The Telescope 63.7

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PALOMAR COLLEGE, SAN MARCOS, CALIF.

MONDAY OCT. 19, 2009

FOCUSED ON PALOMAR

VOL. 63, NO. 7

the-telescope.com

INSIDE

ENTERTAINMENT Popular children’s book turned movie doesn’t disappoint

THE BLAME GAME Disarray fills Palomar’s student government

Wild Things

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‘Hate mail’ allegations spur rumors, creates tension with school administration

OPINION

Fashionista Do dress codes suffocate originality in appearance? Our writer says that fashion is an art form, and people should be free to express themselves

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FOCUS

BRANDON CULLY| THE TELESCOPE

A leadership controversy surrounds Marilyn Lunde (left), Andrew Bissell (center) and Sherry Titus (right).

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‘Good hair’ Chris Rock’s documentary leaves out important details

SPORTS

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Comet spotlight

Read a feature on the wrestling team’s captain

KELLEY FOYT THE TELESCOPE

E-mails labeled as hate mail at the most recent governing board meeting instigated a string of controversies in Palomar’s Associated Student Government last week. Alleged manipulation topped the student government’s list of problems, which was followed closely by the resurrection of drama that surfaced last semester. “There is something horribly wrong with how the students of Palomar College are being treated by those who run the Office of Student Affairs,” Shaun Briggs, a former ASG senator and Palomar student, wrote in an e-mail on Oct. 13 that was sent to various individuals, including

past and present ASG members, Palomar faculty and administration and the press. Sherry Titus, the director of OSA and the adviser of the ASG, and Marilyn Lunde, the secretary of both OSA and ASG and the adviser of Palomar’s honor society club Phi Theta Kappa, are being singled out as the alleged sources of manipulation. Both Titus and Lunde were unavailable for interviews at the time of press, but are scheduled for interviews for a follow-up story. Palomar President Robert Deegan defended Titus at the Board of Trustees’ meeting Oct. 13. “I worked in student services for a lot of years. It’s one of the toughest jobs there is. And she (Titus) does outstanding work,” Deegan said.

“To attempt to destroy someone without any supporting material, any supporting facts, is wrong.” Andrew Bissell, the student government president, said, “(Briggs’ e-mail) was just an overpublicized personal account.” But Bissell spoke, as a student, at the governing board meeting and aired his own concerns.

Stevie Lopez greets a passersby at the Gay/Straight Alliance table during Palomar College’s Coming Out Day on Oct. 12 outside the Student Union building. The event was hosted by the Gay Straight Alliance to promote awareness of the community of gay, straight and transgender students at Palomar. The event had an open mic session, where students and staff could voice their thoughts and experiences about homosexuality in America. There were also candy and buttons (shown at right) for participants.

GOVERNMENT PAGE 3

Commission tells school to improve goal-setting AMANDA MCCARTHY THE TELESCOPE

DUDLEY JOHNSON | THE TELESCOPE

TURN TO

Palomar College was placed on warning status by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges in June. One of the recommendations made was the improvement of the student learning outcomes and assessment methods. Palomar needs to define them in order to comply with the commission, said Marty Furch, co-chair of the Learning Outcomes Council. This defining process is conducted at the individual course, program and institutional levels. Student learning outcomes are statements written by the faculty. In essence, they show what a student should know or what skills a student should have after completing a course. Learning outcomes are broad, and there are usually only a few outcomes for each given class. “What the commission told us, we already well knew,” said Brent Gowen, an English professor. For several years Palomar faculty has been discussing how to implement student learning outcomes.

The report told Palomar to accelerate the process of identifying and assessing student learning outcomes. Given the progress made, Gowen said, “I think we’re in a very good position right now.” He added that the recommendations to Palomar are typical among those recently made to other western colleges. Palomar’s goal is to identify, assess and modify student learning outcomes for the college by 2012. A timeline for completing this goal was recently approved by the Faculty Senate. According to Furch, about 35 percent of courses currently have student learning outcomes. Assessment of the goals will take place in each department. The next step in establishing student learning outcomes is assessment. By analyzing students’ work for the semester, instructors can see which outcomes are being grasped by students and which ones need to be improved. This is done in a way that protects student and faculty privacy, said Furch. TURN TO

GOAL PAGE 3


2 | CAMPUS BEAT Police Blotter

THE TELESCOPE | MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009

Palomar students get a clear picture of finances

By the numbers... So far in October, Campus Police have reported the following: • 12 graffiti cases • 3 medical assists • 2 drug arrests • 1 altered permit • 2 petty thefts

Altered permits Campus Police caught a student altering a parking permit. Students have been graphically altering day permits in order to change the date, according to Campus Police officials. The cases are considered student conduct code violations and so they are referred to Sherry Titus, director of student affairs.

Burglaries

Drug and weapons arrests An officer cited and released a student by the SU building for possession of marijuana and a knife. There was also a non-student drug cite and release. The individual was found in possession of marijuana on campus.

A student left her car unlocked and her cell phone was stolen. The cell phone has not been recovered and nobody was caught. There was a locker burglary. Four textbooks were stolen. Campus Police said that most locker burglaries occur during non-class hours, and encourage students not to leave items in their lockers overnight.

The 2009 Clery Report, an annual crime report, contains the statistics of the crime on campus for the school semester of 2008-2009. It is now available on the Campus Police Web site,www.palomar.edu/police/

Meteor shower lights up night sky for whole week; brightest show predicted for Oct. 21 The Orionids meteor shower will once again become visible to the naked eye and will reach greatest activity on Oct 21. The Orionids are meteors that appear to be coming from the direction of the Orion constellation. They, however, have nothing to do with Orion. Meteors, or meteoroids, are actually nothing more than debris left behind from comets, and the Orionids are particles left from Halley’s comet. Although Halley’s comet passed by 23 years ago, its debris is still traveling along its pathway.

Each year, as the Earth makes its journey around the sun and passes through Halley’s path, where remaining comet particles as small as a grain of salt, pummel it. Because they are traveling at speeds of 90,000 mph when they hit the atmosphere,they appear as brightly lit streaks across the night sky. Many people refer to these streaks as shooting stars, though this term is a misnomer, as shooting stars are meteors rather than stars. The best time to view the Orionids will be in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, between 2-5 a.m. They can however, be seen all night long, but their frequency increases during the early hours. Also, because the Earth will not pass through Halley’s path in just one night,the meteors will be visible throughout the week of Oct. 18-24. The meteors can be better seen from areas where there is not much light from cities, so deserts and mountains make excellent viewing areas.Also,this year,the moon will be a thin crescent, so moonlight will not hinder viewing.

One of the trickiest and most unwanted situations students tend to get easily caught up in is debt. Many students lack an upfront knowledge about the issue of monetary liability. Palomar wants to give students a clear picture of money and its technicalities, so that fewer problems can be encountered down the road. The Financial Aid Literacy Workshop is designed to do this and will be held this Tuesday on Oct. 20 at noon and again at 5:30 p.m. in the Governing Board Room, SSC-1.There are six more workshops this semester. The workshop will be presented by Financial Aid Services, and was implemented as part of Palomar’s student loan process for the first time this semester. Students who attend the workshop will be taught the key points of budgeting and how to self-manage their own finances. At the workshop students will find out different ways to save cash, gain personal insight on their own money-spending behavior and how it can be improved. In addition, the topic of credit cards and instructions on how to make loan payments will be discussed. The workshop is a mandatory requisite for all students currently borrowing money for school and for completing the checking disbursement process, but it is open to all who are interested in Financial Aid. No sign up or fee is required, but doors to the workshop close 10 minutes after the presentation has started. Please keep in mind that the workshop is for students only and that children, family members, and friends will not be allowed into the workshop.

Bartering system is back with a modern twist

Pay Me With a Chicken is a new bartering Web site. Instead of paying for items and services, the user trades for them. Users create a barter posting by upload a video or picture and description of the item or service being bartered. This site does require the user to be signed in to their e-mail and click back and forth between pages. There are many departments on Pay Me With a Chicken, in which to find the item the user is looking for. To find them the user has to make use of the site’s search engine. The Web site is aimed at helping college students get what they may need without much trouble, including text books and tutoring services. Pay Me With a Chicken was “hatched”in April of 2009, according to the Web site.

CAMPUS CALENDAR Monday, Oct. 19 • Phi Theta Kappa meeting at 1 p.m. in SU203.

