Oak Leaf, December 6

Four Loko controversy

The

Bear Cub Volleyball

Winter Break Ideas

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Testicular SRJC Book Rental cancer battle

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OAK L E A F Santa Rosa Junior College’s Student Newspaper

Volume CXXV, Issue VI

www.theoakleafnews.com

DREAM Act rally in SF

December 6, 2010

a e r C ub B y d La te seaso s

a n i m o d

n in v to

State

Championships

Volleyball

SRJC goes to championship for fourth straight year.

Staff Writer More than 400 students and activists marched through the Market District in San Francisco Dec. 3 to rally in support of the DREAM Act, the bill in congress addressing illegal immigrants brought to America by their parents before they were 16.

The Senate will likely vote on the bill the week of Dec. 6.

The rally started at noon at the Federal Building on Golden Gate Avenue and Larkin Street. After several speakers, the rally turned

into a march and made its way up Market Street to McKesson Plaza at the corner of Market and Montgomery Streets.

At the McKesson Plaza, speakers from all over California shared their stories and their views. Students drove up from Los Angeles, Sacramento and other places around California.

UC Berkeley student Luis A. Reyes helped organize the rally. “As organizers, we were surprised by the turnout,” he said. It was inspiring, especially considering all the conference calls and late nights ev-

James L. Alban

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Sports Editor

eryone put in, he said.

Reyes was happy with the result.

“We kept it peaceful and we got a lot of publicity,” he said. The movement for citizenship for students is starting to solidify a network of Dream Activists in Northern California, which he said he was excited for.

Students representing more than 12 campuses community colleges, CSUs and UCs attended the rally, from San Jose State to Napa Valley Community College, Berkeley City College, San Francisco State and others.

The women’s volleyball team picked the right time of year to get hot. The Lady Bear Cubs beat Fresno City College 25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 1625, 15-8 on Nov. 30, giving them a 15 match winning streak and advancing them to the state final four in Southern California.

Head Coach Kelly Wood was excited about the victory. “I am in a little bit of shock after the way the match was going.” The first two sets, the Lady Bear Cubs were in complete control. The Lady Bear Cubs looked like a well-oiled machine. They won the long rallies and served well.

The third did not go well for the Lady Bear Cubs. They were outplayed. At one point they lost nine of 13 points. “I was not surprised how we played in the third,” Wood said.

A late rally by the Lady Bear Cubs made the score appear closer than it really was. “Our serve receive and passing broke down. They came out with all this energy and fire and we just broke down. We lost it mentally,”

The last time the SRJC women’s soccer team played in the CCAA State Championship was in the 2008 semi-finals against Cerritos Community College. The Lady Bear Cub’s lost that game to the Eagles in overtime 4-2 and Cerritos eventually went on to win the state title.

SRJC got a chance to avenge that loss to Cerritos when the team went down south to Santa Clarita for the CCAA semi-finals Dec. 3.

The SRJC women’s soccer team earned their bid into the final four after a dominating 3-0 win at home in Round 3 of the playoffs against a Consumnes River team that tied the Bear Cubs twice this season in conference play.

This win topped off a stellar playoff home-stand for the number 1 seed Lady Bear Cubs. In the three games at home, SRJC scored a combined eight goals, while limiting opponents to one goal. The combination of a physical defense and speedy outside strikers has made it difficult

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Hiring committee creates tension Presidential hiring committee make-up leaves SRJC campus community groups wondering about fair representation Benjamin Brutus Gruey & Michelle Peirano Staff Writer and Co-Editor-inChief The hiring committee for President Dr. Robert Agrella’s replacement has hit a couple of rough patches along the road. The AFA feels it should have

been specifically included in the committee and Associated Students wasn’t happy about the Academic Senate having more seats than other groups represented on the committee.

The Board of Trustees put together the hiring committee to advise the Board throughout the hiring process and to represent the diverse groups with vested interest in the new college president. The committee includes

SRJC heads to championship ranked #1 in state.

Andrew Cameron

Benjamin Gruey/Oak Leaf Supporteers of the DREAM Act rallied through San Francisco’s Market District to raise awereness about the issue.

Benjamin Brutus Gruey

Soccer

the Academic Senate, the Associated Students, SEIU, the classified staff union, the administration department and members from the Board.

The Board gave each group two seats for representation on the committee, except the Academic Senate, which was given four seats.

The AFA feels its omission from

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More content on the Web! - SRJC Student dies in motorcycle crash - Possible changes in SRJC’s retake classes policy - Profile of an SRJC model, mutlimedia

December 6, 2010

NEWS

2

Police Blotter Michelle Peirano Co-Editor-in-Chief Weeding out the speeders An officer stopped a truck for speeding and noticed that the truck smelled strongly of marijuana around 4 p.m. Nov. 15. The officer found a small amount of marijuana in the truck and gave the driver a ticket for marijuana in a vehicle instead of speeding.

Fast felon found An officer stopped a vehicle for speeding in front of Campus Market on Mendocino Avenue and found that the driver was wanted for two drug-related felonies at 4:15 p.m. Nov. 16. The driver was arrested and booked into jail.

Should I pay or should I tow?

Two vehicles were towed and impounded on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19. Both vehicle owners had more than five unpaid parking tickets. One vehicle had nine, Sgt. Willat said. SRJC police have the right to impound any vehicle with five or more unpaid tickets until they are paid.

Inside voices, please A separated married couple fought in front of Doyle Library around 1 p.m. Nov. 17. The woman had entered the library with her new boyfriend and her husband became upset. The fight never became physical and the husband never made threats, but the woman wanted him to leave. The husband was instructed to stay off of campus for 16 days.

Looking good for company

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Photo courtesy of Lisa Beach Some Swedish exchange students, set to arrive March 24, still need to find host families.

Swedes still in need of hosts Isabel Johnson News Editor Five more host families are needed to house the group of exchange students from the Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet in Borås, Sweden who will be spending five weeks in Santa Rosa starting March 24. This is the 10th year in a row that SRJC has participated in this ex-

change program.

A family or person wishing to host must provide a separate room and three meals a day for the student, and have a mode of transportation to-and-from the JC available, such as a nearby bus route. “We have everything from single people who host a student to families with six children to same sex couples,” said Lisa Beach, coordinator of the Swedish Project.

“What’s really fun is the majority of these kids have never been to the United States before, so this is their first chance to see America sort of from the inside,” Beach said. “They have a ton of exposure to America from television and movies.”

