Clarion 03/17/10

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clarion Citrus College

March 17, 2010

theclariononline.com

Derrick Wong, playing the stand-up base, prepares for Battle of the Big Bands.

PG 16

Volume LXIII, Issue 11

Who will you be?

PG 10/11 Women’s History Month: Celebrating the triumphs and challenges of today’s leaders

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AFFORDING STUDYING ABROAD PG 3 GOLD LINE CEREMONY PG 4 ST. PATRICK’S DAY FEAST PG 6 SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE PG 12 SPOTLIGHT ON TRUMPETER PG 13 L.A. MARATHON ATHLETE PG 17 FINDING YOURSELF PG 18 BASKETBALL WRAPS UP SEASON PG 20 cmyk

campus

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clarionbloggers “CALLING IT LIKE IT IS” drcall.wordpress.com Dustin Call

Tackling overlooked and unexplored issues on campus; everything from environmental issues to student hardships. I just call it like it is.

“TRIMMING THE FAT” aronceros.wordpress.com

NEWS BRIEFS LOCAL TEENAGERS SUSPECTED OF CAR THEFT AT MALL On Monday, March 15, two teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property and grand theft auto. When an officer pulled the car over, he discovered a 15year-old boy driving with a 14-year-old boy in the passenger seat. The vehicle they were driving was reported stolen. Another 15-year-old boy is said to be at-large in connection with the vehicle thefts, which occurred at the Westfield Shopping Center in West Covina.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Alonso Ramirez

My blog will offer readers a transparent, direct, and comprehensible analysis on current political events without the usual complex political sugar-coating terms.

“SITTING COURT SIDE” cemitchell.wordpress.com

Courtney Mitchell

Ever encounter people that make you laugh or cry, or even question your own morals and beliefs? My blog is about those people and my perspective.

“LIVING IT UP” selopez.wordpress.com Sandra Lopez

There is more to life than just work and school. My blog will introduce you to my adventures, which range from skydiving to rock climbing and everything in between.

“CONFESSIONS OF AN AIR GUITARIST” ajvasquez.wordpress.com

Andrew Vasquez

For all rock and metal enthusiasts, here is a blog where you will find reviews on the latest cds, bands, and concert tours going on right now.

“PAGING DR. LOVE” ericairigoyen.wordpress.com

Erica Irigoyen

Dating is something that the majority of us find to be really complicated, but I am here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be. Here are my do’s and don’ts to keep you from wondering what you did wrong.

“YOUNG, FABULOUS,AND BROKE” adanganan.wordpress.com

Anazarry Danganan

We live in a material world and first impressions count. The goal of this blog is to showcase fashion and lifestyles for college students that are afforable.

STATE CALIFORNIA DISQUALIFIED FROM RECEIVING FUNDS On March 11, California was disqualified from receiving hunderds of millions of dollars in school reform funds. The money at stake is the first round of $4.35 billion that the Obama administration plans to give to states to spur reforms.

Federal officials declined to comment as to why the state was disqualified. California officials plan to apply for a second round of funding.

Source: Los Angeles Times

NATIONAL FCC PROPOSES NEW PLAN FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET On Monday, March 15, the Federal Communications Commission unveiled a decade-long project to make super highspeed connetions available in every corner of the country. The FCC’s goal is make sure at least 100 million homes have affordable access to networks that allow downloading data from the Internet at speeds at least 20 times faster than what most people have today. The goal is to make the United States home to the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation.

Source: Los Angeles Times

March 17, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENTS SPRING 2010 TRANSFER FAIR The Career/Transfer Center will be holding its annual Spring transfer fair on Thursday, March 25, from 10 a.m through 1 p.m in the Campus Center Mall. The fair will host approximately 40 four-year institutions (CSU, UC, private schools). The purpose of the fair is to expose students to various transfer institutions. Students will have the opportunity to meet with university representatives to discuss transfer options, and requirements and to better assist them in understanding the transfer process.

H1N1 VACCINE AVAILABLE The Health Center will be providing the H1N1 vaccine free of charge until the end of March and while supplies last. Students can come in and make an appointment to recieve the vaccine. The Health Center is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon. Call (626) 914-8671 for more information.

BLOOD DRIVE Citrus College will be hosting the National Cesar E. Chavez blood drive on Tuesday, March 30, from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The Blood Drive will be held in the Handy Campus Center. All donors will receive a voucher for 2 L.A. Galaxy tickets. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Office of Student Life at (626) 9148601.

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Toyota recalls don’t harm T-Ten program Kristin Lacuesta CLARION NEWS EDITOR Despite Toyota’s recall problems, students enrolled in the T-Ten program at Citrus College continue to be unaffected.

In the United States, more than 6 million Toyota vehicles have already been recalled because of incidents involving unintended acceleration and floor mats interfering with accelerator pedals.

Approximately 50 colleges nationwide offer the Toyota Technical Education Network Program, known as T-Ten. This program offers training for students who aspire to become Toyota technicians. Citrus College is one of the seven schools in California that offer the program.

The program has close to 100 percent placement of its graduates. Last year, Citrus awarded 50 auto technology degrees. “[Toyota] doesn’t want to take any chances, so they have all their high caliber technicians doing all the [recall] work,” said Jeremy Clark, professor of automotive, career and technical programs at Citrus College.

With attention focused on recall work, regular service maintianence has opened for students, Clark said.

“There has been an increase in hiring our students in the last six months,” Clark said.

According to Don Blanchard, T-Ten coordinator at Cypress College, the program there is also doing fine.

Last year the program at Cypress College awarded 107 degrees.

“There hasn’t been a significant decline or spike in hiring of our students,” Blanchard said.

Officials at T-Ten schools are standing behind the corporation and still believe in the good the program can do for students.

“We remain dedicated to training the best technicians we can and support Toyota,” Clark said. “We have a lot of Citrus graduates working for Toyota in both the dealership and the corporation. We are very proud of them.”

Other automotive manufacturers have also gone through recalls. The current Toyota recall is the fourth largest recall in

ANDREW VASQUEZ, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Automotive students in an introduction class inspect a truck carefully as they learn proper diagnostic techniques and make sure the truck is properly secured on the lift. The Toyota Technical Educational Program known as T-Ten is offered at more than 50 college nationwide and has close to 100 percent placement of its graduates.

American history, according to Businessweek.com.

“The T-Ten program hasn’t really been affected,” said Ruben Huicochea, 21, a student in the T-Ten program. “I’m working toward becoming a Toyota technician myself.”

The Citrus College T-Ten program offers students four certificates: the master technician, Toyota/Lexus/Scion technician,

undercar/drivetrain specialist, and underhood specialist.

It also offers the automotive technology high performance institute award and the automotive technology engine rebuilding and machining skill award, along with an associate of science degree for automotive technology.

The program can also lead to full-time employment for entry-level service techni-

cians during a student’s second year of training.

“I believe Toyota will make the necessary corrections and continue to be a leader in the industry,” Clark said.

Kristin Lacuesta can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

Scholarships assist students with study abroad costs Amanda Villegas CLARION STAFF WRITER Every year, approximately 200 Citrus College students and teachers take flight into a culturally enlightening and enriching experience, which is the Study Abroad Program.

Through a consortium, AIFS offers study abroad programs in London, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, and even China.

With such great opportunities, comes the not-so-exorbitant tag.

Costs range between $3,000 to $7,000, depending on their location and duration.

Students who study abroad experience the eclectic, central heartbeat of the country where they reside with fellow classmates in fullyequipped apartments or homestays.

Fees also cover some excursions, cost of education per-unit, medical insurance, and some meals.

Students who choose to live in homestays are given complimentary breakfast everyday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JO JAMISON

**FILE PHOTO** Study abroad student Jo Jamison poses in front of the city of Andalusia, just one of the many stops that Citrus College students will make during the study abroad trip in Salamanca, Spain, during the spring semester.

Airfare, textbooks, and most meals are not included in the program, nor are the optional excursions.

With the ongoing budget crisis and high unemployment rate, one might wrongly assume that the number of student participants would decline.

On the contrary, the recession has had little effect on student participation, according to Lynn Jamison, the study abroad specialist at Citrus College.

Many students take advantage of the scholarships, as well as various forms of financial aid.

Ironically, “the economic situa-

tion has enabled [us] to reduce the cost of most of the programs,” Jamison said.

Students who qualify by merit and need may apply for a scholarship to help defray the costs.

The Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, American Institute for Foreign Study Scholarships, and the Community Colleges for International Education Scholarships are examples of competitive opportunities, she said.

To be considered for the Gilman Scholarship, which grants up to $5,000 to students studying abroad for a semester or more, the student must be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, if he or she is not already a recipient.

The Gilman International Scholarship Web site statement reads: “The Gilman Scholarship aims to support a diverse range of students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad.”

The intended outcome of the study abroad program is to give students a global perspective, to immerse [students] in other cultures,

and at the same time allow students to earn up to 14 units of CSU and UC transferable credits while studying abroad, Jamison said.

For students planning to transfer to UC or CSU, or to private institutions, studying abroad is a plus for selection committees.

“My first study abroad experience was in Spring 2002,” Maria Tinoco, former Citrus student and now educational adviser, said. “The experience was definitely life changing. I grew so much in those three months I was gone.”

For students interested in participating in the fall semester London program, the deadline for applications is June 17. The deadline for the Spain program is Nov. 22. The Gilman Scholarship application deadline is April 6. Its Web site is www.iie.org/gilman.

For brochures and more information, visit Lynn Jamison in TC 128.

Amanda Villegas can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

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March 17, 2010

‘Brain train’ ready for construction Dustin Call & Cheyenne Scharff CLARION STAFF WRITERS Local residents, elected officials, and administrators and students from Citrus College and Azusa Pacific University gathered on March 5 in the northwest parking lot of the Citrus campus to celebrate the sign unveiling for the future Metro Gold Line station to be built at the corner of Citrus Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.

