Monitor 2006-11-2

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Fremont, California

Vol. XXXVI No. 10

Soccer loses 6-1; season nears end – Page 8

OPINION

Could teachers’ strike happen at Ohlone?

SPORTS

NEWS

FEATURES

Top pianist Jan Nakamatsu to play Saturday

Is copyright protection too long?

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Thursday, November 2, 2006

Strange new world of video game design

By Michael Aburas Staff writer Killing aliens, power ups, weapons upgrades, salivating over your enemy’s screams as his pathetic five-armed one-eyed life, if it’s not a zombie, exits its bullet-ridden body all begin at the designing stage of a video game.

Associate professor of the multimedia department Pilar Lewis, around a year ago, started work on a certificate in video game ‘Video games development will be the and, after dominant art working form of this with people century’ in the game i n d u s t r y, --Will achieved her Paicius goal. As a result, Ohlone now offers video game design as part of its curriculum.

Neil Strudwick, who has 15 years of experience working for Namco and Electronic Arts, and Michael Lubuguin, a video game designer who has 20 years of experience working with Namco and other companies, both collaborated with Lewis to create the certificate and design the curriculum.

“The goal of the certificate is

Retro pink

to prepare students with artistic and technical skills for entry-level positions in the video game industry, with emphasis on the following roles: Game and Interactive Software Tester, Game Artist, and Game Designer,” said Lewis in an email.

Strudwick, at the time the curriculum was being developed, was teaching 3-D classes and was a valuable resource for connections to and knowledge of the game industry. “His suggestion was to have students sketch by hand because it is required in the industry,” and is easier for communicate ideas Lewis said. When she met with Lubuguin, Lewis inquired how she should train students to get jobs in the industry.

Lubuguin explained the three existing classes: texture, modeling and animation, were good but we needed a class where the students would learn how to plan a video game, a class to explain the roles of people in the industry, do what those roles require and learn the vocabulary of the industry.

The curriculum consists of MM118 Intro to Video Game Design and MM-119 Video Game Development, which is taken twice. The prerequisite for both is to take at least one of the three classes Lewis Continued on Page 5

Gallaudet protesters win point

By Eric Dorman Staff writer

Jennifer Texeira models for Retro Pink Fashion Show. See story, photos, Page 4.

Art courtesy of Paul Hardin

Concept art of a “level 3” demon created by Will Paicuis' Video Game Production students. The demon is from their game “Apocalypse.”

Many in Ohlone’s deaf community are enthusiastic following Gallaudet College’s recent decision not to hire a controversial educator as college president, though most are simply glad that the strife at the college is over.

“We feel it was a good decision [to not to hire Jane Fernandes],” signed Joe McLaughlin, Dean of Deaf Studies at Ohlone. “The president of a deaf college needs to have strong ties to the deaf community, and we think Fernandes did not have those ties.”

Gallaudet, located in Washington D.C., is one of the nation’s largest undergraduate universities for deaf students and was the first of its kind in the U.S. Student riots broke out about three weeks ago, when the Board

of Trustees voted to hire Fernandes as president. Gallaudet students argued that Fernandes was unfit for the position, as she was too orally focused to truly be part of the deaf community even though she was deaf. As a child, Fernandes was not taught American Sign Language.

Instead, she was taught to communicate orally, only later did she learn ASL. Tensions cranked up a notch last Wednesday, when the college tried to use a bulldozer to clear one of the gates in front of which protesting students had set up tents. Several students complained of injuries caused during this and the Metropolitan police were called, arresting several students, according to The Washington Times.

Just last Sunday, however, the Gallaudet Board of Trustees reversed its decision on Fernandes, deciding not to hire her and order

was restored in the college.

McLaughlin explained why he was glad of the decision. He said that putting a predominantly oral person at the head of a deaf school was like putting a white person at the head of a predominantly black school; the students might feel like they were not being represented.

Ohlone, with its large deaf population, transfers a good number of students to Gallaudet every year, 6 to 8 students out of a deaf population of about 140, said Deaf Center Employment Developer Kelly Wilmeth.

Deaf students Janette Navarro, Sung Shin, Daniel Harnish and Herminio Mores all echoed McLaughlin’s sentiment.

“She was not related to the deaf community,” said Shin, who added that, athough the riots had not influenced whether or not she wanted to attend Gallaudet so far, if the unrest

had continued it could have.

Mores was a step closer to the struggle. He has a friend at Gallaudet who participated in some of the protests. Mores said that his friend is content with the end result. “[We’re] happy that it’s been resolved,” said Harnish.

Schedules The Spring ’07 class schedule is now available on WebCT. The printed version is expected to be on sale for $1 in the student store by Friday.

Currently enrolled students will be able to register for classes on Nov. 20 while new and returning students will be able to enroll Dec. 4.

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Opinion

monitor November 2, 2006

Associated Collegiate Press / National Scholastic Press Association All American 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Regional Pacemaker 1988 Journalism Association of Community Colleges First in General Excellence, Northern California Fall 1994 General Excellence Fall 2000 General Excellence Fall 2004

Editor in chief: Anna Nemchuk News editor: Omer Ahmed Opinion editor: Matthew So Features editor: Morgan Brinlee Sports editor: Jeff Weisinger Photo editor: Christa Meier Online editor: Chen Lin Staff writers: Michael Aburas, Frankie Addiego, Emily Burkett, Eric Dorman, Noah Levin, Brittany Wilson Ad manager: Danelle Meyer Ad staff: Manika Casterline, Janelle Feliciano, Dulce Fernandez Adviser: Bill Parks Printer: F-P Press

Offices are located in Room 5310 on campus, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont 945395884. Call (510) 659-6075. Fax: (510) 659-6076. E-mail: monitor@ohlone.cc.ca.us Opinions expressed in the Monitor are those of the respective authors and are not necessarily those of the staff, the college or the Associated Students of Ohlone College.

