Impact Magazine Spring 2018 by The Telescope

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T H E E X P A N D I N G C LO U D OF CANNABIS IN CALIFORNIA

WHO WE ARE The Associated Student Government operates as the voice of students at Palomar. We press for better changes in our community.

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We do this through our actions on various shared governance committees across the campus, and by our Student Trustee position, which represents our community at the district level. We need student leaders to continue to help pave the way for more educational opportunities, to create safe environments for people from all walks of life, and provide the community with events and activities geared towards making college experience as memorable as possible.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Help other students achieve their academic aspirations. Vote on important decisions regarding Palomar College. Connect and help fellow students during events. Build leadership and teamwork skills. Become a vessel for change on your campus. Travel with the ASG to advocate for community colleges.

Change begins with you.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE! palomar.edu/asg facebook.com/PalomarASG

twitter.com/Palomar_ASG

instagram.com/Palomar_ASG

IMPACT M A G A Z I N E

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bethany Nash

MANAGING EDITOR

Lexington Howe

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Linus Smith

COPY EDITORS CREATIVE DIRECTOR DESIGNERS

DESIGN ADVISOR WRITERS

PHOTO EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

ILLUSTRATORS ADVISOR ADVERTISING MANAGERS

Jennesh Agagas Victoria Price Maurice Thomas Jr Patrick Brennan Jordan Carroll Jose Herrera Joe Jaureguy Jay Schultz Amy Bigelow Samantha Cox Justin Enriquez Seji Gaerlan Pat Hartley Keanu Marble-Smith Skylar Miller Krista Moore Anissa Ocansey Brooke Reotutar Kylie Stearns Momoko Watarai Jenna Wilson

A people’s culture is a collection of thoughts and beliefs that cultivate an attitude of togetherness. It is culture that defines our identities as part of a grand community. However, in a world inhabited by over seven billion people, not everyone fits in the broad strokes created by mainstream culture. That is why this year’s IMPACT, is focusing on subcultures and stereotypes. Because whereas mainstream culture provides people with identity through community, subcultures provide people with identity through individuality. Mainstream culture would like to stereotype these subcultures, and put them in a box. But that won't fly. Our writers were tasked with the responsibility of unboxing these subcultures. Each writer has spent time investigating, studying and embracing a circle outside of their own. From the head bangers of punk music lovers, to the religious followers of the secluded cult “The Twelve Tribes.” College is a place to experience new ideas. We hope that by exposing these subcultures and tearing down these stereotypes you will be inspired to experience the world in a brand new light. Sincerely,

Savhanna Vargas Andrew Meer Cameron Niven Emily Whetstone Aubree Wiedmaier Rachel Sites Ramon I.Valdivia

Bethany Nash IMPACT Editor-in-Chief

Traytyn Bush Erin Hiro Natashia Copple Deb Hellman

IMPACT IS PRODUCED BY STUDENTS ENROLLED IN JOURNALISM 105, 215, 210, 215, 295. OFFERED AT PALOMAR COLLEGE IN SAN MARCOS, CALIF. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IMPACT OR FUTURE ISSUES, CONTACT ERIN HIRO AT EHIRO@PALOMAR.EDU IMPACT MAGAZINE 1140 W. MISSION ROAD, SAN MARCOS, CA 92069

Culture is our Essence

Give it up to your local Cult

Women of Risk: Trailblazing a Rough Terrain 12 Passion Brews Beer

Dear Photography

In the Digital Age, Vinyl Still has a Pulse

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The Changing Landscape of the Cannabis Industry Punk’s Not Dead

The Homeless Seek Refuge in a Lost City Take Me Back to the Renaissance Rovers of Tomorrow

Why Woman are getting Buzzed Sports are not X’s and Y’s A Silent Life

44 46

Anime: More than Asain Pop Culture From Ashes to Artwork

28 41

PHOTOS AND STORY

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BY BETHANY NASH

id you know that a group of adult men and women have formed a fandom called the bronies because of their love for “My Little Pony?”

According to whatisabrony.com, “A brony is a fan of ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ that is outside the target demographic of little girls. Most bronies are friendly teenagers and young adults who simply aren’t afraid to admit they enjoy a show which is innocent, colorful, and funny.” The official Brony Instagram, @bronyde, nearly 12,000 followers and there has been over 1 million posts on Instagram using #brony. The men and women alike hold conventions, have blogs, make swag, and even have their very own glossary full of terms, phrases, and words used by the bronies. We all have interests, passions, dreams, beliefs, and morals. We as humans desire to be connected with other people who share our perspective of the world. It is our innate desire to find that special home in which we feel as we belong. People grow up living in a culture, a common way of life. But, as they develop as people they begin to find a series of more narrowed cultures. In this, humans have developed subcultures, places they can connect with people of a like mind. According to the Oxford Dictionary a subculture is, “A cultural group within a larger culture, of-

ten having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.” Some people may not even realize they are a part of a subculture. From the music you listen to, to the shows you watch, the sports you’re into, and the pass times you love there are people with that common interest and together you have created and/or entered into a subculture.

Have you ever taken a moment to observe the cultural landscape around you? To observe people and their way of life? Have you ever taken time to talk to a stranger and hear their story, their views of life, politics, religion, and just sit and listen to their perspectives? It can be so eye opening and your world and perspectives have the opportunity to change, expand, and grow.

Palomar student and archaeologist, Mark Thompson, grew up traveling with his family and eventually continued traveling in his previous career working in the biotech industry. He cultivated a hunger to learn about culture and learn about the world. This brought him to Palomar to achieve his associate’s degree in archaeology. His goal was to simply be-

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When you walk by a stranger and you look at them and judge them based on some lifestyle or stereotype it closes you off from the opportunity to understand another world. Instead, when you walk by a stranger you should ask yourself, “I wonder who they are? What their life looks like? What their perception of the world is? Why are they the way they are?” Then take the time to begin answering those questions and understand the answers.

thropologists…It is really fascinating…I their living. Third is how a culture traces think it is just building up a body of in- their descent. Finally, every culture seems formation about cultures…Ultimately the to have some sort of religion or world pergoal is we want to understand their world spective that sets them apart as a culture. view, to get inside their head to see how they live and things,” Thompson explained. “And that to me is where the interest is… it is essentially social studies…subcultures are a big part of it…everyone is more or less the same, we have little clusters here or there of something…that people can identify with. We can According to Thompson there are at least learn a lot about ourselves by studyfour elements that every culture seems to ing other people,” Thompson said. hold. First, there is the politics of a culture, and how the society organizes itself If we look back and study cavemen, they under a governance. Second, a culture were a group of people that gravitated has its economy, which is the element of towards other people that looked and a culture that determines how they make acted like them. We as humans look for a

“YOU CAN BE A NAZI PATROLLING THE BORDER, BUT YOU STILL GOT TO PAY YOUR WATER BILL.” come a more informed traveler, and if the opportunity arises begin a new career. “Basically archaeology is all about the discovery and retrieval of artifacts… what it really comes back to is anthropology. All archaeologists are an-

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connection and a level of understanding. that is something these A place where we don’t have to explain Pashley then continued small worlds or subcul“WE CAN LEARN A LOT tures our personal beliefs, hobbies, fashion, etc. to explain that we as us. A place people should desire to ABOUT OURSELVES BY to findoffer a connection and Roughly five years ago an ex French car talk to other people of a STUDYING OTHER PEOPLE.” intimate relationships. journalist, who believed humanity was cre- different mind, desire to ated by aliens began a group called Regions. learn new perspectives According to WorldomThe Regions is a UFO based religion that of the world, and that there is something to eters world population clock there are follows this belief that everything was cre- learn in every subculture, “People should over 7 billion people that exist in the ated by an alien civilization and that some- get on the internet and talk to these people world. That is a big world. If we were day within the next 30 years or so the alien not try and change them or change their one big massive culture, how can we excivilization is going to come back to earth. opinions or anything like that. Just listen, pect to have any real connections or real hear their journeys, hear what they’ve been identities. We as humans crave something This belief of an ex car journalist through, and hear what they show you.” more intimate. The essence of who we are brought a group of people together uncomes from the tiny subcultures in which der an idea some people may feel is in- Finding that one has a strong desire we invest our lives. Anthropologist, Robin sane and others may feel is logical. But, to study all the ways people live their Dunbar, estimated that about 150 meanthis group of people found a place they lives might find themselves a career like ingful relationships is about the maximum can gather to celebrate a common belief. sociologist, Keith Kahn-Harris, who number that a human being can hold. has what he calls a, “curiosity for obBritish writer with Union Magazine, Mar- scure things in the world.” He consid- “Small worlds represent the hope of diversitin Pashley, travels the world to meet ers himself a student of small worlds. ty of heterogeneity of difference. They are and interview people of different subculall wildly different from another, but yet tures. Working to learn about them, un- “They are communities, scenes, subcul- as my research I think is showing they also derstand them, and showing the world tures, and groups. Small worlds are spac- have certain things in common. Drawing on that just because someone has a differ- es to which people devote their lives to the power of togetherness the power of beent way of living doesn’t mean they are which they find meaning. They’re often ing part of something bigger than yourself, any different from any other person. obscure, there are millions of them, and but not too big,” Keith-Kahn articulated. aside from family friends in the work“What have I learned on this journey, place they constitute one of the main areas Being a part of a small world, of a small well one there’s a lot of people out there where life is lived, but outsiders are often community in which we relate is not alienthat are into a lot of different things in unaware of them and their importance is ating and a culture in which is livable to the world. Two, even more obviously, often underestimated,” Kahn-Harris said. our being. There are so many existing subpeople are just people. You know, you cultures in the world, and all those little can be a Nazi patrolling the border be- Kahn-Harris feels that in such a big world small communities, which allows us to have tween Arizona and Mexico, but you still everyone is looking for a home, and an identity and an essence, is what creates got to pay your water bill,” Pashley said. the big, beautiful, creative world we live in. The next time that you go out and walk by a stranger that peaks your interest don’t look at the obvious, don’t look at their stereotypes, rather find out what small worlds they come from, who they are, and what makes them interesting as a person. You may just discover something new about the world you are living in.

Give it up to your local Cult RACHEL SITES

Story by: Keanu Marble-Smith

The Yellow Deli is actually one of the revenue streams of a Christian sect currently called “The Twelve Tribes Community” or simply “The Community.” It was founded in 1972 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by a high school teacher named Elbert “Gene” Spriggs. Gene changed his name to Yonuq

doctrines include the cursed nature of Jews, subservience of women, and, probably most shocking, an intense fixation on child-beating. It is this pet precept of Spriggs that has gotten the church into legal hot water around the world.

