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Enrollment Surges at Maryland Community Colleges
Nov 24th
Despite a recession that has brought statewide funding cuts across the board, one sector of Maryland’s higher education system is booming.
According to a November 18 report by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, total fall enrollment in colleges throughout the state increased by 5.2 percent since 2008. The increase was driven largely by a spike in community college enrollment that made up more than two-thirds of the total growth.
The number of students enrolled at Maryland’s 16 community colleges jumped to 140,031, a 9.3 percent increase from last fall. By contrast, enrollment went up 3 percent at public four-year colleges and universities and 2 percent at private schools.
Community college officials throughout the state say the growth is the result of a combination of different factors, but the economic downturn is the main reason for the dramatic rise.
“The economic recession is causing people from a number of different directions to head for community colleges,” said Dr. Clay Whitlow, the executive director of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges.
Adults who have had their careers disrupted by the downturn are turning to community colleges for certifications and credentials that can help them find employment or change jobs. Many students just out of high school who may have planned on attending a traditional four-year school are opting to save money by spending their first two years at a community college and then transferring elsewhere to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Hope Davis, a spokeswoman for the Community College of Baltimore County, said that while the economy is certainly a big factor, some of her school’s 14.1 percent growth – the highest in the state – is a result of recruitment and marketing efforts that specifically highlight those transfer opportunities. Students are looking at a choice between paying $2,500 for their first two years at a community college and paying $25,000 for the first two years at a four-year college, said Davis.
Dr. Margaret Taibi, the dean of Student Development Services at Prince George’s Community College, says that it’s difficult to tell just how many students are choosing to go to community college because of the poor economy.
“I can’t give you a number on it,” said Taibi. “But I can tell you that it’s more than I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been here for 20 years.”
The recession has brought both feast and famine for community college administrators. Even as demand continues to rise, funds are becoming increasingly scarce.
Funding typically comes from three different sources, according to Whitlow. The state contributes 25 percent, the counties contribute roughly 33 percent, and the rest comes from student tuition and fees. As both state and county budgets become tighter and revenues dry up, community colleges are feeling the pain.
In August, Gov. Martin O’Malley cut approximately $10.5 million in community college funding from the state budget, a 5 percent reduction for fiscal 2010. Because enrollment is so high, many students are finding it difficult to sign up for the classes they want to take because the schools simply don’t have the capacity to keep up with the demand.
The community colleges were spared in the most recent round of state budget cuts announced last week. Whitlow says he hopes it’s a sign that the state government has recognized the impact that community colleges can have on the economy.
“We have to be willing to accept our fair share of the pain,” said Whitlow. “On the other hand, we also have to be supported, because so many students need our help right now. We’re an important part of the solution to getting people back to work.”
Saving our Children: Baltimore NAACP Hosts Juvenile Justice Panel
Sep 23rd
“We are losing our children.”
That was the grim assessment made by Elsworth Johnson-Bey, the founder of a group called the Fraternal Order of X-Offenders that is dedicated to preventing juvenile crime in Baltimore.
Baltimore’s crime problem has trickled down to affect its youngest and most vulnerable inhabitants. According to a report released in August by the Baltimore City Health Department, the juvenile homicide rate in Baltimore from 2002 to 2006 was approximately five times higher than the Maryland rate and eight times higher than the national rate.
The report also found that a vast majority of the victims and perpetrators of juvenile violence had been in contact with the Department of Social Services and that nearly half of those encounters involved allegations of abuse or neglect.
Bey summarized the problem at a panel discussion titled “Saving our Children: A Look at the Juvenile Justice System” that was hosted by the Baltimore chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Tuesday night at Union Baptist Church. The panel brought together community leaders, law enforcement officers, and government officials to discuss the issue of youth crime and what can be done to combat it.
“Kids in the child welfare system are generally viewed…as victims,” said Donald W. Devore, Maryland’s Secretary of Juvenile Services, who also served on the panel. “But when they come over to the juvenile justice system, they’re viewed as perpetrators, criminals, and they’re villainized in many ways.”
A complex problem like youth crime involves many different stakeholders and approaches, and the solutions proposed at the NAACP discussion were a reflection of that variety.
Secretary Devore praised rehabilitative models that don’t require juvenile incarceration, saying that the state Department of Juvenile Services has been successful using “intensive, in-home, family therapy-based models.” He also stressed the importance of opening up avenues of communication between government agencies that provide child services, saying that they need to work together in order to create a comprehensive approach to understanding each child’s situation and needs.
State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy said she’s not interested in throwing kids in jail, but the current juvenile justice system is ill-prepared to spot children who might fall into a pattern of criminal behavior.
“We need some kind of violence prevention indicator, so when certain things happen in a child’s life, we take action and we do certain things,” said Jessamy.
Many attendees said that while they respect the work being done by officials within the system, they’re tired of endless discussion and talk that doesn’t seem to yield results.
Kimberly Armstrong, an advocate who lost her son to youth violence, said that the changes have to come from the bottom up, not the top down.
“I’m sick of people discussing,” said Armstrong. “The challenge is to the people in the audience. Do something.”
