The Advocate 9-2

WEDNESDAY l 9.2.15 OUR 66TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

BOOSTING YOUR LOT ODDS Parking lot, campus entrance projects reduce stress

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Two parking lot projects along Campus Drive were completed over the summer to reduce traffic amplified by the ongoing Campus Center and Classroom construction project.

Contra Costa College Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said these two projects have added about 90 parking spots for students, 42 for faculty, 12 for people with disabilities and a new road at a major entrance to campus.

Project Manager Ron Johnson of Critical Solutions Inc., a management firm from Walnut Creek, said the campus entrance remodel and the Hillside Stabilization project to Lots 16 and 17 cost the Contra Costa Community College District $1.3 million and $670,000, respectively.

King said the more expensive project over the summer was Projects and ease traffic configuring paving a permanent two-way The Advocate road and dropexamines how off/ pick-up area in between the Student students will Services Center and the Gymnasium, along benefit from with adding 50 new the completion student parking spots between Lots 1 and 2 comof the Campus bined, 42 spots for faculty Center project. in Lot 3 and 12 spots for people with disabilities in PAGE 2 Lot 7.

Johnson said the Ghillotti Bros., a subcontractor to general contractor Lathrop Construction, was hired to do the work for $650,000.

Before construction to the entrance began, King said students entering campus at the Bus Transfer Center trying to get across campus and onto Library Drive or Castro Road would have to get through a “maze” of hairpin turns.

“Watching students trying to drive through the parking lots in the past was like watching a swarm of mice trying to get through a cramped maze to get the cheese,” he said.

“But now the new road (and drop-off area) is much wider and gives students a straight shot to Castro Road from Campus Drive.”

But another project worked on during the summer will provide “tremendous” relief for

editorial

students scrambling to find parking, he said.

Since the completion of the less expensive Hillside Stabilization Project on Aug. 20, King said students using Campus Drive now have the option to drive further up the hill and use the 40 student-only parking spots in Lot 16.

He said students having to cope with traffic because of the Campus Center project make these two summer projects “a long time coming” for students.

But because Lots 16 and 17 are closer to buildings with active classes, this project is a milestone in terms of helping students find parking until the ongoing construction is completed.

Interim President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said that unlike the campus entrance remodel, which was part of the original Campus Center and Classroom Building project design and budget, the Hillside Stabilization project is a separate project funded partially by 2006 Measure A and recently passed Measure E bond monies.

King, however, said all this work over the summer is to help students get to the “academic cheese” easier until the Campus Center SEE PARKING, PAGE 3 ILLUSTRATION BY MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

8,413

Fall 2010

7,949

Fall 2011

Political roots energize club, movement PAGE 4

Fall 2012

7,263

Fall 2013

7,028

Fall 2014

6,937

BY Christian Urrutia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College lost one of its warmest, most passionate and tenacious professors over the summer.

Adjunct English professor Wendall Douglas, 36, suffered a stroke on July 16, and then died on July 20.

His cause of death is listed as acute respiratory failure followed by a pulmonary embolism, a condition in which one of the arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot.

Douglas “I’ll never forget the moment I found out,” RanaLee Berman, College Skills Center tutor and long-time friend of Douglas, said. “His students loved him and he did a lot more than just teach here. He and his colleagues became a team, and for everyone who knows him it is just so shocking.”

Brandy Gibson, tutoring center coordinator, said, “When I heard I remember thinking it was impossible. I’ll miss his warm smile. I was guaranteed a smile and a hug every day I saw him.”

Gibson, who had met Douglas during their time at graduate school at San Francisco State, said he was one of her closest friends and a wonderful colleague who, whenever asked, would be more than willing to help, be it for a student or fellow faculty.

“Throughout the (time we taught) here, we would have to do a lot of grading, so (Douglas and I) had grading parties and would hang out and just make it easier for ourselves when we SEE DOUGLAS, PAGE 3

Fall 2015

6,644

SOURCE: OFFICE OF DISTRICT RESEARCH, CONTRA COSTA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

Baseball coach fired, Guinn fills top spot PAGE 6

View us online on your mobile device.

Enrollment trend affects funding

BY Christian Urrutia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

When jobs are plentiful, students are not.

Student head count enrollment numbers have been steadily decreasing for the past five years beginning in the fall semester, reflecting the amount of Full-Time Equivalent Student (FTES) apportioned funding provided by the state.

This workload measure is used to fund public colleges and one FTES is the equivalent of one student enrolled in 15 semester units, or multiple students enrolled in a combined 15-unit semester.

Admissions and Records Director Catherine Frost said that the FTES numbers are currently 1.4 percent behind last fall’s FTES numbers, but the end of term projection for FTES is also less.

“We’re now ahead of the end of term projection for FTES,” she said. “We have more students taking more units, which is good, but when the economy is doing good, the enrollment tends to decline.”

FTES for fall 2015 is 2,559 compared to the end of term projection, which is at 2,368.

As of Aug. 31, the enrollment report for fall 2015 from the Contra Costa Community College District’s research office shows a head count number of 6,644, down 4.2 percent or 293 students from fall 2014.

Frost said, “We do have more students taking full-time loads. FTES growth is happening with (fewer) students, which means their average number of units is higher.”

SEE HEAD COUNT, PAGE 3

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Douglas leaves behind teachings, gratefulness

Enrollment reports show that student head count is decreasing, causing a consistent drop in Full-Time Student Equivalent (FTES) funding for the college over the past six years.

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PROFESSOR DIES YOUNG, COMMUNITY IN MOURNING

Trending head counts:

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Quotable “A journalist’s job is to penetrate the fog, smog and gibberish that’s heaped on the press by various sources and see if you can extract the basic news.”

Bernard Kalb journalist 1998 Christian Urrutia editor-in-chief Lorenzo Morotti Roxana Amparo associate editors Jared Amdahl opinion editor Robert Clinton sports editor Mike Thomas scene editor Jose Jimenez spotlight editor Cody Casares photo editor Marci Suela editoral cartoonist Paul DeBolt faculty adviser Staff writers Asma Alkrizy Benjamin Bassham Joseph Bennett Xavier Johnson Magali Mercado Monae Pearson Javier Ramirez Jason Sykes Mark Wassberg Larry Wickett Staff photographers Jordan Khoo Denis Perez Honors ACP National Newspaper Pacemaker Award 1990, 1994, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 CNPA Better Newspaper Contest 1st Place Award 1970, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2013 JACC Pacesetter Award 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Member Associated Collegiate Press California Newspaper Publishers Association Journalism Association of Community Colleges How to reach us Phone: 510.215.3852 Fax: 510.235.NEWS Email: accent.advocate@ gmail.com Editorial policy Columns and editorial cartoons are the opinion of individual writers and artists and not that of The Advocate. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is made up of student editors.

opinion

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2, 2015 VOL. 103, NO. 1

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

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EDITORIAL PROJECTS EASE CONGESTION

BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION

Long-awaited Campus Center nears completion

D

espite Contra Costa College undergoing open heart construction for two years now, its faculty, students and administrators have managed to keep its other organs from failing.

Being able to maintain daily academic operations during this time of construction is mainly due to the efforts at the Contra Costa Community College District level.

The Advocate praises CCCCD for meeting the needs of CCC’s students navigating around the $52 million Campus Center and Classroom Project by expediting the remodel of the entrance onto campus and re-opening student-only parking lots along Campus Drive.

The completion of these two projects could not have come at a more convenient time for students due to an influx of carpenters, electricians, painters, pavers and landscapers who need a place to park until they can complete the interior work.

Two years ago, just after the Humanities, Student Activity buildings and the Amphitheatre were torn down, the site for the Campus Center project looked like a mass grave.

Now, however, the metal skeleton of the three-story structure is now mostly fleshed out and students walking by are able to envision what the new heart of the campus will look like once completed.