Beating children is “not optional; it’s a command,” and those who do not physically punish their children are “liberal parents [who] are working with Satan’s angels bringing in lawlessness and ultimately the anti-Christ. It is necessary to beat a child hard enough to create pain, which goes deep into the child, right to the heart, like electricity.” In leaked copies of the church’s Child Training Manual, the necessity and strategies for child-beating are expounded for over 300 pages. “The controlled use of pain in child training is not cruel and will not cause him to fear his parents,” it reassures. The document gives advice on how to maximize pain, so that “if a strong-willed child can seemingly withstand the rod without breaking, it may be a real problem for the parent. One of several things may be wrong: the rod may be too small, the child may be too big to be brought under control of a rod, or he is in the process of placing his parents under his control.” Children as young as 6 months are beaten and it can be performed by any adult in the community. In many ways, child rearing is taken away from the parents and given to the community at large.

“Our children have been raised up on the rod of correction. We do not deny that, and if we go to jail for that, we go to jail.”

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bout six miles from Palomar and is the sect’s unprofessed prophet. College, in Vista, sits one of the most popular restau- Life in the Tribes is communal with rants in San Diego County. everything owned by the church. Like Anabaptist communalists such as the Stepping into the Yellow Hutterites and Bruderhofs, Yellow Deli, one enters another world. The 24- Deli employees are sect adherents who hour (except on Sabbath) deli’s interi- work without pay. They have sacrior is a mixture of Amish, Hippie, and ficed all they own to live and work in a woodsy with a touch of Middle-Earth. “for-profit organization with a religious purpose and a common treasury,” and live according to the teachings of Spriggs. Once you are seated by the staff, women in body-covering dresses or jumpers What began as Bible lessons in a small who eschew makeup and wear long restaurant in Tennessee has evolved braided hair will serve you organic into a multi-national corporation confarm-to-table sandwiches. Folksy scrib- taining nearly 80 properties in nine bles decorate the menu and the food countries. Every new member is a new served deserves its glowing reputation. employee and the more members there Organic fruits and vegetables, home- are, the more opportunities for exmade breads, and delicious pastries are pansion. The church owns a chain of all there to tempt every hungry patron. Yellow Delis, bakeries, hostels, farms, houses, schools, and multiple factoThe menu resembles something from a ries producing candles, furniture, soap, 1970s café with its handwritten friendand body lotion. They own their own ly “see ya there!” On the front and the construction company and even a 124deli hours and address are drawn inside foot long barquentine ship. No other a flower. Near the bottom is the line, religion so fully integrates labor and “We serve the fruit of the spirit at the spirituality with such capitalist zeal. deli,” and scattered around the store are pamphlets marked with a bold “NOT A While sitting in my booth, drinking mate TRACT; THIS IS AN INVITATION.” A tea and observing the friendly staff, it is sign says Yellow Deli will be closed for difficult to understand how such a seemthe entire week of Passover with a phone ingly mild group of hippies could follow number listed just in case someone would a man like Spriggs. He preaches the benwant to hang out with them during the efits of slavery for African-Americans, holy days. Most of the “invitations” I and once wrote that “It is horrible that read lament the vapidity of modern life someone would rise up to abolish slavwith its isolation, vanity, and self-cen- ery-what a wonderful opportunity that teredness. The last few pages of the tract blacks could be brought over here (the reveal that Yeshua and the Communi- U.S.) as slaves…if slaves were mistreatty is the answer to all the sadness and ed it was the fault of the slaves.” Other alienation and the sect supplies a hagiographic origin story of its founder as well.

Transgressions listed in the Manual severe enough for beatings include:

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1. Making diaper changes difficult. 2 . Failing to refer to adults as “abba and “imma” (the Hebrew words for father and mother). 3. Refusing to eat. 4. Whistling. 5. Dancing or singing incorrectly. 6. Not being fast enough at writing or studying. 7. Not finishing their food. 8. Eating or drinking without permission. 9. Saying forbidden words like “guy,” “dude,” “poop” and “pee.” 10. Using the bathroom without permission. 11. Accidentally breaking anything. 12. Whispering. 13. Not being in bed on time. 14. Wearing clothes not chosen by the community. 15. Being “passive aggressive” which the teaching explains as “standing on the outside while being seated on the inside,” meaning the child obeys but seems resentful. 16. Complaining, screaming or crying while being beaten. 17. Failing to be prompt even when obedient. 18. Speaking to another child without permission. 19. Engaging in any form of fantasy. Transgressions can bring the rod or in some cases a plank of wood two inches thick by four inches wide. In an interview

published in Burlington’s ABC TV affiliate, ex-member Noah Jones described the abuse he received: “They spanked me from my feet to my neck, all the way. I was black and blue basically head to toe.” Members are frequently denied outside medical attention causing some to die of their beatings as well as preventable diseases. There have been outbreaks of whooping cough in several communities because they do not vaccinate.

Republic and Romania to escape the barriers placed on what they see as the inability to freely practice their religion. In 2017, a Twelve Tribes compound in Spain was raided by authorities because of video evidence of child abuse. One of the largest FBI raids in U.S. history was performed in 1984 and nearly 140 children were removed from the Community after alleged abuse. The case was later dismissed and The Tribes’ attorney joined the Community and married one of its elite members.

Twelve Tribe children are employees alongside the adults. When the Community was cited for using child labor in the State of New York, Conde Nast cancelled their contract with Com- In a rare filmed appearance, Spriggs mon Sense soap and body lotion and spoke with the lawyer in tow on the Community-produced furniture was 16th anniversary of this raid. He spoke pulled from Robert Redford’s Sun- almost exclusively about “discipline” in dance catalog for the same reason. Re- children. Spriggs admits that “obviousports of children under 15 working ly there have been mistakes made” and more than 12 hour days and sleeping “we are not on our thrones yet,” but in the factories are not uncommon. then begins a rather lengthy and blunt defense of child beating. “Our chilThe Twelve Tribe’s problems, howevdren have been raised up on the rod of er, do not end at the American border. correction. We do not deny that, and if we go to jail for that, we go to jail.” In Bavaria, a state in southern Germany, homeschooling is illegal. The state He then singles out the cause of the recently concluded a lengthy legal bat- Columbine shooting as a result of the tle with the Community over their re- killers being “left to themselves” and fusal to put children into public schools. not beaten. A father who does not disThere was a temporary compromise cipline his children is not a real father where the Community was allowed to and his child is “illegitimate.” In Spriggs’ homeschool their children for a year un- mind it appears that all “transgressions” der supervision from the German State. ranging from mass shootings, drug use, The conflict with German authorities and even the liberal politics of Scandiclimaxed when 40 children were taken navia are a result of not being beaten as from the Community after finding ex- a child. Sounding on the verge of tears, tensive evidence of abuse. The German Spriggs eulogizes his school teachers, followers have now moved to the Czech coaches and father, heaping praise for

“NOT A TRACT; THIS IS AN INVITATION.” allowed to attend funerals of family members outside the Tribe. To join, one must give all their money and property to the church, making it all the more difficult to leave. The Community claims to be an egalitarian sect with no leader but decades of testimonies show that Spriggs’ authority is not to be questioned. These elements alone create an isolated niche where pressure and programming can push good and reasonable people to do things they would not do if it were not for self-preservation and standing in the group.

The kumbaya aesthetic of the group that patrons of the Yellow Delis established throughout North America and Canada does not square with what ex-members and lawsuits allege to happen away from non-member eyes. “When people join a group like this, their life will be turned upside down, their life will be destroyed,” Michael Painter said. He is an ex-member who spent over 18 years in the Community. He and other ex-members have described the Community as “devastating” to the lives of its members. Children are forbidden from having games or toys or reading anything but the Bible and Twelve Tribes’ literature. They are routinely beaten for things such as pretending to be an animal or an airplane, kept away from all television, music, and movies, and grow up shut off from the world of the people who patronize their many businesses. Former members say there is no path for anyone in the sect besides marriage, children, and long days of

No media or entertainment can be consumed of any kind. Members are not

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how they beat him saying it was these acts that made him love them “with all his heart.” He then says that the lack of physical assault is why the children of The Tribe must not enter public schools. The teaching is clear: if you want your child to love you, beat them. Spriggs has no known children of his own.

With these thoughts in mind, it was difficult to enjoy my pastrami sandwich and pea soup. Once I finished eating, I walked to the cashier and asked one of the Tribes members if they make their own mate tea. The Tribe member smiles and says, “Mostly yes, but we have some friends who help out.” He is hard labor in the church businesses. not going to say more. Outside, there are Twelve Tribes-created soaps, bread, and pastries being sold. I cross the corThe line between religion and cult is a ner and see a yellow truck with the hotly contested one and the “cult” label big Deli logo on its doors flanked by has been given to the Community many two Community-owned Morning Star times. Without beginning a theological Ranch trucks. Across the store I see one debate, Twelve Tribes contains some of the servers heading to the commuvery worrying symptoms of manipulanal house and wonder if she likes the tive and isolating groups. Members who life she lives in such an isolated valley. leave the Community are cut off from contact with whatever family remains in the group. Some were told that if they left they would become homosexual. Within the Community the broader world is looked at with both fear and contempt.

WOMEN OF RISK: 12

TRAILBLAZING A ROUGH TERRAIN

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STORY AND PHOTOS BY VICTORIA PRICE

t’s a Sunday afternoon, and the sun is shining down in North County San Diego. Off the I-15 freeway lies Pala Raceway, a haven for motor sport lovers, young and old. For most, it’s a weekend hobby. For some, it’s their life. But, where did it all begin?

While motocross seems to be such an American sport, it didn’t actually originate here. The sport originated in Europe, and then traveled overseas to the United States in the 1960s. By 1970, the American Motocross Association, or AMA, had developed its own competitive tour series. Its popularity skyrocketed, and the first AMA Motocross Championship race was held in Southern California at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1972. Since then, the sport has become even larger, with tours such as Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Lucas Oil Outdoor National Championships, the highly-coveted Monster Energy Cup, along with amateur tours all over the nation. When you look at a list of champions, whether it be for the Lucas Oil outdoor nationals or the Monster Energy series, most of them are male. It seems as though this is a sport that struggles to bring female riders into the spotlight. However, if you dig a little deeper into the sport, you find it has not always been the case.

PAST Women have been racing motocross since the sport traveled overseas, with the Women’s Motocross League forming in the 1970s. One of those trailblazers is Southern California native Mercedes Gonzalez.

Gonzalez won 14 titles throughout the course of her career, including national titles as well as Loretta Lynn titles. Loretta Lynn is a track in Tennessee, and one of the most well known tracks in motocross history. If a rider wants to race at Loretta Lynn, they must qualify, competing with riders from across the country, making it one of the most highly coveted titles in the sport. In the late 80s and early 90s, Gonzalez was a member of Kawasaki Team Green, one of the larger factory teams. She paved the way for the female riders that came after her, and inspired those who raced with her.