A project that took six years of lobbying by these groups in order to gain approval, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension will bring additional light rail to the San Gabriel Valley.

It is expected to relieve freeway traffic and will provide a convenient transportation alternative for students who live along the foothills to get to Citrus College and the several other schools along planned route, thus acquiring the nickname, the “brain train.”

Congresswoman Judy Chu (DMonterey Park) was one of many

dignitaries who addressed the gathered crowd. “[The Gold Line] is so important for the students of Citrus College and Azusa Pacific,” Chu said. “It truly embodies what they mean by the ‘brain train.’ This will be the train that enables students to get a better education.”

Gary Woods, president of the Citrus Community College Board of Trustees, echoed the significance of the Gold Line extension to the Citrus community.

Along with his fellow board members, Woods kept Gold Line legislation on the table for discussion.

“From as close as Azusa and as far away as Washington, D.C., we’ve lobbied in pursuit of this worthwhile goal that will benefit us long into the future,” Woods said.

Several officers of the Associated Students of Citrus College were also present. ASCC President Karlyn Bradley thanked the attendees for their support of the project and concluded his remarks with “I will ride,” the slogan of the lobbying effort.

The project—which is funded by

Measure R that L.A. County voters approved in November 2008—will be completed in two phases.

The first, phase 2A, will extend from Pasadena to the Azusa station, to be built adjacent to Citrus College.

It is one of six stations to be constructed along the route.

The second, phase 2B, will extend from Azusa to Montclair. A final environmental report is yet to be completed for the second phase.

An additional extension from Montclair to Ontario International Airport has been proposed and is being discussed.

Construction of the first phase of the project is scheduled to begin this June. It is expected to create 7,000 jobs and contribute $1 billion to the local economy during its 30-month construction period, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation.

Construction of phase 2A is expected to be completed in December 2013.

Clarion Staff can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

JOSE ALONSO RAMIREZ, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Superintendent/President Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D., speaks at the sign unveiling for the future Metro Gold Line station on March 5.

Photography club aids in Haiti relief Anazarry Danganan CLARION CORRESPONDENT The tropical rainy season has arrived and the demand for shelter and cover for the next few months is high in Haiti. Professor Darrel Carr of the Photography Department and the Photography Club is giving aid by donating old or new tents to the JDP Foundation and asking for help from the Citrus College community to spread the news to raise awareness by March 31.

Board member Dr. Mario A. Pacada, M.D., of the JDP Foundation is the personal physician of Carr

and brought up the opportunity for the professor to join a group of three doctors who will travel to PortAu-Prince. Carr was invited to shoot photos documenting on-site action.

“The team of doctors are setting up long-term medical care for amputees and beside victims. Their concern is for the ‘post-amputation care’ and these doctors are returning the second time by the end of the month. Besides the need for anti-biotic, there is the need for tents,” Carr said.

Due to other obligations, Carr could not commit to the trip, so the professor introduced the idea to the Photography Club and student pres-

ident of the photography club Miguel Jacobo.

“We have been spreading the word out to other clubs. We are not limiting this just to the student body.

For instance, a couple of my own friends and myself are pitching in money to buy a tent. Small things like that helps,” Jacobo said.

The Cosmetology Club which interacts with the Photography Club in school events such as hair shows, wanted to give a helping hand as well.

“We are donating one tent and it is coming out of the club’s funds, which we use for special occasions and community services such as

this,” said professor Albert Graciano of the Cosmetology Department.

The JDP Foundation Web site states that the goal is “to raise awareness and provide initial and secondary post-care clinical support services in communities that have been impacted by environmental, social and economical disaster.”

Donations can be made directly at the Web site, www.jdpfoundation.org/ and by clicking on “Sustain-Care For Haiti Donate Today.” You can donate through Pay Pal or with credit card if you don’t have the time to buy a tent or give a used one.

On campus you can bring your

tents to the Handy Campus Center or stop by the Photography Lab TC 114 up until March 31.

You can also contact professor Darrell Carr at (626) 914- 8754 and Miguel Jacobo through e-mail at Jacobo_34@yahoo.com.

“If everyone gives a dollar to donate in one class, one class can purchase a tent to donate to a family in Haiti,” Carr said. “A little goes a long way and the deadline is approaching.”

Anazarry Danganan can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

Owls basketball season ends in defeat Sandra Lopez CLARION EDITOR IN CHIEF The men’s basketball team’s season ended with one point between the Owls and the state championship game.

The Citrus team opened the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship tournament with a game against the San Jose Jaguars. Citrus won by a score of 74-53, advancing the Owls to the semi-final game against Saddleback played at the California Lutheran University’s Gilbert Arena in Thousand Oaks.

The Owls took an early lead and kept it close until seconds before the buzzer.

With 14 seconds left, and the score tied at 54, Saddleback’s freshmen guard Kyle Wallace made a free throw to give the Gauchos their first lead of the game.

Citrus’ sophomore forward Keith Thompson missed a shot as the clock ran out and the Owls

lost, 55-54.

Sophomore forward Cameron Nettles said, “I honestly can’t tell what went wrong. All I can say is that everything happens for a reason.”

The following day, Saddleback defeated City College of San Francisco, winning the state title.

The Owls ranked in California’s top 10 all season.

Thompson averaged 11.7 points per game for season with a total of 373. He led the team in field goals with 144 on 344 attempts, which was also a team high.

Sophomore center Tom Granado averaged 8.3 points per game with a total of 264 throughout the season. He led the team with a .76 field goal percentage.

DeAndre Haskins scored 9.4 points per game with a total of 274.

The only two losses of the season came at the Wells Fargo Holiday Tournament in December against Mt. San Antonio College and College of the Sequoias.

The Owls, for the third straight

season, are Western State Conference Champions. Their record was (29-3, 12-0) making it the second winningest season in program history.

Redshirt freshman guard Brandon Parga, said the season “is a success in many people’s eyes. We won many times on the court and established family ties.”

“Everyone just has to work on their weakness and carry the legacy that has been left behind,” he said.

Coach Rick Croy has been head coach since 2005. He has a winning percentage of .759 with a record of 101-32.

Coach Croy expressed pride in his team.

“The season was an incredible journey,” he said, “The season is absolutely a success.”

JOSE ALONSO RAMIREZ, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Sandra Lopez can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

Keith Thompson, sophomore forward, scored 11.7 points per game with a total of 373. The Owls won Cuesta College to advance to the elite eight.

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March 17, 2010

Celebrating St. Patrick’s day Kristin Lacuesta CLARION NEWS EDITOR Faith and begorrah! On March 17, it seems like everyone becomes honorarily Irish, even on a campus that is mostly a Hispanic serving institute.

Homemade Irish delicacies and live entertainment will be provided at the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration which begins today at 10:30 a.m. and concludes until 1:30 p.m.

Cafeteria supervisor Philomena O’Shea, a native of Ireland, will be serving 140 pounds of corned beef and 300 pounds of potatoes.

For $6.50, students and faculty can enjoy traditional Irish food as well as performances by musicians and dancers on the cafeteria patio.

Attendees will be able to

choose from several Irish entrees, including oven roasted corned beef served with cabbage, carrots and boiled potatoes; meat pies with vegetables; and traditional Irish stew.

In addition to the Irish celebration, the grill and sandwich bar will still be open.

Complimentary leprechaun cake and cookies will be served to all who attend.

The Irish folk band Paddy Doyle’s Boots will perform at 10:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m.

“This is our seventh year in a row playing for Citrus College,” said band member Jim Cope. “We love doing it, the music is so much fun and seems to enliven those who hear it.”

At 11:30 a.m., Irish step dancers will take to the stage.

O’Shea began the St. Patrick’s

Day celebration 13 years ago when she arrived at Citrus College.

“Every year, the celebration just continued to grow and grow,” O’Shea said. “I now have people calling me asking if they can purchase tickets. They think it’s a show.”

Last year, O’Shea ran out of food before the event was scheduled to end.

This year she is making lots more in hopes of satisfying all of the customers.

Food preparations began 24 hours prior to the festivities in order to have all the dishes completed in time, she said.

ANDREW VASQUEZ, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Kristin Lacuesta can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

Cafeteria supervisor Philomena O’Shea takes a tour through a freezer containing mountains of vegetables, pounds of pies and conspicuous amounts of corned beef, all to be prepared for the annual St. Patrick’s Day event.

CALLING IT LIKE IT IS

Ask a Blonde

March 17, 2010

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Accept it, walk away, let it go my life, that event allowed me to see all the nonsense I was still Courtney Mitchell grasping.

CLARION MANAGING EDITOR It was like getting glasses for the first time–I could finally see clearly.

Accept it. Walk away. Let it go.

For a year-and-a-half I dated a guy It’s what I told my best friend when on and off. My friends and family had she and her boyfriend broke up. It’s mixed feelings about him. I heard what I told my sister when she didn't what they had to say, but I let it flow get the grade she wanted on her essay. in one ear and out the other.

It’s what I told my co-worker when a Sure, he was a hot mess, but we got customer chewed her out. along OK, and we were having fun. It But most importantly, it’s what I tell wasn't until my best friend’s advice myself. and a crazy weekend trip that I realI didn’t always live by this rule ized the bigger picture: I am better though. than this.

But when an old friend reentered Of course, my mother had been

telling me this for quite some time.

Although she was bitter that she couldn't get through to me, she was glad that someone else finally had.

That was all that really mattered.

So naturally, when my best friend and her boyfriend started having problems, I attempted to give her the same advice she gave me.

The difference was that she had been on and off with this guy for five years.

Five years is a long time in relationship language. All I could think to tell her is that breaking up is a process.

Accept. Don't make excuses. As Edward Cullen would say, “Say it, out loud.”

Walk away. It is easy for us to walk away from other situations. Apply the

same rule.

Let it go. Immerse yourself into other activities, schoolwork and hanging out with friends. Take risks and try something new. Keep yourself occupied and do not dwell on your problem.

This advice applies to many sticky situations.

