LMC Experience Vol. 96 No. 4 - April 29, 2022

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APIDA event honors culture through food and activities

Art gallery features student projects inperson again

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TimelyCare helps with health Free program offers students virtual assisstance

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Staff Writer

Graphic from TimelyCare

Mental health is a ver y taboo subject to most people and others completely disregard it. It is often seen as an excuse to get out of doing work. The team at TimelyCare know that your mental and physical well-being come first and understand that oftentimes people do not get the proper care they need because of the price. Chief Strategy Officer Chris Clark, Chief Executive Officer Luke Hejl and Chief Medical Officer

Cleaning up the Nature Preserve

Alan Dennington, M.D., created a life-changing program that can benefit so many people when it comes to medical health.

TimelyCare is a program that provides 24/7 access to medical and mental telehealth care. There is free access to recieve help from professional nurses, doctors, counselors, virtual medical appointments and free employee referral help.

Partnered with over 150 campuses nationwide, TimelyCare ser vices over 950,000 students.

Jeffrey Benford, Los Medanos College dean of Counseling and Student Support, provided insight on the program and how it has impacted people’s lives.

“For many LMC students, self-care often takes a back-seat to the demands of work, class, study-time, a child or children, and family. With 24/7 365 access to medical and mental health care, TimelyCare, essentially, keeps the doors of a healthcare clinic open, so that students are not impeded by barriers of income, conventional

hours for business operation or the false shame that student experience when they ignore personal needs as they pursue life changing, educational and career dreams.”

T imelyCare is committed to students so they do not have to pay thousands of dollars to be able to afford mental and medical healthcare.

With a program that sounds this good, there has to be a catch right?

No catch, only free 24/7 access to medical professionals. No medical

See CARE, page 7

Clubs celebrate Earth Day

By MICHAEL BENEDIAN Staff Writer

Every April 22 is a cause for celebration and a reminder to protect the environment, restore damaged ecosystems and live a more sustainable life. To strive for those values, Los Medanos College celebrated Earth Day by cleaning up the nature preserve which has been neglected since the start of the pandemic. With the help of the Women in STEM club and other club groups, the nature preserve is getting back into shape.

Ricardo Black, a former instructional assistant aide for LMC, led the charge and gave the guidance to the volunteers. He provided insight on the plants here at the nature preserve and used his knowledge to educate the volunteers on what to do. At the beginning of the pandemic, Black left his position and took a position at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

“I got let go because of the pandemic, so for two years no one was working here,” Black said. “All the

Michael Benedian• Experience

Jessica Angeles checks on logs. hard work that students made prior to that went to waste.”

Black came back to LMC on Monday, April 18 and began work on the nature preserve alone. He started with picking up trash that accumulated for the first four days and managed to fill up five trash bags. Earth Day marked the first See EARTH, page 7

Michael Benedian • Experience

Fernando Sandoval (left) and Conor Bonal rake the piles of tall grass inside the nature preserve.

LMC plans for in-person graduation

Annual ceremony returns to honor accomplishments

By JOSEPH GIDDINGS Staff Writer

Joseph Giddings • Experience

A graduation display inside the student bookstore.

As the school year begins to draw to a close and as the summer season approaches, so does the return of in-person graduation.

Following two years of prerecorded and virtually hosted graduation ceremonies, the Los Medanos College graduation will once again return to campus in the Mustang Stadium on May 20 at 2:15 p.m. The ceremony is general admission and no tickets are required so students are encouraged to invite loved ones to celebrate with.

Prior to participating in the ceremony however, all students must be approved of their eligibility by Admissions and Records to ensure they have met their

academic requirements.

Once approved, students can visit the Pittsburg campus bookstore to purchase their graduation unit, a cap, gown and tassel for $19.45. Students can also purchase additional tassels for $5 along with LMC diploma covers, and frames for sale for their new diplomas, as well as LMC alumni items to represent their time at LMC. Graduation units will be on sale May 2-May 16.

Unlike ceremonies of the past, this year’s upcoming graduation holds a special significance in the hearts of those participating, such as Honors Club Outreach Co-Ambassador, Neda Mohsini.

“I’m really excited because I graduated high school in 2020, so we never had a graduation in person,” said Mohsini.

“So to have one in college and transfer is super exciting.”

Excitement about the return of in-person graduation ceremonies can be felt throughout campus not only from students, but faculty and staff as well.

“It’s nice being able to have the faculty out there and you know, cheering and celebrating the students as well as the families,” Andrew Murphy said, the LMC bookstore supply buyer. “It’s going to change the tone and it’s almost going to have us back to our normal trend of coming back to in-person, and a little bit of normalcy.”

Much like Murphy, Professor and Director of the Honors Program Jennifer Saito expresses her joy regarding the return of the ceremony and its ability to provide an opportunity for this year’s graduating class to be honored by those at the college, as well as provide a celebratory end to their time at LMC. “I couldn’t be happier,” said Saito. “I’m just so thrilled that our graduates will be able to celebrate with their families in a public way, and welcome everybody back to our campus.”

Dave Belman, LMC dean of student success, also welcomes the on-campus See GRAD, page 7

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“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the world.”

— Marcus Aurelius

Noelle Borges

Kai Arellano

GUEST COLUMNIST

MY TWO CENTS

Netflix cracking down on sharing

To ‘not mind’ is to not understand

Last fall the media went into a flying frenzy over comedian Dave Chapelle’s latest comedy special for transphobic jokes he made during its runtime. It wasn’t the first time Chapelle has received backlash for jokes against the transgender community, as he has gone on record multiple times to voice his opinions on them, none of which yielded positive results.

But this article isn’t about Dave Chapelle, I’m sure we’ve all heard enough opinions on that subject to last us multiple lifetimes.

It’s about one thing he said in particular.

