The Advocate 10-8 by The Advocate

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CMYK

WHERE DID YOURS GO? The Associated Students Union generates thousands from the $5 dollar activity fee, $1 representation fee

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE

Student government public budget examined, reviewed

WEDNESDAY l 10.08.14 OUR 65TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

BY Brian Boyle SPOTLIGHT EDITOR

bboyle.theadvocate@gmail.com

Transparency and integrity are paramount values in any government organization, and to that end, the Associated Students Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finances are an open book. After the fall 2013-spring 2014 ASU Board left Contra Costa College with $20,000 in outstanding payments to justify, here is a closer look at how the student activity and representation fees were spent for that academic year. The ASU spent $49,837.56 during the July 2013-June 2014 academic year, from the funding generated by the stu-

STATE EVALUATES EDUCATION STANDARDS

BY Roxana Amparo NEWS EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

An Accreditation External Evaluation Team is visiting Contra Costa College this week to determine if the college meets federal accreditation standards. Accreditation is a system of self-regulation developed by higher education institutions to evaluate the overall quality of any given institution and encourage its continual improvement. Every seven years, The Accrediting Commission for Community and

FOOTBALL SQUAD TAKES REVENGE PAGE 11

STRESS

Campus lacks mental health

center, therapy

BY Marlene Rivas

during the late 1980s. Although efforts were made to keep some sort of center open for students, the hough the college has made Wellness Center that was located in the available to students numerous former Humanities Building went with resources to further their academ- the building when it was torn down last ic progress, it lacks one to aid their year to make way for the construction of mental health. the new Classroom Building. Health and human services professor That small facility, run by interns, and Chairperson Aminta Mickles said was the last available means for students Contra Costa College has not had a prop- with any kind of emotional distress to get er mental health center on its campus since the previous one was shut down SEE STRESS, PAGE 4 STAFF WRITER

mrivas.theadvocate@gmail.com

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW B

SEE ACCREDITATION, PAGE 4

dealing with

editorial

Unable to ease stress?

Students on campus are without a mental health center and have nowhere to go for psychological help.

page 2

CMYK

Accreditation team engages students, interviews faculty

ILLUSTRATION BY LORENZO MOROTTI AND MAYRA GARCIA / THE ADVOCATE

SEE FEE, PAGE 4

CMYK

Quotable “Our hope — is that we in the press and the people in the free world realize and remember that for all the disquiet that can come from a free press, life without it would be much worse.”

George Morin art director Cody McFarland Rodney Woodson associate editors Roxana Amparo news editor Van Ly opinion editor Robert Clinton Jose Jimenez sports editors Mike Thomas scene editor Brian Boyle spotlight editor Qing Huang Christian Urrutia photo editors Janae Harris Cody Casares assistant photo editors Paul DeBolt faculty adviser Staff writers Jared Amdahl Salvador Godoy Krysta Gonzalez Florinda Hershey Princess Hughes Mickalea Manuel Marlene Rivas Jason Sykes Manning Peterson Mark Wassberg Sean Whatley Staff photographers Jordan Khoo Staff illustrators Mayra Garcia Honors ACP National Newspaper Pacemaker Award 1990, 1994, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 CNPA Better Newspaper Contest 1st Place Award 1970, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2013 JACC Pacesetter Award 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Member Associated Collegiate Press California Newspaper Publishers Association Journalism Association of Community Colleges How to reach us Phone: 510.215.3852 Fax: 510.235.NEWS Email: 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.

Editorial

ESSENTIAL RESOURCE

Phil Currie Gannett Co. news executive 1997 Lorenzo Morotti editor-in-chief

opinion

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014 Vol. 102, No. 5

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

Mental health center absent on campus, in student life

ollege is a stressful time in a person’s life. The pressure to succeed, to achieve, to transfer and even just to pay for college can be overwhelming. For many people, college is their first experience of actual autonomy. Factor in added stressors such as having a job or a family, and it is far from a surprise that stress can have truly negative consequences on students. There is no guarantee that providing a mental health center would prevent a person from hurting himself or others, but it does allow a college the opportunity to attempt to prevent such a tragedy. Even starting the dialogue that someone may wish to consider seeing a mental health professional is a colossal step toward helping that person. The issue of why allowing people who are suffering from any mental condition — no matter where on the severity spectrum it may lie — to continue suffering is a mistake that is multi-faceted. Any form of mental distress can lead to a person dropping out of college. If that person was receiving financial aid and never returns to college, then society experiences an actual monetary loss. Those connected to that person, be they friends or family, will undoubtedly have their lives impacted from seeing a loved one suffer, or the effects of the suffering may affect them. Unfortunately, to whatever end, mental distress also has the possibility of ending in violence. This is a very real issue society has to examine. Too often mental health issues are swept under the rug or covered up until they boil to the surface, as they did for Justin Liu, the young man who committed suicide on El Portal Drive near the Knox Center earlier this semester. Readily accessible mental health assistance and professionals are two things that are absolutely necessary in today’s society. People are not likely to seek help for problems that many ridicule as nonissues, yet they might if that help was convenient and free to receive. And college is the perfect place to make mental help readily available. The age the average person enters college is right when children progress into adulthood. Many people discover love, sex, violence and alcohol or drugs for the first time, and have to deal with the stress of dealing with those problems on top of dealing with schoolwork. The age the average person enters college is also around the time many serious conditions begin to make themselves apparent. It is not the responsibility of the college to provide a mental health center, but it is a responsibility of the community to demand that one be present on campus for students. Providing help when and where people need it not only betters the community, but it could quite literally save lives.

LORENZO MOROTTI / THE ADVOCATE

N COMPLAINT

Math struggles only relevant in college A

s I get closer to being just one semester away from graduation, I’m both worried and fearful. It is not the fear of becoming a part of society and applying for jobs that will likely shape my career and future. It is a fear of not receiving my degree at all. And not because I didn’t attend my classes or didn’t get placed on the dean’s list more than once, but because I am not a good math student. Period. Now many may say that math can be learned and it can be applied if you put 100 percent of your effort into it, but let’s be real. Who has time as a college student to learn something that, for some of us, might be more difficult than learning a foreign language? In grade school and even part of high school I can understand why you would need mathematics. But once you get to college and pick a major that has nothing to do with math, the culmination of your entire two to four years of studying, through stress, sweat and tears, should not come down to earning a C or better in a general education requirement. Most math classes do not help many of us in meeting our respective career and life goals.

universities because they did not reach what the institution requires as the “proper” math level, which is Statistics, in order to receive a bachelor’s degree. I wonder why I am doing all of this hard work if the status of my degree will be judged by my strugI believe that if a certain gle in math. type of math is necessary Colleges will bypass for what you want to go all your hard work and forward with in effort because you I plan life, then by all did not succeed in means you should a course you may to never be afforded the not even need in opportunity to take the future. I underas many mathsee a math stand it is expected ematics classes as for students to be needed to reach well rounded, but course that level. by the time you But for students after enter college you like me, whose have already been in majors may be in school most of your the arts, entertain- college. life and, for those ment and written returning to college as language, taking two or adults, you most likely have more semesters of math is been out in the real world simply a hassle. working, raising children I don’t understand why and just living day-to-day. me knowing how to solve In all, it really saddens 2x+4z= x should be a me that a lot of my hard requirement to earn my work, and many other peodegree, when I have aced ple’s too, will come down all of my speech, English to something I have never and journalism courses really understood. that pertain to my future. I plan to never see a These courses are what will math course after college. lead me in the direction I Mickalea Manuel is am headed. I am not saying this just a staff writer for The Advocate. Contact her at because I am not a good math student, but because mmanuel.theadvocate@ gmail.com. I have friends who have had to stay an extra year at

mickaleamanuel

CampusComment How do you deal with stress?

“I work out by shooting hoops. When I work out I am isolated by myself.” Armani Jones

“I write poetry and work out. I like to run around the block.”

“Sometimes I pray, or over-stress and later get over it.”

“I play video games or talking it out with someone helps out a lot.”

“I get away, hang out with friends and exercise.”

“I will talk to my family about it or go to church.”

Britanny Turner

Aliyah Peterson

Elijah Michael Toumoua

Yesenia Panuco

Adriana Amador

theater

business

ROXANA AMPARO, MAYRA GARCIA AND CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

undecided

civil engineering

nursing

criminal justice

forum N RICHMOND

markwassberg VIOLENT CRIME EXPOSED THROUGH A VIEWFINDER

hen I found out that Richmond, Calif. was named the most dangerous city in the United States in 2004, I didn’t think anything of it. Until soon after I reunited with an old classmate from Richmond High School, Rev. Andre Shumak, who had become a leading activist against violence within the city. Shumak asked me to be a cameraman for his public access television show that used to air in Richmond. He asked me to go record violent crime. The show usually had mothers and fathers crying and talking about their love ones who had become victims of violent crime. So I bought a camcorder and went out to film the violence to air it on the show. Shumak, however, would later be hesitant to air the footage on his show. To make a name for myself as a combatant against violence in the city, I decided to schedule a few ride alongs with the Richmond Police Department. My ride along officer was Lt. Mark Gagan. He told me that nothing happens during the day. Without wearing a bulletproof vest, I asked him, “What would happen if we got into a shootout?” He just smiled and said, “Duck.” Later on during same ride, Gagan pulled a car over for having a broken tail light. When the driver in the vehicle panicked and floored the accelerator, all hell broke loose. The high speed chase was on. Gagan followed the driver around corners and through traffic signals. The driver then made a wrong move and caused both cars spin out. My camera hit the windshield but I kept on filming. The suspect exited his car and escaped. Gagan radioed the station for backup. He confiscated one-fourth of a pound of cannabis from the abandoned vehicle. Ten minutes later, Gagan received another call. There was a shooting on the south side of Richmond. A 16-yearold male fired a shotgun and wounded a 5-year-old boy. As we were driving back to the police station I laughed and joked with Gagan and told him how great it was chasing criminals with him around the city. Gagan simply smiled. While being in a highspeed chase is one of the most intense adrenaline rushes ever, the time had come to go out and film violence on my own. So with my camcorder and police scanner I roamed the city looking for it. Most shootings happened late at night during the summer. I remember one night there were so many police cars I didn’t know which to follow. My goal was to film as many homicides as I could. The first one I filmed I was so nervous I couldn’t hold the camera straight as the victim lay dead in a pool of his own blood. During the last one, the police had to hold a mother back from her son, as he lay dead in the gutter. Mark Wassberg is a staff writer for The Advocate. Contact him at mwassberg. theadvocate@gmail.com.