Unsigned editorials reflect the majority view of staff members. Advertising material is printed herein for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an expression of endorsement or verification of such commercial ventures by the staff or college.

The Monitor is funded by the district, by the Associated Students of Ohlone College, and through advertising revenue.

The Monitor is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press, Journalism Association of Community Colleges, Community College Journalism Association, California Newspaper Publishers Association, College Media Advisers and Society of Newspaper Design.

Opinion

Copyrights: are they too effective too long?

Proper copyright laws effectively propagate new ideas and creativity

By Anna Nemchuk Editor-in-chief Imitation as the sincerest form of flattery is not a philosophy that washed in grade school. If you caught someone copying from your paper before you hit puberty, chances are fists would fly.

Even now, the phrase rings shallow. The best teacher is one that inspires their students to go farther than they ever did, do more and better, not rinse and repeat. A brilliant artist is not one who xeroxes a Monet but someone who applies some of their own technique to bring forth a brilliant new art form.

Aside from that, stealing someone else’s ideas is just plain rude and may end up hurting the creator, whether financially or otherwise, never mind stifling creativity. This is why we have copyrights, trademarks and patents.

Out of all three, patents are probably the most socially important primarily because

PRO

they focus on inventions and so tend to cover scientific, technological and medical discoveries that potentially affect the well-being of a large amount of people. Copyrights protect artistic and intellectual rights while trademarks register particular words or symbols for commercial purposes.

Obviously, not all ownership rights are created equal. The laboratory that discovers the AIDS antidote, at a point hopefully not far in the future, should certainly make money on it, as well as reap copious, copious heaps of praise, but should not be allowed to keep the discovery under wraps for any longer than absolutely necessary, as society is based on the premise that human life generally supercedes all other laws.

On the other hand, the lawsuits brought by the Recording Industry Association of America against college students, single mothers and veterans are ridiculous, utterly callous and downright mean-spirited, not to mention ineffective.

It all comes down to a simple question: if you come up with an idea and execute it, in whatever form, do you have the right to control the use of that idea?

The answer, as always is “Yes, but…”

To every rule there are exceptions, there will always be unique circumstances, and life simply isn’t black or white, no matter how many laws people attempt to make to that effect.

Yes, but it shouldn’t cause physical human suffering. An available AIDS cure not distributed for ideological reasons or only at a Continued on Page 3

Copyright laws stunt innovation and improvement of old ideas

By Omer Ahmed News editor In about 20 years, Mickey Mouse will be 100 years old and, even after all that time, he will still be the exclusive property of the Walt Disney Company. Furthermore, the company’s ownership will allow them to continue to sue anyone who uses the image or likeness of Mickey even though his creator died long ago.

After a hundred years, most popular ideas and works basically become part of the larger culture. Such ideas become part of our cultural heritage and should be open to new interpretations and expression. However, the repeated and endless extension of copyrights effectively destroys this cultural assimilation of ideas and freedom of use. If it were not for the current copyright system, Mickey and a handful of his cartoon associates would have become public property in 2003 and artists would no longer have to worry about being sued if they attempt to

CON

use Mickey for their own purposes.

The basis of all modern copyright law in the United States is based on Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution, otherwise known as the intellectual property clause. The clause grants the government the right “To Promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing, for limited Times, to Authors and Inventors, the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” The dilemma in enforcing this passage comes in balancing the public’s access to information and the creators’ and corporations’ ability to profit from their work.

At the moment, the balance seems unfortunately skewed in favor of corporations like Disney. Copyrights last for the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years in most cases. If an employee creates a work as part of his job, the copyright last 95 years after the creator’s death and the copyright would belong to the corporation. With the average life expectancy being 77 years, a copyright for intellectual property created for a company when the author is 30 would last for 132 years. Nations rise and fall within such a time. Entire lives are lived. It is a huge amount of time for anything to be kept from the public.

The works of author James Joyce provide another good, though less cartoony, example of how copyright regulation has extended far beyond reason. Joyce’s modernist novel “Ulysses” is considered a classic of the last century. Unfortunately, the novel is also a dense tomb of exposition and the currently in-print editions are filled with editorial errors.

Continued on Page 3

Campus Comment > > Who is the scariest onscreen monster?

Chris clifton Undecided “Tim Curry as ‘It’ in Stephen King’s ‘Everyone is Afraid of Clowns’.”

crystal smith Visual Committee “‘The Leprechaun’ from the Leprechaun movies.”

Lasite luke Matthew Wouters Jerome Napacena Business Law Psychology Journalism “That girl from ‘The Ring’.”

“Michael Myers as ‘The Slasher’.”

“‘Leatherface’.”

November 2, 2006 MONITOR

News

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Students film safe sex video

By CHRISTA MEIER Photo editor

The group True Old School, also known as T.O.S, has created a positive public service announcement titled “Bad Habits, Safe Sex.” The announcement, in the form of a rap video directed by student Ivy Brawner, has its goal the promoting of safe sex and underlining important information about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Brawner’s hope is that by doing this rap video, he might be able to change at least one person’s sexual habits for the better and

assist in spreading the word about safe sex.

Brawner came up with the idea for a music video to allow students at Ohlone a chance to showcase their talents while demonstrating what they know about safe sex.

The video segment was shot Friday behind the Smith Center.

Between 60 and 70 people ended up participating in the filming as characters and extras. The set was constructed as an alley, with people lined up waiting to get into the fictional “Club Life.”

Some characters were clothed in normal day clothes while others were dressed in outfits appropriate

for clubbing. Brawner’s character was the center of attention. He led himself through the crowd of people and straight to the door of the club, all while rapping about safe sex.

After the final edit, a commercial will be sent to Black Entertainment Television, for the “wrap it up” segment. According to Brawner, the video’s makers have also found a lead on how to get their segment to the Magic Johnson Foundation.

Branwer said the final editing should take no more than two to three weeks before airing.

As of now, TOS is in the process of shooting the first video for their album.

the most cost effective of the options and best meeting the needs of those who requested the new machines.

The Innovation and Technology Center and various faculty members brought the request for new computers before the board.

Faculty members didn’t specifically ask for Apple computers, however, but rather called for computers with specific features.

This was not part of a move to unify the computer technology on campus, as the Vice President of Information Technology Ralph

Kindred pointed out, “[Ohlone] has not adopted a single technology strategy or a single vendor platform.”

A total of 33 computers were approved for final purchase by the board. The computers will cost $77,896.89 and be deployed in the

spring 2007 semester to various faculty members and computer labs.

According to a Board of Trustees information packet, part of the reason for accqiring the new computers was to meet the need of Title III project and Local Bond Initiatives.

About 150 full- and part-time instructors at Hartnell Community College began the strike on Oct. 18, protesting a new faculty contract that, if approved, would be effective retroactively for the 2004-’05 school year, according to Inside Higher Ed. The teachers had been working several years without a contract and said that the new contract paid them unfairly.

The strike lasted five days, during which not a single class was cancelled. The administration was able to plug the holes, despite the fact that only about 100 full-time faculty remained.

The strike finally ended on the Tuesday, Oct. 24 when both sides reached an agreement on the contract, which included small raises

for the three years the teachers had been without a contract and further raises for the upcoming school year.

The wages Hartnell pays its teachers, between $40,000 and $90,000 a year, depending on education and classes taught is not far off from the amount Ohlone pays its instructors and professors, whose yearly salaries range between $50,000 and $100,000, similarly depending on level of education and classes taught, said Oppenheim.

The Ohlone faculty, however, have been relatively content with their wages through the years.

Though Oppenheim said he was not aware of the exact reasons behind the Hartnell strike, he cautioned that strikes should be used

only as a last resort.

“I have always believed that the strongest negotiating tools are persuasiveness and patience,” said Oppenheim. “They should be completely exhausted before anything more drastic is considered…I would bend over backward to avoid a strike.”

Treadway also noted that while Hartnell was three years behind in giving its teachers a contract, Ohlone is one year, so teachers know what their contract will be ahead of time.

Even two weeks after the fact, tensions remain strained at Hartnell, according to The Monterey Herald. There is still a lot of trust to be restored between teachers and administrators.

Photo by Christa Meier

Ivy Brawner and beatboxer ‘Maja’ being filmed with extras for ‘Bad Habits, Safe Sex.’

Ohlone to get three dozen new Macs

By NOAH LEVIN Staff writer Ohlone’s Board of Trustees recently approved the purchase of almost three dozen new Apple computers for the campus. The computers were chosen for being

Salinas teachers strike ends

By Eric Dorman Staff writer

A week after a five-day teachers’ strike ended at a Salinas community college, Ohlone College President Doug Treadway expressed doubt that such an event would ever take place at Ohlone.

“Not impossible, but very unlikely,” said Treadway. “I can’t see anything like this ever happening at Ohlone.”

“We have a wonderful working culture here at Ohlone,” added college Union Negotiator Bennett Oppenheim, who further noted that though at times in his 25-year career he has been pressed to strike, the college has never done so, nor has any plans to.

Correction In an article titled “Teachers defend their rights with petition” by staff writer Frankie Addiego, the web address where the faculty petition is available for viewing online was incorrect.

The petition can be accessed at http://www. xanga.com/constitution1787 and will be on “The Monitor” website when it goes online.

Additionally, the headline would have been more accurate if it said teachers defended “constitutional rights.”

A century is too long to keep anything private Continued from Page 2 When a “Reader-friendly Edition” was set for publication, the estate almost blocked the book in the U.S. and Britain because it modified the copyrighted material and added material from copyrighted Joyce manuscripts. In addition, the estate has constantly blocked film and theatrical productions that were not felt to be “appropriate.”

Most ridiculously, the Joyce estate threatened to sue if there were any

public readings of the novel during festival for the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, the day on which the novel begins in 1904.

All this work toward “protecting” the interest of copyrighted Joyce work is occurring 65 years after the author’s death and the restriction imposed by the Joyce estate will likely continue till 2011 when most of Joyce’s copyrights finally expire. The only beneficiary of the Joyce estate is the author’s

grandson Stephen Joyce and his over-zealous but legal control over the estate deprives us all of new ways to enjoy his grandfather’s works. Classes are taught about James Joyce, modern works make allusions to him and books are written about his life. His works are part of the overall culture and should be owned by the public as should all of our cultural heritage.

Patents only last for 20 years.

This is much more reasonable then

the often century-long period for copyrights. Within 20 years, creators have enough time to make a profit on most intellectual property.

Even when rights expire, it is still possible to make money. Printing the works of Homer and Shakespeare is still profitable, to say noting of revised version of modern works.

60 years after Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” were published there is still a market for “The Martian Chronicles: The

Definitive Edition.”

Considering that it is very possible to make money with the 20-year copyright limit, one must wonder who the current copyright laws actually serve? The original artist/creators are long dead by the time the rights expire, as are their hires in many cases. The only ones left to hoard the rights are the corporations and the works of our culture should not be left in their hands.

Culture should be free to uses.

Continued from Page 2 high cost, bypassing those who need it most, is not a valid use of ownership law because it goes against the prime cause for human society’s existence - the greater good.

The same, though certainly not on the same scale, could be argued over the current hot topic of music piracy - more people are being hurt, by having to deal with constant lawsuits and having their computers infected with SonyBMG’s XCP software, (Packaged on CDs, all of which the company refuses to disclose, and designed to

modify your entire system to block not only illegal downloading, but perfectly legitimate operations, as well as slowing down system processes and increasing instances of computer crashes for more information, check out www.eff. org/deeplinks/archives/004144. php) than are being helped.

No one is particularly sympathetic to the record companies’ woes, partly because big business does not breed loyalty, such being one of the woes of a capitalist system, partly because the very viciousness they’ve displayed in

attacking downloaders has appalled people, the attempted punishments being wildly disproportionate to the crimes, but mostly because the intellectual and artistic rights the big names are trying so valiantly to protect AREN’T theirs.

They’re the artists’. It’s that simple.

Someone writes the lyrics, sings a song, makes a recording - it’s their imagination that’s on the line, not the record executive with five yachts who couldn’t hit a note with a sledgehammer.

The fact that artists sign contracts

to give up their intellectual rights is immaterial - at this point in time, the record industry has them cornered.

A promise made under duress should not hold up in court. A woman promising not to name her rapist with a gun to her head cannot be prosecuted for later attempting to jail him, and, while the metaphor is perhaps a bit extreme, the point is that the artists, the true creators, aren’t the ones suffering.

Though copyright laws have been perverted ten ways from Sunday, they should be protecting

people’s work from being stolen and ruining them financially, not for the express purpose of acquiring that sixth yacht.

Though, of course, it’s all a matter of degree. Here we come back to grayscale - no black or white in evidence.

Having said all this, trademarks and copyrights and patents are a good and useful thing and they should serve to both bring spiritual as well as monetary fulfillment to the holders.

Fulfillment of the authors, not gorging of the middlemen.

Patents for fun and profit, not greed and profit

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Features

monitor November 2, 2006

Culture Pirate

By OMER AHMED News editor

Asceticism in an aesthetic world Now that October is over, I want to congratulate all the students who fasted last month.

Whether you did it as part of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in observance of Yom Kippur, in preparation for Vijayadashami, as part of the Theravadan Buddhist Vassa retreat or for some secular reason like October Fastathon, you have taken part in the age-old tradition of asceticism. I give you my compliments because you are keeping alive a practice that seems to be dying out in our culture.

Asceticism, in an over-simplified nutshell, is denying yourself something you desire or “self-denial and abstinence from worldly pleasures” as Wikipedia defines it. If you are hungry, you don’t eat; if you are sleepy, you stay awake. In the end, the self-denial makes you stronger, more thoughtful and, hopefully, imparts some understanding of the human condition.

It may seem quite simple, but the practice is often a foreign concept in our instant gratification-obsessed culture. If we hunger, we microwave a pizza and when we are bored, we turn on the TV. It is relatively easy to get what we want and, because of this, asceticism is far in the back of our minds.

Replacing asceticism and other spiritual practices are empty material habits. Most of what we do now is based on what we find aesthetically pleasing. We vote for the candidate who looks the most professional without understanding his or her real views; we buy products because they look cool even though we have no use for them.

This is not to say that the material world is actually bad.

The problem doesn’t stem from outside but from inside.

We have let ourselves become constant consumers who rarely give our minds and souls a chance to rest.

We are so focused on buying and doing everything that we forget that not doing is an option that can also be rewarding.

While I am agnostic, I think everyone should remove themselves slightly from their wants just to see what they have.

Apart from the spiritual beliefs that restraining the body and mind frees the soul, the restraint involved can produce a respect for all we have.

Whatever you give up, if you choose to, you may find that you appreciate it all the more after going without and you may also find that you probably didn’t need it in the first place. It can be as simple as giving up pizza for Lent or taking a day-long vow of silence.

And when you are done, congratulate yourself for having acted on your desire to see what happens when you restrain your desires by not acting.

Photos by Manika Casterline

From left: Stephanie Hammack, Jenny Lopez and Jackie Orvis strut down the catwalk during the Retro Pink fashion show benefitting the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

‘Retro Pink’ fashion show raises funds for breast cancer research

By Manika Caserline Staff writer On Monday afternoon. Ohlone’s campus turned from an educational facility to a fashion house. Models strutted down a makeshift catwalk.

One could mistake the rustling of the lush shades of pink fabric for something that is typical of a runway show at New York City’s

Bryant Park.

Eight models took part in the Ohlone Costume classes’ Passionately Pink for the Cure: Retro Pink Fashion Show. The 45-minute program exhibited a various range of female ensembles through time Victorian pieces were muted in tone and predominantly had extraneous lace detailing on the long high collared garments. The outfits

from 1960s included the psychedelic prints the decade is notorious for and paid homage to style icon Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the pillbox hat and all.

The students also had the opportunity to showcase their original designs such as the belly dancer costume Jennifer Texeira created and modeled.

Despite the cold weather and

low turnout, Costume Instructor Professor Agnes DeLucchi said, “I think my class did an excellent job.

They have been just really working hard.”

The event was held at the Lam research plaza outside the Gary Soren Smith Center Oct. 30 at 4 p.m.

There was a required $5 donation.

The donations will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet

By FRANKIE ADDIEGO Staff writer

Staff photo

Stacey Lynn Bell and A.J. Hamilton practice their performance for Romeo and Juliet.

Ohlone College will hold three showings of William Shakespeare’s time-honored classic, “Romeo & Juliet.” Each night, a different cast will perform the drama before Fremont’s sophisticated connoisseurs of the arts. On Thursday night, Shane McCaffery and Erika Andracchio portray Romeo and Juliet and on

Friday night, the title characters will be enacted by Bobby August and Salem Barner. Finally, on Saturday, the play will feature A.J. Hamilton and Stacey Lynn Bell as the young lovers. The cast also performs technical operations between their scenes, normally limited to moving small set pieces.

The plays will be performed in the Smith Center today, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

Features

November 2, 2006 monitor

Pianist Jon Nakamatsu to perform at Ohlone

By Manika Casterline Staff writer

Promotional photo of Jon Nakamatsu provided by the Ohlone College Foundation.

Famed pianist Jon Nakamatsu will be coming to Ohlone the first week of November. The Ohlone College Foundation is very pleased to present the musical repertoire of the accomplished classical pianist.

In 1997, Nakamatsu was named the Gold Medalist at the tenth Van Cilburn International Piano competition. It is a prestigious honor and extremely rare - no American pianist has attained it since 1981.

NPR’s “Performance Today” deemed him their Debut Artist of the Year in 1998.

Nakamatsu has performed on the stages of the world’s greatest concert halls including, but not limited to, Carnegie Hall and the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He also played for former President Bill Clinton and Hilary Rodham Clinton during his 1998-1999 touring season.

Dr. Josephine Ong-Hawkins, executive director of the Ohlone Foundation said, “Jon Nakamatsu’s performance is one of the most sought after [for] concert tickets not just in the Bay Area, but in the whole world. He is one of the top five most beloved musicians right now. And when you listen to his music, it’s so beautiful that it makes a grown man weep”.

Jon Nakamatsu will perform on Nov. 4 at Ohlone’s Smith Center at 4 p.m. Interested students should feel free to call the Ohlone Foundation at (510) 659-4020 since there will be a special section reserved for students only.

At left, a 3D concept art piece depicting the setting of Space Station Taurus 7 created using the program mm114 Textures for 3D scenes. It was created by video game design student David Folker.

Photo courtesy of Paul Harden

Ohlone teaches video game creation Continued from Page 1 teaches : 3D animation, texturing or modeling.

Last summer was the first time the class Intro to Video Game Design was made available. ”It was very successful and the instructor [Will Paicius] got 34 students,” said Lewis.

Currently, the curriculum requires that students work on two games: one in preproduction and one in postproduction. “Every class has a competition to prove who can design the better game,” said Paicius. Paicius then brings in a panel of industry people to judge including people from Sony, Electronic Arts, Stanford University and independent game companies. The winner of the competition has their game moved towards production.

Beginning in January, the winner of this semester will have their game put into preproduction, while the winner of this summer’s class will have theirs put into postproduction. “At the end of next semester we will have things to show,” said Paicuis.

Paicius teaches both video game development classes and, referring to the student production method, said, “We go through the process of producing games but the infrastructure here is still a bit limited.

At the end of the process we will demo a level.” Paicius explained the problem with the infrastructure,

“Video games are among the most complicated product produced today...it involves almost every discipline in the community college and beyond,” said Paicuis.

For instance, game development may include psychology and creative writing to develop characters and storylines. In addition, in game development students look at how English can describe the excitement of the game play.

Designing may also include artic sketches, artificial intelligence programming and sound design.

Someone with a background in music may be contracted to compose a soundtrack or create sound effects for a game, according to Paicuis.

There is almost no area of study that is not involved in the production of a video game. “For that reason, video games become one of the best places for a learning community to develop,” said Paicuis.

The main reason for video game development being added to the curriculum at Ohlone is because of the Economic & Workforce Development Program, which works through the community colleges of California.

One of the major functions of the EWDP, according to their website, is “To maximize and leverage the resources of the California Community Colleges to fulfill [their] role as the primary provider in fulfilling the vocational education and train-

ing needs of the state’s regional economies.”

The program commissions annual studies to look at what the current economic climate of California is and will be in the future. About a year ago, a study concluded that the video game industry will play a major part in California’s economy in the near future. The study also examined what level of job could be achieved through community college training, said Paicuis. Ohlone was then approached by the group to add game design to the curriculum.

Paicuis said, “Ohlone is one of the first community colleges to offer a game certificate.” Paicuis added that one of the most under-served segments of the work force in this region is video game design.

A helpful way to break into the game industry is to start a game club that develops and creates games.

Paicuis recommends that students have a video game club here at Ohlone because most of the beginning positions in the industry require 2 to 3 years of experience.

“Working in the club is considered by many companies equivalent.

We frequently have guest speakers and they all agreed that having a video game production club is one of the best ways to break into the industry,” said Paicuis.

Students Jonathan Loza and Ravi Jayant, both video game design majors, agree that the class is great.

“I think this class is great because it gives us insight into the different careers in gaming,” said Jayant.

However, both feel that the class is too short and should be extended to a full semester.

Jayant also said, “If you think you can start your own video game company, you're sadly mistaken and need to take this class.”

Graig Dorf, a guest speaker who came to their class, explained how he lost his life savings.