But it’s whether or not you choose to listen that makes the difference.

It is what it is.

So accept it. Walk away and let it go. Trust me, you will feel so much better.

Courtney Mitchell can be reached at ask_a_blonde@live.com

Help for Haiti, but not for the homefront? however, bittersweet.

I recently heard someone say that one probDustin Call lem with our society is CLARION ONLINE EDITOR that we are “reactive” rather than “proactive.”

What this statement means to me is that, unfortunately, people in Recently, members of the Citrus College community have been en- our society reach out to help others in gaged in efforts to help the victims of need only when something dramatic the massive earthquakes in Haiti and occurs. And all too often, the focus is on impoverished third-world countries Chile.

Student athletes assisted Sport and not on our own.

Every day millions of Americans Chalet in a shoe drive, one student organized a benefit concert in Clare- suffer from homelessness and starvamont and a professor recently started tion and relatively few people engage in efforts to relieve their pain. a tent drive.

Most of us have experienced So many efforts being made by our community to help our fellow pulling off of the freeway and seeing mankind is commendable. It gives me a person standing at the stoplight with hope for our society. For me, it is, a sign that reads “homeless, please

help” or “looking for work.”

Like so many others, I am quick to assume that this person is probably just lazy and will only spend any money I might give him or her on cigarettes and alcohol. This may be true, but there is no way for us to know for sure.

The reality is that our economy has been in the dumps for years now, and millions of people have lost their homes to foreclosure. This problem is particularly rampant in the nearby Inland Empire.

Whether or not homeless individuals got themselves into mess they are in, the truth is that they are just as much in need as the people in Haiti.

Instead of reaching out to our fellow countrymen, it has become trendy—no thanks to hypocritical celebrities—to take cushy trips to

exclusive content on

Africa and pretend like we are good people because we adopt one of their children.

What about the homeless children in America? Who is going to give them a better life?

The country showed a tremendous amount of compassion to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. But again, that was a dramatic event that prompted our help, and now that it’s over, we have once again forgotten.

It is time to look inward and be proactive in making our own country a better place where everybody can attain the American Dream.

Dustin Call can be reached at clarion.web@gmail.com

For live updates, photos and video of the

March in March in Sacramento on March 22, follow Clarion social media.

ANAZARRY DANGANAN, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Dr. Geraldine M. Perri, Superintendent of Citrus College, helped served soup at the First Christian Church in Glendora on Friday to help raise money for the Empty Bowls Benefit.

On Friday, March 12, over 1,000 handmade bowls sat on a shelf ready to be sold and filled with soup at the First Christian Church in Glendora. Citrus College and the First Christian Church Fine Arts Academy hosted the Empty Bowls Benefit where they served several types of soup and listened to entertainment courtesy the Citrus College Jazz Ensemble. Story and photo online.

facebook.com/ccclarion youtube.com/ccclarion t w i t t e r. c o m / c c c l a r i o n

March 17, 2010

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Scholarships not all about grades Ericka Sebastian CLARION CORRESPONDENT Getting scholarships are a lot easier than you might think. The biggest misconception many students have is that they have to have good grades to qualify. Somewhat true, but academics are not the sole basis of winning scholarships.

Scholarships are virtually available for everyone. This is free money that does not need to be paid back. It can be as simple as writing an essay or even entering your name to be selected.

Some applications may have different requirements based on the organization. Some scholarships may require essays, personal statements, an interview, or letters of recommendations. Some may require all, some, or none of these factors.

The Internet is a plethora of thousands of scholarship Web sites.

Some popular ones are www.fastweb.com, www.finaid.org, www.collegeboard.org, and www.collegeweeklive.com . Sit down for a few minutes and surf these useful websites! These Web sites will help you break down your search in categories, according to major, ethnicity, career objectives, etc.

Let’s not forget our own Scholarship Fund at Citrus College. The

Scholarship Fund at Citrus has been helping students with monetary gifts since 1966 and more students need to be aware of its presence and availability.

Make a trip to the Financial Aid Office and pick up one of the many applications and flyers available at no cost.

There was a recent release of the Citrus College Scholarship and Grant Application, which can also be found at the Financial Aid Office and is due by April 2. The application packet is used as a screening tool to help match students with appropriate scholarships.

There are scholarships for transfer students, beginning students, single parents, real estate students, nursing students, athletes-and many more.

The Financial Aid Office has a small resource room, equipped with computers and large books filled with scholarship resources.

Before overlooking the option of applying for scholarships, know that your background and circumstances can serve as significant assets toward your search for scholarships.

Your personal characteristics, such as ethnicity, financial need, extracurricular activities, or status as a first generation college student, are vital aspects that can aid in your search.

There are lots of scholarships geared for minority students. Your ethnicity can play a major role in finding available scholarships.

There are scholarships for being Hispanic (check out the Hispanic Scholarship Fund at www.hsf.net) and scholarships for being Asian (check out the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship fund at www.apiasf.org/index.html).

There are also scholarships for being African-American (check out www.blackexcel.org).

Other ethnicity scholarships may also be found at www.fastweb.com.

Based on the ethnicity factor alone, it is unfortunate that not all students are aware of how simple it is to be eligible to apply for scholarships. No 4.0 GPA required.

If you are religious, there are also scholarships based on religions. Whatever your religion there will be something available.

Some scholarships are geared toward specific majors and career objectives. Yes, even your major can help your search for a scholarship.

If you are lucky enough, some companies also have educational benefits and scholarships available to employees and/or their children.

Aside from these factors, some organizations look for different components in the applications.

Application requirements may also be based on merit, achievements, and financial need.

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

To see if you can qualify for a “need-based” scholarship, fill out the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

In addition, individual scholarships may also ask for assessments of your financial situation. With this opportunity, use this space to explain special circumstances or obstacles you have to face.

Remember, it is not all about grades.

Searching for scholarships might be tedious and time consuming, but it is important to stay motivated

and find as much aid as possible.

The benefits of pursuing scholarships will definitely outweigh the feeling of being helpless and broke.

Additional lists of scholarship Web sites may also be found in the Financial Aid Office.

Ericka Sebastian can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

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March 17, 2010

You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.

— Rosalynn Carter

Women’s

History

Month MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

TOP: TELEVISION HOST OPRAH WINFREY. ABOVE: (LEFT TO RIGHT) FIRST FEMALE AVIATOR AMELIA EARHART, SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON, ACTRESS MERYL STREEP.

Citrus Students

53.4 percentage of females students

44 percentage of Hispanic female students

26

percentage of Caucasian female students

10

percentage of Asian female students

5 percentage of African American female students Fall 2008 Data on Students Gender and Ethnicity California Community College Chancellor’s Office

Women of the world Alonso Ramirez CLARION OP/ED EDITOR Throughout history, countless women have fought against male-dominated societies, defeating the odds and achieving greatness.

Politically, religiously, and artistically, these outstanding women have influenced generations and earned a spot in our museums and history books, as well as in our hearts.

Amelia Earhart achieved many accomplishments in her life, such as writing a best selling-book. But what she was most famous for was her adventures as the first female aviator.

Earhart was awarded the Distinguised Flying cross for been the first female who flew across the Atlantic.

Women broke a huge barrier when current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton campaigned against President Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic nomination.

Her hard work as a former U.S. Senator in New York and terms as first lady during former President Bill Clinton’s administration made her a formidable opponent against President Obama.

Now as secretary of state, Clinton has diplomatically reinforced our foreign relations and reaffirmed the strong persona of the United States across the globe.

Another important female political figure is world- renowned Queen Rania of Jordan. During her time as queen, she has focused most of her efforts on improving education, domestically and globally.

Queen Rania has been very outspoken about changing misunderstandings the western hemisphere has about Arab nations, and influenced tolerance and cooperation between both cultures.

Aside from the political power various women have earned,

others have achieved greatness by lending a helping hand to those in need.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was an Catholic nun from Albania who became the world’s most famous humanitarian thanks to her 45 years of work with the poor, sick and dying.

Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, an organization with members stationed in 133 countries who are dedicated to helping the poor.

There are other individuals, such as Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, who subconsciously paved the way with the strokes of her brush for a lot of artists behind her.

Kahlo’s surrealist self-portraits reveal the painful experiences she had gone through as a woman and made her famous all around the world.

Artistic women have also dominated other fields. A great example is actress Meryl Streep, an American who currently holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations, as well as for the Golden Globe Awards.

Leading roles in classics like “Deer Hunter” and “Kramer vs.

Kramer” earned her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Movies and television have skyrocketed women to fame. Billionaire Oprah Winfrey has become a symbol for women everywhere thanks to her television show.

What Oprah says, wears, or does influences women all around the world. After overcoming traumatic experiences during childhood, she worked her way up the big pyramid of entertainment.

These individuals are examples of how women can defeat any obstacle and do anything they set their mind to.

Alonso Ramirez can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

features

March 17, 2010

Page 11

Female trustees Cultural practices leading Citrus through changes Sandra Lopez

CLARION EDITOR IN CHIEF

Women’s History Month is not only a time to celebrate the many accomplishments that women have achieved throughout history, but it is also a time to learn about the oppression and abuse that women are currently struggling with to date.

Here are a few cultural practices that women have faced for the price of beauty, stability, and tradition.

Kristin Lacuesta CLARION NEWS EDITOR

Susan M. Keith

Trustee Area 2: Claremont/Azusa/La Verne/Pomona She was elected for the first time in 1999 and her current term expires November 2011.

Keith earned a bachelors degree from California State University Hayward and completed postgraduate study in art and photography.

She was the former president of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education, a member of the Citrus College Foundation where she served as chair of the marketing committee and served on the first care committee in Claremont.

Over the years, she has earned several awards. She earned the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award, Community Hero Award from the Los Angeles County Fair Association and was Grand Marshall of Claremont’s annual fourth of July parade.

When asked what women’s history month means to her, she had a lot to say and felt very strongly on the subject.

“Women’s history means a lot!” Keith said.

