The Advocate 4-27

WEDNESDAY l 4.27.16 OUR 66TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

Volunteers restore beauty CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Earth Day cleanup effort clears area of trash

BY Cody Casares

“(The Earth Day event) was great. It’s very fulfilling to see that you’ve done some physical work for the future.”

PHOTO EDITOR

ccasares.theadvocate@gmail.com

RICHMOND — To honor Earth Day, community members gathered to collectively beautify a park and pathway along the Richmond Greenway at South 42nd Street and Ohio Avenue on Saturday as a part of the Adopt-a-Spot program through Richmond’s Parks and Landscaping department.

Richmond Groundworks Deputy Director Matt Holmes said, “(Parks and the Richmond Greenway) became a place for contractors to throw away garbage.”

Richmond Groundworks Green Team attracted volunteers from Contra Costa College’s Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society, Middle College High School (housed here at CCC), Kennedy High School, members of EarthTeam — a nonprofit organization from Berkeley — and a group of volunteers from San Francisco State. “(The Earth Day event) was great.

PROFESSORS GIVEN CHANCE TO PREPARE FOR CANVAS

Francis Sanson,

Contra Costa College ASU senator

It’s very fulfilling to see that you’ve done some physical work for the future,” ASU Senator Francis Sanson said. “The plan for the area is to make it a park for the neighborhood kids with a butterfly garden.”

Volunteers were split up into several teams to clean different areas of garbage or overgrown foliage.

One team spread bark along the outlet park to deter unwanted weeds from consuming the area.

Another team patrolled the Richmond Greenway and picked up enough trash to fill a dumpster, Holmes said.

Trees were planted and a fence

bordering the park was fitted with panels of wood to serve as a canvas for artists from the Richmond Arts Center to create a mural in the near future.

“We tasked ourselves with restoring the forgotten part of the Greenway,” Holmes said. “We are giving people an attractive transportation trail.

“We planted six or seven red maples as part of the Urban Forestry Program, that is trying to address a high death rate of trees that was identified in a Richmond tree survey a few years ago,” he said.

Holmes said the program strives to teach at-risk youth about the work in maintaining parks and community action first hand.

He said Richmond Groundworks also gives youth the opportunity to visit national parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite.

“The Green Team is a high school pre-employment training program

ABOVE: Kinesiology major Andrew Lilly (left), health and human services major Shelby Wichner and Pinole resident Allen Pablo (right) shovel bark to spread across a lot to deter weed growth during the Youth Service Day event at South 42nd Street and Ohio Avenue on Saturday.

SEE GREENWAY, PAGE 3

Food, wine fundraiser garners donors

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Drama department Chairperson Manuel Chavarria is one of about 20 professors at Contra Costa College asked to participate in a training webinar before the district switches over to Canvas from Desire2Learn by the 2017 spring semester.

“When I was hired at the college about two years ago (the online learning platform) was Desire2Learn. It was hard to learn, but it was possible through trial and error. With Canvas I want to be ready,” Chavarria said.

“I like technology a lot, but, like anyone, I have to try and figure out how to use it in the classroom. If you teach online, or a hybrid course, you need to know how the new system works.”

Distance Education Coordinator Judy Flum said the options available for faculty who want to learn how to use Canvas, but who were not included in the first email, are: 1) Three on-campus workshops in L-107 on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon, May 18 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and May 27 from 10 a.m. to noon.

2) A “self-paced” online training course on onefortraining.org, provided by @One organization, that is accessible anytime.

3) A Canvas “boot camp” in the Library and Learning Resource Center on Aug. 8 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Any (faculty member) can attend the Canvas workshops on campus, or SEE CANVAS, PAGE 3

PAGE 6

RETROFIT AIMS TO ADDRESS KNOX CENTER’S SEISMIC ISSUES PAGE 4

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Experience fortifies leadership Equity, human rights influence perspective

BY Roxana Amparo ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Comets lose three in a row PAGE 7

She was invited into the homes of refugees living in Beirut City, Lebanon eight years after the 1974-1990 Lebanese Civil War ended, while researching how Filipina and Sri Lankan domestic workers were treated and the impact the war had on families there.

She learned about the traumatic experiences children, families and neighborhoods endured during 16 years of war.

“I remember walking through the alleys. There was so little space that you didn’t realize you were in the (refugee) camps because there was so much poverty. People sat on the ground and slept on the floor.”

While working on earning her master’s degree in anthropology from UC Davis’ School of Social Sciences in 1998, Contra Costa College’s Dean of Natural, Social and Applied Sciences Ghada Al-Masri was able to return to Lebanon, her place of birth, to research the living conditions of the Lebanese refugees.

Dr. Al-Masri, who received her Ph.D. in geography from UC Davis in 2007, was hired from outside of the Contra Costa Community College District last summer to oversee the NSAS Division.

Prior to taking that position here, she was a student equity analyst at Sacramento City College in 2014-15, as part of its Student Equity Committee, focused on serving the educational needs of college students regardless of their social, educational, ethnic or cultural background, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability.

Her job was to help the entire Sac City SEE AL-MASRI, PAGE 3

NSAS Dean Ghada Al-Masri aims to be an educational resource for students and faculty.

Dr. Al-Masri conducted research in Lebanese refugee camps after the 19741990 Lebanese Civil War.

2

Quotable “(Journalists) should walk in the front door of a story, not sneak in the back door and then rationalize the deception by claiming it was the only way to get at the truth.”

Marvin Kalb director, politics and public policy, harvard university Christian Urrutia editor-in-chief Marci Suela art director Roxana Amparo Lorenzo Morotti associate editors Benjamin Bassham news editor 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 Paul DeBolt faculty adviser Staff writers Adan Alfaro 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 Staff illustrator Nora Alkrizy 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, APRIL 27, 2016 VOL. 103, NO. 20

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

●

EDITORIAL FOOD SAY LACKS INPUT

Ad-hoc committee selects vendor, policy bans reporting

F

or more than a decade, Contra Costa College faculty and students have been limited to three on-campus food options. Until now.

A new food vendor is a long time coming for people on campus who are limited to eating at the Three Seasons Restaurant, Subway or the Bookstore. But it is unfair that the group responsible for selecting the new vendor did not ask for a wide range of student or faculty input because of a district business policy.

Business Services Director Mariles Magalong said the name of the vendor cannot be disclosed because of the college business policy states that releasing information could affect the looming Governing Board decision on May 25.

After the contract is approved, Magalong said the new food vendor, selected by a small group of administrators and ASU members, will be announced on contracosta.edu and will be housed in the Campus Center building, along with Subway and the college’s culinary arts department, beginning this fall.

Committee members and others involved in the initial selection who are refusing to provide information may want to let people know, but because of the opaque business policy they are told to keep quiet or risk having the board shoot down the contract.