Sgt. Louis Hopson Sr., a 30-year veteran of the Baltimore City Police Department who has worked in the juvenile booking center, put the blame squarely on parents, especially fathers, for failing to be involved and lacking the will to discipline their kids.
“This conversation has nothing to do with white people or anybody else,” said Hopson. “It has to do with black men, because the majority of kids who come in there are young black men, and they need a man in their life to walk them through manhood.”
Greland Lowery, an ex-gang member who now devotes himself to preventing youth violence, stood up and delivered an impassioned plea for funding support. He said his status as an ex-offender makes him uniquely qualified to deal with the problem, and that people like him shouldn’t be ostracized from the cause. He compared the members of the panel to American soldiers in Iraq who didn’t understand the intricacies of warfare in an urban environment.
“I’m that urban warfare guy,” said Lowery. “Don’t push me to the side because you’re not gonna’ survive in this war.”
It’s clear that juvenile crime is a problem in Baltimore. But with a government that’s becoming increasingly strapped for cash, the fix remains elusive.
For the activists who attended the NAACP meeting on Tuesday night, their mission continues, unchanged. They will go on working to prevent more of Baltimore’s children from disappearing into the criminal justice system or an early grave.
“We cannot put the onus on government,” said Bey. “The power begins with us.”
Veterans for Peace Convention
Aug 24th
Lance Cpl. Alex Arredondo's boots are displayed as part of a memorial created by the fallen soldier's father, Carlos Arredondo.
As the war in Iraq continues in its seventh year and operations in Afghanistan are ramped up, you would think the anti-war movement would be as vibrant and as energetic as ever. But how is it really doing?
“Its definitely lost momentum,” said Mike Ferner, National President of Veterans for Peace, an organization made up of military veterans that speak out against war that held its 2009 convention on campus last week.
Over 300 activists from across the country traveled to College Park to take part in the convention that featured five days of workshops, films, and speakers. In addition to Veterans for Peace members, a number of other activist groups attended the event, including Iraq Veterans Against the War, Code Pink, and Military Families Speak Out.
The theme of this year’s convention was “Moving from Hope to Action,” a reference to President Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan.
As a whole, the movement seems to be struggling to come to grips with the idea of Obama as war president. Feelings of betrayal and disappointment were on full display as activists weighed in on Obama’s military policies.
“Regarding the wars, he gets an F and regarding issues like torture, he’s not looking much better,” said Ferner.
Elaine Johnson, a Military Families Speak Out member from South Carolina, received national media coverage after demanding that President Bush meet with her following her son’s death in Iraq in 2003. She said she’s still waiting on Obama to fix the problems that Bush created.
“I still hold Bush accountable for my son’s death,” said Johnson. “I will hold Obama accountable for anyone who dies after he took office.”
At an event Friday night titled “Veterans Meet the Community,” the Rev. Graylan Hagler delivered a fiery speech at his church in Northeast D.C., urging attendees to continue to “push” Obama.
In a bit of pushing of his own, Hagler yelled, “If you ran as the peace president, we expect you to be the peacemaker while you’re in office!”
But other speakers questioned whether Obama ever really could be considered a peace candidate because throughout his campaign he was perfectly clear about his intentions in Afghanistan.
“It says a lot about the American people that even though Obama told us what he was going to do, they were still excited,” said Michael McPhearson, the Executive Director of Veterans for Peace.
Though they dislike Obama’s foreign policy decisions, most attendees support his progressive domestic agenda. They hate the wars, but they like the man who is now in charge of running them. So how does the anti-war movement regain its former bite and stay relevant in 2009 and beyond?
“Under the Bush administration, it was real easy to work up a good hate and not necessarily focus on the issues,” said Ferner. Moving forward, the activists’ goal must be to “keep people’s focus on the issues” and to continue to condemn the wars as forcefully as they did during the Bush years.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and president of an organization called the Hip Hop Caucus that focuses on organizing urban communities, said that getting people organized and desegregating the progressive movement are crucial in order to accomplish real change.
“If we don’t finally come together, and begin to work together, we are never going to see this change,” said Yearwood.
Getting people to come together might be easier said than done. Carlos Arredondo, an activist from Boston whose son Alex was killed in Iraq in 2004, said some people shouted at him and called him a disgrace while he was on campus. Arredondo has turned his pickup truck into a rolling memorial to his son, decked out with pictures, American flags, military gear, and peace signs. Part of his display was his son’s military uniform, to which he attached the Purple Heart that was awarded to his son posthumously. That Purple Heart was snatched from the display in the back of Arredondo’s truck as it was parked in front of the STAMP Student Union on Saturday night, leaving behind only a rip in the camouflage fabric.
Despite its detractors, Veterans for Peace is determined to continue to add its voice and strength to the larger anti-war movement.
During the convention’s closing banquet on Saturday night, Ferner announced that he would be leading an “action” in front of the Democratic National Committee building on Monday morning to demonstrate the organization’s willingness to hold Democratic leaders accountable. Ferner unveiled a protest sign that spelled out DNC with the words, “Defies National Consensus.”
McPhearson shared the same conviction in the closing remarks of his speech.
“Veterans for Peace stands on the frontline of resistance to Obama’s wars,” he said. “In the end, we will win.”