“I am very proud of the women who have made it possible for us to have choices on how you will live your lives.”

She thanked many women including civil rights activists Sojourner Truth and Susan B. Anthony, educators Mary McLeod Bethune and Annie Sullivan, authors Louisa May Alcott, Alice Walker, Louise Erdrich, Amy Tan, Gloria Steinem and Isabel Allende and artists Georgia O’Keefe and Frida Kahlo for paving the way for women to reach their full potential.

“We still have a way to go,” Keith said.

“When there are equal women in Congress, when we no longer need domestic violence or sexual assault agencies, when mother’s don’t have to worry about their little boys going to prison or getting killed in the streets, when differences are fully appreciated and respected, we will know that we, as women and men, have arrived.”

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

Breast ironing is a practice used to minimize the size of young girl’s breasts by pounding or massaging the breast tissue with a hot object. Largely done in parts of Cameroon, Africa, parents believe it will prevent young girls from developing large breasts that will attract men and possibly instigate rape. Cameroon has a high teenage pregnancy rate, which forces girls to discard their education and instead care for their children, thus parents often worry that their own child will become pregnant. Breast ironing has multiple consequences, which include the deformity of the breasts, burns, tissue damage, infections, and the disappearance of one or both breasts. The practice is usually done by the young girl’s mother and is performed consistently with heated objects for over a month until the breasts reduce.

Joanne Montogomery Trustee Area 5: Monrovia/Bradbury/Duarte She was appointed to serve on the Board of Trustees in 1998 to fill a vacancy and was elected to the board in 1999 and again in 2003.

Montgomery has a bachelors of arts degree from the University of Arizona, a master of arts degree from APU, which she earned in 1982, and has completed postgraduate work at USC, UCLA, Pepperdine University and University of La Verne.

She served as president of the Board of Directors of the 48th District Agricultural Association Board, is a member of the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce’s BEACON (Business, Education and Community Out-

reach Network) and the Government Affairs Committee.

She is active in the PTA, having taught at an elementary school in Monrovia for 32 years, the Los Angeles Children’s Home Society, League of Women Voters, and the Monrovia Guild of Children’s Hospital.

She was awarded the Dick Lord Award in 2003 from the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce for outstanding community service.

“It is time to celebrate the contributions women have made throughout history and a time to reflect on the accomplishments women make daily in their lives and in the lives of others.”

Patricia Rasmussen

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

Forced marriage is often arranged between girls as young as 8 and older men up to their 60s. The girls are usually unaware of their engagement and the marriage is done with or without their consent. Parents continue the practice because they believe that their daughters will benefit either economically, in terms of either the family or daughter receiving money for the marriage, or socially, in terms of the man being well respected. Forced marriage is still practiced in parts of south and east Asia, in countries such as Bangladesh, the Middle East such as Afghanistan and Africa such as Niger and Mali.

Trustee Area 4: Glendora/Azusa/San Dimas Rasmussen was elected to the Board of Trustees for the first time in 2007 and her current term expires November 2011.

She has an associate of arts degree from El Camino College in English and journalism, a bachelor of arts degree in English from California State University San Diego, a master’s in communications from Cal State University Fullerton and a doctorate in educational management from the University of La Verne.

She has taught English and journalism at the high school and college levels.

In 1983, she joined the Citrus College staff.

At Citrus, she has held many positions.

She was dean of planning and economic development, administrative dean of planning and institutional advancement, director of development, assistant to the president, and director of public affairs.

She retired as vice president of institutional advancement at Mt. San Antonio College in 2005.

She has earned several awards including the 59th Assembly District Woman of the Year award and the Glendora Coordinating Council Humanitarian Award.

Living in Glendora for 35 years, she is really involved in the community.

She is a two-term member of the Glendora Unified School District Board of Education and has served on the Glendora Public Library Board.

She is currently a member of the Equestrian Trails, Inc.(Coral 35), and the Long Range Planning Committee for Citrus Valley Health Partners.

Kristin Lacuesta can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

Neck rings are commonly worn by the Kayan tribe located in the border region of Myanmar and Thailand and by the Ndebele people of South Africa. A long neck is considered beautiful and it can also attract attention from the likes of men or tourist who often pay money to take photographs of the women. Neck rings are worn to lengthen the neck, by pushing down the collarbone and ribs. A hazard that comes from this practice are that neck muscles that cannot support the head and hematoma are weakened.

Page 12

features

March 17, 2010

Student makes most of second chance at life Tom Marshall CLARION STAFF WRITER Many students who enroll in community colleges are looking for a second chance at life. It is less common when those students maximize the chances afforded them.

Rudy Navarro was 26 years old in 2006, a young man in a hurry. He was taking courses at Citrus College, running his own plumbing business, and helping to parent his young son.

Still, things were not going well with his girlfriend, Patty, the mother of his child, and wanderlust was getting the better of him.

In time, he closed the business and took a job at a large home improvement store where the pay was good and he could leave the problems behind at the end of the day.

It was difficult, even painful, for Navarro to bring the details back from his memory, which he tries to put far behind him. Each recollec-

tion was difficult, but his memory had all the details about what was to unfold.

At the store one day, Navarro saw a job posting, applied for a transfer, and before he knew it, he was driving to Peoria, Ill., his new home.

The oldest of eight siblings, Navarro adjusted well to his new surroundings. He met a local mother of two boys, Heidi, who was in the final stages of a contentious divorce. Her husband lived in Pennsylvania, and they had virtually no contact.

Heidi would frequently bring her sons to spend weekend nights with Rudy. He, in turn, would occasionally borrow her car to run errands.

On one occasion while he was driving her vehicle, Navarro was stopped by a local police officer, who cited him for a broken taillight.

Navarro had not noticed that the car was registered in the name of

Brian Solokowski, Heidi’s estranged husband. As formality, a copy of the citation was mailed to the soonto-be ex-husband’s Pennsylvania address.

Several weeks later, late on a Sunday night, Heidi and her boys were asleep in one bedroom while Rudy slept in another. They did not hear any noise, nor were they given any warning that Solokowski had driven through the night to exact revenge on his wife.

Swiftly and silently, he entered the apartment and shot Rudy twice with a heavy gauge shotgun, holding it at point-blank range before shooting Heidi and then himself.

Rudy’s younger brother, Andy, had also been staying with him, but he was at the opposite end of the apartment. Neither he nor the Solokowskis’ two young boys were injured in the attack.

As Andy ran from room to room, he saw two dead bodies, and his brother lying in a pool of blood, critically wounded and unresponsive. He dialed 911, then grabbed Rudy and applied pressure to the wounds until help arrived.

Medical personnel and law enforcement responded. The quiet suburban neighborhood turned into bedlam; this was not a typical emergency call in this Mid-Western city of 114,000 people about three hours south of Chicago.

Those on the scene gave Rudy only an outside chance for survival, as one of the surgeons later confirmed. Still, they worked to stabilize and transport him to the OSF St. Francis Medical Center, a fully equipped, regional trauma facility.

Navarro remained in a coma through several surgeries and for two weeks following the shooting.

It was several weeks before he regained full consciousness and finally learned the extent of his injuries.

The doctors fought for several days to save his leg, but it had become septic and the infection could not be controlled. Finally, it had to be amputated. His left arm was crushed in four areas and was equally as critical, but it was saved.

Navarro’s left shoulder and chest were severely injured. Four ribs had to be removed and residual problems remain to this day with flexibility and movement.

After several months at St. Francis, he was discharged to Heidi’s family home, and went through several more months of physical therapy. He was cared for by Heidi’s mother and her young brother.

Navarro recalled the extent of the care he received from her family.

After more than a year, he had recovered to the point that he could begin to explore the possibility of employment.

At the same time, he made the difficult decision to return to Southern California.

“I’ll be eternally grateful to Heidi’s family for the loving care I received,” Navarro said.

He immediately turned his attention to continuing his education and to helping to raise his son, as well as his girlfriend Patty’s two sons.

Navarro re-enrolled at Citrus College in fall 2009. He is fast ap-

ANDREW VASQUEZ, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Rudy Navarro stands proudly by his wheelchair, showing that his abilities are not as limited as they may seem. With the assistance of a cane he can stand and walk short distances.

proaching the time when he can transfer to a four-year institution.

Navarro has an unusually positive attitude about life and where he fits in. His experiences have afforded him the opportunity to learn how to deal with and assist others whose injuries or physical condition have limited their abilities.

“I am so much better off than most of those I see around me on campus everyday,” Navarro said. “I know I can help them by my example.”

The Citrus College staff in Disabled Students’ Programs and Services have helped him with a special parking permit and priority registration. He coordinated his school time with his girlfriend Patty, who also attended Citrus, and who withdrew to be a full-time mother.

While Navarro uses a wheelchair on campus, he always has a cane nearby, which he can use to stand and walk short distances.

Life has its challenges for Navarro, as it does for everyone. He does not see himself as disabled, nor does he spend his days in self pity. He is the kind of guy who applies himself to the task at hand, which he tackles with confidence.

His only concession to his injuries is, “I’ll get a desk job. It’s tougher now to climb ladders all day,” he said, with an almost-straight face.

Dr. Samir Gupta, a trauma surgeon at St. Francis Medical Center, had a recollection of the case.

“I probably will never forget Rudy,” he said. The case was one that ranked very high on the diffi-

culty scale. We thought he would lose the left arm and we worked hard to save that and prevent the chest wound from getting ahead of us.”

He continued, saying that in his memory the accident was so detailed it was as if it had happened yesterday.

“We started having a problem.

We were trying desperately to save his left leg, and we fought it for several days. The patient was still in a continuing coma. The infection in the leg became septic and we could not control it. After four or five days, we had no alternative but to amputate. I agonized over that.”

“I followed Rudy for the months he was at St. Francis,” Gupta said.

“It was only a short while after that I came upon him working on some athletic equipment. He told me he had to get started.”

