Monitor 2009-3-5

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OPINION OPINION

Lady Renegades on to next round.

Republicans played part of robber barons.

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Fremont, California

Vol. XXXIX No. 6

Return of Dept.

Chairs?

Math, art to mix at talk on Golden Ratio.

SPORTS SPORTS

NEWS NEWS

FEATURES FEATURES

Bike down, but radio director O.K.

March 5, 2009

March against budget

Renegades Marching on

By anna biaritz roldan Staff writer

By Devery Sheffer Staff writer

It’s never too late to change: 30 years after abolishing Department Chairs, the Faculty Senate is considering reinstating the system.

The system, which is usually present in traditional universities but struck down by Ohlone in 1979, could mean tighter coordination between deans and Ohlone’s approximately 80 departments concerning the development and evaluation of curriculum and programs, explained Speech Professor Brenda Ahntholz at the Senate meeting Wednesday.

The proposed role of the Department Chairs would include making recommendations to the division dean about departmental budgets, facilities and equipment and conducting department meetings. The Chairs would also attend departmental chairperson meetings and report regularly to the division dean, as well as assist in recruitment, selection, orientation and evaluation of faculty members.

Senate President Bob Bradshaw gave an example of the way the Chairs would be able to aid deans. “[Say] the bookstore call[ed] the dean saying that there are no books available for a ‘this’ class and ‘this’ section. How should the dean know every book for every class? The dean should have someone [he or she] can redirect the call to.”

The proposal would need to be approved by 60 percent of the Senate in order to go on to the administration.

The Associated Students of Ohlone College (ASOC) fleshed out plans for their “March in March” budget protest at their meeting Tuesday.

The ASOC will fight for California community colleges in Sacramento with the March in March. Students can now sign up to be one of the 230 Ohlone and Chabot students to join the rally in protest of budget cuts to community colleges.

According to ASOC President Jackie McCulley, 30 classes will be cut this summer as a result of budget cuts.

Ohlone students will meet at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, March 16 on the Fremont campus to load onto the buses and head to the capitol. A bus will be provided for students with disabilities as well as an interpreter for deaf students.

For more information or to sign up for this event visit the website, www.theasoc.com/march. The deadline to register is March 10, and the deadline to cancel is March 12.

A $5 deposit is required to hold your spot. The ASOC is urging teachers to offer extra credit for this event.

The motion was passed to start a new cafeteria committee. The primary focus of this committee will be to turn the faculty room in the back of the cafeteria in Building 5 into a recreational room for students. “The [Fremont campus] doesn’t Continued on Page 6

Photo by Jeff Weisinger

Tim Bowman leaps for the hoop against Merritt College in Ohlone’s regional semi-final win over the Thunderbirds Saturday.

See story, Page 8.

Katona to retire after 34 years of serving Ohlone

By Sean nero Staff writer At the end of the spring 2009 semester, Ohlone will no longer have one of its longest tenured and most influential faculty members.

Author, photographer and English professor Cynthia Katona is set to retire from Ohlone at the end of this semester after 34 years of service.

Katona was one of the original faculty members hired by Ohlone, coming to the college in 1975 as part of the second group of faculty hired by the college. Because she was hired while the Fremont campus was still under construction, she started out teaching in buildings in the surrounding area.

Katona taught primarily journalism and English when she first began, because she

had a master’s degree in literature. She later expanded to teach in the fields of photography, women’s studies, desktop publishing and international education. Along with Barbara Hendrickson, Katona helped start the women’s studies program at Ohlone.

She has taught Women in the Western World (WS/IS 120) for 30 years. Katona also had a hand in bringing some of the first computers to campus with the help of then-journalism Professor Florence Reynolds and a $40,000 grant from the state.

Katona has had many memorable times on the campus. She said, “in 34 years I have never not wanted to come to school.” This dedication to her profession has been evident to her students. One is former student Robin Williams, who took a literature course with Katona and went on to become a successful

author.

Katona is an author as well, having published two books (Book Savvy and Modern Ivory Netsuke) with more in the making.

Katona said she is especially proud of having worked in international education, as she was able to “see the growth of [her] students as they matured.”

Katona also cites her photography as something she is very proud of. She has won numerous awards and recognition for her work, including being a finalist in the 2008 Photographer’s Forum contest.

Katona said her hardest moments as a professor occurred when she “couldn’t succeed in helping troubled students.” While she enjoys teaching, Katona said she “accomplished all she had hoped to accomplish while teaching Continued on Page 4

Photo by Nazia Mastan

Cynthia Katona has taught at Ohlone since 1975.

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Opinion

monitor March 5, 2009

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Editor in chief: Eric Dorman News editor: Jake Benson Opinion editor: Noah Levin Features editor: Nicole Johnson Sports editor: Jeff Weisinger Photo editor: Japneet Kaur Online editor: Suchi Gupta Staff writers: Ankita Chhabra, Theodore Harrison III, Esmeralda Leon, Alex Lykins, Nazia Mastan, Sean Nero, Tomás Ortega, Anna Biaritz Roldan, Devery Sheffer, Zunera Syed, Farnoosh Vahedi, Isaac West Photographers: Anna Alfafara, Jorge Gomez, Tara Lynn Lanning, Dan Yuan Ad manager: Jacque Orvis Ad staff: Inez Black, Christy Marovich, Harpreet Singh 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.

