BEAR CUBS UNSTOPPABLE

Issue II, Volume CXXXII

October 6, 2014

www.theoakleafnews.com

THE SRJC NEWSPAPER

BEAR CUBS UNSTOPPABLE

One day at a time: dealing with substance abuse - Center spread

A physical specimen

- Page 12

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October 6, 2014

Thu.

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Calendar

Open Mic • 7 p.m. • Sign up starts at 6:30 p.m. • Redwood Cafe, Cotati • redwoodcafe. com • (707) 795-7868 • Free

Stand Up Comedy • 8:30-11 p.m. • Redwood Cafe, Cotati • redwoodcafe.com • (707) 7957868 • $10

“Prelude to a Kiss” • 8 p.m. • SRJC Newman Auditorium • santarosa.edu/theatrearts • (707) 527-4343 • $12-18

Small Town Comedy • 8 p.m.

• Sonoma Cider Mill • Ultra Crepes food cart will be available • smalltowncomedyfestival.com. • (707) 431-8938 • 21 and over • $20

San Geronimo: Americana music • 4:20 p.m. • Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma • lagunitas.com/live/ • (707) 778-8776 • All ages • Free

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Tue.

Open Mic Night with Bill: Music. comedy, magic and more • 7:00 p.m. • Hopmonk, Sebastopol • hopmonk.com/ sebastopol/music-and-events • (707) 829-7300 • Free Tuesday Night Movies • 9-11 p.m. • Heritage Public House • heritagepublichousesr.com/ events-performances/ • (707) 540-0395 • Free • 10% off tab during movie SRJC men’s soccer plays against Folsom Lake College at 4 p.m. on SRJC Cook Sypher field

Editors-in-Chief:

Julie Lee and Stephen Radley Managing Editor:

Jarrett Rodriguez Section Editors: Copy Editor | Alex Randolph Layout Editor | Chantelle Bogue A&E Editor | Devin Marshall Features Editor | Nate Voge News Editor | JoshuOne Barnes Opinion Editor | Nathan Quast Sports Editor | Robert Marshall Sports Photo Editor | Joseph Barkoff Multimedia Editor | Stephen Radley

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Fri.

Royal Deuces: Rockabilly music • 4:20 p.m. • Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma • lagunitas.com/live/ • (707) 778-8776 • All ages • Free

Cotati Oktoberfest: German food, beer and polka music • noon to 6 p.m • La Plaza Park • cotati.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/events.main/ • (707) 795-5508 • Free • Authentic German meal includes a drink $15 Ice: Dance 2014 with Ice Theatre of New York • 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. • Snoopy’s Home Ice • snoopyshomeice.com/ITNY2014.php • (707) 546-7147 • $35 general admission, $75 VIP

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Open Mic • 8 p.m. - midnight • Arlene Francis Center • arlenefranciscenter.org/calendars/ • (707) 528-3009 • Free Experience Hendrix • 8 p.m. • Person Theater, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts • experiencehendrixtour.com/dates. php • (707) 546-3600 • $79 - $99

Staff Writers Claudia Aceves, Haley Bollinger, Anne-Elisabeth Cavarec, Brennan Cole, Nikko Edwards, Faith Gates, Sal Gebre, Arthur Gonzalez-Martin, Mari Guevara, Deanna Hettinger, Hannah Kooistra, Andrew Lino, Kelsey Matzen, Alex Randolph, Ben Steinberg, Pio Valenzuela Photographers Joesph Barkoff JoshuOne Barnes Jeanine Flaton-Buckley

Celtic Fiddle Music • 3–5 p.m.

• Redwood Café, Cotati • redwoodcafe.com • (707) 7957868 • Free Irish Jam Session • 6–10 p.m.

• Redwood Café, Cotati • redwoodcafe.com • (707) 7957868 • Free Aim West 5th Annual International Film Festival: “One People, One River” • Noon to 9 p.m. • Arlene Francis Center • arlenefranciscenter.org/ calendars/ http://arlenefranciscenter.org/calendars/ • (707) 528-3009

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Thu.

The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek: A film by Naomi Wallace, directed by Ken Sonkin • 7:30 p.m. • Sonoma State University • sonoma.edu/ theatreanddance/productions/ trestle.html • (707) 664-4246 • $10-$17 Silenced: A dance piece honoring the life of Cambodian pop icon Ros Serey Sothea Charya Burt • 8 p.m. • Imaginists Theatre • theimaginists.org • (707) 528-7554 • $20

Fri.

Sylvia, by A.R. Gurney • 8 p.m.

• Wells Fargo Center for the Arts • tickets.wellsfargocenterarts.org/• (707) 546-3600 • $26 The Addams Family • 8 p.m.

• 6th Street Playhouse • 6thstreetplayhouse.com • (707) 523-4185 • $15 - $37 Rhythm Drivers: Blues music • 4:20 p.m. • Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma • lagunitas.com/live/ • (707) 778-8776 • All ages • Free SRJC men’s cross country runs in the Pat Ryan Invitational at 2 p.m. at Spring Lake.

Advertising William Rohrs

Web & Social Media Chantelle Bogue, Julie Lee, Stephen Radley, Jarrett Rodriguez

Admin Assistant Mike Sjoblom Multimedia Stephen Radley, Joshuone Barnes, Jeanine Flaton-Buckley

Contact Newsroom: 707-527-4401 Ads Office: 707-527-4254 Anne Belden, Adviser: 707-527-4867 abelden@santarosa.edu

Distribution Brennan Cole, Nikko Edwards, Sal Gebre, Deanna Hettinger, Andrew Lino, Mike Sjoblom, Pio Valenzuela, Nate Voge

EMAIL oakleaf-ads@santarosa.edu oakleafonline@gmail.com oakleafpr@gmail.com

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SRJCOakleaf

Sun.

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Wed.

Take 2: 2 movie tickets, 2 popcorns and 2 drinks $12 • Wednesdays • 3rd Street Cinema • sregmovies.com/ loc_3rdstreet • (707) 525-8770

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Sat.

French Girls with Farmhouse Odyssey • 8-11:30 p.m. • Phoenix Theatre, Petaluma • thephoenixtheater.com/calendar/ • (707) 762-3565 • $8

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Mon.

Money, Debt and the World We Want • noon to 1 p.m. • Santa Rosa Junior College • Newman Auditorium, Emeritus Hall •santarosa.edu/communityeducation/arts-and-lectures/ • (707) 527-4372 • Free Karaoke with DJ Dennis Anderson • 6:30-9:30 p.m. • Redwood Cafe, Cotati • djdennisanderson.com/ • (707) 7957868 • Free • All ages

Sat.

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Premiere League: Football and full English breakfast • 9:30 a.m. • Toad in the Hole Pub • thetoadpub.com/calendar/ • (707) 544-8623 • Free admission • Full breakfast $13 Petaluma Whiskerino: 56th Annual beer and moustache celebration • 3-6 p.m. • Phoenix Theatre, Petaluma • thephoenixtheater.com/event/ • (707) 762-3565 • Free SRJC Wrestling takes the mats in the North Duals Tournament at 10 a.m in Haehl Pavillion

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We appreciate your feedback.

Send us your letters to oakleafonline@gmail.com or to the Oak Leaf office. They should include your first and last name and be limited to 300 words. Letter may be edited for style, length, clarity and taste. Libelous or obscene letters will not be printed.

Editorials do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the students, staff, faculty or administration.

Check out our website:

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News

3

October 6, 2014

Police employee speaks out Dispatcher faces transfer after filing grievances

JoshuOne Barnes News Editor

A

Santa Rosa Junior College District Police employee with intimate knowledge of investigations into misconduct within the police department came forward to clarify the allegations and to detail what she described as retaliation for her role in bringing the issues to light.

Vanessa Spaeth, a district police dispatcher with nearly 24 years of law enforcement experience, said she faced harassment and an arbitrary job reassignment after filing a sexual harassment grievance against the district police. Spaeth, along with two other employees filed the grievances after being exposed to disturbing child pornography while working at the police headquarters, according to statements she shared with this publication.

The Oak Leaf first reported Sept.

8 that the college hired a private investigator to look into allegations of promoting a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, padding overtime hours and possession of child pornography, reflecting the testimony of unnamed sources close to the investigation. The Press Democrat published an article on the investigations on Sept. 11.

Spaeth felt compelled to clarify what she felt were inaccuracies in the Press Democrat article, and to add details about the child porn exposure and subsequent retaliation. One point Spaeth wanted to make clear was that the thumb drive containing the child porn was a personal device owned by two district employees and should not have contained any evidence.

According to Spaeth and another anonymous source with knowledge of the circumstances, a Community Service Officer found the thumb drive plugged into a computer in an area outside the evidence room. While trying to determine who owned the drive, which was attached to a Mickey Mouse bobble head keychain, the CSO, Spaeth and one other district employee were exposed to more than 40 images of graphic sexual acts involving children.

“The images were very graphic.

It’s not something we would have ever expected to see,” Spaeth said about the discovery. “It was very shocking. And then to find out it was a coworker’s personal device, to me that made it worse.” She added that the district’s policy on sexual harassment includes images and that none of the three employees exposed to the images were trained on how to deal with such material.

This computer that the thumb drive was plugged into is strictly reserved for a limited number of very important district functions, such as audio call logging, keycard

Joseph Barkoff/ OakLeaf

An SRJC District Police dispatcher who has been prevented from speaking under threat of termination discusses the events leading to outside investigations.

access to the entire district and and reporting the incident, control of the college security as per district policy which cameras, according to Spaeth. She requires employees to report any said that if the disc in the CD bay violations of the law or district was ejected, the district’s call audio policy, she was being harassed recording system would have and intimidated at work. crashed, which never happened.

She recalled an episode in which “It wasn’t a computer that the owner of the thumb drive in evidence can be transferred to or question confronted her during a from on any device,” Spaeth said. shift change. During the exchange An employee’s personal thumb the owner allegedly told Spaeth “I drive had no authorized reason to don’t want to see any harm come to be plugged into the computer. you,” which Spaeth assumed was a Spaeth described how Chief Matt veiled threat, she said.

McCaffrey reacted to the original The next day, according to complaints against the department. Spaeth, another employee who “Chief McCaffrey made it clear that was a personal friend of the thumb he had decided this drive’s owner called incident was not her a derogatory sexual harassment. name and bumped “The images were [He] did not want into Spaeth and very graphic. It’s the three victims/ did not offer an not something we witnesses to file apology. would have ever any complaints On the same day expected to see. It with human as the name-calling resources and incident, a sworn was very shocking.” wanted the entire officer within the - Vanessa Spaeth incident kept quiet department sent within the police out a text message d e p a r t m e n t ,” to other officers she stated in a requesting negative document she gave to the Oak Leaf. performance reviews on Spaeth McCaffrey threatened termination with the indication that they would for any employee that spoke about be used to initiate a complaint the incident, according to Spaeth - a with human resources against her. fact verified by emails the chief sent Another source confirmed the to district employees that were shared existence of the texts by the officer. with the Oak Leaf by anonymous Spaeth said the harassment sources within the department. seemed to be escalating and McCaffrey did not return requests she feared for her safety, so for comment by press time. she requested to be put on Chris Reynolds, the Santa Rosa- administrative leave, pending the based private investigator hired by independent investigation. attorneys representing the college Since the investigation was to conduct an investigation into completed, Spaeth said the college allegations of sexual harassment, is now requesting that she take completed his report and found that what amounts to a demotion and no sexual harassment had occurred. loss of benefits by transferring her According to Spaeth’s attorney, into a department and a position the completion of his report freed that she has no experience in.

