Vol. 72, No. 7
Kylie Pignone Comet offensive force Patrick Hartley STAFF WRITER
To some Pitchers Kylie Pignone may look like an easy out, having a smaller build, not the look of a typical power hitter. But beneath the Palomar brim is a fierce competitor that tallied a .450 batting average and had 49 runs in 39 games last year. Leadoff hitters are valued not just for their hitting, but also the ability to just not get out. They hustle, they work the count, they bunt, they walk, they steal, they frustrate defenses and pitchers any way they can. “Being a lefty, she could hit and slap and bunt. She brings a little chaos to the lineup,” said Team Manager Lacey Craft. Leadoff hitters are not known for their power. Pignone defies that notion by finishing top 4 on the team in slugging percentage (.595) and RBI’s (34) with 4 triples. “Kylie is unique because she does have power from the left side too, that makes her fun to watch and harder to pitch to,” Craft said.
Monday, March 4, 2019
Classified Employees files grievance, union says custodians ‘spread too thin’ Ana Acosta STAFF EDITOR
The Council of Classified Employees filed a formal grievance over hiring issues for custodial and campus maintenance workers. With the recent influx of new buildings on campus, the Council of Classified Employees
(CCE) is questioning why the District has not hired more custodial staff to maintain the newly finished buildings. Anel Gonzalez, President of the CCE, mentioned these issues repeatedly at previous Governing Board meetings, hoping for a response from the administration. “You’re building all
these beautiful things, but no one is thinking about the maintenance,” Gonzalez said in a recent interview. By filing a formal grievance, the CCE hopes that the Office of Human Resources will look at the employment of custodians with more urgency. At the Governing Board meeting on Feb. 12, Gonzalez addressed the Board,
the purpose for filing a grievance. “Hope is not a course of action,” Gonzalez said, “the course of action that we have as Classified Employees is to file a grievance when a contract is being broken.”
SEE PAGE 6
With more and more Democratic presidential candidates vying for the party’s nomination, the question begs to be asked: what sets them apart?
ARTS & CULTURE
Her majesty returns, Queen retakes the throne SEE PAGE 10
Ceremonial $100,000 check from former faculty, April Woods, presented to the Governing Board during the Feb. 12 meeting. Appearing in the photo, from left to right: Joi Lin Blake, Linda Bailey, Melissa Grany, Gerald Vetak, Linda Gomez, Stacy Rungaitis. Photo by Laura Gropen / Courtesy of the Palomar Foundation and Office of Public Affairs
Former faculty leaves parting gift of $100,000 to Palomar Foundation in her will
The 2018 biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” has ushered in a resurgance in the legendary rock group “Queen.”
LIFESTYLE
Kena Haun
T
STAFF WRITER
Telescopenews
Democratic presidential field for 2020
SEE CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES PAGE 3
SEE PIGNONE PAGE 15
Kylie Pigone outfeilder for the Comets Krista Moore/ The Telescpe.
OPINION
he creation of a $100,000 endowment to be disbursed over the next 10 years, was announced by the Palomar Foundation during the February Governing Board meeting. The endowment was made possible through the will of a former Palomar faculty member, April Christine Woods. Woods was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in December of 2016, and passed in March of 2017. “We have scholarships for tuition, books, and those kinds of things, but this was unique and very specific,” said Stacy Rungaitis, Director of the Palomar Foundation. Rungaitis emphasized just how special the gift is, “this particular legacy gift is special because it was one of our own colleagues. We did not even know about the donation until she had passed.” Woods got her start at Palomar in 1988. Melissa
The_Telescope
Grant, co-executor of Woods’ will and close friend hers since age 17 said “April did not anticipate going to college growing up, it did not seem financially feasible,” Grant said, “I know at some point, when she was trying to get her education, she was practically living out of her car just to get it going.” “She could just see the trends of how things were going to happen,” Grant said when asked what inspired Woods to denote her donation for this purpose. “She was an advocate for students where she could see things happening that would negatively affect the students, would actively work to fix it, and she was fine with ruffling the feathers along the way do it.” The fund happened in a special convergence of her interests that met student needs. “In the top five things she loved were Palomar, her students’ education, and travel,” Grant said.
The Telescope
SEE APRIL WOODS PAGE 4
The lack of help in our Veteran community SEE PAGE 12
New cafe offers unique environment for enjoying food, by having it in the company of feline friends.
2 • NEWS
March 4, 2019
t BRIEFLY t UPCOMING EVENTS
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTER ANNOUNCES PLANS TO OPEN NEW INFANT CARE PROGRAM
MARCH
Tuesday 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Free Dental Screenings Parking Lot 6 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Free HIV Testing SU-Quad 2 p.m. Men’s Tennis v. Imperial Valley
Thursday 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Doubleheader: Baseball v. L.A. Pierce 2:00 p.m. Baseball v. Pasadena CC
Friday 11:15 a.m. - 12 p.m. (VRC) Mindfulness Workshop Room ST-52 1 p.m. Softball v. San Diego CC 2 p.m. Men’s Tennis v. Riverside CC 7 p.m. “Legally Blonde, The Musical”
SAN MARCOS --- The Palomar College Early Childhood Education Lab School announced their plans to open an infant program beginning April 2019. The Infant Program will be available Monday through Friday 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. The program will be accepting children ages 6 months to 18 months. In
PALOMAR PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTS LEGALLY BLONDE
Howard Brubeck Theatre
Saturday 7 p.m. “Legally Blonde, The Musical” Howard Brubeck Theatre
Monday 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. Stress Management Workshop TLC Building
Tuesday 2 p.m. Men’s Tennis v. Glendale 5 p.m. Governing Board Meeting Room SSC-1
Thursday 2 p.m. Baseball v. Southwestern 2 p.m. Women’s Tennis v. Grossmont 2 p.m. “Legally Blonde, The Musical” Howard Brubeck Theatre
Friday 1 p.m. Softball v. College of the Desert 7 p.m. “Legally Blonde, The Musical” Howard Brubeck Theatre
Saturday 7 p.m. “Legally Blonde, The Musical” Howard Brubeck Theatre
Tuesday 2 p.m. Baseball v. College of the Desert
Thursday 2 p.m. Women’s Tennis v. Imperial Valley
SAN MARCOS --Palomar students will be performing in “Legally Blonde, The Musical” from March 8-17 at the Howard Brubeck theater. Legally Blonde is part of the Performing Arts “Works by Women” season that started in Fall of 2018. The musical is directed by Michael Mufson and music director Suzy Bohling. Molly Faulkner and Valerie Clark will be in charge of choreography for the musical. Tickets can be purchased through the Performing Arts website at palomarperforms. com. Ticket prices range from $20 for General Admission, $16 for Seniors and Staff, and $14 for students and children. The first round of performances will be on March 8 and 9 from 7-10 p.m. and March 19 from 2-5 p.m. There will also be a special panel discussion in collaboration with Women’s Studies to kick off Women’s History Month. The panel will be held on Thursday, March 14 following the 2 p.m. performance. — Cheyenne Cyr and Ana Acosta
order to qualify, the child must be either crawling, scooting or walking to qualify. The cost of this program is $100/day or a monthly cost for 5 days of care is $1,942. There is an annual registration/ materials fee of $100 for the 2018-19 school year. The fee will increase to $200 for the following school year.
Parents will be responsible for providing diapers, wipes and food for their child. If you are interested in the Infant Program please visit the Early Childhood Education Lab School on the San Marcos Campus or contact Rene Robelin at (760) 744-1150 ext. 3375 or email at rrobelin@ palomar.edu. — Courtney Davis
PALOMAR FASHION DEPARTMENT OPENS FREE CLOTHING BANK TO STUDENTS SAN MARCOS --- The Fashion and Merchandising Department opened a clothing bank for the students of Palomar in Fall 2018. The clothing bank is known as the Comet’s Closet. The bank was originally intended to house businesswear for students but has since expanded to everyday casual wear, shoes, and accessories for both men and women. The service is free and accessible to anyone with a valid Palomar ID number. Students can also take advantage of getting free “makeovers” from fashion department students, free of cost. Rita Campo Griggs, Palomar’s Fashion Department Director, explained that the idea of Comet’s Closet came from seeing students on campus struggle. “You see students struggling and it’s a need you could fill,” Griggs explained. With the help of her assistant and Fashion Club President, Krysti Ramsey, the bank opened at the beginning of Fall 2018. Fashion students are able to volunteer their time and help run the bank. Some volunteers are able to receive items from
the bank in return. Not only does the department give back to the students of Palomar but the children of the Early Childhood Education Lab School (ECE-LS). As Halloween approached last year, the ECE-LS was in need of costumes. Fashion students created several different costumes including a gypsy, a cowgirl, and a butterfly. Although it hasn’t been easy to get noticed, the clothing bank has received more donations than they projected. Comet’s Closet is still fairly new and eager for more donations. Students are encouraged to donate sportswear, casual wear, business wear, as well as seasonal apparel. The bank is currently in need of more men’s apparel and depending on donations, children’s clothing is often available. Comet’s Closet is located in front of the Anita and Stan Maag Food & Nutrition Center on Mondays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesdays from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Students can also schedule a makeover appointment and visit Comets’ Closet in room FD-4 on any other day. - Ashley Romero
SPRING 2019 CLUB RUSH
Friday 9 a.m. Women’s Beach Volleyball v. SD Mesa/St. Katherine 12:30 p.m. Swimming v. Grossmont 1 p.m. Softball v. Imperial Valley
Saturday
THIS DAY IN HISTORY 1861
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th U.S. President.
10 a.m. Softball v. Santiago Canyon 1 p.m. Baseball v. College of the Desert 2 p.m. Softball v. Mt.SAC
GRAND OPENING CEREMONY FOR NEW LIBRARY AND LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER
An interested student talks to a representative of the Hikers and Backpackers Club at Club Rush on February 20, 2019. Sukhi Heumann/The Telescope
Top: Governing Board participating in the ceremonial ribbon cutting. From left to right: Norma Miyamoto, John Halcon, Joi Lin Blake, Mark Evilsizer, Star Rivera-Lacey, Ron Perez. Middle: President/Superintendent Joi Lin Blake addressing the crowd during the Learning & Resource Center Grand Opening. Bottom: Library staff pose for photo on the steps of the first floor in the new Learning & Resource Center. Photos by Linus Smith / The Telescope
SAN MARCOS --The new Library and Learning Resource Center held its grand opening on Friday Feb. 22. The new Library, which sits between the Humanities building and the parking structure, opened the at start of the spring semester. The official grand opening ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 22. P a l o m a r Superintendent/ President Joi Lin Blake opened the ceremony on Friday thanking those who contributed to the opening of the new Library. “Today you will see what we have done
with an idea” Blake concluded. Kena Haun, ASG’s Vice President of Legislative Affairs was a guest speaker at the event. Haun spoke about the spacious offices where students can study and gave a brief anecdote regarding a cramped outlet in the old Library. Haun claimed that if the outlet was occupied by another student, she would have to go to a completely different building to use another outlet. As the ceremony came to a close, Blake said “We have created a safe space for students to learn.” — Ripp Friesen
NEWS • 3
the-telescope.com
Palomar Student Government ask for resolutions regarding students who face housing insecurities Jonathan Sarabia Ana Acosta STAFF WRITER
One of the yearly goals of Palomar’s Associated Student Government has been to raise awareness regarding housing insecurities that students often face. A resolution (SB2018-S3) was directed at Palomar College and and another (S19-A-01) has been submitted to the Statewide Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC). Both of these resolutions contain questions being asked by ASG to further assist student housing insecurity. The Student Government (ASG) has requested and establishment of a point-of -contact for students with housing insecurities. This will work to allow students to obtain the resources they need. There is also a request for the implementation of training on insecurities for
staff and faculty. Many students who face housing insecurities often live in their cars. In response, ASG has requested that Palomar implement overnight parking so that students can be ensured a secure location and subsidized housing. Similarly, ASG requested the SSCCC to advocate for these students by providing “access to train and resources on insecurities to all California Community Colleges, and the establishment of sustainable student housing.” On Jan. 29, Assembly Member Marc Berman introduced a bill that will. permit students to park and sleep overnight on California Community College (CCC) parking lots by requiring CCC’s to provide this service. This bill requires students to have all enrollment fees payed and be in good standing. The Committee on Higher Education will hear this bill on March 1.
