2016_1_LEGEND_v3i1

San Diego City College, Spring-Summer 2016

FANTASY FUSION 8 THE GREEN RUSH 11 FINDING JUSTICE FOR THE INNOCENT 18

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Gabe Rivera

Copy Editor Marie Malham

Art Director Griffin Dehne

Photo Editor Alan Hickey

Web Editor Richard Mendoza

Social Media Director Tiffany Curfman

Journalism Advisor Tara Pixley Aida Bustos-Garcia

Contributors Writer James Call

Photography Will Garica Karen Morrison

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Social inequality is a systemic problem in this nation.

Students are working full-time while attending school more than ever while costs for school have skyrocketed.

People are working more hours for less money while corporations rake in more profit than ever. These factors had an effect on the way our staff approached this issue?s stories.

Whether our priority was showing people a way to turn weed into a profit or offering activities to help with the stress of a semester of classes, the message remained the same: Hard working students deserve more.

Life isn?t always so serious though, and we attempt to show our readers different options to have a good time this summer vacation while not breaking their bank accounts. Summer 2016 should prove to be one of the best yet with plenty of concerts, parades and street fairs to attend.

Within these pages I hope we can help people to realize their true potential, to always strive for more, and to never give up. No matter the circumstance, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. In the words of world renowned novelist Stephen King, ?Get busy living or get busy dying.? There is no more room in this world for people to feel like they can?t be heard. Don?t be afraid to shout out your love for someone. Never keep your feelings inside and live life to the fullest because you never know when it will end.

This magazine will not return for the Fall 2016 semester, but if you?re looking for a life changing class that gives you real-life work experience, then show your support when Legend returns next spring and sign up.

Calling all writers, photographers, designers and social media wizards to step up to the plate. Allow your voice to be heard!

-Gabe Rivera Front cover photo: Celestial Moon Rocks, Makeup Art ist : Hailey Sparks, Model: Leighan Doll, Hair: Sarah Rose, Photo by Karen Morrison

Story by Marie Malham & Photos by Alan Hickey It was 1999 in Southeast San Diego and crime was at its height. The air was filled with the smell of spray paint as Sergio Gonzalez and his friends covered the industrial vehicles of the Jacobs family with graffiti. Even though the Jacobs, a dedicated humanitarian family, entered the underprivileged part of town to help the neighborhood grow, their presence didn?t sit well at first with Gonzalez. ?When they moved in with trailers and trucks and things of that nature we decided to paint all over their stuff ; to us, they were blank canvases, but also we felt that they were a threat,?

Gonzalez explains while recalling his youth as a serial tagger. ?We didn?t know what they were gonna do with this community, until we identified with what they were doing.?

Today, Gonzalez and his business partner Jose Venegas steer youth out of trouble through Writerz Blok, a program that aims to minimize vandalism in Southeast San Diego. ?As a teenager, I was part of that problem,? Gonzalez admits, and he strives to be a good role model in order to help youth when the same issues overcome them. Kids that are currently in the program have come a long way from their pasts, many of which include a history of incarceration for vandalism and gang involvement.

Most of the kids find their niche with Writerz Blok, whether it be graphic art, graphic design or screenprinting. In partnership with the Jacobs Center, Writerz Blok is able to send many of these kids to City College, where they can take advantage of the Enactus program, an entrepreneurial certificate that includes hands-on classes in the experience of running a business. Writerz Blok, which has been in its current location since 2005, is currently planning on moving in a couple years. The Writerz Blok team hopes they can find a nearby larger location so they can offer even more resources for youth success, like breakdancing and recording studios.

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Coffee Break Story & Photos by Griffin Dehne

Three unique cafes around campus for your next study session.

25th Street

Broadway

C Street

Influx Cafe

San Diego City College

At Inf lux Cafe, (only three blocks away from City College) freshly made baked goods, which pair well with their array of coffee and espresso drinks, set Inf lux apart from most other cafes. It is best to go before noon to get yourself a deliciously healthy muffin or crumbly lemon-poppyseed scone, since they run out of their selection fairly quick.

Their comfortable, modern feel allows you to enjoy your time there with its naturally sun-lit space, friendly staff , and good music playing softly in the background.

Their interior has a red and white theme, and there is a cushioned bench lined with single person tables on one side, a spacious couch on the other, and a round group table by the window. Inf lux also advertises local upcoming events, along with services, business cards, and free local magazines. The small outdoor patio (that allows smoking) is shaded by trees and lined with succulents. There is a bench going around the perimeter of the outside and a few small tables on the patio. It is usually a mix of San Diego City College students and the surrounding neighborhoods? residents that occupy this cafe, varying throughout the day, with peak traffic in the morning and afternoon.

