Monitor 2013-9-19

OHLONE COLLEGE

THURSDAY

MONITOR

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 Vol. XLVI No. 2

FREMONT, CA OHLONEMONITOR.COM

Campus prepares for traffic slowdown LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief City of Fremont officials are warning Ohlone students and staff to beware of traffic slowdowns because of repairs to Mission Boulevard on Friday, Saturday and Monday.

Friday’s work, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., will slow down traffic at the Southbound I-680 exit onto Mission Boulevard.

Officials advise anyone going to Ohlone to use a different Continued on Page 3 TAM DUONG JR. / MONITOR

Workshop seeks to prevent harassment MITCHELL WALTHER Staff writer With so many cultures weaving in and out of Ohlone’s halls, unity and diversity are forced to walk hand-in-hand.

How can we be so different, yet find a way to work together every day?

Last week, attorney Eileen O’Hare came to our campus to talk about the issues of free speech and hate speech in social media, and how everyone can try to create a culture of respect.

Her workshop, titled “Creating a Culture of Respect: preventing harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the academic setting,” delivered a hopeful message to the Ohlone community.

A student population is a “snapshot of an organic being,” said O’Hare, who has more than 20 years experience with community college law. To her, the students are more than just numbers, and relationships are more than just rules to follow.

While the session with O’Hare was filled mainly with teachers, students were always on everyone’s minds.

“Diversity is about who’s at the table,” O’Hare said. “Inclusion is about how we’re planning the meal.” You need to keep everyone in mind, she said, and that means taking everything into consideration.

O’Hare’s presentation sought to equip teachers with the tools to foster true equality, what she called “inclusion.”

When asked if that means Ohlone is like a melting pot, O’Hare was quick to shoot this comparison down.

She said the college is more like a collection of cheeses: spectacular together, but you wouldn’t throw us all into one pot. If we were tossed into a fondue together, you’d lose the accents that make us all special, and end up with a mess.

Besides promoting a sense of creativity, teachers should carefully examine the words they use, O’Hare said. She explained that certain phrases, while attempting to make us seem open-minded, could just as easily look purposely offensive. Whenever we lump a group of people together, we demote a person to the level of a novelty. Every person is just a person, and it is wrong of us to label him or her as anything else, she said.

Continued on Page 3

4 arrested in financial aid fraud LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief Federal officials have arrested four people on suspicion of conspiracy to commit financial aid fraud at Bay Area community colleges, including Ohlone.

Kyle Edward Moore, 29, of Hayward; Marcel Devon Bridges, 26, of San Lorenzo; Derricka Lynn Fluker, 23, of Oakland; and Cortio Detrice Wade, 39, of Arizona, were arrested last week, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Wade was arrested in Phoenix and made her initial appearance there as well.

Moore, Bridges and Fluker Continued on Page 3

Symphony to celebrate 50th birthday next month LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief The Fremont Symphony Orchestra will kick off its golden anniversary celebrating 50 years of music next month at Ohlone College.

Things will begin at 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 19, with a performance entitled “World Tour: Unity” at the symphony’s home venue of the Smith Center at the Ohlone College Fremont campus.

“This celebration of 50

years of the Fremont Symphony Orchestra honors the wide variety of cultures in our community and the rich musical traditions of our orchestra and celebrates our unity of spirit,” according to the symphony’s website.

“There is nothing like music to show us that we are more alike than different.”

The music will come from nearly every part of the world, from Russia to America, and includes selections from Indian composer A. R. Rahman’s

Academy Award-winning film score for “Slum Dog Millionaire.”

Rahman won Oscars for Best Original Score as well as Best Original Song at the 2009 Academy Awards for the music in the movie.

The symphony’s website described the upcoming performance as, “A musical journey spanning more than 300 years and 12 countries, exploring the diversity and unity of the human spirit.”

Music Director Gregory

Van Sudmeier and Executive Director Lee Foster look to make the 50th year the best yet with their selection of music for the 2013 season.

For more information about the Fremont Symphony Orchestra or to purchase tickets, call 877-938-9240 or 510371-4859, or go to www.fremontsymphony.org.

