CURRENT The
Wednesday 11.2.16
American River College Sacramento, Calif. Vol. 68, Ed. 4
Not so presidential THE AMERICAN RIVER CURRENT’S 2016 ELECTION SPECIAL
IF THEY VOTE, MILLENNIALS HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE CHANGE
BERA, JONES ATTACK CONTROVERSIES IN ONLY DEBATE
By Justina Sharp
By Robert Hansesn
justinasharparc@gmail.com
hansenrobj@gmail.com
In a crowded classroom in Davies Hall, Steve and Susie Swatt, a former journalist and legislative aide, respectively, informed students about not just their place in the 2016 elections, but in California history. The Swatts are co-authors of a book on California politics called “Game Changers: Twelve Elections That Transformed California.” They travel the state educating students on the history of these elections, and their long termramifications, many of which are still being felt today. “The millennials can be hugely powerful if they get together,” said Steve in an interview after the class. “Get your friends together, get on social media and make a change.” Historically, due to a lack of education on the political and electoral process, young people have often held the opinion that their votes are unimportant. In this election though, the environment is changing. “There’s a level of engagement that hasn’t been there before,” said political science professor Tressa Tabares, whose class was present for the guest speakers. “People are more interested in the process.” With more tools to spread their thoughts than ever before, young people have the potential to change the face of the election. “There’s a myth that voting doesn’t matter or count,” said Tabares. “Don’t buy into that. That thought alone is the biggest hurdle.” For students in the Swatts’ audience, that myth has become more fact than fiction. “For my friends - those who aren’t going to vote because California is a blue state, and they think it doesn’t matter, what do you tell them?” asked Rachel Davis, an ARC student. This is a question that has echoed through not just the halls of ARC, but the minds of Californians for decades. “If you don’t (vote), you don’t
Congressman Ami Bera and Sheriff Scott Jones squared off in their only debate over the hotly contested 7th Congressional District in KVIE studios in Natomas on Oct. 18, three weeks before election day. The moderators held no punches, asking Jones about recent allegations surrounding a 26-year-old deputy who claimed 30 inappropriate encounters occurred from 2003 to 2005 while she worked in the county jail’s law library. “Well yeah she is lying,” Jones said. “These allegations first came to light in any form about a year ago, for conduct allegedly occurring about 13 years ago. I went under oath and denied the allegations in the strongest terms possible.” Bera said that no woman should ever have to face this type of harassment, and that Jones’ actions were unacceptable. “It’s pretty disturbing,” Bera said. “We don’t have to guess what happened, this came out in a lawsuit. A jury didn’t believe you, they didn’t believe your leadership, and they ruled against you. It’s pretty shocking, I don’t believe you.” Bera then had his turn under fire as he was asked whether or not he had any knowledge of the illegal contributions his father made in previous election cycles. Bera’s father pleaded guilty to campaign fraud in May and was sentenced to a year in federal prison in Aug. “Look my father made a mistake and he shouldn’t have done this,” Bera said. He’s not a criminal but he broke the law.” “When I first heard about it I was shocked,” Bera said. That’s why we fully cooperated with the U.S. attorney. You know, if my dad actually just reached out and said something to the campaign or even me we would have said ‘dad, you can’t do this.’” Jones said that, especially in light of who is being let out of
Voting | Page X
Debate | Page 2
For more ARC coverage, go to www.arcurrent.com
INDEX
2-3 Election 5-6 4 News 7
@ARCurrent
A&C Sports
8-9 Scene 10-11 Opinion
@ARCurrent
FOOTBALL PAGE 7
/ARCurrentcom ARC cruises past Feather River to a 7-1 overall record and now ranks first in NorCal and second in the state.
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November 2, 2016
ELECTION SPECIAL
VOTING FROM PAGE 1
DID YOU KNOW?
Photo by Mack Ervin III / Co-Sports Editor
Authors Steve and Susie Swatt talk about California politics during a College Hour speech on Oct. 25 at ARC. The Swatts talked about historical propositions in relation to the 17 propositions on this year’s ballot.
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If you don’t (vote), you don’t have the right to complain, but Americans have a lot to complain about.
- Steve Swatt
plifies any conversation. Amplification is exactly what the so-called “down ballot” - ev-
going to prison over his actions but that he does think Bera knew about his father’s actions. “Usually the person who commits the crime, receives the benefit of the crime,” Jones said. “And here, the person who committed the crime is going to prison and the only person to receive the benefit, was Congressman Bera by getting elected to two terms.” Bera and Jones both said they do not support Proposition 64, which would legalize recreational use of marijuana in Calif. for adults over the age of 21. “I absolutely do not support Proposition 64,” Jones said. “I think that would be a horrible thing not just for this generation but for many future generations.” Jones thinks that the potency of today’s marijuana is much stronger that it was 20 or 30 years ago and implied that most voters are not aware of this. He points to states such as Colorado and Washington as examples of the issues California may faced if Proposition 64 passes. “We can look to Colorado, we can look to Washington, and look at the horrific results,” Jones said. “If you look at the increased incidents of emergency room visits by young people, if you look at increased incidents of driving while under the influence of marijuana … All voters have to do is see what happened in Colorado to predict what going to happen here.” From 2014 to mid-2015, 956 emergency room visits per every 100,000 possibly involved exposure to marijuana according to a report from the state’s Department of Public Safety According to Politico, Jack Reed, statistical analyst who prepared the report said, “Consequently, it is too early to draw any conclusions about the potential effects of marijuana legalization or commercialization on public safety, public health, or youth outcomes, and this may always be difficult due to the lack of historical data.” Bera said he supports medical marijuana as a doctor although he has public health concerns centered around addiction. Nonetheless, Bera said that he will support the voters choice and that he supports criminal
erything below the presidential options - needs. Unfortunately, it’s also the part
citizens are least educated on, despite the bombardment of advertisements and propaganda hurled at them during the election cycle. “I like to pick up a newspaper, and just really trace back to the source,” said Susie, when asked by a student how she sorts through all the information. “It’s not easy, but it’s effective.” Politics can be a lot of things, including complicated, crowded and convoluted, but they can also be changed on November 8.
The propositions on ballots are measures that were spearheaded by citizens. This is part of the initiative, referendum and recall process that was introduced by Gov. Hiram Johnson in 1911. Through this process, citizens can proposes measures, change current legislation and remove officials from office. Of all the propositions, one of the most popular in California was Prop. 13 in 1978. It called for a cap of property tax at 2% and passed by 64.8%.
