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F.Y.I. Important Dates October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Oct. 22 CSU application workshop at 2 p.m. in the Library Oct. 29 LMC Choral Experience Concert from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Recital Hall
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Student rep quandary Committee member may lose position By STEVEN LUKE
sluke@lmcexperience.com
Los Medanos College Associated Students (LMCAS), met Oct. 7, like they do every Monday, but at this meeting, a student representative was there to speak to the members to save her position. Sherrie Anderson is a former President of the Associated Students, but this semester she moved on to serve as a student representative for the Curriculum Committee and the District Governance Council. Anderson pointed out at the meeting that she meets all the requirements. “I believe I meet all the needs of the position,” she said, “and if I am removed I will fight it.”
Demetria Lawrence says the problem is due to Anderson not wanting to receive the minutes or the agenda from the LMCAS meetings. The minutes essentially refers to the transcript of the meeting word for word. “Not reading the minutes is not proper representation of the senate,” she said. “She will report her reports from the committee, but not report to the committee about the senate.” If this is true, it puts Anderson in violation of the LMCAS bylaws, specifically number four under Sanctions, “Misrepresentation of the LMCAS or the individual role within the LMCAS.” Lawrence says the violation can cause the eventual
removal of Anderson from her position or cause another sanction LMCAS agrees upon. According to Anderson, though, this is not what happened. “I just want a report, not the entire agenda,” she said. Anderson does not want to receive the minutes or agenda because they were too long, and instead wanted a summary of them. In a discussion about not wanting to receive the agenda, Anderson was told by Lawrence that she could be removed, and at the time she was upset and confused. She was frustrated by being threatened at losing
In full harmony
JFKU deal for staff
‘Fences’ now open
Programs plentiful
The LMC Drama Department presents “Fences.” Remaining showtimes are Oct. 18, 19, 21,@ 8 p.m. and a matinee showing Oct.16 @ 11 a.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission. Students with ID, armed forces with ID and children are $7.
By RATTANA KIM
rkim@lmcexperience.com
Swim/tennis team forming The LMC Athletic Department will be holding an informational/interest meeting on Thursday, Oct. 24 at noon in Room CC3-361 (in the nursing area). The purpose of the meeting is to determine the possibility of forming and competing a Swimming and/or Tennis team for women. Athletic Director Richard Villegas can be reached at rvillegas@ losmedanos.edu if you have any questions.
Dates for the Zombie Prom Zombie Prom will be performed by the DVC Drama. Showings will be from Oct. 25 to Nov. 10 on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are on sale now. Call 969-2358 or visit www.dvcdrama.net for pricing and sales.
INSIDE
Photo by Irvin Trigueros
The Diablo Wind Symphony, led by Conductor Dr. Eric Hammer, plays a piece during a joint concert with the LMC Concert Band Sunday, Oct. 13 in the Recital Hall. The concert featured songs such as “Chant and Jubilo” by W. Francis McBeth and “Washington Greys March” by Claudio Grafulla.
Phone system installation Expected to be ready for use by Spring 2014 By SEAN TONGSON
stongson@lmcexperience.com
A new emergency telephone system is soon to be implemented at all schools in the Contra Costa Community College District. The new system, to be implemented and ready for use at Los Medanos College by Spring 2014, will replace the existing phones on campus and will allow direct calls to faculty and staff, replacing the current way of having to dial the current campus number and their respective extensions. According to Los Medanos College President Bob Kratochvil, the new system is already in process of being installed.
“The District has been working for some time on implementation of a new phone system for the district office and the three colleges,” said Kratochvil. “The District office and DVC (Diablo Valley College) have completed their stage of the implementation, while CCC (Contra Costa College) will be switching over to the new phone system during the weekend of October 26, 2013.” One new feature of the new telephone system will allow selected employees on campus to have the ability to “broadcast” a message to all phones on campus. Depending on the severity of the emergency situation, this could prove to be a very valuable asset in the wake of a serious situation.
While plans do not call for installing new phones in each and ever y classroom, replacement of all existing phones would be made, pending the availability of funds. “Additional funding would need to be identified for additional phones either in classrooms or hallways,” said Kratochvil. “On the other hand, there are other technologies that need to be explored as to the best communication mechanisms made available to faculty, staff, and students in the event of an emergency. One example is the 4CD Alert system, which provides notification about emergencies via e-mail or text.” The 4CD Aler t system which is
See PHONE, page 6
Budget meeting informs faculty Prop 30 helps campus finances By ALICIA ALM
aalm@lmcexperience.com
Profile of Mustangs’ star running back Shawn Vasquez, page 5 Women’s Dig Pink volleyball game coverage, page 5 Review of LMC’s newly released play, “Fences,” page 4 Preview of LMC’s upcoming Transfer Week, page 4 Planetarium broken, plans for new repairs, page 3
See LMCAS, page 6
Los Medanos College held a College Assembly Oct. 7 to present the budget development overview and the 2013-2014 adoption budget. Director of Business Services Ronke Olatunji led the presentation. It gave faculty members a visual reference to see how LMC’s budgeting cycle works with different departments and what the process consists of. Olatunji presented a flowchart that connected different departments to the school’s budgeting cycle to show how they work together. There were four different colored boxes to represent different processes and offices. These boxes included the district office/board process/board, LMC’s community processes, the President’s process and the Business Office Director’s processes. To see the budget cycle for LMC, go to losmedanos.edu/sg/default.asp After the flowchart introduced how the budget process is tied with different departments, Olatunji presented financial data on this year’s budget plans compared to the previous year.
