T
TEMPEST
Campus Con: “Are vaccinations important?” OPINION ON 3
The “Dark Star” of silent films: Louise Brooks FEATURES ON 5
Resolution conflict meeting aids student athletes Joy Harris / Tempest
See page 8 for a closer look at women’s basketball.
SPORTS ON 8
• FEB. 11 - MARCH 3, 2015 • VOL. 31, NO. 9 • FAIRFIELD, CA • www.solanotempest.net •
Solano’s Small Business Development Center opens doors on main campus
Courtesy of SBDC
Fill out this helpful chart before heading over to the Solano SBDC. The information you provide will help them tailor to your needs as an entrepreneur. Ning de Jesus Staff writer ldejesus@solanotempest.net
Solano SBDC, under the helm of its new director Kelly Penwell, relocated to building 100 on the main campus Dec. 2014 to be more accessible to Solano students. The center offers free workshops as well as free business advice and mentoring. “Students are the heart of the college,” Penwell said. “We wanted to be as accessible as we could to the student population. We wanted to have an open environment that people can just feel like they see it, and they want to come in and check things out.” Penwell said.
Penwell took over from interim director Charles Rieger in August 2014. She has been appointed Associate Dean for Workforce Development and Continuing Education effective January this year. Melissa Pegg, assistant to the Penwell, encourages students to make the most of the center’s workshops to gain valuable training. The center’s focus is on fostering entrepreneurship among Solano students and Solano residents. Last semester, Solano SBDC ran a special intensive program for students in the Automotive Technology program, equipping them to launch their own businesses using their new skill sets. “We are certainly willing to do it for other
programs,” Penwell said. “If the students can convince their professors to let us in the door, or the professors would like to partner with us, we absolutely would love to have that.” A number of activities are on the drawing board, such as an Entrepreneurship Camp during the summer as well as a Certificate program. “Dr. [Leslie] Minor, AVP of Academic Affairs, has the vision for a Certificate of Entrepreneurship here, and has talked to me about it,” Penwell said. “If the students want it, we’ll deliver it. That’s what it really boils down to.” Yava Echols Zalis, a music major and founder of GoAskZalis Music Publishing
MORE ONLINE AT WWW.SOLANOTEMPEST.NET Keep up-to-date on campus events by following us on Twitter: @solanotempest
(www.ZalisBain.com), had looked into Solano SBDC previously but felt that the services she was aware of did not seem to fit her artistic business direction. In response, Penwell said, “I’ve worked with pretty much every type of startup out there. I think we are in a pretty unique situation here at the SBDC because we have independent contractor advisers. Everything is tailored for the client.” Solano students or residents who already own or run a business automatically qualify for SBDC business counseling and mentoring. Those who are starting a business can make use of a number of tools available on Solano SBDC’s website. Penwell particu8SEE SBDC, PAGE 6
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We are rarely proud when we are alone.” - Voltaire
2
THE TEMPEST n FEB. 11 - MARCH. 3, 2015
OPINION
campus calendar Feb. 11
Feb. 18
Smart Borrower workshop Vallejo Center, Rm. 125 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Campus Cat Club meeting Noon-1 p.m. rm. 1427
Black History Display 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 1400 Lobby Black Inventors: James Tate
Judo club meeting 5 p.m8 p.m, Vallejo center SCC governing board meeting 6:30 p.m., rm. 626
Last day to file for pass/ no pass or reverse
Financial literacy workshop – “Budgeting Basics” Rm. 103 10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Second Annual Open Mic “Poetry Slam” Bldg. 1400 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Smart borrower workshop Rm. 501 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Financial literacy workshop – “Dealing with Debt” Rm. 501 6 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
Feb. 19
Feb. 12
Feb. 13 Presidents Day weekend – campus closed
Feb. 14 Presidents Day weekend – campus closed Valentine’s Day
Feb. 15 Presidents Day weekend – campus closed
Feb. 16
Test anxiety workshop Vallejo Center, Rm. 121 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Feb. 24 Black History Month: Genealogy: Finding Your Roots 9:30-10:30 a.m. rm. 626 Genealogy display: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. 1400 lobby
Feb. 25 Outreach health services, nurse visits Vallejo center 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Feb. 28
Washington’s birthday
Genealogy presentation: Finding Your Roots Assistance with research will be provided 1 p.m.-3 p.m. rm. 626
Feb. 17
March 19
Black History Month: Daddy Hunger with producer Ray Upchurch 11 a.m., rm. 626
Deadline to Petition for degrees/certificates
Presidents Day weekend – campus closed
Financial literacy workshop – “Protecting Your Credit” Rm. 501 3 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
March 29 Last day to drop full term class with a W
VOICE YOUR OPINION If you have something to say, a reaction to a story or an opinion on a topic, email us your view: tempest@solano.edu Include full name, and contact information (for verification purposes) and be advised that letters may be edited and/or shortened for length.