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 10.08.2014 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

N PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Bus reliance raises issues

s a car-less student, I find myself having to take the WestCAT bus to school every morning. Although it might not sound like much, there are struggles that come with it. My first class of the day starts at 8:10 a.m. meaning I have to take the 7:30 a.m. bus from the Hercules Transit Center to Contra Costa College. What I hate about having to leave that early is that to get ready (in girl world) I have to wake up approximately two hours ahead of said time. To be honest this is not necessary, but when you’ve stayed up all night finishing an English reading assignment, you need time to apply concealer to your dark under eye circles or that zit that appeared out of nowhere on your nose. Once I’m dropped off at the Bus Transfer Center, I’m greeted by the aroma of coffee and cigarettes which has become a mundane thing in

Maybe the cushion seats of the bus remind him of his bed and how ridiculously early myself and my fellow bus riders have to get up to go to school. The ride from Hercules to San Pablo is a smooth one. Obviously there are You know, the morning since everybody occasional can barely keep their eyes stops, but sometimes open. not until The cigarette smell usually we get I try to comes from the bus drivers near the though while on the bus. Walgreens Waiting for the bus to run to on San come is not bad; the driver Pablo comes on time most days, Avenue is class. which is greatly appreciated where the on the cold mornings that traffic jam starts. will presumably get colder. I’d say the bus gets to Since the transit center is Walgreens at about 7:55 a.m. the first stop, there are no and we get out of the traffic people on the bus, which jam at 8:05 a.m. means I can have my favorYou probably wouldn’t ite seat: a window seat in think this was a big deal, or the second row next to my maybe even that I’m being friend. dramatic about being in the I’m guessing the seat traffic jam for only 10 minbehind me is the guy who utes. likes to snore during the The thing is that since the entire bus ride’s favorite seat. bus is in the jam for those 10

krystagonzalez

minutes, we arrive to school at about 8:08 a.m. and my class starts at 8:10 a.m. which inevitably makes me late. You know, sometimes I try to run to class. I’ll power walk through the construction zone, trying to get past people who obviously aren’t late to class and are carelessly walking while I’m trying to get to the third floor of the Liberal Arts Building. When I walk into class, I can see that class has already been in session. I can’t even sneakily sit down in my seat because it is right in front of the teacher’s desk. Luckily for me I have an understanding teacher, but all I know is that next semester I definitely will not be signing up for morning classes so I won’t have to ride the morning bus. Krysta Gonzalez is staff writer for The Advocate. Contact her at kgonzalez. theadvocate@gmail.com.

our memories fact or fiction

‘Memory distortions’ alter recollections based on reference BY Van Ly OPINION EDITOR

vly.theadvocate@gmail.com

iction and fact are often easy to differentiate. But what happens when fact is confused with fiction and vice versa? When it comes to memory, it’s not always reliable. In fact, it’s constantly being rewritten. A memory isn’t an exact replica of what happened. It’s not like a video camera that captures the moment exactly as it happened. Instead, the captured footage is being edited, deleted, and rearranged each time the memory resurfaces. “Memory distortions are basic and widespread in humans, and it may be unlikely that anyone is immune,” authors of a published study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) wrote. Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus and her colleague Jacqueline Pickrell have shown how easily memory can be manipulated in people. In their study, Loftus and Pickrell tested the memories of their subjects by giving them three written accounts of events that had actually happened to them and one false memory of being lost in a mall between the ages of 4 and 6. The false account was plausible — realistic details of the event were backed by the subject’s relatives and places the subject was familiar with. Afterward, the subjects were asked to write down whether or not they remembered the event. If the subject did remember, he or she was asked additional details of the event. The results revealed one third of the subjects reported the false event — either with partial or full recall. In their follow-up interviews, 25 percent still remembered the false event. Subjects believed the false memory to be true, even going as far as describing the event with great detail and confidence. Even people with remarkable memory are susceptible to having false memories. In February 2011, several researchers at UC Irvine quizzed Frank Healy on his Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory to test him for accuracy and false memories as Erika Hayasaki, an assistant professor of literary journalism at UC Irvine

recorded their conversation. HSAM is the ability to remember specific events and details from the past, such as a dinner 10 years ago on a specific day. There are around 50 reported cases of HSAM in the United States. Two years following the event, Hayasaki interviewed him on Nov. 18, 2013. Hayasaki said, “When I interviewed Frank Healy this month about what he remembered about his visit two years and nine months earlier to UC Irvine, he got a lot right, but not everything.” Healy recounted his memories of Feb. 9, 2011 — the day he was tested on his memory by UC Irvine researchers. He described the details of the day almost perfectly — from the long table, to the people sitting there. He also remembered writing down a series of numbers and letters on a green board with chalk. But Healy did not write on a green board, or use chalk. In actuality, Healy wrote on a whiteboard and used colored markers. In a PNAS study,

Lawrence Patihis is the first to conduct a study on people. According to the study, the recollections of an individual with HSAM are correct 97 percent of the time. Patihis noted the puzzling nature in how individuals with HSAM “remember some trivial details, such as what they had for lunch 10 years ago, but not others, such as words on a word list or photographs in a slideshow.” He concluded that, “The answer to this may be that they may extract some personally relevant meaning from only some trivial details and weave them into the narrative for a given day.” It is unnerving to know how easily memory can be tampered with. Memories often define us, but to what extent? The past, present and future are constantly being rewritten.

MAYRA GARCIA / THE ADVOCATE

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 10.08.2014 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

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Club brings political diversity Republican Club open to students of all parties BY Roxana Amparo NEWS EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Newsline ■ databases

LIBRARY TO HOST JUMPSTART SEMINAR The Library Jumpstart Workshop will be held at the Library and Learning Resource Center on Nov. 3 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Librar y Department Chairperson Andrew Kuo will be teaching a workshop on how to access and use the databases such as Search Premier, Ethnic Newswatch and others from campus and from home. For more information, call Kuo at the Library and Learning Resource Center at 510-215-4997.

■ non-profits

COMMUNITY TO HOST FUNDRAISER PICNIC The 5th Picnic in the Point and Fall Fest will be held at the Judge G. Carroll Park in Richmond on Oct. 18 from noon to 6 p.m. The event is put on by the Point Richmond Business Association (PRBA) and Washington Elementary Dad’s Club to help raise funds for local non-profit organizations in the community. There will be live music, art shows, food, costume contests, prizes and more. Admission is free, but $20 presale tickets for food and carnival games can be purchased before the event to receive an additional $25 worth of tickets. For more information contact president of PRBA David Schoenthal at 510-710-4621.

■ transfer

CENTER TO HOST ESSAY WORKSHOP There will be assistance for students who need help writing a personal statement on Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon. Students can visit the Assessment Center in the Student Services Center. For more information contact the Counseling Department at 510215-3936, or the Welcome/Transfer Center at 510-215-4110.

■ university

UC REPRESENTATIVE VISITS CENTER A UC Santa Cruz transfer representative will be in the Welcome/ Transfer Center on Oct. 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students can visit the Welcome/ Transfer Center to schedule an appointment, or call the Counselling Department at 510-215-3936

CrimeWatch Monday, Sept. 29: A student’s cell phone was stolen from a locker inside the Men’s Locker Room. The student’s cellphone was anonymously turned into a coach’s office. The student did not desire prosecution. Tuesday, Sept. 30: An officer conducted a traffic stop on a student driving the wrong way on campus. It was determined that the student was driving on a suspended license and had an outstanding warrant. The student was arrested and cited. Wednesday, Oct. 1: An officer conducted a traffic stop. The driver was subsequently arrested for battery on a police officer. The vehicle was towed. — George Morin

A new club has emerged with a plan to raise awareness about politics among students on campus. The Contra Costa College Republicans Club is the first politically associated club on campus aimed to make a change in the youth. The club is scheduled to meet on Mondays in LA-202 from 2:10-3 p.m. President of the CCC Republicans, student Nora Rodriguez, wants to create an environment within the club where anybody — not just Republicans — can join and take comfort in expressing their political beliefs. “Everyone is welcomed: socialists, democrats, liberals and anyone else who wants to join,” Rodriguez said. The club will serve as a base to assess political ideolo-

gies where students can share their views and inputs on different issues. She said that Republicans are typically portrayed as always holding conservative stances on hot button economic and social issues, but this club aims to provide a different, less generalized angle on political association. “This is a liberal campus and I don’t know how welcome the club will be,” she said. “However, I hope the few conservatives on campus find this club and feel happy that someone feels how they feel in terms of political view.” Club Vice President Luis Zamora said he wants to encourage students to come out of their comfort zones and to find out where they stand politically by contrasting their ideologies with others. He wants to apply real world situations and embrace patience in hearing out others’ political opinions. “My love for politics keeps me going,” he said. Zamora said that once he figured out what political party he “felt closer to,” he was only waiting for an opportunity like the club to jump in. Rodriguez wants to keep an open mind regarding the outcome of the club because politics is a delicate topic for many. The club will

Political discourse: ◆ The first political club on campus plans to educate students on current policy affairs and increase voter turnout. ◆ The club aims to bring different political views together so all voices can be expressed equally. be more than politics, it will also be fun, she said. “Everyone has a voice and everyone has an opinion,” she said. But everyone is not putting in the same effort to register to vote as they do to complain about election results. Rodriguez said she wants to change that stigma by encouraging students to participate in elections. Rodriguez said that the idea of starting the club first came to her during her political science class last semester when her professor portrayed Republicans as “racist, power-hungry, money-seeking individuals.” It shifted her view and she wanted to do something about it, she said. “I see the Republican Party as dedicated to freedom and equal opportunity,” she said. The bigger

issues are their beliefs, but younger Republicans tend to be more open to discussion and maybe shifting their views, she said. With a general election less than a month away, Zamora said he plans on educating club members on the issues at hand, as well as Republican views. Even though the club is open to everyone, the executive board must be registered Republicans, Rodriguez said. The club’s adviser, college Vice President Tammeil Gilkerson, said that she believes students should be connected and, although she is not a republican, she supports the club and its mission. The remainder of the semester brings various opportunities for networking and building community among members of different political views. Also, Rodriguez has plans for the club to attend a California Republican Party convention held in Sacramento this coming February. During the conventions, Republican organizations and prominent Republican leaders gather for discussion and special guests deliver speeches. It also serves as a form of networking for club members, Rodriguez said.