Spaeth from her requirement to Spaeth shared a letter that showed keep silent about the allegations and human resources wants to move other matters within the department. her to an administrative assistant Spaeth has filed an appeal with the position in the Kinesiology, SRJC Board of Trustees protesting Athletics and Dance department.

Reynolds’ findings.

It is a move that would prevent Spaeth said that within days Spaeth from receiving raises and of turning in the thumb drive cost-of-living increases, she said.

Spaeth said the college requested that she transfer because police department morale dropped after she filed the grievances.

“As you know, for some time there has been low morale and persistent conflict among various employees at the police department which has impaired the efficiency of aspects of departmental functions and operations. It is clear that changes are needed to improve the operational efficiency of that department. Accordingly, we have determined that the operational efficiency in the District Police department necessitates, among other actions, your transfer to a different assignment outside the department,” the letter states.

The collective bargaining agreement between the school and the union specifically forbids a transfer as a substitute for discipline.

“There are two sides to every story,” said SRJC President Dr. Frank Chong. He added that he hadn’t been briefed about the matter by the investigator, and that it would be improper for him to comment given that it was a personnel matter.

Monica Chavez, an employee at the district police declined to comment on the specifics of the case. “Some people involved are like my family,” Chavez said. She added that the department was finally getting back to normal after a dark time. “We are starting to be ourselves and joke around, have potlucks. We just have to move forward and look at the bright side because if not it would just be bad.”

Spaeth, however, offered a different assessment of the workplace. “The current atmosphere at the district police department is that anyone who questions any action within the workplace will be punished, harassed, transferred and otherwise silenced,” she said.

News Briefs Claudia Aceves Staff Writer Students and veterans ride for free Starting Jan. 1, college students and veterans can ride Sonoma County public transit for free with a valid identification card. The yearlong subsidized Fare Pilot Program, ending Dec. 31, 2015, was unanimously approved by Sonoma County supervisors at the Sep. 30 board meeting. It will cost $311,000 and will be paid by the county general fund to Sonoma County Transit.

Shone Farm Fall Festival Santa Rosa Junior College’s Shone Farm in Forestville is hosting a free and familyfriendly Fall Festival in celebration of 42 years of the farm’s history Saturday, Oct. 11. The festival features a lumber milling demonstration, apple pressing and Shone Farm’s award-winning wines and olive oils. Lunch options include fresh Shone Grown ingredients and a Nellie’s Oysters food truck.

Attendees can pick their own pumpkins and vegetables, play with a rotten tomato slingshot, go on hayrides, walk through the forest, meet farm animals, have their faces painted and make stick horses, all presented by SRJC’s Agriculture & Natural Resources Department students.

Additionally, the fourth annual Russian River Mud Run will begin and end at Shone Farm for the first time. SRJC students and faculty get a $15 registration discount with the code SRJC15 at www. russianrivermudrun.com.

Award-winning SRJC wines Sonoma County Harvest Fair judges awarded silver and bronze medals to Santa Rosa Junior College Shone Farm vintage wines in the fair’s professional wine competition. The 2012 Pinot Noir and 2013 Chardonnay received silver medals, and the 2012 Zinfandel received a bronze medal.

The silver medal winners were estategrown, produced and bottled at Shone Farm in the Russian River Valley by SRJC viticulture students.

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Two men follow, harrass student in Petaluma

A

News

October 6, 2014

Lawsuit victor files new $15 mil suit

Kelsey Matzen

Mariana Guevara and Claudia Aceves

Staff Writer

Staff Writers

female student on her way to class was verbally assaulted and sexually harassed by two unidentified men on the Santa Rosa Junior College Petaluma Campus Sept. 10.

The victim was walking along Sonoma Mountain Parkway around 6 p.m. when she heard a whistle, which she ignored.

She continued walking along Academic Drive and heard a male voice call to her. She looked around and saw two men getting out of their vehicle and walking toward her. She quickened her pace, and one yelled “Hey!” to her again, louder and more aggressively.

The man who had yelled then ran up to within five feet of her and unzipped his shorts, pulling them down to expose his boxers to her.

The victim sought help from another female student, telling her what had happened. At this point, the two men got back into their white sedan and drove away.

According to the police report, the victim was afraid.

The victim didn’t report the incident to District Police until Sept. 18 when her friends convinced her it was a story that needed to be shared. The case was immediately closed and filed away under “suspicious circumstances.”

Bert Epstein, the assistant director of Student Health Services, said people have a tendency to blame themselves for being targeted. “I think, unfortunately, our society gives people messages that things that happen to them are due to their own fault,” he said “Another reason why someone might delay or not report an incident of sexual harassment is because they don’t trust authorities to properly deal with it.”

This incident follows a previous investigation into the District Police, for their lack of presence on the Petaluma Campus.

Sgt. Robert Brownlee, of SRJC District Police, said the incident involved “suspicious circumstances” not “sexual harassment” as defined by the school’s disciplinary policy. He believes these men were not students based on their baggy t-shirts and pants, which appeared to be “gang-affiliated.”

“If these two men had been students, it definitely would have been sexual harassment,” Brownlee said. “If these had been students, we would have done our investigation up until the point of identifying this as sexual harassment, then handed the case over to student discipline.”

According to Brownlee, the school deals with inappropriate comments and gestures. “If there had been touching, it would have crossed the threshold into a police matter.”

www.theoakleafnews.com

S

anta Rosa Junior College faces a $15 million lawsuit from a former nursing program faculty member alleging charges of defamation and sexual discrimination.

SRJC hired the plaintiff, Dr. Daniel Doolan, as an adjunct faculty member for the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) Program in 2001. In 2009 he became a full-time, tenure-track SRJC faculty member for the ADN program.

Doolan first filed a lawsuit against SRJC in 2012 citing the manipulation of his tenure process. It alleged that in the second year of Doolan’s tenure review, disagreements arose over the committee’s evaluations of Doolan’s professional abilities and character.

He won $308,000 with a verdict that false allegations were used to justify the termination of his tenure contract.

The first lawsuit, filed Sep. 7, 2012, covers any alleged misconduct up to that date. “But Dr. Doolan continued to experience what we allege was further unlawful conduct thereafter,” said Doolan’s lawyer, Dustin Collier.

“Thus, the subsequent suit involves alleged unlawful conduct by the district after that date.”

Rather than waiting to include the later events in the first lawsuit, Doolan and his attorney decided to file a second one to avoid a trial continuance and undesirable delays, Collier said.

The second lawsuit, currently pending, provides new evidence alleging that Doolan was denied

tenure for his complaints about contributed to the unlawful conduct patient safety issues, legal and how the damages should be compliance and discrimination in divvied up as a result,” he said. the nursing program.

This current suit alleges that in After the first trial, Doolan reapplied the 13 years Doolan was employed, for his position at SRJC and was he was singled out for his gender immediately denied consideration as as the only male nurse in the SRJC a candidate for the job. The refusal to nursing department. consider him for re-hire is included in Doolan felt sexual discrimination the second lawsuit. in the workplace for a variety of Doolan is now suing the Board of reasons. He said some reasons trace Trustees and the individual members back to the nursing field’s long of his tenure review committee history of discriminating against for $15 million. However, the $15 men, Collier said. million is set as a “When the Santa “theoretical cap,” the Rosa Junior College alleged worth of the [nursing program] case, which would “Dr. Doolan was the was founded, it be an extreme result. did not accept first male faculty “We believe Dr. male applicants they ever hired as Doolan’s actual for admission and a full-time, tenuredamages at present track professor in the didn’t employ male are more like $2 faculty,” Collier said. nursing program.” to $3 million, “Dr. Doolan, in my based in part on understanding, was - Attorney Dustin an economist’s the first male faculty Collier valuation of the they ever hired as harm to plaintiff ’s a full-time, tenurecareer and in part on track professor in the results in other cases nursing program.” we find to be similar,” Collier said.

The lawsuit alleges that colleagues The $15 million cap leaves room wrongfully portrayed Doolan as for the judge or jury to award more violent, aggressive and predatory than anticipated as it did in Doolan’s and told him he needed to “speak first lawsuit. more like a woman.” It also alleges If SRJC is found guilty, “the damages that oral and written comments would be assessed against any or all against Doolan spread amongst of them and the plaintiff can collect faculty members with the intention as much of the judgment from each to defame him, and his tenure review defendant as he wants,” Collier said. committee questioned Doolan’s “If the defendants choose, they can competency in the classroom despite sue one another for ‘contribution’ positive in-class evaluations. and ‘indemnity’ in a separate lawsuit, The lawsuit alleges that Doolan was which means the court would punished for his students’ medication determine how much each defendant errors and put on administrative

leave without an explanation. The suit states that Doolan was demoted for mistakes, while others were not punished for similar mistakes.

“Every single female faculty member has also had students with medication errors, and none of them have ever been disciplined and several of them have been promoted,” Collier said.

According to Collier, the alleged gender discrimination Doolan experienced at SRJC is not limited to the nursing department. He said that after the case received press coverage, approximately a dozen other employees in various departments approached him.

“We spoke to women who have been accused of the opposite of Dr. Doolan, of not being firm enough, so there’s a lot of stereotyping going on — a lot of preferential treatment along traditional gender lines,” Collier said.

“There’s a lot of retaliation against anybody who complains.”

All defendants contacted refused to comment on the case.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Mary Kay Rudolph said it would be inappropriate to comment because she needs to respect everyone’s confidentiality, as it is a personnel issue.

ADN Director and SRJC nursing defendant Anna Valdez did not comment because the case is still in litigation.

Gene Elliot, the lawyer representing SRJC, also declined to comment on the case.

The next court date is set for Oct. 8.

SRJC students still struggle with parking Claudia Aceves Staff Writer

E

ven after the addition of 1,081 parking spaces in the fourlevel Zumwalt Parking Pavilion built in 2006, parking remains a struggle for many Santa Rosa Junior College students, especially at the start of each semester.

“The beginning of the semester sucks,” said SRJC student Alex Killinger. She has dealt with parking at SRJC for three years now and was nearly 30 minutes late to class on the first day of school this year.

“It didn’t seem like it was quite as bad before as it is this year,” Killinger said. She has, however, noticed more available parking within the last two weeks.

