Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, March 9, 2019

SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

LOOKING FOR DEBT-FREE COLLEGE? NO 
NEED TO WAIT FOR A NATIONAL ELECTION

By Dr. Edward C. Ortell, Citrus College Governing Board Member

Millennials currently hold more than a trillion dollars in student debt. It’s hardly surprising that 
“tuition-free,” “debt-free” and “free college for all” are just a few of the college affordability plans 
being touted by presidential hopefuls in the 2020 election. 

With national student loan debt at roughly $1.5 trillion, it is not surprising that students and 
their families are desperate for college funding solutions that will not mean borrowing tens of 
thousands of dollars, risking loan default and potentially limiting their ability to purchase a 
home or qualify for certain jobs in the future.

Student loans are one of the only debts that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. 

California’s community colleges offer students an excellent alternative to borrowing to pay for 
their college education. California residents attending a community college currently pay about 
$1,300 in fees annually—a fraction of the cost of UC and CSU. Financial aid can cut costs even 
further, and students can also save by living at home and accessing public transportation. 

After successfully completing the first two years of a community college, students can apply 
to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a baccalaureate degree. Studies 
have shown that transfer students obtain GPAs equal to or better than students entering state 
universities as freshmen.

In addition to offering high quality education, California community colleges educate 80 
percent of the state’s law enforcement, professionals, firefighters and EMTs and 70 percent of its 
nurses. In addition, studies show that students who earn a degree or certificate from a California 
community college nearly double their earnings within three years.

According to Natalia Abrams, executive director of Student Debt Crisis, an advocacy organization, 
“free college” will help curb future college costs and future student debt, but it will do nothing to 
help the 45 million people who are dealing with debt now. 

But why head down the precarious path of student loans if it isn’t absolutely necessary? Cost 
reduction strategies offered by community colleges, including Dual Enrollment and College 
Promise Programs can save students and taxpayers thousands of dollars while reducing the need 
for loans that often take decades to repay.

About the Author:

Dr. Edward C. Ortell is the senior governing board member at Citrus College and a Professor 
Emeritus at Pasadena City College. He has served on the California Community College Trustees 
(CCCT) state board of directors and eight terms as president of the Citrus College Board of 
Trustees.

SCHIFF RECEIVES OFFICIAL RESPONSES 
FROM GOOGLE, FACE-BOOK REGARDING 
ANTI-VACCINE MISINFORMATION

 
Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff 
(D-CA) released written responses he re-ceived 
from Google and Facebook regarding addressing 
anti-vaccine misinformation on their respective 
platforms.

 

“We have put a lot of effort into curbing misinformation 
in our products – from bet-ter Search ranking 
algorithms, to improving our ability to surface 
authoritative content, to tougher policies against 
monetization of harmful or dangerous content. Under 
YouTube’s Advertiser-Friendly Content Guidelines, 
we are and have been demonetizing anti-vaccination 
content under our longstanding harmful 
or danger-ous advertising policy,” wrote Karan 
Bhatia, Vice President of Global Public Policy and 
Government Affairs at Google.

 

“Our approach…is to reduce the spread of inaccurate 
information about vaccines by reducing its 
distribution in News Feed, removing groups and 
pages that pro-mote misinformation from recommendation 
surfaces, and providing authoritative information 
to people who might encounter it,” wrote 
Kevin Martin, Vice President of U.S. Public Policy 
at Facebook.

 

The scientific and medical communities are in overwhelming 
consensus that vaccines are both effective 
and safe. There is no evidence to suggest that vaccines 
cause life-threatening or disabling diseases, 
and the dissemination of unfounded and debunked 
the-ories about the dangers of vaccinations pose a 
great risk to public health.

 

Schiff recently sent letters to Google, Facebook and 
Amazon to express concern that the companies’ 
platforms are surfacing and recommending information 
that discourages par-ents from vaccinating 
their children, contributing to declining vaccination 
rates which could reverse progress made in 
tackling vaccine-preventable diseases.

 

“I’m pleased that all three companies are taking this 
issue seriously and acknowl-edged their responsibility 
to provide quality health information to their 
us-ers.” Schiff said. “The responses from Google 
and Facebook describe the steps they are taking to 
address the issue of harmful public health misinformation 
on their platforms. Amazon has informed 
me they will also be responding to my letter in the 
coming days.

 

 “The crucial test will be whether the steps outlined 
by Google and Facebook do in fact reduce the 
spread of anti-vaccine content on their platforms, 
thereby making it less likely to reach users who are 
simply seeking quality, fact-based health in-formation 
for their children and families.

 

“I plan to continue working with the companies on 
the issue of misinformation on their platforms and 
monitoring the effectiveness of the changes they 
are making because our health, and particularly the 
health of our children, is at stake.”

 

Earlier this week, Rep. Schiff introduced the bipartisan 
Vaccines Save Lives resolution, rec-ognizing 
the importance of vaccines and immunizations in 
the United States. The resolu-tion sends a message 
of unequivocal Congressional support for vaccines 
and urges par-ents, in consultation with their health 
care providers, to follow scientific evidence and the 
consensus of medical experts in favor of timely vaccination 
for the well-being of their children and 
surrounding communities.


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MATT DENNY'S ALE HOUSE HOSTS ST. 
BALDRICK’S FOUNDATION HEAD-SHAVING 
EVENT TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CHILDHOOD 
CANCER RESEARCH 

With a Goal to Raise $60,000, Local Volunteers Will Go Bald

Matt Denny's Ale House in Arcadia, 
Calif., will host a St. Baldrick’s 
Foundation signature 
head-shaving event to raise funds 
for lifesaving childhood cancer 
research on Thursday, March 14. 
With a goal of raising $60,000, local 
volunteers have registered to 
shave their head to support the 
Foundation’s mission to fund the 
best research to find cures and 
better treatments for kids with 
cancer.

 This event will honor Los Angeles 
local kid 14-year-old Gabby 
Galarneau. She was diagnosed 
withosteosarcoma at 13 years old 
and underwent limb salvage surgery 
on her left leg to remove a 
tumor, her knee and six inches of 
her femur. Today, Gabby is cancer 
free but the fight continues. 
She’s working hard to learn to 
walk again following her surgery 
and is dealing with hearing loss, 
one of the late effects of her treatment. 
Gabby loves swimming, 
camping, going to the beach and 
serving as one of St. Baldrick’s 
2019 Ambassadors.

One in five children diagnosed 
with cancer in the U.S. will not 
survive. Those who do survive often 
suffer long-term effects from 
treatment too harsh for their developing 
bodies. As the largest 
private funder of childhood cancer 
research grants, St. Baldrick’s 
Foundation is leading the charge 
to take childhood back from cancer. 
Join the fight. Register. Fundraise. 
Show-up. Shave. You can 
help save kids’ lives.

 WISTARIA FESTIVAL 2019 
SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2018 - 9:00 AM TO 5 PM 
FUN FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY 
Take a Shuttle to the Guinness Book of World Records Vine 
Send a Greeting with the Official Wistaria POSTMARK 
Visit Local Shops and more than 100 Crafters & Food Vendors 
And THE SIERRA MADRE AUTO SHOW 
For more information and shuttle tickets go to: 
www.sierramadrechamber.com 
ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION 
5 TO 8 pm 
Featuring: 
a free concert with the 
GEM CITY JAZZ CATS & 
WISTARIA BEER GARDEN 
in MEMORIAL PARK, Sierra Madre 
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com