Tuesday, Oct. 20 • Fashion Club meeting at 5 p.m. in Fash. #1. • Gay/Straight Alliance meeting at 3:30 p.m. in SU-204. • International Club meeting at 5 p.m. in SU203.

Wednesday, Oct. 21 • Free STD screenings are being offered at Health Services from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 760744-1150, ext. 2380. • Premed Club meeting at 4 p.m. in TNS-217. • Associated Student Government meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. in SU-204.

Thursday, Oct. 22 • Black Student Union meeting at 11:30 a.m. in SU-17. • Fashion Club meeting at 5 p.m. in Fash. #1. • MEChA meeting at 4:30 p.m. in SU-17.

Friday, Oct. 23 • Tifaolemona Samoan Club meeting at 11 a.m. in SU-204. • Palomar Engineering and Physics students meeting in SU-255 at 2 p.m.

What’s up?

Do you know something we don’t? Let us know. To submit story tips or events for the campus calendar, e-mail us at telescope@palomar.edu or call (760) 891-7865.

Marge reveals all as the new Playboy centerfold This photo released Friday, Oct. 9, 2009, by Playboy Magazine, is the cover of the November 2009 issue.

Political economic event exposes students to different ideas from quest speakers The fourth annual Political Economy Days will be taking place on Palomar College’s San Marcos campus Oct. 21 and 22. Palomar’s Economics, History and Political Science department created Political Economy Days in order to broaden students’ exposure to economic, political and historical topics, by hosting various speakers. The lectures are on a variety of topics that feature faculty from Palomar, CSU San Marcos, UCSD and other colleges and universities. On the schedule of events the start time is set for 8 a.m. and each lecture is an hour and 20 minutes, with an end time of 3:20 p.m. on both days.

The cover features Marge Simpson, mother of three.

The location of the lectures will be in the Governing Board Room (SSC-1), P-18, NS-312, P30, D-6 and P-32. Some of the topics to be discussed during the event range from; American involvement in the Middle East to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s role on campus economics. Other topics that will be discussed will be; health care reform to elections in Mexico,futility of war to globalization to the California budget to concentration camps. For more information you can visit the Economics, History and Political Science department’s Web site, at www.palomar.edu/ehp/

The cover celebrates the 20th anniversary of “The Simpsons.” The magazine is deviating from tradition. It has never featured any cartoon characters before and hit newsstands October 16.

FUN FACT: The Marge Simpson cover is modeled after the October 1971 issue that made Renee Tenison the first African-American Playboy covergirl.

JOHN GREEN | MCT CAMPUS

CAMPUS WEATHER

(AP Photo/Playboy Magazine)

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Monday, Oct. 19


NEWS | 3

MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009 | THE TELESCOPE

GOVERNMENT

Even public school prices out of range NICK PERRY MCT CAMPUS

A college degree has become a requirement to enter almost any profession, and can increase lifetime earnings by a million dollars or more. There was a time when people could fill up the tank for $10 and could work summers to pay for college. The present day reality is not so. College prices are raising at an alarming rate. The average tuition bill is $25,000 and $6,600 respectively at a private and public school, according to the College Board. Add food and a place to stay, and the cost of attending a prestigious private university can now run at $200,000 for that undergraduate degree. Ronald Ehrenberg, who directs the Higher Education Research Institute at Cornell University said, “colleges and universities like to grab as many resources as they can. We want to make ourselves as good as we can.” Yet only a sliver of all that extra tuition is being put into classroom teaching. According to an analysis by the nonprofit Delta Cost Project, much more has gone into areas like student services, academic support and research (which often pays for itself through outside grants). Universities these days spend just 35 to 44 percent of their budgets on teaching their students. For public universities, the problem has been with state governments, which have systematically taken money away. Facing spiraling costs for prisons, health care and K-12 education, lawmakers have time and again taken their axes to university finances. Outside the public system, something else has been going on. Twenty years ago, private, liberalarts colleges collected all their tuition and then gave back about 19 cents from every dollar in the form of scholarships and financial aid, helping out certain students. These days, the colleges give back about 33 cents of every dollar. That

means more help for some, more cost for everyone else. While some of the extra help has gone to poorer students, much has gone into the heated competition for academic achievers. These top students are lured with “merit-based” scholarships. If a college attracts better students, after all, it can lead to a better reputation, better professors, better rankings. One pernicious contributor to rising tuition is the annual college rankings put out by U.S. News & World Report, Ehrenberg says. The more colleges spend, the more they are rewarded in the rankings, whether the extra money improves quality or not. Even with the economy in its deepest funk since the Great Depression, there is little sign that college costs will level off any time soon. Just months ago, private colleges were worried the bad economy could reduce demand, but the opposite is taking place. Some experts wonder, however, if the shakeout might come next year. They argue that many of this year’s families were already committed to a private education before the crisis hit. Students are the ones picking up more of the tab as costs go up. Two-thirds now borrow at least some money for their college education, up from half in the early 1990s. The average amount borrowed has doubled over that time to about $20,000. Tom Trzyna, a college accreditor and an English professor at private Seattle Pacific University, lists some of the “add-ons” that have increased the cost of education over time — the counseling, the paid student-government representatives, the free meals at campus events — and wonders why we can’t get back to a more simple notion of education. “What is the purpose of college?” he asks. “To study, or to be offered a community or camp experience? Young adults will find ways to play, worship and organize without the assistance of college authorities. So why are students paying for services that are not directly educational?” In the end, the biggest driver of college costs may be our own willingness to pay. As tuition has skyrocketed over the past 20 years, postsecondary enrollment has also risen from 12 million students to 17 million.

“I personally believe that there are problems in the Office of Student Affairs. I believe that the situation hasn’t always been that way,” Bissell said. Later, he said, “I believe that the ASG has been a victim of micromanagement, intimidation and manipulation on the part of the OSA. The charges in this e-mail cannot be ignored any longer.” Neill Kovrig, a former student and ASG president, spoke at the same governing board meeting and defended Titus and Lunde. “In the years that I worked with OSA, I never once saw or experienced anything akin to what is being alleged,” Kovrig said. “If there is any investigation to be had … I guarantee that there will be things that you find that do not point to the OSA.” Another student blamed the current ASG leadership. “I think that there should be an investigation not on the OSA, but on the president (Bissell) and (Ann Hong) the vice president (of ASG),” Josue Graciano, a Palomar student, said at the governing board meeting. Jessica Baker, a former Palomar student, ASG senator (2008-2009 school year) and Spring 2009 Phi Theta Kappa president, followed suit to Briggs’ e-mail with an account of her own experiences in an e-mail on Oct. 14. “After over a year of being involved with student life and leadership on this campus I have seen and been a victim of this corruption (caused by members of the Office of Student Affairs),” Baker wrote.“From what I have experienced over the last year, I strongly believe there are two groups of student leaders on this campus; those who are favored by the Office of Student Affairs, and those who are not.” In Briggs’ e-mail, he listed incidents he allegedly observed in previous semesters. He described “the most heinous of situations” as being an incident of rape that took place at a school-related function. Baker also mentioned the incident in her e-mail. Both said that administration failed to act on students’ reports of this incident. Deegan said that no such case was reported. “Nothing is swept under the rug,” Deegan said. “No matter who, no matter what.” Briggs wrote, “Some of these allegations are not isolated and are pervasive to this very day.” Shannon Leinhart, the head of the Palomar Faculty Federation, said she spoke at the board meeting on behalf of herself and

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If students are not demonstrating an understanding of the outcomes, the instructor knows he or she needs to make adjustments in the future. In this respect, the outcomes are for the instructor, said Richard Albistegui-Dubois, life science professor. Student learning outcomes are not limited to courses. Each department at Palomar, from the library to the cafe to student services, must have outcomes. The recommendations by the ACCJC

not for the federation. She said she agreed with Briggs. “This is something that I have been witness to for years,” Leinhart said. A newly-formed group called PC3H Palomar College Committee to Combat Hate, chimed in on the debate. The group was created recently in reaction to hate mail sent in 2008 to a faculty member. “The Palomar College Committee to Combat Hate (PC3H) strongly condemns hate speech such as unsubstantiated statements that defame the character of anyone among our students, faculty, staff and administrators,” according to a statement sent by email on Oct. 15. “Such statements bring harm and disrespect to the Palomar community and the community at large, and subvert the process to resolve grievances through established policies and procedures.” But Briggs maintained that his email is important because “students (are) being manipulated, lied to and harassed due to their ignorance of the constitutions, bylaws and workings of student organizations,” and “Sherry Titus and Marilyn Lunde exert their authority to manipulate the outcomes of elections, recruiting processes and a proposed impeachment.” At the governing board meeting, current ASG President Bissell said that he “respectfully request(s) that the OSA be placed under investigation.” One faculty member agreed. “We are all here about the students,” Dan Finkenthal, a Palomar physics professor said at the meeting. “So I do want to appeal to that sense of us and our sense of purpose that we fully examine what’s going on.” There was no official call for investigation from the board, but President Chadwick did ask for a review and report of the Briggs allegations. Read both Briggs’ and Bakers’ e-mail in their entirety online at the-telescope.com. The Telescope will continue to follow the story.

