The Cupertino Courier
News
College and city look at a mutually beneficial partnership
By Cody Kraatz
The city of Cupertino and De Anza College leaders are discussing the potential for collaborating in several areas including using De Anza as the city's environmental think tank.
Some other possibilities, according to city manager Dave Knapp, are funding the Cupertino Library with an entertainment tax that would include tickets sold to events at the Flint Center, internships for college students in city departments and a combination De Anza-Barnes & Noble bookstore.
Some are not likely to come to fruition and all are in preliminary stages, but these ideas reveal a high level of cooperation between the city and the college.
Knapp will propose to the Cupertino City Council an entertainment tax on every ticket sold at the Flint Center. This will be part of the council's June 4 budget study session.
"If you tack on 10 cents a ticket, that generates a pretty good revenue stream, and we could dedicate that to library hours, hopefully seven days a week," said Knapp. The independent Flint Center has about 175,000 visitors each year.
Paula Davis, Flint Center general manager, had not heard about the idea and declined to comment.
One area where the city and the college find a "natural alliance" is environmental policy, said Brian Murphy, De Anza's president.
"We have an extremely strong environmental studies program. The city should think of De Anza as their environmental partners. It makes sense for us that we be the city's go-to guys," said Murphy. Councilman Richard Lowenthal recently asked the college to share its expertise on photovoltaic installations.
Another partnership idea is bringing a steady stream of interns from De Anza College to work in city departments and programs, which would meet both organizations' goals.
"It's not like it's a brand-new idea. What's been going on across the country is a movement of civic engagement. The more hands-on and engaged the students are in their studies, the better they do," said Murphy. The faculty and leadership at De Anza also want to ensure that students leave the college armed with civic skills as well as academic skills.
"Young people in America do not vote in numbers anywhere near approaching their demographic numbers," said Murphy, adding that they have been found to be cynical and uninformed.
The college recently started an office of community and civic engagement, which could allow the college to better recruit students and facilitate internships. Murphy said the De Anza Associated Student Body had been interested and cited possible internships with Cupertino's planning and public works departments and the block leader program.
One of Knapp's proposals, which seems to have little traction with the college or retailers, is a combined De Anza and private bookstore at the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Stelling Road. The city has made retail development and sales tax revenue a major goal.
"We have a need for a bookstore. They have a corner...that would be an ideal location for a retail bookstore," said Knapp. Murphy said the college discussed this with a retailer about two years ago, most likely Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, a sister company to the larger chain.
The company manages bookstores at more than 570 colleges and universities across North America, varying from intimate settings to superstores with Starbucks cafes.
Murphy said the retailer believed the parking situation was unworkable. The De Anza parking lot at that corner is large but fills up when the school is busy. He added that the college bookstore is doing well financially so the college has no need to change.
But he added that a bookstore and cafes, maybe at the Oaks shopping center across the street, would fit the "evening scene" character he thinks will develop when the college opens a 400-seat visual and performing arts center in 2008. It is set to break ground Oct. 9.
"We hope that it will become kind of cultural hub for the (western) end of Stevens Creek," said Murphy, calling the center's design a symbol of the college's moves to make the college more inviting. Other efforts include landscaping and signage at college entrances.
The building will face out from the campus and will be used for instruction, art displays and public cultural performances. Murphy said making the college more neighborly is a major priority and Knapp likes the outward focus.
"When you walk around inside, it's like a whole different world. When you walk around outside you know there's something in there, but you're not sure what is," said Knapp.
De Anza is also discussing a transit hub with the Valley Transportation Authority, potentially at the northeastern corner of campus.