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I think (the legalization of marijuana) would be horrible thing not just for this generation but for many future generations. - Sheriff Scott Jones
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DEBATE FROM PAGE 1
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have the right to complain,” responded Steve. “But Americans have a lot to complain about.” The use of the political process as a platform to voice opinions is one California has an enthusiastic relationship with - this election cycle, there are 17 initiatives on the ballot. Initiatives are part of a multistep process that empowers citizens to bring their issues to the ballot, according to the National Conference of State Legislature. Despite the immense citizen participation required for these measures, voter turn out, the last step required to move them into legislation, reached a historic low during the last election. Although he said this presidential election was like “watching a train wreck,” Steve believes it might actually have a positive effect in California, where the downballot is more important. “(The presidential race) is usually the big draw,” said Steve. “And this year, more than before, everyone has something to say.” According to Steve, getting involved in politics can be as simple as asking, “What is going on in the world that is bothering me, and who can change it?” The grass roots approach getting together friends or likeminded people, and finding new approaches to the changes one wants to see, is not a new strategy, but with the addition of social media, the propensity to go viral am-
justice reform. “I mean it’s up to the voters to decide and we should honor what the voters recommend,” Bera said. “I likely will vote no.” Notable supporters of Prop. 64 include Photo courtesy of the Sacramento Bee Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Bernie Congressman Ami Bera (left) and Sheriff Scott Jones (right) fought on issues such as gun conSanders of Vermont. trol and police body cams, during their debate on Oct. 18. “I do not live in California,” the Vermont senator told supporters at a rally in San Jose. “But if I lived in California, I would vote ‘yes’ to legalize marijuana,” “Our purpose is social justice,” Newsom said at the annual Cannabis Business Summit, “to right the wrong of the abject failLEGALIZATION OF no no ure which is our war on drugs in the United MARIJUANA States of America.” In a March 2016 report from the Colorado yes yes DEATH PENALTY Department of Public Safety, the number of marijuana arrests decreased by 46 percent POLICE BODY CAMS yes no between 2012 and 2014. ENVIRONMENTAL The legal marijuana industry created REFORM more than 18,000 thousand new full-time yes yes jobs and generated $2.4 billion in economic STRICTER GUN activity for Colorado according to Marijuana yes no CONTROL Policy Group. Organizations such as the ACLU of CaliIMMIGRATION fornia, the California Democratic Party, and yes yes REFORM California Attorneys for Criminal Justice have also endorsed adult use of marijuana UNIVERSAL yes no in California. HEATHCARE Proposition 64 will be one of 17 California propositions on the ballot when voters go to no no TRANS-PACIFIC the polls on Nov. 8. PARTNERSHIP The debate was sponsored in part by Los yes no Rios Community College District and Folsom IRAN DEAL Lake College.
BERA
v.
JONES
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November 2, 2016
Dissecting your vote
ELECTION SPECIAL
Outside of the presidential election, there are on average 24 other elections or measures for Californians to vote on this year. This includes voting on the replacement of Sen. Barbara Boxer between Democrats Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez, as well as filling California’s 53 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. For most ARC students, the election will be between Democrat Doris Matsui and Republican Robert Evans for the 6th District or Democrat Ami Bera and Republican Scott Jones for the 7th District. Also on the ballot will be 17 California-wide propositions, which are the most on a Nov. ballot since 1990. The reason for that is since California’s last election for governor saw a lower than normal turnout, less signatures were needed to get a proposition on the ballot. With issues such as the legalization of marijuana and pharmaceutical drug pricing taking center stage, contributors spent roughly $512 million on proposition campaigns.
Understanding
California’s Propositions Condoms, marijuana and everything else you need to know about the state’s down-ballot
51 52 53 54 55 56
Education bonds: Authorizes $9 billion in general obligation bonds for K-12 public schools, charter and vocational education schools, and California Community Colleges. Medi-Cal hospital fees: Requires voter approval to change the hospital fee program and make it harder to divert funds from the original intended purpose. Voting on bonds:: Requires voter approval for any infrastructure-related revenue bond totaling $2 billion. Public access to bills: Requires every bill to be published online 72 hours before legislature can vote on it and an audiovisual recording of all public proceedings must be published online within 24 hours.
57
Parole changes for nonviolent felons: Increases the chances for nonviolent felons to earn credits for good behavior and be granted parole. Language education reform: No longer requires an Englishonly education for English learners. Bilingual programs would be implemented, so students could learn from teachers who speak both their native language and English.
58
59 60 61 62
Regulation of campaign money: Asks officials to allow for the full regulation or limitation of campaign contributions and spending. Condom use in adult films: Requires adult film producers to ensure the use of condoms during filming and cover the costs of work-related medical exams.
Extension of income tax increase: Continues the 1.5% tax increase on Californians filing at least $263,000 as single or at least $526,000 as joint.
Drug price standards: Restricts the amount any state agency can pay for drugs based on the price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Increase the tobacco tax: Increases the tax on tobacco products by $2.00. This would bring the tax on a pack of cigarettes up to $2.87.
Repeal the death penalty: Repeals the death penalty and replaces the max punishment for murder with life in prison without possibility of parole.
63 64 65
Background checks for ammunition purchases: Requires individuals to obtain a permit before purchases ammunition and enacts a court process to remove firearms from prohibited individuals. Legalization of marijuana: Allows adults 21 and older to possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes. Allocation of plastic bag ban revenue: Requires all revenue from state-mandated carry-out bags to put marked for new environmental fund called the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Fund (EPEF). Death penalty procedures: Trial courts would be in charge of initial petitions challenging death penalty convictions, instead of the California Supreme Court. The judge in charge of the original murder case would also be in charge of the petition hearing.
66 67
Ban on single-use carryout plastic bags: Bans the sale of plastic single-use bags. If passed, California would become the first state to do so. *All information is according to ballotpedia.org
FOLLOWING THE $$$ Money In Support
Prop Number
Money In Opposition
$12,014,338.80
51
$0
$60,252,285.23
52
$11,562,866.05
$6,015,130.62
53
$15,268,396.90
$10,857,885.52
54
$27,278.98
$57,340,637.78
55
$3,000
$34,994,440.11
56
$71,009,220
$13,734,301.66
57
$1,367,035.03
$4,693,970
58
$0
$422,770.53
59
$0
$4,997,809.19
60
$532,288.24
$14,855,483.92
61
$108,979,074.10
$9,623,645.92
62
$12,464,460.91
$4,525,492.29
63
$867,343.24
$22,038,371.55
64
$2,073,202.80
$6,144,383.26
65
$0
$13,284,144.41
66
$13,196,471.39
$3,655,646.25
67
$6,144,383.26
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November 2, 2016
NEWS
ARC staff earn ‘Acorn Awards’ ECO-FRIENDLY DEPARTMENTS REWARDED By Cheyenne Drury cheyennemdrury@gmail.com The American River College printing services department is heading up a directive to reward different departments around campus for being ecologically friendly. Printing services supervisor Don Reid is managing the campaign. He is in charge of implementing the 75 percent diversion rate by the year 2020, as established by Assembly Bill 341. This means that three-fourths of everything collected will be separated amongst the recycle bins, the food waste bins, the cardboard bins and the grass/ tree trimming bins instead of the garbage (landfill) cans. He originally came up with the idea of an awards system after researching different colleges’ ecosustainability efforts, specifically Harvard University’s program. This is where the idea of the Acorn Award was born. The awards currently work on a system of levels. Right now there are only two levels, but Reid is working with his council to add two more to encourage more eco-sustainability. Departments that want to receive the award have to gather 75 percent of their faculties’ signatures to prove that it will be a group effort. On top of that, each department wanting to apply for the award must meet certain ecofriendly criteria in order to receive an Acorn. The acorns were made from a tree branch that fell outside of the printing department. “It (the branch) was probably in here for two years before I was able to get a saw and cut things into slices, so there’s a basket that has what’s left,” Reid said. The branch was cut up into smaller pieces and then branded with the image of an acorn by use of a hot iron. Currently there are 17 departments signed up, with 12 at level one and five at level two. Departments are started off with easy and simple things that can be done to help out. Some of the requirements include turning off lights, separating recyclables from non-recyclables and other manageable tasks. “To receive certification, please submit the final page of a level’s checklist, containing the signatures of at least 75% of office members, including the office head, faculty advisor or program director,” Reid said. Reid said by signing up for this program, ARC can collectively work toward reaching a higher diversion rate, like the University of California campuses. “The entire UC organization has promised to work toward statewide 100 percent divergent rate which, in simple terms, means zero waste campuses,” Reid said.
Photo by Cheyenne Drury / News Editor
Edward Snowden spoke with students at the Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22, 2016.