Photo by Irvin Trigueros
Director of Business Services Ronke Olatunji led a presentation on budget development Oct. 7. Faculty members were concerned about last year’s budget and wanted to know what would be different this time. Last year the school did not make their net target and had to go on “stability”. LMC’s President Bob Kratochvil answered faculty member’s questions in depth about “stability.” “One of the things happening through this whole process, especially this year is the Union negotiations were still going on well into June. There were a lot of discussions at the
See CHART, page 6
Faculty and staf f of the Contra Costa Community College District now have the educational opportunity to go back to school. In an email sent out to all employees of CCCCD, Chancellor Helen Benjamin announced a new partnership with John F. Kennedy University. This partnership provides scholarships, which is the equivalent to a 20 percent tuition discount, for the undergraduate and master’s degree programs at the Pleasant Hill and Berkeley campuses. They are currently available for this academic year. These scholarships make it possible for working adults to attend courses in the late afternoon and evenings or online. “Often many staf f haven’t finished school so it is an opportunity for them to get back into school,” said JFKU’s Director of Marketing Cathrine Santini. She hopes that this partnership will help faculty and staf f advance their skills and explore new direction. There are a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs being of fered. Undergraduate programs being offered include business administration, health science, law enforcement leadership, legal studies, liberal studies and psychology. Graduate programs being offered include counseling psychology, health education, management, museum studies, sport psychology and many more. According to Santini, this is the first time this kind of partnership is being offered. “Our new president Mac Powell is big on partnership,” said Santini. “We’re trying to see what we financially can afford to do.” The talks of the partnership started in May. Santini said, “It came together really fast. The Contra Costa Community College District was really excited and very supportive of us.” Although it was being put together over the summer and there were a few setbacks due to summer vacation, it was completed in August, just in time before the fall quarter. District Director of Communications and Community Relations Tim Leong expressed his feelings about the partnership. “The District had been doing things to improve and develop our employees’ skills and give the opportunity to make working at the district a safe place to be.” Leong encourages faculty See JFKU, page 6
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“Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.”
— Soren Kierkegaard
Karen Hernandez
Kellie McCown
GUEST COLUMNIST
SO IT GOES
Parking passes are stressful
A disease can’t hold us back
I have been a student at Los Medanos College for about two and a half years. During my time here I have come to love LMC, from the size of the campus, to the great resources offered, to the outstanding professors who teach here. Although there are numerous things I love, there is one thing that continues to be an issue for myself and other students: purchasing daily parking passes. There have been many times where I have gone to purchase a daily parking pass, which costs $3, and have had an issue with the parking pass dispensers either not taking my cash or my debit card. This made me curious to find out how many others encountered the same issue. So I created a survey of four questions and asked 60 students about their experiences with the daily parking passes. Of those 60 students surveyed, 33 of them said they purchased daily parking passes. Of those 33 students, 17 students (51percent) reported they have had an issue with purchasing a daily parking pass. Of those 17 students, the most commonly found problem was that the machine would not take their money. Thirty percent of those 17 students said that they had been charged more days than they had planned to purchase. The other 18 percent of those 17 students complained that the parking pass machine had taken their money without giving them change. This was one issue that I was unaware of. One student complained, “With all the money it’s taken from me I could’ve purchased a pass for a full week.” Having to run or drive to find a parking pass machine that actually works takes students’ time away from classes — classes that they pay for. “It’s very inconvenient,” said student Ruby Garcia.“It’s really frustrating. Especially when you’re in a hurry and you have to drive around to find a machine that works when half of them are broken. And then they charge you with a $40 fine if you can’t buy a parking pass,” one student complained. And if the machines are charging students more than they should be, then that is just more money taken away from students. With all the issues the parking pass machines have, you would think that they have been there for a while, but would it surprise you if I said that they were installed only five years ago? It surprised student Ahjae Kendrick, “They’re only five years old? They look and act like they’re 10 years old,” she exclaimed. Still somewhat new but with constant problems, maybe it is already time for an upgrade. Maybe not a complete replacement, but if the machines were to be checked every two or three weeks to make sure they are working properly it would make a big difference. In addition to that, possibly having access to more parking pass machines would be helpful as well. That way, students don’t have to drive all the way to another parking lot to find a working machine. Many argue that students should just buy a semester parking pass for $40 instead of wasting money buying a daily parking pass for $3, but everyone has different circumstances. Some students wait for their financial aid to come in before they can purchase a parking permit while other students may be living pay check to pay check and cannot afford to purchase a $40 parking pass. Whatever the reason, there are still many students who have to purchase daily parking passes. If the school is here to help students and to make sure that our college experience is a great one, I hope that they are willing to make purchasing parking passes more convenient. After all, the money students are paying — and even losing — purchasing these parking passes is going toward the school.