In his two years of parking at the college, Sebastian (no last name given) learned to arrive on campus nearly an hour and a half prior to his first class to avoid being late. He keeps a pillow in his car to nap or study before heading to class in case he finds a parking spot with time to spare.

“I find that between 8 and 9:30 a.m. there is some basement parking [in

the garage],” Sebastian said.

While a regular parking pass costs students $60 without the Board of Governor’s fee waiver of $30 and ASP membership discount of $15, the SRJC website also offers pre-registered carpool passes, which cost students $25 per person each semester for a two-person carpool and $15 each for a three-person carpool.

Nick Hughes and Ben Hough from Forestville purchased a carpoolparking pass for their commute.

“We planned it out and got the carpool parking pass so we get a guaranteed spot,” Hughes said.

The carpool pass gives access to the designated Quinn parking lot located south of Bailey Field near the Zumwalt garage. However, it is the only lot with designated carpool spaces.

“The nice thing about the regular pass is that you can move to any lot, and with the carpool pass you have to stay there,” Hough said.

Dalton Hooten from Napa and Joshua Bricker from Santa Rosa gave up securing a spot on campus; instead they park on neighboring streets despite the risk of receiving parking tickets by the Santa Rosa Police Department.

“I’m not going to pay $60 for a

Stephen Radley/Oak Leaf

The property at 1700 Mendocino Ave. is the future site of 45 new parking spaces for SRJC students, who regularly complain about overcrowded lots.

parking pass for parking that isn’t always available,” Bricker said.

Hooten is accustomed to walking to campus from as far as two to eight blocks away. “I never bought a pass because I thought I would park in the street,” he said, “but it’s such a far walk I can see how it’s worth the pass.”

However, for students like Jessica Granados who parks nearest to her class in the Bech lot, parking isn’t always a nightmare. “Mornings used to be really bad but I haven’t had any trouble finding a spot,” Granados

said. “So far, so good.”

This year, SRJC purchased the property located at 1700 and 1710 Mendocino Ave. for $1 million to create 45 additional student parking spaces.

Depending on the weather, the parking lot should become active for student use in late spring 2015, said Tony Ichsan, dean of facilities planning and operations.

www.theoakleafnews.com

News

October 6, 2014

Student life absent from student center Kelsey Matzen

Police blotter Nate Voge Features Editor

Staff Writer

Property stolen from student at Bailey Field

T

he designed purpose of the Sana Rosa Junior College Bertolini Student Center is not immediately recognizable on sight: to offer a building where students can escape from the stress and monotony of a school day. Instead, a row of stern portraits depicting the Board of Trustees greets students. In a building supposedly for student use, a cafeteria and a café down the hall are the only two places where students can go to relax and socialize.

Every semester, the SRJC Associated Students works to change and maintain SRJC in ways that will help the students.

One goal is to increase student involvement and garner more interest in aspects of the college besides classes.

According to Associated Students President Josh Pinaula, funding for the years 2007-2008 was severely cut. “Student life really died,” he said.

Though funding eventually went back to normal, student life remained lackluster. In his first semester of presidency, Pinaula is aiming to bring student life back.

“I want to create an atmosphere that connects students to their institution and gets them involved,” he said. “Empowering students to take that one first step to get involved will form connections that lead to even more involvement.”

The one problem preventing

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Stephen Radley/ Oak Leaf

Associated Students President Pinaula states the Bertolini Student Center needs to be more student-oriented.

Associated Students from instituting major changes is money. Much of its budget is spent on predetermined things that keep the college functioning, leaving little money to spend on new projects for the school.

“It’s great we can keep things going, but if there’s no innovation, then we’re doing the students a huge disservice,” Pinaula said.

One aspect of student life that Pinaula and the rest of the Associated Students want to help is clubs. For the 60 clubs on campus, the Associated Students has $9,000, of which $3,000 is restricted, meaning that projects must be approved before money can be accessed.

Due to this restriction, publicity and gaining new members have been a problem for many smaller clubs.

“The college could be doing more to help them,” he said. “If I could get more money into Inter-Club Council, I could ask them for publicity supplies.”

Pinaula is also interested in getting the alumni association back up and running.

“Right now, alumnus are under the umbrella of the SRJC Foundation,” he said. “While the Foundation is more interested in getting money, alumnus want to improve the school.”

Another problem Pinaula perceives is the lack of information sources for both

new and current students. Ideas to alleviate this issue include more public posting areas, a newsletter that consolidates all aspects of the college and “Bearcub Scat,” which involves posting news on the inside of bathroom stalls where students are sure to see it.

However, for Pinaula, the Bertolini Student Center is one of the most important issues.

Despite its title, Bertolini offers very few areas for student life outside of academics and career preparation. Pinaula, along with many other members of Associated Students, believe the building could offer more to students.

Santa Rosa Junior College District Police sent a text message through the app Nixle on Oct. 1 warning students to keep a watchful eye on their belongings because property was stolen from unattended backpacks at Bailey Field. The majority of thefts occurred while students used the track and left their belongings by the bleachers on the west side of the field.

“A common crime which occurs on campus is theft of backpacks, cell phones, tablets, laptops, and purses when the owner leaves them unattended,” the Nixle report stated.

Four students reported petty thefts at Bailey Field Sept. 22 through Sept. 30.

District Police urge all students to also keep car doors locked and valuable items out of sight due to recent break-ins.

Man arrested with liquor on campus

Santa Rosa Police cited Keith Johnson Sept. 30 at 1710 Mendocino Ave., a property recently acquired

by Santa Rosa Junior College, for possession of alcohol on a school property.

1710 Mendocino, formerly a café, is soon to be an SRJC parking facility.

Police also cited Johnson, 53, with a violation of probation.

Saleh and Shamma present “Salaam” Maci Martell Contributing Writer

S

anta Rosa Junior College students and instructors filled the seats of Newman Auditorium at noon Monday, Sept. 22 to listen to a touching and eye-opening lecture on love and relationships in Muslim culture as seen through the perspective of Muslim men.

Ayesha Mattu, 42, an editor, writer and international development consultant and Mohammed Shamma, 42, an Egyptian-American writer, prepared the lecture, entitled “Salaam, Love: American Muslim Men on Love, Sex, and Intimacy.”

The name comes from Mattu’s second anthology released in February, which included Shamma’s short story.

Though Mattu was unable to attend the lecture, SRJC art history instructor Dr. Heidi Saleh took the liberty of relaying Mattu’s prepared speech to the audience. Not only did Saleh list

off Mattu’s impressive credentials and featured works, but she also described Mattu as a Pakistani woman advocate for the end of oppression and discrimination in the Middle East.

In 2007, Mattu and her coeditor began to discuss the oppression and inequality Muslim women face every day.

Mattu started asking Muslim women to share their stories about their search for love and created an open space to communicate freely about relationships. This compilation of stories resulted in Mattu’s first cutting-edge anthology “Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women.”

After the success of Mattu’s first book, Muslim men requested to share their stories because they felt they are also cast in a negative light when it comes to love and relationships.

When writing both of these anthologies, Mattu realized her goal here was to open a cultural dialogue where Muslim women can speak for themselves and the men can share their feelings freely.

Writer Mohammed Shamma had his story “Echoes” featured in Mattu’s “Salaam, Love” in the “Sickness and Health” section of the book. Once Shamma took the podium, he gave some backstory on his life and his qualifications as an American Muslim man to speak on the subject of love and relationships.

Shamma was born in Egypt and raised in Austin, Texas by his Egyptian Muslim father and Baptist Southern American mother. He went to college at the University of Texas in Austin and University of California, Berkeley, where he took courses in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, allowing Shamma to rediscover his heritage.

Shamma met Egyptian-born SRJC instructor Heidi Saleh at Berkeley; they are now married and have two kids together.

When Shamma read excerpts from his story, he provided the audience with a glimpse into his thinking and feelings during some of his hardest struggles in life. At the age of 40, Shamma learned he had pear-shaped

scar tissue in the middle of his heart signifying hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: the same cardiovascular disease that had killed his father at the age of 46, when Shamma was only nine years old.

As Shamma faced the reality of his condition and prepared for his surgery and the defibrillator he would be wearing for the rest of his life, he started appreciating the joyful little moments in life and found a “new gratitude for this [heart] muscle.” His story “Echoes” is divided up into five parts to represent the five stages of the heartbeat and coincidently the five pillars of Islam, the religion that had influenced the majority of Shamma’s life and conflicted with his search for his own identity.

Shamma told his touching recollections in a humorous and sometimes poignant manner and reflected on the personal milestones he has been through as an American Muslim. Despite his heart condition, he remains happy and optimistic with his loving family helping him to forget

his troubles. To Shamma, and many other Muslims, the love and relationships he has with his family is of the upmost importance.

Shamma’s story, along with the stories of the other Muslim Americans in Mattu’s anthologies, breaks the popular misconceptions about Muslims and allows people to see them as human individuals, not unlike themselves.

6

A&E

October 6, 2014

www.theoakleafnews.com

“Prelude” opens with a kiss so sweet Jarrett Rodriguez Managing Editor

Review

A

s a strong kickoff to the 2014-2015 season, the Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts’ production of “Prelude to a Kiss” is less a peck on the cheek and more a full-blown makeout session.

Written by playwright Craig Lucas, the story is timeless yet remains relatively fresh. Peter, the protagonist played by Kot Takahashi, falls for Rita, played by Peyton Victoria. Rita, who is very cynical of love and marriage, is hesitant at first but allows herself to fall for Peter. The two decide to get married after six weeks of dating, knowing that their love is real. But their love is pushed to the limits when a mysterious old man appears at the reception and asks to kiss the bride. When Rita agrees, they kiss and switch bodies without anyone realizing. Over time Peter begins to question his new bride and wonders why she is so different, struggling with his love for her.

From the start, the play hooks you in with its great performances.

Takahashi was spot-on and instantly believable. He comes off as slightly awkward in a fun, lovable way. As the story progresses Peter begins to question not only his sanity but his new bride’s identity. The chemistry between Takahashi and Victoria makes it is easy for audiences to fall in love with both of them.

Victoria’s performance was welldone in the second half of the play.

Rita’s character at first seemed a little cliché and flat. When the bodies are switched, Victoria’s skilled performance comes to life. Watching her play an old man in a woman’s body is not only believable but also downright hilarious. From the way she walks to the excitement she expresses as she experiences being a young

Aries: Take time to relax and rejuvenate before stress takes its toll and you shut down like the U.S. government. The Earth will spin on without you.

woman is fantastic. Peter’s growing skepticism about Rita’s identity results in some exquisitely witty banter. The only chemistry better than that of Takahashi and Victoria happens when the old man gets involved.

The old man, played by Ron Smith, was so convincing as Rita that at times it is easy to actually believe that the two switched bodies. Smith’s entire body language was exactly like Rita’s, from his crossed legs to his hand movements. When Peter finally figures out that Rita and the old man have switched bodies, he stumbles on the old man in the bar, and the two begin to hatch a plan to get her body back. Their interactions with each other are the perfect blend of humor and sadness. The latter emerged toward the end of the play and grasped the attention of the crowd.

