NFL protest:
Kneeling protests have yet to find their way to American River College
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Wednesday 10.18.17
CURRENT The
American River College Sacramento, Calif.
LOS RIOS TAKES STANCE AGAINST PROPOSED TITLE IX CHANGES
‘Cabaret’:
ARC production wins regional and national awards in Colorado.
Page 8 Vol. 69
Ed. 2
Trump removes birth control requirements from ACA By Jennifer Langston jlangston1979@gmail.com
Photo Illustration by Brienna Edwards / Features Editor
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos revoked Obama-era Title IX policies regarding the way campus police and admistation had to handle sexual assault allegations at universities.
‘Sexual violence and harassment are not tolerated by district policy’ By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com Deep in the Administration Building on the American River College campus lies the Health Center. It is a little room across from a barely used courtyard. The Health Center is designed to be a safe place for students to go with any health care concerns. The walls are blue and a lone man sits at the information desk. Outside the door is a bulletin board. Bold letters are stapled to it, spelling out the words ‘Sexual Assault’ and ‘Domestic Violence’. Between them is a graph to help distinguish the difference between the two phrases. Below that, tacked to the corner of the bulletin board is a hand out, about the size of a half sheet of paper entitled “Your Choices For Help”. In the case that a student has been a victim of sexual violence on the ARC (or any Los Rios) campus, students have three options outlined in wellstructured columns; a member of the campus may call the Los Rios Police Department, the Title IX
Officer, or for a more confidential approach, they can get in contact with the WEAVE Confidential Advocate. These options have been presented because of Title IX, and although the services have been inconsistent in the past, ARC endeavors to provide multiple options for its students if they are ever faced with such an incident. Title IX of the Educational Amendment Act of 1972 is a federal law stating “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” But ever since Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s statement Thursday September 7, in which she expressed that the system put in place by the previous administration has “failed,” it’s brought up concerns for current students. ARC’s vision statement expresses its dedication to the health and well-being of its students. It states, “We are commit-
Title IX DeVos and the Trump administation have changed the way schools once reported sexual assault. ment to the Current. In 2011, under the Obama administration the “Dear Colleague Letter”, was published as a Title IX Guidance; while not an actual law Photo by Hannah Yates / Staff writer it did expand on what a school’s obligations were in addressing This posted notice sits on the bulcampus sexual violence. letin board above the health clinic. One such obligation is that the ted to equality and social justice school must provide an avenue through equality-minded educa- for students to file complaints tion, transformative leadership, of sexual discrimination, this inand community engagement.” cludes sexual violence. In the “Sexual violence and harass- procedures, it must include equal ment are not tolerated and are opportunities for both parties; be prohibited by law and District it presenting witnesses or addiPolicy. We follow Title IX and all tional evidence. guidelines that support such a “Here is what I’ve learned: the safe, discrimination-free cam- truth is that the system estabpus community,” ARC President lished by the prior administration Thomas Greene said, in a state-
@ARCurrent
INDEX
Title IX | Page 2
@ARCurrent
2&3 News 4&5 Sports 6&7 Feature 8 A&C 9 Scene 10&11Opinion
/ARCurrent.com
“BEAUTY & The ARC Theater Department will THE BEAST” be perform the Disney classic
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from Oct. 6 to Oct. 22
In an effort to give employers religious freedom, President Donald Trump announced he would roll back an Obama-era addition to the Affordable Care Act, that mandated employers to provide contraception for women as part of their comprehensive health insurance. Trump made statements referring to an idea that people have been attacking religion and was quoted saying back in May that “we will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anymore.” According to Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin, the new guideline makes millions vulnerable to discrimination “Today the Trump-Pence administration launched an all-out assault on LGBTQ people, women and other minority communities by unleashing a sweeping license to discriminate,” Griffin said in a statement. On Monday the Supreme Court ruled that companies and insurers cannot be forced to insure coverage for birth control methods they equate with abortion. The new rules allow any employer or insurer to stop covering contraceptive services if they have religious beliefs or moral convictions against covering birth control. California is one of 21 states that protects coverage of birth control. The Conception Equity Act passed in 1999 requires most employer health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs to also cover contraception. A 2014 law expanded access to birth control and codified into state law the ACA’s no-copay birth control requirement. Greven said employers like universities, hospitals and social service contractors are required to provide contraceptive coverage. “Women in California are largely protected, with a few exceptions,” she added. In April 2016, California joined two other states, Washington and Oregon in allowing access to hormonal birth control without a prescription. There is no age minimum and anyone can go to a local pharmacist to get a reading of their blood pressure taken and fill out a questionnaire. They can then ask about the different options for birth control available from that pharmacy. At this time there is no charge for the consultation and most insurance plans will cover the medication.
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October 18, 2017
Tile IX | cont. from page 1 “has failed too many students,” DeVos said in her Sept. 7 speech. “Washington has burdened schools with increasingly elaborate and confusing guidelines that even lawyers find difficult to understand and navigate.” DeVos then asked, “Where does that leave institutions, which are forced to be judge and jury?” This is not a statement that is agreed upon by everyone in an administration position. “As an institution we’re not lawyers, we’re not police officers, so I think our position is impartial.” said Parrish Geary, Dean of Student Services and Admissions & Transition Services at ARC. “I think we are just looking to provide a resource for the proclaimed victim and then at the same time if the accused is willing to seek assistance [provide assistance to them as well] I think the educational system will provide that for them as well,” Geary said. Beyond only providing assistance to students, Geary explained that faculty and staff serve an important role in cases of possible sexual assault. “Everybody on this campus that is a staff or faculty member, we’re for the most part a mandated reporter,” Geary said. This means essentially that if any of the aforementioned people are informed of a sexual assault they are required to inform the authorities.” DeVos said part of how the system fails is that it “turns a survivor into a victim,” by forcing them into specific action or reporting. Geary said that students have other options. “However, we have WEAVE now on campus, that you can go to, talk out your concerns...where you can get more assistance.” Geary continued. Because WEAVE is completely confidential it is not mandatory that they report the incident, but rather offer support and advice on a community level. A WEAVE representative is available on campus Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
News
Faulty foundation leaves tennis courts unstable RECENTLY INSTALLED FOUNDATION IS UNUSABLE
C
The
URRENT An American River College student-run publication. Editor-in-Chief Luis Gael-Jimenez Managing/News Editor John Ennis Copy Editor Claire Bathor y Features Editor Brienna Edwards Photo by Brienna Edwards / Features editor
The unstable foundation has left the courts visibly cracked, chipped and completely unplayable. The uneven surface provides an uneven advantage and could potentially lead to injury.
By Lily Drake Rodriguez lilyrodriguezdrake@gmail.com The shrill scratch of sneakers can be heard on the courts as the men’s tennis team practices in the late afternoon heat. The team is focused and determined, the consistent thwack of rackets reverberating throughout the courts. Although there are 12 courts in total at American River College, a quarter of them are unusable because of a partially botched soil treatment at the time of construction. According to Dan McKechnie, Director of Facilities Planning and Construction at ARC, the issue is a “subsurface soil condition” due to “small portion of the cement treatment that failed”. Two of the courts are currently without nets, and an additional two are unplayable due to their current state of disrepair. Cracks
ASB NOTEBOOK
span the edges of the courts, the chalky green surface wavy with tension and water damage. “The state of the courts is unacceptable” said Coach Bo JaberyMadison, who has been mentoring the Men’s team for the past 13 years. The tennis courts were constructed at the same time as the parking structure, in January of 2013. According to the American Sports Builders Association, it is recommended that tennis courts should be refurbished approximately every four to eight years, depending on wear and tear and frequency of use. The damage the courts have sustained over the past five years poses potential danger to the team— rolled or sprained ankles, which can lead to injuries hindering players for participating in matches and tournaments. Coordinating with the installa-
tion contractor to fix the issues, yet repairs were delayed because of several rounds of soil testing to get to the root of the issue. Despite the state of damage the courts are in, this has not deterred the team’s determination to the sport, according to JaberyMadison. ARC excelled in this year’s Northern California Junior College Regional Championships, which took place Sept. 29 through Oct. 1.
Photo Editor Ashley Hayes-Stone Staff Nathan Bauer Lily Rodriguez Drake Jennifer Langston Hannah Yates Faculty Adviser Rachel Leibrock Photo Adviser Jill Wagner Student Worker Jordan Schauberger
ON THE WEB For more coverage on American River College news and events go to ARCurrent.com
For weekly coverage of ARC student government, go to ARCurrent.com.