Currently, Palomar provides assitance to housing insecure students through a resource guide found on Palomar’s website. The resource guide provides students with a list of community centers and organizations that can provide shelters and access to food. A majority of the shelters provided are for individuals who have experienced domestic violence. Palomar has not collected data regarding housing insecurities among students. Because of this, the data used to support these resolutions was collected by the research project conducted by Wisconsin University’s Hope Lab, Still Hungry and Homeless in College. The study helped determine that housing insecurities affected 51 percent of community college students in 2017 and 46 percent in 2018. Prior to this, an additional study was conducted to determine how
Associated Student Government President Amber Bancroft (left) and Vice President of Shared Governance Anthony White (right) invited Theresa Smith (middle) to discuss housing insecurities and vehicle residency. Ana Acosta/The Telescope
California State University (CSU) schools addressed the issue of both food and housing insecurities. The study revealed that a high percentage of students had been facing housing and food insecurities. The results showed that “there were 1,039 respondents (21 percent) and 12 percent of respondents indicated housing instability and/or food insecurity.” It also claimed “students who experienced food and/or housing instability reported managing incredible stress, and addressed the issue that stress could be extremely distracting in class while trying to manage the demands of college and personal life.” ASG aims to find func-
tioning methods that will provide students access to services that will provide them with resources for necessary needs. “We are hoping the resolutions we have written will create a culture and climate of advocacy at Palomar College as well as bring attention to this issue on a state level,” ASG President Amber Bancroft said, “We are currently following the Shared Governance process in order to see that these changes are being implemented on campus with student input. We are hopeful that if students are able to go to school without the weight of basic need insecurities weighing on them they will be able to obtain their academic goals.” In a meeting held on
Feb. 22, the ASG invited a guest speaker to discuss a local non-profit program, Dreams for Change Overnight Parking. Teresa Smith, the program founder, discussed the overnight parking program as a potential resolution for students who live in their cars. “We know the needs, we’ve seen it, we hear it all the time getting calls on a regular basis,” Smith said. President/Superintendent Joi Lin Blake, who was present at the meeting told ASG that the administration will have review the resolution overall. “You guys have my support,” Blake said, “you know that.” JSARABIA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM AACOSTA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES FILES GRIEVANCE, UNION SAYS CUSTODIANS ‘SPREAD TOO THIN’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Currently, there are three custodians maintaining the San Marcos campus throughout the day. Palomar custodian Cynthia Davalos commented on the issue, saying “other college [custodians] take care of about 22,000-square-feet, whereas we take care of about 50,000 [squarefeet] per person.” In the grievance, the CCE is requesting more information as to why the District has continued to outsource work. The grievance also requested information on how much square-footage each custodian should be maintaining. “There are laws on how you’re supposed to clean a school building and how much staff it would take per square footage,” Gonzalez said. “That’s one of the pieces of information we’ve asked from the District constantly, and we have not got a good answer, or any answer.” Recently, the District began outsourcing custodial work through building contractors. Even with the help from outsourcing custodians, Palomar custodians claim
that they find themselves still cleaning the same locations where outsourced workers were meant to maintain. “Whenever there is a classroom that is not clean, it falls back on us that the custodians aren’t doing their job,” Gonzalez said. “The truth is that the District isn’t hiring custodians. We are spread thin. Even when they do hire contractors, they don’t clean everything and they don’t have the same pride.” In November 2018, the Governing Board approved six custodial position openings. In a CCE membership meeting before the beginning of the Spring semester, Gonzalez claimed that members were concerned about the absence of the six new custodial hirees in preparation for the opening of the new library. The six custodial positions have not been filled, and one of the daytime positions is being hired in-house. A night shift Palomar custodian will be filling for a day-time position. Gonzalez hopes the District will prioritize the need for staffing within new buildings on campus.
“It’s not just about the six custodians that haven’t been hired,” Gonzalez said. “It’s about the fact that we’ve been building for over five years and there was no plan to have people in place.” The District responded to the formal grievance and denied the alleged violations of the California Education Code. The CCE
filed a second grievance, which requests information to the questions as to why the District “relies in making its decision to contract out custodial work performed by classified employees.” The recent grievance also requested a written explanation as to why contracting out is compliant with the California
Education Code. “We intend to see this through,” Gonzalez said, “not only until they hire the six people, but until they show us that they’re planning to hire more and that the contracting will only really be done as the state ED code says.” The second step of the grievance was sent to Lisa Norman, Palomar’s Vice
President of Human Resources, on Feb. 20. “If they don’t get more custodians, our reputation keeps going down,” Davalos said, “We want to keep pride of our place, we want to make it right for our students.” AACOSTA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Palomar College Administrators have been outsourcing jobs traditionally held by full time college employees. Discussing the potential loss of jobs are: Top left, Anel Gonzalez (CCE President); right side, Cynthia Davalos AKA “Tool Up” (custodian) and bottom left, Ana Acosta, (Telescope reporter.) Sonny Cavarlez/Telescope
4 • NEWS
March 4, 2018
FORMER FACULTY LEAVES PARTING GIFT OF $100,00 TO PALOMAR FOUNDATION IN HER WILL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Rungaitis concurs with Grant on the notion of Woods’ incredible foresight into student needs. “At the luncheon for Giving Tuesday this past year, two faculty members came up and asked us if we ever did any stipends or something for students to travel,” Rungaitis said. “Because in those particular departments there was a need that they would like to help students with.” Woods had a 25-year career at Palomar. She served for a time on Faculty Senate and remained involved throughout the time of her employment. “If you spoke to anyone about her, you would hear the word ‘beloved,’” Rungaitis said. “She was always looking out for the benefit of the students, she would fight for the students, and she just saw a need there.” It is the Foundations’ hope that her scholarship
Affordable textbook program saves Palomar students total of $2.4 million Ideth Sanchez STAFF WRITER
Students at Palomar have saved around $2.4 million on textbook costs with Comet’s Affordable Learning Materials (CALM) program which was designed to reduce the price of textbooks. Palomar College was awarded a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Planning grant by the Chancellor’s office for California Community Colleges in 2016. The CALM program introduces low cost or zero cost textbooks that can be used by professors in their courses. As stated on their flyer, the grant’s sole purpose is, “to reduce textbook costs in order to reduce the financial barriers to student success.” With CALM implemented at Palomar, most courserequired texts are now more affordable. A majority of courses now require a LowTextbook Cost (LTC) or a Zero-Textbook Cost, many of which can be $40 or less. For many students, high
will allow her to continually be involved with students of Palomar past the 10-year plan. “She wanted the foundation to use this to inspire other people, staff members, alumni, and anyone that has the capability to do the same thing. It is not nec-
echoed. Rungaitis noted, “we are also encouraging that faculty and staff reading this, because we are hoping to continue this scholarship that they donate in her name so that it can keep going.” “She wants to be an inspiration for everyone to
“My wish for you is, don’t hold back on what you really want to do. Follow your dreams, follow your heart. Remember to always be kind. Peace and blessings.” - April Woods essarily how much, just that you think about it,” Rungaitis said. The sentiment of Woods wanting to truly inspire others who have ever been impacted by Palomar, even in the slightest degree, to donate to the students was
just kind of look at their portfolio,” Grant stated in a separate interview, “even if it is just $25 a month because the need is definitely there and the reward is great.” Kim Hartwell, the Foundation’s development offi-
cer offered a rough timeline on the scholarship’s availability. “This will be made available and advertised on the Foundation’s website over the next couple weeks,” Hartwell said, “There will be a specialized application. We want to give away as much as we can, maximum of $1,000 per person. We have never seen a scholarship like this before, very specific and filling a need we had nothing set aside for.” During the presentation of the check at the Governing Board meeting, several people were moved to tears as Grant read a quote from one of Woods’ final sentiments: “My wish for you is, don’t hold back on what you really want to do. Follow your dreams, follow your heart. Remember to always be kind. Peace and blessings.”
April Woods riding her bike with her two pet dogs. Photo courtesy of Melissa Grant.
KHAUN@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Student victim of hit-and-run, Police Chief answers questions regarding student safety Summer Aguirre Hayley Lawson STAFF WRITERS
The CALM (Comet’s Affordable Learning Materials) program was implemented last year to assist students in decreasing textbook costs. Student in the photo: Jason Hernandez. Elvin Diego/The Telescope
textbook costs pose an issue on the affordability of their education. According to the College Board, for the 2017-18 academic year, the average student spent over $1,200 for textbooks and course supplies. Palomar student, Ana Resendiz, a Digital Imaging major took three classes last semester. “I spent about $150 for two textbooks,” she said, “luckily I didn’t need to buy one for one class,” Resendiz said. Due to high textbook costs, many students often try to continue their courses without purchasing textbooks. CALM also provides Open Educational Resources (OER), which allow students to access educational resources such as curriculum maps, textbooks, podcasts and videos. These have been made available for student use under open licenses. CALM co-chairs Sara Krause and Anastasia Zavodny said “using Open
Educational Resources has had immense benefits to our faculty in terms of the ability to participate in the sharing culture that has been created through OER.” A news release from Palomar’s Public Affairs Office claimed that Palomar is one out of nine colleges that has partnered with Open Stax. working to further “the college’s efforts to provide free to low-cost, peer-reviewed digital textbooks and course resources through open educational resources.” President/Superintendent Joi Lin Blake expressed her excitement for the program in the news release. “We are excited to be chosen to participate in the OpenStax Partnership,” Blake said, “through the OpenStax Partnership, Palomar College will continue to be a leader in providing affordable and accessible, quality education for all students within the region.” ISANCHEZ@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Palomar student Keita Fukumoto, 19, was the victim of a hit-and-run accident at the crosswalk of Borden Road on the evening of Feb. 5. Fukumoto was rushed to emergency care to undergo brain surgery. The driver fled the scene and remains unknown, however, they were reportedly driving a dark colored Toyota pickup truck. Fukumoto’s last known condition was stable, but he remained in the ICU. Incidents like this give the Palomar College Police Department the opportunity to spread awareness about campus safety. Palomar’s Chief of Police, Chris Moore, noted in an interview that students can be distracted going to and from class, and that many come and leave at the same time due to scheduling. These factors heighten the overall risk for accidents, especially during the first few weeks of the semester. Upon witnessing or being involved in an accident, Moore listed several resources that Palomar students and staff can utilize. “If they’re involved
in a traffic collision, they can either use one of the emergency blue phones,” he said, which are distributed across the campuses. Another method would be to call 911, and if it occurred on site the sheriff’s office will contact the campus police. The PCPD can also issue tickets beyond parking citations, but only if it’s “a chronic issue or it’s a safety issue.” They choose to “educate first,” according to Moore. Aside from the procedures already in place following an accident, Moore mentioned actions the PCPD is taking to prevent more collisions from occurring. One way is monitoring heavily populated areas at peak times of the day. “At different times we try to help and do some manual traffic control, just monitor what’s going on,” Moore said. “We’re just trying to be that deterrent but also remind people what the rules are on campus.” The sprinter station, and busy parking lots are just a few places an officer could be stationed to remind people to stick to the 15 mph campus speed limit. “Another vulnerable point for us is the early childhood education lab,” Moore said.