© 2009 National University 8127

Ballooning college tuitions lead to trouble for students

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may be unnecessarily redundant, said Albistegui-Dubois. Professors traditionally meet to discuss student learning for each course. They also determine whether students are learning the main themes of each class. “It’s a way of formalizing what instructors already do,” he added. “The most important part of this is that we help the students do better. There shouldn’t be any mystery in this process. Students should share in this process because it’s for them,” Furch said.

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4

| OPINION

OUR VIEWPOINT

Class cuts affecting Palomar athletics

Students throughout Palomar are feeling serious pressure from the extensive class cuts that have been made. Unknown to most, the student athletes at Palomar are under an especially high level of stress. One group in particular that is feeling a lot of heat, but is not getting recognized for it, is the student athletes at Palomar. Right now, according to Palomar athletic director Scott Cathcart, the standards for the National Collegiate Athletics Association requirements have never been higher and, the level of athletic competition has never been greater. Combine this with the fact that the availability of classes has never been lower at Palomar, and student athletes have a serious problem. Berta Cuaron, Palomar’s Vice President of Instruction, wrote in an e-mail dated Sept. 16, that Palomar offered 8,100 classes to its students in the 2008-2009 school year. In the 2009-2010 school year, it is predicted that Palomar will offer 7,900 to 8,000 classes. This means that Palomar is offering between 100 to 200 fewer classes than a year ago. This kind of cut in classes limits Palomar students’ ability to meet certain requirements. A Palomar athlete, in order to participate in his or her sport, must be enrolled as a full- time student at Palomar. This means that he or she must have a minimum of 12 units per semester. Twelve units may not seem like a difficult requirement, but to the football player who works full-time and practices four hours a day; or the wrestler who trains, inarguably the most competitive and physically demanding sport we have at Palomar, while juggling two jobs, 12 units may be problematic. Not to mention the fact that athletes at Palomar are not granted priority when registering for classes, unlike at four-year universities. Another factor that must be added to this equation is that students who play Palomar sports are most likely trying to transfer to a four-year college. This can be even more problematic for an athlete. Here’s why: According to the NCAA college-bound student-athlete guidebook, a graduating student coming out of high school is made eligible to play NCAA Division I or Division II athletics by completing a certain number of core classes in high school, as well as meeting a required score on NCAA’s sliding scale, which combines the students’ GPA and SAT scores. A student who goes to Palomar and is planning to transfer must compensate for this by maintaining a 2.0 GPA or higher, and must have 40 percent of their requirements for their major — as well as their general education — completed by their junior year going into a four-year college. Students who do not play sports have a hard enough time meeting their major’s requirements. One would think athletes should be given priority over other students, simply because of the extra workload they carry and the lack of flexibility they have in their educational career due to their busy schedules. Also, it allows virtually no flexibility when it comes to changing a major if a student athlete plans to transfer in the projected two years. If an athlete wants to attend a four-year college from Palomar, they better not change their major after their freshman year, or they may not meet 40 percent of their new major’s requirements when the time comes to transfer. Although class cuts are making students’ lives exceptionally harder, the reality is that it is going to stay this way for a while. The only control that students have is based on preparation. All students can do is change the way they prepare themselves with a broad understanding of the requirements they need to meet. Athletes are required to take a course called Athletics and Competitive Sports (ACS 50), which helps them understand how to conduct a college career. Student athletes need to take this course seriously because it can make their lives a whole lot easier. If you’re an athlete and think that this is unfair, talk to your coaches. Also, there is a counseling department specifically for athletes at Palomar. It’s located on the San Marcos campus in room M-8. If you’re not an athlete but still think that this situation is unreasonable, talk to Palomar College President Robert Deegan. He can be reached at 760-744-1150, ext. 2106 or rdeegan@palomar.edu.

MONDAY OCT. 19, 2009

FOCUSED ON PALOMAR

EDITORS IN CHIEF | KELLEY FOYT MELISSA LERAY OPINION EDITOR | MAGGIE AVANTS FOCUS EDITOR | ALEJANDRA JACKSON SPORTS EDITOR | JEREMY LEAL PHOTO EDITOR | SARA BURBIDGE ONLINE/COPY EDITOR | ERIC WALKER

THE TELESCOPE | MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009

Keep teen access to birth control ALEJANDRA JACKSON THE TELESCOPE

When the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would allow teens as young as 17 to acquire the emergency contraceptive Plan B or as it is more commonly known, “the morningafter pill,” detractors immediately began to argue that this decision would increase promiscuity among women and especially teen girls, a concern that recent studies show is largely unfounded. Surprisingly, the biggest proponent for keeping Plan B off shelves was Steven Galson, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Galson cited what he saw was insufficient evidence on the effect the drug would have on young girls and their sexual behaviors. According to the New York Times, since the drug became available in 2006 it has had no effect on the number of women having unprotected sex or the number of abortions nationally. These findings were echoed in several studies done on adolescents and emergency contraceptives. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that in December 2003, the FDA reviewed data stating that despite easy access for teens as

young as 15, there was no increase in irresponsible sexual activity. Also, when North Carolina-based research group Family Health International conducted a study wherein anyone could call a hotline and have a prescription for emergency contraceptive phoned in, 17-year-olds only accounted for 7 percent of the number of

pregnant than students who did not receive any sexual education. While it is true that the number of teenagers having sex rose steadily throughout the ’70s and ’80s, which could be argued was a result of the legalization of oral birth control during the 1960s, the numbers took a turn in the other direction once the government began its lengthy crusade against teens and sex in the 1990s. A 2007 study by the Center For Disease Control showed the number of high school students engaging in sex had decreased steadily from 1991 to 2007. The study also showed that the number of students reporting more than four sexual partners during their life had also decreased. Whether the roots of teenage promiscuity lie ZACH MARCUS| THE TELESCOPE with birth control or not,the fact of the matter callers.That number dropped dra- is the Pandora’s box has been matically with each prior age opened. There is no way to go back in time and prevent that group. The key to delaying sexual first oral contraceptive from activity among teens lies in sexu- reaching the masses and hoping al education, not in denying them that the future would somehow contraception. According to be different. All that can be done Reuters News Service, students now is to inform teenagers about who received sexual education the dangers of sex and to provide were 60 percent less likely to get them with the tools to prevent pregnant or to get someone else pregnancy.

Too soon for Obama’s peace prize TYPHANIE SHARFNER THE TELESCOPE

President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The Norwegian Nobel Committee also praised Obama for his calls of peace and cooperation, his efforts to reduce the amount of nuclear arms in the world and easing U.S. conflicts with Muslim nations. Nobel officials said their pick was meant to build a momentum behind Obama’s initiatives. This is just political shrewdness for a biased action that was unnecessary and potentially harmful to Obama’s presidency. This award may have asserted Obama’s place in the world as a Jehovah of peace, but it is underserved, premature and dilutes the image of the Nobel prize to a mere “most likely to succeed,” high school yearbook award. Upon his acceptance of the award Oct. 9, Obama said he was deeply humbled and undeserving of the award and that it is a

VOLUME 63 NUMBER 7

CARTOONISTS | JOSEPH BONNET, ZACH MARCUS AD MANAGER | CRYSTAL EVANS DISTRIBUTION MANAGER | KEVIN THOMPSON INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS | MATT NULL, CHARLES STEINMAN JOURNALISM ADVISERS | ERIN HIRO, ADRIAN VORE PHOTOJOURNALISM ADVISER | PAUL STACHELEK

The Telescope is published 11 times per semester. Opinions expressed in the newspaper are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent those of the entire newspaper staff, Palomar faculty and staff members or the governing board trustees.

call to action. Of course he is humbled, rightly so, he knows he isn’t in the same caliber as 1993 winner Nelson Mandela, who helped end apartheid; or Martin Luther King Jr. and his efforts to end segregation; or former president Theodore Roosevelt who was a collaborator of several peace treaties. His call to action is an obvious conclusion when you have the world’s expectations trailing you in the form of an honorable award. Obama seems like an upstanding guy. Comparatively he’s no Hitler, so it is safe to say he will bring good to the world; but an award is something you earn. It’s kind of like your teacher giving you an “A” for an expected job well done. Nice on the surface, but leads to an anxious semester trying to fulfill the expectation. Based on his achievements as a senator and current president, he has made some improvements to society. However, all we have right now are unfulfilled promises and a man with a lot of hope and delusions of grandeur.