Skypin’ with Snowden JOURNALISM STUDENTS HEAR FROM NSA DOCUMENT LEAKER By Cheyenne Drury cheyennemdrury@gmail.com In 2013, Edward Snowden became one of the most loved and hated men in America when he copied thousands of classified government documents and exposed numerous global surveillance programs. He claims he did it to serve public interest. He skyped with nearly a thousand journalism students at the national Associate Collegiate Press (ACP) convention in the Grand Hyatt hotel in D.C. on Oct. 22. A presentation given by Snowden costs anywhere from ten thousand to fifteen thousand dollars. Snowden gave this presentation pro bono. All of the seats in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel, where the live video was streamed, were taken. Students sat on the ground in front of the projector and stood along the walls to hear the whistle blower speak. His speech surrounded his
views on serving the public and the public’s right to know the same information the government does. “If we only knew what the government told us … we wouldn’t know very much at all,” Snowden said. Snowden addressed the importance and power that journalists have being gatekeepers to information. “Journalists are the ones who are constitutionally charged within our society of making those judgements of deciding when, where, and how to contest the government’s monopoly control on executive information,” Snowden said. He stressed the importance of relationships between journalists and whistleblowers that are vital for informing the public. “We (whistleblowers) are forced to rely on what I call the security safeguard last resort,” Snowden said. “That’s you, the fourth estate, our press in alliance with whistleblowers, the most impactful class of journalistic sources.”
He was not shy to give his views on what he called the government protecting their ‘political orthodoxy’’ and doing what is best for their reputation. “Whatever the time, whatever the place that principal always seems to say the same; protect the integrity, protect the reputation of the institution first above all,” Snowden said. Even though Snowden said the government has “monopoly control,” he made sure to address the opposing side’s argument(s). “They [the government] can say we can’t execute our policies without the trust and faith of the population. But if they are taking advantage of the ignorance or … deception as sort of leverage of influence they’re beginning to violate sort of the mandate … the foundational contract between public and government.” Beyond just making a point to address what control the government has, there was talk about what we can do as members of society. “I believe it becomes incum-
bent upon us, upon all of us,” Snowden said. “Not just journalists but everyone in universities, everyone in society, to develop new means of enforcing human rights methods.” “The leverage that we need to make these changes are not as radical and many people might believe,” Snowden said, “This is not to radicalize you this is to bring you to a larger more global truth, that is why it is so important to find a truth most specifically about the institutions that yield the most power in society. This is not an American problem this is a global problem.” Snowden continued and gave the audience members advice on how to act on these aforesaid problems “What we’re doing in this we’re not showing up… saying they can’t do their jobs. I don’t say we should shut down the NSA I don’t say let’s put the police out of business that is not my argument. My argument is that we need to make surveillance expensive again as it used to be.”
Indecent exposure suspect arrested By John Ennis alexennis@gmail.com Los Rios Police Department, in cooperation with the Sacramento Sheriff’s SAFE (Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement) team arrested indecent exposure suspect, Nathaniel Forney, 20, on Oct. 18 near Myrtle Avenue. The two incidents of indecent exposure took place on the campus of American River College near the Culinary Arts building on September 26. Forney was identified with the help of security camera footage is not an ARC student and is being held at the Sacramento County Jail on a $70,000 bail hold. ARC public information offi-
Photo by Cheyenne Drury / News Editor
The couch in Culinary Arts where the alleged indecent exposure occurred.
cer Joan Kudin said that the stills taken by security cameras led to someone recognizing the individual. “I’m really happy to know our security cameras are helping us
do the job of keeping our campus safe,” Kudin said. Kudin also said campus police were right on it from the moment it happened and that we have a great police force.
Photo courtesy of the LRPD
A security photo of the suspect that eventually led to his arrest on Oct. 18.
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November 2, 2016
ARTS & CULTURE
No butts about it ARC ALUM DISPLAYED HER ART By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com
Photo by Lidiya Grib / Staff
American River College art students Aerial Sudds, left, Erica Campbell, center, and Max Marchol work on their school art projects in the new art loft next to the Kaneko Gallery.
ARC art club gets lofty
LOFT ADJACENT TO KANEKO GALLERY IS NOW OPEN ARTISTIC SPACE By Lidiya Grib griblidiya@yehoo.com The new art loft, located next to the James Kaneko Gallery, was opened this semester by the American River College Fine Arts Club for students to work on their art projects. It is mainly a free space for art students to work on assignments and art projects, but other students can work there too. Art club students are free to work in the art loft during the open schedule and other times there isn’t a class in session. To use the art loft, students have to be a member of the fine arts club and sign a waiver in agreement with the rules of use. The loft is located on the second story in art classroom 504 in the Fine and Applied Arts area, next to the Kaneko. Painting classes that were previously held in classroom 504 were moved to the arts and science building, making the art loft in the room available for use.
Many ARC students and members of the art club worked hard over the summer to make the upstairs space available for art students to work in. Blanca Bastida, president of the art club, came up with the idea to utilize the loft and make it available mainly for art students to work in. “The art loft was a project that came up over the summer,” Bastida said. “We wanted to make it into a place where artists could work, or just regular students that come up here to take a break.” Bastida worked alongside instructional assistant Dolores White, art department chair Jodie Hooker and faculty advisers Patricia Wood and Craig Martinez to make the loft open for student use. According to Bastida, the art loft was mostly empty before they decided to make use of it for students to come up and work on their things. Brad Carps, who had his art displayed in the ARC library stairwell earlier this fall, uses the art loft to
work on his art. “Its one of the best places to get the best natural light on campus,” Carps said of the loft. The upstairs loft has large windows on one side of the room, lighting it up and creating a lighting that is enjoyed by the artists. “The art loft is basically an open art lab for members of the fine arts club to go to work on their projects,” Carps went on to say. Carps explained that he used to work in the library before the art loft was made available. “There’s a whole bunch of computer science labs, for example, but there wasn’t an area for artists to just go and draw,” Carps said. “It’s a fun place to work and you can also do homework in there too,” Carps said. Aerial Sudds, ARC student and vice president of the art club, took part in helping to make the art loft ready and available for student use. “The art loft has been up there for ages, but it didn’t get the use it deserves at all because the lighting up there is so juicy.”
Sudds uses the art loft to work on her paintings for her painting class on campus. “I sometimes come early before my painting class and go up there and paint,” Sudds said. Sudds described working in there as “a very calm and collective environment”. “It’s really cool working with other artists up there,” Sudds said. “Especially everyone just gets together and works on these little wood blocks”. Erica Campbell is another vice president of the art club, and she contributed in making the art loft ready for student use. “It’s so sunny and nice up there,” Campbell said of the space that she uses to work on her art. Campbell talked about improvements that they planned on making to the art loft to make the loft more inviting. “We want to put some plants up there to make it more inviting,” Campbell said. “We’re (also) looking to see if we can get more time opened up”.
Sacramento State University student Jessica Williams had her “Butts: Concepts and Color Theory” series displayed at American River College’s Shadow Box Gallery last week. Williams, an ARC alumni, said her reason for choosing such an unusual part of the human body is, “butts have historically been used in a very comical way. Artists have used them to rebel against the viewer by putting an ass at the very front of their painting. I’ve taken something that is historically unaesthetic and comical and reimagined the way we look at it.” Williams said that she expected her work to be controversial among ARC students. In fact, it’s one of her goals. “I want people to have that initial reaction that I had and think it’s crude or profane, to not take it seriously as an artistic dialogue ... I want them to ask themselves ‘what is this illustrating’ and start looking at in terms of an actual artwork,” Williams said. “I want that dissonance. That dissonance is the point that I’m trying to make.” Williams said her ultimate goal as an artist is just “be happy.” “I believe that art is for the artist. The reason that I make art is because making art makes me happy and brings me joy. When other people find joy in my art or find meaning in my art that is a bonus. But even if they don’t, I don’t feel that it invalidates my artwork. I still like what I do.” She plans on graduating from Sacramento State and pursuing a career in education. “I want to teach art … art is dying in schools and that breaks my heart because that’s one of the only things that excited me about school growing up,” said Williams. “I believe that art is essential to human beings. I hear so many people say ‘I’m not an artist. I can’t draw.’ but you can. Being human is being an artist.” William’s work was on display from Oct. 18-31.
