Opinion: Meet the FOC-ers

Walking on the Ledge:

Former JCCC president accused of unlawful harassment returns to public life thanks to low friends in high places

Charles Carlsen, former president of Johnson County Community College, has slithered his way back into public life thanks to the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).

A unanimous vote by the BOCC named Carlsen and six others to the newly formed Johnson County Public Arts Commission Aug. 30.

In 2005 while celebrating his silver anniversary as president of JCCC, Carlsen abruptly resigned when the student newspaper, The Campus Ledger, published allegations of sexual harassment against him.

Despite his public resignation and a statement from JCCC's Board of Trustees acknowledging other harassment victims, Carlsen continues to sit on the Board of Directors of the JCCC Foundation.

What does this have to do with the Public Arts Commission?

Annabeth Surbaugh, BOCC chair, and David Lindstrom, commissioner, currently serve on the JCCC Foundation's Board of Directors with Carlsen.

It was Lindstrom who nominated Carlsen to serve on the Public Arts Commission.

According to GuideStar, an organization that tracks public information provided by nonprofits, Lindstrom and Carlsen also sit on the Board of Directors of the Shawnee Mission Medical Center Foundation.

But Lindstrom and Surbaugh aren't the only commissioners with ties to Carlsen.

In 2005, The JCCC Foundation honored Commissioner Ed Eilert as Johnson Countian of the Year.

Commissioner Ed Peterson worked with Carlsen on the Bistate II tax proposal.

In 2002, JCCC hosted an Ingram's magazine event where Carlsen, Peterson, Surbaugh and others discussed Johnson County's economic future.

And while not incriminating, Commissioner John Toplikar attended JCCC as a student when Carlsen presided as its leader.

Upon his unanimous approval by the commissioners, Carlsen will represent the third district. But more importantly he now has the clout to strut around Johnson County and perhaps onto the JCCC campus free to terrorize his alleged victims and their families.

Teresa Lee, the woman who brought the first allegations against Carlsen, told the Kansas City Star that neither Carlsen nor his supporters ever faced the reality of the situation.

"It’s a small community, a tight-knit community,” she said. “I just don’t think they understood."

This is not the first time Friends of Carlsen, or FOCs, have tried to restore Chuck to his former glory.

Last December, at JCCC Foundation event "Some Enchanted Evening," Calrsen took his first steps in public. In support of Chuck, the benevolent Polskys committed thousands of dollars to a scholarship in Chuck's name and urged other FOCs to contribute.

I know his victims and others on campus would like to see his name removed from the Carlsen Center. And Chuck slithering back into public life might just be the incentive they need.

NEWS: Environmentalist vs. JCCC

Here's another interesting item concerning JCCC in Angela Curry's At Your Service column published in The Kanss City Star Sept. 1.

College, patron at odds over mass mailing

I’m an environmentalist and am most concerned about the destruction of trees and the massive use of energy to produce and deliver unwanted direct-mail pieces.

I am constantly calling the offenders to stop sending catalogs that I don’t want. I’ve discovered an offender in my own city that refuses to address their non-green approach to marketing, namely Johnson County Community College.

I receive a catalog the size of a small phone book three times a year. I have never attended JCCC nor plan to do so. I called and asked to be removed from the mailing lists. A college spokesman said she could not honor my request. I was floored. She said that the college uses the cheapest possible way of mailing — that is giving a stack of catalogs that are marked “residential customers” to the post office for them to deliver to each mailbox.

She suggested I contact the post office.

I learn that the college mails 211,000 of these catalogs three times each year. I can only imagine the waste of trees, electricity to run presses, toxic inks to dye the cover, and gasoline to ship the catalogs to their distribution points. JCCC said this is a community service. I do not perceive this misuse of energy as a service. — A.B., Prairie Village

Dear A.B.: Julie Haas, a spokeswoman for the college, confirmed that JCCC’s continuing-education class schedule is mailed to every household in Johnson County three times a year — October for the spring semester, March for the summer sessions and July for the fall semester.

“Because it’s the college’s mission to offer all kinds of educational opportunities to county residents, we feel it’s important to communicate what we have to offer to all county residents,” Haas said. Most U.S. community colleges follow the practice, she said.

Haas said that the fall continuing-education class schedule is printed on inexpensive newsprint, and at 124 pages, it is hardly the size of a small phone book. Haas said that no taxpayer funds are used for this, because continuing education classes are self-supporting. The program pays for the schedule from the revenue it earns from classes, Haas said.

Haas also said the college is able to economically distribute the booklet through saturation mailing, for which it pays the lowest postage rates.

Shawnee Mission Postmaster Russell R. Jacobson confirmed that the college takes advantage of the rate for saturation mailings, and as such each letter carrier is required to distribute the mailings to each residence on the route.

Jacobson also said that the Postal Service is required by federal law to deliver all mail that has been paid for.

Even though you mentioned that you had contacted the Direct Marketing Association to have your name removed from mailing lists, the organization said consumers may continue to receive mail from non-DMA member companies and also local merchants, professionals and alumni associations, political candidates and office holders, and mail addressed to “resident/occupant.”