Interim President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said the Campus Center project is on schedule to be completed and fully operational by the 2016 fall semester.

And once it is completed this time next year, CCC’s new facilities will rival that of its sister colleges Diablo Valley and Los Medanos.

According to the TBP Inc., an architectural and planning firm, website the project will open up three new buildings.

These include a Classroom Building, a Student Activities Building and a Fireside Community Building.

And once the project is complete, CCC will have 11 “smart” classrooms, four computer labs, a 200-seat lecture hall, division and faculty offices within the new Classroom Building.

During the week of Aug. 3 to Aug. 7, Mehdizadeh said she and members of the district Governing Board were given a tour to see the progress of reconstructing the inside of the campus’ new heart.

“We were given the chance to go to the top floor of the main building,” she said.

“And most of the classrooms, there have gorgeous views of Mount Tamalpais.”

The new Student Activities Building will house many student-oriented programs such as the Student Life Office, culinary arts, Bookstore, Career Tech Education and Middle College High School.

Administration, business services, research and planning, economic development and grants, Faculty Senate will also be moved into this building once it is complete.

And while the interior of the buildings will provide high tech educational tools, facilities and stunning views, the area around the buildings will add many new areas for students to relax in between classes.

NEW CAMPUS CENTER

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

■ POLITICS

Presidential hopeful alienates silent majority A fter taking a few steps toward a more inclusive and greater America, with regards to immigration, the nation is set up for major steps back depending on the outcome of this year’s presidential election.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has proposed a series of changes to “make America great again.”

And by great he means removing individuals who left their country in search of a better life, thinking how great life would be en el otro lado (on the other side).

Trump plans to build a higher wall to keep immigrants out — as if they were wild animals in need of containment.

He wants Mexico to pay for it as well as increasing security and revoking birthright citizenship to children who have undocumented parents, as granted by the 14th Amendment.

The opportunity to be responsible contributors to society is being taken away from millions of hard-working individuals that while trying to make a living, fear deportation or other forms of retribution.

Some with deadly consequences.

Based on statistics from Migration Policy Institute (MPI), in 2013 there were 41.3 immigrants, and according to Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2012 statistics, there were 11.4.

Admittedly, listening to Trump’s speeches about

roxanaamparo his plans and aspirations with the country stirred up deep-rooted emotions and concerns.

Coming from a background of hard-working immigrants and knowing it was that hard work that held families together for many years, the thought of separation is a haunting visual.

For Trump, it is about business.

He wants “When to maintain the country’s Mexico economic wealth by sends its sacrificing those who people, have helped the country they’re not prosper. sending “When Mexico sends their its people, they’re not sending their best.” best...

“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.

And some, I assume are good people,” Trump said, during his presidential campaign announcement speech at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16.

Actually, according to the American Immigration Council, immigrants are less likely to be criminals

than those born in the U.S. Although making his stance on “illegal immigration” clear, Trump said he was misquoted and proceeded to say that he loves Mexican people.

His focus is clear, and he has set his target on them.

But among these “criminals” and “rapists,” as he said, undocumented people take part of the workforce, are homeowners and struggling college students in search of a better future by pursuing education with little to non financial relief.

Most often, education is the way out for undocumented students, a step toward making an impact in a system that is not fully working in their favor.

Although there has been some aid for them, such as the Dream Act, which gives a chance to those eligible for conditional residence and if further, to be able to qualify for permanent residence — which Trump plans to revoke by the way.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) also gave eligible undocumented people the opportunity of a work permit.

But Trump isn’t focused on being of aid.

Instead, he is claiming he is going to win the Hispanic vote after setting himself up and putting them in an uncomfortable position.

Roxana Amparo is an associate editor of The Advocate. Contact her at ramparo.theadvocate@gmail. com.

CAMPUS COMMENT

Would you go to an ASU meeting? Why or why not?

“I do not think I would.

It does not seem interesting.”

Christopher Viera gateway to college

“I would if I were more involved with school. I would like for things to improve.”

Devone Sripukdee

“Maybe, since they cover the entire campus and clubs. It may help (students) with getting more information.”

business

Zarinah Bell ROXANA AMPARO, DENIS PEREZ, AND JORDAN KHOO / THE ADVOCATE

political science

“No, I do not know what it is.”

“Yes, if I had extra time.”

Joe Sanders

Elisa Allen

kinesiology

medical assisting and office technican

“Yes, I would like to be involved to help make decisions.”

Elhan Hernandez engineering

campusbeat

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 9.2.2015 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

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The ongoing Campus Center and Classroom Building project continue after two other parking lot projects aimed at reducing traffic around the college were completed.

Receive breaking campus news and sports updates by following The Advocate on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can find a digital copy of this paper on Issuu. twitter.com/accentadvocate facebook.com/accentadvocate instagram.com/cccadvocate issuu.com/the_advocate

NEWSLINE UNIVERSITY

TRANSFER SEMINARS TO ASSIST STUDENTS Transfer workshops will be held throughout the month of September in the College Skills Center, beginning today at 9 a.m. to noon and the following TAG workshops will be tomorrow and on Sept. 9.

UC application workshops will in the Student Services Center on Sept. 10 and Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

CRIMEWATCH Friday, Aug. 14: No reports taken on this date.

Saturday, Aug. 15: No reports taken on this date.

Sunday, Aug. 16: No reports taken on this date.

Monday, Aug. 17: A student tripped on the sidewalk at the Bus Transfer Center.

A officer responded to a juvenile fight that occurred on campus Tuesday, Aug. 18: No reports taken on this date.

Wednesday, Aug. 19: A student left unattended dogs in her vehicle. She was then issued a verbal warning.

A victim reported her hair was pulled by an unknown suspect.

Thursday, Aug. 20: No reports taken on this date.

Friday, Aug. 21: No reports taken on this date.

Saturday, Aug. 22: No reports taken on this date.

Sunday, Aug. 23: No reports taken on this date.

Monday, Aug. 24: A theft was reported at the Football Field.

A student’s vehicle was stolen from a location in Richmond near the campus. No information was given on the suspect.

A former student attended a football practice and got into a physical fight with a instructor’s assistant. The suspect then fled the scene. The victim did not want to press charges.

Tuesday, Aug. 25: No reports taken on this date.

— Christian Urrutia

CORRECTION In the May 13 issue of The Advocate on page C1, in the story titled, “Stylistic dance moves stimulate passion, awe,” the story listed the dance instructor as Natasha Clarke. This is incorrect.

The ballroom instructor’s name is Natalia Clarke.

The Advocate regrets this error.

— The Contra Costa Community College District is committed to equal opportunity in educational programs, employment, and campus life. The District does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, marital status, national origin, parental status, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status in any access to and treatment in College programs, activities, and application for employment.

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

PARKING| Summer projects ease traffic congestion Continued from Page 1 project is completed in fall 2016.

Paving ahead of schedule Mehdizadeh said the remodel to the west entrance roadway and parking lots was included in the original Campus Center project design and budget, but it was scheduled to begin next summer.

After discussions with district planners, CS project managers, designers and a member of the operations council in early March, however, Mehdizadeh said they decided to expedite the destruction of “the maze” to happen over the summer.

She said the original date for the remodel conflicted with the date that furniture, utility fixtures and electronic equipment would be brought into and rigged throughout the three “structurally complete” buildings starting in April 2016 and spilling into the summer.

Having both projects happening simultaneously would increase the number of construction workers on campus, resulting in having to provide them with designated parking somewhere on campus, she said.

“So, to reduce the number of students affected by the construction, we decided start the (parking Lot 1 remodel) project early rather than disturb students. This was an important factor in our decision,” she said. “We want students to have access to parking as quick as

possible.”

Police Services Lt. Jose Oliveira said construction workers are not allowed to park anywhere else but the designated spots in the Parking Annex and along Moraga Road or risk violating the contract with the college.