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Opinion

Year of 2012 looms close, maybe a bit too close

By Tara Lynn Lanning Photo staff With a little more than three years left, the clock is ticking and the Mayan “doomsday” prophecy set for 2012 remains a mystery. In our time of environmental, financial and religious turmoil, some people are fearful of some vague coming catastrophe predicted in the ancient legends of the Mayan culture.

The global population is booming and wars are raging around the world, directly impacting the already weakened climate. And at

the same time, people are connected to each other as never before. But what is truly amazing is that our generation will not only witness these changes, but will have an influence on their outcome.

The date December 21, 2012 on our modern Gregorian calendar, translates to be the end date of the Mayan calendar. The Mayans were well known for their accurate measure of astrological signs and the solar year.

This means the date 12.21.2012 on our calendar is analogous to the starting and end date of the Mayan

calendar, 13.0.0.0.0. Many speculate that when this date is reached, it will be the beginning of a new age, either brought on the wings of some great cataclysm or social upheaval.

According to Mayan legends, the gods created the world three times and then didn’t like the way it turned out. So they wiped the slate clean to start over.

So the fourth attempt, which is what we live in now, comes up for the gods’ approval, or disapproval, on 12.21.12.

It is important to note that though

I am discussing a hypothetical “doomsday,” the end of the world could also be interpreted to mean great change in the collective consciousness, a massive climate change or a major cultural shift.

These various possibilities mean that we as a generation must be prepared to do our best to care for one another and our planet more responsibly.

Should there be some earthshattering cataclysm, it would be the job of the young able-bodied to pull the injured from the rubble and keep our neighbors calm. And in the

case of political upheaval, solidarity would be preferable to division in our country. Many would have to put ideological conflicts aside for the greater good.

It would also be in our best interests to reexamine our consumption of resources, our waste disposal methods, and our use of land in order to be better stewards of the Earth.

Whatever the future might bring, every one of us will surely be called upon to make a contribution to the events shaping our world. Now all we need is a little time.

Dismantling the greatest American robbery

By Noah Levin Opinion editor After the better part of a decade, the giant, rampaging monster is on its last leg. The political machine that was the Republican Party is teetering on the brink of annihilation, and the final moves are being made to hobble the beast once and for all. For me, the past eight years have left me awestruck at the audacity and outright subversive nature of the policies and beliefs pushed on American government; from the steady deregulation of American industry to the “Faith Based Initiatives” that had no place in our government to President

Bush’s refusal to sign the Kyoto Accord, alienating our nation from the world’s attempts to slow global warming. The bold, ballsy maneuvers by the Bush administration frustrated me and made me want to pull my hair out.

These guys were a gang of thieves, gleefully picking the pockets of all hardworking Americans, and then coolly redistributing the wealth among the rich and conservative. But in 2008, Americans voted for a change of management, and to my relief, chose an outspoken, ballsy progressive, rather than the outspoken, ballsy liars. The thieves are now on the run, trying desperately to make up for a dimwitted President Bush and a largely

disastrous presidential campaign full of some the worst slander and mud slinging I can recall. And now our new, calm, scholarly president is beginning the dismantling of all the policies, which made the thieves’ pockets so full and ours so light.

The Republican Party’s stance on many pressing social issues, such as their support for California’s passing of Proposition 8 banning gay marriage, were also supportive of legislation that violated civil rights laws and were generally unconstitutional. The Republicans’ anti-gay stance is particularly surprising, considering that in the past eight years several Republican politicians, many of whom were outspoken homophobes, have been

“outted” as closeted homosexuals themselves.

These two-faced, hypocritical scoundrels have also sought to weaken the morale of the American people in the wake of 9/11 by imprisoning innocents, establishing legislation that gave the government the right to spy on its own constituency, and distracting the populace from the larger, more important issues at hand by discouraging intellectualism and liberalism.

Thankfully, President Obama has already ordered the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to be shut down this year, wiping away one of the blackest marks on recent U.S. history. Our new president has also begun to put the regulations

on banks and the financial industry that had been previously removed by past Republican administrations in the 1980’s.

It is an encouraging sign that it is not just our president who is seeking to right the wrong committed by the Bush administration, but politicians and advocacy groups around the country are stepping up and putting in motion the changes needed to get our nation back on track. Here in California we will hopefully see an end to the unconstitutional Prop. 8, and soon racial profiling of Arabs and the Patriot Act will come to an end as well. Even with economic crisis weighing heavily upon our minds, there will be brighter times ahead

Campus Comment > > > Should Prop. 8 stand as a law or be repealed?

Orlando Bugtong MARKETING

“It should be repealed. Everybody has a right to marry.”

Lydia Bringhurst COMMUNICATIONS

“We’ve heard the voice of the people and should respect that.”

Vinnie Jhaj

HOSPITALITY MANAGMENT

“They should definitely repeal it.”

Mani Bhata

Cheryl West

ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE

SOCIAL WORK

“Repeal it.”