“The opening of campus there’s a stop sign, there’s lights on the crosswalk, there’s children crossing, we try to put an officer out there as a deterrent.” Moore stated that this type of enforcement has proven to be successful in regulating vehicular traffic. Nevertheless, the PCPD is always looking for new ways to improve the roads for drivers and pedestrians alike. With construction on campus, he said they’re realizing there are some spaces with substantial interaction between vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Some ways they decrease this contact is by adding lighting, fencing, altering the angles of roads and blocking off specific areas. Moore urges students and faculty to be mindful of their surroundings and continues to educate on the importance of campus safety. If you would like to know more about campus safety or have information regarding the hit-and-run driver, call the PCPD at (760) 7441150 or stop by the police station on the San Marcos campus. SAGUIRRE@THE-TELESCOPE.COM HLAWSON@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
OPINION • 5
the-telescope.com
The Telescope Focused On Palomar Monday, March 4, 2019 Vol. 72, No. 7 Palomar College, San Marcos, Calif.
LINUS SMITH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANA ACOSTA BRIAN BELTRAN NEWS EDITORS JUSTIN ENRIQUEZ NATHAN NAVIDA
OPINION EDITORS
VICTORIA PRICE
ARTS & CULTURE EDITORS KRISTA MOORE RYAN DAVIS
SPORTS EDITORS
MONICA NAVARRETE
FOCUS EDITOR
SAMANTHA COX
LIFESTYLE EDITOR
AUBREE WIEDMAIER
PHOTO EDITOR
ERIN HIRO
ADVISOR
MAURICE THOMAS
OFFICE MANAGER
ASG passed a resolution to address housing insecurity, but it’s on all of us to see it through EDITORIAL Housing insecurity is a serious issue. A student’s education should not be hindered by lack of residency. Palomar College administrators should prioritize fixing this issue, but we shouldn’t sit and wait on them. The term housing insecure refers to a student with unstable nighttime residency. This includes moving between varying friend’s houses, living in your car or staying at public locations. Palomar’s Associated Student Government (ASG) recently submitted a resolution to help remedy this issue, while
formal plans for the construction of on-campus housing is still at least two years away. ASG is moving for the creation of an office that can facilitate support for the students by offering hygienic products and assisting in finding consistent and safe residencies. One other solution, however, is The Safe Parking Program. Organized by a local non-profit, Dreams for Change offers a guaranteed, overnight parking space for students who live in their cars. CEO Teresa Smith insists that the security of knowing no one will bother you or take your spot goes a long way in rebuilding the confidence of homeless stu-
dents. “It has been a very valuable program to catch people,” said Smith at an ASG meeting. With support from local sponsors, food and a sense of safety is offered to clients of the overnight parking system. On-sight bathrooms are available, and showers from local gyms and schools are made accessible as well. Since 2010, The Safe Parking Program has served over 2,650 individuals and families. Of these, 65 percent of them have moved on to permanent housing or transitional programs. This is the ultimate goal. We do not want students to have
to face the harsh existence of being homeless while trying to get an education. The basic needs of life should be met to allow for any person to seek higher learning if they want it. The ASG’s proposal for a hub that supports housing insecure students is logical, but it is still being processed by the California State Community College General Assembly. The Safe Parking Program is here now, and it’s already proven to be immensely helpful as both an immediate solution and a launchpad for future success. What can we be doing to assist our fellow students who struggle with an
issue that not enough of us are aware of? Raise awareness for the new ASG proposal by contacting school administrators. Promote the growth of institutions like the Safe Parking Program. Use your voice. The ASG meets weekly, Fridays at 12:30 p.m. in room SU-204. The Governing Board hosts their meeting, the second Tuesday of every month at 5 p.m. in room SSC-1. If you are a student who is, or has ever faced housing insecurity, or you know someone who has, these are places you can go to share these stories. Get involved. EDITOR@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
SPEAK OUT
What can Palomar do to help low-income students?
STAFF WRITERS
SUMMER AGUIRRE, KIERA COLARUSSO, RICK CONTRERAS, CHEYENNE CYR, COURTNEY DAVIS, RIPP FRIESEN, ALEX GARCIA, PUCHIE GRUPEE, KENA HAUN, NINA ISHII, HAYLEY LAWSON, KIRAL LEPARD, KATY LYNN, D’ANDRE MIRANDA, AIKA OMURA, PAT HARTLEY, ASHLEY ROMERO, IDETH GUERRERO, JONATHAN SARABIA, JORDAN SPURGEON, KIANA TEIXEIRA, SUNDAE VELASCO, NICOLE VILLANUEVA, ROSALINA BURTON, NICHOLAS CASADONA, TANNER LEADER, KAT MILLER, RAISA MURSALIN, JAHAIDA RAMIREZ, MARCELLA PRECIADO
PHOTOGRAPHERS
SONNY CAVARLEZ, ELVIN DIEGO, LANDON DRINKWARD, ANNA GABRIELE, SEJI GAERLAN, MEGAN LAMMOTT, JULIE LEYDEN, MARIANA MELENDREZ, BLAKE NORTHINGTON, MARIESA RANDOW, BRISA MAR ROQUE, EMILY WHETSTONE, SUKHI HUEMANN, TAYLOR HARDEY, ISAIAH CABREA, ISAAC FIGUEROA
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“I think, I mean they already provide kind of a lot in terms of financial aid, but they can always provide more scholarships.”
“I think they’re doing a good job with textbooks that they already provide, and tutoring for students who were behind in high school”
RILEY CAMPBELL, 19
ALEX PENNER, 20
MAJOR: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
MAJOR: UNDECIDED
“Books. Reduce the prices. I mean they’re helping a lot with the food bank, but yeah. ” BRAXTON MARCELLOUS, 24 MAJOR: AUDIO ENGINEERING
“What the college is doing now, they shouldn’t really change anything, because everything is being done well. The programs and the resources here don’t discriminate no matter who you are. The college is very open.”
“I think the services that they can provide are making sure students are knowledgeable about what’s available” JASON GREEN, 46 MAJOR: ALCOHOL & DRUG STUDIES
ARLETTE GABRIEL, 23 MAJOR: ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
Classified employees are overworked and understaffed
CARTOON
By Summer Aguirre
6 • OPINION
March 4, 2019
A modern view of the 2020 presidential candidates Ripp Friesen STAFF WRITER
With more and more Democratic candidates announcing their candidacy for the 2020 elections, we start to wonder who will be the best to hold the title and responsibilities of President of the United States. To give the highest seat in America to any candidate is to give them the power to protect the people, to fight for the people and above all to serve the people. In this array of candidates there are some who have had years in government, who are leaders, who are entrepreneurs and even one who is an advocate for a different economic system. As more candidate’s pile in, more speeches and promises will be made and it’s up to you, the citizens of America, to decide who you think is the best candidate. From former Cabinet members, House members, Senators and entrepreneurs, there are some good candidates for the 2020 election and some who might not be the best fit for the job. We cannot decide who runs for office, but we can decide who gets to be President of the United States.
Julián Castro, 44, from Texas, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Castro is no stranger to hard work, learning from his mother what it means to take your future in your own hands. Castro served under President Obama, making housing more accessible to those who need it and worked to lessen homelessness. In today’s divided society Castro’s values of togetherness and helping those truly in need might just be the thing we need to keep moving.
Kamala Harris, 54, U.S. State Senator from the state of California. A progressive civil rights leader, Harris stands up for the voiceless, the minorities and the people. She helped introduce legislation to provide tax cuts to the middle-class and helped gain access to Medicare-for-All. She is also notable for protecting the rights of refugees and immigrants and fighting to lower the cost of rent. Harris advocates for consumer rights and has won, holding big corporations accountable.
Bernie Sanders, 77, U.S. State Senator from the state of Vermont. Well known for his more Socialist policies, Sanders appeals to the newer generation of Americans. Sanders has declared his support for Medicare-for-All and a tuition-free college which would make higher education more attainable to those who are struggling. With so many against socialism, Sanders would have to work hard to get his policies through, but maybe a new view point and a new system is what we need.
Andrew Yang, 44, from New York. An entrepreneur with economic knowledge but little to no political background, Yang plans to give every adult U.S. citizen over 18 a universal income of $1000 no strings attached to help protect from the rise of technology in the workforce. With little to no political knowledge Yang has a slim chance, but if we look back at the 2016 election, anything can happen.
Tulsi Gabbard, 37, Veteran and Hawaii 2nd District U.S. House of Representatives member. Serving the people, Gabbard is an advocate for veterans and helping to protect the nation. She is working to find solutions through collaboration that helps Americans. Through her time spent in the military and working in government since she was 21, Gabbard brings both leadership skills and a firm knowledge of politics to the table.
Elizabeth Warren, 69, U.S. State Senator from the state of Massachusetts. Fighting for middle-class families in an age where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is a daunting task, but Warren has made that her mission. Being no stranger to the troubles of the middleclass, Warren will use her expert knowledge of bankruptcy and the financial pressures to keep fighting and hopefully make America a place where even Millennial’s will be able to afford buying a house.
Cory Booker, 49, U.S. State Senator from the state of New Jersey. An advocate for criminal justice reform, Booker works towards front-end sentencing reforms and banning solitary confinement for juveniles in federal facilities. Booker has worked with both parties to help increase the amount of economic proposals. He is dedicated to his state of New Jersey, helping to modernize transportation or continuing to recover from Super-Storm Sandy, hoping to bring that dedication to office.
Amy Klobuchar, 58, U.S. State Senator from the state of Minnesota. Putting ideals aside Klobuchar has worked with both Democrats and Republicans to move things forward and create a better government. Making sure the customer is happy and business growth are a top priority to Klobuchar, working to protect consumer rights and making sure businesses can grow and create jobs through a competitive agenda. Klobuchar has worked and will keep working to make government more efficient, fair and transparent.
PROGRESSIVE LEFT
M O D E R AT E L E F T
OPINION • 7
the-telescope.com
Americas love, hate relationship with immigrants Marcella Preciado STAFF WRITER
President Donald Trump’s attack on the immigrants reveals the hypocrisy within the Republican Party and its hold on the executive branch. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted congress to change the Immigration and Naturalization Act, favoring those with needed skills and wanting to join other families. To have different people from different countries brings new ideas, products and innovation. Immigrants actually come to take the jobs that Americans are not willing to participate in. Not only do they help themselves but everybody else will have a lower price of goods and services and increasing GDP as well. Building a strong, prosperous economy is significant and mindful for the past, present and future generations. Our workforce would not be growing as much as it is without the support of immigrants who want to settle in the U.S. Those who have advanced degrees will work scientific and technical jobs that don’t require high communication skills, yet they are willing to put in a lot of work.
