May 25, 2011

El Va uero l e n d a l eCC o m m u n i t yCC ollege GG lendale ommunity ollege

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board of trustees discuss summer school. . . . . . . .

92-year-teacher

inspires accountants .. . . . . . . . .

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dance department hosts showcase.. . . . . . . . . . . . .

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nick woodward ends baseball season. . . . . . .

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Volume 97, Number 6 May 25, 2011

Congressman Adam Schiff Hosts ‘Brown Bag’ Lunch

By Ashley Carey

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

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mid rising gas prices, growing tensions in the Middle East, and continued refusal by Congress to recognize the Armenian genocide, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Glendale, had a lot to cover during his visit to Glendale College on Tuesday.

Citing the recent U.S. killing of alQaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, Schiff said America’s relationship with the nation is unsteady.

The Pakistani government objected to an unauthorized U.S. military strike that killed bin Laden on Pakistani soil, and unauthorized use of the country’s airspace by the U.S. and NATO. There are more Al-Qaeda members in Pakistan than anywhere else, Schiff said, highlighting the importance of sustaining a good relationship with the nation’s government.

“This is a troubling, problematic, difficult, sometimes excruciating relationship, but a necessary one,” he said.

Meanwhile, Salman Taseer, governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province and an outspoken voice for moderation, was shot and killed by his own bodyguard in January.

“Tens of thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets in favor of the assassin,” Schiff said. “We are not winning.”

Many Afghan citizens still believe the [See Schiff, page 3]

IN THIS ISSUE Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 News.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8 Center Spread.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Entertainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-16 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-18 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Photo by Roger Lai

GOT BRAINS?: With end-of-semester projects due, finals next week, and the uncertainty surrounding summer school, many students are feeling like

the walking dead. Tas Limur, Christiane O’Shaughnessy, Matti Tangring,and Angela Warrick were among the 800 “zombies” atttempting to set a world record at the May 13 Downtown L.A. Zombie Walk. A full account of the event will be published in the June issue of the Insider, Glendale’s student magazine.Visit www.elvaq.com for the Insider’s publication updates.

Track Wins at State Competition

By Shearson Unda

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

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lendale College Track and Field squad had their hands full this May, having posted some outstanding results, which ultimately qualified several members for the state meet that was held this past weekend at American River College in Sacramento.

Women’s sophomore captain Karen Rosas has been leading the way for the

Vaquero women’s team with stunning results at the state meet, winning both the events that she qualified for.

All-American Rosas won first place in the women’s 10,000 meter event with the time of 37:19.69. Fellow teammate and all-American Vivian Ochoa placed sixth in the same event with the time of 38:49.09.

Karen Rosas also found success in the 5,000 meter event on Saturday in Sacramento, winning another

first place award with a time of 17:38.67. Rosas won the same event a few weeks prior at the Southern California finals, with a time of 17:36.96.

During the preliminaries earlier this month that were held at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Rosas, along with teammate Vivian Ochoa, locked in a spot in the women’s 10,000 meter with Rosas placing third and Ochoa placing 8th.

[See Track, page 17]

AHEAD OF THE PACK: Karen Rosas at the State Championships at American River College, Sacramento. Rosas ran away with the10,000 (37:19.69) meters and 5,000 (17:38.67) meters events and is Photo by Bryan Ramos now State Champion.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

NEWS / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

El Vaquero editor in chief Jane Pojawa COPY EDITOR Agnes Constante STAFF WRITERS

State of the College Address and Business Lecture Series Combine Cuban Food and Accreditation

By Christine Gillette

Michelle Bowles Nik Brkic Alex Campos Ashley Carey Toni Davis Vanessa Duffy Christine Gillette Kate Krantz Vaughn Lawrence Marlon Miranda Adriana Orellana Luis Rodriguez Derek Stowe Shearson Unda Erica White Lillian Wu

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

A

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Mario Camino Tex Wells

Shaun Kelly Kenta Yamashita

Production Manager

Jane Pojawa

design adviser Charles Eastman faculty adviser

Michael Moreau

mmoreau@glendale.edu (818) 551-5214 advertising Jeff Smith jsmith@glendale.edu (818) 240-1000, ext. 1427 Send Letters to the Editor El Vaquero accepts story ideas in news, features, profiles, sports and entertainment from the public. To submit an idea or an article, e-mail the editor at editor@elvaq.com or call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5349.

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Letters may be reproduced in full or in part and represent only the point of view of the writer, not the opinion of El Vaquero or Glendale Community College and its district. Letters must be signed and typed and include the full name and address of the writer. El Vaquero is a First Amendment publication.

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Photo by Tex Wells

MAJOR ADDRESS: President/Superinten-

dent Dawn Lindsay delivers a positive State of the College address. She focused on the strides the institution has made since its last accreditation evaluation and prospects for the future.

A live feed had to be relayed to Kreider Hall because there was standing room only in the auditorium.

fter a rough year with the school’s budget, GCC President Dawn Lindsay said the college is prepared to take on the next fiscal year during the Second Annual State of the College Address.

The first matter Lindsay addressed was the Accountability Reporting for the Community Colleges, which requires that community colleges meet eight state-defined outcome measures. These measures were displayed as bar graphs where GCC was compared to other State-defined peer colleges, all 112 community colleges in California, Region 7 colleges and Pasadena Community College.

One of the measures discussed was the student progress and achievement rate, which displayed the

percentage of first-time students who completed their educational goal. GCC ranked at 61.7 percent, where all 112 community colleges in California ranked at 51.1 percent, and Pasadena ranked at 58.8 percent.

“As you can see on the graph, we’re higher than everybody,” Lindsay said.

“I’ll be saying that frequently because we’re really proud of these numbers.”

As Lindsay spoke, a live feed of the address streamed through Kreider Hall and on GCC’s website on May 12 while the auditorium was packed with only standing room available.

Another important matter addressed was the accreditation update.

Accreditation is a six-year cycle and the GCC campus was visited last March.

During the visit, the college was issued a warning status,

which means that there were issues that need to be addressed. Lindsay said that the school was given four recommendations that needed to be focused on within the 2011 school year.

One of the recommendations was institutional planning.

Lindsay said a committee, called the Institutional Planning Coordination Committee, was put together after the visit, to work on this recommendation.

This committee focuses on integration of planning, program review, and resource allocation.

“We’ve already implemented changes, we’ve put them into place, and I’m hoping that in June when I go up to the commission I’m able to share the final successes that we’ve done in spring [See Address, page 3]

Snobbery is another form of prejudice Dear Editor, I noticed that not just at GCC but pretty much everywhere, there are people who behave in a condescending manner over superficial things like hobbies or age, based on some insular notion of “maturity.”

For example, people who

would criticize me as “immature” or just behave as if I am beneath them just because I don’t drink or because I like cartoons, or because I just generally don’t act like them.

Unlike other forms of snobbery, this seems to be entirely acceptable, when it should not be.

What I find especially interest-

ing about people like this, is that they are otherwise very tolerant.

It’s like, to them, it’s only okay to be different if you’re gay or from another religious or cultural background, but not if you just behave how you want or like different things. They’re not really open-minded, in my opinion – they’re just less closed-minded

than the previous generation.

I can understand simply not finding someone compatible, but being prejudiced against someone for any reason is not cool. That kind of behavior is just awful.

-Narry Morgan

Bin Laden’s death not cause for celebration Dear Editor: The announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden’s death set off a response among some people that made the United States of America look like some third world country that had just come out victorious in the latest revolution.

One might have thought that we had just won soccer’s World Cup, all of the gold medals in the latest Olympics and professional

hockey’s prestigious Stanley Cup. Crowds of all ages and ethnicities were jumping up and down in the streets and on campuses, waving signs and yelling like awardwinning community college cheerleaders. At Yale, the Ivy League university that gave us five presidents, students were yelling “USA! USA! USA!” It was scandalous. What they exhibited was not patriotism but barbarity stripped naked and put on parade for the whole world to

see. Even Rashard Mendenhall, a professional football player who deals out pain every Sunday from October to January, asked, “What kind of person celebrates death?”

As a result of bin Laden’s dastardly deed of death and devastation, I lost my job at a luxury hotel on the Sunset Strip.

Though I had no tears to shed for the mastermind of what is now commonly referred to as “9-1-1,” I do not see bin Laden’s death as cause for celebration.

Sincerely, –Tex Wells

?

What do you think

Send a letter to the editor at: editor@elvaq.com

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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NEWS

Board of Trustees Discuss Summer Offerings

By Lillian Wu

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

T

he Board of Trustees faced disagreements from college instructors, students and the guild about the side letter agreement between the Glendale District and the Glendale College Guild during the regular meeting on May 16 in Kreider Hall.

During audience comments, assistant professor of mathematics and incoming president of the guild Isabelle Saber was the first to stand at the podium to remark about the side letter which had been ratified by the Guild Executive Committee.

The first was that pro-rata pay rates shall be reduced to 60 percent of existing levels.

Adjunct instructors, counselors, class offerings in the Summer and librarians shall be paid at 2011 session and Winter 2012 exiting rates. Another item stated as their proportionate share of the College’s budget “no changes shall “As much as I love deficit.” be made to the 60 The board wanted percent of load GCC, I want to transfer to spread pay among limit for pro-rata and move on with various constituents. pay.” my life, so please “There are 21 Even though it more classes are classes that have will affect her pay better for the been planned,” and other faculty said Saber.

“Eight members pay, students.” of them have been Saber asked the —Doug Daniels assigned to adjunct board to ratify the faculty pay cuts by 40 percent for faculty. Two of those eight people have given up other academic the summer.

The issue that caused assignments to work here or disagreement was item five travel plans for the summer. This which said, “The guild shall is an undue burden on faculty and receive ‘credit’ for the savings on students.”

Saber said that if summer from the 60 percent pro-rata rate reduction and the reduction in classes are reduced from 160 classes to 100 classes, then that will put 2,500 students out of the class for the summer.

“I really hope that what was discussed in good faith will Armenia. remain and if we need to make “I believe, frankly, that you Photo by Tex Wells adjustments then we are open to it. can only deny history for so COME TO ORDER: Anita Quinonez Gabrielian, newly installed president, long,” he said. “It undermines [See Board, page 4] prepares to call the board meeting to order on May 16. our credibility when we are seen as picking and choosing our genocides.”

Schiff said his efforts were “frustratingly close” to succeeding last year. Since the mother began baking cakes as a side job in their [Address, from page 2] event, the U.S. has chosen to home. Word of mouth quickly spread of her steer clear of the term “genocide” semester,” Lindsay said. mother’s baking talents and their home became to preserve its relations with Some of the other recommendations were filled with baked goods and ingredients for Turkey, one of its few allies in completion of employee evaluations, technology neighbors and friends seeking out her delicious the region. President Obama has planning and budget allocation, and maintenance treats. and security. recognized the issue using the “It’s good thing when you start a small Lindsay also discussed the partnership business from home,” Porto said. “You don’t term “Meds Yeghern,” Armenian Glendale currently has with Cal State Northridge have any expenses, you’re not paying rent and for “the great crime.” where students at GCC can get their master’s you have income coming in.”

“Each year, we pause to degree on campus by taking classes on Saturday remember the 1.5 million With her mother’s baking talent, skill with mornings. Glendale is also looking at expanding business and numbers, and frugalness, they were Armenians who were subsequently this opportunity for students. massacred or marched to their able to open up a 280 square foot space when “We’re now looking at partnerships with they came to California, which is where Porto’s death in the final days of the UCLA and CSUN for bachelor level offerings took off.

Ottoman Empire,” Obama said in here on campus,” Lindsay said. “We can’t as a a statement. “The Meds Yeghern Now, 40 years later, Porto’s has three community college issue a bachelor’s degree but locations in Glendale, Burbank and Downey and must live on in our memories, we can partner with other colleges that can.” just as it lives on in the hearts of has become a legendary factor of the Glendale This is the second year where the State of community. the Armenian people.” the College Address ran in conjunction with the Turkey’s biggest concern is “We try to become a family and part of Business Series Lectures, which Lindsay said the city,” Porto said. “If you give back to the lobbying to prevent recognition she hopes continues in the future. of the event, Schiff said. community, the community will give back to “What better way to bring the business you.”

Strict immigration laws are community and our students together to assist making it difficult for the best Lines of students and guests formed before the college and for you to understand what we’re the State of the College Address and Business and the brightest from around the doing, where we’re heading, and provide input,” Lecture Series presentation for various cookies world to stay in America, he said.

Lindsay said.

Schiff suggested that those who and punch that were provided by the baking class Following the address, special guest Betty of GCC’s Culinary Arts Program. Food Services graduate with a U.S. degree and Porto, vice president of Porto’s Bakery, presented also provided fruit platters, anti-pasta platters, want to start their own business the Business Lecture Series where she told the various cheeses, and other treats for the special be issued a green card. We can’t audience the story of how Porto’s began and guests and administration. afford to kick out those we became a successful multi-million dollar small educate here, he said. business here in Glendale.

Christine Gillette can be reached at Christine_Gillette@elvaq.com Porto’s began in Cuba, where Betty said her Ashley Carey can be reached at

Congressman Schiff [Schiff, from page 1] U.S. government planned 9/11 to obtain Middle Eastern resources.

Problems in Pakistan and Afghanistan are related, he said, and Afghanistan’s young democratic government is not ready to survive on its own. His outlook on ending the war was grim.

“It may take a very, very long time to end this civilian mission,” Schiff said.

Schiff assured students that Congress is working hard to find solutions to repair the country’s damaged economy.

“There is a menu of discreet choices we have to make. None of them are very pleasant,” he said. “Now is the time to make those difficult decisions, but that’s something we owe to all of you, because quite frankly, we’re spending your money.”

Schiff, formerly an adjunct professor at GCC, touched on the potential threat of federal cuts to education. Investing in education is investing in the country’s future success, he said.

Making cuts to education on a federal level is a difficult process, he said, and cutting the nation’s defense budget could also have adverse effects.

“Defense has to be on the table with everything else,” Schiff said.

Many in the audience voiced concerns about Schiff’s efforts toward Congress’ official recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide. Glendale has the largest Armenian population outside of

State of College, Business Lecture

Ashley_Carey@elvaq.com

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

NEWS

Board of Trustees

[Board, from page 3]

As the incoming guild president, I want to assure the board that I am interested in dialogue…and hearing something that is good for all constituents.”

Jeanette Stirdivant, division chair of student services, said she was sorry that they were doing this today since tenured faculty had to endure the wait. She said everyone has talked about faculty and classified money. “The only thing I am worried about is that if we cut these classes we will have 1,800 students and that is not insignificant, she said.”

As division chair of students, “we should be putting our students first.” She added that 33 years ago, there was no separation between the board and the faculty or the board and the administration.

Doug Daniels, student, said “There is probably a lot of legalese about the agreement that I do not understand. As much as I love GCC, I want to transfer and move on with my life, so please more classes are better for the students.”

English Division Chair and assistant professor of English Michael Ritterbrown said that

“To me, teaching is a lifelong

calling. I promise that I will bring the same passion I had as the first day of teaching.”

–Michelle Kim

having less than 160 classes would be disastrous for the students and the adjunct faculty. “I really hope that we can work this out and to have a clear explanation of what has happened, he said.”

“What frustrates me now is the quickness that this has been done,” said Paul Mayer, associate professor of English as a second language. “This has never been discussed. The last meeting everything seemed to be getting better. Then suddenly on Monday, I find out that I have to tell 440 non-credit students that registration for Burbank Adult School happened May 2.

“How will we let them know that there aren’t any more classes here in the summer? This is

poorly timed to do this to our students.”

“I echo the perspective of 17,000 students. By not ratifying the agreement, you are not putting students first. You are doing them a disservice.”

Ramona Barrio-Sotillo, outgoing president of the guild, attended her last meeting. “I want to reiterate that the guild will not be using the guild for credit pay.

However, we want to remind the audience about the adjunct faculty. They are the majority of our guild.”

As a counselor, she could not tell students the exact time for the online schedule. When they found out the news, she said they “look completely unprofessional.”

“That was our understanding.

We received a lot of negative feedback for not bringing it to the membership,” Barrio-Sotillo said.

California School Employee Association Representative to the board and union president Saodat Aziskhanova said they were waiting for almost two months for the side member agreements.

“It’s not a guild mistake; it’s a district mistake.”

When the board returned from the closed session, Board of Trustees President Anita Gabrielian said the board has authorized the guild to go back to table to decide on the agreement.

“We ask the board and the guild to go into an emergency meeting on Tuesday,” Gabrielian said.

Gabrielian said that the board needed a response by Wednesday by 5 p.m. from the guild. Because of a scheduled board retreat on May 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the board of trustees said a decision will be made between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. during the special meeting.

We are proposing that they go back to an emergency meeting in the morning. On Friday, all of the decisions about summer school must be made.

Additionally, the board of trustees approved 21 faculty members recommended for tenure. Each department chair introduced the instructor from their respective department with a short history of their professional and personal backgrounds.

Dr. Dawn Lindsay participated in the hiring process of the instructors. The process to become a tenured professor is four years.

Michelle Kim, professor of economics, was especially

touched during her introduction.

“To me, teaching is a lifelong calling. I promise that I will bring the same passion I had as the first day of teaching,” Kim said.

Additionally, the board recognized the campus beautification efforts on April 30. Board of trustees clerk Ann Ransford and member Anthony Tartaglia presented certificates to those who volunteered their time. Glendale Noon Rotary Club supplied the money for the plants.

Bill Knauf, president of the Glendale Noon Rotary; Larry Tison, landscape architect and Glendale Rotary member; and Charles Easley, GCC grounds keeper were honored. Tison designed the corner of Verdugo Road and Mountain Street with California native plants.

The following instructors were granted tenure: Michelle Ann BlanesRamirez Sevada Chamras Richard Coleman Richard Cortes Byron Delto Daphne Paige Dionisio Ashot Djrbashian Lara Kartalian Kohar Kesian Michelle Kim Maria Kretzmann Janet Langon Denise Angela Leong Hazel Anne Ramos Marian (Piper) Rooney Benjamin Salazar Rosemarie Shamieh Kristina Shroyer Murray Stach Timothy Vale Thomas Voden Associated Students of Glendale Community College Representative of Administration James Stonesifer and ASGCC Senator of Administration Anahit Grigoryan were also honored.

The next board of trustees meeting is scheduleld for June 20 in Kreider Hall.

Lillian Wu can be reached at Lillian_Wu@elvaq.com

‘Freedom From Smoking Class’ Draws a Small but Committed Following

By Luis Rodriguez

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

W

hen you commit, it is easier to quit.

At least according to the students in the program called “Freedom from Smoking.”

The meetings are every Tuesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at AU 117. The instructor is Jodi Gillians, a registered nurse from Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

The American Lung Association started this program called “Freedom from Smoking.”

This seven-week course helps smokers abstain from smoking and helps them cope with not smoking. It is a seven week course.

The first three weeks are designed to prepare people to quit. The last four weeks are about how to maintain being a non-smoker. The handbook for the program talks about the neurotransmitters that make you smoke.

Gillians does not endorse quitting cold turkey, She proposes many unorthodox methods to help quit such as chewing seeds.

Seeds have the same motion as smoking. With smoking there are 20 hand motions. So it is equal to the 400 motions when you smoke a pack a day.

During finals week, Gillians recommends smokers to find something kinetic to do with their hands like play with a slinky, twirl a pen around, or even play with silly putty. Hoover Zariani, student said: “Sometimes I also subconsciously do the smoking motions with a pen.”

“Since starting the program, I have smoked with a bunch of people and I felt sick! Whenever someone smokes in front of me I start tapping my feet and wait impatiently for them to finish their cigarettes. When I am at home, I do not buy a pack right away if it finishes then I let it run out. You have to see the positives of not smoking and that will influence you not to smoke,” Zariani said.

While the program is effective, there are a few side effects that are typical of smoking. Most of

the smokers in the program have had minor withdrawals.

Jocelyn Aguilar, student said: “I have been smoking less since the program. When I want something, I want instant gratification.

I think other smokers have to be ready and it works for the people that come to the program, show up and participate. I have cut down and I feel grouchier. Now I’m I’m not used to smoking at the later part of the day.”

To help the withdrawals, Gillians suggests drinking water to get the smoke out of your system and doing other activities to relieve stress. The more smokers encourage do physical activities, the smoking will feel foreign to their body because it is not used to the smoke any more.

Smokers must get into the habit of drinking a glass of water to get the smoke out. Whenever they smoke they will feel obligated to have to drink a big gallon of water.

Exercise helps at first it will feel hard because smokers will have low energy. Eating takes energy as well and drinking water will hydrate you and give you energy.

Some people like quitting by themselves and some people quit with the help of a friend because they need someone to talk to about overcoming their addiction. “The more we give each other positive reinforcement the closer will get to our goal,” Gillians said.

The class has had three consistent members so far. The Professor of Psychology, Jessica Gillooly set this class up. This is the first time Gillians has taught this class at Glendale College.

She has taught this class for many years at Glendale Adventist.

“I am not sure if I will teach the class in the fall but I would love to do it. While I am able to train people not to smoke, I’m not able to train trainers to teach this class yet,” said Gillians.

Gillians can be reached at gilliaJM@ah.org

Luis Rodriguez can be reached at luis_rodriquez@elvaq.com

www.elvaq.com

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

5

FEATURES

92-Year-Old Teacher Inspires Accountants stories from his engaging past.

Although quite a bit softer, the timbre of his voice resembles ussell F. Norman, known to be former president Ronald one of the zaniest professors Reagan’s, especially the way at Glendale Community College, Reagan said, “Tear down that shows no signs of retiring anytime wall, Mr. Gorbachev.” soon from his job as part-time “What war were you in?” professor of accounting. asked one of his students.

Norman, 92, “When was was honored the Civil War?” “I believe that when God in 2010 by the said Norman recognized a need for board of trustees with a straight for his 55-year Russ face. tenure, one of Norman was was there to explain the the longest in a first sergeant in and the history of World War II but California. had no combat system to him.

He said he duty. From 1940 —Rory Schleuter plans to continue to 1943 he served teaching financial in the Ordnance accounting four mornings a week Department at several army bases for as long as God wills it. including Aberdeen, Md. and “The key to longevity is to Camp Santa Anita, Calif. He kept keep your mind active,” he said. the weaponry to be used overseas Norman’s long-time friend, functioning. computer science-information “[Professor Norman] inspires systems coordinator Rory me to be more independent,” said Schlueter, said, “I believe that statistics major Travis Foster, 22, when God recognized a need who claims he has no trouble for accounting, Russ was there hearing Norman from the back to explain the debit and credit of class. “He teaches well, but system to him.” sometimes he goes off on tangents “He seems a little too peppy for about when he was in the war.” a 92-year-old,” said accounting In 1943, Norman’s best friend, student Inna Akopova who tried Albert J. Lang, gave his famous financial accounting at another answer to the panel of WWII school but never understood it generals who asked why he was very well. so sure he wanted to be post“I’m actually excited because sergeant-major at Fort Dix, New I’m getting it,” she said. “He Jersey: “Because I’m the best explains things the book doesn’t damn man for the job,” he said. show using easy-to-understand First Sergeant Lang got the models.” job because he was just the kind Norman also integrates of soldier they wanted: tough. At anecdotes from his many years the peak of the war, Lang would of worldly experience. “Some go on to command 55,000 men. stories help us understand the The history of America left material,” said Akopova. “Others its indelible mark on Norman. are just to encourage us to keep The stock market crash of 1929 going with our career goal.” occurred when he was just 10 Standing 5-foot 8-inches (he years old. used to be 5-foot 11-inches), Norman grew up in New York Norman points at the blackboard in the depression era where “it holding the chalk between his was total crime.” His mother was very long, slightly crooked a popular vaudeville performer fingers and thumb. His hands are who was often out of town. She surprisingly steady. had to leave him in the care of “He inspires us to do what burlesque dancers, which he got we want to do [in life],” said used to, he said.

