The Accent

May 1, 2012

First Copy Free

theAccent.org

Volume 14, Issue 12

NEWS Women raise equality issues CAMPUS Riverbat 5K circles Round LIFE & ARTS Professor engages in at State Capitol | Page 4 Rock Campus | Page 8 living history | Page 8 News → Community

News → Community

Rocky future predicted for Earth

RECYCLE ME! Please recyle this paper when you’re done reading.

LIFE & ARTS ‘Bully’ stirs social consciousness Page 10

LIFE & ARTS Off-Centered Film Fest delivers quirky fun | Page 10

LIFE & ARTS Taco Deli serves up tasty tacos in prime time | Page 11

Environmental specialists discuss current statistics, green changes Natalie Casanova

Editor-in-Chief

Quiturah Arrington • Staff Photographer

SIGNING AT SCHOOL — Austin Community College Dean of Arts and Humanities Lyman Grant (left), and Civication Inc. founders Dvorah Ben-Moshe (center) and Ken Hurley (left) use American Sign Language to spell out ACC .

Access serves deaf community ACC produced Access News program begins second season on KLRU, promotes civic awareness Raymond Weyandt

Staff Writer

Access News entered its second season of creating news programming for hearing impaired viewers this April.

The program is produced

by Austin Community College, which enrolls more than 200 deaf and hard of hearing students, and by Civication Inc., a nonprofit, public education organization that promotes civic learning.

Ken Hurley founded the Civication in 2008 with former law professor Dvorah Ben-Moshe. He said the collaboration between the two organizations provides learning experience for students in many departments.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity,” he said.

The half-hour news program is hosted by Tamara SuiterOcuto. She has two degrees from Gallaudet University and

is a coordinator for Gallaudet at ACC. Gallaudet provides an educational curriculum designed solely for deaf and hard of hearing students.

Suiter-Ocuto, who is deaf, said Access News uses an interpreter so she can communicate with the television audience.

“A lot of communication barriers were broken down [during the first season],” she said. “Most of our guests had never even met a deaf person and had never used an interpreter.”

During its first season, the show featured a wide variety of guests including journalist Ken Herman, Congressman Michael McCaul and ACC English professor Don Miller. The show features special segments that promote civic awareness and cover topics such as terrorism, energy policy, civil rights, immigration and the future of the media. The show is filmed at the Pinnacle Campus and is

Photo Illustration by Jon Shapley • Photo Editor

broadcast on KLRU. ACC Dean of Arts and Humanities Lyman Grant said, “We are proud to help bring this resource to the community.”

He said the show encourages discussion on topics that are important for all viewers, deaf and hearing alike.

Jason Shaw, president of the Renewable Energy Student Association (RESA), is also deaf and said ACC has made it possible for him to communicate easily and

effectively at events.

“ACC has been great with providing the sign interpreter arrangements for my role as a student as well as being President of RESA,” he said.

In addition to services for deaf students, ACC also offers programs for those interested in working with the deaf community. The college offers a three-semester Deaf Services Certificate program which prepares students for work in institutions such as the Texas School for the Deaf.

See EARTH DAY, pg. 7

News → Community

Runners trek cross-state for charity ACC students run over 100 miles to benefit Miracle League Raymond Weyandt

Staff Writer

Austin Community College students Rusty Tolliver and John Ortiz ran more than one hundred miles together from San Antonio to Round Rock on April 21 and 22 to raise awareness for The Miracle League Town and Country. The run began Saturday morning at The Miracle League’s baseball park in San Antonio and ended Saturday afternoon at the Dell Diamond, where a related benefit concert welcomed the two runners.

Tolliver and Ortiz said they regularly run to benefit local charities. They made a similar trek last year and Tolliver recently ran across Bastrop County to raise funds and lift spirits after historic wildfires caused widespread damage to the area. In 2010, they ran from Boston to Austin to raise awareness and funds for several other charities.

The trek that began on April 21 ended the next day at the fourth annual Reckless Kelly

For every one job related to dumping, 250 jobs could be created for recycling, reusing and repurposing, Jeff Jacoby, Austin staff director for the Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE), said. He, along with other speakers and exhibitors, discussed a variety of topics on sustainability, energy conservation and green living at the April 19 Earth Fair at the Eastview Campus.

According to a recent study from the Institute for Local Selfreliance, by the year 2030, if the U.S. is at a 75 percent recycling rate, then sustainability will have created more than 4.5 million jobs. Jacoby said humans are currently using the Earth’s resources at about 1.5 times the rate the Earth can replenish them.

“We’re going to hit a wall,” he said.

Jacoby said he wanted to share a vision of what a “zero waste” society could look like while — hopefully — inspiring people to take action.

“Not simply on an individual basis,” he said, “but also to take action on a collective, political [and] societal level.”

Being more green conscious starts with consumers paying more attention to what they buy and what they leave behind, Jacoby said, or their “footprint” as it were.

“Realize that these resources are finite and make a decision to do just one thing each day,” Jacoby said, “whether it’s choosing a reusable water bottle over a plastic bottle, [or] walking over driving.”

Making small changes helps raise the consciousness, Jacoby said, but structural level changes

Softball Jam, a celebrity softball game and concert that benefits a number of charities, The Miracle League being one of them. Other than short breaks for water, Tolliver and Ortiz only stopped one time at a Mr. Gatti’s restaurant in New Braunfels.

“On a run like that, you need to eat or you’ll pay for it,” Tolliver said.

He said the greatest challenge came when running at night through San Marcos and New Braunfels. A lack of sidewalks and an onset of pain in his quadriceps made certain portions of the run more difficult.

“It definitely took a toll, but it was well worth it,” he said. Their effort raised over $2000 through grassroots fundraising.

The Miracle League is a nonprofit organization that benefits children with disabilities. Funds raised by the organization and its supporters are used to construct speciallydesigned baseball fields that allow children with a variety of disabilities to play the game

Joan Brook • Staff Writer

GOING THE DISTANCE — Long distance runner Rusty Toliver sports a successful smile.

Tolliver shaved over 4 hours from his previous time in a 100 mile race from San Antonio to Austin, completing the run in 22 hours and 45 minutes. The run raised support and funds for the Miracle League at Town and Country Optimist Club. that they were once prevented from playing. The fields are equipped with wheelchair accessible dugouts, restrooms and concession stands. The playing surface is also made of

synthetic turf that is conducive to wheelchair and walker use.

Funds generated by Tolliver and Ortiz will help The Miracle League in its efforts to give every child a chance to play baseball,

Executive director Diane Alford said.

“When folks step up to the plate and do something like this, it not only raises money, it raises awareness,” she said, “and for

that we are most thankful.”

During the run, Ortiz would drive his car four or five miles ahead of Tolliver and then run back to meet him while clearing any hazards from the path along the way. The two would then run together until they reached the car, drink some water and then repeat the process.

“What [Ortiz] did was crucial to our success,” Tolliver said.

Ortiz and Tolliver talked about everything from sports to music in order to pass the time during the run, and they both said the time spent running alone in the dark was extremely challenging.

Ortiz said that he paid close attention to where they were in the journey compared with previous runs.

“I could tell that we were gaining ground and that we were beating our time from last year,” he said.

The pair arrived at the Dell Diamond just before 10 a.m. and spent some time relaxing with the members of Reckless Kelly.

“We’re hoping to do more charity runs to raise awareness for great causes just like this one,” Ortiz said.

For more information about the annual Reckless Kelly Celebrity Softball Jam, visit rkcsj.org; and for information about The Miracle League, visit miracleleague.com.

Forum

page 2 May 1, 2012 Forum → Opinion Columns

Forum → Opinion Columns

notes

Natalie Casanova

Editor-in-Chief

If you’re not taking courses over the summer break, don’t waste your time being idle. Use that time to improve yourself, perhaps create new, positive habits or break old, unhealthy ones such as smoking cigarettes.

As a former smoker (briefly), I know there is more to smoking than just inhaling and exhaling, and the physical effects associated with it. There is an oral fixation, a slight obsession and a sort of satisfaction from smoking a “square” down to the butt. But the mental addiction can be broken, and there are products to help overcome the physical addiction as well.

If you’re not ready to give up nicotine altogether, I’d highly recommend at least making the switch to electronic cigarettes as they are much less harmful to your body and those around you. It definitely resolves many of the problems related to smoking traditional cigarettes, especially the smell and the cost.

I quit smoking cold turkey

a couple years ago and haven’t really ever looked back, but if you’re having a hard time quitting, e-cigarettes are at least much better for you health-wise.

E-cigarettes give off vaporized water and nicotine (and flavors if you prefer ones with specific tastes), which is much better than burning paper and other carcinogens.

There’s really nothing that cigarettes offer that other things, such as chewing gum, venting to a friend or having a healthy habit, can’t do. If not for your health, then breaking the smoking habit between semesters will help you deal with school stresses in the fall since all ACC campuses are smoke-free .

Most people know why they shouldn’t smoke, but just in case you might be in denial, here’s a short list of reasons: • It’s seriously detrimental to your health and can cause illnesses, cancer and even death.

• It can harm the health of others unintentionally.

• It’s disgusting, not just because of what it does to teeth, hands and clothes, but the inside of your body as well. And it smells really gross.

• It wastes money and time that could be invested in a more productive habit.

• It causes more stress than it relieves. The psychological stress relief is only temporary and your body takes on physical stress in dealing with the poison you’re putting into it.

You become dependent on smoking as a temporary stressrelief outlet instead of finding positive ways to handle emotions and frustrations.

Forum → Opinion Columns

Study buddies, study breaks used. It may not prove useful for everybody but if you’re on the go and need a way to access Blackboard and you’re not near a computer, Blackboard Mobile: Learn is the right app for the job. Blackboard Mobile has another option available for other use aside from the academic realm so that option may also be useful to look into at http://www.blackboard.com/ platforms/mobile/overview. aspx.