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As an avid anti-Bush advocator and Obama supporter, I have to admit Bush did more for peace and disarming the world of nuclear weapons — after all we went to war over it. The intelligence and effects of that decision is debatable, but according to the Nobel committee standards, intentions are what seem to matter nowadays, not outcomes or achievements. The expectations for Obama’s presidency are higher than those of any recent president. He is expected to save the economy, end a war, divert a new one and save humankind from itself — all within a time limit that seems to have ended before his first year in office is over. There is a likelihood that Obama could fall short of his self-imposed prophecies, perhaps even fail — a devastating but all too human way of life. The Nobel Prize has raised the pedestal the world has placed Obama on to a dizzying height. The misguided intention of the committee to create momentum behind our president leaves a wake of unrealistic expectations that nothing short of bringing world peace will satisfy.

The Telescope welcomes all letters to the editor. Letters must be typewritten, under 300 words and include the author’s first and last names, major and phone number. Phone numbers will not be published. Letters can be e-mailed to telescope@palomar.edu or delivered to the newsroom in Room MB-1. The Telescope reserves the right to edit letters for space and grammatical errors and not to print lewd or libelous letters. Letters must be received one week prior to the newspaper’s publication to be considered for inclusion.

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Fashion is art:

OPINION | 5

MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009| THE TELESCOPE

Students should appreciate the freedom to express themselves through what they wear ASAKO SASAKI THE TELESCOPE

All people have different characteristics, and the way people choose to dress can differ greatly. Everyone should be able to wear what he or she want, when they want, but some people seem to get offended by what others wear. Like when female students expose their chest and thighs by wearing low-cut blouses and short shorts and skirts. Fashion is an artistic outlet, and what students wear adds color to the campus. The human body is an art form, and clothes are an extension of that. Beginning in the Middle Ages, artists would paint naked human bodies. Bodies shaped beautifully are artistic and impress people. Good body shape is a specialty born out of the efforts of a person, so have they right to show their art form just as musicians perform their music. In addition, the way people wear their clothes is an outlet of self-expression, so if people didn’t wear what they want, it would remove the uniqueness and variety of individuality. College is not only designed for studying

a sense of belonging, or for religious reasons. But the sense of belonging should come from us all having the same goal — to get a college education. I was born in Japan and spent 17 years there. In Japan, girls care about fashion a lot, and people who do not follow the latest trends are regarded as unacceptable. Because of this, people usually do not feel free to wear what they want, so they cannot be creative. After I came here, I have felt free to wear whatever I want, and I do not have to care so much about my clothes every morning. The freedom to wear whatever one wants is one of the good aspects of American culture, and people should appreciPHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY LUCERO ate it. MARTINEZ|THE TELESCOPE According to John Valdez, a but serves as a place to grow as professor of Chicano Study at an individual. Self-expression is Palomar, the U.S. is an open sociimportant to that. Clothes play a big role in a first impression of someone. They show that person’s characteristics or mood. If someone wants to wear only ety, and it is an expressive and orange-colored clothing, maybe creative country. There are many it is just his or her self-expres- different ethnic and groups on sion. Maybe it is their favorite campus. He likes to see people color, and they want everyone to being creative about everything, and to possess something that know. There is not a dress code at makes them interesting. He also Palomar College, but some say supports the individual. “Express it,” Valdez says, as a there should be. Some colleges have dress codes to give students message to students.

In Japan ... people who do not follow the latest trends are regarded as unacceptable.

SPEAK OUT!

The Obama administration has suggested longer school days and possibly year round school. What do you think of this?

I’m all for it. High school students should be kept at school for as long as possible to learn more and keep them out of trouble. I hope that future students will learn from their mistakes.

—Nolan Fox

There is already so much pressure on students and we don’t need more. We go to school 9 out of 12 months a year. We deserve a break.

— Danielle Guerra

I agree with the Obama administration. Americans should be spending more time in school. It will only give more knowledge to students.

Lightweight armor makes heavyweight politics Since late 2008, the U.S. Conservatively Army intended to replace Speaking its standardissue body DAN armor vests MCCARTHY with a lighter, more userfriendly unit. The change stems from weight issues that full coverage armor suits inherently suffer from, and in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, such loads become prohibitively heavy and limit the wearer’s range of movement, agility and overall stamina. To lighten each soldier’s combat load, Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier — the body that handles equipment and arms procurement for the military—held open contract trials for a new “plate carrier.”This is basically a smaller and lighter body armor system that uses the same type of Kevlar panels and ceramic rifle plates currently used, but just on a smaller scale. Within the last month, PEO Soldier announced that KDH Defense Systems — a relatively new company — won the $380 million contract slated for the end of this year. This is where things get a bit interesting. KDH beat out three highly regarded equipment manufacturers: Eagle Industries, MSA Paraclete and San Diego-based Tactical Assault Gear, all three of whom have storied histories of supplying American grunts with quality gear. Eagle Industries makes specialized kits for the Army Rangers, Navy SEALs and Marine Special Operations Battalions; MSA Paraclete is one of the premier tactical gear firms today, with many of their products used by Army Special Operations groups; and Tactical Assault Gear, while having little contractual background, is a very popular Commercial Off-The Shelf supplier to West Coast Marines and Naval Special Warfare units. But where you might think prior contracting experiences and high industry standing would play a major issue, you’d be wrong.The overriding factor here is, instead, location. Eagle Industries is near St. Louis, MO; Paraclete is in North Carolina; and as previously mentioned, TAG is right in our backyard, south of Imperial City.

That’s all well and good, but herein lays the rub. KDH is in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, home of notorious pork barrel-er John Murtha, who coincidentally chairs the powerful Armed Forces Appropriations Committee. It’s pretty obvious where this is going. Murtha has earmarked millions of dollars for KDH and has come out with little to show for it. Over the past couple of years, Rep. Murtha allocated $3 million for KDH to develop a new underwater “swimmer detection” sonar system that the Navy would use to protect ports. But there’s a slight catch. KDH is in tactical textiles, not Sonar. As it turned out, KDH ended up subcontracting the job out to a British firm, but the two ultimately couldn’t come up with a production ready product. Fast forward to September, and as Yogi Berra said, “It’s Déjà vu all over again.” After winning the armor contract, KDH set about planning how they would make 58,000 plate carriers, additional armor carriers and the associated spare parts and have them field ready by December. KDH operates two manufacturing facilities: one in Eden, North Carolina and the other— at the company headquarters — in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. However, only one is fully functional, although it lacks the requisite man and machine power to churn out such a large contract so fast. Despite this, an estimated 55 percent of the work will be done at those two facilities. So where is the other 45 percent taken care of? Plants in Fenton, Mo., and Mayaguez and Lares, Puerto Rico, will handle the remaining orders. But again, there’s a sole caveat. KDH doesn’t own those sites. Eagle Industries does. So it is a full circle. A firm with a vastly inferior product beats out what is often considered the tier one tactical equipment manufacturer and ends up subcontracting it out to them anyway. Why? For Murtha to grease his filthy hands with donations and in the process sabotages our boys on the ground with poorly designed, poorly built and poorly procured gear that belongs anywhere but a combat zone. “War profiteering,” it would seem, has jumped party lines. Remember this the next time you hear that phrase.

—Art Arutjunancs

Younger children already have a full schedule. We shouldn’t be bombarding them with extra school hours. I have a 5-year-old daughter and she’s going crazy already!

— Marylyn Fredriksson

We should have longer school days and schools years so that we can cover more topics in each class. As of now, there isn’t enough time to absorb everything.

— Emeka Akosionu

I don’t like the idea of longer school days or longer school years. School is long enough as it is!

