T
Part time teachers should be treated equally OPINION ON 2
“Rhinoceros” tears up the stage FEATURES ON 5
Rugby loses to law school
TEMPEST
Joy Harris / Tempest
Jose Salazar clutches the ball as he dodges around opposing players. SCC lost 39-26 against McGeorge School of Law.
SPORTS ON 8
• MARCH 18 - MARCH 30 , 2015 • VOL. 31, NO. 11 • FAIRFIELD, CA • www.solanotempest.net •
Internship leads to presentation Materials research internship findings could lead to better, cheaper solar power Qhianna Sanchez Staff Writer qsanchez@solanotempest.net
Better cheaper solar power may soon be on its way to becoming a reality, as scientists study ways to make this happen. Sometimes, students help create this reality, as with Anthony Salazar, a Solano Community College student, who acquired an internship last year studying various mixtures of silicon’s energy absorbency. Salazar participated in the research during his internship with the Colorado School of Mines. Melanie Lutz, professor of physics and engineering at SCC, helped Salazar gain this internship. Salazar completed his internship with Craig Taylor, director of the renewable energy materials research science and engineering center at the Colorado School of Mines. Taylor “presented the Mott Lecture in 2005, which is the most prestigious lecture in the field of amorphous and nanocrystalline semiconductors,” according to his biography found on Department
of Physics website at the Colorado School of Mines. “I performed electron paramagnetic resonance and photothermal deflection spectroscopy on nanocrystalline silicon thin films,” said Salazar in an email. He explained that “nanocrystalline silicon is a semi-conducting material composed of silicon nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous silicon matrix.” Spectroscopy is the measurement of the energy absorption rate of various materials. Various science lab classes at SCC include the use of a spectroscopy machine. Thin films of material, such as silver, silicon, or ceramics, are used to conduct electricity, protect other materials from corrosion, or create the reflection used in mirrors. In this case, the thin films are made of nanocrystalline silicon. According to Salazar’s abstract on the 2015 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting and Exhibit website, the research acquired “absorption spectra for mixed two phase nanocrystal8SEE INTERNSHIP, PAGE 6
SCC’s New Agriculture Program to start in 2016 Makafui Ahorney Staff Wrtier mahorney@solanotempest.net
Solano College’s Horticulture professors are about to be a lot busier. Ken Williams and Sandra Diehl are currently putting together a curriculum for an agriculture program tentatively set to start next spring. “We recently got $1 million from the Measure Q money to develop the agriculture side and to renovate the horticulture site here so we’re working towards that,” Williams said. The agriculture program aims to teach students everything they need to know in order to become farmers. It will require students to take courses from both the agriculture and horticulture departments. Students will also need to take an accounting class and Intro to Geographic Info Systems from the geology department. Williams and Diehl are
working with other members of the Solano County Farm Bureau to ensure that graduates from the program will have the skills local farmers are looking for. Students will be getting hands-on training as part of the program. “We’re going to have about half an acre of sustainable agriculture out here and that will be to grow some kind of sustainable crop with a greenhouse associated with that crop and its propagation,” Williams said. An advisory board has been set up consisting of landscapers, farmers, and business owners. Williams and Diehl are also working with an adjunct professor from UC Davis to make credits transferrable to universities with agriculture programs like UC Davis and Fresno State University. The Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers Association are also funding a scholarship for the program. 8SEE AGRICULTURE, PAGE 6
MORE ONLINE AT WWW.SOLANOTEMPEST.NET Follow us on twitter for bite-sized news: @solanotempest
SVR brings famed poet to SCC Poet Dennis Schmitz to read at Solano College Library March 24 Staff report Dennis Schmitz, Sacramento’s first Poet Laureate and author of seven books, including Animism (2014), will be reading selected pieces at 12:30 pm on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the Solano Community College main campus library. Schmitz will also be visiting the Creative Writing classes (English 6, 7 and 10) at 11:00 am on March 24 in Room 707. Students are invited to listen to and interact with the poet. The Suisun Valley Review (SVR) is featuring Schmitz in its Spring 2015 issue. The late Quinton Duval, who taught English at Solano College for 29 years and who launched SVR in 1981, studied under Dennis Schmitz.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Love can do much, but duty more.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
2
THE TEMPEST n MARCH 18-MARCH 30, 2015
opinion
Here’s the deal
Solano county is in uproar after news hit that a sexually violent predator would be moving to Fairfield. Here are the facts according to local media reports and Megan’s Law data:
Here’s what I think:
If our campus was extremely tight-knit and small, with lots of people and police, maybe it • Fraisure E. Smith is, according to the could work. state, a “sexually violent predator”. But here’s the thing: it’s not. The horticulture department, the sports • In 2003, Smith was convicted of atfields, and even our Tempest offices are so tempted rape when he followed a 17-year-old far off the beaten path (and therefore closer girl, told her that he loved her, and trapped to Willotta Drive) that having a registered sex Dagmar Kuta her in a stairwell before groping her until offender, even one who is impotent, is going News/Features she escaped. to make students uncomfortable. It’s bad editor enough that the lights in the bathroom across dkuta@ • Smith was arrested in 1988, 1992, and from the police station are always flickering or solanotempest.net 1995 on sexual assault and statutory rape off. Even if nothing happens, if this scandal charges. dies down in just a few months, that lingering feeling of “I’m being followed/watched” is not appropri• Smith has petitioned for release from his current ate for a college campus. I know several people who have been followed or even incarceration at Coalinga State Hospital. stalked on SCC campuses. One of my closest friends • After looking at over 1,000 properties, Liberty Health was stalked on the main campus. Her stalker was constantly following her, talking to her, and waiting around Care (a subcontractor with the state) has found a homefor her after classes, even after she made it clear that she owner willing to rent his property to Smith. It is illegal wasn’t interested in his sexual advances. Even though to deny residency to a sexual offender based solely on that person, who constantly was following, running afthe fact that he/she is an offender. ter, and actively seeking out her personal information, is • The $3,000 rent would be paid by the state governnow attending a different college, she still gets nervous ment. on the campus. While I understand that legally Smith can be placed • If Smith moves into the property, located at Willotta on Willotta Drive, I do not think that he should be Drive, he will be living approximately 1,600 feet from allowed to live so close to such a large group of young the Solano campus. people. Solano’s campus is nearly 60 percent female, according to the National Center of Education Statis• There is no law requiring a specific distance between tics. Do we really want to make more than half of our high school or college campuses and sexual offender’s students uncomfortable, uneasy, or downright scared residences. when they come to school? As a repeat offender, no one can know whether Smith • However, Solano Community College has the Chilwill make another attempt, despite his claims that he dren’s center on campus, and also teaches many high has not been aroused by “deviant sexual fantasies” durschool students during the day. ing his incarceration. • According to the Daily Republic, who talked to Smith over phone, Smith is impotent after having had prostate cancer while incarcerated.
As a female, I’m not willing to take the chance.
Part-time teachers deserve fair treatment
P
am Muick is an instructor at Solano Community College. She serves as an inspiration to us within the community college system. She began her higher education at Santa Barbara Community College. She has a master’s in forestry and a PHD in environmental science and policy. Muick shows what educational heights may be reached with dedication and perseverance for those of us starting in the twoyear college system. She also serves as a reminder of how the oncebright American Dream has become badly tarnished. The tarnish is a lack of full time positions for professors. Like so many other instructors, Muick is an adjunct professor. This means, though desirous of full time employment, Muick is a victim of California’s budgetary abyss.
In February, part should best be time instructors met: on the at SCC particihealth of your pated in Adjunct favorite inAwareness Week, structors and a national effort their families. to call attention Adjuncts are to the plight of thrown what’s adjunct instrucleft after the tors. full time inOn average, acstructors Suzy Jane Edwardscording to a flyhave their Freet er prepared by classes. A Staff writer the Solano Adtragic reality sjedwardsfreet@ junct Alliance, for full time solanotempest.net adjunct profesinstructors sors who teach two courses is that should their own a semester earn only about class be cancelled, they are $13,000 a year. From that, required to take over an they must pay for their own adjunct’s active class. The insurance for themselves adjunct is uncompensated. and their families, no matThink upon how fruster that most work at mul- trated you would get when tiple colleges to eke out a you can’t get your classes living teaching. The cost of scheduled together. Now gasoline for these “freeway imagine that if your class is flyers,”–the parlance term cancelled, you are out your used for adjuncts who trav- car payment. Or your famel between colleges–further ily’s birthday and Christreduces take-home pay. mas presents. Their braces This is how our represen- or medication. Or God tatives think the budget forbid an operation. This
is what adjuncts deal with year in, year out. Class cuts are upsetting for us? Not nearly so. If this information should startle you to take action, bear in mind that while executive administration decides whether to fund a project or hire a full time instructor instead, the adjuncts’ plight is directly the fault of neither the full time faculty nor the school administration but rather is to blame by politicians we’ve elected. Send your voice and direct action to Sacramento and make them ashamed to let this continue. We can choose to grasp the inalienable and unique power given us as students to affect change, or we can sit on our collective asses while we play video games. For the record: Making comments on Facebook is NOT affecting change. At all.
Taken too soon Remembering Aaron Malave My friend, Aaron Malave, 19, was fatally shot Feb. 25, three days after his 19th birthday. He was Fairfield’s second homicide this year. Police were Mo’Nique Booker called to Laurel Sports editor Creek Park at sbooker@ solanotempest.net 11:09 p.m. that night. Ten minutes later, Aaron arrived at North Bay Medical Center, but was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made.
many others and to me. One of his tweets just two days before he died said “Goodbye for now to you my friend I said so long farewell until we meet again, ahaha who remember that TV show?”
“He was always my date to our elementary school dances,” said longtime friend Taelyr Pahrms in a text message. “And in the third grade we went out for only three days, but afAaron Malave ter that we decided I’ve known to just stay friends. Aaron for a long He was athletic. Whenever time. I met him in the he walked into a room he first grade at Laurel Creek brought joy and laughter. Elementary. He was a cool, He knew how to make me down-to-earth person. He would always talk to people laugh at any moment and most of the time it was at a and make them laugh; he was the life of the party. He random moment. I’m really going to miss him,” Parhms always loved hanging out said. with his family and friends anytime he could get the “I wasn’t that close to chance. Aaron always had Aaron as most people a smile on his face every were,” said Imani Madison, time I saw him. Whether it another friend. “But I was just walking down the know that he was a wonderstreet or if I actually saw ful soul. His smile–his him and waved he kept that smile was contagious, his smile. And when we didn’t laugh was hilarious and see each other for a long just like every person that time somehow we would knew him lost a great spirit always find each other at this year. I’ll miss him,” Wal-Mart and we would sit Madison said. in McDonald’s and catch up on life. Aaron’s mother, Ivonne Malave, has worked with The last time I saw Aaron young people in Solano was at a corner store in County. She and her son Fairfield just a week before touched many lives in many he was killed. I waved at different ways. Aaron was him and we talked for a her only son. I guess the brief minute. Then he said greats really do die young. “I’ll see you later.” Rest in Paradise Aaron, you will be deeply missed. That was the last thing he said to me. I just didn’t know that the “later” would To assist the family with expenses, contribute at: be longer than expected. gofundme.com/a1n09k He was great friend to
corrections In the March 4 print edition of The Tempest, “Campus Conversation- Are you aware of adjunct awareness week?” on page 3, the wrong acronym was used in Laurie Cheatham’s quote. Cheatham is the union steward for CSEA. [California School Employees Association] On page 8 of the March 4 print edition of The Tempest, “Solano takes a loss to Laney”, the headline was incorrect. Solano lost to Alameda.
K
em’s orner
Alfie Alfonso
Stress + smoking = more smoking
I’m what’s known as a “stress smoker.” This means that the more I stress myself about something, the louder the cancer stick talks to me. Especially when it’s time for finals or I have a 10-page paper due in two days and I haven’t even started the research. So, the no smoking ban on campus doesn’t really make for a less stressed-out me. The enforcement of this initiative--up to a $100 ticket if you’re caught firing up a stogie on campus–last year forced us nicotineaddicted people to try and catch that one last smoke before getting on campus. Then we’re lighting up as soon as we cross the boundary onto city streets. But seeing the many fresh cigarette butts on the ground daily when I come to school
3
opinion
THE TEMPEST n MARCH 18-MARCH 30, 2015
smokes a cigarette recently. Nearly 22 percent of adults aged 18-24 smoke.
doesn’t really seem as though the ban is working that well. On Aug. 20, 2014, the Solano Community College governing board amended the previous nonsmoking policy to also include tobacco products of any kind, electronic cigarettes, and vapor devices. Like smoking alone already wasn’t killing me enough, they went ahead and did Kemberlee Jones Staff writer this.