Rudy’s case stands out in my memory because of, not only the circumstances, but because of what I found him to be,” he said.

“I haven’t seen him for some time, and, frankly, I didn’t know he had left the area. But I haven’t forgotten him and I doubt I ever will.

In this business, we lose a lot of the trauma patients who are brought in, but it’s people like Rudy Navarro that make it all worthwhile.”

Tom Marshall can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

March 17, 2010

A&E

Page 13

Q & A with a trumpet player Eirin Hernandez CLARION STAFF WRITER Randy Polk, a music program lab supervisor, plays trumpet with the Blue Note Swing Orchestra.

He is originally from Oklahoma, where he grew up and his family still resides.

Polk moved to Glendora soon after he earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Oklahoma.

He earned his master’s degree in trumpet performance from Azusa Pacific University and for the last four years he has been part of the Citrus family, helping teach in the music department.

Q: How did your interest in music come about?

A: When I was a young boy, about 12, I participated in my school music program.

Q: Why trumpet instead of anther instrument?

A: Because I used to see my father and grandfather playing the trumpet at home.

Q: What musician has inspired you?

A: I could mention Doc Severin-

sen. He used to play the trumpet in the band of the “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”

Q: What type of music do you like to play?

A: I like a little bit of everything.

I used to play in a band that played Salsa, Merengue and Cumbia. I play in the jazz band, and I come from a classical music background, but I guess my favorite music is funk.

Q: Do you have a band right now?

A: Yes, I have a band called NStuff that is a cover band.

Q: What does that mean?

A: That we play songs that somebody else wrote. We change it out a bit because we are a funk and jazz band.

Q: What brought you to Citrus?

A: I grew up as a classical musician and when I moved here I wanted to play more jazz and [learn] the commercial side. The dean, Mr. Slack, and my teacher in Oklahoma went to college together so I came here to take classes with him at APU. While I was doing that, I started playing

over here because there is more emphasis on the commercial side.

Q: How do you like the program at Citrus?

A: Our program here is awesome.

This place is really unique. The band goes on tours often, and, for example, this Battle of the Bands is something you do not hear everywhere. That is what brought me here; there are a lot of opportunities to play all the time.

Q: What do you recommend for people who want to go into music?

A: No sugar-coating. People need to know that it is not the easiest thing you are going to do, but if it is something you love… I still technically don’t have to work. I’m not working. I’m having fun. I wake up almost every day with a smile on my face, ready to go to work. I play in the groups, too, because I’m trying to refine my play.

Honing the skill I think is what they call it.

Eirin Hernandez can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

ANDREW VASQUEZ, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Randy Polk, a lab supervisor for the Citrus College music program, works tirelessly to learn the many different numbers he is going to perform with the rest of Blue String Orchestra for the ‘Battle of the Big Bands’ event.

A&E

March 17, 2010

Page 15

A night of enchantment Sandra Lopez & Mitchie Pardilla CLARION STAFF WRITERS The extraordinary performance of language arts professor Dale Salwak’s “International Stars of Magic” captivated the crowd at the Haugh Performing Arts Center on March 13.

The evening started with a tribute to the legends of magic. Photographs of magicians such as Harry Houdini, Jose Frankson, Shimada and Richiardi were flashed on the screen above the stage.

The first performers of the night were Joseph Gabriel of the United States, with his assistant Katalin of Hungary. Gabriel started the show with covering his hands with a plain white handkerchief, which magically turned into two white doves.

One of his greatest tricks was with a red cloth that went inside a balloon. When the balloon popped, a white dove suddenly appeared. As Gabriel held the dove hanging upside-down in his hand, it appeared to be dead. All of the sudden a dove magically floated.

In his performance finale, he lit a red and white cloth on fire. After the cloth burned, a beautiful exotic parrot appeared on his arm.

Jorge Blass from Spain is a famous illusionist who has performed throughout Europe. A comedic host, he entered the stage while talking to the audience in his native tongue, Spanish. He persuaded the audience to shout “ole”

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instead of applauding.

Blass served as host of the program. He was teaching the audience simple tricks like how to remove the thumb.

“If you believe in magic, everything is magical,” he said.

Tony Chapek, an international awards winner from Czechoslovakia, used a flat screen TV to perform his tricks as part of his “high-tech fun.” Chapek asked Bernadette, a housewife from the audience, to pick a card out of a deck. He then asked Bernadette to find the card in the deck she was

holding. It turned out that the card she was looking for was inside the TV. On the TV screen was Chapek, playing an alter ego. The two Tonys interacted with each other as they talked, fought and magically passed objects, such as soda, through the TV screen.

Blass once again came back to the stage to perform tricks with a folded paper.

Blass made the paper fly like a butterfly. He did a close-up trick, where the audience could see the coin tricks that he was doing on the

big scree. Ryan Skiles, an awardwinning pianist and a former Citrus College student, was playing a classical piece in the background.

Salwak, director of Chavez Studio of Magic since 1978, did a trick in which endless coins flowed from his hands.

He also did tricks using a deck of cards, from changing its color to different kinds of visions with a mellow music playing in the background. The audience was greatly impressed with a purple cloth featuring a ball of light running around the cloth to his shoulders and arms. He ended his performance with a magical confetti shower that came out from his purple cloth.

The Gizmo Guys did the funniest performance of the night. Allan Jacobs and Barrett Felker didn’t perform many magical tricks; their forte was juggling.

First, they juggled sticks while performing choreographed dance moves. Felker also surprised the audience juggling balls using his mouth. Jacobs, on the other hand, played a xylophone using a ball in his mouth.

Jacob said, “if we make one person happy that would be enough for us.”

They also played with white blocks while making rhythmic sounds.

“We’re never too old to play blocks,” Jacob said.

Shimada, a performer from Japan, has been doing shows for 50 years. Most of his tricks involve a handkerchief and a Japanese um-

brella.

The finale of his performance featured three dragons that blew fire and tried to capture Shimada.

Shimada wrapped himself around the tail of one of the dragons and when they all neared him, he appeared inside the head of the dragon while his assistant appeared wrapped inside the tail.

Gabriel and Katalin returned to the stage. They wowed the audience with their “seeing through a woman trick,” which consisted of a giant box and his beautiful assistance trapped.

For the finale, special guest, Ryan Salwak a Citrus College student also enrolled at North Hollywood’s Lankershim Arts Center, gave a background on how he believed in magic throughout his younger years.

Salwak said that seeing snow falling from the sky was magical.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could create our own magic?” he asked.

Salwak then cut a piece of paper into a snowflake, and suddenly snow started to flow out from his hands. Magically covering the stage as the rest of the cast came out to bow. A standing ovation from the audience, brought the evening to a triumphant end.

Clarion Staff can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

‘Dante’s Inferno’ is not so hot Steven Regan CLARION STAFF WRITER Visceral Games and EA brings us the hack-and-slash video game based on a literature classic, Dante’s Inferno. I journeyed to hell to see if it was worth the $60 price tag. Turns out it’s not.

The game follows the original epic with its imagery, storyline and musical score. The scenery is hellish, and the game often has the player use walls made of the damned as footholds. All the while you hear their moans of anguish as they are tortured for eternity.

The characters converse with one another naturally. None of the ingame dialogue sounds forced.

In the original poem, Dante descends into Hell in company of fellow poet Virgil. In the game Dante and Virgil take on that journey once again. However, Dante is no longer a poet but a soldier of the crusades.

As a result of his job change Dante seems to have become a very bland and flat character, which makes it difficult to pity him. For some reason he sews a red cross, the symbol of the crusades, to his chest for some sort of penance for his sins.

Beatrice, whom in the game is

Dante’s love interest, plays little more than the damsel in distress that the hero chases through a literal Hell to save. At first she reacts to him coldly as he betrayed her trust and instead stays in the company of the devil for the first leg of the game.

When it comes to villains in video games Lucifer has got to be one of the best that I’ve ever seen.

Most villains in video games would go out of their way just to make the protagonist’s life more difficult. Lucifer doesn’t even have to do anything; he just talks about how Dante betrayed Beatrice and it drives Dante crazy. His voice is smooth while at the same time taunting as he goads Dante further.

The game itself is a pretty standard hack-and-slash: mash a few buttons in varying combinations until everything near you is dead.

However, it is not as easy as it sounds since enemies have far too much health and require more hits to kill. Enemies also have too many ways to stay invulnerable to your attacks such as a spinning attack you can’t interrupt or a dodge move that is used with annoying regularity.

Dante has two weapons in this game: Death’s scythe, which isn’t as cool as it sounds, and Beatrice’s

cross which is a holy projectile weapon. Both weapons are free to use, but you’ll be using the cross more since most of the enemies in the game can only attack you at close range.

There are two upgrade systems that make up the karma system: one for being good and the other for being evil. You gain experience either by finishing off your opponent in an exceptionally violent way or finishing off your opponent in an exceptionally violent way while praising God as you do it.

Each side unlocks new techniques and increases your health and bars. Spells are learned either as the game progresses, or you buy them in the karma level-up system.

There’s no real impact to the story for which side of the karmic coin you pick.

The combat is fluid enough.

Combos are easy to pull off, making the game much more bearable despite its problems.

Everything outside of battle can be a chore.

In every section of the game there is always an obstacle that can kill you instantly. Whether that obstacle is a bottomless pit (this is the one that happens most often), burning oil, lava, or fire despite the fact that you hit with it once be-

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fore and took minimal damage.

Jumps to avoid these insta-kill obstacles have to be so precise that you may barely miss. The camera doesn’t help matters since it’s always stuck either on Dante or something in the background.

While the visuals are hellish, I could have lived the rest of my life happily without seeing the Lust section, which is at the beginning of the game. It’s the stuff that fuels nightmares, so I won’t even bother describing it.

Dante’s Inferno starts as a passable game. But halfway through it appears that the developers just lost interest.

