LMC Experience Vol. 95 No. 1 - Fall 2021

Leading honors students

‘Death and Silence’ filming

Victory over DeAnza

Jennifer Saito, the Honors Transfer Program director, details academic journey — page 5

LMC Drama Department prepares for film project about the zombie apocalypse — page 7

The LMC football team beats their competitors despite a close game — page 11

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Colleges require vaccinations The rise in cases prompts new action

By SARINA GROSSI

Posted online Sept. 21, 2021

Sarina Grossi • Experience

Flood ruins new campus in Brentwood

The Contra Costa Community College District has adopted a new vaccine mandate for all students and employees that will go into effect Nov. 1. Those impacted will receive an email Oct. 1 about how to prove vaccination status.

The District Governing Board’s Sept. 8 decision to implement vaccine requirements was prompted by the rise of ongoing COVID-19 cases within Contra Costa County, as the area has been in the red zone of community transmission according to the Centers of Disease

Control and Prevention. With vaccination rates stagnating across the country, the virus and its many variants, including Delta and Mu that infect at a rapid rate, are driving up hospitalization rates as the return to “normal” gets pushed back further and further .

“A lot of the places that have increased surges of hospitalizations are areas where… there are people that are unvaccinated,” said Maryanne Hicks, the associate dean of Nursing and Allied Health Services at LMC, “Eighty percent of the people who are hospitalized related to COVID are unvaccinated.”

The mandate requires all students and staff who are currently enrolled in or instruct at least one in-person class, who plan to be enrolled in or instruct a class next semester or generally visit any of the 4CD campuses must prove their vaccination status before the requirement is in effect.

To help push students to get vaccinated and to thank those that already, proof of vaccination will be rewarded with a $150 vaccination incentive. In addition, LMC is also sponsoring free vaccine clinics, including one this Thursday.

See VAXX, page 15

A guide to the recall election

By CARA RIEBER

Posted online Sept. 9, 2021

Photo courtesy of Carlos Montoya

The center suffered damage in this conference room.

Delays cause partial closure for the site

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA

Posted online Sept. 30, 2021

Los Medanos College’s new Brentwood Center campus at Pioneer Center officially opened its doors to students this fall. But the long-awaited opening, which was expected to be celebratory, was subdued by a recent flood that caused more than a quarter of a million dollars in damage to the brand-new facility and led to closing parts of the campus.

Carlos Montoya, LMC’s vice president of Business and Administrative Services, said the cause of the flooding was water intrusion from the irrigation system of an adjacent housing subdivision and the cost of repair is estimated to be between $250,000 and $350,000.

He said repairs are underway and should be completed in October. They include

water remediation, as well as drywall repair and paint, replacement of flooring and carpet tiles, and the purchase and installation of damaged casework, furniture, and IT equipment.

“We are letting our insurance company handle the cost recovery while we focus on restoring the facility so we can begin providing the comprehensive support services the center was designed for,” he said.

Despite the flood, Student Life hosted a Mustang Day opening event the first week of classes to welcome students to the new facility. Booths provided information and treats were available, including Jamba Juice, school supplies and hand sanitizer.

The new center is home to classrooms, a library and

Photo courtesy of Carlos Montoya

See FLOOD, page 15 Water from the flood fills the administrative wing hallway in the Brentwood Campus.

When presidential elections come around every four years, the whole nation is ready and voter turnout is around 66%, according to Fair Vote. But local and statewide elections are just as important since voters choose public officials who make decisions that impact their daily lives.

This year, California voters are being called to participate in a gubernatorial recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 14, less than two weeks away.

The information below is a guide on how to vote in this election and gives a rundown on why this election is happening, what it means and how California got here.

How to vote: According to the California Secretary of State website, the first step to voting in this recall election is to make sure you are registered. You can do this by going to your county’s official election office website and accessing the page that allows you to check your voter registration status.

If you are not registered to vote yet, it’s not the end of the world. You won’t be able to permanently register in time for this election, but you will be able to conditionally register right up until election day and still cast your ballot.

Next, the Secretary of State office presents a few ways to cast your ballot once you are See RECALL, page 15

Chancellor placed on paid adminstrative leave Vice-chancellor is tapped to take over in the interim

Reece is reinstated while the investigation proceeds

By DYLAN DAVIDSON

By DYLAN DAVIDSON

Posted online Sept. 16, 2021

The Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board held a special meeting Sept. 14 and placed second-year District Chancellor Bryan Reece on paid administrative leave.

Governing Board President Andy Li broke the news in an email addressed to district staf f and announced the interim replacement.

“The gover ning board has appointed Mojdeh Mehdizadeh to serve as acting chancellor until further notice.

We ask for your support of Mojdeh during this time.”

Mehdizadeh, vice chancel-

lor of education and technology, also sent an email directed to district staff and shared her thoughts on the situation.

“Thank you for the wonderful words of support already coming through. I am deeply committed to working collaboratively with all of you,” she wrote. “I know that you may have questions. As with any personnel matter, please respect the process and the individual during this time.”

She also said everyone in the district community should “focus our collective energies on supporting our students and one another.”

LMC President Bob Kratochvil said he is unable to com-

Posted online Oct. 4, 2021

Mojdeh Mehdizadeh ment on Reece being placed on leave but offered words of support for Mehdizadeh.

“Acting Chancellor Mehdizadeh has widespread support from her colleagues – faculty, classified profes-

See LEAVE, page 15

The Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board, which placed Chancellor Bryan Reece on paid administrative leave Sept.

14 pending an investigation into an undisclosed personnel matter, reversed course Sept.

30 and voted 3-2 to return him to service.

The decision came in the second special governing board meeting on this issue, with this meeting including a closed session that lasted six hours. While Reece has been removed from paid leave, the personnel investigation will continue.

Thursday’s special meeting began with an open session in which multiple community members from the Contra Costa Community College District had an opportunity to voice their support for Reece and their general frustration with the governing board.

Jeffrey Michels, executive director of the United Faculty of 4CD and co-chair of the English department at Contra Costa College voiced his grievances with the governing board.

“I think about Katrina Vander wood, Susan Kincaid, Carsbia Anderson, Dio Shipp, Gene Huff and now Bryan Reece— that’s six senior

Chancellor Bryan Reece administrators in our district, all of whom faculty leadership were working well with, all of whom faculty leadership came to this board to support, all of whom disappeared one day placed on paid administrative See RETURN, page 15

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“We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”

— Aristotle

Tree falls in parking lot

Tiyahti Harris• Experience

Two cars were struck Monday, Oct. 11, by a tree that was knocked over by high winds in Parking Lot A on the Los Medanos College campus in Pittsburg. The tree fell on the white car pictured above and damaged the hood, as well as damaging a second car hidden behind the leaves of the tree. LMC Traffic Officer Sandy Rodriguez said officers were called to the scene and the tree has now been removed. “There was no one injured, luckily,” she said. The area where the tree fell is still blocked off and cars are not allowed passage through one of the lanes in Lot A.

LMC library honors heritage

By SARINA GROSSI

Posted online Nov. 11, 2021

At Los Medanos College, including different identities and groups is as important as ever. With this month being Native American Heritage Month and including Veterans Day, the LMC Library is celebrating these different groups by highlighting curated research guides.

The first guide highlighted this month is the Native American Studies guide. Originally created by Librarian Christina Goff in collaboration with the English department, the guide showcases Native American history and writings by Native American authors. There is also a recent addition of a highlighted tab for local Native author Beth Piatote. For Veterans Day, the library is highlighting the Military and Veteran resource guide.

This guide includes topics such as enlisting, deployment, military histor y, families in the militar y, transitioning into civilian life and minority representation within the military.

The guides are very visual and fea-

ture print books, eBooks, streamable videos, related library databases and recommended websites for further research. They are usually inspired

by LMC coursework, other college research guides and local resources as well.

Though the guides have a large variety of information, they are meant to serve as starting points rather than detailed research.

“The main idea is to provide a starting point for their research,” said Roseann Erwin, the LMC Brentwood Center librarian. “So, if students were researching Native American history, they could come to the guide and see which databases would be best to search, and also get ideas for topics to research by seeing what we have in the collection.”

At the physical librar y space, Senior Librar y Technician also created a display for the lobby that displays print books for Native American Heritage Month. The Photo courtesy of Catt Wood display spotlights photographs of The Native American Heritage Month display inside the LMC library lobby features Native American Indigenous people from various See LIBRARY, page 15

literature and photography.

‘Gentefied’ film viewing Student Life puts on event

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Posted online Oct. 7, 2021

Jesus Chico • Experience

Former Graphics Editor Jesus Chico won fourth place in the Illustration category for his National Voter Registration Day graphic.

Experience wins awards

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Posted online Dec. 8, 2021

The Experience is proud to celebrate the eight awards won at the Fall 2021 Journalism Association of Community Colleges Conference by current and former staff members. Both the fall and spring conferences were both held virtually and consisted of a variety of workshops, keynote speakers and of course, contests. Sarina Grossi, our current Editor-in-Chief, won fourth place in the Editorial category for a piece she wrote on reopening schools safely.

“It’s an honor that you’re

getting acknowledged for the hard work you do, it affirms that like ‘Oh I am a good journalist,’’’ she said.

The JACC conference also had “On-the-Spot” contests which Grossi also won two awards for, second place for Opinion Writing and third for Copyediting. Grossi was happy her work got recognized as she was nervous about not finishing her copyediting in time due to the time constraints of the On-the-Spot contests.

“It was nice that I was acknowledged in a space that I haven’t been acknowledged in before,” she said.

Another current staff member who was honored at the awards ceremony is Dylan Davidson, our senior staff writer and editor. Davidson got an honorable mention for his Critical Review of “The Queen’s Gambit”.

“It feels good obviously cause everyone likes to be recognized for the hard work that they put in, and I really appreciate that they thought it was of good quality,” said Davidson.

Our own for mer Editor-in-Chief Weston Hopkins won first place in Inside Page See JACC, page 15

Culture is a beautiful thing that can be shared in positive ways. During this time of Hispanic Heritage Month, Student Life along with Equity and Inclusion, have begun to celebrate.

The events included a film screening of the Netflix show “Gentefied” Sept. 22. The series follows a financially struggling Los Angeles family.

The first episode of the series focused on the struggles many minority families face in the L.A. area.

The word “gentefied” comes from the Spanish word “gente,” which means people and “gentrified,” which is when people with power and money buy buildings to kick out the residents and construct expensive housing to drive out those living in poverty.

The show touched on topics such as race, sexual orientation and financial status.

The Director of Equity and Inclusion Sabrina Kwist made the event a safe place for discussion.

Stephanie Arreola • Experience

Sabrina Kwist speaks to a group of students.

The purpose of the event, according to Student Life Director Teresea Archaga, was to help celebrate the diversity of Hispanic Heritage Month and engage in conversation.

“There were actually more students than anticipated and it was a wonderful thing to happen. We moved some of the students into the room next door and hosted two separate events at the same time.”

Archaga, who is half Puerto Rican, felt a personal impact from the Netflix show. She said she didn’t feel encouraged to embrace her heritage growing up, but now as an adult feels

proud to be Hispanic.

“I relate very well with the character Chris Morales, played by Carlos Santos. I was born and raised in Antioch— I learned Spanish in college. I married into a monolingual Spanish-speaking family from Honduras,” she said.

Archaga encourages students to watch the series to broaden their perspective on life.

The next “Gentefied” event is yet to be announced, but the show is available on Netflix if you are interested.

Student Life will host more events soon, so please visit the Student Life page for details.

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And I believe that good journalism, good television, can make our world a better place.

-Christiane Amanpour

Virtual town hall takes action

Online districtwide meeting

By CHASE WHEELER

Posted online Nov.28 2021

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden move to remote online instruction, the Contra Costa Community College District has been dedicated to helping students and faculty succeed.

And although the district has reopened college campuses for some face-to-face classes, it is also continuing to increase its investment in online classes that began before the pandemic.

In a district-wide online Town Hall Nov. 18, faculty and staff discussed how to progress with more online courses post-pandemic and ensure that all students have access to an effective college education whether or not they are available for in-person classes. The discussion also focused on professional development opportunities to help faculty learn how to improve the online course experience.

One of the goals of the remote meeting was to brain-

Photo courtesy of Contra Costa Community College District

A powerpoint presentation from the Nov.18 town hall virtual meeting discussing online education. storm ideas for the district’s next strategic plan for distance education.

“Members of our colleges and our college community provided feedback that resulted in the existing district-wide distance education plan,” said Vice Chancellor Mojdeh Mehzidadeh.

The current strategic plan’s mission is to, “empower students to achieve their educational goals through a

commitment to providing access to innovative, equitable and high-quality online learning opportunities and student support services.”

“Our task,” said Joanna Miller, the district dean of Distance Education, “is to begin the process of developing a plan for 4CD that is innovative, inclusive, equitable, accessible and forward-thinking to facilitate success for the online segment of our students’

journey.”

The district began planning for more online instruction back in 2017 and was working on ways to more effectively incorporate online classes into the college offerings when COVID-19 made them a necessity.

Luckily, much of the plan had already been formulated so the district was at least prepared in some ways for the mass move to online classes.

The current draft, which will succeed the 2017 plan, was in need of revision and input from more faculty and staff.

That draft was “very breadthy,” said Mehzidadeh.

Participants broke into workgroups during part of the Town Hall meeting to refine the plan by adding depth to the breadth.

See HALL, page 15

Transfer week at LMC 2021

Drop-in workshops available

By SARINA GROSSI Posted Oct.18 2021

Michael Benedian • Experience

A screenshot of the virtual San Jose State workshop held Oct.26 2021.

San Jose State workshop

By MICHAEL BENEDIAN Posted Nov.9 2021

Stay on track of those deadlines, Mustangs! Nov. 30 is the deadline for San Jose State University’s fall of 2022 transfer applications. Los Medanos College held a virtual transfer workshop Oct. 26 to help students navigate the transfer process. There, San Jose State University admission counselor Cecilia Del Toro explained that a $70 fee per school is required when applying to any of the California State Universities, including San Jose State.

Students who have trouble remember-

ing deadlines can visit the California State University website (located at calstate. edu/apply/) to verify priority deadlines that apply to the campuses they are interested in. The Calstate website also includes a transfer section that provides a step by step guide on how to fill out the CSU application, along with a transfer checklist.

“The checklist is very useful as it gives you an idea of what documents and what information you need to have to successfully fill out your application,” said Del Toro. “It gives you information on what it is you’re going to need for

the application.”

An account on the Calstate website is required to fill out the transfer application. Del Toro warns of using your community college’s email to create the account and recommends using an email you have access to.

“When we send you communication after you submitted your application, you never get it,” Del Toro said. “It goes to your spam [folder] or your community college email server blocks that email and it never gets to you.”

Once your account is created, the

Distance eduation initiative

See SJSU, page 16

For countless community college students, the fall season is a stressful time. Not only do they have to deal with piling assignments while maintaining a balance with work and social life, but students who are planning to transfer have to worry about applying to a 4-year institution. But the transfer application period doesn’t have to be difficult with the help of Transfer Services at Los Medanos College.

Right now, Transfer Services is celebrating “Transfer Weeks,” a two-week-long event meant to highlight certain universities and workshops that guide students through the transfer process. Both the Transfer Day and Night Fairs were held Oct. 12 and Oct. 13, however this upcoming week from Oct. 18 to 22 will be hosting plenty of virtual drop-ins/tabling, appointments and workshops available for all students.

“I am especially excited about the different workshops and panels we’re organizing this year- we have some great options for Art majors, computer science majors, pre-med, everyone,” said Rachel Anicetti, the director of Transfer and Career Services. She also advises that all students who attend set up reminders to not miss any potential opportunities.

Throughout the week, Transfer and Career Services is open inside the Student Services Building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays with additional phone appointments operating 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays. During operation, Transfer Services is available to assist students with any concerns regarding applications, schools, scholarships and everything in between.

“Transfer and Career services are available and accessible to all LMC students.

See MAJOR, page 16

Los Medanos joins the CVC Exchange

By SARINA GROSSI Posted Dec.2 2021

For thousands of college students, not being able to register for the right class is a dismal reality. Whether the class isn’t available at their campus, doesn’t fit into their busy schedule or they are missing the proper prerequisites, the possibility of not graduating on your own terms looms over the registration process.

But the Contra Costa Community College District’s inclusion in the California Virtual Campus Online Education Initiative has the chance to change this reality.

Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College is part of a select group of 15 community colleges known as “Teaching Colleges” on the CVC Exchange, a cross enrollment platform available in California. The platform allows students to enroll in more than 10,000 online classes from over 115 colleges without additional applications. It also offers 90 fully online Associate Degrees for Transfer pathways and 80 certificate programs.

“It’s innovative… but it’s also very student centered. It helps students get to their goals more quickly, get into their careers more

Photo courtesy of center for academic support webpage

An image showing the tutors with the students conversing over their studies.

Center for Academic Support

Photo courtesy of California Virtual Campus A graphic depicting the various colleges involved in the CVC exchange

quickly,” said the District Dean of Distance Education Joanna Miller.

The main appeal to the CVC Exchange is that it allows students within our district to enroll in classes in other colleges and students not in our district to enroll in classes within the three campuses. With low enrollment across California community colleges, the Exchange gives both students the opportunity to learn and colleges the opportunity to help more students succeed. And the open options within the Exchange also can help increase See ONLINE, page 16

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Posted Oct.23 2021

College is a life-changing experience, and while educational success ultimately brings its rewards, the road can be tough to travel at times. College services such as tutoring and homework assistance can smooth the path through the learning process, and Los Medanos College’s Center for Academic Support is there to help.

The center is designed to assist students with their studies and provide tips and tricks to become better learners, offering both tutoring and writing consultations. It is led by Coordinator Sandra Mills, assisted by Richard Stanfield.

Mills, who has been at LMC for more than

21 years as a staff member, is a former student and also worked in the Disabled Students Programs and Services before she started at the center. She said the idea for a reading and writing center came from the English department back in the 1990s and it came to life with the help of Mills and a handful of college faculty and staff around 1999.

Stanfield, who began working at LMC in 2015, started as a student tutor and later began to work alongside He said that with the help from the tutors and other center staff, students can strengthen their learning habits.

Mills explained that tutors are not there to simply explain solutions to students, but to provide the skills on how to find the answers See CENTER, page 16

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I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate shortterm weapon.

-Tom Stoppard

Richard livingston remebered Dean of instruction tragically passes

By DYLAN DAVIDSON Posted Nov.23 2021

Photo courtesy of Irvin Trigueros

Richard livingston speaking at his retirement lunch on May 5,2013.

LMCAS plans out future events

A founding faculty member of Los Medanos College and equally important community member Richard Livingston died Monday, Nov. 8. Livingston’s career at LMC that spanned over 39 years was hallmarked with a variety of stellar accomplishments and groundbreaking efforts of progress.

LMC President Bob Kratovil informed staff of Livingston’s passing via email on Nov. 9, citing Livingston as an invaluable part of the college’s history, “Over his 39-year career, Richard’s expertise, wisdom, commitment to students, and passion for learning earned him the respect of everyone with whom he worked. Many consider Richard to have been the heart and soul of the College. His incredible dedication to LMC was always second-to-none. Richard’s legacy and impact on Los Medanos College continues today, and will endure forever.”

Livingston began his career teaching at LMC, before he was asked to take up the mantle of Dean of Instruction.

Livingston later ser ved as an interim president for the college for two years. He would then go on to become the Senior Dean of Instruction before retiring in 2016. Even

after retiring, Livingston would continue to teach part-time for three years.