— Alex Gray


6 | ENTERTAINMENT WHAT’S HAPPENING Through Sunday, Nov. 8 What: Disney’s The Lion King Where: San Diego Civic Theatre When: Showings daily (except Monday) Cost: $22.50

Tuesday, Oct. 20 What: Bell de Jour, film Where: San Marcos campus, room P-32 When: 6:30 p.m. Cost: Free

Wednesday, Oct. 21 What: Hillcrest Art Nite When: Every third Wednesday, 6-10 p.m. Where: Downtown Hillcrest (University Avenue between 10th and Herbert Street) Cost: Free Who: Brand New with Manchester Orchestra (21+) What: Alternative When: 6:30 p.m. Where: House of Blues San Diego Cost: $23.50 Who: Palomar Symphony with Dorea Tate What: Classical When: 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Where: Howard Brubeck Theatre Cost: $12 general, $10 seniors and staff, $8 advance tickets

Sunday, Oct. 25, ongoing Who: Carol Williams What: San Diego Civic Organist When: 2 p.m. Where: Spreckels Organ Pavillion, Balboa Park Cost: Free

NOW ON SALE

Snoop Dogg, DJ Quik and Nipsey Hussle Concert at the House of Blues in San Diego on Nov. 20, tickets on sale now. $62.50 ticketmaster.com

So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour 2009 Concert at the House of Blues in San Diego on Nov. 12, tickets on sale now. $38.50 ticketmaster.com

‘Wild ’ a return to childhood NIGEL HARRIS THE TELESCOPE

Spike Jonze’s interpretation of Maurice Sendak’s picture book “Where the Wild Things Are” captures what it feels like to be a child and transfers it onto the silver screen. The film MOVIE REVIEW focuses on Max, a con‘Where the Wild fused child of Things Are’ divorced parents, who is HHHH trying to figOUT OF FOUR STARS ure out how STARRING:Max to keep his Records world from DIRECTOR: Spike falling apart. Jonze After a trouRATED: PG blesome evening, Max runs away only to start his adventure on understanding who he is. The film has incredible acting and voice acting. With big names like Paul Dano (“There Will be Blood”) and Catherine Keener (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”), it was very possible that the lead role of Max (played by the unknown Max Records) could have been hidden in the shadows, but Records kept up and delivered a stellar performance. Records has the ability to go far with the emotion he delivers, his emotional depth furthering the plot devices. The film also uses symbolism in a smart, clever and deep way, which helps the film capture the feel of what it is like to be a child. All of the emotions Records displays throughout the film are shown in a way that brings childhood back to the forefront of consciousnesses. viewers’ Records’ acting is some of the best in Hollywood. He takes adults right back to how small they could feel as kids, or how scared, or even how a small thing can make a child happy for a long time. The music in the film is

MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009 | THE TELESCOPE

absolutely perfect for the emotion that Jonze was going for. It has a playful and almost childlike feel that just meshes with the film. The music really feels like something that would be running through a child’s head playing games. The film features music by Karen O and the Kids, a special project headed by Karen Orzolek, the lead singer from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She wrote the songs especially for the film, adding an extra something to an already-great film. This film is beautiful. Jonze has done an outstanding job creating a world that feels vast and engaging. The shots are wonderfully set, bringing out the color and depth of feel in every shot. Jonze’s film style sets up a real sense of scope in the world he has created. The landscapes are breathtaking; it looks as though people haven’t touched them in hundreds of years, the world the creatures live in was filmed in Australia. The creatures in the film, known as the Things, are a combination of man-in-suit, animatronics, puppetry and computer-generated animation. All of these aspects come together to bring the Things to life. The Things all have separate personalities and are easy to identify with. The facial features also have a very human feel, which makes it easy to decipher their emotions. The movie’s story is also executed flawlessly. It is rather comical and builds on the idea of taking viewers back to their childhood. Jonze’s interpretation of a 48page children’s story into a 90minute feature film seemed like a daunting task, yet his ideas were phenomenal and will be as fondly remembered as the book itself. The film is good for any occasion: take a date, take your kids or go see it alone. You’ll be sure to come out feeling great.

MATT NETTHEIM | WARNER BROS./MCT CAMPUS

Max Records the star of "Where the Wild Things Are," delivers an emotional performance.

‘Coco Before Chanel’barely scratches the surface COLIN COVERT MCT CAMPUS

Follow Audrey Tautou’s eyes, those deep dark pools, as they rake across the drape of a fabric or the architecture of a hat with fierce concentration. She’s not merely looking, she’s observing, thinking intensely. MOVIE REVIEW In Anne n t a i n e ’s Fo ‘Coco Before admiring but Chanel’ not uncritical “Coco Before HHH C h a n e l ,” OUT OF FOUR STARS Tautou plays STARRING: Audrey an iconic Tautou clothing RATED: PG-13 designer who was also a kind of philosopher. She wanted to liberate women from their crushing corsets, peel away their suffocating veils and let them move freely. Chanel used couture to liberate herself and her customers. In the process, she designed an adventurous life for herself. The film, although sumptuously produced, is a staid and conventional account of her early years. We meet young Gabrielle Chanel in the back of a horse cart, en route to an orphanage where she’s dumped by her peasant father with hardly a backward glance. The nuns’ severe black habits make an impression on the aspir-

ing seamstress, but don’t influence thing like love. Yet her adolescent wardrobe choices. when his friend, Performing a saloon cabaret English finanact with her sister, “Coco” cier and polo dresses in French can-can player Arthur froufrou. Although she was Capel “Boy” on display, she turned the (Alessandro situation to her advantage: The asks Nivola), music hall was a fine place to meet rich men. Still in her teens, she truly was a designing woman. She settles on homely, wealthy Etienne Balsan (Benoît Poelvoorde) because “he’s smarter than the others and he knows people.” The racehorse aficionado is intrigued by her gamine charm and impressed by her audacity when she storms his house uninvited. In short order, she is his mistress. The calculating Coco works to beguile her patron, dressing in shockingly boyish fashion and learning to ride. Her temporary stay lengthens until she’s a fixture of the manor house, making hats for Balsan’s former conquests. The idea that there is a good living to be made in fashion begins to dawn. Balsan’s feelings ripen from a species of friendship into some- JUNIE BRO JORGENSON | MCT CAMPUS

Balsan if he can “borrow” Coco for two days for a seaside trip, the landowner’s code of behavior obliges him to agree. Coco assents, as well, both because she’s infatuated with the handsome “Boy” and because she sees him as backer for her business. Fontaine films with a romantic eye and some moments of inspiration. In a scene at a grand ball, women in stuffy formal attire swirl and part until Tautou is revealed dancing in an evening gown of elegant simplicity. At that moment you can appreciate how radical her vision was. And how practical. There’s a funny scene with Coco and a lover who declares gratefully, “Your clothes are so easy to take off.” Hooray for progress! Tautou makes Chanel crafty, sometimes unsympathetic, but always restlessly intelligent, drawing inspiration from her surroundings as if by photosynthesis. Still, the film glosses over the designer’s complex and sometimes unpleasant personality, and skips the heart of the story _ her growth from a designer of hats to a visionary entrepreneur. It also omits the messy World War II years and Chanel’s affair with a Nazi spy. “Coco Before Chanel” is exquisite on the surface but barely peeks behind the seams.


ENTERTAINMENT | 7

MONDAY, OCT. 19 | THE TELESCOPE

Beat a hasty ‘Retreat’ from terrible comedy fish and pristine waterfalls. All of the perfect tropical atmosphere can make a viewer wonFor those who haven’t seen der if “Couples Retreat” is less “Couples Retreat,” I suggest film than it is an excuse for very strongly that you retreat friends to go on vacation in from the idea of watching it. Bora Bora. It begins to feel like Although the film was No. 1 in you’re paying to watch a bunch the box office last week, fol- of Hollywood stars enjoy themlowed by “Zombieland” and selves in paradise. The whole reason behind “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” most of its fame can escaping to this couple counselbe attributed to the fact that ing paradise is because most people eat up cheesy Bateman and Bell’s characters comedies and have proven time can’t get pregnant and so they therapy. couple’s and again they will watch any- need Audiences will wonder why on thing for a laugh. Vince Vaughn and Jon earth anyone would spend a Favreau share screen writing bunch of money to go on a tropduties and star in this exotic ical getaway to solve this sort of comedy, while another pal, problem. That’s what fertility Peter Billingsley (child star of practices are for. Frankly, any couple who shares their prob“A Christmas Story”) directs. lems to their closest Also joining them MOVIE REVIEW friends by means of a are Jason (Jason PowerPoint presentaBateman) and Shane ‘Couples tion has other issues (Faizon Love), with they should be solving their lovely wives and Retreat’ first. girlfriend, Ronnie H the film Sure, Akerman, (Malin OUT OF FOUR STARS brought on some Cynthia (Kristen Vince laughs, but it’s nothing Bell), Lucy (Kristen STARRING: Vaughn, Jason Bateman, that audiences haven’t Davis) and Trudy (Kali Jon Favreau chuckled at before. It’s Hawk), who awkwardRATED: PG-13 kind of like a 5-yearly plays Love’s bimbo old syndrome. I’m sure girlfriend who is young enough to be his daugh- most can remember when they used to laugh every time they ter. The film’s location is nothing heard the word “poop” or short of gorgeous, complete “butt.” That is what the film is with turquoise waters, luscious counting on. When in doubt, throw in a green palms, colorful tropical CHRISTINA PARKER THE TELESCOPE

