burglar screws
up
March 24, 5:30 a.m.-Offi-
cers responded to the auditorium
regarding a suspicious circum-
stances call. A pair of female cus-
todians noticed lights on near the
ticket box office that should have
been off. When officers arrived
to investigate the scene, they ob-
served pry marks in the wooden
door to the ticket box office, along
with wood chips on the floor be-
neath it. The door had been pried
open. A second set of doors be-
ind the first that lead into the

f essfully opened. Another office
n the vicinity also had obvious
'ry marks, along with fresh wood
chips beneath it. Officers observed
n unattended bike in the north
atio, that was not locked. Officers
oved the bike to another area
f the north patio, and secured it
1 rro .. -. ...
Policy debate gives bo
Celine West
Staff Writer
@ECCUnionCeline
Four of EC's top debaters
tackled the merits and demerits
of a 5 percent faculty pay raise
at the Campus Theater on March
31.
The entire auditorium was
filled for the sold-out perfor-
mance, with both students and
faculty members listening intent-
ly to the team debate this contro-
versial issue.
"The event was organized to
demonstrate a policy debate. It
was a demonstration to present it
fairly and not to slant it in any-
way," Francesca Bishop, director
of forensics, said.
The government team, which
supported the 5 percent raise,
and the opposition, who pre-
sented the opposing side, each
illustrated the validity of both
perspectives.
"Faculty have been required
to do hundreds of hours of addi-
tional work without being com-
pensated for it," Brooke Matson,
government team debater, said
during the debate. "If you have
extra work, you have to be com-
pensated for it. We think faculty
have had an increase in work
load without any kind of increase
in pay, and if there was, it was
barely a cost of living adjust-
ment."
While the government team
aligned itself with the faculty
union, the opposition team ar-
gued the differently.
"Our faculty gets paid the
highest in the first few years
[compared to] other colleges ac-
cording to a Santa Rosa study,"
Nicholas Bishop, opposition
team debater, said during the de-
bate, "Faculty are hired to teach
class and serve on committees. It
was always part 'of their job de-
scription. They have to be able to
Nicholas Bishop, international relations, argues against the faculty union's
held the event to frame the ongoing negotiations between the district and
uphold the educational process,
but provide the best education
that they can."
Afterwards, debaters from
both sides expressed that their
collective goal was to provide
people with information from
both viewpoints so they can be-
gin to think more independently
about the issue.
"The point of this is to edu-
cate students on this one prob-
lem, so that other people start
thinking about it," Frank Masi,
19, international relations major,
and debater for the opposition
team, said. "I think it definitely
opened some people's eyes. I
hope it allowed some people to
see that both sides have a certain
level of merit."
The performance offered stu-
dents a greater understanding of
the topic and many came away
with some newfound knowledge.
"It gives me more informa-
tion and a deeper understanding.
I saw the signs, but I didn't know
as much about it before," Taylor
Meyer, 21, computer science rna-
An absentee MyECC
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