FOOTBALL COMMITS: MORE ARC PLAYERS HEAD FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES INCLUDING ONE TO CAL PAGE 4 Vol. 67, Ed. 11
NINE ACCUSERS
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Although there were several more accusers who came forward only the nine most provable were used.
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HEARING PUSHED BACK
In light of new accusations, the court date was moved to a month out on May 24.
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‘PUBLIC SAFETY’
DA requested a increased bail from $100,000 to $250,000 as a precautionary measure.
99 CENTS STABBING:
SUSPECT STILL AT LARGE IN ALTERCATION OVER BIKE NEARBY ARC CAMPUS PAGE 3 April 13, 2016
Reefer, booze and GA SENATE PRESIDENT FLIP-FLOPS ON WEED USE AT CONFRENCE By Robert Hansen w1090476@apps.losrios. edu
Courtroom illustration by Allante Morris / Staff
A courtroom sketch shows Chris Hirtzel at his hearing on Tuesday. Hearing was pushed back to May 24. Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom.
Potential rape charge delays sextortion case NEW ACCUSER CLAIMS HIRTZEL COERCED HER INTO PERFORMING SEXUAL ACTS WITH HIM By Jordan Schauberger jschauberger94@gmail.com
Screencapture from Hirtzel’s Facebook
Hirtzel was a prominent actor in the ARC theater department while he attended the college.
A potential rape charge that the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office says will likely be added to the case of former American River College student Christian Brian Hirtzel, who was arrested on Jan. 22 on 18 counts of six different felonies stemming from sextortion allegations, pushed back his hearing date to May 24.
James Wax, deputy district attorney in the cyber crimes unit, said that an additional accuser came forward between court dates and presented allegations that led the DA to pursue a rape charge. Wax said the accuser claimed that Hirtzel hacked into online accounts and stole nude photos of her that he then used under a pseudonym to extort her to “have sex with Chris Hirtzel.” Under his pseudonym, Hirtzel demanded her to videotape her-
StarCrafted lovers
self performing sexual acts with him on several different occasions before eventually having sex with him, Wax said. Wax added that when Hirtzel was initially approached by the accuser he acted unaware to the situation and said “well, we’re both being extorted, so we should just do it.” Wax said the rape charge was by duress and being considered because the accusers said that she was coerced into perform
Hirtzel | Page 3
In 2014, American River College student government members David Hylton and Jeremy Diefenbacher were sent home from the Student Senate for California Community Colleges General Assembly (GA) in Los Angeles due to a substance use issue. Hylton admitted shortly afterward to being sent home for a marijuana-related incident. Diefenbacher declined to comment at the time. Hylton has apologized for his actions at the fall 2014 GA and also repaid a food stipend of about $80. Adviser Juan Blanco announced at Thursday’s Senate meeting that Hylton will be attending the spring 2016 GA. Hylton plans on not repeating the same mistakes as in fall 2014. “I will not be bringing marijuana to the General Assembly,” Hylton said at a recent Senate meeting. “I will not smoke reefer, I will not drink booze.” He said he acknowledged the responsibility that as Senate President his behavior should be held to a high standard. “I’m not taking this lightly,” Hylton said. “This has been going on for over a year. I said I was sorry.” GA for the spring semester will be held in Ontario, California from April 29 through May 1. Hylton is considering getting a cannabis card, however, that would not allow him to smoke marijuana at GA according to its conduct policy. “I’ve been thinking of getting my (marijuana) script,” Hylton
ASB | Page 2
COUPLE REPRESENTS ARC AT COLLEGIATE STARCRAFT TOURNEY By Jordan Schauberger jschauberger94@gmail.com On the backs of games like League of Legends, StarCraft and Counter Strike, eSports has slowly integrated into the traditional sports scene. Two American River College students were a testament to that when they took part in the Tespa Collegiate StarCraft Series over the past three months.
Eric Key and Becky Harris represented ARC as the only community college team to compete in the playoffs, where they entered ranked third in the west before being ousted in the third round by the University of Washington. Sixty teams competed in the west group and 174 teams competed overall. The tournament started with a month of group play before the top 128 teams competed in bestout-of-five single elimination
matches. ARC had a record of 6-1 in group play and 2-1 during the single-elimination rounds. Key first played StarCraft when he was six years old, and has experienced a sizable amount of success in recent years. He currently holds a ranking of master, which represents the top two percent of StarCraft players. Now an up-and-coming competitive player, Key is a part of
StarCraft | Page 5
Photo by Jordan Schauberger
ARC student Eric Key smiles during a win against the University of Utah. Key and teammate Becky Harris, representing ARC, won the game three matches to none but was knocked out of the tournament in the next round.
April 13, 2016
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News
SSCCC replaces March in March ANNUAL EVENT THAT WAS CANCELED LAST MONTH REPLACED WITH ADVOCACY IN APRIL By Robert Hansen w1090476@apps.losrios.edu Advocacy in April, the event to replace March in March, was presented by Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) President Dahlia Salem at Thursday’s American River College Student Senate meeting. March in March was an event organized to support community college student leaders by engaging in legislative visits at the Capitol building, and was made permanent in the fall 2015 SSCCC General Assembly. Salem and Chris Recouvreur, chair of region two of SSCCC, were at the day’s meeting also to address the report that found a lack of transparency against the SSCCC, which did not get addressed due to lack of time. With the nearly 80 page report in front of each member, it was unclear to some why Salem and Recouvreur were there. “I would really like to know why both of you are here,” Sen. James Cortright said. “Neither of you have made it very clear, and we are sitting here with this massive, stack of papers, that is clearly the reason that you both are here.” Salem said her primary reason for coming was to present the Advocacy in April event but would address any other concerns the board had. CAEB President Justin Nicholson dedicated much of his time to March and March and wanted explanation for its cancellation. “I know that March in March was cancelled, for whatever reason,” Nicholson said. “But the information in this packet, makes me feel like March in March wasn’t cancelled, it was killed.” “As the person who lead the charge for ARC to go to March in March I was completely, blindsided,” Nicholson said. “It seems intentional to me.” Salem explained to Nicholson the SSCCC’s reasons for changing the event. “They felt there wasn’t a purpose for it anymore,” Salem said. “The March in March, when it was most effective were during
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current Editor-in-Chief Jordan Schauberger Managing Editor Matthew Nober t News Editor Matthew Peirson Opinion Editor Timothy Lipuma Sports Editor Mack Er vin III Arts and Culture Editor Shiavon Chatman Scene Editor Justina Sharp
Photo by Robert Hansen / Staff
SSCCC President Dahlia Salem sits in on an ARC Student Senate meeting to discuss Advocacy in April event.
the budget cuts of 2008, ‘09.” Salem said that the Chancellor’s office and the Board of Governors are doing their job and that the problem is that the districts have complete autonomy as to how this money is being spent. “That’s the change we need to attack, to actually make change happen,” Salem said. “Thousands of students marching saying ‘No cuts, no fees’...that was a force,” Salem said. “But right now… the state is giving us money. So when state legislature see us marching … that could have tremendous effect on they way they redo the budget next year.” Recouvreur gave his explanation and feelings on Advocacy in April to the board after other agenda items were addressed. Although he said it was a chance to educate the next generation of student officers, he did not agree with the way it was abandoned. “I know it leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” Recouvreur said. “You wanted steak but they have ribs, well I like ribs too.”