FEE | Student expenditures examined Continued from Page 1 dent activity fee. The ASU spent $13,692.93 from the student representation fee. The fees are a $5 fee and a $1 fee students in the district must pay, or actively waive, during every semester or have their enrollment capabilities affected. The student activity fee went to a wide variety of subjects. The ASU used $15,000 last year to discount the cost of several books, if students rented them from the Bookstore. The ASU also used roughly $4,000 to hire drummers for a Black History Month celebration and also gave money to the physical education department for equipment in the Fitness Center. The ASU also hosted a showing of the documentary “Inequality for All” in LA-100. “Ever since the fee came to be we’ve asked them for money for the physical education department,” physical education professor Rudy Zeller said. “We’ve received money from them before, but last year we had to submit our request several times.” Business Office Manager Nick Dimitri said a mishandling of necessary paperwork at the ASU level caused a delay between the time of the ASU’s official vote on a subject and the time

the departments or groups that were allocated funds actually received them. Kinesiology department Chairperson Beth Goehring said, “There was an issue in May; basically we were told we had spent money that we didn’t actually have yet.” According to documents provided by senior accountant Jacqueline Ore, program expenses cost the ASU $15,000, which came from funding generated by the student activity fee. A budget item labeled “miscellaneous” cost the ASU $14,864.03, according to the same documents provided by Ore. The ASU spent $4,850 of the fee on entertainment. Reimbursements to other departments and offices on campus cost the ASU $4,518.12 from the fee. Food purchases for events such as the ASU’s joint venture with the Inter-Club Council, Club Rush, cost the ASU $2,294.35 last year. The ASU spent $2,100 last year on an item marked “contributions” on the report provided by Ore. Some $1,250 from the student activity fee was allocated to fund the individual members of the ASU’s stipends. Printing costs ran the ASU $530.57, and for meals the ASU spent $192.00 from the student

activity fee. The student representation fee was spent on more administrative tasks and events the ASU partook in. Conference registration, such as the American Student Government Association conference the ASU attends, cost the board $4,925. “ASGA conferences are a great learning opportunity for the board,” ASU President Antone Agnitsch said. “They hold workshops and lectures to train us on the procedures we’re supposed to follow and how to get things done.” Hotel accommodations cost the ASU Board $3,543.22. A further $2,350 was allocated to the ASU for members’ stipends from the student representation fee, bringing the total for stipends to $3,600. The ASU spent $1,516 on airline tickets. Last year’s ASGA conference was in Los Angeles, according to Agnitsch. Exactly $812.71 from the student representation fee was allocated for meals. Aside from airline tickets, the ASU spent $256 on transportation. The ASU allocated $190 on “miscellaneous” and $100 on reimbursing other departments on campus.

ACCREDITATION | Team reviews college operations Continued from Page 1 Junior Colleges (ACCJC) sends an Accreditation External Evaluation Team of professionals that hold, or have held, jobs in the education system to provide insight about a given campus through observation and report if that institution is meeting the accreditation standards, Academic Senate President Wayne Organ said. The accreditation team is made up of faculty members, librarians, chancellors, presidents and other individuals who have been part of the education system in the western United States. The ACCJC is one of seven regional accreditation organizations empowered by the U.S Department of Education to evaluate community colleges. The accreditation process consists of four phases: internal evaluation, external evaluation by professional peers, commission evaluation and institutional self improvement to meet evolving regional and federal standards. “We rewrite the self-evaluation study for each accreditation cycle,”

CCC President Denise Noldon said. “The college is always seeking to improve and meet its standards, so goals change depending on what the college needs. The accreditation team comes to further evaluate our self-evaluation and see that the college is meeting its standards efficiently.” Internal evaluation begins when the college selects areas that require improvement and writes up a Self Evaluation Report. The Accreditation External Evaluation Team reviews the college’s Self Evaluation report and, based on the team’s observation, it is determined whether those areas need improvement or have met the standards, Dr. Noldon said. They then write up their own report. The Accreditation External Evaluation Team determines what stays, what goes or what else needs to be included in the report. City College of San Francisco had its accreditation revoked because it did not meet the required standards, according to their accreditation team. CCSF is currently suing to have the find-

ings of the accreditation team invalidated. The trial is set to commence on Oct. 27. In the past, CCC has received its accreditation and usually meets the required standards, Organ said. “There has been a real increase (in standards). There are a lot more rules to conform to,” he said. The last accreditation team visited in 2008, and since then new standards have been implemented for institutions to meet. “Each day we get a little better,” Organ said. Accreditation standards represent the best practices in higher education as well as set high expectations for institutions to meet. When a college or university is accredited, it means that the college has maintained a quality education and has continued to improve said quality. If an institution is denied its accreditation, the quality of the education is not up to standard. Accreditation enables students’ units to go toward their degrees, certificates and transfer as well as

provide financial aid to students. Units achieved at an nonaccredited school have little to no value. Once the team completes its visit, it will submit its report for the ACCJC to determine if CCC is accredited. The college will have the results by February 2015 through a letter from ACCJC. “It’s an opportunity for the colleges to shine,” CCC Vice President Tammeil Gilkerson said. One of the suggestions on CCC’s list of improvements is to develop a process and policy for working with emotionally distressed students. There will be open forums for students to attend and input their opinions, classroom visits, individual interviews and meetings for the Accreditation External Evaluation Team to gather information. There will be an open forum in LA-100 today from 2-3 p.m. and on Thursday from 12-2 p.m. “Students’ opinions are really valuable,” Organ said. A copy of the college’s self-evaluation is available to view on the CCC website under Accreditation.

STRESS | Students without mental health center Continued from Page 1 help. The absence of a mental health center is a cause of great concern among faculty who find themselves at a loss to assist their students in need of help, Mickles said. The push for a place to help such students has largely gone unnoticed. Mickles said students deserve to have a place on campus dedicated to mental health with professionals available to assist them. “Students need a safe and secure place that makes them feel comfortable, not just a hole in the ground,” she said. Psychology professor Michel Arnold agrees that there should be a mental health center on campus. Arnold and Mickles both said they often have students come to them not knowing where else to go for help. “A mental health center is definitely needed. It’s essential,” Arnold said. None of the three colleges in the district

— CCC’s sister colleges are Diablo Valley in Pleasant Hill and Los Medanos in Pittsburg — have any form of center for mental health. Mickles and other instructors have brought up the issue at various administrative meetings, the Department Chairpersons Retreat and at a United Faculty meeting, she said. Mickles emphasized that a mental health center would serve not only those students with mental health disorders, but anyone going through a difficult situation. There is also hope to not limit a possible center to only mental health, but to health of the students in every aspect. This could especially be helpful to those with no health insurance, she said. Although both professors try their best to steer students in the right direction, Mickles said it is not the same as having the resources available on campus. She said she may be able to tell students where to go to get treatment, but it is never guaranteed that they will get there

and receive the help they need. To better help professors, a book has been put together titled “Assisting the Emotionally Distressed Student,” which instructs professors on how to best deal with specific situations brought about by a student. It comes with outlined dos and don’ts for an array of situations. Marshall Alameida, nursing department chairperson, said he could not agree more with the idea of a mental health center on campus. Dr. Alameida believes that the general community, as well as college students, could benefit from a mental health center being present at CCC. He said that there have been accounts of non-students coming to the college looking for any kind of help from the problems they were battling, expecting that an institute of higher education would provide them with something, anything. For now, help is limited to pamphlets that give students mental health information.

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State approves anti-stalking bill ‘Yes means yes’ law holds colleges responsible for sexual assault cases

BY Rodney Woodson ASSOCIATE EDITOR

rwoodson.theadvocate@gmail.com

Community college students in California have been given another hand in the fight against sexual assault and domestic violence with Senate Bill 967’s approval by Gov. Jerry Brown. The bill was approved on Sept. 28. SB 967 aims to combat sexual assault and rape cases that occur at colleges in California by mandating that college students who receive federal financial aid funding have independent guidelines for handling sexual assault, rape, domestic violence and stalking cases. The bill also requires that colleges include in their policies a confirmed consent clause. A confirmed consent clause works on the idea of “yes means yes,” instead of the well-known slogan “no means no.” The idea behind the confirmed consent clause is that explicit consent to

sexual activity must be present to combat instances where alcohol or other substances can impair a person’s ability to deny sexual consent. Nineteen-year-old Contra Costa College student Ronnie Wong thinks that additional regulations are a good idea. “I think we should have something in place to take care of our students,” he said. With the confirmed consent regulation instituted, consent for both parties participating in the act must unquestionably confirm sexual activity. The clause calls for both parties to be sober, and consent to be verbal or written. College and district administrators are barely aware of the bill and its approval, focusing more on the accreditation process currently taking place across the Contra Costa Community College District. “All district administrators are

swamped with the accreditation process,” Executive Vice Chancellor of Education and Technology Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said. She said that the 14member accreditation team is the main focus of the district at the moment and that serious discussions have not yet begun districtwide. She said that the Human Resources Department will be working with district Police Services and campus teams to work on implementing SB 967’s regulations when the accreditation process is concluded. District Chancellor Helen Benjamin said SB 967 has not yet been reviewed at the district level. Once it is reviewed, Mehdizadeh will be responsible for its implementation. CCC Senior Dean of Instruction Donna Floyd will be a main player in the implementation of SB 967’s requirements at the college. “What I’ve heard is that (imple-

menting SB 967) is about providing awareness and understanding of sexual harassment on campuses,” she said. “This will probably be a board policy. So many mandated regulations start at the board level and we provide the procedures.” Although federal and state laws are already in place regarding sexual assault and domestic violence, the FBI’s 2010 report, “Campus Attacks,” shows that 13,842 forcible sex crimes were reported to the Department of Education between 2005 and 2008, the last year the data was available. Student John Tolliver agreed with the SB 967’s purpose as well, although he does not feel it is extremely important due to the bill covering issues that state and federal laws already govern. He said, “It’s not too much necessary, but it’s a good initiative in case someone needs (help).”

A temporary parking permit dispenser in Lot 10 has been unable to accept cash. Since Oct. 1, only credit or debit cards have been accepted.

