Volume VIII, NO 5 by DVC Inquirer

inquirer

Medalist in muay thai Music professor finds his rhythm on the mat. See Pages 4 and 5. Wednesday, April 25 - Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Volume VIII, No 5

ELECTION ANNULLED Two coalitions broke bylaws; one offered voters small amounts of cash AIDAN SPARKS and CHRIS CORE Senior staff members

The results of the ASDVC election were voted unanimously to be nullified after request from Diablo Valley College governing board due to multiple complaints regarding campaign violations. The violations that were discussed were illegal use of campaign posters as of procedure 3025.01 in the ASDVC guidlines and breaking United States code for expenditures to influence voting. The punishment for expenditures to influence voting states that offenders, “Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” One complaint was brought to light by candidate John Michaelson, who disagreed with ASDVC advisor Todd Farr’s assertion that anonymous complaints cannot be filed for review under ASDVC rules. After discussion, Farr shared the emailed complaint, from candidate Nicole Loh. The complaint by Michaelson was that Chinese students were receiving money to vote for Xing Han (Charles) Gu and his coalition. DVC student Xinyu Xu sent an email to Farr reporting that he had been given money to vote for the coalition. Gu argued that he had “no idea if people who got the money would vote for them,” and that the money given cost less than food given out by other candidates. There was no exact price stated by the council for how much was given to students but they discussed ranges of 25 cents to a dollar. “Paying people money to vote, we are talking about a criminal issue,” said Michaelson. There was discussion defending Gu and his coalition withYuvia Mendoza, the winner of the election for activities coordinator, stating, “You can chose the red packet (one method of how money was given) and vote for whoever you want.”

“It’s really ridiculous that you are robbing people who ran fairly.” ~JOHN MICHAELSON ASDVC candidate for president

AIDEN SPARKS / The Inquirer

Xiaotong Guo apologizing for her mistake at the election committee meeting where she and her coalition were disqualified on April 19, 2018.

Kodai Yasuda, parliamentarian, was the first council member to call for nullification of the election. “I am so disappointed in this election,” said Yasuda Kevin Zhang, current ASDVC president, told the council he hopes to have a re-election this semester, but Farr said that there was not enough time to prepare for another election. The decision for what happens to those who violated both laws is not under ASDVC jurisdiction, but ASDVC will discuss how they will handle reworking their election in the next few days. “It’s really ridiculous that you are robbing people who ran fairly,” said Michaelson. “You have all done the student body a disservice. You have not done your jobs.” This election was already ridldled with controversy. The ASDVC election committee disqualified Xiaotong Guo as well as her entire coalition from ASDVC’s general election after it was discovered that Guo voted for her own coalition members on another student’s voting ballot. A student put in a complaint to Farr that explained how Guo approached him in the library asking if he would like to vote for the election, and despite him being unsure about it, agreed to vote if Guo explained the candidates’ platforms. Guo proceeded to have the student sign into his DVCSYNC account and chose for him candidates on the ballot. “She gave me a brief overview on her coalition before clicking names on the ballot for me and then submitting the form. I never told her I wanted her to fill out the form for me,” explained the student in the email to Farr. The election committee, headed up by ASDVC’s vice president of legislative affairs, Asami Higochi, called for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and the possible consequences for Guo. A heavy debate broke out among the members on how the situation should be handled. Other members of Guo’s coalition, while standing by her side, also questioned the committee on why every member should be punished for one person’s actions. Continued on Page 2

Electric car charging stations coming soon CHRIS CORE Senior staff member

The plan is led by Tracy Marcial, the Contra Costa Community College District energy manager, and would add nine total dual charging stations to DVC parking lots. Diablo Valley College has a plan to add nine dual electric “The electronic vehicle charging projects seek to add chargvehicle charging stations for a total of 18 parking spots where ing stations to each campus for faculty, staff, student and the those cars can charge on the campus. surrounding community to be able to charge their zero emisJohn Nahlen, vice president of sion electric vehicles,” said Marcial. of business and administration The desire to make more charg“...electronic vehicle charging staservices, informed Diablo Valing stations is mostly based off a tions will increase our electricity transportation survey ran by 511 ley College’s College Council of plans at their April 4 meeting. bills...but also provide more access Contra Costa. A grant from the Bay Area Air survey asked students and to zero emission vehicles for our staffTheabout Quality Management District their transportation was approved in March, making it preferences and found that 7.5 campuses...” so the electronic vehicle charging percent of the people surveyed stations must be installed within have electric or plug-in vehicles. ~TRACY MARCIAL in the next nine months. 72 percent said that they would District energy manager The grant is a total of $80,000 charge more often if charging staCHRIS CORE/ The Inquirer with DVC’s Pleasant Hill camtions were more available and 41 There are currently only two electric pus, San Ramon campus, Contra Costa Community College vehicle charging stations in in the faculty and Los Medanos each receiving $20,000 for the project. Continued on Page 2

section of lot 4.