“It ought to be repealed.”

News

March 5, 2009 monitor

3

Brown Bag to explain ‘Mona Lisa,’ VW’s

By Eric dorman Editor-in-chief It’s guided architecture and design for millennia, from the Parthenon to the Volkswagen Beetle. You can see it in sunflowers, pineapples and the “Mona Lisa.” And this Friday, Math Instructor Jeff O’Connell will bring the Golden Ratio to Ohlone in the third Brown Bag Science Seminar of the semester.

The talk, which will take place from noon to 12:50 p.m. in Room 3201, will have basis in mathematics but an emphasis on art, said O’Connell. The Golden Ratio, though rooted in math, is more widely recognized for its aesthetic value, with huge influences in art, architecture and graphic design.

O’Connell originally got the idea for a talk exploring the relationship between math and art from his sister-in-law, a graphic artist. Whenever she discussed her projects with him, O’Connell explained, “we would always start out [talking about] graphic art and end up talking about math.”

That link is the Golden Ratio, first formally introduced by the mathematician Euclid in 300 B.C.,

who called it “a pleasing ratio” in his famous work The Elements. It describes the ratio between two lengths whose sum, divided by the length of the longer one, is equal to the larger sum divided by the smaller one. Like pi, it is an irrational number that rounds to about 1.6.

Despite its technical derivation, the Golden Ratio can be seen most today in areas seemingly devoid of mathematics: art and nature. Leonardo Da Vinci, an avid scientist, took the Golden Ratio into careful consideration when painting the Mona Lisa, an attention to detail that is evidenced when measuring the relative distances between focal points on the painting: the proportions of the woman’s nose and the size of her mouth and chin all correspond to the Ratio.

Curiously enough, the Golden Ratio can also be found in nature: the Ratio and its cousin, the Golden Spiral, happen to describe the most efficient distribution of seeds and leaves on plants in order to allow maximum exposure. As a result, the Golden Ratio can be seen in sunflowers, pineapples and pinecones, as well as elsewhere in nature.

O’Connell emphasized, however, that the Ratio is not just limited to flowers and 16th Century art. The profile of the VW Beetle conforms

to the outline of the Golden Ellipse, whose height and width make up the Golden Ratio.

O’Connell stressed that despite

the Ratio’s mathematical foundation, the math at the presentation will be kept to a bare minimum, mostly focusing on the Ratio’s uses.

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Features

monitor March 5, 2009

Vaguely necessary

That’s gotta hurt...

By Japneet Kaur Photo editor

Hacked for first time Last night, I was infected by an online virus for the first time in my life.

Having no experience with viruses, I ignorantly clicked the link I thought a friend had sent me in IM, to find my Windows Live Messenger begin behaving in the most unpredictable manner.

I realized my friend hadn’t sent me that link – rather, my friend had somehow gotten the virus and passed it on to me.

The virus proceeded to send itself to several people on my contact list, infecting another inexperienced friend.

After having a bit of a freakout moment, unsuccessfully uninstalling and reinstalling the application, and finally succeeding in correcting the issue (system restore, if anyone else ever has this problem), I sat back and tried to keep calm.

I’d always heard stories about people’s hard drives crashing because they were hacked, or someone’s genius original piece of work being stolen, private photos being leaked onto the internet, etc.

I never imagined anything of the sort could happen to me! Even though it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, the virus being limited to one application, I found it hard to control my anger.

The idea that there are people out there who enjoy nothing more than the thought that something they created is causing other people a load of technical problems really irks me.

So what’s my point? I doubt my complaint is going to stop hackers and creators of viruses, but I do wonder why. It probably seems like a small thing, especially to those who have never been in a similar situation. To me, it’s another thing that makes me question humanity and innocence and all that other apparently overhyped stuff.

If you’re a hacker, I ask you – what do you get out of it?

Exercise your brainpower, by all means.

Challenge yourself and apply your skills. Why mess with the lives of people who have never done anything to you, though?

Where does it get you?

This ties in nicely with my last column – it’s another reason (oh, there are so many!) to be careful online. Here’s some advice that I know wish I had learned before this happened, but I’m glad I figured it out now.

If a friend sends you a link that you don’t recognize in an e-mail or an instant message without any kind of explanation as to what it is, ask him/her about it before you click on it.

Never run or install any program if you don’t know what it is.

Drop a little cash on an antivirus program. Be safe!

Photo courtesy of Dito Milian

Bob Dochterman, director of the KOHL radio station, is in for a crash landing at Infinieon track.

Dancing on the edge of disaster By nicole johnson Features editor Screech! went the tires as the motorcycle went down on its side on the track. Officials desperately waved yellow flags at riders speeding around the corner, as Bob Dochterman felt his Honda CBR 600 fly out from under him. Irritated with himself, he watched his bike go over a hill to the edge of a race track, dig in the mud, start to tumble, flip a couple of times, and still have time to do a few somersaults.

Dochterman didn’t see the drivers rounding the corner of Infinieon Raceway the wet morning of Wednesday, Feb. 18, as he slid along like a bullet on the asphalt.

