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Women's soccer win fifth straight.
Readers weigh in on free speech. – Page 2
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OPINION
College stays prepared with container.
SPORTS
NEWS
FEATURES
Art aims to portray reality.
Fremont, California
September 25, 2008
Meet the new Big Man on Campus
Board talks over report
Vol. XXXVIII No. 4
By William O. Martin Staff writer
Photo by Eric Dorman
7-foot 4-inch center Ring Ayuel brings unprecidented height to the Ohlone Men's basketball team. Even more incredible than Ayuel's massive stature his history— Ayuel was forced to flee his native Sudan at the age of 11. See story, Page 5.
Dean of Science, Engineering and Technology Ron Quinta presented an overview of the Science, Engineering and Technology Division. The presentation to Ohlone trustees Wednesday night included composition and data on trends, along with new grants, collaborations and special programs. He wrapped up his presentation with a few ideas of areas he felt needed improvement. The Board then discussed their accreditation report. The first draft is due Oct.15. In the report they plan to cover how they have improved the communication of the board and how they plan to improve the board and their communications with the college community. The accreditation report responds to the recommendations of improving the board. Recommendations 5-8 include ideas, expectations and goals for the betterment of our board. Led by President Dr. Gari Browning, the board then reviewed Chapters 1 through 3 of the handbook, with particular attention to “Evaluating CEOs and Self Evaluation.’ The Board then covered everyone’s role on the board and discussed the expectations of each role and their duties. Then they each took recommendations of how they could improve in the accomplishments of their duties.
College declines deal with Fremont Symphony By Kathy Sung Staff writer An agreement that would have turned Fremont Symphony Orchestra box office, music department, marketing accounting operations over to Ohlone has fallen through, according to college and symphony officials. Although former President Doug Treadway had arranged with the symphony before he left his
office, President Gari Browning and Ohlone staff decided not to go ahead with the deal. According to Dean of Language & Performing Arts Walt Birkedahl, although the deal did not work out, Ohlone is still upholding a portion of the deal. Ohlone is currently managing part of the Fremont Symphony Orchestra and helping out with the Orchestra’s marketing section. The Fremont Symphony Orchestra ben-
efits from the system because they are “reaching many more people with a higher level of professional design.” Birkedahl mentioned if the agreement had been passed, then the “burden on Ohlone employees would be too much.” To accent his thought, Birkedahl gave the example of the box office worker who was working 30 hours a week with an extra five on top of that. Marketing for the Fremont Sym-
phony Orchestra consists of the multi-paged brochure that Ohlone produces as part of its performing arts program. The shiny brochure consists of all the events of Ohlone and the addition of the Fremont Symphony results in “five more events in…[Ohlone’s]…brochure.” The addition of the Fremont Symphony Orchestra events “gives the readers of the brochure a better picture of what we offer in the
manner of performers and artists.” Birkedahl did mention that Ohlone had been “working with the symphony for many years. These recent events brings [the relationship] to a new level.” Susan Rose, general manager of the Fremont Symphony Orchestra, described the ordeal as a heavily discussed agreement between the box office, the music department, Continued on Page 3
Clubs show their wares at event By Ankita Chhabra Staff writer Now that students are four weeks into school, and have finally figured out the building numbers and where to get their coffee in the morning, some may still feel like there is something missing from the big picture. Ohlone’s student activities clubs are the solution. Club Days, an expose for the various clubs at Ohlone, were held on Tuesday, Sept. 23 and Wednesday, Sept. 24 at the Palm Bosque. Various clubs put out displays and prizes with a carnival theme. Students wondering about what club that best represents their views and interests have a plethora of options at Ohlone. Whether it is photography that intrigues you or psychology that mesmerizes its mystery to you, students have over 26 clubs to choose from to get involved with. There can be benefits
that come along with being involved with student activities. The APASA (Asian Pacific American Student Association) thanks its members toward the end of the semester by giving them rewards for their services and their participation in the club. Many clubs also sponsor field trips as part of their activities. The GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) is fundraising for a San Francisco trip in the coming weeks for example. Other events happen with Ohlone activities too. Clubs such as the Chinese Student Association holds bowling nights for its members to encourage them to get to know each other. The Game Developers Club (GDC) hopes to engage their members in a creative way by teaching them about game designs and other aspects that make a video game. GDC adviser Richard Grotegut said, “We want people to play and enjoy what they are doing.” Continued on Page 3
Photo by Ankita Chhabra
Students from the Asian Pacific American Student Association pose at Club Days Tuesday.
