t
AMERICAN INDIAN DAY EVENT Jacob Alvarado introduces his family and fellow bird singers during Palomar College’s annual American Indian Day event on Sept. 25. • Angela Marie Samora/The Telescope. • Page 3
the telescope Palomar College’s Independent Newspaper
•
Vol. 68, No. 3 • Monday, Oct. 6, 2014
•
the-telescope.com
Agency sparks controversy on campus CHRISTIAN GAXIOLA THE TELESCOPE
A visit from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in August troubled faculty members when government officials entered the San Marcos campus equipped with video cameras to survey the school grounds, various buildings and the interior of several staff offices. School administrators said it was done to ensure campus safety. During a recent faculty meeting, several Palomar staff members raised concerns about the agency’s visit, claiming it came without notice or explanation and that it demonstrated a lack of professionalism. A professor at Palomar said he’s concerned that a government agency connected with anti-terrorism entered his personal space without warning. Another faculty member, Diane Studinka, an associate professor of Child Development, said she’s not upset about the visit, but was surprised to see several government officials, with ‘Department of Homeland Security’ emblazoned on their shirts, on campus with video cameras. “Anyone can come into my office at any time,” Studinka said, “but
we should’ve been notified, along with why this is taking place. We still don’t know why they did this.” According to Laura Gropen, Palomar’s director of communications, marketing and public affairs, the visit was a routine procedure, arranged between the school’s union representatives and the DHS. She said the agency visits hundreds of schools and universities across the country to ensure safety standards and emergency preparedness. Gropen said the reason for videotaping campus facilities is to best view which tactical strategies to use in case of an emergency. When asked why the agency entered several private offices, she explained that the doors to those offices were already propped open, so the agents took it as an opportunity to look inside. “The purpose of this program is for the safety and security of faculty and students, for mapping out facilities and campuses. It’s a great opportunity for us to get the best tools in our arsenal for protecting the campus,” Gropen said. Justin Rios, vice president of the Associated Student Government, said he takes a neutral position on the matter. “I understand their frustration,”
A view from above students in the cafeteria at Palomar College San Marcos campus on Sept. 29, 2014. • Gary West/The Telescope
Rios said, referring to disgruntled staff, “but everyone’s got a job to do. And this is the Department of Homeland Security.” What’s interesting, however, is the email response from the DHS when asked to comment on the issue.
“The DHS did not visit Palomar College recently. You have the wrong agency,” the email said. Until more information is available, it remains somewhat unclear which government department entered the campus with video cameras to videotape common areas
and offices, and what, exactly, was recorded during the visit. Gropen said, “Palomar is still waiting for the videos so they can be reviewed. We still don’t know what’s on them.” CGAXIOLA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Cafeteria may be problem for wheelchair accessiblity SEAN HORGAN THE TELESCOPE
Two students have complained to administrators that there is a handicap accessibility problem at Palomar College and they are not getting the proper response. On Sept. 19, in the cafeteria where students purchase their meals, Shovan Vatandoust, 27, a student at Palomar, said he was unable to enter the cafeteria to purchase food. Vatandoust has cerebral palsy and has to use an electric wheelchair, which makes it difficult for him to do certain things like opening doors. According to Vatandoust, he couldn’t open the door because there were no handicap accessible doors to the cafeteria, and he had to wait two or three minutes in the heat before someone opened the door. “That’s really frustrating because when it’s hot I have to wait until someone opens the door, or if it’s raining then the same
thing,” Vatandoust said. A friend of Vatandoust, Sid Matlock, 36, president of the Child Development Club, said he was shocked when he saw Vatandoust kicking at the door trying to get in and went out to see for himself if there was a handicap accessible door. Matlock said he found that there weren’t any to the cafeteria or to the two restrooms in the Student Union Building. In response, Matlock emailed Ron Haines, the director of the Disability Resource Center, and was told that Vatandoust would have to file a complaint to have the school address the problem. Matlock said he was not happy with that answer. “Why does (Vatandoust) have to say anything?” Matlock said. “The point is that it is not handicap accessible, period. As a person, or a human being, if anyone speaks about it, that should be enough. “I’m not looking to cause an uproar (and) I’m not looking for a
big protest,” he added. “I’m looking in doing what’s right.” Haines said when enforcing policies, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, there is an emphasis on including the person with the disability to empower the student, and that jumping in and taking care of a student with a disability could be seen as offensive. Haines added that his priority of making the campus more handicap accessible is based on request. “You have to prioritize, and if someone makes a request then something can happen,” Haines said. “If they do not make a request then it is put on a lesser priority.” Vatandoust stated that he will go straight to the source if the problem isn’t solved, and that he doesn’t think it is right that he has to wait outside for someone to open the door for him. SHORGAN@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
12 • SPORTS
Monday, Oct. 6, 2014
Gene Bordson walks carefully across a 100 foot highline, 50 feet above the ground in Otay Lake County Park in East San Diego County on Jan. 3, 2014. Photo courtesy of Nicholas Velarde
‘Slacklife’: a culture built on balance and facing fears SUSAN WHALEY THE TELESCOPE
Fifty feet above the ground, 100 feet to walk and only an inch of wiggle room. As I stood on the edge of the cliff I looked at the ground below that is covered in rocks, trees and bushes with spiky leaves. I probably wouldn’t die if I fell but it would certainly hurt. Thankfully, I was wearing a harness tied to a leash that was connected to a line that reached the other side of the canyon. It seemed like miles away, with many variables that could potentially go wrong. I was in Otay Lake County Park in East San Diego with a group of friends. One was experienced highliner Gene Bordson, who set the line up, and another was Lane Masar,
who is on a professional team. We hiked far off any seemingly designated trail to a canyon surrounded by a desert landscape. I sat on the one-inch webbing line and slid my body across. It burned and felt like a razor slicing my thighs and hands open. Most slacklines are made from nylon or polyester material, which gives it its dynamic and “stretchy” movement. On this particular day, the first time I had ever been that high in the air with my bare feet dangling, the tension created by the webbing morphed the material into an unbearable substance. This line felt extra knife-like because it was two lines on top of one another for double protection. In case one line ripped, there would be a back-up. Safety first, comfort last.