In 2008, Fiolek was the first female to be featured on the front of TransWorld Motocross, a well known motor sports magazine. She was also the first female rider to be brought onto the Honda Factory Racing Team. “Even though I was successful and had the first factory ride for a female, I realized the sport was not treating us women the same as guys, which it should be.” Fiolek also noted that women in the sport received very little television coverage, and they were not paid as much as men in the sport.”We had very little exposure (no tv coverage), the race and practice schedule is way off compared to guys, so was the purse. It’s really hard to risk my life for little money and feeling like it was so unequal for women,” Fiolek said.

ability to hear, but that’s never stopped her. Fiolek is now a representative for Husqvarna motorcycles, a company that also has their own racing team, and she runs her own motocross school, teaching riders of all ages the basics of the sport that travels all around the country.

PRESENT Without the the sport in we wouldn’t today, who by storm in

people who dominated the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, have the riders we know are taking the world the motocross industry.

Vicki Golden, a San Diego native, is one of the most well-known female riders in the industry today. While Golden has spent many years racing for standard motocross titles, she has become prominent in the area of freestyle motocross.

Fiolek is arguably one of the most well known females in the sport, due to her talent on a dirtbike. But, there’s a catch- Fiolek was born deaf, and communicates Freestyle motocross is an area using American S i g n L a n g u a g e . that feels daunting to many You could imag- dirt bike riders, due to the ine that being in a level of intensity and the risks sport such as motocross without the involved.

While average motocross is about racing and speed, freestyle motocross focuses more on jumps, tricks, and stunts. Freestyle riders use

ramps, hills, and sometimes even buildings to show off their talents. Since its introduction into the area in the late 90s, it has become a popular form of the sport. Freestyle motocross is an area that feels daunting to many dirt bike riders, due to the level of intensity and the risks involved. “It’s more of a mental hurdle than anything. It’s pretty obvious that Supercross is physically taxing. It’s also a mental sport, but in freestyle, you have to be very calculated,” Golden told TransWorld Motocross in 2017. “The consequences are way greater in freestyle. I can only practice a certain trick five or six times, and then I move on to something else. Muscle movement is key, and so is the mindset. You have to ask yourself, ‘How much do I want to scare myself today?’” In 2015, Golden became the first woman to qualify for the “Fast 40,” being one of the riders to transition into the main event after a qualifying race during the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. She was also the first woman to compete in a freestyle MotoX competition, and she currently holds three X-Games gold medals. Not everyone can start out as a professional, and that can be said for about every single sport that exists. With

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Women’s involvement in the sport steadily grew into the 2000s, with more professional female riders dominating the sport. Ashley Fiolek, a Michigan native, rose to prominence in 2008, when she won the Women’s Motocross (WMX) Championship. She then went on to win the championship in 2009, 2011, and 2012, before retiring from the sport in 2013.

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hard work and dedication, you can move up in the ranks and make a career for yourself doing what you love.

FUTURE

Those dirt tracks feel the presence of all walks of life, from young and old, male and female. Young girls race by the pits The future of women dominating the mo- on small dirt bikes, pigtails flying, donning their pink Fox Racing gear. Older That’s what Jessica Patterson did. Patter- tocross industry seems bright. Younger girls outlap the guys, with braids and son holds seven WMX titles, second to riders are coming into the sport and conponytails catching the air behind them. Mercedes Gonzalez. Patterson went pro- tinuing the legacy that has been left behind. fessional in 2000, after winning 42 amaSomeday, those young girls may compete teur titles in the sport. Currently, she races One of those young riders is 19-year-old for amateur and national titles, and join in the areas of outdoor motocross and is the ranks of Mercedes Hannah Hodges. Hodges a strong advocate for WMX. “I think we Gonzalez, Ashley Fiis currently a part of Kaneed the TV time and more exposure so olek, and Jessica Patwasaki Team Green, the Every weekend, friends that everyone in the world can see what terson, among the same team that Mercedes we do and hopefully give the other women and families flock down handful of women who Gonzalez was a part of. In the confidence to do what they want in have left their mark on 2013, she was named the the beaten path to a life. The WMX is pretty extreme and it is the motocross industry. 2013 AMA Female Moto haven of dirt and mud, a “man’s sport,” but like I said when othRider of the Year, and she leaving their gear dusty er people or women see what we’re doing, For kids dreaming of holds a few amateur titles. and their bodies sweaty, making it big, these they are in awe. The WMX allows peoShe is currently traveling ple to see that women can ride and race are the people they with Team Green and rac- but they wouldn’t have any kind of motorcycle and have fun. It look up to. Fiolek ofing all around the country. it any other way. demonstrates that women can race a sefered a word of advice ries and if they work hard enough even get for those girls who are a factory ride,” Patterson told MotoUSA. It’s no wonder that fans call Southern Cal- fierce enough to swing their leg over a dirt ifornia the home of the motocross indusbike, “Keep working hard. Don’t give up. try. Racing tracks clutter the open space, Set a goal and work hard: Your goal will headquarters sit off the I-15, miles apart The WMX allows people to come to you. Also, anything is possible.” from each other. Every weekend, friends see that women can ride and families flock down the beaten path and race any kind of motor- to a haven of dirt and mud, leaving their gear dusty and their bodies sweaty, but cycle and have fun. they wouldn’t have it any other way.

PASSION BREWS BEER Story by Krista Moore Cameron Niven

“There’s no better place to be a craft brewery than in San Diego.”

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ater, malts, yeast and hops are the blank canvas of beer. To the outside world they are brewers, but in the world of craft beer they are artists who create and twist flavors into mind blowing concoctions.

For decades a community of artists and drink engineers have taken their blank canvases of the simple structure of beer and grown into a culture of “beer geeks” as Ron Adams, owner of Prohibition Brewery in Vista would say. There is a sense of community in and around the world of craft beer and in Vista Calif. alone. there are 14 independent craft breweries. Among the 14 is Prohibition Brewing Company a small, family-owned brewery started by Ron and Kathy Adams. They are a couple who used their hobby-turned-passion into a business. Like many owners of these companies the couple started home brewing. Sharing their passion with family and friends they decided to take their craft and open it up to the public. Fast forward six years to a successful brewpub with loyal

Compared to big companies like Pizza Port or Ballast Point places like Prohibition has formed a bond like one you would see in a small town. That is one of the many things that make these small breweries so appealing. They are all so willing to help out not only each other, but also the community around them.

“The craft beer industry really is unique because while we’re all competitors, there is an amazing sense of camaraderie and willingness to help your fellow brewers,” Melody Crisp of Coronado Brewing Company said. “I think most craft breweries take to heart the adage, “a rising tide floats all boats,” so as a community, we work hard to further the industry as a whole. That idea of furthering the industry and really pushing the boundaries of what you can do with beer is something unique that Burgeon Beer Company has taken it and run with it.”

Anyone can brew their own “San Diego is known for its beer at home as a hobby but array of breweries and with it’s the passion of people like Chris Kramer and Matt four years ago, three most of them, still family owned.” About Rattner that has shaped San friends who grew up in Diego County into one of Carlsbad Calif. decided they the world’s largest craft beer communi- regulars and award winning beer. When wanted to take their love of beer and ties. After the age of prohibition when asked why being in the industry was so create their own brewery. After three the making and selling of alcohol was special Ron said, “There is a sense of years of non-stop work friends: Matoutlawed, there were no breweries in San community.” Being one of the first to thew Zipolo, Anthony Tallman, and DerDiego. Fifty-six years later, two friends, open up in Vista Prohibition has helped ek Van Leeuwen opened Burgeon Beer Kramer and Rattner, were passing a spread the appeal of craft beer. “We help Company. If you were to look up the football back and forth at their favorite each other out,” Ron said. “If some- definition of the word burgeon you spot at Mission Beach next to lifeguard one needs something we lend a hand.” would find it defined as begin to grow tower 10 when they had the idea of sharing their love for beer with the world. In the year of 1989 Karl Strauss Brewing Company was born. After the launch of Karl Strauss, San Diego County steadily grew and today it has over 150 craft breweries. It paved the way for smaller places such as Burgeon Beer Company. to come and put their twist on craft beer. Because of the extensive list of beer styles and the many different ways that brewers have reinvented them, the Craft Beer Association (CBA) has had to define what makes a brewery “craft.” To be considered a craft brewery you have to produce six million barrels or less of beer, 25 percent has to be owned by someone in the industry that is not a brewer and they have to be true to the traditional styles of beer.

and they created a pastry stout. That is one of their main goals as brewery according to Zipolo, one of the owners. It is that willingness and wanting to connect with the people around you that drives the industry of craft beer.

or increase rapidly; flourish. That is exactly what this little brewery has done and hopes to continue to do. Situated in between two big name breweries in Karl Strauss and Pizza Port, Burgeon has started to make a name for itself. Because they are only one year old they are still creating their core lineup of regular pouring beers, but hey have also become known for their ever changing rotation of tasty creations. In the spirit of helping and supporting their neighbors and local businesses, the men of Burgeon Beer decided that they were going to really test limits of beer. For their first anniversary the Burgeon Brewers took whole donuts from VG Donut and Bakery a place that they all grew up going to and loving,

Drinking craft beer has become somewhat of an art form itself, almost like tasting fine wine. It is an industry grown on the passion of people like Chris Kramer, Matt Rattner, and Ron and Kathy Adams. It will continue to thrive because of beer innovators like the men of Burgeon Beer that continue to push the limits of beer styles.

San Diego is known for having a unique style of IPA (India Pale Ale). It is a style of beer that people across the country try to imitate. It is one of the many reasons that Matthew of Burgeon Beer and “I think if you’re in the craft beer indusMelody Crisp of Coronado Brewing try, you are passionate about beer, peomentioned IPA’s as one of their favorite ple, and doing what you love everyday,” styles of beer. It is just one of the many Melody said. “It’s an awesome industry thing that make San Diego a destination to be a part of and there’s no better place for beer enthusiasts. It is also home to so to be a craft brewery than in San Diego.” many breweries that are family owned to this day. They have become a gathering place for not only their own families but the families in the community. The owners of Coronado Brewing Company are still there everyday and know the names of all of their employees. These staples in the craft community have changed the way young people are drinking. It has become increasingly clear that it is not just your stereotypical older generation of drinkers that are seeking out craft beer. Through organizations like the California Craft Brewers Association, National Brewers Association, and the San Diego Brewers Guild, the community of brewers work together to further the industry as a whole. Millennials are more willing now to pay the extra two dollars a pint to enjoy craft beer instead of buying your average case of Bud Light. It is more for the enjoyment of new and exciting flavors, rather than trying to get buzzed.

“I think if you’re in the craft beer industry, you are passionate about beer, people, and doing what you love everyday.”

Photos and Poem By Seji Gaerlan

Dear Photography, I heard a picture is worth a thousand words so with you, I decided to capture images of moments when my vocabulary has failed me. Sometimes I find my mouth tranquilized by the seconds that left me speechless,

Reason why I write sentences in shadows, canvased by my own perception of reality

Photography,

You have shown me an access to immortality.

My years,

Quantitated by my new found passion that brought me aperture to provide a depth of meaning into my life

Your ISO,

protected my insecurities drowned out the noise and I wonder if I could even ever thank you,

strapped in shutter speed.