SRUTHIE KONDAMOORI / MONITOR

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NEWS

MONITOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

NEWS BITES Workshop to discuss health Want to learn the benefits of having a healthy brain?

Then come to the Brown Bag Lunch Workshop from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 26 in room 7101 at the Fremont campus. This presentation will go over why having a healthy body not only can benefit you from the neck down, but how it also can change how you think, feel, remember, work, play and even sleep. If you wish to attend the workshop, contact Shairon Zingsheim today at szingsheim@ohlone.edu.

Students to study in London, Paris Sandra Park is leading a three-unit study-abroad course in London and Paris from June 3 to 10.

The course, Journals and Memoirs (ENG 127), is designed for those interested in journalism, creative writing, photography, fashion, music, food or art. For more information, contact Sandra Park at sandrapark04@yahoo.com.

Flu vaccinations on Campus The Student Health Center will provide flu shots for those who still need to be vaccinated for this winter season. Shots will be $10 for students and $20 for faculty and staff.

The health center recommends calling to make an appointment. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 510-659-6258. The health center’s hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Thursday.

Rabbit doc to air Sunday on KQED “Rabbit Fever,” a documentary made by local filmmaker and Ohlone alumna Amy Do, will air Sunday on KQED’s Truly CA. “Rabbit Fever” has been featured in USA Today, People magazine and the Washington Post and has been tweeted about by Morgan Spurlock (director of “Supersize Me”) and renowned critic Leonard Maltin (author of “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide.” Do has worked for Lucasfilm Ltd. in Marin on behindthe-scenes documentaries for the “Star Wars” franchise ing filming George Lucas), and produced videogame features at a division of FOX Interactive Media.

–Compiled by Marissa Martin

Ohlone trustee promoted to general ALIZAIB LODHI Staff writer The Army has promoted Ohlone College trustee Garrett Yee from colonel to brigadier general in the Reserve.

His promotion ceremony was held May 19 at the Niles Veterans Hall.

“Getting selected for brigadier general is like getting hit by lightning,” Yee said. “The chances are pretty slim and I didn’t think I was going to be selected.”

Yee was serving on a mission in Afghanistan when he heard about his promotion. He saw his name in the Army Times weekly newspaper and received emails from people he had not seen in 20 years, he said.

Yee served in Iraq from July to December 2006, and in Afghanistan for a 12-month PHOTO COURTESY OF GARRETT YEE tour ending in October.

During Yee’s time in Af- Newly minted Brig. Gen. Garrett Yee celebrates his promotion. ghanistan, he served as the required long workdays and bul, but he traveled throughdeputy commander for the close coordination with all of out Afghanistan and to Theater Signal Command, the major U.S. military comother countries such as Kuproviding communications wait, Qatar, and Bahrain. to U.S. military personnel. mands in Afghanistan,” he “I even made a trip back “It was a very chal- said. to Iraq,” he said. “That was lenging assignment that Yee served primarily in Ka- a strange feeling to be back

in Iraq as we were withdrawing from the country.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell, whose congressional district includes part of Fremont, honored Yee on May 15 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I am proud to honor Brigadier General Yee, who has served his community with excellence and has executed his role as a public servant with professionalism, fairness, and integrity,” Swalwell said.

Yee kept a journal from both his deployments, which can be seen on the Ohlone College website at http://www.ohlone. edu/org/collegeadvancement/yeeupdates.

Now, having returned to his family and friends, Yee works as a civilian in San Francisco and still serves on the Ohlone board.

“I feel honored to serve our country in uniform,” he said. “There are many ways that each of us can do our part to serve our nation and community. I choose to serve in uniform.”

Students react to federal loan uncertainty LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief

rates to approximately what they were before – with one major catch: The bill ties the Students taking out loans loan rates to bond markets, to pay for college this fall got so the rates will depend solely a not-so-pleasant surprise on what the market dictates. when the rates doubled.

This could mean one of How e v e r, C o n g r e s s three things for students takstepped up and in July ing out loans to pay for their passed eduI WAS REALLY a bic a WORRIED FOR partition: san bill A WHILE. T h e lowermari n g ket stays the same, it goes federal lower or in the worst-case Stafscenario it drastically inford loan rates. creases, sending rates In August, President through the roof.