I inched away from the nearby tree and the cliff so that in case I stood up and fell I wouldn’t go swinging into either. I had to crawl on the line a few feet out so I would be safe. Once I was out of the danger zone, I placed my barefoot on the line and tried to stand up. The wiggling of the line would not stop and it was next to impossible to get the momentum to get my body up. When I got the nerve to actually attempt a full standing position, I fell off the line, plunging into the air. I was caught by the three-foot leash and did not fall into the canyon below. It took all the strength in me to get myself back on the line after falling. The leash was swinging in the wind and my arms could not reach the line so I had to wrap my leg around the leash to create a chair in mid-air. I
swung my body over the line after gaining momentum to jump and grab hold. Heart racing and muscles exhausted, I crawled my way back to the cliff. “Maybe another day I will be able to stand up,” I thought to myself. To walk across a highline is a fear-facing sport. There are risks, but trusting the gear and equipment is key. Walking across a slackline is difficult to do even when only a foot off the ground. The key basics to remember and build upon are to stay centered with gravity by finding a focus point to keep your eyes on. The initial movement of standing up can throw someone into the ground so it is essential to keep your arms up, just like a monkey does when traveling
across the trees. What makes slacklining different than a tightrope is that a slackline moves like a trampoline and you have to ride it almost like a wave in the ocean. Fighting the sway doesn’t work. You have to move and bounce with the motion of the line and accept the fact that you have no control, accept to be at the mercy of it. The art of slacklining has created a subculture of its own, slacklife, bringing people together in a community, while challenging your body to overcome fear and balance. “So far the slacklife has given me a chance to form new lifetime friendships with some amazing people living their very own slacklife. The slacklife is starting to web the world,” Masar said. SWHALEY@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Coaching legend looks to bring his professional expertise to Palomar HANNAH BARKER THE TELESCOPE
Bill Diedrick, the new quarterback coach for the Palomar College football team, coaches his quarterbacks during a team practice on Sept. 24. • Erika Shasky/The Telescope
A new Palomar College quarterback coach has over four decades of experience in the coaching world and has coached 12 quarterbacks that have moved onto the NFL. After coaching at schools such as Notre Dame and Stanford, Coach Bill Diedrick has brought his expertise to Palomar. “When I was down here retired ... they always asked me if I would be interested in coaching at Palomar and when the position became available I decided to take it,” Diedrick said. Head Coach Joe Early said the timing worked out perfectly. “Our other quarterback coach got a full-time job away from football and Bill was available,” he said. “He had coached with another coach on our staff, and we put the call to him to see if he was interested.” “With his experience and his resume, it was a no-brainer,” Early add-
ed. “We sat down and talked a couple times, presented the position, talked through some things and he agreed to do it and we’re certainly glad he did.” Becoming a coach wasn’t a surprise to Diedrick and his family, he said. His father had been a coach for over 30 years as well, and Diedrick has been involved in athletics all his life, participating in baseball and football and playing quarterback for his schools’ teams. He attended Eastern Washington where he was a four-year letterman, and is even in the Eastern Washington Athletics Hall of Fame as of September 2006. After an injury his senior year of college, Diedrick decided he would change his educational route and begin his coaching career. This switch allowed him to work with, and help develop, players Julius Jones and Brady Quinn, among 10 other players who have gone on to the NFL. During his time coaching at Stanford, Diedrick’s offense set school re-
cords that hadn’t been changed since 1949, with a record of points per season at 409. He has also won a Lifetime Award from the American Football Coaches Association. Many of the players who were coached under Diedrick have set records individually as well, such as Brock Huard, whose passing efficiency was at one time ranked seventh in the nation. Coach Diedrick’s ideal quarterback possesses great decision making skills under pressure and a high level of accuracy. He said he also believes that the other skills that his quarterbacks possess “enhance their ability to play the position.” Coach Early said he is glad to have Diedrick helping to combat the current 2-2 record. “His experience and his ability to coach the position is really unique, he’s been a real added bonus,” Early said. HBARKER@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
SPORTS • 11
the-telescope.com
Comets can’t break free in loss to Gauchos MIKE ADAMS THE TELESCOPE
The Comet’s football team saw their record drop to 2-2 after losing to the visiting Saddleback Gauchos, 42-31, on Sept. 27 at Escondido High School. Both teams started the game on fire offensively, each scoring 21 points in the first quarter, but it was the Gauchos who were able to leave with their first win of the season, in large part due to the performance of dual-threat quarterback Ricky Bautista. Palomar Head Coach Joe Early described his team’s performance as “sporadic,” citing the up and down performances as the difference in the game. “We gave this one away through our penalties in crucial situations, and on our broken plays,” Early said. “It’s very frustrating.” Palomar first got on the scoreboard when running back Deviante Sayles darted into the end zone on the first play after Damon Nolan’s impressive 44-yard punt return. Saddleback responded quickly with a touchdown of its own when Bautista connected with receiver Chris Dimry on a 54-yard touchdown pass. On the ensuing Palomar drive it was the Comet’s scoring on a big play when quarterback Mitch Bartram’s pass found wide receiver M.J. Bailey, who sprinted past the defense for a 66-yard touchdown. After the Gauchos leveled the score on the following drive, Palomar freshman Shawn Cameron’s 99-yard kickoff return put Palomar in the lead again. With the return, Cameron is now second on Palomar’s all-time
Palomar wide receiver #80 M.J. Bailey fights for a first down against Saddleback College during the first quarter. Palomar would lose the game 42-31. • Philip Farry/ The Telescope
kickoff return list, trailing only Nakoa McElrath, who ran a kickoff for 100 yards back in 1997. After the offensive barrage in the first quarter, both defenses were able to find their bearings with each making defensive stops. Palomar kicker Patrick Kock’s 29yard field goal early in the quarter put the home team in front again but the Gauchos were able to take the lead just before halftime with an efficient, two-minute drive. Saddleback began the second half with the ball but were quickly stopped when linebacker Dylan Donahue sacked Bautista on third down. The sophomore from Billings, Mont. registered 10 tackles and two sacks.
As the game progressed, penalties proved to be costly for both teams, with Palomar having 14 and Saddleback with 10. A quick, scoreless third quarter saw both teams entering the fourth with Saddleback in the lead 28-24. The Gauchos scored first in the fourth quarter when Roderick Dedrick made it into the end zone on a 4-yard run. The Comets were able to get the game back to a one score difference when Palomar’s Daniel Warren made an incredible diving catch in the corner of the end zone. But, on the ensuing kickoff, Saddleback’s long return set up their score to put away the game. On the first play of their drive,
Bautista capitalized on a missed coverage and found Dimry wide open for an easy touchdown. A Palomar interception in the last minute of the game sealed the result and left the Comet’s with a 0-1 start in conference play.
MIDSEASON RECAP
After starting the season with an exciting, come-from-behind win against Citrus College, the Comets then lost to Long Beach City College, currently ranked second in Southern California, 45-13. In that game, starting quarterback Brett Hollingsworth suffered a concussion and has not been able to play since. In Hollingsworth’s absence, the
Comets have had a rotation of Austin Early, Andre Blake and Mitch Bartram. After drubbing Mesa College 33-6, the team took a tough loss to high scoring Saddleback College 42-31. Currently ranked #11 in the California Community College Athletic Association’s Southern California - National Division, the rest of the schedule isn’t much more forgiving. With scheduled meetings against Fullerton, Golden West and Grossmont (currently ranked sixth, ninth and 23rd in the state respectively) , the Comets have a tough road ahead of them. MADAMS@THE-TELESCOPE.COM Career Education
PALOMAR COLLEGE SPORTS ON THE GO
Steinhoff, Bellah lead Comets at Golden West
Jessica Steinhoff and Matt Bellah were the top finishers for the Palomar College cross country team at the Golden West Invitational on Sept. 26, placing 18th and 73rd, respectively. Steinhoff finished 18th out of 144 runners, with a time of 19:24.6. Defending state champion Laura Aceves of East Los Angeles won the ladies’ tourney with a time of 18:05.1. Bellah once again led all Comets mens’ runners, finishing 73rd out of 199 runners with a time of 22:05.8. College of the Canyons’ Rodrigo Ornelas would lead all men with a time of 20.05.9. Overall, the Comets’ womens team placed 9th out of 15 teams, with the mens team finishing 16th out of 21 teams.
Winning ways on rise for Palomar men’s soccer
On Sept. 25 and 26, Palomar’s offense came alive as they pulled off a couple of impressive nonconference wins against El Camino Compton Center and Victor Valley. In the first game on Sept. 25, Candido Balbuena would score two unasisted goals, and Chris Kusunoki would add another two in
a closely contested 4-3 win over El Camino Compton Center. After a demoralizing 8-0 loss to Santa Ana the day before (two players had missed the van trip when they arrived late), the team rebounded nicely, going into the second half with a 3-1 lead. On Sept. 26, four Palomar players, led by Zack Salado with two goals, scored in a 5-1 rout of visiting Victor Valley. Goalkeepers Daniel Vasquez and Steven Ross, who combined for five saves, kept Victor Valley scoreless until the 77th minute of the game. With the winning streak, Palomar improved to 3-2-1.
WHY WAIT 2-4 YEARS TO FINISH SCHOOL?
Palomar volleyball is stifled in conference opener
Palomar women’s volleyball team, ranked 14th in the state, took a three game winning streak into their conference opener against Mt. San Jacinto College. That streak would come to an end, with Mt. San Jacinto stopping the Comets in their tracks in a 3-0 victory. The Eagles, ranked 24th in the state despite being undefeated against all California opponents, won with scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-16. The Comets fell to 6-2 on the season.