In a country that celebrates diseases, I used to think that Breast Cancer awareness was just another way for advertisers to make money, for the wealthy to give and appear charitable, and for immature guys to accessorize themselves in all things boobies while appearing socially acceptable. I may be wrong, but I think that the allure of the “Save the TaTa’s” campaign has for men is that it’s more of an excuse to talk about breasts then about finding a cure for them. But, in recent months, I’ve come to see the other side of one of America’s most popular, and probably effective campaigns. Breast cancer awareness is about much more than simply finding a cure for cancer. It shows exactly how powerful women are when they come together for a specific cause. Whether it be breast cancer, equal work for equal pay, or voting rights, when something is not right, we go out to correct the wrong. And history shows that we have a pretty good track record, and can be seen in 3 “waves.” The first wave of women’s rights would begin in 1848 with first women’s rights conference, held in Seneca Falls, New York. Two days later, 68 women and 32 men would outline social grievances and set aside 12 resolutions demanding that women have the same rights as men, including the right to vote and the right to own property. Over the next 72 years, women’s suffrage would snowball and result in the 19th Amendment of the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. During the 1960s, America would see a second wave of the women’s rights movement that history would coin as the Women’s Liberation Movement. During this time, women started to take control of their bodies, their careers, and their money. The Equal Pay Act was signed by John F. Kennedy and abolishing wage discrimination between men and women in the work place. This second wave also resulted in hyper awareness of domestic violence, establishing shelters for battered women and rape victims, and finally gave women the choice to have kids, or to not have kids. Now, in the third wave, we see more women taking the helm of major corporations, more women in professions historically dominated by men, and more women in political leadership roles then ever before. Top Fortune 500 companies HP, IBM, and Pepsi Co. all have women CEO’s. And today, there is even strong talk that the next democratic nominee for the next President of the United States will be a woman: Hilary Clinton. Women have come together for their money, their voice, and their bodies. So it’s no wonder, and no surprise that breast cancer is such a powerful movement. Searching “breast cancer awareness” alone will give you 134,000,000 results. More then 9 million dollars was raised in 2012, and breast cancer walks sponsored by Avon, the Susan G. Comen Foundation, and the American Cancer Society have gained national participation. October should be a time of celebration for how far we have come as women. A time to reflect on where we were, where we are, and where we’re going. Recognition and respect for the struggles and the sacrifices made by the important women in our past that inspired us women and gave us the strength to battle such monstrosities as cancer. The progress that has been made towards finding a cure belongs just as much to Susan B. Anthony as it does to the women of today. And finally, it should be a wake-up call to society. Women are just as equal, smart, and courageous as our male counterparts. We are not going to be dictated on how to act, be held back by work place stigmas, or be told how to take care of our own bodies. We are the makers of our own destinies, and no disease can take that away from us.
Cartoon by Janet Azehko
Editorial
Put Columbus Day in focus
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os Medanos College does not observe Columbus Day as one of its holidays instead, it celebrates Native American Day. Its motivation might match the efforts of the state of South Dakota and the city of Berkeley to be appreciative of the horrors indigenous people were subjected to in the lands that came to be known as the Americas. It is for the best that Los Medanos College, as part of an ethnically diverse community, does not observe the holiday. However, this is not a clear-cut issue for Americans who were raised to revere him as a hero. When considering Christopher Columbus it should be understood he was just one part of a complex history, the underlying issues of which still exist today. How do you co-exist with people who have different customs and beliefs than you? How do you secure wealth and prosperity for your country? What is to be done when the resources you want are in lands inhabited by others? If you plug Columbus and genocide into your favorite search engine, or go old school and visit a library, there will be a lot of evidence to support this claim of him being guilty of actions which today might be viewed as war crimes. However, it can also turn up information that supports the idea of him being worth veneration. The basic thing grade school children are taught is that in 1492 Columbus set sail with the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria with a goal of reaching Asia by sea instead of following the establish land route. At the time, a profitable sea route controlled by Islamic nations lasted from 600 A.D. until the naval prowess of Portugal and Spain supplanted them. Spain battled Islamic nations, first in 711 A.D., and continued to do so until Granada was conquered by the armies of Queen Isabella the First and King Ferdinand the Fifth. Columbus turned to these two Monarchs after having his proposal rejected by Portugal, then Genoa and Venice. Initially the Spanish crowns said “no” when Columbus first approached them in 1486. But they were curious enough to put him on a retainer. After they had taken Granada they allowed him to set sail. He turned east from the Mediterranean Sea, which had hosted many wars of conquest carried out by the Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Romans and others, with some wars having religious overtones such as the Crusades and the Moorish conquest of Spain. The truth is human beings are prone to something sociologists called ethnocentrism, a term which denotes us vs. them thinking — with them being evil and worthy of being attacked, or worthy of being re-made into something resembling us. The phenomenon of ethnocentrism is visible in the history of just about every continent. Columbus, of course, did not reach India as he believed till his death. He encountered people he called Indians and saw the people as “them,” so he claimed their land in the name of Spain. Columbus is not a simple figure of history. He is part of all the good and bad humanity is capable of. Certainly he did, or supported things, which are evil. However, when we view him with a long lens of history we should use a wide lens with a hope we will come to treat each other better as an all-inclusive “us.” Issues brought on by ethnocentrism still exist today with tensions between North Korea and South Korea, Iran and other places, and the United States is charting a course into its unknown future just as Columbus set sail into the unknown so long ago. Columbus did his best with what he knew and believed then. He is neither a perfect hero nor a melodramatic villain, but his troubling legacy means his day should not be observed.
lEttErs to thE Editor
Don’t sign up, then drop classes DEAR EDITOR: Getting classes for college can be difficult at times. Getting General Ed classes is like a battle for many as every year presents the school with new students trying to apply for a General Ed class. I went through feelings of distraught when I was attempting to sign up for my General Ed classes during my first semester here at Los Medanos College. My frustration wasn’t with signing up per say, rather it was with the number of students who initially signed up for the class only to drop it. This happened to me on a number of occasions when I was signing up for classes to the point that I expect at least every class that is full will have at least five people dropping it. This also ties in with the waiting list. There are times when students apply for the wait
Voices
list and are not attending the class when the semester begins, sometimes not even showing up at all. I understand it’s natural for students to do that because they want to make sure they get into the class, however it makes it difficult for students who are trying to sign up for a class. It makes sense for someone to sign up for a class so they can secure it but if they sign up only to drop as the semester starts, then what’s the point? It causes extra work for the next student to get into a class because they have to go through the process of going to see if there is any more open space for them, getting the green light from the teacher along with the add code, then applying for the class. — John Cueva
LOS MEDANOS COLLEGE
How do you avoid midterm stress?