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November 2, 2016
ARC prof honored by SN&R
ARTS & CULTURE
Inside the ‘Ill Mind of Hopsin’ Story by Luis Gael Jimenez | luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com
KIEFER NAMED BEST CREATIVE WRITER By Jared Smith sjared33@gmail.com
Photo courtesy of Christian Kiefer
Christian Kiefer gave advice to aspiring writers: don’t plan a list of books. Finish the first one.
W
hen you look into the eyes of rapper Hopsin, it’s hard to look away. The artist has a certain je ne sais quoi quality about him. That, and a pair of shock-white contacts make him look more akin to what a goth kid thinks a rapper should look like. The contacts, the music and the hyper-aggressive lyrics that focus on the problems of today’s world: these are the things that make Hopsin an outlier in the modern rap game. An outlier, who has amassed more than 12 million followers on social media and nearly 400 million views on YouTube. It might seem like he has no trouble standing out in a crowd, but that has not always been the case. There was a point when the aspiring artist was struggling to find himself an audience on MySpace. This was before the contacts, before the record deal, before the feud with Soulja Boy. Back when he was just a teenager, trying to catch his big break on a website full of people trying to do the exact same thing. And while his attempts at fame were lost in the sea of top friends and custom profiles that was MySpace, somebody at Ruthless Records (the record company founded by rap legend Eazy-E) saw the potential in Hopsin. The only problem: Hopsin joined the company about ten years too late. Eazy-E died of complications due to HIV/AIDS in 1995. The company was being run by E’s widow, Tomica Wright. Fans of Hopsin’s music will recognize Wright’s name, as Hopsin has never been shy to mention the details of their work relationship. Hopsin and Ruthless were unable to see eye-to-eye on the direction of his career. The split was less than amicable. It was around the same time that the artist was able to get his first major hit, “Sag my Pants,” a song that has become an anthem for his fans across the world. Hopsin had no idea what he had on his hands at the time. He said that he thought the song “would be a little booster for my career. I had no idea how much it
ery hand in the venue was raised high into the air as bodies began rushing the stage. This was the same venue where Hopsin dove unexpectedly into the crowd and had to surf an ocean of fans to get away from the security guards, who had no idea what was going on. This madman, however, has built up a shrewd business acumen over the course of his exceptionally controversial career. After burning the bridge with Ruthless Records, he started his own label, Undercover Prodigy. Since his new label was born in early 2016, he has yet to sign any new artists, but when he does Photos by Luis Gael Jimenez / Arts and Culture Editor don’t expect a Hopsin junior. Above: Hopsin crowd surfs on a sea of fans during his show at Ace of Spades “People have already seen in Sacramento on Oct. 8. Hopsin… you got one you don’t Below: Hopsin is backlit by fog and stage lighting during part of his perneed another one,” he said. “I just formance at Ace of Spades on Oct. 8. want someone completely different. It could be a freaking singer it could be anything... I don’t want someone putting crazy contacts in their eyes.” The rapper’s controversial image can largely be attested to the progression of his series the “Ill Mind of Hopsin” in which he delves further into social and personal issues. In it he talks about the problems he sees in society with modern rap music and whatever else seems to be bothering him at the moment. “I used to claim that hip hop was dead when I was first coming out, it is completely dead now. I have a song called “No Words” Photo by Cheyenne Drury / News Editor because they’re not even saying words anymore.” Hopsin performed songs from “Ill Mind of Hopsin” and more during his Sacramento stop of his “SavageVille” tour. Hopsin has never been one to mince words, and a lot of his work serves as a cathartic process to express his emotions. It seems that Hopsin has grown wiser as his career has progressed. The now 31 year old is thinking about the future, and even retirement. After he puts the microphone down for the last time, he doesn’t plan on fading away into obscurity. “In the future I want to speak was going to take off.” to, he called up three random at schools, but I don’t want to Nowadays, Hopsin uses the fans from the crowd and handed be the guy that walks in and tells song as an opportunity to share the microphone to them, giving kids that the key to success is only the spotlight with some of his them each the chance to rap a 3 steps away. I believe in keepmore die-hard fans. verse. The place nearly erupted ing it real and raw. I want to talk During his show at Ace of when he began selecting audi- to these kids in a way that makes Spades in downtown Sacramen- ence members. It seemed like ev- them realize how hard life can be.”
“
I used to claim that hip hop was dead when I was first coming out. It is completely dead now.
- HOPSIN
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English Professor Christian Kiefer loves to write. He was newly named best creative writer of Sacramento by the Sacramento News and Review (SNR). A modest man, Kiefer joked that the SNR has no taste. Kiefer said that it was a wonderful feeling, and that you always want to be recognized by your community and that Sacramento is a wonderful one. Kiefer feels that in some ways writing is the most important thing he does. He’s really interested in self identity and what makes people, people. “What makes you, you and does your self, dictate decisions that you’ve made and the decisions that you will make,” Kiefer said. He is saying that he is most curious in what makes people tick, and how their past choices influence their future ones. This thought process weaves through everything that he has written, because he feels that fiction writers are really only writing about the self. “Everything is people just trying to figure out what makes us human and why,” he said. Along with writing, Kiefer also teaches English at American River College. Writing and teaching are both very time consuming tasks but Kiefer makes time for both. Kiefer said that it can be hectic, but he has become pretty good at managing his time so that he can make time for both. Kiefer’s priority for writing can annoy his students, but it can also empower them. He said that he feels it empowers students to have a teacher that is active in their field, but students may get flustered when they don’t get their paper back when they want. Along with writing, Kiefer enjoys teaching. He said that his favorite part of teaching is when his students teach him something. He said, “you become a teacher not because you want to teach but because you want to learn.” He only wishes that he didn’t have to grade. “You want everyone to succeed,” he said.
7
November 2, 2016
SPORTS
UPDATES Football The Beavers picked up their fifth win in a row after shutting out division opponents Feather River College on Saturday 40-0. The team is now ranked 2nd in state and 1st in Norcal as they prepare to take on the #4 ranked Butte College this Saturday at home.
Men’s Soccer The team won their third game in a row and the first in their new stadium as they defeated Folsom Lake College on Friday 3-1. Their record now sits at 9-7-1 and the results from their game against San Joaquin Delta on Tuesday were not immediately available.
Women’s Soccer
Photo courtesy of Charles Eieres
American River College defenders run through the mud to make a tackle, during the Beavers’ 40-0 dominant win over the winless Feather River on Oct. 29.
ARC ranked first in NorCal after another dominant win
THE BEAVERS STAND TALL AT 7-1, AFTER DESTROYING FEATHER RIVER By Mack Ervin III
PLAYER OF THE GAME
me3current@gmail.com
#22 Ce’von Mitchell-Ford Runningback 10 carries, 147 yards, 2 touchdowns
Phot
American River College defensive back Sammy Gray rushes on the muddy field during the Beavers’ 40-0 shutout win over Feather River. The team now sits at 7-1 on the season and is ranked first in NorCal and second in the state.
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Very excited with the way we traveled, the way we prepared. We’ve been road warriors thus far.
- JON OSTERHOUT fensive penalties, with the drive ending after safety Moises Valcarcel intercepted a pass from Alexis Archie. American River used three quarterbacks during the game with Griffin Dahn, Chris Guillen, and Max O’Rourke all getting chances to throw the ball, with Guillen throwing the sole touchdown pass to Damen Wheeler Jr. in the fourth quarter, to push the lead to 40.