In researching the history of Chapelle’s comments on my community, the trans community, a single phrase is what stood out to me; “I never had a problem with them.”

This is a seemingly harmless quote, right?

After all, if he doesn’t have a problem with trans people, then what’s everyone up in arms about? The thing is that the situation just isn’t that simple. Oppression as a concept in itself isn’t that simple—nothing about this subject is.

Last year saw an all-time high for the deaths of transgender people, with at least 375 trans and nonbinary people on record as victims of hate crimes worldwide, and who knows how many more off record. One in four of these people were killed in their own homes, 58% of these people were sex workers and an overwhelming majority of these people were people of color.

We as a society love to talk about how we are becoming “more progressive,” “more accepting” and “more welcoming of different peoples,” but the numbers say otherwise.

These transgender men and women, my brothers and sisters, were not killed by hitmen or secret agents or the CIA; they were killed by everyday people who live in a world where society treats trans people as less than human.

We are accused of being child predators when we ask to use public restrooms. We are accused of being rapists when we do not disclose our gender history with every person we have sex with. We are accused of being liars and cheaters when we ask to enter women’s spaces. And yet we are accused of being “too sensitive” when we become upset when people with real power and influence mock us from behind a microphone.

Over the past year, many of us have gone through our own social and political awakenings of sorts, a lot of which were influenced by the Black Lives Matter protests that reached a new level of exposure following the death of George Floyd.

Because of this, many of the people in my life began to realize that their previous notion of “not seeing color” when it came to race was a harmful perspective to have.

We all know the saying “silence is violence,” and that’s exactly why “not seeing color” is harmful, because it perpetuates a culture that ignores very real issues that have to do with race.

Now I realize it’s a bit harder to swallow when this reasoning is recontextualized to apply to transgender people such as myself, but saying you “don’t mind trans people” and then immediately following that up with your opinions on how we “trick men into having sex with us” and how you “don’t agree with our views on gender,” only perpetuates a society in which we are killed for simply existing.

This is why Dave Chapelle’s seemingly harmless position is actually a very dangerous stance to take, because you can’t claim that you believe “people should be allowed to live however they want,” but then turn around and call trans women men.

That’s what perpetuates the violence against us, that’s why our world is not as “open-minded” as a lot of the media likes to portray, and that’s why it is not enough to be indifferent toward injustice anymore.

Kai Arellano • Experience

Editorial

These prices are hard on students

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tudents who go to a community or junior college usually are trying to save as much money as they can. When it comes to spending, transportation often takes up a lot of the budget, as most students drive themselves to school.

As time goes on, students need to fill up their gas tanks weekly or even every other day. This is a big deal because some students don’t have jobs and are solely relying on financial aid.

As we see it now, gas prices are becoming more and more expensive. You can see this at any gas station. From up to $5.30 to $6.00 per gallon, students are starting to see a rise in how much a full tank costs. In a proposal made back in March by California legislators, there was a call for taxpayers to receive $400 to help pay for gas.

This number is a calculated estimate of how much people in California pay for gas taxes yearly, which is around $0.50 per gallon. This could tremendously help students who need transportation to school and back. Although this isn’t enough.

Students who are eligible at LMC can get an emergency grant which is $1,000. This can help many students and encourage them to not give up on college indefinitely and drop out because they can’t pay off their tuition.

Though this helps with school payments, students might not be able to get enough money to pay for food or even living expenses. For those struggling with finding or paying for food, LMC has its Marketplace which operates a food bank available to students in need. There are a multitude of things that LMC offers for those in need. Although they still don’t exactly have enough for a student to prosper safely and successfully.

LMC should offer a gas emergency grant for those who can’t make it to campus or even resources on accessing free transportation available within the community. All students know of the transit system, but even then students still have to pay out of pocket for that. Especially if you’re a full-time student. Those who take at least or over 12 units should be able to have some sort of ability to get some money for gas.

The staff on the Experience hopes for this proposition to come to fruition. As the school year progresses, hopefully we’ll see more and more opportunities to help out struggling students with financial barriers.

Reader Opinion Policy

Experience Staff

The Experience welcomes Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns. All members of the Managing Editor .................DYLAN DAVIDSON Los Medanos College community — students, faculty and staff — are encouraged to write.

Perspectives Editor ................KAI ARELLANO If you are interested in expressing your opinions on campus, national or world issues, Campus Editor .............STEPHANIE ARREOLA drop them off in Room CC3-301 or email them Features Editor ..............MICHAEL BENEDIAN to LosMedanos.Experience@gmail.com.

Letters and columns must be typed, signed Arts & Culture Editor ........JOSEPH GIDDINGS and include a phone number for verification.

They may be edited for clarity, content taste Sports Editor .........................TREY HINCKLEY and length at the editor’s discretion.

Editor-in-Chief .......................SARINA GROSSI

Voices “Invulnerability so that way I couldn’t get hurt or take any damage.”

— Nico Torres

“I’d want to be able to fly so I could travel more.”

— Breanna Gomez

Netflix is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, streaming platforms in the world. You can stream movies, shows and can even get DVDs delivered to you in the mail.

We all know how we use it, as everyone has at least one account and we share the password with someone or multiple people.

This in itself is kind of cheating the system, but will soon change.

Netflix themselves have estimated that 100 million households are sharing passwords, so they’ve decided to crack down on it.

There was even research done by the organization Time2Play on how there is about 80% of Americans who are using accounts right now.

Those who are using the passwords of another have yet to create their own. This is why Netflix is creating this crackdown on users all over the world.

They seem to be making an extra fee for people who have shared their account outside of their households.

The company is already testing this in Peru, Costa Rica and Chile.

What Netflix is doing is charging an additional fee to create “sub accounts” for up to two other people outside of your home who have access to your account.

The costs do vary however; in Peru it’s $2.13, $2.99 in Costa Rica and $2.92 in Chile per month. You can even transfer the personalized profiles you’ve created on people’s accounts and make those into either a new account or make it a sub account.

Netflix has started this because they’ve lost 200,000 subscribers. The people who agree to stay are agreeing with the terms being set by Netflix in the coming future which is honestly a good thing for them.

Since losing these subscribers they’re going to be gaining a lot more money because the sharing of passwords is hurting them as a company.

They’re losing money because of password sharing. Even though the current pricings that are being tested aren’t expensive, it does add up; although many people are very much willing to pay for it.

In my household we’ve shared the Netflix password word with a bunch of devices. We just haven’t shared it outside our house.

My family is very much willing to pay the extra money per month because they are really into Netflix.

They’ve subscribed for the love of tv and movies and are happy with Netflix’s collection of movies and shows.

Those who’ve been sharing their passwords are losing out on a huge streaming service and are going to be missing on top tier entertainment.

If you could have any super power for a day what would it be?

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“Teleporting so I don’t have to spend money on gas.”

— Jordan Dreher

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“Flying so I can travel around the world.”

— Chelsea Romero

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“My super power for a whole day would be flying because I would just fly around and do cool stuff.”

— Jacob Fucci

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“Teleporting so I can go into a bank vault.”

— Frank Kurtz

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Campus Newswatch Transfer Celebration May 3

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“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

- Jackie Robinson

Saturdays are for seniors

To honor the success and accomplishments of LMC’s transfer students, the Transfer Center will host a large-scale campus celebration on Tuesday, May 3.

From dunk tanks to inflatable games, students will have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of activities, while enjoying music and food as they celebrate their hard-earned achievements.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Outdoor Quad and Student Union Conference Center.

Brentwood ceremony May 4

After nearly a two-year delay, prolonged by the events of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent water intrusion, LMC’s Brentwood Campus will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the addition of the new satellite campus, and all the work that went into it. Through this event, LMC wishes to recognize the contributions and support of all those within the college and community who contributed in the campus’s creation. The ceremony will be held Wednesday, May 4, at 11a.m. at the Brentwood Center, 1351

Write engaging resume

If you are looking to land a job, May 5 might be a day you want to circle on your calendar. The Career Ser vices department is offering a workshop on the essentials of writing a resume to get you noticed. This workshop will be held over Zoom on the first Thursday of May from 1 to 2 p.m. Students can register for this career helping workshop on the Los Medanos College website under the events and activities calendar. All that

Scholarship awards May 6

The Los Medanos College Foundation is inviting everyone to celebrate scholarship recipients and donors on Friday, May 6 at the Annual Scholarship Celebration in the Student Union Conference Center.

This celebration honors all those who have received scholarships in the 2021-22 academic year. The Awards Ceremony, along with other special presentations, will run from 1 to 2 p.m. After ceremony there will be a reception for donors and scholars from 2 to 3 p.m. Light refreshments will be available for all who attend.

Mohammad Najimi• Experience

Different clubs and services were showcased at Senior Saturday, an in-person event held on April 23 at LMC’s Pittsburg campus.

LMC welcomes incoming students

By MOHAMMAD NAJIMI Staff Writer

Los Medanos College hosted the first of two Senior Saturdays April 23 to give incoming high schoolers a preview of the campus and the different opportunities it offers.

Booths were set up throughout the outdoor quad, and for a walking tour of the school.

“This is one of the best campuses I’ve been to,” said Honors Program booth attendant Lorenzo Navales.

LMC is a public community college with two locations: the main campus in Pittsburg, and a new Brentwood satellite center.

Established in 1974, it was ranked No. 6 in the Best Community

Colleges by College Choice in their list of “50 Best Community Colleges for 2016-2017.”

“I went past while on E Leland Road and said to myself ‘might as well go here’,” said incoming high schooler Kaze Archer when asked about why he chose to attend LMC. Nine booths highlighted key opportunities for incoming students and included Student Life, Umoja, Financial Aid, Honors Program, EOPS/Care, Games Club, English as a Second Language, Business Ser vices, and MESA. Representatives at each of the booths addressed student questions and promoted their services.

Student Life booth attendant

Gabriel Perez Cano explained that “LMC provides a marketplace where students, staf f, and/or classified professionals could go in and get necessary groceries” to be able to be fully nourished and healthy. Cano added that incoming seniors should take advantage of the campus clubs because extracurricular activities can aid them in their educational success.

He advised that attending LMC shouldn’t just be about taking class and doing homework, it should be about getting a good experience and having fun.

Incoming high schooler Eduardo Montido said that attending LMC will give him “more time to think

Show smarts, get money The Academic Competition, held on April 16 at LMC, showcased the knowledge of different teams under pressure. It was hosted for the first time since the pandemic by Student Life in the Student Union Conference Center. Teams were made up of four participants and the academic categories were: mathematics, social science, physical science and english. The top three teams won a scholarship that was evenly distributed within the team. The first place team won $1,500, the second place team won $1,000 and third place won $500. They are pictured at left: Yolya Alazar, Rita Cao, Lucia Forseth and Emanuel Ruvalcaba.

All participants received a certificate and T-shirt.

CSUN recruiting transfers

Representatives from the California State University, Northridge, are looking for international students who are interested in applying to transfer. During a virtual recruitment event May 17, you’ll learn about CSUN’s academic program, admissions requirements, costs and scholarship opportunities, and student life. You can also ask your own questions and representatives answer them for you.

The virtual event runs from 3 to 4 p.m.

Interested students can register by going to the LMC calendar at https://www. losmedanos.edu/calendar/index.aspx.

From there, scroll down to the event, and click the button that says “Click here to register.” You will be asked for your contact and educational info and then sent a link to join the event.

LMC Authors Library Guide

The LMC library has created a guide to recognize several published LMC authors. The guide serves to celebrate and acknowledge their work. Participation is voluntary and only includes authors who submit their work.

When it is no longer featured on the library homepage, the LMC authors guide can be found at losmedanos.libguides. com/LMCauthors — compiled from press releases and staff reports

about transferring” to a university.

Montido said that the college was “close to home” which played a significant part in his overall college decision, choosing to continue his academic career as a computer science major, due to his pre-existing technological skills.

Navales said LMC is the perfect place for non-deciders because it reduces stress on committing to a four-year university immediately.

Students can attend LMC for two years and have more time to decide on their ideal college for transfer.

Another Senior Saturday will be held April 30 for those who couldn’t make it to the first one and will have more opportunties.

Photo courtesy of Teresea Archaga

Virtual job fair brings in new opportunities

By STEPHANIE ARREOLA Staff Writer

The 2022 Nursing, EMS and Fire virtual job fair, held on April 26, hosted over 100 students and alumni in a three hour event. Melina Rodriguez, the program coordinator for the LMC Workforce and Economic Development department, hosted the event and assisted all participants on what their next step was.

The job fair included scouts from Brightstar Care, CAL FIRE, San Francisco Fire Department, St. Vincent de Paul, Tice Valley Manor Care and Visiting Angels. The job fair was set up in a way where you could talk to the recruitment agents in individual breakout rooms on Zoom. Rodriguez monitored the Zoom and

helped people get from room to room.

In the past, the Workforce and Economic Development department hosted an in person job fair that took place in the LMC gymnasium. It used to be in the music recital hall but every year the number of participants kept growing and so they needed more space to host the event. Rodriguez is very passionate about the work being done and how the job fair has progressed.

“We’ve been hosting these job fairs I would say for anywhere between the last eight to ten years, we usually post two job fairs a year and they always happened in the spring semester,” said Rodriguez. “Even before COVID, we were here to help our community get back into the

workforce but it’s more credible now than it’s ever been because of so much job loss. LMC as a whole, but really here in our workforce and economic development department, we are really focused on brightening our futures and giving our communities the best opportunities they can get.”

In the last few years, registration for the job fair has increased since it turned virtual. In 2020, there were about 80 people registered and in 2022 there were over 100 students and alumni registered for the job fair.

Elena Villegas, a workforce planning and recruitment specialist for CAL FIRE, spoke about the different opportunities that are being See FAIR, page 7

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“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live. ”

— Johnny Depp

A24’s fun and heartfelt multiverse

‘EEAAO’ explores humanity

By SARINA GROSSI Editor-in-Chief

Throughout life, an individual comes across billions of choices with billions of outcomes.

But what if each decision created a different version of ourselves, one that lives a completely different life in a different universe than our own that we can never see? “Everything Everywhere All At Once” fully realizes this concept in the best way possible.

The film directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (dubbed Daniels) follows Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a Chinese immigrant managing a failing laundromat with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) on the brink of financial ruin while balancing her marriage and her relationship with her distant daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). On her way to meet with an IRS agent, Evelyn is confronted with the truth: the multiverse exists and she is the version of herself that must save the world from the destructive force that is

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Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang in A24’s newest “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”

her own daughter. As she works to save the world, she finds a new sense of self worth and meaning in life.

A real standout in the movie is Yeoh, as she balances playing varied versions of the same person with wit, depth and heart. As a trained martial artist, she fits particularly well in the action scenes but also manages to be absolutely hysterical in comic scenes while also being grounded in the dramatic scenes. Yeoh takes an already great character and elevates her to a new exciting level. Her performance is truly endearing and will certainly win the audience over immediately.

The supporting cast follows in Yeoh’s footsteps and puts in equally amazing performances.

Quan, Hsu and James Hong as Evelyn’s father along with Yeoh all have perfect chemistry with each other, creating a family dynamic that feels not only established but lived in. Hsu in particular works fantastically as the foil to Yeoh, gracefully illustrating the complexities

See A24, page 7

Action, thrills ‘Ambulance’ is a joy ride

By JOSEPH GIDDINGS Staff Writer

Michael Bay returns to the director’s chair in his newest high-speed chase action-thriller “Ambulance,” a formulaic crime movie featuring more of Bay’s gyroscopic camera shots than one could count.

Although incredibly cheesy, Bay’s signature touch upon the film’s action sequences are more apparent than ever, which provides an action-packed experience at ever y opportunity.

Bank heists, fiery explosions, police shootouts and absolute mayhem fill this 2 hour and 17 minute ambulance ride that’ll leave you and your friends on the edge of your seats.

Similar to the 1990s film “Speed,” the audience is taken upon a fast-paced pursuit of the film’s antihero leads, Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal), throughout the narrow and heavily-populated streets of Los Angeles.

After a bank heist gone wrong they

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Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in a hijacked-ambulance as they are pursued by the LAPD through the Los Angeles River. are forced to hijack an ambulance with the film’s female protagonist, paramedic Cam Thompson (Eiza González), as their hostage as she works to save the life of a fatally wounded police officer.

A desperate family man and veteran, Will returns to the world of crime with the influence of his older brother, Danny. Together the two wreak havoc across the city of Los Angeles, while leaving nothing to spare in terms of bloodshed or damage.

Abdul-Mateen and Gyllenhaal pair well together in their close but broken brotherly dynamic, as they attempt to evade the pursuit of the entirety of the Los Angeles Police Department. Gyllenhaal serves as the yin to Abdul-Mateen’s yang, as their values and motivations are brought into question and opposition in their life or death escape from persecution while introducing a dramatic tone into the film’s narrative.

In the midst of such, González

shines as the film’s protagonist as she works to save the lives of innocent civilians and police officers that are encountered along the way in her struggle to preserve the life of her fellow hostage, as well as her own.

Separately, each of the film’s leads excel within their roles. Whether it be in their portrayal as a misguided hero, an unstable convict or a compassionate caregiver, all three performances provide the conviction and gravitas necessary to guarantee

the film’s overall success while also staying true to the film’s fun and carefree nature, ultimately increasing its enjoyment.

Those who enjoy the overtop and harebrained stunts and battle sequences as depicted in the “Transformers” series and are in the mood for some mindless fun at the movies, you will find much enjoyment in Bay’s return to form in “Ambulance,” a film with enough suspense to put even the most lax of movie-goers on edge.

New installment lacks magical experience

Film proves to be a disappointment

By ATREYU HINCKLEY Staff Writer

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is the third of what is planned to be five films in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, a spin-off of the Harry Potter series. The same cast returns for this film, aside from Mads Mikkelsen who takes over the role of Gellert Grindelwald after Johnny Depp was dropped from the role.

The film is visually stunning just as the previous two, but is ultimately weakened by inconsistent pacing and a drawn out 2 hour and 22 minute runtime. Much like the previous installment, the film struggles with its screenplay.

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Unlike the Harr y Potter franchise, the Fantastic Beasts series finds itself severely lacking in source material to rely on and support its on-screen depiction. The biggest problem the film suffers from is a considerable amount of plot holes that continue to plague the franchise. A good amount of them are spoilers, but many Harry Potter fans have already taken to the internet to point them out and vent their frustrations about them.

This hurts the films when it doesn’t have a book source to fully lean on, only tales that were briefly told and then going from that.

Another issue with the film is the war between Albus Dumbledore and Grindelwald and its tendency to overshadow the main protagonist of the trilogy, Newt Scamander, who has been played brilliantly by Eddie Redmayne throughout the franchise.

Jude Law and Mikkelsen are fantastic as Dumbledore and Grindelwald respectively, with their on-screen relationship being some

of the biggest highlights of the film. This is enhanced by their dialogue and brief battles, which play a part in helping the screenplay out at times.

Had the filmmakers and J.K. Rowling decided to make their war separate from involving Scamander and made the first film a standalone, the entirety of the trilogy would be much better. Instead, we have two sides of main characters that are inadvertently fighting over screen time. Leaving Scamander at a loss, because of how big of a deal the The Global Wizarding War is for Harry Potter fans.

The film from a visual standpoint is beautiful to look at, especially when it comes to the action sequences involving magic. But the screenplay is what’s holding the franchise back from its true potential. There are still two films left to go, so there is hope for the films to pick up the pace, as we inch closer to the long awaited final battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

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Gary Walker lives education dream

By JADEN FORTIER Staff Writer

Dr. Gary Walker has always loved teaching. And they finally turned that love into a reality after working in the cosmetics industry as a trainer for 22 years. Walker had been planning to make the switch to academics for some time and started the educational journey at Los Medanos College in 2013.

COVID-19 heavily impacted travel, which was one of Walker’s favorite parts about the job as a trainer, so they grew out of love with the industry.

“A lot of the wonderful aspects that I was passionate about in my cosmetics retail job weren’t there anymore,” Walker said, so it was the right time to start their second career in teaching.

“Now is the time to take risks and to really believe in myself and believe in my skills,” Walker said. “I want to build my career for 25 years in academia.”

Walker now teaches high school and college at several institutions,

but the journey began nine years ago at LMC. They completed their first degree in behavioral and social sciences that same year, and their second degree in liberal arts and humanities in 2015.

While at LMC, Walker was actively involved in extracurricular activities and served as president of the Los Medanos College Associated Students, a student-governed organization whose purpose is to help meet the needs of all students. As LMCAS president, Walker was able to get gender neutral-bathrooms on campus approved, and had a hand in creating the Veterans Resource Center at the LMC Pittsburg campus.

Walker also was able to bring to LMC transgender activist Janet Mock, a New York Times best selling author, for the first student-led transgender conference. Walker recalled these accomplishments as the highlights of their tenure with LMCAS. Walker said LMC provided a strong foundation on which to build future academic successes.

“I’m really thankful for Los Medanos College, they have a special place in my heart,” they said.

Walker graduated from LMC and transferred to California State University, East Bay, obtaining a degree in ethnic studies, sexuality and gender. From there they went to Arizona State University and earned a master’s degree in English.

— Herbert Spencer

Students weigh in on hybrid classes

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

“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.”

By ATREYU HINCKLEY Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Gary Walker

After graduating from LMC, Walker earned a Ph.D. in education.

But Walker was not done and entered a doctoral program at Northcentral University. They finally finished their doctorate studies in 2020 and graduated with a PhD in education, with a speciality in e-learning.

“Thank god I had the support of my friends and family,” Walker said.

“The sacrifices were big, but the rewards paid off.”

Walker currently has a full plate when it comes to work life in academia. They currently work for several institutions. They are a virtual substitute teacher at Fusion Academy, a sixth through 12th grade private school in the Pacific Northwest.

They also teach part-time at two colleges: Northcentral University, where they teach doctoral students and Contra Costa College, where

they teach English.

Walker has found a good balance in managing dif ferent teaching obligations.

They spend the daytime at Fusion Academy, where they have one-hour virtual sessions with about 25 students each week. Nights are devoted to college teaching.

“I work in the evening, grading papers and working with the doctoral students,” Walker said.

Walker’s dedication and determination still does not stop there, as they are now taking another step in their academic career.

“I will now become a subject matter expert and sit on dissertation communities so I am really looking forward to that,” Walker said. “I am 100% in on teaching, I love all levels.”

APIDA Mixer

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n Asian Pacific Islander Desi American mixer was held Wednesday, April 28 in the Student Union to raise awareness around APIDA history, culture, and activism, while also fostering community around campus.

Students were handed out bánh mì sandwhiches, and socialized with their peers. There was also a cultural performance from the Pittsburg High School Filipino club’s dance troupe.

Photos by Joseph Giddings• Experience

Melissa Pon (right), a counselor at LMC, hands out bánh mì sandwhiches to students at the mixer.

Before the 2022 Spring semester began, some classes were announced that they will be taking a hybrid approach amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These classes will have the option to have their students show up in person on selected days, and then do their assignments or catch up with what they missed from the in person class via Canvas.

Between the semester while the pandemic has cooled off in cases, something else has begun to plague the county; gas prices have reached an all time high due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Current LMC student Aman Singh is a part time worker and full time student.

“I work about 27 hours a week on average, and I currently take 4 classes, 1 in person and 3 online,” he said.

When asked about how he feels about hybrid classes, he had a positive response to it.

“To be honest, I prefer “I am hybrid classes honestly now. Classes in person are glad to more lab based have than it is teaching, and I feel classes when it comes again in to lab or work in general, we person, could do those especially online.” Signh when it said.

Singh also comes to feels that havi n g h y b r i d learning.”

— Fernando classes helps Mendoza out too when it comes to the online portion and saving gas.

“I feel that if classes aren’t requiring you to be there, it helps to not need to commute to campus. Gas prices have definitely been expensive, so having most of my classes online is a big help.”

Singh did feel that since the beginning of the pandemic, school transitioning to just online wasn’t easy.

“I’ll admit school adjusting to Zoom was tough. A lot of teachers didn’t know what to do and weren’t prepared, so it was hard to transition to it at first, especially if you don’t have the equipment for these types of things to transition to online in the first place,” he said.

On the other side of the spectrum is fellow student Fernando Mendoza, who works full time while being a full time student.

“I work over 45 hours a week and I’m currently taking 4 classes this semester,” Mendoza said. “Between how long these classes are and the assignments, I dedicate another 20 hours a week to these classes.”

Gas prices have also impacted his commute between his home in Oakley, work at Livermore, and See HYBRID, page 7

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“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

— Michael Jordan

Atreyu Hinckley TREY’S THOUGHTS

NHL views declining For the longest time I could not find anyone who watched hockey. People who I went to school with didn’t have a clue about how the sport worked, let alone where the games were aired.

In the 2010s, although the San Jose Sharks didn’t win any of the Stanley Cup trophies, they made a fair share of playoff appearances.

Unfortunately, due to the more notable success of their fellow Bay Area teams, the Sharks and their achievements were overshadowed. The San Francisco Giants won three World Series championships in Major League Baseball, the San Francisco 49ers made three postseason appearances and one Super Bowl appearance in the National Football League, and the Golden State Warriors won three championships in the National Basketball Association throughout the 2010s. It’s a shame because the Sharks were a fun team to watch, and there wasn’t anyone to talk to about it.

One could speculate that the COVID-19 pandemic would’ve helped the sport’s rise in viewership, since many people who were stuck in quarantine might have decided to finally give the sport a watch. However, Hockey’s view count dropped an astonishing 61% from the previous year in the 2020 season.

It went up 2% in 2021, but to dip in more than half of a total view count in just a year is alarming. This begs the question, what might have caused it? ​​For me, hockey’s upside is that it is fast paced and low scoring. It can be compared to how soccer works when it comes to scoring, goal blocking and how they call fouls. But to compare the NHL to soccer would get you a lot of backlash with how dedicated soccer fans are.

The other thing I consider fun about Hockey is the fact that the referees let players duke it out via fist fighting if both players consensually throw their gloves and hockey sticks down. Now is there really any point to this? Of course not, especially since both those players would be put in the penalty box for multiple minutes after the fact, similar to putting a kid in the corner for misbehaving. But it just makes me feel like the players are more passionate about the sport when these moments happen.

One interesting thing to point out is the comparison of how players are paid in the NHL compared to say a player from the NFL. The highest paid NHL player is Edmonton Oiler’s Connor McDavid, who makes $100 million in eight years. In retrospect, Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, is getting paid $200 million, $150 million guaranteed, in the next four years. Rodgers is being paid more in half the time than McDavid.

That is another thing that shows to me that Hockey players are into the game more than the money.

One thing that doesn’t help the NHL is the time the season starts, which is right around the time both the NFL and the NBA begins, and the postseason for the MLB begins. The timing for all of these sports’ airtime overshadow the NHL, and it makes one wonder if the NHL were to change the time these start their seasons, would it make a difference in their ratings?

The decline in viewership for the NHL is a travesty. This is one of the sports that I feel that more people should talk about, or at least give it a chance.

Hopefully in the near future, the NHL can rebound in their viewership.

Atreyu Hinckley• Experience

Right Fielder Parker Judy takes some swings in the batting cage as the Mustangs prepare to wrap up the regular season.

LMC wraps up regular season

Team has a chance for the playoffs

By ATREYU HINCKLEY Staff Writer

The Los Medanos College Mustangs have been playing good baseball this season. They currently have a 15-4 conference record, which leads the Bay Valley conference, and a 2513 overall record.

The team also has multiple players who are top five in major statistics in the Bay Valley conference. Ryan Pierce is third in the conference with a .401 batting average and also leads the conference in Runs Batted In. Pitcher Andrew Neil leads the conference with a 1.77 Earned Run Average. He is also second in the

conference with 75 total strikeouts.

The Mustangs faced Napa Valley the previous week, winning the series 2-1. They won the first game 8-2 at home, lost the second game 12-11 in an epic slugfest, and won game three in a 14-2 blow out. In the last game, they played as the away team in their home field due to poor field conditions at Napa Valley.

Late inning rallies have been a theme for the Mustangs all season, as a good portion of their wins came from rallies in the 7th inning or later.

“We put up good at bats and have been throwing good pitches for strikes, that’s what helps us win

games,” Colten Trudeau said,the shortstop for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs will be wrapping up the season on April 28th at home against Laney College and the 29th at Laney. They won the first of the three game series 4-3, with yet another late inning rally, scoring two runs in the 9th inning on April 26th.

“We are feeling hot as a team and feel good about the next couple of games against them,” Trudeau said.

If the Mustangs win one more game in the series, they will clinch Atreyu Hinckley• Experience the Bay Valley Conference and will Mustang players and coaches be in the playoffs. There is a lot to behind the batting cage. be excited about for this team.

Trainer Powelson keeps Mustang athletes strong

By MOHAMMAD NAJIMI Staff Writer

Mohammad Najimi • Staff Writer

Brian Powelson, trainer of the sports team, stands with pitcher Kylian Mok, overlooking the baseball field.

During a game, injuries happen. When a player is down, the first person on the scene is the athletic trainer. Always at the side of Los Medanos College players is athletic trainer Brian Powelson, a graduate from Saint Mary’s College.

“I take care of preventing, evaluating, and rehabilitating players to get them back out there to allow them to do what they want and love,” Powelson said.

His job as a trainer might not be high-profile, but he is the most essential part of players staying on the field.

He goes to ever y sports game and makes sure the athletes are running and playing as needed.

“I’m usually the firstresponder for when an injury happens on the field,” he said.

There are more than 230

athletes trying to stay on the field during the season so at times the area that he works in can get flooded. He said he stays calm in injury situations because he has been through it for a while.

He questions players about injuries, assesses where the problem is and focuses on techniques for the players to use for treatment. If his advice isn’t followed, he explained the injury might get worse, and the player could face surgery to fix it.

While all players can face injury, he said he sees most injuries in football since it’s more of a contact sport than the others played at LMC. Different sports gravitate toward cer tain injuries.

In baseball, he said, it’s usually arm soreness and pitchers with arm fatigue are more than likely the ones to get treated. In football, it’s about the knees, ankles, and shoulders. In soccer it’s

ankles and knees. Powelson keeps these things in mind when he is treating athletes.

Injuries are unpredictable, and he said you never know when it’ll happen until the moment it does.

Powelson also explained that being an athletic trainer is different from being a personal trainer. He said the difference is in how they operate. A personal trainer aims to get you stronger and leaner at a professional venue. An athletic trainer keeps you healthy and ready to go to stay on the field.

Powelson works to keep a strong relationship with athletes because it’s essential to give them the comfort they need to be honest with him about their health. Without a good relationship with their trainer, athletes may minimize the seriousness of an injur y and wind up keeping themselves off the field of play longer.

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“Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.”

— Ray Bradbury

Michael Benedian • Experience

Jaime Salinas, a LMC Student, tosses a pile of dead leaves onto another pile while working at the nature preserve Earth Day clean-up on Friday, April 22.

EARTH From page 1

volunteer event and Black is happy to see the turnout.

LMC students Anna Capperauld and Sadie Aceipuno are some of the volunteers who helped with the cleanup.

They were in charge of pulling up the invasive plant species that were impeding

FAIR

the growth of other plants.

Aceipuno is excited to see the garden become beautiful again.

It wasn’t just student volunteers and clubs who were part of the cleanup, but also Dean of Math and Sciences Ryan Pedersen and even Governing Board Vice President Fernando Sandoval.

Sandoval enjoyed working the grounds with whom he calls “the future of LMC.”

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presented right now at CAL FIRE. “We’re really unique being a state fire department. It’s really different from working for a city or county department because you get the benefits of working with the state while also being a firefighter.”

Villegas also gave advice to aspiring firefighters.

“If you’re interested in firefighter

Sandoval said being able to work on the nature preserve meant a lot to him, as he calls it “sacred grounds.”

Before LMC was established, the land was home to a U.S. Army facility by the name of Camp Stoneman. It was a major troop staging area and was operated as a militar y base during World War II and the Korean War. It was developed in 1942, closed in

1, our hiring is from November 1st to November 30th of every year. If you want to be a more competitive candidate, go to our CAL FIRE careers webpage and look at what our acceptable documents are for training to make you a more competitive candidate.”

The next job fair will be held later this year and will involve job opportunities for different majors.

A24

From page 4 of a mother-daughter relationship.

Jamie Lee Curtis also turns in a fantastic comic performance as Deidre the IRS agent and full-heartedly embraces the wacky and zany nature of the film.

The strength of the film is its creativity, which is a necessity in a high concept idea like the multiverse. A main idea presented in the film is that Evelyn jumps into multiple universes where she can use any special talent she has in that universe.

With thousands of possibilities found in the distinct universes, Kwan and Scheinert get absurd, presenting strange problems with even weirder solutions. If Evelyn needs to fight a dog-owner swinging her dog around on a leash, she accesses the abilities of the teppanyaki chef version of herself to cut said leash. If her hands are restrained, she uses her abilities from a universe where people’s hands are made of hotdogs and they have to use their feet for most things. These ideas

are surreal, but extremely captivating, hilariously separating the film from others focusing on the multiverse.

Like their last project together “Swiss Army Man,” Kwan and Scheinert also meet this absurdism with some striking emotional beats.

Although the film is disguised as a sci-fi action comedy, in reality, it’s a family drama that disects cultural, moral, personal and familial values.

Tender moments shared between Evelyn, Joy and Waymond are relatable, life-affirming and even tear-jerking. In a film that explores so many different universes, the small exploration of this one struggling family and matriarch is ultimately the most compelling aspect of it.

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” is the most unique and igneous film released in theaters in ages. There is truly no movie like it at the moment and there surely won’t be another one like it in a long while. If you want to be amazed, be sure to see it.

CARE

1954 and is now the home to LMC Pittsburg Campus and the nature preserve.

“My dad came up from Fort Ord where he went through basic training,” Sandoval said.

“My dad was a guitar player and would play with Mariachi bands to hear the music of their youth before being sent out to war. Many of his friends he spent time with would not make it back.”

The transformation from a place to prepare for war to a place where young people learn is a transformation Sandoval is happy to see.

“My dad would be proud to see so many working for their future. That’s what he fought for.”

If you wanted to help volunteer but are worried that you missed your one opportunity, you can still have your chance

to help out.

Black wants to make every Friday a volunteer day where any club or any person can come by the nature preserve and help out within the hours 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The nature preser ve is a great place to connect with nature and get some fresh air and if you ever want to give back to mother earth, you can always start there.

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insurance is required at all. There is a fee for prescriptions as Benford explains: “Students prescribed medication through TimelyCare medical services will be required to pay for their prescriptions; however, TimelyCare offers discounts that result in an average reduction of 60% in out-ofpocket costs.”

People in the Bay Area struggle with affording medical care and many go their whole lives without having

GRAD

it. According to the ABC7News, “Out of all nine Bay Area counties, 4.5% of people are uninsured.” 73% of those who were uninsured stated it was because the cost of health insurance being high. TimelyCare is free to LMC students and provides many resources.

In times like these, It is important to keep one’s mental health in a good place. College students are surrounded by homework, deadlines, expectations and stress. TimelyCare

is a resource to help take the weight off of people’s shoulders.

To find out more about TimelyCare, you can attend one of the four Zoom orientations to be hosted on Tuesday, May 3 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Wednesday, May 4 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and registration is required.

For morning sessions the Zoom ID is 970-3701-8485 and the Afternoon sessions’s Zoom ID is 958-7420-3055.

To access the Zoom, visit the morning sessions and the afternoon sessions.

LMC President Bob Kratochvil said he admires this year’s graduating class and all the work they accomplishments.

“We are very proud of our graduates and their achievements. They’ve all worked extremely hard to get

to this day,” Kratochvil said. “All of our faculty, classified professionals, and managers have focused on our students’ successes, and graduation is the culmination of their collective efforts in support of these incredible students.”

pandemic. Since these classes weren’t able to transfer over to online, these classes were canceled and wiped off my transcript,” he said.

When asked about how it impacted him, he added “I planned to graduate during the Summer of 2021, but because of these classes being wiped off my transcript, it delayed me graduating and transferring.I retook a welding class last year during the

summer when it was available online, but since my teacher is a welder, he wasn’t tech savvy. So when it came to teaching and communicating, it became difficult and I couldn’t keep up... I am honestly glad to have classes again in person” Classes being hybrid has proven to be helpful for students. Students are feeling fortunate to have their classes being both in person and online.

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return of this milestone moment.

“It is absolutely wonderful to be returning to holding Graduation in-person again this year,” Belman said. “Graduation is certainly one of LMC’s highlights and is perhaps the most exciting event of the year.”

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school here in Pittsburg.

“My Wednesday classes have a gap of 4:00 - 5:30, and then from 6:40 - 9:50. So in between these classes, I just chill in my truck to either eat, do homework, or even sleep,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza did admit that having classes back to being on campus was a big help for him. “I was enrolled full time for the first few weeks of the

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Above; Carol Ladewig holds Trinh Ha’s artwork while they talk about it. Top right; “Felt Dumplings” by Trinh Ha.

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“Every artist was first an amateur.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gallery preps for student creativity

By MICHAEL BENEDIAN Staff Writer

Left; Megan Cecil Salomon fills out the form for her artwork. Right; “Ukiyo-e of Uzumaki” by Megan Cecil Salomon.

Right; Paige Cordova measures her artwork, shown in the top photo to the left with the sunset. Above; “Moctezuma’s Moon” by Robert Acosta.

There are so many talented artists in Los Medanos College that are hidden among the community. The next person you bump into on campus may just be the next Picasso, set to shake the art world with their talents. To recognize that, LMC Gallery Director Carol Ladewig is putting together an upcoming student art exhibit that will show some of the best works from these talented students. The exhibit is scheduled to open up to the public on Wednesday, May 4 at 5 p.m. if everything goes according to plan.

This art exhibit marks the first in-person exhibit since campus was forced to close down and go remote.

The last in-person show was held two years ago.

“It went through February,” Ladewig said, recalling the last in-person exhibit back in 2020. “We were just closing [campus] when we had just brought work in for the next show.”

From then on, the art gallery was closed and the exhibits were instead moved online.

Around 433 pieces created by students were submitted this time to Ladewig to be displayed in the exhibit. Professor Katie Hawkinson, who teaches at Stanford University, provided her help to Ladewig and acted as the juror for all the submissions. Out of the 433 artworks that were submitted, Hawkinson picked only a handful of these works to be showcased.

One of the works that was picked is an untitled acrylic painting created by LMC student Paige Cordova. It features a front view of the house across from her street, with a beautiful sunset sky.

“This is my magnum opus,” Cordova said. “This is the best thing I’ve probably ever made.”

Another painting that might persuade students to attend the exhibit is a piece created by Megan Cecil Salomon titled “Ukiyo-e of Uzumaki.” It’s an East Asian styled portrait of a woman with an exposed eye and hole on her face. Inspired by popular horror manga artist Junji Ito, it accurately recreates his manga “Uzumaki” and mashes it with a different art style, creating a standout painting that will surely catch your eye.

It’s not just paintings that students can expect to see either. LMC student Trinh Ha’s piece created for the exhibit is titled “Felt Dumplings” and is exactly what it says. Stitched out of felt material, the dumpling pieces are hand stitched and can be freely placed in the bamboo steam basket made of the same material, which makes it a sort of interactive art piece.

The student art exhibit will be held in the art gallery in the Library, and will also be available online for those who can’t make it in person, however seeing in person can make a greater impression.

“Personally I always think the best thing is to be physically right in front of the work, they’re meant to be seen that way,” said Ladewig.