Experience
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Member California Newspaper Publishers Association
“Seeing how other people have done it before and focus on how to improve it.” — Andrew Stallard
“Get sleep, get exercise, try to study when you have a fresh brain.” — Lucy Snow
“I watch TV to get my mind off it and then later I study for it in little sections so it’s not all at once.” — Anthony DiGuillo
“When I get stressed out, I work out or take long walks.” — Felina Walker
“I try to exercise, eat healthy and I only think about one subject at a time.” — Charlie Lopez
“I just procrastinate until the last couple days because the pressure of it coming up helps me study better.” — Natalai Philbin
“Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” — Thomas Jefferson
Editor-in-Chief .................... BRENDAN CROSS Perspectives Editors......... VANESSA FLORES and JAZMINE GORDON Campus Editors .................. JOSEPH DELANO and ALEXANDRA TAGLIAMONTE Features Editors .......................RATTANA KIM and STEPHANIE PATTISON Sports Editors .......................LUKE JOHNSON and DAKOTAH ZABROSKI News Editor ....................... HILLARY HETRICK Photo Editor ....................... IRVIN TRIGUEROS Web Editor ................................. JESUS CHICO 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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FRIDAY,
Where are the stars?
OCT.
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2013
“Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding.�
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— Ezra Pound
Newswatch
Transfer tours happening now Are you a student who is having trouble figuring out what school you want to transfer to? If so, Los Medanos College will be providing students with the opportunity to visit some top universities in the state of California. The Universities that Los Medanos College will be providing these tours to extend all the way through November. The Universities that will be visited are: UCLA: Nov. 8 San Francisco State: Nov. 15 UC Santa Cruz: Nov. 22 Lunch and transportation will be provided for everyone who is attending, but space is limited so don’t let this opportunity get away. For more information, please visit the Transfer Center. For activity and membership requirements, contact student Hana Dempsky at whirlygirl@yahoo.com or call Student Activities Coordinator Mary Oleson at 439-2181 ext. 3266 or reach her by e-mail at moleson@losmedanos.edu.
Transfer workshops at LMC
If you’re an LMC student who is interested in transferring to a University, the Transfer Center will be holding a series of workshops to help with applications and personal statements. The upcoming schedule is as follows: CSU Application Workshop: Tuesday, Oct. 22 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Library, Room 109 CSU and UC Application Workshop: Thursday, Nov. 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the LMC Brentwood Center, Room 9. Photo by Irvin Trigueros
The entrance hallway holds the best glimpse of the stars at LMC as the Planetarium hasn’t been working.
Planetarium not working for years By MALIK LAWSON
mlawson@lmcexperience.com
These days, students at Los Medanos College do not have the advantage of using their Planetarium. Why? Because it is not currently working, and hasn’t been for some time. Astronomy Professor Scott Cabral said, “The star projector first stopped working in spring of 2012. The leaking capacitors were discovered during the annual preventative maintenance visit in August 2012. LMC’s IT department replaced the capacitors in Fall 2012. Then the computers stopped working
again in Spring 2013.� “LMC’s IT department and the Ash company that does our annual preventative maintenance on the star projector have been currently working together to get the computers fixed.� When asked how exactly did the Planetarium get into its current condition, Cabral replied that, “there are two computers that ran the star projector, and those computers’ capacitors inside of them began to leak,� not to mention that those computers were about ten years old.
Cabral said, “a star projector projector. is not necessary to give an asIn 2003, Dr. Kate Boisvert, tronomy lecture, but I have had who started teaching astronostudents tell me that they think my at Los Medanos in 1974 suthey learn the concept material pervised a massive renovation better when the projector is of the Planetarium that included used as part of the lecture�, a new floor, new carpet, seats, showing the importance of wall panels, special effects projthe Planetarium for students ects, a LCD projector, a CRT to understand projector, an core concepts. “A star projector array of audio The Planvisual equipetarium was is not necessary ment and playbuilt in 1974 to give an ers, speakers, when the colprojector winlege was first astronomy dows in the constructed. lecture.� dome, a dome It originally cleaning and a — Scott Cabral had small, dome paintplastic seats, a crude control ing. There were also new lights panel without the special effects put in the catwalk. The cost of projectors, somewhat ugly the renovation was $300,000. wall treatments and carpets Then LMC got a new star and a Spitz A-3, a simple star See STARS, page 6
rkim@lmcexperience.com
Photo by Irvin Trigueros
Personal Statement Workshop: Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the LMC Brentwood Center, Room 9 To better prepare for the workshops, stop by the Transfer Center, Room CC2-225, to complete a transfer check list. It may help ease the transfer process.
Fundraiser for scholarships If you love to cook, Los Medanos College has an event to show off your culinary skills. There will be a soup cook-off on Tuesday, Nov. 12 in the Indoor Quad area from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a chance to enter a contest where you can serve your best homemade soup, whether it be vegetable, wonton, chowder or tortilla. Creativeness is urged. Entries can be individual, group or department. Soups will be served for $4 with a slice of French bread in a fundraising event during the cook-off. The entry deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Entry forms can be obtained from Linda Maniscalco in the Cashier’s Office. — compiled by Hillary Hetrick from press releases and staff reports
Transfer Week calls on LMC By RATTANA KIM
Recruiter Benjamin Ibarra and Student Zainab Janneh gathering information at Transfer Week 2012 at LMC.
UC Application Workshop: Thursday, Nov. 14 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the Library, Room 109.
Los Medanos College will be hosting the 23rd annual Transfer Week from Monday Oct. 28 to Wednesday Oct. 30 with a variety of events. These events will include university representatives and informational meetings about how to transfer. On Monday two events will take place, which are Transfer Day and College Night. Transfer Day and College Night are similar events, except one is during the daytime and one is during the night.