Faulty permit machine unable to accept dollars BY Cody McFarland ASSOCIATE EDITOR

cmcfarland.theadvocate@gmail.com

A temporary parking permit machine in need of a new dollar bill acceptor continues inconveniencing those attempting to park in Lot 10 and pay with cash. The machine still accepts credit and debit cards as means to pay the $3 daily cost of parking, but the inability to pay with dollar bills at the only permit machine in one of the largest student parking lots on campus has troubled some students. As of Oct. 1, Police Services posted a sign on the Lot 10 permit machine indicating that the bill acceptor is incapable of taking paper currency until further notice. However, one student said she has had to deal with this problem since as far back as the second week of the semester. “Since the semester started that one won’t take cash,” health and human services major Safi Ward-Davis said. “A lot of students don’t have a debit card and aren’t on campus enough to justify paying for a semester permit, and they don’t want to get a $40 ticket. (The per-

mit machine) needs to get fixed.” Student vehicles found in Contra Costa College parking lots without a permit or in staff parking spots are subject to a $40 ticket from Police Services. Forty dollars is also the price of a semester student parking permit, which are only available for purchase online through WebAdvisor. Polices Services Lt. Jose Oliveira said, “We (Police Services) try to refer (those inconvenienced by the machine in Lot 10) to a working machine, but we realize that getting to one can be time-consuming and inconvenient.” The nearest daily parking permit machine is just north of the Biology Building, outside of Lot 14. Otherwise students will have to travel to the other side of campus, around the Gym and Gym Annex buildings, to use a machine capable of accepting cash. Oliveira said he ultimately recommends that students purchase a semester parking permit. In addition to saving students time and money when dealing with parking at CCC, purchasing a semester permit would “also reduce the wear and tear on the machines” that led to the failing of the bill acceptor in the

first place, he said. “I’ve noticed an ongoing issue with the machines and it is that the bill/coin collectors wear out quickly,” he said. Senior Parking Officer Mike Sandholm said that the permit machines were purchased and installed by Cale Systems, Inc. about eight years ago and that responsibility falls on the company to service defective machines. Many of the machines sold by Cale Systems, Inc. today only accept credit and debit cards, not cash. Sandholm said that the college’s machines were not designed to collect the high volume of currency they regularly receive. Oliveira said he is unsure if the faulty bill acceptor has been the reason for any recent citation appeal requests made by students. Students can have their parking citations that were issued on campus appealed by filling out a citation appeal request form, which can be found at Police Services. As of press time Tuesday, the daily parking permit machine in Lot 10 still bore the notification from Police Services and was still incapable of accepting paper currency.

Senate bill awards occupational studies BY Van Ly OPINION EDITOR

vly.theadvocate@gmail.com

Senate Bill 850 was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown and implemented into California state law on Sept. 28. SB 850, authored by State Sen. Marty Block, allows up to 15 community college districts to have a baccalaureate degree program in a subject that is not offered by UC and CSU campuses. The baccalaureate degrees will be geared toward students in the workforce that is high in demand. Four-year degrees in health care and informational technology are examples of what could be offered at a community college, Contra Costa Community College District’s Director of Communications and Community Relations Timothy Leong said. The pilot program is expected to begin in the

2017-18 academic year. Students participating in the program will need to complete his or her degree by the 2022-23 academic year. The cost of tuition will not exceed CSU’s systemwide fees for a bachelor’s degree. The cost of upper division coursework will be $84 per unit, according to the passed senate bill. With the bill approved, California will join the 21 other states that already offer baccalaureate degrees at their community colleges. In the 21 states alone, more than 50 community colleges operate almost 500 baccalaureate degree programs according to a report from the California Community College Baccalaureate Degree Study Group. California can also begin to meet the growing demand for people searching for an

education beyond an associate’s degree in the workforce. “There is a shortage of four-year degrees in California,” nursing department Chairperson Dr. Marshall Alameida said. California’s rank in terms of people who have a bachelor’s degree has fallen to 14th place according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The bill cites that California needs to produce one million more baccalaureate degrees than the state currently does to remain economically competitive in the coming decades. In state public institutions, around 110,000 bachelor’s degrees are awarded while 40,000 are awarded at private institutions. In order to meet the demand for bachelor’s degrees, the state would need to award 60,000 bachelor’s

degrees annually. “It’s an important mission community colleges can be a part of,” Alameida said. With 112 community colleges in California, SB 850 is also an opportunity for local residents who have kids, jobs, or any other time consuming responsibilities to earn a bachelor’s degree much quicker. CCCCD Executive Vice Chancellor of Education and Technology Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said, “(SB 850) is an opportunity to stay in the neighborhood. Students won’t have to travel far.” For students, such as Iris Mota, the passed senate bill will make their lives easier. “I could still take care of my sons without so many obstacles. And at the same time, I would be able to achieve my educational goals and dreams,” Mota said.

CODY CASARES/ THE ADVOCATE

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

High school students participate in a Health Department orientation in HS-101 on Friday.

LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EXPLORE MEDICAL MAJORS BY Princess Hughes STAFF WRITER

phughes.theadvocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College hosted the Emergency Medical Sciences Program Day (EMED) on Friday. It served to teach high school students about the emergency and medical department available on campus. Thirteen Richmond High School students aspiring to work in the medical field came to learn about the programs offered at CCC. The group of juniors are part of the Health Academy at their high school. While on campus, they were given the opportunity to explore the resources available to EMED majors. Examples of careers include emergency responder, paramedics and nursing. The students also received time with counselors to discuss their goals and learn about the resources they have available to them. Nancy Rynd, Career Technical Education grant coordinator, said she enjoys putting together programs for middle and high school students to explore career options. These programs are generally large, however this group was small, which provided opportunities for more individual attention. At the closing of the event Rynd held a raffle. Each student was given the chance to participate in the drawing and the students whose names were called were encouraged to share what they learned from their experience at CCC. As a prize, each winner received a $5 gift card to Starbucks. Student Diana Garcia was thrilled to share the powerful lesson that “no matter how bad you messed up in the past, you can always make it up.” Confident and passionate about helping people, she aspires to become an Emergency Room doctor. She said this experience helped transform her way of thinking and gave her confidence. She learned that there are a plethora of benefits in going to a community college prior to transferring to a four-year university. Sandy Cabrera, an aspiring pediatrician, learned about the variety of medical careers she can work in while pursuing her medical degree. She is interested in helping people, while also supporting herself. The Health Academy lead teacher Rich Seeber said, “It introduced my students to opportunities (CCC) provides while in high school and after.”

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Bay Area classic still rolling in dough Donut shop still delivers delicious treats after 75 years BY Janae Harris ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

jharris.theadvocate@gmail.com

itting at home late at night with a major sweet tooth? King Pin is the place to be. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. The store is located off of Telegraph and Durant near UC Berkeley. There is street parking in a pretty convenient location. It is surrounded by cool dinner choices of all different types of foods, from Mexican to Thai. While walk Where: 2395 ing toward the Telegraph Ave., donut shop, you can defiBerkeley nitely smell the sweet aroma  Hours: 7 a.m. of donuts from to 3 a.m. everyafar. day When you stop by, be sure to say hello to the shop’s popular donut worker who has been there for many years and goes by the name “The allmighty Quan.” King Pin Donuts has been serving customers from all over the country

King Pin Donuts

these delicious pastries since 1939. My two favorite donuts are the sweet crispy glazed donut holes, which seem much bigger than the average size donut holes, and more crispy than fluffy. The apple fritter is hands down my all-time favorite. I still have not come across a donut shop that can make the apple fritter as well as King Pin Donuts. The apple fritter is made with cinnamon glazed dough on the outside that is deep fried to a crisp. It is then stuffed with the perfect amount of apples and apple filling. Every time I have one of these delectable delights it tastes even better than the last time. The fritter is so huge that it is hard to finish it. In order to get the same great taste from your left over fritter, warm it up in the microwave for 10 seconds and it’ll taste just as good as the day before. Prices at King Pin are a bit more

than the average donut shop, but trust me, this is not your everyday donut shop and it is well worth every penny. The options for the different types of donuts are endless, and they always seem to have something new every time I go. If you are looking for variety of

sweet fulfilling donuts, King Pin is the place to be. They have tons of different kinds of donuts that will probably take a couple years for you to try them all. They also offer bags of one-day-old donuts for a cheap deal.

Batman-less show takes network by storm Original story gives details about comic book city

BY Mike Thomas SCENE EDITOR

mthomas.theadvocate@gmail.com

t is official. Comic books are taking over television. With “Gotham” coming into play, it is taking the FOX Network by storm. No one can picture Gotham City without the caped crusader roaming the streets at night, but that is the case with “Gotham.” The show reveals the origin of Batman, Commissioner James Gordon, and all of the masked criminals. The story starts with young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) seeing his parents get murdered right in front of his eyes by a masked robber, and that is when Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) takes his first case to find Wayne’s parents’ killer. Viewers will quickly find out that the show focuses on Gordon’s story. He is a war veteran turned cop, and he is the only clean cop in Gotham at the time. His personality is the usually boring paragon, but that is what this crooked city needs. Gordon might be one of the good cops in Gotham, but his quick wits and words get him in and out of tough situations. He sometimes has to make drastic decisions just to stay alive. It also does not help that Gordon has corrupt Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) as his partner. Bullock is an aggressive, lazy and sleazy cop, but surprisingly their work relationship is a match made in heaven. When interrogating the suspects, the good cop/bad cop scenario goes into effect. Gordon’s knack for doing the right thing gets Bullock off his hide, and he does some police work. The action scenes that these two get into are crazy, but make the show exciting. Gordon’s go-getter personality complements Bullock’s laziness because so far he has

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

Gordon’s back in situations. Since Bullock has ties with the mafia, he got Gordon off of being targeted by the mob by convincing him to do something that is against his code as a detective. The show does an excellent job of introducing the coldhearted diva Fish Mooney (Jada Pickett Smith) whose main purpose is taking over her boss Carmine Falcone’s (John Doman) place in the ranks. Mooney runs the Gotham theater as a cover-up, but also enjoys good entertainment. The relationship between Bullock and Mooney is going to be interesting as the show develops. Wayne is rarely seen in these last two episodes, but in his minor appearances he is

always doing something fearless and crazy. It could either be him seeing his parents get killed right in front of his eyes and being too weak to do something, or him starting to become the masked superhero we all know. The world’s greatest butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), plays the role of the father figure in Wayne’s life, and shows tough love to him. He is also learning how to be a good parent at the same time, but has no idea of how to raise a boy to a man. The show does well showing the background of Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), yes, the Penguin. Cobblepot is the sneaky, deceiving villain of the show

with some hidden rage when he gets called Penguin. His character leaves the viewers wondering what he is going to do next because victims and other criminals do not take him seriously. Cobblepot is physically weak and has to rely on being a rat to get what he wants. Just three episodes into this season, it looks like the development of the show and the cast of characters is going to be fun to watch for the viewers. If familiar with FOX Network, when shows do well they get hooked up with 20 plus episodes. One thing for sure is that Batman will not make an appearance this season.

Harvey Bullock (center) and James Gordon (left) are investgating Fish Mooney (right) for a crime in the new TV series “Gotham.”

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“Get busy living or get busy dying.” — Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding

Shawshank’s Redemption inspires hope

Memorable Moments

BY Christian Urrutia PHOTO EDITOR

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

arely is a film capable of holding such emotional prestige in a moviegoer’s heart and when one does, it deserves to be universally recognized. Released 20 years ago, “The Shawshank Redemption” is a film that has been bestowed with critical praise for two decades. It has earned the label of one of the best movies ever made and is listed first on IMDB’s user-generated top 250 films of all time. A film held in such regard by American audiences, the mere mention of the title evokes warmth, empathy and feelings of salvation for everyone familiar with the tale and its memorable characters. For the uninitiated, the film is based on Stephen King’s novella, “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.” It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who was wrongfully convicted for murder of his wife and her lover and is sentenced to Shawshank State Penitentiary in 1947. The film depicts life in federal prison and his eventual escape from it nearly 20 years later. The film opens with Andy sitting in his car, the night of the murder, drinking hard liquor with a revolver in tow. It cuts to the trial and the case prosecutor hounding Dufresne over the details of the night in question, counter arguing his claims of innocence. We’re introduced to Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) during the arrival scene, as he narratives the film and is known as a man who can procure certain things from time to time. Freeman’s narration as Red first gave audiences a taste of how graciously smooth and reassuring Morgan’s voice could be, adding to the film’s majestic quality as he recounts the story like an old friend reminiscing about once forgotten memories. Also introduced are Warden Samuel Norton and Captain Byron Hadley, chief of the guards. Hadley (Clancy Brown) is cold, cruel and downright evil in his treatment of Shawshank’s inmates. He brutally injures men when he deems it appropriate and if the order is given, commits murder. Bob Gunton, who plays Norton,

is a man of the cloth who rules the prison with an iron fist. As a preacher, he takes the lord and the operations of his jail incredibly seriously. Dufresne’s initial years at Shawshank are tumultuous ones. As he keeps to himself, working in the prison’s laundry, he is targeted and frequently sexually assaulted by a gang called “The Sisters,” and their leader Bogs Diamond. Despite his initial troubles, Dufresne befriends Red and a few others, such as Heywood (William Sadler) and prison librarian Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore), quickly learning that everybody is ‘innocent’ at Shawshank prison. An amateur geologist, Dufresne acquires a rock hammer from Red and a poster of actress Rita Hayworth later on to conceal Dufresne’s true intentions in his cell. Using his banking experience, Andy soon earns favor with the guards by assisting Hadley with helpful tax tips, then after a few years, start to manage all the tax returns for the guards and Warden Norton himself. His privileged position allows for the removal of Bogs, as one night he and his gang brutally beat Andy close to an inch of his life. In retaliation, Hadley nearly kills Bogs and relocates him to a different prison, providing Dufresne with protection. Warden Norton also assigns Andy to the prison library and thereafter, Dufresne turns it into one of the best kept prison libraries in Maine. After several stints in solitary confinement, Dufrense expresses to Red his thoughts on incarceration and how he dreams to be living in Zihautanjeo, a coastal town in Mexico. The following morning Dufrense is not found in his cell. Warden Norton and viewers soon discover the hole Andy dug to escape behind a poster of Raquel Welch. Digging his way through prison walls and crawling through sewer pipes, Dufrense comes out on the other side a free man. It is revealed that Andy switched out the Warden’s documents with decoys the night before the escape and assumes the fake identity of Randall Stephens. He also

steals the dirty money the Warden was hiding in bank accounts filed under Dufrense’s fake name. He also sends police and reporters detailed accounts of the corruption and murder taking place at Shawshank and causes the Warden to rethink the value of his life, while Hadley is arrested for his brutal crimes. Dufresne relies on one key theme of the film, hope. Hope for freedom, hope for retribution, and hope for redemption. A concept Red at first dismisses but soon latches onto when he is successfully paroled and seeks to reunite with Andy. Feelings of optimism and hopefulness have been attached to the film, despite the hurdles of despair. Shot in muted blue and grey colors just like the prison attire, it gives us a bleak outlook of the world within the prison system and the men it incarcerates but never fully embraces the dark atmosphere that clouds it. Composer Thomas Newman created one of the most endearing and inspiring musical scores ever recorded on film. Not for a moment does it let go of our heartstrings as each song carries a different emotion, from happiness to sadness or anger to forgiveness. The good-natured and uplifting message that one can overcome the insurmountable odds even when wrongly convicted has only reinforced the accolades and positive reception it has garnered since its release.

Rooftop beers Warden Samuel Norton assigns several men to tar one of the roofs for Shawshank prison so Andy Dufresne overhears prison guard Hadley talking about the $37,000 he hopes to keep as a tax free gift.

Tommy Burgular Tommy Willliams is sent to Shawshank for a two-year stint and informs Andy Dufresne of the true perpetrator of the crimes for which he was convicted. Because of this, Warden Norton has Williams killed.

Exodus After discovering the truth behind the crime he was convicted for, Andy Dufresne used a rock hammer he kept in a bible to dig his way out toward freedom after 19 years of imprisonment.

Boat of freedom By using the identity known as Randall Stephens, Andy Dufresne manages to escape to his dream town of Zihuatanejo and soon after Red is paroled and joins him.

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Campus to reduce carbon footprint College designates 15 student carpool parking spaces in Lot 4

BY Marlene Rivas STAFF WRITER

mrivas.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Operations Council has approved 15 carpool parking spots that will be designated in Lot 4 starting in the spring 2015 semester. Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King and the Sustainability Committee introduced the idea to the College Council in September. The Sustainability Committee, a subcommittee of the Operations Council, meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 a.m. to discuss ways to reduce energy costs and improve the college’s use of its resources. Lot 4, adjacent to the Gym Annex Building, will provide 15 spaces for students who carpool to campus. King said the new carpool parking lot will provide students, who are without reliable transportation to campus, a low cost solution and will also reduce carbon emissions. CCC student Rico Salvador said, “I think (carpooling) is a good idea. Not only will carpooling be environmentally friendly, but it will also be cheaper for students who (would otherwise) travel separately.”

However, not all view the carpooling lot as beneficial. “It limits parking spaces, especially for people who come (to campus) early looking for a parking spot,” Gabriel Goulart said. The application for this service, however, has been finalized, and will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis at Police Services. The carpooling permit will be free. Students who become part of the system will be given a distinctive permit sticker to park in the designated spots. In order to be eligible for a carpool parking spot, there must be a minimum of three students in one car. Carpool parking privileges, however, are not to be taken advantage of, King said. Those who park in the carpool section of Lot 4 without the designated number of passengers to constitute a carpool permit will be given a warning. A second violation will lead to the permit being revoked. King said the carpool lot will ease parking inconveniences that construction on campus has caused. He said that once the Campus Center project is near completion in about two

years, it will be necessary to bring in plumbers and electricians who will do finish work inside the two new buildings. He said that an estimated 150 construction workers will be on campus at once in need of a place to park. This carpool initiative was approved at the perfect time, King said. “Parking is at a premium and it’s only going to get worse.” He said that the model for Lot 4 carpool parking is based on the systems that other California community colleges, such as Ohlone College, De Anza College and Solano Community College, are already implementing. Student Isadora Bjelland said, “(Carpool parking) sounds great to me. Everyone is looking to save (money), right?” Bjelland, however, said she is concerned if she will be able to find other students who are willing to ride with her. “Maybe there could be like a signup sheet so people can carpool with those in their area that also have similar (class) schedules,” she said. CCC was close to implementing an online “sign up sheet” a few semesters

Need a ride to campus?  In an effort to reduce energy costs and improve the college’s use of its resources, the Sustainability Committee designated 15 parking spaces to carpooling students. ago. Geography professor Chris Johnson said he began working with the Sustainability Committee in the fall 2013 semester to create a system that would use an online database to connect potential student carpoolers. “Carpooling is a great way to save money without having to take the bus or bike,” Johnson said. The social media website would have been called Zimride, but was rejected by the Operations Council during the 2014 spring semester due to the high cost of implementation and insufficient funding. “(Zimride) would cost the college about $12,000 a year,” he said.

A group of student audition for their roles for the play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” in the Knox Center on Sept. 22. The play is scheduled to open in December. JANAE HARRIS/ THE ADVOCATE

EMOTIONAL PLAY PORTRAYS FEMININE HARDSHIPS, LOVE BY Janae Harris

Light The Night Walk supports cancer research

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

jharris.theadvocate@gmail.com

BY Roxana Amparo

The play, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf ” is scheduled to open the first weekend in December at the Knox Center. Focusing on themes of sexism, domestic violence, unity, racism, loneliness, love and sisterhood, the play captures the struggle and coming of age tale of seven women portrayed not by names but by different colors. Through poetic expression and choreographed dance, the seven women each clad in their color from the spectrum of the rainbow relate to audiences their struggles and triumphs in the face of adversity. Director Terrence Ivory said, “This play is universal. It is not gender specific and I encourage men to see it. This play is a celebration of womanhood, a way to embrace their scars, and I am simply honored to direct this piece.” Audiences should expect to see a series of poems, music and a lot of movement and choreography throughout the play. Ivory held casting auditions from Sept. 22-23, in search of seven female roles and one unspeaking male role, all of which have been filled. The actresses and actor began rehearsals in the Knox Center on Oct. 6. “I’m here for acting experience. So far the auditions are really fun, but it’s a lot of (dancing),” student actress Kamaria McKinney said.