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monitor September 25, 2008
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 General Excellence Fall 1994 General Excellence Fall 2000 General Excellence Fall 2004 General Excellence Fall 2005
Opinion
Editor in chief: Eric Dorman News editor: Kyle Stephens Opinion editor: Brian Chu Features editor: Andrew Le Sports editor: Jeff Weisinger Photo editor: Japneet Kaur Online editor: TBA Staff writers: Inez Black, Jacque Orvis, Benjamin Chang, Ankita Chhabra, Suchi Gupta, Nicole Johnson, William Martin, Ryan Richmond, Anna Biantz Roldan, Kathy Sung, Farnoosh Vahedi Photographers: TBA Ad manager: Jacque Orvis 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
Readers weigh in on free speech at Ohlone Conservatives do not deserve free speech Dear Editor: There was an opinion piece in your Sept. 18 issue entitled “Appreciate Free Speech.” I had to read it twice before I realized that it wasn’t sarcastic. The author goes into great detail on how there is a witch-hunt like attack focused on those people on campus with a conservative ideology. He claims that conservatives’ right to free speech is not being respected. He even points out that groups like the KKK, and NAMBLA deserve the right to voice their opinion, and he is correct on both accounts. This is where is gets interesting. Because if the conservative students have the right to say that gay people
don’t deserve the same human rights as they do, or that torture is perfectly acceptable, then I have the right to tell them that they are ignorant bigots. Free speech means that you can say whatever you want without consequences from the government, but it doesn’t say that you can whatever you want without consequences from me. Now normally if someone wants to spout off ignorant ridiculous ideas like “astrology is a credible science” or “there was a man who walked on water and raised people from the dead,” I will leave those people to their beliefs. However, the author makes another point. He says the worst abuse of conservatives’ right to free speech is when they are a “captive audience” to liberal ideals such as students in a classroom with a liberal teacher. He even gives the example of how some liberals wanted “God”
taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance because the students were involuntary participants. But amazingly his response to those liberals is that if “You don’t like it? Don’t say it.” Finally, some common sense from this guy, if he weren’t so hypocritical about it. Liberal students as well as teachers are so aggressive and intolerant toward their conservative counterparts because we are involuntary participants of a war that started on a lie. We are involuntary participant of selling off the economy to the highest bidder and then stealing $1 trillion from us to pay for it. It is not that conservatives shouldn’t be tolerated it is that they must not be tolerated. We cannot tolerate another four years, let alone another minute of the scum that is the Republican Party. So to all you sane, caring individuals out there (i.e. liberals), the
next time you come across a conservative take their “free speech” and make them pay for it! Kelsey Bloom Dear Mr. Bloom: Your stance is self-contradictory. You state that you also support the right for radical groups to have the right to voice their opinions, yet at the same time, it is clear that you believe conservatives are to be punished for speaking out to support their views. For any political group to create an oppressive environment to silence the first amendment right to freedom of speech is unethical. Simultaneously, the free speech of others is to be nonviolent and as nonintrusive as possible. We are guaranteed a forum to our voices, not a gladiator’s stage.
If you or anyone feels that they are an involuntary participant in the governing system, then your right to vote is the tool of choice. Silencing an opponent or “making them pay,” outside of governmental regulations does not support argument credibility. Undoubtedly somewhere in SoCal is a patriotic liberal who feels that they are suffocating under the watch of an overwhelmingly dogmatic and oppressive conservative learning community. They too have the right to speak freely. Sincerely, Brian Chu Opinion editor
Common sense dear editor: The previous Monitor issue Continued on Page 3
A request from your Hyman Hall staff: Be quiet Dear Editor, At the English Learning Center on the second floor of Hyman Hall, we are here to serve all students. We are always glad to have any students in here who want to study, but we also have some rules. The English Learning Center is a quiet study area. We have a lot of
students who are in self-paced lab courses or who have classes with a lab component who can only do their work here. These students will be taking tests every day all semester long. Additionally, we have students who are being tutored and others who need to study quietly. If students wish to work together in a group they need to do so in one of our study rooms or at least talk very
quietly (library voices). Also, our computers are for academic use only. Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, etc. are not appropriate uses for our computers. This semester we have once again been having problems with students not following our rules and being disrespectful towards ELC staff. We have had to call Dean Mikelyn Stacey in several times a week to help deal with the noise. Our lab coordinator Rakesh
Swamy has also had to deal with the noise, and we have even had to call in campus police for one particularly disrespectful student. The English and Math Learning Center Instructional Assistants have to deal with this noise problem all day every day. Our dean, Mikelyn Stacey, has asked me to send this message to the ASOC and the Ohlone Monitor in hopes that perhaps you can help
us out with this in some way. Any ideas? Somehow we need to convey to our student body that the second floor of Hyman Hall is a quiet study area, not a hangout, and that those who wish to use it need to behave as if they are in a library. Thanks, David Wood ELC Instructional Assistant
Campus Comment > > > What was your favorite part of Club Day?
Bernadete Ong
Janet Aviles
NURSING
Gabby Castillo
Yandira Antezang
PSYCHOLOGY
HISTORY
SPEECH AND COMMUNICATION
MARKETING AND COMM
“The APASA Club. It was nice to see fellow Asian Pacific students.”
“ASL. It’s nice to see a community helping a lot of students here.”
Justin Daco
“I liked the music and carnival theme.”
“There were more clubs and colors this year, very entertaining.”
“I thought it was really weak. I was expecting more to be done.”
