be shown at Brown Bag.
– Page 4
– Page 6
Men’s soccer defeats Los Positas. – Page 8
Fremont, California
Vol. XXXVI No. 10
OPINION
games.
Movies to
SPORTS
candy, video
NEWS
FEATURES
Club mixes
Obama is like ’92 Clinton. – Page 2
November 1, 2007
Quake brings up reminders of ’89 By Andrew Cavette Staff writer A magnitude 5.6 earthquake located near the junction of the Calaveras and Hayward faults struck the Bay Area Tuesday night. Immediately following the earthquake, campus police and facilities personnel conducted a search of Ohlone’s buildings and utilities. A more comprehensive follow-up check was conducted Wednesday morning. There was no apparent damage to the college. Bookstore cashier Amanda McCall said that nothing in the bookstore was damaged and that nothing fell off the store shelves. The morning after the quake, Senior Office Assistant for the Campus Police Alma Collopy said no earthquakerelated calls had come in. According to Assistant Director of Buildings
& Grounds Manmohan Gill, all of the gas mains were unaffected by the quake. For many, the quake was relatively uneventful. Ben Johnson, a student, was in his radio broadcasting class during the quake. Johnson said, “It was funny because some people [in the class] started freaking out.” Instructional Assistant, David Wood was working in Hyman Hall when the quake hit. Wood said, “I felt very safe and was impressed with how the building took the quake.” He noticed that many of the students in Hyman Hall stayed in class, but also said many others immediately left Hyman Hall. Wood said, “They freaked, but they probably had never been in an earthquake before.” According to an Earthquake Advisory released by the California Earthquake Continued on Page 3
Photo by Daniel Yuan
Kyle Beightler, left, and Taylor Rodriguez of Weslester play together at Ohlone’s ‘Rock the Hill’ concert Friday.
Conference focuses on state biotech lag
Jazz/Rock combo class steps in to bring music to the Hill
By Eric Dorman News editor
By Lila Salinas Staff writer
Biotechnology in the Bay Area is a promising new field with rapidly expanding job opportunities, but those jobs will move out of state and overseas if California continues to lag in funding biotech programs, according to a Hearing of Assembly and Senate members and panelists at a panel discussion at Ohlone Monday. “We must have a comprehensive plan to retain and expand the state biotech program,” said San Diego-based BIOCOM V.P. Jimmy Jackson. “We can’t assume that California will continue to grow in biotech.” The discussion was mainly centered around training the biotech workforce and information concerning jobs in the field. It Continued on Page 6
When the first chords of the “Rock the Hill” concert played Friday, it wasn’t by either of the two bands hired to perform, but by Ohlone’s own Jazz/Rock combo class. The class, which had been planning to play between the two bands, stepped in to perform after the bands failed to show up for the 2 p.m. start time. “We were scheduled to play in intermission, but when we saw no one was playing, we decided to step in,” said Music Instructor
Instructor Steve Dain dies By Lila Salinas Staff writer Human Reproduction Instructor Dr. Steve Dain died on Oct. 10 of breast cancer. He was 78. Dain was a well-known transgender faculty member who had been battling breast cancer for six years. The cancer recurred once in 2004 and then again in summer 2007. Dain was a greatly favored by his students and caused great impact in many lives. “Because of Dr. Dain’s knowledge, my husband and I have a beautiful baby girl that is now 3 months old,” said mother Amanda Phitsamay. According to the website www.
Steve Dain ratemyprofessor.com, students remembered him as an easygoing professor who cared about his students passing his class. Dain was scheduled to teach this fall semester at “Life Chiropractic
College West.” Dain was nicknamed “Dr.Dolittle” because he had a collection of reptiles, felines, dogs and farm animals. Born and raised in Oakland, he graduated from Oakland Tech High School in 1957. He later received his B.A. degree from the University of California in Berkeley in 1961, and then his master’s in physical education and child development. Dain is survived by his wife, Robyn; his brother, Douglas; his sister, Janice; and his two stepdaughters, Donna Webber and Suzanne Robbins. Services were held on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the Eden United Church of Christ at 11 a.m.
Tim Roberts. Though both bands eventually played before a sparse crowd, Associated Students of Ohlone College (ASOC) Senator Ken Steadman announced that the ASOC would not pay the band “Destroy All Operating Systems” because of their short performance and late arrival. At 2 p.m. Friday there was no music to be heard. The only thing in sight was the crowd of students hovering over the small table that was giving away free pizza and soda. On stage was Ken Steadman, trying to remain cool and collected
even though half the band members lined up were nowhere to be found. As time progressed and students began to get impatient, ASOC members tried to keep everyone from leaving by offering more pizza. It was about 2:30 p.m. when Roberts decided to take action. After a short set-up, several bands of students performed a variety of pieces until the stage was ready for “Destroy All Operating Systems.” “I guess you can say in a sense the Jazz Combo saved the show; if someone wouldn’t have begun to play I probably would’ve left,” Continued on Page 3
Slight budget deficit ahead for college By Andrew Cavette Staff writer Despite the appearance of a $1.5 million surplus in the 2007-’08 budget, the Ohlone College district will most likely have a net deficit next year. According to Director of Business Services Joanne Schultz, the expenses that will push the district into a net deficit in the next fiscal year are a combination of faculty raises and one-time expenditures. Schultz explained that all of the expenditures are planned for. “When all is said and done we will be spending more than we are taking in [for 2007-’08], but we
have money in our reserves,” said Schultz. “Money in the general fund that is one-time in nature, to do one-time things.” Among other things, the opening of the Newark center is on the list of foreseeable, one-time expenditures. “We have plenty of fund balance to cover [all of] it,” said Schultz. “We only need to have somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.5 million in our general fund, and the current balance is $8,016,000.” The college Board of Trustees must approve any expenditures that utilize funds in the reserves. The Board of Trustees Continued on Page 3
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monitor November 1, 2007
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Opinion Editor in chief: Anna Nemchuk News editor: Eric Dorman Opinion editor: Michael Aburas Features editor: Emily Burkett Sports editor: Tomas Ortega Photo editor: Dan Yuan Online editor: Matthew So Staff writers: Vanessa Baumann, Inez Black, Andrew Cavette, Brian Chu, Insiya Ginwala, Barry Kearns, Richard Killeen, Margarita Kitova, Elise Leon, Kaiser Meer, Jerome Nepacena, Lila Salinas, Kathy Sung. Graphics staff: Nick Bakovic Photo staff: Jack Husting Ad manager: Danelle Meyer Adviser: Bill Parks Printer: F-P Press Please recycle the Monitor