Get Training For A Career In As Little As 8 Months CALL TODAY!
877-206-5255 uei4training.com
CHULA VISTA
• SAN MARCOS
Not all programs available in all campuses • Financial Aid available for those who qualify • Job Placement Assistance For more information on our graduation rates, median student debts, etc., please visit www.uei4training.com
COMPILED BY CHRISTOPHER BULLOCK
10 • OPINION
Monday, Oct.6, 2014
Protestors demonstrate at the U.S. Capitol addressing income inequality, minimum wage and ending tax breaks for wealthy corporations on Monday, April 28, 2014, in Washington, DC. Tish Wells• MCT Campus
Activism is still relevant to our modern generation FERN MENEZES THE TELESCOPE
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person is an activist, every minute a chance to change the world,” said Dolores Huerta, co-founder of National Farmworker’s Association. Young and old, we think about our world and how can we make it better. Some watch and hope, some act. All of us should act. Those that act usually gather in mass to validate or solidify their concern and attempt to bring about change using their constitutional right to speak out. A visionary that sees the social, economic or political injustice will lead this mass and a movement is born. The leader is an activist and those who follow the flight or fight are also activists. As students we need to act. It can change our future. Our history is the proof. Grassroots movements are not
new; they can be seen happening throughout time. Movements can be traced as far back as 1765. John Adams published an innocent essay and inadvertently began a movement opposing the Stamp Act, a new tax that Britain had imposed on the colonial residents. He worked with the Sons of Liberty until their actions brought about the change they sought. On March 18, 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed before it ever went into effect. The Sons of Liberty continued their activist movements through a midnight raid on Dec. 16, 1773, also known as the Boston Tea Party, opposing the British Parliament Tea Act of 1773. That led to new laws imposed by the British, which led to our first Continental Congress and led to the Americas becoming united against Britain. Being an activist is not a negative thing. According to a study completed at the Political Psychology
Research Inc. in Eugene, Ore., a questionnaire was completed by 91 community college students to ascertain the psychological traits of social and political activism. The study looked at many variables to determine the hows and whys and the negative and positive aspects of being an activist. One of the determinations was that this group being looked at was “more interested in building up good social and political systems than in tearing it down.” Being an activist doesn’t necessitate leaving your computer. Now an activist or organization can work alone by blogging, telephoning or using social media. Many find the internet a convenient and expedient method of reaching out. An activist can have many faces: students, parents, union members, environmentalists, socialists, politicians, lawyers, lobbyists; the list includes everybody. It would be difficult to get through your day without participating in some
sort of change. The ban on plastic grocery bags, the added tax to gas, no smoking rules, using mass transit, Styrofoam, voting, petitions to sign, there seems to be a movement for everything. Activists can bring about change using methods such as boycotts, strikes and protests and sometimes it can get ugly. I’ll bet you’re all thinking about Ferguson, Mo. That seems to be a good example of activism gone awry. It began with a shooting that became a racial incident, and then crowds began to descend on the previously unknown small town. The peaceful majority of the crowd wanted changes to be made, yet this was overshadowed by riots, vandalism and looters. The purpose became unclear as residents who were interviewed felt differently about how the town was governed. It was reported that not all the participants protesting for change were residents, but
bussed-in by activists in hopes of drawing more attention to the volatile situation and to themselves. The town’s argument for change still continues and the violence continues. Now, with the negative environment, it’s considered an unlawful assembly. There have been many activists that have made a significant impact on history, made our lives better, or created dissent. According to the U.S. Constitution, we have the right to gather and speak freely about what we like or don’t like, how we want to change or not change or where we go or don’t go. Activists may become public figures in a positive role or a public enemy. They all have a common goal: to make a difference. Sometimes its personal and sometimes it invokes a change that makes the world a better place for all of us. We should all want to be a part of that goal. FMENEZES@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Don’t ignore what makes you uneasy MEGAN BUBAK THE TELESCOPE
It is wrong and cowardly for someone to abuse someone they “love” because they feel entitled. It doesn’t matter how rich or powerful they are, they shouldn’t be protected from things they do wrong. Like many stories on local news, domestic violence is not spoken of unless it affects a celebrity. Or in this case, a famous and talented sports player, like former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. On Feb. 15, Rice was arrested for striking and knocking his then fiancée, Janay Palmer, unconscious. He was suspended for only two games until a video tape was released that showed him punching Palmer in a much more violent manner than he described in a press release.
His suspension has been increased to the indefinite future by the NFL after the new domestic violence policy was created. They did not follow the ‘letter of the law’ in Rice’s case. Currently, the NFLPA has filed an appeal of his suspension based on that. No jail sentence at this time. In late June, the goalie for the U.S. National team and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Seattle Reign Hope Solo, was arrested after punching her sister and 17-year-old nephew. She is being charged with two counts of domestic violence. Solo pleaded “not guilty” and will face a trial in November, but in the meantime she is still on the Women’s National Team roster and captained the 4-0 victory over Mexico on Sept. 18. Sunil Gulati, President of U.S. Soccer, released a statement to CBS Sports writer Mike Singer.
Almost every 24 minutes, someone, somewhere is a victim of domestic abuse, whether it’s rape, stalking or physical injury. “From the beginning, we considered the information available and have taken a deliberate and thoughtful approach regarding Solo’s status with the National Team. Based on that information, U.S. Soccer stands by our decision to allow her to participate with the team as the legal process unfolds.” U.S. Soccer is still promoting Solo’s incredible triumphs through social media like a fan boy at Comic Con.