News
September 25, 2008 monitor
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Announcing new public address system by BENJAMIN CHAnG Staff writer The Ohlone College Board is currently looking to purchase six TalkA-Phones, which are similar to the “blue phones” seen on the Newark campus. The specific model is called WEBS-MT/R. The WEBS-MT/R towers are estimated to be around $120,000 for the entire system. Although this may seem expensive, they are definitely worth each dollar, because they can efficiently notify the entire campus at a click of a button and with them anyone can notify the campus police in case of an emergency. The WEBS-MT/R that will be placed on the Fremont campus
will not be the same as the ones on the Newark campus; the new tower has a speaker broadcasting system which can notify the entire campus in cases of an emergency. For example, if there is a threat on campus, the campus police can use the broadcasting system to tell all the students where to go and what to do instantly. Each unit can broadcast individually or announcements can be made across the whole system. Personnel can unlock the WEBSMT/R units and use microphones to make on-site announcement while the “blue phones” on the Newark campus can only phone campus police. They are around seven feet tall and will either be yellow or blue with an ultra-bright LED fixture
mounted on top. The lights on the WEBS-MT/R can strobe when an emergency is called or someone activates it. The campus police have already tested the WEBS-MT/R on the Fremont campus and with little less than half volume, the speakers can be heard clearly from Mission Boulevard. There are also separate volume controls for each speaker. The speakers also have amplifiers and speakers mounted inside the tower so the speakers have 360 degree coverage. The six WEBS-MT/R will be located in Lot C close to the campus police building, Lot H by the Child Development Center building, in the Quad area between Buildings 5 and 6, Lot W at the rear of the Smith
Center, in Lot N where it will replace the pay phone, and in the Palm Bosque near Building 9. With this setup there is nowhere on campus where the speakers are not heard. With the WEBS-MT/R students will be able to conveniently contact the campus police instantly. Chief of Campus Police Steve Osawa said in an email, “There have always been plans to install emergency call phones on the Fremont campus. No incident occurred to initiate this program nor any demand by students or staff or faculty. The Ohlone Community College District has always been concerned for the safety of students, staff, and faculty as well as visitors to the college campuses.”
Here is an excerpt from a technical document on the Talk-a-Phone website, illustrating the WEBS-MT/R units. The tall pylons are at the forefront of campus security, safety, and technology.
Disaster container, survival obtainer, no-brainer By Suchi Gupta Staff writer Are ready we in case of a major disaster? According to Chief of Campus Police Services Steve Osawa, the answer is “Yes.” “We are reasonably prepared for emergency considering the limited resources and personnel we have,” said Osawa. In addition to hosting an average of 11,000 students per semester, Ohlone is a designed evacuation point—a location parts of the TriCity area could flee to in case of an emergency. According to Osawa, in an emergency situation, the first priority is to
provide first aid and rescue people and then comes the need of giving them shelter and food. The college has prepared in part by filling a full-sized shipping container with emergency supplies, including packages of bottled water, blankets, shovels, some other tools and limited amount of food. In addition to these supplies, Ohlone has a set of emergency guidelines, which include having a proper evacuation plan, training the personnel to react accordingly in the face of emergency, coordinating with the state and local bodies for support and to have a sufficient amount of supplies and equipment.
Located in the heart of earthquake country, Ohlone does well to prepare for disaster. Ohlone is in close proximity to the Hayward Fault, which experiences a large earthquake roughly every 140 years. The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory identifies the Hayward Fault as “... a prime candidate in Northern California for a magnitude 7 earthquake within the next 30 years (http://seismo.berkeley.edu/ hayward/hf_overview.html).” For more information, consult the Ohlone Police Department Emergency Proceedures page at http://www.ohlone.edu/org/security/emergency.html.
Container holds emergency gear.
Join up at Ohlone
Photo by Ankita Chabbra
Students attend Club Days at the Palm Bosque Wednesday.
• Biology Club • Chinese Student Association • Crossroads • Game Developers Club • Gay Straight Alliance • Health Care Coalition • International Club • L.I.F.E. • Math Leaguer • M.E.Ch.A. • Muslim Student Association • Ohlone College Democrats • Ohlone College Republicans • Peer Mentors • Photography Club • Polynesian Club • Psychology Club • Respiatory Therapy • Speech Club • Table Tennis Club
Sour notes for orchestra
Free, within reason Continued from Page 2 from Sept. 18 seemed to deal with the idea of free speech, not only in regard to Ohlone, but the country in general. My thoughts are this: Ohlone has shown itself to be a highly diversified environment with many different beliefs and cultures coming together. If the idea of free speech was to be abused as some had brought out; an individual freely using racist epithets, or sexist
Continued from Page 1 The Ohlone Peer Mentors, who are always willing to help and guide students in need, were also present. “We have student counselors who are here to listen to our problems and make you feel comfortable with school and our professors”, said Senior Peer Mentor Allison Bly. For more information about clubs, check out the ASOC website, www.icc.asoc.com. Clubs featured at Clubs Day include the following: • Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS) • Asian pacific American Student Association • American Sign Language Club
remarks, that wouldn’t look good on the person or the school. True, we do have free speech, but there also has to be common sense exercised. It’s not a matter of political correctness; it’s a matter of responsibility. Moreover, I think it comes with maturity, and “living life” in order to see there are actual (and reasonable) limits to free speech. Joel Kirk
Corrections Zuhal Bahaduri, contrary to last week's Monitor, is not associated with ASOC. The Monitor appologizes for the error.
Continued from Page 1 the marketing department, and accounting. Had the deal passed, Walt Birkedahl would have taken over as the symphony manager on top of being the Dean of Ohlone’s Language & Performing Arts department. Rose told the Monitor, that from what she could gather in a phone call from the school, she was told the deal “would not be in the best interest of the students.” She was sympathetic, acknowledging that Ohlone has a number of things to consider. Ohlone is running the Fremont Symphony Orchestra box office from the Smith Center and the marketing department designed the marketing brochure. The last half
of the brochure was paid for by the Symphony, totaling to “about $1,500.” The brochure was printed and run before July 1. Although “things fell through the cracks” and the entire thing had “an enormous effect,” the symphony is in very good shape. Rose mentioned that part of the effect was the need “to change the whole budget because the budget was based on Ohlone taking over.” Rose has been volunteering for the Fremont Symphony Orchestra since 1974 and sat in as manager on other times when other managers have left. Although it has been time consuming and hard to get everything done, the symphony continues to thrive. All Ohlone students are invited
to attend a Fremont Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert, conducted by David Sloss on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. with songs from Porgy and Bess; Songs from the 1920s and 1930s. Some other upcoming events are Carlos Reyes and His Ensemble in concert. Reyes and His Ensemble will be performing in the Smith Center on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale in the Smith Center box office for $5 for full time students with I.D. and $15 for adults. For more information on the Smith Center and the Fremont Symphony schedule, consult http:// www.ohlone.edu/org/smithcenter/ and http://www.fremontsymphony. org/ respectively.
