Vol 69, ed 3 by ARCurrent

WWII Survivor: Author Ingrid RadkeAzvedo answers questions about her life in Nazi Germany

Page 6

Wednesday 11.15.17

CURRENT The

American River College Sacramento, Calif.

ADMINISTRATION AIMS TO BOOST STUDENT SUCCESS ON CAMPUS

Candy Lab:

ARC culinary students develop their sweet tooths by making treats

Page 10

Vol. 69

Ed. 3

AB 19 to provide first year of college for free By Jennifer Langston jlangston1979@gmail.com

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

American River College Public Information Officer Scott Crow is working alongside school officials to implement the campus redeisgn.

ARC prepares for massive redesign to make campus more inclusive By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com American River College is undergoing a massive redesign project that will see the core values that drive the college and its faculty adapt to the needs of its most at-risk students and attempt to create a more inclusive campus for all. This redesign will have the administration of ARC attempt to find the lowest performing student groups or those most at-risk and provide for them a system of support and direct intervention in the hopes of giving them the tools to succeed and prosper. This is done by giving disproportionately impacted students more direct attention and intervention. To achieve this, the college has partnered with Achieving the Dream, an organization that helps community colleges nationwide develop and reform their curriculums to create a more inclusive educational system. ARC Public Information Officer Scott Crow says that the move towards the redesign is about social justice and equity as much as it is

about helping students in need. “We need to start from the ground up. We realized that equity needs to be the lens through which we see everything. Instead of social justice and equity just being this thing that’s off to the side, we wanted to see through everything through that lens,” Crow said. “It’s our responsibility to help all students succeed.” And that is the major goal of the redesign project; student success. Crow says that providing incoming students with an ally or advocate is going to be one of the keys ways to achieve this goal. “We want to design the new student process so there is no escaping advocacy. So that every new student that comes in has an opportunity to meet with someone who is an ally or an advocate,” Crow said. “Not everyone has a parent, or an ally or advocate. We want to build into the system that these kinds of experiences are inescapable so that all new students have the opportunity to get a good start.” The process will be modelled after existing programs like the state-funded Extended Opportu-

“We want to design the new process so that there is no escaping advocacy... so that all new students have the opportunity to a good start. ” Scott Crow

Public Information Officer

Photo courtesy of Scott Crow

President Thomas Greene is one of the redesign’s biggest proponents.

nity Programs and Services. “We’ve looked at data that says students who are enrolled in a case management program like EOPS, the percentage of those students who go from fall to spring can be as high as 90 percent,” Crow said. “Students who are not in those programs, the numbers are in the 60s and 70s. We want to scale that out so that it’s not just the students who are eligible for specific programs but that all students get some kind of

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support services to improve their success.” Another way the administration is looking to boost student success is by simplifying specific processes. Certain things like the selection of classes will be streamlined. Crow added that students coming out of public schools are often used to having their classes and schedules chosen for them with limited engagement so choosing from the hundred of classes that a school like ARC offers can become an overwhelming task. This is especially true when students are still undecided about their major or career path.

Redesign | Page 3 /ARCurrent.com

CRAIG ARC Professor and artist was SCHINDLER featured at ARC’s Kaneko Gallery.

PAGE 8

A new bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown promises to give students a free year of community college upon their initial enrollment. AB 19 was written by Miguel Santiago, who represents the 53rd District in the California State Assembly, in March and signed into law on Oct. 20. The bill will offer free community college to an estimated 19,000 first-time students and is expected to cost the state budget an additional $31 million. AB 19 did not receive much opposition because of its similarities to the existing Board Of Governors Fee Waiver, which already heavily discounted tuition for over a million college students. The BOG was amended in April of this year and is now known as the California College Promise Grant. Over the 2015-16 academic year, California Community Colleges served about 2.3 million students, with about 1.6 million enrolling in each of the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters. For that same year, about 1 million students, or 43 percent of all students, received a BOG fee waiver—an equivalent of $800 million in waived fees. The Promise Grant is incomebased. The grant’s income brackets change every year. Students can apply for AB 19 or CPG by filling out a Free Application for Financial Student Aide. A student will have a greater chance of approval for CPG using FAFSA. An AB 19 applicant does not have to worry about income requirements. “Anyone who is first time, fulltime is eligible. It’s not needbased, you don’t have to demonstrate financial need for that part of it.” said Paul Feist, Vice Chancellor for communications at the CCC Chancellors office. In addition to promoting fulltime enrollment, the ability of districts to provide the public with the simple message that students’ first year of community college could include no fees may spur additional enrollment demand of both part-time and full-time students, according to Santiago. “It takes away one of the stresses of attending school while trying to afford your livelihood. When I was paying for my first semester it was just an added bill that I didn’t feel I needed and therefore quit going,” said David Lebrovich, a first-year student at ARC who said he quit due to financial responsibilities and did not qualify for CPG.

November 15, 2017

News

Creek clean-up underway The NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT BEGINS EFFORTS

By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com The Arcade Creek is a brook hidden by overgrown bushes and shrubbery that winds around the perimeter of American River College’s campus. Tall grass lines its banks and the occasional rock obscures its pristine surface. Students often use the gravel trail that runs along the banks of the creek as a walking path in between classes. They stroll the curvy nature trail unaware that a quiet threat lurks within the depths of the water just a few feet from the trail. Just underneath the surface of the water, tentacle-like-vines twist themselves into tight knots and spread along the bed of the creek in a contorted mess of creeping plants slowly conquering the creek. This aquatic terror has a name: water primrose. An invasive plant species that, if left to its own devices, will eventually end up spreading along the entirety of the creek and destroying the ecosystem that thrives around it. Now, American River College’s Natural Resources Department, with the help of student volunteers, is removing the invasive plant material before it can grow any further. According to Christy Bowles, a natural resources professor at ARC, the primrose plants are alien to not only the creek but to the state as well. “Water primroses are invasive plants, so it is not native to California and it does not have natural enemies so it can out-compete native plants and change the creek environment,” Bowles said. As for how the primrose first arrived in Arcade Creek, Bowles has a theory. “You can get invasive species by accidental aquarium release or someone who dumps their

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

Volunteer Joe Shanahan assists the Natural Resources Department clean-up the Arcade Creek on Oct. 24 at American River College. He is helping rid the creek of invasive plant species that threaten native plants.

creek for about 11 years, according to its department chair, Jennifer Neale. Neale added that the department started restoration work in the creek in 2013, with the goal of improving the environmental health of the creek. Arcade Creek is considered to be an urban creek which means that it is heavily impacted by humans and their actions. “We remove trash and restore the habitat by planting plants in the creek bed to keep erosion down,” Bowles said. The creek is also used as an learning environment for students within the department, according to Bowles. “This is our classroom. This is where we take our students to learn how to appreciate the natural habitat,” Bowles said. “We are not only doing science in the classroom, we are out here doing

“This is our classroom. This is where we take our students to learn how to appreciate the natural habitat.” Christy Bowles

Natural Resources Professor aquarium plants and animals in the creek, but we do not know for sure how this plant got here,” Bowles said. The department has to act quickly because it has a limited window before the rain comes and fills up the creek in the winter and spring, according to Bowles. “The primrose are still small so I am trying to remove as much as I can,” Bowles said. The Natural Resources Department has been cleaning up the

ASB NOTEBOOK

hands-on science and teaching the students at the same time.” Joe Shanahan is a student volunteer and a natural resources major who is currently taking classes in the Natural Resources Department on campus. “I have a chance to make a difference by cleaning the creek. It is good to learn about [the plants] and what they do for the ecosystem,” Shanahan said. On top of the wide variety of plant life surrounding the creek, Arcade Creek is also home to a much furrier variety of life. Bowels says she has seen all sorts of animals near the water. “We will see beavers, deer, turkeys, birds and skunks,” Bowles said of the creek. People who are interested in volunteering to help clean up the creek are welcome to contact Neale through her email at nealej@arc.losrios.edu.

Photo Editor Ashley Hayes-Stone Staff Nathan Bauer Lily Rodriguez Drake Jennifer Langston Hannah Yates Contributing Writer Mack Er vin III Faculty Adviser Rachel Leibrock Photo Adviser Jill Wagner Student Worker Jordan Schauberger

For weekly coverage of ARC student government, go to ARCurrent.com.