Courtesy of Pride Immigration.com
Immigrants have enriched in culture and influences throughout the world that expands economic opportunities, as they embrace American culture of freedom and exception. As they migrate to the U.S., native-born Americans tend to stay in school and upgrade their education. They come here want-
ing to learn English as those who are born here want to learn a foreign language, and that goes great both ways with the chances of jobs that recommend being bilingual and communication in general. In 1970, more than half of immigrants lacked a high school diploma. This has increased since
then, as 30 percent of immigrant adults and nine percent of native-borns lack their diplomas. In addition to getting a college degree, there are 30 percent of immigrants to have theirs. These are some hardworking humans who want nothing but the best for themselves and their children. We should
want to welcome those immigrants that keep America young and strong from now on. Ever since Trump was elected in Nov. 2016, all we have been hearing from him is,“build that wall.” If we’re being honest, Trump never seems to focus on more important issues that are happening
in our country. Are the migrants that come to the U.S. criminals and terrorists? There is no sufficient evidence to support the stigma that the majority of immigrants are criminals. There had been a budget bill that Trump had refused to sign because it was short of $57 billion to build a wall on the border with Mexico, which is probably why he wants the Mexicans to build it; resulting in having the longest federal government shut down in history. Trump’s wall is a bad investment, causing the U.S. economy to lose more than $4 billion a year and each migrant that the wall stops is losing $30,000 in economic output. The percentages show that 57 percent of Americans say the wall would hurt, 76 percent of Republicans say it would help and 19 percent of Democrats say it would help. This wall means fewer workers and lower product, as well as harming the U.S. workers. This wall that Trump proposes would not only hurt the economy but hurt the very foundation of how this country was founded upon. MPRECIADO@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
The Grammys has no place for the Hip Hop industry Brian Beltran STAFF EDITOR
The influence of the Grammys is slipping most glaringly in the Hip Hop genre. Drake, Beyonce, Jay Z and other A-list artists are larger than life, and way beyond the influence of a small gold record player. The Grammy Awards have long ruled the music industry. You don’t really get the respect you deserve as a top-notch artist in the music industry until you’ve added a trophy from the Recording Academy to your list of accolades. At least, that’s how it used to be. Your favorite artists are fed up with the nonsensical tradition of justifying their success with a meaningless trophy that people forget about a week after the annual award show.
Hip-Hop and R&B legend, Drake went as far as to publicly discredit the importance of his own Grammy Award in his acceptance speech at the 2019 ceremony. “Look, if there’s people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain, in the snow, spending their hard earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here. I promise you, you already won,” said Drake. Streaming numbers and brand recognition are better indicators of an artist’s success these days, and the Recording Academy is often criticized for awarding the formerly coveted trophy to the wrong artist or song anyways. The opinion of a tasteless committee of old music critics holds way less real estate in our minds than it used to.
Beyond Drake’s criticism, other notable artists like Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, and Childish Gambino continually decline to perform at the show or even attend the event. Former Grammy producer, Ken Ehrlich was interviewed by the New York Times before the 2019 awards show. “The fact of the matter is, we continue to have a problem in the hip-hop world. When they don’t take home the big prize, the regard of the academy, and what the Grammys represent, continues to be less meaningful to the hip-hop community, which is sad,” said Ehrlich. In an era where Hip Hop and R&B sell with the young generation, a growing group of people pay less attention to the Grammys. Album of the Year, in particular has angered
The grammy awards that mention Kenny Rogers / Photo courtesy by Flickr Commons
many, as the fan’s clear choice is snubbed year after year. This is what makes the Grammys unique and so utterly useless. Whereas the Oscars hold more mystique because of the intricacy of reviewing movies, anyone
is capable of dissecting popular music. Everyone knows what songs are on the top-40 list, and nobody cares. If there is an industry that can be controlled by the general public, it’s music. Music is individualis-
tic, a form of expression and easily accessible to everyone. A mini golden record player isn’t needed anymore to justify an artist’s success. BBELTRAN@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
8 • FOCUS
March 4, 2019
In keeping with our committment to pushing Gun Violence awareness, below are the names of those who lost their lives to mass shootings in 2018
January: Adrian Jashawn Porter, 21 Xavier Parish, 33 Freddy Wheeler, 31 Johnathan Graham, 21 Sherry Gann, 53 Samaii Daniel, 5 Sammarre Daniel, 8 Robert Payne, 70 Mandel Pearson, 36 Jasmine Lashai Light, 23 Preston Ryan Cope, 15 Bailey Nicole Holt, 15 James Ratcliffe, 50 Deron Gray, 24 Jarlyn Lantigua-Tejada, 20 Joshua Santos, 20 Juan Rodriguez, 23 Nelson Onofre, 23 William Scott Porterfield, 29 Seth William Cline, 21 Chelsia Lou Cline, 25 Courtney Sue Snyder, 23 February: Michael Jones Jr, 22 Deputy Micah Flick, 34 Edvin Milkevic, 29 Nicole Novak, 27 James Wayne Nickell, 75 Arlene Nickell, 70 Lindsay Vanhoose, 41 Patricia Vanhoose, 57 Patricia Williams Wilson, 62 Barbara Williams, 71 Cynthia Williams, 51 Byron Jackson, 21 Jamar Robinson, 26 Scott Beigel, 35 Martin Duque Anguiano, 14 Nicholas Dworet, 17 Aaron Feis, 37 Jaime Guttenberg, 14 Alyssa Alhadeff, 15 Christopher Hixon, 49 Luke Hoyer, 15 Cara Loughran, 14 Gina Montalto, 14 Joaquin Oliver, 17 Alaina Petty, 14 Alexander Schachter, 14 Carmen Schentrup, 16 Meadow Pollack, 18 Peter Wang, 15 Helena Ramsay, 17 Aubry Johnson, 66 Kevin Forman, 28 William Burgess II, 28 Cierra Bargineer, 26 Raphael Hall, 60 Kristen Thomas, 21 Jaymon Thomas, 22 March: Jonathan Jackson, 33 Theodore Daniels, 31 Donald Hughes, 69 John Williams, 74 Jacques McBride, 22 Mareco McNair, 33 Thomas Maye III, 26
Montrez Vonner, 34 Quintarius Young, 29 April: Anesa Baker, 15 Ryan Massey, 25 Carlos Rodrique, 33 Rakel Ramel Mason, 41 Rickey Dixon, 18 Kimson Green, 16 Antonio Knoshjun Watts, 20 Erica Nichelle Smith, 32 Keithan Whitmire, 15 Harmony Smith, 13 Viktoriya Manasyan, 20 Rashawn Tahir Miller, 21 Lil’ Ricky Goins, 38 Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29 Joe R. Perez, 20 DeEbony Groves, 21 Akilah Dasilva, 23 Timothy Solano, 20 Brandon Stephenson, 36 Melissa Tierney, 40 Kassandra Yamileth Morales, 24 David Duncan Jr., 22 Deondre Cabine, 24 Charles Ray Justice, 35 May: Nakia Bailey, 21 Dejuan Hill, 18 Deandre Doyle Rogers, 18 Lamarion Upchurch, 15 Monyae Ikeyli Jackson, 15 Joe Lor, 22 Kayleen Lor, 5 Gina Xiong, 22 Seth Richardson, 29 Drake Alexander Painter, 4 Caydence Nicole Painter, 6 Odin Tyler Painter, 8 Glenda Ann Perkins, 62 Sabika Sheikh, 18 Cynthia Tisdale, 67 Christopher Jake Stone, 17 Shana Fisher, 16 Angelique Ramirez, 15 Jared Conard Black, 17 Aaron Kyle McLeod, 15 Kimberly Jessica Vaughan, 16 Christian Riley Garcia, 15 Jonathan Miller, 26 Dejon Andre Leon Williams, 37 Cheresse Lutricia Jackson, 39 Breyanna Priscilla Jackson, 11 Nykerria Shanyia Jackson, 14 June: Jasmine Harris, 20 Ari Armour, 35 Trevon Bullard, 18 Jercoby Groover, 19 Royale D’Von Smith Jr., 18 Kameron Gilfillian, 21 Tyrone White, 39 Steven Alexander Jr., 18 Taneshiea Brown, 20 Daron ‘Manny’ Johnson, 14 Gabriel Conde, 39
Dove Lindsey, 1 Aidan Lindsey, 6 Lillia Lopez, 10 Irayan Lopez, 12 Vaughn Bigelow, 13 Eric V. Swain, 38 Emilio Almanza, 15 Calvin Bernard Harvey, 16 Shalonza E McToy, 22 Erin Casey, 17 Corey Jackson, 22 Nathaniel Pena, 22 Juan Perez-Macedo, 33 Alize Ross, 20 Jazmere Brianna Custis, 19 Michael Sutton Jr., 31 Jazaniel Davis, 19 Timothy James Frederick, 19 Travis Jamarian Mclean, 27 Derick Alexander, 18 Wendi Winters, 65 Rebecca Smith, 34 Robert Hiaasen, 59 Gerald Fischman, 61 John McNamara, 56 Za’quavia Smith, 21 July: Yvette Johnson, 54 Kyrie Johnson, 1 Stanley Sparking, 40 Curtis Lamar Wright, 25 Jessie Brown, 29 Carrington Lott, 23 Charlene Ann Orsi, 44 Cadence Rose Orsi, 12 Edgar Rivera, 20 Julie Burton Edwards, 41 Jacob Edwards, 6 Brinley Edwards, 4 Paxton Edwards, 3 Terrance Peters, 46 Makiyah Wilson, 10 Tyree Bates, 14 Norriesha Hills, 22 Jamal Forrest, 21 Ivan Gonzalez, 23 Tavish Harris, 30 Kevontay Montgomery, 22 Cortez Ruffin, 27 Thelma Montalvo, 60 Ernest Starry 85 Isaiah Starry, 13 Roel Mireles, 41 Juan Lopez, 23 Kurshaw “Twin” Jackson, 38 Jeremiah “Zippa” Lee, 28 Taiesha Watkins, 27 Jessuh Williams, 37 Dolores Sanchez, 28 Francisco Rafael Montes, 28 August: Donald Norris, 19 Jahnae Patterson, 17 Charles Green, 32 Averill Davenport, 34 Niesha Cooper, 32 Brenda Martinez, 37 Gerson Romero, 19 Ricardo Lopez, 2
Dulce Lopez, 4 Jason Lopez, 9 months Jaylin Glanton, 26 Braxton Watkins, 20 Mansfield Rutherford, 22 Davonta Jason Combs, 26 Taylor Robertson, 27 Eli Clayton, 22 Antonio Brown, 36 Anthoni Readus, 26 Wayne Carter, 19
Melvin Wax, 88 Irving Younger, 69 Joyce Fienberg, 75 Rose Mallinger, 97 Bernice Simon, 84 Darrishica Rogers, 30 Aric Hall, 28 Bobby Beasley, 32 De’Angelo Quinn, 26
September:
Aaron Hampton, 23 Steven Marler, 38 Maura Binkley, 21 Nancy Van Vessem, 61 Ron Helus, 54 Cody Coffman, 22 Justin Meek, 23 Alaina Housley, 18 Noel Sparks, 21 Sean Adler, 48 Blake Dingman, 21 Daniel Manrique, 33 Jake Dunham, 21 Telemachus Orfanos, 27 Kristina Morisette, 20 Mark Meza, 20 Cristi Licano, 44 Daniel Albo, 22 Ashley Sanchez, 22 Pamela Jean Ramon, 32 Ledis Alberto Lopez, 36 Jessica Rubioa Agular, 26 Ricardo Mendez, 26 Johnell Davis, 42 Berman Hudson, 39 Willie Kinchen, 38 LaTija Luckey, 18 Carrington Williams, 19 Kennelle Anderson, 18 Shanikka Hughes, 33 Terrance Wardlow, 59 William Taylor, 31 Tiyaniah Hopkins, 20 Akeen Mattox, 28 Yaleah Hall, 17 Joevonn Johnson, 23 Colton Messmer, 20 Tracey Andrews, 21 Corey Davis Jr., 26 Vickie Boggs, 56 Angel Morales, 13 Laderrus Gilbert, 27 Jasmine Washington, 24