Bottom line: You’re better off reading the original. It’s a pretty game in a hellish kind of way, but the game play just drags it down to Hell, and not in the way it’s supposed to. If you want a good hackand-slash that’s based on mythology, you’re probably better off picking the Greek version of Dante’s Inferno: God of War III.

Steven Regan can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

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A&E

March 17, 2010

Gorillaz release ‘Plastic Beach’ album Aaron Gaikar CLARION STAFF WRITER The Gorillaz released their long awaited new album, “Plastic Beach” on March 8. The band is letting the audience hear an exclusive full-length album preview put together by the Gorillaz as a part of their takeover of guardian.co.uk/music.

To hear the album preview along with a few short cartoon clips, pertaining to it, go to guardian.co.uk/music and search Gorillaz.

The Gorillaz is a collaboration of various musicians with the only permanent member in the band being Damon Albarn.

The music, which is electronically produced, is composed of multiple genres of music, and has influences, such as: pop, alternative rock, electronic, dub, and hip hop.

Albarn created the virtual representation of the band in 1998, consisting of four virtual members: 2D (lead vocalist, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (lead guitar) and Russel Hobbes (drums and percussion).

These avatars have come to symbolize each band member’s evolution over the years with an array of music videos, cool interviews, and even live performances.

This is one of the many unique qualities that have allowed the band’s fans to fall into the Gorillaz experience.

With 16 tracks, “Plastic Beach” is a collection of music genres mixed into the Gorillaz laid-back, electric sound, which has become their signature sound.

“Rhinestone Eyes” is the track which stood out as the best. It has a smooth, easy electric and catchy beat, with familiar rhythmic rhymes performed by Damon Albarn aka 2D. Their music features orchestra ensembles, along with their own twist on classic sounds such as funk and disco.

Hip-hop with both pop and raw rap, and some good old “feel good” type songs, the Gorillaz have become notorious for such sound.

The Gorillaz did an amazing job of working with all these different sounds into their music.

They were able to adopt them comfortably without losing a sense of that easy-going Gorillaz feel, which really makes it their own.

With original songs featuring artists Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, De La Soul and Kano, the collaborations put together in this album surpassed my expectations. I thought like many other bands, the Gorillaz would lose their originality and sell out to a big-brand producer, but they didn’t.

Aaron Gaikar can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

WWW.ROCKONTHESTREETS.COM

Review: ‘Parenthood’ Steven Regan CLARION STAFF WRITER The NBC television show “Parenthood” is about the joys and sorrows of being a parent. Judging from the first episode, “Parenthood” is mostly about the sorrows. The show’s time slot is on Tuesdays at 10 pm.

The premiere was dedicated to Nora O’Brien, an NBC executive who died at age 44 in May 2009 of a cerebral aneurysm.

Actors in the main cast of the show include Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, Peter Krause, Monica Potter, Sarah Ramos, Max Burkholder, Erika Christensen, Sam Jaeger, Savannah Paige Rae, Lauren Graham, Mae Whitman, Miles Heizer, Dax Shepard, Joy Bryant, and Tyree Brown.

The show’s director is Jason Katims whose past shows include “Relativity” and “My So-Called Life.”

It is also the second show based on the 1989 film of the same title.

The one-hour NBC premiere on March 2 seemed intent on setting up storylines that viewers can follow throughout the series. This is all well and good, but when you spread an entire deck of cards on the table as your hand, the game can get a tad confusing.

Plots came and went so fast that I had trouble keeping

up. Putting a name to a face was disorienting as people’s names were quickly washed away in the torrent of drama.

The viewer isn’t given enough time to care about the characters before the writers drop drama-filled A-bombs on them.

Some of the subplots introduced in the first episode include a mom dating, a child diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a daughter caught with pot, and a guy who finds out he already has a kid just after making a promise to the girl he lives with to have a child in three years.

And that isn’t even the half of it. There is way too much going on.

These subplots should have been explored in separate episodes. As it is, the viewer gets the impression that the director couldn’t develop an hour-long storyline for an episode.

Perhaps in future episodes the storyline will be better managed and easier to follow. “Parenthood” has great potential, but you’ll have to watch the first episode more than once just to digest all the information that is thrown at you.

Steven Regan can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

Review: ‘The Marriage Ref’ Kristin Lacuesta CLARION NEWS EDITOR It has been 12 years since the end of the smash-hit television comedy “Seinfeld,” but last month, NBC welcomed back Jerry Seinfeld with his new reality show “The Marriage Ref.” Seinfeld, creator and executive producer of the show, came up with the idea after a real-life argument with his wife of 10 years.

He and his wife disagreed about something and they called a referee to ultimately decide who was right.

And so, a show was born.

Actor and stand-up comedian Tom Papa, who plays the “ref,” hosts the show, which also features a celebrity panel of judges that changes from episode to episode.

The judges debate the issue, take sides, and then Papa tells the couple his decision via a live video feed.

On the first episode, the panel consisted of actor Alec Baldwin, television host Kelly Ripa and Seinfeld himself.

The judges were shown a clip of a real-life married couple arguing about whether the husband should be allowed to keep his stuffed dead dog in the house.

The idea of calling on a “marriage ref ” to resolve marital spats seems like a hilarious new concept, but this

show fails to make you laugh, let alone hold your attention.

Not only is this show not funny, but having to listen to a celebrity panel is quite useless as Papa makes his own decisions regardless of the panel’s opinions.

The panel seems to exist only to distract the viewer from Papa’s dry and dull quips.

The decision on whether a husband or wife is right on the issue seems to only serve to heighten the tension between the couple.

The issue does not appear resolved in the least, and in a sorry attempt at an “apology,” the couple is rewarded with a vacation at the end of each show.

“The Marriage Ref ” airs on NBC at 10 p.m. Thursdays following “30 Rock.”

Unfortunately, with the addition of “The Marriage Ref,” NBC fails to live up to its Thursday night motto of “comedy night done right.”

So, if you and your spouse are debating on whether to watch this show, you don’t need a marriage “ref ” to tell you that it is definitely not worth your time.

Kristin Lacuesta can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

March 17, 2010

sports

Page 17

Top freestyler inspires teammates Mitchie Pardilla CLARION FEATURES EDITOR Friendly, funny, and fast are the best words to describe Citrus College’s top male swimmer Jordan Rivas.

Rivas is a 20-year-old sophomore from Glendora, whose events of choice are the 100 and 200 yard freestyle events.

His personal best record for the 100 freestyle is 46.5; his other two main events are the 50-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle.

Rivas started swimming at age 5.

His parents put him in an age group program at South Hills Country Club and he has been swimming ever since.

During his days at the South Hills Country Club he met Peter Smiley, who is now a former Citrus College swimmer.

Smiley and Rivas have competed against each other since they were 6.

“We always race there [South Hills Country Club] and I always beat him,” Smiley said.

Rivas came from a family of athletes, as his younger brother Shane

was into swimming and his little sister Katelyn, played softball.

“My parents always try to go to the meets if they could. They try to juggle between me, my brother and sister,” he said.

Rivas attended Charter Oak High School, and during his senior year placed second in CIF in the southern section in the 50-meter and the 100meter freestyle.

Now in his second season at Citrus, Rivas says that what inspires him the most is the competition itself and his friend. “I feel confident because every time I compete with anyone else…I try to push my self harder,” he said. “I like it” At the Mt. San Antonio College invitational, he finished the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 22.75. Out of 127 swimmers, he finished 13th.

Rivas also finished 10th out of 109 participants with a time of 50.41 for the 100-meter free.

Rivas said he is very happy with his experience on the Citrus swim team.

“It’s really fun. It’s a great group of people and excellent coaching,” he said.

Compared to other athletes that

MITCHIE PARDILLA, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Twenty-year old swimmer Jordan Rivas soars down the laneline as he perfects his butterfly stroke for the upcoming meets left in the Spring 2010 season.

train themselves everyday, Rivas trains for two hours, four times a week at the most.

“He doesn’t have a typical swimmer’s body type, but he rocks what he has,” said former teammate Tony Pearson, a 21-year-old Citrus student majoring in health science.

Rivas is a business major, taking 12 units this spring. He plans to transfer to either CSU Northridge or CSU Long Beach.

“When I transfer, I don’t know if I’m still going to compete,” he said.

“I guess I’m burned out of sports.”

Rivas said he looks up to his coaches Steve Smith and Tim Kyle, who have taught him to stay focused during meets and have fun playing sports.

According to Kyle, Rivas has been the fastest male freestyle swimmer over the past two years.

“He brings a lot of life to the team with his great personality,” Kyle said.

“Jordan is a one of a kind guy, especially during swim season,” team-

mate Brittany Orduno said. “He’s never too serious about anything because he’s got his own weird sense of humor, but the more fun he has the better and faster he goes.”

Mitchie Pardilla can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

Pain is temporary, pride is forever Erica Irigoyen CLARION SPORTS EDITOR The Los Angeles Marathon is scheduled for March 21, and runners everywhere are getting prepped.

For many of the participants, including Citrus College freshman Dylan Burkardt, the marathon is a test of their ability to succeed in what they love to do.

Burkardt trains seven days a week so that he can be in tip-top shape on race day.

“I run anywhere from two miles to 18 miles a day,” Burkardt said. “I can run 18 miles in about 2 hours and 29 minutes.”

Burkardt not only wants to finish the race, but achieve the challenge that he set for himself.

“My goal is to complete the race in four hours,” Burkardt said.

This will Burkardt’s first marathon, and, as crazy as it may seem for non-runners, he said that he is looking forward to it.

“It seems like a really good test of endurance for me,” Burkardt said.

Burkardt has been running cross-country since he was in seventh grade at Oak Avenue Intermediate in Temple City He says that he loved every minute of it.

Like other athletes, Burkardt has taken to heart the words of his role model, bicyclist Lance Armstrong: Pain is temporary, but pride is forever.

“I love that quote,” Burkardt said. “It is just so inspiring.”

Burkardt is also inspired by the

love and support of his family and friends.

Burkardt’s parents, Evva and John Burkardt, are behind him 100 percent.

