Spring 2015 - Issue Two

www.thecrcconnection.com

Men’s basketball wins Big 8 conference See Page 12

Courtesy Photo

Mobile Mindset

How smartphones are taking over our lives News, Page 3 ISSUE 2 2/26/15-3/11/15 Student voice of CRC since 1970

Get a golden ticket

Library program launches to reward readers Features, Page 5

FACEBOOK /crcconnection

Importance of Travel The benefits of exploring during the college years Opinion, Page 8

TWITTER @crcconnection

Tough Tennis Season Team tries to rise above rough losses Sports, Page 10

INSTAGRAM @thecrcconnection

Page 2

February 26, 2015

>>News

Affordable Care Act may negatively affect tax returns for those still without insurance

By Omar Chan ochan.connect@gmail.com Tax season is upon us and many Americans are looking forward to a financial boost from their tax return.

This year is a bit different than years past because the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, may have an effect on people’s returns.

One of President Barack Obama’s largest reform projects, the ACA has been extensively debated.

A large concern has been the potential impact the ACA will have on taxes because of the funding that is needed to sustain a new insurance program.

“The whole premise is to get everybody insured,” said Ralph Danel, a tax specialist for H&R Block, “If you don’t have health insurance, and you didn’t get it in the marketplace, then there is a penalty for it,” he

said.

However, the reason is not because Obamacare is expensive.

Instead, a refund can be negatively affected by not having health insurance for at least three months of the past year, according to TaxAct. com.

Laws enacted to ensure Americans get insured state that if a person does not have health insurance during 2014, there will be tax penalties enacted by the Internal Revenue Service, according to TaxAct. com.

Otherwise, tax returns will not be affected.

For California residents, the cheaper health insurance under the ACA can be purchased in the marketplace at Covered California’s website.

Through the lense of community college students, health insurance is still a financial burden, despite the reduced costs.

“I work part-time and I go to school full-time,” said Jacob

Stewart, 22, a business major.

“I barely make enough money to buy something I’ve been living without,” he said.

Although a penalty may at first appear to be unfair to those who cannot afford to buy health insurance, the tax penalty is based on income and number of people living in a household.

“The penalty is based on how much income you have,” Danel said.

“The logic behind it is that it is easier for you to buy the health insurance if you have higher income,” he said.

The Individual Mandate is the provision under the ACA that stipulates all citizens must have health insurance or a tax penalty will be levied.

However, according to the IRS, there are exemptions to this penalty.

The main exemption is being low-income and unable to afford health insurance, despite the reduced rates of the ACA. In order to apply for these

exemptions, Form 8965 must filled out through the IRS. The form allows people to prove that they are low-income and that the cheapest plan available to them is still more than 8 percent of their total income.

“I can’t afford to pay for insurance,” said Alejandra

they can get and look forward to a boost in income through tax refunds.

However, the ACA’s penalty poses the potential to further students’ financial issues by reducing or completely negating any refund the student may have been expecting otherwise.

“The whole premise is to get everybody insured.

If you don’t have health insurance, and you didn’t get it in the marketplace, then there is a penalty for it.”

-- Ralph Danel

H&R Block tax specialist

Martinez, 21, a communications major.

“I just got engaged and I have a wedding to pay for. I just don’t make enough money to buy that,” she said.

Some students at CRC say they are pinching every penny

There is the stress of possibly receiving less money than normal, but there is also the opportunity for full medical coverage.

“The Affordable Care Act is in its first year, we’ll see what happens,” Danel said.

Process of applying for financial aid may be easier than students think with on-campus assistance workshops

By Heather Kemp hkemp.connect@gmail.com The Free Application for Federal Student Aid’s state deadline is rapidly approaching as students scramble to ensure they will get the financial assistance that they need.

March 2 is the deadline that California has set for current or prospective students to submit their FAFSA, Cal Grant or California Dream Act applications.

“All of it’s pretty easy, pretty straight forward. I’ve never really run into any problems,” said Jamari Forte, 26, a nursing major.

The FAFSA requires students to input their personal information as well as the schools they will possibly attend and their tax information.

While some students have an easy time filing, others have trouble.

“At the workshop, there are computers available

for students to fill out the FAFSA application or the California Dream Act application and financial aid staff on hand to answer questions students might have as they go through the applications.”

-- Janet Alvarado

Financial aid officer

“It’s overly complicated,” said 21-year-old Evan Pacheco. “I have to fill it out on my own, but it still requires my parents’ information and that’s hard to get.”

Although Pacheco says getting his parents information isn’t easy, he said he still manages to file before the deadline.

Students who don’t file by March 2 do not lose their shot at financial aid completely, the

date is just the priority deadline. ‘’The FAFSA application for the 2015-16 school year became available on January 1 and the priority deadline is March 2,’’ said financial aid officer Janet Alvarado in an email interview.

Cosumnes River College will be holding workshops on Feb. 27 and March 6 in Winn 153 to help students complete their documents.

“At the workshop, there are computers available for students to fill out the FAFSA application or the California Dream Act application and financial aid staff on hand to answer questions students might have as they go through the applications,” Alvarado said.

“Students should make sure to bring their financial information from 2014, including their taxes and their parents’ taxes if they have already filed,” he said.

Alvarado said that they hold a workshop after the deadline to remind students that they can still apply.

Several students said financial aid is critical to their ability to attend college.

“It’s the only way I can go to school,” Pacheco said.

Forte said it is how she pays for her school supplies.

“It’s really important because there is a lot of materials

needed for like science courses,” Forte said.

19-year-old pre-nursing major Adrianna Sayers does not get financial aid, but wishes she did.

“I don’t get financial aid and I don’t get the BOGs [Board of Governors fee waiver] either which sucks,” Sayers said. “A lot of times I have to pay for my own or use my parents which sucks because it comes out to be really expensive.”

Sayers said she still fills out the FAFSA every year in hopes that “maybe one day it’s gonna change.”

To fill out the FAFSA application visit https://fafsa. ed.gov/.

For other financial aid help and information about workshops being held off campus Alvarado said to visit http://www.icanaffordcollege. com/.

THECRCCONNECTION.COM

PAGE 3

SAVE THE Study: addiction to technology not limited by age, potentially dangerous

By Nicole Goodie ngoodie.connect@gmail.com

S

tudents wandering around, completely oblivious to their surroundings because of smartphones is becoming a common sight on Cosumnes River College’s campus. The grounds are slowly resembling an episode of The Walking Dead.