Neil Buethe, director of Communications at U.S. Soccer, stated in a report to CBS that “she has an opportunity to set a significant record that speaks to her hard work and dedication …” No penances at this time. In most states, anyone with a child in common with the abuser or close to the victim may report to the police about an abusive act. However, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, around 70 percent of cases are unreported. Maybe it’s because a lot of people grow up hearing what is okay and not okay to talk about or maybe it’s because we’re not comfortable hearing about it, but these situations will not be ignored because of their impropriety. Almost every 24 minutes, someone somewhere is a victim of domestic abuse whether it’s rape, stalking or physical injury. About
10 percent of men and 29 percent of women have been victims of some kind of domestic violence in their lifetime. In sports, these cases may be glossed over with flowery speeches of apologetic faces and the victim standing next to them wearing new diamonds that cause news cameras to flare, but it’s still wrong. Everyone knows celebrities and athletes get special treatment because we see them everywhere. It’s not a secret. That doesn’t mean they should get away with anything they want. Domestic violence is not an issue we can ignore; it’s an issue some people are afraid to talk about. Fear is a choice we make, something we choose to believe, that it’s okay for us to be afraid rather than to work hard and fight back. That’s all fear is: a choice. MBUBAK@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
OPINION • 9
the-telescope.com
California needs to build more schools, not prisons MIKE PETERSON THE TELESCOPE
Since 1980, California has built 22 prisons but only one public university. It seems incredibly unproductive that California is somehow spending more money and effort punishing its citizens rather than educating them. This is just one reason that it’s becoming increasingly apparent that California needs some serious prison system reform. California’s prisons have been notoriously overcrowded and in the past few decades, the situation has only gotten worse. Since 1970, the state’s prison population has grown over 750 percent, according to data from the California Sentencing Institute. In fact, in 2011 the United Across California, more than 13,500 prisoners are being released early each month to relieve crowding in local jails -- a 34 percent States Supreme Court ruled that increase over the past three years. Brian van der Brug • MCT Campus the state of the prison system in the Golden State is a violation lesser crimes. unbalanced, but unproductive. of the 8th Amendment’s ban on Whatever the reason might be, Numerous studies have shown cruel and unusual punishment. it is not productive. that a better educated populace Across the state, they found Numerous studies show that overall lower crime rates. With Sending a kid with a simple has that the health and safety of in- placing nonviolent and low-risk a lower crime rate, not only would mates had been put in jeopardy offenders in prison with more sedrug violation to a place the cost of throwing people into by the burgeoning population. rious inmates only makes the forprison decrease, but the costs asThere are a variety of reasons mer more dangerous. Sending a filled with hardened crimi- sociated with crime would also that have been cited as causes of kid with a simple drug violation to nals is not going to help or drop. the state’s drastic increase in pris- a place filled with hardened crimiIn fact, a one percent decrease oners. One of these reasons is the nals is not going to help or rehain the high school dropout rate largely ineffective federal war on bilitate him/her at all. would save the United States drugs that began in the wake of California also spends too prison system in California costs around $1 billion dollars a year, the drug epidemic in the 1970s much money imprisoning nonvio- about $10 billion annually, accord- according to a paper released and 1980s. Another is the intro- lent inmates. The state, on average, ing to the Californians for Safety by the University of California duction of minimum sentencing spends more than $62,000 per pris- and Justice website. Berkeley Department of Economto a wider variety of crimes and oner every year and only around The cost of imprisoning people ics. the increase of prison time for $9,000 on each K-12 student. The versus educating them is not only The answer to California’s pris-
on problem is a reconsideration of the facts. Other states, such as Texas, stopped prison expansions and allocated those resources to probation and rehabilitation programs, which reduced its prison population and saved billions of dollars. Other states such as South Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Missouri have applied similar reform to their prison systems and benefitted as well. Thankfully, similar legislation has come to California in the form of Proposition 47, which would reduce the severity of non-serious and nonviolent property and drug crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor, according to the California General Election information guide. Prop 47 could save the state hundreds of millions of dollars annually, which could then be spent on education, mental health treatment, drug rehabilitation and victim services, according to a California ballot fiscal impact statement. Although Prop 47 has its opponents, it is overall a fiscally and socially smart initiative. Like Texas and other states before it, Californians have the opportunity to change their criminal justice system for the better and, come November, they should take it. MPETERSON@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Would you recognize your followers in person? LEAH BAENA THE TELESCOPE
We live in a generation where eye contact has become awkward, kind gestures are taken the wrong way and friendly hellos are examined for their motives. Social media is ruining our ways of communication and deteriorating personal relationships by the pressure it places on users of all ages. A study conducted by the Marketing Charts shows smart phone users between the ages of 18 to 64 years old dedicate 3.2 hours to social networking a day. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have completely impersonalized relationships within its short amount of run time. Cornell University's professor of mathematics Steven Strogatz, said, “Social media sites can make it more difficult for us to distinguish between the meaningful relationships we foster in the real world, and the numerous casual relationships formed through social media.” “Is it Facebook official?” “Does he/ she like all of your pictures on Instagram?” “Did you tag me in that picture we took?" These frequently asked questions do actually not validate a relationship, yet it has become necessary reassurance for many to be confident in such personal manners. In between classes, most students
reply to text messages, check their Instagram for likes, and even take 'selfies' for Snapchat. While written letters were the first types of communication to go, digital communication is now changing the way we interact with one another and interfering with academic performance. Twitter, for example, is the second most popular networking site in the world, with 310 million users and counting. It is a prioritized way of communicating on an hour-by-hour basis, according to The eBusiness Guide. For each tweet, there is a character limit of 140. This restriction further limits the expression of each user. It essentially influences multiple posts per day, as well as discourages further expression on social networking sites and this can often carry to schoolrelated assignments. Ball State conducted a study that found that “99.8 percent of college students have a cellphone or some sort of smartphone.” We bump shoulders out of distraction and not clumsiness, making the apology half-hearted, and the connections nonexistent. Society is slowly but surely becoming a group of people who do not interact in person. With new ways of producing holograms and seeing each other faceto-face over the phone, there seems to be no need for interaction in person. We don’t know where to place our hands when talking, we don’t know
how to write grammatically correct sentences, we don’t know how to feel. Humanity is losing its human touch because of social media. “The one thing I find awkward is the fact that as much as 24 percent of the people using any social networking service have actually missed important moments due to them being preoccupied with their networking,” Richard Darell of Bitrebel.com wrote. It’s called social networking, yet ironically it causes us to be less social. Backlights of laptops, cellphones and tablets light up the faces of fellow students waiting for the beginning of class, the awkward silence only to be broken by the professor entering the room. Whether it is putting in more hours at work than we would like, staying up too late watching Netflix, or a recent family tragedy, we all have so much more in common than we might think. Yet while sitting parallel in every aspect of the word, we refuse to speak. We must communicate, it is the way we grow as humans. You could be sitting next to your future husband or wife, your long-lost, best friend or an old childhood neighbor. The only way relationships are going to thrive and survive extinction is if we turn around and talk to that person that has been following us in real life. LBAENA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Cameron Henry, a sophomore in Bio Chemical Engineering, texts his location on his iPhone on Feb. 25, 2010, at Stanford University. Karen T. Borchers • MCT Campus
8 • OPINION
Monday, Oct. 6, 2014
Net Neutrality is key to a free Internet KIRK MATTU THE TELESCOPE
Net neutrality is a relatively new concept in relationship with its subject matter, the Internet, however its corresponding principles are not. Net neutrality, or an open Internet basically means keeping web traffic equal no matter the data content. This means the data speeds your experience when loading content from websites or the transferring of data through video files, documents, etc. are unhindered by the attempts of Internet service providers (ISP’s). Hindrances on the ISP’s part can mean anything from blocking certain content or services, manipulation of the data, or requesting fees for speedier load times. These hindrances block consumers from accessing content by the possibility of ISP’s blocking content based off of their own discretion. Thus, prohibiting consumers from their First Amendment right through the censorship that the ISP’s deem necessary. The Internet has grown up alongside many of us and we have seen the leaps and bounds it has gone through from AOL dialup to seamless transitions that we have today. Keeping an open Internet, like it is today, is extremely important to maintain not only for our own generation but those after us to reap the benefits of freedom of voice, choice, privacy on the web and the ability to create and innovate. Giving in to telecom providers and creating toll roads and “pay to play” only takes away from those freedoms and results in inequality on the web and controls what we can do and see on it. The governmental body responsible for the regulation of the Internet, and
interstate communication as a whole, is the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). The FCC was established through the Communications Act of 1934. It wasn’t until over 60 years later when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 when the regulation of the Internet was incorporated into the FCC’s oversight. The original intent of the commission was to provide communication services at reasonable charges to the people of the United States without discrimination. ISP’s have been relatively compliant to net neutrality standards set forth by the FCC until a case was brought up against Comcast, one of the nations largest providers of broadband, for impeding the access of consumers to content of their choice and the use of applications and services of their choice. The result of this case resulted in the FCC creating the Open Internet Order of 2010. The order was an expansion on the previous four principles established for an “open internet” five years prior. These principles consisted of the consumers right to choose the content they wish to access and to be able to choose their network, content, application and service providers. Consumers should also be able to connect to their choice of device and be allowed to run applications and services of their choosing. What the Open Internet Order expanded on were the consumers right to transparency in regards to broadband providers practices and commercial terms and conditions. Broadband providers were also prohibited from blocking content and in the discrimination of transmission of network traffic over a consumer’s broadband service. The establishment of this order protected consumers and companies
Editorial cartoon • Kirk Mattu/The Telescope
from experiencing charges for providing content and establishing that web traffic would be treated the same across data platforms. Without these regulations ISP’s would be able to create “toll roads” or “fast lanes,” where companies would essentially bid for preferential services when providing content. Companies like Google and Netflix would have to pay higher tolls to provide content and services due to the large amounts of data their services require while consumers who don’t have the monetary freedom to receive faster data speeds would be restricted to reduced speeds to the likes of dial-up. These fees would also stifle the growth of small businesses and startups from delivering content to Internet users. We’ve seen many start-ups become influential business over the years like Google, Netflix, Amazon and
Kickstarter. If these tolls were enacted during their earlier years, they would never have the funds to get off the ground and provide the content and services they do today. Its’ important to keep an “open internet” to maintain innovation within this sphere. Limitation through totals will also limit the capabilities to expand and developer better services on the broadband that ISP’s are providing. Without open Internet, services will degrade due to developers’ inability to afford to create services on them due to the risk of no returns or benefits. A ruling in January in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the D.C. circuit overturned the FCC order in Verizon v. FCC, thus diminishing the power the FCC had to regulate broadband providers. Due to the outcomes of the case the
FCC has now decided to create new regulations on broadband Internet providers. These new regulations will result in major changes on how we as consumers will be able to receive and transfer content through a medium that many have used on a daily basis. Luckily, the FCC has created a period of time where consumers can provide their thoughts on how the FCC should move forward with net neutrality through their official government website. To date the FCC has more than 3 million comments filed on the topic. It’s been made clear that the public not only has a huge opinion on the matter but also a broad view of paths for and against net neutrality. An open internet is a free internet, let’s keep it that way. KMATTU@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
No vaping please
MICHAEL HAMERSCHLAG THE TELESCOPE
Here we go again. When I first heard about e-cigarettes I thought that there was finally something relatively safe to enjoy for a dose of nicotine, much like coffee is a relatively safe way to ingest caffeine. It made me happy to see people smoking these e-cigarettes, or “vapes” as they are called, because it meant that they were not smoking cigarettes, not inhaling smoke into their lungs or spreading secondhand smoke into the air. There was a time when people could smoke in restaurants, bars, supermarkets or pretty much anywhere. The dangers of second-hand smoke were not widely known about and tobacco companies were happy. I recently bought an e-cigarette for a friend of mine who is a smoker. I did this in the hopes that he would enjoy the e-cigarette and begin to smoke those rather than regular cigarettes. E-cigarettes are a safe alternative -- I thought. Then I read an article in Science News by Janet Raloff dated June 3, 2014 titled “Health risks of e-cigarettes emerge.” Here we go again, I thought: Everything is bad for you.