Study Breaks

Nathan Bustillos Staff Writer

Although the current spring semester is coming to a close very soon, there is a wealth of things that you can still find in order to prepare for upcoming semesters. The internet and mobile networking have a wealth of information, products, and applications that you can use to help make life easier for you in the academic world or in your social life.

Blackboard Mobile is one of those applications.

Study Buddies For those students that are required to use Blackboard to access courserelated information, the app Blackboard Mobile: Learn can help you do just that.

Blackboard Mobile: Learn is an app that you can download for free on Android, Blackberry, and iPod/iPhone/iPad and access Blackboard wherever you are if you have a Wi-Fi connection. Blackboard Mobile: Learn can be used almost exactly like you would use the actual Blackboard online. You can check your grades, announcements and assignments all from your mobile device. This app is definitely useful for people who attend a college or university where Blackboard is heavily

One of the biggest things college students often run into during the summer break is boredom. Blackboard Mobile is also useful for a college student’s social life as well.

Blackboard Mobile Central functions very similar to Blackboard Mobile: Learn.

The major difference is you can find things around the city including concerts, libraries, college athletics games, and keep up with college or university events. Blackboard Mobile Central comes equipped with maps you can use to find the locations where you need to go and you can keep in contact with friends using the Directory feature. If you can’t help but have school on the brain while on vacation, you can use the Courses feature to find a course catalog for your college or university.

The Places feature can be used together with the Maps feature to find specific locations like restaurants, shopping malls, and other things throughout the city. Keep a calendar of events with the Events feature as well, so you can stay up to date on anything and everything happening on or around campus.

If you have any suggestions for Study Buddies or Study Breaks, feel free to email me at nathan.bustillos@g.austincc.edu and make sure to use the subject line “Study Buddies, Study Breaks suggestions.”

Students have a voice SGA works to turn up volume on student concerns

Megan McKay • Staff Artist

Staff Editorial With eight campuses serving a student body that reaches over 45,000 students per year, it is easy for an Austin Community College student to feel like a tadpole in the pond that is ACC. Many students who attend ACC feel they have no say in issues such as the type of classes being taught or the hours of operation for learning labs or other campus facilities. Students may feel frustrated by these issues, but there is no reason to feel that way. The fact is, ACC students have quite a large say in how the school is run. And one of the best outlets for student opinions is the Student Government Association (SGA).For those who are not aware, which unfortunately seems to be quite a large percentage of the student population, the SGA serves as the crucial link between students and the ACC administration. They are a group of politically-minded students who seem to thrive on serving their fellow students as advocates for their causes and an outlet

for every student’s voice to be heard. Much like the legislative branch of government, the SGA is comprised of senators who represent each of ACC’s campuses and certain special interest groups which include veteran students and students with disabilities. Senators are elected by the student body each school year. Elections for the 2012-2013 school year, which ended April 23, were extended due to a slight malfunction with candidate videos. This follows a hiccup at the beginning of the 2012 spring semester in which then President Dylan Pera chaired the first meeting despite not being enrolled in classes for the spring semester. Because this situation goes against the SGA constitution, the meeting was deemed null and void. As a result, each officer sworn in at that meeting had to wait until the February meeting to be sworn in officially. Similarly, each issue addressed at that meeting had to be readdressed in February as well. The SGA, which boasts honor and accountability, took quite a hit with this scandal. However, they recouped and handled the crisis well. New officers were elected following the infamous January meeting and the SGA gets high marks for the way they handled

this restructuring process.

Although the SGA seems to exist in slight obscurity, it is not for lack of trying. The SGA was incredibly active in campus events this year and should be honored for the work that they’ve done to improve campus life. SGA was involved in various campaigns on behalf of the student body and the Austin community. The group worked with ACC’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter Sigma Alpha Pi to coordinate “Project: Serve,” a community-wide service event. They also hosted ACC’s Hot Seat, a jeopardy-style trivia game held at the Cypress Creek Campus, and a children’s literacy event. SGA showed its commitment to serving students this year, and a highlight of this initiative was the sponsorship of a forum for students to voice concerns to ACC board member Dr. Victor Villareal and board chair Dr. Barbara Mink.

SGA members discussed future plans to aid the student body at the final SGA meeting, held April 20 at the Highland Business Center. SGA parliamentarian Janet Vela-Ross addressed a rumor that a large number of classes were being cancelled for future semesters.

Vela-Ross confirmed the rumor and said that teachers were

complaining about not being able to teach. She promised this was something that would be addressed in the future.

The future looks bright as SGA plans to unveil their new website in the Fall semester. The team also approved a motion to implement a development training retreat to be held in Spicewood, Texas June 1-3.

This is an extremely wise move as constant training and leadership growth only helps to improve the quality of service the SGA is able to provide.

Despite some integrity issues in the January meeting, the SGA has had an incredibly successful year. Perhaps the biggest upset about SGA is the fact that more students are not aware of the service that they provide. If the SGA needs improvement anywhere, it is in their ability to draw in not only the most active of students, but also the students that are not involved in the ACC Student Life. Every student deserves representation, it should not be denied them simply because they are not aware that they have it.

Speak up, be heard The Accent loves to hear feedback from its readers. Here are a few comments we’ve received about Editor-in-Chief Natalie Casanova’s last “Nova’s notes” column: “Science needs to be made a priority in this country again. Thank you for being a voice of reason.”

- Anonymous “The ‘Voice of Reason’ would argue its foolish to believe that Theism is diametrically opposed to Science. Hey Natalie, there are a great many Scientists(smart ones) that believe in God and yet remain perfectly capable of enjoying the Scientific Method. Can you please explain this in your next article? In my view, the question of origin seems to be left unanswered if we explore it from a scientific point of view. Thus, I believe there is a need for some religious or metaphysical explanation. I believe in the concept of God and in his existence.”

Charles Townes, Nobel Prize Winner, Physics.”

- Dino V “Hey dude I don’t see anywhere in this column that says anything against religion or God, can you point it out? I’m pretty sure all she’s saying is science is important - which it is. And for your info - a lot theist scientists don’t mingle their faith with scientific facts. Just check out Ken Miller and his talks about evolution and intelligent design.”

- at-dino-v

Want your comments and opinions published? Leave a comment on our website theaccent.org, like us on Facebook.com/ AccentNewspaper and follow us on Twitter @theaccent or better yet, e-mail us a letter at editor@austincc.edu or accent@austincc. edu, and we’ll be more than happy to publish your thoughts.

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RRC, 4400 College Park Drive, Room 2107 Round Rock, TX 78665 Editor-in-Chief....................................................................................... Natalie Casanova Assistant Editor..................................................................................... Era Sundar Layout Editor.......................................................................................... Kristen Sauls Web Editor............................................................................................... Dana Manickavasagam Multimedia Editor................................................................................ Joey Gidseg Photo Editor........................................................................................... Jon Shapley Accent Adviser....................................................................................... Jamie Lay Student Life Director.......................................................................... Cheryl Richard Staff Designers Allison Bastien, Ruby Pinon Staff Writers Nathan Bustillos, Josh House, Hannah Hargis, DC McClean, Abra Gist, Joan Brook, Serena Kelley, Elise Laird, Raymond Weyandt, Layla Elayyadi, Norma Lauren Madden, Joey Galvan Photographers Janice Veteran, Quiturah Arrington Staff Artists Megan McKay ACC President Dr. Richard Rhodes Board of Trustees Dr. Barbara P. Mink—Chair, Jeffrey Richard—Vice Chair, John Michael V. Cortez—Secretary, Tim Mahoney, Nan McRaven, Dr. Victor H. P. Villarreal, Guadalupe Q. Sosa, Dr. James W. McGufee, Allen H. Kaplan

All rights reserved. All content is the property of Accent and may not be reproduced, published or retransmitted in any form without written permission from the Office of Student Life. Accent is the student newspaper of Austin Community College and is printed by the Austin American-Statesman. Accent is published biweekly. ACC students may submit articles for publication in Accent to RRC’s Student Publication Office, Room 2107; e-mail articles to accent@austincc.edu or fax submissions to 223-0904. ACC does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, political affiliation or disability. Accent offers ACC’s faculty, staff, students and surrounding community a complete source of information about student life. Accent welcomes your input, as well as information about errors. If you notice any information that warrants a correction please e-mail accent@austincc.edu. Individual views, columns, letters to the editor and other opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of Accent.

May 1, 2012

www.theAccent.org

Forum → Opinion Columns

Looking ahead

Era Sundar

Assistant Editor

With a law degree and 15 years as a stay-at-home mom under my belt, I’m not the traditional college student, and I’m not alone. Many students are attending college under unique circumstances at various stages of their lives.

Based on my experiences as a nontraditional student, I will share tips in each issue of The Accent, on how to make the most of your time at Austin Community College whether you are fresh out of high school or starting over like me.

Look ahead As much as I look forward to a full-time career, there always seem to be more classes I’d like to take and new skills I want to acquire. But eventually, it will be time to leave the nest and move on from ACC. Instead of falling out of the nest head-first, it’s a good idea to prepare to hit the ground running.

Ready the resume If you haven’t done so already, start writing your resume – even if you’re a freshman with no job experience. Seeing what you have done, and perhaps what you haven’t done, can help with planning.

Preparing a resume can be intimidating. After all, one’s entire worth as a human being is condensed into a single page to be judged by others.

Write it, proof read it and have it critiqued by trusted friends, professors and anyone else who can give relevant advice. By having it ready ahead of time, you can respond

Forum | Page 3

Forum→ Comic

to job openings quickly and confidently.

Formulate a statement of purpose that clearly expresses what you want from a job or chosen career. Once again, have this ready ahead of time and tailor it to each application as opportunities arise.