STUDENT SENATE SWEARS IN RECENTLY ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT
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By John Ennis johnalexanderennisiii@gmail.com
-Earl Crouchley III
Photo by John Ennis / Managing Editor & News Editor
Student Senate Vice President Earl Crouchley III being sworn in at the October 5, 2017 Student Senate meeting.
I had three other vets come up to me and say ‘hey, we think you should do this’ and I laughed and said ‘okay, if you really think so, show me the paperwork’.” After providing Crouchley with the necessary paperwork he de-
cided that if that’s what people want, that’s what he’ll do. Crouchley will be working with Senator Laurie Jones on a consent action item for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Advocacy Week which will take
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On October 5, Student Senate President Deborah Hernandez swore in Student Senate Vice President Earl Crouchley III at his first official meeting on the board after being elected in ASB’s September election. Before running for office, Crouchley hadn’t attended any Student Senate meetings, but decided to run after being approached by three fellow military veterans. “You know, here’s how I honestly found out about it; I did not attend any of the meetings, I did not go to anything and I’m not even hip on all of the events,” Crouchley said while campaigning on September 26. It was the veterans, Crouchley says, who inspired him to run for office. “I was working one day in the Veterans Resource Center and
I had three other vets come up to me and say ‘hey, we think you should do this.’
place between October 16-20. “We had a student voice during public comment that they wanted the senate to write a resolution to support a Dream(er) center on campus, so I know Senator [Lidia] Lara is currently working on that resolution,” Student Senate Adviser Juan Blanco said. The board voted unanimously to approve the allocation of $200 in funding to the Computer Science Club’s “Debugging Bee” contest. The bill was sponsored by Senator Mahmoud Abduljabbar
PROUD MEMBERS OF THE CNPA & JACC
PACESETTER AWARD WINNERS JACC STATE CONVENTION 2016
POLICY The Current is produced by the students of College Media Production, J410-413. All opinions are signed and not necessarily endorsed by the Current staff. All letters and articles appearing in the Editorial, Opinion or Forum sections are not necessarily representative of the Current staff or American River College policy. All articles are the property of the Current. Letters must be typed and can be submitted by mail, e-mail or in person at the following addresses: The American River Current 4700 College Oak Drive Liberal Arts, Room 120 Sacramento, CA 95841 Phone: 916-484-8304 Fax: 916-484-8668 E-mail: Current@arc.losrios.edu www.ARCurrent.com
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October 18, 2017
By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com According to an email sent out by the Los Rios Police Department, officers were dispatched to the ARC library after receiving reports that a suspicious subject allegedly made threateniwwng statements to two female students in a third floor study room on Sept. 28 at approximately 6:40 p.m. According to the report, no physical contact was made between the man making threats and the women but the subject did apparently threaten to assault both students. After the threat was made, one of the students motioned for her husband to enter the study room where the threat was made. None of the victims saw where the subject went after he left the room and presumably the library. The subject appeared intoxicated according to the two female students who filed the report with campus police. The subject was described as a white male with blond hair, 120 pounds and was reportedly last seen wearing a gray t-shirt and khaki pants. According to ARC Public Information Officer Scott Crow, the LRPD are conducting a full investiagtion into the incident. LRPD urge anyone with information to contact them at (916) 558-2221.
Letter to the editor RE: the AR Current’s editorial “New Wi-Fi certificates, same old complaints” ARC is aware that our wireless networks have often been less than optimal and we apologize for any inconvenience caused by technology limitations. We have been working consistently over the past few years to upgrade our systems and will continue to do so. We know how important wireless access is to our campus community. To follow up on a few specific examples cited in the editorial: We have increased the number of Wireless Radios in Davies Hall to accommodate people wanting access to wireless in the hallways outside of the classrooms. We will check out the connections in the portables to make sure they are working. We appreciate it when these kinds of challenges are reported so we can check them out. Anyone can report wireless issues to arcwireless@arc.losrios.edu Over the past year or two, we have made some improvements to our systems that perhaps haven’t been noticed by our community. We will work to do a better job of communicating about wireless to the campus. -Jeff Bucher ARC IT Supervisor
BOG Waiver becomes ‘Promise Act’ FEE WAIVER RENAMED TO ENCOURAGE MORE APPLICANTS By Lily Rodriguez Drake lilyrodriguezdrake@gmail.com The California Community Colleges committee announced last month at a press conference that the Board of Governor’s Fee Waiver has been renamed the Promise Act. The goal of rebranding the program is to achieve a wider range of recipients, according to a statement from the California Community Colleges Committee. Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley said that the change aligns with the committee’s “historical commitment to affordability.” Oakley has been a longtime advocate for increasing accessibility to community college students throughout California. The Board of Governor’s Fee Waiver, commonly known as the B.O.G, is a scholarship that aids in enrollment fees and is currently utilized by approximately half of community college students. Alongside the name change, the committee states that the Promise Act is now a first rather than last dollar plan, which covers tuition costs first and allows outstanding costs to be supplemented by additional loans or scholarships. Amended in spring of 2016 but implemented this fall, the act also detailed plans to help previously underepresented minorities acheive their academic goals.
Photo illustration by Ashley Hayes-Stone/ Photo editor
Over 1 million students have relied on the BOG Waiver in the state of California. The Promise Act will look to continue to help students pay for college.
The difference between the Promise Act and other out of state tuition aid is that “it doesn’t set arbitrary eligibility limitations based on students’ age, academic merit, or attendance status,” said Debbie Cochrane, Vice President of The Institute for College Access & Success. According to the press release, the Promise Act aims to be financially inclusive to all recipients, and focuses specifically on low income students who are not inclined to attend college due to inability to afford or pay off loans, or lack of accessibility to information regarding resources.
With 113 community colleges in California serving over 2 million students, the state is ranked as the largest system of higher education in the nation. With the utilization of the Promise Act, the CCC stated that more students will be able to gain financial support throughout getting their degree, and is expected to propel a diverse number of graduates with assorted skills into the California workforce.
By the Numbers -1 million students have used the BOG Waiver, which is nearly half of the 2.1 million CA community college students
ARC opens new meditation room ARC NOW PROVIDES A DEDICATED PLACE TO OBSERVE PRAYER
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By Nathan Bauer ntbauer84@gmail.com American River College now provides a dedicated quiet space for meditation, prayer and reflection for all current students, faculty and staff. During the spring 2017 semester the ARC Muslim Student Association requested a space where students could observe prayer while taking classes after a Muslim student was questioned by the police for practicing prayer along Oak Park Drive the previous semester, according to MSA president Muhammad Shahbaz. The student was using a public space and everything he was doing was legal, according to Shahbaz. “I think someone saw something they didn’t understand; it’s probably just ignorance,” Shahbaz said. This lack of understanding about Islamic religious practices made it clear a better solution was needed to accommodate students who observe afternoon prayer. “This person came and said ‘look I can’t be in fear of being harassed by the police for performing something that is part of everyday life for a Muslim,’”
[We] got the conversations going about how can we have a safe space for Muslims to be on campus.
Photo illustration by Ashley Hayes-Stone \ Photo editor
The meditation room is located in the Center for Leadership and Development in the Student Center.
MSA faculty advisor William Zangeneh-Lester said. “So that got the conversation going about how can we have a safe space for Muslims to be on campus.” This conversation developed into the meditation room because ARC is a publicly funded secular institution, the school cannot set aside a space dedicated solely for Muslims. The meditation room is a non-denominational safe space available to anyone who needs a quiet space for reflection, according to Zangeneh-Lester. The meditation room is located in the Center for Leadership and
In the news To read more about what’s happening at American River College, go to ARCurrent.com Development across the hall from the Starbucks in the Student Center; the meditation room is available through reservation or on a drop-in basis, students can use the meditation room Mondays
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Police seek man in library threat incident
NEWS
- William ZangenehLester
through Fridays for up to 30 minutes except between the hours of 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. when the room is only available for 15 minutes according to CLD student staff member Mona Mogharabin. The reduced session times during the afternoon are to accommodate a larger number of students using the room. “We have more students coming for prayer during that time.” Mogharabin said.