Oliveira said as of last week, if a construction worker were to park anywhere but the designated spot, they would not only be ticketed, but a complaint will be sent to their project manager.

“These designated spots, however, should not impact student parking because they get here earlier than most students and their designated parking is not close to classrooms in use,” he said. “But to tell you the truth—an officer wouldn’t be able tell the difference between a student’s car and construction worker’s car unless it has a logo or it’s obviously a work truck.”

Recently, Mehdizadeh said she had important discussions with a member from the Operations Council and project planners about how the new parking spaces should be allocated between faculty and students.

She said they came to the decision that students will be designated to park in Lots 1 and 2, which will be the closest lots once the Campus Center project is complete, and faculty have to park in an extension to Lot 3, just behind the two student-only parking lots.

“We are very much in support for students to have the spots closest to the new buildings,”

she said. “Faculty will have to park further back.”

District Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said the remodel to the entrance of campus began on May 21 and all but the landscaping was completed by Aug. 10.

Stabilizing unstable parking King said the re-opening of student-only parking Lot 16 comes at a convenient time because most classrooms in use during the Campus Center project are easier to access from there.

Parking Lots 16 and 17 are terraced on the hillside behind the Art Building along Campus Drive and have been closed and slated for a retrofit for about three years, King said.

Pyle said the parking lots were shut down when a sinkhole was discovered in between the lots after visible surface upheaval and cracks prompted the college shut them down to avoid student injury or property damage.

He said Engineering Soils Repair drove 900 non-displacement steel sections called “Plate Pile elements” into the hillside to stabilize the downslope forces and prevent the hill from sliding.

Mehdizadeh, however, said the completion of the Hillside Stabilization project had nothing to do with the influx of construction workers caused by the ongoing Campus Center project.

King said the project began in early December and was completed on Aug. 20.

DOUGLAS | Sudden death traumatizes wife, child could,” she said. “Plus, he was a smart-ass, and I get along famously with smart-asses.”

For as witty and playful as Douglas was, he was also a dedicated professor who held his students to high standards, Gibson said.

“In class, he was tough. He wanted his students to understand the expectations of college-level courses,” she said.

Liberal Arts Division Dean Jason Berner can attest to that fact.

“His idea was that in order to prepare students and further their education, they should be held at four-year expectations,” Berner said. “His writing assignments were of that (rigor), and he wanted students to properly comprehend rules and guidelines.”

Berner said that Douglas was very busy in his teaching career as he was both an adjunct at CCC and a part-time lecturer at SF State, and at times would overload himself with classwork.

“But he was a warm person and I know his students will miss his sense of humor,” he said.

Berman said how surprised she is at Douglas’ wife, Nicole, a current CCC student, for her perseverance.

Nicole Douglas said that despite

the hardship of attending CCC and continuing to live nearby, she is glad that she remained enrolled after the tragedy.

“I wanted to leave my house and Contra Costa County because I didn’t want to be around here,” she said. “But, after a few weeks of misery, I came to the realization that if I don’t go to back to school I’m putting off my graduation once again.”

A health and human services major, Nicole Douglas said that two years ago, while eight weeks pregnant with their daughter Tatiana, she experienced a severe medical condition involving one of her ovaries, placing her and Tatiana’s lives at risk. Despite being close to graduation and transferring at the time, she placed any potential school plans on hold.

“If Wendall were alive he would be furious if I didn’t continue,” she said. “Despite thinking about dropping out, I have to remind myself no, no, no, stick with the plan.”

Her motivation to continue is attributed to how Douglas would constantly attempt persuading everyone around him to advance their education.

She said that students should know her late husband’s academic

stir and determination came from his early failures in his educational upbringing.

“A lot of people don’t know, but Wendall got kicked out of high school for gang banging, but still he became a great testament to the phrase, ‘no excuses,’“ she said.

She said Douglas had attended Southwestern College while living in National City, California, and then UC San Diego for his undergraduate degree and SF State for his master’s degree.

“His ambition and determination was something I praised about him,” she said. “He was always working hard to correct himself — academically, professionally or personally, he would try to do better.”

Douglas’ condition during the hospital stay gradually started to improve and, despite not speaking, he was able to communicate through writing and even began to walk.

“I didn’t get it. On Sunday he was fine and we watched (a movie) together and we were comfortable; we cuddled and I was going to spend the night, but he wanted me to go home and get rest,” she said.

“He wrote down that he was going see me in the morning.”

Douglas died that following

Monday.

“I still don’t understand.

Logically I understand it, but emotionally I don’t understand how it could happen,” she said.

Douglas’ memorial service was held on July 28, his 37th birthday.

“He was the most amazing dad any child could have. He was always insistent on changing diapers; he would come home and spoil Tatiana — daddy’s little girl,” Nicole Douglas said. “Tatiana had him wrapped around her fingers and toes.”

Tatiana turned 2 years old on Saturday.

Moving forward, Nicole Douglas plans to finish her associate of arts degree and transfer this semester, preferably to SF State due to her interest in the history program at the university.

“I would like to focus academically and take care of my baby,” she said. “I know that I’m not the only person who lost somebody incredibly important. I feel more sorry for the college community than I do myself.

“Of course I miss him terribly — he was my husband and the father of my child. But I’m also a student, and I know that loss is hard for his students and for future students.”

HEAD COUNT | Spiraling numbers reduces FTES “Our head count does grow because of late start classes and we have different start dates all the time — people start those later since it’s usually not too late to register.”

Frost said one example is the English as Second Language classes, which the majority of begin on Sept. 1.

“What the college seeks are students who want to enroll full-time, and that is the best relation between increasing enrollment and higher FTES funding,” Frost said. “It is better to have fewer full-time students than to have more part-time students.”

According to the student enrollment status summary report from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the head count number for fall 2010 was listed at 8,413.

It proceeded to drop every following fall

semester by at a least couple hundred students— fall 2011 at 7,949, fall 2012 at 7,263, fall 2013 at 7,028 and last year’s count of 6,937.

Interim President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said, “Head count numbers change by the day and in the midst of the adding period, it varies. We have increased course sections and we won’t really know (accurate head count numbers) until the add period is over.”

She said, “There’s an increase from the beginning of the semester up until the census date and from the census to the final date for the semester it shows (a pattern of decline).”

She said there are specific formulas for how to calculate FTES funding based on each accounting method used for weekly census, daily census and positive attendance courses.

CCCCD Director of Communications and Community Relations Tim Leong said that

one of the caveats of fluctuating enrollment, is positive attendance classes.

Positive attendance classes have varied meeting days and times. They could be 18 weeks or less, but what separates them from other courses is that they do not meet on the same day and time each week, Mehdizadeh said.

“For these sections, faculty have to keep track of the exact hours that each student attended the class and at the end of the term when grades are entered, faculty must also list the total number of hours that each student attended,” she said.

Leong said, “The difference in enrollment numbers could be less and we don’t know how many students tend to stay, but the historical (pattern) at CCC is that the enrollment numbers do get smaller and smaller.”

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campusbeat

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 9.2.2015 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

LEADERSHIP SEARCH CONTINUES Lengthy search turns up options, no perfect match

BY Christian Urrutia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

After selecting three finalists for college president in May, Chancellor Helen Benjamin decided not to choose any of the candidates and instead is offering Mojdeh Mehdizadeh to stay in her role as interim president.

Mehdizadeh has held the interim role at Contra Costa College since Jan. 16 and has renewed her contract through June 2016, or until a permanent president is selected.

Dr. Benjamin’s final decision to forgo hiring a presidential candidate was made after several forums were held featuring each finalist on May 20 in the Knox Center, intended for faculty and classified staff.

According to an email sent districtwide by Benjamin on May 29, “The process for the hiring of the president of the college has been completed. After thinking more about the current state of the college, I decided, in consultation with the Governing Board, to forgo

the hiring of a permanent president at this time.

