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Wednesday, October 16, 2019 Glendale Community College Student Newspaper
Volume 114 | Issue 3
Shaping Women’s History at GCC Instructor describes how the discipline got its start at the college
Anahit Sydney & Eian Gil Staff Illustrators
By Genesis Ruiz Staff Writer Maite Peterson embarked on a journey in 2011 to Natchez, Miss., that changed her life. She teaches Women’s History (HIST 111) and Rebellious Women in Modern America (HIST 115) at Glendale Community College. Since she was a little girl, Peterson was very fond of history but overlooked the possibility of making it a profession. El Vaquero recently sat down with her to travel back in time and understand her motivations for teaching. Peterson’s journey came with many obstacles that led her to GCC. She was a student at California State University, Northridge, where she was part of an original research class that was based off the Natchez project. Due to a glitch in the system she unknowingly enrolled in a class that was scheduled to do original research in Natchez, Miss., instead of Simi Valley at the Reagan Library. Although she was six months preg-
nant, her mindset gave her the strength to continue her education. Instead of dropping the class, she was excited about the opportunity to fully immerse herself in research outside of California. For Peterson, Natchez Children’s Home Services was one of the highlights of her trip. Her instructor had mentioned an old orphanage that was founded by a group of women in 1816. That information made her feel curious and prompted her to visit the place. “I was amazed women did something at that time that could have lasted 200 years.” It is now a preschool and day care for disadvantaged children outside of the community, Peterson explained. The group also now provides a myriad of other resources, including counseling and representation for children who are survivors of abuse. The small town is rich in history, and the building was no exception. According to the Natchez Children’s Home Website “Natchez Children’s Services is the Oldest nonprofit organization in Mississippi and among the oldest continuously operated,
child-focused organizations in the United States” “It was not a coincidence that the universe sent me to be in the small town,” she asserted. The historian lens that she wore gave her clarity once she discovered artifacts, primary sources, and diaries that proved women were present and active in 1800s United States history. In the middle of the interview, she paused and suddenly her mouth turned upward into a smile, her eyes glimmering as she relieved that moment of her life. After a few months, Peterson’s mentor advised her to attend the Teaching Women History Workshop at UCLA. It was there that she encountered Peggy Renner, who was the original professor for Women’s History 111 at GCC. Renner shared her struggle in establishing the course with Peterson, who would teach the course soon after meeting Renner. In the past, Peterson explained, women’s history was viewed very differently. Peterson described one situation in which Renner held a meeting to discuss the idea
of new women’s studies curriculum. In that meeting, some people were not terribly enthused. Someone anonymously placed a tube of vaginal cream in Renner’s mailbox, Peterson told El Vaquero. Despite the backlash, Renner was able to establish a strong course on the History of American Women and it has been taught by several professors in the History Department since. Peterson kept in touch with Renner, who was retiring, and the former professor supported the idea that GCC should hire Peterson as an adjunct instructor. [“Women’s History” continued on page 2]
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Advertisement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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[“Women’s History,” continued from Page 1] Raised in a Mexican-American family, Peterson said that she was blessed to have both parents influence her success. She recalled flipping pages in the library during extended hours and at one point feeling disparity. “I think of everything my mother went through. It’s going to lead me to great things.” She revealed that her mother inspires her everyday, and that her father also shaped her to be independent and to feel comfortable in taking risks. Life for Peterson has been a hurdle race with great accomplishments. She received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in History. Her specialized field is U.S. History and History of American Women. The study of past events can be beautiful and vicious and these elements fascinate peterson. She admired legends like Angela Davis and Maya Angelou who wrote stories and Dolores Huerta who was a civil rights activist. Peterson wants students to know that her Women’s History class explains the roots of how women cultivated our society in America and that these stories should be told. In the year coming up, she will be published on an online database named Women and Social Movements Library, through Alexander Street Press. Peterson hopes to start a history club on the GCC campus, prepare for her Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament, and spend more time with her family. Peterson has firm ideas about the future of the program at GCC. “We have to make it more inclusive [...] we need to include more women of color, and the LGBTQ community,” Peterson said. Peterson said women’s history curriculum needs to be more accessible to all. Many students are unable to attend normal school hours because of work. Digital collections and online courses will shape history in a different direction. In fact, if the reader is curious to know if male students’ perspectives about women changed after the class, Peterson had an anecdote to share. A student, who was an older male from Iran wrote his thoughts on his final exam: “I am finally able to understand my mother.” It is exactly that sort of response that makes Peterson’s job so valuable. Genesis Ruiz can be reached at rgenesis94@yahoo.com.