Dwayne Smith, 34 Theresa Goldwin, 29 Daryl Tann, 48 Nykeema Kersey, 33 Richard Newcomer, 64 Pruthvi Raj Kandepi, 25 Luis Felipe Calderón, 48 Steven L Fields, 42 Sharpie Smith-Tate, 25 Evan Mikale Wilson, 20 Eliseo Garcia, 57 Laura Garcia, 31 Antonio Valdez, 50 Emanuel Contreras, 50 Petra Casarez, 45 Sang Yeon Kim, 48 Mina Kim, 11 Andy Kim, 10 Sunday Aguda, 45 Bromdra Giri, 41 Hayleen Reyes, 41 Jeremy Charles Littlejohn, 20 Calitri Boone, 17 Jessie Williams, 30 Kenyon Allford, 24 Dawn Boyd, 22 Ruby Steplight, 83 Chloe Hunter, 17 October: Steve Nixon, 31 Bruce Y. Miller, 29 Farrah Turner, 36 Terrence Carraway, 52 Cameron Martinez, 18 Decarlo Washington, 47 Juan Espinoza Sr., 62 Juan Sandoval III, 20 Jeremy Sandoval, 22 Nicky Sandoval, 20 Eduardo Sandoval, 22 Mario Andres Vidales Mendez, 23 Susan Nash, 52 Dejona’e Nash, 20 Deonte’ Nash, 31 Kaileigh Lin, 17 Bo Lin, 14 Meigan Lin, 14 Lia Lin, 15 Robert Lee Williams, 76 Terrence King, 28 Jade Saunders, 17 Richard Gottfried, 65 Jerry Rabinowitz, 66 Cecil Rosenthal, 59 David Rosenthal, 54 Sylvan Simon, 87 Daniel Stein, 71
November:
December: Brandon Brooks, 31 Ronald Green, 57 Brandon Coffin, 28 Thaddeus Watis, 20 Dedrick Paul Green Jr., 23 Zoe Kasten, 8 Jonathan Kasten, 10 Jane Moeckel, 61 Kate Kasten, 39 Anthony Bankston, 25
FOCUS • 9
the-telescope.com
Striving for change within the Latin community Johnathan Sarabia STAFF WRITER
According to U.S Census Bureau QuickFacts, 35 percent of the population in Oceanside is Hispanic or Latino, 50 percent in Vista, 39 percent in San Marcos and 51 percent in Escondido.The Latin community is a large percentage of the population in San Diego North County. Although the Latino population is the majority of the population in North County, there is still a lack of resources available for this community. The National Latino Center (NLRC) is based at California State University San Marcos and began in 1998. Their goal is “to promote scientific and applied research, training, and the exchange of information that contribute to the knowledge and understanding of rapidly growing U.S. Latino population.” Alonzo Martinez, has been an intern for 5 years uplifting the Hispanic community to progress and continue to take advantage of resources that allow them to get an education. “One of the biggest challenges this community faces, is the lack adequate and access to resources.” He stated. Universidad Popular is a community resource cen-
ter and education initiative that promotes civic participation within the Latin community. The center was founded by Arcela Nunez-Alavarez, NLRC Director for over 15 years and continues to create bridges of progression within the Latin Community. The majority of the research is done through the NLRC, programs that consist of the latin community engagement that are held at Universidad Popular. It is opened Monday through Friday 2pm to 6pm. The volunteers are seen as mentors providing any support whether its academic, social, or physical. It is reflected on children’s reactions and behaviors the influence these mentors and volunteers have in them. “The community here in North County, is predominantly heavy on immigrant communities. Immigrant children faces challenge, having to learn a new language and a new school system.” said Alonzo Mar-
ed by different universities concluded that, “The YEP graduation rate exceeded the comparison group rate by 40%.” It is stated that , these “activities help keep at-risk youth off the streets when school is not in session, and provide the opportunity to deliver anti-violence programming to reduce violent behavior and promote impulse control.” It was also concluded that, “arrest rates were over five times higher in non-YEP local students than in the YEP cohort.” as stated from the YEP program. There is a disadvantage for latin parents to become involved in their children’s education, when having little to no knowledge of the English language. This causes for children to have the lack of support and parent involvement throughout their education. According to the NLCR, “Methods of engaging the Latino community include
. Universidad Popular, a center in which allows spanish speaking people to interact. Johnathan Sarabia / The Telescope
in a culturally informed and relevant way, providing hands-on experiences with civic engagement, and growing partnerships within the university and among nonprofits.”
and wellbeing, family engagement, community responsiveness and cultural enrichment.” An article on Early Childhood Education Journal stated “Hispanic par-
One of the biggest challenges this community faces, is the lack of adequate and access to resources - Alonzo Martinez tinez Through data collection and comparison, YEP has shown to have a positive influence on minority communities. The data collect-
cultivating long-term relationships, responding to time-sensitive community crises, facilitating inter-generational connections, presenting material
Taken inside the YEP building where resources are available for the Lain community. Johnathan Sarabia / The Telescope
The center is demonstrated to be substantial to the community as it is maintained out of community effort by holding fundraisers. Universidad Popular is available for the community to book the center for celebrations and private events. Events for people apart of the Latino community is important for the interaction of people within the same culture. According to a public announcement made by Universidad Popular, in 2018 the center had more than 1,038 students participating in programs offered. The programs offered are run by researchers, volunteers, and student interns. “I remember our second year that we were open I believe it we stopped off at least 300 students. We ran out chairs, people stayed standing. That shows the commitment, interest and need of the resource that we were providing. Seeing a large amount of people, we had to call other volunteers to come in.” said Alonzo Martinez San Marcos is one of the cities along with sixteen other higher education institutions in the United States in having The Youth Empowerment Program(YEP) being implemented in their community. YEP focuses on “enhancing academic enrichment, life skills, health
ents maintain the perception of a lack of proficiency in English as a significant barrier to parental involvement in their children’s education in the United States.” In the Cultivating Leadership Class, assistance is provided for the citizenship process. This class informs the community about the requirements for the application along with helping them understand the US government and history. When migrating to the United States many immigrants did not obtain a higher education and forget what it is like to be in a classroom like setting. Cultivando Liderazgo class offers an educational opportunity that is not accessible to this community. The class is offered in four different locations throughout the North County of San Diego: Escondido, Vista, Fallbrook and Pauma. The majority of Vista community members speak Spanish which is why most of the programs and classes are taught in Spanish. This creates a supportive learning environment. Margarita has been a United States resident for 19 years and is currently in the process for applying to become a citizen. She lives in Vista just a few block aways from the center.
She initially began attending the class last year but due to certain circumstances she was not able to continue. But on January she was able to start. “This place was vacant, it was constantly vandalized and windows would be broken. Then I began to notice that the lights would be on. I passed by and noticed that classes were being offered, and I thought to myself this is really good.”said Margarita Through education, members become informed on elections and important issues affecting the latino community. “By attending these classes, I became intrigued and wanted to continue to learn more about the history and government of the United States.” said Margarita By having programs for everyone in the family in one location helps build a stronger bond within their families and community. Other current programs are Cultivating Wisdom and Cultivating Dignity. Cultivating Wisdom is a program for elders in the community assisting with their needs including, social, health and wellbeing. Cultivating Dignity brings awareness and informs on human rights to the immigrant community. The center has opened this space has really opened up a lot of doors to people. Including the most recent and now graduated class of Cutlivando Liderazgo, who this past year just completed their naturalization passes. They will be ready to prepare and engage in their community to vote for change. Parents will begin to advocate for their children and themselves.” said Alonzo. JSARABIA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
10 • ARTS & CULTURE
Bassist John Deacon performing in Dublin, Ireland on Nov. 22nd, 1979. Courtesy of Eddie Mallin • Wikimedia Comons.
March 4, 2019
Guitarist Brian May performing in Dublin, Ireland on Nov. 22, 1979. Courtesy of Eddie Mallin • Wikimedia Commons.
Lead singer Freddie Mercury performing in New Haven, Conn. in November 1977. Courtesy of Carl Lender • Wikimedia Commons.
Drummer Roger Taylor performing as Queen + Adam Lambert on Dec. 12, 2017 in London. Courtesy of Ralph_PH • Wikimedia Commons.
Her Majesty returns: the resurgence of Queen ALTERNATIVE NOTES Victoria Price STAFF EDITOR
When “Bohemian Rhapsody” was first released in 1975, the reviews were far from glorious. A review from Record Mirror, a former British music newspaper, stated that the tune has “no immediate selling point whatsoever: among its many parts. There’s scarcely a shred of a tune and certainly no one line to latch onto,” and that wasn’t the first of many poor reviews.
If the song was so highly unfavorable from critics, why has it now become one of the most iconic and influential songs in rock music history? The answer? The song was ahead of its time. The song seemed to fade into obscurity for many, especially in the United States. However, in 1992, that changed. “Wayne’s World” was released that year, and the opening scene included the two main characters blasting
the song in their car. One year after frontman Freddie Mercury’s death, Queen was back on the radar. Surprisingly, even that didn’t last. Sure, everyone knows the words to “Bohemian Rhapsody” (for the most part, at least), and songs like “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” might sound familiar, you might have not known those were all by Queen. Since late last year, the popularity of Queen has skyrocketed. This
time, it’s also because of a movie, but a very different one. On Nov. 2, 2018, the Queen biopic, named after their epic 1975 song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released. 48 years after the band’s formation in London, they finally received a movie documenting their history as a band. Although the movie doesn’t fully encapsulate every aspect of the band’s lengthy career, it was more than enough to bring by a new generation
of young Queen fans, myself included. As a child I was left out of the world of classic rock due to my parents not being fans. Neither of my parents let alone grandparents have any interest in Queen, and through watching “Bohemian Rhapsody,” I was able to learn a bit about the band and the songs they have that aren’t so famous. After the release of the movie, which grossed roughly $860 million in the box office as of Feb.
