The Advocate 3-16

WEDNESDAY l 3.16.16 OUR 66TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

Plan exposes deficiencies, outlines goals Unique struggles faced by various ethnicities examined, addressed

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he Advocate investigates Contra Costa College’s 2014-15 Equity Plan and its programs aimed toward providing student success in the coming academic year within student populations that struggle achieving the target indicators without lowering the standards of other high performing groups.

In this specialty coverage, The Advocate will explain how CCC will accomplish this overarching goal by covering a number of principles that the college is enacting as part of the plan. These principles consist of aligning institutional efforts with equity goals through collaborative planning, budgeting, research and evaluation in order to close equity gaps and

promote academic excellence for all students.

The college will increase its capacity for inquiry, research and the use of data in decision making related to equity data and how improvements can be made toward underrepresented groups.

The Equity Task Force has identified several indicators within the equity plan and The Advocate dedicates several special pages in this edition to explain how these markers and the outlined goals will improve educational equity across CCC’s campus by highlighting pertinent information from these areas and devoting special stories to discuss what the indicators entail for students and the selected demographics.

Course completion Student Equity Plan creates goals, attempts to increase the overall average completion rate for students.

PAGE 13

Basic skills English and math Identified groups outlined in the plan are targeted to improve retention, move forward to a degree applicable courses.

PAGE 14

Transferring on Transfer rates are broken down into ethnic, economic groups to determine and deficiencies compared to the average transfer rate.

PAGE 15 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY LORENZO MOROTTI, DENIS PEREZ AND MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

“

Ever since she has been interim president she has been an advocate for the students.” — , vice president of club affairs

MASKED ASSAILANTS ATTACK STUDENT Brazen mid-day attackers still on the loose

BY Benjamin Bassham CIRCULATION MANAGER

bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Mehdizadeh chosen, competition eliminated College selects president after final forum vote

BY Christian Urrutia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

Stability has now been secured in Contra Costa College’s quest for permanent leadership.

According to last Friday’s district press release, the district has chosen Mojdeh Mehdizadeh as the 11th president of the college.

The Governing Board will vote to approve her selection at the March 23 meeting at the District Office in Martinez.

Chancellor Helen Benjamin said in the released statement, “Over the past 11 years, I have watched Mojdeh grow as a leader. This is a wonderful opportunity and a great fit for her leadership style and personality. Both the college and the community it serves will benefit under her leadership.”

Mehdizadeh held the interim role since January 2015 when former president Denise Noldon left the position after her contract expired at the end of 2014.

Trustee Vicki Gordon said in the press release, “She has brought stability to the college during her time as interim president. Now she can continue her work in reestablishing CCC as our premier college in West County.”

Academic Senate President Beth Goehring said Mehdizadeh’s knowledge, experience and commitment to the college and community is what is needed.

“With her vision, energy and leadership, she will lead us and our students to a successful future,” Goehring said.

Vice President Tammeil Gilkerson said, SEE DECISION, PAGE 3

ABOVE: President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh speaks to members of audience, answering questions about her platform during the presidential forum on March 3 in the Knox Center.

Three masked men attacked a student in the quadrangle between the Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences buildings on March 1, around 11:40 a.m. No one was injured and the attackers fled.

Police Services Corporal Tom Holt said, “We’re calling it an attempted robbery, from what the victim said and from what witnesses tell us.”

The attackers ran in from Campus Drive, by Lot 13, north of the PS Building and east of the BS Building “(The victim) sees the guys running, so he starts running too. He ran into the SEE ASSAULT, PAGE 3

MCNEIL EXPANDS ON LEGACY, LIFE PAGE 9

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Quotable “Ultimately, America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.”

Robert F. Kennedy politician 1964 Christian Urrutia editor-in-chief Marci Suela art director Roxana Amparo Lorenzo Morotti associate editors Asma Alkrizy Marlene Rivas opinion editors Mike Thomas scene editor Robert Clinton sports editor Xavier Johnson assistant sports editor Cody Casares photo editor Denis Perez assistant photo editor Benjamin Bassham circulation manager Paul DeBolt faculty adviser Staff writers Adan Alfaro Nora Alkrizy Joseph Bennett Tobias Cheng Dylan Collier Salvador Godoy Edwin Herrera Mickalea Manuel Yesenia Melara Jshania Owens Warren Samuel Jason Sykes Mark Wassberg Atorriana Young Staff photographers Perla Juarez Jordan Khoo Tashi Wangchuk Honors ACP National Newspaper Pacemaker Award 1990, 1994, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015 CNPA Better Newspaper Contest 1st Place Award 1970, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2013 JACC Pacesetter Award 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Member Associated Collegiate Press California Newspaper Publishers Association Journalism Association of Community Colleges How to reach us Phone: 510.215.3852 Fax: 510.235.NEWS Email: accent.advocate@ gmail.com Editorial policy Columns and editorial cartoons are the opinion of individual writers and artists and not that of The Advocate. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which is made up of student editors.

opinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016 VOL. 103, NO. 17

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

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EDITORIAL INSITE PORTAL INADEQUATE Email server should be separate, in need of update

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tudents use mobile devices in nearly every facet of their lives so why should upgrading to a mobile friendly interface be off-limits.

According to Tim Leong, district director of communication relations, such a change may not be feasible.

InSite Portal is indeed a crucial navigator for mandatory necessaries such as registering for classes, schedules, events and any other pertaining information for students.

Which would validate the argument that how students view how InSite Portal is viewed through mobile devices has to change.

Most students experience frustration or difficulty when trying to access InSite on their phone, although some, however miraculously, have viewed it.

Whenever a student tries to bring up InSite Portal on his or her phone, a home screen is brought up and a list directory appears.

From the links listed, nothing is helpful for students or would benefit them immediately.

There is a link titled financial aid documents, which brings the user to a list of what would seem to be Contra Costa College’s documents for financial aid for the last five years.

Because of this random redirection, it is no wonder students find it confusing when trying to log on InSite through their phones.

An added inconvenience is the redirecting of the email server.

The simple fact that one cannot receive a email directly to their personal email without having a third-party system doing it for them, is quite upsetting.

The Peralta Community College District sends out emails directly to whichever email is listed on the student’s academic file, whether it be an district assigned email or personal one.

What are the restrictions within the Contra Costa Community College District where the rearranging of an online email system is too difficult to perform?

“The system was set in a way to ensure the safety of a student’s information,” Leong said. “So no one hacks or accesses the information that isn’t theirs.”

The cyber security approach is one way of masking the simple action of redirecting emails for students hassle free.

And of course, students can access their email on an entirely different link: http://mail.4cd.edu, where you can sign in without having to go through the college’s website.

Leong also said there will be the use of the Microsoft SharePoint platform in the next two upcoming semesters where the plan is to implement feedback between different college staff for more say in portal sites and other web projects.

While the upgrades will strengthen the portal’s online usage, the district has to focus on the technological advances being made daily and to accommodate these very needs. Most students do not use InSite through the college’s website simply because there is no a real reason to visit the website. It is all done via phone.

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

■ FAMILY

Immigrant folks define American morals, values

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absolutely find this to be true; if the United States of America truly is the land of the free and home of the brave, then the moment my parents stepped into America, they were not stepping into anyone’s home but theirs.

My parents came here with an eternal willingness to make things better for themselves and the people around them by making a living through working honest jobs that benefit the economy and the progress of high skilled workers.

My father and mother are what makes America great.

They are men and women who can get up every morning and have a full day’s work knowing that they will have to do the same thing tomorrow and next week, next month and next year.

My parents came from a village in a rural part of Guatemala. An “aldea” in Spanish.

Although beautiful, Guatemala is a haven for violent cartels and corrupted politics. The wealth of the nation goes into the hands of the powerful and leaves the poor to suffer extreme poverty that causes the decay of the economic system Once married and with their first born, my parents chose to not accept the choices set by the nation’s criminals and instead they searched for something better and immigrated to Mexico in the late 80s.

My parents soon were

better life, apart from her being human, because she has overcome so much.

My grandmother died when my mother was about 2 years old. My grand-stepmother was a horrible person. My mother was a victim of human naturalized and they built a trafficking as a child when house in Chiapas, Mexico, her stepmother would sell her as labor to people in although, conditions in Mexico became too famil- the market place and days later she would pick her iar to those of Guatemala. money and my mom up.

Because of Life with her father and the state of the My stepmother were unbearcountry, my father made parents able so when she was 10 she moved out and became his first trek a house servant to wealthy from Mexico to came families. “el otro lado,” here My mother’s dream referring to throughout her childthe U.S back in with hood was to be able to go 1994. to school, but her dream He went to an never came true. She was Florida. He worked as a eternal able to teach herself how to read. She taught herself dishwasher. He how to write. She taught then moved on willingherself to be an indepento gardening. ness to dent women.

He observed, Both my parents, make learned and make sure I understand that hard saw what work is the only way to get America could things things done and getting be for him things done is the only way and his fambetter to make things better. They ily. My father challenge a system that had worked for shamefully degrades them in sugar cane into a category of criminals fields since he themand silently do their jobs. was 8. He was selves.

Hard working class not able to go “illegal aliens” are treatto school past ed as second class citisecond grade. zens, but, ironically, they My grandfather act as American as any taught my father to use his freedom that he had as American. a young man to find his Denis Perez is the assischaracter.

My dad worked hard for tant photo editor for The our family. He worked hard Advocate. Contact him at dperez.theadvocate@gmail. for my mother. He knew that my mother deserved a com.

denisperez

CAMPUS COMMENT

What improvements should be made to InSite Portal?

“I think grades should be updated more often.”

Jaime Travis

health and human services XAVIER JOHNSON / THE ADVOCATE

“It’s fine. It’s easy, accessible and the new menu column is great.”

“I think it should be easier to manage and they should increase the speed.”

“They should fix the frequent crashes.”

“It’s good. I have no issues with it.”

Jessica Barhett

Koffi Baru

Anjeli Prakash

Ahn Khuat

psychology

liberal arts

computer science

undecided

“I wish it would let me follow up with my grades throughout the semester, instead of after.”

Diwakar Shrestha computer science

campusbeat Follow The Advocate

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.16.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

STUDENT TRUSTEE ELECTIONS NEAR

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

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

NEWSLINE STUDENT VOICE

STUDENT TRUSTEE APPLICATIONS OPEN

Students have the chance to participate in the selection of the next district student trustee.

Applications will open starting on March 28.

In order to be a candidate, the student must be enrolled in one of the colleges, be enrolled in at least five units, have a 2.0 GPA, remain in good academic and disciplinary standing throughout the term of office, be a resident of the district and must attend the mandatory trustee candidate orientation.

For more information contact Student Life Coordinator Erika Greene at ergreene@contracosta.

CSE

LECTURE STIMULATES NATURE KNOWLEDGE

The Center of Science Excellence is hosting a seminar, “Lessons From A Living Plant: How Learning from Nature Can Help Us Solve Our Biggest Challenges” on Friday in LA-100 at 2:10 p.m.

California Academy of Sciences Executive Director Jonathan Foley is the guest speaker for the event.

Publishing more than 130 scientific articles in works such as “The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” Dr. Foley will be sharing his experience and expertise with nature during his seminar.

For more details, contact CSE Program Director Seti Sidharta at ssidharta@contracosta.edu.

TRANSFER

UC REPRESENTATIVE PROVIDES SUPPORT A UC Davis transfer representative will be on campus on March 28 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Library and Learning Resource Center.

Students will have the chance to learn about the opportunities available and have the chance to meet one-on-one to ask questions about the transferring process.

For more information contact the College Skills Center at 510235-7800, ext. 44898.

CRIMEWATCH Saturday, March 5: No reports were taken on this date.

Sunday, March 6: No reports were taken on this date.

Monday, March 7: No reports were taken on this date.

Tuesday, March 8: No reports were taken on this date.

— Marci Suela and Roxana Amparo

— 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.

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Students districtwide will have the chance to elect a Contra Costa College candidate to the paid student trustee position on the Governing Board for the 2016-17 academic years before mid-April, Student Life Coordinator Ericka Greene said.

The student elected to this advisory position acts as the liaison between the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board and the 50,000 students it serves on an annual basis.

This could be the last election period with only one elect due to a resurgence of a student initiative to divide the position among the three campuses.

Gary Robert Walker, current student trustee from Los Medanos College, discussed the upcoming election and the initiative he is pushing to the ASU at its meeting on Wednesday.

Walker said the idea behind the initiative spurs from his own experience as the student trustee as he felt he did not represent each college to the best of his ability because of his school load, work and family life.

“Sometimes I would get so overwhelmed and tell myself ‘Gary, you can’t do this anymore — you just can’t’,” he said during his presentation at the ASU meeting. “But I was able to compose myself and push through.”

Walker said because these discussions have resurfaced three years after former LMC student trustee Debora Marciel-Van Eckhardt pushed for the division of the elected position.

“If (the position) were divided into three representatives each student trustee would know everything about their home school and it would give them a strong voice,” Walker said.

“Representing the student body at the dis-

trict is also a great way to learn leadership skills by representing a large and diverse constituency group — and this initiative would give three students that experience instead of just one.”

He said this year’s student trustee election would not be affected, but the initiative could be implemented by 2017-18 academic year.

“There are conversations going on now about how we can revise the student trustee position,” district Director of Communication and Community Relations Tim Leong said.

“These ideas are on people’s wish lists and there is a long way to go before anything like that can be implemented.”

Greene said the ASU’s Election Committee is delineating about specific campaigning dates, bulletin board regulations and plan to have that information ready for students interested in the $400 monthly position starting on March 28.

“If we have a few candidates (for the student trustee position) we want to have a (Q & A) forum on campus so students know whom they are voting for,” she said. “We could invite students from different campuses to meet the candidates and ask them questions.”

Greene said students returning from spring break should check their Insite Portal emails for applications, deadline information, GPA and enrollment requirements and campaigning limitations for candidates.

“This person will represent the voices of about 50,000 students at the district board meetings,” she said. “Whoever is interested in this position needs to understand its scope.”

Whoever is elected will have to chair the student advisory council and report student leadership’s concerns with district policies that affect each college at the monthly Governing Board meeting while managing to meet his or her own course and work responsibilities.

Greene and ASU “If the President Nakari Syon said position they support the initiative because only having one was divided advisory vote limits the student trustees’ capability of into three representing each college. representaAccording to the District tives, each Student Trustee Election Policies and Procedure, student a student trustee must be would know enrolled in at least 5 units, have a cumulative GPA of everything 2.0, be a resident of the dis- about their trict and remain in good academic and disciplinary home standing throughout term. school and Leong said the student trustee position is different it would than being an ASU presi- give them dent and requires a higher a strong level of commitment and effort as he or she represents voice.” such a large and diverse — population of people. , LMC student trustee Leong said it is a challenge and the student trustee the year before quit midway through her term, but said the Governing Board commended Walker for his “candor and clarity” in his monthly reports.

“So the challenge for a student trustee is figuring out how it is they can do that and best share their findings with the governing board about what is going on with students at all three campuses,” Leong said.

“It is easy to sit on a board with elected members and state your opinion, what is more important and more powerful is if a student trustee can make comments that are reflective of other student’s comments.”

Lack of accessibility leaves network users disconnected

BY Tobias Cheng STAFF WRITER

tcheng.theadvocate@gmail.com

Desire2Learn makes applications for use on mobile devices. However, “(Contra Costa College faculty) has not pushed them as much as the computer versions,” Technology Systems Manager James Eyestone said.

Judy Flum, distance education coordinator said, “Why worry about D2L if we’re moving to Canvas?”

D2L and Canvas are learning management systems, which are used by teachers to put information related to their classes online so that it can be accessed by students.

D2L has a few applications available for Android and iOS, which were released last summer, Flum said.

Brightspace Pulse is for students to check assignments, grades and notifications from teachers.

Brightspace Assignment Grader is an app which allows teachers to grade assignments. D2L Binder allows students to read assignments on their mobile devices.

“I only use (Pulse) to check for teacher updates and sometimes for homework,” said Roland West, a liberal arts major.

Flum said a unique feature Pulse has is that students can email the teacher directly from it. Even if the students have the emails forwarded to your personal email

address, they would still have to log into D2L to respond to them.

The interface is “fairly intuitive,” high school senior Alexander Ponce said.

“Nothing really shows up because my professor doesn’t post stuff,” he said.

Administration of justice major Darrylisha Denson said, “If there was an app for a phone, I’d use that. She said she currently has notifications from D2L texted to her phone.

Most students likely do not know about the mobile apps, even though Pulse is mentioned on D2L’s homepage, Flum said. “We haven’t done a very good job of promoting (the apps).”

Those who notice Pulse men-

tioned on the D2L website likely will try it out, Flum said.

Healthcare major Kathryn Lofton said, “I mostly do my stuff on a computer.”

Flum said the apps on mobile devices should be used as additional tools to be used alongside the computer version.

“I’m afraid the students wouldn’t see everything on a phone that they could see on a computer.”

Using a tablet would be comparable to a computer, though, she said.

Brightspace Assignment Grader is used by some teachers because there are certain features the mobile version has that makes it preferable to the computer version, Eyestone said.

DECISION | Leadership position filled after search Continued from Page 1 “The (district board) is making a great decision particularly after a period of instability and she has proven to be a great leader, a wonderful choice and I’m thrilled that she is being selected and I’m looking forward to her permanent leadership.”

The final decision has been met with much positivity throughout the campus.

Liberal Arts Division Dean Jason Berner said, “Excellent news to hear that she has taken over and I think there has been great improvement in (campus) morale.

“She is a great communicator and articulates her vision well.”

Berner added, “It comes down to her communication skills. She is very upfront and yet positive,

has an optimistic outlook and a confidence that is picked up from around her and we look forward to continuing to work with her.”

Student perspective also casts Mehdizadeh in an endearing light.

“Ever since she has been interim president, she has been an advocate for the students,” ASU Vice President of Club Affairs Safi Ward-Davis said.

“For example she visited the ‘Dinner with Faculty’ event where not many students knew who she was, but was able to build rapport with students regardless and she is available for (the ASU) when advice is needed.”

Ward-Davis also said she feels better knowing Mehdizadeh is now permanent president, because after watching the video of the panel forums held March 3, Ward-

Davis said Mehdizadeh, along with Luis Pedraja, were the two best equipped to answer specific campus questions out of the four finalists.

“She was able to pinpoint specific answers to questions and how it would be beneficial for students,” Ward-Davis said.

ASU President Nakari Syon said having a permanent president allows time to have goals implemented, setting the tone for longevity and stability for the college.

“Mojdeh is outstanding and personally I can go to her and address any concerns or any info of importance (within a reasonable timeframe),” Syon said.

Syon said a good relationship with the president is important and “is a key to many locks,” from a student government perspective.

Erin Brooks, district marketing and communications coordinator, said the chancellor kept updating the entire district internally via email until the formal announcement was made.

After the internal emails were sent, individuals from around the district sent Mehdizadeh congratulations and not from just CCC. Mehdizadeh has 29 years of experience in higher education.

She was a student at Diablo Valley College, and then began her career at DVC in the area of student services and later institutional research.

At the District Office, her responsibilities included support of student services, workforce and economic development, information technology, research and planning, and grants.

ASSAULT | Masked suspects fled scene, still at large Continued from Page 1

black and white camouflage, covering their old PS Building and they chased whole faces and hooded him all the way through.” beanies, or just beanies He said they exited into Lot and dark clothing.”

12, east of the PS Building, where The attackers many people were present. grabbed the victim’s “Witnesses heard a bang from backpack and tried to the door slamming open. Some get it off him, then gave Corporal Tom Holt, of them, or really all of them, up and fled into the Police Services thought it was horseplay.” new PS Building.

Holt said the victim was unsure Holt said, “I was if he fell, or if the attackers pushed probably the first one him down, but when he was on the ground on scene. (The victim) was sitting there (in they started punching or kicking him. A couple Lot 12). I talked to him briefly. He seemed of bystanders tried to break it up. calm. He’d had a minute to pull himself back “The masks, I heard from one witness, were together.

“Witnesses heard a bang from the door slamming open. Some of them, or really all of them, thought it was horseplay.”

“I was told they went into the bathroom of the new Physical Sciences (building). I went in the front (of the building), two other officers went in the back.”

There was no one in bathroom. They could have taken off the hoods and masks in the bathroom, or maybe they just ran through the building, exiting by Lot 13.

No weapons were seen, nothing was taken and no injuries were reported. “(The victim) doesn’t know who they are, or why they targeted him,” Holt said. “If anyone has any information, or if anyone saw anything, even if they don’t think it’s material, give us a call.”

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campusbeat

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.16.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

“

It’s great to talk about social justice, but it’s hard if you don’t know where you are going to sleep next week.”

— Lucia Martel-Dow, Canal Alliance Operations manager

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE

Political club hosts forum Club discusses initiatives, programs spurs civil conspiracy debate

BY Benjamin Bassham CIRCULATION MANAGER

bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Community Organizing and Political Action (COPA) Club presented “Political Activism, Beyond the Ballot Box,” on Thursday from 4-5 p.m. on the main floor of the Library and Learning Resource Center, co-sponsored by the Library.

COPA secretary Milca Baires said, “We invited a variety of panelists who are still tied together.”

Vanna Gonzales, political science professor opened the panel, introduced the speakers and gave a short talk about COPA. She said COPA meets every third Thursday of the month and right now there is opportunity for a poll-worker trainer to come to the college.

Right now only 12 people have signed up to be trained, and the trainer will only come for a minimum of 20 people.

The representative for the Canal Alliance was delayed by the inclement weather, but arrived after a few minutes.

Community Organizer Megan Zapanta, representing the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), was the first panelist.

Zapanta said APEN exists to address environmental justice issues in Richmond, Oakland and around California.

“The environment is the air we breathe, the water we drink,” Zapanta said. “Communities speak for themselves, partially because no one else will.”

Zapanta said her interest in the environment crystalized when she was 16, during a San Diego fire that killed a girl she knew.

“What we really believe in is a

just transition (from fossil fuels to solar power).” End the bad, build the new.”

APEN does some electoral organizing and Zapanta discussed several initiatives including rent control in Richmond, Richmond Kids First and Move the Money which aims to make universities invest in positive things instead of oil.

APEN has youth meetings twice per month and APEN Academy in June. APEN is associated with the California Environmental Justice Alliance.

Zapanta said, “There are lots of programs that no one really takes advantage of.”

The Canal Alliance Operations Manager Lucia Martel-Dow spoke next. She described her life path.

She was born in Venezuela and attended law school there.

When she moved to the U.S. she worked for a healthcare nonprofit in the Bay Area for low-income people, then went to UC Hastings College of Law in Berkeley to get her law degree.

She did financial work briefly, then found the Canal Alliance.

Martel-Dow said the Canal Alliance exists to give low-income Spanish speakers the tools they need to thrive.

“It’s great to talk about social justice, but it’s hard if you don’t know where you’re going to sleep next week,” Martel-Dow said.

To help them be lifted out of poverty, people are directed toward computer classes, ESL classes and resumé writing classes.

Martel-Dow said, “In Marin you have the richest of the rich and the people on the bottom. We are hoping to make that gap a little bit smaller.”

The Canal Alliance also helps with domestic violence, for trauma suffered back in immigrants’ home countries or here, MartelDow said.

Martel-Dow said, “We do help Spanish speakers mostly, but non-Spanish speakers are welcome. There are many programs for youth. If you’re afraid to go back to your country you can apply for asylum.”

There are also services for those preparing for their citizenship exam.

The Contra Costa Chapter of Health Care for All-California was represented by Jonee Grassi and Nel Benningshot.

Benningshot said she and her father lived in the Netherlands. He died when he was only 50 after 10 years of illness, but due to universal healthcare he had the best medical care available at the time and didn’t need to worry about bills, she said.

Benningshot said she came the U.S. in the 70s, and healthcare was pretty good then. Since then she says healthcare “has gone down and down and down,” particularly in the 80s.

Health Care for All is currently trying to get real universal healthcare in California by passing into law single payer healthcare.

Benningshot said, “We’re using Canada as our model. In Canada if you’re a citizen, you’re covered.”

“If there’s a health-related issue we try to get involved. We tried to save the Doctor’s Hospital in San Pablo. We try to be as involved as possible at the local level,” Benningshot said.

Grassi said that their goals include healthcare for those residing without legal permission, which children already have until

age 19.

When challenged on the issue of spending taxpayer money on non-citizens, Benningshot said it endangers the population to let people stay sick and treating them saves money because people don’t end up in the emergency room.

Now retired Contra Costa College political science professor Leonard McNeil, who is also the former mayor of San Pablo, said, “I think a lot of people are not aware of the career opportunities in the non-profit sector that people should consider.”

After the panel, two-thirds of the about 30 attendees crowded upstairs in the LLRC for the reception.

They settled in at the table eating the Three Season Restaurant’s catered cuisine in the CRC conference room and spilling out into hall.

A lively debate started, with people discussing conspiracy theories and immigration.

Baires said, “We want our students to be political activists.”

COPA Treasurer Iris Mota discussed why COPA chose who they did for the panel.

Mota said, “A few years ago my sister’s sister-in-law needed dialysis three times per week. She was undocumented. She decided to sell her belongings and move back to Mexico” leaving her three children, who were U.S. citizens.

“I found Pre-Health Dreamers, and they put her in touch with Health Care For All,” Mota said.

Her family friend didn’t have to move because she got the care she needed, but if she’d had screenings she might not have needed a new kidney.

ABOVE: Louisa Jackson (LEFT), a business administration major, asks a question during the “Political Activism, Beyond the Ballot Box,” event at the Library and Learning Resource Center on Thursday.

HEALTH ACADEMY STUDENTS STIMULATE INTERESTS

BY Yesenia Melara STAFF WRITER

ymelara.theadvocate@gmail.com

Students from three different West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) high schools visited the college for the Health Service Day on March 11 from 9:20 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Health Academy students from De Anza High School, Pinole Valley High School and Richmond High School got the opportunity to learn about different health careers and courses of study through presentations and hands-on experience given by professors.

These students got to visit six different presentations, each exhibiting unique ways of getting students interested in health fields.

Biology professor Brian Rowning gave a presentation on biotechnology. He said that many students are not aware of the different kinds of opportunities that biotech experts have available to them in the health field.

“I want students to be as excited as I am.

They have open minds so I want to show them the different possibilities that a health field student can have,” Rowning said.

Rowning said that not only does he want students to have an open mind about entering a health field but he also wants to encourage them to apply to Contra Costa College to start their health careers.

“We have students who started their

health careers at CCC and then transferred to four-year universities,” he said.

After Rowning was done with his presentation he gave students a chance to use their high-powered microscopes to view microscopic living organisms and do finger printing at a different station.

In another presentation, four high school senior students representing three of the different high schools gave a presentation on the Certified Nursing Assistance program.

They said that the CNA program has a program for 15 Health Academy students in their senior year to complete the CNA certification while still in high school.

Martha Chavez, Pinole Valley High School senior, said she wasn’t interested in health related fields but once she took the CNA program she loved it and therefore encourages health academy students to take advantage of the program.

“It only took me one exposure to find my passion in the health field”, Chavez said.

De Anza High School Health Academy Lead Professor Fatham Riordan said she wants her students to know that there are many possibilities for them in health careers.

“Medicine is so diverse. Experiences like these are one in a million for them,” she said.

“College is important and they (students) should know that they don’t necessarily have to go to a four-year college. You have places

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Evelyn Statford a high school student uses a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat of a life-size robotic patient in HS-107 during Health Services Day on Friday.

like CCC that provide the same demanding trade skills needed in health to be successful,” Riordan said.

Mohammad Mubashir, a De Anza High School student attendee, said he is now con-

sidering CCC after high school.

“After all I learned today, I never realized what CCC has to offer. I won’t have to spend much on quality education and I can always transfer,” Mubashir said.

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Portal system creates nuisance Email

BY Asma Alkrizy

server

aalkrizy.theadvocate@gmail.com

always redirects, mobile version unreliable

OPINION EDITOR

While InSite Portal serves as the student’s crucial navigator for registering for classes, making payments and more, it currently faces some defects in its system.

InSite Portal operates as the district portal, the doorway for students to gain online access to information: class registration, class schedule, college websites, campus events and directories.

“Everyone on campus functions off of InSite Portal and some with a Desire2Learn,” economics major Sean Cadwallader said. “That’s why improvements are always necessary. When the site lags or goes down, people can’t constantly keep up.”

One of the issues that hit students the hardest when logging into InSite Portal is the lack of convenience.

Many students are unable to access the site through certain mobile devices, restricting its usage to laptops and computers only.

District Director of Communication Relations Tim Leong said when launching the design of InSite Portal, “It wasn’t intended to be a mobile friendly system. It can work depending

on the phone students use, but it doesn’t work for everyone.”

“It’s so frustrating when it is sorted in a different way on a mobile (device),” computer engineering major Ogheneyengbame Akpojiyoubui said. “I went to find my class schedule and I was thrown into a whole new world.”

Psychology major Rebecca Rosillo suggested that an app be launched on mobile devices to make InSite Portal easily accessible.

“InSite Portal is convenient only when I have my laptop,” she said.

“An app for the site would make it easier to log in.”

Leong said to renovate InSite Portal into a mobile friendly system technological work needs to be executed to ensure that every student can get access to many things, such as registering for class or paying for fees online.

He said the district’s information technology department rolled out some upgrading strategies that

will be tested to work through the semester.

“Upgrades are currently in works, where we make sure links in the site are working properly or if there are any filters in the system,” Leong said. “These are all aimed to facilitate a student’s use of the site.”

Leong indicated the Microsoft SharePoint platform, a collaborative platform with technology that joins with the district side of InSite, is expected to be upgraded in early summer or fall semester.

“However, it will not be ready for registering for fall classes which begins in late April,” he said.

The Microsoft SharePoint platform allows staff in the district to collaborate and participate in upgrading the operating system, which includes college websites and portal sites.

Upgrading the operating system will strengthen InSite Portal’s online usage and facilitate the student’s use of the site, Leong said.

Psychology major Puleiaava Thomsen addressed another technical issue making InSite problematic.

“There are a lot of improvements that need to be done to InSite. One of them is separating the server from email,” he said.

“Students cannot log in to their emails without going to the server (InSite Portal). This can be quite time consuming.”

However, Leong said that moving student email to another server is not an option.

“The system was set in a way to ensure the safety of a student’s information,” he said, “so no one hacks or accesses the information that isn’t theirs.”

Instead of accessing their email on a different platform, he said students have another option to access their email from this link: http:// mail.4cd.edu and then log in with their InSite login username and password.

ABOVE: Insite Portal is unavailable on mobile devices restricting student access to laptops and computers only.

FAFSA login turns to tighter security

BY Salvador Godoy STAFF WRITER

sgodoy.theadvocate@gmail.com

Students applying for financial aid through FAFSA will no longer use four-digit pins as the U.S. Department of Education has modernized the process by unveiling the new Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID last May. The FSA ID is a username and password login authentication which replaces the former four-digit PIN number when accessing to the FAFSA personal information.

The Department of Education states on the Student Federal Aid website that having a username and password is much more secure than a PIN because there is less personally identifiable information

given online. The fewer times an individual has to enter personally identifiable information over the Internet, the safer he or she is.

Student Maria Uribe said the process of setting up the FSA ID was easier to do since the implementation.

“There were no troubleshooting issues on my end when applying,” Uribe said.

However, previously, FAFSA required appliers to provide his or her name, date of birth and Social Security number to receive the four-digit numeric codes assigned the Department of Education.

Adding an extra layer of security to a personal verification account can bring positive outcomes.

Identify theft is the most common crime that repetitively occurs

in to millions of Americans.

According to the 2014 Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), there were 17.6 million U.S residents who were affected by identify theft, the most common was misusing personal information for other fraudulent purposes.

Financial Aid Supervisor Monica Rodriguez said the uplifted security measures is the first important element when students provide their personal information on their FAFSA application.

“It’s all for the purpose of increased security measures. All the information is being protected as much as possible,” she said.

Financial Aid Assistant Patricia Herrera said the new FSA ID should become less of a hassle over time for students to file their

FAFSA application because it requires less information.

“This is the first time the FSA ID has (been used), but students will get used to the modified feature,” Herrera said.

FAFSA applications consist of numerous amounts of sensitive information that students expect to remain secure.

Rodriguez said some students have had difficulty in setting up their FSA ID. The most common areas were answering security spy questions and remembering relevant dates in their life.

Student Gashaw Takele who recently completed his 2016-17 FAFSA application said the new FSA ID login system denied him numerous of times when filing the application.

“It was a frustrating moment while each time I typed my username and password, the website was aggravating and rejected me to complete my application,” Takele said.

Rodriguez said the Financial Aid Office is offering assistance to address any problems and streamline the process.

“In order to try to address these issues for students to receive more help, they should attend the computer lab hours (in SSC-104), which are provided once or twice a week,” Rodriguez said.

Those wishing to apply for financial aid should additionally visit the college’s financial aid website for more details about forms, policies and the student loan application, Rodriguez said.

Vice President returns from leave, assumes role Gilkerson resumes job after stint at district

BY Christian Urrutia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

The vice president had a very shortlived job transition between the district and Contra Costa College during the fall semester up until this current spring semester.

Tammeil Gilkerson briefly switched from her role as vice president to the role of diversity, inclusion and innovation officer for a term of one year, while interim vice president Jane Harmon occupied the vacancy.

“In late June of last year I was asked by Chancellor (Helen) Benjamin to serve as the diversity, inclusion and innovation officer for the district for one year,” she said.

Gilkerson began her tenure in the new role in August of last year.

However, due to a serious illness that Dr. Harmon’s husband was diagnosed with in early December, she had to immediately leave the college to tend to her family.

“My husband was diagnosed on Dec. 11, so I had to leave to take care of him. But I felt confident in the deans (and the enrollment management task force) to continue on the

initiatives that we started,” Harmon said.

Gilkerson said she is resuming her permanent role to help provide leadership and support to the college.

“I am pleased to be back in my role as vice president and I plan to work collectively with the entire CCC team on enrollment management and many of the key initiatives connected with our college-wide strategic plan, including supporting our continued equity and student success initiatives,” Gilkerson said.

With Gilkerson returning, it is business as usual from the administrative perspective.

When asked about current collaborations with Gilkerson, President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said, “The plans haven’t changed. The college continues to move forward with meeting the objectives identified under our (2015-2020) strategic plan.”

In executing goals and objectives, Gilkerson was instrumental in helping several departments on campus understand the transfer degree program requirements in order to submit their subject area for a degree pathway program, Senior Dean of Instruction Donna Floyd said.

Dr. Floyd said, “Gilkerson is a great team leader, very hands-on person, and she helps to facilitate change.”

“She helped others with curricUNET, a

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE

Vice President Tammeil Gilkerson leads an enrollment management meeting in AA-216 on Jan. 27. Gilkerson is on the enrollment management task force.

database curriculum system, and she was instrumental for making it (understandable) and the implementation of it was brought on by her determination and persistence for others to better understand it,” Floyd said.

Mehdizadeh shared a similar sentiment.

“Tammeil is a highly dedicated and smart individual. We are lucky to have her as our vice president. She is creative, solutions focused and student-minded.”

“One of her major contributions is with the implementation of our curriculum management system and process. She worked diligently with faculty, staff, and other

administrators to implement a systematic approach to our curriculum development and approval process,” Mehdizadeh said.

Floyd said Gilkerson would be the initial person for faculty when identifying course numbers, lining up transfer degrees with state transfer program requirements and works with faculty, if need be, in order to fully flesh out information on occasion.

Harmon said, “I appreciated the focus on students at CCC. It wasn’t just lip service.

(Everyone at CCC) ensures better student success and completion. It is in people’s DNA to really care.”

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Workshop unifies ideas, actions

LEFT: Automotive Services department Chairperson Lucile Beatty speaks during the “Teaching Men of Color” workshop in LLRC-107 on March 7.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

BY Yesenia Melara STAFF WRITER

ymelara.theadvocate@gmail.com

The faculty-lead flex workshop “Teaching Men of Color in the Community College” was held on March 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the LLRC-107.

The purpose of the workshop was to discuss ways to build links and develop changes within departments to better support student success on campus, and to generate interest for the entire faculty to participate in the five-day long workshop, “Teaching Community College Men of Color.”

The workshop was led by adjunct philosophy professor Kabir Asaud and philosophy professor Colleen Boyle.

Boyle said that she and Asaud, along with other professors, had the opportunity to participate in the workshop which was paid for through equity funding.

“This was a five-day course and it was about five hours a day.

Through the workshop we learned key points such as student relationship building, intrusive intervention, building trust of mutual bonds and ways to support student success,” she said.

“Those who took the workshop (mainly professors from the philosophy department) thought it was very informational and interesting, so we got together and discussed ways to build the kind of support that was talked about in the workshops.”

“But we need the institutional support for everyone (faculty) to take the workshop,” Boyle said.

Asaud said that their goals and suggestions also fit in perfectly to support CCC’s goals developed in the CCC Equity Plan of 2014-15.

The Equity Plan shows that African-American students are ranked the lowest in successful course completion rates. AfricanAmerican students, who have a 20 percent success rate in basic skills math courses, experience the greatest adverse impact.

Also, African-American students, who have a 22 percent completion rate in basic skills English courses experience the greatest inverse impact compared to the highest performing group.

“Because three of these indicators identified African-American students as the group experiencing the greatest adverse impacts, CCC would be remiss if it did not use equity funds to provide culturally appropriate support for this population,” Asaud said.

Professors who attended the workshop discussed ways to improve their relationships with students and strategies for the overall success of students.

“Just by doing something as simple as learning their names and learning how to pronounce them right can increase a student’s confidence. This strengthens the student professor relationships,” CCC’s Equity Plan Coordinator Mayra Padilla said.

Boyle said, “For now we’re just trying to get everyone excited about these ideas we have, we want to get the ball rolling in what can be something great for staff and students. (But) it’s going to take more than one workshop to make changes.”

Life of handicap buttons reduced by excessive abuse

BY Tobias Cheng STAFF WRITER

tcheng.theadvocate@gmail.com

Automated doors will replace push buttons in four existing buildings and will be installed in the three new buildings of the Campus Center and Classroom Project, Building and Grounds Manager Bruce King said.

Many of the push-buttons to open doors around the Contra Costa College campus for disabled students often do not work because physically healthy students do not just “use them, but abuse them,” said Richard Stollings, instructional assistant at the Disabled Students Programs and Services.

While all exterior doors should have the buttons, King said, “I personally dislike push buttons,” The buttons’ signal senders are battery powered, and as a result, require much more maintenance than an automated door with a motion sensor.

“Unfortunately, we have some very good soccer players here” who will kick the footheight buttons to open the doors, which can break the buttons, King said.

According to the California community college state Chancellor’s Office’s website, there are 590 students with a disability at CCC. Stollings said that often when the buttons are

needed by any of these students, they do not work because other students have broken them.

King said that because each of the 22 buildings on campus has multiple buttons, they are broken on a weekly basis. Broken buttons can be reported to the Building and Grounds department and are frequently repaired within a day.

Stollings said that even if Building and Grounds fixes the buttons, they do not stay in working order for long.

The number of non-disabled students using the push buttons means that the buttons wear out much faster than if only disabled students used them.

In five minutes, four students walked through the manual doors into the Applied Arts Building while 19 used the push button door.

Josiah Garcia, a high school student taking classes at CCC, said, “I just go through (the doors) because everyone else pushes the buttons.”

Because of the unreliability of the push buttons, there is a project to put automated doors in the Computer Technology Center and the Art, Gym and Gym Annex buildings, King said.

The three new buildings in the still under construction Campus Center will have automated doors as well.

The Student Services Center, Early Learning Center and the Music and Liberal Arts buildings have automated doors installed

PERLA JUAREZ / THE ADVOCATE

A student enters the Applied Arts Building without using the handicap button on March 1. Broken buttons can be reported to the Building and Grounds department and are frequently repaired within a day.

already.

“Automated doors are the way to go,” King said. Even though there are about eight doors to enter the SSC, “(most) everyone likes to enter through the automated doors.”

Stollings said, “(Many of the) buildings are too old to do anything with,” and that putting in new doors would be dangerous.

Stollings also said that CCC lacks a lot in serving the disabled students.

For example, he said, there is a ramp to the Bookstore, but no button to open the door. He said that even though a student could open a door for another student, disabled students like their independence.

SIX SCHOOLS TO COMPETE IN QUIZ BOWL

BY Jason Sykes STAFF WRITER

jsykes.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Computer Technology Center is going to be packed with a group of 50 students from different high schools as they team up and compete against one another when Contra Costa College hosts its first All Academy Day Competition, March 26 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

“When you compete you learn more,” Competition Coordinator Richard Grotegut said. “You get to find out what you know, don’t know, and things you need to work on.”

The event will feature high school students from six different schools.

The information technology event is comprised of four main individual components and a school component. The students will be judged on how well they do in computer building, presentation, troubleshooting and cyber security, receiving scores for each at the end of each round.

Career Pathways Manager Evan Decker said, “The students are being trained and taught to do these types of tasks.”

The student who wins the event will receive a refurbished laptop as a prize. While the school component of the event is called the quiz bowl. That’s when each school will pick four students to compete in a school versus school battle.

Grotegut said the winner of the quiz bowl could possibly be rewarded with a banner for their school.

Each competitor will get a certificate for participating in the competition.

The students who are competing in the event have been preparing for the All Day Academy Competition for months.

They received a packet including everything they would be doing in these various competitions.

Outreach is a point of emphasis for this event.

The Computer and Related Electronics (CARE) program teamed up with Grotegut who has a lot of experience doing these type of events.

The college started looking for schools that are local and as some were not able to participate they were able to find schools that were intrigued by the event and decided to join.

“The college is trying to provide high school students with some college campus exposure to allow them to see if this is something they want to do,” computer information services professor Pam Rudy said, “We want the students to have an idea (about how) to further their education, and we want them to know there are opportunities.

The main priority is to make sure the students all know that they have many different college educational options to choose from.

“We hope to encourage students to do different things,” Rudy

“When you compete you learn more. You get to find out what you know, don’t know and things you need to work on.”— Richard Grotegut, competition coordinator

said. This is another opportunity to reach out to others around the community and pique the curiosity of local high school students and to let them know about the various programs offered at the college.

This may be the first time the college will host this event but the CARE department hopes that this can continue to be a yearly thing in the future.

The department has hopes of possibly having this event at each high school in the district over the years.

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LEFT: Drama major Armond Lee (center) reads to his fellow actors during a rehearsal of “The Laramie Project” in the Knox Center on Friday.

PERLA JUAREZ / THE ADVOCATE

‘Powerful drama’ shows gender issues Retrofitted stage rigging enhances set, performances

BY Asma Alkrizy OPINION EDITOR

aalkrizy.theadvocate@gmail.com

With the Knox Center’s old rigging system finally patched up this semester, the drama department will be premiering “The Laramie Project” and two fundraising events..

The play will be showcased on April 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 for the college and local communities.

Drama professor Angelina LaBarre will direct “The Laramie Project,” written by dramatist Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic.

“It is a very powerful drama, based on the murder of Matthew Shepard,” drama professor Kathryn McCarty said.

“The Laramie Project” depicts

the brutal murder of a 21-year-old gay student on Oct. 6, 1998 at the University of Wyoming. The student was found unconscious and tied to a fence, severely beaten and robbed by Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney.

After surviving a five-day coma, the student subsequently died and Henderson and McKinney were charged with first-degree murder.

“The play is mainly a documentary and (a series of) interviews collected about Matthew Shepard’s death,” drama department Chairperson Carlos-Manuel Chavarría said.

“The play touches on the important elements of why he was beaten and robbed and what led to his murder,” he said.

Students will get the opportunity to see the play in a new fashion, experiencing the innovative designs of the theater’s rigging system eliciting advanced drama effects and facilitating the actors’ performances.

The Knox Center’s building

manager Travis Hiner said JR Morocco, a former theater staging specialist, initiated the rigging project a few years ago, “with the construction mainly taking place over the winter break.”

It was eventually completed at the end of January.

“The project was created to fix an aging rigging system that was more than 30 years old and was installed during the construction of the Knox building itself,” Hiner said.

He said several of the batons — the pipes on which scenery, drapes and lighting instruments are hung — had been removed as they were deemed damaged and unsafe over the years.

The new system, which includes counterweights, line sets, arbors and batons, completely supplanted the college’s old system with an additional level of safety for students and the facility, he said.

It also serves for a versatility of use.

“The project added sever-

“The play touches on the important elements of why he was beaten and robbed and what led to his death.”

— Carlos Manuel Chavarría, drama professor

al more batons,” he said. “This means that more scenery can be flown onto and off of the stage in a variety of ways not previously possible.”

Chavarría said before the construction of the new rigging system, scenery and backdrops for plays were executed by painting a flat set for the plays.

He said set design was poorly done, and some students even talked about how the college didn’t have the capability to produce advanced set designs. “Now we have a real set,” Chavarría said.

He said the Knox Center will still undergo vital renovations

starting this semester, that will require “turning down parts of the theater” to replace it with an up-todate one.

“It will be a big summer and they’ll probably be done by end of the (summer term),” he said.

The drama department will also host two fundraising events this year.

McCarty said she will be directing “It’s My Line!” premiering tonight at 7 p.m. in the Knox Center with a “$5 suggested donation.”

“It will be a night of improvisational comedy,” she said. “Improv is the creation of scenes without a script. It’s amazing to hear the audience laugh when you, the actor, are making theater on the spot.”

She said in the second fundraiser faculty and administrators will be performing in a play.

This includes herself, Chavarría, LaBarre, Liberal Arts Division Dean Jason Berner and drama professor Tara Blau. The date of this play has yet to be determined.

Williams bestows lessons of life, offers advice Mentor released, yearns to help peers overcome adversity

BY Denis Perez

LEFT: Edward Williams holds his mug shot from 1983 taken at California State Prison in Vacaville.

Williams is attending CCC to gain a counseling certificate to counsel youth who are currently on a path to the prison system.

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

dperez.theadvocate@gmail.com

A group in their mid-30s forms a circle in LA-103 as they prepare to witness 74-year-old Edward Williams’ ability to counsel a room full of teenagers.

In a moment’s notice the room transforms from one filled with older people into a space filled with young, care-free, arrogant teenagers from a poor local high school.

Williams’ job is to act as the facilitator.

He is a co-facilitator of a progressive discussion about issues that underlie school bullying with the youth who suffer from being bullied, participate in the act or have seen bullying.

As Williams, a health and human services major at Contra Costa College, takes control of the noisy room with his firm voice, he starts explaining what will be discussed and the limits of confidentiality. As the exercise continues, the room becomes rowdy, impatient and intolerant to the things response from Pitts, Williams requested Williams and his co-facilitator say. that Pitts ask his father what the Spook As the students in the room Hunters were.

“I felt like shit,” Pitts said. began to disengage, Williams He found out that his street name was maintains his composure and continues. He patiently sits and listens a derogative term coined by the Spook closely to what is being said, by Hunters, a white racist youth gang that directed violence toward the growing Los whom, and in what way.

At the end of the exercise Angeles black community in the 1940s Williams tells the students that and 50s.

Pitts said, “Teach (Williams) took his they should be soft spoken or silent until the person is ready to have a time to mentor me and mentored me until the day I paroled.” conversation.

He said Williams made him read three “Today’s young people from the hood have developed a mental newspapers a day, study black ancient history up to current history, taught him abnormality,” Williams said.

He knows troubled youth. philosophy and made him into a studious Williams said he served 30 years young man. People even started calling inside the California State Prison him Young Malcolm.

Pitts said Williams changed his menin Vacaville where he encountered many young people. Most of them tality from an angry gang member to an educated, sophisticated young man who were gang members.

“He is the smartest man I know,” was ready to be a valuable part of his Arner Pitts, an ex-Los Angeles crip community.

Pitts said Williams was the source of gang member who was mentored

by Williams, said. Pitts said that at his evolution as a man.

After parole, Pitts enrolled at Cerritos first he was proud to be locked up in prison because he felt as though College in Norwalk, transferred to Cal he had “graduated into the big Poly-Pomona and went on to get his business degree in finance and, eventually, a leagues.”

Pitts said when Williams asked law degree.

“Teach would always talk with knowlhim his name he replied confidently with his street name, “Spook.” edge. He would always be educating Williams frowned, and asked him someone,” Pitts said.

CCC professor of health and human if he knew his father and with a yes

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

“If we don’t make an effort, and I mean a real effort, to get their attention, our future is going to be jeopardized.”

— Edward Williams, health and human services major

services Aminta Mickles said Williams offers support to anyone, if he can.

“Williams has a spirit of advocacy,” intern assistant for Group Processes for Helping Professionals Mariyke Gray said.

During his time away from the college, he participates in the community.

He is a member of organizations like the Men and Women of Valor and the Reentry Success Center that help the Richmond community progress.

Williams also speaks to a different group of recently released men every first Thursday of the month in the Veterans Hall in Richmond. Toward the end of his sessions Williams shows the men his mug shot from when he started his sentence.

Williams said, “After serving 30 years, I can see in their faces that they know I know how they feel.”

Pamela Saucer-Bilbio, CEO of Men and Women of Valor, said it is a tough field that Williams is going into but there is a need for someone to mentor youth.

Mickles said, “You’re only as sick as

your secret, and Mr. Williams told us his. He is tenacious and is already envisioning.”

Williams said he is learning from the organizations he participates in and classes he is taking at CCC on how to successfully grow an organization. Williams was influenced by Mace Thomson to enroll in college after being released from prison.

Williams returned for his third semester of college after suffering a heart attack last year. He was not able to attend classes in the fall of 2015.

Mickles said Williams approached her about some of his concerns. One of them was that Williams doubted if he would fit in because of his past. While actively participating in events in the community, Mickles said Williams “fits in.”

Williams said something he has learned about youth today is that the ambition in most youth is not to gain knowledge and experience but to accomplish requirements that will gain them a degree.

Williams said that the materials that are in books and that are taught in school mean something.

He said he sees the young people in prisons and in the outside world.

“If we don’t make an effort, and I mean a real effort, to get their attention, our future is going to be jeopardized,” Williams said.

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“

I don’t care that (“The Great Gatsby”) represents the American dream. I want them to know that Daisy represents women’s oppression. I want (students) to lead the class.” — Benjamin Jahn, english professor

spotlight LEFT: English professor Benjamin Jahn speaks to his class, American Literature: 19th Century, on Thursday.

Class members are taught to share their ideas freely and to expand their own knowledge.

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Class explores interpretations Students

BY Roxana Amparo

examine

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

literary devices in American Literature course

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

An ongoing class this semester is designed to teach students about ethnic and cultural diversity in literature in the U.S. through books, essays and poems shape.

The American Literature: 19th Century course is taught by English professor Benjamin Jahn on Thursdays from 2:10 to 5:30 p.m.

Jahn said he wants to show that American literature has become a “richer” tradition than what it was in the 1870s and 1890s.

Students analyze an assortment of selected texts that are chosen depending on their relevance to the course during student-led discussions.

Liberal arts major Christen Hernandez said, “I think it’s really cool to listen to the different ways my classmates hear and interpret different parts of literature. No longer are you being taught ideas but you are encouraged to come up with some of your own.”

She said Jahn gives them an angle that is provocative and leads to them to view the text differently.

“At a certain point of your education, you get to a place where you are no longer there to be walked through ideas. You know enough, or think you do, that you are be able to be a part of the process,” she said.

Jahn creates an environment in which students are taught to share their ideas freely and to expand their own knowledge.

Jahn said he is more interested in fresh ideas than the topics that have already been thought of.

Reading books like “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott

“At a certain point of your education, you get to a point where you are no longer there to be walked through ideas. You know enough, or think you do, that you are be able to be apart of the process.”

Christen Hernandez liberal arts major

Fitzgerald gives students refreshing subjects to discuss.

“I don’t care that Gatsby represents the American dream. I want them to know that Daisy represents women’s oppression,” Jahn said. “I want (students) to lead the class. I want to show them that one person’s voice is strong.”

Jahn is teaching the class for the first time while English professor Joy Eichner-Lynch is on sabbatical.

When Eichner-Lynch was hired she said the literature program was “dead” and developed the ENGL220B class because the one in place was “old fashioned” and needed some renovations and adjusted to qualify as transferable.

Now, the 3-unit class meets the CSU general education requirements and the IGETC requirements for the humanities category.

Although the class has come a long way since its cancellation due to low enrollment in the past, it is only offered during the spring semester.

“I couldn’t teach four classes every semester. We didn’t have enough students,” Eichner-Lynch said.

In the past, having low enrollment has prevented the course from happening every semester, but the

continuous advertisements through fliers and word of mouth has kept enough seats filled for the class to continue.

The classes were previously taught six Saturdays throughout the semester and 18 to 40 students were enrolled, Eichner-Lynch said.

“Classes are more fitting to students’ schedules now,” she said.

English major Magali Mercado said she knew about the class because of the fliers and through her teachers.

Eichner-Lynch said even if English is not the student’s major, they can still learn something in the class.

Mercado said, through student-led discussions, students learn how to read and dissect stories and poems. She said she encourages ESL students to take the class because literature is a way into a culture.

The class is not focused on composition. Those students worried about the writing part can still gain something by taking the American Literature class.

Regardless of what background students come from, or whether they are English majors, literature allows for everyone to bring their own perspective, she said.

Jahn said he tells his students that it is OK to not understand the material.

“You don’t need to pretend that you understand.

You can say you don’t. It opens another degree to the discussion,” he said.

Other forms of communication to students will be from counselors advising English majors to take the literature classes, Eichner-Lynch said.

Eichner-Lynch will return during fall to teach the American Literature course.

BADMINTON YIELDS MORE THAN ‘GOOD WORKOUT’ Open court encourages students to exercise

BY Marlene Rivas OPINION EDITOR

mrivas.theadvocate@gmail.com

Open court for badminton is held on Monday nights at the Gymnasium from 7 to 10 p.m. All students and anyone in the area who is interested are welcome to join the class.

The activities are supervised by three instructors who also take part in playing with the students.

If students want to register to attend the badminton nights for the entire semester, they can pay a fee of $35. The entry fee for drop-ins is $3.50.

There are plenty of vacancies for anyone interested in signing up for the rest of the spring semester.

Aside from the entrance fee there is no other money that needs to be spent, because the equipment required for the game is available for students upon arrival. This includes rackets and the birdies needed to play.

Holding the badminton nights on campus allows for easy access to local residents, as opposed to other locations that specialize in badminton, which are farther away and have higher entrance fees.

The East Bay Badminton Association, for example, has courts specifically for badminton use in their Emeryville, Oakland and Berkeley locations. The drop-in fee for nonmembers ranges from $8 to $10, depending

on the day.

The rental of a court for an hour is $30 for nonmembers and equipment must either be brought by players or rented out.

Badminton player Juan Martinez-Quehl said this activity allows for people who are passionate about the sport to come and enjoy it, while also getting to practice.

It is also a chance for those who have not yet tried the sport to take a swing at it and discover whether or not it is something that they would like to participate in.

The players help to set up the nets for the games. They take these games seriously and even make sure to stretch well before starting, Martinez-Quehl said.

The games can be played in singles or doubles. That is, it can vary from being played one on one or with two players on each side of the net. The first team to achieve a score of 21 points is the winner.

“It’s a good workout,” badminton player Tim Hurt said.

Hurt has taken part in other forms of exercise that were more expensive and for less of a payoff than the badminton nights have provided.

“I would definitely recommend it,” Hurt said.

Some of the players have been playing for decades and they find many benefits to playing badminton. It is more aerobic than tennis and the players also move faster than they would with tennis. It maintains your hand to eye coordination, badminton player Gary Honda said.

The players who attend range from those playing for a decade to this one session being

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Eighty-three-year-old El Cerrito resident Hok Gouw plays badmintion in the Gymnasium on Monday.

the first time that they pick up a racket and aim it at a birdie.

“There are different skill levels,” badminton player Adnan Rawan said.

Inexperienced newcomers should not feel intimidated by the experience of other players. The other players are more than happy to provide tips and help others in the class. It is a supportive and nonjudgmental atmosphere, Honda said.

Apart from physical activity, the time gives participants the freedom to interact and allows for meeting new people, MartinezQuehl said.

Badminton player Wayne Tsing said the students who take part in playing badminton at the Gymnasium for years believe that adjustments could be made to benefit badminton. There are other sports

that take priority over badminton and this leaves the players with the short end of the stick. Accommodations for badminton often take extended amounts of time to get done.

When new installments for the poles that hold up the nets were needed, it took months to get the holes put in, he said.

Since one of the Gymnasium’s main purposes is to provide a home for the Contra Costa College men’s and women’s basketball teams, it takes priority over the needs of the badminton class, Tsing said.

Tsing said the newly painted lines that depict the badminton courts are almost the same shade as the wooden floor.

Despite minor inconsideration to their sport, Tsing said the badminton nights are going well and the instructors and participants are eager for greater attendance.

spotlight

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9

‘Advocate’ cuts social mires CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Richmond, San Pablo native shares poignant political legacy, next battle

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

In broad daylight, the few African-American student activists who attended Cal State-Fresno in the spring of 1968 painted a table outside the cafeteria black in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and increased racial tensions on campus.

For two consecutive mornings, the students returned to their table on campus where the African-American students congregated and had to repaint their symbol of solidarity to cover where the words “white power” written overnight.

“Again, our symbol was desecrated with the term ‘white power’,” Leonard McNeil, 70, who retired from teaching political science at Contra Costa College this semester, said. “After the second time, two students, including myself, decided to go to the college President’s Office and paint his door black — it did not go over very well.”

McNeil and his fellow BSU officers were arrested for the misuse and abuse of state property, but he said their actions organized a meeting with former college president Fredrick Ness, faculty and students to create a Black Student Union and address issues in hiring practices and ease racial tensions in the community.

At the time there were only about 40 AfricanAmerican students attending Fresno State out of a enrollment of about 11,000, he said.

Since then McNeil has continued to challenge racial and economic divides in society. He has done so through his political activism as a San Pablo City Council member and mayor, as an ironworker, a Vietnam War exile, an adviser for the nonprofit organization Black Alliance for Just Immigration, as current president of the West County Wastewater District Board and as a professor at the same college community that inspired his social justice work when he was a student at CCC in the mid-1960s.

McNeil said he received his master’s degree in political science from San Francisco State in 2012 while teaching political science courses on campus, working as a city council member and being a pillar for his family.

“He was the oldest person in his class graduating with a master’s degree,” Carmen McNeil, his daughter and psychology professor at Diablo Valley College, said. “So in that sense he has really been a model for me in terms of determination, integrity and being a person of his word.”

No challenge, however, can compare to what he and his support network of friends, students, activists and family must overcome now.

“I have stage four prostate cancer,” McNeil said. “At this point, I don’t know how long I’m going to live.”

He said he received the results from the diagnoses during Finals Week last semester, but he only told his family, close friends and people who would be directly affected by his condition.

“People bring me water and food. They text, call, visit and send me emails. They are there for me,” he said. “I have a very strong support network and I have a strong will to live and I will fight it the best I can.”

McNeil said he is using this time away from teaching to read, write books about his three grandchildren and spend time with his family and friends while undergoing chemotherapy.

“I’m dealing with the illness,” he said. “I look at every day as a gift. I know that this discomfort and miserable stuff I’m going through with chemotherapy won’t kill me — but this cancer will.”

“It was devastating news to hear, especially during Christmas,” Vanna Gonzales, political science professor and Community Organizing for Political Action adviser, said. “But at that time he didn’t want anyone to know.”

“He guided me every step of the way. He is an advocate.

As a teacher he was dedicated to showing students how policies affect them and how they are financially backed. The system is set up for the rich to succeed and he explained we would have to work harder to get where we want in life.”

— Janelle Knudson, psychology major

Gonzales said she was worried that he would be isolated during this challenging time, so she went to his home and found comfort in the strong support system she saw.

“He has great family support because he has given so much to support his family,” she said.

“He also has connections as the mayor, on the water board and other networks, so he has positive voices to support him.”

He said he is not afraid of death, but wants to know that he was able to help disenfranchised groups in the community and the people he loves to the best of his ability.

Leveling the slant Since 2009, McNeil taught political science on campus until he stepped away from the position in December. His influence lingers in those who listened to his teachings.

Puja Dahal, a student who was in McNeil’s political science class while she was attending Middle College High School on campus in 2013, is now majoring in social welfare and global poverty at UC Berkeley. “(McNeil) inspired me,” Dahal said. “Before I took his class I was never exposed to politics on a global scale.”

She said the most memorable class exercise was a mock debate in which he asked students to state which political party that they affiliate themselves with — either Democrat or Republican.

After he took a poll of the students, McNeil said he told them they would have to argue for the opposing political party.

“We had to pretend that we support policies that go against our values,” Dahal said. “We learned how both sides react and why. (McNeil) got us involved with politics more than we would have (been) through lecture.”

McNeil said he structured the exercise in a way that would not only strengthen students’ critical thinking skills by understanding the opposing point of view, but by allowing them to better understand their own.

“You have to take your own values and philosophy and counter them to opposing views to examine their merits and see if they hold up to reality,” he said. “I read what conservatives say all the time. I don’t believe most of it, but at least I know what they are saying so I can engage them in dialogue to find an answer.”

McNeil said he is grateful to former college president McKinley Williams for giving him the opportunity to share his experience in local politics and organized activism with a younger generation as an instructor.

“I think (McNeil) is a great example of a local kid doing well and coming back to the community to make the area better and not just in San Pablo politics, but at CCC,” Williams said. “He is a breath of fresh air for the public who value him as a politician and professor.”

“He has been a champion for those who do not have a voice. I appreciate knowing him as a friend back to when we both played football

and basketball at (Richmond High School) together and (during) our reunion at the college,” Williams said.

Janelle Knudson, a psychology major, said she learned the value of politics while working on a final research paper in McNeil’s class about how the private prison industry targets minority groups.

“He guided me every step of the way,” Knudson said. “He is an advocate. As a teacher he was dedicated to showing students how policies affect them and how they are financially backed. The system is set up for the rich to succeed and he explained we would have to work harder to get where we want in life.”

Championing human rights McNeil said racial tensions at Cal StateFresno were spurred by an football coach’s comment blaming McNeil and other black players for a 3-8 season.

“Like most places at that time, it was reasonably hostile if you were black. So (McNeil) and others were trying to advance the role of the civil rights movement in a not so friendly place,” John Stewart, former English professor at Cal State-Fresno, said. “There were confrontations between black students and a white administration.”

Stewart said McNeil was outraged about this racist accusation and their actions helped organize students and faculty to form the third Black Student Union at a university in the state.

He said because of demonstrations by McNeil and other officers in the BSU, campus administration agreed to add courses that focused on black culture, hire more black professors and allow the BSU to host events that celebrated black history in America.

But McNeil said his time at Fresno, and his opportunity to play with the Philadelphia Eagles, were cut short because of his student activism against racism with the BSU and his opposition to the Vietnam War draft — which forced him to flee to Vancouver, Canada.

“Some people just went (to the Vietnam War) because they felt like they had no other choice,” McNeil said. “I was (drafted) at the time, but I didn’t want to kill anyone. So all I could do was run, go to jail or commit suicide — those were my choices.”

McNeil said he met other Vietnam War dissenters at the University of British Colombia.

“Unlike a lot of draft resisters, we continued our activism in Canada by creating the Vancouver Black Action Group, a black action group that was active on and off campus,” fellow activist Mark Allen said.

Allen said he could not imagine what exile in Canada would have been like without meeting a “kindred spirit” who stands up for human rights.

Allen said, “(McNeil) was always passionate about learning and engaging in discussions that mattered. He was never intimidated to ask a question or intimidated about the answer.”

Upon returning to the U.S. in 1970, McNeil and Allen were politically active during the Angela Davis and Soledad brothers protests, until they were both charged with federal offenses for refusing induction into the U.S. military and failure to inform the Selective Services system of their current addresses.

McNeil said they had both charges dropped on technicalities, but he had a different mindset while he stood in front of an all-white jury than before he fled to Canada.

“At the time I left to Canada I was not prepared to go to jail. Why should I have to go if I refuse to kill other human beings?” he said.

“But when I got older I was prepared to make that sacrifice because what would happen to me in jail was nothing compared to what was happening to the Vietnamese people.”

ABOVE: Retired political science professor Leonard McNeil sits alongside a college sign on campus on March 7.

McNeil reminisced of the time he and former CCC president McKinley Williams spent together “dragging the main”on McDonald Avenue and 23rd Street in Richmond as Richmond High School seniors and as students at Contra Costa College.

10

scene

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.16.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Unleashed

MOVIES

This week: “The Divergent Series: The Alignment” (PG-13) “Midnight Special” (PG-13) “The Bronze” (R) “Miracles from Heaven” (PG)

BLU-RAYS

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

Himura Kenshin, the protaganist of the anime “Ruroni Kenshin,” holds his revesed-blade sword. Vowing to never slay another human this sword can not fatally wound someone. Kenshin features a Japanese society in which sword fighting is a norm of the present state of political chaos.

New releases: “The Big Short” (R) “Alvin and the Chimpmunks: The Road Chip” (PG) “Brooklyn” (PG-13) “Sisters” (R)

MUSIC

New releases: Gwen Stefani: “This Is What The Truth Feels Like” Primal Scream: “Chasismosis” Jahiem: “Struggle Love” The Word Alive: “Dark Matter”

GAMES

Kenshin slits feudalism

By Mike Thomas SCENE EDITOR

mthomas.theadvocate@gmail.com

A

n anime that mixes themes of politics and romance is rare these days.

“Ruroni Kenshin” does exactly that, beautifully. Nothing beats the sound of two swords colliding with Japanese music in the background.

Swords clash in this anime series, with a new Japanese government on the cusp of falling. It is up to a soft-spoken swordsman with god-like talents and a darkrooted past to prevent total collapse and chaos.

Twenty years after its 1996 release, this nostalgic anime is still proving inspirational to its viewers. “Ruroni Kenshin” is a 90s classic anime that will always hold a special place in the hearts of all anime fans.

The background music of the series pays homage to the days of Saturday morning cartoons, staying true to its core from the beginning. The show conveys a clear message of promoting political change and how the betterment of the world can be achieved by inspiring others.

Every character in the anime has a discrete personality, but conveys a strong sense of pride when it comes to their heritage and

member inspires further

“EA Sports UFC 2” (T)

addition

“Salt and Sanctuary” (M)

line

“Sheltered” (T)

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

— Mike Thomas

LOST TREASURE these encounters and treats them as life lessons advancing his swordsmanship and morality. On his journey he finds a new purpose in life protecting the people of Japan who struggle to defend themselves against transgressors.

Part one of the series is Kenshin’s journey as wanderer in Tokyo. No one would expect this gentle, humble and oblivious person to be a former assassin. As the shows progresses this anime shows theres much more drama to come. The repetition of jokes gets predictable, but the characters’ reaction is what makes it hysterical.

The Meiji government kills off the army with Gatlin guns after using them as a scapegoat, for a crime the government committed themselves. Carrying on the hatred, Sanosuke becomes a fighter for hire to relive the regenerating anger inside him.

He becomes Kenshin’s righthand man after being defeated by him. Kenshin changes his whole perspective of the Meiji govern-

ment after their bout instilling in him that the government isn’t entirely corrupt and that there will always be some wrong-doing wherever you look.

The most memorable part of the series is the first episode, part two. It takes a dark spin, when Kenshin reminisces about the Revolutionary War in Kyoto where he earned his assassin name Battosai. In this bloody scene the Meiji Government army has just taken over Kyoto, leaving the Tokugawa shogunate making its final attack. The music in the background gave the scene context of what kind of mood it was going to be, a bloody massacre.

A group of the feudal army soldiers enters the Meiji’s headquarters and the blood bath begins.

We learn more about Kenshin’s past and his time in Kyoto, which was mentioned throughout the first season.

“Ruroni Kenshin” is a cult show, meaning no matter how old the show is, it will continue to be an inspirational show and fans will re-watch it — teaching morals in each sword-clashing battle, and providing teachings about being a decent human being. The irony is everyone has a problem with the new government, but in the end they believe it will once and for all bring peace to Japan.

NBA athlete takes chance on ‘Aunt Pearl’ shoe line Family

New releases: “Pokken Tournament (E)

family honor.

Kenshin’s young apprentice Yoshiko Myyojin does not take kindly to being called little, coming from a family of samurai and often shows his family pride by chanting often. He longs to be respected and treated as mature for his young age, while mourning the death of his father.

Myojin looks up to Kenshin and trains hard every day in an effort to become a great swordsman like Kenshin. But like any other kid, he has a hard head, but a soft behind.

Himura Kenshin, formerly known as Battosai the Manslayer, chooses the nomad life after vowing to never kill another human after having served as the government’s assassin during the war.

Japan was in a civil war, changing from a feudal government to what it is today. Kenshin believes the Meiji Government could bring peace to Japan, killing thousands of men in support government.

After the Meiji takeover, Kenshin acquires the reverse-blade sword, a fictional samurai sword with a dull blade.

On his journey as a wanderer, he comes across prideful characters who each have a strong, unique philosophy of life. With his non-lethal sword, Kenshin uses the way of the sword during

of Nike

By Joseph Bennett STAFF WRITER

jbennett.theadvocate@gmail.com

T

he entire world knows and wears Nike shoes, some for comfort, some for style, but nobody can argue with what brought the brand its epic popularity — stars.

Nike pairs its shoes with professional athletes, at the peak of their respective sports, in an attempt to bolster its relationship with winning.

Professional basketball player Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association is one of them.

Durant named one of his shoe collections after his late Aunt Pearl who died from lung cancer in 2000, in an attempt to let her memory live on.

Today, Durant is on his eighth edition of Nike shoes.

The Aunt Pearl collection was his fourth edition of the shoe collection.

The shoes are special to him, so they “What For?” come in limitBrand: Blank ed quantities.

Style: Blank If the color of Durant’s Nike’s are pink and white, then it’s an Aunt Pearl shoe. The inspiring part is the majority of the profits for the shoe go to research for the cure for cancer.

In the shoe it reads “Kevin Durant Kay Yow Cancer Foundation,” a message that gives inspiration to continue to find for a cure. The Kay Yow Cancer Foundation originates from late North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Sandra Kay Yow. She lost her battle to stage four breast cancer in January 2009.

As far as purchasing them at stores is concerned, it can be tough because the shoes are limited in number. Sparingly, the shoes can be found at high PRODUCT REVIEW

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

Professional basketball player Kevin Durant named his shoe collection after his Aunt Pearl, who succumbed to cancer in 2004.

value Foot Locker and Champs stores.

Pricing for the shoes range from $140-$200. The reason they are so expensive is because after the consumer buys them, most people attempt to re-sell them for a higher price because of the limited number of shoes distributed to retailers.

Kevin Durant said, “I made a promise to myself to always honor my Aunt Pearl for the example she set and the encouragement she gave me to follow my dreams.”

In the end, the Aunt Pearls are just regular basketball shoes, however, there is a deep-

er context to them.

It may just look like a regular pink and white sneaker, but it is killing a million of other Nike shoes and shoes by competitors.

According to reports on Footlocker.com, the shoes take a long time to break in, so it might be important for buyers to invest in some Dr. Scholl’s cushion inserts upon purchase of the shoes.

On the plus side, once the shoes are broken in they are comfortable, have good traction and feel light on your feet.

Aunt Pearl would be proud.

sports

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11

STORMS DELAY GAMES, VIKINGS BLANK SQUAD

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

After seven days without a game since its season opener, the softball team returned to the field losing both games of a doubleheader against Big 8 Conference-leading Diablo Valley College 13-0 and 10-0 March 8 in Pleasant Hill.

With its first two opponents totaling 31 runs against it, Contra Costa COMETS College (0-4) has taken a major punch to the mouth to open the 2016 campaign.

Bad weather forced the Comets to reschedule their following series VIKINGS against Mendocino College until March 10, as well as the Ohlone College Tournament on March 12, leaving CCC with only practice and moral victories as a metric to gauge improvement.

Vikings (16-2) ace Nicole Nordahl (15-2) took the hill to start the game. Her 8.14 strikeouts per game, six shutouts and 15 complete games are all tops in the Big 8.

“We played more as a team, more sure of ourselves,” Comet game one starting pitcher Anna Palter said. “There were fewer fielding errors, fewer dropped balls and my pitching improved a lot.”

Palter led off the top of the first for the Comets, reaching base on an errant throw after the ball got

by Viking catcher Katie Kaprive. The pitcher then stole second on a strike out by first baseman Amy Palomares.

After reaching third on a ground out by catcher Sydney Davis, Palter was eventually stranded on base following a Comet swing and miss to end the inning.

The Vikings jumped out of the box on fire, scoring a run with its first two batters on a walk followed by a steal and then a hit driving the runner home. DVC’s prosperity was helped by a fielding error charged to Davis.

After two more walks with no outs and Vikings littering the bases for DVC, Balan recorded the first out for CCC on an unassisted play at home when the Vikings tried to sneak another runner across home plate.

Leading 1-0 with one out and runners on first and second, DVC infielder Julia Peltier belted a bases-clearing double, deepening the Comet deficit.

CCC would end the inning after a dart from Balan to stop a potential runner from stealing the base, but not before Peltier crossed home to give DVC a 4-0 advantage.

“I think we did well against DVC. They’re a good team,” coach Karolyn Gubbine said. “This is what they do against teams. It’s not like last time we played (19-0). We were getting routine balls and not letting outs get away from us.”

Angelica Espinal led off the second inning for CCC with a single followed by a stolen base but was ultimately left stranded in scoring position when the side was retired.

“We did better than we did in our first series (Chabot). We kept a positive attitude, played as a team,” Palomares said. “We knew they were in first place for a reason and we gave up half as many runs as we did before, so we can see improvement.”

After allowing four runs in the first, the Comets would yield eight runs in the third. The game was eventually called in the fifth inning with the Vikings taking a 13-0 victory.

Shedding her armor to pitch game two for the Comets was Davis who caught in game one. Like Palter in the previous contest, Davis got the hitting started early with a single in the first inning.

Davis would never reach home plate, nor any other Comet in the contest. The Vikings went on to win the second game 10-0.

The Comets play Thursday against Folsom Lake College at 1 p.m. on the Softball Field.

0 13

ILLUSTRATION BY MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

Wrestling room lacks team despite interest Popular sport seeks access to next level

BY Xavier Johnson ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

Located within the Gym Annex Building adjacent to the Fitness Center lies a room which houses classes such as yoga and Pilates. However the large wrestling mat in the room is not being used for its intended purpose.

GA-20 is a wrestling room for a college currently with no wrestling team or even a wrestling club on campus.

None of the three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District currently has a wrestling team.

Stephen Butler, a senior at John Swett High School, said attending a community college to continue wrestling at a collegiate level would be something he would consider. Butler lives in Crockett.

It would be too far of a commute to go to Sacramento City College, Santa Rosa Junior College or Chabot College to wrestle, he said.

Butler said the opportunity to wrestle in college for a nearby institution, like Contra Costa College, would be a good opportunity.

Few community colleges in or near the Bay Area have a wrestling team save for a few such as Skyline College, Chabot

“Wrestling at a college level would be something I would like to do.”

Rachel Smith, wrestler

College and Santa Rosa Junior College.

However, these colleges are not in a local area to support the wrestlers in the seven nearby high schools in the Bay Shore Conference.

CCC freshman Andy De La Campa said he would have liked to continue wrestling after high school in college if it were available.

There is nowhere to go for the 13 other high schools students on wrestling teams in Contra Costa County’s Bay Valley and Diablo Valley conferences.

Wrestler David Stemen, who went 26-1 during the 2015-16 wrestling season at 152 pounds for John Swett, said he didn’t know he local community colleges don’t offer wrestling.

“I planned to attempt to wrestle at a university,” said Stemen, “If that didn’t work I would have tried to wrestle at Diablo Valley or CCC.” Stemen said if wrestling was offered at CCC it would be a consideration for him because he plans on wrestling in college no matter what.

Out of the 10 Northern California community colleges with wrestling teams, zero are located in Contra Costa County or Solano County.

At CCC, wrestling is not a viable option because of the lack of student interest, Athletic Director John Wade said.

When students attempted to petition for an MMA club on campus last spring, there was not enough interest to even fill out the necessary paperwork.

Students need to show interest to make the adding of a sport viable, Wade said.

Last semester, CCC held a meeting for female students interested in athletics to discuss whether adding another sport to the women’s sports on campus was something they are interested in.

Wrestling was one of the sports up for discussion. However it garnered zero interest from the students on campus.

Rachel Smith, resuming her studies in the fall semester, wrestled two years in high school. She said the opportunity to wrestle in college would be something she would consider.

“Wrestling at a college level would be something I would like to do.”

However, there seems to be a general lack of interest in forming an intercollegiate wrestling team among both male and female students who presently attend the college.

Comets split doubleheader to break losing skid

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

Baseball team loses, rebounds to beat Laney College in Oakland

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Comets made use of the parting of storm clouds by reversing a threegame losing skid, dropping the first bout 3-2 then stealing the second 4-3 in a two-game series against Laney College on Saturday in Oakland.

After losing the first game of the afternoon, the Comet bats came alive in the second. In the closing innings, the team scored four runs on two singles followed by a triple by second baseman John Velasco (3 for 8 with one RBI for the series) cementing the contest for CCC. The early 11:15 a.m. game one starting time used to beat the impending rain left both offenses as groggy as the players standing on the rain soaked turf.

“It was 0-0 (for awhile). We were on the same field at the same time. I’m not going to use that as an excuse. We just didn’t get it done, but the guys bounced back in the second game,” CCC baseball coach Brian Guinn said.

CCC is back at home Thursday facing the College of Marin at 2:30 p.m. on the Baseball Field.

With only one hit between the two teams, the first game remained scoreless until the Comets got on the board first with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.

“We let the first game slip through our hands. We wanted to come out in the second game and prove that we were the better team.”

Bryce Hutchings, outfielder

Comet outfielder Bryce Hutchings (1 for 9 with one RBI for the series) connected for a single advancing first baseman Chris Brue to second base, scoring shortstop Jamal Rutledge (3 for 8 with two runs scored in the series).

The scoring began with a double by Velasco then a single by Rutledge giving the Comets runners at first and third.

A passed ball on a pick-off attempt at third allowed Valasco to score and Rutledge to assume his spot on the corner.

This made way for the Hutchings RBI single.

After five innings CCC led 2-0.

Laney took advantage of Comet mistakes giving itself hope in the low scoring game by eeking out a run on two errors bringing the score to 2-1 in the top of the seventh inning.

An Eagle rally tied the game at two with no outs in the bottom of the ninth

with runners on second and third.

Guinn and the Comets chose to rely on their team defense to get out of ninth inning jam.

They attempted to walk the bases loaded and then force double play outs at first and third.

Inexplicably, Comet pitcher Antonio Straughter overthrew the intentional walk allowing the winning run to score.

Laney took the first game 3-2.

“We let the first game slip through our hands. We wanted to come out in the second game and prove that we were the better team and use the loss to build motivation going forward.”

Hutchings said. “It’s just baseball. It’s a tricky game.”

Following the emotional roller coaster of the first game, scoring remained lackluster with neither squad scoring until the seventh inning in the second.

The Comets gave up one unearned run in the second inning when Laney catcher Alberto Paz (who reached base on a walk) found his way home after a series of Comet errors.

Despite another low-scoring affair, the second game would harbor many stranded base runners.

Both teams totaled 19 runners left stranded on base on 17 combined hits.

“The pitchers weren’t commanding the zone, missing on the corners,” Comet catcher Lawrence Duncan said.

“Batters would get up on COMETS the count and sit on the fastball. They connected on some clutch hits up the middle.”

Jake Dent got the EAGLES win in game two for the Comets, giving up just four hits with four strikeouts while offering only three bases on balls in 6.2 innings on the bump.

CCC padded Dent’s performance by tacking on two runs on three hits in the seventh inning and two more runs with the same recipe in the eighth.

Trailing 4-0 in the ninth inning, the Eagles were not without fight.

In an attempt to rekindle its late game heroics from game one, Laney began to manufacture runs.

With one out in its pocket, CCC surrendered a walk and two singles to load the bases, allowing the following batter, Eagle designated hitter Kaleo Johnson, to knock in two runs with an RBI single.

“It started pouring, the ball was getting stuck and I started leaving everything up,” CCC closing pitcher Joseph Banks said.

Now leading 4-3, Banks took the chance to redeem himself. He regained control of the inning, popping out the next two Eagle batters, securing the save and the win.

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OVERVIEW

Chancellor’s Office grants one-time funding in equity State’s allocation funding targets barriers through FTES metric

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Throughout the district, colleges have applied and been approved to use one-time funds from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to implement programs and community outreach to improve the success rates of certain student demographics.

According to each college’s Equity Plan, Los Medanos College was awarded about $730,900, Diablo Valley College was allocated $1,470,850 and Contra Costa College received about $538,870.

The main target indicators that each college must address are outreach to feeder high schools, course completion, certificate and transfer rates.

“The state has looked at various measures and indicators that lead to success in different student populations,” CCC’s Equity Plan Coordinator Mayra Padilla said. “In all those big categories the state started to look at the fact that some populations were not doing as well as others. So the Equity Plan is the state’s attempt at creating equity for groups who have more needs in certain areas.”

According to CCC’s Equity Plan,

there must be the same percent of students in a feeder high school that enroll at the college to address the deficiencies with the access indicator.

Padilla said the students that have a lower percentage of students coming from the high schools are white students.

In the access completion indicator, the students with the highest percentage are African-American students while the second lowest, above whites, are Latino students.

Within the course completion indicators are basic skills math, English as a second language and English, Latinos and African-Americans have the highest discrepancies in completion rates.

Padilla said that these are based off enrollment data from the 2013-2014 academic year.

African-American students in general course completion rates in this category are the lowest at 61 percent, while Latinos are at 68 percent and white students are at 76 percent.

CCC Distance Education Chairperson Judy Flum said there are some efforts being made by counseling and the Library and Learning Resource Center to extend counseling hours and operating hours for the Library.

“We want to create a more resources for students by implementing online tutoring and counseling services that students can take advantage of even when they are not on campus,” Flum said. “But as for extending the Library hours we were told that we could not be funded for that even after speaking with representatives from other colleges who said they were able to increase student success by doing so.”

Padilla said that many small colleges, because the allocation process is mainly defined by a college’s Full-Time Equivalent Student count — one or more students enrolled into 15 units — do not receive equitable funding.

She said that even though she and her Equity Task Force were able to complete the final draft within a six-month timeframe, they were unable to implement all the programs they wanted to help decrease the discrepancies in each target indicator.

“I think it’s the timeframe that we were given that hurt us. It was a really short and my style is to work collaboratively and build consensus,” Padilla said.

“We had to have a meeting on student success with College Council and the Academic Senate.”

Academic Senate President Beth

Goehring said she was “impressed” that Padilla and the Equity Task Force were able to complete the final draft and get it approved so fast.

Padilla, however, said that aside from the timeframe hindered developing programs that would target every indicator more effectively, “the way in which equity funds are distributed from the state is not equitable.”

She said that because it is based on FTES, larger colleges are given more funds that they may not be able to use up in a year and would go to waste thereafter.

Goerhing said she agrees and more often than not the state wants to give people who are already faculty members at the college more responsibilities instead of hiring a larger staff.

She also said that they want you to prove that the programs that are being implemented now are reducing negative percentages in the target indicators in a short timeframe.

Padilla said after raising these issues Debra Sheldon, Chancellor’s Office Equity Plan coordinator at a program review session on March 1, 2015, the state is currently developing a plan to allocate funds more equitably.

MEASURE A 2002, 2006 AND MEASURE E 2014 TOTAL FUNDING DATA/ ILLUSTRATION BY LORENZO MOROTTI / THE ADVOCATE

Measure E planning omits Art Building retrofit Seismic concern sparks discussion over absence

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

The budget limitations with the bond Measure E allocations has left some buildings at Contra Costa College that are considered “questionable” by a seismic risk and mitigation report by Thornton Tomasetti, in 2012, completely out of the project plan.

The Art Building was built in 1971 according to the district’s 2016-17 Building Summary Report and will not be part of this round of bond money unlike the $29.5 million seismic retrofit to the Gymnasium, Gym Annex and the Men’s and Women’s Locker rooms, Contra Costa Community College District Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said.

Pyle said because of the special art equipment it houses and the lack of swing space to accommodate students and faculty is non existent on campus — so the Art Building has been untouched in terms of structural renovations even though it rests on traces of the active Hayward Fault and its foundation “has some issues.”

At an Academic Senate meeting on Oct. 19, 2015, fine and media arts professor Bonnie Holt explained that she originally heard that the Biology Building was going to be used as swing space for the art department during its seismic retrofit.

Holt said that she became concerned when she heard that the Biology Building

is planned to be demolished once the $56 million Allied Science and Health Center is completed.

Pyle said it will take about five to six years for the project to be completed.

“The Art Building was supposed to be condemned some time ago due to a cut and fill job when they first built it,” she said. “The foundation is slipping and in some places the building is cracked in half.

“Nothing about this was brought up to the art department during the planning stages.”

Measure E, which nearly passed in June 2014, provided the district with $450 million to be spent on infrastructure costs such as restoring or demolishing old buildings and heating and cooling equipment.

Out of CCC’s $84 million allocation from the bond measure, which was augmented to $95 million with funds from the 2006 Bond Measure A. Pyle said there is not enough funding to address the Art Building right now.

“I’m going to see if I can submit a seismic project to the State Chancellor’s Office for funding,” he said. “And if there is another state bond we can include it in that list. The prioritization of projects, however, is done by individual colleges through meetings with its leadership and shared governance groups.

“The Art Building is not forgotten.”

Fine and media arts professor Anthony Gordon said if the building’s structure were really a threat to student and faculty safety the district would demolish the building.

Even when showed a map of the campus compiled by Kleinfelder Inc. that detailed where buildings are in relation to active and

“I see, but I mean this is California. We have to expect that buildings are going to be built by a fault.”

Anthony Gordon,

fine and media arts professor

inactive fault lines that splinter off the main Hayward Fault, he was not convinced.

“I see, but I mean this is California. We have to expect that buildings are going to be built on or near a fault,” Gordon said. “I mean look at the Physical Sciences Building.

It has even more red lines and you don’t hear them complaining.”

According to the map, Kleinfelder’s seismic trenching in 2006 discovered three “potentially” active fault traces leading to the art building in between the Computer Technology Center and the creek.

In 1973, Harding-Lawson Associates dug seismic trenches on the opposite side of the building, but Pyle said it is not enough to deviate from the Master Plan that was updated by former college President Denise Noldon and college constituency groups.

At the Academic Senate meeting, Director of Business Services Mariles Magalong diffused the situation by telling Holt that the building was in line to be retrofitted in the Master Plan. There was not enough funding at the time and there was no assurance that Measure E would be passed by Contra Costa County voters.

“We wanted to be sure we could meet the

seismic standards with the funds we had. So not knowing if more funds would be available or they would shrivel up, we decided to leave it off the table,” Magalong said.

Biology professor Katherine Krolikowski said, “The Biology Building was just retrofitted. So tearing it down now seems like a waste of money. But before things are finalized it is important that people voice their concerns before it’s too late.”

CCC’s Equity Plan Coordinator Mayra Padilla said that the current way in which the state allocates funding is not conducive to addressing special needs of colleges but rather trying to get the most return from the projects they choose to fund.

“Because we bring in lower FTE (FullTime Equivalent) students, the district has to help subsidize some of the costs that we are unable to bring in with just enrollment numbers,” Padilla said. “We want to be mindful of the subsidies that come our way, but because the way its structured at the state we do not bring in as much as Los Medanos College or Diablo Valley College.

“From that perspective the district is helping us keep afloat.”

She said from the other side it seems as though CCC’s needs are being neglected and the allocation process should focus more on equity instead of FTE. Pyle said that reversing the funding metric would not be equitable.

“What the allocation method represents in respect to facilities is that if you teach more students you need to have more funding to upkeep facilities. That’s the bottom line,” he said.

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EDITORIAL

State funding process widens divide Equity Plan, Measure E allocations undermine campus safety, success

E

quity does not mean equality. Equity is giving people who need the most help a chance to live a better life than the one they were born into.

In American society that need is unfortunately determined by gender, culture, religion or race.

Even with a new “growth” allocation method implemented, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office should give these socio-economic conditions more weight and provide equitable funding to colleges that are at risk of a natural disaster, who suffer low retention and transfer rates for minority groups and have a disproportionate percentage of low-income students — and not the college with the most FTES — which is funded at one or more students enrolled in 15 units.

While Contra Costa College is the smallest campus in terms of enrollment and size in the district, it has the most diverse student population of low-income, first generation, students compared to Los Medanos College and Diablo Valley College.

Yet, our sister colleges received more funding under the Measure E bond passed by voters in 2014 and in one-time funds for equity programs from the state.

It should be recognized that the district subsidized costs to help renovate a campus with an average building age of 39 years by allocating $23 million from what it got from Measure E, an infrastructure project bond passed in 2014.

The original allocation from the state would have granted CCC, LMC and DVC $61 million, $83 million and $182 million respectively.

And the efforts made by the chief facilities planner and his teams to pull from bond Measure A (2006) to increase it to $95 million are appreciated.

The average age of the buildings on campus is 39 years, the oldest in the district, and the campus is bisected by what the United States Geological Survey considers the fault most likely to create a temblor of 6.7 or greater in the next 36 years — the Hayward Fault.

Despite the efforts of the district, it was not enough to demolish, only renovate, the oldest building on campus, the Gymnasium (1955) or even include the Art Building, on the supplemented Measure E plan.

Both of these buildings are considered “questionable” for a public institution in a Seismic Mitigation

ILLUSTRATION BY LORENZO MOROTTI / THE ADVOCATE

Report complied by Thornton Tomasetti in 2012.

While the new Campus Center and Classroom project will provide a structurally sound learning environment when it opens at the outset of the 2016 fall semester, there will be a lack of programs for students struggling in target areas addressed in CCC’s Equity Plan because of an inequitable allocation.

According to CCC’s Equity Plan, compiled by HSI/STEM manager Mayra Padilla, programs that primarily target access, course completion and transfer based on race, income and gender will be allocated about $538,700 LMC was allocated $736,871 and DVC $1,473,850 for their equity plans. These funds have to be used within one year or else they will no longer be accessible and the drafting process restarts.

This lack of funding to help

improve the success rate of students who struggle in these areas not only hurts the college, but it widens a de facto racial and economic divide created by a segregated educational system that was deemed unconstitutional only 42 years ago.

People forget this campus was built before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but there are faculty, administration and alums turned community activists who are working to address inequitable funding and end a mistrust minorities have with a system that has marginalized them since America’s inception.

Former college president and alum McKinley Williams said many African-American families who moved into historically white neighborhoods in the late 1950s were referred to as “blockbusters.”

“Rollingwood (right next to CCC) was basically all Caucasian,” Williams said. “I remember get-

ting a call from my friend Thomas Gary late at night. Me and my father rushed over and some people burned a cross on his lawn.

“It was the terror of the times.”

It is unfair to argue that AfricanAmericans, Latinos, Asians and Filipinos are choosing work over college when the public educational system has historically failed to provide adequate support.

But until an educational reform that completely eliminates the FTES metric of funding, that trust will remain broken and enrollment will suffer at CCC. Improving success rates for people will take time, much more than it has already. There should be enough funding to provide for student safety through modern facilities, access to information about scholarship opportunities and restructure courses and programs to make education relevant.

Online tutoring resource aids equity Initiative grants one-time funding to improve campuswide assistance

BY Asma Alkrizy OPINION EDITOR

aalkrizy.theadvocate@gmail.com

While Contra Costa College’s Equity Plan attempts to increase the overall course completion rate for students, the Campus-Wide-Tutoring program continues helping students improve their academic performances.

“We have provided additional support and increased the number of students accessing CWT for the last two years,” assistant tutoring Coordinator Brandy Gibson said. “We have also broken down our tutoring services

by Peer-Led Team-Learning program (PLTL) and drop in tutoring so we can see which one of our initiatives is more successful.”

CCC’s Equity Plan took steps and extensive measures to sustain and focus on activities leading to student success for fall 2015, providing tutoring services with campus-wide supports to help students reach high academic standards.

In fall 2015, the Equity Plan provided support to activities promoting educational equity with a major focus on raising the student’s course completion rate.

However, the support programs that provided equity funding from the state went to tutoring services, the main base on campus for student success.

The Equity Plan paved the way for more advancements in tutoring resources, launching the creation of more helpful tutoring services, such as

online tutoring, walking tutoring and PLTL. The substantial support allowed the College Skills Center to hire a minority retention specialist as part of the completion and success plan.

The minority retention specialist keeps track of student retention rate and how tutoring services is reflected in student’s academic performances.

In supporting equity, with an emphasis on campuswide tutoring, the number of students accessing tutoring services has increased over the last two years with visible results in their cademic performances.

“Last semester I almost thought of dropping Math 120 because it was very difficult and confusing,” business and administration major Emilio Perez said.

“However, I reconsidered my decision when I spent most of my time in the skills center. I ended up passing the class.”

CCC’s Equity Plan data shows students performances from 2013-14 who use CWT with 6.5 percent of the student population accessing tutoring services. However, in 2014-15 the percentage of students receiving tutoring help increased by 13 percent and by 16 percent in the 2015 fall semester.

Gibson, as part of the Equity Plan Task Force, is responsible for comparing data from spring and fall semesters.

“We had about 200 student accessing both math and English (tutoring services),” she said. “As of fall 2015, we

“As of fall 2015, we had a total of 890 students accessing tutoring. We increased quite a bit from 200 to nearly 1,000.”

Brandy Gibson

assistant tutor coordinator

had a total of 890 students accessing tutoring. We increased quite a bit from 200 to nearly 1,000.”

The Equity Plan data also showed the percentage of students using the free tutoring opportunity are more likely to successfully complete their courses.

Last year’s PLTL program showed outstanding outcome gearing toward a successful course completion, with 73 percent of students showing up to PLTL sessions completing their courses. In contrast, 66.7 percent of students who took advantage of drop-in tutoring hours completed their courses while 53 percent students who did not receive tutoring completed their courses.

These results show a difference of student success between students who receive tutoring and those who don’t.

Because of the successful performances of students attending PLTL, the student Equity Plan preferably endorses PLTL program as the most effective tutoring service for students.

However, the Equity Plan recorded data of underrepresented groups from fall 2015 indicate compared to the aver-

age group of the student population, the academic performance of several minority groups at the college fall below average.

CCC’s Equity Plan listed the targeted populations, which include Latino, English as a second language, male, and veteran students, indicating pre-orientation programs and education planning courses need to be met to guarantee their success.

Gibson said the goal of CWT is to focus on providing outreach effort for these target population to ensure that everyone campus benefit from the tutoring service and “free tutoring” opportunity.

She said aside from student success varying within differing demographic groups, there are many factors that hinder students from successfully completing their courses.

One of the leading factors, Gibson said, is feeling overwhelmed by their part-time course load and work. She said students who are working part time encounter different struggles than full time students who may drop because of having insufficient time to study.

Engineering major Claudia Palacios said she is struggling to balance her chemistry studies with English.

Palacios said she didn’t know how to manage her time properly. “I was working part time when I took (those courses),” she said. “And my grandma also died, so I was emotionally stressed to pick up my grades.”

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“ Inadequate system You could have been in a higher level of math earlier, finished college earlier and been earning more money at a job earlier.”— Terrill Mead, math department chairperson

PLAN DESIGNS PATH, ALLOCATES BASIC SKILLS FUNDING

obstructs progress Degree, transfer applicable units are not combined

BY Marci Suela ART DIRECTOR

msuela.theadvocate@gmail.com

When marine biology major Musa Khan arrived at Contra Costa College in 2011, he was assessed into an English 1A course, but placed elsewhere after meeting with his counselor.

Despite his familiarity with English concepts, a counselor confused him and resulted in enrolling into ENGL-142B and was set back a semester in his academic plan to transfer to a four-year university.

Khan said after taking the class, he felt it was a setback and wasted his time, trying to learn concepts he already understood.

“It’s an unnecessary class. You waste six, or so, odd months on things you already know about,” he said.

Making use of multiple measures including high school transcripts is one of the implementation plans to increase the basic skills English and math completion under CCC’s Equity Plan.

The Equity Plan created objectives and activities to equalize student success across all populations without affecting top performing groups.

According to the Equity Plan, out of the 490 students who completed a basic skills English course in the 2014-15 academic year, 38 percent progressed to finishing a course applicable to their degrees.

For basic skills math, 31 percent of 1,028 students completed a degree applicable course in the 2014-15 academic year, after taking a basic skills class.

To increase the average of these completion rates for basic skills English and math, the Equity Plans targets males, African-Americans and foster youth. According to the Equity Plan’s data, these three groups experience the largest gaps from the average among other populations including females, veterans, Latinos and Asians.

The Equity Plan reports only 30 percent of 370 male students completed a degree applicable course after taking a basic skills math course.

Biotechnology major Ray Serafin was placed into Math 118 when he took the assessment test prior to the fall 2014 semester.

He said during high school, his teachers had a limited amount of time to spend on a large group of students. Because of this situa-

“This is a reason why we’re making plans for students in high school who struggle understanding concepts and bring that frustration here. We want to end frustration.”

SUCCESS INDICATOR: Basic skills English Foster youth 5% Males 6%

Brandy Gibson, tutoring coordinator

tion, a lack of preparation hindered Serafin’s understanding of math at the college level.

“Being behind is frustrating,” he said.

Placing in the basic skills math course set him back a year prior to completing the transferable Math 171 course.

Basic skills math is identified as a barrier for students moving toward the completion of a degree or certificate, according to the Equity Plan.

To support and streamline the process, the math department is developing to compress Math 118 and Math 120 into one course.

Non-STEM students can enroll in the already developed Math 118/120 combination course Math 125, a pre-statistics pathway course.

Math department Chairperson Terrill Mead said, “Students take three to five years to finish their degree requirements. They can benefit from taking a combined course.”

He said the department is still surveying what students need and aims to combine classes as one solution to increase basic skills math completion.

There are also plans to provide other alternative pathway coursework, such as using computers in the Math Lab in AA-210, to improve retention and move students on to a college level class.

For basic skills English, the English department has gone through two trial “boot camps” to get students into English 1A faster.

Tutoring Coordinator Brandy Gibson said at least 25 students who placed one or two points under the minimum score for English 1A on the assessment were invited to the week-long session last July.

Fifteen students were referred by their ENGL-142B professors to join the same event.

She said the college mimics the statewide numbers of students completing a degree applicable course.

The statewide number averages to 33 to 34 percent, whereas the college averages to 38 percent in basic skills English.

“That’s a low number. We have

Dilemmas in certain groups solved through individualized solutions

African-Americans 11% 0

2

4

6

8

10

Degree and certificate completion shortfalls compared to the all student average basic skills English completion rate of 38 percent.

12

to figure out how to get students out of the pipeline (of finishing basic skills courses),” Gibson said.

Gibson said following with the Equity Plan for basic skills English, the college has already invited English teachers from the West Contra Costa Unified School District to address issues that cause high school graduates to come the college unprepared.

The Academic Performance Index (API) goal for California public high schools is the score of 800, she said. Kennedy High School in Richmond scored an API of 544 whereas Miramonte High School in Orinda scored an averaged API of 944.

“That is a huge disparity. This is a reason why we’re making plans for students in high school who struggle understanding concepts and bring that frustration here. We want to end frustration,” Gibson said. “It costs more for students, it takes longer trying to finish. It lowers our enrollment and impacts the amount of funding the state gives us.”

Khan said resources are also wasted taking an extra course.

“You have to pay for an extra class and books. For some students who do not have financial aid and (need to) pay college fees and tuition out of pocket, it can determine how many classes you can take for the next semester,” he said.

Mead said developing new courses and adding supplemental support is important because this impacts time. It is crucial not only to close the gaps, but to achieve retention for the class and carry the skills into the workforce.

“You could have been in a higher level of math earlier, finished college earlier and been earning more money at a job earlier,” Mead said.

BY Roxana Amparo ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

The Equity Plan created objectives for English as a second language students to meet in order to create a pathway to their academic success.

In one year, the objective for Contra Costa College is to provide equal academic success throughout the student body, beginning with low-level courses.

“We don’t want students to get trapped in a cycle of failure,” Basic Skills Coordinator Nooshi Boran said.

Basic skills students include those in math, English, ESL or those below college level, Borhan said.

Based on information from the ESL completion analysis and findings, Latinos fall below the 80 percent mark, making them a target of improvement.

Latinos’ success rate is at 19 percent. By 2018, the goal is to reach 43 percent, in keeping with the highest performing group, that being Asian-Americans.

ESL professor Ruby Shelley said, “I do think it’s possible to focus on specific groups that need extra support and design interventions and support programs, for these students, that can help increase their success rate.”

“We are looking at areas where students are struggling,” Boran said.

The Basic Skills Completion Committee is made up of faculty in all disciplines, working together to develop and make implementations based on student needs.

The Equity Plan’s focus is to increase access and course completion.

Each individual college receives funding from the state to target disadvantaged students within each college community.

Success indicators are used to measure the impact that underprivileged populations may face when dealing with issues of equal opportunity.

“I feel that investing in our faculty helps students as well,” Boran said.

With interventions from professors, students receive the support necessary to advance while taking courses.

Boran said they created an early alert system to figure out if students are placed in the right level of ESL. In spring 2015 the ESL faculty developed and started offering ESL 108. The course is an orien-

“We don’t want students to get trapped in a cycle of failure.

— Nooshi Boran, basic skills coordinator

tation to college for ESL students.

Ruby said, “This course fulfills the same requirement as the online orientation for all community college students, but was designed and is taught with ESL students’ needs in mind.”

Students get help choosing classes at their level when they register as well as receiving a campus tour, she said.

ESL Chairperson Elizabeth Xiezopolski said they used to have more than 50 courses rather than the 23 they have now because enrollment has decreased.

She said a lot of it has to do with the lack of outreach in the community.

“We used to have an ESL Office with a secretary and one or two assistants, but we haven’t had our designated place,” Xiezopolski said.

The ESL department staff is continuously working on outreach to expand their numbers.

Students entering into the program are acquainted with student resources on campus to help guide them while they take part in the ESL classes.

Xiezopolski said, “The Welcome/Transfer Center is helpful. ESL students come to us and we send them there, where they at least have one person who speaks their language.”

The ESL department’s students speak a variety of languages including Chinese, Arabic, Spanish and Farsi.

Shelley said techniques and support programs that increase the success of a particular group of students could likely benefit the rest of the student population as well.

The ESL department was able to fund the workshops through the basic skills fund.

Hybridized versions of all of ESL’s writing courses were developed last spring, Ruby said.

Xiezopolski said the online workshops teach students how to use D2L for easy access to their homework.

She is surprised students have a thorough understanding of cellphones, but when using computers find it challenging. For some students using a mouse is a challenge, she said.

“Technology has bypassed what students need.”

Objective identifies flaws, addresses drawbacks Struggling

BY Robert Clinton

groups are

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

expecting increase

in degree, certificate rates

SPORTS EDITOR

One of the main functions of the Equity Plan is to identify student populations that experience the greatest adverse outcomes and then it addresses the specific needs of the groups which have been narrowed into seven key indicators.

One of the key indicators, titled Degree and Certificate Completion, is broken down into eight categories.

The data shows, white students, who have an 11 percent completion rate, experience the greatest adverse impact and Asians hold the penultimate spot with a completion rate of 14 percent.

“Every student has different educational goals, some just want to transfer,” Dean of Student Services Vikki Ferguson said. “With health ed, two PE classes and library studies as requirements, adding another class could break the bank for some of these students.”

She said even with CCC’s Asian students, some of them are international students so they pay to come here and entering programs with extra time requirements may be unrealistic.

The numbers, generated by the Contra Costa Community College District and Data on Demand and the 2014 scorecard, compares students by racial groups that have received a

“With health ed, two PE classes and library studies as requirements, adding another class could break the bank for some of these students.”

Vicki Ferguson,

dean of student services

degree or diploma upon completion of a given program to students with the same educational goals as determined by a counselor.

Over the next five years, campus administrators would like to see a doubling of the degree and certificate rates among white students and an eight percent increase of 14 to 22 percent for Asian students.

To achieve this, faculty members form work groups to collect data specifically applicable to students from the indicator groups. For white and Asian students, the plan would like to identify impediments to successful degree and certificate completion.

“I just came here to transfer because I want the experience of real college life.

I know I can transfer to another school with a degree, but I can meet the transfer requirements quicker,” Amani Kaur,

undecided major, said.

“Some of the people I graduated with, who went to four year college, came back to take their general education at a JC. I wanted to do mine first because it’s cheaper.”

The Equity Plan also wants to look more into the academic goals of students belonging to the two groups to better align program offerings with support services.

“I haven’t noticed anything different from last semester until now,” Liberal Arts major Sheril Kumar said.

“Counselors have not been asking about my education plan, but I’m on track to transfer.”

As it relates to student success, the Equity Plan lists eight questions that will address objective four. Objective four aims to collect research on issues arising from data for each indicator group, then ascertain the effect size needed to quell the greatest adverse impact.

Some of the questions tackle larger issues, like that increasing local degree requirements that may deter students from earning a certificate. Or if shorter semesters with increased class offerings would elevate the number of degrees earned.

“I’ve been here since 2008 and I haven’t transferred yet,” undeclared student Jordan Miller said. “I take school at my

SUCCESS INDICATOR: Degree Completion Low income 3%

White 6% Latinos 7% 0 Degree 1 2 and 3 certificate 4 5 6 com7 8 pletion shortfalls compared to the all student average transfer completion rate of 28 percent.

own pace. Counselors never helped me much. I haven’t seen one since I first arrived on campus.”

Each student structures education parameters to fit their given situation, as educational matriculation is not a one size fits all endeavor.

Data is still being collected to ensure the most successful learning environment.

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Transfer rate data pinpoints targets Information gathered from four-year study galvanizes strategies

BY Cody Casares PHOTO EDITOR

ccasares.theadvocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College has outlined several different tactics to increase the transfer rate of certain demographics based on data collected by the district.

CCC’s Equity Plan data on transfer completion consists of student information that is separated into groups representing the student population who plan to transfer, based on ethnic backgrounds and varying economic demographics.

The data collected focuses on students who completed a minimum of 12 units and attempted a transfer level course in math or English. The total number is then compared to the average total of students who actually transfer in order to determine any deficiencies compared to the 28 percent average.

One of the new strategies that will be implemented this April, according to Equity Program Coordinator Mayra Padilla, is the organization and execution of fouryear university field trips.

“We’re going be looking at the trips (the Puente Project) and EOPS take and to expand them to targeted students,” Padilla said. “We realize there is so much more to be done and we’re trying to find new ways to work with what we have available.”

Transfer counselor Andrea Phillips said, “Students need the opportunity to see outside their area. Students will have the opportunity to look at all the options, public, private, Southern California and even out of state.”

In the effort to close the transfer gaps, the field trips will consist of the transfer counselor and dean of student services working together with Puente and the district research department to target white and Latino students with transfer goals and encourage their participation in field trips.

“Our transfer counselor (Phillips) is organizing the field trips currently done by EOPS and Puente departments. One of the things they’re working on is expanding it

SUCCESS INDICATOR: Transfer White 4% Males 5% ESL 7% 0

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Degree and certificate completion shortfalls compared to the all student average transfer completion rate of 17 percent.

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to target groups.” Padilla said.

Phillips said students can expect at least one trip a month.

In order to increase the transfer rate for low-income students, the transfer coordinator will collaborate with the EOPS department to organize field trips to four-year universities, according to the Equity Plan outline.

Automotive collision repair major Temo Ramirez said, “I have brothers whose only intentions are to go to community college. I think the opportunity to go on the field trips would be good to get people out there.”

The data collection from the Equity Plan revealed that Latino, white, and low-income groups have the largest shortfall from the average transfer rate of all students.

Latino transfer students show a 21 percent overall transfer rate, falling short seven percent from the average, with only 14 students transferring out of 195 total.

The second largest gap is white students with 22 percent, 6 percent short of the 28 percent average, with 65 total students and only four transferring.

The last target group identified in the Equity Plan is low-income

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Water rushes through the Arboretum during the rain on Thursday. The area saw huge amounts of rainfall flooding local creeks and saturating the ground with the recent El Niño storm front.

students with 25 percent of the total number of students transferring.

While individuals with disabilities represent a larger transfer gap of 4 percent, the college will focus on low-income students as they represent a higher number of affected students with 431 low-income students compared to 34 students with disabilities, according to the Equity Plan.

By the year 2020 the college goal is to eliminate the transfer gaps of these targeted populations according to the student Equity Plan.

The college plans to implement outreach and support to student populations who are falling short of the transfer average.

Outreach will consist of the transfer coordinator and dean of student services working together using the collected data of students who are actively attempting to transfer. They will provide them with direct communication and transfer workshops.

Biochemistry major Zackarriyah Burns said he likes the plan implemented by the college.

“I feel like the college does a good job now. The information for transferring is there for people who really look for it,” he said.

Padilla said that direct support will consist of emails and phone calls informing and inviting students to attend transfer workshops, field trips and the Transfer Day event.

Phillips said with the completion of construction drawing near and the selection of a new college president, the college needs a campuswide approach in supporting transferring students and their needs.

“Transfer Day should be something big, where the school shuts down to promote transfer. We should hear about it on the radio. That is where it has to take itself,” she said.

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ACCESS INDICATORS SEE LOW ENROLLMENT FROM FEEDER HIGH SCHOOLS Percentage of seniors in service area signing up for courses urges community outreach effort

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With Contra Costa College located in San Pablo, it is the go-to institution for those living in West County. But as it is reflected in the 2014-15 Equity Plan, that may not always be the case, as the number of incoming high school graduates in certain groups is disproportional compared to the number that are enrolled at the campus.

Counseling assistant Marykate Rossi, who is part of the Equity Plan Task Force, is specifically assigned to monitor the access indicator.

She said when comparing students coming in from the community from local feeder high schools, the task force was looking at example groups for disproportionate numbers in these demographics.

The equity committee members narrowed it down to Latinos, males and English as a second language students as those having the most disproportionate representation, followed by veterans and foster youth.

The definition of this indicator, which is access, is the percentage of each population group that is enrolled to come into college, compared to that group’s representation in the adult population within the community served.

This percentage is frequently calculated as a participation rate from the feeder high schools into local community colleges.

The Equity Plan is predicated on campus-based research that shows various percentage rates that correlate with each of the success indicators that serve as focal points for the plan.

Rossi said, “Equity is getting students their access in these (targeted) groups.”

One activity for the access indicator is to boost the application process and ensuring the registrants enroll and proceed through orientation.

The plan’s Task Force tries to meet specific goals, listed in different indicators, the one for access assuring that the percentage of Latino, ESL, male and veteran students enrolled at CCC is equal to the percentage in which they are represented in the surrounding feeder high schools or in the adult

SUCCESS INDICATOR: Access Males 4% Veterans 4% ESL 5% Latinos 7% 1 2 high 3 school 4 5 grad6 7 Local uate shortfalls from students not transitioning and enrolling into Contra Costa College.

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population in the county.

Rossi said counseling tries to ease the onboarding process and get more bodies through the door by modeling future workshops after similar student success-themed ones.

She said hiring two counseling assistants is eventually going to be fully implemented from the plan, with her position being the first hired out of the two.

Efforts for increased marketing are underway on both the campus level and from the community level.

Dean of Enrollment Services Dennis Franco said, “We’re working with the West Contra Costa Unified School District to identify underprepared and underrepresented Latino and male students at their (high school feeder) locations, instead of just (Middle College High School) students here.”

Equity Plan Coordinator Mayra Padilla said one of the pertinent roles outlined in the access section is the hiring of an outreach coordinator.

Dr. Padilla said the college is looking at hiring individuals who can speak to and inspire those special demographics.

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WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 3.16.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Local bars draw eclectic congregation

spotlight

San Pablo Avenue lays out potential spots for St. Patrick’s Day indulgence Reviews by: Cody Casares, Dylan Collier and Christian Urrutia

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s St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated on Thursday, The Advocate staff has reviewed several local bars located on San Pablo Avenue for readers to help them decide whether or not to partake in the accustomed activities of the Irish holiday, like excessive alcohol consumption and the displaying of the color green.

Of course St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17. It marks the accepted date in 493 CE of St. Patrick’s death.

St. Patrick is the figure most prominently associated with bringing Christianity to Ireland and is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland as a solemn and holy day of obligation.

The holiday is also officially celebrated by the Church of Ireland, the Irish branch of the Anglican Communion. The day is marked with special liturgical programs and a breaking of Lenten fasts.

Club Mallard Menu: bar food, draft and bottled beer Where: 752 San Pablo Ave., Albany Price: $5-$15

Hotsy Totsy Menu: classic cocktails, draft and bottled beer Where: 601 San Pablo Ave., Albany Price: $5-$15

Up & Under Menu: burgers, sandwiches and soups Where: 2 W Richmond Ave., Point Richmond Price: $6-20

A few historical details about St. Patrick’s mission to Ireland is shrouded in mystery, although numerous popular legends are associated with his work and play a major role in Irish culture. The shamrock’s association with St. Patrick’s Day comes from the popular myth that says St. Patrick used the three leaves of the plant to explain Catholicism’s Holy Trinity to the Irish.

But the holiday is more widely celebrated as a secular celebration of Irish culture. Cities around the world hold St. Patrick’s Day parades and festivals to mark the occasion, with many people participating. Popularized

by Irish immigrant communities, festivities usually include traditional Irish food and drink, such as corned beef and Guinness beer.

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

Right when you walk into Club Mallard, you are greeted by the large PUB REVIEW buffalo head hanging on the wall above the bottles behind the bar. If you are looking for a spot to bump into some of your old colleagues “Club Mallard” or high school friends this is definitely the place. The crowd is comprised of 20- to 30-year-olds.

Location: Albany Price: $5 to $15 There is an overall Polynesian vibe, with tiki torches outside and plenty of room for seating. There are also candlelit tables with a four-foot fire tower in the middle of the deck, providing plenty of warmth. If you want to test your hand-eye coordination, it is one of the few bars in the surrounding area that has two floors of pool tables.

An eclectic variety of music reverberates throughout the air. So whether you are in the mood to reminisce over some 80s Bruce Springsteen music, or jive out over some Chemical Brothers techno, there is a little something for everyone. The one area the Mallard lacks is the beer menu. Unfortunately, it does not have a never-ending beer menu.

Whether you’re a smoker or non-smoker, there is so much space outdoors downstairs as well as upstairs that you’ll always feel at ease no matter where you are. There are awnings around the individual tables outside keeping the tables and the seats dry in rainy weather.

The crowd is slightly older at the Hotsy Totsy. Additionally, there is a PUB REVIEW cramped, almost claustrophobic vibe, and it doesn’t have all the space in the world like Club Mallard. One unique characteristic, which you “Hotsy Totsy” don’t find at every bar, is that they have their beer menus in handheld binders rather than on a board on the wall.

Location: Albany Price: $5 to $15 Although it has a lounge in the back area, there are usually so many people there you can’t really move around a lot, and it feels stuffy inside. Thankfully, there are plenty of distractions to cover up the musty smell, with a movie pick of the night — this night it is the 1950s blockbuster hit, “Nudie Cuties” on the big screen. When waiting in line towards the front of the bar, I saw two young women grinning and giggling looking in my direction, but realized they were staring at the television screen. On TV, all you could see were topless women prancing around outside.

If you got tired of looking at topless women on TV, you have your choice of playing shuffleboard, or going outside for a bite at the local taco truck.

Also, you have the luxury of taking your drink outside, as long as you don’t go past the sign, which reads, “No Drinks Past This Point.”

The Up & Under Pub and Grill prides itself on the cozy, rugby-inPUB REVIEW spired atmosphere that you experience as soon as you walk past its huge oak door. The visuals that hit you immediately are those of “Up & Under” multi-colored rugby jerseys and other memorabilia designated for the sports fans who regularly attend.

Location: Point Richmond Trivia night and karaoke are normal activities the patrons Price: $6.50 to engage in during their weekend retreat or their familiar pit $20 stop on the way home from work. The pub is also home to a banquet room on the second floor where large parties can are held. The Up & Under is known for its extensive grill menu touting its “Scrum Burger Challenge” as part of its lineup. The gratuitous challenge has four burgers and two sandwiches stacked on top of one another with a fried egg and waffle fries with a side of spicy chili cheese fries for the ambitious contestant. If the food is finished within a 45-minute time frame with no one else sharing in the meal, the entire price of $65 is waived.

As far as alcohol is concerned, the selections are expansive with pint prices beginning at $6.50. One nifty quality that the Up & Under has over its competitors is its online ordering feature on its website where customers can order their food from the pub menu using a third-party site called Chow Now and individuals can specify whether they want the food ordered at a specific time or when they enter the grill.