Chico students plan walkout over gun violence #Enough National Student Walkout set for March 14

Chico High schoolers Makayla Sharkey and Lucinda Law make signs for the Wednesday march.

by Leslie Layton

Students from two Chico high schools and Chico State will participate in the #Enough National School Walkout Wednesday to protest gun violence and to call for congressional action.

The Chico students say they want school campuses to be gun-free zones, they want more background checks at the time of purchases and they want bans on the sale of assault rifles.

“We’re trying to create awareness about gun violence in America and how (gun violence here) compares to other countries,” said Lucinda Law, a 15-year-old Chico High School sophomore who is one of a half-dozen CHS students planning the school’s walkout. “Not much (legislation) has happened since Columbine and Sandy Hook.” read more

Intern wins Freedom of Information award In-depth stories for The Orion and ChicoSol recognized

photo by Jason Halley, CSUC photographer

Gabriel Sandoval

by Dave Waddell

ChicoSol intern Gabriel Sandoval is being honored by the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California for his investigative reporting.

The SPJ chapter will present Sandoval with its 2018 James Madison Freedom of Information Award, Student Journalist category, at a banquet March 27 in San Francisco. The award is intended to honor freedom-of-information and First Amendment champions, according to SPJ NorCal.

The accolade recognizes Sandoval for two investigative stories about a deal that kept a former top administrator, Lori Hoffman, on Chico State’s payroll for 16 months and paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars after she left the university. First for a story for The Orion, Chico State’s student newspaper, and later in a second in-depth piece for ChicoSol, Sandoval used documents he obtained through public records requests to delve into Hoffman’s contractual and work arrangements. read more

Sexual misconduct reports on rise at CSUC Campus equity chief: More women coming forward

Dylan Saake

by Gabriel Sandoval

As the nation reckons with a steady stream of stories about high-profile men accused of sexual misconduct, women are sharing their own stories on social media using the hashtag #MeToo.

The movement toward reporting and confronting sexual misconduct has for years been gaining momentum on college campuses. Today, many students are comfortable reporting sexual violence, says Dylan Saake, Chico State’s coordinator for compliance with the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX. To be in compliance, colleges must provide students safe learning environments, free of gender-based discrimination, and respond promptly and equitably if sexual misconduct is reported. read more

Professor’s new book chronicles challenges Son’s autism transforms path to a dream teaching job

by Dave Waddell and Leslie Layton

Denise Minor had a dream that wouldn’t go away, a dream to teach Spanish at a university. And while it ultimately became a dream achieved at Chico State, it was first a dream deferred by the extreme challenges of mothering an autistic son.

Minor, an associate professor in CSU, Chico’s department of international languages, literatures and cultures, chronicles her story in a new book, “No Screaming Jelly Beans: Trying to Pursue a Career While Raising a Son With Autism. read more

Chico State paid former VP to work elsewhere Hoffman grossed nearly $325,000 in severance deal

photo by Jason Halley/CSUC photographer

Lorraine B. Hoffman in 2014

by Gabriel Sandoval

Lorraine Hoffman, Chico State’s former vice president for business and finance, hasn’t worked on campus since June 2016.

But for the last 16 months, she’s remained on Chico State’s payroll – first while on vacation, then on administrative leave and finally as a “special assistant” for California State University’s Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach – collecting employee benefits and grossing $324,256. The total compensation Hoffman received from Chico State for the 16-month period exceeded $418,000, including about $5,500 a month in retirement system payouts. read more

Migrant Ed students present to BCOE A summer institute changes lives

by Leslie Layton

Five teenagers from this area who have participated recently in Migrant Education summer leadership programs described a transformational experience in presentations Monday to the Butte County Office of Education board.

Migrant Ed student presentations

Oct. 16 Butte County Office of Education board meeting

Marco Antonio Villa Cruz

"One of the most interesting things I learned was about how Martin Luther King fought for the freedom of African Americans. He wanted a new way of living and he believed we could do it."

Angel Barrera

The 14-year-old Gridley student visited sites in Washington, D.C., including, he said, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Marine Corps War Memorial and Lincoln Memorial.

Noemi Chavez

"I was forced to get out of my comfort zone and make friends."

Victor Jimenez

He couldn't get into the flamenco guitar elective, because it was full, but liked theater "even better."

Janet Velazquez

"My parents work their butts off and I have to make them proud."

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Noemi Chavez, a Gridley High School senior, said the Migrant Student Leadership Institute (MSLI) program at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS), “taught me how to be myself.”

“Three or four years ago, I never would have said I was born in Mexico,” Chavez told the board. “MSLI taught me not to hide where I came from. It gave us hope. Now I’m applying to college.” read more