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October 18, 2017
Kneeling hasn’t found its way to ARC Over the past year, and more specifically the past few weeks, the sports world has been prevalent with athletes protesting during the anthem. Colin Kaepernick began his crusade by kneeling during the anthem in the 2016 NFL preseason, and continued to do so through the regular season. Kaepernick, who is currently not signed to a team, stated repeatedly that he knelt to bring attention to police brutality against African-Americans and racism in America. Kaepernick’s continuous presence and actions have brought controversy into sports. Both athletes and viewers either support Kaepernick’s protests or are strongly opposed, and believe that it is disrespecting the flag or those who have fought for America. And as these passionate opinions have trickled down to youth and college sports. As the 2016 season continued, others joined in the protest, from different sports and different teams. However, it was not until President Donald Trump posted in series of tweets chastising those who protested, that the cause really took flight. “The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!” Trump tweeted on Sept. 25. In a rally at Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 22, Trump said, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners… when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’” The following Sunday the majority of the NFL’s teams had at least one player protest in some manner. Some teams like the Seahawks and the Steelers even refused to leave the locker room during the protest to prevent their players from having to decide on whether or not to take a stand Despite the possible legalities, or lack thereof, of Trump calling for the termination of protesting players, it has brought attention to the subject and widened the pool of protesters. Major league sports are not the only grounds these demonstrations are taking place. Athletes across the country are showing their support, from high schoolers to college athletes. American River College Dean of Kinesiology and Athletics Derrick W. Booth, said in a statement to the Current, that American RIver College does not have any policy against students or staff members participating in the protest. “[W]e believe [protesting] is a constitutional right.” said Booth. The continual protests have been a divisive topic in this county. From stanch supporters hoping to bring awareness to the inequality in this country to those worried it is disrespecting those who have fought for this country. “The attempt to bring more attention to cases of police brutality and social injustice has been divisive and polarizing. It has certainly made many people un-
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The Los Rios District believes that the right to make a personal decision ... is what makes our country so great. - Derrick Booth
comfortable.” said Booth. Although there is a great division in this country on the subject, Booth does not believe that the sides are incongruous. “Showing respect for the National Anthem, our flag and those who have served in the armed forces, and exercising one’s constitutional right to free speech are not mutually exclusive values,” “In fact, the Los Rios District believes that the right to make a personal decision on issues like this is what makes our country so great,” Booth said. It is the district policy that no person, be it student or faculty, should face repercussions for expressing their beliefs on this topic. This includes any peaceful protesting, before during or after the game. “But I feel compelled in light of all the negative dialog to point out some of the great behavior and tremendous respect that I have seen in my short time in Athletics,” Booth said. Booth also recounted that on the occasion that he was at the stadium, watching a soccer game, he observed the football players on a separate field, pause what they were doing, remove their helmets, and shout at the end. “That was extremely classy and shows a great amount of respect.” Booth said. Although Booth said he does not know of any athletes that are currently participating in the protest it is his hope that should any student wish to join the protest, they will feel supported in doing so. It is also his hope that they will feel comfortable enough to start a dialogue with their coach and fellow teammates. “Sports has been a unifying experience in America. It was a place where people of different ethnicities, religion, orientation and political views all played side by side. All that mattered was talent. Hopefully, as a society we can move from positions of peaceful demonstrations to one of dialog and then change.” Booth said.
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor
The ARC football team celebrate after an interception by linebacker Rahsaan York no. 44 in the first quarter.
ARC football routs College of the Siskiyous ARC BEAVERS BEAT SISKIYOUS EAGLES 33-7 By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com The division-leading Beavers held the visiting Siskiyous Eagles to only one touchdown in their latest 33-7 home victory. The Beavers solidified their number one ranking in the Northern California National Division and moved to 5-1 on the season. American River College Head Coach Jon Osterhout called the win “excellent.” “We beat the No. 10 ranked team in California,”Osterhout said. “We knew they were extremely well-coached and talented and we went out and played our brand of football and got the ‘W.’” ARC’s high octane rushing attack was able to score 30 unanswered points before halftime against the College of the Siskiyous, but was only able to score one field goal in the second half of the game. The Beavers rushed for a collective 207 yards through the Siskiyous Eagle’s lackluster run defense with four different players running the ball in for a score before the half. Quarterback Peyton Wilfley rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown but struggled to throw the ball against the Eagle’s smothering secondary. The Eagles were able to hold Wilfley to only 107 yards in the air and a single touchdown. “They were giving us the run, so that’s what we went with. I wish I could have thrown better but you have to take what they give you,” Wilfley said. The Beavers defense played an outstanding game and held the Eagles to only 253 yards of total offense, allowing just 83 yards through the air.
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor
The Beaver’s defense blitzes into the Eagles backfield during a possession. The Beavers held the Eaglest to 7 points.
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We beat the No. 10 ranked team in California... We went out and played our brand of football and got the ‘W.’
- Jon Osterhout ARC’s defense was able to force three fumbles and an interception by linebacker Rahsaan York in their domination of the Eagles offense. The only score the Beavers allowed was during the first drive of the third quarter where the Eagles were able to methodically march into the endzone after a long drive. The rest of the game remained a defensive battle on both sides with only ARC scoring off of a field goal late in the third. Defensive tackle Caleb Tremblay was one of the key players on the defense putting up three tackles and absorbing double teams for the entirety of the game. Osterhout and Tremblay were both upset at the lone touchdown given up in the third. “We played good. We created a lot of turnovers and takeaways in the first half,” Tremblay said. “We just have to keep the intensity for
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briennaedwards@gmail.com
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By Brienna Edwards
SPORTS
all four quarters in the next one.” The team is preparing to play local rivals and number 2 ranked Sacramento City College on Saturday, Oct. 21. “We’re just going to prep like we normally do. The next game is a big game because it’s the next game, and that’s what we talk about all of the time,” Osterhout said. “It’s going to be a great game between two nationally-ranked teams. It should be a great matchup.” Sac. City currently holds a record of 6-0.
ON THE WEB For more football coverage, go to ARCurrent.com
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October 18, 2017
SPORTS
SPORTS UPDATES UPCOMING Women’s Games
UPCOMING Men’s Games
-October 19 Golf @ Big 8 #7 Delta
-October 19 Water Polo @ LA Val-
Noon
ley 11:00 am
-October 20 Soccer vs. Sierra
-October 20 Soccer vs. Butte 4:00 pm
6:00 p.m.
-October 21 Football @ Sacra-
-October 20 Volleyball @ Santa Rosa
mento City 4:00 pm
6:30 p.m.
-October 24 Soccer vs. Napa Valley 4:00 pm
-October 24 Golf @ Big 8 #8 Canada Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone/ Photo editor
Noon
Defensive Tackle Caleb Tremblay waits on the sidelines for the defense to be called out onto the field during an Oct. 14 football game against College of the Siskiyous.
-October 24 Soccer @ Diablo Valley
-October 27 Cross Country @ Big 8 Conference 2:30 pm
3:30 pm
-October 28 Football vs. Feather
-October 25 Water Polo vs. Sac. City
River 6:00 pm
3:30 pm
-October 31 Soccer vs. Cosumnes
-October 25 Volleyball vs. San
River
Joaquin Delta 6:30 pm
-November 3 Cross Country @
-October 26 Golf @ Big 8 #9 ARC
-NorCal Championship 10:00 am
Noon
-November 3 Soccer @ Santa
-October 27 Cross Country @
Rosa 3:00 pm
Big 8 Conference Championship
-November 4 Water Polo @ Delta
October 31 Soccer vs. Cosumnes River 6:00 pm
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor
Juliana Shim dives during a women’s water polo practice on Oct. 17.
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor
Juliana Shim dives off of the high board during a women’s water polo team practice.
-November 4 Football @ Butte 1:00
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor
An American River College student stands on the tennis courts on Oct. 17.
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor
A member of the water polo team swims during a practice on Oct. 17.
Women’s Golf
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Volleyball
Women’s Water Polo
Women’s Cross Country
The women’s golf team is preparing to play its first tournament of the season at Delta on Oct. 19. The team is composed entirely of freshmen this semester. They are currently ranked second-to-last at No. 7 in the Big 8 Conference.
The 9-3-1 women’s soccer team hopes to add to its long list of wins in their upcoming game against Diablo Valley on Oct. 24. The team is averaging over three goals a game.
The 9-10 women’s volleyball teams looks to even up their overall record in its upcoming game against Santa Rosa Community College on Oct. 20. The team has struggled throughout the season.