Barack Obama signed the “What if the market just Bipartisan Student Loan jumps up really fast, now Certainty Act of 2013, which my rates are higher? Possibly changed to how student tripled or quadrupled? That’s loan interest rates are de- not fair,” student Jovan Arias termined. said. “I mean, I need the Federal student loan in- money so I am going to take terest rates are fixed perma- it regardless, but it would be nently, but the rates for new nice to have some kind of deloans will change based on cent appropriate fixed rate.” the state of the market.

Students could luck out The interest rates for the if the bond market takes a 2013-2014 academic year dip and pay their loan back are 3.86 percent for under- at a fraction of what they graduate Stafford loans and originally borrowed, but that 5.41 percent for graduate does not seem to be likely in Stafford loans. our economy.

“I was really worried for The bond market is relaa while,” student Alicia tively steady now for stuStevens said. “My loans are dents but with the economy vital for me and to have to so finicky nobody can tell pay double the rates would what it will be like in the have been unacceptable future. for me.”

Former teacher and counThe bill that Congress selor Bob Rinetti feels for passed returned the loan students who will be taking

out loans to pay for their higher education.

“It is really tough for the youth today,” he said. “We tell them to go to school and it will pay off. But then

we make it impossible for them to pay their school accumulated debts once they are done? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you ask me.”

ASOC to hold elections LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief The Associated Students of Ohlone College annual fall elections will take place Sept. 24 to 26.

Several positions need to be filled, including treasurer, representative at large, legislative representative and marketing and communications representative.

Students who want to become a senator also will be on the ballot during next week’s elections.

“Voting will be online and on campus (Fremont and Newark),” Student Activities Coordinator Renee Wong Gonzales said. “Our first meeting with a full council will be Friday, Oct. 11, at 11:30 a.m. in room 7101.”

For students not on campus, the online voting option was made possible by ASOC to ensure everybody has a right and access to vote.

Students at Ohlone are probably familiar with one of the senator requirements whether

they realize it or not.

Candidates are required to gather signatures from fellow students as part of their application for candidacy.

This has become a familiar sight in the quad and cafeteria areas as the application deadline dates draw near.

The petition deadline for fall 2013 candidacy packets was Sept.

9, which allows ASOC to review all of the prospective candidates.

“Last semester I remember a bunch of people asking me if I could sign stuff but not really telling me what it was,” student Jessica Ramirez said.

“After about the third one I finally read it and had them explain it to me, I wish more people did that instead of just trying to collect signatures.”

The ASOC elections process drew controversy last semester, when the elections were held twice after some online technical difficulties and campaign violations.

NEWS

OHLONE COLLEGE

MONITOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

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MONITOR Ohlone College TV going HD STAFF: Editor-in-Chief: Louis LaVenture News editor: Marissa Martin Features editor: Magdalena Jurys Sports editor: Louis LaVenture Opinions editor: Amelia Neary Photo editor: Tam Duong Jr. Online editor: Shannon Sorge Monitor Staff: Yahya Burhani Erika Heredia Sruthie Kondamoori Alizaib Lodhi Luis Morales-Medrano Hung Ngyuen Santiago Perea Mary Joy Tantingco Majtabah Walai Mitchell Walther Adviser: Rob Dennis Printer: FP Press

California Newspaper Publishers Association

Journalism Association of Community Colleges

JACC AWARDS Online general excellence Enterprise news writing News writing

CONTACT US: Offices: Room 5310 Call: 510.659.6075 E-mail: monitor@ohlone. edu Read: facebook.com/ Ohlone.Monitor www.ohlonemonitor.com

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.

AMELIA NEARY Opinions editor

The Ohlone College television station has been facing some major changes in the past year.

Starting in January 2013, the station began working to upgrade its equipment to give the students a feel for working in a high-definition broadcasting environment.

The conversion will be completed next year.

“The equipment is not drastically different,” said Gary Kauf, director of television services. “It’s not like tape machines to digital.”

Most of the funding for the upgrade comes from Measure G, the 2010 bond measure approved by voters.

With the new high def equipment, students will be able to work with state-ofthe-art video cameras, teleprompters, editing equipment and switchers that will give them the hands-on knowledge they will be able to apply to any job upon graduation.