Transfer Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the quad area of LMC’s College Complex Level 3. College Night will take place at night time from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the LMC gymnasium. The public and private universities’ representatives visit LMC so that students are able to get more information about the various universities. A list of universities that will be tabling at Transfer Day include American Public University, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, UC Santa Cruz,
UCLA and University of Texas Arlington. Universities that will be tabling at College Night include Arizona State University, MCPHS University and NewSchool of Architecture and Design. Other universities that will be at both events include: Columbia College Hollywood, Columbia College of Chicago, CSU Chico, CSU East Bay, CSU Sacramento, CSU Stanislaus, Ex’pression College for Digital Arts, Fresno Pacific University, Holy Names University, Humboldt State University, Michigan State University, See WEEK, page 6
Now, it’s easier than ever to get health coverage — no matter what. The Affordable Care Act (also known as “health care reform�) is bringing some big changes. By 2014, everyone can get health coverage, which means you have options. Deciding on a plan can be stressful and confusing, but we can help make it easier for you. We’d like to invite you to our complimentary event. Join us for this important gathering. We’ll help you:
simple answers
➜ Understand how health care reform affects you. ➜ Gain peace of mind to make a smart choice in a short time. ➜ Discover ways to get financial help, if you qualify.
Saturday, November 2, 2013 11 - 2 p.m. , BJT F S 1 F SNBOF OU F " OU JP D I . F EJD BM $ F OU F S 4 BOE $ SF F L 3 P BE " OU JP D I $ "
Also enjoy:
5 H I U H V K P H Q W V & K LO GU H Q
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Reserve your spot now at kp.org/healthcarereform/event. Seating is limited.
Note: This event does not provide information on Medicare health plans.
better choices
Kaiser Permanente health plans around the country: Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., in Northern and Southern California and Hawaii I Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado I Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio I Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc., Nine Piedmont Center, 3495 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30305, 404-364-7000 I Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the MidAtlantic States, Inc., in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., 2101 E. Jefferson St., Rockville, MD 20852 I Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, 500 NE Multnomah St., Suite 100, Portland, OR 97232 Please recycle. 87273 July 2013 0
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“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
‘Fences’ hits a home run at LMC Play evokes all emotions By JAZMINE GORDON
jgordon@lmcexperince.com
LMC’s Drama department delivered with August Wilson’s “Fences”, on the second night. The play cultivated real life issues and hit close to home with outstanding performances by the entire cast. It captured what life was like for a former African-American baseball player of the 1950s, struggling with his sons “modern world,” being “liked” in society and him getting scholarships in football. Many emotions were visible such as love, comedy and betrayal. The 6-8 week rehearsal period paid off brilliantly. There was approximately 50-70 people in attendance who were intrigued and active when it came to certain moments, such as Gabriel Maxson (played by Xavier Ali Travis) giving Rose Maxson (played by Arionna White) a rose “like a rose you is.” The production team did a great job with the set, technical things and lighting. The house alone was believable and it told a story without speaking. “The play is called fences because we as humans build fences for two reasons,” said Professor Nick Garcia, “ to keep things out or keep things in.” The play revolves around a fence, which symbolizes Troy Maxson’s (played by Olinza Headd) struggles as a baseball player from the 1950s who has missed his chance, and the modern world of his son Cory Maxson (played by Mario Castillo), who he is holding back. The 7 dollar ticket (with ID) was worth the watch. The audience connected with the characters, emotionally and dramatically as though they felt each character’s pain. The tension was felt and held throughout the 2 hour and 30 minute play. “So the piece exceeded all of my expectations,” said Moses Lawson. “It was really a show that I felt I could connect with and I think others who see the play will feel the same way too.” The eight-person cast did a fantastic job of establishing each character and showing the change of times through different eras. That necessitated multiple costume changes, which they did with great speed. The major highlight of the play was Olinza Headd as Troy Maxson. His performance led the audience to feel the
REVIEW
See PLAY, page 6
Photo by Irvin Trigueros
Actors Onlinza Headd and Arionna White share a hearty laugh together during a scene in August Wilson’s play “Fences.”
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Cookie symphony
Music department performs
Students from the Los Medanos College Music and Recording Arts departments will perform throughout the semester. All events and concerts are scheduled in the Recital Hall, located in Room 720 of the Music/ Recording Arts Building. LMC Concert Band Concert: Sunday, Oct. 13 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. featuring Diablo Wind Symphony and Los Medanos College Concert Band. General admission $5 student/senior $3. LMC Choral Experience Concert: Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 7:30 to 10 p.m. General admission $5 students/ seniors $4. LMC Student Recital: Friday, Nov. 22 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Free admission. Sophomore Recital: Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Free admission. LMC String Ensemble Thursday, Dec. 5 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Free Admission LMC Guitar Concert: Monday, Dec. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. Free admission LMC Winter Choral Concert: Tuesday, Dec. 10, 7:30 to 9 p.m. General admission $5 students/seniors $4. LMC Piano Honors Recital: Monday, Dec. 16, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. Free admission.