Their drink menu includes coffee, espresso, and a variety of teas ranging from $1.50 to $4.50. Their food menu is mainly comprised of sandwiches, bagels, salads, and vegan options, and their pastries range from $2.50 to $7.90.

Park Blvd.

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Park Blvd.

The Emperor's Wrath Makeup Art ist : Ray Mislan Model: Ray Mislan Hair: Ray Mislan Photo by Karen Morrison

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"It was a great opportunity to be able to collaborate with the students in the Cosmetology program City offers as well. It was wonderful for me to be able to showcasemy work, and gain feedback from my peers and guests as well.The Fantasy Fusion Event provided me witha view into my future career in Stage Makeup and Costume Design. Thank you to Andrea Singer and theTheatre Department for providingme with this wonderful opportunity." ~Whitney Mathis

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Anacalagon Makeup Art ist : Michelle Biddiscombe Model: Chirstopher Biddiscombe Hair: Michelle Biddiscombe Photo by Karen Morrison

harvest gets you that yield of two to three pounds of quality buds, you?re golden.?

Growing marijuana has become a common practice by many Californians already and full legalization could put even more dollars into many pockets. If a state-issued medical marijuana card is obtained from a licensed physician, San Diego Municipal Code allows for possession of up to one pound of marijuana and 24 plants may be grown in a 64-square-foot indoor room.

Unsupervised outdoor cultivation is not permitted. Growing marijuana outdoors is only permissible in an enclosed yard with a minimum six-foot fence perimeter, or it must be in a locked structure such as a greenhouse.

Originally from Ocean Beach, San Diego, 28-year-old Liz* got her start by quitting waitressing and traveling up to what is known as the ?Green Triangle? in northern California to trim weed for marijuana growers.

She now oversees multiple growing operations. ?One pound of marijuana, depending on demand and quality of product, will sell anywhere from $1,800 to $3,800. Selling smaller amounts of weed is the best way to make your money though,? says Liz. ?If a pound of ?chronic?is sold in increments of grams, which cost around $10 to

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$15 each, upwards of $4,500 can be made. The price goes down at around a quarter ounce, but not by much.

Probably like $60 for a quarter and $120 for a half ounce. $240 for an ounce.?

In order to sell this marijuana legally, according to San Diego Municipal Code, a non-profit mutual benefit corporation that acts as a delivery service can be started. Instead of putting a price on the product, customers are encouraged to make donations of specific amounts. It is a much cheaper option than starting a medical marijuana dispensary and there are fewer hoops to jump through due to the city?s ordinance for pot dispensaries not mentioning delivery services. Perhaps due to this oversight, authorities have kept their focus on regulating the storefront dispensaries over delivery services. Prior to setting up any weed business, consulting a marijuana lawyer is a necessity.

The next step, according to former dispensary owner Steve* is, ?You need to establish a clientele and get different weeds to offer. Find reliable sources of different strains of herb.? From Blue Dream to Green Crack, there are all different kinds of buds that people want to try. ?Each patient has a need and it?s your job to

People all over California are building rooms like this one in their homes to grow legal marijuana.

S U M M E R D E A L S 14

You don?t have to go far or spend a fortune to have fun this summer. Check out these events for an affordable and exciting summer right here in San Diego!

June 11-12 La Jolla's Festival of the Arts brings together established and emerging artists, celebrating the best across multiple visual arts categories.

Tickets are $12 and $16 July 16-17 Celebrate equality for all at Hillcrest?s famed Pride Festival and Parade. Enjoy delicious food and great music.

Admission is free. .

July 21-24 Comic Con Tickets go fast but you can still experience the action for free by hanging out downtown as you run into celebrities and cosplayers everywhere.

In chronological order, photos by: E3 Photography by Eddie Garcia III, Alan Hickey, Troy Orem Photography, Nathan Rupert/Flickr, stephengg/Flickr, sdpride.org, Gage Skidmore/Flickr, Alan Hickey, Port of San Diego,

by Dale Frost/Flickr

June 21 Balboa Parks's Make Music Day San Diego will be part of a summer-long ?Music in the Park Series? held in the Plaza de Panama and created to complement the 35-year tradition of the Twilight in the Park Program.

July 15-16 The 2016 Imperial Beach Sun & Sea Festival features world-class sandcastle sculptors as well as a community parade and pancake breakfast, live music, children?s craft activities, a Kids ?n Kastles competition, Farmer?s Market and International Food Fair. Admission is free.

August 13-14 ArtWalk NTC at Liberty Station celebrates 12 years of bringing art of all kinds, music, and interactive art making for families to San Diego in beautiful Ingram Plaza at the Arts District at LIberty Station.

