The Advocate 11-2

WEDNESDAY l 11.2.16 OUR 67TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

ELECTORAL SHUFFLE Voters sift through local, state, national ballots only days before Election Day

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lection Day is Tuesday and voters should be researching candidates and issues.

In the B section of this week’s issue, The Advocate examines candidates, ballot initiatives and propositions at the local, state and national levels.

To help inform Contra Costa College students and our surrounding community, this section covers California propositions regarding the death penalty, legalization of marijuana, education funding, gun control and more.

FACTS SPUR INVESTIGATION TO FIND CAUSE OF DEATH Long tenured board member dies in New Orleans, evidence found

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Local measures and candidates for San Pablo and Richmond city councils are highlighted for those who remain distracted by this year’s presidential election.

It is not clear if Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be sworn into office, but the vitriol and misinformation espoused by both has torn at our national identity.

The Advocate’s Editorial Board discusses how corporate influence in politics affects our society and the political duopoly that money manipulates.

Creating Policy

Entering the office

Local elections

Represent Third the state party

The Advocate covers California propositions on this year’s ballot that will affect society for decades.

The White House has taken a back seat since this presidential race has become the focus of a divided nation.

Tax measures and candidates in San Pablo and Richmond need public engagement to ensure community wellness.

Candidates, propositions and initiatives statewide are highlighted to help voters prepare to make informed decisions.

PAGES B4 & B5

PAGES B6 & B7

PAGES B8 & B9

PAGES B9, B10, B11

Outsider candidates seek to attract voters who are unsatisfied with the major party presidential candidates.

PAGE B12

ILLUSTRATION BY MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

Dreamers gather, exchange ambitions PAGE A5

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

John T. Nejedly was found lying shirtless in his bed with blood and bodily fluids running out of his mouth and down his chin by a security supervisor in his HiltonRiverside Hotel room, according to the New Orleans Police Department’s incident report obtained by The Advocate on Oct. 21.

The longest serving Contra Costa Community College District trustee died on Oct. 9 while attending the annual Association of Community College Trustees conference in New Orleans.

A gram of white, powdered substance in a plastic bag, three $100 bills — one in his shirt pocket and two in his briefcase — a woman’s bra and a cell phone were found in Nejedly’s hotel room, 636, according to the report.

New Orleans Coroner’s Office spokesperson Jason Melancon said at this point in the investigation the evidence found at the scene does not clearly indicate the cause of death.

Nejedly “The cause of death remains under investigation,” Melancon said. “It will probably take about a month to get the toxicology results back and a determination of the final cause of death.”

Emergency medical units arrived at the scene and tried to resuscitate SEE NEJEDLY, PAGE A3

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‘SAUSAGE KING’ PROVIDES INSIGHT PAGE A6

PHOTO ILLISTRATION BY REGGIE SANTINI AND DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Contra Costa Community College District chancellor finalists, (L to R) University of Minnesota Chancellor Fred Wood, district Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Huff and Lake Tahoe Community College Superintendent/President Kindred Murillo speak to the crowd in Fireside Hall on Monday.

Chancellor position draws out finalists

Fireside Hall hosts

Studentathlete strives to meld body, spirit PAGE A8 INSTAGRAM: @cccadvocate

campus forum to help screen candidates

BY Reggie Santini SPOTLIGHT EDITOR

rsantini.theadvocate@gmail.com

The three finalists for the Contra Costa Community College District chancellor position have been selected, and all participated in an open forum on campus Monday.

Following the news of district Chancellor Helen Benjamin’s retirement, which begins in January, applications for her position were opened in August.

The district Governing Board trustees announced the names of the three candidates last week. They are Lake Tahoe Community College Superintendent and President Kindred Murillo, University of Minnesota Chancellor Fred Wood and CCCCD

TWITTER: @accentadvocate

YOUTUBE: /accentadvocate

Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Huff.

“The district board will announce the next chancellor before the end of the year, which will be Benjamin’s last day as chancellor,” district Communications and Relations Director Tim Leong said.

The Governing Board must reach a consensus vote among themselves to decide who will be the next chancellor, but following the death of John T. Nejedly in October, the board is short a trustee.

“We could end up with a 2 to 2 vote and have to start all over again,” Leong said.

Part of the process is looking at the future and trying to see what is best for SEE FINALISTS, PAGE A3

SNAPCHAT: @cccadv0cate

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Quotable “Newspaper leaders must decide in the 21st century whether they will preside over a mass medium or a niche medium. The inability for nearly one-third of the population to see itself fully represented in newspapers threatens the future of newspapers as a mass medium.”

Charles L. Overby, The Freedom Forum, 2001 Roxana Amparo editor-in-chief Christian Urrutia web editor Marci Suela art director social media editor Lorenzo Morotti associate editor Benjamin Bassham Michael Santone news editors Robert Clinton opinion editor sports editor Xavier Johnson scene editor Reggie Santini spotlight editor Cody Casares photo editor Denis Perez assistant photo editor Tashi Wangchuk multimedia editor Paul DeBolt faculty adviser Advocate staff Sean Austin Jose Chavez Dylan Collier Salvador Godoy Naylea Hernandez Edwin Herrera Karla Juarez Perla Juarez Anthony Kinney Jaleel Perry Julian Robinson Jessica Suico Efrain Valdez Honors ACP National Newspaper Pacemaker Award 1990, 1994, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015 CNPA Better Newspaper Contest 1st Place Award 1970, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2013 JACC Pacesetter Award 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Member Associated Collegiate Press California Newspaper Publishers Association Journalism Association of Community Colleges How to reach us Phone: 510.215.3852 Fax: 510.235.NEWS Email: accent.advocate@ gmail.com Editorial policy Columns and editorial cartoons are the opinion of individual writers and artists and not that of The Advocate. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is made up of student editors.

opinion

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2, 2016 VOL. 104, NO. 8

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

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EDITORIAL BURIED FEES NEED USE

An inactive Grant for Support program raises concern

T

he Associated Student Union’s Grant for Support program at Contra Costa College faltered this semester before it could process a single application due to a lack of commitment by members of the ASU, Student Life Coordinator Joel Nicholson-Shanks said.

Nearly every student in the Contra Costa Community College District — CCC, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College — pays a $5 Student Activity Fee when they register for classes each term to fund the districtwide Grant for Support program.

Funded through this student enrollment fee, the Grant for Support program gives the CCC ASU Board the authority to allocate up to $2,500 per applicant through a $25,000 budget per semester.

In the past, the ASU has provided funding for departments on campus to host events like the Jump for Jamaica event, or help in other ways like pay the contract of the live online streaming of Comet sporting events through Bay Area Sports TV. But, according to ASU officials, it has been unable to facilitate disbursement of funds this semester because there is only one member on the ASU Finance Committee, the internal group that screens new and old applications to provide recommendations of approval or denial of grants to the ASU Board.

Students at CCC will not see their money put to use this semester despite paying the fee.

If our money is being wasted, we need to eliminate the fee or create a disbursement process that is reliable and effectively improves the lives of students.

ASU Finance Committee Chairperson Arius Robinson said some students have shown interest in joining the committee, but for most of the semester he has been “a one-man army.”

Robinson said the Grant for Support will be a big topic of discussion at the ASU meeting today in SA-107.

But we need more than discussion. We need action.

Not having the Grant for Support active at this point in the semester means that departments and clubs that lack institutional funding or fundraising are unable to ask the board for financial support to host events, create programs or supplement other worthy causes.

How is paying the $5 Student Activity Fee any better than wadding up $5 and throwing them into Rheem Creek?

Over the last two years, since the ASU revived the program (yes, it was on hiatus previously as well), the application and disbursement process usually spans a three-month period. But fewer than two months remain in the 2016 fall semester.

And since 2014, the ASU has not spent all the money in its Grant for Support budget despite knowing the funding is replenished every semester.

The Grant for Support was created so student fees would be used instead of neglected at the district level, CCC Business Office Supervisor Nick Dimitri said.

Dimitri said the revenue from the Student Activity Fee is placed in a district account, and funding is dispersed from this district account to colleges a few times a year.

According to the ASU Profit and Loss Report for the 2015-16 fiscal year, the net income for the $5 fee alone at CCC was about $27,000.

So we either need to have another governance group take the responsibility of managing this large pool of student money or get rid of the fees.

If our money is not dispersed properly by the ASU, then we must demand a refund. We cannot pay it forward just because the ASU committee given the responsibility to disburse the money can’t find enough participants.

LORENZO MOROTTI / THE ADVOCATE

■ WHITE CARD

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Privilege is skin deep, culture is key to love

ace has been one of the most talked about and controversial news topics in America since 2009 and the killings of Oscar Grant and Trayvon Martin, which brought race inequality to mainstream media.

Being a 19-year-old, with very light skin and hair, who was born in America to Mexican parents is an odd situation. While not being fully accepted by my peers who are also Latino because of my skin color, I was more respected by white people because they simply did not know my race because of the color of my skin.

At the beginning of my teenage years I was confused and wished that I looked like my Mexican peers. After some years of maturing and having a better understanding of racial conflicts, I began to accept my not-socommon situation.

I began to use my socalled “White Card” to my advantage by avoiding speaking Spanish in predominately white crowds. I did that because I noticed when I spoke Spanish, many people in public would look at me or treat me differently.

In my understanding, many people use their racial card when they have been offended, hurt or simply just annoyed when somebody makes a remark about a certain ethnicity.

However, my racial card is different from my ethnic peers. My relatives are for the most part brown skinned with dark hair. But I am very light skinned with light golden brown hair.

I can understand the racial concerns of minorities because I am a minority and

and awkward feeling is created.

It is terrifying because you see how uneducated and ignorant people can be.

Also, you see how society perceives people of color in a degrading or negative way.

This is awkward because because I have lived through you see the discrimination the same struggles. happen while being the But when out in public, same race as the people complete strangers treat me being discriminated against. nice because of the color of The options are either my skin — to stand up for your people not because I was more and suffer the discriminaI am a tory consequences or be nice guy respected silenced by society’s opinion raised from and allow these actions to hard-work- by white continue. ing Mexican Having to live in disguise immigrants, people and using a “White Card” to but only survive and hide from social because I because injustices or discrimination look like is almost like living in a lie. what society they simply Not feeling completewants me to ly accepted by any race look like. did not because the color of my skin Living does not match my culture know my in a sociis frustrating. ety where But it also allows me to race people are have another perspective on defined by and life. Because of because of society their looks my upbringing, and appearis tough for ance, I have learned many non-whites the color lessons in terms of racial (mostly of my skin. equality. in Latino, There is no inferior or Middle superior race. We are all Eastern and people first. Because of my African-American commu- experiences I can tell when nities). people are acting with ignoBeing in my situation can rance. be awkward. In one moment My knowledge and there is peace and comfort, understanding of society has then in the next moment my been enhanced because of cousin (who has dark skin) my appearance and use of is being searched by the the “White Card.” police.

When one of your peers Efrain Valdez is an advo(of color) or family memcate staff member. Contact bers is being harassed for him at evaldez.theadvocate@ their looks and you are there gmail.com. watching them have their rights violated, a terrifying

efrainvaldez

CAMPUS COMMENT

How do feel about the $5 Student Activity Fee not being put to use?

“I believe it is a waste of money. It should go toward clubs, activities, students and professors.”

Joshua Jones business

“I feel I should get my money back if that is the case. Why accept the money if it’s not going back into the college?”

“They may have a plan for it. We may not know exactly what they’re going to do or what they are doing with the money.”

“It is a waste of money and it could make students feel like the college is just taking our money.”

“The college needs funding in some way for things, but it’s a waste of money out of students’ pockets if it’s not being put to good use.”

“I think it’s really unfair because it would give clubs the opportunity to plan more activities if the money went to clubs.”

Darlene Scruggs

Akrosh Budahtoki

Ferlin Munoz

Cody Tarantino

Miley Paladino

health and human services ROXANA AMPARO, ROBERT CLINTON AND JESSICA SUICO / THE ADVOCATE

kinesiology

nursing

liberal arts

undecided

campusbeat NEWSLINE ART

EXHIBIT SHOWCASES LOCAL ARTWORK

A reception for the “Ageless Expression” art show exhibit will be held in the Eddie Rhodes Gallery in A-5 on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

Pieces by 30 local artists who take figurative art classes at Contra Costa College will be showcased in the exhibit.

Attendees will be able to meet the artists who created hanging art pieces on the walls of the Eddie Rhodes Gallery and on stands around the room.

There are drawings, paintings and sculptures on display in the gallery.

Many of the artists are professionals and have shown their work locally and through the U.S. Artists will be able to share their processes with interested students on how to create their art pieces.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information about the exhibit, call the art department at 510-235-7800 ext. 43945.

WORKSHOPS

EVENTS AIM TO EASE HOLIDAY STRESS A series of workshops will be held this month focusing on alleviating holiday stress for students on Nov. 16, Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 from noon to 1 p.m. in SSC-104.

Students can sign up in SSC-113 or drop-in the day of the “Holiday Stress Busters” event.

For more information call 510215-2901 or email cccrentention@ contracosta.edu.

VETERANS

STUDENT VETERANS TO BE HONORED The Student Veterans Resource Center grand opening will be held in the Student and Administration Building Amphitheater on Nov. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event will honor faculty, staff and student veterans and thank Sentinels of Freedom for their donation to furnish and establish the Veterans Resource Center.

An iPad will be raffled off to a student veteran.

For more information visit SA-101.

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 11.2.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

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ASU grant program stalled Grant for Support program lacks active screening committee

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Associated Student Union’s Grant for Support program could remain inactive for the remainder of the semester because the committee that approves the applicants to receive such a grant does not have enough members, Student Life Coordinator Joel NicholsonShanks said.

Nicholson-Shanks said the ASU Finance Committee has not started the process for Contra Costa College’s constituent groups and departments to apply for funding from the Grant for Support program so far this semester.

“The Grant for Support is on the agenda for our next meeting (today). We brought it up and talked about it at the (internal) planning workshop we held last week,” NicholsonShanks said.

“We included it in the calendar, but we still do not (know) an exact date that we will roll it out or if we can (even) have the program this

“This is a program that needs to move forward and we need people (in the ASU) to recognize that this is the way for us to give back to the college.”

Aireus Robinson, ASU treasurer

semester.”

The Grant for Support program draws its funds from the $5 Student Activity Fee paid by nearly all students at the start of each term.

The ASU Board decides which departments or clubs that apply for the Grant for Support to host events, create programs or supplement other expenses, can be funded up to a certain limit.

Last semester, the ASU’s Grant for Support budget was $25,000 — each application was limited to receiving up to $2,500.

This semester, ASU Treasurer Aireus Robinson

is the Finance Committee chairperson and only official member, as of press time Tuesday.

Robinson said that there has been pressure from professors and students from certain departments to get the Grant for Support active.

He said ASU members have not shown up to Finance Committee meetings despite showing interest in joining the committee that is responsible for screening and pr0viding recommendations to the ASU Board about dispersing the Grant for Support funds.

“So far it has been a oneman army,” he said. “The pressure from departments asking for funding is a wakeup call. This is a program that needs to move forward and we need people (in the ASU) to recognize that this is a way for us to give back to the college.”

He said the ASU hopes to create a smaller version of the Grant for Support by mid-November and begin the review and disbursement

editorial

No transparency Students pay $5 activity fee despite an inactive ASU disbursement program.

PAGE 2 process in early December.

The Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board approved the $5 Student Activity Fee in 2011. CCC Business Services Supervisor Nick Dimitri said the Grant for Support program was created to make sure that the student activity funds are used. Dimitri said any unused Grant for Support funds go back into an account to be used the following semester if the ASU chooses to reactivate the program.

“Not all the money has to be spent. There isn’t a separate pot of money for the Grant for Support,” he said. “The ASU looks at funds available from the student activity fee at the time and the district provides the checks.”

NEJEDLY | Coroner’s Office sifts through details Continued from Page 1 Nejedly, but the district trustee, who served for 22 years, was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m.

Upon finding Nejedly, police officers Ian Santo-Ferraro and Michael Murhammer contacted Sgt. Roy Guggenheim who dispatched the District 8 Homicide and Detective Investigation Units to the Hilton, at 2 Poydras Street, to assist in the investigation.

New Orleans Police Department Public Information Officer Aaron Rooney said dispatching homicide investigators in a case like this is common procedure when the cause of death is unknown.

“They are called (to the scene) to conduct their investigation before the coroner (arrives) just to be sure,” Rooney said. “It’s a precaution-

ary measure.”

He said because the investigation is ongoing, he and the detectives and officers who responded to Nejedly that night are unable to comment or provide any information as it may compromise the investigation into the unclassified death.

According to the report, Detective Douglas Butler was assigned to investigate. Rooney said he is working on creating a timeline of what could have happened leading to Nejedly’s death.

Nejedly was the representative for Ward IV and the only board member who had a part in helping the state acquire infrastructure funding through Bond Measure A (2002, 2006) and 2014 Bond Measure E. District Communications and Relations

Director Tim Leong, Chancellor Helen Benjamin and Nejedly were all in New Orleans to attend the ACCT convention. Nejedly and Dr. Benjamin stayed at the Hilton and Leong stayed in the DoubleTree, Leong said.

At the Governing Board meeting on Oct. 12, Benjamin told a room full of people who were there to mourn Nejedly’s life and legacy that she and Leong were the last people from the district to see him before he died.

Leong said he and Benjamin left the ACCT convention a day before Nejedly was found dead.

The Governing Board has a special meeting set for Nov. 29 to review applications and select three finalists to place into consideration as Nejedly’s replacement, Leong said.

CRIMEWATCH Wednesday, Oct. 17: A subject who was publicly intoxicated was transported to the county hospital in Martinez.

Tuesday, Oct. 18: An officer responded to a report of a crack pipe that was found in the Student and Administration Building.

Thursday, Oct. 20: An officer received a report of a grand theft.

Saturday, Oct. 22: A woman requested medical assistance when she became ill while sitting in the Comet Stadium bleachers.

Monday, Oct. 24: A student reported that she forgot her laptop in a classroom and was unable to find it the next day.

Wednesday, Oct. 26: A student was transported to the hospital due to a medical emergency.

—Roxana Amparo and Cody Casares

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

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

College President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, faculty and classified staff listen to finalists for district chancellor in the Fireside Hall on Monday. Lake Tahoe Community College President Kindred Murillo, University of Minnesota Chancellor Fred Wood and district Vice Chancellor Gene Huff visited the college to meet with students, faculty, staff and administrators.

FINALISTS | District hosts town hall feedback forum Continued from Page 1 the district a couple of years down the line, Leong said.

Wood was the first speaker at the forum held in Contra Costa College’s Fireside Hall. He opened his speech by telling attendees about his history.

“I was a low-income student at Diablo Valley College,” Wood said.

Wood said once he is chancellor he plans to visit the campus as often as he can to learn from its staff and students what their vision is for the college.

“We need to think about our students’ success and help get them to where they want to go,” Wood said.

Administrative Assistant Michael Peterson asked Wood about his experience dealing with budget cuts.

Wood said his experience serving as a vice chancellor during the economic crisis in the U.S. gave

him a great deal of experience making tough decisions dealing with budgets.

“I was criticized during my time for not letting any of the staff go, but instead retrained staff members to fill the roles of those who retired or quit,” Wood said.

Wood ended his speech by thanking everyone who attended the forum.

“Remember that this position is about you, the students and staff — not me,” Wood said in his closing remarks.

Huff was the second candidate to participate.