NEWS
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Westwood Impeachment Rally Draws Hundreds By A. Heimer Staff Writer Several hundred impeachment supporters lined Wilshire Blvd in front of the Federal Building on Sunday amidst the cacophony of whistles blowing, car horns honking and a 2/4 chant of “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to.” In a cheerful nod to the upcoming Halloween holiday, many of the impeachment supporters wore colorful costumes while they waved signs, banners, and, in one case, a toilet brush. There were several people dressed as Trump, a Statue of Liberty with a “SOLD” sign and a group of 5 or 6 people A. Heimer Staff Photographer dressed entirely in blue, with FIRM STANCES: Impeachment supporters clash with Trump supporters at Westwood Impeachment rally on blue painted faces, who, when Sunday, Oct. 13 asked why, explained, “We’re out with a counter-chant of, “no public awareness. Inspired by Trump supporters, Northridge the blue wave of democracy.” more years, no more years.” The the Hong Kong protestors, ac- Indivisible and Revcom, and Rally organizers with safety Trump supporters continued to tivist group Refuse Fascism in- the Voice of the Revolutionary vests exhorted the crowd to stay disrupt the speakers with more tends to protest weekly. There Communist Party. safe, stay on message and to not chanting, but the rally was gen- is a planned rally Oct. 19 in An interesting impeachment engage when a small group of erally peaceful with no violent Santa Monica and one each loophole was presented by BenTrump supporters tried to disaltercations or hat-burning epi- week afterwards. The protestors jamin Wofford in the Oct. 10 rupt the rally with the rhythsodes as in other national pro- plan to spell out “Trump/Pence edition of the Washingtonian, mically inert chant of “four tests. Out Now” with their bodies who pointed out that the 2/3 more years, four more years.” As support for Trump’s im- and march through L.A. Other vote necessary to impeach the Despite the instructions to not peachment grows, rallies are groups represented at Sunday’s president in the Senate only reengage, the impeachment supbeing staged nationally to raise rally were a small contingent of quires 2/3 of those present. porters quickly drowned them Most of the calculations regarding the scant chances of winning an impeachment in the Republican-held Senate have been based on 2/3 of 100, or 67 votes, but the fact that the creators of the Constitution included the word present potentially changes the math considerably. It could be a much different number, in the hypothetical event that some Republicans were to pull a no-show, or if even a small number of Republicans were to veer from the party line and vote for impeachment.
A. Heimer Staff Photographer
YOUNG AND OLD: Some protesters from the group Refuse Fascism took part in a rally on Sunday, Oct. 13, with people of all ages being present in front of the Federal Building on Wilshire Blvd.
STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEFS Alin Pasokhian Afroditi Kontos SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGERS Eduardo Carreño Anahit Sydney MANAGING EDITOR Michael Dumansky ASSOCIATE EDITOR Yesenia Thomson ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Elone Safaryan
STAFF WRITERS Dahlia Alrayes Genesis Ruiz Jenilee Borek Natalie Casey Anthony Gharib Eian Gil A. Heimer Jay Marshall Akane “Annie” Otsuka Tatiana Pak Gabriel Ponce Gurgen Sahakyan Anahit Sydney STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A. Heimer PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Tatiana Pak SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATORS Eduardo Carreño Anahit Sydney
A. Heimer can be reached at aheimer570@student.glendale.edu.
FACULTY ADVISER Rory Cohen rcohen@glendale.edu (818) 240-1000 ext. 5214
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NEWS Wednesday, October 16, 2019 3
‘UCLA 5’ Found Not Guilty For some, the verdict was hailed as a victory for free speech
RESIST: Supporters of RefuseFascism advocate for acquittal.