Send thank you notes even for rejection letters. It’s a small gesture that says a lot about you as a person.

While factors such as a prolonged absence from the workforce or a change in career can create unexplained gaps in employment or experience, cover letters and thank-you notes provide an opportunity to round out the impression and add color and depth to a profile.

Create an online portfolio There are plenty of sites where you can set up free blogs and post resumes and samples of your work. It’s a nice extra to show prospective employers.

Linking to your work on social media sites is also a good way to get exposure. Don’t forget, whatever you put online – comments, pictures, etc. – can be found by employers. So if you have a crazy wild side, clean up that online presence. While information can be password protected and made private, that may not be as foolproof as it seems.

Forum → Opinion Columns

Memoirs of a veteran

Practice Professionalism Always be courteous, even via email. Email tends to be less formal than traditional letters, and that’s OK. But it’s not an excuse to be sloppy or rude.

And hit ‘spell check’ before the ‘send’ button.

Get what you deserve I know things happen, but as far as possible, finish what you started and get your associate degree or certificate. Even if the primary goal is to transfer to a four-year institution, don’t neglect to complete intermediate steps. You deserve it.

A completed credential gives prospective employers one more positive accomplishment to consider.

And if transfer plans become delayed for some reason, there’s an intermediate degree to fall back on.

Good luck and happy summer.

The Adorable Adventures of Babytar

Kristen Sauls Layout Editor

It was “fifth week” in basic training. The following week was graduation. Sometime during the last few years, the Air Force decided there would be a fifth-week ceremony where all trainees receive the Airmen’s coin and officially become an Airman instead of a trainee.

I remember thinking the ceremony was stupid, as I thought they all were. I remember being annoyed about marching to the other side of the base; I remember those big, ugly BCGs (birth-controlglasses) sliding down my nose

I imagine I feel a little conflicted towards the Air Force because it’s such a large part of my family. My paternal grandfather, my dad, my mom and I were all Airmen, and about 90 percent of my friends are military-related. Military friends are like family, because it doesn’t matter how much time has gone by, how often you talk... or don’t talk, you always pick up where you left off.

But there are aspects of the military that are hard to love, or even tolerate. It takes a lot of strength and sacrifice to handle the military lifestyle and not be angry about it: It doesn’t matter if your marriage is in a bad place during your deployment cycle, you’ll deploy anyway. It doesn’t matter if your kid will be born while you’re away; it doesn’t matter if you are single and have no one to watch your cat because you live on the other side of the world from your family; you’ll deploy anyway.

Some girls get pregnant on purpose, and some guys put themselves on suicide watch or some other non-deployable medical condition just to get out of it, but no one respects those people.

And while they are giving you all this bad news about how they own your life, and don’t

really care about it, they expect you to smile and be happy.

It was really hard for me to stomach, but I always admired the people who were able to smile and not hate the military for it — at least not publicly.

Though I also hope it wasn’t because the military beat the fight out of them.

However, those less-thanideal situations make me more appreciative of how much freedom I have now. Little problems that used to seem like mountains now resemble mole hills. And the military did just as much good in my life as bad.

Well, through the past’s rosecolored glasses, the two seem about equal.

While in the Air Force, I traveled the world, gained maturity, job experience, friends that are like family and an appreciation for being in control of my life again.

But the most important thing I got from joining the Air Force was a second chance on how I wanted to live my life.

It gave me the drive I needed to realize my full potential and make the most of my second chance. Every day I strive to be better than I was the last day, and that is what I’m most grateful for.

Forum → Opinion Columns

On my mind: new friendships

DC McLean Staff Writer

Natalie Casanova • Editor-in-Chief

and not being able to fix them because I couldn’t move while at attention.

(My military training instructor (MTI) actually got stung in the neck by a bee while standing at attention during marching practice and didn’t move. Afterwards, she told us that’s what she expected us all to do at attention: just stand there and get stung — without even a grimace.)

I also remember being terrified I was going to mess up and get screamed at, because — try as I might — the desire to punch them in the face for screaming at me never went away.

Then, they gave me that stupid coin and each MTI saluted us individually. For some strange reason, it made me cry. It was super lame, but I cried over that stupid coin and how close I was to leaving that horrible place.

Little memories like that make me realize that even though the Air Force and I didn’t usually see eye-to-eye, some part of me — probably some deep, buried, sadistic part also has heart-felt love for it. I think a lot of veterans feel similarly; it’s a love-hate relationship, but everyone has different levels of love and hate.

The semester is coming to an end, and between studying for classes you’ve probably given serious thought to what you’ll be doing in the summer. There are places to go, people to meet and things to see. But what you probably didn’t give that much thought to are the new friendships you’ve forged in the classes you just finished. You

know who I’m talking about.

The classmates you studied with, the ones you called every day, but then suddenly stopped calling and talking to for one single reason: You didn’t have to see them 2 – 3 times a week anymore.

If there is one thing people take for granted during college it is the friendships they tend to neglect after classes end. It sounds horrible and you might say you don’t do that but think about it. How often do you really see those classmates you made friends with during times when school is not in session?

Do you go out to the movies, go have dinner, or simply hang out with them like you do other friends? Do you have discussions about which “Sex in the City” character you are most like or which Avenger Superpower you’d be most likely to have? Do you even make plans to hang out with them, check in on them, or see how their day is going?

Chances are you don’t and you most likely never will. You don’t mean for it to happen

– you probably had the best intentions and a lot of care for your fellow classmates, but for some reason that friendship that you have been kindling for the last four and a half months isn’t there anymore. It fizzled out, there is no chance of rekindling it; there’s no more fuel to add to the fire and the best you can offer is a friendly “Hello” if you happen to pass them on your way to class. It frankly makes you sound cold-hearted, but you’re not alone.

There are ways you can make those relationships with former and future classmates meaningful. The simple solution is to be proactive, but if you need examples here are few of my favorite things to make sure those new friends don’t fall by the wayside.

1) This might seem obvious but you’d be surprised how often people forget to actually exchange contact information with their new friend.

2) After you have the contact information, call/ text/e-mail/send carrier pigeon

to said friend. Set up a meeting to have coffee, lunch, dinner, a basic meal outside of class (and the school) and talk about something other than class.

3) Introduce your new friend to your current circle of friends. You might be surprised to know that one of your friends actually knows your new friend.

4) Join a club or organization with your new friend. People who are in clubs and organizations tend to keep in touch long after the semester and their college careers are over.

5) If you have the same major (you can usually find classmates with the same majors in those core classes) register for classes next semester together.

Having someone you’ve already studied with will make studying for your new class much easier.

There are a number of different ways to continue to cultivate and make new friends in college. Chances are you already have, but it’s always good to start looking in the most obvious place possible: The classes you attend each day.

Forum → Opinion Columns

NBA playoff prediction puts Heat on top

Josh House

Staff Writer

The NBA season that almost didn’t happen is coming to a close soon, and the race for No. 1 is as close as it’s ever been, with a few surprises along the way.

In the Eastern Division, it’s no surprise the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls are again fighting for that top spot with the Bulls behind two games and four left in the season to go.

Most people have the Heat winning it all, and with good reason as the team features Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, three of the best players in their respective positions who came together two years ago to win a championship. I expect the Heat to stay ahead in that race, they are playing better basketball

right now, and are just tougher physically.

Now the western division race is shaping up to be a bit more interesting. On the one hand, you have the young Oklahoma City Thunder, who can score more points than any team in the NBA with the onetwo punch of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Then on the other, you have a surprise team in the San Antonio Spurs, who have quietly and with almost no media attention whatsoever, edged ahead of the next closest team in the west by about half a game. Now, as to who actually wins the No. 1 seed — I think that’s up for grabs, really. But I’ll give the slight edge to the Spurs as they have a pretty easy four game stretch.

For the Eastern Conference Finals, I have the Heat playing the Bulls in the playoffs, because I really don’t see another team in the east that could take either one of those teams in a sevengame series.

Ultimately I have the Heat beating the Bulls again for the spot in the championship game because of their physical presence and the fact that their bench is a lot deeper than it was last year. Not to mention they have been playing lights out. If James can finish his drives in the fourth quarter, not be afraid to take it to the rim and shoot the free throws instead of pull-up jump shots, then they will be even more dangerous.

I like Derrick Rose and the Bulls, but he has not been

playing as well as he could have this year. And quite frankly, the Bulls had a better record when he was out this season.

The Western Conference will have a tougher road to the division final, but I still have the Spurs meeting the Thunder in a series of titanic proportions.

It’d be a match for the ages with the old, experienced Spurs who proved critics wrong against the young, new Thunder. This game is tougher for me to call right now, because both teams play great lock-down defense, and both have great benches who can support the starters.

My only concern for the Thunder is Westbrook’s tendency to just jack up shots, which can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing if he

has a pretty good shooting day but a curse because sometimes he’ll get a little impatient and his shooting will be off. If the Thunder don’t make those shots beyond the arc, they are in serious trouble.

My X-factor for the game is actually Spurs Head Coach Greg Poppovich. His experience and emphasis on mechanics and defense give the Spurs the edge in the series and ultimately in meeting the Heat in the Finals.

My prediction for that game is Spurs over Heat in six games.

The Spurs are more technically proficient than the Heat and I think Poppovich and company would exploit the Heat’s trouble closing games as well as their lack of a dominant presence in the paint.

Overall, it’s been a fun season and I hope the playoffs match the excitement and intensity that the regular season brought.

news

Page 4 May 1, 2012 News → Community

Crawfish boil benefits youth

Capitol of Texas Rotary Club fundraiser supports programs for families Joan Brook

Staff Writer

At its first crawfish boil April 29, the Capitol of Texas Rotary Club raised money on behalf of Strong Start, a national family support program dedicated to keeping families together and helping at-risk youth.