Then I read the article. The third paragraph made me feel a little better about giving my friend the e-cigarette. Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco wrote, “There’s no question that a puff on an e-cigarette is less toxic than a puff on a regular cigarette.” Well, that’s good news. But now the bad news. E-cigarettes work by heating up a liquid and causing it to become a gas, which you can inhale. According to Glantz and his team of researchers, E-cigarettes deliver high levels of nanoparticles (very small particles). These particles have been linked to asthma, stroke, heart disease and diabetes. The first generation of e-cigarettes did not deliver as much nicotine per inhalation as regular cigarettes. Manufacturers overcame this by creating a second generation of e-cigarettes that use more voltage, causing the liquid to gasify at higher temperatures. At these higher temperatures, solvents in the liquid break down, producing carbonyls. Carbonyls are known cancer-causing agents that are also found in tobacco smoke. I could list all these different agents, but I don’t want to bore you.
Ken Miguel exhales e-cigarette vapor at The Vape Bar in San Jose, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2013. Dai Sugano • MCT Campus
Bottom line is that these agents are in the water vapor you breathe in. This water vapor is absorbed by the lungs in the same manner as cigarette smoke and can reach the tiniest parts of your lungs where they are most vulnerable. As if that’s not bad enough, these same vapors can make dangerous germs harder to kill. Pulmonary Physician Laura Crot-
ty Alexander reported in a May 18 American Thoracic Society meeting that in a lab dish, antibiotic bacteria known to cause pneumonia created a thicker protective bio film when exposed to e-cigarette vapors. These vapors made the bacteria even more resistant to anti-biotic treatments. When people smoke cigarettes on the bench in front of the library at
Palomar College, by the “no smoking sign,” they are putting carcinogens into the lungs of everyone around. Not cool. No thanks. E-cigarettes may be producing these same carcinogens. Smoke and ‘vape’ off campus, away from other people. It’s the least you can do. MHAMERSCHLAG@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
the-telescope.com
A&E • 7
Fire club tours Cal Fire Top: Palomar Fire Club listens as Fire Captain Todd O’Carroll explains fighting wild fires from the air using spotter aircraft during a tour at Cal Fire’s Ramona Airfield on Sept. 26
Left: Club members (right to left) Jesse Manivong, Seth Balange, David Mendiola, Troy Rasmusen await their turn to climb into the Cal Fire Tanker. Bottom Left: Students learn how the Cal Fire Tanker is used to fight wild fires. Bottom Right: Palomar Fire Club member Alejandro Barbosa looks in the cockpit of the Cal Fire spotter plane. PHOTOS BY PAUL NELSON / THE TELESCOPE
6 • A&E
Monday, Oct. 6, 2014
Palomar jazz band salutes Buddy Rich MICHAEL HAMERSCHLAG THE TELESCOPE
“Big Swing Face: A Tribute to Buddy Rich” premiered on Sept. 26 at the Howard Brubeck Theatre for jazz-lovers and Buddy Rich fans alike. There was a multitude of people waiting outside the theater, a mixture of students, kids and other members of the community. Director Paul Kurokawa began the concert by asking if anyone had met Buddy Rich. Several hands went up. One man in particular was Robert Evans, an Encinitas resident who said after the concert that he had heard Buddy Rich play in the 1970s at a nightclub called the Bacchanal in San Diego. “Buddy Rich knew how to please a crowd,” Evans said, adding that he enjoyed the concert and plans to attend more. “Jazz is like a magnet. It pulls me in.”
Everywhere you go there is going to be a jazz community. PAUL KUROKAWA • DIRECTOR
Jazz tunes from Duke Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone” from 1939 to Rich’s own “Okay with Jay” from 1986 were played by two sets of jazz ensembles, the Day and Night Jazz Ensemble. The concert featureddrummer Chris Becker and saxophone player Josias Miguel. Kurokawa said he created the tribute because Rich is arguably the
Director Paul Kurokawa plays a trumpet during the Buddy Rich tribute concert at the Howard Brubeck Theatre at Palomar College on Sept. 26. • Philip Farry/The Telescope
best drummer to ever have lived. Kurokawa also said that Becker is an extraordinary drummer. Becker is a huge Rich fan and has memorized many of his songs and plays them with passion. “Chris has been in ensemble several years and I assume, the time will come when he will make way for an upcoming aspiring drummer who has the skill set to drive this ensemble,” Kurokawa said. “Everywhere you go, there is going to be a jazz community. San Diego has a really healthy jazz community,” Kurokawa added. Rich was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sept. 30, 1917 to Jewish vaude-
villians Robert and Bess Rich. Rich began performing at the age of 18 months as a drummer. His career spanned over 50 years, until his death on April 2, 1987 in Los Angeles, Calif. Rich was known as the greatest jazz drummer who ever lived. He was bandleader or co-leader on 46 albums from 1953 to 1985. “Big Swing Face” was a live album recorded at “The Chez” in Hollywood in June 1967. He also worked with other famous musicians such as Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. MHAMERSCHLAG@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Palomar student Kai Taylor plays drums for the Palomar College Jazz ensemble at the Howard Brubeck Theatre at Palomar College, San Marcos. • Philip Farry/The Telescope
New show takes audiences to the moon and back LEAH BAENA THE TELESCOPE
“Moons: Worlds of Mystery” made its premier Sept. 18 and will be at Palomar’s Planetarium for the next six months, according to officials. Actor Ed Helms, famous for his role as Stuart Price in the movie “The Hangover,” narrates the action, as the program takes guests through a digitized projection of the many moons in the universe. “We have only known of the moon,” Helm’s voice echoes through the venue. “It seems there is plenty to discover about our nearest neighbor.” While it is not a well-known fact that our solar system consists of many moons, this show is a unique informational tool used to explain that each planet has at least one of its own, with the exception of Venus and Mercury. “I have to admit it’s perhaps one of the best shows we have ever shown.” Planetarium Director Mark Lane said. “It’s visually very stun-
Taken outside Palomar’s Planetarium on Sept. 30 after the premier of the new astronomy show• Angela Samora/The Telescope
ning, to be able to fly and land on the moon of Titan, look around and take off again. When it comes to the audience and how much I think they’ll enjoy it, this show has a lot to offer.” This film delivers the audience from planet earth to outer space while covering the history of moons that once were and some that are still present and active in our galaxy, one in particular that was mentioned by Lane is Saturn’s moon Titan. Cali Brown, 9, accompanied by her school’s robotics team, said she carpooled from San Diego specifically for the premier. “I thought it was crazy that there
was an entire lake of methane on Titan,” she said as she clutched her notepad in her right hand, with an eager smile on her face. The show proved to be welcoming oto all ages, and able to inform many of a literally universal topic. Although the school’s Planetarium is almost three years old, it is still fairly new to the community and growing in audience attendance. “It is definitely drawing in a bigger audience because it is a bigger building,” Lane said. Prior to the showing of “Moons”, the venue displays a show known as “The Sky Tonight,” a full dome feature the Planetarium has been
doing since the opening of the new building. As the title hints, the show is specifically catered to what is current in the night sky, according to the time of year. Not only does the newer venue draw in a larger audience, it was designed specifically for the edification and efficiency of the galaxies current and past events. “I was the one who worked with the architects and essentially the Planetarium has my fingerprints all over it, they basically built what I asked them to. It came out really well. I’m very pleased with it,” Lane said. The sky is artificially set to the 8
p.m., and guests are then transported to a pine tree-filled meadow accompanied by sound effects of crickets and owls. This action is made to eliminate something known as light pollution, the interference in the skyline made by exposed lighting from underneath. This is made possible by a system known as Digistar, which creates a realistic projection of space for exploring. The system also enables the host to connect the stars on the screen, forming constellations while explaining all kinds of mythology regarding the galaxy, giving the audience a chance to take a causal trip to Saturn’s rings and back to earth all in 30 minutes The Planetarium is open to the public every Friday night. “The Sky Tonight” starts at 7 p.m. and “Moons: Worlds of Mystery” starts at 8:15 p.m. Tickets cost $6 general and $4 senior, children, military, staff and student. For more information, visit www. palomar.edu/planetarium. LBAENA@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
the-telescope.com ALBUM REVIEW
Prince releases variety of rhythms in new albums CHICAGO TRIBUNE MCT CAMPUS
In one of the most improbable reunions of the last few decades, Prince is back with the label that he claims done him so wrong in the ‘90s that he was compelled to scrawl the word “slave” on his face. No one does drama like the multi-purpose entertainer from Minneapolis, though, and he’s back with two albums on the same day for nemesis-turned-benefactor Warner Brothers. The two albums couldn’t be more opposite. “PlectrumElectrum,” with his new rock quartet 3rdEyeGirl, is basically an excuse for Prince to go nuts on his guitar. “Art Official Cage” is an opportunity for the solo Prince to go nuts as a studio innovator playing with his toys and personas. Hardcore Prince guitar-freaks those who yearn for an entire album of six-string slash-and-burn in the mold of Jimi Hendrix, Ernie Isley, Eddie Hazel and Prince himself on “Purple Rain” and “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” - will find much to love on “PlectrumElectrum.” Prince is an appreciator as much as an innovator, and he compresses about 50 years of guitar history into 12 tracks: the screaming punctuations on the feedback-saturated “Ain’tTurnin’Round” and “AnotherLove,” the Curtis Mayfield-style lyricism of “Whitecaps,” the punky urgency of “Marz.” But though the 3rdEyeGirl rhythm section of Donna Grantis, Hannah Ford Welton and Ida Nielsen provides a solid foundation, and shares some lead vocals, the songs feel slight, a touch predictable. It’s not meant to be a particularly heavy album lyrically or conceptually, more of a blow-out. If there’s an underlying theme, it revolves around the 56-year-old elder statesman dispensing tips to the younger artists who have emerged in his wake, many of them in his debt: Frank Ocean, Miguel, Justin Timberlake, D’Angelo, OutKast, Lianne de Havas (who sings backing vocals on “Art Official Cage”). On “FixUrLifeUp,” he counsels, “Don’t worry about what the
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. records.
crowd does, just be good at what you love.” And what Prince loves on this album is clear: guitar, guitar and more guitar. The emphasis shifts on “Art Official Cage,” a more substantial and stranger album. After about a dozen listens, I still found myself discovering new twists and surprises in the dense, sometimes downright exotic arrangements (the same can’t be said for “PlectrumElectrum”). It’s a concept album, a tour through the wilderness of Prince’s imagination. Prince slides back into the Afro-futuristic tradition of Sun Ra and Parliament-Funkadelic. Space is the place where humans can roam free of petty earthly preoccupations such as celebrity worship, social media and material possessions (presumably including swimming pools, trophy wives and one-sided recordcompany deals). The freedom the narrator craves is evident in many of the arrangements. “FunkNRoll,” also the title of a track on “PlectrumElectrum” (where it’s a fairly conventional funkrock track), opens with guitar fanfare, dives into the shadows beneath percussion that sounds like a dripping faucet, slows down and then speeds up behind gothic keyboards. The title track zigs and zooms across time, with its booming EDM-style rhythm track and funk rhythm guitar flowing across dance-music history as if to one-up the concept on Daft Punk’s Grammy-winning 2013 album, “Random Access Memories.” The distant percussion in “Way Back Home” sounds like sheet metal flapping in a strong wind amid a matrix of sci-fi effects, and there’s the illusion of clinking cutlery on “Time,” which closes with a voracious bass line. The guitar is more sparing on this album, less of a focal point, but its presence is crucial, particularly in the deft fills on “This Could Be Us” and the fingersnapping seduction of “Breakfast Can Wait.” As Prince declared on his 1982 classic “D.M.S.R., “I ... try my best to never get bored.” He sounds like he’s staying true to his word.