He thought he could start his own company and lost most of his savings and $50,000. Dorf recommended to the class that they work for a successful company to gain the necessary connections and experience to succeed.

“More and more of my students don’t go to the movies or watch television...they [would] rather play games and use the internet, because they'd rather do than watch. The key difference between generations is the interactivity,” illustrated Paicuis.

The game industry is at a very primitive time in its history. Paicuis compared it to the 1906 era of movie technology and development.

“The video game industry is going to develop just as the movie industry did. But one thing is for sure: movies were the dominant art form of last century; video games will be the dominant art form of this century,” said Paicuis.

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Devil’s Advocate

By Anna Nemchuk Editor-in-chief

Trans fat to go The human body is a delicately balanced, intricately detailed machine. Juice it correctly and it purrs, all shiny chrome with a gentle idle. But fuel it on the cheap and your grandma’s Caddy will wheeze less – and don’t get me started on the gas mileage.

To live, we need food. To live well, we need good food. Good food does not include anything sold in quick marts, all-night diners or ingested by Homer Simpson. The closer what goes in your mouth is to how it came from the land, the more benefit you’ll derive from it.

There go the fast food joints.

But we all knew that, yes? If there’s a “double cheese” in the title, I have three words for you: “Super Size Me.” Watch it - I dare you to cross the golden arches again.

New York City seems to agree – a recent proposed ban would outlaw the use of any trans fat in all eateries within the Big Apple.

In one of the “Super Size Me” DVD’s extras, we see an experiment conducted on the shelf life of some burgers and fries. After weeks in glass jars, when most of the other products have just about liquefied, Micky’s fries look exactly the same. You see, trans fat, otherwise known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, is what most junk food places use to fry everything but the kitchen sink because it keeps for a very long time and is extremely stable.

More stable than plastic, apparently, as Chicago nutritionist Bonnie Minck demonstrates with the aid of a 25-year-old Hostess cupcake that has steadfastly weathered the sands of time while its wrapper and plastic tray have not been nearly as dependable, having since disintegrated.

But vegetable oil is healthier than animal oil, come the cries.

PHVO is altered drastically by the process of hydrogenation in which hydrogen atoms are attached at high temperatures to the oil molecules resulting in a heightening of the melting point and a huge increase in shelf life.

Margarine was born, everyone jumped on the bandwagon, the food industry leading the pack, and for a while it was widely thought that margarine was a healthier alternative to butter.

However, with research now linking trans fat to everything from cancer to diabetes to, naturally, increased obesity, we know better. Right? KFC agrees, or is at least tired of being sued – they’ve recently announced they’ll phase out all trans fat on their menu across the nation by April 2007.

Other fast food dives seem to be more or less following suit.

Then again, some people, like Fox News David Asman, think the law is stupid and the nagging of the “nanny state” (he doesn’t specify which one.) should be enough to keep most people healthy. Oy. Next column topic: corrupt media.

6 MONITOR

November 2, 2006

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Campus Events November 2 UC Application Workshop -- 1 to 1:45 p.m. in Room 1405A, the placement center. Come receive help with your UC applications.

2 Gay/Straight Alliance Club -- In the Smith Center Green Room, Room SC-116, from 2 to 3 p.m.

A student club for gay/ straight/bi/or curious students who meet to talk, make friends and meet like-minded people. Club meets Thursdays, everyone is welcome.

2 New Art Exhibit -- “Dias de los Muertos.” In honor of the Mexican celebration of their ancestors, the gallery presents a display with authentic artifacts. This new exhibit will be in the Louie Meager Art Gallery through Nov. 10 and can be seen anytime Monday - Friday from noon - 3 p.m. and Wednesday evenings by appointment.

2 Library Displays -- Visit the Library, Building 1 Floor 3, and take a look at the current displays of both art and information.

Some of the cases include: information for upcoming elections, information for the Ohlone Bookclub and student art. The library is open Monday - Thursday 7:45 a.m. - 7:45 p.m. and Friday 7:45 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

2-4 Romeo and Juliet - 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Smith Center, Jackson Theatre.

The performance is a contemporary look at Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that is delivered through a modern setting. This edgy 60-minute production provides an insight into the marriage of art and social justice in our community.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and can be purchased by going to the box office or by calling (510) 659-6031.

3 Men’s Soccer -- 3 p.m. vs. Las Positas College here at Ohlone.

5 World Class Pianist, Benefit Concert -- 4 p.m. in the Smith Center, Jackson Theatre. “An Afternoon Romance,” by John Nakamatsu, is a fundraiser for academic programs and student support. He is one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation, gained international fame as the Gold Medal winner in the 10th Van Cliburn Competition. Tickets are

$60 for assigned seating, and $100 for preferred seating. They can be purchased by going to the box office or calling (510) 659-6031.

$10 in advanced and $12 at the door. They can be purchased by visiting the box office or calling (510) 659-6031.

6 APASA Meeting -- 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. in Room 2201.

The Asian Pacific American Student Association, a club on campus, meets every Monday. Everyone is welcome.

10-12 Jonathan Wallace Memorial Tournament: Men’s Basketball -- All day in the gym here at Ohlone. Some of the other participants include: College of Alameda, Contra Costa, Diablo Valley, Feather River, Hartnell, Sacramento City and Shasta.

8 Transfer Event: CSU East Bay -- Meet with representative Louise Martinez between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. For more information and to set up an appointment visit the counseling window in Building 1 or call (510) 659-6110.

8 Transfer Event: UC San Diego -- Meet with representative Erica Qintor between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. For more information and to set up an appointment visit the counseling window in Building 1 or call (510) 659-6110.

8 CSU Application Workshop -- 11 a.m. to noon in Room 1405A, the placement center. Come receive help with your CSU applications.

8 MECHA Meeting -- 2 p.m. in Room 8204. Club meets every Wednesday Refreshments are served, everyone welcome. Come check out the excitement.

9 Women’s Volleyball -6:30 p.m. vs. Cañada College here at Ohlone.

9 Transfer Event: San Francisco State University -- Meet with representative Collete Cowan between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

For more information and to set up an appointment visit the counseling window in Building 1 or call (510) 659-6110.

10 Veteran’s Day -- Holiday break. No classes.

10 Women’s Soccer -- 3 p.m. vs. Foothill College here at Ohlone.

10-11 My Water Broke!

-- Dance performance by the Bliss Dance Company. It will be in the Jackson Theatre at 8 p.m. both nights. Tickets are

13 Transfer Event: UC Irvine -- Meet with representative Norma Peniche between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

For more information and to set up an appointment visit the counseling window in Building 1 or call (510) 659-6110.

13 World Forum -- A Global Perspective on the Darfur Region of Sudan.

Guest speaker Paul Freedman, an award-winning independent filmmaker and bay area native, explores the warfare and genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan through his newest documentary. The first Session will be at noon, and the second session will be at 7 p.m. Both of these will meet in the Jackson Theatre and any overflowing audience will go in TV Studio A to view the event.

15 Men’s Basketball -- 7 p.m. vs. De Anza College here at Ohlone.

15 Thanksgiving Feast - Presented by the ASOC. Come to the lobby of Building 1 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

This event is free and complete with free food for the taking.

CLASSIFIEDS V ol u n t eers and donations needed -- This holiday season there are many opportunities to help the community. Donations of hams, turkeys, pies etc. are needed for Thanksgiving.You can also volunteer to cook, carve, decorate, serve and de-

liver meals. For more information or to volunteer visit www.lov.org to find times and oppurtunities.

Then call Harold at LOV (510) 793-5683.

PRESCHOOL TEACHERS & AIDES NEEDED - Do you love working with children? CalStaff is looking for substitutes to work in preschools, daycares & after school programs. We have jobs all over the Bay Area.

Schedules are flexible.

We will work around your availability. You pick your days, hours, region and age group! Travel as far as you like, see new cities or stay close to home.

Call CalStaff to schedule your interview @ 650872-7870; 925-522-0102; 866-994-7823 or visit www.californiastaffingservice.com.

HIRING MUSIC TEACHERS -- Are you musically talented and looking for a highpaying part-time job?

We are looking for a few motivated, musicallygifted teachers to help teach weekly music private/group classes in the Cupertino and Fremont area. Looking for teachers in the following areas: String, woodwind, brass, piano/percussion instruments, also conducting, band, composition and voice. If interested, please contact Carol Liu, Director of Joyful Melodies Inc. at (408) 725-9049 or Mail@joyfulmelodies. com.

HAPPY FISH SWIM SCHOOL -- Seeking smart, friendly swim instructors to work with children & adults. Indoor heated pool open seven days a week. Pays $9/hr$12/hr DOE. Part Time Availability, Fun Environment, & Friendly People.

Flexible/Steady schedule works well with school schedule. Print applica-

November 2, 2006 monitor

7

tion at www.SwimHappyFish.com.

Hiring Office Help -- An engineering company, located in Fremont, is seeking par t-time or full-time office help. Responsibilities: General office help, assisting with accounts payable/receivable, purchasing, shipping and receiving, matching with purchase orders. Requirements: Strong organizational and communication skills, reliable and multi-tasked, familiar with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and QuickBooks is a plus. Send your resume to tooltekeng@gmail. com.

PIANO AND THEORY LESSONS -Musical Friends. Serious inquires only. For more information please contact Brenda Paddon at (510) 794-7660 or email at brendapaddon@tmail. com.

Hiring mechanical drafter -- An engineering company, located in Fremont, is seeking a part-time or full-time mechanical drafter. Responsibilities: Drafting of par ts and assemblies, working with Bill Of Material and detailed drawings, suppor ting design/engineering depar tment and constructing BOMs. Requirements: Strong organizational and communication skills, reliable and multi-tasked, familiar with AutoCAD, Pro/ENGINEER is a plus. Send your resume to tooltekeng@gmail.com.

Seeking piano instructor -Looking for a person to take piano lessons from.

Must be affordable and in the Fremont area. Must already teach lessons to others. Please call (510) 304-2538.

Announcement Seeking Young Adults ages 18 – 40. Looking for people who have been diagnosed with Cancer and have already had treatment or are currently being treated. Anonymity Is Guaranteed. I am an Ohlone student in journalism and I am researching the need for support groups for this disease and age demographic. My subjectt is if there are support groups or if there is a need for them. If you are interested in helping me with my research, please contact me to answer a few questions.

You can also contact me if you have any experiences, stories or comments you wish to share. I welcome the information. Lu Ann Sorensen: (510) 792-9855 or luannsorensen@yahoo.com.

Read the Monitor Online at http://ohlone.edu/org/monitor

The Monitor invites your comments. Letters should be 250 words or less and include your name and relationship to Ohlone. Letters become property of The Monitor and may be edited for spelling and length. Campus Events listings are free for college-related events.

To have your event added or to place an ad, contact Danelle Meyer at (510) 659-6075 or e-mail monitorads@ohlone.edu

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Page 8

Over time

First and 10

By JEFF WEISINGER Sports editor

By RAHUL BATRA Sports writer

Defense strong for the Raiders

San Jose off to great start

With 0-5 start, and no offense, who’s the coach going to look up to to stay in the game?