The crawfish boil was held at the Zilker Clubhouse and was sponsored by HEB and Austin Beerworks, and featured

musical entertainment by Bryan Barksdale.

“The Capitol of Texas Rotary Club is honored to support such a fantastic organization,” club president Grant Sparks said.

He said the club chose Strong Start to be the beneficiary of its only charity event for the year, and their goal is to raise $10,000. Sparks said he felt confident they would easily reach the goal on Strong Start’s behalf.

“Strong Start’s proven prevention services for children at risk of abuse and neglect insures our philanthropic dollars are well spent,” he said.

Strong Start was previously known as the ‘Relief Nursery of Central Texas.’ In an April 17 ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mayor Lee Leffingwell, proclaimed the organization’s name formally changed. The Austin City Council declared the date “Strong Start Day.” State Representative Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin), who also attended the ribbon cutting, pushed a resolution through the State Legislature that affirmed the efforts of Strong Start and commemorated the renaming of the organization.

“Strong Start fills a critical need in the community by strengthening families and keeping children safe,” Naishtat said. “As the state representative for District 49, I am excited that this important program is located in the heart of the district I represent.”

According to its website, Strong Start’s model builds on a philosophy of child protection and family preservation first.

The belief that most children are best served when they can remain with their families is at the cornerstone of that model. Established in Oregon in 1976, the organization offers services and comprehensive family support for parents and children up to six years old.

Strong Start currently assists approximately 75 families per year. With a move to a larger location scheduled to take place soon, Executive Director Jackie Macha said she hopes the number of families helped will also grow.

“We’re still in transition,” Macha said. “But a move from 600 square feet to 3,000 square feet will really help.”

Visit safekidsstrongfamilies. org for more information about Strong Start and their services.

Photo Illustration by Joan Brook • Staff Writer

rant & rave

With the year drawing to a close, we wanted to know what students think about SGA.We asked students at Northridge Campus: What do you think SGA has accomplished this semester?

Xavier Davis

Mayra Buentella

“Haven’t really heard too much about the student government, but show us more. We don’t have much going on. It would be nice to see more of the student government considering I’m up here all the time. I say the people in the organization are doing pretty good themselves, but I don’t think there’s a lot of interaction outside of that.”

“From what I’ve heard, it’s supposed to be our voice, isn’t it? To get our concerns out there and better our experience here. But other than that, I only come at night, so that may be why I don’t hear much about them.

I receive emails from ACC, but never from Student Government Association. I mean, that would be neat if we could get emails and stuff like that.”

M u si c

Angel Jones Psychology

Education

“I don’t really know much about the student government because I don’t really hear much about them. I’m not really sure what their goals are for the school and for the student body. So one thing I’d like is just for them to advertise it a little more, so we understand what they’re here for so that if we need something we know that we can go to them for it.”

Jon Shapley • Photo Editor

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News Briefs

News → Community

ACC recognized for sustainability The American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) organization awarded the Austin Community College District for its environmental sustainability practices during the “Celebrating Sustainability” series.

The college gained recognition for its Green Pass program, which provides free bus passes for students, faculty and staff. The program has helped ACC offset commuter-related activities that are responsible for as much as 41 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions.

ACC has also installed electric car charging stations and green car parking for fuel-efficient, low emission vehicles on campuses.

The use of incandescent light bulbs is being phased out and the college has introduced green cleaning and Green Fountain water bottle filling stations. Three campus buildings feature large solar photovoltaic systems on their roofs.

Other green initiatives include adopting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for new construction and major renovations.

Dr. Anthony D. Cortese, president of Second Nature, an organization that supports ACUPCC, said, “ACC is a leader among colleges large and small in promoting sustainability on campus, where students can experience first-hand, the many benefits of reducing energy consumption.”

A secured $3.2 million federal grant and the $1-per-credit-hour student sustainability fee has aided ACC in carrying out its green initiatives. ACC’s Director of Environmental Stewardship, Andy Kim, was hired in April 2009 and has paved the way to maximize ACC’s efforts to go green.

“Every small step can make a big difference,” Kim said. “We want to do our part to promote sustainability, and the college is giving students, faculty, and staff a variety of ways to go green.

By working together, we are creating a sustainable college and community.”

For more information, visit austincc.edu/sustainability.

SGA election results President — Michael Wade Vice President — Carlos Charles Parliamentarian — Arlis Moore Cypress Creek Senator — Daniel Al Jamal Eastview Senator — Bryton Mechura South Austin Senator — Paul Silva

News | Page 5

Activists rally to end war on women

Photo Illustration by Abra Gist • Staff Writer

Organization, activists, locals gather at Capitol to inform, inspire positive political climate change for women’s rights Serena Kelley Staff Writer

Activists from all over Texas championed women’s rights on April 28 on the front steps of the Capitol during a “Women will remember in November” themed rally sponsored by Unite Against the War on Women (UAWOW).

The organization initially began as a small group of women in Austin called “Liberal Ladies Who Lunch,” which later

joined forces with UAWOW. Group representatives said their mission is to reinstate the rights of women and inform and involve the younger generation.

The rally is the beginning of what organizers said they hoped would become a significant political movement to change the climate toward women in Texas via legislative and other political actions.

Such actions would include repealing the pre-abortion sonogram bill and reinstating

the distribution of money to the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, which offers cancer and other health screenings.

The defunding of Planned Parenthood, individuals’ right to family planning and the controversy over birth control are also on the group’s agenda.

UAWOW of Texas coordinator Julie Burns said she hopes the rally will bring awareness to young women in Texas and inspire them to get involved.

“There is a new generation of young women who are starting to notice these issues,” Burns said, “issues that my generation thought we had already won.”

Burns said young women today never expected a war on their reproductive rights in this day and age.

“It’s hard to think that their birth control or their right to family planning may be taken

away,” she said, “because they’ve always had [them].”

Voter registration tables were set up at the rally to ensure attendees could make their voices heard during the upcoming elections.

“We will be giving everybody information about who is supporting women and who isn’t,” Burns said. “We need to act for Texas women.

Young women on college campuses need to register to vote, and vote for who has your best interests. That is the most important thing they can do.”

Austin Community College student and rally volunteer Martha Stark Dolese said it is imperative that young women are educated about the facts and decisions being made by Texas legislators.

“With our governor’s recent refusal of all federal Title X funds, Planned Parenthoods in the most rural of counties are disappearing,” Martha said. “This will greatly impact the women of Texas, and I feel strongly that my voice is a must to speak for the poor and disenfranchised women in every corner of my beloved state.”

Martha’s daughter, Kayla Dolese, is also an ACC student.

Kayla said she became involved with UAWOW of Texas after being inspired by her mother’s advocacy for the group. Kayla is a childhood cancer survivor, but is now an epileptic due to brain damage caused by chemotherapy.

Kayla said she will never forget what the state government has achieved already, but it is unfathomable that they should now tell her how best to manage her epilepsy.

“Why on earth should the state tell me how to manage reproductive health as well?”

Kayla said. “I feel strongly that this is an out-of-control train that must not only be stopped, but derailed altogether.”

For more information, visit wowtex.org and wearewomenmarch.net.

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May 1, 2012

Forum → Opinion Columns

Geology students get hands-on

ACC geology class travels in, around Austin to get first-hand experience, examine dinosaur tracks, native rock formations Layla Elayyadi

Staff Writer

The anticipation of going on a trip with a class brings you back to the middle school field trip days. We all packed a lunch and had our hiking shoes on ready for an adventure with Austin Community College’s ever-so-funny geology professor Joanne Mathis.

We all met up at the Round Rock Campus where she told us that she wanted us all to

understand the basic concept of what we go through in class and to understand our local geology.

She also advised us of where we were going (since it was a surprise) and explained the reason behind all of the eight stops we were headed.

The very first stop, near Leander, Texas, was one of the most exciting because it involved dinosaur tracks and fossils. We arrived at South San Gabriel River, which is the upper surface of the Glen Rose

Formation.

We hiked down a trail until we arrived at the site where the lower cretaceous dinosaur tracks are located. Everyone on the trip placed his or her foot into the track to compare the size, and it really was not as big as we thought it would be.

One of my fellow classmates, Samantha Bradley, had some of the most fun at this location.

“A real dinosaur walked through that mud and left those

tracks millions of years ago and I could stand right in that spot,” she said. “It really was interesting that even though all that time has gone by, the rocks preserved information about the life that once was there.”

They estimate from the dinosaur’s print that it was about seven feet tall and 27 feet in length.

After hiking back up the hill, we rested for a few moments to catch our breath and then were headed to our second stop, which was the Lake Buchanan Dam to see all sorts of schist rocks.

Stop three was also one of the more exciting ones because we visited the Llano River and stood on nothing but granite. A lot of us played in the water and

Photos by Layla Elayyadi • Staff Photographer

WHAT IS THAT? — Geology Professor Joanne Mathis points out a geologic feature of a cave during a field trip to Longhorn Cavern State Park. Mathis explained that the formation was created from the abrasion of limestone during the Ordovician Age.

ROCK ON — James Lanier grabs a hammer to dig into the

limestone for some souvenirs. Not only did he learn that this limestone had traces of biotite mica, but he also learned that chipping away at this rock was not as hard as it looked.

collected rocks for ourselves.

This was where we learned how granite develops coarse-grained textures.

Stop four was also a favorite because we went to the Longhorn Caverns State Park.

We did not get the chance to go inside the actual cave, but we did go towards the entrance, which was amazing in itself.

We were seeing and touching rock that was over 450 million years old, and we learned some cool history facts about how Native Americans used this place along with the Civil War soldiers and outlaws like Sam Bass.

We had a picnic in the park and talked about all the cool things we learned and saw.

One student said, “I never knew how close this is to Austin. It’s pretty remarkable.”

After lunch, we continued our day with stops five through eight, where we actually got the opportunity to get hands-on.