Being inclusive would have been simple. Administrators could have asked the Student Life Office to create an online survey, send it to students and faculty and then analyze the results after a few weeks.

But the ad-hoc Food Vendor Committee has already sifted through multiple proposals, tasted various dishes and sent the finalist to the district for approval. So why not tell the community which business was chosen to serve us? It seems unreasonable for a group to withhold information that affects such a large portion of the campus community — not just students.

It is especially concerning that we won’t know what kind of food the new vendor sells when the options on campus, except some of the meals served at the Three Seasons, are reflective of the surrounding food desert that is Richmond/San Pablo.

A food desert occurs in a low-income area that has a disproportionate number of fast food outlets, liquor stores and few supermarkets.

Both the Bookstore and Subway lack healthy, fresh food that students need to stay energized throughout the day. Three Seasons sometimes has vegan or vegetarian options, but not consistently. And it closes early.

Night students are even less well off.

They have to resort to getting food off campus, or from the vending machine in the Liberal Arts Building.

College President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, who was one of the people involved in the vendor interviews and taste-testing, said that the new vendor will be a healthy and tasty alternative to the present options.

While that is comforting, the campus community should have been asked what kind of new food vendor we would like to see in the new building, especially after being limited to only three for so long.

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

■ FINANCIAL AID

Loans reach capacity, prevent graduation A

nother school year is winding down.

Graduation caps and gown orders have been made and preparations for finals are less than a month away.

As people build up the joyous feeling of completion as the semester’s end comes closer, they tend to neglect the amount of debt that also builds.

Debt can even prevent students from achieving completion and receiving their degrees.

College isn’t cheap.

If people are able to get financial aid, it won’t cover everything which is why student loans exists.

But what happens when the financial aid is maxed out and people are up to their necks in student loans?

Although college has a four-year time period, most students don’t necessarily finish in that amount of time.

Life gets in the way for most students, whether they are working to survive and pay for college or get delayed by trying to fulfill requirements.

I have a friend who is currently attending a CSU and graduated last year.

She was so proud to be walking the stage after a very stressful four years between trying to balance work, internships and school.

She had finally reached her goal, the goal most of us are striving and killing ourselves to receive: a college degree.

It is a piece of paper

She soon learned the reason was because she didn’t pay enough.

Her financial aid maxed out and her student loans exceeded her eligibility.

What do colleges expect students to do once they are unable to meet those financial requirements? with the graduate’s name With classes costing a and major he or she perlot per unit, how was she fected throughout their to pay for a class, including academic career. This is tuition and other fees? needed in order to go out She found a way to take and get a job that last class, but to her Debt so he or she surprise, she is no longer could start to able to view her grade. pay back what can Restrictions were placed is owed for on the school’s web access obtaining this even because of a balance of paper that sigprevent thousands of dollars due to nifies achievement. students the university.

She bought all the books The long and supplies required for hours of from that last class, but when studying — achieving it was time to receive her blood, sweat grade that was not an and tears comple- option.

— weren’t She has yet to receive enough to tion a degree that is rightfully purchase a hers because the school degree from and has decided she hasn’t paid the university.

Only paper receiving enough.

I don’t believe colleges of moneshould be allowed to estabtary value their lish restrictions to their could fulfill degrees. students. this request We need more ways to receive a than financial aid and paper of acaloans to fund education demic accomplishment.

This friend of mine had for students who lack the one more class left to take. money.

Schools shouldn’t preIt is a class that has nothing to do with her major but a vent students from viewing requirement of the school. their grades and not allow The excitement of grad- them to graduate due to uation didn’t last long once fees. she noticed how this one Mickalea Manuel is a staff class would be a reason she writer for The Advocate. would not yet receive that piece of paper she worked Contact her at mmanuel. theadvocate@gmail.com. so hard for.

mickaleamanuel

CAMPUS COMMENT

Which food vendors would you like to see added on campus?

“A taco truck. Tacos sound pretty good right now.”

“A taco truck is needed. Period.”

Andy De La Campa

Aaron Hernandez

psychology

criminal justice

“A fresh (juice) option like Jamba Juice would be a way better alternative to the soda offered around campus.”

“I would want to see Peet’s Coffee here.

Students need to stay awake.”

“Starbucks Coffee.

The pastries would be a good addition to the campus food (options).”

“Rosco’s Ice Cream truck. It has ice cream dipped in hydrogen. It’s good.”

Adamaris Cabrera

Ly Tran

Yinghoui Liu

Justin Renedinos

business XAVIER JOHNSON AND DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

history

business

automotive services

campusbeat Follow The Advocate

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 4.27.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

GREENWAY | Local park, trail receives renovation Continued from Page 1

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3

where we orient people about what it is like to go to work,” he said. “I get to send people who live here, but have never even seen the ocean, to Yellowstone.”

El Cerrito High student Aktar Zaman, who participated in the event, said, “I have always enjoyed helping people. I like to use my time helping my community. If we can help each other out, the world gets better.”

According to www.arborday.org, planting trees can have many effects on communities and its people by increasing property value as much as 20 percent, improving air quality, and even lowering stress levels indicated by blood pressure levels and muscle tension.

Holmes said Richmond Groundwork plans to plant 750 trees this year in about 12,000

potential planting areas in Richmond.

“Vacancies, or holes, in rich areas would already have trees in them,” Holmes said.

“Poor neighborhoods have fewer trees,” he said. “In rich areas trees are seen as commodities and in poor areas they are seen as maintenance items.”

He said that the culture of parks is changing from them being thought of as special to rural areas, to a place where people can go in their own urban neighborhoods.

“The whole idea that you can only go to Yosemite or Yellowstone for your nature isn’t true. You can do that right here at Alvarado Park. If our work is meaningful, and we’re passing on parks like Yosemite or local parks in Richmond, they need to be accessible to all.”

The Green Team also aims to make long term changes with members moving on and

“Poor neighborhoods have fewer trees. In rich areas, trees are seen as commodities and in poor areas they are seen as maintenance items.”

Matt Holmes,

deputy director of groundwork Richmond

obtaining jobs within parks departments and civil work groups, Holmes said.

“Working in California you’re working with a diverse group,” he said, “A lot of agencies in the conservation movement don’t have a workforce that reflects the nation. They don’t have the diversity to respond to the challenges of the upcoming decades.”

NEWSLINE CANVAS | Training workshops offer needed insight LIBRARY

ANNUAL USED BOOK SALE OCCURS IN MAY Friends of the Contra Costa College Library will be hosting its annual used book sale in the Library and Learning Resource Center by the fireplace on Tuesday through May 5.

Times for the sales are from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 4 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 5.

Friends of the CCC Library members will have a preview sale on the morning of May 3 from 9 a.m. to noon.

All proceeds will go to the Library to improve its collection, services and programs.

For more details, Library department Chairperson Judy Flum at jflum@contracosta.edu.

PUENTE PROJECT

PROGRAM TO RECRUIT WITH ORIENTATION The Puente Project is recruiting for fall 2016’s Puente courses on Monday from 12:30-1:30 p.m. and on May 18 from 3:30-4:30, in the SSC Room A. Students who attend the orientation will learn about the Puente project and its mission.

In order to qualify for the program, students must attend an orientation, be eligible for English 142B, have an interest in transferring and a commitment to participate in all programs including field trips, social events and mentoring.

For more information, contact Puente counselor Norma ValdezJimenez at nvaldez-jimenez@contracosta.edu.

CRIMEWATCH Monday, April 11: Police Services received a report of an incident that occurred on April 6 in the Student Services Center. The student was suspended.

Tuesday, April 12: No reports were taken on this date.

Friday, April 15: No reports were taken on this date.

Monday, April 18: A staff member reported a male inside the Women’s Locker Room.

No suspect was located.

— Roxana Amparo and Marci Suela

CORRECTION In the April 20 issue of The Advocate on page 6, in the story titled, “Operations Council bans hoverboard use outright,” the Governing Board approved the hoverboard ban, not the Operations Council.

In the same issue of The Advocate on page 2 in the editorial titled “District puts money first,” Police Services Corporal Tom Holt is listed as the Contra Community College District’s corporal. Holt is only CCC’s corporal, not the district’s.

The Advocate regrets these errors.

Continued from Page 1 sign up for the summer sessions,” she said. “But the (Canvas) webinars are only available to 20 professors who have already signed up.”

Flum said the April 4 email sent to Chavarria and other professors who have experience teaching online or hybrid courses is to schedule the two-part, three-hourlong webinar led by Instructure Inc. support representatives.

“There are various dates in April, May and even June,” she said. “But the training must take place within 90 days.”

Art professor Bonnie Holt said she just completed the first portion of the Canvas webinar and said while the online learning platform is not without its own problems, it is a “huge improvement” compared to Desire2Learn.

She said the biggest problems with Desire2Learn are the email system only informed students that they had an email without displaying the content of the message, and its lack of a 24/7 support center.

“My biggest problem with D2L

“Students can gain access to emails or assignments from their cell phone or (tablet).They no longer have to log into a desktop.”

Bonnie Holt, art professor

is that we got little feedback from the company’s support desk. It has become less and less as the contract comes to an end,” Holt said.

“But we can depend on Canvas 24/7. We no longer have to rely on Technology Systems Manager James Eyestone to get help for every little thing.”

She and Chavarria both agree that the most beneficial aspect of Canvas is that students will be able to access the program on their smartphones or tablets.

“Students can gain access to emails or assignments from their cellphone or (tablet),” Holt said.

“They no longer have to log into a desktop. This is a huge improvement because everything can be linked to your (mobile device).

It is a new way to communicate between the professor and students.”

Academic Senate member, and administration of justice professor Rick Ramos said he endorsed Canvas because it allows courses to be moved over to the next semester without having to manually reset dates, and it has a user-friendly grader and a simple communication functionality.

Chavarria said the ability for students to access Canvas on their cellphones will help professors take advantage of technology instead of it being a disturbance during class.

“Cellphone use in class has been a problem,” he said, “especially when students are on their phones a lot. It is hard trying to make students keep (cellphones) away, so why not include this technology in the learning process?”

Ramos said he is especially impressed that Canvas allows students throughout the state to take courses offered at CCC through an online course exchange program through the California Community College Chancellor’s Office’s Online Education Initiative (OEI).

“CCC struggles with FTES (state funding per 15 units). But OEI course exchange gives us the opportunity to teach courses to students from across the state and bring in needed revenue,” he said.

“And Canvas is a lot easier to use than D2L.” The switch from Desire2Learn to Canvas has been approved at all three campuses by the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board on Jan. 27.

The district has adopted Canvas as its primary online learning platform free of charge through OEI. State Vice Chancellor for Communications Paul Feist said OEI will provide Canvas’ online services to colleges at no cost until the 2018-19 academic year.

Statewide OEI Program Director Steve Klein said, “When we say (Canvas) is free or at no cost to colleges there is a cost — just that the (OEI) project is able to cover those costs.”

Feist said the state is projected to spend $10 million over the first two years and then will pay $10 per student enrolled at the college to help compensate costs for the district.

AL-MASRI |‘Conscientious’ dean aims to help people Continued from Page 1 community learn how to support college goals, outcome measures and information related to suggestions to improve overall student success.

She is now part of CCC’s Equity Task Force focusing on equalizing academic success across all student populations.

As an example, equity funds set aside for Per Ankh Academy, which Al-Masri oversees, are used to enhance the educational and cultural experiences of CCC African-American students, helping this targeted population.

Developing her role as dean With a teaching background, Al-Masri has a deeper understanding of what professors do in the classroom, astronomy professor Jon Celesia said.

He said her experiences help her understand what students and faculty need to be able to work effectively and efficiently in the classroom.

Al-Masri said, “This (NSAS) division is not about me at all. It is about the faculty. They are on the frontlines with the students.”

When she arrived on campus last summer, she took it upon herself to form connections with students and faculty to create a better learning and working environment.

NSAS Administrative Assistant Maritza Guerrero said Al-Masri cares about the people she serves.

“She always wants to make sure the students are well off and has conversations with them.

She will address the concerns of students in confidentiality so they feel comfortable with who they are trusting.”

When Al-Masri first arrived at the college, Celesia said, “It was scary with a new dean. But we’ve been very pleased, and I think everyone agrees.”

Al-Masri said her commitment to students is ingrained in what she does on a daily basis as dean.

She said, “Education is never a waste. You can have a lot of things taken away from you, but no one can take (away) your education.”

She came from a family where her mother’s biggest accomplishment was receiving a seamstress certificate from the Singer Corporation manufacturing factory in Lebanon, which was seen as the “highest achievement” in the family.

Al-Masri said even though it didn’t seem like a lot, it was something that made them proud. But she knew she wanted to aim higher.

Her mother was taken out of school and denied an education while in fourth grade.

“She never got an opportunity (to get an education) and that’s why she pushed it in me,” Al-Masri said.

She said her mother was a big influence in shaping her identity as a woman.

Al-Masri said her mother said to her, “You’re born with a disability, like a bird with a broken wing.” She said that was her way of telling her daughter that this is a man’s world; a patriarchy,

“Education is a path to helping people not be refugees.”

Ghada Al-Masri,

natural, social and applied sciences dean

and to overcome barriers caused by being a woman, she had to compensate through education.

“Education is a path to helping people not be refugees,” she said.

Al-Masri and her family were living in Santa Ana, California in February of 1974 when she was 4 and half years old.

When she was 6 years old, she was beginning to understand what her father meant when he urged her to learn English at school while she was young.

She said she remembers her father restricting her from speaking Arabic, their native language, in their home after having to retake kindergarten for not understanding English.

“I kept getting mixed up with Arabic. The English numbers looked like Arabic letters,” she said. “I was not supposed to speak any of the first languages I had learned. The problem was that my mother only knew Arabic.”

So, in order for Al-Masri to grasp the English language, she was forbidden to speak Arabic at home.

Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Grants and Metas Program Director Mayra Padilla said Al-Masri’s experiences help her relate to students who come from similar backgrounds of poverty and having to immigrate to a different country, leaving their homeland behind.

Dr. Padilla said previous deans have not been as insightful about a lot of information about Latinos and their backgrounds and struggles while at a community college. She said Al-Masri came to the college aware of the challenges these students face.

Al-Masri said students don’t recognize that they have the opportunity to get an education.

She said even she didn’t recognize that she was given the chance to receive a great education while an undergraduate student at UC Irvine.

She said students sometimes blame themselves for failing a class without considering factors that may limit their success, like their lives at home, relationships and transportation issues.

She said professors may not be teaching in ways that students feel comfortable learning.

First-hand experiences shape perspective Al-Masri said her perception on education shifted when Liisa Malkki, her anthropology professor at UC Irvine while an undergraduate in 1992, inspired her to look at things differently.

Malkki’s research project was on Hutu exiles from Burundi and Rwanda taking refuge in Montreal and other parts of Canada after the genocide in the African Great Lakes region.

Al-Masri said she was interested in the various ways people become refugees.

As an associate professor for global studies at Marymount University in Rancho Palos Verdes, prior to taking a job in the California community college system, Al-Masri visited the United Nations in New York City with 18 students representing a nongovernmental organization at U.N. meetings on food, agriculture and world hunger.

When working in the political science department at Marymount from 2010-13, she said she realized she wanted to work in a position that supported faculty in and out of their classrooms.

“It was so natural for me. I came to understand that if it doesn’t feed back to the community it comes from, it should feed back into it.”

Padilla said Al-Masri’s experiences also help her see how a college’s policies and procedures will impact its most vulnerable students.

She said Al-Masri has a strong sense of social justice and understands that equity does not mean treating every student the same, but means treating people in unique ways that will help them succeed.

She said she advocates for students’ necessities, such as an emergency grant from equity funds to help students with book loans, daycare, food and transportation costs.

Al-Masri said she wants to make sure she is a resource for faculty and if she doesn’t know something she will find an answer.

“Faculty and students see her as an ally,” Padilla said.

Making herself available for faculty and students’ educational needs, Al-Masri said teaching is something she loves.

Electronics Technician Jeffrey Kamalian, who works in the NSAS Division, said deans are meant to support faculty and students.

He said Al-Masri is focused on the important material needed to be covered during division meetings.

“She is conscientious about campus procedures and always appears to be on point,” he said. “It is hard to find that.”

The priority she gives to students and faculty allows her to form connections with those she is serving. She said she wants to help students succeed not only by helping them recognize their educational challenges, but also by helping them figure out how to overcome those challenges.

Al-Masri said she cares about the students she serves and wants to impact the college at least “a little.”

“I was always an outsider,” she said.

She and her family fled Lebanon just prior to the beginning of its civil war and took refuge in Mexico City in December of 1973. Al-Masri came to the U.S. at the age of 4.

“Mexico gave me and my family status. And I remember being smuggled through the U.S. border,” she said.

“I was a refugee.”

campusbeat Retrofit set to commence 4

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 4.27.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

Knox Center to update ADA regulation, seismic stability

BY Benjamin Bassham NEWS EDITOR

bbassham.theadvocate@gmail.com

Seismic and ADA retrofit and general upgrades to the John and Jean Knox Center for the Performing Arts will be done over the summer, Eric Chiu, construction manager for Critical Solutions, said.

Theater Staging Specialist Travis Hiner and Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said the main task is making the Knox Center safer in an earthquake, but more will be done to modernize the building and meet legal requirements.

King said the seismic work will be “stuff you don’t see,” including support beams on the roof and in the walls.

He said, “They did similar work in the (Biology and Physical Sciences buildings), but you probably don’t notice it.”

Hiner said the overt work improves ADA accessibility and adds ADA seating. The bathrooms will be replaced, a new bathroom added in the lobby and the lighting ballasts, which are out of code and unsafe, will be replaced.

Hiner said an electric sign will be added to the building’s exterior, much like the one by the football field.

Hiner said the sound booth at the back of the theater, originally designed to show eight-millimeter film — not for all the theater’s music and sounds — used temporary risers to let people see out of the small opening for decades will be updated.

Chiu said the office, three raised platforms and storage space in the backstage will be torn down and replaced.

Hiner, who has worked at the Knox Center in that office since January, said the office is an odd, weathered little place that bears the marks of many years of use by eclectic personalities.

“It’ll be nice to have something new,” King said. “It’s history in the breaking.”

King said the work was supposed to be done a year ago, but re-planning for the addition of the sign, and the ADA requirements, delayed it until now.

Hiner said, “A lot of the issues they have are because it’s a theater. It’s tall and different from an average building.”

Chiu said, “A small amount of lead and asbestos were found by the district’s

testing consultant.”

King said, “(Asbestos) is in everything from before 1973. It was the approved and preferred construction method.”

The Environmental Protection Agency started restricting asbestos in 1973, and has slowly tightened regulation since then, but it is still not banned in the U.S. King said the presence of asbestos and lead in floor tiles and on the roof is both unsurprising and not a cause for concern. Asbestos spray-insulation is dangerous just to be near, but most is safe so long as it is undisturbed. For asbestos to cause harm, particles of it have to be inhaled.

The work on the Knox Center will disturb it, but King said, “It’s part of construction (in) any project we touch.

We have to take normal precautions and bring in a professional removal company.”

Workers had the same problem doing the retrofits for the Biology and PS buildings, and when working on the Knox Center’s stage rigging, he said.

King said the Knox Center has just

finished its project to replace the theater’s rigging and counterweight system for moving lights, curtains and scenery.

Hiner said the system was as old as the Knox Center itself, opened in 1980.

King said the 35-year-old system had outlived its life expectancy and was unsafe and not remotely up-to-code.

Hiner said the ropes were weak from age, and some battens couldn’t be used safely. He said the new system is similar to the old, but with improved utility and three electric battens. King said the change-out was done over the winter break, without disrupting classes.

He said about 10 contractors walked through on March 1 to see what needs to be done, and make bids for the work.

Chiu said Cal Pacific Construction Inc. is the apparent low bidder, and the district is reviewing its bid documentation.

He said if the documents are in order the Governing Board will give them a notice of award today.

It is expected the contractor will get the notice to proceed on, or around, May 9, with construction starting in late May or early June, and finishing in September.

EARTH DAY PROMOTES REDUCTION, CLEAN AIR

BY Roxana Amparo ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

Three hundred insulated lunch bags, each with seeds, a water bottle and a PG&E sticker were handed out to passing students to promote the importance of an eco-friendly community.

“It’s to help the environment because it is good to make people aware of these things. And any little thing helps,” math professor Glenn Scott said.

Earth Day was hosted by the Sustainability Committee outside of the Applied Arts Building last Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to raise awareness about how to conserve energy.

“I think it is important to the student CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE body to not just do academic work, but PG&E Customer Relationship Manager Katherine Long (right) speaks to Gateway to College student Vilma Mendoza about also use fewer resources,” psychology major energy saving methods during the Earth Day event in front of the main entrance to the Applied Arts Building on Thursday.

Jeilo Gauna said.

According to the Environmental “If we can do little things like plant things, designs for Earth Day, but it didn’t arrive on service option to qualify.

Protection Agency, the average household’s we can make the Earth a greener place,” time.

Scott said Earth Day shows the campus’ leaks can account for more than 10,000 Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King Instead, they used the standard filament spirit and allows them to raise awareness gallons of water wasted each year. said. to attract students to their table and promote about climate change and other environmen“I lessen the use of water by showering King, who chairs the Sustainability their club. tal issues. the Filipino way,” Gauna said.

Committee, said next year it will provide Promoting cleaner modes of transit like Representatives from Republic Services, He said his family uses a big tub of water more insulated lunch bags for students since riding a bike, carpooling or walking was a waste management company in Richmond and a cup to reduce the use of water in their they ran out during the first hour. the focus of 511 Contra Costa, a county- handed out pamphlets with sustainability home.

“We had better stuff than last year,” he wide Transportation Demand Management tips and water conservation methods printed PG&E Customer Relationship Manager said.

(TDM) program. on recycled scraps of food.

Katherine Long said she came to provide This year, students were attracted to the Bike racks that were installed on campus Richmond High student Alejandra students with safety tips to raise awareness Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers by 511 Contra Costa were highlighted by Martinez said she recycles and uses less water about keeping the Earth a more sustained Club table to witness a 3D print of a Batman volunteers. when showering because she is aware of how place. logo.

Scott was helping promote the college’s much water is wasted.

She said she used an information wheel SHPE Vice President Anthony Garcia said carpool services that started during spring Martinez said she was visiting the campus as a fun way of getting students interested the logo could take up to 25 minutes or more 2015, but had a lack of students sign up this and was drawn to the PG&E table to collect a in asking questions to learn about ways to to print depending on the size. year. handbag and sunflower seeds. save energy.

The engineering major said the 3D printer The students must be enrolled in at least Scott said sometimes students are skeptiShe was also giving out PG&E hand should have been loaded with biodegradable one class, and must have at least two other cal about stuff being given away, but it makes bags, sunflower seeds and pens. filament as a source for printing eco-friendly CCC students interested in using the carpool them stop to see what is going on.

Completion signals transition into GE Building

BY Edwin Herrera STAFF WRITER

eherrera.theadvocate@gmail.com

As the construction of the Campus Center and Classroom Project’s buildings comes closer to completion, many faculty and staff members are gearing up for the move with their offices being relocated into the General Education Building.

The GE Building will house all faculty and staff offices currently on the first floor of the Liberal Arts Building.

Three of the divisions will also move into the building: Library, Allied Health, Vocational Training, and Athletics (LAVA); Liberal Arts (LA) and Natural, Social and Applied Sciences (NSAS).

The move into the new offices will be completed by the end of July this year.

All offices will be supplied with new furniture, storage and computers.

Last fall, faculty completed plans for the GE Building and organized the office selection process by seniority.

With the space on each floor, offices and classrooms will be dedicated to each division.

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE

LA Division Dean Jason Berner said the building is a three-story structure with the first floor containing the faculty offices of the LAVA Division.

The second floor provides space for LA Division faculty offices and the top floor will house those for the NSAS Division.

Due to the amount of space on each floor, half will be used

for offices and the other portion will consist of classrooms for the respective divisions.

“It’s pretty straightforward.

People have been told to pack up their things for the summer if they are not going to be here in the summer,” Berner said.

There are concerns, however, as the LA Building currently houses maps and artifacts for the

LEFT: The GE Building will house faculty and staff offices currently on the first floor of the Liberal Arts Building.

All offices will be supplied with new furniture, storage and computers, with the move expected to be completed by the end of July.

anthropology classes that will need special handling when moving, he said.

Overall, he said the transition will be smooth.

Berner said the space of the offices will be small but “the big plus is that staff will not be sharing offices” as they currently are.

Adjunct speech professor Jason Kane is excited to move into the

new building.

“The GE Building is beautiful.

The red brick exterior looks so good,” he said. “Any college campus that has red brick buildings to me is just beautiful.”

Business Services Director Mariles Magalong, who serves as Contra Costa College’s liaison to the construction and moving crew, said furniture is currently being installed and is on schedule.

She said NOR-CAL Moving Services will be in charge of moving and installing everything for faculty and staff.

“Everything is on track with the buildings. As for the safety of the building due to concerns over the frequent gas leaks that have been happening on campus, it won’t be an issue,” she said.

“The contractors inspected the building thoroughly. A punch walk will occur before the building is ready for public use, checking every possible problem area.”

On a punch walk the contractor completes a checklist of incomplete items. That list is reviewed by building inspectors.

The deadline for the completion of the move is Aug. 12, when fall semester classes start.

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ASU helps with food vendor selection Decision to be posted on district website

BY Denis Perez ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

dperez.theadvocate@gmail.com

As students go through their day on Contra Costa College’s campus, hunger drives them to one of just three options, — Subway, the Bookstore, or the Three Seasons Restaurant.

While members of the Associated Student Union helped select one new food vendor to bring to Contra Costa College, they cannot presently provide any information about that vendor because of the college business policy, Vice President of Club Affairs Safi Ward-Davis said.

The contract is slated to be approved by the Contra Costa Community College Governing Board at its meeting on May 25 Business Services Director Mariles Magalong said.

The new food vendor will be located in the Cafeteria in the new College Center building once it is completed before the 2016 fall semester.

District senior Buyer Ben Cayabayab said he is unable to reveal the name of the food vendor selected after an interview and taste test in AA-217 on April 11 because it is protected by the college’s business policy.

Francis Samson, an ASU senator who was present at the taste-testing interview, said that the announcement will be made on the college website after the contract is approved.

CCC President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said the new vendor will satisfy the dietary needs of students here.

Mehdizadeh said that the interview included a food tasting between two vendors.

The food’s taste, along with how healthy it is, played a role in the decision of which vendor they chose, she said.

The Three Seasons Restaurant is located on the second floor of the Applied Arts Building and is one of the few alternatives to Subway’s sandwiches, or the Bookstore’s snacks.

Some students like Carlos Campos, an automotive major, said he can eat just Subway, the only outside food vendor located in campus, every day.

NORA ALKRIZY / THE ADVOCATE

Students will soon have multiple food options on campus with the completion of the College Center building in the fall of 2016.

A new food vendor is scheduled to be approved by the Governing Board on May 25 with more specifics to be revealed later.

“Sometimes the (Three Seasons) quality (of food) is not the best.” — Amar Isa , biology major “I don’t mind,” Campos said.

However, not everyone has an appetite that can settle with a repetitive diet.

“Jared, the Subway guy, can, but I can’t eat Subway every day,” Diego Gomez, an undecided major, said.

The other options on campus are also hit or miss among hungry students with little time between classes.

“Sometimes the (Three Seasons) quality (of food) is not the best,” Amar Isa, a biology

major, said.

Isa said some of the food sold at the Three Seasons Restaurant could be made with better care as she points to her cold Chicken Stir fry noodles. “It is cold, and inedible, but I’m hungry.”

Sakeema Payne, fine and media arts major, said the prices for Three Seasons burger and fries went up, but the portion was cut.

Freddy Delgado, undecided, said that not having many choices of food on campus tempts him to leave campus to get something to eat, but wastes a lot of time. Delgado said that there should be more variety of food choices on campus.

Basil Thompson, psychology major, said there are not many healthy choices on campus or choices for students after the Three Seasons Restaurant closes at 1 p.m., and there are none when the Bookstore and Subway close by 6 p.m.

But there are always alternatives to bypass the lack of food on campus like bringing food from home like Binu Guatam, a biology major.

Guatam said she always brings food from home because it is just easier.

Student Bryan Rodriguez said he isn’t affected by the lack of choices because he is not on campus all day and doesn’t have to worry about buying food on campus.

Free dinner generates fellowship Students given chance to dine with faculty

BY Xavier Johnson ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

Night students have dealt with a lack of food options since construction on the Campus Center began more than two years ago.

All three food options —the Three Seasons Restaurant, Subway and the campus Bookstore — are closed by the time they arrive on campus for evening classes.

So, to help students who arrive at Contra Costa College once the food vendors are closed, the Associated Student Union treated them to a dinner in AA-117 on Monday.

“Dinner With Faculty” was organized by the ASU to give night students a meal and allow them to become familiar with other students, faculty, and Police Services, Vice President of Club Affairs Safi Ward-Davis said.

This is the third time the ASU has sponsored a “Dinner With Faculty.” The first was held in December 2015.

A $300 budget was allocated for the event, but less than $200 was spent, Ward-Davis said.

Hungry students filled the room on the bottom floor of the Applied Arts Building to fill their stomachs with chicken pasta, a side of salad and garlic bread prepared by culinary arts department and served by ASU members.

For a small event, the student turnout was sizable. Students and faculty crowded the three long tables stocked with food and refreshments.

Student Life Coordinator Erika Greene said it is important to let night students feel like they are a part of the campus community too.

Greene said the event is also a good way for students to speak with Police Services officers, who have attended

each dinner, and become comfortable with them.

The students in attendance seemed to appreciate the dinner.

Economics major Thomas Nowrouz was at “Dinner with Faculty” and said it is great for people who may not feel included in many of the events that happen during the day. ”Typically night students don’t get together and socialize, so it was nice for us to be together,” Nowrouz said.

Davis said the previous two dinners were such a success that students wanted the event again.

“The feedback was very positive.

Students liked the interaction with faculty and Police Services (officers),” she said.

ASU President Nakari Syon said, “I really want this event to be a reoccurring and growing thing, maybe monthly, for night students.”

CCC alumna Telshaia Hemry was a night student.

Hemry said she had a hard time getting food on campus.

“Most night students are working Syon adults or have kids or both. It’s nice to have a meal at night,” she said.

“It’s great too because some professors are strict, so you can’t even snack in class.”

Biology major Gagan Sidhu said the event is important because it recognizes night students, and lets them know they are valued.

Arius Robinson, ASU senator, said the event was good.

“It was nice to get night students some much-needed food.”

UNION CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY, LEGACY

BY Christian Urrutia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

currutia.theadvocate@gmail.com

The United Faculty reminded students that faculty working conditions equate to student learning conditions by treating them to free barbecue on Wednesday, in front of the Applied Arts Building near the chess tables.

This was done to honor its 40th anniversary operating as the independent, (contract) negotiating union for faculty districtwide.

“We’re throwing a party, buying everyone lunch. We’ve got some UF swag to hand out (to staff and faculty) and wanted to let students know the UF fights for students’ rights and we wanted to celebrate (good) moments that we have had as a union and reflect on our history in the district,” UF Executive Director Jeffrey Michels said.

UF representatives worked in collaboration with the culinary arts department to prepare food for classified staff and managers, faculty and students, enough to feed 426 people in total, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., when the food had disappeared.

UF President Donna Wapner handed out tickets to everyone lined up to keep count while three other tents were set up in the

quad — one for live music, another for the ASU and the third for students and faculty alike to sit under.

Culinary arts department Chairperson Nader Sharkes said, “Jeff asked me to help out and cook enough food for 300 people but we went and did 350 anyway because we always add extra to (event orders) like these.

We had proof (with the tickets) that we ran out of food. People were still in line, so we had to make some more salad quickly for those still waiting.”

The food consisted of hot dogs, chicken skewers, potato salad, green salad and salmon, while water and fruit juice were offered adjacent to the servers.

Fruits were provided as a side, and deserts were mini raspberry flavored Danishes.

Students first began lining up when Dr. Michels set up the UF stand and table at the top of the Lot 11 staircase, until the line became too long and spilled into the parking lot.

It was then, that the line switched from going down the staircase to between the tables and tents, where it was able to extend farther without causing too much of an interference.

John Martinez, liberal arts major, said

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Culinary arts major Troy Yonkey tends to salmon kebabs during the United Faculty Barbecue event near the chess tables in front of the Applied Arts Building on Wednesday. The event featured entertainment as well as free lunches for students.

he was originally in the AA Building to purchase Food and Wine Event tickets for this past Sunday’s gathering, but was told by culinary arts students there was going to be free food, come 11:30 a.m.

“They said free food for the first 300 students, (although) they didn’t tell me what it was for,” Martinez said.

The CCC barbecue is the first in a series of three lunchtime celebrations honoring the UF’s 40th year, with the next two tak-

ing place at Diablo Valley College in their outdoor commons today from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at Los Medanos College May 4 in their outside quad area from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Wapner said, “(The district’s) United Faculty is an independent union and was the first independent faculty union in the state. We wanted to celebrate with this great (lunch).”

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LEFT: Richmond resident Darlene Drapkin samples a glass of wine from the Grigich Hills Estates collection during the 9th Annual Food and Wine Event in the Gymnasium on Sunday.

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Food, wine draw community Culinary fundraises for study abroad program in Italy

By Roxana Amparo ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

I

n order to fund the culinary arts department’s students’ study abroad scholarship to Italy, wine, cakes, pastas and other delicacies enticed donors along with community members in support of the 9th Annual Food and Wine Event.

An estimated $40,000 was raised during the Food and Wine Event from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Gymnasium, culinary arts instructional assistant Angel Chau said.

Culinary arts department Chairman Nader Sharkes said the cost per student for the twoweek Italian experience is nearly $8,000.

“It is important to support the culinary program because the students are raising money for the Italy trip,” San Pablo community member Mariane Basilio said.

She said she and her family attend the events mainly for the food, not so much for the wine.

Sharkes said the targeted population is adults, mainly because of the wine and the price of admission. Pre-purchased tickets were $35 and general admission was $40 at the door.

Sharkes said it is a year-long effort for the planning of the sold out event.

Chau said they sold about 500 tickets and are waiting for other attendants to pay for early

RSVPs. Numerous items were auctioned off in the name of education, including wine, gift certificates, hotel accommodations, glassware and fish.

Twenty pounds of raw cob, 10 pounds of salmon, 10 pounds tilapia and more were on the list to be auctioned.

Kinesiology major and dancer Andrew Lily was a dancer in one of the performances during the event.

Lily said, “Everyone has put in quite a bit of effort on the details. The servers here are using lint rollers to remove the lint from their aprons.

That’s how much preparation is going into this event.”

The 43 vendors prepared for the estimated 900 people in attendance.

Chau said they had to use the Gymnasium to have enough space for the guests.

The background echoed with the sounds of classical music as guests were treated to a waltz and a bachata dance performance by Natalia Clarke’s dance class.

Administration of justice department Chairperson Rick Ramos said he and his band try to support their colleagues and elected to play for free at the event.

His band, the GTS, is a funk soul group that specializes in music ranging from the 60s-80s, as well as contemporary hits.

“We hope to gain recognition as well as let people know we are from a small town, but we have amazing food. We are actually a hot spot in our community.”

— Gregory Roemer, Moraga Country Club executive chef

Hilltop Ukulele Lovers Academy Director Debbie Cyr said they performed Ukulele in order to support the community her husband was part of when he was a part of the college.

“He became disabled and formed his first Ukulele group at the YMCA in Hilltop,” Cyr said.

The food vendors in attendance provided samples of their dishes.

Many of the vendors and food preparers in attendance were once part of the Contra Costa College culinary arts program and returned to give back to an established institution.

Executive Chef at Moraga Country Club Gregory Roemer said he is an alumni of the culinary arts program and wanted to be part of the event to give back to the community.

He served tuna tar tar fusion with Mediterranean and bahn mi slider with pathai.

“We hope to gain recognition as well as let people know that we are from a small town but we have amazing food. We are actually a hot spot in our community,” he said.

PLAY DENOUNCES HATE, SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION ‘The Laramie Project’ captures anti-gay crime

By Perla Juarez STAFF WRITER

pjuarez.theadvocate@gmail.com

M

ore than 5,000 anti-gay hate crimes were reported last year, according to the FBI. “The Laramie Project” illustrates one case of anti-gay hate crime, the media attention surrounding it and the people affected by the occurrence.

The documentary-style play analyzes the 1998 death of 21-year-old Matthew PLAY Shepard, an openly gay REVIEW college student who “The Laramie was brutally murdered Project” because of his sexual orientation.

Venue: Knox The stage crew used Center Directed by: a projector to make Angelina LaBarre the backgrounds and Open Until: April showed the audience 30 pictures of Shepard and the people in his life during one scene.

It was a good idea for them to show pictures of Shepard and his family because the audience got to see what they looked like, humanizing Shepard rather than him being just another victim of anti-gay hate crime.

The play, performed by Contra Costa College’s drama department, is an ethnodrama, which is an art-based methodology of dramatizing personal

events.

Performances of “The Laramie Project” will continue Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Knox Center, starting at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 for students and $15 for general admission.

The story draws on hundreds of interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyoming, the personal journal entries of the members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, published articles and television reports.

The play did not involve a lot of props, costumes or an elaborate set. It focused more on the words voiced by actors and lighting to set the tone of each scene.

They used different colors like pink to symbolize a church, and blue to symbolize rain.

On the stage was a fence to symbolize where Shepard was beaten to death by 21-year-olds Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson.

Afterward, the actors used a camera to film themselves interviewing each other and showed it on a projector, but the video was of poor quality.

The play involved a small cast of 11 students, so they all had to play multiple characters. At times it was confusing because they didn’t have costumes.

The other cast members had to announce the character they were playing before they spoke.

In Act 2, there was a scene where actors Armand Corshawn, Jelaine Maestas and Stacey Dearborn sang “Amazing Grace” for the funeral mass.

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

Sarah Piane performs a scene of “The Laramie Project” in the Knox Center.

Upcoming 7:30 p.m. performances are scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Their harmony echoed poignantly over Shepard’s death in the play.

During the song, in contrast, the rest of the cast members were a part of an anti-gay protest.

While some of them thought marriage and relationships should be between a man and woman, the others were dressed as angels ignoring the negative slurs by using earplugs.

Actress Kaity McCoy, who played a nurse in the second act, gave an excellence performance.

In the scene, she told reporters about Shepard’s status while he was in the hospital.

When she told them he passed away, the delicate tone of her voice and tearyeyed expression captured the essence of a painful loss of an innocent, young man.

That was a powerful moment during

the play for her and the audience.

One scene in Act 1 that stood out involved actors and actresses McCoy, Corshawn, Oz Herrera-Sobal and Sarah Piane.

The four played priests preaching their beliefs to the other cast members to convince the crowd to join one particular religion. It was a good scene because of the struggle to gain attention.

They stood on chairs to make sure the others and the audience knew the focus was on them.

Another powerful scene involved actors Derian Espinosa and HerreraSobal as Espinosa played the police officer interrogating Herrera-Sobal, who played one of the killers.

Espinosa’s authoritative tone captured the presence of an officer in charge. This was complemented by Herrera-Sobal’s carefree attitude.

sports

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“

DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES PREVENT WIN, CONSISTENCY

7

We knew Folsom was going to score runs, but when you walk 15 guys it’s tough to beat anybody.”

— Brian Guinn, Comet coach

Squad succumbs to third straight loss

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

The baseball team surrendered double-digit runs in its sixth straight game, this time in an 11-3 loss to Folsom Lake College Saturday at the Baseball Field.

Despite home runs in back-to-back innings by Contra Costa College second baseman John Velasco in the sixth and outfielder Evan Ray in the seventh, the Comet offense FALCONS struggled to manufacture runs for the majority of the game.

In an attempt to halt their two-game losing COMETS skid, Comet pitcher Jake Dent (4-3) started the game but was taken out of the game after the first inning because of issues with his right arm that began to affect his control.