His bike inched lower to the track and the wheels lost traction with the ground, a phenomenon known as “lowsiding” in the motorcycle world.

Dochterman, head of Ohlone’s radio station, KOHL, said he wasn’t hurt because he was wearing leather and extra padding. After the inci-

dent, he stood next to his wrecked bike giving a thumbs up, to show officials that he was okay, and there was no need for an ambulance.

He said that if he would have “highsided” – the opposite of lowsiding, in which the tires let go and catch a certain way, catapulting the rider over the top of the bike –“that would hurt.” As it was, however, he escaped with only minor bruises.

As a rider of 20 years, he warns, “Anytime you go out [on the track] it could happen during the course.

If you’re going to ride close to the edge of the bike’s capacity or your own abilities, do it on the track,” not on the street.

He said the key to driving motorcycles is to understand the tires.

“There’s nothing more important than tires.” Only when they are heated up do they reach their operating potential.

He said his error and impatience, along with the rain-wet track, caused the accident. Dochterman was too impatient to do the typical three laps of warmup; instead, he only com-

Book club to go multilingual By sean nero Staff writer “Trying to prevent students from losing their love of reading,” Lauri Scholz and Amy Morse started the Ohlone Book Club.

The club was started in October of last year by president Scholz and vice president Morse because they noticed that “there wasn’t a book club on campus.”

This week the club chose Firoozeh Dumas’ national bestselling memoir Funny in Farsi which, according to Morse is “a story of an Iranian girl’s experiences in America in the late 70’s.”

Scholz said the purpose of the book club is to “allow students to have a place to discuss books so that the only books they read aren’t

text books.”

The club, which currently has around seven members, is open to anyone with an interest in reading and holds its meetings every other Tuesday from 1to 2 p.m. in the video conferencing room in the library.

Accordinging to Scholz club members “bring book suggestions to each meeting and then vote on the book that the club will read” Members can either rent, buy or check out selected books from the library or retail book store.

New book club member Greg Monson said he joined the club because he “likes to read and had friends in the club.”

The next club meeting will be on March 17 in the library video conference room and the book chosen is Emma by Jane Austen.

pleted one. On the green racetrack, with “no rubber or sticky stuff on the track,” riding on cold tires, “I was dancing on the edge.”

This was Dochterman’s first time having a crash caught on film.

“That’s pretty excellent!” he said.

Infinieon is a professional track that always has photographers.

Of Infinieon, Dochterman said “it’s a pretty safe track compared to the streets, especially at an extreme level.”

He conceded that while motorcycling is dangerous, any sport carries a certain degree of risk. “If I gave up [riding motorcycles] and [took] up golf, I’d probably get hit in the head with a golf ball and pass out.”

Dochterman has no aspirations to become a professional racer, just to “get out there and have a perfect lap.

I want to do my personal best.”

His bike, he said, was not irrevocably damaged by the crash.

It “takes a licking and keeps on ticking. The engine fired up even after the somersaults.

“This is just a hobby,” he said,

“like some people play golf. I do this.”

There was “cosmetic damage” done to the bike, but nothing too serious. The handlebar broke in half, but the engine was fine. Dochterman has a lot of spare parts, so he plans on fixing the bike himself. He hopes to get his bike fixed for under $1,000, or even $500.

Another interesting motor-related experience of Dochterman’s was getting to play a part in the Matrix 2.

He was a part of the freeway chase scene, as an extra driver. He was able to get into the movie because he was involved with a movie extra company.

They were looking for doubles for agent Smith, so he auditioned for that. It turned out they were going to have more computer generation than actual people for that character, but they did have a deal for driving.

“So, it worked out,” Dochterman said. “I was only in the movie for a couple of seconds, but if I had to say one thing about working on a movie, you get fed like a king.”

Katona to retire Continued from Page 1 and is looking forward to new challenges. She also said she “made a promise to retire before she got burned out,” seeing that she wanted to be able to teach with the same delight as she did when she first began.

Katona’s influence reaches beyond students as she served as president of the Faculty Senate for six years and was involved in hiring English Professors Jeff Dean, Mark Brosamer, Jennifer Hurley and Tracy Virgil.

Katona said her funniest time at Ohlone was when Dr. Alan Kirshner and some of his students put together a body-building show and her women’s studies students began gathering around to cheer them on.

During her retirement, Katona said she wants to focus on her writing as well as do some seasonal traveling that she wasn’t able to do while teaching.

Since she is a Fremont resident, Katona said she will continue to enjoy the college during her retirement and hopes to take one of Denise Owen’s drawing courses.

Katona wanted to leave students with this message: “think about a career in teaching; don’t let anyone dissuade you from doing it... You’ll have plenty of fun and free time and while you might not get rich, you’ll make enough to live happily on.”

Features Photos: reading between the lines By anna biaritz roldan Staff writer It’s a striking photo—dark and shadowy, but impossible to ignore.

Formless black and white shapes stand out starkly against a grainy gray and white background, dropping hints but never quite giving the story away. Whatever you take to be the meaning of Photography Instructor Paul Mueller’s “Three Portraits of Tubaist Johnny Blood, Johnny Blood,” one thing is clear: the meaning of the photo lies not only in what is said, but also in what is left unsaid.

