The Advocate 3-1

WEDNESDAY l 3.1.17 OUR 67TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

San Francisco resident Elena Sanchez holds up a sign as she asks drivers to honk their horns in front of City Hall in San Francisco, during a demonstration, which was part of “A Day Without Immigrants” protests, on Feb. 16.

“ Many of them have lived here for many years and this is their home.”

— Elena Sanchez, San Francisco resident

DENIS PEREZ/ THE ADVOCATE

‘Day Without Immigrants’ rejects Trump’s America Nationwide protests harness social media to rally undocumented workers, supporters to boycott racially-charged border policies

BY Denis Perez PHOTO EDITOR

dperez.theadvocate@gmail.com

SAN FRANCISCO — Across the nation, immigrants of all statuses and communities responded to a call on social media to boycott school, work, their businesses or any monetary transactions as part of the “A Day Without Immigrants” demonstration on Feb. 16.

Organizers said its purpose was to display a united effort against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Protests were also used to

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highlight the large contributions, social and financial, that immigrants make to their communities every day.

Many protesters chose to silently stay home that day, but some took to the streets. At around 2 p.m., around 30 people stood on the Van Ness Avenue curb in front of San Francisco City Hall chanting and waving signs asking drivers to honk their horns for immigrant rights.

San Francisco resident Elena Sanchez held a sign reading, “I stand for myself and those who can’t” during the demonstration.

“I am out here in support for the immigrant community to call attention (to President Donald Trump’s policies),” Sanchez said. “Trump’s radical ideals have demonized the undocumented community and calling all of them illegal aliens is not reflective of all of their situations.

Many of them have lived here for many years and this is their home.”

Sanchez said she fears that eventually someone like herself, who is a resident of the United States, would SEE PROTEST, PAGE A4

Women hone skills, expand knowledge set

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Students have six fewer course sections to choose from at Contra Costa College this semester than during the 2016 spring semester.

Contra Costa Community College District Educational Services Associate Vice Chancellor Sally MontemayorLenz said CCC offers 777 sections, either online or on campus, this semester as of the Feb. 6 census date.

According to Montemayor-Lenz, the 2016 spring semester offered 783 courses.

And while there was a slight increase in student headcount for the 2017 spring semester, there are no plans to increase course offerings.

“We are not expecting more course offerings,” college President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said after the ASU meeting on Feb. 9. “We have actually slightly reduced course offerings this year in comparison to last year because frankly our fill rates were not good.”

Offering six fewer course sections seems minuscule, but it continues the downward trend.

Academic Senate President Beth Goehring said CCC eliminated 66 courses from 2015-16 to 2016-17 academic years to accommodate the $1.5 million reduction in the district’s operating budget.

Goehring said courses usually “roll over” from spring to spring, or fall to fall semesters, but if a class does not fill up it is canceled at the census date and SEE COURSE OFFERINGS, PAGE A4

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PAGE A8

MONTH HONORS WOMEN’S FIGHT FOR EQUALITY, PERSEVERANCE

FILE PHOTO / THE ADVOCATE

Peralta district hires college president

PAGE B4 & B5

Vice president appointed to top spot at Laney College

Drama sheds Cuban layers PAGE B8 INSTAGRAM: @cccadvocate

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs Tammeil Gilkerson was sworn in as Laney College’s president at the Peralta Community College District Governing Board’s meeting on Feb. 22.

Gilkerson, an Oakland resident, said she accepted the position via email last week before the Peralta District’s Governing Board made the announcement at its public meeting last night in the District Office Boardroom at 333 East 8th Street in Oakland.

After the board introduced

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her at the meeting, Gilkerson said she is excited to work at a college in her own community that reflects her personal values of equity and increasing student success.

“I am confident that my education and professional experience have prepared me to serve this remarkable college,” she said to a room full of Peralta district students, faculty and board members. “I look forward to officially joining the college and beginning my tenure at the end of March.

“During the interview process I had the opportunity to meet SEE GILKERSON, PAGE A4

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ABOVE: Vice President Tammeil Gilkerson leads an enrollment management meeting in AA-216 on Jan. 27, 2016 after her short time leading the Contra Costa Community College District’s enrollment management task force.

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Quotable “Although democracy requires oversight, this job increasingly falls — for good and ill — to interest groups and the press.”

Robert J. Samuelson, columnist, 1998 Roxana Amparo editor-in-chief Marci Suela art director Lorenzo Morotti Michael Santone associate editors Benjamin Bassham Anthony Kinney news editors Robert Clinton sports editor opinion editor Xavier Johnson scene editor Dylan Collier assistant scene editor Reggie Santini spotlight editor Denis Perez Cody Casares photo editors Efrain Valdez Yesenia Melara social media editors Tashi Wangchuck multimedia editor Paul DeBolt faculty adviser Advocate Staff Sean Austin Jose Chavez Karla Juarez Jaleel Perry Julian Robinson Valeria Garcia Jshania Owens Kyle Pierce-Turley Gabriel Quiroz Isaac Resendiz Matthew Robinson Allison Sniath Jessica Suico Carlos Suarez Desmond Sylva 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: accentadvocate@ gmail.com Editorial policy Columns and editorial cartoons are the opinion of individual writers and artists and not that of The Advocate. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is made up of student editors.

opinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 VOL. 104, NO. 15

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

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EDITORIAL YOU ARE NOT YOUR CULTURE

Professors, administrators must break gender bias in science

T

he Center for Science Excellence at Contra Costa College has a total of 810 alumni who have moved through the program since 1997. But only about 40 percent of them are women.

According to the state Chancellor’s Office online Datamart, about 60 percent of students at CCC during the 2015-16 academic year were female.

The CSE program has recently sponsored various on-campus events, like the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineering (SHPE) Club’s open forum, which encourage students to pursue a profession in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM).

But out of about 7,000 students enrolled at CCC as of the Feb. 6 census date, only 31 students are in the CSE, 12 of which are women, CSE program Coordinator Seti Sidharta said.

Because there are stiff requirements to join the CSE — students must be enrolled in 12 units, be a STEM major, be eligible for financial aid fee waivers and volunteer nine hours a semester to help other STEM students — it makes sense that there are only 31 students enrolled in the program.

Many CCC students are STEM majors and not in the CSE, but this shows that there is still work to be done in terms of promoting gender equity in science and math fields.

New on-campus groups like the Women Advancing Via Engineering and Science (WAVES) club is a huge step in empowering women interested in science. But the college should do more to target the underlying issue that hinders women from entering a STEM major or field — cultural misogyny.

We cannot fear talking about how low income families often discourage their daughters from pursuing their dreams because of cultural norms, citizenship status or financial issues.

CCC’s service area is predominately made up of Latino, African-American and Asian communities. Families in these communities are either strongly tied to religion, which tends to fit women into a submissive stereotype, or to their citizenship status.

Fear is not new to these communities, but hope is a commodity many cannot afford.

It is important to recognize that not every man in these groups is a sexist or enjoys repressing women. Most simply do not know what their daughters are capable of accomplishing in a STEM field.

Names like Rosalind Franklin, a Jewish molecular biologist who used X-rays to produce the first image of DNA in the 1940s, or Mae Jemison, an African-American physicist and astronaut, are unknown to people living in these communities.

As a public institution, CCC needs to lead through example. Now that it is Women’s History Month, groups on campus should host discussions with the community at local town hall meetings, or at K-12 campuses.

When fear and misunderstanding are prevalent in communities, seizing the American Dream is not about going to school — it is about making money. It is about survival.

Instead public institutions of higher learning, like CCC, have to go out into the community and explain that college is not about money, or reinforcing culture.

It is about finding who you are as a person — it’s about creating your own culture.

Professors, counselors and administrators need to go into the community and host discussions about race, religion and income to help make a profession in STEM a tangible dream for young West County women.

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

■ CONFIDENCE

False realities blossom through social media N

owadays it’s almost impossible to escape social media and the imprinted influences it has on the lifestyle standards projected through society.

The now, innate obsession of scrolling in captivation at a virtual community of vividly photoshopped images, “perfect bodies,” overly pampered faces and materialistic treasures are generating a false reality in society of people attempting to live up to this standard.

Whether it be Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, the onslaught of new and glorified lifestyle trends that surface daily are perpetuating and manifesting issues with self-confidence and acceptance.

Like a cult, the modules of social media are promoted by idealized celebrities that serve as role models who set the standard for appearance-based acceptance.

This standard, which is then imitated by society, creates a lifestyle characterized by most double taps, retweets, follows, shares, likes and comments. All this is done in name of admiration with an emphasis on those who achieve the most.

However, this popularity through appearance and the necessity of materialistic properties is excluding those who can’t keep up with the ever changing dynamics of beauty standards that come along with social media.

From the ostentatious designer clothing and handbags that label bodies with price tags of exclusively tailored names, to what is underneath, the over-glamorized notion of body image and what is beautiful.

dress in brand name clothes, haunts those seeking this validation.

Standards expressed through trends and role models worth 100,000 likes are set too high for the average person. Society has been groomed by social media to judge and reject those who We have all been programmed to subconsciously do not meet this virtual lifestyle criteria. scroll and compare life The impact that this lifeexperiences through selfies style has on those who are of celebrities and people struggling to achieve it is around the world. wide ranging.

They are facThis ing self-confidence issues standard Standards because they lack material is exhilpossessions or don’t fit the arating expressed defined standard of appearfor those A standard of beauty through trends ance. who can and body image is set too afford to high, influencing a generalive up to and role tion to value what’s on the the expecoutside, while those who models worth tations of don’t make the cut, slip into Gucci and a search for acceptance.

100,000 likes Louie or But this acceptance is of Fendi and the wrong kind, only based are set too Prada. on what everyone else is Even the high for the doing and who everyone less forelse is trying to be. tunate average These lifestyle standards among practiced throughout socius crave person. ety, shared and accelerated the new by friends, family and peoJordans, a made-up face, a sexy body ple in online communities, or anything Kim Kardashian are exclusive. This exclusive club of the privileged, peris wearing or doing. The backlash is the ostracized, or petuated by the standards that social media have those working overtime to compete with this standard, brought into the palms of our hands, flings trends into struggle with insecurities the cyber universe. and acceptance issues that They have been built into have been magnified into everyday lives, to be accepteveryday life. ed based on appearance, People who fail to meet without acknowledging the standard face the ultimate backlash — ostraciza- those who are rejected. tion.

Michael Santone is an The constant agitation associate editor of The of imitating social media Advocate.

Contact him at standards, while trying to msantone.theadvocate@ abide by societal norms or gmail.com.

michaelsantone

CAMPUS COMMENT

How do you feel about women breastfeeding in public?

“It should be a normal thing and not looked at as something bad. It’s a taboo subject so that is why people don’t see it as normal.”

Viviana Montano psychology

“It’s not OK with me because it’s exposing yourself, sexual and uncomfortable. You can do it in your house.”

“It’s normal and natural for a woman to breastfeed their child, so it should be allowed.”

Alejandra Jeal

undecided

nursing

JESSICA SUICO AND CARLOS SUAREZ/THE ADVOCATE

“I don’t mind it. They have rights to feed their child. It’s natural.”

Shawndy Saephan

Ottoniel Martinez

business

“They can do it. The milk from breastfeeding is a form of food for the baby. The baby needs to eat, like how we need to eat.”

Milon Minor criminal psychology

“It doesn’t bother me because it is a natural way of feeding your baby. Your baby needs food so you can’t deny it food.”

Daniel Quiton undecided

forum

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.1.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

MailBag

■ HOUSING

jessicasuico

ILLEGAL EVICTIONS HARM FAMILIES, NEIGHBORHOODS

M

ost people are oblivious to what goes on in their own neighborhoods and seem opposed to making friends, holding a conversation or even showing someone that may need help the respect that they deserve.

Living within a Homeowners Association (HOA) neighborhood, residents must live a bit differently than living in the same conditions with a landlord or property manager.

There are different laws and regulations that you must live by while in a HOA. In rare cases, tenants aren’t informed of those regulations and when this occurs it is tough to determine who is at fault when rules are broken.

East Bay residents Bonnie Vann and Carol Vann-Totlis were evicted amid claims of breaking an HOA agreement, despite the two women having a background of extensive medical complications.

In California it is illegal to evict people because of medical reasons, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Housing laws protect those people.

Under California law, any violation of the ADA is considered a civil rights violation.

Landlords must accommodate the needs of disabled tenants, within reason, at the landlord’s expense, by (42 U.S.C 3604 F3B).

According to the U.S. Fair Housing Act section 800, as a disabled tenant, you may expect your landlord to reasonably adjust rules, procedures or services to give you an equal opportunity to use and enjoy your dwelling, unit or common space.

In the case of Vann and Vann-Totlis, the property owner and HOA claim there were disturbances coming from the house.

On some occasions emergency and medical services were summoned.

Numerous false complaints about Vann and Vann-Totlis were made to the owner of the complex and just days after signing the rental agreement the tenants were presented with an eviction notice.

Prior to receiving the notice, the tenants penned their own letters, detailing their own feelings of harassment by management and their new neighbors.

Management chose to ignore the tenants’ letters and concerns and shortly after the notice was sent, Vann was hospitalized for a mental breakdown.

Vann-Totlis suffers from malnutrition due to the stress caused by facing an unjust eviction.

The Federal Fair Housing Amendment Act (42 U.S. code 3601-3619, 3631) prohibits discrimination against people who have a physical or mental disability including mobility impairments, visual impairments or mental illness.

Not getting to know your neighbors while jumping to conclusions created an awful situation for two women who needed help instead of harm.

Contra Costa County officials have failed to follow explicit portions of ADA laws and fair housing laws.

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CUTTING BACK ON SCIENCE LABS HURTS STUDENTS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCE

D

ear editor: I am appalled to read in The Advocate’s Feb. 1, 2017 issue that students will no longer need to complete a science lab course to meet the requirements for an associate degree.

Science labs expose students to: how science is done; how to measure, document and communicate observations; a view of the microscopic realm and its beauty; what it means to demand critical thinking about observations; formulating and testing hypotheses; working on and brainstorming problems as a team; raw data and its evaluation through calculations and precise writing; a view

into the entire living and physical existence that is our planet.

With all due respect to the Academic Senate, and in all seriousness, what could be more important goals of a college education? A job? College degrees used to mean more than that.

In my many years as a technician in the Contra Costa College biology labs, I personally observed countless “aha!” moments from students catching their first glimpse through a microscope, or working their way through observational data to a conclusion, and I still use what I learned as a student in CCC’s physics and chemistry labs almost daily.

I watched as many (including myself!) became so engaged through curiosity and wonder that a single science lab class led them to change their college major to a science field.

Coming, as it does, on top of what appears to be the cusp of a very dark

and ignorant time that has us facing many profound challenges to our continued existence on this planet, this ill-chosen decision will do a gross disservice to students and to the taxpayers who are paying for much of their education.

Students will be shortchanged if they do not receive a sound science education as part of their college experience.

I dearly hope the Academic Senate will reconsider this action.