“It was a rough day. We had to take Dent out because of his shoulder,” Comet coach Brian Guinn said. “We knew Folsom was going to score runs, but when you walk 15 guys it’s tough to beat anybody.”

Folsom takes the second most walks in the Bay Valley Conference notching 116 free bases this season.

The Comets (11-20 overall, 7-14 in the BVC) return to play Thursday taking on Solano Community College at 2:30 on the Baseball Field.

Folsom (22-12 overall, 17-5 in the BVC) took advantage of the Comets’ early pitching woes, pouncing on the squad in the first inning to gain a 2-0 lead in the process.

After stranding a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the first inning, Comet

11 3

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE

Comet pitcher Jake Dent unwinds a pitch during the Comets’ 11-3 loss to Folsom Lake College at the Baseball Field on Saturday. Dent was unable to stay in the game due to issues with his right arm that began to affect his control.

left-handed pitcher Sean Jackson took the hill to start the second inning.

Despite Folsom runners littering the base paths on multiple occasions with walks and well-placed singles after four innings the only run the Falcons added came on a muffed catch by Comet catcher James Hodgson.

Offensive efficiency for CCC has been a rarity this season. Over the past 12 games the team has only scored five runs or more in three of those contests.

The Falcons maneuvered three walks into two more runs in the fifth inning. CCC, now trailing 5-0, showed its first sign of offensive acumen after clawing its way on to the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth.

The Comets got their first run on a single by Hodgson, followed by a wild pitch to Bryan Perez that allowed Hodgson to advance to second base.

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A deep sacrifice fly to right field by Perez allowed for an easy tag-and-score for CCC. Down 5-1, the Comets found a spark through sixth inning lead off hitter — Velasco.

The Comet second baseman belted a solo shot over the left field fence, depositing the ball in the parking lot of the kindergarten school nearly one block down the street from the field.

Velasco has nine RBIs in his last four BVC games to account for half of the Comets’ 18 total runs scored.

“Instead of worrying about stats or prospects, I’ve just wanted to go out and have fun,” Velasco said. “I’ve had a more relaxed approach — just letting the game come to me.”

The Falcons responded with a blistering seventh inning that saw every Folsom batter get a chance to face Comet sophomore

pitcher David Gustafson after he replaced Jackson with two outs in the fifth inning.

After surrendering only one run in the sixth inning, Gustafson was removed after a rocky start to the seventh. He served up a single and four walks that ballooned the Falcon lead to 8-2.

With no outs, and the bases loaded, CCC left-handed pitcher Justin Tonge closed the inning allowing three more runs, giving Folsom an 11-2 advantage.

“We’ve been hitting pretty well. There has just been a lack of focus coming into games. It’s mostly inexperience. We have a lot of young players,” CCC outfielder Bryce Hutchings said.

Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Ray walloped a pitch over the same menacing left field fence. This time the ball pounded the roof of the Knox Center for his third home run of the season.

■ OFF THE RECORD

‘Asinine’ canons hide sports greatest shows

T

he Toronto Raptors defended their home court and ransacked the Philadelphia 76ers in the penultimate game of the 2015-16 NBA season.

With five seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Raptors led by 22 points.

Norman Powell, the leading scorer on the Raptors with 18 points, secured a steal in the waning seconds of the game. Powell proceeded to streak to the hoop and slam in a windmill dunk that electrified the home crowd, bringing the score to 122-98.

Because this play needlessly ran up the score, and Powell celebrated his dunk, it has been deemed unsportsmanlike by the traditionalist crowd.

This is the group that talks about the sanctity of the game and believes in unwritten rules.

While this play isn’t going to be debated by Stephen A. Smith or Skip Bayless on ESPN’s “First Take,” it is symbolic of a bigger topic in sports.

Just look at the reaction Cam Newton, Jose Bautista or Bryce Harper get for showboating and being expressive.

Pundits and fans complain about “classless” activities like running up the score, bat flips, and touchdown dances. This is ridiculous.

Sports are first and foremost entertainment. Sure, some people love to think of baseball or basketball as sacred games with honor that must be upheld by their privileged athletes.

But they’re not.

These so called unsportsmanlike activities don’t really matter. Who cares if the opponent does a gratuitous touchdown dance or flips the bat after a home run? These actions electrify the home crowd who each paid $100 or more to watch the game. People really think fans are just there to appreciate the pure art of the game?

Nah. Fans attend to be entertained.

Notice how in Carolina Cam Newton gets huge ovations after a touchdown with his signature dance? The hate only comes from the opposition.

If a player doesn’t want the opposing team to taunt they should play better. Witness a bat flip after a home run you gave up? Throw a better

xavierjohnson pitch. Tired of touchdown taunts?

Play better defense.

Newton dabbed his way to the Super Bowl looking seemingly unstoppable the entire season. He told opponents if they didn’t like it, they would have to stop him from scoring.

But no one stopped him on the field. The only thing they did was complain about Newton flexing on them after dicing up their defense.

Newton didn’t showboat in the Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos because they finally stopped him. Instead of whining about his antics, they actually stopped him.

Baseball, America’s former pastime, is the worst with these asinine unwritten rules. Fans’ brains short circuit at the sight of celebrations. If a player celebrates too much or violates the sacred unwritten rules they’ll get beaned by a fastball pitch.

Fans and players alike will act sanctimoniously when speaking out against celebrations. They love to speak about how baseball is better without the “look-at-me” attitude found in football or basketball.

That “look-at-me” attitude is the reason viewers of the NFL and NBA are younger and increasing in number while the MLB has an old and declining viewership. Fans want expressive personalities and a game that evolves with society.

Fans want to be entertained by great play as well as spectacle. These athletes are not just athletes, but performers as well.

Run up the score. Flip that bat. Do the dab, or whatever you want. Don’t like it? Then don’t suck.

Xavier Johnson is the assistant sports editor of The Advocate. Contact him at xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com.

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WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 4.27.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

RESTORING RICHMOND’S PARKS Photos by: Cody Casares FOR

ABOVE: Dancers from Teokalli, meaning house of creation, perform the opening ceremony during the Youth Service Day event along the Richmond Greenway at South 42nd Street and Ohio Avenue on Saturday.

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

LEFT: El Cerrito resident Christian Litsher digs a hole to plant a tree during the Youth Service Day event along the Richmond Greenway at South 42nd Street and Ohio Avenue on Saturday.

RIGHT: Dancers from Teokalli, meaning house of creation, perform an Aztec ceremony asking the land for permission to alter it during the Youth Service Day event along the Richmond Greenway at South 42nd Street and Ohio Avenue on Saturday.

ABOVE: Community members gathered at South 42nd Street and Ohio Avenue on Saturday to clean up and beautify the area during the Youth Service Day event along the Richmond Greenway.