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Clarion Citrus
Vampires have taken a bite out of popular culture. Learn why we can’t resist their spell.
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College
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Volume LXIII Issue 2
Soccer season is underway, and the Owls have set their sights on a Western State Conference championship.
Page 12 A First Amendment newspaper
College now in compliance with state smoking law Sandra Lopez Clarion Managing Editor A formalized district smoking policy has been adopted by the Citrus College Board of Trustees. Prior to the board’s regular meeting on June 16, there was no written policy on smoking at Citrus College. However, the college is now in compliance with state regulations. The recently approved Citrus College smoking policy is stated in BP 6800: Safety. The board policy on smoking states that the college prohibits of the use of tobacco in all public buildings and is in compliance with other related tobacco use requirements mandated in the state of California. “As long as I can smoke somewhere it’s not a big deal,”Jonathan Reed, an 18 year old undeclared major said. Meanwhile, on a national level, the Food and Drug Administration has gained control over tobacco for the first time. President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and
Anazarry Danganan Citrus College Clarion A Citrus College student snaps a photo on the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, while rain beats down and pedestrians pass by Ground Zero, the site where the Twin Towers fell. An annual memorial is held to remember the lives lost that day. See full story page 6
Life experiences drive author’s storytelling Emily Rios Clarion Online Editor “I wanted to make sure all the sacrifices my parents had made and the hardships we had endured meant something,” author Reyna Grande said. Grande spoke in the Handy Campus Center on Sept. 15 to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and to further the Latina Leadership Network’s goal of exposing the campus to more Latino authors. Born in Mexico, Grande was 2years old when her father left for the United States in hopes of earning money to build the family a house. “When immigrants come to this country, and they call home, they never tell people the reality of living here in the United States,” Grande said. “They tell them good things, but they never tell them the bad things. So a lot of immigrants come here thinking
Inside:
they’re going to make a lot of money right away and be able to go home right away, but once they come here they realize it is a lot harder.” Because of the struggle to earn a living in the U.S., Grande’s father sent for her mother to join him, leaving Grande and her siblings under the care of her grandparents. “We were left with my grandmother. I called her my evil grandmother because her name was Evila and if you took out the ‘A’ it spelled evil. My grandmother lived up to her name,” she said. “She did not want to be taking care of three children at her age, so it was very difficult to be left with relatives who didn’t want us and to not have our parents around.” Grande’s father returned to Mexico when she was almost 10 to check on the progress of the house. It was then he discovered his children had not been well taken care of and he decided there was more to life than having a
house, so he brought his children to the U.S. so they could have more opportunities. Coming to the U.S. was not easy. Grande came illegally and not only had to deal with being in a foreign place, but with a different family dynamic as well. Grande had to become acquainted with her father and deal with her parents’ divorce and her father’s remarriage. “The moment we set foot in this country my father made it clear that we were here for a reason, which was to better ourselves and to go to school,” she said. “He used to threaten us that if we didn’t go to school and do well were going to be sent back.” Grande took all of the hardships and struggles she had faced in her childhood and turned them into a desire to do something better with her life. Grande said she also knew that if she had stayed in Mexico she would not have been able to pursue the type of education that she could in the U.S. “If you achieve all the goals you set for yourself you can look back and say that all those sacrifices were worth it because of
See SPEAKER/page 3
Life pg. 5 Sports pg. 11 A&E pg. 12
Tobacco Control Act on June 22, granting the FDA the power to regulate cigarettes. In his remarks Obama identified himself as a smoker who is trying to quit. Ironically, the new law was supported by America’s biggest tobacco corporation, Altria, formerly known as Philip Morris. Considering the choice between supporting the new restrictions on marketing mandated by the law or facing the possibility that Congress could ban cigarettes completely, the tobacco company giant and its trial lawyers came out in support of it. The Senate overwhelmingly approved H.R. 1256 by a vote of 79 to 17. As of Sept. 22 it will allow the FDA to not only regulate ingredients used in tobacco products but also to completely prohibit cigarettes ingredients derived from herbs or spices Banned flavors include strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, and vanilla. However, menthol cigarettes, which are considered to be highly addictive, are excluded from the
See SMOKING/page 3
GI Bill expands academic horizons for student vets Sandra Lopez Clarion Managing Editor Full tuition at a public college for four years is now available for some military veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as of Aug. 1. President Barack Obama recently celebrated the new G.I. bill which is expected to offer student veterans $78 billion in benefits over the next 10 years. The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush last year but has just taken effect under Obama. During a White House meeting Obama said, “My grandfather benefited from the GI Bill, as did many members of the greatest generation,” Obama said during a White House meeting. “This is the next greatest generation. They need to
have that same support.” The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill is an expansion of the original G.I. Bill of 1944, which helped educate about 8 million veterans after World War II. The G.I. Bill of 1944, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was approved by Congress as a way of helping veterans get back into civilian life. “The new G.I. Bill is great. Our veterans are deserving of a better education and support system,” Dr. Bruce Solheim, volunteer veterans’ coordinator and professor of History, said. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs states that the new G.I. Bill is intended for those who have been in active duty since Sept. 11, 2001.
See BILL/page 3
Opinions pg. 14 Editorials pg. 15