The Advocate 8-24

WEDNESDAY l 8.24.16 OUR 67TH YEAR CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE SAN PABLO, CALIF.

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Students walk through the Campus Center Plaza between the Student and Administration Building and the General Education Building near Fireside Hall on Monday.

Despite completion of the Campus Center and Classroom Project, enrollment is down by 4.2 percent according to the Admission and Records fall 2016 report.

ENROLLMENT SLOWLY RISES Number of students enrolled increases during first two weeks of semester despite 4.2 percent drop since last year

BY Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.advocate@gmail.com

Contra Costa College’s fall 2016 enrollment is rising slowly as a team of college officials work together to increase the institution’s enrollment numbers.

Although the total student headcount is stable when compared to last fall, as of the first day of classes on Aug. 12, the number of FullTime Equivalent Students (FTES) has dropped by 4.2 percent from fall 2015, Admissions and Records Director Catherine Frost said.

Director of Business Services Mariles Magalong said, “The drop of about 89 FTES roughly translates to just over $400,000.”

College President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said the college receives about $5,000 per FTES. But as of the Aug. 17 Enrollment Report, the FTES number was down by 99 when compared to that date for fall 2015.

Mehdizadeh said this academic year’s goal, which includes the fall, spring and summer terms, is to reach 5,581 FTES. According to the Admissions and Records fall 2016 Enrollment Report, as of Aug. 17, 2,252 FTES have enrolled at CCC, falling slightly under half of the year’s enrollment goal. At the start of fall 2015 semester the number of FTES was 2,351.

Mehdizadeh said it is still too early in the semester to determine whether

the college goal is met.

Magalong said an enrollment drop results in decreased revenues (for a California community college) and enrollment increase results in increase revenues.

At the start of fall 2015 semester total student headcount was 6,377.

And at the start of fall 2016 semester headcount was 6,375.

Headcount decreased by only two students from fall 2015-16, according to the CCC’s Admissions and Records’ fall 2016 Enrollment Report.

California community colleges receive funding from the state by the number of Full-Time Equivalent Students who enroll. An FTES is SEE ENROLLMENT, PAGE 3

SQUAD AIMS TO EARN BOWL SHOT, BRING HOME TITLE

PROFESSORS BEGIN TO USE CANVAS, MELD TO PLATFORM

Challenges await the football team as the leap to a tougher conference will push players and coaches to their limits.

Hear from coach Alonzo Carter and some of the key players on the 2016 squad before Thursday’s scrimmage at Los Medanos College.

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.advocate@gmail.com

PAGE 7 DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Vendor quells hunger Pacific

BY Marci Suela

Dining

msuela.theadvocate@gmail.com

Food Co.

PokémonGO creates fervor among lifelong monster hunters PAGE 6 FACEBOOK: /accentadvocate

opens, meets demand for options on campus

ART DIRECTOR

When hunger strikes, a student’s stomach growls with complaint and can distract one’s mind as the need for sustenance clouds the thoughts of academic priorities.

English major Lauren Garcia recalls facing this situation last semester during her history class. During the lecture, she said she would position her body inward as she was taking notes to suppress the sounds echoing

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from inside her stomach.

“When the teacher is talking, it’s usually quiet in the room and everyone is paying attention to what he’s saying,” she said. “When my stomach started to growl, I tried hard to make (the sounds) stop by squeezing my stomach (muscles) because I was scared who would hear it.”

Since the opening of the new Cafeteria located within the just opened Student and Administration Building, Garcia relishes the variety SEE VENDOR, PAGE 3

TWITTER: @accentadvocate

ABOVE: Head chef Jason Rogers prepares automotive services major Ariel Rebollo’s burrito at Brix in the Cafeteria inside of the Student and Administration Building on Aug. 15.

YOUTUBE: /accentadvocate

Professors have the option to teach any of their courses using Desire 2 Learn or Canvas until the district makes the permanent switch to Canvas, an online learning management system, for the 2017 fall semester.

“Everyone in the district has to migrate (to Canvas) by fall 2017,” Contra Costa College President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said. “We will not have Desire 2 Learn. Our contract with them will expire June 2017.”

College Distance Education Coordinator Judith Flum said 79 professors have been to at least one training session since the college began its Canvas trial this past summer.

The district has not completely switched over from Desire 2 Learn so professors are not required to teach using Canvas, but one professor has gone fully online with Canvas, Flum said.

CCC English professor Robin Brooke Eubanks is not only the first professor in the district to teach all her three courses on Canvas this semester, but she is the first professor on campus to teach an English course fully online, SEE CANVAS, PAGE 3

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Quotable “A free press is the most important factor in the formation of public opinion and public control, and as such has a great role and responsibility.”

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

opinion

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2016 VOL. 104, NO. 1

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM

●

EDITORIAL REMODELING EDUCATION State, district support online growth through Canvas

C

anvas, the online learning platform recently approved for all 113 of California’s community colleges, will change higher education in the next 10 years more than any new buildings could.

Do not be mistaken. All it takes is one glimpse at the heart of the Contra Costa College campus to know it is transforming into a modern and beautiful facility again thanks to Measure A taxpayer dollars.

But changing how we learn, how we teach and how we think about education is our job as students and educators. We will reconfigure the mind of our campus and Canvas is the perfect tool to do it.

Canvas is an online learning platform that provides an intuitive communication system, merit system, grading tools, realtime video conferences, downloadable apps, mobile accessibility, 24/7 math and English tutoring services, and the potential to join a course exchange network including all 113 California community colleges.

Any college that joins the California Community College Chancellor’s Office Online Education Initiative (OEI) is provided with the tool to give students and their instructors a shared and interactive learning experience for free.

When the district adopted Canvas it did so at no cost until the 2018-19 college year, and at a discounted rate after.

The state has set these incentives to encourage its 113 community colleges to become used to the unifying online learning platform it selected — Canvas.

Professors can use either Canvas or Desire 2 Learn for their courses now, but they will be required to use Canvas at the start of the 2017 fall semester.

CCC President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said the $40,000 that the district would pay annually for such an online learning platform will be used to pay for more online course offering, and to train professors to use Canvas as the contract with Desire 2 Learn, which is being phased out, will not be renewed starting in June 2017.

This cornerstone to future students’ success districtwide was set when the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board decided to join OEI and implement Canvas on Jan. 23.

“A major endeavor over the last couple of years has been to have an online version of all general education courses,” Mehdizadeh said, “so students who find it difficult to get to our campus will have an opportunity to still enroll in online courses.”

Professors and students need to work together to make the most of the additional funding the district has for online education and improve the shared learning experience.

English professor Robin Brooke Eubanks, the first to teach an English class fully online at CCC using Canvas, said the idea of enrolling into college courses can be intimidating for people who have to work full time, have children or struggle academically.

Eubanks said, “But as online education develops and we get more (online) course offerings, students who would usually feel turned away by the traditional classroom will realize they can get an education too.”

Canvas is the harbinger of fundamental change in terms of how we understand education. We can embrace it, or get left behind.

MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

■ PROFESSION

Spreading knowledge is an art, not a job I’

m really not comfortable with people, and that’s something of a failure in a journalist.

Talking to new people is always uncomfortable, even when I’m not trying to extract information from them, so why did I get into this stressful field?

It wasn’t until the first day of my fourth semester that I figured out what I’m getting out of journalism.

My classmates were introducing themselves, some giving the reason they were taking the class. When it was my turn my thoughts crystallized.

I’m majoring in journalism because I find ideas fascinating. I collect interesting ideas. Images count, but what I really like are in-depth thoughtful articles or video/audio presentations. The subject barely matters. I’ll watch people talk about science, politics, economics, culture, just so long as they make a strong satisfying argument.

There’s nothing like a clever idea presented well.

Idea seeking has made me into a repository of irregular trivia. Leaping from one momentary obsession to the next has made me an expert on nothing in particular and yet there’s hardly a subject I don’t know at least something about.

I encounter other people’s brilliant ideas, and they thrill me and inspire great blossoms of new thought. I want to make ideas that bloom in others’ minds the way they do in mine.

poorly I have no excuse.

Skillfully communicating is a science and an art.

The science is obvious; sentences need to be laid out in a specific order to be clear.

But if it is an art, it is shotgun painting. The words are the paint, and Doing journalism changes me from a specta- the reader is the canvas.

I’m trying to find just the tor to a participant. right blend of pigments It takes skill to take a that when I launch them collection of complex, out into the world they’ll abstract The words make a beautiful painting ideas, and when they hit the reader. express It’s very uncontrolled, them simply. are the and I can only decide Speech is paint, and where the paint starts, awkward, so what it ends up doing I appreciate the reader not when it passes that are the opportufilter of minds unlike my nity writing is the own. That both limits what gives to take pigments I can use, and my thoughts canvas. strictly requires that I leave apart and nothing out while still polish them to a shine. keeping it short and sweet.

There’s a weird exaltaLeaving out a single fact, or tion in paring a thought connection could break my down to the minimum careful chain of logic. number of words, and Frustratingly, you never making it as clear as possible and it’s gotten to be a know what a reader will miss through inattention, thrill when I really nail a or screen out through bias, lead sentence. and what conclusion they Even the reporting of dry information has beauty will leap to.

As aggravating as it is, to it, in the rhythm of facts and quotation, but opinion I have to learn to let go.

Not every drop of thoughtpieces are what make my paint I fire from my imagheart beat faster. inary shotgun is going to It takes some obsession imprint a masterpiece on to write a good opinion whatever mind it impacts. piece, and that doesn’t Some canvases reject oilappear on command, but the issue is that when I do based thought patterns. them, I want to do them Benjamin Bassham is right. A news story is simthe news editor for The ple. I’m not speaking for Advocate. Contact him at myself; I’m just conveying the words of others, letting bbassham.theadvocate@ them speak for themselves. gmail.com.

If I present my thoughts

benjaminbassham

CAMPUS COMMENT

Why do you or do you not play Pokémon GO?

“I used to play

Pokémon GO until I saw the bad feedback it got from the news.”

“I don’t play Pokémon GO because I have an Obama phone, so I can’t download apps.”

Justin Harvey

Tunisha Johnson

business

psychology

“I started playing because it reminded me of my childhood, but I stopped because I was too lazy to go out.”

“I used to play it but had to delete the app because I didn’t have enough gigabytes.”

“Yes. It is something to do. I run a lot, so it’s good exercise for me.”

“I play because it encourages me to get out of the house.”

Sara Gutierrez

Jamar Mendoza

Katie Calderon

Thomas Marshall

undecided

music MIKE THOMAS AND DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

biology

art

campusbeat NEWSLINE WORKSHOP

LIBRARY TO HOST COMPUTER SEMINAR The Contra Costa College Library will be introducing a Microsoft Word workshop in the Skills Center on Tuesday from 12- 1 p.m.

The workshop will cover quick tips on how to insert images, bullets and tables in the word processor as well as how to format essay assignments in MLA style.

For more information about the workshop, call the CCC Library reference desk at 510-215-4897.

RESOURCES

FINANCIAL AID PLANS TO RAISE AWARENESS The Financial Aid Office is scheduled to host its fourth annual Awareness Day today in the College Center (between SAB and FH buildings) from 11 a.m. to12 p.m.

Students will have the opportunity to receive beneficial information about the different types of student resources offered in California to help pay for college.

The outdoor resource event will offer food, games and prizes in booth tables.

For more information about the event, visit the financial assistance counter in the Student Services Center or call 510-215-6026.

CRIMEWATCH Thursday, May 26: An instructor reported her office key was lost.

A female employee reported seeing a man in the women’s restroom in the Applied Arts Building. He left when she asked him what he was doing.

Wednesday, June 1: Two cellphones were stolen at the same time when they were left near a printer in the Library and Learning Resource Center.

An officer responded to a fight at the Bus Transfer Center between a male and female. The female had a warrant.

Wednesday, June 23: A student’s vehicle was burglarized while parked in Lot 10.

A student reported their property stolen by an unknown suspect while in class.

Tuesday, June 28: A party requested documentation of the unusual behavior of a former friend and current co-worker.

A transient male was transported to Richmond Kaiser after he injured himself opening a can of corn beef hash on campus Wednesday, June 29: A suspect, who drove off campus without the owners consent, is being prosecuted by the vehicle’s owner.

An unknown suspect stole an unknown amount of change from a staff ’s vehicle.

A college golf cart was stolen from behind the Applied Arts Building.

Thursday, June 30: A student at the Bus Transfer Center was approached by an unknown suspect who tried to solicit sex while exposing himself.

Thursday, July 14: A student scraped his toes after losing his footing on the stairs leading to the Student Services Center, but declined medical treatment.

— Lorenzo Morotti

— 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.

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 8.24.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

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ENROLLMENT | Early count is ‘lower than we’d like’ Continued from Page 1 one student taking 15 units total or multiple students taking units that add up to 15 units.

Dean of Enrollment Services Dennis Franco said, “Enrollment has been soft. We are lower than we’d like to be. We are on stability (funding) this year, meaning, the state gives you a year to maintain your current level of funding.”

Each college has an annual enrollment goal to meet, which CCC has strived to meet for the past couple of years, but has fallen short.

Franco said the goal is to “build” enrollment for the semester to get off of stability within the next year.

The state allows a year for a college to stabilize itself financially.

Business Services Supervisor Nick Dimitri said there is a limited amount of money set aside for each college based on its FTES goal.

If the FTES goal is surpassed, the community college does not receive extra funding from the state.

Franco said, “If we (exceed) that cap it means for each of those students we don’t receive any funding.

“But it’s a good problem to have because it means you are hitting your target and essentially you are fully funded,” he said.

Frost said, “Students taking fewer units is not uncommon for our community. Students have other obligations, like work and taking care of their families, so they can’t take as many units.”

Dimitri said, “When the economy is doing well enrollment goes down, but when it is doing poorly enrollment goes up.”