Lookout Mobile Security teamed up with Harris Interactive, one of the world’s leading market research firms, to conduct a study in May 2012 to analyze the United States mobile phone habits.

According to the study it was concluded that “our thoughts, emotions and behavior are impacted by smartphones.”

This is what Lookout calls the new “mobile mindset.”

With 58 percent of phone users unable to go an hour without checking their phones, according to the study, what is it that drives us to be constantly connected?

“Both anthropologists and psychologists would probably tell you, on the one hand you have the cultural practice where you’re being compelled to use your phone either by society, or your job, or schooling or peer pressure and that feeling like you have to be in on what’s happening right that minute,” said Aanthropology Professor Anastasia Panagakos.

“On the other hand that

also then affects your brain and affects your patterns of behavior,” she said.

Panagakos teaches a class on globalization and has students attempt to do a technology fast where they have to stay away from any technology “post 1985.”.

“What they sometimes find is that their whole day is kind of oriented around checking their phone and that there is no more down time, there is no sitting and being,” said Panagakos.

People are often so into their phones that they do not realize the harm they are inflicting on themselves.

According to the study, 24 percent of people admit to checking their phone while driving. This can be extremely dangerous and often people die because of these distractions.

Why is it that people risk their lives to check their phones?

Psychology Professors James Frazee and Everett Hannan used substance abuse as a parallel to phone addiction.

“If you’re addicted to a substance, there’s a psychobiology of requiring more of it over time,” said Hannan.

Frazee said that assimilating with a group is “a huge driver of behavior.”

So people tend to want to stay in constant contact to receive that feeling of acceptance.

“In people that have addicted behaviour that they get rewards from, and these can be things like a social reward, people are very com-

plex and so in the complexity of personal behavior they might be getting rewarded from the social connection of their phone buzzing,” said Frazee.

“So the problem with the addiction is not connecting to other people, that’s wonderful. The problem with the addiction is that it stands in as a supplement for something that people legitimately need. Which is to hear and be heard by others,” he said.

People are actually more addicted to their phones than you may think. In Panagakos’s experiment she found the most of her students had symptoms of withdrawal when they were away from their phones.

“A lot of students didn’t make it passed a couple of hours,” Panagakos said. Students only had to attempt to go one day away from technology.

Could you do it?

Daniel Coelho, an 18-year-old automotive technology major said he “falls into the 10 minute category,” when it comes to checking his phone.

Besides being addicted, people tend to change their social behavior because of their phones.

According to the Lookout study 30 percent admit to checking their phone while having meals with others.

“The problem with phones and our addiction to phones is that it’s actually physically separating us from the good evolutionary thing, which would be to physically connect with an-

other person,” said Frazee.

Students also see this happening.

“Basically your phone is an excuse to not talk to people,” said 18-year-old English major Elizabeth Alvarez.

People also have strong feelings when it comes to losing their phones.

The study found that a whopping 94 percent are just concerned about losing their phone.

Hannan said it is similar to a drug addict concerned about running out of their drug of choice.

According to the study, 6 percent of people were actually relieved when they lost their phone, compared to the 73 percent who were panicked.

During her experiment, Panagakos said she definitely saw that statistic among her students.

Some students even found the positives of staying off their phones.

“They realized that they wasted a lot of time on their phones,” said Panagakos.

Panagakos said she had some of her students tell her that since they couldn’t use their phone they went home and cleaned, talked to their parents more, or they had time to read a book.

This just shows how much people are actually missing in the world when they are constantly attached to their smartphones.

Next time you think about sending that text or tweet, try being connected to the world around you instead.

Be sure to check out www.thecrcconnection.com Subscribe for updates and recieve weekly CRC news, videos, slideshows, interactive conent and more!

Like us on Facebook! www.Facebook.com/crcconnection Follow us on Twitter! @CRCConnection

Follow us on Snapchat!

CRConnection Follow us on Instagram! @CRCConnection

DATE CALL TO ARTISTS

The Elk Grove Fine Arts Center is inviting local artists to join their Community Art Display program at the arts center gallery.

If you’re interested in having your art displayed, receiving dates are Feb. 26-28.

Fee information and forms for displaying work are available on the EDFAC’s website. The show will run from March 7 to April 23.

GET YOUR TAXES DONE—FREE!

All through March, Cosumnes River College’s volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) program will be offering free income tax preparation to anyone with less than $52,000 yearly income.

The program will meet Saturdays from 9 AM to 11 AM in room BS140A. Dropoff service is also available.

SHAVE YOUR HEAD FOR CHARITY

Bell Brothers is holding its second annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser on March 21.

Volunteers shave their heads in solidarity with children who lose their hair during cancer treatment.

The event will take place from 8 AM to 12 PM, and fundraisers and shavees will receive a free St. Baldrick’s t-shirt when they reach $50 in donations.

MOBILE FOOD THAT STAYS WITH YOU

On the third Saturday of every month, SactoMoFo hosts a dinner at Morse Park from 5 PM to 8 PM in conjunction with Elk Grove’s Community Service District.

The park will be populated with food trucks serving up a variety of delicacies.

The next event will take place on March 21.

Page 4

thecrcconnection.com

State-funded program offers students unique opportunity to travel abroad

The Critical Language Scholarship program offers 13 different languages to be studied in full immersion in foreign countries (shaded above), including Arabic, Japanese and Russian.

By Nick Valenzuela nvalenzuela.connect@gmail.com Students who find themselves unable to participate in Los Rios’s study abroad program may have an opportunity to study in another country through a program that is lesser known among community colleges.

The Critical Language Scholarship is a program offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in which students travel to other countries to study language and culture in full immersion. Perhaps most enticing, the program is fully funded.

“You learn critical languages, languages less commonly taught in the US,” said Zala Ahmadzaa, a former Cosumnes River College student who participated in the CLS program. “It makes you more competitive for jobs in the government sector, and it makes you more competitive when you’re applying for graduate schools.”

The program takes place during eight weeks of the summer, and according to the program’s website, “most languages offered by the CLS Program do not require applicants to have any experience studying critical languages.”

Students can apply through the program’s website.

Ahmadzaa, who traveled to India as part of the CLS program’s Urdu study, came to CRC on Feb. 24 to give presentations about her experience.

“Classes go from Monday to Fri-

day. They start around 9 and end around 1, and it’s very intensive during that period,” Ahmadzaa said during her presentation.

Despite the busy school week schedule, Ahmadzaa also assured those in attendance that on weekends, students were allowed to go on cultural excursions and take time off from studying.