The 5-13 women’s water polo team is looking to end their woes on Oct. 18 at Modesto Community College. The team has yet win a home meet and is 1-2 when on the road.
The women’s cross country team is preparing for the annual Big 8 Conference Championship at the Oak Grove Regional Park in Stockton on Oct. 27.
Men’s Soccer
Men’s Basketball
Men’ Cross Country
Football
Men’s Water Polo
The 2-4-7 men’s soccer team look to improve its poor record in their upcoming game against Butte Community College on Oct. 20. The team has scored 13 goals in 13 games has racked up three red cards through the season so far.
The men’s basketball team begins its season on Nov. 9 at the Solana Tournament in Fairfield. The team is led by three returning sophomore players.
The men’s cross country teams will be heading to the Big 8 Conference Championship, on Oct. 27 at the Oak Grove Regional Park in Stockton.
Ranked no. 1 in the National Division, the football team will be playing against bitter rivals Sacramento City College on Oct. 21. Sac. City is currently ranked at No. 2. The Beavers recently beat College of the Siskiyous 33-7.
The 1-10 men’s water polo team hope to turn their rough season around when they head to Modesto for a Big 8 Conference Meet.
‘Be Our Guest’ 6
October 18, 2017
Feature
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL STAR HITS THE STAGE AS GASTON By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com
Photos by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo Editor
Top: The cast of American River College’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” during a rehearsal on Oct. 4. Below left: Chris Sharpe performs the role of Gaston during a rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast.” Bottom right: Branden Price runs through a scene during a rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast.”
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There’s no other program like it. It’s the best. -CHRIS SHARPE
blue collar workers, so I was raised with these old world values of getting a job at a factory or joining the military like my father. But I never saw myself working that nine to five like everyone else in my family. The goal for me is to make it as an actor, not to get some office job.” And Chris Sharpe held off on those acting dreams for a long time. In high school, he occupied himself with football and was a member of the award-winning Natomas High School Drum Corp. He kept to himself and stayed away from the theater. He didn’t try his hand at acting until he was enrolled at Sacramento City College and auditioned for a children’s theater production “just to see if I could do it,” according to Sharpe. Even in the background, as a member of the ensemble of the “Great Gatsby’, Sharpe found attention. “I would have people coming up to me after the show telling me that ‘I stole the show,’” Sharpe said. “I really didn’t like it. It made me feel like I had done something wrong. I don’t want to be in the
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The former high school offensive lineman has a slow but determined gait as he walks through the hallways of American River College. Chris Sharpe, the 6-foot-3-inch, 220 pound mountain of a man has spent the last few months training. Training harder than he ever did during his time as a varsity football star. He’s put on 15 pounds of muscle in the past two months and plans to put on more. He is making his way towards the northwest corner of campus; the Fine and Applied Arts building is his destination. He meticulously runs his fingers through his beard as he slowly lumbers across the school grounds. Sharpe’s headphones are turned up loud, he is blasting heavy metal. He has just finished watching “Pumping Iron,” for what must be the tenth time this week, a documentary about former bodybuilder and Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He’s spent a lot of his recent free time reading men’s rights forums, entrenching himself in the ideologies of the far right and libertarian movements. As he walks, he silently preaches these ideologies to himself. Sharpe doesn’t actually believe in any of the “nonsense” he’s reciting. He’s not even a particularly big fan of heavy metal. Sharpe transformation into a meat mountain misogynist has been a purposeful one. Sharpe is preparing himself to play the role of Gaston in ARC’s production of “Beauty and the Beast,” a role that he describes as, “the role of a lifetime.” Sharpes looks like Gaston in body and in mind, but yet for those that talk to him, Sharpe could not differ any more in substance of spirit. Even Sharpe’s mother, Julia Sharpe, thinks her son isn’t naturally suited for the role of the womanizing Gaston. “Chris could not be any more different than Gaston,” Julia Sharpe said. “He’s such a good kid.” While ever supportive of her son’s acting endeavors, Julia Sharpe admits she never foresaw the stage in her son’s future. “Even as a kid, we never really took him to the theater. We watched movies as a family, but I don’t remember him particularly wanting to be an actor,” Julia Sharpe said. In fact, Chris Sharpe always wanted to be an actor, he just didn’t want to admit it to his parents. “I remember reciting lines from the movies I saw as a little kid,” Sharpe said. “My whole family are
spotlight.” Sharpe admits that as an actor, it is near-impossible to avoid the spotlight. When asked if he wanted to be a movie star, Sharpe responded negatively. “I’m not looking for that. My dream is to be able to act for a living, not to be rich and famous or anything like that,” Sharpe said. Sharpe has starred in several short films and local commercials since that original background role in “The Great Gatsby.” He has also worked on developing himself as an actor, and that’s what brought Sharpe to ARC, where he is currently in his third semester. “There’s no other program like it. It’s the best in the area,” Sharpe said of the ARC Theatre Program. It’s here at ARC, that Sharpe was able to cultivate these talents into a lead role in “Beauty and the Beast.” “Basically my day right now is wake up, eat, work out, go to school, go to work, come home, eat and then leave for rehearsal,” Sharpe said. “I barely even see my parents anymore.” He has spent months teaching himself to think and act like Gaston, and while Sharpe says he can’t wait to go back to his regular life, he thinks the role will leave a lasting impression on him. “I think the role has given me more confidence though,” Sharpe said. “It’s taught me to be more assertive and I think that it will last even after the run [of “Beauty and the Beast”] is over.”
ACTOR USES THE MAGIC OF THEATER TO FIND INNER ‘BEAST’ By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com A great monster bounds across the stage, each step is labored. Each breath heaving. His clothes hang upon his frame, hair hanging long down his shoulders obscuring his face. His very essences cries of sadness, of heartbreak, of pain untold. He stops center stage and begins to sing. The theater vibrates with each note. As the last syllable hangs in the air, the crowd before him is silent for a long moment. Applause erupts from the seats, as the curtain closes on The Beast. It may be hard for some to believe that this is the same person, who as a little boy would crawl on the floor, plastic crate meticulously placed upon his back, pretending to be a hermit crab. Branden Price is starring in
American RIver College’s production of “Beauty and the Beast,” as The Beast. This will be Price’s first starring role at ARC, and only his second performance on campus. However Price is not new to the stage. He has been performing with Stand Out Talent in Roseville, a community theater, and Stage Right Productions, a youth acting troupe in Fair Oaks, for much longer. Price grew up a musical child, learning to both sing and play the flute. “My mom is a music teacher, she was also always the choir director at my church,” Price said. His mother also encouraged him to sing in the choir whenever the opportunity presented itself. Kirsten Price said she encouraged all four of her children to learn to play musical instruments, however Branden developed his passion for singing all on his own. “I’d practice my flute a lot, and he’d be singing what I was playing, in the exact same key, I thought it was just crazy, and this was days later in the exact same pitches,” Kristen Price said. “The singing just kind of happened, I never pushed him to sing like that.” However, it was around adolescence that Price discovered that he enjoyed singing for fun as well. “I’ve been singing most of my life, but it wasn’t until college that I really applied myself,” Price said. Theater has always held a magic for Price, ever since he saw his first play, a performance of “Les Miserables” he immediately fell in rapture. “The guy who played Valjean was so good, and the whole show was so spectacular,” Price said. “It was at that moment that I really felt that this was something I wanted.” It wasn’t until years later however, that he would actually do anything about it. In high school, Price tagged along with his brothers to see a friend’s performance with an after school program that he identified as a way to pursue theater. “I went to go see them perform and I thought it looked pretty fun, so I auditioned,” Price said. It was through this after school program that Price was given the opportunity to go on tour through both Peru one summer and Ecuador the next. “It was a great experience, it got him on stage, and he loved it, and then after that he was like ‘I want to do something like that’,” Kristen Price said. “Everyone is just giving their ‘A’ game, everyone is just so talented and hardworking,” Price said, “They are working day and night to put on this great show.” With a show such as “Beauty and the Beast” there is a lot of chemistry expected between the two lead actors. With a show such as “Beauty and the Beast” there is a lot of chemistry expected between the two lead actors.
CONT. ON THE PAGE 7
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October 18, 2017
Feature
Class ditches homework, heads outside
Brad Mohening grabs a plant from a fellow student during a meeting of the Production, Facilities and Sales Class.