Festival of New Plays

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Story & Photos by Alan Hickey After 16 years of musicals, City College?s theatre department set in motion a plan to breathe new life into the dramatic arts program by showcasing the creative talents of students with the Festival of New Plays.

Professors Katie Rodda, Farrell J. Foreman and Matt Thompson organized the festival and selected seven out of 13 student-written plays to direct, but in the future, students may be able to take a shot at directing as well.

The plays went into production Spring 2016 and premiered March 4 in the new Black Box Theatre.

Explaining the concept behind this new direction, Foreman noted, ?I?m hoping to be able to bolster participation with the student population, particularly students of color. I?d like them to see their work, as a ref lection of them? Hopefully, it will morph into a campus-wide contest, one day.? The festival is slated to continue, and submissions for next year will open this fall.

The play writing class, where most of the plays this year came from, will also be offered in the fall.

FINDING JUSTICE FOR THE INNOCENT Justin Brooks, lawyer and founder of the California Innocence Project, finds light at the end of the tunnel for the wrongly convicted.

Story by James Call & Photos by Will Garcia

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"They started reading off these charges. Kidnapping, rape, robbery. Of course, I was blown away by it. I nearly fell to the f loor because I was in such a state of shock that they were bringing my name in with such charges. It was mind boggling. It was all I could do to stay on my feet. I shouted something out to my court appointed attorney, like 'What the hell is going on?'?

In 2004 Uriah Courtney was appearing in court on an unrelated minor matter when he listened to a judge formally charge him with the above crimes ? crimes he would be convicted of and for which he would serve 8 years in prison.

In November of that year a young woman was walking in Lemon Grove when she noticed a man staring at her from an old pick-up truck with a wooden camper. Later she was grabbed from behind and raped.

Afterwards, she managed to fight her attacker off and get away.

She thought the man who had raped her looked like the man who had stared at her from the truck.

Police began looking for both a person matching the description she gave and the truck with the wooden camper. Such a truck was seen and reported to the police. It was a truck owned by Courtney?s stepfather.

A picture of Courtney was shown to the victim and tentatively identified by her. This misidentification resulted in Courtney?s conviction and life sentence for rape, kidnapping and robbery.

"Of course I was scared as hell. There's no denying that.? Courtney was blindsided and stunned by the charges as he listened to the judge. ?I was totally freaked out, in a complete state of shock. It's really indescribable ... to be accused of something as despicable as that ... to be accused of this terrible, terrible crime was just completely devastating. But I knew that I was innocent and I believed, naively, that the justice system works, that truth would prevail, which it ultimately did ? but not because of the justice system.? Courtney was shocked at the amount of error injected into the process. ?They should be seeking justice based on facts, but they fabricated stories based on what they thought I did," says Mr. Courtney.

"All the time I sat in county jail up to the day I went to trial, 16 or 18 months, I believed that any day now a detective, someone in law enforcement, whoever, would come in and apologize, say, 'we made an error' ? the victim, somebody ... But that day never came.?

Courtney?s horror story is just one of many. It was another such story in 1996 that compelled lawyer, Justin Brooks, to look into the case and eventually to look more closely at wrongful convictions in general.

Says Brooks, "20 years ago I read in the newspaper about a young woman, 21 years old, on death row in

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Jasmin Harris, a volunteer with the California Innocence Project, answers a phone call regarding a case.

Chicago. The article said she'd been sentenced to death on a plea bargain and it made no sense to me that someone could be sentenced to death on a plea bargain. I met with her and she told me the startling thing that not only had she pled ? her lawyer told her to plea ? but she was innocent! I was teaching law school in Michigan at the time and I went back and told my class that there was a woman on death row who said she was innocent. 'Who wants to help out?' And four kids raised their hands. We spent the next several years working on her case and getting her off death row. That case just changed my life. I'd done a lot of criminal work but I'd never faced that big of travesty, that someone innocent could actually be sentenced to death awaiting execution. So I decided that that's what I want to do with the rest of my life."

The Innocence Project began in New York in the 90s. In 1999 Justin Brooks founded the California Innocence Project (CIP) here in San Diego. It was one of the five original state organized innocence projects based on and loosely affiliated with the one in New

Jasmin Harris, a volunteer with the California Innocence Project, answers a phone call regarding a case.

big, so overwhelmed with all the increasing sentences, 3 strikes, mandatory minimums for drug crimes, that now we plea out 95% of the cases. So that means that only 5% of cases are people actually getting trials. And if trials are not occurring then you know there's not that truth-finding aspect that we so cherish in our criminal justice system.?