Some photos are clear; others abstract, but all are provocative at the Photo Show in the Louie Meager Art Gallery. The show, which opened last Friday and runs through April 4, features a diverse collection of photos from a number of artists and photographers from around the Bay.

Aiming for the high notes By nazia mastan Staff writer The Ohlone Chamber Orchestra is at it again.

Larry Osborne, a French Hornist with Opera San Jose, among numerous other prestigious orchestras and symphonies, will conduct Ohlone’s Chamber Orchestra’s March 8 performance.

Osborne has conducted the Ohlone Chamber Orchestra, or OCO, since 2003, making it his sixth season as conductor. He has degrees in music performance and music education.

The 35-member ensemble includes celloists, violinists and trumpeters to name a few, but the wind instrumentalists will be the focus.

Jackson Theater in Ohlone’s Smith Center for the Performing Arts will be the backdrop of the Ohlone Chamber Orchestra’s performance.

Various wind instruments will play in concerto together to compile pieces from Charles Gounod’s Petite Symphony in B flat Major.

The Ohlone Chamber Orchestra will also play numbers from W.A Mozart’s Symphony Number 36 in C as well as Karl Stamitz’ Orchestra Quartet in C Major.

Even though the OCO will be playing on May 17 at 5 p.m. as well, you should catch them this Sunday while they are hot.

The Ohlone Chamber Orchestra will be playing in the Jackson Theater inside of the Smith Center at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.

Tickets are available at the Smith Center Box Office now through showtime.

The Ohlone Chamber Orchestra is also looking for college or professional experienced playerswho play the a violin, viola, cello or trumpet.

For information, you can send an email to hornfest@aol.com.

There were also less abstract photographs, documentary-bound perhaps, such as Amanda Herman’s “Kungsleden,” which depicts a group of cross-country skiers crossing a frozen lake to make it to their camp.

This photo shows a skier walking on thick snow and two others on sleds pulled by snow dogs. Images like these seem to be the “right timing” kind of photograph. It looks as if the fine lighting found in the skies on the photo and the angle the photo was taken must be done with skill and practice.

Other photos can be taken with models that can pose for the photographers, but photos like these must be taken by a person with the eye for the right moment.

With not the perfect moment but this time, the right subject, Dana Marlow Davis’s series of photographs entitled “Kore 23,” “Kore 36,” “Kore 62,” “Kore 66” and

“Kore 68” strike with their sheer elegance. These photos of unclothed bodies are calming, but at the same time compelling. The contours of the body, which she chose to focus on, are not what you would usually find in a photo. It’s the obscurity that makes one think.

Going into the peculiar, I found Mark Eanes’s “Tire Pile” series to be one-of-a-kind. The sight of n othing but tires in a photo is both interesting and unusual.

There were also photos of subjects like the crusty old painted pole or the gates of a structure that may be found in the urban streets, taken

by Terry Thompson. Thompson’s taste for the common things, turning them into something to actually look at, can be luring and can lead your imagination to go places.

The reception for the show will be Saturday March 21 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Smith Center. Admission is free.

March 5, 2009

monitor

5

Weighing Anchor

By Eric dorman Editor-in-chief

Too costly either way

Photo by Paul Mueller

“Three Portraits of Tubaist Johnny Blood, Johnny Blood” is one of many photos on display at the art gallery.

They say you can’t put a price on life. Capital punishment, unfortunately, is another matter.

We’ve heard the arguments against the death penalty voiced in terms of the human costs. Sadly, these arguments have mostly fallen short—the majority of our states still support the death penalty. Perhaps it’s time to try a different argument: economics.

Last week, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley presented an unusual, but increasingly popular argument for repealing the death penalty to the Maryland Senate: the program is simply too expensive. In Maryland, death penalty cases cost three times as much as cases in which life imprisonment is sought. In California, they are as much as six times costlier. The reasons for the extra expense are simple—capital punishment trials tend to be longer and require more lawyers—but the effects are profound: here in California, we pay $250 million every year to implement the death penalty. In a state facing a $40 billion deficit and deep cuts across the board, and to education in particular, this is not a price we can afford.

These figures support what is already a convincing argument against the death penalty, albeit one to which we’ve largely turned a deaf ear (36 states still support capital punishment). Today’s justification for our sanctioned murder program is rooted in a biblical eye-for-an-eye dogma that we’ve never had the courage to change, even though the concept is just as backward today as it was 3,000 years ago. Any punishment is worthless and negatively reinforcing when the penalty is a replica of the original crime. If we acknowledge the hypocrisy of spanking children to teach them that violence is wrong, then why do we kill killers to teach them that killing is wrong?

Advocates of the death penalty bring up the same tired argument any time a state considers foregoing the death penalty. The harshness of capital punishment, they argue, serves to deter potential criminals. What these proponents fail to understand is that financially, the death penalty has the exact opposite effect: while California and other states have steadily pumped taxpayer dollars into capital punishment, we’ve been slowly starving programs that be ameliorative. Even as we prepare to build a $400 million death row facility here in California, we’re cutting funding for rehabilitation programs and help for the poor—programs that could prevent tomorrow’s death row inmates from turning to crime to begin with.

