Get Zorched, do aliens exist?
Michelle Gregor shows off art in exhibit
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The Lady Jags are on fire
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Tuesday, May 7, 2019
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The Voice of San Jose City College Since 1956
Volume 87 Issue 5
Don’t express yourself in the bathroom
PHOTO BY ALAN WILLIAMS/ TIMES STAFF
Graffiti in campus bathroom can’t be washed off
PHOTO BY JOEANNA LOPEZ/ TIMES STAFF
Cast of “Stories that MOVE” gets standing ovation during opening night at Evergreen Community College, May 1.
Seeing, feeling ‘Stories that MOVE’ The spring dance show goes on BY JOEANNA LOPEZ TIMES STAFF
The SJCC Dance Program presented: “Stories that MOVE,” for a run of shows. Evergreen Valley College’s VPA Theater hosted opening night of SJCC’s spring dance concert on May 1 and the second night, May 2 and concluded on May 3 with back to back shows at SJCC in the Dance Studio, Room A206. A fire in the SJCC theater on April 23 has left the theater
inoperable until further notice. Dean of humanities, Betancourt could not be reached for comment on the expected timeline (KJ s Café and the classrooms in the Theater building are back in use.) Nonetheless, the show successfully went on. Opening night at EVC’s VPA Theater saw a great turn out and the theater had the seating capacity for plenty more. Total run time is 1 hour with a 15 minute intermission. Mariah Shipp, SJCC dance major, 22, is taking this semester away from dance but showed up to support the Spring concerts’ dancers and said, “It was an amazing show! Everybody’s stage presence was great.” The audiences’ cheers
resounded after each performance on opening night and throughout the entire curtain call every dancer took. The respect the dancers express to one another could be felt in every seat and further intensified the audience’s appreciation for every on-point movement these dancers make possible. The performances are true to their word. They tell stories that inexplicably move you. Even if you sat still frozen in amazement at the synchronization and congruency between the movements in the rise and fall of the crescendos of the performance, “PathRest,” danced by guest artists Danielle Sullivant and Kevin Gaytan to the music of, “Open Road” by David
Crowell and choreographed by Maria Basile, SJCC faculty choreographer, artistic director and founding member of sjDANCEco, you found yourself moved by feelings of “tribulation and joy,” as described in the show’s program guide. “The combination of sharp and flowy floor movements were my favorite parts,” Shipp said after the show, “all the contemporary pieces were story tellers.” The program order broken up by the intermission about 25 minutes into the show resumes with the most engaging performance of the show, “This is Me, This is Us,” choreographed by SJCC dance faculty and the program’s
See Move, page 2
Student parking passes should not cost so much Opinion
Why we should work to lower the price of parking BY MADISON MCNAMARA TIMES STAFF
Student parking permits are $45 a semester and $35 if you carpool frequently
(student ID’s of people in your carpool are required). For some students, this is a very large fee on top of tuition. Some students are even forced to choose between having lunch that day and paying for a permit. It is a curious thought as to why faculty and staff have free parking, but students must pay the $45 fee. Though there are financial aid options available that help pay for the parking pass, some students do not qualify, even though they do not make much money. As for myself, I am unable to get financial aid, but not
NEXT NEWSPAPER: Sept. 3
because I make too much money. I am ineligible because I am not “legally an independent,” or, 25 years old yet. I’m unable to get ahold of my parent’s info for the required forms that are part of financial aid, therefore, I am constantly denied for the program. Surely I cannot be alone in this struggle. The need to front the money for not only classes, but all of the fees on top of tuition. While parking fees might be a small factor, removing or lowering the cost would help many students, including myself.
Chief Morales mentioned that there are options to make payments on the semester parking passes, but for some students even that is too much for them. On top of paying for tuition and supplies for class, adding $45 fee just to park can be a lot. According to KQED news, lawmakers recently advanced a bill requiring community colleges to let homeless students sleep in their cars on campus lots. If the problem of homeless students has come this far, why are community colleges still charging so much for parking?
Opinion Your artwork sucks BY ALAN WILLIAMS
TIMES STAFF
To those of you out there who feel as if you need to show off your artwork to the world, you could at least put it out in the open so we can appreciate it without having to take a trip to the bathroom. The first time I went into an SJCC bathroom I was speechless. I called up my buddy Julian Reyes, a City College Times editor, and I told him to head over to the bathroom because we had just hit the journalism jackpot; the anonymous street artist, Banksy, had just visited our campus! Reyes got down there quick because once I hung up the phone he was right there next to me inspecting the Banksy. He told me that this must have been done in the past 10 minutes because the paint was still wet and fresh. This guy was like Sherlock Holmes because after telling me that, he had found another Banksy inside one of the stalls. “Why would a world famous person such as Banksy come to our campus and leave a mural in one of our bathrooms?” I asked. “First of all, Alan, this isn’t a Banksy,” Reyes said. “What makes you say that? It looks like a Banksy to me,” I said. “Well … it sucks. That’s why,” Reyes replied. Please do not leave ugly artwork out in the open for others to see. San Jose City College custodians play an important role in keeping the campus clean and beautiful for staff and students alike. Our custodians do not need that.