Of course, it’s not just students who have to grasp this new material.

“First, you have to teach the teachers,” Kauf said. “If they don’t know, they can’t teach the students.”

One of the key compo-

MAJTABAH WALAI / MONITOR

Top: Gary Kauf, director of television services (right), points out one of the cameras in the Ohlone College television station.

The station is upgrading its equipment for high-definition broadcast. Right: A control panel in the TV studio.

nents students are learning is how to construct a graphic that allows a box with one story to appear in any corner of the television screen, taking up about a quarter of the monitor.

This provides the viewer with the opportunity to

4 arrested in aid fraud Continued from Page 1 appeared in federal court in Oakland and were released on bond.

They are scheduled to appear next on Oct. 18.

The defendants are accused of recruiting third parties to serve as “straw students” at community colleges including Ohlone, Chabot and City College of San Francisco, and then helping those students to prepare, sign and transmit fraudulent student aid applications, according to an indictment filed Aug. 15.

The straw students had not obtained high school diplomas and had no intention of attending school or using the money for educational purposes, according to the in-

dictment. The defendants shared the money among themselves and sometimes with the students, according to the indictment.

The maximum penalty for each count of conspiracy to commit financial aid fraud is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The maximum penalty for each count of wire fraud is 20 years and a fine of $250,000.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wade M. Rhyne is prosecuting the case.

take in two stories at once without one interfering with the other.

The upgraded equipment not only will allow students to put on a stellar Ohlone broadcast, but also to beef up their resumes for TV stations on the lookout for

new blood.

To Kauf, the main goal is to get students to leave a lasting impression so they can get jobs and succeed in this challenging market.

“If you really take advantage of the situation, they will remember you,” he said.

Workshop builds respect Continued from Page 1 O’Hare also was quick to shoot down the sinkhole of stereotypes. She said that you can’t function off of a stereotype. Even if stereotypes prove themselves true from time to time, “don’t let the 20 percent jade you to the other 80 percent,” she said. “If

that’s what you’re looking for, that’s what you’ll find.”

So, at the end of the day, O’Hare’s presentation was really one about changing our mindsets. As a beacon on Ohlone hill, we work together fairly well. O’Hare only wishes us to work to make our community even stronger.

Roadwork to snarl traffic Continued from Page 1 exit, such as Washington Boulevard, from which they can drive to campus without encountering road crews on Friday.

That’s only on Friday, though. On Saturday and Monday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., traffic will be slow along Mission as workers slurry seal the outside portion of the road from Mill Creek Road to 50 feet north of Pine Street. At times, Ohlone students and staff may not be able to cross Mission from Anza Street to Witherly Lane at the north

campus entrance.

Students or staff entering on Pine may park in the south parking lots or drive across campus at designated cross-campus locations to get to the most commonly used staff and north side parking lots.

Correction A front-page story in the Sept. 12 edition misspelled the name of Enad al-Atassi. The Monitor regrets the error.

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MONITOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

FEATURES

Skateboard Paradise ALIZAIB LODHI Staff writer The city of Fremont finally has its new skate park. It’s in Central Park on Paseo Padre Parkway, not too far from Ohlone College.

“I come here every single day,” said Daniel Leal, a sophomore at Ohlone who lives down the street from the skate park. “As long as I’m not in school, I’m here.”

The new $2.2 million park was supposed to open in 2011, but was delayed due to several lawsuits filed by

local residents. Fremont’s old wooden skating facility, which was built in 1999, came down a couple years back because of its deteriorated condition. Fremont has been without a skate park since 2009.

The new park contains a 12-foot-deep professionalsize bowl, a “snake” run for slalom-style skating, plaza rails, a street course, and myriad other things. It is attracting people from all over the Bay Area.

“I don’t even live in Fremont anymore but I com-

Top: Cristian Coriego practices a rail slide. Left: Clint Deforest gets manual on his board. Right: Lucas Leydon gets some air at the Fremont skate park on Sunday. Bottom (left to right): Ali Mahmood, 19, Sabrina Listek, 16, and David Frisbie, 15, share their feelings about the newest addition to Fremont.

mute,” skateboarder Ali Mahmood said. “There is a variety of things to do here and it puts Fremont on the map.”