Our nation has executed 1,149 individuals since 1976, at a cost of over $1 billion. Whichever figure you choose to look at, the cost is too much.

6 MONITOR

News

March 5, 2009

‘Yes I Can’ gets boost

By Sean Nero Staff writer Students helped the Black History Month Auction reach its $200 goal last Thursday in front of Building 1.

Four prizes were auctioned off during the Feb. 26 fundraising event, including a photographic journal of President Barack Obama titled, “The Inauguration of President Obama” and written by the Washington Post.

Other prizes included a large painting of two giraffes grazing, a book by Charlie Samuels titled America, The Making of A Nation, and a compact disc collection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. original sermons.

The proceeds from the ticket sales will go toward the “Yes I Can” Scholarship, which will be awarded at a later time. The scholarship is targeted toward under-represented and financially disadvantaged students, particularly African Americans.

ASOC plans march Continued from Page 1 have a place where the students can chill,” said Dan Zhou, legislative representative of the ASOC. Students typically hang out in the Hyman Hall, which can disturb students trying to study.

Furniture for a recreational room on the Newark campus has arrived. Activities include a pool table, a foosball table, and eight laptops. The room is scheduled to open the week after spring break. Students will need

to have paid their $5 activities fee as well as have a student ID card or some other form of identification to use the room.

The college planning summit is planned for next Thursday. This event will be focused on reviewing goals and objectives for the college. The event is important because it effects Ohlone’s accreditation along with deciding the direction the college will take on several issues.

Classes will be canceled in the afternoon as a result of the summit.

Sports/Campus Events Renegades win-streak hits cloud nine By jeff weisinger Sports editor Jordon Twohig’s baseball team looks nearly unstoppable during their current nine-game win streak.

Whether they win by one run or by as much as 19 runs, the Renegades have been on fire even since losing to Diablo Valley back on Feb. 10.

Their recent 28-9 win against Gavilan College last Thursday and their 11-8 win against Hartnell College on Saturday was just another display of Ohlone’s high powered offense.

On Thursday, the Renegades traveled with their-then sevengame win streak to Gilroy to take

on Gavilan College.

Sophomore right-hander Alex Oberle (3-0) would have an easy outing on his way to his third win of the year, pitching just three innings, allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts as Ohlone clicked on all cylinders against the Rams.

Outfielder Jeff Johnson sparked the Renegades’ rally with his solo home run in his first at bat in the first inning. He would outdo his first inning performance in the second inning with a three-run shot as the Renegades scored 16 runs in the first three innings en route to a decisive 28-9 victory.

Saturday’s game against Hartnell was much a much closer game than

Gavilan.

Ohlone took a 5-1 lead after three innings, highlighted by Steven Ramos’ two-RBI base hit in the second inning.

However, starter Roberto Padilla would have trouble holding the four-run lead in the fifth as the Panthers went on to score six in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead. Padilla (1-2) pitched four innings, allowing five runs on four hits with three strikeouts. He also walked four batters on the outing. Freshman Jon Sa relieved Padilla in the fifth after Padilla hit Hartnell’s Ridge Carpen with the bases loaded, scoring Justin Andra.

Ohlone rallied back with a

five-run eighth inning, sparked by Michael Ussery’s RBI groundout, which sent in Brad Reeves from third. Jeff Johnson sealed the deal for the Renegades with a two-out grand slam as Ohlone won its ninth straight game 11-8.

Sophomore Ian Hoff came in in the sixth inning and pitched a solid four innings, allowing one run on one hit, a Carpen RBI double in the eighth, and two strikeouts.

Hoff (2-1) leads the Ohlone pitching staff in innings pitched (34.1), ERA (1.05), saves (3) and strikeouts (23).

Outfielder Jeff Johnson leads Ohlone with a .407 batting average, seven home runs and 22 RBI’s.

included a 6-3 win over Solano College and a 2-1 loss to Siskiyous College.

Against Solano, Ohlone had control from the start, scoring the first run of the game in the first inning.

Renegades starter Kendall Beermann held Solano scoreless for nearly five innings. Beermann ran into some trouble and was relieved

by Jessica Maria with two outs in the fifth.

Beermann finished her day with 4.2 innings pitched, allowing two

runs on five hits and a pair of walks.

Beermann, though, did finish with the win and five strikeouts.

In relief, Maria went 2.1 innings, allowing only a run in the sixth inning, preserving the win and earning the save.

Ohlone’s Paulina Gentry led the way offensively, reaching base in three consecutive at-bats, including two singles and a double.

However Ohlone didn’t fare well in the against Siskiyous in the second game, losing 2-1.

Kelly Colker pitched well in her complete game loss, allowing Siskiyous to score their only two runs in the fifth inning.

Siskiyous pitcher Jackie Imhof matched Colker stride for stride, also lasting seven innings. Imhof’s 0.31 ERA ranks her fourth in California among pitchers with at least an inning pitched per team game.

Ohlone hopes to add to their 20 Conference record with a game against Chabot today, pending rain.

Lady Renegades slowly coming back

By Tomás Ortega Sports writer The Ohlone Softball team split a pair of games over the relatively dry weekend.