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Another dominant showing from ARC’s defense allowed the Beavers to shutout the winless Feather River College on Saturday, 40-0. ARC started the game with a four play drive capped off by a 31 yard rush by running back Ce’von Mitchell-Ford to put the Beavers up 7-0, just 79 seconds into the game. The Eagles struggled to put offense together for the first five drives of the game, punting away each time while the Beavers were able to add two more touchdowns thanks to rushes by Eddie Ortiz and Mitchell-Ford. Mitchell-Ford talked about how the offensive line played their part in the rushing game. “I feel like our defense has been amazing so this week coach put an emphasis on the offensive side of the ball,” Mitchell Ford said. “The guys upfront made my job easy, I felt like we did it as a whole today.” Despite two interceptions from ARC, the defense did well to hold Feather River off, only allowing a field goal attempt which was missed by Eagles kicker Julio Vargas. When everything was said and done, the Beavers went into halftime up 31-0. In the 3rd quarter, the game took on a more defensive stance with ARC scoring a safety in the first five minutes of the second half, extending the lead to 33-0. Feather River’s best chance to score came on their next possession, but faltered as they had two touchdown passes nullified by of-
Guillen said that while the game went well, there was always room for improvement. “I think we did really well today, especially in the first half,” Guillen said. “We could always improve but for now we are very happy of how the game went.” Coach Jon Osterhout commented on the team’s ability to win, even while traveling and in poor weather. “A great win,” Osterhout said.
“Very excited with the way we traveled, the way we prepared, and of course the way we played in tough condition.” “We’ve been road warriors thus far. A three hour bus ride down to a night game in Fresno, a five hour bus ride to Siskiyous and we found a way to win there, and then a three hour bus ride with a 1 p.m. kickoff in poor field conditions.” FRC was unable to put together a drive for the rest of the game as the Beavers held on to win their fifth straight game. ARC has allowed 17 points in four games including two shutout wins against Siskiyous and Feather River. Safety/Linebacker Lonny Powell talked about how the defense has stepped up their game this season. “A few people got moved around to different positions and we just continued to work on getting better,” Powell said. “That loss to San Francisco woke us up as a team and we did not want to feel that feeling we did against them again.” ARC now face a difficult challenge against 6-2 division rivals Butte College at home on Saturday.
The team was unable to capitalize on their new home field advantage as they fell to Cosumnes River on Friday 2-0, going a man(woman?) down in the process. The went into Tuesday’s game against Sierra with a 4-11-2 record and the results were not immediately available.
Volleyball The team was able to rebound from their loss to Sac City with two straight shutout wins against Santa Rosa and Modesto to improve to 14-8 on the season. They are currently ranked third in the Big 8 as they prepare to take on Sierra College on Friday.
Men’s Basketball The team will look to rebound from last years 8-18 record as they prepare to get their season underway with a new roster containing only two returners from last season. They get underway next Tuesday against William Jessup JV.
Women’s Basketball Women’s basketball will tip off on Friday when they take on San Jose in the Jocelyn Mancebo Tournament. The team will be hoping to make the playoffs for the second straight season after ending with a 15-13 record in 2016.
Men’s Water Polo The Men’s water polo team finished it’s season with a five game losing streak, with the last loss coming to Sierra College, 16-7. The team finishes the year with a losing record for the 4th straight year, ending at 4-15.
Women’s Water Polo The Women’s water polo lost their last game of the season to Sierra College by the score of 16-15 last Wednesday. The loss leaves them with a 6-15 record, including going 4-3 in conference.
8
November 2, 2016
SCENE
UNITE speaks on BLM BRAVE SPACE LETS STUDENTS VENT By Solange Echeverria solangerecheverria@gmail.com American River College’s Universal eNgaging Inclusive Transformative Education (U.N.I.T.E.) program is spearheading a series of events that address the Black Lives Matter movement and the painful impact of the controversial police killings of black men and women. Since Aug., UNITE has been trying to spread campus awareness on incidents with law enforcement and the Black/African American community. A memorial site was created inside the Student Center and followed up with a Brave Space on Wednesday focusing on implicit bias. The discussion series “Changes and Recovery” is designed to help all members of the community including law enforcement to come together to heal and work towards building a strong community for everyone according to Brett Sawyer of UNITE. “As an institution of higher learning, we aim to invoke thought,” Sawyer said in a previously published open letter to the Current. “We also recognize the disproportionate targeting that African Americans face from law enforcement in society at large, and that this impacts many of our students here at ARC. It is our intent to stand in solidarity and empathize with the Black community.” The mood in the discussion was somber and reflective. The conversations are confidential; the Current was invited to stay and observe but in order to maintain the sense of safety and trust, no recordings or pictures were allowed. “We at UNITE feel it is important for ARC to have a safe place to talk about these issues because it directly affects and concerns members of our campus,” said Jeremiah Graves, a UNITE member and one of the event’s student organizers. “We want to do our best to provide a platform where these issues can be discuss and addressed.” Some participants spoke of the need to work together with law enforcement, others felt that the impact and legacy of America’s slave owning past has embedded us as a country with wounds that we have yet to heal from, which causes fear and mistrust on both sides. Organizers feel that addressing the needs and concerns of both the Black community and law enforcement are critical in order to find solutions. “Everyone should be included as part of the solution because the problem isn’t so simple to solve,” Graves said in an e-mail. “It would take a collective effort from all sides and point of views. Right now we are focused on what we can do locally and here on campus at ARC.” For more information on these events stop by the UNITE office located in the HUB.
Photo by Jared Smith / Staff
Dr.Christopher Emdin speaking about Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), and Hip-Hop fusion in the community rooms, Thursday, Oct. 20. Many students showed up to listen to Dr. Emdin relate learning to Hip-Hop culture.
Blending hip-hop and STEM AUTHOR AND PUBLIC SPEAKER MIXES MUSIC, SCIENCE AND JUSTICE By Solange Echeverria solangerecheverria@gmail. com UNITE hosted Chris Emdin, bestselling author and public speaker who uses the art of hiphop to keep students, especially students of color, engaged in science on Thursday. The community room at ARC was full, with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students and aficionados and non-STEM folks alike. “I came because my sister read his book and (brought) me here,” said Susan Fischer, ARC student. Fischer, studying for a degree in education, said his words resonated with her. “It just blew me away because it wasn’t just about science, it was about justice, learning, everything. It was real,” Fischer said. Emdin’s talk was an engaging mix of hip-hop, science lecture and impassioned call to arms to help our youth bridge the chasm in the sciences.
ON THE WEB For weekly coverage of college hours, UNITE events, guest speakers and lecture series at ARC, go to ARCurrent.com “Hip-hop is universal, it speaks to disenfranchised, disconnected youth around the world, it’s therapy,” Enmin said. Edmin addressed the growing disparity between children of color and their quality access to education and careers in STEM. “If a STEM (student) has no root, there’s no fruit,” Emdin said repeatedly throughout his talk. That chasm is abysmally wide. According to a 2006 report by the National Science Foundation, black men and women made up only 2 percent of employed scientists respectively. Hispanic men and women fared equally, and Asians only
fared only slightly better with Asian men at 12 percent and Asian women at 5 percent. In an age when the economy is becoming more and more dependent on technology as a driving force in the actual delivery of those goods and services that move our economy, the concern is that students of color will be left on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to having access to the higher STEM jobs. “There’s a disconnect between what scientists need and what is being taught in the classrooms,” Emdin said. He is a strong advocate for overhauling our education system to force us to examine our own stereotypes both conscious and unconscious and how they impact learning. “When educators believe certain young people are inherently violent, they are scared to reach them … a teacher who believes their students are violent, does not have to say it aloud,” Emdin said. “They hold it inside and
then act on it. This is dangerous.” The use of hip-hop as a natural tool to engage youth in education was, an “intuitive” one for Emdin. “However, even the intuitive gets obscured when you are locked in a school system that inhibits you from seeing yourself.” said Emdin. The connection between hiphop and learning got stronger as he got older as he deliberately employed hip-hop in his own routine. In graduate school, he wrote raps to help him remember information. Hip-hop was always the backdrop during those long, late night study sessions. It was a lesson he carried into his own teaching. “I realized that I could deliberately make these connections for young people and it would help them academically,” Emdin said. For more information on UNITE events, visit the UNITE office in the HUB.