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Features Art exhibit showcases reality
monitor September 25, 2008
The view from here By Andrew Le Features Editor
The new Amerika If it is raining, then the ground is wet. If the ground is wet, it does not necessarily mean that it has rained. Logical fallacies are something that I’m pretty well acquainted with because I use logical fallacies all the time; it is not something I will deny. I’ve never really been a rational person. But there is one thing that I’ve always been somewhat logical about and that is legalization. I am well aware that this is an overdone subject. It’s actually also kind of absurd—most people I know that are strongly pro-legalization do too many drugs, and most that are anti-legalization do not do any. And the people are really impassioned about whatever it is that they believe in. But whenever I am around a debate on the issue, it usually degenerates into the anti-legalization faction calling the pro-legalization faction junkies, and the pros calling the cons squares. I think what makes me prolegalization is that 16.6 percent of inmates in federal prison are non-violent offenders with no violent history, the majority of whom are drug users. Regardless of how many eight balls they’ve blown I don’t think poisoning yourself should really be held on par with something like sexual assault. I saw a Tru-TV episode the other day where a guy was in and out of prison three times by the age of 30-something for sexually assaulting women with a rope before finally getting life for murdering an actress. People who get caught up with a few ounces of a white powder distilled from a plant mixed with baking powder get the same penalty as a guy who runs into a house with a razor blade cutting up pregnant women. I don’t know when it was that our country lost its way, but I specifically remember a time when I believed that we had a strong moral clarity and thought America was the best in everything we did. That we were the good guys who took down Nazi Germany. But now whenever I watch TV, I always hear about repeat sex offenders getting caught for the fourth time or PMCs getting caught committing atrocity in some sandy barren country. I don’t even know when we decided it was best to let sociopaths out of prison to let the stoners in. I don’t even know where our country’s priorities lie anymore, I don’t know when our CIA chartered planes started going down full of cocaine or when members of government got caught selling crack cocaine to the ghettos. I'm only 20 and the America from my childhood is nothing like the America I read about on the news. I just hope that in another 20 years I will still be able to recognize the America of my youth.
By Anna Biaritz Roldan Staff writer A woman with a complete picnic set holds a sandwich in one hand. On one side normal tiny ants climb and consume the fruits she has, but right after they become unusually gigantic. This is a story told graphically in sculpture entitled “Genetically Engineered Picnic” that’s featured in the “Reality” show that opened Friday, Sept. 19 at the Louie Meager Art Gallery in the Smith Center. This sculpture represents Peter Langenbach’s interest in the concept of genetically altered drought-resistant and pest-resistant sustainable crops. It shows just how much people would enjoy it, but then again the question of whether it is safe or not. Langenbach said that he uses all recycled material for his sculptures and that his use of recycled materials is a message to everyone that art does not have to be created from expensive materials. Using recycled products can also be a good way of recycling, which will benefit us all, but that is not his only reason for recycled materials. Langenbach said he likes the challenge of having to find a way to make something unrefined into a masterpiece, and said it truly satisfies his thirst for art. Langenbach was formerly an art teacher at Cesar Chavez Middle School at Union City who once took classes at Ohlone in the 1970’s. He is a sculptor responsible for the sculptures Cannibal Electric, Banana Split, Master Chef and the mentioned Genetically Engineered Picnic. Langenbach is one of many believers that motivation and practice leads to perfection. Lagenbach said, “art is, like anything else is, a skill that you can develop. The more you do, the more proficient you become.” He also used to tell his students, “if you do or don’t like to draw, blame it on your mother, because when you took that first cartoon made of the same stick figure that everyone draws as a child, regardless of whether that child is Michaelangelo or you, and gave it to your mom and your mom gave you a big hug and gave you a cookie. You know what you did? You went out and she slapped it right on the refrigerator and you went out, got another piece of paper and drew another picture of your mom… Some kids took that picture to their mom and their mom said, ‘Oh I’m not that fat’ or ‘My hair doesn’t look like that’ and she gave it back to you and said ‘try it again.’ And you know what you did? You threw the paper away, went in and grabbed your video games. Right?”
Photo courtesy of Farshid Namei
‘Nas’ is a painting currently on display at the ‘Reality’ exhibit. The show runs till Oct. 17 and displays contemporary realist sculptures, prints, paintings and drawings by Bay Area Art Educators and MFA students. It features the works of artists Christian Fagerlund, Joyce Faulknor, George Pfau, Jian “James” Wu, Guy Magallanes, Farshid Namei and Alicia Debrincat. Magallanes worked in many different art-related fields, from creating and selling his sweater line to making baskets to being an illustrator and graphic designer for a number of book publishers. He is now a watercolor instructor and in the gallery are three of his pieces. All noticeably have related themes including nature. Magallanes said he loves nature and has been influenced by his grandparents, who were very fond of yard work and farming. His grandfather was a storyteller and a musician while his grandmother painted and made all sorts of things, which suggests that being an artist was in their blood. As a child, Magallanes felt like he always had to be drawing. He said with a little bit of humor that he was always that kid at the restaurant who draws on the tablecloth with food. Magallanes’s pieces are all watercolors and very detailed. His paintings are entitled Helios, Fiesta and Dome Reflections, each with its own representation and meaning.
Ohlone student Farshid Namei is a painter who chose people as her subject because they express so much in their faces, particularly in their eyes. Her gallery artwork includes “The Little Girl in Sunol,” “Time Out” and “Nas.” She is most fond of children because “children do not hide their emotions and you can see all that in their faces and most of all through their eyes.” Namei is currently taking only art classes because she already has three master's degrees. Namei at one point was a financial planner for Wells Fargo. She had already been working there for 10 years and was making a good salary, but then in 2004 she asked herself, “Would you rather have $10 million or 10 paintings?” She realized that she would rather have the paintings and that was what made her switch gears. Before going to Ohlone, Namei thought about going to the Academy of Arts, but when she checked out Ohlone, she was surprised at the superior quality of teaching available here. Namei has already applied for several competitions and every time her works get accepted and that only makes her more determined and certain about the decisions she has made in her career. Alicia Debrincat, a graduate student from the San Francisco Art Institute, is another artist who uses people as subject matter for
her art. Debrincat’s art focuses primarily on women and her paintings in the gallery are all of women who are not only typical standards of beauty, but who are in one way or another trapped or limited due to the way society depicts and labels them. Her works “Bubblehead,” “Numbers Game” and “Cute Little Thing” are all rooted in her personal fears that may be somewhat similar to what all women go through in their lives. Debrincat said, “Bubblehead is a somewhat distorted self portrait of myself that shows how I sometimes find myself being someone else just to satisfy what others expect me to be.” According to the Ohlone website, an upcoming show is Dark Designs, “a show of contemporary set designs, costumes, and concept drawings by Bay Area independent theatres, Drama Educators and theatre students,” that opens Thursday Oct. 23. The reception is Saturday, Oct. 25 from 7-8 p.m. and it closes on Saturday, Nov. 1. Another show that is planned for the near future is the exhibit entitled “The Plumed Serpent,” “a show of large scale naturalist drawings of endangered birds from Mexico’s El Triunfo Wildlife Preserve,” opening on Nov. 8 with reception on Saturday Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. The show closes on Jan. 31.
port the Colleague software and Webadvisor. The transition from a District office to a college has been enjoyable for Penrose, and he plans to continue his career at Ohlone with projects planned for the near future. One such project is called “Web Time Entry,” a program that is currently being designed for student workers and supervisors to have access to a “paperless time card.” Penrose commented, the “bottom line is
that we will keep making products that will help [improve] student functionality.” Besides working for the Ohlone Information and Technology department via a Strata Information Group Contract, Penrose is enrolled in two master’s programs for Public Administration and English Literature at CSU East Bay. In his spare time, Penrose thoroughly enjoys gardening, stained glass and making beer.
New director of application services By Ankita Chhabra Staff writer Director of Application Services Don Penrose, has recently become an addition to the Information and Technology department here at Ohlone. After working with Datatel, the company responsible for Ohlone’s Webadvisor application, Penrose joined the Ohlone team in early June. Penrose said that he has come
to fall in love with the campus and its close-knit community. “I’m still getting used to the campus, but the students are fantastic here and the staff is very friendly,” said Penrose, who has become especially fond of the Ohlone coffee cart and its affordably delicious caffinated products. Penrose is currently responsible for directing the analysts, programmers, database administrators and system administrators who sup-
Features Ohlone’s standing slam dunk By William O. Martin Staff writer
Photo by Eric Dorman
7-foot-4 Ohlone basketball player Ring Ayuel can dunk without leaving the ground.
Ohlone has a new big man on campus. A really big man, who has high hopes for the upcoming 2008’09 basketball season and beyond. He is a 7-foot-4-inch freshman center from Sudan by the name of Ring Ayuel, who can grab the rim from his tiptoes. Ayuel is originally from a village called Turalei, located in southern Sudan, a region that is plagued by poverty and demoralized by a war that seems to have no end. After his village was pillaged and burned during the Sudanese genocide, Ayeuel was forced to flee for his life at the tender age of 11. Amidst the chaos swirling around Ayuel, he knew only that he would need to run for his life to survive. He left behind his 6’ 11” mother, his father, and siblings. Ayuel and a group of fellow exiles were forced to travel to Kenya for refuge, a trip that took 30 days by foot. Upon reaching Kenya, he spent five years at Kakuma, a United Nations-administered refugee camp located in the northwestern region of Kenya, in the Turkana district. At Kakuma, Ayuel mostly played soccer and volleyball, and a very primitive form of basketball. It was not until he moved to America that Ayuel first picked up—or rather, palmed—his first basketball in an organized game on the hardwood at Our Savior New American (OSNA), a Lutheran international exchange school in Centereach, N.Y, OSNA was the next critical stepping-stone for Ayuel, and it was here he began to learn English and the sport of basketball. “I learned a lot of things there,” said Ayuel. “They gave me an opportunity to come here.” Ayuel wasn’t the only big man at OSNA—the school boasted three other Sudanese players over 7 feet
September 25, 2008
tall, attracting the team attention up and down the East Coast. Together with Ayuel, these players made OSNA the tallest team in basketball. To put it in perspective, Shaquille O’Neal looks up to Ayuel: “Shaqdaddy” is only 7’1” to Ayuel’s 7’4”. The NBA also looks up to OSNA in another aspect: no NBA team sports four 7-foot-4 centers on its roster. After playing three strong years at OSNA, a friend referred Ayuel to Basketball Coach John Peterson, and soon he found himself at his new home here at Ohlone. “I like it here,” reflected Ayuel. “All my teachers are nice, my coaches, my teammates, the weather is nice—everybody is nice here.” Ayuel likes the weather here in California since it is more like Sudan as opposed to the icy winters of New York. “The winter in New York is too cold for me,” recalled Ayuel. With amazing speed for a center of his stature, and a great natural feel for the game, the toughest challenge Peterson said still faces Ayuel is getting his academics up to par. He is still struggling to master spoken English, but is very comprehensive. “He is just a little behind academically but we are trying to get him caught up,” Peterson said of Ayuel. With a little help from some tutors and the great people at the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) at Ohlone, Peterson is confident that Ayuel will quickly catch up. Although Peterson said that Ayuel most likely would not see much playing time this season, he understands that one day his new 7-foot-4 center can be a dominant presence in the paint and a force to be reckoned with. The new season kicks off on Nov. 7 when Ohlone hosts the Jon Wallace Tournament.