The case of Brian Banks (who according to Brooks is the CIP?s most famous client) is an example of an innocent person pleading guilty in order to get an easier sentence. His lawyer tells him, ?'Look, you're looking at 44 years to life if we go into that courtroom, and it's an

The California Innocence Project aims to help, but innocence work is not cheap. Investigations, lab work, DNA tests, even the gas to visit prisoners in remote prisons and the phone bills of prisoners calling out add up. Donations to CIP are gratefully accepted. There is also much that people who would like to help can do.

And there is always work for lawyers who wish to bring justice to people who have suffered from being wrongly convicted, like Uriah Courtney.

Courtney, after exhausting all legal avenues of redress and failing, settled into his sentence. ?There was bitterness, anger, despair, all of that. Those were things

"The criminal justice system becomes more like a casino where you're picking door number one or door number two and the truth kind of gets lost in all that." - Justin Brooks all-white jury. You're a big black teenager,? Banks' lawyer warned. ?You're probably going to get convicted. You're probably going to be in prison for the rest of your life.

Or we take this deal. I might be able to get you probation, or worst case scenario, you're doing a few years and then you're out back playing football.? Brooks uses Banks?case to point out the issues he sees in the justice system. ?Whether you did it or not now doesn't factor into the equation. It's not about what is true. It's about what is going to be the result of that proceeding,? he says. ?The criminal justice system becomes more like a casino where you're picking door number one or door number two and the truth kind of gets lost in all that. I think that's where we've gone wrong."

The system became bloated during the Nixonian ?get tough on crime? 70s. Mandatory sentencing guidelines were instituted in the late 80s which resulted in a huge jump in rising incarceration rates in the US. The US was number three then. But with the fall of the USSRand the collapse of apartheid in South Africa the US became the top incarcerating country in the world.

And it still is today. Twenty-five percent of the world's entire prison population is in American prisons.

I had to work off . Because I had reached a point where the bitterness was completely consuming me, and I didn't like the person it was making me to be. I endeavored to deal with those things through faith and studying theology, which was a huge help to me. Of course I had a lot of family support. My mom and my stepdad came to visit me every weekend and that was huge too.?

After being contacted by Courtney?s parents, the California Innocence Project began working on his case in 2010. It was determined that even though there had been testing in 2004, improvements in DNA analysis since that time might yield more conclusive results.

Indeed, it did. There was no match with Courtney. The profile was run through the Combined DNA Index System and a real match was found ? a man living three miles away from where the attack occurred. Courtney was exonerated and released in 2013.

INNOCENCE

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The California Innocence Project receives a significant amount of mail requesting their help in cases throughout the state. Photo by William Garcia.

The California Innocence Project receives a significant amount of mail requesting their help in cases throughout the state.

This course is not an easy road, but it is formed. Past students have remained close by becoming rewarding,? says Kristen Eliano, a fellow recent graduate instructors and/or attending get-togethers over the of the program. ?This program is meant to challenge you summer months. so you can challenge yourself in the workforce and Unfortunately, in 2015, the grants supporting the grow.? program ran dry. This left the program with serious Both classes had a wide range of students ? from questions about its future viability. These past couple teenagers to those in their late fifties; some are years have only been possible thanks to the industrial straight out of high school and others have advanced instructors volunteering their time, after completing their degrees, even MDs. regular work day.

In comparison to traditional community college It would be ideal if the program was science classes, BIOL-206 has a more vocational feel. underwritten by industry, as they are the ultimate Its number one rubric is to increase students?job benefactors of these skilled new recruits, but only time prospects. Instead of college professors, the course has will tell, whether City College and San Diego Community a college coordinator, Dr. Dave Singer. The College District will be able to find a sponsor program was first created in the early for the program that has a strong ?90s and was modelled off of a record of finding work for its similar program from Contra students.

Costa College in the Bay Graduates have found Area. work in the following companies: Activ X The training, in Biosciences; fact, comes from a Agilent/Stratagene; rotating roster of up Agouron to 18 instructors who Pharmaceuticals; actually work in Allere; Archemix biotech during the (Boston); Arena day and then teach Pharmaceuticals; BD the classes in their Biosciences; specialties in the Beckman Coulter; evenings, allowing B iolegend; Cibus; students to get the Dart Neurosciences; workplace know-how E xpedion; Dexcom; straight from the E nigma Diagnostics; horse?s mouth.