Leelah’s Law makes martyr of teen Could transgender teen’s suicide lead to copycats? Seventeen-year-old Leelah Alcorn was run down by a tractor trailer in the early morning hours of Dec 28, 2014 in what was ruled an act of suicide. A suicide note left on her Tumblr page confirmed this.
in poor Leelah’s memory. This is how the meat of the proposed law reads at petitions.whitehouse.gov: “‘Conversion therapies’ have been documented to cause great harms and in this case, Leelah’s death. Therapists that engage in the attempt to brainwash or reverse any child’s gender identity or sexual orientation are seriously unethical and legislation is needed to end such practices that are resulting in LGBTQ+ deaths. We respectfully seek your help to ban the practice known as ‘conversion therapy’ and name the bill in honor of Leelah Alcorn.”
Leelah wrote that she was sent to a Christian transgender conversion therapy center upon her parent’s orders where she met, predictably, with no “desired” results. The American Suzy Jane Academy of Pediatrics states, “Therapy directed Edwards-Freet specifically at changing sexual orientation is Staff Writer contraindicated, since it can provoke guilt and sedwardsfreet@ anxiety while having little or no potential for solanotempest.net achieving changes in orientation.” Leelah’s suicide note stated that she wants her death to “mean My sole religious icon, St. Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orsomething” for other transgendered people. While I find leans, was adopted as the unofficial saint of the transgenthis equally noble and sadly misguided, I find I cannot sup- der community. After saving France from the English, she port naming any law after this sweet, lost girl. was burned at the stake in 1431 at the age of 19. She is the adopted transgender saint because she dressed in a man’s After enduring the anguish of “conversion therapy,” armor as she commanded the French forces to victory, Leelah decided, like 50 percent of transgender young was betrayed, imprisoned and executed by the pro-English people under 20 (according to the Youth Suicide PrevenBishop of Beauvais. The charges were heresy and repeated tion Program) to attempt to take her own life rather than offenses of cross-dressing. live a lie. She succeeded. One martyr is enough for the transgender community. A transgender woman myself, I know that living your life By honoring Leelah’s memory in this way, by making her until you transition (or “come out”) is emotionally exhaust- “death mean something” per the request in her suicide ing. Denying who you are, pretending to be someone you note, we risk inspiring other suffering transgender youths are not and have no interto take the same steps to est in being is irreparably make their DEATHS mean “A transgender woman myself, something, rather than survivdevastating to one’s spirit. I know that living your life until ing the suffering to make their I am, however, one of a LIVES mean something. you transition (or “come out”) is very small and fortunate sorority within another I wholly support the spirit of emotionally exhausting.” small group. My mother, the law, but I cannot support adult son, and all of my close friends have supported me naming it after Leelah. There are young transgender peothrough this MAJOR midlife change. The life I once conple, such as Northern Calif. teen and transgender commusidered a horror and a curse, I now find blessed. nity advocate Devon Marchant. Marchant, I believe, gives hope to other transgenders. I witnessed Marchant speak at I’ve known the pain of denial for half my expected life. In the annual Transgender Night of Remembrance in Sacramoments of quiet desperation, I’ve learned what a gun bar- mento last Nov. 22. It is teens like Marchant who should rel tastes like. I’ve heard the reel spin, the hammer fall and be memorialized for their bravery. Admittedly, Marchant’s walked away from Russian roulette a winner. I no longer parents have given not only their “unconditional love,” as wanted to live as a person I not only disliked but could not Leelah’s parents purport giving to their dead daughter, but make sense of. I cannot feel Leelah’s pain any more deeply. have also given her their active support. We see between The entire transgender community shares the pain of this the two girls a very distinct difference. young girl. Death is certainly an option when you cannot take life’s Most of us support the passing of “Leelah’s Law” which pain any longer. What “something” does our death mean? bans “conversion therapy.” While I support such a law It means only that we’re dead. And no memorial law completely in theory, I cannot support a single law worded changes that.