Movies coming soon “The Counselor” — Oct. 25 Rated R, Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller “Bad Grandpa” — Oct. 25 Rated R, Genre: Comedy “About Time” — Nov. 1 Rated R, Genre: Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi “Free Birds” — Nov. 1 Rated PG, Genre: Animation, Comedy “Last Vegas” — Nov. 1 Rated PG-13, Genre: Comedy “Thor: The Dark World” — Nov. 8 Rated PG, Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy In Theatres “Gravity” Rated PG-13, Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Fantasy “Don Jon” Rated R, Genre: Comedy “Machete Kills” Rated R, Genre: Action, Adventure “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2” Rated PG, Genre: Animation, Family “Rush” Rated R, Genre: Action, Adventure — compiled by Hillary Hetrick press releases and staff reports
‘Bolt’ strikes fans By BRENDAN CROSS
bcross@lmcexperience.com
“Lightning Bolt” is Pearl Jam’s 10th studio album, dating back to their first release, “Ten,” in 1991. Two singles from the album have been released thus far, “Mind Your Manners” and “Sirens.” The two songs are clearly the best on the album. “Mind Your Manners” harkens back to their roots and is a fast-paced and frantic kind of track. “Sirens” is a ballad that definitely evokes the same emotions as some of their earlier ballads such as “Black” and “Light Years.” Their recent formula is getting a bit old. In their last few albums, the theme has been to start off with a few faster tunes and follow it up with slower songs to end. The cohesion isn’t all the way through from song to song, it feels like a collection of songs rather than a fully fleshed out album. One of the other standouts on the album includes the lead track “Getaway.” If you are a Pearl Jam fan, you shouldn’t go to this album expecting they are going to return to their early to mid 90’s sound. Frankly, that sound is never coming back. However, “Lightning Bolt” is a good record, it combines some of the old sound with successful experimentation of different and newer sounds.
REVIEW
Photo by Cathie Lawrence
Ben Dayton, Nikki-Godsey-Lolly, Bryan Calderon, Eric Lim, Eric Cabral, Matt Kirk and Roberto Ruiz sold some cookies and played tunes for passersbys Sept. 17 to raise funds for the Music Program.
Pirates take over ship Captain Phillips makes a splash By BRENDAN CROSS
bcross@lmcexperience.com
“Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks, is based on a true story of a ship that is taken over by a crew of Somali pirates. The film as a whole is engrossing and keeps you on edge, yearning to see what is going to unfold. Hanks put on his east coast accent for the film and was truly at his best. It certainly would not surprise me if he were nominated for a best actor award for his performance. The movie leans on two main plot points of what the pirates do once they are on the
REVIEW
Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures
The Somali pirates are ruthlessly holding Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) and his crew hostage aboard his ship, the Maersk Alabama, in this movie still. ship and the negotiations the Navy goes through in order to get Captain Phillips and his crew out of the situation. As this is the season for Oscar nominee hopefuls, movies like “Captain Phillips,” “Gravity,” “Don Jon,” “Prisoners”
and “Rush” have made great pushes to get noticed. “Captain Phillips” is definitely a must see, especially for those wanting to see Tom Hanks give another great performance, which he hasn’t had in the last few years.
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“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”
— Babe Ruth
Hurdling adversity Vasquez stiff-arms obstacles By LUKE JOHNSON
ljohnson@lmcexperience.com
Shawn Vasquez is arguably the best junior college running back in California. His 146.2 rushing yards per game with 8.4 yards per carry and eight touchdowns through five games this season ranks him among the state leaders. But the road to success was not a walk in the park, Vasquez had to pave his own way to prosperity. Born in Oakland, Vasquez was raised primarily by his mother. Seldom did he ever see his biological father. For most of Vasquez’s life, his biological father did hard time for gang related activities involving drugs and gun trafficking. But when he was 3-years-old, his stepfather came into his life and played a constructive role in his upbringing. Vasquez became fond of football when he was 8-years-old, but did not begin playing competitively until he was 13 when he had moved to Antioch. There he played for the Delta Patriots in a Pop Warner League while he was in eighth grade, and was kept on the team in ninth grade, while attending Liberty High School in Brentwood, by his mother because she felt he was too small for high school ball. While on the Patriots, Vasquez rushed for over 2,500 yards and led the team to one win shy of a championship. During that season there was a game where he scored over 10 touchdowns in a combination of rushing, interceptions and punt returns, while in another game he ran for 99 yards in one play. He moved to Discovery Bay in high school and joined the junior varsity team at Liberty as a sophomore, before assembling on the varsity squad his junior year. There he played under Head Coach Nate Smith, who was not the most triumphant coach to say the least, and had a 14-45-1 record to show for it. Smith’s coaching style did not go over well with his athletes either. “A lot of players thought he didn’t know football, or knew what he was talking about,” Vasquez said. Smith was also discouraging to Vasquez. He told him he was not good enough to play at the top collegiate level. “He actually told me I wasn’t D-1 material,” Vasquez said. “He told me I was too small, [and] not fast enough to play.” Vasquez rushed for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns while playing for Smith, while defensively collecting 103 tackles, at linebacker, with 11 of them for losses and three takeaways.
Photo courtesy of Linda Johnson
Shawn Vasquez averages 142.6 yards per game which is second in state and has scored eight touchdowns already this season. During class time, he said he “shot himself in the leg” by not focusing or being concerned about his grades. So after graduation, Vasquez was almost certain he was going to play junior college ball, but when he surprisingly received a scholarship to Cambellsville University, an NAIA school in Kentucky, his mother convinced him to go. As a redshirted freshman at Cambellsville, Vasquez felt out of place. He described it as a small, boring town that had no serious interest in football. He believed he was undervaluing himself by staying there. “I also felt I was selling myself short by playing there. I felt I was D-1 player,” Vasquez said. When he returned to the Bay Area, the running back first enrolled into Diablo Valley College while not being completely onboard to continue his football aspirations. But when Los Medanos College Head Coach Chris Shipe heard Vasquez had came back from Kentucky, he did everything he could to convince him to play for the LMC Mustangs. Shipe said he was impressed by,
“… his ability, [and] his toughness. [He’s] not very big, but definitely strong for his size.” Vasquez was persuaded join the Stangs by getting an opportunity to start his first year on the team. In that season, in 2012, he took charge of the LMC ground attack that was seventh in touchdowns and eleventh in yards through out California. “Coming here to LMC, I truly believe it was one of the best decisions I have made,” Vasquez said. “I never really had a running back coach ‘til I got here… Coach Mo really helped out my game to another level.” He added that Shipe has been one of the greatest positive male influences in his life, and is “completely opposite” of his coach in high school. Presently halfway into his redshirted sophomore season, Vasquez is being scouted by Division-I programs such as: University of Utah, Utah State, University of New Mexico and University of Idaho. He still has the dream of one day playing in the NFL, but for now is focused on earning his current team a trip to a bowl game. The Mustangs are 3-2 entering
Photo by Cathie Lawrence
Players from Contra Costa wear pink as well to show support for Dig Pink Night.