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
Barack Obama is similar to Bill Clinton of ’92 By Alex Hilke Correspondent He’s the youngest candidate in the race. He’s exciting and appealing to a predominately college-aged crowd with his politics of hope and charisma. He’s based his whole campaign on being a coalition builder in Congress and a Beltway Outsider. On the surface, anyone can see the similarities between Sen. Barack Obama in 2008 and Gov. Bill Clinton in 1992. Most political pundits will say that being the
youngest is a disadvantage rather than an advantage. “He’s too inexperienced to get the job done and unknown to win the general election.” They blind themselves from the energy, enthusiasm and creativity that comes from youth. I do not doubt for one second that the major reason Clinton was able to do so much for this country was his youth. I cannot picture a man or woman in their sixties or seventies having the resilience and patience to write the Dayton Peace Accords and lead our country through its eight most economically
prosperous years. Only someone with Obama’s youth can even dream to attack the office the way Clinton did in 1992. Clinton had a large grassroots campaign of mostly young college students fighting for him on the ground. This allowed organizing groups on campuses to throw house parties and send volunteers door-todoor all across the nation. It was good old homespun local politics and worked because when you take the message to the streets, those door knocks almost always
turn into votes. It’s funny how most pundits and candidates that once used such tactics forget how effective the fundamentals can be. This is the exact formula Barack Obama has implemented with the 2008 upgrade of the Internet. This has opened up the paths of communication to bring about more opportunities to get the message out. This brings me to my last point: the message. Youth and infrastructure are worthless assets if they don’t have the right message. And the message that has always
worked for Democrats, especially for Clinton and Obama, has been hope. He claimed he could clean up the corrupt politics of Washington because he was a governor from a small moderate state. He also claimed he would work across the aisle to get things done. Sen. Obama has made the same promises as a second-year junior senator from Illinois. With the world against us because of the war, what America needs right now is some genuine Bill Clinton-esque leadership.
president of the United States, it gives me the impression that major companies are trying to alter our perception and our point of view. We only hear Democrats’ views on how they’re going to fix the issues such as the Iraq war, health care for the poor and global warming, never the Republicans’ views, who also have good points like lowering taxes, border control and national security. I understand that many feel that we should not vote for an even more conservative candidate because of Bush and his “reign of terror.” However, just because there was
“one bad apple, does not spoil the whole bunch,” as the saying goes. On MTV, you only hear interviews from Obama and John Edwards, who are both Democratic candidates for next year’s election. They are very popular with MTV, and now their audience. Last year they were using the catchy slogan “Vote or Die,” featuring popular actors and artists, such as rap artist P. Diddy. This year they are using the slogan “Choose or lose,” with Robert Redford as their spokesman. MTV never uses a Republican or a more conservative representative
for their campaigns to be interviewed. It is all one-sided. Shouldn’t we, the viewers, be able to get both sides of the issues and answers to decide which candidate we agree with more? Now for Myspace - Hillary Clinton, also aDemocraticcandidate, has been getting a lot of propaganda through this website. You can always see her face in a commercial on the side of the computer screen, while reading your messages or comments from friends, that states her ideas on the Iraq War and strengthening the middle class. You never see Giuliani, McCain or other
Republican candidates. It’s a great idea to get people more involved in politics. I agree when most say that the youth in our country, as opposed to other areas of the world, are not as aware of what is going on in the world and that it affects all of us immensely. But to only show one side and one point of view of anything is wrong. An election should be equal and just - not biased. For us to have a fair election, all candidates should be represented on MTV and MySpace, equally, in order to allow their audiences to have fair access to information.
Biased exposure in trendy media outlets By elise leon Staff writer With the 2008 election getting closer, I can’t help but notice how MTV and MySpace are increasingly involved. MTV has been known to encourage viewers to vote since a few years back, when it became clear that our age group wasn’t as interested, or as informed, in politics and national issues as previous generations. However, since Bush became
Campus Comment > > >
Do you believe in any conspiracy theories?
robert Arreolla Music “Kennedy assassination.”
Crystal Doe stephanie gaerlan Nursing Kinesiology “The Amero.”
“I believe what I see.”
lisa gomez English Lit “Conspiracies are conspiracies.”
Jackie schmidt Admin. Assisting “My daughter is against me. She keeps me up at night.”
November 1, 2007 MONITOR
News
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College in good shape for quake Where were you during the quake? Continued from Page 1 Prediction Evaluation Council the “earthquake has significantly increased the probability above the normal level for a damaging earthquake along the Calaveras and/or Hayward faults within the next several days. However, the overall likelihood of such an event is still low. Scientists will be continuing to monitor the situation and advise OES of any changes.” A Hetch-Hetchy water pipeline travels underneath the Fremont campus but does not go under any of the buildings. According to Emergency Preparedness Coordinator George Rodgers, the pipeline is en-
gineered to withstand earthquakes, and was re-engineered several years ago to make it even stronger. It is now able to withstand a far more significant earthquake than Tuesday’s magnitude 5.6 quake. Rodgers said the power lines located to the east of the campus would be vulnerable to a quake with a magnitude of 8.0 or higher, which could possibily cause a grass fire. Rodgers said Ohlone is relatively safe because it is built on top of bedrock and firm soil. The Bay Area has about 1,500 quakes per year and most are undetectable. According to Rodgers, the Mission fault located under the Fremont campus hasn’t
had a major geological episode for hundreds of years. The fault is monitored, but it is now thought to be inactive. Before the campus was built, the state conducted exhaustive seismic studies and periodically checks the fault to make sure it remains inactive. Rodgers stressed that earthquakes “are not the San Andreas’s fault, and not the Hayward’s fault; they’re your fault if you’re not prepared.” Rodgers encouraged students to take one of the Personal Emergency Preparedness (PEP) classes he teaches periodically. He can be reached at grodgers@ ohlone.edu.
“I was sitting in my car, talking to my ex-girlfriend. I was wondering why the car was jumping all over.”
“I was in rehearsal for Much Ado. It sounded like the set was moving...we all went outside.” --James Lewis
--Carlos Patterson
“I was at a radio class here...it was funny because someone in the class was freaking out.” --Ben Johnson
“I was at home, on my computer, and I felt a subtle jolt. It scared the hell out of my parrot.” --Charles Olson
“I was in bed. I saw the windows shaking, so I started walking toward the front door.” --Matt Macedo
“I was in Palo Alto, visiting my nephew in the hospital. I thought it was cool.” --Catherine Eusebio
Bands Rock the Hill, better late than never Continued from Page 1 said student Jeremy Leonard. The part grindcore, part experimental “Destroy All Operating Systems” played for only about 20 minutes. Their performance was hampered by the absence of singing and drowned-out drumming. When asked why he didn’t sing, “Destroy All Operating Systems” singer and guitarist Aber Haleem
replied, “I just didn’t feel like doing it.” Drummer Josh Mendoza added that he didn’t think the drums needed to be miked. The next band, “Weslester” changed the show’s atmosphere, mellowing the performance out. The band was full of energy and had great stage presence. The Hyphy/Metal/Funk/Reggae band, which has been around
for about f i v e years, has recently p u b lished an album titled
“Prolonging the Days,” available at myspace.com/weslester. Hopefully, this first show served as an experiment to learn from, since the ASOC hopes to schedule at least eight performances next semester, when Steadman envisions an Ohlone version of “Battle of the Bands” a tournament of bands on campus. Next semester, bands will rock it out against each other. Only the best will be left in the final round. Prizes will be awarded to the winner of Rock the Hill. If the ASOC decides to go forward with having regular performances on campus, emphasizing the need for timeliness to the bands they bring to campus will be a necessity.
Although the campus has hosted live rock bands on campus, this is the first time a concert has performed under the name of “Rock the Hill.” Steadman, who heads the Live Music on Campus committee, felt that there was an absence of musical performances at Ohlone. Steadman decided to fill in that gap and took on the responsibility in producing the show.
Business Services Mike Caligari suggested hiring a company to manage the IT Department at more than twice the cost of the current budget. The Food and Cafeteria Committee announced that it is planning to conduct a survey of the student body in regard to organic foods. It was also mentioned that the current con-
tract for the cafeteria which is held by the company “Fresh and Natural” will be coming up this year. The ASOC took an advisory vote in regards to the Thanksgiving Feast, which has been an annual tradition at Ohlone College. For economic considerations, the planned caterer for the event would be Burrito Loco, which came in
Photos by Daniel Yuan
Bands play at the ‘Rock the Hill’ concert Friday. Jallah, left and top, of Wes Lester plays with Isaac B., top, and Taylor Rodriguez. Middle, Steve Gonsalez plays and left, Rizaldy Abawag, Alex Takacs and Arnold Stovall of the Jazz/Rock Combo Class play.
ASOC discusses food, plans for IT Department By Barry Kearns Staff writer With “Rock the Hill” behind them, the Associated Students of Ohlone College (ASOC) has now turned its attention to upcoming matters, including replacements for the president of Ohlone College, the future of the IT Department,
the state of the cafeteria and the upcoming Thanksgiving Feast. Sen. Ken Steadman brought up some highlights from the previous college Board of Trustees meeting. Steadman informed the ASOC that Ralph Kindred would be leaving the IT Department and some managers might be leaving with him. According to Steadman, Vice President of
Trustees approve budget Continued from Page 1 unanimously approved $44,982,329 for the 2007-’08 fiscal year budget on Oct. 10. The district’s estimated expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year are $43,475,730. This seemingly gives the college $1,509,599 in surplus revenue, but according to Schultz, the 2007-’08 expenditure estimate does not cover potentially bargained raises for faculty and staff. As a governmental entity, Ohlone must pass a budget by Sept. 15 to legally operate. Currently, the union negotiations regarding raises are ongoing. “It’s not really a surplus,” said Schultz. “The budget is in essence balanced, because raises are not included. [The state] provided a cost of living adjustment [COLA] at the beginning of the year. The COLA is on the entire budget, but we can’t include the amount that might be given to our [unions] until the contracts are settled . . . The $1.5 million that
looks like net income will really be taken up by those raises when they get put into effect.” According to Schultz, Ohlone had to increase the 2007-’08 budget well beyond the COLA from the state. “The revenue COLA we got was $1.8 million. That should have been plenty to cover raises and other increases that we had,” said Schultz. However, the district had to increase the 2007-’08 budget to accommodate some of the expenditures absent from the 2006-’07
budget. These included an estimated half-year expenditure for the Newark campus at $402,000, additional post-employment retirement benefits at $500,000 and the $145,000 cost of the president’s reorganization following President Doug Treadway’s retirement next summer. Schultz said, “We had to carve money out of the expenditure budget in order to have money for raises. We’re not overspending, because we have the money in reserves to do [all of] that.”
with a bid lower than that of the cafeteria’s. The amount discussed for the event came to $4,875. President Tatyana Hamady admitted the price seemed high but said the event was “well worth it.” The ASOC also approved a money request of $385 from the Math Club. The amount will go to prizes and other expenses.