There are far more important things at stake than merely expediting a student’s path to a diploma. If that diploma is cheapened by no longer including a science lab experience, it will no longer represent an actual college education.

Kathleen Anderson is a retired Contra Costa College biology lab coordinator.

Contact her at kfae99@gmail.com.

VIRTUAL REALITY STIRS debate between platforms Devices, financial accessibility put into the limelight

BY Xavier Johnson SCENE

EDITOR

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

I

n the technology community there is a battle going on that will shape how people around the world will interact with their devices and what they will spend their money on in the next 10 years, depending on the victor.

In one corner there is virtual reality, commonly referred to as VR, which creates an artificial environment that replaces the user’s actual reality. Current VR technology is rising in popularity with the PlayStation VR headset and the Gear VR headset, which uses a smartphone to provide the VR experience.

In the other corner is augmented reality, commonly referred to as AR, which should be considered the more compelling and useful technology. AR is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world. Augmented reality technology is something Pokémon GO players, or the 150 million daily users of Snapchat, should be familiar with. The popular filters are a small-scale example of what augmented reality can be.

When looking at the applications for AR vs. VR it seems rather clear that AR technology is far more accessible and useful for consumers.

First, what must be addressed is the lower barrier to entry that AR has to provide a satisfactory experience compared to VR technology. With AR technology, most people can enjoy a solid, basic experience using apps like Snapchat and Google Translate, which has an AR component where the user can take a picture of text and have it translated in real time.

To use apps like these doesn’t require expensive technology. These apps and many more can perform well on Android OS based devices with midrange specs that cost about $300 to $450. Midrange phones now have the necessary components, like a quality cam-

era and solid GPS, as well as strong internal processors.

For users looking to use PC based VR platforms like the HTC Vibe or Oculus Rift, they will need to make an investment of around $1,000 for a satisfactory experience with high visual fidelity and limited lag. An Intel Core i5 or equivalent processor is needed, which will cost $200. Also, graphical power is needed, a lot of graphical power. A GTX 1060 will go for about $250. Add that to the $700 for an HTC Vibe or Oculus Rift headset and that wallet is starving.

If a person is looking to use their smartphone and a compatible VR headset, a midrange smartphone won’t cut it. Usually midrange smartphones will have decent quality screens, but without a pixel-dense screen and a resolution that will keep image quality up when the phone is a couple inches from your face. Things are improving in terms of midrange smartphone displays, but it’s still not where it needs to be. These flagship phones like the Galaxy S7 Edge will go for $600 or more.

For a technology to be successful in the modern world, a big part of that equation, next to accessibility, is for the technology to complement the hyper-social society we currently inhabit. This is where VR technology falls short, again.

VR platforms are primarily headsets that obstruct any vision of the outside world. VR is an isolating experience.

Usually it’ll be a person sitting down at a computer with a VR headset connected to it, or sitting down using a VR headset that uses a smartphone. In both circumstances, the user is unable to interact with the outside world in any effective way. They are also unable to share their experiences due to the isolationist nature of VR. Looking at AR experiences, it’s easy to see an advantage in keeping up with the social world. AR overlays a computer-generated image onto the real world. Users have close to full visual and auditory awareness of their surroundings, and can share their experience with friends around them.

AR technology can stimulate interactivity and not completely

replace it, like with VR. The same technology used to overlay weather information or a comical filter on an image can be used for people going out on the town.

People can point their phone’s camera at locations and receive information about buildings or areas of interest.

Realtors can use it to show potential buyers what houses would look like with their particular furniture. In some Lego stores, an app can be used when pointing the camera at a Lego set box to see what it would look like completed, through the device’s display.

So what is the future of AR technology? By its nature, AR is more viable for on-the-go use and interacting with the real world. With that said, the future has the possibility for an “underground world” in major cities.

On a small scale, the Oscar nominated film “Hidden Figures” did an advertising event with IBM utilizing AR technology called “Outthink Hidden.”

People can download an app onto their phones to scan quick response codes, which are a type of bar-code, and be able to see information about unknown influential figures within the STEM fields. These QR codes were placed in over 100 geofenced areas, which means software will trigger in a certain GPS location.

What IBM did with “Outthink Hidden” can be done on a grand scale.

The same geofencing idea could be used in downtown areas so a restaurant can be scanned and the menu, prices, specials, reviews and available seating displayed on an individual’s device.

That isn’t the end. It leaves the potential for people in a city to leave specific geofenced markers that can be triggered using AR apps to provide important information for locals or tourists, or art they created that can’t be seen except by people viewing the content through their device with an AR app.

These are just a few examples of how AR can be used to enhance our social world.

AR will rise into prominence in 2017 with big name companies like Apple and Facebook, hopefully, taking the leap into the field sooner rather than later. Now all that is left is for the consumer to invest in the technology and see just how useful an augmented reality can be.

Jessica Suico is a staff member of The Advocate. Contact her at jsuico.theadvocate@ gmail.com.

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

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campusbeat

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.1.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

NEWSLINE PROTEST | Working people unite to protect rights FINANCIAL AID

OFFICE TO QUELL ‘FILING FRENZY’ The Financial Aid Office is offering assistance to students submitting a free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) today in the Campus Center Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

One-on-one assistance will be provided during the “FAFSA Filing Frenzy” event.

Aid will also be provided to students seeking help filling out their Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act applications.

Students who file a FAFSA application during the event will receive a free gift.

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office at 510215-6026.

NOODLE TOOLS

WORKSHOP TO HELP AVOID PLAGIARISM There will be an “Avoid Plagiarism NoodleTools and Turnit-in” workshop in the Library and Learning Resource Center on March 13 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in LLRC-107.

Attendees will learn how to prevent accidental plagiarism by staying organized with NoodleTools.

It’s intended to help students who are challenged by keeping track of their resources and notes.

For more information, contact the Reference Desk at 510-2154897.

Continued from Page 1 be targeted for deportation by Trump because she is an immigrant.

“If we stay quiet it doesn’t help — so we must make noise,” she said. “There are a lot of other people that out of fear are still working their jobs today. I am lucky enough to be able to take the day off and let people know how America would be without immigrants.”

Contra Costa College La Raza studies department Chairperson Augustin Palacios said, “The importance of protests like this work at different levels. People who participate in the protest or help organize get a sense of empowerment and of agency. It is a way to hope and to build something. It is not going to be one thing, one action, one boycott or one march that will change things, but the accumulation of pressure on the system.”

Word of the “A Day Without Immigrants” protests spread across social media with thousands of employees and business owners participating in the boycott nationwide.

Like many other business around the Bay Area, Discolandia, a local produce and retail shop on 23rd Street in Richmond, displayed signs telling customers that in solidarity with the boycott it would be closed for business Feb. 16.

Richmond resident, and owner

“I decided to participate because, legal or not, we are part of the economy of this country.”

— Daisy Galicia, Richmond resident at the protest

of W&D Cleaning Services, Daisy Galicia closed her business for the day as well.

“I heard about the protests on social media,” she said. “I decided to participate because, legal or not, we are part of the economy of this country. Also I want my children to know that we are all equal.”

Immigrant groups and their allies have called for other protests since the Feb. 16 event. The second phase of the movement called for the boycott of Wal-Mart during Feb. 20-27.

Palacios said, “Movements have to be more strategic and (planners) don’t want to (do) things in a rush.

I haven’t even heard of the WalMart thing, and if I haven’t — and I look for this sort of thing — then I suspect many people haven’t either.”

Biology major Marisol Contreras said she saw a report of the Wal-Mart protest on television. It reminded her of the time after the election when she went to Mexico, saw anti-Trump news reports and read about a boycott on American-made products there. In response to Trump’s policies, people in Mexico have taken

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

San Francisco resident Raju Dandu participates in a demonstration in front of City Hall in San Francisco during “A Day Without Immigrants” protest on Feb. 16.

to the streets in their local cities to protest. Organizers there are urging people to participate in the boycott to strain the U.S. economy of the U.S. Contreras said, “People were talking about not purchasing any American products. The Hispanic community here will catch on to that trend through social media.”

Contreras said she has not seen a wide direct response to the WalMart boycott, but has seen some support of it in the local community.

Music major Felipe Garcia said, “I try not to get involved (in poli-

tics) so I don’t get stressed out. But I participate in protests like ‘Day Without an Immigrant’ and the boycott on Wal-Mart when I am made aware of them.”

Palacios said there is another “Day Without an Immigrant” protest planned for May 1.

“On May 1 there has been a long history of workers coming together. It is an important and symbolic day especially, since 2006.”

More than 200,000 people marched from Justin Herman Plaza to Civic Center in front of City Hall in San Francisco on May 1, 2006.

COURSE OFFERINGS | Research boosts online growth Continued from Page 1

“Department chairpersons evaluated which sections showed consistently low enrollment rates and these were removed or combined with other courses.”

while 36 percent are hybrid courses.

CCC offers about 30 percent of its online classes fully online, Los Medanos College offers about 72 percent and Diablo Valley College sits in between at Mehdizadeh 68.3 percent.

Distance Education Coordinator Judy Flum said there is a cohort of full-time professors who are currently developing online or hybrid courses that have not been offered at CCC before.

Flum said speech department Chairperson Sherry Diestler is working on a fully online Speech 121 course, art department Chairperson Anthony Gordon is developing Art 132 to be offered fully online and early childhood education professor Sandra Moore is developiing an online early childhood development course.

Flum said professors in past cohorts have developed English, drama and psychology courses that are currently offered online.

“The department chairperson and dean have to sign off in order for the course to be placed on the schedule for the next semester,” she said. “Not only do professors have to develop the course, it has to be taught.”

Since 2014, CCC has increased its course offerings from 25 to 68 online or hybrid courses.

The Library and Learning Resource Center is hosting a workshop titled “Introduction to Microsoft Word,” designed to help people become familiar with Microsoft Word, on Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m. in LLRC-107.

Librarian Megan Kinney will teach participants the basics of Microsoft Word including MLA style, using bullet or numbered lists and inserting images and tables.

Questions are expected and encouraged.

The workshop is free. Faculty who attend will receive flex credit.

For more information, contact the Reference Desk at 510-2154897.

the course does not “roll over” to next semester.

Mehdizadeh said each department chairperson is responsible for working with their respective deans to target sections and find ways to reduce offerings, but still adhere to student learning outcomes.

“What we did was we trimmed around the edges,” she said. “Department chairpersons evaluated which sections showed consistently low enrollment rates and these were removed or combined with other courses.”

She said the district is constantly researching data based on course enrollment rates into course sections, and student demographics to offer courses that yield high enrollment.

“Based on your actual enrollment in class you tell us if it’s an important class,” Mehdizadeh said. “So one of the things we are learning is (students) are asking for online classes. (Students) are asking for more fully online classes.”

She said the college uses enrollment rates and data collected from student educational plans they set with a counselor during the orientation process to determine which course sections the department should offer next.

Now that the district Governing Board approved moving from an 18-week to a 16-week academic calendar beginning in the

CRIMEWATCH

GILKERSON | College begins vice presidential search

MICROSOFT

PROGRAM GIVES TIPS ABOUT MLA FORMAT

Monday, Feb. 13: An officer received a report of a burglary.

Tuesday, Feb. 14: A staff member reported her two cell phones were stolen from her office.

— Anthony Kinney

Correction In the Feb. 1 issue of The Advocate on page 3 in the story, “Sanctuary districts comfort fear,” DVC’s interim president’s name was misspelled.

The correct spelling is Ted Wieden.

The Advocate regrets this error.

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

Continued from Page 1 many of the wonderful people at (Laney) college and the (Peralta) district — including a number of visionary and articulate students,” she said. “I am excited to work with and support this talented, resilient and clearly committed group of individuals.”

Gilkerson will be replacing interim college president Audre Levy, who has served as Laney College’s president since Dec. 31, 2016.

Peralta District Executive Director of Public Information Jeffrey Hyman said the Governing Board approved Gilkerson’s $186,080 annual salary.

Because her last day as an employee at CCC will be on Monday, Gilkerson said she sent out the campuswide email to employees per college President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh’s request.

On Feb. 17, as Gilkerson sat in her office as afternoon light bounced off the dozens of brightly colored birthday balloons scattered throughout, she said the relationships she built while working on campus, and at the District Office, have helped her reach this moment.

“It’s sort of bittersweet,” Gilkerson said holding back tears.

“I am really excited about this opportunity at Laney.

“I just think it’s the right time for (Laney) college, it’s the right

Mojdeh Mehdizadeh,

Contra Costa College president

fall of 2018, Mehdizadeh said it is the right time to step back and examine how to improve student’s academic pathways with online course offerings.

“The compressed calendar decision gives us the perfect opportunity to reevaluate when and which classes are offered looking at pathway models, and recognizing students with particular majors.”

She said evaluating which courses to offer also helps professors develop an online pedagogy as the district prepares to completely switch to Canvas, the online learning platform that will replace Desire2Learn at the start of the 2017 fall semester.

The Governing Board was presented with the 2017-2022 District Distance Education Committee’s Strategic Plan at the Dec. 14 meeting in Martinez at the District Office.

According to Table 2 in the DDEC Strategic Plan, about 64 percent of online courses offered throughout the district are fully online courses

time for (CCC) and this will be good for me as a person and professionally — but I love this place.

“So, yea,” she said as she composed herself. “I feel a little teary about it all.”

Gilkerson said the President’s Office plans go through a hiring process with online job postings and not appoint an interim person to fill her position.

Contra Costa Community College District Communications and Community Relations Director Tim Leong said the decision to appoint someone to an interim position, or as a permanent position, rests with Mehdizadeh.

“That’s a decision Mojdeh will have to make,” Leong said. “She could fill the position on an interim basis or complete the process of posting job listings and creating a time table — but this takes a couple of months to complete.”

Mehdizadeh said she plans to not replace Gilkerson with an interim appointee.

Instead, she said the responsibilities under the auspice of the vice president’s role will be split between the dean of instruction and Dean of Student Services Vicki Ferguson.

“In the long term we intend to go out for a full search,” Mehdizadeh said. “Tammeil submitted her letter of resignation as of today so we can move forward with the search as soon as we can.”

She said she planned to consult with district Chancellor Fred

“It’s sort of bittersweet. I am really excited about this opportunity at Laney.” — Tammeil Gilkerson,

Laney College president

Wood about the specific timeline this week after he returned from a district sponsored trip to Washington D.C. “We can be certain the search will start within a matter of weeks,” Mehdizadeh said.

The president’s Senior Executive Assistant Michael Peterson said Gilkerson’s passion for students is what makes her well qualified for the position at Laney College.

“She has vast experience working with people from very different backgrounds,” Peterson said.

“And her knowledge of student services and academics will serve Laney College well.”

Before being hired as CCC’s vice president in 2013, Gilkerson was the dean of counseling and matriculation at Evergreen College for four years and was the vice president of San Jose City College. “(Gilkerson) is a very focused individual who can get things done,” Mehdizadeh said. “She is good at planning projects and carrying them through to completion.

“This is something we will certainly look for in our next vice president,” she said.