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2 OPINION
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Many progressives despise the Electoral College Here’s why we need to keep it around
BY MIKIE NEGRETE TIMES STAFF
“It is well past time we eliminate the Electoral College, a shadow of slavery’s power on America today that undermines our nation as a democratic republic.” That was a tweet from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
(D--NY) and her view of the Electoral College could not be more backwards, incorrect and misinformed. Does using the Electoral College as the system to elect the President of the United States dillute democracy? Yes it does. However, the Electoral College also makes the election of the President more fair to the smaller states with smaller populations.
Brother-in-law of former SJCC instructor allegedly captured, tortured in Saudi prison
Mohammad bin Salman continues to violate basic human rights BY MIKIE NEGRETE TIMES STAFF
Abdulrahman Sadhan, the brother of former San Jose City College photography instructor Areej Sadhan, was forcibly taken from his workplace on March 12. Sadhan is a humanitarian aid worker and was supposed to be under international protection. There was no warrant for his arrest, and Sadhan’s family was not even notified of his arrest. His family was not informed of his abduction until an eyewitness of the incident obtained the contact information of Sadhan’s family. For a year now, Sadhan has been imprisoned without having been charged of any crime, without any way of contacting his family, and without any access to a lawyer. Sadhan’s family has not been permitted visitation rights, and after the numerous visitation attempts of Sadhan’s father, he was ordered by Saudi Arabian officials to back down. Since the beginning of Sadhan’s imprisonment in Saudi Arabia, the families of fellow prisoners have reported to the Sadhan family that Abdulrahman Sadhan has been subjected to severe torture and that his life hangs in the balance. The Sadhan family began reaching out to a variety of Human Rights agencies in hopes that they would be able to contact the Saudis and discover Sadhan’s condition. The only update that Saudi Arabian officials gave the Sadhan family on Abdulrahman’s status was that he had been transferred to another prison. The Saudis gave no update on his health or his condition. Stay tuned online as this story continues to develop.
Move from Page 1
Without the Electoral College, California, New York and Illinois would be deciding every single presidential election. What do those three states all have in common? They consistently award their electoral votes to the Democratic nominee for president. The United States would never have a Republican president again, which to many here in
California may sound like a good thing, but to many others all over the country sounds like a nightmare. A lot of progressives further left than most Democrats have been arguing that the Electoral College disenfranchises a countless amount of voters every election - like those in the states with the larger populations. However, one could also argue that the Electoral College actually protects the voters in states with smaller populations
from disenfranchisement - states like Alaska, Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming, all states with only three electoral votes each. Without the electoral college, the combined population of the five states mentioned above (almost 4 million people) can all consider their votes invaluable to the election of the next president, as the dominating population of California, New York and Illinois would dictate the way the election went.
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producer, Amber McCall. “This is Me, This is Us,” dancers: Rosally Cabu Al, Angelique Canas, Helen Huang, Madison Keys, Madisyn Kite, Cirene Lara, Peggy Sung, Ana Rhea Suvak evoke a keen sense of the unification in their diversity through their performance to the track, “Reminiscence,” by Dante Bucci. Music pauses through the song and the dancers look front at the audience. Each one of the eight performers loudly affirms an adjective or phrase which they identify with, ranging from: nationality, to occupation, to something they’d like to see for the world. McCall specifically encouraged the dancers to ponder on this from the initial creation of the piece beginning the week of February 11. Angelique Canas, dance major, 20, chose the words: reserved, curious, indigenous and sustainability, citing a major concern for global warming. “It’s sad… when Kylie has a new lip kit or Donald said something stupid again… we’re too wrapped up in nonsense we can’t even realize we’re not going to have a tomorrow if this planet doesn’t get the helps it deserves,” Canas said. It is through the dancers’ performances of the show that our common stories of adversity and the universal need for kindness, support and compassion in the world blend through elegance and creativity to tell well-rehearsed stories that go well
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beyond impressive movement.
