Barato, Barato, Todo Barato

"Dos dolaritos. Lléguele. Lléguele. Dos dolaritos la ropa," a portly man in a sombrero calls people into his tent. (Come get it. Come get it. Two dollars. Two dollars, clothes.) "Barato, barato, todo barato," a woman selling cd's yells. (Cheap, cheap, everything is cheap.) Every weekend the California Open Air Market holds a swap meet in the Cypress College parking lot. Hundreds of people come to participate in this event, even buyers from Japan.

Media Credit: Alexandru Mitroi Enjoying shaved ice at the swap meet.

Cypress College owns the parking lot used by the swap meet. The college rents it out to Rick Landis, division supervisor of the swap meet. He then rents spaces to 500 vendors.

Landis said the swap meet provides a wide range of goods-from baby diapers to fresh produce.

"There are areas specifically for antiques, used merchandise, clothing, jewelry," he said. It is a great place for the entrepreneur, said Landis.

Media Credit: Vanessa Medina Various truck grills can be found at the swap meet.

Cypress College Journalism Professor Robert Mercer said he once bought some fishing gear there. While teaching study abroad in Japan, he also met a Japanese antique store owner who comes to the Cypress Swap Meet twice a year to buy American memorabilia for his store.

Not everybody gets the deal they're looking for, though.

On Saturday, September 27, one woman haggled over the price of weed killer. The vendor would not lower the eight dollar price and she left annoyed.

Landis encourages not only the community, but students to come enjoy the bargains found in the swap meet.

"I have bought a lot of stuff over there like knives, shoes," said Cypress College student Wing So. He also said that he sometimes finds illegal stuff there, like butterfly knives. He said he likes the fact that the vendors are negotiable.

"I bought some really cute fu**ing shoes," So said. "And I'm not gay."

Media Credit: Alexandru Mitroi A child waits as his mother browses

Million Dollar Bazaar

Cypress College receives $1.2 million dollars annually from the swap meet, according to Karen Cant, vice president of administrative services.

The money is put into a discretionary carryover fund, which Cypress College President Dr. Michael Kasler distributes with the help of six committees, according to Kasler.

"When you take a look at $1.2 million it sounds like a lot of money, but the needs exceed the dollar amount," Kasler said.

A discretionary fund is money that doesn't have a specific, designated purpose, so it has to be allocated. Kasler said the process of voting where the money will be spent begins with every division identifying five major needs.

Then five direction committees prioritize the budget requests. Those decisions are then presented to the Planning and Budgeting Committee. Cant, who is a member of this committee, said it is made of two students, three appointed faculty, two classified members, and three administrative positions.

They next take the priorities requests and make a list to show to the President's Advisory Council. The president looks over the requests and he decides whether or not those are important budget requests. Kasler said he has the right to deny a request, but so far he hasn't.

Media Credit: Vanessa Medina Generic MP3 players and accessories at a vendor's table. The discretionary funds fill in where state funding falls short. The state funds the college to teach approximately 10,500 full time equivalent students. Cypress College exceeded this enrollment by 580 FTES. Kasler said that he felt it was priority to do a better job in helping students succeed. "We rely on the swap meet funds to support programs that we don't have money for."

But where do they all park?

Every weekend Cypress College is buzzing with hundreds of people, but the campus is mostly devoid of students. But some of those who are on campus complain. Cypress College student James Floresco said, "Finding parking on Saturday is difficult."

On the Weekends, parking lot 1 is reserved for students and faculty. "We do isolate parking lot 1 I believe until noon, then open the parking lot for the swap meet," said Kasler. There are 100 spaces kept open at all times for students and faculty in this lot said Landis. He also makes the vendors park as far away because it helps the turnover and empties spots quicker.

Media Credit: Vanessa Medina Swap meet customers can park in lot 1 after noon.

At around ten on September 27, every spot in parking lot 1 was full. But by 11:30, approximately 25 spots were available.

Because there is only one lot open, students have to walk to classes from that location or try to find parking closer to their building. Floresco also said that the reason he was coming on Saturday was to make up a class, and "not many students come for Saturday school." He said he didn't realize the swap meet gave Cypress College that much revenue.

On the Cypress College website, Dr. Bob Simpson, Executive Vice President, lists the campus services available on Saturdays. The bookstore was only open in two Saturdays in the Fall Semester. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The business lab is open from 9 a.m. to noon. And the new Student Center is closed Saturday.

The administration has posted a message on the Cypress College website telling students about the difficulty of parking on Saturday. They suggest that the student leave plenty of time to find parking.

Mercer said he had to come onto campus one Saturday, and was not able to find any parking. He parked his car on the side of the fine arts building. When he was done with his work, he found a ticket on his car for illegally parking. Mercer said contested the ticket and did not have to pay the fine.

Landis said he leases about 11 parking lots for other swap meets and has vast knowledge on how to operate parking. He hopes that knowledge will help get rid of any parking problem.

'Side Business'

Even though Cypress College has only been working with the current swap meet operator for a less than three years, they are doing a good job, said Cant. She said the contract is for five years and if they're satisfied with the services, a new contract can be agreed upon.

Colleges are perfect places to hold a swap meet because they have large flat surfaces and many parking spaces, said Landis. It's also easier to rent from a college instead of buying the land themselves.

The swap meet also provides people to direct traffic, and they offer free spaces for clubs to sell things at the swap meet. AGS (Alpha Gama Sigma) has used the swap meet to do some fundraising.

Landis said, they pick up the trash after every swap meet. Trash cans are spread across the swap meet, he said, so there is always one near by. Cant said, the swap meet is good at cleaning up after it ends.

Media Credit: Kenny Rivera Charles Atkins cleans up after a long weekend.

Landis said that he prides himself with working with colleges. He wants to come in and out of the college without it looking like they were even there.

"I know the swap meet is a side business," he said, and he wants to make as little impact as possible.

And on Monday the students return to Cypress College, with no evidence the swap meet was ever there.

Media Credit: Kenny Rivera (click photo for larger image)