american river
current Vol. 65, Ed.3 • October 1, 2014
Former athlete put away for life SENTENCED FOR 2009 MURDER By Barbara Harvey barbaraapharvey@ gmail.com A former American River College baseball player was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Aug. 1 for a residential robbery and murder he and and three accomplices committed in 2009, the same year he was on the ARC baseball team. Elias Garcia, 27, was Elias Garcia was a r r e s t e d sentenced to life in 2010 for in prison Aug. 1 the murder of Oak Park resident Donald Kirby, 47, who police believe Garcia shot in his apartment at the 3300 block of V Street, following an attempt to rob him of his marijuana. Detectives believe Garcia, 23 at the time of the murder, arrived at Kirby’s apartment intending to rob him. Garcia knew the victim, and believed him to be “an easy target,” according to court documents. Garcia, along with three accomplices, went to Kirby’s home. Kirby answered his front door for Garcia, then attempted to shut
SEE MURDER, PAGE 2
MONSTER MUSICAL SEE PAGE 6
Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
Professors and pale ales American River College English professor Michael Angelone stands in his offce with the equipment he uses to brew his own beer at home.
ARC INSTRUCTORS WHO BREW GIVE COLLEGE HOUR LECTURE ON HISTORY OF BEER Professor Michael Angelone’s basic ingredients for beer
WATER:
6 gallons
YEAST:
1-2 packets dry ale yeast
MALT:
6 gallons
SUGAR: f
Beet sugar for clearer beers, brown sugar for darker beers
HOPS:
Five to seven pounds
BEER DICTIONARY
brandon.nelson916@gmail.com Two American River College professors that moonlight as brewers, crafting and bottling their own beer at home, will host a College Hour lecture on the “History and Science of Beer” on Oct. 2, discussing, among other things, how beer potentially “saved western civilization” during the era of the Black Plague. The event will be held at 12:15 p.m. in Raef Hall, where science professor Rick Topinka and English professor Michael Angelone will give a lecture on the chemistry, process and art of brewing beer. Both professors have been brewing beer at home for a varying amount of years. Angelone has been brewing for about 10 years, whereas Topinka has been brewing for 20. Both professors have offices that are across the hall from one another, and they became friends after talking to each other about home brewing. “We share an interest in home brewing, and so we have talked about it. (Angelone) pro-
FOR A DEFINITION AND SHORT HISTORY OF EACH DIFFERENT TYPE OF BEER, SEE PAGE 10 posed this idea (the College Hour), and so I figured that I love brewing, I love teaching about biology and it seemed like a great opportunity,” said Topinka. The College Hour will have a traditional lecture format as well as a cooking demonstration. During the lecture, Angelone plans to show the beginning processes of brewing beer at home. Topinka, who has hosted other College Hours in the past, expects to see between 20 to 70 people at the event, mostly due to the interesting topic being discussed.
SEE BEER, PAGE 10
President Greene settles in at ARC NEW ARC PRESIDENT FINDS HIS WAY AROUND CAMPUS AND DEFINES HIS PRIORITIES By Kameron Schmid kameronschmid@gmail.com With a little over a month on the job, American River College President Thomas Greene has clearly established his priorities. His first was to be able to get around campus without help and without getting lost. Greene was president of academic affairs and student services at Lake Tahoe Community College prior to coming to ARC, and admits the two are quite different in terms of size and complexity. “It’s like comparing a hummingbird to an eagle,” said Greene. Because of Greene’s usual outfit of a suit and tie, he was stopped
ARCurrent.com
INDEX
By Brandon Nelson
and asked for directions more than once in his first few weeks, and was often unable to provide help. According to Greene, one lost student even said she wished Greene was “the president” and could tell her exactly where to go. “I started laughing and said, ‘Well, I am the president,’ and she said, ‘No you’re not, you’re kidding.’ So I handed her a business card and she started laughing hysterically,” said Greene. Greene knows his way around campus now, though, and has done his best to get acclimated with both his surroundings and the people on campus.
SEE GREENE, PAGE 3
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News pages 2 & 3 A&C pages 4 & 5
Feature page 6 Sports pages 7 & 8
Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
Thomas Greene, right, tours the ARC campus before the start of the semester. With one month on the job, Greene has learned his way around campus.
@ARCurrent
Scene pages 9 & 10 Opinion page 11
FOOTBALL PAGE 7
@ARCurrent ARC is 4-0 under head coach Jon Osterhout after defeating powerhouse City College of San Francisco on Saturday
October 1, 2014
Page 2
News
Murder: former baseball player serving life CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Jose Garcia / jig.garcia1995@gmail.com
A student walks past the additions to the Student Services building currently under construction. The construction began in May 2014.
Construction moves forward STUDENT SERVICES BUILDING WILL BE COMPLETED IN SPRING 2015 SEMESTER By Cameron Weaver cameron.weaver.arc@ gmail.com The renovation and extension of the Student Services building is pushing forward this fall at American River College as the addition continues to close in on completion. The additional building space will house rooms for a Financial Aid Lab, offices for Financial Aid Representatives and a full lobby. The construction project began in May of this year, with the ultimate goal of expanding operating space for the Student Services building currently on campus to a whopping 6,000 square feet. Chuck Nicholson, who works with SW Allen Construction, is one of the overseers of the project. The success of this enormous project required a strong band of unity and focus on completing the task at hand, as well as strict adherence to established building code laws. “The strenuous structural guidelines and … rules that the contractor must follow created interesting hurdles to the Stu-
dent Service project,” Nicholson said. “With the group effort including the ARC district representatives, the onsite D.S.A. inspector, and the H.M.C. Architects design team, we have not run into a hurdle that we couldn’t jump.” Mark Browning, the Inspector of Record, ensures all state building codes are properly following during the operation. During the excavation, the crew found themselves working around pipes and previous work that had been in place since the 1970s – but this is nothing new for an experienced team. “You’ll find these usually on any college campus,” Browning said. “I’ve inspected Los Rios campuses for eight years, and we’ve always been able to overcome and find solutions with the help of the District.” The stages a construction project goes through on campus, from beginning to end, are varied and detailed. According to Dan McKechnie, the interim director of administration on the project, the process can take several years. With no immediate roadblocks in sight and the construction team roaring forward, the building is expected to be finished in spring 2015.
ASBNOTEBOOK
By Thomas Santos thmssnts.1@gmail.com The second meeting of the ASB Student Senate this semester included the swearing in of new members and discussion of a trip to the General Assembly of California Community College Student Senates. The meeting included Tamara Dunning being sworn in as ASB Student Senate president after official results from the special election were released by the Center for Leadership and Development. She was presented the president’s gavel by former interim president Leslie Milan Fisher. Jorge Riley, who was elected ASB Student Senate president in last spring’s election over Dunning by a margin of 62 votes, but whose election was invalidated for reasons the administration and the ASB have not disclosed, says he is more supported by the students. “What am I supposed to think about this,” he said. “Obviously, the administration has something to hide. I was robbed.” “I haven’t met anyone on campus that supports Dunning as student body president. The students are not happy that I am not presi-
it once he saw that Garcia was holding a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun. Garcia then shot Kirby in the face. Garcia was accompanied by then 22-year-old Christopher Merrill, 24-year-old Roman Hooker and 21-year-old Calvin Holmes Jr. Hooker, now 27, also received a sentence of life in prison without parole. According to a press release from the Sacramento Police Department, Garcia, Hooker and Holmes were arrested in separate locations on Nov. 11, 2010, exactly one year and two days after the murder took place. Merrill was already in custody for a parole violation. As reported by the Sacramento Bee, trial briefs state that following a December 2009 search of his apartment, where police found the same kind of ammunition used in the murder of Kirby, Garcia attempted to flee to Oklahoma, but was arrested at a Greyhound station in Los Angeles. Garcia was taken back to Sacramento and charged with being an ex-con in possession of ammunition. He pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Garcia was released in August 2010, three months before be-
ing charged with Kirby’s murder. According to the press release, “All suspects were taken into custody without incident and charged with murder, attempt robbery, and burglary.” Merrill and Holmes took deals to avoid being sentenced to life in prison. Merrill pleaded no contest to manslaughter and second-degree attempted robbery, and Holmes pleaded no contest to attempted robbery. The ARC baseball team roster lists Garcia as active on the team in 2009, the same year he committed the murder. Garcia was listed as an outfielder, but was used largely as a designated hitter. Garcia led the team in RBI’s, or runs batted in, but hit a .263 average, the fourth lowest on the team. ARC administrators confirmed to the Current that Elias Garcia attended American River College in fall 2007, fall 2008 and spring 2009, when he played intercollegiate baseball, and that Garcia did not declare a major or receive a degree or certificate. Doug Jumelet, the head coach of the ARC baseball team, was Garcia’s coach in 2009. When asked about Garcia, Jumelet declined to comment in an email to the Current, responding simply “Nope!”