By A. Heimer Staff Writer Members of the group Refuse Fascism who were arrested on charges of trespassing, disrupting the peace, and resisting arrest when they confronted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at a
conference at UCLA in February 2018 were found not guilty on all counts on Friday at the Airport Courthouse in Inglewood after two days of jury deliberations. The issue of free speech on campus has become a hot-button issue, and many visiting college and University speakers face a
UCLA5 Courtesy Photo
contingent who represent an opposing view and express it loudly. School administrators and campus police face a quagmire of issues in these cases. One of the questions raised during the trial centered on the degree that left-wing groups were being targeted by police. It was
disclosed during the trial that the LAPD had been spying on Refuse Fascism meetings at an Echo Park church and the University of California Police Department had also been keeping track of them and other leftist groups at UCLA. “This acquittal is a victory,” Tara Deloria, one of the defendants said in a statement on Oct.11. “It is important that people on the jury saw the stakes and took the right stand, but this should never have gone to trial in the first place. And it has to be asked why UCLA and City Attorney Mike Feuer are going to such great lengths to prosecute people who were calling out and trying to prevent all of this. At a time that the university should be protecting students, critical thinking, and the right to dissent this prosecution is an outrage and a facilitation of fascism.” “The fact is that we were put through a two-week trial for exposing the crimes that this fascist regime is committing in the world while criminals are sitting in the highest seats of power,” defendant Michelle Xai told El Vaquero. UCLA administrators had gone along with Mnuchin’s request to suppress the video of the
incident until a public records act was filed by the Society of Professional Journalists and the campus was forced to release it, according to refusefacism.org. It was also shown that the UCPD’s office had delayed presenting evidence which showed lesions on the wrists of several of the protestors, according to defendant Atlas Winfrey, who told El Vaquero that “UCLA administrators and the UCPD suppressed evidence and that UCLA’s newspaper The Daily Bruin had refused to print an op-ed about the case by a student. These two things show that UCLA was complicit.” In a statement to El Vaquero, defendant Luna Hernandez said, “the fact that we were proved not guilty is significant but the fight is not over. The fascists are still in power and unless we act in the interests of humanity, we’re not gonna have a future.” Refuse Fascism is planning an Oct. 19 “Trump and Pence must go” protest in L.A. More information is available at: refusefacism.org
A. Heimer can be reached at aheimer570@student.glendale.edu.
GCC Faculty Member Runs for Glendale City Council Daniel Brotman, instructor of economics, shared his vision By A. Heimer Staff Writer Daniel Brotman, climate activist, co-founder of the Glendale Environmental Coalition (GEC), and professor of economics at GCC is running for a seat on the Glendale City Council in 2020. Brotman has an extensive background in finance which includes working at the Federal Reserve and 18 years spent abroad in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong where he worked in the private sector. He was planning to live a quiet life in Glendale teaching economics, tending to his garden, playing classical guitar and reading until the 2016 election happened. It was that political cycle that inspired him to get politically involved. He decided “to be an activist on the inside.” Brotman sat down with El Vaquero and talked about his campaign and the projects he seeks to develop. Brotman and the GEC were instrumental in causing the City of Glendale to change their plan for the Grayson gas-powered power plant to one that will run on 65% clean energy. According to Brotman, the city hadn’t really done any due diligence on the project or its environmental impact, and now that they have finally changed their plan after a bitter struggle with environmentalists and the GEC, Glendale will be saving about $174 million, which Brotman calculates, is about $875 for every man, woman, and child in the city. “They weren’t paying attention and that’s kind
of reflective of how the city is,” Brotman said. “We need a more activist council that’s looking out on the horizon saying, ‘Where are we headed and what are we going to do?’ and look at some of these things that are serious that we are facing like the climate crisis, the housing affordability crisis, the plastic waste crisis, homelessness and so many other things that don’t lend themselves to a business-as-usual approach anymore,” Brotman explained. Brotman also pointed out that many of these crises are interlinked, like the transportation overload in Glendale and its lack of affordable housing, which
causes many people to commute from other parts of L.A. He explained that many teachers and students at GCC cannot afford to live in Glendale and there are many other big businesses in Glendale whose workers drive to and from the city each working day, one person in each car. Brotman’s priority is the environmental crisis and its many ramifications; climate, clean air, water and waste disposal methods. He seeks to reduce traffic in Glendale by making it more walkable and bikeable, and to give people more mass transit alternatives in order to reduce the number of vehicle miles travelled.
Besides his ideas to reduce traffic and plastic waste, Brotman has many hopes for making Glendale a more environmentally-friendly place to live, including reflective “cool” roads and a tree cover for much of the city. “We need those trees,” he said. Brotman said that many young people are under the strain of the inequality of housing and the imbalance of the climate issues that they face and some want to throw out the market system completely. He pointed out that in extreme cases students are forced to sleep in their cars due to the lack of affordable housing. “We are tinkering with these issues but we need to be more
aggressive,” he said. When asked about how to help, Brotman said that “students are traditionally low-propensity voters. They need to register, and then they need to go out and vote.” He also explained that changes are in place to make it very easy to vote in the next election and a voter will be able to register on the spot and cast his or her vote at any voting booth. As Brotman said, “we’ve got to get the young people to understand what the stakes are and we’ve got to get them to vote.” A. Heimer can be reached at aheimer570@student.glendale.edu.
Courtesy Photo
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019
NEWS
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Protesters Overtake Barcelona’s Airport By A. Heimer Staff Writer Thousands of protestors took over Barcelona’s airport and battled with police after Spain’s Supreme Court handed down stiff sentences for sedition and misuse of public funds to the leaders of Catalan’s 2017 failed “Catexit” bid for independence. Ex-vice-president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Oriol Junqueras was sentenced to 13 years in prison and eight other separatists received up to 11 years each for their roles in Catalunya’s October 2017 referendum for independence. A warrant was also renewed for the arrest of Carlos Puigdemont, former president of the Generalitat, who has been living in exile in Brussels for the last two years. The harsh sentences have received tremendous blowback in terms of criticism and protests. In response to a call from the separatist group “Tsunami Democratic,” thousands marched Oct.14 from Barcelona’s Plaza Catalunya to El Prat airport where they held a massive manifestation, creating total chaos and disrupting air traffic. In solidarity, a reported 1,200 cars attempted to blockade Barajas airport in Madrid, according to vilaweb.cat. Riot police shot at the Barcelona airport protestors with rubber bullets, which are prohibited in Catalunya. A police charge on protestors at the taxi rank of the airport and other skirmishes resulted in 78 injured, according to La Vanguardia. Barcelona’s mayor, Ada Colau, wrote on Twitter, “Today we face one of the most difficult days of the last few years. The worst version of judicialization: the cruelty. My solidarity with the condemned and their families. From the institutions we have to work to find solutions and achieve
Twitter Courtesy
SHUT DOWN: A massive protest shut down Barcelona’s El Prat Airport on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
their freedom.” The International Commission of Jurists criticized Spain’s Supreme Court for its “broadly defined offences of sedition [which] unduly restrict[s] rights of freedom of expression, assembly and association,” according to El Nacional. Many Catalans are not in favor of the independence movement or the methods used by the Generalitat in holding the 2017 referendum and view it as an attempted coup. One Barcelona resident who arrived
at El Prat airport from Berlin Monday and saw the protest told El Vaquero ¨They can go fuck off. Why do they have to collapse the airport?” As the situation worsens it is becoming a political hot potato for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who will soon be facing an election. Like California in the U.S., Catalunya is one of the richest areas of Spain and, like some Californians, some Catalans favor independence. Under Franco’s fascist regime, the Catalans were treated poorly and
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there have been many attempts since to become an independent European country. Many of Barcelona’s citizens who remember the Franco regime bitterly resented the repressive tactics used by Spain’s former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who sent hundreds of riot police to Barcelona to shut down the referendum on independence in 2017. A. Heimer may be reached at aheimer570@student.glendale.edu.
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6 Wednesday, October 16, 2019
OPINION
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An Imbalance in the Justice System
The Botham Jean case raises concern for a racially prejudiced criminal justice system in the U.S. By Anahit Sydney Senior Production Manager
On the night of Sept. 6, 2018, Amber Guyger, a 30-year-old off-duty white police officer from Dallas, entered what she thought was her apartment — only to find out that it wasn’t. She shot and killed the actual resident of the unit. Botham Jean, a 26-year-old African American man, was having a casual night in, watching TV and eating ice-cream. Those were his final moments before Guyger wrongly entered his home and pulled the trigger. Her apartment was exactly one floor down. Considering that Guyger was off-duty at the time, it is inevitable that she abused her power as a police officer during this fatal event. Court evidence revealed that Guyger was distracted as she was sexting her boyfriend at the time of her faulty entrance, which would cost her more than just her police badge. Guyger was being considered for a prison sentence that ranged from five to 99 years, according to court documents. While the Oct. 1 verdict was a huge step forward in the justistification process for the many innocent lives lost to police brutality, community members were left angry and confused. Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for murder, with a possibilty of parole in five years. “Of course that’s inadequate. The entire justice system is inadequate and the work must continue,” S. Lee Merrit, an attorney who represents Jean’s family, wrote on Twitter. The sentencing for this now former police officer was too lenient and unfair for a crime of such caliber. Putting it into perspective, if an African American man broke into a white woman’s house and killed her without probable cause — like in the Guyger case— would
The Case for Impeachment By Natalie Casey Staff Writer The question of Trump’s impeachment and whether students thought it was a good idea was presented in my political theory class. Only two students raised their hand in favor of impeachment, and around seven were against, with the majority of the class abstaining from voting. When asked why they were against impeachment one student answered by stating that the Democratic Party has tried to call for impeachment before and nothing came of it, so why waste our time and taxpayer money. Just this last month, taxpayers were billed $600,000 for limos during Mike Pence’s trip to a Trump golf course. Another student answered that she felt if impeachment was pursued and didn’t succeed, Trump will be able to do something worse down the line, and it’ll look like the Democratic Party is “crying wolf.” While I see the reasoning behind their opinions, Trump has broken the law and
Anahit Sydney Illustration