“My parents think I am completely nuts for wanting to run so much, but they support whatever I choose to do,” Burkardt said.

Burkardt also looks to his former high school pole-vaulting coach Chris Branson for advice on physical fitness.

“Dylan is a great person with very good endurance and ability,” Branson said.

“Throughout the years, I've helped Dylan with running form, pacing strategies, and a source for dietary and other fitness questions.”

When Burkardt is not training for the big race, he is either at work at LA Fitness, where he sells memberships, or practicing with his band.

“I don’t think I make a very good sales person,” Burkardt said.

His band, Bears on Hind Legs, is scheduled to perform on April 10 at Pasadena City College.

“It’s an indie rock band and I have been a part of it for four months,” Burkardt said. “I play the keyboard, and it is pretty cool.”

Eventually, Burkardt wants to become a PE teacher or a personal trainer.

“I am really into being healthy and staying in shape,” he said.

Erica Irigoyen can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

ANDREW VASQUEZ, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Citrus freshman Dylan Burkardt sprints to the finish as he trains for the L.A. Marathon on March 21. Right: L.A. Marathon.

WWW.LAMARATHON.COM

Page 18

opinions

March 17, 2010

We’re immigrants, we’re Americans stereotypes.

While I was on tour with my band in Missouri, Raul Landeros someone yelled a slur referCLARION STAFF WRITER ring to my back being wet, and bottles were hurled at my head. But thanks to It wasn’t the hunger for freedom those summers in Mexico, I had that brought the Irish to America. It learned to duck, dodge, and run. was the true hunger of an empty Years later when I was performstomach that prompted them to ing in Mexico City, I wasn’t so lucky. cross the Atlantic.

There, a 40 ounce bottle of beer Fresh off the boat, many of was launched at my chest. them signed up for the Army in exIt broke. Racial slurs, glass, and change for three meals a day. beer went flying everywhere around Thanks to their hunger, the North me.

Guess I forgot to duck. won the Civil War. So long live imOn one side of the border peomigration! ple said I was an American. On the In the early 1860s immigration other side of the border, people was a problem, but it was also a sosaid I was an immigrant. lution. Today immigration is viewed I’m not from either here or there, solely as a problem.

I’m caught in the middle of a borI am a son of Mexican parents der war. who came to this country legally.

I’m a supporter of immigration Even so, I have witnessed many rights, and I pay my taxes like any stereotypes and injustices, both to other American.

Illegal immigration immigrants and to myself. wasn’t hurting me, not until that I have spent many summers in fateful day in March a couple of Mexico with my family. There, my years back. brothers and I got called names like That was the day I lost my job to gringo and had rocks thrown at us. an illegal immigrant willing to work Guess I’m just guilty by association. for less money. I was furious. Finally Needless to say, my brother and I got a taste of the other side, the I were pretty good at dodgeball side I had opposed for so long. when we came back home to the I was upset for months. “My states and started school again. own country failed me,” I told myEventually, I decided to become self. After a lot of thought, I reala musician to voice my opinions and ized it wasn’t the country that had express my anger toward ethnic failed me. I became a victim of the

AUBREY MIRANDA, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

politics of dishonest business.

It was the big business owner, a penny pincher, who fired me to keep the guy who would work for a lot less and who didn’t have to pay taxes.

Maybe I should have gone to the labor board or someone else in a position of authority and been a rat.

Truth is, it was just business, and I rather it be a single divorced guy getting laid off than the guy who has four kids to feed.

Truth is, immigration is good for business. Even so-called illegal immigration is good. It plays a vital role in the economy.

Let’s be honest: most of us are not going to take jobs as dishwashers, field workers, janitors and

cooks. Don’t tell me you would because not even I would take those jobs.

From the Irish during the Civil War, to the Chinese who helped build the transcontinental railroad, immigrants helped build this country by taking jobs others weren’t willing to do.

Around the world we hold the idea of how great our country is.

No wonder so many people are willing to cross oceans and deserts just to taste a piece of the pie.

Immigrants don’t come here dreaming of being on welfare or taking advantage of the system, like some legal citizens already do.

These people come to work. They find work anywhere they can, and

they send money back home to their families.

When people start blaming immigrants for our country’s problems that is just a cop-out.

We need an immigration reform that will allow those workers to generate more tax dollars for the federal and state governments.

It’s time we stop investing in foreign wars half a world away and start investing in Latin American countries and their economies.

Our neighbors to the south must also take a stand against corrupt leaders who keep their own people in the dark.

In Mexico, drug trafficking, corrupt officials, and illegal immigration all interconnect.

As long as evil people are making money, nothing will ever change.

For now, the only real solution is tolerance and understanding of what makes our country great.

So let us be proud to be American. This is a great country, built and sustained by immigrants. Today on March 17, we salute their contributions to this society because let’s face it, without them we wouldn’t be able to enjoy burritos at 3 a.m.

Raul Landeros can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

Taking the long road to find yourself graduated from high school and have a clear vision of your scholastic Ray Navarro and career goals, I comCLARION CORRESPONDENT mend you.

In fact, if that is the case, I truly believe you In the formative years of our deserve a medal of honor. I, howchildhood, we are told that we can ever, belong to a different crowd, do anything if we put our hearts and one that has traveled an unorthodox minds into that effort. So what hap- path. pens when we overdose on opportuI took the same path as most of nity? my high school classmates. I went These days, earning a college de- off to get a higher education at a Cal gree seems to be the norm. If you’re State. like me, an alternative was not even I picked my major, which was one to be considered. So you take the that my parents, who were my finanSAT, pick your major, and jump into cial supporters, could agree on. I was the bright new world that is college. ready to get into the ring.

You are 18, fresh out of high I fell in love with the college exschool, and you have figured out perience. It was easy to settle into your life goals. But do you really this new schedule, one that I had creknow what you want and how to get ated. I had freedom. I had indethere? pendence. I had no clue.

These questions have plagued me After the honeymoon period throughout my college career. I have ended, I questioned my major and had to jumpstart it more than once. my commitment to it. I lost sight of What I have discovered is that I’m my goals, but most of all I lost sight not alone. of my motivation.

The reality is that the early college I felt like my major was wrong, years are a time of exploration and like it wasn’t me. The solution was growth. This is the time to spread simple, of course: change my major. your wings, take chances, try new exBut my grades went down the toiperiences, and find yourself. let as I second-guessed myself. By Achieving maturity is a messy this point I had a full-time job. I got process. Sometimes physical age cor- promoted and decided to go to responds with psychological matura- school only part-time. tion. Most of the time it does not.

Then I decided I needed a sabbatGrowing into maturity is as unique a ical. I took a semester off, but I pattern as your fingerprint. didn’t go back.

Now, don’t get me wrong. If you This decision was completely un-

acceptable to my parents. “It’s just a few semesters I took off… I can get back on track,” I thought to myself.

I got back into action, but this time I enrolled in a community college, but then I got promoted again and I dropped out.

I was 21, single, and earning around 40K a year. I worked hard and I partied harder, and all the while, school was in the back of my mind. Not a day went by that I didn’t feel disappointed in myself for abandoning my goals.

So I decided the best way to deal with the nagging ache was to tell myself, as everyone else does, that I was taking time to “find myself.” This translated to a five-year party binge.

Twenty-four came up on me and hit me like a sniper in the dark, and by this point the regret was beyond words.

Even more disconcerting was the fact that many of my high school peers were going for their master’s degrees, and I didn’t even have an A.A. I had graduated from high school with honors. This was a personal tragedy.

It was a blessing when I got laid off from my job. Yes, it was a blessing. With time on my hands and having regret that felt like a sumo wrestler sitting on my shoulders, I decided I was going to do the school thing again.

This time I had my job experience, my past college experience, and a whole lot more life experience than any 18-year-old.

RACHEL FULLER, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

I am 25 now. I’m taking freshman classes that I have put off for seven years. Believe me, it is hard. It is, at the same time, refreshing. I can now focus on what I really want.

This doesn’t mean that I found a satisfying major, nor does it mean I’m going to settle for what I have. I have come to realize that the real challenge of being in your twenties isn’t school or career-related.

The real challenge is having the confidence to discover that life changes and that you can adapt.

So to all of you twenty-somethings who are either jumping back on the academic wagon, or showing up to the party fashionably late, I applaud you.

It isn’t easy. In today’s economic climate, many of you are unemployed. Many of you no longer have

the financial support of your parents.

You have a car payment, rent, insurance, and a cell phone to pay for.

The point is that you are finally taking care of business.

I truly wish I had stayed in school.

I would have a degree by now and my parents would have paid for it. I don’t regret my delayed action anymore, however.

I am now in my third semester at Citrus.

This time I’m better equipped, more focused than I’ve ever been, and I know a little something more about the world than most of my teenage classmates.

I may not have found myself yet, but I’m headed in the right direction.

Ray Navarro can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

March 17, 2010

editorials

Page 19

Keep on keeping on clarion Citrus College

Nowadays it is more important than ever to earn a college degree.

Whether we just recently graduated from high school, are returning to study as working adults, have enrolled to increase our skill level or are investing our time in a career change after a job loss, we have been told that a college education is the key to success.

The United States is a traditionally competitive country.

Now, we Americans are experiencing a recession that has reduced job opportunities and prompted older workers to delay retirement.

These forces have resulted in an increase in college applications.

Unfortunately, the educational system is not exempt from the financial crisis. On the contrary, schools and college are specially affected, and even more so in California, which is experiencing a $21 billion shortfall.

State budget cuts have led the University of California and California State University systems to adopt different strategies to deal with the reduction in funding.

These vary from furlough days for professors and staff to the elimination of academic programs.

Citrus College has been hit hard, as have all the other California Community Colleges.

In the last three semesters Citrus has been forced to let go parttime teachers, eliminate class sections, and reduce its student population.

With fewer than half its prerecession adjunct faculty, 531 class sections cut out of the schedule, 695 fewer full-time students and the institution working at 104.7 percent of its seat capacity, it is becoming increasingly difficult for students to reach their educational goals in a timely matter.