SENATE DEBATES DONATION TO SCHOOL LITERARY JOURNAL By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com On Nov. 9, the American RIver College Student Senate discussed Bill F-17, which would allocate $1,000 to the American River Review for production cost for its 2018 edition. The American RIver Review is a literary journal published by American River College, and is entirely student-produced. It has won Best in the Nation in the Community College Humanities Association Literary Magazine Competition nine times, and is currently the only literary magazine in the nation to have been granted the award more than twice. Student Senate Adviser Juan Blanco broke down the account the donation would come from. “Think about it this way, if a $1,000 is allocated to the American River Review, that will put this [ASB’s Budget] at $6,600, ” Blanco said.. From there they must sub-

Photo by Brienna Edwards / Features editor

Student Senator Earl Crouchley III (right) delivers a speech to ASB arguing for a $1,000 donation to the AR Review on Nov. 9.

tract $300 for the debugging bee, which was purchased by ASB before the Club and Events Board was up and running. In addition to the $75 for each time a parliamentarian attends a meeting. There is still a debate as to

whether the senate can afford to allocate that much money. ‘We have to remember that we will be approached for more projects and we have to be conscious of where that money goes, so that we have enough to be far to ev-

eryone.” said Student Senate President Deborah Hernandez. Hernandez is not the only member of the senate weary to part with such a large sum. “I’m also reluctant to give money away… but I think there is a lot more money that we have to spend than is seen in the budget,” Director of Finances Jesse Taylor said. “By adding a $1,000 it’s going to increase the publications amount of color pictures, as well as up’s the type of paper it’s going to be printed on,” said Vice President Earl Crouchley III. This money is what makes the difference between a comic book and a hard copy book he explained. “We’ve managed to do this for the American River Review before and never run out of money,” said Senator Laurie Jones who wrote the bill and has served several semester as a student senator. The topic has been tabled until the senate meets again.

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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

November 15, 2017

NEWS

Department opens up food pantry ‘NOSH NOOK’ OFFERS FOOD TO STUDENTS By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com American River College is home to approximately 30,000 students, over 13 percent of those students may be suffering from a lack of food. However, faculty at ARC are hoping to help these hungry students by providing easier access to the foods they need. The Nosh Nook on the third floor of Davies Hall was co-founded by Kristina Casper-Denman, and Susannah Martin, both professors in the Behavioral and Social Science Department. Shoved into the far wall of the Behavior and Social Science Department’s faculty workroom are shelves, weighed down with boxes and bags of processed food. Large containers of granola bars are squeezed next to stacks of canned tomatoes. There are two large Tupperware tubs filled with pasta and lentils. This is where the Nosh Nook has resided for the past year and a half. “This started out of a conversation,” Casper-Denman said. She and Martin were having lunch and discussing the recent opening of Sacramento State’s food pantry. With all the publicity it received they began to ask themselves “‘why don’t we have something here?’” When did it open? When did

Photo illustration by Ashley Hayes-Stone/ Photo editor

The Nosh Nook offers free food for students in need. It is located on the third floor of Davies Hall in the Behavorial Science Department.

they come up with the idea? “We have more students than Sac State, we have needier students in many cases then Sac State. The least we can do as a community college is to make sure that everyone is taken care of,” Casper-Denman said. According to a study conducted by the Urban Institute, a research institution from Washington, D.C.,13.3 percent of community college students suffered from hunger insecurity in 2015 Social researchers define food insecurity as the inability to access or afford adequate food. Although this is a marked improvement from the 21.2 percent

of food insecure students shown between 2008 and 2014, it is still higher than the 11.2 percent of students facing the same problem who attend a four-year college. Casper-Denman said that after discussing the issue with fellow faculty there appeared to be a real issue present. “Students especially at the end of each month as the paychecks start to get smaller, their attendance tends to go down, they have run out of energy, they tend to get sicker. “ Casper- Denman said “ So if we can maintain a healthy month all the way though they can graduate on time.” From there Casper-Denman

said the students would be better equipped to get jobs to help support their families. The organizers of the Nosh Nook try to provide five basic staple foods that transcend cultural differences. “The idea was, ya know, it wouldn’t be enough food to take care of everything in the month but that these five foods would be something that most cultures would have some sort of variation,” Casper-Denman said. “ And so we chose oatmeal, pasta, lentils, beans and rice.” It is the hope that those utilizing the Nosh Nook will be able to use the money they saved to buy fresh

ARC foundation raises funds for various programs NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION HELPS PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR DEPARTMENTS By Jennifer Langston jlangston1979@gmail.com As funding continues to be limited for community colleges, school administrations are looking at other means to financially support community college programs and their students through foundation created by faculty and community donors. The American River College Foundation is a nonprofit auxiliary organization of the Los Rios Community College District that aims to encourage innovation and support current programs that are in need of financial help. The Foundation is continuing its support for innovative programs on campus, staff and students through faculty and community donations. According to Director Kristen Dubray, the Foundation supports innovation and public funding for those that cannot cover the costs of supplies and events that support the program. “Those are projects that support the college, it can be faculty administrators classified, it can even be students with the support of an advisor or club that’s doing something,” Dubray said. For many years, there’s been such great need because public funding can only cover so much

and ARC has recognized faculty members giving students support, donating their time and their own money. The school then decided to create a program that took the personal burden off of faculty members, according to Dubray. Dubray said that in the past, faculty were donating their own time and money for their students and their supplies. Over the course of 10 years, the foundation has given out over $750,000 for the regular foundation grants. Faculty can raise $75,000 a year through their donations. By making a $5 dollar donation members can potentially raise an additional $48,000 for the program. This year the foundation is doing two things. Participants will have a choice to make a restricted donation which is for the student emergency fund and scholarship program or they can put their donations towards an unrestricted fund. This is where the committee will make a decision on the program that will receive a financial award for the year. In situations like these the department faculty will have the choice on what they would like to fund for their program, according to Dubray. Unrestricted funding can go towards several different programs; Dubray said that there are mul-

tiple programs that are included. “The Diversity Center is no different than the horticulture fund or track and field fund in that a donor can make a donation for direct program support. We have about 200 different funds we manage, 200 scholarships and about 50 endowments,” Dubray said. Funding has been provided to special programs like the college’s award-winning Vocal Jazz Ensemble. “Almost every year they get invited to the national association of jazz educators and it’s usually in New Orleans or Chicago and they have to come up with the money and the department does not really budget for that because how are you going to predict that they will be invited every year,” Dubray said. “So the foundation funded them for many years.” Annually the Foundation will fund up to $5,000 to support a program. Programs are taken into consideration based on how much the financial need is and if it can be funded by the Foundation. Selections are whittled down until they find the ones that can be supported. Many students have the opportunity to benefit from the student emergency fund. “We had one last year where a student was planning to attend a

“We had one last year where a student was planning a public health conferenc... The foundation gave him $2,500.” Kristen Dubray

Foundation Director public health conference and he since transferred to Stanford University for public health which will be his major. The foundation gave him $2,500,” Dubray said. ARC also provided emergeny funds for another student in need, Marquette Jefferson was sent to Sacramento State after he considered dropping out due to an unexpected financial crisis. “This is the first year that there was a decision by the leadership of the college to really focus on innovation and to move the needle forward to address the strategic issues of the college, the institutional planning and all of that,” Dubray said. “These are projects that support the college.” The foundation will continue raising money for various departmens for the foreseeable future. Interested parties can contact foundation director Kristen Dubray.

food or other essentials to healthy living. “Really the idea was to create a place of food justice,” Casper-Denman said, “the idea is to make this a fully respectful situation. There is no shame in being hungry.” There are multiple avenues a student—or member of the campus—who would like to partake in the food pantry’s offerings, may take. If they are taking a class from a Behavioral Health and Social Science Professor then they come down during their professors office hours if they wish or make appointments. There is even the option to have the professor bring the food to the classroom. The more common avenue however, is to find the Behavioral Science office on the third floor of Davies Hall, where the student must state their purpose to the clerk, who will then walk them to the office of a scheduled professor who is available to attend the Nosh Nook at that time. One of the ways they are thinking about doing so is by creating a point system that will track students who use school resources. Each student would begin with a designated amount of points, enough to provide them with two meals a week. If any student is suffering from food insecurity, the Nosh Nook is open to them. For more information students can contact CasperK@arc.losrios.edu or visit the Behavorial Sciences Department on the third floor of Davies Hall on campus.