he still get 10 years? Would he get 25? Perhaps life in prison? Would he get shot? A study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s analysis of prison demographic data between 2012-2016, suggests that black men serve sentences that are 19.1% longer than those for white men for similar crimes. Of course, that’s given if the white criminal wasn’t a police officer and was not given preferential or lenient treatment. History has again and again played out perfect examples of a broken criminal justice system when it comes to non-racial and unbiased judgement, meaning that there have been many cases in which a certain race was given preferred treatment. Bernard Noble, for example, a Louisiana African American was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the possession of two marijuana joints. A recent study called “The War on Marijuana in Black and White” conducted by the ACLU suggests that despite the fact that black and white people use marijuana at roughly the same
rates, the vast majority of counties across the U.S. arrest blacks at a higher rate than whites, most of them with a disparity that is greater than 10 to 1. Some of the early signs of police brutality against black people covered in the media were played out during the Rodney King Riots in the early 90’s, when the city of Los Angeles was affected by severe cases of racism, prejudice and unjust treatment against the city’s African American community. We can trace it back to the specific unfair highly-televised beating of Rodney King, an African American construction worker, who was pulled over by the L.A. police and recklessly attacked, because he refused to get out of his car. This caused a series of unfair racial profilings - a large anti-Black movement in the city, causing an uproar for equality from black communities across the nation. While it occupies the larger portion of police brutality based on racial prejudice, the issue doesn’t just end with the Black
community. According to MappingPoliceViolence.org, an organization which tracks police violence, 17% of Hispanic victims were unarmed, compared to 21% of Blacks and 14% of whites. Additionally, the source states that 99% of cases in 2015 have not resulted in the conviction of involved officers. Nonetheless, there is plenty of data, hundreds of studies and thousands of cases which suggest that the U.S. has noticeable loopholes in its criminal justice system, as it still allows for racial prejudice and preferential treatment based on race to sneak up in its court systems. It is also important to note that the ruling against Guyger and finding her guilty in such an egregious case of manslaughter was a step forward, but not what America needed in its seemingly corrupt justice system.
he does not get a pass because people have those opinions. The highest office in the country should be held to the highest standard. At this point, our country is so polarized that our opinions blind us from believing the truth. When something doesn’t align with our views we choose to ignore it. This should not be a partisan issue, we should not be forgiving of a president who breaks the law because they identify as the same party as as we do. Vice President Mike Pence has made statements in the past about this issue — “this is basic stuff. Foreign donors — and certainly foreign governments — cannot participate in the American political process.” This comment is from the 2016 vice presidential debate and yet it’s more relevant than ever. Impeachment has been an impossible topic to avoid, yet many don’t know what exactly happened. The whistleblower’s report is available to read online, they state in the report: “The White House officials who told me this information were deeply disturbed by what had transpired in the phone call…that they had witnessed the President abuse his office for personal gain.” Foreign aid was given to Ukraine by Congress, the money was already theirs.
Trump withheld the funds and pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Trump claims that Hunter Biden was being investigated by a Ukrainian prosecutor and Joe Biden had the prosecutor fired to stop the investigation. There is no evidence that Joe Biden had anyone fired and even more importantly there is no evidence Hunter Biden was under investigation to begin with. Trump also pressured the Ukraine President to assist him in “uncovering that allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election originated in Ukraine, with a specific request that the Ukrainian leader locate and turn over servers used by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).” After the call was finished, the whistleblower writes: “White House officials told me that they were “directed” by White House lawyers to remove the electronic transcript from the computer system in which such transcripts are typically stored.” White House officials moved the call to a separate electronic system that is used to store classified information. They write that by doing this a White House official described it as “an abuse of this electronic system because the call did not contain anything remotely sensitive from a national security perspective.” They were trying to cover it up.
As with most things in American politics this situation can seem extremely complicated. We can doubt the claims made in the whistleblower report, but Trump himself has admitted to some of the accusations in the call. He told reporters on the South Lawn at the White House: “China should start an investigation into the Bidens, because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with — with Ukraine.” It seems that Trump thinks he can commit an impeachable offense on national TV, then it doesn’t count. He is trying to act like everything he is doing is out in the open, so then it must not be illegal. Foreign countries are to never be treated with the benefit of the doubt when it comes to national security. They always have their own interests in mind. That is why it’s dangerous to ask a foreign country for help investigating your political rival. We need to put our political preferences aside and recognize that we have a president who does not have America’s interest as his top priority. Trump is in it for himself and he will do anything to further is personal agenda.