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Tuesday, May 7, 2019
news 3
Campus-wide evacuation drills on SJCC
Know your exits BY JULIAN REYES TIMES STAFF
Knowing what to do during moments of crisis is critical for survival, and making the wrong decision can lead to more harm than good. San Jose Evergreen Community College District Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Dale Harris said, “What I would encourage everyone is, even ahead of time, wherever you are on campus or even anywhere in life when you’re in a public place look around and know where your exits are.” Harris said that in each class there should be a campus map with emergency procedures, and that all people should take a look at that at some point. The map will show students where all the evacuation areas are - outside of the buildings on campus. “The main thing is accounting for people. Let’s just say there is a gas leak and a small explosion in the building or anything, you’re going to want to account for the students. And so, that’s kind of on the faculty members,” Harris said, regarding the main goal of the evacuation areas on campus. Harris said they are looking to do a campus wide evacuation drill, and that it will probably be early in the fall semester. “I came on last year, so I don’t really know (when the last evacuation drill was),” Harris said. ”I think they went a while without actually having one (a fire drill). I think what we’d also like to do, besides having the campus-wide drill, and then in the following months have a set schedule.”
In this case, Harris said a set schedule means to have different predestinated days where different buildings on campus participate in evacuation drill procedures. “Every building has faculty and staff who have volunteered to be part of an emergency team, so part of my job is train them on evacuation, basic and first aid procedures,” Harris said. He said that the day prior, May 29, there had been an incident in the science building on SJCC. He also said the people who volunteered to be a part of, what he referred to as, the “Building Evacuation Team” did a good job on evacuating people and getting them to designated areas. People are not allowed back into a building if an evacuation for a fire is underway, until they are given an all-clear from the fire department. If people are not allowed back into the building, it could help to remember to grab anything important that is in the classroom. Jazmine Navarrette, 23, chemistry major, said this is her second semester being a student and she has never taken part in an evacuation drill on SJCC campus. “I’d probably just leave campus, if it were a real one,” Navarette said she would do if she were outside and heard a fire alarm. Devaughhn Johnson, 19, kinesiology major, said this is also his second semester at SJCC but has never taken part in an evacuation drill. He said, he thinks fire drills are important for the campus. “An emergency can happen anytime primarily most of the drills are going to be scheduled,” Harris said. “But we do kind of reserve the right to do an unannounced drill.”
Above: Small crowd of students wait in an evacuation area on April 23. Left: Firefighters enter building to extinguish fire located in Theater building on April 23.
READ ABOUT THE APRIL 23 SJCC THEATER FIRE ONLINE PHOTOS BY JULIAN REYES, TIMES STAFF
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Honors program gets revived on campus Students get to design projects BY JULIAN REYES TIMES STAFF
The number of students in the honors program has increased this semester because of a push starting from a division dean. Humanities division dean Ilder Betancourt Lopez, who has been at SJCC since last year, said he activated the program that had been dormant for a while and signed off on 75 honors contracts this semester. “In the past two semesters that I have been here we weren’t really pushing it so we only saw about two or three contracts.” Lopez said. The honors program gives the student a chance to design a project related to a student learning outcome for a class of their choosing. They are given guidance by the instructor of the class their project is based on, and they receive honors credit for the class. The student, the instructor and Lopez
Darcy Dominigo, 39, construction technology major, explains work most recently done on honors project, April 24. PHOTO BY JULIAN REYES, TIMES STAFF must sign off on a contract in order for the student to officially be a part of the honors program. There are also some other requirements for the student to be a part of the program. According to the SJCC website, current students attempting to join must have above a 3.25 Grade Point Average, completed 12 units and are eligible or finished English 1A. For students that are new to college,
Jags Calendar WHO: Art Faculty Audrey Blumeneau WHAT: Two 2-hour workshops WHEN: Workshop 5. Making Canvas Content ADA Compliant, May 7 (4 p.m.-6 p.m.) Workshop 4. Developing Online Assessments, May 13 (4 p.m.-6 p.m.) WHERE: César Chávez Library, Room L-205 MORE INFO: Library, Learning Resources & Distance Education Dean Susan C. Hines susan.hines@sjcc.edu, 408.288.3115 To register for the workshops visit:http://www.sjcc.edu/ library/Pages/de.aspx.
NEXT NEWSPAPER: APRIL 7
there are very similar prerequisites only they need not have completed 12 college level units. Students can choose from many different types of projects to complete in the honors program. The honors contract lists research paper, art installation, experiment, class presentation and video as options. “To be selected for this, I thought it was a great opportunity because throughout my whole school career, I was always an
WHO: Ethnic Studies faculty Jacqueline Gamboa WHAT: SJCC Employee Recognition Ceremony WHEN: Wednesday, May 8 (2 p.m. -3:30 p.m.) WHERE: Technology Center, Room T-415 MORE INFO: Please RSVP in the link bellow https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/sjcc-employee-recognitionceremony-tickets-61120917309?. Email for questions: Jacqueline.Gamboa@sjcc.edu WHO: Counselor Carol Vasquez WHAT: University Transfer Success Celebration WHEN: Wednesday, May 8 (Noon-1:30 p.m.) WHERE: Student Center, Room SC216A MORE INFO: Sign up online at https://forms.gle/ iVdjuiaWytNRhNCK9 Phone: 408 288-3763 E-mail: carol.vasquez@sjcc.edu
average student. “Darcy Domingo, 39, Construction technology major, said “I’ve never been in an honors program. I was excited.” Domingo will present his project in the honors program. The presentation is going to be on a project he is a part of in one of his construction technology courses. “We’re building a tiny house.” Domingo said about his project, which is a part of his construction technology course. Cindy Huynh, an ethnic studies professor, is working with a student in the honors project. “The project that they are doing is they are watching a film and then they’re doing an analysis of the different themes of the film,” Huynh said. “They are also developing their English language skills, as immigrant students, and so one of the ways that we felt would be beneficial to them was to practice and utilize their writing skills.” “Our district and our college values include social justice and equity and I think that because we didn’t have an active honors program we were doing our students a disservice. “ Lopez said. “So in light of equity and social justice, I thought it was very important to provide this opportunity to the student population.”