“When we look at the facebook chats in that report, it does leave a bad taste,” Recouvreur said. “Because they’re talking about having a carbon copy of this event (Advocacy in April) instead of March in March and that’s what happened.” Recouvreur said that the problem is that when the SSCCC made March in March permanent, it should have followed through, and that the reason for its lack of success last year was due to poor planning. After ARC’s Student Senate dedicated much of its time to March in March, there is question as to why they should participate in Advocacy in April and how many students could even attend with such short notice. Members of the ARC Student Senate are still deciding if they will participate in Advocacy in April. Advocacy in April is to take place on April 21 on the front lawn of the Capitol building and will consist of three major parts. The first will be Advocacy
training sessions, consisting of a general session where student leaders are informed of the bills that are being advocated for. One of the bills being advocated for is AB 1721, which increases Cal Grants and financial aid, according to Salem. The next part will be the rally, based on the topic of “Our State, Our Aid,” and highly focused on the financial aid issues that students currently face, which will feature key speakers yet to be announced and an open mic session. According to Salem, a report came out that found it is more expensive to be a community college student than it is to be a CSU and UC student. This report will be discussed at the rally. The last part will be legislative visits, which will allow student leaders to meet with the state legislature and advocate for higher education. Because of the capacity of the lawn, there is only enough space for 250 attendees.
Multimedia Editor Joe Padilla Copy Editor Hannah Darden Staff Itzin Alpizar Timon Barkley Claire Bathor y Bailey Carpenter Kyle Elsasser Rober t Hansen Nicole Kesler Allante Morris Sharriyona Platt Adviser Walter Hammer wold Photo Adviser Jill Wagner
ASB: Director admits to drinking at past GA said. “(ARC’s) administration shouldn’t be able to tell me I can’t go. That would be discriminatory, especially after they announced I was good to go. “I was drinking,” Diefenbacher said about the fall 2014 GA. “I just don’t want to be sober around these people, that’s why I’m not going,” Diefenbacher said. He said in a later interview with the Current that his reason for not attending is because he has more important obligations to focus on and that he didn’t “want to take the time out” of his day. “I’m on campus 14 hours a day between classes, work and my involvement in student government,” Diefenbacher said. “A three day retreat focused on par-
“
I just don’t want to be sober around these people, that’s why I’m not going.
— JeremyDiefenbacher
liamentary procedure is the opposite of productive at the end of my academic journey at ARC.” According to the GA attendee conduct policy, it is essential for all attendees to act responsibly to ensure that their own conduct and attitude is beneficial to themselves and their fellow participants. The policy also explicitly states prohibited practices of the consumption of alcohol and the possession or use of illegal drugs. Other members attending GA,
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including Director of Affairs Legislative Laurie Jones and Sen. Roberto Garner, both spoke about attending the event. Jones said the expectation of her to behave well at GA is not only as a member of student government but also as an ambassador for ARC. “I would conduct myself the same as last fall when I did attend,” Jones said. “Basically attending the entire event and participating to the full extent possible.”
Garner said he also has no intention of being sent home for inappropriate behavior. “I’m going to be following all the rules and regulations that they implement,” Garner said. “We are representatives of ARC and of the student body so we have to represent (them) by following all the rules.” Director of Communications Tami Dunning will be attending GA not as a part of ARC’s delegation, but rather a member of the SSCCC. Senate used $8,600 to send five members of ASB and a chaperone. Sen. James Cortright and CAEB President Justin Nicholson are the other two members going, while Blanco will chaperone.
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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
April 13, 2016
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Hirtzel: Alleged extortion lasted for years CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Photo by Itzin Alpizar / Staff
A stabbing occurred outside the 99 Cents Store on Auburn Blvd, causing the store to be blocked off by police and creating major traffic delays near ARC.
Alleged stabbing near ARC ALTERCATION OCCURS OUTSIDE 99 CENT STORE AT CORNER OF AUBURN, COLLEGE OAK By Itzin Alpizar itzinalpizar@gmail.com A stabbing occurred after an altercation over a bike between two men outside the 99 Cents Store near the American River College campus at around 5:20 p.m Wednesday, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department public information officer Tony Turnbull. The victim, a 36-year-old male, received non life-threatening injuries in the altercation and there is no suspect description at
this time, according to Turnbull. The store parking lot was blocked off by sheriff’s patrol cars, which caused major traffic delays on Auburn Boulevard and College Oak Drive. Ten sheriff patrol cars and two ambulances were at the scene as the area was taped and blocked off. A helicopter was also flying around the surrounding area. Customers were asked to leave the store and move their cars outside the parking lot area close to the store. “There were employees trying
to go work, trying to clock in and the police wouldn’t let it,” said ARC student Kimberly Wilson, an ARC theater major who was attempting to enter the store. A parking lot security guard asked everyone in the parking lot to vacate the area and did not give an explanation as to why. Employees from the 99 Cents Store said they cannot comment because of store policy. Employees from other businesses said they were asked by customers, but had no information.
“People came and asked me what happened and why there were a lot of cops in the parking lot, but I don’t know. I didn’t see anything,” said Nadia Stupak, an employee at the nearby Factpohom Khi 8 European Deli Market. Turnbull said that an investigation was under way but that the Sheriff’s Department has no further information at this time. The Current will update this story as more information becomes available. Robert Hansen and Matthew Peirson contributed to this report.
SSCCC could have funds frozen
REPORT CLAIMS LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND CORRUPTION AGAINST STUDENT LEADERSHIP
By Robert Hansen w1090476@apps.losrios. edu A report compiled by the Student Senate for California Community College region two council found evidence for corruption, lack of transparency and accountability against the SSCCC. The SSCCC represents 2.3 million California community college students and region two represents American River College along with 10 other community colleges. This report, authored by Chair of Region Two Christopher Recouvreur, had findings which cite numerous Facebook messages referring to the creation of plans and policies outside of open meetings, a violation of the Brown Act. “They’re going to try to say that there were no legalities broken,” Recouvreur said. “I think it’s pretty clear that some were.” According to the report, most of the communications contained in the chat have more to do with wishing the March in
March would not happen, an event that was made permanent in the fall 2015 SSCCC General Assembly. Dahlia Salem, President of SSCCC, was personally mentioned in the report for violations of Brown Act by chatting on Facebook. “The Facebook chats, some folks may argue that they do violate Brown Act,” Salem said. “The purpose of it (Facebook chat) is to make sure that people are reminded of meeting times, dates and tasks that they need to accomplish.” “If folks really had the intention of violating the Brown Act, they would just call each other,” Salem said. Also, there were records requested by several members of the SSCCC including March in March Taskforce Chair Gerson Liahut-Sanchez and Salem, who have yet to submit all requested documents, according to the report. “I don’t feel like it’s all the information we requested, it is pretty bad evidence against them,” Recouvreur said.
The report also recommends that Salem comply with an outstanding California Public Records Act (CPRA) request made by region two. “None of the CPRA requests submitted to the President Dahlia Salem have been fulfilled,” Recouvreur said. Salem said she is planning on submitting the records. Her reasons for non-compliance to this point are for wanting to make sure the appropriate information is sent and that focusing on school has demanded much of her time. “I do think it is important to comply with them (CPRA’s),” Salem said. However, in the report, there is an email with Salem stating “none of the chats you are referring to contain the public’s business.” The report recommends that the BOG and the Chancellor’s office should withhold funding from the Student Senate Council until it can be verified to be in compliance with its own governing documents and California law for at least three months.
“I certainly do not agree with that recommendation,” Salem said. “I think that would definitely be irresponsible to the constituents.” The report goes on to state that the current evidence shows a purposeful campaign of willful obstruction of policies and procedures set forth in California law, education code and the SSCCC governing documents by the Student Senate Council. “As far as terms of violating the governing documents, I really don’t know what they’re trying to refer to,” Salem said. Salem said she is not sure how this will play out moving forward. “This report was never brought to the council,” Salem said. “These concerns were never formally compiled and brought before the council for a chance for us to address them.” Negotiations on how to move forward with this report’s findings and recommendations are still ongoing between the SSCCC and the executive committee, according to Recouvreur.
sexual acts that she wouldn’t have done otherwise. In light of these new allegations, the DA requested an increased bail from $100,000 to $250,000. Judge Michael G. Bowman, who presided over the hearing, agreed to the increased bail. Wax said that the increase in bail was a precautionary measure. “We haven’t added (the rape charge). It’s likely we may be adding it, but it has to be reviewed,” Wax said. “Based on the new information, we asked for bail to be raised for public safety.” Wax said only the nine most provable accusers were used. With almost all of the cases, Wax said that accusers claimed Hirtzel would often continue to extort them even after they fulfilled his demands and would often still post their photos online. Wax added that there was theme of “dominance” coming from Hirtzel and he had to let the accusers know that he was “in charge.” The extortion charges against Hirtzel span across several years, Wax said. Hirtzel was represented by Sacramento DUI and defense attorney Amber Bellante.
CORRECTIONS In Volume 67, Edition 10 of The Current, the following corrections are listed:
In edition 10 on cover, in the first paragraph of ‘Sextortion suspect, victims speak’ where is says “in a tearful jailhouse interview Sunday…”, Sunday should have been changed to March 13, 2016 for the print edition. In edition 10 on page 6, the caption for the photos did not name any of the people in any of the photos. In the top photo from left to right is Cody Quakenbush, Serena Chad, Raven Kauba and professor Arthur Lapierre. In the bottom left photo from left to right is Jenna Magaziner, Natalie Demchuck and Gabe Garner Catabran. The bottom right is Serena Chad. In edition 10 on page 8, in the story ‘Stranger than friction’ professor Paulo Afonso was incorrectly titled as a teacher at the beginning of the second paragraph. In edition 10 on page 5, in the story ‘Track star accelerates to the top’ in paragraph 13 the 4x400 relay team was incorrectly written as 4x4. In edition 10 on page 5, in the story ‘Track star accelerates to the top’ in the final paragraph it reads “Griffin and the team’s next track meet is the Hornet Invitational at Sacramento State, which takes place on Mar. 19.” When this story was put into print the event had already passed.
April 13, 2016
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Sports
Photo by Mack Ervin III / Staff
(Left to right) Wide receiver Marc Ellis, lineman Max Harrison, coach Jon Osterhout, wide receiver Jonathan Lopez and linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk pose during a signing day event on April 1.
ARC football sends more to Pac-12
WITH ONE PLAYER COMMITTED TO CAL AND TWO TO UCLA, ARC’S FOUR-YEAR TRANSFER TOTAL GROWS TO 15
By Mack Ervin III w1562393@apps.losrios.edu A second wave of American River College football players committed to four-year universities on April 1 in a signing ceremony hosted by the football department. This wave brings the number of committed players from the 2015 season to around 15, and now three players committing to the Pac-12 conference. Linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the University of California, Berkeley on March 24 after contemplating offers from UNLV, Fresno State and Colorado. “I felt that Cal was the best fit for me,” Kunaszyk said. “The academic program, the football, and everything about it made them the right choice for me.” After redshirting in 2014, Kunaszyk recorded 118 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble during the 2015 season and was named the NorCal Defensive Player of the Year. Kunaszyk had initially planned to stay at ARC for another year, but offers from Pac-12 schools like Cal and Colorado were just too big. “Cal and Colorado came and offered me and those were two schools I saw myself playing with,” Kunaszyk said. “I wanted to make a decision between those two schools and I ended up choosing Cal.” “It’s been an absolute great experience and I can’t thank Coach O and the coaching staff enough for taking me in out of high school
and believing in me from day 1.” Wide Receiver Marc Ellis chose San Diego State to extend his playing career and said that he was drawn there mainly because of their academics. “The weather is perfect and the football is good, but mostly the academics,” Ellis said. “It’s a rigorous school. Everything was pulling me down there and I have the opportunity to play as a preferred walk on.” Ellis said that Kunaszyk was a major reason for him coming to ARC, and that it was a good decision for him. “ARC has prepared me incredibly as a player and a student athlete,” Ellis said. “Coming in I didn’t quite know what to expect.” “I wasn’t highly recruited but Jordan persuaded me to come to ARC,” Ellis said. “I came in here with little knowledge of the game and they’ve really shaped me into the player I am today.” Ellis recorded 43 catches for 654 yards and five touchdowns on his way to being named to the NorCal All-Conference team alongside Kunaszyk and offensive lineman Max Harrison. Fellow wide receiver Jonathan Lopez committed to Western Oregon after visiting their campus and meeting with their coaches. “Western Oregon was a good fit,” Lopez said. “The other offers were a bit too far for me and when I visited their campus, I just fell in love.” “I love the coaching staff and offensive coordinator (Brian) Harris. I’m proud to say that I’ll be playing for him next year.” Lopez also has an off-the-field venture lined up as he will be in-
terning for Nike in the summer in what he hopes will help him land a job later on in life. “The Nike Corporation is right there and I always wanted to intern there and everything fell into place,” Lopez said. Harrison opted to walk on at the University of California, Davis and said that teammates certainly play a big part in the successes of the football program. “Teammates play the most important parts. Those are the guys you’re with every day,” Harrison said. “You practice with them, You bleed with them, and sometimes you cry with them. They are necessary for support, and trying to bring the best out of you.” Head coach Jon Osterhout held praise for the student athletes and said they showcase what their football program is designed to do. “It’s an unbelievable thing for the program and the future success of these student athletes,” Osterhout said. “It’s just what we try to do; facilitate student athlete learning and being able to manage both at a community college level.” “They brought tremendous stability, leadership, a work ethic, a desire to be great in the classroom and on the field,” Osterhout said. “They have set a standard of excellence for everyone currently in the program, and for the future wave of student athletes who will enroll.” Harrison said that the coaching structure of ARC also plays a big part in players moving on to four year universities. “I came to ARC because it was the most competitive out of all
Photo by Kyle Elsasser / Staff
Jordan Kunaszyk signs his letter of intent to play football for the UC Berkeley Golden Bears during the signing day event April 1.
the schools in Sacramento, Harrison said. “The coaching structure is set up is more like a Division 1 school than just a junior college and if you want to transition, then this is the place to go.” Osterhout agreed saying that it benefits the players and makes
the transition easier. “Running our organization very similar to what you would see at the four year level is going to pay huge dividends to these guys as they move on to the next step of their careers,” Osterhout said.
Sports
April 13, 2016
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Pros look at former ARC player BOOKER HELD WORKOUT APRIL 12 By Kyle Elsasser kyleelsasser21@gmail.com
Photo by Mack Ervin III / Staff
ARC’s Alex Meliuk swings at a ball during a playoff match against Modesto on April 5. Meliuk and ARC advanced to the semifinals after a 5-0 win.
Men’s tennis a hit in playoffs By Mack Ervin III w1562393@apps.losrios. edu The No. 1 ranked American River College men’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the NorCal championships after a 5-0 win over Modesto Junior College on Tuesday. The remaining four matches were cancelled after ARC clinched a majority of the wins over the #8 ranked Pirates, moving its overall record to 15-2 on the season. Coach Bo Jabery-Madison said that the team was able to pick it up after suffering a somewhat slow start. “We came out a little flat in doubles at the one and the two,
but they picked it up,” JaberyMadison said. “I thought we played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm in singles. I thought it was a good performance.” The team was tired and fatigued after competing in the Big 8 Conference tournament over the weekend, barely missing out on capturing any titles. “Alex (Meliuk) got to the finals, after a great semifinal win over a Sean Alves from Folsom College in one of the best matches I’ve seen at the community college level, but you know he just didn’t have enough energy for the final,” Jabery-Madison said. Meliuk said that the team performed well in the tournament, but missed opportunities in the final. “We all did pretty well and
I made it to the finals,” Meliuk said. “Unfortunately, I lost in the finals. I was unlucky and had chances to win, but it was not my day.” Jabery-Madison still considered the tournament a success despite not bringing home the trophies. “We didn’t get the tile in either one, but overall we got four guys qualified for Ojai and all three of our doubles teams,” Jabery Madison said. “When you look at it from top to bottom, great tournament for us.” The team has rebounded again by winning all the doubles matches and winning 2 singles matches against Modesto in the NorCal tournament. Sophomore Dylan King thinks
that the team started slowly and that’s something that needs to be addressed before the next match. “I think we started a little slow, trying to find that momentum from the last game,” King said. “I think that’s something we need to work on before the next match is coming out as a unit at the be-
ginning.” Sophomore TJ Auckland said that it was nice to be recognized as the No. 1 seed and that the team needs to stay the course in order to keep playing well. “We just need to keep doing what we’re doing, hit the practices hard, rest up and keep up with the game plan,” Auckland said. ARC’s next match is Tuesday hosting No. 5 ranked Chabot College.
StarCraft: ARC loses in third round CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 another team separate from the Tespa Series that’s looking to go professional and buy a gaming house to play in. Key, however, expressed trepidation about becoming a part of a gaming house because he wants to focus on getting his college degree. Although Key and Harris fell short of one of the cash prizes handed out to the final four teams, the pair expressed excitement for the attention eSports is getting on a mainstream level. “People always look down on gamers like, ‘oh my god they’re never going to do anything with their lives,’ so it makes me happy that professionals are actually getting recognized for what they do,” Harris said. “They work just as hard. A baseball player will practice countless hours batting and a gamer has to sit there and play the game over and over and over again and still manage to enjoy it.” Key elaborated on the amount of work that goes into preparing for tournament games and the pressure he faces on whether or not he’s studying the right tac-
tics. “It’s hard to practice five hours in a row, practicing not playing. Drilling the build orders into your head,” Key said. “ You have to watch all of your replays and take notes. I watch pro replays a lot.” Key added that, on top of the practice, he has to have the right mindset while playing an actual game because there are situations that he can never actually practice for. “Even after all of that, it’s still different in the game because the teams are always changing it up,” Key continued. “It’s like playing chess but not seeing the other side until they’re right next to you.” This tournament was the first time Key and Harris have played together competitively, but one of the reasons they’ve been able to be successful together so quickly is because they aren’t just a team in the game, but also a team in life. Key and Harris have been dating for the past two years. “We work well together,” Harris said. “I’m kind of like the home front and he controls the army.”
Photo by Jordan Schauberger / Staff
Becky Harris smiles during a win over Utah. ARC lost in the third round to Washington.
Key added that he “didn’t want anyone else” besides Harris on his team. “I was pretty much like ‘you’re going to be my teammate’ and that was it,” Key said. “It’s pretty simple and it worked out well.” Key said that it was a different experience to play in front of an audience and that they liked to make more out of those games.
“We play games more to put on a show. We make fun games instead of serious games,” Key said. “I think the fans loved it because they had us on the next week.” “A lot of people try to get it over with but we make the game last longer,” Harris added. “We play it like it used to be.” Harris said that all tournament play has a different atmosphere than that of day-to-day play. “When you play for fun, you don’t really worry about it; you just do what’s fun for you. But when it’s competitive you can’t lose,” Harris said. “If you lose, you beat yourself up about it. It’s terrible.” Key added that the level of outside time that goes into competitive play is something that he hadn’t experienced before. “There’s a lot more practice and knowledge involved. A lot goes into tournament prep,” Key said. “My buddies would make me play a certain match against a certain opponent x amount of times.” Despite the tournament loss, Key expressed interest in playing competitively in the future and possibly entering this tournament again next year.
Devontae Booker, former American River College running back and current Utah Ute, held a workout for NFL teams in Sacramento on Tuesday. The 5’11”, 219 pound back was only able to partake in the bench press and interview portions of the 2016 NFL Combine due to a torn meniscus that occurred late in Utah’s 2015 season. Booker is seen by many draft experts as the third best running back prospect in the 2016 NFL Draft, behind Alabama’s Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry and former Ohio State National Championship MVP Ezekiel Elliott. During Booker’s final season at ARC he rushed for 1,472 yards and 15 touchdowns, netting him a scholarship to continue his career at The University of Utah. An incident involving a forged transcript by Booker and an ARC employee cost Booker his 2013 season and almost cost him a scholarship to Utah, but the Utes still wanted him as running back for 2014. Booker immediately performed for the Utes by totalling 2,773 yards, 21 touchdowns on 560 touches over two seasons, earning him two All-Pac-12 team selections: first-team in 2014 and second-team in 2015. Booker was seen as a contender for the Heisman Trophy in 2015 before suffering his knee injury in a double-overtime loss to Arizona. Booker has had pre-draft visits with multiple NFL teams including the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. Booker is hoping that his workout showed the NFL teams that were in attendance that he has fully recovered from his torn meniscus and is ready to contribute in the NFL.
File Photo
Former American River College running back Devontae Booker held a workout in Sacramento for NFL scouts ahead of the April 28 Draft.
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April 13, 2016
Feature
Jazz drummer comes to ARC
CLINIC DISCUSSES BEAT, MELODY AND MUSIC STYLE justinasharparc@gmail.com
Photos by Hannah Darden / Staff
Above, The American River College Jazz Collective performs a song during the workshop portion of the jazz clinic. Below, jazz drummer Alex Jenkins drums along to “Facing North,” which he performed with ARC jazz studies director Dyne Eifertsen at the jazz clinic on March 31.
American River College’s instrumental jazz studies department hosted a clinic on March 31 with jazz drummer Alex Jenkins, facilitated by director of jazz studies, professor Dyne Eifertsen. Jenkins specializes in jazz and world music. “(He is) an amazing percussionist... you’ll see him playing everywhere” said Eifertsen of Jenkins. Eifertsen and Jenkins, who have worked together extensively as a duo, released a CD in 2013, entitled “Inertia.” They began the clinic by performing a single titled “Facing North,” written by Eifertsen. Their performance included impromptu solos by both, with Jenkins playing the drums and Eifertsen playing the trombone. Once they concluded their performance, Jenkins addressed the students. “He and I (Eifertsen) haven’t been able to do that ... for a year,” said Jenkins. “I needed that.” Jenkins then opened up to questions from the audience. “Was there any point in that, (that) was free time or was there a beat?” asked Noah Flores, a Music major. “Using words like ‘free time’ and ‘beat’ is a slippery slope,” said Jenkins. “I’m not thinking pulse, but I am thinking melody.” Dyne gave further insight into performing impromptly as part of a duo or group. “You have to be really listening ... know when it’s your place to play, and
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There really is a skill set to this, it’s not just sitting down and playing.
ALEXJENKINS
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By Justina Sharp
when it’s not.” said Dyne. Jenkins agreed, adding “There really is a skill set to this, it’s not just sitting down and playing.” Next, Jenkins demonstrated how students can train using a metronome to keep beat, using different tactics to vocalize their counting. He then invited members of ARC’s Jazz Collective up to perform. They went through different variations of “Speak No Evil” and “Stompin’,” with Jenkins critiquing each performance. Jenkins also demonstrated how the students could adjust the style of the song by changing the beat, changing the performed pieces to swing and latin variations. “We can start taking it upon ourselves to change the beat,” said Flores, who plays trumpet in the Collective. There was also a vocal jazz performance by members of Shaman, another ARC collective. Concluding the clinic, Jenkins asked for any final thoughts from the audience. “I wish I’d had more time,” Jenkins said. “But other than that, it was cool.”
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April 13, 2016
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New tool to locate internship By Nicole Kesler nicolecheree03@gmail.com
Photo by Sharriyona Platt / Staff
Linda Hong, Omar Mahmi and Semira Deneka discuss their backgrounds and experiences as immigrants in Sacramento at the ARC college hour March 1.
ARC enters ‘Immigration Nation’ STUDENTS DISCUSS THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IMMIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES By Allante Morris allantemorris123@gmail. com American River College hosted a college hour on March 17 titled “Immigration Nation,” which featured three ARC students who told personal stories. Professors Christina CasperDiem and Lori Hokerson, who created the ARC college hour speaker series, introduced Semira Deneke, Omar Mahmi and Linda Hong, one a current student and two former students. Former ARC student Semira Deneke started by going into detail on her home life, leading to the journey of coming to America, the cultural shock, and things she has faced since arriving. When asked what shocked her the most when she came into America, Deneke said “One day when I was at a bus stop an old-
er lady came and there were no seats, so I got up to give her my seat out of respect and she fled as if I were going to rob her… I was very confused as to why.” Current ARC student Omar Mahmi told his story on immigrating to America. Mahmi emigrated at just 14 when his parents won the lottery. He spoke of how he never faced prejudice due to how well he was able to blend in, but how he saw his parents face discrimination. Mahmi talked about his life growing up in Morocco and how one day they got a letter in the mail about the lottery, but the only one in the house who spoke English was his sister, so she had to come home and read it to them. His parents then chose for them to immigrate, and Mahmi explains the struggle he and his
family had to go through when they first settled in New Jersey. He then explained why they later moved to Sacramento, following his brother getting jumped at school. When asked why his family thought it was a good idea to immigrate, Mahmi said “educationwise America is a better opportunity for me, to become a pilot and do the things I couldn’t easily do in Morocco.” The last student who spoke was Linda Hong, former ARC student and UCLA graduate. Hong spoke on her trials and tribulations coming from a refugee camp in Thailand, due to a civil war that killed her mother’s side of the family because they were rich. She also told the story of how her parents met. Hong explained her early life and immigration journey, and how she faced a big cultural
shock in America as well as in China, because she looked different than most at her school. Her school was predominately white, and Hong said she was viewed as too American for the people back in China. Hong explains how she grew up in Roseville, California, went to “white schools” growing up and noticed how her classmates would treat her due to speculation and stereotypes. When asked what her biggest cultural shock was when she moved to America, Hong said “I remember everyone being so nice to me in math class and then when I got to English class I got ignored as if I didn’t exist. But I came here as a baby so my first spoken language was English so that was always really weird.” The students then closed out their stories and opened up a question and answer panel with the audience.
The purpose of showing the clips was to introduce the difference between systematic racism and internalized racism. Valencia Scott, a Unite Community Intern, explained the difference between the two types of racisms, since the two are often misused. Scott described systematic racism as “implemented in policy, usually coming from the government and law enforcers” whereas “internalized racism is an offshoot of systematic racism, people who are oppressed have racist feelings towards themselves and their own people.” A total of three clips were shown and in between each clips the students formed groups to share their opinions and personal experiences about racism and lack of representation. “It’s important to analyze and deconstruct television shows and movies and hold people accountable for lack of representa-
tion” said Scott. “(The lack of representation) makes for a lack of depth and leads to stereotypes,” said Spencer, “people of color are casted but their storylines are lacking. Especially men of color, they’re made out to be almost buffoonish.” The meeting also tackled the idea that many people, especially young people believe that racism no longer exists. “People fallaciously believe that racial problems have been resolved because overt racism is no longer politically correct, but this not true,” said Spencer. A lot of the time people assume that the media’s representation “accurately depicts that entire group and that isn’t true” said Scott. Ashley Holly, a black ARC student, voiced her opinion on the way blacks are treated in America. “When people see a black per-
son in power, like Obama and they automatically assume that racism is over. We’re not allowed to talk about race without being sensitive because racism is ‘over’.” said Holly. Holly then begins to describe how she handles the unfair treatment people of color might face in America. “I love standing up for injustices,” said Ashley Holly, a black ARC student, “I have no problem putting myself out there.” Scott closes the meeting by touching back on the movie and asking the audience for their final thoughts. In Crash, a woman of color is physically violated by a white police officer. “Cops are the people who are in power and when one of them sexualizes you it’s very traumatic,” said Spencer. UNITE plans to hold more brave space meetings based on topics that students have picked from.
Brave space tackles racism in media By Shiavon Chatman schatman916@gmail.com American River College hosted a brave space meeting March 31, organized by the members of UNITE. The event primarily focused on the importance of representation for people of color in the media and the presence of racism in film and television. Brett Spencer, a Unite Community Intern, warned the audience about the graphic and emotional clips of the Academy Award winning movie, Crash. “It is evident that there is no ‘voice of color’ in this movie ‘white rich people make movies with faces of color with no black voice.’” said Spencer. Spencer begins focusing on the flaws in the movie. “It feels very wrong knowing that this movie was created by white people, because we need to hear the black and Latina voice, for example” said Spencer.
LaunchPath is an internship tool created to help match students to paid internships. These internships can help pay school expenses and gain work experience in the field related to your major. Shannon Walls, Capital Region Pathways Specialist for The Foundation of Community Colleges, spoke to ARC students that attended about how employers on LaunchPath offer paid internships. “I’m here to help ARC students who may be struggling to gain work experience in their field of major. It will help students excel in their career, and help students with the financial need of college. Internships can help you achieve their goals,” said Walls. LaunchPath helps filter through the thousands of internships listed and narrow the search down. This will use the major and interests of the student to match the student with the best internship available. LaunchPath first has students create a profile that will showcase skills learned in classes, jobs, and internships. It then takes the information input and creates a fun exercise to get to know students a bit more. Following that, it will match a student with an employer based on the information from the profile. Tristina Kitay, who is in her last semester in the Speech and Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) program here at ARC said, “I have an internship at a public school and I’ve learned about my internship at ARC. This internship has helped me out a lot. It is fabulous. It’s also a requirement in my major.” ARC also has an internship database. Go to A-Z index, click on Internships and click on The Los Rios Internships & Career Services (LINCS) page. Three ARC services that assist students with career training and employment needs, the career center, CalWORKS, and Co-op Work Experience and Internship Programs, have teamed together to help students with job or internship search needs. The internship program helps connect students to internships offered through local employers. “My friend got an internship with HP. She didn’t know anything about the company and within a year of interning she got hired.” said Richard Ball, who is in his last semester as an economics student. Some students may feel life is too busy for internships. Stephanie Androws, who is in her first semester in the SLPA program said, “I don’t care to learn anything about internships. I’m not interested. I don’t have time.” ARC students that need assistance with LaunchPath or internship information should visit the internship building in the portable village.
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April 13, 2016
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Color promotes successful studies COLOR CODING WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS THE BENEFITS OF USING COLOR SYSTEMS TO IMPROVE STUDY HABITS By Claire Bathory trevorkhaynes@hotmail.com At a workshop in the Learning Resource Center on March 29, American River College instructional assistant Cheryl Howell explained how color coding can help with both studying habits and daily life. Howell, who works for Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS), separated the benefits of highlighting and colored writing into three parts: organization, memorization and concept formation. Organization came before anything else. “As soon as you have stress, your brain isn’t paying attention to learning, the two don’t go together. So, organization is the pathway to learning,” Howell said. She littered her whiteboard with examples, like assigning different colors to plants and animals in a paragraph on the board and going down a multiplication table by using markers that complimented each other. Studying mathematics could be made especially easier according to Howell, as long as the person starts from the top downward.
Photo by Itzin Alpizar / Staff
A multicolored highlighter rests on a calendar at the color coding seminar at the Learning Resource Center. The workshop encouraged usage of tools such as highlighters and colored pens as aids in the studying process.
“You would start with primary colors and then just add (more)
colors and you go down,” she said, adding that “It gets helpful
when you start doing higher level math.”
Concept formation and memorization went hand in hand throughout the workshop, on from organization. “If you’re going to use color coding, the most important thing to tell yourself is why something is blue. Why something is red. It’s in that connection that your brain is able to remember it and apply it,” Howell explained. She added that “If you connect the color and the visual… you’ll be able to grasp the concepts of it all.” When Howell asked if any students attending already used color coding, Sandy Xiong spoke up, saying “I use it every day,” and that she’d usually go back after classes and highlight terms. Something that Howell was a strong proponent of throughout the workshop was the Google Calendar app. “It’s an amazing tool,” Howell said. “Once you use a calendar and go through literally everything you’re doing, (studying) becomes a piece of cake.” When asked if the workshop had been helpful afterward, Luis Ferreira, an attending aerospace engineering major, agreed. “Well, yeah, I would say so,” he responded, adding “I’m (going to) try with the calendar.”
Nuclear fusion takes center stage at ARC
PHYSICS PROFESSOR TEACHES WORKSHOP ON FUSION ENERGY AND ENGINEERING AN INTERNATIONAL REACTOR By Timothy Lipuma TimLipumaCurrent@ gmail.com Fusion energy, thermonuclear reactors and their impact on the future were the topic of a presentation given by former American River College professor Chuck Hunt on March 30. ITER, Latin for “the way,” is a nuclear fusion reactor being made through a collaborative effort of China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. It is also known as the Tokamok complex. Built in the South of France, ITER stands to be one of the greatest feats of engineering the world has ever seen. Many students filled the classroom to listen to Hunt’s talk, which covered the effort going into creating ITER, the current problems facing fusion and how it will provide data on
fusion for the future. Kevin Chetty, an electrical engineering major, remarked on the history going into understanding fusion. “They’ve been doing these calculations for years now … wondering how the sun gets it’s energy, working out different theories,” Chetty said. Zachary Suchanek, an environmental engineering major transferring to Cal Poly, spoke on the amount of coordination and complexity going into ITER. “I actually learned a lot... we learned about some of the techniques that went into building ITER, and it was really interesting,” Suchanek said. There are 161 custom tools required to assemble ITER. Some tools will have the capability of lifting 1,500 tonnes— more than 3.3 million pounds. Comparatively, the Statue of Liberty weighs about 450,000 lbs.
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In addition to the incredible weight of the components, many of the pieces for ITER will need to be placed within two to three millimeters of tolerance. “You have multiple nations building pieces of ITER, and you want it to fit within millimeters, you could have problems,” Hunt said. Much of the talk centered on the fourth state of matter, plasma, and its role in nuclear fusion. “Understanding (plasma behavior) has turned out to be a really ugly problem, because in math terms, it turns out to be a set of highly non linear equations. How do we solve those? We can’t,” Hunt said. ITER will also serve as a way to collect data on plasma behavior, and will inform the scientific community on how to build better fusion reactors.
Photo by Matthew Nobert / Staff
ARC physics professor and workshop speaker Chuck Hunt talks about the ITER during his presentation. Hunt plans to give more lectures later this semester.
Do brave spaces improve dialogues about diversity?
“Yes, it keeps us informed, and sometimes that’s the only way you can find out what’s going on.”
“It’s not a bad idea, but I think the hardest part is getting people to join. People turn a blind eye to politics only because they don’t want to get involved.”
“Yeah, because here you’re young, and you’re getting new ideas.”
“Maybe they should be more well known, because no one knows they’re there.”
-HILDABRANCH Real Estate
-JOEYALVARADO Music
-SCOTTROBERTSON Fire Science
-JULIASILVER Psychology
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April 13, 2016
Arts&Culture
‘Tempest’ makes way to ARC By Robert Hansen w1090476@apps.losrios.edu
Photo by Robert Hansen / Staff
ARC actor Joel Burnitzki rehearses for “The Tempest” on April 1.
FOR MORE STORIES ABOUT THE ARC THEATER DEPARTMENT, GO TO ARCurrent.com
Photo by Hannah Darden / Staff
Ayana Jaycox,12, plays her violin at the practice of American River College Orchestra on March 30 at ARC. Jaycox is one of the four primary school students to recently join the orchestra.
Young artists gather at ARC By Hannah Darden hannah.k.darden@gmail. com As they hit the accelerando, the violin section moved their bows quickly, concentration etched on their faces. The violins outnumbered the rest of the sections, in part thanks to the four middle and high school musicians who joined the American River College orchestra for their March 30 practice. Sacramento Waldorf School and Charter University Prep students joined the lineup, which includes ARC students, amateur
and professional musicians with all levels of experience. Twelve year old Ayana Jaycox, 14 year old Ryan Bigelow and 14 year old MacKaela Pedersen are violin players and 17 year old Alex Rounds plays the viola. The musicians were introduced to the orchestra by Timea Pedersen, MacKaela’s mother and Sacramento Waldorf School violin teacher. Timea said the experience was great for the students, who have all been playing their instruments for years to achieve the caliber of the ARC Orchestra players.
“(The orchestra) totally, absolutely helped them grow,” said Timea. Jaycox said she “likes the mix” of working with professionals, college students and her fellow primary school students. Orchestra director Steven Thompson said the orchestra loved having the students play with them. “A lot of the other players are saying, ‘oh, the string section sounded great!’, and that’s thanks to the kids,” said Thompson. “I hope they come back, go to ARC in the future.” The orchestra is an open proj-
ect, which allows anyone who plays an orchestral instrument to join them. “We are an orchestra for all,” said Thompson. The orchestral practice began with Franz von Suppe’s “Light Cavalry Overture” before transitioning to selections from the score of the Star Wars movies. The orchestra’s next concert falls on May 4, or “Star Wars Day,” and will feature the famous title score as well as other songs from the score. The concert will also feature Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto #1 and other concert overtures.
Teenage actress finds place at ARC By Shiavon Chatman schatman916@gmail.com GUMBO, Music Man and the Tempest are among some of the American River College productions that 14 year old actor and dancer Alexandria Wilson has performed in. Wilson currently attends Performing and Fine Arts Academy, or PFAA, in Natomas where she perfects her craft of acting and dancing. She practices modern dance and ballet. “I really love my school more than other schools I’ve been to,” said Wilson. “There’s more diversity. Everybody is encouraging and everybody has a huge passion for performing arts and academics.” She appreciates PFAA “(because) of the great new experiences, and there’s hardly any drama.” “I really love dance and I feel like dancing and acting are both connected in many ways,” said Wilson. But, she also explains how challenging dance can be. “I saw this quote on the Internet that I really liked,” said Wilson. “‘If you’re dancing and you’re improving, it doesn’t get easier, you just get better.’” Theater professor Nancy Silva
Photo by Robert Hansen / Staff
Alexandria Wilson, 14, will be performing the role of Miranda in ARC’s production the Shakespearean play ‘The Tempest’ from April 22 to May 1.
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I feel like dancing and acting are both connected in many ways.
AlexandriaWilson
worked with Wilson on several children’s plays at ARC such as Rumpelstiltskin Returns and Puss and Boots. Wilson also performed in GUMBO last month, a play and fundraiser for the American Col-
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William Shakespeare’s wizardry tale that brings love and witty humor, “The Tempest,” will come to the American River College Theater stage April 22, by way of director and ARC theater professor Tracy Martin Shearer. “The Tempest” begins with the magician Prospero, who, after 12 years stranded on an island, causes the ship of his enemy King Alonso to crash on the island. The comic relief comes together as Prospero’s servant Caliban befriends King Alonso’s jester Trinculo and his drunken butler Stephano. Caliban, played by theater major Emmanuel Jimenez, is commonly portrayed as a brutish monster but will be done differently by Jimenez. “I’m trying to make the character less of a brute and scary and more just misunderstood,” Jimenez said. “We don’t want him to be a monster… I base a lot of my character work off of native peoples.” The trio remains a constant riot throughout the play, as Caliban has plans to reclaim his island. “Our intent is we want the audience to laugh,” Jimenez said. “So we’re very slapstick silly... they’re the two clowns of the play.” Trinculo, the king’s jester, is a traditionally male role but is being played by theater major Angelina Steshenko. “The only thing that’s changing about the character is that it’s now a woman, but the profession and characteristics don’t really change,” Steshenko said. “Not very smart, but very fun.” King Alonso is played by former ARC student Josh Hooper, 40, who was eager to try out for a role in a Shakespeare play. “I was here a long time ago,” Hooper said. “It’s fun to come back here and do this ... this show, “The Tempest,” it’s an amazing Shakespeare show.” “The last show I was in here was actually A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2001,” Hooper said. “It’s been a while.” The cast and crew will continue honing their skills to bring a magical performance on opening night, Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. For more information regarding ticket prices, parking and other showtimes, visit the American River College Theatre website.
lege Theatre Festival. The audition process of GUMBO is quite lengthy. “People audition according to the theme and the solo performances come from the actors themselves,” said Wilson.
Wilson’s mother, Kimberlee Wilson, has been an ARC student for almost three years. Kimberlee Wilson says that her daughter has really “bloomed as a person and an actress and (Sam Williams and Sarah Souther, the directors of GUMBO) have done so much for Alexandria.” Wilson says that the Tempest is currently her favorite play because she shares strikingly similarities with the main character, Miranda, whom she plays. “(Wilson) is a natural,” said Tracy Martin Shearer, ARC theater professor and the director of the Tempest. “She comports herself with such grace.” Wilson credits Shearer as the person who has helped her with “reading Shakespeare how someone would really feel. ” Wilson said performing helped her gain self confidence and that everyone at the theater department has been very supportive. “In the moment, yes I want to pursue a career in acting. It’s just something fun that I do and I would love to continue doing it,” said Wilson. According to Shearer, ”(Wilson’s) chemistry with the cast is very natural and she’s able to take on challenging roles because of her maturity and her experience.”
April 13, 2016
Opinion
Page 11
STUDENT LEADERS CURRENTEDITORIAL LACK COMMON SENSE
Current@arc.losrios.edu
When will our student leaders start acting like actual leaders? As long as Student Senate President David Hylton and Director of Finance Jeremy Diefenbacher remain in office, American River College may never receive an answer to that question. Within the last week Hylton has openly expressed a desire to bring marijuana to the 2016 Student Senate for California Community Colleges General Assembly (GA), the exact reason he got kicked out of the conference in 2014, and Diefenbacher made yet another inappropriately timed comment when he said, “I just don’t want to be sober around these people” while discussing why he wasn’t attending this GA. Diefenbacher insists that his comment was made as a joke, but is that really something to joke about when violation of GA’s alcohol policy is what got him removed last time he went? He seemingly shows no remorse for his past transgressions and sees his role as a student leader as a joke. Now, if he truly is joking and sees his past mistakes as some-
thing to laugh about, then he is also laughing at the students and faculty who have put their trust in him. He is quoted in a previous Current story as saying “I’m on campus 14 hours a day between classes, work and my involvement in student government,” and “A three day retreat focused on parliamentary procedure is the opposite of productive at the end of my academic journey at ARC.” If Diefenbacher feels Student Senate is now nothing more than an impediment to his academic progress, why are we trusting him to represent our intentions as students? Hylton originally said he was not taking his role at GA lightly and that he wouldn’t “smoke reefer” or “drink booze” this time around. However, in a separate interview with the Current, he contradicted this statement and said that he wants to bring a marijuana prescription to GA and that it would be discrimination by the ARC administration if they prevent him from going because of it. This isn’t technically against school policies, but it would
seem to stand against common sense. Does he not see how his open refusal to represent the student body sober calls his behavior as a whole into question? Is he so arrogant to think that he deserves a spot at GA after being removed in the past? He should feel honored that the school is taking a chance on him after he’s already wasted their time and money. ARC students should feel outraged that these elected officials continue to not only waste their representation but their money, which is spent to send them to events such as GA. Although Hylton and Diefenbacher are on their way out of ASB, they should have stepped down long ago. They’ve soiled the reputation of student representation, and it’s time for the culture of irresponsibility to be cast aside. New leadership that takes its job seriously needs to step up and take over. If Hylton and Diefenbacher have any regard for the students they represent, they would expedite the process by stepping down immediately and not seeking office again. In Hylton’s case, students have
already expressed a general disapproval towards his job as president. In October he came under fire after making comments questioning the conduct of Israel and supporting Student Trustee Cameron Weaver, who said he was “skeptical” of the Holocaust. A recall vote was held against him and 72 percent of the students who voted said they wanted him removed from office. The vote didn’t meet the 75 percent that is required for recall. Hylton has said countless times in the past that he wants to hear the opinion of the students, but when their opinion is that he’s doing a bad job, he does nothing. These most recent incidents add to the ever growing list of comments and actions perpetrated by these two that express their complete lack of understanding of ‒ and respect for ‒ the positions they hold as advocates for ARC students. Hylton and Diefenbacher have both spent multiple years on the ASB boards and continue to express childish behavior. It’s time for them to step down and let more capable, responsible people take their places.
Face to face, not screen to screen
By Matthew Peirson matthewpeirson@gmail.com News surfaced on March 30 that Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell secretly recorded teammate Nick Young admitting to an alleged infidelity, and the fallout both on social media and in the news brought to light yet another example of why the trending need to document every moment of the day has its repercussions. In typical response, social media went ablaze with its reaction, while still managing not to see the bigger picture. This ‒ all of it ‒ needs to stop. The negative reaction toward Russell has been astonishingly one-sided, and while he is partially at fault, the lack of understanding by the public on the true issues of the incident is abhorrent. People don’t need to document every facet of their daily life, and it has to be understood that there
Photo illustration by Timothy Lipuma / Staff
are always possible consequences to posting moments with the aid of anything other than eyesight. Typically, the argument made here is the “think before you post” spiel. That argument isn’t incorrect, but collectively, our society is not yet at that point. Before understanding “think before you post” it must first be understood to “think before you document.” It’s like a baby learning to
crawl before learning to walk. The baby must first understand movement before learning balance, just as people must first understand why, and in what way, something is worth capturing before thinking about sharing it for the world to see. Social media is fun, and it should be. It’s a terrific way to interact with family, friends and acquaintances on a broad scale and keep those who are too far away to interact face-to-face up
to date on the important events of one’s life. According to one study done by Linda Henkel of Fairfield University (Connecticut), taking photographs actually weakens cognitive memory of capturing a moment. Sure, there are times when letting the world know what you’re up to is harmless, such as a picture of your lunch or letting everyone know about today’s gym experience, but it should be simultaneously recognized that no post is critical knowledge for anyone and shouldn’t dictate any actions or feelings. And particularly when it comes to public forums, be aware that someone, somewhere, is always watching. The only way to dilute such actions is not just thinking before you post, but first realizing what is and isn’t worthy of capturing beyond your own cognizance.
It’s OK to enjoy a filtered lifestyle By Justina Sharp justinasharparc@gmail.com The age of social media is often linked to ushering in an age of exhibitionism, but that doesn’t necessarily need to be a negative thing. The true appeals of social media vary, but for a lot of young people, the biggest is the opportunity to see other lives. You don’t need to travel the world to see the Eiffel Tower on a Sunday morning, or become a prima ballerina to see behind the curtain of the American Ballet. The people who are already there doing those things are capturing and sharing them in real time. While it’s true that the constraints on what society thinks should stay private versus
public are getting looser, there is a distinct benefit to online sharing. Many social media, specifically Instagram, give people a front row, albeit filtered, view of experiences that before would have only made it to photo albums on coffee tables. For every bland group selfie and blurry party shot, there’s a fly on the wall perspective of the lives of celebrities, politicians and everyday people who just happen to be doing interesting things. Instagram has given rise to a new form of “internet famous” - those whose large followings aren’t based on their makeup talents or ability to fit physical comedy into 6 seconds, but in the desire of others to see their lives. The things that interest people are as varied as the accounts on their favorite social platform.
Hundreds of thousands of followers watch accounts of amateur yoga instructors, professional puppy wranglers and students at universities in remote corners of the world. There’s also something to be said for the legitimacy being ascribed to many people, some who, without social media, would have no other way to share their work. A wi-fi signal and a smartphone are suddenly so much more than they seem when you realize the power they can give you. All around the world, there are things happening that can’t even be imagined until they’re seen. From teenagers in middle America working on award winning science projects to man buns in Disneyland to the Icelandic Police, social media aren’t just giving us faces - they’re giving us stories.
LETTER TOTHE EDITOR ARTICLE ON ANTIABORTION PROTEST HAS SEVERE FLAWS Dear Editor, I am appalled by your recent article “Abortion foes come to ARC” (3/30). Supposedly it was about a group that came here to “discuss its feelings” by “engaging in conversation.” But there’s no conversation here. If “Project Truth” wants to come to a campus where they have no business besides spreading their view, whatever. I suppose that’s their right even if what they say is far from the actual truth. However, your article has some severe flaws if it is meant to capture a “conversation.” First, we hear almost only from men regarding a topic about which women might perhaps have some thoughts or insights. A woman’s voice only shows up at the very end, after most sensible readers have already stopped reading. I almost missed her! That is especially problematic with a male writer (with two male contributors!) and a male-dominated editorial staff. Did none of you dudes wonder if maybe there might be a bit more that women might have to say on this subject? Second, we have to listen to four of these agitators (only one of whom is even a student) before the other side of the supposed conversation is revealed. This monologue continues until the piece jumps to page 2, where we finally get a half-hearted rebuttal from another man, who only is quoted as addressing what he sees as the distasteful nature of this group – without actually confronting any of its claims. He reportedly said that he didn’t “engage in any discussion with the group.” Still no conversation. Only after the chief instigator of this group gets another round to talk about how effective his gruesome pictures are (pictured! with another outsider man from their group who also gets to speak to our student paper!) do we finally get to hear from a woman and student. Are you kidding me? Were there no women at all outside the library besides the one shoehorned into the last column? That seems unlikely. Were women just not comfortable approaching what seems to have been an entirely male conversation about their affairs, captured by other men? I wouldn’t be surprised and would have loved to see reporting on what actual conversations might have been happening among students in our public square, in response a bunch of outsiders coming to talk at us. Or was the Current staff just not interested in women’s contributions to the “conversation” on reproductive rights? If so, that might be the real story. Andrew McLeod GIS certification program student
The current state of construction of the Golden 1 Center on L Street in downtown Sacramento, California. The arena is slated to open October 2016 for the 2016-17 basketball season.
New Kings arena is golden Photo essay by Joe Padilla jppadilla12@gmail.com The Golden 1 Arena is the new home of the Sacramento Kings. These photographs are from the Kings Experience Center. The center shows mock-ups of the suites available for lease at the new arena. They are exact replicas of what the suites will offer once the arena is finished. You will get the same views in the experience center as you will in the arena. The mock-ups have all of the amenities that the actual suites have, so you can make an informed decision before deciding whether or not to lease a suite. You will know exactly what you’re getting for your dollar. The new arena’s proximity to public transportation and downtown businesses will encourage bigger turnouts from the Sacramento community.
FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE KINGS EXPERIENCE CENTER, VISIT ARCURRENT.COM A rendering of the completed Golden 1 Center. Solar panels can be seen on the roof of the arena.
The Kings Experience Center recreated a bar that will be located inside the completed Golden 1 Center. The arena is known for being eco-friendly, and behind the bar is a wall of live plants.