Sweet Can Circus outside the norm By Jessica Losee Staff writer The word “circus” will bring images to one’s mind of a striped tent, face-painted clowns, elephants, sequined outfits and death-defying acts. With the San Francisco Sweet Can Circus, none of these things were present in the performance. That does not mean that it was anything but excellent. This troupe of six players managed to wow the audience with their humor and grace. The cast included Beth Clarke, Natasha Kaluza, Kerri Kresinski, Jeremy Sheets, Daniela Steiner and Matt White. The “Habitat” performance took place at the Smith Center, Saturday Sept. 20. Throughout the performance, a few themes repeat, including the coming and going, receiving and sending of mail. Along with having “mail” issues, the cast also has their “door” dilemmas, where they open and close doors, walking in on other people, not being able to open the door at all, and sneaking a peek through a keyhole. All of these interactions with mail and doors show the personality of the players and sometimes a bit
Photo courtesy Sweet Can Productions
The Sweet Can entourage together of their background as well. There are two men, one blonde and one tall-dark-and-handsome, and four women, the curly haired woman, the “kid,” the “starlet” and the “flirt.” The characters all interact with each other in different ways, just as all of us do with other people. And I think that is what made this performance so funny and entertaining, because how the performers act, is
how we act in real life. For instance, the “kid” plays with her hula hoops, but makes it absolutely phenomenal when she can keep about 15 at a time going round and round her waist, while the other players continue to throw more over her head. And throughout the show, a live band plays in the background, with hints of jazz and Middle Eastern musical influences.
Other fascinating feats include the scenes where the starlet is having a hard time sleeping and tosses and turns in her sheets, which are long ropes of silk hanging about 15 feet off the ground. The acrobatics are not only elegant as she twists and turns her way through the sheets but it also makes your stomach drop, especially when she twirls down 10 feet rapidly and seemingly unsecured. There are no harnesses seen; the only thing keeping her from falling to the stage is her ability to wrap her limbs up within the silk so that she is kept from falling. Another scene is when two lovers do similar acrobatics with the silken ropes, portraying how the two entwine themselves in each other and the silk. This is certainly not all that was going on during the show, but I don’t want to ruin it all completely. Life is filled with drama, laughter, woe and wile. All of these things were present in the “Habitat” performance. If possible, I would recommend seeing them at another of their performances. For more information about the troupe, please visit their website at www. sweetcanproductions.com.
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Weighing Anchor By Eric dorman Editor-in-chief
Wall Street needs Fed Shock and awe. Yes, I know that particular word combo has already been used far beyond common literary decency, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And in these turbulent times, it’s hard to come up with a phrase that does justice to how one feels viewing the spectacular failure of some of Wall Street’s most venerable institutions. Lehman Brothers, bankrupt after 158 years of operation. AIG, on the verge of collapse before being saved by a $85 billion check from the government. And now the announcement that the government will spend a minimum of $700 billion to bail out Wall Street in order to keep the market from tanking completely. Shock and awe? The phrase scarcely begins to cover it. As Americans and taxpayers, we have plenty of questions. Is that my money you’re throwing at these firms? Isn’t there a less costly way to deal with this? (Answers: yes and, unfortunately, no.) But the real question we should all be asking is, “how did we let Wall Street get like this?” Some factors behind this collapse—such as the abysmal real estate market—were beyond anyone’s control, but others were entirely preventable. For the real blame, look no farther than Washington. Ever since the New Deal established regulations on Wall Street, Republicans (along with a few Democrats) have sought to tear down those regulations. Their success is manifested in the state of affairs we have today—giant firms engaging hundreds of billions of dollars in risky moves that mean big payoffs most of the time, but disaster for the entire American financial system when the market turns sour. Proponents of deregulation point out that America has a capitalist economy, and that the government should keep its mitts off all businesses, regardless of size. Yes, we do live in a capitalist country, and separation of businesses and government works fine most of the time. But the fact remains that when a company becomes so massive in size that the financial system depends on its continued function (as is the case with AIG), that business and the government become inexorably entwined. If we are put in a position where our economy cannot function without a certain company’s existence to the point where we must bail out that company when it falters, then we deserve to maintain some oversight over that company. Feel like your $700 billion shouldn’t go to reward companies for reckless behavior? Think about how you’ll feel the next time you have to pony up when the next brokerage firm gets in hot water. The time for regulation is now.
6 MONITOR
September 25, 2008
News
Campus Events CLASSIFIEDS PIANO FOR SALE -- Upright, rosewood Chappell piano in excellent condition. Made in England. $1,200. Call 510-790-1139 or email souzafive@comcast.net.
JOBS For information on Jobs an Career Resources, visit the Student Success Center in Room 1403 or go online at www.ohlone.edu/org/ssc/ 3 Women’s Volleyball Home vs. Gavalan College at 6:30 p.m.
September 26 Forum - Ohlone College Board Candidates debate in Child Development Center Board Room at 7 p.m. 26 Forum - Alameda County Water District Meeting immediately following Candidate Debate at 8 p.m. 26 Academics - Last day to petition to complete a class on a credit/no credit basis. 26 Men’s Soccer - Home vs. West Valley College at 4 p.m. 26 Women’s Soccer - Away vs. West Valley College at 4 p.m. 26 Women’s Volleyball - Away vs. College of Alameda at 6:30 p.m. 27 Fremont Symphony - Opening Night Pops COncert: Gershwin and Friends in the Jackson Theatre at 8 p.m. 30 Gay-Straight Alliance - Meeting in Room SC-116 at 2 p.m. 30 ASOC - Meeting in Room 6105 at 4 p.m. 30 Men’s Soccer - Away vs. CCSF at 4 p.m.
4 Making the Connection - A Conference for Early Childhood Educators in Kidango Child Development Center at 8 a.m. 6 College Council Meeting in Room 1307 on Fremont Campus at 3 p.m.
Achievement. 10 Women’s Soccer Home vs. CCSF at 1:30 p.m. 10 Men’s Soccer - Home vs. Cañada College at 4 p.m. 10 Women’s Volleyball - Home vs. Hartnell College at 6:30 p.m. 11 Ohlone College Flea Market - Located in parking lots E and H. Parking is $2. 11-12 Qigong Symposium - Grandmasters from China at Newark Campus at 9 a.m. 14 ASOC - Meeting in Room 6105 at 4 p.m.
18 Smith Center Presents - Richard Glazier on the piano in the Jackson Theatre at 8 p.m. 20 College Council - Meeting in Room 1307 at 3 p.m. 21 ASOC - Meeting in Room 6105 at 4 p.m. 21 Men’s Soccer - Away vs. Cabrillo College at 4 p.m. 21 Women’s Soccer Home vs. Skyline College at 4 p.m. 22 Board of Trustees - Meeting at 7 p.m. on Fremont Campus in Child Develop
September 25, 2008 monitor
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- week 1 in Jackson Theatre at 8 p.m. 24 Men’s Soccer - Away vs. Mission College at 4 p.m. 24 Women’s Soccer - Away vs. Foothill College at 4 p.m. 24 Women’s Volleyball Away vs. SJCC at 6:30 p.m. 25 “Dark Designs” Theatre Show Reception at 7 p.m. in Art Gallery. 28 Women’s Soccer Home vs. Cabrillo COllege at 1:30 p.m. 28 ASOC - Meeting in Room 6105 at 4 p.m.
7 ASOC - Meeting in Room 6105 at 4 p.m.
14 Men’s Soccer - Away vs. Hartnell College at 4 p.m.
23 Art Gallery - “Dark Designs” Theater Show in Louie-Meager Art Gallery until Nov. 1.
28 Men’s Soccer - Home vs. Monterey Peninsula College at 4 p.m.
7 Men’s Soccer - Away vs. Chabot College at 4 p.m.
14 Women’s College - Home vs. Evergreen College at 4 p.m.
23-25 Halloween Trilogy
29 Women’s Volleyball - Away vs. Gavilan College at 6:30 p.m.
7 Women’s Soccer - Away vs. West Hills College in Lemoore at 4 p.m. 8 Board of Trustees - Meeting in the Jackson Theatre at 3 p.m. 8 Women’s Volleyball - Home vs. CCSF at 6:30 p.m. 8-9 OPEN AUDITIONS - for Halloween Trilogy in the Smith Center at 7 p.m.. We need actors and some dancers, stage technicians and stage magicians. Contact Mark Nelson at mnelson@ohlone.edu for more information. 9 Academics - Last day to apply for fall 2008 Graduation or Certificate of
15 Faculty Senate Meeting in Room 1307 at 3 p.m. 15 Women’s Volleyball - Away vs. West Valley College at 6:30 p.m. 17 Brown Bag Seminiar - The Math Behind the Movie. Seminar in Room 3201 at 1 p.m. 17 Men’s Soccer - Home vs. DeAnza College at 4 p.m. Women’s Soccer - Away vs. Las Positas at 4 p.m. 17 Women’s Volleyball - Away vs. Cabrillo College at 6:30 p.m.
30 Women’s Soccer - Away vs. Hartnell College at 4 p.m.
October 1 Campus Event -“Bingo Ballin’” in Palm Bosque on Fremont Campus at noon. 1 Faculty Senate - Meeting in Room 1307 at 3 p.m. 1 Women’s Volleyball - Away vs. CCSF at 6:30 p.m. 3 Brown Bag Seminar - Curing the Ailing U.S. Health Care System in Room 3201 on Fremont Campus at 1 p.m. 3 Women’s Soccer - Home vs. Chabot at 1:30 p.m. 3 Men’s Soccer - Home vs. Foothill College at 4 p.m.
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 Jacque Orvis at (510) 659-6075 or e-mail monitorads@ohlone.edu
Thursday, September 25, 2008
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Make it five: Women’s soccer wins fifth straight By Ankita Chhabra Sports writer The Women‘s soccer team won it's fifth straight, defeating Monterey Peninsula College 3-1 on Tuesday. However, the expectations set by Lady Renegades head coach Larry Heslin were almost non-existant in this game. “What makes a great competitive team is focus, communication and consistency, which the girls seemed to have lost sight on,” said Head Coach Larry Heslin, who was happy that the girls had brought home the win, to make it five in a row for Ohlone, but, however, was disappointed by their performance on the field. The first half started off with a quick goal by Ohlone forward Katie Marshall as she took advantage of an unfocused Lobos defensive line to give Ohlone an early 1-0 lead. Right before the first half was
about to end, the MPC Lobos tied the game at 1-1 as Lady Renegades goalkeeper Danielle Anderson couldn’t control an MPC shot towards the top of the net. With the game tied at 1-1, the Lady Renegades came back strong in the second half as the defensive line held against every MPC drive. Casey Tuoto and Lorise Machuca kept their team together as they gave way to Fanny Koloko-Green’s goal which made it 2-1. Koloko-Green would score one more time towards the end of the game, as her shot from outside the 18-yard box went in to give Ohlone a two-goal lead, ending in a final score of 3-1. “We didn’t play so well the first half, so we had to do something for the second half,” said Koloko-Green who now has scored a goal in three
Photo by Jeff Weisinger
Ohlone’s Fannie Koloko-Green, far right, watches her shot drift past the MPC goalie. Koloko-Green scored two goals on the day and extended her scoring streak to three games. consecutive games. “I wasn’t shooting a lot toward the beginning of the pre-season, so I’m happy that I’m getting my shots in now and hopefully I keep getting them in.”
“The win’s are what counts, so I’m happy we won”, said Coach Heslin, who, despite his team’s “less-than-stellar” performance was pleased at the end result. Still looking strong and now
riding a five-game winning streak, the girls are ready to take on and add to that winning streak on the road as they travel to Saratoga to play West Valley College tomorrow at 4 p.m.
California team and was a Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American first team selection in 2008. “I'm so excited for her,” said coach Donna Runyon upon recieving the news. The Lady Renegades finished the 2008 season with an overall record
of 41-9, including an undefeated conference record of 24-0. Coach Runyon recieved her 700th career victory in 2008 and led her team to the second round of the regional playoffs where they fell short to Shasta College in Redding in May.
Lady Renegade catches national award for 2008 By Jeff Weisinger Sports editor Lady Renegades sophomore softball catcher Kathryn ”Kat” Sumner was awarded the Cal J.C. 2008 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award by the National
Fastpitch Coaches Association on Monday. The NFCA gives this award to 10 players nationally each year, each player from a certain collegiate division. In 50 games for the Renegades this past season, Sumner hit .410
(62-for-151), scored 51 runs and 34 RBI’s, led her team with 15 sacrifices, led her conference with 32 stolen bases and recorded a state-high six triples as a freshman in the spring. Sumner was also named to the All-Conference team, All-Northern
No. 1 for volleyball
Photo by Tomas Ortega Photo by Jeff Weisinger
The Lady Renegades celebrate a good play, let alone their first win last Friday. By jeff weisinger Sports editor After losing their first match of the season to Chabot, the Lady Renegades volleyball team came back against Laney College last Friday with a focused mindset on winning, and pushed their record back up to 1-1. It wouldn’t be an easy task, and seemed as if it wouldn’t happen as Laney won the first two games, and looked like they would win the third to sweep. Ohlone would come back during the third game after blowing an early lead to win, and dominated in the fourth and fifth games to win the match. However, more importantly, new Head Coach Jeremy Penaflor earned his first win. “We wanted it more than them,” said Coach Penaflor. “This win shows the character of the team... they’re all about each other.” The Lady Renegades begin a four-game homestand on Friday, Oct. 3 against Gavilan College.
Ohlone's Cody Nathan, left, and goalkeeper Iman Aghel, middle, can only watch as Hartnell's Luis Ibarra scores off the rebound.
Men’s soccer woes continue against Hartnell College By Jeff Weisinger Sports editor A disappointing season for the Ohlone Men’s Soccer team continued last Friday, as the Renegades added another loss to their already winless season, losing 4-0 as they hosted nationally fifth-ranked Hartnell College. The Renegades have been outscored 29-5 during their 0-6-0 run going into Friday’s game, and the offensive struggles for the Renegades would continue. “We had three legit chances to score,” said Renegades Head Coach Don Williams.
One of those chances came early in the first half, when Michael Ugbeme’s shot missed as he tried to put Ohlone up 1-0 on the scoreboard. The other came in the second half as Ugbeme would miss another shot, this time off a pass from teammate Daniel Zermino. Although Hartnell also missed a few early scoring opportunities, they didn’t miss their easy one as Hartnell forward Luis Ibarra kicked the rebound off Ohlone goalkeeper Iman Aghel as he couldn’t control the first shot. Ohlone started strong defensively in the first half, only conceding one goal to Hartnell. However,
their inexperience showed in the second half as Hartnell scored three against Aghel and the Renegades, two of which came from Hartnell’s Eduardo Verduzco. “We’re starting to learn how to defend as a team”, stated coach Williams. “It’ll be fun the next time we see them.” “They're a fiesty team and they play hard,” said Hartnell coach Daniel Ortega about the Ohlone team. Ohlone will play Hartnell again on Oct. 14 in Salinas. The Renegades will host West Valley College tomorrow at 4 p.m.