You know what they say…

“Defense wins championships.”

But in the case of the Raiders, “Defense prevents a winless and even worse season.”

The last two games for Oakland have been highlighted by their defense, led by veteran defensive tackle Warren Sapp, linebacker Kirk Morrison and rookie defensive back Michael Huff.

In the 22-9 win against Arizona two weeks ago, Oakland’s defense held the Cardinals offense to just 224 yards, containing Arizona runningback Edgerrin James to just 34 yards rushing on 13 carries. And offensively, the Raiders looked somewhat improved as young quarterback Andrew Walter threw for 264 yards and one touchdown to Randy Moss, who had 129 yards receiving on seven catches.

Last week, as the offense once again struggled to move the ball a yard, the defense stepped up to the occasion, as they made Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha retuned an interception for 23 yards for the touchdown to open the scoring for Oakland in the first quarter. But that would not make it on Sportscenter’s Top 10, as teammate Chris Carr would intercept Roethlisberger in th fouth quarter and return the interception 100 yards for the score.

The Raiders would still allow the Steelers’ offense to 360 yards total offense, but they stepped up when they needed to, especially in the fourth quarter when the Steelers’ would drive down the field with less than two minutes remaining, but the Raiders’ defense would force an incompletion on fourth and goal inside their own 5-yard line to clinch the win.

The Raiders will look forward to continuing their clutch play on defense and improving their play on offense as they prepare to take on the Seattle Seahawks (4-3) on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

The Sharks rode a rollercoaster of a season in 2005-’06. Prior to last year’s opening day, many experts and analysts had them winning the Western Conference.

Now, the team did struggle in the first half of the season.

However, it wasn’t until a spectacular, blockbuster deal that helped catapult the Sharks toward the playoffs. The acquisition of Joe Thorton from the Boston Bruins essentially gave the Sharks the edge throughout the second half of the ’05-06 season. They scorched past their competition and looked like they would coast through the post season and win the Stanley Cup. Nevertheless, a tough and fantastic Edmonton Oilers team won four straight games against the Sharks despite San Jose going up 2-0. But, in spite of failing in the post season, San Jose is still one of the best-coached and managed teams in the NHL. And along with the talent on their roster, San Jose is looking pretty good.

This season the Sharks may have a goal tending controversy.

It will be a battle between two great goalies. Evgeni Nabokov, a former rookie of the year, and Vesa Toskala have both shown that they could be the starter.

Coach Ron Wilson may use both equally throughout the season.

The defense is also something to talk about. Scott Hannan and Kyle McLaren have turned into top, solid defenders. Now, it still may look like the defense is still something of a concern, but if they can get some great development from top prospect Matt Carle, the defense will have an edge. As for the offense, Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo have shown they can be great complements to each other on the ice. Both were scoring explosively last season, especially Thornton, who collected 72 points in 58 games. Add captain Patrick Marleau and Nils Eckman and you have four 20-goal scorers in the starting offense.

This season has shown why San Jose will be contenders for the Western Conference crown.

They have started the season at 9-4 and are in second place in the Western Conference.

Photos by Jeff Weisinger

Ohlone looked good offensively (top), but could not finish their attacks. In above photo, Renegades Goalie Charlie Schultz slides to stop a goal.

Men’s soccer woes continue

By Jeff Weisinger Sports editor The rough season for Men’s Soccer seems like it’ll never end.

The 2006 season has been anything but perfect, and it continued Tuesday. Once again, it was nothing to write home about as the Renegades lost at home to Skyline College 6-1.

The beginning of the game looked promising, as Ohlone would strike first to make the score 1-0 in the first half.

But mistakes would give Skyline opportunities to score twice to make the score 2-1 at halftime.

The second half looked familiar to the Renegades and their fans as Ohlone rallied and started a comeback, but Skyline shut down Ohlone in the second half.

More mistakes led to Skyline scoring off a corner kick against Renegade goalie Charlie Schultz, making it 3-1. Schultz later accidentally scored on himself as he lost control of a ball he had saved from going in the net, making it 41. Skyline would score twice more in the final minutes of the game to make the final score 6-1.

Renegades defenseman Fernando Flores would get red carded and be ejected from the game which

would lead to Ohlone being forced to play with only 10 players in the second half, which gave Skyline a one man advantage.

The Renegades, despite the loss, looked more improved and more aggressive than earlier in the season. Even though it’s been a rough year, this team will look to make a turnaround in 2007.

But for now, they look forward to playing Las Positas in their final home game Friday at 3 p.m. For Ohlone to win against Las Positas, they need to continue their aggressive and quick play, limit the mistakes, and win both halves, instead of trailing by one or more goals.

Women’s water polo eyeing playoffs

By Jeff Weisinger Sports editor A strong start and a strong finish is something the Women’s Water Polo Team knows far too much about.

Led by sophomores Jennifer Galan and Kat Ashley, the Lady Renegades were able to go a perfect 8-0 in conference this season, and

hope to continue their streak heading into the playoffs, which begin this weekend.

The foundation of this team would be their play defensively.

The defense, led by goalies Cindy Mestre and Emily Rivard helped carry this team to its 8-0 conference record, and hope to continue their success going into the playoffs this weekend.

After winning the conference championship for the first time in school history last year, they will look to defend their title as conference champions and continue their winning ways for the second year in a row in the conference championship this weekend in Saratoga, where they will play West Valley College, a team they’ve already defeated twice this year.