02.20.15

Incidents delay classes

Best Picture reviews

Baseball wins at home

Fire alarm and blackout hinder productivity on campus.

Story inside — page 3

See reviews for all eight movies nominated for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards — pages 4/5

Team advances to a 4-6 record after defeating Diablo Valley Vikings Feb. 17. Story inside — page 7

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F.Y.I. Important Dates February is National Fitness Month Feb. 27

First day to submit early graduation application to receive early registration appointment for fall 2015

March 2

March in March rally for student needs in Sacramento

Books come Alive at LMC

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LMC quality confirmed Commission authorizes re-accreditation

By JOSEPH DELANO

jdelano@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College’s accreditation has been reaffirmed by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

“This is incredibly exciting news, and an achievement for which our entire college community should be proud,” said LMC President Bob Kratochvil in a college-wide email released following the receipt of the action letter authorizing LMC’s accreditation.

A renewal of legitimacy, pending a follow-up report due October 2015, marks the closing stages of a nearly three-year enterprise.

The report must address the recommendations passed down from both the oral exit report that closed last October’s accrediting team visit and from the

commission’s reaffirmation letter, released Feb. 6.

Penned by ACCJC President Barbara Beno, the release took action to reaffirm accreditation for LMC. It states that, “reaffirmation is granted when the institution substantially meets or exceeds the Eligibility Requirements, Accreditation Standards and Commission policies.”

The action letter also reveals that while LMC is indeed accredited, the commission found the college deficient in 10 standards and two eligibility requirements, hence the need for a follow-up report and additional visit.

“Accreditation is crucial for an educational institution to provide services like financial aid to its students,” said Kratochvil. Not only that, but a college that is not

“This is incredibly exciting news, and an achievement for which our entire college community should be proud.”

See CRED, page 8

Debate shows promise

The Human Library is back. The Books Alive! event is looking for Human Books to share unique stories with the community. Each book is encouraged to talk about their lives, experiences and offer any advice to those they speak to.

Books will be checked out for 20 minute periods during the two-hour event.

Books Alive! will take place in the Library, Room L-109 Tuesday, April 14 from 2 to 4 p.m.

If you are interested in becoming a book and who would like to participate, contact Christine Park at cpark@losmedanos.edu for more information or an application.

The deadline for applying is Monday, March 16.

Loss brings experience

By JOSH WOOD

jwood@lmcexperience.com

Experience • Katrina Butler

Ram honored at celebration The LMC Honor’s Program will be honoring the Year of the Ram during its Chinese New Year Celebration. The celebration will take place Feb. 25 in the Outdoor Quad from 1 to 4 p.m. Activities include Chinese Character drawing, Tai Chi workshop and a Chopstick Showdown, with a special performance at 3:15 p.m. by the Lion Dancer group LionDanceME. For more information contact Collin Brown at cbrown422@ insite.4cd.edu or visit the Honor’s Program portable on the first floor of the College Complex.

Volunteers sought at LMC LMC is celebrating 40 years of student success with an open house Saturday, March 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Open House team is seeking student volunteers to help with the day. Please contact Mary Oleson if you are interested in participating: moleson@ losmedanos.edu or 4737316.

— Bob Kratochvil

LMC Asosciated Students was presented an award from Congressman Jerry McNerney for their efforts in voicing the concerns of student veterans on campus. From left, Sable Horton, Gary Walker, Reginald Turner, Stuart Townsend and Assemblyman Jim Frazier.

A dinner for heroes Veteran pride and awareness praised

By TAMARA SEWARD

tseward@lmcexperience.com

The rain did not stop an appreciation dinner hosted by the Associated Students and LMC on campus Feb. 6.

Student veterans, their families and supporters were invited to a veterans appreciation dinner emceed and hosted by Gary Walker, LMCAS president.

The packed house of more than 200 were treated to an Olive Garden dinner and dessert while listening to heart-touching stories of experiences from student veterans, as well as from LMC President Bob Kratochvil, Student Senate for California Community Colleges President Omar Paz, Jr. and

Assemblyman Jim Frazier. Other guests included board members Dr. Helen Benjamin, representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs Concord Vet Center, and Gerald “J.R.” Wilson, Executive Director of the Delta Veterans Group in Pittsburg.

Walker opened the festivities with introductions and instructions. The color guard presented the flags and attendees stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Xavier Johnson, LMC drama student, sang the national anthem.

As ever yone sat down, Walker Experience • Ashley Castaldi asked for a moment of silence, drawing attention to a lone table in Assemblyman Jim Frazier presented See VETS, page 8

as the keynote speaker.

The Los Medanos College Debate Team placed well within the rankings at the first debate of the season at Point Loma Nazarene University Feb. 6-8.

“There were a lot of high level teams there, so it was pretty intimidating. Teams were coming from all across the country to compete,” said LMC debater Joshua Noriega.

Top-level debate teams also attended the tournament at PLNU. “The competition is fierce, but you learn a lot,” said LMC debater Yetunde Ogunleye, adding, “At the end of the day, you’re surrounded by people who are passionate about debating.”

Debate Team Coach Marie Arcidiacono said, “It’s a huge tournament for the region, and pools teams from all over the United States.”

The LMC Debate Team performed admirably despite being eliminated from the final rounds of debate, and was the only community college entered in the Worlds segment of the tournament.

“No one knew that we were a community college,” said Noriega. “They thought that we were university debaters because we were debating at a university level.”

Regardless of whether or not you take the top positions, every competition is an invaluable learning experience.

“One competition is equivalent to 3-4 practices,” indicated Ogunleye. “Whether you win or lose, you come out fulfilled.”

“It’s really good to see the progression of some of the See DEBATE, page 8

Adult education honors Mills

By STEVEN LUKE

sluke@lmcexperience.com

The Contra Costa chapter of California Council for Adult Education held its annual awards ceremony to honor teachers, staff members and those who have helped the various programs Thursday, Feb. 12 in Pacheco.

Eighteen people were honored with awards, including George Mills of LMC’s Employment

Oppor tunity Programs and Services Department.

Mills was honored with an award as a friend of adult education for his work specifically with Pittsburg Adult Education.

The nomination for the award came from Lynne Nicodemus, principal for Pittsburg Adult Education.

“All of us in Adult Education are involved deeply in connecting with community colleges, and

so the people that we connect with at our local community colleges are very valued and George Mills is one of those for us,” said Nicodemus as she presented Mills with the award.

“He is very proud and does a excellent job of helping minority students maintain and stay in school.

That’s how we’ve come to connect with George at LMC because he’s be-

come a wonderful person helping our students when they move there,” she continued.

Mills was happy to accept the award. He opened his speech with a joke about David Williams, a teacher for Pittsburg Adult Education and fellow honoree, before comparing the work of those in adult education to a book by Liz Wiseman, “Multipliers:

Experience • Steven Luke

George Mills is presented an award for See MILLS, page 8 his work with adult education.

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Perspectives

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“You can jail a revolutionary, but you can’t jail the revolution.”

— Huey P. Newton

Marissa Perry

Cristo Torres

PERRY’S P.O.V.

SPANISH CAT CRISTO

Save a life by adopting a pet

We should be able to decide

Many scroll through the numerous pages on Google, looking for dog or cat breeders, animals in your local shelter are waiting for their forever home.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on average 7.6 million animals enter shelters nationwide every single year.

The percentage for dogs and cats varies each year as it does for each state as well.

Only 35 percent of the dogs get adopted and 31 percent are euthanized.

The animals stuck in the shelters often suffer. They are all looking for their forever homes. These animals do not want to spend their days sleeping on a cold floor. These animals deserve the warmth and comfort of a place that they can call home.

More people look for their pets through breeders, which can cost up to thousands of dollars. Compare that to the small fee you would have to pay just to take your new furry friend home from a shelter.

Adopting an animal from a shelter is more humane than buying from a breeder.

When you choose to adopt from a shelter you are choosing to give an animal a second chance at life.

Every year, shelters nationwide are faced with the problem of overpopulation. When overpopulation occurs, a high percentage of the animals are euthanized.

The goal of adoption is to help prevent the unnecessary euthanasia of innocent animals.

Shelters always have a wide variety of breeds, including purebreds. Each animal is looking for a loving owner to take him or her home.

Adopting a pet from a shelter can take a matter of minutes, with the longest adoption process only lasting an hour. When adopting from breeders it can take weeks, even months.

One thing you do not want to do is rush the process. You will know when your home is suitable for pet ownership. Just because the process to adopt a shelter animal can be short, does not mean you should walk in and just take one home.

When you are considering adopting an animal, make sure you’ve done your research.

Some families walk into shelters thinking they are ready to bring a pet home, but in reality, it was too much for them to handle so they end up bringing them back to the shelter.

Animals are not playthings that can be tossed back and forth like a game of fetch.

Make sure you and your family members are prepared to bring a new animal into your home and never make an impulse decision.

The perks of adopting an animal, rather than buying one are that the animals are more likely to be house trained.

When you buy a puppy, you have to make sure they are potty-trained so they don’t do their business on your carpet.

Another is that shelters usually include vaccinations and micro chipping. You would need to contact your local shelter to find out whether or not they include vaccinations with the adoption fee.

Doesn’t it make you feel good to know that you could be saving a life?

Shelter animals wait for months and even years to find their perfect owner. The majority of these animals are either strays or animals that their owners have given up on.

There are many shelters located in the Bay Area. Our closest shelter is the Antioch Animal Shelter. They can be reached at 779-6989. They are closed Monday, Friday, Sunday and all major holidays.

The adoption center is located at 300 L Street, closes at 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit its website at http://

I have a select few opinions on some issues that I consider a nuisance — abortion and gay marriage.

I will begin with where I stand on abortion.

I am a man; I am incapable of giving birth.

Let’s think about this now. As a society, we tell women that they can do what they want with their bodies.

They may have plastic surgery or other body modifications; they may donate their organs, etc. Women have the privilege to do whatever pleases them with their body.

This being said, if a woman wants to have an abortion, let her.

It’s her body not yours. From a personal stance on this issue I see it as this, “Another person’s decision isn’t any of my business.”

It’s true considering we live in the generation where our whole life is in the public’s eye.

It’s gotten to a point where people have no shame in butting into other people’s business.

People constantly complain about there being a problem with constant invasions of privacy and that they want more secure things.

Here’s an idea to stop this entire invasion of privacy: Mind your own damn business.

How does it affect you if someone you don’t know is getting an abortion? You don’t know the reason why a woman might need an abortion. You don’t need a reason because it’s not your decision or your business.

I won’t apologize for this, but gentleman, you have no-say in abortion whatsoever because you are not a woman nor can you get pregnant.

I feel the only time a man can have half the decision is if he is the father of said fetus. I guess as humans we are naturally nosey. This leads me to the current issue on gay marriage.

Marriage is the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. This is the definition of marriage, according to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.

What about same-sex couples, can they get married? Throughout our lives we have been told what gender to love and fall in love with based on gender, personality and traits, physical and emotional.

What if we fall in love with someone the same gender that we are? Homosexuality has been around since the beginning of man and it shouldn’t be treated as a new world topic.

The fact that a man and a man or a woman and a woman loving one other are controversial is ridiculous.

Why is it that when a heterosexual couple want to get married is it not controversial?

Marriage is based on love, if I am correct, and the union of two people. Why are we denying people a human right because they love someone of the same sex?

There are statistics that prove that homosexual couples are more likely to stay married longer than heterosexual couples.

For instance, according to Huffington Post, Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage and has the lowest divorce rate in the country.

Why is it that two people who could hate each other in reality could get married but two men or two women who adore each other cannot?

If these two men get married is it going to hurt you or kill you? No. Will these two women getting married ruin your life? No. What people need is to let people be who they are and avoid entering someone else’s business or life.

We need to live our own lives and let others live theirs.

How would you feel if you weren’t allowed to marry the person you love because you were heterosexual?

Let people make their own decisions and worry about your own.

www.ci.antioch.ca.us/citygov/police/ antiochanimalsvcs/.

Experience • Joey Fajardo

Editorial

Congress is not helping

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ongress has been making it extremely difficult to get things done, even more so than usual since Republicans control the House of Representatives and the Senate. Our congressmen are not doing their jobs and are essentially getting paid for their childish behavior.

One could argue that both congress and the president are behaving immaturely but when it comes down to it, Congress has been proven less likely to compromise. Even when President Barack Obama proposes something that reflects the values of republicans, they will vote against it because the president proposed it.

This past Tuesday, the courts halted Obama’s executive actions on immigration. This was met with positive reactions from congress. Obama seemingly annoyed, expressed confidence in that eventually, the courts would have to uphold his original plan.

Republicans are now threatening to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security to get their way. This affects us because this makes us more susceptible to terrorist attacks. It seems this action was taken not to protect American people but instead was taken to get back at the president for his use of executive orders.

This isn’t the first time congress has refused to cooperate. Just last year, Speaker of the House John Boehner penned a lawsuit claiming Obama was abusing his power through the excessive use of executive orders even though has used less orders than both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton according to U.S. News. Though the lawsuit initially died, Boehner brought it up again earlier this year.

Remember the government shutdown in the fall of 2013? This event cost the federal government billions of dollars. .

They’ve shown time and time again they care more about winning and getting their convoluted points across than doing what’s best for this country. Some congressmen need to come under review or be punished for their selfishness and belligerence. Both Americans and people who are striving to become citizens are suffering at the hands of congress’ indifference toward doing the right thing.

We the people deserve a better life in which the people we have voted into office actually care about changing the system for the better.

Letter to the Editor

Club READ thanks you for the help

DEAR EDITOR I’d like to acknowledge some people who helped out club READ’s event last Wednesday.

Congratulations to Carole Betz for winning the 2 p.m. drawing with the correct solution to the cartoon puzzle, with thanks to her for being present so we could enjoy her winning.

Thanks to the donor of the Cold Stone Creamery gift card. Carole said the grandkids would be surprised and pleased by their Valentine’s treats.

Although she and her student silent partner researched their answer thoroughly, I’d like to acknowledge Linda Maniscalco, too, for including another “extra” in her submission.

Sometimes, curiosity – or being politeness - is instantly rewarded.

George Davis saw the waving invitation to checkout the event and politely listened to some recruiting, fund-raising, and contest information. Calculating the odds, he bought the rest of the Instant Win desserts and took home the rest of the Hyacinth prizes.

Since the original door prize winner didn’t

reply, we drew again Thursday morning, and the Gift Basket went to Carol “I Never Win Anything” Betz. Adding the Ghirardelli chocolates, the Gift Basket’s value really was closer to $100 than $90.

The basket’s value was more like a million dollars if you add the time, creativity, help and suggestions from all the people who helped put it together.

I’d like to thank Roman Smith, Mary Oleson, and Pittsburg Community Band members for making the new, Thomas cookware possible.

Thanks to Professor Karen Stanton and her Blender student Guadalupe Haro for designing and re-creating the cartoon. For the first time that I can remember I was OK with losing a file because my Computer Science 112 beginning-Blender version of the test tubes didn’t look as good as Guadalupe’s. Also, his finishing in 10 minutes (vs. hours) makes a strong argument for practicing instead of giving up on the class.

—Reiko Kuboto

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.

Letters and columns must be typed, signed and include a phone number for verification. They may be edited for clarity, content taste and length at the editor’s discretion.

Voices

LOS MEDANOS COLLEGE

Experience

How do you feel about age differences in relationships?

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Member California Newspaper Publishers Association

“It’s not really good if younger people go with older people because of their age and maturity level.”

— Robert Brown

“If you’re 15 dating someone who is 24, that’s not OK because you’re still growing and you’re mentally unstable.”

— Jessy Molina

“It primarily depends on whether both people are intellectually compatible.”

— Quentin Teal

“I feel like an age difference doesn’t matter as long as you’re both of legal age.”

— Lauren Dunn

“I don’t think there’s a big deal if there is an age difference as long as the two individuals are mature.”

— Leonardo Bojorquez

“I think it’s OK if it’s like a five or six age difference.”

— Kylie Ferreiria

“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 .................... JOSEPH DELANO Managing Editor................. BRENDAN CROSS Perspectives Editor........... KIMBERLY STELLY Campus Editor ...........................RATTANA KIM Features Editor ............................JOSH WOOD Arts Editor................................ DAMIAN LEWIN Sports Editor .............................STEVEN LUKE Photo Editor..................... CATHIE LAWRENCE Multimedia Editor.............. JAZMINE GORDON Copy Chief...........................CASSIE DICKMAN 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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Campus Newswatch Black History Month

Black History Month is an observance recognizing the achievements and history of Black Americans. Initially called Negro History Week in 1926, the second week of February was chosen to commemorate the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, on Feb. 12 and Feb. 14, respectively.

Mayors across the countr y issued proclamations recognizing Negro History Week. With the Civil Rights Movement and growing awareness of black character, Negro History Week had transformed into Black History Month. It wasn’t until 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month.

Club READ recruitng members

Club READ is recruiting. The club is looking for members to participate in campus events, fundraising, and recruiting. Club READ is welcoming those with ideas and suggestions toward adding more borrowable textbooks for students.

A meeting will be held in CO-211, the conference room inside the drop-in computer Feb. 25 at 1:30 p.m.

For more information contact READ-LMC@outlook. com or prince112592@yahoo.com.

Cook off around the corner

The Classified Senate will be hosting its 10th Annual Chili Cook Off March 10 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Indoor Quad, to raise money for scholarships. A bowl of chili, with cornbread can be purchased for $4, or shots of chili for $1.

Have a chili recipe you are proud of? A panel will be judging chili entries at 10:45 a.m. and results the Chili Man Trophy and Best Chili of 2015 will be announced at 12 p.m. In addition, a People’s Choice Award Winner will be announced at 1 p.m. Raffle tickets will also be available for purchase at 13 for $10, 6 for $5, or a $1 each.

For more information email Sylvia Benzler at sbenzler@ losmedanos.edu. Chili entry deadline is March 6.

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“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

— Muhammad Ali

Events delay classes Second incident within a week

By CASSIE DICKMAN

cdickman@lmcexperience.com

Alarms echoed through the Los Medanos College campus Feb. 10 signaling the second incident in less than a week that prevented students from attending classes.

LMC President Bob Kratochvil stood outside the southside entrance of the science building, just four days after a campus-wide blackout Feb. 6, and informed students walking up, and those already waiting outside, no one would be allowed onto the premises until the issue had been resolved.

Police Services was first on scene when the warning alarm signaled around 3:30 p.m. and was quickly working to secure the area.

“Anytime the alarms go off … we ask that everyone calmly evacuate the area as a precaution until the area has been cleared,” said Lt. Ryan Huddleston of Police Services.

But the cause was unclear at the time as to why the alarms had gone off at all.

“The [first responder] said he thought it was triggered by a smoke alarm,” said Kratochvil while the sirens were still sounding, but no evidence of

a fire was found, so there was also the possibility someone intentionally set it off. But everyone was waiting for Facilities Manager Russ Holt to come and identify the problem.

Shortly after Holt entered the premises, at approximately 3:52 p.m., the noise subsided and students were allowed to re-enter the building, but he still couldn’t pinpoint what caused the disturbance.

“We’re not sure but a smoke detector went into alarm out in that building,” said Holt in an interview after the fact. “It could have been a faulty detector, could have been someone smoking in the room or other things, but we’ve replaced it and all is back to normal.”

Kratochvil said, “there was a battery issue” in the building.

This incident was a small echo of the blackout that occurred the previous Friday, which also temporarily kept students from attending classes.

“When the blackout happened the college administration determined to cancel classes at which point staff from Police Ser vices and managers from the college assisted notifying the college community,” said Huddleston.

Experience • Cassie Dickman

Russ Holt, Officer Jason Curtis and LMC Police Aide Miguel Cortez meeting after smoke alarm had been neutralized and students allowed back in.

Also a campuswide electronic message was sent out at 11:45 a.m. alerting the Los Medanos College community of the power outage, which was “linked to a car accident off campus,” and announced classes had been canceled for the rest of the day because “phone and website access will be spotty until power is restored.”

The Brentwood Center was not affected by the episode and could continue as planned, but there seemed to be some confusion after electricity returned

to the Pittsburg campus as to what the rest of the day held.

A second message was sent out to members of the college community at 12:45 p.m.: “Power has been restored at Los Medanos College. All evening classes and activities including the Veterans dinner and basketball games, will be held as scheduled.”

And that was followed by a third message at 2 p.m.: “Correction: Basketball games against Yuba College are canceled. Veterans dinner See ALARM, page 8

Sharing the love for life

Photo courtesy of Mondavi Center

One of the places at UC Davis students can go to for entertainment throughout the year is the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Free campus tours available

Unsure of where to transfer? Sign-up for the Transfer Center’s upcoming university campus tours: n UC Davis-Discover Davis Day: Feb. 27. Registration opens Jan. 27. n San Jose State University: March 27. Registration opens Feb. 27. The Transfer Center will provide transportation.

For additional information, registration, future tours and tour suggestions contact the Transfer Center at 473-7444 or check out its website www.losmedanos.edu/transfer/ default.asp. The Transfer Center is currently located in Student Services, SS4-435.

Counselors ready to assist

Looking to make an educational plan, or review your current one? Do you need career advice or a personal counselor? LMC offers general counseling at both campuses.

Drop-in hours are offered throughout the week but changes weekly. Students must have a student ID number and a photo ID to meet with a counselor.

Appointments at Pittsburg can be made in person, by calling the Counseling Department at 473-7449, or by visiting www.losmedanos.edu/counseling and clicking on the Make an Appointment link.

Appointments at the Brentwood Center can be made in person, or by calling 513-1625.

Speakers coming to MESA

The MESA Program has invited Marine Biochemistry Researcher, Dr. Mathew Bertin from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to take part in their speaker series. This event will take place March 6 at 11 a.m. in the Science building, Room SC-202.

For more information contact the MESA Director, Nicole Trager at ntrager@losmedanos.edu.

UCB offers transfer event

The Third Annual Transfer Empowerment Day will take place March 14 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. TED is presented by UC Berkeley, in collaboration with UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and San Francisco State University. There will be no cost to attend the event. Enrollment is currently at capacity, but it is still possible to obtain a spot.

For more information, email Katheryne Martínez, at bridgesrazatransfers@gmail.com. Registration closes March 7.

LMC to host science fair

The Los Medanos College Foundation will be sponsoring the fifth annual Intel-Affiliated Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair. The CCSEF will take place at LMC March 26 through March 28, in the LMC gym. Students will be setting up their projects on March 26.

CCSEF will host about 300 students in grades seven through 12, from East Contra Costa County and San Ramon Valley. The awards ceremony will take place March 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

For more information, or to become a judge, visit CCSEF’s website http://www.cccsef.org. Contact Scott Cabral at scabral@losmedanos.edu if you are interested in becoming a student volunteer.

— compiled from press releases and staff reports

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

Technican Robert Whitney marks an “X” for placement of the needle to withdraw LMC student Steven Hartland’s blood. The Feb. 10 Brentwood Campus blood drive was sponsored by Student Life in conjunction with the Blood Centers of the Pacific. The Honors program also held a “Be the Match” Bone Marrow event at the same time. The second day of the two-day event was held on the main campus Feb.11.

Honors club tries to play Cupid Speed dating creates new camaradarie

First-annual Quiz Bowl is a success

By TAYLOR STROUD

By TAYLOR STROUD

tstroud@lmcexperience.com

tstroud@lmcexperiece.com

Just in time for Valentine’s I’ve always considered myDay, students had the opself somewhat of a pop culture portunity to get out of their expert. Anyone who knows comfort zone and meet new me has probably received Experience • Taylor Stroud their share of random trivia people – who may even be as Mariela Vega, Tom Whatley, Sketch Smile and Haley on things they really don’t awkward as themselves.

LMC’s Honors Club held its Keller play Jenga as a part of speed dating. care about. Naturally, when I third-annual Speed Dating event learned LMC would be holdThursday, Feb. 12. Honors’ know each other. to know someone than by ing its fundraising co-chairs Christine While some people attended answering the hard-hitting first-evFountain and Jen Baney hosted Speed Dating hoping to find questions? er trivthe event from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. a valentine, many participants “We’re mostly excited for ia Quiz Bowl I counted myself in L-109. just came to make new friends. free food,” said Amy Hoang, in.

Baney said all she expect“Friends are the best kind who attended with her sister Honors Club hosted the ed from the event was, “for of valentines you can get,” said Shayla to meet friends. event as a fundraiser, but I everyone to just be awkward student Gio Rajo.

Free snacks were included along with the other contesin a room together.” “Not in a Of the some 20 participants, with the $5 admission fee, tants took it as an opportunity negative way”, she clarified, but a few felt shy with some with sodas sold in addition. to show our stuff. “for people who felt anti-social hesitant to even enter Speed All profits went directly to the The topics covered included or awkward to feel comfortable Dating at all.

Honors Club. math, science, history, liberal and just have fun.”

The ice was broken thanks, Despite an air of shyness, arts and pop culture. You could And fun was had as partic- in part, to the ridiculous “would the fact that phone numbers be placed into a preexisting ipants sat in groups of three you rather” questions – most and Instagram accounts were group, but it was more strato five discussing “would you of which could not make it into exchanged within the first 20 tegic to group yourself with rather” topics or playing Jenga. print. However, one example minutes proves that LMC’s students with a diverse set of Those seated on the outsides was “would you rather poop third-annual Speed Dating knowledge. of the tables rotated every five your pants once a year in public was a success.

Being a Journalism major, minutes to give everyone a or every day at home alone?”

Perhaps a few students found I knew that anything in the See QUIZ, page 8 chance to connect and get to What better way to get themselves a valentine after all.

OPINION

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Oscars

EXPERI E NCE

“I don’t regret anything I’ve ever done. I only wish I could have done more.”

“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly..”

— Lauren Bacall Sept. 16, 1924-Aug. 12, 2014

“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”

— Robin Wiliams July 21, 1951-Aug. 11, 2014

— Mickey Rooney Sept. 20, 1928-April 6, 2014

Quotable

“Audiences are not strangers to me. They’re the best friends I’ve got in my life.”

— Elaine Stritch Feb. 2, 1925-July 17, 2014 F R I D A Y ,

F E B .

2 0 ,

2 0 1 4

45 /

“I would travel down to hell and wrestle a film away from the devil if it was necessary.”

— Werner Herzog

BEST PICTURE BRIEFINGS Birdman

Whiplash

Getting to know the nominees

“Birdman” was spectacRUNDOWN ular from start to finish. It Director: was casted perfectly with Alejandro Inarritu Michael Keaton (Riggan), Starring: Michael Emma Stone (Sam) and Keaton, Edward Edward Norton (Mike) each Norton getting acting nominations.

Run-time/MPAA: Naomi Watts (Lesley) and 119 minutes/R Zach Galifianakis (Jake) Total Nominations: Nine rounded out the stellar crew.

Rating: 5 Stars The thing that captivates the most is the edge-of-yourseat and hanging on every word nature of the film. The camera work is astonishing and was made to look like the entire thing was shot in one take. It wasn’t, but the flow of the banter between the actors is impressive.

It is a movie that requires unmitigated attention which speaks highly to the fact that there were no lulls, every move or line was vital to the narrative.

It should be strongly considered as a Best Picture frontrunner.

In “Whiplash,” Andrew Neyman (played by Miles Teller) is an ambitious young Director: jazz drummer at the Shaffer Damien Chazell Starring: Conservatory in New York.

J.K. Simmons, Terence Fletcher, portrayed Miles Teller by a magnificent J.K. Simmons, Run-time/MPAA: is an instructor known for his 107 minutes/R intense teaching methods.

Total Nominations: Fletcher catches wind of NeyFive man’s talent and ambition Rating: 3 Stars and offers him an alternate drumming position in his band.

Initially, Fletcher is kind to Neyman, but his tune changes. It becomes clear that Fletcher is a master of manipulating emotions who resorts to emotionally and physically abusing students in order to ensure perfection. This doesn’t faze Neyman as his passion spirals into obsession as Fletcher pushes him.

The film doesn’t deserve a nomination. Simmons’ portrayal, reminiscent of R. Lee Ermey’s in the classic film “Full Metal Jacket,” truly leaves us with whiplash.

RUNDOWN

— Film reviewed by Brendan Cross

— Film reviewed by Alex Tagliamonte

American Sniper

Selma

Honestly, I tried to like this movie.

It had a lot of things going for it: a red-hot Bradley Director: Cooper as the titular character, Clint Eastwood as the Clint Eastwood seasoned director and an amazing subject in former Starring: US Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle. Unfortunately, the Bradley Cooper, film missed my mark.

Sienna Miller The incessant mumblings of Cooper, coupled with Run-time/MPAA: that inexplicable decision from Eastwood to include 132 minutes/R Total Nominations: that excruciatingly fake baby made me confused. I Six found myself struggling to understand most of what Rating: 2 Stars Cooper said, relying on the scene to tell me the story instead of the lead actor.

Sienna Miller, who portrayed Kyle’s wife, fell flat for me. Her insincere interactions toward her movie husband lacked depth and sentimentality.

Overall, the movie was decent but I really think the film was nominated purely based on the subject matter.

“Selma” is the story of a movement. Selma chronRUNDOWN icles an intense three months of Dr. Martin Luther Director: King Jr.’s (David Oyelowo) life in 1965; a dangerous Ava DuVernay campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face Starring: David of opposition.

Oyelowo, Carmen The march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama Ejogo inspired President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to sign Run-time/MPAA: the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

128 minutes/PG-13 Director Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” tells the story of Total Nominations: Two how revered leader and visionary Dr. King prompted Rating: 4 Stars change that forever altered history. The theme of the film couldn’t come at a better time with the verge of a new civil rights movement.

The film captures a series of events unfolding in the present tense in a political and cultural climate as complex as the times we live in. “Selma” is powerful and will leave a mark in history for years to come.

RUNDOWN

— Film reviewed by Joseph Delano

— Film reviewed by Alex Tagliamonte

The Theory of Everything RUNDOWN Director: James Marsh Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones Run-time/MPAA: 123 minutes/R Total Nominations: Five Rating: 5 Stars

“The Theory of Everything” is the inspiring true story of Stephen Hawking that consisted of some of the greatest acting I’ve ever witnessed on the big screen.

Beginning during Hawking’s [Eddie Redmayne] college years, specifically when he met his future wife Jane [Felicity Jones], Theory follows through the life of a young Hawking.

The story takes you through his lazy days in college, the courtship of his future spouse and through his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the changes that occurred in his relationship.

The exceptional acting helps the audience feel the pain of Hawking as he struggles with the disease taking over his body and the heartbreak that his wife feels as she fights to

keep him alive.

The acting, the story and just about everything you can imagine about this movie is well done and should be considered a front-runner for best picture.

Grand Budapest Hotel

“Grand Budapest Hotel” is incredibly funny and visually RUNDOWN stimulating, but failed to tell the story without losing the atDirector: tention of the viewers.

Wes Anderson The story is centered on a hotel visited by some of the world’s Starring: rich and famous in its hay-day, but has since fallen from grace.

Ralph Fiennes, The narrator tells a story from when the story was in its hayF. Murray Abraham day and the legendary concierge Gustave H. [Ralph Fiennes] Run-time/MPAA: who kept the people coming back and his new lobby boy Zero 100 minutes/R Total Nominations: Moustafa [Tony Revolori].

Nine The two of them embark on a journey that sends them Rating: 3 Stars through adventures filled with comical and deadly situations.

While fighting through the trials of their journey, the two form a relationship with one another as Zero becomes Gustave’s friend.

Budapest captures the attention of the viewer with beautiful scenery and keeps the audience engaged with brilliant comedy, but falls flat with storytelling that is at times hard to follow and forces comedy in places that it does not need to be.

— Film reviewed by Steven Luke

— Film reviewed by Steven Luke

Boyhood

The Imitation Game

“The Imitation Game,” starring Actor in a Leading Role nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (Alan Turing) and Actress in a Supporting Role nominee Keira Director: Morten Tyldum Knightley (Joan Clarke) showed flashes of brilliance Starring: Benedict but ultimately left me wanting more.

Cumberbatch, The story focused on Turing and his team cracking Keira Knightley the Nazi code Enigma. I wish it had delved deeper Run-time/MPAA: into the troubles Turing went through as a gay man 114 minutes/ living in that time period, along with the fallout of the PG-13 government attempting to “treat” his sexual preference.

Total Nominations: I cannot see this movie taking home the Best Picture Eight Rating: 4 Stars award, but it deserves plenty of recognition, as it had quality throughout. It would not surprise me, though, to see Cumberbatch bring home an Oscar for his engaging performance. He managed to skirt the line between simply imitating Turing versus actually embodying him.

Boyhood was supposed to be the “It” movie of the RUNDOWN season. Taking 12 years to create, the sweeping saga Director: of the family and life of Mason Evans Jr., played by Richard Linklater Ellar Coltrane, left me feeling apathetic and completely Starring: dissatisfied.

Ethan Hawke, The artistic concept and technical execution of the Patricia Arquette film was brilliant, but the acting left much to be desired.

Run-time/MPAA: While newcomer Coltrane was great, this years Oscar 165 minutes/R “darling” Patricia Arquette, who played Coltrane’s Total Nominations: Six movie-mother Olivia, left me deflated.

Rating: 3 Stars Arquette really sank the ship. She seemed to either be over-acting or under-acting for the entire movie. In addition, the sincerity she purported was not believable.

While director Richard Linklater has a great chance to win his award, I’m not convinced this film deserves a Best Picture win.

RUNDOWN

— Film reviewed by Brendan Cross

— Film reviewed by Joseph Delano

PREDICTIONS AND SNUBS

Brendan

Cross

Joseph

PREDICTIONS AND SNUBS Alex

Delano

Tagliamonte

Steven

Luke

BEST PICTURE WINNER

BEST PICTURE WINNER

BEST PICTURE WINNER

BEST PICTURE WINNER

Whiplash

Birdman

Theory of Everything

Theory of Everything

BEST PICTURE SNUB

BEST PICTURE SNUB

BEST PICTURE SNUB

BEST PICTURE SNUB

Nightcrawler

Wild

Into the Woods

Nightcrawler

LEADING ACTRESS WINNER

SUPPORTING ACTRESS WINNER

LEADING ACTOR WINNER

Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Laura Dern, Wild

Eddie Redmayne, Theory of Everything J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

LEADING ACTRESS SNUB

SUPPORTING ACTRESS SNUB

Jennifer Aniston, Cake

Emily Blunt, Into the Woods

All photos courtesy of rottentomatoes.com. Reviews done by members of The LMC Experience staff. Oscar statuette is life-sized.

SUPPORTING ACTOR WINNER

LEADING ACTOR SNUB

SUPPORTING ACTOR SNUB

David Oyelowo, Selma

Tony Revolori, Grand Budapest Hotel

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Quotable

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Features

FRIDAY,

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“The only two things you can truly depend on are gravity and greed.”

— Jack Palance

LMC brings drama to festival Photo courtesy of Eric Sanchez

Students fill the theater at Central Washington University Feb. 18.

Student actors take part in the KCACTF

By ALEX TAGLIAMONTE

atagliamonte@lmcexperience.com

Photo courtesy of Marina Ketchum

Left to right, Miranda Ketchum, David Morris and Tyler White act during the KCACTF Feb. 18.

Thirty-two students from the LMC Drama Department were recently nominated from a selection of plays for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) held at Central Washington University Feb. 17 to 21.

Hailing from different regions, colleges come together to perform their nominated pieces, previously selected from an adjudicator and compete in what is called Irene Ryan.

An Irene Ryan is a series of competitive rounds where actors present their nominated monologues, and if chosen move on to the next round, until a winner is announced.

During their time at the KCACTF students may attend workshops, which is an opportunity for actors to learn new skills and hone their craft.

Such workshops include stage combat, auditioning monologues, dance workshops and more.

A highly anticipated event “Next

Step,” is a scholarship program where actors sign up, learn and perform in front of a panel made up of members from different schools and acting programs. If these participants’ monologues or portfolios are well liked they are then given scholarships or oppor tunities to join these schools and theater companies.

Design and technology are also eligible to enter, but their performance is based on a portfolio of past work and an interview.

Nominees selected from the fall 2014 schedule include Marina Ketchum and her partner Jarrelle Tramble for their work in Man of the Flesh. Tim Morris and Du’Praiseja Smith of Rent. Ashley Curry was nominated for her work on props for the play Snare and Will Lutz for his tech work in the same play.

Spring 2014 nominees include Kristina Cruz and Cesar Reyes from Esperanza Rising, as well as Federico Bartolo and Katey Hilton for Snare.

Moore and Dern are top choices for Oscar ‘Alice’ actress set to take the prize

‘Wild’ choice for supporting role

By BRENDAN CROSS

By JOSEPH DELANO

bcross@lmcexperience.com

jdelano@lmcexperience.com

The Actress in a Leading Role category for the 2015 Oscars will ultimately come down to being a three-horse race.

There is not a single nominee whose performance clearly soars above the rest, although there are a few performances that are Editor’s note: clearly on the bottom rung.

Oscar Buzz “Two Days, One is a fourNight”: Marion Cotillard part series received the nod for her reviewing role in the Belgium/French acting film. Out of all of the nomperformances inees, this is definitely the of Academy weakest. What I look for Award in any acting category is nominees. range in emotion throughout the film, and for the most part, Cotillard stays one note. She is in despair during the entirety of the film, but

OSCAR BUZZ

See ALICE page 8

MORE BUZZ

Photos courtesy of imdb.com

Left, Julianne Moore stars in “Still Alice.” Right, Laura Dern co-stars in “Wild.”

‘50 Shades of Grey’ appears all but dull Film trashes ‘campy’ book dialogue but falls short

By ALEX TAGLIAMONTE

atagliamonte@lmcexperience.com

“Fifty Shades of Grey” heats up the big screen in the film adaption of E.L. James’ kinky bestselling novel.

The twisted tale of bondage, domination, submission and masochism (BDSM) follows a naive young virgin played by Dakota Johnson, who falls into an unconventional relationship with a self-made billionaire harboring a secret, played by Jamie Dornan.

The novel’s campy dialogue is all but thrown away.

The screenwriters of the film polished the dialogue and added a sense of humor, and it worked. Johnson stands out in the role of Anastasia Steele, she’s

REVIEW

As far back as I can remember, my favorite part of the Oscars has been the actresses.

It may be because they are more socially allowed to emote more, but the women almost always grab my attention, and keep it, from the very beginning.

Editor’s note: As I began to critique For more nominees for Actress in a details and Supporting Role, I had prepredictions dictions on who I thought for this year’s was going to win based Academy purely on previous perAwards, see formances. our center I must say, I was pleasantspread on pages 4 and 5. ly surprised at the results after actually watching all of the films. I was also surprised at the lack of nominations for some of the acting performances by women this year.

impossibly cute, charming and has potential to become the next Hollywood “it” girl.

Dornan however, is stuck with what laugh-out-loud cringe-wor thy dialogue is left, some of which are much too graphic to repeat here. His performance was rigid and cold, just on par with what Christian Grey is described in the nearly 100 million copies sold of the novel of the same name.

The sex scenes were hit or miss, but it all seemed so tame considering the controversial topic. Some scenes were clouded by the overwhelming choices of music that become more of a turn off than anything. One scene in which Christian visits Ana’s apartment for the first time, stood out as the two leads’ playful and passionate chemistry burst off the screen, leaving all parties involved satisfied.

All in all, if viewers and fans alike were looking for a cheeky guilty pleasure, with a side of light BDSM, I’d say Fifty Shades is just the right fit.

See WILD page 8

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Sports

Quotable

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“You play to win, to get that World Series ring, All-Star games and whatever comes with it.”

— Roger Clemens

Sophomore night spoiled Stangs fall late to Storm

By LOGAN JONES

ljones@lmcexperience.com

The Los Medanos Mustangs faced the Napa Storm on February 18, 2015 in a game that went down to the wire with a 61-59 victory for Napa.

The last home game of the season brought a decent crowd to show support on sophomore night. LMC Head Coach Richard Villegas honored six sophomores before the game, which was the most he’s ever done.

“The girls seem overly excited for tonight and super hyper,” said Villegas.

The start of the game proved just that, with the girls looking a little fidgety and excited to play in front of so many friends and family. After a timeout by Villegas, the girls settled down and got their heads in the game.

Forward Mykaela Jones got the group going with a coast-to-coast finish to put points on the board. She scored four of the first five points, but it was still a slow start for the Mustangs.

Halfway through the first half, sloppy passing and ball movement put the Mustangs down ten. They rallied back to tie up the game at 32 a piece in the last minute of the half, but Napa Guard Kianna Simms would sink a 3-pointer just before the half expired putting them up 35-32.

After halftime, LMC came out and quickly built a lead. Forward Quinisha Hall had a better half and made a couple 3-point bombs that helped to put her team ahead eight.

More back-and-forth play ensued with the lead staying the same until Napa’s Simms hit back-to-back threes that shifted the momentum of the game. The margin was now only one point, 52-51, with LMC still holding the lead with seven minutes to play.

The game began turning into a free-throw spectacle where plenty of points were left on the line for Napa

Photos by Cathie Lawrence • Experience

On a night where the outgoing sophomores were on display before the game the Mustangs put on a show, but just fell short to the Napa Storm. Guard Imana Samuels drives passed a Storm defender on her way to the basket [above]. Head Coach Richard Villegas honored six sophomores before the game, the most he has ever sent off in one year [below]. missing five straight as a whole.

The game was close with a minute and a half left with Napa ahead 58-55.

Napa would get one more point off a free throw, but LMC Guard Imana Samuels sunk a deep ball with 10 seconds left making it a one-point game at 59-58 with LMC behind.

LMC’s home crowd standing and chanting “defense” wasn’t enough for the Mustangs to get a stop. Napa scored, but with three seconds left on the clock LMC’s Samuels was fouled on a 3-point attempt.

She had the opportunity to tie the game up at 61 with three free throw attempts, but came up short. LMC grabbed the offensive rebound and put up one last shot with a lot of

contact. The shot wasn’t made and the refs didn’t blow a whistle. The end result was Napa 61 and LMC 59.

Napa Head Coach Vince Shaw and his Assistant Trey Simms were proud of the effort, even when shots weren’t falling.

“They stuck together, played together and Kianna (Simms) hit some big shots, and we try to go to the hot hand,” said Coach Simms.

For LMC’s Villegas, it was a great game on an emotional night. He has never had to watch so many sophomores move on.

“You grow attached with the girls after working with them for two years, and I’m gonna miss them,” said Villegas.

B-ball home finale a loss

By LOGAN JONES

ljones@lmcexperience.com

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

Guard Marcus Walton leaps for a lay-up with his right hand during the 81-76 loss to the Storm.

Napa defeated Los Medanos in a close one with the final score 81-76.

The Napa Storm has yet to lose a game in February and started out strong against the Mustangs.

The Storm built a 9-0 lead at the beginning of the game forcing LMC’s Head Coach Derek Domenichelli to call timeout.

The Mustangs responded with a couple of three pointers by Wayne Engelstad and a steal

by Marcus Walton.

LMC picked up their game and started to get into a rhythm to put some points on the

board. However, Trent Rojas from the Storm made his mark early on and helped his team keep the lead with his offense.

He finished with 23 points on the night.

The first half ended with Napa ahead big, 47-29.

Domenichelli seemed to have amped up his team during half time. LMC guard Aaron Silva came out and scored the first five points of the half, and fellow guard Brandon Silva made a couple shots as well, which narrowed the deficit.

“LMC came out with a lot more energy and began making shots, and we started to lose them in transition,” said Napa

Head Coach Steve Ball.

The push out of half by the Mustangs put the Storm on alert but after, Napa built a twenty point lead again.

Marcus Walton got his team and the crowd going after a steal that led to a fast break dunk at the other end with eight minutes left in the game.

A few plays later, Engelstad drove baseline and made a reverse layup bringing the team within 10 points.

LMC began playing better defense, but allowed too many offensive rebounds down the stretch and couldn’t secure the ball off of a missed free throw while only down four.

Mustangs top Vikings with clutch hitting

By STEVEN LUKE

sluke@lmcexperience.com

Mustangs defeated their geographic rival, the Diablo Valley College Vikings, Tuesday, Feb. 17 behind strong pitching and clutch hitting late in the game.

The pre-conference schedule is used as a warm-up for teams to get ready for the conference schedule. A slow start will not kill a team, but having lost five of their first eight games, the Mustangs needed a win.

To get that win they sent Brian Womack to the mound and he brought toughness to the plate that the team needed to overcome early mistakes.

Womack got off to a fast start putting up zeroes in the first three innings and got an early lead from his offense that took advantage of early mistakes. In the fourth and fifth innings, his mental toughness was more impressive than his ability to throw strikes as he overcame the fact that he was up four runs.

“The beauty for Brian, especially in that inning [the fourth], he gives up a double to give up those last two runs, and he just takes a breath and moves on. There was nothing less aggressive about him,” said head coach Anthony D’Albora about his starting pitchers’ performance after giving up three runs early. He continued, “I thought his last inning was his best inning.

That’s a mentality thing; there is nothing

physical about that.”

Womack’s strong final inning combined with the exit of Vikings starting pitcher Eric Crispell woke up the offense for the Mustangs as they exploded for three runs in the seventh to take the lead back.

The bases were quickly loaded after two runners were hit by pitches and a bunt single bringing up second baseman Derek Slate with only one out in the inning.

“I was just sitting dead-red fastball like usual and I saw one up, got on top of it, and drove it to the outfield,” Slate said of his at bat with the bases loaded.

A drive into the outfield landed for a double scoring two runners and giving the Mustangs a 5-4 lead. Catcher Ethan Utler followed with a sacrifice fly and the 6-4 lead would hold up as the final as the bullpen closed out the last two innings.

Keys could easily be the pitching or the clutch hitting of Slate and Utler, but for Slate he believes the defenses ability to overcome an early error that lead to three unearned runs was key.

“Our team helped us by turning a lot of double plays,” he said. “It was a team effort.”

With three games left before conference play the Mustangs will work on consistently getting all-around team efforts.

The Mustangs begin conference play at home against Folsom Lake at 2 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Aaron Silva later hit a 3-pointer which brought his team back within four at a score of 80-76 with 16 seconds left in the game, with Napa still in the lead.

Napa missed some more free throws, which gave LMC a chance, but a bad pass at the end was picked off by Napa’s Rojas to seal the game. He was fouled and made one of his free throws which gave his team 81 points to LMC’s 76.

Despite the loss, Coach Domenichelli was proud of his guys.

“In the second half we played better ‘D’ and better team ball.

See MENS, page 8

Softball Conference Schedule Opponent

Date

Time

@ Contra Costa

3/5

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

@ Yuba

3/17

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

Solano

3/19

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

@ West Valley (Non Conference)

3/21

12 p.m.

@ Mendocino

3/24

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

@ Napa

3/26

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

Contra Costa

3/31

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

Yuba

4/9

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

@ Solano

4/14

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

Mendocino

4/14

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

Napa

4/21

1 p.m. & 3 p.m.

Baseball Conference Schedule

Photos by Cathie Lawrence • Experience

The Mustangs defeated their geographical rival Vikings 6-4 Tuesday, Feb. 17 in a back-and-forth match-up. Catcher Ethan Utler was a big contributor in the win with two RBIs and a run scored [above]. Relief pitcher Logan Bangert was called on in the ninth to secure his third save of the season [below].

Opponent

Date

Time

Folsom Lake

2/24

2 p.m.

@ Folsom Lake

2/26

5 p.m.

Yuba

3/5

2 p.m.

@ Yuba

3/7

1 p.m.

@ Mendocino

3/10

2:30 p.m.

Mendocino

3/12

2:30 p.m.

@ Napa

3/14

1 p.m.

Napa

3/17

2:30 p.m.

@ Solano

3/19

2:30 p.m.

Solano

3/21

1 p.m.

Marin

3/24

2:30 p.m.

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Back Talk

CRED From page 1

accredited offers no legitimacy for its degrees, effectively making them useless to prospective employers.

LMC began the process of renewing its status as an accredited institution in the late months of 2012. The first hurdle was to submit a report after a two-year self-evaluation process.

After submitting the report in August 2014, the college was visited by an external evaluation team from the accrediting commission. At the end of its visit, the team gave the college five commendations and three recommendations.

The deficiencies boil down to two LMC-specific recommendations and one for the entire Contra Costa Community College District.

Seven standards and both eligibility requirements are related to College Recommendation 1, which states that LMC “ensures it is meeting identified needs of students at the Brentwood Center including quality and availability of student services, technology, facilities and library support.”

To fulfill the deficiencies related to the Brentwood Campus, the recommendation requires that LMC “must demonstrate that these services and resources, regardless of location or means of delivery, support student learning and enhance student achievement, fulfilling the mission of the institution.”

College Recommendation 2 requires that LMC “improve the effectiveness of its resource allocation process.” The commission is essentially directing LMC to determine whether the outcome of financial allocation on campus is both efficient and successful, leading to institutional improvement.

The district recommendation calls for the thorough integration of “student learning outcomes into the evaluation process for those who have a direct responsibility for student progress.”

This integration would not only be for teachers but for non-instructional faculty and staff as well.

LMC’s Accreditation Steering Committee that guided the college through the process of reaffirmation has already begun to put plans in place

ALARM From page 3

featuring Assemblymember Jim Frazier will be held as planned.”

According to Kratochvil PG&E initially “estimated the restoration of power to the college would be several

to complete the required secondary self-report.

The committee is made up of Kratochvil, Vice President Kevin Horan, Kiran Kamath, senior dean of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness as well as representatives from the three college senates — Janith Norman, Linda Kohler and Gary Walker — and notetaker BethAnn Robertson.

“The ASC and the president’s cabinet are carefully studying the 97-page report of the external evaluation team and have begun work to address the recommendations,” said Kamath in an email.

Kamath, who also serves as accreditation liaison officer, added that, “College Recommendation Response teams are being formed to address the two college recommendations.”

While the repor t is not due until October, Kamath is hopeful that LMC can have a response ready by the end of the current semester.

The third recommendation regarding the entire district may take longer to complete because it involves employee evaluation, requiring negotiation between direct management and employee unions.

Members of the committee will divide the deficiencies among themselves and begin the task of shoring up the college to satisfy the ACCJC’s recommendations. The plan is that come October, the process may finally see its end and Los Medanos College will remain accredited until the next evaluation cycle.

The accrediting commission is in the process of changing its regulations regarding the length of time it takes to accredit an institution from six years to seven. Kratochvil is not sure if LMC has missed the boat to qualify for the new, longer period of accreditation.

Nevertheless, assuming smooth sailing from here on out, the college will be accredited for the next six years.

All information relating to accreditation, including the action letter from the accrediting commission and information on the Accreditation Steering Committee can be found online at losmedanos. edu/accreditation.

Kamath can be emailed at kkamath@losmedanos.edu for more information about accreditation.

hours,” therefore the decision was made “to cancel classes for the remainder for the day,” but the power came back on earlier than expected.

Many students were upset they had made the trip to campus and then were told classes were canceled, but some didn’t

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Follow the LMC Experience online at lmcexperience.com

WILD

ALICE

MENS

QUIZ

“The Imitation Game”: Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke left a lot to be desired. Clarke, the co-worker of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Alan Turing, was a part of the incredible team credited for breaking the Nazi encryption code Enigma.

Knightley portrayed Clarke as whiny and insincere. A woman of Clarke’s accomplishments surely deserved a better depiction than the one she received.

Knightley’s nomination is the most surprising. She will not, and certainly should not, win this year.

“Boyhood”: Patricia Arquette was perfectly fine as Olivia Evans, mother to main character Mason Evans Jr. Where she faltered in the way her character seemed detached. Rarely emotional, Arquette tended to squander the opportunities presented by various scenes in the movie.

Perhaps that was the result of Director Richard Linklater’s vision, but it just felt watered down and prohibited me from getting attached to her character. Even her “breakdown” moment was bland, where it really could have been the most emotional scene in the movie.

“Birdman”: Emma Stone was great as Sam Thomson, daughter and assistant to her movie dad Riggan Thomson.

With a confidence and frailty, Stone showed that she is not to be underestimated.

“Into the Woods”: Meryl Streep again proved that she might be the best actor of all time. Her portrayal of The Witch in the Disney musical was magical. Quirky, malevolent and misunderstood, The Witch is brought to life with a superb realness.

The only fault was all of the singing in the film was done in the studio, which hinders the authenticity of the performance, whereas other musical adaptations have been sung on set, which provide a realness that was lacking in this film.

“Wild”: Laura Dern stunned as Barbara “Bobbi” Gray, the mother of Reese Witherspoon’s character Cher yl Strayed.

Depicted solely through flashbacks, Dern’s Bobbi told the story of a mother struggling to stay afloat while dealing with personal and familial troubles with elegance and emotion.

If you want to find me, I’ll be huddled on my couch, listening for Dern’s acceptance speech.

failed to hit the lows that I would have expected for a character fighting to not lose her job.

“The Theor y of Ever ything”: Felicity Jones is a solid mainstay in the film, but is overshadowed by the great performance of Stephen Hawking by Eddie Redmayne.

While I bought into her as his wife through and through, it was not a particularly captivating role to begin with.

Her character does not reach enough of a boiling point that I am sure the real life first wife of Hawking would have reached due to the obvious potential frustration with the situation at hand.

“Gone Girl”: This is where the three-horse race begins.

Rosamund Pike was amazing in her role of the two-faced wife of Nick Dunne, played

by Ben Affleck. She stole the screen during each of her scenes, and made it difficult to tell whether anything she was doing or saying was sincere or had an ulterior motive behind it. Why then is she only in the middle of this group?

For starters, something irks me when a foreign actress is penned for an American role (or vice versa). It automatically loses authenticity from the get-go. Pike will most certainly have her shot at a win in this categor y in the future, but this movie is not going to be the one that brings home the bacon. Unfortunately, wins in acting categories are starting to go to actors and actresses as lifetime achievement recognitions instead of putting each on an equal plane with no previous bias. It isn’t really Pike’s fault, but it just is not her time to win one.

“Wild”: Reese Witherspoon played a very diverse character in Cheryl Strayed. During the scenes of the actual 1,100-mile trek she is taking to get passed a recent tragedy, Witherspoon could not have been better.

The main problem was her flashback scenes when she por trays someone who is clearly down in the dumps, but appears unwilling to come out of it or change for the better. It just was not entirely believable.

She came off as too much of a whiny brat and not enough of someone who is just one step away from falling into the abyss. That being said, this is a career highlight role for Witherspoon. The criticism is nitpicky, but that is what separates a winning performance from the other nominations.

“Still Alice”: I could not take my eyes off of the screen during Julianne Moore’s portrayal of a highly renowned professor who becomes diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She was the most believable in her role as compared to the other nominees.

The one thing that stands out is the sincerity she gives the part. It is not understated or exaggerated in any way; it is exactly what I would imagine from someone of her stature going through something as mortifying as rapid memory loss. I also think it is a bit of a happy coincidence that the ever-flat Alec Baldwin sucked the life out of every scene he was in. Julianne Moore used that to her advantage to perhaps shine the light brighter on her work. As aforementioned, I do think that there is a bit of a lifetime achievement aspect to her potential win, but don’t confuse that with the overall tremendous performance.

The guys showed character and mental toughness,” said coach Domenichelli.

The ball game was closer in the second half but unfortunately, the match barely slipped away from the men of Los Medanos.

“We had some big stops down the stretch and we were just a rebound or so away,” said coach Domenichelli.

realm of science would go directly over my head. So I chose to collaborate with Bio majors Natasha Garcia and Chuy Mauricio in a group we entitled Young Mula.

Our first competitors were Team On Fleek, whose name may or may not have derived from a comment I had made regarding members Amy and Shayla Hoang’s eyebrows being “on fleek.” The term was lost on host Collin Brown, who digressed and asked the topic questions that would progress the game in a tournament-style format.

Young Mula won the first round by one point.

The second round faced Team Krusty Krab against Team T-Swift, with the latter team gaining the win.

Young Mula then went back up in a semifinal round against #TeamBetterThanYou, which unfortunately never got to live up to its name as our team pulled another win.

Tension rose during the final round, as Team Young Mula faced Team T-Swift for all the glory. In the end, Young Mula went home with the trophy and 30 percent of the total $5 admissions, also becoming the first winners of the LMC Quiz Bowl.

Despite our win, not everybody went home empty-handed. The competition continued with a runner-up tournament, facing #TeamBetterThanYou against Team T-Swift, then against Team Krusty Krab.

The members of Team T-Swift and Team Krusty Krab all left the Quiz Bowl with thumbs-up runner-up trophies.

“I expected it not to go well,” said host Collin Brown truthfully, “We didn’t have a lot of advertising but it wasn’t as stressful as academic competition. Overall I thought it was a great time.”

From page 6

mind the inconvenience.

Antoinette Tabucchi said she “loved it because she was able to get out of math class for the day” and she hoped it would happen again, especially during her upcoming math test.

— Joseph Dusek contributed to this report.

lifestyles

HELPING YOU thrive

Be Heart Smart!

By Andy Rodgers, MD our heart is one of the most important organs in your body. A little larger than your fist, this amazing muscle is responsible for pumping blood through your body, ensuring that all organs and tissues receive the oxygen and nutrients they need. In fact, the average heart beats more than 100,000 times a day!

February is American Heart Month – a good time to learn what you can do to promote good heart health. Research has shown that a few lifestyle changes can significantly boost your heart health. Try these tips for a healthier heart:

Y

Kick the habit: Be tobacco-free. Tobacco use triples your risk for heart disease.

• Get physical: You don’t have to run five miles each day. Anything that gets your muscles moving helps your heart. Try gardening, walking the dog or using the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Eat healthy: Base your diet on fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Go easy on meat, salt, fats and oils, sugar and alcohol. Don’t think of it as a diet. It’s eating smart and can taste great.

• Manage stress: Stress, anger, and hostility may keep your blood pressure high, which can increase your risk for heart attack, stroke, and other illnesses.

Manage your natural reaction to stress by relaxing. Try taking a walk, do yoga, meditate, practice deep breathing, cook, read a book, chat with a friend or watch a movie.

Remember, you don’t have to make all of these changes at once. Instead, take them one at a time. They may be easier than you expected.

•

For more health and wellness information, visit the Kaiser Permanente Web site at www.kp.org/diablo.

This article is proudly sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.

Andy Rodgers, MD, is Physician Site Leader for the Livermore Medical Offices.

From page 6

MILLS From page 1

How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter.”

“For me, it’s just a continuation of what you do. Thank you for allowing me to be here and to receive this award,” he said.

While Mills was the only one from LMC who was honored with an award, he was not the only one with ties to the Contra Costa Community College District to be honored.

Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, interim president for Contra Costa College, was also honored with a Friend of Adult Education award.

The schools honoring Mills and Mehdizadeh wrote summaries of why they were being honored with the award, which is available in the online issue at lmcexperience.com

From page 7

VETS From page 1

back with a complete place setting waiting for the dinner to begin.

The table stayed vacant throughout the night as a reminder of those who did not come home, the POW/ MIA soldiers.

LMC President Bob Kratochvil thanked everyone for coming and announced the reaffirmation of the college’s accreditation in his speech.

This dinner was in honor of those who served and hoped to shed light on their struggles, provide more information for services and resources offered to them, as well as bring these services to LMC. The newly chartered Veterans Club is one such service.

Stuart Wadsworth, Veterans Club president, member of the Veterans Advisory Task Force of LMC and retired U.S. Marine Corps Scout sniper says this is just the beginning.

“I wanted to bring a veterans resource center to our campus and other campuses to prevent other veterans from slipping through the cracks, like I did,” Wadsworth said, adding, “Every day 22 veterans take their lives.”

He wants to stop that.

The Veterans Advocacy Task Force will be transitioning into the Veterans Club. Wadsworth hopes to also create a “soft space” for veterans on campus.”

The club will be the first line of defense in recognizing any issues that require therapy or mental health,” he said, adding, “This is about increasing the retention rate of students, and ultimately, of human lives.

This is something we can’t afford not to do.”

In his speech thanking LMCAS for this dinner, assembly member Frazier mentioned his uncle, a veteran. He choked up a bit as he mentioned more services and resources are needed.

He also stated he will be here to help ever yone as much as he can.

Frazier spoke on the different bills he has worked on concerning veteran students, such as AB2099, concerning colleges, which used GI Bill funds in other capacities rather than what they were slated for.

Now those colleges will be held accountable.

Several veterans’ centers in the area were on hand to get their information out there for the veterans in attendance.

Randy Smith, from the Veterans of Oakley, mentioned a dinner they hold ever y Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the old firehouse on 2nd Street in Oakley for veterans.

They also have open coffee meetings with Veterans on Mondays at 9:30 a.m. at the Black Bear Diner in Oakley.

The Delta Veterans Group said they would be holding for the first time in the East County a “Stand Down” at the CCC Fairgrounds in September for homeless veterans.

LMCAS received an award from Congressman Jerr y McNerney for their efforts in putting on the dinner and voicing the concerns of veteran students on campus.

“I was shocked and surprised,” said Walker, adding, “That’s a pretty big accomplishment. I am so proud to lead LMCAS.” Assembly members and veteran students have suggested an appreciation dinner be held annually.

Militar y personnel go through many hardships and some of their injuries cannot be seen when you look at them.

Yet, these men and women of various ages, backgrounds, religions, and ethnicities feel called upon to fight for freedoms every American seems to take for granted.

From page 3

DEBATE From page 1

each tournament,” said Arcidiacono. “We’re starting to see higher rankings in the round robin, and that’s really cool.”

The current team to beat is the United States Air Force Academy, who took both the first and second rankings for individual speakers.

Noriega said, “I look up to them in particular, not just because they’re great debaters, but because they’re classy and professional.”

Worlds format is a debate style created to be accessible to anyone and everyone. The goal is for anyone that attends to be able to sit in the audience and understand the debate.

The two teams are comprised of four members, each in a pair.

These pairs are dubbed the first and second government and the first and second opposition.

Teams are given their debate’s resolution, or topic, 15 minutes before they debate.

The pairs are then separated from the rest of their bench, coaches and mentors to plan their arguments, allowed only written resources that they have brought.

When the 15 minutes of planning are up, the debate begins. Each speaker delivers a seven-minute speech with each side taking turns.

During a person’s speech, any member of any team can ask to deliver a point of information or ask a question.

The Los Medanos College Debate team has nearly tripled in size from the last semester.

Arcidiacono is thrilled with the progress of the team, and with the developing connections.

“I’m star ting to see some of the veterans taking the novices under their wings,” Arcidiacono said, “and I really like that.”

The debate team’s next tournament, the United States Universities Western Region Championship, will take place at Cal Poly San Luis-Obispo March 21-22.