Cristian Coriego, another skateboarder, heard about the skate park through social media. He commuted all the way from Millbrae to see it.

Former Ohlone student Lucas Leydon, who now attends Chabot College in Hayward, says he comes to the park at least two or three times a week.

Continued on Page 5

FEATURES

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MONITOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Food Truck Mafia muscles its way into Fremont

TAM DUONG JR. / MONITOR

Top left: My Shrimp Shack. Top right: Truckin’ Sweet. Bottom left: Pizza Pimps. Bottom Right: Tacos de los Altos. Local food trucks have united to create a force of culinary diversity in the form of the Food Truck Mafia. Every Friday in Fremont from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. located between Capitol Avenue and Liberty Street a new lineup of extravagant food trucks line the streets. The more wild the truck design is the more it attention it will draw and hopefully sales will be close to follow. “My Shrimp Shack is the coolest!” Lana Avilas said. “Even if you don’t like shrimp how could you not just wanna go up to it and explore a little bit.”

Ohlone to revamp‘Superstar’ SHOOTING FOR WARRIORS TIX YAHYA BURHANI Staff writer

Ohlone College’s production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” is set in a post-apocalyptic world that designer Fred Alim describes as “Burning Man meets “Mad Max” meets Steampunk.”

Alim explains: “Dare we say it? Revolutionary. A peaceful revolutionary.”

“Jesus Christ Superstar,” the popular rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is based on the last days of Christ’s life told through rock ’n’ roll.

Ohlone’s production, while faithful to the play’s script, will revamp the setting to 2033 and have the holy figure dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear Armageddon where “the 1 percent is the 0.1 percent” and Rome refers not to the city or the empire but rather the “Reconstructed Organization of Merchant Executives.”

Alim and Matt O’Donnell, the entertainment design and technology instructor, describe previous productions as “close to Broadway-type fare.”

Ohlone trains students on the performance and technical sides of theater through productions such as “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

The Theatre and Dance Department offers Associate in Arts degrees and certificate programs.

Students’ skills also can extend to other careers, including those in film or TV. “The practices are still the same,” Alim said.

“You build a set for the theater and you build a set for the movie.”

The technical side of production creates the world in which the story takes place.

“One of the things that we teach is that you’re there to support the story and the vision of the director,” O’Donnell said.

With sets, lights and costumes, directors are able to get “some vision in the audience’s eyes of the time and place it takes place,” he said.

Teachers and staff feel gratified when story and vision are both realized.

“It’s like a high,” O’Donnell said. “There’s something about that live performance, that live connection, that you can’t match.”

Art thrives on passion from its craftspeople, and in the theater department, that passion is in the work they do.

“We love what we do, and we love teaching students what we do, and the students in turn love what they do,” Alim said.

Teamwork is as crucial in theatre as it is in the work world in general.

“We have a team, we have a goal,” O’Donnell said. “They become family.”

Demands have to be met,

and managing time is key, he said.

“We always say the train is moving, whether we’re ready or not,” he said.

That’s why socializing and building relationships is integral to working in theater.

Quality work happens when students can rely on one another and meet their goals, Alim said.

“No one person can do the whole thing by themselves,” he said.

“Jesus Christ Superstar” is coming to the Smith Center in November.

For more information, go to http://www.ohlone.edu/org/ smithcenter/calendar.html.

New skate park opens in Fremont Continued from Page 4

sional skateboarder with more than 28 years of experience, is teaching the fundamentals of skateboarding at the park to both beginners and experts.

The Jordan Richter Skateboarding Academy offers summer camps and private lessons, and will be providing group lessons sometime in the fall.

“Jordan is a good guy,” one skateboarder said. “He’s always helping out the other kids.”

TAM DUONG JR./MONITOR

Ohlone College students and staff take part in a free throw contest Wednesday afternoon at the Palm Bosque to try to win tickets see the NBA’s Golden State Warriors in action. “Warriors Wednesday” also included free food, music and giveaways.

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OPINIONS

MONITOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

U.S. is not the world’s police MITCHELL WALTHER Staff writer

LUIS MORALES-MEDRANO / MONITOR

Syria must be held accountable LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief I really hate to say it, but somebody has to do something.