Student James Lanier had a blast with a hammer and goggles as he chipped away at the sixth stop looking for pyrite (fools gold).

Lanier said, “It was my favorite part because I was exposing rock that had never

seen the light of day in over a billion years. My mind was really blown away at the thought.”

Geology is a great class, especially if you are interested in knowing how rocks are formed and want to know more about the history of the earth. I recommend students take this class, not only for the awesome field trip but also for the knowledge.

Mathis said, “The trip went very well, and we hit everything we were supposed to and I plan on doing this every semester.”

Other students also wanted to weigh in on the overall experience; some wished we had spent more time at certain stops or explored further.

Bradley said, “It’s not like class because it gives some tangible experience to the things we’re learning about in class. I wish we would have done it much earlier in the year because it was such a great opportunity to get to know your classmates.”

I had a blast and I know that my new geology friends did too. We are even planning a summer trip to re-visit a few of these stops ourselves.

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May 1, 2012

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Campus Life | Page 7

EARTH DAY continued from pg. 1 are also needed to develop a sustainable society. He said supporting those changes can be as simple as writing a letter to lawmakers or polluting companies, or becoming a member of TCE. Last summer, TCE was successful in passing legislation requiring all TV companies in Texas to have a plan in place for taking back and recycling old televisions by 2013.

Currently, the group is taking on Walmart for their lack of recycling policies for obsolete, toxic electronics, which is the fastest growing and most toxic consumer waste stream, Jacoby said.

Renewable Energy Student Association (RESA) President Jason Shaw answered questions about the ACC student chapter of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), while encouraging students to join the club. He said the group’s focus is to give students access to ASES events, information and technology while creating opportunities to network in the renewable energy community outside of ACC. Shaw also invited Dr. Fred Beach, a postdoctoral fellow from the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, to speak

at the event. Beach presented issues and statistics for the increasing global rate of energy consumption to a seemingly astounded audience .

Beach said many people are shocked when they hear of the high coal consumption rates in China and India, which are more significantly higher than any other country in the world.

“The biggest challenge [in sustainability] is education,” Beach said. “[People] need to get educated and work on energy conservation.”

People should begin focusing on changing their lifestyles, Beach said, as well as conserving energy because other countries look to the U.S. and try to imitate our standard of living.

ACC student Michelle Kuhr said Beach’s presentation was amazing and also very startling.

“It’s nice to hear the US is peaking [in their coal consumption], but then it’s really scary to hear that China and India are ‘catching up’ in a massive way,” she said.

It’s easy to ignore environmental problems, Kuhr said, but it’s going to become an increasingly important issue if nothing changes.

“You might as well try to make a difference while you still

Photos by Natalie Casanova • Editor-in-Chief

FOR THE FUTURE —Dr. Fred Beach, postdoctoral fellow from the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, listens to information during the Earth Fair April 19 at Eastview Campus.

ZERO WASTE —Jeff Jacoby, Austin staff director for the Texas Campaign for the

RENEWABLE FUTURE— Students and attendees peruse materials from various organizations during the Earth Fair April 19 at Eastview Campus. The event featured several speakers and focused on education and awareness regarding these issues.

Environment, speaks during Earth Fair April 19 at Eastview Campus. Jacoby and other speakers hoped to motivate people to change consumption habits and move towards more sustainability.

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page 8 | Campus Life

www.theAccent.org

Campus → People

History repeated

ACC history professor reenacts significant wars involving America, brings past to life for students, family, locals Janice Veteran

Staff Photographer

Austn Community College history professor Jeff Hunt has been a part of “Company G” for over 20 years. Company G, a living history organization, reenacts battles in which the United States has participated such as the Civil War, World War I and World War II. “Living through history helps us learn how to make decisions in the future,” Hunt said.

Hunt has participated in several movies that portrayed reenactments including IMAX movie “The Alamo” and “Texas,” a made for TV movie.

Making movie reenactments is hard work, Hunt said, because each member must provide their own equipment, and uniforms and weapons must be accurate reproductions, if not authentic. Facial hair and haircuts must conform to U.S. Military standards of the period being reenacted, he said.

He is also the director and a historian with the Texas Military Museum at Camp Mabry.

Gill Eastland, a fellow reenactor, said Hunt cares about his students and the people who come to the museum.

“He has a very practical approach to history, and tries to bring the ‘how this relates to my life’ aspect to history,” Eastland said. “He is incredibly knowledgeable about the WWII battles. We all know what happened, but he knows the details that most people don’t know.”

From the time he was a child, Hunt, who has been teaching at ACC for 25 years, said he was always interested in history and that interest has helped him in teaching.

He said many students find history boring becasue they were just memorizing facts without understanding them.

“As a historian I understood intellectually what happened in the wars, but I never understood emotionally

students to understand “theI want cause and effect rather than

memorize dates and places. It is more important to understand the ideas and courage of the men who wrote the constitution, and understand analytically what they did in history.

”

Photos by Janice Veteran • Staff Photographerr

LIVING HISTORY — Austin Community College history professor Jeff Hunt takes part in a reenactment event at Camp Mabry. Hunt , who has been teaching at ACC for 25 years, has attempted to bring his passion for history into the classroom. what it’s like until I had been [in reenactments]. War is a very real and powerful thing,” he said. “I want students to understand the cause and effect rather than memorize dates and places. It is more important to understand the ideas and courage of the men who wrote the constitution, and understand analytically what they did in history.”

“Jeff has an absolute passion about history and the preservation of it, and the telling of the story in a highly accurate and correct manner,” fellow historian Roger Dean said. “He takes his charge of educating and preserving our history with the utmost sincerity and dedication.”

As director of the Texas Military Forces Museum,

May 1, 2012 Hunt works closely with the National Guard. His job is to preserve the artifacts, and give a sense of the spirit made special by the men and women who once fought and are fighting today for the United States.

The museum has artifacts from 1823 when Texas was a part of Mexico, the Mexican American War, the Republic of Texas, and on through the WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam Wars.

The Texas Military Forces includes the Texas Army and Texas Air national Guard units as well as the Texas State Guard. The Army and Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the Federal government, and are subject to call up in times of need, such as the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Texas State Guard is all volunteer and is under the control of the Texas Governor, but can also be mobilized into Federal Service. They are typically used in times of natural disasters or civil unrest. The Texas Army National Guard includes the 36th infantry, the 112th Calvary, and the 214th Calvary.

As Chief Historian of the

Texas Military Museum, Hunt oversees more than 30,000 three-dimensional artifacts; things as small as a whistle and a sewing kit, to items as large as the tanks. The background research on the articles come from the soldiers who have donated the item, their families, or the 1500 linear feet of archival material, 13,000 books, and 25,000 images the museum has on hand. The F16 fighter jet that sits along MoPac was a Texas Air National Guard jet taken out of service and retired. It was the very last F16 from the 147th fighter wing out of Ellington Field near Houston.

If an item is related to a Texas Military service division, we take that article, preserve it, and care for it.

“His love for history and his almost encyclopedic knowledge of military history have always been evident.

When I am cataloging artifacts for the museum and don’t know what something is, I will often go to Jeff first.

For many pieces it’s quicker to go to him than look up the information in a reference book and it’s just as accurate” Deputy Director of the Texas Military Museum Lisa Sharik said.

FRANCE, 1944 — Members of “Company G,” a living history organization, take part in a reenactment of a World War II battle April 21 at Camp Mabry. The battle the group was reenacting originally took place in 1944 in the French countryside.

Campus → Round Rock

Janice Veteran • Staff Photographer

THROUGH THE GATE — The Riverbat Run kicks off April 18 at Round Rock Campus. No. 1

Sean Garcia was the eventual race winner with a time of 21:40, followed by No. 5 Derrick Rosiles, No. 6 Michelle Miller, No. 11 Luisa Parodi, No. 10 Marcelo Parodi and No. 3 Brianna Whitfield.

5K run connects students Students motivated to get outside, socialize, be active, release stress at second annual Riverbat 5K race at Round Rock Campus Janice Veteran

Staff Photographer

Twenty-three runners participated in a 3.1-mile course looping around Austin Community College’s Round Rock Campus as part of the second annual Riverbat 5K on April 18.

The event was sponsored

by Student Life with the goal of motivating students to get outside, get some exercise and release some of the stress that tax season, midterms and school might bring. Representatives from the U.S. Marines, the U.S. Army, HEB, Taco Market, Jamba Juice and the ACC Bookstore also attended and supported the event.

U.S. Marine Corps recruitment personnel were present to lead the group of runners in stretches and active warm-ups to help avoid anyone getting hurt by pulling a muscle during the 5K. Staff Sergeant Boone lead the runners circled around him in warm-ups and showed them how to perform

each stretch as well as which muscle groups they were working.

Runners participated for a variety of reasons. Student Michelle Miller said she likes to run and this race was motivation to get outside and do it.

Derrick Rosiles, a Learning Lab Math Tutor at the Northridge Campus, said he needed to run and workout, and the 5k gave him a reason to do that.

“I was working during the First Annual Riverbat Run,” Rosiles said, “so I’m excited that I [got] to do it this year.”

Student Sierra Silvey said her office mate challenged and motivated her to get running and get back into the gym.

“I’m signed up for the June ‘Rebel Race Adventure 5K’ and the October ‘Tough Mudder 11- mile Adventure Race,’ ” she said, “so the Riverbat run is kick-starting my workout program.”

Students from ACC’s Student Government

Association (SGA) participated in the run as well. SGA Round Rock Campus senator Luisa Parodi said she enjoys doing fun activities with other ACC students so “we can enjoy our stay at ACC as much as we can.”

SGA director of communications Marcelo Parodi said he doesn’t normally run, but he wanted to participate in the event.