“Tammeil is and always has

been someone who knows when to roll up her sleeves and work alongside everyone. That is an important trait to have in a leader.”

Gilkerson said because CCC and Laney College have a similar demographic of students she understands how to serve underrepresented ethnic communities.

“I think the work I will continue at Laney College is closing the achievement gap, working around equity and inclusion programs and creating safe spaces for every individual to feel like (their local) community college is a home for them,” she said. “Not only for students but for employees too.”

She said she applied for the position in November 2016, but the Peralta District officials invited her to a series of interviews at Laney College from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and spoke at an open panel of finalists on Jan. 30, 2017.

Heyman said the hiring process spanned months and required a visit to CCC, a series of interviews and an open forum of finalists at Laney College.

Heyman said the Peralta district’s nationwide search, which began last year, vetted hundreds of applicants and Gilkerson was one of three finalists.

“The chancellor (Jowel Laguerre) of the Peralta District felt like Tammeil Gilkerson is the best candidate to be president,” he said. “And last night the board voted her to be the next president of Laney College.”

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INCIDENT SPARKS FALSE ICE SIGHTING Police Services detain student possessing marijuana

BY Roxana Amparo, Efrain Valdez ADVOCATE STAFF

accent.advocate@gmail.com

There were concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were on the Contra Costa College campus Feb. 15, but campus officials said there is no evidence that any federal agents were here.

That day, after finding out about the rumors, Vice President Tammeil Gilkerson wrote, via email to all campus employees, “We immediately contacted (Police Services) Lt. Tom Holt and he confirmed with Richmond dispatch that there have been no reports of federal agents entering our jurisdiction.”

Also, college President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said, via email, the rumors concerning ICE on the CCC campus began at St. Cornelius Catholic School in Central Richmond when a parent reported ICE sightings near the college.

“Per Lt. Holt, if ICE agents were entering our campus, the proto-

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

“Per Lt. Holt, if ICE agents were entering our campus, the protocol is to call and notify the local dispatch centers.”

— Lt. Tom Holt, Police Services

col is to call and notify the local dispatch centers,” Gilkerson said in her email. Through a resolution passed on Dec. 14, 2016 in Martinez, CCC and Los Medanos and Diablo Valley colleges were granted “sanctuary” status.

The resolution states in part, “Be it further resolved, the Contra Costa Community College District

will not cooperate with any effort, federal or otherwise, to create a registry of individuals based on any legally protected characteristics, such as religion, national origin, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

All students and employees of the three colleges are protected under this resolution.

In an apparently unrelated incident, around 10:30 a.m. Feb. 15, Police Services received an anonymous call from someone in the Applied Arts Building who said a student smelled like marijuana and was carrying a bag of weed, Holt said.

“We got a proper description of the student,” he said. “So when we saw him we detained him and

found a phone from a previous crime.”

The suspect was handcuffed near the Campus Center Plaza and taken to Police Services for questioning, but the bag of weed was missing.

Also, Police Service officers were gathered at the college for the “Coffee with a Cop” event taking place in Fireside Hall from 11 a.m.12:30 p.m.

Reports were that part of the concerns regarding a possible ICE sighting coming from students on campus.

People off campus was due to so many police officers gathered around campus for the event, and the earlier arrest near the Campus Center Plaza.

ABOVE: Police Services Lt. Tom Holt (right) and Corporal Charles Hankins arrest a Contra Costa College student detained for possession of marijuana in the Campus Center Plaza on Feb. 15.

Program funds, supports diverse groups

BY Gabriel Quiroz ADVOCATE STAFF

gquiroz.theadvocate@gmail.com

Colleges that have more than 25 percent Latino students can be deemed “Hispanic Serving Institutions” and Contra Costa College is one of these institutions.

The Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) STEM program helped those in the Latino community, as well as the rest of CCC, when they received a $5.95 million grant last October.

HSI STEM Manager Mayra Padilla is the director of grants and the primary HSI STEM grant writer. She wrote in collaboration with other grant writers for the grant that HSI STEM program received.

“The grant is for building service capacity for the institution to serve Latino students.” Padilla said.

“This is to help more Latino students to be college ready, as well as better preparing them to earn degrees and transfer in science, technology engineering or math (STEM).”

The HSI STEM grant has already contributed to many programs, not only in the Latino community, but also in many other STEM programs. The grant has helped to provide specialized tutoring such as the Math Jam. The Adelante program receives funding from the grant to support students with occasional STEM Cafés, which provide workshops on how to take notes in math class, as well as seminars with successful minorities in STEM fields. These seminars tell students the steps the speakers took to get to where they are in their careers.

The grant also contributes to STEM Smarts; a program intended to help students successfully complete math and science courses.

METAS is a program, contributed to by the grant, for K-12 students, that provides free tutoring on the weekends on CCC’s campus.

The Center for Science of Excellence (CSE) is a mentoring program and a compressive academic support program for STEM.

“I believe everyone deserves the chance for success.”

— Anthony Garcia, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers president

CSE also provides scholarships, internships, seminars and academic trips.

CSE Coordinator Setiati Sidharta said she oversees grant writing, budgets, program activities and counseling of students.

Dr. Sidharta said, “The HSI grant helps with improving the facilities, such as new floors, tables and computers. The grant is also helpful in bringing CSE students to national conferences, as well as increasing teacher participation through funding. HSI enhances the CSE offerings that are available for us.”

She said, “CSE and HSI are a tremendous help in ushering STEM majors to graduate.” Seti said she

is “grateful to Mayra Padilla for bringing these enhancements to CSE.” Society of Hispanic P r o f e s s i o n a l Garcia Engineers President Anthony Garcia said some of his responsibilities include organizing meetings for the club and advertising the resources the organization and community can provide.

One of the main resources available is professional development, such as seminars and conferences, the main two being the Regional Leadership Development conference and the SHPE national conference, which both works to develop professionalism and inspire students to be leaders.

The HSI grant allowed for five of the students in SHPE to make the trip to the national conference. Garcia said he is “appreciative to the STEM office, the contri-

butions that came from the HSI grant and how they are helping the students so selflessly.” Garcia said he would also, one day, want to see a Scholarship for SHPE because, “I believe everyone deserves the chance for success.”

Future plans for the grant include a new system called Starfish, which is like Facebook, but will be used to connect students to resources by using a group of people to help them with enrollment, declaring majors, counseling and financial aid.

The grant will also provide funds to support the West Contra Costa Unified School District by talking to teachers about how to get their students ready for college through STEM meets and greets.

The grant will also work toward renovating spaces in the Physical Science Building by creating smart rooms with 3D printers and laser cutters, which students will be able to design with towards the end of the five-year grant.

DUI suspect broadsides Knox Center, arrested Officers locate driver shortly after accident

BY Benjamin Bassham

“We’re just trying to clean up as quickly as possible (and) make sure it’s not affecting students.”

— Travis Hiner, theater staging specialist

NEWS EDITOR

bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com

In a hit-and-run, a car crashed into the Knox Center at the corner of Castro Road and El Portal Drive around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 15, causing mild injury to the building and driver.

According to the San Pablo Police’s report, 29-year-old Jesse Alexander Hix Dunning was driving a gray Honda Accord westbound on El Portal Drive at a high rate of speed. He lost control when he rounded the curve on El Portal Drive, at the intersection with Castro Road.

Dunning was driving under the influence of alcohol, the report said.

He drove straight over the Castro Road median, then onto the west sidewalk of Castro Road, knocking down two stop signs on the way.

Dunning drove over the lawn, mowing down some shrubbery and a tree before impacting the corner of the Knox Center on the outside of the women’s rest room.

When the responding officer arrived the

car was resting upside-down several feet from the theater’s front entrance, with its airbags deployed, the report said. The key was in the ignition, but the car was not running.

A witness who called in the accident reported that the driver had fled, and the report specifies Dunning exited the passenger side and fled on foot, northbound on Castro Road.

Dunning was soon contacted in the 3000 block of Mission Bell Drive and was identified as the driver by his own admission and the witness’s testimony, the report said.

It’s not certain when the car flipped over, but the report says up until the vehicle struck the tree there were still tire marks.

Theater Staging Specialist Travis Hiner said, inside, the car’s impact jolted all the mirrors and soap dispensers off the wall, leaving the floor covered in broken glass, and knocked some drywall loose.

The glass and other debris have been removed, and the bathroom remains open for use, if users don’t mind exposed pipes

ROXANA AMPARO / THE ADVOCATE

The Knox Center suffers damage after an intoxicated driver broadsided a wall on Feb. 15.

and insulation.

Hiner said, “We’re just trying to clean up as quickly as possible (and) make sure it’s not affecting students.”

The damaged rest room is an area of the Knox Center that was remodeled in the summer of 2016, during seismic retrofitting.

The outside wall is badly cracked and visibly deformed. Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said one structural crossbeam needs to be replaced.

King said he had a contractor come out to give a quick estimate and the cost of repairs to the building will total around $5,700. “It’s

not a big repair job,” King said.

King said when and how the repairs will happen depends on the driver’s insurance, which may be a problem because the police report says Dunning has no insurance.

King said the two stop signs were replaced by the city of San Pablo within hours. “It surprised me how quick they did it.”

Contra Costa College Police Services Lieutenant Tom Holt said the extent of his involvement with the crash was determining that there was no danger to the building or public, and the San Pablo Police Department had handled the incident.

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Leaky Gymnasium roof damages floor Despite temporary patch repair, water drips onto floor

BY Dylan Collier ASSISTANT SCENE EDITOR

dcollier.theadvocate@gmail.com

A leak in the 60-year-old Gymnasium roof caused by the recent storms has caused water to flow beneath its wood floor Contra Costa College Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said.

“CCC is the oldest school in the district and they say you’re supposed to replace a gymnasium roof every 25 years,” King said. “So we definitely got our money’s worth.”

The leak in the gym has been such a persistent problem this year that the floor on the southern entrance has accumulated so much water buildup beneath the floor that the wooden beams have started to bow.

King said this is problematic because the leak is also damaging a fairly new floor that maintenance spends every summer staining and re-finishing.

During the middle of a basketball tournament about five years ago, he said

“We have a beautiful Gym floor and it would be nice to keep it that way. But it’s hard to do when the roof leaks so much.”

— Paul DeBolt, former women’s basketball coach

it leaked so much that they had to send someone from maintenance to anchor down a tarp to cover the skylights, so the Comets could finish the game.

Since the passing of Bond Measure E in 2014, Contra Costa Community College District Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said he has met with architects to design a finalized blueprint of renovations.

Pyle said the design has finally been approved $28 million in renovations to the Gymnasium, Gym Annex Building, and the Men’s and Women’s locker

rooms.

Contra Costa College Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said they plan to start the project within two years.

This Washington-like weather so far this year has posed problems hosting games on the Baseball Field, but sped up the process for approving the design of the renovations.

“There was more rain and moisture compared to last year,” men’s basketball coach Miguel Johnson said. “So naturally more damage exists. If the weather is rainy, players slip and fall. During late November and December it really affected us.”

Johnson said water damage in the Gymnasium has been an issue since 2006, his first season as coach.

He said the leaks have been so bad in the past that they had to use towels to dry the floor during actual games.

Johnson said repairing the saturated floor would be an extensive job to fix,

especially where in spots where the floor is bubbling and popping up.

Former Comets women’s basketball coach Paul DeBolt said the leaks throughout the Gymnasium’s existence have been caused by the design of the roof as a glass skylight that allows natural light to seep into the building.

“We have a beautiful Gym floor and it would be nice to keep it that way. But it’s hard when the roof leaks so much.”

DeBolt said the overall condition of the Gym is embarrassing as it doesn’t even compare well with local middle and high schools in CCC’s service area.

“Our men’s and women’s basketball teams deserve to play in a nice facility.”

DeBolt said when he coached, people who had not been inside the Gym for decades would walk in during practice and marvel at the fact that the Gym was the same as it was in the 1950s.

“They would say it was like going back in time,” he said.

Storms provide moment to grow Rain delays, setbacks halt team’s chances for impactful opener

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

This time last year Contra Costa County was suffering from a drought, so when a stray Saturday storm postponed a Comet baseball game it was seen as a welcomed event.

This season however, the Comet baseball team has been forced to cancel more games due to weather related issues in the first three weeks of the season (five) than all of last season.

So far in 2017, the Bay Area has experienced some level of rainfall in every week since Jan. 1. Even if the rain does not fall on days that CCC has games scheduled, the over-saturated field would be ripped to shreds over the course of a nine-inning contest.

In cities that house Major League Baseball teams where inclement weather is normal, dome stadiums shield players from the elements allowing practice or play to continue.

On the collegiate level, indoor training facilities serve to keep athletes sharp and reflexes in game condition.

“We practice in the indoor batting cages upstairs in the Gym Annex Building on rainy days and when the field is soggy we go out to the football field and modify it to run drills on,” Comet sophomore outfielder Rabonnie Carter said.

“After practicing on turf and adjusting to the speed of the ball when it’s put in play, it takes a game or so to adjust back to playing on grass when the games start.”

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Pitcher Jayson Summers hits a ball off a tee during practice in the batting cages on the Baseball Field on Monday. In the midst of a rainy month that confined him to indoor batting cages, Summers enjoys working outside on a sunny day.

“I pitched off of a flat mound in fall baseball, going back to a mound just takes a couple of pitches to find your spot.”

— Tyler Reames, freshman pitcher

For pitchers, throwing regularly is important to maintaining good pitching mechanics and control. Throwing indoors is an option, but the chance to throw off the mound allows players to maintain game readiness and the mental acuity that it takes to compete at a high level.

“It doesn’t take that long to adjust. I pitched off of a flat mound in fall baseball, going back to a mound just takes a couple of pitches to find your spot,” Comet freshman pitcher Tyler Reames said. “It’s harder to adjust to pitching off of a squishy mound.

It throws you off and takes a couple more pitches to find your release point.”

Reames is the only pitcher on the Comet

roster not to give up a home run with over 15 innings pitched this season.

Last year one of the problems the baseball team had was its lack of depth at pitcher.

This year, a fresh batch of promising starters was to be the key to CCC’s resurgence in the Bay Valley Conference.

The 2015-16 Comet baseball team was 4-10 after 14 games with one of the shallowest pitching rotations in the BVC. Comet batters also knew that, so many overcompensated at the plate to make up for the lack of pitching production.

This season the Comets list 11 pitchers on the roster opposed to only five posting wins for the team last year.

But because of the starts-and-stops because of rain or poor field conditions, the team hasn’t been able to find continuity or consistency. The team has nearly an identical record as it did after 14 games last year, 3-11.

Aside from the regular practice regimens the team follows under second-year coach Brian Guinn, players also use the rainy days to rehab sore muscles that may still be get-

ting into game shape.

“I ran on the treadmill a lot but I didn’t lift weights because we already do enough of that in practice,” freshman pitcher and third baseman Jayson Summers said.

“I don’t really swing like that because I am a pitcher but I put in some work in the cage upstairs. I just made sure that I iced every night, used Tiger Balm and made sure to stretch all of the time.”

Summers has the lowest ERA of any pitcher on the CCC roster.

The team got a break from the weather and finally got to play a stretch of five games in six days last week, some shoehorned in to make up for games missed due to rain.

In those contests the team was 1-4 with its lone win coming by way of a 12th inning RBI double from John Velasco to beat City College of San Francisco 8-7.

See the Comets return to action Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. when they play Napa Valley College at the Baseball Field.

TEAM WINS FINAL BVC GAME, MISSES PLAYOFFS Roller coaster season defined by lost opportunities

BY Efrain Valdez SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

evaldez.theadvocate@gmail.com

The men’s basketball team (9-18 overall and 7-9 in the Bay Valley Conference) won its final game of the season at Merritt College Feb. 17, 99-79, after losing against Napa Valley College on Sophomore Night earlier that week, 81-62, in the Gymnasium.

“Against Merritt (8-17 overall and 7-9 in the BVC) it was their Sophomore Night and you know, guys talk a lot out there on the court because of the proximity of the colleges. Some of their players played against ours in high school,” Comet coach Miguel Johnson said.

Contra Costa College started off slowly in Friday’s game against the Thunderbirds and his team trailed 45-36 at the end of the first

half.

Merritt was strong driving the ball to the rack and their collective length was one of the biggest advantages in the T-Birds favor throughout the first half.

“Merritt, as far as matchups go, had more length and size than us.

Quickness was more in our favor and our guard play was superior,” Johnson said.

Freshman guards scored 84 of the Comets 99 points in the game.

“In the first half I had a rough start by committing five turnovers,” freshman guard Demar Dunn said.

“To start the second half my teammates and coaches told me to keep my head up. I was able to do better and my teammates put me in great positions to score.”

The Comet offense turned on the jets in the second half of the game. The team scored 63 points to overcome the nine-point deficit from the first half.

“We really shot the ball well from the field. We shot the 3-point ball well,” Johnson said.

Dunn said that the team could

“It was one of those seasons where you are not satisfied with the outcome but the future looks bright. We just couldn’t get that consistency this year.” — Miguel Johnson, men’s basketball coach

get by Merritt’s length and size by using team speed, which was its biggest advantage.

The leading statistical players on the night for CCC were guards Koleman Kelly (25 points, four rebounds and three steals), Curtis Harris (28 points, 12 rebounds) and Demar Dunn (15 points, six rebounds and four assists).

The Napa Valley game was a much different ball game.

CCC was down early in the first half but went on one of their biggest scoring runs of the game by scoring nine unanswered points.

The run brought the score to 22-20

with five minutes left in the first half.

Shortly after the scoring burst, both teams battled for the lead and kept going back and forth to the basket.

Napa Valley led at the end of the first half 38-32 thanks to some very poor ball handling by the Comets.

“Their player, Gabriel Allen (forward), shot the ball very well and we didn’t have an answer for him defensively,” Johnson said.

Napa coach Steve Ball said, “Jabriel had a great game. He was definitely feeling his shot all night and it helped us a lot.”

To begin the second half the Comets started off slow and lacked production from most of the team except for Harris who scored a season high 29 points.

That poor showing by most of the team helped hold CCC down 53-44 with 13 minutes left in the second half.

“We made a lot of mistakes that game, we weren’t cutting hard or making sharp passes, it was bad execution on our part,” Dunn said.

CCC showed COMETS signs of life with five minutes left in the game when Harris drove to the basket, got fouled and made T-BIRDS the shot to complete the threepoint play.

With 2:53 left in the game, CCC was once again driving to the hoop, had the shot blocked straight into hands of Allen who drove the ball all the way down to the other side where he made the 3-point play that sealed the victory for Napa.

“Contra Costa was keeping up with us for most of the game, but they did make some poor mistakes that we fortunately capitalized on,” Ball said.

Of the season, Johnson said, “It was one of those seasons where you are not satisfied with the outcome but the future looks bright.

We just couldn’t get that consistency this year.”

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Comets handed second loss in a row Saints outfielder Tyler Barry (right) slides back into first base beating the tag by first baseman Eric Whitfield during CCC’s 6-2 loss to Mission College at the Baseball Field on Sunday.

Slow start dooms team’s chances for early victories

BY Dylan Collier ASSISTANT SCENE EDITOR

dcollier.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Comets (3-11 overall) played Sunday at the Baseball Field to make up a contest canceled due to rain. The team faced Mission College (6-5 overall) but fell in the contest 6-2.

The game was quite the opposite of Friday’s extra innings match-up, and moved swiftly finishing in two-and-a-half hours, with rain sprinkling 45 minutes after it ended.

Pitching dictated the overall tempo of the game for both teams.

Saints’ starting pitcher John Kelly sat down the first 12 Comet batters with four consecutive three-up, three-down innings.

The Saints’ early success gave every indication that something was off for the home team.

Contra Costa College hitters made solid contact but couldn’t seem to find the open gaps to put runners on the bases at the beginning of the game.

“I felt like we hit the ball hard, but right at people. They just played good defense,” Comet catcher Alex Melendez said.

The Comets will get a chance to put the ball in play again Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. on the Baseball Field Although CCC came up short against Mission, its pitchers continue to show signs of success.

No CCC pitcher allowed a single runner to reach first base on walks.

There was no combination of starting and relieving pitchers that achieved that through nine innings

SAINTS

6 2

COMETS

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

last year — proving what they are capable of when they put their minds to it.

In fact starting pitcher Tyler Reames, who went to Vanden High School in Fairfield, was almost too accurate with some of his pitches significantly contributing to the outcome of the game.

“I got into trouble because I left pitches over the middle of the plate, and then had to make the adjustment. They strung together a bunch of hits in the second inning to get runs,” Reames said.

It didn’t help that the base-

ball gods blessed the Saints with third baseman Jake Martinez who demonstrated reflexes similar to that of a cheetah, pouncing and scooping up grounders.

He made four diving stops where he fielded the ball right on the third-base line, one of which was a laser line drive that he sprawled out and caught.

Three of the four hits down the line would have been doubles had they found the outfield grass, with the speed the Comets displayed.

Comet first baseman Eric Whitfield said, “We had some

“We had some good at bats and solid pitching. But unfortunately we stranded runners and swung at some bad pitches.”

—

,

good at bats and solid pitching.

But unfortunately, we stranded runners and swung at some bad pitches. We learned from our mis-

takes and if we can flush them out, we’ll be all right.”

Coach Brian Guinn said as a team the Comets have to continue to play hard, look to the future, and prepare for the Bay Valley Conference games.

The Comets’ overall record of 3-11 is nearly identical to the 4-10 mark that the team posted after 14 games last season — which some see as a cause for concern.

Reames said this is a crucial time of the year when they must stick together and play as a family.

Habits affect health, wellness Future condition hinges on lifestyle of discipline

BY Julian Robinson ADVOCATE STAFF

jrobinson.theadvocate@gmail.com

Women’s health, by nature, is a complex issue and there are several factors that affect the overall health of women beyond eating habits.

“One main factor is knowledge.

Understanding about portion size and nutrients is so important,” health education professor Miguel Johnson said.

“Overeating, to me, is taking in more calories than are required for one individual, usually by not realizing the portion size.

“By not paying attention to your overall health while eating junk food day after day can cause your body to crave those foods because that’s what your body is used to.”

For many people, it is easy to eat unhealthy food, and even with gym memberships and New Year’s resolutions it is hard to remain healthy most of the time.

Some common causes of unhealthy eating habits include hormonal imbalances, the stresses related to school and

“Having a major exercise program would be good for women because it keeps the body in balance and makes women feel good about themselves.

—

,

studying, and issues with money.

In many cases, feeding yourself, or your family, from local fast foods restaurants is cheaper and easier than shopping at Sprouts or Whole Foods.

Sociology major Keia Walton said, “Hormones and the menstrual cycle play a huge part in the way us women eat. When you’re on your period, you tend to eat worse. It could be vulnerability or just boredom. Sometimes you eat what’s convenient to you, like fast food or junk food but not just women — men do it too.”

Not getting the proper amount of exercise and not paying attention to

what you eat is easy to do.

Without knowing the signs, it is easy to fall into the trap of eating more than you can hanJohnson dle.

“Overeating is saying you’re full but your mind is saying otherwise,” early childhood development major Jocelyn Murray said.

Sometimes when a person eats too quickly, the body is not given enough time to send the signal to the brain that you’ve had enough to eat so eating and being full overlap.

“Having a major exercise program would be good for women because it keeps the body in balance and makes women feel good about themselves,” Murray said.

A woman might always be strong, mentally, but physically some women have additional priorities.

Nursing major Briah Davis said, “Sometimes women lift a lot, but many

women don’t because we don’t want to look and feel masculine.”

For some women, being muscular is akin to being masculine and from a man’s perspective might not be as attractive as a petite and more feminine woman.

In 2014, over 54 million Americans paid gym membership fees and for the second year in a row actual visits to the gyms exceeded 5 billion.

The average member visited their club over 100 times; an all-time high, and memberships have grown 18.6 percent between 2008 and 2014.

For people who want to maintain good health, the most important thing is to practice healthy habits.

Lifestyle adjustments, like taking the stairs instead of escalators or elevators, are first-step habit modifications.

Today, only 14 percent of Americans, in a survey presented at the Washington business group health summit, meet the basic health standard of taking a brisk walk every day for 30 five times per week.

ASSORTED INTERESTS FUEL PURSUIT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

Many high school athletes dream of attending their favorite college directly after graduation, however the shifting reality of increased tuition coupled with the success junior college transfers have garnered on the professional level has made community college more attractive.

Aside from saving money, attending, playing and transferring from a JC changes the selection process an athlete uses to determine which college he or she will enroll at next.

“I’m looking to go to a Division I or Division II college and it’s important in soccer to connect with your teammates and coaches because you are going to be playing there for two years,” computer science major and Comet goalkeeper Mohammadhasein Jumshidian said.

“Most importantly, the courses that the school offers have to be compatible with my major.”

Transferring students already have an educational plan and major so it adds the layer of decision making to determine if a school has an educational program in line with the student-athlete’s major.

For Contra Costa College, athletes come in all shapes, sizes and levels of athletic

ability.

And although many aspire to play professionally at some point, all are focused on making sure that the time they each have invested in CCC athletics translates to a smoother path toward higher education.

Some athletes receive a flood of offers from schools nationwide to entice students to come be a part of their athletic program.

Even when choosing from a collection of colleges vying for acceptance, students still must go through the list of bullet points to see if a school is the right fit for them.

Comet sophomore defensive back Rodney Washington said, “For me it came down to who wanted me the most and who was going to make sure that I was on the right path.

He has committed to attend Florida Atlantic University to play for coach Lane Kiffin, a former Oakland Raider head coach and the former offensive coordinator for the 2015 national champion University of Alabama.

“I want to make an immediate impact.

They have a new coach (Kiffin) and a great coaching staff. It’s the best opportunity to get me to the league (NFL).”

Washington made the All-Conference first team defense in both of his years playing for the Comets.

But Washington’s path is not the norm

“For me it came down to who wanted me the most and who was going to make sure that I was on the right path.” for athletic hopefuls. According to statistics compiled by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), only 5.7 percent of high school football players go on to compete at the NCAA Division I and II levels.

The prospects aren’t much more encouraging for the other of the big four sports widely regarded as American staples.

For athletes that play high school sports, only 6.1 percent of baseball players, 5.5 percent of soccer players and 3 percent of basketball players make it into the NCAA ranks.

In Washington’s case, the prospects are even dimmer, as only 250 players are drafted into the NFL each year, which translates to roughly 1.8 percent of college football players going pro.

Still, every year students make their way to community colleges nationwide in an attempt to capture a dream that for so many never becomes a reality.

Despite not reaching the ultimate goal

of earning a multi-million dollar contract, students who participate in college graduate at an extremely high rate.

CCC sophomore catcher and volleyball player Amy Palomares said, “For me, the focus has always been about being a student-athlete — student first. It’s been all about school and my major, not just about me playing softball and volleyball.

“The academics have to be right for me to attend any school. Even if they want to pay for school for me to play a sport, the classes have to be right. I’m not going to play softball for the rest of my life.”

There is a measurable long-term improvement in quality of life that results from pursuing athletic dreams in high school and college. Just as important as the health benefits, graduation rates for NCAA athletes have seen a 12 point increase from 74 percent to 84 percent over the last 14 years.

The 84-point mark is two points higher than last year and is the highest the rate has been since the graduation success rates have been tracked.

Female African-American student-athletes increased five points to 84 percent, another all-time high.

Women’s basketball student-athletes earned degrees at an 89 percent rate, a 2 point increase over last year.

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Campus fosters possibilities for modern women

focus An art student paints a landscape portrait during an art class in A-6 on Friday.

Photos by: Denis Perez FOR

MORE PHOTOS, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

Lab coordinator Eileen Beil sets up for a chemistry lab class in PS-7 on Friday.

Business students study for a math class by writing problems on the board in one of the study rooms in the Library and Learning Resource Center on Friday.

Outfielder Mi’Jae Wilson reaches third base as outfielder Deserae Armstrong misses the ball during women’s softball practice on the football field Friday.

Automotive technology major Monica Genova works with equipment during a automotive services class in the Automotive Technology Building on Monday.

B SECTION WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

Comfortable setting raises dining, social experience

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It is a powerful role to have and it is important that it be used to lift the community.”

— Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, president

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WAVES CLUB GIVES WOMEN A ‘SAFE ZONE’ TO TALK ISSUES New club celebrates local female leaders in scientific fields, provides on-campus location for women to share ideas PAGE B4

FILE PHOTO / THE ADVOCATE

President hails Iranian roots, American Dream Successful educator

Action film franchise excites, stays true to roots

takes on leadership role to help others

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BY Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh arrived on campus with a clear sense of the people she was serving and competently driven by her administrative experience in the Contra Costa College Community College District.

“It’s truly an honor and a privilege and I’ll be honest, sometimes it can be a little scary. I think that what we do as educators is so inherently important. And ensuring that the decisions we make are decisions that are truly positively impacting those whom we serve.

It’s the most important thing for me,” Mehdizadeh said.

On Jan. 16, 2015 Mehdizadeh arrived at CCC as interim president and served in that capacity until she was selected as CCC’s 11th

permanent president on March 23, 2016.

“It’s a powerful role to have and it is important that is be used to lift the community,” she said.

Prior to taking the interim position at CCC, Mehdizadeh served as district vice chancellor of education and technology at the District Office in Martinez.

Since Mehdizadeh was a young girl, her parents instilled the value of the importance of education in her.

She was born in Iran on Feb. 19, 1970 and brought to the United States at the age of 8 for a better future for her and her siblings.

“Growing up there was no question that I had to go to school and that I would eventually have to go to college,” Mehdizadeh said.

“Neither of my parents have a college education. My father has a fifth grade education and my mother

went to high school.”

Mehdizadeh graduated from San Francisco State University and received her bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in computer information systems in 1992.

From SF State, she went to Cal State-East Bay and received her master’s in communication study with an emphasis in organizational communication and intercultural communication in 1995.