Redesign | cont. from page 1 According to Crow, some of the major and certificate pathways might be “cleaned up” in an effort to streamline student success. As for when some of these changes might start taking effect, Crow says that ARC has already implemented some of the smaller changes with a proposed mid2018 start date for the campuswide overhauls. “Best-case scenario, we would start doing some of the summer programming in 2018. And in fall 2018, we might roll out some of these things but there are lots of timing factors,” Crow said. “We’ve already started implementing some of the smaller changes but the big ones will take time.” The administration will also be looking on ways to inform students of both the new and existing services offered by ARC. “We understand that there needs to be a lot of different ways to get messages out, especially important ones,” Crow said. ”If a student is struggling, they may not even know that we offer free tutoring. We’ve had student focus groups where we hear the same thing over and over again: ‘I wish I would have known about this service because it would have helped me a lot in my class.’” Crow said that students can also expect to see a more mobilefriendly website in the near future as well now as a new science, technology, engineering and math building on campus as part of the redesign efforts.

November 15, 2017

SPORTS

SPORTS UPDATES UPCOMING MEN’S GAMES

UPCOMING WOMEN’S GAMES -November 17 Water Polo

-November 16 Basketball

vs. TBA @ Cuesta College

vs. Imperial Valley @ Irvine 4:00 p.m.

-November 18 Cross Country

@ State Championship 10:00 a.m.

-November 18 Water Polo

-November 30 Basketball

vs. TBA @ Cuesta College

vs. Los Medanos 6:00 p.m.

-November 30 - December 2 Basketball @ TBA -December 14 — 16 Basket-

-December 14 Basketball Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

American River College midfielder Marissa Hardy battles with a Modesto Junior College player for possession of the ball during a home game on Friday. ARC won 2-1.

vs. Lassen 6:00 p.m.

-December 20 Basketball

ball @ TBA

vs Cosumnes River 7:30 p.m.

-December 20 Basketball

-December 21 Basketball

vs. Cosumnes River 5:30 p.m.

vs. Feather River 6:00 p.m.

-December 29 Basketball

@ Sierra 5:30 p.m.

@ Sierra 7:30 p.m.

-January 2 Basketball

@ Folsom Lake 5:30 p.m.

@ Folsom Lake 7:30 p.m.

-January 6 Basketball

@ Sacramento City 1:00 p.m.

@ Sacramento City 3:00 p.m. Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

American River College defensive back Jim Carter tackles Sierra College wide reciever Kenneth McGloan during a home game on Nov. 11. ARC won 45-28.

Photo by Lily Rodriguez Drake / Staff

American River College men’s tennis player Cody Duong practices during offseason training on Oct. 17. Duong was part of the 2017 NorCal championship team.

Photo by John Ennis / Managing editor

American River College mascot Bucky the Beaver gestures on the sideline during a game against Feather River College on Oct. 28. ARC won 59-8.

Men’s Soccer

Football

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Water Polo

Men’s Cross Country

The men’s soccer team’s 4 game win streak ended after they suffered a 2-0 loss to Cosumnes River College on Oct. 31st. They ended the season with another 2-0 loss at San Joaquin Delta College, finishing with a 6-8-7 record.

The 9-1 football team won their last regular season game against Sierra 45-28, clinching the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They will host No. 4 Laney College’s 9-1 in the NorCal Semi-Finals this Saturday.

The women’s basketball team started off the season with a loss and two wins at the Jocelyn Mancebo Classic on Nov. 4-5. The also posted a 2-1 record at the CRC invitational over the weekend. Their next game will be on Nov. 30 against an unspecified opponent.

The 3-18 team lost their Big 8 Conference and CCCAA NorCal Championship games against Modesto and San Joaquin Delta in November. Last month, they were victorious at Santa Rosa 18-8, and a close 11-10 game against ARC alumni.

The men’s cross country team finished in 2nd place overall at the Conference Championship at Oak Grove park on Oct. 27 with an average time of 21:58 for a four mile run. They then finished 3rd at the NorCal championships with an average time of 21:21.

Women’s Soccer

Volleyball

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Water Polo

Women’s Cross Country

Following a 3-0 loss to Diablo Valley, the women’s soccer team won their last 4 games of the season by a combined scoreline of 12-3, including a 6-0 win over Cosumnes River. They ended the season with a 13-5-2 record, going 10-4-2 in conference play.

The volleyball team recorded four wins from their last five games to bring their overall record to 13-13 after 26 games, leaving them in 5th place in the Big 8 conference. Their last regular season game was on Nov. 14 against Folsom Lake and the results were not immediately available.

The team lost their games against Sierra College and West Valley College on Nov. 11, despite their 11-7 win in the CCCAA NorCal Championship game against Foothill College. The game against Sacramento City College on Oct. 25 was their first home game victory.

The women’s cross country team finished 2nd overall in the Big 8 conference championships, losing out to eventual champions Sacramento City by 13 seconds. They then finished in 3rd place in the NorCal championship with an average time of 20:32 for a three mile run.

November 15, 2017

SPORTS

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

Top: Wide receiver Devin Brocchini (3) evades defenders for a first down against Sierra College. Bottom: Wide receiver (7) Arthur Jackson lifts quarterback Hunter Rodrigues (4) in the air.

ARC football ends season on top of its division BEAVERS LOCK IN FIRST SEED FOR PLAYOFFS By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com The American River College football team (9-1) ended its season with a blowout of local rival Sierra College (4-6), a win which left the Beavers sitting atop the division and with a homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The offense was running on all cylinders as quarterback Hunter Rodrigues threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns and used his speed to run for another 76 yards and a touchdown. Running back Evyn Holtz contributed heavily to the 45-28 final score with his rushing performance. Holtz rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns and caught the first touchdown of the night with an 11-yard grab. The Beavers’ defense was able to dominate the turnover game, forcing two interceptions at crucial moments in the first half. It wasn’t just the offense and defense performing at a high level, the special teams continuously put the game out of Sierra’s reach with a perfect night for point after attempts and field goals. Punter Anthony Craven was able to consistently pin Sierra

deep into their end zone with 9-1 and we’re glad to be two booming kicks that left the number one seed. them at their own 15 The fact that we yard line in the first get to play here half of play. in our home The win wasn’t environment without its flaws is a huge plus,” for ARC though. Osterhout The defense alsaid. lowed 28 points, Osterwhich is the h o u t third-highest praised they’ve althe perlowed all formance of season, the team after the and linewin. backer Rahsaan “We challenged our York was ejected secondary to be able for targeting the to stop their passing head of Sierra quarattack and outside terback Justus Spillof the long touchner during a tackle . down in the first Lineman Diego quarter, I thought Cervantes was also our football team pulled from the played really well game after sufferin the back end,” ing an injury to his Osterhout said. leg in the second “I thought we half. were very ARC head balanced “We’re ecstatic about where on offense coach Jon Oswe’re at. We’re glad to be with terhout said our he and the 9-1 and we’re glad to be the ability to run team are conthe football number one seed.” fident going and throw Jon Osterhout into the playthe ball. That Head Coach offs. makes us “I’m feelvery dangering really good. We made a lot of ous offensively.” outcome goals throughout the Rodrigues also gave credit to season. We can’t wait to start prep- the rest of the team for his perforping tomorrow for whoever our mance on the field. opponent is in the first round,” Os“I thought everyone did a good terhout said. “We’re ecstatic about job, they made it pretty easy for where we’re at. We’re glad to be me,” Rodrigues said. “I took care of

the ball pretty good, I didn’t have any turnover and that was the main key coming in.” Defensive back Lenny Nelson came in and credited his first quarter interception to his surrounding secondary. “Our d-line put us in great position. They pressured the quarterback into that throw and luckily I was in great position,” Nelson said. “As a team we did pretty good. I’m proud of my secondary and I’m proud of my d-line for helping us out.”

LOOKING TO NEXT WEEK’S PLAYOFF VS. LANEY By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com The first round of playoffs will see American River College faceoff against Laney College which finished the season with a 9-1 record, just like ARC. The Laney College Eagles are currently ranked at no. 3 in the National Division sitting two spots behind ARC at no. 1. Laney’s one loss came against Butte College, which ARC beat 34-7 on Nov. 4. They also beat San Francisco Community College 1714, which ARC lost to 40-26 earlier in the season.

REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW 9/2

67-0 win vs. Diablo Valley

9/9

55-49 win at Modesto

9/16

40-26 loss at CCSF

9/23

42-35 win vs. Fresno

9/30

21-20 win at San Mateo

10/14

33-7 win vs. Siskiyous

10/21

38-24 win at Sac City

10/28

59-8 win vs. FRC

11/4

34-7 win at Butte

11/11

45-28 win vs. Sierra

November 15, 2017

FEATURE

WORLD WAR II SURVIVOR SHARES HER EXPERIENCES WITH THE CURRENT By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com Ingrid Radke-Azvedo was born in the heart of Germany in 1934. As a small girl, Radke-Azvedo enjoyed what most young children do: playing with dolls, spending time outside and creating rich fantasy worlds in her mind. What separates Radke-Azvedo from other girls her age was that she grew up in the shadow of one of history’s cruelest dictators, Adolf Hitler. While not Jewish, Romani or any of other dozens of groups that Hitler and the Nazis flagged for execution, Radke-Azvedo came face-to-face with the brutal reality of Nazi Germany when her mother decided to allow a Jewish scientist to live in secret in a house that the family owned. Radke-Azvedo remembers being sworn to secrecy by her mother and told never to tell anyone what the family was doing. Even at the young age of 5, Radke-Azvedo understood the consequences of breaking such a promise. The memory of what happened to that Jewish scientist still brings Radke-Azvedo to tears. She remembers going to check on him early one morning and finding the house a mess. Papers were strewn across the room where the doctor lived, his books were thrown to the floor. The only evidence of what happened was a puddle of blood on the ground. It was then that Radke-Azvedo knew she had to escape Germany and in her heart there was only one destination: the United States of America. Radke-Avedo was only able to successfully enter to the United States after several more years in war-torn Germany and as a 24-year-old. She survived aerial bombings, nazi troops and one of the largest genocides the world has ever seen to get here, but Radke-Avedo was determined and wanted nothing else in the world. It is here in the U.S. that she has spent the entirety of her adult life. She has served on two congressionally appointed committees, served as a public speaker and wrote a book about her early childhood experiences called “Out of the Rubble.” Radke-Azvedo recently sat down with The Current before delivering a College Hour speech on Nov. 9 at American River College to talk about her experiences and some of the lessons she learned from witnessing the birth and death of Nazi Germany. The Current: Writing your autobiography, “Out of the Rubble” must have been extremely chal-

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

Ingrid Radke-Azvedo talks about the importance of the American Constitution at American River College on Nov. 9.

lenging. Did you find it difficult to see how they could help us. They not only re-live such traumatic ex- helped Germany to get back on its periences but to write about them feet but you see, the second world for all the world to see? war never stopped. The only thing Radke-Avedo: “It was. I did a that is saving us now is the Constiyear of research just to make tution of the United States.” sure that my memories coincided with the dates. I am an eyewitC: What do you mean? ness to the horrors of Germany. RA: “The Constitution of the It brought back a lot of horrible United States is the most impormemories. My mother worked tant and only valuable tool that for the underground. She took a we have left right now. Our forechance with our life by taking in a fathers came from different backJewish scientist. He was hidden in grounds and they saw what the a house on our property. I used to time had to offer them and took go up there at night time when it advantage of it. We had the Civil was dark and in the morning be- War because America was still fore it got light and take him food, in that fighting mood but then water, the newspaper and mes- all of a sudden American turned sages from his friends. And then into the most fantastic country in one morning I came up there with the world. But now, we’ve moved my tray of cookies, there away from that.” By the was blood on the floor and he was C: Why do you Numbers: gone.” think that is? RA: “Greed. C: I imagine It’s not just the seeing scenes greed of the million people million of like that would rich and the were killed those were leave you with powerful either.” during WWII civilians a profoundly different world view C: Where is the than the average child greed coming from your age. The odd thing then? here is that it seems to have left RA: “Look, when you elect you with an almost positive view someone to Congress, and I don’t of the world, is that accurate? care if they’re Democrat or ReRA: “It did, it did. I can still publican, they are elected by the smell it, I can hear it, I can see it. people to do a job. I’ve taken that I learned a lot about life at a really constitutional oath several times. young age. But most importantly I’ve been confirmed by the U.S. I learned about freedom. I was a Senate twice and the California slave to Hitler. We had no life. He Senate twice. When I lifted my stole my childhood and he stole hand, that was solemn. From the my youth. In America, I have free- heart. I would die for that oath. We dom. The most important thing have, on both sides, people that for me as a kid was that there was are not doing their job. And they freedom somewhere. The Ameri- took that oath and you and I are cans used to bomb us. They used paying their salary and that’s not to kill us. They used to come in right. That’s where the greed is and really wipe us out but as soon coming from.” as the war was over, they were our friends and they were looking to C: Aside from political greed, do

you see any similarities between the time we live in now to the era that you grew up in? RA: “I definitely see the similarity in the time that we’re living in to the time I grew up. It scares me for my children. I do not wish to see my children have to live through the same thing. But what scares me more than anything, is that is always America that helped everybody out of their mess. They were generous, they were helpful. It didn’t matter if they attacked them in the beginning, they were there for people. We don’t have that American anymore. America is broke.”

“I definitely see the similarities between the time that we’re living in to the time I grew up. It scares me for my children.” Ingrid Radke-Azvedo World War II Survivor

C: Do you still have hope for the future though? RA: Oh absolutely. C: Where does that hope come from? RA: “We haven’t lost yet. We lost an election. Not the war. I absolutely believe that this world will rejuvenate. We now have to work on unity in America and we have to teach our children what happened in the past and what can be ahead of them. We have to teach them with honesty and not by destroying the past. If we go down, I can go down because I’ve been there once before but we will not. I think the American people are beginning to see it.” C: So what is your goal in coming to American River College today and speaking to the students? RA: “I’ve come here to teach the youth of today about their rights and the importance of knowing. I brought little pocket Constitutions for everyone in attendance today. I didn’t come here to sell my book, I don’t care about my book. I just want to help the youth.”

Photo courtesy of Ingrid Radke-Azvedo

Radke-Azvedo turned her experiences into a memoir called “Out of the Rubble.”

ON THE WEB to read more about Ingrid Radke-Azvedo and her recent College Hour speech, go to ARCurrent.com

November 15, 2017

FEATURE

Teenager dives into collegiate athletics 17-YEAR-OLD SWIMMER BEGINS ATTENDING AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com Juliana Shim lifts herself from the water and begins to walk along the edge of the pool. She has just done a flip off of the high dive at American River College and is walking the short distance to to the smaller diving board. Shim has been alternating between the two, practicing dives and flips, over and over until they are perfect. Her coach Dede Crayne stands to the side yelling encouragements and constructive criticisms. Shim is taking the Swimming and Diving class at ARC, but this is not the only class that occupies the athlete’s time—she is currently enrolled in 20 units, and it’s only her first semester. The idea to take the class Shim said, originated from her job. “At my work I was a lifeguard, and they had a diving board and in my free time I would just like to jump off of it and do flips,” Shim said, “ I knew I would be really bad at it but I wanted to try it .” However thanks to her gymnastic background, Shim was anything but “bad.” “I did competitive gymnastics for eight years,” Shim said, adding that placed twice in the state gymnastics competition. Crayne could see the potential in Shim from very early on. “I was very excited when she came out because she has a lot of talent, and a great form and great body control, I was like ‘yes! I have found my latest super star’ then a little ways in I realized she was very scared of everything,” Crayne

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

Juliana Shim sits on the edge of a diving board at American River Colle. Shim is a first-semester student at ARC.

said. Shim said that she tends to be a very cautious person, but it was not always a good thing because being so cautious prevents her from improvement. “My coach, Dede, says I have so much potential especially with my gymnastics background. I’m just scared, I doubt myself,” Shim said, “I’m starting to be more and more braver, which is good.” But constantly having to try new moves off the diving board has helped Shim gain some confidence, Crayne said. “I feel like I have improved a lot throughout the semester, especially last week I got three new skills in one day,” Shim said. However as Crayne is discov-

ering, sometimes we learn a few things from surprising sources. “She has taught me a lot, I’ve had to be patient and adjust my coaching style to her,” Crayne said, “She is starting to figure out how to overcome her fear, and trust that when I tell her a way to do something that she will be okay.” Nevertheless Crayne says she just wishes for Shims’ success, and hopes that Shim will consider joining the swimming and diving team in the spring. “I love her as a person I didn’t want to lose her to fear,” Crayne said, “You can see when she finally does something she smiles and lights up and can’t wait to tell her mom.” Shim attended River City High

School where she graduated early at the age of 16. “If I have a chance to not be there and save time then I will take that chance,” Shim said of her decision to leave high school early. She has gone on to taking a similar approach to her college career. Shim is currently studying psychology, but that is not her end goal. I just need the [psychology] degree to be a midwife, she said. Shim explained that to be a midwife, a student must shadow a another midwife for a certain amount of time, but to do that the student must first have a degree. “A midwife told me that she prefers if I have a bachelor’s in psy-

chology or women’s studies,” Shim said, “ I chose psychology because its more broad and you can have a Plan B.” This has been a long term career choice for Shim. Shim said she tried to explore other options, but always came back to being a midwife. Shim is currently working two jobs and planning on taking 22 to 24 next semester, so she can transfer to Sacramento State as soon as possible. “When I was in seventh grade I knew I was going to be a midwife, I didn’t even know what it was called,” Shim said, “I want to assist in giving birth, I feel like it’s really beautiful and like a miracle bringing life to the world.”

ARC to use grant money to open makerspace DESIGN HUB WILL USE FLOW OF FINANCES TO ESTABLISH BRAND NEW WORKSHOP By Claire Bathory clairebathory@gmail.com A $100,000 grant has been awarded to American River College by Makerspace, a collaborative effort throughout the country to establish spaces for communities where something can be made out of nothing with a variety of technology: 3-D printers, laser cutters, computer-automated machines, soldering irons and even sewing machines. ARC and the Design Hub’s head, professor Randy Schuster, have decided to apply the grant to a more ambitious vision—with dozens of projects already lined up. They are putting the money toward paying internships in their program and the maintenance of

machines, and are using their resources to create a space in which students and interns can create what the college needs. These creations range from models of human or equine bones and wire tension testers to a robotic aid with a Skype interface for a face, which representatives from other colleges will be able to use to talk with ARC students about transferring, instead of just sending a flyer. “The way [we’ll] operate, we have a few things,” Schuster said. “One, students can work here under work positions. Some of them are paid, some of them are unpaid—right now, we have 32 students working. 14 paid.” “It’s a great way [to get a first job], learn a skill, get collaborative. Things like that,” Schuster added. He called it their “primary mode.” The program will be attached to the class Work Experience 298, with a portion of positions paid and others not. Design currently shares space with Engineering and uses its two back rooms for their hardware— one for all of their 3-D printers and models that are almost always

“We’re sort of not really a makerspace we’re a design hub, but we’re incorporating the whole maker attitude into it.” Randy Schuster

Head of the Design Hub working, and one for machines that they’re repairing. The Makerspace grant, however, requires that the area established for work be at least 700 square ft. “We hope—hope—when the STEM building is done, to repurpose room 310,” Schuster said. According to him, their current space meets the requirement for the grant and has allowed them to work. “We’re more than a simple maker space. You can imagine—UC Berkley is interested enough [in what we’re doing] that they’ve invited our professor to go to a workshop in November and present. [Him and] three of our interns,” he said.

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

Professor Randy Schuster operates one of the 3D printers located in the Design Hub on campus

But according to Schuster, the program is a lot more than just a simple maker space. “We’re sort of not really a maker space—we’re a design hub, but we’re incorporating the whole maker attitude into it,” Schuster clarified. “We can’t do it without people who just want to make things.”

ON THE WEB to read more about Randy Schuster and the rest of the makerspace team, go to ARCurrent.com

November 15, 2017

ARTS & CULTURE

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ deserves thunderous applause By Claire Bathory clairebathory@gmail.com A cast of colorful personalities, an interesting story and a beautiful swath of visual effects sets Thor: Ragnarok apart from prior installments in a very important way- it’s funny without having to insist it is. After four prior portrayals as Thor, Chris Hemsworth, and the franchise as a whole, needed something new. Installments were becoming bland, and the Marvel movie “formula” was beginning to show through in a bad way. So: they threw him into a ring with the Hulk, surrounded him with distinct accomplices, from the far reaches of the universe, and gave him an opponent he couldn’t possibly overcome. The actors for Ragnarok were clearly given a lot of liberties in playing their roles. This goes doubly so for Thor himself. As a result, the movie’s two-hour runtime is rife with hilarious back-and-forth exchanges and a unique sort of style not-yet seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Why it took the studio so long to allow the franchise to be what it’s deserved to be for a while, we may never understand; but getting to see it, finally, is at least satisfying. It’s no less of a spectacle for the names called to the stage either. Tom Hiddleston returns as Loki to have his character laid out to bare, Mark Ruffalo used this opportunity to play more of the Hulk and Jeff Goldblum makes the interim antagonist, the Headmaster, fairly difficult to actually dislike. In a way, it was Cate Blanchett as Hela—the movie’s pivotal antagonist—that commanded attention when she was on the screen. It’s difficult to believe such a likable woman could pull off such a sinister and imposing character, but it’s all the more credit to her talent as an actor. It’s unfortunate that she was relegated to the duller parts of the film: Asgard continued to feel like an idea rather than an actual place with citizens and, because of that, the only value in Hela’s appearances was to showcase her terrifying power and to move forward her agenda. A fantastic character she could have been. Unfortunately, there wasn’t room for everyone in the spotlight. Instead, an intergalactic junkyard and a host of the strangest characters along with a distinct few (including Tessa Thompson as 142, Thor and the Hulk’s resourceful new ally) were given all the space that they needed to allow Hemsworth to re-envision Thor as a character, with every back-andforth inside of a room made of vibrant personalities. Apart from other installments, Ragnarok sees that Thor actually changes and matures—for the better, to be sure. For how genuinely funny and exciting the film was otherwise, my only grievance is that he didn’t have a chance to really interact with Hela, whose actions made it possible for that change to happen.

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

Craig Schindler examines his piece “John Deer” in the Kaneko Gallery at American River College on Nov. 6. Shindler’s show ran from Oct. 17 to Nov. 9.

Art professor holds final show at ARC By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com Over the course of Craig Schindler’s 50-year career as an artist his work has grown and adapted with him. From capturing the political and cultural revolutions of the 1960s as a young man with his political cartoons to photographing his father’s final fight with cancer, Schindler has created a powerful and expansive oeuvre covering some of the most impactful decades of American history. And now a collection of his most recent work is on display at American River College’s Kaneko Gallery, a familiar setting because Schindler has spent the last 12 years as an instructor of art here on campus. Schindler has taught several different art classes at American River College during his tenure, with courses ranging from drawing and painting all the way to digital photography and ceramics. But Schindler is now preparing to leave his long-time profes-

sorship to pursue a career selling his own art. Although he is unsure when he will retire, Schindler says he knows that his days at ARC are nearly at an end. The end of his time at ARC reminds Schindler of the end of his own stint in college. “In the late ‘80s, right after I got out of school, California went into a steep recession. Full-time positions dried up and so did parttime positions,” Schindler said. “So there I was eating popcorn and peanut butter sandwiches looking at the wall and thinking to myself, ‘My rent’s going to be tough to meet this month.” But Schindler was able to turn his artistic skill set into a job working for the grocery store Bel-Air’s advertising department. This eventually blossomed into a 20year career, which only ended when Schindler decided to retire to go into teaching full-time in 2005. “I’m retiring my second profession, which is teaching, to go into my third profession which is fulltime artist,” Schindler said. “I enjoy

working with you guys, the students, a lot. So teaching to me is still work but I’d much rather have done that than advertising for 20 years.” Schindler says that what he will miss most is his students “You see potential happening everywhere and it’s really invigorating to see somebody that you think you’ve gotten jumpstarted. You see the lightbulb go off. That’s what I love about teaching.” Schindler says he is looking to continue doing just as much work as he did when he was actually working. “Oh hell no, I’m not done yet. Not by a longshot,” Schindler said. “Four years ago, I did my first sculpture. I never saw myself as a sculptor but I got a lot of encouragement from friends and family so I thought ‘what the heck, I’m going to give it a try.’ I just found a real love for it.” According to Schindler, the “turbulent” times we now live in have inspired him to go back into the kind of passionate art he was making as a young man in the middle of the Free Love move-

ment of the late 1960s in San Francisco. “I was quite an activist in the ‘60s and early ‘70s. Those times were really turbulent. We had the war in Vietnam, we had Nixon, civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights. We had all of these things converging at once and I see that kind of repeating itself again,” Schindler said. “It’s actually inspired some of the art that I’m showing at the Kaneko.” And as Schindler’s last show at the Kaneko draws near its end, the artist knows that even with the uncertainness of the future, he will find a way to keep making the art he has made for the last 50 years. “I’ve been drawing and painting since I was a pubescent actually, maybe 7 or 8,” Schindler said. “I love art and I love doing it. I’ve been able to make a living doing it and I hopefully can keep doing that after I retire.” Schindler said he plans to move up to Washington state near Seattle to be closer to two of his daughters. He plans to continue making art as long as he can.