Jacobson said that even though the Postal Service must deliver such mailings, you can mark “Refused” on the mailing and return it unopened to your letter carrier.

NEWS: College Punishes Protester

Anti-war Activism Unfurls on Campus
JCCC fires employee and former student for protesting Iraq war.

by Miguel M. Morales

Kaedden Timi admitted unfurling a 20-foot square anti-war protest banner during a political debate at Johnson County Community College Aug. 13.

"I did it," Timi told the student newspaper, The Campus Ledger, Aug 30.

Days later the college fired him.

Timi, a employee in the college's theatre department and a former student senator, released the banner during a political debate between Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan). The two policticians participated in an event dubbed "Reaching Across the Aisle: Bipartisanship in Washington, D.C."

Near the end of the debate Timi released the banner that read:

"Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity: bush/Cheney & Their Administration
Pat Robers & the Senate
Dennis Moore & The House
End The War In Iraq Now!"

Timi posted a letter Aug. 26 on AfterDowningStreet.org describing his actions.

"To fall on ones own sword has never been so gratifying!" Timi wrote. "Hopefully it was Moore and Roberts who felt the sword of justice at their throats' [sic] for if they do not start listening to their onstituents and put an end to the profiteers' war then surely they too will 'fall on their own swords.'"

According to the website, Timi knew the college might fire him for his actions. College policy 422.02 Political Activities states that employees are free to engage in any activity afforded "any free citizen." However, the policy also states that employees may not use college property, school equipment or materials.

The Kansas City Star reported Aug 31 that JCCC fired Timi not for protesting but for possibly placing the audience in danger.

CULTURE: Assimilate This!

This article was originally published in The Lexicon Feb. 17, 2007

Resistance is Futile
The Latino Writers Collective is bent on un-assimilation

Angela Cervantes, co-founder of the Latino Writer's Collective, at Eclektica Salon.
Video courtesy of milatino.com

by Miguel M. Morales

They filled the room and still kept coming.

No, they weren’t the pasty white cybernetic beings from "Star Trek" who destroy cultures.

Kansas City area Hispanics gathered to reclaim their culture at The Latino Writers Collective’s Primera Pagina, or First Page, reading series at The Writer’s Place in Kansas City, Mo.

Angela Cervantes, a founding member of the collective, said the group’s mission is to “support, foster and promote Latino literature and each other’s writing ambitions.”

Cervantes said she hoped the reading series would help turn a new page for Latino writers in Kansas City.

“The group is a mix of different perspectives,” said Jose Faus, another founding member of the collective. “We all have different outlooks but we all have a passion for what we do.”

Faus said the writers aren’t limited to one language or one experience.

“We try to help other voices in our community that aren’t heard,” he said.

While most of the readings have featured poems, there were not overly rehearsed readings, bilingual hip-hop rants, or angry def jam poetry readings. This was not a Nuyorican poetry slam circa 1993.

Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters shared their writings about their culture. They felt compelled to share with those who had similar expereinces and those who haven’t.

Some of the readings could have easily slipped into performance pieces as the writers fed off the audience’s energy when delivering their characters' lines or speaking their characters' thoughts.

Cervantes’ short story “Angels” was just such a piece.

She read/portrayed two young Latinas who, if they weren’t friends, would certainly be enemies. Together they roamed the neighborhood pretending to be the Sabrina and Kelly of “Charlie’s Angels.” When people asked about the blond-haired Jill, they said she was getting a perm at the salon.

Cervantes embodied the two girls drawing the audience into their silly then dramatically urgent story.

Like Cervantes, Gabriela Lemmons’ short story “Bad Girls” reflected her Latin and 1970s pop culture youth.

Lemmons expertly mixed Donna Summers, Nelly Olson from “Little House on the Prairie,” and a Mexican Quinceanera into her humorous and touching tale of thieving relatives.

The first of the collective’s three-part series took place Jan. 19 and exclusivly featured member readings. The second on Feb. 10 incorporated an open mic session.

The series concludes with a reading from Tomas Riley of the famed Taco Shop Poets collective at the Plaza Branch Library, March 15.

The Latino Writers Collective meets the second and fourth Wednesdays from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Writer’s Place in Kansas City, Mo.

Time Out: Journalism 101

Start off a new semester by reviewing some of the basics:

• 'Says' vs. 'Said' - Remember this advice comes from professionals at Poynter who've learned the rules first and now challenge thier skill and loyal readers by experimenting.
• Ask the AP Stylebook Editor - Ask a question or use the search tool for AP style answers from -- you guessed it -- the AP Stylebook Editor.
• Accuracy First - One of my favorite sites, No Train - No Gain, offers these tips for reporters.
• Spot news basics - News College out of Canada -- yes it's still applicable -- offers tips on how to cover breaking news.
• 799 Tips Every Editor Should Know Before Setting Foot in a Newsroom - This is a great booklet posted on Edit Teach.org. It's geared towards professionals but it has valuable lessions for new student editors.