Cat lovers wanted ASAP! The cat club needs early morning weekday feeders. Volunteers are needed to feed one or two cat stations in the mornings. The cats are fed and monitored before school starts so the cats can eat and go back to their hiding places before it gets busy around campus. Food and supplies are provided along with written instructions (including pictures). Animal lovers will find this to be a rewarding experience. For more information, email Wendy Phillips (wendy@phillipsdevllc.com) or Judie Burtenshaw (Judie.Burtenshaw@Solano. edu).
K
OPINION
THE TEMPEST n FEB. 11 - MARCH. 3, 2015
em’s orner
3
To audit, or nah?
College courses should be repeatable so the community can benefit When you find a class you really love to take, you want to take it as many times as you can. Take me for example; I’m a dancer. Naturally, when I started here at Solano in Fall 2011, I wanted to sign up for as many dance classes as I could. I have scoliosis and chronic pain, so my choices on exercise are limited. Dance keeps me strong physically. Dance is the least stressful and the healthiest option for me. It also helps me mentally and aids in controlling my depression. Rachel Grumman of Healthline discussed “Expressive Therapy.” Art, music, and dance are methods of creative expression,
but they can also help a person cope with emotional problems, including depression. Expressive therapy goes beyond traditional talk therapy by using creative outlets as a means of expression. This therapy is especially effective for those who have difficulty communicating and conveying thoughts and emotions. Finding something you love to do that is beneficial for your health and wellbeing is essential when you’re going through the struggle of trying to stay focused in a sea of classes, books, homework, and stress. But in 2011, SCC began talking about changing how many times you can repeat a course. The California
the student to Community pass the first Colleges Board time the course of Governors is taken, the considered a other reason is policy change money.” that would free up more At a time spaces for new when we are students starthaving such ing college, by Kemberlee Jones difficulty in limiting the Opinion Editor providing number of times kjones@ enough courses a student can solanotempest.net for students, we repeat certain just don’t feel it’s right to courses and have the state have somebody to repeat a pay for it. Erica Perez of course four, five, six times, California Watch reported and then individuals who to the Huffington Post of the proposal from Commu- are seeking it for the first nity Colleges Chancellor time can’t get in,” Scott Jack Scott that eventually said. cut off the state’s funding for continuing students to While I can understand repeat a course. Part of the this for the main core reason was to encourage classes needed for gradua-
tion requirements, I don’t understand the reason behind the change in the kinesiology department. Through the years I have seen several kinesiology courses cancelled for the semester due to low enrollment, which I think is due to the fact the people that would take these courses have already taken them. Josh Fain of Inside Higher Ed reports that many students take kinesiology classes multiple times, as well as visual and performing arts courses, like music, theater, and dance. That practice is a luxury the community colleges couldn’t afford anymore and the Academic Senate for California Community
Colleges agreed. So, where does that leave us? Sure, we can take the class again, but instead of the state paying for it, you have to audit the class and it comes out of your pocket. Or, register for those certain classes at a different school. Which, either way you look at it, you’re paying out of pocket. For people who are only able to go to school because they get financial aid or they’re on a fixed income, that’s just not possible to do. So not only are we as students suffering from this change, classrooms are losing lifelong learners that bring their knowledge and experience to the class.
campus conversation
How do you feel about vaccinations?