news

Wednesday, April 25 - Tuesday, May 22, 2018

calendar Thursday, April 26 Transfer workshops and labs: UC TAG/Transfer 101 Student Services Building 10 a.m. Brown Bag Workshop: Communication 101- Using the Platinum Rule Student Union Building 12:30 p.m. Social Justice Speaker Series: Hurricanes and Hegemony, Liberating and Rebuilding Puerto Rico Humanities Building 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 27 Last day to withdrawl full-term classes with a “W” appearing on transcript Tuseday, May 1 Transfer Workshops and Labs: Admissions Appeal Student Services Building 3 p.m to 4 p.m. May 4 - May 20 Drama: Godspell 2012 DVC Arena Threater Thursday, May 3 InTentcity Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 4 May Plant Sale Greenhouse 3 p.m to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 5 May Plant Sale Greenhouse 3 p.m to 6 p.m. May 11- May 13 Dance Production: The Space Between the Negative Sunday, May 13 Music: Guitar Spring Concert Performing Arts Center 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 Music: DVC Jazz Ensemble 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, May 18 Last Day of Classes May 19- May 25 Final Exams Friday, May 25 Last Day of Instruction

ASDVC members, at the election comittee meeting Thursday, voted to disqualify one coalition.

Anulled Continued from Page 1

The reason why the rest of her coalition would be affected by Guo’s blunder is because of the ASDVC election committee’s bylaws, which explain that in an election setting, there is no individual, there is only the group unit. Higochi explained that, “when a coalition forms, the idea of an individual goes away and in its place is one group.” Higochi backed up her comment by explaining that this rule was written down in the bylaws. As stated in 7.04 of the bylaws, “Candidates are responsible for their own actions and, if they choose to be in a coalition, then they are responsible for the actions and the decisions of their democratically operated coalition.” After staying silent for the beginning of the meeting, Guo asked the committee if she could speak, and not only apologized heavily, but begged the committee to just give the punishment to her not her entire coalition. “I just want to apologize. I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have clicked for him. I don’t want AS-

Stations Continued from Page 1

percent answered that they would be willing to pay a fee of use for a level 2 charging station. “The district and the college will be developing a pricing structure for charging services,” said Nahlen. “The charging stations that we are installing will allow for a pricing structure that will automatically start charging a higher hourly rate after vehicles have been fully charged or for a set time frame. The higher hourly rate will encourage the vehicle owner to move their vehicle to avoid the high rates.” Amount of energy needed to maintain these stations will also affect the decision making for how much it will cost to park at one of the stations. “Installing electronic vehicle charging stations will increase our electricity bills and thus

THE INQUIRER Diablo Valley College 321 Golf Club Road, ATC-103 Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 The Inquirer is published Wednesdays during the school year by the Diablo Valley College journalism students. Unsigned articles appearing on the opinions page are editorials and reflect a two-thirds majority opinion of the editorial staff. Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writer or artist and not necessarily those of The Inquirer, Diablo Valley College or Contra Costa Community College District.

AIDAN SPARKS / The Inquirer

DVC or the rest of my coalition to suffer for member of the board. my carelessness. I’ll take whatever punishment “I know it’s harsh, but it is in your bylaws. comes my way,” said Guo as she started to tear You are student leaders, you need to be held to up. that,” said Dunning. Despite the rules set in place in the bylaws, As mentioned before, the entire coalition was many members fought disqualified, which against it, however a presiden“I know it’s harsh, but it is in includes few members insisted tial nominee Sharita that the bylaws be up your bylaws. You’re student lead- Snagg. kept, including presi- ers, you need to be held to that.” The election for dential candidate and president will now 2012 Inquirer staff be between Trey Dao ~Tamara Dunning member, John Miand Michaelson. Faculty parliamentarian chaelson. Current ASDVC “I don’t know what president Kevin we can do, we can Zhang gave a few either restart the elechopeful words at the tion or disqualification. The integrity of the end of the meeting. election demands disqualification,” said Mi“Let us remember to stay united, don’t point chaelson. fingers, and to not forget that it is our duty to Many debated against the punishment of dis- keep our student government strong and reprequalifying the coalition and Guo, and when it sent the students of DVC,” said Zhang. came time for the vote, the tension in the room The online election polls closed Friday, April was high. 20 at 8 a.m. When the last member had to give his vote, he asked if he could abstain from voting, however faculty parliamentarian Tamara Dunning Contact CHRIS Core at explained to him that he needed to vote as a CCore@DVCInquirer.com our utility costs at each campus,” said Marcial. tra Costa Community College and San Ramon “But also provide more access to zero emission furthest along in the process. vehicles for our camCurrently there are puses and surround- “A large part of the project costs only two charging ing communities.” at DVC in go toward the electrical infrastuc- stations Additional fundthe staff parking lot ing for this project ture needed to be able to power in lot 4 near the Life will come from a and Health Sciences the charging stations,” PG&E electronic vebuilding. hicle program. “We are hopeful it ~Tracy Marcial “A large part of will encourage other District engergy manager the project costs go faculty, staff, students toward the electrical and our surrounding infrastructure needed community to conto be able to power sider purchasing or the charging stations,” said Marcial. leasing electronic vehicles in the future,” said If successfully accepted into the PG&E Marcial. program the price of the infrastructure of the charging stations would be fully covered. All colleges involved in the project are at difContact CHRIS CORE at CCore@DVCInquirer.com ferent phases of the PG&E program with Con-