“Mehdizadeh has agreed to continue as the interim president for 2015-16, Mehdizadeh and we will begin the recruitment process for a permanent president selected

by March 15, 2016.”

Benjamin continued to note that she was thankful to many of the attendees that participated in the forums in person or electronically and provided feedback.

Comment cards were issued during the forums, but the type of feedback was provided from them, Benjamin declined to say.

“I met with the (screening) committee to let them know what my decision was, but I said all I can say in the (email),” Benjamin said.

She went on to thank selection members of that same committee for their service in the email release.

Benjamin declined to state the details of the consultation between the Governing Board and her.

Mehdizadeh said Benjamin chose to keep her in CCC’s top role for continuity.

During such a time of change on campus, Benjamin thought it would make sense for Mehdizadeh to remain in place since she has been occupying the role for the last six months, Mehdizadeh said.

She said, “(Chancellor Benjamin) asked if I could continue as the interim president and I happily accepted. I have a real passion to continue in the role, to make a real difference for the community and to do everything I can do to fill the gap for the institution.”

The hiring process for contract administrators, or positions at the level of chancellor, president or administrators under contract, consists of several procedures.

It starts with an announcement made by the chancellor at a regular Governing Board meeting. Then a position profile

detailing duties and qualifications is developed, according to district Human Resources Procedure 1010.06.

This is followed by the formation of a screening and interview committee at the college performing the search.

Representatives from college management, United Faculty, Academic Senate, Classified Senate, the Associated Student Union president, community representatives selected by the Governing Board and a representative from the College Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee form this screening committee for presidential candidates.

Potential applicants undergo paper screening, interviews and performance tests. Final candidates each go through final interviews.

Benjamin said, “I’m working on the (search) schedule and the first thing I have to do is make an announcement in the Governing Board meeting, and I don’t know whether I will do it at this one (Sept. 9) or the next.”

FRESH IDEAS, ENERGY SPUR ASU CHANGE

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Psychology major Ilianna Andrade speaks with financial aid specialist John Vehikite at the Financial Aid Awareness event Wednesday. The event gives students an opportunity for quick one-on-one financial aid consultations.

Events, ideas headline meeting to organize campus promotions

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Associated Student Union met in LA-204 at 3 p.m. on Aug. 19 and 26 to discuss upcoming campus events, vacancies and the organizations’ designed purpose with a former ASU president as a guest speaker.

The first meeting of the fall 2015 semester consisted of six returning ASU members, two petitioning senators, ASU Director Luanna Waters and Student Life Coordinator Erika Greene.

Dean of Student Services Vicki Ferguson and Interim President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh also attended the meeting to swear in student representatives at the end of the meeting and both sat near the rear of the sparsely filled classroom.

By the second meeting, however, the ASU had two more petitioning senators when computer science major Francis Sansong and Middle College High School student Addy Brien asked for the required paperwork.

During the first meeting, ASU President Nakari Syon proposed his idea of having the ASU use this semester to create a campuswide event calendar in hopes of having a better informed student body.

Syon said he planned to email every department and ask about any important event, meeting or program within the department and then have officers compile that information onto a single platform.

These would be other events apart from ASU sponsored Constitution Day on September 16, Transfer Day set for Oct. 6 and Fall Festival on Oct. 27 and 28, or its weekly meetings held in LA-204 at 2:30 p.m.; or community events related to the campus, like the Get Ready for College Conference at the Richmond Civic Center on Sept. 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

At last week’s meeting, Greene said Club Rush, which was going to be combined with Constitution Day, is postponed until funds are allocated from the ASU’s budget for jumpers, food and games.

But while Waters, Mojdeh and Greene said Syon’s plan to spread information about events would benefit CCC students, they advised against the campuswide calendar because that is the job of CCC’s webmaster, fine and media arts department Chairperson Ellen Seidler, to transfer information sent from departments onto the college website’s calendar.

They promptly introduced the guest speaker, who was active within the ASU for three years.

“Just remember you don’t work for them,” former ASU president Rodney C. Wilson said as he whipped a coy grin behind him and then tracked his head back toward the small group ASU officers.

Wilson then said to beware of tangling your responsibilities as an ASU officer with those of faculty, staff or administrators because not only would that impede the organization’s purpose, but there is no need to add on needless work.

“Understand that you are an independent body here to advocate for students,” Wilson said. “So before every decision you make as a board you should ask yourselves, is what we are doing the best for students or just a ruse to maintain a friendly relationship with (administrators) that we should be respecting?”

He said he understands the organization is hard to manage with so few people, especially while CCC is undergoing the construction of a new Campus Center, but it is possible if you advertise effectively.

“Not much has changed since I was ASU president,” he said.

In what was seen as a much needed change in direction, students of Contra Costa College elected Nakari Syon over sitting president Antone Agnitsch to head the Associated Student Union for 2015-16.

It was an election in which the final tally was closer than expected and after the first count of votes collected by Survey Monkey placed the incumbent up by 30 Syon percentage points 72 to 42.8.

The remainder of the votes, tallied through Google, gave the challenger enough of a tailwind to carry him past Agnitsch for the final decision.

“With the effort I put in before the election, handing out fliers and meeting people face to face, I was pretty certain the odds would be in my favor to win,” Syon said. “I’m happy to be in a position to make changes for the benefit of all of the students on campus.”

As the final days before the May 12 voting deadline dwindled down, it was up to the candidates themselves to make sure messaging and selection parameters were explained to all of the potential voters.

Since his early days on the campaign trail, Syon’s main interest was creating a more inviting atmosphere on campus. He envisions CCC as a place where students want to get involved, not just rush to their cars and vanish after classes are done.

The first thing the new president wants to work on is the ASU agenda.

“It’s the outline of what direction the campus moves in and how students will be involved,” Syon said. “It is important to get the organizational process underway as early as we can, so we scheduled the first meeting to start planning on July 8.”

Syon vacated his post as vice president of the Black Student Union in hopes of having a larger influence on student life on campus.

BSU President DeAndre Russell battled through his own first year in charge of a campus club and knows the trials that have to be endured in pursuit of becoming an effective leader.

“I’m happy for him but there is still work to be done,” Russell said. “Hopefully he can live up to his words and work toward creating a better student environment. Change is always inevitable, but through the change we need leaders to step up and provide more.”

Aside from his on campus responsibilities, Syon will face the daunting task of being campus representative at the District Governing Council meetings which occur once per month in Martinez.

POLITICAL ACTION CLUB RAISES AWARENESS, DRIVE Future leaders, lawyers work toward common good

BY Xavier Johnson STAFF WRITER

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Community Organizing and Political Action Club (COPA) held its first set of introductory meetings on Aug. 26 at 2:30 p.m. and Aug. 28 at 12:30 p.m. in LA-110.

The two meetings provided information about the new club to prospective members and officers.

COPA is a political science club that desires to educate the campus community about the role of politics in the collegiate, residential, and political community.

Political science assistant professor Vanna Gonzalez said, “I want students to really develop those skills to not only get involved but to be leaders of different movements. Whether it be getting into the pipeline of politics or doing advocacy outside of that pipeline.”

“Despite all the difficulities in creating community, they will see the rewards in the effort it takes to do so.”

— Vanna Gonzalez, professor

COPA is advised by Dr. Gonzalez, a political science instructor who taught for nine years at Arizona State University and began teaching at Contra Costa College in the spring 2015 semester.

The club is also advised by Leonard McNeil, a CCC political science instructor and former mayor of San Pablo.

Professor McNeil was the co-founder of the Black Student Union at Fresno State University and has been politically active since 1968.

COPA will hold monthly meetings but times and dates are yet to be determined.

Students should contact Dr. Gonzalez or McNeil for further updates pertaining to meeting dates. In order to be eligible a member must be a CCC student enrolled in a minimum of three units, and to become an officer enrolled in a minimum of six units with a 2.0 minimum GPA average.

Potential officers must self-nominate and prepare a written statement on why they want the position and why they feel they’re qualified for the position.

One semester experience as a student and a one-year commitment is preferred but not required.

Dr. Gonzalez said despite all the difficulties in creating community they will see the rewards in the effort it takes to do so.

Professor McNeil said, “People can begin to see how politics affects people’s lives in different kinds of ways. I want to play a role in empowering people with skills so that they can do advocacy.”

COPA plans to educate students and the larger community about social issues, voting, and how to get involved in community and political activism.

The club will also give students the opportunity to exercise their rights and participate in activism.

Dr. Gonzales said the club can be a central force on and off campus.

“If we can create a board that represents different kind of communities so that they have a voice, those leaders can come together and find something that everybody can get behind.”

If students have any questions or concerns, they can contact Dr. Gonzalez by email at vgonzales@contracosta.edu.

campus beat

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5

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

From top left to right, John Vehikite, Raheema Islam, Kelly Schelin, Shelley Ruby, Charles Ramirez, Jerol Hodges, Dr. Jane Harmon, Leticia Mendoza, Anna Chouon, Kerry Bledosoe, George Mills, Michael Peterson, Vanna Gonzales, Bobby Sturgeon,

Dennis Franco, Lorena Cortez, Lisa Marsalek, Alma Cardenas, Dickson Lam, Eileen Beil, Kelly Ramos, Ghada Al-Masri, Mikel Jackson, Ashley Patterson, Joseph Carver, Robin Brooke Eubanks, Brandy Gibson, Anthony Gordon.

Full-time hires added to diverse atmosphere Classified staff fills majority of positions

BY Roxana Amparo ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College welcomed 30 individuals with new and improved positions this semester to provide students and the college with valuable opportunities for semesters to come.

“This is the largest team of individuals we’ve brought in to CCC,” Interim President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said.

Some of the new positions include professors, classified staff, one confidential employment position, two deans and an interim vice president.

Professor positions include: assistant fine and media arts professor Anthony Gordon; assistant English as a second language professor Shelley Ruby; assistant English professor Robin Brooke Eubanks; assistant English professor Dickson Lam; assistant automotive technology professor Bobby Sturgeon; and assistant speech professor Joseph Carver.

Classified staff positions include: senior administrative assistant to the vice president Lorena Cortez; tutoring

coordinator Brandy Gibson; learning disability specialist Lisa Marsalek; counselor assistant Leticia Mendoza; program Manager for EOPS, CARE and CalWORKs and men’s locker room attendant Jerol Hodges; athletic trainer Mikel Jackson; senior admissions and records assistant Alma Cardenas; financial aid assistant II Raheema Islam; financial aid specialist John Vehikite; student services and instructional support coordinator financial aid Charles Ramirez; minority students retention specialist Kelly Ramos; minority student retention specialist student services Ashley Patterson; senior academic student services manager workforce development Kelly Schelin; special student programs and services assistant Jillian Jison; DSPS scheduling specialist Elizabeth Vega; chemistry laboratory coordinator Eileen Beil; Gateway to College instructional assistant Kerry Bledsoe; and Gateway instructional assistant Ana Chouon.

The college has one confidential employment position, which is the senior executive assistant to the president, held by Michael Peterson.

Administrative positions include: Dean of enrollment services Dennis Franco; Natural Social and Applied Sciences (NSAS) Division Dean Ghada

Al-Masri; and Interim Vice President Jane Harman.

Some of the positions were left vacant after staff retirements retired, but they needed to be filled.

Mehdizadeh said full-time faculty positions are required to be occupied due to the 50 Percent Law, which states that all community colleges spend half of their expenses on the salaries of instructors.

Required to abide by the 50 Percent Law, the college will also be hiring more counselors that will focus on identifying with students and making sure they are aware of services available to them, such as tutoring, Mehdizadeh said.

Dean of Students Vicki Ferguson said each time someone’s title changes it is because of their growth during the time in their previous position that they are ready to take the next step.

Although that is the case, some positions were recently created to get students in college and help ease the transition, Mehdizadeh said.

Focusing on a new initiative allows for the newly created positions to form a student equity plan, which focuses on increasing student retention by targeting certain population factors.

Veterans to receive assistance, camaraderie through centers Planned centers to provide much needed space for service member

BY Cody Casares PHOTO EDITOR

ccasares.theadvocate@gmail.com

Veterans attending classes at Contra Costa College will soon have their own designated center to receive assistance during their time on campus.

A proposed amount of $50,000 will be used for outfitting a Veteran’s Center at every college in the district, provided each college meets certain criteria, Mike Conklin, CEO of Sentinels of Freedom said.

In a recent press release from the Sentinels of Freedom, it states that 85 percent of the funds needed to outfit the three new Veteran’s Centers at Diablo Valley, Los Medanos and Contra Costa colleges has been raised already.

The DVC and LMC centers are scheduled to be completed this year while CCC’s center will be completed in 2016, pending the construction.

Sentinels of Freedom, provides scholarships for severely injured veterans in order to assist them financially while they pursue higher levels of education after separation from the armed forces.

“The money comes with cer-

tain criteria, (CCC) must provide an acceptable space, not a corner of a basement somewhere, in perpetuity,” Conklin said.

“We will provide $25,000 of on-hand funds and through outside fundraising provide an additional $25,000 per college for the express purpose of outfitting and furnishing the Veteran’s Centers,” said Conklin. “It gives veterans a place of their own to decompress, collaborate, and provide sanctuary.”

The college must also have a veteran’s association or club on campus with a clear mission statement, that is veteran run, has a veteran student adviser and must commit to one substantial community-based project a year assisting the community in some way, Conklin said.

The process began when DVC student veteran Brad Vargas reached out to the Sentinels of Freedom last spring for assistance in acquiring a designated space where veterans could receive academic and benefit counseling specific to veterans, Ryan Kellei, DVC student and Marine Corps veteran, said.

“We showed (Sentinels of

Freedom) our plan to establish a space for veterans, and the Sentinels stood behind us,” Kellei said. “We don’t even have a corner.”

While it is still early in the process, progress is being made toward meeting the criteria.

Interim president Mojdeh Mehdizadeh has already met with several other college administrators including Bruce King, Buildings and Grounds manager, and has chosen a location for the newly planned Veteran’s Center.

The new center will be approximately 700-800 square feet, Mehdizadeh said, and will be located in the newly constructed administration building, when it is completed.

“While CCC’s veteran population is around 85 students currently using GI Bill educational benefits, the college is looking to expand that number with the new Veteran’s Center.

Conklin said while the Veteran’s Centers will provide veterans students an established place to answer questions regarding their benefits they will also enable veterans to communicate throughout the district.

PARKING FEES INCREASED DISTRICTWIDE $250,000 shortage creates funding discrepancies

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Student parking fees were increased at campuses districtwide before the fall semester to generate needed revenue after finding discrepancies in the district Parking Fund.

The decision made by the Contra Costa Community College District marks the second time parking permit fees have been increased within the past 12 years.

According to the May 27 Governing Board minutes, the Board Trustees unanimously voted to raise the price of parking permits for cars from $40 to $48, motorcycles and mopeds from $25 to $30 and from $20 to $25 for students receiving financial assistance through the California Board of Governors (BOG) fee waiver.

The price of a daily parking pass however will remain at $3.

Before the board could make its decision, a fivemonth-long process of discussions took place to inform and receive feedback from faculty and student leaders across the district’s three campuses.

Chief Financial Officer Jonah Nicholas said he attended four Student Trustee Advisory Council (STAC) meetings on Jan. 22, Feb. 19, March 19 and April 16 where he briefed students about the increase in price and the cause before bringing his final report to the board.

“The last full fiscal year (July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014) saw parking revenues of $1.5 million districtwide compared to parking expenses of $1.75 million, creating a $250,000 shortfall,” he said. “This trend is continuing into the current fiscal year (July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015) and is unsustainable.”

Nicholas said when he gave his suggestion to increase parking fees at the district board meeting in May, some of its members were hesitant to increase student expenses.

“The board was concerned if this (parking fee increase) is something that needed to be done and not just to raise the fee to be used outside of covering the cost of the (shortfall),” he said. “They wanted to be assured that this is a last resort.”

He said the district could use funds from unrestricted General Fund, but unfortunately there is a shortage of monies in that fund as well.

A CCC student, psychology major Nicolas Hui, said he was surprised to see an increase to parking fees when he re-applied for his BOG fee waiver, but paid it anyway.

“Its not a huge increase,” Hui said. “(The district) could charge more if (it) wanted because parking near classes is a necessity for some students. But I’m more curious as to what the money from these (parking) fees will be used for.”

Nicholas said the California educational code states that revenue generated from parking permits and citations can only be funneled into the districts’ Parking Fund. “(The district) can’t take the money generated from fees and use them for non-parking related expenses,” he said.

Police Services Lt. Jose Oliveira said all the revenue collected through the sale of parking permits and fees go directly into the Parking Fund to pay for parking lot maintenance and for 25 percent of police officers’ salary, and 100 percent of student police aides’ stipends for patrolling the campuses.

Dean of Student Services Vicki Ferguson said as of press time Monday that CCC has a student headcount of 6,644 and said this increase will benefit students in the long term by providing enough funds to pay police officers and aides.

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Inferior record dictates change Players receptive to updated style, workout routines

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

Athletic Director John Wade fired longtime baseball coach and this year’s recipient of the Bay Valley Conference Coach of the Year award, Marvin Webb, following the 2015 baseball season last spring.

Then assisWebb tant coach, and friend Brian Guinn will be replacing Webb as Comet coach.

Judging by Webb’s record over the last 15 years, only one season above .500 in conference play and eight years with single digit wins, it was clear that a change in direction was drawing near.

Especially following a 2015 season that saw the Comets finish 6-29.

“We have a new season coming and we wanted to go in a new direction,” Wade said. “When Laney College lost 17 in a row mid-season and we still finished at the bottom of the conference — it was clear that changes had to be made.”

Laney did better than the Comets during preseason, but as the conference play got underway

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE

Baseball assistant coach Brian Guinn is replacing former baseball coach Marvin Webb as Comet baseball coach. Webb was fired last spring after a dismal record spanning more than 15 years.

so did the Laney’s losing streak.

CCC split its first six games and the Eagles losses presented a perfect opportunity for the Comets to make up ground.

Rather than capitalize on the BVC rival collapse, Webb led the team to only one more win for the rest of the season, finishing 4-20 in conference and at the bottom of the standings.

Still Webb took the news as a shock.

He blamed the futile 2015 season on injuries and players that slipped below eligibility. Also, the coach held on equal par with winning, the positive difference he made in the lives of some of his young players.

Yet tallying fewer than 20 wins overall and fewer than 15 wins in

conference over the last three years almost necessitates change or risk the program fading further into obscurity.

“It feels like it has been since the late 80s, that baseball has been considered a winning program here,” Wade said. “But we have to start somewhere.”

“The standard has to rise,” Guinn said. “We are working to establish a culture and a standard for consistent good play.”

Drafted in 1983, he played for three minor league teams and was voted to three all-star games over the course of his career.

Guinn also worked as a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2000 until 2005 evaluating and recruiting talent from a pool of 250 Northern California high

schools.

Following his scouting career, he served as head coach at The Academy of Art College of its NCAA Division II baseball team.

His record was not much better than Webb’s however. Guinn finished his last season at ACA with a 8-42 record.

“There is more depth (at CCC),” he said. “(At ACA) there were different academic restrictions that didn’t allow us to recruit a lot of (community college) players.

“It limited us— but there is a different type of student athlete here, who are more talented and deal with less restrictions by the governing body.”

On campus, baseball seems to have received a shot of adrenaline.

Players run the track and use the

weight room—a task that seemed almost voluntary last season.

CCC outfielder Rome Watson said, “Players who were here last year have bought into the new system. We have different training routines, and the coaches are serious and engaged.”

Taking over a team that had only one winning season in the last 15 years (2005) and finished 18-18 overall and 16-12 in the BVC, the bar that measures progress is in no way insurmountable. Yet, Guinn says he holds himself to a higher standard.

“We want to spend more time in the weight room, more time in the classroom and then win the BVC championship.”

The Comets’ season won’t begin until February 2016.

CHAMPION QUARTERBACK LEAVES FOR DIVISION 1

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

Community college athletics is well known as the fastest moving revolving door in all of sports due to the limited time student-athletes spend at any given campus.

As it stands, the Contra Costa College football team initially lost three of its seven All-Pacific 7 players because they were sophomores, but none was more integral to last season’s championship run than freshman quarterback Jonathan Banks.

Prior to returning home after the end of the spring semester, Banks accepted a full ride athletic scholarship to Kansas State University.

After the exit of KSU quarterback Jake Waters last year, a furious three-man quarterback competition was underway to secure the vacancy. None of the three prospective quarterbacks Alex Delton, Jesse Ertz or Joe Hubener appeared have an advantage in securing the job.

Banks’ first hurdle was arriving late to the summer program in Manhattan, Kansas.

The team already had a scrimmage in the books and three quarterbacks who were fully immersed in the voluminous playbook.

Unlike showing up late in San Pablo and improvising his way through the early games of the season en route to a 1,992 yard 17 touchdown season, the sophomore will have his hands full playing catch up to the three other guys at Kansas State.

Banks said his best has yet to be seen because he has never had a complete year to fully grasp an offensive system.

Replacing the Pac 7 Offensive Player of the Year is no easy task and CCC football coach has a three-man battle of his own going on at quarterback.

Comet tight end Jaelen Collins remembers the transition made by the freshman quarterback last season.

“He was always a run-first kind of quarterback but later in the season when he had a full understanding of the playbook he was like a conductor — he knew where everyone needed to be,” Collins said.

With added running power and a longer, leaner receiving core the team seems built to protect whoever shows enough of a spark to get the job in practice. But no Comet coach is ready to predict the offensive wave the team rode last year.

“There is a little bit of a spark in all three of them,” CCC quarterback coach Jeff

Freshman quarterback Jonathan Banks accepted a full-ride athletic scholarship to Kansas State University at the end of the spring semester.

FILE PHOTO / THE ADVOCATE

Anderson said.

As for Banks and his quarterback competition, Ertz is nudging ahead of the pack.

College football insiders expect Banks to take some snaps out of the wildcat formation when the Wildcats take the field Saturday against the University of South Dakota.

The Houston native traveled to Kansas with the same expectations he brought to San Pablo.

“All I was looking for was an opportunity,” the quarterback said.

Banks’ skill set fits perfectly with the type of offense K State coach Bill Snyder likes his quarterback to run. If Banks can ramp up his digestion of the playbook then the opportunities are limitless.

The Comets will host Cabrillo College Saturday at 3 p.m. in Comet Stadium.

■ OFF THE RECORD

Comet football brings big excitement to local fans

E

very time August rolls around there is one constant image that continues to run through our minds when it comes to sports and our campus — fantasy football.

OK, maybe it’s a little extreme when comparing fantasy to real life, but I believe everyone associated with Contra Costa College should be fantasizing about the Comet football team and its three consecutive conference championships. They are the defending Pacific 7 champions and have the Pac 7 coach of the year, Alonzo Carter.

But then again we never sell out the stadium, so who cares right?

Before you get all defensive, take a second to look at what the University of Michigan did this offseason.

It brought former 49er head

coach and Michigan alumnus Jim Harbaugh back to Ann Arbor to fill their 109,901 seat stadium (The Big House) with rabid fans who will be cheering as if it were the arrival of the Messiah.

Over the top? Maybe. But I guaranteed the scenery at the “Big House” will be of epic proportions come mid-September on ESPN. Book it.

So I challenge any alumnus, or anyone associated with CCC, to come out on Saturdays throughout the 2015 season. The first home game is this Saturday versus Cabrillo College at 3 p.m.

Tell a friend, set up a date and bring out the blue vuvuzela to cheer on the team that just had one of its best seasons in school history.

But I think you still do not believe me when I say we have

the Year Jonathan Banks in a couple of years in your fantasy draft.

Banks was chosen as the Offensive Player of the Year in the Northern California Football Conference after he beat out three quarterbacks here at CCC, and now he is facing a similar situation with something special going on here. the Kansas State Wildcats.

Just remember when you are However, in the end a lot of drafting Beast Mode (Seattle people missed the opportunity Seahawk’s running back to watch Banks do his thing Marshawn Lynch) as your first on the field. Do not feel bad pick in fantasy football this because now you can catch year that his brother, Devonte him on ESPN, playing in Big Sapp-Lynch, used to barrel over 12 matches against top college linebackers and cornerbacks on football giants such as TCU, campus.

Texas and Oklahoma.

Imagine Sapp-Lynch as a solid Pretty amazing stuff given number two running back on what the CCC athletic proyour fantasy team. gram is producing on the footNow that would be pretty cool. ball field. Gut the masses of Or why not fantasize on how people who should be attendawesome it would be to possiing these games, and enjoying bly draft former CCC Athlete of the players, are not.

josejimenez

And when you combine it with the little free time in our schedules, the entire missed opportunity to see these talented athletes so close to your community is kind of sad.

Sports allows you to become part of something bigger — and better — just like our Comet football team.

It can bring out the ultimate competitor within all of us.

Pretty sure though you will be spending a lot of Saturdays analyzing, critiquing and relishing about your fantasy football team put together by the push of a button, whereas watching the next big thing possibly bound for the NFL is long gone and you have missed it.

Jose Jimenez is spotlight editor of The Advocate. Contact him at jjimenez.theadvocate@ gmail.com.

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Fierce game ends in stalemate Early test proves team has ability to compete with top squads

COMETS

1 1

HAWKS

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

After scoring a goal early in the second half, the men’s soccer team’s defensive shape closed space and withstood a focused Hawk offensive to cling to a 1-1 tie until the closing minutes of the game.

In its second match of the 2015-16 season Contra Costa College (1-0-1 overall) struggled in keeping possession and mostly chased the flow of play until a counter attack two minutes into the second half that ended with Comet striker Pedro Rodriguez rifling in a goal from 18 yards out.

Evergreen Valley College’s (0-0-1 overall) off the ball pressure, however, closed up passing options in the midfield and forced Comet turnovers that led to conceding a corner kick and a subsequent tap-in goal by Hawk striker Leo Aquirre 18 minutes into the first half.

“We were down 1-0 and were fortunate to be able to equalize, but I think our defense did well to hold off a couple chances (EVC) had (to score) toward the end,” Comet coach Nikki Ferguson said. “A draw is a good result for us, considering we were playing against one of the top ranked teams in the state.”

It was the Hawks, however, that had more scoring opportunities, ending the game with 12 shots to CCC’s eight.

EVC also had the best chance at smuggling three points out of the Soccer Field, but was denied by Comet goalkeeper Eduardo Escamilla who made a reflex save during a one-on-one scoring situation with only five minutes remaining in the game on Friday.

A Comet turnover in the midfield sparked six-foot-two EVC forward Salifu Jatta to sprint into space behind the out of position CCC center backs to receive a lob pass 20 yards out from goal.

Jatta was able to control the ball mid stride but was fouled by Comet wingback Benjamin Reiter and a free kick was awarded.

Hawk midfielder Juan Torres tried to power his strike into goal but the ball deflected off the makeshift wall of baby

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Comet midfielder Cristian Garibay screens Hawk midfielder James Dawes off the ball during CCC’s 1-1 draw against Evergreen Valley College at the Soccer Field on Saturday.

“I made a mistake. I came off my feet when I shouldn’t have.

But lucky for me the keeper made a huge save — it was the most important play of the game.”— Benjamin Reiter, CCC wingback blue uniforms and back out in between the half circle and midfield.

Torres recovered the ball, glanced up and sent a diagonal ground pass toward the right side of the penalty area to center attacking midfielder Louis Bellido who was sprinting toward the endline, just outside the near post, to receive the ball.

Reiter scrambled his way out of position to intercept the quick pass and stop the play, but he mistimed his slide and missed the ball by inches.

“I made a mistake,” Reiter said. “I came off my feet when I shouldn’t have.

But lucky for me the keeper made a huge save — it was the most important play of the game.”

Escamilla said he instinctively rushed out toward Bellido after he saw

that Reiter’s go to ground.

“In one on one situations a goalkeeper cannot wait. You have to attack the ball because you don’t want to give the striker time or space to think about where he can shoot,” Escamilla said.

“Then I cut off (Bellido’s) angle to the near post with my right hand to force his shot to the left and was able to stick my leg out quick enough to block (the ball).”

He ended the game with ten saves.

CCC was the only team to find the back of the net from this distance when a counter attack developed in the midfield.

Comet right attacking winger Hugo Hernandez found space along the sideline and cut inward with a burst of speed before releasing a diagonal pass

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toward the center of the penalty area to CCC striker Bryan Vega said the pass deflected off both of them before settling at the edge of the penalty area, spinning in place.

“So when I saw that (Rodriguez) was in better position to take the shot I decided to screen the defender behind me instead of going for the ball,” Vega said. “Once we put that (goal) in (the net) we woke up.”

Rodriguez rushed in to smash a right-footed first touch shot into the bottom right corner of the goal past fully stretched Hawk goalkeeper Ian Valdivia.

While Vega said a tie was a good result, the Comets will not be satisfied until they take what they learned form this game and learn it before they play at Modesto City College on Friday at 4 p.m.

The same team that shutout CCC in the first round of the playoffs last season.

INTEREST IN WOMEN’S ATHLETICS FADING

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

WHY NOT BREAK OUT OF IT IN AN ‘ATMOSPHERE OF OPPORTUNITY’?

Staff positions are open in all areas of The Advocate, the most decorated two-year college newspaper staff in the United States.

Most needed are writers (news, sports, feature and opinion) and photographers. No experience necessary — just a willingness to learn and excel.

Sign up for News Production (Jrnal 122-0458, 3 units) and News Practice (Jrnal 110A-4073, 1-2 units) for the spring 2016 semester.

Questions? Email faculty adviser Paul DeBolt (pdebolt@contracosta. edu) or come by The Advocate Newsroom in AA-215.

CCC’s women’s soccer team canceled its first non-conference game against Shasta College on Aug. 27 out of fear of beginning the season the same way it finished its previous one win season — short handed.

“It is really disappointing to start the season like this with only 10 players,” Comet assistant coach Magaly Juco said.

“We recruited this summer but some of the players quit and some didn’t have enough units.

“Some of the players came late so all of their paperwork wasn’t in,” she said. “But now we have (10) players and plan on playing in the next game.”

In the same week the volleyball team also scrubbed its spot in a scrimmage tournament at Diablo Valley College, partly because of coach Zach Schrieve’s untimely illness, but also due to a serious lack of interest shown by potential student-athletes to the sport.

Athletic Director John Wade said, “It’s early in the season and just because two early games were scratched from the schedule doesn’t mean the season is in trouble.”

Last semester a campus forum on whether there is enough interest on campus to add another women’s sports team may have been a harbinger of things to come based on lack of interest.

Athletic directors and coaches alike point to a number of modern societal shifts that may explain the decline in women’s participation rates.

Wade said. “Women in our society have different obligations. When WNBA stars Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie were at the top of their game they took time off to have kids. There are different demands placed on women.”

But it isn’t as simple as that.

“It’s about building relationships,” Comet men’s soccer coach and former women’s coach Nikki Ferguson said. “I know how much work (recruiting) took.

It’s hard. People don’t realize how much time it takes to develop and sustain a program.”

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Soulful music bolsters culture

Non-profit concert highlights family value

By Roxana Amparo ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

I

t’s normal to see the youth going out and enjoying the nightlife, but now that a local spot offers a night of fun and dancing for adults, it is safe to say they are enjoying the nightlife as well.

Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy, a non-profit organization committed to amplifying the roots of Mexican culture through classes, events, media and performances at their venue on San Pablo Avenue in Richmond, hosted a “noche cultural” on Saturday at 8 p.m.

The lead performers were Los Compas Pachangas, made up of seven family members who cover the classics and play some original songs as well.

The ambient light didn’t reach a low. The band’s stage lights pulsated purple and pink, inviting people to crowd its edge.

The venue is big, with a lot of available seats, but by 9 p.m. the dance floor was filled.

Empty the chairs were no longer a

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE

Los Compas Pachanga band leader Miguel Govea sounds off a rendition of one of the group’s more famous tunes at the Los Cenzontles Cultural Academy in Richmond on Saturday.

concern as the night evolved, but once the “Los Compas mood shifted as the Pachangas” band proceeded to play, the audience joined Genre: Banda, the dance floor. With Cumbia, Salsa an entrance fee of $10 Venue: Los Cenzontles at the door, it allowed Cultural Arts for an affordable expeAcademy rience for those in Performance Date: Aug. 29 presence. The money collected goes toward helping students pay for music lessons so they can put on events for their community.

EVENT REVIEW

Los Compas Pachangas kept the event alive filling the venue with salsa and cumbia, and drew the audience to the dance floor once more.

It gave off a familiar feel to it with the medley of songs.

Some of the songs did not have lyrics and consisted of pure sounds and beats.

Except for when the group leader Miguel Govea yelled his distinct grito, often lyrical scream used in cumbia songs. Attracting in a larger ratio of women than men, the men in the audience were ready to jump onto the dance

floor, with their partners in tow.

For those who would rather enjoy a conversation rather than stepping onto the dance floor, couches were available on the sidelines.

Although the event felt inviting to a more mature audience, there were families with young children enjoying the chips and salsa provided.

Being a non-profit organization, the event encouraged donations that will go directly to youth. Although this specific event didn’t draw in the youth, it is the kind of place any parent would enjoy when looking for fun.

‘TRUE DETECTIVE’ SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT THE BAYOU

By Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

A

fter an 18-month hiatus following the successful debut season of HBO’s dark police procedural “True Detective,” which followed the lives of two police through the bowels of the Louisiana bayou, the sophomore showing left many viewers unfulfilled.

In an attempt to recreate the character driven motif that made the first season a compelling endeavor, show writer and producer Nic Pizzolatto doubled down and added two more main characters to the mix.

The move had the opposite of the desired effect and instead of providing more characters to feel invested in, the decision only diluted the dialogue and forced viewers to miss out on gaining meaningful connections with any of the characters.

Season two leaves the sweaty cult

killing scenes of post hurricane Katrina Louisiana for the fictional southern border town of Vinci California.

It follows the lives of three cops, California Highway patrol officer Paul Woodrugh, (Taylor Kitsch) Vinci police detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) and Ventura County Sheriff Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams).

The show also features good-guy gangster Frank Semyon played by Vince Vaughn.

“True Detective” had a compelling start with a clearly troubled Woodrough (Kitsch) finding the body of a corrupt city official Ben Caspere on the side of a desolate road. The County (Ventura) and City (VInci) produced the strings that would bind all of our main characters into a collective narrative.

The corruption involved a shady deal to secure a wide swath of land for a rail corridor funded by the execution and robbery of jewelry storeowners during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

As Seymon embarks on his own form of a criminal probe along“True Detective” side the official investigation, the show tries Channel: HBO to offer a glimpse into Genre: Drama the troubled lives of Release Date: June 21 the officers tasked with solving the case.

Though troubled they are, the stretches reached to tell each individual’s backstory leaves no room for the actual crime to develop.

As the introspection continued the show fell flat. Viewers were left to strain to connect with the broken cast of characters or struggle to weave together glaring plot holes.

Bezzerides (McAdams) troubled upbringing defined by repressed molestation memories, left her heart cold and her inner rage boiling hot. Our heroine kept everyone at arm’s length. Until in true HBO fashion, she erupts while TELEVISION REVIEW

undercover in the midsts of a high-class orgy and eviscerated a towering bodyguard with a series of cuts and stabs in intense close quarters combat.

None of the antagonists were compelling and the show went out of its way to paint Seymon (Vaughn) as the lovable bad guy. Every person who interacted with him told a story that reinforced his good nature, but some while dying at his hands.

As for the case itself, it was the least compelling part of the show.

The story was complicated, which led to holes too large to be re-sewn in the allotted eight episode series. It was forced to compel viewers to suspend disbelief in order to comply with the conclusion.

You know what season one was and what two is supposed to be so you wait, but it never happens.

Despite the downgrade overall from season one to this, I’m still in this show’s corner.

Heartbreak,‘fuzzy feelings’ tangle in upcoming play

BY Mike Thomas SCENE EDITOR

mthomas.theadvocate@gmail.com

The drama department will be featuring a comedy and romance play during the fall semester. Both plays will be held in the Knox Center through the weekends of Oct. 8-17 and the second Nov. 12-21 starting at 7:30 p.m.

Adjunct Drama professor Tara Blau will direct the first play “Wonders of the World”. It’s about a woman wanting to affirm her identity after divorcing her husband.

During her journey she meets these unique characters that give her new perspectives on life. The time frame of the play is set in the present moment.

“It starts off with this woman learning a terrible secret about her husband,” Blau said. “So she goes off to find her purpose in life.”

He said “Wonders of the World” was written in 2000 by American playwright David LindseyAbaire and was first played at the Broadway Theater in New York.

The cast for the play includes seven actors made up of drama departCHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE Mathematics major Dillan Wagner rehearses “Wonders of the ment students and a few local World” with Richmond resident Siobhan O’Brien in the Knox actors.

Despite the female lead going Center on Aug. 20. through a divorce, the play is supposed to be hilarious. The people

she meets along the way are what will make the play funny. Along the way, these strangers help her find the next step to her life and open her mind to new things.

“I think the language and the characters in the play are going to make people laugh” Blau said. “But she meets people on her journey that make and shape her for the next steps in life.”

Both plays will have a small cast due to ongoing seismic renovations to the Knox Center. There also will not be any set pieces or scenery changes during the show either.

“The theater itself is going through renovations, so we can’t use big sets pieces on the stage,” adjunct drama professor Angelina LaBarre said.

Though Blau has a small cast, she still expects the audience to enjoy the play, and be exposed to different perspectives of life while watching it.

She said the audience should learn life lessons from the play and should be able to connect to real life situations that deal with conflicts.

Although the renovations are happening in the Knox Center, they should not take anything away from the play, Blau said.

“We still want the audience to

have a warm and fuzzy feeling when the audience experience a play here,” she said, “We want them to think about themselves and how they would deal with this experiences in real life.”

The drama department’s plays have been comedy and some deep drama during the past years. This semester the department is heading toward a different direction with romance. LaBarre said she thinks people need to see love on the stage, other than the redundant comedy and drama plays that’s been going in the Knox Center.

“In the past year we‘ve done some comedy and some serious pieces, so this fall we’re going to go with some lighter pieces to really entertain the audience,” she said.

“We want them to have a good laugh with Wonder of the World, and fall in love again with Almost, Maine.”

LaBarre will direct the second play, “Almost, Maine”. According to “almostmaine.com,” it’s a romantic comedy set in a fictional town in Maine. The play was written in 2002 by John 0, and was showcased at the Daryl Roth Theatre in 2005.