Many students have had troubles adding classes, or have been subjected to various selection methods, such as guessing games or names pulled from a hat, to secure seats in classes.

After all the efforts put into graduating more students from high school to see those same students stuck in a postsecondary system is ironic and frustrating.

Besides blaming the economy, which is no help at all, here are some ways for students to keep going.

First of all, remain focused.

Studying hard continues to be the best option to a better future.

Second, adjust your plans, review your goals, define the tasks you need to do to reach them, and concentrate on doing the best you can.

Third, enroll in a class only if you are able to give it your full attention. Remember that someone else may need that seat. If you fail by lack of dedication, you both lose.

Work harder than ever. You never know when demonstrating your capacity for study and your resilience may ease your way in the future. Look at yourself as an

EDITOR IN CHIEF Sandra Lopez MANAGING EDITOR Courtney Mitchell NEWS EDITOR Kristin Lacuesta FEATURES EDITOR Mitchie Pardilla SPORTS EDITOR Erica Irigoyen A&E EDITOR Caitlin Griffin OP/ED EDITOR Jose Alonso Ramirez PHOTO EDITOR Andrew Vasquez ONLINE EDITOR Dustin Call STAFF WRITERS Jessica Bravo, Aaron Graikar, Eirin Hernandez Ferreiro, Raul Landeros, Rob Lucero, Aubrey Miranda, RACHEL FULLER, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

athlete who is constantly being scouted.

Fourth, improve your time management skills. Learning to set priorities, how to divide large assignments into small managable tasks and how to stay on track with what you have to do, are abilities valued all life long.

Move in different directions. If you are unable to enroll in classes you need, use your free time to develop skills you may use in the future.

Improving your typing speed,

learning to use software programs or reviewing a prerequisite of a class, may give you the edge on the better days to come.

Fifth, be patient and do not lose hope. These may be hard times, but giving up is definately not going to improve your circumstances.

We may not be able to control all the variables that surround our lives, but we can make the best of the chances that do come our way.

Cheyenne Scharff, Amanda Villegas CORRESPONDENTS Anazarry Danganan, Tom Marshall, Ericka Sebastian PAGE DESIGNERS Brittanie Conaway, Caitlin Molinari, Jonathan Petitt PHOTOGRAPHERS/ ARTISTS Jessica Bravo, Aaron Graikar, Rachel Fuller, Brain Marsh, Aubrey Miranda,

Clubs complement college Clubs are busting out all over.

And not only clubs, but sports teams, stage performances, and student government opportunities.

Citrus College offers more than 30 student clubs and organizations that reflect the diverse interests of our generation. Students connect with each other to support an idea or pursue a hobby while developing leadership skills, making friends, and giving back to the community.

Being involved in extracurricular activities is an exciting part of the college experience that no student should miss.

When it comes to joining a campus club there are no prerequisites, and each one is open to everyone on campus.

Students with ideas can also start their own clubs.

Research has shown that students who are involved in co-curricular activities are more satisfied with their college experience than those who did not.

By engaging in activities with other like-minded people, students tend to do better in school.

They have something to look forward to.

Some groups, such as The

Ray Navarro, Steven Regan,

Jose Alonso Ramirez, Cheyenne Scharff Andrew Vasquez COVER ILLUSTRATION Aubrey Miranda PHOTO TECHNICIAN Frank Ram INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT Emily Rios ADVISER Margaret O’Neil

AUBREY MIRANDA AND JESSICA BRAVO, CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Wrestling Club, Citrus Roller Hockey, Craft and Needlework Club, and the Anime Connection, are organized around a particular interest.

Some organizations focus on educating and informing students, such as Sexploration, or Native Nations.

There are clubs for the environmental activists, for the religious, and for students of different ethnicities.

By not partaking in such clubs

and organizations, students are missing out. The college experience is more than just going to class and then leaving campus for work or home.

College is supposed to be an exhilarating time, all about exploring passions and interests, and socializing.

Students who get involved can look forward to meeting people outside of class, and make friends that might well last a lifetime.

Creating memories with people that share the same interests and enthusiasms are a bonus to college life.

For more information on how to start a club, students can check out the information board in the Handy Campus Center or access a link featured under Student Clubs at Citrus on the Citrus College website.

College life is short. Make it memorable while you can.

The Clarion is produced by journalism students and is distributed every other Wednesday during the semester. Ads are not endorsed by the Clarion. Editorials are the opinion of at least 75 percent of the Editorial Board. All other opinion is that of the writer.

Views expressed do not represent those of the adviser, faculty, administration, Associated Students of Citrus College and/or CCCBOT. Libel will not be published.The Clarion welcomes feedback from our readers. If you have any gripes, questions, or comments ... we want to hear from you! All correspondence must include your student ID#, major and signature. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

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Page 20

basketball

March 17, 2010

HEAD COACH RICK CROY

Coach creates family PHOTO COURTESY OF CITRUS COLLEGE EXTERNAL RELATIONS

The 2009-2010 men’s basketball team united as a family to finish the season with a 29-3 season record and went 12-0 in conference play.

Their team versus our family

ANDREW VASQUEZ CITRUS COLLEGE CLARION

Owls head coach Rick Croy and the rest of the men’s basketball team watch anxiously as their team attempts to win their battle against Bakersfield College on Jan. 30.

Robert Lucero CLARION STAFF WRITER In the school of basketball, students must learn a lot of physical education, some math, and a little bit of history in order to become a great team. But PE, math, and history are not this class’s concentration; rather, this hardwood-class is majoring in chemistry.

The foundation of their 29-3 season as well as their 12-0 conference win-loss record is their chemistry with each other.

Winning records such as these are anything but unfamiliar to the men’s basketball team, having gone to CCCAA State Championships for the second time in three years, as well as becoming the 2008 CCCAA State Champions.

On paper, they’re known as a team, but to them, they are more than a team: they are a group of brethren.

“We [the team] really look at the chem-

istry as a family,” said No. 40, 6-foot-9inch power forward/center Cameron Khoury. “We conduct ourselves as a family. Our family is a strong unit. We make promises to each other. We hold high standards for each other. Everyone is expected to commit to the team.”

Fifth year head coach Rick Croy said “Their chemistry is special. They care about each other a lot. You can achieve anything when you care about each other as much as these guys do.”

When asked how he felt about being on the team, No. 23, 6-foot-1-inch point guard Derrick Rodgers, said, “It’s the best team I’ve ever been a part of. I never want it to end.

This season has been a special one for the team for different reasons only they can describe.

“This year has been one of my best No. 5, 6-foot-1-inch administration of justice major and guard Jerry Santos. “We’ve gone through a lot as a team. Anything besides

Andrew Vasquez CLARION PHOTO EDITOR

a championship is considered a failure to us. ” For No. 50, 6-foot-10-inch center Tom Granado, “The most special part of the season was the retreat as well as achieving all our goals.”

In October, prior to the season opening, Coach Croy took the team on retreat to Lake Arrowhead.

“The purpose of our breakaway trip was mainly to bring our family together and make sure everybody knew what it was going to take to have a successful season,” Coach Croy said.

The family also took this opportunity to set their goals for the season.

“Our goals were to never lose at home, win our conference, and eventually win state,”Khoury said.

“The retreat helped us to set our goals,” Granado said. “We all had the same goals in common.”

“It’s been a special season and I wouldn’t have it any other way but to win with my teammates,” said communications major and small forward/shooting guard Cameron Nettles, No. 4. “We’re really united; we never want to let each other down.”

For their pre-game ritual, Nettles rallies his teammates around him at the free throw line on their side of the court during the warm up. Nettles then proceeds to ask the team, “Y’all ready to get it crackin’?” The team leans to the left and responds “Ooh!” Nettles then asks, “Y’all ready to get it poppin’?” The team leans to the right, then responds with “Aah!” Finally Nettles says, “Let’s get it crackin’ then!” Together the whole team yells, “Ooh! Aah!” They’re then ready to get out on the court and compete with infinite energy.

“It’s been a great journey,” Croy said.

“We’ve challenged each other and enjoyed each other.”

“We’re going through a journey writing our story one game at a time,” Khoury said.” It’s their team versus our family.”

After graduating from college, Rick Croy spent his first two years at UC Riverside and worked under the guidance of John Masi, one of the state’s leaders in victories. He then returned to UC Riverside as the top assistant for the men’s basketball program and at 25 years old was the youngest Division I assistant head coach in the country. In just five years at the helm, Croy has brought the Citrus men’s basketball team from obscurity to prominence.

But Croy said he has not been blinded by the success and said he is still learning from others around him.

“For us it has never been about the trophies, it has been about the relationships we build with each other,” Croy said. “My learning never stops.

The first character of a leader is to be a lifelong learner.”

“I am constantly learning from the players, the coaches and the journey we take each season.

Each journey is different,” he said.

And what a journey Croy has had so far, even before his tenure at Citrus Croy was already achieving high levels of success. Graduating from San Francisco State University in 1999, Croy holds the school record for three-point field goals with 167 and was named to the AllCalifornia College Athletic Association team three times.

“In practice the coaches and I want to challenge the guys and then during a game we want them to know we are behind them,” Croy said.

“But I want them to be successful beyond the court as well,” he said. “We have turned down many good athletes because we didn’t feel they truly wanted to be student athletes. To be a student athlete they have to value their education as well as the game.”

Many of the players on the team have said Croy has created a strong family environment where everyone supports each other.

“He has created a selfless team,” said freshman guard Donnel Phifer. “He taught us to be brothers and work as a family.”

Fellow freshman guard Hakeem Washington said Croy has also helped them grow as individuals.

“He has taught me how to become a tough competitor on and off the court,” Washington said. “Every one of us has become mentally tough. This is a mentally tough team because of him.”

Robert Lucero

Andrew Vasquez

can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com

can be reached at ccclarion@hotmail.com