Staff

Editorial Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR

Mahrukh Siddiqui

ASSISTANT EDITORS

Danny Yoeono Aaron Tolentino Frank Guitron Shannon Richey Luis Lopez Catherine Stites

Isaac Norman

STAFF WRITERS Jonathan Butler, Jessica Gillis, Nichole Parkes, Casey Riggs, Nicole Sims, Tyler Skolnick, Halie Spol, Kamal Taj, Lauren Thomas SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Chris Core, Courtney Donahoe, Deandra Procassini, Camille Schwartz, Aidan Sparks ADVISER Mary Mazzocco

• Phone: 925.969.2543 • Email: inquirer@dvc.edu • Website: www.dvcinquirer.com • Printed five times per semester •

news

Wednesday, April 25 - Tuesday May 22, 2018

First meal served at Inter-Club Council HALIE SPOL Staff member

The Inter-Club Council hosted the inaugural meeting with food during their weekly council meeting on April 12 in the Margaret Lesher Student Union. This was the first time food has been provided to a club meeting on campus. Last week, Swenson requested funds from the Associated Students of Diablo Valley College for meals to be provided to the remaining council meetings of the semester. The pizza and soda were enjoyed by members before and during the meeting, and Swenson had hoped the food would attract more members to attend the required meetings. Although there were many extra boxes of pizza untouched by the members, Council Executive Officer Sharita Snagg said, “You know our dollars are not going to waste because everyone is happy.” But it may not have worked as well as hoped. Many members of the council left during the meeting and this prompted Swenson to retake role in the second half. “Please take your roles here seriously. I know it seems like we sit here for an hour

and a half every week and we don’t do much... it’s boring but it is important,” said Swenson. Swenson and Student Board Trustee Jessica Cisneros also addressed some recent controversies that involved clubs on DVC campus. “There was issues with the club dating back to October, and they assumed I knew because I was the (council) chair and this was a club issue. So if you have an issue with the club or your club has an issue within it, please come to me,” said Swenson. Cisneros also reminded the club of her role in the Board of Trustees and said, “If something like this does happen, I am your direct line to a chancellor. If anything does happen, you guys feel unsafe, whatever the case may be, please reach out to me.” Inter-Club Council meetings are always open to the public at the Margaret Lesher Student Union conference room. You can attend council meetings are on Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Contact HALIE SPOL at HSpol@DVCInquirer.com

Author shares tales about refugee trials SHANNON RICHEY Assistant editor

“Every casualty in war is somebody’s grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, brother, sister, child, lover... But we are here to talk amongst the living. So let me give you here a story about lives lived between the bombs and the bullets,” said Thi Bui. Bui, author of the graphic novel, “The Best We Could Do,” presented her story for the latest Equity Speaker Series to a full house at Diablo Valley College on Thursday, April 19. It was an interactive experience, with Bui narrating as individuals from the audience read the various roles. She was only three years old in 1978, when, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, her family emigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. She had little recollection of her home country, struggling to remember things like the house she had lived in downtown Saigon, even after her father sketched it for her. Eventually, her father brought her a copy of the docuseries, “Vietnam War with Walter Cronkite,” noting that the narration was “only okay” but that there was historical footage of their old neighborhood in it. “Lacking memories of my own, I had to rely on other people’s stories,” said Bui. But, she found her people were often misrepresented as caricatures of war and poverty. Bui explained, “none of the Vietnamese people in that video have a name or a voice.” In an effort to humanize the experience of Vietnamese during the war and understand her own family, she started recording her parents’ stories. She settled on the graphic novel format partly as a way of not having to contend with the images that people have grown accustomed to when seeing war and refugees. She wanted a way to replace the perceptions people had from seeing movies like “Apocolypse Now” or the famous photograph by Eddie Adams of a South Vietnamese police general

