Advocate 12-6

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C M Y K

C M Y K

WEDNESDAY l 12.6.17 OUR 68TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

A journey for millions Some 11 million people in the U.S. are undocumented, roughly 3 percent of all people living in the U.S. There has been no significant increase or decrease in undocumented numbers since 2007.

Belize, because of its border with Mexico and shared language with the U.S. is a destination for eastern hemispherean undocumented immigrants to start their journey to the U.S.

Columbia and the nations around it are dominated by street gangs, and warfare.

Many youth decide to travel on their own to find a better home, the U.S.

The majority of undocumented people in the U.S. are Mexican, but data shows that Asians will soon likely surpass the Mexican undocumented population.

ILLUSTRATION BY DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE SOURCES: PEW RESEARCH CENTER: FIVE FACTS ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN THE U.S.

Palestinian immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. who are denied still seek to enter the U.S. by journeying south of the border and moving through Mexico.

Around 40 percent of undocumented people entered the U.S. legally through visas.

These people choose to stay after their visas expire and become undocumented.

Clean Dream Act protects immigrants

By Roxana Amparo associate editor

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is approaching its termination date and Democratic Congressional leaders are pushing for the passage of the clean Dream Act of 2017, a program that would establish a pathway to citizenship for over 2.1 million undocumented immigrants.

The clean Dream Act calls for no additional border security, no mass deportation and criminalization of immigrant communities, no more detention centers, no mandatory E-verification and a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website that allows businesses to see if their employees are authorized to work legally in the United States.

“There will be no inhumane bargaining deals like funding for the border wall and private prisons for detained immigrants and no surveil-

Men’s basketball team kicks off season

lance,” Contra Costa College economics major Oscar Martinez said.

President Donald Trump continues to push for his border wall and thousands of deportations, according to the United States Department of Justice.

DACA is set to end March 5, and the clean Dream Act may be the “only resolution that makes sense,” Martinez, who is also active on campus in the CCC Puente Club, said.

DACA was a program created by former President Barrack Obama’s administration on June 15, 2012, giving eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the United States when they were under the age of 16 a two-year renewable work permit and exemption from deportation.

When Trump announced the end of DACA on Sept. 5, he gave Congress six months to establish permanent legislation solution that extends

in brief nDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) approaches termination. nWith the termination of DACA, around 1,400 people will lose their ability to work a day or 30,000 a month. nA clean Dream Act would secure a pathway for 2.1 million undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship. nIf passed, applicants would qualify if in the U.S. for four years and they pass a background check.

protection to the 800,000 undocumented immigrants.

Approximately 1,400 people will lose their ability to work per day and until everyone’s work permits expire (by October 2019), according to a SEE DREAM ACT, PAGE A4

MUSIC, CREATIVITY DRIVE PASSION Composer and pianist creates music for VR

By Gabriel Quiroz advocate staff

gquiroz.theadvocate@gmail.com

PAGE A8 FACEBOOK: /accentadvocate

INSTAGRAM: @cccadvocate

performing arts,” Lastimosa said.

The video games he played when growing up also influenced Lastimosa’s decision, such as the “Final Fantasy” series, because he always appreciated the craft in their orchestration.

Laurena Alm, a Jazzology alumnus lead soprano, met Lastimosa at Pinole Valley High School while they were in a cappella together.

The meeting took place well before either of them knew their lives would be so musically influenced.

She said, “He was shy when we first met but when we were in Jazzology, as time went on, he grew into himself.”

Lastimosa took a year off from playing piano after high school to figure out how to work toward

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Ninoangelo Lastimosa is a new student in the music composition classes. After completing the program and transferring to a four-year college in 2019, he hopes to have some of his original compositions recorded by the music department.

making music for video games.

During his year off, he thought it would improve his music skills to start working with others and becoming more involved with the performance side of music.

Currently, Lastimosa has been working for a video game company that specializes in VR using Oculus.

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Everyone loves music — listening to, playing and singing it.

Although many enjoy being a part of it, few can turn it into something that supports them or even keeps it as a significant part of their life.

However, there are those creative, determined and practiced few who can.

Ninoangelo Lastimosa is a composer of his own original music for virtual reality video games, a pianist and baritone singer in Jazzology.

Lastimosa is in his fourth year studying in the music department and third semester with Jazzology at Contra Costa College.

Jazzology is one of the more advanced music groups in terms of vocal performance on campus.

He began his musical journey long before setting foot on the CCC campus as he grew up with a family involved in music and film.

Lastimosa began learning piano at the age of 12. His older sister would help him with skills and theory.

He also has two older brothers who are both videographers and one who is also an actor.

“I wanted to be involved in performance like the rest of my family.

It was kind of a tradition to be in

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Quotable “We journalists don’t have to step on roaches. All we have to do is turn on the kitchen light and watch the critters scurry.”

P.J. O’Rourke writer, humorist 1977 Denis Perez editor-in-chief Roxana Amparo Anthony Kinney Michael Santone associate editors Mayra Garcia art director Ryan Geller Benjamin Bassham news editor Jessica Suico assistant news editor Robert Clinton Alondra Gallardo opinion editor Xavier Johnson Andrew Weedon scene editor Dylan Collier assistant scene editor Louis Cano photo editor Efrain Valdez social media editor Tashi Wangchuk multimedia editor Paul DeBolt faculty adviser Advocate Staff Sean Austin Carina Castrillo Maxwell Craig Tony Gojilde Dan Hardin Gabriel Quiroz Julian Robinson Desmond Sylva Drew Thomas Demond Washington Honors ACP National Newspaper Pacemaker Award 1990, 1994, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017 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, 2015, 2017 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: accentadvocate@ 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, DEC. 6, 2017 VOL. 105, NO. 11

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

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EDITORIAL DREAMERS HANG IN THE BALANCE Renewed efforts can set the pace for clean Dream Act

Dream Act 2017

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he lives of the thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States at a young age are at risk of deportation once their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) issued work permit and protection from deportation expires.

They will no longer be protected under the Obama administration program that offered an exit from living in the shadows.

DACA is a program created June 15, 2012 and gave eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the United States when they were under the age of 16 a two-year renewable work permit and exemption from deportation.

There are more than 200 such undocumented students enrolled at CCC under California’s AB540, which allows undocumented students to pay resident tuition, according to Contra Costa Community College District statistics.

AB540 does not offer protection from deportation.

DACA is set to end March 5, and the clean Dream Act may be the “only resolution that makes sense,” CCC economics major Oscar Martinez, who is enrolled under AB 540, said.

Students like Martinez have spent many years working toward a better life for themselves and their families who brought them to U.S. at a young age.

The 2017 Dream Act, also known as the Clean Dream Act, is a bipartisan piece of legislation that will offer protection for over 2.1 million immigrant youth, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) whose future is unclear after the Trump administration moved to end the program on Sept. 5.

The Clean Dream Act paves the path for students who have contributed to the U.S. throughout their many years of living in the United States.

When Trump announced the end of DACA on Sept. 5, he gave Congress six months to establish a permanent legislation solution that extends protection to the 800,000 undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Those who would qualify for the Clean Dream Act must have entered the U.S. before turning 18 years old and have been in U.S. for four consecutive years and can pass a background check, according to the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).

Qualifying applicants would first qualify for conditional permanent residence by working, joining the military, earning a higher education degree or meeting a “hardship exception.”

When the termination of DACA was announced, undocumented people and supporters throughout the nation, including students and administrators at CCC, demonstrated their concern by taking action support students on campus through events and tabling.

Although the grace period of DACA deportation protections are set to elapse in less than three months, the initial urgency and support on campus seems to have simmered down.

Some Democrats are threatening to force a government shutdown if the Clean Dream Act is not included in a 2018 spending bill that will be voted on Friday.

Now is the time to re-energize the support and channel it toward urging Democratic and Republican lawmakers to pass the Clean Dream Act. The enthusiasm and events that took place in September are even more important now as vital support to encourage our community to keep spreading the word about this pivotal moment for Dreamers.

MAYRA GARCIA / THE ADVOCATE

■ MASS MEDIA

Rape culture ingrained into minds of men

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ny man that grew up in America, between the invention of the television and today has been immersed in rape culture for the entirety of his existence.

Having been steeped in this ethos does not guarantee predatory behavior, but it does lend credence to the idea that discriminatory practices against women, if not to be undertaken, have to be willingly unlearned.

For me, the realization that something was wrong with the images I was fed in my youth came on a re-watch of the 1986 comedy “Revenge of the Nerds.”

It is a classic underdog film that pits a fraternity of self-proclaimed nerds against a fraternity of jocks who ridicule their adversaries for their looks and sexual preferences for everyone to enjoy.

Two scenes in particular stand out to me from the film.

In the first, the nerds executed a “panty raid” on the sorority of the lead jock’s girlfriend. They also installed cameras in the bathroom and dorm rooms to peep in on the girls when they were showering or alone.

As a kid I remember thinking it was pretty cool.

Now I just wonder how much prison time they would get.

The second, and one of the most egregious rape scenes that I’ve ever seen on film also involves the underdog nerds still seeking revenge.

While wearing a mask for a campus fundraiser,

robertclinton the president of the nerds fraternity (wearing the same costume as the captain of the football team) lures the aforementioned captain’s girlfriend into a dimly lit room and has sex with her — while pretending to be her boyAs a friend.

As they kid I finish, she removes his remember mask and said “Wow. thinking Nerds really it was are good” and laughs pretty are had by cool. Now all.

It was I just rape, it was normalized wonder and it was how much done for comedic pur- prison poses. time In the 90s and 00s, the medium they would for normal- get. ization was music.

At the time, rap music was broadly painted as entirely misogynistic (it was not) but no artist brought the most rapey of lyrics into middle American households like Snoop Dogg with his 1993 release “Doggystyle.”

Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, the

album sold over 800,000 copies after the first week of sales in the U.S. To date, “Doggystyle” has sold over 11,000,000 copies worldwide.

One song from the album, “It ain’t no fun (if the homies can’t have none)” is the best example of rape-culture music that can be shown.

Lyrically flawed, the song prescribes that sex with a woman is worthless if a man’s friend can’t join in and a woman who refuses the offer is worthless herself.

Sure, neither instance, the film nor the song, describes actual instances of rape, but what they do is normalize rape behavior and the consequences that can be incurred.

Last year, on March 30, Stanford student Brock Turner was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault in Santa Clara County Superior Court and was sentenced to just three months of jail time.

In California, felony sexual assault has a range of punishments. A defendant can receive a term in county jail for up to one year and a fine of up to $2,000.

However, state laws also allow for imprisonment for two, three, or four years as well as a fine of up to $10,000.

Turner’s sentence is indicative of the way rape and rape culture are viewed in the U.S. Rob Clinton is an opinion editor for the Advocate.

Contact him at rclinton. theadvocate@gmail.com

CAMPUS COMMENT If you had $1,000, would you buy an iPhone X?

“I would buy another phone, not the iPhone.

I don’t really like iPhones.”

“I would give half the money to my mom and put the rest into my bank account.”

“I would rather use it for personal use than buy the iPhone.”

“I would invest it and eventually buy a house.”

“I wouldn’t buy the iPhone. I would go on a little road trip or something.”

“I would buy an Xbox 1 and then save the rest for a rainy day.”

Bryant Rodriguez

Esperanza Reyes

Jagjot Saggar

Jessica Perez

Jorge Escobar

Tayna Ochoa

biology

sociology

JESSICA SUICO AND LOUIS CANO /THE ADVOCATE

computer science

nursing

undecided

photography

forum

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■ CLIMATE CHANGE

Talks offer false solutions 23rd Conference of Parties evades discussion of reparations for environmental damage

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ndustrialized nations are holding back climate leadership by women, indigenous peoples and developing nations because they are unwilling to pay reparations for the social and environmental damage caused by industrial greed.

The COP23 or the 23rd Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that took place last month in Bonn, Germany reveals this continuing trend that has been the main obstacle impeding taking effective action on the climate crisis.

The conference is led by the island nation of Fiji, but it took place in Bonn because Fiji was unable to accommodate such a large conference.

The inability to accommodate the gathering was due to its storm season which has been exacerbated by climate change.

Fiji’s goals were to address the roles of women in climate leadership, secure the rights indigenous peoples and to bring the health of the world’s oceans to the forefront as a climate issue.

The result of Fiji’s work to bring a balance of gender to the climate negotiations process was the development of the Gender Action Plan (GAP).