When chemical weapons were used in Syria to kill human beings it put the onus on the rest of the world to do something about the unspeakable acts of violence.

The videos and pictures of disfigured and melted men, women and children reinforced why these types of weapons were made illegal and proclaimed inhumane in the first place.

Anybody who thinks that we can stand idly by and let a country break a law with such huge global implications is blind. This is a terrorist act that if not addressed can and will touch our own soil sooner than later.

I am not naïve, and I am never in favor of war. I

loved when President Barack Obama said, “No boots will touch Syrian soil,” but I also understand why we must get involved.

The United States is not the police of the world, nor do we want to be. For that matter, we probably wouldn’t even want to be the shopping mall police of the world, but for some reason that role always falls on us.

The strategy that our President outlined in his address to the nation last week was exactly what I wanted and needed to hear. We are going to ask Syrian allies to talk to the country’s leaders and ask them to turn over all of their illegal weapons.

Should Syrian officials refuse or deny having any then we will become more involved. Precise intelligence-based strikes could be necessary and vital to ensure the safety of our nation.

If we just let a country

CAMPUS COMMENT

manufacture and experiment with illegal weapons without intervening, then who’s to say that they wouldn’t turn them on us once they perfected them?

This is a risk that the United States just can’t take.

Sure, we would love to be neutral like Switzerland or barely noticeable in world diplomacy – like Canada, eh?

– but that’s not who we are.

Sept. 11, 2001, taught us a lot of things but the most glaring to me was that nobody is safe. All we can do is protect our safety and freedom the best way that we know how to ensure events like those that occurred at the Twin Towers and the Pentagon will never happen again.

However, if we let a country get away with whatever they want then should we even be surprised when tragedy strikes again?

If we do nothing I know I won’t.

The moment the United States announced its intention to use missiles against the government of Syria; the rest of the world was quick to pick sides.

Governments all over the Earth met to decide their course of action, and most decided the U.S. decision was the wrong one. Many Americans also voiced their concerns, and the popular opinion across the country demanded that we not go in guns blazing.

Amid all of the noise, President Barack Obama stood his ground on the issue until recently, when Russia brokered an agreement with the Syrian government.

Was all the anger and discord against our president warranted, though? Was he wrong to demand that military action be taken in Syria?

In 1925, the United Nations signed the Geneva Protocol, which THE DAY A CHEMICAL outlawed ATTACK HAPPENED the use of IN SYRIA, EVERY EYE chemical TURNED TO AMERICA weapons INSTEAD OF THE U.N. in war. At this point, the U.N. had drawn a red line in the sand. If you crossed this line there were meant to be consequences.

The day a chemical attack happened in Syria, every eye turned to America instead of the U.N. This was wrong.

America is not the world’s police. The UN has a military that was built for this purpose.

Enforcing international law is not the responsibility of the countries that make up the U.N., but for the U.N. itself.

When one country attacks another, tension rises and wars are started.

The U.N., however, is an entity created to keep the peace. If a country needs a slap on the wrist, or a punch in the mouth, it is the U.N.’s job to decide how to handle it.

We can’t blame America for overstepping their boundaries when the correct forces aren’t taking the correct measures.

Author Jack Thoene once said, “Apathy and evil. The two work hand in hand. They are the same, really. ... Evil wills it. Apathy allows it.”

By allowing the United Nations to drop the ball and pursue mere “investigations” rather than any form of retaliation, the world gives countries the green light to ignore international law.

In the end, America and Russia have played bad cop/ good cop to what may be a peaceful outcome. That is how diplomacy is meant to work, with countries working together to reach a peaceful conclusion, even against a dangerous and dishonest regime.

How do you feel about Syria?

STEPHANIE JEFFRIES RADIOLOGY TECH

“We should not intervene because there are a lot of different things that our government does that I do not agree with.”

KEVIN STAMP PSYCHOLOGY

“If we get involved with Syria that will only detract more from the problems going on in our own country.”

RICKY CARDENAS COMMUNICATIONS

“Very bad idea because we are still involved with other countries.”

GEORGE PHILIPS COMPUTER SCIENCE

“It is not necessary for us to get involved.”

What do you think?

