theinsider X Games Contest and venue changes deal a deadly blow to Los Angeles’ extreme sports scene.
and more inside...
Campus Crazies
How a mentally ill student became San Gabriel’s Barbecue Tongs Murderer.
Ryun and MéLisa Couple integrates art, advocacy and six adopted children
Generation DIY
Milllennials embrace traditional crafts to demonstrate self-sufficiency.
Glendale Community College
theinsider
Glendale Community College Magazine Spring 2013
From the Editor moving on...
Number I
Campus:
One former student’s undiagnosed and untreated mental illness led to murder and, for those who have ever wondered why GCC has so many steps, there is a simple answer: geology.
Welcome to the sixth issue of the Insider! This semester brought major changes for the Insider. In 2008, I persuaded the head of Glendale Community College’s journalism department, Michael Moreau, into starting a magazine using the Journalism 107 class as the staff. It wasn’t hard to convince him — I think he’d always wanted to do it. I volunteered myself as editor. I had a pretty good track record — I had served as the editor-in-chief of El Vaquero, the campus newspaper, had done a semester as the photo editor, and was firmly ensconced as the production manager. Starting a magazine seemed like a natural progression, and it gave the feature writing students a place to showcase their work. Time passed, staffs came and went. Six issues later, I’m still the editorin-chief of the Insider. I did not set out to be editor for life. I had always imagined a scenario where I would pass the torch to another student, perhaps one who, like me, had been the editor of El Vaquero. But since the magazine writing class was offered only in the spring semester, a smooth transition proved elusive. Moreau began the retirement process earlier this year, and adjunct faculty members have taken on the classes he previously taught. Alan Rifkin is the new instructor for Journalism 107, but the role of faculty advisor for the Insider has gone vacant. Technically. In practice, Moreau came out of retirement to help me edit this year’s magazine. In the fall semester, I will be leaving Glendale College for Cal Poly Pomona. My successor will be Agnessa Kasumyan and I wish her good fortune in this new role. Since the Insider launched, 66 student journalists, the best of each class, have seen their work in print and many more have been published online. Several have returned to contribute for a second semester. We have been able to incorporate the work of student artists, video bloggers, photographers and even poets. We have won more than 60 awards in state and regional competition, over five issues, and are members of the California College Media Association and the Journalism Association of Community Colleges. This year’s offerings include everything from the rise of the electronic dance scene to the bane of contaminated drinking water; the Barbecue Tongs Murderer of San Gabriel; adoptive families; Internet dating; and the millennial propensity for do-it-yourself projects. In short, there is something for every reader. Enjoy! — Jane Pojawa, Editor-in-Chief
On Our Cover:
Volume 6
Legendary motocross racer Ricky Carmichael performing a trick in the X Games Best Whip competition. Carmichael has to his credit 150 Supercross/ Motocross wins, 10 AMA Motocross Championships as well as three X Games Gold medals in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He currently races NASCAR. 2 the insider | Spring 2013 Photo by Richard Kontas.
People:
One student is overcoming sexual abuse and homophobia while preparing for a career as a UNICEF psychologist. A faculty member and his wife balance a busy family life with adoption advocacy and filmmaking.
Music:
A new album from Canadian progressive metal band Intervals and electronic dance music. Raves are becoming prohibitively expensive, yet there has been no decline in popularity. Why are students willing to spend so much for a good time?
Personal Account
While some students went on vacation for spring break, others went to work. One staff member visited Nicaragua on a medical mission.
Community:
Our cover story: ESPN has announced that it will be cancelling the Best Trick competition from the X Games as well as moving the hosting city from Los Angeles. What does this mean for fans of extreme sports?
Opinion
The millennial generation is taking to traditional crafts, meeting romantic partners online and playing increasingly misogynistic video games. What does this say about our culture? www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
insider
the
Glendale Community College Magazine SPRING 2013
Volume 6
Number I
Here’s What’s
Inside
...
Jane Pojawa
Campus Crazies: How a Mentally Ill Student Became San Gabriel’s Barbeque Tongs Murderer
STAFF WRITERS
by Jane Pojawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2
editor-in-chief
Pamela Avila Melinda Ebrahimi Rachel Ellison Katherine Jose Songvit Kiatpiriya Richard Kontas Courtney Luengo Michelle Meneses Sean Moriarty
Steep Traditions: Glendale’s Unique Geology by Songvit Kiatpiriya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 8
Manuela Garcia Amaya: UNICEF Bound by Melinda Ebrahimi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 12
faculty adviser
Michael Moreau mmoreau@glendale.edu (818) 551-5214
MéLisa and Ryun: a Marriage of Art and Adoption by Michelle Meneses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 16
advertising
Jeff Smith jsmith@glendale.edu (818) 240-1000, ext. 5493
Album Review: Intervals’ New EP by Sean Moriarty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 20
Rave On: High Ticket Prices Don’t Dampen Enthusiasm by Katherine Jose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 22 Print copies are available for sale at http://gccinsider.magcloud.com To submit an idea or an article: The insider accepts story ideas in news, features, profiles, sports and entertainment from the public. Send ideas or articles, to the editor at editor@glendalecollegeinsider.com
or (818) 551-5349. Letters to the Editor: Letters may be reproduced in full or in part and represent only the point of view of the writer, not the opinion of The Insider or Glendale Community College and its district. Letters must be signed and typed and include the full name and address of the writer. The Insider is a First Amendment publication. Send letters to: 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA 91208 (818) 240-1000 ext. 5349 Send E-mail to: editor@glendalecollegeinsider.com
Personal Account: Clean Water for Nicaragua by Pamela Avila. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 28
Community: The X Games by Richard Kontas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
page 31
Opinion: Generation Y is D.I.Y. by Marlene Rivera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
page 32
Opinion: The Destigmatization of Internet Dating by Rachel Ellison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 36
Opinion: Video Games and Rape Culture by Courtney Luengo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
page 39
Spring 2013 | the insider
3
Campus Crazies:
— By Jane Pojawa
How a mentally ill student became San Gabriel’s Barbecue Tongs Murderer George W. Pigman IV sat expressionless as the verdict was read. His red hair, blue eyes and delicate features stood in contrast to his haunted, angry look. He had not spoken throughout his trial. He didn’t speak now. It took less than two full days of deliberation for the Pasadena Superior Court jury to find this son of a prominent Caltech professor guilty of first-degree murder. This shocking case of a child of privilege brutally murdering his girlfriend had been simmering in the justice system for some time. Despite the brevity of the final phase of the trial, the impact of the verdict was overwhelmed by a secondary verdict: that he was in fact, insane at the time of the murder. There is no doubt of Pigman’s culpability in the cold-blooded killing of Eimi Yamada, but the final sentence, “not guilty by reason of insanity,” was trivialized by the question of George Pigman’s mental
2
the insider | Spring 2013
health. First degree murder. Not guilty by reason of insanity. Did Pigman know what he was doing at the time of the murder? The “insanity defense” is often portrayed as nothing more than a criminal’s last-ditch effort to escape punishment. Insanity is a topic that rests uneasily upon the American conscience; it is a tragic variable of the human mind that is not uncommon in our society. In our efforts to accommodate mental illness, a rift has developed between protecting the rights of the afflicted, and protecting the public from the depredations of the insane. People suffering from mental illness cannot be completely isolated from society, nor can they be fully integrated. Although medication is a powerful tool in treating mental illness, there continues to be an astonishing lack of identification and treatment of mentally ill individuals who may one day “snap” and destroy innocent lives. Pigman had fallen very far, very fast,
but from the onset there were clues that he was a deeply troubled young man. This murder could have and should have been prevented. Eimi Yamada, a 21-year-old Japanese international student, tried to look away, tried to block the endless blows, as she was stabbed to death on the bathroom floor of her San Gabriel apartment in May of 2005. The police found her body nude except for a blue T-shirt wrapped around her neck. She lay in a semi-fetal position. George Wood Pigman IV murdered Eimi Yamada with a semi-sharp pair of scalloped-edged kitchen utility tongs in
Darby Williams, left, one of George Wood Pigman IV’s public defenders, sits with him during opening statements on Feb. 4, 2009. Photo by Walt Mancini for San Gabriel Valley News. www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
a haze of delusion. She was beaten and stabbed multiple times not only on her face, but on all extremities, back and front. Her death was not swift or in any way justifiable; it was extremely slow and painful, the assault lasting 20 to 30 minutes. She may have clung to life after losing consciousness. She did not have the tools to defend herself either physically or socially; she was killed in her own home by someone she loved and trusted. Unfortunately, Yamada’s tragic case is not unheard of in today’s culture of violence. It is a fact that instances like this have become an accepted reality that is most troubling. The Columbine High School massacre of April 20, 1999, in which Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, killed 12 students and one teacher, and wounded 21 others before committing suicide is etched on the public consciousness as being the first “school shooting,” although shootings in schools have occurred in the United States as far back as the 1700s. Some were accidental, some were malicious and some the direct result of mental illness. The body count rises as does the number of incidents and public debate rages as to what to do about “campus crazies.” Following Jared Lee Loughner’s Tucson shootings of 2011, Philip Mullendore, Glendale’s Interim Campus Chief of Police, hosted two packed presentations in the auditorium. “From Creepy To Killer: Recognizing the Warning Signs of Potentially Violent Behavior on Campus,” provided the campus community with guidelines for coping with troubled students. “Many people struggle with mental illness,” said Mullendore. “Very few of them are violent. Every teacher will, at some point, have to deal with a student whose behavior is inappropriate.”
George Pigman’s strange behavior was not unnoticed, but it wasn’t until after he brutally murdered a Japanese student that he was diagnosed with mental illness. www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Amy Sterling Casil reported in a recent article for policymic, “Jared Lee Loughner had been reported to campus police at Pima Community College for threatening behavior at least 18 times prior the rampage that grievously injured former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and took the lives of six others. It took a 51-page mountain of written reports and evidence for Loughner to be banned from
campus.” Some members of Glendale’s campus community are concerned that something similar could happen here. Mullendore stressed the need to set clear limits on acceptable behavior, documenting incidents and when to call the campus police. “Tell them: I am uncomfortable with you standing this close to me. In this class, we do not yell,” he said, listing possible examples of inappropriate behavior that could precede a violent episode. “Keep a journal of incidents, and if you feel that a student has crossed the line, do not hesitate to call the campus police.” He was not aware that the
barbecue tongs murderer of San Gabriel was once a student at GCC. Pigman, 23 at the time of his crime, grew up in Pasadena. His father, George Wood Pigman III, was a venerable Caltech literature professor with a specialty in the history of psychoanalysis and dream theory. His mother, Celeste Moore, was an art professor at Pasadena City College. Despite being raised in an environment where education was encouraged, Pigman’s academic career was checkered at best. Like many who suffer from mental illness, Pigman is fairly articulate and at one time aspired to be a journalist. In 2008, the Pasadena StarNews reported that Pigman “liked to do stuff that was… risky,” according to high school classmate Daniel Faubert. Another classmate, Ryan Barker, alleged that Pigman “was heavily involved with hallucinogenic mushrooms.” It was at Pasadena City College, the school he attended from the fall of 2001 to the spring of 2004, that indications of his mental illness first came to light. He wrote for the Courier, the student newspaper. His writing style was self-indulgent and disorganized, more rant than report. His articles with were marked with selfaggrandizement and a passiveaggressive, condescending attitude toward women and society. In one of the few of his article that made it to print, “Punk Rock Finds a Voice with New Mag,” Pigman unnecessarily made the theme of a story about a magazine entrepreneur’s success running an indie punk zine into that of a jilted lover trying to prove that he is not “a loser” to his ex-girlfriend and other critics. “His e-mail file was full of letters from disappointed fans telling him not to “be a loser,” wrote Pigman about Jerry Coria editor of Punk Rock Tonight. “But his main inspiration for continuing the magazine was [ex-girlfriend] Georgina Alcaraz. He [Coria] wanted to prove he could run the magazine on his own.” “I remember him acting strange at a JACC [Journalism Association of
Spring 2013 | the insider 3
“She was yelling and kicking and not dying. I had to kill her. I looked around for a knife or
something... I picked up a pair of semi-sharp salad
tongs. I chased her into the bathroom. I started stabbing.”
— George W. Pigman IV
Community Colleges] convention at Cal State Fullerton,” recalled Linda Rapka, a former Courier editor-in-chief. “Rather than attend any workshops, he had spent the entire time in his hotel room drinking. I gave him a ride back home after the convention, and he kept asking me if he could smoke weed in my car and if I’d buy him booze at the liquor store (he was then underage). I, of course, denied both requests. When we got to town, rather than have me drop him off at home, he had me stop off at a birdbath several blocks away from his house, which was odd since he was in crutches at the time and could barely walk.” In another strangely self-justifying article, Pigman voiced his disdain for schools, characterizing teachers as “people who approach the profession as an opportunity to feel good about being right,” and expressed his belief that attendance and grading should not be features of the educational system. “It makes no sense for people to be considered qualified or unqualified based on evaluation through testing,” continued Pigman. “The system produces certified and ignorant professionals, while leaving intelligent people behind.” “From what I remember, we were in the Courier office (upstairs above campus police at that time),” said Rapka, recalling the incident that led to Pigman’s expulsion, “and he told off Editor-in-Chief Mitchell Wright, after which he was escorted into the hallway by campus police where a bottle of vodka was discovered in his backpack.” In March of 2004, Pigman was removed from the staff of the Courier for being
4
the insider | Spring 2013
rowdy and intoxicated. According to Rapka, Pigman was allowed to continue taking classes on campus as long as he dropped his journalism class. After causing another disturbance in an English class, he failed to appear at his disciplinary hearing and was later expelled. A small amount of marijuana was involved. He transferred to Glendale the next semester. During his time here, his bizarre behavior did not go unnoticed. Jeff Smith, his speech professor, recalls Pigman as “detached and passive.” Smith was disturbed by Pigman’s reclusive nature because he liked to “connect with his students, and with George there was just no way of reaching him.” Smith also recalls a number of instances of being startled by Pigman when he would oftentimes “lurk in the darkness with his skateboard” and “appear without warning.” Unfortunately, Pigman was unable to make a fresh start at his new school. His mental illness stayed with him, growing, until it could no longer be contained. At around 2 a.m. on May 7, 2005 Los Angeles Sheriff Deputies were called to investigate a suspicious man on the roof of an apartment in the 6800 block of La Presa Drive in San Gabriel. Responding officer Cesar Casillas testified “When I arrived at the address, I saw a white male adult standing on the rooftop of the indicated location. He was naked. I saw that he had blood on his hands, legs and genital area. He was making loud noises, appeared disoriented, angry and pacing from one side of the roof to the other.” Lt. Gregory Hinkle, a Temple City Patrol Sergeant also testified, “I saw a young, naked man on the roof. He was
playing with his penis.” About the loud sounds, Hinkle told the jury that Pigman was not saying words, but rather “It reminded me of the old Frankenstein movie, where Frankenstein is making his noises.” Investigators said they do not know why Pigman was on the roof. He had minor lacerations on his hands, which could have been from the crime scene or possibly from cutting himself on a rain gutter, Carrillo said. As it turned out, it was the rain gutter. And Pigman didn’t surrender easily. For almost half an hour he paced back and forth, taunting the police, screaming and touching his genitals. Eventually he came down from the roof and was arrested. A block away, in the 8500 block of Palma Vista Street, a parallel story unfolded. Pigman and Yamada’s altercation was heard by the downstairs neighbor, Yi-Ming Chu. In the silence that followed, Chu became sufficiently concerned that she called Daniel Hong who, with his girlfriend Ann Chiou, lived in one of the units towards the back of the complex. Hong and Chiou heard some yelling around 1 a.m., but assumed that it was from a neighborhood party. It was the very early hours of Saturday, after all. After receiving the call, Hong went to investigate and found blood on the door knob. Repeated knocks got no response so he and Chiou drove to the landlord, Steve Hung’s, San Marino home. The coroner’s investigator’s narrative stated that Hung and his wife Gloria returned with Hong and Chiou sometime after 1:30 a.m. Hung let himself into the apartment with his key, and discovered Yamada unresponsive on
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
the bathroom floor. Gloria Hung called 911 at that time. More than an hour had passed since the assault began. Eimi Yamada was the only child of Toichi Yamada and Kayo Yamaguchi. She was a pretty, bright girl who was studying English at the Poly Languages Institute on Lake Avenue and had been enrolled in an ESL class at the PCC Community Education Center earlier in the year, according to Rapka. Eimi’s father, Toichi, stated that Eimi was planning to return to Japan in July, two short months away, and had already gotten a job offer from a shipping company impressed with the computer and English skills she had acquired while studying in Pasadena. She had everything in life to look forward to. In the year following Pigman’s expulsion from Pasadena City College and failed attempt to start over at Glendale, the beast within Pigman grew exponentially while he tried to self-medicate with alcohol and marijuana. Later, in his prison cell, he would write a self-justifying appraisal of the events leading up to the murder and his mindset when insanity engulfed him. Custody deputy Abi Ben-Sahile found a journal written by Pigman on a notepad during a routine search of his single-man cell. Ben-Sahile told Deputy District Attorney Teresa Sullivan that his training as a custody deputy taught him to examine paperwork found inside inmate’s cells, for escape plans, and for plans to commit violence. This document would later be admitted as evidence in the case. Pigman suffered from the delusion that the manager at his workplace, Noah’s Bagels, had Hispanic gang connections and was part of a conspiracy to kill him for disrespecting the “family.” “I was a pimp, I was a gangster,” he wrote. “I had almost got jumped in with the Bloods. Pasadena Denver Lanes. Mountain View Bloods. I was hard. I knew about such things.” His manager, José, correctly deduced
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
that something was wrong with Pigman and sent him home, but in Pigman’s paranoid reality the stakes were much higher. “People were trying to kill me,” he continued. “I couldn’t contact the police because I had a half ounce of chronic in my backpack and I was a gangster. I couldn’t snitch. I skateboarded south on Lake as fast as I could. Every car I saw was one of the killers.” Three years later, during the competency part of the trial, Dr. Kris Mohandie, a clinical psychologist, diagnosed Pigman as having a personality disorder not otherwise specified, or a mixed-personality disorder, with Pigman meeting some criteria for both anti-social personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. “People who suffer from anti-social personality disorder have a pattern of violating the rights of others, and rules of society,” Mohandie said. When Public Defender Darby Williams called her last witness, Dr. Joseph Ortego, the clinical supervising psychiatrist for Los Angeles County Twin Towers Correctional Facility, he diagnosed Pigman as suffering from bipolar I disorder and grandiose delusional. The defense also called forensic psychiatrist Dr. Gregory Cohen, who testified that Pigman suffers from bipolar I disorder with psychotic features, and could not have appreciated the nature of his actions due to what he phrased as a “first manic break.” “The family, particularly on the father’s side, has a history of acute mental disorders,” Cohen told the jury. “An uncle on the father’s side is being treated for bipolar disorder. There’s a genetic predisposition for the disorder.” Despite his history of aberrant behavior, Pigman had never been diagnosed with or treated for mental illness prior to his arrest. Overcome with paranoia, Pigman crawled into someone’s hedge and contemplated “smoking a bowl” to calm down. He was discovered by the homeowner and said to her “Listen Lady, these people are trying to kill me. I need a place to hide.” She offered to call the police. He
panicked. She told him that he could not continue to hide in her bushes and that she would call the police if he did not leave immediately. Pigman complied. A urine sample taken from Pigman following his arrest indicated that he had 1185 nanograms per milliliter of marijuana metabolite in his system at the time he murdered Yamada. That may be interpreted several different ways including habitual, long-term use or acute use. Fifty or 100 nanograms, depending on stringency standard enforced, is considered a “positive” for a standard employment drug test. This test also verified that Pigman had no measurable amount of alcohol or other drugs in his system at the time of the murder. Marijuana is generally not considered to be a violence-inducing drug; in fact one of its medicinal uses is to reduce anxiety. But in a susceptible person, there might be other effects. A 2009 study by Masood A. Khan and Sailaja Akella, “Cannabis-Induced Bipolar Disorder with Psychotic Features,” published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, presented the theory that excessive marijuana use might not be the sole cause of the psychotic break, but that may have triggered it. “There has been considerable debate regarding the causal relationship between chronic cannabis abuse and psychiatric disorders,” proposed Khan and Akella. “Clinicians agree that cannabis use can cause acute adverse mental effects that mimic psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Although there is good evidence to support this, the connections are complex and not fully understood.” It is possible that Pigman’s chronic marijuana use contributed to this episode. In his journal, Pigman stated that in the week leading up to Eimi’s murder, his
The scalloped-edged metal tongs used in Yamada’s murder are a ubiquitous kitchen accessory and sell for about $8.