The GAP outlined a lengthy methodology to improve the participation of women in leadership roles in the UNFCCC. However, the question may be which women the UNFCCC is willing to listen to.

Taking place in Bonn, along with the climate conference, was “Women Leading Solutions on the Front Lines of Climate Change.”

This event was held by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN).

WECAN grew out of the Women’s Earth and Climate Caucus which began in 2011.

The organization has held a number of events alongside UN climate conferences as well as its own events focusing on bioregional and indigenous knowledge, and has taken action against the Keystone XL pipeline.

The group promotes principles such as rights of women and indigenous peoples and the rights of nature and future generations.

The voices of the panel of women leaders radically conflicted with many of the core principles that the industrialized nations promote as sustainable solutions at COP23.

Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs that were set forth two years ago as part of the Paris Agreement are the commitments of individual nations to decrease carbon emissions.

Many of these commitments rely on “financial instruments” such as carbon trading to bring about carbon reductions.

The problem with carbon trading is that the system allows industries to continue to pollute in exchange for purchasing carbon offsets, which represent projects intended to reduce carbon elsewhere.

This creates pollution hot spots, such as our home in the North Bay, where refineries would be able to continue to pollute at levels that are dangerous to public health — as long as they purchase the offsets.

The details of what is allowed to function as a carbon offset has drawn criticism from indigenous communities.

Portions of forest have been set aside, in effect privatized and tribes have been disallowed from maintaining their traditional foodways on the reserved lands.

Destructive forest practices such as clear-cutting in Northern California also represent carbon offsets.

In 2017, it dropped down to just over $520 billion.

The $100 billion goes into a global fund for developing and underdeveloped nations.

This is in intended to support economic development and reduce poverty on a de-carbonized pathway.

That is, a pathway that does not add massive amounts of carbon to the atmosphere as industrialized nations have.

Another controversy that involves the Developing nations are expected to pro“financial instruments” that industrialized duce carbon in their development process, countries stubbornly cling to is the issue of but the $100 billion a year global fund may “loss and damage.” allow for those countries to build sustainable Loss and damage has a long history that infrastructure. goes back to the early days of climate negotiAlso, in 2020, industrialized nations are ations. Industrialized countries have avoided slated to put their NDC’s into effect. The this discussion for decades because it leads NDC’s were one of the most contentious and to the central question of liability. difficult points of the negotiation process in That is, who pays for the loss of life or Bonn. land base and the damage to property that is The reason that industrialized nations the result of anthropogenic (human caused) are so attached to what they call “financial climate change? instruments” is that industry leaders, who Event attribution is a field of research in have a very powerful role in the climate which scientists determine the degree that negotiations, want to continue to earn profan extreme weather event is related to cliits.

They hope to maintain a constant revemate change. nue stream throughout the process of transiEven the mention of this tioning to a carbon neutral infrastructure.

However, field is considered political.

The idea that industrialized nations are the question Developing countries and liable for the damages caused by the effects the Alliance of Small Island of climate change has been criticized. Some may be States (AOSIS) have long people believe it is similar to Africanbeen pushing for loss and Americans demanding reparations for slavwhich damage to be considered a ery. women is major issue in the negotiaThe late Uruguayan journalist Eduardo tions.

Galeano chronicled the connections between the United Finally, it has been recogslavery and industrialization in his classic nized as a “major pillar” of “The Open Veins of Latin America.”

Nations the negotiations in Bonn.

Galeano’s point is that slavery was used Loss and damage, as Framework to extract the gold and the silver as well as well as pre- and post-2020 other resources that were then used as the Convention funding from industrialized economic fuel to power the industrial revofor the non-carbon on Climate nations lution European nations. intensive development and Now Western industrialized nations want poverty relief of the developChange the world to forget about both their historiing nations, has led to what cal carbon emissions, as well as their use of (UNFCCC) is known as “bifurcation” at slavery in the process of that industrializathe climate negotiations. willing tion.

This is the divide between Slavery and the theft of resources, created developing nations that to listen a global economy controlled by white westneed funding and support ern nations.

The resource theft and enslaveto? to address climate change — ment continues today, shrouded behind and the wealthy industrialloans and interest payments due from the ized nations who caused it. very people whose resources and labor were Industrialized nations skirted their own stolen to create the wealth that those loans liability by forcing a compromise. originate from.

Nations that are most susceptible to the Western nations have used their “financial destructive effects of climate change would instruments” and military might to keep the be able to purchase “low-cost” insurance as colonized nations of the global south underopposed adhering to the familiar adage — developed and dependent. you break it you buy it.

Western nations and their industry leadThe compromise was reached by includers that now control a white supremacist ing desperately needed funds from the Kyoto global economy did not earn their wealth — protocols into the pre-2020 funds. they stole it.

Commitments to the pre-2020 funds, It is no wonder the UNFCCC has to made by industrialized nations during the create complex lengthy strategies to bring Paris Agreements, have fallen short of their women into leadership roles because women mark. are among the most subjugated.

Once 2020 rolls around, industrialized The global climate challenge that we are nations are slated to contribute $100 billion facing is taking us beyond concepts of profit. a year to developing nations as part of the As we approach eight billion people on a Paris Agreement. planet with a destabilizing climate, wealthy With the U.S., the world’s second largest industrial leaders will need to forgo their polluter, promised to pull out of the agreeprofiteering from the labor and resources of ment in 2020, it is unclear how the $100 bilwomen, indigenous peoples and the nations lion a year commitment will be met. south of the equator.

Up to $100 billion a year sounds like a formidable commitment, but many have Ryan Geller is a staffer for The Advocate. questioned whether that amount is suffiContact him at rgeller.theadvocate@gmail. cient. A number to compare this to might com. be the U.S. military budget which was up to $598 billion in 2015 and 2016.

ryangeller

MAYRA GARCIA/ THE ADVOCATE

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campus beat

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Newsline n CAMPUS TOUR

APPLICATIONS DUE ON THURSDAY

Students who are interested in attending a historically black college or university can apply to be one of 12 Contra Costa College students selected to join community college students from all over California on a tour of historically black colleges and universities.

The trip includes a round-trip flight from Oakland to Atlanta International and ground transportation to Clark-Atlanta, Morehouse, Spelman, Edward Waters University, Florida A&M, Southern, Dillard and Xavier universities.

The application is due by 2 p.m.

Thursday and may be submitted in person at the Career/Transfer Center in SA-227.

In addition, the group will visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Atlanta and the Whitney Plantation, a museum that details the lives of enslaved people in Louisiana.

n COMMUNITY

VOCES DEL EAST BAY HOSTS POSADA The Voces del East Bay media collective will hold a traditional Christmas celebration known as a “posada” with music, an open mic, tamales, pan dulce and games.

The celebration will be held today in Fireside Hall from 5:30-7 p.m.

There will also be a presentation on how to get involved in the movement for a clean Dream Act by members of the media collective. The group’s focus is creating social media spaces and information exchange on issues surrounding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and immigration.

The event is open to all and free to attend.

n MATH JAM

MATH JAM SET FOR WINTER BREAK During the winter break the campus will host a weeklong Math Jam on Jan. 8-12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The program offers a supportive and relaxed environment that better enables students to overcome their fears and anxieties about math.

CCC students registered in Algebra I and II, Statistics, Precalculus or Calculus I are eligible for the course.

Students who complete the course will have the opportunity to save money on textbooks by being granted the ability to borrow a math text for the full spring semester.

To enroll go to cccstem.com/ enroll or visit the STEM Center in PS-109.

For more information email the STEM Center at Math Jam @contracosta.edu

CrimeWatch Monday, Nov. 6: A non-student reported being robbed on Sunday night in Lot 8 adjacent to the tennis courts. No weapons were involved.

Thursday, Nov. 16: A collision between two cars occurred in Lot 9.

A student reported unknown suspects broke into his vehicle and stole belongings while parked in Lot 9.

Sunday, Nov. 26: A student reported an incident of auto burglary that occurred in Lot 6.

Tuesday, Nov. 28: A female, 55, was arrested on Library Drive and Castro Road for driving on a suspended license.

— Anthony Kinney and Dylan Collier

POTTERY EVENT PROMOTES GROWTH

By Efrain Valdez

social media editor

evaldez.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Pottery Event fundraiser held every semester is an opportunity for students, professors and volunteers get a chance to sell their handmade ceramics affordably on campus. Bowls, teacups, coffee mugs and plates were displayed at Fireside Hall last week.

“Most art departments make their students buy their own clay and that can get very expensive,” assistant ceramics professor Allen Perlof said. The students here on campus only pay $9 a semester for the clay, he said.

CCC alumnus and art department volunteer Allen Logan said that without this fundraiser, the student’s imaginations would be constrained because they would try to make the best of the limited supplies.

“By having this event we can provide as much clay as the students need. That means they can be creative and it helps the whole department,” he said.

“If you don’t have to pay for the clay you have an opportunity to expand, it allows you to use your creativity freely,” Perlof said.

Art department volunteer Darrell Turner said that it can cost up to $20 for a single brick of clay and that most students here don’t have the resources for that expense.

“For the college to provide the material it allows students to pick up a profession or a hobby,” he said.

“Back before we had the new facilities here on campus we would hold this event in the Art Building,” Logan said. “It’s nice having it here at the new facility (Fireside Hall).”

All the volunteers said that they enjoy giving back to the art department and Contra Costa College.

“We just try to help out and make sure students here get the opportunity to reach their full potential in whatever (art) field they choose,” Logan said. “We do these events because (the district Governing Board in) Martinez only allocates a specific amount for certain departments.”

Perlof said that when colleges and schools face budget cuts, the first places they usually cut are the art departments.

With the help of the volunteers every semester students are fortunate enough to save a lot of money when buying clay for ceramics or other art material.

“Some of the money made is also used to buy other materials, such as glazes.”

DENIS PEREZ/ THE ADVOCATE The continuous hard work from instructors, volunteers Ceramics students make clay bowls during their class. Students were able and students allows the department to make the best of what resources are available to them. Selling their wares makes it to showcase their work in the Pottery Event held in the Fireside Hall from possible for students to use their creativity free of financial Nov. 27-Dec. 1. stress.

DREAM ACT | Clean Dream Act to promote equity Continued from Page 1 report from Center of American Progress. This could result in 30,000 people losing their jobs per month.

CCC’s La Raza Student Union President Ricardo Sanchez said undocumented students who applied for DACA had to pay the $495 application fee just to earn their right to work and not get deported.

“We work, we pay our taxes, and have contributed to this society. But we never see anything back,” Sanchez said.

According to the Center for American Progress, 91 percent of DACA recipients have jobs and contribute billions of revenue to the economy.

The clean Dream Act paves a path for students who have contributed to the U.S. throughout their many years here.

“I’ve been an American my

whole life, but just because of a document it doesn’t show that I am,” Sanchez said.

Martinez said, “A clean Dream Act provides protection to law abiding, tax paying immigrant youth, which is really what Republicans should see from us, not whether we are assimilating or where we were born.”

Those who would qualify for the clean Dream Act would have entered the U.S. before reaching 18 years old, have been in U.S. for 4 years and can pass a background check, according to the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).

Qualifying applicants would first qualify for conditional permanent residence by working, joining the military, earning a higher education degree or meeting a “hardship exception.”

After eight years, they would obtain lawful permanent resident status (LPR), and after five years in LPR status, they will be eligible

to apply for citizenship and those who qualified for DACA would be on a “faster track” to citizenship, according to the NILC. The clean Dream Act would provide a permanent solution for the hundreds of permits ending, Sanchez said.

“The clean Dream Act is not only for DACA students, but also for our parents. When people call me a Dreamer, I don’t feel like a Dreamer because I was just brought here.”

Sanchez said he parents are the real Dreamers because they are the ones who had dreams for Sanchez and his little brother to have a better life in the U.S. La Raza studies major Luis Ledesma’s work permit comes to an end summer 2018. He was one of the thousands who renewed before the Oct. 5 window provided by the (USCIS) when DACA was rescinded on Sept. 5.

“I want to stay here and build

a future with my family,” Ledesma said.

Passing a clean Dream Act means that undocumented communities will have access to relief and protection from deportation.

“If it does not pass, millions of undocumented families will be vulnerable and subject to deportation,” Ledesma said.

The Dream Act was formerly known as the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act and was introduced in 2001.

The act was never passed, but would have granted qualifying undocumented immigrants permanent residency.

After several attempts, the California Dream Act of 2011 was signed by Governor Jerry Brown.

It included Assembly Bill 130 and Assembly Bill 131.