Livingston is also credited as being a founder of the LMC journalism program, mentoring the current instructor Cindy McGrath, as well as decades of students that were able to work with him.

Because of his dedication to students, the LMC Academic Senate is creating an award in his honor called the Richard Livingston Students Come First Award.

While Livingston was adored and respected by many students he had taught over his long career, his peers also admired him greatly.

Ken Alexander, a professor at LMC, worked alongside Livingston throughout his career, and above all, admired his integrity.

“Richard Livingston was ‘a decent man.’ This sounds like a cliché, but in my experience, such integrity is a rather rare phenomenon. He was a role model to respect, admire and emulate for all of us who had the privilege of working for him and with him. His contribution to LMC, administrators, faculty, staff, and students will not be matched or forgotten anytime soon,” said Alexander.

Livingston’s character was an important part of what See OBIT, page 16

Student government talks funds

By CHASE WHEELER Posted Oct.28 2021

As students return to LMC campuses this fall, The Los Medanos College Associated Students have been busy creating activities to engage with them.

In the LMCAS meeting Monday, Oct. 25, senators voted on funding several end-of-fall activities that will be occurring within the next few weeks. They voted unanimously to fund the Latinx club’s Dia De Los Muertos celebration that will occur on Nov. 1 and 2.

“It is a very important celebration to honor loved ones who have passed,” said Jaime Salinas.

On Nov. 1 an ofrenda, or altar, will be found on the first floor of the Student Union where students

can bring photos, letters, flowers to remember those who have passed away. Members of the community who participate will be given free hot chocolate and conchas, or Mexican sweetbread.

On Nov. 2 the movie “Coco” will be played on the second floor of the Student Union building and after the show, complementary tamales will be available.

With many holidays right around the corner, some members of the student government decided they would partake in the festivities of each coming event.

Since Halloween is the closest the board voted to give out goodie bags of candy and other treats on Wednesday, Thursday, and next Monday in the Student Union building.

Chase Wheeler• Experience

Students discussing future plans and budgets for 2021 school year at oct.25th LMCAS meeting “I would be more than willing to go out and buy the candy myself,” said Vice President Jefferey Bui. The bags will have a variety of treats from the Halloween season and will be available to students.

They are going to avoid foods that are known to be allergens, like peanuts, so everyone can be able to get a treat that they can enjoy safely.

The motion was passed by a vote of 11-0-1 with one board member

abstaining as they were not present for some of the notions.

With the next major holiday being Thanksgiving, student senators began discussing plans for how to help other students and their families through what is a difficult time of year.

Many of the senators were enthusiastic about partnering with and helping UMOJA, Honors and EOPS with the annual Thanksgiving

Turkey Basket event.

Senator Arthur Pendragon recommended adding some small winter clothing to the baskets such as gloves, beanies, and scarfs to help those who may be lacking in warm clothes.

It may be held off until the winter holidays, but the student government has more than a few ideas to help keep the campus a fun and helpful environment.

Stealthing becomes illegal

Gavin Newsom signs Bill 453

By CARA RIEBER

Posted Nov.11 2021

Stephanie Arreola • Experience

Thyra Cobbs presenting her tips on how she won the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship.

Tips for Jack Kent Cooke

LMC alumni gives advice for $50,000 scholarship

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Posted Dec.8 2021

Many college students go through their education with debt, part-time jobs and plenty of stress. What if one scholarship could solve some of those issues? The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship is an amazing opportunity for those looking for a chance to save money for college and make a decision that will last a lifetime.

The scholarship is available each year for students who meet exceptional academic excellence and who are not currently attending a four-year institution. It is a scholarship that covers up to $55,000 per year to attend a four-year accredited institution. The scholarship was founded by Jack Kent Cooke, a philanthropist and entrepreneur, who left a large part of his estate to help students excel in their education.

On Nov. 18, Beverly Bui held a zoom conference with past winners, Thyra Cobbs

and Bérénice Sylverain, Cobbs being a LMC graduate and Sylverain graduating from Columbia University. The zoom informational meeting focused on how the scholarship has impacted both of their lives and their tips on applying.

Sylverain spoke about how the scholarship has helped her since winning earlier this year.

“The foundation, they really provide what you need when it comes to your goals, your dreams and your vision. All you have to do is tell them what you want for yourself,” she said.

Sylverain explained that the scholarship isn’t just a scholarship, but it’s a foundation that wants to see you succeed.

“They understand, at times it’s not going to be set in stone, some people will change things. They are completely ok with that, as long as you communicate that with them and they can see that you are moving towards what you want to do. I don’t think there are See COOKE, page 16

“Stealthing,” a phenomenon most people have not yet heard of, is now illegal in the state of California. The slang term refers to the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex, and until recently, this act was ignored by the law.

It falls into an ambiguous category that survivors often have a hard time naming. Although stealthing feels like a violation of bodily autonomy, many who experience it are often hesitant to name it as sexual assault.

Any ambiguity about the nature of stealthing was put to rest Oct. 7, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 453 into law. California is the first state in the nation to define and criminalize this behavior.

AB 453 amends Section 1780.5 of the California Civil Code to now classify stealthing as a form of sexual battery.

The bill was authored by Assembly member Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), who argued in the Assembly Floor Analysis that it will expand what can be considered sexual

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia’s political website

Assembly member Cristina Garcia on the Assembly Floor. battery under California Civil Code. Garcia made the point that stealthing can occur even when the participants agree to have consensual sex with the use of a condom, and that the interaction becomes non-consensual when one of the parties removes the condom without the explicit verbal consent of the other party.

Garcia also noted that while stealthing is a little-known phenomenon, it is increasingly becoming a bigger issue. In the Assembly Floor Analysis, she cited a study by Kelley Cue Davis entitled “Stealthing: Factors Associated with Young Men’s Condom Removal.”

The study, published in 2019, found that 10% of male participants had non-consensually

removed a condom since the age of 14.

Stealthing has recently been discussed in popular media with the limited series “I May Destroy You.” The series follows the main character having consensual sex with a man, who then removes the condom without her knowledge or consent. The show explores her feelings about being violated but not sure whether she has the power to call this incident sexual assault.

But despite its recent introduction into popular media, third-year LMC student Lorenzo Navales said he had not heard the slang term stealthing before.

“I feel like I did remember See LAW, page 16

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“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Educational path of honor and innovation

Saito shares journey

By SARINA GROSSI

Posted online Sept. 8, 2021

Honors Transfer Program Jennifer Saito has a warm smile and wears her medium-length dark hair down. Her focused gaze is complimented by her instantly recognizable red glasses that sit on the bridge of her nose. She is down-to-earth, but speaks with precision.

A well-known figure across the LMC campus, Saito has worked at the college for 27 years, teaching a wide array of subjects including math, humanities and philosophy. Along with her time spent as a professor, she has served as the director of the Honors Transfer Program since its creation in 1999.

The program has provided dozens of students opportunities to succeed along with a strong and driven community. This community has a long history, and it can all be traced back to Jennifer Saito.

As a child, Saito became accustomed to moving from state to state every four years. Being raised in an air force family, she had already attended 12 different schools by the time she reached high school.

“It was hard starting a new school every year… one thing I was confident about was that I was smart

and good at school,” she explained.

Saito describes her younger self as “a nerdy, know-it-all kid” who absolutely loved to learn new subjects, ideas and concepts. This carried over to her time at UC Berkeley, where she changed her major multiple times, taking any class that sparked her excitement.

“I took so many classes in college and even grad school that I know a little about a lot,” she said. She started her college education wanting to be an actress and studying theater, but ended with a bachelor’s and master’s in Theoretical Math. “My mind thinks like a mathematician.

I put things in linear order, I’m extremely analytical, I like to see abstract patterns.”

Saito never intended on becoming a career educator, and originally planned on earning a Ph.D. in mathematics. But after rethinking her career, she walked into UC Berkeley’s college and career center looking for help. That was when the career coordinator told her that only master’s degrees were necessary for teaching at community colleges and Saito found her calling. She was later offered a job at Los Medanos College, Diablo Valley College and See SAITO, page 18

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Tejirian

Jennifer Saito, who loves the outdoors and traveling, strikes a pose at Yosemite National Park

Pursuit of a quiet place...

... Led Erwin to a passion for libraries

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Posted online Oct. 18, 2021

Photo courtesy of Roseanne Erwin

LMC librarian Roseann Erwin inside the college library.

Roseann Erwin’s love of libraries began as a child, as a place to escape a crowded home, and developed into a lifelong passion.

“When you’re the youngest, it’s hard to find your own space or feel like anything is your own,” said LMC’s Brentwood and Distance Education librarian, who is the youngest of five children. “I liked the library because it was a quiet place to disappear.”

Erwin grew up in Orange County and despite the fact she spent much of her childhood in the library reading books, becoming a librarian wasn’t something she originally considered as a career. But her thirst for knowledge eventually propelled her on that journey.

Her biggest influence growing up was her aunt Kay, who she considers a second mom. Her aunt did not have the opportunity to go to college herself, Erwin explained, because she had to work as a payroll clerk to help put her brother through college. But Kay had a passion for books and learning and passed that on to Erwin, who said she decided to take advantage of the opportunity for a college education that her aunt did not have.

“She always encouraged me to

Photo courtesy of Roseanne Erwin

“It’s my librarian action figure.

It has a button that raises her finger to her lips.” think critically, question authority, and do what I love,” she said.

So, after graduating high school, Erwin enrolled at Orange Coast College and transferred to California State University, Monterey Bay where she earned a bachelors’ degree in humanities and communications. After college, she worked at a textbook publishing company as a writer and editor, and during her time there, she discovered a love of research.

“When I was writing,” she said, “the research par t was always interesting.”

That interest led her to begin volunteering at her local library.

Erwin made the decision to become a librarian, she said, shortly after her boyfriend at the time told

her she “read too much.”

“I had to negotiate with him a minimum amount of time ever y day that I was allowed to read.,” she said. “That was one of the moments when I realized that books are an important part of my life.”

That moment, and her experience as a library volunteer, led her to San Jose State University where she got her master’s in library and information studies.

Erwin got her first library job at Monterey Peninsula College, and then began working at LMC in 2015.

Erwin was hired to coordinate the Library Learning center. In that capacity, she teaches students how to do research for homework, projects and assignments.

Erwin describes herself as someone who enjoys being of service to others. Erwin has a passion for connecting people with books and finds joy in knowing she’s done that. “if I can connect people with what they need, I feel like that’s my main role and I’ve done my job”.

Before the new Brentwood center opened this semester, the LMC satellite center didn’t have a library space on campus. That made it difficult for librarians to help students with books as tools. Erwin decided to bring about 20 to 30 books from the Pittsburg campus to help with student projects to interest them in reading.

While the new Brentwood Center is open, its Library Learning Center is not. It will be a browsing location of about 500 books of general works students might find entertaining as See ERWIN, page 18

Support can help you heal from grief

By KATHERINE DAY

Posted online Sept. 16, 2021

Death is a universal experience and every person will encounter the loss of a loved one at some point in their life. Individuals, influenced by factors like their culture and family, react differently to death. There are many resources that people can find, both on a personal level with friends and family, as well as on a community level, including at Los Medanos College to help them in the grieving process.

Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was known for her studies and theories on Thanatology, the study of death and the needs of terminally-ill patients and their families. In her book “On Death and Dying,” she theorized a model where terminally ill patients go through five stages as they are dying, which can also be applied to people grieving after a loved one has died—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

“Where [Kübler-Ross] did not recant her fivestage process, she did recognize that we do not advance from one stage to next in a predictable, linear sequence; we weave in and out, and back and forth, as we try to deal with death,” said

Jeffrey Benford, the dean of Counseling and Student Support.

Although Kübler-Ross’s model is used widely as a base for many thanatological studies, it is true that people experience the loss of a loved one differently.

“There is no one right way to grieve—it is a deeply personal process,” said Estelle Davi, a psychology faculty member at LMC. Additionally, according to Davi, there are various stages that families as a group may go through as they grieve a mutual loved one. These include: shock, numbness, yearning, searching, disorganization, despair, reorganization and recovery. Again, these are a baseline and do not apply perfectly to every family. Each phase may not be experienced consecutively in this order.

“Depression has a way of sneaking up on grievers as the permanence of death sets in, and it becomes too clear that nothing and no one can reverse what death has done,” said Benford.

There are many ways for people to find support when they are grieving, from family, friends and the community. There are various resources through the LMC CARE Team, composed of the Student

Wellness Program, Crisis Intervention Team, and Personal Development Counselors.

“Although offered off campus, by a formal arrangement made by the Contra Costa Community College District, students can get support for grief through the Student Assistant Program, which connects students to therapists in the Mental Health Network,” said Benford.

There are various ways to go about reaching out for support from friends and family. According to Benford, one can ask the people around them for permission or to let them know they won’t be their “usual self,” to practice routine and repetition of daily tasks, and to talk to people who have experienced death of a loved one, particularly seniors who have experienced this.

There is support all around, and though it may be difficult at the moment to ask for help, it will always be there when people need it.

This program and additional resources from LMC for people experiencing grief are at https://www. losmedanos.edu/counseling/comresources.aspx

Sarina Grossi & Charles Lewis • Experience

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“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

— Walt Disney

Alum finds success in television

New writer in the room Editor’s note: “Where are they now?” is a continuing series in which Experience reporters connect with former students to find out what they are doing now and how their educational journey at LMC impacted their success.

By KAI ARELLANO

Posted online Dec. 16, 2021

Former Los Medanos College student Sara Casey was always a writer at heart. But it took time to figure out what direction would best suit her. She briefly considered journalism but found her voice in fiction. And now she is writing for TV. Casey was grand prize winner in the Shore Scripts TV Pilot Contest in 2020. And with industry experience working for both Showtime and Netflix, she would ultimately like to

become a showrunner — someone who creates and manages a TV series. But for now, she is developing her career as a writer having joined the CBS writer’s room this summer to work on the new medical drama “Good Sam” scheduled to premiere Jan. 5, 2022.

Casey, now 29, enrolled at LMC straight out of Clayton Valley High School in 2011 and immediately noticed a dif ferent approach to education.

“I got to LMC and I got to take classes I liked, and teachers actually cared,” she said, adding that the professors also talked to her like an adult.

In addition, she said she was able to find a lot of new things she was interested in such as biology, film and civilizations.

Casey originally thought she was

Photo courtesy of Sara Casey

Director Sara Casey works with producer Ryan Sheehy (left) on “Abortion Desert.”

See CASEY, page 18

Anthropologist in the making

Wechter finds his passion

Editor’s note:“Where are they now?” is a continuing series in which Experience reporters connect with former students to find out what they are doing now and how their educational journey at LMC impacted their success.

By CHASE WHEELER

Posted online Dec. 2, 2021

Photo courtesy of Manny Rodriguez

Erica Cisneros (left) working at her homeless drive at Saint James Park in San Jose in 2019. She holds the hand of a homeless woman who reaches out to thank her for the sleeping bag.

DREAMer to inspiration

Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a new continuing series called “Where are they now?”

Experience reporters connect with former students to find out what they are doing now and how their educational journey at LMC impacted their success.

By MICHAEL BENEDIAN Posted online Nov. 9, 2021

Ever yone has a dream they are working toward, but it can be tough for immigrants who don’t have the help they need to achieve it. Erika Cisneros was in a situation like this, but with the help of her professors, she now has the footing to make her dream possible.

Cisneros was a 13-year-old when her family came to the United States from Mexico, moving all around California before settling down in Antioch.

When she attended high school, her English-speaking skills weren’t strong enough and money issues made it difficult for Cisneros to pursue a college degree right out of high school. It was by chance she saw an opportunity to attend Los Medanos College.

“I heard on the radio station that people like me — people that were immigrants — that they could actually go to college,” Cisneros said. “There was something called AB540, you could apply to and that way you wouldn’t have to pay for tuition that much.”

She attended LMC from 2013 to 2018,

Stars still shining at LMC

pursuing a psychology major, then transferred to UC Davis to complete her degree. Cisneros said her background and experiences inspired her to pursue psychology.

“I was bullied in school. I was raised by a single mom because my dad abandoned our family when I was little … I was discriminated in school by school faculty,” she said. “I have always had this way of thinking where I don’t think that people are either bad or good, I feel the actions that they take are coming from somewhere, and I always just wanted to understand where they were coming from and how their mind works.”

Cisneros initially struggled in college because of her limited English, which See DREAM, page 18

A former LMC student found his calling in the field of anthropology and was part of a recent archeological survey.

From trash to artifacts, the sur vey team uncovered a wide variety of items.

Alex Wechter, who attended LMC from 2012 to 2015, now attends California State University, Long Beach where he is part of a master’s degree program in anthropology and works for Rincon Consultants, an environmental research firm.

He chose LMC “mostly just out of convenience” as he grew up near the Brentwood campus and knew that the college has a good reputation. When he started at LMC, he did not have any true educational goal other than completing the general education courses required for transferring.

“I started off undeclared, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” said Wechter, who soon selected histor y as his major. “And then I took an anthropology class with Liana-Padilla Wilson— and that changed everything.”

Padilla-Wilson, a former LMC student herself, and now an anthropology professor, recalled Wechter as “one of the hardest workers,” adding that he was “really passionate.”

Photo courtesy of Alex Wechter

Alex Wechter celebrates his graduation from California State University.

Wechter said LMC gave him the ability to test out cer tain fields and better understand what he wanted to focus on for his academic and career future.

“I enjoyed the ability to try out new things, try out new classes, and learn new things,” said Wechter.

He added that community colleges give students extra time and opportunities to find what they want to do in their lives and offered this advice to current students: “Don’t be afraid to take risks and step out of your comfort zone.”

As he found out at LMC, something that you may not think interests you could quickly become your favorite subject.

While anthropology is the broad field he wants to pursue, he constantly thinks about what he should specialize in.

Anthropology interested him because it focuses on what makes people human rather than history which is more concerned with human actions.

“I just became fascinated with the human condition of everything and kinda figur-

See ALEX, page 18

Astronomy returns to in-person courses

By CHASE WHEELER

Posted online Nov. 28, 2021

COVID-19 hit the astronomy department hard last year, as the courses are best experienced in the LMC Planetarium. That all changed this fall when some face-to-face classes resumed on campus— including astronomy.

Some online classes provide a seemingly quick and easy way to learn but the full experience is not available to students when they are limited to online.

“We have a really good planetarium,” said professor Scott Cabral, who has worked at LMC for 32 years.

Cabral said that whether he is teaching in person or

online he tries to teach his students that as humans “we have a lot more in common that we have different.”

But, Cabral noted, that is easier face-to-face. During the pandemic he has had to change how much of his class worked to make up for not being able to use the planetarium, other on-campus tools — and human interaction.

On the other hand, Katie Berryhill, a professor who has been teaching at LMC for six years, said she had a much easier time with the initial transition in spring of 2020 as she had previous online class experience.

Berr yhil’s hybrid class this fall — partially in-person

and online — now works to ensure that students get all the necessar y information needed to pass the class. The homework that she assigns is then applied and tested when they next meet in the planetarium, “basically a flipped classroom.”

But she was still surprised at how long it would be until she was able to return to having some in-person classes.

“I had no idea I wouldn’t see the inside of the planetarium for 18 months,” said Berryhill.

Despite having online class experience, she had no experience with Zoom and quickly Chase Wheeler • Experience learned that most students don’t like to show their faces Students Christian Perez Arnold, Quinlan Chapman,and Kevin Millare discuss what See ASTRO, page 18 they liked about the course and what can be improved

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“I used to avoid people like they were zombies.

Now that they are all now zombies, I kinda miss people.”

— Jesse Eisenberg

LMC’s ‘Roll Call’ art show goes virtual Preview of the art gallery

Reception live via Zoom

By SARINA GROSSI

By DYLAN DAVIDSON

Art is an expression meant for the human eye and desires to be seen. For many artists, the restrictions put in place by the pandemic have proven to be difficult, especially when it comes to showcasing their art to the public.

The Los Medanos College Art Department, however, has overcome this difficulty and will be holding the Roll Call Art Exhibition virtually this fall.

The exhibition, usually an annual event, highlights the work of LMC faculty and staff in all departments. It last took place in 2019 before most in-person events on campus were cancelled. It will be the second art event to be held virtually with the first being the 2021 Student Art Show.

Though the virtual world differs vastly from an in-person art show, Gallery Director

The Los Medanos College art department’s latest virtual gallery has gone live. The gallery is titled Roll Call, and displays various works from LMC faculty and staff. While COVID-19 restrictions have made displaying artists’ works in an in-person setting difficult, the art department is providing the next best thing, a fully virtual gallery experience.

The gallery is hosted on a virtual gallery platform known as Kuntsmatrix, which fully emulates the gallery experience. Visitors can walk around the gallery using the arrow keys and drag the mouse to see the artwork placed on the wall.

A live virtual reception was hosted via zoom Sep. 30 in which the faculty and staff artists had a chance to discuss and explain

Posted online Oct. 18, 2021

Posted online Sep. 5, 2021

Dylan Davidson• Experience

The faculty and staff art show, Role Call, virtually mimicked an in person art gallery.

Carol Ladewig was able to closely recreate the environment with the help of the Kuntsmatrix platform. With this virtual space, artwork of any medium and size can be scaled properly to proportion, have 3D rendered modelling

along with videos of the art as well. Ladewig plans to work with technicians to have the gallery utilize each function to enhance the artwork presented.

See LIVE page 17

See GALLERY, page 17

T.J Klune’s nihilstic adventure

By RYAN KING

Posted online Nov. 30, 2021

Wallace Price was a man with high expectations. He believed people were machines in the workplace, and that’s how they should operate.

Empathy wasn’t part of his emotional arsenal. He was a cold man who liked to work and that was his motivation every day — until it wasn’t. He died an untimely death when a heart attack struck him.

Now Wallace must face the afterlife and come to terms with his death, or rather the realization that he never truly lived at all. In death he meets someone who may just put some life into that cold empty heart of his after all. That someone is Hugo, the Ferryman who is supposed to guide him through the afterlife safely. When Wallace is granted a week to accept his fate, he’ll be forced to squeeze an entire lifetime into a week.

How will Wallace face his tr uth? And will he come to terms with it? Will Hugo be more than just a mere guide for Wallace?

This is what unfolds within TJ Klune’s wonderful story, “Under the Whispering Door.” The book provided me with tears both of joy and of sorrow. The laughter and frustration I experienced made me forget I was even reading a fictional stor y. Klune leads you on a remarkable journey that will have you constantly on your toes, anticipating what comes next.

In the second chapter I found myself tearing up by the end and I knew I was in for a ride with 384 pages worth of emotion packed into this novel.

Before reading this book I’d never heard of TJ Klune, but I found he

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Cara Rieber• Experience

Makeup Artist and Actor Nyla Rahimi applies zombie makeup during the filming of “Death and Silence,” at LMC on Sept. 26, 2021.

‘Death and Silence’ adapted to screen

By CARA RIEBER

Posted online Oct. 18, 2021

Three full days of shooting, from sunup to sundown. No extra days to re-shoot. Everything has to be perfect.

This was the experience of the Los Medanos College Drama Department Sept. 24-26 as they shot “Death and Silence,” a film set in the zombie apocalypse. This effort and commitment to the art of theater has always been present within the LMC Drama Department — and is now more than ever.

Many industries suffered during COVID-19, but performing arts took a bigger blow than most. During the pandemic, there was no way for performers to put on live shows, which crippled the industry.

The theater industry as a whole had to get creative and figure out how to deliver the theatrical arts to large audiences without the medium of live performance. This was especially true for theater teachers, including the LMC drama department staff.

To still allow students to perform, the drama

department started producing films. LMC does not actually have a film department, but Drama Chair Nick Garcia, who is both directing and editing “Death and Silence,” has begun producing films with the students. This project is the second of these films. The first was “Super Jerks,” which was shot last spring and is still being edited and is due to be released sometime this year. “Death and Silence” will tentatively be available for viewing next year.

It was originally written as a play by LMC alumni

‘Hamilton’: A brilliant retelling of history

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Posted online Sep. 6, 2021

“Hamilton: An American Musical” has stolen the hearts of thousands of fans across the country. With over a billion dollars in sales including performances, merchandise and music, “Hamilton” earned its spot as “The Best Musical” at the 2016 Tony awards.

“Hamilton”, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was based on a 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton written

by Ron Chernow.

The musical is told in two acts, the first act exploring Hamilton’s teenage years until he becomes George Washington’s right-hand man, and the second act includes the Adams administration up until Hamilton’s death.

The main cast at the Aug. 25 showing at the Broadway San Francisco Orpheum theater was filled with many accomplished ac-

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tors. Julius Thomas III, who played Hamilton, is an NAACP theatre award-nominee from Gary, Indiana.

George Washington was played by Darnell Abraham, who is a regular on the show “Buf falo Rangers” and a cast member in “The Color Purple” national Broadway revival tour. Angelica Schuyler, Hamilton’s friend and sister-in-law, was played

by Marja Harmon who was in the Broadway productions of “Book of Mormon”, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, “The Lion King” and “Aida”.

The musical was amazing. It was a breath of fresh air during these hard times, and so many people left after the show feeling speechless and with smiles on their faces.

The ensemble, who are the people dancing and singing alongside the main cast, was stunning. They were always moving and even did choreography with stage props. The skill it takes to dance and sing at the same time is immense and they

See DEATH, page 17

See BOOK, page 17

Stephanie Arreola• Experience

Stage hands check the set for the SF production of “Hamilton” during intermission. delivered an incredible performance with ease.

The main cast was mind-blowing.

Not only did they have to memorize a two-hour and 45-minute musical, but they also had to sing live the whole way through. The live vocals

sounded almost as if they were pre-recorded and the actors delivered them flawlessly. The atmosphere was incredible, you could feel all the hard work the actors put into every song, dance move and line.

During the song “Satisfied”, An-

gelica was singing and suddenly, the music became distorted and sounded as if it was going in reverse.

The ensemble began to dance in reverse and there was a pause, all the ensemble was frozen in their See PLAY, page 17

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“I think the perfection of love is that it’s not perfect.”

— Taylor Swift

Taylor upgrades ‘Red’ album Swift releases her version

By SARINA GROSSI

Posted online Nov. 21, 2021

Taylor Swift’s album “Red” was released almost 10 years ago — what seems like almost a lifetime away for the musician. It was her self-proclaimed “break-up album,” displaying chaotic emotions of heartbreak, joy, anger and love.

The album, though long passed, accrued acclaim over the years, with critics and fans alike calling it Swift’s magnum opus. So, why is this album seemingly on the charts again after 10 years?

If you don’t know the history, here’s a brief explanation.

For any song, there are two ways the rights are distributed: composition rights (songwriting aspects like lyrics, chords and melody) and master rights (the “master” recordings you hear on the radio and how they are distributed).

For her first five albums, Swift belonged to the recording label Big Machine Records, but her contract ended in 2018 and she later switched to Universal’s Republic Records.

However, Big Machine still owned all the master recordings of those five albums, later selling them to Ithaca Holdings owned

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by Scooter Braun, who then sold them to Shamrock Holdings in 2019. This means anytime someone streams or listens to the old recordings, Swift makes zero profit off of her own work.

To anyone, this issue would seem unresolvable, but the worldwide superstar who still held her own composition rights found a loophole. If she re-recorded her old albums, she would be able to profit off of her own work and label it as “(Taylor’s Version)” to make a clear distinction from the old master recordings.

Swift released her first re-recording, “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” in March of 2021 with much success, but “Red (Taylor’s Version)” has reached another level. On its first day release, the album broke Spotify’s record for the most-streamed album in a day by a female artist, and a large majority of the album is on Spotify’s Top 50 songs playlist.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift Though the album is a financial success, it’s also a creative success for Swift. Compared “Red (Taylor’s Version)” released on all streaming platforms Nov. 12, 2021 to the original recordings, listeners can hear subtle differences in Swift’s vocals, as her ing rather than a redux, but the production songs like “I Almost Do,” “Sad Beautiful matured voice gives the song a cleaner sound. sounds more modern and less dated than Tragic” and “Begin Again” while other more upbeat songs still capture their original fun Production mainly stays the same for most the previous masters.

The emotions still hit hard on her original See RED, page 17 of the original songs since it is a re-record-

Music returns to LMC stage Program to come back

By KAI ARELLANO

Posted online Dec. 7, 2021

Sarina Grossi • Experience

Bridgers’s set opened on Oct. 16, 2021 with the image of a storybook titled after her 2020 hit release of the “Punisher” album.

Phoebe Bridgers’s emotional concert

By SARINA GROSSI

Posted online Oct. 28, 2021

The house lights go dark, and the audience can see a band wearing matching glow-in-the-dark skeleton suits walk on stage, fronted by a woman with white hair wearing a skeleton bodice. This is what kicked off the Saturday, Oct. 16 Phoebe Bridgers Berkeley concert.

An up and coming musician, Bridgers released her second album “Punisher” in June of 2020 to much acclaim, earning Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. She announced her “Reunion Tour” Jul. 12 of this year, with $1 of every ticket being donated to RAINN, an anti-sexual violence organization.

The venue, the famous Greek Theatre at the edge of the UC Berkeley campus, was absolutely packed. Audience members were standing not only in the pit area or the upper level but also in

the aisles just to see Bridgers perform. She later remarked during the show that it was the largest concert she ever performed at.

The opening act was Julien Baker, a friend and frequent collaborator of Bridgers, working with her and Lucy Dacus in the band Boygenius.

The appearance was a surprise, as the previous opener could not make the show. Baker’s set was minimal, performing with no backing band and only an acoustic guitar, but her vulnerable performance was refreshing and felt emotionally raw. The highlight of her opening act was when Bridgers joined her onstage to perform a cover of “One Man Guy” by Rufus Wainwright. Baker also later came on stage again to perform on Bridger’s song “Graceland Too,” in which she sang backup vocals in the studio recording.

The headlining act was gorgeous. Bridger’s performance was accentuated by technical as-

pects, especially the beautiful stage lighting and projections of images to reflect each song she performed. The illustrations reflected a storybook, making each song appear to be connected to each other, with Bridgers telling the audience the narrative of her life.

She opened her act with arguably her most popular song “Motion Sickness,” and immediately the crowd was energetic, singing along to every single lyric throughout most of the show. Bridgers and her backing band matched the crowd’s energy throughout the performance, giving an altogether tight and satisfying show.

A particular standout in the act was “Moon Song” off her newest album, a heart-wrenching song about unrequited love. Bridger’s vocal delivery was stunning and would give anyone goosebumps, highlighting the emotional depth of her lyrics.

See PHOEBE, page 17

‘Donda:’ Kanye’s flawed masterpiece

By DYLAN DAVIDSON

Posted online Sep. 9, 2021

After three long years, countless delays and three extravagant listening parties, Kanye West has released his 9th studio album, “Donda,” on Aug. 9. 2021.

The album’s title refers to West’s late mother of the same name, who passed away in 2007 due to plastic surger y complications. The record’s creation was a tribute to her, and it’s contents show West struggling with his recent divorce with Kim Kardashian, and how he has fully committed to his faith even though it has been tested greatly.

Known mostly for his public antics and masterful production, most people have formed an opinion about West whether they have listened to his music or not. This dichotomy

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has propelled West into a legendary status of celebrity, one which includes showers of praise or complete distaste of his character, depending on who you ask. It is no surprise that the album’s release itself has been riddled with controversies of its own.

Looking past the fact that the album has been delayed for years, Universal Music Group allegedly released the album to streaming services before the original release date without West’s permission. The album also features controversial artists DaBaby, who made homophobic comments at one of his recent shows, and Marilyn Manson, who has recently been the subject of multiple abuse allegations.

Despite all of the controversy and strife surrounding the album, it is a sort of return to form for West. He is not reinventing the wheel for

Photo courtesy of Apple Music

West recreates his childhood home at a release party for the upcoming album. hip-hop like he has done in the past, but rather moving in a different direction, while old glimpses of his past-self manage to shine through.

This is of course aided by an all-star cast of features that help the beautiful production shine through. Travis Scott, Jay-Z, Roddy Rich, The Weeknd, Playboi Carti and a

handful of other artists help fill out the album’s massive 108 minute run time.

While that number might seem excessive even for a project that has been delayed for so long, something about “Donda” that makes it particularly interesting is that it never tries to drag on a sound for too long, for better or for worse.

A great example is the album’s second track, “Jail,” which features a simple drowned out guitar riff that permeates throughout the entire track while West sings about his life spiraling out of control. A surprising Jay-Z feature rounds out the song on a somewhat triumphant note.

See DONDA, page 17

The Los Medanos College Music Program was hit hard by the pandemic, but things are starting to look up. There are a handful of classes online this fall and a couple in-person concerts have been scheduled this month.

Although many classes remain online, the Music Program was able to offer seven classes in-person on campus.

“That is happening in all the music programs around the country,” said Luis Zuniga, the director of orchestra and band, about COVID-19’s current impact nationwide.

Zuniga said that despite the pandemic’s impact, the Music Program is thriving with a full-blown concert choir and a jazz band. During the pandemic changes were made in instruction for the remote classes, but he said it’s a lot harder to teach the specifics of playing an instrument through Zoom, so he is happy some classes have moved back on campus.

“To actually be in a room next to somebody making music, you can’t do that,” said Zuniga, explaining why it is more effective to teach music face-to-face. This fall, he taught the concert band class on campus every Monday.

“I personally prefer faceto-face than online,” he said, adding that not only is it more effective to teach in person, but that developing online classes takes a lot of time.

Now that LMC has reopened the campus, there will be concerts this fall as well. The upcoming in-person events include a Jazz Band concert Dec. 8, hosted by professor Robert Dehlinger, the instructor for jazz studio, and a Guitar Class Recital Dec. 9, hosted by professor David Trevors, the guitar instructor.

Zuniga said spectators will need to follow the school’s COVID-19 guidelines and that students and attendees will need to wear masks.

Next semester, there will be eight in-person classes, one more than this fall, and all of them will be held at the Pittsburg campus in the Music and Recording Arts building.

Enrollment is ongoing, so make sure to find classes through Insite and through the Search-for Classes tab.

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“The proper function of a man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

—Jack London

Top 5 Spooky and funny Halloween films

By SARINA GROSSI

Posted online Oct. 30, 2021

This Sunday is Halloween, and if you are like me, you’re looking for the perfect movies to watch. But maybe you have exhausted a few options or are intimidated by the massive amount of Halloween-themed movies out there on streaming services. One of the scariest things this season is scrolling endlessly through pages and pages of movies without finding something to enjoy.

Even though it’s the spookiest time of year, have no fear. Here are my top five picks for Halloween movies. I have ranked the movies from least scary to most scary so that people sensitive to horror can find some peace in this list.

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Taika Waititi in “What We Do in the Shadows.”

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Daniel Craig concludes his 15-year-run as James Bond, in “No Time to Die,” released in October.

What We Do in the Shadows (2015)

Though this is arguably the least horrifying movie on this list, I can guarantee that it is the funniest. “What We Do in the Shadows,” directed by (and also starring) Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, is a mockumentary film following four vampire roommates living in New Zealand. When one of the roommates turns a human into a vampire, they must teach the new vampire how to adjust to the new lifestyle.

The comedy of the film is witty, playing on typical vampire tropes while referencing classic vampire movies.

Though it is incredibly funny, the movie also has a lot of heart in it, with sincere and tender moments being sprinkled throughout. The strong suit of the film is the talent of the actors and the chemistry between them, as a large majority of the bits were improvised.

The film also has two spin-off shows, “What We Do in the Shadows” (2019-) and “Wellington Paranormal” (2018-), which are also perfect for the Halloween season if you are looking for a show rather than a movie. The film is available on Hulu with certain subscriptions.

A nostalgic end for 007

‘Die’ packed with action

By JOSEPH GIDDINGS

Posted online Oct. 28, 2021

James Bond’s return to the silver screen is as exciting as ever, with recurring characters, fast-paced stunts and action-packed scenes — all to fulfill the epic conclusion of Daniel Craig’s 15-yearrun as 007.

“No Time to Die” features the return of many fan-favorite characters from the series, including M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and even Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), the villain of the series’ prior installment “Spectre.” Each addition contributes to the film’s nostalgia, fun and overall satisfaction.

Madeleine Swann (Lèa Seydoux)

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returns as the “Bond Girl,” making her mark not only on the action within the film itself but on the role of “James Bond,” and adding a new layer of humanity, connection and love to the character that we had not yet seen throughout the entirety of the 007 franchise.

The fifth and final installment to the series picks up right where the previous film leaves off, before engaging in a significant time jump. Unlike the previous installment, however, there is no obligation as an audience member to view all the previous films throughout the series, aside from its precursor, for purposes other than fan service, so don’t worry if you are not an expert on all things 007.

Craig’s performance is smile-provoking from the minute he walks across the frame, gun in hand before finally shooting toward the screen. Also unlike previous installments, the film allows you to connect with Bond on a more personal level than ever before, touching

upon the basic struggles, tribulations and aspirations that we as people face at some point throughout our lives.

When it’s not making you relate to Bond, the film succeeds at making you wish you were him, with its intense and attention-grabbing action scenes.

The movie does not miss a step when providing its audience with flashy and over-the-top moments of motorcycle chases, gunfights and hard-hitting hand-to-hand combat.

Somewhere along the way, however, the action can feel a little too over the top. With pauses in between fight scenes, typically filled with comedic moments and conversation between characters, the action can sometimes fail to present the true sense of danger and mortality the film’s protagonists encounter.

Furthermore, the tone and scale of the plot differ from the other installments, resembling something closer to that of a Mission Impossible movie rather than See TIME, page 16

‘Dear Evan’ is full of emotion

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The cast of the 1990’s film “The Witches.”

The Witches (1990)

For a more family-friendly yet still creepy stor y, check out the 1990 version of “The Witches.” Based on the Roald Dahl book, the film follows a boy and his grandmother vacationing at a hotel that happens to be hosting a witch convention, fronted by the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston).

My favorite thing about this film is the fantastical elements, from witches having to wear incredibly detailed disguises to hide their hideousness to children being placed inside paintings to the main character being turned into a mouse.

The practical effects on the Grand High Witch in particular are so intricate yet spine-tingling gross to look at. And although it is made for children, some sections of this movie are unsettling enough to get enjoyment out of it while watching it with the family. “The Witches” and its 2020 remake are both available on HBO Max.

By AUDREY LICHTY

Posted online Oct. 7, 2021

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Jake Gyllenhaal as 911 operator Joe Baylor. The movie takes place at his workplace.

‘Guilty’ is a thrilling ride

Netflix film grabs attention

By TARA EASTWOOD

Posted online Oct. 7, 2021

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Bruce Campbell as Ash in “The Evil Dead 2.”

The Evil Dead 2 (1987)

Now it might seem weird to recommend a sequel, but the cult classic film delivers both comedy and horror perfectly. “The Evil Dead 2” is almost the same exact movie as its predecessor, but with its elevated budget, special effects and general campiness, it only improves upon the original film.

The plot is simple, with the main character Ash (Bruce Campbell) having to defeat evil demons and zombie-like

See TOP, page 16

Can you imagine reading a book or watching a movie that only took place in one setting?

In Netflix’s new Thriller, “The Guilty,” that is exactly what happened. It is out of the ordinary for a film of this genre, but this is one of the most surprising and impressive aspects of the movie.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the remake of a Danish thriller from 2018 was released Sept.

24 and it is currently trending.

While the beginning is a

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little slow, the movie is easy to follow and it becomes more interesting as events unfold.

The main character Joe Baylor, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is a former detective who was demoted to a 911 call operator because of his questionable past. The film centers around Joe as he tries to help a kidnapped woman with only his phone and his intelligence.

Joe is unconventional and likes to do things his way, regardless of the backlash he receives from his colleagues.

Even though he is troubled, he appears to genuinely care for people, especially the woman on the 911 phone call, and goes to extreme extents to solve the mystery. The thriller begins with an eerie atmosphere that pretty much depicts the tone of the entire movie.

Not only did Fuquat set the

entire movie in one place — Joe’s jobsite— but did it in a way that made the film hard to look away from. The excellent work with the camera and the cinematography of each shot enhanced the quality of the film. Sensory details like sweat, tears, breathing, muffled sound, coughing and blurry vision combined with the dialogue helped to make the movie compelling.

Whenever I heard scar y or mysterious music in the background, I was hooked to my screen, anxious about what would happen next. I typically do not watch thrillers or mysteries, but I am glad I decided to step out of my comfort zone.

The whole film, including the credits, is about an hour and a half long. Since it is a

See GUILTY, page 16

Dear Evan Hansen is both a heartfelt and heartbreaking story about a teenager trying to deal with depression and anxiety, and a family grieving the loss of their son and brother.

The musical movie, released in theaters Sept. 24, was adapted beautifully from stage to screen.

Evan Hansen is a 17-yearold boy trying to fit in as he navigates the confusion of high school while also coping with social anxiety and loss.

His story will show you you’re not alone and that you matter to someone in the world.

Each lyric, line and emotion portrayed on the screen will make it seem as if you are part of the movie.

The astounding per formances by Ben Platt as Evan Hansen, Kaitlyn Dever as Zoe Murphy, Amy Adams as Cynthia Murphy and Julianne Moore as Heidi Hansen are nothing less than moving.

The soundtrack is the perfect mixture of soft melodies and powerful ballads that help get the stor y across. “The Anonymous Ones” resonates and showcases how easy it is not to realize someone could be struggling but look completely normal because they’ve learned to mask their

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See EVAN, page 16

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“Play your voice, sing your song, tell your stories. It will make us a better place. Your turn.”

— Debbie Allen

‘Squid Game’: money cures all

Series highlights gambling

By JEVON McKINNON

Posted online Oct. 7, 2021

It is widely believed that money can solve all your problems. If only someone could pay off all of their debt with endless amounts of money.

They could afford to feed their family, lively safely without the worry of losing their home. These are the realities facing the characters in Netflix’s new South Korean Drama “Squid Game.”

Written by Hwang Dong-hyuk, “Squid Game” is an action-thriller about a deadbeat father with a gambling addiction who is slumped in massive amounts of debt.

Every day, Seong Gi-hun seems to have a new excuse as to why he either has no money or why he wasted what little money he had.

From stealing his mother’s credit card to betting his money away on horse racing, he can never get himself together to be the father his daughter needs.

While waiting for the train so he can just go home, Seong meets a man who makes a wager with him off of an old children’s game.

When you’re at rock bottom, every opportunity seems like a way up and Seong just wants to beat this man once. When Seong does, he remembers the wager and gets the money he was promised as well as a card with a phone number — and an offer to participate in a series of

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Contestants compete for financial security in South Korean survival drama Netflix series, “Squid Game” (2021). games to make some money.

Seong eventually calls the number and is taken to an unknown location along with 455 other people to play a classic game of “Red light, Green light.” If the players were to complete every game they were presented with, they would win nearly $40 million in U.S. dollars. What nobody knew before the game started was that if you were to lose, you would be eliminated on sight. And when they say eliminated, they mean it.

Players who lose are killed.

One of the most unique things about “Squid Game” is that none of the players are actually forced to play. If a majority of them vote to end all of the games, they will be sent home without a penny of the prize money.

But they use the word “forced” loosely. If they were to go back to their normal lives, what do they have to look forward to? They have no money, no food, and many of them

are losing their homes. And this brings up the point of the story, that while both the games and their lives are terrible, they at least have the chance to turn everything around if they win.

What I love most about this show is its underlying messages and themes.

One of the most prominent things critiqued is capitalism’s “sink-orswim” mentality. In the society that our players live in, no one is offered any sort of help by those who are

supposed to protect them or by those around them. The “sink-or-swim’’ mentality is also something you see frequently because the players have been immersed in that kind of system for their entire lives.

But the biggest question of the show is whether that mentality actually works. Does money solve all of our problems? Or does it only create more? The only way to find out is to watch Netflix’s new sensation, “Squid Game.”

Skip ‘On my Block’ season 4

By DANTE HARROLD

Posted online Oct.23, 2021

Television Academy

Debbie Allen accepts her Governors Award.

Emmy Awards focus on female excellence

By CARA RIEBER

Posted online Sept. 23, 2021

It was a historic night for women in entertainment Sunday Sept. 19 as millions of viewers tuned in to watch the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Television Award Show. The event was hosted

by Cedric the Entertainer, and celebration was in the air as performers and nominees were excited to finally be honoring the artistry of television in person once again.

While a few notable TV shows rose above the rest — “The Crown” and “Ted Lasso” — the focus on women was significant, starting with the Governors Award.

That honor is awarded to those who have made such a great contribution to television production or management that it goes beyond the scope of the Emmys. The award was presented to Debbie Allen this year for her impact as an actor, writer, producer, director, and dance choreographer throughout her 50-year career.

Allen, the first black woman to receive this award, highlighted in her acceptance remarks the difficulties she has faced, and offered an empowering challenge to future generations.

“It’s taken a lot of courage to be the only woman in the room,” she said. “For young people, who have no vote, who can’t even get a vaccine — they’re inheriting the world that we live in and will leave them. It’s time for you to claim your power. Claim your voice, sing your song, tell your stories. It will make us a better place. Your turn.”

Throughout the show there was consistent mention of the increasing visibility of women in television — not just on the screen but behind the scenes as writers and directors. This year women were nominated for a total of 33% and 27.5% of writing awards.

In her acceptance speech for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for her work on “Hacks,” Lucia Aniello explained the motivation behind the show.

“We wanted to also make a show that honors anybody who struggled to tell their stories, especially women who never got to tell their story at all

Season four of “On My Block” is a colossal disappointment, both for long-time viewers expecting proper resolution to long established storylines and for new-watchers.

To recap, “On My Block” is a Netflix show created by Eddie Gonzalez, Jeremy Haft and Lauren Iungerich. The show follows the misadventures of four friends — Monsé Finnie (Sierra Capri), Ruben Martinez Jr. (Jason Gerardo), Jamal Turner (Brett Gray) and Cesare Diaz (Diego Tinnaco). The series follows their transition from adolescence to adulthood as they go through high school in Freeridge while dealing with some of the major problems in their neighborhood — gang-violence, poverty and racism.

Up until season four, the series IMDb was magnificent. Characters had plot-lines and relationships that Sierra Capri, Diego Tinoco, Brett Gray and Jason Genao in “On my Block” (2021). were complex and easy to get Season four begins with the regain a sense of independence tunately, the show failed to even invested in. It could be zany, be an adequate one. absurd and hilarious at times, group estranged after developing running for class president.

Moñse transfer red to an That underboss who was while also delving into the harsh different responsibilities and killed? She’s forgotten about nature of their neighborhood’s social statuses as they finally expensive private school.

The group is forced to get back half-way through the season environment in a realistic way. enter their senior year — and together when police find the as other stor ylines take preIf you’re an avid fan or new the changes are significant: Caesare, a good-natured, corpse of a criminal underboss, cedence. Most storylines are viewer of the series, I would recommend you stop at season three kind boy becomes a br utal whose death they had a hand in. either forgotten or get such a The initial conflict of the weak ending that you’re disapand make your own headcanon gang-leader.

Jamal, a conspiratorial geek, season and the friends’ transfor- pointed at their conclusion. Any on what happened afterward. mations seems compelling and sort of development from the Otherwise, you are probably becomes a well-beloved jock.

After nearly being killed in had the opportunity to produce main characters is temporary going to find the experience the last season, Ruben tries to the best season yet. But, unforunfulfilling.

See BLOCK, page 16

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Netflix’s ‘Maid’ shines light on issues

See EMMY, page 17 Margaret Qualley and BJ Harrison conversing in Netflix’s “Maid” (2021).

By JENNIFER AUGUSTS

Posted online Nov. 21, 2021

Netflix’s new series “Maid” tackles a variety of social issues, including domestic violence and economic class.

Written by Stephanie Land and released last month, the show is about Alex (Margaret Qualley), a young woman going through a breakup with Sean (Nick Robinson), her boyfriend and father of her child.

Her own mother and father are not stable and barely in the picture, but Alex works hard to get by.

Struggling with domestic violence and abuse, Alex decides to leave Sean because it would be the best thing for her daughter. They go to a domestic violence shelter as a last resort to avoid homelessness.

“Maid” does a great job of raising awareness about domestic violence

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“Every experience, good or bad, you have to learn from.”

— Patrick Mahomes

LMC edges out De Anza

Back and forth affair

By JOHN NARANJO

Posted online Oct. 29, 2021

The Los Medanos College Mustangs mounted a fourth-quarter 28-24 comeback in a fierce tug-of-war against De Anza College Saturday, Oct. 23 at home.

Quarterback Jake Byrne came out in the first quarter with a lot of energy, starting off with two handoff plays before throwing consecutive completions with a toss to wide receiver Matt Quesada who juked the defender, getting an open lane for the touchdown and giving LMC a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game.

Unfortunately for LMC though, De Anza had different plans and conver ted an interception to a touchdown, tying the game in the second quarter. Then a successful field goal attempt gave De Anza the lead by three points.

Things got even worse for LMC in the third quarter as quarterback Jaylen Tregle got sacked and then fumbled the ball at the Mustangs’ own 4-yard line. The ball was recovered by De Anza, which took advantage of the situation and converted it to a touchdown in the following play. A successful extra point gave the visitors a 10-point lead and the scoreboard read 7-17.

But LMC got some revenge as wide receiver Brian Cruz brought in a one-handed catch and proceeded See POINT, page 18

Cathie Lawrence • Experience Correspondant

Top: LMC runs onto the field to meet DeAnza College. Above: No. 84, LMC wide receiver Keanu Galang, jumps to make the catch.

Mustangs triumph over Yuba 49ers Both teams face multiple penalties

By DYLAN DAVIDSON

Posted online Nov. 3, 2021

Photos by Cathie Lawrence • Experience Correspondant

Above: No. 11, LMC wide receiver Matt Quesada evades three Yuba players for a big gain.

Left: Head referee James Decker throwis a flag on the play. Above: LMC wide receivers celebrate a touchdown.

The Los Medanos College Mustangs defeated the Yuba College 49ers 31-10 in a scrappy, penalty-ridden game at home on Oct. 30.

The Mustangs started off the first quarter with a bang, with quarterback Jaylen Tregle striking Brian Cruz in the back of the end-zone. After a converted extra point, the Mustangs were quickly up 7-0. The rest of the first quarter was dominated by the defense of both the Mustangs and 49ers, with multiple penalties on both teams halting their advances on offense.

After opening the second quarter with a few handoffs, quarterback Jaylen Tregle burst outside of the pocket for a 62 yard run. But after two dropped passes and a handoff for neutral yards, the Mustangs were forced to kick a field goal, where kicker Isaiah Apostol put the Mustangs up 10-0. The next few possessions were once again controlled by the defense, with neither team able to advance further than midfield.

With about 5 minutes left in the second quarter, the 49ers had called in the punt team after being forced into a 4th down situation. Just before the kickoff however, a member of the Mustangs defensive line jumped, causing an offsides penalty. With this momentum, the 49ers had a chance to score, eventually settling for a field goal, making the game 10-3.

With around 2 minutes and twenty seconds left, the Mustangs were poised to score again. And after getting excellent field position from the returned punt, Tregle found his favorite receiver of the day Brian Cruz, who sprinted past the 49ers secondary for a 67 yard touchdown, making the score now 17-3.

The Mustangs received the ball at the half, but failed to convert a third and 12. The 49ers offense was stagnant after the half, mainly due to the Mustangs defensive line so easily penetrating the backfield. Defensive lineman Josiah Barnett and Linebacker Enele Amituani both recorded back to back sacks on consecutive 49er possessions, forcing them to punt both times.

After receiving an off-target pass near the end of the third quarter, a Mustangs player found himself on the 49ers sideline, where a brief verbal confrontation occurred. The result was both teams receiving offsetting personal foul penalties.

With 9 seconds left in the third quarter, the Mustangs offense had found themselves on the 49ers thirteen-yard line. Tregle once again targeted Cruz in the back of the endzone, but the ball was deflected by a 49er safety.

After the ball floated in the air for a moment, it slid directly into Cruz’s hands to put the Mustangs up 24-3.

The beginning of the fourth quarter mirrored what the game had been up to this point, a scrappy defensive battle that resulted in possessions constantly changing hands. The 49ers finally had their opportunity to score, with their quarterback Kyle Hughes finding a receiver on a screen route, who took the ball twenty-one yards to the endzone, making it a 2410 game.

But the Mustangs were ready to put the dagger in, mounting a quick and clean drive that ended in another Tregle touchdown, but instead of Cruz it was wide receiver Matt Quesada putting the nail in the coffin, creating a final score of 31-10 Mustangs.

Despite the high score on the Mustangs side of things,

See 49ERS, page 18

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— Jessica Ennis-Hill

LMC wins conference showdown

Cathie Lawrence • Experience Correspondant

LMC volleyball middle blocker Jayla Austin, No. 25, hits the ball over the net to Yuba ‘s side. Her defense was a force to be reckon with in the game.

Mustangs keep their playoff hopes alive

By JEVON McKINNON

Posted online Nov. 11, 2021

With a combination of hard spikes, lockdown defense and concise communication, the Los Medanos College Mustangs won 3-1 on their home court against Yuba College Wednesday, Nov. 3 to keep their winning streak going and to stay in the running for the playoffs.

The team, 8-3 in conference play and 14-15 overall, secured much-needed points with perfectly orchestrated sequences led by sophomore Team Captain Jontara West (No. 7).

“We needed this win,” she said. “Volleyball is such a mental game. If you’re in your head,

it’s hard to get out.”

The victory put the Mustangs on a four-game streak, securing much needed conference games as they are currently third in the Bay Valley Conference.

West turned out to be one of the Mustangs’ biggest weapons in the game. Yuba College could not find a way to stop her spikes on the left side of the net. In the closing minutes of the third set, she led the Mustangs to a dominant finish. The team collectively gave up very few points by feeding that left side and setting her up to score.

“That left side is my go to,” she said. “We

don’t really have plays in volleyball, but we have sweet spots. That left side is definitely my favorite spot.”

And that spot was put on full display. West was in the zone and took full advantage of those opportunities to score.

The story that kept being told toward the end of the game was that the Mustangs were not giving up points easily. With sophomore Shelby Bryant (No. 5) always at the right place at the right time to recover spikes and sophomore Jayla Austin (No. 25) blocking everything that came her way, LMC’s defense was perfectly synced and a force to be

Athletic Complex re-opens

Available for use to all students DYLAN DAVIDSON

Posted online Sept. 30, 2021

The Los Medanos College Kinesiology and Athletics Complex has finally opened its doors to students this fall. The complex had just been finished before the pandemic shifted classes to a virtual setting. Because of this, the building had been not used by students, until now.

The Athletics complex hosts multiple facilities for athletes and students alike such as a weight room, dance studio and fitness center.

The complex also features a state of the art training room, which has

cryotherapy, therapeutic ultrasound, thermal modalities and more.

Colleen Ralston, the Kinesiology department chair member and KAC coordinator, is excited for the facility to be finally put to good use, “I think it’s a great opportunity and a great privilege for our LMC students to use such nice equipment. In essence the facility is brand new.”

After COVID-19 limited exercising to an indoor activity, Ralston is ecstatic to see students be able to train in the fitness center.

“Watching students work out here I see a lot of smiles on their faces, a lot of people happy to be back, and able to interact face to face with one another.” Ralston adds that she is glad to finally see students back, and hopes that the fitness center is used and enjoyed by students for many years toº come.

reckoned with.

After hitting the game-finishing spike, West rushed the sidelines with her teammates to celebrate as the crowd gave a standing ovation, cheering after the athletic show.

With the victory against Yuba in the books, the Mustangs had three more must-win games left on their schedule against Contra Costa College, Solano College and College of Marin to secure a spot in the playoffs.

“We’re going to keep winning. We have to win,” said a confident West. “It’s not going to be an easy journey, but it’s going to be a sight to see.”

Students that enroll in the KNACT 110 class may use the fitness center any time from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and must complete an orientation and read through the Fitness Center packet in the LMC bookstore.

Along with using the facilities for athletics, the complex holds a host of brand new classrooms as well.

One of the faculty members who jumped on the opportunity for an upgrade was Kinesiology Professor Jen Saito.

After wanting a bigger classroom, someone had suggested Saito try out a classroom in the newer building.

“The new kinesiology building is stunning. It’s great to be in a brand new classroom and to see students in the new Fitness Center on my Dylan Davidson• Experience way there. What a great addition to LMC’s campus!”

LMC students Jahleel Lloyd and Migel Norwood use equipment.

Mustangs blank Falcons 5-0 Solano has no answers against LMC

By DANIEL HERRERA

Posted online Oct. 28, 2021

Daniel Herrera • Experience

Head Coach Zach Sullivan and Assistant Coach Sal Acevedo discuss the gameplan with the women’s soccer team at halftime.

The Los Medanos College Mustangs soared over the Solano College Falcons in comfortable fashion Oct. 22 with a 5-0 home-field win.

The possession battle began as soon as the game kicked off and both teams went at it, going back and forth in the first minutes of the match. At eight minutes in, the Mustangs created a chance to get on the board but missed a critical one-on-one. Soon after, the

Falcons created their own opportunity for a score, but it was spoiled by a defensive clear by LMC center-back Brookelyn Perdue.

As the match proceeded, the Mustangs took control and dominated possession.

At 18 minutes into the first half, Citlaly Jauregui took a shot from outside the box that ended up hitting the crossbar, so the score remained 0-0. But just two minutes later the Mustangs got on the board when midfielder Angelina Ramirez took a shot from outside the box that went right through the goalkeeper’s hands, giving LMC a 1-0 lead.

At the 20th minute striker Kim Garcia took a long shot

and the ball flew into the top corner scoring a screamer and putting the Mustangs up 2-0.

It didn’t take long for Garcia to get back on the board with a penalty kick at 41 minutes into the game. She beat the keeper and put the Mustangs up once again, giving the team a 3-0 halftime lead.

“The main thing was to keep playing and possess a little bit more,” LMC Coach Zach Sullivan commented after the game. He added that the strategy was to maintain control by “just passing the ball around and slow the game down.”

When the second half kicked off, it didn’t take long See BALL, page 18

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“If you don’t like something change it.

If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

— Maya Angelou

Ryan King

Cara Rieber

GUEST COLUMNIST

STAFF WRITER

Transportation tips for college

Vigilantism : The Rittenhouse case

Posted online Nov. 30, 2021

Posted online Dec. 16, 2021

So, you’re a full-time college student.

That means fewer working hours and less money in your pocket. The average college student works somewhere between 15 and 25 hours a week and most are only making minimum wage or slightly above. In other words, college students aren’t exactly rolling in money. Gas prices are being raised due to many factors, including the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions that has led to a rapid recovery of global demand, and the new policy agenda allowing oil production and drilling to be increasingly more restrained, causing traders to drive up the price of crude oil.

Gas prices in California, according to the American Automobile Association, are averaging around $4.71 per gallon as of Nov. 27. That’s more than a dollar above the national average of $3.39 per gallon— and which comes out to about a quarter of the average college student’s weekly paycheck spent on gas. That makes it hard to consider saving when put into perspective, doesn’t it?

The simple explanation is that the raising of gas prices is because we want to be a cleaner state producing fewer emissions, and by doing so people will eventually buy electric vehicles to save money. The ultimate goal is to phase out all gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035 making us a completely zero-emission state.

Now we college students are facing a rather expensive issue. On one hand the price of fuel and on the other, we have electric vehicles (EVs). When asked about EVs, some students have said, “I would never buy an electric car,” and, “They’re pretty pricey for what they offer.” It’s true EVs are a great substitute for gas-powered vehicles, however they are simply unaffordable to most students, ranging from $30,000-$40,000 or more.

Now that everything is on the table, what is our solution? Well, there are multiple ways to save money with transportation.

You can carpool with a friend or classmate, substitute short drives with other means, or take public transportation.

By carpooling more often to school or work you can split gas use in half, helping with emissions as well as cutting spending.

Riding in the car with someone is a great way to socialize, and with the last year or so we’ve spent in isolation, we need it. But remember to be safe and wear your mask.

The second option is simple. If you have to go to a friend’s house, pick something up at a store, or go to the gym, walk or ride a bike. Many of our generation find it outlandish to see someone walk or bike and it’s totally not. It’s great exercise and zero emissions are produced. You may even find yourself enjoying it after a stressful day.

A lot of us probably forget that public transportation even exists. You can take Tri Delta Transit, BART or even get an Uber. It’s estimated that households can save more than $10,000 a year by taking public transportation. With the convenience of a Clipper Card you can get just about anywhere you need to go.

With a 31-day bus card through Tri Delta Transit you only spend about $57 and get a whole month’s worth of bus trips with unlimited rides. Riding BART you can ride from Antioch to San Francisco for less than $5. There’s plenty of stops for BART as well, just look up the BART map and you can map out any trip you need.

The best part of a Clipper Card is the sheer practicality of it. You can hop off your BART and take a bus a couple of blocks to your destination, meanwhile the whole time you’re just sitting back enjoying the ride.

When I decided to write an article about the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, I went into the project believing what had happened that night. I thought I knew what I wanted to say about Rittenhouse. But when I began my research, I realized the story was a lot more complicated than I thought.

Rittenhouse attended a protest Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by a white police officer. At the time of the shooting, the nation was already infuriated by police brutality after George Floyd was killed. The shooting of Blake was met with uproar by members of his community and protests had begun. In Kenosha, peaceful protests during the day turned violent, and there were many accounts of property damage and people injured.

Along with the frustration on police brutality, there were also growing tensions on the opposite end. Many were simultaneously fighting to protect the police and their communities from the protests. This was Rittenhouse’s perspective. He was 17 years old at the time and testified he went to Kenosha to protect businesses and help injured people. He brought his semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and by the end of the night, he killed two people and injured another Rittenhouse turned himself into the police department in Antioch, Illinois, where he was from, an hour after the shootings. He was later charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He pleaded not guilty to these charges and claimed that he acted in self-defense. He was found not guilty on all charges Nov. 19.

At the time of the shooting, the media coverage of the event was significant. I heard about what happened and being outraged that Rittenhouse, who was the same age as me, could kill two people and injure another. Then plead that he was acting in self-defense. I thought it was completely absurd. I was angry that he had been found not guilty because, in my mind, it appeared so clear that he was guilty. But what I didn’t understand at the time was how the media that I was consuming played in this opinion.

After my research for this article that included unbiased accounts of that night, I have a lot more empathy for Rittenhouse. He doesn’t appear to be a killer. He was a child who was scared. Rittenhouse and another witness testified that Joseph Rosenbuam, Rittenhouse’s first victim, approached him and threatened to kill him.

I don’t think the Rittenhouse case is as black and white as it’s portrayed. While Rittenhouse may truly have been acting in self-defense, the case indicates many other issues. Why was a minor able to travel across state lines with a firearm? Why did he feel like this was necessary? Why did police not arrest him immediately after the shooting despite witnesses shouting at police that he was the active shooter?

This incident shouldn’t have even been allowed to happen. But because of right-wing extremism and vigilantism Rittenhouse believed that he had to attend the event to protect the community from violent protests. No adults, not even police, stopped Rittenhouse from attending a riot with a weapon.

We need to stop blaming Rittenhouse as an individual for the events that occurred on Aug. 25, 2020 and start holding accountable the system that created the conditions for his actions.

Deposit Photos • Experience

Olivia Rodrigo wearing a Saint Laurent dress at the Acadamy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Gala on Sept. 25, 2021

Female artists face scrutiny

By CARA RIEBER

Posted online Nov. 3, 2021

Olivia Rodrigo turned heads at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Gala earlier this fall in a black Saint Laurent dress. The dress featured a low-cut neckline and thigh split. To anyone familiar with Rodrigo’s previous looks, this is a surprising divergence.

One might wonder “why?”

Rodrigo came out with her debut album, “SOUR,” in May. The album tells the story of love gone wrong. In essence, it is a breakup album. The album received criticism on social media by those who thought it was narratively simple and the concept overdone.

But I would argue that the true reason the album received so much criticism is because “SOUR” was an album made for teenage girls. Rodrigo tells the story of heartbreak, insecurity, anger and jealousy in her startlingly authentic lyrics — and it resonated deeply with teenage girls across the country.

Our society does not take media made for teenage girls seriously. It is often dismissed as frivolous, so, it’s no wonder that Rodrigo would want to present a more sophisticated image after her album was released.

Taylor Swift elaborated on this idea in her documentary “Miss Americana”: “The female artists have reinvented themselves 20 times more than the male artists.

They have to or else you’re out of a job. Constantly having to reinvent, constantly finding new facets of yourself that people find to be shiny.”

This appears to be the case with Rodrigo, as well as many other female artists — especially when she has been previously associated with an image characterized by her youth and her identity as a teenage girl. It’s also no surprise considering her origins as a Disney Channel star in the 2016 show “Bizaardvark” and in her current role as Nina in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.”

Billie Eilish faced this same issue when she re-invented her image with the release of “Happier Than Ever.” Eilish had previously been distinguished by her choice to dress in non-form fitting clothes but decided to make a change.

When she began to present herself in more form-fitting clothing, particularly wearing a corset on the cover of British “Vogue,” Eilish said on her Instagram story that she lost a significant number of followers with her decision.

“I lost 100,000 followers, just because of the boobs. People are scared of big boobs.”

Back at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Gala, Rodrigo was criticized for her look. Many said she was too young to be wearing such a scandalous dress.

The point I’m trying to make is that female artists are continually forced to recreate their images while simultaneously being shamed when they do. Rodrigo represents the struggle that many women experience in the music industry.

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.

Letter from the Editor

LOS MEDANOS COLLEGE

The reader should always feel informed at all times

By SARINA GROSSI

Posted online Sept. 15, 2021

LMC, along with the Experience, is in a transitional period. For many, this change from the isolated world back into the old way of life feels jarring and strange. But for student journalists, this time provides room to explore history in the making.

As we begin to return to campus, I’d like to think that this is a notion of getting back on track. For the newspaper, this indicates regular content posted online via our website and attending live events for coverage.

With the new skills we have learned from our time online, our journalistic practices will be more refined than ever.

With a name like the Experience, it’s vital to create new experiences for our readers with each story, which is why one of our goals this semester is to cover a variety of different topics. With the newspaper back on campus, we now have more ability to cover anything from sports to arts and culture to general campus news.

We want to provide an inclusive and diverse space where every reader can find a story

Sarina Grossi • Experience

Experience Editor-in-Chief Sarina Grossi hopes to cover “important stories with care , focus, truth, and nuance.” that captures their attention.

The newspaper staff and I plan to be not only accurate, but efficient with our report-

ing. Our readers can rely on us to be on the frontlines of every event, shining a light in the dark and providing a voice to the voiceless in these unprecedented times.

Our main concern is to meet our readers’ needs, and that means covering important stories with care, focus, truth and nuance.

As a student-run newspaper, we encourage student engagement from outside of our staff.

We want to curate a creative environment that allows free thought to be utilized and strives for improvement across the board.

Whether it’s asking questions or writing letters to the editor, we are open to any contribution to make our newspaper better. If you are interested in submitting story ideas or letters to the editor, email the Experience at losmedanos.experience@gmail.com.

The past year and a half away from campus has been one of missed chances and “whatcould’ve-beens,” but as we move through this awkward transition period, the Experience plans to make the best of every opportunity presented to us.

Let’s make this semester an unforgettable one.

Experience L M C E X P E R I E N C E . C O M

Member California Newspaper Publishers Association

“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

FA L L 2 0 2 1 Editor-in-Chief ............................ SARINA GROSSI Features Editor.........................DYLAN DAVIDSON Arts Editor..........................STEPHANIE ARREOLA

S PRI NG 2 0 2 2 Editor-in-Chief ............................ .SARINA GROSSI Perspectives Editor.......................KAI ARELLANO Features Editor.....................MICHAEL BENEDIAN Arts Editor.................................DYLAN DAVIDSON and JOSEPH GIDDINGS News Editor........................STEPHANIE ARREOLA Sports Editor................................TREY HINCKLEY 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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What is the right choice for women?

Tara Eastwood

Sarina Grossi

GUEST COLUMNIST

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Abortion isn’t the answer The topic of abortion has been debated in society for decades — especially in the realms of politics and religion. Whether someone is pro-choice, pro-life or anti-abortion, it is important to consider the arguments on all sides of the aisle. However, I believe there is an upstanding winner in this debate: Abortion is wrong morally and legally.

One of the most common points on the pro-choice side of the debate is the fact that the mother should have every right to choose what she does with her body. This is true in all aspects of her life, but the baby she has inside her womb is not her body, nor is it her life to dictate. Pregnant women do not have two hearts, 20 fingers or two separate sets of DNA — one heart, 10 fingers and a unique set of DNA belong to the fetus.

No one should have the power to assign value to an individual regardless of their developmental stage in life. The woman had choices before she became pregnant. She could have used various forms of birth control — or even avoided intercourse altogether.

Even after conception, adoption is still a choice that is arguably better than abortion.

One of my dearest friends was adopted as a baby and she is extremely grateful for the life she has been given. If her biological mother had chosen to predetermine the quality of her life as most pro-choice activists do, she would never have been able to live the fulfilling life she has thus far. Every single fetus that has been conceived has its own set of special DNA and should be treated as the life it is.

While over 99% of performed abortions are due to a lack of planning and precautions, the remaining 1% is due to rape. This scenario is more complicated and unfortunate, but the argument that abortion is wrong remains.

The actions of rapists should not determine the fate of the unborn. Allowing a pregnancy to continue when a woman is raped is not the same thing as forcing the woman to be pregnant. The only person who forced

Options should not be limited Fibonacci Blue • Creative Commons

Aborotion protest at Planned Parenthood pregnancy onto the woman is the rapist who will or should be charged for his crime. The occurrence of pregnancy as a result of rape is typically seen as a burden, but the wrongful act of rape does not justify another wrongful act like abortion. The rapist is guilty of forcing something onto the woman, but the baby that came as a result is innocent.

Another commonly used argument to defend abortion is the fact that the baby inside the womb is completely dependant on the mother and should not be treated as its own being until it can fend for itself outside the womb.

A fetus is completely reliant on the mother while in the womb, but that level of reliance does not suddenly change once the baby is born. A newborn child needs constant care until the moment it learns to fend for itself.

As medicine continues to develop, it is becoming more possible for babies to survive when born prematurely. All trimesters of pregnancy blend together and there is no definitive point in time that a baby can survive outside the womb. It is all dependent on medicine and the baby’s personal point of development. For this reason, all trimesters of pregnancy should be treated the same.

Most people would argue that ending the life of an individual on life support is wrong even though they are reliant on machines to keep them alive. It is the same concept for pregnancy. As long as a fetus is not harming the mother, there should be no other reason to end the life.

Abortion also allows people to change their lifestyle because they no longer have to fear the repercussions a sexually active way of life entails. Instead of turning to abortion for unwanted pregnancies, we as a nation should be looking for solutions to better the lives of people who feel they would be better off killing their children.

The Heartbeat Act, a new law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, was passed

by Texas legislators Sept. 1, effectively changing the lives of countless women living in the state.

For me, the law sounds like something coming straight out of Margaret Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale,” as it signifies a need to control women.

The act states that abortions cannot be performed once a heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy before a woman even knows she is pregnant. The law does not permit abortions for rape or incest victims, minors or even medical vulnerable patients.

Laws like this aren’t new, as Georgia, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Kentucky and South Carolina have passed similar laws in the past. What’s different about Texas, however, is that the law is upheld by private citizens that can be rewarded $10,000 for successful lawsuits against those who performed the now illegal abortions.

It is evident the goal of this law is to ultimately challenge Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court.

Texas Right to Life, a anti-abortion organization that set up whistleblower websites to track doctors who might have broken the Heartbeat Act, claims that the law will not harm any women who might have received an abortion. I find this to be misleading, as it does actively punish women with unwanted pregnancies by making abortions practicably inaccessible.

What I don’t understand is why legislators who pass laws like these (including men who have never been pregnant or have given birth) use the label “pro-life.” These decisions have nothing to do with preserving life or improving the lives of others.

Banning safe and legal abortions does not stop the practice from happening. Abortion has been around since ancient times, but these current protocols are the safest the procedure has ever been. Desperate women are bound to find any place they can get the procedure done, resulting in possible death. According to the World Health Organization, 4.7% to 13.2% of “maternal deaths” are caused by unsafe abortions.

David Bledsoe• Creative Commons

Protestors in NYC Foley Square Is it “pro-life” to let a woman die resulting from a botched medical procedure?

Sometimes, women get abortions for the sake of their lives or the child’s life. With modern technology, doctors often are able to tell when a fetus might not make it to full term, as over 24,000 children arrive stillborn every year according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Women in these cases choose to abort the fetus to avoid the heartache of delivering a stillborn child or to make the child suffer further. Doctors are also able to tell when a woman might have birth complications during delivery, with almost 700 women dying each year from pregnancies.

Is it “pro-life” to force a parent to give birth to an already dead child or to force them to die in order to give birth?

Anti-abortionists claim they want the fetus to get the chance to live, but when it’s mother is a 13-year-old girl who was raped by a family member, the child will likely not live in a healthy environment. The mother is herself a child and is unable to provide the proper care needed to support a baby, especially one resulting from a traumatic event, and she may still have to fight for custody if her abuser does not face jail time.

Is it “pro-life” to place a child in an unstable environment without love and support, possibly affecting the entire course of their life?

Sure, women can choose to put children up for adoption, but both adoption services and foster care have messy outcomes. According to Kids Data, children in foster care are more likely to develop emotional or behavioral problems and those that grow out of the foster care system often “experience inadequate housing, low educational and career attainment, early parenthood, substance abuse, physical and mental health problems, and involvement with the criminal justice system.”

Not to mention an estimated 87% of children that enter foster care for the first time are removed See CHOICE, page 14

Predicting election results is tough

How it’s not surpising that Newsom has won again

Dante Harrold

By DANTE HARROLD

Posted online Sept.29, 2021

HOPEFULLY USEFUL

This is more than an election Posted online Sept 9, 2021

All elections matter. No matter how seemingly small or trivial. California is going to have a recall election Sept.

14 in which voters will decide whether to keep Gavin Newsom as governor. If recalled, Newsom will be replaced by one of 46 candidates — and most likely a republican.

The leading candidate to replace Newsom is syndicated republican radio host Larr y Elder, a man who thinks there should be no minimum wage, is anti-reproductive rights and would reverse the mask and vaccine mandates Gov. Newsom has implemented to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.

Elder is also a fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump, even after the man’s failed attempt to overturn the election.

From the perspective of liberals, it may not seem like an important race to pay attention to, and some may even scoff at the idea that Newsom could be recalled.

After all, California is a Democratic-leaning state in which 47% of voters are registered as Democrats. Newsom himself won by 26 points when he ran for governor in 2016 and President Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by 29.2 points.

Wolfram Burner • Creative Commons

Directing to student ballot box in University of Oregon Some of you may see it as a waste of time to get invested in this recall election because it seems obvious Newsom will not be recalled.

As a liberal myself, I felt the same way. A republican governor in California in 2021? The very notion seemed laughable and easily dismissible just a few months ago. But then I started to see polls from reputable pollsters showing a much closer race.

Emerson Polling reported: “The latest Emerson College/ Nexstar poll of the California gubernatorial recall election finds voters remain split, with 46% in favor and 48% against the recall of Gov. Newsom. Six percent (6%) of likely voters are still undecided.”

Emerson Polling also reported: “Since earlier in July, when the recall was at 43% in favor and 48% against, the number of undecided voters has fallen 3%, while 3% more have reported that they are in favor of the recall.”

Another example is a poll conducted in July by UC Berkeley, which found Newsom avoiding the recall by two points, well within the standard margin of error.

It should also be noted that pollsters often overestimate the suppor t for democratic candidates, failing to gain the

solid majority heavily implied by polls.

Some may now realize that, yes, Newsom could actually be recalled by voters and yet still not see the big problem. Some might concede that conservatives may jump in jubilation at having humiliated the liberals on what is supposed to be their home turf but believe that’s the most harm that could be done. After all, democrats hold a supermajority in the state legislature and can easily pass most measures without the governor’s signature.

But the governor of California does more than sign legislation.

The governor is responsible for replacing a senator from the state in the event of a resignation or an untimely death. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is 88 years old, a year older than Ruth Bader-Ginsberg was when she died.

Supreme Court Justice Breyer is 82 years old. If Feinstein dies under a republican governor who can replace her with a republican, that ends whatever chance democrats have of preser ving Democracy from the increasingly authoritarian Republican Party.

All elections matter, so don’t sit this one out. For more information on voting, visit the Experience’s guide to the recall election.

After much hype about the possibility of a close election Sept. 14 to decide whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, the democratic governor easily won by a margin that, at this point in time, looks better than his 2018 victory.

The way many democratic political figures and liberal media outlets — including myself — have expressed opinions and reported on the election may have been overly apocalyptic. That can invoke a needlessly demotivating pessimism about the state of politics from those with more socially liberal and left-leaning views.

California is a state in which Democrats hold a majority of the voters — nearly half, with the remaining registered voters split between Republicans and independents.

And in contrast to his recall-predecessor Gray Davis, who had an approval rating in the mid-twenties, Newsom was fairly popular with an approval rating in the fifties.

In the weeks before the election most of the polls showed Newsom winning by double digits. The average polling score on RealClearPolitics for Newsom beating the recall was 14.5, the average score on FiveThirtyEight was 15.8. Some may point to the polling a month before the election that showed a tighter race as the reason why the level of concern was necessary.

But as Gov. Newsom’s lead expanded into the double digits, the panic — to which I’ll admit to having contributed to — did not dissipate. Even pollsters with a more conservative bias showed Newsom winning by near double digits.

Yet many liberals doubled down on their fear. Vice President Kamala Harris came to the state to campaign on behalf of Newsom, Former President Barack Obama still appeared in commercials with the goal of keeping Newsom in office.

In part, I believe this was done out of a better safe than sorry mentality.

A healthy dose of humility should always be present for a political figure or group seeking to get elected. I have no regrets about urging people to vote. But I do think that I — and many liberals — should have been more realistic in terms of the probabilities of the recall succeeding as Election Day approached instead of treating the worst possible outcomes as being the

most likely.

Of course, there was a chance Newsom wouldn’t beat the recall — and last month the polls showed a fairly good one. But you wouldn’t know it by how many liberals, democrats and media outlets talked about the event.

For example, one article by Edward Ting on SFgate carried the headline, “Should we trust the Gavin Newsom recall polls showing an easy win?” There’s an insinuation of the answer being no.

Ting focuses on two pollsters. “The first, from Survey USA and the San Diego Union-Tribune, shows 51% of respondents voting “no” on the recall ballot’s first question (Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled?), with 43% responding “yes” and 6% undecided.

A separate poll from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) showed Newsom leading question one by an even wider 58% to 39% margin — a 19 percentage-point lead that appears seemingly insurmountable,” Ting wrote.

He did not address other pollsters who had a high rating from FiveThirtyEight predictions for the election. He didn’t give an acknowledgement on how scant polling on ballot measures are in comparison to highly anticipated political races like the recall was.

I am not faulting the man for this since I too failed to make such an acknowledgment because I feared doing so would entice complacency from liberals.

To be clear, polling upsets can happen, and no government office should always be taken for a given. Political office is a privilege and not a divine right for anyone.

But we should have done our due diligence in informing readers about the likelihood of the recall’s success.

There’s also the problem of many media outlets hyping this race just so there was something to talk about, to read about, or to watch on their platform. Controversy sells.

A lot of the attention and money geared toward the recall could have been used toward winning other political offices in truly competitive places that are vitally important — such as election commissions which are being infested by many fascistic elements in society.

To be clear, I am glad to see Newsom defeat the recall. But there must be an acknowledgment that it wasn’t surprising.

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in your ballot, drop it off at a secure ballot box, or go to a polling place.

Every California voter will automatically receive a ballot, no matter what. There is no special procedure you have to go through to receive one.

The county election offices started sending out mail-in ballots Aug. 16, and there is still time to mail it as long as it is postmarked by Sept. 14.

If you don’t feel comfortable mailing in your ballot this close to the election, you can also drop it off before 8 p.m. Sept.

14 at any of the secure ballot drop boxes located in various places in your county. To find the locations of ballot drop off boxes near you head over to your county’s election office website. Finally, you can vote in person either before or on election day. Many people don’t know this, but California offers early in-person voting in the days leading up to the election. Check your county’s election office website for early voting locations and times.

If you would like to vote in person on election day Sept.

14, polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are many locations for you to cast your ballot, so check your county’s election office website to get the complete list of polling locations.

For more information on voter registration, polling station locations and times, visit the the Contra Costa County Election Office.

About the ballot: There are two sections to the California gubernatorial recall ballot. The first section asks if you would like to recall Gov. Newsom. If you would like to see him replaced, vote

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“yes.” If you would like him to remain in office, vote “no.”

The next section asks you to vote for a candidate to replace Newsom if he is recalled. The ballot then lists the 46 candidates who are running to replace him.

There are Democrats and Republicans running, as well as candidates from other parties or with no party affiliation. You can vote for a candidate in this section regardless of how you voted in the recall portion of the ballot.

If more than 50% of Californians vote “no,” then Newsom will remain in office. But if more than 50% vote “yes,” then he will be recalled and the candidate with the highest number of votes will replace him.

Los Medanos College Political Science Professor Ryan Hiscocks pointed out the candidate does not need a majority to win the seat, just the most votes. He said that because there are so many candidates running, the votes will most likely be split among many candidates.

If Newsom is recalled the new governor might have only received 15 to 20% of the votes because, Hiscocks added, they only need a “plurality not a majority,” to win the election.

Why California is having this election: Professor Hiscocks explained the gubernatorial recall election is one of California’s three direct democracy initiatives. What this means is that Californians themselves, not their elected officials, can request the gubernatorial recall election.

How this process works is that registered voters representing 12% of the voter turnout in the last gubernatorial election signed a petition requesting this recall election to occur — that’s about 1.5 million Californians.

“For your signature to be valid for any California direct democracy process, of which the governor’s recall election is one of the three, you have to be a registered voter,” Hiscocks explained.

According to Cal Matters, the California secretar y of state certified on July 1 the gubernatorial election petition with more than 1.7 million signatures on it.

In the ballot information guide the proponents of the recall election explained their reasons for wanting Newsom recalled: They say he has not proposed any solutions to lessen homelessness and allege his COVID-19 plans hurt the economy, and that his economic relief packages have not stimulated new economic growth.

The proponents also say that during Newsom’s term homicides have gone up by 31% and K-12 public schools are ranked 37th in the nation.

To hear more on the upcoming election, read Dante Harrold’s column where he shares his take on why voters should not miss this election.

day comes closer, there are plenty of individuals on campus who are still unvaccinated and hesitant toward receiving the vaccine. Hicks said she believes the best way to encourage these individuals is by educating them on information they are unsure about.

“There’s still a lot [of people] who aren’t necessarily anti-vaxxers, but they have vaccine hesitancy because this is something new,” said Hicks. “We need to help them to understand what it is about the vaccine that they are… not sure about.”

At LMC, the mandate is receiving mixed reactions.

Some students, such as Steven Chun, view the mandate positively and believe it should be implemented.

“I believe it’s a good step to take, the vaccine mandate should be more widely mandated,” said Chun.

Others are for the vaccine and the mandate, but believe that there might be some logistical issues, like LMC history professor Ryan Tripp.

“I’m for a vaccine mandate.

The only concern that I have about it is individuals that can’t access the vaccines,” said Tripp, “There’s certain people that should be exempt… if there’s really specific reasons or medical reasons why somebody can’t get it with

heavy documentation then they should be allowed to be exempt from the mandate, but a general mandate I support.”

On the other side, some students and staff believe the mandate is not necessary and can be intrusive.

“In my personal opinion, I don’t think they should be forcing anyone to take it, as it is their own choice, but most people as it is do understand that they should take it for the greater good,” said Jack Sailor, an LMC student and athlete, “So I believe in humanity taking it, but it shouldn’t be forced on anybody just because the government feels the need too.”

If you have yet to be vaccinated and are interested in getting the vaccine, LMC is hosting a free vaccination clinic Thursday Sept. 23 from 8:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pittsburg campus inside the Student Union Conference Center. The clinic offers the Pfizer vaccine for individuals over the age of 12 and requires no appointment ahead of time.

If you are interested in lear ning more about the vaccine mandate, visit the 4CD’s COVID-19 resource page along with the LMC Library resource page.

— Daniel Herrera and Kai Arellano contributed to this report

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According to LMC President Bob Kratochvil, this mandate does not include students who are medically incapable of receiving the vaccine or have religious beliefs that “may request an exemption.”

If an exemption is approved, the student or staff member will receive weekly COVID-19 tests to confirm they are not infected.

Students who do not get vaccinated without an exemption will not be allowed to enroll in in-person classes, but are encouraged to continue taking online classes.

This measure comes after the district has implemented other safety protocols, such as facilities being cleaned nightly and sanitizing “high touch points.” This was paired with the on-campus mask mandate that was adopted before the semester began.

“It remains impor tant to follow CDC, State, and County Health Department guidance regarding Covid-19 and emerging variants,” said Carlos Montoya, the vice president of Business and Administrative Services at LMC, “Primarily this is focused on getting vaccinated, properly wearing face coverings and conducting their self-screenings.”

As the vaccine requirement

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sionals, and managers – and always has students at the forefront of her actions and decision-making. She has done incredible work in every role she has assumed in the district, and I am confident she will do an outstanding job in the assignment of acting chancellor for however long she will be in that role.”

LMC student Austin Green, who sits on the district governing board as a student trustee, does not expect the action to affect students.

“I can’t really comment on a complex personnel matter such as this one due to confidentiality,” he said. “However, from a student perspective, I don’t see a major impact on

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students and have the utmost confidence in our acting chancellor.”

Jeffrey Michels, executive director of the United Faculty, is concerned about the situation, but is confident in Mehdizadeh’s leadership.

“From a UF perspective, this is certainly bad news insofar as Chancellor Reece has been accessible, collaborative, and pro-faculty since he started at 4CD,” he wrote in an email to faculty. “But there is good news in that Acting Chancellor Mehdizadeh is someone with whom our UF leadership already has a good working relationship.”

Aside from this particular issue, Michels indicated the

UF is also concerned about how many managers have recently been placed on leave.

“The lack of stability and growing personnel shor tage at the district office is also troubling (we now have three senior administrators on involuntar y leave),” he wrote. “Our UF has serious concerns (which we have been voicing for years now) about the weaponizing of complaints in our district and the way 4CD handles investigations.”

Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more information develops.

— Chase Wheeler and John Naranjo contributed to this report

and surprised at this decision,” he said. “I so vehemently hope that it is reversed.”

Reece himself also had an opportunity to speak near the end of the open session and pointed out the poor investigative practices of the college board.

“One of the 45 objectives you asked me to address was to clean up our investigation practices. These practices have been widely acknowledged as flawed, and lack good policies to guide us,” he said.

Reece added that due to the

lack of clear policies, investigations take up a tremendous amount of time, energy and money, and put the college board in a situation in which it is forced to rely on attorneys.

After the open session, the six-hour closed session began, at the end of which Board President Andy-Li emerged to report that the board had voted to bring the chancellor back while the personnel probe continues.

Editor’s note: This is a breaking story and will be updated as it develops.

Voters Registration Day. Josh Bahns, a former staff writer, also earned an honorable mention for a review on “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.”

Cindy McGrath, our Experience adviser, is thrilled to have such a hardworking staff who put so much time and effort into their news stories.

If you would like to read the award-winning stories, please

click the links here: First Place Inside Page Layout Winner, Second Place News Stor y Winner, Fourth Place Editorial Board Winner, Fourth Place Illustration Winner, Honorable Mention Critical Review Winner (“The Queen’s Gambit”) and Honorable Mention Critical Review Winner (“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”).

the library hopes to honor those who have served on campus.

“Our student veterans and employees enrich our college community by bringing their life experiences to our classrooms and campus discussions. We want them to know that the LMC Library honors their service and has materials to support their academic research and transition from soldiers to scholars,” said Wentworth.

Er win said the featured Native American Studies guide is featured to represent an underrepresented population on campus and to give more insight on history.

“It’s important for all students to feel seen and reflected in our Library materials,” said Erwin. “I often hear people say that the history of indigenous people in the US was overlooked or undervalued in their previous educational experiences, so I think that’s the point of pulling out and highlighting the perspectives and contributions of indigenous peoples--for us to educate

ourselves.”

With both featured guides, providing a safe space to educate is vital. The library celebrates diversity through these guides, giving all students and employees a seat at the table.

“Ever yone comes to the table with their ancestors, their heritage, and their whole identity to help us build an authentic community where we learn from each other and help one another succeed. We want everyone to feel welcome and seen and supported at LMC,” said Wood.

The LMC Librar y’s research guides are available all year round, with the online database rotating featured guides with a large array of topics often.

If you are interested in either of the featured guides this month, visit the Native American Studies guide or the Militar y and Veteran guide. The library is also open in-person Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. if you would like to access physical resources.

online at 70%.

The pandemic caused an abrupt stop to in-person classes on March 13, 2020, so many members of the faculty and staff were wondering about the impact it had on the rest of the semester.

“Spring 2020 has been of great interest and lots of questions surrounding spring 2020,” said Blackthorne. “Have we recovered from that and what does that look like?”

Spring of 2020 saw an overall decrease in district success rates at 69.2% compared with the semesters before the pandemic, with LMC’s success rate being 68%. Yet it is apparent that even in the semester immediately following, students were more likely to succeed.

Two semesters after the pandemic first struck, district success rates for spring of 2021 are 76.5% while LMC’s

success rate was an average of 78.3%.

The district’s recover y was rather quick given all that occurred and will likely continue to grow as a stronger plan is created.

Mehzidadeh explained at the Town Hall that the data presented was “at a flyover” as the district has much more data that has yet to be processed but said that the additional data will be used to inform future revisions to the new draft.

Work on the strategic plan will continue in the spring, with a finalized plan expected to be presented to the 4CD Governing Board on May 11, 2022.

The new strategic plan is being designed to ensure online education further improves so that more people are able to get a college education no matter their schedule.

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leave with no public explanation,” he said.

Michels added that the district has had an issue with how investigative reports are handled and how investigations are responded to.

Milton Clarke, LMC Union representative and Social Science department chair, also remarked on the board’s decision to place Reece on administrative leave.

“Most faculty considered that we now have a dynamic, exciting and progressive board of trustees and I’m shocked

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Layout in the Publication Contest with a page he designed during fall 2020 semester.

Hopkins, with an article on the college district senate, was also honored with a second place award in the News Story category.

In the Illustration category, former Graphics Editor Jesus Chico won fourth place for an illustration on National

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display spotlights photographs of Indigenous people from various Native cultures along with nature photos of traditional territories surrounding these cultures.

“When I curated the accompanying photographs, I wanted to include a broader spectrum of native peoples than are usually represented in media and show present day faces as well,” said Wood. “Native Americans are modern day people as well as historical figures.”

Kimberly Wentworth, the Electronic Resources librarian who curated the Military and Veterans guide, said the purpose of the guides are to inspire students and staff alike.

“By highlighting a broad array of high-interest materials on a variety of subjects, we hope these guides spark curiosity in our students and employees,” said Wentworth, “drive them to delve deeper into all the materials and services that the library has to offer.”

With the inclusion of the Military and Veteran guide,

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a variety of student services and, according to the LMC website, it was designed to enable students to pursue associate’s degrees, complete GE requirements, and take both transfer and career and technical courses.

Dr. Tanisha Maxwell, vice president of Student Services, explained how the new facility will benefit students.

“We have doubled our classroom space in comparison to our previous facility, expanded the student study spaces both indoors and outdoors and increased administrative spaces for Student Services so that more departments can have a designated space to serve students,” she said.

Brentwood Librarian Roseann Er win said the new campus is an exciting and important step for LMC. “When I started my position at LMC five years ago, the

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From page 3 plans were already being made. So, it’s been a long time coming,” she said. “The old center was really bustling, so there is a lot of demand for an LMC location in the Brentwood area. And for the Library, our new space will enable us to provide equitable services by having a visible and consistent presence,” She said that in addition to reserve textbooks, there will be a new book and periodical collection so students can peruse and check out books for scholarly research or leisure reading.

“Brentwood has never had a browsable book collection before, so we’re really excited to provide that,” she added.

According to Maxwell, here is when and where students can take advantage of services at the center: Student Ser vices — In person in BRT 405 by appoint-

ment Mondays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Thursdays, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Remotely: Mondays-Thursdays, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Math Lab — In person in BRT 410 Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-7:15 p.m., Friday 8:45-2 p.m. Remotely: TuesdayThursday: 9:30 a.m.-12:30 pm; 3:30 p.m.-7:15 p.m.

Center for Academic Support — Available through Zoom and in person by appointment in BRT 420.

Librar y — The Librar y, which was impacted by the flood, is temporarily located in BRT 420. Hours are Tuesdays, noon-4 p.m., Wednesdays, 3-6 p.m. and Thursdays, 2-6 p.m.

Bookstore — It is expected to open in this fall but has no official opening date. It is in room BRT 414 for the time being.

The new Brentwood Center is located at 1351 Pioneer Square.

Their work was done based on data presented before the Zoom breakout rooms were opened. Senior Dean of Research and Planning Emma Blackthorne reported that, across all ethnic groups, the overall success and retention rates are increasing.

“The whole crew and faculty have done a fantastic job at making sure that students are having successful outcomes,” she said.

The district average for success rates across the board is 74.5% with the highest average for a specific mode of instruction being hybrid — partially in-person, par tially online — with 75.6%. Other modes analyzed include in-person and fully online, both asynchronous and synchronous.

Los Medanos College’s highest success rate was found in face-to-face instruction with 77%, and the lowest was

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because the world wasn’t listening. These women, this is for them.”

Both women and men alike were honored in the long list of Emmy awards presented during the two-hour show, and “The Crown” and “Ted Lasso” were richly rewarded.

“The Crown” received 11 total Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series. Josh O’Connor won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Prince Charles and Olivia Colman took home Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II. And Jessica Hobbes won the award for Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series for her work on the episode “War.” On the comedy side, “Ted Lasso” received seven awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Jason Suedikis won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the title role and Hannah Waddingham won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as team owner Rebecca Welton.

And Jean Smart of “Hacks” received a warm standing ovation when she accepted her Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy award for her role as Deborah Vance.

The awards for the Limited Series or Anthology were split between “Mare of Easton” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”

Ultimately, “The Queen’s Gambit” won Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology, while Kate Winslet won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Anthology for her role as Mare in “Mare of Easton.”

“The Queen’s Gambit” originally aired in late October 2020 during the peak of the pandemic. It instantly became popular on social media platforms and spread through word of mouth.

When accepting the award for Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology, William Horberg, Executive Producer of “The Queen’s Gambit,” gave a nod to that impact on its popular success.

“The one thing no algorithm can predict or billion dollar budget can manufacture is word of mouth,” he said. “This award goes to the fans who told their friends, who became fans who told their friends.”

For a complete list of Emmy Award winners, see www. emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners.

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by showing examples of what moms go through on a daily basis and highlighting the courage it takes to leave an abuser. The show connects with viewers on an emotional level, and for some, it may be a tear-jerker.

When her ex decides that he is going to fight for custody of their daughter, Alex realizes she needs a job and finds one at a local cleaning company.

As the maid, Alex goes from house to house cleaning up other people’s messes.

In the course of her new job, she comes across homes of the extremely wealthy, decorated with elegance and class, and envies this lifestyle. The writer did an amazing job of contrasting the different lifestyles people have depending on how much they make. In one scene, a wealthy homeowner returns home alone on Thanksgiving while Alex is still cleaning.

When Alex wonders why the woman is sad, the homeowner tells her she’s been having marital problems and her husband asked for a divorce.

She explains to Alex how she wishes things were simpler and she could just be a mother because that’s all she ever wanted. And although Alex wishes she could live her lifestyle, she realizes she loves being a mother and wouldn’t change it for anything.

This connected with me — and will resonate with viewers — because you see how someone can have so much and still lack something they dearly want. The writer’s message comes through loud and clear: You can’t have it all.

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LMC sophmore days

Cathie Lawrence • Experience correspondent

LMC Mustang football players at Nov.13th home game against Contra Costa College. Running back #13 Adrian Todorov charges through CCC players, line backer #22 Noah Franklin and defense backer #12 Jaden Rhodes. The opposing team took the win with a score of 21-42. LMC coach Chris Snipe said the team played well and that the score does not reflect how close of a game it was.

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independently.

“We expect [tutors] to facilitate learning. We expect them to help students to learn, not to give out answers,” said Mills.