Spring 2013 | the insider
5
Delusional Disorder Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness called a “psychosis,” in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. The main feature of this disorder is the presence of delusions, which are unshakable beliefs in something untrue. People with delusional disorder experience non-bizarre delusions, which involve situations that could occur in real life, such as being followed, poisoned, deceived, conspired against, or loved from a distance. These delusions usually involve the misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences. In reality, however, the situations are either not true at all or highly exaggerated. People with delusional disorder often can continue to socialize and function normally, apart from the subject of their delusion, and generally do not behave in an obviously odd or bizarre manner. This is unlike people with other psychotic disorders, who also might have delusions as a symptom of their disorder. In some cases, however, people with delusional disorder might become so preoccupied with their delusions that their lives are disrupted. Grandiose Delusional Disorder: A person with this type of delusional disorder has an over-inflated sense of worth, power, knowledge, or identity. The person might believe he or she has a great talent or has made an important discovery. — source: Webmd.com mother, Celeste Moore, told her 23-yearold son to move out. She was fed up with his pot smoking. Pigman borrowed rent money from his father, George W. Pigman III, but then spent all but $100 on more marijuana. Pigman then turned to Eimi Yamada for succor, knowing that she was too soft-hearted to deny him anything. As he worked his way across Pasadena to Eimi’s apartment, he observed, “It was the
6
the insider | Spring 2013
“Was this a cold, calculated, premeditated killing, or was it something else?” — Darby Williams
apocalypse. The sky looked orange. People were trying to kill me.” He got his act together long enough to be charming and manipulative and sadistic. Eimi paid for everything in their relationship; he always pretended to have no money so that he would have more for drugs. He stole from her. He toyed with her emotions. He had other girlfriends: Utako, who was also Japanese, and Elaine, who was Chinese. Justifying his cruel behavior, Pigman said, “Everything happened at once. I got suspended from work, Utako said she never wanted to see me again, I got kicked out of my mom’s and moved in with Eimi all in one week.… I asked Eimi to be my official girlfriend…. It was crucial, I thought, to make Eimi love me as much as possible so that I’d have a place to stay. All it did was make her suspicious. She was used to me being mean to her.” They met up with one of Eimi’s friends, Misako Saito, who came over to help Eimi clean the apartment. “I felt a strange connection,” wrote Pigman. “The apocalypse was on. For a few days now things had been speaking to me. Everything was falling into place.” He flirted shamelessly with Misako, smoked copious amounts of weed and fantasized about being the “master of the world,” complete with beautiful women feeding him grapes and massaging his back. After Misako left, he and Eimi had sex and watched TV. And the television seemed to be speaking directly to George Wood Pigman IV. It suddenly became apparent that he was God and that Yamada was the Virgin Mary. What followed was rape and murder.
“I pounced on Eimi for sex,” explained Pigman. “I tried to stick it in but was too rough. She yelled and made a lot of noise. What was this, a demon? She kept yelling, as I tried for sex. I had to, you see. She was the Virgin Mary and I had to impregnate her to save the world. Then it was clear that she was a demon and I had to kill her. I tried to choke her and we thrashed about the room. She was yelling and kicking and not dying. I had to kill her. I looked around for a knife or something. There was only a pair of handcuffs. I picked up a pair of semi sharp salad tongs. I chased her into the bathroom. I started stabbing.” With no thought of Eimi, Pigman fled. “What had I done? I needed to get out of there. I stumbled past my weed, my pipe, my money, wallet, shoes and skateboard and jogged barefoot out the door. I fell over the front gate and I jogged off. My life was over. What had I done?” What he had done, of course, was murder the one person in his life who was trying to help him. The one person he hadn’t burned out with second chances. Within a few minutes, he would be naked, masturbating and screaming on a neighbor’s roof. He did not leave the house naked – he was wearing pants that he took off when he climbed on top of the building. Sheriff ’s homicide Detective Joseph Sheehy later testified that he was able to follow a trail of blood from the murder scene to the roof. Eimi Yamada was curled into a semifetal position on her right side, two small rugs, a power cord still plugged into a charging mobile phone, a sandal and a moderate amount of drying blood underneath her, according to the coroner’s report. The murder weapon, an 18-inch
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
semi-sharp pair of scalloped-edged kitchen utility tongs, variously described as “barbecue tongs” and “salad tongs” rested against her left thigh. Coroner’s officials later determined Yamada died of multiple stab wounds and blunt force injuries. Eimi’s parents were notified of her murder by the Japanese consulate. They were inconsolable. Toichi Yamada asked for the death penalty in a statement that described Pigman as a “worthless insect.” “All possible reasons for this heinous crime are footnotes and no more than simple excuses,” he wrote to the jury. Kayo Yamaguchi, shared her mother’s grief that she would never see her daughter grow up and have a family of her own. There would be no loves, no grandchildren and no opportunities to spend time together as a family. She makes a daily offering of flowers to Eimi to commemorate all the flowers that she will not receive from the many people whose lives she might have touched. Throughout his trial, Pigman’s defense team tried to make the case that he was insane. The prosecution sought to show malingering. What emerged was a mix of both: a mentally ill person desperately trying to prove he wasn’t by pretending he was. In testimony offered by Sheriffs Deputy Anthony Delaney, who was assigned to transport Pigman to the Los Angeles County Inmate Reception Center, Pigman described that night’s Conan O’Brian show, spontaneously offered “I really screwed up,” and then said “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I think the only way to fight this is temporary insanity,” in a bizarre stream of consciousness. Barbara Beaser, a reporter from the Courier, noted some discrepancies in Pigman’s behavior; Deputy District Attorney Teresa Sullivan challenged Ortego’s diagnosis, referencing the initial intake form made when Pigman was first taken to jail. “‘He seems to be deliberately attempting to answer the questions illogically,’” Sullivan quoted from the intake form. “How do her notes factor in to your assessment, doctor?” she asked. “I was convinced he was more trying to pretend he wasn’t mentally ill,” Ortego responded.
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Ortego also noted that Pigman displayed bizarre behavior after his arrest and two days later, on May 9, was sent to the Twin Towers County Jail’s psychiatric ward for “sitting naked in his prison cell, spitting at guards, behaving aggressively and in a sexually inappropriate manner.” According to Ortego, he was also “trying to incite a race riot.” The Whittier Daily News reported that Pigman was “discharged to the jail’s general population a few days later, but then was recommitted on May 24 when he was again deemed a danger to himself or others.” “If I die, the universe goes down with me but I can resurrect it,” Pigman told Ortego, who then modified his initial diagnosis to include grandiose delusions. Pigman also claimed to be in communication with rapper 50 Cent and President George W. Bush. It was nearly four years before Pigman’s sentencing concluded. The trial lasted for approximately six weeks, with two phases, the guilt phase and the sanity phase. The jury took less than two full days to return a guilty verdict, and about the same time to determine that he was legally insane when he killed Yamada. That he murdered Eimi Yamada was never disputed. Co-counsel for Pigman, Public Defender Darby Williams, said “This is not a whodunit. This case is about one question: Why? Was this a cold, calculated, pre-meditated killing, or was it something else?” George Wood Pigman IV was convicted of first-degree murder Feb. 23, 2009, a crime that carries a mandatory 25-years-to-life sentence. Both Pigman’s and Yamada’s parents attended the trial. The sanity phase determined where he was to serve his time: Patton State Hospital. The verdict of “not guilty by reason of insanity,” reached on April 28, 2009, raised the issue of Pigman one day being “cured” and walking free. “George has a serious mental illness,” Public Defender Jose Colon said. “It has to be fully controlled before anybody would consider restoration. The possibility exists,
What Are the Symptoms of Bipolar I Disorder? During a manic episode in someone with bipolar disorder, elevated mood can manifest itself as either euphoria (feeling “high”) or as irritability. Abnormal behavior during manic episodes includes:
• Flying suddenly from one idea to the next
• Rapid, “pressured,” and loud speech
• Increased energy, with hyperac• • • •
tivity and a decreased need for sleep Inflated self-image Excessive spending Hypersexuality Substance abuse
People in manic episodes may spend money far beyond their means, have sex with people they wouldn’t otherwise, or pursue grandiose, unrealistic plans. In severe manic episodes, a person loses touch with reality. They may become delusional and behave bizarrely. Untreated, an episode of mania can last anywhere from a few days to several years. Most commonly, symptoms continue for a few weeks to a few months. Depression may follow shortly after, or not appear for weeks or months. Many people with bipolar I disorder experience long periods without symptoms in between episodes. but the probability does not.” He added that a restoration of sanity hearing could go on for weeks. Pigman, who did not respond to requests for interview, will most likely spend the remainder of his life in jail.
Jane Pojawa is the editor-in-chief of the Insider. She is a compulsive researcher whose current work is at pojawa.com
Spring 2013 | the insider 7
Steep Traditions: Glendale’s Unique Geology
At Glendale Community College, the term “higher education” is taken quite literally. There is a long set of stairs just to get from the sidewalk to the front of the school, the John A. Davitt Administration Building. There are even a few steps to climb before the door. When you exit the administration building you stand before a wide open, lush green campus and also more stairs. A steeper, longer set of stairs than the ones that preceded it. After your upward trek you arrive at the library, but if you want to get to the AA building there’s a bit more of a walk to go. No stairs, but a slight incline. This is all to say that the GCC campus is very vertical. Of course your agitation with this situation all depends on where you park, which is a whole different mess. At GCC your general education also comes with a free cardio class.
8 the insider | Spring 2013
“I understand you can’t put elevators everywhere but I hate that GCC has like three different levels instead of just being on one,” says Cassie Pozos, a second-year student. “I wouldn’t mind having a flight of stairs in a building to walk to class but it gets annoying having to walk across campus and go up and down all those stairs, especially on a really hot day or a rainy day.” Last year Pozos had surgery to repair a dislocated kneecap and a partially torn medial collateral ligament. Although the injuries are sports-related and not the result of walking the GCC campus, Pozos says “It is a hassle but I hate to play the guilt card. A lot of times, to be honest, I won’t go to study in the library because I know I’m gonna have to go up that mountain of stairs.” Why are there so many stairs? Geology, it turns out, is the answer to that and a
— By Songvit Kiatpiriya
surprising amount of other questions. Geology made the campus the way it is, the shape it is. Known by many simply as “the study of rocks,” geology is also a science that is fundamental to our very way of life. Geology affects everyday things most Americans don’t consider like where clean water comes from, where people are able to live, and how natural resources (oil, minerals, and metals) are found. “Geology is part of the infrastructural types of things that people don’t often think about.” says John Leland, division chair of physical science and professor at GCC. “It’s not very glamorous.” Leland’s interest in geology began with a curiosity of the Earth’s core and expanded to even more complex things like how cosmic rays from outer space affect the Earth’s surface. What people are most interested in when it comes
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
to geology is earthquakes. Earthquakes are the biggest geological concern many have, although few understand their exact nature. The first correct scientific statement about earthquakes was made by British engineer John Mitchell in 1760 when he stated that earthquakes are the release of energy caused by “shifting masses of rock miles below the surface.” According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are an estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes each year worldwide, only 100,000 of which are felt. Ultimately just 100 of those earthquakes cause any damage. Florida and North Dakota have among the fewest earthquakes in the United States, while in California it is much more common. About 10,000 earthquakes occur in California each year, though most are unfelt and harmless, it is still important to understand them. “The main concerning features of the geology of Glendale area are the types of faults at the base of the mountain ranges.” says Leland. Faults are deep cracks in the Earth’s crust where tectonic plates, or “shifting masses of rock,” meet. Some faults are “active” meaning they are capable of seismic activity. “At the base of the Verdugo Mountains, there is a large fault capable of a 7 [magnitude earthquake]. But the fault itself doesn’t appear to be active, so there isn’t a lot of concern.” says Leland, “The fault that is of concern is at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains around where the communities of La Cañada and Pasadena are.” The fault at the base of the Verdugo Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains are each reverse faults. This means of the two sides of a fault, one side (called a “hanging wall”) slides upward. Compressional stress, or a squeezing together of the land, cause reverse faults. The movement causes uplift of earth and builds mountains. GCC is essentially built into the side of a mountain. The Verdugo fault runs roughly parallel to the 134 freeway, while the San Gabriel fault is responsible for the mountains to the north of the campus. GCC, then known as Glendale Junior College, was founded in 1927 on the site
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
If a 7.8 quake happened along the San Andreas Fault it would pull down buildings, kill 1,800 people and ignite 1,600 fires… Major roads, water pipes and power lines around Los Angeles and Orange counties would be severed, cutting off the region and slowing recovery and evacuation efforts. where the Glendale Public Library is today, but “After the 1933 earthquake rendered Glendale Junior College’s main buildings unsafe, classes were moved into tents.” wrote Mike Eberts, Professor of Mass Communications, explaining how geology influenced GCC’s construction. “Many of the tents were linked by temporary wooden walkways, which led to a shortlived fad: roller skating to class.” The campus was rebuilt in 1935 on North Verdugo road. “The new campus [location] prompted changes.” wrote Eberts, “In keeping with its Spanish architecture, the Buccaneer mascot was keelhauled in favor of the Vaquero.” The iconic Spanish cowboy was the product of the new buildings, but the architecture was a response to greater concerns about public safety and stricter building codes. According to Glendale City Records, the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933 measured a 6.4 near what is now Huntington Beach. The damage was most extensive in Long Beach, but its effects were felt in other cities including Glendale. Leland says, “Even from a distant earthquake the Glendale area could be shaken badly – if the San Andreas fault ruptures, the Glendale area could be shaken quite strongly for a prolonged period of time.” The San Andreas “fault” is not one continuous fault, but multiple
faults. The series of faults run more than 800 miles long through parts of California. There are segments of it that are nearly 10 miles deep. As a result of the Long Beach Earthquake, earthquake-resistant design and construction are now required for public schools. Today, the campus’s buildings are built to withstand an earthquake. “These buildings are low, fairly broad, concrete buildings with a tremendous amount of rebar reinforcing the concrete. The walls are very thick.” says Leland, “They built it definitely to try to resist collapse…These type of structures are not particularly narrow, they haven’t got a shape that would catch the energy.” In reference to the buildings connected by walkways and bridges, he says “The connection between them would be a likely point of rupture if the buildings were to be shaken bad enough.” The occurrence of a major earthquake in Southern California is “about a 30 to 37 percent probability in the next 30 years, so about a 1 in 3 chance of a large 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurring in Southern California.” Leland predicts. He cautions, however, that nothing is certain as there is not enough historical activity to know for sure.
The geology of the Glendale area: steep granite hills, propensity for earthquakes, has more to do with how the campus evolved than we realize. The administration building, left, the site plan and the library, following page, all subtly reflect the underlying terrain. Spring 2013 | the insider
9
“Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” you could do. There is a higher chance of something falling on you.” Montecuollo assures that the city of Glendale is well prepared in the event of any emergency, coordinating groups like the police and firefighters as well as the Red Cross. The city has contingency plans for everything from food and shelter to finance and reconstruction. On a personal level, Montecuollo recommends people prepare an emergency kit; even a simple one should include things like “water, a blanket, a flashlight, and a battery radio.” Cell phones can’t always be relied on in these situations. Often during disasters, cellular towers are damaged and many are left without reception. Even in situations where cell towers are intact, calls are difficult to process due to the unusually large volume of people using the network to call for help and to communicate with loved ones. In 2011, following a 4.2 magnitude earthquake, cell phone service in Virginia was disrupted despite the cell towers being unharmed. Many residents were unable to make calls, but found that communicating through social networks like Facebook and Twitter worked, according to The Washington Post. Text messages are also said to be more effective than voice calls because they take up less bandwidth and
There is no absolute way of predicting exactly when an earthquake will occur. Even “inactive faults;” faults with no seismic activity in the last 10,000 years, still have some chance of producing an earthquake. According to the Wall-Street Journal, a team of scientists worked out a scenario in which a 7.8 quake happened along the San Andreas Fault and found that “It would pull down buildings, kill 1,800 people and ignite 1,600 fires.” The report went on to say that “Major roads, water pipes and power lines around Los Angeles and Orange counties would be severed, cutting off the region and slowing recovery and evacuation efforts.” The most recent major earthquake along the San Andreas was in 1857, near Palmdale. The section of the fault that experts are curious about is near Palm Springs. “They are worried that section will rupture because it hasn’t ruptured in more than 300 years. That one seems to have been quiet for too long a period of time.” warns Leland, “But when it happens, there will be all sorts of surprises because we really don’t know that much.” Geologists and seismologists can only predict a certain amount about these events. They don’t always see what they need to see on the surface to determine exactly what will happen. “Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” said historian Will Durant. It is because of this uncertainty that having an emergency plan ahead of time is important. In the event of an earthquake, it is important to “Drop and seek covered positions.” advises Gary Montecuollo, the college’s chief of police. “National studies suggest that going outside is one of the worst things
The Deadliest Earthquakes of the Last Five Years Year
Magnitude
Location
Deaths
2012
6.7
Philippines
113
2011
9.0
Honshu, Japan
20,896
2010
7.0
Haiti
316,000
2009
7.5
Sumatra, Indonesia
1,117
2008
7.9
Eastern Sichuan, China
87,587
10
the insider | Spring 2013
travel faster. In the event of an earthquake occurring while one is on campus, GCC safety guidelines advise students to drop to the ground and quickly find shelter underneath a solid desk or table: Move away from windows and exterior walls. Cover your head, neck and face. Crouch into a ball to make yourself as small as possible. Do not go in a doorway. Do not run outside. Because the Verdugo fault is inactive, the mountains are eroding away faster than they are uplifting. The Verdugo Mountains are shrinking while the San Gabriel Mountains are growing rapidly. Earthquakes along that fault occur often enough that there is an uplift maintaining their height. When determining the activity of a fault, a big indicator is the height of the mountains associated with it. Some faults are visible on the surface, although there isn’t always a clean line of sight. The Arroyo Seco hiking trail, off of the 2 freeway near NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory used to provide a clear view of the fault but a recent fire in the area has since buried part of it. The trail still presents an interesting and beautiful view of just what kind of environment we live in. From the flowing stream to the dynamic rock formations, the Arroyo Seco hiking trail provides a wonderful setting to enjoy Southern California’s geologic diversity. Leland often takes his classes there to get a real world view of what geology entails. On one such field trip, Leland stops by a stream and begins to talk about stream processes. The water looks vaguely deep and seems to be flowing fast. A student interrupts him to ask, “Is the water dangerous? Can you, like, stand in it?” Leland casually walks into the stream, and upon reaching the halfway point begins to lose his footing. The class is briefly startled, before realizing the water is only ankle high and their professor is “just kidding!” He continues his lecture about streams while in the stream. The depth and velocity of the stream varies with the seasons.
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
“We learn geology the morning after the earthquake, on ghastly diagrams of cloven mountains, upheaved plains, and the dry bed of the sea.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Aside from earthquakes, there are a great number of environmental occurrences people should be aware of in California. Being cognizant of one’s natural surroundings is important to the sustainability of nature. “One of the really important things for people to understand is that they live in a city that has not been here very long and the setting of the city is fairly wild. The area is not a placid, flat area. It’s got some of the fastest growing mountains in the world,” says Leland. “We also have a weather pattern that’s dry and wet so we get these tremendous rainstorms that produce flashfloods.” Landslides are another geological concern in Glendale. In 2005, during a particularly heavy rainstorm, authorities advised GCC to close the campus due to a mudslide that closed Mountain Avenue. “The amount of infrastructure that goes into stabilizing the land, especially river banks, and making it so that they won’t slide and produce a lot of damage is considerable…” explains Leland. Many of the rivers were turned into the concrete channels we recognize today as the “LA River.” This construction was done in the 1930s to stop flooding that would occur and often kill hundreds of people. For example, the Montrose flood of 1934 devastated the small community on New Year’s Day, taking at least 45 lives and destroying about 100 homes. Residents should also understand where water goes. In Los Angeles, people may not see the ocean every day but we
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
live very close by. When people litter anywhere in the city it ends up in the storm drain and goes right to the ocean. “Many people don’t understand that,” says Leland. “The storm drain is a network of channels that just collects runoff and that runoff goes straight to the sea without any treatment.” Geologists often work to determine things like the stability of soil and water supply in areas where people want to live. However, as human population continues to grow and urbanize we begin to infringe more and more upon nature. “The natural ecosystems can only tolerate so much disruption. If there were really massive natural events, the ecosystems would be just as affected as people,” Leland cautions. “For example, when huge hurricanes hit the coast of the gulf, whole forests get wiped out … If there are any unique creatures living there because they’ve been pushed into that one little niche by all the human development they could be wiped out. As we confine animals and plants to smaller and smaller patches of the earth, the risk of losing them to large natural disaster increases because they are occupying a smaller space.” Leland goes on to explain that many biologists consider our current time a “mass extinction event.” The rate at which
the world is losing plants and animals is “very very high.” Scientists at the Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley found that “Of the four billion species estimated to have evolved on the Earth over the last 3.5 billion years, some 99% are gone.” The findings are said to show how common extinction is, but this process is usually balanced out by the introduction of new species which doesn’t seem to be happening as quickly. When you consider all of the possible ways the world could be worse, the climb up GCC’s campus isn’t so bad. “I like the fact that the mountains are in the background and stuff,” admits Pozos, despite her antipathy for the stairs. “It makes a good picture and GCC doesn’t look as ghetto as some other colleges.” The Earth is an ever-changing planet. Geology is fundamental in understanding not only why, but how it will change. It is not something many consider or truly comprehend, but people should be aware that the Earth has not always been, and will not always remain, the world as we know it. “We learn geology the morning after the earthquake,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. “On ghastly diagrams of cloven mountains, upheaved plains, and the dry bed of the sea.”
Song Kiatpiriya is a Film/Television major with an interest in journalism. He is a California native and is the youngest of three.
Spring 2013 | the insider
11
Manuela
People: Manuela Garcia Amaya, UNICEF bound — By Melinda Ebrahimi “Meet me at the student center – I practically live there,” says Manuela Garcia Amaya, vice president of the Gay and Straight Alliance [GSA] club on campus. She has not much changed since high school – jeans with black sneakers, a T-shirt with a scarf, an over-the-shoulder bag and her trademark sunglasses. A circle of people surround her like kids drawn to a newborn puppy. She’s at the center, taking care of business and making friends. Few of them know that her empathy grew from suffering, and that her leadership ability stems from vast reserves of inner strength. Amaya is frequently interrupted by people who are looking for her, or checking to see when she is available. “No. They just want me there,” she says in her simple and direct way when asked if there’s an important meeting she must attend. “There” was the GSA club table, a post she rarely leaves when she’s not in class. According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, there are more than 3,000 GSA student clubs registered with the organization. In 2013, one might think that homosexuality is now so mainstream that an organization to support gay students is somewhat archaic. Just about everyone has at least one homosexual friend. Unfortunately there are many people who are still prejudiced and some students whose sexual preference differs from the heterosexual monogamous model 12
the insider | Spring 2013
attempt to hide this fact from the outside world. It is already hard enough to fit in with the social pressures of being a young adult – suppressing your true self to accommodate the expectations of family, friends, church, employers and everyone else is miserable and doomed to fail. But “coming out” can be very difficult, risky and painful. Gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender [GBLT] youth frequently feel lonely and depressed while trying to balance school, work, family, friends and love. Amaya is majoring in psychology, and hopes to work for UNICEF one day. “I want to help kids all over the world,” she says. “Kids who have been abandoned, abused, traumatized and mistreated.” She wants to find a way to help them to recover from their emotional scars as she says she has. Amaya was raised in Colombia, but attended French school from kindergarten to 8th grade. Her mother attended college in France herself, where she became fluent, and she wanted her daughter to have the same educational opportunities. The role of formative experiences in one’s sexual orientation is open to speculation. Is one born gay or straight or do other factors contribute? And how does that affect one’s personality? Amaya can think of causes that may have had played a part in her sexual preference. “I wouldn’t choose to be gay if I had the choice,” said Amaya. But she doesn’t think any
of that the abuse she suffered from family members affected the person she is today. In 2001, when Amaya was still living in Colombia with her parents and siblings, her cousins took advantage of her. “I thought they really loved me,” she says. She was 9 years old then, playing with her 13and 14-year-old cousins. But what they were playing were normal games that cousins play with each other; certainly not kids of that age. She remembers always playing this game with them, whenever they would meet. “It hurt,” she says. The game that they would play together went on until they moved to America, and Manuela soon realized that what she was playing all these years with her cousins, was more than just a game; it was rape. “People think that’s what caused me to become gay.” She denies this. During her freshman year of high school, one of the two cousins came to live with them, and he stayed at their house. Manuela was behaving differently than usual; she wasn’t eating, or doing much of anything, and her mom realized it. When her cousin left for Colombia to visit his family for the holidays, Manuela would lock herself in her room, depressed and still not eating anything. She didn’t understand why she was feeling that way. Later, a
— Photos By Juan Garcia www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
physiologist identified the reason for her behavior: Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome refers to people who have been held captive or in hostage situations who identify strongly with their captors – even defending and caring about them after the crisis is passed. The FBI has done a study of more than 1,200 people who have been victim of capturers or have been taken hostage, and found that the incidence of Stockholm syndrome is rare – only 8 percent of the hostages developed it. Unfortunately, and perhaps owing to the special circumstances of her case, Manuela www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
did suffer from it, and recovered with therapy. Amaya’s mother, Jaqueline Amaya, threatened her with the punishment of throwing her out of the house, if she didn’t tell the reason for her unusual behavior. Her response was “Mom, give me one more week, and I’ll tell you everything.” She spent that week writing a letter to her mother, explaining her assault. When the week was over, her mom received the letter in exchange for asking no questions. On the same day, her mother showed the letter to Manuela’s dad, which resulted in a phone call to
Colombia, followed with a phone call to the police to report the incident and to keep either cousin from entering the U.S. ever again. Despite the fact that Amaya lived at home with her parents, she never felt a bond with her mother, until after the letter. “My maid was my mom,” she says. Amaya returned to Colombia four years later for a visit. Soon her aunt asked her to meet with her. Manuela did. “I had nothing to hide,” she says. She told the entire story to her aunt, from her point of view, knowing that there must have been a different story Spring 2013 | the insider
13
her aunt had already heard. Since the letter, her family members have had an awkward relationship with each other. When asked why she didn’t tell anyone sooner, she said that she didn’t think that they would believe her and “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” The letter changed everything. Her mom started working from home. In Colombia, she remembers, she would go out with a lot of boys “because all of my friends had a boyfriend,” but she knew that she didn’t have the kind of feelings for them that she had felt for one special girl. “I fell completely in love with this one girl. I still haven’t told her,” says Amaya. She was only 12 years old when she developed this first crush. In an age where kids usually experience weird feelings for the opposite sex, Manuela experienced them for the same sex, before she even knew what homosexuality was. According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, in 2004 a national poll indicated that the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students in American high schools was approximately 5 percent. Coming out is generally accomplished in two stages. At 8 to 11 years old, children generally start recognizing an attraction to the same sex. The age when teenagers self-identify as homosexual ranges from 15 to 17 years old. And many people don’t fully commit to their sexual orientation and “come out” until adulthood. Manuela comes from a very religious family. They go to church and participate in lots of church activities. It was there she met her first girlfriend. One day at church, she was introduced to a girl whose family was Muslim. They soon became very close friends – inappropriately close as far as others were concerned. They were able to keep their relationship a secret, and that lasted for two months. Manuela finally told a youth leader from church about her secret when her and her girlfriend were facing some troubles in the relationship. She felt the need to tell someone about the way she felt, but she didn’t know who to share it with and she didn’t want to tell her mother. It was two years after she
Manuela Garcia Amaya and her mother Jaqueline Amaya, top right, have enjoyed a closer relationship since Maunuela’s abuse disclosure. Her girlfriend Natalia, facing page, is an “inspiration.” 14
the insider | Spring 2013
had written the letter, but she didn’t feel that her feelings and sexual issues were supported. Little did she know that her secret wasn’t safe with the youth leader, who betrayed her trust. Her mother felt guilty about the whole situation, because she was the person who had introduced the girls to each other. Amaya found herself suddenly “outed.” “When I came out, I lost my religion but I didn’t lose my faith.” After this incident, she had a hard time bringing home friends. “Every girl I would bring home, they thought something was going on,” says Amaya. Amaya is currently in an 8-month relationship with Natalia, a girl she met on the Internet dating site for younger people, okcupid.com. She admits that it is hard to meet gay people face-to-face “People are scared to meet people like that.” Natalia looks just like Manuela – they make a cute couple. Natalia had two girlfriends before she met Manuela and she met both on okcupid.com. Natalia, who came out in 2010, says that she has a troubled relationship with her mom. She hates the fact that her daughter is gay, but Natalia doesn’t especially care. She is originally from Orange County but moved to Los Angeles after meeting Manuela. “She was the last little push, encouraging me to move,” says Natalia. During her high school years, Amaya didn’t have only one group of friends. She spent her lunch breaks with the Hispanic crowd and also with the Arabic
and Armenian students who had been in this country no more than a year and whose English wasn’t fluent yet. For that reason, she came to learn many languages including Armenian, Arabic and even Farsi. While not fluent in those languages, she knew how to hold a conversation. The kids in the English language development department loved her; she soon was called “Manush.” Nobody knew that she was a lesbian. For more than two years Manush was the first friend the foreign students would turn to if they had a question about anything: class, teachers, school work, paper work. For anything that had to do with school, Manush was there. Amaya has since lost contact with all of the friends she was once so close to, except for one of who she says “would do anything for anyone even if she had to go to detention.” But once Amaya opened up to her high school classmates and tried telling her story, they left. The reason for that, she says, is cultural. “They think about what people will think,” she says. “If they are friends with a lesbian, then others might think that they are too.” Why does fear of what people will say have to affect who you have as friends? According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, “Violence, bullying and harassment are the rule and not the exception in America’s schools.” four out of five students will get homophobic remarks from their peers and
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
“When I came out, I lost my religion but I didn’t lose my faith.” one out of three will skip school for being afraid of harassment and to avoid these comments. Amaya says she was blind sided by people who she thought she knew well turning against her. “When I came out, all friends left,” says Amaya. “I feel like everyone knew before I did.” When her friends found out, she explains, they were not only mean to her but they started calling her names that she thought she would never hear from them. “I speak a lot of languages; I know a lot of people, why are the bad things supposed to define me?” “In a psychology class, a woman almost hit me because of a presentation I did about sexual orientation,” recalls Amaya. Only after the professor told the woman to sit down did she calm down. The rest of the class was surprised by the unexpected hostility. Amaya’s family might not have bullied her directly, but she felt alone at the beginning of her coming out process. “They wanted to pretend that me being gay wasn’t real.” Amaya’s parents were the first people to find out that she is a lesbian; however Claire Coudray, one of her closest friends, is the first person Amaya came out to voluntarily. “She knew I would be totally OK with it, so she was comfortable with me,” Coudray says. She knew Amaya was a lesbian even before she told her, Coudray says. Her appearance and the fact that she never really talked about guys the way teenage girls do indicated that she was more into girls. Claire was with Manuela when she finally came out to her parents. “This one day, she got sick of it and decided to go to her house and tell her parents,” says Claire. At that time, Manuela was staying at Claire’s house fairly frequently. Claire dropped Manuela off at her house, and waited in the car for her with Manuela’s then girlfriend. “She was in there for 15 minutes.” The same night Manuela’s mother sent her a text saying “We understand, but you still have to do your chores at home and you still have your curfew.” The next day,
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Manuela received another text from her mother, that simply said “I love you,” and that’s when she decided to go back home. Amaya lived at home for a while, but her parents would still make remarks, so she turned to her girlfriends for shelter. Her parents weren’t threatening to kick her out, but the environment at home was making it impossible for her to live there. “She was just not happy,” says Coudray. “She would never go home because she knew what would happen if she did.” When Amaya came back from a San Francisco visit, she brought back a gift for Coudray with an equality sign on it. But before she could even give it to her, her mom had covered the sign in sharpie. Marriage equality and gay couples raising children are topics that have moved to the center of the media and America’s legal system. With celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris getting married and raising kids, acceptance of nontraditional families is growing. Amaya would love to have a family too. “It is one of my main goals in life, she says without hesitating. Her parents have been married for 21 years and that’s what she wants too, she says. Seeing their love for each other makes her look forward to having the same sort of partnership as them one day. “And kids...I am obsessed with them! Everyone knows that,” she says with a smile on her face.