“Oh, they’re completely necessary. They’re incredibly important.”
“Umm, they’re good. ”
-Garrett Croker English professor
The Tempest is published by Solano College students. Opinions expressed in the paper are those of the individual writers and artists, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the college’s governing board, the administration, the faculty and staff, or the Associated Students of Solano College. Readers may take up to five copies of The Tempest free. Additional copies may be purchased for 25 cents. Member: California College Media Association • Journalism Association of Community Colleges • California Newspaper Publishers Association • Associated Collegiate Press
-Roxana Del Rio undeclared
“Vaccinations are pretty much just a matter of public safety. I mean there’s really no logical reason not to get vaccinated. If you believe that there is, then you’re delusional.” -Dominick Yee undeclared
“I know in the media they try to link it to all these other things that I don’t think have been proven. I don’t like being sick, so I don’t like other people to get me sick.” -Joseph Morris psychology
TEMPEST
THE
THE VOICE OF SOLANO COLLEGE
Dagmar Kuta staff writers:
editor-in-chief
Makafui Ahorney Mo’Nique Booker Luningning de Jesus Joy Harris Daphne Kuta Qhianna Sanchez Suzy-Jane Edwards-Freet
news editor: Dagmar Kuta opinion editor: Kemberlee Jones
staff photographers: Kemberlee Jones Joy Harris
features editor: Jasmine Grimes sports editors: Mo’Nique Booker and Joy Harris
reporter: Qhianna Sanchez, photos: Dagmar Kuta
*
*
*
faculty adviser: Samanda Dorger
“I think that they should be mandatory for every child.It doesn’t affect just your child, it affects all the children that come in contact with them. It should be regulated.” -Kat Ray theater
contact us: It is Tempest policy to correct any errors in the paper. Please contact us if you spot one. To get in touch with us: phone: (707) 864-7000, ext. 4361 e-mail: tempest@solano.edu postal address: SCC, Room 1861 4000 Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield, California 94534
4
THE TEMPEST n FEB. 11 - MAR. 3, 2015
FEATURES
Louise Brooks: Why this Dark Star matters
Suzy Jane Edwards Staff Writer
sedwardsfreet@solanotempest.net
Molested by a neighbor at age eight. A heavy alcoholic since age 14. A star pupil of a famous dance company, she was dismissed for an arrogance bordering hubris. Well noted for her sexual liberality with both men and women, including an affair with Charlie Chaplin, silent screen star Louise Brooks was far from well behaved. Brooks, a woman who had made film history early in its infancy, became a historian of it late in her own.
put her on Hollywood’s blacklist, she left for Germany. There she made the trilogy of silent films for German director GW Pabst for which cinephiles love her.