Unfortunately, a 2-1 record over a seven-day stretch will be the best they can accomplish after having two games rained out Monday and Tuesday afternoon against City College of San Francisco and DeAnza College, respectively.

Ohlone’s weekend games

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March

JOBS

5 Men’s Baseball - Home vs. Mission College at 2 p.m.

6-7 Men’s Basketball Regional Semifinal Playoffs

For more information visit Transfer & Career Services.

For more information on Jobs & Internships visit Transfer & Career Services in Building 1, 4th Floor, Rm 1405A. Hours: Monday Thru Thursday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Closed Friday.

6 Academics - Last day to apply for Spring 2009 Graduation or Certificate of Achievement.

11 Meeting - Board of Trustees business meeting on the Newark Campus at 6:30 p.m.

5 Women’s Softball - Away vs. Chabot College at 3 p.m.

6 Entertainment - The Ohlone College Psychology Club presents Why People Believe Weird Things in the Jackson Theater at 7 p.m.

Admission is $10.

7 Women’s Basketball Regional Final Playoffs 7 Men’s Baseball - Away vs. Cabrillo College at noon.

8 Entertainment - Ohlone Chamber Orchestra, Jackson Theater at 2 p.m.

9 College Council – Meetings at Fremont Campus in Room 1407 and Newark Campus in Room NC-1219 3 until 4:30 p.m.

10 Men’s Baseball - Home vs. Skyline College at 2 p.m.

10 Men’s Tennis - Home vs. Chabot College at 3 p.m.

12 Men’s Baseball - Away vs. Chabot College at 2 p.m.

12 Women’s Softball - Away vs. Cabrillo College at 3 p.m.

13-15 Women’s Basketball - State Finals in Fresno 23 College Council – Meetings at Fremont Campus in Room 1407 and Newark Campus in Room NC-1219 from 3 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. - Professional Development Committee meeting in Room 1407 on Fremont Campus at 12:20 p.m.

13 Men’s and Women‘s Swimming and Diving Home vs. Foothill College at 2 p.m.

14 Event - Ohlone College Super Flea Market on Fremont Campus. The flea

market is held every second Saturday of every month in parking lots H and E. Parking is $2.

14 Men’s Basketball - Regional Final Playoffs.

Location and time TBA.

First Bill in the Nummi Theater at 8 p.m.

20-22 Men’s Basketball - State Finals. Location and time TBA. 20 Men’s Tennis - Away vs.

Cabrillo College at 3 p.m.

14-15 Women’s Softball - March Madness Tournament on Fremont Campus

21 Women’s Softball - Home vs. Napa Valley College at 10 p.m.

14 Men’s Baseball - Away vs. Monterey Peninsula College at noon.

21 Men’s Baseball - Home vs. City College of San Francisco at noon.

15 Ohlone Wind Orchestra – Jackson Theater at 2 p.m.

21 Women’s Softball - Home vs. American River College at 2 p.m.

16 Meeting - Citizen's Oversight Committee discuss Bond Measure A on Fremont Campus at 6 p.m.

21 Art - Art Gallery Reception for Design Show in the Louie-Meager Art Gallery at 7 p.m. The Design Show is open until April 4.

17 Meeting - TechComm meeting in Room 1407 on Fremont Campus at 2 p.m.

17 Men’s Baseball - Away vs, Hartnell College at 2 p.m.

18 Faculty Senate – Room 1307 on Fremont Campus at 3:30 p.m.

19 Men’s Baseball - Home vs. Monterey Peninsula College at noon.

19 Women’s Softball Home Monterey Peninsula College at 3 p.m.

19-20 Art - Student Rep

21 Entertainment - Ohlone Chamber Singers perform in the Jackson Theater at 8 p.m.

23-29 Spring Break Fremont and Newark offices are open. No classes 24 Men’s Baseball - Home vs. Gavilan College at 2 p.m.

24 Men’s Tennis - Home vs. DeAnza College at 3 p.m.

24 Women’s Softball Home vs. Hartnell College at 3 p.m.

March 5, 2009 monitor

7

The fast break

By Ankita Chhabra Sports writer

Tennis begins The racket, the neon yellow ball and the long net. That’s all there is to this sport called tennis…right?

Wrong.

The Ohlone Men’s Tennis team opened their 2009 season this past Tuesday as they hosted Cabrillo College at home and closed the day by bagging their first win of the season.

Both the singles and doubles matches were dominated by the Renegades as they came ready and prepared to take the Cabrillo Eagles down.

Even though the team consists of six roster players, only four of them were able to play in the season opener.

“If we had all six players, this team could be capable of making it to state,” said Head Tennis Coach Clif Awuy.

He joined the Renegade squad two years ago and feels that this year he has a good team at hand with talented players that were bought out of great tennis programs and are ready to win.

Andrew Cimpoale, Luis Castruita, David Verdeflor and Kevin Chung all won each of their single matches against the Eagles squad.

For Cimpoale it was a great “expected win” as he felt it was great to have opened this season with a win, because he has not been playing for a while.

Verdeflor is a freshmen recruit from Morrow High school and was very pleased with his performance for the first game.