As of Jan. 1, 2015, Americans for Nonsmokers Rights reported there are at least 1,514 100 percent smoke-free campuses. Of these, 1,014 are 100 percent tobacco-free, and 587 prohibit the use of e-cigarettes anywhere on campus. That is significantly higher than October 2010, when 446 campuses had this policy in place.
That number will steadily climb because the pros of a nonsmoking campus far outweigh the cons. Cleaner, fresher air, less pollution, less trash around campus. That alone really is enough for me to almost be okay with the ban. ALMOST. Because I’m still a smoker and I’m on campus most of the day with a couple of breaks in between my classes. I’m dying (pun intended) for a smoke, so now I have to get in my car and take a ride. That is entirely too much just to make the time for
kjones@ solanotempest.net
They couldn’t even just leave us with one designated smoking area. They essentially “killed us” even though we were slowly killing ourselves. While I feel it’s unfair to just banish us all to a side street off campus for us to be able to light up, I understand the reasoning behind it. People who don’t smoke obviously don’t for a reason. Why should they be forced to breathe second-hand smoke walking through campus?
one cigarette. So it’s either suffer, or sneak and smoke one and hope campus police don’t catch you. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that nearly 22 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke. Some colleges implementing a smoking ban are hoping to encourage students to kick the habit as a result. To that end, college representatives share information on quitting with students and provide aids like nicotine patches and gum to students during school hours. So where are our gum and patches? How about a quit-smoking workshop during times that other people can utilize them? I’ve been wanting to stop smoking for a long time now. I have in fact quit before, but I had a lot of help. There seems to be not enough resources around campus to help assist a smoker with quitting this time around.
campus conversation reporter: Ning de Jesus photos: Qhianna Sanchez
What is the weirdest thing you have in your backpack?
“Pointing sticks – from anatomy. We use them to point to different structures on the bones and stuff. I tutor anatomy and physiology.”
“I don’t really have anything crazy in my bag. The only unusual thing I have in my bag today is make-up. I don’t usually bring it, I normally leave it at home.”
Ramiel Nacpil Nursing
Genesis Barreno Nursing
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
A highly caffeinated body building sports supplement that most people probably could not handle. I’ve had two scoops and you’re only allowed one. Might be crazy but nothing bad. Chris L. Graphics Department
My purple lipstick. I want to make my Monday a lot happier. It makes me feel daring and awesome
I have green tea in a can in my bag today. I don’t usually bring it to school. I just wanted to treat myself.
Amarah Genese Nocon Fitness Science
Abbygaile Baker Music and French
TEMPEST
THE
THE VOICE OF SOLANO COLLEGE
Dagmar Kuta staff writers:
editor-in-chief
staff photographers: news/features editor: Dagmar Kuta
Makafui Ahorney Mo’Nique Booker Luningning de Jesus Joy Harris Daphne Kuta Qhianna Sanchez Suzy-Jane Edwards-Freet
opinion editor: Kemberlee Jones
Kemberlee Jones Joy Harris
sports editors: Mo’Nique Booker and Joy Harris *
*
*
faculty adviser: Samanda Dorger
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
features Rhinoceros
s p onstage m o r THE TEMPEST n MARCH 18-MARCH 30, 2015
SCT presents Eugene Ionesco’s play Rhinoceros, directed by Joseph DeLorenzo Ning de Jesus Staff Writer ldejesus@solanotempest.net
If you’ve been wondering about the colored rhinos grazing around campus, come to the theatre this weekend and be enlightened about their transformation. The Solano College Theatre invites everyone to experience a “provocative and innovative theatre production...outside of the confines of realism” as it stages Eugene Ionesco’s Theatre of Derision play “Rhinoceros.” The power of the play lies in its being “a great piece of avant garde theater,” which “speaks to us today” and is still “relevant to today’s geopolitical landscape – to what is going on in Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe,” said director Joseph DeLorenzo. “Rhinoceros” was written as a direct reaction to the horrors and atrocities of WWII. It is set in a small town with ordinary people who start transforming into rhinos one by one until only the main character, Berenger, is left as a human, faced with the choice of whether to metamorphose as well or save
the human race. At first, the rhinos seem ugly and sound monstrous, but their trumpeting becomes more and more melodious as the play proceeds. “It is interesting that instead of making the choice black and white, Ionesco studies the unconscious process of how people make their choices. He shows how people were tricked or lied to. One character, for example, does not make the choice lightly but thinks about his sense of duty, and looks at all sides before deciding to change out of obligation to superiors. People don’t necessarily agree with what is happening but feel they don’t have the ability to stop it,” says DeLorenzo. DeLorenzo leads the cast of current and former Solano students in investigating Ionesco’s archetypes using non-naturalistic tools such as the physicality of commedia dell’arte, and biomechanics (the system of movement, expression, and gesture pioneered by Vsevolod Meyerhold) to arrive at a deeper understanding of character, emotional truth, and ultimately to enlighten, according to the Theatre Arts Department invitation.