Researcher discusses fallout
NUCLEAR SCIENTIST SPEAKS ON THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF FUKUSHIMA
By Robert Hansen hansenrobj@gmail.com Wesley Frey, director of the UC Davis McClellan Nuclear Research Center, discussed the human health effects of the radioactive plume released from the Fukushima power plant that exploded in 2011, to a group of ARC students on Wednesday. The Fukushima accident was caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami, which led to power outages, and caused the facilities for the external power supply and backup power to be destroyed. Frey addressed speculation
surrounding the negative human health effects along the west coast of the United States, that may be caused by this oceanic plume. “There’s a lot of public concern,” Frey said. “Hopefully by the end of this, you won’t be worried about swimming in the ocean.” Frey said while he was working with Stanford University, he and his team could see faint traces of the gaseous plume passing over about a week after the accident. It was 18 months to two years before the plume of radiation in the ocean reached the West Coast. “The gaseous plume reached
North America in about a week. So this is krypton, xenon, and iodine, all these things are volatile,” Frey said. “Slowly, they fell out of the jet stream and it pretty much covered most of the northern hemisphere in very, very low amounts.” Frey said the infected ocean water reached the West Coast about a year or two ago and that the cesium 134 and cesium 137 is still detectable in the ocean, but that the amount is not high enough to cause radiation damage. An estimated zero to 20 excess cancer deaths per year may be caused by the raised levels.
“Zero people dying from Fukushima each year, not very troubling,” Frey said. “Twenty people, it’s a little troubling. But it’s big uncertainty, zero to 20.” Cheo Vazquez, ARC student, said he had done some research on Fukushima but attended because of his interest in nuclear energy and the possibilities it holds for the future of humanity. “I knew there was some danger but he completely cleared it out of the water, there’s no danger whatsoever,” Vazquez said. “It’s more probable you get struck by lightning than you die from nuclear radiation.”
9
November 2, 2016
SCENE
Religion and social justice MINISTRY IN THE ERA OF BLM By Jordan Schauberger jschauberger94@gmail.com
Photo by Mack Ervin III / Co-Sports Editor
Michael Brown Sr. answers a question from an audience member after a speech at Sacramento State on Oct. 20. Brown talked about his son’s death, how he deals with the aftermath and what he does with the Michael Brown Foundation.
Ferguson in Sacramento MICHAEL BROWN’S FATHER SPEAKS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE AT SAC STATE schatman916@gmail.com “Close your eyes and imagine losing a child. Imagine they’ve been murdered. Now open your eyes. That’s my reality.” Michael Brown Sr., the father of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man who was killed in Ferguson, Missouri two years ago, spoke in the fully packed Sacramento State University Union ballroom on Thursday. Brown relived the story of the night he learned his son had been killed by a police officer. Brown said he received a phone call from his mother and she said she’d had a feeling that something was wrong and that he should go get his son, Michael. A few minutes later his wife received a phone call that Michael had been shot. They rushed over to the crime scene and the police officers wouldn’t talk to them. Brown was only able to get information for the people in the community in which he lived in. He described how his son’s dead body lied on the ground for four hours in 98 degree weather. “The police showed us no respect. That day was so disrespectful. They never said anything to us. They didn’t let us see him” Brown said. The Brown family wasn’t able to go identify the body. “The police identified the body to cover up more evidence and more dirt they were trying to hide,” Brown said. Brown said he decided to do some investigating by himself, so he could learn what actually happened. “Why did they take my son away from me?” Brown said. He started asking people in the community questions to learn more about what happened that night.
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I’m still angry, but we need to focus those feelings somewhere else - somewhere positive.
- Michael Brown Sr. He learned the police officer called Michael the N-word and a punk. “(The police officer) ran over his foot and shot the gun. He blew off his thumb. He got scared and ran … the police officer caught up to him and told him to get on his knees. Then he shot him three more times after he (complied).” Brown refused to look at autopsy photos and any other social media pictures of Michael’s dead body. The Brown family decided to have a private wake because Michael was so “disrespected” and he didn’t want people taking photos of Michael’s body. “The first time I saw him was at the wake,” Brown said. “I wanted to remember him smiling.” Michael’s death is still affecting the community and is plaguing Ferguson’s citizens with fear. “There are still children over there scared of the police and thinking that they are next.” Taylor Grant, Sacramento State student, shared the impact that Michael Brown’s death has had on him. “Michael Brown’s death changed my life,” Grants said. “I think about life before Michael Brown was killed and after. It was definitely a turning point in my life.Your son didn’t die for nothing. We won’t forget it. Our generation is fighting for the Black Lives Matter movement.” The negative imagery that was associated with Michael’s death forced the Brown family to not
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By Shiavon Chatman
pay attention to the media. “I don’t trust the media. They don’t get paid off the truth. They associated my son with those riots. He didn’t have anything to do with that. They could’ve said something positive. But that’s not what they get paid to do,” Brown said. Brown used the murder of his son to focus on youth development and change his community. Additionally, he founded the Michael Brown Foundation, a nonprofit organization used to empower black youth across the country. “I’ve adopted one school so far in Missouri. We like to let the children know that somebody cares about them,” Brown said. The Chosen Fathers organization is a group of fathers who have lost children due to police brutality, gun violence, and racially motivated crimes, including Trayvon Martin’s father, Jordan Davis’ father, and Oscar Grant’s father. Brown decided to start Chosen Fathers because men are usually expected hide their feelings. “A lot of these men never cried,” said Brown. “A lot of these men never grieved, they just went back to work. They’re angry. I’m still angry, but we need to focus those feelings somewhere else. Somewhere positive.” When asked about how young black children are reacting to law enforcement and how we can shape their mindsets to something more positive, Brown be-
BLACK LIVES MATTER
BY THE NUMBERS
188 black Americans killed by police in 2016
25 ness
14 2
had known mental ill-
were under the age of 18
Sacramento residents have been killed gan sharing how his children have reacted to the death of their brother. “I have three boys and mentally they know that the police killed their brother. And in their minds they think when they get older they need to go and kill police officers. But they’re young and their minds aren’t set. We can rebuild our communities” said Brown. Brown felt like he could use what happened to his family and spread awareness and give guidance. “I’ve been going to see a lot of families who have lost their children I feel like my mission is going out to help other families.” When asked what was something about Michael that most people don’t know, Brown smiled and said his son liked to rap, he was great with his hands, and he can take anything apart and put it back together. Michael’s favorite color was blue but always wore red because that was his dad’s favorite color. “A lot of people don’t know that. He is my best friend. He was the best man in my wedding. He was more to me than my son and I feel him all of the time. He’s in my dreams,” Brown said.
The story of Linda Marie Anderson finds a Sacramento woman bloodied and beaten by police, unaware of why she was assaulted and arrested. It echoes eerily similar to the stories of many black Americans across the country. Four years later, Anderson’s search for a way to tell her story and facilitate change led her to the Faith Covenant Community Church’s (FCCC) panel on reimagining the role of ministry in the era of Black Lives Matter. “I live in fear because of what happened to me and continues to happen,” Anderson said. “I may be the only one out here, but I’m not the only one who knows what happens.” Panel moderator Elika Bernard recognized Anderson’s story as one which many around the country, and within the Sacramento community, are confronted with on a regular basis - and then told that their version is invalid. “The narrative that they sell us is ‘certainly she must have done something wrong,’” Bernard said. “We’re told that those things are not possible because we live in this great society, so how could we possibly be immoral.” Believing that violent and oppressive issues stemming from the racial divide in the United States are only continuing to get worse, the FCCC and the church’s pastor Kendall Young organized the panel on Sunday to discuss what religion’s role is in advancing social justice. They are also planning to organize another event in the near future and hopes to form a team to stand up against racial injustice within the Sacramento community. “We need to raise up our voices collectively and demand the changes that are necessary for us in this society,” Young said. “These injustices are not new to us, but at some point we have to stand in unity to be able to say … we are willing to come together.” Of all of the race-related injustices facing U.S. society today, the one that has arguably made to biggest impact and had the most media coverage has been the issue of race-fueled police killings of black Americans. In 2016 alone, police have shot and killed 188 black people and another 66 people who haven’t been identified by race. These statistics aren’t abnormal to Sacramento, since the community has witnessed the deaths of Dazion Flenaugh and Joseph Mann - both of whom were suffering from mental illness. Arthur Jenkins III said that the issue is perpetuated because media shapes the way that we think about and have faith in the world. “You can’t allow someone to tell you that you didn’t see that,” Jenkins said. “You’re witnesses because you saw it with your own two eyes.“
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Who run ARC? Girls. ARC’S WOMEN EARNED THEIR POWER By Hannah Darden hannah.k.darden@gmail.com In various quiet spots around campus over the course of two days, I sat with four women and talked about the daunting nature of power, intersectionality and the seeming impossibility of student involvement at ARC. These conversations all had one thing in common - we were all women in high-ranking student positions on the ARC campus, we all agreed that American River has been a wonderful place for us to grow as students and young professionals, and we all had intersections that helped and hindered us along the way. The obstacles we faced, however, seem to be products of society, and not the school. We all felt secure in the fact that our appointments weren’t affirmative action hires, or tokenizations. We earned our positions, though not without struggle, on merit alone - and that alone says something positive about the faculty and staff we worked with on the way up. ARC’s campus organizations are run almost exclusively by women. Valencia Scott and Alejandra Hilbert are the Associated Student Body Student Senate President and Vice President, respectively. They are also women of color. Scott and Hilbert felt that their journey to becoming representatives was based on their merit, but Scott said she felt her time on the board last semester was “oppressive.” “When I was running for president, someone on the board literally told me, ‘oh, well you’re black and you’re a woman, so you won’t have a problem getting votes, because that’s just how it works,’” Scott said. Rightfully appalled by the comment, Scott felt discredited, as if her merit as a campus leader had no weight in her campaign. She ran, and won, and now believes her intersectionality helps make her a better leader. Samantha Daniels, editor-inchief of the American River Review, ARC’s literary magazine, hasn’t had the same struggles, but her path was not clear-cut either. Daniels said she never felt discriminated against as a woman, but she worried about her experience and her age. “I’m only 19,” said Daniels. “That was kind of my biggest struggle, was were people going to take me seriously because of my age, and would I actually figure out what I’m doing?” I also spoke with Mary Stedman, vice president of CAEB. She said she hasn’t dealt with any problems due to her gender, but she feels “powerless” because students don’t participate when she works to put information out for them. “At the end of the day, it’s not really us who have the power, it’s the students,” said Stedman. “We are just here to serve them.”
November 2, 2016
OPINION
Not so smart phone CELLPHONES ARE MORE OF A DISTRACTIONS THAN A CONVENIENCE By Jared Smith sjared33@gmail.com Smart phones are easily one of this generation’s greatest new technologies. They allow us to have instant access to the world around us, start controversy in just a few words stamped out with our fingers, find out the results of a football game seconds after it ends, and talk to all of our friends without even speaking. In a society that never slows down, smartphones have become an essential tool that has made our lives so much easier. What most don’t realize is that they are also making our lives harder. Their very convenience is why smartphones are becoming such an issue. They are moving past their benefit and becoming distractions that we can’t live without. This problem can be found everywhere. We drive while looking down, we text while talking to others, we just stare at our phone way too much. You can’t have a conversation with most people today without someone staring at their phone at some point. This is making it so hard for students today to focus during class. There is nothing more distracting than a phone going off in class to the tune of a nuclear alarm. If students were to just put their phones down more often, or turn their phone off during class, they could be more successful in
Photo by Jared Smith / Staff
ARC students in the cafeteria in the student center use their cell phones. Smartphones, while convenient, have become a distraction from schoolwork and even the social lives of students.
their college career. According to the Boston Globe, there was a study done by Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, which looked at 91 schools where 90 percent of the teenagers that attended had cellphones. The study showed that test scores were 6.41 percent higher at schools where cellphone use was not allowed.
We seem to think that we can use our phone while studying or during lectures because we are good multitaskers, but this is false. Multitasking is a myth that just takes more time from us. “Our brains on multitasking aren’t nearly as good as we think they are,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN. Gupta notes that only about 2 percent of the population are
actually good at multitasking. According to the APA, the American Psychological Association, multitasking can cost up to 40 percent more of a person’s time who is multitasking. The easiest thing to do is to put your phone away while walking to class or getting in your car. People lived for hundreds of years without them, so we can live a few hours.
Students should stay current READING THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER WILL KEEP STUDENTS UP TO DATE By Lidiya Grib griblidiya@yahoo.com Most students don’t realize how useful it is to be aware of social events, news, and important information that occurs on campus at American River College. One of the best ways to be aware of current news and events is by reading The Current, the ARC newspaper, which provides certain news that you can’t get any other way. The Current is ARC’s newspaper and online publication that focuses on campus news pertaining to college students. Why should students read the college newspaper? Being ARC students should be reason enough to want to read the college newspaper. As college students, they could be more involved on our campus just by reading the newspaper and being aware of what goes on at the place that we spend most of our day at. The ARC campus is a second home to most students; if they can use other resources and facilities on campus such as the bookstore, the cafeteria, the library, why should the newspaper be an exception? Different students have different reasons for not reading the
newspaper that range from not having enough time to just not being concerned with its content. Chemical dependency major, Tracey Plowman, said she doesn’t currently read the college newspaper due to her busy schedule. “If there is a big story I will read it,” Plowman explained. “I like to read more interesting ones that would pertain to me.” Plowman also explained that there have been a couple of major stories that she read over the course of her college life. Plowman said she read stories about the “threat to the school and another one where a guy went to jail who was blackmailing women.” Computer science major, Joshua Morris also said he didn’t read the newspaper due to lack of time. “It’s not something I normally pick up mostly because I’m here a little bit for classes and then I go to work, and so I’m really just squeezing in school around my work schedule,” Morris said. To “stay current”, Morris reads Reddit for information about what goes on, which doesn’t give information about the ARC campus. “I would be interested in hearing things about students, what they’re doing, and what the campus is doing as a whole” he went
Cartoon by Lidiya Grib / Staff
ARC students aren’t keeping up to date on campus news by picking up the student newspaper.
on to say. ARC student, Ryan Osborne said he doesn’t constantly read the newspaper although he does on a rare occasion. “It’s good to know some things on campus to be aware of, such as things to look out for and events,” Osborne said. Osborne expressed interest in reading about “successful stories about students here that moved on and do things now that are good for the community.” He also talked about his interest in reading stories about things on campus that are not so well known and we don’t hear that much about.
Osborne used to work in the Disabled Student Programs and Services office on campus and said he would like to read more news regarding that and other places on campus that go unreported such as the horticulture building and the health center. Sports games are always announced, opinions about issues are expressed, events and major crimes get reported but sometimes there are many parts of campus that don’t get as much attention as some students might like. Aside from the ARC newspaper, other ways to be aware of what goes on at our campus is the online ARC page, through email notifications, information from counselors and professors, and bulletin flyers that can be seen in the halls or passed around on campus. Students should be aware of what goes on around them on campus and be part of the college community that they are in. It’s easy to just come to classes and leave without ever being interested or involved in college life with other students around us. By reading the college newspaper, students can learn more about what happens around them on campus, what other students are involved in, and what they can become part of.
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November 2, 2016
OPINION
CURRENT EDITORIAL
Voters need to think past the presidency There’s more on the ballot next week than you think - this election cycle is not just a showdown between two inflated personalities, attacking each other to win points in swing states. Yes, this election is frustrating. At every turn, there’s another voter giving up and refusing to vote, because they don’t care enough, or they hate their options. Don’t be one of those voters. Yes, this is a presidential election, but there are also 17 statewide ballot measures and 11 local measures in Sacramento County alone. One U.S. Senate seat and 53 House of Representatives seats are up for grabs. There are 20 districts electing California state senators, and all 80 seats in the state assembly are up for election as well. The country’s power does not lie entirely with the President. In most cases, state laws supercede federal laws, and your local representatives are the ones who write that legislation. Your U.S. senators and representatives take local concerns to make change on a national level. We get to pick them - no pledged delegates, no superdelegates. Just the votes. State and local governments are responsible for building and maintaining roads, running public schools, establishing and organizing police and fire services and providing water to citizens, among other responsibilities. These responsibilities have impacts on the daily lives of Americans and Californians, but the focus during this election is always on the Commander-in-chief. Your state assemblymember is up for reelection on Nov. 8. For those of you who live within a few miles of ARC, or in parts of Carmichael or Rancho Cordova, your assemblymember is Ken Cooley, who represents District 8. That name may sound familiar, from roadside signs pushing you to reelect Cooley, but what do you know about his platform? Can you name his political party? State representation is on a smaller scale, which allows for more intimacy between a representative and their constituents. If you feel your voice isn’t being heard, you’re not directing it at the right
Editorial Cartoon by Lidiya Grib / Staff
The 2016 election has voters focusing on presidential debates, email scandals and allegations of sexual assault rather than the initiatives, ballot measures and politicians who actually make change on a local level.
place - state representatives are always clamoring for comments from the public. They were elected to serve the needs of the people, and they can’t do that without knowing what the people are thinking. The House of Representatives is also holding elections for all of its seats. In the area surrounding ARC, incumbent Doris Matsui is running for reelection against Republican Bob Evans, and in District 7, which represents Folsom, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova, there’s a hotly contested race between incumbent Democrat Ami Bera and Republican Scott Jones. Do your research, and vote based on more than name recognition alone. According to statistics released by Pew Research Center, only about 53 percent
of Americans can correctly identify the political party of their federal Congressional representatives, and a poll by Fusion revealed that 77 percent of millennials (Americans between the ages of 18-34) can’t name one of their state’s U.S. Senators. This ignorance to representation means that America’s democracy is running based on what representatives think their constituents want, rather than basing their legislation off of direct comments from voters. Citizens do send comments to their legislators, but it’s skewed - older voters and dissatisfied voters are more likely to write to Congress. Voting for legislators is important, but what about the actual legislation? You get a say in that, too.
Local measures, of which there are 11 in Sacramento County, are distributed to voters they apply to. For example, Measure P, which would issue bonds to San Juan Unified School District, applies to voters who live within the school district. Check your sample ballot for local measures. Statewide measures, however, will be on every ballot. Several of them have caused a stir in California in recent months, or even years. Local legislation impacts the daily lives of voters, and should be regarded as such. Most local legislation doesn’t get voted on by citizens, however, so we put our trust in the legislators we elect. This election will impact your life. Do your research, and vote smart.
Breaking down the water cooler THE GOOD OL’ BOYS FOUNDATION IN MEDIA IS STARTING TO SHOW ITS CRACKS By Justina Sharp justinasharparc@gmail.com Stories reflect the people telling them, and for far too long those stories have been told by straight white middle-class men, congregating around water coolers to rehash experiences that everyone’s heard before. The media is no different, and cracks are starting to form in this good ol’ boys foundation, with stories that should have been told much earlier seeping through. “There’s nothing new going on,” said Karen de Sa, an investigative reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle, “It’s just now being discovered.” De Sa points to topics such as
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police brutality, the overwhelming imprisonment of black men, and sexual assault on college campuses as examples of stories that come to life when women and minorities are given not just a seat at the table, but a voice above the fray. The mainstream media’s fairly recent acknowledgement of these narratives, which are not news, but history, is reflective of not just the lack of diversity often found in traditional newsrooms, but the lack of power given to those voices. When decades’ worth of sexual harassment and assault allegations against Fox News kingpin Roger Ailes came to light earlier this year, several of the women involved were “disciplined”, a term
Fox used to describe what they apparently viewed as the appropriate response to some perceived misconduct on the accusers’ behalf. These accusers are women who have talent, audiences and extensive careers in their own right, including Megyn Kelly, a Fox news anchor and public figure. Kelly, who has sustained multiple attacks not just against her character, but her career, recalled having to seriously weigh whether or not it was worth reporting her own assault at Ailes’ hands. It is no wonder then, that if the most powerful women in the media are shamed and silenced, they who best know that experience cannot tell the stories of those powerless women who so desper-
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ately need their stories told. “We need people who are going to use their life experience and turn it into news judgement,” said de Sa. Those life experiences are what de Sa herself credits as allowing her to find stories that she serves as the “vehicle” for in her work, including her most recent project, “Drugging our Kids.” The story, about one of the most marginalized groups in the United States, opens with a request from Rochelle Trochtenberg: “I’m going to ask you the imagine that you’re a child in foster care.” From that point forward, the story is uncovered by de Sa, but carried by these immensely diverse youth, who have survived one of the most traumatic experi-
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ences a young person can endure, all through a haze of prescription drugs given to “stabilize” them. This is an incredible example of the power journalists wield to give a platform to the dis-enfranchised by experiencing that which they do not know. De Sa has a metaphor for this mentality, telling students that “I implore you to wear those shoes, and walk in those shoes.” By making a push for diversity of race, gender, community and ideas in the newsroom, not just in theory but in practice, the media would enable themselves to reflect the world around them, not just the water cooler stories they’ve told a thousand times before.
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.
PACESETTER AWARD WINNERS JACC STATE CONVENTION 2016
A student and two staff members dressed in costume for Halloween. The staffers, Sergio Lagunas, center, and Brett Sawyer, right, dressed as the cowardly lion and the tin man from “The Wizard of Oz.”
Costumes on campus FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM ARC’S HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION, GO TO ARCURRENT.COM
Photo essay by Hannah Darden hannah.k.darden@gmail.com Halloween was on at ARC on Oct. 31 as students and staff across campus dressed up in costumes to celebrate the holiday. A group of students and staff from the HUB and the Center For Leadership and Development dressed as the characters from “The Wizard of Oz.” On Halloween every year, different departments across ARC compete to win a trophy, and the defending champions in the counseling department brought their Agame by setting up mini-games in their department. All the games, such as “Minute To Win It,”“The Wheel of Transfer” and “Jeopardy” were based on popular game shows, and members of the staff were dressed as the hosts of each game. This year, however, the HUB prevailed and won the contest with their Wizard of Oz theme and decorations.
Interim Vice President of Instruction Frank Kobayashi stacks cups as part of “Minute to Win It.”
A counseling department staffer dressed as ARC’s “oldest student” and sat in the waiting room.
Alejandra Hilbert, left, and Valencia Scott dressed as characters from “The Wizard of Oz.”
Counseling supervisor Clint Allison dressed as celebrity chef and ARC alum Guy Fieri.