SHANNON RICHEY / The Inquirer

Thi Bui shares her experiences.

shooting a Vietcong prisoner. In a graphic novel, she could better depict context and allow her characters to speak. While making “The Best We Could Do,” Bui had a son, an experience she felt helped her to better understand the struggles her parents endured and the sacrifices they made for her and her sisters. She explained that her mother was educated and respected in her community in Vietnam but gave that up for her children, working a low-wage factory job in the U.S. where people had little regard for her. The insurmountable task of raising children was made all the more difficult by living in an unfamiliar and often times seemingly inhospitable place. But Bui understands now that her parents did, as do all parents, the best they could do. It’s a timely piece of work on immigrants that Bui hopes will tell “a more whole truth.” Contact SHANNON RICHEY at SRichey@DVCInquirer.com

HALIE SPOL / The Inquirer

Pizza served for first meal at an Inter-Club Council meeting.

Work is needed to end prison pipeline

new safety constituency, redefining the definition of safety and making a global standard.” Jordan’s work is on getting rid of convictions by focusing on litigation, policy and ballot initiatives. His ultimate aim is to create a sunset clause in California that puts a washout period on convictions. Ingrid Archie represented The New Way of Life Re-Entry Project, who foccuses on representing formerly incarcerated women and retaining prisoners’ right to vote. They educate by making sure HALIE SPOL Staff member people in the community understand ballot initiatives. Jerry Elster said his work with Rubicon Abolishing mass incarceration in Amer- Programs is to, “Help people in Contra ica was the latest Social Justice Series topic Costa interrupt the cycles of poverty. We discussed on April 13 at Diablo Valley have a systemic way which we work with College’s Community Conference Center. folks that are looking for jobs, folks that Hosted by political science professor would have never got an opportunity.” Albert Ponce and executive director of the Brandon Sturdivant, works at the PeoSafe Return Project Tamisha Walker, the ple’s Action, solving mass incarceration in discussion focused on advocates who seek a different way. to reform the criminal Sturdivant explained To make a change, his organization focusjustice system. The Safe Return you have to be educated es on getting progresProject focuses on imsive prosecutors elected proving the quality of on the criminal justice as they have the decilife for those returning system as a whole. sion on whether somehome from incarcerabody will be charged tion by addressing the with a crime or not. root causes of poverty and incarceration Sturdivant said, “If we focus on the in communities of color. prosecutor, and no longer criminalize Walker said that while most former in- people of color and actually look to help mates want access to jobs and safe com- communities rebuild we will end mass inmunities, the Safe Return Project looks carceration.” beyond that and believes in, “changing The campaign believes to make a the narrative, and any racial injustice change, you have to be educated on the within the criminal system.” criminal justice system as a whole and not Walker added the project seeks to ac- partially understand it. complish these goals by community orgaThe People’s Action’s presentation said, nizing, research and advocacy. “America’s inequality is founded upon the “This kind of collective power will drive demonization of the poor people of color larger political strategies by the formerly and Black (sic.) people in particular. We incarcerated at the state level, increase must elevate the voices of the disenfranmobilization and fight for the rights and chised and their families, and support opportunity for all persons coming home them as allies.” from incarceration to be legally protected from discrimination,” said Walker. Jay Jordan, the project director of SecContact HALIE SPOL at ond Chances, said, “We want to build a HSpol@DVCInquirer.com

Combat and Counterpoint Training in the arts of music and combat sports, professor Nick Vasallo has found that the beauty and values of each discpline are more similar than one expects (Above) Nick Vasallo practices Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with Mike Mitchell, the co-owner of Danville Jiu Jitsu and Vasallo’s coach on July 9th, 2016. TYLER SKOLNICK Staff member

Nick Vasallo helps one of his students with work during class.

our weeks before the fight, Professor Nick Vasallo set out to cut 18-pounds to make his weight class. Two weeks before the fight, he broke his nose during training and was sent to the emergency room. On the day of the fight, he walked away with a medal from his first martial arts tournament. When he wasn’t teaching music at DVC, Vasallo spent the previous year obsessed with the combat discipline known as Muay Thai. Muay Thai, as described by Vasallo, is “the art of eight limbs.” It is characterized by striking with hands, elbows, knees and feet. “Every limb on your body becomes a dual weapon… It’s for close combat and distance combat.” Vasallo believes it is one of the most brutal martial arts to train for. The focus is on the efficient use of powerful strikes to the body. Together with its brutality, it is also a tactical sport; the ability to quickly adapt to an opponent’s technique is key. He previously practiced Brazilian jiu jitsu, a hybrid of Japanese and Brazilian martial arts that focuses on ground fighting and grappling. His martial arts experience dates back to when he was in college. But Vasallo made the shift to Muay Thai after he was hit with a shoulder injury in late 2016. While his injured side was recovering, he trained with his other arm. He believes there are clear parallels between Nick Vasallo the fighter and Nick Vasallo the musician. “To me (Muay Thai) is highly musical because it is rhythmic… and both martial arts and music are both an expression of oneself.” Practicing martial arts is a process of