“At first I wasn’t sure how [my opponent] was going to serve or set the ball, but I started to read him more and won,” said Verdeflor after the match.

Anticipating and presuming are keys to winning the game, because without the two you either lose the match or fall victim to your opponent’s mind games because he/she just knows how to beat you.

Each of the men on the team have great dreams and aspirations.

They are playing it because that’s what they enjoy doing and they’re the best at what they do.

One lesson learned in sports is that you always enjoy what you put your heart to, and without your heart in the game it becomes a job and unpleasing.

Through the heat and the endless amount of hitting the ball in attempts to reach that perfect serve, the Renegade Men’s team has a bright season ahead of them.

“We are a great team this year and have a lot of potential to make it to state and conference,” said Awuy who, like the rest of his squad is looking forward to the rest of this season and playing tennis.

The Ohlone tennis team travels to Santa Clara to take on Mission College on Friday, then returns for a match against the DeAnza Dons on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the Ohlone tennis courts.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Page 8

RISE OF THE RENEGADES

Photos by Jeff Weisinger and Tara Lynn Lanning

Sophomores A.J. Flournoy, left, and C.C. Swaggard, right, led their respective teams to victory over the weekend.

Ohlone shoots down the Thunderbirds By ankita chhabra Sports writer “I think we had a great win and played hard like we needed to.

And we need put the same effort and time into this Saturday’s game to try and get another win,” said sophomore guard Kevan West, who nailed five three-pointers in last Saturday’s Regional Semifinal playoff win against the Merritt College Thunderbirds.

This was the first time the Renegades, who are seeded fourth, caught a taste of the Thunderbirds.

Ohlone did not get to play in the San Diego Invitational Tournament

earlier in the season.

Though the Thunderbirds tried to hold a tight grip onto the scoreboard, the Renegades had stronger efforts and a higher energy level as the Renegades advanced to the “Sweet 16” with a 85-63 win.

The Renegades started off strong as they opened the first half with their back-to-back shots by sophomore forward James Hancock, who had 17 points.

Assisting him throughout the first half and continuing to be a power force on the court was teammate Ronnie Sawyer, who scored 13 points on the night and gave the crowd a little taste of his signature three-point shot from the corners

and wings.

The Thunderbirds did not slack off, however.

Despite an unfavorable scoreboard, team leading scorer Drew Pughsley, who had 17 points on the night, tried to have his team hold together as he led the Thunderbirds in rebounding.

The Renegades had to work hard toward the end of the first half as the game was up for grabs with Ohlone taking the 35-24 halftime lead.

The second half opened strong for both sides as Joe Powell for the Thunderbirds and Alpha N’Diaye for the Renegades led their teams in the second half scoring, each with

make the opening shots with the ball missing the rim.

However, the Lady Renegades picked up the pace, ending the first half with a 20-point lead as Ohlone went into halftime with the score 45-25.

Not only did Ohlone lead at the half, they also kept the Lady Eagles All-Conference guard Chrissy Watts under control by using their man-to-man defense, which favored them and the scoreboard.

The ladies came back the second half confident that this game was now in their control and all they had to do was keep the lead and keep playing as they are.

Markielle Styles led the Lady

Renegades with 14 points, while teammates C.C. Swaggard, Bradleigh Miller and Jasmine Rubin each had 12.

Chrissy Watts was having trouble getting past the Lady Renegade defense in the first half.

However, she managed to find her limelight in the second half as she tried to bring the Eagles back.

After their strong win over Siskiyous, the seventh-seed Lady Renegades will advance to the second round of playoffs as they travel to number three-seed Delta College Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for a chance to go to the state championships.

15 and 14 points respectively.

But Renegades team captain A.J. Flournoy was the one who brought the game back to life for Ohlone.

He finished strong with 11 points and with excellent man-toman defense that the Renegades switched to.

“As a team I think we did really good. We prepared and practiced had all week and executed where we needed to,” said Flournoy after the game. “ We have places we can improve on and we are going to work on that and get ready for Reedley.”

And where does that improvement lie?

It’s in their shooting and offensive rebounding, which did not look like its usual, but practice makes perfect.

The Renegades finished off strong in the last 12 minutes of the game as the rest of the Renegades got some playing time.

With one game down, the Renegades advance to the next round and will be playing this Saturday against Reedley College at 7 p.m.

Reedley is seeded number five, just one spot below Ohlone.

The winner of Saturday night’s game will proceed to the state championships in Fresno, where the top four teams from Northern and Southern California will meet.

Lady Renegades continue streak to State

By ankita chhabra Sports writer After much excitement and anticipation for their first playoff game this season, the Ohlone Women’s Basketball team went in headstrong and finished headstrong against the College of the Siskiyous Lady Eagles, winning 75-65.

With the titles in the bag, and honorable mentions being talked about in the crowd, the Lady Renegades came in with great depth and showed why they were undefeated in conference against the Eagles.

The game started off with a battle of the baskets with the two teams, as both teams struggled to

Photo by Tara Lynn Lanning

The Lady Renegades ran right through the Lady Eagles all night in their 75-65 regional semi-final win.