Her family has come to be far more supportive about her sexuality; however, she says that her parents think that this is a phase she is going through. “They think I am going to marry a man in the future.” Amaya’s 8-year-old sister doesn’t understand homosexuality yet, so she doesn’t know that the girl older sister is always with, and who she is always bringing home, is really her girlfriend. Their mother won’t tell her that her big sister is a lesbian. Amaya’s brother, who is very supportive, is two years younger and a film major at Woodbury University. He has made a movie about homosexuals. “I did this for you, Manu, because love is love and everyone should be allowed to love and be loved,” he said to show his support and to let her know that she is not alone. Manuela Amaya is going back to Colombia for a two-month summer internship with an organization called Fundacion CRAN [Centro para el Reintegro y Atanción del Niño]. She is going to teach English and French to children. Her ultimate goal is to become a UNICEF psychologist. Your race, appearance, taste in music and your sexual orientation are all criteria by which you are judged in this society. Trying to fit in is one option, but living your life the way you want is an equally valid choice. Manuela Garcia Amaya has made the choice to be who she is and she is happier than ever living on her own terms.
Melinda Ebrahimi is a journalism major with an interest in advertising. Raised in Germany, knows four languages, is welltraveled and has a slight obsession with movies and popcorn. Spring 2013 | the insider
15
MéLisa & Ryun:
a Marriage of Art and Adoption — By Michelle Meneses
Ryun Hovind wakes up with his wife MéLisa Lomelino in their Burbank home. They start just before the city rises, and sneak away to share a quiet walk. They roam the streets together and start the day with exercise and peace. Little did they know before they left Illinois that their lives would include the daily chaos of balancing their lives as artists with parenting six adopted children. Burbank may be the best city in Southern California for them. It is close enough to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, yet far enough from Los Angeles’ seemier side. “To come here was just sort of frowned upon,” said Hovind, originally from a small community in Illinois. “There’s this
16
the insider | Spring 2013
idea that you’re moving to this cesspit of crime and violence.” By the end of their walk, Lomelino’s iPhone blares the first reminder of one of her color-coded calendars (one for work and one for the kids). Before Hovind leaves for the day at Glendale Community College, where he works as a media arts lab instructional technician and an adjunct professor, they must go through the challenge of getting their children to school. With all the screams and dramatic trivial arguments, “it’s like an episode of COPS to get them all in the van,” Lomelino laughs. One might say it is unbelievable that a Los Angeles couple in their 30s would have six adopted children so early in life. Prior
to 16 years of marriage, they were high school sweethearts — and arty pop-punk rockers. They both exhibited very artistic personalities in their childhood, and would soon form a bond over common endeavors. They were involved in theater and would form a band named Pigs in Space. “He was just background. I was the star,” Lomelino laughs. They also worked in a movie theater because it was the closest they could be to the entertainment industry — a precursor to Hollywood. Lomelino is beautiful. With blonde hair and classic features, she looks like a Midwestern Barbie doll. But her talents have transformed her into a wide range of characters, including a comedic caricature of Britney Spears and a techno
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
rock goddess. Though she has the looks to compete in Hollywood it was not just her entertainment-related strengths that solidified her relationship with Hovind. At age 13, she started volunteering in a foster home and met a foster child who she says “popped her bubble.” “All of a sudden, I realized there’s this whole other world of kids that don’t have families and I just couldn’t imagine that because I was so loved and taken care of,” Lomelino said. So, I asked my parents to become licensed foster parents, so this girl could live with us, and they did.” The child was never legally adopted, but she has been in Lomelino’s life for more than 20 years now. Lomelino’s teen years also involved dating Ryun, whose visions dovetailed with hers. “We would be playing at a punk rock show one weekend, and then the next weekend we would volunteer at a children’s home for foster kids. It was just this natural progression for us,” Lomelino remembers. “It wasn’t just a cause. It has become my life’s mission to help foster children. So when I met this guy,” she smiles at Hovind, “we just instantly connected on that issue.” They later became a young married couple and licensed adoptive parents, making Lomelino the youngest foster parent in Illinois state history. She was able to receive training and her first placement three weeks before her 21st birthday. The first foster child they cared for was a 13-year-old living in a juvenile detention facility. Unfortunately, she would later be admitted into psychiatric care. As if this was not difficult enough, Hovind and Lomelino had been receiving a lot of ageist remarks. Because of their youth, people felt free to give unsolicited advice. “People who didn’t have kids were like, ‘You know what you should be doing is…,’” Hovind recalls. “We would say, ‘Don’t
compelled to dance and relate to an array of lyrics and scenarios that are not overly simplified, catchy or patronizing. They provide innovative and eclectic sounds capable of uniting a pop and rock crowd. Focusing on Spektral Motion, they decided to move to Nashville, the hub for touring musicians. They followed the huge incentive of Nashville being within five hours of various major cities, and became re-licensed as adoptive parents to meet the state’s standards. They invested in a nanny as they toured with the kids around the Midwest in a Class B motor home. But they since agreed that touring with children was extremely difficult concluded that it — MéLisa Lomelino and just does not work. In wanting to parent their three children to the fullest, Zorian, Corbin, An Indie Business; they indulged in whatever resources were Savannah and an Indie Band available: books, videos, and therapists – but felt support was very limited. In Zorian and Corbin were immediately experiencing the need for more readily immersed into the lives of artists and available information, they decided to musicians. “We also bought a commercial make it available for others by intersecting building and started our own business their message and their arts. (music lessons and videography). …We First, Hovind and Lomelino started bought the building and literally we’re speaking in advocacy events, churches, setting up for the business, and then and foster care adopted the boys classes, but their and got them to audience consisted live with us the mainly of new same month,” adoptive parents, as Lomelino said. opposed to parents In two years, with post-adoption they would receive issues. Luckily, adoptive status, inspiration from the and six months arts world would later, care for inspire Hovind to 18-month-old move these efforts Savannah (now and his family to 13). One year later, larger audience: Los she was adopted. Angeles. “It was a lot at once, and we were working and recording Los Angeles, Global Reach, Giselle, an album at the same time.” Evangeline, and Mercedes In 2003, their techno rock and edgy electroclash band, Spektral Motion, After being motivated by meeting many released the album, Get Up & Go. With people at the Sundance Film Festival, Lomelino on vocals, Hovind on bass, Hovind decided a move to Los Angeles, and friend Travis Krouse on guitar they where they found opportunities for more received rave reviews on cdbaby.com, and projects. Savannah started going to school, a fast-growing following in the Midwest. and Lomelino successfully pursued a Despite the edge and attitude in their degree in screenwriting. But although fashion and sound, Spektral Motion their lives were more stable, “We got easily stayed true to a family friendly this feeling,” Lomelino recalls. “Maybe essence. People of all ages can feel tell us what we should be doing. You’re not even a parent.’” As challenging and eye-opening as their experiences were, Hovind and Lomelino persevered with extensive research in adoption parenting and parenting children with special needs, and became first-time adoptive parents to Zorian and Corbin (biological brothers who were ages 5 and 3 at the time — now 20 and 17).
“We got this feeling. Maybe we’ll adopt one more, just One More Kid”
On Adoption Day: Ryun Hovind and MéLisa Lomelino with their children Savannah, Giselle, Evangeline, and Mercedes with family court judge Marilyn Kading Martinez. At right, Zorian, now 20, with MéLisa. www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Spring 2013 | the insider
17
we’ll adopt one more. Just one more kid.” Hovind agreed and the couple got trained and re-licensed in California, setting an example that independent artists can thrive as adoptive parents in a city as bustling and expensive as Los Angeles. According to Angela Carimyan, Children’s Services Administrator of Recruitment for the Department of Children’s Foster Services (DCFS), the qualifications are rather welcoming and not rigid. “There is no minimum income level set,” Carimyan explained. “Anyone who is self-supporting and can provide a safe and stable home can be an adoptive foster parent.” Desired attributes include flexibility, a good sense of humor, and a willingness to grow and learn. “Some applicants self-assess themselves out. They drop out,” Carimyan adds. This is even after considerations of available stipends and support, such as medical and dental coverage and post adoption services. But Hovind and Lomelino remained committed as they did before. With their experience as adoptive parents of three children, they began publicly speaking again and formed MéLisaAndRyun.com — otherwise known as Adoptive Legacy. Still running strong today, the site features informative videos and blog posts on a wide range of adoption topics: TPR (terminated parental rights), running away, feelings of regret, distinguishing between foster adoption and private adoption. Hovind and Lomelino were now not only more easily accessible for the demand in Los Angeles, but globally. With making their message known, friends invited them to their first adoption fair. It is basically like a school carnival where groupings of foster children are available for adoption. Right before attending, Hovind and Lomelino promised themselves with a fist bump to not fall in love with a child to adopt. But there they met 7-yearold Giselle (now 10). “When I met her, I just instantly felt like she and I had a connection, and you can’t explain that,” Lomelino says proudly. “With this girl’s personality, you can just tell she’s a fighter. She’s
18
the insider | Spring 2013
a survivor. She inspires me.” Giselle had two younger sisters with her, and Hovind and Lomelino also adopted Mercedes and Evangeline (now 6 and 5). Lomelino describes their Latina beauty as comparable to the child models of a United Colors of Benetton ad. Since their adoption, the nurture has been apparent. “Our influence is to entertain and we see it totally come through in the kids — especially because they were very shy when they came in,” Lomelino says with lit eyes. “We’ve just seen them develop and blossom into ‘Hello, world!’” Indie Hilarious Infotainment With eight family members, staying on a strict family budget is a challenge. “We always say, you either make films or you watch films,” Hovind asserts. “So we spend our time making stuff instead of consuming it.” Hovind and Lomelino have written and produced two sketch web-series, one comedy half-hour pilot, and over a dozen short films — four of which have been featured in festivals. Their work includes “Pub Love,” “The Leftovers,” “Making a Maury,” and “The Odd Squad.” “This year we have submitted a feature comedy screenplay to several festival competitions including Austin Film Festival and Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest,” said Ryun. But
it is their first reality show, MéLisa and Ryun, that the family is most excited about. With their family becoming larger and transracial, Adoptive Legacy became further enriched and the family became more creative and entertaining. But with their message becoming more in-depth, Hovind and Lomelino also drew on Adoptive Legacy’s limitations. While the site aided the couple’s reputation as being experienced experts, they quickly learned that their audience wanted more. “We just saw more and more that the people who contacted us were not interested in our educational videos,” Lomelino noted. “OK, if you want to see what our family is like, we’ll do it that way then. Both the video and the website will get the message out.” Since their number of children doubled so quickly, being instantly entertaining for others became easier and around the clock, despite it also being taxing on the couple’s time and energy. From comparing a typical school morning to an episode of COPS, to taking three little girls shopping for summer swimsuits, their interactions are hilarious as they are informative. “A lot of people are very curious about our life,” Lomelino explains. “We’ve had producers for years approach us and say, ‘Can we do a show on you?’ So we decided that the best way is for us to shoot it, because
Ryun with MéLisa, above, and son Corbin, 17, below. Facing page, MéLisa with Savannah, 13, and Giselle,10. www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
we’re artists ourselves and to be a part of the final creative process, so that we’re choosing what gets out there and what’s not….Because of our kids, …I don’t want someone else getting final say.” In keeping with the indie spirit, Hovind incorporates the production of MéLisa and Ryun with Glendale Community College’s own talent. Fernando Rabelo, a current GCC student who has been admitted to USC with a major in animation, filmed the 10 episodes that have been shot and edited. “It was insane,” Rabelo laughs, “in a good way. We had too much to do. We’d go out for a day with the family, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. They are funny, but having six children can be pretty stressful, and each person has her or his own personality. The situation was kind of awkward. We would have to keep filming while someone was crying or screaming, but there were a lot of days it was fun to do.” But the intersection of the arts and parenting is obvious. “MéLisa is always acting, talking, and singing. They have freedom to do what they want, but their advice is to try something creative or artistic,” he says. Having attended workshops hosted by Hovind, Rabelo sees how his parenting abilities compliment his teaching style. “He’s a very skilled guy. He’s the kind of teacher who you’ll learn everything from. He’ll introduce you to everything new out there. It keeps you up to date and always interested.” “Another reason we took on the reality show is to show the students, ‘Look, this is where the world is at,’” Lomelino explained. “This is where media is going. This where art is going — and to inspire them.” Along with expanding their endeavors to the success of GCC, the Hovind family members are out to distinguish themselves as not just a reality show, but respectable and heartfelt infotainment — making sure to not exploit their children. “We kind of parent like Bill Cosby…. We try to keep things as light as possible,” says Hovind. “If our kids are having an emotional moment, and they’re like, ‘I don’t want to be taped,’ then it’s off,” Lomelino stresses. “We don’t exploit them in any way like that.” They are also answering to the economic downtown of the U.S. which resulted in a surge of foster parents due to the benefits received. They exemplify how it is possible to pursue your passion while raising six adopted children, and answer to the contrasting reality that
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
there are inadequate foster parents out there. “Adopting through foster care is difficult, but rewarding,” Hovind explained. “No one has really stepped forward to be the face of adoptive foster care, so we are doing our best to be just that.” The hilarity that ensues regularly is thought to lure a greater audience to other issues these fun parents would like to address. Even after the filming of MéLisa and Ryun and the growth of Adoptive Legacy, Hovind and Lomelino identify numerous issues that prospective adoptive parents still need to be aware of, such as the difficulty in finding good doctors and obtaining medical records, and special needs that may unfold in raising an adopted child. As their family, arts, and audience continues to evolve, the more it seems they have only scratched the surface. This is perhaps how the family and their art continue to grow together. One particular issue has been consistently addressed since Hovind and Lomelino decided to not have children of their own as a young couple: adopted children can be bullied because of their non-biological status. “We believe it changes the dynamics of the family. With oxytocin, you are forced to love your biological child,” Ryun points out. “I’m not saying it doesn’t work for a lot of people… [but] it would be impossible to not have favoritism. We tell our kids they are our first choice.” It is in this recurring communication and constant artistic interactions that their most important message of self-love is expressed. “That’s the biggest thing we spend every day on—to teach them how to love themselves, because if they can do that, they can do anything,” Lomelino says earnestly. “If you don’t love yourself, you can’t be in a relationship. There’s
so much you can’t do if you don’t love yourself. That’s where all the confidence and self-esteem comes from. We spend a lot of time talking about worth and that they’re worthy of love.” When the color coded schedule for the day has been completed, the Hovinds gather around the dinner table and each shares their high and low points of the day. When the kids are sound asleep, Hovind and Lomelino are back to their time for each other, writing a new song, working on the show, or coming up with new ideas. “We are always doing art together that cements us as a couple,” Lomelino says. Despite their bigger projects that coincide with their growing children, the couple still keeps to the basics in sending their message out. They speak at MAPP classes (California adoptive training courses) to a crowd of individuals right before their graduation. They are still looking for an organization to partner with, as they look to establish themselves as the poster family for adoption through foster care. In June, they will have their first vacation since adopting the three girls two years ago. They are aiming to have MéLisa and Ryun aired by July 2013, though they are still waiting to have it shopped and sold. “We’ve always been indie in everything else we’ve done,” Lomelino says proudly. “We’ve never let distribution stop us. We’ve always made whatever we’ve wanted to do and let our art be seen. That’s our advice to artists. Don’t be stopped. Keep making art.” Adoption tips, videos and more are available on Ryun and MéLisa’s website: http://adoptivelegacy.com/
Michelle Meneses will be pursuing her master’s degree in social work at Boston University in the fall. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2010.
Spring 2013 | the insider
19
Intervals
Review: “ I n Time” Delivers Perfect Progressive Metal Album — By Sean Moriarty
The all-instrumental Canadian quartet Intervals has unleashed its five-song EP “In Time,” and it’s taking no prisoners! Much like the well-revered virtuosos of modern Progressive Metal, Misha Mansoor (Periphery), Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders), and Jeff Loomis (exNevermore), the lead guitarist and brains behind Intervals, Aaron Marshall, brings forth a refreshing approach to the world of heavy music. Intervals’ other band members; Lukas Guyader, guitar/programming; Anup Sastry, drums; and Matt De Luca, bass guitar complete the ensemble. It’s hard to come by a progressive band that always maintains focus and direction in their songs and doesn’t succumb to the temptation to make its music sound “off putting” and “scatter brained” for the sake of fitting into the mold of “progressive.” Musically, Intervals seems to have it all: complex song structure, heavy groove, mind-bending rhythmic patterns, jazzy sections, euphoriainducing melodies, unmistakable ‘heavy metal’ riffs, and solos that could be used to aid one’s quest to reach nirvana. This EP shows compositional maturity and could be one of the best releases the progressive metal world has received in quite a long time. 20
the insider | Spring 2013
“In Time” is introduced with a song called “Alchemy,” which starts with a less-than-soothing electronic build-up. It exudes the kind of feeling that something intense is about to happen; like what you would hear in a Hollywood movie before a car chase scene, and then crescendos to an erupting volcano.
Intervals utilize the extremes of their tonal range to their full potential just within the first thirty seconds. Although “Alchemy” is only around two minutes long it still holds its own as the darkest sounding track on the EP, along with a nice dose of groove and fun sound effects. However, “Alchemy” is no match for the skull-crushing song “Mata Hari,” which is a masterpiece of
detailed speed implemented with great rhythmic complexity. A few parts consist of different rhythmic patterns stacked on top of each other to create impressive ‘polyrhythmic’ phrases. Although all of this is very exciting to listen to, it’s all a set up for an ‘ahh inspiring’ melody which renders any kind of vocals unnecessary. The song sounds like it’s in a state of catharsis as the notes soar higher and higher; and along with Marshall’s excellent use of string bends and vibratos, “Mata Hari” is a million miles away from boring. After “Mata Hari” concludes, the EP moves on to more light-hearted songs, beginning with “Tapestry.” The song has a double personality disorder in the way that it begins with a very non-intimidating musical phrase, and some moderately fast-paced harmonic runs between the two guitarists in which they play the same melodic phrase in different positions on the fret board. Then immediately the song switches gears to a head-rattling bass loaded groove; which in this type of song is always a pleasant surprise for fans of heavy music. Although the quick transitions to “heavy” may come as a bit of a shock at first, it never sounds out of place at any time. In fact, it serves the listener well as a skillful use of instrumental range to change the texture of the www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Intervals, left to right: Anup Sastry (drums), Lukas Guyader (Rhythm Guitar), Arron Marshall (Lead Guitar), and Matt De Luca (Bass)
sound for a short period of time. The song also brings some great expression to the table with the numerous solos. They’re a tad repetitious in nature, but it’s not like you would ever know until your third or fourth listen. Whatever Marshall loses in repetition he regains with the impressive melodic structure and speed of the solos. Next up is “Momento,” which sounds like it could be the theme song for anyone with a carefree or ‘happy go lucky’ personality. The song begins with a very fast, but straightforward section that makes the song sound like it’s running; and with the inflection Aaron uses on specific notes in this section, the song begins to feel like it has some arms and legs. This same section also features the drummer, Anup Sastry, in a very subtle way. Sastry uses different cymbal and snare drum hits to actually change the feel of the beginning phrase. He changes it from the way it originally sounded, to a seemingly slower pattern which creates another very “polyrhythmic” phrase. Though every second of the song was a joy to listen to, the best parts of this song are the melodic phrases created by both guitar players in another grand display of harmonic runs along the fret board. The sections of groove that are heard throughout the song are icing on the cake and really make this song three dimensional. The last track on this incredible album is a song called “Epiphany.” This song certainly is able to set itself apart with a building kind of mood in the beginning which is very similar to how “In Time” started. However, in lieu of electronics to set the mood, the group put the drummer in the driver’s www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
seat; though the ambient backing tracks could be seen as more of a “back seat driver” in this case. When Marshall enters with his beginning solo it seems that he took lessons from the likes of Joe Satriani with its creamy tone. The song also gets a very interesting contrast in sound from the everimportant heavy grooves to a very jazzy like clean tone, layered on top of heavy patterns from the drummer, rhythm guitarist, and bass player. This song is the most unique out of the five songs since the range in guitar tones is so vast yet blends together nicely like peanut butter and jelly. Marshall seamlessly takes the listener on a journey with his playing in this song, and you can’t do anything except ride along. Other great qualities about Marshall’s playing in this are the excellent use of what’s called the “Whammy Bar.” This is a bar on the guitar, that when pushed down, will loosen the tension of the strings which will make the notes fall out of tune. If it’s used correctly it can really add
great detail to the sound of a specific section. Although Marshall uses it in an extremely subtle way, it’s by far the best use of one I’ve ever heard and gives the sound great color and shape. Intervals has hit the ball out of the park and into orbit with “In Time.” Every song is a prime example of great musical expression, and supreme talent. Other than groups like “Animals As Leaders,” “Chimp Spanner,” or “Scale The Summit,” I can’t think of another instrumental band out there that is never boring or too busy-sounding and overbearing. The guys in “Intervals” know exactly what they’re doing, and certainly know how to use their instruments to express tasteful playing, rather than showboating; which is very easy to do in modern progressive music. This band has a promising career ahead of them, and could easily become legendary in the progressive music world. Rating: 10/10
Sean Moriarty is a music major with an interest in teaching. He’s in a heavy metal band and is a beard enthusiast.
Spring 2013 | the insider
21
Rave On: Students Spend Hundreds of Dollars for a Good Time (and that’s o.k....)
— By Katherine Jose
— Photos By Mineli Ebrahimi 22
the insider | Spring 2013
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Neon lights flash in tune with the DJ’s beat. The audience waves its arms in the air and bodies sway in sync, consumed by the magical musical unification that bonds it together as one. As one DJ ends his set and the stage welcomes another, the audience cheers for the music to never end. A rave is still like any other music festivity, it only lasts until the early morning of the next day, forcing its attendees to leave a world of fantasy for their world of reality, taking with them a night full of memories. This phenomenon of connecting with strangers and sharing a moment in time is the reason why guests are so willing to return to these events, bringing along friends with whom they wish to share the experience. It’s the reason for the growth of popularity of rave culture. More and more electronic music festivals are being held around the world, creating greater and easier accessibility to fans. Yet attending these events does not come cheaply. So why is it that
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
when prices continue to rise for these raves, it does not negatively affect their attendance? Why is this generation so willing to throw all their money into one night or a weekend of music? HARD Events Festival estimates that more than 100,000 people per year attend their events. In 2012, Adnan Ansar, a third-year engineering student at San Diego State University, became part of that estimated 100,000, when he attended the HARD Summer L.A., his first rave ever. Persuaded by his college roommate, Ansar attended HARD Summer LA with certain expectations. “[At first], I thought it was going to be like another high school dance, but it was way more fun. Everyone was happy to see each other. No one was judging or being judged. You could be as comfortable as you wanted to be,” Ansar ecstatically claims with a smile on his face. “I experienced joy and happiness on another level.” He reminisces details of past raves, counting a total of four events within the past year. When asked about his concern for the rising price of tickets
and what he has already spent, Ansar ‘s face suddenly turns stern as he responds with an unenthusiastic cold statement, “Of course I do worry. I worry a lot.” The term “Rave” originated in the United Kingdom around the late 1950s as a description for “wild Bohemian parties.” Included in these parties were loud garage rock and/or the precursers to psychedelic music. It later transformed in the late 1980s as the subculture that grew out of the acid house movement. In 1989, Neil Andrew Megson referred to the acid house music parties as “rave parties,” and during the early 1980s, raves were known to be a setting for the working-class fans to release some stress caused by the coinciding movement of a decline in the few jobs available at the time. These raves shared a similar pattern with the unity of fans at a football match, and many of these fans accounted for the population of these raves. With no permits, drug use and lack of oversite these events frequently crossed legal lines. The popularity growth of these raves began to attract a mainstream audience of thousands of fans, causing British politicians to take interest in the matter and
Spring 2013 | the insider
23
“Rave on, it’s a crazy feeling and I know it’s got me reeling. I’m so glad that you’re revealing your love for me.”
fine anyone who attended these unauthorized clubs. In order to get around the law, many of these parties began to advertise as all-night video shoots rather than illegal gatherings. But eventually, the police would crack down on these events, driving the rave scene into the countryside. Nicole Antikoll, a Las Vegas resident, recalls Electronic Daisy Carnival (EDC) this past year. She discusses in great detail the massive number of people at the event. “It was so packed. It took us two hours just to exit the freeway and find a parking spot. But then we had to get into these long lines, and it went by slowly because the security would check our IDs, our tickets, and pat us down. When we were finally inside, I couldn’t believe how many people were actually there. It made it impossible to meet up with my other friends, and the group I was with eventually decided to just give up and we enjoyed EDC without them.” Antikoll recalled that in 2011, a Manny Pacquaio fight had taken place the same weekend as EDC. She cannot fathom the thought of how busy the Vegas Strip must have been, glad that her first experience was not too overwhelming. Being a Las Vegas local all her life, Antikoll has dealt with and knows how to avoid the summer weekend traffic due to tourists. But last year’s EDC caused a traffic jam that even she wasn’t able to maneuver. “There was lots of traffic. I got stuck in the traffic when I left EDC. It took me six hours to get home and home was just 30 minutes away.” The U.K. and European rave culture had been associated with America’s era of the 1960’s Hippies and the 1980’s New Wavers, commonly sharing the lack of interest in violence but rather an increased interest in music. But a boom of the rave culture was evident within the Bay Area of Northern California around the 80s and 90s.
— Buddy Holly, 1958
Rave parties were held frequently in the warehouses of the SOMA [South of Market] district, loft spaces, and clubs, and promoters would acquire an authorized legal permit for these parties until 6 am. To get around the liquor license requirements, alcohol was banned at all these events. These restrictions on alcohol led rave fans to the use of Ecstasy, giving raves their infamous association with drug use. In San Diego, the 1990s brought Nicholas Luckinbill and Branden Powers together to create Global Underworld Network,
which is famous for organizing OPIUM and NARNIA, events that attracted audiences of 60,000 plus and became known as the “Woodstock of Generation X.” Global Underworld Network was known for its creation of RTD, Right to Dance. RTD was a non-violent protest against San Diego and Los Angeles law enforcement, trying to prove that a rave was all about P.L.U.R [Peace, Love, Unity, Respect] and not drug use. RTD became the foundation of the future rave culture within the U.S.
EDC Attendance for the Last Six Years: 2008 Los Angeles — 65,000 2009 Los Angeles — 99,000 2010 Los Angeles — 85,000
2011 Las Vegas — 230,000 2012 Las Vegas — 300,000 2012 Las Vegas — 350,000
Photos by Mineli Ebrahimi were taken at the Electric Daisy Carnival 2013, held in Las Vegas from June 21 to 23. 24
the insider | Spring 2013
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
“Last year for EDC, I paid $80. The year before that, $50. Now the cheapest ticket I can find for this years’ EDC is $100. And all of this was just for one day.” Antikoll states when asked about the price range of tickets. Ansar is no different, willing to spend around the same amount as Nicole for these events, despite his concern for finances. “The only reason I was so willing to pay that much was because my friends were going. Friends are worth a lot to me and to pay 100 dollars just to see everyone together at a fun event is nothing.” But deep down, both Antikoll and Ansar always worry when it comes to prices, for they are also both college students with educational finances to pay off. Yet they agreed that the memories they shared with their friends and the exciting people that they met were the experiences that made the event their money’s worth, justifying their spending. Ultra Music Festival is an annual March event that takes place in Miami, Florida. It had started out as a one-day festival from 1999 to 2006, expanding as its growth in popularity demanded an increase to a two-day festival from 2007 to 2010. From 2011 to 2012, it became a three-day event. But this past March 2013, Ultra Music Festival held an event that spanned two weekends with a rough estimated attendance of 330,000 music fans. And pre-sale tickets for Ultra 2014 have already gone on sale, selling out within seconds of availability. But fans have been faced with two disappointments for next year’s upcoming event. The first disappointment is that the Ultra’s 2014 festival will only be a three-day event rather than a span of two weekends. The second disappointment, or more www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
of an outrage, is that ticket sales have been raised to a total of $133 per day (not including the 166 dollars for tax and service fees). But despite the outrageous pricing for general admissions, Ultra Music Festival 2014 is still on track to sell out faster than its previous years. Antikoll stated that EDC 2012 was her first rave, but later corrected that “it was my first BIG rave.” Actually, Fort 2011 was the first rave that Antikoll attended. “It was really crazy. I danced a lot - I normally don’t like to dance, and met lots of cool people. There were also cages to dance in and a bunch of light shows...I even got my rave name, which is Serendipity.” Within the rave culture, there are many customs shared among its fans, such as receiving a raver name from another experienced raver and exchanging homemade beaded bracelets known as “Kandi” with strangers. “I got [my raver name] from my rave father, Spectro. He’s actually my friend, Nico, and my rave mother, Starstruck, is really my friend Liz. They both brought me to Fort and made sure I had fun since it was my first time.” Antikoll explains other traditions found within the rave culture. When exchanging Kandis with someone, they must both create a peace sign with their fingers touching as the giver exclaims “Peace.” They then form a heart together as the giver again exclaims “Love.” As the last step,
the two grasp hands as the giver finally moves the beaded bracelet over to the receivers arm, exclaiming “Unity.” During one of DJ Frankie Bone’s set at a music festival, a fight erupted. In response to this fight, DJ Frankie Bone’s decided to pause his music and grab a microphone. He addressed the two by saying, “If you don’t start showing some peace, love, and unity, I’ll break your faces.” Later in a recollection of the incident in an interview, he added respect at the ended in order to create what is known as today’s motto for the rave culture: P.L.U.R. It is recited by other DJs and fans as a sign of the welcoming community found at the events. It is also why the phrase is present in the exchange of Kandis. “It’s so easy to make friends at a rave because everyone is so nice. There was one time where I got separated from my group of friends and couldn’t find them,” recounts Adnan Ansar. “So I was standing around by myself enjoying the music when a group of people approached me and started talking to me about the DJ that was playing. We started talking about other things but eventually I had to start looking for my friends again. But before I left, one of the guys gave me a really cool Kandi that he said has been through two EDCs. It was so cool and I’ll always cherish this kandi,” Ansar says as he points to a beaded cuff on his wrist that displays an image of a star. Patricia Gonzalez, a third-year student at Cal State Fullerton and a second-year member of the Entertainment and Tourism Club (ETC), has volunteered at many festivals, from working a water station and getting generous tips to walking backstage and collecting signatures Spring 2013 | the insider
25
The Five Greatest EDM DJs according to LA Weekly bloggers: 5. Claude VonStroke, “specializing in bass drops that are more booty-shaking than bone-crushing.” – Andy Hermann
4. Sander Kleinenberg, “He’ll rinse breakbeats and contemporary house sounds without ever sounding cheesy.” – Dennis Romero
3. Deadmau5, “His sound is a soaring and multilayered assemblage of cleanly produced beats.” – Katie Bain
2. Danny Tenaglia, “this New Yorker is known for 12-hour tribal journeys that have been the soundtrack for after-hours bacchanalia.” – Dennis Romero
of DJ performers as a gift for the sponsors of the event. “I was nervous to volunteer for my first rave since I never been to one and didn’t know what to expect,” says Gonzalez. “But I was assigned to a water station and I got to really take in the Nocturnal Festival experience, even though I wasn’t there as a fan. I got to meet really interesting and funny people. Like, they would talk to me while I filled up their bottles with water and before they left, they would usually tip generously.” Gonzalez explains how even when volunteering, you feel apart of the event just the same as an attendee. She was able to listen to the music and interact with the fans, which made her feel included more than just being a volunteer. Since her first experience, she has plans to continue her membership with ETC and a volunteer for other Insomniac Events. The EDM, Electronic Dance Music, Culture has been negatively associated with the substance use of drugs, especially ecstasy [MDMA or methylenedioxymethamphetamine]. Yet Nicole says, “I thought [raves] were just a type of drug party, but some [people] actually didn’t roll. Basically you can go and have fun even if you don’t do drugs.” Bryan Rill, an anthropologist with the Florida State University, defines a rave as “an alternate reality of dancing, release, and free expression.” In his article “Identity Courses on the Dancefloor,” he states, “The participants are individuals in their style and flavor, but together they are
1. Richie Hawtin, “To call him a button-pusher, while technically accurate, is like saying Michelangelo painted pretty good. If more DJs follow his lead, whatever style they play, EDM’s future is bright.” – Andy Hermann
26
the insider | Spring 2013
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
a liquid sea of bodies, all synchronized to the beats around and within them.... Everyone is in an altered state of consciousness, with or without the use of drugs.” Ansar agrees with Rill’s view, claiming his love for dancing rises above all other experiences at a rave. “I love to dance and a rave encourages it. You can dance any way you want and it will always somehow fit the situation. I don’t feel like I’m being watched or thought of as an idiot in the way I dance.” Rill explains, “Participants lose touch with material reality, drifting among the soundscapes like a flowing river. Metaphorically the rave world can be viewed as a netherworld, in which participants are walking, or dancing, their way through dark passages guided only by the music.” Bryan Rill’s analysis could explain why Nicole Antikoll is able to dance carefree at a rave when at other times, she’d rather stand on the side and just watch. Like Ansar said, the rave community is not about judgment but rather love and acceptance. The most common statement borne out by Adnan, Nicole, and Patricia’s experience is the welcoming feeling they got upon entering their first, and subsequent, raves. This is a pattern many fans experience. When RTD was created, it was a
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
protest to show officials the positivity generated by rave culture for its participants. Rill explains that dancing allows people to forget the stress of the outside world, becoming open and friendly towards other ravers. With technological advances, DJs are able to produce music faster and get it to their fans more quickly. This past March, Ultra Music Festival was recorded live and viewable for unattending fans on YouTube. DJ’s sets from previous events are also available for fans on video and audio sharing sites as well as sites specializing in electronic dance music. The growth of the internet and its marketing capability provides EDM an easier interaction with their fans and potential fans. Unknown DJs just starting their careers are given an easy form of promotion through the internet, allowing easier access to their music and getting their names out to fans. According to Danny Whittle, director of the dance club Pacha, “Our musical genre embraced the Internet, all other genres fought it.” Patricia Gonzalez does not know when she will stop volunteering for
these events, and Nicole Antikoll sees no end in sight. But Adnan Ansar, has an idea as to when his raving era will end. “I’m graduating soon; therefore no more fun for me after college.” Adnan flips through the photographs from raves and smiles at the images of him surrounded by friends. As a college student nearing graduation, he worries about his future stability. “I don’t want to be financially dependent on my parents once I’m out of college. I need to start buckling down and find a stable job,” he says.”But since I still have a year of school left, I have a year of being a raver left. And honestly, I kind of wish it didn’t have to end.” Unlike Patricia and Nicole who aren’t worried about the future, Adnan explains that his college years are his years to himself. But once he does find the right woman and settles down, his life will be all about them, forcing him to give up his raving ways. “Assuming I meet someone and she isn’t into [raves]...I’ll eventually have a job and a family and I want to be ready for that. I won’t be able to be selfish anymore.”