learning nuances and techniques from other fighters’ styles. To Vasallo, this translates to music as well. “When I first became a music major I didn’t know how to read music, so I felt like I was always an outsider and it was really humbling. But I was also open to learn from everyone, because I could be a sponge and just absorb.” Martial arts was similar. “I might be older than all these people, maybe younger. But I’m going in knowing that everyone has their own set of experiences and I can learn from everyone.” Vasallo traces these ideas back to two sources: the philosophy of musical eclecticism and the fighting philosophy of Bruce Lee. He compared the two in his doctoral dissertation in graduate school. “Musical eclecticism is about taking all styles of music, any style, and being able to fuse it with your own voice in a singular style,” says Vasallo. The idea is to constantly be learning. Lee’s fighting philosophy is similar. It centers around a belief in continual growth, progression, adaptation and change. To Lee, a martial artist confined to their own discipline is limited in skill. True skill comes from learning from other styles, then applying to your own. These concepts are crucial to the nature of musical and martial artists. “If all artists were to cease expanding their horizons then art as we know it would become stale and stagnant,” Vasallo writes. The connections between martial arts and music don’t stop there for Vasallo. To him, the beauty of martial arts shares an origin with the musical concept of counterpoint. Vasallo explains that Bach’s counterpoint is, “a confrontation, a relationship between notes giving and taking. Together they are producing this beautiful dance.

TYLER SKOLNICK / The Inquirer

It’s like magic is happening.”

it out,” said Vasallo, “I like those students.” Bach wrote music where two individual The weeks before the fight were a battle in melodies would play side by side, creating itself for Vasallo. something more complex than if the meloHe sparred with as many people as he dies stood alone. If one of the given melodies could at his own gym and others while were removed, they’d be classically beautiful adopting a strict diet to reach his chosen on their own. Yet by playing them together, weight class on the day of the fight. note against note, counterpoint is created This training and diet regimen was hapand something truly unique is formed ac- pening behind the scenes for students in his cording to Vasallo. classes. “I was not a happy man all the time For him, martial arts embodies the same when I was on this diet,” said Vasallo. “My dynamic by, “using another students were probably thinking, ‘Why is person’s enDr. V so ergy and “(Martial arts) permeates into other parts grumpy reacting to today?’” of your life, it makes you, it. You can The bigunltimately, more confident by learning gest setmeet that force, in a back came to do things that you really brute when Vasense, or you previously thought you couldn’t. You have sallo broke can use their his nose to want to do it.” force against when sparthem.” ring. For ~STEPHANIE MOON He credits two days, Jiu Jitsu coach his training he countin Muay ed himself Thai to his out of the coaches Stephanie Moon, George Tsutsui tournament. However, when the doctor gave and Marty Armendarez who shaped his prac- him the green light, he didn’t look back. tice and allowed him to grow. The courage and passion in his preparation “(Martial arts) permeates into other parts paid off for him and all those who provided of your life, it makes you, ultimately, more support on the journey, according to Vasallo. confident by learning to do things that you While ruminating over his training in previously thought you couldn’t,” explained both music and martial arts, Vasallo said, Moon, owner of Danville Jiu Jitsu. “You “You can’t just read about music, you can’t have to want to do it. I think that’s where just watch martial arts. You have to get up Nick really excelled is that he has the men- and play, you have to get up and fight.” tal capability to keep it together and do your stuff.” Both of the arts humble students by forcing them to constantly be learning and always trying to expand their horizons. “The people that last for the longest and stick to the discipline, they don’t pick it up Contact TYLER SKOLNICK at so easily but they stick to it and they grind TSkolnick@DVCInquirer.com

Nick Vasallo and his coach and Danville Jiu Jitsu owner, Stephanie Moon practice on April 17, 2017.

features

Wednesday, April 25 - Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Speech and debate showcase award-winning abilities CATHERINE STITES Staff member