Luningning de Jesus/Tempest
Suzy Jane Edwards-Freet/Tempest
Above: Theatre Arts students warming up for rehearsal. This production of Rhinoceros includes a lot of physicality and is highly movement based. Directly above: Emily Kistner dons her makeup for her portrayal of Ms. Butterfly in SCC’s upcoming performance of Rhinoceros. Right: A promotional photo used by SCT for marketing of the play.
“It is a new reaction and a bold reaction to what’s happening in our times,” says Justin Hernandez, who plays the Grocer. “There will be things onstage that you are not used to seeing, that are kind of skewed, or may not seem by our standards [part of] everyday life, but that does not mean it is not realistic, in that these characters are going through extraordinary circumstances.” “The show is an absurdist play, so the whole thing is just kind of ‘out there’, says Benjamin Yee, cast as the Logician. The dialog and extreme exaggerated physicality combine to make for a “through and through really unique artistic vision that you don’t see a whole lot of.” “This is something that doesn’t show up a lot,” says Yee, pointing out that this production is adventurous and far from the “safe bets” of more familiar theater fare. “Being that kind of a unique experience, you really want to latch on to those when they show up.” “This show is about peeling away of layers,” says Darcia Tipton, who has been working with Drama 47 Build lab students for nine weeks to create the show’s set and props.
Tipton encourages people to come see the show because “first of all, it is very entertaining, and it is a style of theatre that you don’t get to see very often...it is not your run of the mill production.” As they watch an entertaining production with great costumes and interesting set design, DeLorenzo encourages the audience to “take a moment to think about this wild idea: What if the person sitting next to you turned into a rhinoceros? What if everyone in this theater were transformed? What if every person you know changed? Would you succumb to the epidemic of metamorphosis? Or, would you hold on to your individuality and stand alone?” “Rhinoceros” opens at 7:30 pm on Friday, March 20, 2015 at Solano College Theater in Fairfield. Additional show dates are March 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2015. There will be matinees at 2:00 pm on March 21, 22, 28 and 29. The cast and crew will also host a special “talkback” session after the March 21 matinee, where they will field questions from the audience on the finer points of the play. Tickets can be purchased on BrownPaperTickets.com.