Jenniezel Cruz, 21, after a quiz.

After witnessing a fellow Marita Abramyan, 33, who is gang-member almost clobber a working toward her CPA license man with a crank-handle like that said, “Professor Norman explains of a Model T Ford, Norman’s best what to expect out in the world.” buddy, Lang, said, “Let’s get the Amidst descriptions that hell out of here.” So they did. simplify concepts such as why “It would have been a murder,” a company issues stocks versus said Norman, who was intent on bonds, Norman includes “billions not doing jail time for accessory of dollars” worth of life-learning to a homicide.

By Derek Stowe

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

R

accounting,

debit

credit ”

Norman and Lang were fond of riding motorbikes, so they got excited when they saw a propaganda newsreel showing an army motorcycle messenger who would reach into his side pouch to grab an automatic rifle like some kind of iron cowboy.

When Norman messed up a bike pretty badly, the Assistant Commissioner of Motor Vehicles commented on his list of accidents and tickets. “When will you learn your lesson?” he asked.

Norman said, “This last [accident] got my attention.”

The commissioner just wrote, “It is recommended that Russell Norman NEVER be granted a license to operate a motorcycle in the state of New York again.”

Norman went downstairs, got on his bike and drove up to Lang’s house to confess he’d lost his license. Lang dug in his pocket and said, “Here take mine.”

For the next two years until the war, Norman drove with Lang’s license. He even had a job on a 3-wheel motorcycle delivering stationery for a store in downtown Manhattan.

When the war started, Lang said, “Why don’t we join together. We’ll have a better chance of staying together.” So they hitchhiked to Fort Knox, Ky. where Uncle Sam was forming the First Armored Regiment.

The war demanded they join the fight against Hitler, Mussolini and the Japanese, so in 1940, Norman and Lang enlisted in the army.

N o r m a n received a medical discharge in 1943.

He suffered a chemical burn and eye injury while cleaning out the 155-millimeter turrets of the same howitzers that MacArthur used to defend Corregidor Island in the Philippines from the Japanese.

While using a high-powered hose to discharge the industrial solvent trichloroethylene, Norman lost his grip.

While Lang went on to command many battalions, Norman moved on with his career in the education of accounting.

After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UCLA, he turned down a special agent,

Photo by Derek Stowe

STILL GOT IT: Russ Norman is 92 and still teaching accounting with

witty anecdotes and life-learning tales from the Great Depression and WWII.

gun-carrying job with the IRS once he talked it over with his wife Marilyn. He met her in Glendale and proposed on the balcony of the Alex Theater.

Norman opted for a less violent career as GCC instructor of accounting in the fall of 1955.

For an early April honeymoon, Norman took Marilyn to his old hangout in New York to introduce her to his old friends. “How’s riding, Willie?” he asked one of them. There was still snow on the ground, and serious riding hadn’t started yet.

“Oh great!

Only six guys killed so far!” said Willie. Marilyn was impressed.

Norman and Marilyn have been married for 65 years.

Norman treats every one of his students equally but can especially relate to an adult student who —Russ Norman returns to school in later years and says, “Doggonit. I’m going to change my life for the better.”

“I have that affinity towards the adult student because I once was one,” said Norman. Instead of ending up stuck working forever in a chemical lab for Warner Bros. Studios, he took advantage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the G.I. Bill.

“I have that

affinity

towards the adult

student

because I once was one.”

“When making big life decisions,” said Norman, “Combine right thinking with right action … and then just let go and reap the rewards.”

His accounting student, Toribio Gonzales, 50, plans to do just that since deciding to the to switch from auto mechanic to business manager. He said, “I like hanging around with my teacher Russ Norman. I mature by listening to his stories. We all have some craziness in us.”

During his first year at GCC, Norman founded both the business and judo clubs. Not long afterward, Glendale took first in the Southern California Kodokan Judo Association Championship.

While at GCC, Norman spent 50 years doing business in the Pacific Rim dealing with the heads of very large companies.

He had a major role in putting many business projects together, such as the first I-Max amphitheater built in Indonesia for Tien Suharto, the wife of former President Suharto.

Norman discouraged company CEOs from scuttling the deal by assuring them that it could be built within six months, the same amount of time it took to build the presidential palace.

A photo of this theater hangs on the wall of Norman’s home office along with memorabilia from his days in the military and many certificates including his black-belt judo acknowledgment from Japan.

[See Norman, page 6]

6

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

FEATURES

Nursing Students Present Research

By Erica White

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

I

n correlation with National Nurse Week, the Nursing Program held its first ever “Research Across the Nursing Curriculum” poster presentations in the student center May 11.

The event featured 3-panel display boards from third and fourth semester nursing students, with topics ranging from ethics to nursing procedures.

Display boards are a common method used in hospitals to convey information between medical professionals and the public.

Danny Ranchez teaches fourth semester Medical Surgical Nursing along with Kathy McNeese and Tim Vale.

“There had been a clamor among previous graduates that they never learned how to do a poster presentation,” Ranchez said. “We responded to the need. This is one way we can introduce research to our nursing students.”

In the back of the room Janine Jensen stood next to her display which bore the uses of aromatherapy. Jenson is a mother of three and has a slight cold. She decided to do a presentation on aromatherapy because of her husband, who’s involved with a company that sells it.

“My husband believes in

it, but frankly I’m not a huge believer,” Jensen said laughing.

“When my kids are sick he burns oils. I go to the doctor and get antibiotics.”

Jensen believes the poster presentations are essential to the nursing curriculum, and she was glad the nursing program included it.

“When I visit hospitals, every department has presentation boards,” Jensen said. “GCC has a great nursing program and it is very reputable. I’m glad I am going here.”

The presentations count for 10 percent of the fourth semester Nursing Practice in Contemporary Settings grade.

Students were graded on criteria that Kathy McNeese, a cardiovascular clinical nurse and full-time GCC instructor, developed.

Judging included impact of display, technical aspects, clarity of message, appropriateness of data, creativity and of course the presentation [eye contact, enthusiasm, understanding of the topic] , Ranchez said.

Bubbling over with enthusiasm and knowledge related to his project was James Rickabaugh. Rickabaugh is a fourth semester nursing student.

He ushered every newcomer to his display on ethics.

Rickabaugh and his partners Janet Lee and Reena Patel focused on the case of the Winkler County Nurses, Anne Mitchell and Vikilyn Galle, who

92-year-old teacher [Norman, from page 4] Norman was talked into retiring from his full-time teaching position in 1995 but regretted it immediately. “I really love teaching and couldn’t bear to give that up.”

Since that day, he has continued part-time and taught at least one class per semester including accounting, mathematics in finance, and written business communications.

Though his lecturing voice is not as loud as it was 55 years ago, he appears to be of sound body, mind and humor. He still manages to intermingle gags with his diagrams and charts.

“While I got my master’s, Marilyn got her PhT,” he said to give credit to his wife.

“That’s short for Putting Hubby Through.”

“In life, you’re given just one body and one reputation,” Norman’s father, William R. Norman (1886-1969) used to say.

“So take good care of them both.”

Norman’s 5 1/2-decade (and rising) tenure may well become the longest ever recognized in the state of California.

His dedicated tour of duty has yet to come to an end.

Derek Stowe can be reached at derek_stowe@elvaq.com

were fired after writing a letter to the Texas Medical Board about unsafe and unethical practices they’d witnessed.

Rickabaugh pulled at the plastic that coated the left side of his display while asking others what its purpose was. “ T h e purpose of the saran wrap is to show Photo by Erica White t r a n s p a r e n c y, ” SHOW AND TELL: Nursing Students Reena Patel, left, Janet Lee, middle, and James R i c h a b a u g h Rickabaugh, right, show off their presentation talking about the dangers of unethical practices said.

“With in health. transparency in job,” Kathy McNeese said. place, people would not have to Rickabaugh said.

Such skills are very important “We were so excited by step outside the system to blow the high quality of all the the whistle. It would be part of in a hospital setting.

Many of the top hospitals submissions,” McNeese said. their job, and they would be and health care agencies want rewarded.”

“The assignment helps to see the poster presentation as build skills to make visually part of the students’ professional Erica White can be reached at intriguing presentations,” portfolio when they apply for a Erica_White@elvaq.com

www.elvaq.com

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

7

FEATURES

Baja Field Studies Returns to Mexico

By Michelle Bowles EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

W

hales, dolphins and sharks, oh my! These are just a few of the many marine vertebrates students who are enrolled in the Baja Cali field study program will interact with this summer.

The field program takes place in Baja Cali Peninsula in Mexico.

In this particular field study program students will have the chance to study large nesting areas of seabirds, sea lions, sea turtles, stingrays, manta rays and many other temperate and tropical fish species. The numerous tide pools also have sea stars, brittle stars, urchins, sea cucumbers, bivalves, crabs and more.

“There is no better substitute than nature to learn Marine Biology,” Javier Gago the codirector of the program said.

“Students shouldn’t pass up the opportunity, it is a great way to experience life and earn credit at the same time.”

A field study program is a scientific observation of freeliving wild animals in their natural habitat. Field study programs do not change, harm or materially alter the wildlife’s

setting or behavior in anyway.

Students enrolled in this program are able to take advantage of the natural and cultural aspects of the gulf. The program requires active participation in outdoor activities. Swimming, hiking and overnight camping are some of the activities that students can expect.

“It is a real escape from L.A.,” Maria Kretzmann, biology professor at Glendale College said. “Some people have never been out of the city; it’s a chance to see new things.”

GCC recently built a new field station, Estacion del Mar Cortes, located 1.5 miles north of Bahia de Los Angeles town. In the front view of the station there is a rocky intertidal area, nearby mudflats and sandy beaches. The bay close to EMC encloses 17 Midriff islands, islets, coves and wetlands that the class will visit by small boats.

The environment surrounding the gulf is ideal for field programs of natural, cultural and archeological interests and is popular among scientist, fisherman and educators for these reasons. The area includes several Native American rock

Photo by Dieutwerje Kast

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Students enrolled in the Baja Field Studies program spend as much time in the ocean as they do in the classroom. Here students see porpoises in their natural habitat. Other marine mammals commonly sighted include whales and seals.

and cave paintings. Buildings from colonial periods such as the Mision San Juan Borja period

are accessible.

Bahia de Los Angeles is known for its many original landscapes.

It has the northernmost population of mangroves in the Eastern Pacific. The bay is surrounded by the remarkable Vizcaino desert.

Here, students can find the largest diversity of cactus in the world.

The program is offered during summer and winter semesters.

They each have their own advantages. In the summer time students are able to swim right next to the Whale Sharks, the largest fish in the world. In the winter semesters, students get the chance to see the Grey Whales bring their young right up to the edge of their boats.

The application requires a $100 non-refundable deposit that will be deducted from the total cost of the program. The summer session will cost students $785

which includes transportation, the majority of meals and boarding.

The winter session costs $400.

These prices do not include the charges for GCC units. Students are able to apply for scholarships and limited financial aid is available.

Every program at GCC is on edge due to the California budget crisis. This particular program receives funding from former alumni of the program and believes they can withstand the budget cuts.

“I recommend going in the summer and the fall, as I did, that way you get the chance to have the full feel of the Baja program,” Nick Lopez, a major in biology and student participant in the program said.

Michelle Bowles can be reached at Michelle_Bowles@elvaq.com

For More: online stories, photos,slide

showsand breaking news.

To join: online forums, discussion

boards, comment on articles, and

add events to our calendar go to

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8

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

FEATURES/COLUMN

Deep Sea Creatures Subject of Lecture

By Michelle Bowles EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

M

ost people are terrified by what might lie deep beneath the sea, but Javier Gago, professor of biology and codirector of the Baja field Study Program, finds the creatures most fascinating.

Gago talked about deep sea creatures and the characteristics that make them extraordinary in a lecture on campus May 17.

“These animals are so different from any other animals we are used to, which makes them so interesting to me,” Gago said.

One of the most diverse and complicated species of sea life, he said, are the cirripedia, also known as barnacles. Charles Darwin recorded most of the information known about barnacles more than 150 years ago.

“Darwin was such a great scientist that he chose the hardest subject to study, since they are so small and modified, and he learned almost everything there was to know about them,” he said.

Barnacles live their lives attached to jagged pointed rocks with waves constantly crashing into them, which is another reason they are particularly hard to study.

The barnacle has the largest penis relative to its body size

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of any creature in the animal kingdom. They are able to fertilize females without leaving the rock they are attached to, which saves the animal much needed energy.

What makes these animals so interesting is that they have an external skeleton of chitin, they molt, and they are segmented like insects and spiders.

Since the majority of males are hermaphrodites, genetic problems and inbreeding is a great issue with this animal.

Another type of barnacle that has fascinating characteristics is the sacculine barnacle. These specific types of barnacles never actually develop into “adulthood.” Instead, they find a crab and look for a joint in the crab’s exoskeleton. Once attached to the crab, it begins to lose body parts, such as its limbs.

Sacculine barnacles spread massive amounts of their own cells into the unsuspecting crab and start absorbing its nutrients.

Once the barnacle has successfully finished all of this, the crab will stop growing and molting. It will stop being able to generate its lost legs and it stops reproducing. Most importantly it starts to act like it is pregnant even though it is not.

The barnacle releases chemicals into the crab to make it believe that it is carrying offspring, so this way it is protected. The barnacles can even accomplish this with a male crab and make him believe he is a pregnant female.

“The crabs become walking zombies, caring only for these barnacles,” Gago said. “It is truly incredible.”

Barnacles, commonly known as shallow sea animals, do not, as a rule, inhabit the Aphotic Zone, the deepest part the ocean.

The Aphotic Zone is a part of the ocean where there is no light. Since there is no light this deep into the ocean, there is no photosynthesis, which means there is little to no food for the wildlife to eat. The zone begins around 3,000 feet deep and continues to the ocean floor. For every 10 meters, the pressure increases by 1,000 atmospheres.

The temperature will range from 2 to 4 degrees Celsius.

The lowest part of the planet is left unexplored because there is no man-made technology that can withstand the amount of pressure

Photo courtesy of Kevin Zelnio http://www.zelnio.org/

HELD HOSTAGE: This anomuran crab, Paralomis hirtella, has the misfortune of getting her entire reproductive system hijacked by a rhizocephalan. The roots of the externa penetrate throughout the host and tap into its body to get the energy it needs to reproduce. Since the rhizocephalan hijacks the reproductive system of its host, the crab is tricked into caring for the externa as if it were its own brood. It will never be able to moult or reproduce again. These any many other interesting facts about marine life were the subject of Javier Gago’s May 17 lecture.

at the bottom of the sea. This is very remarkable considering that 79 percent of the total biosphere consists of the deep sea. There are very few animals that can withstand this type of lifestyle.

Ceratiidae, also known as sea devils are one of the few that have a natural habitat of the aphotic zone. They are bioluminescent which means that they can produce their own light through the use of chemicals and the bacteria in their bodies. They have luring organs, which attract their food and saves them energy from swimming and searching.

“To some people they are terrifying looking but they are not scary, they are beautiful, they were just developed differently,” Gago said.

Sea devils have extreme sexual differences between male and females. The males are dwarfs compared to females. Females are 60 times longer and 500,000 times heavier than the males. The males are dependent on females for nourishment. Once a male finds a female it attaches to her for life.

“Their mating process is a beautiful example of natural selection,” he said. “The male is

permanently dependent on the female.”

Gago explained how different types of species in the ocean adapt to the way of their environment.

When a species’ habitat is extreme, so is their lifestyle.

“It may seem weird to you and me, but for them, it is very reasonable,” Gago said.

Michelle Bowles can be reached at Michelle_Bowles@elvaq.com

A Special Announcement from Study Abroad...

Dear Faculty and Staff As many of you may know our Study Abroad program to Japan has been cancelled due to the events there and a US State Department Warning for travel to Japan.

Our Study Abroad students have generously donated $3,175 from their refunds to go to Japan relief. This was done through the GCC Foundation andI will be presenting a check to the Japanese Consulate for the Japanese Red Cross in mid June.

If any of you would like to add to our donation please send a check to the GCC Foundation for the Japan Relief Fund.

Thank you Kim Foong Chong Director of Study Abroad

www.elvaq.com

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

9

OPINION/COLUMN

The Tobacco Industry Should be Held Accountable

By Ashley Carey

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

T

he tobacco industry makes me feel weak. With most injustices in this world, we can see a notion of a light at the end of the tunnel. And even if we can’t, we at least imagine one. That’s what helps us remain hopeful, so we don’t feel discouraged.

The tobacco industry is manipulative and immoral.

Maybe at first, when we saw the Native Americans using tobacco, we weren’t aware of the adverse health effects. Maybe. I don’t know.

But right now, and for the past several decades, we have known one thing for sure: cigarettes are poison. They kill people. We have known this for a long time.

It has been scientifically proven.

It is common knowledge among smokers and non-smokers alike.

What many people don’t know is that secondhand or passive smoking kills 53,000 nonsmokers per year. That’s right.

Just standing near a smoker is almost as fatal as being one.

Maybe since tobacco is natively American in its own right, we haven’t given its approval much of a second thought. But if things remain legal after being proven wrong,

then what happened to America’s human slavery business? And wasn’t it once an American tradition to prohibit women from voting or owning land? Tradition does not excuse injustice. It never has and it never will.

I have no idea what the light at the end of the tobacco tunnel looks like. I don’t even know if there is one. And if there is none, then everything I’ve ever believed about democracy — the power of the people to rise up and change things — is wrong.

The tobacco industry has a lot of social weapons on its side.

The spoilsports who don’t want others smoking around them may be considered pretentious, controlling and whiny. They should let the people do what they want. It’s their body, right?

Don’t want kids smoking?

Don’t worry! There are plenty of anti-smoking campaign ads targeted at kids all over the place, say the smokers.

As for surgeon general’s warning — “Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy” — Sorry, Charlie. These have been on every pack since 1966. If smoking killed your family members, maybe they just didn’t see the warnings. Does that make

you feel better?

The tobacco industry wants us to believe that it’s just your friendly American corporation, minding its own business while providing the people with cigarettes, if they want them.

But anyone with a bit of common sense can see how true that isn’t. Tobacco is everywhere.

It’s in my family. In everyone’s families. It’s on the street, outside our workplaces, on our campus, and even in our own houses. It’s used by half the people we love and care about.

A cigarette addict is not by default a bad person. She is just another victim of some of the most powerful corporations in the world. It’s not easy to escape their grasp. But the ability to recognize their allurement is a start. The power of knowledge is the best protection against the corporate claws.

How does a person fight something that has so much power? So much legislative support? So many advocates?

Half of tobacco’s advocates are made up of smokers themselves.

They know the facts, they know the risks, but they decide to justify it. Maybe they don’t want to be smokers. But they’re hooked to power like they’re hooked to nicotine.

Addiction is not a simple thing to overcome. They probably don’t even realize that each justification, each “cigarettes are bad for me, but this one is good for me, and I need it,” empowers the industry that attacked and enslaved them. It’s like a child taking refuge in the arms of his kidnapper.

If cigarettes were introduced to the market today, I don’t think there’s any question that they would never, ever be sold in the United States.

The fact remains that cigarettes are the most dangerous, lethal, and most addicting drug sold legally. The war on drugs fails to recognize one of the most deadly drugs. For many reasons, both traditional and dishonest, the FDA has turned a blind eye to the continued marketing of a consumable poison. The tobacco industry owns the FDA. The tobacco industry owns Congress, the senate, and the law. And if you’ve ever bought a pack of cigarettes, the tobacco industry owns you too.

Each time you buy a pack, your money rewards the industry with more funding for the most charming, charismatic, and manipulative lobbyists that the world has ever seen. Those lobbyists make sure that you can

keep smoking cigarettes, and that your kids will be able to follow your lead.

They fight day and night to write arguments about how the hundreds of carcinogenic chemicals, coupled with the most addictive legislated chemical on the planet, are necessary for the happiness of the American people and the success of the American economy. They work their fingers to the bone constructing the most intricate lies to present to their targets.

These lies are so hard to trace, many don’t bother. The lobbyists encourage complacency in our lawmakers, doctors, scientists, and citizens. In return, nobody has to read the 1,000-page report they forged.

We can refute their obvious lies. We know tobacco kills people. The tobacco industry has no interest in whether or not the people we care about are a part of its victims.

But if we can’t fight back — if we can’t work just as hard to tear the industry down and save so many lives — then how free are we, really?

Ashley Carey can be reached at Ashley_Carey@elvaq.com

Double Column: College Students Seek Balance

By Kate Krantz and Vaughn Lawrence

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITERS

B

alance is a ballerina on her tip toes. Balance is the symbol for yin and yang. Balance is a child taking its first steps.

Balance is a student managing work and happiness.

The question is, how do we accomplish this balance?

The answer is to have one goal and to let that goal drive you.

When students have aspirations, they can better manage their priorities in order to achieve what they most desire.

To know the difference between needs and wants is easier said than done.

The three basic needs for life are food, water and oxygen. Yet humans are not that simple.

The triangle of needs for a college student includes work,

play and sleep.

No two students need the same amount of those three essentials. Each student balances varying class schedules, work hours, extracurriculars, family responsibilities and non-schoolrelated activities.

Though studies are a top priority “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” as the saying goes.

Being a college student carries more weight than the edifying steps that come before it.

College is the time where people are asked to decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

This is when the slightest misstep can jeopardize a bright future.

Students have tests and homework, but this does not mean they are not invited to parties on the weekends.

“If you have a party to go to but you have already been to three in a

week and you have homework, you need to decide what’s important,” said student Courtney Oberndorf.

Oberndorf, a 30-year-old accounting major, uses a strict calendar to guide how she spends her time. For social interaction she also participates in the Leo club on campus.

Although she does a satisfactory job of prioritizing, “you can always do better,” said Oberndorf.

Some nights the phone is ringing off the hook and schoolwork does not seem all that enticing, but knowing when to answer or to ignore is important.

“Pick a side. You can’t have one foot in one boat and one foot in another because you are going to drown,” said student Khoa Nguyen, 24, a communications major.

Student Tsubasa Fujiwara, 22, is the classic case of all work and no play. The business major is

comsumed with his studies and work.

“While I am at home, I read books and listen to music but recently I don’t have time,” said Fujiwara.

He came to the U.S. from Japan three years ago with hopes of becoming a radio DJ. Now, he spends all of his days trying to make money, leaving no time to spend on himself.

In contrast with Fujiwara, student Leticia Lopez is a professional at organization. Lopez is a 20-year-old math major and is one of seven siblings.

After a two-hour bus ride home, she checks her brother’s homework and then worries about her own.

Lopez is successful because she has a goal. She wants to earn a degree and buy a house for her mother.

She will be the first person in her family to receive a degree.

The difference between Fujiwara and Lopez is that Fujiwara gave up on his dream of being DJ and Lopez will not give up until she has a degree in one hand and a house key in the other.

The road to balancing work and happiness is a bumpy one. If we are not passionate about our goal then the struggle to achieve it might not be worth the outcome.

Through the balancing of need and want, students can find happiness. At times, it might feel like the forces of gravity are pushing down us but that is when we have to fight harder and aim for the sky.

Kate Krantz can be reached at kate_krantz@elvaq.com Vaughn Lawrence can be reached at Vaughn_Lawrence@elvaq.com

10

Inspire

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Professors

HELPING HAND: Above, clockwise, Ralph Ami dips Amanda Riley during the opening dance; Upper left, backflips are performed in “Hooked.” Caught mid-air the dancers are in the midst of a jete; Kalee Beverly, left, and Amanda Richardson, front, spin in unison; Depicting the battle between good and evil during “Orden’s Toy Box,” upper right; Daniel Kim, bottom, and Zhanna Petrosyan perform the rolling split, far right lower.

GCC Dancers

Krannig& McMurrey Fuel Student Success

It

is hard to imagine that the professor of Emeritus of Dance, Lynn McMurrey, would have any problems with his feet. But something changed when he became a teenager.

“I became very clumsy as a lot of teenagers do and my agents who were handling my acting career said, ‘We have to do something about this clumsy kid. Maybe a dancing class.’ Since I was the only guy there, I was immediately put into shows. I really liked it, so for a while I did acting and dancing.”

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Chatsworth, McMurrey became an actor at age 12. He did studio work and also acted in plays at the Pasadena Playhouse. His first semi-professional gig was a show called “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.”

“Something that a lot of people don’t realize is that a dancer is actually an actor,” McMurrey said.

“If you have the technical skills but a blank face and nothing comes from the heart, then the audience really gets bored.”

Because of his father’s job, his family moved to Kuwait and Morocco before settling in Lebanon. McMurrey has also lived in France, the Netherlands, Spain, China, England, Iraq, Jordan and

all over the United States. He loved every minute of his world travels where he met new people and experienced new cultures.

McMurrey earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon and paid his way through college by dancing in casinos and cabarets. He selected political science because he was always interested in cultures, societies, and politics. “I figured I am a performer and I do dance. That’s how I make my living, but I won’t always be able to do that so I wanted something to fall back on.”

After graduation, McMurrey traveled to France to dance at the famed 19th century theater Follies Bergère. Known for their elaborate sets, costumes, and nude showgirls, McMurrey described his experience there as “very surreal.” He was also a choreographer for the Marseille Opera Ballet from 1969 to 1971.

International eminence is a distinction given to dancers who have proven their talent and are well-known. This allowed McMurrey to teach dance at GCC as a part-time teacher in 1979. He became a full-time faculty member in 1982.

He was awarded the Distinguished Faculty Award in

1991. Then in 1994, McMurrey company. was named chair of the dance Krannig and McMurrey have department. A few years later, he worked together since 1991. “He attended Cal State Long Beach and is most helpful; he has taken on earned a master’s degree in dance parts of the work just to help me,” education. she said. “Also he is respected as For McMurrey, 72, his main joy an artist and as a colleague. I am is working with students. He has very lucky to work with him.” taught Dance As the Production only full136 and time staff in directed their the dance show for department many years. along with Although 11 partMcMurrey time staff retired in members, 2009, he did Krannig the photo must balance shoot for teaching the posters ballet with and fliers tracking for Dance classes for the Performance department.

2011 and “It’s a big designed department –Renaldo Cho the lighting. to do by D o r a myself,” Krannig, chair of the dance Krannig said. “I mean the biggest department, is the new director for loss we had so far has been Dance Performances. personnel and the budget.”

Krannig graduated from the McMurrey feels that it is Royal Ballet School in London and unfortunate that the department danced for 10 years in Europe. She is losing classes and funds. “The became the ballet mistress at Les community college system is Ballets du Rhin in France where changing and I don’t believe it’s she taught new dancers at the for the better,” he said. “Not for

“Dora really

nurtured me into

becoming the

choreographer and dancer that I am now,”

the students or for the teachers.

Whenever cuts have been made, they usually come from the arts.”

The department received $1,500 for this semester’s production from the Associated Students of Glendale Community College.

Between the posters, fliers and the programs, the money barely covers the additional cost of costumes and props. The students have spent their own money or searched though their closets for costumes.

Miko Shaffer, an anthropology major at UCLA, has choreographed and danced in 10 productions. “If I can’t dance here, then I’ll just dance somewhere else,” Shaffer said. “But I want to dance here because of the environment, the people, the teachers, the ideas.”

Reonaldo Cho, who will be dancing in nine pieces for the show, said that Krannig and McMurrey are his favorite teachers.

“Dora really nurtured me into becoming the choreographer and dancer that I am now,” Cho said.

“Lynn really helped me through notes, like teaching me different [See Dance, page 12]

Photos by Kenta Yamashita

•

Story by Lillian Wu

11

12

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

McMurrey Directs Dance Showcase [Dance, from page 11] types of movement qualities, so I could always grow and change as a choreographer. I still haven’t stopped growing because of them.”

Cho said he selected his dancers based on movement quality and emotion during auditions. His piece, entitled “Internal Struggle,” is about a woman who is going through a breakup.

Another choreographer and volunteer production assistant Patt Paczynski said her piece “The Nighthawks” was inspired by a painting by Edward Hopper.

She had the idea and the music for years and wanted to bring the characters to life.

Paczynski said she shared a similar attitude with McMurrey of getting the work done while still having fun. “I have learned a lot from Lynn over the years,” Paczynski said. “When he came to GCC, he had this long professional background and the

same thing is true with Dora.

It’s nice to work with people like that because they bring professionalism to the class.”

McMurrey and Krannig have helped the dance program to become what it is today.

Paczynski noticed that many dancers were very good technical dancers already, so it raises the level of what choreographers can do in the dances.

“In all honesty, I believe whole-heartedly that GCC has the best dance program for beginners and even for people who have been dancing [for many years],” Cho said.

Marissa Hoffman has been dancing for 16 years. This is her first year in Dance Performances and felt challenged by one of the dances she is in.

“The hardest part for me was the style because I had never done anything like that before,” Hoffman said. “It was experimenting with my emotions.

I think that [dance] was another favorite of mine because I have

grown as a dancer.”

“When you are young and preparing for your career, dance becomes an obsession and you don’t succeed unless you are obsessed by it because it hurts,” McMurrey said. “We do things with our bodies that are not normal. Not only is it emotionally difficult, it is also physically difficult.”

Krannig explained that learning dance science can help prevent injuries and teaches dancers what to do to stay safe from back, hip, knee and ankle injuries. It involves proper alignment and proper breathing techniques.

Recently, Krannig had hip replacement surgery while McMurrey had surgery on his ankle. Those were injuries that both sustained while they were dancing. “Our early training was very old school and very hard on our bodies. We learned not to do those to our students,” McMurrey said.

Because of McMurrey’s

knowledge of various exercises and how to work with different body types, Shaffer said that she is really flexible after McMurrey helps with stretching before she dances.

Many of the dancers have continued to dance despite their injuries. “I have a chronic knee injury, but since coming here things have gotten a lot better,” Hannah Blaisdell said. She learned about the dance production class after Shaffer recommended it to her.

“Last time I broke my foot, I did nine shows and I didn’t even know my foot was broken,” Shaffer said. “Dancers are crazy.

We don’t feel pain like other people do. It really is all about passion. We make ourselves sick for it, and we go to extreme lengths to get what we need to do.”

Shaffer said many of the dancers come back to GCC to continue dancing in the shows, which is similar to working with a professional dance company.

“We are kind of like a family,” Shaffer said. “We come back here so we can dance for each other, […] doing student choreography and a lot of us learn from everyone else.”

Julie Agustin said she gets shy, but everything changes when she is on stage performing with all she has. “Because of [McMurrey and Krannig], my technique has gotten much better. For example, Dora wants our bodies to be professional. If she doesn’t see that, then she will correct your body line.”

In Europe, McMurrey starred in the French variety shows “Musique-Musique” and “Feu et Flamme,” where he choreographed the opening, middle and end dances once a week. He was also in a successful French TV series called “L’Age en Fleur” in which he played the mentor to a group of students in a dance class.

“That’s why I came back to America because I became very well-known in France and had no private life,” McMurrey said. “I finally said I had enough of this.

Fame is not fun, so I came back to America…where nobody knows me and nobody cared.

“I am enjoying having a home for the first time in my life,” McMurrey said with a laugh. “I was always traveling; I lived in hotels. Every once in a while you get a job that would last a little longer and you might have an apartment for a couple of months, but then you could never have anything much that you couldn’t carry in a suitcase.”

One of his specialties is dance history and dance forms from around the world. While in China, he toured various dance companies where he taught Western dance traditions and dance history and learned their dances. “It was an exchange of dance, and I like doing that wherever I go. My culture for their culture,” McMurrey said.

The cultural exchanges he has completed in Nepal, Thailand and India allows him to teach his online dance history classes more in-depth. He plans to add Vietnam and Central and South America to that list. He will continue to be a guest teacher for modern jazz dance if any dance company asks him. And no matter what country McMurrey is in, he will always come back to help dance production at GCC. The Glendale College Dance Department will present Dance Performance 2011 on May 24 to 29 at 8 p.m. Additionally, there will be abridged performances during the college hour at 12:20 p.m. on May 25 and 26.

Performances are free and will be in the Dance Theater, Sierra Nevada Gym.

Lillian Wu can be reached at Lillian_Wu@elvaq.com

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

13

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Where the Animated Things Are

By Kate Krantz

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

M

ost children are afraid of monsters in the closet, but as a young boy, he welcomed them into his sketchbook.

Inspired by “Star Wars” in 1977, his drawings ranged from dinosaurs with piercing claws to aliens with eight medusa-like eyes, that bled with ink on creamcolored moleskin paper.

Thirty-four pages later, student David Perteet is a makeup effects artist and is bringing his pleasant nightmare illustrations to life.

“I found the one career that a nerdy kid could apply those skills and it’s a thrill to be making something that’s never been made before,” said Perteet.

Unfortunately, the animation industry has been revolutionized by technology in the last 20 years, according to GCC department chair Roger Dickes. As a result, it has displaced occupations like key animators (lead animators who draw the main drawings in a scene while using the character layouts as a guide), ink and paint artists with a whole host of new professions such as 3-D character animators and technical directors.

Since the traditional work pool has decreased, the field has become more competitive.

In addition, it has resulted in amendments to the core program and certificates of the department at Glendale.

Dickes has written 27 new course outlines that break up the curriculum into digital modeling, character animation, digital sculpture, motion graphics and a game design skill award, hoping to diversify income possibilities.

“We have college age students working with professionals in the best scenario,” said Dickes. “The trick has been to create a smart structure that can be adapted to whatever changes might occur.”

“It might take a while at the college but the [transformation] will happen fast,” he said as he snapped his fingers three times.

“The curriculum reflects my desire to meet the student needs, given those changes.”

And for Perteet, it’s essential to fulfill his desire to learn and grown as an animator, just as it was in the beginning of his career.

Perteet grew up in Seattle with his parents. During his childhood, he spent a lot of time sitting on

top of his bed that was covered with “Star Wars” sheets, drawing mystical creatures that developed into costumes.

His parents were always supportive and encouraged his creativity.

“I owe them a lot for basically giving me the tools to do what I do,” said Perteet.

He received his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Washington State University.

Twenty years ago, immediately after graduation and without any work experience, Perteet rolled into Los Angeles in his station wagon.

As soon as his feet reached the pavement, he called anyone and everyone to obtain an entry-level job even if it consisted of running errands to purchase materials like plaster and clay. This gave him the chance to also practice applicable skills, build a portfolio and develop a network of people who were familiar with him and his work.

“I think anyone who is getting into any creative field like [animation], should be willing to put in the hours to develop your skills, unafraid to take advice from experienced people and most importantly, have dedication,” said Perteet. “It all really pays off.”

His experience then snowballed into a career, landing his first makeup effects job for a live “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” traveling show.

From that point on, he has worked on movies such as the “Jurassic Park” series, “X-Men,” “Hellboy 2,” “Fantastic Four,” and most recently, “Your Highness,” each taking several months to finish.

In an average week, his job requires 40 hours of work.

During “crunch time,” he works approximately 75 hours a week.

Most often, Perteet works as a technician, drawing and sculpting “bread and butter” head molds of various creatures. Each head mold is then sent through about six different departments, punching in every hair follicle.

“It’s unusual to make it through a project with some unforeseen minor disaster,” added Perteet.

According to Perteet, one of the most difficult tasks is designing rubber makeup for a celebrity’s face because actors frequently fidget around in their

chairs and complain about being claustrophobic. Without a mold of a face, it’s impossible to produce a life cast. But for him, anything is possible.

Aside from the long work hours and highly eccentric personalities, seeing his work in all its immensity on the silver screen is the biggest reward at the end of the day.

“Unless you’re seeing the process, it’s hard for people to see how painstaking it is to create the individual hairs and how much work goes into the detail,” said Perteet. “The same thing applies to computer animation. We take for granted that there’s a virtual character on the screen.”

The animation department offers all of the most recent and current industry standard software used to produce animation in high functioning computer labs.

And from just a basic computer animation and computer modeling class, Perteet has learned to achieve realism through animation ranging from projects like modeled characters and virtual joints to digital painting and perfecting textures in Photoshop.

“It’s a very complex kind of field to grasp and I felt like I really got a lot out of the class. I came out with a belief that I could make a run out of the career and animation,” said Perteet. “I hope that Roger’s program can come out unscathed so they can keep teaching the classes they have.

It’s a miraculous resource for people like me.”

SCARY MONSTERS, SUPER CREEPS: David Perteet, a make-up artist-turned-animator, is drawn to the dark side.

Although the pages are turning, the sketchbook is still open and the drawings are jumping off the

cream-colored sheets to this day.

Kate Krantz can be reached at kate_krantz@elvaq.com

To learn more about the animation department, check out the website www.seco.glendale.edu/animation/index.html and the digital arts blog at gccdigitalarts.wordpress.com

Photo by Mario Camino

ART ATTACK: Fiber art student Katelyn Dorroh created this colorful knitted art work, which she calls “The

Scarves of Yesteryear.” The student show runs through June 3 in the art gallery. The next featured offering is a faculty show in the summer arranged by the arts faculty.

14

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Pasadena Art Night Offers Museum Crawl

By Shearson Unda

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

I

n this recession-affected state, Pasadena was the place to be Friday evening for beautiful art, music and gourmet goodies served by different vendors in mobile trucks.

Pasadena hosted a night of entertainment free of charge.

Entrance fees covered charges, which can amount to $7 per museum plus parking. Museums and art institutions offered a very low-key side of Pasadena.

In a cluster of beautiful sights and sounds the night had to offer in an area tucked in-between Colorado Blvd. and surrounding the 134/210 freeways; there were thousands of people enjoying the work of creative individuals.

“I saw on Facebook the graffiti show [Pasadena Museum of California Art] for tonight. The outside wall -- it’s all graffiti art. It was pretty

impressive!”

–Carlos Castro

Shirlae Cheng-Lifshin, Exhibition Manager of the Pasadena Museum of California Art and curator of the current exhibit “Clayton Brothers: Inside

Out,” is a veteran of this ongoing event in Pasadena.

“Most of the arts institutions in Pasadena participate. Sometimes the particular lineup changes; for the most part everyone in Pasadena participates,” said Cheng-Lifshin.

This group effort provides an evening for various artists to display their talents at least twice a year to art enthusiasts.

The event has expanded over the years, offering visitors a convenient way to access the different facilities without having to deal with Pasadena parking. There were free shuttles at various stops in front of each attraction to trek art lovers from one venue to another.

Carlos Castro, 32, from Glendale was one of the many onlookers along with his family to enjoy Art Night Pasadena.

“I saw on Facebook the graffiti show [Pasadena Museum of California Art] for tonight. The outside wall -it’s all graffiti art. It was pretty impressive!” said Castro.

The Clayton Brothers exhibit was very contemporary, and included street art, surf, skateboard and punk culture.

The influential artwork captured a mostly young, hip audience inside the Pasadena Museum of California Art. Walking into the top floor’s exhibit room, visitors were welcomed by an intriguing work by the Clayton Brothers.

There stood a small room-sized coin laundromat detailed from the inside out with the Clayton Brothers’ impressive artwork.

Most of the pieces of work included a narrative that helped describe aspects of their paintings.

Museums used many different methods to attract guests to the art night, such as online network sites and emails. Participants’ friends and family filled the venues as the night rolled on.

As displays left faces awe-struck, time left visitors hungry.

Food trucks were parked strategically outside of art venues to cater to those in need of energy. Trucks came in to keep guests going throughout the night.

Famous food truck vendors such as Komodo, The Feast Truck and The Grilled Cheese Truck had lines with 15-minute wait times just to get a sample of what are some of “LA’s most wanted” food trucks.

Jessica Madole, 27, of Los Angeles was another excited art enthusiast. As a struggling artist herself, she was able to enjoy the event put on by the Cultural Affairs Division in Pasadena.

“To go to all these museums it can get really costly. [As a struggling artist] you can’t really

SPIN CYCLE: Wishy Washy (from the series Wishy Washy), 2006. Mixed

media on wood panel with electrical and sound, 96 x 96 x 100 inches, Courtesy of the Clayton Brothers.

afford to come out all the time.

That’s mainly what brought me here,” Madole said. “I just wanted to see what each one [of these museums] had to offer.”

Art Night Pasadena is usually offered twice a year -- once in the spring and again in the

fall, Cheng-Lifshin said. For more information on any of these museums or exhibits, visit the Art Night website at artnightpasadena.org.

Shearson Unda can be reached at Shearson_Unda@elvaq.com

www. elvaq.com

Applied Music Promises Skilled Performances

By Christine Gillette EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

A

variety of literary works and the classical sounds of Beethoven, Debussy, Bach and other famous composers will fill the walls of the auditorium this Friday evening while instrumentalists and solo singers of the Applied Music program hold their recital.

Beth Pflueger, Applied Music coordinator and flute instructor, said the students perform pieces they have been working on in their lessons and recital classes throughout the semester.

“We will be featuring three groups of literature: one of pianists, one of vocalists, and one of various instrumentalists,”

Pflueger said. “The styles will range from Baroque through the 20th century.”

The students that will perform were chosen based upon the progress that they’ve shown throughout the semester. Usually students in at least their second semester in the program are selected.

Applied Music is a foursemester-long course available in spring and fall that offers students up to eight hours of private instruction per semester, as well as participation in a performing ensemble and recital class.

Before students can enter the program, they’ve got to show they have what it takes. They must have previous experience in either their voice or instrument,

and they have to audition with one of the full-time music faculty to be accepted into the program.

Jayne Campbell, voice instructor and private voice coach for Applied Music, said the program is designed for students who are already serious about the musical direction they would like to pursue when they transfer.

“If you’re going to transfer to a four-year university music program, you have to have a certain skill level,” Campbell said. “Specifically vocal majors, because the bar has been raised considerably in the past few years.”

In the recital class, the students attend a one-hour class each week to work on their performing techniques with the instructors as

well as their peers. The private lessons are one-on-one sessions at times that work best for the student and instructor.

Another requirement while in the program is to be enrolled in a performing ensemble. Some of the available courses are jazz band, chamber music, college choir, orchestra and operatic vignettes.

“Applied Music is an opportunity to gain experience that can benefit music majors and even non-music majors,” said Amanda Rodriguez, choir student of Applied Music. “Whether they play the piano, flute, guitar, or sing, it’s great to see people doing what they do best.”

Students also need to show progress in order to maintain

enrollement in the program.

Private instructors and full-time music faculty evaluate their progress through juries. The student must perform solo for their evaluation.

“The program is awesome because it makes you try harder,” said Hasana Jackson, another student of Applied Music. “It helps you understand other instruments and positions, which is important for any kind of music major.”

The Applied Music recital, featuring instrumentalists and vocalists, will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium. The recital is free and open to the public.

Christine Gillette can be reached at Christine_Gillette@elvaq.com

www.elvaq.com

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

15

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Student Showcases Conclude Semester

By Adriana Orellana EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

T

he GCC Theater Arts students demonstrated the skills they learned throughout the semester in the Student Showcases performances held on May 18 through Friday in the Studio Theater at GCC. The Theater Arts 100 class, Acting for Non-Majors, students performed on May 18. The class, taught by Professor Jeanette Farr, performed at their showcase titled “The Show Must Go On! – An Acting Showcase,” various monologues, ensemble work, and open scenes. The students from the Theater Arts 100 class were inspired and performed work by playwrights such as Anton Chekhov, William Shakespeare and some contemporary writers.

The Theater Arts 103 class, Acting Fundamentals I: Scene Study, taught by Professor Melissa Randel, performed on Thursday the showcase titled “Dreaming Down Memory Lane.”

“Throughout the semester and on this performance, we want to allow the student actors to follow their intuition and to get into character,” Randel said. “It isn’t a show until the audience is there.”

During the semester, the Theater Arts 103 students were taught to analyze plays and break

them down, as well as obtain the tools necessary to go out into the world of acting. The class helped to train the actor’s bodies’, speech, and imagination, as well as exercise improvisation, theater games, monologue, and scene study.

The actors in the showcase portrayed various emotions.

Ranging from sorrow, to anger,to disappointment, to desire to go somewhere, to the audience and made the characters that they were performing very realistic.

The various monologues and scenes were threaded together using movement between the scenes to transition from one to the next.

The showcase started off, and ended, with scenes from Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” performed by Claire Benoist and Marsad Nikouie. It was followed by a girl feeling conscious of her body and pointing out her flaws and good body parts in a scene from “Dream Girl” by Elmer Rice, and performed by Marine Rabom, Isatou Jallow, and Rugiyatou Jallow.

The performance transitioned into “As You Like It,” by William Shakespeare, and performed by Leela Loisel and Aaron Carlos, and to “Promedy” by Wade Bradford, and performed by Arabo Sarkisian. That scene was followed by a girl, performed

Photo by Jane Pojawa

MIDSUMMER NIGHT: “A Little Dream of Shakespeare in the Spring” featured the students of Andrea Stark’s

Theater Arts 111 class exploring their inner voice through readings from contemporary and classical literature. The ensemble featured Ashley Adams Regan, Amanda Andonian, Darling Avila, Katie-Beth Benedict, Claire Benoist, Sara Bergman, Mercedes Bowie, Renald Calixte, Alexis Crisanto, Rifat Dibrini, Angie Dick, Martin Davidian, Bernardo Dominguez, Amanda Hussein, Lalageh Karikorian, Jesse Meurin, Jay Nanda, Michelle Nissing, Armando Perez, Brandon Rosal, Peter Von-Sholly and Shera Williams. Angela Dick and Brandon Rosal, above.

by Sara Tokumoto in a scene from “Comanche Café,” who wanted to go to New York, which according to what she had heard was “where people drink black coffee, watch baseball, and gangsters live.” Or go to California, “where it is sunny and movie stars can be seen walking around like normal people,” or to Florida “where it is full of palm trees and people smoke cigars,”

Concert Singers and GCC Orchestra, Together at Last

Photo by Mario Camino

CARMINA BURANA: For the first time in recent years, the Concert Singers Spring Concert was held in

conjunction with the GCC Community Orchestra. The concert, held on Sunday at the First Lutheran Church drew a capacity crowd. From right, Krister Strandskov, tenor; Jennifer Miller, soprano and Eric Carampatan, baritone.

or to Georgia “where people can marry when they are 11 years old,” because she wanted to be anywhere else but in Oklahoma.”

Other scenes included were from “Women in Manhattan”

by John Patrick Shanley and performed by Ashley Regan.

“The Day They Shot John Lennon,” by James McLure, was acted by Ashley Carey.

A piece that truly captivated the audience and was very much liked was Paul Rudnick’s “I Hate Hamlet,” which included a marvelous presentation by Steven Sanchez, Randy Lowe, and Nicholas Issakhanian, where John Barrymore came back to life, portraying Hamlet, to this young man who didn’t really know how to be Hamlet. It was a hilarious performance.

Perla Buenarostro gave a wonderful act as a daughter disappointed by her father in “Play Memory” by Joanna M. Glass. Alex Aharonian and Ross Sizemore presented their scenes from “Boys Next Door” by Tom Griffin and “The Nerd” by Larry Shue, respectively.

Isatou Jallow and Greg Lewis presented a scene from “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, and Jesse Meurin and Rugiyatou Jallow acted out a scene from “Les Liaison Dangereuses” by Christopher Hampton.

The Theater Arts 111 class, Voice for the Actor, taught by

Professor Andrea Stark, held its showcase “A Little Dream of Shakespeare in the Spring,” on Friday.

Throughout the showcase the students used the skills they learned during the semester such as articulation, tone, and diction.

“As an actor this has made me bring out the voice within and transmit the character,” said Jay Nanda.

“This class has helped me connect my breath to voice, clarity, volume, and emotion,” said Michelle Nissing.

It included scenes from “The Prologue” from William Shakespeare’s “Henry V Act IV,” a scene titled “Dream Offerings,” which included bits from “Sleep”

by Charles Anthony Silvestri, “Life is But a Dream” by Lewis Carroll, “Hold Fast to Dreams”

by Langston Hughes, “Book of Dreams” by Suzanne Vega, and “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare.

“This is like a singing class for actors,” said Katy-Beth Benedict, “It isn’t really about acting but more about using our voice.”

The evening ended off with “Shakespearean Offerings” which included parts of “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “As You Like It,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Adriana Orellana can be reached at adriana_orellana@elvaq.com

16

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT / REVIEWS

‘L.A. Noire’ is Stylish but Flawed

By Marlon Miranda EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

V

ideo game designers at Rockstar Games made a name for themselves when they published the free roaming Grand Theft Auto game. They won numerous awards for game titles such as Red Dead Revolver and Manhunt. They have always been innovators of pushing the envelope when creating a new type of genre.

With L.A. Noire, Rockstar brings a dramatic new twist to gaming, straying from the direction that made it’s designers famous and brought them over a million loyal gamers. The change might scare off new gamers while hardcore fans will embrace this new dimension to gaming.

L.A. Noire takes place in Los Angeles in a post-World War II environment. L.A. Noire puts you in the shoes of Cole Phelps a decorated war veteran who rises through the ranks of the LAPD by solving gruesome murders and crimes. It introduces a new interrogation-based style of gameplay that will allow players to read characters emotions in order to reveal the truth. Solving crimes and finding clues is what

the game is all about. No need to reload your weapon, you won’t be using it that much.

The focus of L.A. Noire is not about putting bullets in villains but providing a slow-paced, methodical, dramatic experience that turns gamers into private investigators that will need to read suspects faces and mannerisms to determine if a person is telling the truth, holding something back or straight out lying.

Interrogating criminals leads to long dialogue scenes that at first are captivating but soon turns into a bore. The best thing about L.A. Noire quickly becomes it’s biggest flaw. Gamers expecting action will be disappointed to find out this game plays more like a role-playing game.

Rockstar used a technology called MotionScan for L.A. Noire that gives characters lifelike expressions. The characters facial expressions are so real and relevant to the story a gamer has to put too much attention to every grimace or nervous twitch.

The dialogue is meaningless in solving a case, all that matters is the facial expressions.

The thrill of being a 1947 detective badgering witness and villains quickly loses it’s luster

SAVE THE DRAMA FOR YOUR MAMA: Realistic facial expressions are impressive, but not enough to save this otherwise boring game. after the first hour. While L.A. Noire is still an open world game, there is structure so gamers can’t go buck wild like Rockstar accustomed us to in Grand Theft Auto.

There are 21 cases to solve in the game, gamers will probably want to find a new career after the eighth case. The same drama keeps resurfacing and the game really starts to drag.

The time developers used on making facial expressions would have been better spent developing character and tying together story lines. The twist in the story will more likely confuse gamers than give them the answers they spent on the entire game searching for.

Having academy award winning actors do a YMCAproduced play would be the best way to describe L.A. Noire.

Incredible scenarios that never develop into anything more than just a question mark. The game opens the door for a new type of genre but fails to be anymore more than a poor mans version of Heavy Rain. It is new and exciting but not fun in the long run.

Marlon Miranda can be reached at Marlon_Miranda@elvaq.com

FroyoLife is Frozen Yogurt at its Finest

By Alex Campos

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

W

ith summer vacation a mere two weeks away, the desire for frozen yogurt will be at its annual high. There are plenty of popular places to fulfill these desires, such as Pinkberry. But the newer, less famous FroyoLife offers frozen yogurt cravers a solid alternative.

FroyoLife is fully self-serve.

The customers are responsible for grabbing their cups, filling them with yogurt, and putting on all the toppings they want. The workers then weigh the cup, and present the customer with a spoon.

FroyoLife charges 37 cents per ounce. This offers the possibility of paying very little. Expect to pay around $3 to $5 for a good portion of frozen yogurt and toppings.

When it comes to yogurt, the only problem with FroyoLife

is how often flavors change. It becomes difficult to find a favorite because of the possibility that it won’t be there next week.

There is a wide variety of topping choices. The salad-bar of toppings includes 32 various fruits, cereals, sprinkles and sweets. There are also four different syrups to add that extra flavor to the yogurt: chocolate, strawberry, marshmallow cream and caramel.

When the customer finally interacts with a worker, the worker takes the yogurt and puts it on a scale. Once it is weighed, the customer pays and gets their yogurt.

The yogurt is delicious. There are 12 different flavor choices, most of which are non-fat. The yogurt is set up with six different yogurt machines, each offering two flavors and the ability to swirl the two flavors. Swirl is perfect when the chocolate and peanut

butter yogurts are next to each other.

The fruit toppings are fresh and add even more nutrition. At the very least, piling a huge cup of yogurt with fruit gives off the appearance of nutritional value, even if the fruit is only covering chocolate chips and gummy worms.

While the syrups may be the least healthy part of FroyoLife, they add a sweet, delicious topping with very little added weight.

The atmosphere of FroyoLife is relaxing. While it can be hectic when there’s a long line, the store is usually clean and there are always smiles on the faces of the workers. There are a handful of tables to sit at indoors and a bench outdoors that is almost always full. They also have a couple of board games lying around, which leads to some epic

Connect Four battles.

Overall, FroyoLife is an inexpensive, delicious, healthy frozen yogurt place with a good atmosphere and fun times to be had.

FroyoLife is located at the corner of Ocean View and Honolulu in Montrose. There are also locations in Los Feliz, Hermosa and Beverly Hills.

Stores are open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

The parking situation at FroyoLife can be troublesome.

There is street parking on

Honolulu, but the chances of getting a space on the street are slim. Froyolife is on a corner, and the two streets across from it have parking lots. One is behind Coffee Bean, and the other is behind all the stores on Honolulu.

Parking there and walking a block is usually a better alternative.

Four out of five stars

 Alex Campos can be reached at Alex_Campos@elvaq.com

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

17

SPORTS

Alex Sarkissian Leads Vaquero Tennis

By Nik Brkic

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

H

e does not have an overbearing personality. On the court however, he has been an unstoppable force winning all major singles titles this year.

Alex Sarkissian, the No. 1 singles player on the Vaquero tennis team, went on a tear this season. He won all 35 of his singles matches and did not lose a single set in any of those.

It is no surprise that Alex did well in Glendale. He has put in much time into crafting his game.

He began playing tennis when he was five. He started playing junior circuit tournaments around 9 years old.

Before playing at Glendale, Sarkissian played in more than 30 professional level tournaments.

He became exhausted from the rigorous nature of these tournaments and took a break.

Luckily for coach Bob MacKay, he was able to recruit Alex to play for the Vaqueros.

Finding out information for Alex may have been the only trouble for coach MacKay. Sarkissian was unsure if playing at Glendale would affect his eligibility with division one schools.

“{MacKay} really took the time to find out the rules and I found out that if I played or not, I was going to lose a year from my eligibility so that’s what made me join the team,” Sarkissian said.

Coach Bob MacKay had high expectations for Alex from the start of the year. He said Alex was the best player in the state at the beginning of the year.

“Alex has been a leader for this team. He has also been a coach for players on the team. He has helped this team improve,” Coach McKay said.

Sarkissian did well in doubles.

In the regular season, he and partner Trevor Campbell went 202. Both of there losses were against the team of Oliver Andrzejczuk and Torsten Keil-Long of Cypress College. Sarkissian and Campbell avenged those two losses by beat the Cypress duo in the Ojai tournament.

The team of Sarkissian and Campbell did well in the regional and state tournaments. In the regional tournament they made it all the way to the final but lost in a three-set match. The duo made it to the semifinal of the state championship but again lost in a three-set match. “(Alex) is really enthusiastic and is the emotional one out of

Photo by Mike Girod

MOVING UP: Alex Sarkissian, the Vaquero’s No. 1 singles player is moving on to a Division 1 school in the Fall.

the two of us,” Campbell said.

Surprisingly, Alex did not win the player of the year award. The award went to the player that Alex beat in the Ojai final.

Sarkissian will take a break of

about two weeks before playing another competitive tennis match.

“My plans for the future are to attend a D1 school next spring.

In the meantime, I would like to play futures (professional

tournaments) in the summer and see where that will lead me,” Sarkissian said.

Nik Brkic can be reached at nik_brkic@elvaq.com

Track and Field Runs Circles Around the Competition [Track, from page 1] On the men’s side of events, allAmerican sprinter Neil Jones faced some earlier success this month in the Southern California finals and preliminaries with a second place finish in the 1,500 meter with a time of 3:55.89 and a fourth place finish in the 800s event with a time of 1:53.59.

Jones nearly matched his performance at the state meet this season. He placed a respectable third in both the events he competed in. In the 1,500 meter event, he clocked out at 3:52.17 and in the 800, he near matched, but beat his qualifying time by a hair at 1:53.39.

The rest Vaquero track and field team represented Glendale with results in numerous other events this past weekend at state meet that was held at American River College.

Photo by Bryan Ramos

In the women’s steeplechase event, all-American qualifiers Cecilia Nicolas placed third and Catlin Kelly placed fifth in that event. Also, the lady Vaqueros had multiple members place in the women’s 1,500. Alyssa Selve, another all-American, placed in fifth while her other teammates Laura Pluemer placed seventh and Angela Gonzalez placed tenth.

Another dual event allAmerican women athlete, Carissa Porter placed respectably in both her events. In the women’s 100 event, she took fourth with a time of 12.25 and in the women’s 200 event, Porter placed fifth with a time of 25.08.

Shearson Unda can be reached at Shearson_Unda@elvaq.com

RUN!: Neil Jones placed third in both the 800 meter and 1,500 meter events in the state meet at American River College.

Athlete Karen Rosas

Event

Time

Placement

5,000 meters

17:38.67

1st All-American

10,000 meters

37.19.69

1st All-American

Vivian Ochoa

10,000 meters

38.49.09

6th All-American

Carissa Porter

100 meters

12.25

4th All-American

200 meters

25.08

5th All-American

800 meters

1:53.39

3rd All-American

1,500 ters

3:52.17

3rd All-American

Neil Jones

me-

Cecillia Nichols

3,000 meter steeplechase

11:20.09

3rd All-American

Catlin Kelly

3,000 meter steeplechase

11:33.23

5th All-American

Alyssa Selve

1,500 meters

4:42.63

5th All-American

Laura Pluemer

1500 meters

4:47.97

7th

Angela Gonzalez

1500 meters

4:59.48

10th

Alex Leon, Sports Information Director 818-240-1000 x5764

18

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

SPORTS

Hard Work Pays off for Woodward

By Alex Campos

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

A

year ago, Nick Woodward was working a full time construction job.

Now, “Woody” no longer has to handle lumber.

“I quit baseball last year and got a fulltime job doing construction,” said Woodward. “I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life and came back to GCC to give baseball one last shot.”

This season at GCC isn’t Woodward’s last shot. He received a baseball scholarship to continue pitching at Hawaii Pacific University next year.

“I’m kind of jealous of Nick,” said baseball coach Chris Cicuto.

“He gets to go pitch in Hawaii next year. It’s a great opportunity for him and a great fit. About 20 to 25 schools from across the nation called about him, and he stuck with Hawaii.”

He received this scholarship despite missing a month of the season with a shoulder injury.

“It was a strained labrum,” said Woodward. “It didn’t really happen in a specific game. It just kept getting worse and worse until I couldn’t throw anymore.”

While Woodward is an extremely talented pitcher, he doesn’t take all the credit for that.

“I credit all the guys who I’ve played alongside throughout the years for making me the player I am today,” said Woodward. “I’ve played with guys who have made it far with baseball and they’ve shown me what it takes.

“I also give a big shout out to Claudia [Alvarez] and all the other trainers for helping to get me healthy again and my teammates for picking up my slack while I was out,” said Woodward.

Like many baseball players, Woodward has been playing since he was a child.

“My parents put me in baseball at a young age along with a lot of other sports and I just excelled with baseball in a way I didn’t with the other sports.”

Woodward went to Verdugo Hills High School, where he was named league MVP, All State and first team All-league in his senior year in 2008.

Woodward, like his favorite professional pitcher David Price if the Tampa Bay Rays, has had some of his best pitching

performances in big games.

“I pitched a three-hit shutout against Canyons earlier this season, which was probably my best game this year.”

Woodward also pitched a geme in the playoffs on May 13 against Palomar.

“He was just coming back from his shoulder injury, so we were expecting five or six strong innings out of him,” said Cicuto.

“He was completely dominant for the first three innings, and ended up giving us a complete game. That was incredible and it allowed us to save our bullpen.”

“This is hands-down the best coaching staff I’ve ever played for, and my favorite team I’ve ever played with,” said Woodward.

“I’m looking forward to moving on with baseball, but it’s going to be sad to leave this team.”

His teammates admire him as much as he admires team.

Fellow pitcher Mike Noteware complimented Woodward’s work ethic.

“The kid just gets after it,” said Noteware. “When other people are at home, he is at the gym or doing something to get better. He is just a baseball player. His focus is all on baseball, and everything ties together. That’s why he has success.”

Myles Neimeyer was the catcher for Woodward’s shutout against College of the Canyons.

“Nick is a great teammate,” said Neimeyer. “He is definitely one of the leaders of the pitching staff.”

Cicuto also complimented Woodward’s work ethic.

“We were really excited when he came back and decided to pitch for us,” said Cicuto. “We had recruited him out of high school and heard he was a little immature. I was shocked at how hard he worked in conditioning and in the weight room. He’s got a goal in mind and knows how much work it will take.”

Woodward also excels off the field, boasting a 3.8 GPA at GCC. Outside of baseball, he enjoys working out and outdoor activities.

While pitching is a very calculated job, Woodward doesn’t like to think on days when he has to pitch.

“I have to eat five eggs every morning before I pitch and drive to the ballpark with something loud playing in the car,” said

Photo by Vaughn Lawrence

PITCH, DON’T THINK: Pitcher Nick Woodward clears his mind of all thought before a game.

Woodward. “I don’t like to think before I pitch.”

Woodward, a won six games this season and only lost one.

Alex Campos can be reached at Alex_Campos@elvaq.com

Vaquero Sports Summaries Scores Baseball:

Men’s Tennis:

May 13 — beat Palomar College in the Playoffs at Rio Hondo 9-2 May 14 — at Rio Hondo won 7-6 May 15 — beat Southwestern 11-5 at Rio Hondo Friday — Lost 21-9 to San Joaquin at Bakersfield Saturday — beat Santa Ana 13-6, lost to San Joaquin at Bakersfield

May 14 —Alex Sarkissian won the State Championship in singles; Sarkissian and Trevor Campbell were defeated in the semifinals of the State Championship

For more information visit: www.glendale.edu/athletics/

www.elvaq.com

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

19

Calendar On Campus GRADUATION

program. June 4 in SC212 from 1 to 5 p.m.

and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. Free. No children under 5.

eral admission is $7 and $5 for students and seniors.

Graduation 2011 — Featuring all the graduates in caps and gowns and the faculty in robes and hoods. Come early for best seats. ASGCC will be hosting an on-campus reception immediately after the ceremony. Free and open to all. June 3 at 7 p.m. at Sartoris Field.

SGI Buddhist Club — The World Peace Prayer Club and the community will come together to pray for peace. June 5 in SC212 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

CONCERTS

SERVICES

Applied Music Recital — Conducted by Beth Pflueger. Featuring GCC student vocalists and instrumentalists.

Auditorium Mainstage. Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Free. For more information call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5621.

Evening Child Care — Services are available for 2 to 5 year olds.

Free or low cost. Monday through Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. Offered by the Child Development Center. For more information call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5665.

Chamber Music Recital — Coordinated by Theodora Primes.

Students perform ensembles from the chamber music class. Tuesday at 4 p.m. Auditorium room 211.

MOVIES

Caps and Gowns — Caps and gowns may be purchased in the GCC Bookstore. Various sizes will be available to try on. If you think you need an oversized gown, please contact the ASGCC Business Office immediately at (818) 240-1000, ext. 3018.

EVENTS GCC Gay Straight Alliance — .

Join the food fundraiser to benefit the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

Thursday in Plaza Vaquero from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Semi-Annual Ceramics Sale — The Ceramics Department is hosting a sale to raise funds for its

LECTURES “Ocean Pollution Standards” — Guest speakers are from Heal the Bay. Presented by the Environmental Lecture Series. Today from 12:20 to 1:30 p.m. in CS177.

“Titanic: Sailing into Legend” — Speaker is GCC English Professor Susan I. Henry. Presented by the Humanities/Social Science Lecture Series. Thursday in Kreider Hall from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

DANCE Dance Performance 2011 — Directed by Dora Krannig and Lynn McMurrey, and featuring GCC student dancers and choreographers. Dance Theatre, Sierra Nevada Gym. Today and Thursday at 12:20 and 8 p.m. Friday

Saturday Jazz Band and Vocal Jazz Ensemble — The performances will be directed by Craig Kupka and Clare Delto. Auditorium Mainstage. June 4 at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $7 and $5 for students and seniors. For more information call (818) 2401000, ext. 5829.

GCC Jazz Big Band Concert — The performance will be directed

by Craig Kupka. Auditorium Mainstage. June 5 at 4 p.m. Gen-

Friday Flix: — A screening of director James Cameron’s 1997 film “Titanic” (part 2). on Friday. Then on June 3: The 1967 film “The Graduate,” directed

by Mike Nichols. Films are free at 12:30 p.m. in SG 334. Discussions led by instructor Mike Petros after the screenings.

ART GALLERY Annual Student Art Exhibition — Features the best in student work painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, 2D and 3D design, jewelry and photography.

Runs through June 3. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Friday.

MEDITATION Learn to Meditate — Meditation can help to clear and calm the mind. No experience necessary. Free. Today from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in AD 243.

WORKSHOPS “MLA Requirements” — Learn about stylistic requirements mandated by the Modern Language Association. Today from 2:30 to3:30 p.m. in AD 238. Free.

Students are encouraged to register for the workshop online. For more information, visit www. glendale.edu/learningcenter or call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5341.

“Proofreading Techniques” — Learn a variety of techniques for proofreading and practice editing passages. Free. Students are encouraged to register for the workshop online. No late arrivals allowed. Tuesday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in AD 238.

Around Town EXHIBITIONS “Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia” — The Getty Center.

The masterwork bronzes in this exhibition represent the achievements of Khmer artists during the Angkor period (the ninth through the 15th centuries). Runs through Aug. 14. Museum hours vary.

1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. Admission is free and parking is $10 per vehicle. For more information visit www.getty.edu.

Christian Marclay’s “The Clock” — LACMA. The Clock is a 24-hour single-channel montage constructed from thousands of moments of cinema and television history depicting the pas-

sage of time. Runs through July 31. Ticket prices and hours vary.

5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. For more information call (323) 857-6000 or visit www. lacma.org.

“Visions of the Orient: Western Women Artists in Asia 19001940 ” — Pacific Asia Museum.

This exhibit explores the intersection of Euro-American art, the woodblock print movement, women, and East Asia. Runs through Sunday. Ticket prices and hours vary. 46 N. Robles Ave., Pasadena. For information visit www.pacificasiamuseum.org.

MUSIC “Tokyo Collaboration” — Ava-

lon Hollywood. One of the largest Japanese entertainment events in the US. Portions of the proceeds will benefit the earthquake and sunami victims in Japan. Sunday from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. 21 and over.

Tickets are $20-30 in advance or $35 at the door. 1735 Vine Street, Hollywood. For more information call (626) 497-3218 or visit www.tokyocollaboration.com.

Rosalie Sorrels — Caltech’s Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman). Accompanying herself on guitar and perform songs like “Bells of Ireland,” “Traveling Lady,” and “Hitchhiker in the Rain.” June 4 at 8 p.m.

332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children. For more information call (626) 395-4652 or visit

www. folkmusic.caltech.edu.

Ergo Musica — Glendale Noon Concerts. Featuring Baroque works performed by Adriana Zoppo on the viola d’amore and violist Suzanna Giordano-Gignac. Free. First Baptist Church of Glendale, 209 N. Louise St. Runs from 12:10 until 12:40 p.m. June 1. For more information visit www.fbcglendale.net.

EVENTS “The Character & Ethics Project Presents the 2nd Annual ACE Awards ” — Alex Theatre.

ACE’s (Athletes with Character and Ethics) second annual event, honoring local high school and college athletes, coaches, teams, and groups. 16 N. Brand Blvd.

Today at 7 p.m. Tickets prices vary. For more information call (818) 243-2539 or visit www. alextheatre.org.

WELLNESS Free Health Clinic — Open Tuesdays 5:30 to 8 p.m. or until full. No job or sports related physicals. 134 N. Kenwood St., third floor, room 330. For info call (818) 243-2105, ext. 202 or visit www.glendaleclinic.org.

Free Yoga in the Park — Runyon Canyon Park. Free yoga lessons are offered everyday at 10:30 a.m. 2001 N. Fuller Ave., Los Angeles. For more information call (323) 666-5046.

Compiled by Richard Kontas

20

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

www.elvaq.com

VAQUERO VIEWS

African-American Barbie Dolls Inspire Line of Sport Shoes

Photos by Agnes Constante

LIVING DOLLS: Sisters Vanessa and Angela Simmons, co-founders of Pastry designer sneakers, unveil their latest collection at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills on May 19. Vanessa, 27, and Angela, 23, are the daughters of Joseph Simmons, better known to hip-hop fans as Rev. Run of the seminal group Run-DMC. The Simmons sisters were inspired by So In Style; a line of African-American dolls by Barbie, featuring more authentic-looking facial features such as fuller lips, a wider nose, more distinctive cheek bones and curlier hair. The dolls are called Grace, Trichelle, Kara and Chandra.

This star-studded event was produced jointly by Pastry and Mattel. Tori Spelling and Ali Landry, and teen stars Cody Simpson, Bella Thorne, Alli Simpson and Jessica Jarrell were among the celebrity attendees.

Vanessa and Angela’s dresses were created for the occasion by Project Runway’s Chris March, and will be featured on the upcoming BRAVO reality series Mad Fashion. .