ARC Art Club gathers to celebrate the dead By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com The intersections of 3rd Avenue and 36th Street in North Oak Park came to life in celebration of the dead on Nov. 2. Hundreds of people in calavera facepaint filled the streets of the sleepy Sacramento neighborhood as traditional Mexican folk music flowed through the air. These people had all gathered to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday honoring those that died throughout the past year. Booths graced with golden marigolds and altars to the dead dotted the suburban landscape. Lit candles cast a warm glow on the photographs that were the focal point of many of the booths that night; photographs of the dead. Vendors also littered the street, each with their own unique rep-

resentation of Dia de los Muertos. American River College’s Art Club was one of those vendors. The Art Club offered its own goods and services in celebration of Dia de los Muertos. Henna tattoos with decorative skulls, skull face painting and colorful Day of the Dead art were all sold to the many visitors that stopped by their tent that night. According to Blanca Bastida, president and founder of the Art Club, all the proceeds went to Photo by Luis Gael Jimenez / Editor-in-chief funding the club. One of the art pieces that was Art Club Vice President Erica Campbell ran the club’s booth on Nov. 2 in put up for sale was Erika Gonza- Oak Park. Campbell painted the faces of attendees in a ‘calavera’ style. lez’s colorful wide eyed various animal skeleton sketches. Ac- Bastida said that they took a dif- orange and blue designs sitting cording to Gonzalez, she drew ferent approach than tradition atop the Art Club creation. According to Bastida, the altar inspiration from her love of Day called for when constructing the shrine. was designed to be open to interof the Dead art and her history of The altar was built into a Mayan pretation. Mexico class. “You can interpret [the altar] on “I was looking at the Aztec pyramid style with three layers. sculptures and I like the way the Each step surrounded by layers of your own, you can put whatever candles and multicolored lights face you like on it,” Bastida said. eyes looked,” Gonzalez said. Bastida said the booth turned The Art Club also made a eventually leading to a glowunique altar to celebrate the day. ing neon green skull with bright out to be a great success.

November 15, 2017

SCENE

Organ recipient educates others on donating By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com Each year the number of people on the organ transplant waiting list continues to grow rapidly— even as the number of donors stays relatively the same, according to organdonor.gov. As a result, only 30,000 people of the 119,362 annual applicants receive the donated organs they need, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Chris Sutton was one of those lucky 30,000 when he was just a 2-year-old boy. Fast forward many years and Sutton, now 21, attends American River College where he’s studying to obtain a communications degree. With that degree, he hopes to pursue his passion educating people about the importance of being an organ donor. According to Sutton, who is also a spokesperson for Sierra Donate Service organization, he was only 7 months old when he suffered his first cardiac arrest. His father had to perform infant CPR on him as his mother rushed to call 911. He was taken to San Juan Mercy hospital, where he was revived. He was then taken to UC Davis Medical Center after doctors at San Juan were unable to diagnose the young child. After undergoing an echocardiogram, a procedure where doctors take a scope to the heart, it was discovered that Sutton had a tumor in his heart. The doctors at UC Davis attempted to remove the tumor through open heart surgery, but it was unsuccessful. “They found out that [the tumor had] grown into the heart muscle

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor

Chris Sutton holds a flyer that he uses to convinces people to consider organ donation. Sutton was the recipient of an organ donation at the age of 2 that saved his life.

and they couldn’t successfully remove it,” Sutton said. “In fact they had to sew it back to the heart muscle and the doctor said it was like sewing gristle to steak.” The cause of Sutton’s cardiac arrest was due to the tumor interrupting his heart’s electrical system. This caused his heart to have an irregular heartbeat. Sutton was placed on a heart medication designed for adults. He was then taken into surgery where they forcefully stopped his heart to test the effectiveness of the medication. The attempts were not successful. Eventually his electrophysiologist—a doctor who specializes in the electrical pattern of the heart rhythm—contacted Medtronic, a medical technology facility, to obtain a cardiac defibrillator small

enough to fit an infant. Eventually, Medtronic contacted the doctor and said they created a small enough device for Sutton, making him the youngest recipient to receive a cardiac defibrillator at the time. Because Sutton’s case was so rare, it was discussed at a large cardiology conference. There, a heart surgeon from UCSF Medical Center announced he could successfully remove the tumor from the one year old’s heart. However, his boast proved false. “He opened me up and said ‘Oh I can’t do anything about it’, and then sewed everything back up,” Sutton said. Sutton added that the wound he received from that surgery did not heal properly, leaving a massive infection that nearly killed

him due to the severity. Sutton again found himself at UC Davis Medical Center where they discovered that he came down with endocarditis, an infection of the heart muscle. In addition, the cardiac defibrillator was also infected and had to be removed. He was left without the device for six weeks until the antibiotics were out of his system. This left him vulnerable to further heart complications. UC Davis Medical Center implanted another cardiac defibrillator. Four days after the surgery he suffered three episodes of arrhythmias. The device corrected the arrhythmias and saved his life. Due to the damage to his heart, it was decided that Sutton needed

a new heart and was put on the list for a heart transplant. “I spent my second birthday getting bloodwork done at UC Davis,” Sutton said. On July 2, 1998, Sutton’s family received a call that there was a heart available. The next morning, at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Stanford, Sutton came out of surgery with a new heart. His new heart had once belonged to a 3-year-old girl named Vicki, who would become one of the biggest influences on Sutton’s life. “She is my hero and gives me purpose,” Sutton said. Sutton got in contact with his donor family when his mother sent a thank you letter to his donor’s family. Vicki’s mother wrote back to Sutton’s family and told them about her daughter. “I am lucky to be a part of the 5 percent of [individuals] that know their donor family,” Sutton said. When he was 10, Sutton was able to meet with his hero’s family and have them listen and feel Vicki’s heart give life once more. “They said it was the most beautiful and painful moment,” Sutton said of the meeting. Sutton is in touch with his donor’s family on a regular basis as he continues to inform people of the significance of being an organ donor. “It’s my responsibility and honor to be here to carry out [Vicki’s] legacy,” Sutton said. “Her legacy is the only reason how and why that I am here today.” Those interested can donate at www.registerme.org

Take this class: improv and theater games By Nathan Bauer

“If you’re an actor it really deepens your skills... If you’re not an actor, it improves confidence and your ability to speak in public.”

ntbauer84@gmail.com Students gather around in a circle as instructor Pamela Downs takes to the center like a circus ringmaster preparing for a dazzling and elaborate trick; she explains the rules of the warm up game as each student tags in, they must mime the actions given to them by the exiting student. The course is TA 344: Improvisation and Theater Games and it is intended to develop trust, cooperation, mental acuity and physical and vocal range as an actor according to the course description, but students don’t need to be an actor to enjoy the same benefits. “If you’re an actor it really deepens your skills, your character de-

Pamela Downs

Theater Arts Professor velopment and gives you more stage presence,” Downs said. “If you’re not an actor it improves confidence and your ability to speak in public.” The point of improv is to learn how to let go and embrace the ideas of your fellow performers

CAMPUS PU

LSE

“The only thing I can fully say is that the laptops in the library can only be extended for an hour, and unfortunately I spend more than an hour on the computer.”

