Rally for Sustainability Celebrates Opening of EV Charging Stations

The San Mateo County Community College District will celebrate the installation of plug-in Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure at all three Colleges and the District Office. The Grand Opening begins on October 28th at 11:30a.m. at the Skyline College Auto Department where students, faculty, staff, and members of the community will participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony will acknowledge industry partners, as well as the Auto Technology program’s new curriculum focused on Electric Vehicles.

 
At 12:30p.m., the EV Rally will begin. EV owners past, present and future are encouraged to join the Rally by driving to College of San Mateo for a ribbon cutting of the charging station in DaVinci Lot (Lot 3) at 1:00 p.m. The EV Rally will reach the finish line in Parking Lot 4 at Cañada College at approximately 1:30 p.m. where the third and final ribbon cutting will take place and a number of EV’s will be on display. Come for all or some of the event to see the future of the sustainable transportation in San Mateo County. In 2012, the College District collaborated with Schneider Electric in a public/private partnership to install eleven Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations at each of its campuses Chancellor’s Office.

The District received funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop and deploy alternative and renewable fuels and advanced transportation technologies to help attain the state’s climate change policies.  Furthermore, the District matched the funds of the CEC to achieve its goals for sustainability: improve the campus-wide system of alternative fuel infrastructure, support the use of electric vehicles, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, establish workforce training programs and offer opportunities for student learning.

Writers on Writing: Anne Perry, Victoria Zackheim Share Experiences

Anne Perry

Authors Anne Perry and Victoria Zackheim will share their experiences as writers at a special lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The event, which will be held in the Cañada College Main Theater, is free and open to the public.

Perry is a New York Times and international bestselling author noted for her memorable characters, historical accuracy, and exploration of social and ethical issues. Two of her most popular series feature Thomas and Charlotte Pitt and William and Hester Monk. Her latest novel, Blind Justice, was on the New York Times and USA Today bestselling list for fiction.

Zackheim wrote The Bone Weaver and is the editor of six anthologies, the most recent being FAITH: Believers, Agnostics, and Atheists Confront the Big Question. Zackheim created the Women's Voices project and is a 2010 San Francisco Library Laureate. Her screenplay, Maidstone, a feature film, is in development with Identity Films.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to hear about the writing process from two award-winning authors," said Anniqua Rana, coordinator for Cañada's Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, which is sponsoring the event.

Former Cañada student and Belmont resident, Rose Whitmore, recently received the prestigious William Peden Prize, which recognizes the best piece of fiction published in the Missouri Review during the previous volume year.

Another former Cañada student, Gerardo Pacheco, was named the 2012 Joseph Henry Jackson Award winner, a literary award offered annually to promising young California writers.

For more information, contact Rana at (650) 306-3470 or email rana@smccd.edu.

A Conversation With Author Lac Su

Award-winning author Lac Su will share his personal story of immigration, assimilation, gangs, poverty and abusive parenting at two lectures in the Cañada College Main Theater.

The first lecture will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 6 to 7 pm. The second will be held on Thursday, Oct. 24 from 9:30 to 11 am. Both lectures are free of charge but there is a $2 parking fee. Su will be signing books after the Wednesday evening lecture.

Lac Su's 2009 memoir, I love Yous Are for White People, received the top prize from the San Diego Book Awards in 2010. Su describes his experience growing up as a Vietnamese immigrant in LA in the '80s and his personal struggles with assimilation, gangs, poverty, and abusive parents. The story is told with humor and honesty.

Su says he was raised by two "tiger" parents, a Vietnamese mother and Chinese father, and he still has emotional scars from their harsh parenting style.

As a young child, Su made a harrowing escape from the Communists in Vietnam. With a price on his father's head, Su, with his family, was forced to immigrate in 1979 to seedy West Los Angeles where squalid living conditions and a cultural fabric that refused to thread them in effectively squashed their American Dream.

His search for love and acceptance amid poverty - not to mention the psychological turmoil created by a harsh and unrelenting father - turned his young life into a comedy of errors and led him to a dangerous gang experience that threatened to tear his life apart.

"Writing I Love Yous Are for White People helped me to cope with the wounds the tigers' claws left behind," Su told CNN in a 2011 interview. "Since its release I've met countless others who bare similar scars."

Su, a psychologist and business executive at TalentSmart, said he's been through countless hours of psychotherapy, and that his lack of self-worth beckons him to rely on alcohol to numb the pain. "Children need their parents' love and acceptance in order to develop real self-esteem," he told CNN. "Belittling children sends the message that they are not worthy of love and support -- as do mind games, emotional abuse, and tight-fisted control."

Anniqua Rana, professor of ESL/English and co-coordinator of the Cañada College Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, said Su was invited to campus to share his story because his struggles and experiences are ones that many Cañada students identify with. She said his book raises issues related to history, immigration, political science, sociology, psychology, and parenting.