Katherine Jose is a photography major with a career goal in the magazine industry. She spends most of her time watching DC animations and window shopping online.
Spring 2013 | the insider
27
Global Medical Training Personal Account: the Pursuit of Clean Water in Nicaragua
— By Pamela Avila
On spring break, I wasn’t hanging out with friends at the movies, riding rollercoasters at theme parks, or lying in the sun at the beach. This was my first day of clinics in Nicaragua. I was excited to help but I won’t deny I was daydreaming of being back at the hotel with the air conditioning on full blast. Still jetlagged, I stepped off the bus watching my steps on the dirty ground; almost tiptoeing in order to avoid getting my scrubs dirty. I was already annoyed because of the humid weather, and the heat was nearly unbearable. But I didn’t know then what I was about to witness would blow my petty worries out of the water. We arrived in a small village. There were at least a hundred people waiting to be treated. They were waiting for help. They were waiting for something to cure what was wrong. They were waiting for hope. And that’s when a wave of guilt overcame me. All of a sudden it didn’t matter that my scrubs were going to get dirty. It didn’t matter that it was 97 degrees and extremely humid. None of it mattered, because here I was among all these people who couldn’t have even fathomed those petty complaints because they had real hardships to overcome. It is indisputable that water is essential to human life and a vital resource for the survival of life on our planet. The human body is made up of mainly water. Now imagine if the water hydrating your body right now was contaminated and polluted – think of all the harm it would be causing you. Billions of people outside the little protected bubble that is the United States suffer from the effects of water contamination. Witnessing it first-hand is a shocking realization. Water scarcity due to contamination and pollution
28
the insider | Spring 2013
is increasing around the world, and Nicaragua can attest to that. I took the trip to Nicaragua with Glendale Community College’s first chapter of the Global Medical Training (GMT) club. Global Medical Training is an international humanitarian organization that provides free medical and dental services to medically deprived communities in Central American countries. GMT teaches students basic clinical skills, basic medical knowledge, and the art of medicine in preparation for and during implementation of the clinics. It also provides students with a first-hand experience of cultural, social, historical, and political life in these regions. A group of 10 students, including myself, spent our spring break doing our best to help the people of Nicaragua with medical assistance. We spent most of our time in two main Nicaraguan cities – the capital Managua and Granada. As a team, we provided free healthcare services. We also saw a recurring trend at every clinic and rural village we visited – infections and health problems always correlated with the water contamination issue. Of course, we diagnosed other types of illnesses and infections, but most of them dealt with their environment and the country they inhabited. GMT president and pre-med student Garen Koocharian can attest to the huge problem that Nicaragua has with water contamination. “I knew it was bad, but I wasn’t aware that it was this bad,” he says. It’s unfortunate that the people of Nicaragua drink the water without knowing the consequences that can sometimes even be lethal. Koocharian continues, “I myself found out that water is more important than we think, because I got dehydrated there and it was not a fun time!”
Our GMT team was fortunate enough to be surrounded by competent doctors from Nicaragua readily available if any of us felt ill. As most of us were prepared with our own medication to combat any type of disease – most of us rarely felt sick. “I always see things differently when I return to the states, I realized how clean my water at home is and how thankful I am that I can see through it in a glass – it’s not cloudy,” Koocharian says. The transition from the U.S to Nicaragua and back was definitely an eye-opener. Koocharian went on, “I am happy that we get clean water, but I always feel so sad that these countries have to suffer only because their government does not take nearly enough care of them.” In the U.S., we take it for granted that our homes have piped water and sanitation services. We assume that it’s always going to be this way, without ever thinking twice that maybe one day we won’t be so lucky anymore. The taxes we pay our local, state and federal governments ensure that there is universal public access to these basic yet essential services. But the situation in many developing countries contrasts starkly wih ours. More than 1 billion people worldwide don’t have access to potable water, and 2.5 billion lack access to basic sanitation services. As a result, over 3 million people die annually from diseases related to lack of access to clean water. Nicaragua is a country with plenty of rainfall and fresh water, especially in the Caribbean region. Still, for many families in Nicaragua, particularly in rural areas or on the outskirts of towns, accessing safe water is a challenge on a daily basis. People tend to live near rivers, lakes, and lagoons, which become their source for water. However, this water isn’t necessarily clean so, although accessible, it still poses a
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
challenge and a threat to their health. The village we visited the first day of clinics was surrounded by a moderately huge lake. I stepped outside the room where we were holding clinics to catch some fresh air. A of couple kids were staring at me, so I tried striking up a conversation. We had a great view of the lake, so I asked if they swam in it. They said yes, but that the water was always pretty chilly. That seemed normal to me, but what they went on to say caused a bit of a culture shock – the water from that lake was also their main source for water, and also where they bathed. I was shocked because here in the U.S. we have separate sources of water for taking showers, swimming, and drinking water. We have our bathroom, a swimming pool, and water filters. For the people in Nicaragua, it was all in one and they have no other choice. About a third of the population in Nicaragua does not have clean water. In rural areas of the country, the number of people without clean drinking water tends to be much higher. Many households in rural areas become dependent upon shallow wells or natural springs and rivers, streams and lakes. The caveat here is that many of the rivers, streams, and lakes are polluted with pesticides, residential sewerage and industrial waste and toxins.
At least once a day, a mother would come into the clinic wanting to know what was wrong with her month-old baby – those were the moments that struck me the most. The baby’s symptoms would always point to parasites, or amoebic infection. The mother would be surprised. I would always ask then if the water her baby was consuming was bottled or at least purified. Most of the time, the mother would say, “No, I get my water from a well nearby or the lake.” The doctors in Nicaragua taught us that the key to combating water-borne illness is to raise awareness and educate people more. I would make sure to let them know that if they’re obtaining water from a well or nearby bodies of water it is best to, at the very least, take some time to boil it before drinking it or letting their children drink it.
According to the article “Nicaragua and the Right to Water” in Public Citizen by Sara Grusky, of International Water Working Group, “sewerage coverage is very limited, serving only 800,000 inhabitants (34 percent of the urban population) and the conditions of many sewerage collection systems has deteriorated. There is no sewerage treatment in the major city, Managua.” Thus, the lack of sewerage treatment in major cities causes a grave public health problem. Diana Sequeira, who worked with GMT as one of the translators, was raised in Managua, and she can attest to the many water contamination problems that affect the capital. Although she doesn’t suffer from any problems with contamination in the water she uses, she has witnessed how it deeply it affects the
Last day of clinics, above, working with Dr. Juan Reyes. At right, the lake where people bathe and obtain drinking water. www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Spring 2013 | the insider
29
rural areas. “Many factories throw out their toxic chemicals or waste into the lakes, rivers and lagoons. This creates more contamination,” she says. It’s unfortunate to think that Nicaragua within itself is in a way “adding fuel to the fire.” She continues by saying, “as a state with a lot of bodies of fresh water, we are more exposed to this water contamination problem and the government needs to stop it as soon as possible.” Given the rainfall and abundant water resources, there is adequate water to meet the country’s water demands. After all, Nicaragua means “surrounded by water.” However, proper management to develop and maintain the water supply requirements is lacking. “These major problems in water management are the lack of a national water sector and the lack of a national water law,” according to Grusky. A national water law is before the Nicaraguan Congress now, but has not been passed. Dr. Karen Zapata, who was in charge of dental health services during our clinics, believes that the government doesn’t worry at all about this critical issue. “The
An 18-month-old boy diagnosed with parasites. Photos by Pamela Avila. 30
the insider | Spring 2013
government only depends on the goodwill of others – the most the authorities of that caliber do are commercials on radio or TV but they don’t make it their problem to personally go out of their way and help,” she says. In the United States, we complain about our government and perhaps in some ways, we are correct to. But now we should keep in mind that at least the government is providing us with extensive water systems and have many laws that protect our right to clean water. “Living as a citizen in Managua, water service in most neighborhoods isn’t available 24 hours of the day – it’s restricted mostly during the summer,” says Zapata. Imagine having a limited amount of time in order to access the most essential thing for life. Diana Sequeira, too, has to go through Zapata’s experience of limited access to potable water during the summer. Certain places throughout the capital make water inaccessible in order to save it for the summer season. But how is that benefiting the citizens of Nicaragua in any way? Their right to water is being stripped away from them, even if it’s only for a matter of time. “It’s very stressful and it makes me think of all those that live in the outskirts of Managua who don’t have the privilege to wait a few hours and know that eventually you will have running drinkable water,” Dr. Zapata says. During these idle times, she has to set up a special storage system that stores water once activated, ensuring her water for at least 72 hours. However, other people who try to store water as well aren’t as lucky. Instead, they store water in containers already contaminated or they store it without protecting it from being exposed and soon become ill. “Deforestation accelerates soil erosion, decreases the amount of recharge to aquifers increasing surface runoff … decreases agricultural productions, and causes problems and increased maintenance of water systems and impoundments,” claims Grusky. Moreover, deforestation also poses as a factor in water contamination. Deforestation, with its devastating environmental consequences, is a serious problem. Hence, the reason behind numerous
problems in Nicaragua is that people don’t have the awareness or education to preserve their natural resources. This has become the biggest single factor in causing poverty. Most people’s income comes from agriculture, but they misuse the pesticides, thus exposing their resources to the wrong chemicals and putting their health at risk as well. Environmental degradation, particularly deforestation, the use of pesticides, and the lack of sewerage treatment have increased the complexity and severity of the water problem in Nicaragua. Critical issues are the lack of access to water sanitation, the extensive environmental damage caused by deforestation, the lack of national water sector and a comprehensive enforceable water law. Solutions to these issues present significant challenges to the people of Nicaragua as well as authorities responsible of taking care of their country’s inhabitants. The lack of policy and the lack of a water law are the largest weaknesses in managing the country’s water resources. It is evident that the government authorities in Nicaragua need to put an end to this problem as soon as possible. Realistically speaking, it will be a tough issue to combat in a short matter of time, but regardless it can be controlled and the government needs to intervene. When asked on his opinion of whether the people of Nicaragua battle this issue on their own, Koocharian answered, “It’s just a problem the country has to take care of. I suppose we can get together and raise funds to help them, but how we do really know that this money goes to that cause?” Skepticism of the Nicaraguan government is also prevalent with its citizens. “If the whole community and government authorities worked together towards the same cause to prevent this problem and raise awareness,” says Zapata, “I believe this issue could be controlled and future generations may have a shot at quality water.” It is good to know that there are many donors and organizations that work towards helping water and sanitation in Nicaragua. Among them are the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), CARE, Save the Children, and Water for Life, Living Water International and Christian Medical Action. While I was there, and also when I returned to the U.S., I kept thinking
[See Water, page 38] www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Bad News for Fans of Extreme Sports
— Cover Story and Photos By Richard Kontas Los Angeles has gotten a double-dose of bad news from ESPN’s X Games. On March 12, ESPN announced that it would be cancelling the Best Trick competition (in both the motorcycle and snowmobile categories) from its line up. As if that wasn’t bad enough, on April 30 came the official announcement that after 11 years X Games would not be back to Los Angeles in 2014. Yes that’s right, the upcoming event from August 1 to 4 will be the last in Southern California for three years or more. The motivation behind discontinuing Best Trick is safety related; four-time X Games medalist Caleb Moore died from injuries sustained during a snowmobile crash in Aspen during the Winter X Games. “Moto X Best Trick and Snowmobile Best Trick were not dropped in response to what happened in Aspen,” an ESPN spokesman said in a media release. “This decision was under consideration before Aspen and, in fact, our review of Snowmobile Freestyle continues.” However, that’s as far as they’ll go besides stating that in 11 years they’ve made 60 changes to various competitions.
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Once the announcement was made thousands of comments flooded in via forums, Facebook and twitter that action sports competitors and fans alike couldn’t believe it (both the cancellation and the claim that they were already looking at such action). First of all, the event Moore was hurt during was the Freestyle competition (not Best Trick). Second, Best Trick is the event that put X Games on the extreme action motorsports map, between Travis Pastrana’s historic double back flip at Staples Center in 2006, pictured above, to Jacko Strong landing the first-ever front flip in competition during the 2011 games. Since its inception in 2001 Best Trick has been an incubator for action sports, and is largely responsible for its climb in both popularity and innovation. Although there have been injuries in Best Trick (nothing worse than a broken
bone), there have been much worse in other categories. In 2007, Jake Brown fell more than 40 feet during the skateboard Big Air comp. Brown suffered a fractured wrist, bruised lung and liver, whiplash, ruptured spleen and a concussion. Big Air is still on the schedule. Moving along, the decision to leave LA was made in 2012 when the contract with AEG (owner of Staples) wasn’t renewed because the company was up for sale. In October ESPN started taking bids from potential host cities, such as is done for the Olympics. The four finalists are Chicago, Detroit, Austin, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C. each with a chance to earn three-year contracts to host the North American summer stop on the X Games beginning in 2014. The final choice will be announced later this summer. This is a sad day for both Los Angeles and action sports in general.
Richard Kontas is the El Vaquero newsroom manager. He is a longtime motorcycle racing enthusiast and photographer whose work appears at http://HooliganUnderground.com/ Spring 2013 | the insider
31
Why is G enerationY so
DIY? Opinion: I f necessity is the
Generation Y or “millennials” are those born after 1980 and before 2000. Simply, it’s 20-somethings and 30-somethings.The May 20 issue of Time featured a column by Joel Stein that half-heartedly defended a generation that has been dubbed “entitled,” “narcissistic,” “arrogant” and “lazy.” Stein calls millennials, “Generation Me Me Me” and illustrates a young woman posing for a “selfie” (today’s digital self-portraiture). Stein attributes this epidemic of narcissism to the psychology of the ’70s which taught that a child with self-esteem grows up to be undoubtedly successful. It turns out that being successful gives you self-esteem, not the other way around. Generation Y has been written off as an apathetic group with no real rebellion to speak of because they live at home with their parents (you know the “establishment”) and are spoiled to excess. They showcase “rich kid” attitudes, believing they “deserve” everything they want and “should” get it. I have many peers that fit the typical “millennial stereotype.” They wait in line overnight for a new pair of Jordans and have money to keep their iPhone upgraded yet they complain about the cost of school and won’t wait in line to vote. It’s an attitude that is seen across the socio-economic spectrum and yes, it gives everyone in their generation a bad rap. However, the more people I spoke to and the more I looked around at 20-somethings including myself, I realized something is brewing and it could be what saves this generation and maybe the next. I discovered that in a time where no one should complain about what their parents have given them, Millennials do have bone to pick with their parents but are addressing it passively. The lives they’re leading and the values they hold are in direct conflict with the older generation’s perception of success. Millennials are flat-out rejecting the goals their parents set because those dreams are no longer viable in the economy they inherited. Generation Y gets all the complaints that every other older generation has made about the next. The previous generation is always resentful of how “easy” the next generation has it. AT&T mocks the proverbial “In my day…” line in its newest commercials, where 12-year-olds complain about their 5-year-old siblings having it so much better. What is happening with the generation gap or divide is really not that new or unique, except for one thing. Generation Y is being dismissed and not given credit where credit is due. Gen Y is made up of people who can relate more to their greatgrandparents and grandparents than their parents. Millennials have lived through the biggest economic slump since The Great Depression. They have lived through the deadliest terrorist
32 the insider | Spring 2013
mother of invention, today technology is the father. Generation Y is proving itself to be capable of a newfound self-sufficiency with a little help from Pinterest. — By Marlene H. Rivera
attack on U.S. soil on 9/11 and have lived through and fought the longest U.S war next to Vietnam. They may have cool gadgets, but it’s been no cake walk. It’s not apathy. It’s not lack of ambition. It is new values and a distaste for their own upbringing. Millennials understand their parents just fine, after all they’re all friends on Facebook, right? The thing is that as grateful as millennials have to be to the parents who let them fly back to the nest, something was missing in their formative years. Lack of parental presence and an aversion to all things domestic has given birth to Generation DIY (Do-it-Yourself). There is no corporate ladder to climb but this generation embraces small business ownership and entrepreneurship. For being such a tech-savvy bunch, it’s shocking how many young women and men are opting to embrace a simpler domestic existence. In an age where there’s an app for everything it seems almost like a Saturday Night Live skit that handmade and homemade items are seen as “cool.” Actually, there is an app for that; look up “We can pickle that
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
– Portlandia.” The trend goes beyond the not-so-30anymore hipsters in Brooklyn, who grow organic heirloom tomatoes in reclaimed wood pallets and have a chicken coop in the back of their Prius. The trend extends to anyone with a smartphone, opposable thumbs and who voluntarily or involuntarily has more free time, considering one in every three young adults ages 18 to 29 are underemployed/ unemployed as of May 2013 according to Gallup. As it turns out, this generation that has been written off by so many as being lazy and dependent on mom and dad, is actually much more committed to self-sufficiency and thriftiness. The DIY movement isn’t exactly new – I mean we all know Martha Stewart and have tried her perfect chocolate-chip cookie recipe (and failed), but, there is a difference this time around and “it’s a good thing.” Generation DIY started for varying reasons but it ultimately comes down to the satisfaction of making something on your own that is unique and one of a kind. Making something useful and tangible with a learned skill with your own two hands brings earned gratification and is a symptom of having nostalgia for a time your parents took for granted. It makes perfect sense in a youth culture obsessed with documenting the highlights of their day to show the world or their 2,429 Facebook followers exactly how unique and different they are. Social media is the prefect breeding ground for all the self-proclaimed beauty gurus, fashion bloggers and lifestyle coaches to show what they bring to the table. In a time of record high unemployment and record high education level everyone is blogger. It’s been facilitated by technology but is it any different from writing into a local newspaper to share beauty tips or cleaning tips like our mothers’ mothers did? Overall, is there anything really unique about the DIY movement that is so completely different from The Greatest Generation’s way of life? Millennials have no choice but to “upcycle” by making old things new and cutting corners to save money. “Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without,” was the saying of the day and it’s not that different now.
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without Can’t afford a manicure? YouTube it! Need to fix a gutter but can’t afford a repairman? YouTube it! It’s a community that consists of laid off workers trying to pass the time while they wait for the next interview screening call and creatives that couldn’t bear the drudgery of the corporate world. For a group that has been noted for its supreme selfishness, it sure does a lot of sharing. The ego is put aside to share knowledge, skills, and trade secrets for the better good. In reality, millennials are all about sharing! It’s not only necessity that has pushed this movement into full throttle. It is also the political issues important to the age group. Millennials don’t just appreciate nature the way their predecessors did – they want to conserve it. There’s a need to be more in control of what goes into our bodies and the need to be self-sufficient hence, the growth and now standard practice of urban gardening. The difference between the Martha Stewart-ite of the ’90s and the “hip” doit-yourselfer of today is that it’s not about throwing the perfect dinner party. It’s not about the perfect anything because if that’s what you wanted, you could buy it massproduced at a store, which is how Diana Hodges, 24, Glendale Community College Alumni (’09) and 4th grade Las Vegas teacher put it. I asked her exactly why she started crafting out of nowhere and gathering recipes. The answer was short and sweet. “I’m cheap as *@$#.” Being a founding member in a sorority
with no money to start off with, Hodges had no choice but to make do with what Michael’s and a few bucks at the dollar store could get her. The only way to stand out during recruiting was to make unique, eye-catching decorations that rival anything store-bought. Enter Pinterest. According to Hodges, and almost everyone else asked, this is the virtual DIY bible. For all anyone who doesn’t know what Pinterest is, the time to act is — now! Download the app or visit the website and never look back. Pinterest groups everything that you could ever wish to make, or wondered how to make, all in one place. It is full of beauty tutorials, beauty recipes, health food recipes, home renovation tips, D.I.Y wedding ideas, crafts on a budget and classroom ideas for teachers. You name it, Pinterest has it. You could probably find a way to make a chandelier out of organic eggshells. Hodges, now fully employed as teacher, expands on the phenomenon and popularity of all things hand made. “I think it has a lot to do with just being unemployed and broke. All of a sudden everyone is into ‘clean eating’ when it’s essentially just packing your lunch,” she says. “Tupperware is not a new thing; it’s more like you can’t afford Olive Garden every day for lunch and you could stand to lose a few. Sometimes, it’s really just a façade.” When it comes to fashion and beauty, the practices of today’s “it girl” might sound more similar to wartime rationing stories where women used soup cans or beer cans to set their hair. Women in a crunch won’t let themselves go, but it seems getting too much done by professionals is no longer something to brag about. Go on YouTube and
Spring 2013 | the insider
33
“I taught myself, I didn’t need my dad, I don’t need anybody” — Eric Khatchtourian
look up anything from waxing your unmentionables to giving yourself a facial. In fact, go on YouTube and look up just about anything. It currently has over 1,000 how-to channels and millions of viewers and thousands of videos. If your father never taught you how to tie a tie or change a sparkplug, there’s hope for you yet. Eric Khatchtourian, 24, Glendale Community Alumni (’11), now a journalism major at Cal State Northridge, faced that predicament on his way out one night when he had no one to teach him how to tie his necktie. Youtube was there and he expressed the experience in a way many millennials would. “I taught myself, I didn’t need my dad, I don’t need anybody” Just like that, a stranger on a phone screen took the place of something that was once a rite of passage into manhood, when a father teaches a son. It’s a simple enough scenario, which encapsulates so much of what the growing experience has been for many millennials. Parents were and continue to be so busy with their careers that child rearing was left in the hands of strangers and electronics. If you do go on Pinterest, you can’t
help but notice how much is centered on good old fashioned home-making. I had to ask why so many young, educated women are trying to revert to what in many ways women’s liberation fought. The question begs be asked, is it a step backwards? Hodges doesn’t think so. “I don’t resent my mom, I know she had to work and I admire her for that. But, that’s not what I want for myself. I want to spend more time at home raising my children, myself and do more of the baking and cooking. I think, in many ways, a lot of girls saw their moms work and missed out on learning and enjoying the domestics. It’s not a step backwards if it’s your choice and this is what you want.” These thoughts were echoed by Nicole Santana, a 26-year-old homemaker with two small children, some college and cosmetologist license. Nicole is married to Paul Santana, a 29-year-old barber whose full beard, waxed moustache that curls up and tattoos give him an intimidating appearance that belies his soft heart and easy-going disposition. Nicole herself was raised by her grandmother. “I am a homemaker and proud of it.
"It has a lot to do with just being unemployed and broke. All of a sudden everyone is into ‘clean eating’ when it’s essentially just — Diana Hodges packing your lunch" 34 the insider | Spring 2013
I was raised by a homemaker, and she never would have gone back,” she says. “Women wanted so much to be equal to men and to be in the workplace, but I think it came at the expense of the children (our parents) and now our (yours and mine) generation has grown up in unconventional homes with single parents, split homes, with guardians, etc…then the homes where both parents work became the norm. I think as a mother myself, not having my mother in the home, that I wanted that even more so for my children. I don’t find it to be a step back in the sense that it’s a bad thing, more so that it is a step back in the right direction.” Growing up with parents who held full-time jobs or for some single parent homes, a constant advisory message was to – wait. • Wait to go to work, go straight to school. • Wait to date seriously, finish school. • Wait to get married, get a good job first. • Wait to have kids, buy a house. • Wait – don’t rush into starting a family. Go travel. The kids were listening, so why is it any surprise that Gen Y has put off doing all that “grown-up” stuff, but, here’s the ringer! It’s not being put off because wiser parents have instructed it to be so. It is being put off out of fear of ending up like their parents. Divorced and dissatisfied. The sad reality that is that waiting is the only choice for many unemployed students, graduates and those who are newly unemployed or under-employed. Generation Y has not thrown their arms up in the air and called it quits (even though with this job market, it’s easy). Generation Y has developed a response to
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
the new economy and the older generation. It may not be the defining attribute of Gen Y, but it is definitely a characteristic that embodies the naïve optimism in their own potential, which experts call narcissism. Generation Y, contrary to very popular belief wants to be self-sufficient. No one grows up wanting to be under their parents’ dominion for all eternity. It’s like wanting to have the safety of a car seat long after you’ve out grown it. Paul Santana is now a father and sees differences between his children’s upbringing from the one he had. Growing up with a Mexican mother, he always recognized the do-it-yourself attitude that perhaps his Anglo counterparts may have lacked but what he also notices is the overall “trendiness” that the D.I.Y. movement picked up. “I think with the new “hipster” movement, people are going back to the “basics” on everything. Women are relearning how to sew and crochet and men are re-learning how to carve and build furniture,” says Paul. “I think [there is a backlash] we grew up so futuristic during the ’80s that when the 2010s rolled around, we started to go back in time. [And we’re] proud of having those traits to pass on to our offspring…I think it’s more of a impressing yourself type of deal. “Maybe it’s the transition of being babied up until we’re 18 or 20 and then realizing we have to do things ourselves after our 30s. I’ve spent my 20s experiencing the self-realization that Mommy and Daddy aren’t there anymore and I had to do things myself. But with the whole D.I.Y. thing it’s more to impress myself that I can actually do something
with old bottles or broken wood. Being able to post pictures on Facebook or Instagram is just the icing on the cake.” Sharing these mini-accomplishments from the home front may seem like oversharing or that innate narcissism Gen Y has but, is that much different from the slideshows Stein mentions, which parents suckered poor unsuspecting neighbors into watching. The tools have changed the practice has not. The 20-somethings and 30-somethings of today bought into what their parents taught them – that they could be whatever they want to be. This might be a fameobsessed group but that seems to be who society rewards. Maybe they do overshare, but in the case of self-sufficiency it makes for more individuals who depend on themselves and do think in terms of “Me, Myself, and I,” not out of selfishness but in a cry for independence from parents, corporations and pre-set notions of what success is. Millennials want what everyone before them wanted – family and overall happiness. They just don’t think it comes from a BMW and position as CEO. In danger being to “don’t talk about me and my generation” I think Nicole said what many people want to say. “I think our parent’s generation has no right to be upset that we are the way we are, since our mothers were in the
workforce and weren’t home to raise their children to be the way they wanted them to be,” she says. “They allowed daycares, sitters, nannies, and other family members to be there in loco parentis (to take the role of the parent when the parent isn’t there) and instill their values, or lack thereof. “But every generation is usually in opposition to its parents’ generation and so maybe Generation Y is reverting to a simpler way of doing things (DIY, vintageinspired style, country and bluegrass music, etc.) but, in a self-absorbed, technology-riddled way as a direct reaction to the mothers no longer being in the home. I think it is a spoiled generation. Parents felt guilty for not being there as their parents were and so responded by giving gifts and sparing the rod.” Ouch. Generation D.I.Y. will be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow that didn’t have to climb a miserable corporate ladder and they’ll do more to be the people who take care of themselves and their children and they’ll be happier for it. If all this new found domesticity is a step backwards, it will be a step back in the right direction. Who knows, maybe Gen DIY will be the next Greatest Generation. Maybe that’s the conversation that needs to be had. The accountability parents have or don’t want to have.
Marlene Rivera is a first-semester staff member of the Insider. Her other work appears online at www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
The sad reality that is that waiting is the only choice for many unemployed students, graduates and those who are newly unemployed or under-employed. www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Spring 2013 | the insider
35
Opinion: the destigmatization of Internet dating
— By Rachel Ellison Sophia Gottleib* is boy crazy. She is a 24-year-old graduate of Northwestern University who has had one serious relationship in which the words, “I love you” were exchanged. She has had four serious crushes, in which compulsive FaceBook stalking and serial drunk texting took place. She has had five sexual partners, one of which was a semi-famous Spanish graffiti artist. And she has an online dating profile on both OkCupid and Grouper Social Club. It was a cold February night when Sophia, armed with her two best friends and fresh off of a keratin hair treatment, met up with a group of three male strangers over drinks. The meeting took place at a sports bar in downtown Chicago, and she quickly realized, as the surrounding TVs illuminated their features, her night companions were surprisingly handsome. The men spouted off their jobs like they were reading their resumes – lawyer, writer, editor – and said all the right things at all the right times. Sophia drank gin and tonics throughout the night, courtesy of Brian, who, by 11 p.m had enough whiskey in his system to admit to her that he had a crush. They ended up going dancing, drinking and flirting until 2 a.m, exchanging numbers that were never used. Sophia was on a grouper, a date between two groups of three friends, coordinated by a team of experts. The site works through your facebook account to match like-minded individuals, in hopes of finding a more authentic representation than that of a dating profile. The only problem: chemistry cannot be anticipated. While her expectations fell and her desperation grew, she decided that * Some names and identifying details have been changed.
36
the insider | Spring 2013
maybe a one-on-one date from Ok Cupid would prove more of a success. She was wrong. Once again faced with the prospect of a handsome lawyer, she could not understand why she was not charmed. Perhaps it was the fact that he had coincidentally dated one of her sister’s friends, or perhaps it was the slight aroma of pickles that wafted her way when he got too close, but Sophia found herself on another date that would lead to nothing. Perhaps third time is the charm? Although Sophia, an extremely neurotic young woman, could be described as high maintenance and perhaps inappropriate at times, she has never had trouble meeting men. So why, you may ask, did this girl turn to the Internet in city chock full of eligible bachelors? “I really have little opportunity to meet straight men outside of bars,” she explains to me. “I work in the female-dominated world of nonprofits, and all of my friends are girls or gay men. Also, I have a couple friends who met their current boyfriends on the site and pretty much thought, what’s there to lose? Why not try it out?” I was in middle school when I was first informed of the oddities of online dating. Linda, my best friend’s mother, had been single for quite some time. Finally, six years out of a dysfunctional marriage, Linda had declared herself healed, healthy, and ready to pursue. I met said pursuee on a Saturday night. Steve was lanky, slightly balding and wearing glasses, a seeming downgrade from my friend’s blonde babe of a father. “Where did your mom meet Steve?” I asked my friend, only half-heartedly trying to disguise my shock. “Online.” Before the Internet generation turned dating into a cyber sport, the first Internet dating site started up in 1986.
Matchmaker.com was created by Gregory Smith, who apparently saw a future in the collision of lonely hearts and the rise of the Internet, even in the early days of dial-up modem connections.This future quickly turned into a profit, with more than 4 million users by the early ’90s; and so online dating was born. Gary Kremen was not far behind Smith. Match.com was conceived in 1993 and went live in 1995. The site was offered to anyone over the age of 18 who was willing to pay the membership fee, and continues to be one of the most popular dating sites in the world. Since then, online dating has grown into $1.7 billion industry, with a third of all singles having an online presence. And it seems that now, among young, attractive, well-educated singles, online dating has little social stigma attached. New and niche sites are constantly popping up, from Christian Mingle and Jew Date, to Ashley Madison (tag line: “life is short, have an affair”). Similarly, more and more dating sites are aimed at a younger clientele. Ok Cupid was created in 2004 and has since been on the rise with young, urban-creative types. Grouper Social club was launched in 2011 and has expanded to 13 cities across the US. This year, Sam Yagan, the CEO of match.com as well as Ok Cupid was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world. It seems that now, in an industry that had previously catered to the less socially adept – the shy, the middleaged, the insecure – more young people are flocking to online dating websites and apps, and living to tweet the tale. My question is this: when and why did Internet dating lose its stigma? Why are young people, fully capable of navigating their love lives sans computer, turning to the World Wide Web for their next date?
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Is this a supplement to real life dating, fueled by the impatience of a population that has been raised by the Mac book, or is this replacing our previous notions of love at first “site”? Is online dating the death of serendipity, or simply a fun way to pass the time? Sarah Davis is a tale of success. Someone who has found a long-term relationship online and has thus far not been plagued by the “next best thing” syndrome. At the ripe old age of 19, Sarah grew tired with the dating culture at her college. It seemed that hookups and booty calls had taken the place of young romance, and the routine was always the same – 1. Get drunk 2. Go to campus party 3. Meet boy 4. Bring said boy home 5. Send boy stumbling home the next morning (should he be lucky) 5. Repeat. After only one year of monotonous one-night-stands that rarely led to more than another drunken night, or worse, the dreaded dining-hall date, Sarah decided it was time to explore her other options. To explore, Sarah had to look no further than her computer. After eliminating the dating sites that charged a membership fee, and scouring the computer for reviews of various options, she looked to an online Cupid to find her someone she could finally deem “boyfriend material.” “I first decided to go on Ok Cupid when finding a guy at parties or through classes was not happening.” And with hopes that it would happen in the confines of the cyber world, Sarah carefully crafted her profile to be a fairly honest representation of herself. Herself, minus five pounds and full of witty humor, that is. It began as a test, an ego boost, if you will. And with a C in organic chemistry, and her phone’s outbox a constant reminder of just how drunk
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
she sounded in last night’s elicited booty call, who could blame her? The thrill of coming home to a message telling her how beautiful she looked overpowered her shame. This secret single behavior went on for a solid two years, though, before she let anyone in on it. “You kind of seem desperate,” she now admits. “I was just seeing what was out there.” And it turns out, her online dating options didn’t look great. After weeding through her two to three weekly messages – ranging from the all too common “FWB” request [“friends with benefits” or “sex with no commitment” to the uninitiated], to the enticing lure of “I just got a 6-week-old pug and she’s the sweetest” – she finally selected her first candidate, though the memory is barely worth recalling – since the incident occurred more than three years ago, she is barely able to imagine his face. They went to a brewery that she cannot remember and had a conversation that she cannot recall. One thing she does remember, though, is that the date was awkward. They met outside the brewery, shook hands, and proceeded to discuss why they had both gone online. It seemed as if they were interviewing each other for relationship potential as opposed to getting to know each other. Her second matchup didn’t come for another year and a half, and she was optimistic. He was tall, dark, and handsome, though he turned out to be a bit too much of a jock with too little brainpower, so she broke the news to him over the span of two dates and too many cocktails – “I’m just not that into you.” Next up was Benjamin, who showed some promise. He was 25, lived with his sickly grandmother (a rent free pad at the cost of playing caregiver), worked at Best Buy, and the icing on top – took her to
Applebee’s for their second date. Oh wait, did I say promise? Nonetheless, “he was cute and easy to talk to,” so Sarah, being the sweet, giver-of-second-chances that she is, kept him around for the next couple of weeks. By the time she broke up with him over Mexican food in his pick-up truck, she was wondering if she should just throw in her mouse pad altogether. Finally, she met Jack, and she could breathe easy. Their first date took place at a dog park, the perfect romantic setting for a self-proclaimed cornball, and the two gained momentum from there. Jack had attended Oregon State University, and now lived in his own apartment while working full-time as a mechanical engineer. He had good looks and brains, not to mention that her college loans weren’t growing with every dinner he treated her to. One year later, and the fact that Sarah and Jack met online does not faze her. She has come to realize, that the more she shares about her online rendezvous, the less alone she feels. “When I open up to people, and tell them we met online, half the time their response it, ‘oh I’ve done that’ or, ‘I’ve been wanting to try that,’ or even, ‘I met my husband online.’” The numbers are growing and with that, inevitably, the walls are coming down. Sarah has encouraged others in her life to try going online, and many, such as Sophia, see successes such as Sarah’s as a huge reason to turn to a computer as matchmaker. Everyone needs a companion, and Sam Yagan, amongst millions of others working in the online dating realm, are just capitalizing on this fact. The Sarah’s and the Sophia’s are classic cases: the supplemental user scenario. Online and real world dates intersperse, and thus the Internet functions as a bar,
Spring 2013 | the insider
37
a place where single people gather to mix and mingle. This demographic of users, the “why not try it out” crowd, is growing like wildfire, and currently 18 to 29-year-old users make up the majority of cyber daters by a landslide, according to a recent Pew Internet survey. These people view online dating as they do g-chat, or Facebook – a place to interact online, that does not take the place of face-to-face contact. What many people fear as Internet dating moves to the mainstream is a lack of commitment. With such a broad pool to choose from, breakups seem like a more feasible option to an unhappy relationship. The safety net of your online community is waiting for you. Many people do not even deactivate their profile while in a relationship, knowing that it may come in handy once again. What I fear, however, is that the access to online dating pushes our society deeper into our technological dependence. If these supplemental users are now one of the largest groups, and if this progression maintains its momentum, soon the nonusers will be the supplementals, and the current users will lose themselves even more into the cyber realm. There is no social norm anymore. Courting does not
exist, and with sexual liberation comes romantic confusion. There is no dating formula. When we live in a world where we are no longer forced to take romantic chances, why would we? If we can send someone a message on Ok Cupid, why approach the girl at the bar? A cyber rejection comes in the form of a lack of reply. There is no flush that comes to your cheeks and rarely a sinking feeling in your stomach. When we are online we do not have to come face to face with our insecurities. It seems that Internet dating has become the one-night-stand of our generation. Many times used as a hedonistic pastime, users are able to get a quick fix. Whether you need to hook-up, have a great conversation, find company, or just want a quick complement, Ok Cupid, amongst others, can give you instant gratification with the simple click of a finger.
Rachel Ellison is a staff member who aspires to make writing her fulltime career. This is her first semester with the Insider.
[Water, from page 30] of ways to help with the water contamination issue in Nicaragua. I know I’m only one person, but I also know I’m not the only one who wants to make a difference in this country, as well as others who suffer from similar circumstances. I came back appreciating the clean and potable water running into my house. I’m one of those people who lets the water run on and on, when I’m brushing my teeth, or during the shower. I won’t say I have completely stopped doing that, but now when I catch that happening, I am aware of those in other countries suffering to get by without clean water. I mainly think of the innocent children who are fighting to survive every day, ignorant that simple steps like boiling water before drinking it would make a
Outside the clinic site, patients wait to be treated. 38
the insider | Spring 2013
I remember the time I realized that the taboo was entirely gone. It was one of those mornings, my alarm had gone off and I was willing myself to get out of bed. I reached for my phone, procrastinating on starting my workday, and pulled up the well-known procrastination tool. Instagram. Scrolling through photos of last night’s escapades and this morning’s breakfast, I was struck by something – a collision of two cyber social forums. My friend Lillian Prado had posted a screenshot of a creepy Ok Cupid message she had recently received. Lillian is not your obvious online dating subject. She has had numerous boyfriends, is endlessly charismatic, and has no shortage of late-night candidates. Yet, here she was, not only using Ok Cupid, but also telling the world (and yes, to a 23-year-old, your Instagram followers are the only world that matters) that she was online and proud of it.
huge difference in their health, and the health of their families.
There’s nothing is simple as water. Yet there is so much more than that. One might does not need to travel to Nicaragua to become aware of water access issues. If you can’t help in other ways, just help in the one way that you can; by educating yourself about the hardships that other people are going through and appreciate that we are very much blessed to be living where we are. Everyone has their own set of problems, but there is no doubt that in the countries like the U.S. our “troubles” are blown out of the water by the circumstances in Nicaragua.
19-year-old Pamela Avila. Avid reader. Book junkie. Transferring to UC Santa Cruz in the fall, planning to major in literature in order to pursue a career in journalism.
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Gamer Girls Have Cooties
Opinion: A Look at Rape Culture in the Video Game Community — By Courtney Luengo
INFECTION BLIGHT VERMIN DISEA SE CANCER SEWAGE PLAGUE WASTE These were the words that were written across a screenshot of a conversation suggesting a way to skip combat in games. It was plastered across Reddit, a popular website for posting social news and entertainment, in the gaming subReddit. Moderators eventually took it down because the original poster, Jennifer Hepler, was getting harassing phone calls on her home phone. Five years ago, Hepler, managing editor at Bioware, suggested in an interview with Killer Betties that it would be nice to have a fast-forward button for combat in games for the people who would like a more interactive story. Most games already have a feature to skip through cutscenes and dialogue; this wouldn’t be much different. It would benefit those who don’t have time to spend 100 plus hours on games. It was a harmless suggestion. Yet she was called the “cancer that is killing Bioware.” She was told to commit suicide on Twitter, that she was of low intelligence because she was a woman, and she was accused of forcing gay characters down players’ throats. If asked about “rape culture” five years ago, most people would say that they honestly had no idea what that meant. Not anymore. With the rise of social justice and feminist bloggers trying to abolish the misogyny that has wormed its way into the societal norm, the topic of rape culture has been brought to light. What is rape culture? Rape culture is sexual objectification. It is encouraging violence as sexy. It is the acceptance of rape jokes in the media and of “women belong in the kitchen” jokes on the Internet. Rape
This desk ornament promoting the zombie-themed video game “Dead Island: Riptide,” was taken off the market following public outcry. www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
Spring 2013 | the insider
39
culture is manifested when the 16-year-old victim of the Steubenville rape gets blamed for ruining the “bright futures” of her football team attackers. Go to Google. Look up “gamer girl” and click on the images. If it’s hypersexualized images of half-naked women, posing with consoles and controllers, then you are looking at a product of rape culture. And we have been raised to believe that this is the norm, and is therefore, OK. It is a fact that women are mistreated by the gaming community. Fat, Ugly or Slutty, a website that depicts the worst messages that female gamers have received, shows proof that the harassment is real. And for those who will say, “Oh, it’s just those teenage boys. Boy will be boys, you know.” It isn’t just sexually confused 13-year-olds. Fat, Ugly, or Slutty has audio proof that many of these voice messages are coming from grown men who should know better. They are not only a cause of rape culture, but a product of it. Some argue that this is a part of our culture and games wouldn’t be the same without the ability to taunt. Gamers, if your idea of “culture” is sending messages like “stupid slut” or “I’d like to do you in a public restroom” (yes, these are real examples taken off Fat, Ugly, or Slutty), then, please, get out of my game. Go back to preschool and have your teacher explain to you, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.” Men have been doing everything in their power to keep video games, and the industry, a “boys’ club.” Speaking for the lady gamers, we are sick of it. The fighting community is not a welcoming environment. You have to be brash and brazen to be accepted; members are constantly spewing racial and sexual jokes at one another and it’s supposed to be taken as good fun. A perfect example
Hyper-sexualized and violent depictions of women in video games have become disturbingly common as in these two offerings. “Beat Up Anita Sarkessian,” opposite, allowed users to assault a feminist gamer. 40
the insider | Spring 2013
of this “boys’ club” mentality is a video for Cross Assault, the world’s first fighting game reality television show. Real gamers compete for a $25,000 prize and the show centers around the participants playing Street Fighter x Tekken and their off-the-cuff banter. On that note, the first episode centers on Miranda “Super Yan” Pakozdi being asked inappropriate questions about her bra size, being told that she’s being videotaped while in the bathroom, and other lewd comments. Comments made by Aris, her team’s coach. Not an opponent – someone who was supposedly on her side. By day five, she forfeited a match. It wasn’t until she dropped out that people started talking about how inappropriately she was being treated. So for days, she had been mocked and sexually harassed without anyone saying anything, no one tried to stand up for her, no one tried to talk to her abuser. The video of her participation in this reality TV show is extremely hard to watch, so be warned. There was another video, “Player vs. Pain” that was released by Machinima. com, and has since been taken down due to public outrage. Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the PC gaming e-zine, described the video as being “ludicrously overt” and that it “featured two girls in skimpy outfits being electrocuted and spanked as they play Rock Band.” The female narrator describes it as “girl on girl action.” The insidious thing about this is that the implication is that this is a female sexual fantasy, that women gamers enjoy pain and abuse and not that certain male gamers enjoy objectifying women and subjecting them to abuse. No, it’s rape culture. In November of 2012, the hashtag #1ReasonWhy made its way around Twitter. The point of it was to encourage women in the gaming industry to speak up about any sexual prejudices they had
experienced. Some stories were mild, some were extreme and disturbing. Often they involved concerns or ideas being shrugged off purely because the person presenting them was female. Many women got nasty messages hurled at them for speaking out. A handful of stories were portrayed as “whining women” or that “men put up with issues like these too,” which obviously is not the case at all. One criticism of the #1ReasonWhy tag was that it suggested that being a woman in the game industry was all negative. But this isn’t the case. Another hashtag went around as #1ReasonToBe, which is “your #1 reason to be a woman in the gaming industry.” Some of the women involved with #1ReasonToBe were on a panel at the Game Developers Conference earlier this year. Six women gave talks about their personal experiences within the industry, both positive and negative. In May 2012, Anita Sarkeesian, who created a video webseries on YouTube called Feminist Frequency, which explores the representations of women in pop culture narratives, started a Kickstarter to make a series on “tropes,” against women in video games that would also come with a classroom curriculum that educators could use for free. Tropes refer to elements of the fantasy genre such as “the damsel in distress,” and other steryotypical types. Considering she had already made a series about tropes against women in movies and received no flack for it, this shouldn’t be a huge problem right? Wrong. She received everything from civilized “there isn’t a problem with the way things are” messages, to rape and death threats. Amanda Marcotte of Slate magazine called it “an absolute avalanche of misogynist abuse.” Sarkeesian was emailed Photoshopped images of herself being raped by video game characters, attempts were made to hack into her Twitter and Google accounts, negative comments were posted to her videos on Youtube, even an online game – Beat Up Anita Sarkessian – was created, where the player could punch an image of her face until it was nearly unrecognizable and the screen turned red. But this did not dampen Sarkeesian’s spirit. Despite the harassment, she was still able to raise her goal of $6,000 in 24 hours. On top of that, supporters donated
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
over $150,000 to her project, exceeding her goal by 25 times. She went on to give a talk at TEDxWomen about the misogyny in the video game community and the harassment that she faced. “The perpetrators openly referred to this harassment campaign and their abuse as a game,” Sarkeesian says during her talk. “In their minds, they concocted this grand fiction in which they’re the heroic players of a massively multiplayer online game working together to take down an enemy, and they have casted [her] as the villain.” Her diabolical plan? To make videos about the misrepresentation of women in video games. How truly sinister. As a female gamer, I want to make it clear that the gaming community at large is not this horrible. I’ve met some gamers who have become some of my best friends. I have never experienced messages of this caliber, never gotten rape threats, never been told to die in a fire. Of course, that doesn’t mean this kind of thing doesn’t happen to other women, some of whom might even play the same games as I do. And maybe it’s because I don’t always identify myself as a woman online. Maybe I’m still afraid that I might get crude messages. The few times I played Call of Duty on Xbox, I got friend requests from guys and even that freaked me out. I got a voice message saying something along the lines of “you play good for a girl,” which is demeaning in its own right, but nothing too shocking. Rape happens a lot. It’s terrible, but it’s fact. If you know six women, chances are you know someonewho has been raped, according to RAINN [the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network], the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization We, unfortunately, live in a culture where instead of telling men not to rape, we tell women not to get raped. If they do get raped, we tell them that this was their fault. It’s why, in my high school, girls weren’t allowed to wear spaghetti straps during class because it was too “distracting” to other students. I don’t know anyone who gets distracted by a bare shoulder. If this were the 1800’s, maybe. It’s not just the community itself. Rape culture is in the advertisements and gameplay as well. One of the most repulsive advertisements that I came across was the Hitman Absolution trailer. It featured a group of female assassins dressed as nuns, strutting along to murder the male protagonist, Agent 47. It shows
www.glendalecollegeinsider.com
him dressing up for the fight in a dingy motel room, while the lovely ladies strip off their habits to reveal bondage outfits that barely cover anything. Then the girls get their faces beaten to a pulp by Agent 47. This screams rap culture from the top of its lungs! Not only is Square Enix advocating violence towards women, they are doing so in a hyper-violent, hyper-sexualized way. The game is largely marketed towards men, but if you can’t sell a game without throwing in boobs and blood, then what is even the point? How about some gameplay footage? How about we have some backstory on Agent 47 for the people just starting out in the franchise? Or what about Dead Island: Riptide, the sequel to Dead Island? The first Dead Island was glitch-ridden and, quite honestly, extremely mediocre despite a blitz of marketing hype. Why would anyone want to buy the sequel? Because the collector’s edition came with what they called a “grotesque take on an iconic Roman marble torso sculpture,” which was just a slaughtered female torso rocking a string bikini. It blows my mind that somebody thought this was a good idea. The good news is that the misogyny of video games seems to be abating. If you take a look back a Fat, Ugly, or Slutty, you’ll notice a lot of the messages are sent over Xbox Live. The people over at Extra Credits made a video about harassment and ways that game companies can help control it. One way that they suggested was to implicate an auto-mute system for players who have been muted so many times. It wouldn’t stop them from speaking, but it would allow those who didn’t want to listen to be free from it. It would attach a stigma to bad behavior. The same system could be implemented with messages. If a player is sending out messages that aren’t getting responses, allow them to only send messages to their friend’s list. Another way, and probably
the most extreme, would be to give speaking privileges to individuals who earned certain achievements. But this would limit the abilities of other nonconfrontational players, so we should avoid this if possible. After seeing the video, Microsoft invited James Portnow of Extra Credits to sit down with their enforcement team to discuss ways to resolve the harassment issues. From a Facebook post, Portnow expressed that the meeting went well and that Microsoft was actively working to improve their system. Rape culture in the gaming community is a terrible thing, but it stems from the rape culture macrocosm we see in everyday life. What can we do about it? We need to educate ourselves and those around us that rape culture exists, that there are actual, tangible effects. Read up on it. Don’t just brush it off like it does not or will not affect you in some way. We need to consciously note how often this happens. Since researching this article, I have now noticed examples everywhere, from the games I play to the music I listen to. This is how it should be for the rest of the country. I don’t like pointing fingers, but men, this is your issue. You are the ones perpetuating the culture. Stop it! If you know someone that likes to spew misogynistic comments, tell them to stop. If we stop giving attention to the bullies, if we take away their soapbox, they’ll stop. For the gamers, if you find your favorite development company creating games and advertisements like Hitman Absolution, or Dead Island: Riptide, don’t buy their games. Write them letters about how disgusted you are with their representation of women. They might listen, they might not. The smart ones will realize that they will be losing out on paying customers and will work towards a change. Stand up for those that are being harassed. Harassment is not who we are, it has no place in our culture. Let’s not make a small minority represent who we are as gamers.
Courtney Luengo in an English major with a video game obsession. She lives with two roommates, a demon cat, and a bed full of stuffed animals. Spring 2013 | the insider
41
Become a part of a tradition stretching back to 1927 by enrolling in Journalism classes at Glendale Community College. You can learn to report and write the news while gaining first-hand experience in the college newspaper, El Vaquero. Earn class credit, build a portfolio of published work and learn to convey your ideas and experiences to the campus community and beyond...
101 Introduction To Mass Communications 102 Reporting the News 103 Student Publications Staff 104 Student Publications Editor 106 Introduction to Broadcast Journalism 1 107 Magazine Writing 110 Photojournalism 116 Introduction to Broadcast Journalism 2 210 Advanced News Writing 250 Visual Communication
El Vaquero Staff
Photoillustration by Bertha Cardozo
WANTED