Dean of Students Services Vicki Ferguson said a main focus of enrollment management is to work on student retention. The money received from FTES is used for faculty and staff salaries, benefits, college budgets and other

“Studies show that if students are enrolled full time they are more likely to be successful, and we wanted people to know and encourage them to come (to the college.)”

— Dennis Franco, dean of enrollment services

typical campus operations.

She said the new General Education Building, Fireside Hall and the Student and Administration Building were funded by Measure A bond funds.

Mehdizadeh said, “For the past three to four years during construction students have not had a place to congregate. But we are back to being a fully open campus.”

Franco said it is important for everyone to connect and work together to increase enrollment. With help from counseling, Disabled Students Programs and Services, EOPS and a series of campaigns funded by the college Foundation, fall 2016 numbers have already begun to increase.

“We recently did an email campaign for three consecutive weeks where we were emailing students who had applied (to the college) but hadn’t registered,” Franco said.

The emails were used to “build” enrollment for fall semester and semesters to come.

A second campaign was for students who had (completed) over 40 units and had completed their transfer level English and transfer level math requirements but hadn’t registered yet for fall, Franco said.

“It was designed to say, ‘Hey, you’ve done all of this work, why don’t you come back and finish up your degree, finish up and transfer?’”

Franco said this campaign was really encouraging those students who aren’t cur-

rently enrolled to come and finish what they started.

“So there was really a positive spin.”

The CCC Foundation funded the third enrollment campaign, the “Next One’s Franco On Us.” Franco said, “Studies show that if students are enrolled full time they are more likely to be successful, and we wanted people to know and encourage them to come (to the college).

“With funding from the CCC Foundation, some very generous funding, we were able to extend an opportunity for (700) students who were enrolled in 6 to 11½ units to take one additional class free of charge, along with the first 100 getting all books free of charge as well.”

Students had to register in early August through Aug. 11 (the day before fall classes began) in the Welcome/Transfer Center to take advantage of the “Next One’s On Us” campaign.

“As a team, we are trying hard to maintain enrollment,” he said. “As much of our enrollment is soft, there is this team of people who are really trying hard, bringing in students, and that we make them successful.”

Franco said faculty members are contributing to increasing enrollment by taking more students, even above the class ceiling, into their classes as well.

He said increasing enrollment means more than just increasing funding. It is about recognizing the student success component. He recognizes that students have a lot going on.

Increasing enrollment is a priority, but making sure students continue going to classes is their main focus.

Ferguson said she wants campus groups and organizations, like the Associated Students Union, to be part of reaching out to students.

VENDOR | Fresh choices add variety to lunch menu Continued from Page 1 of options prepared by food vendor Pacific Dining Food Service Management.

“Back then (last spring), it was frustrating because you could only go to the Bookstore or Subway,” she said. “Now, there are tacos, burgers, even fish and chips. I think it’s great to have all these options now that fill you up.”

Pacific Dining provides a onestop food service with a grab-andgo area, salad bar, Starbucks coffee service and menu of four station themes: Arrezio, Casa Solana, Brix Grill and Block & Barrel.

Arrezio’s menu has an Italian concept, whereas Casa Solana is Latino-themed. Brix Grill offers burgers, hot dogs and vegetarian options. Block & Barrel provides a variety of deli sandwiches.

The food service hours in the Cafeteria are 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Monday to Thursday, and 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

The vendor was approved by

“Now, there are tacos, burgers, even fish and chips. I think it’s great to have all of these options now that fill you up.”

Lauren Garcia, English

the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board at its June 22 meeting. Pacific Dining currently pays a maximum of $4,250 monthly to Contra Costa College under a contract agreement to provide food services on campus until June 2019, according to the board’s June 22 meeting minutes.

While the Campus Center and Classroom Building Project was still under construction, the district began the selection process for a new food vendor in February 2016, district Senior Buyer Ben Cayabyab said.

“A formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process was conduct-

ed as required by the California Education Code,” he said. “(Vendors) simply had to download the RFP documents from the district website, provide responses to the questions asked and submit their proposal.”

Four food vendors including Pacific Dining, Fresh & Natural, Subway and Regent Catering submitted proposals, Cayabyab said.

A food vendor committee was then created at CCC to evaluate the proposals. Members of the committee included former Student Life coordinator Erika Greene, Dean of Student Services Vicki Ferguson, Business Services Director Mariles Magalong, ASU President Safi Ward-Davis and ASU Senator Francis Sanson.

Ferguson said, “We understood that CCC has a (diverse) demographic. Students come from different communities and have different tastes. We were looking for a (vendor) who was experienced with campus dining, and can also cater to our different taste buds.”

Ferguson said the committee

used score sheets to evaluate the RFPs to be fair in the criteria for the student body.

The committee considered pricing, variety of options, reputation with other community colleges and other programs offered to students, Magalong said.

Cayabyab said, “(The committee) elected to move all four vendors forward to the next step, which required the vendors to do a presentation, answer follow-up questions and bring samples of food from their menus.”

Greene said during the presentations, the committee met the managers who would handle the space in the Cafeteria and inspected the quality of food the vendors.

The committee selected Pacific Dining as the food vendor for CCC in April 2016.

Committee members had to sign a form of confidentiality during the selection process to keep their decision confidential until the Governing Board finalized an agreement with the food vendor, Samson said.

CANVAS | Program bolsters online education drive Continued from Page 1 Flum said. “(CCC) tried to get an online English class before, but there was a gap between the requirements of English courses and the learning management systems available 15 years ago,” Eubanks said. “Plagiarism software had not caught up yet.”

But she said the software that the state has provided through Canvas gives professors the tools to catch plagiarism, help students avoid plagiarism and provide students with an online platform they can connect to wherever they go.

“I’ve never used Desire 2 Learn,” Eubanks said. “But Canvas is user friendly and students seem to enjoy it because it provides more accessibility from their cell phones. It’s more open-ended in its format with customization options and because it comes with more collaborative tools for students.

“It works more like a social media site than a learning management system,” she said.

“Students will have an easier time adjusting because they have more skill with social media.”

Mehdizadeh said teaching online is different than in a traditional classroom.

“It requires that faculty have an understanding of how to teach in an online environment,” she said. “And (Eubanks) has been one of those champions working to get other faculty in her department to get used to online teaching.”

She said Flum would be setting up a series of training sessions for faculty teaching general education courses through @one. Mehdizadeh said professors would be provided a $450 stipend for participating.

“It will be considered hands-on teaching and learning experience for online pedagogy,” Mehdizadeh said.

Another professor with valuable experience with learning management systems is CCC medical assisting instructor Susan Reno.

“I have experience with Moodle, Blackboard and Desire 2 Learn as a student and instructor (D2L),” Reno said. “Canvas is above all the rest.

It’s intuitive layout and it’s easy to learn.”

“A major endeavor over the last couple of years is to have an online version of all general education courses.”

— Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, president

Reno said she uses Canvas to not only teach nursing courses at CCC, but she is using the online learning platform as a doctoral student writing her dissertation.

“Canvas is fantastic,” she said. “Professors and students are allowed to be more mobile.

This is especially helpful for adjunct professors without offices and for students who work. It offers a lot of what Desire 2 Learn does, but it is more intuitive and accessible.”

Canvas, created by Instructure, Inc., is a learning management system that the California Community College Chancellor’s Office plans to implement at each of its 113 campuses through its Online Education Initiative (OEI).

“The fact the state selected (Canvas) for all 113 colleges is huge,” Mehdizadeh said. “It was selected by members of these community colleges — it’s our system.”

After approval by each of its campuses’ College Councils last year, the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board approved the request to join OEI and switch from Desire 2 Learn to Canvas on Jan. 27.

Mehdizadeh said the $40,000 annual cost the district paid Desire 2 Learn will go into creating more training sessions, staff and provide needed funding for distance education districtwide.

“A major endeavor over the last couple of years is to have an online version of all general education courses,” Mehdizadeh said, “so students who find it difficult to get to campus have an opportunity to still enroll (at CCC).”

Reno said increasing the number of online courses will help students, who have to work during the day, cannot afford transportation to

campus, or who are raising children, to get the education they deserve.

But this is only one benefit from switching to Canvas from Desire 2 Learn.

Flum said, “We got Canvas, and joined OEI, because the state promised to pay the cost for the first two years, and then at a discounted price after.”

State Vice Chancellor for Communications Paul Feist said the state will provide Canvas’ online services to colleges who joined its OEI

by June 2016 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.”

Flum said, “That money (saved) will be used to implement more distance education training programs and courses at the three colleges in the district.”

But she said the college is not fully integrated into the OEI, as it still cannot join the course exchange program until spring 2018 at the earliest.

The course exchange program allows students enrolled at their “home” college to take an online course from any college as part of the OEI course exchange statewide.

“We can’t join the course exchange yet,” Flum said. “The next request for the proposal at the district will be for a proctoring service that students taking online courses at CCC from other campuses would go through.”

While the district will not be joining the course exchange any time soon, professors are excited to begin using Canvas, while some are intimidated by the streamlined pace online teaching demands.

Both Reno and Eubanks said professors who are unfamiliar with online teaching should sign up for the training sessions as soon as possible.

“You don’t want to fight technology,” Eubanks said. “You have to understand how to teach online to make sure the students use the platform the way it was meant to be used.”

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campusbeat

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 8.24.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

LEFT: Leon Watkins wraps himself in the American flag in front of the Student and Administration Building on Monday.

Watkins has worked in the Veterans Corner for the past seven months assisting veterans with their educational benefits and needs.

Marine supports comrades, promotes veteran population

BY Cody Casares PHOTO EDITOR

ccasares.theadvocate@gmail.com

To walk past him without noticing him is nearly impossible, although he does like to wear camouflage.

For the past seven months Contra Costa College student Leon Watkins has served as the veterans-student liaison, bridging the divide between faculty and veterans here.

“The leadership from the Marine Corps has been implanted in me, and being able to be recognized by Mrs. (Catherine) Frost (director of Admissions and Records), who is the one who offered me the position, is how I truly try to stand tall on this. Being able to represent veterans, to me, is a great honor,” Watkins said.

He said when veterans come into the Veterans Corner office the goal is to assess what their needs are. Most of the time it’s an educational need initially, but he does not stop there.

“What’s happened in the last seven months is, instead of veterans going all over the place, we have it down to three places that a veteran goes after coming to campus.

For the most part it starts in the veterans office, explaining the procedure of what it is for a new student to become enrolled, or as

an existing student what paperwork is missing or is needed to receive their educational benefits,” Watkins said.

After that is done, Watkins said he assesses if the veteran has a service connected disability rating with a pension and compensation, assists in enrolling veterans in Veterans Affair health care programs and then again assesses if any housing programs apply.

CCC counselor Andrea Phillips said, “This is something that the college hasn’t had for a few years, and with his presence it’s making us, faculty and administrators and classified (staff), be a little more responsible for our veterans on campus.”

Watkins was born in San Pablo and remained in the area, attending and graduating from John F. Kennedy High School before joining the Marine Corps.

“I had always heard of Contra Costa (College) and so it’s kind of full circle. I was born in San Pablo and basically have traveled the globe and now I came back to receive higher education,” Watkins said.

Watkins said he intends to transfer to a state school or university after completing the required transfer courses.

“Leon is awesome, I think, because he is so pro-veterans. That and he understands the transition from being in the service to

civilian life,” Phillips said.

“I think he is a champion for veterans,” Phillips said. “He has prepared folders for when veterans come in and he gives them all the steps and works with Trinidad Ledesma and then brings me into the fold to do the education planning,” she said. “Having that relationship with faculty and staff members here and being that liaison with students has been awesome.”

Watkins, a veteran himself, served as a combat photographer, photographing then President Ronald Reagan, the Secretary of the Navy John Lehman and the first black general in the Marine Corps Frank Paterson. He took on photo assignments for the Marines all over the world.

“The Marine Corps is so embedded in me at this point that I still sleep with a poncho liner. I’m wacky for camouflage,” he said. “I still have two of them from 1984 that I put away.”

Watkins’ passion for helping veterans extends off campus with his non-profit organization, The Walking Ghost of Black History.

Watkins was cast in the movie “Glory” as the flag bearer with the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, he said.

At the completion of shooting the film,

the producer, Freddie Fields, gifted 20 uniforms used in the movie to Watkins to start his organization, he said.

Commander Dedan Ji Jaga, of the Richmond Veterans Memorial Hall said, “His organization struck me as interesting, and we started to work together. Early on I could see that Leon was an exceptionally dedicated individual in terms of veterans and their rights entitlements and benefits and that he was a lot more active than most had assumed for some reason.

“It’s difficult to see how someone of that proportion could be taken lightly, and the fact that he has a very significant association with past African-American military, to me indicates that he has an agenda to advance all the opportunities for veterans on campus.

We step behind (him) to give him support that he needs and let the campus know that he has a support system in the community, as well as here on campus,” he said.

Watkins is second-generation military, with his father having served in the Air Force and was stationed at Travis Air Force base in Fairfield.

“I’m grateful for the Marine Corps because of the camaraderie, the team effort and the saying ‘no man gets left behind’,” Watkins said.

Seismic fault hinders location of Police Services

BY Lorenzo Morotti ASSOCIATE EDITOR

lmorotti.theadvocate@gmail.com

Lot 6, the student parking lot in front of the Gymnasium, is undergoing seismic trenching to approve Lot 4 as a possible site for a new Police Services Building.

Contra Costa College Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said the seismic study in Lot 6 is one of three seismic trench surveys to detect any movement along the Hayward Fault, an active fault line, where it bisects campus.

“Half of the parking spots in Lot 6 are gone now,” King said. “But they will reopen in October. We will close a smaller section, four to eight parking spots, when trenching in Lot 1 starts (in October).”

District Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said because the Hayward Fault cuts right through the CCC campus, any proposed construction sites within 2,000 feet of the active fault require extensive seismic study to comply with the Alquist Priolo Zoning Act of 1972 before construction can begin.