The other members of the cast contributed funny moments. Peter’s best friend Taylor, played by Adriano Brown, stole most of the scenes he was in as the drunk, crude guy with no filter. The scenes with Rita’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Boyle, were funny and charming; Trevor Sakai-Jolivet and Govinda Taskey brought them to life with many humorous moments.

Sakai-Jolivet was especially convincing in the more serious moments. His raised voice was enough to silence the theatre like they were being scolded.

The cast was spot on the entire performance, with no flubs or messups whatsoever. The acting worked great against the minimalist stage design, which consisted of several props and a small, shifting backdrop that was used efficiently.

What truly got the audience involved had a lot to do with the small amount of room the actors worked in. When Rita and Peter walk in the city streets, they would walk up the stairs where the audience was sitting, making you turn your head for an extra close focus. Some seemed to not like this approach but most were thrilled by it. It kept the audience focused on the characters and with some suspension of disbelief, it was easy to get lost in.

On a technical level, the lighting and sound were used to great advantage.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Chown

Rita (Peyton Victoria) switches bodies with an old man (Ron Smith) to the dismay of husband Peter (Kot Takahashi).

They brought to life the idea that they were in such locations as New York and Jamaica, while the current soundtrack drove it home that this took place in 2014. The body switches between the old man and Rita were accompanied by psychedelic lights that worked well with the confined space and technology they had.

Though it has a similar plot to PG-rated classics such as “Princess and the Frog” or “Freaky Friday,” the play’s subject matter was more adult-themed and recommended for ages 14 and above. The sparse use of swear words and the occasional sex reference made it seem like it was a lot more adult than most 14-year-olds should be exposed to, so be cautious when bringing them to the show.

“Prelude to a Kiss” wrapped up with an excellent message about the eternity of love, while raising very serious questions: Does love transcend beauty? Can we accept the limits of the human body?

Regardless of the answers you walk away with, the play is definitely worth Photo courtesy of Thomas Chown the price of admission.

Takahashi, Victoria and Smith star in modern fairy tale “Prelude to a Kiss.”

Astrology

-Haley Elizabeth Bollinger

Capricorn: The moon is in your aspect. Your emotions are influencing others, as the tides of your opinions are creating waves of self-introspection. Your playful nature will keep you sane. You survived puberty; you will survive the flux you are experiencing too.

Taurus: Recognize what dilutes your productivity and motivation. Self-change comes from inner strength and a willingness to be brave by turning onto a road you have never traveled.

Cancer: Just like yawns are contagious, so is energy. You might not consider how your attitude affects others but participating in life with a positive outlook will attract positive outcomes for you and others.

Virgo: Only boring people become bored. That saying is annoying like a mother nagging at you. Seduce yourself and be your own buddy. If you follow this path, your boredom will cease to exist.

Scorpio: Finishing a chapter in a book leaves you with a certain kind of sadness, but the next chapter begins and the excitement continues. At first change will make you uncomfortable; embrace the mysterious nevertheless.

Aquarius: Trying to play baseball with a football will only frustrate you. You tend to gravitate toward the negative. It is part of your personality to point out wrongs in our society. Use your words wisely and the proper results will prevail.

Gemini: Win or lose, there will be another game. Obsessing about the final score derails you from enjoying the experience. Be a team player, not a poor sport. No one enjoys a whiner.

Leo: Old routines with new perspectives can feel empty. Take the trash out of your life and you can explore what else interests you. Join a club, experience new foods, play a sport you have always wanted to try; life is too short for should-have could-haves.

Libra: You probably feel like you are a few cherries short of an apple pie.

Lay off the margaritas and study before your fruitful fortune crumbles and you have no place to go.

Sagittarius: Your true nature epitomizes what it means to be fierce. Use your charm and wit for the greater good. You will never truly know how the fires you create influence the universe.

Pisces: You cannot turn back time. Cher wrote a fantastic song about the matter. Stay in the now and keep trekking. When a time machine is available to the public, the universe will let you know.

A&E “Maze” gets lost

October 6, 2014

www.theoakleafnews.com

7

A GOOD DAY FOR A RUN

Sean Curzon

Arthur Gonzalez-Martin

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Review

Review

“The Maze Runner” follows Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), among a group of fellow teenage boys who are trapped inside the center of a giant maze. The film has a decent set up for a fun action thriller, and it is — at least until the movie attempts to explain its own plot.

The film begins with Thomas, whose memory has been wiped, waking up on an elevator that takes him to the center of a huge maze.

He finds other boys there, and together they must figure out the mystery of the maze. Unfortunately for them, the maze changes shape every night. If they are not at the center of the maze by sundown, they are attacked by cyborg spider slugs called Grievers. What follows is a simple “let’s-get-out-of-themaze” plot. The film falls apart when it explains what has been going on with a frustrating series of overcomplicated non-answers.

None of the characters feel all that memorable; they are defined by a single trait rather than any real characteristics. Thomas in

“Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director’s Cut” is a classic cyberpunk world of megacorps with standing armies, robot limbs and everything microchipped — but it takes things a step further.

In 2012, magic is reintroduced to the world. North America splits into smaller countries as super-powered Native Americans take back their homeland from the U.S. People mutate into elves, dwarves, orks and trolls, sparking the greatest and largest race riot called “The Night of Rage.”

This is where “Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director’s Cut” comes in. It’s the stand-alone of an expansion pack for Kickstarter-funded turn-based RPG videogame “Shadowrun Returns,” and an encore for the “Dragonfall” expansion.

The core game was a mess, to say the least. It had controls more suited for an Android or iPad than PC, an overly linear story and unbalanced gameplay. The archaic save system didn’t do it any favors either.

You play a Shadowrunner invited by a veteran Shadowrunner to do a “milk run” in anarchist–controlled Berlin known as “The Flux State,” where you run into a conspiracy involving a dragon that set all of Germany ablaze for months before it was brought down by the military.

The UI’s improved across all platforms. You can save anywhere instead of a checkpoint system, and you have new toys to play with like smartlink guns, long range sniper rifles, a highdamaging grenade launcher and throwing stars.

You now have more of a hand in how your squad operates. One inclusion is the ability to improve the cyborg medic’s attack speed or style. Character creation is still the same; you pick a class to play like the trigger-happy street samurai, spirit-controlling shaman and the computerhacking decker or make your own class by spending experience points. Also improved is flanking in combat.

The A.I. isn’t anything to brag about. Opponents either group together or gang up on your character as soon as combat starts. If you don’t have enough hit points, you’re going to spend most of your playtime getting revived or spending costly medpacks before the end of turn one.

Despite this flaw, this expansion is an improvement to the core game, and the lore remains as rich as ever.

Photo courtesy of teaser-trailer.com

Thomas and the other teens are running for their lives to figure out the secrets of the labyrinth in “The Maze Runner.”

particular seems bland. He starts out as a guy who needs things explained to him, but after that is done he is still not all that emotionally developed.

Worse, the other characters keep talking about how special he is. All he really does is ask basic common sense questions and stumble across things by luck.

For example, he asks why they were put in the maze and all the other boys look like they never considered that.

To be fair the acting isn’t bad, but the script doesn’t let the actors grow into their roles.

“The Maze Runner” really shines in its set design. The maze itself looks amazing; it is an impressive, giant piece of concrete walls and gears. The tangled vines growing around the walls give the maze a real aged feeling. Combined with such huge gears behind the gate, the overall effect gives the maze a creepy aura.

The sound design is also well done. When the maze changes forms, it makes loud clangs and chugs that create a menacing presence. Animal sounds add to the atmosphere, despite the lack of animals; only the Grievers

show up at night but they are not natural creatures. It creates a weird disconnect. There are birds chirping and monkeys howling, but they are never shown on screen. Some sort of animal is brought up with Thomas on the elevator in the cage, but it never shows what happens to the creature or what the creature is.

Overall, “The Maze Runner” is a fun ride up until the last 10 minutes. At that point the film dissolves into a large expository dump, which doesn’t make a lick of sense. Ultimately, the movie confuses complicated answers with being smart.

Stay dead, Moriarty Alex T. Randolph Copy Editor

Opinion

F

ans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective Sherlock Holmes know the criminal genius Professor James Moriarty.

Best known for killing the famous sleuth when they both tumbled off a waterfall locked in mortal combat, the professor has since served as the primary antagonist of just about every “Sherlock Holmes” adaptation. Now he’s shoehorned into stories that originally didn’t have anything to do with him.

Yes, one of the most famous fictional villains in history was virtually made up out of whole cloth by centuries of fans and has little resemblance to the character that Sir Doyle actually created.

What most people don’t realize about the famous “The Adventure of the Final Problem” (two-centuryold spoilers) is that it’s a misnomer: their final confrontation was their only confrontation, and Moriarty doesn’t even show up.

The story skips right over the promised battle of minds. It begins with Holmes informing his friend Dr. John Watson about “The Napoleon of Crime,” how Holmes has engaged this never-before-

Photos courtesy of wikipedia.org and peterkiernan.wordpress.com

Left: Holmes and Moriarty engage in mortal combat in “The Final Problem.”

Right: Andrew Scott plays criminal mastermind Jim Moriarty in “Sherlock.”

mentioned mastermind in an amazing clash of wits and how darn it, you just missed it, but it was epic.

The story is entirely composed of Holmes giving exposition to Watson, Holmes traveling the British countryside with Watson and Holmes giving even more exposition to Watson. Nothing else happens.

That’s right — the story that was meant to be the last Holmes story ever told involves the Great Detective doing no detective work whatsoever. You could be pardoned for thinking that Holmes made Moriarty up as an excuse to go farting around with his best buddy, seeing as how we only have his word that Moriarty exists at all.

Even the final confrontation happens off-screen. Watson shows up to see a note written by Holmes about his last stand against the mad genius, who apparently was polite enough to just wait there while Holmes wrote it.

The real reason behind the seemingly final episode in Holmes’ adventures was that Doyle was sick of writing about the guy and needed a plot device to get rid of him. Later Doyle caved to public protest and started writing more Holmes anyway — but no more Moriarty for Doyle.

However, Moriarty would not go gently into the night.

Following adaptations heavily feature the professor, usually as the mastermind behind several different capers.

The “Sherlock Holmes” stage play, which started in 1899 and went on for over 30 years, had Moriarty cast as the main villain.

Steven Moffat’s modernday adaptation, “Sherlock,” has Moriarty as the mastermind behind nearly every crime in the first two seasons.

The cartoon show “Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century,” which was every inch as crazy as it sounds, showcases Moriarty shoehorned into just about every single episode.

Two hundred years later, and Moriarty is now a masterful villain who clashes with Holmes many, many times in elaborate mental chess games, a far cry from the deus ex machina he originally was.

The idea of the World’s Greatest Detective clashing wits with the World’s Greatest Criminal Mind is a fascinating idea, and led to some great stories – the character portrayed in “Sherlock” is a blast to watch.