Chris Pratt was the first speaker of the night and also a first year competitor. Diablo Valley College’s speech and debate team has been In his speech to entertain, he talked about the perceptions breaking records the past few years and they showcased why people have about Africa and gained quite a few laughs from at their Speech Night on Thursday, April 18. The team has the audience even though the topic was heavy. won the Northern California Forensics Association ChamMeredith Mountjoy, who has awards in both speech and pionship and placed number one at the Community College debate, gave a persuasive speech about the epidemic of onNational Tournament in their own division according to an line exploitation or ‘sexploitation’ of people and had tools email sent by professor and coach Robert Hawkins. standing by to discourage the practice when the audience Coach Sasan Kasleft the event. ravi said the team has Inquirer staff The night ended with a debate arguing whether had, “historic sucmember, Nicole or not voting for Associated Students of Diablo Sims, Northern Calicess.” The team had a fornia D1 champion, Valley College should be compulsory. full house in the Perdid a dramatic interforming Arts Center, pretation from the which seats approximately 300 people. perspective of a black parent having to worry and warn her Five different speeches were given, ranging from a speech child of the dangers of the world’s perception of their race. to entertain, a persuasive speech, a dramatic interpretation Vegas Dars-Horn performed a prose interpretation of and a prose interpretation. “My Favorite Pants” by Mike McGee enthralling and surThe night ended with a debate arguing whether or not prising the audience with the ending. voting for Associated Students of Diablo Valley College Miranda Hansen performed a dramatic interpretation of should be compulsory. a woman waiting for the results of her Huntington’s test, a Audience participation was encouraged during the event disease with a 50 percent chance of inheriting it. to indicate whether the audience thought an argument or Isaiah Kim and Alexa Fosdick argued against making point was good or bad. voting for ASDVC elections mandatory while Meredith Professor Hawkins started the night off by stating that Mountjoy and McIlvena-Davis argued in favor of it. most people were there for “civic engagement” or “extra Contact CATHERINE STITES at credit.” CStites@DVCInquirer.com

CATHERINE STITES / The Inquirer

Chris Pratt giving a speech to entertain at Speech Night on April 17, 2018.

Social issues expressed through printmaking KAMAL TAJ Staff member

Toru Sugita, DVC professor and printmaker, discussed the longstanding relationship between printmaking and social critique for DVC’s 54th faculty lecture. Sugita presented “The History of Printmaking as Social Art” in the Diablo Room, on Wednesday, April 18th and Thursday, April 19th with the artists’ reception after the Thursday lecture. Professor Sugita was born in Shiga Prefecture, Japan in 1964. He graduated with a Bachelor of Art Education at Kyoto University of Education in 1987 and in 2003, received his Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from San Francisco State University. Sugita says his work is inspired and directly influenced by light and shadow and the temporary shapes that are created by them. He focuses most of his creative energy on etching and aquatint in black and white. “I love Japanese woodblock printing, but I am an etching artist,” said Sugita. Sugita gave a brief history of print media and discussed the commentary on sociopolitical issues within many of the prints shown. The medium of printmaking can be traced back to ancient civilizations, from a simple seal with a single character to an intricately designed pattern made for palace walls. Images of war and its complicated relationship with the economy, human suffering, and racism have been prominent within the print world since the early 1600s. Several prints dealt with issues like inequality, poverty, immigration and corruption in politics, all of which Sugita believes still plague our society today. To him, the prints convey the issues in humanity’s past and the realization that they will inevitably repeat themselves. The lecture was intended to show the relationship between the past and present. A final image shown at the lecture was a stencil print by the notorious artist Banksy, which showed the Israeli-Palestinian wall with a sprayed image of a girl holding a cluster of balloons floating towards the top. Contact KAMAL TAJ at KTaj@DVCInquirer.com

Professor Toru Sugita behind some of his print examples.

KAMAL TAJ / The Inquirer

Features

Wednesday, April 25 - Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Thriller ‘A Quiet Place’ Choose headphones touts value of family based on your music DEANDRA PROCASSINI Staff member

What if we were forced to live our lives without noise? In the movie “A Quiet Place,” that is the reality of a family living in fear of killer alien creatures that are attracted to sound. The need to be quiet forces the family to whisper and use sign language to communicate. The thriller has a feeling of the Netflix hit show “Stranger Things,” the science fiction film “Cloverfield,” with a sick twist of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. This thriller is directed by John Krasinski and stars his real-life wife, Emily Blunt. The movie does an excellent job of keeping the audience unaware where the creatures are or when they will attack next. The visual effects in the movie are significant, with the creatures best described as a mixture of a Demogorgon from “Stranger Things” and a Xenomorph from “Alien.” A prominent tool used in the movie is the use of sign language because it helps add suspense to the silence.