Beach is hosting a student from the program for the third time this year, and this is her second year as project coordinator. She enjoyed introducing her previous students to America as it really is, instead of the movie version.

“They learn something about Americans and family life and we love that,” Beach said.

“We love taking them around. We take them to the beach, we take them or let them go skiing with a group. We take them to San Francisco. They’re so excited to see San Francisco.”

The 18-to-19 year old students are part of the Entrepreneurship program at the Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet, essentially a three-year business school. While at SRJC, they will take classes together in things like political science and local economy. Last year the students who were here took a history course, which this year’s students might do as well.

Earlier this year Beach visited the students at their school in Sweden. “I went in September, to meet all the students, and I can’t wait to see them again.” Anyone who is interested in being a host family this year should contact Beach at lbeach@santarosa.edu.

Four Loko will not be making an appearance at SRJC Jerome Janairo Features Editor Bad news for Four Loko enthusiasts: the wildly popular energy drink will never be sold on SRJC campuses. It comes to no surprise given alcohol – one of the energy drink’s four main ingredients – is banned on campus grounds.

Four Loko became a popular beverage of choice in clubs and parties among young adults and college students due to its powerful effects as a stimulant. Besides malt liquor, its other main ingredients are caffeine, taurine and guarana, as well as carbonated water and fruit flavoring.

The Food and Drug Administration warned combining alcohol and caffeine in drinks is unsafe and that the continued consumption of such beverages is a public concern. According to NewYorkPresbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Stock Photo Center’s Alissa Rumsey from New York Students have blamed Four Loko for injuries.

Daily News, caffeine delays feeling the effects of alcohol, giving the drinker an grocery stores that pulled the beverage off of its initial state of alertness and allowing for more shelves. Soon states such as Oklahoma, Utah, consumption of its alcoholic components. The Michigan, Washington and New York banned full effects of alcohol are felt later after the caf- the sale of Four Loko. feine wears off.

In response to the FDA’s warning the cafThe harmful effects of overconsumption of feinated alcoholic beverage will be banned in Four Loko became apparent to the public when the United States, Phusion Products (Four Lo17 students from New Jersey’s Ramapo College ko’s parent company) removed caffeine from its and six visitors became ill and were hospital- list of ingredients. ized after drinking the beverage this SeptemWhile Four Loko is not banned in Caliber. A month later, nine students from Central fornia, SRJC has no plans on letting the bevWashington University were hospitalized after erage get in the hands of students on campus over-drinking the energy drink mixed with grounds. other alcohols. More hospitalizations and even “It’s pretty clear,” says Doug Roberts, Vice deaths related to Four Loko were also reported. President of Business Services. “It’s not going Colleges and universities all over the coun- to be sold here. Period.” try were quick to ban Four Loko, along with

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Special election results still unofficial Michelle Peirano Co-Editor-in-Chief The results of the special election to authorize a Bertolini Student Center fee are still under review, but after going through a threeweek challenge process, they will be ratified by the Student Senate Dec. 6.

Election Coordinator Jude Rowe challenged the results because the tally reports sent by the IT department showed two different counts.

In addition to the discrepancy between reports, there was a loophole in the voting process that allowed people who were not SRJC students and students qualified for the Board of Governors Grant (BOGG) to vote.

DREAM Act

Continued from front

Reyes said he is fighting for the millions of illegal immigrants whose parents brought them to the U.S. and who want “an opportunity for the American Dream, to get a job and be someone.”

The DREAM Act addresses the issue concerning illegal immigrants who had no choice in crossing the border.

“There is a huge injustice that many people don’t know about,” Reyes said. “They grew up as Americans, they think they are American, then they get out of high school and they can’t get a job or financial aid to go to school.”

The Dream Act would give legal residency to immigrants who arrived before the age of 16, resided in the United States for at least five years, graduated from high school

More Dream the web

Act

on

An SRJC student who penned an opinion article in issue III of The Oak Leaf will have his DREAM Act piece broadcast on KQED’s Perspectives on Dec. 9.

For more information, go to http:// www.kqed.org/radio/programs/perspectives. The student wrote under the pen name “Ghost Garcia” to avoid potential problems with immigration authorities.

Committee

Continued from front

the committee is critical because AFA is the group familiar with faculty salaries, benefits and working conditions, AFA President Warren Ruud said. “While there is no official standing of shared governance with AFA, there is a traditional one.”

In an informal survey of other community colleges, Ruud said AFA couldn’t find an example of a president or chancellor being hired by a college without the faculty’s bargaining unit represented. AFA is the bargaining unit for SRJC faculty for salaries, benefits and working conditions.

“We need someone on there with negotiating experience,” Ruud said. Someone who is familiar with the recent history of the budget at SRJC is crucial to preserving the college’s legacy of excellence, especially since the college will be replacing at least 75 percent of its regular faculty in the coming years, Ruud said. “[This will] make any collaboration in the future more difficult, but we are going to try our best,” Ruud said.

By policy and protocol, the Academic Senate is the body that makes faculty committee decisions, Board of Trustees President Rick Call said. “We left it up to the Academic Senate to work that out,” he said about AFA’s presence on the hiring committee.

“We have our committee,” Call said. “The less we talk about the past, the better for the future.” Call wants to move on and get down to the actual business of finding a new president for SRJC. “We don’t need to keep regurgitating this issue.”

The loophole was closed midway through the election and the votes were thrown out, but the process was flawed, Rowe said.

Vice President of the SRJC campus Jessica Jones said that without the BOGG student votes and those cast by non-students, the results were 37 votes away from the student center fee referendum passing.

If the referendum passes, a student center fee of $1 per unit will be charged to students once a year with a limit of $10 dollars per unit, excluding recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program, General Assistance, the BOGG Waiver or students enrolled in only noncredit classes. and completed two years of college or honorable military service. They would be subject to background checks and could not have a criminal record.

Even if granted residency, they would not be eligible for federal grant scholarships.

When enacted, the law would apply to those under the age of 30.

Different versions of immigration reform and the DREAM Act have been voted on in Congress since 2001. The text of the bill was placed on two failed immigration reform bills in 2007 and 2008.

Later in 2007, it was placed as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Bill for 2008. The three major problems opponents had with the bill was it didn’t require out-of-state tuition for beneficiaries of the bill, didn’t have an age cap and was regarded as adding separate issues to a military bill.

Opponents claim it will cost $6.2 billion per year to cover the costs that will come from the bill and it will crowd out students current U.S. students.

Sandra Huerta is a San Jose State student who marched and spoke at the rally. “It went good,” she said. “It was pretty diverse; there were lots of students and good speakers.”

Huerta said we are all brothers and sisters and that all of us, illegal immigrants and American citizens, are people. “We have more in common than people believe.”

“If it passes we are still going to organize,” Reyes said. “A lot of people are not covered by it. It’s not over. This is the beginning.”

Hiring the president is in the hands of the Board, Call said, and members could do it all by themselves, but they want to include all areas of the campus community. The board is not required to include help from any group on campus and is not required to give an equal number of representatives to each group they included.

The Board decided to add two Academic Senate seats to better represent the diversity of courses and faculty at SRJC. The Academic Senate has appointed AFA members to the committee with the extra seats.

The additional seats for the Academic Senate caused Associated Students President Amanda Swan to question the ethics of fair representation on the hiring committee.

“This creates an imbalance within the group and eliminates the original intent to have all bodies represented fairly and equally,” Swan said in a letter to Call asking the Board to reconsider granting four seats to the Academic Senate. Associated Students wasn’t upset that faculty received two extra representatives, but that any one group received more representation than the others.

Some people, like the members, might not empathize with those who are not represented, because to the Board it is not a big deal, said Student Trustee Taylor Anderson-Stevenson.

Like Call, Anderson-Stevenson wants get on with the hiring process. “We all want the same thing. We want to spend all the time we have and commit to hiring someone that represents us all,” Anderson-Stevenson said.

3

Fee Hike

UC tuition increases, again Allyce Ferrua A&E Editor UC Regents approved an 8 percent tuition and fee increase for 2011-12 on Nov. 18. The vote was approved 15-5 to raise tuition and fees by $822 for all UC students, bringing undergraduate costs to $11,124.

At the same time, regents also expanded the UC Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan to cover all system wide fees for financial-aid eligible California undergraduates with family incomes up to $80,000. This year the eligibility ceiling is $70,000.

In addition, the university will provide financial aid-eligible California resident students with family incomes below $120,000 grants to cover the 2011 fee increase.

Former SRJC and current UCLA student Kara Maddalena is upset about the increase.

“I think it’s really unfair there is no way for the students to have a say in who is on the board of the regents—they are chosen by the governor for 12 year terms as political favors, and there isn’t really a way for anyone to change that.”

All students will continue to pay a student services fee ($972 of the $11,124 cost in 201112) for mental health, career and educational counseling and various student life programs.

Additional campus fees pay for transportation programs, athletics and other activity fees. It is estimated that with the increases in financial aid, 55 percent of undergraduates

Continued from page 2

A married couple fought on Santa Rosa Junior College’s frontage lawn around 9 p.m. Nov. 19. The couple was driving down Mendocino Avenue when they got into a heated argument. The wife pulled into the Big Lots parking lot and then walked away from the car. The husband followed her and then they continued to argue in front of SRJC. When the couple spotted a patrol car coming toward them, they held hands and acted happy.

Dude, where’s my Dell?

A Dell laptop was stolen out of a student’s car parked in the parking garage between 1:15 p.m. and 2:55 p.m. The student left her laptop on the backseat of her car underneath a blanket and then went to class. She returned to find her driver side rear window smashed and the laptop missing. Police currently have no suspects.

will not pay the fee increase.

The fee increases are expected to generate $115.8 million annually for the university’s operating budget after a portion of the increase is dedicated to financial aid. The UC system is faced with a $1 billion budget gap.

UC officials will ask the state to increase its 2011-12 budget by an additional $596.1 million. The 2010-11 fiscal year state general fund allocation of $2.91 billion. The UC budget also calls for administrative savings of $101.1 million to be achieved through operating efficiencies.

Monte Freidig looks into food bank for SRJC students Haley Sansom Layout Editor With the cost of college tuition still on the rise and unemployment rates at record levels, college students are amongst those most impacted by the recession. SRJC political science teacher Monte Freidig had this realization a few years ago at the beginning of the recession.

Freidig asked his students how the recession had affected them personally, and found that many of his students were struggling. He found their stories moving and they resonated with him. Freidig remembered the stories at the beginning of this semester when he read an article about universities setting up food banks to help hungry students.

Since then, Freidig hoped to do the same at SRJC. Originally, Freidig’s idea involved placing barrels around campus for students,

staff and faculty to leave non-perishable food items. Once the food was collected, volunteers would distribute the food to needy students on campus.

There are a number of kinks that need to be worked out before this program can begin.

Firstly, someone needs to run the program.

“At Butte College and UCLA, the students run the food pantries themselves, and the Associated Students group has expressed interest in doing so here,” Freidig said.

For this program to succeed, a lot of volunteers would be necessary. Volunteers would help place bins around campus, collect food from the bins and distribute the food to students. Any interested students should contact Associated Students.

Freidig hopes to have SRJC’s food bank ready by next semester. “In the meantime, hungry students should know there are several services in the county that provide food,” he said.

Students in need of food can visit any of these local food pantries: Elisha’s Pantry 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thurs- Inter-Church Food Pantry 10 a.m. to 12 day, 1717 Yulupa Ave. Santa Rosa (United p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Friday, SaturMethodist Church). day, 500 Robinson Road, Sebastopol.

FISH (Friends in Service Here) Food Nutrition Program 2400 County Center Pantry 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday-Fri- Drive, Suite A, Santa Rosa. 707-565-6590 day, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Saturday 1055 ext. 3272 .

Benton, Santa Rosa, 707-527-5151.

Open Closet 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., second FISH Sonoma 18330 Highway 12 via Si- Saturday of every month, 3175 Sebastopol erra Drive, Sonoma, 707-996-0111.

Road, Santa Rosa (Redwood Covenant).

Food Closet 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Second Petaluma Kitchen 301 Payran Street, Petand Fourth Monday of the month, 6550 aluma, 707-778-6380.

Covey Road, Forestville (United MethodRedwood Empire Food Bank 3320 Inist Church). dustrial Drive, Santa Rosa, 523-7900.

Food Stamps (Non Assistance) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, 2550 Paulin Drive, Salvation Army 93 Stony Circle, Door C, Santa Rosa, 800-331-2278 or 707-565- Santa Rosa, 707-542-0998.

2715.

Healdsburg Food Pantry 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 1505 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, 707-433-3663.

FEATURES

4

December 6, 2010

Toufiq Khan is like any other SRJC student, he just also happens to be a Muslim Jerome Janairo Features Editor Toufiq Khan calls himself an average American who sticks to his culture and religion. When not studying for classes, he likes to hang out with his friends, exercise at the gym and surf the Internet.

But every Friday at noon, he trades his urban clothing for Islamic white garb as he enters the Islamic Center on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. There, he sits on the floor and listens as the imam, Dr. Said Mansoor, talks about the true meaning on the Hajj (the rite of pilgrimage of Mecca required to followers of Islam).

Khan, 18, is one of a handful of SRJC students who worships at the Santa Rosa mosque.

Like them, his life is a balance between being a typical young American college student and a practicing Muslim.

Khan came to the United States from Pakistan with his parents when he was 7 and became a naturalized citizen two years ago. He

has lived in Santa Rosa since coming to the U.S. “The weather’s perfect here,” he said. “Everything’s nice here.”

Still, Khan maintains a strong connection to the culture of Pakistan and his religion, and incorporates it into his identity.

“It makes me who I am,” he says. Islam is his guide to living life. “It affects my life. It makes me stay in the right path.”

Khan said that before Sept. 11, 2001, relations between the Muslim community and the general public was relatively peaceful. After the terrorist attacks, the Muslim community became targets of anti-Islamic violence and harassment.

Khan rarely experienced harassment because he can “blend in” in with general society, but often thinks about those who choose to wear traditional Muslim clothing and face anti-Islamic harassment. His mother wears the traditional women’s headscarf, or the Hijab, in public.

“I have to go with her in case something

happens so I’m there for her,” he said.

On rare occasions he faced negative reactions from people who found out he is Muslim.

He had been called a “terrorist” a few times and was never sure when the taunts were serious or jokes. Still, he doesn’t let them bother him.

“I know who I am, and I’m not that type of person,” he said. “But for the most part I don’t think about it. There’s just no point getting depressed about it.”

Khan said that all the anti-Islamic sentiment comes from people’s ignorance, and that the perpetuation of negative stereotypes and misinformation in the media gives Muslims a bad image. He believes reaching out and teaching the public about Islam is key to improving relations with the general public.

“It’s not all about war or violence,” he says.

“Just read about it. Go talk to someone who knows the religion.”

Dr. Mansoor also sees that exposure to mainstream American society and letting people get to know Muslims on a personal level is important.

“It’s when people get past what they’ve been told on TV and actually get to know us do we see negative and false perception disappear,” he said.

Still, Khan hasn’t experienced any sort of harassment while studying at SRJC. “Everybody here is very understanding,” he says. “Over here people are interested at who you are and what type of person you are.

They just want to get to know you.”

Khan plans to transfer to UC Davis or UC San Francisco as a pre-med student, and hopefully attend medical school. He wants to become a cardiologist, because he is interested in treating heart disease, the number one killer of Americans.

“I love cardiology,” he says. “I love how it all makes sense to me.”

For now, Khan continues to live life balancing his young American life and his strong religious beliefs. All he wants, he says, is to work on having a better life.

“You gotta stick to your religion. Apply it to modern life,” he says.

Beyond first impressions: from desert diplomacy to presidential meetings, SRJC Professor brings State Department service to the classroom Robert Townsend Contributing Writer

No matter how fitting the use of a word or short phrase can be in describing a person, the true essence of that individual cannot be captured with such simplicity. Is it enough to call Barack Obama or George W. Bush presidents of the United States and expect that to reveal who they are as individuals or how they run the country? Such mediocre descriptions would be equivalent to saying that the two men are interchangeable – revealing no differences between them.

Just as the personalities of these two men can’t be presumed from a job title, the essence

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of Rob Proctor can’t be surmised from one of his current roles as a professor.

Students of Proctor’s might make that mistake when attempting to define him without looking beyond the obvious. Single word adjectives as varied as “kind,” “boring,” “easy,” “tough,” “dry,” “funny” and even “vengeful” are used by his students on the website ratemyprofessor.com. Still, some students put a more thoughtful effort into describing Proctor and his teachings.

“His style is relaxed while at the same time being highly informative,” said SRJC student Michael Gilardi. “He thoroughly knows his subject. He would bend over backwards to help each student understand the subject and

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complete their [sic] assignments. He also has the key ingredient to being a great teacher...a sense of humor!”

Though well-intentioned, even those attempts to define Proctor fall far from the complex truth of who he is. An accurate description of Proctor as a professor is only a small part of who he is as a man.

In his travels, Proctor has learned six languages, broken bread with a sitting president, monitored the actions of the United States’ largest enemy nation, helped bring peace between two countries and managed to be a model parent on top of it all.

Proctor grew up in Santa Rosa, graduating from Montgomery High School in 1968. He was a dedicated boy scout and a diligent student.

After high school, a growing desire for travel – which has become a theme in his life – led him to join the Merchant Marines. Proctor had wanted some time off of school so he could explore the world. However, personal decisions at such an early stage of his adult life were not entirely his own to make. Slightly against his wishes, he started college at Stanford. His first year was not one he would call productive.

“I like to say I majored in bridge my first year,” Proctor said.

Wanderlust overcame his scholastic sensibilities. Giving in to the call for adventure, he took a year off from his studies to travel Europe.

“I was in the Merchant Marines and saw there were different ways of seeing the world,” Proctor said. “That was more of what I really wanted to do than be an undergraduate at Stanford.”

After wandering Europe, Proctor found himself in Rotterdam. While there, he decided he was ready to return and finish his studies.

True to his nature as an adventurer, he presented himself as an unemployed American sailor

to a Norwegian freighter and managed to get passage back to the United States in exchange for work on the vessel.

Returning to Stanford, he combined his thirst for travel with his capacity for education and enrolled in two overseas programs with the school – one in Vienna and the other outside of London.

Sometimes, when a person goes out looking for adventure, he ends up finding himself.

“When I decided I wanted to get back to school, and I really wanted to be there, it became a great experience,” Proctor said.

After graduating from Stanford, he worked for a while as a live-in counselor at a halfway house. “My mom was a psychiatric social worker when I was growing up, and my dad was a farmer,” Proctor said. “I had always assumed that I would go into one of the helping professions.”

The halfway house experience didn’t offer Proctor job satisfaction. He wanted bigger results relative to the amount of work he was willing to put into a job.

So, Proctor continued on his path of education and politics.

“Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies…offered me a really generous fellowship to study in their program in Bologna, Italy,” Proctor recalled. “For the first time, I made money for going to school. So, I spent a fabulous year in Bologna and got a degree out of that program.”

Early in his travels, he decided that he was going to live in New York at some point in his life. Proctor, whose original school of choice had been Columbia University, fulfilled his wishes and was accepted at Columbia in a joint program that bestowed upon him additional graduate degrees in International and Compar-

Continued on page 7

FEATURES

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Lost in Technology: Armando Torres-Garcia Contributing Writer As one student walks under the towering oak tree between Emeritus and Plover Halls on the chilly morning of Nov. 30 he occasionally slows down while his eyes are focused on his palms. He lifts his gaze to steer around the crowd of oncoming students and adjusts his route by cutting across the grass towards the stairs in front of Emeritus Hall. Wherever he steps he can feel the chill, and wherever he texts there is a Wi-Fi zone.

If you take a look around campus at any given moment, what do you see? You probably see most people looking at their phones lost in cyberspace or hooked to their iPod unaware of the world around them. Nothing says 21st century like web-ready cell phones, MP3 players and social networking sites. But when life goes from behind a computer to behind a commuter, are people becoming social at the expense of being unsociable?

“People are becoming more social online, but not so much in person,” Kellie Davies, 18, says. In just a few clicks, a person can catch up with friends through a social networking site no matter how far away they live. “You talk to more people online because you actually get the chance to,” she says.

With more than 500 million users online, social networking sites like Facebook provide an arena where friends can chat, send messages, share photos and play games with each other. They also give each user a profile page so users can use to express their political affiliations, religion and hobbies. Facebook Mobile is a phone application that lets users update their status and chat with friends on Facebook with their cell phone.

5

Students are more likely to stare at their cell phones than acknowledge their classmates

The emergence of cell phones with Internet access has made it possible for people to connect to the net in seconds out of the palms of their texting hands. Phones, such as Apple’s iPhone, let people get directions, browse the net, make calls or texts and video chat with others. Thanks to phones and other devices with this technology, bystanders in the Bart Station were able to capture the controversial footage of a Bart officer shooting and killing Oscar Grant on Jan. 1, 2009.

The footage surfaced in many websites including YouTube and was used as evidence in court.

On the other hand, these same technologies can be used to humiliate others. In a recent case, a Rutgers University student committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate secretly recorded and live-streamed his sexual encounter with another male.

“From a psychological perspective,

technology certainly increases the opportunity for connection. I don’t think, however, it necessarily deepens a sense of intimacy, trust and belonging that face-to-face opportunities do,” says SRJC Psychology Professor Mary Flett.

More than 36,000 students go to school at SRJC providing plenty of opportunity to develop the friendships that come from the face-to-face interactions that Professor Flett speaks about.

The ubiquitous body language seen on campus speaks otherwise: out of 56 students who were unknowingly observed riding the Doyle Library and Bertolini Center’s elevator on Nov. 30, 2010; 23 checked their cell phones, 14 listened to their iPods and nine used both.

Only nine students acknowledged another with a nod or a smile.

Do students feel more comfortable in the silence of cyberspace and more awkward in crowded elevators?

Rattanak Klaut, 23, thinks so and explains that technology has increased in classroom settings as well. “I always see students in my classes texting on their iPhones ignoring other people,” he says.

Professors like Anne Donegan have implemented strict rules against cell phone usage during her class. “Students get too distracted on what their friends are saying and lose focus on their studies,” Donegan says.

Students in her class will automatically get kicked out if seen using their phone.

Easy access to the Internet not only makes procrastination more tempting; it also exposes people to ads that can potentially influence the way they think about themselves. According to research done by Consumer Reports, the average American encounters 247 advertisements every day through television, radio and Internet.

“Being glued to games, phones and e-mail makes it hard for some people to just be alone and not be entertained,” says Linda Robinson.

Robinson leads spiritual retreats through Warrior Sage-Get A Life Company aimed at helping people reach self-realization.

Although she has a Facebook page and runs her own website www.awakeningtotruth.com, she says, “Each person needs to have a strong sense of self. This means making sure they have alone time in meditation and real friends that they can talk to and who care about them.”

As we approach the last days of 2010, technology has improved, friend requests have been accepted and many smiles have been texted. At SRJC, more generations of students will come equipped with devices that will connect them to the world. The status of our social population has been updated.

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December 6, 2010

FEATURES

6

Student finds solace at work in her family’s business, Mary’s Pizza Shack Natasha Borowicz

Contributing Writer Pizza, pasta and amore may be the slogan for the popular local chain, Mary’s Pizza Shack, but it’s also the way JC student Emily Meals was raised.

Emily, or known to her friends as Emmy, keeps the restaurant literally in the family.

The restaurant’s founder, Mary Fazio, was her great-aunt. Both of her parents met in the Shack, and without Mary’s Pizza, Meals can honestly say she wouldn’t be here.

Turning 18 and officially marking two years at the Shack in December, Meals balances school work, Shack work, a personal life and somehow makes it look easy. Al-

though sometimes she admits, “It is hard work,” she says, “I think it is a good experience because it helps prepare you for how it is when you have to handle both work and family life.”

Her father raised Meals locally when her mother died early on in her life. While her dad, Greg, was at work, Meals spent time with her nanny, whom she was close to. Her nanny helped “frame who I am today,” Meals says with a smile on her face, “she raised eight kids and never became angry or upset with us.” Which speaks miles for Meals’ character, who would never snap at anyone.

“She taught me how to handle people,” Meals later said. This comes in handy at a busy restaurant. Meals started working at Mary’s officially two years ago as a cashier

answering phones, she worked her way up to hosting and has her eye on a serving position come her 18th birthday. “Knock on wood” she says.

Unlike most, Meals doesn’t dread going to work every day. She views work as a way to “relieve stress” from schoolwork or personal life. “Working takes my mind off my problems,” Meals says, “I look forward to going to work and seeing my friends.” Admitting crew members have their occasional drama, Meals says they all laugh and get through their shifts together.

“Mary’s surrounds me,” she says wideeyed and laughs. “But I still crave the food!

I’ve been raised around it. At family events, there would be Mary’s. And even today, the chicken parmigiana and garlic bread are still

my favorites.”

When asked about the changing chain, Meals admits, “Mary would be in shock of how many restaurants there are and people who work there…but I think she might be disappointed in the locations with full bars, Mary wanted her restaurant to be a family place.” The full bars in several locations are the chain’s attempt to stay modern and bring in more diverse business.

Although Mary’s has changed, it still provides a warm, inviting atmosphere that workers such as Meals help to provide. She loves seeing customers and people, and with a welcoming personality to match, despite the changes, Mary would be proud to see her great-niece following her footsteps.

Video game addiction leads to lawsuit agianst game manufacturer Lance Smothersmon Contributing Writer Youths around the world are becoming hooked on MMOGs, massive multiplayer online games, and some are wondering if people can become addicted to video games.

Craig Smallwood of Hawaii filed a lawsuit against NCSoft Corporation for failing to warn him of the dangers of video game addiction. Smallwood claims to have played more than 20,000 hours of the game Lineage II between 2004 and 2009. His addiction left him unable to bathe, dress or communicate with friends without assistance.

Many of Smallwood’s claims were dismissed by a federal judge, but the court ruled that negligence, gross negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress are

valid charges against NCSoft.

Although there is no formal diagnosis for video game addiction in medical literature, some have proposed it be included in the next edition of “The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” to be published in 2012.

“The more we looked at it, the more we saw gaming was taking over the lives of kids,” Keith Baker, director of Smith and Jones Addiction Consultants, told online health care site WebMD.com. Smith and Jones started one of the first video game detoxification centers in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The center is designed to help patients replace fantasy world excitement with real world activities like group therapy and social interaction.

When people hear about video game addiction they often think of adolescent males

spending countless hours glued to a computer or gaming system. Yet, this is not an accurate characterization of today’s video gamers. According to the Entertainment Software Association’s 2008 consumer survey, the average gamer is 35.

It’s not just males who fall prey to addictive video games. The Consumer Electronics Association says that female gamers outnumber male gamers between the ages of 24 and 35.

Gamers miss real-life experience, but student gamers can also miss school work and can compromise their future careers. “I guess I have played World of Warcraft instead of doing school work. And yeah, my grades have suffered for it,” said SRJC student Jan Pechbrener. “I feel like I’m accomplishing something in the game, and I want to keep going. And I am doing it with other people so it creates a good feeling.” But he says that video games have never affected his in-class performance.

Pechbrener’s words sum up the addictive qualities of MMOGs. This relatively new form of gaming has taken the video game world by storm. Since 1985, commercially available multiplayer online gaming has made its way to becoming the most popular and most addicting form of video gaming.

Players from different countries can all meet in one virtual world, coordinating group efforts to achieve game objectives via head set intercom. The interaction between players and the ability to work together with team members in real time gives a heightened feeling of reward. This adds tremendously to the addictive nature of MMOG.

“You’re constantly playing with new people, so it is a different experience every time,” said SRJC student Jesse Langland, who has tested video games professionally.

Grades are not the only thing at stake when it comes to video game addiction.

Gaming can also compromise physical and psychological health. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that gamers are more likely to suffer from depression and be overweight than non-gamers. Gamers also rely more heavily on the internet for social interaction, foresaking personal communication for a more removed interaction.

But are video games nothing more than a frivolous waste of time? Do they have nothing more to offer than bad grades and health problems? Many gamers are perfectly comfortable admitting that their gaming habit is a waste of time, though an enjoyable waste of time.

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Proctor

FEATURES

Proctor’s next appointment was in Saudi Arabia. The ambassador there, John West, was Continued from page 4 the first governor (formerly of South Carolina) ative Education and International Public Policies. to endorse Carter’s run for the presidency; the Proctor furthered his education with a doc- two were close friends.

West had difficulty finding someone to fill the toral program at Columbia. However, during his time in Italy, he had taken the Foreign Service position as his staff assistant. He needed an assisexam. Doing very well on both the written and tant who was both capable and compatible. Interoral exams, he received several appointments to view after interview, he rejected everyone. West had even complained to Carter that he could not enter Foreign Service classes.

“I got very tired of being a poor graduate stu- find anyone at all adequate. Until Proctor.

“I had never been to Saudi Arabia and probdent,” Proctor said. “I took a five-year leave of absence from the doctoral program at Columbia. I ably would never be there otherwise, so I went,” figured I would pay off some student debts, see a Proctor said. “I found that the secret to John West little of the world, and joined the Foreign Service. was that his wife [Lois] had to feel comfortable I extended that five years to six, then to seven and with you. All these people went down and ignored [her]. I arrived and she invited me into the it eventually ended up being 20 years.”

Though he never finished his doctorate, kitchen to help her cook and we hit it off.”

Proctor got the job and agreed to remain Proctor spent a fascinating career in service to the U.S. Department of State, where he was there for a year. He was West’s right-hand, going with him everywhere. able to utilize his vast That included several education and quench trips meeting with the constant desire for adventure. “[The U.S.] is less reflexively President Carter.

“That was really His primary responpro-Israel today than they interesting because sibilities as a political were at that time. I would you don’t usually get officer were to analyze what was happening in argue that the same criticisms the chance, even as a his assigned country are true today; we pretend to Foreign Service officer, as those developments be balanced when we’re not.” to spend much time around a president,” impacted U.S. interests -Rob Proctor Proctor said. “There in that region and to was a lot of personal represent U.S. governtime, too. Partly bement views to the host cause Mrs. West and I hit it off, and Lois West government.

His first assignment overseas was in Liberia, and Rosalynn Carter were good friends, too.”

By the end of his position in Saudi Arabia, in West Africa. There, he was responsible for observing the trade movement, looking at what Proctor had concluded that he wasn’t comfortwas happening with the students and student able with U.S. policy in the Middle East. He population’s ethnic groups, and overseeing law believes today’s Middle East policies to be only of the sea negotiations taking place at the time. slightly better than they were then.

“They are less reflexively pro-Israel today “It was there that I had met my future wife, doing public health work,” Proctor said. “It was a than they were at that time. I would argue that great time, even though Monrovia [Liberia’s capi- the same criticisms are true today; we pretend tal], that first year, had 360 inches of rain and the to be balanced when we’re not.”

He spent some time in Washington, D.C. country only had 60 miles of paved road.”

Toward the end of his tour in Liberia, Proc- working as the desk officer for Zambia and Mator’s role switched to a mission of peacekeeping. lawi to southeastern African countries before It was 1976. Henry Kissinger was Secretary of going back to Africa as a political officer in Dar State, Jimmy Carter was president, and the Si- es Salaam.

“That was definitely my best tour,” Proctor nai Field Mission began operations. Israel and Egypt agreed to third-party cooperative moni- said of Dar es Salaam. The man he replaced had toring from the United States and United Na- to be medically evacuated. The Foreign Service tions in a joint effort to de-escalate potential didn’t have time to give Proctor the training he conflicts and growing suspicions between the needed to learn Kiswahili before he left. “So, I went to Zanzibar for two months doing nothing two nations.

Proctor’s peacekeeping role was as a liaison but studying Kiswahili. I had a little Honda-50, a for the two armies - his efforts helped to es- left-over aide’s pickup, and this house right on the tablish trust between the two, which ultimately water. Zanzibar is a gorgeous, gorgeous place.”

His next adventure brought him to Tromsø, helped the successful signing of 1979 IsraelNorway as an information officer. There, he was Egypt Peace Accord.

“Each side had so much misinformation responsible for counter-soviet campaigns in about one another,” Proctor said. “It was confi- northern Norway. After a year in Tromsø, he dence building between the two. It was satisfy- was promoted to the head of the department’s political section in Oslo, where he was responing on a lot of levels.”

There was a lot of work to be done and the sible for about 1,000 miles of coastline up to the results were definitive, but there was also a great Soviet border.

“I had an apartment on the ground floor of deal of down-time. Proctor spent several days out of the week sitting in the desert ensuring this 19th century mansion right on Oslofjord. that no one breached terms in the agreement. So, I got to look right out on the water, at the Much of that time was spent idly – playing boats coming and going, and I had a little dock games of chess with his Egyptian counterpart, with a sailboat on it. The creature-comforts were nice.” the son of an Egyptian chess grandmaster.

7

Though it was beautiful at times, Proctor didn’t deal well with the many months of darkness Norway experiences. By the end of his three years, he was more than a little anxious to leave.

It was during his next tour, as the Nigerian country officer, that Proctor married his wife, who was doing her medical residency in Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter, they had their first daughter.

Even though he and his wife had a live-in nanny for their daughter, he took a sabbatical from the U.S. Department of State so he could be more of an at-home parent.

Proctor embraced his role as a father. He went so far as to turn down a prestigious position with the National Security Council (NSC) because he would have rarely been home. Instead, he took a nine-to-five desk job as Director of Policy Coordination Staff, attached to the Director General of the Foreign Service.

After his wife finished her residency, they moved to Jamaica, where Proctor was head of the political section for three years. His wife was unhappy with her career and the restrictions Proctor’s work placed on it, so they decided that he would take an early retirement.

As retirement loomed, Proctor spent his last two years with the U.S. Department of State living in Maryland and teaching at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington D.C. - heading up its African Studies Program and Political Training Division.

Looking for a place to settle, Proctor and his family made their way to where his story began, Santa Rosa.

He has two daughters now, the oldest of whom is 22. His younger daughter is 16 and lives with him in the house he grew up in along with his mother, who is 85. He has been divorced for two years –his wife’s career took her in a different direction – but, it has been about 12 years since she has really lived with them.

Fatherhood, Proctor explained, “gives me as much satisfaction as anything I’ve done in my life.”

He remains very active in his children’s lives by - participating in school functions and their

many extracurricular activities.

He is currently a professor at SRJC (Petaluma and Santa Rosa campuses), the College of Marin, and Dominican University as well as a real estate agent with Frank Howard Allen Realtors.

Proctor’s great-great grandfather was one of Sonoma County’s first real estate brokers. “There was always the buying and selling of property,” Proctor said. That familiarity coupled with convenience of scheduling is one of the reasons he chose real estate as a supplemental career.

He teaches, and has taught, a variety of courses. At Dominican, he is teaching a course on international relations and diplomacy and a course on the United Nations. At College of Marin, he has an early civilizations course. At the SRJC campuses, he teaches American government and political science classes.

As a teacher, he is someone who will go to great lengths to see his students succeed; in 2008, after a political science student had contracted mononucleosis halfway through the semester, Proctor went out of his way to bring assignments to the student’s home.

Regarding his own style of teaching, Proctor admitted, “I spent an awful lot of time as a successful student regurgitating my professors’ opinions to get an ‘A’. That’s not what I want to see in my students. I try to find occasions to tell the students…how important it is to inform themselves in order to make intelligent decisions.”

Proctor is a man who has indeed chosen many routes to take in his life – and he has many more still ahead of him.

“You choose your own routes in life that kind of make sense at the time,” he said. “I try not to look back or live with any regrets. It’s not productive to get bogged down with all that.”

Proctor is not just a teacher, a political officer, a real estate agent, or a parent. He is not simply kind, intelligent, timid, boring, or any other bland adjective that might be used. The twisting paths of his adventurous life have created a paradox of a man - simultaneously simple and complex - who deserves more than just a cursory glance before final judgment.

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Winter Break on a Budget: go ou Reclaim lost youth with couch forts and Nerf wars Craig Couden Copy Editor It’s easy to get lost cozying up with a blanket on the couch and basking in the soft glow of a television set during a cold winter break, but this year why not indulge the little kid inside (and get a little exercise in the process) with an epic Nerf blaster battle.

The Nerf Maverick and Nitefinder foam dart blasters each retail for less than $15, shoot as far or farther than more expensive models and can provide a solid afternoon of entertainment.

Call over a few friends, set some ground rules, like how many hits knock you out of the round, and you can be wreaking foamy havoc upon your opponents in minutes.

Weather permitting, play outside, or with a little planning turn your living room into a battlefield. Test your sharp-shooting skills against preset targets, or see who can defend the couch-cushion fort the longest.

But for inside play, it’s best to protect or move

breakable items, and a bed sheet or two strung across hard-to-reach places can save you a trip to the store for replacement darts.

For more enterprising warriors, different models and brands incorporate higher dart capacity, less reload time, and battery-powered, automatic fire. However, the six-shot Maverick and the single-shot Nitefinder are more than enough for an afternoon of fun, all for under $20.

