CURRENT The
Wednesday 09.20.17 American River College Sacramento, Calif. Vol. 69 Ed. 1 DACA ENACTED BY OBAMA
CCC AGAINST ENDING POLICY
DEMOCRATS PUSHING FOR DEAL
Immigration policy was implemented by the previous administration in 2012 to defer deportation for illegal immigrants who entered the country as a minor.
Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley releases statement calling the President’s decision “heartless and senseless ... against American ideals”.
Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi discussed deal with President Donald Trump to protect the statis of current DACA recipients.
ARC lauded for tree care, education CAMPUS NAMED ‘TREE CAMPUS USA’ By Nathan Bauer ntbauer84@gmail.com
serving all students, regardless of immigration status and to providing safe and welcoming environments in which to learn. We will do all within our power to assist students affected by this decision, and we will advocate tirelessly in Congress for a permanent resolution to this issue.” Later on that same day, President Donald Trump tweeted that “Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit the issue!” Shortly after his tweet, multiple influential representatives on both sides of the aisle in Congress came out to denounce the decision made by the Trump administration and promised to work towards legislation that would give legal status to recipients.
This year the Arbor Day Foundation designated American River College as a Tree Campus USA for its commitment to arboreal care and education. ARC joins other colleges like California Polytechnic State University, UC Davis and Sacramento State in becoming a tree campus and is only the fourth two-year institution in California to receive this recognition. The effort began in 2014 when the college’s iconic Valley Oak tree, which was the inspiration for the ARC logo, died and needed to be removed from the portable village. The great oak was over 350 years old and meant a lot to the school, according to Don Reid who is in charge of Printing Services and lead the effort to become part of the Tree Campus USA program. “One day, one of my staff members came in and said ‘they’re cutting that tree down and taking the wood away as firewood. We need to put a stop to that. Do something,’” Reid said. Reid said he realized that there was no way for students, faculty or staff to voice concerns about what to do with the campus trees and he wanted to see that change. He arranged to have the tree milled and the boards were used in campus projects using funds approved by the Associated Student Body Student Senate. Still, Reid wanted to find a more permanent solution that would create a structure to allow people to voice their concerns about the care, removal and disposal of the trees. “I was driving down [Highway] 50 one day and Sac State had this big billboard that said Tree Campus USA designee. We’re super proud of the fact that we got ours again.” said Reid. Reid took a mental note and when he learned more about the Tree Campus USA program he saw it as the perfect opportunity. The college now has a tree advisory committee and a tree care plan. Most exciting of all according to Reid, was the learning service project that crowd-sourced a group of 25 volunteers to geo-tag every tree on campus using their cell phones.
DACA | Page 2
Tree Campus | Page 2
Photo courtesy of Grace Loescher
Protestors gather in downtown Sacramento to protest the Trump administation’s stance on DACA and unauthorized immigrants on Sept. 6.
DACA students prepare for an uncertain future johnalexanderennisiii@gmail.com
A Sept 5. morning announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions about ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has left many of American River College’s undocumented students wondering what lies ahead for their futures in the next six months. DACA is an immigration policy enacted by the Obama administration in June 2012 to defer deportation proceedings and allow eligibility for work permits for illegal immigrants who entered the United States as minors on a two-year renewable basis. According to the Department of Homeland Security’s DACA “Frequently Asked Questions,” page, “Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of in-
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By John Ennis
Ending DACA is a heartless and senseless decision that goes against American ideals and basic human decency.
-ELOY ORTIZ OAKLEY
dividuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred.” Since DACA has ended, protections from deportation and employment authorization documents (EADs) for recipients are set to expire on September 5, 2019 at the very latest. California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley re-
leased a statement on September 5 stating that “Ending DACA is a heartless and senseless decision that goes against American ideals and basic human decency. Those who are affected by this decision were brought to this country as children and are pursuing an education and making contributions to their communities.” The statement also said that the California Community Colleges will “remain committed to
For more ARC coverage, go to www.arcurrent.com
INDEX
2 News 3 Sports
4 Scene 5 Feature
@ARCurrent
6 A&C 7 Opinion
@ARCurrent
FEATURE PAGE 5
/ARCurrentcom From Occupy Wall Street to South America, Journalist Dave Kempa finally finds a home at ARC.
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September 20, 2017
News
DACA | Cont. from page 1
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Tree Campus | Cont. from page 1 The count is currently 1384 and Reid estimates that there are another 500 that remain untagged. The next phase of the project is to identify all of the tagged trees with the assistance of the college’s Horticulture Department. The campus commitment to its trees also provides a unique opportunity for some instructors to enrich student education and bring the classroom outdoors. Botany Professor Renee Shahrokh has a campus tour lab where students use a key of leaf characteristics to identify specific tree varieties. “I like to get them [students] outside on the
Photo courtesy of American River College
The Valley Oak tree that sat in the middle of the portable village was the inspiration for the American River College logo. The tree was cut down after it died and began dropping branches in 2014.
first day so they can learn how to use what they’re learning about leaves to identify the trees,” Shahrokh said. ARC supports a large diversity of trees from all
over the world including giant redwoods, the world’s largest tree, coastal redwoods, the world’s tallest tree and a spanish cork tree that is used to make wine corks and
ASB NOTEBOOK
One day, one of my staff members came in and said ‘they’re cutting that tree down and taking the wood away as firewood. We need to put a stop to that. Do something’
- Don Reid
many others. There are even trees of historical significance; one unassuming tree came from the garden of controversial Roots writer Alex Haley. The origin of the tree was originally buried over fears of vandalism to the
tree, but thanks to the cataloging effort it now has a marker identifying its significance. This diversity gives instructors first-hand examples of ecology, sustainability, the effects of climate change and even social issues.