2018, Queen announced a lengthy North American tour featuring American Idol winner Adam Lambert as their vocalist, which they had done in the past for older tours. It’s safe to say that this upward trend in Queen’s recent popularity could potentially be the largest one yet, re-propelling the legendary British rock band into a newfound era of stardom. VPRICE@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Video games are being used to train for high skill jobs Katy Lynn STAFF WRITER
Over the past years of rising digital technology and popularity in gaming, researchers have found a new way to use graphic animation in order to improve the skills of two very important areas- the military and medical fields. A large percentage of millennials have grown into a world of expanding electronic devices and consoles, causing them to be advanced more when using technology compared to older generations. Those who are younger are now starting to be teachers of these new devices to the older portion of society. Originally invented for the sheer pleasure of those who purchased them, people are now thinking of more smarter ways to modernize games and accustom them to teach different skills, such as diagnosing a patient in a hospital and performing incisions for training doctors. There are also games that accurately train military personnel to aim a gun in a battlefield, or even simulate bomb detonators and risky situations.
These are said to have helped teach new recruits with the tactical strategies of our modern day warfare, as well as show a few geopolitical goals that the military strives for, as explored in an article from We Are The Mighty. There have been instances when someone has decided to help fight for their country because of the influence video games have had on them. For example, a little over ten years ago, Super Nintendo collaborated with the U.S Army in order to design a game to cheaply train the shooting skills of army recruits, in a fun, yet simple way. It was called the “Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator,” and it improved skills by giving a score and rating based on how well players aim and fight off enemies. All it consisted of was a small television screen and a synthetic rifle connected to it through a long wire. Although this was a long time ago, it was a start to what now is changing the way we learn and improve on tasks. Another game released in 2017 called “NightShift”, was created to help assist new medical
students in the process of recognizing severe injuries and treating different types of trauma. Researchers have discovered that around 37 percent fewer mistakes were made during surgeries for doctors who had spent at least three hours a week playing ‘NightShift’, or games similar to it, according to an article by CBS News. This is because video games have been believed to help hand-eye coordination, organization and teamwork. As a result, a portion of society believes that this could be a new door to a world of opportunity for our future employees and government, and the rest think that it’s all just a cheap method to train important people improperly. The only way we’ll be able to find the truth of whether this will really improve the skills of workers over time, is to wait some time and notice a significant difference. Until then, companies will continue to strive to make better training games for many different types of professions. KLYNN@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Marines from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, walk through a scenario during an early demonstration of the Future Immersive Training Environment at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in March 2010. Courtesy of Sgt. Josh LeCappelain • Department of Defense.
ARTS & CULTURE • 11
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A jazzy performance at the Brubeck Theatre Ripp Friesen STAFF WRITER
The musical duo Peter Sprague and Leonard Patton came to the Howard Brubeck Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 21 for Palomar Performing Arts Concert Hour. Peter Sprague and Leonard Patton are a jazz duo based in San Diego
who take inspiration from great bands like The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Wonder and add their own jazz influences to create a whole new song. Armed with a double neck guitar, a pair of drum brushes and tonal beats the jazz duo played to the beat of their own drum creating emotional pieces
from hit songs. After each song Peter would speak to the audience giving us bits of information about the song or to compliment his band mate Leonard Patton. Through the show they played their version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” using tonal beats from Peters double neck guitar and using Leonard’s
resounding voice to create a new experience. Afterward Peter told the audience he always tries to put a “thing” in each of the songs they cover. From there they moved to “Born Under a Bad Sign” and followed up with The Beatles “Lucy in the Sky” again putting their own spin on each of the songs. The duo ended the hour
with “Dream Walkin” a song picked from their album “Dream Walkin”. At the end of the show the audience got up and gave a standing ovation to the duo, who stayed after the show and talked with any member of the audience who had questions. The musical duo won’t be back for the rest of the spring semester but you
can see other musical artists throughout the semester during Concert Hour, presented by Palomar Colleges Performing Arts Department. For more information and show times you can go to the Palomar Performs website or call at 760-2149109. RFRIESEN@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
(L-R) Apex Legends map. Courtesy of Flickr. Fornite character holding a bat. Courtesy of Flickr. Apex legends characters. Courtesy of Flickr. (Bottom) Fortnite gameplay. Courtesy of BagoGames / Flickr.
The current battle between “Apex Legends” and “Fortnite” Alex Garcia STAFF WRITER
Here we are at the beginning of 2019 and every major gaming company is still trying to create a Battle Royale that can compete with the game that took over the world in 2018, which was “Fortnite: Battle Royale.” Although there have been other Battle Royale games that have been released, they haven’t been able to put up the numbers that “Fortnite” has. That was until Respawn Entertainment, which was later bought by Electronic Arts (or EA), released “Apex Legends” on Feb. 4, 2019. “Apex” wanted to
do what no other Battle Royale was able to do, and that was to beat the records that their rival “Fortnite” had put up. It came out of nowhere and got numbers that took the first game weeks to achieve, which was rather shocking to some people considering that first game had become so popular so fast. “Apex” decided to go the route that every other company is taking by making the game free to play. If interested, you can simply use money to buy cosmetics and future battle passes just like “Fortnite”, which will give you skins and other cosmetics that Apex will decide to
add as the game grows. In just 72 hours, “Apex Legends” had gotten a lot of hype and support- they had gotten 10 million people jump in and try it out for themselves. In that amount of time they also racked up about 1 million concurrent players, according to Vince Zampella from Respawn Entertainment. Another thing that propelled “Apex Legends” to receive more attention, was that they had all the major professional “Fortnite” players and streamers switching from the old game to the new game. The “God of Fornite”, also known as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, made the change as well and de-
scribed the game as being something “new” and “exciting.” Blevins was asked “which is better, Apex or Fortnite?” His answer was rather compelling. Blevins said, “Why must you choose one? They both are two totally different Battle Royale games, which makes them both unique in their own way. It’s just nice to play something new and fresh. I will never be done with Fortnite, it’s what made me who I am today.” “Apex” also took the spot as being the most streamed game on a live streaming platform known as Twitch.tv. When talking to students at Palomar about the two games and which
one they thought was better, there was a bit dispute between the two. Anthony Thomas, student, said, “Fortnite will always reign supreme over all other Battle Royale games simply because it incorporates the building incentive. Instead of going into a fight guns blazing you can have what people call a ‘Build Battle,” meaning you can beat your opponent in many different ways. When Michael Garcia, student, was asked he said, “Apex is better than Fortnite because they have more than just one specific character to play with. You can choose from six different types of
characters who have their own special ability and gives you the chance of trying them all.” There are also different kinds of weapons which you can pick up when finally getting into a game which makes it a better experience. As you can see, the student population is split about 50/50 on which game is truly better. But, the one thing to question is that “Apex Legends” has only been released for not even a month yet, so will this growth continue or will “Fortnite” continue to reign supreme and stop the growth? AGARCIA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
12 • LIFESTYLE
March 4, 2018
Cafe with a “purrfect” atmosphere Cat & Craft in Vista Katy Lynn STAFF WRITER
On Jan. 12, 2019, Cat & Craft, a modern cafe with a unique cat lounge, opened up in Vista. With a more artistic vibe and look compared to other places, Cat & Craft give customers the opportunity to eat some delicious food, pet cats and even adopt one of your own. Founded in 2018 by Caroline Vaught and her husband, Andrew, this special cafe was the result of their shared
Top: Cat and Craft sells a variety of tasty pastries and other foods in addition to their coffee and tea. Middle: An espresso machine ready to be used at the Cat and Craft. Bottom: Adoptable cat in the cat room at the Cat and Craft in Vista. Photos by Sukhi Heumann / The Telescope
passions of business and animal rescue. After years of endless effort and planning, they were finally able to start up their dream career, a restaurant and an adoption center. The cafe is complete with beautiful, eye-catching murals of felines on the walls and simple decor to suit those who want to peacefully enjoy their day. Cat & Craft’s menu consists of specialty beverages, such as espresso, cold brew, Kombucha and a variety of tea. They also offer a one-of-akind “Purr’ Over Coffee,” which consists of unique flavor combinations such as juicy peach with fudge, and baking spice with creamy cranberry. Food items include “quiche of the day” and toast plates that come with your choice of bread, and different spreads to enjoy it with (pesto, avocado, local jams, fresh fruit and many other options, including vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free.) Furthermore, the cafe offers “jars,” which are their own version of acai bowls made with allnatural ingredients, and pastry case to fix that after breakfast/lunch
sweet tooth. After enjoying a tasty and healthy meal, customers have the option to pay $12 for an hour visit in the cat lounge, a room dedicated to fostering cats and kittens until visitors find their forever friend! If you visit, you have the choice to observe and pet the cats, or even better, take one home. In addition to their regular days, they offer ages 21 and up events, and ones for the kiddos, too. The cats located at Cat & Craft are all fosters from LYFF (Love Your Feral Felines) Rescue Organization, which aims to save as many cats from euthanasia as they can. Every feline adopted from them gives them space to save another one. Since opening up in January, the cafe has adopted out 24 cats. If you are interested in going, Cat & Craft cafe is only 15 minutes from the San Marcos Campus, and the cat lounge is open Tuesday through Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. It gets busy on the weekends, so it is recommended to call in or make a reservation a few days before. KLYNN@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Get your buns over to Harumama Carlsbad Kiera Collaruso STAFF WRITER
San Diego’s Harumama puts a quirky, SoCal twist on your average ramen stop. Since opening up in Little Italy, the ramen and noodle restaurant quickly branched off into Carlsbad Village in December 2018 and has been putting smiles on faces and their signature character steam buns ever since. Steam buns are hot, bread-like dumplings that can be filled with everything from pork to Nutella. Harumama takes it up a notch and adds something unique to cuisine by topping their steam buns with tiny character faces from Disney characters to
pandas. Besides the steam buns, the rest of the menu feels like San Diego: filled with fresh vegetables, seafood, and labeled options for those with dietary restrictions. It’s the names of some of these menu choices that will remind you you’re eating at a place with a quirkier spirit. “Screaming Salmon,” anyone? The aesthetic of the restaurant blends seamlessly into the style of Carlsbad Village. It’s tucked into a quiet street between two other restaurants with a similarly understated, bright look to their exteriors. A few blocks from the shore, the location on
New San Diego grown ramen restaurant, Harumama, in Carlsbad. Kiera Collaruso / The Telescope
Madison St. in Carlsbad is a quick walk for tourists and locals to fuel up after soaking in some sun. The walk from Carlsbad Village Drive is quiet and peppered by a collection of seashell-covered boutiques, smoothie stops, and colorful consignment shops. Customers stroll in in
casual, San Diego attire. Prices are typical for the area. You can chow down on a “Flying Pig” or a “Superhero Poke Bowl” for around $10 to $13. In true hipster-fashion, customers appear to be perfectly comfortable with paying a bit more for their noodles and steam
buns to be Instagramworthy and their dumplings to be decorated with adorable little animal faces. Frankly, it’s hard to blame them. With instagram worthy food and beverages, it makes a place that is so unique, hard to resist. Harumama’s Carlsbad location
can be found at 2958 Madison St. Carlsbad. Hours are listed as 11 a.m to 9:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and finally 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays KCOLLARUSO@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
13 • SPORTS
March 4, 2019
No one wants to root for a bully
Krista Moore
STAFF EDITOR
SPORTS OPINION The NFL has a violence problem. It’s not a secret and it hasn’t been for a while. There are 48 documented cases of domestic violence, battery and assault by NFL players in the last four years and in the first two months of 2019 the league added two more cases to the pile. While all three of these are just as bad as the next, domestic violence seems to be the area that gets highlighted the most. These domestic violence cases have become so familiar that we can call the next play before it happens. It’s the simple formula of a player committing a violent act, then said player apologizes hitting what sports journalist Katie Nolan likes to call the “Big Three.” They apologize to everyone but the victim, say how hard this is for them emotionally and list all of the women they are related to getting bonus points for mentioning their grandmother. The most recent cases came last September when Reuben Foster, linebacker for the Washington Redskins was arrested for domestic violence. He made his public apology and then was placed on the Commissioner’s exempt list. This is a special list of players that have violated the NFL’s Code of Conduct in such a way that they have to go through a
league investigation and be banned from all football activities whether that be games, practices, or media appearances. It wasn’t even a week after the Foster case that football fans across the nation got that “here we go again” feeling when a video surfaced of former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt shoving down a woman and kicking her after having to be restrained by people several times. Nolan summed up these two incidents best in one word: “Resignation.” We feel for the victims but it’s starting to get to the point where when we hear of this happening we tend to change the channel or radio station because it’s the same old story. Honestly it is starting to get hard supporting a league that only springs into action when something would negitivley impact thier reputation. It’s unacceptable and it brings up the question of what is the NFL doing to help protect these victims? The answer: nothing. It took an incident similar to Hunts for the league to even realize they had a problem. In 2014 the now infamous Ray Rice domestic dispute where he knocked out his then fiancée, now wife in a hotel elevator was a turning point for the league. The then Baltimore Ravens running back received a two game unpaid suspension and had to attend a diversion program before the video of the incident sur-
faced. Rice’s punishment then turned into a lifetime ban from the NFL. It took a media beatdown for Commissioner Roger Goodell to finally wake up and make a change. Goodell released a letter to NFL owners admitting he made a mistake in the light punishment handed to Rice. In his letter he promised that there was going to be change, and to be fair there was temporarily. Working alongside the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) the commissioner changed the players Code of Conduct so that if a player is a first-time offender they are to receive a six game unpaid suspension with the amount of games varying depending on the severity of the violation. For a second violation of the rules they are subject to be banned from the league. “These steps are based on a clear, simple principle: domestic violence and sexual assault are wrong. They are illegal,” Goodell stated in his letter. “They have no place in the NFL and are unacceptable in any way, under any circumstances. That has been and remains our policy.” Changes were being made, rules were being enforced and they even formed a team of experts in this field from outside the league. Things were going great right? Well that’s what the NFL would have you believe, but three years later the league failed once again with the
Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt pushes away from Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith on October 7, 2018, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS)
news of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, who was charged with domestic abuse. The young player appealed the claims dragging it through four different court systems. While Elliott did eventually serve his six game suspension it was only after four months of fighting it. Players should not be allowed to fight the punishment that is handed to them especially in Elliott’s case as he had already gone through a year long investigation that found solid proof against him. The Code of Conduct needs to have a stricter policy on punishments being served when they are given. No one wants to continually hear about a player trying to escape
punishment. Serve the suspension like the mature adult you claim to be and move on with your career. There is a way to minimize or even cease domestic and all other forms of violence in the league. The NFL can start with who they draft. After the news of Foster’s arrest broke, The New York Times ran a story about how certain teams throughout the NFL didn’t have the young running back on their radar during the 2017 draft due to reports of his “immaturity” and “issues of life skills.” Had the 49er’s not ignored his violent history that had presented itself in his college career at Alabama and through the combine, we wouldn’t have to be talking about yet an-
other domestic issue. Another way that the league can help this problem is by not allowing players to sign contracts or even be picked up by a team. The Cleveland Browns signed Kareem Hunt to a contract rumored to be worth $1 million, so no matter what punishment Hunt receives it has already been undermined. The NFL needs to take a hard look at the players in the organization because this is a fixable problem. When a player decided to lay his hands on anyone else in a violent way he forfeits his right to play. KMOORE@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Performance enhancement drugs tarnish great names Nicholas Casadona STAFF WRITER
SPORTS OPINION Professional athletes who have used Performance Enhancing Drugs, should be banned from their respected Hall of Fames. Regardless of who it is, each case should be denied immediately if there is any record of usage or “serious speculation” during their career. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Alex Rodriguez are a few of the cases worth revisiting in baseball, as they are strongly tied to PED use while also being considered for the Hall of Fame. Many believe these players were great before their usage, that they still deserve a chance. These athletes have hands-
down cheated, while knowing the use of PEDs was wrong, on the biggest stages in America. PED’s are banned by all professional sports, yet many athletes in the past have continued to use them anyway. PEDs consist of mock male testosterone and boost muscle rehabilitation. This creates the largest muscle mass the athlete has ever achieved in their lifetime, allowing them to throw, hit and run, faster and harder. Even more so, the recovery times of most users are cut in half. Not only is it cheating, but it is also very damaging to the body with several severe side effects. Barry Bonds, a 14-time All-Star and seven-time MVP, reportedly starting using PEDs in late 1998, about halfway through his career. Having Hall
Sports enhancement illustration curtosy of Ash Photoholic / Flickr
of Fame numbers up to this point, hitting around 20-40 home runs a year, juiced those numbers to a constant 40+ while reach-
ing an all-time high of 73 in 2001, barely 18 months after he started using. Alex Rodriguez, who has even admitted his
PED usage, benefitted with career numbers. Alex Rodriguez hit as many as 696 home runs and attended 14 alll star games, during his 22 year career. Let us not forget A-Rod’s $252 million contract in 2001, or the $275 million contract in 2008, augmenting the highest net worth in baseball. These are the only athletes to consider, as they had the most obvious transformation and largest gains by their PED usage. Without performance enhancing drugs, these athletes would already be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, guaranteed. Bonds, Clemens, Rodriguez are currently not inducted and never will be. A college student who has been warned for cheating should not be considered for a Deans List nomination. Also,
a student who has been caught in the act of cheating should be expelled. The same standard should at least be held for professional athletes, making millions of dollars off their success. A paid professional athlete with enough PED speculation should never be voted into the hall, just as a player who has been caught already should be banned for numerous years. Rodriguez will not become fully forgiven, Clemens and Bonds will not continue to lie, and not one of them will get a plaque in the Hall of Fame. Most of us do not reward a “bad dog” with a meaty-bone. NCASADONA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
SPORTS • 14
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Kyler Murry sets example for multi-sport athletes SPORTS OPINION Jordan Spurgeon STAFF WRITER
The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner and ninth overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft, Kyler Murray has made his decision. He tweeted “Moving forward, I am fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback.” on Feb. 11, 2019. He’s pursuing the sport he’s more passionate about, which helps make this the right decision. Being a multi-sport athlete is one of the most beneficial things any athlete can do to improve their overall athletic performance. According to USA today, dual-sport athletes go on to be more successful in college because of lower injury rates that stem from overuse, less burnout from pressure, cross-sports skills, and a larger web of social skills from having more teammates. In high school, the goal for many athletes should be to play multiple sports. Those that are lucky
(Left) : Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray looks downfield for an open receiver against UCLA on September 8, 2018, at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS) ( Right) : Oklahoma’s Steele Walker (1) congratulates teammate Kyler Murray (7) on his fourth-inning two-run home run against Texas Christian at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, April 6, 2018. (Max Faulkner/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)
enough to advance to the collegiate level can then decide whether or not to play a single sport based on passion and skill. Kyler Murray has a chance to become the first athlete to be drafted in the first round in two sports, the NFL and the MLB. He
was drafted ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB draft and has now officially declared for the NFL draft and said he’s committed to playing football. He’s ranked as the top quarterback by many draft insiders. Most athletes have to
make this decision much earlier in their career. Unfortunately, dual-sport athletes in college are nearly non-existent and in high school the numbers are decreasing. This trend is alarming as it limits future overall-athletic ability. By choosing football
College athletes cut corners with paper classes SPORTS OPINION Monica Navarrete STAFF EDITOR
Paper classes may appear foreign to some but represents a growing negative trend among the country’s highest levels of collegiate athletics. Paper classes is roughly defined as any academic course at a higher institution that appears on paper as completed credits for an athlete but never existed in the first place. Others may argue that has a positive effect allowing athletes to focus more on a pro career but with less than 1 percent of college athletes finding a sustainable career in professional athletics this trend represents a rather depressing system of fast-tracking athletes to be efficiently used by a university for their natural ability. The cause of this can be traced to the high standard all college athletes face daily on increasingly larger stage. Summarized best in a quote from UCLA’s Josh Rosen stating “football and school don’t go together.” “They just don’t. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time
jobs. There are guys who have no business being in school, but they’re here because this is the path to the NFL. There’s no other way.” Rosen added. There are those out there who would argue that these large universities have a responsibility to provide their athletes with the best academic prep for life, but when viewing the profits generated from these athletic programs it’s clear why paper classes have become a growing trend. The NCAA Department of Revenue reported in 2017 that their two most profitable schools were University of Texas at Austin at $182 million and Ohio State University nearly $170 million. These statistics indicate that universities have prioritized the profits they generate from their athletic programs rather than the well-being and betterment of the athletes who make profit possible. The NCAA, a nonprofit governing board established to protect both the interests of athletes and their universities has taken a stance of punishing athletes who seek academic help rather than
football player was restricted from playing for a full academic year due to him asking his assigned tutor to proof-read one of his papers. After attempting to appeal this punishment he was denied and had to serve his assigned sentence. When looking at examples like this it is clear the NCAA and Universities with large athletic programs don’t have the interest of their athletes at hand. Rather they are more concerned with the profits and favorable public image that will be maintained through the success of their athletes on Fred Matamoros color ilthe field. lustration of young basketball This trend must be jock, giving thumbs-up and combated with greater smiling although his gradupublic knowledge about ation cap in the trash and he the inner workings of colholds failing grades. The News lege athletics as well as Tribune ( Tacoma, Wash.) universities prioritizing the lasting well-being of combating the issue of their athletes. paper classes and the batWith changes like these tery like usage of college implemented, college athathletes. letes may see a greater In a 2016 Real Sports success rate when transidocumentary hosted by tioning from athletic life HBO’s Bryant Gumble, back to that of a student. the program highlighted a story in which a Uni- MNAVARRETE@THE-TELESCOPE.COM versity of North Carolina
over baseball, Kyler Murray has made the right decision for his immediate financial future. His decision requires him to repay $1.5 million of his signing bonus to the Oakland Athletics, but if he becomes a first round pick in the NFL, he’ll have a contract
offer worth at least $9 million. Average quarterbacks make more money than average MLB players. So even if he’s not great in the NFL he’ll make more money than if he were to be average in baseball. The former head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes Urban Meyer has said he only recruited multi-sport athletes to his college football squads. Many other college coaches have a similar viewpoint, so the thought of single-sport specialization being more beneficial for recruiting, is false when it comes to major Division 1 schools. Kyler Murray is the outlier, being able to perform at an elite level in both baseball and football. He has a chance to make history in April at the NFL Draft. This opportunity wouldn’t be possible for him if he had decided to only play one sport. JSPURGEON@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Bring on the madness SPORTS OPINION Nathan Navida STAFF EDITOR
Creating predictions for March Madness is extremely difficult to do. No one is safe from elimination, not even the best. Everyone’s wondering who are the guaranteed picks and who could be the “bracket busters.” Duke is one team in particular that will go pretty far. The Blue Devils are currently ranked in the top three and a lot of people are looking towards star forward Zion Williamson to get healthy and Mike Krzyzewski to coach them to six national titles. Upsets are always bound to happen and Virginia may be one of those teams to be leaving disappointingly early. The main reason being that their style of game will not keep up with more high caliber teams who may be ranked lower. According
to NCAA(National Collegiate Athletic Association), they are in the top 10 when it comes to making three pointers but are not even in the top 100 when actually attempting three pointers. A big underdog that no one may be talking about is Houston. They are ranked No. 9 in the nation and their defense is the main reason why. They only allow 60 points per game which is fifth best in the nation according to NCAA. As the saying goes, “The best defense is a good offense.” If you’re searching for an Ivy league school to try to make some noise, keep your eye on Yale. They average over 80 points a game according to the NCAA. If they get the ball rolling they have the potential to cause trouble. NNAVIDA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
SPORTS • 15
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Kylie Pignone and Allie Hughen highfiving in Palomars 4-0 win against El Camino Feb 23. Krista Moore/ The Telescpe
Kylie Pignone batting in Palomar’s . Photographer name 8-0 win over San Diego Mesa Feb. 22. Sukhi Heumann / The Telescope
KYLIE PIGNONE : COMET OFFENSIVE FORCE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Pignone comes from years of experience and what Coach Craft calls a really good softball IQ. Despite being on a new team and having a wrist injury last year Kylie was still able to finish in the top three on the team for, hits (59) and on base percentage (.497), earning herself first team honors for the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. “She transferred in and made an impact right away,” Coach Craft said.