As for living arrangements, Ahmadzaa said she was placed with a host family, which further helps immerse students in the culture of the country they are studying in. “[The best part] was being with the host family, because they were so warm and welcoming and they treated me like a daughter,” Ahmadzaa said.

“We would go out on family outings, we’d go and see different landscapes and they would tell me about their history.”

She said that meshing with the family was not difficult for her because she grew up in a similar cultural setting.

Following the presentation, students flocked to pick up the flyers and cards Ahmadzaa had brought to give prospective applicants further information.

Hirad Ansari, a 33-year-old accounting major, said he thought the presentation was very helpful.

“It was great. I didn’t know they had this kind of program so it’s something new and I’m interested in going to other countries and seeing what they look like, what they eat, their culture,”

Nick Valenzuela | The Connection

Zala Ahmadzaa speaks at Cosumnes River College about her experience studying abroad.

Ansari said. “I think [the program] would help to understand the culture and learning a new language.”

Humanities Professor Rosalie Amer agreed, saying she thought the presentation “was fascinating.” “[The program] gives a student, before they complete a baccalaureate degree, the opportunity for a foreign

experience, a foreign education,” Amer said. “It gives them an awareness, and hopefully they’ll add to their own mature thought about that culture.”

To find out more about the CLS program and how to apply, visit http:// www.clscholarship.org/.

Heather Kemp contributed to this article.

PAGE 5

FEBRUARY 26, 2015

>>Features

Library seeks to reward students for learning

By Nicole Goodie ngoodie.connect@gmail.com

W

alking into a library can be overwhelming when attempting to find a book among the hundreds to thousands that line the various shelves and racks. Even with helpful staff and the computer catalog, it can be quite a task to find what is needed.

The Cosumnes River College librarians created the Golden Ticket program to encourage students to learn how to use the resources on hand.

The Golden Ticket program is a way for students to earn a reward while learning how to use books on reserve and simultaneously helping the library build their collection of reserved textbooks. When checking out a textbook from the reserve desk, students will receive a golden ticket stamp card.

“We’re trying to encourage them to hold onto those cards so that they aren’t having to look up that number every single time they come in,” said librarian Andi Adkins-Pogue. “It’s just easier and more efficient.”

Every time a student uses a book on reserve, they will receive a stamp on the golden ticket stamp card. For every sixth stamp, the student will be entered in a raffle for a $5 print card.

To receive the card from the reserve desk, students must meet certain requirements.

“Students must have the call number and their ID card to receive a stamp card,” said Library Media Technical Assistant Laurie Pownall.

Call numbers act like the address of the book and allow a student to locate titles throughout the library on their own.

Library staff, including Pownall said they are encouraging students to keep call numbers and stamp cards on hand.

The first drawing was on Feb. 9 where three $5 print cards were raffled off. There will be 10 cards given away total. The next drawing is to be determined.

“This is the first semester we’ve tried something like this,” Adkins-Pogue said. “So far we have gotten a good response.”

Maya Hailey, an 18-year-old psychology major said she had not heard of the program, but would start using it.

“I actually think that’s great,” said Hailey. “I definitely print a lot of papers now this semester, so that would help a lot if I won.”

Adkins-Pogue said the main reason why they started the incentive program was to help educate students.

“It’s two fold. We’re doing it for students because we found that a lot of students don’t understand what a call number is,” Adkins-Pogue said. “They’re maybe coming from an environment where they haven’t used a library a lot. So that’s part of the teaching process and learning process for us, so that they understand that the call number is the address of the book and that’s how we’re able to find it.”

Adkins-Pogue said that students should know that even though the books on reserve are behind the counter, they can use call numbers to find any other books in the library.

However, teaching students was not the library staff’s only intention.

“We are trying to have as many reserved books available as possible,” Adkins-Pogue said. “We are working with instructors and working on building that collection. And we just want students to know that if they can’t afford the book or they can’t get the book by the time the semester starts that we might have it here, so they should check out the library.”

Black History Month lecture tackles inequality

By Tierra Palumbo tpalumbo.connect@gmail.com The Sacramento region is well-known for its high levels of diversity. TIME magazine declared it the most diverse city in America in 2002 and Cosumnes River College was ranked the ninth most diverse public two-year college in the nation last year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac.

While the city and college are quite diverse, that doesn’t mean that there still aren’t issues with inequality.

Guest lecturers from UC Davis sociology associate professor Bruce Hayes and sociol-

ogy lecturer Jesus Hernandez tackled that very subject as part of CRC’s continued Black History Month celebration in their lecture “Race and Inequality in America’s Most Diverse City” on Feb. 19.

The inequality lecture was chosen and constructed by sociology Professor Nyenbeku George, who contacted and invited the guest lecturers to come speak.

“I began reaching out to other faculty at other universities,” George said. “In meeting with Dr. Haynes we began to have a conversation, and I said ‘hey it would be great for you to come and have a talk at Cosumnes River College.’

He agreed and the event was sealed.”

Extended Opportunity Programs and Services Counselor Jacqueline Mathis, a member of the Black History Month Planning Committee, said they looked to the faculty in order to plan events.

“We sent [messages] out to the black staff on campus, asking them ‘are you doing something’ or ‘do you want to be a part of this?’” Mathis said.

“They let us know, and we looked to see if it follows the theme for black history month for this year.”

The goal of the lecture was to inform students about racial inequality happening in Sacra-

mento, Haynes said.

“I was trying to give background information about myself and about my research and how I came to think of the link with race and communities and neighborhoods,” Haynes said.

Roya Fareed, a 20-year-old political science major, said she enjoyed the event.

“It was very informative and I think we don’t get to hear this stuff a lot,” she said.

“We do talk about it in some classes, but it’s not emphasized and I think that it is important knowledge to know.”

Mary Matrisciano, a 47-year-old sociology major, said the part that really got

to her was where they spoke “about the mortgage industry and the lending, because I am one of those ones that it did affect.”

Haynes and Mathis both said that students should take one thing from the lecture: knowledge. Haynes said that they should continue on in their education so that they can become informed and become engaged.

“I believe education is power,” Mathis said. “You have the knowledge to make judgements based on the information you have instead of on something that someone else said. You can make your own judgment.”

Page 6

thecrcconnection.com

ABC’s new sitcom ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ offers audience more than cliches and stereotypes

By Tim Taylor ttaylor.connect@gmail.com The newest sitcom to come from ABC, “Fresh Off the Boat,” is a welcome addition to the network’s Tuesday night roster. While the show doesn’t compete well with the network’s stronger comedies like “Modern Family,” its charm does more than enough to compensate.

