Issue 2

www.thecrcconnection.com

Hawks playoff season ends after intense game See Page 12

Softball team shows promise with strong preseason See Page 12 Stan SmithAlicia | The IlagaConnection | The Connection

Enrollment

Low enrollment could have serious impact on funding News, Page 4 ISSUE 2 Spring 2017 Student voice of CRC since 1970

Beer Week

11 days celebrating local craft beer Features, Page 7

FACEBOOK /crcconnection

Calexit

Secession huge step back for California Opinion, Page 9

TWITTER @crcconnection

Baseball Win Streak Team heats up after slow start to season Sports, Page 11

INSTAGRAM @crcconnection

March 2, 2017

Page 2

>>News San Francisco’s free tuition inspires Los Rios

By Steven Bryla sbryla.connect@gmail.com San Francisco city Mayor Edwin Lee announced on Feb. 6 that the city would be the first in the United States to make community college tuition free to all residents through the City College of San Francisco.

Cosumnes River College Public Information Officer Kristie West said she was amazed with the partnership between the city of San Francisco and the CCSF. “They are ensuring a tuition-free community college education for residents, which will lay the groundwork for greater access to higher education,” West said.

She added that the importance of partnering the community with business leaders is key when the priority is to educate as many people as possible.

The current price of one unit in the Los Rios Community College District is $46.

To be considered a full-time student, a student must be enrolled in 12 units per semester, totalling a minimum of $552.

This does not include the cost of all books and supplies which the students will need for the semester.

A way for students to cover their tuition costs is by applying for Financial Aid and the Board of Governors, the BOG fee waiver.

The BOG fee waiver covers tuition costs for eligible students, while financial aid provides funding to students which they can use towards school supplies, books and potentially help with some living expenses.

However, changes made to the financial aid process this spring state that financial aid only funds classes that are a part of their major.

“It can make a huge difference in whether a student can support themselves financially when going through school,” West said.

In order to be eligible to receive free tuition San Francisco’s new program, students must be a resident of the city of San Francisco for at least one full year, regardless of income level.

West said that the LRCCD is currently looking at busi-

ness and city leaders to build a program like San Francisco’s.

Joshua McNeill, 26 and an anthropology major, agreed with LRCCD’s plan.

“It’s a good idea because you’re able to get your associate’s and potentially transfer to a better school,” McNeill said.

McNeill added that he feels that reviewing a student’s high school GPA and a minimum of enrolling in six units should be a requirement for receiving free tuition.

However, 25-year-old Alex Alvarado, a psychology major, disagreed with the possible program that the LRCCD is planning.

“Things like this grow to taxing more and more people until everyone is paying,” Alvarado said.

One example of the cooperation needed between city and college leaders is the current negotiations between Folsom Lake College and the city of Rancho Cordova.

The city and college are currently in the process of constructing a program in which recent high school graduates from Rancho Cordova would be allowed to attend their first year at FLC tuition-free.

Even though the process is still in the works, West said that the response to the FLC program has been positive.

Currently, at CRC, there is the First-Year Experience program, which offers students attending college for the very first time a way to get on a pathway to success.

Students who complete the Summer Experience portion of the FYE would be eligible to receive free textbooks for their first academic year, according to the CRC website.

Some of the requirements of the FYE program include taking both a math and English course during the fall and spring semesters, as well as being enrolled in a minimum of 12 units.

When enrollment rises, colleges benefit from increased state funding as a result.

“Community college use to be free many years ago,” said West.

Stan Smith | The Connection

Flooding caused by several days of heavy rainfall has caused hiking trails along Laguna Creek to close this season. With this season’s rainfall, no counties in California are currently in severe drought conditions.

California transitions from severe drought to flooding

By Shannon Rusche srusche.connect@gmail.com Just one year ago, more than 90 percent of California was in some form of drought.

With these severe droughts, Californians have had to focus their efforts on water conservation.

But after being battered by weeks of record-setting rain, these conservation efforts may no longer be necessary.

Less than 20 percent of the state faces drought conditions, and no place in California currently faces “extreme” or “exceptional” drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report.

“The last six years, California has become synonymous with drought,” said Meteorologist Karissa Klos, of WeatherNation, a cable weather channel. “But 2017 is starting off in a completely different way.”

After struggling with severe droughts over the last few years, California is now facing problems with flooding.

“Early 2017 brought a parade of storms, well above average snowfall, and rainfall that was too much at times with flooding and entire towns losing power because of all the snowfall,” said Klos, in a January weather broadcast.

The flooding has helped to relieve not only the short term drought, but it may also be impacting the long term

drought in a positive way.

“If we can keep that above above average precipitation going, like much of the Western U.S. has been two to three times normal, this could be huge as we start to think not only of the short term drought, but the long term drought,” said Klos in a January weather broadcast.

An example of the recent flooding and its effects in California can be seen in the Oroville Dam flooding.

When a crater in the Oroville Dam’s main spillway threatened to flood the surrounding area, 188,000 residents were evacuated from potential flood zones.

Cosumnes River College Professor and Head of Geology Hiram Jackson said the problem with the Oroville Dam was that it was not stable enough to last under current floods.

“The problem isn’t with the dam itself,” said Jackson. “It’s with the spillway.”

The spillways are safety valves designed to release water in a controlled manner and deliver water to the Feather River in order to prevent water from spilling over the walls of the dam containing Lake Oroville.

“The spillway rarely ever flows and because of that, sometimes engineers and policy makers don’t always pay attention to it, and that’s what happened with Oroville,” said Jackson.

However, despite the heavy rainfall the state has received

this year, California’s emergency drought regulations still have not been lifted.

Earlier this month, the State Water Resources Control Board extended emergency drought regulations and pledged to revisit them in May, when the traditional rainy season has ended.

“One wet year doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re out of the woods,” said Water Board Staff Max Romberg in an SWRCB board meeting as covered by Fox News. “With climate change, we have to be conserving and making conservation a way of life.”

The droughts and now the floods are also affecting agriculture, which is a big issue in California because agriculture is a major part of the economy, said Jackson.

“Increasingly, the state has limited the amount of water it would provide for agriculture during the drought, and in recent years they’ve raised the price so farmers have to pay more for water,” said Jackson.

Throughout the droughts, farmers have chose crops that will bring in more money and planting fewer crops where they might lose money, Jackson said.

“On the whole, we have to take the water when it comes,” said Jackson. “It’s beneficial even though it’s causing a lot of destruction, because an even more extended drought would cause more destruction than what we’re seeing with the heavy flooding.”

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THECRCCONNECTION.COM

Guest Artist series hosts The McAllister Keller Duo

By Jannah Khalil jkhalil.connect@gmail.com The McAllister Keller Duo held a winter performance on Feb. 23 at Cosumnes River College, featuring guest artists and an array of musical performances.

The McAllister Keller Duo are a professional guitar and composing duo featuring Dr. Derek Keller and Colin McAllister. They presented their acclaimed winter program, “Die Winterreise: A Winter’s Journey” in a show put on by the CRC Music Department.

It was an event organized by Music Professor Kurt Erickson, one of the department’s lead professors and composers, as part of the CRC Guest Artists series.

“The CRC Guest Artist concerts provide opportunities for students to hear inspiring performances from professional artists,” said Erickson.

“The goal is to create a cultural environment that is similar to what students experience at four-year colleges.”

The concert began with some guitar and vocal performances, with Keller and McAllister on guitar and Keller providing the vocals.

Some of the compositions performed included Renaissance pieces such as John

Dowland’s “Fine Knacks for Ladies”, “Come, Heavy Sleep” and “Come Again.”

A performance of “Die Post” and “Der Leiermann”

by Franz Schubert was sung

by Keller as he was filling in for special guest Music Professor Omari Tau who could not perform due to sickness.

After intermission, the duo resumed the program with a performance of “Church Car”

by Charles Amirkhanian, a vocal piece in which words are used to mimic the percussions of instruments.

Colin McAllister then performed a self-written solo piece titled “2001,” which he wrote for his wife in celebration of their two-thousandth and first day together.

Following a few more performances by Keller and McAllister, special guest Bernadette Mondok, soprano, took the stage to perform “Aria” by Heitor Villa-Lobos accompanied by McAllister playing guitar.

After a couple more pieces, the duo ended the show

with “Jongo” by Paulo Bellinati.

Samantha Dedal, 18, a theater major said she really enjoyed the show and thought it was “fun” and “unexpected.”

“I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did,” she said.

Dedal said the second half of the show was the most enjoyable, especially performances such as “Church Car” and Mondok’s performance of “Aria,” which Dedal said was her favorite piece.

“People should come to these more,” said Dedal.

“There’s definitely not enough people here. I think it’s really important to support artists and art. Even if you don’t think you’ll appreciate it, you definitely will. There is something there for everyone to enjoy.”

Keller said that the more events such as this are put on the more they will “benefit the educational and artistic richness of the campus.”

In addition, Keller said that these kinds of events are

“I don’t know what is better for the mind than different forms of art.”

-- Dr. Derek Keller Guest artist

Courtesy photo

Guest musicians Dr. Derek Keller (left) and Colin McAllister (right) harmonize as part of their “Die Winterreise: A Winter’s Journey” on Feb. 23.

not just to be enjoyed by music majors. He said that art communities, or any communities, can benefit from these kinds of events as they “make people think differently, make people feel things that they haven’t felt before and that only leads to greater wisdom and intelligence.”

“I don’t know what is better for the mind than different forms of art,” Keller said.

Erickson said that people can absolutely expect more Guest Artists series events in the future.

The Guest Artist series is

two years old, and the department has been able to expand from one concert per semester to two, Erickson said.

“We are building partnerships with our sister institutions at four-year institutions, providing our students access to artists and teachers that they may have an opportunity to study with when they transfer,” said Erickson. ”It is important to build bridges between our college and the area four-year institutions,” Erickson said. “And the Guest Artist series serves that purpose.”

Fresh Success program helps students in need

By Kaelyn Blizzard kblizzard.connect@gmail.com

One of the hardest challenges that a student can face is trying to balance school and work at the same time; they worry of being able to support themselves while at the same time striving towards receiving higher education and keeping up with their grades.

To help counter this growing issue, a new program called Fresh Success has been added to the Cosumnes River College campus to help students who are a part of the CalFresh state program, also known as food

stamps, receive assistance with their education.

“The whole idea of the program is to give people who are on food stamps the opportunity to be able to get the education and job skills they need to then be able to get employment that can support their household,” said Fresh Success Program Specialist Magalean Martin.

The California Community College foundation partnered with the state department of human services to develop Fresh Success as a new program at community colleges, Martin said.

Courtesy photo

Fresh Success is currently in the pilot phase of its program development. CRC is one of only two colleges in the Sacramento area that are testing this state program.

“The goal is to provide affordable services to all disadvantaged students who want to attend community college,” Martin said.

Some of the services that Fresh Success supplies to applicable students are money vouchers for textbooks, gas cards, counseling, career readiness skills and tutoring.

Since Fresh Success is a state pilot program, CRC does not control what types of requirements the state will determine are needed. Martin said that this is proving to be a disadvantage to the new project.

“We’ve had a quite a few students, 20 or so this semester, that expressed interest,” Martin said. “But so far we only have three that have actually qualified”

Fresh Success requires that a student already be enrolled in CalFresh, or be applicable, be enrolled in at least six units of non-transfer classes, and not be a part of CalWorks.

Martin worries that these requirements are too strict for the CRC community and will not aid a wide enough population of students.

There have been several students who have tried to apply for Fresh Success, but have been turned down due to not being able to meet all the requirements, Martin said.

Student who are seeking aid such as Kalaya Harvey, a 25 year old theater arts major, works with the daily struggle of managing her education and work.

“I’m a student who makes too much to get food stamps, but I need that money to support myself and I don’t get support from my parents,” Harvey said. “I have to work two jobs and go to school, and that’s still not enough for my

situation. There’s no choice.”

One of the benefits that Fresh Success brings to the CRC community is that by joining this new pilot program, Fresh Success voids the work requirement that CalFresh requires, Martin said.

With this in mind, any student who qualified for Fresh Success would not have to prove employment to receive financial and academic support while they attend CRC. Fresh Success is based out of the Student Support Center in the CRC library building, room L-106.

Tonya Shockley in the Department of Human Assistance is available to assist students with applying to the CalFresh program and signing up for Fresh Success. She is will be accessible in L-106 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Wednesday.

“It would be nice if they do strengthen the program so that there’s something for everyone in the middle,” Harvey said.

MARCH 2, 2017

PAGE 4

SAVE THE Enrollment countinues to decline

By Kristi Doan kdoan.connect@gmail.com

DATE LIGHT WORKS GALLERY Light Works is a new photo exhibit curated by Art Professor Yoshio Taylor featuring work from local artists Kurt Fishback, Richard Murai, Bill Santos and Donald Satterlee.

It shows through March 23 in the CRC Art Gallery. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m - 5 p.m.

CAMPUS PRODUCTION OF ARCADIA The Theater Department will be performing “Arcadia,” a play about two people in the same place at different times. It premieres March 3.

General Admission is $12, Students are $10.

Discounted student matinees are at 12:30 p.m. on March 8 and 16, $5.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE FOR TRANSFER WORKSHOP There will be a workshop to help students apply to transfer with an AA degree on March 3. The workshop will take place in the CRC Transfer and Career Center, L-217.

Stop by the Transfer Center or call (916) 6917470 to reserve a spot.

CAMPUS PRODUCTION OF ARCADIA The CRC Theater Department will be performing Arcadia, a play about two people in the same place at different times. It premieres on March 3 and will show until March 18.

The cost for General Admission is $12. Student tickets are $10. Student matinees are on March 8 and 16 and will be $5.

Over the last few years, student enrollment has continued to decrease each semester.

Compared to this time last year, there has been about a 3 percent drop in students enrolled at Cosumnes River College, said Communications and Public Information Officer Kristie West.

“When the economy is poor and people begin to lose their jobs, they will sometimes come to community colleges to learn a new skill or completely change their career,” West said Since early 2010, U.S. businesses have added 15 million jobs and progress has been made to raise minimum wage, according to a August 2016 statement from former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

“Historically, as the economy improves and Americans get back to work, college enrollment declines,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell in an interview with CNN. Low enrollment directly affects students because classes with few students might be cancelled, West said. Instructors are also at risk of having an entire course cancelled.

All of the Los Rios colleges are also experiencing a decrease in enrollment, according to a memo by Los

Rios Chancellor Brian King.

The decline in enrollment could be influenced by the price of tuition, Mitchell said.

“Too many students and families feel that college is out of reach,” said Mitchell in the CNN interviews.

“Never in our history has the opportunity to complete college mattered so much to Americans’ life outcomes.”

The fear of not being able to afford college or to pay off a massive student loan debt may play a factor in why people decide to pursue a full time job instead of being a full time student.

On Feb. 6, the city of San Francisco announced that they will offer free community college to their residents regardless of their income.

San Francisco City College officials said that these proposals will expand access to education, especially for low-income students, according to NBC News.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2015, college graduates make almost double the salary workers with only a high school diploma.

However, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that by the end of 2014, there were more than 800,000 students that dropped out of college.

But not all students at CRC said they feel that dropping out of college is the better option.

Shannon Rusche | The Connection

Enrollment data is from the Cosumnes River College Official Census.

“Everybody tells me, especially my elders, to go to college so I can have a better job,” said Alec Ilaga, 18, a business major. “I do believe that I could choose to just work, but that’s not what I really want to do. I actually like school. I’d rather go to school than to just work.”

To counteract the decreased enrollment, CRC has created a program called “It Pays to Stay,” which emphasizes that “completing a degree or certificate can increase your earnings potential,” according to CRC’s website.

“We are increasing our efforts to try to keep the students we have,” West said.

“We are trying to make sure the we increase awareness

about the importance of persistence.”

CRC has also created the First Year Experience program to directly address the needs of incoming college freshmen and increase student success in an effort to keep them enrolled each semester.

West said the new program is already showing great promise towards enrollment totals by retaining the enrollment rates with first year students.

Biology major Alexis Keo, 21, said that she feels attending college is worth the effort required.

“It is better to get a degree than to just work,” Keo said.

“A degree is not just a piece of paper, it is a certificate for your achievements.”

Campus to submit accreditation report

By Stan Smith ssmith.connect@gmail.com Cosumnes River College will be submitting a report to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges by March 15. The report will show how the college made improvements recommended by the ACCJC last February.

CRC was asked to improve in the expediency of the assessment cycle of student learning outcomes and achievement rates, as well as the thoroughness of documenting dialogue regarding the college’s effectiveness as a learning institution.

“The efforts of faculty, staff and administrators to accelerate learning outcomes assessment in a short period of time has been remarkable,”

said Public Information Officer Kristie West.

Full accreditation is essential to the continual operation of all community colleges.

Without full accreditation, community colleges may not issue diplomas or transfer credits to four-year institutions as accredited campuses do.

According to the Accreditation Response Team website, 91 percent of course assessments, 94 percent of program assessments and 100 percent of activity assessments were completed by the end of the fall 2016 semester.

According to an open ACCJC letter addressed to the president of the college, Edward Bush, the ACCJC recommended that CRC “consistently and systematically document the dialog about

institutional effectiveness, including learning outcomes, as discussions occur throughout the shared governance process.”

What this means is that the college has to improve on documenting faculty meeting discussions about how well CRC is doing as a learning institution and how effective the curriculum is.

“It’s like a math problem and the commission is the teacher asking us to show the work,” said Bush last February.

Since receiving the recommendations by the ACCJC, CRC has taken great strides to incorporate detailed, high-quality notes as a part of the normal process during faculty meetings.

“The college’s commit-

ment to documenting dialog regarding institutional effectiveness is evident through the thorough documentation that was captured from fall 2015 to fall 2016 in an effort to meet this recommendation from the accreditation team,” West said.

Student enrollment is what determines state funding for each community college, and when faced with plummeting enrollment, a discredited community college would likely be forced to close its doors.

Campus administration has displayed continual confidence in CRC having its accreditation status reaffirmed by the ACCJC. “Because the recommendations have been met, I don’t anticipate the college will have any risk of losing its accreditation,” said West.

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THECRCCONNECTION.COM

>>Features Students and faculty urge students to take advantage of resources

By Jannah Khalil jkahlil.connect@gmail.com As a new semester rolls in, Cosumnes River College welcomes a new batch of freshmen in need of advice and guidance on how to smoothly navigate through their next few years.

Many freshmen start college nervous and unsure of how they will proceed through the next few years to reach their goal, whatever it may be. But what freshmen need to know is that they are not alone.

“You’re not just thrown in and lost,” said Megan Neves, an adjunct counselor at CRC. “You get to have a little bit of guidance.”

Neves explained how resources such as group counseling sessions help students “get a community feeling” as well as give them access to “pertinent information.”

Neves urged students to “take advantage of events going on on campus” and to “go see counselors.” She said that “students coming in aren’t used to seeking out help,” and she advises them not to hesitate to use the helpful resources that are available to them.

Time management, learning to advocate for yourself and acclimating to the cam-

pus are three of the most important things a students can do to have a good college experience, said Neves.

Halimeh Edais, a 19-year-old international relations major, would advise freshmen to stay on top of things and understand that college is a different environment than they may be used to.

“Do not slack off,” said Edais. “It’s not like high school; you can’t always make things up.”

Regrading helpful tools, Edais said that “being in touch with my professors” and “finding good friends in class in case you miss something” have made her college experience much easier.

Gabriella Botella, a 19-yearold communications and sociology major who will be transferring to a four-year-university in the fall, said that one of the most useful tools in her college experience has been her email.

“I learned how important it is to use your email and check up on it,” she said. “Through email, I ask my professors follow-up questions and comments I didn’t have the courage to say in class.”

But what freshmen should know is that, above all else, any new experience will be difficult at first but they should persevere nonetheless.

“College is supposed to be hectic because this is the start of your new life, your future,” said Botella. “Don’t stress about the things you don’t know yet. Look for answers and don’t stop until you find them.”

Quick tips for freshmen Make frequent appointments with counselors to make sure you’re taking the right classes.

Assist.org is your best friend! If you know your major, visit this website to know what classes are required for transfer.

Take advantage of resources on campus! English, math, and science tutors are available to help with anything you do not understand.

Stay organized! Invest in planner and use it frequently throughout the semester. Mark important dates such as upcoming due dates or tests.

Have a plan. Know what classes you need to take and figure out when you want to take them.

Award shows shine a new light in spite of presidential administration

By Ashley Navarro anavarro.connect@gmail.com Last year the Oscars was met with heavy criticism revolving around the lack of diversity among the nominees.

The criticism extended to the Grammy Awards, focusing on the exploitation of black culture in music.

Because of how much disdain was left by viewers and artists who shared strong feelings of a need for adversity, many were curious to see how both award shows would pan out. With the new administration, the award shows were a perfect platform to express discomfort.

Although adversity is very much needed to show an appreciation of all cultures and races that have shaped American culture, both award shows focused on uniting artists to give hate groups and opposing forces a piece of their minds in a peaceful and creative way.

The Grammy Awards kicked things off on Feb. 12.

With socially-charged performances by Beyonce, Katy Perry, Chance the Rapper and a powerful collaboration with A Tribe Called Quest, Anderson Paak and Busta Rhymes.

Last year, the only thing that could have been considered a provoking performance was Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “The Blacker The Berry” and “Alright.” The performance was seen as controversial and was unfortunately overshadowed by other performances.

This year, Perry performed her tragic but aspiring single “Chained To The Rhythm.” Despite the song being incredibly bland and riddled with cliches about “living in a bubble,” it’s a good starting point for the pop genre to really gain some depth.

Regardless, Perry deserves credit for applying her concern of politics in a song and using an award show to showcase the song when there is no doubt that she probably

has another single about heartbreak under her belt that she could have performed instead.

She also wore a pantsuit as a statement and paired it with a bedazzled armband that read “persist.” It’s something.

Chance the Rapper had a gospel choir with him singing songs from his heavily inspired by gospel album, “Coloring Book.” Chance is known for not only creating independent music but his involvement with his community in Chicago.

Gospel music traces back to African American tradition and having such performers was a beautiful way of celebrating his upbringing.

The most charged performance was by A Tribe Called Quest and friends. Busta Rhymes came out, calling the president “Agent Orange,” referencing the herbicide used in the Vietnam War. It even ended with a chant of “resist!”

These performances were like an analeptic to Lamar’s performance. It brought back the strength of socially charged music, and it brought it back with an intent of not leaving.

Just two weeks later, the Oscar Awards presented resistance in a different way.

During the red carpet preshow, many attendees were seen wearing ribbons supporting the American Civil Liberties Union as well as Planned Parenthood pins.

Foreign director Asghar Farhadi was not present for his acceptance in respect of his country being included in the “Muslim ban,” one of the many executive orders signed

by Trump.

Others expressed political discomfort, such as Mexican actor/director Gael Garcia Bernal, who blatantly spoke about his opposition of the wall.

It doesn’t take watching much of either award ceremony to gather how much the film and music industry are uniting to take a stance. We can only hope the Academy continues to make progress.

MARCH 2, 2017

PAGE 6

‘Get Out’ makes a splash amidst controversy

By Stan Smith ssmith.connect@gmail.com “Get Out” marks the directorial debut of Jordan Peele, who gained fame from his television show “Key and Peele” alongside co-creator Keegan Michael Key. The film built up a considerable amount of excitement in the weeks leading up to its release thanks to incredibly favorable reviews. Even now, “Get Out” holds a score of 100% on popular review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.

Peele’s experience with feature-length productions is limited, with one lead role alongside Key in the comedy feature film “Keanu.” However, Peele did co-write the film, which surely aided him in the difficult transition from producing short-form comedy sketches to directing the dramatic feature-length narrative.

“Get Out” is a film with strong visual metaphors, representing the experience of being a black man in United States. Race plays a unique role in the film, and the subject is addressed many times throughout.

The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, who has acted in a range of work including Courtesy Photo an episode of “Black Mirror” as well as the 2015 film “Sicario” with Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro.

Kaluuya and the rest of the cast are all strong, helping propel an extremely unsettling story and creepy atmosphere Score out of five stars that builds tension throughout the film, culminating in an intense final act.

For more reviews, visit Peele’s script and directing work in thecrcconnection.com or follow the Connection on Twitter “Get Out” shows huge promise for his @CRCconnection

future projects, proving he has the skills to direct feature-length narratives that many former Youtube stars fail to transition into.

The film’s cinematography and production design are both impressive considering the relatively small budget of $4.5 million, much smaller than the average Hollywood blockbuster. The film takes place largely in one location, helping to maximize the smaller budget and display the production value of a much larger film.

Evidence of Peele’s history in comedy is clear in the movie, with the main character’s friend acting as comedic relief throughout the entire length of the film. This is understandable, considering Peele’s history, and the producers from studios backing the film likely made their case to include as much comedy as possible to cash in on the general public’s familiarity with Peele’s comedic work.

While the dialogue from this character is usually genuinely funny, it also breaks the tension that Peele works hard to build up in the story, which somewhat detracts from the impact of the film.

The first two acts of “Get Out” are impeccably paced and effectively build tension, but the third act feels rushed and devolves from a calculated, insightful story into a chaotic, gory conclusion.

Peele shows off surprising skill in both writing and directing with his directorial debut, and audiences and critics alike will be anticipating his next foray into feature films. If he can separate his narrative work from his comedic roots just a little more, he definitely has the skill to produce a number of impactful and insightful films.

5th Annual Brazilian Carnaval Enjoy an evening of spectacular entertainment with Brazilian live performances and music. Admission includes a complimentary samba class and one complimentary drink. The event is 21+ and is on March 4 at 6 p.m.

Admission: Advance $20, Doors $30 Location: Old Sugar Mill 35265 Willow Avenue, Clarksburg, CA 95612

2017 National Daffodil Show

Come see what daffodil enthusiasts across California and the nation grow for this exhibition. March 10 at 1 p.m.

- 5 p.m. and March 11 at 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Admission: Free Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel

Movie Premieres

March 17: “Beauty and the Beast” “Fist Fight” “The Great Wall”

#StreamingNow: Award Winners Edition

Every year, the Academy picks out the best of the best films and awards different aspects of them. Whether you love them or hate them, they won.

Compiled by Ashley Navarro

“Good Will Hunting”

“To Kill a Mockingbird”

Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, this film has been widely praised over the years. It has also become a story that pop culture loves to parody.

This film won “Best Original Screenplay” and “Best Supporting Actor.”

Netflix. HULU. Amazon.

There is a chance you read the book that was adapted into the film in high school. Directed by Robert Mulligan, this black and white film won “Best Art Direction,” “Best Adapted Screenplay,” and an award for “Best Actor.”

Netflix.

“No Country for Old Men” Javier Bardem’s role is the most intimidating a character can get with a bowlcut, and it is very intimidating.

This film won “Best Director,” “Best Picture,” “Best Adapted Screenplay” and “Best Supporting Actor.” Netflix.

HULU. Amazon.

“Pulp Fiction” Another fantastic movie to the Quentin Tarantino collection. The movie has so much of a cult following that the characters will forever be reprised in the form of Halloween costumes.

This film won “Best Original Screenplay.” Netflix. Amazon.

THECRCCONNECTION.COM

PAGE 7

Fun Beer Facts: Before 1978, Homebrewing had remained illegal because of the prohibition.

Before the prohibiting there were about 2000 breweries across the nation. Only about a third were open after the prohibition ended.

The amount of micro breweries open now has since surpassed .

According to a 2015 report, the highest selling craft beer are by D. G. Yuengling and Son, Inc., Boston Beer Co. and following right behind is California native, Sierra Nevada.

The Sacramento Brewer’s Showcase is presenting over 40 local breweries and food trucks as the opening of Sacramento Beer Week on March 2 from 6-9 p.m. at the California Automobile Museum. The event kicks off Sacramento Beer Week, a week in which brewers, alehouses, restaurants and distributors in the Sacramento Valley are promoted and the rich Sacramento beer culture is celebrated with hundreds of beer events throughout Sacramento, including Almanac Brewing Pint Night, Ribs and Beer Pairing, and more. Additional events can be found on the Sac Beer Week website.

Indian Pale Ales are the most popular type of craft beer consumed.

West coast IPAs are considerably different from East Coast IPAs. According to the California Craft Brewers Association, there are 800 breweries operating across California.

Los Campesinos! release successful album after four years

By Ashley Navarro anavarro.connect@gmail.com

Courtesy Photo

Score out of five stars For more reviews, visit thecrcconnection.com or follow the Connection on Twitter @CRCconnection

It had been a little over three years since the seven-piece Welsh indie rock band, Los Campesinos!, graced the scene with their fifth full-length album “No Blues.” It is evident with the new album “Sick Scenes” that the band has yet to lose its charm after 10 years of being together.

The charm that has been relentlessly found in each album is the band’s ability to write painfully sad songs about mental health and addiction while being seemingly cheerful.

With lyrics like “It seems unfair/ to be an overflow for empty, it seems unfair/ to try your best but feel the worst,” the first single to be released, “I Broke Up in Amarante” fulfills the angsty undertone while also being an insanely catchy song to dance to.

The song takes a different approach not found on the rest of the tracklist by adding a slight distortion to chorus and guitar to give a slightly gritty sound.

Despite the album being filled with a theme that has been found in previous albums, it doesn’t make the album any less valued.

These things are expected from Los Campesinos! but they still bring freshness to the theme.

The only major change evident from listening to the albums is the increase of maturity and it’s not a bad thing (as well as the con-

tinued abandonment of the glockenspiel, but there’s no doubt that would have gotten old).

Their success has given them the opportunity of better production with each song on the new album radiating warmth.

Another thing to notice is how much the supporting vocals shape the song. Pianist Kim’s voice perfectly melts with each song featured giving them a sweet undertone.

The next song to be released as a single was “5 Flucloxacillin” which tells about the overuse of prescription drugs. It almost becomes humorous how the song has lines like “found a fiver screwed up inside a prescription receipt, from the Salbutamol (No, a gift from the Sertraline)” is met with soft harmonizing vocals making it seem like the song is actually uplifting.

Apart from the singles the album features some mellow songs such as “A Slow, Slow Death,” “The Fall of Home” and “A Litany/ Heart Swells.”

If mellow isn’t what you’re going for then the album has more songs following the basic tempo found in a Los Campesinos! song such as “Renato Dall’Ara (2008),” “Sad Suppers,” “Hung Empty” just to name a few.

With the announcement of a new album came an announcement of a North American tour which the band hadn’t embarked on in four years. Despite the time apart, it was worth the wait. “Sick Scenes” is another beautifully crafted album in the band’s discography.

Page 8

March 2, 2017

>>Opinion EDITORIAL

Equality and feminism are still at war In just a few years, it will have been 100 years since the 19th amendment was ratified, and women were allowed to vote. In order to vote in 1788, one had to be exclusively white, male, a property owner and Protestant.

Although qualifications had to be met in earlier times, men were given the right over 100 years before. This outrageous gap is something that can still be seen today, and the fight for women’s equality isn’t being asked for - it’s being demanded.

It’s ridiculous to think about how long of a gap there was between civil liberties offered to males and civil liberties offered to women. With the recent presidential election, many people have been outspoken about their dislike of the new administration, and women are at the core of disestablishing a one-sided society.

According the organizers of the march, Women’s March, an estimated 5 million worldwide people banded together in support of women’s rights. Did it take a severe threat of human rights and morality to push a worldwide march? Possibly, but it just goes to show that now, more than ever, women are ready and willing to fight for equal rights and opportunities and are demonstrating so in every way.

“In the history of colonization, they’ve always given us two options: Give up our land or go to jail, give up our rights or go to jail,” said a native american woman in an urgent call-to-action

HAWK

video as police surrounded the Standing Rock camp.

The Dakota Access Pipeline protest was the product of a Native American woman, Ladonna Brave Bull Allard, who began the process of the movement to protect clean water.

The protest is not yet over but so far women have been the backbone of the protest, being some of the last to leave and withstanding the torment brought upon them by opposing forces.

According to an interview with CBC radio, Allard met with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and grew the camp from just three people. A nationwide protest started because a woman decided to be vocal and take a stand for clean water.

Soon after being inspired by the DAPL protest, notable celebrities became involved. Those celebrities were majoritively women Actress Shailene Woodley outspokenly shared her concern, even joining the camp and going to D.C. to reach government officials.

Despite the situation of DAPL at the moment, the efforts put in by women will not be ignored. It has created a platform for indigenous women to be heard when otherwise silenced just as women around the nation are speaking on behalf of planned parenthood when the fight to shut it down is unfortunately resilient.

Equal rights have yet to be served and the uproar will only get louder the more it is attempted to be silenced.

How do you feel about the culture of upgrading technology every year?

TALK

Compiled by Missy Amaya, Kaelyn Blizzard, Kristi Doan & Jannah Khalil

Freddy Meadoh 24, business

Tanya Mulkey 21, psychology

Emily Caldwell 19, music

Jesse Henderson 19, American Sign Language

“I’m not too big of a fan of updating. It takes away a lot of time for me; I look at it as that it steals a lot of time that I could be using in a better way. “

“I update yearly. I only update my phone though.

There’s no specific reason, but usually it’s just because I want to be fancy.”

“No, it doesn’t matter to me. I have my phone and that’s all I need. It’s a waste of money to upgrade every year.”

“I usually wait about a year or two. I’m not the type of person to say ‘Oh! A new phone’s coming out!.’ I’m good with what I have.”

thecrcconnection.com

Page 9

Secession is all about perception

By Justin Cordero jcordero.connect@gmail.com With political tensions rising across the country, people within the Golden State of California have already started to speak up and encourage the idea of seceding from the United States.

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, to secede means “to withdraw from an organization.”

But historically, and even in the modern era, secession isn’t an uncommon or new solution.

One of the main goals for the Confederate states during the Civil War was to break away from the rest the United States, and even more recently, Britain made the move to secede from the European Union on June 23, 2016 in the movement that was coined as “Brexit.”

The mere idea that a state or country could break away from their economic and national partners sounds tragic, something almost akin to a bad breakup or a divorce. To others though, it may seem like the best and only option for both parties.

With the presidential election now over, it seems that naming Donald Trump as our commander-in-chief may have been the last thing to push some groups of Californians over the edge into considering leaving the United States.

Is this the type of call to arms that rings true in

the hearts of many? Or is it just a bunch of liberals jumping the gun too early?

The Yes California Independance Campaign, shortened to ‘Calexit’ after last year’s Brexit, was started by Louis J. Marinelli and Marcus Ruiz Evans in August 2015.

According to the Yes California website, it is a campaign that focuses on “qualifying a ballot measure that would give the people of California the chance to vote to remain a part of the Union, or to separate from it to become its own independent country.”

Would the separation be beneficial for both parties? Well, mostly not, especially for progressives.

California has been, in most cases, on the forefront of innovation, making strides to help others, and a breeding ground for creative eccentrics to get their new ideas out into the open. Secession would cripple California and leave it open to invasion.

By itself, if California were to secede, it’s population would be roughly 39 million people living within it, according to the federal census website. Without the help of the federal U.S. government, though, a lot of the population would have to shift jobs into developing a new military to defend us, and engineers to keep our homes powered.

If none of those things are accomplished within a timely manner, then California would be complete-

ly undefended and easy to take over by any other invading country since we wouldn’t have a strong military, navy or air force.

It would also be a huge blow to people who consider themselves progressives, people who strive to understand, change and move forward. If anything, it would be the complete antithesis of the progressive movement if the secession movement were to succeed.

Instead of working through their issues with the presidency and his politics, or trying to change anything and help the rest of the country, these secessionists want to just leave entirely, a sentiment that seems very akin to surrender to me.

The mere idea screams that the supporters of this petition have utterly given up completely on the United States, that the “land of the free and home of the brave” has lost all meaning to them and, much like a rebellious child, they want to run away and do things their own way.

American people should be able to help each other out, to be open to everyone and everything, especially if it’s discussion about how to move forward.

Shutting everything out and leaving changes nothing, and instead just shows how petty you can be. If you feel like the world is changing into something you don’t like, speak up and help be the solution instead of creating another problem.

“Many Trump supporters across the country had little sympathy towards the hundreds of thousands of Californians who were forced to evacuate their homes after the flooding of the Oroville Dam. Assuming that most, if not all, Californians are liberals, they negate the fact that the counties surrouing the dam had mostly all voted for Trump.”

- Missy hhhAmaya Artist and hhhWriter

The Connection Conversation

The hands that built this nation shouldn’t be tied

By Alicia Ilaga ailaga.connect@gmail.com My father’s father immigrated into the United States from the Phillipines in 1927, making me the granddaughter of an immigrant. He earned his citizenship, served in the Army, earned a Purple Heart and worked in fields picking fruits and vegetables.

Growing up, I had the best of both worlds: chicken adobo at my dad’s house and spaghetti and meatballs at my mom’s.

My mom only knew her grandmother was German, but she didn’t know when our family immigrated into the country, nor were we in touch with our roots. What we knew was that we were American.

I was a biracial child growing up in a divorced household, and at school that seemed normal to me.

I observed that my friends were biracial.

Some of their parents were divorced, others were together and a few were being raised by grandparents.

When I started my first semester at Cosumnes River College, I was surprised at how many different cultures and backgrounds people came from who also attended the school.

Even in college, it was normal to walk into a classroom and expect to see people from different countries, but what surprised me the most was trying to interview people around campus and getting the response, “I don’t speak English very well.”

When Donald J. Trump became president, one of the first few executive orders he passed was “protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States.” However, Greg Myre, NPR International Editor, annotated Trump’s executive order.

“The executive order does not include any countries from which radicalized Muslims have actually killed Americans in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001,” said Myre.

Homeland Security later issued a fact sheet stating, “for the next 90 days, nearly all travelers, except U.S. citizens, traveling on passports from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen will be temporarily suspended from entry to the United States.”

According to the fact sheet, “the 90 day period will allow for proper review and establishment of standards to prevent terrorist or criminal infiltration by foreign nationals.”

Here’s the kicker: according to an article Myre wrote for NPR, “no Muslim extremist from any of these places has carried out a fatal attack in the U.S. in more than two decades.”

America put laws in place and made enforcements on traveling to increase security and protect U.S. citizens. America is the “land of the free and home of the brave,” so what is the point of omitting Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from entering U.S. soil when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan are countries of origin for radicalized Muslims who carried out deadly attacks in the U.S., beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, according to Myre’s article.

When I walk into a classroom, the grocery store or my local coffee shop and see people of different ethnicities all around. I don’t fear that man because of the head turban he wears or that woman because she only speaks Chinese.

I want to learn more about their culture. Why is Chinese supposedly the hardest language to learn, why must you wear a head turban or why can’t women in certain cultures show their faces?

Stereotyping these people for fear of terrorism is teaching children to be ignorant and prejudiced.

This country was built on immigration, dating back to Christopher Columbus and the Mayflower.

Why would you teach your child to fear someone because of the country they come from or the color of their skin?

Page 10

March 2, 2017

>>Sports

Women’s tennis not discouraged by small roster

By Missy Amaya mamaya.connect@gmail.com Cosumnes River College’s women’s tennis team is just beginning their season with a small team of only four official players, but that is not discouraging the team’s spirit.

“We don’t have a number three doubles and we don’t have a five or six [singles player] playing, so obviously that hurts our team’s chances,” said Head Coach Brandon Ellis.

“But the thing about tennis is that it’s largely an individual sport. The fact that we have less players doesn’t mean that they will be playing shorthanded.”

Because the team has four players on their roster, they will have to forfeit two out of the six singles matches by default. This means they would have to win the four remaining matches in order to advance.

Ellis said he is confident that his team can handle the challenge. His main focus is developing the players.

“I’d rather have smaller numbers who are into it - competing and learning - than have a full team with people who aren’t as committed,” Ellis said. “The people who are

out here are all really well into their commitment.”

Sophomore Clarence Fernandez, who has been playing tennis for five years, said she understands the challenges students must face in regards to the level of commitment needed to be eligible to play on the team.

Fernandez said it’s difficult being an athlete because students must commit time to their sport.

“That’s why probably a lot of women don’t want to join the tennis team; because they are not really committed,” Fernandez said.

“The five players that we have are really committed, and we really want to represent our school.”

Technically, the team has four players on their roster.

However, there is another player practicing with the team.

Freshman Jacquelyn Bongcaron, who has been playing tennis for three years, transferred to CRC from an art school and cannot play any games until her transcripts are cleared.

Bongcaron said she is hoping she’ll be eligible to play next season, and until then, she is is focused on practicing

Alicia Ilaga | The Connection

Freshman player Paradise Whalen works on her forehand with Assistant Coach Edmund Carter during practice.

with her team and working on her technique.

“I really want to play outside of the box and experience that college level of playing,” Bongcaron said.

Freshman Paradise Whalen, who just started playing tennis, said she has been a little nervous about being the newest player on the team.

“We don’t have very

many players at all so our lineup is pretty short,” she said.

“There’s a lot of space in-between the ranks, like the top player is really good, and then there is me at the bottom.”

Although she has been nervous about playing against experienced players, she’s excited to play. Whalen said her main focus was to have fun learning the sport.

“My personal goal for the season is just to have fun and learn how to play and have better hits,” Whalen said.

The team is very positive and in good spirits for the season.

“Hopefully we can make it to the state tournament, because we made it last year and it was really fun,” Fernandez said.

Swim program excited about developing team culture

By Kristine Yabumoto kyabumoto.connect@gmail.com The Cosumnes River College women’s swim team is starting its third season this year. The team consists of nine women of different ages and skill levels.

The team has a lot to look forward to this year as a team of just nine. Head Coach Liz Abrams said that the team is ready for the upcoming season and is excited to develop an established program.

“This season the women’s aquatic program is still in a building phase,” Abrams said. “This is our third season here on campus. That would be a long-term goal of ours, developing a team culture that promotes the school’s values, a good work ethic and really establishing a good base for swimming with these girls

and looking towards the future.”

The team has had one meet so far - the NorCal relays in Santa Rosa. The meet consisted of relays, so no individual races were swam.

“It was a very fun meet for all the teams to get together,” Abrams said. “They did really great swimming together as a group for the first time. They have some awesome team chemistry.”

The team has nine swimmers, so many races come up quick because the team is so small.

The team consists of swimmers who are using this semester to get back into swimming, and swimmers who have been training in past years. The total number of swimmers swimming in meets are the five women that are trained and ready to swim this season. The other four swim-

mers are practicing in hopes of swimming competitively next season.

Lorena Rettele is a freshman at CRC and said she hopes to get better times in general this season.

“We did pretty good for getting the first times for only having five people swimming this season. The people who swam in the relays did really good, and they could definitely get better. The start times were really good too,” said Rettele on the first meet.

Abrams said there will probably be an adjustment period for freshmen swimmers

“It’s not just a team; it’s a family.”

— Carrie Chen

Sophomore swimmer

to get used to the idea of racing back-to-back.

“But that’s what we’re working on in practice everyday - endurance and that mental strength and mental capacity to be ready to go for each race,” Abrams said. “Typically, depending on what meet you’re swimming at there’s caps on how many an individual can swim individually and in relays. For example, in our Los Rios Invite, they’re allowed to swim three individuals and three relays.”

The team is still starting the season up, so no records have been made yet. “As the season moves forward, we’ll have a lot of personal records, and it’s likely we might have Lorena Retelle beat our team’s 500m record this year,” said Abrams.

Carrie Chen, a returning swimmer, said she is going to use this season to practice

more for next semester.

“I feel like I’ve been improving as I’ve been practicing more and more,” Chen said.

“Before, I wasn’t able to swim long distances, but now I’m able to swim 100s in freestyle.”

“I have much more fun swimming in college than I did in high school. I can learn more, and people are a lot more willing to help me, especially coach - she’s really helpful. I also feel like this team is a family. It’s not just a team; it’s a family.”

The team’s chemistry was one of the most common topics brought up by the team.

Retelle said “We’re pretty much like a big family.

Because it’s so small, we all bonded really fast.”

The team’s next meet will be at Cuesta College from March 9-11. Coach Adams said Cuesta is a very fun and quick meet.

PAGE 11

THECRCCONNECTION.COM

Gavilan walks lead to solid win at home for the Hawks

By Shannon Rusche srusche.connect@gmail.com The Cosumnes River College Hawks men’s baseball team won its game against the Gavilan College Rams 7-1 on Friday.

The Hawks scored consistently and only allowed the Rams to score once throughout the game. Despite the team’s win streak continuing, head coach Tony Bloomfield said he is disappointed with the team’s current record for the season.

“We lost all four games earlier in the year.

We could have easily been 11-2 right now, but we’re 7-6,” Bloomfield said.

The Hawks scored one run in the bottom of the first inning as the Rams allowed three early walks to the Hawks.

In the top of the second, starting pitcher Anthony Castaneda quickly retired the side, and the inning finished with a diving catch made by centerfielder Peyton Wheatley.

“I was really pumped that our centerfielder made that amazing catch,” said relief pitcher Marcus Helm.

“That changed the whole outcome of that inning.”

The Rams continued to struggle getting the ball into the strike zone by adding two more walks to the Hawks. Shortstop Brett Bloomfield gave CRC a 3-0 lead by hitting a two-run single.

The third and fourth innings were dominated by stellar pitching from both teams.

Castaneda made quick work of the top of the fifth. He got two players to strike out before letting one player walk, but the final player of

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the Rams’ team was caught out before making it to first.

After pitching for five innings, Castaneda was finally replaced by Helm, who pitched the remaining four innings of the game.

“This is my first game going over 75 pitches,” said Castaneda. “I redshirted last year and this is my first year back, so I’ve just been getting my arm more healthy.”

In the top of the sixth, Helm got off to a bad start by walking the first batter he saw. The Rams’ lone run came in this inning with an RBI single.

In the bottom of the sixth, catcher Francisco Prado singled to score Wheatley. Later in the inning, first baseman Billy Rockefeller doubled and advanced right fielder Brian Morley to third and second baseman Trevor Ray scored Helm came back in the top of the seventh by making the first Rams’ batter strike out, and the following two players grounded out to Ray. “We had a big lead in the beginning, so coming into the game, I knew what I had to do: just get a lot of outs real fast,” said Helm.

“Anytime you have a quick inning like that, it’s good for you keeping your pitch count low and for the team because it gets them on and off the field really quick.”

In the bottom of the seventh, the Rams again let the Hawks walk and get a single before the Hawks made another run. The Hawks continued to get singles before being caught out the rest of the inning.

During the eighth, both teams were caught out at first and the game ended at the top of the ninth, where the Rams players were caught out.

CRC played Gavilan again on Saturday at home and won 23-2.

The Hawks’ next home game is today at 2:00 p.m. against Modesto Junior College.

The Connection is an award-winning newspaper published bi-weekly by the Journalism 410 & 411 media production class. Editorials and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the students, staff or faculty of CRC or Los RiosCommunity College District.

Letters to the Editor must be typed, signed and include the first and last name of the author and a phone number. They must be 200 words or less and may be edited for length, clarity or taste.

The Connection Cosumnes River College 8401 Center Parkway Sacramento, CA 95823 Telephone: (916) 691-7471 Fax: (916) 691-7181 www.thecrcconnection.com connection.crc@gmail.com

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MLB’s Manfred needs to stop ruining traditions

By Steven Bryla sbryla.connect@gmail.com Spring training just started for the 2017 MLB season, and new faces get roster invites in the hopes of making a big-league 40-man roster.

That also means that new rules and regulations go into effect for the upcoming season. Unfortunately for baseball fans, both new and old school, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred keeps messing with tradition.

A little over a month ago, he came out with a plan to change the pace of play and speed up the game again.

This comes after a couple years prior, where he first suggested a pitch clock in between pitches, because there were times where it would take a couple of minutes in between pitches, with hitters stepping out of the batters box and taking their sweet time to step in the box again to be ready for the next pitch.

Every rule that has been suggested by Manfred will make its test through the minor leagues.

After a full minor league season using the pitch clock in AA and AAA leagues, the cut-down time of games was on average 6-16 minutes.

The newest rule change that Manfred wanted was to change the way extra innings are handled. This is the one rule that should never be messed with for the simple fact that some of the greatest moments in baseball history have happened in extra innings.

Manfred wants to implement a new rule for extra innings by putting a runner on second base to start an inning. This is exactly what softball does as well. Manfred believes the game play will speed up, but it’s unproven.

For example, we wouldn’t have nicknamed Derek Jeter “Mr. November” when he hit that home run off Byung-Hyun Kim in game 4 of the 2001 World Series. As if the USA wasn’t already rooting for the Yankees to win the champion-

ship after tragedy struck the “Big Apple” two months earlier in the 9/11 attacks.

The impossible happened last year when the Chicago Cubs ended the “Billy Goat Curse” and won the 2016 World Series Championship.

The game was tied at 6 after eight exciting innings of baseball and then heavy rain decided to join the party. After completing nine innings with the score tied, the umpires called for a rain delay, so baseball fans were left anxious, waiting to see if there was going to be more baseball that night.

Luckily the rain delay was a short 17 minutes. The Chicago Cubs took full advantage of the delay and put two runs on the board, and the pitching took care of the bottom half inning and won the Cubs its first title in 108 years.

The latest rule that Manfred is trying to ruin baseball with is the intentional walk rule. The rule would be a sign given from the manager to the umpire signaling they want to intentionally walk a batter.

This would speed the game up a little bit, but it does not guarantee that you are going to have MLB managers walking hitters more than once or twice in a game.

Is all that worth it to add up to a minute per game?

In recent years, we have had hitters get base hits off intentional walks, and one of the best parts is giving the pressure to the pitcher to hit a standing target outside of the strike zone and airmail the ball over his catcher’s head with a runner on base.

Out of 10 opportunities, there might be one or two blunders, but to baseball fans it is a great sight to see and you get a cheap laugh out of it.

Manfred needs to sit in his office and shut up. Leave America’s pastime alone and let it be played how it was invented over some 160 years ago. He is taking the fun out of the game and understandably trying to make it enjoyable and attract new fans, but prior commissioners have let rules stand and it worked out fine.

Page 12

March 2, 2017

Men's basketball loses heartbreaker in playoffs

By Jeannie Cordero jecordero.connect@gmail.com The Cosumnes River College Hawks men’s basketball team lost to the Cabrillo College Seahawks with a final score of 77-75 on Feb. 22.

Losing their first game in the Northern California Regional, the team will be out for the rest of the season.

“Our mindset was to play hard and execute as best as we could,” said sophomore guard Leondre Lintz. “We want to get the best shots possible and play great defense.”

The game started with Hawks sophomore forward Victor Wariso scoring the first points of the night, but shortly after, the Seahawks scored in return.

This set the tone for the entire first half of the game, and the Seahawks continuously had the lead over the Hawks

“Being in the heat of the moment and playing at home with a big crowd, that’s when the real players come out and show what they really have."

-- Jordan Roberson

Freshman forward

by no more than a few points.

Six minutes into the half, Seahawks were leading with the score of 20-16.

Both teams played hard defensively, as no one scored a point for the next six minutes of the game.

Breaking this dry streak, Hawks freshman forward Jordan Roberson was fouled and made two points from the free throw line, bringing the score to 20-18.

But the Hawks were unable to secure the rebound offensively and defensively at the end of the first half.

“Because of our size, it’s harder to rebound,” said Head Coach Jonathan James. “If we had more opportunities to rebound, I think that would’ve eliminated second chances for the other team.”

The first half of the game ended with the Hawks trailing behind five points against the Seahawks with the score 4237.

“In the first half, they beat us both offensively and defensively,” said James. “In the second half we eliminated one [offensively], and that got us back in the game.

The Hawks’ sophomore forward Robert Tolbert scored the first points starting in the second half.

The scores remained neck-and-neck, as each team matched the other point for point.

The second half was filled

Shawn Feuerstein | The Connection

Sophomore center Bolaji Famuyiwa calls for the ball in Hawks' last game.

with fouls exchanged between the teams. At one minute until the end of the second half, the Hawks had minimized the Seahawks’ lead to 75-70.

With only 30 seconds

left, Roberson was fouled and made two points for the Hawks with a score of 75-72.

The clock was ticking with 6.9 seconds left, and Roberson made a clutch three-pointer,

the Hawks closing in with one point down as the scoreboard showed 76-75.

Seahawks freshman guard Tynan Velasquez was fouled and made one point at the free throw line, giving the team a two point lead.

With only four seconds remaining in the game, the Hawks lost control of the ball and ended with a heartbreaking two-point loss against the Seahawks with a score of 7775.

Two key players for the Hawks were Lintz and Roberson. Lintz scored 20 points with five assists and two rebounds, and Roberson scored 23 points with five rebounds and two assists.

“Being in the heat of the moment and playing at home with a big crowd, that’s when the real players come out and show what they really have,” said Roberson. “I’m that type of player who can make a couple of shots and get in my zone and I’m just locked in and focused.”

This was the last game of the season for the Hawks, who will now prepare for next season.

This was James's first season as head coach of the men's basketball team. Though a feshman coach, the Hawks were able to make it to playoffs.

Seven out of eight teams in the Big 8 Conference made it to playoffs.

Hawks open Big 8 play with first shutout victory

By Courtney Fong cofong.connect@gmail.com After getting rained out their first two conference games, the Hawks softball team finally played their home opener on Saturday against Sacramento City College.

Because the Sac City field was muddy, the game was moved to Cosumnes River College a day ahead of schedule. But it ended up working out in the Hawks’ favor, with their first conference game a shutout, 8-0.

“I think everybody was kind of chomping at the bit to play,” said Head Coach Kristy Schroeder. “I was happy with the way we played defense and how we hit when we needed to. It was a great way to start the conference.”

With strong pitching from freshman pitcher Brittany Baroni, the game wrapped up quickly without the Panthers scoring any runs.

“I was nervous at first [playing my first conference game], but I kind of got

over it,” Baroni said. "I mean, I was way more nervous in the very beginning of the year, but now that I got a couple games under my belt, I’m good.”

The Hawks got on the board in the bottom of the second inning.

After two outs, freshman utility player Baylee Hirtel hit a triple, which allowed sophomore left fielder/out fielder Lindsay Lambert to score the first run of the game. From there, the Hawks continued to rack up points in the bottom of the second.

Freshman second baseman Ve-

“Sometimes it's hard to start out just from coming out of the dugout so I felt good about it. I just ran. I just wanted to get as far as I could.”

-- Baylee Hirtel

Freshman utility player

ronica Smith reached first on an error by the Panthers’ shortstop, and Hirtel scored.

Smith, freshman right fielder/outfielder Cecilia Rivera and freshman shortstop/second baseman Miranda Rodriguez scored three runs after Rivera, Rodriguez and first baseman Makenna Noya each singled. The Hawks finished the second inning with a 5-0 lead over the Panthers.

“It felt good [hitting a triple], considering I was the designated hitter,” said Hirtel. “Sometimes it’s hard to start out just from coming out of the dugout, so I felt good about it. Honestly, I didn’t even look at it. I just ran. I just wanted to get as far as I could.”

“I was thinking that if it was my pitch that I was gonna rope it and then pick up the team by having good attitude at bat,” said Hirtel after hitting her triple.

The Hawks scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a ground ball, error and fly ball. By the end of

the fourth inning, the Hawks led 8-0.

With no runs scored by the Panthers, the game ended at the top of the fifth inning.

The Hawks players said they are excited for the rest of their season.

“The team clicks really well, so it’s just a lot of fun being out here,” Baroni said.

“They always come up and talk to me, outfield is always saying my name.

They’re always just giving me words of advice, coming up to the mound, so it’s nice.”

Hirtel said she wants to keep working hard at practice. She recognized the importance of having a good attitude.

“The team always picks everyone up. They’re a good solid team, and I’m happy to be playing with them. And I just look forward to kicking some butt and playing as hard as we can,” said Hirtel. “It’s gonna be a fun season.”

The team will play a doubleheader at home against San Joaquin Delta on March 4 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.