Anahit Sydney can be reached at anahitsahakyan0329@gmail.com.
Natalie Casey can be reached at ncasey379@student.glendale.edu.
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Analysis: NBA’s Top 5 Rankings As the 2019-2020 season kicks off next week, El Vaquero takes a look at the top 5 teams
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
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Analysis: GCC’s Sports in Review Columnist Elone Safaryan has a run down of college games and performance from Sept. 24 to Oct. 12 By Elone Safaryan Associate Sports Editor Men’s Football:
By Anthony Gharib Staff Writer The National Basketball Association’s new season tips off next week and it will prove to be one of the most exciting in decades. With stars like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George teaming up in LA and Kevin Durant leaving the Golden State Warriors, the league is finally balanced. El Vaquero asked some GCC students about their thoughts for the upcoming season, along with my predictions. Let’s take a look. Freshman Narek Zargaryan, whose major is undecided, was adamant on mentioning the Lakers are the best team in the league as they include “the best big man in the game and the greatest player of all time.” He made sure to mention how the balance of the league has completely shifted with Kevin Durant leaving the Warriors. Zargaryan also included the LA Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers behind the Lakers. To him, the Clippers pose the best chance of taking down the Lakers in the playoffs but “it would be hard to bet against Lebron and Davis in a seven game series,”said Zargaryan. Sophomore Allen Melikyan, a political science major, mentioned the fact that the Clippers are now the “best defensive team in the West, if not the entire NBA,” as the main factor for why he believes they are the best team in the NBA. Melikyan also included key bench players like Lou Williams which will allow them to have “no shortage of offensive firepower from either [Kawhi] Leonard or [Paul] George.” His list had the Lakers after the Clippers, followed by Philadelphia, Milwaukee and the
Houston Rockets. Freshman Ervand Barseghian, a biology major, agreed with Melikyan, stating that the Clippers, as a result of their depth and excellent bench, prove to be the best team in the NBA. What made a difference to him were the acquisitions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, which was also the case with many people who I spoke with. His list concluded with the Lakers, Bucks, 76ers and Rockets. GCC students mostly agreed that the Clippers are now the best team in the league. However, the Lakers are not a far second as both Barseghian and Melikyan implied that they would not be surprised if they overthrew the Clippers in the playoffs. As the season is coming close, my rankings go as follows: 1) Los Angeles Clippers: As much as it hurts for a Laker fan like myself to say this, the Clippers prove to be the best team in the league. The frontcourt of Kawhi and Paul George along with pesky guard Patrick Beverly will be a problem. The team also returns with the greatest sixth man in NBA history, Lou Williams, and perfect role players like Montrez Harrell and Landry Shamet. Under the guidance of championship winning coach Doc Rivers, the Clippers are poised for a title run. 2) Los Angeles Lakers: The addition of Anthony Davis this past summer elevated the Lakers into a championship caliber team. Not only did they acquire Davis, but they surrounded LeBron James with three point shooters, like Avery Bradley and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who can play on both sides of the ball. The hiring of coach Frank Vogel will elevate their defense which is crucial in the fast-paced offensive
Athlete Spotlight: Tito Tejada By Alex Leon Sport Information Director Imagine this. You are the goalie for the GCC Men’s Soccer Team and several players are bearing down on you trying to score a goal, not an easy proposition this season against freshman goalkeeper Tito Tejada. Including Tuesday night’s game at home, a 2-1 win over Victor Valley, Tejada has been a one man
defensive stopper for the 7-5-1 Vaqueros as he has posted six shutouts this season and five straight from Sept. 17-Oct. 1. In his mild mannered way, Tejada reflected on his recent success but deflected praise on himself, instead choosing to focus on the play of the defense and the team overall. “I have to admit I get a little nervous when players are bearing down on me but that is only on the inside because I need to stay focused
style in the Western Conference, and the play of LeBron and Davis will result in another championship run for the Lakers. 3) Milwaukee Bucks: The team with the best record in the league last year is poised for another deep playoff run. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo spent all offseason working on his jump shot and has stated he’s out for revenge this year after being exposed by the Toronto Raptors last playoffs. The loss of role player Malcolm Brogdon, who signed with the Pacers, will be hard to replace, but sharpshooter Kyle Korver will fill the role. Milwaukee is destined for more success in playoffs. 4) Philadelphia 76ers: It was a disappointing season for the 76ers last year, as they failed to capitalize on their Jimmy Butler, a four-time all star, acquisition. However, the 76ers regrouped as they signed premier free agent Al Horford, a playmaking center who can stretch the floor and is an exceptional defender, and traded Butler away for guard Josh Richardson, a slashing guard who can also shoot the three and is a great on-ball defender. These two stars will effectively complement Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, who has been working on his jump shot all summer. The 76ers will have a possible run in the playoffs. 5) Utah Jazz: The Utah Jazz proved to be one of the biggest winners of the NBA offseason after trading for guard Mike Conley, and signing key role players Bojan Bogdanovic and Jeff Green to add to their core of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. A deep playoff run is poised to happen with the many experienced players they have in a loaded Western Conference.