Cañada College, Sequoia Union High School District, to Host College Night

Cañada College, in partnership with the Sequoia Union High School District, will host its annual College Night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 23. The event will be held in the Cañada College gymnasium, Building 1, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City.

The event brings together representatives from approximately 80 universities and community colleges, both in-state and out-of-state, to help area high school students as they consider which college or university is best for them. Students will be informed on a wide variety of topics including freshman and transfer admission requirements, academic programs, cost of attendance, living expenses, distance, size and nature of the student body, and activities.
 
In addition, workshops will be provided on topics such as financial aid availability, overview of university requirements, and how to navigate the different college and university systems.

Parents and students are encouraged to attend. Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit the Transfer Center or contact Soraya Sohrabi at (650) 306-3493.

Cañada College Theater Arts Presents - "8"

Cañada College Theatre Arts presents the case for marriage equality with its production of "8", the documentary play by Dustin Lance Black that dramatizes the Perry v. Schwarzenegger / Proposition 8 trial, using actual court transcripts and verbatim interviews.

The proponents of Proposition 8 appealed to the Supreme Court to block the broadcasting of the trial – and won. The testimony of this historic trial was kept hidden from the public.

Learn about the historical context of marriage from expert testimony. See the human cost of discrimination. Uncover the arguments used to justify bans on marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Using the actual court transcripts from the landmark federal trial of California's Proposition 8 and first-hand interviews, "8" shows both sides of the debate in this moving play.

Come to the show, and see what the proponents of Proposition 8 never wanted you to see. Following the performance, stick around for a Q&A with marriage equality advocates to learn more about the fight for equality.

Performances

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 11:10 am (SOLD OUT)
Thursday, Oct. 17, 12:45 pm (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 1 pm
Saturday, Oct. 19, 7 pm
Monday, Oct. 21, 9:45 am
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 11:10 am
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 11:10 am
Thursday, Oct. 24, 12:45 pm
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2 pm

All performances will be held in the Flex Theater except the Oct. 21 performance, which will be held in the Main Theater. The cost for tickets is $5 for students, $10 for seniors, and $15 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

For more information and to order tickets, visit the Theatre Arts website or contact Anna Budd at (650) 306-3331 or budda@smccd.edu.

Monopoly Tournament on Oct. 19 to Benefit Accounting Scholarship

Are you a Monopoly pro? Come test your skills at the annual Cañada College Monopoly Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 19 and you might walk away with the grand prize of a $200 gift certificate from Apple.

Registration for the tournament begins at 10 am and game play begins promptly at 10:30 am. The tournament will be held in the main gymnasium, Building 1. The cost is $10 for students and seniors and $15 for the general public. All proceeds benefit Cañada's Accounting Scholarship.

In addition to Monopoly, participants can compete in Uno Attack.

If you can't join us but want to support the scholarship, go to the SMCCD Foundation, click the "Donate" button, and add Monopoly to the memo line.

For questions, contact Leonor Cabrera at cabreral@smccd.edu.

If it's Tuesday, it must be Transfer Tuesday!

In an effort educate students about the different paths to a college diploma, staff and faculty at Cañada College are proudly rocking hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other swag from their alma mater every Tuesday in October.

The effort is being coordinated by Soraya Sohrabi, director of the school's Transfer Center. "We are encouraging our employees to wear their college gear on Tuesdays and to take a few minutes to talk with our students about their different paths to a four-year degree," she said.

Cañada College President Larry Buckley said a number of staff and faculty attended a community college before transferring to a university to earn their degree. "We want our students to hear these stories," he said. "When they talk with our employees, they'll learn there are many different paths to a college degree."

Robert Hood, Director of Marketing and Outreach at Cañada, attended Linn-Benton Community College before ultimately graduating from Oregon State University. "I was fortunate that an academic counselor at Linn-Benton took me under her wing and helped me find the path to Oregon State," he said. "I would have been lost on my own."

California community college students are guaranteed admission into various UC, CSU, and private schools through Transfer Admission Guarantee Agreements. "They must meet the school's admission requirements but our counseling staff can help them build a class schedule to make sure they take the necessary classes," Sohrabi said. "The first step is meeting with an academic counselor."

Local CSU campuses also give admission priority to students who complete the majority of their units at a community college located in the CSU's service area.

As part of Cañada's Transfer Tuesday celebration, the school will hold its annual Transfer Day on Tuesday, Oct. 22 from 10 am to 1 pm in the Grove (Building 5). Representatives from colleges and universities from around the country will be on hand to answer questions. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information about building a path from Cañada to a university, contact the Cañada College Transfer Center at (650) 306-3493 or visit the website.