NEWS EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College’s PsyR Soul Helpers Light The Night team will raise funds for further blood cancer research at the East Bay Light The Night Walk. The walk will be on Oct. 25 at Civic Park in Walnut Creek. The walk begins at 7 p.m. The Light The Night Walk is an annual fundraiser that supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) research and helps advance treatments, cooperative education instructor Mary Johnson said. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the largest non-profit health organization that is dedicated to funding blood cancer research. It advocates on the local and national levels, striving to motivate supporters to join the cause, Johnson said. This year, Johnson and CCC’s PsyR Soul Helpers Light The Night team extends its invitation to students, friends and families to join them, she said. Johnson has carried a tradition with her fall classes that has invested toward the cure for blood cancer. They want to motivate others to take a stance with ADVERTISEMENT

them. “An individual does not get cancer, a family does,” HSI STEM coordinator Kelly Ramos said. Ramos’ 4-year-old son Joey is currently going through treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). ALL is a fast-growing cancer that produces a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes do not fight off infections and prevent the bone marrow from making the normal red blood cells and white blood cells necessary. Research has immensely changed the outcome of individuals throughout the years and with growing support continues to thrive, Light The Night Walk campaign specialist Jennifer Shah said. “Since the 1960s blood cancer patients’ survival has not only doubled, but tripled,” Shah said. The survival rate for cancer patients was 4 percent back in the 1960s, but now, thanks to advanced research, for many, it is 90 percent. The LLS has reached the $1 billion mark and continues to gain support. The investment has not only touched the lives of blood cancer patients and their families, but those afflicted by

other diseases as well, she said. “I want to focus my energy in a more positive way and go forward,” Johnson said. “PsyR soul Helpers help from the soul,” she said. Their goal is to raise $1,000 toward blood cancer research this year. In the Light The Night Walk supporting teams carry different colored lanterns that signify different things. Carrying a red lantern represents walking in support of someone, a white lantern represents survivors or current patients and a gold lantern represents walking in memory of someone, Shah said. Every walker who raises $100 or more becomes a Champion for Cures and receives a lantern, T-shirt and dinner the night of the walk, Shah said. Raising $1,000 or more makes the walker a Bright Light and he or she has access to VIP treatment and other bright light gear, she said. “It’s a family friendly event,” Shah said. “It’s team building to raise cancer cures.” Teams can help raise funds and improve the quality of someone’s life, she said.

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garden of education

“Literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy we’re living today.” — Barack Obama BY Manning Peterson STAFF WRITER

mpeterson.theadvocate@gmail.com

ducation is a reciprocal progressive process which involves the student cautiously cultivating, developing and refining every level of life for an entire lifetime. The more you learn, the more you grow. The more you grow, the more you experience. The more you experience via social exposure, the more opportunities life will offer you to create, enjoy and excel on the path of academic literacy and future excellence in all areas of pursuit. It is a universal truth that what you live with you learn, what you learn you practice and what you practice you become. Where, or when, there is no gardener there is no garden. Our family gardener was my maternal grandmother, Anna Brooks Crosby aka “Gramma.” This incredible lady was a humble, compassionate, spiritual, loving, reality-oriented, courageous college graduate. She was born June 2,1873 in Hampton, Va. during an egregious era in American history when it was against the law to teach and educate people of color to read, write or count in Virginia’s public school system. Despite the social and racial rancor, she was educated as a “home-schooled survivor” at her Negro church academy. She excelled in all academic areas and advanced to become a successful student at Hampton Institute, at the time the only higher education institution for Negroes in Matthews County. She graduated with honors and a degree in home economics. Hampton Institute is now known as Hampton University. A.B.C. acquired her accelerated

academic achievements by mastering life skills such as sweat-equity, intestinal fortitude and perseverance while unconditionally accepting the will of God. Grandpa and Gramma moved to Hartford, Conn. where they found gainful legal employment. God blessed them with six lovely children. One child, Benjie, died before he was one-year-old. The five survivors graduated from racially integrated high schools and matriculated to college. Teddy, aka Theodore Lincoln Crosby, graduated from Morehouse College and earned a master’s degree in social work at Atlanta University. My magnificent mother, Eoythe Mae was the youngest child. She was the salutatorian of her graduating class at Morgan Bulkeley High at the age of 16. “Momma” was awarded a music scholarship to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. My fantastic father is the most well-read, intelligent person I have ever met — period. He never officially attended any college or university, except to love every marvelous moment proudly watching his children when they received their diplomas. All five of my parent’s children graduated from Bulkeley and pursued higher education. Three are graduates of UConn and three earned

master’s degrees at the University of Hartford, Yale, Occidental College and UC Berkeley. Gerard, aka Jerry, became the first African-American officer in history at Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance Company and assistant dean at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Rufus, aka Butch, was the first African-American to win the Connecticut State Interscholastic Golf Championship in 1954 when he was a junior at Bulkeley. He was offered six academic college scholarships the next year at graduation. Anne, our youngest and only female sibling, made history when she became the first African-American to be admitted to the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing. Ironically, Hartford Hospital is where Anne was born. Our family home at 129 Brown Street was 10 blocks south of Hartford Hospital. She graduated in three years and became a registered nurse after passing her state board exam. Anne decided to return to academia at the age of 40 after getting married and having three charming female children. She completed her undergraduate studies program to earn a bachelor of science degree in nursing at UConn. Two years later, Anne was awarded her masters’s degree in nursing and Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP) credential at Yale University. Yale is 25 miles south of 139 Brown Street.

At the time, Anne was the only minority CNP living on the eastern seaboard. Raoul, aka Ray, became a highly respected chemical dependency therapist and employment assistance program (EAP) consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area. I can still hear Gramma sharing her magnificent mantras. They are messages we have all learned to live by. Before Anne left home to attend Bulkeley for her first day, Gramma counseled her saying, “Anne, you are going to high school to get a superior education to prepare you for college. Keep your priorities in order. That means boys and books don’t mix.” My favorite was, “Ignorance is its own reward and education is the key which unlocks the door to the house of ignorance.” Your specific primary priorities when you enter college are to study diligently and grow intellectually. You must listen to learn and learn to listen, learn to think and never allow any person, place or thing to interfere with you obtaining the best education possible to successfully graduate. The final essential objective of your academic activities and responsibilities will be to unconditionally share your full range of knowledge, gifts and blessing to create a global spiritual bond. You must initiate and mentor to produce harmony, which will lead to love and care to heal the wounds caused by indifference in our world. And never forget that there is no fool like an educated fool. Five generations of our family are now college graduates. We will always remember, emulate, revere, celebrate and honor the life, love and academic leadership of Anna Brooks Crosby. Thanks Gramma.

PAGE DESIGN BY GEORGE MORIN, CODY MCFARLAND, LORENZO MOROTTI / THE ADVOCATE

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SECOND HALF SURGE FUELS WIN Scrappy defense no match for Comet attack

COMETS

3 0

FALCONS

BY Lorenzo Morotti EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Two second half goals prompted a late Falcon offensive surge that a well-positioned Comet defensive backline contained to seal a shutout victory at the Soccer Field on Friday. The men’s soccer team (2-0-0 in Bay Valley Conference, 5-3-1 overall) took advantage of key counter attacks to defeat a determined Folsom Lake College team 3-0. Folsom Lake (1-2-0 in the BVC, 2-8-1 overall) failed to contain Contra Costa College’s attacking players, who repeatedly used their speed to find the filtered forward passes in the attacking third during quick breaks along the wings. The Comets contest against FLC was a physical battle for possession in the midfield. CCC ended the game with 13 fouls to the Falcons 17. At 24 minutes, the Comets took a 1-0 lead when center midfielder Ivan Marin fired a right footed volley from 22 yards out from goal. He rifled the ball from the left edge of the penalty area to the inside of the far post, past the outstretched arms of Falcon goalkeeper Patrick McDade who ended the game with four saves. By halftime, the Comets outshot the Falcons nine to four. CCC also boasted three corner kicks to the Falcon’s zero. At 65 minutes, Comet left midfielder Missel Hernandez concluded the final score when he tapped in a rapid ground cross, delivered by striker Bryan Vega from the right wing, at the far post to score. This final goal scoring play developed when the Falcon attack was cleared yet again by a virtually impenetrable Comet backline. Falcon center back Logan Guler said his team was too slow to compete with the fast pace of the Comet players. “Most of the time we were outnumbered (in the midfield) and too slow,” Guler said. “I would have liked to have seen the energy we showed in the second half during the first (half).” Falcon coach Martin Roberts said they created more chances on goal because of a formation switch from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 that focused attacking plays down the center of the field. “It was a different game in the second half,” Roberts said. “We were more successful moving the ball. Our players were concentrated more in the attack and our motivation rose.” Before Hernandez scored, the Falcons’ attacking players had already taken six shots, more than FLC managed to get throughout the first half. Roberts said, “However, when you are in an attacking position for as long as we were without scoring you become susceptible to the counter attack. And we let go of two quick breaks.” Most of the Falcon shots were blasted wide or blocked by Comet goalkeeper Stephane Vanier, who ended the game with eight saves. CCC center back Bradley Alman said the Comets played more defensively during the first 20 minutes of the second half. “To a certain degree we want to invite a little pressure into our defensive third,” Alman said. “Then we break them on the counter (attack) and we saw two good goals come from it.” Marin received the loose ball in the midfield and sent a diagonal forward ground pass toward the right sideline to Vega, who was already striding toward the end line out in front of the FLC defenders. “I had been caught offside a few times by the (official) during the game but that last one was a perfect play,” Vega said. “To get in behind the defense and into open field during a play is just like how we practiced.” Hernandez had made the run toward the far post when he also noticed the offside flag but remained pointed at the sideline. Vega was awarded a penalty kick when his shot on goal, inside a crowded penalty area, was deflected by a Falcon defender’s hand at 52 minutes. Vega nestled the ball into the right side of the goal from the spot kick to bring the game to 2-0. CCC ended the game with 13 shots to the Falcons’ 11.

Comet winger Missael Hernandez strides down field with the ball during CCC’s 3-0 win against Folsom Lake College at the Soccer Field on Friday. Hernandez used his quick pace to create attacking options for the Comets. QING HUANG / THE ADVOCATE

Resilient squad breaks streak COMETS DEFEAT EAGLES

25-14, 16-25, 25-14, 25-21

BY Jason Sykes STAFF WRITER

jsykes.theadvocate@gmail.com

OAKLAND — The volleyball team broke its four-game losing streak at Laney College after playing the Eagles in four tense sets on Oct. 8. The Comets (3-6 overall, 1-3 in the Bay Valley Conference) lost control of the game during the second set, but shattered the 1-1 deadlock entering the third set. During the second set, the audience erupted with noise as the Eagles began to gain control of the game. The Comet defense was momentarily in disarray. “We hit a little slump,” CCC coach Zachary Shrieve said. CCC defeated the Eagles (1-7 overall, 0-3 BVC) 3-1, to gain its first conference victory of the 2014 season 25-14, 16-25, 25-14 and 25-21. Crafty and timely ball placement was the dominant factor for the Comet offensive onslaught. CCC came out strong and set the tone by quickly scoring. The team’s communication on defense also stitched any gaps in positioning to beat Laney 25-14 at the end of the first set. The Eagles failed to respond to the Comet offensive surge throughout the game and committed errors on which CCC capitalized. The quality of the Comet offensive plays, however, had become extremely sloppy from the previous set. CCC’s errors led to Laney winning the set 25-16 by capitalizing on the Comet players discombobulated defensive positioning. The Comets, however, proved they have a short-term memory when they came back with a vengeance to beat the Eagles in the third set 25-14. CCC’s left back Vanessa Vargas said, “We didn’t get mad. We just focused on getting our points instead of who’s mak-

Comet outside hitter Kailey Walker (right) lofts the ball over the net toward Eagles’ players Luisa Delos Reyes (left) and Monique Anderson (center) during CCC’s win against Laney College in Oakland on Oct. 1. CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

ing (errors).” Vargas and outside hitter Rachelle Cuevas supported the defense with 17 digs each. The Comets regained their composure and went on to defeat the Eagles by executing offensively and covering defensively. CCC’s outside hitter Kailey Walker said, “Coach told us before the game that we came here to play for two hours and that’s what we did.” Walker recorded 17 kills and setter Richelle Ledesma distributed 23 assists. Walker said the Comets showed resilience and guts for not wanting to

settle for another loss. The fourth set was a nail bitter. CCC remained composed under the frustrated, yet determined, Laney offensive rebuttal with some brilliant offensive plays. CCC began to cede points as the home crowd chanted, “Lets go Eagles.” The closer Laney brought the score to 25, the louder the chant grew. A few Eagle errors early on, however, allowed the Comets to take a quick lead and hold it to win the fourth set 25-21. The Comets are scheduled to host third place Los Medanos College in the Gym on Wednesday.

Record heat burns team’s shot at victory Lack of fire power remains a problem for Comets 49ERS

6 0

COMETS

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

Yuba College (3-6-2 overall, 2-1 in the Bay Valley Conference) brought the Marysville heat with them to scorch the women’s soccer team 6-0 on Friday at the Soccer Field. CCC (0-11 overall, 0-4 in the BVC) came out with an aggressive style that kept the 49ers on their heels for most of the first half. While this nature of play forced Yuba to remain stacked in its defensive third of the field, it managed to score during quick offensive counter attacks. The first goal, which squirted past the molten glob of bodies gathered inside the penalty area into goal, was hard to swallow for replacement goalkeeper Taheerah Brewer. Brewer said she felt the ball brush just past her hands before it went into goal. She was in a shooting gallery for the entire match, facing 15 shots on goal and saving nine. “Goalie is where I feel most comfortable,” Brewer said. “I can see everything, I can talk to people. (The defense) really had my back today.” The 90-degree temperature began to

take its toll on the Comets 20 minutes into the match. The first sign of fatigue due to heat came during a break away opportunity for Yuba forward Erica Lynch, who was the tallest player on both teams. Sandwiched between two CCC defenders, it was only the length of Lynch’s stride that allowed her to fire a quick shot that deflected off of Brewer’s left hand and into the goal to put Yuba ahead 2-0 at 25 minutes. The 49ers maintained that lead into the start of the second half. “Our biggest downfall in this game was the heat,” CCC forward Mayra Garcia said. “I talked to some of Yuba’s players and they said it was just like any other day to them.” An injury left the already shallow Comet roster short one player on the field. Comet coach Amanda Beckenhauer decided to play a player down from 17:09 until the end of the first half, even after her sub was ready to return to the game, gaining no offensive advantage with the strategy. When asked after the game why she made the decision to play a player short Beckenhauer refused to comment.

With a full squad back to start the second half, just four minutes after the break Garcia darted quickly past the defensive backline down the center of the field into a rare Comet scoring opportunity. Her shot, however, was well defended by the 49er goalkeeper Aracely Garcia who ended the game with two saves. At 50 minutes into the game, Yuba converted a corner kick into a goal when the towering Lynch scored with a headed strike to zap the life from the spiraling Comet team. No matter how much Beckenhauer encouraged her team to dig deep, there was only so much they could do after fighting to keep the first half somewhat respectable. When Beckenhauer was approached for a post-game interview she refused to comment. Roster depth, or lack thereof, is something that is out of the players’ control. But the Comets played tired, hurt and, as one referee said, on a pretty rough looking field. CCC’s next game is scheduled on Friday at Mendocino College in Ukiah. The team played College of Marin on Tuesday after press time.

sports

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It was a cover three. I read his eyes and got a good jump on the ball. Coach Carter has been telling us all week we were the better team.” — Lavon Washington, Comet defensive back

N OFF THE RECORD

robertclinton

COACHING STYLE FROM STRATEGY TO THE FIELD

QING HUANG / THE ADVOCATE

Comets trample Mustangs at homecoming celebration Opportunistic defense carries Comets to victory

COMETS

33 6 MUSTANGS

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

PITTSBURG — The football team braved 90-degree heat to outshine its Bay Valley Conference rival 33-6 at Los Medanos College on Saturday. The Comet (4-1 overall 1-0 BVC) coaches, players and even ball boys arrived at the LMC stadium with a chip on their shoulders. The team was dismayed by the Mustangs audacity to schedule CCC for its homecoming game, as if it would be an easy victory. “We felt insulted that they would make (the Comets) their homecoming game,” CCC coach Alonzo Carter said. It was clear early on that both teams embraced the spirit of the rivalry. LMC (3-2 overall 1-1 BVC) even tried to out-cheer CCC after the Star Spangled Banner. The Comets elected to kick and stuffed the return at the 20yard line. The Mustangs’ first play from the scrimmage was an accurate indication of the type of game they were in for. On a short pass to the right flat Comet defensive back Lavon Washington followed LMC quarterback Julius Mozee’s eyes and beat the receiver to his spot. Washington intercepted the pass and returned it for the opening touchdown. “It was a cover three. I read his eyes and got a good jump on the ball,” Washington said. “Coach Carter has been telling us all week we were the better team.” CCC’s coaches demanded that the defense not let up, and their players responded. Sniffing out runs and screens, the defensive players shortly returned the ball to the offense. Running back Harold Holcombe carried the early load for CCC until the healthy offensive drive eventually stalled just outside the end zone. This placed the responsibility to score on kicker Lorran Fonseca, who booted a 24-yard field goal to put the Comets ahead 10-0. Linebacker Ricky Davis, who racked up five tackles and two sacks last week, said he was eager to surpass his previous performance. During the third quarter, Davis said an offside flag drew the evil eye from his coaches on the sideline. The following play saw Davis scoop up a fumble and forge his way to the end zone for a 37-yard defensive touchdown.

Football (Oct. 4) Contra Costa College Los Medanos College LMC 0 0 CCC 24 0

“Their heads were down early on. (LMC players) weren’t ready to play,” Davis said. “I just got it up and took it to the house.” Being down 17-0 in the first quarter during the homecoming game seemed to put extra pressure on the talkative Mustang squad. At about eight minutes into the game CCC had another chance to intercept a pass that may have been the fatal blow. But costly penalties continued to give LMC a sliver of hope for a comeback. Even given the extra chance, an unsuccessful fourth down attempt by the Mustangs handed CCC possession with only 5:22 remaining in the opening quarter. Running back Kruger Story Jr. toted the ball for the bulk of this drive but it was Holcombe who punched through the LMC defensive line to score a two-yard touchdown stretching the Comet lead to 24-0. CCC then forced LMC to turn the ball over on downs with help from linebacker Isaiah Armstrong who made several key tackles. Showing glimpses of consistency, CCC quarterback Jonathan Banks connected with wide receiver Sterling Taylor on a 44yard strike, with Taylor running for 21 of those yards before he was tackled. After suffering a brutal sack on the following play, Banks tried to pass for a touchdown but released the ball too early and lofted it CCC — 0. LMC — 0.

0 7

6 —6 2 — 33

First Quarter CCC — L. Washington 22 yd interception return. Fonseca kick is good. 14:45 CCC — L. Fonseca 24 yd field goal. 9:38 CCC — R. Davis 37 yd fumble return. Fonseca kick is good. 8:24 CCC — H. Holcombe 3 yd run. Fonseca kick is good 3:10 Second Quarter

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Third Quarter CCC — H. Holcombe 3 yd run. Fonseca kick is good. 10:15 Fourth Quarter LMC— A. Moore 5 yd pass from RJ Cellini. Sabella kick blocked. 12:10 CCC — M. Mackey 98 yd extra point return. 12:10 Individual statistics Rushing — CCC — Banks 9-54, Simmons 4-7, Holcombe 18-85, Story Jr. 5-36, Barnett 1-3, Williams 15, Harper 3-9. — LMC — Lockett 19-106, Pooler 2-12, Menefee 6-9, Mozee 6-2, Cellini 3-21.

into the end zone, resulting in a LMC interception to end the first quarter. LMC moved the ball down the field to start the second quarter with most of the yards in the drive coming on a 39-yard pass. The Mustangs, desperate to put points on the board, stalled their best drive at the CCC 18-yard line. Another fourth down gamble left them scoreless. The unruly CCC defense once again looted the ball from the LMC offense. Then a Terance Barnes reception left just enough time for Story Jr. to run for another score. But an illegal formation revoked the touchdown, leaving the score 24-0 at halftime. A heroic stop on an LMC fourth down and another one by linebacker Elliot Dupree allowed Holcombe to score again on a two-yard run to bring the score to 31-0 in the third quarter. A short Mustang slant, however, shattered the Comets’ hopes for a shutout win with 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The ensuing blocked extra point was picked up and returned by Comet defensive back Marquez Mackey for two points to finish the scoring for the afternoon. The Comets’ upcoming bye week could come at a good time for an attitude adjustment before facing Yuba College at Comet Stadium on Oct. 11. Passing — CCC— Banks 13-19-159, Jones 3-5-60, Jones 0-1-0. — LMC — Cellini 11-25-177, Mozee 3-5-21. Receiving — CCC — Stephens 3-53, Barnes 3-31, Taylor 3-49, Jones 1-35, Cornish 6-51. — LMC — Pruitt 3-75, Menefee 3-41, Swims 3-30, Pooler 1-27, Shojaee 2-17, Moore 1-5, Harper 1-3. Field goals — CCC — Fonseca 1-2. — LMC — Sabella 0-1. Record — CCC — 4-1 overall — LMC — 3-2 overall.

TOP: Comet wide receiver Larry Cornish jumps out of the way of a Mustang defensive lineman during CCC’s win over Los Medanos College in Pittsburg on Saturday. ABOVE: Comet running back Lynn Simmons smashes past a Mustang player during CCC’s 33-6 rout over Los Medanos College in Pittsburg on Saturday.

f the athletic teams currently competing in the Bay Valley Conference for Contra Costa College, only two are above .500. All of the coaches agree that it is easier to win with talented players, but there is no consensus regarding a talented team always beating a well-coached team. Men’s soccer coach Nikki Ferguson says it’s hard to compare coaches across different sports. “It depends on the sport and the personnel,” he said. “Football is much more emotional so it is easier to adapt to the fiery personality of the coach. In soccer, it’s more of a management situation so I stress accountability and responsibility.” Comet football coach Alonzo Carter has seen many talented teams without solid coaching dissolve into the dust of what could have been. “Good coaching is always important,” Carter said. “But it never hurts to have a few (good players) on the team.” His emotional coaching style is as much a part of the action as the game itself. The combustible Carter reacts in contrast to the measured emotional bursts from Ferguson. However, both seem to achieve the desired results — prideful and accountable play, and a winning record. Holding on to your coaching philosophy is important, but it has to be flexible to adjust to your current players. Volleyball coach Zachary Schrieve adjusted his focus in accordance with his team’s limited size and depth. Players give 100 percent every game. “They really pick each other up. They are supportive and have become really good friends,” Schrieve said. Attainable goals keep things in perspective; the team wants to be in contention for the California Community College Athletic Association Scholar Team Award. “We have a very smart squad. Our team GPA is 3.2,” he said. Schrieve’s bench demeanor is focused, less demonstrative than Ferguson, and in a different category than Carter. The newest coach on campus is women’s soccer coach Amanda Beckenhauer. Much like Schrieve, she usually keeps her emotions tucked snuggly under her vest. Her managerial styled approach is rooted in a belief that constantly barking orders to players “does more harm than good,” Beckenhauer said. She said players will not instinctively respond to in-game situations when out of earshot of the coach’s instruction if they get used to taking orders while playing — a sound strategy that has not translated to wins yet. Previously Ferguson’s assistant, Beckenhauer’s managerial style, coupled with her own philosophy, could become a recipe for success. But not adjusting to the current situation is not making getting the square peg to fit into the round hole any easier. In games this year when Beckenhauer vocally positions her players and engages them, the team makes fewer mistakes caused by being out of position. “You have to make adjustments, but it depends on the team,” Ferguson said. “You never stray too far away from your overall philosophy.” All four Comet squads are currently in the conference portion of their schedule. Robert Clinton is a sports editor of The Advocate. Contact him at rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com.

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Unleashed

DARK CIRCUMSTANCES

MOVIES

This week: “Dracula Untold” (PG-13) “The Judge” (R) “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (PG) “Addicted” (R) “Automata” (R)

BLU-RAYS

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

CAST OF ‘GONE GIRL’ NAILS ACTING Star studded Hollywood

New releases: “A Million Ways to Die in the West” (R) “Edge of Tomorrow” (PG-13)

line-up hits film adaptation of best-selling book

“Million Dollar Arm” (PG) “4 Minute Mile” (PG-13) “Advanced Style” (NR)

MUSIC

New releases: Flying Lotus: “You’re Dead” Bass Drum of Death: “Rip This” Iceage: “Plowing into the Field of Love” Allo Darlin’: “We Come from the Same Place”

GAMES

New releases: “NBA 2K15” (E) “Alien Isolation” (M) “Driveclub” (E) “Project Spark” (E)

Editor’s note: This column lists popular new (and upcoming) releases for the week.

Ben Affleck stars in the new movie “Gone Girl” where he deals with the issue of his missing wife.

BY Christian Urrutia

fully through stages of Amy’s life before and during her marriage with Nick up to arriage is hard work. her disappearance, showing It’s even harder with a unique progression of a crazy counterparts. strong-willed woman. This is one of the dynamics readThat is one of the harsh ers found interesting about realities David Fincher’s Flynn’s novel, a narrative adaptation of “Gone Girl” about a strong and resourcethrows into our faces and ful female protagonist. does not turn away. Maybe it was this popularAuthor Gillian Flynn ity that motivated Fincher wrote the screenplay from to direct the film — no easy her 2012 best-seller which task in itself due to its whostarts Ben Affleck and dunit, non-linear plot, makRosamund Pike as Nick and Amy Dunne. Their relation- ing the mystery thriller hard to follow at times. ship initially borders on But if anyone is up to the aspiring but ends up disaschallenge, it is a master stotrous, exposing a one of a kind matrimonial hell which ryteller like Fincher, whose feature film career includes Fincher and the rest of the six literary adaptations out cast and crew nail perfectly. of 10 films, including the Affleck and Pike are in top acting form in their roles immensely popular “Fight Club.” as imperfect partners, and He does not deserve full awards buzz has been genercredit, however. Much of ated ever since the film was the film’s cautious and eerie screened, with audiences atmosphere surrounding agreeing by scoring high the main characters shows markings on reviewer sites like Rotten Tomatoes, and by the great technicality shown by the crew and its ability taking it to first place at the to cooperate with a director box office. known for his perfectionist Pike, in her first leading style of filmmaking. role, carries the non-linear Everything from the structured storyline beautiPHOTO EDITOR

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

music, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails fame (marking a third collaboration with Fincher after “The Social Network” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) to the cinematography and editing, do a fantastic job of highlighting the film’s tones of suspense and ambiguity. The level of dark humor and intriguing drama brought out by the cast rounds out the phenomenal acting, including Nick’s twin sister Margo (Carrie Coon) co-owner of the bar she and Nick operate at the time of Amy’s disappearance, and Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) who is investigating the mystery with her partner Officer Gilpin (Patrick Fugit). Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry are wonderfully cast against their usual roles with Harris as Desi Collings, an ex-boyfriend of Amy’s, and Perry as Tanner Bolt, Nick’s eventual defense lawyer. Captivating screen presence properly belongs to Affleck and Pike, who startle viewers with how far they’re

willing to take these characters. Pike provides voice-over narration as Amy writing in her diary, detailing the once happy, hopeful marriage that descends into a tale of dishonesty and deceit, begging the question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife? Their relationship is surgically laid out on the table for viewers as they recount when they first met at a party in New York and their time spent living in the city working as writers, to their eventual relocation to Nick’s hometown of North Carthage, Mo. through a series of flashbacks. The film opens on the morning of Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary, and we see Nick routinely go about his day before returning home to find his wife missing and questionable circumstances surrounding the scene. The sensationalist media hell storm and rescue efforts that follow cast a light on how far people are willing to go to keep appearances and the lengths of manipulation required to do so.

Weezer ignites late comeback BY Jared Amdahl STAFF WRITER

jamdahl.theadvocate@gmail.com

n Tuesday, Los Angeles-based rock band Weezer released its ninth studio album titled “Everything Will Be Alright In The End.” At 13 songs long, “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” takes Weezer back to its sound of origin, with guitar riffs and crashing drum patterns reminiscent of its earliest work from 1994. This is an album that gets better as it goes. After the halfway point, it is easy to hear that Weezer has dusted off its decent song-making abilities for a reason. Anyone who listens to Weezer will more than likely tell you that the band’s most popular, and quite possibly best, work was done on its first three albums. The debut self-titled “Blue” album, its sophomore album “Pinkerton” and its third album “The Green Album,” are all solid rock references you can bust out when having nerdy arguments with your friends as to why Weezer is awesome. But after “Make Believe”

was released in 2005 the band found the amount of listeners dropped to just the hardcore loyalists, while those enjoying their favorite nostalgic Weezer jams were likely swearing off the group’s contemporary work. The band had no success that rocked the charts with the albums following “Make Believe.” Year-afteryear Weezer would release an album that kept the band relevant through a string of single hits off of each respective release. And this is the key theme that must be addressed with Weezer’s newest work — relevance. This will be the 20th year that Weezer has been a recording group. And after hitting such a milestone the band has released a record that sounds exactly like the band it used to be 20 years ago, which begs the question: Why did it ever change in the fist place? The lead singer, primary song writer, frontman and lead guitarist of Weezer, Rivers Cuomo, attributes the absence of any strong musicindustry presence on his own actions. It is apparent that Cuomo

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

uses this album as a chance to make up for his past transgressions of steering the band in whatever direction he wished. The second track on the album and the lead single, “Back to the Shack,” explains his position on the band. “Sorry guys I didn’t realize that I needed you so much,” are the first words that leave Cuomo’s mouth on the track, followed by, “I thought I’d get a new audience, I forgot that disco sucks.” He talks about how he would like to return to those old days of just rocking out and not caring about the image. And it is an idea that Cuomo humors again and again throughout the composition. The most intriguing piece

on the album has to be the “Futurescope Trilogy.” It is one song broken up into three sections that are quite entertaining to listen to and show that the musicians making up Weezer have matured. However the timing of it all could not be more immature. With most of the members of Weezer well into their 40s, is it ideal that the band is trying to reach for the same garage rafters it reached for 20 years ago? This is a good album. It provides what Weezer fans have always wanted. It is just sad to think that it may be a little too late for the band to deliver on something it should have produced a long time ago.

Rivers Cuomo, the frontman of rock band Weezer, uses the new album “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” as an opportunity to strengthen the band’s image and sound in the rock genre.