Vol. 89 No. 6 - Oct. 19, 2018

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Activists make ‘Impact’

Beer from heaven

Stangs stay perfect

The “Impact” conference returned to LMC to promote social justice and progress — page 3

Del Cielo Brewing Company is making beer worthy of its namesake in Martinez — page 4

LMC Mustangs beat the Yuba 49ers 1-0 managing to keep their undefeated conference record — page 6

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F.Y.I. Important dates October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month Oct. 22

The last day to register to vote in California.

Oct. 31

It may be Halloween, but the campus will not be closed.

Transfer Day next week

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

Fire forces evac to gym

College aids Bay Point By PERRY CONTINENTE @PerryContinente

The LMC gym hosted evacuees Thursday after a brushfire threatened a natural gas line in Baypoint. The Red Cross oversaw the creation and maintenance of the shelter, providing roughly 85 people with food, water and cots set up in the gym atop blue tarps. Most of those taking shelter were lying down trying to get some rest, but that did not stop a few children from playing Basketball at the rear of the gym. Los Medanos College President Bob Kratochvil explained the use of the gym as a shelter.

“The district has an agreement with the Red Cross,” said Kratochvil. He explained that a class that will take place in the gym will probably not be cancelled, and emphasized the minimal impact the shelter and the evacuees will have on LMC students’ routines. However the class was ultimately canceled, and, as of press time, the shelter is still occupied. One of those displaced was Derek Jay, a Baypoint resident returning to the shelter. “About 10:15 p.m. I was watching tv and a police officer knocked on the door,” said Jay, who then explained he had spent the night in

Experience Perry Continente

See EVAC, page 5 Displaced brothers Jorge and Oscar Guillen.

LMC begins its self study

Fall Transfer Day is coming soon. The yearly event will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 23 in the outdoor quad from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year’s event will feature various workshops and other events throughout the week. For more information interested parties can visit the Transfer and Career Center located on the fourth floor of the Student Services Building.

By DALE SATRE @dalesatre

Hotel 270 set to scare Hotel 270 is the haunted house attraction from Student Life this year. The attraction will be open Oct. 26 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on the first floor of the College Complex. For more information contact the Office of Student Life at (925) 473-7554 or email studentlife@losmedanos.edu

Experience Perry Continente

Candles are lit on a birthday tart to represent the wishes that speaker Deb Cuny has for LGBT youth.

LGBT event comes out Making a wish for the future

By HILLARY HETRICK @hillarymhetrick

Film showing gets bloody Movie night comes to LMC Tuesday, Oct. 30 in Library LCC-114 at 7 p.m. The award winning film centers around greed buisness and fraying family ties. The film “Inception” will also be shown Nov. 28 at the same time and location. For more information students can contact the Office of Student Life at (925) 473-7554 or email them at studentlife@losmedanos.edu.

Follow us on: @lmc_experience @lmc_experience @lmc_experience

Los Medanos College Allies Club and LMC faculty from the LGBTQ community celebrated “Coming Out Day,” an event that addresses LGBTQ issues and encourages community visibility. Three faculty members told their coming out stories during the event. The event also showcased Deb Cuny, a Restorative Justice Coach from Oakland who is part of the #BornPerfect Campaign whose goal is to end Conversion Therapy.

English instructor Liz Green gave a warm welcome to the audience. “You’re not just at any National Coming Out Day,” she said. “You’re at the 30th anniversary.” After sharing the agenda for the evening, she continued by explaining the importance of “coming out.” “By coming out to our family and to our friends, colleagues, coworkers, we’re making our community visible, and we’re creating a sense of safety and coming out of isolation,” Green explained. “There’s all these different levels in which coming out happens and it’s a life-long process.” Green gave way for the next speaker, English instructor Jeff Mitchell Matthews. He gave his told his coming

out story after giving a brief history of his career at Los Medanos College. He has been at Los Medanos since 1992. “For many, many years I was the only fag on campus, as I used to put it,” Mitchell Matthews said. Matthews gave a detailed description of programs and services on campus that help students in the LGBTQ community and emphasized the new LGBTQ studies degree for transfer the college is offering. “Our LGBTQ programs here on campus have been firmly established,” said Mitchell Matthews Liz Green returned to read a poem she wrote about coming out as a bisexual. Then she and Library staff member See LGBT, page 5

Los Medanos College is due for its Institutional Self Evaluation Report and site visit in Fall 2020 for re-accreditation, and Dr. Chialin Hsieh, LMC’s Accreditation Liaison Officer, isn’t wasting any time. The Accreditation Steering Committee, a standing committee responsible for guiding LMC through the accreditation process, recently formed the Accreditation Work Group to tackle the challenges ahead. “Many people don’t like this process because it’s a lot of work,” Hsieh said. “But it’s very important for students, because transfer credit and financial aid depends on getting accredited.” Every six years, community colleges all around must submit an Institutional Self Evaluation Repor t to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), which is run by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. According to their website, the ACCJC serves as an objective yardstick for the quality of colleges’ education under four main standards: institutional effectiveness and integrity; student learning programs support services; resources, such as human resources, facilities and technology assets; and the college’s leadership and governance. The standards vouch not just for the colleges’ teaching, but also for students’ learning. The accreditation process consists of four phases. In Phase 1, the Accreditation

See RENEW, page 5

Oakley walks to stop suicide By MARC LOPEZ Staff writer

You never forget the feeling that hits when you hear the news that you’ve lost a friend to suicide. In shock and awe, many begin to feel guilty, question everything and often become depressed. Vanessa Perr y, Heather Estes, Tara Jean Robinson and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention believe that we all can come out of our darknesses. Perry, Chapter Board Chair, said she felt

emotional and overwhelmed about her final time organizing Oakley’s Out of the Darkness community walk on Saturday, Oct. 13. Her retirement comes due to relocating in Sacramento and not being able to fulfill demands from the chapter. Both Estes and Robinson said they are eager to fill Perry’s shoes. “These are some big shoes that are going to be tough to fill,” said Robinson on Vanessa retiring from organizing the walk. “I have full confidence

that me and Heather are going to get a lot of supporters around us.” The event itself, held at Cypress Grove Community Park in Oakley, is a charity and awareness walk held ever y year. There are five other walks that occur simultaneously throughout the Bay area. This year’s event had 356 total walkers and raised more than $39,000. Experience Marc Lopez Among the activities held Rich Rodriguez, holding child, marches with Team in connection with the walk See WALK, page 5 Xavier. They ultimately raised $7,080.


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