Teaching with passion
Leading by example
New beginnings
English/ESL teacher Katalina Wethington imparts useful skills with all her students — page 3
Mustangs shortstop Ryan Lacy looks to be seen as a leader on the baseball team this season — page 5
The baseball and softball seasons are set to kick off shortly — page 5
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Bus passes still possible
January is National Blood Donor Month Jan. 31
Last day to drop full term classes in person without a ‘W” appearing on transcript
Annual LLN Conference The 27th Annual Conference for the Latina Leadership Network of the California Community Colleges is scheduled for March 28 and 29 at the Ohlone College Newark Center in Newark. For more information contact Maria Ramirez at (510) 742-2346 or visit www. latina-leadership-network. org
Photo by Irvin Trigueros
A Tri Delta Transit bus picks up students at the bus stop in front of the LMC campus. The cost of passes is key in the potential program.
Students show interest according to surveys Annual March in March rally Join LMCAS and the Student Senate of California Community Colleges for the annual March in March rally for student needs on Monday, March 3, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m at the Capitol Mall in Sacramento. For information, go to www.studentsenateccc. org/Default.aspx
Get cash for your textbooks The LMC Bookstore on the Pittsburg campus only is offering cash for textbooks Monday Feb. 3 and Tuesday Feb. 4 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Remember to bring all CD’s, DVD’s and supplemental materials purchased with your textbook. For more information go to www. lmcbookstore.net
Want to create an LMC club? Interested in creating an official LMC club? Contact the Student Life Office for more information at 439-2181 ext. 3266 or go to www.losmedanos. edu/studentservices/clubs
As costs for education and transportation continue to rise, transportation to and from school can be an added burden for those students who do not own their own vehicle and have no other way to get to school aside from public transportation. What happens if your car breaks down? How does a student who does not live in walking distance get to classes? Last November, the Experience reported a story about Quiana Shaw, an LMC student, spearheading an effort to bring back some form of a discount bus pass program back to LMC.
In the early to mid 2000s, LMC and Tri Delta had a pilot program in place for students to ride buses at a discount. In 2009, funding ran out and Tri Delta declined a continuance as they were having financial difficulties as well. Tri Delta Director of Marketing Mike Furnary inquired about the possibility of other programs. “Not at this time. First we need to know how many students are actually interested and how much they are willing to pay,” said Furnary. Any program put into place has to have the necessary funds to keep it alive and utilized. LMCAS members came up with a four question
Parking strife in Brentwood
Student parking is not allowed in the business park, or along the row of spaces adjacent to the public parking area.
survey asking students just that. The questions were; “Would you use a pass if provided? Would you use it monthly or weekly? Should passes be provided to all students? Would you pay a transportation fee?” With approximately 500 surveys returned it was clear LMC students showed an interested and provided some great feedback. A few surveys provided comments related to the exact cost of the proposed passes. One student who requested his/her name not be printed stated, “Yes, definitely I’d be interested. See BUS, page 6
ing Public park a are
Business area restricted
By BERTHA AGUILAR
baguilar@lmcexperience.com
Insufficient parking at the LMC Brentwood Center has always been a lingering problem, but the parking situation is about to become scarce. Parking for the Brentwood Center is limited, as it shares public parking with surrounding businesses. The Sand Creek business center are a cluster of buildings located right next to the campus, these are private buildings and have their very
own private parking, which has been used by not only students, but also faculty in previous years. Parking in the areas with “Private Parking’” signs was never enforced. “When the economy dropped beginning about 2008, a lot of the office space in the Sand Creek Business Center was vacated,” said Sharen McLean, Satellite Business Services Coordinator of the Brentwood campus. Some office spaces still remain
Dollar Tree
LMC
City Dragon
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tseward@lmcexperience.com
McDonald’s
By TAMARA L. SEWARD
Sand Creek Rd
B R E N T W O O D Graphic by Irvin Trigueros
vacant today. On Jan. 23, Mclean and Gail Newman, Senior Dean of Student Services, were visited by Gil Hagar. He advised them he recently had taken ownership of the business center proper-
ty, and no longer wanted any students to park in the areas designated as private parking. If students do not abide they will be risking having their cars towed. “ I feel like it’s a good thing
cause it’s the guy’s property and he deserves to have his parking, and not have another building come and take it from him,” said student Branden Rosales. See PARK, page 6
Fresh talent welcomed Cafeteria has new manager By RATTANA KIM
rkim@lmcexperience.com
Due to the need for better service and a better student experience, the cafeteria has hired Jackee Kim from Fresh & Natural Corporation, the vendor of the cafeteria. Chief Operating Officer Norma Moreno said the cafeteria experience needed
to be at a higher level. “The service overall was good but we expected more. We expect excellence,” Moreno said. Moreno also commented that Jackee Kim “fits perfect for LMC.” She has over 11 years of experience with Fresh & Natural and even greater years being a part of the food industry. Kim has previously worked at several locations, including community colleges like Ohlone College and medical centers like Kaiser
Permanente. This transition into LMC has been seamless for Kim. Being able to transfer from Kaiser Permanente, Kim was excited to come to LMC. She prefers and enjoys working at community colleges the best. “Working at Kaiser was too hard,” she said. “I had to open seven days a week, no breaks, and I really think that coming to college for young people, taking summer break, winter See FOOD, page 6
Photo by Cathie Lawrence
Cafeteria Manager Jackee Kim from Fresh & Natural Corporation fixes up the salad bar.
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“I never want to draw attention to myself, but that’s all I do.” — Slash
Rebecca Navarette
Steven Luke
GUEST COLUMNIST
QUIETLY THINKING
Technology is a distraction
I recently went to downtown Walnut Creek to shop a little and grab something to eat with a friend. We wanted to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. There was a wait list and everybody who was waiting outside on the benches for their names to be called were all on their phones. A family walked into the restaurant and their 4-year-old said, “Look! Free wifi!” reading the sign in front of the restaurant. He was excited because he probably wanted to play a game on his mommy or daddy’s phone. After we were seated I scanned around the room and a lot of people inside were on their phones too. Some were on their phones before their food came and others were on it while they were eating. I don’t see anything wrong with being on your phone while you’re waiting for something. It helps the time go by faster. But those who were seated and on their phones looked really disconnected from the situation. My point is that technology is taking over the world, and not little by little. It has become something we need in our daily lives. Everywhere you go you see people who use it while they’re walking, talking, eating and driving. It’s being used anywhere and anyway. Some people even start to panic when their phone battery is about to die of charge. I have even seen people texting while driving, which is not only dangerous but illegal. The other day someone rear-ended my friend’s car with her kids in it, only because the driver was texting while driving and didn’t have her eyes on the road. Many people seem to overestimate their ability to multi-task, such as the the driver who crashed into my friend’s car. Even many college students think they can text and listen to a lecture at the same time. Several studies have shown that information learned while partially distracted is often quickly forgotten. Technology is constantly evolving and as a result it is becoming easier for people to get distracted by their phones, tablets and computers while they ought to be doing other things. It takes self-discipline these days to not let technology take over your entire focus. People often use it for work, and others maybe not for work just while at work, cyberloafing their employers’ time away. College students often use it in class. Technology is not a bad thing. It helps get things done efficiently and effectively. It makes our lives easier in many ways, but too much of anything is a bad thing. People should learn to balance their usage. I recently heard someone say, “It sucks for the older people when they were in school they didn’t have Google.” Then I heard another comment, “It sucks for this generation because with all the technologies around it’s so easy to get distracted.” I agree that these days it’s easy to get distracted. Back then, you actually had to read to get all the answers. Although it was not as quick as googling it, you actually learned that way. There are times when I notice myself trying to read the assigned chapter for a class and then I switch my focus as soon as I hear a ring, beep, or some alert from my phone. I’ve noticed myself constantly getting distracted from doing homework or reading if I have my phone right next to me. I always want to reply to someone through text, search something on Google or play Candy Crush until all my lives are up. My advice to anyone who is experiencing this problem would be to re-evaluate their priorities. Something like checking your Facebook is not worth getting in trouble at work or not learning at school.
Let’s show more heroism
Cartoon by Janet Azehko
Media paints players in wrong light The media has hounded the Seattle Seahawks the last two weeks, but more specifically two players. Running back Marshawn Lynch and corner back Richard Sherman have been targeted by the media, but for two different reasons. Sherman was criticized for saying “too much” and Lynch got flak for not saying enough. So which one is it? The media needs to make up their minds. When Sherman was criticized it was right after he had just made a game winning play in the NFC Championship Game that sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. On top of that he was covering San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree; both were talking trash and did not get along. On top of that, Sherman sincerely (although that’s debatable) said “good game” to Crabtree and he reacted by hitting Sherman in his facemask, so of course he’s going to be fired up and give a an angry response. In case you haven’t heard, Sherman said “Well, I’m the best corner in the game, and when you try me with a sorry receiver like [Michael] Crabtree that’s the result you’re going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me.” He was fired up, angry, and in the moment, it’s not like he’s out to trash talk everyone, just one player. However, I will agree that the way he presented himself did not send a positive message to today’s youth and his choking gesture toward 49er Quarter back Collin Kaepernick was uncalled for, but he is human, we all make mistakes. There are two things that bug me about this whole ordeal. First of all, there is a picture of Sherman hugging reporter Erin Andrews, but yet that was never reported, all people wanted to see was his outburst. The whole truth should be reported, not just half of it. True news should be reported at all times. Secondly, the fact that Sherman was called a thug is uncalled for. He is just an intense player and he said “I’m not a villain. I’m just a very rude football player from time to time.” He has been called a classy player that just had an unclassy moment by former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens and defensive back Everson Walls. I honestly believe that he was called a “thug” because of his race,
Dakotah Zabroski BROSKI’S CORNER
which is unacceptable. Just recently pop-star Justin Bieber was arrested for drunk driving, and was caught on camera spitting on his fans, and he wasn’t called a thug, but rather a misguided kid. On the NFL level San Diego Chargers quarter back Phillip Rivers is notorious for yelling at refs and teammates, but is not referred to as a thug, but as a competitor. Sherman graduated from Stanford with a 3.9 GPA, was second in his class in high school, and has no criminal record, but is still a “thug”. The way he presented himself after the NFC Championship Game may have been unnecessary (which he apologized for) but he is certainly no thug. On the flip side Lynch has been dodging the media all week, as he just wants to focus on the game. He was only at media day for just over six minutes on the first day and on the second day teammate fullback Michael Robinson jumped in to take questions for Lynch. So what if Lynch doesn’t want to talk and focus on the biggest game of his life? Yes the people want to hear what he has to say, but as a human being, if he doesn’t want to talk, there shouldn’t be any consequences. If he was a world leader or commissioner of the league, then yes, he needs to talk. However, he is a football player, and let’s be honest football is an awesome game but it’s meant for entertainment. Unless Lynch knows the cure for cancer then he shouldn’t have to say a word. I could see if Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll wasn’t talking how that can be a big deal since he is the leader of the team. Lynch is a power running back just trying to do his job to prepare for the Super Bowl and play football. Both Sherman and Lynch have made the news with their comments or lack of comments, shouldn’t the media be content with that?
READER OPINION POLICY
The Experience welcomes Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns. All members of the Los Medanos College community — students, faculty and staff — are encouraged to write. If you are interested in expressing your opinions on campus, national or world issues, bring your submissions to room CC3-301 and put them in the Perspectives Editor’s mailbox or mail them to Experience c/o Los Medanos College, 2700 E Leland Road, Pittsburg, CA 94565. You may also send them electronically through the Experience online newsite lmcexperience.com.
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Voices
Who do you think will win Superbowl XLVIII? C
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Each year there are 30 to 35 fatal dog attacks in the United States. Emergency rooms see more than 350,000 dog bite victims each year. This is a problem that is not going away, and recently it hit close to home. There is no clear way to stop the attacks, but one Monte Vista High School baseball player has shown the compassion we all should exhibit. Ten-year-old Hunter Kilbourn was attacked Aug. 11, 2013 by dogs owned by a family friend while he was playing video games with their son. Kilbourn suffered injuries to his face, scalp and arms from the bites and has been through multiple surgeries to repair damage. He will likely have to endure even more surgeries in the future. This attack hit me hard for two reasons. One, I am distantly related to the family of Kilbourn through marriage. Two, the owners of the dogs who attacked him were my 9-year-old son’s soccer coaches. When this happened I was taken aback because my son was a close friend of their son while they played on the same soccer team. But once the season was over we did not keep in contact. Because of these relationships, my wife and I kept tabs on Kilbourn’s recovery, and did what we could to help, but it wasn’t much. What Monte Vista High’s Lucas Halstead has done for Kilbourn and his family put to shame what any other adult did to help. Halstead has become a star on the Monte Vista baseball team, and because of his abilities on the field he was invited to a baseball camp in Florida called Power Showcase. This is where he did something most adults would never think of. The camp holds a home run derby in which money is donated to a charity of the campers’ choice depending on how well they each do. While the rest of the participants chose to donate to major charities, Halstead did something different: he donated to the recovery of Kilbourn. How remarkable is that? An 18-year-old boy could’ve given the $2,000 he earned for his hard work to any charity in the world, and he donated it to one boy. And why? Because when Hunter returned to school for his fourth grade year, his new teacher just happened to be Karen Halstead, Lucas’ mother. I’m 31 years old and had just as minor a connection as Lucas, but the difference between us is that while we were both interested in Kilbourn’s recovery, I sat and read about it online and he did something about it. When Lucas Halstead learned Kilbourn was in his mother’s class, he was eager to meet him and a bond formed instantly between them. That bond led him to donate to Kilbourn’s recovery. Dog attacks like what happened to Kilbourn don’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. Last October, two dogs in Antioch attacked a man walking his own dogs, and then attacked the passersby who had responded to the man’s screams. When the Antioch police arrived, the dogs turned on them and one was shot and killed. On Saturday, Jan. 25 a San Leandro police officer shot and killed a dog as it lunged at him after attacking an 11-year-old boy. These attacks are happening more frequently in our area and while there are things we can do to prevent our own dogs from becoming vicious, there will always be people out there who don’t properly take care of their dogs. What we can all do, though, is anything in our power to help when we see something like this happen. Not because we have a connection. Not because we feel bad. But because we can, and it’s the right thing to do. If an 18-year-old boy can do it, why can’t we all?
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“I want the Broncos to win because the Seahawks are a bunch of dirty cheaters.” — Peter Forrest
“I just want the Broncos to win just so they can beat the Seahawks” — Reyana Arrington
“I possibly think the Broncos are going to win because their name is cooler than the Seahawks.” — Theodore Zlatarev
“Personally, I don’t care but I really hope its not the Seahawks.” — Angelina Luna
“I’m gonna say the Broncos are going to win.” — Jonathan Eaves
“I am pissed off that the 49ers lost and I was hoping they would win the superbowl.” — Deborah Zlatarev
“Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” — Thomas Jefferson
Editor-in-Chief .................... BRENDAN CROSS Perspectives Editors...... AISHLING DOHERTY and JAZMINE GORDON Campus Editors .................. JOSEPH DELANO and ALEXANDRA TAGLIAMONTE Features Editors .......................RATTANA KIM and STEPHANIE PATTISON Sports Editors .......................LUKE JOHNSON and DAKOTAH ZABROSKI Photo Editor ....................... IRVIN TRIGUEROS Web Editor ..................STEPHANIE PATTISON
The LMC Experience is published Fridays by students in the Journalism Program. The newspaper serves both as a laboratory for journalism classes and as a First Amendment forum for campus communication. Opinions expressed in the Experience are solely those of the students and do not represent the views of the college.
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“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein
Wethington transcends language Teacher rises above labels to inspire By ALEX DE SANTIAGO Correspondent
Photo by Irvin Trigueros
Professor Katalina Wethington teaches students Gregory McLeod and Maricris Acupan in class.
“I want the students who say, ‘I’m not good at English’ to instead say, ‘English might be more challenging for me than other disciplines, but I know it’s just a matter of learning and practice’,” said English Professor Katalina Wethington, who loves teaching English/ESL courses to students at LMC, who knows from personal experience the challenges of language and cultural identity. “My mom is from the Dominican Republic, but grew up mostly in Manhattan,” Wethington said as she explained her parents’ background. “My dad grew up on a turkey farm in Fresno.” She talked about how her parents met and the move from the eastern U.S. to the west. “They met in Spain, got married in New York then moved to San Diego,” said Wethington. As a child, Wethington’s urban and rural life made it possible for her to experience a lot of different types of activities such as fishing, camping, different cultures and traveling. “I am really grateful for that,” said Wethington. Adolescence brought an onslaught of the normal fears and struggles over identity and how one sees themselves among their peers. “I think my adolescent years were spent exploring and defining who I was, like most people I would guess,” said Wethington as she explained that most kids enter this phase in high school.