This practice of building independent learning skills is vital to life after LMC, especially since students will not have center support when they leave.

“The idea is for the student to do it independently because when they transfer, they are not going to have access to us and when you go out into the real world these are skills you can take with you, but you can’t take the tutor with you,” said Stanfield.

Becoming a tutor at the Center for Academic Support is simple but takes dedication.

First, you must be referred to the center by a faculty member.

It can be either that a professor approaches a student with the referral, or the student can ask their professor if they would be a good fit.

After the recommendation is sent, the center will talk with the student and train them to become a tutor.

Before COVID-19, the center was filled with students, tutors and staff helping one another. It was a safe space for people to come together to gain knowledge and to build a sense of community.

Now during the pandemic restrictions, that feeling of unity feels absent in the center.

Many of the students being tutored are helped via Zoom and only a handful come in for face-to-face tutoring.

“We used to have study slams, we would order pizza and food and we miss those things because it made it a sense of community,” said Stanfield. “There’s something tangible about breaking bread with someone, it breaks the ice.”

Mills said it is difficult to predict what the center’s support will look like in the future due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

With tutoring being either fully online, face-to-face or a hybrid of both, Mills is unsure whether they are helping students to their full potential.

“We don’t know where students are right now, we don’t have that connection like we used to. The online thing I feel like is really distancing us,” she said.

Despite the pandemic restrictions, the center still has face-to-face tutoring services and does get students coming and going, though not at the rate it used to.

The Center for Academic Support is located on Level 3 in the Core building of the College Complex in Pittsburg.

It is open for in-person sessions Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is open remotely Mondays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, please visit the Center for Academic Support page.

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step guide on the website can help with filling out the four required sections of the application.

The supporting information section of the application mainly consists of the Education Opportunity Program application not just for SJSU, but for other CSUs as well.

Spartan East Side Promise Program Lead Amanda Fernandes recommends you apply if you fit the category but are not sure if you should.

“This is the one and only time that you can apply to EOP when you apply to admission for that university,” Fernandes said. “It is an amazing support service if you have the opportunity to do so.”

Changes can’t be made once the application is submitted, so make sure double check and take the time to review that the information is correct. Refunds will also not be issued to applications that are submitted.

Fernandes said it’s crucial to get it done early to avoid possible issues with the fee waiver or other application errors. Additional Cal State Apply Application Workshops will be held every Tuesday from 6–7 p.m., Thursday from 2–3 p.m., and Friday from 11 a.m. to noon through Nov. 23.

You can register by visiting the San Jose State University’s event tab on their front page website.

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enough words to describe how phenomenal and just incredibly supportive this foundation is,” she said.

Cobbs spoke about her tips and tricks on nailing the application process.

“Don’t rush. Ask people that you trust to look over your responses. I asked so many professors and faculty members at LMC to look over my application to see if my ideas were being conveyed in the way that I wanted to,” said Cobbs. “I also reached out to the scholarship department at LMC. Four words I would use in my application are resiliency, leadership, personal growth and philanthropy.”

Sylverian encouraged everyone who was interested in applying to start early. She gave the advice of working on your grades, community service and involving yourself more in your school clubs.

“It’s always good to start early and have a plan, it may not work out the way you wanted it to but somehow you will get to where you need to be, that’s what I believe.

To apply to the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, you must be a cur rent community college student or a recent graduate and plan to enroll into a four-year institution in fall of 2022. Applicants also must have a GPA of at least 3.5, demonstrate financial need and no previous enrollments in any four-year institution.

The deadline is Jan. 10, 2022.

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some of it but it’s a little bit hazy. I’m glad that California passed this law, though, because it would be beneficial when this sort of thing happens,” he said.

And second-year LMC student Matthew Murnane said that although AB 435 is a state law, the issue is important enough to become a national concern.

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t be federal because it’s like you’re having consensual sex with somebody and a condom is a big part of safe sex and when someone takes off a condom it increases the risks of pregnancy and STIs,” he said.

It is also important to note this legislation exists under California’s Civil Code, as opposed to the Criminal Code.

According to Garcia, this is to allow victims to sue perpetrators directly instead of having to go through the police and the district attorney’s office.

In 2017 Alexa Brodsky wrote a research article for the Columbia Journal of Law and Gender entitled “Rape Adjacent: Imagining Legal Responses To Non-Consensual Condom Removal.” The article explored the ways in which non-consensual condom removal is a violation of bodily autonomy and should be considered sexual assault.

In her article, Brodsky also advocated for the creation of legislation that criminalizes non-consensual condom removal and is largely credited for starting the conversation around the issue.

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made him such a strong pillar of the campus, and LMC professor Kurt Crowder valued it immensely.

“He had a lot of high-powered positions, including Senior Dean of Instruction and Interim President, but he was a humble man. He would pick up trash in the hallway.

It’s just a little thing, but it spoke to the character of the man. He never considered himself to be ‘too good’ to do whatever needed to be done to help the LMC community,” said Crowder.

Crowder also obser ved that Livingston was a fantastic leader, and that he would inspire those around him.

“He was kind and compassionate and cared deeply about the students and the college staff. His door was always open whenever I needed advice or help with a problem. Richard would praise us in public and only give suggestions for improvement in private. He would read my reports and then send me notes saying what he liked about them. He loved LMC, the students and the staff,” said Crowder.

The memorial for Livingston will be held on Jan. 8, 2022 at 1 p.m. at the LMC Student Union Conference Center. His family asks for donations to the established Richard Livingston Scholarship through the Los Medanos College Foundation

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Follow the LMC Experience online at lmcexperience.com

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engagement and retention, with more student pathways completed.

“While our local community is familiar with the quality courses that we offer our students, the Exchange provides an opportunity for LMC to share our courses and online opportunities with students across the state,” said April Nogarr, the former Distance Education coordinator at LMC. “Students are no longer limited by geographical location and their opportunities to enroll in the exciting courses that we offer.”

The Exchange is groundbreaking in terms of accessibility. In the wake of the transition to fully online courses back in 2020, students need a flexible online space.

Whether a disability makes in-person classes difficult, transportation to campus is not possible or even just a class being full, the CVC Exchange guarantees that students have access to multiple options, further helping them reach graduation goals.

“For a long time in online education, we have known that it provided an option to students who would otherwise have to drop out or wait,” said Miller, “now going forward, we know that having the flexibility that an online class or a couple classes in your schedule can offer can help students stay on their path, stay in college, and complete more quickly.”

CCC and DVC joined the Exchange in 2018, with LMC joining the campuses later in 2020. With the help of an IT team, the campuses went live on the platform with course selection and later opened it further to allow students to enroll in classes without extra steps. The IT team also worked out dozens of challenges over the span of three years, including matching college requirements, admissions and financial aid issues.

With the problems ironed out, the CVC Exchange allows students to have both transcripts and financial aid coordinated, meaning that you no longer have to send special requests for transcripts and can also use any financial

aid you might have at your home college. All of this under federal privacy laws such as FERPA that does not allow your information to be public.

“I like that we have removed some of the pain points of attending college for people who are interested in going to college, but maybe because of distance, location or are just working can’t do that as well,” said Dr. Janith Norman, the LMC Distance Education coordinator.

The “Teaching College” status helps expand the campuses’ presence on the platform, with a preference to these colleges on student searches. Along with this status, the District is focusing on specified “Quality Reviewed” badges, indicating classes that have quality material, necessary accessibility tools for students with disabilities and student services such as online tutoring. Other badges including the “Zero Textbook Cost” icon give the online classes an organized approach to help students.

“Through this process, more courses are going to be organized so students can have the best opportunities for learning and being successful on that journey. To me that’s exciting,” said Norman.

The campuses’ inclusion in the Exchange is designed to serve students by breaking down barriers, but it also encourages student voices.

The district looks at student demand, such as the recent desire to keep prioritizing online education, and builds the courses on the exchange accordingly. Students actively determine the ever-adapting modality and mechanics of online distance education.

“Providing quality, accessible online courses… is a priority. The CVC Exchange suppor ts and encourages faculty to create courses that meet required accessibility standards,” said Nogarr.

The CVC Exchange is open to all students currently enrolled in the California Community College system.

If you would like to learn more about the Exchange, visit the CVC website.

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We can help students clarify their major and career goals as well as make sure that they are on track for transfer,” said Senior Coordinator of Transfer Ser vices and the Transfer Academy Sandra Parsons. “We are here to help students from their first day on the campus to their last.”

In association with Transfer Services, LMC also hosts the Transfer Academy, a learning community offered to first-year college students. The Academy offers specialized courses, counselors and events to help community college students successfully navigate the transfer process.

Along with the “Transfer Weeks” events, Transfer Services offers application workshops, coaching, counseling and resources for any type of student all the time. Many university representatives visit year-round, offering students a chance to learn more about a specific college or the ins and outs of admissions.

“I know it sounds intimidating, but meeting with a university representative can be so helpful,” said Anicetti, “First, they know your major and your specific requirements better than anyone at LMC— if you want to hear about major requirements from the source, they’re the best. They are also in-the-know about application exceptions and extensions.”

This year, the fall 2022 transfer applications for UC’s opened Aug.1 while CSU applications opened Oct. 1.

They both end around Nov. 30, a seemingly short amount of time to submit an application that inherently decides the outcome of a student’s future. Because of this time frame, Anicetti recommends that students complete their applications ahead of time and avoid procrastination at all costs.

“Sometimes applications may take longer than you expect,

especially if you’re filling out Personal Insight Questions for the UC’s, or have transcripts from multiple universities,” she said.

Both types of California school systems vary from what they look for in a student. CSU’s tend to look at a student’s general completion of school and GPA while UC’s take a “holistic” approach that takes in student accomplishment. Knowing the difference between the two can make the application process much sooner, especially if an applicant knows what to expect.

According to Parsons, students should have absolutely everything prepared before they even start the application, as going into it without a plan in mind can make the process all the more difficult.

“Students need to know what major they are applying for, what schools they are applying to, and need to know that they meet the qualifications to do so. The best way to do this is to work with their counselors and the resources on our website to ensure that they are on track to transfer,” said Parsons.

She also said students must avoid leaving off any important information or incorrectly filling out the application, as it might lead to a possible rejection letter.

Though the fall application season seems almost unbearable, students can find amazing resources within Transfer Ser vices. Though it’s stressful, seeking out help can immensely impact your progress and confidence as an applicant.

“You are not alone in this process, and everyone around you is just as ner vous and confused. Reach out, ask for help, and stay focused. We can do this together,” said Parsons.

To learn more about Transfer Weeks, visit the Transfer Day page or the Transfer Academy page.

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sculpture professor at LMC, submitted three 3D sculptures to the exhibition. She finds that From page 7 one of the most exciting parts “Our Gallery Director has of this show is seeing the talent done a really good job of post- of faculty members outside ing [the gallery] and finding a of the art department. She venue that best suits the work is also excited over the idea and actually looks like you’re of finding a shared interest going to a room,” said Donna with other faculty members.

Fenstermaker, an art professor “It’s kinda like finding someat LMC who submitted three body speaks a language, like paintings to the exhibition. say you spoke some really kind By using a virtual art gal- of obscure language, and then lery, the art department is finding out that somebody able to put together an art across campus spoke that show easily. With the simple same language,” said Snow. download of an “You’d be like ‘Oh, image, Ladewig my people!’” can upload the With this exar t to the virhibition being tual space and accessible to the place it in any public, Fensterposition she maker hopes that finds suitable.

LMC students gain Unlike previous a new perspective galleries, there and understanding is no limitation from the show.

Art by Donna Fenstermaker on the size of the “Some students artwork, there “MVC Light 3” have never been is little physical watercolor painting. to a gallery, some labor involved, students have nevand the virtual gallery is rel- er been to a museum,” said atively inexpensive in terms Fenstermaker. “It shows them of moving the artwork to the professional artists who take gallery space. themselves seriously, working The platform hosts two amongst them. Exposes them rooms and can hold up to 45 to things they never have art pieces. The space also thought of before.” offers virtual tours, taking A large goal of the faculty the viewer from piece to piece and staff art show is to examwith only the click of a button. ine art as a shared experience If the viewer isn’t one to take that reveals what creative tours though, Kuntsmatrix people are truly capable of. also allows them to explore “Art is a really human thing, on their own and view artists’ and it’s something that we information along with provid- all do and have done,” said ing lists of the work featured Ladewig. “It’s like a physical and thumbnails of the art. materiality and I think seeing Ladewig claims that the that… to at least have a feel gallery and its set-up gives for what’s possible, I think is viewers an oppor tunity to just really important and vital.” think about both art and life Along with this sentiment, at a deeper level.

Snow looks forward to the “There’s a lot of ability to possible inspiration viewers react to and think about their will find at the exhibition. experience, what’s happening “The fact that we have this in the world,” she said. show to kinda show off how The virtual gallery provides far out there we can go with more accessibility for those our creativity is kinda fun, who cannot travel all the way and hopeful that, like, inspires to campus while also providing other people y’know to be like new exposure to the artwork. ‘well I should try something Ladewig said in the future, creative,’” said Snow. the art department hopes to The Roll Call Art Exhibition hold both in-person and virtual will be held from Sept. 13 to galleries concurrently.

Oct. 14, with an opening reLucy Snow, a ceramics and ception on Thursday, Sept. 16.

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“Jail” is immediately followed by “God Breathed,” a track filled with low-droning synths and an unsettling chant that proceeds throughout the track, a complete mood shift from the more upbeat “Jail”.

And while the album includes plenty of rapping, such as in “Off The Grid” and “Junya,” it also appears that West has been working on his singing voice extensively.

This can be especially seen in “Come to Life,” where West sings about his desire for the chance at another life, and how he should have listened more intently to his ex-wife.

His voice is surprisingly well suited for a track of this nature, and the beautiful piano number that slowly builds from beginning to end makes for an amazing display of vocal talent.

“Donda” by no means has a linear progression, and while

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alumni Ariel Dunn and was adapted for the screen by Clarissa Camille, who also plays the lead Sonya.

“Death and Silence” was shot by an independent film crew composed of LMC alumni — which is why the cast and crew were on such a tight schedule. The filming was completed on time and is now in post-production.

The story follows Sonya, a woman whose life has been devastated by the apocalypse and is just trying to survive.

While looking for shelter in her childhood home she meets Edward, who is kind and patient with her, but Sonya does not want to accept his kindness.

“There’s this interesting dynamic because he’s definitely more open and sweet and wanting to be friends with her,” said Camille. “She’s definitely more jaded from the zombie apocalypse and she doesn’t give him much to work with.”

Camille also explained

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their ar twork featured in the gallery. Curtis Corlew, a former LMC photography and graphic design professor, served as the event’s MC and introduced artists.

The reception began with a message from LMC Gallery Director Carol Ladewig, who is responsible for bringing the Roll Call gallery into the virtual space.

“I do miss having the physical work, because being able to encounter work face to face in the reality of the room that you’re standing in, I prefer that,” said Ladewig, “But I think this works really well, and I’m really pleased because I think it showcases the staff and art departments ver y creative, and very wonderful work.”

The gallery features works with many different mediums, and none stick out more than LMC sculpture and ceramics professor Lucy Snow. Snow submitted three works in total, and had a chance to talk about the creation and inspiration for her two sculptures.

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nature like “State of Grace,” “22” and “Holy Ground.” But the real highlight of the re-recording is the “vault tracks,” songs that were previously written during the “Red” era but never were put on the original album. Here, we get to see songs that could have been on the original album with Swift’s current style.

“Nothing New” features artist Phoebe Bridgers and feels like it could easily have been on “Folklore” or one of Bridger’s projects. The emotional vulnerability of aging within the music industr y is showcased in the song gorgeously. This contrasts with her other vault songs like “I Bet You Think About Me” featuring Chris Stapleton, with a country twang and witty banter that is reminiscent of Swift’s old country hits.

The shining star out of all the vault songs, however, has to be the 10-minute version it keeps things interesting on of her fan-favorite song “All the first listen, the end result Too Well.” Originally cut to leaves indications of little to no organization on behalf of the record. This can make it difficult for the listener to From page 7 understand the underlying narrative of the project, which steps and Angelica began to while it partially exists, is sing again. The scene was por trayed completely out powerful and one of the best of order or sometimes not scenes in the play.

The cast executed a difportrayed at all.

Despite a strong sense of ficult play to perform with organization on the track list elegance and grace. It was side of things, “Donda” is an all-around great play with somewhat of a flawed master- fun, laughter, amazing music piece. Many strong ideas were and heartbreak all in one. It seemingly smashed together makes learning about history and distributed haphazardly exciting.

The San Francisco Oracross the album. It still is incredibly fun to listen to, and while I highly recommend it, it is by no means West’s best work. The direction he is From page 8 headed musically is promising, and even at the age of 44, West It was difficult to hear her proves he can still provide the voice at times due to its quiet energy and enthusiasm that nature and the volume of the younger rappers implement crowd, but when her voice was audible, it sounded identical in their sound. to the studio recording.

Another astounding song was “I Know the End,” which that the film represents the showcased the musical talents impor tance of remaining of the backing band. Each compassionate in times of band member seemed to get difficulty. a spotlight during the song, “The story is about keeping culminating in the outro your humanity in a time when replicating the chaos of an it’s really hard to keep your apocalypse. The chaos, howhumanity,” she said. “And ever, was truly invigorating even though we’re not living in a zombie apocalypse I still think that lesson and that idea is really relevant because From page 7 there’s so much going on in our world and the people who is an LGBTQ activist who continue to show kindness publishes under Tom Doherty and continue to appreciate Associates. Klune specializes the people around them are in sci-fi queer love stories really inspiring and are the and “Under the Whispering Door” is a prime example of future.”

Camille’s words also signal his specialty.

I purchased my copy at a broader message: The world of the performing arts has a local Barnes and Noble undergone a massive and oftentimes hear tbreaking experience as a result of the pandemic. Yet everyday From page 10 people like Garcia and the cast and crew strive to do the at best and by the end of best with the tools they have. the series you feel the main “Death and Silence” is more cast has regressed to where than just a zombie apocalypse they were at the start of the movie. It represents the trium- show. For the most part, cast phant perseverance of the arts members are charming and at LMC — and everywhere. show their talent — with the

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“I have a lot of cellar spiders around my house, and they are pretty amazing creatures when you look at them,” said Snow. “And I was experimenting with porcelain paper clay, which is a really interesting clay body that allows me to break a lot of the rules that you would normally have to follow.”

Another standout set of works in the galler y were from Photoshop and Photography professor Jaime Tamrakar, who submitted a set of four photos titled “Don’t ask Questions.” She also had a chance to talk about the background and composition of the photos.

“When I was in Germany I got to visit a lot of old World War 2 sites and it made me feel how the state of tyranny at that time kind of expected that aesthetic and architecture of the places,” said Tamrakar.

“I just did a little piece like, let me reflect on that.”

The Roll Call virtual gallery will be available online until Oct. 31.The gallery can be accessed here.

be 5 minutes long by her old recording label, Swift’s incredible songwriting talent swings with full force. Lines like “you kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath” cut deep with listeners, and the extremely detailed events placed in the song only make it more soul-crushing. The most intriguing part of this 10-minute version is the fact that it wouldn’t have existed if the re-recorded didn’t, and more importantly, it wouldn’t be seeing as much success with an accompanying short film and SNL performance if it wasn’t Swift singing it. Who else could create a 10-minute long version of an already released song and have it top the charts?

If you are a fan of Swift, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” is specifically curated for you, with extra details that only long-time listeners will notice.