After graduating from San Clemente High School in 2017 and with years of travel ball under her belt, Pignone left her team at Division one Coastal Carolina University in 2017 to find a better fit academically and athletically. “I grew up wanting to play college softball. So for me having the opportunity to play and then transfer on is a huge goal of mine,” Pignone said. Along with rounding the
bases Pignone also faces a full round of classes in pursuit of a degree in Nursing. Pignone says that she has developed her work ethic and time management skills as a result of becoming a student-athlete. Although Palomar went undefeated in conference ball and finished 2nd in the whole state many students have transferred on from the 2 year college to the next level, making Kylie’s role as a returner impor-
tant to younger players. “She is a leader by example, coming to the field early and getting some reps off the tee. It really sets the standard for the type of work ethic we want our freshman to have,” Craft said. After suffering a shoulder injury and getting surgery over the summer Kylie is already back to full strength scoring 15 times in 13 games this season. On defense, the usually
quiet Pignone revealed another side, whether it was calling off fly balls, encouraging others or shouting the cut-off to her teammate. Pignone’s ability to adapt and use the tools she has make her a well rounded person which is helpful on and off the field. By using her speed, her instincts and and her experience Pignone is able set the tone for the game, right off the bat. Coach Craft calls Pignone a really ef-
fective communicator with great fundamentals. Going undefeated last year in the PCAC conference doesn’t phase Pignone “I don’t mind the pressure, I like staying nice and relaxed to be able to hit the ball,” Pignone said. If a leadoff hitter is supposed to create chaos,Pignone has that under control . PHARTLEY@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Introducing the reigning PCAC Mens Golfer of the Year Jordan Spurgeon STAFF WRITER
Palomar Comet Jacob Montes, chipping the ball down the green at Goat Hill Park on February 27, 2019. Emily Whetstone/ The Telescope
Jacob Montes, Comet’s golfer exploded onto the scene during his freshman year in 2018 and is looking to continue that dominance for his sophomore season in 2019. Montes was named the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2018 an accomplishment he said has been a long time in the making. “I’ve always played well since I was a kid… this was my first year getting lower scores consistently.” At Torrey Pines high school, he enjoyed playing football. He focused most of his time and effort on going after a football scholarship until a serious injury ended his senior season. With college football no longer in the picture, Montes decided to attend
Palomar to give competitive golf a shot. He hadn’t really played much golf during high school but he knew that he enjoyed playing. Montes said, “Being a dual-sport athlete definitely helped me… the physical and mental skills I learned in football have transitioned well to golf.” Most golfers don’t have a background in more physically demanding sports, so he has the edge in that aspect. Montes has been playing golf since he was 4-years-old. He grew up playing competitively as he got older, his dad started helping him compete in tournaments and take it to more of a business perspective. “I started to fall in love with it.” Montes said. Looking forward to this season, Montes is attempting to repeat as PCAC Player of the Year as well as win the state and regional tour-
naments. Something he failed to accomplish last year. Montes is a team player and he wants his team to enjoy success. This starts with the pursuit of winning the conference outright and then moving on to go for a state championship. Montes has gotten really close to teammates Zachery Brown and Kyoshiro Azumada. Montes and Azumada attended high school together and are roommates on every road trip the team takes. Brown said, “Playing with Jacob, it’s a lot of fun he always hits the ball extremely well… we push each other in practice and he definitely makes everyone better on this team.” After this season,Montes hopes to move on to a 4 year college to continue golfing. JSPURGEON@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
16 • SPORTS
March 4, 2019
From left to right : Haley Balch mid-stroke in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke on February 8,Sukhi Heumann, Palomar softball pitcher, Audrey Braun, threw the first pitch of the game against El Camino, Feb 23. Taylor Harder, Gema de la luz duringPalomars match with Grossmont Feb. 12.Mariesa Randow, Comets pitcher, Michell Hayes warming up between innings durng Palomars 4-3 loss to Grossmont Feb. 26. Krista Moore, Erika Weitzel jumps to take a shot as opponent Britney Neely tries to block it on February 15, 2019. Sukhi Heumann, Palomar Comets players Caleb Lowe (#10) dribbling the ball. Sonny Cavarlez/ The Telescope
Palomar Comets athletics start confrence competition Krista Moore STAFF WRITER
Palomar athletics are back in full swing as many of the teams are beginning conference play. Baseball and softball are off to hot starts while some of the more freshman heavy teams such as tennis and men’s volleyball are still trying to find their rhythm. Men’s and women’s basketball have finished their regular season and while the men missed the playoffs this season the women are ready to take on whoever gets in their way of a fifth consecutive conference title.
BASEBALL Comets baseball is back to its winning ways as they opened the season 4-0 before falling to Irvine Valley. The team quickly
adjusted coming back to win their next game by a large margin against Fullerton College. Palomar was voted by the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) to be the favorite to repeat as conference champions. The team has a .248 batting average and a .368 on base percentage through Feb. 26. The team will be home March 7 for a double header against LA Pierce with game one starting at 11 a.m.
After the impressive season they had last year the PCAC voted the Comets as most likely to repeat as conference champions for the seventh consecutive season. The team currently has a .338 batting average and a .397 on base percentage. The Comets will be home on March 8 at 1 p.m. to take on San Diego City.
SOFTBALL
Men’s basketball came to an end on Feb. 21 with a loss to San Diego Miramar. The team struggled to put together a winning streak ending with an overall record of 8-19 and a conference record of 2-8. The Comets average 63.7 points per game with a three point shooting of 31.6 percent. The freshman-heavy team tied
Palomar softball, like baseball, opened its season strong going 5-0 before hitting a two game rough patch. The team has since bounced back shutting out three of their next four opponents while picking up two conference wins against Mt. San Jacinto and San Diego Mesa.
BASKETBALL
with Mira Costa for 11 place out of 12. A positive note for the men’s team; sophomore guard Jamario Harris made the PCAC North second all-conference team. Women’s basketball put together what looks to be another winning season sealed with a win over Mira Costa with a final score of 71-48. The Comets ended with an overall record of 21-7 and a conference record of 5-2. With an average of 78.3 points per game and a 28.3 three point percentage, the women succeeded in their goal of making it back to the playoffs. The Comets also had six players named to the PCAC all-conference teams. Sophomore guard Clarissa Taite and freshman guards Julie Saelee, Taylor Williams, and Imari Cooley were all named
to the North first team while freshman guard Dee Dee Valenzuela and sophomore guard Morgan Heise were named to the North second team. For all playoff game times and locations visit the PCAC website.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL The men’s volleyball team is just getting its season started winning its first two matches against Antelope Valley 3-1 and San Diego Mesa 3-0. They have since dropped three consecutive matches. The freshman heavy team will look to bounce back moving into their conference matches starting March 20. The Comets will be back in the Dome Friday March 29 at 6 p.m. against Santiago Canyon.
TENNIS Men’s tennis has struggled so far this season dropping the first three matches of the season. The team will be getting use to the competitive play level as five of the team members are freshman. They will be looking to improve their record as they begin playing within the conference. The Comets will be back on their home court at 2 p.m. March 5 against Imperial Valley. The women’s team, like the men, have struggled through their first three matches. As conference play begins they will aim to improve. The young team has their next home game March 14 against Grossmont at 2 p.m. KMOORE@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Matt Ornelia: work hard, play hard Nicholas Casadona STAFF WRITER
Matt Ornelia has been playing baseball since age 5. Now 20, he continues to have the same big league dreams he always had. Ornelia believes that competing in college baseball has led to him staying in school. While completing his major of criminal justice, he plans on playing baseball all the way through and hopefully after college. Currently in his second season with the Comets, Ornelia aims to improve on last year’s 55 hits, while also leading the team with his experience. Teammates consider him “a monster and a very valuable piece to the team.” “I met Matt in the fall,
as he instantly showed leadership by opening up to the freshmen. He didn’t just show leadership with his words, but his actions were what mostly stood out to me. Matt shows a lot of potential to be a huge impact at the D1 level,” said freshman Robby Pike. Comets Head Coach Ben Adams added, “Matt is a good kid who works hard at what he does. Whether it is in practice or weights, people do look up to notice him.” As the Comets are still in the early part of the season, Ornelia is determined to not only battle for a starting position in the outfield, but also contribute off the bench. “I’d like to think I could be relied upon as the tense mo-
ments typically bring out the best in me.” Staying future focused is a huge part of baseball for Ornelia. Knowing where to throw the ball, when to swing, or when to run, are some of the most difficult things in the sport as they take knowledge, experience and preparation. Many would argue that the most difficult part of baseball is going from the bench to a big at-bat. “Even if I do not start, I must always stay loose and mentally stable during the whole game. You never know if you are going to be called in for a big moment.” Being a Southern California native, Ornelia has adopted the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as his
favorite team. Ornelia attributes a lot of his game style to the works of Angels seven times All-Star, Mike Trout, who is also an outfielder. “Trout has been considered the number one player in Major League Baseball for a few years now and has two MVP Awards. It is very easy to look up to a person such as himself,” Ornelia said. With hopes of future recognition, and plans to play in the majors, Ornliacontinues day after day to perfect his craft. In his free time he can be found hanging with friends, but typically, he is found in the batting cage in his backyard. NCASADONA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Matt Ornelia, center feilder for the Comets. He has a .311 batting average and a .390 on base percentage so far in his Palomar career. Aubree Wiedmaier/The Telescope