“This time was complicated by trying to tell others what I was,” said Wethington adding, “Was I Black, White, Latina? People were always wanting an answer, and when I started getting these questions in the seventh grade, no one on the West Coast at the time knew what the Dominican Republic was.” Not being fluent in Spanish made her identity issues all the more difficult. “So I adopted some things from different cultures over the years, tried different ways of dressing, talking, etc.” said Wethington. During the same interview, she mentioned that she spoke Spanish differently, with an accent coming from somewhere else. Students in college will often look back and see how they tried fitting in. Wethington learned labels are nothing but stereotypes saying, “eventually, I learned that those labels were really arbitrary because I identified a little with a lot of things, and defining who I was by race or culture always meant leaving part of me out. Now I don’t think about it much.” Wethington’s love for reading grew naturally and that is what helped shape the career she wanted as well as the university she attended. “When I was little, I could be found squirreled away in a corner or with a flashlight under the covers, even hidden in the closet almost always reading a book. I had to get to the end of the story, and often read through See ESL, page 6
Bent out of shape
Über site teaches ‘lingo’ for free
Web tool proves useful in class By KENDALL P. OGORCHOCK Correspondent
Duolingo is a free language learning website that helps people to learn Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and German. You can sign up with your email address or Facebook account. The way the website works is that you can pick the language you would like to learn, or improve from its options and start the sections. The goal of the website is to get you fluent enough in a language so that you translate Internet articles, with the concept that the web is universal. “I would recommend it to students because it provides visual and audio,” said Professor Youngmin Zhu, who teaches English as a Second Language. According to Zhu, the website “will facilitate learning by taking advantage of the media.” Duolingo uses picture and audio cues to help people learn the language and to help them remember what they learn. It also has people translate sentences from their desired language into English. Once they have a better handle of the language, they translate English into their desired languages. “I like how it doesn’t hold you back. You can blaze through the things you know,” said Duolingo user and student Farhad Saied. If you are one of those people who want to improve on a language, you can take a placement test and Duolingo will jump you forward based on your score. Or you can test ahead of a session. Duolingo also has an app that you can use to take on the go. The app is much like the website except the website has more features. For example, on the website you can talk with other Duolingo users if you are having trouble figuring something out. You can also access a glossary of words you have learned to go back and refresh your memory. “It doesn’t replace the in-person experience of an actual class with human interaction,” said Nancy Whitman, an LMC language teacher. There is no better way to learn something than by a professional in a room full of people on your level to converse with and share information. “An actual class will also probably teach you about culture, which is something Duolingo doesn’t do,” said Whitman. “I would use this for my students for the reading,” said Laurie Huffman, an LMC language professor, referring to the articles Duolingo provides for students to read and translate. Translation of web articles is how the website makes its money. Duolingo helps people get fluent enough in a language so those people, in turn, will help make a reliable translation See LINGO, page 6
ETEC class gets hands-on training Student Jermone Signa, above, uses the Three Bend Saddle technique for bending conduit. ETEC-042 is part of the two-year ETEC Program, and is taught in the fourth semester to future electricians learning the tools the trade. The program graduates roughly 25 students a semester and currently holds a 75 percent job placement for recent graduates. Class Instructor Jack Williams, pictured left with his back to the camera, was also one of the electricians who installed the original electrical wires at LMC when it was built in the 1970s. Photos by Cathie Lawrence
NEWSWATCH
‘Tomorrow’s Women’ to meet
University tours are scheduled
“Tomorrow’s Women Leaders Today” is a conference held for young The Transfer Center will be holding numerous University tours women in high school and college who are interested in politically charged throughout the upcoming semester. topics presented by Compton’s Mayor Aja Brown. Topics include: You can register for the tours online or in the Transfer Center. SchedQ Immigration Rights uled dates are as follows: Q Reproductive Rights Q Fresno State University: Friday, Feb. 7 Young women from across the Bay Area are encouraged to attend the Q UC Davis: Friday, Feb. 28 jam-packed day, which will be held at the UC Berkeley Campus, Faculty Q University of Nevada: Friday, March 7 Club on Saturday, March 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, please contact the Transfer Center at www. Admission is $10 for college students. Lunch will be provided. losmedanos.edu/transfer or 439-2181 Ext. 3124 Contact Fatimah Simmons at Fatimah@igniteca.org to register. — compiled from press releases and staff reports
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“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.”
— Ludwig Van Beethoven
Frankenstein becomes human
Monster receives bad rap By JOSEPH DELANO
jdelano@lmcexperience.com
If you read my review of “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” in last week’s issue of the paper, you would know what I think of empty theaters. If not, let me bring you up to speed, an empty theater is generally indicative of the quality of the film. Speaking in generalities, I would agree. Ever yone has heard the old adage, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” and this movie, “I, Frankenstein,” watched by only 6 people in the theater, proved to be held true by that age-old philosophy. Adam, portrayed by Aaron Eckhart (“Thank you for Smoking”), was created 200 years ago by his technological father, Dr. Viktor Frankenstein. At his “birth,” he is overcome by anger and lashes out, leading him down a road that connects him with the Order of the Gargoyles, queened by Leonore, por trayed by Miranda Otto (“Flight of the Phoenix”). Adam learns of an ongoing war between the gargoyles and the demons. Nabirius, portrayed by Bill Nighy (“Underworld”), leads the efforts of the demons, posing as human Charles Wessex. Adam eventually finds his way to Terra Wade, portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski (“Chuck”), a human doctor working for Nabirius.
REVIEW
Photo courtesy of aceshowbiz.com
Adam (Eckhart) and Terra Wade (Strahovski) work together to defeat menacing demons.
Adam is reluctantly drawn into a war he did not start. Going into the movie, I had heard a lot of negative reviews. In fact, the day that I went to see it, the movie had a 5 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That being said, I must say that I really enjoyed the film. The graphics were great, the plot was good and the backstory left very little to be desired. Speaking to a colleague, a point was brought up that Frankenstein’s Monster is just that, a monster. That brings the casting of Eckhart into light. He is just too pretty for a character that is supposed to be hideous. In addition, Eckhart’s performance leaves me wanting more. Other than Eckhart’s performance as Adam, the other actors did a great job. Otto, Nighy and Strahovski all proved their worth, with Nighy proving that he loves being the bad guy. I really appreciated the introduction of a new genre of supernatural warriors with the gargoyles. I much prefer them to the vampires and werewolves of late. Overall, the film got a bad rap. I tried to be over-critical to try to understand how it received the 5 percent rating, but I came up goose eggs. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel that will never be made.
‘Water Dragon’ splashes again
MARQUEE New rendition of ‘Hamlet’
The Diablo Valley College Drama Department are performing the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, directed by Nicole Hess Diestler. Murder, melancholy and madness are at the center of this William Shakespeare classic. The death of Hamlet’s father and his mother’s hasty remarriage to his uncle leave the Prince of Denmark in suspicious mourning. When his father’s ghost appears to him demanding revenge, Hamlet obeys, putting into motion a plan of vengeance that will have devastating consequences. In Hamlet, we see an unforgettable portrait of overwhelming grief, obsession and revenge. The play will be showing Jan. 31 to Feb. 16. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday For tickets call 969-2358 or go to www.dvcdrama.net.
Fresh spin on ‘Scarlett Letter’
The Contra Costa College Drama Department are performing the play, In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Tyrone Davis. This play is a modern riff on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter. Hester La Negrita, a homeless mother of five, lives with her kids on the tough streets of the inner city. Her eldest child is teaching her how to read and write, but the letter “A” is, so far, the only letter she knows. While Hester’s kids fill her life with joy—lovingly comical moments amid the harsh world of poverty—the adults with whom she comes into contact only hold her back. Nothing can stop the play’s tragic end. The play will be showing Mar. 12-15. Call (510) 235-7800 for more information.
Adds to old gems, releases treasures By STEPHANIE PATTISON spattison@lmcexperience.com
Hiimwaterdragon’s new album, The Past of Hiimwaterdragon, was released Jan. 25. This album is unlike his others as it has remastered tracks from some of his old bands he was in, hence the name of the album. However, it is not all remastered tracks. There are songs he wrote years ago and had never released them until now, again referencing back to the theme of the album. I love all of the songs on this album. I feel they are eclectic and give a wide range of emotions throughout each song. Certain songs can make you want to punch something
REVIEW
and other songs can make you want to cry. One of the things that shows Water Dragon’s musical talent is how he can mix genres so well, in ways I have never heard before. He has screams
and break downs, but then has melodic sing along parts shoved in the same song. When you can make songs that can merge so many elements in one track and have it be graceful, you have an
unhinged talent that the world needs to experience. One of my favorite tracks on this album is called “Best Boy 3.” It is a track Water Dragon redid for the third time in his career. I loved the original version, but in this third version he added extra instruments to make the song sound larger than life. The chorus of the song reminds me of a cloudy day and it starts to rain, but something amazing just happened to you, so now you see the clouds and the rain as something beautiful. The songs is twice as long as the other versions, but in no way redundant or useless. The length of the song just adds to how epic and timeless this new version is. I recommend purchasing this album, but Water Dragon gives different outlets to download it legally and for free. You can purchase the album on iTunes or download it for free on NoiseTrade.com or Google Play. You can also listen to the whole album on YouTube.
Kimberly A. Stelly SOCIALLY UNWELL
Rap music degrades itself
Art by Cate White
This image by Cate White is called “Dead or Alive” and is made with acrylic paint on paper. You can see this in the LMC Art Gallery and you can go to catewhite.com to see more.
‘Born on Pangea’ coming soon
Born on Pangea presented by Cate White will be the next art show coming to Los Medanos College’s Art Gallery. This art show will depict drawings, paintings, altered objects, and videos by heroic derelicts, awkward lovers, and dignified losers. These art pieces are inspired by outsider art, punk, neo-expressionism, comics and media cliches. White approaches her work by cultivating a comtemplative state and engages with whatever arises. The messages relate to religion, art history, gender and race narrative, among others. Born on Pangea will be showing from Feb.4 to Mar. 13 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 12:30-2:30 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. The reception will take place on Thursday, Feb. 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. — compiled from press releases and staff reports
There have been many trends and styles in the hip hop industry, but one aspect of hip hop culture that seems to have increased in discussion is the degradation of rap music. In the entire history of rap music, there have always been bad rappers just as there are mediocre artists in any other field of creativity. What changed seems to be the audience’s perception of mediocre. Rap music was about unifying each other through creative wordplay. It was created to give people something to dance to, but at the same time provoke awareness of what was happening in subpar areas of living. This is not to say there isn’t socially conscious rap nowadays, but there is a drastic change in the ways rappers exhibit their craft. There has been an increase in lyrics promoting materialism and though there has always been bragging, that aspect seems to have completely taken the place of having any actual skills. Two prime examples of this are Jay-Z, also known as Shawn Carter, and Kanye West. West’s first albums not only showed off his wordplay skills, but also showed off his storytelling abilities. Now his recent works are littered with egotism and auto tune. Carter refers to himself as “Hov” as in the abbreviation for the name of the Christian god Jehovah. West refers to himself as “Yeezus” which is immature wordplay on Jesus. It’s almost as if the message they’re conveying to their audience is that they
Photo courtesy of atlnightspots.com
Jay-Z and Kanye West performing together on their Throne Tour. are far greater than us peasants because they can afford gold rims, watches and expensive alcohol. They aren’t the only ones guilty of this though. Let’s not even begin with the messages rap clique Young Money produces. Everything is money, codeine, jewelry and women with them. It’s not as if they’ve never produced anything worth listening to, but their most promoted records are the ones people can maniacally gyrate to and don’t have to think about. Would it kill rappers to make their music more relatable? Or at least limit the number of grammatical tragedies that spew forth from their mouths? The whole dumbing down of lyrics is a major problem in rap music. You don’t even have to rhyme any more. Say what you will about Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” but in comparison to any song by 2 Chainz or Wacka Flocka Flame, it’s practically “The Iliad.” Rap consumers know that these rappers lack rapping skills, possibly the skill to be able to string together a sentence and yet they scurry about raving that the new Chief Keef. Better yet, some other barely literate
rapper’s album is the best thing to smoke weed or “twerk” to. Can you honestly compare the lyricism from 2 Chainz’ debut album “Based on a T.R.U. story” to any song from Outkast’s “Stankonia?” I don’t think so, not without sounding like a moron. Slang has always been constant in rap and hip-hop. There’s nothing wrong with putting a little urban twist on the way you speak, which is why it carried into rap lyrics. You’ve got the whole “izzle” trend that was popular in the 1970s and was resurrected by Snoop Dogg in the earlier 2000s. There was the Bay Area’s “hyphy” movement and the Southern culture’s contribution of “crunk” music. Each of these fads had their own characteristics that make them memorable. It’s a way to represent where you’re from and also separate yourself from the rest of the pack. One might say you could blame it on their lack of education. That is a legitimate reason why some people don’t do well later in life, but these are rappers, with millions of dollars, who could now afford further See RAP, page 6
L O S
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C OL L E G E
Sports
Quotable
E X P E R I E N C E
FRIDAY,
JAN.
31,
2014
5
“I’m inspired by failure. The process of defeat— picking yourself back up again is the hardest thing in the world.”
— Lolo Jones
Ryan Lacy laced up to lead Sophomore eyes BVC title By BRENDAN CROSS
bcross@lmcexperience.com
Sophomore R yan Lacy, starting shortstop for the Los Medanos Mustangs baseball team, has lived and breathed baseball since he was a child. As a youngster, Lacy recalled his passion for the game stemming from just simply watching the likes of Barry Bonds, his favorite player, and the San Francisco Giants, his favorite team, competing. Lacy played a few different sports, but as he said, “My parents put me into all the sports as a little kid and I stuck with baseball, basketball and football until middle school and I just dropped everything else and focused on baseball.” Lacy started playing at the age of 5 or 6 and recalled, “just loving to play the field and hit.” He added, “There is nothing better than getting up to bat and hitting in a big situation to bring in a run and feel like a man.” A 13-year-old Lacy took a trip to Hamilton, New Jersey with the rest of his Tri-Valley Babe Ruth baseball team. They ended up winning the Babe Ruth World Series, where his passion was really solidified. Lacy played his high school ball as a Monte Vista Mustang in Danville, California and was a stud his senior year, batting .388 with 31 hits, 21 runs and seven steals. Lacy contests that he hit for a higher average however saying, “actually I hit a little higher than that, they missed a few of my hits. It was more like right around .400,” he said jokingly. Despite losing in the first round of the 2011 CIF North Coast Section playoffs 4-3 to Fremont’s Irvington Vikings, Lacy said, “it was a great experience, I loved it. [Head] Coach [Bill] Piona, was a good coach. We didn’t really have the
success we wanted though, as we didn’t bring home a national championship.” Today, Lacy’s singular focus and goal is to continue to get better at his craft and eventually become a professional player. He said, “that’s the goal, be in the hall of fame.” Although he does not yet know where he will be transferring to, he has gotten some letters from USF and Cal, as well as out of state interest from Washington, Kentucky and Michigan. He hopes his hall of fame prowess will start “somewhere Division 1,” depending on how he does this year. This season, Lacy would consider his role to be team leader. “I like to be seen as a leader, I am not the most vocal kind of leader, but I like to lead by example,” he said. Mustangs Head Coach Anthony D’Albora seconded Lacy’s statement as being a team leader. “I think he is right on there. He is a guy that is great at staying relaxed and having fun while competing. This is an attribute that seems to rub off on those around him. He doesn’t have to lead with his words, guys just enjoy competing with him and feeding off the positive energy he brings to the table every day,” D’Albora said. Last season, Lacy hit .296 as a freshman, driving in 29 runs and stealing 11 bases. Despite how well he hit, he acknowledged that his fielding ability is his number one aspect, as well as being a good contact hitter. In terms of his weaknesses as a player he said, “my weakness is my arm, but I can always just get stronger and stronger. Another is my speed, you can always get faster.” As a shortstop, Lacy tries to emulate some of the greats of the game. “Growing up I
Photo by Steve Jacobson
Lacy looks to help lead his team to the promised land after experiencing heartbreak in last year’s playoff run. watched a lot of videos of Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel, I just want to have that smoothness that they had. And now, Brandon Crawford on the Giants, I love his style of play, he has got a great glove,” Lacy said. At the plate, he said he tries to just stay up the middle and would compare himself to a Dustin Pedroia type hitter,
without quite as much power. D’Albora also spoke highly about Lacy’s strengths as a player. “I think his biggest strength is that he is aggressive in everything he does. You watch him play the game and you might find a player who runs a little faster, or throws a little harder, but you don’t often see someone who
attacks the game the way he does. When he competes he has a look in his eye that tells me he’s going to get the job done,” D’Albora said. Harkening back to the end of last season, the Mustangs lost a heart-breaking three game series to the Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs. The 16 seed ‘Stangs faced-off against
the one seed Bear Cubs and took them down to the wire, winning the first game 5-3, but losing a doubleheader 4-2 and 5-4 respectively. The Bear Cubs went on to win the 2013 CCCAA Baseball Nor ther n Super Regional and competed for the state championship. See LACY, page 6
Mustangs set to swing into season Opening day awaits both teams By STEVEN LUKE
sluke@lmcexperience.com
America’s favorite pastime is back in full swing and the sound of aluminum bats connecting with a pitched ball fill the air. Men’s baseball and women’s softball have been on their respective fields getting ready for the campaign, and now both seasons are here. Both teams start out on the road this weekend, and they are both eager for opening day. Baseball Head Coach Anthony D’Albora is entering his second season at the helm and his third overall, and while he has been on staff the team has thrived. They have been to the playoffs both years that he has been on staff, and it appears the team will make it three for three this season. To be able to say that we got to the playoffs three years in a row would be a tremendous accomplishment for the program said D’Albora. In order for that to happen, he will be leaning heavily on the leadership of his returning sophomores. Leadership from these players will be their key to success for this season, but softball won’t have nearly as many returning players to lean on. While some may see the lack of experience as a negative, softball head coach Tim Griffith sees that as a positive. “We have only two sophomores, so we have a team of freshman that are amazingly athletic,” said Griffith. “Getting them up to speed to the colligate level from high school is going to be paramount, and when they do that, if they return, we will have a large body of sophomores that are