My reality,

scribbled in the fingertips of the seconds my eyes perceived

you see,

I have created worlds,

spoke languages only imaginations could understand, faces became characters of my life story as if God has given me the power to function in between infinities So if someone ever goes up to my face and asks me what the meaning of life is, I will look down, stretch my lips from ear to ear, smile at the idea of the things that I have created with the way I see things, hand you my pictures and tell you This is the only meaning of life that is worth looking for.

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you’ve kept me grounded long enough to provide evidences of my existence

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IN THE DIGITAL AGE, VINYL STILL HAS A PULSE B Y

A M Y

B I G E L O W

ANDREW MEER

hang above a window. Huge film posters s music undoubtedly be- are located for sale near the back corner. comes more accessible in the 21st Century, vinyl re- “Everything we sell is obsolete,” stated cords prove to be a main- store-owner Kris, requesting not to share stay for Southern Califor- his last name, who has been working in nian record store Spindles Music Shack. the music business for over 30 years.

The Tower Plaza shopping center in While not in the market to sell imperaTemecula contains a variety of stores tive necessities, Spindles caters to many and restaurants for many locals to vis- customers who are music fans, espeit. Nestled between a movie theater and cially those who collect vinyl. People neighboring taco shop, stands a sanc- between the ages of 14 and 40 come in tuary for music lovers. Spindles Music frequently to browse the racks, lookShack is an independent record store ing for certain records. With a pleththat has been issuing out more than ora of music genres to choose from— just vinyl since 2009. Here, customers pop, grunge, jazz, blues, rockabilly can expect to find a wide array of items. and more— classic rock remains a top contender. This category includes artNeatly organized rows of CDs, classified ists such as AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, by genre and artist, line a wall of the Led Zeppelin, and The Who. If searchstore. Stacks of movies create a pathway ing for an original pressing or re-issue towards the checkout counter. Single 45 of Electric Ladyland (1968), try looking records are grouped near the front. Indiunder the Jimi Hendrix vinyl section. vidually-wrapped pictures of The Doors’ lead singer Jim Morrison can be found Can’t seem to find a specific LP? Do not in a box next to photos of Elvis Pres- hesitate to ask Kris, either he will assist ley and Mick Jagger. Packaged figurines in your search, or he can place an orfrom “The Simpsons” television show

der to have it in-store. “We sell around five records of The Beatles Abbey Road (1969) in the span of two months,” stated Kris. Working with distributors, Spindles’ inventory is based upon what their clientele wants. Many current artists who have published their music on vinyl, like Panic! At the Disco and Lana Del Rey, are also sold at Spindles. To some people, vinyl records may seem like an ‘outdated’ piece of plastic or a trend deemed only for millennial hipsters. As streaming services— like Spotify or Apple Music—give people a more convenient way enjoy their music on the go, how does vinyl stack up to digital competition? According to a 2017 Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) report, total revenues from streaming platforms comprised 65 percent of U.S. music industry revenues. Paid-subscription streaming services from Apple Music, Pandora Plus, Spo-

tify, and the first year of Amazon Unlimited produced a ground-breaking revenue of $4 billion. Now recognized as the biggest format of recorded music in the U.S., nearly 35.3 million paid subscriptions comprised 47 percent of the total market. On-demand streaming services supported by ads generated a revenue of $659 million in 2017. These services include platforms from YouTube, Vevo, and ad-supported Spotify. The Nielsen Company understatedly estimates these on-demand streaming services streamed more than 300 billion songs to fans in the U.S. last year. This does not account for the unreported streams on YouTube.

Given a simple breakdown, CD shipment declined 6 percent last year and only produced $1.1 billion. However, the revenue for vinyl increased by 10 percent and generated $395 million.

THE REBIRTH OF VINYL

like Barnes & Noble and Target, have been vying with mom and pop record shops to sell vinyl. The cost of buying records depends on where and what kind of music one is seeking to find. Typically, big-name corporations advertise popular vinyl from current recording artists or re-issues of older albums. A price comparison of the Talking Heads’ True Stories (1986) is drastic— including tax, Barnes & Noble sells this LP for $20, whereas from Spindles’ bargain bin, the same album is sold for $7.

Though it appears digital music is topping the charts, it has NOT completely squashed vinyl records. Over At Spindles, “we try to price vinyl a a decade since its resurgence, vi- buck or two under chain stores” statnyl continues to thrive in a techno- ed Kris. “Of course, more expensive logically-driven world, especially records have a longer shelf life.” Along Revenues for digitally downloaded music, included full songs from at local record stores like Spindles. with discounted LPs, Spindles gives people the option to trade in vinyl, but sites such as Amazon, fell 25 percent from the previous year to $1.3 billion. Yet, in recent years, many retail outlets, these records must be in sellable shape.

For the first time since 2011, revenues from physical products (CDs and vinyl) exceeded those from digital downloads. Overall, shipments of physical products produced $1.5 billion in revenue and comprised 17 percent of industry total.

For the first time since 2011, revenues from physical products (CDs and vinyl) exceeded those from digital downloads.

Owning an independent record store takes commitment. Open six days a week, Spindles continues to strive in the Temecula area. Along with his customers, Kris credits the new-found appreciation of many vinyl fans for allowing his business to pros-

per. “This current generation has really embraced vinyl,” stated Kris. Quite a few of the store regulars come in looking to replenish their vinyl collection they had tossed out years before. Usually, younger patrons will buy vinyl because it is trendy— those are the ones who will probably hang LPs on the wall. Though, most Spindles customers are genuine music lovers who will stick with vinyl long after the trend fades. Frequent Spindles consumer Jonny Curry, 20, has been collecting records for five years. After inheriting a collection from his mom, Curry’s love for vinyl grew. “It’s a piece of history— you can’t go back to 1971, but you can listen to it,” Curry stated.

Most Spindles customers are genuine music lovers who will stick with vinyl long after the trend fades.

Erin Burkett, co-founder of independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, believes in this philosophy. Based out of San Francisco, this label was founded in 1990 by NOFX front man Michael ‘Fat Mike’ Burkett and his then-girlfriend, Erin. Intent on publishing the music of punk band, NOFX, Fat Wreck Chords grew through word of mouth— particularly around the punk scene. Now, almost 30 years later, Fat Wreck Chords has worked with over 115 bands and continues to distribute vinyl to many record stores, including Spindles. “There is something about being able to hold a record in your hand, comb thru the inserts or the booklet, and feel the musical grooves in the vinyl of a band you love that cannot be replicated digitally” stated Erin. “True music lovers will never abandon vinyl.”

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To many vinyl fanatics like Curry, one great aspect of collecting records is the unbeatable sound. Every crackle and hiss of needle on wax can’t be found on a digital format. In an era where life is more digitized, a multitude of people may look towards vinyl to retain something physical.

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Recreational Marijuana is legal in the State of California. What Now?

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY

RAMON I. VALDIVIA

WRITTEN BY BROOKE REOTUTAR

An armed security guard donning a bullet-proof vest informs the growing crowd outside to line up single file against a brick wall, IDs ready, as electronic music plays from a speaker next to a table of merchandise stamped with a signature green leaf.  These people eagerly wait in line to legally purchase medical, and/or recreational marijuana.

"I am intrigued by how much we still don’t know about cannabis and how much potential there is"

Why? A number of factors have caused certain players of this industry to stay low-key, while other players are dominating the game. More than 5,000 cannabis operators, from Shasta Lake to the City of San Diego, hold state licenses in the largest cannabis market in the country, as stated by the California Cannabis Portal. Those who are compliant, tout their role in the industry and the impact it has on their lives, while others hide behind a cloud of smoke in fear of having a misstep with the new laws. Federal law still prohibits marijuana. The U.S classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug falling under the same category as other drugs such as heroin. Navigating this tricky concept has been a triumph for some and a downfall, or work-in-progress for others.

Torrey Holistics is the first licensed and permitted cannabis dispensary in the State of California. Located in San Diego, the enterprise, along with countless others, underwent drastic change upon the legalization of recreational marijuana in January.

The fact is, while some are in compliance with state laws, numerous companies in North County and San Diego are functioning and thriving illegally.

“During this time, we had to work quickly and with great thoroughness and vigilance to ensure we met all compliance standards,” Ruthie Edelson, Marketing Director of Torrey Holistics said.

Look through a micro lense of San Diego and parts of North County to see how people involved in various parts of the industry are handling the rapidly changing landscape of cannabis.

While cannabis is projected to funnel over $5 billion in revenue by the year 2019, this new legislation initially had a ‘cloud’ of confusion cast over it and uncertainty for many of those involved in the industry. Some companies are thriving and compliant. Others operate underground and risk their chances of being shut down, some of whom refused to be interviewed for this article. While the legislation made major headlines promptly

The cloud over the law: “We have spent millions of dollars battling illegals operators. The people who will be first in line to ask for stronger enforcement are those who possess a legal license,” Vista City Council Member, John B. Franklin stated at the city’s Special Marijuana Initiatives Workshop Meeting on March 20.

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Inside the dispensary, the waiting room is sparkling clean with iPads for sign-ins, flat screen televisions and a separate consultation area for those who wish to inquire about medical treatments. Their products line the shelves with a colorful array of options ranging from ‘Hey Jude’ flower, to ‘Cinnamon’ capsules and cannabis infused ‘Bonfire S’mores.’

after the legislation took effect in January, most of the coverage has quieted five months later.

At the meeting, city officials debated details such as how many dispensaries should be permitted and what locations. A main focus of conversation: how cannabis will impact their city’s economy.

my life back,” Beth said.

The law approved by voters in 2016, Proposition 64, does not in fact grant total freedom to cultivate, purchase and smoke-up wherever and whenever one pleases.

She is also a renowned Cannabis Consultant at Torrey Holistics and a strong advocate for recreational and medicinal marijuana. “I meet with patients to help them understand how to incorporate weed into their lives and what it can do for them. I am a scientist, so I lead them towards peer reviewed, well known literature and resources and letting them know what the research means,” Beth added.

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According to the Bureau of Cannabis Control, one must apply for a yearly state license, a process that proves to be extensive when taking into account compliance with local jurisdictions. That being said, it is up to the cities, such as Vista, to decide how to handle their mini industries.

Using knowledge gained from both her educational background and personal experience, Beth claimed that the cannabis industry was the most logical lateral field to transition to after leaving pharmacology.

There have been over 150 cannabinoids identified that have not been tapped to their full potential. “I am for storefronts, delivery, testing and manufacturing of cannabis for our city. I have slight concerns in regards to what it may initially do to property value, but I believe what it does to our economy and community, it brings jobs in, it brings higher tax revenue,” Vista City Council Member, Joe Green said. Vista’s proposed council initiative would allow two sites for marijuana cultivation and two for testing and research. It would also permit two retail storefronts, and two delivery services. This initative is restricted for medical marijuana use only. Local jurisdictions continue to work on how cannabis will be incorporated into their individual communities and economies. Meanwhile, cities like Vista continue to shut down black market, illegal retail shops to make room for legal storefronts and allow those to flourish. What about the growers?