CRIMELOG
n DRUGS: A SUSPECT WAS ARRESTED AT THE INTERSECTION OF COLLEGE OAK DRIVE AND MYRTLE AVENUE FOR THE POSSESSION OF NARCOTICS, LESS THAN AN OUNCE OF MARIJUANA, AND A PROBATION VIOLATION AT 10:23 A.M. SEPT. 18. n CAR TAMPERING: SOMEONE IN THE PARKING STRUCTURE REPORTED AT 12:42 P.M. ON SEPT. 18 THAT THEY FOUND THEIR CAR UNLOCKED MULTIPLE TIMES BUT THAT NOBODY TOOK ANYTHING. NO SUSPECTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME.
n GRAND THEFT: GRAND THEFT OF TWO BICYCLES OVER $950.00 WAS REPORTED AT THE SCIENCE BUILDING AT 8:13 P.M. SEPT. 17. NO SUSPECTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME. n ASSAULT: A SUSPENDED STUDENT WAS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY ENTERING THE CAMPUS, ASSAULT, AND DISTURBING THE PEACE SEPT. 15 AT 7:30 A.M. THE SUSPECT HAD ALLEGEDLY RETURNED TO THE CAMPUS MULTIPLE TIMES.
american river
current Editor-in-Chief Barbara Har vey
Managing Editors Ed Gebing Jr. Emily K. Rabasto
News Editor John Ferrannini
Sports Editor Ashlynn Johnson
Arts & Culture Editor Kameron Schmid
Scene Editor Kevin Sheridan
Opinion Editor Matthew Peirson
Design Editor Adnan Ramic
Web Editor
Brandon Nelson
Multimedia Editor Emily K. Rabasto
Advertising Manager Ed Gebing Jr.
Staff
William Cameron Quincy Clavelle Joseph Daniels Jose Garcia Breana Herndon Walter Jones Lindsey Mar tin Thomas Santos Jessica Vang Cameron Weaver Matthew Wilke
Adviser
Walter Hammer wold
Photo Adviser Jill Wagner
DUNNING SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT AT STUDENT SENATE MEETING
dent,” he added. The main issue that was brought to discussion was student advocacy during the next General Assembly soon to occur. Members of the Student Senate board are planning to make a trip to Los Angeles to discuss student leadership with members of other Student Senates from around the state. Board members who are planning on attending the trip had to turn in their G.A. packet by last Monday, and the meeting is open to all students. Leslie Milan Fisher, Vice President of the Student Senate, made a point, “Our goal is to bring together students…we want to improve quality of life for constituents.” In her last president’s message as interim president, Fisher read a statement to the senators. “Our board is comprised of volunteers with a heart for ARC,” she said. “Our job is selfless, sometimes thankless, and is in no way to be used as an opportunity to make a name for ourselves, create drama, or behave as though we are entitled to anything more than any other student here at ARC. “The most important thing is to trust the
process.” Jeremy Diefenbacher, president of the clubs and events board, had deemed Student Club Day “a success.” He also mentioned that there will be another event for students that will have a “Geeks and Goths” theme. Also, ARC’s literary magazine had won first place in a nationwide competition. Manuel Perez, dean of student services, facilitated the meeting and encourages students to join more student committees. He made a note that he will “do my responsibility as much as possible to remind you that you are a student.” “Let me remind you to be humane to one another. Be nice,” he added. Perez also said there need to be changes in the bylaws as it relates to elections. “The administration, in our review every year of how elections go, there are areas that we have identified in your own governing documents that could stand for some strengthening,” he said. “Not that it was wrong. It could stand for strengthening.” “The meeting went exceptional,” Fisher said at its conclusion. “We were congealing as a team and it was a smooth transition.”
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POLICY The Current is produced by the students of College Media Production, J410-413. All opinions are signed and not necessarily endorsed by the Current staff. All letters and articles appearing in the Editorial, Opinion or Forum sections are not necessarily representative of the Current staff or American River College policy. All articles are the property of the Current. Letters must be typed and can be submitted by mail, e-mail or in person at the following addresses: The American River Current 4700 College Oak Drive Liberal Arts, Room 120 Sacramento, CA 95841 Phone: 916-484-8304 Fax: 916-484-8668 E-mail: Current@arc.losrios.edu www.ARCurrent.com
News
October 1, 2014
Page 3
Greene: Accreditation a priority in first year
Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
Greene sits in his office. Greene’s main goals include preparing for the accreditation process.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 From attending the opening of the fall faculty art show at ARC’s Kaneko Gallery to sitting in the stands at soccer or water polo games after he leaves his office for the day, Greene spends his time out and about as well as in the office. “I think that quite a bit of my early work has been trying to get to know as many people as I can,” said Greene, who added that staff on campus have set up tours for him to familiarize himself with departments at ARC. “There’s an amazing diversity of programs and opportunities for students,” said Greene. In the short term, there are two matters that Greene is focusing attention and energy on: accreditation and campus safety. Campus safety has been a concern recently at ARC, and needs urgent attention,
said Greene. “I recognize that’s something that can’t wait,” said Greene. “I’m trying to understand where we can improve safety in every way, whether it’s prevention, or preparedness in terms of response.” Greene’s other priority, accreditation, is a process run by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, a third party agency who will decide whether or not ARC “maintains standards requisite for its graduates to gain admission to other reputable institutions of higher learning or to achieve credentials for professional practice,” as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. ARC and all other Los Rios colleges will be up for review in January 2015. With all this and more, Greene describes his presidency at ARC so far in one word. “Fast,” said Greene.
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Page 4
October 1, 2014
Arts&Culture
Nevada artists bring pots and paintings THE NEWEST SHOW AT ARC’S KANEKO GALLERY IS NOW OPEN AND FEATURES WORK FROM TWO ARTISTS By Lindsey Martin
lindseymartin51391@gmail.com Two Nevada artists provided American River College students the opportunity to view pieces from their extensive collections at the James Kaneko Gallery’s second show of the semester, “Artworks From The High Desert”. Larry Williamson and Sharon Maczko had years worth of their work adorning the gallery walls and display cases at the opening on Sept. 23. Gallery Director Mick Sheldon acquired the art from Turkey Stremmel of Stremmel Gallery in Reno, Nevada. Williamson, a Virginia City artist, showed a whole collection of his handmade teapots that he has been working on for 15 to 20 years that are inspired by his life and the area he grew up in. “My dad gave me a pocket knife when I was six and I started to whittle,” said Williamson, who was present at the opening. The collection features images of animals and people that have been carved out of a combination of bone, antler, and wood atop detailed teapots that are mostly sculpted of clay.
One piece, which features rabbits dancing on top of a boat filled with coyotes called “Lunch Dancing Teapot” Williamson describes as “a celebration of life.” In contrast to Williamson’s work, Maczko’s watercolor paintings that depict still life and interior scenes are just as eye catching. Maczko’s pieces are mainly inspired by her love for black and white films, and her trademark is the mystery she depicts in her pieces that feature sections of a shabby looking room that relate to things you would see in a Hollywood crime drama. Although Maczko wasn’t able to make it to the show, Sheldon says she describes these pieces as tame in comparison to some of her more cutting edge works, which there is talk of her bringing to ARC. “We have been talking about her bringing three more of her more trouble maker pieces to me, but these are just gorgeous. I really don’t need anymore” said Sheldon, who concluded that “this is the best show in town right now”. “Artworks From The High Desert” Photos by Matthew Wilke / mattwilke675@gmail.com will be showing at the James Kaneko Larry Williamson shows his viewers one of his favorite pieces, called “Lunch Dancing Teapot,” created using Gallery until Oct. 16. cone six ceramic, wood and colored pencil.
“Still Life with American Flags”
“Couple of Old Bone Heads Watching Red Eyed Rabbit”
“Bunny/Quail Boat Dragged Backwards by Snake”
Hands-on jazz clinic features tips from a saxophone veteran By Jessica Vang jessicavang20@gmail.com For anyone who wanted to get tips on playing the saxophone or learn more about jazz music, ARC Music Director Dr. Dyne Eifertsen and saxophonist Steve Lishman put together an event that was “all that jazz” on Sept. 11. Presented by the ARC music department and hosted by Eifertsen, the jazz clinic offered tips on both jazz and playing your saxophone. The event, “A Jazz Clinic by Saxophonist Steve Lishman: Develop and Maintain your Sound,” was a hands-on workshop that covered breathing techniques, listening and internal hearing, mouthpiece techniques, as well as practicing with recordings and partners. During the event, Lishman performed a few jazz solos and later on, jazz students had a turn to play for Lishman and show off their skills. The alto’s and tenors practiced and played together, and Lishman was impressed. Eifertsen mentioned during the event how Lishman used to be his jazz teacher when he was younger. “We used to jam and play together all the time,” said Eifertsen. Eifertsen started playing jazz music in high school and has been a music director at ARC for 13 years. “I love it, absolutely love it, it’s a lifelong dream. I get to work with musicians all day long and it’s so much fun,” said Eifertsen. Lishman has been playing the saxophone for 58 years,
starting at the age of ten, and said he absolutely loves playing the saxophone and that it’s his passion in life. “It started in 5th grade, when I was just drawn to it. I started playing in middle and high school, and done everything as a sax player through the years,” said Lishman. In addition to playing the saxophone, Lishman also can play the clarinet and the flute. Lishman said the ARC jazz department is “outstanding” in his mind. “I’ve taught other classes, and really like the music classes here, it’s just a really great place to teach music,” he says. Lishman was also a student here at ARC in the 60’s and has taught as a faculty member. Nowadays, he plays music professionally at the campus. The jazz band are preparing for a concert in November-- a tribute to Benny Carter, a saxophonist from L.A., in addition to a few jazz combo showcases during November. “It can get hectic, but I’m also a musician, so it’s a typical musician life,” Eifertsen said of the events. In addition to the event, there were some interesting and helpful books on playing the saxophone displayed, which included “The Art of Saxophone Playing” by Larry Teal, and “Top-tones for the Saxophone: Four Octave Range” by Sigurd M. Rascher. If you missed the Jazz Clinic this time around, the Jazz Department will be holding two more, one in October and another in November. For more info on the Jazz department or upcoming events, contact Dr. Dyne Eifertsen at (916) 792-1320.
Jessica Vang / jessicavang20@gmail.com
Saxophonist Steve Lishman was the guest speaker and instructor at a jazz clinic held at ARC on Sept. 11.
October 1, 2014
Arts&Culture
Page 5
ARC professor writes book of short stories
LOIS ANN ABRAHAM’S ‘CIRCUS GIRL AND OTHER STORIES’ IS PUBLISHED BY ARC’S OWN AD LUMEN PRESS By Joseph Daniels joseph64daniels@gmail.com Usually an author would approach a publisher to have their book to be published, but it was a different story for American River College professor Lois Ann Abraham. ARC’s house publisher, Ad Lumen Press, published professor’s Abraham’s collection of short stories, “Circus Girl and Other Stories” this year. “Ad Lumen Press, which is sort of me and (ARC English professor) Christian Kiefer--he read many of my short stories and he said, ‘Let’s do a collection,’” said Abraham. “I don’t like the business of writing. It makes me all insecure and weird. That is common amongst writers. It’s hard to be an entrepreneur and a creator at the same time.” Kiefer said, “She and I shared an office … I knew she was writing short fiction, and she shared with me, and I asked for more, and I finally I just asked her to print it all and I read it all and I thought, ‘This would make a great book’. “When we started the press here, she was one of the three or four books we were for sure we wanted to do first.” The titular story, “Circus Girl,” was originally titled “The Use of Circumstance” and was initially a reaction to a short story by William Carlos Williams called “The Use of Force,” which features a doctor who forced a child’s mouth open with a spoon to see if she had diphtheria. Abraham talked about the evolution of “Circus Girl.” “The characters didn’t even have names in the first version, it was just ‘he’ and ‘she,’” said Abraham.
“I think she was from the circus for about two sentences, and then we’re doing this collection, and I talked with my sister about it in the hotel in Martinique and realized this had to have much more circus in it, even though I didn’t get the title ‘Circus Girl,’ yet. “If it’s going to have Calliope in it and the clown thing, it has to be a lot stronger.” Moving from the writing to the actual layout of the book was a process as well, said Abraham. “The editorial board put together an order in which they thought it should be in. I totally disagreed with it, so we went my way. “The way I thought about it was, so much of my writing is … about a voice, it’s about a teller of a story. I don’t want the “I” in one story to get confused with another “I” in another story, so some of them are in third person. That’s why it goes from third person to first person to third person.” Tammy Ballard, an acquaintance of Abraham, said she gave a copy of “Circus Girl” to a woman who Ballard felt could use the book. “I met a young lady who was really angry, a young teenage girl,” said Ballard. “She was having some problems, and I read (‘Circus Girl’), and thought there are some stories that would be good for her. Clearly she had no one to talk to. She’s been writing and she’s been coming to me once a week now, and she’s letting out. It’s not even about talent, she’s never been opened up to literature and art.” “I never thought of it as useful in that way,” Abraham said. Kiefer said, “‘Mi Casa’ was one of the first ones I read, I loved that story. There is not a story
REVIEW OF ‘CIRCUS GIRL’
Breana Herndon / bherndon96@gmail.com
Left: The cover of “Circus Girl and Other Stories,” by ARC professor Los Ann Abraham. Right: Abraham in her office inside of Davies Hall. Abraham is a faculty English professor.
in here I just don’t love, really. I started with ‘Circus Girl,’ ... there is some sort of immediacy in that story that I think captures the tone and the themes in that book. For me that is the gateway drug to the Lois Anne addiction.” A story at the end of the book called “The Iris in the Garden” is the fourth chapter from the novel Abraham is currently working on called “Stillscape With Ashes,” about a female painter set in the early 1900s in Martinique. Abraham has also finished a novel called “Tina Goes to Heaven” that has yet to be published. “I am still looking an agent for that, a publisher, it’s really miserable business to find an agent,” said Abraham.
IN YOUR HEADS
THE CAST OF ‘YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN’ SHARES WHAT THEY’RE INTO RIGHT NOW
MUSIC: “Panic at the Disco. I’ve been a fan since God knows
how long, but I never listened to a lot of their music. It’s not super punk rock or super poppy, and I like the meanings behind the lyrics.” - Annelies Veldman
MOVIE: “‘Wish I Was Here’. It was Zach Braff’s Kickstarter movie. It wasn’t perfect or fantastic, but it brought to light a couple of interesting idea and it looked at some old ideas in new ways, for instance religion and faith and beliefs.” - Chris Hirtzel
BOOK: “‘Sybil Exposed’. They studied whether or not Sybil was actually a person who had dissociative identity disorder or not. The research points towards no, that it was just people in the media and the doctors wanting attention.” - Rhianna Costiloe
VIDEO GAME: “Persona 4. It’s a one player RPG game. I love games that are driven off of characters and storyline. It’s one of those games where you make decisions for your character and that builds up relationships, and it’s big on strategy.” - Michelle Pollack
TV SHOW: “‘Game of Thrones.’ When I first watched, I loved it
so much that my mom got me the set of books, and now I’ve read those and I’m rewatching the series. It’s interesting how they’ve mixed the books to make the seasons work.” - Tara Mills
By Joseph Daniels
Lois Ann Abraham’s “Circus Girl and Other Stories,” offers brilliant snapshots into peoples’ lives. At Abraham’s finest moments, she makes the reader feel more of a voyeur than a reader. The collection features 16 stories, which opens up with its title story, “Circus Girl.” Most people run off to join the circus, so it goes, but in “Circus Girl,” the protagonist runs away from the circus in hopes for a normal life. This motif of running away for a better life plays again in the book, as seen in “Mary Jesus,” and “A Perfectly Good Marriage.” While Abraham’s stories never veer off into horror, there are moments of strangeness sprinkled here and there in the collection, from Harve Marshall in “Mi Casa” and the therapist who doesn’t seem to think she should be qualified to diagnose another person’s mental health in “Therapy.” There is a misconception of strong female characters, especially by a pop culture that is saturated with super-heroes, is that giving them physical abilities is what makes them strong characters. Abraham creates characters who confront their challenges, stand up for themselves, and learn how to live with loss. While some of the stories end on a positive note, there a few stories that closes off with a hard lesson, such as “You can’t save people from anything.” Abraham does a narrative juggling act throughout her collection of stories, balancing between third and first-person narrators. Each first-person narrator has a distinct voice. There is no way a reader can confuse the narrator from “Dancing in Kansas” with the narrator of “Mercy.” Every line of dialogue feels more like it is spoken rather than written. “Circus Girl” ends with an excerpt from the novel she’s currently working on, promising there is another story up her sleeve.
‘Brony’ culture at ARC By William Cameron cameronwilliam93@gmail.com When many think of “bronies,” their minds may immediately go to thoughts of a strange culture of middle aged menchildren who are obsessed with “My Little Pony,” a show that is supposed to be for children, specifically little girls. Some bronies have been known to write fan fiction centered around the characters from the show and have even drawn graphic images of their favorite characters. However, is brony culture really like this? If you aren’t a child and you follow the show, does that make you a brony? Or are they just like any other fandom? Sarah Sheey, a technical theater major at American River College, is engaged to a brony. When asked about her thoughts on the topic, Sheey said that while there are people who do fit the stereotype associated with bronies, they make up a small portion of the fandom. “It’s sad that thats the face the brony fandom gets because of that small population. If people want to know what brony culture is, watch the show,” said Sheey. Alexander Wrinkle, an economics major and former head of the Republican Club at ARC, dismissed the notion that all adult “My Little Pony” fans were of the stereotype.
“Its pretty much like any other show,” said Wrinkle. Wrinkle believes that every fandom has a darkside and certain people in each will always go overboard with their love of the show. The disdain for the stereotypical brony doesn’t dissuade Wrinkle from the show, either. “Even though the worst of humanity watches a show, if you like it, you should watch it,” said Wrinkle. He went on to say that the show has gone from a small set of friendship lessons to a global change. After hearing that, one’s mind may go to the old “Star Trek” fandom, where what started as a science fiction show became a cultural phenomenon. “Star Trek” first aired in 1966. Now, one can major in the show’s fictional “Klingon” language. And that’s just one of many examples of a fictional universe being adopted by a section of the fanbase as a world to live in. Is it too much to say that perhaps the bronies are just like any small section of fans from any fandom? “My Little Pony” has a darkside like any other fandom. The fact that bronies get all the attention seems a lot like the “nerds” who liked “Star Trek” long ago, and the numerous stereotypes that we all have come to hear about other fandoms as well.
October 1, 2014
Page 6
Feature
Matthew Wilke / mattwilke675@gmail.com
From left, Juliana Nassr, Micah Smith and Chris Hirtzel rehearse choreography from “Young Frankenstein.” The three have been referred to as the “golden trio” by other cast members.
It’s pronounced ‘Fronk-en-steen’ MEL BROOKS’ CLASSIC COMEDY-TURNED-MUSICAL ‘YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN’ HITS THE ARC STAGE NEXT WEEK By Kameron Schmid kameronschmid@gmail.com
Photo courtesy of ARC theater
From left, Hirtzel, who plays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, Smith, who plays Igor, and Nassr, who plays Dr. Frankenstein’s yodeling lab assistant, Inga.
MORE CONTENT ONLINE Read a profile of standout actress Ashley Rose, who stars as Frau Blucher in “Young Frankenstein” at
ARCurrent.com
A monster of a musical is being pieced together by American River College’s theater department, just in time for the month of Halloween. “Young Frankenstein” opens Oct. 10, and promises to be equal parts amusing and boisterous in production. Director Pamela Downs describes the talent level of the production as “near-Broadway,” and also adds that one portion of the show will feature “more people tap dancing on stage than you’ve ever seen in your life.” “Young Frankenstein,” originally a 1974 film written by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder and featured Wilder as the titular character, was adapted into a stage musical by Brooks in 2007. Brooks has described “Young Frankenstein” as his favorite film, hefty praise from one of the biggest names in comedy since the 1960s. “I love Mel Brooks, and I’ve always loved ‘Young Frankenstein.’ The first time I saw it, I just laughed so hard,” said Downs. ARC student and cast member Juliana Nassr is also a fan of Brooks’ work. “I love Mel Brooks. His comedy is so unique to him that you have to use his name. And (‘Young Frankenstein’ is) just a big parody of horror, and it’s so good,” Nassr said. Downs, who teaches a class at ARC on the horror film genre, has thrown in some extra homages to older horror films. “Pam puts in so many wacky ideas ... if you know the original production well, and you come to see this show, you’ll notice lots of differences,” said Nassr.
Photo courtesy of ARC theater
Ashley Rose, left, in character as Frau Blucher, Dr. Frankenstein’s ghoulish housekeeper.
The rehearsal process of any musical is long and tedious, but between the subject matter and the camaraderie of the large cast, spirits have stayed high. “We laugh so much at rehearsals that we should all pay money just to be there,” said Downs. Playing the role of Dr. Frederick Frankenstein is Chris Hirtzel, Micah Smith as Frankenstein’s assistant, Igor. Nassr, Hirtzel and Smith have been dubbed “the golden trio” by the rest of the cast because of the amount of time they spend together at rehearsals and in the play. Nassr, who will play Inga, the yodeling lab assistant to Dr. Frankenstein, loves her character. “I saw the show last spring, and I fell in love with Inga,” said Nassr. “She’s so carefree and fun, but she also has such a great comedic timing about her. “She just has a quirkiness but she’s still natural. And people also kind of forget that she’s really smart and has done her studies.” On Oct. 18, “Young Frankenstein” will feature a dinner theater in coordination with the culinary arts department of ARC. “The food will have a Transylvanian flair to it, but also contain homages to Mel Brooks’ comedy. You attend the dinner first and then walk over to the theater and watch a fantastic show,” said Downs. The Oct. 24 showing will begin at midnight, particularly “for the students, who keep later hours than most do,” said Downs. Attendees are encouraged to come wearing their Halloween costumes. “Young Frankenstein” will run from Oct. 10 to Oct. 26. For ticketing information, call (916) 4848234 or visit www.seatyourself.biz/arctheatre.
Photo courtesy of ARC theater
Rodney Reibel plays Frankenstein’s monster, seen here kidnapping Dr. Frankenstein’s wife, Elizabeth, played by Laura Quepo.
October 1, 2014
Sports
Page 7
No wins yet for men’s soccer SECOND HALF WOES HAUNT TEAM SO FAR By Kameron Schmid kameronschmid@gmail.com
Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
ARC wide receiver Namani Parker goes up against CCSF defensive back Shalom Luani. CCSF was ranked third in the state prior to Saturday’s loss to ARC.
Football team shuts out CCSF 13-0 OSTERHOUT CREDITS DEFENSIVE GAME PLAN MADE BY COACHING STAFF IN VICTORY By John Ferrannini jferr1995@gmail.com Running back Deon Ransom ran 71 yards for a touchdown Saturday, helping to lead the American River College football team to a 13-0 shutout over City College of San Francisco. “I feel good,” Ransom said. “Being a running back, it’s all instinct. Anything that helps the team.” Defensive back Robert Sanders intercepted the ball twice in the fourth quarter, denying City College of San Francisco the op-
portunity to make a comeback. “I put myself in the position to score for the team,” Sanders said. “The picks by Robert Sanders sealed the deal for us,” head coach Jon Osterhout said. Osterhout credited the win to the planning of the coaches, particularly the defensive coaches. “It was a great team win, all across the board,” he said. “I really got to give it up to our coaches, they made a great plan and the players came out and executed.” “Wonderful job by Coach Baez and the rest of our defensive coaching staff, (they) came together with a great plan and the
rest of our kids bought in. We just played Beaver football, man,” Osterhout said. Sophomore Tanner Trosin and freshman Peyton Wilfley alternated playing quarterback, with Trosin getting the majority. “I do feel like I work hard enough to get more reps,” Wilfley said. Osterhout said that using two quarterbacks allows them to better see how the game is being played. “We feel real comfortable with both of them,” Osterhout said. “Sometimes it’s nice for the starter to be able to sit back and see
what the defense is doing and get a better feel for the game. We feel great with both of them, so why not play both of them?” Trosin said that the victory was the effort of the whole team, but that there were still improvements needed. “It feels great. We came out and played a real team game,” Trosin said. “Defense stepped it up and offense made some plays here and there, but we’re still gonna go back to the drawing board and figure some things out.” The team’s next home game will be on Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. against the College of San Mateo.
Team advances to 4-0 under Osterhout CCSF WAS RANKED THIRD IN STATE COMING INTO THE GAME, ARC WAS RANKED FIFTH By Kameron Schmid kameronschmid@gmail.com The wins haven’t been perfect, but the record is. Under first-time head coach Jon Osterhout, American River College’s football team has started 4-0, and just this weekend shutout City College of San Francisco 13-0. CCSF was one of the best teams that ARC will play all season and were ranked third in the state before being defeated. ARC came into the game ranked fifth in the state, and will likely move up following the win. Next week though, ARC will host College of San Mateo, a 4-0 team that has been ranked first in the state since the Sept. 22 poll, and will be coming off of a 52-7 blowout win against San Joaquin Delta. Athletic director Greg Warzecka said that both he and Osterhout came to the conclusion that this year’s schedule is one of the hardest that the Beavers have ever faced. “Just to get through CCSF with a 4-0 record is a great start, but next is San Mateo and that’s an excellent football
program,” said Warzecka. After facing San Mateo, the Beavers will move on to playing their own conference for the rest of the regular season. None of the other members of ARC’s conference have a record above .500. All members, in fact, are 2-2, with exception of Siskiyous, who are 1-2 with one game postponed due to a fire in the area. Considering the early success and the road ahead, Osterhout has done a good job of keeping his team focused. “Coach O never lets us look ahead. We always prepare the same, whether it’s Modesto or San Fran or San Mateo, we’re all gonna take the same approach and try to get better,” said running back Austin Hines. And according to backup quarterback Peyton Wilfley, Osterhout also keeps players from getting too sure of themselves before a game. “He just knows how to keep us in check,” said Wilfley. “Whenever we have a bad practice or are practicing as if we’ve already won the game, he puts us in check and knows how to lower our egos.”
Photo by Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
ARC quarterback Tanner Trosin manuvers his way around CCSF defensive players. ARC shut out CCSF 13-0 Saturday.
With a record of 0-7-2, the American River College men’s soccer team and head coach Paul Hansen are running out of answers. There are plenty of questions to ask, though. One that Hansen would like to figure out in particular is what happens to his team in the second half of games. Despite their record, ARC has trailed going into the second half just once, speaking to a theme of falling apart in the second half. “We just don’t finish games,” said Hansen after a 2-0 loss to Cosumnes River College on Friday. The game against CRC was a familiar situation; after looking equally matched through the first period and going into halftime tied 0-0, ARC let two goals in during the second half and looked despondent throughout. ARC complained about every call that went against them, and would visibly slow down after making any mistakes. Goalkeeper Andres Olmeda has seen the way his team responds to being behind. “It’s just things that we don’t brush off. We hold on to a lot of stupid fights and stupid plays too long. I feel like that’s our number one problem, getting over things like that,” said Olmeda. Nobody on the team believes that a lack of talent is the reason the teams remains winless. “We’re competitive in every game, we just haven’t had enough,” said Hansen. Olmeda agreed and said, “We have talented players. We see it in practice and during games we have moments of magic. But it’s just mental toughness.” Hansen believes the youth of the team could be a contributing factor considering there are only five sophomores on a team of 25. “That has an impact, but it shouldn’t be this big,” said Hansen. In a postgame speech to his players that evoked massive frustration with where the team was at, Hansen called on every individual to come back to the next practice with a new attitude and ready to work. “I hope we come together and leave our problems off the field, and have a little more trust in each other. We need to work on our chemistry,” said Olmeda. The good news though is that the Big 8 Conference looks particularly weak this year, and ARC still has a shot if things turn around quickly. “At this point, we’re just going game to game,” said Hansen. “We’re just trying to get our first win. Our league is still winnable … we need to win a couple and get back in it.”
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October 1, 2014
Sports
Water polo team dominates despite inexperience BLACK’S ‘YOUNGEST TEAM EVER’ HOPES TO QUALIFY FOR CONFERENCES THAT ARC IS SCHEDULED TO HOST
By Barbara Harvey barbaraapharvey@gmail.com American River College men’s water polo defeated Santa Rosa Junior College 15-11 on Wednesday, after gaining a significant lead early in the first half that SRJC was unable to make up, despite ARC playing from their bench. Sophomore Lane Goedhart led the team in goals, scoring five before being pulled in the last quarter to replace injured sophomore keeper Mac Jarvis in the goal box. Goedhart was followed by freshmen Alexander Cosgro and Stuart Samouville, who had three goals each. Head coach Eric Black, a vocal presence poolside, used the early lead as an opportunity to give less experienced players a chance to get off the bench and gain valuable game time. “Everyone on our bench are all freshmen. We talked at half about them using this opportunity to play a whole half, which they don’t normally get to do,” said assistant coach Scott McCollum. “I think they just have a need for more game experience to execute and do it as well as our starters.” “The game was pretty much over at half,” McCollum said. Black reiterated the inexperience of the team, but is pleased with the progress they have shown this season. “You know, I think we’re gaining experi-
Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
Freshman Ryan Eyman passes during a game against Santa Rosa Junior College. ARC gained an early lead that SRJC was unable to make up.
ence as we go along. It’s a very inexperienced team that I have this year. One thing about inexperienced players is that they can grow real fast. So this group is growing pretty quickly,” Black said. ARC will host both the NorCal and State championships this year. Black feels that the team has a reasonable shot at making NorCal. “Our goal is to always make playoffs. I think we have an opportunity to do that. We’re going to have to play really well. But
if we can get to the NorCal playoffs with this group, I feel really good about the job that we’ve done, and effort level that they would have put in,” Black said. McCollum, however, feels that it is becoming harder to make NorCal, especially with the inexperience of this season’s team. “It’s gotten much more difficult. The top six teams in Northern California make NorCal. We’ve done it every year, but again this is the least experienced and youngest
team we’ve ever had, so it will be tough for us to be top six,” said McCollum. “State is obviously -- you wanna include that in your goals. It probably won’t happen, but you can always train real hard and hope to shock the world at the end of the season. “This is by far the -- I keep saying this -the least experienced and youngest team we’ve ever had here. But it may be the best team we’ve had as far as teamwork and willingness to learn and improve their skills,” McCollum said.
SPORTSUPDATES
Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
American River College sophomore Taelor Silviera steals the ball in a soccer match against San Joaquin Delta College on Sept. 23. The women finished the match with a tie of 1-1.
UPCOMING HOME GAMES 10/01 Women’s Water Polo vs. Modesto Jr. College 3:30 PM 10/01 Men’s Water Polo vs. Modesto Jr. College 5 PM 10/01 Women’s Soccer vs. Cosumnes River College 3:30 PM 10/03 Volleyball vs. Sacramento City College 6:30 PM 10/04 Football vs. College of San Mateo 6 PM 10/07 Men’s Soccer vs. Taft College 4 PM 10/10 Women’s Soccer vs. Diablo Valley College 3:30 PM 10/10 Volleyball vs. San Joaquin Delta College 6:30 PM 10/14 Women’s Golf vs. ARC Invitational 12 PM 10/15 Volleyball vs. Santa Rosa Jr. College 6:30 PM 10/17 Men’s Soccer vs. Fresno City College 4 PM
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
ARC placed first at the Crystal Springs Invitational on Sept. 26 with a time of 1:49:59 and a score of 43. Three of ARC’s runners, sophomore Patrick Jagerson, freshman Abdul Hamid, and freshman Sean Gregg, placed in the top ten of the individual results with an average time of 5:15.5 per mile.
The team placed second at the Crystal Springs Invitational on Sept. 26 with a time of 1:40:11 and a score of 80. ARC runner Jenica Dodge placed second in the individual results with an average time of 6:15.6 per mile.
WOMEN’S WATERPOLO
WOMEN’S SOCCER
In the Mt. Sac tournament, on Friday and Saturday, the team went for two wins and two losses. They beat Cypress College and Rio Hondo College, with scores of 12-9 and 13-3 respectively. They lost their two games to Long Beach and LA Valley College with scores of 6-7 and 9-13 respectively.
The team had a 1-1 tie against San Joaquin Delta College Sept. 23. SJDC took an early lead but ARC player Theresa Cooper made the goal that tied up the game. This leaves their record at 3-1-2 for the season.
October 1, 2014
Scene
Page 9
Honor Reads panel covers ‘Maus’
PANEL MEMBERS DECLARE ART SPIEGALMAN’S GRAPHIC NOVEL CENTERED ON HOLOCAUST A “MASTERPIECE” By Joseph Daniels joseph64daniels@gmail.com “This isn’t a bedtime story,” said English professor Bob Lyman during the Honor Reads discussion on Art Spiegelman’s comic book “Maus,” on Sept. 5. “This is not a book you give to kids.” “Maus” is a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel which depicts a cartoonist’s attempt to retell his father’s story of how he survived the Holocaust and their difficult relationship. Spiegelman casts the Jews as mice and German soldiers as cats. The Honor Reads panel discussion also featured history professor Paul Bethel and art professor Betty Nelson. “We are not going to do a presentation,” said Lyman. “We want to make this more of a conversation we would have with each other.” At the beginning of the panel, some panel members declared “Maus” the first graphic novel masterpiece. Lyman disagreed, stating that he thinks the first masterpiece is a German’s
Historic heritage oak cut down
children’s book “Struwwelpeter” by Heinrich Hoffman. The panel showed slides of the artwork of Spanish painter Francisco Goya, while Bethel gave the historical context from each art piece, and introduced the audience to underground comic book artists, including Robert Crumb and Lynda Barry, to give the audience context where “Maus” falls into in comic book history. “One of the things I want to do is give a context, a visual contexts,” Nelson said as she showed slides of photos of Auschwitz and the art of jews who were imprisoned, like Felix Nussbaum. Auschwitz was a concentration camp in Poland that also operated as an extermination camp. Maus is one of many artistic depictions of Auschwitz. Bethel said “Maus” was the first graphic novel he read, saying he didn’t know what to say when first offered to read the novel. “Really? You want me to read a comic book? I don’t know if I became a fan of the graphic novel, but I would be willing to read another one,” Bethel said.
Jamila Clemons, a culinary arts major at ARC, said what comes to mind the most when she thinks of “Maus” is “The scene where he’s talking about his brother’s picture. How that the ghost brother was the definite sibling.” “Eastern Europe, Poland in particular, had a larger population of Jews than parts of Western Europe had,” said Bethel. “The reason why there are so many reminiscences of that area is because of there were so many people. The Jewish population of Poland was devastated. 90 plus percent of the Jewish population were killed.” “It’s impossible to read anything about the holocaust without thinking about who I am and who I come from. In my family, there were Jews and few members of the Nazi party. I’m a product of both of those histories,” said English professor Michaela Cooper of “Maus.” Honor Reads will present “A Chorus of Stones” by Susan Griffin on Oct. 15 with philosophy professor David Denman, and also on Nov. 4 with English Professor Michaela Cooper.
American River College staff and other faculty are seeking to find a home for the trimmings of the heritage oak located near the portables. The tree, which has been estimated by ARC staff to be between 400 and 600 years old, was considered a safety hazard after a portion of it broke off and landed on the ground. While the incident occurred on a weekend and did not harm any people or buildings, it was still deemed enough of a hazard to warrant removing the branches of the tree. The staff organizing the project believe the tree had contracted a disease that ultimately caused the branch to fall off. In light of these trimmings, a group of staff and other faculty have come together to save the tree’s trimmings. “It’s an iconic heritage oak … According to some people, it was the inspiration for the school seal. To see the tree go is very sad, a lot of staff have responded to email wanting to help or show their sadness over the loss of the tree,” said Cecilia Baldwin, a printing services operator who is organizing the reclamation project. The group hopes to find a location to store the six rounds the tree stump will produce with potential storage areas being the Kinesiology, Athletics, and Horticulture departments. They have also started a campaign to raise enough money to be able to mill the tree’s wood, which will cost about $2,500. Members of the ARC staff have already donated money to the group’s cause, with
Study abroad going to Italy By Matthew Wilke mattwilke675@gmail.com
STAFF HOPE TO FIND SECOND LIFE FOR TREE THAT IS RUMORED TO HAVE INSPIRED ARC SEAL By Kevin Sheridan kevinsheridan56@gmail.com
Joseph Daniels / joseph64daniels@gmail.com
Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” depicts a cartoonist’s attempt to retell how his father survived the Holocaust during World War II.
Kevin Sheridan / kevinsheridan56@gmail.com
An 18-foot tall trunk is all that remains of ARC’s heritage oak which will be eventually cut down due to safety concerns.
the Vice President of Administration Services Ray Di Guilio donating $1,000 to the reclamation project. Despite the large donation, the group stresses that they will need more donations in order to be able to have the wood milled. “It’s not up to one or two people. The more people we can get involved, the more successful our program will be,” said Don Reid, supervisor of printing services and an organizer of the reclamation project. The group of concerned faculty also wants to start a campus tree advisory committee to ensure other heritage oaks on campus are not lost. In order to set up this committee, they will need representatives from the student body, faculty, and facility management. The group has received many different ideas for what to with the recycled wood, but have not yet reached a decision as of this writing. Ideas for what to do with the wood have ranged from a practical application to an artistic one. “(We want to) turn it into something useful for the campus. Benches, podiums, (or) wall plaques,” said Reid. Research will also be done to find any programs or grants that can help further protect the remaining heritage oak trees, and an assessment of the current state of these trees will be done. Students who want to donate to the staff’s project should visit Facebook.com/ SustainabilityARC.
Students interested in completing their coursework while absorbing the culture of a historic city have until Oct. 27 to register for the upcoming spring study abroad program in Florence, Italy. The courses offered during the program will be taught by instructors from across the Los Rios District and students will be required to take an anthropology course during the program. The courses in the program are relevant to Italian and European language and culture and will also cover anthropology, psychology, history, and English. Organizers of the trip stress that these courses are important for gaining a better appreciation for where students are. “You’re not just visiting a country, you’re actually living in that country, having to figure out your daily life and learn how to make personal relationships with people from Florence,” said lead facilitator of the program, ARC anthropology professor Patrice Gibson. Students will have a museum pass which allows access to local exhibits as many times as they want, as covered by
the initial fees. During the program, students will live in a shared apartment with twin-bedded rooms located in the historical center of Florence. Housing is fully paid under the main fee, however students will need to purchase their own food and personal necessities. Students can also choose to purchase a meal voucher for an extra $545, which allows access to local restaurants, and will provide 30 meals. It is strongly recommended that students bring extra cash to buy food from the local markets. Students who wish to go on the optional pre-tour will pay an extra $995 and will be leaving Jan. 27, staying two nights in Paris and London before proceeding to Florence. The program will cost students $7,795, not including airfare, pre-program tour or community college enrollment fees, with airfare costing an extra $1,400. This program will be also attended by other California community college districts, including Santa Rosa, Diablo Valley and Santa Clara. For the full story and more information about study abroad, go to the Current’s website arcurrent.com.
October 1, 2014
Page 10
Beer: Oktoberfest for ARC Professor Deleon CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Angelone wants to also discuss the book “Beer is Proof God Loves Us,” written by UC Davis professor Charles W. Bamforth, and titled after a quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin. The book explains how beer potentially saved western civilization during the events of the Black Plague. “(Bamforth’s) basic hypothesis is that even children were drinking beer in their porridge in the mornings, because it was seen as a healthy alternative to water,” Angelone said. Angelone feels that students may be surprised to learn that their professor spends his free time homebrewing. “Part of me feels that the culture of Brandon Nelson / brandon.nelson916@gmail.com College Hour is to talk about things you Professor Michael Angelone has been brewing beer for about 10 years. do, both in the classroom and the things His favorite to brew are IPAs or India Pale Ales. that also make you human that you do outside the classroom, and often times BEER DICTIONARY students don’t think instructors have Porter: Originally a blend of three separate beers, porter is interests outside their own disciplines,” a dark beer that was highly favored by english transportation said Angelone. “I’m the English teacher, workers in the 1700s, hence the name “porter.” so (I’m) the last person you expect to do a College Hour event on beer.” Ale: Made from malted barley and warm fermentation, ales To read about more about other Coltend to be more sweeter and fuller than other beers. lege Hours, including one discussing disaster preparedness, go to arcurrent. Stout: A dark beer made using roasted malt or barley, hops, com. water and yeast. Usually the strongest porters.
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My one rule is if you want to drink my home brew you have to come to my house, you have to drink it in my house with me to share to the making of beer.”
MICHAELANGELONE
Lager: A light beer made with a different yeast than an ale. It is also fermented cold.
IPA or India Pale Ale: Is an ale made with more hops than other kinds of beer. Created by English sailors when their beer went bad, they would place more hops in their old beer to make it tolerable. Hops: The flower of the plant humulus lupulus. Hops are used to flavor, scent, or cover up mistakes made in the brewing process. It looks similar to marijuana, due to the fact that the cannabis plant and the humulus lupulus are cousin plants. Dry Hopping: The process of adding hops to the primary fermenter, the maturation tank, or the casked beer after fermentation to increase the aroma and hop character of the finished beer.
Scene
responds to reviews LEONEL DELEON OVERALL:
4.2
HELPFULNESS: 4.3 CLARITY:
4.2
EASINESS:
3.7
CLASSES HE TEACHES MATH 100 MATH 120 By Joseph Daniels
joseph64daniels@gmail.com How often do you check the website? I only check it once every five years. I hear people talk about it for themselves. How do you feel about your rating? I think it’s great for the positive ones. The ones that are poor don’t know what are they’re talking about.
How do you feel about the feature “Professors Strike Back”? I think that’s a good idea, so the professor’s voice (is included) as well. I don’t know if I would ever type on there. Only if I got a really, really bad rating that was ridiculous. Do you think the bad ratings have any influence on how you teach? If there were a lot that were
consistent, I would have to change that. How do you think ARC is rated on “Rate My Professors”? I would probably say it’s good. Some of the teachers are pretty good here. There are a lot of teachers in the math department are a lot better than I am. I have observed them. Do you have any advice for students how to use the website? I would not use it just alone, but I would it use it in conjunction with talking to students in person. You never know what people are going to write it in. I would balance it with other things.
Do you have any experience using “Rate My Professors” personally? I never really cared too much to look at it. I just do my job and do my best. I think all good students say good things about me.
Universities flock to ARC for transfer day By John Ferrannini
jferr1995@gmail.com Representatives from universities from around the country were out in full force Thursday in the liberal arts breezeway for American River College Transfer Day. Rick Ramirez, the director of the transfer center at ARC, says Transfer Day gives students the opportunity to branch out and explore options beyond ARC. “We do this every year,” Ramirez said. “Every fall we do this college fair that focuses on transfer.” “This is great. This is my job. My role on campus is really to pump up our transfer mission. That’s part of what this institution is about – students who transfer to four year institutions,” he added. Mark W. Ishizu, admissions officer for the Air Force ROTC for Sacramento State University, was at a booth spotting potential recruits. “ROTC is a college program that is centered around the college student experience,” Ishizu said. “The reason we are at ARC is that ARC is actually one of our home schools. “The end goal is that the day you graduate with a bachelors degree, you commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. So we’re here communicating scholarship
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CAMPUS PU SE
opportunities, career options and ways to make it work for you,” he added. Natalie Whaley was recruiting for Sierra Nevada College, a small private liberal arts university in Incline Village, Nev. “We typically every year have a lot of transfer students that come in from California community colleges,” she said. “We are a nice option and we offer a half tuition discount for California students who come in to our college from the time they enter to when they graduate.” Another small school at the event was the Dominican University of California, represented by Joshua McCay. “With American River, we have quite a few of our nursing students who have come from here in the past,” he said. “We’re here to explain to future students what we offer as a university and what options we have available.” The California College of the Arts is a school that specializes in, among other things, art and architecture. “We’re located in the Bay Area, which is that great intersection of design and technology,” a representative from the California College of the Arts said. “There’s a lot of great companies that are constantly coming to us to hire our students directly. It’s a great place to go.”
William Cameron / cameronwilliam93@gmail.com
Carlisha Washington, a sociology major, speaks with Lisa Overstreet, the representative of UC Santa Cruz, about the school she represents and the benefits it offers.
Ramirez is optimistic about what can come out of Transfer Day, which he says is integral to the ARC’s mission. “This is part of what we do: having the fair, giving out information, giving students the opportunity to talk to admissions representatives who actually make decisions. It’s a good opportunity for students,” Ramirez said.
What has the ASB Student Senate done for you?
“That’s a good question.”
“I haven’t really noticed anything. I heard they were trying to get summer bus passes – I could have used that.”
-ETHANSPROCK Molecular Biology
-KYLEJOYCE Music Business
“What is that? Is that just like the student government here? Then nothing, I guess.”
-PHILLIPGREY Civil Engineering
“To be perfectly honest with you, what is that?”
-SHAWNYCETALBOT Psychology
October 1, 2014
Opinion
CURRENTEDITORIAL Every teacher at American River College has the right to teach their course however they want, provided it covers the educational goals that are listed on the curriculum provided by the state. Cynthia Unmack, a tenured faculty professor at ARC for over a decade, uses that right actively by asking her students to go above and beyond in the materials they purchase for her Political Science 301 course, a class that is typically only taken for transferring to either a UC or CSU four-year university. Most POLS 301 professors only require one textbook, “Keeping the Republic” by Christine Barbour and Gerald C. Wright. Unmack, however, wants her students to also buy a second book, and purchase a $25 membership to a website with auxiliary assignments that add up to 20 percent of the grade for the entire course. Some students would argue that the way Unmack teaches her class is unfair compared to the standards that other teachers of the same course hold. Ultimately though, it’s Unmack’s right as a professor to decide, and she believes her deci-
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EDUCATION IS A TWO-WAY STREET
sion is made for the right reasons. “I feel like it’s justified because it helps students learn the material. I think it enhances the learning experience, because it exposes them to little extra readings, or videos you can watch,” said Unmack. One seemingly easy alternative would be for Unmack to set up her own set of similar exercises on Desire 2 Learn, or D2L, the free website that all ARC students have access to and all ARC professors have the option to use for their courses. Unmack acknowledges this idea. “Some of it is probably stuff that could be replicated on D2L. I went through it thoroughly and made sure that it would be valuable to the students,” said Unmack. Why, then, do students have to pay for another website to earn anything more than 80 percent in Unmack’s class? Presumably because creating her own quizzes, assignments, and grading them all would be more work than Unmack is willing to do. There are two kinds of instructors at ARC: faculty and adjunct. Faculty, like Unmack, are salaried employees who are paid for
“
It can be frustrating when you put together an interesting lecture or a project and people are checking their phones or sleeping with their head on the desk, or walking out of class.