Photo by Cathie Lawrence
Antiana “Tula” Johnson poised and ready for the play. well experienced.” Griffith sees this as the key to not only compete this year, but to be a contender next season as well. If everything works out, he believes they will be doing what the men’s team has been doing for so long; challenging for a state title. D’Albora knows how close they were to winning last year after winning their first game in the playoffs, and because of this victory, the goal this season is to finish. “At the end of the day we didn’t win the last game we played,” he said. “We’ve got to finish every play, we’ve got to finish every pitch, we’ve got to finish every inning and we’ve got to finish every game.” He believes if his team can do that, they will be playing for a State Championship this season. Griffith wants his team
to play for a championship as well, but the primary goal is to just get better. He believes they will because his team is resilient, but there will be obstacles to overcome. On top of the team being compiled of mostly freshman, the team’s two pitchers are also the team’s only catchers. “While one pitches, one will catch and vice versa,” he said. “Pitching is such an explosive dynamic position that uses lower body core…and catching has tremendous demands on the core too. Those girls are going to have to be special, stay healthy, stay strong and have to work on their endurance.” It may be hard to bring the team together and bypass the difficulties of having players play the same two positions. If they can overcome these problems, Griffith believes
Photo by Cathie Lawrence
Jacob Jones delivers a pitch while his teammates get ready to field. this team will surprise people. Both coaches want to win the championship and both share the same goal to move their student-athletes on to the next colligate level. Men’s baseball has their first home game on Tuesday, February 4 at LMC, and the team hopes to have the support of the school behind them. D’Albora believes the teams’ chemistry will make them a See BALL, page 6
Softball (at home)
Baseball (at home)
Opponent
Date Time
Opponent
Date Time
2/11 3:00 p.m.
DVC
2/15 1:00 p.m.
Chabot
2/21 12 p.m.
Lassen
2/20 11 a.m.
Lassen
2/27 1 p.m
Lassen
2/20 2 p.m
Lassen
2/27 3 p.m.
3/4
2 p.m.
Yuba
3/6
1 p.m.
American River
Yuba
3/6
3 p.m.
Cosumes River
3/8
1 p.m.
Mendocino
3/11 1 p.m.
Napa Valley
3/11 2 p.m.
Mendocino
3/11 3 p.m.
Napa Valley
3/15 1 p.m.
DVC
L O S
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C OL L E G E
Back Talk
LINGO
PARK
for all people so that way even more is accessible by people on the internet. For these translations, Google pays for its services. No matter which language you choose or why you decide to learn a language Duolingo can at least help you accomplish the goal and, again, the best part is that it’s completely free.
“There is abundant parking all around the Sand Creek business center, and it’s close to the college, so most people assume it’s for college use too, but it isn’t,” said Mclean “there are private parking signs all around it,” she added. The Brentwood Center offers students free parking, which is a big plus, but the fact remains that more public parking is needed not only for students but for shoppers who come to this center. “I think there should be more parking definitely,” said Rosales. “There have been times where I haven’t found one for 20 minutes and it made me late to class multiple times.” An effort to inform students of the new parking restrictions have been made by having teachers make announcements in class, posting signage around campus and even flyers have been placed on some cars in the parking lot. Students, faculty and staff have also been encouraged by the college to arrive early to allow sufficient time to find a parking spot or to consider other alternatives such as: car pooling or using public transportation. McLean added that due to the limited parking they ask that students try and avoid parking directly in front of neighboring businesses such as Dollar Tree and Dragon City as it has a negative impact on their business. If you are a student who takes classes at the Brentwood campus please be aware and abide by these new restrictions or it may cost you not only a trip to the impound lot, but towing expenses as well.
From page 3
BALL From page 5
fun squad to watch. The softball team will not have an official home game at LMC until Feb. 21, but he believes that people should be in the stands when they do. Griffith said anyone who comes out will enjoy what they see. “Home field advantage is an advantage only if you have the support,” he said.
LACY From page 5
Lacy sighed at the mere mention of the Santa Rosa series but said it was a motivational point for the whole team going into the upcoming season. “We were this close to beating them, it took one hit, one extra rep just to get that ball over the shortstop’s head or over the left fielder’s head. It was our motivation all fall to get stronger and prepare for that moment better than we were,” Lacy said. He added that coach D’Albora relayed to the team after the loss that he was proud of how they fought. He also said that opposing head coach Damon Neidlinger conveyed that they were outplayed by LMC and had given them the best fight they had seen all year. Neidlinger also said that LMC competativeness surprised them. Lacy is hopeful that the Mustangs can avenge the tough loss and said, “We are looking to do good things, so keep your eye out.”