These assembly bills allow undocumented students to receive scholarships to UC campuses and the Cal Grant.

LASTIMOSA | Talent, music explored in Jazzology Continued from Page 1 At the company, he learns to program the music he creates into the gaming sets, while still being a member of Jazzology.

CCC is a place where music students can start new, refine their skills and pursue their goals, he said.

The process for getting into Jazzology is very rigorous. There are steps students must take and they must be invited audition.

Dr. Stephanie Austin, music program director and professor at CCC, started Jazzology in 2011.

She also started two other groups, Chamber Singers and Jazzanova, which she said are important steps before taking on Jazzology.

“It is a strenuous process. You must have advanced skills, outstanding musicianship and be able to part of a team,” Dr. Austin said.

Lastimosa enrolled in the music program at CCC in 2013 and attended the annual music showcase, where he was inspired to join voice class.

He took group voice where he started at level two of five levels and was eventually invited to be a Chamber Singer.

During his second year in Chamber, he was

“The repertoire, phrasing and solos were all new elements for, it put all of my musicianship skills to the test.”

Ninoangelo Lastimosa, music major

invited to audition for Jazzanova.

In Jazzanova, he had to commit a year to learn the repertoire of music as well recording the album that they do in the spring.

When asked about his time in Jazzanova, he said, “It was kind of the like the boot camp for group singing and our voices are so exposed.

The repertoire, phrasing, and solos were all new elements for me. It put all of my musicianship skills to the test.”

At the end of the year in Jazzanova, he was invited to audition for Jazzology where he is now in his third semester.

This semester Jesse Chao, Laura Karst, Joseph Saeteurn, Natasha Singer and Lastimosa all work together to uphold the strong reputation that Jazzology has created.

Listen to an Advochat: Verbal Rhapsody Every Friday on TheAdvocateCCC or go online to CCCADVOCATE.COM

Lastimosa said, “I enjoy working together with the other singers and understanding my own vulnerability, you learn a lot about yourself and others. It’s not all about talent. It’s really a social skill. Music is conversational.”

Lastimosa spoke fondly of all Jazzology members and how much they have taught him.

He mentioned how new lead soprano Natasha Singer has helped to expand his musical library.

Lastimosa plans to be in Jazzology until spring of 2019 where he will work on his transfer performance and materials.

He also hopes to record some of his own original composed music by then.

A big step and an honor for Lastimosa was performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Jazzology.

Their next performance will be on Monday at La Strada, an Italian restaurant in San Pablo.

Jazzology is also going to perform a gig at Club Bonafide in Manhattan, New York on April 2 thanks to member and manager Laura Karst.

During this trip, Lastimosa plans to use his time to visit Long Island University.

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LEFT: Rick Ramos explains the position he will take at Merritt College in Oakland starting next semester.

Ramos also recalls his many experiences working at Contra Costa College for 30 years as he stands in his GE-113 office on Friday.

Ramos moves forward DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Former chair of public safety to take position at Merritt College

n “The change is really bittersweet. I

By Roxana Amparo associate editor

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

D

r. Rick Ramos is flipping through papers at the bottom of his filing cabinet pulling out photographs, the kind you actually get back from the developer at a drugstore. The hard copy photos are moments from his 30 years working here at Contra Costa College.

The walls of his office are covered with more framed photos and plaques with police badges on them. He pulls a photo off the center of his desk. “This is my wife,” Dr. Ramos said with a big smile. “We met when we were both students here at CCC in chemistry class and we have been together now for 37 years.”

Dr. Ramos is leaving CCC to take a new position as dean of allied health and public safety just down the road at Merritt College in Oakland. The position is an exciting new step in Ramos’ unique career.

“I think I’m ready,” he said. “The change is really bittersweet. I feel some remorse, but it’s not the last that CCC has seen of me.”

Ramos grew up in Richmond and has raised his children here in the local community.

“His expertise from being a person that grew up in the area has been hugely important because he understands what students in the area have gone through,” Mayra Padilla, CCC dean of institutional effectiveness and equity, said.

As an ex-Berkeley police officer and with nine years on the Richmond Police Commission, Ramos has quite a few stories that

WORKSHOP FORMATTED CLASS AIDS LEARNING English courses merge after class cancellation

By Michael Santone associate editor

msantone.theadvocate@gmail.com

With Creative Writing classes canceled this fall semester due to lack of enrollment, Contra Costa College English professors Jeffrey Michels and Ben Jahn are teaming up to offer two new courses for the spring semester.

The revamped English 293H (Creative Writing) course, which previously met on Tuesdays, will now be offered in hybrid form every three weeks on Tuesday and Thursday from 4:40 to 6 p.m.

In conjunction with Creative Writing, English 200A: Topics in Literature will also be offered to stu-

feel some remorse, but it is not the last that Contra Costa College has seen of me.

— Rich Ramos, Merritt College dean

he will launch into at the drop of a hat.

“He keeps it real and tells us good stories. I really respect him,” CCC administration of justice major Minerva Duran said.

The role serving on the Richmond Police Commission came to Ramos because he was studying police oversight for his master’s degree at Cal State-Sacramento. A Richmond city council member nominated him for the position.

“I served as chair of the commission for over half of those nine years,” Ramos said. “I sincerely hope that the work we did during that time has contributed to the positive transformation that RPD has gone through.”

As the chairperson of the public safety department at CCC and as a professor of administration of justice with such a lengthy tenure, Ramos has crafted much of the department’s curriculum and has pushed to create unique programs for those interested in careers in law enforcement.

“He always has a very detailed educational plan,” said Dupre Winston, one of Ramos’s students who has not yet chosen a major.

CCC police aide Juan Flores said, “Work-wise and school-wise, he really knows how to help you develop a career path.”

“Part of the reason that he is so effective here is that he is really good at seeing how systems

“The essence of the class is workshop formatted that will help students discover who they are as a writer.”

Ben Jahn,

English professor

dents every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m.

Each class offers transferable units in English and will meet back-to-back with Michels and Jahn co-teaching the courses.

Although each course can stand alone, both complement each other and give students a unique opportunity to study techniques in literature that can then be applied in the creative writing course.

“All skills learned through poetry and creative writing are highly transferable in every profession,” Michels said. “It teaches empathy and self-expression which are pathways to wisdom.”

Topics in literature will focus on an eclectic list of poetry crafted to suit the diverse student body of CCC. Michels, who will be teaching the course, said the material covered is not just for people who enjoy poetry but for those who are beginners.

“We will talk about how blues is structured, the musical Hamilton, Bob Dylan, Saul Williams. It’s a diverse reading list,” Michels said. “Our job is to inspire — to teach the importance of culture and identity.”

align. He was able to create curriculum that could help bridge students to other institutions,” Padilla said.

Many of Ramos’ students appreciate that he has experience specific to being Latino in law enforcement.

“I just appreciate learning this material from a person of color,” Duran said. “I’ve noticed that they (POC) have a certain perspective on law enforcement that I think is important, especially here at CCC.” “When students have professors who look like themselves they do much better because they can relate and can learn step-by-step from someone who has navigated the system successfully,” Padilla said.

Ramos said, “I struggled as one of the first Latinos in the Berkeley Police Department. I was not accepted, and it was turbulent for me at first.

I put out a message that I was not going to put up with the community being mistreated and I caught a lot of flak for that. When I became a supervisor, the dynamics (in the department) really changed.”

Since then he has wanted to help students who look like him get great jobs, he said.

“There is a huge wave of retirement in public safety. This is a great opportunity for the kind of students who take my classes. Especially since most of them are bilingual.”

Ramos will continue teaching upper division courses at Cal State-East Bay along with the new job at Merritt which is a management position.

Within the next five years he said he plans on running for the Contra Costa County Board of Directors.

The Creative Writing course will follow the same structure as the previous sessions with Jahn at the helm.

Students will focus on writing poetry and fiction while sharing their work with the class in an attempt to ignite discussion on how writing can affect one another.

“The essence of the class is workshop formatted that will help students discover who they are as a writer,” Jahn said.

“You can take risks to find out how talented you are, while exploring different genres and expanding your repertoire, creative voice and vision.”

An emphasis is placed more on the creative flow as opposed to following strict directions on what to write, Jahn said. “It’s fun to see what’s in other people’s mind — there’s a natural human response that occurs.

“How diverse the experiences of people are and how people have dealt with things creates a connection,” Jahn said.

“I don’t think I’ve taught a creative writing course where people didn’t connect with each other and that’s what we lack in society — honesty and unity.”

The idea to “team teach” was something that Michels and Jahn thought about, but it wasn’t until the Creative Writing class was canceled that the idea was put into motion.

Jahn said he had the idea to make the Creative Writing course a hybrid, which he will do solo.

“We are designing it together where the first half will be poetry and the second half will be creative writing,” He said. “It’s about blending the two

together and since this is our first time working with each other we are balancing out the structure.”

Michels said the hope behind the colMichels laboration is to combine the strengths of both instructors and utilize them to create a set of classes that attract students.

“Ben (Jahn) is an exceptional teacher and an award-winning Jahn writer,” Michels said.

“We want to make it feel like a workshop, a safe place where you don’t have to defend yourself or your writings.” English major Angela McMahon, who will be the teacher’s assistant for both courses, has also taken classes with both Michels and Jahn.

“They (Jahn and Michels) help you think about new things and expand your thoughts,” she said. “What I saw before taking their classes and then after, was such a change in my writing.”

The dual courses and team teaching aspect will bring a different perspective to students, McMahon said. It’s a much-needed face lift and great way to attract students.

“You can really put your personality into it and find a unique voice,” McMahon said. “Poetry is something we hear every day. When more students become aware of it they can incorporate it into their life.”

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sports

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 12.6.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Comet guard Jameelah Hanif looks to pass the ball around Los Angeles Harbor College guard Monique Garrett during a game in the Comet Classic tournament in the Gymnasium on Saturday.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Hanif turns back the clock Comeback sets tone for squad trying to find its identity

By Robert Clinton sports editor

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

No matter what plan people may have for themselves, when life beckons, they all have to heed the call. Sometimes that call forces them to re-route their dreams, while still fulfilling their predetermined destiny.

For Comet sophomore guard Jameelah Hanif, the path leading to her eventual destination has been anything but a straight line. After playing for the most successful Comet team in history, and falling just shy of capturing a state championship in 2003, Hanif returns to Contra Costa College to achieve her degree and help the Comets return to dominance in the process.

“It’s always valuable when you have experience,” Comet women’s basketball coach Vince Shaw said. “She was a part of a great team here in 2002-03 for the Comets, so she’s been there and done that. That experience only helps the girls. Hanif doesn’t get too rattled, moments are not too big for her and she’s a calming influence on the girls.

“As long as we stay together, with her leadership, this team will continue to trend in the right direction.”

Born in Oakland in 1983, the forward and mother of one has consistently overcome disappointment, setbacks

“As long as we stay together, with her leadership, this team will continue to trend in the right direction.”

Vince Shaw,

Comet women’s basketball coach

and uncertainty fueling her eventual success as a business owner, mother and inspiration to those who value hard work and perseverance.

Hanif rose from humble beginnings.

Growing up in West Oakland, she remembers being introduced to basketball by her father who played in local tournaments and routinely brought his daughter to be a part of the action.

While attending Emery High School in Emeryville, she flourished as an athlete but chose to follow her teenage love to Santa Rosa Junior College in 2001.

However, her relationship dissolved and shortly after attending Santa Rosa, but not joining the basketball team, she returned to the Bay Area to play for then coach Paul DeBolt at CCC. As a Comet, Hanif flourished on the hardwood. Her team won the Bay Valley Conference and dominated in the playoffs. However, CCC eventually lost to Orange Coast College in the

State Championship Game.

“She’s grown up,” DeBolt said. “She has a very mature attitude toward what she’s doing. Not that she didn’t before, but she was 19. She’s a real leader now.

You can tell that they’re looking to her for leadership — and she’s providing it.”

After achieving such a high level of success as a student-athlete, the pressures of life and adulthood began to dominate Hanif ’s days.

As things fell into place on the court, for Hanif, her return from Santa Rosa offered a fresh set of obstacles.

Throughout the 02-03 Comets rise to success, Hanif was without stable housing and eventually found refuge with family in Vallejo.

Her mother moved in with a boyfriend leaving the then teen with no place to live.

“I was living with my aunt working at Jamba Juice full-time, going to school full-time and playing basketball,” Hanif said. “I had to stop going to school because there were bills to pay. I couldn’t play basketball any more and then I got pregnant.”