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monitor November 1, 2007
Weighing Anchor
Features HALO-ween declares a winner
By Eric dorman News editor
Live in your own space When Microsoft spent $240 million on a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook last week, valuing the social networking site at $15 billion, I was—to put it mildly— shocked. When the world’s most successful software company values a 3-year-old start-up at almost one-fifth of its net worth, one has to wonder whether that start-up is really worth it. And in the case of Facebook and other social networking sites, I’d say it isn’t. At first glance, the deal appears solid. After all, with about 49 million active users and over 15 billion site views per month, Facebook, along with other sites like it, are coveted targets for web advertisers. On campus, I rarely have to look far for that tell-tale glint of blue at the top of computer screens that proves so irresistible to students and so irritating to teachers. Clearly, online social networking sites are well-visited. But still, sites such as MySpace and Facebook are so inferior to real-world interaction that I find it hard to believe the sites will continue to attract viewers over an extended period of time. Interaction on social networking sites is mainly limited to pictures (usually poor likenesses), comments (generally misspelled and bogged down with excessive emoticons) and sometimes instant messaging. In contrast, face-to-face communication is aided by actual facial expressions, figures of speech and the ability to actually do things together—be it taking a walk, playing a game, watching a movie or eating out. No matter how hard you argue the point, you’ll always have to admit that the world of MySpace is riddled with barriers. As with anything online, social networking eventually boils down to two separate people, on separate computers, communicating separately. Well, if I think MySpace and Facebook have very little going for them, what do I attribute their success to? I think that for the most part, the popularity of such sites has come from the novelty of them, not the promise of bigger and better experience. When social networking sites came into existence, they had an inherent coolness about them: for the first time, you could easily post content online and access the content that others had posted. You post comments on their page, and they could comment on yours. What could be better? I can think of plenty. How about chatting with the guy who sits next to you in class about the upcoming test? How about waving to the people you know on campus? How about hanging out with a group of your real, physical, non-electronic friends? It’s those kinds of experiences—not MySpace and Facebook pages—we should be valuing.
A costume competition was held during the gaming party. Jonathan Loza, above, dressed entirely in duct tape, won the competition. Eli Feriante, left, plays Halo 3 at the ‘HALOween’ video game party hosted by the Ohlone Game Developers Club [OGDC] Wednesday. More than 30 people visited Hyman Hall (HH116) throughout the day to test their skills on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo’s GameCube. Photos by Andrew Cavette and Daniel Yuan
Orchestra records CD with trumpetist By Inez Black Staff writer A full house, a standing ovation and 50 fans crowding the stage with questions for performers Mike Vax, trumpet soloist, the Ohlone Wind Orchestra members and Tony Clements, conductor: who could ask for a better Sunday afternoon at the Smith Center? Actually, the fans bursting onto the stage were a busload of junior high band members from Merced. The icing on the cake - on Oct. 29, Mike Vax returned to record a CD with the Wind Orchestra for an album of trumpet soloists to be released by Summit Records. Tom Johnson, recording engineer, stated, “The profits from the album we’re recording today with trumpeter Mike Vax will be donated back to the band.” Johnson, adjunct instructor at Ohlone in radio, was the marriage broker for the project. “He’s one of the finest jazz trumpeters on earth. He was Stan Kenton’s solo trumpet player for 20 years. That’s a league of only five trumpet players on earth…He is an absolute jazz musician that can play at any moment, in any key, any rhythm or melody,” continued Johnson. “A Trumpeter’s Lullaby,” by Leroy Anderson, arranged by Philip J. Lang and a trumpeter and audience favorite, was performed Oct. 28 and will be on the CD. Anderson was an arranger for Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. Although Vax has been a jazz performer for 40 years, his roots are in classical music. Vax said, “This will be a semiclassical album. ‘Dramatic Essay’ was written for one of my teachers, Don Jacoby. Don Jacoby came to my high school in 1960 when I was a senior and did a solo concert and
clinic, like I did here. That changed my life. He took a liking to me and got me to go to the Stan Kenton summer clinics and really got me started as a pro. I owe him a lot. So, I knew that one of the pieces I wanted to do was Dramatic Essay because it was written for him.” Tony Clements, conductor of the Wind Orchestra stated, “Mr. Vax is a well known and eminent trumpet soloist virtuoso. He has played with virtually every great jazz big band around. He has his own group called Trumpets. He is in demand as a teacher, as a soloist and as a guest artist. We were lucky to have him… We’ve recorded five pieces tonight. We have four or five more to do.” Vax’s non-profit organization, Friends of Big Band Jazz, emphasizes workshops for kids. “It sponsors everything we do. They raise money so that we can get the bands and the musicians out to the kids. We’ve given over $30,000 in scholarships for kids to go to summer music camps. I’m proud of that; it’s a wonderful Board [of Directors] that works very hard,” Vax continued. The Wind Orchestra is the only wind orchestra that was invited to play at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. They declined the invitation due to cost, about $3,000 for each band member to attend. Last year, the Ohlone Wind Or-
chestra played at the American Band Masters Convention in San Luis Obispo. Only six bands are invited from across the United States. Clements said, “Those invitations are very, very difficult to get. When I was in Colorado at the Band Conducting Seminar, people were asking me how to get invited to it, but I couldn’t tell them how we were selected.” The Wind Orchestra was invited and will play at the Wind Band Festival in Fresno in March 2008. Clements is the principal tubist in the San Jose Symphony, now known as Symphony Silicon Valley. His teaching positions include Stanford University, Cal State East Bay and Ohlone College as Director of Bands, in addition to the 50-member Wind Orchestra. Clements also directs the 25-member Tuba Union of the Bay Area. Vax, a Bay Area resident, leads the Stan Kenton Alumni Band composed of players from the ’50s
to ’70s. They tour by bus “like in the old days” and sometimes do cruises. Vax tours the world giving workshops and concerts on trumpet, cornets and flugelhorns, primarily at the high school and college level with the sponsorship of Gertzen Company. In addition, Vax played lead and solo trumpet with the Clark Terry Big Band and the U.S. Navy Show Bank. Vax has performed and recorded with such greats as Art Pepper, Al Grey, Freddy Hubbard, Gene Krupa, John Hardy, Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras and the Dukes of Dixieland in New Orleans. Vax has recorded over 75 albums, including 20 albums under his own name. For the complete album or the Ohlone CD, see Amazon.com under Mike Vax collection. The CD of the performance can also be obtained from Clements, band members or at concerts for $15.