G enmark; Gen-Probe This exposure to (Hologic); GNF Novartis; the industrial instructors Ichor Medical Systems; offers a seminal Illumina; Inova Diagnostics; networking opportunity. ?It ISIS P harmaceuticals; Irvine allows the students to adapt to Pharmaceuticals; Life Technologies changing circumstances quickly and (Thermo Fisher); Medigene; Molecular obtain a broader perspective of the R esponse; M olecular Throughput; Neurocrine Biosciences; experience and opportunities in the biotech industry,?

N ewbiotics; N ova R X; N ucelis; O ptiimer Pharmaceuticals; according to Saucedo.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals; Pfenex; Pfizer; Pro Sci; Sen DX, He also notes that ?the course has a far greater scope Sanford Burnham Institute; San Diego Zoo; Scantibodies; than what occurs in the classroom by challenging Scripps Research Institute; Stason Pharmaceutical; students to become well rounded in the sciences by Structural Genomix; Texas A & M; University College San attending seminars, network through volunteering and seek employment opportunities. Everything in the course Diego; Ultimate Labs; Verdezyne; Verenium; and White Labs. is geared towards the students and the coordinator achieving a common goal, getting the students First page: E. coli viewed at 1000X magnification,in the BIOL-109 employed in the field of biology.? class. They are 50-100 times shorter than the average width of a To-date, 20 classes of BIOL-206 have human hair. graduated San Diego City College and with the program Second page: Paramecium are single celled protozoans that are being such an intense experience, strong bonds are widespread in freshwater, brackish, and marine environments and are often very abundant in stagnant basins and ponds.

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by the dedicated pro shop employees.

The point of the game is to throw your disc as well as you can in the most logical route into the basket. If there?s a tree in your way, go around it. If you?re stuck in a bush, go over it.

It's a bonus if you have your own discs to play with, but you can rent what you need at the fully stocked pro shop along with your play wristband, snacks and beverages. Discs run for $1.50 and it costs $3.00 on weekdays and $4.00 on the weekends and holidays to play all day. Once you've paid your fee and gotten your discs, the game is ready to be played. The first step is figuring out where to shoot. There is a map located by the tee at each hole that lets you know where the basket is and its distance from the tee. Once the basket is located, find a route that will get you to the basket in the least amount of attempts.

Before it was a famous disc golf course, Morley Field was a city dump surrounded by low-income housing. Getting the field to look

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like a good idea for the city to invest back in the 1970?s wasn?t a difficult endeavor. The crime rate was high and there were pockets of perversion throughout the area. The late Ed Headrick, known as the ?Father of Disc Golf ?, by the disc golf community told city officials at the time that if you put the park into places that were having issues with crime, these problems would disappear because of the circulation of disc golfers and that would chase that element away. The strategy worked and the city agreed to pay half of the then $5,000 cost of creating the park.

Morley Field is one of the world?s original disc golf courses and was established in 1977 by Headrick and redesigned in 1979 by course pro and Disc Golf pioneer Snapper Pierson. Pierson holds three different Pro World Championships and the course record at Morley Field for most consecutive birdies (22 in a row) and he helped to spread the game?s popularity across the nation.

Farmer?s Markets

Ocean Beach 103 The Ocean Beach market is one of the largest in San Diego County. Every Wednesday, rows of stands cover an entire block on both ends of Newport Avenue.

Street musicians play for their supper, and at one end of the market, Jenakai ? a student of the Shamanic arts ? plays a bongo and an Australian didgeridoo. At the other end, Peter Balestri, from National Public Safety Security Service, provides security for the area four days out of the week. He likes the variety and says ?there?s something new every week.? His favorite are the roasted almonds.

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La Mesa 94 The La Mesa Farmer?s Market is set up in a parking lot near the trolley station. Vendors sell their wares under canopies protected from the sun?s rays.

Products vary from essential oils, apothecary herbs and kombucha tea, to fresh baked bread, packaged fish, beef , pasta, raw honey, specialty peanut butter and almonds.

Alicia M. has only been here once before. She came back to shop for dinner with her three daughters, 7, 4 and 3. ?I like the quality and the organics.?

Fresh baked bread, packaged fish, beef , pasta, raw honey, specialty peanut butter and almonds are among the delectables available at the La Mesa market on Friday afternoons from 2 p.m. 6 p.m. March 25, 2016

Farmer?s Markets

City College Street Style

Story & Photos by Richard Mendoza Each day, most of us get ready to start our day by grabbing whatever happens to be quickly available to wear. Comfortable clothing suited to the mild climate here in San Diego is the norm, like a t-shirt and jeans or a pair of shorts and sandals. Some of us take a little more care in how we look out of a personal sense of style. This can be a simple expression of our personality or a bold fashion statement. This photo essay ref lects the street style of a few SDCC students who kindly brightened our day and allowed us to document their efforts.

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