For weekly coverage of ARC student government, go to ARCurrent.com.
STUDENT SENATE BEGINS SEMESTER WITH ONLY THREE MEMBERS
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By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com On August 31, Student Senate President Deborah Hernandez began the first Associated Student Body meeting of the semester with only three other committee members. With such a small committee, all actions or bills voted on were passed by a unanimous vote of three, zero against and no abstentions, including a $300 budget to be set aside solely for student elections. Though the Student Senate traditionally appoints a representative for communication with other community colleges, Hernandez decided to focus on other priorities. The Student Senate was also asked if they could provide a representative for Region II of the California Community College Student Affairs Association. “However, it is my recommen-
We have no Senate Vice President, we have no CAEB board at all. - Laurie Jones
Photo by John Ennis / Managing & News Editor
Student Senate Advisor Juan Blanco oversees an Associated Student Body Meeting on Sept. 14. ASB began the semester with only three members.
dation that we currently concentrate on internal affairs, rather than external, and we postpone appointing a representative until we are more stable,” Hernandez said. The Student Senate meetings
are not the only section of the Associated Student Body that are affected by such a small representation. “We have no Senate Vice President, we have no CAEB board at all,” said senator Laurie Jones.
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Interested in local and national politics? Read more at arcurrent. com
Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo Editor
American River College Printing Services Supervisor Don Reid stands in front of the administration building on Sept. 7. Reid was instrumental in turning ARC into an officially recognized “Tree Campus USA” school.
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A statement to ARC faculty by the Community College League of California said that “The callous decision by the Trump Administration to end the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is antithetical to American values and abandons the promise made to over 800,000 individuals pursuing the American Dream. This shortsighted political calculation inhibits the aspirations of 222,795 Californians.” At noon on Sept. 6, a group of concerned ARC students, including DACA recipients, as well as faculty held a “DACA Brave Space Discussion” in the Student Center Board Room to discuss what comes next. While open to all on campus to attend, it was asked that privacy and confidentiality be respected. Students were asked not to share another attendee’s story unless otherwise permitted by the individual. Two pages with links to resources for undocumented students were also provided by members of ARC’s Puente Program at the meeting. The resources include links to legal resources and legislation, undocumented student centers, allied organizations, conferences & workshops, scholarships, documentaries as well as books and publications. On Sept. 7, during Club Day, representatives for the Coalition for Undocumented Students and Allies, a resource listed by the Puente Program, said they were unwilling to be interviewed by The Current for this story. Other DACA students on campus that were approached for this story declined to be interviewed for fear of outing themselves publicly as undocumented. Trump later went on Twitter and backpedalled away from his earlier statements saying that it would be up to Congress to bring him legislation to legalize the status of DACA recipients. On Sept. 13, Democratic leaders Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi were invited to a dinner at the White House with Trump to discuss a deal to protect the status of DACA recipients. While both sides admit DACA was discussed, the White House disputes the details and claims that no deal has yet been finalized. Pelosi would later be confronted by a group of angry undocumented protesters at a DACA press conference in San Francisco on Sept. 18. The protesters accused Pelosi of being a liar in regards to her effort to make a deal with Trump to protect their legal status. Pelosi attempted to have a dialogue with the protesters who shouted her down, causing her to walk out of her own press conference.
CAEB, the Clubs and Events Board, is the one of the ASB’s three branches alongside the Student Senate and the Joint Budget Committee. “There [are] the elections at the end of this month, so the first Club and Events Board meeting will be October 3,” Jones said. They will be relying on the upcoming elections on September 26 and 27 to help bolster their numbers, according to Blanco.
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September 20, 2017
SPORTS
UPCOMING
UPCOMING
Women’s Games
Men’s Games
September 20 Volleyball vs. Santa
September 20 Water Polo vs. San
Rosa 6:30 PM
Joaquin Delta 3:30 pm
September 21 Cross Country @
September 21 Cross Country @
Lou Vasquez Invitational 3:30 pm
Lou Vasquez Invitational 3:30 pm
September 22 Soccer vs. Diablo
September 22 Soccer vs. Santa
Valley 6:00 pm
Photo by Luis Gael Jimenez / Editor in Chief
Rosa 4:00 pm
Bucky the Beaver poses in front of ARC student-athletes at an awards ceremony on Aug. 25 honoring those who were able to maintain a GPA of 4.0 during the spring season.
September 24 & 25 Golf @ North/
September 23 Football vs. Fresno
South Invitational 8:30 am
6:00pm
September 27 Volleyball vs. Sac-
September 26 Soccer @ Modesto
ramento City 6:30 pm
4:30 pm
September 28 Water Polo @
September 29 Soccer @ San Joa-
Fresno 2:00 pm
quin Delta 6:00 pm
September 29 Cross Country @
September 30 Football @ San
MJC Invite 2:00 pm
Photo by Luis Gael Jimenez / Editor in Chief
Student personnel assistant Olga Prizhbilov leads a rally at American River College on Aug.25.