Photo Essay by Ashley Hayes-Stone | ashgstone@gmail.com
Left: Garry Elson holds up a tree aeonium in the Horticulture Department at American River College on Oct. 10. Right: Scharda Green organizes the plants that were sold at the plant sale in the Horticulture Department on Oct. 14.
Cont. from page 7 “Me and Elizabeth [who was cast as Belle] have talked about our characters in depth, we’ve worked the [‘Beauty and the Beast’] dance detail by detail, we work really well together and both strive to give the best performance we can,” Price said. The Beast can be a difficult character to portray, and so Price had to decide how he was going to bring life to such a well known and beloved character. “I’m pretty quiet and reserved off stage, but on stage I can be big and loud,” Price said. Having such a stage presence can be advantageous when playing a personality as large as the Beast. “What I do to get into character is think of times in my life where I’ve felt similar to the beast, feelings of helplessness, despair,” Price said. But it’s not just about the feeling Price must also walk the walk. “My movements for the Beast’s walk is slow and heavy because of his heavy heart,” Price said. Surprisingly, Price’s least favorite part of the entire show may be the costume he must endure putting on during every performance. “If I killed myself I think hell would be cooler,” Price said describing the costume,”it is so hot, I wear like 50 layers.” He must wear an undershirt, a styrofoam chest piece, the actual costume; his face is covered in prosthetics and a “massive” wig. Overall, however, Price has enjoyed being apart of the production of “Beauty and the Beast”. “It’s been really fun,” Price said about being a part of the production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, “It’s probably my favorite show I’ve ever done.”
It is not everyday that a classroom is set in the great outdoors. That is, unless you are Horticulture Professor Andrew Codd or a student of his Production, Facilities and Sales class. Codd teaches students how to grow and sell a variety of plants. They learn how to plant and manage plants of all different types and species as part of their curricular plan. Whether it be household plants or outdoor plants native to the region, Codd doesn’t discriminate, he loves all plants. “I fell in love with horticulture when I got out of the military in 2003,” Codd said. “I teach because I love to see people realize that they hold the power to rise up above what they are given.” Codd and his students
‘I SANG BEFORE I SPOKE’ ACTRESS LANDS LEADING ROLE By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com It starts with a golden thread through the eye of a needle. Then the steady hum of a sewing machine begins to fill the room as Nikki Niebauer, a student costume designer at American River College, carefully guides the golden material. A sea of fabric that consist of golden sequin chiffon, cream lace, and crimson ribbon roses surrounds Niebauer as she begins to create the iconic golden ball gown. She has spent the last 60 hours tailoring for the actress who will be playing the classic role of Belle. Elizabeth Garbe is in her first semester at ARC. She plans to obtain a musical acting certificate. What Garbe didn’t expect, is that she would be playing her first lead in a musical as Belle in ARC’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” According to Pamela Downs, director of “Beauty and the Beast,” 20 people auditioned for the role of Belle. After a lengthy elimination process that eventually whittled those 20 down to two, Garbe was chosen to play the iconic role of Belle. Is there a direct quote from Downs that you can use? Even though this is Garbe’s first musical lead, she says she has always had a desire for the theater. “I sang before I spoke. All of my childhood friends and me were
Photos by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo Editor
Left: Elizabeth Garbe does her hair in preparation for a rehearsal for “Beauty and the Beast.” Right: Garbe rehearses a scene from “Beauty and the Beast.”
constantly putting on skits and shows and reenactments of our favorite movies,” Garbe said. According to Garbe, she has been in several productions, including “Sound of Music”, “Oklahoma!” and “Anne of Green Gables”, but was unsure that she would her dream role as Belle.Even when the show’s Stage Manager Patrick Riley called Garbe and told her she got the role she was skeptical that he must have had made a mistake. “When I hung up I was convinced that he called the wrong person or that he didn’t actually say Belle,” Garbe said. “It didn’t feel real.” Growing up, Garbe was a huge fan of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and watched the movie repeatedly. Garbe said she always admired and identified with Belle because of her values on learning. Garbe even admits that she, like Belle, was never quite able to fit in. “I love that she loved books,
words and reading...I never fit in or felt accepted growing up. In that way, I feel connected to this role,” Garbe said. Garbe estimates thats she invested 150 hours of rehearsal into Belle. That means acting, singing, and dancing on top of all of the research she had to put into the role. She not only wanted to look the part of Belle, she wanted to emulate the character. Garbe’s rehearsal even began to involver her family who have been deeply supportive of her passion. Her dad ran lines with her over and over and her mom invited family from all over the United States to come see Garbe perform. Garbe joked that she thought her mom might have set a record for most tickets bought to the show. Garbe’s parents have always been supportive of their daughter’s interest. Her mother and father both come from a musical background and have always
prefer a hands-on approach as opposed to burying their heads in a textbook. Although the class does have a lecture portion, the students spend more time with their hands in the dirt than on their notebooks. Codd and his team of student gardeners have also began selling some of the plants that the class has grown to raise money for the Horticulture Department. “I like to empower students and I hope they will go on to empower others,” Codd said. Codd’s class is also responsible for the plant sale that happened recently on campus where they sold their plants This spring, Codd and his students will hold their annual “Big Plant Sale” to raise more money for the Horticulture Department.
pushed her to follow her artistic passion. Garbe even taught herself piano at a young age. But theater isn’t the only thing that Garbe is passionate about. Garbe, much like Belle, loves education, something she credits her mom and dad for instilling in her. “You are talking to a girl who likes to read the introduction to dictionaries on her free time. I am totally bookworm,” Garbe said. Garbe’s goal is to combine her love the theatre and love for education and combine them. “My dream is make a living doing what I love,” Garbe said. “The biggest take away for me, is that dreams really can come true because this is a massive dream for me and I am proving to myself that I am good enough to do it. That I am capable of something so amazing,” Garbe said. “The thing that I am going to take with me forever is the friendships that I’ve built here...everyone is so wonderful and so supportive.” Garbe’s advice for anyone with a dream is to not rely on luck . “You have to work hard for what you want,” Garbe said. “There’s this French quote that changed my life it goes: ‘we all have two lives. The second one begins when we realize we only have one.”
ON THE WEB For more coverage of the American River College theater department and a review of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, go to ARCurrent.com
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October 18, 2017
ARTS & CULTURE
ARC’s literary press is one of a kind AD LUMEN WAS FOUNDED IN 2013 AND FIELDS WORLDWIDE SUBMISSIONS By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com American River College’s English Department has created a program unlike any other in the country. ARC is home to the nation’s only community college-based university-style literary press and it is accepting submissions from all over the world, and opening its doors to students that want to partake in the book editing process. Ad Lumen Press was founded in 2013 by ARC professor and author Christian Kiefer. According to English Professor and Ad Lumen Editor Michael Spurgeon, Kiefer had to campaign the school and the district to open up the press. “One of the ways he convinced the president of the college and the chancellor of the district to let him do a press, was by taking my book [“Let the Water Hold me Down”] and saying this is the kind of quality stuff we’re going to be publishing,” Spurgeon said. In its infancy, the press was run entirely by a staff of volunteer faculty members that oversaw the editing, design, printing and production of every manuscript. “It started off by [Kiefer] finding manuscripts he was excited about,” Spurgeon said. One of those manuscripts was that of ARC English professor Lois Ann Abraham’s novel: “Tina Goes to Heaven.” “Kiefer said to us [the English department], ‘this summer, let’s all write novellas.’ The only rule was that it had to have the word Napoleon in it. So I wrote ‘Tina Goes to Heaven.’ Nobody else wrote their novellas,” Abraham said. “Kiefer said, ‘there’s not much you can do with a novella, so I decided to turn it into a novel.” According to Abraham, one of the main goals of Kiefer’s editing process was to preserve the writer’s style and voice. “He would point out every possible thing that somebody would
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo Editor
ARC English professor Michael Spurgeon is an author and editor with Ad Lumen Press. He, along with professor and author Christian Kiefer, campaigned for the program to the college and the district back in 2013.
have a problem with,” Abraham said. “I took some of his suggestions, and I didn’t take others. [Kiefer] didn’t seem to mind, he wanted it to be my book.” Now, however, the editing process has shifted into an entirely different system. “When we first pitched the press, the college president bought into it but said, ‘at some point, I want a curricular component. I would like students to be involved,’” Spurgeon said. “So we designed a class called the Literary Publishing Class.” This year, the class finally opened its doors to students. Much like the American River Review, ARC’s annual literary magazine, students of English Creative Writing 455 read and critique all submissions sent to Ad Lumen before finally selecting three to five manuscripts as finalists to potentially be printed. From those selected manu-
scripts, only one or two will be sent for final review by the editorial board where the final decisions to publish or not will be made. “Our focus is emerging writers. They may have published a book or two before, but they aren’t household names,” Spurgeon said. While Keifer and the rest of the editorial board still sometimes actively look for specific writers to submit their work, they have also started hosting open submissions on their website. “One way we find writers is we go out and we look for them... we invite somebody,” Spurgeon said. “We also have a separate process. From May 15 to August 15, on the website, we have a submission form. Basically, any emerging writer from around the world can submit a manuscript to the press.” They currently have 53 submissions from writers all over the world that the students of ENGCW 455 will be going over for the re-
mainder of the fall semester. The class holds approximately a dozen students. Each student must read the first couple of chapters of a manuscript before they come to class where they then have an open discussion with their peers about the quality of the work. It is during these discussions that students can openly praise what they like about a submission or say what they dislike. Assistant to the Editor and student Samantha Daniels said that the process, while fairly democratic, comes with the caveat that Spurgeon has final say on whatever gets approved or not. Spurgeon jokingly refers to himself as a, “benevolent dictator.” “He does have that ultimate say. If he really wanted to, he could forward whatever [to the editorial board]. But I think he understands how to use his power,” Daniels said.
The submissions currently awaiting approval all have a wide variety of genres and writing styles. Daniels said that one of the important skills everyone in the class has to possess is the ability to set aside personal bias. “We have to be aware of our biases and we can’t let them get in the way. I have my biases, but despite these biases I can still acknowledge the plot is good, or the characters are good. You can still articulate and say you don’t particularly like certain types of stories or genres but without saying it’s a bad book,” Daniels said. Once the fall semester comes to an end and the class has decided on what works will be submitted to the editorial board, it then begins a whole different process of contract discussions with the authors. “We have a very favorable contract for the authors. We don’t pay an advance but we give them a 50/50 split once we cover the cost of printing the book. Usually [with bigger publishing companies] it’s an 80/20 split with the publisher getting the 80 percent,” Spurgeon said. The money that Ad Lumen then collects goes towards paying Daniels and the operating costs of the press. None of it goes to the editorial board, as they are all still volunteers. “It helps to pay for the staff and by staff I mean the student employee [Daniels] who works 10 hours a week. None of the faculty get compensated for that. We’re all just doing it because we think it’s a cool thing to do. So all of the money goes towards that or printing the next book,” Spurgeon said. The submission window will open again in the summer of 2018.
ARC’s ‘Cabaret’ wins national recognition DIRECTOR ATTRIBUTES THE PLAY’S SUCCESS TO CONTROVERSY AND STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCES By Nathan Bauer ntbauer@gmail.com American River College’s production of “Cabaret,” won regional and national awards for its performance during the American College Theater Festival in Denver. The show was one of three others chosen from 200 submissions in the northwestern United States. Lead actor Elio Gutierrez, (Master of Ceremonies), and lead actress Kyra Britto, (Sally Bowles), both won awards for distinguished performance for an actor in a musical and distinguished performance for an actress in a musical respectively. The show also garnered the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Citizens Artist Award for insisting that theatrical
production is central to the community, national and international conversations on the campuses of higher education. “Cabaret” is set in 1930s Berlin when the Nazi party began to rise to power and follows the consequences for the nightlife of the seedy Kit-Kat Klub. The musical concludes with the deaths of the major characters except for Sally Bowles. “Germany was responsible for the deaths of millions not just Jewish people, but people of color, gays and lesbian people, and people who had handicaps. They murdered them,” director Nancy Silva said. Silva and the cast wanted to make a production that would connect the lines between rising nationalism to fascism to the oppression and murder of minority
ON THE WEB For more on ‘Cabaret’ and other ARC theater productions, go to ARCurrent.com
Photo courtesy of Brian Williams
Left to right: Rayana Wedge, Supatchaya Sunpanich, Kyra Britto, Emmanuel Jimenez and Alysia Samba pose in costume. “Cabaret” opened at ARC in fall of 2016 and won awards earlier this year.
groups according to Silva. The play ran against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election and the candidacy of then presidential nominee Donald Trump, and sparked controversy amongst audience members even
prompting some to leave the theater, according to Silva. “Whenever you make a political statement with a play you risk the ire of some people, but we went for it and it worked and that’s what this award is saying,” Silva said.
The resonance of the play was also remarked upon by the play’s stage manager Patrick O’Reilly. “The show moved the audience to tears and then applause every night,” O’Reilly said. “It was the right show for the right time and it said a lot of things about society at the time.“ Both Silva and O’Reilly attributed the play success to the hard work of the cast and crew and their commitment which included re-opening the play in Denver for ACTF. “I think the reason that we were so successful with [“Cabaret”] was because the students totally understood what they were saying with the play,” Silva said.
9
October 18, 2017
SCENE
ARC to host scholarship seminars
UNLV professor and rapper to visit ARC
THE BI-MONTHLY SEMINARS AIM TO HELP STUDENTS APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHPS
By John Ennis johnalexanderennisiii@gmail.com
By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com
Stock Photo
American River College enourages students to attend the bi-monthly scholarship seminars to find out what potential scholarships they may be able to apply for.
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[Scholarships are] based on your gender, they could be based on your ethnic background, if you have a disability. There are just numerous scholarships. - Jocelyn Gaines
“
Attending college can be a daunting task, and trying to manage funds and balance school can seem insurmountable for some students. Scholarships may seem distant and difficult, even impossible to obtain. However, American River College is trying to make the process of finding and applying for scholarships easier. On Sept. 26, ARC hosted its first Scholarship Seminar of the semester, future seminars wll be held bi-monthly through Dec. 8. These seminars are designed to help students both find and apply for any and all scholarships for which they may be eligible. Outreach Specialist Joslyn Gaines has worked at ARC for 16 years and is a former alumni. She has been hosting these seminars at ARC for the past 10 years. Gaines’ goal is to inform students about broad base scholarships. “They’re based on your gender, they could be based on your ethnic background, your major, if you have a disability. There are just numerous scholarships,” Gaines said. “At the seminar I also teach them how to start researching scholarships.” When attending the seminar each student is given a sheet of paper. On one side of the paper there are 15 boxes of qualifiers
During Club Day on Oct. 19 hiphop artist and professor Olmeca will be holding a lecture titled “Latinx Identity & Power” inside The Hub at 1:30pm. Olmeca is a bilingual artist who has made numerous television appearances and shared stages with artists such as KRS-One and Dilated Peoples. He is known for songs such as “Browning of America” and “Can’t Sleep” that blend hip-hop and Latin influences. Olmeca graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with a degree in philosophy. When he is not touring, Olmeaca teaches Latin American studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
to check; they’re designed to get students get them thinking of what sort of scholarships they may be eligible for. On the other side is a guideline of questions - an essay blueprint, to help the student write the
most impactful essay possible. Asking questions such as “ What do you want your legacy to be?” and “what have been your greatest triumphs and how did those make you feel?” After a seminar Gaines encour-
ages students to call her and set up an appointment to work with them on their essays and further their search. “These questions are asked to gather depth, so students won’t just give baseline answers. The scholarship committee, they want you to write something that will resonate, ” Gaines said. “ So, that’s one of my goals, to get them to talk.” The next seminar will be on Oct. 18 at noon in Community Room 1 in the Student Centerand then again at 1:00 p.m. After that, scholarships will be held twice a month in two session blocks. Gaines can be reached at (916) 484-9096 for appointments.
Photo courtesy of Rod Agbunag
Olmeca is a UNLV professor and a hip-hop artist who will be giving a lecture in the HUB on Oct. 19.
Award-winning creation finds home at ARC By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com Diesel-zilla, a once-forgotten prize-winner, lay collecting dust in the corner of American River College’s diesel workroom before Randall Schuster decided to give it one more chance to shine. Schuster, a professor at American River College, brought DieselZilla to ARC’s campus It is here that he will give the metal dinosaur a moment to shine once more when the Drone Club will fight the monster with its drones. Schuster got the idea while visiting his colleague Craig Weckman, the department chair of Diesel and Collision Technology, at the Mather campus. There he saw
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor
Diesel-Zilla sits outside of the Student Center on campus . The project won first place at the California State Fair for outstanding project in 2010.
the metal monster. With red glowing eyes, razor sharp teeth made of lawnmower parts, and diesel blood pumping through its alloy
CAMPUS PU
LSE
veins. It crushed Schuster to see the metal fossil accumulating dust and hidden from the world. “When I saw him there gather
dust in a corner I was like no this can’t be it,” Schuster said. Being a fan of Godzilla and the fact the his Drone Club was working on their drones, Schuster wanted to combine the two. The Drone Club is an offshoot from the Engineering Club where students are building drones from scratch with the material support from faculty. “The drones are completely designed, built, assembled, flown by our students,” Schuster said. Lasers, drones, targets, and Diesel-Zilla kept dancing around Schuster’s head until he got the idea of an having his drone club battle Diesel-Zilla. Giving the metal monster, an epic battle that Schuster felt he deserved. “Diesel-Zilla. Drones. Perfect fit,” Schuster said.
When Schuster asked Weckman for permission to take the DieselZilla to American River College, everyone agreed it was a great idea until moving day came. It took a full day to get him to campus, the 20-foot tall monster was taken apart and and put on a flatbed truck to be taken to ARC. Once there he was assembled by the main designer from the Diesel Club. Now, Diesel-zilla sits in front of the Student Center. The Drone Club plans to finish their drones this fall and is preparing to battle Diesel-Zilla in the upcoming spring semester.
How do you feel about using social media to raise awareness over sexual assault?
“I think using social media helps situations like this.”
“It’s better for it to be out there than not there at all.”
“It’s easier to get the message across through social media because there are a lot of people on it.”
-EMILY LAWSON Art
-IVAN HERN Business
-MALIKA GAZYEVA Business
“Social media is a good source to put out any message because people will see it whether they like it or not”
-VICTORIA GIOVANNONI Welding
10
October 18, 2017
OPINION
Suicide awareness is more important than ever By Lily Rodriguez Drake
Suicide Statistics
lilyrodriguezdrake@gmail.com September was National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, which carried a goal of informing and familiarizing the public about statistics, preventative care and how to conduct effective discussions regarding mental health. Ironically, September is merely the cusp at which most people experience depressive tendencies that can lead to an increase in suicidal thoughts. Those affected by SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder are triggered by the change in seasons and oftentimes experience bouts of depression throughout the winter months. While National Suicide Awareness Month does bring specific attention to those affected by mental health issues, constant maintenance and attention towards one’s mental health should be a more widely promoted aspect of general health and wellness. Suicide awareness has become an inherent component in my life, for my best friend, Kyle Gamboa, committed suicide by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge at the beginning of our senior year of high school. His fatal choice completely altered my view of mortality, depression and the opportunities that lie ahead if one has the opportunity and resources to seek help. Mental health and suicide awareness have recently become more central points of discussion, and fortunately so- the stigma against honesty regarding mental health further increases anxiety and insecurity in reaching out for help. The relevance within popular culture has garnered mass attention, with the release of Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” and the rapper Logic’s song “1-800-273-8255” being some of the more prominent examples.
Over one in 12 deaths in California are self-inflicted. Death by suicide surpasses homicide rates by more than half. Men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women.
Photo by Luis Gael Jimenez / Editor in chief
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the nation; in California it’s the second and third leading cause for those aged 25-34 and as young as 10-24.
Suicide awareness has become an inherent component in my life, for my best friend ... committed suicide by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge. At the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards. The title of the track refers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and the artist’s vocality regarding mental health sheds light on a topic previously considered taboo in commonplace society. Over one in 12 deaths in California are self-inflicted, making suicide related deaths surpass homicide rates by more than half, with males being three times more likely.
American River College offers a multitude of mental health resources which can be found in the Health Center, located in the Administration and Counseling building. These aids range from countless pamphlets detailing depression, suicide and other mental health issues, as well as an anonymous crisis line which can be reached via text message. ARC’s Health Center is well equipped with an arsenal of means dedicat-
ed to the maintenance of its student body’s mental health needs, and is warm and welcoming to any student wanting to utilize their resources. My friend Kyle’s energy was infectious and constant, there was never a dull moment spent with him- he remains to be one of the most caring and loving people I had the pleasure of knowing. Despite his perpetual stream of light hearted jokes, Kyle also wielded a self-deprecating humor that veiled a deep, manic depression invisible to his family and peers. I questioned myself for years in the aftermath of his death, and blamed myself for not seeing the obvious. Despite my shock surrounding Kyle’s passing, I never resented him - the void and desolation I felt was incomparable to how he regarded himself each day.
If I had suspected a hint of self harming tendencies within Kyle, I would have done everything within my power to assure him that he was, and will remain to be, meaningful enough to live. To attain self love, let alone self worth can be a struggle for all, yet no matter how one feels in their darkest times, death is never the solution. If you suspect a family member, friend or fellow student may be considering suicide I implore you to reach out, either to the person directly or to a trusted companion. The ripple effect which self-inflicted death has on the surrounding community is insurmountable and unimaginably detrimental to all, and is preventable. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week 1-800-2738255. For more information about resources on campus, the ARC Health Department can be reached at ( 916) 484-8383 Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (nurses available by appointment only on Fridays).
We need better gun control in the United States By Claire Bathory clairebathory@gmail.coom For almost 11 minutes on Oct. 1 and from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock fired into the crowd of the Route 91 Harvest musical festival’s crowd, killing 58 and wounding over 500 others. Amidst an outpouring of thoughts and prayers, the event has brought a hot-topic issue back to the surface of the political landscape, front and center: gun control. Most, if not all, of Paddock’s weapons were purchased legally and were modified with a bump stock, which is essentially a replacement for a semi-automatic weapon that essentially converts it into a fully-automatic. Not only were his purchases legal, Paddock had the means to relatively easily modify them so that he could massacre a crowd simply by holding down the trigger and aiming. So, then, why isn’t now the time to talk about gun control, as President Donald Trump and other members of the White House have said? When do we talk about
It is time right now, not later, to push for stricter gun control. gun control if not after the deadliest mass shooting in the United States’ modern history? On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire inside Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, killing 49 and wounding 58. The phrase “radical Islamic terrorism” was being thrown around almost immediately following the incident. Then, no one said it was too early or that it wasn’t the time—why not? What makes the two tragedies so different? For once, there is nothing to be found in the shooter’s identity to fit a popular narrative. He was white, wealthy, in his later years and had no criminal record nor any connection to some sort of organization.
Illustration by Hannah Yates / Staff Writer
Citizens do not need assault rifles to defend themselves. There were concertgoers at the Las Vegas strip the night of the shooting with access to rifles only minutes away in their cars and it changed absolutely nothing.
For once, there is nothing for people to cling onto to convince themselves that they are on the right side of the issue of gun control—there isn’t anything else to focus on, there isn’t some other factor for them to blame. For once, there is a tragedy that challenges their stance and their opinions that they have nothing to hide behind from. Shockingly, they may have to actually reconsider their stance, which is all but
a foreign concept to many people. With all of these things considered, it becomes clear that whenever someone insists that it isn’t the time to politicize this massacre and focus on gun control, what they really mean is that it should keep getting put off until there’s something else—anything else— for them to blame. The 2nd Amendment may guarantee the citizens of the US the “right to bear arms,” but the 2nd
Amendment was written in a time where there were not weapons that would allow a single person to wound hundreds of others. It does not include anything about semi-automatic and fullyautomatic weapons or bump stocks. Citizens do not need rifles to defend themselves. There were concert-goers at the Las Vegas strip with access to rifles only minutes away in their cars and it changed absolutely nothing. It is time right now—not later— to push for stricter gun control in the only economically advanced nation in the entire world where mass shootings regularly happen and it is time to stop making excuses about why nothing has been done.
ON THE WEB to read more opinion pieces from The Current staff go to ARCurrent.com
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October 18, 2017
OPINION
CURRENT EDITORIAL
Los Rios leaves women without healthcare STUDENTS FORCED TO FIND ALTERNATIVES AFTER PROVIDER LEAVES CAMPUS By the Current Editorial Board current@arc.losrios.edu
Photo illustration by Brienna Edwards / Features Editor
A broken tampon dispenser in the women’s bathroom in the cafeteria on the campus of American River College. Many of the dispensers are malfunctioning and haven’t been fixed for some time.
Neither Crow, Cosumnes River College PIO Kristie West, Sacramento City College PIO Kaitlyn MacGregor or the Los Rios Associate Vice Chancellor of Communications & Media Relations Gabe Ross were able to specify any actual plan to bring back the services. Crow and West both stated that their respective schools were in the process of figuring out how to find a replacement. Meanwhile, MacGregor and Ross never returned The Current’s calls to comment or establish a timeline for return. The silence imposed by the district has pushed students like Elena DeNecochea to try and take the matter into their own
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They will put more money into funding a new stadium or a gym but not for women’s healthcare.
- Elena DeNecochea hands. DeNecochea said she founded the Feminists United Club after finding out that ARC no longer offered basic women’s healthcare services. DeNecochea is using the Feminist United meetings to bring awareness to additional meth-
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In March, the Los Rios Community College District was forced to stop offering its women’s health services because its provider, Women’s Health Specialists, cancelled its contract with the district and closed down all of its Sacramento branches. Since then, services like pregnancy testing, STD testing, pap smears and birth control prescriptions are no longer offered to students, on campus. In place of the multitude of services it once offered, the American River College health clinic now only offers condoms to students and outside referrals for all other needs to clinics as far away as Roseville. ARC and Los Rios have let the students that they are supposed to be serving down. A bowl of condoms cannot replace the services the school was once able to offer. On top of it all, the failed attempt to not only inform students but faculty members of the entire situation has left many students with more questions than answers. Both the school and the district are both currently looking for a replacement provider, according to ARC Public Information Officer Scott Crow.
ods of contraception such as intrauterine devices. The meetings also provide an opportunity for members to discuss their experiences with dismissive healthcare representatives. “I think it’s crazy that they charge you for tampons but they give you free condoms,”
DeNecochea said. “They will put more money into funding a new stadium or a gym, but not for women’s healthcare. That’s why I started my Feminists United Club.” DeNecochea said she even tried raising money in the hopes of reinstituting women’s services on campus but was met with a logistical nightmare when she tried donating money to the school. “Legally, they couldn’t take the money. What I could do though, is use our money to purchase pregnancy tests and give them as a donation to the health clinic,” DeNecochea said. “Ideally, I would like to help out our campus but I just don’t know if they are going to let me at this point.” This editorial is not meant to demonize or vilify Los Rios, after all, they were left a big hole to fill after the closing of WHS. But is meant to prompt the district into a more transparent approach—something The Current has called Los Rios does not shoulder the entire blame for the current confusion over women’s health services on campus, however it is their responsibility to provide a consistent service for their students. The students that no longer have access to basic contraceptive health are the ones that are being hurt the most and who know the least. Los Rios needs to make more of an effort to support their female students if they want to consider them an inclusive campus.
Men need to speak out against sexual violence By Nathan Bauer ntbauer@gmail.com Sexual violence against women and children continues to be an epidemic in American society and around the world. This problem is almost exclusively considered a women’s issue that some men help with but I would argue that sexual violence is just as much of a men’s issue, even if it isn’t discussed as often. I don’t mean to diminish the significance of sexual violence as a women’s issue, but this is a conversation that is deeply about men and the behavior of men that can only be resolved when men stop thinking that it’s not their problem. We as a society are acculturated to put the emphasis of sexual assault on the victims it’s something that happens to them and something they are responsible for; whether it is prevention or accountability. The conversation focuses on questions like: why was she with those men?” “What was she wearing?” “What was she drinking?” etc. These questions prevent us from asking a broader and more important question which is: Why do so many men commit acts of
sexual violence? Why do so many commit rape and sexual assault? Why do we keep reading about sexual scandals like the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts? Approximately 320,000 women, 60,000 children, 80,000 inmates, and 19,000 military personnel are sexually assaulted every year, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, making sexual assault four times more common than all gun violence And, while at least some of this is due to repeat offenders, it still means hundreds of thousands more men commit sexual assault every year. Why do many men think sexual assault is okay? Society has made a lot of progress in recent decades in expanding the roles of women and other minorities in mass media, but a genuinely under examined area is that of the traditional alpha male. These characters are rugged, stoic, meets aggression with aggression and always gets the girl. In this model if the male hero does all the right things they are inevitably rewarded with sex and praise, but reality is more complicated. Sex is not a reward for good behavior and too many men discover that too late in life which creates a conflict that the model
Photo Illustration by Luis Gael Jimenez / Editor in chief
Sexual violence is an epidemic in American society and the onus should be on men, not women, to stop it.
dictates must be met by aggression. Moreover, the model excludes other forms of healthy masculinity that teach boys not to pursue sex, but healthy consenting relationships and teaches them to take personal responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. This is probably closer to what most people expect, but it is not really seen on TV. Media also perpetuates a “bro” culture where having sex is extremely important, but the act itself has no special meaning and
therefore doing terrible things in the name of having sex is tolerable. This is how culture affects the way that men think about women and subsequently what is permissible and socially acceptable. However, this is only part of the problem and the real capacity for change along with the real power lies in the silence of the majority. Men have a special responsibility to police ourselves and to call out sexism whenever we hear it. For better or worse men are the power holders in this situation,
we have the capacity to speak out without being criticized, shamed or ridiculed. Just like it has become acceptable to call out someone for making racist comments it should be acceptable to do the same for sexism and misogyny. Men need to take a stand in the places where only they go, when it’s just the boys whether it’s the locker room, a poker game or hallway conversation. If your buddy says something that is overtly sexist or demeaning don’t just laugh along say something. Don’t be rude, but make your feelings known that kind of language makes you uncomfortable. If someone is joking in a demeaning way and participating in “locker room talk” say “you could be talking about my sister or my best friend or my mother, it’s not cool, it makes me uncomfortable and I don’t like it. Joke about something else.” When men speak out against sexism, misogyny and sexual violence it makes it clear what the social standards are and what we expects of ourselves rather than allowing toxic ideas to fester in darkness. The day that men lose status rather than gain status by participating in sexist behavior is the day that sexual assault ends.
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October 18, 2017
BACKPAGE
Late night hits Sacramento
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Photo illustration and article by Luis Gael Jimenez
acramento is home to its own late night talk show. The Latest Night Show is a monthly live variety show which features local musicians, comedians and other people of note. The show originally began as the brainchild of comedian Mike Cella who had the idea of running a oneman talk show out of the Comedy Spot, a local comedy venue. “I started doing the show because I would always do tweets of topical jokes and then I would only be able to do them on stage for about a week or even a day before they would be old,” Cella said. “The show was a way for me to have an outlet so I could do those jokes live.” Shahera Hyatt, the current cohost and an ARC alumna, was actually the first guest on Cella’s inaugural talk show.. “Mike did the original show at the Comedy Spot. It wasn’t our show but he had me on it [as a guest],” Hyatt said. “I started researching late night and thinking to myself, ‘damn, I want
to do my own nighttime talk show.’ It wasn’t until about five months later that we sat down and talked about doing it together.” They both agreed that the Comedy Spot was not the right venue to host the show, since it wouldn’t allow them to have live musical guests due to its stage size and space restrictions within the venue, a crucial element for most late night talk shows. Luckily for the duo, some of the people that run the Red Museum were in attendance that opening night and approached the pair with an offer to let them use the their venue. Now with an idea and a venue, Hyatt and Cella were able to recruit musicians Drew Walker and Damien Verrett to serve as the house band: The Late Night Dorkestra. The group then picked a monthly format and a 90-minute runtime in order to ensure the quality of every show. “It’s essentially a 90-minute original show. It really does take the month to prepare and write topi-
cal jokes. We also, really aim high in terms of the talent that we get for the music and the guests,” Hyatt said. The shows are announced on Facebook weeks beforehand and typically draw an audience that fills the Red Museum to the brim. What’s happened between the first official Latest Night Show back in May to its most recent show on Sept. 21, has been noteworthy. From having world class butchers come in and prepare a lamb carcass onstage in preparation for an international contest, to having gender studies experts come in and analyzing President Donald Trump’s transgender military ban, the pair has created a lot of conversation within the city. “We’re creating moments by inviting the people doing dope shit in Sac, to come in and have fun doing it with us,” Cella said. The next show is planned for Oct., 26 at the Red Museum at 8 p.m. You can also follow The Latest Show on Facebook to keep track of upcoming shows.
“We’re creating moments...” -Mike Cella