Features Dias de los Muertos in full swing
November 1, 2007 monitor
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Devil’s Advocate By Anna Nemchuk Editor-in-chief
Desire rules all
Photos by Daniel Yuan
Dias de los Muertos begins today. The traditional ceremony includes an optimistic tribute to the afterlife. An exhibit is on display in the Smith Center until Nov. 9.
Influential director retiring after 30 years By Barry Kearns Staff writer This December, amid the excitement of the opening of the new Newark Ohlone Campus, the director of facilities, Simon Barros, will be retiring after 30 years of service. Barros started at Ohlone College on Aug. 17, 1977; he recalled the date because it was the day after Elvis Presley had died. He had applied for a job as an electrician; he then moved up to become a lead, then the assistant director of facilities and, in 1991, he became the director of facilities. Currently, Barros oversees 30 people in the maintenance of the college including custodial, grounds and other trades. He will be retiring on Dec. 27 of this year. Barros said that between all of his accomplishments, the Newark Ohlone College will be the highlight of his career. Using the LEED rating system, which stands for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design,
Barros said that his original goal part of the job, Barros had no hesihad been for a gold rating, but his tation in saying that it’s the people own expectations were surpassed as he’s been able to work with. He also the building now holds a platinum added that with his position “every status. The LEED rating was cre- day is something new” and that he consisated by the tently wakes U.S. Green up looking Building forward to Council and coming to is a benchwork. mark for all W h e n aspects of asked about green buildwhat makes ings. Barros him proud has had a of his time role in conhere, Barstruction of ros said that the building since it was he is proud Photo by Barry Kearns o f m a n y conceived. W h i l e Simon Barros is retiring af- things, but he won’t especially ter 30 years with Ohlone. be here to of his staff oversee the and what building of the Student Services they’ve accomplished. In his ofBuilding, he said that he’s set up fice, he keeps a small collection of everything so that he can “step antiquities dug up on the grounds, back and let someone else finish among them some old bottles and the project.” doorknobs. In his time at Ohlone, When asked about his favorite he has also taken many photographs
that have documented the changes and growth of the campus. He remembers the Ohlone campus smaller and has seen many changes, starting in 1994 with the addition of the Smith Center and improvements in the lighting system. Barros holds degrees in supervisor management and in horticulture. Horticulture had started off as a hobby, but as Barros became more adept in the field, he was able to use his knowledge in the landscaping of the college. As an electrician, Barros has also worked overseas in Hong Kong with the Navy, the Aleutians and in Vietnam. He also worked in a factory owned by the St. Regis Company for three years before coming to Ohlone. He recalled the stark juxtaposition of the confined working area of the company and how open the Ohlone campus was and said that added much enjoyment to his time here. As much as he enjoys his work here, Barros also said that he is “most definitely” looking forward to retirement.
Certainly not ‘much ado about nothing’ By Kathy Sung and Lila Salinas Staff writers Shakespeare usually brings to mind men in tights and long monologues. However, on Nov. 8-10,
Much Ado About Nothing will be presented in a whole new way in the Jackson Theater. Tickets can be bought from the Smith Center box office by calling 659-6031. Tickets are $10 for students, seniors and children and
Meeting for Sydney Professor George Rodgers will lead a trip to Sydney, Australia to occur next fall. There will be an informational meeting concerning the study abroad program on Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. in Room 5209. The program offers a variety of courses for participating students including classes in the disciplines of anthropology, art history, geography, political science and English. Students will have the opportunity to explore Australian culture while staying with host families and taking regular excursions. For more information on the program, go to www.ohlone. edu/org/studyabroad/sydney. Interested parties should contact Rodgers at (510) 659-6257 or at grodgers@ohlone.edu.
$12 for general admission. According to Tom Blank, the director, the play Much Ado About Nothing will be given a new look. Although there are some changes to the original play, the actors will be using the same language. However, this is not the original Much Ado About Nothing. Blank has recreated the original Shakespeare play in a new setting in 1906 San Francisco; the original play was set in Italy. The play will
be done with a more modern style to create a “visual world” for the audience, using a variety of lighting and sound effects. Blank said that there is “no Shakespeare language in the first two minutes of the play.” A popular comedy of Shakespeare, this version will have “a little extra comedy to it.” He said that this version of Much Ado About Nothing is “Shakespeare with a shot of espresso” and he wants to “encourage the whole college to come and see it.” The play is a combination of unique talents including stage managers, costume designers, scene designers, actors and many more. Stacey Lynn Bell will be playing the part of Hero. Wes Walters will play Claudio. Patrick Hilt will play Benedick. Jackie Tebow will play Ursula. Bobby August will play Don Pedro. Bohn Kerns will play Don John. Tabbitha McBride and Heidi Burns will both play Beatrice.
Desire. It’s what rules every one of us. Every living thing on this earth lives and dies because of it. Yet only humans are ashamed of it. We invent religions to deal with our desires, build fortresses, don habits and uniforms, leave home, die and kill for it. There is nothing from which humans run as far and as long from as their own desires. Buddhism teaches that desire must be overcome, neglecting the fact that to do so, one must desire such a thing in the first place. Christianity and Judaism assert that one should desire god above all things, letting earthly wants be but a stepping stone to spiritual glory, painting the concept of desire at once as unsavory for its own sake and a potential distraction from the one correct desire according to them - closeness to the divine. What about the desire to live? To live well? To die well? Might I even sneak in a little pursuit of liberty and happiness? What’s wrong with wanting to excel, to compete, to pursue, to accomplish, to, at the heart of it all, enjoy? What is so damn wrong with desire as an end in itself? Quite a bit, actually. Wanting to eat leads to obesity. Wanting sex leads to debauchery and AIDS. Wanting knowledge leads to disobedience. Wanting a better car leads to global warming and if I buy an SUV, California will fall off into the ocean tomorrow. Wanting peace while shopping leads to ignoring the jingling Santa imposter on the corner collecting money for armless, legless, headless orphans in Botswana, which leads to smouldering guilt on your part, which leads to kicking the dog when he knocks over your tea later, which leads to yelling at your kid, who’s upset about the dog, which leads the kid into therapy, which eventually leads you to down a bottle of sleeping pills with a chaser of rat poison when that kid sticks you in a nursing home and you’re miserable, sick and alone. With no dog. Desire just sucks, doesn’t it? Yes. And no. The point is that for better or worse, human beings are given at least the illusion of free choice. Desire is our greatest utensil. In the Photoshop of life, desire is the ultimate Fix tool. To run from desire is not brave or noble or honorable. It’s stupid, cowardly and shortsighted. The trick is to indulge your desires, whether they be grand and sweeping or seedy and trivial while trying to let everyone else do the same. Otherwise, people’s desire to throw your ass in jail might overrule all your desires. Now if you’ll excuse me, my deep, dark lust for another cup of coffee will not be denied.