We’d like to know your opinion about the issues of the day, whether they’re here on campus or around the world.

You can send your letters to us at the Monitor, Room 5310, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont, CA 94539, email us at monitor@ ohlone.edu, or drop your letter in one of the Monitor boxes around campus.

Or just swing by the newsroom, Room 5310 on the Fremont campus.

SPORTS

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MONITOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

MARY JOY TANTINGCO / MONITOR

TAM DUONG JR. / MONITOR

Top: Dominic Hertz. Left: Shelby Bolduc and Brittany Creel. Right: Baseball coach Mike Curran.

Far Right: Cammie Kajioka.

Ohlone athletics has sights on success LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief For years the Ohlone College atheltics team has made their presence felt throughout the state of California.

Ohlone boasts two recent National Champions in the Renegade baseball team.

Not to mention the success of coach Donna Runyon and the fine job she has done with the softballers.

Soccer coaches Jan Eric Nordmo and Larry Heslin keep their teams in playoff contention year in and year out.

Volleyball coach Jeremy Penaflor is nearly automatic when it comes to his teams making the playoffs.

I haven’t even touched on the overwhelming amount of success that head coaches Julia Allender and John Peterson have accumulated on the hardwood.

With last season’s swimming teams making the state finals all things are pointing up for Ohlone athletics and this should make for a great year.

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SPORTS

MONITOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Ohlone volleyball off to great start LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief The Ohlone College women’s volleyball team got off to a perfect start in the early stages of the 2013 season going 5-0.

However, a few losses have diminished the record some but not the spirit of this year’s squad.

Losses to Lassen, Cuesta and Butte college’s dealt an early blow to the playoff hopes of the Lady Renegades in which every victory counts and a loss could come back to bite you come seeding time.

Things can be tough on defense when you lose one of the best defensive specialists ever to grace the hardwood at Epler Gymnasium in the form of Lindsey Calabrese.

Taylor Presley has the tough task of filling those huge shoes and being a stalwart in the middle for coach Jeremy Penaflor and the Lady Renegades.

“Lindsey was amazing.

But Lindsey and Taylor are two different types of players, both of which bring something to the court that will make them successful. What will make Taylor successful is her athleticism and ability to react quick,” Penaflor said.

“She doesn’t have the same fundamental ball control that Lindsey had, but she reads well and can recover using her athleticism if she makes an incorrect read. The main thing is that she doesn’t let attacked balls

Teams won’t need to scout us for very long to figure out what we’re going to do, but they still will have the challenge of trying to stop us.

I’m a firm believer in if we can run our system to the best of our ability it’s not going to matter what the other teams do to counter us.

-Jeremy Penaflor go uncontested and makes digs to be playable by any of her teammates. If she can do that consistently, which I think she can, we’ll have a solid back row defense.”

Ohlone is now 5-3 overall on the season with South Coast Conference play just set to begin.

Next up for the Lady Renegades will be a home game when they take on Monterey Peninsula College at 6:30 p.m. at Epler Gymnasium on the Fremont campus on Wednesday.

TAM DUONG JR. / MONITOR

Sophomore outside hitter and 2012 all-conference performer Brittany Creel hits a rocket at the Ohlone College Classic last Thursday at Epler Gymnasium on the Fremont campus.

Renegades looking to make early playoff push LOUIS LAVENTURE Editor-in-chief Playoffs start at the end of the year but the road to get there begins now.

The Ohlone College men’s soccer team is learning that the hard way with on the field lessons everytime they step on the pitch.

A gaggle of newcomers has the Renegades off to a slow start but the veteran leadership has begun to show through.

“We’ve got a bunch of new guys with a lot of talent,” Coach Jan Eric Nordmo said just before the season got underway.

Two former players as assistant coaches is also a huge positive for the young Renegades.

Standout sophomore from last season’s team Greivin Pacheco Quesada is doing his best to impart some of his soccer wisdom on to his young apprentices.

Next home game for Ohlone will be on Friday against Modesto at 4 p.m.

TAM DUONG JR. / MONITOR

Top: Philip R. Larsen-Dadzie pushes the ball against Marin College on Tuesday. Right: Jorge Alcaraz keeps his eye on the ball while playing defense against the Marin forward.