features 5
THE TEMPEST n MARCH 18-MARCH 30, 2015
Love is Kind
Student’s graffiti-covered car inspired by Ferguson events Joy Harris Sports Co-editor jharris@solanotempest.net
Most car enthusiasts have some grand perception of what the ideal car entails. Some like spoilers and suicide doors, while others fancy 26” chrome rims with a candy paint job to top it all off. Muscle cars, sports cars, luxury cars, and SUVs each find their way to the top of someone’s list as an expression of personal style. For one student, however, her car represents far more than just a trendy fashion statement. Twenty-year-old Mimi Elias is the owner of a blue, 2002 graffiti-covered Ford Mustang. The car is decorated with white spray paint; however, the art featured on Elias’ car is not the typical graffiti one might imagine. This car showcases inspirational phrases such as “love is kind,” painted on the side of the car,
and “love is all” on the bumper. In addition to the phrases, Elias has prominently painted the names of the victims of recent controversial homicide trials. These individuals include Andy Lopez, a 13-yearold boy who was shot and killed in Santa Rosa by a Sonoma County sheriff; Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed in a park by a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio; and Eric Garner, a New York man who is remembered by many for his last words, “I can’t breathe,” while being held to the ground in a chokehold by police. “I got the idea from watching Ferguson protestors,” says Elias. “There was one car in Ferguson that was spray-painted with all the names of people that had been shot [and killed] by police officers and never had any justice brought to them.” In addition to expressing her feelings about recent controversies, Elias’ car is also a re-
flection of her everyday lifestyle. “These quotes are just things that I strive to live by,” she says. “Be kind to everyone, love, and peace; that’s what I believe in.” Elias, a six year vegetarian who is leaning toward Social Welfare as a major, views herself as a modern day hippie. Her ultimate goal is to earn a law degree so she can fight social injustice through the legal systems. As an avid activist for human rights, animal rights, and gay rights, she has attended several protests in the bay area in support of social causes and other incidents she refers to as “recent social injustices.” “We were at a protest in Berkeley and everything was going insane,” she says. “I started playing a song in my car and all of a sudden I was surrounded by a bunch of protestors. Everybody saw my car and started shaking my hand. It was so touching.” A Mustang is bound to turn the heads of
most muscle car lovers, but with the décor added to this particular ‘Stang, Elias certainly receives more attention than the average Mustang owner. “The majority of the people who see my car will honk in agreement, but some people will shake their heads and ask me why I would do such a thing to such a nice car,” she says. However, Elias is focused on more than just driving a slick ride each time she cranks up the engine of her Mustang; she is determined to drive social awareness and change. Despite the disapproving remarks she receives, this peace-seeker has no regrets about her decision to jazz up her car. “It’s my car,” says Elias. “I can do whatever I want with it, and what better thing to do with it than to spread messages through it?”
Dagmar Kuta/Tempest
6 news
THE TEMPEST n MARCH 18 - MARCH 30, 2015
Solano Speaking Falcons Soar High at State Championships Daphne Kuta Staff Writer daphnekuta@solanotempest
Solano’s Speaking Falcons swooped down and conquered the California Community College Forensics Association’s State Championships tournament in Los Angeles last March 11-15, 2015, bringing home gold, silver and bronze in both speech and debate. Destiney Smith outgunned 50 International Public Debate Association (IPDA) debaters to capture the gold for a haul of 15 team points. Remington Green bested 40 Informative speakers to snatch the silver,
Green said she “felt pretty good, but there is always room for improvement.” She said that she knows what she needs to do to be better, and that “talent doesn’t always beat hard work.” Green admits she is stoked to be able to attend Nationals, and is excited to see how she ranks against the nation’s best contenders. She looks forward to taking home gold. Lucy Murillo and Daphne Kuta grabbed bronze to add 17.5 team points to Solano’s stash. Alice Hoover took the bronze in the National Forensics Association Lincoln Douglas debate (NFA-LD), for 7.5 team
points, while Smith and Kaleb HendersonRedd latched on to the bronze in Parliamentary debate with a 4-2 streak for 10 team points. Overall, Solano College Speaking Falcons flew home with 50 points. Coach Darren Phalen said the tournament “went extremely well, considering we have mostly a first year team.” Phalen said the “competitive” team were “fun cool people” who “did fantastic and represented the Solano Speaking Falcons really well.” Henderson-Redd said the team did “really, really good… in the events we were most comfortable in.” He said he does not feel
nervous about going to nationals, since he knows what the competition is going to look like. “I know what I need to do to be competitive, to have enough energy. I know the level I need to perform at. I am motivated – I want to be the top speaker,” HendersonRedd said. “The main thing is to always believe in yourself, and to always believe you can even though the odds are not in your favor. If you can be creative enough to figure it out, you can do it,” Henderson-Redd said.
Quinton Duval Award to be judged by Gary Thompson, poet and friend Ning de Jesus Staff Writer ldejesus@solanotempest.net
photo courtesy of Salazar
Salazar poses with the poster he created during his summer internship. The poster will be on display April 8 at the Marriot Marquis in San Francisco.
Internship leads to internship 7 INTERNSHIP, FROM PAGE
line silicon thin films.” The researchers “found that the absorption can be tuned, based on the amount of silicon nanocrystals deposited in the thin film.” This research may help develop durable solar cells absorbing maximum sunlight at low cost. As part of his internship, Salazar created a poster of his findings and will present it April 8 during the MRS spring meeting
and exhibit at the Marriot Marquis in San Francisco. Salazar’s presentation is one of about 5,300 accepted abstracts. “The program helped me understand that I am capable of working and thinking with the greatest minds in the world,” Salazar said in an e-mail. He has secured a similar internship for summer 2015 at Northwestern University.
Agricultural science added to SCC’s repertoire of classes 7 AGRICULTURE, FROM PAGE 6
Diehl mentioned the difference between the current horticulture program and the planned agriculture program. “Horticulture deals more with the homeowner residential perspective and basic plant sciences. Agriculture deals with a bigger scale; acreage versus residential size lots.” Students are invited to visit the Horticul-
ture department in the 1000 building to see what the students are doing. In addition, the department has a Mothers’ Day plant sale coming up on May 7 – 9. There will also be cut flower arrangements and proceeds will go to buying equipment for the students and funding the horticulture department’s scholarship program.
Gary Thompson, a close friend and former classmate of Quinton Duval, is this year’s Guest Judge for the 2015 Quinton Duval Award in Creative Writing, established upon Duval’s retirement after 29 years of teaching English at Solano College. Current and past Solano students who submit poems or short stories to the Suisun Valley Review by midnight of Wednesday, March 25, 2015 are eligible for consideration for the award, which includes a monetary prize. The winning entry will be published in the Spring 2015 edition of the Suisun Valley Review, and the winner’s name will also be inscribed on the Quinton Duval Award plaque hanging in the library on the main campus. Thompson is “wide-open” in literary tastes and does not favor any one style or approach. “Like most readers, I respond immediately to originality and to legitimate (by that I mean “earned”) surprises in a work. In addition, I value the sense of a human life behind the words, and that these particular words are coming from the depths of that life – there must be someone at home in the poem or story,” said Thompson. His advice for students preparing their pieces for submission: “Be sure to send ‘clean,’ easily-readable copies without spelling, typing, and other errors. As I used to tell my students, most editors read so many manuscripts, that you don’t want to give them an easy excuse to say ‘NO,’ by sending in manuscripts with blatant errors. On the other hand, we all know that art goes far beyond proper spelling and grammar, so there’s wiggle room here. I must admit that once or twice I’ve been guilty of sending out flawed manuscripts, much to my later chagrin, so don’t be intimidated by this suggestion. And finally, don’t try to out-guess the editors and judge, just send what you consider your best work.”
“Read, read, read. Go out of your way to find poems and stories and read them and think about them. When possible, read aloud (if only to yourself) to get those rhythms and cadences to resonate inside you,” Thompson said. “ As a creative writing teacher for 30 years or so, I can pretty much guarantee that the more you read, the better your writing will become. You just keep opening up new horizons for yourself and your work. Here’s a practical suggestion: go find previous issues of Suisun Valley Review (perhaps in the library or in the bookstore) and devour them,” said Thompson. For Edythe Haendel Schwartz, author of Exposure, Finishing line Press, 2007, and A Palette of Leaves, Mayapple Press, 2012, judging the 2014 Quinton Duval Award in Creative Writing a challenge, as many entries were strong. “I read the poems aloud repeatedly, and chose those that made the most memorable music for final consideration. From these, I selected several that best captured surprising and complex feelings with sharp imagery, fresh and distinctive language, and skilled use of metaphor. Finally, I focused on poems that moved me in some way to a new place–a place that broadened my cultural perspective.” She advises students to “First, read your work aloud. Read your work aloud again. And again. And again. If you don’t enjoy your poem after you’ve read it aloud many times, something is awry. Every time you read your poem aloud, you hear the rhythm and the sense; you hear material that clogs the focus of the poem-- words, phrases, lines that do not help the poem emerge. Reading aloud helps you cut and tighten.” “Second, revise, revise, revise. Ask yourself: Does the language enhance the poem’s focus? Does it surprise? Does the tone of the poem (joyful? dark?) meet your intentions? Do the form and meter work? Lastly, check for redundancies, inconsistencies, and of course, read it aloud again!” Thompson was the featured poet in last year’s edition of the Suisun Valley Review.
SPORTS 7
THE TEMPEST n March 18 - April 30, 2015
Softball coach awarded for 400 wins Interview with coach Pearson-Bloom Mo’Nique Booker Sports editor sbooker@solanotempest.net
Solano Community College softball coach Terri PearsonBloom has been coaching for 15 years at Solano and has been taking over Solano ever since. Pearson-Bloom was presented an award for her 400th win on Thursday March 5. In 2006 she started her winning streak. This year the team has a chance of winning their 10th consecutive Bay Valley Conference championship. We interviewed her and this is what she had to say: Tempest: How do you feel about the award that was presented to you? Pearson-Bloom: “It was very cool. The district club president, board president, athletic director, and president of the college came to the field and presented me with this award. It was very touching to me that they took the time to come out and present this to me.” What made you become a coach? “I had such a great experience as a collegiate athlete and learned a lot of life skills from my coach. I thought it would also be a great career and impact a lot of lives” What is your coaching philosophy? “To develop my players as an athlete and as a student and as a person so that they can be successful in all that they do. And I use softball as a tool to teach them those skills. I want to help develop their own individual potential. We work with them individually so that can be the best person they can be.” Do you think you reached your goal as a coach? “My career’s not over. So, no I have not reached it yet. Four hundred wins are cool, but it’s not my personal accomplishment. It is the program’s accomplishment. It is reflective of all the talented players, all the hard work of the assistant coaches and the support staff of the college and people.”
Tempest file photo
Pearson-Bloom, left, coaches back in 2011.
SOFTBALL HOME GAMES:
“It is a big team effort to have a successful program. I only coached here for 15 years and hopefully it’s not the end but the middle. And the biggest milestone for us is that we have the chance to win our 10th consecutive Bay Valley Conference title.”
March 24 Softball vs. Yuba College, 1p.m. April 2 Softball vs. Napa Valley College, 1 p.m., doubleheader
“I hope it doesn’t just stop at 10. I hope to set records, host and win another regional, and win championships. That our milestone for Solano College.”
April 14 Softball vs. Los Medanos College, 1 p.m., doubleheader At right, Pearson-Bloom hits a homer during a staff softball game against Kaiser Permanente in Sept. 2014. Tempest file photo
Sports Calendar March 19 *Baseball vs. Los Medanos College, 2:30 p.m. Softball at Los Medanos College, 1p.m. March 21 Baseball at Los Medanos College, 1p.m.
March 24 Baseball at Napa Valley College, 2:30 p.m. *Softball vs. Yuba College, 1p.m. March 26 *Baseball vs. Napa Valley College, 2:30 p.m.
March 28 *Baseball vs. Contra Costa College, 1p.m. 3-Way Softball: Solano vs. San Jose City College & Solano vs. Ohlone College, Fremont, noon and 2p.m.
March 29 * Solano Swim/Dive Invitational, 10a.m. March 31 Baseball at Contra Costa College, 2:30 p.m. Softball at Mendocino College, 1 p.m.
April 2 *Softball vs. Napa Valley College, 1 p.m., doubleheader April 3 *Baseball vs. Mendocino College, 2:30 p.m. *Home games
8
THE TEMPEST n March 18 - April 30, 2015
SPORTS
McGeorge School of Law serves loss papers to Solano
Joy Harris/Tempest
Solano player Jose Salazar darts head first into an army of McGeorge defenders during their game March 6 at Solano Community College.
Solano rugby forges ahead in first divison 2 season Joy Harris Tempest Sports Editor jharris@solanotempest.net
The Solano rugby team lost to McGeorge School of Law during their home game March 6. The final score was 39-26. Brandon Estrada, Marlon Orayne, Cameron Weekely, and team captain Chris Rico all scored tries for a total of five points each. Winger Schetar Akoto also contributed to the game scoring three conversions for a total of six points. “This is our first year in Division 2 league,” said Coach Rick Flynn. “Our closest match was a loss to Humboldt, 32-21. We led 21-20 with two minutes to play.” The loss to McGeorge leaves the Falcons with a record of 0-4. This was the last home game of the season for Solano. Their final game will be played on March 21 at Sierra College.
Joy Harris/Tempest
Solano player Brandon Estrada celebrates with teammates after scoring a try during the second half of the game. Solano lost 39-26.
Joy Harris/Tempest
Schetar Akoto goes for a two point conversion during the first half of their against McGeorge March 6. At left, A solano player gets taken down by McGeorge player.