Paramount recorded her voice track for “Canary” using a vocal stand-in with a nasally, Brooklyn accent. Brooks’ own voice was a rich, sexy alto. A rumor spread that it was Brooks’ own voice on film and not the stand-in’s. It became urban legend that her disappearance was because her voice was too unbearable for sound. Oddly, she had the female lead in Paramount’s very first talkie, “Beggars Of Life” using her own voice in 1928. Though the film
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Harvard University professor, probably described Brooks best: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Brooks’ bobbed black hair is more often remembered than her career. Why should you care about this actress whom you don’t even know? Louise Brooks is the definition of a liberated woman. As talented and acclaimed in her day as Meryl Streep is today, Brooks viewed the Hollywood star system as “The first signpost on the road to oblivion,” and walked away from fame at the height of her popularity. “There is no Garbo! There is no Dietrich! There is only Louise Brooks!” declared Oscar-winning film historian Henri Langlois in 1953. In the flickering celluloid twilight between silent films and the dawn of talking pictures, Brooks had appeared in a silent film for Paramount Pictures entitled, “The Canary Murder Case.” After the success of “The Jazz Singer,” Paramount wanted to cash in on the shift towards talking pictures and converted “Canary” into a talkie. Prior to this, Brooks’ contract with Paramount had come up for renegotiation. Paramount reneged on her raise. This was intolerable. Often seen partying at Hearst Castle, lavished with gifts and money by admirers of both sexes, Brooks didn’t need the money. This put her in the position of telling Paramount where they could get off. Knowing it effectively
is considered by most critics to be her best American picture, the rumor prevailed. Brooks began to rue her rather flippant decision to abandon Paramount as her patrons began to decline. This was not merely due to her near disappearance from American cinema, but also due to her unwillingness to yield to any man’s infatuation. Brooks’ molestation had left her with precocious sexual proclivities as a child. This loveless but hyperactive sexual lifestyle eventually shattered any healthy romantic relationships Brooks might have had as an adult. Her last film was “Overland Stage Raiders” in 1938 with a very young John Wayne. When the director yelled “That’s a wrap!”, Brooks disappeared from the silver screen forever. In his book “Louise Brooks: A Biography,” Barry Paris writes that after unsuccessful attempts to begin her own dance studio and working as a counter girl, Brooks became a paid courtesan, then disappeared into obscurity. For a while. She was rediscovered living as a recluse in the early 80s but being the brilliant woman and excellent writer that she was, she wrote an autobiography that remains in print today, and became a respected film historian for The George Eastman House (Eastman created Kodak Film company), one of the oldest film archives in the world. On Aug. 8, 1985, Brooks died of a heart attack at age 78, rediscovered and respected. Her beauty, intelligence and independence warrant a reading of her autobiography “Lulu In Hollywood” by anyone with a love of film, any liberated young woman seeking a role model, or anyone who believes their life’s mistakes are too grave for a comeback. In an age where the most superficial kind of “fame” can be found for the price of a web camera, and the abject debasing of oneself for the most fleeting and invaluable of notoriety seems of more value than creating art, there are true few “stars” of the old school. Intelligence, integrity, and dignity winning over fame’s promises of excess and delights …THIS is how one remains an eternal luminary in the long, dark Hollywood night. This is why Louise Brooks matters. Library Of Congress
The Student Guide Series
Makafui Ahorney Staff Writer
mahorney@solanotempest.net
Student Guide to Surviving the Semester Student Guide to Enjoying the Semester 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Get to campus at least 10 minutes early. Keep your head down and walk to class Sit in a back corner. Speak only when spoken to. Don’t make eye contact with anyone When your first class is over, shuffle off to the next one. Between classes, sit alone in the hallway or at a table in the cafeteria When you’re done for the day, you’re free to go. There’s no need to stay on campus longer than you’re required to.
1. Get to campus at least half an hour early. 2. If you’re hungry, grab breakfast or a coffee from the Cafeteria. 3. Walk to class. While you wait to enter your classroom, read the bulletin boards. 4. Introduce yourself to the students around you. 5. Show interest in the class. 6. Take notes. 7. Get to know someone. Be more than just a name and a face. 8. Find a club or two that interest you. 9. You are part of a community now. What are you going to do about it?
THE TEMPEST nFEB. 11 - MAR. 3, 2015
Foster Youth Success Initiative hosts their first Art Slam, students perform and create Daphne Kuta Staff Writer daphnekuta@solanotempest.net
The Foster Youth Success Initiative (FYSI) in collaboration with the Dream Changers club hosted their first Art Slam Feb. 6 2015. A variety of students, including some from Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University, joined together to spend an afternoon creating art. According to Kamber Sta. Maria, the head of the FYSI, the idea of the Art Slam came from one of her student mentors, Amber Ward, who participates in both the FYSI and the Floetry club. “This was her idea.” Ward was inspired by the Poetry Slam that was hosted by the Floetry club last semester. “We wanted to bring in more people from our campus,” Sta. Maria said. “Just to have a fun, relaxing, break from academics.” She said that they wanted to supply more activities for students on campus and to also promote FYSI and what they stand for.