A&E • 5
4 • NEWS
Monday, Oct. 6, 2014
Bachelor’s degree for geography offered through Palomar CHRISTOPHER BULLOCK THE TELESCOPE
After California Gov. Jerry Brown’s historic signing of AB 150, Palomar College will be offering another bachelor’s degree program. Starting this semester, students in the Geographic Information Systems program will be able to work toward a bachelor’s degree. In a special agreement with Marshall University in West Virginia, students will be able to take online courses through them once they receive their certificate of achievement at Palomar. Wing Cheung, associate professor of geography, came up with the idea while attending a professional
conference. “I talked to other colleges that have the same arrangement with different programs, like Southern Illinois (who offer a bachelor’s in Avaition Management),” Cheung said. Once he saw how this could be beneficial to Palomar students, he went to his department chair, Catherine Jain. “We are excited to be able to offer our students this opportunity,” Jain said via phone interview. “I think it makes our program more attractive to prospective students compared to other GIS programs.” Cheung said he wanted to do this for his students. “I have students who were look-
ing to get bachelor’s degrees, but weren’t able to,” Cheung said. The reason Cheung went with Marshall University was because either most local schools don’t offer bachelor’s degrees in geography, or their earth science programs are too impacted, he said. For the last 18 months, Cheung worked closely with Marshall’s chair of geography, Dr. Joshua Hagen, to develop the program so his GIS students could seamlessly make the transition from Palomar to Marshall’s online course. According to Jain, this change benefits Palomar students because this does not require having to move to West Virginia to complete their
degree. “This is beneficial for the nontraditional student as well, who can’t always attend classes due to work and other priorities,” Jain said. Cheung added, “this program, price-wise, is comparable to other local schools, so it isn’t any more expensive than going to a school like SDSU.” The program works in the following manner: students in the GIS program will complete their certificate of achievement at Palomar for the first two years, then take the online courses through Marshall University in years three and four to obtain their bachelor’s degree. In a press release from Palomar,
Dan Sourbeer, the school’s dean of natural and health sciences, expressed the importance of students getting their degrees and moving forward. “GIS is a growing and important field,” Sourbeer said. “We are very pleased to be able to help Palomar’s GIS students get their bachelor’s degrees and then move on to rewarding careers.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, geography is becoming a more lucrative occupation compared to the average job. The median salary of a geographer is $74,760 per year. CBULLOCK@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
New program will increase student support services HAYLEY ULLE MIKE PETERSON THE TELESCOPE
The introduction of California’s Student Success Act will bring a variety of changes to how Palomar College provides support services to its students. The Student Success Act, passed in 2012, seeks to refine the variety of student service programs known as
the Student Success & Support Program or matriculation. Colleges that want funding from the bill will have to submit budget and program plans annually. The purpose of the Student Success Act is to improve and provide new critical support services to students to increase student success, according to Palomar Dean of Counseling Brian Stockert. “It’s not just more services,” Stockert said, “it’s the way we pro-
vide services.” Because Palomar has received funding from the Student Success Act, it is currently reworking its Student Success & Support Program. The support services that the plan covers include admissions, orientation, assessment and placement, counseling, and assisting students in the development of education plans, according to Stockert. “We’re going to be able to put more resources into counseling sup-
port,” Stockert said. “For example, providing more assessment staff to help with placement testing to minimize wait times.” The plan would also provide follow-up and academic intervention to at-risk students, such as those enrolled in basic skills courses, students who have not developed an education plan or students who are on academic probation, according to Faculty Senate meeting minutes. “We want to see more students persist and succeed,” Stockert said. Various changes that the Student Success Act would have at Palomar include the refinement of the admissions and orientation processes, the introduction of student ambassadors who would go to classes and educate students about support services and counseling liaisons that would help student services staff work more closely with instructional faculty. In addition, the plan would see the implementation of digital services, such as online orientations and degree auditing software that would allow a student to quickly pull up transcripts from other colleges and the creation of an online portal that would simplify the way students can access these services. There also will be in-person orientation. “It’s a modern generation who uses technology heavily,” Stockert said. Support services such as counseling and developing education plans are beneficial to all students, but
especially those receiving federal financial aid. These services can help a student stay on track and continue to receive aid. Mary San Agustin, Palomar’s director of financial aid, said that the plan “will help financial aid students so they can finish before they hit the federal unit limit.” The SSSP plan is currently being reviewed by various campus officials, such as the Faculty Senate and the Strategic Planning Council. It is due to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office by Oct. 17, according to Stockert. Palomar College has already received its allocation from the Student Success Act and will begin implementing the funds, which have to be spent by June of next year, to its Student Success & Support Program. The Student Success Act, also known as Senate Bill 1456, aims to improve educational outcomes for students and better prepare them to enter the workforce, according to a California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office press release. The Student Success & Support Program, as well as the Student Success Act, both originated from a bill known as the Seymour Campbell Matriculation Act, that helped define the processes of student matriculation when it was passed in 1986. HULLE@THE-TELESCOPE.COM MPETERSON@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
What is your student government up to? The Associated Student Government holds an open meeting at 1 p.m. every Wednesday in SU-204. This is what they are up to: • A new Vice President, Justin Rios, was sworn into office on Sept. 24. • The water bottle station is now ready for empty bottles to be filled with fresh water. The station is located near the bathrooms in the SU building, next to the cafeteria.
NEWS • 3
the-telescope.com
t
American Indian event aims to inspire CHRISTOPHER BULLOCK THE TELESCOPE
the telescope
Focused On Palomar Monday, Oct. 6, 2014 Vol. 68, No. 3 Palomar College, San Marcos, Calif.
SUSAN WHALEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MIKE PETERSON OPINION EDITOR MEGAN BUBAK A&E EDITOR CHRISTOPHER BULLOCK SPORTS EDITOR EMILY RODRIGUEZ ONLINE EDITOR BRIAN O’MALLEY PHOTO EDITOR ERIN HIRO ADVISER
THE TELESCOPE
STAFF WRITERS MIKE ADAMS, LEAH BAENA, STEVEN BURIEK, BROOKE CRAWFORD, CHRISTIAN GAXIOLA, MIKE HAMERSCHLAG, SEAN HORGAN, KIRK MATTU, FERN MENEZES, FRANCINE MORENO, GERALD TOVAR, HAYLEY ULLE PHOTOGRAPHERS MARCELA ALAUIE, HARIM ARJON, HANNAH BARKER, EVAN CAST, CASEY COUSINS, DIRK CALLUM, JOSEPH DAVIS, CERISSA FARIN, PHILIP FARRY, ADAM HAAS, MEREDITH JAMES, PAUL NELSON, ANGELA SAMORA, ERIKA SHASKY, JUSTIN SUMSTINE, GARY WEST, YOSHIKAZU YAMASHITA ADDRESS THE TELESCOPE PALOMAR COLLEGE 1140 W. MISSION ROAD, SAN MARCOS, CA 92069 PHONE / 760-891-7865 NEWSROOM / H-103 WEBSITE/ WWW.THE-TELESCOPE.COM FACEBOOK/ SEARCH “THE TELESCOPE” TWITTER/ @TELESCOPENEWS EMAIL/ EDITOR@THE-TELESCOPE.COM AD EMAIL/ ADS@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
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 SHOULD BE EMAILED TO EDITOR@THE-TELESCOPE.COM. 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. THE TELESCOPE IS PUBLISHED 8 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.
CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER’S ASSOCIATION
CBULLOCK@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Aliassa Shane speaks about her experiences as a Palomar College student and the unique challenges American Indian students face. • Angela Samora/The Telescope
Find a better job after finishing school with Career Center help HAYLEY ULLE
DEB HELLMAN BUSINESS MANAGER
ASSOCIATED COLLEGE PRESS
An American Indian event on campus recently showcased former and current students and their accomplishments to crowds of students and staff. On Sept. 25, the American Indian Studies department held its annual California Indian Days event with a special theme, Moving Back, Looking Forward. Seth San Juan, the professor who organized this year’s event, said he chose the theme as an ode to Indian students who have graduated from Palomar College and moved on to great things. “We wanted to have generations of students ... We want to show that we have a relationship with the community, that our students can succeed and do great things for the community,” San Juan said. The panel included Palomar alumnus Theresa Gregor, Dan Calac, Mary Jo Reed, Gene Dixon and
Aliassa Shane, a current student, rounded out the panel. Reed, a Rincon tribal member who works at the Escondido campus, was honored to have been chosen for the panel. “I thought it was cool to see all the former students who came from here,” Reed said. The school has hosted California Indian Days for many years, according to San Juan, though they are not alone in the event. Many schools host similar events. “It’s mainly to inform the general public about California Indians and what they do to contribute to the community,” San Juan said. In 1968, former California Gov. Ronald Reagan signed a resolution calling for a holiday to celebrate American Indians. The holiday, appropriately titled American Indian Day was made an official state holiday in 1998, when the California Assembly passed AB 1953.