-AUTUMN HILLIARD Art New Media

with an always say yes attitude; this means a student may find themselves the chairman of a bubblegum insurance company or a superhero with a super sense of smell or acting out being a tap dancing yogi. “It’s one of the really good classes, you use the things you learn from improv,” said Downs’ assistant Zack Ekstedt. While running around and acting silly may seem intimidating to some, the class has a very open and supportive atmosphere that will help students overcome any nervousness and really learn to let go and embrace a more spontaneous version of themselves. “It teaches me more confidence,” student Emily Moore said. “I wanted to take improv because

Photo by Nathan Bauer / Staff writer

Professor Pamela Downs leads a group activity during an Oct. 9 meeting of the TA 344 class. The class is a two unit course offered only in the fall.

I heard it was a good class and to get away from stress from my other classes,” Georgie Musgrave said. Improv is a two unit course with no prerequisites. Students with an

every level of acting and physical ability are welcome, so consider adding TA 344 to your ARC class bucket list.

What can American River College do to help you as a student? “Personally , I would like some more 2D animation classes and stuff like that.”

-CHRIS BURDSEK Art New Media

“I would like for professors to be more available with their office hours. They are the best resources.”

-GEOFF LUOMA Environmental Studies

“When you pay for your classes and they literally lock the door on the minute, that pisses me off. I’m a single mom... there are times I’m running behind.”

-MELANIE SWEATT Human Services

November 15, 2017

SCENE

College hour hosts discussion on religious literacy in schools By John Ennis johnalexanderennisiii@gmail.com

During a College Hour on Nov. 2, the Interim Dean of Undergraduate Education at Chico State, Kate McCarthy, gave a lecture on religion in 21st century America. “Essentially what we’ll be hearing about is ‘how do we talk about something that most of us are not that comfortable talking about,’ which is religion,” American River College Humanities Professor William Zengeneh-Lester said. Much of the discussion was based on the concept of multireligious literacy, the ability to understand the differences and nuances of different religions in society around you. “Because we don’t talk about it, we end up not having a lot of information about it, or if we do we have particular types of information about it without having a sense of the nuance and complexity of the very diverse and complex country that we have,” Zengeneh-Lester said. That conversation is one regarding America’s changing religious demographics, the makeup of our religious identities and the intensification of our interactions with one another. McCarthy argues that due to our religious diversity as a nation, multi-religious literacy should be considered a critical competency. “When we speak of religious literacy, I want to invite you to think of it in terms of language literacy,” McCarthy said. McCarthy believes that in order to have religious literacy people need a knowledge of basic facts about religious beliefs and practices, awareness of the internal diversity of religions and how they change over time as well as a sense of the role of religion in history, politics and culture. “You need to know that Islam is a monotheistic religion just like Judaism and Christianity, you need to know that not all Buddhists believe in a God, you need to know some basic historical facts about when these traditions emerged etcetera,” McCarthy said. At the end of her lecture, McCarthy pitched a newly redesigned religious studies major program at Chico State. Chico State has also introduced a Certificate in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations for nonreligious studies majors. “This is for people who want to be journalists, who want to be healthcare workers, who want to be teachers, who are criminal justice majors wanting to go into law enforcement to develop these additional competencies,” McCarthy said. At the end of her speech, McCarthy held open a copy of The Current and praised ARC’s opening of the Meditation room as a “brilliant act of multi-religious literacy” for opening a religiously neutral space that “accommodates multiple religious and nonreligious purposes.”

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone

Head chef Lisa Lam Chiao holds a piece of candied orange peel as she prepares to make orange hazlenut chocolate bark. Chiao prepared the orange slices in her own home the night before.

ARC finds sweet tooth in ‘candy lab’ CULINARY DEPARTMENT CHURNS OUT TREATS

By Hannah Yates whut.hannah@gmail.com Tucked in the back of the Culinary Arts building is a corner furnished with a sofa, chairs and small side table. A surreal neon pink elephant and giant goldfish watch over the students that dine there; it’s a colorful art piece that brightens up an otherwise unassuming cranny. Even more unusual, however, is the mysterious sign on a single door reading ‘Candy Lab’. To get to the Candy Lab, students go through the baking kitchen. The bright and busy kitchen is connected to the student-run Oak Cafe bakery. Chef Teresa Urkofsky teaches the beginning and advanced bak-

ing and pastry classes that meet there as part of American River College’s Hospitality Management programs. During a recent class session, she alternated between the rooms to supervise the bakers. “Smells like honey in here, honey,” Urkofsky says, stepping into the temperature-controlled room to check on the students. The first week of working in the Candy Lab, the bakers worked on tempering chocolate among the bowls of butter and nuts that line the shiny metal countertops. The Candy Lab has a rotating chef, which means that the student chef that leads the five-hour class changes each week. The class’s first time working in the candy lab, after three weeks of working on plated desserts, is led by baking student Lee Lam Chiao. “Candy is the most challenging [to make], among bread and cake. I think plated [desserts are] actually easiest to do,” Chisa says. Meanwhile, the main chef prepares white chocolate bark, using a utensil to smooth the top of the

“The candy lab is like if you just want to get away from baking... It’s like a little candy shop.” Margarita Senina Baking Student

tray. She then places a piece of wax paper and a second tray on top, jumping as she presses the tray down to flatten the bark. During one of her check-ins, Urkofsky helps students solve a misunderstanding over the recipe for tempering chocolate. They remind each other that a miscalculation of temperature could lead to six pounds of the bakery’s chocolate being wasted. Baking student Margarita Senina says she prefers working in the Candy Lab over the warmer baking room. “The candy lab is like if you just want to get away from baking... It’s like a little candy shop,” Senina says.

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone/ Photo editor

Chiao prepares ganache for chocolate truffles for the candy lab.

For Senina, this semester in the Candy Lab will be her last class before receiving her baking certificate. “[I’ve] been in the program for about two-and-a-half-years, although it doesn’t normally take that long,” the Advanced Baking and Pastry student said. “It was put back because class are at very specific times.”

ARC looks to hire Pride Center coordinator FULL-TIME POSITION WOULD OVERSEE PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com American River College is currently hiring a full-time faculty member to run the LGBTQ Pride Center. This Pride Faculty Coordinator would would be responsible for the programming and the types of services offered by the Pride Center, which is currently located in the UNITE headquarters in the

campus Student Center. According to ARC Public Information Officer Scott Crow, the school reached out to the community to see what they expected from a full-time faculty member. “We want to meet the community needs but in order to do that we need to find out what the community wants,” Crow said. “That’s why we are going through that listening process with the community.” Crow says that the goal of both the Pride Center and the new pride coordinator will be to provide a safe space for members of the LGBTQ community and give them a place to voice their concerns and needs. “We want to provide not only a home but also that space to go and have conversations about is-

“We want to provide not only a home, but also that space to go and have conversation about issues that important to the community..” Scott Crow

Public Information Editor sues that are important to the community,” Crow said. Crow says that the school administration are considering this addition to the campus as part of its redesign project. He also added that the school administration hopes to empower members of the LGBTQ com-

munity by adding the position. “The exciting thing part is that we want to listen. We want to be responsive,” Crow said. “Establishing a Pride Center will empower students. That makes a big difference.” The school hopes to have the position filled sometime during the spring 2018 semester. Administation is currently narrowing the list of applicants.