JOHN JOHNSON | UNIVERSAL PICTURES/ MCT CAMPUS

Actor/screenwriter Jon Favreau (’Joey’) and director Peter Billingsley chat on the set of their romantic comedy "Couples Retreat." few “penis” jokes and uncomfortable gay conversations between two guy friends. The truth is Speedos are only funny for so long and spelling a man’s name “Sctanely” but pronouncing it “Stanley” doesn’t make a movie any funnier. Sure, it may bring a smirk, but this is only because it makes no sense and you find yourself smiling because you can’t figure out where the heck it came from. In the end, the movie became a jumble of unfunny attempts at humor with a bunch of unorganized and unrelated scenes. For example, one in particu-

lar—which took up a good chunk of the film— had to do with two grown men battling at “Guitar Hero.” It will leave the viewer wondering: Who thought that scene would be a relevant addition to the movie? The trailers did a good job at showing a few good bits of the

movie, but that was pretty much all of them. It seems that the reason this movie got somuch hype was the cast. You would expect much more from Vaughn. But this movie proves that doing work together with your best friends just doesn’t turn out well.

web: the-telescope.com twitter: @telescopenews search for “the telescope” on Facebook

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| FOCUS

MONDAY, OCT 19, 2009 | THE TELESCOPE

CAYLE LEIPERT THE TELESCOPE

Booze, beer, alcohol. Call it what you want, San Diego has plenty to offer. Tours and tasting aren’t just for wine any more. Breweries have their own now. One brewery that is known for their wide selection is Brewery. Stone Located in Escondido, Stone has been around for 13 years. They started in San Marcos but outquickly grew that locaStone tion. tours offers every day of the week and every hour on Saturdays. The grounds are more like a garden than a brewery. There is a long cascade of plants growing on a pathway, but they aren’t just any plants, they’re hops. Walking into Stone, the ceilings are sky high and the lights are dimmed. It’s spacious and open yet comfortable and During cozy. summer, movies are always play-

ing in the garden and patrons can bring lounge chairs and blankets to watch a movie and drink beer. “I like the atmosphere at Stone, they have a really nice garden and fire pit. It’s really fun to go to in the summer with friends and just relax in the garden and have a beer,” Palomar student, Malanie Alerez said. Stone Brewery produces 13 of its own beers, and that’s not including the array of anniversary blends such their as Epic series. Not only does Stone specialize in beer but they also — David Meyers have a wide Student range of organic cuisine. From Virginia to the locals of Escondido, Stone sees it all. “Among college kids by far the most popular beer is the Arrogant Bastard,” said Tiffany Richards, a bartender at Stone Brewery. “They like the beer because they like the name so much.” For the beachier, laid back type, Pizza Port in Carlsbad is the way to go. Port Brewery is located right next door to the restaurant in downtown Carlsbad. Their first brewery opened up in Solana beach in 1987 and they produce up to 40 of their own beer a year. Sean Kelley, one of the bartenders at Pizza Port, said the Carlsbad Chronic and the Shark Bite are their most popular. “The beer is amazing and they have a really wide selection of food,” student Heather Boles said. Since 1989, Karl Strauss Brewing Company has been paying homage to San Diego through their homegrown brand of craft beers named after hometown staples like Downtown After Dark and Gaslamp Gold. Today they brew over 30 beers, with six core brews and several seasonal blends. The brewery has expanded to include four restaurant locations in San Diego alone and every year they hold events like Beach to Brewery, a music festival with proceeds going to charity, and Karlfest, which is a

This place has been around only a few years but already has a loyal fan base.

take on Oktoberfest. This year’s Karlfest took place at the Costa Mesa location and included live performances from Dusty Rhodes and The River Band and The Fling. Oceanside Ale Works is a relatively new brewery owned by a local teacher and a firefighter. It is only open Friday and Saturday and hours are It’s limited. located in the middle of industrial buildings and looks very inconspicuous. Walk in and you enter a huge warehouse, past giant breweries and a small hot dog stand. Buy a glass for $3 and refills are only $2 and it is all you can drink. Their most popular beers are the American Strong Ale and the Buccaneer Blonde. Oceanside Ale Works also brews six of their own beers. “Me and my friends have been coming here for the past two years and it’s still one of our favorite breweries of all time. This place has been around only a few years but already has a loyal fan base,” Palomar student David Meyers said.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Breweries abound in San Diego County

‘Good Hair’ perpetuates negative stereotype JENEE OSTERHELDT MCT CAMPUS

Hair. It’s an issue for all women. But black women have a long history of hair-raising issues to comb through. At the root of things is the tired “good hair” adage. Good hair is allegedly silky straight. It behaves and blows gently in the wind. Bad hair is supposedly kinky and untamed. Chris Rock attempts to explore those ideas in his documentary, “Good Hair.” It hit theaters in some cities this weekend. Oprah endorsed it last week, so women and stylists across the country are likely to flock to the film. But I’m not interested. A funny movie? Yes. But it perpetuates stereotypes. (Chris, I like my man to touch my hair, unlike the women you portray, and Nia Long, I love to swim.) Then, there’s the emphasis on weaves and relaxers as big business. I use neither. Yesha Callahan, 32, saw it weeks ago. As a writer and the blogger behind www.fungkeblakchik.com, she saw a special screening in Washington, D.C. Sure, she thought it was funny and said Rock makes some valid points, particularly about lye (a chemical in relaxers). But she also felt he didn’t dig as deep as he could have. “I understood the point that he’s trying to make with the movie. There’s no such thing as good hair. But I think where the documentary lost a lot of ground was the stereotypes that some of the commentators offered. I wish there would have been more focus on the different reasons why some women choose to wear weaves and relaxers as opposed to making fun of them.” Yesha colors her hair, but she doesn’t relax it or sport a weave. For the most part, she is natural. Chris Rock’s movie focused so much on weaves and relaxers that he overlooked the fact that women can spend a ton of money just going natural. Carol’s Daughter oils and conditioners, Miss Jessie’s creme, ceramic flat irons, Moroccan Oil it’s expensive embracing your natural hair too. I spend about $500 a

COURTESY PHOTO

In his new film “Good Hair” comedian Chris Rock explores the secret world of black women and the lengths that they will go through for their hair. year on products and salon visits. forward,” Mott says. “It’s adults who give kids issues But what’s bigger than the money is the fact that it’s with their hair. I have a client with coarse, kinky hair OK to do your hair however you like. It shouldn’t be a that is two inches all over and she loves it. And I have big deal for Tyra to shed her lace front wig or Solange a client with long, straight hair. Who has good hair? to cut her hair off. Whether it’s natural or you rock a Both of them. It’s all about what they like and their weave, as long as you are happy with your hair, it own self-confidence.” shouldn’t matter. It’s true. We all have or once had issues with our LaRon Mott, 34, owner of Salon LaRon in the hair. But at some point, you have to let go. It’s just hair. Kansas City neighborhood of Brookside-Waldo, is It doesn’t define who you are. It’s just an extension of excited about the movie, but he thinks it’s important you. It shouldn’t keep you from living and loving your women are comfortable with who they are, regardless life.Yesha takes a page from Marcus Garvey in her outof their hair.A stylist for 17 years, Mott has seen it all. look on hair. And like Chris Rock, he has a daughter. Only his little “He said remove the kinks from your mind, not your girl has never asked him about good hair or bad hair. hair,” she says. “If the kinks still remain in your mind, “Good hair is healthy hair, let’s start there and move it’s pointless.”