While the truth behind the myth disappoints, it is perhaps best to remember the character as we all want him to be, not the character he actually was. Maybe it’ll retroactively becomes canon.

ONE DAY AT A

Dealing with substance abuse from a s Q&A with Phil Parfitts

Q. At what stage of your recovery did you decide to attend SRJC and what were the results?

A. I knew I wouldn’t maintain my sobriety, which became important, so I enrolled in college. It kept me busy; it got me off the street and gave me some direction. If I had free time to hang out in downtown Santa Rosa, I knew I would just get back into trouble.

School was simple but it was very hard to relate to other people. After being locked up basically for four years I just didn’t know how to communicate with normal people in any way.

So I was clean and sober but not happy at all. I mean, drugs were my escape from everything.

I felt alone. I had all my walls up and didn’t let anyone in. I noticed that the other students seemed happy and had goals in their lives.

Slowly people befriended me, and I started recognizing people from AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) in the process of bettering themselves also. I realized I could change and that gave me hope.

I took sociology, psychology and technology/ computer classes, 12-18 units per semester.

I got my A+ computer hardware certificate, Net + computer networking certificate and Cisco, a more in-depth computer networking certificate. I got my A.A. from SRJC and transferred to Sonoma State, graduating with a BA in sociology in 2008.

Q. When did you feel things started improving in your life or one of the major turning points in your recovery?

A: With all of my rehabilitation services through Child Protective Service (CPS), school was starting to resocialize me to society. I didn’t have to be on guard all of the time. I learned that not everyone in the world was a threat. I could trust people. Life wasn’t hell.

I realized it wasn’t an outside thing, it the inside.

It was all my perspective.

Q. What would you say to an SRJC student struggling with alcohol and drug addiction?

A. If you’re still going to the JC, you have a lot to lose if you go down the path of self-destruction.

You could end up on the street like I did. You don’t have to go down that far to realize that your life is unmanageable. It’s going to take you to those other places I’ve already been. I would tell them there are a lot of resources at the school: counselors and people they can talk to. I would also recommend checking out AA and/or NA and get a support system.

True stories of students recovering from the brink of abuse After shuffling between school expulsions, arrests and a five-year prison sentence, former Santa Rosa Junior College student Phil Parfitt’s path of self-destruction is now a 17-year-long path of selfconstruction.

“I can’t believe it. I feel good inside.

I never thought that it was possible,” he said.

Parfitt, 44, had lost his son to Child Protective Services (CPS) after his girlfriend was arrested for selling methamphetamine while he was serving time for his fourth felony.

Despite his early release for good behavior and desire to get his son back, he didn’t take his recovery process seriously, only doing it for the courts.

“But at some point it all changed,” he said. “CPS had me do anger management, parenting classes and outpatient drug rehabilitation at [Drug Alternative Abuse Center] in Santa Rosa.”

He became clean and sober for two years, enrolled at SRJC, transferred to Sonoma State University and completed rehab. “I was clean and sober, but not happy at all,” he said. “Drugs were my escape from everything. I felt alone. I noticed that the other students seemed happy and had goals in their lives.”

Parfitt attributes his change in attitude to Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 Steps program.

“I learned how to treat other people and to not always try to get but give,” he said. “Slowly people befriended me, and I started recognizing people from AA and [Narcotics Anonymous] in the process of bettering themselves also. I realized I could change and that gave me hope.”

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2013, an estimated 21.6 million

people aged 12 or older were classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year, 14.7 million of which were dependent on or abusing alcohol but not illicit drugs and 2.6 million were classified with dependence or abuse of both.

The disease of addiction does not discriminate. Not only does it permeate every level of an addict’s life, but it also engulfs the lives of those around them. Untreated alcoholism and drug addiction ruins lives, and intervention is sometimes necessary to come faceto-face with addiction.

SRJC student Jaylene’s path to recovery started when her daughter’s father told her if she did not go to the Orenda Detox Center’s 31-day inpatient program, she wouldn’t be able to see her daughter. At that point, she admitted she had a problem and checked herself in.

Jaylene has attempted to go to school more than once at SRJC with some periods of success, but sooner or later the consequences of her drinking and drug use got in the way. “I was trying to go to school and using needles and methamphetamines and spending all of my FAFSA money,” Jaylene said.

During the Fourth of July weekend in 2013, Jaylene was staying at the Samuel L. Jones Homeless Shelter.

With money she received from the Human Services Department’s General Assistance Program, instead of using it for drinking or using drugs, she made a decision. “I can throw my life away one more time or check into [the] Sam Jones Homeless Shelter and get off of drugs,” Jaylene said. She is now an SRJC student once again, clean and sober and a member of AA and attends meetings on a regular basis.

The majority of health risks due to drug and alcohol abuse potentially occur over the course of one evening, not after decades of abuse. According to a 2013 SRJC National College Health Assessment II survey, 35.5 percent of students did something they regretted, 28.8 percent forgot their locations or actions, 23.4 percent had unprotected sex and 17.8 percent were physically injured when they were drunk.

According to John Lavitt, a reporter

Alcohol use by SRJC students 3.3%

14.5%

39.8%

23.1%

in 2013 Have never consumed alcohol.

No alcohol in the last 30 days.

1-9 times in the last 30 days.

19.3%

10-29 times in the last 30 days.

Consumed every day for 30 days.

Polled from 995 students

32% of SR

five or more d for the Fix, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2014 is a rare bipartisan effort to make $80 million available to states and local governments to expand drug treatment, prevention and recovery. “[It] represents a significant step forward in how we understand and address addiction,” said Patrick Kennedy, a former congressman from Rhode Island who previously suffered from drug and alcohol addiction.

“The bottom line is that addiction and other mental illnesses are treatable, and recovery is real.”

Cheryl Sherwood, an SRJC groundskeeper for 15 years, has found evidence of students engaging in alcohol and drug abuse on campus.

Another gardener told her he had found four bottles of Crown Royal in his garbage can in a week.

“I mean that’s a lot. We find them in the trash all over campus. They throw them into the shrubs and they leave them in the parking lots,” Sherwood said.

SRJC and the greater community offer resources for students to address their addiction, whether they are in or out of recovery.

Cindy Dickinson, an SRJC nurse practitioner, conducts 15-minute sessions to examine students’ general wellbeing.

“A lot of students’ drug and alcohol problems are discovered while taking care of their physical complaints,” Dickinson said. “Someone may be smoking marijuana to calm themselves, or maybe alcohol has become a big issue, or there are a variety of different drugs that they are using and that there may be a problem. Students get very brief, limited cognitive therapy that is helpful for a number of conditions, but it’s not enough.”

If students don’t want to give up their academic units and need more guidance, Dickinson refers them to the California Human Development

A TIME

Negative effects of drinking on student perspective SRJC students Regret actions that caused RJC students consumed 36% them to do something bad 29%

Blacked out and forgot where they were and what they did

Had unprotected sex while under the influence

18%

drinks in the last two weeks

Ran into trouble with law enforcement 5.4%

Had sex without giving consent

2.2%

Thursdays and Fridays. In addition, an Al-Anon, a support group for those affected by someone else’s drinking or drug use, also has 12-step meetings on Mondays from noon to 1 p.m. in Plover Hall, Room 540. The original Thursday AA meetings are still taking place at noon.

“The wonderful thing about the 12-step program is not just personal recovery but the creation of community and people feeling understood,” Dickinson said. “There is so little long-term therapy available right now for SRJC students.”

According to Dickinson, AA can be a free and effective tool for students.

“They might find it’s a pathway, not only to recovery but self-discovery,” she said.

Greg J. is an AA volunteer and currently a meeting secretary at the Campobello Rehabilitation Center.

He has volunteered to run the new AA meetings on campus until he finds secretaries willing to make the standard six-month AA commitment.

While attending a meeting on campus and living in a nearby Sober Living Environment, he noticed the struggling AA meetings needed help.

“This was an opportunity for me to give back to something that was given to me,” he said.

Parfitt said his courses in sociology and psychology taught him that most people end up repeating the way they were raised, which is why he only saw his son on weekends.

After achieving sobriety, he reconnected with his son, who just became a high school graduate, a title Parfitt never earned.

“He has never been in trouble. He is a happy kid with goals,” he said. “I am just happy I could be a positive person in his life, and not someone who brought him down.”

Were physically hurt in some way

Had sex without getting consent

1.3%

Corporation’s outpatient program, which has services in both the daytime and evening and works around students’ schedules. If a student needs to show up every day, someone will always be there to offer assistance.

SRJC currently doesn’t screen for drugs and alcohol because there is no set system of referral and intervention.

Student Health Services staff is working with the county on a program called SBIRT, standing for Screening, Briefing, Intervention, Referral and Treatment. It is a comprehensive and community-based effort supported by programs like the Drug Abuse Alternative Center (DAAC) in Santa Rosa, which provides thousands of individuals and families with tools and guidance to live free from the bonds of drug addiction and alcoholism. The DAAC facilities are within walking distance from SRJC and serve all of Sonoma County.

According to Jeane Erlenborn, an SRJC health promotions specialist, DAAC has been a great resource for SRJC students, but is underutilized.

“We know that substance abuse gets in the way of being a successful student and that students are really busy,” she said. The Student Health Services’ mission is to accommodate students in any way they can support their sobriety and ability to succeed.

SRJC provides the educational component necessary for certification through the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Educators (CAADE).

Students completing the coursework are eligible to take the exam to become an Addiction Treatment Specialist. The SRJC Human Services Alcohol and Drug program is accredited by CAADE. Due to students requests, SRJC has added three new AA meetings a week starting Monday, Oct. 4 and continuing through the week.

They meet at 9 a.m. Wednesdays,

23%

Of students have physically 3.8% injured another person

2.7%

Seriously felt compelled to take their own lives.

Drove a car after having more than five drinks that same day.

3.7%

Surveyed from 995 SRJC students in 2013 by the American College Health Association

www.theoakleafnews.com

Sports

October 6, 2014

Bear Cubs’ undefeated heading into conference play Joseph Barkoff

11

Bear Cubs tie with Chabot Ben Steinberg

Sports Photo Editor

Staff writer

T

he Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs football squad took the field the evening of Oct. 4 with five and zero in their sights and a College of the Sequoias team standing in their way.

The Bear Cubs kept the visitors off the scoreboard through 55 minutes. With just over four minutes remaining COS booted in a lone field goal making the final score 28-3.

COS opened the game with an unglorious kickoff bouncing out of bounds at the Bear Cub 35-yard line. With a beautiful pass from Christian McAlvain to Damen Jones, the Bear Cubs had a quick 30-yard gain and were set up on the 3-yard line first-and-goal.

The Bear Cubs stalled out and McAlvain was almost intercepted in the end zone on third down. On fourth, opting for a field goal, the Bear Cubs had a bad snap, missing their first scoring chance with a turnover on downs and change of possession, leaving COS with excellent field position.

Riddled with penalties, threeand-outs by both squads, it was a race to see who’s sputtering engine would fire on all cylinders and run in the first half until the Bear Cubs, with McAlvain driving, strung together a drive of 80-yards in just over five minutes.

The first half ended with the Bear Cubs up 7-0 thanks to a quick over the top 8-yard pass to Terrence Drew

T

Photo by Joseph Barkoff/Oak Leaf

Defensive tackle Nick Kristofors howls at the night sky after sacking the College of Sequioas quarterback, with a hand from defensive end Marvin White, in the fourth quarter Oct. 4 at Baiely Field Santa Rosa.

for the first score of the day.

The Bear Cubs’ defense was a stingy group throughout the evening, sacking both COS quarterbacks early and often, punching through COS’s offensive line to stop their ball carriers for losses in the backfield and making some textbook open field tackles on the occasion a ball carrier actually made it past the line of scrimmage.

With conference play just around the corner, the Bear Cubs’ level of competition is going to increase exponentially.

“It kind of feels like we got into a fight, and now the big brother is coming ‘cause the teams in our conference are going to be a lot better

than teams we have played in the first five. We’ve got to improve on a lot of things real fast,” said head coach Lenny Wagner.

Next week the Bear Cubs have a bye, but the following two weeks are away games. First the Bear Cubs play College of San Mateo and the following week take the field against San Francisco City College who before this Oct. 4’s games were ranked 4 and 13 respectively in the nation. The Bear Cubs will not have an easy time at either school, but are completely within the realm of possibility to come out ahead.

Photo by Joseph Barkoff/Oak Leaf The Bear Cubs next home game is Freshman Kenny Carter carries the 5:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Bailey Field. ball for a final touchdown Oct. 4.

Polar Bears dominate two nights of hockey at Snoopy’s Joseph Barkoff Sports Photo Editor

T

he Polar Bears skated to back-to-back decisive victories, crushing San Francisco State University Oct. 3 and stomping Stanford University Oct. 4 on their home ice at Snoopy’s Home Ice in Santa Rosa.

Friday night the Polar Bears outscored SFSU 18-0 despite not purposely running up the score.

It could have been much worse for SFSU, but the Polar Bears performed with integrity.

When the puck dropped against Stanford on Saturday night, the Polar Bears came out slow in the first period. Stanford’s lines have some great speed and a skilled goalie who kept the Polar Bears out of the net, only allowing one score in the first period.

The Polar Bear penalty kill put on a spectacular display when Tommy Dennen took a trip to the box at 8:10, followed by another roughing penalty just 55 seconds later by Josiah Nikkel. The defense denied Stanford a score, killing both penalties.

The first period ended 1-1. The Polar Bears came out in the second and third periods refocused, moving the puck around, passing and scoring often.

The Polar Bears defeated

Photo by Joseph Barkoff/Oak Leaf

Sophie Angel shoots the puck on San Francisco State University’s net in the second period Oct. 3 at Snoopy’s Home Ice.

Stanford 14-1.

The gap in skill on the ice was apparent from the first drop of the puck and head coach Mike Kovanis feels games like these two are exceptions.

“This is the rarity, not the norm for sure,” Kovanis said. “We are definitely going to get into the stretch of our schedule in the next month [and] through the month of

November; we start playing some very competitive teams.”

Kovanis cited next week’s game against a tough Santa Clara who the Polar Bears faced in last year’s championship tournament.

“They will provide a very good test,” he said.

Ryan Ellis and Joshua Greenwell both scored their first goals in Polar Bears uniforms against SFSU.

“I didn’t think it was real for the first five seconds; it was amazing,” Ellis said.

SRJC’s lone female player, Sophie Angel, enjoyed some ice time and picked up her first assist of the season while hovering at center on the crease.

The next home game is against UC Davis at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Snoopy’s Home Ice in Santa Rosa.

he Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs surpassed expectations tying Chabot College 24-24 on Oct. 3, with strong showings from Captains Richard Morris and Gregg Robinson. The Bear Cubs were down wins early against the more experienced Chabot but never gave up, battling back to secure the impressive tie.

The Bear Cubs consist of a lot of young wrestlers entering their first year at the SRJC. It was important for the sophomore captains to lead by example – And boy did they.

Robinson put on a show in his duel matchup against Elijah Johnson at 174 pounds.

After narrowly missing out on securing the pin in the opening round, Robinson was almost taken down by Johnson in the second round, but in a dramatic turn of events Robinson reversed the take down, slamming Johnson to the ground with a powerful throw and transition to top control to secure the pin and win the scrap.

“Greg is going into his third year and maturing at 20-years-old. He has so much heart,” said coach Jake Fitzpatrick. “I’m glad he got to put on a show in front of his family who made the trip from Fresno to see him hit the mats.”

“He went for the shot, and I was able to get my foot down and it was over from there for him,” Robinson said.

After picking up a tournament victory 19-9 over Cesena a few weeks prior in Sacramento, Richard Morris, at 141 pounds, was again cruising to a blowout decision win, picking up huge takedowns in the first and second rounds until Cesena put together an epic comeback with one minute to go in the third round. Cesena secured a takedown and a fall, pulling the match to 12-10 with 20 seconds to go, but Morris managed to defend the takedown at the end and grit the victory out.

“I started out great. I felt good going into the match because I already saw what he had in Sacramento,” Morris said. “I got away from my game-plan and didn’t continue to circle and wrestle and he was able to catch me there at the end but my preparation had me ready and I was able to weather the storm there,” Morris said.

Remarkably Morris had to drop 10 pounds to make weight for the match an hour before weigh-ins.

“It was his first time dropping weight and doing a weigh-in a couple hours before a match; he performed excellent,” Fitzpatrick said. “He got a little flat at the end, but we see Morris at 141, and we plan on bumping him up to 149.”

Oct.3 kicked off SRJC’s 50th year in wrestling and coach Fitzpatrick’s 30th year as the head coach.

The Bear Cubs’ next meet is at 7 p.m. Oct. 8 against Skyline College in Tauzer Gymnasium.

12

Sports

October 6, 2014

Scoreboard Football Sept. 27 SRJC- 28, Sacramento CC-21 Oct.4 SRJC-28, Sequoias-3 Men’s Soccer Sept. 26 SRJC-0, San Joaquin Delta-1 Sept. 30 SRJC-4, Modesto-2 Oct.3 SRJC-0, Napa-0 [T] Women’s Soccer Sept. 26 SRJC-1, Consumnes River-0 Sept. 30 SRJC-2, San Joaquin Delta-0 Oct.3 SRJC-2, Modesto-0 Men’s Water Polo Sept. 26 SRJC-6, DeAnza-12 SRJC-8, Cabrillo-12 SRJC-6, DeAnza-7 Sept. 27 SRJC-5, Las Positas Club-9 SRJC-9, Ohlone-12 Oct.1 SRJC-6, Sierra-13 Oct.3 SRJC-4, Ventura-11 SRJC-4, Mt. San Antonio-14 Women’s Water Polo Sept. 12 SRJC-10, Cerritos-6 SRJC-8, Mt. San Antonio-13 Sept. 13 SRJC-3, Golden West-11 SRJC-4, Riverside-20 Sept. 26 SRJC-3, Foothill-10 Oct.1 SRJC-6, Sierra-7 Oct.3 SRJC-3, Cuesta-14 SRJC-2, Fullerton-15 Volleyball Oct.1 SRJC-3, Sacramento-2 Oct.3 SRJC-0, San Joaquin Delta-3 Men’s Cross Country Sept. 26 8th place Hockey Sept. 25 SRJC-6, College of the Canyons-2 Sept. 26 SRJC-8, College of the Canyons-2 Sept. 27 SRJC-5, CSU Fullerton-6 Oct.3 SRJC-18, San Francisco State-0 Oct.4 SRJC-14, Stanford-1 Wrestling Oct. 3 SRJC-24, Chabot-24 [T]

www.theoakleafnews.com

A physical specimen: Bear Cubs’ John Amandoli Brenann Cole Staff Writer

F

our words to describe the ideal defensive end in football: tall, fast, strong, quick. Two words to name him: Jonny Amandoli.

Amandoli graduated from Sonoma Valley High School in the spring of 2013, shortly after being crowned the Sonoma County League’s Defensive Player of the Year. As a PrepStar athlete, he also came up just short of earning a trip to the state tournament as a wrestler. Not to mention that he was highly regarded as one of the county’s top sprinters during the track season. This stud was born with a rare breed of athleticism.

At 6’2” and weighing 230 pounds, Amandoli is a physical specimen — a term delicately bestowed on only rare occurrences like J.J. Watt, Lebron and Colin Kaepernick — and Amandoli is that special.

However, Amandoli came to a crossroads in between high school and college when he began contemplating to give up one of his biggest talents: football.

“I really wanted to focus on school, but at the same time I didn’t want my high school years of football to be my last,” Amandoli said. “Football is a great place to build bonds with teammates, and I’ve been lucky enough to join the JC’s football family.”

Amandoli, a redshirt freshman, found himself making an immediate impact on the revamped Bear Cubs’ defense.

Starting at defensive end, it isn’t often that No. 59 is on the sideline.

He is a force on the defensive line who is just beginning to become acclimated to the fast pace of collegiate football.

After being an integral part of many relatively unsuccessful Sonoma High football teams, Amandoli said, “It feels good being a part of a winning team here at the JC.”

SRJC Athlete

Photo by Joseph Barkoff/Oak Leaf

Drew Jackson (11) and John Amandoli (59) combine to sack the College of Sequoias QB Oct.4. on SRJC’s Bailey Field.

Amandoli isn’t looking past SRJC quite yet.

“Right now I’m just taking things week by week, and preparing myself as best I can to maximize my performance this upcoming week,” he said. “But I plan on adding around 20 pounds of muscle this offseason to better prepare me for next year.”

Coach Wagner agreed. “His lone weakness is his size. He needs to have another great offseason in the weight room in order to take his game to the next level,” he said.

The offseason for the team typically involves very limited organized team activities, designed to allow players to rest and recover their bodies from the treacherous workload endured throughout the season.

For Amandoli, perhaps the most intense time of the year for him is the offseason.

“John is a blue-collar worker.

He punches the clock everyday and is always working to improve

both his on and off the field abilities,” Wagner said.

“My [offseason] training regimen is very intense and timeconsuming, and I am willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to be the best football player I can be,” Amandoli said.

While the SRJC football team is often criticized for being “undersized,” the football program’s philosophy is predicated on making up for its smaller team with players who are faster and stronger than their rivals.

While his numbers aren’t exactly eye-popping, Amandoli’s contributions can’t be defined through statistics.

Whether it’s getting pressure on the quarterback or plugging a hole in the trenches, Amandoli has quickly emerged as one of the defense’s most valuable players.

He has two sacks on this year so far, settling in as one of the most dominant and versatile defensive ends in the conference. With his unique abilities to both rush the

Photo by Joseph Barkoff/Oak Leaf

John Amandoli pulls Butte College’s QB to the ground for a sack Sept. 13.

passer and stop the run, he will most certainly draw attention from numerous Division I schools as he moves forward.

Amandoli said he would like to see more of the student body come out and support the team.

The Bear Cubs’ next game is against College of San Mateo at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 in San Mateo.

Jock Talk

Your teammates make What app do you use _______is your good What are your plans for Halloween? luck charm. fun of you for what? the most?

Favorite Athlete?

My new nickname is “Ebola” because I was sick and missed practice.

Twitter.

Eating Lucky Charms. Going to Chico for Halloween.

Mike Trout.

Keenan They don’t make fun of me.

Tuohi

iFunny.

I listen to heavy music It’s my dad’s birthbefore games. day on Halloween so something with him.

Aldon Smith.

Vinny Albano –baseball

– football

Clayton Chesnet

My crazy life experiences.

Clash of Clans.

– water polo

The way my hands are Darcy when I run.

Forsythe

– soccer

Snapchat.

Coke-Cola boxers. Relax and give out candy while doing homework.

I don’t have one.

Going to Chico for Halloween.

Michael Phelps.

Lionel Messi.

www.theoakleafnews.com

Opinion

October 6, 2014

The simple beer necessities of life

EDITORIAL S

onoma County’s Nov. 4 ballot includes a bond measure proposal from Santa Rosa Junior College, and any objection to receiving $410 million seems nonsensical, considering the college’s needs – and the fact that Measure H is only the second bond proposal drafted and put on the ballot by the school since 1938.

In 2002 Sonoma County voters approved Measure A, a $251.7 million bond used for “expanding existing and constructing new facilities such as classrooms, libraries and laboratories; repairing deteriorating classrooms and replacing portable classrooms with permanent classrooms,” according to the Sonoma County sample ballot in March 2002. Measure A was also designed to help solve the parking problem.

With Measure A approved, SRJC tripled the size of the Petaluma campus. The bond also gave the Santa Rosa campus new buildings like the Bertolini Student Center, Burdo Culinary Arts Center, Doyle Library and the Zumwalt Parking Pavilion.

Twelve years later, SRJC has proposed a similar bond measure. Measure H’s list of potential projects “include but are not limited to constructing, upgrading and expanding veterans’ support, job training and other facilities; modernization projects at numerous facilities; repairs of roofs and electrical, plumbing, heating and mechanical systems and refinancing or retirement of outstanding lease obligations.”

The college created a template of how it intends to use the bond measure. Many of the planned

Andrew “Beau” Lino

B

Illustration by Chantelle Bogue

projects involve modernizing, renovating or entirely rebuilding math, science and generalpurpose computer labs. The full list of planned “capital projects” is available on SRJC’s website.

One problem with these planned projects is that the bond’s wording on the measure is vague enough that the college is not required to spend any of the money on what is outlined in the proposal.

Still, it’s impossible to predict the future, so having some flexibility in dispensing funds to meet whatever needs may arise in the future will be a good thing.

Measure H’s bond will increase property taxes throughout Sonoma County, with the average homeowner looking to pay about $67 more a year. This

Illustration by Chantelle Bogue

Communiqué:

T

13

his fall, a unique opportunity arose for the Oak Leaf: one of our writers, Faith Gates, entered SRJC’s Study Abroad program and left to study in Paris, France.

Simultaneously, Anne-Elisabeth Cavarec, a French exchange student enrolled in the SRJC International Student Program, joined the Oak Leaf staff.

We’ve asked them to share their experiences with the Oak Leaf ’s readers as they discover new things studying and living in a different country:

tax shouldn’t concern most SRJC students; according to SRJC’s records, more than half of students enrolled are under age 25 - not a property-owning demographic.

What should concern students, the people for whom the money is meant, is that so far they have had little say on how SRJC spends these bond funds.

Currently the members of the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee are all local business owners whose views on how the bond money should be spent may not align with what’s best for SRJC or its students.

Associated Students President Joshua Pinaula raised his concern about how Bertolini Student Center, funded by Measure A, was designed for students to escape their hectic life,

yet it feels more like a shrine to the Board of Trustees. This is a prime example of the previous bond’s money being spent on a building intended for students to use, but without feeling like a building for students.

SRJC President Dr. Chong has said he wants to set up a transparent, democratic process of prioritizing Measure H’s bond money.

To be truly successful, this effort must involve student input.

The Oak Leaf urges SRJC’s students to vote yes on Measure H. Passing the bond will be the first step in using our voices to determine how Measure H’s funds can be spent to improve our education and our campus for the future.

on the differences between French and American social life Anne-Elisabeth: I left France to study this semester through the SRJC International Student Program. I’ve had the opportunity to study journalism and English as a second language. Both classes have brought me a lot of knowledge.

Faith: I joined the Oak Leaf over a year ago as a staff writer and then became News Editor my second semester. During my year at the Oak Leaf, I frequently covered the SRJC Study Abroad program.

It caught my interest and now I’m in Paris for the semester!

AE: Many foreigners who have lived here (in the U.S.) for a long time told me it’s very difficult to make real American friends. And it’s very difficult to meet people outside of family and work priorities.

I’ve started feeling it’s probably true. In France we easily and often share a drink outside “pour parler de tout et de rien” (to talk about every big or small thing), and friendship is a very important value in our life.

F: I’ve actually been reading about the difference between French and American friends. Apparently in America we are super friendly and

talk to everyone, but only have a few close friends.

The French aren’t easy to start a conversation with, but once they do become your friend, they are really good at maintaining friendships. It made me sad that Americans seem so shallow.

I hope we’re not all guilty of that. I’ve definitely enjoyed getting drinks with my friends at night.

AE: I don’t mean Americans are shallow. I think it’s more a question of priorities in life.

I am just thinking maybe American people focus more on work and family and that French share their time more between family, work and friendship. We have only a few close friends, too, but I feel we give more time to foster this specific kind of relationship.

O

n Oct. 9, check out what Faith and Anne-Elisabeth have to say about French and American public transportation @ theoakleafnews.com New “Communiqué” every Thursday!

Staff Writer

acchus is out of date — it’s time to tip your glass to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of ale. From ancient Sumeria to Santa Rosa, beer has been a human staple for thousands of years.

If you’re tired of seeing the limousines winding slowly down the road, drifting aimlessly from vineyard to vineyard, unaware they are holding up the working class, you are probably a beer drinker. Just look at how their pinky fingers stick out as they daintily tip the thin, fluted wine glass to their lips.

No matter how many verbs the label contains, wine doesn’t taste better than beer. Leave the wine to the wealthy who can afford the silky smooth taste of a pinot with hints of blackberry, the orange blossom undertones that lead into a hazelnut finish and whatever other make-believe flavors they can think of to try and sell an inferior product.

Wine still owns a larger slice of the economic pie in Sonoma County, but craft beer has been steadily shrinking the gap. After catching its niche in the early ’90s, the beer market has grown into a $123 million industry contributing more than 500 jobs to Sonoma County. In a county dominated by wine, it should come as a relief that you can find a cold one made just down the road. For beer advocacy groups — otherwise known as pubs, taverns, brewhouses and breweries — Santa Rosa, Calif. is a hub.

Whether you like beer for the purpose of getting drunk, or because your tap water tastes like ass and minerals or, like me, you simply enjoy the crisp, frothy taste, you are in a good place to enjoy a cheap pint. Just walk down the street and count the different local brews you find on tap.

Not everybody can drink a Little Sumpin’ and know that it was brewed just a few miles down the road at Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma. But we can.

On a night out, walk down to Third Street AleWorks and get a taste of Great Odin’s Beard. For the sake of discussion, if Odin’s actual beard tasted anything like the beer at Third Street, I’d suck on that for a long time.

If hell is anything like Perdition, an IPA from Russian River Brewing Company, then I’d petition Satan to put my name down on his guest list.

Let’s not leave out 101 North.

Gotta love that liquid Heroine, named such probably because it’s absolutely irresistible and perhaps a little addictive.

Some might argue that comparing beer to wine is like comparing apples to oranges. They’d be right: apples are better — you can’t make apple cider out of oranges.

It’s time to put away our pinky fingers, pick up our pints and give a toast to Ninkasi. May the beer gods continue to shine on us.

14

October 6, 2014

Features

www.theoakleafnews.com

Community back to land Shone Farm connects interns to food Jessica Ruiz, 17, is one of five interns at the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Shone Farm. Ruiz said she grew up in Bakersfield, a city that is not connected to its food sources like Santa Rosa.

“When you get to the outskirts of Bakersfield you’re in farmland, and the people in the city don’t come out to the farmland,” Ruiz said.

Through 4-H and Future Farmers of America, Ruiz participated in showing and selling livestock for processing.

While Ruiz’s mother shares her love for horses, her father, a project planner for oil refineries in Alaska, taught her the importance of sourcing food. “He sees the damage he creates, but then he likes to understand where his food comes from,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz would not have been able to attend Santa Rosa Junior College if she had not been selected for the Shone Farm Resident Program.

Bakersfield is a poor area compared to Sonoma or Marin County, Ruiz said, noting that time and money are possible factors that allow Santa Rosa residents to engage more with their food sources.

Kasey Wade, coordinator of the Environmental Conservation and Park Management Program, has lived in Healdsburg for the last 15 years and is pleased to witness the transition of local restaurants and grocers to local food sources.

Wade said that one of her colleagues refers to Sonoma County as “a bubble within a bubble.”

“First of all, we’re in the California bubble. We always do things differently,” Wade said. “And then Sonoma County is very unique in terms of people growing their own food, eating well, keeping it local, putting money back into the local economy and being cognizant and conscious about the health of the land and how we treat the land.”

While the number of farms with fewer than 50 acres increased 19 percent from 1987 to 2007, the SCFSA did not indicate whether it was part of a national trend toward small organic vegetable farms or mediumsized apple orchards transitioning to small-acreage vineyards.

“It’s not just grapes. I think people are seeing they can have grapes and food too,” Wade said.

As a work experience and internship instructor, Wade encourages students to volunteer at Shone regardless of their area of study.

Wade said volunteering at the SRJC’s Shone Farm can be accomplished by filling out paperwork with the human resources department, making arrangements with Leonard Diggs, the farm manager, and planning a project or activity.

“The benefits may not be immediately felt, but you can’t find that kind of peace in our built environments,” Wade said.

Hannah Kooistra Staff Writer

The familiar hiss of rushing cars affirms the presence of nearby cities and towns, but the sound is faint to volunteers who have made the short commute to another landscape. Rows of mounded earth give way to rooted green masses carrying an edible assortment of oranges, yellows and reds. Perhaps it’s the intoxicating smell of composted earth, or maybe it’s the nourishing effect of the sun, whatever the exchange, these micro jungles have become host to a handful of eager students, community members, and resident interns seeking something beyond monetary gains.

Motivated by environmental, economic and social stresses on resources, communities have decided to actively reconnect with one of the most basic human needs: food. The backto-the-land movement’s recent resurgence provides aspiring backyard gardeners, farmers and community volunteers with a range of opportunities for involvement.

According to the Sonoma County Food System Alliance, communities are increasingly turned to farmers markets, community supported agriculture (CSA) and community gardens to access fresh produce. In Sonoma County the number of community gardens increased from 30 to 43 between 2009 and 2010.

Food Access “At Slide [Ranch] I learned that a really effective way to initiate change or environmental change in someone is through food because food is a daily choice for

a child and a family,” said Connor Maguire, 29, of his Teacherin-Residence internship at Slide Ranch of Marin.

Now on his second season at Green String Farm, this time as paid staff, Maguire embodies the basic philosophy at Green String: nouveau naturalism. “We grow here specifically 50 percent for humanity and 50 percent for nature, realizing that everybody wants lunch,” he said.

Green String Institute interns share a living space with their colleagues and are provided a small stipend. Meals are shared and class convenes promptly at 1:30 p.m. As soon as one group of interns exits the program the next group enters.

Bob Connard, founder and director of the Green String Institute, shares his dream with his students every season. Connard imagines a coalition of urban tea gardeners, selling herbs off of tea carts, “pushing them around, out-selling Starbucks.”

“The star police,” Maguire added with a grin.

The plot stems from a larger vision to enlist a Green String Certification that requires a more transparent grower-consumer relationship. The term organic is a classification by omission and “has kind of been hijacked and bureaucratized,” Maguire said.

Community Founded in 2006, Petaluma Bounty offers interns and volunteers a more direct approach to addressing food security. At just 2.5 acres the harvest feeds a subsidized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, the Petaluma Health Center’s Thursday Market and a handful of local restaurants.

The Bounty Community Farm

Photo by Hannah Kooistra/Oak Leaf

Maguire, 29, bites into a Green String Certified leaf of chard in Petaluma.

relies heavily on volunteer participation. “It’s like the community is helping the farm get it out to other communities,” said Joella Simons Adkins, 24, who was offered the assistant farm manager position through volunteering.

Last Wednesday, Oct. 1, the group included two volunteers who had been coming for years, a recently established regular, and two students fulfilling a two-hour class requirement.

“You need support one way or the other, whether it’s borrowing a tractor or getting help digging something,” Adkins said.

“Newly available resources for farmers like the Heirloom Exposition and Farmer’s Guild offer small-scale farmers additional, essential infrastructure,” Adkins said.

“I like that it’s community-

Photo by Hannah Kooistra/Oak Leaf

Sonoma State University Students Anthony Novero, 19, and Sebastian Gotia, 30, volunteer at the Bounty Community Farm in Petaluma to earn credit for Rocky Rhowedder’s environmental studies course.

oriented, and it’s moving towards a more sustainable world on a larger scale,” said Anthony Novero, 19, an environmental studies student at Sonoma State University.

Education Volunteer opportunities complimenting tuition-based programs often encourage an atmosphere that appeals to both new participants and those seeking a more advanced farming repertoire.

The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) is a nonprofit with an educational mission and attracts an elite group of career gardeners and farmers interested in absorbing 30-something years of farming experience from “Doug-O.” Doug Gosling, a founding member, co-teaches the OAEC’s Permaculture and School Garden courses and manages the greenhouse, orchard, and garden.

Leith Carstarphen, owner of EcoLogic landscaping, returns to the OAEC’s weekly volunteer day for the exposure to new plant varietals.

“It’s expanding my education a little bit. Also, just re-inspiring,” Carstarphen said.

Additional resources for the aspiring landscape and farming entrepreneur can be found at the Permaculture Skills Center of Sebastopol where Anson Biller managed the farm since it opened in 2012.

Biller said the center was built around a microenterprise model, similar to Polyface Farms of Virginia. Under the model, Biller explained, some apprentices or interns elect to stay on the property and create their own enterprise, the Skills Center currently offers two courses of study that result in certification.

While nonprofit status pends Biller hopes to expand their CSA program to 60 members.

Features

www.theoakleafnews.com

October 6, 2014

15

The only f-word that matters that you’re lesser than because of so-and-so, and that’s not necessarily true,” she said.

Although Law is a feminist, she knows many women who do not consider themselves a feminists because they believe in what they view as traditional values. She said these women believe they can’t succeed as housewives, raise kids or have a family. “They don’t see the two as contiguous, that you can’t be highly educated and be the main income earner and still have a family,” she said.

Law said the meaning of feminism has many misconceptions.

“People associate a negative connotation with it because a lot of times they think that all feminists are angry, [that] they rant a lot and that they hate men and that they protest and burn bras,” she said.

While some believe that men should treat women on the first date, Law said her feminism extends to the first date as well.

“They’ll ask, and I’ll say I’d rather split it,” she said. “I would say that there’s nothing wrong with being treated and occasionally have someone do nice things for you but I think that it’s important to be able to support yourself.”

SRJC student Cogan Mahrt identifies feminism as promoting rights for only women. Although

19%

Poland

19% 18%

Japan

5%

Germany

5%

agree

18%

43% 35%

17%

34%

24%

25%

43%

South Korea 7%

somewhat agree

50% 37% somewhat disagree

IN THE US ONLY

TOTAL MEN WOMEN

8% 13%

28%

3%

10%

21%

9% 13%

Disagree

It’s still not equal...

61¢

$1

78¢

60% living in poverty o r on the brink of it

COST OF BEING A WOMAN

32%

OF THOSE LIVING IN EXTREME POVERTY ARE WOMEN

1-IN-3 adult women are

25%

41%

32% 26%

19%

29% 46%

23%

France U.S

36%

17%

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Total Italy

Mahrt has heard of feminism, Vargas also said housework he considers it something that should be divided between was more important in the ’60s. heterosexual domestic couples.

According to Mahart, it’s relevance She disagreed with the social is diminishing because equality is norm that women should always now a problem of the past. be the ones in the kitchen.

Mahart said feminists believe Vargas admired how her sister in preferentialism, not equal and husband trade off cooking. rights. “Initially I was under the “It should be whoever can spend impression that feminism was the time in the kitchen,” she said. about equal rights for men and Kahlia Ann Bashi, 20, first women, but some of them seem discovered she was a feminist in more into getting more things middle school when she wasn’t for women than for men, and allowed to play basketball with that seems not good,” he said. the boys at her school. “I was M a h a r t told I couldn’t, c o n s i d e r s and I just kind feminists as of accepted that,” extremists. she said.

“Generally a lot Bashi later “You don’t deserve of feminist[s], in realized that anything better because of my mind, tend to this was unfair, who you are genetically; be overly fanatical which inspired you deserve stuff based and a little offher to become a on how you interact with the-wall with feminist. Bashi other people and the what their beliefs now has a onecontent of your character.” are,” he said. year-old daughter - Clayton Smithson, “I personally and is no longer SRJC student do not consider with the father myself a feminist, because of his but I do see it traditionalist as important to views. some regards,” he added after a “She became my responsibility. long pause.

He would say, ‘It’s your job to Another SRJC student Sarai change her; it’s your job to feed Vargas agrees with the principles her; you take care of her,’ and I of feminism but doesn’t consider had an issue with that,” Bashi herself an activist. Vargas grew said. “He would say that it was up in a traditional household because she’s a girl and I would where her parents instilled the say, ‘What does that have to do idea that men should always take with anything?’” care of women.

In her next relationship She first heard of feminism Bashi expects to be with when her uncle came over another feminist. What she’s for dinner and made a sexist looking forward to most is to comment. “My mom and sister be complete equals. “We can had to explain why it wasn’t OK,” both do the same things, and it she said. doesn’t matter who’s doing what Vargas said it is important to as long as it gets done,” she said. her that she gets an education SRJC student Clayton and learns to do things for Smithson first heard about herself. “If you’re being taken feminism as a freshmen in high care of, you’re not reaching your school when his English teacher full potential,” she said. encouraged her students to

“Should women only produce children and tend to their 66% family and not aspire to do anything else?”

WOULD YOU DEFINE YOURSELF AS A FEMINIST

SLIGHTLY DISAGREE

Each new generation redefines the “f-word,” a complex and controversial issue — no, not the f-word that most people yell when they slam their finger in a car door — but feminism.

Some consider feminism a dirty word and associate it with man-hating. Others identify with the word and call themselves a feminist. The most concise way to describe what feminism means today is the idea that men and women should be creative and economic equals. Five Santa Rosa Junior College students had their own stories and opinions on the subject of the f-word.

SRJC student Emily Law considers herself a feminist.

She first heard the term in high school, but didn’t fully understand what it meant until she started college.

“A lot of people like to make arguments like that biology says

SOMEWHAT

Staff Writer

AGREE

Estefany Gonzalez

$1

The year when the average woman may out-earn the average man

WOMEN ONLY EARN

OF THE WORLDS INCOME

think as feminists.

“She was always encouraging the girls to not be bimbos, that it’s not beneficial for you or others,” Smithson said. “At the same time if the guys referred to the girls as ‘chicks,’ she would say she didn’t see any chickens.”

While Smithson doesn’t consider himself a feminist activist, he does agree with feminist ideals. “I don’t know all their ideas, I would have to take each in turn, but I support equality if that’s what it boils down to,” he said.

When going out to dinner with the opposite sex, Smithson said he has no problem paying for dinner but that it should be a collaborative act. “I’ll treat you this time, some time down the road you’ll treat me and sometimes we’ll just split it, ” he said.

While Smithson agrees with the concept of equality, he also said he doesn’t agree with denying help in order to prove a point.

Once at work, his female coworker refused help putting away a large box to prove that she could do it on her own.

“I just don’t get why you turn down an offer for help when you clearly need help based on the fact that ‘you don’t need no man and you’re a strong independent woman,’” he said. “You’re two feet shorter than me.”

“Let me grab that for you instead of coming by two hours later mopping up your brains off the floor.”

Smithson said equality is important in all aspects of life.

“You don’t deserve anything better because of who you are genetically; you deserve stuff based on how you interact with other people and the content of your character,” he said.

Despite the wide array of responses, each student valued respect and equality.

PLACES WITH WOMEN IN POLITICS

India

Bangla-

Liberia

Australia

Peru

Panama

Brazil

Germany

Costa Rica

Argentina

Iceland

Slovakia

Croatia

Ireland

Switzerland

Finland

Kyrgyzstan

Thailand

Kosovo

Lithuania

Trinidad

SALARY INCREASE

44% 6%

power

FROM 1970 TO 2007

196

Countries in Female leaders currently in the world Countries that have a female president

Illustration by Chantelle Bogue

SAME

PROFESSORS.

SAME

JESUIT VALUES.

SAME

FIRST-CLASS EDUCATION. USF SANTA ROSA CAMPUS

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LEARN MORE AT AN

INFORMATION MEETING at the USF SANTA ROSA CAMPUS Wednesday, October 22, 5:30pm

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