WHAT: Hall of Excellence and 2019-2020 SJCC ASG Elections Results Ceremony WHEN: May 8 (5:30 p.m.) WHERE: The old basketball Gym (located adjacent to the Library) MORE INFO: To get tickets click link below https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hall-of-excellencetickets-60544691803 Email for questions: dse@sjccasg.org WHO: METAS program specialist Claudia Barajas, 408-288-3125|Direct: 3124, Claudia.barajas@sjcc.edu WHAT: “Money Speaks” is a two-day event to foster SJCC students’ financial empowerment and literacy WHEN: May 7 (noon-2 p.m.) and May 8 (1-3 p.m.) WHERE: SJCC Art Gallery MORE INFO: RSVP HERE: https://goo.gl/rFAE71
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4 Campus life
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Student voices shine and inspire
Photos by Krissy Tobey/Times Staff Photo: L to R: SJCC students Vaneysha Hicks, Unathi Zibi, David Rhodes, Mark Gervolino, Lucy Revina, Kiana Richardson, Ryan Balli, Gina Castillo, Trinh Tong. After receiving training from SJCC Communications Staff, student speakers shared inspirational personal stories on the Adobe stage on April 12 for the third annual LifeSpeak event.
Nine journeys breathed wisdom into one room BY KRISSY TOBEY TIMES STAFF
Approximately 100 people stopped breathing together on Friday, April 12 when nine SJCC students shared breathtaking personal stories of trouble and triumph on the Adobe stage for “LifeSpeak 2019.” Each speaker held a unique perspective on personal growth from friction in their lives. Past topics included immigration, incarceration and PTSD, but students this year grew from hurdles such as disease and discrimination. The SJCC Communication Studies Department partnered with Adobe to mentor eight student speakers and one Master of Ceremonies, giving them a physical platform on which to inspire others. Each student received speech coaching for his or her emotional narrative by SJCC Communications Faculty Shelley Giacalone, Leslyn McCallum, and Waylon Baker. Adobe provided the technology, the space and the catering to this event for the third year in a row. “Everyone has a story to tell,” Giacalone said, “and a voice to be heard and listened to.” Giacalone, who has participated in all three years of this program, said that more creative interpretations were used this year in comparison to the previous two. She was optimistic about the future of the LifeSpeak program. Toni Vanwinkle, Adobe staff,
mentioned the Oscar that Adobe won for technology this year. The technical aspect of the program went flawlessly. San Jose Evergreen Community College District Chancellor Byron D. Clift Breland also spoke briefly before the official program began. He said he wants to showcase who community college students are. “You are a seed,” Breland said. “When life tries to bury you, a seed grows.”
The SJCC student speakers all had one thing in common: When they grew, they took the audience’s breath away. Lucy Revina, the MC, said, “Turn and introduce yourself to the person next to you,” and she wasn’t kidding. Surprise, disbelief, and anxiety all drew breath at once. Then she made them chuckle and brought them together to listen. Mark Gervolino caused a cumulative gasp by startling the room with the sound of a wooden board that he broke into two. It was the physical counterpart to his metaphor of growing stronger with support. His message had a punch, literally, which was felt by the audience through their stationary seats. David Rhodes sucked a sigh of grief and of sympathy onto the stage when he remembered losing loved ones. Death is a universal
pain, and empathy let loose in waves with him. When he plucked himself up, the audience felt uplifted, too. Unathi Zibi took the updraft and made the audience laugh. Her message addressed American stereotypes of South Africa. Laughter over the word “organic” and how it was mishandled in her life was an amusing anecdote that made several people chuckle. Vaneysha “Viva” Hicks used the words “a song your eyes can see and your heart can dance to” about her daughter, Holiday. Those words were precious to behold, and they were felt in the audience, in throats that didn’t say them. Hearts were still. It never matters the context in which the word “suicide” is used; people stop breathing. Trinh Tong used it. This particular night’s context ended up breathing, and the audience’s sighs were relieved and grateful. When Gina Castillo said that she was once given five years to live, the audience’s air went somehow sterile. A chill fell into the silence that followed, where tension built and was released as she recounted getting better unexpectedly. She’s still breathing, and her medical journey brought hope to a climax. Ryan Balli displayed vulnerability and wore it proudly. The genuine moment, the one
that caught the onlookers in their throats, was when he recounted asking his honorary “step-dad” to pin on his police badge. … Honor’s breath is deep and wide. Kiana Richardson inspired awe, which opens one’s mouth and lets breath back in after it has gone. Her “malevolently beautiful world” summed up the evening’s emotions. Her spoken-word poem encompassed a range of emotions, including uncomfortable ones like being targeted for hate. It described the fragility and the power that human beings possess, and it ended on a positive note. Nine voices were heard, nine journeys were shared, and a whole room drew a single breath
several times. “Astonishing,” said Mina Alsadoon, a psychology major and SJCC alumni. “I feel inspired, and I should be ashamed of the worries in my life. I have to look up to them.” Among those looking up to this year’s speakers were Breyana Parker, an SJCC nursing major. “I want to do it next year and tell my story,” Parker said. Patricia Richardson, Kiana’s mother, said of her child, “I am in awe.” In her case, the parent was not the teacher that night. Several parents were present. “Speaker” and “audience” swapped labels and mingled once the program ended. Lives spoke to each other, as advertised.
TRIBUTE TO LIFESPEAK 2019 What lets hope arise? Un-becoming one’s labels and breaking through walls. Magnetize moments when humans come to a call, but God has the plan. Every rose has thorns. Every breath marks a journey. Every life can teach.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Lucy Revina: 19, computer science and electrical engineering major. Revina engaged light-heartedly with the audience between speakers. Before introducing any else, she asked the audience to say “Hello” in any language. Her brief intermissions gave people a little breathing room and a chance to reset before the next revelation.
Campus Life 5 Trinh Tong: 21, communications major. Tong caught the audience off guard with powerful feelings when she described a shortcut with the words “attempted suicide.” Then she countered the painful brush with reality by describing gratitude for surviving a car accident which happened a few months afterward. “I’m glad that he hit me,” she said, “because now I can appreciate everything.” There was a collective sigh of relief. Her story, “Magnet(fying) [sic] Your Moments,” ended with a question. “If I were to tell you tomorrow is your last day,” she said and paused for reflection, “which … items would you do?”
Photo by Jeanie Horton.
Mark Gervolino: 21, communications major. Gervolino broke ground on the Adobe stage by first breaking a wooden board, which is a rite of passage in martial arts training. His message, “Breaking Through,” encouraged the audience to think about the people who holds the barriers which foster growth in their own lives, and to appreciate the people who support them from the sidelines. “Who are your board holders?” he prompted, and left the audience to ponder.
David Rhodes: 55, psychology, drug addiction counseling major. Rhodes let the audience ponder failure. His speech, “Labels,” spoke about aspects of failure and how he overcame the labels that bound him. Rhodes stopped the hearts of all his spectators when he said that he lost his brother and son to drugs and alcohol. The room felt his loss. His strength returned when he grew through labels like disabled, divorced, and bankrupt. “What label are you?” he asked. In answer, he said, “Learn from it, don’t dwell on it.”
Unathi Zibi: 30, communications major. Zibi’s story, “God has our Itinerary,” was positively delightful. Her love story began with rough times and ended up bringing the audience together with laughter. “Organic food is better? I didn’t understand,” she said when describing her mistreatment as an au pair. “Everything is organic at home.” Zibi’s message was that despite hardships, “God’s plan for our lives is still unfolding every day.”
Vaneysha “Viva” Hicks: 29, studio arts major. Hicks let her story unfold on an easel and didn’t allow the audience to breathe for her entire performance. Clad in a neat, black-and-white striped outfit reminiscent of jail bars and armed with an articulate, fluid, emotional narrative, Hicks kept her back to the audience and literally painted as she told her story, “Every rose has its thorn.” Recounting learning that she was pregnant and alone, Hicks said, “I did the first smart thing I ever did, and I asked for help.” When her voice broke, her art spoke for her, and tears were shed. “There are no shortcuts in life,” she concluded, to generous applause.
Gina Castillo: 30, communications major. Castillo’s piece, “Let Hope Arise,” recounted how little she could do when given a diagnosis of End Stage Renal Disease. Sadness and suspense, horror and hope, all arose simultaneously. Castillo is now nine years grown into a kidney transplant and inexplicably rid of two incurable diseases. She was the catalyst for hope that arose in those who heard her story. “I choose not to dwell on why I’ve been given a second chance at hope and life,” she said. Her message and her voice had a healthy ring to it.
Ryan Balli: 26, criminal justice major. Balli said that once, a man arrested his father. By happenstance, that man, Jason, later became Balli’s high school football coach. In “Humanity in a Call,” Balli described a special bond with Jason, who became a life mentor and encouraged him to join the police force. Balli choked up talking about the family that genetics doesn’t choose. Pride and humility flooded the room when he spoke about his bond and his experiences with Jason, and the audience was honored to share in those moments with him.
Kiana Richardson: 24, communications major. Richardson ended the evening with a spokenword poem which described a world where “we learn hate as we grow.” Her piece, “Un-Becoming,” told her personal journey through adversity as a black woman in America. She recapped the evening’s theme with poetic eloquence. Her voice ended powerfully: “What a beautiful disaster it is to un-become all that was instilled in you and become who you were meant to be. Now, let’s rise.”
6 life style
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
‘The sacred artifact’ author profile Firsthand look at a former student’s adventure in writing BY MADISON MCNAMARA TIMES STAFF
PHOTO BY KRISSY TOBEY / TIMES STAFF
Andrew Flores, instructor of the 6 second defense class, demonstrates how to do the “shrimp crawl” in the Wellness Center on Tuesday, April 9 to approximately 10 students. He emphasized placing his hands directly on the assailant’s hipbones, forcing his own rear end backward and anchoring his body with his shoulder.
Self-defense class empowers students As students learned their weaknesses, they gained the strength to resist assault BY KRISSY TOBEY TIMES STAFF
Free self-defense class at the SJCC Wellness center on Tuesday, April 9 taught potential sexual assault victims to defend themselves. Andrew Flores, owner and operator of “6 Second Defense: Sexual Assault Prevention Class,” instructed male and female SJCC students on tactics to diffuse a sexual assault crisis. As part of the defense class, he gave statistics from rainn.org, such as the fact that female college students between the ages of 18-24 are three times more likely to experience an assault. “The reason I decided to do this class is because of all the assault I was seeing,” said Flores, who has 25 years of experience as a law enforcement officer, including experience in gang probation. To make the learning experience as close to resembling a violent attack as possible, Flores positioned his students in “mount” and “guard” positions, which both place the student’s back on the floor, making the student more vulnerable. Lisa Nguyen, a psychology major who took the class, said that despite the vulnerability needed to learn self-defense, she felt safe with Flores’ instruction. “Everything from a defensive position is more realistic,” Flores said. Learning to defend one’s self from a vul-
nerable position on the floor is particularly useful because most assaults originate from a known entity (rainn.org). Students practiced several maneuvers while on their backs, with safety stressed and a long, soft mat to work on. While they practiced, Flores helped them identify which side was weaker, so that the student could work harder where more work was needed. Situational awareness problems can invite disaster. Examples of places where disaster can be averted include walking while looking at a phone and walking with both earbuds in place. Flores advised not posting one’s location if in a tumultuous relationship and never accepting a drink from a stranger. “Posting” is a term that Flores used to indicate that one’s body should not be flailing. He said that keeping an arm or foot solidly on the ground gives the victim a better chance to escape. One female SJCC student, who wished to remain anonymous, took the class twice. “I’ve been a victim of harassment,” she said. “I want to protect myself. I felt the class was helpful, and I like the instructor’s personality.” “In reality, women can’t beat men up,” said Flores, which is generally true because of difference in body size. “But you can choke someone out.” Nguyen, 52, shared that she had been a victim as a young girl. As a survivor, she said that she found the class empowering. She thinks that it should be taught in high school because of the psychological aspect of sexual offenders. “Be aware and trust your instincts,” Nguyen said, “and learn how to protect yourself.” For more information about Flores’ self-defense class, visit http://sixseconddefense.com/
A former SJCC student, current author and medical student has published his third children’s book. Narlesky, age 29, grew up an avid reader and got into writing in his freshmen year of college. Though his first book was never published, he didn’t give up. He started working on The Boy Who Couldn’t Cry Wolf which turned into his first piece of published work. Matt Narlesky, also a former writer for the San Jose City College Times newspaper, wrote The Sacred Artifact. It is part 2 of his most recent book series The Young Alchemist. In this adventure series, a young alchemist trains in the arts of alchemy under master, Cornelius. “So far I have spent the most time working on the last two books,” Narlesky said. It has taken him 4 years to fully finish the series. He has a busy life as he is also a medical student, but he tries to spend at least 30 minutes a day working on his stories. Narlesky put a lot of thought into whether he wanted to be a full-time writer, but said that he eventually realized something important. “You can do writing as a hobby, but you can’t do medical work as a hobby,” Narlesky said. The Sacred Artifact is a fun fantasy based adventure story about a group made up of two alchemists and their archer friend. Narlesky takes you on a journey into a realm of magic and friendship as Greg and his companions travel to new lands on a hunt to find the sacred artifact. Narlesky gets most of his ideas while daydreaming in class. On a trip to England, Narleskey said he felt inspired by the architecture when he had to describe the surroundings in The Young Alchemist series. He said that each of his favorite author affects him in a different way
whether it is their imagination, ability to describe surroundings or their skill to capture the adult mind. “My goal in writing is just to capture something,” he said. Narlesky said he might not write more books in the Young Alchemist series “I was always open to writing more books, but as I got to a certain point I felt like this should be the end,” Narlesky said. Stay tuned for more books from Caldric Blackwell, AKA Matt Narlesky!
Becoming a successful web designer Profile of instructor Audrey Blumeneau BY KAILI ZHUANG TIMES STAFF
Audrey Blumeneau is a web design instructor who teaches at San Jose City College, Cabrillo College (in Santa Cruz) and at UC Santa Cruz Extension. When Blumeneau was a college student, she was a freelance web designer and worked with small companies because her school program required her to have real clients. Blumeneau received her bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz. She majored in environmental studies. Later, she studied interactive design at UCSC Extension and then got a master’s degree on education with an emphasis in gender and technology. How do you like freelancing? Becoming a freelancer is really nice because it gives you freedom to work anytime in the day, sometimes it’s incredible because you will meet different clients and work on different topics. It’s freedom to work in any place and anytime but also create a lot of pressure on you to work with different topic and clients at the same time. I don’t like to market myself, being a freelancer is good but will be more stressful because I don’t know when I will get the next client. It is very unpredictable. What made you decide to choose web design as your job? Because of a class I took. I think my life was changing within six months. I was studying in environment major, but there were not a lot of jobs for it. So, I changed my major to web design, and at that time it was called interactive design. I started learning and found that I liked it so much. My life changed because of the teacher in interactive design class, also. The teacher was so encouraging and patient. Why don’t you do a full time job in a big company? I was working in a big company, but the company was shut down, so I went back to teaching and to becoming a freelancer. At that time, it was too hard to get a full-time job because I was brand new, I
Audrey Blumeneau didn’t have work experience and a big portfolio to get into a company. Companies are generally less willing to train new staff. They are more willing to hire a more experienced person. What are the most important and difficult parts of web designing? Do things, understand HTML, CSS and user’s experience are the most important things for a web designer. Is there anything you would like to share to help students who are going into this field? If you like solving problems, being creative, working with technology, and if you are patient, then web design is work for you. If given another chance would you choose web design as your job again? I don’t know because I always like to try new things. If I have another chance, I hope I have a job that I can travel and take photos or do art and help people because I always want people to have a better life, so maybe I would do teaching. But if you had asked me if I would like to be a teacher 20 years ago, I would laugh and say, “Teaching? No!” Look, life has been changing us.
7 Campus Life
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Sophomores win the big game
Heat can’t stop the Lady Jags from beating Hartnell College BY DAIJUNAY TURNER TIMES STAFF
The second seeded Lady Jags played their sophomore game with energy and determination. A week before playoffs started on Tuesday, April 23 in 89 degrees, but not letting the heat stop them from beating Hartnell College with the final score at 8-1. In the first inning, the Lady Jags started off with a lead of 4-1, setting themselves up for the 7 inning game. The level of energy from the fans to the team never plummeted no matter how hot it got. They continued to cheer each other on and kept the energy alive until the last inning. After the game, sophomore Haile Landrum second baseman, enthusiasticly said, “She feels great and is ready for the playoff and this is a great way to start off for playoffs.” About the win on her sophomore game day. Landrum also expressed that the team has continued this great energy throughout the season said “they are ready for playoffs and hopefully go to state.” Landrum plans to transfer to San Jose State University to major in Kinesiology after the season is over.
PHOTOS BY DAIJUNAY TURNER/TIMES STAFF
Above: The Lady Jags huddle at the mound for a discussion during the game. Below: Staff Stefanie Troja tosses a pitch. Haile Landrum, second base for the Lady Jags. Game 1: played Friday Game 2: Saturday (5/4) vs Feather River College, noon, at Lady Jags Field. Game 3: if necessary, Saturday (5/4) vs Feather River College, 2 p.m., at Lady Jags Field.
To follow up with Lady Jags, catch their next games:
ART & ENTERTAINMENT
Game of Thrones’ battle of the dead ALAN WILLIAMS TIME STAFF
Just a heads up, if you haven’t seen the episode I’m going to spoil it. It took eight years for the Night King and his army of the dead to finally reach Winterfell and the wait was worth it. This episode may go down in history as Game of Thrones’ best fight scene because it was visually appealing and it sounded great The first few minutes of the episode set the mood for the entire episode when the entire Dothraki horde charged at the army of the dead, arakhs blazing and died. After all the Dothraki were killed, the Army of the Dead breached the fire trenches and made their way into Winterfell. The North was vastly outnumbered and many of the defenders died, including Lyanna Mormont who stabbed a Giant in the eye with dragonglass. Around this time, Arya Stark made her way into the castle because she became overwhelmed by the dead Once she was safely inside the castle and inside the library, her blood drips gave her away. She then retreated down some corridors until she ran into Sandor Clegane and Beric Dondarrion. Beric Dondarrion then died saving both Arya and Clegane which allowed them to catch up with Melisandre who later dies in the episode. While all of this was going on Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow were flying around on dragons lighting stuff up. Eventually they flew into the Night King and he fell off Daenerys’ dead dragon, Viserion. Jon Snow also fell off and then somehow survived the Night King’s newly erected dead army. The show then made its way to the crypts where Sansa Stark and Tyrion Lannister had been hiding out. They too had to deal with the dead because they were in the crypts, where dead people are buried. Things were not looking good for the living despite the fact that everything looked good visually. The music that was playing when Theon charged the Night King made his death even harder to bear. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, Arya Stark came out of nowhere and did some kind of knife drop to kill the Night King and his army of the Dead. Overall 10/10
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8 A&E
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
‘Us’ the movie review BY DAIJUNAY TURNER TIMES STAFF
The movie “Us” is definiely worth spending your money on, as it will leave you in suspense and wondering what is going to happen next. This movie is produced by Jordan Peele, who has made the remarkable job in the past on similar suspenseful movies, like his former movie “Get Out” which won a best original screenplay award. On March 22, 2019 the film “Us” came out and made $ 7.9 million within the fifth day of it being released. The success of Jordan Peele films continuously impacts his viewers and and even bring in new ones. His films allow the viewer to have their mind wander and continuously think about the message his is presenting. In the film “Us,” Jordan Peele continues use symbolism to keep the viewer intrigued. With the movie showcasing symbolism through bible verses, bunnies and seeing things in thirds. Viewers question and thinking throughout the whole movie in trying to find how they all connect to bring the movie together. This movie starts off taking place in 1986 with a girl and her family at Santa Cruz beach boardwalk at night. The little girl ends up wandering off and sees the first symbol of the bible, which leads her to a house of mirrors. While in there, she gets scared because she can’t find her way out. While searching for her way out, she sees what she thought was her reflection but
was actually a girl that looked exactly like her. After being frightened by seeing a girl that looked exactly like her, Adelaible Wilson has a hard time communicating to with her parents. The parents try to do things to get Adelaible to communicate, nothing seems to still work. The movie then fast forwards to where the little girl Adelaible is now a woman, played by Lupita Nyong’o, and has a family of her own is played by Winston Duke, Evan Alex and Shahadi Wright Joseph. The family goes to the house Adelaible grow up in Santa Cruz for their summer vacation. While there she continuously sees things that she saw the night her parents took her to the boardwalk. Making her feel uneasy as if something bad is going to happen on their trip. Her husband Winston wants to do things with the family and doesn’t seem to understand why Adelaible doesn’t want to go out as she has never talked about the discomfort that Santa Cruz brings her. Until Winston and the kids realize the severity that Santa Cruz has on the family one night when they see a duplicate of themselves just as Adelablie did in the mirror house. When seeing them Adelablie’s family has no idea what to do as they are frightened by the duplicate family. Wanting to compete to see who is worthy enough to stay alive. This happens with all families across the world, not just Adelablie’s. The duplicate families seems to be channeling other’s physically to see who is to live in the real world. Which forced Adelablie’s family to prove their strength against all of the duplicate family’s but mainly their own to stay alive in the end. As of April, 29th, “Us” has made $173 million dollars in the US and Canada. Showing that this movie was not just a hit for the week it came out but a movie that had viewers talking after the and creating others to want to go see it.
ANSWERS ON PAGE 6
Which is the true you?
Riddle me this
Confluence Art Exhibit debuts at San Jose City Instructor displays beautiful art with high fire ceramics and bronze BY ZOE GODDARD TIMES STAFF
Michelle Gregor, instructor and artist, showed off her art and sculptures to friends, students and other instructors on April 10 at SJCC art gallery. “The figure, but I think of it in very elemental terms in terms of its shape, its color, its pose. … I don’t really have a concept. It’s really the element of the art.” Gregor says about the concept and inspiration. bcolor is the main point for each sculpture, but it’s still very mute at the same time. “I fired over 2,000 degrees in ceramics materials.” Gregor said about the coloring. The runny effect on the sculptures are almost perfect like. Gregor’s art show ran from March 29 to April 24.
Sculpture One by Michelle Gregor
Michelle Gregor next to sculpture
Gregor speaking to visitors to Art Gallery
Photos by Zoe Goddard/Times staff
Multiple Pieces by Michelle Gregor
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Art Piece by Michelle Gregor
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