RAP From page 4
education if they couldn’t before. We’ve still got our veteran rappers Nas, Common, Andre 3000, Eminem, etc. How long before we disregard their contributions in search of something vapid? How long until they sell out, leaving us searching for a new piece of true rap music? We’ve got good underground rappers, but they have no support. Perhaps producers are afraid to take a chance on someone who might actually make good music. I think they’re afraid the consumer is too simple to comprehend a good message. We need to go back to the basics of rap. It shouldn’t just be a way for someone to make money. It needs to return to what made it an art form in the first place.
BUS From page 1
Right now I pay approximately $35, because sometimes I car pool, so the current bus pass is expensive for me.” Some students come to the Pittsburg campus once a week, maybe twice. Some come 4-5 times a week whether it is for class or other activities. Of course we all know the money and funds have to come from somewhere. And there are programs out there. Cal Berkley, for example, has a program called “Class Pass” for students. Each student, regardless of using public transportation or their own vehicle is charged a fee with registration. They are then given a card with a sticker for the semester. Other suggestions for alternative transportation are given on the school site as well. LMCAS President Brianna Klipp said, “Our next step is to write a formal letter to Tri Delta Transit and take our findings to them.” It may take some time for LMC students to get a break on public transportation costs since the board will have to approve any agreements or suggestions.
From page 1
Web
E X P E R I E N C E
F R I D AY,
JAN.
31,
2014
6
Follow the LMC Experience online at lmcexperience.com
Catching Spring Fever
FOOD
Photo by Cathie Lawrence
Student Dominique Austin talks to a representative from the Career and Technical Education program during break, spring break is a good the Spring Fever: Mustang Day event at the LMC Brentwood Center on Jan. 22. From page 1
thing for me.” Kim hopes that she will continue to be a part of LMC until she can retire. “Whenever I go some place, I stay there a long time,” she said. Due to Kim’s extensive experience, she is innovative, hardworking, and shows excellent customer service skills as well as a “great cook” according to Moreno. Within the time Kim has taken over as Cafeteria Manager, many changes have occurred. The salad bar is now doubled, different specials are available each day and there is a greater variety among the foods being sold. Kim is trying to push for healthier choices for the students. “My focus is healthy food and that’s why I put more salad bars,” she said. Although Kim does recognize that students tend to go for the junk food such as the hamburgers and fries, she does not plan on abolishing those. Instead, Kim is thinking about adding a “combo meal” to the grilled menu. Adding a combo option would ideally lower the prices as students tend to order more than one thing. Kim is able to understand the needs of the students. Being a mother of two, who have both recently graduated from college. “I understand. I raised two kids and they always tell me, ‘mom, some schools are really expensive to afford food and some students don’t have much money.’ So we have thought about that side too,” she said. Moreno admitted that food prices have gone up over the years, but both Fresh & Natural and LMC work together to negotiate reasonable prices that students are able to afford. Prices range from $1.50 to no higher than $6.95. Kim also aims to start catering for the LMC employees. Kim’s specialty is catering and she wishes the staff would stop ordering food from outside for their meetings. “I know this school has a budget and with the limited budget, I could feed them,” Kim offered. With many new, creative ideas, Kim hopes to continue to improve the quality of the cafeteria in order to meet the needs of both the students and employees. If there are any questions or concerns, Kim can be reached at kimjackee@ gmail.com and Moreno can be reached at nmoreno@ freshnatural.com
ESL From page 3
the night.” Her affinity for reading is what Wethington says made learning English much easier for her. English as in understanding grammar and understanding how words are put together in writing. At first, she spoke Spanish fluently but English has replaced it. “I absorbed a lot of information about language and how to use it from reading so much,” she said adding, “I enjoyed discussing it and how the author created a certain effect.” Wethington’s love for reading was natural, but her ability for writing wasn’t. “Although I studied literature at the university and then creative writing to get my master’s degree, I never saw myself as a writer, but just an avid reader,” said Wethington of her time at UC San Diego adding, “so I guess it was a natural progression into teaching.”
After she graduated from UCSD, she went to Saint Mary’s for additional schooling. During this time she became a tutor at LMC. She then became a full-time professor at the Center for Academic Support. “I started tutoring first in the Center for Academic Support while I was still in graduate school,” said Wethington adding, “I really liked the student body because they are down to earth, hardworking and they appreciate the help that is given to them, not taking the opportunities given for granted.” As soon as Wethington graduated, she started teaching at LMC in 2006. “My goals are to give students solid, strong skills in English but also to help students feel confident in their ability to do well.” Wethington teaches with a positive emotion in her class lectures. She is open to students’ ideas and encourages
them to ask for an explanation on a lesson if they’re confused. “She is always open minded and very passionate about her work,” said LMC student Jared Brannon adding, “she’s very helpful and is willing to explain a lesson or whatever it may be in full detail so students could understand better on whatever they’re struggling on.” Wethington has a unique lesson technique that always draws students’ attention. “She won’t leave you out when you raise your hand with an answer. She’ll give you the floor to speak and won’t shut you down right away,” said Brannon. Wethington is open minded and patient whenever a student may challenge her in class. “I see it as they’re not attacking me but have an answer deep in thought that should be analysis,” Wethington said adding, “looked at in a way as not to prove them wrong but to show them you have the right
to question a viewpoint and it’s nothing wrong with it at all.” You hear daily from students like Brannon that Wethington is a hard teacher with more than a handful of homework assignments, but with good intentions behind it. “‘It’s work, work and more work,’ ask anyone who’s taken her class. It’s crazy but she gives full positive insight on what her reasons are,” said Brannon. “Homework is to keep their skills going that we talk about in class and apply them throughout their work now, and in other classes in the future,” said Wethington. “How do you learn something and get it stuck inside one’s mind? Practice and practice some more.” She is a positive influence and respects everyone in the way that people should. “It’s like a golden rule, you know respect everyone and you’ll get the respect back,” Wethington said.