FOCUS | 9

MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009 | THE TELESCOPE

Men are shopping more — now do they want more still? DEBRA D. BASS MCT CAMPUS

Will men become the new women in shopping malls? Maybe. Maybe not. But most pundits and marketers and the folks who measure such things note that retailers are looking to men as the new consumer frontier. Any business model looking to expand can't rely on its tried-and-true customers (women) to double up their efforts. Instead they have to look at new recruits to boost sales. More men started shopping for themselves within the past decade, and the numbers are holding steady, according to the U.S. Malls shopping pattern report. Male shoppers make up just under 40 percent of mall shoppers, and they spend nearly as much as women per visit ($93 for men; $101 for women). And within the latest period studied 2005-2007, men started making more trips to the mall on average than women. According to the report the average guy made 3.1 visits to the mall each month and women made 2.9 visits. Not a huge difference. Both men and women have been hitting the malls less in recent years, but now that it looks like women are not going to pick up the slack at cash registers, retailers are looking to men to lift the consumer slump. Sure, men aren’t skipping lunch to hit a sale with their buddies, high-fiving over a killer find from the clearance rack or pondering the new colors for spring yetbut they are shopping more and ostensibly enjoying it. Jerry Talamantes of Dillard’s Midwest division said, “You cannot imagine our menswear efforts this year. We’re very excited about it because we’re stepping out of the box.”

WOMEN SHOP,MEN BUY

ently than women, and so stores are new vibe. So we have to make sure there experimenting with how far they will go are more wide collars and separated collar shirts, more items that add dimenif stores sell appealing products. sion to the male body. That’s key.” He said that men don’t need any Saks Fifth Avenue is aiming a little more classic, conventional higher in its product offerings under a pieces that look like the items new label of Saks Fifth Avenue Men’s they already own. To that end, Collection. The retailer realized that it Dillard’s (www.dillards.com) was missing a range of products that is trying to get men to fit into a moderate upscale price buy garments that point. A cashmere ribbed zip-front are more fitted cardigan will still run you about because a slimmer $395, a purple checked shirt can silhouette will help be had for $135 and a wool glen them notice the difplaid puffer vest will cost about ference in clothing. $495. He said that if they “There’s a guy who thinks of can just get guys to Saks as too trendy and too expenscale down half a sive, and we needed a way to size, men will start reach him,” said Eric to appreciate Jennings, vice president and the differfashion director of menswear, ences in home, food and gifts. men’s fashion. He said, “This is a large undertakTalamantes said ing, and we are all holding our that getting men to breath.” invest in the vest as a wardrobe staple will help. HELLO,MANTIHOSE “The vest isn’t such But in the age of the manbags, a massive departure guyliner (men in black eyeliner) for guys,” Talamantes and murdles (guy girdles), said. “It’s an easy sell, men have shown a willingness and if it’s the right to experiment. OK, only a fit, it’s very slimming few, but a funny thing hapCOURTESY PHOTO either opened or pens when British department closed. And men who radical ideas store, Selfridges, don’t wear or fashions announced that fashion start to seep they will begin carv e s t s into the mainrying “Mantihose,” m i g h t stream, it shifts pantyhose for men. look for outmiddle ground and brings erwear versions acceptance to ideas that would have made of waterproof or corduroy.” seemed too outlandish earlier. He said that stores have to find ways to So I was only a little surprised when get men excited about new fashion. our friends overseas decided to expand “They have no choice. The market is our outer limits with mantyhose. saturated with classic clothes,” That’s right, men’s pantyhose. Talamantes explained. “How many plaid Selfridges (the British equivalent of a shirts can a guy own? There has to be a Barney’s New York) recently announced

Do the right lifts with the right form Talamantes said that men shop differ-

WINA STURGEON MCT CAMPUS

Did you hear about the guy who was doing a bench press and blew out his back? Or the woman who wanted toned triceps, but no matter how hard she trained, her triceps stayed soft? On the other hand, how about the guy who did half the number of biceps curls as his workout buddy; but still had big hard biceps that put his buddy’s arms to shame. When it comes to training, it’s all about proper form; which means lifting properly AND doing exercises that give you the results you want. Take the man who bench pressed his way into back surgery. He was lifting more weight than his chest, triceps and shoulders could handle, so he brought other muscles into the lift; pressing his feet hard into the floor, arching his back and lifting his glutes off the bench; very bad form. When the bar slipped a bit, he twisted, and the compression on his spine blew out a disc. The lady who couldn’t tighten her triceps didn’t realize that pulling a machine bar down from overhead with a wide grip was a lat pull-it mostly worked her back. To isolate and work the triceps, use a small movement: start with the upper arms at your side and hands at shoulder level. Pull the

bar or grips down slowly until your arms are straight. The guy who out-buffed his buddy knew a weightlifting secret used by both athletes and bodybuilders: at the top of each lift, clench the muscle hard. As he curled the dumbbell, he clenched his biceps for a second or two. When he did hamstring curls, he clenched his thigh and glute when his leg was fully bent back. Adding that trick to your lifting technique will give the lift a lot more effect; more bang for each rep. There are a plethora of lifting secrets that can help you get exactly what you want from your workout program. You can search them out online by using the keywords “how to,” then adding your goal, such as “build quads,” “strengthen back,” or “increase power quickly.” Ask one of the private trainers found at most gyms; they rarely mind answering questions. Be enterprising to learn what you want to know; call college coaches for answers to training questions, many enjoy sharing their knowledge. Try getting in touch with local teams of runners, cyclists or other athletes. Once you learn the right lifts, the right form and the helpful secrets, you can create the exact workout you need to get the body you want.

that it will sell Mantihose by Unconditional for about $112. And because once you go “mantihose” you might lose all inhibitions, the store will also sell a mini kilt for men, also by Unconditional for about $436. Reactions, as you’d expect, have been mixed. The bloggers at stylelist.com said: “That’s it. We are so hibernating this winter. Wake us up when it’s over.” But nylongene.com, hosted by Steve Newman, a vehement supporter of men’s hosiery, said: “Men’s legwear (sheer or otherwise) is a completely masculine garment if worn in conjunction with otherwise male attire.” Men’s tights have been around for quite some time in sports performance enhancement (runners’ tights) and coldweather apparel (long johns). There’s even a blog, E-Mancipate (www.e-mancipate.net), that preaches the virtues of men’s pantyhose with unabashed realmen-wear-tights fervor. And if the crowd at New York Fashion Week can be seen as a harbinger of things to come, there were men in heels, skirts, hosiery and makeup in attendance. But rather than cross-dressing, the men were simply looking for more options than the typical male uniform affords. Men who wore kilts and tights chose dark colors and otherwise dressed in men’s suiting. The guys in heels were only obvious because they tended to tower at heights of around 6-foot-5. And the men who chose makeup tended to only enhance their eyes with a subtle smoky treatment or put a little hint of tinted gloss on their lips. Nothing that guys on the fringe haven’t been doing for years, but how will it affect the mainstream? Women have been holding up the frivolous shopping, uncomfortable shoes, restrictive garment, time-consuming beauty products, trend-fever consumerism for years. It’s about time men joined the fun.


10

| COMET SPORTS

THE TELESCOPE | MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009

Comets overcome penalties

SPORTS ON DECK

Friday, Oct. 23 MEN’S SOCCER San Diego City College at Palomar, 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER Palomar at Grossmont, 5 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Southwestern at Palomar, 5 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 24 FOOTBALL Imperial Valley at Palomar, 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 28 MEN’S SOCCER Palomar at Cuyamaca, 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER Palomar at Grossmont, 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Palomar at Imperial Valley, 5 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 30 PHYLLIS CELMER| THE TELESCOPE

Orenzo Davis (#8) makes a move to get by a Saddleback defender. Davis was named Southern California Football Association's Conference All-Purpose Player of the Week. JARRED POWELL THE TELESCOPE

Cornerback Anthony Young saved his best for last during Saddleback’s homecoming game Oct. 10. Young had a Palomar recordtying three interceptions, all in the fourth quarter, including one with eight seconds left on the

clock. His actions helped seal a 27-21 win for the Comets against Saddleback, a previously unbeaten and nationally sixth ranked team. Young also had 11 tackles to go with his interceptions. “Our team played a helluva game and I was able to make big plays at the right time,” Young said.

| THE TELESCOPE Anthony Young (#21) had three interceptions in the fourth quarter of Palomar’s 27-21 win over Saddleback. Young was awarded Athlete of the Week by the Pacific Coast Conference. PHYLLIS CELMER