In the men’s division, Sean Garcia took first place with a time of 21:40; James Walton Spence took second place with a time of 22:15; and Anthony Guidry took third place. In the women’s division, Acasia Lopez took first place with a time of 25:20; Brianna Whitfield took second place with a time of 31:06; and Jennifer Cripps took third place with a time of 31:30.

Garcia and Lopez were awarded with iPod Nanos, and the other placing runners were given string backpacks along with some swag.

The Marines offered dry-tech shirts to any male that could do 20 pull-ups and any female that could do a 70-second hang with their chin above the bar. They also had consolation prizes for anyone that attempted the feats.

Nearly every attendee tried, but only one female and one male met the challenge. David Rosenbaum completed 23 pullups and Whitfield completed the 70-second hang.

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May 1, 2012 Campus → people

Campus → Culture

Joey Gidseg • Multimedia Editor

HER SUCCESSOR— Valerie Burks takes a moment to share her love of music with her 17-month-old son, Ethan, April 21 at her home. Burks recently won Austin Community College’s Got Talent and ACC Idol, and she hopes her son will play the guitar one day.

Student’s talent wins show DC McLean Staff Writer

Aside from being a full time student, a barista at Starbucks, and mom to a 17-month-old baby boy, music major at Austin Community College, Valerie Burkss still takes time to show others what she’s capable of doing.

Winning both ACC Idol and ACC’s Got Talent in the last few months, Burks has gained quite a number of fans, which was evident by the roar of approval the audience gave when she was announced winner of both competitions.

“I started [singing] probably around the third grade,” Burks said. “I grew up watching Disney movies and I just wanted to sing because I noticed that I sounded good, so I just kind of went with it.”

According to those closest to

guitar, not as perfectly “asI play I’d like, but I’m working on it and I’ve got a few original songs. ” Burks, she has always been into music.

“When we met in eighth grade and we were in extracurricular activities together, she would always have to split her time up between cheerleading and choir. And choir was always her number one,” Burks’ friend Katherine Johnson said. “Luckily enough when we got to high school and we started doing theatre together, her choir and theatre got intertwined and she didn’t have to separate her time

anymore.”

Burks reaches notes that famous singers like Whitney Houston could hit. Burks enjoys showcasing her talent with songs from popular 80s rock bands like Heart or Journey.

Most seem to love her selection in music and love to hear her perform songs from these classic bands.

“When we were on our way [to ACC’s Got Talent] and she was deciding between “Broken Wings” by Martina McBride and “Faithfully” by Journey, I

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told her, ‘You know you have to sing Journey; you have to sing ‘Faithfully,’ ” Angela Burks, Valerie’s sister, said. “And so she got up there, she sang it, and then she won.”

Burks’s voice has gained her such a following of fans that those who know her say they wonder why she hasn’t auditioned for National singing competitions such as “The Voice” or “American Idol.”

“I put in a video submission [to The Voice] but it was a day or two before they had the cut off so I didn’t get selected, but unfortunately they only select 32 people out of the country and there’s a lot of amazing singers out there,” Burks said.

“I’m not opposed to those kinds of competitions. I try to keep it realistic and it’s not that I don’t think I have a good voice, it’s just I like singing here and if I’m out doing competitions, I’m going to be away from my family and that kind of means a lot to me.”

Aside from singing covers from popular bands, Burks also is a songwriter.

“I play the guitar, not as perfectly as I’d like but I’m working on it and I’ve got a few original songs,” Burks said. “I was talking to my friends about laying down some of my own original tracks opposed to some covers.” Burks won eight hours of tracking time at Caballero Recording Studios last month when she competed and won ACC’s Got Talent.

When writing music, Burks said she likes to borrow from personal experiences in her life, or those of people she’s close to. She said most of her songs are sad, but she’s working on writing more upbeat music.

Valerie’s mom, Nancy Burks, said “My favorite song when she [performs] is one she wrote herself called ‘Shattered Dreams.’ ” Valerie’s friend Catherine Johnson is also a fan.

“She’s the epitome, I think, of the American superstar that worked her way up from the bottom,” Johnson said. “And I think I can stand for everyone else on saying we would like to see her go to the top.”

Solar-powered concert shines Janice Veteran

Staff Photographer

The audience called for an encore performance during “Blues in the Sun,” Austin Community College’s first solar-powered concert April 16 at the Riverside Campus.

Singer Malford Milligan and guitarists Michael Cross and John Gaar performed for the crowd as the portable solar trailer on loan from Austin Energy powered the show. The trailer contained 16 solar panels to capture energy from the sun, inverters to convert the power into electricity for use by the stage equipment and batteries to store any surplus power.

“This is a direct example of what you can do with solar energy,” Paul Clonts, member of ACC’s Renewable Energy Student Association (RESA), said.

RESA treasurer Ron D’Argenio said the organization sponsored the concert to encourage the use of solar energy in action. He said the concert was aimed at showing students how solar energy

can be used in their lives and promoting local businesses that make and sell solar products.

“RESA is part of the Electronics and Advanced Technology Department as part of the Renewable Energy Program,” D’Argenio said. “[The concert was planned] to get students of the program to come out and see how it’s all put together.”

Several other student organizations coordinated efforts with RESA for the concert. Members of the Men of Distinction program set up the event, helping to build the stage, stairs and tables. The ACC Creative Incubator created posters and handled marketing for the show while Student Life provided funding and support to cover things like insurance.

Campus manager Frank Taylor also helped with the event.

Sign language translators and professional music interpreters Barbie Parker and Tresa Beard were present to assist hearing impaired students to see and read the beat of the music.

“It was a great idea and a great time,” Parker said.

Janice Veteran • Staff Photographer

SWEET SOUND — Acoustic guitar player Michael Cross,

along with Singer Malford Milligan and guitarist John Gaar perform at the RESA Solar Energy Concert April 16 at Riverside Campus. The solar powered concert featured local blues and soul music performers.

life & arts

Page 10 Life & Arts → Film

May 1, 2012

Film festival fosters off-centered fun

Off-Centered Film Festival invites filmmakers nation-wide to present westernthemed shorts, enjoy craft brews, cuisine Abra Gist Staff Writer

Alamo Drafthouse and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery saddled up and threw one heck of a film, food and beverage party with this year’s “OffCentered Film Festival” (OCFF).

The films showed were aimed at off-centered people featuring a western twist.

Sam Calagione, founder and head brewer of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, hosted the multiday event along with co-hosts and comedic actors, writers and directors David Wain, Ken Marino and Joe Lo Truglio.

OCFF founder, John Gross also helped host various events during the festival.

Blazing Saddles Quote Along | 4/19 The OCFF got off to a cap-gun-shootin’ good time on Thursday night at Republic Square Park. Moviegoers set up their blankets and chairs in front of the giant blow-up screen to enjoy a “Blazing Saddles” quotealong complete with subtitles of the most memorable lines from the film.

The audience enjoyed beverages hosted by a slew of craft breweries that set up tents in the area and complimentary all you can eat simmering cowboy-styled pinto beans from a black pot up front that resembled the one in the film.

Each guest was given a cap-gun with caps and encouraged to shoot every time a posse rode into the frame. However, pops could be heard throughout the event as audience members began to root and toot for the movie to start.

At sundown, Calagione assured the crowd the film would begin soon, introduced the craft brewers and thanked the audience for supporting local independent breweries.

celebrities was a blast. Wain shared some of his favorite webisodes of his quirky, off-beat semi-autobiographical show about dating in New York City.

The show includes song, dance and unusual circumstances that no one ever wants to relate to.

Among his favorites were “Tough Guy,” “Shelly” and “Rochelle.” The audience was privy to the comedians’ silly but steamy banter back and forth after each webisode while they shared intimate behind the scenes details.

Marino also shared a preview of an upcoming project he directed and starred in called “Burning Love,” a web series set to launch May 28 as part of the Comedy Channel on Yahoo!

Screen.

The series spoofs shows like “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” and stars Marino as the eligible bachelor searching for his “true love or just a fiance” and a slew of over the top female characters vying for his affection.

It looks hilarious and instead of giving roses in the elimination round, Marino’s character, a fireman, gives hoses to the ladies he wants to keep around. The

show is written by his wife, Erica Oyama.

The crew also showed some clips from their most recent movie, Wanderlust, starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd.

Short films screening | 4/21 Saturday was the screening night for contest finalists for the short film competition also located at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar location.

This year filmmakers had to incorporate Dogfish Head into their shorts, be “generally offcentered” and involve some sort of western twist. The shorts were sent in from all over the country and this year the OCFF added a new award to the event, the Audience Award, which people could vote for online.

The finalists were flown in

by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and got to view their shorts on the big screen. The top three film crews for the shorts were brought up front by Calagione and friends as they waited for an unbearable amount of time for the goofballs to announce a winner.

Third place and an award of $500 went to Sharon Mitchell,

from Delaware, for her short “Baby Bonanza” starring her, her husband, Eric Mitchell and their newborn, Samantha Mitchell.

Second place and winner of the Audience Award went to “Rodriguez”, directed by Ryan Quinn from Pittsburgh, Pa. and was awarded $750.

First place and winner of the $1,000 cash prize went to Giselle Kennedy from Hood River, Ore., who directed “Rainbow Ranch Inn,” a rap music video about independent brewing that featured her man, Gavin Lord.

“Gavin is a brewer and I make movies…It’s really a love story, an off-centered love story,” Kennedy said.

“The female presence was great this year and I’m so happy to see it,” Wain said.

“I think we had just as many if not more women directors this festival than ever,” Gross said.

The creativity and humor in these pieces was refreshing. This strange but fun event is doing its part to keep Austin weird.

Hopefully it’ll stay small enough to enjoy by Austinites for a few more years before becoming an international phenomenon like so many other Austin festivals.

To view the shorts, visit vote. offcenteredfilmfest.com.

STICK ‘EM UP — Chief Creative Officer for Alamo Drafthouse Henry Mazza poses for a picture during the first night of the Off-Centered Film Festival April 19. The festival began with a Blazing Saddles quote-a-long.

“Two international conglomerates have about 80 percent of the market share in the beer industry and there’s something wrong with that. By coming out here tonight to this fun event, you’re supporting local businesses and independent breweries,” said Calagione.

The movie began with a capgun sized bang and the audience laughed and quoted along throughout.

The highlight of the night

was watching Calagione, Gross, Marino, and Truglio pie each other in the face to raise money for the The Texas Craft Brewers Guild.

Wainy Days with David Wain, Marino, Truglio, Gross and Calagione | 4/20 Friday night’s screening at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar with “Wainy Days” creator and star Wain along with a few other

Photos by Jon Shapley • Photo Editor

BLAZING SADDLES — A movie-goer holds up a cap-gun during a screening of the Mel Brooks comedy, Blazing Saddles. Cap-guns were given to many in the audience for the screening, and many scenes from the movie were completely inaudible .

Life & Arts → Film

Film tackles cruelty among youth

Director sheds new light on violence in schools, starts movement advocating to end social pressures, abandon ‘it is what it is’ mentality Abra Gist Staff Writer

Director Lee Hirsh’s documentary, “Bully” is not just a narrative about kids picking on one another. “Bully” is a call to action for a world that thrives on violence and at times lacks the dignity and the humanity to stand up and say “enough.”

The documentary grabs your heart from the first frame as clips of a toddler, Tyler Long, a bullied 16-year-old who took his own life in 2009, flash across the screen. The voice of Tyler’s father, David Long, cracks as he recounts the days before his son died.

“He was my first born, the first son. They called him a geek, they called him a fag. He had his head shoved into a locker.

The kids at school told him he should just go hang himself.”

“Bully” tells the story of bullied children, their families, their schools, the communities they live in and the lives lost due to excessive bullying. We meet many troubled souls in this character driven documentary.

Alex Libby, an awkward 12-year-old boy, is so relentlessly picked on by his peers that no one ever interjects or tries to help him – even his own inclination is to tolerate the bullying.

Battered and ashamed when his parents finally realize how bad the harassment has become, Libby says, “I’m beginning to wonder if I feel anything anymore. They push me so hard, so far, I want to become the bully.”

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company, Inc.

Kilby Jackson, a 16-year-old tomboy who lives in Tuttle, Okla., has experienced torment at the hands of her schoolmates, teachers, and townspeople since she came out as a lesbian. Amid all the maltreatment she is determined to stay in Tuttle and make a stand.

“Maybe all it takes is for one person to stand up,” Jackson said.

Viewing these stories makes

you want to reach in and give all these kids a hug and tell them that middle school and high school were a nightmare, but they’ll get through it, and college will be better or that karma will catch up with those bullies sooner rather than later.

Nevertheless, it’s obvious that the wounds run deep for these kids. Their struggles to fit into a world that shuns them simply for being who

they are is heart renching, yet these kids are able to make us laugh and crack a smile as they try to navigate through their tumultuous school days.

Only a heart of stone could not be moved by the gut kicks “Bully” dishes out. Through his nimble storytelling as director, Hirsch sheds light into the dark corners of the overwhelmed and incapable school systems, the frustrated parents, the bullied students, the bystanders, and the lives lost.

Parents and students are advocating for change and putting pressure on society to abandon the mentality that “kids will be kids” and acknowledge the severity of bullying.

Even if you’re not ready to go out and join a movement, this documentary will intrigue and challenge you to take a long hard look at bullying. What’s more is that it challenges everyone to take a look in the mirror. After all, the children of today will be the adults of

tomorrow and the lessons learned from all of this will have an even bigger impact than the movie itself.

In addition to the film, Hirsch, the Weinstein Company and partners are launching The Bully Project: 1 Million Kids.

This initiative will provide communal access to the movie and online workshops for educators to help curb bullying.

Hirsh takes on the topic with heartfelt sincerity. He spent nearly three years going around the country documenting cases of bullying in schools and captured the severity of this commonplace issue. Shown at the Tribeca film festival back in 2011, it was picked up by the Weinstein Company for distribution. Thanks to petitions and a new MPAA rating, “Bully” will have a PG-13 rating and will be screened across the nation.

If you are a kid, or if you ever were a kid, you should see this movie.

May 1, 2012

www.theAccent.org

Life & Arts | Page 11

Food for thought: South Austin Layla Elayyadi

Staff Writer

Fortnight Forecast No Pants Day

Friday 5/4 | All Day | Nationwide The annual fun of the original “No Pants Subway Ride” has returned! Leave your pants at home, wear modest, clean undergarments and shock those around you that are unaware of this flash-mobstyle holiday.

Pecan Street Festival

Saturday 5/5 | 11 a.m.10 p.m. | Sunday 5/6 | 11 a.m.-8 p.m. | Sixth Street Nearly a quarter of a million people attend this twice-a-year arts & crafts festival on Sixth Street for family fun and activities. Find out more about this year’s music, food, crafts and vendors at oldpecanstreetfestival.com.

The Money Box Cap 2K

Saturday 5/5 | 10:30 a.m. | Lady Bird Lake This open-swim gives Austinites a chance to swim in Lady Bird Lake legally.

The swim will cover area from Red Bud Isle to the Texas Rowing Center, and will raise money to help fight prostate cancer. For more information, or to register or donate, visit cap2k.com.

Taco Deli

Walking into Taco Deli was like walking into a concert where people were waiting to see the performer.

In this case, the performers were the wait staff bringing out their hot and yummy tacos.

After being there for a few minutes, I noticed it was so packed because they close everyday at 3 p.m. promptly. I didn’t mind the “concert crowd” because I knew I would not regret the experience.

The cashier had a huge smile and was ready to take my order. She could tell I was new to Taco Deli and offered a free sample of their black refried beans.

While getting them, she told me, “They are really good, and you can take my word for it, because I use to hate beans until I tried their black refried beans. You will love it.”

Well my first thought was that she was paid to say that, but as soon as I tried it, I too became a new fan of the ‘frijoles negros.’

My friend ordered a ‘Taco Loco’ that consisted of hot braised brisket, caramelized onions and mushrooms.

The toppings included guacamole, cilantro, queso fresco and his choice of hot sauce. When he finished his taco he said, “This is really good.

Seriously, the best ever!” He was so enthusiastic that another customer looked our way and nodded their head as they ate their taco as well.

As I sat down, I carefully picked my choice of hot sauce, which was Verde and Tabasco. I noticed the crisp green lettuce, cold sour cream laid on top of the steaming hot black refried beans and the melting white

cheese. The mixture of my vegetarian tacos was the best taco I ever had! I made sure to get one with the wheat tortilla, while the other was flour.

Some places do not have the best wheat tortilla so I was being cautious, but I promise you, the wheat was actually better then the flour tortilla.

The restaurant also has glutenfree products such as all of their tortas, and some of their main dishes.

They also included options on the menu for vegetarians and vegans. A fan favorite for vegetarians is ‘The Heather,’ which is grilled Mexican queso fresco, refried black beans, with creamy guacamole, crispy lettuce and ripe tomatoes.

Our waiter also informed me that they run out of things close to their closing time a lot. This means that lunchtime is no laughing matter.

Most of their customers at Taco Deli order the ‘Frontera Fundido Sirloin’ which is grilled sirloin steak, glazed with their Monterrey Jack Cheese and it is garnished with sautéed poblanos and onion ragas. Also a favorite, the ‘Mojo Fish Taco’ has drum fillets that are grilled with a mojo-garlic sauce and garnished with their homemade guacamole and pico de gallo.

This place has re-invented how I look at tacos.

Taco Deli has a total of three locations around Austin and uses organic products provided by Vital Farms.

If you are on a limited lunch break, you can call in your order in advance for faster service. For more information visit tacodeli.com.

Free Comic Book Day

Saturday 5/5 | All Day | various stores Participating comic book shops will give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who walks through their doors. Visit freecomicbookday.com for more information and check with your local shops to see if they’ll be participating.

Pachanga Latino Music Festival Friday 5/11 | 6:30-10:30 p.m. | Saturday 5/12 | 1-10:30 p.m. | Fiesta Gardens This Latin music and food festival mixes culture and fun while supporting FuturoFund, a group that promotes philanthropy and leadership in the Latin community. For more information, visit pachangafest.com.

Gardens on Tour

Saturday 5/12 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | Wildflower Center and various locations Inspire your mom with a tour of private and native gardens hosted by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, on-site and around town. Visit wildflower. org/gardentour for more information and wristbands to the event.

Bike to Work Day Friday 5/18 | All Day Exercise, save a few bucks on gas and get free breakfast or freebies at various locations. Visit austincycling.org for more information.

$

Scale: $ = under 15 dollars an entree $$ = 15 to 20 dollars an entree $$$ = 20 to 25 dollars an entree

Layla Elayyadi

Staff Writer

Best burger joint

Moonie’s Burger House 12001 Burnet Rd • MooniesBurgerHousecom They say that they have the ‘Best Burger and Fries’ for four years in a row, but maybe you should be the judge of that. They have 11 different burgers that you and all your friends should try. They range from “Plain Jane” burgers to the Hawaiian burger with grilled pineapple rings and sweet teriyaki sauce. If you are not in the mood for beef, try a chicken burger with the same toppings as the beef burgers.

If you are a vegan or vegetarian then they have you covered as well with their veggie burgers and their crispy salads.

They may not have dessert, but they have some of the best Blue Bell Milkshakes. Visit their website for more menu options and business hours. They are open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Sunday.

Best hang out spot

The Domain 11410 Century Oaks Terrace • TheDomainAustin.com The Domain here in Austin offers customers an overall great experience. You have the benefit of shopping and being able to eat at one of their many restaurants. On a beautiful day, you can also sit outside and enjoy their nature friendly atmosphere with some friends or your friendly dog. The Domain has a variety of stores such as Neiman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, Express, Agaci and American Outfitters. If it sounds like a perfect place to live, well, you can do that too!

They have many apartments that are in the middle and on top of the shops that are just as urban and cool as the rest of The Domain. Visit their website for more information on deals and special events that are coming up, as well as store hours.

Best bargain

Plato’s Closet 10515 N. Mo-Pac Expressway • PlatosCloset.com When looking for bargains, the best place to shop is Plato’s Closet. This a great place to find gently worn designer clothes. They have it all: dresses, shorts, jeans, nice tops, a ton of shoes and purses. And you can get matching accessories to rock your new outfit. Even men can stop in and find something to wear for all seasons. The best thing about Plato’s Closet is that they make sure all the clothes are still in style and worth selling. Also, you can bring in and sell your own clothing, shoes and accessories to make some extra cash. So come into Plato’s Closet for some cheap fashion fun from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.

page 12 | Life & Arts

www.theAccent.org

Life & Arts → Art

Artist explores decay

Local artist’s solo show contemplates human intuition through abstract paintings, photographs, various mixed media pieces Jon Shapley Photo Editor

The Lytle Pressley Contemporary art gallery was buzzing with a flurry of excitement Saturday, April 21, as art patrons came to see a collection of new work by Austin-based artist Court Lurie.

The West 6 Street gallery held an opening for Lurie’s solo exhibition titled, “Intersection,” which features new paintings and photographs. The artist’s current body of work successfully blends rich color fields, graphic abstraction and visceral textures through her intuitive use of various media.

Her passion for exploration and creation are strikingly clear.

“Getting to see the inside of somebody’s mind is the most intriguing thing,” Lurie said.

Many of the paintings on display are around twenty square feet, and each one entices the viewer for a closer study, revealing topographic textures and strata of color and line.

Lurie creates the rich surface detail by applying multiple layers of paint, and at times, removing parts through various mark making techniques.

The artist commands her tools with skilled proficiency, allowing her to create a range of aesthetics. Her abstract painting “Compass” demands viewers’ attention with its photo-like qualities, while more gestural paintings, like the 48 by 60 inch “Jadin Valentino VI,” mix script-like marks with organic honeycomb patterns and a thin white wash.

Several themes permeate the work, and Lurie has a particular interest in the idea of decay. A series of small photographs greet the visitor upon entering the gallery, and each one pictures a scene of industrial decay photographed and covered with lacquer sheen.

Lurie sees each 8.5 by 11 inch image as a metaphor for human

existence, as we try to control various aspects of our lives in the face of the uncertain power of nature and time.

“When I greet the large stretched cotton square with infinite possibility, I feel a freedom that I don’t experience in any other aspect of life.”

Lurie said she believes in a peaceful transcendence that can be achieved through artistic craft. “When I bring a piece into the world that is moving and honest and evocative and beautiful, I feel aligned,” she said, and this desire to move

beyond the limitations of everyday existence drives her passion for artistic creation and expression.

“Intrigue is everywhere.

What distinguishes something is the frame by which we perceive. When we look closer, we discover vast universes of impermanence and elation by exploring decay. By examining small glimpses of a larger whole, we come in contact with the intricacies of structure and nature. We discover that which goes unexplored,” Lurie said.

The artist beautifully uses a mix of intuition and experience to place layers of color and line onto a canvas, and through this process she creates visually striking yet gentle abstract paintings. Lurie has lived and displayed work in several major American cities, and she currently has work in public and private collections across the United States.

May 1, 2012

Life & arts → Music

Elise Laird• Staff Photographer

SEE US NOW — Local band Riversyde get together to celebrate the release of their new

album, “See Us Now,” at Spiderhouse Cafe, April 22. Riversyde showcases an eclectic group of musical talents, and they are about to start a tour.

Alumni band rocks fest

Riversyde band battles at Indie Music Fest in Las Vegas, refreshing sound mixes manifold genres with instrumental flair Norma Lauren Madden

Staff Writer

Melissa Skorpil • Staff Photographer

INSIDE HER MIND — Austin-based artist Court Lurie works in her East Ceasar Chavez Studio, April 25. Lurie’s most recent solo show opened April 21 at Lytle Pressley Contemporary, and features a mix of abstract paintings and photographs.

Austin Community College alumni band Riversyde heated up the 2012 Indie Music Fest in Las Vegas. Coming from the musically-congested city of Austin, Riversyde’s sound is a nice change of pace.

The two-day competition, from April 27-28, was held at the Henderson Pavilion and featured 40 of the best unsigned indie artists selected from across the United States. Riversyde was the only band from Austin.

“We are excited for the opportunity this may bring; our goal is to one day get national and worldwide publicity,” Paul Devassy, lead guitarist for Riversyde, said.

After forming in Austin in 2010 and a fast paced rise to number three on Austin’s alternative charts according to ReverbNation, Riversyde released a debut album in 2012 that has blown up the local alternative scene. Listening to their album evokes a feeling reminiscent of longing or passion, with a wow-factor

mixed in.

This indie rock band includes Devassy, lead singer Shane Blake, drummer Mark Griffor and bassist Christian Palacio, who all combine their varied musical tastes to create an eclectic sound that many would categorize with Pearl Jam and Matchbox Twenty.

The band describes their music as a broad mix of genres including everything from 90s grunge to country to screamo, with an instrumental flair, such as biting riffs and melodic solos, that many new artists overlook.

Their debut album, “See Us Now,” reflects the indie rock style while featuring a range of musical sounds of rhythm guitar, high energy drums and a progressive bass.

“Our music is familiar but unique because we do things differently,” Devassy said, “including not just vocals but melodies and instrumental solos.”

Their music can fit any mood, whether it be heartbreak and closure or fun and relaxation. Riversyde’s expert cross between several genres combined into one sound offers

something for everyone.

Riversyde has quickly gained a following in the Austin area with the support of a grassroots movement of family and friends who share their passion for music. Listeners are drawn to the soulful deep growl of lead singer Blake’s voice, who as an ACC alumnus and Austin native, was the first to bring the group together.

Devassy’s harmonious guitar playing complements the rhythmic duo of Griffor and Palacio, all melding together to reveal raw emotion and a locomotive force behind the songs. Although they come from all walks of life, the members of Riversyde maintain a united devotion to the industry and the ambition to press forward with their dream to one day be full-time musicians.

“The rest of this year will be spent promoting our debut album,” Devassy said, “then we hope for an early release of our next album in 2014.”

Along with the Indie Music Fest, Riversyde plans to play as many live shows as possible in the future, while continuing to be featured on Internet sites such as Pandora, YouTube, and Google radio. The band is also entertaining the idea of releasing one song a month in 2013 to maintain buzz among fans.

“We love our fans,” Devassy said. “Riversyde’s purpose as a band is to share their love of music and passion for life... one city at a time.”

Life & Arts → Music

‘Boy’

breaks into music Local indie-rock band turns heads in the Austin music circuit with unforgetable tunes, profound lyrics, enticing stage presence Joey Galvan Staff Writer

Natalie Casanova

Editor-in-Chief

The captivating and melodic sounds of Austin indie-rock quartet ‘Boy’ is an Austin are somewhat new to the local music scene, but the group is already making waves The band consists of brothers Joshua and Jakob Clark, long-time friend Misha Hercules and Derek Stuart.

Joshua said the group has been performing together for a little over a year, and even toured outside of Texas and up into the northeast in January of this year.

“It was cold,” Joshua said.

“We kind of thought, if we could survive the northeast then you know we’ll be able do anything.”

With songs such as “White Tigers” and “Silent Prayer,” they have a somber sound complimented by profound lyrics.

“We are sort of into the big, melodramatic, over-the-top rock and roll of the early ‘70s,” Joshua said. “But then we also love — for lack of a better word — I guess ‘grunge’ music. We love all the big guitars, sort of over the top rock and roll from the early ‘90s.

It’s the kind of music that puts you in a good mood no matter the circumstances.

The down-tempo guitars work well against the backdrop of sometimes-lucid piano playing. The vocals are a nice touch and bring the music together, solidifying a great sound. It’s hard to pinpoint one specific genre this band adheres to, but that opens up their likability to a greater audience of listeners.

It’s nice to listen to music and understand every lyric the singer is projecting, instead of having it practically yelled at you. This is indeed a rarity these

days.

Currently, Boy only has two tracks available on their website, Joshua said, but they plan to release a seven-inch vinyl, full-length album soon.

They’ve been recording and demoing some, but are still waiting to get the specifics of the album all planned out.

“In the meantime, we’ve just been on our own, getting things together,” Joshua said, “demoing so we can get something out there as soon as possible.”

On stage, the band’s chemistry is palpable. The members move in unison to their music nodding along and playing their instruments

intently. It’s hard not to like a group when it is so evident that they love what they are doing. Boy’s on-stage prowess is consistent with a band that has been performing for years, providing the listener an invitation to learn more about them.

Joshua said he’s not sure if he’s more into recording or playing live because they are very different outlets. “[It’s sort of like] kicking your leg above your head and acting a fool in front of people,” Joshua said, “[and having] people be into it.”

He said stage presence at live shows is driven by id (pronounced “ih-d”), which is

a Freudian concept describing the part of the human psyche that contains unorganized thoughts such as instincts and libido.

“There’s no thought about it while you’re doing it,” he said.

“It’s just super id.”

The group has played around Austin at such venues as Cheer Up Charlie’s, The Parish and Club Deville and at festivals such as Austin City Limits, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Gypsy Picnic, Free Week and Tomorrow Never Knows Fest among others.

Visit thebandcalledboy.com for more information about shows and upcoming releases.