Beth is just one of the growing number of proponents for scientific cannabis research. “I wanted to take a really scientific approach to my work as a consultant as opposed to a stoner approach,” Beth said. This area remains particularly cloudy, because it is not permitted in North County San Diego. “At this point it is illegal for farmers to produce cannabis in San Diego County,” Eric Larson, Executive Director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau explained. “In a couple cities they only allow farming inside industrial buildings.”

The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego has three active studies underway that examine the effects of cannabis on factors such as HIV neuropathic pain and driving performance.

Cannabis Innovation Today:

There have been over 150 cannabinoids identified that have not been tapped to their full potential. THC and CBD are merely the two most commonly known.

A woman named Beth, who has a PhD in Molecular Biology and biochemistry from University of California Irvine, is a breast cancer survivor. She requested her last name not be used. “Chemo made me lose 45 pounds and gave me relentless headaches and other horrible side effects. The medications made it worse. Weed was the only thing that would alleviate my pain. It gave me

“I am intrigued by how much we still don’t know about cannabis and how much potential there is,” Beth said. The scientific route is only one innovative way people are capitalizing on the cannabis industry. Marketers, editors and journalists are jumping on board as well.

Pro-cannabis publications are debuting and revamping their efforts to highlight all things marijuana for a growing viewership. Sensi Magazine, a local city lifestyle brand centered around the cannabis industry coins itself as a publication dedicated to showcasing the “new normal in the postprohibition world.”

Cannabis Delivery Alliance and co-founder of Flame & Leaf noticed how the industry has changed throughout his decade of experience. “I was on the frontlines of the industry when I first started 12 years ago. The ‘sexiness’ of a common dispensary has already faded,” Humeid said.

companies in the future. “There’s an open space for pharma and cannabis to co-exist and even work in conjunction, such as producing more over the counter drugs that are cannabis based,” Dr. Beth said.

Humeid noted that the public’s standards in regards to the product and customer service increased since he started: “What people want now is safe, reliable access. They want to be able to reach out to an educated cannabis therapy practitioner to teach them what they need properly.” Back at Torrey Holistics, the team strives to grow the line that already filters out the door.

"We will be toasting to the spread of legalization."

Launched in Colorado in 2016, Sensi Magazine now publishes monthly editions in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Boston and Las Vegas and plans to expand to over 60 markets in 2018. Through social media, brands like Sensi promote their publications and build a loyal following. Launch parties unify local businesses and provide a platform for networking.

The Future of the Industry: Long gone are the days that pot is unanimously stereotyped as a lowly substance ruining the minds of users and corrupting our society. While opponents of the cannabis industry still exist, the growing number of supporters contribute to the diminishing of the stigma. About 6-in-10 Americans believe marijuana use should be legalized, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade, according to a Pew Research Center survey in 2017. By the year 2021, the industry is projected to haul in around $17 billion in revenue according to the Hemp Business Journal. Sam Humeid, President of the San Diego

Morgan Sutton, an independent contractor and product developer (CBD exclusively) based out of San Diego has broad hopes for the industry. “Ideally, I envision that cannabis will be legalized on a national level, which would make room for more innovation and breakthrough medical research,” Sutton said. Dr. Beth foresees the industry integrating with pharmaceutical

Through professionalism, compliance and marketing strategy, San Diego and surrounding counties are bringing the industry into a new frontier. All proponents of the legal cannabis agree that while they may encounter rough landscape along the way, there’s only one way for the industry to go: up.

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In an Instagram post, Sensi Magazine promoted their San Diego edition launch: “We will be toasting to the spread of legalization, the spread of Sensi and the start of our growing network of procannabis lifestyle magazine popping up all over the country.”

Humeid explained that the future of the industry is moving towards delivery and independent cannabis therapy practitioners or product developers.

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JENNESH AGAGAS

unk can mean many things, an outlet for frustration, the out-there fashion, the attitude to live by, the freedom to create, and the mindset to question authority. One thing punk isn’t, is DEAD.

For nearly 40 years punk rock has remained a constant for Southern California’s underground scene and shows no signs of slowing down. Punk music has been a threshold for individuals to express themselves in their purest form, as well as cultivating an image of violence, deviance and repugnance at the very inception of the subculture. It’s become a form of expression that goes further than fashion or rebellion, it’s an alternative lifestyle divergent from the norms of society.

“PUNK IS AN ATTITUDE”

SAVHANNA VARGAS CAMERON NIVEN

The beauty of punk rock is that it is pure, raw emotion, an exposed nerve that doesn’t need to be slick and polished to get its point across.

BY JENNESH AGAGAS

Sitting in their jam space in Vista, the In a beat down car repair shop next to members of Vietnam Hardcore, who a skatepark, old-school punk band Viet- were in their mid to late 20’s, shared nam Hardcore jams out in a tight room their inspirations behind their muwith walls chipped of blue paint. Wearing sic, the struggles they’ve faced as a a green bomber jacket, lead vocalist Marty band, and what it means to be punk. Martinez grabs his mic shouting the lyrics to their song Headed Nowhere. The room “Punk is an attitude, I’m sorry. You can engulfs with loud, aggressive music vibrat- have all the clothes, you can have all the reing off the walls. cords, but at the end of the day if you don’t have the attitude, then I’m sorry,” said lead “Going nowhere was really fitting be- guitarist Isaac, as he drank a cold beer. cause I was living in a garage at my aunt’s house and I finished school with no It’s an attitude, but not all punks share the work. Just trying to find odd man jobs,” same attitude. “For some people, Green said Martinez. Day is the epitome of punk to them, be-

“PUNK MUSIC WAS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.”

cause based on their level of understanding that could be the most extreme,” drummer Kaleb Calem said, wearing a black Motorhead England T-shirt “To me, everything is on a different scale of comprehension. What’s punk to somebody is not punk to somebody else.” Punk as we know it -- the music, the attitude, the fashion and the disgust made its appearance in the mid-70’s taking over the U.S. and the U.K. as the Clash, The Sex Pistols, and the Ramones toured the countries. Punk music was a breath of fresh air from the hippies and disco music. It was a revolution for young people to express their frustration over the dissatisfaction with the recession and social injustices. The genre is described as faster, heavier and more abrasive sound. Punk band Dark Visions of Terror (D.V.T) used their youth adolescence angst towards their music,

bringing in a local intimate scene to Temecula. “Shows are the best way to channel anything you’re going through,” said Christian Sia, 23. Wearing a studded jean vest embellished with a D.V.T and cheetah print patch on his shoulders, Sia has been a part of the punk music scene since high school of 2009 where he met most of his bandmates. “Getting started with the punk scene and music. I got into it through my dad, he used to play these little mix CDs with random punk music, random metal music. As I got older I started to understand why the music is the way it is, very aggressive, violent, chaos,” he said passionately. “Well it’s ‘cause we live in a world of order, we have to abide by the rules and what better way to break all the rules, going to a show.” Years ago bands in Temecula had a hub where any artist could perform and be connected to the community. The Vault was the place to be on the weekends, where Sia said it didn’t matter what show it was, whether it was punks, metalheads and all different music lovers at one show. He added there was no left or right, no red or blue. Where venues have failed, bands like Graveyard Witch have providid a sanctuary for local music. In a backyard of a culde-sac neighborhood , all types of genres could be heard from punk to hip-hop to heavy metal. Walking through the wooden backyard door, a porta potty, kegs and Graveyard Witch merchandise could be seen. Over 100 metalheads, punk kids and hipsters basked in each other’s company and moshed while bands performed on a handmade stage.

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I M PA C T

LIBERATION

While the sound of punk has evolved throughout the years, it remains to be seen where punk will move next. But as the dynamic scene filled with creative and varied individuals, seems to say the genre is alive and well. There’s no denying the roots of punk will always prevail. “It’s funny ‘ cause you can apply the punk attitude to many different mu sics,” Sia said. “It’s a universal thing I believe.”

Textbook Assistance

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THE HOMELESS SEEK REFUGE IN A LOST CITY

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Story and Photos by: Justin Enriquez

I M PA C T

The American dream has become an American Illusion

ith the rise of poverty and the working class, there are many hurdles that have to be made known to the community. The streets of Los Angeles are dark and mysterious within every corner and alley. Downtown Los Angeles contains many luxurious areas such as the art district, which is filled with creative murals, new restaurants and niche bars to drink to the heart’s content, boutiques to shop that intrigue the wealthy.

But near these amenities of luxury and comfort in the art district lies an area nicknamed “Skid Row,” a district plagued by poverty that has been on the rise since 2007, but with very little help, the growth of homelessness has been steadily rising every year. It creates an area where people are shouting in tongues similar to those heard in horror films, and women with children are pushing shopping carts in the middle of the street. It’s a place where the birds and the people delight in walking and talking to each other. Drugs begin to take the most desperate of people, causing their minds to shift, they themselves cause utter madness within this dystopian area.

It’s a place of despair, where the cry of the needy are clashed by the glitz and glamor of the richer class. In luxurious areas such as Hollywood, a place so vast in wealth, they do hardly anything to help with surrounding communities.

experiencing chronic homelessness (12.2 percent increase), and people experiencing unsheltered homelessness (9.4 percent increase).” Specifically California, the beacon of progressivism has experienced an increase of homelessness. According to the above report, “California reported the largest increase in unsheltered homelessness by far (13,252 people) as well as the largest increase in chronically homeless individuals (5,996 people).”

There was an estimation by the National Alliance report that indicates,“There are an estimated 553,742 people in the According to a yearly report by The United States experiencing homelessness National Alliance to end homelessness, on any given night, according to the most “From 2016 to 2017, homelessness recent national point-in-time estimate increased nationally by 0.7 percent. (January 2017).” It goes on to say that The largest increases were among approximately, “17 people experience unaccompanied children and young homelessness per every 10,000 people in adults (14.3 percent increase), individuals the general population.”

