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A First Amendment Newspaper of the Mt. San Antonio College Journalism Program
Wednesday,  June  5,  2013
Walnut, Â Calif.
Volume  79  Issue  8
These students got better skills
Flying team soars high at nationals
4HU` [VW Ă&#x201E;UPZOLZ PU [OL :RPSSZ<:( Z[H[L JOHTWPVUZOPW [OH[ ZOV^JHZLZ T\S[PWSL KPZJPWSPULZ PU [OL ^VYRMVYJL PUJS\KPUN LSLJ[YVUPJ THPS JHY HUK [LJOUPJHS KYHM[PUN ;OYLL HK]HUJL [V UH[PVUHSZ
Jose  De  Castro 7OV[V ,KP[VY (M[LY Ă&#x201E;UPZOPUN [OPYK PU [OL :HML[` HUK Flight  Evaluation  Conference  (SAFECON)  H[ :HSPUHZ (PYWVY[ [OL 4[ :(* Ă&#x2026;`PUN [LHT brought  home  the  American  Airlines  Safety  Trophy  at   Ohio  State  University  Airport  earlier  this  month. 0[ ^HZ [OL Ă&#x201E;YZ[ L]LY (TLYPJHU (PYSPULZ Safety  Award  for  the  college  in  the  competition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  feels  great,â&#x20AC;?  said  Nelson  Contreras,  JVTTLYJPHS Ă&#x2026;PNO[ ¸>PUUPUN [OL ZHML[` trophy  means  so  much  to  me  and  to  my  team.â&#x20AC;&#x153; 'It  feels  great  because  knowing  that  the  team  you  are  a  part  of  thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  from  a  small  community  college  beat  some  top  schools  in  the  country,â&#x20AC;?  he  added. Out  of  the  29  schools  that  competed  in  the  National  Flying  Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  national  JVTWL[P[PVU 4[ :(* Ă&#x201E;UPZOLK [O ^P[O H score  of  65  points  and  second  among  twoyear  colleges.  The  team  placed  12th,  scoring  WVPU[Z PU [OL Ă&#x2026;PNO[ L]LU[Z â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  extremely  proud  of  the  team,â&#x20AC;?  said  ,]LS`U 4HYX\La JVTTLYJPHS Ă&#x2026;PNO[ ¸6\Y captain,  Taylor  Ewing,  worked  really  hard  on  instilling  the  practice  of  safety  in  our  team. We  all  lived,  slept,  and  breathed  safety,  and Â
Desarae  Gomez :[HMM ^YP[LY
7KH 0W 6$& Ă \LQJ WHDP EURXJKW KRPH LWV Ă&#x20AC;UVW $PHULFDQ $LUOLQHV 6DIHW\ $ZDUG DW WKH 1DWLRQDO ,QWHUFROOHJLDWH )O\LQJ $VVRFLDWLRQŇ&#x2039;V FRPSHWLWLRQ it  showed.â&#x20AC;? In  the  individual  events,  the  Mounties  fared  well  against  the  rest  of  the  schools.  Taylor  Ewing  (pilot)  and  Samantha  Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien  VIZLY]LY WSHJLK Ă&#x201E;M[O PU [OL UH]PNH[PVU L]LU[ out  of  29  schools.  In  the  message  drop  event,  Evelyn  Marquez  (drop  master)  and  Josh  Spolar  (pilot)  scored  a  112  and  placed  11th  out  of  56  participants.  Spolar  placed  in  ninth  place  out  of  25  in  the  Instrument  Flight  Rules  simulated  Ă&#x2026;PNO[ L]LU[ ZJVYPUN H 6Âť)YPLU WSHJLK PU ZL]LU[O V\[ VM PU [OL JLY[PĂ&#x201E;LK Ă&#x2026;PNO[
7OV[V JV\Y[LZ` VM 4[ :(* (LYVUH\[PJZ instructor  event  scoring  144.  0U [OL HPYJYHM[ WYL Ă&#x2026;PNO[ PUZWLJ[PVU ,^PUN and  Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  Brien  placed  12th  and  21st,  scoring  33,  30  and  timed  in  14:49  and  14:31,  respectively.  Marquez  and  Ewing  placed  seventh  and  21st,  respectively,  in  the  top  scoring  rankings.  Lynette  Lopez  brought  home  the  outstanding  team  member  award  for  the  Ă&#x2026;`PUN [LHT â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  great  seeing  the  team  do  well  as  we  did,â&#x20AC;?  said  Josh  Owen  Spolar,  22,  commercial  Ă&#x2026;PNO[ ¸0[ NP]LZ TL HUK L]LY`VUL LSZL VU [OL team  the  initiative  to  do  better  next  year.â&#x20AC;?