The win keeps Palomar in the running to win the conference and make the state playoffs. This game was everything that is expected from two teams that were picked to finish first and second in conference in the pre season. “I knew it would be a good game but did not think it would come down to that,” Head Coach Joe Early said. “We overcame some bad officiating and penalties. Saddleback’s a really good football team but this is a great win for us.” The Comet scored first when quarterback Nate Ong hooked up with Saalim Hakim for a 56yard touchdown. Orenzo Davis got the ball on the Comets’ third series and ran 75-yards to set up another touchdown pass, by Ong. This one was a 7-yard pass to Martavious Lee to make the score 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. Davis ended the game with 200 total yards (87 rushing, 16 receiving, 97 in kickoff returns). “It feels good to get the win after last week. We had to redeem ourselves after the loss last week,” Davis said. As strong as Palomar started out offensively, they were also as dominate defensively. The Saddleback Gauchos never got into any rhythm offensively in the first half. The Comets held Saddleback’s leading receiver, 6-foot-8 T.J. Knowles, without a catch and star running back Jai Morris to 29 yards rushing and 63 yards receiving. “We were looking at their formations,” Early said. “What we

did was based off of what their offensive formations were.” Saddleback’s offense started moving in the second quarter when Kory Johnson scored on a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7. The second quarter also marked the return of starting quarterback Matt Christian. Christian had been out since the second game of the year when he suffered a hand injury. “It feels awesome to be back,” Christian said. “I was rusty in the first half but everyone made plays.” The Comets struggled offensively in the second half because of penalties. The Comets had 17 penalties for 172 yards. “We have to clean that up and we will,” Early said. “We have to be more disciplined but some of those penalties were not penalties and some were not called.” Early added that one of those missed calls was an apparent pass interference on Paul Moore. “You never want to fault the officials for anything but they did not help,” Early said. “We were fighting an uphill battle quite a bit.” In the fourth quarter, Chris Boudreaux sparked the Comets with a hit that shook up both the Palomar and Saddleback crowds. “We were in white coverage so I played the middle. We knew what was coming and my coach told me to bait it and I was in the right place at the right time,” Boudreaux said. The Comets record now stands at 5-1 (1-1 conference). The loss also gives Saddleback and identical record of 5-1 (1-1).

MEN’S SOCCER MiraCosta at Palomar, 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER Miramar at Palomar, 3 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Palomar at San Diego City College, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 3 MEN’S SOCCER Palomar at Victor Valley, 3 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 4 WOMEN’S SOCCER Palomar at Southwestern, 3:15 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL San Diego Mesa at Palomar, 5 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 6 WOMEN’S SOCCER Palomar at Cuyamaca, 3:15 p.m.

For updated Comet scores, go to www.the-telescope.com.


MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009 | THE TELESCOPE

Women’s volleyball sweeps again

COMET SPORTS | 11

NIGEL HARRIS THE TELESCOPE

The Palomar women’s volleyball team swept San Diego City College Oct. 7, winning its second conference game and putting them at 2-0 in the conference and 7-3 in the season. Despite recovering from illness, Shelly Morton coled the team with 12 kills. She said the game was different for her because her sister is an assistant coach at San Diego City College. Morton added that she felt she could have done better, but felt it was an OK performance. “It was really exciting to play today. My sister is an assistant coach over there so I was pretty excited about that,” Morton said. “We try and look at every game as the same, and we have a great coaching staff so that really helps us remember what we are doing.” In the first two games, the energy on the court was lackluster with most coming from City’s animated head coach. “We started slow today, we seemed to be doing that a lot,” Morton said. “It was quiet on the court, we decided to up the energy and capitalize on it.” Palomar built up momentum throughout the three games. The first game was back-and-forth between Palomar and San Diego City College. Palomar won 2518. “We came out knowing this would be a competition, so we kept that in our minds, they (San Diego City College) are scrappy, so we worked all week to stop that,” said Janine Lawler, who had 12 kills in the match. The second game was a repeat of the first with a lot of back-and-forth scoring ending in another win for Palomar at 25-20. The intermission between the second and third games had both coaches talking to their teams prepare them for what would end up being the final game. “We wore them down, I have coached against her (Head Coach Dede Bodnar). She likes to keep the ball in rally by digging a lot and we just had to adjust,” Head Coach Karl Seiler said. In the third game Palomar pulled away early with City having to play catch-up for the remainder of the game, never really being able to do so with the third and final Palomar win at 25-15. Aimee Bird also had a good game with 28 assist leading the team in the match. “This was definitely not one of our better matches as a team, but we did what we needed to do,” Seiler said. Both coach and players said they feel the team is STEVEN MCCOLLUM| THE TELESCOPE working well together. “Sometimes we get frustrated, but in the end it’s Janine Lawler (#8) blocks San Diego City College’s shot by Sarah about what we do and that we take it one game at a time,” Seiler said. Whorley (#21), during the final game in an Oct. 14 match at Palomar.

STEVEN MCCOLLUM| THE TELESCOPE

Palomar’s outside hitter, Shelley Morton (#12) gets a kill during the Comet’s sweep of San Diego City College on Oct. 7.


12 | COMET SPORTS

MONDAY, OCT. 19, 2009 | THE TELESCOPE

The Leanest and Meanest KEVIN WINTER| THE TELESCOPE Clayton MacFarlane, a 21-year-old sophomore wrestler at Palomar, believes that the Palomar wrestling team has the potential to be one of the top three teams in the state if everyone performs to full potential.

Wrestler, MacFarlane thriving in a merciless sport JANA ROWLAND THE TELESCOPE

Clayton MacFarlane, a 21-year-old sophomore wrestler at Palomar, is a teammate, a leader, a student and a friend rolled up into one. He has been getting high praise from his peers and coaches, the type of praise that is reserved only for one-of-akind wrestlers. MacFarlane said he has dedicated his life to being the best wrestler he can be purely for the love of the sport. “There is no future in wrestling, no pro league, no million dollar contract, just a smelly practice room and a dream to be great. Wrestling is not a sport, it’s a lifestyle,” MacFarlane, the captain of the Palomar College wrestling team said. MacFarlane said he believes that wrestlers are the strongest, fastest and smartest athletes in the world, but to him, that is not what makes them unique. “We sacrifice our lives to a sport of fighting,” he added. “We stand on the mat with all eyes on us, alone, no one to fall back on when we make a mistake. We are

the leanest, meanest and strongest in the “wrestling has its ups and downs, I feel a world.” lot better going down a weight class In the start of his wrestling days, he was because I believe that I am a lot stronger wrestling in the 125-pound weight class; he and bigger than most of the other guys in is now weighing in at 157 pounds. He says my weight class. I feel like I can wrestle that he developed most of his discipline, better as well.” dedication and love His family and for the sport from friends also support wrestling at his prehim by going to his vious school in matches. They keep Poway. him focused on his Lance Ledesma, a goals. Palomar former To achieve his wrestler,says it is not — Clayton MacFarlane goals, he includes only MacFarlane’s Wrestler daily 6:30 a.m. runs and afternoon pracdetermination that tices. He added that practices are getting makes him good. It is his heart. “He is able to set aside his own prob- more challenging and putting more strain lems to help others on his team, when on his body, but believes that in the end it struggling in the wrestling room. He tries will be worth it. “I feel like this year we’re being pushed to make every mistake on the wrestling mat a learning experience,” Ledesma like I would be at a Division One school,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m missing out said. While in season, MacFarlane said that on anything because I have a great coach he focuses on eating healthy, making who is able to teach me well.” “For wrestling only seven years, weight and staying positive. In dealing with cutting weight, MacFarlane said, MacFarlane has improved his technique

We are the leanest, meanest and strongest in the world

tremendously,” according to Byron Campbell, wrestling head coach. He said that he is determined to push himself as hard as he can, so that when he looks back, he can say that he gave it his all. MacFarlane would like to be at his full potential when Palomar has a match against Fresno City. MacFarlane said this is because Fresno City’s team has won state for the past two years. MacFarlane still has many goals for himself. He hopes to win regionals and then he plans to go onto the State Championship for Palomar Community College. “If everyone wrestles at their potential, we can be in the top three teams in state,” MacFarlane said. He said that achieving his short term goals will help him to achieve his longterm goal of wrestling for the assistant Olympic coach at Arizona State University, where he plans to transfer after this season. “I am excited for the rest of the year, I hope to make my goal a reality by winning the state championship this year,” MacFarlane said.

PHOTOS BY KEVIN WINTER| THE TELESCOPE

MacFarlane spars with fellow wrestler Chad Barga on Oct. 7 in the wrestling room at Palomar. MacFarlane’s day consists of 6:30 a.m. runs for cardio and afternoon practices with his team.


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