so I can defend the goal for the team, he said. “The team is in a really good place now after overcoming a rough stretch earlier in the season and I’m happy to be doing my part in any success we have.’’Tejada said that while the shutouts or clean sheets are nice, he doesn’t care about personal credit as long as the team wins. He said he had seven clean sheets which are stat sheets that show no goals allowed in 10 games at John Burroughs in Burbank last year after deciding to join the team after playing for the Real So Cal Academy Club Team for several years. “Tito has had a significant impact on the recent success of the team.
What’s changed for the football team? Not much. Having played three games, and losing two of those, the football team continues on with a sub-par performance. In their first game, they lost to Mt. San Jacinto with a score of 50-28. Their next game was against West LA, a conference team, where they were blown out 54-6. Their third game being against Chaffey resulted in yet another loss by a score of 56-3. While any positive aspect about the team remains to be seen, they are however excelling at one thing, being able to get thrashed by every team out there. Men’s Soccer: The soccer team has changed from their mediocre ways to improving their record. Having won four games, losing one, and tying another, the men’s soccer team improved their overall record to 8-5-1 and a win percentage of .607. Having scored 10 goals and allowing six goals in those six games, the Vaq’s have certainly turned things around. Let’s hope they can further their success. Men’s Cross Country: Very impressive stuff for the men’s team as they finished first place for the first time this season at the Western State Conference Preview. The Glendale College Cross Country team hosted the WSC Preview race at Whittier. Their top runner was Marvin Guardado, who finished in second place with a time of 20:09.0. Their next race will take place on Oct. 19 at Riverside where they’ll be competing at the UCR Highlander Invitational.
He balances technically skilled shot stopping with a cool demeanor that is critical for the mentality of a high quality goalkeeper,’’ said head coach Laura Matsumoto. “He has denied opponents goals at critical times in our matches and the team feeds off of his powerful play. Tito’s confidence continues to grow along with the team’s confidence overall, which can be seen in our tight shutout wins in the last several matches.’’
Alex Leon can be reached at aleon@glendale.edu.
Women’s Soccer: Things have fallen off really fast and badly for the Lady Vaq’s soccer team. Having lost four games while one ended in a tie, their performance hasn’t been up to par since the last time we checked in with the team. They have scored only two goals in those games while allowing a whopping 17 goals. Their defense has been atrocious and their offense has been absent. They better tighten up that defense and bolster their offense, or else they won’t be going very far. Women’s Volleyball: While their previous streak of games wasn’t that impressive, their recent games have one thing in common, they’re uninspired. Their past five games consist of three losses and two wins all against opponents within the conference. Top performers are Courtney Johnson and Nicole Oberhammer who both have compiled 54 kills and 34 kills respectively. They have seven games remaining and they’re all against the conference. Nothing to brag about then and nothing to brag about now. Women’s Cross Country: Once again, the women were victorious as they went on to take first place. They accumulated a score of score of 30 points, while all five of the scoring runners finished in the top 10. Coming in at second place was Yajaira Calderon who had a time of 18:33.8. Phoebe Forsyth took third, Jamie Levin got sixth, while Lydia Forsyth and Bianca Biel finished in ninth and 10th respectively.
Elone Safryan can be reachedat esafary181@student.glendale.edu.