ON THE WEB to read more about the Pride Center and the new faculty coordinator position go to ARCurrent.com

Novemeber 15, 2017

OPINION

CURRENT EDITORIAL

ARC’s redesign efforts will help students SCHOOL OFFICIALS TAKE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION By the Current Editorial Board current@arc.losrios.edu

American River College is currently in the beginning stages of a process that administration says will make students more successful and will also provide an overall more inclusive campus. If the college can deliver on these promises, then ARC looks to be headed towards a bright and prosperous future where students of all racial, economic and social backgrounds can find a place to succeed. But that’s a big ‘if’. If ARC really wants to redesign the entire campus experience in order to help minority student groups, then they need to make sure that they pull no-stops and are willing to listen to these students, no matter how small a segment of the student population they may represent. The student groups who need the most help also tend to be the ones that voice their concerns the least and are most

campus. The centers’ purpose would be to help the student and faculty to better understand undocumented students. The center would provide ally training for the faculty of ARC and interested students so situations like accidentally outing a DACA students no longer arise. If the administration is serious about continuing this effort towards a more inclusive ARC, then it’s groups like the DACA students who will need a direct pipeline to school officials. Given the delicate nature of the sitPhoto by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor uation, a lot of DACA recipients Counselor Manuel Ruedas stands next to the decorative wall in his office are afraid to speak publically on at the HUB on Nov. 12. Ruedas works with the Puente Project, which the issues that affect them the helps disadvantaged students achieve academic success. most. ARC Public Information Offirently looking to hire a full-time cer Scott Crow recently said that often overlooked. If ARC plans to succeed than faculty member that would school officials are already lookthey must find a way to counter- oversee the programming and ing to find some of the minoract this trend and listen to those services offered by the Pride ity groups on campus and hear Center. who rarely speak. them out. These moves seem to be a ARC Public Information Of“The exciting part is we want ficer Scott Crow has said that signal of good faith from the to listen. We want to do this this campus has already begun higher-ups at ARC that they are right,” Crow said. “We want to reaching out to their campus looking out for minority groups, meet the community needs but community to see what they but it is only a small step on a in order to do that we need to would like to see from the ad- very long path. find out what the community Student senate recently voted wants. That’s why we are going ministration. It’s a step in the right direction on creating a center for DACA through that listening process students and while it is still with the community.” from campus officials. If anything, the campus al- lacking the final acknowledgeARC should model their redeready took a big step when it ment from school administra- sign after programs like the Puopened the Pride Center in the tion, if passed it would create a ente Project, which has already safe space for one of the most improved the education for spring. The administration is also cur- vulnerable student groups on

‘Farm to fork’ does not represent Sac WATER TOWER REBRANDING FEELS MORE LIKE A MARKETING STUNT AND LESS LIKE A NICKNAME By Nathan Bauer ntbauer84@gmail.com Growing up in Sacramento I always knew that my hometown was the City of Trees. I remember looking out across Midtown as a child and thinking Sacramento looked less like a city and more like an elvish kingdom sprung up amongst a great forest canopy. The trees are a part of life in Sacramento, from a cool place to sit during July, to the picturesque changing of the leaves and their subsequent fall to occasionally slipping on American sweetgum tree seeds (those brown spikey balls). As part of Sacramento’s ongoing campaign to become Silicon Valley East, “The City of Trees” moniker was removed from the Freeport water tower along Interstate 5 on March 9 to read “America’s Farm to Fork Capital.” This rebranding was intended to highlight the area’s agriculture and commitment to sustainability, but in reality it stripped Sacramento of a point of civic pride and beauty in favor of a poorly thought out marketing campaign designed to attract Bay Area transplants who are more concerned with appearing to live organic than actually living green. But the “City of Trees” slogan reflects the fact that Sacramento is the greenest city in America. Sacramento has more trees per capita than any other major city in the United

States. In fact, we are bested only by Vancouver and Singapore worldwide according to an MIT study reported in Sactown Magazine, making Sacramento America’s greenest capital. To be fair, it is true that Sacramento is the capital of the largest agricultural state and it does have farm to fork restaurants, and to be fair, a lot of farmers markets, but I don’t think Sacramento is a major stop on any foodies’ bucket list. Sacramento’s arboreal roots, however, go all the way back to its founding when immigrants from the Northeast began planting trees as a respite from Sacramento’s notoriously hot summers. UC Davis, Sacramento State and American River College have all received “Tree Campus USA” designations from the Arbor Day foundation; even local municipalities like Orangevale, Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks are named after the trees. If Sacramento really is trying to become another home for tech companies then it should advertise something that is unique and authentic, and welcome people to exchange the Bay Area’s concrete jungle for Sacramento’s urban forest. So with all appreciation of the Sacramento area’s wonderful agricultural communities and restaurants, please get the fork out of my city of trees.

many students in need. The Puente Project is a program that pairs students with former students in a mentorship program in order to help them with their educational goals. Counselor Manuel Ruedas is one of the people overseeing the guidance of students enrolled in the Puente program. These students are called puentistas. Ruedas said there is a quote that sticks in his mind whenever he thinks about the work he is doing for the puentistas. “There is a quote from a Mexican Revolutionary, Emilliano Zapata, it goes: ‘It is better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees.’ I like to think I’m helping students find their feet,” Ruedas said. These examples however are not the first time this campus has made an effort to be more inclusive. ARC is also home to a Veterans Resource Center. The VRC is designed to help veterans make the transition from active military life to the college campus, with the help of certified officials. There they provide information on educational benefits, help identifying Community Resources for veterans and their dependents, and local VA representatives.

November 15, 2017

Obituary

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone

Nathan Bauer, 33, passed away unexpectedly in his home on Oct. 22. Bauer was a long-time student of American River College and a member of the AR Current.

Remembering Nathan Bauer By AR Current Staff current@arc.losrios.edu Longtime American River College student Nathan Bauer, 33, died in his home from respiratory failure on Oct. 22. Bauer had attended classes at ARC for the past 10 years and had switched majors multiple times before finally deciding to pursue a journalism major in his final semester. Bauer was a staff writer on the AR Current. On the day before his death, Bauer attended the annual Northern California Journalism Association of Community College Conference in Cupertino, California with his classmates from The Current. He had told his colleagues that he had finally found his true passion and was planning on finding a career in the journalism world after he graduated. According to Sherri Bauer, Nathan Bauer’s mom, she believed her son had finally found something he could do independently. Bauer suffered from a lifelong condition called spinal muscular atrophy. This condition caused much of Bauer’s body to be paralyzed. By the age of 33 he only retained the movement of two fingers. That didn’t stop him from pursuing journalism.

Photo by Luis Gael Jimenez / Editor-in-chief

Left to right: Luis Gael Jimenez, Ashley Hayes-Stone, Brienna Edwards, John Ennis, Hannah Yates and Nathan Bauer pose for a photo at a journalism conference in Cupertino on Oct. 21.

“He might have needed help to write notes or photograph, but he could write his stories on his own,” Sherri Bauer said. “That was the one thing he could do and he could do it so well. Nathan was always impressing me with his writing.” Bauer had found a strength on The Current in opinion writing. He used his firsthand experience of the difficulties of navigating campus to call for ARC to improve its handicap accessibility. And Bauer was a bit of an expert in accessibility. Bauer actually became the youngest person in Sacraxmento to ever be prescribed a motorized wheelchair.

“The doctor wanted to just write the prescription [for the wheelchair] for Nathan because he felt bad for him but I wouldn’t let him,” Sherri Bauer said. “I wanted Nathan to pass the test on his own merit and he did. He flew right through that obstacle course.” When doctors first told Sherri of Nathan’s condition, he was only 7 months old. Doctors told her that the most-likely scenario would be that Nathan Bauer would only live until the age of 2 or 3 if he was lucky. Sherri Bauer said she made it her life’s goal to make sure that Nathan Bauer not only beat his initial prognosis but

that he had as normal as life as possible. “He got to travel all over. He’d been to Canada, Hawaii and all over the United States,” Sherri Bauer said. “He travelled more than a lot of his friends who weren’t in wheelchairs.” Nathan was a passionate writer with a constant stream of ideas, and would pursue his stories with the drive of a true journalist. Bauer’s steady stream of witty, sarcastic jokes and dedication to journalism brought light to The Current newsroom, as well as in his other classes. Theater professor Pamela Downs struck up an especially strong connection with Bauer after he decided to enroll in a few different performing arts classes. “From the beginning I didn’t see him just as another student I saw him as the warrior that he is,” Downs said. Downs added that Bauer’s character and strength of will are things that memories that will last with her. “It’s not the cards that you are dealt with, it’s how you play them and he was an example for everyone,” Downs said of Nathan Bauer. Bauer’s legacy was honored with a celebration of life ceremony on Oct. 28 where his friends and family gath-

“It’s not the cards that you are dealt with, it’s how you play them. And he was an example for everyone ” Pamela Downs

Theater Arts Professor ered in Hagan Park. The ceremony concluded with dozens of colored balloons being released into the sky. Bauer’s last Facebook post before his untimely heart attack ended with a statement about the current state of national affairs. “I don’t know, but I do know that I love my country, and I want to see it be a better place. I don’t deny we have flaws, but I believe with hard work, patience and more understanding we can overcome them. Maybe I’m naïve, but hopefully in the best possible way,” Bauer said. According to Sherri Bauer, Nathan Bauer lived by the latin phrase ‘carpe diem,’ meaning seize the day. And seize the day he did. Rest in peace, Nathan. Thanks for your contributions.