Summer backpacking through Europe, beyond Kevin  Flores :[HMM ^YP[LY Summer  is  near,  but  planning  a  backpacking  adventure  through  Europe  is  not  completely  out  of  reach  and  may  prove  to  be  cheaper  than  one  thinks.  And  if  people  are  fortunate  enough  to  be  in  the  midst  of  planning  such  a  life-altering  odyssey  then  it  goes  without  saying  that  it  can  be  an  exhilarating  yet  overwhelming  and  onerous  process.  Depending  on  the  length  of  ones  stay,  there  may  be  many  things  to  tick  VMM [OH[ WYL Ă&#x2026;PNO[ JOLJRSPZ[ Assuming  people  have  HSYLHK` IVVRLK H Ă&#x2026;PNO[ [OPZ %DFNSDFNHUV WUDFNV WKURXJK (XURSH DQG guide  will  help  you  navigate  various destinations of interest. through  the  mĂŠlange  with  7OV[V JV\Y[LZ` VM 5PJR 1VULZ some  heed-worthy  advice. Â
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And  for  those  who  havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  yet  considered  a  get  away  this  summer,  then  perhaps  it  may  awaken  the  wanderlust  within.  Cost  is  usually  the  most  prohibitive  factor  in  planning  a  trip  across  the  pond.  While  the  current  exchange  rate  does  not  favor  Americans,  the  cost  is  still  not  exorbitant. According  to  Lonely  Planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  European  Travel  Guide  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Excluding  transport  costs,  you  can  get  by  on  about  40  to  80  [about  $50-$100]  a  day  in  Western  Europe.  Eastern  Europe  is  the  cheapest  region,  costing  a  daily  total  of  30  to  50  [about  $40-$65].â&#x20AC;?  Of  course  these  are  only  approximations  and  one  should  always  overestimate  in  the  case  of Â
unforeseen  expenditures.  Also  noteworthy  is  that  not  all  countries  use  the  Euro,  such  as  the  United  Kingdom,  Switzerland,  and  many  countries  in  Eastern  Europe. With  so  much  to  see  and  do  the  early  stages  of  planning  usually  involve  hashing  out  a  rough  itinerary.  Consider  budget,  travel  dates,  and  must  see  destinations  while  in  the  throes  of  marking  up  your  map. Thesavvybackpacker. com  warns,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Without  planning,  you  waste  a  lot  of  time  on  trivial  stuff  that  you  could  have  easily  done  at  home  and  you  end  up  missing  a  lot  of  great  things.â&#x20AC;?
Nine  Mt.  SAC  students  competed  and  placed  in  the  top  three  in  their  respective  categories  in  the  SkillsUSA  State  competition  in  San  Diego.  Four  students  won  gold  and  three  students  gained  the  opportunity  to  compete  at  nationals  in  Kansas  City,  Mo. SkillsUSA  is  a  competition  in  disciplines  that  prepare  people  for  a  viable  workforce.  Many  disciplines  are  featured  in  the  regional  and  state  competition  such  as  electronic,  robotic,  mail  care,  technical  drafting,  welding,  culinary  arts,  and  more. However,  not  all  of  the  disciplines  are  featured  in  the  nationals,  meaning  those  who  received  gold  for  a  discipline  that  is  only  featured  in  the  regional  and  state  JVU[LZ[Z ^PSS UV[ IL X\HSPĂ&#x201E;LK [V JVTWL[L in  the  nationals.  One  of  the  students  that  won  gold  at  state  wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  be  going  to  nationals  leaving  only  three  students  representing  Mt.  SAC. Max  Lizzarraga,  advisor  and  co-chair  of  engineering  design  technology  and  industrial  design  engineering,  couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  be  happier  with  the  outcome  of  the  state  JVTWL[P[PVU 3PaaHYYHNH ^HZ JVUĂ&#x201E;KLU[ in  the  nine  competitors  representing  Mt.  SAC.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  had  good  candidates  with  a  competitive  spirit  that  we  strive  for,â&#x20AC;?  he  said.  ¸0[ÂťZ UPJL HUK YLĂ&#x2026;LJ[P]L [V ZLL [OH[ [OL` HSS placed.â&#x20AC;?  Rhiannon  Britney,  engineering  design  technology  major,  is  one  of  the  three  Mt.  SAC  students  going  to  nationals.  A  feat  that  Britney  never  imagined  since  she  did  not  expect  to  place  at  state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  think  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  win  anything.  I  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  think  I  had  done  well  enough,â&#x20AC;?  she  said.  However,  Britney  ended  up  winning  gold  in  drafting  technique,  an  award  she  truly  thought  would  go  to  her  classmate  Rodolfo  Herrera. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He  knew  the  program  better  than  me,â&#x20AC;?  Britney  said.  .  Of  course,  Herrera  did  not  go  home  empty  handed  and  won  silver  for  drafting  technique.  Britneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  winning  design  was  that  of  a  wheel  hub.
  See  TRAVEL  Pg.  11
Observatory  creates  new  opportunities  for  space  research Â
Aviator  soars  above  the  clouds Â
7N
7N
See  SKILLS  Pg.  11
College  among  top  teams  in  the  nation  7N