“I grew up in Indiana, and was the first to attend college and get a degree in my family,” Huff said.

He talked about his experience as a young father attending college and working part time.

“It was my professor who helped me get through school and onto the path to success,” Huff said.

Huff talked about his experience in the district’s financial department and his goal to maintain CCC’s funding.

“CCC is critical to this community and we are committed to it,” Huff said.

HSI Stem Coordinator Mayra Padilla asked Huff what his views were on equity versus equality.

“As a manager, I practice equity over equality. If I was treated in college with equality I would not be here,” Huff said.

As Huff reached the end of his speech, he referenced Benjamin’s legacy.

“People respect, honor and fear Helen Benjamin, and I want to continue that legacy,” Huff said.

Murillo was the final speaker for the open forum.

She opened her speech honoring Nejedly’s memory and speaking briefly about the time she spent with him and offering her condolences.

Murillo spoke about her time as a teacher at CCC and how much she loved the diversity of the college.

“I was a community college student. I know the struggles of juggling school, jobs and, for some of us, our children,” Murillo said.

Murillo was asked about her plan to raise enrollment.

“I have experience rebuilding enrollment, but I personally don’t do it. I help create the environment we need so together with our staff we can bring in more diverse students, Murillo said.

In her closing comments Murillo spoke of her desire to create innovative grants, and how she wants to work alongside faculty and not be seen as someone who is above them.

Following each candidate’s speech, every attending member was given an anonymous comment card on which to write his or her opinion of the finalist.

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campusbeat

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“

It’s like a vacation. Everyone in the class is still open to learn which is why the name for the show ‘Ageless Expressions’ came to be.” — Joanne Uomini, art student and retired physician

CHARITY EVENT BENEFITS HOMELESS

BY Karla Juarez ADVOCATE STAFF

kjuarez.theadvocate@gmail.com

The annual Empty Bowls event was held outside of Aqua Terra on Oct. 21 to raise money for homeless and less fortunate families with bowls of soup.

Culinary arts department instructor Elizabeth Schwartz said the event was inspired by other colleges and they thought that it was a great opportunity to host it in here at Contra Costa College too. Her students made the soup for the event.

The funds collected from the Empty Bowls event is donated to the Bay Area Rescue Mission.

Culinary arts major Bernice Syess said the Bay Area Rescue Mission shelters the “homeless” and people who have “addictions” who need help, so that is the reason for this event.

Culinary arts department Chairperson Nader Sharkes said, “The Empty Bowls movement is all over the country, but the Bay Area Rescue Mission is only located in the City of Richmond.”

Bay Area Rescue Mission volunteer Greg Goodman said they house and feed the homeless or people with alcohol or other substance abuse problems.

They help build people back up so they can be effective members of society.

He said one of the “biggest” things they do is transitional housing, and after they (homeless) are done with the program, they can remain there until they stabilize themselves or are able to fend for themselves.

Goodman said, “80 percent of the money collected or donated goes to programs to help homeless or other people who really need help.”

The bowls are made by art department students and by students from different schools around the county.

Because of the power outage on campus on Oct. 14, the Empty Bowl event was postponed and ultimately reschedueled.

“I invited 12 people who came out to enjoy this event with me last Friday (Oct.14), but some of them could not make it back here today (Oct. 21) for the reschedueled event,” Brandy Gibson, campus tutoring coordinator, said.

More than 200 people showed up and enjoyed the Empty Bowl event on Friday. Every year the student crafted bowls become the highlight of the event and are coveted like souvenirs. Funds generated by the sale of the bowls are also donated to the Bay Area Rescue Mission.

Gibson said, “I love this event. I have come every year for the last five years, and I have all these bowls at home. It is great to see the students’ work. The cool thing is that they have always vegetarian food.

“The event provides not only additional money for funds that they can purchase food, but it benefits to the community as well.”

“We know how much they need the help; some of them come here (CCC) to take classes. It keeps them out of the streets away from the bad stuff out there,” she said.

Many people donate money to the students who make the bowls and food, Sharkes said.

“The attendees were 70 percent students and 30 percent others, including faculty,” Sharkes said.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Business major Clarence Bonilla (right) and undecided major Christina Hantakas observe pieces of art in the Eddie Rhodes Gallery as part of the “Ageless Expression” exhibit in A-5 on Oct. 11.

Artists showcase creativity, interests

BY Jose Chavez ADVOCATE STAFF

dcollier.theadvocate@gmail.com

Local students taking art courses at Contra Costa College have put together an art show featuring work from 30 artists open now through Nov. 15 in the Eddie Rhodes Gallery.

The show “Ageless Expressions” gives local students interested in art a chance to share their artwork. The exhibit is open from Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Art Building.

A reception and potluck will be held in the Building on Friday, from 3 to 5 p.m. where the public will be able to take a look at some of the artists’ work, get a chance to meet and greet the creators of many of the art pieces and enjoy some food and drinks.

The work of the students are reflections of the artists lives, artist Ellen Sasaki said.

Some of the artists who are participating in the show are at a professional level and even showcase their work throughout the nation.

“We, artists, want to share our work and inspire others to express their own ideas through the visual arts,” Sasaki

“We, artists want to share our work and inspire others to express their own ideas through the visual arts.”

— Ellen Sasaki, artist

said.

Jiajun Lu, fine and media arts adjunct professor, said many of the artists have been attending classes for at least a year although the program has been around for at least 12 years. His students travel from all over the Bay Area, from Vallejo to Alameda, to attend his courses.

They put their hard work and effort into their pieces because it is simply something they enjoy doing.

Joanne Uomini, a retired physician, said, “It’s like a vacation. Everyone in the class is still open to learn which is why the name for the show ‘Ageless Expressions’ came to be.”

Uomini said her art career started after her husband gave her a set of watercolor paint.

She used art as an escape from reality and later decided to take her skills to the next level by joining the art classes held

on campus.

Now Uomini, along with many other local artists, get to share their work of art through the “Ageless Expressions,” exhibit.

Most of the art shown in the gallery is Lu created during the art classes, which have a Fine and live nude model pro- media arts vided for artists. adjunct Although, other art- professor work, done outside of Jiajun Lu classes, is also permit- teaches ted to be shown in the multiple art gallery. courses.

The artists of “Ageless Expressions” enjoy working with various media like oil, pastel watercolor, clay, acrylic and mixed media. The artwork mediums displayed in the show are left to the artists discretion.

Many of the students within these courses are older residents returning to campus to continue their life-long education in art.

Clubs encompass plaza, promote friendly rivalry

BY Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

A walk through the Campus Center Plaza on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 presented a variety of Fall Festival-themed club booths and crowds of curious students during the annual Club Rush event.

Music, games, candy, corn on the cob, prizes and even a space for students to wrestle in sumo costumes added to the festive atmosphere of the event.

The 26 Contra Costa College clubs including the International Student Club, Health and Human Services Club, La Raza Student Union, COPA club, Puente club, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, CC Democratic Society, Students in Action club, Engineering and Math Club, Lions Club, Waves, Chinese Student Union and Students for Education Reform were all in attendance.

“It’s nice to see all of the clubs come together and to see what they have to offer to students,” Students in Action club President Courtney Chappell said.

The event is put on by Inter-Club Council members and club ICC representatives as a way for clubs to share information with other students. “(Club Rush) brings awareness about clubs and there is a sense of group and it’s

a lot of fun,” Community Organizing and Political Action (COPA) club ICC representative Sheldon McV said.

Student Life Coordinator Joel NickelsonShanks said some clubs had canopies outside and the others camped inside of the Fireside Hall.

As it began to rain on Oct. 27, clubs located outside had canopies to protect themselves from the rain, and those inside of the Fireside Hall were safe from it.

“We are kind of forced in here because of the weather. The only thing about the Fireside Hall is that there is trouble retaining heat,” McV said.

With the completion of the Campus Center Project this semester, Club Rush was held in the center of the campus, closer to students.

Vice President of Club Affairs Jose Arebalo said there were two contests that the clubs had a chance to win: the table with the most signatures and best table.

Chappell said this is the third time SIA has been a part of Club Rush and likes the “friendly competition” that happens during the event as the club with most signatures wins a prize.

Student signatures help club members increase their numbers, and Chappell said they will start sending out emails to those students who signed up for their emailing list.

FILE PHOTO / THE ADVOCATE

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers President Valeria Avila dances with Vice President Christian Talavera to a Banda tune during Club Rush at the Tennis Courts on March 11, 2015.

Liberal arts, math and science major Cody Poehnelt said he feels there is a disconnect between the campus and students, but Club Rush makes students feel integrated to CCC. Black Student Union ICC Representative Desire King said, “The BSU ended, but we’re trying to revive it. We are trying to promote African-American classes, culture — and you don’t have to be African-American to join the club.”

King said they are in the “re-starting stages” and want to come up with a plan to uplift people in the community.

“Seeing that there was no BSU, me and

my friends decided to brings it back,” she said.

Drama club member Oz Herrera-Sobal said the goal of the club is to teach open mindedness. “I think a lot of people think drama classes are not important.”

He said, referring to the Drama Club, “We are trying to do this, to tell everyone, here is this new thing.”

Health and Human Services Club President Denise Mills said her club is a major-based club. “Students who are HHS majors can be part of this club. We volunteer to help the homeless and other forms of volunteering in the community.”

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CONFERENCE EXPOSES HARDSHIPS

BY Reggie Santini SPOTLIGHT EDITOR

rsantini.theadvocate@gmail.com

The AB 540 Dreamers Conference brought undocumented students together to share their stories and experiences to help raise awareness about available resources at Contra Costa College.

The conference was held in GE-225 and Fireside Hall on Oct. 22.

The conference also featured 12 different workshops for participants at the Campus Center Plaza.

“My daughter is 12 years old and a long way from college, but all this information gives me and her hope for her future,” Richmond resident Erika Ramirez said. “It gives me hope to one day attend ESL classes here alongside my daughter.”

The panel consisted of six student speakers: environmental science educator Grecia Solis, kinesiology major Nadia Brasil, Diana Diaz-Noriega, UC Santa Cruz student Eulalio Mendez, computer and electrical engineering major Fidel Quezada Guzman and mechanical engineering major from San Jose State University

Sixto Turcios.

The keynote speaker was Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca.

Salamanca is founder and CEO of the DREAMer’s Roadmap, a scholarship application. She is a former undocumented student and is known for her awards in activism in the undocumented community.

Sarahi said her personal experiences have given her the chance to help thousands of undocumented students and was recently named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list.

“As a kid you’re told to go to school do well and you’re going to go to college — but it is not that simple for everyone,” Salamanca said.

She said she moved to the U.S. when she was 5 years old and “picked up the (English) language quickly.”

In front of a room of people at the conference, she explained the hardships she faced after graduation from high school and when trying to get accepted into colleges.

“I applied to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and I was denied,” Salamanca said.

She said a FAFSA agent told her

she could not apply because she is not a “legal resident.”

Salamanca said that was when she decided to share with her teachers and counselors that she was undocumented.

“I fell into depression because I couldn’t go to college, but I kept trying and eventually got the Board of Governors Fee Waiver and The Extended Opportunity Programs and Services financial program,” Salamanca said.

Salamanca spoke about her life after college, her participation in the Dreamers Hackathon and her pitch to the 2015 Voto Latino Innovators Challenge.

She said she won first place and $500,000.

“It was a good feeling that they believed in my vision that I put so much into,” Salamanca said.

She said after becoming CEO of her company, she faced some challenges.

“They would see my age, color and sex and ask if I really was the CEO — it is difficult to give orders to someone who is older and have them take you seriously.”

HSI/STEM Grant and METAS Coordinator Mayra Padilla shared

her experiences as an immigrant in the U.S. and spoke about the political climate for undocumented students.

“I left my vibrant community when I was 5 years old to move to South 23rd Street in Richmond,” Padilla said. She said she remembers noticing the lack of trees, how no one looked like her and how she couldn’t speak English.

She said the event was about helping friends, family and those who don’t know about the resources they have available to them.

“I would not have gone to college without that program,” Padilla said. “Find what speaks to you to spark change.”

Solis said, “There are not many Latino women in science, but with the help of my family and friends I had the courage to keep fighting for my education. I went to CCC for three years. Its students and its diversity are what make me want to teach here.”

Brasil said she was worried about leaving CCC. “The fear of rejection was a big fear for me. I worried if people would understand and be open to it, but SF State had great support groups.”

Diaz-Noriega explained to the room full of dreamers how her parents kept her residential status a secret from herself.

“I only found out that I was an undocumented resident when I was a teenager in high school,” she said.

“I remember asking my mother for my Social Security number so I could apply for a job and having her tell me I could not because I didn’t have a Social Security number.”

Diaz-Noriega also spoke of the trauma she faced in her household due to fear of deportation.

“My mother suffered domestic abuse. We couldn’t call the police for fear of being deported. When I was off in college trying get a degree to make enough money to free her I was always scared of coming home and she would not be there.”

Guzman spoke about the identity of undocumented people.

“I think about the people who were not born here, but grew up here. Those who feel they don’t belong anywhere. This is our land too, even if we are not set up to succeed in it,” Guzman said.

Students in Action promotes support Inter-Club Council helps underprivileged families by donating

BY Jaleel Perry ADVOCATE STAFF

jperry.theadvocate@gmail.com

A young group of Gateway to College High School students are coming together to help and give back to their community.

The Students in Action club began in September 2015 by two students who wanted to make a change.

Currently, the SIA club has around 10-15 students who participate and want to help give back to the community.

Gateway to College High School Resource Specialist Anna Chuon said, “They did a lot of things last year, so with a new president, I really think they’ll go above and beyond even more than they did last year.”

Since the club started, it has helped people recover from the temblor in Nepal though food drives on campus and $120 donation of their own money to cancer research.

“We’re really committed. Why not go all in or all out? Even if it is something simple,” film major and president of SIA Courtney

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Film major Courtney Chappell (right) speaks to English major Mickayla Burgos and the rest of the Student In Action club members in AA-219 on Oct. 12.

Chappell said.

The SIA club has also mentored young students from the ages of 5-11 years old at Bayview Elementary.

The group is comprised of all Gateway to College High School students and one graduate.

They often host events on school campus to raise money for charity. The Gateway office is located on the second floor of the Applied Arts Building.

Their most recent event was the video game night. SIA hosted the event in the student lounge below the Student and Administration Building.

“We promoted the event a little last minute, so it could’ve been better,” Chappell said.

SIA managed to raise $70.06 from their game night. Some club members also mentioned that the Middle College High School students on campus also host a game night once a week for their students for free.

The SIA club hold group meeting every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. mainly to discuss event planning.

“The goal is giving back to the community and volunteering. We started off rocky with about two or three people but now we have about 15 people helping and volunteering. They’ve done a lot,” Chuon said.

Chappell said that the club needs to promote itself in the community and on campus more. She said the club only promotes events in Gateway to College High School classes

and by a few posters on bulletin boards on campus.

“We need to promote these events more so we can bring in more people and raise more money,” she said. “It’s hard because we can’t just walk into different college classes just to promote our event any time we want.”

The SIA club hosted a spirit week for students starting Oct. 24 and ending on the Friday.

Students who participated in games at spirit week were able to accumulate points to win an ultimate prize.

“We have to be 100 percent committed to this. We can’t slack off,” Chappell said.

Film raises awareness about autism, stigmas Workshop

BY Edwin Herrera

enlightens

eherrera.theadvocate@gmail.com

attends, explains disability, hardships

ADVOCATE STAFF

As part of Disability Awareness Month in October, Disabled Students’ Programs and Services (DSPS) showed a film about people with autism in the Library Resource and Learning Center Thursday from noon until 1 p.m.

“Autism involves a wide spectrum (of conditions). You can be slow, yet smart,” Ruth Gorman, DSPS counselor said.

All of the students who attended the workshop at Contra Costa College were informed by professors that attending the film was a great opportunity to learn about a disability that is still misunderstood.

Gorman opened the workshop by informing students about what it is like to live with autism.

She said the condition exists on a wide spectrum, and it can be very noticeable or not detectable at all.

She mentioned a former student who was on the autism spectrum.

She said he taught himself Japanese.

She describes people with the disabilities by saying that some are unable to understand social cues from other people and some can lack a sense of

empathy toward others.

She said people with autism are seeking acceptance and inclusion.

The film, “Oops, Wrong Planet,” follows Stephen Ramsey, who takes a questionnaire and through that, discovers he is autistic.

Ramsey traveled around the world talking to many doctors who studied the disorder as well as actual autistic men and women.

The film also discusses many stories of successful people and famous scientists who live with the disorder.

At the end of the workshop, Gorman opened the floor to audience members who had questions about the disorder.

Students were interested about the mindset of the people who have the condition.

A student asked if most people with autism have the same emotional reactions as other people. Gorman said, “They do have their feelings hurt, but they don’t understand other people’s emotions.”

Health and human services major Trixy Arambulo said she has people in her family with autism and the best you can do for them is have acceptance and support them.

Gorman said she believes all of the

students who are on the spectrum need support, especially in education with them being referred to other teachers when progress in the classroom does not seem to be moving along as expected.

She said they excel in noticing the small details in things that you can barely comprehend, but when it comes to creativity, such as in literature or working with others, things become difficult. Former special education professor Stephen Jackson said she has experience working with children who have autism.

He said he noticed how the disability affected their education but in some cases were just as capable or even at a higher level than their able-bodied peers.

“What was fascinating was how autism got in the way of their academic abilities and caused them to appear to be lower-functioning than they actually were,” Jackson said.

“The best strategy I found was to identify certain things they became fixated on. Be it cartooning, basketball or karate, I would use these interests as a bridge, both socially and academically, between the student and the classwork — and then beyond to their classmates.”

“What was fascinating was how autism got in the way of their academic abilities and caused them to appear to be lower-functioning than they actually were.”

—Stephen Jackson, special education professor

Middle College High School counselor Barry Barbour said it is rough for students who are more autistic than others, especially in high school where there is a lot of interaction.

Visiting professor Jackie Alarcon said there are no problems with her students who are on the autism spectrum.

She said every student should be treated equally regardless if they are a person with a disability.

“It doesn’t mean that those students are ‘weird,’” Alarcon said. “Their social cues are different, or maybe we are the weird ones and could learn a few things from them.”

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Governing Board position vacated

by Nejedly’s death

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

The unexpected death of Governing Board Trustee John T. Nejedly, 52, has forced the district to begin its search to find a person qualified to replace him.

Contra Costa Community College District Communications and Relations Director Tim Leong said, “When we lose a Governing Board member like John, who has been helping students throughout the district for 22 years, it is hard knowing he won’t be around anymore.

“With my experience knowing him, the next person has big shoes to fill in terms of contributions to the district.”

Leong said the Governing Board plans to choose the new trustee by Dec. 14.

“We want whoever is selected to be sworn in at the District Office at the following Governing Board meeting,” he said. “That is the goal.

But a lot can happen in between now and then.”

Leong said the Governing Board, at a closed meeting at the District Office on Oct. 18, chose to go through a provisional appointment process to replace Nejedly instead of a public election ballot distributed throughout communities in Ward IV. Executive Vice Chancellor Eugene Huff said the provisional appointment process is much more cost efficient than the public election that could cost the district upward of $100,000.

Through provisional appointment, the Governing Board trustees review the candidates’ applications and its members vote at a public meeting.

Huff said the same process was used to replace the unexpected deaths of Governing Board members Sheila Grilli in 2013 and Jesse Reyes in 2011, after each died while in office.

“It was tough when Jesse and Sheila passed, and Mr. Nejedly’s passing is just as unexpected,” he said.

“In that regard, everything happened so suddenly and feels rushed. But we are legally required to start the provisional appointment process or call for a public election within 60 days of the vacancy (in accordance with Board Policy 1021),” Huff said.

Leong said public elections are costly and there is no assurance that more than one person will apply for the vacant position. So the Governing Board unanimously decided to go through the provisional appointment process.

“This is the third time that we have gone through this process since I have been with the district,”

“This is the third time we have been through this process since I have been with the district.”

— Tim Leong, CCCCD communications and relations director

he said.

“I think it is unfortunate we have become good at this. A lot of districts do not have to go through what we are doing three times in almost six years.”

Governing Board Trustee John Marquez said while Nejedly’s death is devastating, the district’s work must continue.

“In terms of operations, his passing does not affect much. Work goes on. But what is affected are the relationships with the people he worked with and the knowledgeable input he brought to the board for 22 years.”

People who apply for Nejedly’s position must be residents of Ward IV, which includes Clayton, Brentwood, Danville, San Ramon, Blackhawk, Byron, Diablo and Discovery Bay. Whoever is appointed will be responsible for not only representing their own ward, but help set policies that will affect students districtwide — at Contra Costa, Diablo Valley and Los Medanos colleges.

Huff said the district will stop accepting applications on Nov. 15 at 4:30 p.m. and the Governing Board will screen the applicants down to three finalists. But Leong said the Governing Board could decide that none of the finalists are qualified for the job and the process would begin again.

“If the board cannot come to a conclusion regarding the best candidate, then the process would start all over again,” he said. “There are a host of directions this process could take.”

SPARKPOINT ESTABLISHES LOCATION

LEFT: Culinary chef and author Bruce Aidells churns his chorizo recipe during the guest chef event in the culinary arts department’s demonstration kitchen in the Student and Administration Building on Friday.

Program works to assist people with financial information, aid

BY Jaleel Perry ADVOCATE STAFF

jperry.headvocate@gmail.com

SparkPoint now has an office open on the Contra Costa College campus, beginning a partnership that took nearly three years to complete.

The nonprofit partnership organization helps individuals and families achieve financial success by providing free workshops and personal coaching around budgeting, saving money, credit and debit issues, and job searches.

The SparkPoint Office can be found in SA-227, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“It has been a 2 to 3 year process of negotiation and figuring out what works well with the college and what works well with us,” SparkPoint Coordinator Bill Bankhead said.

SparkPoint is a regional partnership around the Bay Area and was first established in 2008 in Oakland. Its first site in Richmond opened up in 2011.

“What’s important is that SparkPoint services are not just for students. We’re also able to serve any faculty and staff to help achieve financial success, and all of our services are completely free for clients,” Bankhead said.

The previous CCC president, McKinley Williams, was the first to encourage that a SparkPoint office be established on campus, and since President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh officially began her term in April, she and SparkPoint have worked very hard to bring the service to the college.

Mehdizadeh expressed excitement about the new office and cited it as part of the college’s commitment to helping students succeed in meeting their goals.

“We certainly saw the need to provide service here on campus,” Mehdizadeh said. “We recognize that more than 10,000 students who go through CCC on an annual basis really need to have the capacity to have financial services available to them in a simpler fashion. I just want to thank my predecessors who made it possible to ultimately have this wonderful center here.”

SparkPoint Director Betty Geishirt Cantrell said, “It was (Williams’) vision and foresight to say I want a SparkPoint center on our campus one day. It’s been five years, so we’re really excited to be able to open a SparkPoint office here on campus.”

SparkPoint held an Open House in late October for faculty and students in celebration of joining CCC with the new financial education services on campus.

College staff and local nonprofit partners joined students in exploring the space and learning more about programs and upcoming workshops.

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

‘Sausage king’ dazzles

BY Jaleel Perry ADVOCATE STAFF

jperry.theadvocate@gmail.com

Culinary chef and award-winning author Bruce Aidells showcased his wellknown cooking skills for attendees at his cooking demonstration and book signing on Friday in the Student and Administration Building.

Since the birth of the culinary arts department’s new demonstration kitchen this fall, CCC has hosted a number of celebrity chefs to put on exhibitions for culinary arts students.

With roughly 50-60 students and faculty in attendance, people were paying close attention to how Aidells was performing. Some students even took notes.

With six display TVs in their new kitchen, following Aidells’ every movement was as simple as watching the screens, even for students in the back of the room.

“I thought it was really nice and unique having him here. He taught us important lessons. It was pretty exciting.” culinary arts major Christopher Williams said.

Melanie Rubin, also a culinary major, said the event was exciting and hopes the program keeps bringing in well-known chefs to demonstrate for them.

Aidells said, “Just takes a little effort sometimes. I’ve been dealing with sausag-

“It was great having him come here. It’s very interesting, especially since I’ve never been into sausage that much.”

Elizabeth Razo, culinary arts major

es basically my whole life.”

Chef Aidells is well-known around the Bay Area for his sausage making. Some people even refer to him as the “King of Meat.” Aidells Sausage Company was established in 1983.

Aidells stopped cooking in 2002 to write recipe books, which turned out to be a successful strategy. He became an award-winning author and one book turned into four recipe books.

He has authored “The Complete Sausage Book,” “The Great Meat Cookbook,” “The Complete Meat Cookbook,” and “The Complete Book of Pork.”

“I think that is my last book,” Aidells said.

The chef gives his wife credit for helping him make it to where he is today.

His wife, Nancy Oakes, is also a chef and the coordination chef for Meals on Wheels. She took over for him as he

shifted careers and began writing recipe books.

Culinary arts major Elizabeth Razo said, “It was great having him come here.

It’s very interesting, especially since I’ve never been into sausage that much.”

During his demonstration, Aidells was accompanied by culinary arts department Chairperson Nader Sharkes.

Miscommunication seemed to be an issue at the start of the event. Aidells had trouble finding the right recipe to cook.

Fortunately, Sharkes was able to provide him the recipe before it became too much of a distraction.

Aidells prepared chorizo samplers for the audience while still prepping his main course. Unfortunately, Aidells was only able to produce one course for students.

After the chorizo samplers were done being passed around, Aidells finished making sausage links that were prepared by culinary arts department students before his arrival.

“The sausage was good, but I really liked the chorizo,” Rubin said.

The amazement was visible on the faces of students and faculty members as they began to taste the savory flavor of Aidells’ meat.

“Everything tasted great. The sausage was on point.” Williams said.

BLACK STUDENT UNION RE-EMERGES, AIMS TO LEAD

BY Anthony Kinney ADVOCATE STAFF

akinney.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Black Student Union had been inactive on campus due to a void in filling leadership positions but is now active again as a result of young, ambitious AfricanAmerican students stepping in to fulfill the vacant spots.

African-American studies and social science professor Manu Ampim is a faculty adviser for the club, along with AfricanAmerican studies professor Carolyn Hodge.

Ampim said that the gaps in leadership are unfortunately the inevitable nature of community college clubs because students who hold leadership positions only do so for a year or two before transferring and leaving the role empty until another student possessing the necessary leadership qualities needed steps up and replaces them.

“It’s the nature of community colleges,” he said. “At four-year universities students hold

their positions longer and have a stronger chance to develop the club and themselves into something better. At community colleges, students in leadership positions have to work harder in less time.”

“We had a strong leadership team (a few years ago), but they all transferred or transitioned out around the same time,” he said.

Hodge agreed with Ampim regarding the leadership gaps that occur in student unions at community colleges. But where they agree most is on the leadership qualities this semester’s BSU leadership team possesses. “It’s going to be exciting this semester working with this strong leadership group. I expect them to be very successful this year.”

This semester’s BSU President Eligah Morgan is one of those leaders that has sparked excitement from the club’s faculty advisers. Morgan, who is also an AfricanAmerican studies and political science major, said he is prepared for the responsibilities he will face as the club’s president and

is ready to implement innovative ways to reach out to the community.

“We want to start an outreach program for the local high schools,” he said. “We want to meet with BSUs of other colleges and find new ways for bringing the different student bodies across the district together.”

Morgan also said there are plans for the club to conduct rotating elementary school visits and host food drive events for the coming holiday season. Campus exposure and discovering new proactive ways to recruit students were some of the main focus points of the BSU’s latest group meeting. BSU Vice President Lavonia Bobo said students will see a more active BSU on the Contra Costa College campus this semester.

“Clubs like the BSU are great,” she said.

“They bring students together that share a common bond.” Bobo, who was also the vice president of the BSU at her former high school, said, “The student body on campus will know

that we’re here because we’ll be working in the local community.” “We plan to reshape the perceptions of black people,” Bobo said.

Sociology professor Vern Cromartie talked about the history of the BSU and how important clubs such as the BSU are to students at diverse campuses such as CCC. Dr. Cromartie said that the first ever Black Student Union was founded at San Francisco State in the 60s by Jimmy Garrett and Jerry Varnado, as a college advocacy group working toward civil rights for African-Americans.

By the following year, there was a BSU at every state college in California. Now, variations of the BSU can be found on UC, state college, community college, and high school campuses all across the country. “It’s a vital organization,” Cromartie said.

“It’s always been seen as a way to bring black students together where they can have social solidarity and social interaction around something positive.”

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■ OFF THE RECORD

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At the end of the day, we can’t be satisfied. We did score some quality goals, but we’ve got to maintain a high level of focus.”

— Nikki Ferguson, men’s soccer coach

LACK OF EMPATHY DISRESPECTS ALL NATIVE AMERICANS

T

his week on television, feathered headdresses and face paint accompanied the beating of war drums in a show of solidarity against an outside invader intent on denigrating historically sacred soil, the deceptively named Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians MLB team.

The 2016 World Series got underway with Cleveland taking on the Chicago Cubs, while at the same time, some 1,200 miles away, violent attacks on peaceful Native Americans protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline near Standing Rock, North Dakota was noticeably underreported.

The proposed pipeline would travel under the Missouri River, the primary water source for the 10,000 member Lakota Sioux tribe.

Absent from television coverage was a first-light raid of protest encampments where police and private security used attack dogs, pepper spray and shot protesters with non-lethal munitions before detaining 140 people.

What was shown on television were Cleveland’s most faithful disciples holding “Not in my tee pee” signs as the Indians took Game 1 of the series. More disturbing than that, in Game 2, which the Indians lost, FOX network TV cameras scoured the stadium for shots of sad Clevelanders in red face, preferably one displaying an iconic single tear.

They settled for a middle-aged white guy, complete with face paint and headdress, with a look on his face like he’d just run over his dog backing out of his driveway.

Shouldn’t these red faced, feather-headed white guys be holding stadium signs that read #NoDAPL (the hashtag for action against the pipeline) if the plight of First Nations people weighs so heavily on their hearts?

In every sports league, reminders exist that reinforce the idea that it’s OK to dump on Native American culture.

Fans of the MLB’s Atlanta Braves and the Florida State University Seminoles have both been known for singing imitation war chants accompanied by a symbolic tomahawk chop.

While blatant racist symbols abound in sports culture, the Indians’ mascot, Chief Wahoo, with his red face and goofy bucked-toothed grin, embodies the disrespect against Native Americans.

These teams serve as a reminder that in the mid1800s Native Americans were forcibly removed from every reservation east of the Mississippi River.

The Trail of Tears, as it’s commonly known, resulted in more than 10,000 deaths of Native native men, women and children.

To add insult to actual injury, the land where they were relocated is now being ripped from their grasp by the same government that isolated the groups 165 years earlier.

Many Americans say they believe that an injustice to anyone is an injustice to “everyone.” They just can’t define what “everyone” means.

Robert Clinton is the sports editor of The Advocate.

Contact him at @Rclinton3 on Twitter

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Comet defender Eduardo Torres takes on and beats Thunderbird defender Jimmy Wilson during CCC’s hard-fought 2-1 victory against Merritt College at the Soccer Field on Friday.

SLOPPY WIN HELPS KEEP COMETS TIED FOR FIRST Win over T-Birds extends winning streak to four

BY Efrain Valdez ADVOCATE STAFF

evladez.theadvocate@gmail.com

The men’s soccer team (8-72 overall) beat Merritt College (3-8-4 overall) 2-1 Friday on the Soccer Field to extend its Bay Valley Conference winning streak to four games.

The Comets scored an early goal before the one minute mark when forward Anthony Maytum received a perfectly placed ball from midfielder Juvenal Pena putting Maytum in a one-on-one situation against the keeper. He curled the ball into the net giving Contra Costa College an early 1-0 lead.

“Juve slipped me through the two defenders and I knew I had to finish that one,” Maytum said.

“I looked at the keeper and saw he was a little to the left so I decided to hit it first and curl it around him.”

Comet coach Nikki Ferguson said, “We went up early and it seems like (when that happens) we get sloppy. It never fails against this team (Merritt). The last time we scored in the first minute of

BOX SCORES Men’s soccer (October 28th) @ San Pablo, 4 p.m.

Contra Costa 2 Merritt College 1 CCC 1 1—2 Merritt 1 0—1 Goals 1, CCC, Maytum 24, assisted by Pena, 1st minute.

2, CCC, Burrows 10, assisted by Flechero, 70th minute.

3. MC, Sharay 2, unassisted, 84th minute.

“At the end of the day, we got the victory. I am happy with that and it keeps us in contention to win the conference.”

— Nikki Ferguson, coach

the game, just like today, was against them.

“We were by far the better team today, but the scoreboard does not show that. But I can’t be too unhappy,” Ferguson said.

“At the end of the day, we got the victory. I am happy with that and it keeps us in contention to win the conference,” Ferguson said.

Merritt coach Geoffrey Aguiar said, “The first couple of minutes were rough for us and they (the Comets) jumped on us early. But after that it was toe-to-toe.”

For the first 15 minutes of the game CCC had total control of the game. But then the Comets began to give up possessions through careless passing and questionable dribbling.

“At the end of the day, we can’t be satisfied. We did score some quality goals, but we’ve got to maintain a high level of focus,” Ferguson said.

In the second half of the game,

Football (October 29th) @ Cupertino, CA, 1 p.m.

Contra Costa 29 De Anza College 22

7-7-7-8 3-7-6-6

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Comet goalkeeper Eduardo Escamilla reaches for the thunderous goal that came off the right foot of Merritt College midfielder Aimen Sharay late in the second half of the game Friday.

for about the first 20 minutes, the muddy conditions made the quality of play almost unbearable at times thanks to the poor footing and kick ball like play.

With 25 minutes left in the second half the Comets had multiple players combine with a string of beautiful give and go passes. This allowed forward Jordan Flechero to get through and give a wonderful pass across the box to forward George Burrows who finished the open net tap in goal.

“Our position on the table is what really showed the difference between both teams,” said Comet goalkeeper Eduardo Escamilla.

With the 2-0 lead and 10 minutes left in the game the Comets kept pushing numbers forward to try and add another goal which left a lot of space for the Merritt attackers.

With six minutes left in the game Thunderbird midfielder Aimen Sharay received the ball and shot an absolute screamer past the Comet goalkeeper who was caught off of his line.

“I was a little past my line, just a few steps off. He took a killer shot and I took two steps back and attempted to get there, but it was a great shot,” Escamilla said.

After Merritt’s goal the game went through some tense dying minutes when both teams flew up and down the field looking for a Men’s soccer Bay Valley Conference Standings

Final 29 22

Individual Statistics Leaders

CCC, QB Burston, 13-24 passing, 131 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs CCC, RB Robinson, 10 attempts, 111 yards, 0 TDs DA, WR Rita, 6 receptions, 162 yards, 1 TDs DA, RB Colalanni, 21 attempts, 95 yards, 1 TDs

SCHEDULE/STANDINGS

COMETS goal.

“Considering how tight things are (in the conference standings) it would T-BIRDS have been great to get that clean sheet if it goes down to goal dif ferentials,” Ferguson said.

“Goal difference does play a huge part in the table, however I think if we win the remaining four games regardless of how many times we get scored on we will repeat as champions,” Escamilla said.

CCC did have its moments of brilliance throughout the game, which showed that they were the better team. But the inconsistency through the 90 minutes of a game is their Achilles’ heel.

The Comets’ latest victory keeps them tied for first place with Napa Valley College (whom they beat 2-1 in the first meeting). Which sets up a potential winner-takes-conference game against Napa Valley on Nov. 10th at the Soccer Field Beforehand, CCC will go on the road for its next two encounters against Mendocino College today and against Yuba College Friday. Both games start at 4 p.m.

2 1

Football National - Bay 6 Conference

Teams

GP W - L - T

Pct.

Streak

Teams

GP W - L - T

Pct.

Streak

CCC Napa Mendocino Merritt Marin Yuba

6 6 5 6 5 6

.750 .750 .700 .500 .200 .083

Won 4 Won 1 Lost 2 Lost 1 Lost 3 Lost 5

San Mateo Santa Rosa San Francisco Diablo Valley Contra Costa De Anza

3 3 3 3 3 3

1.000 .667 .667 .333 .333 .000

Won 3 Won 1 Lost 1 Lost 1 Won 1 Lost 7

4-1-1 4-1-1 3-1-1 2-2-2 1-4-0 0-5-1

Upcoming Schedule CCC @ Mendocino, Nov. 2nd CCC @ Yuba, Nov. 4th Marin @ CCC, Nov. 8th Napa @ CCC, Nov. 10th

3-0-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 1-2-0 1-2-0 0-3-0

Upcoming Schedule CCC @ Diablo Valley, Nov. 4 San Francisco @ CCC, Nov. 12

sports

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A8

“

She’s becoming a better all around player, more of a captain. Last year she was quiet. Now she’s becoming more of a vocal leader.” — Christy Tianero, volleyball coach

LEFT: Outside hitter Alejandra Galvez plans to study software engineering after discovering a passion for computer programming and coding.

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

‘Foundation’ fortifies, lays out future career

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

Nineteen years ago a young couple from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico decided that the best way to ensure their daughter had the brightest future was to make the 1,900 mile trek to the Bay Area, settle down, and give her the opportunity to thrive.

And now, Comet volleyball player and outside hitter Alejandra Galvez is beginning to do just that.

The sophomore and future software engineer thought a career in medicine would be in her future.

But after graduating from John Swett High School in 2015, Galvez found working with computers to be infinitely more rewarding.

“Writing code is great. It’s satisfying,” Galvez said. “To be able to go into a program and troubleshoot potential problems is fun. If everyone learned three languages of code in their lifetime, they’d be

OK.” Galvez interned at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory over the summer, in a move to get one step closer to her dream.

“I learned to troubleshoot IT problems and I got to write a little bit of code,” she said.

The older of two girls, Galvez began to play volleyball in middle school after feeling the need to try her hand at a sport.

“I wanted to try something else, but volleyball was all they offered,” Galvez said. “Eventually I grew to love the sport.”

The sophomore has made measurable improvement on the court for the Comets.

“She’s becoming a better all around player, more of a captain,” coach Christy Tianero said. “Last year she was quiet. Now she’s becoming more of a vocal leader.”

Tianero said, “All student-athletes on this level have busy schedules and they have to take things

seriously just to remain eligible. But Alejandra shows a different level of commitment to being a student and an athlete.”

The path to success was not always so clear cut for the 19-yearold. As the child of undocumented parents, Galvez often worried that the worst was going to happen.

As a junior in high school, she applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

“Everyone was nervous for me.

Other people going through the process discussed difficulties or rejections. My mom was hopeful,” Galvez said. “I was really upset that I wouldn’t get to go to the college that I wanted or that I would have to pay out-of-state fees. I didn’t want a limited future.”

Galvez received her DACA acceptance letter near the end of her junior year of high school.

“When I got the papers I was ecstatic. We were jumping up and down,” Galvez said.

With her path illuminated, she could again focus wholeheartedly on her future.

She hopes to continue playing volleyball when she transfers to a four-year college and although her team is not near the top of the Bay Valley Conference, she hopes to make a good showing in the California Community College Athletic Association Volleyball Sophomore Showcase, after the conference season is completed.

The showcase is a game put on by the CCCAA Dec. 5, roughly one month after the last game of the regular season. It serves as an exhibition for coaches and scouts from four-year universities to evaluate players they may have missed over the course of the season.

Galvez gets more than satisfying the urge to compete out of being a member of a team.

“The people you meet are great.

When you go through a season with someone they become your

family. You keep adding (family members) every year that you play,” Galvez said. “They are my sisters for life.”

Team is important to Galvez and judging by her teammates’ responses, they see her as family as well.

“Alejandra is definitely a solid foundation for our team and someone to look up to, like a big sister,” Comet right setter Joshleen Ayson said.

Galvez was a member of last year’s six-player team that dealt with the tragic news of the death of their coach, Zachary Shrieve.

“I met coach Shrieve at Super Saturday (a college-wide recruiting event), but I never got to know him personally. I could tell he was a good person,” Galvez said. “When he got sicker I had so much hope that he would get better and when Christy (Tianero) told us what happened it was like wow, this is so sad.”

COMETS RECOVER TO REGISTER FIRST BAY 6 VICTORY

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

CUPERTINO — After losing its first two games in the Bay 6 Conference, the football team re-discovered its formula for success by mixing a tough rushing offense with a stout defense to hold on for a 29-22 win over De Anza College here Saturday.

Both teams entered the game owning identical 1-6 overall records with the loser retaining sole possession of the Bay 6 cellar.

From the onset, the game had an aura of more than just a contest between two teams with multiple game losing streaks.

“We were tired of losing,” Comet receiver Tyrone Morgan said. “We had an all sophomore meeting this week. We needed to come together and be better leaders. We needed to step up.”

The Comets (2-6 overall, 1-2 in the Bay 6) return to the field Friday to play intra-district rival Diablo Valley College at 7 p.m. in Pleasant Hill.

Against De Anza (1-7 overall, 0-3 in the Bay 6), sophomores caught three of the four touchdowns thrown by quarterback Cameron Burston. The other was caught by freshman Osai Brown.

After scoring just 13 points in their last two games, the Comets put together a masterful 12-play, 75-yard drive to open the

game.

It ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Burston to running back Harris Ross.

The five-minute drive featured a mix of running and passing, a balance that CCC would hope to maintain for the entire afternoon. Freshman running back Murell Robinson did most of the heavy lifting for CCC, finishing with 10 carries for 111 yards rushing in the game.

The Dons chipped away at the Comets’ defensive middle from the beginning until the end of the contest. De Anza overcame third down and nine, as well as a third and seven situation, only to have its 10-play drive stall in the red zone.

The Dons would settle for a field goal and with three minutes to play in the first quarter CCC led 7-3.

With few penalties in the first quarter, long series by both teams chewed the majority of time off of the clock. Following a shabby 7-yard Comet punt after a stalled second quarter drive, De Anza took possession of the ball at the 43 yard line.

It took the Dons only five plays to take the lead on a 2-yard touchdown run.

That score put De Anza in front 10-7 with 13 minutes to play before halftime.

But CCC would strike back — with defense. After the Dons notched three straight rushes for first downs, CCC’s defense

forced and recovered a De Anza fumble, the only turnover of the game.

The following play, Burston hit a streaking Morgan for a 25-yard go-ahead touchdown. CCC led 14-10 with just four minutes to play before halftime.

“It felt good. We played together for all four quarters and never gave up,” Burston said. “There was a lack of execution when we were losing (in prior games). Today, we executed and got the win.”

At every position, Comet players were prepared to do whatever it took to end the losing streak. CCC receiver Jaylin Hayward (122 yards and two touchdowns in six games this season) made two of the five stops in the game on De Anza kick returns.

His special teams play in the first half inspired his Comet teammates and filled the sideline with energy and enthusiasm.

“I’ll do whatever I can for the team. That hit on the kickoff provided the spark that the team needed,” Hayward said. “It felt good.”

CCC struck first in the third quarter following a De Anza missed field goal from the 29 yard line. With 10 minutes on the clock and 80 yards of turf between the ball and the end zone, the Comets put together their longest drive of the game.

Leading 14-10 and looking to pad its lead, CCC went on a 14-play, seven-minute drive that ended with a 9-yard Burston to

receiver Marquis Pippins COMETS touchdown. The score would give CCC a 21-10 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.

De Anza struck back DONS one play later with a 73-yard touchdown pass that shrunk the Comet lead to five after the Dons missed the extra point attempt. After forcing a Comet punt at the end of the third quarter, the Dons started the fourth by taking a 22-21 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run.

On the ensuing possession, Burston led CCC on a five-play drive topped by a 6-yard go-ahead score by Brown.

Leading 29-22 with nine minutes to play, the Comet defense held the Dons out of the end zone. The defense forced a three and out as well as holding De Anza from scoring while inside of the red zone.

“We have a two-game season left, but we have to play clean,” Comet coach Alonzo Carter said. “We had no turnovers today and we got the win. That’s what happens when you play a clean game.

“The last time we won we came out on fire in the following game,” Carter said. “We also came up a little short. We can’t let that happen again (on Friday).”

29 22

B SECTION

election 2016 Democratic action influences change WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

Proposition could limit rounds in clip, gun rights

PAGE B4

LOCAL, STATE ELECTIONS SEEK VOTER TURNOUT The Advocate provides information about candidates at the local and state levels.

PAGES B8 & B9

Presidential candidates’ policies, funds explained PAGES B6 & B7

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

Political cycle garners record attention, creates need to express voices

CALIFORNIANS DEBATE LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS PAGE B3

Porn industry seeks to avoid condom law PAGE B4

By Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

M

illions of Americans will have the opportunity to make a change on Tuesday during the U.S. Presidential Election by simply going out and voting for the candidate of their choice.

The American people will be the ones that decide whether the Democratic or Republican candidate will call the White House home for the next four years.

In this section, The Advocate explores California’s propositions, measures, candidate stances on policies, reports on third party candidates, debates the legalization of marijuana, lists the candidates running for U.S. senators and U.S. representatives and more.

Information in this section also provides information about the candidates running for council member positions for the City of Richmond.

Voters have the power to determine who will take on leadership roles at not only a local level, but also who will serve as the next president of the United States.

The divide that the nation has faced during the last couple of months with Republican Party nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton has had a noticeable

impact on polling data.

Another outlet for presidential voters who are not satisfied with the two major party candidates is the option of voting for third party candidates.

Some of these candidates include Green Party nominee Jill Stein (Massachusetts), the former governor of New Mexico and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson (New Mexico) and Party of Socialism and Liberation Gloria La Riva (California).

During this year’s presidential campaign, controversial issues like immigration, plans for the economy and education, Trump’s taxes and Clinton’s 33,000 deleted emails while serving as Secretary of State have all been big topics of discussion.

There are also local measures that will be decided on Tuesday.

Residents of Richmond will have the chance to elect three candidates to serve four-year terms on the city council.

Nathaniel Bates, Jael Myrick and Councilwoman Vinay Pimple’s terms are all coming to an end.

Those same residents will also have an opportunity to approve or reject state ballot propositions on issues like education, gun control, the death penalty, health care, legalization of marijuana, and other issues that will continue to shape their lives.

With Trump’s “Make America Great” campaigning slogan, and Hillary’s “Stronger Together I’m With Her” slogan, both candidates share separate thoughts on issues like immigration.

Throughout Trump’s campaigning, he has said if he is elected as president, he is going to build a 2,000 foot-long wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it to ensure no access for people he calls “rapists” and “criminals.”

Clinton supports an immigration reform that leads to a full path of citizenship and supports other programs to protect immigrant communities.

Another important issue is education.

While Clinton pushes for free tuition for college students whose families make under $125,000, Trump has focused very little on education but said he empathizes with students paying high tuition.

A single vote can determine the outcome of issues that are important to students like tuition and loans.

It is important that students go out to vote for the candidate or issue that best represents their interests in education as well as how to make it easier to receive an education.

In order for a candidate to be elected president, he or she must earn 270 electoral votes through the Electoral College process.

The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and is chosen by the political parties in each state before the general election.

Once a candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, they are declared the winner.

Currently, Clinton is projected to have 255 Electoral College votes with Trump at 157. But votes still have to be cast to determine who wins each state.

In reality, this group of 538 people are the ones who ultimately decide who gets to be the next president of the United States.

Each county has its own polling stations.

If you are unsure of where your polling place is located, contact the Secretary of State’s toll-free voter hotline at 800-345VOTE (8683).

First-time voters may be required to bring identification, but if the voter already filled out their information on the ballot they received by mail, they may not be asked to show identification again.

Anyone who is registered to vote in the state of California can vote early in person.

A California state ID is required to cast your early vote.

If planning to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and as long as the voter is in line by 8 p.m., their vote will still be counted.

B2

election coverage

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 11.2.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

“

“You may have seen that I have recently launched a Snapchat account. I love it. I love it. Those messages disappear all by themselves.”

Editorial Board stances The Advocate Editorial Board takes a stance on the propositions that most benefit students and make the best attempt to express their fundamental interests.

— Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential nominee

Prop 51.

Yes

No

Prop 56.

Yes

No

Prop 57.

Yes

No

Prop 58.

Yes

No

Prop 59.

Yes

No

Prop 60.

Yes

No

Prop 61.

Yes

No

Prop 62.

Yes

No

Prop 63.

Yes

No

Prop 64.

Yes

No

Prop 67.

Yes

No

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

STAND UP FOR YOUR IDEALS EDITORIAL O

ur democracy has been compromised. We are living in a time in which the best presidential candidates our primary election process could produce are a lying career politician and a corrupt real estate mogul.

It is the most important election cycle in our history as a nation, and we are told to vote for one person at the risk of having the other become president.

Do not fall into the false dilemma that is posed by the two largest, and most perverse, political parties the United States has ever seen.

We should not have to vote for the lesser of two evils out of fear, despite what mainstream news outlets cram down our throats. We should be able to vote for someone who reflects our values through their actions, not through misleading rhetoric.

Many people are so focused on the candidates’ mudslinging that they forget about the federal legislation that allowed these juggernauts to plow over

their competition in the primaries.

As long as Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to form super political action committees (PACs) to be their voice, stands, our voting rights will remain restricted.

These super PACs are able to funnel unlimited amounts of money to a candidate’s campaign. This is the corporate version of freedom of speech — the best form of politics money can buy.

The original Citizens United PAC was created in 1988, with major funding from the Koch Brothers, to restrict government regulations while increasing the voices of corporations.

Super PACs, which represent various industries and their interests, view elections as a means to maximize investments rather than an opportunity to make a better society.

According to the Center of Responsive Politics, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have raised a combined $1.3 billion through their campaign committees. Their respective super PACs raised a total of $594 million.

How can a normal citizen compete?

Even Democratic presidential contender Sen.

Bernie Sanders, who raised the most money from small, individual donations of any political campaign in U.S. history, couldn’t compete with the big donors.

Sanders raised $185.8 million in increments of about $27 per donation, but he was no match for the machine that is the Clinton campaign.

Yet people who plan to vote “third party” are categorized as idealists who have no understanding of the political process by news outlets like CNN, FOX or MSNBC. This line is misleading. Is there a chance that voting for a third party candidate may take away votes from Clinton or Trump? Of course. That is the point.

Candidates should not run for any political office if they feel entitled to that position. That is an oligarchy, not democracy.

The people who realize that our electoral process is a sham are people who are the most informed. And they are the most willing to establish an equitable election process — a process that does not favor our nation’s elite families.

Your vote should matter, but due to the influx of corporate money and private interests we are told to vote for the most likable puppet.

■ CORRUPTION

Hold your nose and vote for freedom I

n this election, Hillary Clinton is the chosen face of the enemy. She represents the political hegemony, the corporations, the lobby groups, the foreign powers, and the corrupt institutions of our own country that slowly steal our ability to even resist them.

Regardless of his dubious policies and noxious personality, all Donald Trump has to do to fight for our rights is get elected.

Also, Clinton should lose because she cheats like Dick Dastardly in an episode of “Wacky Races.”

The Podesta emails, named for Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, released by WikiLeaks reveal the Democratic National Convention made plans to explain Senator Bernie Sander’s loss three weeks before the California primary.

The lawsuit against former DNC Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz for rigging the Democratic primaries is ongoing. Schultz’s defense is that the DNC charter’s guarantee of neutrality is not binding, so rigging of the election was legal.

Wasserman Schultz became DNC chairperson when Tim Kaine stepped down to be Clinton’s running mate.

Wasserman Schultz and three other top staff members resigned after

Comey said, “Any reasonable person, in Secretary Clinton’s position, should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation. 110 emails contained classified information. Eight of those (were) top secret.”

Oddly, he recommends that Clinton not be prosecuted for what he acknowledges were felonies.

It’s worth electing Trump just to see WikiLeaks dumped some of the more incriminating emails. Clinton prompt- him prosecute Clinton like he promised, and see if it’s possible to prosely hired her for her campaign, despite cute someone with so much power. her theoretical disgrace.

And pointing the finger of blame at Wasserman Schultz was replaced by DNC Vice Chairperson Donna Brazile, Russia for the DNC hack does nothing to absolve the content of those emails, who was let go as an analyst from CNN on Oct. 14 when it was revealed no matter how many dark insinuations the Clinton campaign makes. she had leaked an interview question The Podesta emails show there were to Clinton. plans to boast about Clinton’s involveContinuing the theme of failing to combat corruption, Assistant Attorney ment in Libya to prove what an experienced, decisive leader she is.

General Peter Kadzik is in charge of Former Defense Secretary Robert investigating Clinton’s criminal liability Gates said that when the Obama in the Podesta emails. He defended Administration was undecided, Hillary Podesta during the Monica Lewinsky put her clout behind the intervention. scandal, and Podesta said in a leaked Her former top adviser Jake Sullivan email that Kadzik “kept me out of jail.” said, “She was instrumental in securFBI Director James Comey said, “There is a federal statute that makes it ing the authorization, building the coalition, and tightening the noose a felony to mishandle classified inforaround Quadhafi and his regime.” mation, either intentionally, or in a Karim Mezran, senior fellow at the grossly negligent way.”

benjaminbassham

Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East said, “Libya today — in spite of the expectations we had at the time of the revolution — it’s much, much worse. Criminality is skyrocketing. Insecurity is pervasive.

There are no jobs. It’s hard to get food and electricity.”

Clinton also claims responsibility for the 2012 Syrian ceasefire, when there was no ceasefire, because she was backing the attempt to oust Bashar al Assad. No part of U.S. policy there can be called anything but a failure.

At the Oct. 13 debate, Clinton called the U.S.’s involvement in the Libyan civil war “smart power at its best.”

Yes, Trump is embarrassing. He is crass, arrogant and loud. I thought he’d have a tantrum and quit well before the primaries were over. He has exceeded expectations. But he still has disgusting clown hair.

This is why we have a secret ballot.

Go out, face burning with shame and vote for the clown, so we don’t have to suffer the lying warmonger. A vote for Trump feels bad, but no one will ever have to know who you voted for.

Benjamin Bassham is a news editor for The Advocate. Contact him at bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com.

debatable

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 11.2.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

B3

THAT’S DEBATABLE

SHOULD MARIJUANA BE LEGALIZED?

efrainvaldez

■ PRO

■ CON

lorenzomorotti

Corporate greed muddies flowers

LEGALIZATION TO END DECADES OF BIAS Proposition 64 should be legal to end unjust incarceration rates

Lack of long-term regulation increases chance of inflated market

E

roposition 64 is on California’s November ballot which, if passed, will legalize, regulate and decriminalize the use of marijuana throughout the Golden State.

Trying to legalize marijuana in the state that was the first to make cannabis legal for medical uses seems like an easy task, but the opposition is putting up a late push to keep the infamous plant illegal.

The opposition argues that if cannabis is legalized it will be more exposed to children through advertisements on radio, television and public locations.

Also, the opposition would argue that by legalizing cannabis it will create a business monopoly (like the tobacco industry), destroy mom and pop shops that cultivate cannabis for pharmacies and increase the number of under-the-influence drivers.

But people tend to always forget the effects on the communities of color when voting for new laws or regulations.

“I am concerned about the minorities who are getting arrested for small marijuana crimes. The elimination of those crimes will cut down the number of arrests,” freelance journalist David Downs said.

The California Department of Justice reported that between the years 2006 and 2015 there were nearly half a million people who were put in prison for cannabis crimes. The average inmate population in the state has hovered around 150,000 yearly, so just do math on how many of those inmates were in for cannabis crimes.

If cannabis is legalized it will also begin to destroy the stigma given to cannabis and its users.

“If Proposition 64 passes into law it will legalize hemp, further increase the medical use of cannabis and finally end the stigma,” Downs said.

Cannabis users are often perceived as people who are low-life losers, who are lazy and stay at home all day to smoke pot. Proposition 64, if passed, will help end the assumptions that all the users are lazy people who don’t contribute to society.

All this stigma on cannabis started back when President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. And because cannabis was considered the same menace as cocaine, opium and psychedelics, many minority more people of color were jailed with lengthy mandatory sentences.

Also, something that cannot be overlooked is the billions of dollars that come with legalizing cannabis. For example, Colorado recently passed a law that legalized marijuana. It is expected that the $1 billion mark in revenue will be reached sometime in November this year in that state.

The tax revenue that California will receive from cannabis taxes will allow the state to invest more money in schools, drug addiction research and public works projects.

Especially in a state the size of California with its financial power, the revenue that can come from passing Proposition 64 is mouthwatering to rebuilding the state’s economy.

The revenue from the taxes will also provide funding for projects that study the effects of cannabis on the brain and how to test levels of cannabis in a person’s system when driving.

By legalizing cannabis, black markets will be destroyed which will drive Mexican drug traffickers and cartels to slowly abandon the transportation of the dug into the state.

The first few polls showed that yes on Proposition 64 had a 20 percent advantage on the opposition, but most recently the gap has closed to 10 percent.

“I am concerned that it (Proposition 64) could fail and that we will miss an opportunity to end mass incarceration in the state that will help the police and minorities,” Downs said.

The citizens of California could miss a golden opportunity to end mass incarceration of its citizens and end the taboo and stigma related to medical and recreational cannabis.

“I am also concerned because I have seen this kind of thing happen (Proposition 19 in 2010) where all the polls showed that the law was going to pass but it obviously didn’t,” Downs said.

nding the prohibition of cannabis is inevitable in California, but it should not be forced.

Legalizing the recreational use of marijuana among people who are at least 21 years old through Proposition 64 does not justify the creation of another tobacco industry.

The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), created if the proposition passes, fails to protect working people’s rights through two excise taxes — $9.25 per ounce flower and 2.75 per leaf cultivation tax — and a 15 percent retail tax and restrictions on issuing certain large scale cultivation licenses until 2023.

What makes this AUMA so deceiving is the amount of good it would create in terms of potential for public health and social justice.

The revenue from these taxes, estimated to generate $1 billion annually, would go into the Marijuana Tax Fund to further research of the effects of marijuana, explore how law enforcement will monitor use, and create community-based treatment and rehabilitation programs.

If AUMA is enacted, marijuana possession of up to 28 grams of flowers and 8 grams of concentrates will be decriminalized. This would be a critical step in reducing the number of people incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses.

The legalization of marijuana is needed, but we cannot ignore the potential for corporate greed and the marginalization of consumers and entrepreneurs wanting to start a business.

AUMA does not protect against companies like Monsanto from hijacking the retail industry through mass production, increased retail prices and lowered product quality.

Cultivation licenses for large indoor, outdoor or mixed lighting will be administered through the Bureau of Marijuana Control starting in 2023. This may seem like it protects the rights of the working class, but it gives corporations more time to get ready to take over the industry.

Political action committees in support of the proposition have received large investments from donors tied to the tobacco, technology, agricultural and oil industries who view Proposition 64 as a means of maximizing profits.

Pro-AUMA supporters have funded about $22 million while opposing groups and individuals have raised only $2 million, giving the pro-Proposition 64 forces a huge advantage.

Regulation is necessary, but not through a proposition that does not grant current and future medical marijuana patients complete tax immunity.

While large companies have the funds to pay extra to harvest, it is doubtful that local entrepreneurs will have the funds to pay for the $148 per pound in flower tax alone, plus the additional taxes that local governments will be allowed to levy.

Too bad the people who are against AUMA are doing so for all the wrong reasons. Virtually all of AUMA’s opponents are Republicans or Libertarians who have never consumed marijuana in any of its forms.

Marijuana is not bad. The people who want to exploit the struggle of thousands of people are bad.

If conservatives who never put cannabis in their bodies knew the mental and physical benefits of legal marijuana it would already be legal, and safeguards would be in place to keep costs low and ensure the growth of the middle class.

AUMA, in its current form, needs to fail and there must be more grassroots involvement to ensure that language is included that will restrict large corporations from becoming the next Budweiser or Philip Morris of the world.

Efrain Valdez is a staff member of The Advocate. Contact him at evaldez.theadvocate@gmail.com.

Lorenzo Morotti is an associate editor for The Advocate. Contact him at lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com.

P

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

CAMPUS COMMENT

Do you agree with Proposition 64, which would legalize marijuana? Why or why not?

“I agree with it because there are a lot of people who use it. I don’t know how it could be so harmful when it is just a plant.”

“I agree with it because some people use it for medical reasons and it can be used for a lot of good things. It helps with a lot of things too.”

“Yes, I agree because I think it could be used for medical reasons and it has helped a lot of sick people.”

Jeremy Celas Roberto Castro

Jshania Owens journalism

Brandt Murano marine biologist

JESSICA SUICO, ANTHONY KINNEY / THE ADVOCATE

“I agree. Some people actually need it and it would be easier to get for medical users.”

undecided

automotive technology

“Medically, I think it is good. So yes, I agree with Proposition 64.”

Abhiyah Sapqota computer science

“It doesn’t really matter to me because I don’t use it. But it depends on the person’s point of view.”

Leslie Gonzales undecided

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election coverage

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 11.2.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Propositions 57, 61, 62, 63 and 64.

YES VOTE LIMITS DRUG PRICES

Proposition 61 caps pharmaceutical drug costs at state minimum

BY Benjamin Bassham NEWS EDITOR

bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 61 attempts to forcibly reduce the price of medication for citizens by capping the maximum a state agency can pay for drugs to the lowest price negotiated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the drug in question.

This imposes no direct restrictions of pharmaceutical companies, and would require the state government to start negotiating the prices paid for medication.

Both the campaign for Proposition 61 and the campaign against it claim the support of doctors and diverse organizations, and avoid mentioning being supported by

segments of the pharmaceutical industry.

Sen. Bernie Sanders lent his voice to the yes campaign saying, “One out of five people, when they get a prescription from a doctor, can’t even afford to buy that prescription.

People are dying in this country because they can’t afford the medicine.”

The doctors on both sides agree that something needs to be done about the price of medication, but the California Medical Association said, “We evaluated this measure and have concluded it is deeply flawed and unworkable. We believe the measure would likely increase — not lower — state prescription drug costs.”

Sanders placed heavy blame for price gouging on the pharmaceutical industry, saying they are ripping off the American people. He pointed to the drastically lower prices just over the border in Canada, and said, “We pay the highest prices in the world for our medicine.”

He said the solution is to “do what every other major country on earth does” and

negotiate prices.

The pharmaceutical industry spends more on advertising than developing new drugs and more than $3 billion since 1988 lobbying, Sanders said.

On the downside, the pharmaceutical industry could collectively refuse to cooperate at all. There’s nothing that actually requires them to sell anything to the state at any price. If they are willing to eat the loss in profit, and the public backlash, they could hold the sick of California hostage.

Optionally, pharmaceutical companies could circumvent the issue by raising the prices the Department of Veterans Affairs pays, which has lead various veterans’ organizations to endorse the no campaign.

The yes campaign countered this concern, saying pharmaceutical companies can’t raise VA prices at will, because some of the discount is required by law.

The three polls taken on the issue so far, the most recent on Sept. 13, show the proposition passing easily, with bipartisan support.

However the margin Proposition 61 would pass by has shrunk with each poll.

Kathy Fairbanks, a spokeswoman for the no on 61 campaign said, “The more voters read it, the more they don’t like it.”

This could be the result of disparities in fundraising though. The no campaign has raised nearly $109 million, while the yes campaign raised under $15 million.

Fairbanks said the fundraising is necessary because running a campaign in California is expensive. “There’s a lot competing for voters’ attention,” she said.

The no campaign claims Proposition 61 will raise prices, because it won’t be applied evenly, because it was written by partisan groups.

The no campaign has emphasized the involvement of Michael Weinstein, the founder and president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation because his own organization is exempt from the effects of the proposition.

Gun reform to regulate ammo Proposition 62

BY Cody Casares PHOTO EDITOR

ccasares.theadvocate@gmail.com

On Tuesday, voters will decide on gun control legislation that will require people purchasing ammunition to undergo the same background checks as those buying firearms.

A yes on Proposition 63 will close the exemption made in 2000, banning large capacity ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds in California. The current exemption allows those who own large capacity magazines prior to the ban to keep them.

Individuals who own large capacity magazines will be required to dispose of them or may be guilty of an infraction or misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $100 per large capacity magazine or imprisonment in a county jail if Proposition 63 receives a passing vote.

A no vote would simply oppose Proposition 63 and current gun and ammunition laws would remain unaltered.

Under current California law, indi-

viduals who commit felonies are prohibited from possessing firearms, yet there is no clear process for those individuals to relinquish their guns when they are convicted.

In 2014, the Department of Justice found that more than 17,000 people possess more than 34,000 guns illegally, including more than 1,400 assault weapons.

If passed, Proposition 63 would require California courts to instruct felons to surrender their firearms or face penalties. Probation officers would be charged with following up with parolees and be required to report to court on how, or if, the firearm(s) was sold or legally disposed.

Proposition 63 will additionally establish requirements for individuals purchasing ammunition to get permits annually from the California Department of Justice. Permit fees for individuals seeking to purchase ammo shall not exceed $50, according to Proposition 63. Permits will be renewed by the state Department of Justice prior to expiration, provided the individual did not become prohibited

from renewing their permit during that time. Permits would be required and must be shown to a dealer every time bullets are purchased. Individuals and businesses selling ammunition will also be required to attain permits, valid for four years, prior to selling ammunition.

Proposition 63 will also establish penalties for firearm owners who keep a loaded firearm under their control and allow a person under 18 years old to obtain the firearm and carry it to a public place or use it resulting in a death. Gun owners who do not store firearms in a locked container or use a locking device, may be guilty of a felony or misdemeanor.

Under Proposition 63, gun owners would be required to notify law enforcement within five days of the time they knew or reasonably should have known their gun is missing. That would take effect July 1, 2017.

The punishment for stealing a firearm would also become a felony, increasing the maximum prison sentence from one year to three years, making a person convicted ineligible to posses a firearm for 10 years.

CANNABIS LEGALIZATION TO CREATE TAX, REVENUE

BY Robert Clinton OPINION EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

Californians will have the opportunity on Tuesday to vote to legalize the recreational use of cannabis with a yes vote on Proposition 64, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative, which hopes to increase tax revenue to the state through sales of the controversial plant.

In 1996 California voters passed Proposition 215 which legalized medicinal marijuana while continuing to keep the plant illegal under federal law.

Now, 20 years later, Proposition 64 would allow adults over 21 years old to possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes.

Proposition 64 creates two new taxes for the cultivation and retail sale of marijuana. For cultivation, a $9.25 tax per ounce of flowers and $2.75 per ounce of leaves is proposed, and a

15 percent sales tax will be applied to the retail price of marijuana.

Mayra Garcia, a budtender at Richmond’s Green Remedy Collective (a cannabis dispensary), said management has discussed the increased regulations in the proposition, but the most important thing for the collective is providing medication to the actual patients they serve.

Even if students have a medical marijuana card, it is prohibited to bring medical pot to campus.

“Things changing here depend on if the rules on campus are changed,” district Police Services Lt. Tom Holt said. “It also depends on the way the proposition is written.”

Revenue from both taxes would be placed in a new California Marijuana Tax Fund. First, the revenue would be used to cover costs of administering and enforc-

ing the measure. Then, they would be distributed for drug research, treatment and enforcement of the law.

Up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and 8 grams of concentrated marijuana would be legal to possess under Proposition 64.

Smoking would be permitted in private homes or at a business licensed for on-site marijuana consumption.

Californians would be permitted to grow up to six plants within a private home as long as the area is locked and hidden from the public.

The initiative is supported by more than 20 current and former elected officials, most notably former presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Dr. Donald Lyman, former chief of Chronic Disease and Injury Control at the California Department of Public Health; Gretchen

Burns, executive director of Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing; and Steven Downing, former deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, wrote the official argument in support of Proposition 64.

They say Proposition 64 finally creates a safe, legal and comprehensive system for adult use of marijuana while protecting children.

Last month, the Public Policy Institute of California and the Field Research Corporation conducted polling for Proposition 64 showing 60 percent of potential voters support the initiative.

Opponents feel the plan goes too far in favor of the industry and favors legalization at all costs at the expense of current medical patients. Also, the ability to grow up to six plants per home in a school zone worries dissenters.

seeks to abolish death penalty

Life in prison sentence could replace maximum punishment

BY Christian Urrutia WEB EDITOR

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 62, come Tuesday, carries a lot of punitive and rehabilitation weight if voters repeal the death penalty in California. The written intent behind the measure would replace the maximum punishment for murder — life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Under this measure, no offender could be sentenced to death by the state for first-degree murder. Interestingly enough, the death penalty was banned in 1972; due to the California Supreme Court decision People v. Anderson.

Although shortly after, in 1978, the death penalty was reinstated because of Proposition 7, with 70 percent of voters at the time, voting for the measure. Ballotpedia lists only 13 inmates who have been executed since the reinstatement.

The proposition would retroactively apply to inmates already on death row at the time that the measure would take effect. Along with the life without the possibly of parole mandate it would require them to work and pay restitution to victims’ families.

Inmates’ wages would then have 60 percent deducted that would serve as the restitution payment. There is another death penalty related measure, Proposition 66, that will appear on the ballot Tuesday.

If both measures pass, the one with the most “yes” votes would supersede the other.

An analysis by the California attorney general’s legislative analyst said the state currently spends about $55 million annually on the legal challenges that follow death sentences.

One detail listed showed that legal challenges concerning the death penalty, measured from when the individual receives a death sentence to when the individual has completed all state and federal legal challenge proceedings, can take a couple of decades to complete the entire process.

A fiscal impact statement issued by the California ballot initiative said, “Net ongoing reduction in state and county costs related to murder trials, legal challenges to death sentences, and prisons are around $150 million annually within a few years.”

It stated that the estimate could be higher or lower by tens of millions, depending on various factors.

One point made by Randi Swisley, writing for the Auburn Journal out of Placer Country, was that since 1978, when California re-imposed the death penalty, there have been 930 death sentences with 103 dying in prison, 64 receiving reduced sentences and 748 people are currently on death row.

No executions have taken place since 2006 because the state’s lethal-injection protocols are currently under legal review.

The state uses lethal injection to execute convicted inmates. Due to the legal issues surrounding the state’s lethal injection process and procedures, executions have not taken place since 2006, effectively bringing the death penalty process to a standstill.

NONVIOLENT CRIMINALS MAY RECEIVE LESSER TIME Good behavior could ease jail time while overturning legislation

BY Efrain Valdez ADVOCATE STAFF

dcollier.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 57 is a measure on the California November ballot. If passed it will increase parole chances for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes and allows them to earn credits for good behavior.

Also, it allows judges and not prosecutors,

to decide to try certain juveniles as adults.

In 2011, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the overcrowded prisons in California violated the Eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The state was ordered to reduce its prison population.

The population dropped after Californians approved Proposition 47 in 2014, which reduced a few nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 57 was also designed as a tool to further reduce the prison population numbers.

Supporters of the measure will argue that this will provide a reliable way to reduce California’s overcrowded prison population.

This measure will keep the dangerous felons

in prison and it will reduce the taxpayer spending on inmate living cost.

Proposition 57 is supported by Governor Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The supporters’ argument revolves around the failed “war on drugs” that skyrocketed California’s prison population by 500 percent over the last few decades.

The opposition however, will argue that the measure was poorly written and would allow violent criminals like rapist and human traffickers to be released early from prison. If put into law, Proposition 57 will overturn victims’ rights legislation like Marsy’s Law and the “three strikes” law.

Another argument that the opposition uses is that the measure will force victims to relive their experience with more parole hearings or that this legislation can lead to higher crime rates.

Some notable opponents of Proposition 57 are the California Republican Party, U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez and many the county prosecutors’ in the state.

Many of the county prosecutors oppose this measure because it strips their power to try juvenile inmates as adults in court.

This measure could ease the California prison population problem in the state but it also has the potential to raise the crime rate.

election coverage

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B5

Propositions 51, 59, 56, 60 and 66

BOND AIMS TO FUND PROJECTS $9 billion in state funding for certain campus facilities

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

California voters will have to decide if K-12, universities and community colleges need $9 billion in state funding to be used for construction projects on campuses.

Proposition 51 is the first education bond to make it to the ballot through a petition signed by registered voters.

According to the proposition, a yes vote would create the College Capital Outlay Bond Fund from which $2 billion would be allocated to construction and renovation of community college facilities, $3 billion to the construction of campus facilities statewide, $500 million to charter school projects, $3 billion to the modernization of campus facilities and $500 million to build career technical education program facilities.

Smokers to cough up steeper tax Proposed fee increase hopes to curb usage, raise revenue

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

California voters will have the chance to vote to increase the sales tax on cigarettes by $2 per pack. This also allows for the increase on electronic cigarettes and other tobacco

According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, a yes vote would also create $8.6 billion in interest, and cost taxpayers about $17.6 billion by 2051 — or $500 million per year for 35 years.

Proposition 64 is supported by the Contra Costa Community College District, a dozen construction companies, and scores of high schools and community college districts statewide.

But district Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said the ballot measure is more beneficial for K-12, which would get most of the funding, and larger districts with more funding to match the state’s allocation metric.

Pyle said that a public institution would have to match some of the costs that the state will provide and he is not sure that the district would be able to get priority.

Gov. Jerry Brown is the leading opponent of the infrastructure bond for that very reason.

“It’s a blunderbuss effort that promotes sprawl and squanders money that would be far better spent in low-income communities,” Brown said to the LA Times earlier this year.

He said the state cannot pay the debt the proposition would create. Large districts would overshadow smaller districts’ construction bids and local bond measures would lose power.

Despite Brown’s opposition, proponents of the $9 billion state initiative have raised about $12 million through super PAC contributions, according to Ballotpedia.

The most powerful supporters, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing Issues Committee and the California Building Industry Association Issues

products.

Smokers in-state already pay an $.87 per pack tax on cigars and cigarettes and California already pays those fees at a higher rate than 14 other states.

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have higher in-state tobacco related taxes.

Currently, revenue collected from existing tobacco taxes goes toward funding many state programs.

They support health care services for low-income people, environmental protections, breast cancer screenings and research, early childhood development programs and to bolster the general fund.

Proposition 56 dissenters have out-raised supporters financially by nearly a two to one margin. Some of the United States’ most notorious tobacco companies and their supporters have coughed up close to $70 million to assure that the bill is defeated.

To put the numbers in perspective, $.10 per pack of cigarettes goes into the general fund. Last year, roughly $84 million was raised for the General Fund in fiscal year 2015-2016.

Only $.02 per pack goes to breast cancer research, yet, over the same time period $20 million dollars were generated by smoking.

The largest percentage of the current tax goes to early childhood development programs with 50 percent of the tax revenue being allocated to that cause, The tax was created by Proposition 10 in 1998, but last

Bilingualism debated

BY Reggie Santini SPOTLIGHT EDITOR

rsantini.theadvocate@gmail.com

If California’s Proposition 58 passes on Tuesday students will have the option to receive bilingual education in public schools.

Proposition 58 would repeal Proposition 227. It would no longer require K-12 English as second language students to take English-only education classes. Schools would be allowed to utilize bilingual teaching programs and have students learn from teachers who speak both their native language and English.

Adjunct English as a Second Language professor Evan De Gennaro said it would be great if Proposition 58 passes. There should be more multilingual classes at Contra Costa College, he said.

According to a poll taken by UC Berkeley, 69 percent of participants are in favor of Proposition 58, 14 percent

are against it and 17 percent are undecided. The poll had a sample size of 484 participants.

Nursing major Nicole Rodriguez said, “I think college students would benefit from having bilingual classes. It would help develop both their first and second language skills.”

California’s Proposition 227, also called the English in Public School Statute, was passed in 1998 to change the way ESL students were taught in the state’s K-12 grade schools.

Superintendent and President of Lake Tahoe Community College Kindred Murillo said that repealing Proposition 227 would help community college enrollment and curriculum.

It would open a new door for learning and teaching.

CCC HIS Stem Coordinator Mayra Padilla said, “It would give the school new teaching models. Repealing Proposition 227 would also help colleges support the growth of ESL stu-

dents.”

Proposition 227 was designed to help immerse K-12 ESL students in the English language by required them to take a one-year special class taught completely in English and then be moved to normal classes.

According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, schools would be cutting costs by limiting the time ESL students spent in special classes and by reducing the number of special classes needed.

De Gennaro said, “America is a country of immigrants, so why do we push monolingual learning in school?

Language is a tool we should all be using.”

Proposition 227 was drafted by Silicon Valley software entrepreneur Ron Unz, and Santa Ana teacher Gloria Mata Tuchman.

The election results for Proposition 227 were 61.28 percent in favor and 38.72 percent against.

TIME FRAME TO DEATH ROW STREAMLINED THROUGH ‘YES’ Procedural changes would decrease penalty wait period

BY Christian Urrutia WEB EDITOR

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

The death penalty procedures initiative, Proposition 66 is designed to shorten the time that the legal challenges to death sentences take.

A yes vote supports changing the procedures governing state court appeals and petitions that challenge death penalty convictions and sentences.

A no vote opposes changing the procedures governing state court appeals and petitions that challenge death penalty convictions and sentences, and favors keeping the current system for governing death penalty appeals and petitions.

There is another death penalty related measure, Proposition 62, that will appear on Tuesday’s ballot in California.

If both measures pass, the one with the most yes votes would supersede the other.

The proposition would designate Superior Court for initial

petitions and limits successive petitions. Key points of the measure include: Establishing a time frame for state court death penalty review.

Requiring appointed attorneys who take non-capital appeals to accept death penalty appeals.

Exempts prison officials from existing regulation process for developing execution methods.

Authorizes death row inmate transfers among California prisons.

Increases portion of condemned inmates’ wages that may be applied to victim restitution.

States other voter-approved measures related to death penalty are void if this measure receives more affirmative votes.

According to Ballotpedia, instead of the California Supreme Court, Proposition 66 would put trial courts in charge of initial petitions, known as habeas corpus petitions, challenging death penalty convictions.

The judge who handled the original murder case would

hear the habeas corpus petition, unless good cause can be shown for another judge or court.

Petitions would be appealed to California Court of Appeals, and then finally to the California Supreme Court.

The measure would require the habeas corpus petition process and appeals to be completed within five years after the death sentence.

Qualifications required to represent convicted inmates would change in order to “ensure competent representation” and “expand the number of attorneys.”

Trial courts would replace the Supreme Court as the judicial body that appoints attorneys for habeas corpus petitions.

Inmates on death row would be required to work, subject to state regulations, under Proposition 66.

The measure would require 70 percent of earnings from work be allocated to debts owed to the inmate’s victims.

Committee spent about $11.5 million in ad campaigns.

Supporters of Proposition 51 argue that California’s high school and community college campuses do not facilitate an environment of success that students deserve.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California survey from Oct. 14 to Oct. 23, 46 percent of voters support the initiative while 41 percent are in opposition and 12 percent are undecided.

Three news organizations have written editorials in support of Proposition 51 while 15 fear that the language in the initiative will allow corporations to be selective of which schools receive priority.

year, the tax brought in nearly $447 million.

On top of the state levied sanctions on tobacco, the federal government also places a $1.10 tax per pack of cigarettes.

For the proposed 2016 tax increase, the revenue will be distributed through a four step process.

First, the new money will be used to replace the lost revenue due to the lower percentage of Californians lighting up. Secondly, 5 percent of the funds will used to facilitate the changes.

Next is the breakdown in allocation of funds throughout various state entities and preventative care.

The last is an injection of funds into the MediCal program.

Proposition 56 is supported by a host of Democratic lawmakers as well as the California Democratic Party.

Those in opposition to the measure sight the ability for Proposition 56 to be used as a tool to fund insurance companies and special interests more than it would provide funding to help treat smoking-related illnesses.

They also suggest the bill does not put aside funds to improve California’s public schools.

The larges argument against the proposition is that it does not do enough to solve any of the problems plaguing the dayto-day lives of California’s poorest families.

As of Nov. 1 support for Proposition 56 is just above half, or $34,994,440, what the no voters have generated. Their fundraising has generated $71,009,220.

PROPOSITION 60 POSES MANDATORY CONDOMS IN PORN

BY Xavier Johnson SCENE EDITOR

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

Adult film performers and producers in California could see stronger regulation and an expansion on safe sex practices as Proposition 60 hits ballots and will be voted on Nov. 8.

Proposition 60 will require adult film performers to use condoms during filming of sexual intercourse scenes.

In addition, producers will be required to pay for testing and vaccines for performers. Producers will need to renew their license with Cal/OSHA every two years and provide notification of all film shoots with proof of protection within thirty days before or after production.

Protection against sexually transmitted infections in adult film is already required by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA).

The labor code requires protection against sexually transmitted infections spreading in the workplace so employers must provide protective equipment. The code does not specifically speak on adult films or specifically require condom use. The proposition expands the requirements and enforces a condom requirement for adult films.

On a smaller scale, in Los Angeles County, condom use has been required for four years when Measure B passed in 2012.

Proposition 60 would be similar to Measure B but on a statewide scale.

Production companies like Canoga Park, Calif. based Wicked Pictures are against Proposition 60. The argument is that companies like Wicked Pictures regularly test their on-screen performers for

sexually transmitted infections. The use of condoms is a preference and a choice they should be allowed to make. With providing regular testing, the safety of the performers is still being maintained.

Rick Taylor, a campaign consultant for “Yes on Prop 60, For Adult Industry Responsibility,” said condoms are 97 percent effective in protecting against sexually transmitted infections. “Condoms are the most effective means to protect workers. Testing by itself is not enough to protect (performers).”

Contra Costa College sociology major Tyler Fields said he would vote no on the proposition.

Fields said he thinks it should be a choice the producers are allowed to make and as long as they are testing then it’s OK. Support for Proposition 60 has a lot of money coming from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

A major contributor, the foundation has put more than $4 million into supporting the proposition and getting California voters to vote yes.

Money coming in against Proposition 60 is substantially less with approximately $500,000 coming from a variety of contributors like Wicked Pictures and Free Speech Coalition.

The proposition allows for anyone with a financial interest in the production to be responsible for violation of the law. Executive Director of the Free Speech Coalition Eric Paul Leue said Proposition 60 will put adult film performers at risk of being sued.

Performers often have a financial stake in their work when it comes to production, he said.

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election

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The presidential race National Election 2016

ELECTION DIVIDES

Presidential poll results Gary Johnson, William Weld 5.2%

Jill Stein, Ajamu Baraka 2%

Donald Trump, Mike Pence 40.7%

Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine 45.1%

A national poll of registered voters shows that the election is close despite various news organizations claiming either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton has a clear lead.

This poll shows the four major candidates for the presidential election and their respective support by registered voters who participated.

Real Clear Politics says that there is a 4 to 5 point margin error in the statistical data.

Trump: 164 Clinto 270 electoral

Washington 12 Oregon 7

Idaho 4

Nevada 6

SOURCE: REAL CLEAR POLITICS

SUPER PAC SUPPORTERS

Montana 3

Utah 6

Wyoming 3

North Dakota 3

South Dakota 3 Nebraska 5

Colorado 9

California 55

Rebuilding America Now: $247,541,449 Make America Number 1: $19,586,131 Make America Great Again: $1,742,684 Committee to Restore America’s Greatness: $585,318 Committee for American Sovereignty: $443,839 Patriots for Trump: $131,623 Make America Awesome: $39,499

Arizona 11

Kansas 6

Okla New Mexico 5 Texas 38

Hawaii 4

Republican Party presidential nominee Age: 70 Sex: Male Race: White Education: Warton University of Pennsylvania Title: Television producer, real estate mogul, Years in office: 0

According to Real Clear Politics on Monday, Hillary Clinton/ Tim Kaine lead in historically Democratic states while Donald Trump/ Mike Pence are leading in the midwestern and southern states.

TOTAL FUNDRAISED CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE: $247,541,449 OUTSIDE GROUPS: $57,128,593

DONALD TRUMP

SOURCE: CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS

PAGE DESIGN BY MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

WHERE DO THE CANDIDATES EDUCATION

IMMIGRATION

ECONOMY

HEALTH

FOREIGN POLICY

Trump’s plan is to end Common Core state standards by returning the educational system to the local level in the United States. He will establish a national goal of providing school choice to every one of the 11 million school-aged children living in poverty.

According to the Trump campaign website, the plan is to work with Congress on reforms to ensure universities are making a good faith effort to reduce the cost of college and student debt in exchange for federal tax breaks and tax dollars.

He will ensure that the opportunity to attend a two- or four-year college, or to pursue a trade or a skill set through vocational and technical education, will be easier to access, pay for and finish school.

Trump envisions a new immigration system that boosts wages for American workers and that ensures that open jobs are offered to American workers first.

According to his campaign’s website, Trump plans to protect the economic well-being of lawful immigrants already living in the United States by curbing uncontrolled foreign worker admissions.

Trump proposes to work with an impenetrable physical wall on the U.S. southern border during his first days in office, having Mexico pay for the wall.

Trump wants to end the catchand-release system of handling those who illegally cross over the U.S.-Mexican border.

Trump said he will implement a pro-growth tax plan and an America first trade policy.

Trump said he plans to create industry and 25 million new jobs within the United States.

Trump said he will boost GDP growth to 3.5 percent per year on average, potentially reaching as high as a 4 percent growth rate.

According to Trump, every percent of GDP growth will add 1.2 million jobs.

He said he would restrict corporations from leaving the country to outsource cheaper labor.

Trump wants to make the U.S. an economic powerhouse in terms of in-house manufacturing.

Trump will replace the Affordable Care Act with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and create a patient-centered health care system that promotes choice, quality and affordability.

According to the Trump campaign website, the plan is to work with Congress and the states to establish high-risk pools to ensure access to coverage for individuals who have not maintained continuous health care coverage. He would allow people to purchase insurance across state lines, in all 50 states, creating a competitive market.

The plan is to maximize flexibility for states via block grants so that local leaders can design innovative Medicaid programs that will better serve low-income citizens.

Trump believes in peace through strength and wants to achieve a stable and peaceful world with less conflict.

According to the Trump campaign website, Trump’s plan advances America’s core national interests, promotes regional stability, and produces an easing of tensions in the world. He vows to work with Congress to fully repeal the defense sequester and submit a new budget to rebuild the country’s depleted military.

Trump proposes to end the current strategy of nation-building and regime change and to ensure security procedures and refugee policy takes into account the security of the American people.

SALVADOR GODOY / THE ADVOCATE

Candidates ignore policies in final debate

BY Dylan Collier ADVOCATE STAFF

dcollier.theadvocate@gmail.com

Community Organizing and Political Action club President Alex Griffin Walker, Inter-Club Council (ICC) Chairperson Jose Arebalo and Treasurer Raquel Garcia organized a presidential debate viewing and pizza party in the Fireside Hall on Oct. 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The club provided Little Caesars pizza and soft drinks for the 150 people in attendance, with an adjacent table to register students to vote.

This was the third and final debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump this election season.

Although there was political diversity among the students and community members watching the debate, most attendees said they felt like their minds were made up on whom they are voting for.

“I felt like there weren’t enough policies discussed, but more ‘name bashing,’ and they needed to get into details and talk more about policies,” undecided major Donald Dominguez said.

Dominguez said that watching this third debate didn’t change or strengthen his decision of who he’s going to vote for, and how he feels about each candidate stayed the same.

Dominguez was there for the people he felt a sense of unity with everyone in one place coming together to watch the debate.

During the debate Trump said, “The wealthiest individuals are going to expand their companies.”

If it was interpreted for it’s literal meaning, Trump could have plans to build more Trump Towers, making himself richer, but not creating “higher paying jobs for the working and middle classes.”

Psychology major Dema Aldabass said she liked what Clinton had to say about the economy more than Trump, because she actually made sense.

She thought that Trump didn’t really get into specifics and was vague.

“Watching the debate strengthened my decision of who I’m voting for, because I realized how redundant Trump was in his speaking,” Aldabass said.

Aldabass said she enjoyed watching a woman take control of every part of the debate, and it was good to watch a strong female figure win again.

“Hillary dominated,” Aldabass said. She said she thought Trump acted exactly how she thought he’d act with his viewpoints on women.

CCC student Nina Hill, who brought her son with her,

said it was nice seeing a lot of young people, students, faculty and alumni come to the event.

She also enjoyed talking to young people about their various views of the two candidates.

In the debate, Clinton claimed if elected, Trump would de-fund Planned Parenthood and Middle College High School counselor Caroline Cruger-Hansen she felt strongly about this topic.

“I don’t support Trump and without Planned Parenthood there would be a lot of unwanted pregnancies,” CrugerHansen said.

“As a man, he could never understand what it would be like to have to make that decision.”

Clinton also put Trump on the spot, by accusing him of saying “women should be punished for having abortions.”

Cruger-Hansen said that there are a lot of children in the foster care system, so women shouldn’t be punished for making a smart decision, if they can’t support a child.

Many people who viewed the entire debate felt Clinton edged out Trump when discussing the issues.

Aldabass didn’t think the outcome was surprising because she said they asked some of the same questions that they did in the second debate.

ISS

STAN

coverage

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NATIONAL IDEALS

B7

Swing states at a glance States that have historically voted one way or the other have become areas of contention for both candidates. The Advocate sources Monday (10/31) polls from Real Clear Politics to provide an idea of where the nation stands in its choice for president.

FLORIDA: Trump is one point ahead of Clinton at 45 percent of the polls

on:

263

Swing: 111

votes needed to win

Minnesota a 10

a

Michigan 16

Iowa 6

Ohio Indiana 18 Illinois 11 20 Missouri Kentucky 10 8

s

ahoma 7

New York 29

Pennsylvania 20 Virginia 13

Tennessee 11

North Carolina 15

South Carolina 9 MissiGeorgia ssippi Alabama 16 9 6

Arkansas 6

OHIO: Trump is ahead of Clinton by two points in the polls, 46 percent to 44 percent.

GEORGIA: Trump leads in the poll with about 47 percent of the votes to

Massachusetts 11

West Virginia 5

Wisconsin 10

favoring him.

New Hampshire 4 Vermont Maine 3 4

Louisiana 8

Florida 29

Alaska 3

TOTAL FUNDRAISED CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE: $497,808,791 OUTSIDE GROUPS: $171,240,103

Clinton’s 43 percent.

ARIZONA: Clinton leads the poll with 43 percent of votes to Trump’s

Rhode Island 4 Connecticut 7 New Jersey 14 Delaware 3

42 percent.

NEVADA: Clinton leads Trump in the poll with 45 to 44 percent.

NORTH CAROLINA: Trump trails Clinton by two points at 47 to 45 percent.

Maryland 10

SUPER PAC SUPPORTERS Priorities USA Action: $175, 968,142 Balance of Power PAC: $252, 607 Help Elect Women: $180,927 Faith Voters for Hillary: $11,640 First Lady Bill: $0 African-Americans for Hillary: $0

Democratic Party presidential nominee Age: 69 Sex: Female Race: White Education: Yale Law School Title: Secretary of state, U.S. senator Years in office: 12

HILLARY CLINTON

SOURCE: CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS

STAND ON MAJOR ISSUES? EDUCATION

IMMIGRATION

ECONOMY

HEALTH

FOREIGN POLICY

Clinton said her plan would remove tuition fees at public colleges or universities for in-state students who make less than $85,000 annually.

In this plan, students whose families make up to $125,000 annually will also be able to attend a four-year university or college with zero tuition cost starting in 2021.

She also promises to eliminate community college tuition costs for in-state students.

She promises to invest $25 billion to support historically Black and Hispanic-serving institutions.

To end campus sexual assault, she wants to provide counseling survivors, establish transparency in campus disciplinary procedures and improve prevention.

Within 100 days of taking office, Clinton promises to create an immigration reform that would end three- and 10-year bans for mixed citizenship families and enforce the U.S. border through humane and targeted policing.

This plan would close private immigration detention centers and end the deportation of families.

She plans to defend Deferred Alien Citizenship Act (DACA) and pass the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA).

DAPA would have granted special immigration status to certain families who entered the U.S. since 2010, but it was blocked in 2015.

Within 100 days of taking office, Hillary Clinton promises to create a plan that would invest $50 billion in jobs in manufacturing, infrastructure, small businesses and clean energy solutions.

She aims to increase the national minimum wage to $15 an hour.

She plans for Wall Street reform that would prosecute individuals or corporations who abuse power by closing tax and insurance loopholes.

Clinton wants to impose a 4 percent “fair share surcharge” to taxpayers making more than $5 million a year and create a base fee based on the size of a financial institution.

She said will set a 30 percent tax base on taxpayers who are millionaires.

Clinton said she would expand on the Affordable Care Act and other state-based Medicaid programs by streamlining the enrollment process for low-income families and providing access regardless of residency status.

She plans to provide treatment and rehabilitation instead of mass incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses.

Nonviolent offenses would not be considered as a “strike”.

She promises to defend the Social Security system.

She said she wants to reduce the pay gap between women and men, especially for “women of color.”

She said she wants to guarantee payment to workers for up to 12 weeks of medical leave.

Within the first 100 days of taking office, she plans to create a budget reform that would balance defense and non-defense spending.

This plan will also invest funding to develop and improve military technology to fight ISIS and other threats.

She said she wants to establish a “no-fly zone” over Syria and parts of Iraq while increasing support to local Arab and Kurdish ground forces.

After once saying the Trans Pacific Partnership was the “gold standard,” she is now against the international trade agreement.

SUES

NCES

LORENZO MOROTTI / THE ADVOCATE

Election cycle exposes biases

BY Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

The arena of politics is known to be a man’s place.

But with a woman candidate running for president of the U.S., women are being constantly reminded of the struggles of being a woman.

“A lot of men think a women can’t run for president of the United States. They wonder why a woman is even running for president now,” Contra Costa College biochemistry major Lizbeth Martinez said.

“They think a woman can’t run the country. I think a lot of women are put down, and because Donald Trump is a man he can do what he wants to do without anyone telling him anything to try to stop him.”

The United States’ presidential election on Tuesday will determine the leader of the country for the next four years: Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton or Republican Party nominee Donald Trump.

As Clinton is getting 49 percent of the vote and Trump 46 percent, according to BBC News’ Oct. 29 polls, the personal attacks on Clinton proceed. However she maintains her composure despite being told she is not presidential material.

“She doesn’t have the look. She doesn’t have the stamina,” Trump said during the first Presidential Debate on Sept. 26. “I said she doesn’t have the stamina, and I don’t believe she does have the stamina. To be president of this country, you need tremendous stamina,” he said.

For centuries women have been held back from taking their nations’ leadership roles simply for being women.

CCC political science professor Vanna Gonzales said, “It’s really hard for women in politics. It’s exceptional that Hillary has had a huge leadership role in the Democratic Party, but a lot of people would argue that’s because (her husband) Bill Clinton was president.”

In the Constitution of the United States

Article II, Section 1, “The executive power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years…” By using the masculine pronoun he, the Constitution disregards women as president. But women everywhere are inspired by Clinton’s bravery. Sociology major Raquel Antolin said, “I am with her. It’s amazing how much of a role model she is for women because she is running for president.”

In 1872, the first woman to run for president of the U.S., Victoria Woodhull, an American leader of the women’s suffrage movement, broke the glass ceiling for women, despite not even having the right to vote yet.

Antolin said, “It’s seen that if the U.S. has a woman for president then all other countries will see (the country) as a joke.”

During a campaign rally at Wingham High School in New Hampshire on Aug. 6, Trump said, “Unstable Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment, temperament and moral

character to lead this country.”

With constant shaming, calling out and even interrupting her 55 times during the first presidential debate, the mockery of women continues from Trump.

Antolin said, “I don’t have the words to explain why we let Donald Trump get so far.

Is this normal? What is America doing if we let a person like that even become a nominee for president. I think everyone is undermining Hillary’s capability to run the country.”

Gonzales said there is an organization called Emily’s List, an American political action committee, that aims to elect prochoice, Democratic women candidates to office.

“Women are turned off by politics for precisely this reason,” Gonzales said.

“There is a problem with women, with what is often called the ‘pipeline.’ It doesn’t have to do with women not wanting to run, but it has to do with the way the (male-dominated) establishment works. It is very difficult (for women) to get the money (to run)”

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City Mayor

City Council

San Pablo, Richmond City Council candidates campaign for support as election day looms RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

NATHANIEL ‘NAT’ BATES

Nathaniel Bates, former mayor of Richmond, Calif. is running for re-election for his longest running position in his political career as city council person.

Councilman Bates represents the true heart of those who live or work in Richmond.

Bates is known by his capability to get things done in the city by negotiating and working with his other representatives of Richmond.

Bates began his political career in Richmond as a city councilman in 1967

and was elected to a six-year term.

He was later re-elected in 1973 for another six-year term through 1979 which was a total of 16 consecutive years through 1983.

Bates was appointed two times as Richmond mayor by his colleagues on the council in 1971 and 1976.

He again ran for the City Council in 1995 and was elected to another four-year term.

Bates’ election in 2012 gave him the highest number of votes in the history of the Richmond city council election and nine terms of elective office.

— Salvador Godoy

2009 by the Richmond Crime

Prevention Committee and the Activist of the Year Award from the mayor of Richmond for 2009.

Boozé is also known for his advocacy for senior citizens and the disabled in the area.

Prior to running for city council, Boozé attended city council meetings for 10 years without missing a single one, giving him the ability to know the council in and outs.

— Sean Austin

VINAY PIMPLE

Vinay Pimple is running for election for the Richmond C i t y Council after being appointed to a vacant seat in

November 2015.

He emigrated from India at the age of 25 obtaining a doctorate from Rutgers University in New Jersey and then a law degree from UC Berkeley.

Two of his main priorities are education and working to understand the minority

groups that are a part of Richmond as well as st re ng t h ening the relationship between the West Contra Costa Unified School District and the City of Richmond.

Pimple also wants to collaborate with city businesses and the Chamber of Commerce to find out how they can attract more residents, shoppers and business owners to Richmond.

— Edwin Herrera

UCHE UWAHEMU

Richmond City Council candidate Dameion King is no stranger to the needs of his community.

Having grown up in the Iron Triangle, the lifelong Richmond resident plans to empower the community through education and political transparency, while encouraging relatable, ever-engaging political discourse among the city’s youth. At 37, King is the youngest candidate for city council.

King attended Contra Costa College as a health and human services major.

He served on the Richmond Housing Authority’s Advisory Committee and as chairperson of the Marin Clean Energy’s Community Leadership Advisory Group, and currently works as a re-entry career coach for Rubicon Programs, assisting those

w h o h av e recently been released f r o m prison re-adjust to society.

After facing criminal charges and going through the legal system, King is a firm believer in second chances and hopes to show inner city youth no matter how dire their circumstances may seem, they can always make a positive change for themselves and for the community.

needed to attend any college, university or trade school they choose in order to continue their education.

Myrick understands that there is still much work needed to be done so all high school graduates can have a successful future.

— Jose Chavez

Progressive Alliance candidate Ben Choi is running for Richmond City Council.

If elected, Choi aims to keep the streets of Richmond safe and he supports rent control to maintain fair and affordable housing for Richmond residents. He is also interested in helping increase job availability and support the current workforce to ensure workers are paid fair wages and can support their families. He is a supporter of an eco-friendly environment and vows to fight climate change.

Choi comes from a background of diversity, which influences his perspective and how he serves others. Individual contributors who support his values have funded Choi’s campaign. He has refused to accept money from businesses.

Choi was appointed to the Richmond Planning Commission and has been sup-

porti n g t h e city of

Richmond for six years. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Sunflower Alliance and the League of Conservation Voters of the East Bay have endorsed him.

— Roxana Amparo

MELVIN WILLIS

B o r n a n d raised in Richmond California, Melvin Willis is a current member of ACCE, and also served as Richmond’s youngest ever city planning commissioner (20122014) Willis is running for city council and is

known in Richmond by many for trying to keep Richmond residents in their homes.

Willis holds the same values as Vermont Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders and he wants to reshape politics by adding new leadership.

Willis said, “We need to defeat the Republican presidential candidate and reject hatred, toward women, people of color, and immigrants.”

— Julian Robinson

JAMES ‘JIM’ ROGERS One of the longest serving Richmond C i t y Councilman is running for a Richmond Council position once again.

Jim Rogers began working as a member of the Board of Supervisors for Contra Costa County from 1994-1998 and started working for the Richmond City Council in 2002 until 2015.

Being a lawyer since 1980, he is also known as the “Peoples Lawyer” around the Bay Area.

Rogers submitted a plan to redirect developmental money to fix city pot-

holes and has had success with the removal of cigarette and alcohol billboards near schools.

If elected, the 61-year-old Democrat plans to make school areas a better environment for children.

— Jaleel Perry

— Naylea Hernandez

SAN PABLO MAYORIAL CANDIDATE

CESAR ZEPEDA

Cesar Zepeda is one of Richmond’s city council members.

Zepeda is a product of the Richmond community as he is an alumnus of Richmond High School and Contra Costa College.

Zepeda aims to bring energy, creativity and increase community building skills if elected.

He aims to work to bring the Richmond community together and forward with prosperity as well as help residents raises funds for the city.

Zepeda has served on nonprofit

Jael Myrick is a member of the Richmond C i t y Council who aims to make R i ch mond’s environment better.

He is focused on preparing the youth for a bright future, and get them off the streets and into a classroom.

He proposed the Richmond Promise which is a collaboration between businesses and the City of Richmond.

The proposal aims to make sure that every student in Richmond has the funds

BEN CHOI

COURTLAND ‘CORKY’ BOOZE

Current Richmond City Councilman Courtland “Corky” Boozé is in the running for re-election this November.

Boozé moved to Richmond in 1978 and felt the residents of the city were underrepresented and in need of a voice.

“I will continue to be the community voice for the citizens of Richmond who are unable to speak out for themselves,” Boozé said.

Boozé’s top priorities as a councilman are crime reduction, infrastructure and attracting new businesses to create more jobs for Richmond residents.

Some of his accomplishments in the community have caused him to receive awards for activism such as the Dr. Martin Luther King/Tent City Peace Movement Award. He has also received the Crime Prevention Activist of the Year award for

JAEL MYRICK

boards around the Bay Area helping various causes, including the rebuilding of Kennedy Park and participating in the Richmond/El Cerrito Toy Drive.

He is also a founding member of nonprofit organizations Somos Latin@s and Richmond Rainbow Pride.

In 2015, he received recognition for volunteering in crime prevention and safety by the city of Richmond.

Zepeda also handled management and finances for the Hilltop District as the president of the Hilltop District Neighborhood Council.

His accomplishments under the council includes light pole installations, building ADA accessible sidewalks and increase revenue for business.

— Jessica Suico

RICH KINNEY

Current San Pablo Mayor Rich Kinney is running for re-election when his term expires in November.

He was a Republican candidate for District 9 of the California Senate.

He ran unsuccessfully for District 15 of the California Assembly in 2014.

For more than 17 years he has served the San Pablo community through a multiple of capacities including adult education teacher, assistant basketball coach at Richmond High School and Contra Costa College, and chaplain for the San Pablo Police Department, Richmond Police Department and the County’s Sheriff ’s Department.

He is committed to protecting and pre-

serving the San Pablo community.

H i s priorities are the people, multi-cultural residents, residents’ well-being, in which he envisions a healthy environment and families, good schools, safety for all residents, equal opportunities for college, career and job training.

— Christian Urrutia

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San Pablo, representatives, measures

San Pablo mayorial candidates vie for votes, campaigns for Congressional, Assembly positions; local measures explained SAN PABLO CITY MAYORIAL CANDIDATES

KATHY CHAO ROTHBERG

CECILIA VALDEZ Cecilia Valdez is a recogn i z e d c o m munity member who is in the running to be re-elected as a council member of the city of San Pablo.

Having served 25 years in the San Francisco Superior Courts and retiring from her career in court reporting, Valdez is now actively participating in serving the San Pablo community and is hoping to pursue a spot as a council member for the city.

She is currently serving as a member of the Contra Costa College Foundation Board of Directors and is looking forward to funding youth athletic groups and services as well as other nonprofits that offer services to families.

Valdez is a transportation board representative in the WCCTAC (West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee) and wants to continue to sup-

port bus services for families and seniors, while helping seek ways to reduce traffic congestion all along the I-80 and fund local street maintenance.

She’s also hoping to reduce greenhouse gas emission by increasing recycling.

Valdez also wishes to continue to support the police department’s emphasis on gang prevention and intervention programs, as well as technology to combat crime.

—Naylea Hernandez

responsibility, and loyalty believing in equality, diversity, progress and community and by holding many leadership roles over the years as an advocate for social justice, executive union board member, president of a nonprofit organization and a former vice mayor of San Pablo.

He wants to work for the residents of San Pablo once again and to continue improving the quality of life in the city with the best interest of residents at heart and wants to move city business forward to progress.

— Christian Urrutia

exemptions. One of them being upon proper application to the district, the district may exempt any parcel from the parcel tax that is owned and occupied as a principal residence by a person 65 years of age or older.

State law requires the district’s chief fiscal officer to file an annual report with the WCCUSD’s Board of Education that states the amounts of funds received and expended in each year. The CFO must also report the status of any projects required or authorized to be funded from the parcel tax proceeds.

The proceeds from the parcel tax will be deposited into a district account that will be kept separate from other district accounts. Parcel tax funds will be the subject to an annual independent financial audit, which shall be made public.

— Christian Urrutia

CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY: DISTRICT 11

MEASURE X Measure X is on Contra Costa County’s November ballot. If passed into law it will raise the sales tax by an additional .5 percent for 30 years to fund transportation projects.

The measure will support the repair of potholes, enhance transit for seniors and people with disabilities and increase pedestrian safety.

This measure requires a two-thirds “yes” vote to pass into law.

If passed there will be a committee that is going to regulate the spending and will make reports available for the public for transparency.

The supporters of the measure, such as the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee, argue that this will bring a “robust” plan to improve transpor-

tation and assures strong accountability by making sure the money is authorized by the voters.

Many improvements from this measure will take place on Highways 4, 24, 80 and 680 by adding carpool lanes, fixing roads and improving air quality countywide.

The opposition argues that this measure has no plan to relieve congestion, it also does not protect the transit funding and that the supporters are using an outdated plan.

The Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund, an organization that is against the measure, states a complete congestion relief plan is not needed to improve air quality and transportation.

— Efrain Valdez

Measure RR is a bond issue for Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). Voters in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties will decide if BART will increase its debt to $3.5 billion through general obligation bonds.

The interest rates on each series will not exceed the maximum rate allowed by law and the bonds will be used to upgrade the tracks and tunnels.

Two-thirds of the voters must vote yes on the measure to allow the district to authorize these bonds.

The supporters of this measure argue that BART needs to complete major repairs on its aging system.

This would involve fixing miles of BART tracks, repairing tunnels that have water damage and enhancing the system’s ability to withstand an earthquake.

The supporters have emphasized their focus to making BART safer for riders and a more efficient commute.

Other improvements include replacing old elevators, improving bus connections and ensuring better access for seniors and

people with disabilities.

On the other hand, the opposition argues that BART has made many reckless decisions in the past.

According to the East Bay Times, an estimate of $1.2 billion from the November measure bond could backfill labor costs.

BART officials are being accused of talking about rebuilding its system but have never made any strides to rebuild.

According to the Oakland Tribune, they failed to plan and save the funds, while overly compensating employees.

If BART is allowed to receive these funds, it will not be fully repaid until the year 2065.

If put into law, Measure RR will allow BART to start rebuilding its aging infrastructure with some help by the taxpayers.

This will not a guarantee that it will pay back these bonds or if they will even make the improvements.

— Efrain Valdez

U.S. REP. CONGRESSIONAL: DISTRICT 11

MARK DESAULNIER

DAVE MILLER D a v e Miller is a Republican running for District 11 in the California Assembly.

Miller is the managing executive partner of SPAN Corp., a political consulting firm for conservative candidates.

He comes from a background as a strategist in community outreach, social services, public relations and government affairs. Miller has also 30 years of experience working in New York in the public and private sector.

Miller has experience working on a variety of political campaigns from city council to presidential elections, serving as a field director, advisor and vice president of several campaign operations.

Strong Second Amendment advocacy

— Naylea Hernandez

MEASURE RR

MEASURE T The board of the West Contra Costa Unified School District has adopted a resolution proposing to extend its current parcel tax (a qualified special tax).

This ballot measure asks voters to decide whether an existing parcel tax should continue to be imposed on parcels of taxable real property within the district for eight years, beginning July 1, 2019.

The proposed tax would expire June 30, 2027.

The ballot measure states that the proceeds of the parcel tax will be used for protecting core academics, reading, writing, math, and science.

This aims to also attract and retain quality teachers, support science lab materials and activities, provide lower class sizes and prepare students for college and the workforce.

Proceeds from the parcel tax may be used only for the specific purposes set forth in the ballot.

The ballot measure includes certain

support many things, such as an expanded urgent medical care center that opens seven days a week, a new library and fire center, a new community center, and more.

She’s also hoping to continue the improvement for roads and lighting to reduce accidents and street dumping.

LOCAL BOND MEASURES

ARTURO CRUZ Arturo Cruz is a retired county clerk for San Pablo and was elected the first Latino city councilman in 2008.

Cruz considers it an honor to have served the City of San Pablo. He was raised and has lived in the city for over 40 years. He has attended Lake Elementary, Helms Middle School and Richmond High.

His first job was as a paperboy for West County Times.

Cruz’s slogan is Leading Change Now. Living in San Pablo has helped him understand the importance of family values and is driven by vision, determination,

Kathy Chao Rothberg, a native of Laos, is running to be re-elected to be a San Pablo council member this upcoming November.

She has attended schools within the WCCUSD (West Contra Costa Unified School District) and values the importance of education within the community she was raised in.

Rothberg is very career-oriented and has expert knowledge ranging from mixeduse real estate, community development, financial education-asset development, and senior and family support services and are some of the many reasons as to why she decided to serve the San Pablo community.

She has been involved in the Richmond City Youth Council in order to collaborate in providing advice for youth members and help them stay off the streets.

Rothberg is hoping to continue to

and abolishing the death penalty are issues Miller takes on.

Miller said taxes increases and political bullying are factors that are working to reshape the district’s political makeup.

Miller’s Republican roots started as a child as he helped campaigned for former president Richard Nixon.

Miller currently lives in Fairfield, Calif. with his wife and daughter.

— Julian Robinson

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of Calif o r n i a’s 11th Congressional District recently has received perfect scores on the National Education Association’s (NEA) and the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) report cards.

DeSaulnier has held residence in the Bay Area for more than 20 years, and he has been a leader for California’s citizens.

He has represented California in Congress since 2015 where he fights for the well-being of his people in the community.

DeSaulnier has served in two House committees: Education and the Workforce, and Oversight and Government Reform.

DeSaulnier not only has been successful in politics, but also in business.

He has been a business owner of restau-

rants in the Bay Area.

On April 29, 2015, DeSaulnier helped institute Senate Bill 1077, which passed the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, with a 9-0 vote.

SB 1077 created a mileage based fee in California to replace the state’s existing fuel excise tax.

Early in his political career DeSaulnier served as the mayor of Concord, Calif. where he currently lives.

— Karla Juarez

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election coverage

House of Representatives, Assembly, Senate candidates

Congressional district representatives, California Assembly, Senate candidates at a glance UNITED STATES SENATOR: CALIFORNIA

KAMELA HARRIS

Kamala Harris, currently the 32nd attorney general of California is running for the U.S. Senate against opponent Loretta in the Nov. 8 general

Sanchez election.

Harris served as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County from 1990 to 1998.

After 1998, she became the managing attorney of the Career Criminal Unit in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

In 2009 Harris wrote the book “Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer,” where she analyzes criminal justice from an economic perspective

and attempts to reduce temptation and access for criminals.

On Nov. 12, 2008, Harris announced her candidacy for California attorney general.

Harris was soon seen as the front runner and was endorsed by many prominent Californians including Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

As attorney general, Harris has been committed to protecting human rights for California citizens.

— Salvador Godoy

STATE SENATE: DISTRICT 9

NANCY SKINNER

Nancy Skinner is a Democrat r u n n i ng for the California Senate.

Skinner is an environmental activist and politician who was a member of the state Assembly from California’s 15th Assembly District for three terms.

Part of the work she does includes working to fight global warming and other challenges that affect the environment and the people affected by them.

An issue she would like to prioritize as state senator is housing and homelessness by adopting a comprehensive and affordable housing policy. She believes those who are homeless need permanent housing with

the support services to keep themselves afloat.

Skinner supports education, beginning at the pre-school level and continuing through college, universally. To help working families, her plan is to ensure that schools can provide a full day of kindergarten, lowering the opportunity gap in children’s education. Also, she wants to ensure easier access to programs l i k e CalFresh, a state nutritional assistance program, to support those families in need..

Sandre Swanson is one of the Democratic candidates for the 2nd District of the California State Senate. He served three successful terms as a member of the California Assembly. He actively advocates for expanding the middle-class with more sustainable jobs, and works with d i s a d v a nt a g e d youth. Swanson has spent extensive time working in the political setting having previously served as deputy mayor for the City of Oakland, where he developed small businesses and jobs.

Additionally, he served five years as chief of staff for Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and worked for 25 years as the district director and senior policy adviser for Congressman Ronald Dellums. He

has put in numerous hours working with “The Boys and Men of Color Movement in California” to make school discipline reform a priority.

Now, actual changes in state policy are moving forward.

T h i s committee focuses on how education, health care, employment and public safety policies are developed, delivered and financed with the goal of improving these policies to better support the health and success of young men of color.

— Roxana Amparo

LORETTA SANCHEZ

After serving for three years as California’s 46th Congressional District representative, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez has decided to run for the U.S. Senate following the seat opening after the retirement of C a l i f o r n i a’s c u r re nt Senator Barbara Boxer.

T h e Democratic California representative has been serving in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997 where she first served as California’s 46th District representative until 2003.

Then in 2003 Congresswoman Sanchez was elected representative of California’s 47th District and held that seat for 10 years until deciding to run again in the 2013

election for California’s 4 6 t h District representative and winning, earning her the title she currently holds.

Sanchez’s voting record complements her liberal views as research shows she fully supports social issues such as a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, legalizing marijuana and equal rights for women and the LGBTQ community..

— Anthony Kinney

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 9:

JERRY MCNERNEY

Rep. Jerry McNerney is a Democrat representing District 9 which covers large areas of San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Sacramento counties.

Mc Ne r n e y has a Ph.D. in mathematics, starting off as a small business owner and renewable energy engineer until he was inspired to run for Congress by his son Michael in 2007.

Since, McNerney has fought for closing tax loopholes used by cor p orations that send jobs overseas. He’s a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce which works to fight climate change through renewable energy.

— Dylan Collier

STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 11:

JIM FRAZIER

McNerney serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and works toward providing veterans with care and benefits. He also wrote and passed a new law which will improve care for veterans returning home with traumatic brain injuries.

McNerney has worked hard standing up for what is right for the region and creating jobs, while balancing the budget and preserving Social Security and Medicare.

— Michael Santone

DISTRICT 15:

ERIC SWALWELL

E r i c Swalwell is running for his third twoyear term as United S t a t e s Democratic Congressman representing California’s 15th District.

Swalwell was born in Sac City, Iowa and raised in Dublin, Calif. where he now resides. He earned his bachelor’s degree in government politics from the University of Maryland.

For the last 10 years Swalwell has worked as a district attorney for Alameda County and served as a member of the Dublin City Council for six years.

Swalwell actively supports having a “mobile Congress,” where members would cast their votes remotely, and spend most of their time at home in their district. Also, he believes in abolishing the No Child Left Behind Act, while increasing funding for education.

He advocates for creating new jobs in renewable energy with the help of federal stimulus money. He says that he would

SANDRE SWANSON

work hard raising the Social Security cap in order to have wealthier Americans to pay into the program.

He would like to continue trying to solve the big problems in the country, such as increasing opportunities for working families, immigration reform, and enacting reforms to reduce gun violence.

Additionally, Swalwell is an active supporter of H.R. 2962, which is America’s College Promise Act, and would m a k e t w o years of community college free f o r responsible students.

This would be open to any first-time student who qualifies for resident tuition; enrolls at least half-time; maintains satisfactory academic progress; and enrolls in an academic program with credits that are fully transferable to any public institution of higher education, or enrolls in a training program that leads to credentials in an in-demand industry.

— Dylan Collier

Born in Martinez, Calif., Jim Frazier is running for re-election of the 11th District California Assembly seat against Dave Miller. He is from Oakley, Calif. where he served as the city’s mayor and as a city council member. In 2012 he was elected to the state Legislature. In 2014, Speaker Toni Atkins named Frazier as chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee. His priorities are increasing the transportation infrastructure, helping veterans to get more services, maintaining funds for local public safety and encouraging job creation. As

mayor of O a k l e y, Frazier had $83 m i l lion put into the Highway 4 bypass improvements creating over 1,000 jobs. He has received the Oakley Citizen of the Year award, Threads of Hope Award and Bay Area Jefferson Award for Public Service.

— Efrain Valdez

DISTRICT 15:

TONY THURMOND

Tony Thurmond is in the California Assembly alongside his work as a nonprofit leader, school board member, and a city council member. He believes that in order to progress as a state, the progress starts locally.

Thurmond has taken steps to make sure the East Bay i s better for its people a n d California as a whole i s improved by passing legislation ensuring that youth are safer from the harmful effects

of tobacco, women are protected f r o m inequality in the workplace and the public and environment are safe from pollution, specifically pollution that can cause cancer.

He also wants to make sure high school students have opportunities to learn skills that will translate into high-income job positions.

— Jose Chavez

election coverage

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 11.2.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

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Propositions 52, 53, 54, 55, 57 and 59

BILL EXAMINES REFORM, CHANGE State funded effort to repeal ruling proposed

BY Anthony Kinney ADVOCATE STAFF

akinney.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 59 will ask California voters if elected officials should use their constitutional authority to propose legislation that would overturn Citizens United and seek to increase the regulation of political candidates’ campaign spending.

Proposition 59 comes as a response to the Supreme Court

decision in 2010 on the case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which ruled that laws placing limits on the political spending of corporations and unions is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court decided that political contributions and campaign spending is protected as “free speech” under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In other words, it gave corporations the green light to spend unlimited sums of money on ads and other political tools.

Those who say yes to Proposition 59 are opposed to big money in politics and believe that corporations should not have

the same constitutional rights as human beings.

Although it doesn’t legally require any particular action from legislators, a yes vote on Proposition 59 would tell Congress that citizens want big money out of politics.

The proposition calls for increased regulation on campaign contributions and spending.

A no on Proposition 59 means no to asking Congress to help put an end to corporate money in politics.

Proposition 59 would call on California’s elected officials to work on overturning the Supreme Court ruling as well as ensuring that corporations don’t have the same constitutional rights as human beings.

Supporters suggest that all citizens regardless of wealth have a say in the election process.

Those who are against Proposition 59 say that the measure is an ineffective waste of taxpayers’ money and that California’s politicians should focus on more important state issues, such as transparency in local government and bringing jobs to California.

There is no organized party opposing Proposition 59, despite the fact that most Republican state senators and representatives voted against putting the measure on this year’s ballot.

The official ballot question which hopes to explain the need for the proposition asks if state

officials should use all of their authority to propose or ratify one or more amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The question, however, does not ask or answer how much of a state’s fiscal resources should or can be dedicated to changing federal laws.

Proposition 59 is opposed by over two dozen Republican lawmakers, many of whom voted against the measure even appearing on the ballot.

The bill has a host of supporters from progressive organizations and political parties.

California’s Democratic Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, and the Green Party of California back this measure.

Projects need approval TAX INCREASE ON WORKING PEOPLE TO BE DETERMINED

BY Efrain Valdez ADVOCATE STAFF

evaldez.theadvocate@gmail.com

On the November ballot Californians will vote on Proposition 53, which if passed will require statewide voter approval before the state could issue revenue bonds worth more than $2 billion.

This applies to any projects that are financed, owned or operated by a joint agency formed between state and federal or local governments. So, if the state must build infrastructure like a bridge, freeway or government office buildings, they either pay those projects as they go

along or borrow money by selling bonds to investors.

Two billion dollars is a lot of money, so there will be few projects that will exceed that mark for voter approval.

Some examples that would most likely need voter approval are the SacramentoSan Joaquin River Delta building project or the California High-Speed Rail project.

The group of people in favor of Proposition 53 argues that this will stop politicians from issuing blank checks to complete state projects. This also gives a voice to the taxpayers when

it comes to big government spending, adds transparency and holds politicians accountable.

The opposition argues that this bill, if passed, will allow voters from faraway regions to deny local projects that communities need. Also, if passed, Proposition 53 could delay the state’s ability to repair infrastructure damaged by natural disaster or age.

If passed this proposition will add transparency between taxpayers and government, but it might also hurt if quick response repairs are needed.

Prison reform up for vote

BY Efrain Valdez ADVOCATE STAFF

evaldez.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 57 is a measure on the California November ballot. If passed it will increase parole chances for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes and allows them to earn credits for good behavior. Also, it allows judges, not prosecutors, to decide to try certain juveniles as adults.

Back in 2011, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the overcrowded prisons in California violated the Eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The state was ordered to reduce its prison population.

The population dropped after Californians approved Proposition 47 in 2014, which reduced a few nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 57 was also designed as a tool to further reduce the prison population numbers.

Supporters of the measure argue that this will provide a reliable way to reduce California’s overcrowded prison population. This measure will keep the dangerous felons in prison and it will reduce the taxpayer spending on inmate living costs.

Proposition 57 is supported by Gov. Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsroom and former U.S. House Speaker

Newt Gingrich.

Much of the supporters’ argument revolves around the failed “war on drugs” that skyrocketed California’s prison population by 500 percent over the last few decades since the 1990s.

The opposition, however, will argue that the measure was poorly written and would allow violent criminals like rapist and human traffickers to be released early from prison.

If put into law, Proposition 57 will overturn victims’ rights legislation like Marsy’s Law and the “three strikes” law.

Another argument that the opposition uses is that

the measure will force victims to relive their experiences due to the increase in the number of parole hearings.

And that this legislation can lead to higher crime rates.

Some notable opponents of Proposition 57 are the California Republican Party, U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez and many county prosecutors in the state.

Many of the county prosecutors oppose this measure because it strips their power to try juvenile inmates as adults in court.

This measure could ease the California prison population problem but it also has the potential to raise the crime rate.

MEDICAL ON BALLOT

BY Efrain Valdez ADVOCATE STAFF

evaldez.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 52, if passed would extend the current MediCal hospital fee program that generates $3 billion annually and prohibits the Legislature from using these funds for any other purpose than MediCal expenses.

This measure would allow the use of available federal funds. Also, under the measure, changes to the hospital fee would require voter approval.

The group in favor of Proposition 52 argues that by passing the measure it will provide insurance to 13 million Californians — 6.7 million of them children, 1.6 million seniors with chronic diseases and 4.5 million low-income families.

Proposition 52 says if the state government wants to make changes to MediCal, the Californian taxpayers must vote on it before the Legislature makes the change. This provides taxpayers with a certain sense of involvement

in government spending.

The opposition states that this measure just hands billions of dollars to hospital CEOs with no strings attached, no oversight and no requirement to spend this money on health care.

Proposition 52 does not assure that the money being raised for MediCal will be spent wisely by the hospital CEOs. This measure is an important issue for low-income families and seniors because this law influences their daily health.

Bill to strengthen school spending on Tuesday’s ballot

BY Jessica Suico ADVOCATE STAFF

jsuico.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 55 extends by 12 years the temporary personal income tax increases enacted in 2012 on earnings over $250,000 with revenues allocated to K-12 schools, California community colleges, and in certain years, health care.

The fiscal impact is increased state revenues from $4 billion to $9 billion annually from 2019-2030 depending on the economy and stock market.

It increased funding for schools, community colleges, health care for low income people, budget reserves and debt payments.

A yes vote on this measure means income tax increases on high income taxpayers which are scheduled to end after 2018, would instead be extended through 2030. A no vote on this measure means income tax increases on high income taxpayers would expire as scheduled at the end of 2018.

Proposition 55 prevents $4 billion in cuts to California’s public schools, and increases children’s access to health care by maintaining current tax rates on the wealthiest Californians by using strict account ability requirements.

Supporters say Proposition 55 maintains existing tax rates, so the wealthy pay their fair share to provide adequate funding for education and health care.

Proposition 55 has strict accountability requirements making sure that the funding reaches the schools.

Opponents say voters who approved Proposition 30 in 2012 were promised that tax increases would be temporary not permanent.

They say Proposition 55 tax increases are not needed to adequately fund education, health care and state government and that it would be a job killer.

These tax increases as additional revenue would continue to provide funds to K-12 and community colleges. They would also be directed to the MediCal program, based on a new formula for tracking its funding.

Proposition 55 would not extend Proposition 30’s sales tax increase which will expire at the end of 2016.

Roughly half of any revenue increases would go to education.

Additional MediCal funding under Proposition 55 could vary significantly, possibly ranging up to a maximum of $2 billion per year. Proposition 55 could increase annual contributions to “Rainy Day” budget reserves and annual payments of state debts by $60 million to $1.5 billion or more.

‘Yes’ promotes law disclosure Proposition 54 requires a 72-hour online notice before public viewing

BY Benjamin Bassham NEWS EDITOR

bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com

Proposition 54, if passed, will require that every bill in California be published in print and online for at least 72 hours before either house of the Legislature can vote on it.

The Legislature will also be obliged to make audiovisual recordings of its public proceedings and publish them online within 24 hours, and the public may freely record open legislative proceedings themselves.

As of Oct. 28, the yes campaign

had raised about $10.9 million and the no campaign had scraped together just over $27,279.

Charles Munger, Jr. who developed the initiative provided 99.9 percent of the yes campaign’s warchest.

Similarly, 99.9 of the token resistance’s funding came from the California Democratic Party, presumably just because Munger is a Republican.

The yes camp cites increased transparency at no added cost (since the budget already exists) and protection from extensive rewriting of bills as the reasons for the proposition.

The opposition lists increased bureaucracy, the already budgeted $1-2 million setup cost and annual cost of about $1 million, the inconvenience of greater transparency and the fact that the proposition would serve Munger’s interests as reasons to vote against the proposition.

As California law exists today, some legislative meetings can already be kept out of public knowledge under certain , vague circumstances.

Opponents also believe the act of publicly legislating in print and online will lead to opportunistic grandstand-

ing by public and elected officials. This is something dissenters believe will make the legislative process more difficult than it already is.

It will also produce an unlimited source of ammunition for political attack adds.

Financially, support for the bill has far outearned the opposition with yes voters raising $10,857,885.

The only poll that was conducted, with 622 participants, shows 66 percent support and 9 percent opposition to Proposition 54.

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election coverage

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 11.2.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Libertarian Party, Green Party choices available Voters can vote, support other groups

BY Michael Santone NEWS EDITOR

msantone.theadvocate@gmail.com

When it comes to voting in the U.S .in the 21st century, there are two well known parties, the Democrats and the Republicans.

But during this historic 2016 election season of all time lows, political rhetoric and fear, the American people are finding themselves conflicted on voting for the lesser of two evils.

They are almost entirely unfamiliar with their options for third party candidates as well. Megan Zapanta, a volunteer for a local non-profit who helps register voters said she hears students say they don’t know who to vote for and they don’t want to vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.

“This is the reason why they don’t want to vote, and they are unaware of their options,” Zapanta said.

On the ballot in California there are three additional parties and their respective candidates.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest nationally organized party, forming in December 1971 out of concern about the Nixon administration, the Vietnam war and the draft.

Its platform of maximum freedom and minimum government includes lowering taxes, abolishing the IRS, eliminating the welfare state, ending prohibition of illegal drugs, supporting same-sex marriage, ending capital punishment and gun ownership rights.

Gary Johnson, 63, the 2016 presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party, served as the Republican governor of New Mexico for eight years.

He believes in no governmental funding for abortions but will leave the decision up to women. Johnson also wants to balance the budget by cutting entitlements and defense, ending the Federal Reserve, fracking, coal mining and nuclear plants. He supports individual liberties, equal pay for equal work, zero corporate tax and private prisons.

The former governor ran in the 2012 presidential election receiving 1.3 million votes, more than any minor candidate and the most in Libertarian Party history.

The Green Party is the fourth largest nationally organized party, founded in April 2001.

Its progressive platform is based on four pillars — peace, ecology, social justice and democracy. This encompasses non-violence and anti-war, human interaction with nature and climate change, equal rights and opportunities, and a democracy where all humans can make their own decisions.

Jill Stein, 66, is the Green Party’s 2016 presidential nominee. She served

as the representative of the Lexington, Massachusetts Town Meeting in 2005 and 2008.

She is an activist and a practicing physician who believes health care is a right, protecting the woman’s right to choose, reducing spending via military cuts and preventative health care.

Stein also champions a 90 percent tax on bonuses for bailed out banks, ending racism and police militarization, and free college education.

In 2012 Stein ran for the presidency, receiving 469,501 votes and only reaching one percent of the electorate in Maine, Oregon and Alaska.

The Peace and Freedom Party is a left-wing organization founded in California in June 1967 out of disapproval with the Vietnam war.

It is on the ballot in more than 12 states including Florida, Colorado and Hawaii. Its party platform is committed to socialism, pro-peace politics, democracy, ecology, feminism and racial equality. This includes protecting the environment, maintaining aboriginal rights and Native American treaties, a socialist style health care system and employment, and socialist-run economy.

Gloria Estela La Riva. 62, is the presidential nominee for the Peace and Freedom Party and an American activist. She first ran in 1992 as a third party presidential candidate for the Workers World Party, as well as its vice-presidential candidate in the elections of 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000.

La Riva supports women’s reproductive rights and abortions on demand, and rational social and economic planning rather than it being left to be determined by the open market.

She also advocates for paying reparations with interest for slavery, opposes capital punishment and wants a shutdown of most prisons.

La Riva received the 10th highest votes totaling 6,821 during the 2008 presidential election.

Contra Costa College criminal justice major Pablo Serrano said among the minor parties, he’s only heard of the Libertarian Party.

“People are unfamiliar with third parties because they aren’t on debates or talked about on TV,” he said.

CCC political science professor Vanna Gonzales said because of the two party system, it’s an uphill battle for third party candidates.

“Electoral incentives are against outsiders,” she said. The way the states determine rules for the Electoral College creates a setback for alternative parties. The procedures and the popular vote by state being winnertake-all, causes the strength of third parties to weaken, Gonzales said.

According to the Federal Election Committee (FEC), if a third party gets over 15 million votes, which is 5 percent of the popular vote, it becomes eligible for public funding in the next election cycle.

When it comes to the presidential debates, which have been taken over by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) in 1987, third party candidates have not excelled.

No candidate has been included in the debates since 2001, when CPD made it mandatory for candidates to appear on enough state ballots while polling at 15 percent in at least five national polls. The barriers of bias in Electoral College rules, coupled with restrictions by the FEC and CPD, make it nearly impossible for the American public to get a chance to know any third party candidate.

Gonzales said when things are institutionalized it becomes difficult to change them, like with the setup of primaries and district voting. Those are institutional advantages that outsiders won’t have to help their campaigns.

“By design we live in a two party system,” Gonzalez said.

“We should live in a multiple party system, especially if you look at the goals of a democracy.”

Only 50 percent of eligible voters will vote, Gonzales said. It’s a missed opportunity for significant direction with the 17 state propositions and a large number of seats vacant in the U.S. Senate.

Alex Griffin, president of CCC C om mu n it y Organizing and Political Action club, said third party candidates rarely get mentioned, but students should know more about them because it gives variety and options at the polls.

“The two party system shows that America has to take a few more steps in the political process in order for it to grow and incorporate new ideas and different perspectives,” Griffin said.

JILL STEIN Jill Stein was born on May 14, 1950 in Chicago. Stein graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1973 and a master’s degree in 1979 from Harvard University. During her time as an physician, she realized the connection between the health of people and their local environment. Soon she turned toward activism. Stein has run for different public offices, winning the Town Meeting Seat Precinct 2 in Lexington, Mass. in March 2005.

Since then she ran as the Green Party presidential nominee in 2012 and is currently running for president again t h i s year.

GLORIA LA RIVA Gloria La Riva was born on Aug. 13, 1954 in Albuquerque, N.M. La Riva is a labor, community and antiwar activist who attended Brandeis University where she was active in affirmative action struggles. La Riva organized and participated in large demonstrations opposing war and the occupation in Central America, Iraq and Palestine. She received Cuba’s Friendship Medal in 2010 for her years of solidarity. Riva ran as a candidate to be the governor of California in 1994 and 1998.

GARY JOHNSON Gary Johnson was born on Jan. 1, 1953 in Minot, N.D. Johnson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of New Mexico. He started his own business in 1976, with the largest construction company in New Mexico. Johnson served as the governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, as a member of the Republican Party. He ran for the presidency in 2012 as the Libertarian Party presidential nominee.

PAGE DESIGN BY MARCI SUELA AND MICHAEL SANTONE / THE ADVOCATE

WHERE DO THE CANDIDATES STAND ON MAJOR ISSUES?

STEIN

EDUCATION

IMMIGRATION

Tuition-free education from pre-school through college.

Supports the DREAM Act, DACA and DAPA.

Student bailout by canceling loan debt.

Create legal status and pathway to citizenship for individuals living and working illegally in the U.S.

Opposes high stakes testing and the privatization of public schools.

Full free high quality public education from pre-school to graduate school.

Multi-lingual and multi-cultural education at all levels.

LA RIVA

Restore cutbacks in public education and public library services.

Have states control public education.

Eliminating the department of education.

JOHNSON

Encourages competition between schools to drive improvements in public education.

End the deporation of immigrants.

Call for the opening of all borders.

End the deporation of immigrants.

Full political, social and economic rights for resident non-citizens.

Supports DACA and DAPA. Make it easier for individuals without criminal records to work and obtain visas.

End the deporation of immigrants.

ECONOMY Provide relief and creation of jobs for an economy that’s sustainable.

HEALTH CARE

FOREIGN POLICY

Believes health care is a human right.

Re-examine NATO and its involvement with military and economic domination.

Support federal minimum wage of $15 an hour.

Medicare for all, through a single-payer health insurance program.

Proper tax on Wall Street, big business and the rich.

End overcharging of prescription drugs.

Weapons embargo and freeze accounts to stop the flow of ISIS.

Double the minimum wage and index it to the cost of living.

Free high quality health care for everyone.

No U.S. intervention anywhere.

No private patents on drugs developed through publicly-funded research.

Promote global disarmament by eliminating all of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Guarantee protection of workers and democratic rights in trade deals.

Rank and file socialist oriented labor movement.

All persons are entitled to the fruits of their own labors.

Repeal income tax and abolish internal revenue service.

Balance U.S. budget by exclusively cutting expenditures and not raising taxes.

Offer more community health care facilities.

Opposes federal government health insurance requirements.

Favor free-market health care system.

Ability to purchase health care insurance across state lines.

Support the boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel.

Dissolve all military pacts.

Non-interventist approach.

Critical of the NSA, government surveillance and mass-data collection.

Opposes any form of complusory national service.