“We wanted to bring in more people from our campus. Just to have a fun, relaxing, break from academics.”
Art
FEATURES 5
Slam
Left: Armando Quiros performs spoken word poetry during the Art Slam. Quiros is the president of the Floetry club, which is hosting a Poetry Slam on February 12. Below: Some of the art supplies provided by FYSI for students to use during the Art Slam. Daphne Kuta / Tempest
FYSI is a program on campus for former and current foster youth that helps these students get through college, explained Ward. Sta. Maria said that the program works with foster youth so that “they can attain a college education with support.” “I think it went great,” said Sandy Phan, a member of FYSI and a participant in the Art Slam, “It was a party.” Phan said that many walk-ins recited poetry and even borrowed her guitar and performed musical pieces. “The event actually came out exactly how I expected it to. People coming out and just enjoying art.” “I think that was the point. It was to let people have a day to express themselves.”
Daphne Kuta / Tempest
Sandy Phan plays guitar while a fellow student reads from her phone. Phan’s guitar was used by numerous performers during the event on Feb. 6.
6
NEWS
THE TEMPEST n FEB. 11 - MARCH 3, 2014
Continuing students may The Small Business Development Center helps lose priority for counseling students work their entrepreneurial magic appts. during semester 7 SBDC, FROM PAGE 1
larly recommends the Business Model Canvas, created by Alexander Osterwalder. She has taken the Business Model Canvas and tweaked it into something that she thinks works better. “Entrepreneurs are highly creative. They have tons of ideas and everything gets jumbled up in their head about what they are going to do,” Penwell said. “[The Business Model Canvas] takes you step by step through all the things you need to know.” Penwell recommends that students interested in starting a business sit down with the Business Model Canvas and chart it on a white board or large posterboard. “What you do is you take one idea about your business and you put it on a Post-it note. Stream as many ideas as you can. Think about every single thing that you want to do,” she said. “What this grid essentially does is that it will tell you what you have thought about, what you have not thought about, where you have spent the bulk of your creative force,” Penwell said.
The upcoming workshop, Business Model Canvas – The Lean Start-Up on February 19 will provide businessminded students with more practical advice on using this tool to organize their ideas and prepare their business plan. Another free workshop “Using LinkedIn to Build Your Small Business” is slated for Feb. 26, 5:30 to 6:30 pm in Room 103. Solano SBDC is open for drop-in inquiries Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. until noon. The workshops are free and open to the public. Students can register online by visiting Solano SBDC’s website (www.Solano SBDC.org) and clicking on the workshop links. Students can also call Pegg from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at (707) 864-3382 or drop by Solano SBDC’s office in room 168 of Building 100 on the Main Campus (between the Academic Success Center and the Library).
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND FURTHER INFORMATION WORKSHOPS “Business Model Canvas - The Lean Start-Up” Thu, 02/19/2015 - 5:30pm - 6:30pm Benicia 250 East L Street Benicia City Hall - Commission Room Register online for this event “Using LinkedIn to Build your Small Business“ Fairfield Thu, 02/26/2015 - 5:30pm - 6:30pm 4000 Suisun Valley Rd. Bldg 100 - Room 103 Register online for this event
Qhianna Sanchez Staff writer qsanchez@solanotempest.net
The counseling department may soon be implementing a policy that will cause continuing students to “lose their priority to meet with a counselor” at select times of year, said Nicholas Cittadino in an email. “The counseling department is trying to get continuing students to make their appointments early and not wait until the last minute to get their education plans and classes for the next semester.” “It gets real crazy those last few weeks before registration and we are trying to get more new students into the college,” said Cittadino by email. Continuing students should work with a counselor on education plans before new students come in for counseling at the end of the semester and during the summer. Education plans help move students more efficiently through the school system, allowing them to stay on top of the classes they need to take to reach their educational goals. “We’re low on counselors, we have a couple retiring, we’re trying to fill in with part-time counselors,” said Cittadino. “Why wait ‘till the last minute when everyone’s jammin’?”
Office Hours Monday-Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm Walk-In Hours Monday and Wednesday 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Phone: (707) 864-3382 Email: sbdcdirector@solano.edu DROP BY OR CALL US Kelly Penwell, Associate Dean kpenwell@solano.edu Melissa Pegg, Assistant melissa.pegg@solano.edu
Dagmar Kuta / Tempest
The counseling office during the middle of the Spring 2015 semester.
Professor Lue Cobene takes unique approaches to teaching, life, and learning My mind works in poetic patterns, combining things other people don’t tend to combine as well as doing what everybody else kind of does.
- Lue Cobene
Makafui Ahorney Staff writer mahorney@solanotempest.net
Most students never get to know their teachers outside the classroom. Professor Lue Cobene is a professor in the Humanities department who also teaches English 1 and 2. He is known among his students for his unique teaching style and his rigorous program. Q: Can you start by telling us about yourself? A: I’ve been teaching English and Humanities at Solano for 25 years. I graduated undergraduate/graduate school from the CSU system. I started in community college so I have experience over the whole system which informs the way I teach. I am a military kid. My dad was in the service. I am both a minority and an immigrant. I didn’t have full citizenship till I was 19. I had to cut philosophy class to go get naturalized, which the philosophy teacher, himself a naturalized citizen, thought was really cool. Q: If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be? A: Poetic, interested, and passionate. My mind works in poetic patterns, combining things other people don’t tend to combine as well as doing what everybody else kind of does.
Joy Harris / Tempest
Lue Cobene relaxes in his office between classes.
Q: Why teaching? A: Teaching for me was an accident.
I got this job just to have a full-time job for a couple years. That was my original plan and my wife was going to finish her schooling. But then she got ill and she got so ill that I couldn’t just quit my job because the health benefit structure was really good for us. And it kept her alive. As the years went by, we couldn’t find a rock solid diagnosis so I never wanted to take the risk of quitting a job to get another one. I felt a responsibility toward my marriage to just never put her at a disadvantage. Along the way I got more interested in teaching. And then, you know, life takes over. Ten years turns to 20, and 30 years later you’re like, “I was going to be an architect.” Q: Where does your thirst for knowledge come from? A: I was a curious kid. I paid attention to my culture at large, everything from National Geographic™ to what was going on in class to what’s going on across the street in the neighbor’s house that was getting rebuilt. So I just let my world teach me. And another thing as you would probably predict was family. My family had a lot of terrible experiences. Both my parents were war survivors. They saw a lot of destruction so they had this epic to build, to make things better through craft. I also had tons of really good teachers. So personal inclination, a society rich with information, my family and the education system. The rest was just me experimenting.
Q: Does all that influence the way you teach? A: Oh yes. It’s in how I build a class, how I deliver a class, how I try to help my students. I understand so many different ways of being human or being a student. I don’t master them all but I am sensitive to them. A lot of people aren’t like that so with those students I will try to find another way to help them learn the mandatory skill or come to a place where they can compensate for the lack of the skill by having another place where they really come to shine. Q: Teaching as long as you have, what is one thing you wish students will really stop doing? A: You get what you get if you come to class or don’t show up. But the one thing I wish students will stop doing is stop not asking questions. What happens is they’re afraid to ask questions because they think they’re going to be shamed or they don’t know how to ask the question. But the only way to really know the world is by talking about it and learning how to question things fearlessly. I wish my students would have the capacity to ask questions. There are no right or wrong questions. There are just series of questions that lead to answers which will lead to more questions. You guys don’t do that enough.
SPORTS 7
THE TEMPEST n Feb.11 - March. 3, 2015
men’s basketball
Men lose to Napa, Contra Costa
Joy Harris/Tempest
Solano Falcons players watch the clock during their Jan. 30 home game against Contra Costa College. Solano lost 68-54.