Digging for breast cancer By DAKOTAH ZABROSKI AND PETER COSTANZA
dzabroski@lmcexperience.com
Around 70 spectators came out in support of Dig Pink Night, an event co-sponsored by LMCAS and the women’s volleyball team Oct. 11. It drew the biggest home crowd so far this season in a conference match up against the Contra Costa Comets. “It was nice to have a big crowd here, definitely the biggest crowd we’ve had all year, we hope they come back again,” said LMC Head Coach Lou Panzella. Dig Pink Night is more than
just a volleyball game and has special meaning to Panzella. “For me it’s about girls giving something back, the girls that are on the team are lucky, they’re healthy, they’re able to participate in collegiate sports and I think that to give something back to the community. To raise awareness of breast cancer and make a little bit of money for breast cancer, I think it’s awesome.” The Mustangs are seemingly firing on all cylinders as they jumped to an early lead winning the first two sets 25-11 and 25-7. Battling back and forth in the third set the ‘Stangs put the
Comets comeback attempt to rest with a final score 25-23. Kianna Pinkowski had almost all of the team’s 34 assists with 32. Taylor Scriven and Michelle Mayfield combined for 28 of the team’s 34 kills. Scriven lead the way with 19 kills, while Mayfield had nine. The 2-4 (conference), 2-7 (overall) record Comets are improving each week according to Head Coach Zachary Shrieve, who hopes the team can consistently perform as they did in the close third set. “We get better every week, thats what we’re trying to do, See PINK, page 6
Photo by Irvin Trigueros
Vasquez rushes against Cabrillo where he ran for 183 yards. conference play. Vasquez along with multiple teammates are confident they can finish the year undefeated and sweep the conference competition. “I know we will go undefeated in conference,” Vasquez boldly stated. “If we just take practice serious every week from here-on-out, and
we take each game one-by-one, get rid of our simple mistakes, stick to our assignments and play together, there is no doubt in my mind we that we won’t go undefeated and go to a bowl game.” If LMC reaches a bowl game, it will be there first appearance since 2005.
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tension and the build up of the character. Maxson’s famous line was “you got to take the crookeds with the straights.” Du’praiseja Smith did a great job as Raynell Maxson, showing the reluctance of the character. Despite the small role, it held a major significance and strong impact with the audience. Overall, the play was outstanding and it didn’t disappoint. “Fences” is a play that I recommend because you can relate and it hits close to home.
from where we started from, and we try to get better... the third game is more of how we play, I hope,” said Shrieve. Team Captain Jessica Neville felt that her team underperformed. “At first we didn’t come out to our full potential, towards the end we picked ourselves up and had that energy to win, once we were in the flow of things, things became a lot better,” said Neville. Dig Pink Night was a pre-cursor to Catch Pink on Oct. 26 where LMCAS will be holding another event to support the breast cancer awareness month of October. “The Dig Pink game is a kickoff for the Oct. 26 football game, which is the Catch Pink game… we really want to advertise for ever ything that we’re doing involving breast cancer awareness,” said Brianna Marie-Klipp. Everyone in the crowd who bought a cupcake also received a ticket to be in the raffle for prizes such as a Chili’s gift card. LMCAS plans to have more events for cancer awareness that will take place the rest of the semester. “We’re going to hold a series of different doctors and Breast Cancer Foundation speakers will be coming in, we will do it every third Wednesday…it’s just to make sure that breast cancer awareness isn’t just the month of October,” said Marie-Klipp. Both events are in lieu of the breast cancer seminar that was scheduled to be held Oct. 12, but was canceled. The Mustangs sit at 2-4 (conference) and 4-11 (overall) and the next home game is on October 18 at 6 p.m. where LMC will take on the College of Marin.
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JFKU From page 1
and staff to go further their education, especially those that were not able to finish school. “If we can finish school, whether it being a better teacher, becoming more qualified, then it is a great opportunity,” he said. This 20 percent tuition discount provides an incentive and makes it more affordable and easier for faculty and staff to go back to school. However, there are a limited number of spots. Although all CCCCD faculty and staff are eligible for this scholarship, there are about 1,000 spots open. This is due to JFKU being a private institute. To learn more about this opportunity, general information sessions are being held at CCCCD locations, where pizza and refreshments will be provided. The next upcoming dates are Oct. 15 at the District Office Board Room from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., Oct. 17 at the Los Medanos science building in Room 225 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Nov. 13 at Contra Costa College in the green room from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. To RSVP for the general informational sessions or schedule an appointment for a campus visit or to meet with an academic advisor, contact Marcey Vasumpaur at mvasumpaur@jfku.edu or call 969-3537.
WEEK From page 3
Mills College, National Hispanic University, National University, Northeastern University, Saint Mary’s College of California, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced and UC Santa Barbara. Counselor Frances Moy, who counsels students from Transfer Academy, encourages students to check out the various universities. “They may not know of a particular campus or major,” she said adding, “It’s always good to come in and explore because you never know.” On Tuesday, Oct. 29, Open House will take place in Room CC2-225 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. located in the Transfer Center. This event allows students the opportunity to find out what Transfer Center is and what they can do for students and how to utilize their services. A few of their services include appointments to meet with university representatives, university tours, workshops and seminars to assist students that plan on transferring. Student Gary Fridland, who is a veteran to the services that Transfer Center provides, recommends that all students take advantage of Open House. “It enriches your knowledge of the process that you need to take in order how and where to transfer and what forms you need,” he said adding, “I think all students should go to familiarize with all the resources and meet nice people that help guide you.” The last event is Meet UCLA, in which representatives from UCLA will visit LMC and give a presentation. This gives students the oppor tunity to learn more about UCLA and to ask any questions or voice concerns they may have. This event is not only for LMC students but it is also open to the public of East County for anyone who is interested in learning more information about UCLA. It will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the library community Room L-109. To students that are planning on transferring, it is highly encouraged that you should check out the various events at LMC’s Transfer Week taking place from Monday, Oct. 28 to Wednesday, Oct. 30.
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CHART From page 1
Chancellors cabinet level about enrollment and whether we will go on ‘stability’,” said Kratochvil adding, “We turned out to be on ‘stability,’ which means we didn’t make our target last year as a district. Consequently the state Chancellor’s office gives the district up to a period of a year to catch up and make that growth or enrollment target without penalized. Otherwise we would have to have given money back to the district.” Kratochvil added, “In addition there was growth money that two colleges accepted, we, DVC and CCC declined because they were so far from meeting their target last year they knew there was no chance for them to take on any additional FTES.” Many people were hit by the recession and the economy, including the school district. Because the school had financial difficulties last year, some faculty members were concerned that there would be limited resources this year. Olatunji ensured the staff that the school has included resources and faculty members in the budget. “Regarding the budget this year versus previous years, the district and specifically the campus is better off financially mostly as a result of passage of Proposition 30. This provides some temporary fiscal relief because the tax revenue resulting from that measure will only be available for a few more years,” said Kratochvil adding, “In prior years, before passage of Proposition 30, the economy created serious difficulties for the colleges af fecting faculty and staf f hires and class reductions, as an example. With the new revenue sources, we were able to provide some additional funding this year through what is called our Request for Allocation Process.” The school district and LMC From page 1 are hoping this year’s budget administered by the Contra along with Proposition 30 will Costa Community College be a move in the right direction. District Police Department, is a free service that the District may use to send alerts to cell phones, email accounts, smart phones, or other handheld From page 3 devices in the wake of an projector, called a GOTO emergency near any one of its CHRONOS from the GOTO campuses. Installed in 2008, Company in Japan. The star the 4CD Alert system also projector was r un by two includes sirens to alert those computers in a new GOTO near its campuses. While it control console and the Ash is used regularly to conduct auxiliary system was run by drills and tests, the sirens have a third computer. The star projector and ontrol yet to be put to use in a crisis console cost $400,000. The situation. Police Services on each college campus have star projector showed 8,000 been trained and can activate stars along with constellation overlays, the Milky Way, the the sirens if necessary. “Sirens alone are not going planets, the Moon and many to make our employees and imaginary lines like the celesstudents safe,” said Contra tial equator and the ecliptic. IT Manager Michael Becker Costa Community College District Director of Commu- said that there are a lot of denications Tim Leong. “But tails on the reconstruction of it is one of the steps we can the Planetarium that are still take. Training and exercises underway. Many things are on what to do and where to still undetermined but they are go are very important steps still working towards an entire renovation of the Planetarium. we are taking.” The sooner the Planetarium Furthermore, Leong also added that the District is gets back up and running the looking into a robust system faster Professor Cabral can do to utilize text messaging to what he does best, brighten the communicate information as minds of young people with the needed in the event of a crisis. visually fascinating and brilliant A campus-wide meeting displays and lectures that can will be held on Monday, Oct. only be delivered with the help 21 in room L109 from 3 p.m. of the beloved Planetarium. to 5 p.m. to discuss this new telephone system, as well as campus safety and emergency preparedness. Attendees can From page 1 expect to learn ways on how her position and told Lawrence faculty, staff, and students can she would continue to attend be better informed. if she was removed. “I’m hopeful to have more “I was told I may still attend routine communication provid- the meetings because they are ed to the campus community open to the public but I still from our District Police De- may be removed,” she said. partment,” said Kratochvil. Anderson has been asked to “The Police staff has welcomed come back to speak to LMCAS the opportunity to make our about why she doesn’t want to campus better aware of safety receive the minutes, but has measures and emergency refused to do so. “I’m upset,” procedures. In addition, as she said, “no other reps are noted in the attached e-mail, being asked to speak.” the campus’ Safety Committee No other reps are refusing has been reactivated and is to receive the emails, though, working on several import- according to Lawrence, and ant safety and emergency that is why Anderson is being preparedness issues. singled out. According to President As of right now the matter is Kratochvil, the implementa- still ongoing. If LMCAS agrees tion of the new phone system in a vote to remove Anderson and Monday’s meeting is not from her position this could related to any isolated issue go from an argument to a full or occurrence, rather, it is blown fight, but Anderson may simply to inform and prepare have a problem. the college should an emer“She cannot appeal to anyone gency occur. but the senate,” said Lawrence. “(It) is intended to make If Anderson were to appeal sure we have appropriate her possible removal from protocols in place and are her position, her only option prepared as best we can for would be to appeal to LMCAS emergency situations.” Said President Brianna Klipp. Kratochvil. If Anderson can only appeal More information about the to the people who are removing 4CD Alert system can be found her, she may have no choice at (http://alerts.4cd.edu/). but to accept her removal.
PHONE
STARS
LMCAS
SAME
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