The show is inspired by celebrity chef and television personality Eddie Huang.

Huang narrates as the story follows his younger self and his Taiwanese family, as they struggle to adjust to a move from Washington, D.C to Orlando, Florida during the mid 1990s.

It’s not the most original of premises, but that seems to work in the show’s favor.

The jokes are smart with just enough wit to keep them from being crude. Contrary to the show’s title, “Fresh Off the Boat” is not a series of racist limericks and terrible banter.

It offers a lot in the same ways of its predecessors, like the recent hit show “Blackish” as well as old classics like “The Wonder Years.”

At its core, the show follows the ever-growing trend that teaches its audience a lesson about life and human nature in every episode, or at

Courtesy Photo

least in the ones aired so far.

“Fresh Off the Boat” is the very first television series starring an Asian-American family since Margaret Cho’s “All American Girl,” which lived a short life back in 1994.

Keeping that in mind, the show has a lot of pressure on it to succeed. At the moment it’s struggling to find it’s niche but

it has nowhere to go but up.

While the casting is solid and the show focuses on the family as a whole struggling to fit into a new home, not all of the family are spotlighted equally. In fact not even half the cast offers anything more than a few chuckles an episode.

Jessica Huang, played by

Constance Wu, is front and center in the show’s honest interpretation of Asian-American culture, and boy does she bring it to the table. Her character is dynamic and colorful in ways that bring out the intended essence of the show.

Wu’s performance is complemented wonderfully by Randall Park, who plays Louis

Huang the struggling restaurant owner of a father. Park’s character is the goofy optimist who is completely sold on the American Dream, and spends most of his screen time playing off of Wu’s surreal depiction of a Taiwanese wife.

Unfortunately, the show’s backburner focus seems to be the misadventures of young Eddie Huang played by Hudson Yang. The other characters on the show are subtle novelties at best.

Hopefully, as the story progresses, we will see more intriguing storylines for the rest of the cast, at least enough to make their names memorable.

“Fresh Off the Boat” does a lot of things right, but it has a lot to work on as well.

As far as comedies go, there are certainly better choices out there, but if you’re looking for a new guilty pleasure to fill your time, tune in to ABC Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. or check out the episodes on Hulu Plus.

For more TV reviews, visit thecrcconnection.com or follow the Connection on Twitter @crcconnection

#TrendingNow Drake’s unanticipated mixtape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” arrived on Feb. 13 and quickly shot to the top of the Billboard 200 list within a few days of release.

“This is definitely not his best work.

It’s good but it’s not Drake at his peak,” said Danielle Mynard, a 20-year-old early childhood education major.

demy Awards Neil Patrick Harris took the stage to sing, dance and joke as he hosted the 87th Academy Awards show on Feb. 22.

“The show is definitely a way to spotlight fantastic movies and productions.

I was overjoyed when ‘Selma’ got the recognition it deserved,” said Megan Pardue, 27, a biology major.

ther vs. Pacquiao

Maywea

ew mixtape

The Aca

Drake’sn

Compiled by Ceejay Willis All photos are courtesy photos

After six years, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally reached a deal to meet in the boxing ring on May 2 in Las Vegas.

“This fight will be Frazier vs. Ali part two, with Pacquiao giving Mayweather his first loss in his professional career,” said Sheila Everett, a 48-yearold business major.

thecrcconnection.com

Page 7

Ceejay Willis |The Connection

Olha Melokhina, a photography major born in southern Ukraine, was one of the students featured in photography Professor Patty Felkner’s project “Charting Identities: Homeland, Language and Culture at Cosumnes River College.” Melokhina’s portrait is on display in the cafeteria alongside the rest of the portraits of students and faculty involved in the project.

Professor’s project celebrates campus diversity

By Tenley Lillegard tlillegard.connect@gmail.com A simple glance around campus makes it clear why Cosumnes River College was ranked the ninth most diverse two-year public college in the nation in 2014, according to the The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac.

It was this diversity that sparked an idea for the project of photography professor Patty Felkner called “Charting Identities: Homeland, Language and Culture at Cosumnes River College.”

While the photographs have hung in the cafeteria since the beginning of the semester, they were officially unveiled during the opening reception of the project on Feb. 19.

“It kind of started out with an idea,” Felkner said. “I wanted to represent as many different languages that we had represented on our campus.”

Felkner said it was also a way of showcasing the school’s diversity in a place where a majority of students would be able to see it and hopefully see a part of themselves within the pieces.

Felkner said that CRC students reported speaking more than 50 different languages when registering for classes, so in the fall of 2014 she photographed 23 students and staff who spoke 19 of those languages. Those languages included Hmong, Arabic, American Sign Language, Ukrainian, Russian and Hindi.

Valentin Almanza, a 31-year-old film production major, was one of the students featured in the project and said representation was a reason to get involved.

“Patty was my photo teacher a few years ago so I kept in touch with her,”

Almanza said. “When she told me about the project, I was really happy to be a part of it because I want to represent what I am and where I come from, which is Mexico.”

Alongside the individual portrait of each participant is another portrait which is full of pictures from their childhood, items specific to their culture, writing in the language they speak and many other diverse treasures.

“I knew I wanted to do portraits and I also wanted to do this other side thing that I call an object portrait,” Felkner said.

Felkner said that the goal of the project was to celebrate diversity because “there are a lot of differences in culture, religion, languages and everything else but there are also a lot of commonalities.”

CRC is indeed a very diverse community. According to the Cosumnes River College Mission Statement, the demographics of the 14,197 students enrolled in the fall of 2013 included 30 percent Asian American/Pacific Islander, 24.3 percent White/European American, 23.1 percent Hispanic/Latino, 14.1 percent African American/Black, 5.6 percent Multiracial/Multiethnic, 1.5 percent unknown, 0.9 percent other Non-White and 0.6 percent Native American.

Photography Professor Kathryn Mayo said that the cafeteria was a brilliant place for the portraits.

“So many students come in here and it’s wonderful that they can see themselves reflected in the images even if it’s not of them,” Mayo said.

Felkner said she was very grateful for the support she received from her subjects during the project.

“I learned so much about the world through their eyes,” Felkner said. “And if they hadn’t been willing to participate and be so vulnerable, I wouldn’t have been able to do this project.”

PAGE 8

FEBRUARY 26, 2015

>>Opinion EDITORIAL

Students should not be put on a timeline to finish There is a lot of positive light on community colleges lately as President Barack Obama has proposed making them free. Tom Hanks even praised what they did for his life in an article for The New York Times and another article from that same publication called for an end to putting down community colleges by calling university real college.

At the same time that more money has come into the system through propositions and budget changes, there has been a greater focus on making sure students can succeed and move forward in their education.

The problem with that focus on students is that, in the name of success, the freedom of choice is being lost.

There was a time when college was the place to experiment with different majors and potential career paths before eventually having to make a choice about where a student wanted to focus completely.

That time of experimentation has diminished over the years and has almost vanished as the call for shuffling out more students with degrees get louder.

Most of this comes from the Student Success Act of 2012, where emphasis began to be placed upon the completion rates at community colleges to push students to choose and succeed in their educational choices much faster.

Basically, students need to know what they are doing and either get an Associate’s Degree, certificate or transfer to a university after two years.

Part of the act calls for educational plans made with counselors, putting students on a path to completion. Added to that is the scorecards that colleges must now keep to communicate the progress they are making in improving the completion rates.

While new degrees like the AA-T are a good move in helping students be able to move forward in their educational goals, mixing that with educational plans pretty much as soon as students enroll in community college and you get a scenario where more and more students might end up in a major or program they have no interest in but they had to choose something in order to move ahead.

Sitting on the fence about a major is no longer a practice that college administrators can allow to happen, as schools that have lower completion numbers are seen as failures.

The pressure to find a major and to stick to a plan needs to stop. Students need the freedom to find themselves as they enter not only the world of higher education but also the world of adulthood in many cases.

Students who are forced into choosing a program are likely to fail in the future, because there is no passion or desire for the path they find themselves on.

Pressure also needs to be eased for those that are coming back to school later in life, looking to improve themselves.

Pushing these students out in the name of making sure there are big numbers of students being funneled into fouryear schools goes against the principles that community colleges were founded upon.

That doesn’t mean that the various moves for success are wrong or bad.

Adding in the AA-T, helping students more with counseling and the ability to make an educational plan for the future are great goals. Just give students the space to make the choices they need to make to find themselves. Very few people know what they want to do for the rest of their lives at 18 or 19.

Administrations need to stop worrying so much about the numbers and worry more about students and what they need.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know at connection.crc@gmail.com or thecrcconnection.com

Broaden horizons through traveling

Courtesy Photo

By Stephanie Lopez slopez.connect@gmail.com College years are meant to provide students with a well-rounded education for their future lives and careers, and the best way to get the most knowledge of diversity is through traveling.

Traveling offers way more than a break from reality it functions as a way to understand the diversity in cultures all around the world that is why colleges offer study abroad programs.

Studying abroad is another method of traveling while in college. This great experience hits two birds with one stone because you’re studying while in a different setting that exposes you to all the great things that place has to offer.

Just imagine sitting on a gondola while in the waters of Venice, or on a truck going through the African Safari. These aren’t the only experiences, but some of the more popular.

Even if the vacation is among our 50 states there is still a contrast between what we’re used to here in California than those in Minnesota or Louisiana.

Traveling sets the tone for independence because of the unfamiliar setting which is an ability that college students should have.

There’s also the opportunity to create some long lasting friendships or even network for future careers.

The pure idea of adventure time is more than enough to get the bags packed, but if that doesn’t do it, then the food should.

There are so many foods to try like Philly cheese steak while in Philadelphia, or gumbo from New Orleans, and that’s just within the states. There’s authentic Italian pasta or Swiss chocolate.

Nothing can beat the taste of a native dish, participating in a variety of activities that you normally wouldn’t be exposed to or even just listening to natural rhythm of the country.

Some people would say that students already have enough to worry about financially, with class prices rising, however, studies show college students spend a lot of money on food, clothes and entertainment.

A survey by Nationwide Bank stated that students spend 40 percent of their money on discretionary items such as technology, entertainment, and clothes.

Spending money wisely can help save for trips. Starting a trip jar or a savings account is another way to save, just keep adding to it daily.

Companies like EF College Break, a traveling agency dedicated to provide college students with traveling experiences all over the world, that offer great deal on different trips all over the world specifically for college students or anyone between the ages of 18 and 28. With many payment options, it’s a total steal.

The last day to sign up for a trip with EF College Break is 99 days prior to the trips departure, so pick a destination and start packing.

With a few sacrifices, taking a trip to Europe or even a road trip across the United States can easily be done.

College is a point in life where students don’t have family obligations such as children or a spouse, a serious 9 to 5 job and better yet it’s when students still don’t have to pay back those college loans.

With spring break just around the corner, there’s just enough time to plan a road, and if you’re looking for something more exoctic summer is only a few months away.

THECRCCONNECTION.COM

PAGE 9

Firing squad returns to Utah for those on death row Pro: Firing squads are a cost-efficient option

Con: Firing squads are a step in the wrong direction

Penalty Information Center, life without parole is far cheaper than all the trappings that come with putting someone on death row, meaning all Lining up death row inmates and putting a bullet in them is so cost the appeals and special incarceration.

What’s even cheaper is getting a effective, every state should follow Utah’s lead and adopt the policy right gun and a few bullets and enacting the sentence quickly and efficiently. now.

That Utah’s doesn’t mean House of Rep“Yes, people who commit sick and that every resentatives voted 39-34 to heinous crimes are shown the same person on death row should be bring back the compassion as man’s best friend lined up and firing squad as shot. There are an option earliwhen it comes to the end.” cases of people er this month. who are innoMillions cent that end up on death row, which of dollars are wasted on is a whole other issue that keeping criminals nice and needs safe in prison with three square meals a day, yard time and the cost of the exotic cocktails used to essentially put them to sleep like done for sick and dying pets.

Yes, people who commit sick and heinous crimes are shown the same compassion as man’s best friend when it comes to the end.

That’s if the death sentence is even carried out. In many places like California it’s more likely that the person will die of old age than a sentence being enacted.

California has 745 people curto rently on Death Row and since 1976 be dealt with. has only carried out 13 actual execuThe unretions, according to the Death Penalty pentant murderers Information Center in Washington who gleefully crow about D.C. Only 13 sentences carried out in almost 40 years is pretty dismal when having carried out heinous crimes though should be dealt compared to the number of people with quickly. They don’t deserve awaiting death. to continue living by siphoning monA study by Judge Arthur L. ey out of the state and taxpayers.