Hanif wanted to enter the nursing program at CCC and finish school as a parent, but she got an abortion.

However, the shift in circumstances was no match for Hanif ’s will.

Without basketball, Hanif recalled

other things in her life that brought her solace while living in poverty-stricken West Oakland.

“Coming from where I’m from there is a lot of drugs and poverty. There was a lack of mentors, so helping in an after school program was my outlet and a way to give back,” Hanif said. “I always felt like there were a lot of kids that were lost because they don’t have support.”

Years after leaving CCC and very much pregnant, Hanif attended Solano Community College during her maternity leave continuing her childhood development classes.

The path led to opening her own day care service in April 2013. After attending Solano, now under the tutelage of former CCC early childhood education department chairperson Intisar Shareef, she graduated from CCC with an associate degree in childhood development after completing her final class in 2016.

“It’s about finishing everything that I started. I want to complete everything,” Hanif said. “With basketball, I want to be an inspiration to my son.”

Hanif eventually hopes to grow her day care business into a larger childcare center. Upon completion of her current classes, she will qualify to have a center next November.

“Everything is falling into place,” she said.

Team plays superb defense, loses third place game in OT When offense fails to match defensive intensity, Comets settle for fourth place finish

By Robert Clinton sports editor

“We have trust each other on offense.

Everybody is a little nervous to shoot but we have to have the confidence in everything that we do.”

Dierra Mize, Comet guard

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

DENIS PEREZ/ THE ADVOCATE

Contra Costa sophomore guard Dierra Mize drives past Los Angeles Harbor College player Vanessa Ortiz to the hoop during the Comet Classic tournament at the Gymnasium Saturday.

This past weekend, the women’s basketball team hosted its 24th annual Comet Classic basketball tournament,which featured eight teams from up and down California for a three-day competition that was eventually won by College of the Siskiyous (7-1 overall) on Saturday.

Although the Eagles won the tournament, the most exciting game of the event was the battle for third place between Contra Costa College (2-5 overall) and Los Angeles Harbor College (4-5 overall).

In that game, the Comets trailed for the majority of the contest, but surged to take the lead in the fourth quarter using suffocating defense. However, offensively CCC never found a consistent rhythm.

The Comets eventually lost to the Seahawks 76-69 in overtime to take fourth place in the tournament.

“We really emphasize defense in practice,” Comet coach Vince Shaw said. “That’s what is going to carry us to win games. So for them to have that intensity is just a carryover from practice. The lack of intensity on offense — that’s on me. Right now I’m proud of the effort and the teamwork and I love the direction that we are going.”

CCC’s next test is next weekend at another tournament, this time at the College of San Mateo.

In the Comets’ first game of the tourney, the team faced a new foe with a familiar face among its coaching ranks.

In a shock to many Comet fans in attendance, former women’s basketball coach Paul DeBolt made his return to coaching after stepping down as Comet coach in 2016, now serving as an assistant for Folsom Lake College (3-4 overall).

Comet Athletic Director John Wade, likened DeBolt’s return to the bench to a player that no longer

plays competitive basketball.

Wade said when there is an itch, it needs to be scratched. It’s like a player that is no longer on a team who scours the city for a competitive pick-up game — it’s hard to get out of your system.

The Comets beat the Falcons 71-62 in the firstround matchup, led by 20 points from freshman guard Kianie Williams and 15 points by sophomore forward Jahna Maramba.

“When we can listen to our coach and execute as a team, good things will happen for us,” Maramba said. “If we are all on the same page — we’ll get things done. There are things that we need to fix, but it’s just December. It’s early.”

After its first-round victory, the team’s second-round match against Feather River College (7-3 overall) offered new challenges for CCC. The Golden Eagle height and length was a matchup nightmare for the Comets. And with Maramba missing the game because she had to work, Feather River’s inside presence was too much for CCC to handle, especially as Comet shooters were cold from the outside.

CCC fell behind 19-2 early in the contest. However, after only allowing 10 points in the second quarter, CCC only trailed 31-25 at halftime.

Feather River continued its crisp passing and deadeye shooting after the break and eventually out-paced the Comets in the second half for a 76-57 victory.

“We have to trust each other on offense. Everybody is a little nervous to shoot but we have to have confidence in everything that we do,” sophomore guard Dierra Mize said. “I’m not worried about it. We came a long way from where we started, so we are only going to get better every game.”

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A7

rough upbringing builds character, heart in guard

“I loved playing basketball as a kid because it took me away from my problems.”

— Steven Evans, Comet guard

Unstable childhood proves no match for Comet’s will to succeed in life, hoop

By Drew Thomas advocate staff

dthomas.advocate@gmail.com

Sports help athletes put their focus on something constructive and are therapeutic for those who didn’t have a normal life growing up.

Comet sophomore guard Steven Evans brings with him a hard-working mentality and versatility that fits the Comet basketball culture. Evans grew up idolizing for Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant and faced his own adversities in life.

“I’ve always been the only white player on my teams. It’s nothing to me,” he said. “I loved playing basketball as a kid because it took me away from my problems.”

Born here in San Pablo, the 24-year- old moved all over the Bay Area with his mother and three brothers.

Watching his brothers go in and out of jail made him try to stay out of trouble.

Evans said it was hectic growing up, especially being the youngest and always having to look over his shoulder. “I just wanted to play basketball, take care of school and do something positive instead,” he said.

With his mother released from jail and in a rehabilitation program, his family had to live and follow rules on Treasure Island in San Francisco for a year. After that situation, they moved to Vallejo before getting kicked out of their housing there, which forced them to stay in motels for a couple of months.

“I didn’t think nothing back then,” he said. “It felt normal.”

Comet coach Miguel Johnson said that Evans’ background wasn’t a pretty one, but that he’s done a lot to get himself in a better position in life.

Evans liked to help the community by traveling to Mexico and building houses for the poor as a member of the Young Life Christian group based in El Sobrante. He participated in the El Sobrante Stroll by setting up booths and taking everything down.

After going off to college, he returned to the Boys and Girls Club in El Sobrante for about two years working as the team director. Evans ran the sports program, refereed youth basketball, and participated in the El Sobrante clean-up. He also helped with programs such as Money Matters, which showed students how to take care of their money, and Backpack to Briefcases, which assisted high school students in going to college.

All those efforts were acknowledged after winning a youth of the year award for being a community

Contra Costa sophomore guard Steven Evans passes the ball to a teammate during Friday’s game against Skyline College at City College of San Francisco.

leader.

He graduated from De Anza High School in 2012 and is now looking to continue his education at Contra Costa College by taking automotive classes after recently receiving a bachelor’s degree in business, with honors, at Holy Names University in Oakland.

Evans said that he figures having a business degree gives him more opportunities and that he is currently in the automotive program to be independent when having car troubles.

“I want to be able to fix my own car and not rely on anyone else,” he said.

Following high school graduation, he thought about coming to CCC after being recruited by one of the coaches here, but he chose a four-year college instead.

While being a freshmen at Holy Names, he could attend classes, practice with the team, suit up, but wasn’t allowed to compete in games. He said his first year was ruined because of registration problems.

Next semester Evans took more time off helping his mom and couldn’t come back the following seasons due to coaching issues.

“Not playing at Holy Names killed me because I knew I could play there and I was practicing,” Evans said. “It made me kind of second guess myself a little bit. That made me think it was me.”

He didn’t fit the type of guard the coach was looking for and he didn’t believe in him.

“I had to take a step back and just realize that I’ve just got to keep going,” Evans said. “I can’t let him or nobody else stop me. Just got to keep grinding.”

The decision to attend both schools and work graveyard shifts for the Auto Warehousing Company, in Richmond, while playing basketball was tough for him last year.

Forward Demond Washington said being at a fouryear college and coming back to junior college should put a chip on anybody’s shoulder. “Essentially it’s your last two years to prove yourself to get a scholarship and if you don’t it’ll be your last playing basketball on a competitive level,” he said.

“In a sense you’re trying to prove to your coaches and others recruiting you why you should be back at a four-year college,” Washington said.

Johnson said Evans just came into the gym and wanted an opportunity to play.

“He showed up, worked hard and made the best out of an opportunity,” the Comet coach said.

“I wanted to go somewhere comfortable and felt it was a good fit for me,” Evans said.

No longer working, he now sets his sights on school and playing basketball.

Johnson said Evans is a guy who does the dirty work, he’s going to stick out, and do what he needs to do to win.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

TEAM PROVES COMPETITIVE FORCE, LOSES FINAL Quick tournament start distracts team in championship

By Drew Thomas advocate staff

dthomas.theadvocate@gmail.com

After a strong showing in its first game of the Golden Gate Classic, the men’s basketball team fell just shy of capturing the tournament’s championship losing 105-59 to City College of San Francisco Sunday in San Francisco.

The team’s first game against Skyline College was a driving factor in the Comets 82-75 win against Sequoia College Saturday, but the team was too content with that win, which led to the loss against San Francisco in the championship game.

“We got kind of complacent and were still hung over from Saturday’s win,” Contra Costa College forward Demond Washington said.

“We weren’t the same team we normally are. We didn’t compete.”

The Comets were energized during their first tournament win against Skyline after guard Isaiah Attles made a defensive stop that added to the team’s already growing lead.

On a San Francisco set play, Attles blocked a shot and pushed the ball up the court on a fastbreak, getting fouled, and completing a 3-point play with six minutes to play in the game.

SCHEDULE Men’s Basketball

Friday vs. Santa Rosa, 6 p.m.

Dec. 15 at Sequoias, 8 p.m.

Dec. 20 at Mendocino, 5:30 p.m.

“We like to get out in transition, so as we got stops we were able to push the ball and catch them off guard getting back slow,” Comet point guard Eric Jones said.

This gave CCC a rhythm as the team continued to shut down Skyline’s best players, helping the team to a 82-63 win on Friday.

“We’ve been off for about a month, so we were trying to just find a group to get a rhythm,” coach Miguel Johnson said. “They did a good job as far as scouting and taking us out of our element.”

The Comets focused defensively on taking Skyline’s key players out of their respective games and drove them to becoming a non-factor.

“We didn’t want their guard, Clayton Ladine, to get going. He’s shooting like 49 percent from 3, so we wanted to see if somebody else can beat us,” coach Johnson said.

“Fortunately for us, we got that done tonight.”

Forward Trevon Silas said the coach stressed to close out on Ladine when the ball was in his hands and just execute the game plan.

Unfortunately, the Comets’ sloppy passing and lack of hustle on rebounds caught up to them, leading to a run from Skyline. The Comets still led going into the second half 35-26, but understood that there was still more basketball to be played.

Jones came out in the second half aggressively attacking their

n “We got kind of com-

placent and were still hung over from Saturday’s win. We weren’t the same team we normally are.”

— Demond Washington, forward

defense, earning himself a trip to the free throw line.

“We always come out slow and (I wanted to) make it an issue to not slow down,” Jones said.

The Trojans quickly made adjustments, bringing in forward Chris Fontaine to protect the paint and crash the glass for rebounds.

“I mean, he’s a double-double guy. The game plan was to not let him get off,” coach Johnson said.

“When he’s in, we want to do a little more zone. When he’s out, we focused on playing more man to man.”

Fontaine coming into the game gave his team energy which led to coach Johnson also adjusting the line-up and playing Silas.

Silas said the team always has to listen to the coaches because they’re never going to tell them something wrong. He said they let them know that Fontaine was always going to go right and we wanted to force him to use his opposite hand instead.

With a new set of plays and players, the Comets continue to gain more experience as they prepare for their next tournament.

Dec. 28 at Alameda, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 11 at Marin, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 2 vs. Los Medanos, 5:30 p.m.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Comet center Jordan Strane makes a layup at the Golden Gate Classic basketball tournament held at City College of San Francisco from Friday through Sunday.

Women’s Basketball

Dec. 15 at CSM Tournament, 5 p.m.

Jan. 4 at Solano, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 17 at Merritt, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 vs. Napa Valley, 1 p.m.

Dec. 20 at Mendocino, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 6 vs. Yuba, 3 p.m.

Jan. 19 vs.Mendocino, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4 at Solano, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 17 vs. Merritt, 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 27 at Laney, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 11 at Marin, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 24 vs. Laney, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 6 vs. Yuba, 1 p.m.

Jan. 19 vs. Mendocino, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 2 vs. Los Medanos, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 vs. Napa Valley, 3 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Los Medanos, 7:30 p.m.

A8

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WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 12.6.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

EXPLORING BIXBY VOICE ASSISTANT Latest offering by Samsung hurt by inconsistency, bugs

By Xavier Johnson scene editor

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

With a simple “Hi Bixby,” Samsung’s new voice assistant fires into action, sometimes, and will do whatever you command it to, sometimes.

With the release of Bixby seven months ago alongside the Galaxy S8, Samsung entered into direct competition with Siri and Google Assistant. However, Bixby is similar to Siri in the fact that it’s exclusive to Samsung products, although Bixby works in tandem with Google Assistant on the Androidbased Samsung phones.

Being packaged with the Google Assistant that’s baked into the Android 7.0 operating system is the biggest downfall that Bixby faces as a service. Simply, there are too many processes where just using Google Assistant is easier than Bixby.

The biggest advantage that Google Assistant has over Bixby is speed of executing commands and general integration with apps.

For example, Bixby executes commands almost as if it were being manually entered going through each step. This can make something that should be quick now take a few seconds too long. Google doesn’t go through that process

and just opens the app and executes the action.

Bixby also is very limited with the apps it can interact with well. Using Google Assistant is simply easier when setting reminders, sharing, managing calendars and even creating docs because Google’s apps are default on Android devices.

There’s direct integration so things just work.

With Bixby, it’s integration with Google apps can be hit or miss. Sometimes the commands needed to execute an action are confusing and there are actions that Bixby just won’t do for no reason, like starting a playlist or even making a call with a friend that has a weird name.

A unique quality Samsung’s offering has is the Bixby button, a hardware feature TECH to activate Bixby with the press of a button.

REVIEW It’s a very convenient feature if you want to Bixby use Bixby. Similar to a walkie-talkie with ★★★★★ the press of a button you can instantly Operating sysspeak. If trying to activate it, just saying tem: Android the “Hi Bixby” hot-word works just as Hotword: “Hi well. It recognized my voice instantly even Bixby” with moderately loud ambient noise in Developer: Samsung the room.

However, commands are frustratingly robotic. Whereas Google Assistant handles looser language and a more conversational approach well, Bixby struggles with nonlinear commands.

One of the greatest qualities Bixby has over its competitors

is the ability to control the device. Bixby was created to be a way to control the device. Changing settings and navigating the device is a breeze with Bixby and is much easier than digging through menus.

When it comes to other uses Bixby can be inconsistent in quality.

Another huge weak spot for Bixby is hands-free operation while driving. One would naturally want to use Bixby for controlling their phone without having to take their eyes off the road.

Unfortunately, Bixby fails at this, miserably. When trying to set reminders, control music, or launch navigation Bixby was slow or just didn’t do anything. When it did kind of do what I wanted, it often required a manual input to finish a command which isn’t feasible or safe to do while driving.

The fun and useful ability to answer questions isn’t great, but definitely not bad. It sits in that solid middle ground. For most questions, Bixby will provide an actual answer but for some more complicated or specific questions it’ll just direct people to a Google link. It’s not as bad as Siri but can’t touch Google Assistant.

Bixby is a good start, however since it is the youngest of the three voice assistants it is filled with little annoyances that mar the product. Combine that with the superior Google Assistant being a long-press of the home button or a simple “OK Google” command away, Bixby loses a lot of luster, because Google’s offering does more things, simpler and better.

Advancement of mobile AI tech 2011 Oct. 4, 2011 a beta version of Siri was introduced as an integrated app with the iPhone 4S. The first of the three major mobile voice assistants, Siri was groundbreaking at the time.

Lacking today’s sophistication, Siri was limited to stiff, exact commands and lacked localized information. Despite early issues, Siri set the first flag in the ground of tech companies investing in voice assistants and proved there was a public interest.

Siri Device: iPhone 7+

2012

Google Assistant

Device: Moto X Pure Edition

Google Now was launched on July 9, 2012 and was Google’s first attempt to create an intelligent voice assistant. While being able to perform a lot of the same actions as its competitor Siri, such as setting reminders and making calls, Google Now was also backed by Google’s infrastructure. Google Now was exceptional at answering questions, providing recommendations based on the user’s search history and understanding contextual information. Google Now would later be phased out and replaced by Google Assistant which was announced on May 18, 2016.

2017

SOURCES: 2011 IPHONE 4S REVEAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2012 GOOGLE NOW REVEAL PRESS CONFERENCE

After the massive failure that was S Voice, Samsung announced a complete reboot to its voice assistant with Bixby. Announced March 29, 2017, the newest of the three major voice assistants launched with the Galaxy S8. Bixby supports a stronger emphasis on controlling the hardware and software settings with voice commands alongside the typical voice assistant uses. In 2018 Bixby will be integrated with Samsung’s smart appliances and televisions.

2017 SAMSUNG BIXBY REVEAL CONFERENCE

Bixby Device: Galaxy S8+ ILLUSTRATION BY BENJAMIN BASSHAM, DENIS PEREZ, XAVIER JOHNSON / THE ADVOCATE

Google, Apple compete in market Siri hurt by lack of evolution through years, laxed integration with design ecosystem

Quality product by Google renders itself useful and accurate with minor inconveniences

By Drew Thomas

By Andrew Weedon

advocate staff

dthomas.theadvocate@gmail.com

Siri is an artificial intelligence based voice assistant created to enhance Apple devices by providing them with functions to perform multiple tasks simply through vocal commands.

Siri is an incomplete system that has failed to keep up with what consumers need for the device to be useful on a dayto-day basis.

Some common uses include scheduling activities, quick homework help, navigation, music, texting and phone calls.

A common negative that users report when using Siri is the constant repeating of clearly articulated words that the assistant cannot comprehend.

For example, if a user is driving and asking for directions to an uncommon location, it becomes immediately obvious how frustrating repeating yourself can be when Siri lists various addresses instead of the specific one you requested.

In theory, the assistant acts as somewhat of a shortcut in performing tasks that can easily be done if not better yourself.

The idea was good at first, but like anything else in life it has its problems.

Voice-commanding music in the car and asking Siri to play a specific song by an artist seems to be a real problem. Artists that have unique names, even someone as popular as Childish Gambino, are an issue for Siri to pull up.

Voice command fails to follow through when asking it how to solve common algebra problems.

Instead of answering the question itself,

Siri redirects a common math question to a Google search page, but it never offers a definite answer.

Math isn’t the only academic subject Siri is lazy with. Asking Siri for definitions of words can be frustrating.

Looking up the definition “visage” became an irritating venture when it looked up “sarge” instead.

Even familiar words like “uncommon” are difficult for Siri to find synonyms for.

Another seemingly simple task Siri handles in a counterintuitive way is setting events.

Siri doesn’t comTECH plete setting events REVIEW on Apple’s calenSiri dar. Siri will set the ★★★★★ date on your device’s Operating syscalendar, but users tem: IOS manually have to Hotword: “Hey remember to check Siri” dates themselves, Developer: Apple which defeats the purpose of having a digital assistant.

There are tasks that Siri performs extremely well, like sending texts and making calls in a matter of seconds.

Apple constantly releases software updates for its devices, however, Siri doesn’t seem to be a priority as the service still poorly executes tasks to completion — even though it’s 6 years old.

Siri also doesn’t perform at optimum levels on all devices in the Apple ecosystem, which includes iPhones, iPads, and Apple watches.

scene editor

aweedon.theadvocate@gmail.com

As someone who doesn’t use my phone’s voice assistant very often, it was interesting getting used to it over the last few weeks.

Overall it was fairly useful with most of the functions that iPhone and Samsung users enjoy.

From setting alarms, answering questions, getting directions, and more, Google assistant can keep up with spectacular accuracy.

It even did a great job at recognizing contact names that most voice assistants TECH would find difficult.

REVIEW When you wish to use Google Assistant, Google Assistant ★★★★★ you need only say “OK Google” and an Operating sysinterface pops up ask- tem: Android Hotword: “OK ing if you need help.

Google” From here you can Developer: use many different Google commands to control your phone hands free.

I found that I mostly used Google Assistant to search the internet for various questions I had.

In this category it did amazingly well since it is basically a direct link to Google search.

One of the other main uses for a voice assistant is hands free control while you are driving.

While I didn’t do any driving, I did test its capabilities while I was a passenger.

For the test I set my phone down in the

center console and tried using it as if I were driving.

As expected, almost all of its functions were accessible in this situation with only minor problems recognizing complex requests.

While all of the main functions work well, I find the name to be an interesting choice.

Google has decided not to personify the voice assistant a name, unlike Apple with Siri and Samsung with Bixby.

I personally find this quite comforting because when you ask a question it feels like you are talking to a professional rather than a friend.

Despite Google being the hub of knowledge in the world, their voice assistant is not without problems.

A glaring issue pops up when you choose to open an application with voice control. Apps will open just fine however you have almost no control once inside one.

I personally don’t find this to be much of a problem but it may be a deal breaker for some users.

The other main issue I see is that the voice assistant doesn’t work very well with the security locks.

While you can activate trusted voice and unlock your phone with Google assistant, it is not the most secure option as Google assistant occasionally mistakes another person’s voice for yours.

With such a risk present it seems better to use a regular pin lock, which then negates the usefulness of the voice assistant for hands free use.

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spotlight Professor exemplifies passion for students

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SAN PABLO TREE LIGHTING SPURS CHEER AT CITY HALL DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Alphabe+ Club President Enrique “Kike” Duarte gives a speech as he holds up his award given to him by the Associated Student Union during LGBTQ+ Appreciation Day in Fireside Hall on Monday.

LGBTQ+ supporters honored

By Xavier Johnson scene editor

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

Three students and three faculty members were honored for their contributions to the campus community through advocacy for LGBTQ acceptance during the LGBTQ+ Appreciation Day event in Fireside Hall from 12:30-1:30 p.m. on Monday.

Alphabe+ Club President Enrique Duarte, Associated Student Union Senator Mikaela Pollard, journalism major Michael Santone, project coordinator and Alphabe+ Club adviser Miguel Alvarez, math professor Sue Van Hattum and drama department Chairperson Carlos-Manuel Chavarria, who was not in attendance, were the six individuals honored.

Each honoree represented a different group fighting for LGBTQ acceptance, such as Michael Santone’s influential articles as a reporter for The Advocate, Pollard and Duarte from the club and student government side and Van Hattum, Alvarez and Chavarria from the faculty and administration front.

A general theme from the award winners in attendance was the continued fight for inclusion. While each recipient expressed happiness for the steps that have been taken to make Contra Costa College a more inclusive campus for LGBTQ students, they each said this was just the beginning.

Duarte said there is a lot more work to do.

He said he wants the classes to use more inclusive language within their curriculum and end student discrimination due to identity, which still happens.

“Having a more queer academia on campus is important,” Duarte said.

Alvarez said faculty plays an important role in the dynamics on campus such as crafting curriculum and ensuring students pass their coursework and move on to bigger things.

With such an important role, administrators can be a strong force in creating a more inclusive environment.

“Having more faculty under the LGBTQ umbrella can lead to mentorship. We need to push for an equity agenda and add inclusive works, like books, within the curriculum,” Alvarez said.

Pollard is also the vice president of the Alphabe+ Club along with her duties as an ASU senator. Despite usually being quiet and not vocal on topics, she said joining ASU was a big part in her becoming more vocal.

She also credited a particular event in her junior year of high school with her learning to speak up.

Pollard said while in class a student said if he had a gay son he’d beat him and kick the son out of his house. Pollard broke her usual quiet demeanor to speak up and tell the student what he said was wrong and made him listen.

“If you stay quiet, people are going to keep

doing what they do, and they won’t understand,” Pollard said, “I had to start speaking out on things.”

VanHattum had the longest speech of the day, sharing her experiences with her own sexuality and history of advocacy. Her strongest point was pushing for intersectionality when approaching LGBTQ advocacy.

Intersectionality is the effects of different forms of discrimination and how they intersect.

VanHattum represented not only the faculty’s role, but also a more experienced mindset, reaching upon the years in her life as an advocate.

Pollard said the Alphabe+ Club could still make a larger impact on campus.

“I want everyone on campus to feel safe and accepted and tell people ‘it’s OK and you aren’t invalid because of who you are,’” she said.

ASU Vice-President of Clubs Astrid Pumarica said appreciation events are important for recognizing members on campus that contribute in ways that aren’t clearly evident to the general community.

“When I think about the LGBTQ community I think about the positives, but don’t think about their struggles. Making more events like this gives these students a voice and shines a light on the struggles they’ve overcome,” Pumarica said.

Contra Costa College’s Jazzology performs holiday songs for community members PAGES B7

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CLUB PUSHES TO INSPIRE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING

By Alondra Gallardo opinion editor

agallardo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Although there is a lack of women in engineering today, a campus club is helping inspire women to join and continue in this field.

Women Advancing Via Engineering and Science (WAVES) was created on the Contra Costa College campus to help close the gap between men and women working this field.

Only 9 percent of the engineering workforce are women, according to the women in engineering society.

Originally, social science and literature were considered “feminine” subjects and areas such as science, technology, business and engineering were labeled as “masculine” areas of expertise, according to information found in the encyclopedia of Modern Feminist Movement and Contemporary Issues.

“I remember in my physics class I was the only female,” chemical engineering major Aidee Guzman said. “We got put into lab groups to answer questions and do an assignment and my group members would constantly question my knowledge just to see if I actually knew the material or not.

“I feel like I constantly was challenged and had to prove myself just for the simple fact that I am a

woman.”

According to the Society of Women Engineers, one in four female engineers leave the field after the age of 30 now compared to one in 10 male engineers leaving the field.

Mayra Padilla HSI, STEM and equity director said there are not many women, especially Latinas or African-American women, in this field.

“Women drop out of STEM either really early or really late and this happens particularly in the Adelante program,” Padilla said.

“We can start off with 50 percent women and by the time they get to the science it is about 20 percent.

This all happens within a year.”

Padilla said they really try to encourage women to join and continue their studies the field.

They invite women scientists to speak to the classes to encourage and influence women. The hope is that they can obtain such positions and teach men that women can be in high positions as well.

According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, only 29 percent of the science and engineering workforce are women, but women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce.

“We actually hired a STEM counselor and she is developing a workshop for women in a group so when they have to make tough decisions they have someone to talk to,” Padilla said.

Taylor Swift’s ‘Reputation’ intrigues, yet disappoints PAGE B8

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Chemical engineering major Aidee Guzman has dealt with being challenged as a woman in the field of engineering.

STEM counselor and coordinator Lorena Gonzalez said, “In regards to decisions such as moving on and transferring, the impact of culture affects them with things like being the first female in their family to go to college.”

Here at CCC there is diversity, but the higher you go in STEM classes, the less color and diversity you see. This is not only seen in the career path but in the classes, Gonzalez said.

“Female students do come to me and address the intimidation

due to males and the environment,” Gonzalez said.

Padilla said, “We want faculty to encourage young women in science classes so that they can pursue these careers. By creating a social justice in the work environment, it helps women see that they can excel, however, we need to re-frame it for them.

Guzman said, “I joined WAVES because my friend created it and it feels way more comfortable because it is predominately us women. But men can join as well.”

View the cause, effect of domestic violence PAGE B4-5

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■ FATHERHOOD

Destructive discipline

T

he day my son was born is one of my fondest memories and greatest accomplishments I’ve completed in my life thus far.

That moment changed my life forever.

Baby coos, dirty diapers and baby food clinched my attention and pushed my passion for writing and music to the background.

I’ve quickly found, while being a first-time father, that raising a child can be a growing experience, not just for kids. but also for parents.

The problems faced in parenthood have the potential to overwhelm any new parent, especially when it comes to the aspect of discipline.

However, any challenge promotes growth.

As the years sped by, I watched my son grow from an adorable babbling infant to a gabbing little boy whose curiosity leads him into mischievous shenanigans.

I occasionally find myself filled with frustration, hastily ruminating on how to address my son’s transgressions, while my grandmother’s voice echoes in my head saying, “Boys will be boys.” Yeah, OK. It’s essential for a human (not just boys) to develop a sense of discipline in order to function effectively in society.

A severe lack of discipline

combined with unenforced limits can lead to affluenza, a social dysfunction that claims individuals with privileged or unsupervised backgrounds tend to struggle with determining the difference between right and wrong due to a lenient upbringing.

A healthy dose of discipline is necessary I quickly for humans, but inducing found, it through physical while punishment is a concept being a of absolutist first-time thinking.

A parent’s reasoning for father, spanking is typically the that same: to correct or punraising ish a child’s behavior by a child inflicting can be physical pain.

In terms a growing of quickly changing a experichild’s behavior for a short ence, not time, physical punishment is just for considered the most effective. kids, but However, in the moment of also for a parent’s rage and exasperaparents.

cent of Americans believe, “It is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking.”

However, things become more perplexing when trying to narrow down the wide range of ideas society has of what’s acceptable when spanking a child, in terms of both severity and frequency. tion, little emphasis is put on An international trend is the long-term mental effects growing in opposition to the spanking has on children. use of physical punishment on Research studies have children. shown, children who are freAlthough doctors and therquently or severely spanked apists around the world have are at higher risk of mental been developing alternative health issues such as depresmethods to spanking, the sion and anxiety.

They are also more suscep- nation is still split on its stance tible to developing alcohol and regarding physical punishdrug dependency later in life. ment.

Corporal punishment is Also, children who are regstill shockingly common in ularly spanked are inclined homes across America, despite to develop a more distant the fact that 31 states have relationship with their parents, according to those same banned corporal punishment in schools. studies.

Data from the U.S. Furthermore, spanking has been linked to the adoption of Department of Education aggressive behavior like bully- shows African-Americans and students with disabilities, are ing on playgrounds and partdisproportionately subjects of ner abuse in relationships. corporal punishment in the The issue is, children may states that still opt to practice learn to associate violence the tradition. with getting one’s way and A federal data analysis appreciating violence as a method of solving conflicts in found that on average, a child is hit in a public school every social interactions.

A survey conducted by the 30 seconds somewhere in the United States.

Brookings institute in 2012 In most cases, we tend to found that more than 70 per-

anthonykinney

carry on the traditions and beliefs that are instilled in us by our parents during our own childhoods.

If we were smacked as a child, we are prone to do the same to our children.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t make it the right.

Studies suggest that the negative effects spanking has on children tremendously outweighs the “quick fix solution” spanking provides to the adult.

So why do we continue to harm our kids?

Fathers and mothers should expand their parental arsenal by researching different techniques for encouraging discipline. Practices like positive reinforcement for good behavior and physical exercise like planks and wall-sits for the bad.

Physical punishment causes more harm than just what can be seen on the skin, it also affects the psyche.

I hope we began to break the cycle of violence by handing down a less aggressive ideology of discipline and a less physical approach to life’s issues to our children.

Anthony Kinney is an associate editor of The Advocate.

Contact him at akinney.theadvocate@gmail.com.

■ ABUSE

MOTHER INSPIRES PERSEVERANCE, SHOWS STRENGTH

T

he first time I saw my mother being hit by a man, I was 10 years old.

Cowering in the corner, I threw a blanket over my face to shield myself from the scene that filled our one bedroom apartment.

At the time, I didn’t understand the chaotic discord that not only had me weeping in fear, but fearful for the safety of my mother.

Once the squabble abated, the huffing and cursing that pierced our rundown apartment was interrupted by cries from my 3-year-old sister who my mother rushed over to attend to once out of the grip of my step dad’s arms.

After hours spent in the bathroom applying makeup to a blackened eye and bloody lip, my mother came out to face the world.

With what seemed like a loss of dignity and a tarnished spirit, she continued with her day as if nothing had transpired.

It was as if I had not witnessed her being hit in the face multiple times by a man twice her size.

In an attempt to diffuse the uncomfortable situation later on during dinner, she explained her injuries away as an accident with the closet door, ensuring there was nothing to worry about.

Inside, I wanted to believe her, but the woman I grew up admiring seemed almost a skeleton of her old self.

For me, this verbal and physical altercation etched a memory so vivid inside of me that it resonated within my psyche.

Although it wouldn’t be the last time I would see or hear my mother being abused, that incident in the kitchen would become a catalyst that shaped my views of how men and women are portrayed in society.

The notion that men are the pro-

michaelsantone tector or head of the house, in my eyes was a conviction that was shattered by the bruises and cuts that regularly appeared on my mother’s body.

My experiences with my step dad, a man who to me was a weak representation of what the idle norms were for what qualifies as a man, pretended and For me, carried himself in this verbal public as if he was a real man by the norms of society. and Although he physical worked seven days a week and provided for altercation his family, the dirty little secret that he hid etched on the knuckles of his fingers disqualified a memory him from achieving the status of fatherly so vivid role model.

Over the next five inside years, arguments and abuse at night haunted me that the halls.

While I was supit posed to be sleeping, resonated I tossed and turned in bed hoping the woman I grew to within admire would reclaim the life that was stolen my by domestic abuse.

During the day, the psyche. plastered on smiles

ILLUSTRATION BY MAYRA GARCIA / THE ADVOCATE

symbolized a false sense of security, as my mother persevered through years of torment that never kept her down.

It was her, who for years protected my sister and I from being abused while enduring countless beatings, while working overtime at trying to hide the fact that it was even happening.

She was the protector, the head of the house and the true representation of what the idle norms were for what

qualifies as a man.

These were the norms that as a young man, I looked for in my step dad.

But it was my mother, who embodied the true essence of what society sees as a man.

Michael Santone is an associate editor for The Advocate. Contact him msantone.theadvocate@gmail.com.

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Using coercion and threats

Making and/or carrying out threats to do something to hurt them, threatening to leave them, to commit suiUsing cide, making them drop charges, making them economic do illegal things

abuse

Preventing them from getting or keeping job, making them ask for money, giving them an allowance, taking their money, not letting them know about or have access to family income

Making them afraid by using looks, actions, gestures, smashing things, destroying their property, abusing pets, displaying weapons

Power and Control

Using male privilege Treating them like a servant, making all the big decisions, acting like the “master of the castle,” being the one to define men’s and women’s roles

Using intimidation

Using children

Making them feel guilty about the children, using children to relay messages, using vibration to harass them, threatening to take the children away

Using emotional abuse

Putting them down, calling them names, making them think they are crazy, playing mind games, humiliating them, making them feel bad about themselves, making them feel guilty

Using isolation

Minimizing, denying and blaming

Controlling what they do, who they see and talk to, what they read, where they go, limiting their outside involvement, using jealousy to justify actions

Making light of the abuse and not taking their concerns seriously, saying the abuse didn’t happen, shifting responsibility for abusive behavior, saying they caused it

Domestic violence cycle, effects

Source: National Center for Domestic and Sexual Violence

Effects of domestic violence are long-lasting Childhood experiences within violent households create traumatic memories associate editor

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

3 in 10 women in the United States have experienced physical violence by a partner.

1 in 10 men in the United States have experienced physical violence by a partner.

30 to 50 percent of transgender people experience intimate partner violence at some time in their lifetime.

Source: National Domestic Violence Hotline

The National Domestic Hotline receives an average of 22,000 calls per month. That is about 264,000 calls a year to report domestic violence.

Domestic violence is violent or aggressive behavior within the home, involving the abuse of a partner while in an intimate relationship.

The psychological, emotional and physical effects domestic violence leave with a victim can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety and uncontrollable thoughts, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation.

It gives victims of domestic violence time to heal open wounds, even though domestic violence is not usually something that only happens once.

It can occur to anyone and anybody has the potential to be an abuser, depending on their upbringing.

Nearly three in 10 women and one in 10 men have experienced physical violence by a partner and report the impact it has caused them, according to statistics from The National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Often times, the abused takes the blame for what is done to them, but effects of trauma varies from person to person. Everyone’s response to stress, age and the frequency and severity of abuse is different.

“We think it is our fault. We think, ‘It’s me, I’m just bad,’” Contra Costa College psychology professor Mary Johnson said. “I was abused emotionally to a degree by men.”

Johnson said people, who have suffered abuse, don’t know how it will affect them at a later time in their life.

“People may not know where they acquired an addiction problem, why they choose being in relationships with the wrong people, why they can’t be successful in their personal life,” she said.

Women predominantly experience domestic violence in their lifetime and Marriage and Family Therapist Gerald B. Chambers said, during his

n “When someone you love can have that kind of impact on your life and not see you as a person, it does a lot of damage. Not just to her and her baby, but to the entire community

— Mayra Padilla, dean of equity and institutional effectiveness

therapy sessions with his group, he has experienced two types of men who batter.

Typically, the first type has a criminal history, they’ve been in gangs, involved in the criminal justice system and likely to have a mental illness.

“These are anti-social men with no empathy. They practice mind over matter: I don’t mind, you don’t matter.” he said.

Chambers said the second type of men he encounters are the type that get into trouble, they don’t have criminal history, no contact with the law but get involved in conflicts.

Dean of Equity and Institutional Effectiveness Mayra Padilla said, “Part of the truth is that if our young men are so in trouble and impacted by the violence they are feeling everyday, sometimes this is a way to get that anger, that rage out. In a way that is easy for them.”

It’s not just those who carry these characteristics. Sometimes it’s an adult who has experienced trauma.

Chambers works with people who suffer from domestic violence related issues but said he uses people’s relationships to help them improve.

He also analyses the moment a child is brought into the world and the connection it has with its mother.

Attachment theory is a psychological model that tries to describe long-term and short-term interpersonal relationships between humans, a term coined by British psychologist John Bowlby in 1958.

From the moment a child is born, they sleep, cry, poop and repeat.

“Every year, we get some parent

The frontal and temporal lobe of the brain are commonly affected by traumatic brain injury.

Occipital lobe

Temporal

Cerebellum

The cerebellum contributes to coordination — the fine motor tune.

The Power and Control diagram helps people understand the overall pattern of abusive behaviors and violent behaviors, which are used by a batterer to establish and maintain control over their partner.

Often times, one or more violent incidents are accompanied by an array of these other types of abuse.

who kills the kid because they can’t get their child to stop crying,” Chambers said. “When we try to raise people like reptiles, with no empathy, no care, no nurturing, you start to have problems.

That’s attachment theory.”

Having a strong bond helps a child’s brain develop correctly, and it’s essential a child develops a proper attachment to someone they trust, in most cases, their mother.

Factors in the environment also affect brain development, according to livestrong.com.

Padilla said she was 14 years old when she first heard about a severe case of domestic violence.

She said she remembers the day her best friend called her in a panic because her husband, was holding her one-year-old baby outside the window by her leg.

“Her husband wanted her to not go out, throw away her dresses and skirts or he would let go of the baby,” she said. “He nailed her front door with plywood and he left her locked up for three days alone with her baby, no food or water.”

Padilla said her friend was able to escape the threatening situation in her household, but it wasn’t because she ended up leaving, but because he was shot and killed.

Domestic violence affects people of any age.

“When someone you love can have that kind of impact on your life and not see you as a person, it does a lot of damage. Not just to her and her baby, but to the entire community,” Padilla said.

A method of intimidation involves the abuser using children to control a person or conflict.

According to NDH, 30 to 60 percent of perpetrators of intimate partners also abuse children in the household.

CCC sociology professor Brandy Walker said when children witness domestic violence it impacts their development.

“The trauma plays out in many different ways, they repeat the cycle by allowing themselves to be battered or being the batterer,” she said.

Children endure anxiety, depression, academic problem, or develop fear even if they were not directly abused, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation.

Chambers said that people should ask themselves whether they feel safe and have room to be who they are in their relationship. Otherwise, it may be a sign of domestic violence.

Walker named three phases of domestic violence developed by psychologist Lenore Walker in 1979: tension building phase, acute battering episode and honeymoon phase afterward.

Tension builds over money, children or jobs. That’s when the verbal abuse begins.

In this phase, the victim tries to control the situation by giving in or avoiding the abuse, but it will not stop the violence.

This is the point where the physical abuse begins.

When reaching the acute battering episode, the abuser is triggered by external events causing them to act out.

The abuser is unpredictable and can become agitated, leading to abuse.

During the honeymoon stage, the abuser is ashamed of his behavior and tries convincing the abused the behavior will not repeat itself.

The abuser will convince the victim that leaving the relationship is not necessary, allowing the cycle to continue.

“A victim should be aware of the various phases and have a safety plan in the event that domestic violence occurs and they should be ready to leave the situation,” Walker said.

Padilla said, “It’s not just a problem about women and women needing to get out. We stay in those situations because sometimes we don’t see that we have choices or sometimes we are too scared to see that any options exist.”

Having conversations surrounding domestic violence can educate communities before it is too late.

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Frontal lobe

The occipital lobe impacts the ability to see.

Infographic by Roxana Amparo, Denis Perez / The Advocate

By Roxana Amparo

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An example would be when one is hit in the head or knocked into a wall.

Brain injuries have an impact on physical functioning, thinking, emotional and behavioral control.

Expectations blur collective morality Sexual assault allegations, misconduct accusations block support of public

By Robert Clinton opinion editor

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

In light of the recent deluge of complaints of sexual misconduct, sexual assault and in some cases pedophilia among prominent public figures, it is becoming more difficult to delineate the moment when inappropriate behavior becomes unacceptable.

This year, beginning with the now infamous “Access Hollywood” “grab them by the p***y” comment by President Donald Trump and the lack of consequences it incurred, women have began to expose years of predation men in all walks of life.

For some people, accusations of rampant misconduct is a deal-breaker in terms of support, however, others increase their support for people mired in scandal.

“Too many people hide their own and circle the wagons around their own and that allows the behavior to perpetuate. People make excuses for the people that they need to be nice to advance other interests,” political science department Chairperson Vanna Gonzales said.

“At a certain point people need to take an ethical and moral stance and call out what is unacceptable. Men, in particular, have an obligation to do that. We can’t just rely on the females to come forward because it’s too easy to paint them as victims — rather than just doing what’s right.”

Since Oct. 5, when film producer Harvey Weinstein was initially accused of rape and sexual misconduct, 34 men and counting, mostly politicians and entertainment executives, have been accused abhorrent behavior, according to reporting in the New York Times.

Some of the more recognizable names from the list are the U.S. senator from Minnesota Al Franken, Alabama judge and politician Roy Moore and most recently NBC “Today” show host Matt Lauer.

Although all of the perpetrators are men, all of the victims are not women.

Actors Anthony Edwards (Goose from “Top Gun”), Corey Feldman and Terry Cruz all made recent allegations against Hollywood executives in recent months.

Cruz filed a police report with the LAPD accusing executive Adam Venit of groping him, in front of his wife, at an industry party in 2016.

Venit was subsequently suspended from his job.

“I like to view things holistically. If someone has done something catastrophic that endangers or harms someone else then I won’t support them any more,” ASU President Alex Walker-Griffin said.

“For example, the allegations against Roy Moore, although I’m not a Republican, to people that are Republicans, because of the allegations that are coming out that he sexually assaulted people, I don’t think you should support that person. I don’t want people to profit off of something that they may have done that is completely awful.”

In different areas of public life, people have alternate means of aligning their own moral compass.

Music department Chairperson Wayne Organ finds inspiration in the music of jazz great Miles Davis, however, after reading his autobiography, the professor had to separate the art from the artist — in a way.

“I remember thinking I admire this guy for his art but I certainly don’t admire him as a person. You gotta separate out those two things. The older I got, the more I realized that everybody is messed up in some sort of way,” Organ said.

“If I’m looking at a person making policy and their behavior doesn’t support that policy — I’m done with you. That’s hypocrisy.”

Organ sees Davis’ personal shortcomings differently.

“There is nothing that says Miles Davis was being hypocritical because he wasn’t trying to tell people how to live their lives and then doing the opposite,” he said.

“Just because the creator gave you the ability to do something doesn’t mean he gave you the ability to be a good person. Davis was a world-class a-hole.”

Sexual infractions are not always a contributing factor of what blurs the lines of morality, acceptance and rejection.

People use their own sense of righteousness and justice to determine when it is time to end support

“At a certain point people need to take an ethical and moral stance and call out what is unacceptable. Men, in particular, have an obligation to do that.”

Vanna Gonzales,

political science department chairperson

of an artist or public figure, especially if domestic violence or sexual misconduct are not issues.

In many cases, all it takes is a violation of one’s personal moral code, not a legal infraction, to be exiled from the list of acceptability.

“I remember loving Alicia Keys’ music when she first began her career and then she started messing around with (music producer) Swizz Beats who was married at the time. I had to draw the line. That changed my outlook on her — I can’t support that,” CCC instructional assistant Vanessa Johnson said.

“I watched Bill Cosby on the ‘Cosby Show’ when I was young but seeing the news, I can’t support him either.”

Johnson said what she really can’t support is the way victims are blamed.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that it takes some women a long time to come out and report what they have been through — it takes a lot,” she said. “When R. Kelley’s music comes on the radio, I change the station, especially his song ‘Fiesta.’ To me, the chorus sounds like molester, molester. It gets harder when it comes to Michael Jackson’s allegations because he’s so famous.”

Both Kelly and Jackson were accused of molesting children, far below the age of legal consent.

Recently, it was discovered that Kelly keeps a bevy of women in one of his many estates, some against their will, for his own sexual gratification.

In many, morality exists like a living organism, evolving as life experiences change, however, as the number of allegations grow, humans have a tendency to pile on without all of the necessary facts to foster an informed opinion.

“In environments like this, there is a tendency to bandwagon. People see an opening and they’re going to jump on it,” Gonzales said. “Things are happening and then a lot of dynamics kick in — media, allies and opponents — then things start to get away (from facts).”

Wall of Shame On Oct. 5, Harvey Weinstein was accused of raping three woman.

Alabama judge, Republican politician Roy Moore, accused of sexual misconduct with five teenagers, takes no blame.

Moore blames the Democrats.

The accusations extend from Hollywood to Washington D.C. Consequently, people like Head of Pixar and Disney Animation John Lasseter are stepping outside of the public eye

Since then, around 34 other men in prominent positions were also accused of sexual misconduct.

Some, like Louis C.K. have admitted to their wrongdoing fully.

Denis Perez / The Advocate

Source: New York Times

Director Brett Ratner is suing his accuser. He is confident his name will be cleared after the media frenzy.

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spotlight

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 12.6.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Top rated professors A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m N n O o P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z

How do you choose yourz classes and professors?

Student recommendation

19.9%

Counselor recommendation

Knows/likes a certain professor

A campuswide survey of 160 students helped determine the ways students choose both their professors and classes

16.9% 10.4%

SOURCE: WWW.RATEMYPROFESSOR.COM

26.9%

Class/Professor fits with schedule

26.9%

Rate My Professor

ANDREW WEEDON, DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

ANONYMOUS RATINGS SPUR DOUBTS

By Andrew Weedon scene editor

aweedon.theadvocate@gmail.com

A well known web service is continuing to help students choose classes and professors despite skepticism about its reliability and credibility.

The website, ratemyprofessor.com, has been used for nearly two decades to assist students when choosing between the many professors present at college campuses across the country.

With a very simple and modern layout, the website is easy to navigate and has many useful features when searching for information on professors.

After selecting a professor, the user is presented with an overall rating and a level of difficulty. Both of these numbers are compiled from reviews that are left by current and former students.

Students may also choose to put what grade they received in the class, however, that is not required.

The anonymity of this website has caused a lot of controversy.

For many students, such as psychology major Kira Harrison, it can be a useful tool

that helps find good professors.

While it is very much based on opinion, Harrison said she still thinks it is a credible service for students.

“People usually give reasons for the things they say in the reviews and you can trust the opinions of other students.”

Music major Antonio Thompson hasn’t used Rate My Professor but says he is familiar with it. He says that he would definitely use it if he felt the need.

“I personally prefer to talk to a professor face-to-face instead of reading a review about them,” Thompson said.

This raises the question about whether a system like this can be accurate and trusted.

With so much anonymity, what is stopping students from posting hurtful comments?

Rate My Professor, in its terms and conditions section, lays out clear guidelines about what is and is not permissible.

With a strong focus on constructive reviews, the website states they will remove any comments that are inappropriate, defamatory, discriminatory or personally motivated.

The website even goes so far as to discourage the use of what it calls definitive

“I didn’t want to take easy professors so I used Rate My Professor to find the strict ones.”

Anoosheh Borhan,

English as second language professor

language which includes words like “always” or “never.”

Rate My Professor seems to have a great system that is liked by students, however, it is not without its problems.

ESL professor Anoosheh Borhan said that she used to use it as a student but hasn’t kept up with it since she has become a professor.

“I didn’t want to take easy professors so I used Rate My Professor to find the strict ones,” Borhan said.

She said while it can be useful, it isn’t nearly detailed enough to give real credibility to the anonymous reviews.

Borhan also said that there is a definite ability for abuse if a student simply had a hard time in a professor’s class.

Admissions and Records assistant Trinidad Ledesma said Rate My Professor is

just a numbers game and should not be seen as a substitute for the district reviews every teacher must undergo.

“It is a great opportunity for students to talk to other students but there is still the potential for abuse,” Ledesma said.

Ledesma says this because normally, with district reviews, students who don’t finish the class can’t fill out a review. With Rate My Professor, any student who was in the class, even those who dropped early on, can leave reviews.

This oversight opens up the ability for students to leave reviews when they never really got to know what a professor was like, only judging them on the few days or weeks they had them as a teacher.

Despite this issue, Borhan said that this is still an important service to have as a student.

“If you are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on your education and future career, you want to be sure that you are getting your money’s worth with good professors,” Borhan said.

“No review will ever be as good as meeting a professor and finding out if they are good yourself,” Thompson said.

spotlight

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 12.6.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

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Guiding figure educates English professor Dickson Lam reveals passion for teaching

By Alondra Gallardo opinion editor

agallardo.theadvocate@gmail.com

“

You can really see the passion he has for teaching and it makes everyone want to learn. His passion reflects on us.”

— Anayancy Zuniga, Puente student

English professor Dickson Lam has always wanted to make an impact on the world and believed the best way to do so was to become a teacher.

Lam first went to the City College of San Francisco and earned his associate degree, then received his bachelor’s in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley.

He went on to complete the master’s program at Columbia University in New York.

While studying away from the West Coast, Lam received a masters of fine arts in creative writing at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Initially Lam wanted to become a college counselor, because when he was attending CCSF he had a very helpful counselor.

“I thought oh, OK, I can impact the world this way. You know, you have a nice office and it’s very peaceful,” he said.

He then realized he actually wanted to work with students one-on-one and make an impact on students’ lives through teaching.

Lam began his career as a high school teacher.

“Teaching high school is very different than college,” he said. “The students there will let you know if your lesson plans sucks right away. Here in college students will maybe look out the window or go on their phone, so it is more direct feedback in high school.

“Teaching in high school is much harder because you teach so much more. Here, if you are teaching a full load, you teach 12 hours per week, so it is a lot more relaxing.”

Professor Lam is also co-coordinator of the Puente Project program at Contra Costa College.

“You can really see the passion he has for teaching and it makes everyone want to learn. His passion reflects on us,” Puente student Anayancy Zuniga said. “I did not understand much about the program at first, but it has helped me a lot professionally. It is really eye opening and very useful being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”

Lam knows the experience earned from the Puente program benefits more than the professional careers of students.

It also brings them closer to different communities.

“You learn a lot from working with different communities. In the Puente program everyone is already kind of like family. I really like it because it feels like a community, like I am part of something,” Lam said. “It is so helpful because students are connected and they feel connected to me.

“Before I taught Puente, teaching was a lot more isolating for me. However, when I am with Puente, I feel like I did when I was teaching high school.”

Former student Melissa Merino said, “He is so easy to relate to and is very understanding of his students and their individual lives and struggles. You can tell he lives his profession by the time and effort he puts aside to help his students, whether they be former or current.”

Not only is Lam a professor, he also helped start a public high school in San Francisco with help from other educators.

His love for teaching and expanding young minds led him in a direction that he never would have thought possible.

Especially when, at the beginning of his career, all he wanted to be was a counselor.

In 2003, Lam and his fellow educators founded the June Jordan School for Equity.

“At some point after that I decided to write a book,” he said. “I thought it would be really easy and would just need a year off to do everything — it took me seven years” Lam never envisioned himself as a writer, he just wanted to teach for a while.

“I was going through a lot of family issues,” he said. “I did not really have anyone to talk to about them.”

Writing a book about his life, and his rocky relationship with his father, was sort of his way of dealing with his emoLOUIS CANO / THE ADVOCATE tions.

English professor Dickson Lam authored a book that will be published in March 2018.

It is titled “Paper Sons: Lam’s book, “Paper Sons: A Memoir,” will be released in A Memoir.” Lam said he thought it would be easy to complete the book after being inspired by another project, March. but ended up taking seven years to finish it.

San Pablo tree lighting ignites community joy

By Gabriel Quiroz advocate staff

gquiroz.theadvocate@gmail.com

SAN PABLO — The city of San Pablo had its annual Tree Lighting at City Hall Friday from 6-7:30 p.m. with well over 400 people in attendance.

The event is the city’s second largest of the year, next to its 4th of July celebration because they’re one of the few cities to still have fireworks.

The event began with a small but soon long line to the entrance.

The attendants were greeted by local officers and given a survey where they could get a panda stuffed animal upon completion.

As attendees entered, there was free hot chocolate and popcorn passed out by the volunteer staff.

Many, if not all, of those that worked on the event were volunteers or city officials.

The volunteers were members of the community, as well as those who work for the city of San Pablo Chris Lacayo works for the city as a recreation leader.

As a recreation leader, he coaches youth, helps to coordinate and supervise community events.

During the event, he was a volunteer where he passed out the popcorn, cleaned and made himself available for any help those attending might need.

Most of the attendants were families with children, couples and new members of the community.

Joonpyo Hong and Lupe Cruz, students at Contra Costa College, attended the event for the first time this year.

“I have lived in San Pablo for a few years but have never been to the event before. I wanted to see what it was like,” Cruz said.

Hong also brought his camera to take pictures of the event.

There were a ton of fun things for children to do like making crafts and meeting Santa. Children could also meet Mrs. Claus and of course view all of the Christmas lights.

The line for both meeting the Claus family and for making crafts seemed to run across the length of the City Hall building.

The children going to see Santa were visibly excited. There were no screams like in a mall, only a bunch of happy faces waiting to take their picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The children received candy and stickers on their way out.

In the middle of the square, the Jazzology vocal group from CCC sang holiday songs like “Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer,” “Jingle Bells” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

People gathered around them to sing and take pictures.

The whole square began to fill up as more and more families entered for the tree lighting.

Cecilia Valdez, mayor of San Pablo, city council members and other city officials greeted everyone before lighting the tree.

Mayor Valdez gave a speech in Spanish and English about the importance of the community coming together and making sure that everyone was having fun at the event, especially the kids.

Once the tree was lit, the crowd erupted in joy and amazement followed by a second Jazzology performance.

The hot chocolate and popcorn quickly

GABRIEL QUIROZ / THE ADVOCATE

Jazzology tenor Joseph Saeteurn (left), alto Laura Karst (middle left), baritone Jesse Chao (middle), lead soprano Natasha Singer (middle right), and baritone Ninoangelo Lastimosa (right) sing during the San Pablo tree lighting on Friday.

ran out after the tree lighting, as more and more attendants filed in.

The front desk ran out the stuffed pandas that they were giving out in exchange for participating.

Organizers substituted the pandas with free coffee mugs.

As the event wound down, people began heading inside for more music.

City council member Paul Morris was among those waiting for the next performance.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger each year.

Events like this are important for bringing our community together,” Morris said.

He said the new City Hall groundbreaking will take place in January and that next year’s tree lighting will be at the new location December 2018.

The event concluded with several musical acts from various schools.

An a cappella group made up of elementary school students performed with a middle school band, both receiving a resounding applause and plenty of reaction from the audience.

The event ended with a performance by Jazzology, which will also perform at La Strada restaurant on Monday with other groups from the CCC music department.

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Pop star underwhelms

Albums released by Swift

Taylor Swift’s holiday album intrigues but fails to resonate

October 2006

‘Taylor Swift’:

Swift was only 16 when she released her debut album which sold over six million copies and charted for 24 non-consecutive weeks on the Top Country Albums chart in the U.S.

By Robert Clinton opinion editor

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

Admittedly, I missed the meteoric rise to fame of the Pennsylvania native and pop star mogul Taylor Swift over the past 15 years.

Like many with my musical sensibilities, I was abruptly introduced to America’s latest sweetheart and the idol of fair-haired girls globally in 2009 at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Swift attended the show to accept the Best Female Video award for “You Belong With Me.” As she stood on the stage, innocently, slim and blonde, delivering her acceptance speech, an irate Kanye West bougarded his way on the stage and uttered a handful of words that live on in infamy.

“Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you and I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!”

That’s how I was introduced to Swift.

With her country/pop musical roots, her artistry has soared completely under my radar. Aside from commercial use, or background noise at sporting events, I can honestly say I have never heard a complete song from the icon.

Now, with the release of her chart-topping sixth studio album “Reputation,” I felt it was time to give Swift a chance — or maybe I’m under some kind of spell.

The marketing plan for “Reputation” intrigued me.

Already attaining platinum status, the project, released Nov. 10, remains atop the Billboard top 200, for its third week in a row, despite being unavailable on streaming services until this past Friday.

Billboard.com reports Swift is the first female artist since Adele accomplished the feat, to spend at least three straight weeks on top of the Billboard top 200 chart.

I first heard of “Reputation” by way of the alt-right with its adoption of Swift’s first music video and single from the project, “Look What You Made Me Do,” as its call to action.

Unquestionably tainted by the racist rhetoric of the alt-right, I watched the video and saw all of the hidden nazi-esque symbology that they felt was meant for them.

I had to give the 15-song auricular manifesto that is “Reputation” a thorough listen — objectively of course.

“Reputation” introduces itself to listeners with “Ready For It,” a futuristic faux hip-hop meets summer blockbuster movie soundtrack that is just urban enough to bounce to, but harmless enough to play at grandma’s birthday party. Make no mistake, there is rhyming over beats in “Ready For It” but it’s not a rap song. There is something hollow about it, yet, it’s somehow inviting.

It’s the musical equivalent to popcorn.

Track two, “End Game,” my favorite track from the project, features Ed Sheeran and Atlanta-based rapper Future. The track features something absent from far too many pop tune — a baseline the listener can roll down the windows or drop the top and ride with.

Tracks three, four and five — “I Did Something Bad,” “Don’t Blame Me” and “Delicate” — are exactly why I’m not a fan of pop music.

I felt duped, drawn in by a Future track, only to be led into the headphones of a teen blowing their allowance on skinny distressed jeans from Abercrombie on a Saturday afternoon. I found the music is well produced, it just didn’t speak to me.

I’m obviously too contaminated to judge track six, “Look What You Made Me Do.” Sadly to me, it’s already become the alt-right anthem.

In what I consider video game loading music, tracks seven and eight could win Grammy Awards for songs best suited to stare at a loading icon while waiting for stimulating entertainment to begin.

Affectionately titled “So It Goes…” and “Gorgeous” capture all of the emotion of a quiet evening alone on Xbox live, however, part of the chorus to “So It Goes…” was stuck in my head for hours.

“I’m yours to keep. And I’m yours to lose.

You know I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you.”

I never really saw her that way.

I do know that a lot of the impetus behind many of the songs Swift pens are the lovers the singer has captured and failed to hold on to.

When artists and producers make music geared toward a pop audience, I know I’m not the person they are targeting.

Tracks nine through 13, my least favorite stretch of music on “Reputation,” are exactly what I imagined Swift’s music to be.

“Getaway Car,” “King of My Heart,” “Dancing with Our Hands Tied,” “Dress” and “Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” collectively sound like the soundtrack to the latest PG rated teen coming of age movie.

Track 15, “New Year’s Day,” belongs with the above songs as well.

The songs harken back to fun-filled summer days of high school when problems were small and the next party was just around the corner. Precisely the opposite of what the political and social climate is in America today.

Lyrically, track 14 sits the best with me. “All my flowers grew back as thorns, windows boarded up after the storm, he built a fire just to keep me warm. All the drama queens taking swings, all the jokers dressing up as kings.”

It is a good illustration of the Taylor Swift that I thought I knew and a glimpse into who she really is.

November 2009

‘Fearless’:

This album was a major breakthrough and huge commercial success for Swift. “Fearless” broke the record as the most awarded country album ever, Swift also became the youngest artist to be awarded Album of the Year at The Grammys.

October 2010

‘Speak Now’:

This was Swift’s second album to chart No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart and sold over a million copies the first week it was on sale.

‘Red’:

Swift went through some toxic relationships while making this album and titled it “Red” because it described her October 2012 emotions when conceiving the album.

‘1989’:

The album sold over 10 million copies worldwide and won Album of the Year at The Grammys, October 2014 making Swift first female artist to win AOTY twice.

‘Reputation’: ALBUM REVIEW “Reputation”

★★★★★ Artist: Taylor Swift Genre: Pop Label: Big Machine Records Release Date: Nov. 10, 2017

November 2017

After three years of no new music, Swift made a strong comeback with her sixth studio album, “Reputation,” which was one of the most anticipated albums of the year. The album sold two million copies worldwide and was named best-selling album of 2017.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT CLINTON, LOUIS CANO, DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE