Halloween at LMC
Students get prepared
Stangs defeat Marin
LMC Student Life brought ghoulish fun to the campus during the Carnevil Halloween event — page 3
The LMC Student Art Show may not open until January 2018 but students are getting ready for it now — page 4
Soccer holds on to second-place ranking in the Bay Valley Conference after defeating Marin 1-0 — page 5
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Familiar faces talk TED
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month Nov. 10
Veteran’s Day: College campus is closed in observance of the holiday
Nov. 17
Last Day to withdraw from full-term classes with a “W”
Invitational coming soon The Los Medanos College Orchestra is hosting the Orchestral Invitational Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the Recital Hall. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. and will feature the Freedom, Heritage, Antioch and Alhambra high school orchestras. General admission is $8 and $5 for LMC students.
Showcase to bring laughs
Nina Ghiselli
Dan Beaver
Hailey Solares
Al-Ameen Ishola Brianne Visaya
Nilton Serva
Hannah Siddiqui Dale Satre
LMC students and faculty set to enlighten By KIMBERLY STELLY
kstelly@lmcexperience.com
A collective of speakers hailing from the Los Medanos College community have been enlisted to speak at the college’s very first independently organized TEDx Event Wednesday, Nov. 14 in the Recital Hall at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and seating is limited — only 100 tickets
will be given out. The process through which the license was received was extensive; starting when the request for the license was put in last spring. “The process to obtain the license was tedious and Professor Huffman and I would not take ‘no’ for an answer,” said Interim Honors Program Director Marie Arcidiacono.
Leading up to the approval, there were two Cultural Conversation events held on campus in which five speakers were chosen to talk about their life experiences. However, the journey to receiving the TED license didn’t come without hardship. World Languages Department Chair Laurie Huffman said, “I spent nearly a year
with the process. They denied us twice, but the third time we sent Marie’s students speech topics and they were so inspired that they gave us the license.” Arcidiacono echoed similar sentiments, saying, “the years leading up to TEDxLosMedanosCollege have been a labor of love by Professor Huffman and I. We have spent long
Honoring tradition
Instructors give insight By PERRY CONTINENTE
pcontinente@lmcexperience.com
The investigation into the Trump Administration’s possible connection to Russia made major progress with two members of Trump’s campaign being charged with a several crimes involving Russian connections. Tr ump adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about Russian involvement and Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has been charged with several crimes including failing to register as agents of foreign interest and fraud. These revelations have shaken the Trump administration as more and more people close to The President have been connected to Russian interests. Political science professor Milton Clarke commented on the severity of the indictments, “I don’t think that it’s horrible for the president,” said Clarke, “the question is, does it trace back to him?” Political science professor Ryan Hiscocks had similar thoughts, “my reaction is how far does this thing go?” Despite the fact that this progression in Mueller’s investigation does not spell immediate action against the president, Clarke did not rule it out, “This is major, it’s huge,” said Clarke emphasizing the possibility of future revelations leading to serious legal action against the president. Clarke continued to say that while intelligence agen-
Experience • Adria Watson
Student Ambassador Alexander Chavez
LMC recruits ambassadors
Daily class cancellations Save yourself from making an unnecessary trip to campus for a class that has been canceled. Professors cancel classes unexpectedly and often can’t tell their students in person. The LMC website offers a daily class cancellation page, visit www.losmedanos.edu/
See TEDX, page 6
Trump admin sparks scandal
LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Caucus and the Allies student group are hosting a free Queer Comedy Showcase Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Little Theater. There will be a recpetion before the event outside theater at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public and five stand-up comedians will perform and a panel discussion will follow.
Los Medanos College is recruiting outreach ambassadors to represent LMC through campus tours and outreach. The job boasts a flexible schedule in addition to providing experience for jobs and college admissions. Students can apply at the Office of Student Life.
hours preparing for an event of this magnitude.” The speakers slated to speak that evening are Nina Ghiselli Nilton Serva, Brianne Visaya, Hannah Siddiqui, Dan Beaver and Al-Ameen Ishola. Each speaker had to go through an application process in which they answered questions regarding
Experience • Brenna Enos
The LMC Puente Project and Puente Club put on a Dia de los Muertos celebration in the Indoor Quad Thursday, Nov. 2. Food, music and skull decorating were some of the ways students honored the day. Above, Vanessa Rangeo gets her face painted by Destiny Sepulveda during the event.
Student shines in STEM conference By ROBERT PIERCE
rpierce@lmcexpereince.com
Los Medanos College’s own Sonia Bustos Barocio recently won first place in the Cell/Molecular Biology category at the National STEM Diversity Conference held by the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native Americans. Hundreds of students presented their scientific research to their peers.
Bustos Barocio’s winning presentation was titled “Role of Flgo: Novel Small RNA Regulated by Flagella Sigma Factor.” Bustos Barocio described her presentation as a “project focused on how small RNAs regulate gene expression.” “I was investigating the role of a novel small RNA on bacterial flagella synthesis,” Bustos Barocio described. RNAs, or ribonucleic acids, are cell
particles similar to DNA that assist in many cellular functions, and ‘flagella synthesis’ refers to the process by which cells make flagellum, or tails, that allow them to move around in microspace. “During my presentation… I explained the dif ferent approaches I used to determine the functions of the newly discovered small RNA, and discussed
See STEM, page 6 3
Finally feels like fall Now that the scorching heat is done with, the consistant conditions of fall are finally here. Source: Weather.com
Experience Graphic • Lissette Urbina Illustration by Sarah Gonzales
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“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
— George Bernard Shaw
Azi Carter
Perry Continente
AZI’S WORLD
STRAWPERRY
Looking for new kind of justice
Romani people misunderstood
Our criminal justice system asks three questions: What law was broken? Who broke it? What punishment is warranted? When you commit a crime, you incur a debt to society, creating an imbalance in the justice system. The system focuses on determining blame and administering pain, judging and sentencing — leaving communities nationwide filled with individuals labeled as damaged goods and who urgently need a new beginning. Restorative Justice (RJ) is the latest and greatest attempt to change the way violators of our justice system are handled. The theory is that when harm is done, the responsible person can seek restoration from the one affected through a series of facilitated conversations culminating in the forming of an agreement between the responsible and affected parties under the supervision of trained Restorative Justice facilitators. This new conversation that has demonstrated success began in 2007 with the city-funded West Oakland Middle School pilot project. Integrating the RJ process eliminated violence, expulsions and reduced suspension rates by 87 percent saving the school thousands in attendance and funding. In 2010, the Oakland Unified School District Board of Directors passed a resolution adopting Restorative Justice as a system-wide alternative to zero tolerance discipline and as an approach to creating healthier schools. Restorative Justice practitioner CamishaFatimah Gentry-Ford worked diligently with the founder of Restorative Justice Oakland Youth (RJOY) Fania Davis Jordan — sister of the infamous Angela Davis. Jordan works directly with offenders utilizing the hands-on approach and community reintegration to reconcile differences between victims and offenders. Oakland Public Schools started the process early. But there are still a large number of incarcerations that occur after school age. Going to jail can happen to anyone, no one is exempt. According to the “Criminal Justice Fact Sheet” on the incarceration trends in America compiled by the NAACP: Between 1980 and 2015, the number of people incarcerated in America increased from roughly 500,000 to more than 2.2 million. Today the United States makes up about 5 percent of the world’s population and has 21 percent of the world’s prisoners. Approximately one in every 37 adults in the United States, or 2.7 percent of the adult population, is under some form of correctional supervision. Another harsh reality from state statistics is that nationwide, African American children represent 32 percent of children who are arrested, 42 percent of children who are detained, and 52 percent of children whose cases are judicially waived to criminal court. Our communities are not geared to welcome anyone who has been convicted of a crime and served any amount of time. Communities are filled with individuals who have hidden themselves from view for fear of being exposed as being an ex-felon. There is a need for restoration within our communities and the values that once made us great. The aim of RJ is to restore right relationships from a state of brokenness. Over the past few decades, humanity has been making a historic shift from justice as harming to justice as healing. Through this process, responsible parties can learn the value of responsibility and harmed parties the value of forgiveness Restorative Justice asks an entirely different set of questions than the current criminal justice system. Who was harmed? What are the needs and responsibilities of all affected? And how do all affected parties come together to address individual needs and repair the harm done.
Despite recent social justice movements sparking conversation about race, gender and sexuality helping pave the way for a better, more empathetic tomorrow, the Romani people are too seldom talked about and widely misunderstood. Few people even realize that the Romani are an ethnic group, thinking instead that the word Gypsy refers to a lifestyle rather than an ethnic group. Gypsy is often used as a descriptor for beggars, thieves, fortunetellers and cheats while also having an implication of sexual deviancy, promiscuity and seductiveness for women. This is extremely offensive and dehumanizes and invalidates an entire culture that has faced consistent historical discrimination. Systematic hatred and oppression of the Romani people is so normal that it no longer even registers, few people realize the damage they are causing by perpetuating cultural myths about the Romani. Popular culture reinforces these offensive stereotypes with songs like Shakira’s ‘Gypsy’ which features lines like “I might steal your clothes and wear them if they fit me,” this reinforces deeply held and damaging beliefs about the Romani people. I often hear otherwise progressive people say horrible things about the Romani, clearly not realizing how offensive their speech is or how hateful their message. The fact that this is done by socially conscious people is a one of the most frightening aspects, people who have devoted much of their time and energy towards making the world a better and more empathetic place still often exhibit racist behavior towards the Romani. The word gyp, a shortened version of gypsy, is often used to describe a bad deal or a rip-off without thought. This hateful speech is especially damaging in light of the persecution that the Romani have faced in the past and still face to this day. Many European countries still oppress the Romani with France, Greece, and The Czech Republic being among the worst. The Czech Republic has a histor y of forced sterilizations of Romani women and has recently refused compensation for the victims of the practice. The Romani in France have faced police brutality, illegal eviction, and deportation. Another example is a Romani baby who was refused a burial place in Paris due to her ethnicity. Greece meanwhile all but segregates the Romani and meets them with intense hatred. Roma are often excluded from schools and, in one incident, when Romani children were admitted to a school, non-Romani parents blockaded the school in protest. The Romani make up the largest minority population in Europe, despite murder of 25% of their population by Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. You would think that with such consistent and horrendous persecution that the Romani would be treated with some degree of respect, but little is given to them. More recent examples of callous treatment of the Romani include the Netflix series Gypsy. The poorly received series features a white therapist who descends into deceit, voyeurism and depravity. The title of the show is meant to reflect the person she is becoming associating the Romani stereotypes of sexual promiscuity and duplicity with her character change. We need to as people be more conscious of our speech and actions in regards to the Romani people, in addition to paying attention to our issues. With all of the issues that have and currently do face the Romani we need to do more to include them in social movements and cultural discourse.
Experience • Ashlyn Bell
Editorial
Put an end to the blaming
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here’s this common psychological trick used by people who need to manipulate a narrative to keep themselves from taking responsibility for something they’ve done wrong. It’s called blame-shifting. In light of all the sexual assault allegations, this is an important tactic to note. Though it is most often used to shift the blame to another party, the blame can also be placed on a variety of things. Basically, anything absolving the perpetrator of responsibility is used as an excuse to cause harm or discomfort to others. Exhibit A: Kevin Spacey got in trouble for sexual assault allegations made by fellow actor Anthony Rapp, who said Spacey made a sexual advance at him when he was just 14 years old. That’s bad enough, but then Spacey made a half-hearted apology in the midst of which he discussed his battle with alcoholism and also came out as a gay man. Though he isn’t blaming Rapp for “seducing him” or “wanting it” – something that often happens to sexual assault survivors — he still managed to shift the blame to his drunkenness that night and inadvertently onto his sexuality, a huge disservice to the LGBTQ+ community, who spent decades struggling with stereotypes of them being sexual predators and pedophiles. This wasn’t an isolated incident either. Several other men have come forward with accusations against Spacey, saying they were groped or touched inappropriately by the actor. Then we have one of the biggest sexual assault scandals of the year. When Hollywood bigwig Harvey Weinstein got himself into hot water for sexually assaulting a multitude of Hollywood starlets, he initially blamed sex addiction. That is not an excuse to dodge consent. In these particular cases, the perpetrators have faced consequences for their actions — Weinstein has since been suspended from his production company and Spacey’s show “House of Cards” has been canceled. But how often do you think powerful people face consequences for committing sexual assault? Sexual assault occurs in numerous industries and people will always find a way to excuse it. Predatory people in positions of power prey on and harass people without power, then blame their heinous actions on drugs, alcohol and blurred lines of consent. Instead of taking full responsibility for these actions, they retreat behind a wall of tired excuses that we will not and cannot continue to accept as a society.
Ads take away from the moment Do we really need to see advertisements everywhere we go? During the World Series, which I understand is a big deal, there were ads every few seconds the pitcher was on the mound taking a breath, deciding what to do next. Even during this intense and championship-deciding game — where the pressure is mounting on the teams — ad companies like Duracell thought it would be important for us to know how great their batteries are. I understand that companies want to show their ad’s when alot of people are viewing but it completely shatters the entire mood and aura behind the situation and distracts from the game. Baseball is a more slow-paced game versus most other sports, but at the bare minimum these ads should not be played during the league’s biggest games of the year, the game has earned more respect than that. After all it is known as America’s pastime. But did I mention that Wendy’s has chicken tenders now for a great deal? That idea has been driven into my head after just a few innings. But going beyond baseball games, ads are everywhere. Large corporations promote their product or services right in our face wherever we go. It’s a business yes, but can we enjoy things for what they are and not have to be so consumed with having to make or spend money at every second of our day? You can hardly click a video on YouTube without a commercial buffering between the first few seconds. Remembering the times when you could click on a thumbnail and instantly start watching shouldn’t feel like a
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Andrew Gonzalez ANDREW’S ANGLES
distant memory, it should feel like right now. At least we have the luxury to skip ads after sitting through them for a few seconds, but the “skip ad” button has increasingly become more rare. And now websites track everything you view and place ads on every other website and parts of the internet you visit to get you to buy those products you were just looking at, as if you suddenly had forgotten all about them. It has become a normality that everything must now come with a word from a sponsor, which has become very tiresome. Heck even email services have a section labeled “promotions” for all emails related to offers of products because it is so commonplace. And what can we really do about any of this? Nothing. Those companies bring in too much money to ever stop this from happening or at least lessening it. I can’t wait for the future when ads take up more airtime than TV shows. Or when maybe before I start my new futuristic car, a projection will pop showing me how great the company is and why I should buy another car from them. I get it. We all get it. Just let us live without shoving your name in our space at every opportunity.
LOS MEDANOS COLLEGE
Experience
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“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
“Madison Bumgarner because he’s a great athlete and humble. He speaks through his actions.” — Tyler Salazar
“My mom because she’s a nurse and that’s what I want to be. To experience that for a week would be great.” — Nadia Perez
“Cristiano Ronaldo because he lives in Spain and his nice cars and the fame would be great, too.” —Kevin Gonzalez
“My brother because he’s spoiled and gets everything he wants and he’s always happy.” — Tatiana Seminario
“My boss because then I would be able to make the right schedule.” — Tino Gonzalez
“My English teacher Liz Green so I could push back essay deadlines.” — Marlyn Diaz
Editor-in-Chief ........................ADRIA WATSON Managing Editor.................KIMBERLY STELLY Perspectives Editor..................JESSE GOMEZ Campus Editor ..............PERRY CONTINENTE Features Editor ........................BRENNA ENOS Sports Editors .......................CARLOS RUIZ & ANDREW GONZALEZ Graphics Editor .................LISSETTE URBINA 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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Halloween haunts LMC
Frights delight all By PERRY CONTINENTE pcontinente@experience.com
The Office of Student Life brought scares to Los Medanos College with its Carnevil Halloween event, featuring fundraising, free treats for kids and a haunted house that took up the whole first floor of the college complex. For a $1 fee, students could enter the haunted house, which featured scary situations such as killer clowns, demented human marionettes, a killer scarecrow and a zombie pushing a cart piled high with human limbs. The house’s victims moved carefully throughout the maze of cobwebs and monstrosities as the actors stalked and spooked them. One student was particularly impressed with the attraction’s capacity to scare. “It was better than I expected,” said Nyema Williams. “I went in saying ‘I’m not going to get scared’ but I actually got like nine out of ten scared.” Williams praised both the set design and the actors, saying that
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Student Life “went all out” this year. Several children had similarly chilling experiences, as the haunted house may have been a bit too intense for the little ones. Some left the attraction early as the actors terrified them with their antics. The person largely responsible the Halloween event was Adrian Montemayor, who orchestrated ever ything from advertising and funding to layout and design. “I had a lot of responsibility, first the set design, I was responsible for how everything would look and I even helped build some of it,” said Montemayor. Montemayor was also responsible for scripting the many ghoulish denizens of the haunted house fright-fest. “I was in charge of the actors, but most of it was improv,” said Montemayor, who went on to assert that the directed-improvised approach “showed what the per formers could do.” See HAUNT, page 6
Experience • Adria Watson
Alfonso Camus takes a selfie while wearing his stylish fox man costume, movable jaw included.
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“I’m always interested in the spooky repurposing of everyday things.” — William Gibson
Emily Hammond (left) prepares to scare with her impressive face make-up and costuming. Experience • Crea Jones
Rachel McElroy’s stunned victim character stumbles the halls (above) as a group of haunted house patrons look on. Adrian Montemayor and Matt Gilkey hang a terrifying clown during the event’s set-up (left). Experience • Crea Jones
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“Mornings are for coffee and contemplation.”
— Jim Hopper, Stranger Things
Author to visit LMC By JOSH WOOD
jwood@lmcexperience.com
Photo by Brenna Enos
LMC 3D Design student Kylie Riddle holds up a wire sculpture that she is currently in the process of creating.
Preparing for art show By BRENNA ENOS
benos@lmcexperience.com
Ar tistic students at Los Medanos College will get an opportunity to showcase the projects that they have worked hard on next semester at the LMC Student Art Show 2018. The ar t show, opening Tuesday, Jan. 30 and running through Tuesday, Feb. 27, will feature a large variety of artwork mediums that the LMC community can enjoy. A reception will also be held Thursday, Jan. 8 from 4 to 6
p.m. and an award ceremony will commence at 5 p.m. While the show and its festivities are a few months away, students that are interested in participating in the show are required to submit their work by Friday, Dec. 8 at midnight. Those who want to enter the show must be currently enrolled in an LMC art course and can submit their art electronically through photo or video formats. Students can enter as many pieces as they desire, but
can only submit a maximum of two pieces of artwork per category, which includes 2D and 3D design, advertising, animation, ceramics, color theory, digital, drawing, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. This art show not only provides LMC art students with an opportunity to showcase their artistic skills, but it can also provide them with an award. The Art Guild of the Delta, a non-profit organization based in the East Bay, has given the
REVIEW CREW
Photo from IMDb.com
‘Stranger Things’ Season 2
Series Summary: The Duffer Brothers’ hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” came out with a second season Friday, Oct. 27. With stars suchs as Golden Globe-winning actress Winona Ryder and Finn Wolfhard, one of the kids featured in the recent movie “IT,” the show is packed with talented actors that delivered yet another successful season.
‘Suburbicon’ fails to please cutter, “Pleasantville” type of neighborhood do not apI went into “Suburbicon” preciate change around their with high hopes due to its homes, especially in the form of integration. I was intrailer and star powterested to see how er in front and bethe racial divide hind the camera. aspect would play Although George in this film but in Clooney showed the end, it was his ability to be not well thought a decent director out and it keeps in past films, this the viewer from one came up short. IMDb.com investing ones Coen brothers also Matt Damon in self into one plot gave this film great point. expectation that “Suburbicon.” All the while as racial divide never came to fruition. The finished product was unable to is taking place outside, the true capitalize on the possibilities story is going on inside the and never seemed to finds its house next door. That house belongs to Gardner Lodge identity. The film takes place in an (Matt Damon), his wife Rose all-white suburban housing Lodge (Julianne Moore) their tract in the late 1950’s —a place son Nicky Lodge (Noah Jupe) known for its family friendly and Rose’s sister Margaret neighborhood, good schools (also Julianne Moore). The opening scene shows us and little to no crime. This all changes when the Mayers fam- a flustered Mr. Lodge waking ily moves in, the first African up his son, explaining that there Americans in the community, are two men in the house. The mystery men proceed to tie at no fault of their own. This is when we learn that the entire family to the dinner See MOVIE, page 6 the residents in this cookie By JESSE GOMEZ
jgomez@lmcexperience.com
REVIEW
art show $1,500 towards cash prizes for the winners of the art show. Local art supply retailers have also partnered up with the LMC Student Art Show to give out art goodie bags. Aside from the various prizes, Judy Pettite, LMC professor and art show curator, encourages students to enter the show because “it is a great opportunity to showcase their work” and it can “help to build their resume.” One of the many art students submitting work in the art
show, Moses Lawson is excited to have the opportunity to display his work because he has never done it before. “Why not?” he questioned. “I’m always envious of the art pieces I see on display,” said Moses, adding that he would love for people to feel the same way about his artwork. “Man, I’d love to have that feeling.” To submit work in the LMC Student Art Show or to find out any additional information, please contact lmcgallery@ gmail.com.
Acclaimed author Gary Soto is set to present at the Los Medanos College campus in the Recital Hall from 2:30 pm to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7. Soto will perform several of his own poems and works to students at LMC, and will be selling and signing two of his books, “Meatballs for the People: Proverbs to Chew On” and “The Spark and Fire of It”, at discount prices. Soto, a California native, is well known for his poem “Oranges”. Centered around a first date, “Oranges” is “the most anthologized poem in contemporary literature” according to a poster from the Office of Student Life. Soto focuses fairly heavily on everyday experiences in his works. English Professor JoAnn Hobbs commented, “for many years, English instructors taught “Jesse”, one of Soto’s novels, in one of our reading and composition courses…” Hobbs noted that, despite the novel being set in the 70s, students identified with the protagonists, and “could relate to the characters and story.” Hobbs mentioned that Soto, in addition to speaking about his own literature, hopes to use “part of his presentation… to reach out to Mexican-American students, in particular, to counter the message that many are hearing from Washington D.C. these days.” See SOTO, page 6
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Adria says: Could’ve done without Billy
Brenna says: Lives up to the hype
Jordan says: Exceeded my expectations
While painfully watching the sequel to Will’s ongoing battle with the remnants from his time in the upside down, the Duffer Brothers’ own adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in the form of Mike and Eleven (or Jane) throughout season two of “Stranger Things” act as the lighthearted reminder that at the end of the day, these demogorgon fighting dancing queens and kings are still tr ying to sur vive adolescence. “Stranger Things 2” does a great job picking up where unanswered questions that were vaguely mentioned in season one left off, like Eleven’s mom’s backstory. Sans the unnecessary presence of the shows neighborhood bully and shock value racist Billy — who adds nothing but annoyance — “Stranger Things 2” couldn’t be any more of an indication that the show will continue to reel viewers in.
After establishing a cult-like following due to the shows 80’s vibes, Stranger Things season two had a big hype to live up to — and it successfully met that high standard. With Will Beyer out of the upside down, this season focused on a new evil creature that possessed him yet was unseen by everyone else. The young kids once again gave some great laughs, and the breakout character this season was definitely Steve, as well as new addition to the show, Bill. Throughout the whole season the new terrifying monster captivated me, and I was constantly entertained by the intricate plot lines and characters. The one complaint I have about season two is episode seven, which came after a high point in the season and then only focused on Eleven. Despite that issue, as a die-hard fan, this season definitely pleased.
Stranger Things 2 is everything I loved about the first season and more with a perfect blend of humor, drama and thrills in every episode. We see the characters develop so much with the stakes being as high as they are. A favorite character of mine from last season was Eleven, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown. Brown once again brings an award winning performance that’s impressive for a child actor and the same goes for Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers. He wasn’t seen that much last season and this season we are able to see more emotion in his performance. I have to address the special effects as well because this season had movie-level CGI effects. This second season was so good I want to watch it again already. If there are plans for a third season, I’ll be there watching it on Netflix the day it comes out.
— Adria Watson
— Brenna Enos
— Jordan Neel
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“If my uniform isn’t dirty, I haven’t done anything.”
— Rickey Henderson
Stangs thrashing opponents
Team wins the last four By JONATHAN LITTLE Staff Writer
On the heels of a strong win over Mendocino College Oct. 24, the Los Medanos College women’s soccer team faced the College of Marin Mariners, and grabbed a 1-0 victory that has cemented them in the second-place spot in the Bay Valley Conference. Marin started the game with the ball, however, from that point it was off to the races for the Mustangs. The Mariners came out slow and unprepared as the Stangs took every offensive opportunity away and put pressure on the defense to give them the early advantage. That advantage gave the LMC offense more than one goal-scoring opportunity in the early parts of the first half. However, the Mariner’s goalie was there to stop the scoring, but ever y time there was a stop, LMC would get the ball right back as Marin had no tempo on offense, and struggled to challenge the Mustang defense. The fast-paced tempo of the Mustangs on both offense and defense was the highlight of Friday’s game. In the first half there were many key stops that eliminated scoring opportunities for Marin as LMC goalie Norma Jara Ruiz and right winger Hannah Walker put on a defensive display that ultimately turned into more opportunities for the Stangs to put away the game early on. But Marin’s goalie Shanan Daly, had no intentions of letting the Mustangs score as she recorded 11 saves in the game overall. However, for a goalie to have that many saves
Experience • Cathie Lawrence
Los Medanos College women’s soccer team celebrates after Sydney Torrano scores the game-winning goal in the second half. speaks volumes about how many times the Stangs had the ball on offense, as they kept finding holes to create opportunities to score. LMC had the upper hand going into half time with numerous scoring opportunities on offense but could show nothing for it as the clock wound down. The Mustangs looked frustrated they couldn’t put together a goal-scoring play. However, after the team talked strategy, team members looked determined to score and put away the game early in the second half. “The coaches told us to play like it’s our last game. They really motivated us because this was a game
we couldn’t lose,” said first captain Vanessa Kualapai. That determined mentality led to a high-energy start to the second half, and the LMC offense came out even stronger and faster than they did in the first. On the opposite side of the ball it seemed as if Marin was also able to work out the kinks and they began with a rejuvenated offense and defense, as the game turned into a battle. It was back-and-forth, and the fast tempo of the game didn’t seem like it would let up any time soon. However, as much as Marin’s offense and defense were faster than the in first half, it seemed as if the Mustangs
were running them out of energy as the game wound on. Second captain Autumn Kish was one of the key factors on defense in the second half and explained how the team fought together to keep the Mariners scoreless. “We’ve been doing very well lately. Our team chemistry has been huge,” she said. “We’ve been passing the ball around and it felt as if the ball was on our half of the field most of the game.” At the same time many of the offensive opportunities the Mustang offense tried to initiate were met with good stops from the Marin goalie. But in the closing minutes of the
game midfielder Sydney Torrano scored to put LMC ahead. “I was just thinking about the three I missed before I scored, and I told myself I need this one, and just tried to watch the ball and relax, and once it went in I was juiced,” said Torrano. Ultimately, that was the blow that ended the game as the Mustangs came out on top in the battle against Marin 1-0. Assistant Coach Shaun Chapman said the team has steadily improved this season. “I think the girls are really jelling right now,” he said. Since Friday’s game against the See STANG, page 6
University of San Francisco
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Experience • Cathie Lawrence
Players rejoice in celebration after getting the win against the Mariners.
LMC masters Marin
Volleyball back in the win column By CARLOS RUIZ Staff Writer
Despite Solano College breaking their eight-game winning streak, the Los Medanos College women’s volleyball team picked up where they left off by getting back into the win column after a close game against the College of Marin. The team was looking to pick themselves back up, in order for them to stay in contention for a playoff spot. To do that, they needed to get past fourth place College of Marin Mariners. The hunt for the postseason continued for them with three games left. The first set star ted of f strong for the Stangs, as their solid passing and team communication was clear to see. However it wasn’t enough to easily put away Marin, as the majority of the game was a nail biting back-and-forth battle. Both sides made similar plays such as dives, balls out of bound, and miscommunication errors. At one point, the game was even at 6 a piece. But the tie wouldn’t last long as the Mustangs found composure with key plays like outside hitters Ashley Dixon finding an empty spot to tip the ball in and a Malaya Salinas kill that left the Marin defense uresponsive to recover the ball.
LEARN TODAY. CHANGE TOMORROW. Experience • Cathie Lawrence
Erica Wilder rescues the ball for control. They founded a strong lead late in the game and more important plays like opposite hitters Ayanna Burnett and Samantha Rhodes simultaneously jumping to block the ball in mid-air to get points that would all lead to the magic number 25, for the first set win, 25-18. The second set oddly started off with the Stangs quickly falling behind 0-2, yet came back to tie after the ball ricocheted twice off the A/C vents by the Mariners offense. However
the game’s tense mood continued with the Stangs having the lead and quickly falling behind by two points and later again find a way to tie. With the game even at 16, clutch plays began to erupt, with setter Erica Wilder tipping the ball in an empty spot, Salinas’s and middle-hitter Nuru Boone blocking the ball, and a Rhodes quick kill. Opposite hitter Vei Finau’s kill was the last play to give them the See VBALL, page 6
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6 HOST campaign gives back to students By BRENNA ENOS
benos@lmcexperience.com
Financial struggles have long been a worry for many students attending Los Medanos College, but with the revamping of the “Helping One Student To Succeed” program, many students can possibly benefit from free tuition. Launching mid-November, the “Helping One Student To Succeed” campaign, referred to as HOSTS, will benefit students that are recommended by staff and faculty at LMC. This scholarship is intended for students with unmet financial need, single parents, veterans and those who missed scholarship deadlines. Students who qualify for the scholarship can potentially receive up to $500, which can cover the costs of books, supplies or even
tuition. Trinh Nguyen, HOSTS Foundation Development Officer, believes this scholarship does far more than just cover college costs. “The goal of the program is to help keep LMC students in school,” explained Nguyen. This program will “provide students with support at a critical transition time, eliminate stress so that students can concentrate on school and let the students know that someone believes in them.” Student Shelby Newton attested to this belief adding that she also likes that LMC instructors recommend the scholarships. “I think the scholarship is really great and it’s cool that staff can actually recommend people,” Newton said adding, that if she were awarded the scholarship it would help her
F R I D AY,
From page 1
second set win, 25-22. The next set began with the Mustangs finding themselves in a comfortable lead, until Marin continued to find a way to tie it. Despite losing the lead, the passion and hard work wasn’t lost and stayed motivated to find a way for them to get back on top. An ace by Wilder, a block and a kill by Finau were some of the important moments the team did to get back in control and were getting closer to the win. Sure enough, a block by Wilder and Boone was the game ending play and gave Los Medanos College the win, with the final score 25-22. “ This was a big match for us,” said head coach Lou Panzella. “They were one loss behind this for a conference playoff spot, if they would’ve beaten us it would have made our jobs even more difficult even though we don’t have a guaranteed spot in the playoffs just yet,” he said. “We just need to go out and play hard.” For more information on the LMC Women’s volleyball team visit http://www.losmedanos. edu/volleyball/ .
the content of their proposed speeches. One of the requirements to be chosen as a speaker was to adhere to the theme of the event, “The Future of Everything.” LMC is the only college in the Contra Costa Community District to have received a TED license. “This is a proud time for all of us at the college,” expressed Huffman. Arcidiacono ar ticulated her gratitude to those who funded and supported the event. “We are thankful to the LMC Innovation Grant for sponsoring these events and appreciative of the support we have received from administration, faculty and staff on-campus.” Arcidiacono added that she hopes those in attendance will receive an “increased knowledge base given the variety of speech topics we will cover and a desire to begin thinking about the future that includes asking questions and seeking answers to help build the best community the far East Bay can offer.”
SOTO From page 4
In fact, much of Soto’s work also focuses on the relationship to American culture as a Mexican-American, as well as Mexican-American culture itself. Soto’s most famous works are his many books for children and young adults, although he produces work for all audiences. Meatballs for the People: Proverbs to Chew On focuses on short poems structured like proverbs, most of which range in length from 1-3 lines and offer tidbits of wisdom, although some flip well-known proverbs on their heads.
STEM
The Spark and Fire of It is a short, one-act romance about two teens that are enamored with one another, and a father who does not approve of the boy pursuing his daughter. It blends Shakespearean style and vocabulary with modern slang to create a collage of Soto’s own work. In total, Soto has published more than 40 books throughout his career and sold more than 4 million copies nationwide. For more information, visit the Office of Student Life, email them at studentlife@ losmedanos.edu or call them at (925) 473-7554.
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significance of studying small non-coding RNA,” Bustos Barocio continued. According to Math Engineering Science Achievement Program Director Dr. Nicole Trager, Bustos Barocio’s “competition was steep and included people from across the country with undergraduates from places such as Yale, Penn State, UCB and many more.” “Her research was based on a project that she performed over the summer at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C.,” Trager continued. Bustos Barocio had been working as an intern at the NIH, a position she secured through MESA. The NIH presentation served as something of a warm-up for the SACNAS conference, and helped Bustos Barocio to “feel prepared” for the latter. On the day of the presentation, Bustos Barocio recounted that “at first” she felt “extremely nervous,” but quickly fell into a groove and delivered the presentation smoothly. “I was experiencing imposter fears and felt intimidated by the scholars and scientists who were going to attend,” she reflected. “The moment I started talking about my project, I got immersed in excitement and completely forgot about how nervous I was. I found my project extremely fascinating and just wanted to share my enthusiasm with other scholars. By the end… I found people were smiling, and genuinely interested in what I had to share.”
Bustos Barocio was one of 117 winners at the conference, and described it as a “true honor” to be one of those winners. “I owe my accomplishments to my mentors, friends and the strong scientific community at Los Medanos College,” she said. “Without my mentors, who are like my second parents, I don’t know if I would have ever had the confidence to pursue my goals.” Bustos Barocio also gave presentations at Honors Research Symposiums at UC Berkely and Stanford University in 2016 and 2017. A Biomedical Science major, she plans to transfer to UCLA, UC Berkeley or Harvey Mudd College after LMC and hopes to study all the way to a PhD. “I would like to encourage students to get involved in campus activities and seek opportunities to get involved in local research projects,” she advised. “I was severely intimidated by research when I started my projects, but now I know that with the right type of support, it is possible to make it through.” Heavily involved with the MESA Program, the SACNAS Club and Honors Program at LMC, Bustos Barocio currently works on campus at LMC as a Chemistr y Laborator y Technician, Biology Teaching Assistant and STEM Tutor, and can be seen around campus often. “If anybody has any questions about how to get started doing research, please feel free to reach out to me.”
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with expensive school costs. “Anything helps.” Student Kyle Marshall echoed similar beliefs to Newton and added that he thinks “this will help build better relationships with students and teachers.” Initially kick-started in 2012, HOSTS helped multiple students with financial troubles until the campaign lost its footing due to a lack of funding. While funding put a halt to the program years ago, Nguyen and the HOSTS Board Members are determined to keep the program in action to meet the needs of financially burdened students. “Funds for these programs have since depleted and so we would like to re-launch to ensure we can continue to help LMC students,” said Nguyen.
VBALL TEDX From page 5
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2017
The current goal of the HOSTS campaign is currently set at $20,00, which could either provide 80 students with $250, or 40 students with $500. Funding for this program will come through donations, and if a donor gives $500 or more, the scholarship will be named after its donor. As stated on the HOSTS webpage, those who donate to the program will not only have the scholarship bear their name, but their money can potentially make a huge change in a students college experience. “By signing up for HOSTS your gift will change lives.” For more information or to donate to the HOSTS scholarship program, visit www. losmedanos.edu/foundation/hosts
GOVT From page 1
Experience • Crea Jones
Yazmyn Rahimi as the Marionette during Carnevil.
HAUNT From page 3
While the event went well, there were a few things Montemayor wanted to change. “I was 85 percent happy with the event,” he mentioned. “That’s much better than last year, I was about 60 percent happy with that.” Despite the success of this year’s event – the haunted house raised $140 for Student Life – Montemayor did have a few regrets, including unclear pricing of the haunted house and some last minute construction issues. He remains hopeful that next year will be even better. “Its mainly minor things that will be easy fixes,” he stated. In addition to the haunted
house, the second floor was devoted to clubs and fundraising. Over a dozen clubs were in attendance, including Allies Club, SACNAS and La Raza, and many of the clubs were selling food and drinks. Art Club was also in attendance selling prints of the club’s artwork. Art Club President Ashlyn Bell was happy with the event. “It’s a pretty good turnout,” said Bell, “we’ve sold quite a few prints.” Bell was also particularly impressed with one student’s costume. “There’s a guy with a pumpkin face that contorts,” she said. “It’s pretty creepy.”
STANG From page 5
College of Marin the Mustangs have put together a four-game win streak with two victories. The first win this week came on Monday, Oct. 30, against Yuba College when they dominated the game 3-0. And the Stangs took that momentum on Tuesday, Oct. 31 to Napa Valley College as they thrashed the Storm 4-1. “The key aspect has been the motivation as a team we have to finish second,” Kualapai said. “The confidence level is
very high. We know we have to win the last three games to reach our goal.” The next time the Mustangs take the field will be Nov. 3 at Merritt College where they will put their four-game win streak to the test. They will be back home Nov. 7 to take on Yuba College. For more information on the Los Medanos College women’s soccer team and future games visit, http://www.losmedanos. edu/Soccer/.
-cies have already confirmed Russian involvement in the election, this investigation could be instr umental in connecting Russian meddling. “The intelligence agencies have said the whole time that there was meddling in the 2016 election,” said Clarke, “the Russians purchased advertising or set up bots to push fake news.” The fake Russian accounts were used during the election to disseminate misinformation, deepening political rifts in the country around political issues like Black Lives Matter and immigration. Hiscocks did say that meddling of this magnitude in the United States government is “unprecedented.” He expressed the irony of a foreign entity tampering with an American election, citing events where the United States has meddled far more severely
in the past “Guatamala, Chile, Iran, it’s a laundry list.” Hiscocks also said that Trump’s financial entanglements with other countries are “much more than any previous president,” referencing how his Muslim ban did not target countries where he had business interests as well as how closely intertwined his finances and his policy have been. Student Nyema Williams’ mind has changed following the indictments. “I thought that the Democrats were being babies,” said Williams, “but now that there is a federal indictment, I think there is something.” Williams went on to say that such legal action is telling as federal prosecutors “do not like to lose,” and that after following the revelations of the indictments there is “defiantly something going on.”
MOVIE From page 4
table chairs and put them to sleep with chloroform. Mrs. Lodge is the only one of the four that dies from the encounter. It’s at this point where we begin to wonder why these men would kill the woman of the house while not hurting anyone else or stealing anything from the residence. The actions of Mr. Lodge and the wife’s sister Margaret after the incident began to lead us to believe foul play may have been the reason the others survived the attack. This brings along one of the bright spots of the film in the form of a suspicious life insurance investigator (Oscar Isaac). Although briefly in the film, his character is an important and clever one. We now start to view what is unraveling in the Point of
view of the son Nicky. As he begins to see things aren’t adding up, everything around him starts to fall apart and that goes for the rest of the family as well. Through Nicky’s eyes you begin to see truth of what happened to his mother in the beginning. Overall this movie wasn’t as good as it could have been but by no means was it an absolute disaster. It does struggle to declare itself a mystery, comedy, drama or thriller but there are good scenes and multiple plot points that will at least keep you interested along the way. The star power and general appeal of this movie is enough to warrant a visit to the theaters but waiting for it to be rentable might be a safer bet.