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www.elvaq.com ENTERTAINMENT
Wednesday, October 16 , 2019
Greek Goddess at the Greek Theater By Natalie Casey Staff Writer MARINA performed at the Greek Theater this past weekend in Los Angeles. The theater, tucked away in the hills of Los Feliz, created a sense of intimacy, even in a sold out venue of almost 6,000 fans. MARINA has a cultlike following, who know all the lyrics and feel a true connection to her. Before she announced her new double album “Love + Fear,” she changed her stage name from Marina and the Diamonds to MARINA. In an interview with the London based Channel 4 News, she states her reason for the change, “I wanted to simplify the way I function, and interact with the world as an artist.” Her need to be authentic is always present. It’s been four years since MARINA has performed at the Greek Theater, and after taking a three year hiatus from music,
she wasn’t sure if she was going to keep performing. She opened up to Rolling Stone saying she felt trapped artistically and during her hiatus she took psychology courses at the University of London, finding inspiration from psychologist Elisabeth KüblerRoss. Ross has a theory that all human emotion stems from love and fear and the two cannot be experienced together. This theory is what inspired the title of her new album. Like her dual album, MARINA’s set list for the show was split into these two concepts. With the love starting first, she opened with “Handmade Heaven,” a song about feeling free. She appeared on the stage in custom made silk lace up shorts, with a matching silk corset that had pictures of the songstress’ kitten’s (Mavis and Jupiter) on the front. The outfit was made for her by OLIMAstudio. She kept the show going with
popular songs like “Hollywood,” and her biggest hit “Primadonna.” Relating to the love theme, the tune’s about the American Dream and getting what you want. After a few more songs she wrapped up her love portion of the concert and the theater was buzzing with energy. She started her fear side of the album with the song “Believe in Love,” a song about insecurity in a relationship. “Emotional Machine,” ”No More Suckers,” and “Karma,” all off her new album, were performed. Relating to the theme of fear, these songs are about being more vulnerable than you think you are, getting rid of toxic people, and getting what you deserve. At the end of her set, MARINA had performed 20 songs, approaching the two hour mark. Fans were still wanting more with some upset that she didn’t play “Radioactive,” another insanely catchy song. Although fans will
Courtesy Photo
always want more, MARINA’s fans truly love her. We’ve seen her grow and evolve over the years, just as we were doing the same. My first MARINA concert was met with the smell of vanilla perfume and teens getting dropped off by their moms. This concert was met with the smell of weed
in the theater and waiting in line for a beer. By the end of the show spirits were high, and the rush of seeing someone we admired was felt throughout the stadium.
Natalie Casey can be reached at ncasey379@student.glendale.edu.
Do you want to know what the El Vaquero has been listening to? El Vaquero has compiled a playlist for October. Follow the instructions and tune in with us! Netflix Courtesy
‘Unbelievably’ Heartbreaking: Docudrama on Rape Puts Trauma Into Perspective By Tatiana Pak Staff Writer “Rape is the most under-reported crime; 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police” while “the prevalence of false reporting is between 2% and 10%,” according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) data on the U.S. Last month, Netflix released a limited series that already had scored 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.6/10 on IMDB on its first day. “Unbelievable” seeks to change the perception on rape culture and poke at the problematic American justice system. The story, based on true events, initially goes back to 2008 in Lynnwood, Wash., where a teen-aged girl, Marie Adler (played by Kaitlyn Dever). was raped by a man who broke into her apartment. Constant flashbacks of the sexual assault were triggered every time she was asked questions by the police.
As she was a once-troubled girl living in an at-risk youth community, she seemed to have built a profile that mattered more to authorities than the actual assault that had taken place. Facts about the rape didn’t matter anymore. Suddenly her job was to convince them of what had happened to her. They wouldn’t believe her to the point she didn’t want to believe herself either. Fast-forward three years later to Colorado, where detective Karen Duvall (played by Merritt Wever) joins Grace Rasmussen (played by Toni Collette) to solve similar rape cases. They have a different approach with victims who were raped the same way Adler was. They also asked hard questions, though evidence was lacking. Yet they still believed in the victims. So what changed? With every new episode, the audience has more questions. Why is it so hard to believe Adler? Was her background louder than her pain? Was it
because of the different lens between male and female detectives on sexual violence? How many went or still go through the same? Make no mistake, this is painful to watch. With every episode, the audience hopes for a “happier” ending. But how could we expect it? “This is not something people get over, this is something they carry with them forever, like a bullet in the spine,” Duvall says at one point. They were all attacked by the same man, and all they wanted was to feel safe again. They deserved that at least. The most “unbelievable” part of it all was how this show is the reality for many out there. The shame and the pain that comes with an assault is immeasurable. “Just because we can’t see the path, doesn’t mean it’s not there,” detective Duvall pointed out. Tatiana Pak can be reached at tatiipak@gmail.com.
Step 1 - Open up the Spotify App. Step 2 - Click on “search.” Step 3 - On the right corner, look for the camera icon. Step 4 - Scan the image below and hit play.