A memory Mehdizadeh carries with her is when her older brother enrolled at CCC’s sister college, Diablo Valley, while he was still an international student.

“I remember thinking, that has to be a great school. I have to go to DVC,” she said. “I just knew I had to go to DVC. My big bro went there.”

ABOVE: President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh stands in front of the Applied Arts Building only one week after accepting an interim position as president of Contra Costa College.

SEE MEHDIZADEH, PAGE B2

ZUMBA INSTRUCTOR BUILDS CONFIDENCE, HEALTH MENTORS GIVE ASSISTANCE TO YOUNGER STUDENTS PAGE B3

Leader sets goals before she transfers PAGE B5

Alphabe+ Club founder fights for LGBTQ+ issues

BY Reggie Santini SPOTLIGHT EDITOR

rsantini.theadvocate@gmail.com

Zumba dance instructor Mauricio Enrique Duarte wants to use his love of dance and a psychology degree to help inspire and build confidence in other members of the community.

Duarte (also known as Kike, pronounced key-kay) is the 29-year-old son of first-generation immigrants from El Salvador and a psychology major at Contra Costa College.

“I want to get my psychology degree to help build confidence within people. I want to make sure that when I am done with school I can help my LGBTQ+ community, women who are in sick relationships and homeless youth,” Duarte said.

While working for a daycare center Duarte was required to take a child development class to continue working there. He began taking those classes at CCC during the fall of 2015 semester.

Duarte said that during his first

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Psychology major Mauricio Enrique Duarte leads a Zumba dance fitness class at Dance with Sherry Studios in San Rafael, California on Friday.

semester at CCC he experienced a turning point in his life.

“I realized I was doing this for my job and not for me.”

He said, “I told myself if I am going to get a degree it is going to be for something I want to do.”

Duarte quit his job in December 2015 and became a full-time stu-

dent at CCC during spring 2016.

Soon after starting his first semester at CCC Duarte joined the Puente Club. The Puente Club aims to better the lives of students who have been educationally underserved.

Counselor Norma ValdezJimenez said, “From my first

meeting with Enrique, I already knew he had some great leadership skills.” Valdez-Jimenez also serves as the adviser for Puente Club.

Valdez-Jimenez said she really saw his natural leadership skills by his ability to walk into a room SEE DUARTE, PAGE B2

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Professor talks failures of education system, bias Community discusses inaccuracies in history textbooks, honors art

BY Denis Perez PHOTO EDITOR

dperez.theadvocate@gmail.com

RICHMOND — Community members gathered to celebrate the intellectual contributions of African people and enjoy cultural performances during the Black History Celebration in the Civic Center here on Saturday.

Richmond Mayor Tom Butt said, “We are here to celebrate black history. The African-American community in Richmond is one our strongest communities and it goes way back in the history of the city of Richmond.”

The annual event focused on the theme, “The Crisis in Black Education,” and featured dinner accompanied by a variety of dance groups, artists, a fashion show, and an award ceremony and presentations from speakers.

Contra Costa College’s history department Chairperson Manu Ampim presented a brief history on the founder of Black History Month, historian Carter G. Woodson and his books.

Ampim said that when he was asked to participate in this event he knew that the spotlight should be on the intellectual aspect.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

History department Chairperson Manu Ampim lectures about Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Black History Month, during the Black History Celebration at the Civic Center in Richmond on Saturday.

“This month is not being used to be a push to change things toward a better education of our black communities.”

— Sonomia Byrd, Oakland resident

He said, “It’s not just the cultural dances. I hope the dances can give them inspiration to remember what I was sharing. I hope people know the work of Carter G. Woodson and his intellectual work to connect people of African history to U.S. history and world history.”

He said as innovators and creators, African people have made a substantial impact on intellectual development and growth of the world.

Ampim said that the most important thing people can do now, after they have gained knowledge,is to make sure to apply it.

“What do we do now? We take these accomplishments and make them practical,” he said.

“I hope people apply this information throughout the year, and take the information that they learn outside of the classroom and apply it in the classroom to challenge students, and I hope that happens in places like Contra Costa College.”

Oakland resident Sonomia Byrd said every year she and her family attend the event and participate in the routine, go through different events, learn new things and move through the motions.

“But where is the radical action after?

Black History Month brings up so much suppressed information that the educational

system doesn’t teach,” she said.

“This month is not being used to its full potential, to be a push to change things toward a better education of our black communities.”

Byrd said that the community should challenge the narrative in high school and college classrooms, to change the curriculum to be more inclusive of black history, even after the month ends.

Richmond resident Margo Pickett said, “This event allowed me to keep in touch with my culture. I learned about Woodson and about his books and historical facts about classical African civilizations.

“I feel like I need to read Woodson’s books. The more we know, the more efficient we can be when we get involved in the community.”

MEHDIZADEH | Fight for instruction opens doors to career goals Continued from page B1 For Mehdizadeh, education was something that she was absolutely going to continue.

“I think it is a privilege to have an education, and I feel that I’ve been blessed that I’ve had these opportunities afforded to me. That I’ve had the opportunities to go to really good schools.”

When she and her brother went to DVC, they were still international students and were not yet “green card” holders, so they had to pay out-of-state tuition.

During her first semester as a student in 1987, she planned on studying accounting and enrolled in her first accounting class.

She realized it was not for her.

From 1994 through 1997 Mehdizadeh first held a permanent position as Assessment Center technician at DVC in the Career Development Center.

From 1998 through 2014 Mehdizadeh filled multiple roles during her time at the district allowing her to build lasting relationships and alliances.

While working at the District Office, she served as executive vice president for technology systems and educational services, institutional research workforce and eco-

nomic development.

Mehdizadeh’s close connection to the district made her a natural to fill the president position at CCC. Senior Executive Assistant Michael Peterson said Mehdizadeh united the campus when she arrived and began to work with faculty and staff.

Mehdizadeh said she didn’t know what to expect.

“I had been with the district for so many years. I knew the college.

I knew many people from the college,” she said.

As her assistant, Peterson said Mehdizadeh is the “best” boss he has ever had.

“The most palpable way to measure her impact is through the difference she made when she got here. There was so much change,” he said. ” He said the best way he can help Mehdizadeh is by being a friendly face as students enter her office, which is located on the second floor of the Student and Administration Building. Peterson said, “You have to get to know someone to sense what their priorities are, to learn her vision and style.”

Governing Board President Vicki Gordon said from the first time she spoke with Mehdizadeh in 2011, she found her to be a person who is knowledgeable.

“She has a way of communicating and it really brings people in.”

Mariles Magalong,

director of business services

District Director of Communications and Community Relations Tim Leong said Mehdizadeh is smart and a great listener.

“Certain people when they say something, you know it comes from a place of knowledge, education, experience,” he said. “Mojdeh is just that.”

“As a communications person, I value that skill set. Some people think they are great listeners, but they aren’t (she is).”

Director of Business Services Mariles Magalong said, “She has a way of communicating and it really brings people in.

“Once someone even said she can package even the bad news and people can be like ‘wow’,” she said.

Magalong said Mehdizadeh has a good sense of humor.

“It is important to have fun when you’re in a position of responsibility. She makes really good connections with people,” she said.

Other then her passion to ensure

that students succeed, Magalong said Mehdizadeh’s sense of fashion keep her wondering how she is able to balance her college duties while maintaining her outfits from day-to-day.

Gordon said Mehdizadeh is a knowledgeable person and when she “taps into it” she can do a lot.

With the experience Mehdizadeh has accumulated throughout her time at the district, she has become a resource person who is able to remember details from situations other people may have forgotten, Gordon said. “She is someone you just know will do great things.”

Mehdizadeh said of her experience in the DVC Assessment Center in 1994, “What was super exciting to me is that I was getting to meet the different faculty members that taught in the co-op education and career development program. It was right when computers were starting to be available in offices.

“The Career Development Center was one of the first offices that brought in a PC. “I remember taking those co-op applications and making a database, entering the data from the co-op apps.

“I remember their reactions to me at the time. They were so

incredible happy with that work.

That is when I decided that I really like to make things easier for people,” she said.

It was that realization that prompted Mehdizadeh to switch from being an accounting major to computer information systems major.

Mehdizadeh said she realized how much she loved learning and simplifying things for people.

“It didn’t matter what it was, it was always exciting for me to experiment and learn something new,” she said. “When I worked in the Assessment Center, I would always take on different things.”

In her role, she said she learned the value of organization and ultimately that is what it is about — helping students achieve success.

Magalong said she has known Mehdizadeh for over 20 years now.

She said their relationship carries back to when Mehdizadeh worked at DVC and at the district.

Magalong said Mehdizadeh came to CCC with an already established network within the community college systems.

John Diestler, who was a fine arts and media professor but is now retired, said he wishes he could have been at CCC while she was president.

“She is a strong leader,” he said.

DUARTE | Campus involvement spurs drive to expand inclusivity Continued from page B1 and instantly be able to tell who was on the margins. He would purposefully bring them in, empower them and welcome them into the Puente Club.

Duarte said, “One of my role models is RuPaul. One of the phrases she says that really touches me is ‘All of this that I do, I do it for myself.’ This to me means that we can only help people so much.”

He said that because a person can only help someone else to a certain extent, he wants to become an asset so people, themselves, can build their own legacies and go on to help others.

Valdez-Jimenez said, “Enrique is not about a project. He is about who he is and how he carries himself. He has a great ability to navigate in multiple worlds, and embrace and welcome everyone.”

Duarte said, “I want to have the resources to be able to help them build their confidence and show them that they can overcome what is going on at that moment. I want them to be able to climb the steps on their own.”

Duarte joined the RYSE Youth Center in

Richmond around 2009, as a student member. During his time at RYSE he co-facilitated the opening of the first local Alphabet Group (LGBTQ+ group).

At the end of fall 2016 Duarte started CCC‘s very own Alphabe+ Club.

Duarte said, “I used to work at the Ryse Center in Richmond, and there we came up with the Alphabet Group. So when we started the club here at CCC I figured, let’s just keep it going.”

He said, “The GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) didn’t appeal to, or serve, anybody but the gays and straights, but (The Alphabe+ Club) includes everyone.”

The club’s adviser, Senior Executive Assistant Michael Peterson, said Duarte took it upon himself to organize everything the club needed.

“Enrique really helped the Alphabe+ Club re-emerge from its dormancy,” he said.

Even though the Alphabe+ Club is in its early stages, Duarte has big plans for the spring 2016 semester.

Duarte said, “This (Alphabe+ Club) is just a starting point. If you don’t feel safe about something, you can come to me. I know how hard it is to be in the shadows. I

“I know how hard it is to be in the shadows. I want to bring issues to the light. I want everyone to able to say ‘this is who I am’ and not have anyone question it.”

— Mauricio Enrique Duarte, psychology major

want to bring issues to the light. I want everyone to be able to say ‘this is who I am’ and not have anyone question it.”

Peterson said Duarte really tries to find inventive ways to make the club known, and that Duarte does the best to think outside the box. “He is a great ambassador for the LGBTQ+ community on this campus.”

Duarte said, “I really want this place to be like the Castro.”

Duarte said he grew up in a Latino culture where machismo was the norm. “I was bullied by my peers and at home with family while growing up, so I began using dance as an outlet and a way to free myself.”

He said, “A lot of the things I went through, I went through them alone.”

Duarte said dance has always been his best friend, and no matter how bad his day was, he knew his best friend was there.

Duarte has been teaching Zumba for eight years. He currently teaches a Zumba dance fitness class at the Dance with Sherry Studio in San Rafael four times a week.

Duarte said students at his classes and his community come to him for advice all the time. “They want me to help them with their diet plans, marriage and parenting. I just try to explain to them that I am only their Zumba instructor.”

Valdez-Jimenez said Duarte is a great inspiration to his peers and always finds a way to relate to them — people just gravitate to him.

He said he takes it very delicately when someone comes to him for advice. “I look at it as a responsibility. That’s why I need to go to school and get educated.”

“I am really thankful for all my professors and everything they did for me. Being part of CCC has played a huge role in pursuing my education,” he said.

Valdez-Jimenez said, “Enrique’s star shines brightly.”

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WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.1.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

I wanted to tutor to help kids be successful. I want to give others opportunities I didn’t have.”

— Gustavo Arguello, Metas tutor

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SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION PROCESS STREAMLINED

BY Gabriel Quiroz ADVOCATE STAFF

gquiroz.theadvocate@gmail.com

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

METAS tutor Tomas Chavez holds a student’s hand after plucking a thorn out of it during a break outside of the Liberal Arts Building during the bi-weekly METAS tutoring program on Saturday.

Tutors establish ‘familial’ connection METAS program extends literary, personal support

BY Gabriel Quiroz ADVOCATE STAFF

gquiroz.theadvocate@gmail.com

METAS is more than a pre-K-12 grade academic mentoring and tutoring program for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses. It has changed the lives of thousands.

A low roar of students fills the halls of the Applied Arts Building, every other Saturday, when METAS is in session. But step into any of these classrooms and a tutor or teacher is quick to silence the room to answer any question or open feedback from the students that needs an answer.

A fifth-grade classroom is filled with students working on homework, doing math problems and some chatter.

Gustavo Arguello, a first-semester tutor for METAS encouraged his students to just try when they feel they can’t understand a math problem.

Arguello said, “I wanted to tutor to help kids be successful. I want to give others opportunities I didn’t have.”

It’s a place that students can have a familial connection to their tutors and teachers. They can see their friends, while simultaneously improving their grades. It gives students, who may be

“METAS is a beautiful program with spirit that we have made successful over the last 30 years. We help so many young people successfully get through school.”

— Mayra Padilla, METAS director

having a trouble connecting or are nervous about their freshman year in high school, something to look forward to.

The youngest in the METAS program are the “pollitos” or little chicks, pre-K and first-grade students, aged 6 and 7, who are working on English literacy and STEM literacy.

In another classroom, ninth graders prepare to speak to eighth graders about their experiences and give advice on what to expect and how to be successful in high school.

They tell how they picked their school, how they knew the school was right for them and give some survival tips for incoming students.

Angelina Villafane and Shanina Shumate, teachers for METAS, engaged the students in a discussion about avoiding procrastinating but instead being organized.

Calvin Andrews, a ninth grade student from Summit K2, said, “Do not let school stress you out too much. Your mental and physical health comes first.”

After their discussion, students seemed to be more relaxed about their

transition into high school.

Several of the students in METAS have been going since they were “pollitos.” Frank Ochoa, a ninth-grade student from Pinole Valley High School who attends Villafanes’ class, said, “I have been coming since first grade. I have friends who come and it helped me improve my grades.”

METAS and Adelante programs assistant Walter Orellano were students and tutors for the program. Orellano is responsible for outreach, applications and getting volunteer tutors.

Orellano said, “A common theme of students in METAS is that they usually become tutors in their future, some even continue and become staff at Contra Costa or in the METAS program, (HSI STEM manager) like Mayra Padilla.”

Padilla is the director for METAS. She said she is responsible for grant writing, hiring teachers, making sure all decisions made are geared toward METAS and most importantly, making sure the program stays connected to the students.