Pyle said the three trenches cost $477,000, and like the $2 million construction cost of the new Police Services Building, the funds will come out of the district’s portion of the Measure E (2014) bond.

Police Services Lt. Tom Holt said the trenches in Lot 6 and 1 were added to the project once recently hired Chief Edward Carney suggested a different location to construct the Police Services Building other than at the site of the college Handball or Tennis courts at a meeting with college leadership in April.

“If there is no fault activity (at the site), we want to put the (Police

“Yellow zones can be turned into green zones through extensive drilling (and seismic study), but you cannot change the status of a red zone.”

— Mojdeh Mehdizadeh

Services) building in Lot 4,” Holt said. “It is the ideal spot because its located at the front of the campus, so it’s visible, and it’s at a central location on campus making it easier for officers to get around.”

Carney said the idea to survey another area near the Gymnasium came from a drive to ensure that people on campus feel that police officers are part of the community.

“Initially the concept was to keep the building out of sight and out of mind, so when folks who have to go to the building they are not hesitant,” he said. “But I was uncomfortable with the idea of being too out of the way near the Handball Courts or Tennis Courts.

Our drive today is to be part of this community, to reach out and let people know we are here.”

King said the trenching in Lot 6 should be finished by the end of September and then excavation will begin in Lot 1.

He said Lot 4, where the empty Critical Solutions (construction firm) offices were set up for the past three years, sits in between these two seismic trenches.

Pyle said Kleinfelder Inc., an engineering consultant firm, plans to have the trench in Lot 1 completed sometime in December.

“The currently (open) trench (in Lot 6) should be done by mid-

to late-September, and the last one (in Lot 1) by early November,” Pyle said. “The results and findings of the fault trace analysis should be in by the end of the (fall semester).”

King said that no decision could be made about the exact location of the new Police Services Building until the seismic analysis shows that the soil under the possible building sites, which are Lot 4, the Handball Courts or part of the Tennis Courts, is not shifting.

College President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said the campus is divided into three zones, habitable (green), not cleared (yellow) and exclusion zones (red).

“Yellow zones can be turned into green zones through extensive drilling (and seismic study), but you cannot change the status of a red zone,” Mehdizadeh said.

King said it should take Kleinfelder about 10 weeks after the Lot 1 study is complete for the results to be sent to the District Office.

“Ten weeks after (Kleinfelder) finishes, they will determine whether the area is green, red or yellow,” he said. “But we can only move forward if it is a green zone.”

Carney said he also suggested further trenching farther away from the athletic department so that the placement of the Police Services Building does not interfere with future projects.

“I don’t want to put the (Police Services) building in a location where someday someone will regret we did that,” Carney said.

“As times change, needs change.

Assume they want to enlarge the Gymnasium, physical education area, or other projects we are not aware of yet. Wherever we put

CHRISTIAN URRUTIA / THE ADVOCATE

A construction worker with Kleinfelder, Inc. digs out dirt inside a 15-foot trench in Lot 6 in front of the Gymnasium on Aug. 16.

the building is permanent. We don’t want to regret the location we choose.”

The current Police Services building is a portable built in the 1967 according to the district’s 2016-17 Building Summary Report. It is located right next to Building and Grounds on the east side of campus.

“It’s a little run down,” Holt said, talking about the locker room area and holding cells in the current building, “And the sign on the (current) building is not big enough for people to find us.

“The location is not bad, but it’s the building itself that is not great.”

Carney agrees with Holt. He said that the current building does not meet the needs of police officers on campus and could be a detriment to campus safety.

“The officers certainly need more modern and larger accommodations,” he said. “Right now police officers at CCC are working in an out-of-date facility not suited for police operations. The new building will incorporate modern technology and provide sufficient room for officers to do their jobs.

He said the new one story one story will provide modern briefing rooms, storage and holding cells that “we just don’t have now.”

Carney said, “Worker satisfaction is extremely important. The campus safety aspect is in large part dependent on the willingness of officers to be part of the community. In campus law enforcement it is far more important that officers create good relations with each other and keep contact with the community.

campus beat EATERY IMPROVES QUALITY, VARIETY

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 8.24.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

5

Kitchen upgrade inspires effort to create fine dining

BY Xavier Johnson SCENE EDITOR

xjohnson.theadvocate@gmail.com

With the new Campus Center being opened fall 2016, the culinary arts department found itself transitioning into a new era and modern amenities in the Student and Administration Building.

Previously located in the Applied Arts Building, when the Campus Center opened on Aug. 12, the department officially moved into the Student and Administration Building.

The department rebranded its dietary persona opting for a different selection on campus. Pronto Cafe will replace The Switch and Aqua Terra Grill will be replacing the long-time Three Seasons Restaurant.

The new dining locations will both open Sept. 6, with operating hours of 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“The two dining areas present a different atmosphere, giving students better variety,” culinary arts department Chairperson Nader Sharkes said. “Pronto Café is an informal dining experience allowing students to grab snacks and on-the-go food.”

Aqua Terra, a name inspired by its close proximity to the Rheem Creek, is a formal sit-down dining experience. The tile flooring, dark wood tables, art on the wall (donated by local artists) and natural light sets the desired mood, Sharkes said.

He said Aqua Terra is a place that will not only provide a good dining experience for the college’s population, but will also be a valuable place for culinary arts students to learn.

The new space also allows the culinary

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

“The two dining areas present a different atmosphere giving students better variety.”

Nader Sharkes,

culinary arts department chairperson

arts department to hold most of its events in Aqua Terra rather than in the Applied Arts Building, Sharkes said.

The bar area inside Aqua Terra gives students the ability to practice making beverages as a barista, alongside their normal food service.

Sharkes said adding a course for students to obtain brewmaster certification is the next step in developing student knowledge. The

kitchen is also improved with new equipment like ovens, stoves and cooking utensils.

Some equipment, like shelves, was brought over from the old facility in the Applied Arts Building.

“About five or six years ago, when we were planning this, I took inspiration from the top culinary schools on the East Coast, like Johnson and Wales University and the Culinary Institute of America,” Sharkes said.

He said his objective was to bring what he saw at the high-end culinary schools to Contra Costa College, extending his effort to make this the best college culinary arts department in the Bay Area.

With the completion of a big project there are naturally some issues that occur, Sharkes said. There are some issues with working on

LEFT: Culinary arts Chairperson Nader Sharkes and student Kyle DeLos Santos submerge hot tomatoes under cool water in the Student and Administration Building on Friday.

the audio-visual equipment in Aqua Terra, and some tables being off balance.

Media major Derian Espinoza said Three Seasons had mixed reviews from all of his friends. He said he is willing to try out Aqua Terra this semester. Espinoza said he has tried the newly opened Brix Grill on campus and enjoyed it.

Sharkes said he likes having competition on campus from Brix, the Bookstore and the Student Lounge snack bar.

Drama major Cody Poehnelt said he is going to eat at all the places available. He said he’s happy to finally have some variety of food on campus.

Sharkes said the competition gives the campus a university feel and is a great way to keep student morale up.