To continue to suppress the homeless, county laws are then placed to expunge them from the streets such as the Los Angeles County code 41.18(a), which is targeted at the homeless, prohibits individuals from occupying any space on public sidewalks that might be considered an irritation by passerby’s. Why do we as a community allow our state to continue punishing the homeless while we ignore the issue, creating a complex and inexcusable problem? Other counties in surrounding areas have done the same to remove homelessness with brute force. For example, the Oceanside County law to remove homelessness from the beaches, is in section code 19.5 in which it states, “No person shall maintain or occupy any overnight camp or sleep otherwise on the beach during the hours between sundown

I M PA C T

and sunrise, nor maintain or occupy at any time a tent.” We do this in the name of security, but in fact we do this to pretend to resolve the issue, but we do not solve the main problem. From homeless to the working class, the

discourage the properties of the welfare state that invigorated the working and the middle class during the New Deal era. Those with power want to abolish all unions and organizations to prevent a voice in the working class. It creates a dilemma for those who work full time but

Those with power want to abolish all unions and organizations to prevent a voice in the working class. difference is very little while the homeless cannot make ends meet. Through this it have to deal with where to put their tents creates more anxiety of the working class or cardboard boxes. The working class while economically suffocating the middle has worries of getting a job, or trying class. to pay the bills on time. Though the welfare system has been on a downward The American dream has become an spiral through political actions and new “American Illusion” according to law laws, it becomes ill funded to help even professor Philip Alston, who in 2014 was the working class that struggle everyday appointed as a United Nations special to make ends meet. Thus many wish to rapporteur on extreme poverty and human

rights. According to his report on what he found in the major areas, it reveals the struggle of the working class to make ends meet, that according to NPR, “stereotypes serve to undermine the poor — and are used to justify not coming to their aid. So the rich are industrious, entrepreneurial, patriotic and the drivers of economic success. The poor, on the other hand, are wasters, losers and scammers,” Alston said. And because of this, he said, that many people believe, “Money spent on welfare is money down the drain. Money devoted to the rich is a sound investment.”

Thus, many people including those with power, succumb to this false narrative that the poor only use welfare for their own benefit, lust for materialistic luxuries such as a smartphone rather than helping with the basic necessities such as finding employment. As this becomes mainstream with more biased media, the poor become

ever more poor with corporate growth and low-income wages that do nothing for the proletariat masses of this country. The plutocrats (person power derives from their wealth) have become ever more greedy and succumbed to their own selfish desires.

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Natalia Salvador, an 80-year-old female worker from Oaxaca, Mexico emigrated to the U.S. and stayed for a while in Los Angeles. When she was young, she worked as a dressmaker for a woman for 12 years while her husband was working as a gardener. Then one day her husband and her son had come across the owner of the lawn that they were working on, and he asked them to help them take care of a ranch in Temecula, “Three years he spent working for the owner being a caretaker for the ranch and then I came to live with him in the ranch helping as a caretaker,” Salvador said. She then continues that she has been a

trees are wide and tall that create a cool breeze when walking towards the house. A pool is not far from this luxurious house, built elegantly with massive rocks

The working class has become a slave to the corporate firms and lobbyists. caretaker with her husband for 20 years. Their house is built not a couple miles away from the owner’s house, it is laid upon a hill, the grass is mixed with the cement creating an uncanny road to the owner’s house.

on each side, covering all around the entrance, and she points at the pool and says, “Sometimes my boys jump in when the owners are not here.” Besides her work, the more than an acre of ranch shows her fondness for gardening.

Salvador’s house is simple and undemanding compared to the owner’s property, but is more similar to that of a farmers house, in which it is built just to keep a roof over their head, while chickens and roosters roam free picking the ground as they go. Salvador has a dog that seems to be fond of rolling around the grass. The owner’s house consists of stone and marble, creating an appealing house filled with paintings and luxurious tapestry, the

She sits on steps and extends her right hand toward this area that seemed to consist of different colors of flowers. She has a fondness for roses, watching the flowers grow and watering them. “For a little bit I start to read in my tablet, scriptures in the Bible in my room,” she said. In addition to her religious faith and gardening is her acute awareness of local news as well as national news. “Once I

finish making dinner for my husband I sit and read, then I watch the news though I sometimes don’t because of work and finishing the flowers,” Salvador said. Though her life is of a beautiful happy ending, she then looks away towards the vast area, she puts her hand under her right cheekbone and looks away for only a split second, and said, “The owner wants to sell the ranch. I don’t know what are we going to do when he sells it. I have already seen people look around the property but the price is too expensive so I think we won’t be leaving anytime soon.” This is of one of the many tales of fear of losing something they have been doing for such a long time. This has become a struggle of the proletariat and the poor. If we do not act now and help the homeless and the working class, we will someday become like them with overflowing carts pushing along the middle of the street, talking to birds, sleeping everywhere like wandering nomads with no destination.

NOT A MATH PERSON?

WE HAVE THE CAREER FOR YOU

We train writers, photographers and other artists to have marketable career skills when they leave Palomar College.

Students can learn about blogs, reporting, editing, photo-journalism public relations, social media in a photo-journalism, hands-on learning environment. Students learn by producing Palomar’s student newspaper The Telescope, or campus magazine, called IMPACT magazine. You will leave this program with published clips and connections in the industry.

For more information, contact Journalism Professor Erin Hiro ehiro@palomar.edu (760) 744-1150 ext. 3762 Newsroom in Humanities 103.

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The Journalism Program offers associate’s degrees and certiﬁcates in print and online journalism and social media. We have fully online certiﬁcate programs and traditional transfer degrees.

Take Me B LINUS SMITH

Story by: Kylie Stearns

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he first spark of ingenuity that came to be synonymous for the Irwindale Renaissance Pleasure Faire for this lucky patron was two men standing upon a bridge over the entrance. One had a beard the color of snowfall, and the requisite uniform of what seemed a pirate: breeches and a smarmy smile. The other was slighter, brown-haired, and in a similar dress. Even from my position near him, I could feel the roguish air he was putting on. “And to the city of Irwindale which has been our home for 14 years,” the white-haired man cried.

“Hip hip HUZZAH!” From around the courtyard rose cries of joy and excitement as the gates of the Irwindale Renaissance Pleasure Faire opened to patrons. A group of teenagers stood in medieval garb, their mouths stretched wide in excitement. One of them let out a frenzying cry and jostled his friends, fully in character of a court jester. One man strode up to them, a paper-mache looking creature protruding from his chest, presumably a dragon. It was hard to hear his words, but the crowd of teenagers embraced him. They were united in their character appreciation for each other on this special day. But the opening spectacle was far from over: “What is wrong with you boys,” a woman in a billowing dress

Back to the Renaissance

It was luck to run into both William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I.

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demanded. Her face was pinched, and she around playacting. Costumers come in interview. Layla Cabbylcora recounted, “I waved at the men over the faire entrance. the shapes of queens, princesses, peasants, have been me a member of this community “We did have a large portion of wine,” the blacksmiths, and other Middle Ages roles. since before I were born,” which was taken white-haired “pirate” smiled apologetically. to mean that her own mother had been a The audience shook with laughter as we It was luck to run into both William part of the fair community, and Layla was allowed the centuries-old humor to wash Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I. continuing the tradition. “We are a family over us, and clapped once the actors gave While the queen was only visible as the of a thousand people strong,” she said, and pause enough to take a bow. figurehead of an ornate parade, William her eyes lit up. Carter added, “We like to Shakespeare was open to talking about make people happy.” Once inside, a rainbow of color met the his house (theater) performances and the eyes. Children clad in breeches and bonnets way he fashioned words into reality. His A young man tending his spices, who roamed the areas as people gathered by green eyes snapped as he recounted his went by the name of Jackson Ruscio their favorite stands. Some people had existence living at Stratford Upon Avon, looked out from behind a table filled with attached prosthetics to their ears to give and his wish to finally meet the queen small glass jars, each filled with different the appearance of elves. A few patrons one day. It was a performance that ran for colored minerals. Ruscio told that “he’d were fully painted in hues of light blues 10 minutes, and he was engaging, asking tried smelling some of them before the and greens. Women with long stretched about favorite plays of his, and giving two fair opened, but advised against it.” It out British accents bartered back and forth theatrical kisses upon the hand, fit with a seemed that most people walking around in the street, with some verbally slapping curtsying flourish. “I give [stories] flesh so were susceptible to the air of pretend that they may be played upon a stage,” he said. enveloped the fair. More than that, they their husbands for being lushes. loved to alter their own voices and visages A man looked up and demanded that his canvas monster of a carrying vestibule be traded for a passerby’s sleek backpack. Farther on in the fair, children in modernday dress could be seen perfecting their arrow shooting skills. People covered in costume attire sat watching on haystacks as performers juggled what looked like bowling pins on a wooden stage. “Go on, have a shot,” a man in charge of some kind of hoop game urged. I am a rebel rouser,” a woman named to further cater to the appeal of a time Layla Cabbylcara announced. She rang before their own. One could speculate Screeches could be heard as a blue-tinged off her creed with an air of sardonic why people of 2018 are continuing this dunking tank resulted in a swim for an amusement. Her partner in crime, Nutmeg tradition from a time when there wasn’t unfortunate volunteer. As the music of Carter, smiled widely. Dressed in long, nearly as much ease. Could they prize a trumpets and bagpipes filled the air and a flowing dresses, the gals also donned time of jousting and bloody overthrowing person carrying a turkey leg the size of two sleeves that had the puffed look requisite of a Catholic ruler over the predictable fists passed by, it was tempting to slip into of the Elizabethan time era. Their official wane of a smartphone-dominated culture? the vestiges of an age long buried under job appeared to be making sure that the pursuit of glass screens and skyscrapers. nobody brought in real weapons to the If this is so, are medieval fairs a way for fair or caused an unwanted cacophony of people to pop into a simpler time, engage The Irwindale Renaissance Faire was the violence. their fantasy, and then revert back to a life brainchild of Phyllis Reynold in the 60’s of creative limits? Many get nostalgic over and denoted as the official start of medieval Apparently, one year, the honey wine had Star Wars films, which is said to have been fairs in the United States. However, gone to the heads of a group of men and a major driving force in the blockbuster medieval reenactments happen in many it had been hard to subdue them. These status of the 2016 film. The same European countries, as well. The culture, women had everything under control perspective could be applied to fairs for especially in the United States, revolves for today, however, and deigned for an

people who have a vision of Renaissance times as the sweet period of knights and fair maidens that has been provided by Hollywood.

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However, for Becca Gorken and her husband, the fairewas only one stop along many other renaissance inspired centers of interest where they could sell their wares: mainly leather covered objects. According to Gorken, she made 25 to 30 percent of what was featured in her shop. The majority of what they were selling were books covered in the leather material. Not only did the Gorkens sweep the faire circuit (40 cities in a year, she reported), they also showed up at various Comic Cons. In an interesting twist, Goken shared that the performers and vendors had an agreement, in which the performers helped people realize a renaissance-driven time period, while the vendors performed more of a commercial aspect. Patrons would be swept into their fascination of the era, and want to bring the fair to their homes through “fair-authentic” objects. In this way, it was easy to feel cynical. After all, it was just art and money, thrown together. But as Becca Goken shared more of her story, one could tell that she really felt home in the circuits; “I like it,” she said. “I get the phone calls, you know telemarketers. They ask me, “Do you need a vacation?” and I say, “My life is a vacation.” She expressed being in a new city every weekend and liking the people. Her husband came by and she hugged him. It was easy to see their dynamic; he was tall and steady, and she made lots of little movements, coupled with laughter at random intervals. Imagining her at a desk was nigh impossible.

The Gokens are only one figment of the colorful parade of employees that make up the medieval renaissance culture. To become an actor in the fair, there are very specific hoops one is put through. First off, authenticity is key. No one will believe one is a blacksmith if one doesn’t have any metal materials lying around. For this role, in addition, one must carry a British accent, know culture of the Elizabethan era, explain to audiences the intricacies of making a usable sword, be dressed in a costume that fits the

on medieval spectacles, pays its actors between $24,000 - $32,000. Maybe a good salary for a person trying to make it on their own, but one could argue that it would certainly leave a family struggling. A man who went by “Tom” was hesitant to stop for an interview, saying, “I gotta do my job.” It broke the magic for a little, but also added a touch of self-awareness to the place where Tom was working: the Irwindale Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Nothing comes for free, not even what may have been a childhood dream for Tom. The place was only possible because people put aside millionaire dreams to entertain and maybe get a little magic on themselves in the process.

The happiness it afforded gave many people smiles and looks of wonderment. aforementioned time period, be light on one’s feet if an audience member asks for one’s back story, and much else. An event that comes to mind when trying to fully understand the importance of authenticity to the overseers is the Irwindale Renaissance Pleasure Faire. If one is still willing to be an actor performing in a renaissance-themed playground, then they may be saddened to hear that renaissance actors barely earn above the belt. In fact, Medieval Times, a corporation that puts

Becca and Megan and the nameless actor who portrayed William Shakespeare found fulfillment in giving people what Becca called “the illusion of a show.” What’s more, the audience was in on the illusion as well. Judging by the huge crowds, it wasn’t hard for a lot of adults to pay up the $30 that it cost them to enjoy the renaissance festival for a day. Maybe even if it seemed small to put off life in the 21st Century for a little while, the happiness it afforded gave many people smiles and looks of wonderment.

ROVERS OF TOMORROW

Story by: Lexington Howe

Students experience the process of creating rovers for Mars

ASA’s onsite, four-day experience building rover models for Mars is a “hidden gem,” according to Corey Fraga, one of 171 students across the country picked to go to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.  Fraga, who has attended Palomar as a STEM student majoring in mechanical engineering for the last four years, came across the class and workshop on NASA’s internship and fellowship site (OSSI) and applied for the spring term. Once picked for NASA’s Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) Program, students go through a five-week online course, designed to cover topics involving rover models and the building process of designing one going to Mars. The International Space Station (ISS), solar system and ergonomics, which

is an applied science that finds ways to arrange things so people and things interact efficiently, and with safety. The course started in October, and over five weeks there were six quizzes and a final project due at the end of term. About 400 people are admitted into the online course, and from there, certain students who excel in the course are picked for the on-site portion. There are three on-site locations that rotate groups of students through a period of several weeks. These locations include the Johnson Space Center (Texas), Stennis Space Center (Hancock County, Miss.), and Ames Research Center (Mountain View, Calif.). Fraga and 170 others were picked to go to one of three locations, and everything is paid for, excluding a $30 registration fee.

Before going on-site, ideally four teams of 10 are assembled for each location, and this is the time for students to begin getting to know each other and plan for the onsite activities. The teams were separated by colors, and Fraga was part of the gold team, which they named “Golden Rule” while three others remained: the navy, red, and green team. Fraga, who admits he did not know a lot about NASA before applying, learned a lot through the online course, which prepped him for the on-site. His interest in mechanical engineering also helped him through the building designs of the rover they made for the competitions that would follow. Each person within the group has a role. After the four teams flew out, they were greeted by one NASA intern and two student assistants. Over the next couple days they would prep for rover

hat while they didn’t get a lot of sleep, it was worth it. Some exercises really emphasized the failure aspect. “If you go for it, and you don’t make it, you could just give up,” Fraga said. “It didn’t go as well as we thought on day one, so on day two, we came back and re-did our design, and that’s just it—keep trying.”

Photos courtesy of NASA

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competitions, and on the final day one team would be awarded for the best design and functionality.

Lastly, Fraga and his teammates were taken through Building 9, which is the astronaut training facility.

Fraga and his teammates also “Coming into it, I was nervous to work toured through the Robert Gilruth with a team,” Fraga said, adding, “you Center, the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, can think a lot about something but until and Building 9, which housed ISS you’re there doing it, you don’t really mockups and the Orion space craft, know what it’s like realistically. If you’re which will hold the four astronauts going to do it, do it for that, and for your who will be going to Mars in 2020. own self-improvement, and experience.” Robert Gilruth was a pioneer in aeronautics, and the father of NASA’s While each team had a makeup of around U.S. manned space program, according 10 members, each team member had a to NASA. Today, the center is renamed

WHEN YOU DO IT, YOU'RE IN THE MOMENT THE WHOLE TIME. role, whether it involved programming, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Not software, or mechanical building. There far from the Johnson Space Center is the was also a budget, and each rover had to Sonny Carter Training Facility, which accommodate for the parts they used in the houses the famous neutral buoyancy final makeup of the project. lab. The neutral buoyancy lab is a giant underground pool, 202 feet in length, 40 feet in depth, and holds 6.2 million gallons Teams would go to bed around 2:30 a.m. of water, according to NASA. The directive and wake up at 5 a.m. to start the day. for the pool is to prepare astronauts for “When you do it, you’re in the moment the space walks, and to give them a real feel of whole time, and when it’s over, you start how it will be to walk in space, and water to think about how you miss it, and how is one of the closest ways to reenact this. you want to go back,” Fraga said, adding t

Fraga, who is still in contact with his teammates, wants to possibly buy one of the rover kits and use it to teach younger kids how to build models. Fraga works at the Youth Center, in Murrieta, Calif. and just started a STEM club there. He doesn’t have to do the work, but he wants to do it to give others the experience. This would involve 6th-9th graders building rover models with LEGO kits, similar to the ones Fraga and his team built on-site. Alicia Baturoni Cortez, NASA’s (NCAS) Manager, is responsible for how the program is implemented across the agency. The program, according to Cortez, came about many years ago when the Johnson Space Center decided to start a community college version of a successful Texas high school program. It was originally modeled after this, and initially was for Texas students only, but since 2014, NASA has been growing the program to include any U.S. citizen attending an accredited community college in the United States. The goal of the program, according to Cortez, is to give STEM students an authentic NASA experience, hoping to aid them in finishing their college degree and pursue a NASA-related field or career. As for the rover models and builds during the on-site portion, this aspect is to give students the ability to work with a team and learn how to follow an engineering design process. Cortez also stated that working with NASA scientists or engineers will give a better understanding as to what it’s like to work with them. Palomar College offers its own STEM program to better equip students going into international fields designed for math, science, engineering or technology. The STEM center also sends out monthly newsletters with information regarding

scholarships and other programs offered, such as the STEM Summer Robotics Institute.

WHEN IT'S OVER, YOU START TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU MISS IT.

Mireya Aguero-Gutierrez, Palomar’s STEM design the rover, and these sketches were center supervisor, and Judea Werner, STEM sent to team members, even before going center assistant, both want to encourage to the on-site, just to find out what the students of the opportunities available team wanted and planned on building. to them. “We hope that students realize In Fraga’s initial sketch, the length of the there are many opportunities available on rover was incorrect, but Fraga kept it as campuses to encourage and support them a reminder that everyone is human, and to achieve their dreams of earning STEM mistakes happen. degrees,” Aguero-Gutierrez and Werner stated in a joint email, adding “students must embrace the idea of persisting even “This is something I’ve never done,” Fraga when they don’t achieve the desired result stated on building the 3D model sketch for the first time around. We encourage them the rover. “Because you challenge yourself, to commit their time and effort until they you’re able to come up with crazy stuff,” prosper.” Fraga said. For example, in the class, students are told that you wouldn’t want to put solar panels on the rovers, due to it For Fraga, a lot of mistakes may have been made in the process, but it was the being dusty on Mars, so you have to adjust continual process of re-doing that made your model to fit the environment.“That’s up for it. For their final project model, why I want to pursue that aspect in my Fraga used Google sketch ups to help career,” Fraga added, “to make something from nothing.”

“Don’t be discouraged,” Fraga continued, stating that while many people associate NASA with rockets, whatever you may be doing, keep persevering. “Just because you don’t think you can build rockets, don’t give up on it,” Fraga said. In the end, the navy team won for rover competitions. Everyone was awarded a completion certificate on the last day, and while Fraga admits that while you have to work hard, it’s all worth it. Alexander D. Gladney-Lemon, one of two national coordinators for NCAS, helps to coordinate the onsite experience and the five-week course. “I want the scholars to gain the confidence to not only finish their two-year degree, but to transfer and finish a four-year degree, and finally enter into a STEM career that they will enjoy,” Gladney-Lemon said, adding that he believes in the goals NCAS has set out, and several NCAS alumni have achieved this. “If that career happens to be with NASA, even better.”

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WHY WOMEN ARE GETTING BUZZED

long hair is cherished.

of education, employment and politics, the ideal female body began to look like a malnourished pre-adolescent girl, weak, emaciated and non-threatening,” stated the Body and Beauty Standards article from Bradley University’s website. Women have been making such enormous strides in freedom and power, but are still feeling compelled to diet and exercise accordingly to achieve something so subjective.

Lockett shaved her head so that she could let go. Let go of the attachment to her hair and recognize herself in a whole new way. She wanted something different and said she thought about it for a couple months before finally According to the Oxford Dictionaries, committing. After shav- femininity is defined as “qualities or attriing her head for the first butes regarded as characteristic of womtime she “was stoked.” en.” With the United States being such a diverse nation, surely there cannot be one type of supreme femininity. Today, “As a female with a long hair is associated with femininity. shaved head, I have never gotten so many compli- “It’s almost primeval, this ments in my life,” Lock- delight men seem to take ett noted. When asked with women’s lonwhat advice she would ger hair,” said give to anyone who was Judith A. thinking about shaving Waters, their head she said, “Just a do it...as a female in this society we are always going to get ridiculed and there’s always going to be a little voice in the back of our heads telling us, Though women have been able to shake ‘no, its gonna look bad’ or like ‘don’t off many of the stereotypes that have condo it because other people don’t fined them for decades, there still seems to like it’ but who cares...just do it.” be an unwritten rule that a woman should have long hair. Today women are shedWomen have found that breaking ding this stereotype by shaving their heads.  these unspoken boundaries can be totally liberating. “I think evWomen have more freedom now than in any other time in history. Women are ery female should try shaving speaking up for themselves, fighting against their head at least once,” exploitation and pushing for equality but Lockett said. Though it they still feel the pressure of beauty stan- is not a common hairdards. Some beauty standards have been style among womaround for generations but there are also en, it proves to be new beauty standards that have developed s o m e t h i n g m a n y throughout the years and are portrayed in women wish they the media, which affect women’s lives daily. could do, but are held back by fear.  “Not a lot of people do a buzzed haircut for a woman,” Darlynn Lockett said, a 24-year-old woman, who first shaved her head in 2016. She is one of many women who has shaved their heads, not only for herself, but also to encourage other women to be brave and not let others stop them from expressing who they are.  When asked the reason behind shaving her head, Lockett responded by explaining how attached she was to her long hair. She had cut her hair short in her senior year of high school and it traumatized her. “I loved my long hair, it was almost to my butt long” Lockett said. She felt it was a part of her and her identity. Lockett is Native-American and to her family,

“Consider some recent changes in the U.S. In the 1960s and 70s, beauty ideals for women shifted from the mature curvaceous body of stars such as Marilyn Monroe to the stickthin, flat-chested figure epitomized by supermodels such as Twiggy or Kate Moss. The compelling fact here is that just as women started to make dramatic gains in the areas

psychology professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, who has studied managers and physical appearance. “Historically, it has been a symbol of sexuality. It represents youthfulness, freshness.” Not only do men seem to be infatuated with long hair, but they even perceive woman differently based on such a thing. In the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, an article was published about a study done to see how men’s behavior changes with women’s different hair lengths and styles. It was found that when the women in the study wore their hair in a way that accentuated the long length, men were more likely to help them on the street and were perceived as more feminine, young and healthy. Long hair may have the winning vote from men

and women for now but the tide seems to be shifting as more and more women are seen embracing their freedom and styling themselves in ways never seen before. There is more gender neutral dressing and there are even makeup lines for men now. The more boundaries pushed, the more freedom and acceptance men Her father and women will have.

generation of empowered women change makers. “To empower is to ‘invest with power’ - that change can happen when there is an investment of power by an outside source or when a group or individual somehow recognizes its inherent power,” as said by therapist Ditta Oliker in an article for Psychology Today. Women today are recognizing their power, and are finally finding the voice and methods to use it. Though shaving one’s head may seem insignificant, it can actually spark courage in someone who sees it as a message of power over one’s identity and how they are seen. One of the powers that women have is to be an independent person who d o e s n ’t n e e d a n y o n e ’s a p p r o v a l . Though some are still nervous about doing something that seems taboo, celebrities haven’t had a problem starting up the trend. In the past couple of years many women

Every woman who has ever done it has their own reasons for shaving their head. But in the end, it seems to deal with gaining back control in one’s life. Though Moore was mainly triggered by Miley Cyrus to try the new look, her life was hectic at the time and she needed something new. She felt she needed a change, and this was something both temporary and permanent enough to do the job. Lockett felt too attached to her hair and gained control back by getting rid of the thing she thought she could never let go of. Shaving your head can change your world. It can bring attention, questions and admiration into your life. Lockett and Moore were only two women out of so many who are happy they made the decision to buzz their hair off. Whether it is scary just thinking about it, or it’s something you find fascinating, women shaving off their hair is just one more awesome thing women can do. It’s possible to increase acceptance and freedom in the world and in others in so many ways.

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celebrities have been seen with the shaved head hairstyle. Some of these celebrities include: Amber Rose, Rose McGowan, Miley Cyrus, Lupita Nyong’o, Demi Moore, Jessie J and many more. “I was inspired by Miley Cyrus. She was my go-to for style at the time,” admitted Hollie Moore, a 20-year-old college student who has would not shaved her head several times but now has it let her or her entire grown to her shoulWith people having softball team leave ders. When asked why their own individushe shaved her head alized, preconceived to dinner until she she responded, “I ideas of what a wombleached her pink just felt like I needed an should look like, something to change.” it isn’t surprising that shaved head back to Moore also reported women are now listenblonde. that she had received ing to their own instincts more compliments than when it comes to style, ever before with a shaved head, rather than going off of what but also a couple of negative reactions. they see in media. Changing up what is “normal” can help alleviate the pressure women feel to conform to what is “A couple people would flat out tell me most accepted. It’s possible to change the that long hair looked better, or some standards, and change is happening now. guys said they didn’t like short hair on “Empowering girls and women is pow- girls, but I didn’t care,” Moore said. erful. Today, we know it is the key to Some of this backlash may have been execonomic growth, political stability, pected, especially when Moore’s father and social transformation,” ac- first saw her hair. Her father would not cording to Jin In, the founder of let her or her entire softball team leave 4GGL – For Girls Glocal Lead- to dinner until she bleached her pink ership – a bold social change shaved head back to blonde. “He does movement to ignite the next not like short hair on girls,” Moore said.

SPORTS ARE NO

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By Skylar Miller

I didn’t really like being the mascot but I did like being involved with the cheer team.”

Sports in America has become a huge part in our culture, in fact 72 percent of Americans are sports fans, according to a poll conducted by Gallup. As the world of sports have evolved into a dynamic that is loved by both boys and girls. With that, there has been designated sports that are either female dominated or male dominated.

As a male cheerleader he faces a lot of discrimination, since it is female dominated. He and several other male cheerleaders get pinned as gay or feminine. Cheer in general is a tough sport, but even harder when you’re one of the few that aren’t female.

For years there has been sports like cheerleading, which is female dominated, or motocross or football that is male dominated. However, there are boys and girls that want to join a sport that may not agree with there X and Y chromosomes.

To Merrit, cheer is a very complex sport that requires strength, flexibility, endurance, all while maintaining a peppy, positive attitude with a smile on your face 24/7. Not only that, cheer is competitive, very competitive.

We have seen gender inequality, discrimination, and the judgement that goes on in the world around us, but that’s what kids are facing who want to join a sport dominated by the opposite gender. For example, a boy in cheerleading, or a girl in motocross. Here are their stories. Rj Merrit, is a 17-year-old junior at Murrieta Mesa High School Calif., who is on the varsity cheer team. He has been doing cheer for one year but has been involved with the team for two years and he says he “absolutely loves it.”

have something to say...you can either let that get the best of you or you can turn it around and be the best that you can be because at the end of the day being a part of a team is like having a second family,” Merrit said. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Mandy Mastro is a 20-year-old who has been racing for 16 years, and four years in motocross on and off.

Mastro grew up in a motocross atmosphere, with her father working in the motocross-field, and being raised by three brothers and a “tom-boy” mom. Her dad and brothers are the “On the cheer mat you are who got her involved “We have to literally fight ones dealing with competiin motocross at a very tion 24/7,” Merrit said. for what we want. We want young age. One-and-half, “Whether you’re comto be exact. She started to race with the guys? We off on a Yamaha PW50 peting for a spot in the routine, competing for with training wheels and need to prove that we’re captain, or competing extra help from her dad. with other teams. Also strong enough, fast enough, “The aspects that drew competitive cheer is very good enough,” me in, were being in the aggressive and challenging dirt, being in a family orientwith risky stunts and comed community, the sport itself, petitive with other rival teams.” working hard 24/7, having all support Merritt has plans on continuing his ca- and love through everything,” Mastro said. reer in several different ways. “I definitely do plan on doing this sport in college and Motocross is a completely different ball game maybe even becoming a future cheer coach.” though when it comes to being male dominated, and for females, its even more difficult.

Merrit started as the school’s mascot during his sophomore year, which worked very closely with the cheer team. This closeness is what veered him in the direction of cheer. “I was the mascot for my school and was “My advice to future male cheerleaders would “We have to literally fight for what we very involved with the cheer team. I decid- be that with all things that are dominated by want. We want to race with the guys? We ed to actually try out for the team because the other gender, someone is always going to

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OT X’S AND Y’S need to prove that we’re strong enough, fast enough, good enough,” Mastro said.

Girls who want to race against the guy not only have to face the competitive aspect of it, but have a hard time getting sponsored and paid to race. “For women the progression of going pro is not as clear as guys who race.” Mastro said. Since it’s harder for women to go pro, they are often discriminated towards by sponsors and some trainers. Mastro had plans of taking her motocross career to the next step, until she got severely injured in 2015. She ended up with a bad head injury, a few broken ribs and a broken shoulder. Which caused her to rethink her motocross career, but is still very passionate about the sport. “To prove that us women are going to change this sport and try everything we can to get where we want to be in motocross, be consistent, confident, be sure and be positive, stick with your dreams,” Mastro said.wThese are just two of many stories of boys and girls in sports dominated by the opposite gender. They face many hardships but are strong, and the stories don’t stop there.Becca Longo, a 19-year-old girl who was the first ever to receive a football scholarship to a division two or higher school. Longo, signed with Adams

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In Mastro’s opinion, by overcoming the fears of something being difficult, she has become a stronger woman and athlete. In a sport where women are limited by one or two “pro classes” to race against the guys.

State University in Alamosa, Colo. as one of sically trained. “I thought, why not me? Why the starting kickers.“A lot of people think, can’t I do this?” Peron said to ABC news in ‘aw. She’s a girl, she can’t do this, she’s not an interview.Peron Jinnies went through a strong enough, she’s not big enough.’” Lon- grueling three-week audition period, for the go told ESPN in an article on her college cheer squad. They were among 76 finalist football career.Longo who grew up with her who auditioned for the Rams’ cheer team. older brother, got her into football. Tossing According to USA Today Baltimore Ravens, the ball on the weekends, football was and Indianapolis Colts have men on the their happy medium. According to team doing stunts, but not dancing. another article on People. She This is the first time we’ll being tried out for the high school seeing men dancing along team her sophomore year with female cheerleaders. and has been playing since. “A lot of people think, ‘aw. This is just the beginning Being in a sport like footShe’s a girl, she can’t of something that will be ball is hard enough, but for legendary. All these people do this, she’s not strong are changing the world, just Longo she has to deal with a great level of negativity enough, she’s not big by challenging the “norm of from her peers. Longo told the society of sports.”“Our enough.’” Diana Pearl from People, that cheerleading program is co-ed. she dealt with negativity from It is our goal to provide equal classmates, teasing her and saying offerings for both genders and our she couldn’t do it, but that’s what pushed current program structure consists of 11 her to do it.Even now, she still receives tweets men’s and 11 women’s sport programs. If saying things such as how this is all a pub- there happened to be a female that one of the licity stunt, or how she’s going to get injured, coaches of one of our men’s teams –whom I but anyone can get injured from football, would deem as our expert—felt was qualiboy or girl.“If they want to think that, they fied athletically to participate safely, I would can think that.” Longo told ESPN. “Then both agree and allow for it,” Scott Cathcart I’m going to kick a game-winning, 55-yard the Athletic Director at Palomar College exfield goal… see how loud they are then.”As plained.All the challenges they face now, will for now, she is focusing on the present, but only guide them into becoming strong, willwouldn’t mind making it to the NFL one day. ful, and independent people.These boys and Last but certainly not least, we have Quinton girls are bringing a good change to the world. Peron and Napoleon Jinnies who are the first Little by little, these people are slowing male dancers to make it onto the Los Ange- fighting against gender discrimination and les Rams cheer team.Both Peron and Jinnies the stereotypes that cloud our world today. have been dancing all their lives, being clas-

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A Silent Life

by Pat Hartley AUBREE WEIDMAIER

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Anime Story by: Anissa Ocansey

TRAYTYN BUSH

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EMILY WHETSTONE

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GENERAL INFO

www.palomar.edu

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