Falcons lag in BV Conference play The Solano Falcons men’s basketball team lost to Napa Valley on Feb. 4. The score was 64-50. Donovan Smith scored 22 points, Koree Cox scored 18 points. The Falcons lost against Contra Costa Jan. 30. The score was 68-54. Solano is 4-9 in the Bay Valley Conference.
Lejon Sewell prepares to shoot free throw in the second half of the game Jan. 30.
Joy Harris/Tempest
Solano guard Jaimon Robinson hustles down court against Contra Costa during the second half of their home game Jan. 30.
SCC athletes attend conflict resolution workshop Daphne Kuta Staff Writer dapnekuta@solanotempest.net
After a rocky start to the spring semester for the athletic department, in which three students were expelled, Dr. Karen McCord held a “Peace, Nonviolence, and Conflict Resolution” seminar for all athletes participating in sports during the upcoming semester. “In light of recent events with student athletes,” said athletic director Erik Visser “We thought it would be wise for all of us to start the spring with a workshop on
conflict resolution.” McCord, a psychology, ethnic studies, and social science professor at Solano Community College, started with her own history. Since 2004 she has been going to juvenile hall to teach “alternatives to violence and conflict resolution” McCord said. She also used to be a social worker where she got to see firsthand the results of violence, or “reactionary” conflicts. McCord said what worried her was “the cycle” of the same people coming in and out of juvenile hall. She said that what was lacking was the kids were not given the “tools and resources to do anything differ-
ently.” This ignited her goal to be the one to provide the tools to the kids, McCord said. During the seminar, students were encouraged to discuss their understanding of peace and violence and the causes behind both. McCord said that we must change how we teach our kids to react to conflict. One of the slides in McCord’s slideshow had names of five war leaders and five peace leaders. McCord said that the war leader’s names were well known, but the peace leader’s names were not. Students were asked to contemplate why the war names are so easily recognized.
The workshop included an interactive component in which students were given a statement and had to decide if it promoted peace, or inhibited peace. Then, the students could explain their position and or change their position. Students were given a pamphlet of inspirational sayings to help reflect on peace and what it means to each individual. “Every day you face disagreements,” Visser said. “And the art of dealing with disagreements is…a great predictor [of] how you’re going to be successful in life.”
8
THE TEMPEST n Feb.11 - March. 3, 2015
SPORTS women’s basketball
Falcons lead in conference play
Joy Harris/Tempest photos
Solano’s guard Nikki Andaya defends against a Contra Costa player during the first half of their home game Jan. 30.
Small but mighty Falcons team is on a winning streak In the last two seconds of a nail-biting game, Audrie Jones scored the winning shot to bring the Falcons women’s basketball team to a 62-61 victory over Merritt College Feb. 6. Laura Lawson scored 18 points, Jones scored 13 points, and Alexis Hines and Kai Roberts both finished with 9 points. The Falcons currently lead the Bay Valley Conference 11-2, with a six-game winning streak. Solano won against Napa Valley College Feb. 4. The game was very close with the score 56-52. The Solano Falcons won against Contra Costa on Jan. 30. The score was 70-56. Lawson scored an amazing 26 points, Nikki Andaya behind her with 18 points, and Miranda Holman with 10 points. Joy Harris/Tempest
Falcons coach Matt Borchert talks to team during the game against Contra Costa College.
softball & baseball Softball:
Baseball:
The Solano Falcons won their opening game against American River College Thursday, Feb.5. The score was 10-6. Denali Smith was the winning pitcher.
Solano dominated against San Mateo Saturday, Feb. 7. The score was 8-0. It took four and a half hours to finish the game due to rain delays.
The Falcons’ next game is against College of Marin Wednesday Feb. 11 in Kentfield.
upcoming games Feb. 11: Feb. 11 Feb. 12 *Feb. 14 *Feb. 14 Feb. 17 *home games
Men’s Basketball at Marin Women’s Basketball at Marin Baseball at Delta College Baseball vs. Delta College Softball: Solano Classic Tourney Softball at Cosumnes River College
5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 2 p.m.