Padilla said, “METAS is a beautiful program with spirit that we have made successful over the last 30 years. We help so many young people successfully get through school.”

The program has over 250 students, six teachers and 50 tutors, more than half from CCC and the rest from other colleges like UC Berkeley, San Jose State and San Francisco State. METAS began in 1978 and continues to prosper in its 30th year.

Scholarships can have a huge impact in a student’s life. They can make the difference between having time for study and quality time with family or working countless hours to pay off tuition.

Livingson Azode, an international student from Nigeria majoring in mechanical engineering, said, “I know how difficult it can be to raise money for school as an independent. I can’t get a lot of scholarships because I’m not a citizen.”

The new online application for scholarships is helping Livingson to apply for scholarships that would be more relevant to him. Livingson said he is currently working on campus to pay for his tuition, but will hopefully get a scholarship so he will have more time to study and money to go towards his tuition when he transfers in Mechanical Engineering.

Michiko Wagner is a biotechnology major at Contra Costa College who received a scholarship from the San Pablo Economic Development Center.

This scholarship paid 50 percent of her tuition.

Michiko said, “Without the scholarship it would have taken me more time to achieve my goals and I would have to work more and sacrifice my family time.” She applied for her scholarship because, she said, “I wanted more time to study and go to school. I want to take advantage of the resources available to me and graduate debt-free.”

Mia Henderson-Bonilla is the scholarship coordinator for CCC and is responsible for managing both on and off-campus scholarships. Henderson-Bonilla said the biggest project currently is the change from paper to online scholarship applications.

The change allows students to apply to over 80 scholarships at one time by answering six essay prompts, giving information about their GPA, extracurricular activities and unofficial transcript.

The scholarships are divided into departments, specialized programs and memorials.

Department’s scholarships include math, English, biology and others departments. Specialized program scholarships include the ASU, EOPS and other groups on campus. Memorial scholarships are on behalf of faculty members who have died. Among the over 80 scholarships available are opportunities for incoming freshmen, current students and transfer students.

The scholarships award amounts can range from $500, such as in the “cccwheresmycheck” scholarship that is meant to make students feel empowered to fund their educational goals at Contra Costa College, to a new $3,000 scholarship for the culinary department called the Arizmendi Culinary Scholarship, from the Arizmendi Bakery in Oakland.

This scholarship pays for the entirety of tuition, supplies and books for a culinary student completing their second year in the culinary program. There is also the $5,000 William Worley Memorial Scholarship, which has a requirements that a student who has been accepted to transfer to a four-year college or university for the upcoming fall term and be a full time student.

Scholarships can be found at www.contracosta. edu/scholarships.

Henderson-Bonilla said, “You have to put in work, but it’s worth it in the end and now that it’s online it’s a lot more streamlined and easier to apply for multiple scholarships. Even if you don’t win it, is still good practice for the future.

“Scholarship writing can help you with resume writing and developing professional skills for future job experience. The deadline for scholarships is (Thursday).”

Sponsored tour promotes ‘positive’ aspirations Six students selected to visit historical AfricanAmerican colleges

BY Michael Santone ASSOCIATE EDITOR

msantone.theadvocate@gmail.com

Six Contra Costa College students are getting the opportunity to visit a variety of top educational institutions and historic sites throughout the southeast with the Historical Black College and University tour from April 9-15.

The tour will highlight the campuses of seven of the most prestigious universities including Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Morgan State University in Maryland, Hampton University and Norfolk University in Virginia, Bennett or North Carolina A&T, West Virginia State University and Howard University in Washington, D.C. The cost of the tour, which is $1,499 per student, will be sponsored by the CCC Student Equity Fund and cover the round-trip plane ticket from Oakland, Calif. to Baltimore, Md., hotel accommodations, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner for the duration of the tour.

History department Chairperson Manu Ampim said that in his 10 and a half years at CCC this is the first time the college has sponsored students on a HBCU tour.

“This [tour] gives students the experience of going to a black four-year university,” he said, “Those born and raised on the West Coast don’t get a chance to see these colleges and universities.”

“The odds have been stacked against black people in college and these HBCU tours create an environment which understands that.”

— Manu Ampim, history department chairperson

The Per Ankh Academy and EOPS had one spot each reserved for a student, while the other four spots were open to all students throughout CCC. For students to participate, eligibility requirements had to be met, including the completion of at least 15 transferable units at the time of application, with a higher priority to students with more transferable units, a 2.5 transferable GPA or higher at the time of application and verified through unofficial transcript, good academic and disciplinary standing at CCC, interest in attending a HBCU tour, and a personal statement.

African-American studies major Carrielee Walker said she is looking forward to seeing all the universities on the list, but the ones that catch her eye are Morgan State, Howard, Hampton and North Carolina A&T. “Being able to see the campuses in person rather than on social media and being able to speak to students and fac-

ulty members is most exciting,” she said.

“Traveling to these colleges allows me to have a broader view of other universities outside of California that show interest in my careers.”

Walker said she plans on including sociology, real estate and criminal justice, with a minor in business, in her undergraduate studies on her journey to reaching her dreams of becoming a civil rights attorney, a counselor for students in high school and college and creating a property management company.

“This tour is also to gather as much information about the campuses to report back to other students who may be indecisive about leaving California and creating a network before transferring,” she said, “The importance of this tour is seeing positive black young adults accomplish goals rather than the overly dehumanizing images we see through the mass media.”

Ampim, who has attended a HBCU tour in the past, said he knows firsthand that these colleges nurture and support black students.

“The odds have been stacked against black people in college and these HBCU tours create an environment which understands that.”

African-American studies major Elijah Morgan said it’s a blessing to

be able to go on this tour because not many community colleges take students on tours like the HBCU. “I want to learn as much as possi- Morgan ble from the college experience, because some people say it’s too expensive or that college isn’t for them,” he said.

Morgan said that he is excited to tour Hampton University and visit the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington D.C. The tour is not exclusive to just CCC, but will include students from Diablo Valley College, College of Alameda, San Jose City College, Evergreen College, as well as community colleges from Southern California.

Each college has designated a chaperone for its group, with Student Life Coordinator Joel Nickelson-Shanks accompanying the CCC students.

“Going on an adventure with people from different colleges can help with social skills,” Morgan said, “There’s a big group going, so we will be able to communicate and network with students and faculty.”

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WOMEN’S HIS

TRADITIONAL WAYS HINDER WOMEN’S INTEREST IN STEM Women in science fields receive pushback from cultural stigmas

BY Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Women make up less than a quarter of workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, in spite of being 48 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to the Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey.

“When you think of an engineer, you think of an old, white man. You don’t think of a woman, or a Latina much less, going into those fields,” Contra Costa College engineering major Karla Cortes said.

Mechanical engineer major Alejandra Canelo said, “We need to have that stereotype “I like out of our being heads. We need to around picture dif- women ferent kinds of people because doing dif- it makes ferent kinds me feel of jobs.”

Prior to empowsw itching her major ered.” to engi— Karla Cortes, neering, Canelo was engineering major set on being an English teacher, but when approaching her dad about her major change, she said he questioned her choice.

“No es para hombres, hija?”

“Isn’t that for men, daughter?” he asked.

“The one supporter that I felt was going to support me told me that job wasn’t for me,” she said.

Culturally, women in science fields are almost taboo, particularly in the Latin culture. Cortes said during a Woman Advancing Via Engineering and Science (WAVES) meeting, the group talked about what a “STEM woman” looked like.

“Why is there this perception that if there is a woman (in engineering) it has to be a white or Asian woman?” she said. “Because Asians tend to do better in math so that is the route they are going to go into and white women, they are privileged so they get to do this and not get judged.”

Cortes said people must learn the true statistics and dismiss the ideas about women in STEM fields.

“I want to dispel those misconceptions and replace them with positive thoughts, that it is possible to be a Latina woman in STEM,” she said.

CCC Center for Science Excellence Program Director Seti Sidharta said she grew up in Indonesia and was surrounded by men in her family

Honoring women’s triumphs, struggles

BY Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

who had a STEM education.

“I have uncles who are doctors. Brothers who are engineers, so I grew up surrounded by that environment, however my mother’s and my aunts are mostly housewives.”

Sidharta said her family “pushed” her into the STEM fields, so from the time she was in high school she was directed toward science and math classes.

“In Indonesia, your education is pretty much tracked.

If you are good at science and math you go into the math field.”

With the support from her professor, Sidharta said she was lucky to have been in that environment and become a professional.

“Some students do have a phobia for math because when they were young they were told women are not good at math or women shouldn’t go into math,” she said. “It’s true that there is such thing as a glass ceiling. People in the higher up are mostly men.”

Canelo said when taking Intro to Engineering with physics and engineering professor Mark Wong as the first class after changing her major, the class was predominantly male.

“I felt really intimidated,” she said. “I’ve never been in a class where there wasn’t a diversity of genders, but there was one girl; she showed up one day and didn’t come back.”

Cortes said when she was in high school taking physics, the low number of women in class upset her. “I like being around women because it makes me feel empowered. So the fact that it was a maledominated classroom pissed me off in a way,” Cortes said.

When Cortes first arrived at CCC, she said it was a different perspective for her.

“The sense that guys saw you there it was like ‘oh man she is here.’ You can feel it, it wasn’t necessarily what they said but it was the way they looked at you. It made it seem like, ‘What is she doing here.’”

Cortes said her interest for the sciences stemmed from her brother, who helped her understand things like derivatives (a calculus concept).

“Growing up I tended to excel in math and science and I followed my passion.”

But seeing the lack of women’s representation made Cortes want to change and be an inspiration for many.

“It is possible to go into the STEM field if you are Latina and if you are a woman,” she said.

“Don’t be afraid of the challenge and don’t be afraid to stand out, because ultimately you are leading the way for others to follow your path,” Cortes said.

I

n this section, The Advocate focuses on women of Contra Costa College for national Women’s History Month, as well as a brief look into the past during the easier times.

Around the world, women are celebrated for their economic, political and social achievements on March 8, International Women’s Day, but under Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s, Congress passed a law which permanently designated the whole month of March as Women’s History Month.

“It’s important to remind girls that there are women in the past who have done amazing things and they can too make a difference,” business major Bailey Williams said.

Biology major Joanah Ajayi said this month celebrates women on an intellectual level, not based on

appearances, but on achievements and accomplishments throughout history, as well as the struggles they overcame.

“It’s not about what she looked like. It was because she was smart,” she said.

Ajayi said, “To me, Women’s History Month says ‘stay strong.’ You got through so many obstacles as a woman of color. And you’re seen as less because of your gender.”

“They think you need help. She is a woman, she can’t finish her education, they think,” she said.

Ajayi said in her culture, as an African-American woman, it has been instilled that the man has the final say.

“I want to be someone who doesn’t need the approval of a man,” she said.

As a disenfranchised group, African-American women’s right to vote was fully enforced when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed.

Their contributions to society have paved the way for generations to come.

“Being a minority and a woman, it’s made me stronger — more resilient,” Williams said.

In another article in this section, the national gender equality campaign “Free the Nipple” makes its way to point out the double standard of the oversexualization of the nipple when it is connected to the female body and not its counterpart’s.

Here at CCC, the overall female enrollment was 3,791, compared to 2,551 male, Director of Admissions and Records Catherine Frost reported to The Advocate on Oct. 10, 2016.

Biomedical engineering major Karla Cortes said she noticed the lack of clubs on campus that were female-oriented, so she wanted to begin one that brought women together.

Woman Advancing Via Engineering and Science club was created, a group to bring women interested in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) experience, due to the way they were brought up in their culture.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Engineering major Karla Cortes (left) and biology major Marisol Contreras (right) talk during the Women Advancing Via Engineering and Science (WAVES) club meeting in PS-107 on Friday.

WAVES club protects safe zones

BY Yesenia Melara SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

ymelara.theadvocate@gmail.com

Women Advancing Via Engineering & Science (WAVES) club’s vision is to provide a supportive and safe environment where women can help and empower each other.

Biomedical engineering major and president of WAVES, Karla Cortes said that a lot of times women can feel intimidated by STEM, so the WAVES club is a safe place were women don’t have to feel this way.

Before the club was formed in fall 2016, Cortes said she noticed how most engineering and science courses were male-dominated, so it was upsetting

for her seeing this, especially because there were only a few women taking those types of classes.

Lilian Hernandez, biology major and treasurer of WAVES, said she noticed how most women who were in STEM-related classes at Contra Costa College dropped out from those classes or even ended up switching their major.

“I know that the classes can be challenging, so maybe if girls had more support within STEM classes there would be a higher percentage in retaining girls to pursue a STEM career,” Hernandez said.

These concerns motivated Cortes to start the WAVES club, she said.

During the meetings, Cortes said they talk about topics related to STEM, they express ideas and troubles. She makes sure to share information regarding internships or events and basically “stay united.”

Silvia Osornio, psychology and Inter-Club Council representative of WAVES, said that during meetings everyone always seems to get excited about the different topics they talk about or the different things they have planned for the club.

“It’s been a great experience being able to be a part of a club where girls who have the same interest as I get together and just talk about great stuff from what they learn in class or being

able to help support each other out,” Osornio said.

An upcoming activity that the WAVES club is planning is to invite women who have worked in STEM fields to come and talk about their experiences in the field. Also, there is a volunteer opportunity in which WAVES members will expose and teach girls from grades five to eight about science related topics at a conference at UC Berkeley.

Among other activities, the WAVES club will be hosting fundraising events for scholarships for women.

If interested in joining the WAVES club, meetings are every Friday in PS-107 from noon to 1 p.m.

CAMPUS COMMENT Who is your female role model?

“Michelle Obama has inspired me to stand up for brown and black women’s rights to be treated equally in society.”

Janet Lira computer science

”I would have to say myself because if you can’t inspire yourself, then who can?”

Jen Polance nursing

DENIS PEREZ, JESSICA SUICO AND CARLOS SUAREZ/THE ADVOCATE

“Michelle Obama because she was a successful black first lady and used her status to inspire many people.”

Horacio Murinllo construction management

“Ever since I started living with my boyfriend, his mom has taught me a lot, like how to cook.”

“Catwoman because she is fierce, athletic and brave.”

“Casey Catenzaro from ‘American Ninja Warrior.’ She inspires me because I want to be like her.”

Andrea Torres

Juan Bernal

Christopher Helberg

nursing

undecided

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STORY MONTH

“

It felt like the walls were coming down on me, and the only sane part was coming to the ASU and school because I had people to talk to.”

—

, ASU president

ASU President Safi WardDavis works to leave a legacy before transferring to Cal State-East Bay this fall.

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

‘HELPER’S SOUL’ CARVES LEGACY Student leader overcomes tragedy, empowers next generation

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

In an office tucked in the corner of the Student Life Center, the ASU president reflects on the four years she has spent nurturing the beating heart of Contra Costa College’s clubs, student government and its family.

“I’m going to come and visit, but it’s not going to be like you’ll see me all the time.” Associated Student Union President Safi Ward-Davis said. “I’ll make sure the (ASU) Board will have access to me, but I can’t be a part of it.

“I’ve been here about four and a half years with the ASU,” she said.

“I’ve been a part of it since we had our office in the old Student Activities Building, were moved to the (Applied Arts Building during construction) and finally moved to the new one (Student and Administration Building).”

This semester is Ward-Davis’ final term at CCC before she transfers to Cal State-East Bay to major in psychology after having earned three associate degrees at CCC. She said if she never enrolled in Michel Arnold’s psychology course and joined the Health and Human Services Club, she would not have had the strength to leave a valuable legacy as a student leader while overcoming tragedy that changed her life.

“When my husband died I had to

revamp everything.”

The time she spent coping with the untimely death of her husband, while raising a child in Sacramento, is what brought her back to the Bay Area Rescue Mission in Richmond to live and volunteer for five months with her daughter in 2008 — just three years after marrying her husband.

“He was murdered.” Ward-Davis said. “So I had my daughter, who was in middle school, and I needed to be role model for her.

“I couldn’t break down,” she said she would tell herself. “I had to be strong for my aunties, my father-in-law and his siblings, go to school every day and go to work — I was going through the motions for so long.”

But with the support of a professor in the health and human services department, her father, brothers and the campus community, she found the strength to keep going.

“Even when I was the most frustrated with my life, I never said I would stop coming to school,” she said. “It felt like the walls were coming down on me, and the only sane part was coming to the ASU and school because I had people to talk to.”

Ward-Davis has held many positions in various leadership groups on campus, from the Health and Human Services Club, to representing the InterClub Council as its president and nearly

“I admire Safi’s knowledge of the college committee structure and her leadership in assigning student leaders to the shared governance committee in order for the student voice to be heard.”

—

, dean of student services

every executive position on the ASU Board. When the ASU was operating out of the AA Building, from the 2013 fall semester until the 2016 spring semester, it only had a handful of members and back-to-back presidents who could not finish out their terms.

Ward-Davis said she became president out of happenchance.

When former ASU president Nakari Syon did not finish out his term due to a “vote of no confidence,” pushed by a board comprised of Middle College High School students, for failing to meet the responsibilities of the position, he was banned from re-election.

“It was my board. They put my name on the ballot,” Ward-Davis said. “I didn’t want it. I never wanted to be ASU president especially after all that (Syon) stuff.

I really didn’t want that. I never wanted it. But my board was like, we want you

to be ASU president, and so this is where we find ourselves at today.”

CCC Dean of Student Services Vicki Ferguson processed the vote of no confidence pushed against Syon and held several mediation meetings. She said Ward-Davis has been a strong leader in the face of challenges while part of the ASU. “For her to be the ASU president is not a surprise,” Ferguson said. “I admire Safi’s knowledge of the college committee structure and her leadership in assigning student leaders to the shared governance committee in order for the student voice to be heard.”

Former ASU adviser Ericka Greene said Ward-Davis is a strong and astute person who likes to spend as much time researching issues as she does putting students first.

“She will find a way make sure students get guidance they deserve, be it one-on-one or pointing them in the right direction to talk to someone who can (help them),” Greene said.

While Greene said she encouraged Ward-Davis to join the Associated Students at Cal State-East Bay, WardDavis said she is not sure if she will join student government, but she said she wants to keep helping people.

“That’s how I’ve always been,” she said. “My grandmother used to tell me I had a ‘helper’s soul’ and I think she was right.”

Activists keep public abreast of inequities

BY Robert Clinton OPINION EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

America is the land of double standards and nowhere more so than in laws that arbitrarily regulate who is free to present their body publicly in their natural form.

Free the Nipple is a global campaign for empowerment, freedom and human equality.

It argues that women should be allowed to show their nipples in public as freely as men, either for breastfeeding, or because getting an even tan in the summer sun is better than tan lines.

“Women should feel free to breastfeed in public or walk around topless if they want to,” culinary arts major Jamarei Whitelaw said. “People should close their eyes if they don’t want to see.”

Many women take issue with the idea that no matter the circumstance, breasts are seen as sexual objects, regardless of setting or situation.

Across the country, women have been inconvenienced and threatened with legal action for breastfeeding in public. Many places of business have created personal spaces or lactation rooms (like here at Contra Costa College) to serve as a buffer zone from those who may be outraged at the sight of a woman’s areola.

In an attempt to fight this unjust stigma, filmmaker Lena Esco shot “Free the Nipple,” a film that followed a group of young women in New York City as they protested the legal and cultural taboos regarding female breasts.

The women used various activities to bring awareness to their cause. They made use of both provocative methods like graffiti campaigns across New York City, to taking white collar approaches, like hiring First Amendment lawyers in an attempt to combat any accusations in court.

“I don’t have a problem with it, people should be able to express themselves however they want,” psychology major Nancy Bernal said.

“I think the reason many women opt to cover up, even while breastfeeding, is for little kids. It’s how society makes things. A lot of people just go along with things because that’s the way they have always been.”

As her attempts to get the film in theaters faltered, Esco persisted.

She took to social media to begin the Free the Nipple campaign.

The filmmaker initially highlighted social media sites like Facebook and Instagram that categorized any portion of a woman’s areola that shows as graphic content.

Brix employee Rheanna Carpenter said, “People have no problem with topless modeling, but if it’s a woman breastfeeding it’s deemed indecent. It’s the same thing as a man’s nipple — what’s the difference?”

Hollywood stars like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus, among others, have shown support for shifting gender norms by posting pictures of themselves — breasts exposed.

Some have taken the comical approach by photoshopping male nipples on to their own topless pictures.

Most states prohibit toplessness among

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

A group of women defy legal and cultural taboos to protest by exposing their nipples in the streets of New York City in the film, ”Free the Nipple” by Lena Esco.

women, but there are a few forward thinking pockets of the country that allow bare-breasted equality to see the light of day.

New York, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas are the few states that have explicitly legalized toplessness of both men and women in public places.

Most states in the U.S. have laws that list any kind of exposure of the female areola as an act of indecent exposure and therefore a criminal offense.

Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and

Washington are the only states that have laws to expressly differentiate breastfeeding mothers from public nudity.

Any discussion of breasts or what decisions a woman should make, or be able to make, with her body is sensitive and should be determined by women.

“I think it’s bad for women to be out topless around little kids, but for breastfeeding it’s OK as long as there is a blanket over it,” kinesiology major Melissa Price said. “I really don’t care as long as they aren’t in my face.”

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NOVICE COMPETITOR EARNS AWARD

BY Benjamin Bassham NEWS EDITOR

bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com

The single competitor from Contra Costa College won the Top Novice award at the forensics speech competition at Las Positas College on Feb. 4.

Jose Chavez, the speech and debate team member who won, said, “I was considered a novice because it was my first competition.”

Chavez said, “I was competing against open students — from other colleges and four-year universities.” Those schools included San Jose State, UC Berkeley, Cal State-Chico and San Francisco State.

Speech professor Joseph Carver, who coaches the speech and debate team, said, “Most of the competitors were in the open category, who are expected to compete at the highest level and have some mastery of many skills regarding substance, research and style.”

Normally novices like Chavez compete against other novices, but since there were very few novices the newcomers and veterans competed together.

Carver said, “The reason I’m so proud of him is that he was competing against seasoned competitors.”

Chavez said he presented his speech, in the informative speech category, on the Mercy Care suicide prevention app.

Carver said, “The amount of hard work and dedication that Jose has shown, being a strong forensics competitor, there’s a lot more to it than just being able to ‘speak pretty.’”

The speakers are guaranteed at least two chances to reach the finals, Carver said. The first round was at 9 a.m., the second at 2:30 p.m. Competitors are separated into different groups of five or six, presenting their effort to a different judge in each round.

Chavez said, “They sounded

“The amount of hard work and dedication that Jose has shown, being a strong forensics competitor, there’s a lot more to it than just being able to ‘speak pretty’.”

— Joseph Carver, speech professor

like they really knew what they were doing. It helped to have other people go up before me. That way I could see their mistakes.”

Several other members of the speech and debate team traveled to Las Positas to observe, but not compete.

Carver said, “I made the coaching decision that they needed more time to prep. Jose has been working on his speech since late last semester.”

He said CCC had “what you might call — a small lineup.”

Speech and debate team member Johana Arroliga said she made the trip because, “I wanted to get a feel for it (and Chavez see) if it was something I could do.”

About Chavez’s performance, she said, “I felt he did really well.

He had a good flow, and tone of voice.” She said Chavez was one of only two people she saw not using any cue cards.

Carver said, “The judges ding points for using cue cards.”

Having the speech fully memorized always helps one’s score, Arroliga said.

Arroliga, Carver and Chavez all said that under pressure it’s hard not to rush through a speech.

Chavez said, “I took two to three months writing and memorizing (the speech), but at the tournament the nerves kicked in.”

He said, “I messed up on the first round. I left out a huge section of the speech.”

His speech was supposed to be nine minutes and thirty seconds long, but in his first performance he took only seven minutes and thirty seconds. The speeches are supposed to be between eight and 10 minutes long.

He did better on his second chance, taking eight minutes and thirty seconds.

Arroliga said, “The biggest thing is getting over that little fright you get. It’s like a rush. It’s crazy.”

Carver said, “Everyone who has competed in forensics knows that feeling, walking out and thinking ‘I can’t believe I did that.’ Not dwelling on it is an important skill to develop.”

The list of finalists was posted at 5 p.m., and the awards given at 7:30 p.m., revealing Chavez’s victory.

Chavez said, It felt good having them say my name, coming from Contra Costa.”

Alumni impart transfer advice

BY Jessica Suico ADVOCATE STAFF

jsuico.theadvocate@gmail.com

Five alumni from Contra Costa College’s Center for Science Excellence (CSE) spoke about their experiences while transferring from Contra Costa College into the UC system at an on-campus forum on Feb. 10.

“The first (quarter) was really hard to adjust to,” UC Davis student Miguel Palmero said. “But I got the feel for a UC by getting involved with programs and resources on campus — that really helped me.”

Palmero said the only thing that rivals the diversity of students at UC Davis is the size of the campus. “I don’t think I’ve been to every part of it yet.”

After three weeks into a quarter at UC Davis, he said he took his first exam, but three weeks into a semester at CCC he said he was barely buying books.

Alumni who spoke on the CSE panel all spoke highly of the programs they completed and people they met while enrolled at CCC. After the open forum, CCC engineering major Antonio Rojas Cortez said, “Yes, I got a lot of positive information and inspiration from the discussion. I’m not so stressed about transferring and now I know how to transfer and it’s not so scary to me now.”

Former CCC student Natalie Ramirez, now attending UC Berkeley, said while the curriculum is compressed at a four-year university, it is easier to study something you are passionate about.

VALERIA GARCIA / THE ADVOCATE

Former Contra Costa College mechanical engineer major Evelio Perez (second from right) speaks about his experience as a transfer student during a Center for Science Excellence (CSE) student panel on Feb. 10.

“Go with your heart. Focus on what you want for yourself and don’t let your doubts detour you from school or your goals.”

— Natalie Ramirez, former CCC student

“Don’t go with something you will regret,” Ramirez said. “Go with your heart. Focus on what you want for yourself and don’t let your doubts detour you from school or your goals.” She said students should know their limits and not enroll in too many units.

“Don’t forget about your family or your visions while attending school. Focus on studying, but learn to take small breaks if you’re getting too stressed.”

Ramirez also told CCC students that UC professors do not pressure their students to complete assignments in class — it is expected that students read the assignment list on the syllabus.

San Jose State University engineering student Kevin Hernandez talked about what helps him stay on track with his studies.

“Having a plan for your day, or week, always helps me with time management,” he said.

“Even writing little notes for myself helps a lot. You can work as hard as you can, but you can’t do it by yourself. Most SJSU engineering majors usually get a job in that field right after they graduate.”

Students were curious to know if the

speakers also found employment on campus while pursuing a degree.

Hernandez said that he did not work during the school year, but during the summer he would be working with his engineering professor to get hands on engineering training working in the field.

He said he worked for BART in years prior and loved the job, but the schedule was anywhere from 30-40 hours a week and he couldn’t work there and go to school.

Palmero said he is on his second quarter at UC Davis where students have access to a job assistance program and website that helps them find internships and job interviews.

Documentary emphasizes fatherhood, success Film highlights male influences impacting students’ academic progress

BY Sean Austin ADVOCATE STAFF

saustin.theadvocate@gmail.com

Lessons of integrity, quality, work ethic and humility passed on by fathers to their children were viewed by students at an event titled Black Male Leadership held in the Fireside Hall on Feb. 15.

Athletic Director John Wade coordinated the annual event held to reach young black men on campus in hopes of preparing them for academic advancement for the future.

“Act like where you’re going,” Wade said to a full room of mostly football players seeking to move on to fouryear universities after attending Contra Costa College.

A 50-minute film titled “Daddy Matters: A Conversation On Black Fatherhood,” produced and directed by Jermaine Morris, chronicled the lives of 14 men who discussed the impact of fatherhood on their upbringing.

These individuals either had a father in the home, didn’t have a father present, or were currently a father themselves.

The documentary focused on the influence their own fathers had on their lives both in childhood and as adults.

It also examined how those experi-

“Having a daughter changes your life as a man.”

— Jakell Tyrell, Comet football player

ences shaped the way each of them went about raising their own children.

“I’ve never seen a picture of him,” one of the participants interviewed for the film, Jermaine Vertrum, said. “He could be in the room, right now. I wouldn’t even know what he looks like.”

In 2014, census statistics showed that 28 percent of African-American children grow up without any father represented in the home.

“I didn’t realize that there was something missing in my life until I was a grown up,” documentary participant Glen Smith said. “I think that it’s just something that is natural. There’s a yearning, a desire that comes with having that emptiness in your life.”

With the lack of a biological father in the home, some children are fortunate enough to have other male influences in their lives, such as uncles or older cousins to fill that void.

A father-child bond can be built even before birth.

Sean Destin, a father featured in the documentary who grew up with his dad at home, spoke about conversations that

he had with his son while he was still in his mother’s womb.

“I would set the camcorder up, and have these discussions with my baby,” he said.

When Destin’s son was born and heard his father’s voice, he turned his head toward him.

“Even though he (his son) can’t convey or communicate that he recognizes the voice, you can tell that he knew exactly who I was,” Destin said.

After the film, a pair of current and former CCC students spoke to attendees about how life changed for them after becoming a father. They also discussed the challenge of balancing their goals in school and in life.

DeAndre Russell, a member of the CCC 2015-16 basketball team, talked about hard times he faced after losing family members and having to leave school short of graduating. Russell had to manage being a man to his grieving family, while preparing to become a father to his now one-year-old daughter.

“Being a father can change you instantly,” he said, simultaneously entertaining his daughter while speaking to students about the rigors of fatherhood.

Primarily raised by his mother, Russell’s father left shortly before he

was born. Russell’s lasting example of overcoming life’s obstacles was him finally walking the stage at CCC’s spring 2016 graduation ceremony — Wade with his daughter in his arms.

Comet football player Jakell Tyrell, 19, spoke about his experiences as a father.

Tyrell explained the difficulties in trying to be a student, a hard worker and a good son and how adding his own daughter on top of that can be heavy.

“Being a parent doesn’t mess things up, but it slows you down,” he said.

“Having a daughter changes your life as a man.”

He envisions the lessons he will have to share with his daughter in the future, as well as the challenges he will face in the future, like learning to treat her in a way that ensures that she will not grow up to let other men mistreat her.

“A daughter will always take the examples of her father throughout her walk through life,” he said.

“Go hard with everything you do and when you have a child, double that.”

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Triumph wins over adversity as movie shatters stereotypes

By Dylan Collier ASSISTANT SCENE EDITOR

dcollier.theadvocate@gmail.com

T

he movie “Hidden Figures,” directed by Theodore Melfi and based on the book of the same title by Margot Shetterly, tells the true story of three AfricanAmerican women who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1961.

It takes place during a time when segregation was still a part of everyday life in the South and before the civil rights movement completely encapsulated the country.

The performances in the film are strong and highlight the struggles that African-American women went through during the early 60s, specifically telling the story of how Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson all made major contributions to space exploration while changing the history of aeronautics in the process.

Johnson, played by Taraji P. Henson, is the protagonist paid to double-check NASA’s mathematical calculations. The film documents that even in elementary school it was clear that Johnson was a numerical prodigy.

She wowed all of her teachers by solving elaborate mathematical equations from an early age.

Jackson, played by Janelle Monáe, started her career as a math teacher and then became the first black female engineer to work for NASA in 1958.

Vaughan’s role, portrayed by Octavia Spencer, chronicles a mathematician who worked for the West Computing branch of the agency and founded the Analysis and Computing Division (ACD).

ACD was a racially-integrated group on the front lines of electronic computing.

Jackson eventually works her way to management status with NASA. The movie starts by showing how the segregated group of AfricanAmerican women computed all of the numbers manually, but IBM computers begin doing the same work — putting human number crunchers out of business. Vaughan demands a promotion to department supervisor so she can compete in the new technological environment, eventually leading her working in the IBM computer room.

All three women experience racism

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

The movie “Hidden Figures,” directed by Theodore Melfi, is based on the book of the same title by Margot Shetterly. It tells the true story of three African-American women who worked for NASA in 1961 in Hampton, Va.

and sexism, from the snide remarks and mannerisms that Vaughan’s boss makes, to the long overdue promotion for which she works twice as hard as her counterparts to get.

The film also captures the darting glances that Johnson receives from office mates when getting a simple cup of coffee.

A buoyant soundtrack by Pharrell Williams and regular doses of comic relief help keep the tone optimistic amid all the serious oppressive issues at hand.

The film paints a picture of what it was like to work in this environment when Johnson’s co-worker, Paul Stafford, leaves her name off of the written daily reports purposely not giving credit to the driving force behind all of the group’s success.

This is largely due in part to his jealousy that within her first week of work, Johnson had already solved equations from top-secret mission files that contained redacted information within the documents.

When asked how she solved them, she said, “Well what’s there tells a story if you read between the lines, and hold it up to the light.”

In 1961, the United States is in the midst of competition with Russia to put

the first man on the moon. The movie brings up the recurring theme that this was the “first” for many things. It was the first time there were AfricanAmerican women working for NASA and Jackson became the first AfricanAmerican woman to go to a prestigious allMOVIE REVIEW white school for aeronautical engineering.

“Hidden Figures” But in order to go to Starring: Taraji P. the school Jackson had Henson, Octavia to give the judge a comSpencer, Janelle pelling reason why she Monáe Directed by: should be allowed to go, Theodore Melfi so she reminded him Genre: Biography that he was the first person in his family to serve in the Army, just like she wanted to be the first engineer in hers.

This is what gains the judge’s empathy and she is admitted to the school for night classes.

When Johnson briskly walks back and forth between her office and the “colored” bathroom every day, this is a metaphorical mechanism to illustrate the oppressive times and how she had half as many hours in a day to get the same amount of work done as all her office mates.

She walks five miles during her day, but still manages to compute information that no one else in the office has the brains to match.

While trying to make a tricky calculation in order to save the lives of astronauts, Al Harrison, who is played

by Kevin Costner, asks Johnson to think outside the box. The room of white faces asks what speed a space capsule must be traveling in order for the mission to be a success, and Johnson makes it look easy by concluding that it must orbit the Earth at 17,550 miles per hour off the top of her head, which silences the room, resulting in the men looking at her in awe.

This movie is an inspirational catalyst to propel future generations toward their dreams. These women defied all odds and achieved the unthinkable in America’s space race.

They displayed courage and audacity in a time when this country was on the cusp of abolishing legal segregation. Johnson is currently 98 years old and earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom and NASA Lunar Orbiter Award.

It was these hidden women and hidden numbers that put American astronauts into space.

Sequel thrills with ‘exciting gunplay’

By Reggie Santini SPOTLIGHT EDITOR

rsantini.theadvocate@gmail.com

T

he return of John Wick brings more fantastic gunplay and expands on the first movie’s mysterious criminal underworld.

“John Wick: Chapter 2” is a fantastic sequel to a franchise already so beloved.

Not only does it live up to the original film’s spectacular standards, but it surpasses and outshines the first.

“Chapter 2” expands and builds on the fantastic world created in the first film, picking up a few months after the events of the MOVIE original movie.

REVIEW Wick is still “John Wick: dealing with Chapter 2” some unfinished business Starring: Keanu from the first Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio movie, as he Directed by: tries to mop Chad Stahelski up the mess Genre: Action and place his past behind him when an old friend comes to collect a debt.

To fulfill this debt Wick is dragged out of retirement and back into the underworld where he will face off against a whole new host of friends, villains and ex-colleagues.

Typical action movies can often feel disconnected as nothing seems to matter or

thing into a weapon.

As the tremendous body count rises, so do the thrills.

Despite having heard many of Wick’s nicknames in the first movie (The Boogeyman, The Ghost) it is fantastic to see him turn back into the man who earned those names.

The film’s main villain, played by Riccardo Scamarcio, is simply brilliant.

Scamarcio plays an Italian crime lord who is so evil that he would kill his own family members if they stood in the way of his plans.

The film also stars Common and Ruby Rose, and also sees the return of fan favorites from the first movie — Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Bridget Moynihan, and Lance Reddick.

“The Matrix” fans will rejoice as they get to see the reunion of Laurence Fishburne and Reeves on the same screen at the same SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick in “John Wick: Chapter 2,” directed by Chad Stahelski. Wick is time again. drawn back into the criminal underworld to repay a debt to a friend and finish seeking his revenge.

Tyler L. Bates composes the film’s score. carry over from the original in simple, yet amusing, ways.

Reeves does an excellent job Bates is known for his work film to its sequel.

One of the ways he does this with the portrayal of his charin various movies and video Think about the original is by having Wick go after his acter by speaking many differgames.

“James Bond” series. Events prized Mustang that was stolen ent languages and pulling off He has worked on “300,” never carried over and a film’s in the first film. the different accents well.

“Watchmen” and, most recentplot only affects that single By using this and other Reeves really shows off ly alongside James Gunn on, movie’s world. simple plot mechanics, the title his martial arts and marks“Guardians of the Galaxy. ” “John Wick: Chapter 2” “Chapter 2” feels more signifiman skills by doing all of his It is a treat to watch the feels more like one is flipping cant than simply adding a “2” own stunts. Reeves’ skills are high-octane action play out on the page into a new chapter of at the end of the movie’s title. immensely entertaining to the big screen. a book than jumping straight Keanu Reeves reprises his watch.

Do not miss this chance to into the book’s sequel. role as John Wick and, much Wick is usually outnumwatch this fantastic film in theReturning director Chad like the first movie, Wick is a bered and is therefore forced to aters.

Stahelski connects both movies man of few words. rely on his ability to turn any-

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spotlight

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.1.2017 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Undecided major Akilah Kamau (right) plays Maria Celia who sets down an imaginary plant on a coffee table while walking into a room where Sofia Celia, played

by Middle College High School sophomore Jelaine Maestas, sits during a blocking rehearsal of the play, “Two Sisters and a Piano” in the Knox Center on Monday.

Unleashed

MOVIES

This week: “Get Out” (R) “Logan” (R) “My Scientology Movie” (NR) “Rock Dog” (PG)

BLU-RAYS DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

New releases: “Manchester by the Sea” (R) “Hacksaw Ridge” (R) “Nocturnal Animals” (R) “Bad Santa 2” (R)

MUSIC

New releases: Thundercat: ”Drunk” Future: “HNDRXX” Old 97s: “Graveyard Whistling” John Mayer: “The Search for Everything Wave Two”

GAMES

New releases: “Horizon Zero Dawn” (T) “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (E) “The Walking Dead: A New Frontier” (M) “WRC 6” (E) Editor’s note: This column lists popular new (and upcoming) releases for the week.

—Xavier Johnson

Play models tragic love Quiet, heartfelt story showcased in Cuban setting

By Xavier Johnson SCENE EDITOR

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

T

he drama department is beginning the spring 2017 semester with the opening of its third show of the 2016-17 theater season on March 16.

“Two Sisters and a Piano” is directed by Contra Costa College adjunct professor Tara Blau.

Performances will occur from March 16-18 and March 23-25.

Tickets for all performances are $15 general admission and $10 for students.

Blau previously directed “Wonders of the World” in the 2015-16 theater season and this will be her second directorial production at CCC. “Two Sisters” was originally written by Nilo Cruz, an awardwinning Cuban-American play-

wright, and is set in Havana, Cuba during the Pan American Games, after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The focus is on two sisters under house arrest and their relationship with each other, as well as their place in the world, Blau said.

Akilah Kamau plays Maria Celia, a writer who faced persecution for her work. Kamau recently represented CCC at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Denver, Colorado.

This will be Kamau’s third performance at CCC. She also performed in “The Laramie Project” and “Achilles in Sparta.”

Middle College High School sophomore Jelaine Maestas plays Maria’s sister Sofia. Maestas has performed in three other productions at the college.

She was a member of the cast for “Almost, Maine,” “Achilles in Sparta” and “the Laramie Project.”

“At its core this is a love story,” Blau said. She said it’s about the love between sisters, the romantic love for others, as well as the love for one’s country.

Blau said “Two Sisters” is an

intimate and quiet production that will use various production elements to complement the tone.

One such element that’s different than usual performances at the Knox Center is the seating available on the stage for the audience.

The seating on the stage creates a greater sense of closeness than the standard setup the theater provides, Blau said.

Kamau said she understands why Blau says “Two Sisters” is an “intimate” production. There are a lot of moments in the play where nonverbal communication, such as a subtle look or touch, will tell a lot about the characters, more than the dialogue sometimes, Kamau said.

Other elements used will include audio and video to give context for what Havana was like at the time, as well as provide a more immersive experience.

This will possibly be achieved by having video clips of early 1990s Cuba, as well as sound relevant to the era, Blau said.

Freshman drama major Sean Teal plays Victor Manuel, a piano

tuner who finds his way into the two sisters’ lives and is a key character in the play.

This will be Teal’s second show at the college, his first being “Achilles in Sparta.”

Teal said his character, Manuel, is the kind of person that constantly thinks about doing right and wants to make a difference.

“I relate to the way (Manuel) is not ashamed to be himself,” Teal said.

He said he finds it easier to portray his character when he’s able to relate on a personal level.

Sophomore drama major Diego Loza plays Lt. Portuondo, the love interest of Maria in the play. He said their relationship is him being “a lion stalking his prey” while Maria resists his advances.

Maestas said she wasn’t familiar with “Two Sisters” when she auditioned, but when she read the script she found it a beautiful play.

She said each production she’s been a part of has been a strong learning experience and this will be another good learning experience for her.

‘Comfortable’ setting elevates experience Burger joint serves quality, varied dishes

By Isaac Resendiz ADVOCATE STAFF

iresendiz.theadvocate@gmail.com

O

n 1591 Solano Avenue in Albany sits a pleasant burger joint with a social, family friendly approach and a great atmosphere where customers can enjoy big, delicious burgers at a reasonable price.

Barney’s Gourmet Burgers is a crowded, yet comfortable restaurant.

Customers are able to take refuge from the busy avenue and indulge themselves with a meal from Barney’s large menu.

The menu contains a variety of burgers, fries, hot dogs, salads, sodas, milkshakes and malts.

Barney’s establishes an atmosphere that invites family and friends to sit in booth-styled seats and engage in conversation all while enjoying a meal.

Despite the highly social environment this is definitely not the place to bring someone for a first date.

This is due to the crowded area and the

large amount of distracting conversations and chatter from customers and cooks.

However it is a great place to buy and share a milkshake or malt while walking up Solano.

I had lunch at Barney’s, which was a satisfying time for me and to my empty, aching stomach.

During this visit I started with the “Barney’s Salad,” a crunchy FOOD salad with REVIEW various “Barney’s Gourmet ingreBurgers” dients including Cuisine:American beans, Where: 1591 sprouts Solano Avenue, Albany and olives Price Range: $$ topped off with a vinaigrette dressing.

I had it with a delicious ginger ale soda, which married both to make a tasty appetizer.

For the main course I ordered the one-pound “Big Barney’s Burger” with a side of very crisp, thin, aromatic truffle fries and a blackberry malt that tasted divine.

Within 10 minutes my table had received all of the dishes.

I was expecting the burger to be served on a

more rounded bread roll, but this enormous hunk of ground beef came on a rectangular roll with the patty and cheese hanging off the side.

It made it the most visually unappealing dish on the table.

Let’s just say that I had to ask for a to-go box at the end of my meal.

What really made the afternoon stand out was the ambiance of the restaurant.

Barney’s has large windows providing ample natural lighting and a welcoming and relaxing setting, I was able to get comfortable and enjoy my food in peace.

As a result, through the gloomy clouds and the pouring rain of that afternoon, I had a exceptionally bright afternoon.

Overall, I spent $40 on a meal that was good, but not the best.

For anyone looking for a comfortable dining experience with quality, classic American food, this is a solid spot.

Even though the meal wasn’t the best I would definitely go to Barney’s again.

The “Big Barney’s Burger” at a whopping one pound is a special for $12.50. With a choice of cheese and veggies, this monstrosity comes on a rectangular french roll. It unfortunately does not come with fries, but will more than satisfy one’s craving for a delicious, juicy burger.

For a dish with variety and bursts of flavor, the “Barney Salad” is available for $9.95 and includes different kinds of veggies including greens, beans, tomatoes and croûtons.

Its vibrant colors as well as the placement of each ingredient are impressive. It’s finalized with a splash of a delicious house vinaigrette.

If one is willing to go outside the comfort zone of chili cheese fries and garlic fries, Barney’s truffle fries make a tasty snack for $6.50. When patrons decide to take on this dish, they notice the aroma of truffle oil that mixes with the Parmesan cheese, parsley and sea salt, making this dish crisp, crunchy, and delectable PHOTOS BY DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE