Need help filling out your UC application? There will be an online workshop you can attend through zoom and in-person as well to help you even if you just need some light assisstance and or need any questions answered. It will be held on Oct. 20 from 2 p.m.–4 p.m.
By MICHAEL BENEDIAN Staff Writer
The Roll Call Exhibition, an art show featuring faculty art works, is still open for attendees. The show opened on Sept. 15 and will continue until Oct. 27 and is located in the LMC Library. Admission is free and is open Monday–Thursday from 12 p.m.–4 p.m.
A scheme involving fake students and financial aid disbursements affected many of the colleges in California last year and now Los Medanos College is facing this issue this semester. In an email sent out by Natalie Hannum, Vice President of Instruction, said that a recent survey indicated 530 sections which have students that are enrolled in but have never logged in or engaged with the course. This is being seen as a potential sign
of fraudulent enrollment and professors are being asked to drop those students as they could be involved in this scam.
Ghost students is a term that describes these scammers that are enrolling into online courses just for financial aid. Most of these scammers use information like phone numbers and the names of unsuspecting victims and even the information of people who have died. By doing so, they’re able to pass as a student and enroll into asynchronous classes, making it more difficult
for them to be caught.
This is an issue that has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and during the pandemic has taken COVID-19 relief funds from people who really needed it. This not only affects them but also students too who may have not been able to sign up for a section they needed because it was filled. Not only that, but ghost students who enroll into online courses mess up the data that is gathered which could lead to colleges making the wrong decisions on the curriculum taught based on false information.
Depending on the section affected and just how many ghost students enrolled into them, online courses might even find themselves at risk of cancellation due to the amount
of actual students enrolled, but this is not a cause for concern. Tanisha Maxwell, Vice President of Student Services, has said that LMC is past the point in the semester where full-term classes would be canceled so courses that were affected, even small ones, are not currently at risk.
“The goal for future sections will be to drop no shows early enough so that the perpetrator cannot get financial aid and the seats in the classes are left open for real students who want to learn and truly need the financial aid resources,” Maxwell said.
Tammy Oranje, Acting Financial Aid Director, has said this situation shouldn’t have any effects on students who rely on financial aid for
classes. To help further fight against fraud in online courses, Hannum has urged professors to see the Districtwide Guidance on Online Attendance for tips on ensuring engagement and attendance in their course.
“As a college, we take the responsibility of protecting the program›s integrity seriously and work together to ensure we do all we can to prevent financial aid fraud, including collaborating with outside agencies such as the Chancellor›s Office and the Office of Inspector General,” said Oranje. “Financial aid fraud is considered a crime, and anyone who provides false information to receive grants or loans could face up to one year in prison and/or a maximum fine of $10,000.”
The Northern California premiere of the horror film “Nix,” directed by former LMC student Anthony C. Ferrante, will be held Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the El Campanil in downtown Antioch. Admission will be $10 for adults and @8 for seniors and youth.
Election Day is a time where citizens exercise their right to vote for their preferred candidate to the position in power that they are running for. Before they do decide to vote, U.S. citizens have to be registered to vote granting them access to the polls. Election day will be held on Nov. 8.
Recently, LMC hosted a Voter Registration Drive allowing students at LMC to register to vote and according to Teresea Archaga, Director of Student Life, eight students registered at the event. Luckily for everyone at LMC, if you couldn’t attend the event, it’s not too late to register.
“You can register to vote or check your status on the California Secretary of State website,” said Archaga. You can either register to vote through the website, mailing a voter registration form to your local election office, or even register at the election poll on Nov. 8. There are some requirements that the U.S. deems necessary for US citizens to vote. Those requirements include: you must be a U.S. citizen, must be over 18 by Nov. 8, must be a resident in the state you are voting in, can’t be serving prison time currently and you can’t be deemed mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
Archaga also said that the com-
While first-generation students take up 40% of entering students in college, they deal with a school system that was not designed for them while also having to deal with homework, exams, extracurricular activities, and navigating their way through college with no support.
As a first-gen student, I have dealt with these issues firsthand, having to make an appointment with a counselor who does not take the time to explain to me why I’m signing up for these classes or why I only have to take a certain amount of units. When I first enrolled at Los Medanos College I hoped my experience was going to be different. I believed I was going to get all the help and support that I was looking for.
Trying to navigate a new environment while also having to support yourself and your family financially and also trying to keep your academic standing at its highest can really take a toll on a person’s mental health. In the article titled “Effects of Economic Hardship on Families” Steven Schlozman says, “First-gen students may come from families that have less income than other students. As such, they may need larger loans and scholarships. In addition, they may have to take on jobs during college in order to meet their financial obligations, which can contribute to greater stress and take time away from their school work. Data show that financial burdens are the primary reason first-gen students leave school.”
This demonstrates that first-gen students not only deal with a lack of support from counselors but also with financial instability.
Another online article by greatschools.org, states that many first-generation students fill out the financial aid forms themselves. In the Journal of Case Studies in Education, a first-generation student shared, “They put all these numbers down and expect you to know what each one means. My mother doesn’t know and she expects me to find out and then tell her how it all works.”
The lack of explanation when it comes to filling out official paperwork can be extremely challenging not only for students but also for families. When I first decided to enroll in LMC, I was only given paperwork with no explanation as to what it was and was told to fill it out. It was an extremely confusing process.
When I turned in all the paperwork, I had filled out to the best of my ability. I also filled it incorrectly because I wasn’t sure what kind of information they were going to need. They would then tell me that I would be able to enroll in LMC, but due to my immigration status, I was going to be charged for classes as if I was studying abroad. I was devastated and didn’t know what to do. My plan after high school was to attend college right away but those dreams were soon crushed. I had to take a couple of years off of school while I waited for my immigration status to change. My parents were just as devastated and there wasn’t much they could do since they had never attended college.
After a couple of years, I spoke to a friend who was in the same position as me and I told him what had happened. He said I would just have to fill out different paperwork to attend LMC.
Situations like this could be avoided if the staff at colleges were trained better when it comes to dealing with first-gen/immigrant students — and if they took the time to sit with students and explain to them the process that would work best for them.
It saddens me that my plans to be farther ahead in school had to be put on hold simply because I didn’t fill out the correct paperwork. You don’t only see issues like this when it comes to registration but also when it comes to financial aid and signing up for classes, and this needs to change in the school system. Schools need to provide better training for staff in order to help out students correctly.
Serial killing has become a massive topic since the release of the newest series on Jeffrey Dahmer. A lot of people need to understand that this is non-fiction and was avery real serial killer. There needs to be a crack down on glorifying serial killers in general. What that man did should only be read about and never depicted in live action. If one gets influenced by these kinds of acts we’ll start to see even more serial killers or even one of murderers that may or may not be caught in the future. Not only that, but recently in the news northern California has gotten a new serial killer in Stockton. This man has five confirmed kills with two more that the police confirmed as shootings in 2021. Those two survived, but it’s scary that a man has eluded the police for so long and not been caught. As we know now we he wasn’t inspired but we need to be more cautious on how we talk about these menaces.
DEAR EDITOR:
With the lift of most restrictions and the lax nature COVID-19 is treated with right now, people feel we are returning to a semblance of “normal” that we once had in our day-today lives pre-pandemic. Though my intended message is that I believe we should all still take precautions to be as safe as possible, I’m not going to act like I’ve never broken my own rule. Even though I do wear masks, I do tend to take them off when I’m at the gym and will often forget to put them back on when I’ve taken them off to eat.
Editor-in-Chief ...............MICHAEL BENEDIAN
Managing Editor .....................KAI ARELLANO
Perspectives Editor ................KAI ARELLANO Campus Editor .......................JADEN FORTIER Features Editor .....................TREY HINCKLEY
But we must remember that even though our government has decided to stop caring about it, COVID is still a big issue that needs to be treated seriously. Throughout the return to normalcy, it seems we’ve completely forgotten immunocompromised people, people with prior health issues, and the simple fact that we don’t know the lifelong effects on your health that come after COVID. It’s the responsibility of ordinary people to protect those who are more likely to be seriously harmed if they come into contact with this illness.
— Nyla RahimiThe 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, drop them off in Room CC3-301 or email them to LosMedanos.Experience@gmail.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.
The show “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” which came out Sept. 21 on Netflix, has become a huge hit for the streaming service. The story goes over the entire life of real life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and goes over everything from his upbringing and his family to what he’s done personally and everyone he had murdered in his run from 1978 to 1991.
This show has gotten a lot of controversy. A lot of it being understandable and a lot of it being something that isn’t. The first being how individuals are mad at Netflix for profiting off of the story of Dahmer and making the victims of Dahmer relive the trauma they dealt with all those years ago.
These families were affected by Dahmer, even having to see Dahmer in person and watching him go to jail all those years ago. Although this shouldn’t be hated on because of Netflix and its actors.
We need these actors to show what could’ve been going through their heads as they were with this murderer.
It’s also one of the first times where they showed vivid scenes of the killing of these victims. So that can also be seen by the families of the victims as too much. But because of the creators Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy. They wanted to put something out that people may not have seen behind closed doors. Another controversy is how people can’t differentiate between liking true crime as a genre, or liking what the true crime is talking about. People have started feeling some type of way about Dahmer himself. Not the story, the serial killer. People have put out on social media on how they care more about Dahmer.
This is something that isn’t new but needs to be addressed. It’s similar to how women had felt something for other serial killers like the Night Stalker and Ted Bundy. These people were still alive and in custody when these women were fawning for them.
Now that we have social media, women have gone and spoke out on how they feel about Dahmer. This shouldn’t be a topic for debate when it comes to these kinds of people. It’s almost like being in love with the “bad boy” archetype, but to the extreme.
If you need to question yourself and whether you like the genre or what the genre is talking about, you need therapy. It isn’t normal for people to feel something for these literal serial killers. Dahmer was a sick individual from the beginning of his childhood to when he died.
As time goes, this show may fizzle out and we might not talk about Dahmer ever again. Although the complicated feelings that people have for shows and these real life people can’t be swept under the rug so easily.
“Cruel
“Yeat, I like his song, Monëy so big because the beat is fire.”
— Luisop Rivera
“Bruno Mars, Talking to the Moon is a sad and romantic song... Bruno Mars was my childhood artist.”
— Annie Wu
“My favortie sog currently is ALL MINE by Brent Faiyaz, I just like the beat of it and the lyrics that goes in the song.”
— Andrea Catarroi
“My favorite musical artist is BTS, because they’ve got me through hard times.”
— Muskaan Adeel
“Televised, by HUNNY, it’s just a mixture of a slow tempo and then speeds up, so I like those tyes of songs and its very high energy.”
— Eliette Bustos
“Ariana Grande is the voice of our generation, by that I mean she is a vocalist... She is everything to me.”
— Javier Khara
What is your favorite song or artist currently and why?
Why it is so important to keep
If you are feeling lost when it comes to discovering your interest and possible career path, Los Medanos College has just the thing for you. On Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. LMC is offering an interactive workshop as part of its Fall Career Exploration Series to help students discover their interests and steer them in the direction of possible career choices. This workshop may be useful for students with an undecided major or those who are struggling to understand their skills. The Holland Interest Inventory Assessment will be offered both online and in person. It will be held in person at LMC Pittsburg campus, in the Student Services Center, Room SSC-318 and online via Zoom link (sent with confirmation of registration). You can register at https://losmedanos.wufoo.com/forms/ lmc-fall-career-exploration-series
Are you looking for new ways to make an impact in your community? Look no further, as Los Medanos College will be hosting its annual IMPACT Student Leadership Conference focusing on the revitalization of energy and connection on campus. This free event is open to students and staff. Those who attend will also be provided a free breakfast and lunch, provided by Panera, and receive a free T-shirt while hearing the story of guest speaker Dominique Echeverria.
