Transfer Day enlightens
Art show seeing ‘Double’ Baseball defeats Solano
Students gather in the Indoor Quad Thursday, April 12 for Transfer Day — page 3
Artist Jeanne O’Connor’s show “Double Space” is now open for viewing in the LMC Art Gallery — page 4
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The Mustang basball team beat the Solano College Falcons 10-2 Saturday, April 14 — page 5
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New center underway
April is Autism Awareness Month April 25
Last day to apply to be Spring 2018 graduation speaker
April 27
Last day for withdrawal from a full-term class
‘Coming Out’ to celebrate Allies Club is hosting a “coming out party” in celebration of the new AA-T Degree in LGBTQ studies now offered to students. The event will be held Thursday, April 26, 12:302 p.m. in Library Room L-109. Students, faculty and staff are welcome and snacks and beverages will be provided. For more information, contact the Allies Club at allieslmc@gmail.com or at akilabriggs@gmail.com
LMC combats sexual violence Los Medanos College has scheduled events in observance of Sexual Violence Awareness Week starting April 23 and going through April 26: n A self-defense workshop will be held in the LMC gym April 23. n “The Hunting Ground” will be shown in Library Room L-109 April 24. n LMCAS is hosting a Chalk Walk April 25 in the Outdoor Quad. All are welcome to write messages in honor of Sexual Violence Awarness Week n “Walk Against Sexual Violence” will take place in the Recital Hall April 25 from 3 to 5 p.m. n Honors is having a sexuall violence awareness fundraiser April 26 in the Indoor Quad from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Photo by Brenna Enos
District community celebrates Bwood By BRENNA ENOS @brennasenos
“Today is a pivotal moment in time,” said Gar y Walker-Roberts as he looked out over a large crowd that had congregated in the middle of a grassy field, soon to be occupied by the new Los Medanos College Brentwood campus. “This college campus will change lives forever.” Like Walker-Roberts, who acts as the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board Vice President, people have also been anticipating the new satellite campus. Their dreams finally came to fruition when shovels were pushed into the ground at the Groundbreaking Cere-
mony April 18 at 1 p.m. The ceremony kicked off with an opening speech by LMC President Bob Kratochvil, who announced he was excited to see the plot of vacant land “become the site of educational and career opportunities.” CCCCD Governing Board President John Márquez followed Kratochvil with the same level of enthusiasm, also emphasizing that the crowd — made up of City of Brentwood officials, architects, Contra Costa Community College District members and multiple LMC staff members and students — was what “made all of this possible.”
District leaders at the groungbreaking ceremony: from left LMCAS President Marco McMullen, Governing Board members Gary Walker-Roberts, Vicki Gordon, Greg Enholm, Chancellor Fred Wood, Board President John Marquez and LMC President Bob Kratochvil. Artist rendering by Ratcliff Architects
See BWOOD, page 6
Prayer rooms head to LMC
Campus honors Earth
Senate starts initiative
Says no to waste
District teams up with JFK Therapists from JFK University have partnered with the Contra Costa Community College District to offer free therapy sessions on campus to students at LMC, DVC and CCC. For appointments, referrals and further information, contact WellnessLMC@ email.4cd.edu or call (925) 473-7449. To make appointments at the Brentwood location, call (925) 473-7459.
@RobertP_EXP
@A_Carnation
Los Medanos College students engaged with local non-profit organizations that visited the college Wednesday April 18 to raise awareness of how crucial sustainability is and how it affects people all over the globe. The LMC Sustainability Committee sponsored the annual Earth Day event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Outdoor Quad.
tor of Student Life Teresea Archaga. After months of The Los Medanos College research and planning on the Academic Senate is beginning topic, he spoke at the April an initiative to create on-cam- 9 Academic Senate meeting, pus prayer rooms. LMC along with LMC instructor Associated President Marco Scott Hubbard and students McMullen, who was assisted Azze Sanane and Michael Warren. Felby several faclow student ulty including “I believe any Hajer Ghaus Dean of Equity was not able & Inclusion opportunity you Sabrina Kwist, have to provide an to attend but Dean of Stu- individual a place sent a letter into the meetdent Success ing. David Belman, to rest, restore, “I am deVice President and/or renew, lighted to of Business & in a positive hear that our Administrative representaServices Alex manner, is worth tives and stuP o r t e r a n d exploring.” President Bob — Alex Porter dent senators have taken a Kratochvil, keen interest in creating headed the effort. McMullen stated he has a meditation room for all been working toward install- students of various faiths… ing prayer rooms since the However, I must confess that Fall 2017 semester, the start I believe, in general, there is a of his presidency, after being lack of provision for students informed of the requests who would want to practice See ROOM, page 6 for such rooms by DirecBy ROBERT PIERCE
By ALEX CAMILLI
Experience • Chris Ruiz
Student Eric Chang holds a snake during the event. Worldwide Ear th Day is officially April 22, but since the college is closed Sunday a weekday event was planned. LMC Biology Lab Coordinator Jenifer Fay, who co-chairs the Sustainability Committee, is passionate about addressing
pollution but said concern for the environment takes many forms. There are also methods to support sustainability such as consuming fewer animal products or utilizing fuel-efficient vehicles. See EARTH, page 6
Adjuncts starting up new union By PERRY CONTINENTE @perrycontinente
Five adjunct professors have formed the Part Time Faculty Union with the intention of splitting from the current union, United Faculty, over concerns that UF is not properly representing part-time workers. DVC adjunct political science professor Jeremy Cloward and the other founding members of the union released a statement
announcing the separation and stating their goals and issues. Cloward and the other PTFU members take issue with the lack of benefits, low pay and restrictions placed on part-time faculty. “No founding member wants the exact salary, just a living wage,” said Cloward. Cloward holds a Ph.D. with 12 years of teaching experience, but is categorized as being in See UF, page 6
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“I could be smiling on the inside. My facial expressions are not my thoughts.”
— Tina J. Richardson
Mia Negron
Robert Pierce
GUEST COLUMNIST
AND NOW, THIS
Parking needs the backseat
‘The one’ is just an old fairy tale
When you think about college, what is one of your biggest concerns? There may be many answers to this question, but one that is often not talked about is the problem associated with parking. For many students the subject of parking has been one of their biggest disruptions to their education. Concerns with college parking are endless but the biggest problems are the expense and inconvenience of purchasing the pass that coincides with a limited and very crowded lot. I believe faculty and staff of the colleges often do not realize all of the burdens college students face and parking is a subject that should be more widely discussed. One the biggest problems with student parking, is that on top paying your tuition, buying books, and supplies you must also purchase a parking pass at the cost of $48 with tax. If you chose not to buy the parking pass you are offered parking pass stations and meters but with very limited time. What is even more ridiculous is how much a ticket will cost if the meter runs out or the parking pass is not visible. The Los Medanos parking fine is $40 — almost 85 percent of what a semester parking pass costs in the first place. To top it off you are paying for pass in an overcrowded lot you have to scavenge to find even a ridiculously far spot. Most students work an average part-time job getting paid minimum wage and should be able to use their money to relieve their stress and live their life rather than pay for parking. It is very frustrating because it often feels as if we have a force going against us students when we are trying to do something positive with our lives. Fur thermore, another matter wor th discussing is the convenience of where you are able to buy a parking pass. You would think since it is a requirement to purchase a parking pass they would be more readily accessible, but that is far from the truth. In order to purchase a parking pass you must make your order online with a credit card, until you receive your new one you must print and display a temporary pass. There are multiple problems with this; one being many things can go wrong in the process receiving it in the mail. A student should not have to have extra work and burden of printing a temporary pass, worrying about the expiration date, and waiting for their pass in the mail. In my personal experience this has been the most difficult task of receiving a parking pass I paid for but never received in the mail. It is frustrating when it should be as simple as purchasing and receiving it instantly. As a result, the difficulty in attaining a parking pass may cause many other hardships and stresses a student should not have to worry about. The ridiculous price of tickets and late fees may put a student in a very tough place financially and can cause lack of motivation to proceed with their education. Students are often young and are more on the irresponsible side and I believe college parking rules sometimes utilize this to make more money. According to an article on the Washington Post, some colleges may go as far as to not verify degrees to employers and graduate schools if you have unpaid ticket accumulations. Being a young person in college may be one of the most complicated times a person may experience and I believe the school has a job of serving the students to make things such as parking a worry free part of their day. I am hopeful that more people may be motivated to discuss and help bring more ease to the college experience.
Romance is a beautiful concept central to the human condition, but the romance culture we’ve created and the way our society views love is more damaging than uplifting. Since the fairy tales of old, western civilization’s conceptualization of romance has been tied to the idea of a ‘one true love’ that will inevitably come into your life with enough patience and hard work, and will never leave you once it arrives. First off, the current Earth population as of April 2018 is an estimated 7.6 billion people. Are we truly supposed to believe that one, only one and exactly one of those people is ‘the one’ we are meant to end up with and spend the rest of our lives together? What if your supposed soul mate is from a developing nation a hemisphere away and has no way of ever meeting you and never does, do you just miss out? If you fall in love with someone else, does that mean your feelings aren’t genuine, or that you’re settling? Love is indeed real, I’m not writing this out of sour grapes. But the concept of the one true destined fairy-tale love just isn’t real, and can be psychologically toxic. It’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling entitled to have someone or feeling obligated to stay with someone, leading to abusive relationships. Our popular culture doesn’t help matters either, with movie after movie involving a hopeless romantic obsessing over a woman who wants nothing to do with him until she randomly begins to reciprocate his feelings, despite the fact he hasn’t changed at all. This can lead to people refusing to let things go or leave people alone as society teaches them that if you are unrelenting in your pursuit of romance they’ll eventually come around no matter what because it’s “meant to be” and they just don’t know it yet In extreme cases, it’s this sort of entitlement, destiny-focused mindset that leads to sexual assault or honor killings when someone feels snubbed by someone that was “supposed” to love them. We read ever y month about the guy who refuses to stop playing piano until his girlfriend takes him back (this happened, look it up) or whatever latest story about denial is trending. That’s what a culture of ‘true love’ leads to, a culture of denial of the idea that your love might not be true. It also leads to real emotional pain and mental strain for those that lose a relationship they thought was going to last forever. This pain does not justify the heinous things some people do after being broken up with, but a bad case heartbreak can still cause a lot of undue stress that should be examined in greater detail. There are reasons why so many people believe the myth of true love. The idea of an invisible red string ensuring you will eventually meet someone, someday, can be comfort for a lot of people who have fallen on bad romantic luck. But it’s a plain unhealthy concept that leads to unhealthy ideals of romance and love, and it’s not an idea our entire society should constantly be pushing. Love is beautiful, and it’s something almost everyone wants. There’s nothing wrong with looking for someone to spend your life with. You should be looking for some one you could love for the rest of your life, not ‘the one,’ because the idea of there only being one is a harmful myth.
Experience • Mariah Daniels
Editorial
Missile strikes unethical
P
resident Trump, in a coalition with Britain and France, recently launched a series of missiles against several government sites in Syria connected to the country’s chemical weapons program. The strike was supposedly done in retaliation to an earlier chemical attack that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched on his own citizens. However, it simply does not make logical sense to attempt to tell someone to stop attacking their civilians by endangering their civilians even further. While all of the missiles were ostensibly targeted solely at government sites, there are stories every month about missile misfires accidentally hitting schools or hospitals or residential zones. Even if we are not intentionally killing civilians with these strikes, every missile fired jeopardizes Syrian citizens, and it is not right to state that jeopardizing Syrian citizens is the way to prevent the Syrian government from killing civilians. If an enemy of ours sent a missile strike at California but only targeted military bases, how much cold comfort would that be? In a perfect world in which no missile would ever fly off track and collateral damage was a non-concern, perhaps the attacks would be easier to justify. But regardless of whether or not proper congressional channels were followed, the attacks themselves and the reasoning behind them do not morally hold up.
Bisexuals are unfairly represented We are seeing a huge increase in LGBT representation. While this is a monumental step in the right direction, there is a substantial lack of the B. Bisexual characters are hardly ever featured in media today. On the rare occasion when there are stories featuring bisexual characters, they are often portrayed as either indecisive, promiscuous, or both. When bisexual characters are only placed into these stereotypical boxes, audiences are likely to believe that real bisexual people are similar to the ones they are seeing on screen. Positive portrayals of marginalized people not only help those within the group, but also help society relate to and accept people they might not usually come into contact with. The bisexual community needs this. Bisexual characters are usually put into a few separate archetypes by media. They are either depicted as untrustworthy and serial cheaters, promiscuous, unable to form intimate monogamous relationships, or they are just having an experimental phase and will without question go back to being considered heterosexual for the rest of their storyline. To put an entire group of people in a box with one label is completely unjust. The act of stereotyping bisexual people directly affects how the general public views them. The average individual takes what they know from TV shows and movies to pass judgment on a group they know very little nothing about. This combination of media portrayal and public judgment makes it so that bisexual people in real life are less likely to come out. Their personal sexual orientation more often than not is portrayed as confusion, a lie, or is hyper-sexualized. Bisexual characters are usually the villain or the sexualized comedic relief of mainstream media on the extremely rare condition they are featured in the first place. On the other hand, there is a whole different effect when bisexual characters are portrayed accurately. This is a rare occurrence, but seeing it in media can be life altering for the bi community and the community at large when it comes to seeing accurate representation.
Voices
Jillian Freeman GUEST COLUMNIST
On the CW’s musical drama and comedy TV show “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, there is a character named Darryl Whitefeather. Darryl is the quirky and kind boss at the main character’s workplace who is nothing but nice and entertaining. At the beginning of the series, he is married to a woman with whom he has a daughter. Throughout the course of the first season, he goes through a divorce. Later on, upon some introspective reflection, he realizes he is bisexual. There is an entire musical number dedicated to his coming out called “Gettin Bi,” which addresses stereotypes and celebrates the entire idea of bisexuality. Some lyrics include, “I tell you what Being bi does not imply that you’re a player or a slut,” “It’s not a phase, I’m not confused, not indecisive, I don’t have the ‘gotta choose’ blues.” To have a character on a mainstream television show simultaneously come out as bi and break down stereotypes is monumental for the bisexual community. If more complex and well-received characters like Darryl Whitefeather are given screen time, both the bi community and the general public will greatly benefit from it. Bisexual representation matters and the stereotyping of bi people on screen, and off, needs to be brought to an end. A small percentage of LGBT representation includes the B and when it does it is often not accurate or positive. Mainstream media and society at large would with no question benefit from seeing how bisexual people are not all the same promiscuous and non-committal person they are portrayed to be. Just like people in general, every bisexual person has a different story.
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The Experience welcomes Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns. The LMC community is encouraged to write. If you are interested in expressing your opinions send them to the Experience online newsite lmcexperience.com. They must be typed, signed and include a phone number. They may be edited at the editor’s discretion. LOS MEDANOS COLLEGE
Experience
How do you feel about LMC possibly having meditation/prayer rooms? B
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“I feel like it’d be a positive thing for the school. Prayer and meditation is important to some people. It’s very healthy I think.” — Gianpierre Carrasco
“With the school being really diverse it’s really cool for some people to have a personal place they can go to.” — Daveyon Sampson
“I feel like it’s cool for people to come together… It sounds like a place of no judgment.” — Caleb Harper
“The meditation thing is a great idea, because when I was younger I suffered anxiety. So I feel like it’s a great place to go to ... relax.” — Jessica Serrano
“I think it’s necessary, especially for people who take their religion seriously. It has my support 100 percent.” — Kavon Calhoun
“I feel like the idea of the prayer room is really cool, but I do think that people should be comfortable enough to just do it out in the open.” — Samantha Berkson
“Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” — Thomas Jefferson
Editor-in-Chief ........................ADRIA WATSON Copy Chief..............................LILLY MONTERO Perspectives Editor..................JORDAN NEEL Campus Editor ..............PERRY CONTINENTE Features Editor ........................BRENNA ENOS Sports Editors ........................JESUS CANO & HUGO CALDERON Social Media Editor ............. ROBERT PIERCE Photo Editors .............................CHRIS RUIZ & A.R. BROOM Web Editor ........................ KIMBERLY STELLY 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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“Oh brave new world that has such people in it.”
— Miranda “The Tempest”
Newswatch Industrial Tech class offered
LMC is offering an industrial technology class this summer. The six week course is worth two units and runs Monday through Thursday 1:30 to 4:20 p.m. Students taking the course will experience a variety of industrial technology trades and careers including appliance technology, automotive technology, electrical and instrumentation technology, process technology, and welding technology. This one course will be listed under all of the following course numbers, AUTO-100, APPLI-100, ETEC-100, PTEC-100 and WELD-100. Students may register for this course using any one of hte provided course numbers. For more information, students can call the LMC directory at (925) 473-2181 and ask about the course.
Core Club focuses on reentry
LMC’s new club, Core Club, is here to help re-entry students better succeed at LMC. The club’s goal is to assist students re-entering college whether no matter how long it has been since they were last invloved with academics. Many students have difficulty navigating financial aid, course planning and other quirks of academia. For more information contact Michelle Curtis, chief operating officer and Secretary at mcurtis651@insite.4cd. edu to add your name to the list of members interested.
LMC Rotaract looks to help
Rotaract is for students and young professionals to take action through community and international service that creates sustainable solutions to local and global challenges. Roatact connects with the global community of Rotary via the Rotary of the Delta in Antioch. The clubs sponsor helps facilitate the efforts to expand professional networks, exchange ideas with leaders, and cultivate lifelong friendship around the world. Members work together to assist in the development of life long skills to become community and global leaders in addition to making friends locally and globally while having fun and recognizing the importance of service above self. Students can contact President, Lucas Stuart-Chilote atlucassc212@aol.com if they are interested in joining this progressive club.
Collegebuys.org offers deals
Experience • Chris Ruiz
UC Santa Cruz representative Raymundo Reyes-Avila speaks to students Nadine Zuniga, Natalia Nodal and Briana Orozco about transfering. Thirty-four total colleges and universities attended the event.
Transfer Day delivers By ALEX CAMILLI @A_Carnation
The Los Medanos College indoor quad was bustling Thursday, April 12 with continuing students hoping to get acquainted with their possible dream school and new students looking to find out how accessible transferring can be. A total of 34 colleges and universities participated in the annual Spring Transfer Day Event. Representatives consisted of alumni and staff from public and private transfer institutions both in California and from out of state. Tables were filled with materials containing details about each college.
“The brochures outline what students need to know like the tuition costs, housing, and majors,” said Sandra Parsons, Interim Senior Coordinator of Transfer Services. This informational opportunity happens every spring and fall semester courtesy of LMC’s Transfer Services. “I have been learning a lot about schools that I have never heard of before,” said student Jessica Hayes. Students found the event helpful in figuring out information about potential schools to go to for transfer tips in general. “It was just better to have face to face questions answered, five out of five from
me,” said student Brent Worth. Students who have questions that cannot be answered by the representatives at the event can stop by the Transfer Ser vices information desk located in the second level of the Student Services Center. Students unable to clear up any specific questions can email Parsons directly at sparsons@losmedanos.edu. U.C. Santa Cruz attracted a large number of students interested in what the school has to offer. Raymundo Reyes-Avila, a Community College Admissions Representative, said UCSC was established in 1965 and offers a superb program for See DAY, page 6
Los Medanos College students, faculty and staff can visit CollegeBuys.org for information on a host of exclusive deals on popular software programs such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud, as well as discounted hardware from phone cases and charges to full laptops at up to 50 percent off. Visit the website today for more information. Collegebuys.org is sponsored by the Foundation of Califonia Community Colleges.
Debaters win top ranking
Campus to honor API roots
Art Club presents Paint Night
By AZI CARTER
By A.R. BROOM
The best of the best came to claim the title of number one in the Nation for British Parliamentary debating. Last weekend Stanford University hosted the U.S. Universities Debating Championship, the largest British Parliamentar y debate tournament in the United States, and one of the largest debate tournaments in the world. Los Medanos College brought home the Top Ranking Community College title for 2018. Yale, Harvard, Duke, Princeton, Berkeley were just a few of the many schools that participated in this prestigious event that included over 700 participants. The event is held anually for college and university students, and is hosted by a different university each
The Los Medanos College Asian Pacific Islander Heritage committee will be hosting an API Heritage Day Wednesday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room L-109. “The Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Day event is open to all on campus. It is an event to celebrate Asian Pacific Islander (API) culture and community building,” said Melissa Pon MESA Counselor at LMC. In the two and a half years that Pon has worked at LMC, she noticed there were no events celebrating Asian Pacific Islander Heritage and culture and decided to change that. “This event has hopes to bring together our campus community of API students, staf f, faculty and campus friends,” said Pon.
The LMC Art Club is hosting two nights where they will teach participants how to paint. Art Club will provide the materials and instruction along with snacks April 20 and 27 in Room CC3-307 from 2 to 5 p.m. Participants will learn painting tips, tricks and techniques while creating art themselves. The event costs $20 at the door, but there is a $5 discount if participants pre register online. For more information you can contact the LMC Art Club Email at lmcartclub@gmail.com
Awesome Sign Legends
Assist students of sign language practice and help educate the public about deaf culture and American Sign Language with Awesome Sign Legends club. Club meetings are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Room CC2-213. For more information please contract Taydi bush at tbodley551@insite.4cd.edu or Yessenia Marquez at ymarquez941@insite.4cd.edu.
LMC to hold gospel concert
LMC’s 24th Annual Gospel Celebration is coming up. The event, hosted by LMC professor Silvester Henderson, features Keisha Renee, a celebrity vocalist who appeared on The Voice. Also featured is Shonte Herring, A gospel performer who has appeared on BET along with other local musical guests. The event will be held on Saturday, May 5 in the Los Medanos College recital hall. Admission is $22 at the door or $20 in advance. Children under 4 get free admission.
STEM event to be held
LMC is holding its fourth annual STEM Reasearch Symposium. The event invites students to attend, present and discober advocating for the STEM field. The event will be heald Friday, May 4 from 12:30 p.m. to 4 in the Science Building. For more information and to register for the event interested students can visit LMCSTEM.com
What’s lost may be found
Los Medanos College’s lost and found has numerous items found on campus. If you have lost an item, check with Police Services, which is located on Level One of the College Complex. Inquiries must be made in person to recover lost items. Found items should also be turned into Police Services for their owners to retrieve.
How to report news
If you have a news tip for a story, or a short item you would like considered for publication, here’s what to do: Stop by the Journalism Lab (Room CC3-301) on the main level or email the Editor In Chief Adria Watson at awatson@lmcexperience.com. News Briefs: If you are involved in an event that you would like publicized or have a short announcement for the newswatch collumn, stop by the journalism lab and fill out a news form. — compiled from press releases and staff reports
@AlexanderRBroom
Staff Writer
Experience • Azi Carter
LMC Debate Team members Haley Solares and Christopher Chu confir during the tournament. year. The member schools of the U.S. Universities Debate Association select the host. The event determines the National Debate Champions for the year. With all of the elite schools present, the tension was noticeable on Saturday morning as debaters downed bagels and Starbucks coffee before the first motion was announced at 8:30 a.m. Their morning began around 7 a.m. with the
tournament shuttles departing from the teams’ respective hotels enroute to the tournament. Veteran debaters, Richard Stanfield paired with Dylan Lee, both took home the title for the Top Ranking Community College Team. This win ended the season and was the highlight of both Stanfield and Lee’s season because both are transferring. Stanfield is heading to San Francisco State University See DEBATE, page 6
See API, page 6
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“Everything you can imagine is real.”
— Pablo Picasso
Gallery gets ‘double space’
O’Connor shows art and film By D’ANGELO JACKSON @DAngeloJackson_
Experience • A.R Broom
Judy Petite prepares for the “Double Space” art show by hanging a portrait photograph taken by artist Jeannie O’Connor.
Experience • A.R Broom
Left: Painted film collage “Ettie Street.” Above: Jeannie O’Connor’s portrait photographs line the floor of the room before being hung up for the gallery.
Marquee Movies just released n “Rampage” Rated PG-13 Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi n “A Quiet Place” Rated: R Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy n “Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare” Rated: PG-13 Genre: Horror, Thriller n “Beirut” Rated: R Grenre: Action, Thriller n “Blockers” Rated: R Genre: Comedy
Experience • Adria Watson
LMC students Jimmy Darling and Yessica Morfin rehearse an intense scene from their studentwritten play “Torn Pages.”
Play in LMC Little Theater
Student written play, “Torn Pages” is a murder mystery drama which will be opening at the Little Theater at Los Medanos College and will run April 26 through 28, and May 2 through 5. Tickets will be $15 for general admission, $12 for students or military with ID and $12 with a middle school or high school ID. A matinee showing will be available March 2 and tickets will be $7.
El Campanil future shows
n “The Magical Lamp of Aladdin” will stage at El Campanil theater Friday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors 62 and over, and $9 for youth under the age of 18. n “Fleetwood Mac” tribute Band from the Bay Area “Fleetwood Mask” is coming to the El Campanil theatre Saturday, May 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29 for adults, $27 for seniors 62 and over, and $12 for youth under the age of 18. — compiled from press releases and staff reports
Novel student gets published
By BRENNA ENOS @brennasenos
As a child, Brandon Lawson often lived in his own fantasies. He often got in trouble and was sent to his room in isolation as a punishment, but instead of sitting in solitude, Lawson always kept himself busy with his thoughts. “I was alone a lot … I always had to use my mind to imagine things,” Lawson said. Now attending Los Medanos College as a Business major, Lawson has used the wild imagination he has always had to write his first novel, recently published on Amazon, “Hashtag This.” The novel features various poetic hashtags that are meant to inspire other social media content creators and he decided to write the book when he realized it would be — quite
The work of internationally known Bay Area photographer Jeannie O’Connor is gracing the walls of the Los Medanos College Art Gallery in a new exhibit called “Double Space.” Gallery Director Judi Pettite expressed enthusiasm about Thursday’s debut, which opened with a reception and artist talk April 19. “The department has been wanting us to bring in a photographer for a while,” she said. O’Connor has an MA in painting from U.C. Berkeley but has frequently worked within the medium of photography with an approach to portraits and architectures in the context of urban landscapes. “This show is unusual for a couple of reasons,” she said. “First, since the gallery has two rooms, I decided to show both of the practices I have, calling the show “Double Space.” I have always taken portraits, and I have always done mixed media studio work.” The works that will be displayed in the first room are AIDS Self-Portraits: portraits from 1990-1995 taken of HIV-positive clients from the Hormel LGBT Center collection. Also shown at the gallery will be Creative Growth chalkboard Self-portraits: self-portraits taken of artists at her West Oakland studio. The second room will display Painted Film Collage: a photographic mixed-media series of painted on film overlays, which shows the rapid redevelopment of the urban landscape in West Oakland. “I became interested in the industrial buildings in the neighborhood,” O’Connor said regarding the mixed-media work. “They would often be covered in graffiti, then painted over by the landlords, then re-graffitied. The surfaces would begin to look like paintings, and the stark industrial architecture would serve as the canvas.” The gallery is located at the LMC librar y and is open for guests to visit 12:30 through 2:30 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
possibly — the first of its kind. “No one has ever done a book based on hashtags and I thought ‘oh wow, this is unique,’” Lawson said. This is the first book Lawson has published, but his collection expands much further than Amazon. There are currently 22 short stories Lawson has written and featured on his website and he has also written two sci-fi novels he hopes to someday publish as well. His long list of work all began when he got his first official writing experience back in 2014 when he was attending Antioch High School and began to write poetry. After dabbling in poetry for a while, Lawson decided to enroll in a creative writing course and was able to Experience • Brenna Enos let his creative juices flow. It was in this class Lawson wrote LMC student Brandon Lawson has published his first See NOVEL, page 6
novel, “Hashtag This,” and plans to write more.
Umoja party brings back the ’90s By A.R. BROOM
@AlexanderRBroom
Umoja brought back the 1990s Friday, April 13 with their decade-themed party celebrating the era. Umoja Scholars Program Coordinator Jamila Stewart was inspired to put on the event after she had noticed a particular interest in 90’s fashion among the Umoja members recently. “I think a lot of students [here] are born in the 90’s and they like some of the styles of the 90’s so they wanted the 90’s theme,” said Stewart. LeeAndra Matthews played a major role in the creation of
the celebration after noticing students looked like they could use a break. “Everybody’s been really stressed out this semester and I just wanted a really fun time for people to just take a timeout and not think about school for a second and socialize,” said Matthews. The Umoja Scholars Program is one of several learning communities on campus, and its focus is to help students better complete their higher education, but it is not the only focus. “A lot of the activities that we have, and their day-to-day revolves around academics,
which is primarily what they’re here for, but they also wanted to have an event which was fun and didn’t have too much to do with their class work,” said Stewart. Attendees appeared to be excited about the get-together. Major themes for the party were denim and overalls among other looks. “We’re having a couple of contests, the best dance and the best dressed, in the middle of the event there will be a dance performance by a couple of Umoja students,” said Tashianna Brown. By about 9:30 p.m., over 30 students were already in
attendance — much more than expected. In addition to the much-needed break from academics, the party had some other goals. Stewart said it was a way for students and faculty to come together and build community outside of the classroom around things they were interested in. Stewart also said a lot of the students in the program, even those not actively participating in the club, made an effort to attend the event. The club has about 20 members, however, Stewart said the Umoja Scholars Program has anywhere between 100 and 150.
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“I never worry about the problem. I worry about the solution.”
— Shaquille O’Neal
Pitchers head to the desert
Stangs stomp Falcons
Players moving on By JESUS CANO @Y2j_cano88
Experience • Cathie Lawrence
The Los Medanos College baseball team took home the three-game series against Solano College Saturday afternoon with a final score of 10-2. Riley Cleary (phtoto left) was on fire at the plate, going four for five. Cleary also went the distance on the mound, throwing eight and a third innings of work. He struck out seven betters while giving uo four hits. Josiah Peterson was able to knock in three runs for the Stangs in their dominating victory. Myles Coston also contributed at the plate, having a two-RBI game of his own. Vince Lontz strecthes to record an out (top photo). Derek Evans (main photo) comes in to finish the game, and later celebrates victory with his team (above).
eSports are the future
Among gamers, eSports have become a These players make their living by playing popular thing. Professional tournaments range in tournaments in which prizes reach $150 from across a plethora of different games like thousand and up. “Dota 2” currently has the “Pokémon” to “FIFA” to “Fortnite”. Many record of the biggest cash pool in a tournament, people do not consider eSports to be a “real which is estimated to be around $20 million. sport,” as the people participating do not have Another popular game that has been on to do a lot of physical activity like running. the rise is “Fortnite”. “Fortnite” has everyone However, preparation still plays a big part in rushing to the nearest computer to play, intheir respective games. Players have to study cluding myself. The most lucrative part about their opponents and practice like any other it — it’s free. sport. It isn’t just about picking up a controller “Fortnite” has even caught the attention or keyboard and playing right away like many of Rap artists Drake and Travis Scott. The people assume. former regularly plays with the gamer Ninja. According to Hatrixx, a professional “League Ninja is considered the best “Fortnite” player of Legends” player in an interview with El in the world and is a huge twitch streamer with Pais, professional gamers workout often and almost six million followers. More recently Epic keep a healthy diet to be Games, the game’s able to improve reflexes developer, has inand overall health. cluded a way to set One of the biggest eSup tournaments and ports games is “FIFA” many have already tournaments. “FIFA” is a been scheduled. video game about soccer Most professional and you take on other players also regularly LAND OF THE HYPHY players in qualifiers and in stream their gamebracket-style tournaments. play on a streaming This is increasing as a big genre of eSports. service called “Twitch”. Using the service, they A perfect example of this would be to look receive revenue via advertising and donations at players being hired by professional soccer from viewers. This allows them to practice teams such as the San Jose Earthquakes, Bayern their craft and gain income at the same time. Münich, Wolfsburg, and many other teams to Twitch has played a big part in allowing people play “FIFA” in competitive tournaments. Some to become competitive eSports players as it of the elite “FIFA” players include Spencer allows them to gain exposure. Ealing “Gorilla”, Tassal Rushan “Tass”, HarOne of the most popular competitive scenes ry Hesketh “Hashtag Harry”, and Corentin is Call of Duty. Major League Gaming, has Chevrey “Vitality Rocky.” taken COD to a whole new level. Now,averThere has even been a MLS eSports cup in age gamers can take part in the competitive which all of the teams in Major League Soccer scene and try to qualify ro enter tournaments sent a representative to play at a tournament. on their own. Massive multiplayer online games or MMOs, According to Newzoo, a market tracking as they’re more commonly known, also play company, viewership in video games was a big part in the eSports scene. Games like worth about $240 million in 2016. eSports “Dota 2”, “League of Legends”, and “World of are continuously growing in popularity in the Warcraft” have a big following in which people United States and it is only right to accept it tune in to watch matches. as a sport.
Hugo Calderon
Arizona is a state known for its collection of cacti throughout miles upon miles of desert, scorching temperatures and being an alternative base for many Major League Baseball teams during spring training. But starting next school year, three Los Medanos College baseball players will call this place home. Austin Cannedy, Ryan Cook and Jonathan Little all committed to Benedictine University in Mesa, Ariz. Benedictine is a small Christian school with about 3,500 students. It is a new, as the inaugural set of classes first convened in 2013. In its first season, the Benedictine baseball program went 36-17. The new campus seems to be one of the major attractions for these players. In addition to that, being able to go from playing at LMC to pitching in the desert as teammates and friends makes the transition a lot smoother. Ironically, this trio of player are all pitchers. Cannedy is third in the Bay Valley Conference in strikeouts with 69 and has a 2.34 earned run average, the second lowest in the Bay Valley Conference. Though Little has spent a majority of the season on the disabled list, he has been a key member of the bullpen according to his teammates. Little has a sidearm approach, similar to that of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Pat Neshek. Transitioning from traditional to the side arm motion has helped him improve his performance. Similarly, Cook has dealt with injuries, keeping him on the shelf for the season. “At his best he’s a guy with good command of his stuff and a guy who really competes between the lines when the lights turn on,” LMC head coach Anthony D’Albora said. “He’s found a way to get through it and turn it in to a positive, which says a lot about his toughness.” And something all these pitchers will have is a strong defense, as six of Benedictine’s players won gold glove awards in the team’s division. “As a pitcher, having a solid defense to lock it down for you is really something to love.” Cook said. Another Mustang player on the Benedictine radar is David Quintero. He has an offer from the school, but is still debating on making a final decision. He said his fellow pitchers attending Benedictine is one of the reasons why he may end up in Mesa. “Heading there with three teammates is what makes it one of my top choices,” said Quintero.
AUSTIN CANNEDY Position: Pitcher Quote: “Teammates had a lot of influence on this decision.”
RYAN COOK Position: Pitcher Quote: “They have a new campus with a great baseball program.”
JONATHAN LITTLE Position: Pitcher Quote: “I know me and the other guys are ready to show what we got.”
CHARGE UP YOUR MOBILE DEVICE.
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From page 1 the “very low income” bracket, just above the poverty line. “Just pay us a living wage so we can teach,” he said. “No one is trying to get rich.” The PTFU is demanding a $50K salar y and better benefits for ever y adjunct professor; currently these employees make just over $30K teaching the maximum number of allowable classes in the district per year. UF Vice President Jeffery Michaels weighed in on the union split and the demands. “They are demanding $50K plus benefits or they go on strike,” said Michaels, before sarcastically saying that were that to happen it would be “the most popular” part-time job in the state. Michaels did agree with Cloward, however, that the adjunct professors are underpaid. “Our system, by and large, rests on the unfair use of part-time labor,” he said. “We grossly underpay part-time faculty.” When talking about the wage discrepancies and misuse of part-time labor, Michaels was proud of the work that the UF had done. “I think the United Faculty is at the forefront of the fight [for part-time workers],” he said before pointing out the raises received by the group in the last two years. Cloward was less impressed with the efforts, noting the small yearly raises are barely keeping above inflation. One of the obstacles standing in the way of the PTFU is the exclusive contract the Contra Costa Community College District has with the UF, making them the only group legally allowed to negotiate
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prayer at school,” said Ghaus in his letter. Ghaus went on the describe how, as a Muslim, being a full time student sometimes makes it difficult to be perform the five daily prayers required by his faith due to timing and a lack of security. He said that beyond himself, any student of faith who wants to be able to pray daily might “feel discouraged because they feel that that have to ask for permission, explain themselves, and lack the proper privacy and safety to do so.” “By having a reflection room, students will feel more comfortable, supported and included on campus,” Ghaus said. “In turn, a student is able to focus on the main purpose of school: the learning.” The reason the prayer rooms have taken so long to implement was not any difference of opinion – McMullen said the administration has been “very receptive” to the idea – instead it has been a matter of finding a suitable location that would be open and accessible at all times, have sufficient space and have a super visor on watch to keep students safe and give them any assistance they might need. “That’s the biggest concern about this room is it needs a supervisor,” said McMullen. “I was told by Bob that it was almost required.” Due to the difficult criteria, there will most likely be a quick, temporar y solution followed a few months later by a permanent designated prayer room. One potential location would be a former staff lounge in the college complex currently not being used. “The problem I had with that lounge is its really small and
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anybody who majors in world research. He also explained that the U.C. route is more financially feasible than some students may believe. “More than 80 percent of students qualify for financial aid,” said Reyes-Avila. Maricris Mlyniec, assistant director of enrollment and recruitment at the University of San Francisco, said USF suited for liberal arts, nursing,
salary or benefits for the next two years. Michaels was concerned with legality, pointing out the law cannot be circumvented in this situation and calling the exclusive contract a “legal term” he doubted the PTFU could circumnavigate. Executive Vice Chacellor of Administrative Ser vices Gene Huff commented on the legality of the issue. “There is no new union,” he said. “There is only one union recognized by the district.” Huff elaborated there is a series of legal processes necessary for the formation of a new union and, so far, none of the required paperwork from the PTFU has come across his desk. “From the district’s perspective there is only one bargaining agent,” he said. Cloward is confident in his union despite this. “It’s a question of priorities,” he said about the PTFU dealing with the district, “Are there legal issues? Of course there are, so what?” Michaels commented on the degree of the impact PTFU presents. “The UF represents 1500 professors — five went on the Internet and declared that they are a union,” he said. Cloward was more confident in the impact his union would have. “We make up more than 50% of the faculty,” he said, “If [we] strike they will be forced to deal with us.” Brentwood adjunct professor John Crosthwaite was interested in, but hesitant to join the PTFU. “I work 5 jobs,” said Crosthwaite. “I am interested and I see where they are coming from, but I can’t.”
had a passcode on it,” McMullen said, adding the pass code lock presents an accessibility issue. Another problem he mentioned was the lack of an office for a supervisor, though he conceded it could be fine for a temporary solution since there would be no office in an open classroom anyway. Another proposed location was the current Honors building, since the organization is planning to move its office to the student union soon. McMullen described the location as “perfect” citing the facts that it would be empty at the time, is fairly spacious, and has two separate offices that could be used as supervisor offices or private secondary prayer rooms. McMullen believes a temporary solution, at least, could be in effect as early as the end of this semester or the early start of the next one, though nothing is quite set in stone. “The campus administration is definitely supportive of the idea,” said Porter. “Again, we have to review our current space availability, future space demands and any physical or logistical considerations... The campus administration has not discussed a specific timeframe with Marco and/or LMCAS, but would be willing to engage in a conversation to begin a planning process to ultimately identify a viable space for student prayer and meditation.” Whenever the prayer rooms arrive, those involved with the project are hopeful they will be able to improve campus life for many. “Obviously, I can’t speak for students, but I believe any opportunity you have to provide an individual a place to rest, restore, and/or renew, in a positive manner, is worth exploring,” Porter said.
and computer science majors. Miranda Styles, admissions counselor and alumni from Southern Oregon University, said the school is known for their arts and theater program as well as nursing. UOS was founded in 1926 and provides a relaxing environment suitable for students who appreciate being enveloped in nature. Student Brei Thomas said having events like this is beneficial to the student body. — William Dunton contributed to this report
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Teresa Archaga said activities and offerings such as guided origami, a Chinese calculator tutorial, food from different regions and a dance performance by one of LMC’s counselors can be expected at the event. In addition to those, Archaga said, “There is going to be music. There might be some Chinese character drawing lessons, Chinese checkers, some popular Asian games, there’s different kinds, including puzzles.” Part of the inspiration to put on the event was the large portion of students on campus who identified as Asian Pacific Islanders. “We found, when we were doing some research on populations on campus that about 20 percent of our students recognize as Asian Pacific Islander or those regions,” said Archaga. The event is being put on by the API Heritage committee in conjunction with Student Life. “We have a small planning team that has been volunteering their time to plan the event. Student Life staff have been great to collaborate with on this event,” said Pon. Pon said the main goal she hopes the event will accomplish is a strengthening of the sense of community. In addition to community building Pon said, “One of our goals with the API Heritage Day event is to attract students who are interested in starting an API Club on campus.” “Once we find students who are interested in creating an API Club and being club leaders, we can then collaborate more with student organizers on events,” Pon continued.
“Find one that is easy for you to accomplish and embrace it,” Fay encouraged. Students who visited all booths were eligible to enter a raffle to win tickets to the California Academy of Sciences, which is among the most esteemed museums of natural history in the world. Ten different organizations attended the Earth Day Event to offer agriculture training, tips on conserving water and economic sustainability. Job opportunities are available for those interested in being summer program managers or energy specialists for local organizations like Rising Sun Energy. Rising Sun Energy was founded in 1994 and began serving communities in California in 2000, assessing how much electricity and water a household consumes. Through California Youth Energy Ser vices (CYES) the organization trains and
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After Márquez, Walker-Roberts took to the podium and presented his own personal story which explained why the campus meant so much to him. As a prior LMC student who had previously attended the original Brentwood campus, Walker-Roberts has been an advocate to remodel and create a refurbished satellite campus. Among those whom he mentioned that were equally excited, was LMC professor Laurie Huf fman who had previously worked at the Brentwood campus and was hoping for improvements for the students. “I am confident that the majority of our constituents… are just as thrilled,” said Walker-Roberts, adding that it is an exciting time for looking at the future of students due to the creation of a new satalite campus. This new campus will feature 15 classrooms, 700 parking spaces, food options and a relaxation area for students. Aside from its assets, CCCCD Chancellor Fred Wood also made comment to the location of the site. “You couldn’t have found a more beautiful site,” Wood said as he gestured to the flower fields and large tree behind him. “It has all the pieces.” Closing the speech portion of the event was LMC Associate Students President Marco McMullen who echoed similar excitement over the new satellite campus, adding he felt that it demonstrated LMC’s dedication to students and that he feels “especially proud to be a Mustang.” As the speakers left the podium the crowd’s attention was regained once more as the ceremonial groundbreaking commenced. CCCCD members, LMC staff and faculty, Brentwood residents and more took turns wearing hard hats and holding shovels — officially marking the beginning of the construction of the new campus.
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employs youth to suggest alternative installations such as showerheads or LED light bulbs. There is no cost for the at-home evaluation, because the organization is primarily funded by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s Energy Watch Partnerships. Among the multiple booths that were stationed in the middle of the Pittsburg quad, one that stood out was the First Generations Farmers, a non-profit community farm based in Brentwood driven to aid the creation of resources by cultivating the future farmers of America. Representative Elia Vandos said the two main missions of the organization are food access and educating those interested in agriculture. “Adults start at the beginning farmer training program which is a nine-month intensive program where they learn the aspects of running a farm
and how to grow things,” said Vandos. The people teaching in the program come from the University of California to mentor aspiring farmers through summer programs for the youth as well intermediate classes for adults. Representatives from the Contra Costa Water District were also on hand to educate students about how to conserve water because, in countries like the United States, it is often taken for granted. Linda Ljuba explained how the conservation of water affects daily processes of people outside the household and throughout the country. “Water is a resource we too often take for granted and some people hike miles for water that is not even clean,” said Ljuba. Even something as little as checking your water meter, she said, can go a long way saving you money on your bill especially when you’re not using it.
in October 2017. While he has received an accolade for his work, he has dealt with criticism as well. On a web platform created for writers, Lawson was recently trying to market his work by reaching out to fellow writers, however, his self-marketing and promotingwas received with criticism. “People were bashing me and cursing me out,” recalled Lawson. Instead of letting the hate get to him, he laughed it off and continued to produce more writings. Lawson has always maintained this confident and positive attitude, not only with his creative work, but with his future as well. Lawson is currently studying an alternative career focus in an entirely different field: business. Lawson firmly believes that one’s “major and career don’t always have to be the same,” and claims he’d be happy either having a career
in accounting or writing. But he ultimately hopes his creative work, especially his work in screenwriting, can lead him to his dream career as a movie director. While he has a long road ahead of him to achieve his dreams, Lawson continues to immerse himself in his passions through posting content on his website every week, updating his professional Twitter page, and reaching out to local competitions and media publications to get his work noticed. Lawson’s creative mind is something he is aware of, and he knows that one day, it will all pay off. “I’m destined to do this,” Lawson said. Lawson’s novel “Hashtag This” is currently available for purchase on Amazon for $2.99. To read Lawson’s shor t stories, movie essays, poetry and more, those interested visit his personal website at www.bwlawson.com.
According to Kahn, she felt empowered by the coach’s commitment and their willingness to go the extra mile, which allowed her to expand her horizon in representing LMC in a tournament with such high caliber schools. Khan and her partner Romero were paired together for the first time and found a rhythm that worked well for them and felt their relationship strengthen as they competed in their rounds. “This was a great learning experience. The environment was different with many different debating styles,” said Chu. This was Chu’s fourth tournament, paired with Solares
who was participating in her first national debate. “Debating opens you up to what you don’t know,” said Solares. The weekend was intense with eight preliminary rounds leaving the team exhausted, but exhilarated and anxiously looking forward to the next season. For students interested in debating, the next event will be held May 9 at Brentwood City Hall. This will be the last event until next semester and a great opportunity to meet and congratulate the debate team on their accomplishments at USUDC.
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his first shor t stor y “The Firm,” a 40-page tale inspired by the movie “Mad Men.” Through writing, Lawson also found himself making raps with his friends. During his senior year of high school, Lawson recorded two rap songs and recently created another rap called “Common Sense,” which he plans to post on his social media and YouTube. Lawson’s talents in writing have also extended to screenwriting. Lawson wrote his first screenplay “Lost Among the Tides,” a coming of age story that features a teenage boy named Xavier Wallace. Wallace gets in trouble for breaking and entering and he begins to spin out of control until his world gets turned around when he meets a young girl who transforms him into a better person again. Lawson’s heartwarming yet dramatic story won him the Best Screenplay award at the Davis Chinese Film Festival
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and Lee venturing on to San Diego State University. The other team members included Gadai Bulgac and Felero Smith both veterans, Hailey Solares and Christopher Chu, first year debaters, Ayesha Khan and Tabitha Romero also first year debaters. The coaching staff prepared the team for the grueling rounds and knew they were ready. “Our team had been preparing diligently,” said Marie Arcidiacono. “Our coaching staff, myself, Star Steers and Edwin Haven were pleased with the team’s progress and we knew the teams were going to give it their all this weekend.”