If you’ve never listened to the album, it is still a treat to behold, with old favorites and new classics in the making.

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From page 9 beings inside a remote cabin. This simplicity, however, gives the audience enough room to truly have fun with the movie and laugh along the whole ride. Its fast and tight pace makes the movie easy to watch compared to other horror classics.

The movie is incredibly violent and gory, but if you don’t mind blood, this is the perfect watch for those who like campy and comedic horror. “The Evil Dead 2” is available to stream on HBO Max.

IMDb• Experience

Tony Collette as Annie in “Hereditary.”

Hereditary (2018)

For a more skin-crawling watch, check out the modern horror classic “Hereditary.” Directed by Ari Aster, the film focuses on a grieving family as they deal with the loss of two relatives.

Through their grief, however, the mother (Toni Collette) unveils the sinister connections her mother had with a suspicious group. Highlighting the subjects of grief and generational trauma, the film would be able to stand alone as a family drama if it weren’t for the creeping horror elements. A strong highlight of this movie is the acting, with wonderful performances by Collette and Alex Wolff conveying the strained relationship between mother and son.

It also works well as a mystery, as you find out the truth along with the characters. The horrific elements are also so terrifying, you might jump in your seat while watching it. It is not for the faint of heart, so beware.

You can watch Hereditary on Hulu with subscriptions or Amazon Prime Video.

IMDb • Experience

Eihi Shiina as Asami in “Audition.” pheum had COVID-19 restrictions in place as cases are on the rise across the United States. The theater required guests to be vaccinated or come with a negative test taken within 72 hours prior to the showing. Masks were always required, except when eating or drinking.

The showings for Hamilton at the San Francisco Orpheum theater will go on until September 2021.

and cathartic, with the entire audience screaming along with Bridgers.

Bridgers closed the show with a cover of Bo Burnham’s “That Funny Feeling,” an introspective and hopeful song about today’s world.

She brought a new sense of optimism to the song, with the outro adding dynamic instrumentation. It closed the show perfectly, especially after Bridger’s generally melancholic yet moving songs.

The concert overall was truly remarkable, from beginning to end.

for $26.99 — but you can purchase the book online at the Kindle store for only $13.99. And now that the holiday season is coming, it might make a great gift. All in all, it’s not a bad first take on TJ Klune’s work — and was worth the purchase price for me. I may even be back for more of Klune’s work.

Audition (1999)

“Audition” is an acquired taste, but if you are a fan of international films, slow burns and terrifying thrillers, this one is for you. Years after his first wife tragically dies, a man holds an audition to find his dream girl. He finds a woman that he is drawn to, but her dark past and strange demeanor later cause him immense agony and pain.

The Japanese film is moody and atmospheric, mainly relying on a slow build to the climax. But as you uncover Asami’s (Eihi Shiina) past, the more unsettling and disturbing the film becomes. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you want to cover your eyes in fear, especially when you reach that horrifying climax.

Once again, the highlight of the film is Shiina’s performance, acting as a quiet and shy, yet damaged and deranged individual. Her presence is almost physically uncomfortable to watch. If you are a horror aficionado, this one is a must-watch. It is available on Tubi and Amazon Prime Video.

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a production that takes place in Craig’s Bond universe.

Even with the talent of Rami Malek helming the role of the film’s antagonist, Lyutsifer Safin, intrigue and originality of the character fail to be established, casting him in the shadow of the series’ fan-favorite antagonistic pre-

GUILTY From page 9

thriller that includes some scary plot twists and mysterious events, I recommend you watch it in the dark, as it will add to the experience. Keep in mind, this movie is rated R

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exception of Gray’s performance. He seems to have taken inspiration from actors like Kevin Hart in thinking always being loud and shrill is funny to see. Season four is a waste of time. Skip it.

decessors, such as “Skyfall’s” Silva or “Casino Royale’s” Le Chiffre.

But “No Time to Die” provides a meaningful end to a character we have seen develop and have come to love for the past 15 years, and the film ultimately succeeds at serving as a final farewell to Daniel Craig in his last adaption as our James Bond.

problems. “Waving Through a Window” is about the struggle of feeling invisible and alone with no one to talk to, wondering if anyone actually sees you. “Requiem” is a poignant song about the struggles of mourning someone you lost

due to the language and content, so I would advise that all viewers are age-appropriate.

But if you like to be on the edge of your seat, this movie is definitely for you.

because they treated you poorly when they were alive.

Director Stephen Chbosky makes every scene a heartfelt display of raw emotion. Grab some tissues and go to a theater with a friend because Dear Evan Hansen is a movie you do not want to miss.

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Ohlone College.

LMC was Saito’s first job and she has stayed at the college ever since.

From a childhood of constant moving, she has decided to stay put as much as possible, living in the Berkeley area for 15 years after graduation and then moving to the Tri-valley area where she now resides.

“What I’ve discovered is that community college is an amazing job. I love my job. And I don’t want to go anywhere else,” she said.

As a new professor at LMC, Saito became the adviser for an honors club called Alpha Gamma Sigma.

However, after attending an honors program event at an Academic Senate conference, she realized that LMC should have an entire program dedicated to supporting honors students. Almost immediately after the conference, Saito formed a group to put together the program and apply for grants.

Although the program and subsequent Honors Club have become a large facet of LMC, it was initially met with some criticism and backlash— something that was intimidating to the younger Saito, who was still a fresh face at the campus. But this intimidation inspired her, and she began working hard to develop the now 22-year-old program.

“Every time we did something new it was absolutely intimidating. One thing I want all people to know… is you always have to do things you are frightened of,” said Saito, “All the greatest things in my life have come by taking on things I was fearful of and doing them.”

Through the honors program, Saito was forced to learn new professional skills.

Whether it was figuring out how to make mailing labels, writing a marketing email, creating websites or learning graphic design, she rose to the challenge to improve the program as a whole.

“The honors program is what has driven almost all of my professional growth,” she remarked.

Along with professional growth, Saito says the Honors Program and LMC have both made her a more understanding and compassionate individual. She is able to recognize the struggles her students encounter and support them sufficiently.

Saito said her favorite aspect of working at LMC is meeting new, driven individuals and seeing their path to success.

“Every person is unique and beautiful, and has their own story. I love to hear the stories, I love to see students bloom,” she said.

Outside of the college, Saito loves the outdoors and travelling, recently completing her first backpacking trip since the COVID-19 pandemic.

She also is an avid supporter of the study abroad program at LMC, having taught in France and Barcelona. She hopes to participate more in the program in the future and visit South America after travel restrictions ease.

As a lifelong performer, Saito enjoys acting and creating music, even recently starting a new band to give her a creative outlet. Her experiences in the performing arts often influence her teaching style in her classes.

“I make up little jingles to help people remember things. I think I have a theatrical style,” she laughs, “I jesticulate a lot.”

Having worked at LMC for almost three decades, Saito has a close relationship to the campus, with students and staff alike.

Edward Haven, chair of the LMC philosophy department, said Saito enjoys life.

“She brings an honest love and connection to everything she does,” Haven said, “She is amazingly intelligent and wise.”

Saito has made a great impact on LMC, and there are many signs that she will continue to impact the community for a very long time.

in Zoom meetings.

“It helps to see faces,” said Berryhill, who explained how seeing a student’s face can show the instructor what they think about a topic and what they understand.

“You can tell what you’re saying is landing,” she said.

Cabral disliked that he was unable to act as energetic and enthusiastic on Zoom as he is in a face-to-face class.

“When I am in the planetarium I can roam around and wave my arms and look at one student and look at another student,” said Cabral.

“And be really energetic and emotional.”

Since the return to in-person classes this fall, Berryhill has noticed that even in-person students are a lot quieter among themselves and the instructor than they were before having only online classes.

“Almost like we’re still on Zoom,” said Berryhill.

Cabral was excited to learn

going to be a journalist. She wrote for her high school paper and although she didn’t do much journalism at LMC, she wrote a few articles for the Experience while she was on a Contra Costa Community College District study abroad program in London. And when she transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014, she also worked for a short time on the Daily Bruin.

Although she found journalism wasn’t for her, she knew she still wanted to write. So, she majored in American literature and culture with an emphasis in American cinema and minored in film, television and digital media. Ever since then, she’s pursued a career in film and TV. While at UCLA, Casey worked as an intern at Radiant Productions, Director Wolfgang Petersen’s production company. Although many following a similar path might need to start in a film agency as an assistant and work their way up, she said that internship led to other opportunities, including a lucky break to work for Showtime.

“Someone found me on LinkedIn,” she said, highlighting the importance of networking.

Since she had included her earlier experiences in journalism on LinkedIn, a recruiter asked if she was interested in working in documentaries for a development executive at Showtime. She accepted and started working in November 2017 as an assistant to Vinnie Malhotra, executive vice president of Documentaries and Non-Fiction.

But since her goal is to create and run a TV show, she also focused on personal projects on her own time while working at Showtime.

Casey did some writing and directing and made “Abortion Desert” in 2018, which was the winner in Best Short Narrative at Atlanta Comic Con in 2019. It was also an Official Selection of Cinequest Film & VR Festival the same year.

Her job at Showtime included watching and providing notes for incoming cuts and scripts. In her division she tracked and submitted documentaries and non-fiction projects to festivals. She was able to integrate what she was learning on the job into her own projects, and it also opened other opportunities closer to her ultimate goal.

After two and a half years she left Showtime to be a writer’s and showrunner’s assistant at Netflix.

“The assistant world is kind of complicated,” she said. “You

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ing out what it means to be human,” said Wechter.

To him, anthropology is the “study of anything and everything that involves people” and has many different applications in the world.

His job with Rincon gave him the opportunity to take part in a recent archeological survey in the Mojave desert.

That survey involved mostly “looking for anything that would fit into the historical record,” said Wechter, explaining that it could be something rather mundane, like a can or a bottle, or interesting artifacts of indigenous civilizations.

CHOICE From page 14

from households due to neglect. Is it “pro-life” to let children be neglected and to experience the most difficult hardships imaginable?

This Texas abortion legsliation is not “pro-life.” It might be pro-birth, but it does nothing to ensure the quality of life for the fetus or the woman.

Instead, it punishes women for being in a vulnerable place, for not wanting to have children or not wanting to place children in a horrible situation. It takes away a woman’s autonomy over her own life, no matter how complex her circumstance is or how much control she has over it.

Not all women get abortions just because they aren’t ready to be a mother and it is unreasonable to make this assumption. We also can’t state that all women who get abortions are irresponsible, as oftentimes certain legislation does not allow men or women to take certain protocols towards birth control (hysterectemies are extremely difficult to obtain along with Plan B pills) and financially, children are expensive for those struggling close to the pover ty line. Women should not be punished for situations they do not always have control over.

I’m not claiming abortion is the answer to all of these problems, as the issue is complex and abortion is only a result of more deep rooted issues facing the female gender.

As a woman, I can never see myself actively seeking out an abortion, but I still believe women as a whole should be able to decide when or if they want to conceive and how. Our country needs to stop pretending that women exercising their right to their own bodies are malicious or evil, as in most cases abortion is the undesirable outcome of undesirable circumstances, not the best solution to a minor inconvience.

If legislators want to really benefit the lives of these women and children, fix the Foster Care or Welfare system for those who are unable to financially care for children.

Put funding to teaching proper sex education and provide proper contraceptions for both men and women. But don’t leglisate women’s bodies and claim to be “pro-life,” as these actions reflect a true anti-woman mentality.

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Chase Wheeler • Experience

Professor Katie Berryhill explains a new assignment to her students in the planetarium. that he could resume in-person classes and said that being back ion campus is “wonderful.”

He did not struggle when it came to readjusting back to in-person.“It’s been a joy being back in the planetarium,” he said.

The planetarium creates an interactive environment in which the instructor and students can engage with the material that is being taught.

Being online limits interactivity and makes it more difficult to visualize the material.

Student Christian Perez

Arnold said the planetarium allows for the students to see the constellations— even during the afternoon when they would normally not be visible to the human eye.

“Visualizing is more important than just seeing it through a screen,” said student Kevin Millare.

Face-to-face classes may not be necessary for all types of courses but being in-person allows astronomy students to better learn difficult-to-comprehend concepts and ideas through the large-scale simulated sky in the planetarium.

His work on the archeological survey convinced him to further pursue archeology within the field of anthropology so he can “give back by preserving these sites.”

Wechter described how his current goal is to work full-time at Rincon or a similar firm where he can “do more work in the archeological field.” While he is also still in graduate school, he explained that the pandemic caused him to put his master thesis on hold.

“I just wasn’t able to pursue it ethically because of

transmission and COVID,” said Wechter.

His thesis work involves working with homeless students on campus and since the lockdown, he realized just how “important my work is and that it needs to be done to provide for people less privileged than I am.”

Wechter described how following your passions leads you to find more enjoyment in life and said the most important thing he has learned in school and work is “it’s all about being informed and taking risks.”

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well as research books to help them with assignments. It was scheduled to open in August but due to a flood, opening got delayed until later this semester.

But whether she is at the Brentwood Center, or the main Pittsburg campus, colleagues find Er win a kind soul to students and staff alike, and said she is always ready to try new things.

Head librarian Christine Gof f said it was inspiring to see how Er win worked to connect with faculty and students during the pandemic, adding “I admire her approach to online teaching.”

Now that some classes are moving back on campus, Er win said she is excited to begin reconnecting with students face-to-face..

“Roseann takes on extra projects and creates programming for the library that is new and fun, like poetry month events and poem exchanges and information literacy lectures and games,” said Catt Wood, senior librar y technician.

But books are still her first love and Erwin finds it especially crucial these days to promote their cultural importance.

“Because there are so many technological things out there that take up our time and attention, it is important to put books in front of people,” she said.

to carry the ball for a 37-yard TD to narrow the gap. A successful extra point brought the score to 14-17 and put the game within reach.

The four th quar ter was a heart-stopper as Cruz delivered another TD to take the lead. De Anza responded with another touchdown of their own, retaking the lead 21-24.

With around one minute left on the clock, Tregle completed a long pass to Quesada, who was tackled near the end zone. LMC’s next play got the ball in the endzone for a touchdown, swapping the lead once more. The extra point put LMC ahead of De Anza 28-24.

The remaining plays included an impeccable defensive stop by the Mustangs and an interception which ended up being the final nail in the coffin for De Anza.

After the nail-biting victory, quarterback Byrne commented on the role fans can play, especially when a team is in a tug of war.

“Fans for sure give a lot of momentum during the game,” he said. “We definitely feed off the fans.”

If you’re a football fan, consider giving the Mustangs more momentum Saturday, Oct. 30 when they will meet Yuba College at home at 1 p.m.

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the amount of penalties halted the Mustangs offensive advance multiple times, not to mention the sideline altercation earlier in the game.

Mustangs head coach Chris Shipe put an emphasis on the players controlling their emotions.

“Football is an emotional game, and we need to make sure that we control what we can after the whistle blows,” said Shipe.

With the win over Yuba, the Mustangs have now won 4 of their last five games. Quarterback Jaylen Tregle commented on the teams recent success: “Considering we were the underdogs, I think we played very well. Even though our enemies think we’re under capable, we’re only getting better each week. We’re only growing,” said Tregle.

The Mustangs head to Los Altos to face Foothill College on Saturday Nov .6 at 1 p.m.

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for the Mustangs to extend their lead as attacking-midfielder Ari Chavez delivered to put the Mustangs up 4-0.

The opportunities to score kept coming for the Mustangs but they couldn’t always find the back of the net. Garcia almost scored a wonder goal to complete the hattrick as she dribbled through two defenders. Despite that miss, it was another dominant half for the Mustangs as they held possession and kept attacking.

At 33 minutes in, winger Litzy Cuevas took a shot that was parried by the goalkeeper and striker Nyla Lampkin rebounded and scored, extending the Mustangs’ lead to 5-0.

When the referee blew the final whistle, LMC had successfully defended its goal for a 5-0 shutout win over Solano College.

The Mustangs remained undefeated in conference play as they looked to travel on the road to their next contest against the Contra Costa College Comets Oct. 26.

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made it dif ficult to write essays. But she didn’t let it stop her.

Professor Katie Berryhill recalled having Cisneros as a student in the spring of 2016 when she enrolled in her introductory course in astronomy.

“She was one of the few students who regularly came to my office hours. She made use of every opportunity I provided for students to improve their understanding,” said Berryhill.

LMC holds a special place in Cisneros’s heart, and she said it’s due to the professors who care about their students and are supportive.

Cisneros has since graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in sociology.

Her next goal is to attend graduate school and pursue a doctorate in psychology.

She currently juggles two positions: one as a member of the board of directors for the nonprofit Yolo Crisis Nurser y and the other for the organization Analytical Behavior Consultants.

The nonprofit Yolo Crisis Nurser y helps children in crisis by providing protection from neglect and child abuse.

It also provides families with resources they need to help their children grow and remain healthy and safe.

Cisneros got the opportunity to work with the group

Follow the LMC Experience online at lmcexperience.com

can’t just graduate college and get a showrunner position unless you know someone.”

It took a year for Casey to land a job at Netflix because it is a competitive field. She inter viewed for a couple Netflix projects and got onto the show “Into The Night” with Jason George, a former journalist who works on many international shows.

“I would’ve been traveling the world with him if it wasn’t for the pandemic. We were supposed to be in Belgium, Amsterdam and Japan,” she said, explaining that instead of doing it on set they worked with the actors and crew remotely.

Since she worked for a writer at Netflix she found herself always writing on the job, and that carried over after work into her other personal projects. She said she likes to write about female characters in absurd and dark comedic ways.

After applying for a writing mentorship, she was selected as one of 11 writers for ViacomCBS Writer’s Mentor Program, which ran from October 2020 to May 2021.

“It was incredibly intense,” she said, adding that as part of this program she was sent on interviews with showrunners and production companies.

As a result, she met with the showrunner for “Good Sam” and was offered her first staff writer job.

Being a staff writer on a TV show is something that was a long time coming. Although it involved a bit of luck, it also required a solid education.

“All good writing comes from reading and critical thinking, which are the key marks of lit classes,” she said. “‘The ‘Hero’s Journey’

by Joseph Campbell can be used to create rich characters.

And many myths already have amazing structures you can use in creating your own stories.”

But when you first start on your journey, you sometimes find yourself doubting your ability, and Casey encountered that feeling.

“I was often thinking that I wasn’t good enough or I wasn’t gonna get to this point,” she said.

But it is important to keep your eye on your goal and be persistent. And she has some advice for students just starting their own journey in college.

“Try on a lot of different hats while you’re at LMC,” said Casey. “If I had only focused on just writing classes, I would’ve not been in biology or I wouldn’t have been in my civilizations class. But all of that kind of stuff has made me a better writer.”

when the nonprofit reached out to her after seeing a video she posted for her scholarship talking about her goals and what her education meant to her.

Cisneros’s other position as a member of the organization Analytical Behavior Consultants allows her to work with children who struggle with learning, behavior and language.

Cisneros has been involved with a project for six years helping the homeless by providing resources they can’t afford, such as clothes and food.

She created this project during her time at LMC when she wrote an essay on social responsibility and the issue with homelessness. She plans on turning it into a nonprofit but still has no official name for it.

Cisneros credits this project to former LMC professor Linda Stingily, who died in 2018. She was a student in Stingily’s class at the time, and it was Stingily who inspired Cisneros to turn her words into action.

“It was the first time that somebody made me feel like as an individual that I had power to change things in society,” she said.

Cisneros hopes to serve as an inspiration to DREAMers like her so those who are going through struggles similar to her own know it’s possible to succeed.