Sponsored by LMCAS and the Office of Student Life, Equity and Inclusion programs, the event is focused on giving a space for participants to learn and build community with others. To ensure the opportunity for as many people to participate as possible, the event will be in both a live and virtual format to allow connections from anywhere.
The conference will be held Friday, Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the main Pittsburg campus, on the second floor of the Student Union. Students who are interested in participating must RSVP on the LMC website before attending. For more information, please contact Director of Student Life Teresea Archaga at tarchaga@losmedanos.edu.
If you are interested in transferring to University of the Pacific, and want to take a glimpse into your possible future there, consider meeting with UOP representative Maureen Laird, who will be on campus Oct. 18, Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 to answer any questions you may have about the college.
Laird will be available in the quad from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m to provide students with information about transfer, university life or the campus itself. There is no required registration or cost. For more information, visit the Los Medanos College Transfer and Career Center website at https://www.losmedanos.edu/transfercareer.
When it comes to learning more about graphic designing, there is no better person to go to at Los Medanos than John Schall.
Schall began to discover his passion of being a graphic designer when he was in his 30s, after getting his first degree in photography. “I was originally having a hard time getting a job, and figuring out what I wanted to do. I knew photography was really important to me, but I didn’t know if that was a career, so I decided I needed to get a career, and so I took some classes in a community college and I took all 3 of the Adobe programs and one of my instructors was very inspiring and supportive. But I loved her class, and she sort of inspired me that design could be a thing, it could be a career, it could be a job, you can enjoy what you can do, and you can make money” he said.
Are you interested in open discussions and films? Then you’re in luck. The humanities department is in partnership with the library to sponsor the fourth annual philosophy film series.
The movie, “Moonlight” will be shown in the LMC Library, Room L-109, on Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. Following the film philosophy, professor Edward Haven will host a discussion about technologies of the self and the social conditioning of the self.
Next month there will be another discussion about the movie, “Joker.” For this showing, you are welcome to join Dr. Luis Zuniga in conversation about the music in this movie. It will be held Wednesday, Nov. 30, 12:45-2:10 p.m. in the Library, Room L-109.
Make sure to check the LMC website for regularly updated information and additional films.
After receiving his degree and discovering his liking for the classes he took, he decided to apply for an Art school and get a second degree in design. “I thought more that this would be a really good career, and art school fuels you, it fuels the flame and makes you more interested,” he said.
While the path to a career wasn’t the easiest for Schall, as he admits that college expenses played a part, his ambition helped drive him. “I was very driven to get a job. I was paying for school myself, it was very expensive, but I had to get a job, there was no screwing around,” he said.
Prior to working at Los Medanos, Schall worked multiple years as a designer in San Francisco, and even did work for big named companies. “I worked for a graphic design
firm in San Francisco for 8 ½ years after art school, and I loved it. It was a great learning experience. I loved working with the high end clients, Nike and all those guys, that was super fun,” he said.
In the middle of working at the firm, however, Schall talks about how shallow the job started to get. “All of a sudden it started to become shallow. I felt like I was designing another graphic, another banner, or poster for a new shoe that was being released, and I’ve been doing it for several years, and the shoes just kept coming, it just didn’t feel good to me,” he said.
Around 2008, after Schall was laid off by the firm, he decided to do volunteer work for non-profit companies. “I needed to find a job, and so I applied to some different firms, and a friend of my wife worked at Contra Costa college, and there was a post for graphic designer, and that I should apply for it,” he said.
Schall at first did not get the job, despite feeling good about the interview he had for it and coming second for the position. “The marketing
director told me I didn’t get it, she thanked me for my time, and see ya” he joked. Schall was however rehired at the firm he previously worked in. 4 months later, however, he received a call back from the marketing director for the position he applied for, after the person who got the job before him left. “I started working here as a designer, and was working for the marketing department here at the college, and have worked there for 13 years” he said.
About 6 years ago, after multiple years of being graphic designer for Los Medanos, Schall began teaching part time. “The chair at the art department asked me then if I would be interested in teaching, and I did it and it was great,” he said. Schall was admittedly nervous his first few days of teaching. “My first day of my first class, I was nervous because I never taught before, and so I was kind of freaking out,’’ he said. But as more time went by, he began to enjoy teaching more and got better and comfortable at it. “I can teach things that I know how to do, but never
had to explain to anyone before. But you get better at that, and it was great and I love the students,” he said. Schall was then offered a full time position last December, and he would go on to apply for it. “The whole process of the hiring was challenging,” he admitted, “but it went fine, and ended up getting hired.”
When it comes to the highlights of working here at Los Medanos, Schall felt that LMC’s professional development was the highest. “If you were in a position and you wanted to learn something new, there are programs that will allow you to take classes and pay for it, and that is amazing. I’ve done several workshops while here, and learned a lot about video and video editing, and I really appreciated those opportunities. It made me a better designer, satisfied my need to do new things, push myself into different directions, and do those things in college with the skills that I’ve learned” he elaborated.
As for his work as a graphic designer, Schall highlighted his work for the gymnasium.
“I did a bunch of graphics for the athletic complex, very large scale graphics, and that was pretty exciting, I never did anything that large, it pushed me as a designer when it came to trying new things” he said. Schall also highlighted teaching here at Los Medanos. “Teaching has taken my career into a whole new direction, and I think getting to know the students and learning about their lives and helping them with whatever they need help with, has been really satisfying, he said.
When it came to teaching during the beginning stages of the pandemic, Schall was
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
— Eleanor RooseveltTrey Hinckley Experience Graphics professor John Schall (right) takes a profile photo of philosphy professor Edward Haven in the art area. Trey Hinckley • Experience John Schall directs someone to position for a photo.
Fans of the Blizzard Entertainment game “Overwatch” have been waiting for the release of its sequel for almost three years and the day of its release has finally come.
“Overwatch 2” launched on Oct. 4 and features a revamped cast of characters along with many changes and overhauls that many fans have been vocal about. It’s a mixed bag of good and bad and despite advertisements marketing this as a sequel, it feels more like a glorified update that fans should have had access to months after it was announced.
One of the biggest changes made in “Overwatch 2” is to its core mechanic, changing the six versus six player battles into a five versus five. In order to achieve this, the tank class of heroes was reduced to only one per team, meaning that previous tank heroes needed adjustments in order to suit
this role more effectively. This change at first didn’t sit well with the player base but early beta tests showed more positive remarks and an increase in players using the tank class which was least popular compared to damage and support.
Another positive aspect of this sequel is how engaging the action is compared to its predecessor. By changing the game into a five verse five hero shooter, games are more likely to be played in new and interesting ways. In the original game it was often seen that playing specific heroes together made your chances of winning more frequent and so matches played out the same, making it feel dull and uninspiring. With the change in compositions, players will no longer feel restricted to certain heroes and will feel like who they want to play will make a difference in their matches.
But that’s about it with the positive aspects of this sequel. Not only did they change the
core mechanic of the game, but also changed its business model and made the game free-to-play. This means that in order for Blizzard to make a profit from their new business model, many of the cosmetics for heroes that could be earned through playing the game are now locked behind paywalls that can cost as much as $20.
Players have calculated through information released from Blizzard that if someone
had never played the original “Overwatch,” it would cost more than $10,000 for items that were previously free. This has sparked an outrage among the community who believe that this new model is predatory and makes the game feel more focused on their wallets than their dedication to playing. Although there are challenges which will offer in-game currency as a reward, players barely
earn enough for what they want and it’s more of a way to encourage spending real money on the game.
If it isn’t the amount of microtransactions that will be a part of “Overwatch 2” that turn away players, then it’ll be the new way to unlock heroes that will. Heroes used to automatically be unlocked for all players but now will require players to unlock by See WATCH, page 7
the band; killer riffs, catchy choruses, and exhilarating breakdowns, all while sprinkling some Nu Metal elements that the band was known for when they first got started.
By TREY HINCKLEY Staff WriterHeavy Metal band Slipknot returns with their seventh entry of their discography “The End, So Far.” The album follows up their 2019 release “We Are Not Your Kind” which many fans and critics considered a return to form from the band. It is safe to say that their latest release picks up where their sound had left off, while offering some interesting new ideas throughout.
Slipknot boldly chose to show their newer experimentation on the first track of the album “Adderall,” which
is a synth driven track with all clean vocals. It may take a couple of spins to get into it, but the groovy bassline and addictive keyboard, along with Corey Taylor’s never disappointing vocal delivery makes this track an immediate highlight.
The next three tracks, “The Dying Song (Time to Sing)”, “The Chapeltown Rag”, and “Yen’’, seamlessly blend right into the album. These tracks provide what many have grown to love about
The fifth and sixth tracks of the album, “Hive Mind” and “Warranty”, which both serve as the heaviest songs on the album, are also highlights. With a considerable amount of heavy riffs, blast beats, gang vocals, and Corey Taylor’s vulgarity in his screaming vocals, makes these songs go tos when it comes to listening to the album.
One other highlight to mention in this album is the maturity in the songwriting. The band delves into drug and drinking abuse, political corruption, and depression. While these are subject matters that the band have made songs about before, there is a sense of maturity and cohesiveness that shows the band have mastered their craft.
The album goes back in forth with ballads and headbangers in “Medicine for the Dead”, “Acidic”, “Heirloom”,
“H377”, and “De Sade’’, with “H377” being one of the nuttiest headbangers the band has put out in a long time, and will sure be a mosh pit anthem for the band’s upcoming performances for a long time. Mixed into these songs are continued experimentations of synthesizers, ballads, and instances of groove metal that the band pulls off well.
Closing off the album, fittingly, is the song “Finale”, which involves everything the band played throughout the album. From Taylor’s clean and unclean vocals, to the slow down and up tempo guitar riffs, to the closing gospel like vocals to give this album a calm like finish.
“The End, So Far” has something to offer for any Metal fan. While some songs may not be for everyone, you can’t help but commend the band for keeping their signature sound while having elements of experimentation. It helps keep the album fresh, and may go down as one of the band’s strongest albums to date.
Joe Keery, known for playing Steve Harrington in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, has released his sophomore album under his musical alias Djo. His musical talents started to gain traction after his hit performance in Lollapalooza. What’s provided in this album continues to show his potential musical prowess.
Right from the start, you can hear the new wave influences that will continue in the majority of “Decide” in the leadoff track “Runner.” While it can be lyrically repetitive, it talks about the things that happen in the world that make him scared to branch out to become the best person of himself, but knows that he needs to continue to try in order to find change.
The track then cleanly transitions to the second track, the funny and up tempo “Gloom,” which served as the second single of the album and talks about being “ready to go” and move on with his life after a spoiled relationship.
One topic that becomes a subject matter throughout the album is adapting as people in a world that is slowly becoming consumed by technology, such as tracks like “Half Life” and “On and On,” which, respectively, talks about how being plugged into social media consumption leads to you living half of your life and scrolling continuously and mindlessly.
Djo provides a couple of ballads too like “End of Beginning,” where he reminisces about how he’s grown up when he travels from city to city, but gets hit the most when he is in Chicago.
When it comes to highlights, it will have to be “Change” which served as the lead single for the album. The booming bassline and synthesizers that goes with the strong songwriting of struggling to interact with those he wants to be around due to the fear of changing, but learning that everything we do in our daily lives, such as stepping outside in the sun, or putting on a new
“Overwatch 2” characters attempt to defeat enemies while protecting friends.
Popular band provides fans with nostalgic and fun music
“Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is the latest biographical drama by Netflix. The show is created by Ryan Murphy, who is known for being the creator of American Horror Story. The cast includes Evan Peters as Dahmer, along with the likes of Richard Jenkins and Molly Ringwald.
The premise of the show breaks down the many killings of Jeffrey Dahmer between 19781991 in the point of view of his victims. What we get throughout is tragic and graphic, but hard to look away. The show does a good job in a story perspective when it comes to the killings and how they transpired.
The performances from Richard Jenkins, Niecy Nash, Lionel Dahmer and Glenda Celveland, respectively, were strong. But the scene stealer goes to Evan Peters as Dahmer himself. Peters has already shown flashes
of brilliance in American Horror Story, but takes his acting prowess to the next level in his performance.
While the show does well from a Hollywood perspective, you can’t help but feel mixed about it when it comes to an inadvertent exploitative perspective. While something as tragic as the Dahmer killings is provided to younger audiences who weren’t alive during the killing and teaches a lesson, some of the graphical scenes could be triggering, especially those who were affected or survived during the killings if they were to watch the show.
The other issue with the show, while Peter’s performance is magnificent, people will confuse his performance as charismatic, when it should be doing the opposite when it comes to the severity of Dahmer’s actions.
“Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is an excellent series that breaks down the tragic events involving Dahmer. If viewers can watch the show for that while learning something from it, they should check it out. But considering how graphic the subject matter is, especially since it is based on true events, this show can certainly be triggering and certain viewers would be better off staying away.
Noah Cannon GUEST COLUMN
We need to fix the current state of cinema.
Movies are special. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. But what makes them so special? Why do we go to the movies? Legendary film critic Roger Ebert summed it up pretty well: “Every once in a while, I have what I think of as an out-of-the-body experience at a movie. When the ESP people use a phrase like that, they’re referring to the sensation of the mind actually leaving the body and spiriting itself off to China or Peoria or a galaxy far, far away. When I use the phrase, I simply mean that my imagination has forgotten it is actually present in a movie theater and thinks it’s up there on the screen. In a curious sense, the events in the movie seem real, and I seem to be a part of them.”
I couldn’t agree more. Ever since I was little, it was a joy to be treated
to the movies where the smell of popcorn and candy fills your nostrils like the greatest air-freshener and you could feel your heart pounding and being pumped full of eager anticipation as the lights dimmed and the picture started. It was almost like a dream, wondering what kind of adventure the film would take us on.
I’ve seen the original “Star Wars” trilogy, “Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs,” and the first 11 PIXAR films several times, and every time I see them, I feel magic — a sense of wonder as though I’ve left this world and am experiencing a whole new life that inspires me to do better and to create stories of my own.
Now, I must explain my disappointment with what the future of cinema looks like. I’m literally sighing right now as I write this. I am not an optimis-
tic man. Famous filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola don’t believe that Marvel movies are cinema, comparing them to theme park rides. Coppola even went as far to describe them as “despicable.” As harsh as that might sound, I agree with them to an extent.
As much as I love certain MCU films, here’s why I side with them. Almost every MCU movie feels
like it’s been churned out in a cold boardroom by gentlemen in suits. Nothing is really new or revolutionary or taken seriously. They try to, but the films are so drowned with bathos that when it tries to tell something dramatic it just comes across as a joke — like a mouse trying to be an elephant.
The films are purposely made to
“Andor” is a science-fiction, espionage series streaming exclusively on Disney+. Set in the Star Wars universe, this series follows the life of a rebel spy named Cassian Andor before the events of Rogue One, the 2016 film where he made his debut. “Andor” has some cool lighting and great use of cinematography and the production design, costumes, and makeup are good too. The tone is consistent throughout, and the cast does well with the material given.
A long time ago, in a galaxy right here, a young filmmaker named George Lucas created “Star Wars.” Released in 1977, “Star Wars” changed cinema forever and was temporarily the highest grossing film of all time. But sometimes, there can be too much of a good thing, such as this latest series to come out of the Star Wars franchise. “Andor” is style
over substance, with no creativity or sense of passion whatsoever. The first “Star Wars” film made the audience fall in love with two robots within the first two minutes of runtime. With “Andor” on the other hand, certain side characters were forgettable.
In the day and age where bathos is covering every single piece of pop-culture “filmmaking,” it is refreshing to see a series made by Disney that isn’t afraid to be serious and even grim sometimes. That’s what hooked audiences in the beginning.
It was cool to see two goons from a space bar follow Andor before he attacks and overpowers them. The show started off promising, but as the minutes went by, The series became a bore to watch, and it didn’t bring anything new or original to the silver screen. It’s no different than the other sci-fi shows we have airing today.
The biggest problem with “Andor” is that no one seemed to have any fun
making it. When it comes to the original “Star Wars” trilogy, even the prequels, It feels like George Lucas breathing life and creativity into every little frame and sequence. You could sense him behind the camera almost.
But ever since Disney purchased the rights to George’s IP in 2015, nothing feels personal anymore, and “Andor” is no exception. It doesn’t feel like the work of an artist bringing to life his or her unique vision to life. It feels like something that’s been churned out in a boardroom and pushed out for no real purpose than to make money.
Seriously, did we really need a spinoff series about a side character from another Star Wars spinoff? “Andor” is not worth your time. There are far more interesting, fun, and more creative series and films out there. If you’re looking for a unique and creative passion project with characters that will hook you to the end, unfortunately you will not find it here.
Los Medanos Women’s Volleyball team dominated in a 3-1 victory in 4 sets against Contra Costa College. The entire game seemed in the favor of the Lady Stangs. They didn’t stop their aggressiveness from the first set.
Right from the start, the game was as one-sided as any blowout game would be. The first set was the closest as the final score for the first set was 25-21 LMC. The second set was all Mustangs, as LMC took that match with ease via the score 25-13.
During those two sets, LMC was playing well with the spikes, sets, blocks, and passing. They worked as a well-oiled machine that seemed unstoppable. Contra Costa had no answers for these plays as they showed frustration during the second set. Contra Costa called for a timeout twice in the second set as their players were making simple mistakes. Even with the timeouts, the Mustangs kept their momentum rolling as they were looking for the 3-0 sweep after the set.
In the third set, however, Contra Costa demonstrated better teamwork and won the match 25-21 looking for the reverse sweep. The Mustangs made mistakes as it looked like they were slowing down thinking they had it in the bag. After the third match, the match was 2-1 in favor of the Mustangs and both coaches were giving it their all to lead their team to the victory.
In the fourth set, the Mustangs brought their aggressiveness back and defeated the Comets by a score of 25-16 giving them a 3-1 game victory.
Noelle Mixon led the Mustangs with the most assists, while Kamara Philips-Alberto led with the most points. Leila Caralos led the Mustangs in aces. Elane Johnson was the biggest defender for the Mustangs as she had 4 blocked shots that led to points for LMC.
The entire game was one-sided as the Mustangs rolled through Contra Costa, and the team seeks to even their record on the road. The Mustangs next 2 volleyball games are on the road against Mendocino and West Hills. The next home game that is scheduled for the Mustangs in LMC is on Oct. 14th against Marin. There is technically a home game on Oct. 10 against Ohlone, but that game will be at West Hills.
For more information on the Women’s Volleyball team, visit www. losmedanos.edu/volleyball/
The Los Medanos Mustangs defended their home gym in a thrilling 3-2 series win over Yuba College. The series went the full five sets as the Mustangs won the first but then dropped the next two and had to win the final two sets to come from behind and get the victory.
Noelle Mixon was all over the floor for the Mustangs as she not only led her team in killshots, but she also led in points and was second on the team in dig returns as she was able to perform well on the attack and on the defense. Lauren Sobolick also put in a solid performance as she tallied in 11 killshots, 15 digs, and 17 points for her team. Lindsey
Bradshaw was excellent on defense as she led her team in digs with 20 as her play came up big in many situations throughout the game for the Mustangs squad. Kaily Speth and Leila Caralos were the teams top two servers as the two combined for 45 of the teams 52 total aces.
The way the game started gave off the feeling the Mustangs were gonna run away with this series as in the first set they took a commanding 1-0 series lead with a dominant 25-16 set win and all seemed good for the Mustangs. However the next two sets were good but not great. The Mustangs were able to keep the sets close with scores of 25-20 and 25-21 but they ended up dropping both sets putting Yuba College in a
match point situation needing only one more set to take home a win on the road. But the Mustangs crawled back into the match and tied up the series after a back and forth set four to even up the series at two sets a piece for both sides.
In the all important do-or-die set five, the Mustangs were able to regain control and win the rubber match set by a score of 15-9 to secure a victory. The win saw contributions from everyone on the roster as almost everyone played in all five sets of the series. Yuba city played the Mustangs tough as during the series they did not commit any errors while the Mustangs committed multiple serving and blocking errors. However, the biggest difference between these
two teams was the attacking game. The Mustangs had more than 50 total attacks than Yuba College did and LMC converted over 20 more of their killshots than Yuba City. While Yuba College’s defense was able to produce more blocks than the Mustangs, their attacking firepower just was not able to compete with the Mustangs attack.
This win ended a two game losing streak the Mustangs were on and it was the first time they had won a set since their last win back on Sept. 21. Their record improves to 8-11 as they look to use this game as a momentum boost down the stretch of the season. The next home game for the Mustangs is on Oct. 5 against Contra Costa then two away games.
Gwynn GUEST COLUMNFootball season is in mid swing across the country and so are football’s nastiest side effect: concussions.
Even with the improvements to football helmets over the years, concussions continue to hinder the sport at all levels, and our own Los Medanos College Mustangs are no exception to this hindrance. I am an athlete here at LMC and I can attest to the fact that most of the people I see in the medical training rooms at the school are football players.
When I asked LMC’s head medical trainer Brian Powelson about what most of the injuries are he had this to say in response, “well, there’s a bunch of different things that these guys come in here (the training room) for. Some have hurt ankles, knees, shoulders but the most common injuries we get that cause players to miss a significant number of games are concussion related.”
Powelson, AKA Coach B, did not seem surprised that concussions are occurring as frequently as they have been, and frankly neither am I. As a former football player, I understand the potential danger that the sport can pose. Grown men running into each other headfirst and ball carriers being dropped on the back of their heads is not a recipe for success.
This side effect of the great sport is common in the NFL as well. In a recent game on Sept. 28, the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa, was thrown on his head by a 300-pound defensive linemen and was knocked out cold. He needed to be carted off the field.
The game is glorified by social media and television but not many get to see how dark that the sport can become. It is my belief that safety and protection of the players should be the No. 1 priority for owners and officials, and that starts with continuing to prevent head injuries.
VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
10/10 at West Hills, 1pm
10/10 at West Hills v. Ohlone, 3pm
10/12 at Solano, 6pm
10/14 v. Marin, 6pm
10/19 at Napa Valley, 6pm
10/21 at Yuba, 6pm
10/28 at Contra Costa, 6pm
11/2 v. Mendocino, 6pm
11/4 v. Solano, 6pm
11/9 at Marin, 6pm
11/11 v. Napa Valley, 6pm
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
10/8 v. Redwoods, 6pm
10/15 at Feather River, 5pm
10/22 v. Foothill, 1pm
11/5 v. Hartnell, 1pm
11/19 v. Yuba, TBA
SOCCER SCHEDULE
10/11 at Solano, 4pm
10/14 v. Yuba, 4pm
10/18 v. Marin, 2pm
10/21 v. Solano, 4pm
10/25 at Yuba, 4pm
10/28 at Marin, 4pm
11/1 v. Solano, 4pm
11/4 at Yuba, 4pm
“If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.”
During the Art 10 project field trip on Wednesday, students Kennywest Criddell and Anna Capperauld talk with Master Gardener Jane Wirth about how to grow blueberries using acidic soil. Criddell plans on using the information he gathered to use in their mural design.
From page 8
“This is the first time that any of us had done this,” Perlta said.
For another group, they were tasked with striking up a conversation with the master gardeners to try and get a sense of what they liked
From page 4
jacket is step forward to change without us even realizing.
Another highlight is “Figure You Out” the third single of the album. With the soft keynotes and guitar strings that are sprinkled throughout the song, mixed with the powerful lyrics of trying to figure your own self out when it comes to self doubt. Keery provides the most emotional performance
From page 5
fit a young demographic and please Politically Correct crowds. Scenes are edited for laughter and applause. Yes, the movies are more like theme park rides than real cinema, as previously stated by Scorsese. But what sticks out to me the most is how hardly any of these films feel personal or grounded.
Unlike Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, Joss Whedon’s Avengers, or James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, the majority of the other MCU films don’t feel like they’ve been created from the ground up; the sole brainchild of an individual being an artist. About 90% of these movies feel like they can all be directed by the same person because they lack a unique visual style and sense of tone that separates them from the rest. Sure, that works for a consistent cinematic universe, but it lacks variety and doesn’t feel personal.
This is why I’m scared for the movies of the future. The Marvel films are the most popular and commercially successful movies made today, and people can’t get enough of them. They’ve influenced the tone and style of other films, too. Modern day films are filled with excessive, overly colorful CGI, forced pop culture trends,
and the process of planting. Kennywest Criddell and Anna Capperauld spoke with Wirth about the subjects of plants and what it takes to grow one for inspiration on designs they could do.
“We talked about the planting and how the soil grows underneath and how it needs to be acidic for berries,” said
Criddell. “It was really cool because I’ve never planted before.”
Criddell plans on using the information to help the design team.
The final group was tasked with inspecting the barn tools and trying to see if these tools could be incorporated in the design plans in some way.
Master gardener Lonni Cronin spoke with the groups about the tools and what they did and demonstrated its uses.
When it was time to wrap up, each team gathered together and left with two black sheets to help them get started on designing and then headed on their way. This project was a great way of introducing the
process of working in a real life environment with clients and trying to design something that suits their taste. Wirth believes that despite their nervousness, they will pull off an amazing design because of how engaging they were to the process and with Sanchez as their teacher, they will definitely make LMC proud.
From page 4
— Brian Reed
reaching a certain level in the battle pass, a common practice in free-to-play games. This new grind has been disliked among the player base and it gets worse for people who are playing “Overwatch” for the first time because they will not only have to unlock new heroes but existing ones as well, limiting the amount of heroes they can play in the beginning.
Veterans who love what the original had will find “Overwatch 2” to be exciting with all the new changes and new content, however its greedy microtransactions and long grinding experience make it hard to recommend this to brand new players. If only the highly requested story campaign was ready to play, “Overwatch 2” would have seen a more positive reception but Blizzard failing to deliver its promises despite the lengthy amount of time they had has made it difficult to defend. Only time will tell if the decisions they made for this sequel were the right ones.
From page 3
when it comes to his vocal performance, where you can tell this song meant a lot to him. All of this combined makes this track stand out the most in the album.
“Slither” serves as a fitting closer to the album, where he repetitively says that the future is coming closer under a beat that makes you feel a little claustrophobic and uncomfortable. This feels intentional because the idea of getting
closer and working towards your future always has some uncomfortable circumstances along the way because the future is scary and unknown, but we gotta keep going.
Midway through the song is when all the instruments come together where you start to feel a sign of hope, and the song closes with the lyrics “We all wanna be someone at the end of the day.”
Djo provided an excellent
nonstop action, and goofiness that breaks the tone of a film. Blockbusters are what make the most money.
Nowadays, people don’t give hoots about dramatic, personal art films like “Citizen Kane,” “The Godfather,” or any of Scorsese’s films. They’d much rather “eat fast food” than go to “a gourmet restaurant” so to speak. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but my problem is that in the future, every film is going to be studio controlled, modern for no reason, and edited and toned down for the sake of being fun and entertaining.
Studios are afraid to take risks and make something new and unique. People are scared that they’ll be rejected. If this is what the future of the cinema is going to be, then I’m not looking forward to it. On the contrary, I’m depressed, because I love movies, stories, and filmmaking. There’s nothing wrong with seeing weightless, fun films for the sake of having a good time, but if that’s all we get in the future, if there’s no variety, then all that stuff that made blockbusters and superhero films so great and unique in the first place… is gone.
I hope that my theory of what the future of movies looks like
doesn’t come true. I pray for a cinematic future filled with young talented new artists rising up to tell new stories in visually unique and creative ways. I dream of films that are again the sole product of an individual being an artist without thinking about merchandising and pleasing an audience.
If we get more films like the early Lucas/Spielberg movies, or Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking soon-to-be-classics, or even the early Pixar films, then yeah! I’m very excited! That would be awesome. We’ve recently got great films like “Dune” (2022), “JoJo Rabbit” (2019), and “The Batman” (2022), films that stand out visually and thematically with great stories that come straight from the mind of one director working with thousands of artists to create something personal and special. If we get more directors like Matt Reeves, C
I end this article with a personal message to Hollywood: Please don’t let the magic of cinema die out. It’s one of the few and most special things that holds our society together. Film is not just a consumer product, or a bunch of pictures strung together. No. Film is an international art.
album with “Decide.” With the strong production, lyrics, and the sprinkling of charisma that we’ve grown to love from Joe Keery in certain tracks, his future in music is bright. While this album can be derivative at times since it
From page 1
munity partners will be back on campus for the IMPACT Student Leadership Conference on Oct. 14 and they may set up another date for the drive soon after.
“It is extremely rare for a person to suggest anything other than a democracy. And yet, when it comes to the simple act of voting, an essential feature of democratic rule, which can be done easily by mail now, so many people opt out,” said Milton Clarke, LMC Political Science Teacher.
Ryan Hiscocks, Chair of the Social Science Department, has recommended a website where students can get more information if they are still confused about the whole voting process.
“The CA Secretary of State (Dr. Shirley Weber) website is a wealth of information for CA voters and the website https://www.calmatters.org has a midterm voting guide that is full of good and reliable information,” said Hiscocks. “Registered voters will also be sent voter guides that include candidate statements and other facts to help voters make sense of the elections taking place in our state.”
Voting is significant for American culture. According to Hiscocks, Students in general make up the largest demographic group in our country but they are the least likely groups to vote. For decades, their turnout rate was usually around 20%, but it jumped to
borrows a lot of sounds from songs in the 80s, if Djo can continue his lyrical prowess while exploring new elements of instrumentation, he is going to become a successful musical artist if he hasn’t already reached that level.
admittedly scared of it. “I was really afraid that I wasn’t going to be as effective, and I felt like I would lose students, they might drop, and wasn’t sure how it was going to go,” he said. He also elaborated how teaching through the pandemic further helped him as a teacher.
around 30% in recent elections. Young voters are taking the opportunity to vote but it’s still at low rates.
“It is important to vote as there are many key elections on the ballot as well as initiatives that impact us all either directly or through our family, friends, and community,” said Archaga.
There are propositions added onto the ballots that need to be understood that could change your lifestyle. Most of the propositions are self-explanatory, but some of them need more research to be done about whether the right move would be to say yes or no.
There was a proposition in 2018 that went onto ballot debating whether California would be divided into 3 states: California, Northern, and Southern California. This proposition would be removed from the ballot but it was still on the ballot for citizens to vote on.
“It is significant as an expression of appreciation and value for our structure of governance, it is a way to honor those millions who suffered violence, oppression, and discrimination,” said Hiscocks. “Fighting for their equal right to take part in our economic and political systems, it is a significant expression that you value your community and your place within its processes of decision-making which affect us all.
“Seeing what was and wasn’t working really helped a lot. The first class of the pandemic, I didn’t really know what I was doing to be perfectly honest,” he joked. “I think the next year that I taught that class, I was much better, because I knew what was and wasn’t working. I made it work, a lot of us did,” he said.
Schall felt that another important thing to him as a teacher during the pandemic was making individual Zoom meetings with his fellow students. “To continue having contact with students, even though it was through Zoom, having meetings, not only the class meetings, but individual meetings was really important for me to continue building relationships with students, and also help them one-on-one just to make sure they were up to speed, they were doing okay, and they knew that they had support. We all needed that, especially during the beginning during COVID,” he said.
This fall semester was Schall’s first semester back teaching in person since the start of the pandemic, and it took him a couple of classes to readjust to it. “It was weird being in front of students for the first time in 2 ½ years, but now it’s totally fine. I enjoy seeing their faces and their responses and how they’re doing as far as they are understanding the material, it’s a much easier environment,” he said.
Schall will be teaching Graphic Design, Advertising and Marketing, and Photography in the Spring semester, with the latter being asynchronous, and encourages any student who may find the interests that he developed throughout the years to take these classes.
“Everything is designed. Few things are designed well.”
Los Medanos College’s Professor Eric Sanchez is taking his Art 10 2D Design class outside the confines of this college for a mural project at a local garden. The Rivertown Garden Site, located next to Antioch High School, has worked previously with LMC’s ecology class and is working closely with Sanchez and his class to add some color to their barn.
The Contra Costa Master Gardeners were present and acted as the “clients” for this project. It was them who reached out to Sanchez that gave Art 10 the opportunity to work at the garden site.
“The science teacher we worked with, one of our members asked her if she would have a referral because we were thinking about doing a paint job there,” said Master Gardener Jane Wirth. “We talked to [Sanchez] about treating it as if it was a job they might be applying to do or putting a concept in for some company.”
Wirth took the lead in the beginning, giving the students an in depth look at the Rivertown garden by introducing what they do there exactly and what’s grown here. As Wirth was talking, the students took to jotting down notes and key phrases to incorporate in their designs while
also asking questions that would help narrow down on what’s an important factor.
When it came time to start measuring, Sanchez split the class into groups and had each group work on a separate part, such as measuring the barn or talking with the master gardeners or even taking photos of the plants for inspiration. Despite being in different groups, the whole class was working together to create a full on mural for the barn in the back of the garden. Each group would then come together and put their minds on a design.
LMC student Jaden Peralta was part of the group that first measured the barn. Sadie Campbell and many others took tape measures and started calling out measurements, while Peralta drew a rough sketch of what the barn looked like along with its measurements to get a sense of scale.
“Right now we’re getting the base for our sketches to go into the design portion of it,” said Jessica Melendez. “We’re also trying to gather information to try to give ideas on what we’re going to sketch out.”
It’s a very stressful project for all students involved, and Peralta said that this is the first big one for Art 10.
See MURAL, page 7