Vol. 87 No. 8 - Oct. 20, 2017

Shell Oil educates

The Halloween spirit

Lucky number seven

Women in technology discuss working in the oil industry at the “Energize Your Destiny” event — page 3

The LMC campus gets prepared for Halloween with decorations and festive events— page 4

LMC volleyball won their seventh straight game after defeating the Mendocino Eagles 3-0 — page 5

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F.Y.I. Important Dates October is Breast 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”

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LMC hits Top 150 again

By ADRIA WATSON

awatson@lmcexperience.com

For the second time in succession, Los Medanos College has been selected as an “Aspen Prize Top 150 US Community College.”

President Bob Kratochvil shared the news with “great excitement” to LMC students, faculty and staf f in an email Monday, Oct. 16.

“Each of you has played an important role in achieving this incredible honor,” said Kra-

tochvil in his announcement.

“Congratulations on receiving this national acknowledgment for the outstanding work you do.”

Contra Costa Community College District Chancellor Fred Wood echoed similar sentiments adding that this recognition “is a great honor and accomplishment.”

Wood also acknowledged LMC being “honored twice is doubly remarkable” and said everyone from the college’s students to East Contra Costa County residents

should be proud of this moment.

“With this selection, LMC is becoming a national model for increasing student success,” said Wood. “Every LMC employee contributed to this recognition and I applaud each and every one of them for their leadership and dedication to our students.”

More than 1,000 community colleges in the nation are assessed for The Aspen Institute to select the top 150.

According to The Aspen In-

“With this selection, LMC is becoming a national model for increasing student success.”

— Chanellor Fred Wood

See ASPEN, page 6

Bill to provide support

Showcase to bring laughs Los Medanos College LGBTQ+ Faculty andStaff Caucus and the Allies students group are hosting a free Queer Comedy Showcase Thursday, Nov. 9 in the Little Theater at 7 p.m.

The event is open to the public and five standup comedians will be performing with a panel discussion and receptionto follow

Gov. Brown signs promise

By PERRY CONTINENTE

pcontinete@lmcexpereince.com

Transfer Day this month Students will have the opportunity to speak with 50-plus college reps Tuesday, Oct. 24 during Fall Transfer Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Schools that are currently accepting Fall 2018 applications will be present as well as representatives who look forward to answering students’ questions. classcancel.

Experience • Chris Ruiz

LMCAS President Marco McMullen puts on a hardhat at the grounbreaking ceremony Oct. 18.

Construction underway

Student, sports facilities to open in 2019 the two new facilities will have on the community. Having come from community college himself; “Diablo Valley ColHardhats and shovels christened the groundbreak- lege, Wood sees a gem unfolding before us. “ “I want LMC to be the first choice of students when ing Tuesday morning in the outdoor quad as construction got underway on the new Student Union and Physical selecting a community college,” Wood said, adding, “I want Education Complex. Members of the community, staff everyone in the community to feel welcomed, no matter their background, whether and student body were present high-school students, oldto add to the festive spirit usher-students, we want to fill in ering in a new era for the LMC the gaps of their successes. campus.

Regardless of race, or wealth.

President Bob KratochEveryone in this community vil opened the event welcomis welcome here.” ing elected government offi“We want to help students cials, members of the Contra define their individualized Costa Community College Dissuccess by equipping them trict Governing Board, staff with proper skills.” and student body. Kratochvil Members of the governemphasized how transformaing board of Contra Costa tional this project is for LMC, Community College District which has needed these buildwere introduced individualings since the college opened in ly by Board President Vicki 1974. He added the buildings Experience • Chris Ruiz Gordon. will add additional spaces to creMarco McMullen, student ate where community mem- College District and LMC leaders break government president exbers, students and professionals ground on the new facilities. pressed the gratitude and apcan meet and engage.

Adding to the two new buildings under construction, news preciation from many of the students he represents at LMC. “Having a place to meet with classmates and friends today that LMC was named again as an “Aspen Prize Top outside of the classroom that is wholesome and nurturing is 150 U.S. Community College” said Kratochvil.

Kratochvil introduced Chancellor Fred E. Wood, what is needed in many student’s lives.”

“A place of inclusion, a welcoming environment, and good who concurred with Kratochvil’s moving declarations of pride in LMC’s successes and the transformational impact See NEW, page 6

By AZI CARTER

acarter@lmcexperience.com

Show to close next week Artist Karrie Hovey’s show “Menagerie” is now open in the LMC Art Gallery. To see “Menagerie,” the gallery will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12:30- 2:20 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. and will run through Oct. 26. Hovey’s work is influenced by her environment.

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 to see if any class has been canceled. Visit www.losmedanos.edu/

New California community college students could pay nothing for their first year of classes thanks to the California College Promise Bill signed into law by Governor Brown.

The bill was signed last Friday with some Republican support states that it would “waive fees for one academic year for first-time students who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units… and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application.”

The bill, which was ratified Oct. 13, would take effect the fall 2018 school year.

The current unit cost of $46 would be waived saving students who enrolled full time for two semesters over $1100 dollars.

Financial Aid Supervisor Jenifer Ma discussed the implementation of the bill, “They’re giving us until spring 2019 to change the name,” said Ma. This bill would supplement the existing Board of Governor’s fee waiver removing the income limit for receiving aid.

The bill describes its goal as “Maximizing student access to needbased financial aid by leveraging the Board of Governor’s fee waiver,” implying that those covered by the BoG Fee Waiver would continue to be covered.

LMC president Bob Kratochvil weighed in on the bill.

“It’s on our chancellor’s cabinet agenda for next week,” he said. “So we’ll be talking about how to implement that. I don’t know exactly the percentage but somewhere around half or more of our students are eligible for the BoG so we already have financial waivers for a lot of our students.”

Kratochvil was also excited by the prospect of the bill bringing more students to LMC saying, “it seems to me that would be a great marketing tool and we’ll be talking See FREE, page 6

Week gives‘Advocacy’ to students CA leaders aim to help impacted

By PERRY CONTINENTE

pcontinente@lmcexperience.com

Trump’s dismantling of DACA was further opposed by the CCCCD with DACA Advocacy week, a call to action for faculty and students to stand up for DACA and undocumented students.

California Community College Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley sent a

memo faculty and staff urging them to contact their representatives and urge them to pass a resolution in support of DACA. Oakley writes “my office has been working with the Community College League of California, the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, and the Student Senate of California Community Colleges to encourage local advocacy in support of DACA and the over 200,000 young people in California impacted by the decision

to rescind this program.”