Another cautious choice that the directors made is to jump from scene to scene. This technique is fundamental in telling the story during highly tense scenes by cutting to different members of the family. The audience gets to sit on the edge of their seats in suspense because of the interaction between the terrifying creatures and the family, especially the parents, who are trying to navigate life in complete silence while letting their children live somewhat of a normal life. This is why audiences are so captivated by “A Quiet Place.” At its heart it is a movie about family and how important being a parent is and how good parents will stop at nothing to protect their children. The movie is a must-see thriller to learn how to stay silent and the real job that parents have. But above all remember to stay quite because you never know what creatures are listening. Contact DEANDRA PROCASSINI at DProcassini@DVCInquirer.com

CASEY RIGGS Staff member

The first thing you need to know when buying a new pair of headphones is what you’ll be using your headphones for, because every pair is designed for different purposes. For the sake of simplicity, there are two main headphone types: bass and “true to sound.” “True to sound” headphones are designed to let you perfectly hear the high, mid and low frequencies of sound the way you would in a studio. Genres such as rock, folk or jazz sound best with “true to sound” headphones. For those who are audio engineers, whether for music, film or any time you need to capture sound, without a doubt you will want a “true to sound” pair of headphones, especially with outside audio reduction. People who enjoy all kinds of music will also want to go for the “true to sound” headphones because you will get the greatest range of sound for all of your musical choices. The majority of people will want to get a

pair that is more bass oriented because it is better for popular music like , hip-hop and rap where bass is key to the enjoyment. The most common brand of bass-oriented headphones are Beats by Dre, while common “true to sound” brands are Audio-Techinca, Sennheiser and Bose. After you’ve identified what you’ll be listening to, the second most important stage step is determining price. There are some greats deals where you can find good headphones for as little as $130, but those are rare and only usually happen when a model goes on clearance. A realistic range for headphones is from $250-$499. Many brands have reliable and comparable models in this range. You figured out whether you want “true to sound” or bass oriented cans. You know how much you are willing to pay for them. You’re ready to buy your next pair of headphones.

Contact CASEY RIGGS at CRIGGS@DVCInquirer.com

opinion

DVC needs a club for true conservatives People often speak about the dangers of echo chambers within today’s political discourse. As an institution that prides itself on diversity and inclusion, Diablo Valley College ought to actively include conservative voices in our political discourse. One way to do that would be for the entire community: students, faculty, administration, etc. to promote the creation of a student conservative club. A quick look at DVCsync, the official website for student life, shows that of the four political organizations devoted to ideology, none are dedicated to conservative viewpoints. Two of the organizations, “College Democrats of DVC” and “College Democrats of Diablo Val-

ley College” of the Spartacist appear to be League, a Marxduplicates, ist political orgaboth listing nization, and its the same presyouth group, the ident, Victor Spartacus Youth Tiglao. Club.” DVC The closest we also has the have to any offi“Friends of cially sanctioned the Spartacist student club dedYouth Club,” icated to conseran organizavative thought is tion whose the non-partisan purpose, acclub “Students cording to for America” Isaac Norman its profile on whose stated purAssistant editor DVCsync, is pose is sharing “to broaden all political viewthe spectrum points. While it of political debate on campus by is good we have a club dedicated providing a forum for the views to including opposing viewpoints,

this only provides a forum to exchange ideas. DVC also needs a club where actual conservative viewpoints, not those of racism, bigotry or fear, can be explored. Conservatism should be more about personal responsibility than blaming immigrants for your problems. No matter your circumstances, they do not determine where you go, no matter what odds are set against you. Why? Because conservative thinking has so much more to offer than what we’ve come to see it as. A conservative club on campus would lead to more robust thinking and challenge students by exposing them to ideas they normally would never come across.

Expanding one’s horizons is crucial to the college experience. Conservative sources should have equal footing on our campus so students have the opportunity to be exposed to both sides of the political spectrum. This would help us think of problems and issues from different perspectives. We frequently have Mark DeSaulnier on campus, why not Republicans like Catharine Baker? This would be a small step in bridging the gap in today’s partisan politics.

Contact ISAAC NORMAN at INorman@DVCInquirer.com

The

Buzz Why do you think Earth Day is important? Interviewed and photograhed by: Isaac Norman

Isaiah Alexander, 19 Communications

Avery King, 19 Undecided

Sabrina Manrique, 23 Industrial Engineering

Aimee Minter, 19 Environmental Science

“Brings awareness to the environment. We need to go about this as a community. ”

“I’m a Christian. I don’t believe in worshipping creation but the creator.”

“If we want to live we need the Earth, or else we have to go to Mars or something.”

“Within 50 years we’ll use up most of our natural resources.”

sports

Wednesday, April 25 - Tuesday, May 22, 2018

UTSA’s Franklin Uesi with head coach Mike Darr in his office at DVC.