Imagine that you’ve finally graduated from college but you can’t find a fulfilling job. With the help of Career Cafe, now you can. The Career Center is offering a series of workshops based on the Career Cafe website throughout the month of October. Career Center Coordinator Pippa Pierce said she hopes that the workshops will “prompt (students) to dig a little deeper within the website.” Career Cafe is a virtual career center that can be accessed online any time at www.cacareercafe.com. There is no registration or fee required to use the site. The website is targeted at California community college students. It offers a variety of resources to help students with career success, including informative videos, assessment tests, tips for career planning and a job search engine. “No matter what it is, there are different exercises to do ... to measure where you are in the process (of developing a career plan),” Pierce said. Palomar’s Career Cafe workshop series will consist of five sessions. They will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning on Oct. 7. Rosie Antonecchia, director of the Career Center, will lead the series. “I’m just hoping that by having these workshops, people do take it (career planning) more seriously and do engage more in their classes and they do see what the point of going to school really is ... to find a career pathway,” Antonecchia said. She said she plans to structure the workshops around Career Cafe’s content. Each session
will emphasize a different theme, such as discovering possibilities and setting goals, exploring careers, learning how to gain experience for future employment and searching for jobs. The final session will be an open discussion to wrap up the series. Antonecchia said she hopes there will be a successful turnout, so she can break students into groups to focus on a specific area of the website that interests them. Those attending will have the opportunity to watch videos and complete worksheets from their
area of focus. “It makes it interactive and you become more familiar ... in one area,” Antonecchia said, adding that the website has “a lot of content.” She also stressed the importance of learning about yourself in the career planning process. According to the Career Cafe website, students should incorporate their interests and abilities into their career selection. “You go to school because you want to have a better quality of life, you want to make more money, and you want to be doing something
that you enjoy,” Antonecchia said. “It’s an investment and it should pay off.” In addition to the Career Cafe and other various workshops, the Career Center also offers online workshops through their website for students who are not able to attend workshops on campus. For more information about the Career Cafe series or online workshops, contact Rosie Antonecchia at (760) 744-1150 ext. 2193 or rantonecchia@palomar.edu. HULLE@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
AVAILABLE NOW
Transfer to Success Scholarship Up to $5,000 Award Automatically Awarded to Qualified Students Transfer Friendly Year-Round Enrollment A Private Nonprofit University Serving the Public Good™
Call Today • (760) 268-1500 Applicants must meet eligibility requirements and be formally accepted to National University. Funds paid in accordance to the scholarship terms. Some restrictions may apply. NU14_1143_TransferScholarshipAd_5p25x6p5_K_1P2.indd 1
nu.edu/transfer
© 2014 NU14_1143
9/25/14 10:25 AM
2 • NEWS BRIEFS
Free HIV testing at San Marcos and Escondido
Monday, Oct. 6, 2014 PALOMAR COLLEGE SKYLINE
Know for certain and get HIV tested on campus. It is confidential, free and results only take 20 minutes. At the San Marcos campus the test will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 10 in the Health Center. To make an appointment call (760) 744-1150 ext. 2380. At the Escondido campus the test will be offered from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 in Room 501 and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 in Room 10. To make an appointment call (760) 744-1150 ext. 8105. For more information contact lschanka@palomar.edu or (760) 744-1150 ext. 2380.
Avoid the flu this winter, get a free shot at school
Worried about getting the flu? Go to Health Services from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 for a free flu shot. No appointments are necessary, but if you are sick you are not eligible to receive a shot. For more information contact lschanka@ palomar.edu or (760) 744-1150 ext. 2380.
Improve your college test taking skills
Need help preparing for and taking tests? This Test Taking Strategies workshop will provide students with information and skills to improve their ways of taking different types of tests. Everyone learns differently and this workshop will assess students’ skills and help them improve. The workshop starts at 1 p.m. on Oct. 8 in the Teaching and Learning Center. For more information contact sanmarcostlc@palomar.edu or (760) 744-1150 ext. 3931.
Guest speakers for Earth Science Week
Celebrate Earth Science Week at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the Palomar College Planetarium and at 4 p.m. on Oct. 16 in room NS-135. Guest speakers Kerry Key will talk on Oct. 13 about his life as a Research Geophysicist and Deven O’Neil will speak on Oct. 16 about “Finding Fossils: A career as a Paleontologist.” The event is free and open to
An overhead, rooftop view of the Palomar College San Marcos campus at dusk on Sept. 29, 2014 • Angela Marie Samora/The Telescope
the public. For more information contact atrujillo@palomar.edu.
Math doesn’t have to be hard after workshop
If you struggle with math, this workshop is designed to help students with reading comprehension for math. The workshop is designed to help students, “learn note-taking strategies for reading textbook chapters, reading math problems and reading the textbook,” according to the Palomar website. The event requires you to bring your math textbook at 3 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the Teaching and Learning Center. For more information contact sanmarcostlc@palomar. edu or (760) 744-1150 ext. 3931.
Celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month
With the start of October brings Breast Cancer Awareness month. At 11 a.m. on Oct. 7 the Health
Services Center will have a booth set up in the Student Union to learn about prevention and early detection. Students can stop by and enter a raffle to win prizes. For more information contact lschanka@palomar.edu or (760) 744-1150 ext. 2380.
Receive resources and network at safety fair
There is a Health, Wellness and Safety Fair at 10 a.m. on Oct. 13 in the Student Union. Various businesses and organizations will have booths set up for students to learn about local resources. For more information contact lkretchman@palomar.edu or (760) 744-1150 ext. 2594.
Learn about sustainable materials as fertilizer
If you always wanted to compost but didn’t know how this workshop will be very beneficial. Kevin KcLin from San Pasqual Valley Soils will be hosting the free
lecture on composting at 10 a.m. on Oct. 11 in room NS-139. The event will focus on “benefits of using compost, how to make your own compost, along with application and uses of compost,” according to the Palomar website. The event is open to the public, but RSVP to Tony Rangel at arangel@palomar.edu or (760) 7441150 ext. 2133.
Applied Music Program students to perform
The first of a four-part series, Palomar Symphony Orchestra Water Music will perform a concert titled “The Flow of Ideas” at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10 and 11 in the Howard Brubeck Theatre. Students in the applied music program will be performing and the event is directed by Ellen Weller. The concert series is inspired by the drought in California, according to the Palomar website. Ticket prices are $15 general, $12 senior and staff and $10 stu-
Happy for 100 days? GERALD TOVAR THE TELESCOPE
Are you willing to accept a challenge that would help make your school experience a little more gratifying? Palomar officials recently unveiled a new event that challenges students to be happy for 100 days. Having launched the event during the summer term at the Escondido campus, Lindsey Kretchman, from the Office of Student Affairs, said she has created an event students won’t want to miss. “Sometimes coming in and out of classes, (students) are so focused on what they have to get done, and some-
times they forget that today’s a good day, this was a positive thing for me, or this made me smile today,” Kretchman said. Students must catch the green, traveling student activities cart to submit their happy submission. The 100 Happy Days challenge works as an anonymous submission by each participant. The task is to write down something that makes you happy, such as a random act of kindness or something that makes you smile. After each participant has submitted toward the challenge they will receive a snack to enjoy.
Students without a Palomar activity card are allowed to participate in this challenge, however
dents. For more information contact rhoffman@palomar.edu or (760) 744-1150 ext. 2317.
Human trafficking affects on community
The Child Development Club is holding a public talk about human trafficking at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 in room MD-206. Crystal Anthony, who works at the North County Lifeline, will be speaking about human trafficking, specifically in North County. According to Laurel Anderson, adviser for Palomar’s Child Development Club, the event is important because many of the victims of human trafficking are children, and it is a problem in North County. The event is open to everyone, including people who are not members of the Child Development Club, Anderson added. For more information contact landerson@palomar.edu. they will not receive a snack. Kretchman reminds students that being involved on any campus can change your outlook on college and make everyday a happy day. Jackie Felix, a communications major at Palomar said, “It was fun to participate, and to see others involvement and what made them happy. Usually I’m not very involved on campus, but this caught my eye and I wanted to check it out.” For dates and times at the Escondido and San Marcos campus, visit www2.palomar.edu/pages/ studentaffairs/student-activities-office. GTOVAR@THE-TELESCOPE.COM