Also heavily involved in DACA Advocacy Week was Congressman Mark DeSaulnier who issued a statement condemning President Trump’s rescinding of the executive order. DeSaulnier said in a statement, “president Trump’s decision to end DACA is cowardly, heartless and irresponsible.

DeSaulnier condemned Trump’s “mixed messages,” as well as the fear his actions have instilled in See DACA, page 6

State Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakely is working to support the 200,000 students impacted.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier is collecting stories from students impacted by the DACA appeal.

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Perspectives

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“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me.

It would be a better world.”

— Muhammad Ali

Jesse Gomez

Lauren McCullough

GAME OF WORDS

GUEST COLUMNIST

Trophies losing true meaning

Stricter laws could save lives

There was a time when winning a trophy stood for something. It showed you were dedicated to your craft, outworked your opponents and achieved a goal you set out to obtain months, even year’s prior. Society has taken a soft-serve approach in teaching youth what it takes to be successful: participation trophies are handed out like candy in this not so soft world we live in.

JDS Industries Inc is one of the largest trophy wholesale manufacturers in the world. Company income in 2015 was more than $50 million in trophy sales. When the trophy company opened in the 1970s they brought in $50,000 in a good year.

This incredible jump in trophy sales isn’t because our country has been producing athletic and genius prodigies over the years but rather we have ingrained into our youth that if you show up—yeah, just show up— you will receive a trophy. This obsession by parents that if their child doesn’t get a trophy at the end of a T–ball season then they will be ruined emotionally has created a trophy culture and a dependence on praise that is dangerous and creates unrealistic expectations for future generations.

So, what’s the big deal about giving children a trophy for just showing up? Everything.

Telling our youth that just showing up is enough reason for you to be rewarded will only set them up for failure when introduced to the real world. I’m not saying we should treat our kids as mini-athlete soldiers and never give them encouragement. I understand that not every child is the next Lebron James and that most parents want their children to play sports to interact with other kids.

With that I agree, sports are a great place for children to learn people skills and find their voice. However, giving a trophy to a kid for trying their best isn’t realistic. In the work place if we come up short does a your boss bring you a plastic trophy that says, “nice effort?’’ I would assume not.

Future generations need to know that trying your best although admirable at times, still isn’t enough to earn you recognition.

And you damn sure don’t deserve praise for just showing up, which many youth sports agencies offer rewards for. If a child’s name is on the roster, missing every game or not, they will receive a trophy at season end. Rewarding such behavior is damaging to their growth. If we give every child a trophy for being special, is anybody special anymore?

When older generations gripe about how lazy and self-entitled millennials are, I say to them: you gave them that entitlement in the form of a participation trophy and now it’s up to you to rip it from their “special” and deserving hands. San Diego State University Professor Jean Twenge says, “It’s not even a trophy for effort, it’s a trophy for participation, We are setting the bar too low for our youth.”

If the bar is set to low for our youth we are taking away their opportunity to reach real goals because they will take the easy way out or give up when they realize real success takes more than just showing up.

When you get down to the real reason participation trophies came to be the norm you can see the decision was well intended.

The theory was by giving a kid a trophy you give them self-esteem and a kid with good self-esteem is a happy kid. In theory not a bad plan but not a realistic one. Self-esteem doesn’t come with false praise and pretend awards, it comes from accomplishing something, knowing what you’re capable of.

Awards can be powerful motivators, but nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead, it can cause them to underachieve. So the next time you see a child in your family receive a participation trophy ask yourself this; if everybody wins does anybody?

So far in 2017 there has been a total of 344 mass shootings in the United States. These mass shootings have resulted in 476 people dead and 1,770 wounded. The question is, are we able to help prevent these mass shootings?

The second amendment states, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

This means United States citizens have the right to bear arms.

In the article “Australia banned semi-automatic weapons after mass murder: Here’s what happened next,” Katie Dangerfield’s reports, “In April 1996, a 28-year-old man armed with semi-automatic rifles entered a cafe in the small Australian town of Port Arthur, shot and killed 35 people and injured 23 others. It was the worst mass shooting in Australian history.”

Shortly after this mass shooting the country of Australia passed the National Firearms Agreement. This agreement banned automatic as well as semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns. This agreement also introduced a stricter system for licensing and owning guns. Since this gun reform in 1996, Australia has not had another mass shooting.

Now that is just crazy considering the United States already has 344 mass shootings this year. There is no question that we need stricter gun laws in the United States.

On Oct. 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States experienced the biggest mass shooting to ever occur in the country. This shooting happened at a music festival called “Route 91 Harvest Festival.” The shooter, Stephen Paddock, was located in a hotel room overlooking the crowd of people attending the music festival. The sounds of gunshots lasted approximately 10 minutes.

After the shooting law enforcement discovered 23 guns in the hotel room. If we had stricter gun laws in the United States do you think this would have still happened?

I’m thinking, probably not. There is no good reason why someone should own that many guns.

Now it is no question that Americans should have guns to protect themselves, but is it really necessary to have 23 of them? I don’t think so. There should be a law that limits the number and kind of guns people can own.

To get rid of the right for people of the United States to have guns would cause trouble, but there is nothing wrong with having stricter laws. Hillary Clinton recently tweeted, “The crowd fled at the sound of gunshots. Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make it easier to get.”

The National Rifle Association is seeking to make it easier for people to get gun suppressors in hopes to protect the hunter’s ears during hunting season. Not only do sound suppressors for guns make it quiet while shooting, but they also prevent flash while shooting and improve accuracy for the shooter. Could you imagine if Paddock had a gun suppressor during this shooting? It would have resulted in many more deaths and injuries to the thousands of people at this music festival.

If the National Rifle Association gets a law passed that makes gun suppressors available for people in the United States, this will result in more chaos. While it might be beneficial for hunters and their ear health, this isnt enough reason to make them legal. People have been hunting for years without them and they got along just fine with earplugs and protective earmuffs.

Preventing would-be killers from getting silencers is a small price to pay to help save lives in the event of another mass shooting.

Experience • Alfonso Campos

Editorial

Stepping up amid tragedy

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he devastating wildfires in Northern California have been raging since Sunday, Oct. 8 and fire crews have been bravely fighting what is now known as the most destructive fire in the area to date — 42 people are confirmed dead with 68 still missing and close to 200,000 acres burned.

Due to the amount of smoke, air quality has created unhealthy living conditions not only for the communities fighting the fires but the surrounding counties as well. The air quality index in Napa County at one point reached a staggering 486 — the unhealthy threshhold starts as 201.

Thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed thus far and as the air quality continues to threaten many more, evacuations have remained steady in the thousands.

With such devastation around us, it’s great to see both neighbors and strangers spring into action to lend a hand. Many Northern Californians accepted the call by welcoming families displaced by evacuations into their own homes. Others have donated food, clothes, time and money.

Earlier this week Los Medanos College lent a hand to Contra Costa College and College of Alameda by opening our gym doors so the schools’ student athletes could make up games canceled due to poor air quality.

There’s something everyone can do to help. Donating your time to an organization and assisting those affected by the fires could go a long way to help bring normalcy back to lives of those impacted by the fires. Here is a list of places that are accepting donations for fire victims in need. n Redwood Empire Food Bank n The United Ways’ Northern California Wildfire Relief and Recovery Fund n 1-800-RED-CROSS or Texting REDCROSS to 90999 If donating money isn’t your style and you wish to help in person many agencies are still accepting people to donate their time on-site at a relief center. Call the Sonoma hotline (707-5733399) and see where you can lend your services. Air respirators are also a welcome donation.

Social media is distorting reality The Internet has become a place to learn and share opinions. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr are among the most used social media networks today, and with celebrities regularly emerging, we now have people like Jake Paul who become Internet sensations and serve as a hook to a job.

Social media influencers range from musers, youtubers and twitter personalities, to viners (rip) and instagrammers. But what makes them famous? They are able to create a brand and sell a lifestyle many can’t achieve since they make hundreds of thousands of dollars posting videos, tweets and brand deals for things that may never work: fit tea, waist trainers, hair, nails, and skin vitamins are a few I see repeatedly. If what they are selling is dubious, what makes us continue to support them?

The idea of the lifestyle we want is what baits us. The flashy cars, the perfect skin, the money, the relationships are all things we strive for. Seeing them come to life at our fingertips is the perfect lure. But are these pictures of the perfect lifestyle negative for those who look up to influencers, or does it give viewers something to aspire to?

The perfect body on social media may be nice to look at but at the end of the day it hurts the oncoming generation. Children don’t know themselves yet and look up to those with “perfect bodies” which tends to cause body dimorphic disorder. BDD is an anxiety disorder that causes people to develop distorted views of how they look and to spend a lot of time worrying about their appearance.

For example, a small scar on the cheek is seen as a huge gash everyone is staring at. Or

Voices

Eva Burks GUEST COLUMNIST

the fact that the stomach is not flat is perceived as a sign of being extremely overweight.

According to a recent UCLA study by Mark Wheeler, “researchers found that individuals with body dysmorphic disorder exhibited greater activity in the areas of the brain that process detailed information. Interestingly, the more activity they had in these detail-processing regions, the less attractive they perceived their faces to be, suggesting a connection with distorted perceptions of appearance.”

Over analyzing the body is detrimental to one’s mental health because it can cause depression and anxiety. This is where representation matters. All body types, races and gender identities should be highlighted in social media to positively impact the way the upcoming generations sees themselves. Seeing a variety of role models achieve the goals children want for themselves will allow them to grow up happy in their own skin.

We are the children who grew up with social media and images of the lives we wish to have — but we need to remind ourselves that some of these pictures are fake and that what and makes us unhappy is our preconceived notions on how life should be.

What fictional character would you most want to meet or talk with?

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California Newspaper Publishers Association

Journalism Association of Community Colleges

“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

“Ted the bear because he’s funny and would be cool to talk to and I like how he grew up alongside the main character” — Lashawntae McCree

“ ‘The Fairly OddParents’ because they are cool to have on your side and to watch your back when needed.”

— Nassir Greene

“Izuku Midoriya from ‘My Hero Academia’ because he became my inspiration to work out again and work to achieve my goals” — Adrian Montemayor

“ ‘A’ from Pretty Little Liars because I’m really into their back story snd want to know more.”

— Kahla Bulls

“I would ask SpongeBob if he always had arms and legs or did they grow as a result of ocean acidification?”

— Kyle Davis

“Deb or Corey from ‘Empire Records’ because they have interesting mannerisms.”

— Cierra Butler

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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“Knowledge will give you power, but character respect. ” — Bruce Lee

Banner designed by Gabriella Santos • Los Medanos College

College campaigns for respect

By BRENNA ENOS benos@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College has long been a place that values humility and respect, but with new posters and banners around campus, students and faculty alike will now have a daily reminder of those core principles.

Placed around various areas of LMC, “A Community of Respect” banners showcase the values of compassion, humility, inclusion, civility and empathy through images of hands.

This powerful campaign was launched only a week ago, but the planning began quite a while before hand.

“Doing a respect campaign had been considered in the past at LMC, but nothing

had come of it,” explained Barbara Cella, the Director of Marketing and Media Design at LMC. “I decided that now is the perfect time to do something to support our community in the area of respect.”

Cella worked alongside Eloine Chapman, Marketing Department’s Senior Web Designer, and Sabrina Kwist, the dean of Equity and Inclusion to get the project underway. The creative genius of the project however, was LMC student Gabriella Santos.

As a student intern for the Marketing and Media Design department, Santos has had lots of previous experience with media design at LMC such as her designs for food panty fliers, drama posters and school billboards.

When the task of designing campaign banners was given to her, Santos began to think of a unique way to convey the schools message of respect.

“I thought to myself, ‘what if we had it look like dictionary images?’” said Santos when discussing her first thoughts with the banner.

“From there I looked up photos online and saw that many images had hands — I decided to stick with it.”

Once she had a design in mind, Santos worked on her hand illustrations for a month and her hard work proved to be successful.

“Gabriella did a beautiful job with what started out as a fairly ambiguous project” said Cella. “I’m so proud of her and am delighted

to feel our efforts are making a difference at the college.”

These posters, viewed by students everyday, act as a reminder to treat everyone on campus with respect. While these posters are targeted towards the LMC community, they also act as a statement towards the hostility of people across America.

“It is a timely notion, given the divisive discourse and contentious climate that has been observed and experienced across the country,” said LMC President Bob Kratochivil in a recent online press release. “The campaign also complements District Resolution 1-S, which denounces hate and violence and affirms our See HANDS, page 6

Newswatch Shell Oil Arts and Humanities tutoring panel energizes women The Los Medanos Medanos College for Academic Support is now offering free Arts & Humanities tutoring.

On the Pittsburg campus, hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 3 to 5 p.m. and Thursday noon to 3 p.m. in Room CO-300 by appointment only.

To make appointments, stop by the Office of Student Life or call (925) 473-7590. At the Brentwood Center, tutoring is available in Room 13 on a drop-in basis Monday 3 to 6 p.m. and Tuesday noon to 3 p.m., no appointments needed.

Appointments for the Pittsburg campus must be made at least 24 hours in advance, and will most likely be shared.

One on one tutoring is not offered at either campus.

Umoja presents new club

The new Umoja Leadership Collective or ULC Club will be meeting Wednesdays at 3:30 pm in Math Building Room 109. The club is advertised on posters as being about “Leadership, Engagement & Education in the African Diaspora”.

For more information, contact jastewart@losmedanos.edu

By JORDAN NEEL

jneel@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College and Shell Oil Companies teamed up for the Energize Your Destiny event held Wednesday Oct. 18 in the Recital Hall, focused on career and education for women interested in technical careers.

Many people who work at Shell refineries wanted to inform students that working in an industry like an oil refinery is not just a “man’s job.” Their goal was to prove both men and women can work in a job that requires a lot of hard labor.

LMC President Bob Kratochvil, who opened the event, said events like this are important because it represents

Experience • Chris Ruiz

Nicole Pitts (center) dsiscusses jobs for women at Shell Oil with fellow panelists Nicole Sibley (left) and Elizabeth McPherson (right). what can be achieved when education and industry come together to offer a learning opportunity for students.

The forum, which included a keynote speaker, a panel discussion and hiring & resume workshops, touched on a variety of topics, from the importance of gas technology and the economic benefits of

oil refineries to internships for students.

Plant General Manager Nicola Maher, who works for a Shell subsidiary named CRI Catalyst, highlighted some of the statistics from the oil business, including that 19 percent of the staff is women and while that is a small number, it includes See OIL, page 6

Debate season starts with success

By ROBERT PIERCE

rpierce@lmcexperience.com

The Los Medanos College Mustangs Debate Team picked up some huge early season wins this month at the San Diego State Aztec Invitational, where Richard E. Stanfield and Dylan Lee placed eleventh out of thirty six two-person

Photo courtesy of IMDB

Three free philosophy films

The Office of Student Life and the Philosophy Department are teaming up, and the duo will be screening a trio of free films for LMC students in Room CC1-114.

“Big Fish” will be shown on Oct. 24, “Groundhog Day” on Nov. 7 and “Inception” on November 28, all Tuesdays.

The movies will all be shown from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, free popcorn will be provided at each showing and Professor Edward Haven will be facilitating a short discussion following each film.

For more information, visit the Office of Student Life on the path between the observatory and parking lot A, or call them at (925) 473-7554 or email them at studentlife@ losmedanos.edu

Volunteer drivers needed

Mobility Matters needs volunteer drivers for its Rides for Seniors and Rides for Veterans programs, which provide one-on-one transportation for seniors and veterans respectively.

“Caring, mature” individuals who are age 25 or older with a current driver’s license, excellent driving record and reliable vehicle can volunteer for the program by calling (925) 284-2215 or visiting www.mobilitymatterscc. com (gas reimbursement is available on request).

— compiled from press releases and staff reports

teams, Stanfield took sixth place overall and Lee took thirteenth overall. In addition, the six-person team sent to the invitational, including Stanfield, Lee, Arianna Berumen, Kyle Marshall, Marco McMullen and Hailey Solares, took collective wins over big name colleges including Pepperdine and

Loyola Marymount University as a collective.

“Earning a big win early in the season is great for team morale and energy,” said Debate Team Co-coach Marie Arcidiacono in regards to the team’s performance. “I love an early season victory because it makes us want to continue

winning awards.”

2017 is the third year that the debate team has gone to the Aztec Invitational, which is exclusive to returning debaters.

The six sent down vary in just how much experience they have; Stanfield is a debate veteran entering his third See WINS, page 6

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Features Marquee Movies just released

n “Boo! A Madea Halloween” Rated PG-13 Genre: Comedy n “Geostorm” Rated PG-13 Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy n “Only the Brave” Rated PG-13 Genre: Drama n “Blade Runner” Rated R Genre: Suspense/Thriller

LMC to stage play

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“Acting is like a Halloween mask you put on.”

— River Phoenix

Academic Center gets Spooky

Student writen play “Reality Check” will be playing Dec. 6 through Dec. 9 at the California Theatre. This play will tackle important issues such as the BLM movement, racism and LGBTQ persecution.

Shows at DVC

In addition to LMC theater productions, district sister school DVC is hosting two upcoming plays: n “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” will open Friday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. and runs through Nov. 5. This show will be a murder mystery musical that will have alternative endings every night.

Ticket prices are $21 for adults, $16 for seniors, $16 for faculty and staff and $11 for students. n “The Farnsworth Invention” will open Friday, Dec. 1 through Dec. 10.

Tickets are $21 for adults, $16 for seniors, $16 for faculty and staff and $11 for students. For ticket sales and additional information call (925)969-2358.

Graphic courtesy of elcampaniltheatre.com

El Campanil events

The El Campanil Theatre is located at 602 W Second St. in Antioch. For ticket sales and additional information visit elcampaniltheatre.com or call 757-9500. n Broadway production “Nunsense” is coming to the theatre Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. “Nunsense” tells the story of an accidental poisoning that kills 52 nulls. Ticket prices are $23 for adults, $19 for seniors over the age of 62, and $12 for youth under the age of 18. n The band “Motown with Top Shelf” will perform songs of smooth jazz, doo wop, classic soul and R&B Feb 13 at 8 p.m.

Ticket prices are $27 for adults, $25 for seniors over the age of 62 and $10 for youth under the age of 18.

Book signing

Photos by Adria Watson

Halloween festivities are in full swing at the LMC Assessment Center with spider webs, witches and a little haunted house, made by student worker Yaritzy Alvarez — adorned by a vampire, skeleton, black cat and a ghost. Student worker Alexander Chavez sits among the Halloween decorations that were put up by Assessment Center Coordinator Nicole Almassey and other students who work in the office.

Clubs create Carnevil

By JOSHUA WOOD

American poet and novelist Gar y Soto will visit LMC for a presentation and book signing Tuesday, Nov. 7 in the Recital Hall from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Soto has published more than 40 books and has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

His books will be availible for purchase at the event and are priced between $5 and $12.

— compiled from press releases and staff reports

jwood@lmcexperience.com

The LMC Office of Student Life will be holding a free Halloween event next Friday, October 27 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

The event is free to enter and serves to entertain attendees and fundraise for the school. The College Complex’s second floor will serve as a hub for games and food while the first floor will be transformed into a haunted house. Themed after clowns, the aptly named Carnevil is a feature that Student Life Associate Micah Judah assured the Experience would certainly scare attendants.

“We’re trying to improve upon last year.

We’re going for more scares and more effects,” Said Judah.

Heartwarming and hilarious

“You can expect to be scared out of your mind on the first floor.”

Judah also noted that the event would be the result of multiple clubs and organizations on campus. The Office of Student Life has partnered with Shenanigans, a drama club, and the LMC Honors Club for the event.

Adrian Montemayor, Student Life Associate and coordinator for the event indicates that working with Honors and Shenanigans has made the planning process smoother.

“It takes a lot of stress off my back having them around,” Montemaoyor said. “It really cuts down on prep time.”

Montemayor also worked on the haunted house last year. He was surprised when he was approached to do another Halloween event

acarter@lmcexperience.com

“Stand by Your Man” by Dolly Parton was ending as the lights dimmed. “Laundry and Bourbon” written by James McClure and directed by Barbara M. Norris, was the breath of comic relief many theatergoers relished in as they spent two hours submerged in the antics of the Southern hospitality characters who graced the LMC Little Theater’s stage Monday evening.

Directors notes gave insight to the play and the author’s intension in writing the script: McClure wrote the play about the effects of the Vietnam War on vets and their families.

“The brilliance of the play,” as described by Norris, “is McLure’s ability to touch on these issues with humor that

REVIEW

By KIMBERLY STELLY

kstelly@lmcexperience.com

disarms us, so that his brief moments revealing human suffering and memories of that suffering stand-out from the rest of the play — just long enough for the audience to notice…. and perhaps think about… especially in terms of care and compassion for vets of all wars and their families.”

“Laundr y and Bourbon” opens the playbill of duo performances. The play is set on the porch of housewife Elizabeth (Katie Garcia) who’s Vietnam veteran husband has been missing for two days. She has visits from her two gossiping buddies: Hattie (Elysee Green), her best friend who has a house full of rambunctious children constantly wreaking havoc wherever they go, and Amy Lee (Ariel Dunn) born Experience • Adria Watson in poverty but now married to money.

Austin Trenholm and David Luzek sit on the set of a See PLAY, page 6

See CLUBS, page 6

New John Green novel is honest

Play hits all emotions

By AZI CARTER

this year, but the change in planning has made all the difference. “Seeing how smoothly it’s going and how much larger it’s gotten — it will probably become an annual event,” said Montemayor.

Aiding in the smoothness of the event planning, many Honors Club members have volunteered their time and resources to help assemble sets, work the haunted house and simply help in whatever way they can. Shenanigans is lending a major hand as well, supplying actors and effects.

Shenanigans member Stephanie Lutz is working to make sure these effects are as good as they can be. “We’ve been offering services such as scare actors and lighting filters,” said

bar during the rehearsals of “Lone Star.”

In John Green’s fifth novel “Turtles All the Way Down,” best friends Aza Holmes and Daisy go on a trip in search of a young, runaway billionaire.

Along the way, Aza learns more about herself and her relationships with her loved ones.

Sounds like every novel about teenagers who go on road trips.

And if this plot sounds mildly familiar, it might be because Green also authored the YA novel “Looking for Alaska,” in which a group of teenagers go on a trip to find a schoolmate who has gone missing.

And though these novels might be different when it comes down to the specifics, there are markers that let you know this is indeed, a book

by John Green. Featuring your favorite YA character

tropes like the unrealistic self-reflective protagonist, the mildly interesting but otherwise distant parents and the ever-present annoyingly outgoing best friend.

Though much of the criticism of this book falls along these lines, it’s actually a decent book and once you get past the first few chapters, the story is far more engaging. It’s not that the beginning of the book is uninteresting, it’s just not par ticularly memorable and seems like it takes a longer timer for Green to play to his strengths: writing well-formed metaphors and talking about existential issues. Though once he does, the book has you completely enveloped.

This book deals with topics people of all ages are forced to deal with including loss, friend-

REVIEW

See BOOK, page 6

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Sports

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FRIDAY,

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“Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?

— Dwayne Johnson

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

Los Medanos College’s Malaya Salinas smacks the ball for the kill at Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over the Mendocino Eagles, giving them their seventh win in a row.

Volleyball continues streak Stangs share court

LMC wins seven straight

By CARLOS RUIZ Staff Writer

The Los Medanos College women’s volleyball team continued its impressive winning streak by defeating the Mendocino College Eagles at home on Wednesday. The 3-0 set victory increases the Mustang streak to seven games.

However there weren’t just two teams on the court . Due to the Napa fire, LMC courteously shared their courts with the Contra Costa College Comets to play makeup games. A curtain hung at half court separated the Mustang’s game from the Comet’s contest while they both played simultaneously.

Despite the shortage of the playing field, the Mustangs continued the same game plan.

“It didn’t have any effect on us at all,” said head coach Lou Panzella.

“It didn’t help us or hurt us, we just did what we had to do.”

The first set got off on the right foot as utility player Samantha Rhodes went for the kill for the first point of the game. Later outside hitter Malaya Salinas and middle hitter Nuru Boone spiked the ball leaving all of the Mendocino defense diving to attempt to recover it. However the Eagles put up a fight and caused the Mustangs to make a few errors.

But the Stangs prevailed and didn’t let their guard down. More clutch plays occurred such as, when middle hitter Ayanna Burnett smackedthe ball to an open spot that left the Eagles defense wondering what happened. Jolero Tiana Rubin made a face-first diving stop that kept the ball alive and got the point. The Stang’s teamwork eventually led them to hit 25 points first for the victory of the first set, 25-15.

Momentum continued for LMC and the Mustangs got off to a hot See VBALL, page 6

By ANDREW GONZALEZ Staff Writer

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

Mendocino player Aliza Atkins defends while Contra Costa player Makaya Thomas, spiked the ball as her teamates watch.

See COURT, page 6

Mustangs tie with the Titans

Andrew Gonzalez EXISTENTIAL DESPAIR

Athletes bitten by injury bug

By JONATHAN LITTLE Staff Writer

In just over five minutes into the first game of the NBA season, all-star Gordon Hayward gruesomely dislocated his ankle and fractured his tibia, likely rendering his season, and the Boston Celtics’ lost. Hayward was playing his first game as a Celtic after having spent seven years as a member of the Utah Jazz, whose play during those seasons earned him a fouryear $128 million contract over the offseason from Boston.

During just the sixth game of the season, pro-bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone, almost certainly ending his season and the offensive juggernaut that were the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers’ had been continuing his legendary play this season but his injury shifts the Packers’ narrative from a team with super bowl aspirations to a team lucky to make it to the playoffs.

Only one drive into week five of the season, pro-bowl defensive end J.J. Watt fractured his tibia, which effectively cut his season short, and took the heart and soul out of the Houston Texans. The stalwart defender looked to lead the rising Texans team to success and rebound from last year after only being able to play in three games because of injuries.

The nine days in which these three high-level players were lost serve as a cruel reminder the “superhuman” athletes we praise and worship are not as invincible as we make them out to be. Hayward, Rodgers and Watt are only three Experience • Cathie Lawrence injuries among many, but they sting the most Los Medanos College’s Autumn Kish jumps up along with a Skyline College and suggest we best not take their amazing See INJURY, page 6

Los Medanos College shared their court Wednesday Oct. 18 in effort to provide an adequate space for some colleges affected by the recent fires in Northern California.

As the Mustangs battled against the Mendocino Eagles, alongside them going head-to-head were the College of Alameda Cougars and the Contra Costa College Comets.

After LMC finished their game, the Eagles took on the Comets and had the opportunity to catch up on games missed.

Mendocino Head Coach Billy Offill was happy to get his team back on track explaining that even after not having a place to play, the team had a solid performance.

player attempting to stop the ball during Tuesday’s scoreless draw.

After two canceled games in a row due to the Northern California wildfires the Los Medanos College women’s soccer team was back out on the field Tuesday October 17th taking on Skyline College.

The Mustangs went into the game riding a two-game hot streak into a defensive battle that ended in a draw. The momentum of backto-back shutouts (2-0 vs. Napa Valley College, 6-0 vs. Merritt College) has brought a more focused Stangs team that looks to take these last few weeks by storm.

Skyline College started the first half with the ball, and it was a back-and-forth beginning, as both teams battled for possession. For every offensive attack by the Stangs the Trojans had a defensive play that squashed any momentum LMC tried to produce.

The same could be said on the opposite side of the ball as Skyline College struggled to find any rhythm in the first half, and were met with a strong LMC defense that produced highlight-reel stops by LMC goalie Norma Jara Ruiz.

After the game Ruiz explained that the key to her early defensive stops was, “not to overthink what’s going on around me, and keep calm.”

With key stops for both teams, the first half ended 0-0; it was a strong defensive show with little offense. LMC Coach Zach Sullivan said that during the half he told the team, “We just have to keep moving forward and creating chances, and make sure we are there.”

And at the start of the second half, “creSee STANG, page 6

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Backtalk

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WINS

The drawls perfected by the actors would have made any Southern woman proud.

Quick wit and endearing facial expressions brought much unexpected laughter from the audience. Frolicking and laughter spiked with Bourbon made for a delightful opening act, leaving the audience with questions to hopefully be answered in the next show.

“Lone Star,” named after the beer drunk in rapid succession

by Elizabeth’s husband Roy, opens outside a local late-night watering hole in Maynard, Texas. Vietnam veteran Roy (David Kluzek) and his slow-witted but good-natured little brother Ray (Austin Trenholm), both squabble among themselves and with Cletis (William Thompson), their anxious and nerdy friend.

The battles are not of wit but of testosterone — with the obvious winner being Roy — but Ray kicks his brother off his high horse with riveting news of a secret he’s been keeping.

The actors had perfected their parts and it was evident a lot of work was put into the production. Director Norris said she gave actors suggestions while allowing them free reign to develop their characters, as they perceived them.

“I had to really research Cletis — determining a characters motivation is very important when getting a role in a play,” said Thompson. “I realized I had a lot of characteristics like Cletis, who ran his own business and was nerdy. Finding how Cletis fit into the whole play was the rewarding part adding depth to my character.”

The audience could tell the actors had a hooting and a hollering good time. Getting to hear Roy and Ray share a duet, “Your Cheating Heart” by Hank Williams demonstrated how actors often go out of their comfort zones to entertain their audiences. The plays were fun and filled with hilarious moments of explicit language peppered with descriptive interpretations of private parts.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to see Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon you can still catch the show. Remaining performances run through Oct. 20, 21, 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Ticket prices for the evening shows are $12 with student ID/Military ID, $15 general admission; $12 with student ID/Military ID $10 for middle school students with ID Tickets can be purchased on line up to one hour before show time or at the door For online information go to: http://www.losmedanos. edu/drama/productions.asp

year with the team, whereas his new debate partner Lee is only on his second semester – Stanfield commented that he was very impressed with how Lee performed, as well as the rest of the team.

“I’m very happy with our per formance… I think we all did really well,” Stanfield said. “Our team members are very dedicated… people are amazed we place so well for a community college.”

The debates were held in a British Parliament or “BP” style, which is based around back-and-forth between the “government” and “opposition” teams that argue in favor of or in opposition of a “motion” proposed by the hypothetical “house.”

Debaters are given 15 minutes of prep time to form their arguments. During this time, they are not allowed to use the internet for research or consult with any member of

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ating chances” was exactly what the Mustangs began to do as they took control offensively, and slowed the game down to gain momentum. In the opening play, LMC took the Trojans to school by giving them a lesson in passing and teamwork as they shared the ball in all parts of the field, making Skyline wonder what the Mustangs were going to do next.

As the Trojans began to catch on to the Mustang’s offensive patterns, Skyline was able to put on a few offensive attacks of their own and began to put pressure on the LMC defense. But despite efforts by both teams, the game was still deadlocked at a 0-0 tie.

With every offensive scheme Skyline tried to put in front of LMC they were met with more fantastic stops from the Mustangs goalie Ruiz, as she was willing to sacrifice her body left and right to keep the Stangs in the game.

And with only five minutes remaining in the game second captain Autumn Kish and forward Maggie Aires were trying to create an offensive explosion for the Mustangs.

But the two players had five good shots that were stopped by the Trojans goalie, and as the game began to wind down as it looked as if the game was going to go down to the wire. In the final minute of the game, LMC and Skyline went back-and-forth again with the ball as each team’s defense wanted to prevent the other team from scoring. And as the game concluded, it ended in a nail-biting 0-0 draw.

Even though it wasn’t the outcome many of the players wanted, it was another game of learning for the Mustangs as they go into the final few weeks of the season.

First captain Vanessa Kualapai said, “This game made the team realize that we need to concentrate and put more effort in attacking third, these past two wins have shown that we can play together as a team, and it’s created a positive vibe, and now we’re always looking to improve.”

The Mustangs will take a 3-2-1 record as they hit the road to face the first place Solano College Falcons Friday October 20 at 4 pm. The next home game for Stangs will be Tuesday, October 24 at 2 pm against Mendocino College.

For more information on the Los Medanos College women’s soccer team visit http://www. losmedanos.edu/Soccer/.

ship and love in all forms. If it wasn’t for the constant mention of high school, one might forget it’s a book intended for young adults.

It’s not only Green’s target audience and his fellow YouTube colleagues that have praised ‘Turtles,’ people who don’t normally like Green’s work begrudgingly gives him the respect he deserves. However, it’s not just the writing being appreciated.

The most memorable and attention-grabbing aspect about ‘Turtles,’ is its portrayal of mental illness. For starters, the way Aza is written is incredibly realistic. The entire novel highlights her constant battle with invasive thoughts as a result of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) causing her often-debilitating anxiety.

We spend the entirety of the novel wrapped up in her thoughts, often understanding the way she feels and wanting her to be okay in the end. In some of Green’s other novels like “Paper Towns,” we’re watching the story play out before us but because some of the characters are so incredibly exaggerated, it’s hard to really put yourself in their shoes. Sure you can empathize but at the end of the day, Green’s ability to write relatable characters is hit-or-miss.

It makes perfect sense for us to be drawn in by Aza and her worries, because while this novel is fictitious, the illness is not. Leading up to its publication, Green made a statement about the book saying “This is my first attempt to write directly about the kind of mental illness that has affected my life since childhood, so while the story is fictional, it is also quite personal.”

This is Green’s most honest work and though it isn’t perfect, his attempts at writing a truthful and imperfect narrator while concocting an engaging story doesn’t go unnoticed.

CLUBS

COURT

their team that they are not participating with that round (ie in a two versus two format, you can talk to your direct team partner but not the other four, non-active members of your team).

“The hardest part about it is that you only have fifteen minutes, and you can’t use the Internet,” Stanfield commented. Topics are not released before hand, so if a debater doesn’t know or doesn’t know much about a given subject, they just “have to figure it out”, in Stanfield’s words.

This year’s topics included whether gun manufacturers should face legal and financial responsibilities for deaths caused by their products, whether pride parades have become too sexualized in recent years and whether ‘social media giants’ should be required to immediately disclose any information about Russian intervention, among other subjects.

Stanfield and Lee took first in the gun manufacturer debate, where they “ran it [as] an

STANG BOOK

to our marketing department as well as our K-12 partners about how to make sure our perspective students know about that… That’s a good thing. It is going to impact a lot more people because it isn’t necessarily financial aid driven.”

By affecting everyone, and giving the entire first year free, the bill could provide the push many people to pursue further education.

Ma explained how the Promise Bill would af fect LMC students, “about 80 to 85 percent of our students are benefitting from some form of financial aid,” said Ma. Many of these students, along with all new applicants taking a full load, would be covered under the Promise Bill.

The student body was largely supportive of the bill with student Micah Judah saying “I think it’s a good thing, we need more educated people and this will allow a lot of people to try and see if college is right for them.”

From page 4 — Adria Watson contributed to this report Lutz, elaborating that the lighting is an incredibly crucial part to an event.

“It’s the embellishment to the event,” Lutz said, “and my From page 5 goal with every project is to create a lasting experience.”

“I thought it worked out With the three groups colwell,” said Offill. “I was ap- laborating, Carnevil is shaping preciative of LMC and the up to be a grand success. To administration letting us kind learn more about the event, of do a round robin because visit the Of fice of Student we’re behind games, we’ve Life in the GA building (the been dealing with some fires portable next to the Child and some disasters in our area.” Development building.

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stitute website, this selection process includes a team of judges examining each college’s student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and how they are providing high-level access and success to minority and low-income students.

Kratochvil explained the Aspen Prize for community colleges is an every other year process and LMC being in the top 150 means the college is eligible for a $1 million prize.

In his announcement, Kratochvil also explained LMC is now in the application stage during which administration will provide “data elements that focus on the areas of excellence defined by the Aspen Prize: institutional strategies and capacities, as well as completion, transfer, labor market, learning, and equity outcomes.”

The application is due Nov. 3 and this stage will determine which colleges qualify from being in the top 150 to the top 10 finalists, which will not be revealed May 2018 and the overall winners will not be announced until Spring 2019.

F R I D AY,

ethical argument” according to Stanfield, and second in the pride parade debate, where Stanfield argued that any kind of censorship at a pride parade would amount to “asking the gay community to go back into the closet.”

One topic they didn’t do so well is was the motion that kneeling during the National Anthem is an ineffective method of protest. Stanfield and Lee both personally believe otherwise, but were assigned to argue in favor of the motion and therefore against kneeling.

“It’s really hard to argue [something] that you are vehemently against,” he stated.

“There’s a thing in debate we say, you have to go all-in or go home, and we just couldn’t go all in.”

Despite setbacks like that, the team’s overall performance was still a triumph.

“I feel pretty good about my performance because I grew as a debater,” Marco McMullen mused. “We learned how to communicate, what we did wrong and right, and how

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Follow the LMC Experience online at lmcexperience.com

we can improve ourselves. In the end it’s not all about the numbers.”

“I think our team did great,” debate team Vice President Kyle Marshall reflected. “We definitely put up a good fight against other four year universities we went against.”

For practice, the debate team officially meets once a week every Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:50 pm during class time, and usually two to three times a week outside of class on a voluntary basis. A highlight of the Wednesday meeting is co-coach Casey Gardner’s “Current Events Quiz”, held to make sure the students are up-to-date on current events that might be referenced at debate tournaments.

“It helps with the positive environment we set up in our practice,” said Marshall, adding the practices “give good adjudication to help improve our game.”

The team is currently prepping for their next debate, the Dominican University Penguin Invitational on Nov. 4 and 5.

VBALL

but he did not stop there. Watt was a huge proponent to the efforts, consistently working hard and using his platform to encourage others to help, resulting in him raising over $37 million in funds, drastically helping the city despite growing up in Wisconsin. He could’ve viewed it as just the city he plays in, but instead he treats it like the one he grew up in, continually giving his time to the community around him and going beyond what is asked of him.

They are professionals who put their bodies on the line

for the sport they love, and we should appreciate them every time we are fortunate to see them take the field or court, as we know they can be taken in an instant. But even more, we should value them as more than just an athlete and instead recognize the feats they contribute to life beyond a ball. They set an example for future athletes and countless others who look up to them, inspiring many to hopefully do the same. The least we can do is hope they can recover quickly, and cheer them on when they make their anticipated return

clubs and a meeting space for up to four learning communities.

The Physical Education Complex will be 30,459 square feet and include two classrooms, a dedicated athletics workout room, two new dance and fitness studios, a large room for general weights and cardio, men’s and women’s locker rooms and showers, team spor t locker rooms, an equipment storage room, an athletics trainer room, and of fices for PE and Athletic faculty and staff.

The new facility will replace LMC’s existing locker rooms, showers, storage, and training rooms, as well as the existing portables containing the dance, weight, and cardio rooms.

The planned completion date is September 2019. The project will cost $61.8 million funded from Measure A 2006, Measures E 2014 and the Student Union Fee Fund.

The taxpayers of Contra Costa County were thanked numerous times throughout the speeches by dignitaries and students.

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start. A kill by Rhodes and an ace by outside hitter Ashley Dixon were some of the key moments that gave them an early lead, then three straight aces by Burnett put them at 17-2.

The team kept up the pace for a quick 25-9 set victory.

The third set wasn’t much different. Two aces by Dixon and kills by Burnett and Rhodes were examples of how the Mustangs completely dominated the game.

A kill by Salinas was the last play of the set and gave the Mustangs the 25-9 victory to take the game.

“We played hard and well and did what we needed to do,” said Panzella. “I’m happy with the way we played and the result we got.”

For more information on the LMC Women’s volleyball team visit http://www.losmedanos. edu/volleyball/

INJURY From page 5

abilities for granted.

Nowadays, many fans reduce these great competitors to an illusion, as if the only value they provide is scoring points for their fantasy sports team. Yet just as their injuries showcase a different side to them, they themselves prove to be more than just entertainers.

After Hurricane Har vey hit Houston and left much of the city submerged and destroyed, Watt decided to donate $100,000 to fund relief efforts. This was an act most athletes are capable of considering the typical salary,

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food,” added McMullen, drawing laughter from the crowd.

The two-stor y Student Union will consist of 36,000 square feet of space.The first floor of the building features a Bookstore; food service; a student lounge and a Community Conference Center, which can hold up to 485 people or be reconfigured to accommodate several smaller events.

The second floor includes new offices and meeting space for Student Life and the Associated Students a large gathering area for student

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DACA

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DACA recipients.

LMC student Nathalay Borges was similarly suppor tive of DACA and undocumented individuals.

Borges championed DACA citing the requirement for a lack of a criminal record as a counterpoint to those who call them criminals “They are not criminals,” said Borges who also described her experience with DACA recipients, “I have friends that came here when they were 3, some of them know this countr y and its history better than most U.S. citizens.”

Borges also asserted that DACA is not simply a ‘Mexican’ bill, “It’s not just Mexico,” said Borges citing Venezuela and Honduras as well as the large number of undocumented Asian immigrants who benefit from the bill.

DACA week not only encourages discourse, but is also a call to action to contact local representatives urging them to replace DACA with similar legislation.

Puente club coordinator Stacey Miller explained one way that students can help, “as part of DACA Advocacy Week, and the ongoing push to bring DACA legislation for ward, DeSaulnier is collecting stories of students impacted by the DACA repeal, if you or your family have been impacted by the repeal of DACA, please consider putting your story in writing.”

DeSaulnier is collecting these stories and presenting them as a package to show the good that DACA has done and to urge lawmakers to reinstate it or replace it with something similar.

Miller will be collecting stories through the end of October. If you have a story of any length and want to share it, email it to smiller@ losmedanos.edu. Your writing must include your first name, last initial, and the city where you live.

No other specific identification is necessar y. Any questions can be directed to Miller in her office at CC2-239.

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institutional commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice.”

For those at LMC who have felt excluded, disrespected or alone, Santos hopes those people can find comfort in knowing LMC supports them and wants to make a change.

“I hope this has a big impact on them,” said Santos. “I want them to know that they’re a part of something bigger.”

This campaign has only been at LMC for just over a week, but the contributors to the campaign are hopeful that it will flourish.

“We hope to use the campaign in different formats all over campus,” marveled Cella.

“I can see how it could take on a life of it’s own.”

For more information about the campagin, visit www.losmedanos.edu/respect/

desk jobs and manager positions like her own. She said it is proof women have a long way to go in the work field to increase the numbers.

“Women have had to face some challenges in their careers,” said Maher. “Knowing this information, we have to figure out why we don’t get as many women.”

Maher explained to students that for any career they choose — not just for oil refinery — they must know everything about it.

“There’s no point in making money if you don’t like what you do. Fortunately for people here, they like what they do.”

Later on in the event, an all female panel with workers from Shell refineries were asked questions ranging from who their biggest inspiration was to what it was like to working as a woman in what was traditionally a man’s field.

In response to a question focused on things they wished they knew more about, Reliability Operator Nicole Sibley said she wished she had been more involved, since there are opportunities beyond just being an operator.

“There are tons of career paths out there,” said Sibley.

“If you are motivated, driven and you like to get involved there’s a lot of jobs for you to be a part of. I wish I had known that earlier.

Don’t be scared to ask anyone about a position you’re curious about.”

More information about Shell and its job opportunities can be found at www.shell. com/careers.html.