Alarcón and Paula M. Mitchell from The other side of the death penalLoyola Marymount University and ty issue argues many times that killLoyola Law School in 2011 found ing someone who killed others won’t that the cost of the death penalty in bring that person back, but neither California has been more than $4 will letting that killer sit in a cell for billion since 1978. That study took life getting treated better than people into consideration pretrial and trial on the outside. costs, costs of automatic appeals and Basically if we’re going to have state habeas corpus petitions, costs of the death penalty we should actually federal habeas corpus appeals, and not only use it, but make it as efficient costs of incarceration on death row. as possible. Keeping these killers More than $4 billion spent and only 13 of the individuals who helped around to wait for a nice little shot in the arm to put them down isn’t the cause that cost have been put to way to make that happen. death. Spending all this money on The world would be a much appeals and petitions and incarcerbetter place if we gathered up the ating death row inmates for life is Charles Manson and Timothy ridiculous.

McVeigh types, put a bullet square in Statistically, according to the their forehead and called it a day. findings compiled by the Death

And though supporters of the recent Utah decision cite these lethal injection complications as the need for the firing squad, we must think Dragged from a prison cell; reof the decision’s larger consequences fusing last rites from a priest; crying on society. We must abolish not only and screaming – this is how a Brazilthe use of firing squads, but also the ian man’s death by firing squad took death penalty in general. place in Indonesia last month.

Studies repeatedly show that the And with recent changes, this death penalty is flawed and biased. could be a scene played out here in In Washington, a black defenAmerica on a regular basis. dant is three times more likely to be Earlier this month, Utah’s House recommended the death penalty than of Representatives voted 39-34 to similar cases involving a white debring back the firing squad as an option if the chemicals needed for lethal fendant, according to a University of Washington study from 2014; those in injection are unavailable or if lethal injection is declared unconstitutional. California who killed whites are more than three times more likely to be Lethal injection has been regiven the death penalty than those ceiving much criticism lately, as who killed blacks, acthe companies that produce the cording to a Santa Clara deadly chemicals have Law Review study in been steadily getting 2005; and those in pressured North Carolina whose to shut victims were white were over three and a half times more likely to receive the death penalty, according to a University of North Carolina study in 2001.

The death penalty is already flawed and should be abolished.

Bringing back the firing squad is merely a step in the wrong direction.

Instead of focusing on how to kill these criminals, we should be focusing on how to prevent the murders from even occurring, as these cases are costing far too much money for each state.

“It costs 10 times, maybe 15 times more money to execute someone than to put someone in prison for life States with firing squads without parole,” said former death penalty supporter and current ColStates without firing squads orado Governor John Hickenlooper in a recent interview with FOX news.

Compiled by Ceejay Willis Information from the Death Penalty Information Center “There’s no deterrence to having capital punishment. And I don’t know about you, but when I get new facts, down.

I’ll change my opinion. I didn’t know Complications have also been on all of this stuff.” the rise as variThe death ous states have “It costs 10 times, maybe 15 times penalty is a been forced to flawed practice use alternative more money to execute someone in the United death-causing than to put someone in prison for States. Yes, chemicals for there are horlethal injection. life without parole.” rific crimes that But Utah take place and is not the only state that en-- John Hickenlooper the people who commit these forces the death Colorado Governor crimes need to penalty. be punished.

There But to bring back an outdated methare 32 states that enforce the death penalty, including California, accord- od of punishment is a step in the wrong direction and a bad precedent ing to the Death Penalty Information for the rest of the country.

Center.

By Scott Redmond sredmond.connect@gmail.com

By Johny Garcia jgarcia.connect@gmail.com

PAGE 10

FEBRUARY 26, 2015

>>Sports

Men’s tennis struggling through season

By Heather Kemp hkemp.connect@gmail.com Starting off their season with four straight losses, the Cosumnes River College men’s tennis team is just looking to play their best.

The last few seasons haven’t been kind to them, with their 2014 season ending at 2-9. While adjusting to a new coach and a small team, the men are still working out the kinks of their 2015 season.

Daniel Gonzales, a sophomore on the team, said that the team is trying to make a name for themselves this year.

“This season I think that we are more focused, I think that we are doing specifics and trying to figure out how to really not just try to win, but become a team,” Gonzales said. “We’re really trying to represent CRC when we go to different places and make a name.”

Sophomore player Bryan Leung said that the biggest change this season from their last is their new coach.

“This season we actually have a proactive coach and he seems to want to stay for the long term and try to improve the program instead of just

coming one year and then quitting the next,” Leung said.

Matthew Emmett is that new head coach. Emmett just moved to the area in January from England and only had a few weeks to prepare with the team before their season began.

Emmett said that he is trying to change the culture of tennis at CRC. “In time my goal is to build a very successful program, but over the last three years no coach has gone out and recruited players and put in the work,” Emmett said.

Gonzales said that he thinks that the season is going well overall, despite their lack of wins.

“I think we’re doing well in the aspect that we’re able to become better players, I think better so than last year,” Gonzales said.

Emmett said that the players improving is success in his eyes.

“What I try and do is reframe what success is,” Emmett said. “Success to some people is winning and losing, but my version of success is how much the individual is improving.”

One of the issues facing

the team and contributing to their losses is the fact that they only have five active players, with an additional player redshirting for the season.

“You need six players minimum to play a match because you play six singles and three doubles so every time we go to a match we have to forfeit one doubles and two singles because we don’t have enough players,” Emmett said.

The team trained by staying active throughout the year.

“We all prepared by doing off season conditioning in the fall, but really it’s just maintaining our focus and still practicing through the winter break and trying to eat right and continue to stay in shape,” Gonzales said.

Leung said he trained similarly to Gonzales.

“I kept playing during the off season,” Leung said.

“So I didn’t take a break and watched my nutrition and made sure I was still in shape and I wasn’t coming back to the first game or practice out of shape.”

Emmett said he wasn’t able to prepare with the team

that much in the pre-season, but is working to make up for lost time.

“We prepared as best we could,” Emmett said. “I got here and two weeks in we were in our first match. It’s just been a mixture of tennis specific things on the court, working the gym and mental training and just really getting to know each other.”

Gonzales said he hopes to make it to the state tournament this season.

“Our hopes, at least my hopes is to qualify. For us to qualify for Ojai, which is the state tournament in the end,” Gonzales said. “Last year

we didn’t qualify and so my biggest hope is that we’re at least able to win one doubles match or we’re able to win two singles at conference play.”

Emmett said he wants the team to play their hardest for the remainder of the year.

“My hopes for the rest of the season are that the team and the individuals on the team grow in belief and resilience and actually go to matches believing that they have a chance and even when they’re struggling that they keep fighting that they don’t give up points and give away matches,” Emmett said.

Men’s Tennis Schedule Feb. 27

@Fresno

1 p.m.

March 3

@Sequoias

1 p.m.

March 6

@Reedley

1 p.m.

March 10

@Sacramento City 1 p.m.

Injuries don’t stop student athletes from playing

By Stephanie Lopez slopez.connect@gmail.com Athletes at every level know that they risk getting injured every time they put on their jerseys.

Sports at Cosumnes River College are no different. Athletes on campus play knowing that they could get hurt at any point during their games or practices.

“It’ll have to be our soccer programs [that causes the most injuries],” said Athletic Trainer Michael Deutsch.

“Not having football is great, and, of course, if we did have football hands down it’s the killer, but we see that most in soccer and a lot of that is because it’s a collision sport.”

Derrick Chu, a 20-yearold former soccer player majoring in nursing, is just one student at CRC dealing with a sports injury.

Chu said he has had around six injuries, the most painful one being his shoulder injury that required surgery.

The most common injury found at CRC is sprained ankles, Deutsch said.

“Especially the outside of the ankle,” Deutsch said.

“Step on a hole or step on someone else’s foot and over your foot goes, and you pull those ligaments,” Deutsch said.

Deutsch said that the best recommendation for a sport injury is “ice, ice and more ice.”

“When we see those injuries it’s called the acute stage, right after they’ve happened,” Deutsch said. “So you have to cut down on the swelling, any bleeding that is occurring, cut down the pain, slow down the metabolic activity so that the body can start to heal.”

Deutsch also said that pain occurs as a first warning sign of injury, then the injury swells to act as a splint so that the joint can’t move as easily.

“Usually if

something is bothering me I’ll get it wrapped or taped and put icy-hot or atomic bomb on it.”

-- Derrick Chu

20, a nursing major Since athletes only have a short window every year to play their sport, they use many methods to try and heal their injuries quickly.

“We try and slow those down with the ice and other

treatments,” Deutsch said.

“Then is a matter of reducing pain, reducing swelling, increasing range of motion, increasing function, increasing strength, and anything we can then we get them back onto the field,” Deutsch said.

When there’s a major injury involved Deutsch said he rests the athlete because it gives the body a chance to heal.

The best way to prevent injuries during a game or practice is with a lot of stretching to keep the muscles engaged, Deutsch said.

William White, a freshman guard on the men’s basketball team, is currently playing with a strained back.

“I make sure to stretch properly before and after games and practice,” White said.

Chu, who is currently

suffering from an injury, said that he treats it before each game.

“Before games and practices, I’ll go to the trainers and I’ll heat for about 20 minutes just to loosen my muscles out and then I’ll foam roll to loosen them even more and then I get stretched,” Chu said.

“Usually if something is bothering me I’ll get it wrapped or taped and put icy-hot or atomic bomb on it just to keep it warm while I play,” Chu said.

Athletes like Chu do not let their pain overpower their love for their sport.

“Well, I’ve played since I was about 3 or 4 so it’s basically all I know besides school,” Chu said.

“If I didn’t play sports I don’t know what I’d even be doing right now. I couldn’t even imagine life without sports,” Chu said.

THECRCCONNECTION.COM

PAGE 11

Campus athletes share how they stay motivated to play

By Taylor Gomez tgomez.connect@gmail.com While all athletes have to find motivation, whether it be the love of the game or money, college athletes also have the added pressure of juggling not only their athletics but a full load of classes as well.

With balancing jobs, studying and a social life each student athlete must work hard to stay on top of it all.

This delicated balance is one Cosumnes River College athletes are very familiar with.

“It’s hard to balance, but it all works out,” said sophomore men’s basketball forward David Straughter. “I come to class at 9 a.m. I get through my day and I’m done about 1:20 p.m. We have practice at 2:15 p.m. and that gets done around 4:30-ish, and then I go to work at 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.. Then I go home and do homework.”

Aside from a busy schedule, more athletes said that playing sports requires other sacrifices as well.

“Sometimes it’s difficult when I see my other friends going out and having fun and I have to say I can’t go because I have practice,” said Olivia Sowles, freshman middle hitter for the women’s volleyball team. “I keep playing despite this because when I look back on high school and college I’ll be able to say I did something productive and something I love and am good at and not just I went to parties and did teenager stuff.”

Editor in Chief: Heather Kemp Features Editor: Scott Redmond News Editor: Nick Valenzuela Opinion Editor: Johny Garcia Sports Editor: Heather Kemp Visuals Editor: Ceejay Willis Faculty Adviser: Rubina Gulati

Staff: Bobby Bishop, Omar Chan, Taylor Gomez, Nicole Goodie, Tenley Lillegard, Stephanie Lopez, Tierra Palumbo, Francisco Rodriguez, Tim Taylor, Jasmine Teng

Straughter said that after awhile including practice into a typical school day becomes natural.

“It’s just a regular day until after basketball season when you don’t have practice,” Straughter said. “Like, okay now it’s going to feel a little awkward.”

In spite of the adjustments to their lifestyles that must be made, the athletes interviewed all said they continue to play because of their love for the game.

Bonds made between the team and a sense of family that grows was one motivating factor that many spoke of, including sophomore softball first baseman Briana Cherry.

“The relationships, that’s really what’s kept me in it the longest. All my friends being on the team and being close to each other,” Cherry said.

Cherry said that she considers her teammates to be her sisters.

The drive to play at a four-year level was also said to be a motivating factor by many of the athletes.

“The idea of going to a four-year college and continuing to play motivates me completely,” said outside hitter for the women’s volleyball team Crystal Hernandez. “It will help me work hard and stay focused with sports and school.”

Straughter said a big motivation for his athleticism is to help pay for college.

“My motivation is to make things easier for my mom so she doesn’t have to pay for my school,” Straughter said. “And if I can do that

through basketball, why not help her?”

Head coach for the women’s softball team, Kristy Schroeder, a former UCLA student athlete and graduate, said she has been playing softball herself since the second grade and coaching at various colleges for 19 years.

This is Schroeder’s fourth year coaching at CRC. Along with helping her players reach their full potential and possibly continuing on to the next level, Schroeder said she loves coaching because she is a “big proponent of the mental game.”

Schroeder said she has her own motivation when it comes to coaching at CRC. “I have two children and my husband so I’m pretty busy with them,” Schroeder said.

“That’s actually why I decided to coach at this level. It worked better for my family life. It’s great because most of the games we play are local and there’s a few over-nighters. For the most part I can come home and tuck my kids in and be involved with them,” Schroeder said.

In the end each athlete and coach has his or her own reasons to take on the balancing act required to be part of college sports.

Each player has a different driving force to help push them forward.

To some, like sophomore softball pitcher and third baseman Amanda Horbasch, there is an even simpler reason. “[Playing] is a motivation in itself,” Horbasch said.

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 Rios Community College District.

The Connection is a member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges and California Newspaper Publisher’s Association.

The Connection Cosumnes River College 8401 Center Parkway Sacramento, CA 95823

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.

Telephone: (916) 691-7471 Fax: (916) 691-7181 www.thecrcconnection.com connection.crc@gmail.com

Facebook.com/crcconnection Twitter: @CRCconnection Instagram: @CRCconnection Storify.com/TheConnection #CRCcampus

Play the game right or don’t play it at all

By Scott Redmond sredmond.connect@gmail.com As sports fans, we can often put on blinders when it comes to our teams. All that we want is for them to triumph over the other team, because their victory is our shared victory.

A truly good game can come off as a David vs Goliath sort of scenario.

Until you find out that David was never supposed to win, he cheated.

After the fact, the truth comes to light that performance enhancing drugs were involved or illegal substances were used to better a team’s chances of winning the game. It is all cheating and it all takes something away from the experience.

Jerry Rice, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, recently came out to condemn the New England Patriots who were accused of deflating balls to cheat in the AFC Championship, an accusation that has yet to be proven. The only problem is that it was revealed that Rice and various others on his team and in the league were using the substance known as Stickum in the 80s to make sure they were catching passes, a few years after it was banned by the league because of the unfair advantage is presented, according to CBS Sports.

When confronted about this cheating, Rice defended it by saying that everyone at the time was doing it.

Stickum and deflated balls are not the only cheating controversies the NFL is facing.

Both the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons are facing possible fines, suspensions and lost draft picks. The Browns for violating the league’s elec-

tronic device policy to text plays while the game was in progress and the Falcons for pumping fake crowd noises into a stadium for a psychological edge.

Cheating is cheating, it doesn’t matter if every team in the league is doing it, it is wrong.

Sadly this tidal wave of cheating revelations has even struck Little League.

Little League Baseball stripped the U.S. Championship from the Chicago-based Jackie Robinson West team and suspended their coach for violating a rule that prohibits the use of players who live outside the geographic area that the team represents on Feb. 12, according to ESPN. Basically they cherry picked from various districts to build a super team, which invariably gave them quite an advantage over others.

In light of the championship being stripped from the team it was instead awarded to Mountain Ridge Little League from Las Vegas.

It’s easy to say that since everyone is trying to find an advantage and it only turns into a big deal when they’re caught, that it’s just the way things are and we should shrug it off.

The problem is as a society the people involved are held up as supposed role models.

What message does it send when those role models are breaking rules left and right just in the name of winning? A pretty bad one.

It’s time for the leagues to come down harder on players for their bad behavior. The childish behavior of Marshawn Lynch and others should not be acceptable.

Make the players and staff play the game the way it’s supposed to be played or find those who can.

Page 12

thecrcconnection.com

Men’s basketball wins conference, playoffs next

By Heather Kemp hkemp.connect@gmail.com The men’s basketball team spent their weekend dominating at the Big 8 conference held in Santa Rosa on Feb. 20.

Winning their final game against Santa Rosa Junior College 70-67, the Cosumnes River College Hawks advance to the playoffs after a season full of wins.

“You win 12 straight games in a row and then win your conference, the season is going pretty good,” said assistant coach Nicholas Podesta.

Put on by the California Community College Athletic Association, the conference includes eight local community colleges competing with each other.

“Early on in the conference we lost our first two games for a variety of reasons,” Podesta said. “But then they finished off the conference season pretty good.”

The team won the other 12 games they played.

Podesta said that a component of their first two losses was that they had a lot of fresh players who hadn’t played in the conference before and needed a “slap” to get their

heads in the game.

“We played all together,” said sophomore forward David Straughter. “It’s pretty new because we have only four sophomores and then we have a team full of freshman so we were projected not to do anything this year and to win the whole thing is a positive step.”

The team of 12 has eight freshman players.

Straughter said that he has seen himself grow a lot this season.

“There were certain games when I didn’t have my best performance, but we still won so that’s all that really matters,” Straughter, who was first team at the conference said. “This year so far I think I did a lot better than last year.”

The men’s overall season standing is 27-7, according to the Hawks website.

Sophomore guard Mitchell Love, the Big 8 MVP, said that winning most of their games and the conference was good, but what the season comes down to is playoffs and making state.

Love said that the team needs to get closer before their first playoff game.

“Camaraderie and becom-

ing closer,” Love said.

“We are a close team, but just having a good brotherhood and knowing that we have each other’s backs is the best thing for us,” Love said.

Straughter said that the men need to communicate more throughout the game.

Straughter said he thinks the team needs to constantly communicate to win.

“Communication out on the court,” Straughter said.

“Just always keep communicating and talk on defense and we should be alright we’ve got a lot of talent on our team.”

Podesta said the team is ready for whoever they take on in coming weeks.

“This team is a special group of guys, it’s really tough to win our conference so the fact that our guys are battle tested from Big 8 play is gonna suit us pretty well,” Podesta said. “I think they’re gonna be prepared for anybody.”

Straughter said he feels good about having his final year playing at CRC be so successful.

“It’s something new,” Straughter said. “I’ve won conference before, but not in college. Winning and going on to state would be cool and

Courtesy Photo

Hawks sophomore forward David Straughter playing at the Big 8 Conference at Santa Rosa Junior College on Feb. 20.

then leaving a legacy behind. ” The first playoff game will be on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. against Butte College at CRC.

“There’s not going to be any surprises, they just have to rise to the occasion,” Podesta said.

Republic FC meets fans in cafeteria during trophy tour

Bobby Bishop | The Connection

Above: Players from the championship winning Sacramento Republic FC soccer team visited Cosumnes River College on Feb. 18. The team is currently on their trophy tour around the Sacramento area.

Right: Team members, including Thomas Stewart ,left, and Justin Braun ,right, met fans, took photos and signed autographs in the cafeteria. Their trophy from 2014 was the centerpiece of the event.

Bobby Bishop | The Connection