AARON TOLENTINO / The Inquirer

Former Viking Franklin Uesi visits DVC before 49ers pro day AARON TOLENTINO Sports editor

Former Diablo Valley College defensive lineman Franklin Uesi visited head coach Mike Darr’s office last Tuesday, a day before the 49ers 2018 Local Pro Day and his scheduled team visit. After two successful seasons at DVC where he played all but one game and recorded 57 tackles, Uesi got a scholarship to play for the University of Texas, San Antonio Roadrunners. Though he did not play in the same amount of snaps at UTSA as he did at DVC, Uesi was still able to get looks from all 32 NFL scouts and general managers, thanks to fellow defensive lineman Marcus Davenport, at UTSA Pro Day. Davenport, a projected 2018 NFL first-round draft pick, was the center of attention. However, Uesi took advantage of the opportunity to showcase his skills as well since scouts were watching both Davenport and Uesi in the defensive line drills. “49ers D-line coaches were there too, so me being the only defensive lineman other than Marcus, that gave me a good opportunity to be seen by other NFL players, coaches,” said Uesi. “When I was doing the position drills, they would give me compliments after we did our pro day.” The 49ers liked what they saw from Uesi so much that

they gave him a call to fly back to his home to the Bay Area and work out for the team on April 18th for their local pro day in Santa Clara. This pro day is for prospects going in the late rounds of the draft and those undrafted looking to be signed by an NFL team. Uesi is not only a stud on the football field, but off the field as well. At DVC, Darr made sure Uesi put the same effort on the field as he did in the classroom. “(Darr) told us to be able to compete in school just like you compete in football,” said Uesi. “He just gives us that competitive mindset to treat school like how you treat football, that’s what I did.” Uesi is a criminal justice major set to graduate with a degree from UTSA this May. “You always wanna see those guys be successful, guys that just put everything they have into it,” said Darr. “He deserves everything that he’s getting.” Uesi is among three other former Vikings to be invited at the pro day, UC Berkeley’s Antoine Albert, Weber State’s Jacob DeMaio and Fort Hays State’s Brandon Brown. Contact AARON TOLENTINO at ATolentino@DVCInquirer.com/Twitter:@atolent2

Courtesy of JEFF HUEHN

2018 NFL Draft: 49ers, Raiders need defense With the 2018 NFL Draft fast apthe 49ers a chance to have one of the best secproaching and mock drafts spreading like ondaries in the league. wildfire, the 49ers and Raiders are hoping With players like DeForest Buckner and Solto get that next piece towards Super Bowl omon Thomas on the defensive line, the poscontention. sibility for the Niners to have a top-tier defense Both teams have the talent to be on the would be very real. fringe of playoff contention. With both Over in Oakland, the Raiders are coming off having a top 10 draft pick, ninth and a disappointing 6-10 season after being expecttenth overall, a new prospect could be the ed to make the playoffs for a second straight one who gets them there. year. For San Francisco, the offense fared The expected strength for Oakland in 2017 well after the acquisition of quarterback was their offense, which went from sixth in Jimmy Garoppolo, vaulting its way to the 2016 to all the way down to 18th in 2017. LUIS LOPEZ third-best offense in the league after Week Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie Staff member 13, after only ranking 21st in the first 12 has gone through a plethora of signings on ofweeks of the year. fense this offseason, including former Green The idea of getting another offensive piece might be in- Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson and former Tampa Bay runtriguing, but if the Niners want to become a powerhouse, ning back Doug Martin. getting someone to complement their shiny, new cornerTherefore, just like San Francisco, it would appear that back in Richard Sherman might be the best route to go. the Oakland’s best option is to draft someone that can bolThe best pick that 49ers general manager John Lynch can ster up their defense. make would be Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward. More specifically, someone who can complement defenThe Associated Press All-American cornerback would give sive stars Bruce Irvin and Khalil Mack to add to Oakland’s

stout linebacking corps. The perfect fit for Oakland comes through Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick to complete their defense. The fellow AP All-American played all over the field for Alabama head coach Nick Saban, filling the nickelback position to near perfection. Fitzpatrick notched four career interception returns for touchdowns over his three seasons for the Crimson Tide. To slot such a player behind Mack and Irvin gives the Raiders defense a real chance to improve from the last two years, and it would give the offense a lighter load to carry. Both the 49ers and Raiders can’t afford to pick any busts this year, so expect the teams’ respective war rooms to be in a frenzy. The draft takes place on April 26th through the 28th at AT&T Stadium in Dallas and can be viewed on NFL Network, FOX and ESPN.

Contact LUIS LOPEZ at LLopez@DVCInquirer.com