6 MONITOR
News
November 1, 2007
Panelists discuss future of state biotech industry Continued from Page 1 was pertinent to the Bay Area because of the high number of biotech jobs here—about 900 companies, enough to make the area the largest biotech hub in the world—and the relative lack of training available. While the opening of the Newark campus this spring will eventually bring the total number of yearly Ohlone biotechnology students up to around 500, said Dean of Science, Technology and Academic Affairs Ron Quinta, many other schools do not have the funds for such an expansion. But while there may be a shortage of biotech training programs in California, there is no shortage of demand for the workers they produce. Not only is the average yearly starting salary for a trained biotech worker $70,000, said president of local non-profit BayBio Matt Gardner, but this year there is a demand of about $100 billion that “needs to be spent” onthe manufactur-
ing of biotech products. Because of the shortage of workers and manufacturing facilities, California companies will probably cash in on less than half of this $100 billion, said Gardner. If California continues to fail to capitalize on manufacturing opportunities such as these, the state will lose more and more biotech dollars to other states and nations, said Gardner. Already, many states have expressed interest in becoming big players on the biotechnology field, particularly North Carolina, that in September cut the ribbon for the world’s largest biotech training center at North Carolina State University. The Bay Area’s location has been both a huge advantage and an impediment to the growth of the area’s biotech industry. It has been a benefit, said East Bay Economic Development Alliance Technology and Trade Director Robert Sakai, because of what he called “technol-
ogy fusion:” the blending of two separate disciplines—in this case, technology and biology, two Silicon Valley industry mainstays—into an entirely new field. However, the very industry that made Silicon Valley successful has made the local housing prices so prohibitive that biotech workers often have trouble finding affordable homes in the vicinities of their workplaces. Despite general lack of funding, however, schools and agencies have worked to roll out different types of biotech training programs in recent years. At Ohlone, Quinta said the college is moving forward on a variety of different programs. One, called the Learning Alliance for Bioscience (LAB) program, which aims to train interested high school students in biotechnology, already has six area high schools participating, with 240 high school students and 60 eighth grade students in the program. Another program trains
Mental health expert to speak By Brian Chu Staff writer The Psychology Club will bring Dr. John Contrufo to Ohlone this Friday to hold an open forum on psychiatric/psychological disorders. The event will be held in Room 8205 between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Contrufo said he wishes to educate the society at large on mental illnesses because he said “a lot of the stigmas (regarding mental health) are based on ignorance.” Contrufo believes there is a lot of damaging of self esteem in our society. It has become an epidemic. “It’s really about the wounding of our children. So much of what we see in adult life starts very early and
the confusion then comes through into the adult life.” When asked what he would tell students at Ohlone that have to make difficult decisions, Contrufo replied with, “The process of decision making is the same at any age. There is no guarantee the important thing is taking the responsibility for the choice. With mental health, the worst choice is death.” During medical school, when Contrufo was going through a lot of personal problems, he had both an academic and clinical interest in psychiatry. Contrufo finished residency in 1975 and has spent his entire career is in Alameda county. He enjoys working with disenfranchised people. “It’s part being a
doctor, part being an advocate,” said Contrufo. After the forum, the Psychology Club and other attendees will meet at Mission Pizza for refreshments and to discuss the event. The Psychology Club’s future events include bringing Furry Friends, a group whose mission statement “is to consistently facilitate delivery of the love and affection of our volunteers and their pets. We enhance the lives and touch the hearts of people with special needs.” They will be at Ohlone on Nov. 30. The Psychology Club also plans to visit the sleep clinic at Stanford next semester.
displaced workers for biotech careers, and a third trains students currently in biotech jobs more thoroughly so they can advance in their company. An added bonus of this last program, said Quinta, is that the positions that are vacated when the employee moves higher provide jobs that can be filled by Ohlone biotech graduates. Other associations had plans of their own for training the next wave of scientists and technicians. Many of these emphasized a hands-on approach to learning, with a mix of classroom learning and internships at area biotech firms. Many of these programs are funded by grants distributed by the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB), which distributed over $1 million in grants over the past three years. CSUPERB is asking for an additional $3 million from the state to
fund its program. Once trained, more substaintial money exists for beginning biotech students. For example, in the first half of this year venture capitalists invested $340 million in life sciences companies, which, totaled with the funds made available by the Energy Biosciences Institute and the Joint BioEnergy Institute, resulted in $1.26 billion that will flow into life sciences companies over the next several years. When asked whether she was pushing any pro-biotech legislation, 10th District Sen. Ellen Corbett said that while she tries to encourage biotech funding when possible and makes an effort to allocate more money for biotech in the yearly budget, she personally is not leading any legislation calling for more funding. She said she was hopeful that the success of biotechnology would soon eliminate the need for state funding.
Focus of talk: fun Math Instructor Jeff O’Connell is very clear when it comes to describing the purpose the Brown Bag science seminar he will lead this Friday: It will not be to inform, or to instruct, or to teach anything about science. The goal of the talk is purely entertainment. In fact, O’Connell won’t even be doing all of the talking. The seminar, entitled “Math in the Movies and on TV,” which will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. in Room 3201, will be mainly composed of a collection of humorous math-related film clips from such sources as Abbott and Costello and the Simpsons. The clips range from division humor to differential equations and linear algebra hilarity. O’Connell said he would explain only enough math to make the more advanced wit accessible to all. Anyone interested in learning more about the talk may go to www.ohlone.edu/people/joconnell/mathclips/.
Campus Events CLASSIFIEDS Tutor Wanted -- For second grade students. For more information, please contact Ria at: pgupta8@yahoo.com or call (408) 234-0300. NOW HIRING $11$18 -- Do you love working with children? Become a substitute.We need teachers, aides & directors for preschools, daycares and after school programs all over the Bay Area. Schedules are flexible. You pick your days, hours, region and age group. We will work around your availability. Pls call (866) 994-7823, email at calstaff@sbcglobal. net or visit our website: www.CaliforniaStaffingService.com.
November 1 LIFE Meeting -- 2:40 to 3:40 p.m. in the Palm Bosque if the weather is good or Room 14A if the weather is bad. The LIFE club meets on Thursdays. Come join the fun and take part in "Liberated Individuals for the Environment." Everyone is welcome. 1 New Art Gallery Exhibit -- Up until Nov. 9 in the Art Gallery. This exhibit is “Dias De Los Muertos,” in honor of the Mexican celebration of their ancestors. The gallery is open Monday to Friday from noon to 3 p.m. 1 Campus Tour -- 4 p.m. in the lobby of Building 1.
The Ohlone Student Ambassadors conduct campus tours the first and third Thursday of every month. Tours will begin promptly at 4 p.m. and will last approximately one hour. Please make sure to wear comfortable shoes, as you will be doing quite a bit of walking. 1-5 WebAdvisor Will Be Unavailable -- During these days, WebAdvisor will be unavailable for system upgrading. 2 Brown Bag Seminar -- Math in Movies and TV: presented by Jeff O’Connell, a math instructor here at Ohlone, from 1 to 2 p.m. in Room 2133. O’Connell will present a riotous collage of movie and TV clips which contain math references. Taken from such sources as Abbott and Costello, this presentation is sure to tickle both your funny bone and your brain. Free refreshments are available prior to event and the event is free. Check the Ohlone web page for more information on upcoming Brown Bag seminars. 2-3 Men’s Water Polo Coast Conference Championships -- All day here at Ohlone. 3 Women’s Basketball - Scrimmage all day here at Ohlone. 4 Information Meeting: Explore China with Ohlone -- 12:30 p.m. in Room HH-208. 7 Women’s Volleyball -- 6:30 p.m. vs. Hartnell College here at Ohlone.
7 New Art Gallery Exhibit -- Up until Dec. 5 in the Art Gallery. This exhibit is “Much Ado About Nothing,” In cooperation with Ohlone’s theater department, an exhibit guest-curated by the producer of “Much Ado About Nothing,” Tom Blank. The gallery is open Monday to Friday from noon to 3 p.m. 8 LIFE Meeting -- 2:40 to 3:40 p.m. in the Palm Bosque if the weather is good or Room 14A if the weather is bad. The LIFE club meets on Thursdays. Come join the fun and take part in “Liberated Individuals for the Environment.” Everyone is welcome. 8-10 Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing -Performance by the Ohlone Theatre Department at 8 p.m. in the Jackson Theatre. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the box office or call (510) 659-6031. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults. 10-11 Men’s Basketball - Jonathan Wallace Memorial Tournament -- All day here at Ohlone.
day -- Veterans Day Holiday. No classes. 14 World Forum: Deaf Culture: An International Perspective -- Noon to 2 p.m. The World Forum is free to the community. World Forums are most often held in the Epler Gymnasium. 14 Women’s Volleyball -- 6:30 p.m. vs. Gavilan College here at Ohlone. 15 Last Day To Drop -This is the last day to drop classes and receive a W grade. All day. 1 5 G re a t A m e r i c a n Smoke-out -- All day free in the Quad. Features “Cold turkey” breakfast and free turkey give-away. 15 Interviewing Skills Workshop -- 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. in Room HH-113. Sign up by email to: ssc@ ohlone.edu or visit the counseling window in Building 1. Presented by Tri-Cities One Stop Career Center, Newark and the Ohlone College Student Success Center. This event is free. 15-17 Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing -- Performance by the Ohlone Theatre Department at 8 p.m. in the Jackson Theatre. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit the box office or call (510) 659-6031. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults.
10 Super Flea Market -- 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in parking lots E and H. Vendors sell a variety of things like jewelry, food, tools, gift items, toys, household supplies and collectibles. Flea markets are held on the second Saturday of each month. Parking is $2 per vehicle and admission is free. All proceeds support Ohlone 16 Brown Bag Seminar College programs. Just in -- NanoTechnology: From time for holidays. Fundamentals to Function: Industry’s Vision and 12 No Classes For Holi Strategy. Event is from 1
November 1, 2007 monitor
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to 2 p.m. in Room 2133. Dr. Sengupta, Ph.D at Intel Corp., will present “next generation projects” in nanotechnology and physical chemistry. She will share insights into exciting cutting-edge careers in science. Free refreshments will be available prior to event and the event is free. Check the Ohlone web page for more information on upcoming Brown Bag seminars. 16 Chops Big Band: Sound of the Americas -- 8:30 p.m. in the Smith Center. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the box office window located at the front of the Smith Center. 17 Women’s Basketball -- 7 p.m. vs. College of Marin here at Ohlone. 18 Women’s Basketball -- 6 p.m. vs. San Joaquin Delta College here at Ohlone. 22-25 Thanksgiving Holiday -- This is a holiday break. No classes. 28 Women’s Basketball -- 7 p.m. vs. Las Positas College here at Ohlone. 30 Brown Bag Seminar -Global Warming. Event is from 1 to 2 p.m. in Room 2133. Juliet Hoffman will present compelling scientific evidence of global warming as well as its effect on the polar bears and other threatened species. Free refreshments will be available prior to event and the event is free. Check the Ohlone web page for more information on upcoming Brown Bag seminars.
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 1, 2007
Leon catches fire in Men’s win By Tomás Ortega Sports editor Men’s Head Soccer Coach Harold Whitmore said it as best as he could, “It’s not going to be a pretty win.” That’s what he had to say after his team’s 2-1 win over Las Positas College Friday afternoon. Friday’s game was one of those games that your buddies tell you that you should have been at. The game featured all that could possibly be displayed at a good soccer match, especially with the fact that Ohlone is such a young, developing team. Enter the first half, Ohlone is doing their best to try and reach the back of the net. While on the offensive, the Renegade's Roni Matar is knocked down while doing his best to punch the ball into the box. LPC’s mid-fielder is then able to steal the ball without being flagged for a foul and takes the ball up the right sideline, where he then crosses it into the middle of the field and his teammate is able to take advantage of an Ohlone defense that is late getting back. LPC struck first, and jumped out to an early 1-0 lead 4 minutes into the game. But this was supposed to be an ugly game, remember. Not more than a minute later, Abel Leon, who Coach Whitmore later said was on fire, blew his way past two Las Positas defenders into the middle of the box and scored from 10 yards out, beating the LPC goalie for Ohlone’s first score. That would be all either team would get in the first half. Each squad kept each other’s offense in check by playing stellar defense and
In a game that went scoreless, defense, hustle, heart and execution were on full display during the Ohlone Women’s Soccer game Tuesday afternoon against West Valley College. When the game began, both teams looked out of rhythm offensively and neither was able to get the upper hand. During several possessions, Ohlone’s Fanny Koloko Green looked to push the tempo and try and make something happen for the Lady Renegades, but West Valley was able to get back on defense and keep her from executing any plays. Goalkeeper Shabnam Razawi was put to work. She did a good job of protecting the goal, making it even clearer that this game was going to be won on the defensive end. Razawi finished with seven saves. On the offensive end, a lot of shot attempts by both teams were missed high or just short, but at times the ball would be deflected before it could even make it into the goalie’s box. When Green was finally able
Triples alley By Tomás Ortega Sports editor
November loving
Photo by Tomás Ortega
Abel Leon goes up to score his second goal of the game after receiving a cross from Kevin Chow. not giving each other much room to get a shot off. The second half was where the game got a bit less ugly and Ohlone showed just a bit of pizzazz. In the 65th minute of the game, Ohlone got hot. The Renegade's mid-fielder took the ball up his right sideline and set a beautiful cross that was met by the side of Abel Leon’s head, shooting into the back of LPC’s goal for an Ohlone 2-1 lead. That proved to be the game-winning goal by Leon. After the game, Leon deflected all praise for his excellent perfor-
mance and instead gave thanks to his teammates, including the injured Julio Castaño who tore his ACL earlier in the year. Leon said, “I was working really hard. I knew I was going to get opportunities. Mark [Wilson] also played great as a forward. He was helping me out a lot. I got a lot of those shots off, two went in and we got the win 2-1. It was a good day.” Although Abel did notch the two goals to seal a victory for the Renegades, had it not been for Kevin Chow’s splendid cross, the result
may have been different. Chow said of his play, “If I tear a hamstring I don’t care. I’m just going to run as hard as I can for the goal. Then I saw Abel and I crossed it. And I saw it floating like a bird and it just landed right there. Just perfect.” Coach Whitmore praised Leon’s game. He was even surprised that Abel didn’t walk away with more than two goals on the day. That is some serious expectations for a first year player. Hopefully, the Renegades can meet those high expectations when they match up vs. Skyline, Friday.
to break free for a couple of shots she missed both, but as always the aggression was still there. The score going into halftime was 0-0, but both teams looked very active on both ends and just couldn’t put the ball in the goal.
In the second half it was more of the same, good one-on-one defense by West Valley countered by good team defense by Ohlone. Overall, the game was played precisely how it was scored, which was even. Coach Larry Heslin had nothing
but praise for West Valley’s team, “They played great, they’ve got a great team over there,” When asked about the draw he said “Of course we’d like to get the win every time, but I think we played well on both ends.”
Women’s soccer play to a tie By Jerome Nepacena Staff writer
Page 8
Photo by Jerome Nepacena
Rachel Morgan stops short to retrieve the ball before her counterpart.
Ahhhhh yes... It's now November, and that means we just waved goodbye to my one true love this past October (baseball, if you already didn’t know). Regardless, while baseball is away, I get to start my lust affair with both the NBA and the King that is the N-F-L. This past Sunday was the end to a World Series that folks found very boring. It’s sort of hard for me to understand why they think that way. I mean it was a baseball game, no? Well, since baseball isn’t played in November lets, keep this ship moving. The greatness that is, the Rai-dehhss. They are not doing well enough to really talk much about. The offense is almost as bad as last year, only with a much better ground game than before. But their quarterback situation is horrific. I just don’t see Daunte Culpepper having that much left in him to put the team on his shoulders. Now speaking of shoulders. 49er QB, Alex Smith, seems to have messed up his shoulder again. The way he was throwing the ball the other day really scares me and gets me wondering if maybe we should grab another QB before the coaching staff is forced to put Dilfer in again. But enough of the negative, how bout “some” positive. The Warriors hosted the team that eliminated them from competition in the playoffs last April, Utah Jazz. It was such a highly anticipated game that the Bay Area decided to shake to a tune of a 5.6 magnitude on the Richter scale. I actually doubt, as well, that the Oracle had anything to do with the movement of the plates. But it was an exciting game. However, it was a bit anti-climactic seeing the Warriors run into the same problems that caused them to lose the four games of the Western Conference semi-finals. Since they have nobody who can control the boards consistently, they must rely on their shooting. And shooting does include free throws, which the Golden State only made 26 of 38, translating to a lackluster 68 percent. The Warriors are truly the only team that is any fun to watch in the Bay Area right now. Sorry Sharks. Maybe November won’t give us a passionate love affair, especially with two of the three teams in the Bay crushing our souls. But hey, let's just take this for a ride and see where we end up. Hopefully, Golden State can give us some magic. And maybe the Raiders or ‘Niners can legitimately win some games.