Mateo 1:00 pm
Women’s soccer takes first loss of the season
BEAVER’S FOUR-GAME WIN STREAK SNAPPED BY LOCAL RIVALS FOLSOM LAKE COLLEGE
By Hannah Yates whut.hannah@gmail.com American River College’s women’s soccer team lost to Folsom Lake College 2-1 on Friday, ending its four-game win streak. Folsom midfielder Riley Spitzer scored the first goal within nine minutes of the game starting. The Beavers upped its defense after Folsom forward Andrea Martinez scored her team’s second and last goal, but it was too late. While the Beavers were able to fend off of any more goals, they
Photo by Hannah Yates / Staff Writer
Bucky the Beaver kicks the soccer ball around during a halftime show at the women’s soccer game on Sept.15. The Beavers lost 2-1 to Folsom Lake College.
were only able to score once themselves ARC forward Savannah TijerinoSantos made her fourth goal of the season about 59 minutes into the game after being assisted by midfielder Alicia Lutsuk. Tensions were high as increased falls and collisions marked the last half hour, and eventually resulted in two yellow caution cards for ARC. Yellow cards are used as warnings for players. Any player that receives two yellow cards will be sent off of the pitch and the team
will be down one player for the remainder of the game. ARC goalkeeper Cassandra Figueroa saved seven of Folsom’s 12 shots, bringing her up to 29 saves on the season. The last few moments of the game the Beavers pushed hard and had a close shot at the goal, which would have brought the score to a tie, but ultimately failed to find the back of the net.
Athletic department hosts fall season preview By Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com American River College’s athletic department held a season preview where it honored student athletes with 4.0 GPAs, congratulated the reigning Northern California football champion Beavers and encouraged all athletes to approach school with the same tenacity that they do with sports. The ceremony was led by student personnel assistant Olga Prizhbilov on Friday Aug. 25 inside the main gymnasium. Prizhbilov also praised ARC’s student athletes for their continued academic success. “Not many community colleges can compete with us [academically],” Prizhbilov said.
All student athletes who had 4.0 GPAs were presented with honorary medals. Prizhiblov then went on to introduce counselor Robert Quintero. “This man inspired me and I hope he can inspire you in the same way,” Prizhiblov said. Quintero urged students to be aware of the impact that sports can have on one’s body and to not forget the importance of school. “In sports we never know what’s going to happen… [but] no one can ever take away your education,” Quintero said. “Every single one of you has the ability to be an excellent student. That’s why you’re a ‘student’ before [you’re an] ‘athlete,’”
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September 20, 2017
SCENE
ARC professors become students once more NEW PROGRAM PREPARES PROFESSORS FOR THEIR ROLE AS INSTRUCTORS By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com
CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR RE-IGNITES HIS STUDENTS’ PASSION FOR SCIENCE By Brienna Edwards briennaedwards@gmail.com Students crowded a small lab room, leaning on the black counters as they tried to balance on rickety stools. Beakers and Bunsen burners were strewn across each workstation. Lab notebooks with scribbled numbers and shaky graphs drawn on crinkled pages lay beside each student. And in the midst of all the chaos a man sat curly head dipped down as he grades papers from one of the many haphazard piles that sat before him. His goggles are perched over his reading glasses and he is recognizable by his signature tie dye lab coat. Brian Weissbart has been a chemistry professor at American River College since the early 2000s after leaving a non-tenured instructor position at Washington State University. “I was trying to stay ahead of the killer bees,” Weissbart said with a laugh. Originally from Orange County, Weissbart moved up the state for schooling at UC Davis. From there he graduated and moved even farther up north to Washington state, where he spent the next 10 years. As a freshman at UC Davis, Weissbart says he had no real clue what he wanted to do with his life. He knew he liked math and science and thought he’d follow his father—a physician— into the medical field. “He was not particularly encouraging of that,” Weissbart said. Not out of any malice, but because his father Seymour Weissbart believed that doctors no longer had the same freedoms that they used to, and that the business aspect of the medical field was growing more dominant. He wished for his son to follow his dreams and to do what he loved. But his father had little to worry about because as soon as Brian Weissbart stepped foot into his first general chemistry class一a requirement of all science majors 一he knew he had found his calling. “It was magic,” Weissbart said, as he recalled his professor standing before the class executing demonstration after demonstration. “I loved it! In magic when a magician does something they don’t tell you how they did it. But in chemistry they explain exactly how they do it.” Weissbart said one of his greatest hopes is to share his passion with as many people as possible. Weissbart has followed his col-
lege professors’ example and says he tries to incorporate as many demonstrations as he can. He says his favorite class to teach is Chemistry 400, a general chemistry course very similar to his favorite course at UC Davis. He enjoys showing his students the practical real world examples of what they are learning. He tries to get to know his students and to take an interest in their interests. “I feel like people are more motivated to learn if the instructor cares about them,” Weissbart said. His students are proof of the sentiment. Carmen Vinella, an astrochemistry student of ARC, took Weissbart’s General Chemistry class in the fall of 2016. Her favorite part of the class was Weissbart’s teaching methods. He had an approachable demeanor and a willingness to go over something repeatedly until they understood the subject. “I could go to his office hour and talk with him if I couldn’t complete an assignment (due to) personal issues,” Vinella said. “He seemed to take notice when I wasn’t having a good day ‘cause I wouldn’t talk in class.” Vinella says he made her love the subject even more. Wanting to see others succeed seems to be a family trait. Weissbart’s parents wanted everyone to have the opportunity to accomplish their goal. After his father died his mother expressed her wish to have a scholarship in memory of Seymour Weissbart, and after a long discussion they came up with a solution. Each year at American River College, all Beacon Tutors have an opportunity to apply for a scholarship especially designed for them. Every year $500 is awarded to one student to do with as they will. “My dad was a big proponent of, ‘if you’re struggling with something, go get help’ and so Beacon Tutoring goes along with that philosophy I think,” Weissbart said. Adriana Eslamian, an anthropology major, has been a Beacon tutor for two and a half years. She says she became a tutor to help retain the information she learned, and wanted to help people at the same time.
Photo by Brienna Edwards Features Editor
American River College chemistry professor Brian Weissbart wears tie dye lab coats in his classes. He started wearing tie dye during his time as a student in New York.
”I just really enjoyed having him as a professor and so when he asked me to be a Beacon tutor for him, I said yes.” Eslamian said. When Weissbart was working for Washington State, the institution hosted a program that ran seminars on high school chemistry teachers around the country, teaching them different skills and ways to incorporate said skills into the teaching of their students. At the time Weissbart was training the teachers on how to use Microsoft Excel in a lab setting. Because the teachers were not charged for the lessons it was not unheard of for the high school teachers to give gifts in repayment, and so one teacher, a woman from a private catholic school in New York presented him with his first tie-dye lab coat. “I looked at it and put it in the closet,” Weissbart said. “I was like, ‘I don’t wear tie-dye’.” It sat in that closet for about two years until he took a chance, tried it on, and got a great response. However, due to daily wear and tear, Weissbart purchases a new coat every year and takes it to Hippy Bob, an Auburn resident, to have it dyed. All of his previous coats can be found hanging off a hook on the back of his office door.
For someone who dreams of being a professor, the road to teaching may seem simple; he or she must go to all their classes, graduate with a master’s degree or better in their field, apply to every opening available and then finally make it through the hiring process. But then what? For many new hires it can sometimes be difficult to navigate the nuances of campus life. “How is a new faculty [member] supported by the college?” Kahkashan Shaukat, a CIS Assistant Professor who is currently in her first semester at American River College, asked her hiring committee. “There [are] a lot of culture things going on with every institution, so how does one get adjusted, what are the resources on hand?” Shaukat says she was thrilled when she learned ARC launched a program to help these new hires along the way. The New Faculty Academy, is comprised almost entirely of individuals within their first year as full time faculty at ARC. As stated in the welcome letter provided to new members, the Academy, “will introduce you to critical information, resources, and support for your teaching, professional development, campus service, research, outreach efforts and overall student success.” Initially the NFA was the only one of its kind in the Los Rios Community College District; it wasn’t until this semester that both Folsom Lake College and Sacramento City College made the decision to also invest in the program. ARC president Thomas Greene is a strong advocate for the program, which is a is a huge financial commitment for the college. Not only must they pay for the resources and time that the faculty members are required to put forth, but it also requires many members to teach one less class than the average workload and to attend a weekly class on Friday. However, Greene says he saw the program as a good investment for both the staff and the students; now, NFA is in its third installment of new members. “We want them to know we are so happy they are here and the college is going to invest in them,” said Associate Vice President of Instruction and Learning Resources Tammy Montgomery. “So while it sounds like there is a lot of money being put into this, when you think of the fact that we are preparing to keep that person for their careers, it works out.” One of the goals of the NFA is to not only keep an individual but to also provide an opportunity for new faculty members to develop a resource and support system. “It’s about creating relationships and the articulation back and forth, so we create these bonds. And with the cohorts and the bonds and the sharing of resources it’s a pebble in the pond,” said Heidi Bennett, a professor of Business and Computer Science at ARC and the New Faculty Coordinator.
The NFA is exclusively offered in the fall of each year and only one semester is required. It is like any other class, it has a sign-in sheet, assigned readings and even group projects. “The idea of the program is to get to know each other’s disciplines, [and] programs….on this campus,” Bennett said. It all depends on the individual, some may just bring an icebreaker to a meeting, or share a teaching strategy. Others may be sharing their entire program, but every member must participate at some level. Ultimately the goal is to provide a better support system for not only the faculty members but for the students. With professors being more knowledgeable of what the campus has to offer they can point their students in the best direction to nurture their interests, according to Bennett. “This network for the students just gets bigger and bigger and bigger instead of living in the silo,” Bennett said. “We share the same students why should we not be able to connect that students journey?” The NFA also endeavors to help the ARC community with a yearly services project. The first year was Books for Break. Each faculty member had to pick a children’s book that held special meaning and to write a personalized message inside for each child. Hundreds of books were donated to the on campus Child Development Center. The next year’s NFA members wished to initiate a campus food bank. “Our model is going to be based on Sac City’s [Community College], they have students lining up,” said Veronica Lopez, a Nutrition Assistant Professor, who was hired in the spring of 2016 and participated in NFA last fall. The decision as to what the service project will be each year evolves from the cohorts themselves. “What happens I think is we were all sharing a moment,” Lopez said . The NFA is providing faculty members with the knowledge and the avenues necessary to bring major changes to the ARC campus. “We have had faculty on this campus forever who have had great ideas, but you create a cohort with a great idea that is around this campus, the empowerment and the energy that comes with that and the sustainable creativity, wisdom and drive it just like explodes,” Bennett said.
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September 20, 2017
FEATURE
Journalist and professor fights for change The neon red cross that reads “Jesus saves,” hangs over The Union Gospel Mission’s front door. The red glow illuminates the barbed wire fence that holds back the line of sweaty, hungry men waiting to enter. This is the last place they want to be, but for a lot of these men, they are out of options. A lot of them do not have a place to call home. This is the closest thing they have for the night. Tomorrow morning, you will see these men digging through trashcans or panhandling on the street. All of them, except for one: American River College professor Dave Kempa. Kempa, who recently founded his own local news website, gave up his life of luxury for four days to experience life on the streets to write an article for the Sacramento News and Review. Originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, he studied creative writing University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating, Kempa grabbed his passport and flew to South America where he interned at an the Buenos Aires Herald, an English newspaper in Argentina. It was there while Kempa was transcribing stories for an anniversary edition of the paper, that he said he realized the significance of journalism and how he could put his passion for writing to good use. “As I wrote that stuff I started to think about the importance of journalism and I started wondering that might be a good way to put my writing skills to use.” Accepted into graduate school at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU, Kempa started his journey as a journalist and found quick success winning the Robert F. Kennedy Journal-
ism Award considered by many to be the “poor man’s Pulitzer.” After finishing his master’s degree, Kempa packed his writer’s notebook and moved to the Big Apple, where he landed his first job as a journalist at Thomson Reuters. After two years of reporting on global stock markets, Kempa said he felt a void in his life. “I didn’t like it, because I was wondering who I was really helping covering global stock market,” Kempa said. “I really adhere to the old journalistic rule ‘‘comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfort-
able’… so I quit.” Kempa then joined the Occupy Wall Street Movement and started freelancing. Exhausted and broke, he called up his old professor Rick Rodriguez and asked him if he knew anyone who was hiring. Rodriguez told Kempa about alternative news weekly paper in Sacramento just acquired funding to hire a writer to cover poverty issues. Impressed by his resume and his passion for social justice, the editors decided to hire Kempa. Intrigued, Kempa traded in his New York life to move across the country to a city he had never been to. During his time at the Sacramento News and Review, Kempa wrote a range of articles from partying with frat boys on the river to covering the Sacramento’s homeless community from the inside out. SN&R’s then co-editor Rachel Leibrock was immediately intrigued by Kempa’s involvement with social justice issues and his work ethic. “The News and Review is a small team, so Dave was a vital part of that. [He was] contributing stories that really have an impact on the community,” Leibrock said. “He showed a lot of hustle and had a strong work ethic. He had a commitment to the stories and the people who he was covering.” When his time at the
Story by Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com Photos by Luis Gael Jimenez luisgaeljimenez@gmail.com
ARC PROFESSOR LAUNCHES ONLINE NEWS OUTLET TO PROVIDE A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS
Top: Professor Dave Kempa lectures his students at American River College on Sept. 7, 2017 in Sacramento, California. Bottem left: Kempa has won national awards for his journalism and recently founded the Voices: River City news website. Bottom right: A neon red cross hangs over The Union Gospel Mission’s front door in Sacramento. (Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone / Photo editor)
Sacramento News and Review was coming to an end, a colleague reached out to him and told him about a teaching opportunity at American River College. Kempa, who always wanted to teach, immediately applied and got the position. “I really love teaching and I am emotionally invested in the students. I want to see them succeed and it has driven home to me the importance of a pipeline into journalism and it is cool to help young people build their skill set so they can be empowered to go out and change the community,” Kempa said. In his three semesters of teach-
ing, he has brought back courses like writing for broadcasting and photojournalism as well as teaching introduction to journalism and mass media and communication. While balancing teaching and freelancing, Kempa recently launched his website Voices: River City (voicesrivercity.com), a media outlet that feeds those hungry for a different perspective on traditional journalism in Sacramento. “The main reason why I started is that, Sacramento is growing fast, but at the same time we are seeing our newsrooms shrinking and I really wanted to create a space where journalists can go and start the conversations that are important in our community,” Kempa said. Kempa’s goal for Voices: River City is to capture the diverse voices that make up Sacramento. “I want to make sure everyone’s flavor is still there and accessible and really adding to the jambalaya of our town,” Kempa said. Kempa has a lot of support from local writers, many of whom have rallied around his cause. ”This is a labor of love. Everyone who is writing for me knows that I don’t have money and I am letting my writers know that I will have money,” Kempa said. “As we grow our funding, I will pay them more every month, but these are talented people with a lot of heart that believe in this.” Kempa has achieved a lot in his 15 years of journalism and he does not plan on stopping anytime soon. “Stay hungry. Just go and do the work and the more you do the work the easier it gets and the better you get at it. You will affect change, you will impact the community and that is probably the best part of the job,” Kempa said.
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September 20, 2017
Review: ‘It’ brings back Pennywise better than ever
ARTS & CULTURE
‘IT’ CREATES A CASE FOR BEST HORROR FILM OF THE YEAR Though It is far from tropedefying and employs an entirely formulaic structure to its scares from start to finish, an engaging cast of protagonists and an unsettlingly sinister clown sets the movie leagues apart from Hollywood’s all-too abundant cheap horror flicks. In 1990, Stephen King’s novel hit television screens for the first time as a miniseries and was defined by Tim Curry’s perturbing performance as Pennywise—a supernatural creature, crafter of horrors, devourer of children and most importantly a dancing clown. 27 years later, it’s Pennywise’s performance once again that brings It to life as a movie, this time played by Bill Skarsgard. It takes place in the small town of Derry, Maine, where nothing ever feels quite right, and follows the aptlynamed “Loser’s Club,” a band of middle-school misfits who are made to face off against a terrifying thing that rouses every 27 years to abduct and feast on children. The essence of what made Stephen King’s novel horrifying is that this thing—referred to as both It and Pennywise—spent a better part of the time lurking in the shadows of the reader’s imagination. Andy Muschietti’s jerky adaptation of the novel forgoes this entirely in exchange for placing Pennywise front and center. Once you’re past the admittedly fair jumpscares, it isn’t actually all that terrifying. What we do get is the experience of watching Skarsgard bring a new, fantastically vicious Pennywise to life, and a Loser’s Club of talented actors that is impossible not to root for. Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) shoulders the burden of dealing with the loss of his younger brother Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott), while also having to keep the Loser’s club together to avoid the same fate that befell Georgie. Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), Richie (Finn Wolfhard), Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Stanley (Wyatt Olef ) all have their own encounters with Pennywise, and the Loser’s club is all that stands between them and It. The odds are stacked against them until Beverly (Sophia Lillis) enters the picture and brings them together, while Mike (Chosen Jacobs) adds a certain strength to the group. Skarsgard’s performance as Pennywise is sinister and animalistic, and every scene that he’s placed in front of the audience is so engaging that his departure
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It most likely isn’t going to be the scariest movie this year, but odds are strong that it will be the best scary movie. instills a feeling that he’s never quite backed off—that the very next frame, he could spring up once again. Muschietti must have known this. He goes above and beyond to complement the atmosphere Pennywise’s presence creates to make absolutely sure that the audience’s attention is fixated on him, and his use of gyroscoping at points to do so is enrapturing. It’s a completely different interpretation when compared to Tim Curry’s. They’re both outstanding in their own right, but there’s a certain primal quality to Skarsgard’s Pennywise that makes it clear that Derry is a cage of livestock and that he is the predator, up until the very end. If It was to be truly horrifying as a movie, delving into the Loser’s Club’s families and how they’re constantly working to isolate the children would have been a much better way to make it happen. Instead, we have spotlights on fantastic characters, all of whom are brought to life by their actor’s outstanding performances, set apart by repetitive— albeit well-crafted—moments of horror. It won’t have to force fear on audiences or rely on tricks to do so because it has so much more to offer. It most likely isn’t going to be the scariest movie this year, but odds are strong that it will be the best scary movie.
Photo courtesy of ARC theater department
The American River College production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ will run from Oct. 6 to Oct. 22.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ comes to ARC By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com Come and be the guest, at American River College’s production of Disney’s musical “Beauty and the Beast.” This classic story involves a young woman, Belle, who is an outsider in her village who meets and falls in love with a prince who has been cursed by an enchantress to look like a beast. The Beast must learn to love and to be loved for the curse to be lifted. If not, he will remain a beast forever. This rendition of the popular story is being directed by Professor Pamela Downs. According to Downs, her crew are pushing themselves to make the audience feel like they are in the enchanted world of Disney with nearly 100 elaborate costumes custom-made for the play and hundreds of hours devoted into the building of the set. “We have dedicated faculty and students who are willing to go the extra mile,” Downs said.
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They can expect to be drawn into a fairytale... a certain amount of magic to happen...beautiful voices, some amazing dances and spectacle. The show is about spectacle... and we are going to deliver like mad.
- Pamela Downs Downs has promised those in attendance can expect to see magical performances including appearances by a theater-trained dog, young children and three high school students, one of whom will be playing the role of Lumiere, the talking candlestick. “They [the audience] can expect to be drawn into a fairytale. They can expect certain amount of magic to happen. They can ex-
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clairebathory@gmail.com
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By Claire Bathory
pect some beautiful voices some amazing dancing, and spectacle,” Downs said. “The show is about spectacle to some degree and we are going to deliver like mad.” Downs said the show is kidfriendly for those four years and older. No children under four will be allowed into the theater. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ will run from Oct. 7 to Oct. 22.
ARC instructor creates mosaics and murals with help of students By Nathan Bauer ntbauer84@gmail.com Spread across the American River College campus are ceramic murals and mosaics created by Ceramics Professor Linda Gelfman and her students. Gelfman became an ARC faculty member in 2001 and since that time she and her students have created 11 works of art for the campus. The pieces include “Planet Ceramica and the River of Knowledge,” which is located near the Learning Resource Center; “The Dragon Kiln,” which is next to the kiln room; “Rain Dance,” which is located in the breezeway on the Biological Sciences building. There are also unnamed works, in the lobby of Disabled Students Programs and Resources, the doorway to Counseling Services, the Printing Services office, the Business Office, the bookstore, the Horticulture Department and the Natomas campus. According to Gelfman, each piece of art is a very collaborative process between herself and her students; she begins with a general overview and the theme, but leaves the details to her students to imagine and create. “I think to start, I kind of have a little bit of an idea of what we’re
working on. I want to steer the conversation, then we brainstorm,” Gelfman said. Gelfman splits the class into groups, which are each responsible for designing and creating their own section. For the DSPS mural, which Gelfman described as her favorite, she knew she wanted to use arched panels to represent the theme of the piece which revolved around the meaning of education to each individual artist. Students then designed and drew out the imagery based on the overall theme and their brainstorming sessions, with some assistance from Gelfman, to create the completed work. Students then used a bas-relief method to sculpt each panel in clay, then fired and glazed the panels and attached them to a backing so it could be hung in the lobby. The panels are hung consecutively and surrounded by a border of ceramic tiles that were each created by the students. The DSPS mural is of particular significance to the DSPS staff because it was commissioned by art lover and DSPS Counselor Louise Kronick and about seven DSPS students worked on the piece, according to Student Personnel Assistant Toni Peters. “It’s a beautiful piece of art-
work. It’s amazing to have it in the lobby,” Peters said. Gelfman’s most recent project, “Rain Dance,” was made at the behest of Biology Professor Rick Topinka during the recent California drought and represents: “conservation and evolution, and the cycle of life, the circle of water,” Gelfman said. Aside from the raindropshaped panels that adorn the Biological Sciences building there are also a number of individual ceramic animals throughout the breezeway of the sciences building that create a ceramic menagerie. The mural has beens well-received by students Nursing major Kattie Metzelaair expressed enjoyment of the mural and said she liked the collaborative nature of the piece. “It works really well together, it looks like it was a group project,” Metzelaair said. Gelfman said her favorite part of the project was putting up the finished works over spring break and seeing students reactions when they returned to class.
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September 20, 2017
OPINION
CURRENT EDITORIAL
Los Rios must stand up to Trump c@arc.losrios.edu
With President Donald Trump’s recent threat to end DACA and potentially deport nearly 790,000 unauthorized immigrants or “Dreamers” and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ attempts to rollback Title IX policies instituted under Barack Obama’s presidency that outlined how schools investigated campus sexual assaults, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the lives of many Los Rios Community College students will be impacted by our federal leaders in a profound and negative way in the near future. The Los Rios Community College District and American River College have a moral obligation to step in and show support for their students in these turbulent times because the students being most affected are already minority groups that have trouble finding adequate representation to begin with. This is where ARC and Los Rios administration can draw a line in the sand and show support for some of their most vulnerable student populations. On Sept. 5, in an effort to comfort worried students, California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley released a statement defending DACA recipients. “Ending DACA is a heartless and senseless decision that goes against American ideals and basic human decency. Those who are affected by this decision were brought to this country as children and are pursuing an education and making contributions to their communi-
File Photo
President Donald Trumpt a rally in Sacramento on June 1, 2016.
ties. We will remain committed to serving all students, regardless of immigration status and to providing safe and welcoming environments in which to learn,” Ortiz Oakley said. “We will do all within our power to assist students affected by this decision, and we will advocate tirelessly in Congress for a permanent resolution to this issue.” While Ortiz Oakley has made it clear she is looking to protect DACA recipients, her words have done little to lessen the fears these students face each and every day they come to school. Students are terrified. Added on top of the fear of deportation, Dreamers (as well as all students) now also have to worry about how schools and campus police departments across the country are going to handle sex crime accusations due to DeVos’ attempt to undo Obama-era changes to the reporting and investigating of campus sexual assaults. Under the Obama administration, campus police and administration were given strict guide-
lines on how to investigate sex crimes and conduct hearings. DeVos is now looking to rewrite these guidelines in what she calls an attempt to protect victims and those that are falsely accused. “The truth is that the system established by the prior [Obama] administration has failed too many students. Survivors, victims of a lack of due process and campus administrators have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved,” DeVos said in a Sept. 7 speech. Department of Education’s top civil rights official, Candice Jackson agreed, telling the New York Times that: “Rather, the [sexual assault] accusations — 90 percent of them — fall into the category of ‘we were both drunk,’ ‘we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.” It’s sentiments like that which have forced campus sexual as-
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(Los Rios and ARC) have a moral obligation to step in & show support for their students.
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sault victims into hiding and potentially thousands of crimes to go unreported in the process —‚something that is sure to only get worse if DeVos is successfully able to undo Title IX policies. With the heavy stigma that many victims of sexual assault already feel, it is incredible that DeVos and company are calling for what are, essentially, looser guidelines on sex crime investigations and their handling while feeding obviously incorrect information to the public about the nature of college sex crimes. With rising fears of deportation and the removal of laws that were put in place to protect victims, Dreamers will be increasingly left with fewer and fewer options to turn to. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, college-aged women are already at an elevated risk of sexual assault. Factor in that a lot of these Dreamers are afraid to talk to campus police and administration, there is a perfect storm brewing of unreported sexual violence. The bitter irony of the whole situation is that Trump referred to Mexican immigrants as “rapists,” on the campaign trail and now, as he tries to find a way to make it harder for these collegebound immigrants to gain access to an education, DeVos is trying to make it easier for actual college campus rapists to get away with their horrid crimes. And to only add more fuel to this already terrifying fire, a former Los Rios Police Department officer is currently on trial for five counts of rape from his time
By the Current Editorial Board
as a Los Rios and San Mateo police officer. Noah Winchester served as an LRPD officer from Jan. 1, 2009 to Jan. 16, 2015. In that time, he allegedly raped several women before eventually transferring to San Mateo and being arrested and charged for additional counts of rape while serving as a police officer there. The campus administration and police department already failed students once by letting Winchester continue to work after allegations came forward during his time as a Los Rios police officer, it is now up to them to repair the damage they’ve done to their reputation and prove to their students that they can truly be trusted in trying times like these, especially since DeVos is in the process of removing campus sexual assault guidelines. How are students, and undocumented students expected to feel safe in a climate like this? With Washington painting a target on the backs of nearly 800,000 Dreamers and campus guidelines for the handling of sexaul assaults being thrown out of the window nationwide, it is up to the Los Rios Community College District to draw a line in the sand between them and the Trump administration.
ARC needs to be more accessible for disabled students By Nathan Bauer ntbauer@gmail.com American River College needs to do more to expand access for disabled students. The Americans With Disabilities Act requires public institutions to be accessible to the disabled, but the law is often inadequate. Despite ADA modifications, getting around campus independently remains challenging for many wheelchair users. As a lifelong wheelchair user I have dealt with access that ranged from the elaborate to the improvised. The problem arises because opening a door and navigating a wheelchair simultaneously is next to impossible. As a result, disabled students are often unable to get to some classrooms and offices without the assistance of an able-bodied peer. One former statistics instructor, who is now deceased, told me of
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his student who waited more than an hour in the rain because they were unable to get in the building. I have heard other similar stories and experienced them firsthand. The answer to this problem is supposed to be the use of automatic door openers, but poor design decisions makes them inaccessible for many wheelchair users. The real problem with automatic doors almost always comes down to operating the switch or push plate. Former ARC student Riz Gross said about campus accessibility, “I remember there being a lot of accessible buttons around for doors, but a lot of them weren’t on. So whenever I went to go use a button it was kind of pointless.” It is recommended that switch plates be placed between 34 and 48 inches off of the ground. ARC uses the maximum height recommendation throughout the campus. For myself and other disabled
Photo by Luis Gael Jimenez / Editor-in-Chief
Student Nathan Bauer has limited use of his arms and the placement of the trash bin, makes it impossible for him to position his motorized wheelchair properly to hit the button to open the door.
persons who have difficulty using their arms, this is simply too high. There is a solution to this problem, other institutions use two switches; one placed at the recommended height and another between 14 and 24 inches, which allows them to be operated with a
foot pedal. There are also switch panels that are long enough to be accessed by both hand and foot, but neither solution is used at ARC. In addition the automatic doors themselves can be difficult to find. In the newly constructed Stu-
EDITORIAL BOARD
STAFF
ADVISERS
STUDENT WORKER
Luis Gael Jimenez John Ennis Claire Bathory Brienna Edwards Ashley Hayes-Stone
Nathan Bauer Lily Rodriguez Drake Jennifer Langston Hannah Yates
Rachel Leibrock Jill Wagner
Jordan Schauberger
Editor-in-Chief Managing/News Editor Copy Editor Feaures Editor Photo Editor
dent Center, for example, there are only two fully accessible doors that allow for entrance and exit. Both of them were placed discreetly off to the side of the building, off of the main path. Both doors also use low-profile switches that exchanged the traditional blue accessibility symbol for a gray one. These low-impact switches suit the contemporary design of the building very well, but finding a flat 4” x 4” inch gray panel against a gray facade on a building the size of the Student Center will present a challenge for anyone. As ARC upgrades its infrastructure and prepares for the future it is important that the campus maintain the highest standards of equal access. College is hard enough without worrying if you will be able to enter the building your classes are in and disabled students deserve better than to wait around stranded to be rescued by their able-bodied peers.
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
SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
PHOTO ESSAY
Blanca Bastida spray paints the ARC Art Club logo at Park(ing) Day at the State Capitol on Sept. 16.
Art Club
parks its canvas
downtown
Photo essay by Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com Members of the American River College Art Club performed live art and provided art materials for people to created their own art in celebration of Park(ing) Day on Sept. 16, at the Capitol Mall. Park(ing) Day is an international event during which artists, activists, and citizens turn metered parking spaces into public parks for the day. This year’s event’s theme was centered around the Capitol and its support to revive the creative class. The event was held at the Capitol Mall to display solutions for our city with artistic design in mind.
Miguel Miran performs live art at Park(ing) Day.
Max Marchol stands next to his art work.(Photo courtesy of Blanca Bastida)
Blanca Bastida starts to paint on the display canvas.
The ARC Art Club banner, created by the ARC Art Club hangs on display.
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