COUNCIL AIMS TO ENHANCE CLUB EVENTS Group looks to include cultural club events, spread news

BY Roxana Amparo EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ramparo.theadvocate@gmail.com

As the Campus Center Plaza finally closes up its construction gap, opportunities for students to start their own club become readily available.

The Inter Club Council is the go-to entity on campus with information on how to create a club.

The ICC is a branch of the Associated Students Union that focuses on club activity on campus.

Student Life Coordinator Joel Nickelson-Shanks said, “I want to have more cultural events that tie into the roots of the community.”

He said he wants to “pique” students’ interest and wants them to be proud to go to Contra Costa College.

“I want our mascot Comet to mean more, like Cal’s Bears (mascot).”

He said he wants to reach out to students to see what they want to see more of on campus.

To start the semester,

a series of giveaways took place outside of the Student and Administration Building throughout the week.

From Krispy Kreme donuts, lanyards, and folders to hot dogs and pizza.

On Tuesday 300 hot dogs were given out to passing students. Ward-Davis said it took about 45 minutes and they were all gone.

Nickelson-Shanks said students taking Wednesday night classes had the chance to enjoy pizza and T-shirts from their 4-6 p.m. giveaway.

ASU President Safi WardDavis said the requirements to start a club include finding students to fill the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and ICC representative roles.

Students must also find a faculty or staff member willing to serve as adviser of the club. He or she must be present during important decisions to sign paperwork. And lastly they need to complete an application and have the club

adviser email it to NickelsonShanks.

Ward-Davis said it is mandatory to have an ICC representative to attend the weekly ICC meetings in order for the club to remain active.

The ICC representative is the liaison between the club and ICC. “Having an ICC rep is important because you receive information from clubs and they report back to their own club,” Ward-Davis said.

The club adviser must meet with Nickelson-Shanks to finalize the process.

Last spring semester 20 clubs were active, NickelsonShanks said.

Ward-Davis said she wants the ASU and ICC to become more active on campus.

College Director of Marketing and Media Design Brandy Howard said, “It is important for students to become involved in clubs and events because it’s a great way to explore interests outside of the classroom.”

She said it helps students build job skills such as leadership, collaboration and project management.

The Students in Action club adviser Anna Chuon said during the school year they participated in various volunteering opportunities and collected data on how their acts of service contributed to the community and beyond as a whole.

The Students in Action club is a community service club primarily for high school students.

Tabling and fundraising help clubs attract potential members, Ward-Davis said.

An opportunity to promote a club is during the semi-annual Club Rush.

ICC holds Club Rush to give clubs the chance to share their club with the campus.

The different clubs table and have sign-up sheets for passing students.

Ward-Davis said during Club Rush they have giveaways and invite students to participate. “That is how we get the

younger kids (who accompany the other students) to then come to CCC,” Ward-Davis Ward-Davis said.

Howard said one of the easiest ways to promote a club is through social media via photos, videos and graphics.

Now that the construction close to the SAB, Fireside Hall and the General Education Building is near completion, it will be easier for ICC and ASU to put on events.

Nickelson-Shanks said he would like to bring sports activities like dodgeball and basketball for those students who aren’t athletes.

ASU Treasurer Frances Sanson said, “I hope whoever is taking over the president position of the clubs takes advantage of the new resources and spaces on campus.”

He said he is excited to see what clubs plan for the year.

Parking developments feature small changes

BY DENIS PEREZ ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

dperez.theadvocate@gmail.com

Modifications to Contra Costa College’s campus parking lots in the fall 2016 semester will not amount to more than a few changes.

Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said there are around 1,820 parking spaces on the CCC campus, divided into 15 lots on campus and two annexed lots for staff and students.

The annexed lots are located in Moraga Drive, east of the Military Reserve Facility.

King said many students are not aware of these two lots.

Half of the construction portables in Lot 4 were scheduled to be removed by the time school started and the Subway portable will also be cleared from Lot 9, he said.

There are also plans to build a new Police Services station in one of these three areas: the west side of the Tennis Courts, Lot 4 or Lot 6.

Although the police chief would rather have it in Lot 4, due to seismic instability that may not be possible. Lot 4 is in the exclusion zone around the Hayward Fault and has not yet been designated a green

(safe) zone, suitable for building, King said.

He said the district will know the fate of Lot 4 within six months, but should know whether Lot 6 is in the green zone by Sept.

29.

King said Lot 5 will become a shared parking lot between staff and the students in the carpool program. Students can still sign up and register for a free parking permit through the Carpooling Program that the college offers. King said 15-20 spaces are going to be for students, while the rest are reserved for staff and faculty.

Parking permits are available online through WebAdvisor for $45. Students who qualify for the BOGG fee waiver are eligible to get a permit for $25.

Prices drop in the middle of the semester to $24, and $13 for students eligible for the BOGG fee waiver.

Economics major Oscar Martinez said he thinks prices on parking permits are so high for students that they prefer to park for free off campus.

Computer science major Angelo Tadina said he does not have a parking permit, so he has to come in early in the morning to be able to find parking. Tadina said he has since gotten a free parking pass from the

DENIS PEREZ / THE ADVOCATE

Business major JayJay Douangpinya pulls out a beverage from his trunk before heading to class in Contra Costa College’s Parking Lot 3 on Monday.

EOPS Office in the Student Service Center.

Nursing major Camila Henderson said she always sees the parking lots filled up. She also obtained a free parking permit from the EOPS Office.

Students not willing to commit to a onetime fee of $45 to obtain a parking permit can always pay for the day at the automated parking machines located in Lots 1, 2, 6, 10, and 14. Martinez said that sometimes the machines are out of order.

CCC President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said that enrollment this semester has been calcu-

in brief There are 1,820 parking spaces on the CCC campus, divided into 15 lots.

Permits are available online through WebAdvisor for $45.

Students who qualify for the BOGG fee wavier are eligible to get a permit for $25.

lated to be down by 4.2 percent. King said parking lots are still filled despite the lower enrollment.

6

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 8.24.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

ANYONE PLAYING POKEMON GO CAN ONLY CATCH 142 OF THE ORIGINAL 150 POKEMON. NIANTIC INC., THE APP’S DEVELOPER, WILL ADD MORE POKEMON TO THE GAME, BUT THERE ARE NOT ANY LEGENDARY POKEMON IN THE “WILD” AND CERTAIN RARE POKEMON CAN ONLY BE CAUGHT

BY TRAVELING. PLAYERS TRYING TO FILL THEIR POKEDEX COMPLETELY WILL HAVE TO TRAVEL THE WORLD TO FIND POKEMON LIKE MR. MIME (EUROPE), FARFETCH’D (ASIA) AND KANGASKHAN (AUSTRALIA).

scene pokémon go links classic game, modern technology

By Robert Clinton OPINION EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

A

round the world Poké fiends and casual players alike have joined forces to make Niantic’s “Pokémon Go” app the most popular new game of 2016.

The platform unites the virtual with actual reality, using Google maps and your phone’s geo location to highlight landmarks and places of interest that house poke stops (a virtual totem pole used to re-supply in-game items) and gyms (a virtual arena used to train captured Pokémon).

Both are essential to advancing in the game.

The experience is like a never-ending scavenger hunt where players pursue cyber-critters using an animated map that is an overlay of the user’s actual location.

As the varmints reveal themselves, signified by a tone and vibration, poké balls (collected from poké stops) are flicked onto the monsters capturing BLANCHE IS THE BLUE TEAM’S LEADER. SHE IS GUIDED BY THE SCIENTIFIC them inside of the ball to be CURIOSITY OF EVOLVING POKEMON AND trained and fought at a gym.

THE QUEST OF WISDOM. THIS TEAM’S Game enthusiasts peddle MASCOT IS ARTICUNO. the need to explore their surroundings to be successful at the game.

Walking is essential to advancement as the more a user travels, the more varied THE LEADER OF THE RED TEAM the types of animals are that IS CANDELA. SHE IS DRIVEN BY can be collected. Special eggs AN INSATIABLE NEED TO BE THE that hatch Pokémon can STRONGEST TRAINER. THE TEAM’S be collected, but hatching MASCOT IS MOLTRES. requires walking 2.0 km, 5.0 km or 10.0 km — the larger the number, the more powerful the entity is that will be hatched.

In perspective, 2.0 km THE POSTER BOY FOR THE YELLOW TEAM IS SPARK. HE TRUSTS THE equals 1.24 miles or 2,670 ABILITIES OF POKEMON AND THE steps, 5.0 km is 3.11 miles or TEAM’S MASCOT IS ZAPADOS. 6,670 steps and 10.0 km is 6.21 miles or 13,300 steps.

The average human step is 29.5 inch per stride at 3 miles per hour.

Urging users to traverse urban and rural surroundings and encouraging congregation at public landmarks is part of the game’s appeal.

Places of recognition like murals, statues, churches and schools are often places designated as poké stops where gamers can place “lures,” or virtual chum, which attract creatures and other players.

Six poké stops have been here on campus (the largest collection of nearby stops is in the Hilltop-Fairmede neighborhood surrounding the college) since the EGGS IN POKEMON GO ARE HATCHED BY WALKING EITHER 2, 5 OR 10 KILOMETERS. THE APP TAPS INTO A PHONE’S PEDOMETER TO TRACK STEPS. DEPENDING ON THE DISTANCE, YOU CAN HATCH COMMON, UNCOMMON OR RARE POKEMON.

TEAMS

MYSTIC

VALOR

INSTINCT

EGGS

POKESTOPS ARE REAL WORLD PLACES FOR TRAINERS TO CONGREGATE, GET FREE POKE BALLS, POTIONS AND OTHER ITEMS. ILLUSTRATION AND PAGE DESIGN BY LORENZO MOROTTI AND MARCI SUELA / THE ADVOCATE

beginning of summer.

“Over the summer there was this professional looking couple in a Z4 BMW sitting in Lot 14 with a baby. It was getting late so I went to check on them,” police aide Jag Jot Saggar said. “They asked if it was OK if they sit there for 30 minutes.”

In a convertible — at night — with a baby in the car — to play Pokémon.

“In the summer there was more activity here, more lures and more people playing,” psychology major Stacy Fernandez said.

“Now that school has started things have kind of dried up.”

Items like lures draw more than just critters. Criminals find potential victims wandering aimlessly, face-in-phone, oblivious to potential dangers that lie in wait.

Tragic situations have already occurred, like the San Joaquin Delta College baseball player who was killed playing Pokémon in San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square in what police officials believe was a snatch-and-run style robbery Aug. 6.

Campus police aide Kavi Singh said, “It’s the lack of awareness that’s bad. People are stepping into traffic without looking. It’s not worth your life. I don’t play the game personally, but people are getting robbed or murdered. Anything can happen.”

Getting out in the world is not only leading to bad encounters. In San Pablo, the public library also moonlights as a poke stop.

“We have more people, kids and families coming into the library but not that much of an increase,” San Pablo youth services librarian Michelle Ramos said. “Adding one more reader is better than none.”

The game is not without pessimists.

Many believe the company oversteps its boundaries with its data-mining capabilities and willingness to share collected information with unlisted third party entities.

Niantic Labs, the company behind the “Pokémon Go” app, is currently being threatened by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations over 15 terms in its user agreement that are not in line with German consumer protection laws.

They cite the ability of Niantic to pass information to third parties, change the policy or terminate an account without user knowledge or consent as points.

Pokémon™ is a media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, an alliance of three Japanese companies — Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures.

It is not just the lifelong users who are volunteering their digital palm print to the world. The app now has more users than Tinder or Twitter.

“I never even watched Pokémon, but I just wanted to try it one day and got addicted,” liberal arts transfer student James Eggleston, from North Carolina, said. “There are more poke stops here than in North Carolina, but most of what I catch is the same old thing.”

GYMS CAN BE CONTROLLED

BY ONE TEAM AT A TIME. TRAINERS CAN MEET UP TO TOPPLE A GYM OF A RIVAL COLOR, OR TRAIN A SINGLE POKEMON AT A HOME GYM.

sports

WWW.CCCADVOCATE.COM 8.24.2016 l WEDNESDAY l THE ADVOCATE

“

7

“The (conference) move was political. I think they expect us to fail, and it’s fueled me for the past nine months.”

— Alonzo Carter, football coach

RIGHT: Linebacker Miles Cunningham practices a tackling drill during Friday’s workout session.

For more photos of football practice visit

cccadvocate.com CODY CASARES / THE ADVOCATE

Prospects surge as season nears

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

After moving to the Pacific 7 Conference in 2014, and 2015 and boasting a 19-3 record with two bowl game appearances (1-1), the Contra Costa College football team now takes another leap this season, moving to the vaunted National Bay 6 Conference.

There are three conferences in Northern California’s Division 1; the National Bay 6, National NorCal and the National Valley.

Hayward’s Chabot College and Oakland’s Laney College are oddly in the Valley Conference with teams like Fresno City College and Modesto Junior College.

“We thought they would have put us with Laney and Chabot and that would have shifted one Valley team to the Bay 6, which is the tougher of the divisions,” Comet coach Alonzo Carter said. “We didn’t have any control of the sit-

uation. Someone had to move up and someone had to move down and the other teams were afraid to move into that conference.”

The Comets do play East Bay rival Laney in a home contest Oct. 1. It will be the team’s first night game of the year.

CCC has its only scrimmage game of the 2016 season Thursday at 6 p.m. against Los Medanos College in Pittsburg.

With stiffer competition ahead in 2016, Carter and his coaching staff recruited bigger bodies to fortify the interior of the defensive line. Multiple 300-pound linemen hope to clog the middle, giving Comet all-conference defensive end Mike Ihejeto a clearer path to the quarterback.

The strength of the Comet defense is its all-conference secondary featuring Lavon Washington (All-Pac 7 in 2014) and Rodney Washington (All-Pac 7 in 2015).

“I don’t expect anything but

greatness,” Washington said. “I’ve got a good group of guys with me and we’re just working in the weight room to get bigger and stronger. We’ve already got the heart.”

Lavon Washington missed last season with a leg injury, but was instrumental on the Comets’ championship team of 2014.

“On the 2014 team we went into every game knowing that we were better than our opponents,” he said. “We have to believe that all of the hard work we put in is going to pay off.”

With so much of the offseason focus being geared toward the defense, the elephant in the room is Cal State-Fresno commit and First Team All-California quarterback Cameron Burston. The sophomore leads a high-powered offense that also features sophomore running back Harris Ross.

Five of the Comets’ top offensive players last year went on to

play at the four-year universities.

“Last year was good, but now there is a better atmosphere and more organization. That’s what’s going to make this team great,” Ross said.

The Comets are confident they will be competitive in the Bay 6 touting a quarterback in his second year in the same offense. That provides comfort for the offense and coaches who have a veteran leader with a better grasp of the system.

Any trepidation going into the season can be attributed to the youthful offensive line.

The team is built to be a defensively athletic unit that looks to set up its offense by winning the battle for field position.

Moving to the Bay 6 raises the competition level, so every week the games will be similar to the most explosive competition CCC faced over the past few seasons.

“It’s a 10-week grind. Players are a reflection of their coach, and

they need to accept this challenge and embrace it. They need to know what they are walking into,” Carter said. “The (conference) move was political. I think they expect us to fail, and it’s fueled me for the past nine months.”

SCHEDULE Football Sept. 3

at College of the Sequoias, 7 p.m.

Sept. 10

vs. Sacramento City College, 1 p.m.

Sept. 17

at Sierra College, 1 p.m.

Sept. 24

vs. Modesto Junior College, 1 p.m.

Oct. 1

vs. Laney College, 7 p.m.

Oct. 8

BYE

Oct. 15

at Santa Rosa Junior College*, 5 p.m.

Oct. 22

vs. College of San Mateo*, 1 p.m.

Oct. 29

at De Anza College*, 1 p.m.

Nov. 4

at Diablo Valley College*, 7 p.m.

Nov. 12

City College of San Francisco*, 7 p.m.

*National Bay 6 Conference game

FORMER COMET CAPTURES DREAM, BIG LEAGUE DESTINY

BY Robert Clinton SPORTS EDITOR

rclinton.theadvocate@gmail.com

SPECIAL TO / THE ADVOCATE

Former Comet shortstop Jamal Rutledge was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 28th round of the MLB amateur draft.

It is the dream of every college athlete to sit with family on draft night, waiting in anticipation to hear his name called as a selection to a professional team.

For former Comet shortstop Jamal Rutledge that dream has become a reality.

“I’ve wanted to get the opportunity to play professional ball since I was 3 years old,” Rutledge said.

“When I got the call I was sitting with my mother. We both teared up. It was so special. It didn’t feel real.”

The 20-year-old was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 28th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball amateur draft in June and has already been designated for assignment with the team’s Arizona Rookie League squad.

Keeping in touch with Rutledge is tough for friends and family who the 6-foot-2-inch shortstop left behind in the Bay Area as the rigor of professional baseball leaves little time to socialize. The lion’s share of his days are spent dealing with the business of baseball.

Rutledge reaches the park at about 2 p.m. for team workouts and batting practice. At 3:30 p.m. there is a team lunch followed by near daily games beginning at 7 p.m. or occasionally at 9 p.m.

Most nights, the Richmond

native is not back at home until midnight.

“There were a lot of things I had to adjust to but the biggest thing was the heat,” Rutledge said. “The first day I stepped on the field here (in Arizona) it was 124 degrees. I almost passed out.”

Rutledge credits second-year coach Brian Guinn as contributing largely to his success, saying he showed love beyond coaching and treated the team like they were his kids.

“Jamal (Rutledge) just needs to be consistent,” Guinn said of his former shortstop. “He has the ability. He just needs to remain focused and confident in what he can do.”

This past Comet season, just the act of focusing became tough after two of Rutledge’s family members were killed in a shooting.

“I sat out for a couple of days but I didn’t let many people know what was going on,” Rutledge said.

“I didn’t want to be the guy walking around with a long face and everyone asking me what’s wrong, so I mostly would confide in Bear.”

Bear (Elijah Smith), Rutledge’s Comet teammate and lifelong friend, helped him deal with the tragedy and now sees the shortstop’s perseverance through the pain as an inspiration for the upcoming Comet season.

“I think Jamal (Rutledge) being drafted is a blessing and a great opportunity that pushes me to

work harder,” Smith said. “We’ve known each other since we were 3-year-olds, so I believe with that same will and hope I can get to where I want to go.”

Returning to the field last season was difficult for Rutledge, but with such a deep love for the game he continued to chase his dream with a renewed outlook.

“They would have wanted me to endure so I didn’t give up,” Rutledge said. “I feel like I’m playing for them. It makes me go harder.”

Talent was never the issue for Rutledge and despite not having as explosive of a freshman season with the Comets as he would have wanted, professional baseball scouts regularly attended games to see the shortstop play.

In October, before the CCC baseball season began, Rutledge met with a scout who told him to remain healthy and good things would be in his future.

Indeed, the future was fruitful for Rutledge. Upon signing he received $50,000 along with an additional $50,000 to continue his education.

“The goal is to make it to Cleveland (the major league team),” Rutledge said. “On this level everyone is good, so it’s important to never worry about someone else’s game, just what you can do because you only have control of yourself.”

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RICHMOND GRASPS ROSIE RECORD LEFT: Richmond resident Susie Collins flexes to show her support during the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front Festival at The Craneway Pavilion in Richmond on Aug. 13.

Text and photos by Cody Casares, photo editor FOR

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Attendees gather to surpass world record, honor history

The Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park, along with other sponsors, hosted 2,275 attendees in Rosie the Riveter costumes, setting a new world record, at the annual Home Front Festival at the Craneway Pavilion on Aug. 13.

The previous record was 2,096, set on Oct. 24, 2015 in Willow Run, Michigan.

Following the record count, participants paraded to Marina Bay Park for entertainment and food, as well as to visit various communi-

ty organization booths.

Attendees were given a chance to meet and hear first-hand stories from original Rosies like Mary Torres.

The 92-year-old left her home at the age of 18 on a one-way ticket from her home in Pennsylvania to California to answer an advertisement for free housing and guaranteed work in support of the World War II effort.

She spent the rest of World War II working as a welder in the Richmond Shipyards.

LEFT: Mary Torres, an original Rosie, talks to a festival attendee during the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front Festival at The Craneway Pavilion in Richmond on Aug. 13.

ABOVE: Over 2,200 Rosie attendees gathered to beat the previous Guinness World Record of 2,096 during the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front Festival at The Craneway Pavilion in Richmond on Aug. 13.

LEFT: Oakland resident Charlie Edman (right) and Richmond resident Grainne Hebeler dance to music before the Guinness World Record count during the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front Festival at The Craneway Pavilion in Richmond on Aug. 13.