CYNTHIA UNMACK
ten months out of the year to teach five classes a semester and hold office hours. Faculty members are also paid to establish and update a curriculum, plan lessons, grade students’ work, and stay current in the field they teach. Considering these factors, Unmack is not of the opinion that she is overworked. So, all in all, maybe the question isn’t why hasn’t she made the class easier or more affordable. Instead, maybe the question is why should she if the majority of students don’t care either way? The students at ARC have every right to a say how they are educated, just like the administration and the faculty. But it is rare that a student is engaged enough in a general edu-
cation course to ask these questions, or any questions for that matter. “I think part of it is on the students to at least be willing to ask questions, or approach professors if they need help. That’s why we have office hours, though rarely anyone comes to them. We’re told (students are) afraid of us,” said Unmack. “We can’t know that students need help if they don’t tell us they need help.” Does Unmack feel frustration with the apathetic approach that the majority of students have towards her course? “I think all faculty do. I think in our heads, we visualize a perfect sort of classroom where the students are engaged, and people are
raising their hands and they did all the reading. But the reality is … it can be frustrating when you put together an interesting lecture or a project and people are checking their phones or sleeping with their head on the desk, or walking out of class. It’s frustrating,” said Unmack. This is not a character assassination of Unmack, a spirited teacher who is passionate about her subject and clearly cares about her profession and about what her students think of her. Instead, it is meant to spur a conversation. In essence, the point is that teachers should ideally have a desire to help and reach out to their students, but the students have to make it worth the time and effort. “I think education works better if it’s a two-way street … We do the best we can to learn to be better teachers and stay current in our field, and it’s nice when the students not even meet us halfway, but if we go 75 percent, if they could just come the 25 percent, that would be really nice,” said Unmack. And really, is 25 percent so much?
Don’t blame video games for violent culture
OUTDATED ARGUMENT THAT GAMING INFLUENCES BEHAVIOR DOESN’T ADDRESS ACCOUNTABILITY OF PARENTS By Brandon Nelson
that are often violent,” said a representative from the American Psychological Association. PTC, an educational organization that advocates for responsible entertainment, doesn’t mention that consumers must show ID to prove you are 17 in order to buy “M” (mature) rated games. In fact, they argue the other way. On PTC’s website, they state that children can buy “AO”
the age of 18 can purchase an “AO” game, even with parental permission. Alan Miller, a professor of Race and Gender in the Media at American River College, does not approve of the genre. “As a military veteran with grandsons drawn to violent video games, I believe them to be dangerous because they contribute to the myth that killing is basically fun and without consequences,” he said. Miller also seems to believe that the “problem” has manifested so much by now, there’s no way to get rid of it. “This sulfurous mindset has been promoted for decades by movies and television shows that glorify mayhem. Problem is, these games are so profitable and have infected the culture so much, there’s little likelihood that laws or rating systems are going to lessen the lure of these insidious games for impressionable youths,” he said. Then, isn’t it still ultimately up to parents Photo Illustration by Adnan Ramic to decide what their children are allowed to (adults only) rated games without any paren- play? If the games are so violent, shouldn’t it be tal consent or proof of age. Most retailers in the United States, like taught to children that they’re just games, Wal-Mart or Target, don’t even stock “AO” and if they were to attempt these actions in rated games. Typically, consumers in the real life, there would be serious repercusU.S. must buy these games online, which of sions? Maybe instead of groups working against course requires a credit card. violent gaming, they should advocate for If they aren’t of age, children can only buy teaching gamers to know the difference mature-rated games with a parent present between video games and real life. and with their consent, and no child under
test to the invalidation of Mr. Riley’s election as Student Senate President last spring. Had Mr. Weaver voted, he would have presumably voted for Mr. Riley, which would have made it a tie vote, 77 to 77. One interpretation I have heard is that in that case, Interim President Fisher or I, as either Interim Vice President or as Director of Finance, would have been called upon to break the tie vote: From the ASBARC Student Senate Bylaws: p. 10 “Act XIV. Election by Plurality Vote and Tie Vote 1. Candidates shall be elected by a plurality vote. 2. If a general election results in a tie, the incumbent President, or executive officer next in succession of the respective
board of the Associated Student Body, shall appoint one of the candidates running in the general election.” I would like to thank Senator Weaver for relieving one of us of this pressure, but I still feel that it is unfortunate that, especially as an elected official, he did not exercise his voting franchise. I hope he attends our Student Senate meeting this week on Thursday, September 25, so that we can work together in our elected positions. I also do not believe that anyone is ASBARC Student Senate has heard business major Michael Cook’s concerns. We can neither ignore them nor address them un-
brandon.nelson916@gmail.com Last night, I went on a rampage. I killed several people with my bare hands, and was thoroughly entertained. No, not in real life, but on Xbox Live. Gaming does not make people violent. When will this absurd notion cease to exist? Groups against violent gaming pose the argument that kids who shoot up schools aren’t mentally unstable or simply aggressive by nature. Rather, it’s because they knew better, but played too much “Battlefield” or “Halo.” Some organizations, such as the Parents Television Council, are so caught up in their crusade against violent games, they don’t notice the system in place to keep children from buying them to begin with. In the eyes of organizations like these, parents who don’t care what their kids do, or are unaware of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating system, are not the problem. But do these games truly desensitize people to violence in the real world, making them incapable to aid those who are in need, or in turn, make them more aggressive? Some say the games can actually be beneficial. “Play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception. This is particularly true for shooter video games
SENATOR’S APATHY OUTRAGES ASB PEER Dear Editor, In John Ferrannini’s 9/16/14 article regarding the results of the recent fall special election, I was dismayed to read the comments of Senator Cameron Weaver. I have only seen Senator Weaver once, at the candidate forum last spring. He did not attend our first Student Senate meeting this fall on Thursday, September 11. Senator Weaver’s comment was that he did not vote in the special election as a pro-
LETTERTOTHEEDITOR
less we hear them. I invite him to come to a Student Senate meeting, which are on Thursdays 10:30-noon in the Board Room in the Student Center. or he could communicate with any of us by using our senate email address, which is most always first initial, last name dot asbarc@gmail.com, so mine would be ljones.asbarc@gmail. com. We cannot always act on all concerns as we have many roadblocks, but at least we can listen. I am interested to hear Mr. Cook’s concerns. Sincerely, Laurie V. Jones Director of Finance
Culinary arts major Pa Yang, 21, cleans and garnishes a dish of fried chicken and herbs while working as the assistant chef in the Oak Cafe’s new, updated location which opened its doors Sept. 17.
Order up at the THE TASTIEST
NEW OAK CAFE
BUILDING ON CAMPUS IS NOW OPEN
Photos by Emily K. Rabasto / rabastoe@gmail.com
American River College’s Oak Cafe has been a part of the campus for decades and has recieved its first major upgrade since opening. With brand new equipment and more space, the Oak Cafe is able to serve more customers and the money made from sales at the bakery and restaurant goes directly to the culinary arts department to buy more ingredients and supplies to cook with. The cafe plays music recorded from the music department and displays art from the fine arts department with a purpose of bringing all the art departments on campus together. For more information about the cafe, visit arc.losrios.edu/chef.
Above: During class, students involved in the culinary arts program at American River Collge are constantly making fresh food items sold at the bakery section of the Oak Cafe, including fruit tarts and pastries made with fresh strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. Left: Hospitality management and French major Kaitlyn Buszinski, 19, prepares scones made with coconut, chocolate and almonds to be baked and sold at the Oak Cafe’s new location. Buszinski has worked in the old location before and says the best part about the new bakery area is the space and the ability to offer more food options to students. Right: A cake decorated with coconut and daisies made out of frosting is one of the many sweet options available for purchase.