Just remember to put some pillows on the floor as you live out your action movie dream by leaping through the air and firing two blasters at once.

Andrew Cameron/Oak Leaf

Craig Couden is creative in his fort building in order to maximze cover during Nerf wars and neighborhood invasions.

SF ice rinks bring holiday spirit to Bay Area Haley Sansom Layout Editor

many forms. There are busses that make trips to the city daily, but plan extra time for this trip because these busses make multiple stops. Another great option to avoid having to park in San Francisco is the Larkspur ferry.

For students who can’t afford a trip to San Francisco, Redwood Empire Ice Arena decorates the ice every year to celebrate the holidays. It may not be the same as gliding on an outdoor rink, but Snoopy’s Home Ice does its best to spread holiday cheer.

Sonoma County may not be a typical winter wonderland, but ice skating is a great way to feel a little bit closer to the snow this winter.

Snow-covered grass, mitten-clad hands and cherry red noses are common occurrences in December. In multiple movies set around the holiday season, friends and families are often seen grabbing their ice skates and heading outside to glide over a frozen lake. Sadly, as residents of the Bay Area, we aren’t fortunate enough to get this experience. However, while we may not be able to go outside and build snowmen and skate over frozen puddles, there are ways to experience these activities not far from home.

Each holiday season, Union Square in San Francisco puts up an outdoor ice-skating rink outside of Macy’s. Yes, an outdoor rink in the middle of San Francisco, despite the occasional sunny days and warm weather. This rink is made possible by Willy Bietak Productions, a company that has made ice skating sets for many holiday movies.

The rink will host a drag queen night on Dec. 2 and invites everyone to join in. It is open seven days a week until Jan. 17.

There is also an outdoor rink in San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center for the holiday season.

James Snyde/ Contributing Photographer Transportation to San Families take to the rink this season at Snoopy’s Home Ice. Francisco can come in

Bus package makes Andrew Cameron Co-Editor-in-Chief An extra week of winter vacation means an extra week of skiing at Tahoe. This is the mindset of those who make the trip several times each winter.

For all the snow lovers, Santa Rosa Ski and Sport puts on a bus trip. It goes every two weeks on Saturdays and goes all ski season long.

SRJC student Kyler Walker goes every chance he gets the time off from work. “It’s cheaper to go on the bus trip. I hate driving up there, so this is perfect,” Walker said.

An adult ticket is $95 and includes: juice, a snack, lift tickets and a Santa Rosa Ski and Sport T-shirt.

Youth tickets are $85. Lift tickets rang from $50 to $80 factoring in the price of gas, it is a less expensive way of going to the snow. Tickets are distributed at the bus.

The next trip is Dec. 18 at Northstar. The Bus leaves at 5 a.m. at the Sonoma County Veterans Building and heads back at approximately 5 p.m., stopping for dinner.

ut for less or have fun staying in SantArchy will take over downtown Santa Rosa Andrew Cameron Co-Editor-in-Chief It’s simply known as “SantArchy,” the annual bar crawl that takes place in downtown Santa Rosa with people dressed up as Santa Claus.

This year will be the fifth annual Santa Crawl. Last year more than 300 participated in the event and this year the number is expected to grow. According to one of the event coordinators, Ron Slyh, “The word has spread and we believe we will continue to grow. It’s free to participate and the bars are happy to have the thirsty Santas!”

SRJC student Chris Davies, 26, is looking

forward to his first Santa Crawl. “I am going with a group of friends whom I grew up with from San Rafael. They have done it the past two years. Full Santa outfit and everything. I plan on going as a young Kris Kringle.”

This year’s bar list is: Belvedere, Round Robin, Chrome Lotus, Mary’s Pizza, Rendez Vous and Christy’s on the Square. Each of the bars will offer drink specials and Mary’s offers a pizza special as well. There are many other bars along the way and it is not uncommon for Santas to wind up in a non-participating bar downtown.

Slyh and his friends came up with the idea. “We originally started the Santa Crawl in 2006 by emailing our friends and getting six to eight bars to commit to bar specials. Little did we know that 80 friends would show for that first event,” Slyh said.

People who attend are usually in some kind of Christmas outfit. “I am sure the guys will be in full Santa attire, and the girls will be in something a little cuter. It’s almost an extension of Halloween, if you Photo courtesy Ron Slyh will,” Davies said.

A Santa Claus cloaked partier and his elf friend The Santa Crawl starts Dec. 18 at 6 visited the Vine at last year’s crawl. p.m. at the Belvedere. The Belvedere has “Turnout is expected to be very well,” Tipton participated since the first bar crawl. Owner said. The drink special is $1 off drinks.

Gary Tipton anticipates another big turnout.

The Round Robin is next on the crawl. Bartender Steve Runne expects a busy night. “They [people in the bar] are usually packed wall-towall during the Santa crawl,” Runne said.

One of the bars the drunk Santas might wander into is the Russian River Brewing Company. It is also offering drink specials for those who are dressed up. Bartender Spencer Paul enjoys doing the event. “People just being festive and jolly,” Paul said.

Photo Courtesy Ron Slyh

Only a Santa hat is required to get the drink specials during SantArchy in the participating bars.

s ski trips affordable Ski trip Dates: • • • • • • • •

Stay home and hide from the world; it’s cheap and doesn’t require moving from the couch Isabel Johnson

Dec.18- Northstar Jan. 8 -Sugar Bowl Jan. 22- Sierra at Tahoe Feb. 5- Alpine Feb. 19- NorthStar March 5- Homewood March 19- Sierra at Tahoe April 2- Sugar Bowl

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News Editor Still feeling trashed from finals? Don’t worry! Having a good time doesn’t require leaving your house. Here are some ideas for the fans of stay-at-home holidays.

You can go to the movies and spend $10 on a ticket. Another $10 will get you snacks. You can go out drinking with friends and spend at least $2 for each drink, and then have to take a cab home unless one of your friends is OK with being the designated driver (and who wants to do that?).

Here’s a thought.

Find a friend with a movie you want to see, or use your own supply. Get a group of friends, anywhere from two to fire hazard, and buy $30$50 dollars worth of drinks, alcoholic or otherwise, and pizza at Costco with

$10 from each person. Anyone planning on drinking can bring a sleeping bag so you don’t have to worry about rides home.

Another alternative is to skip the movie and play a group game. If you’re more energetic, games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero or Wii Sports might suit you if you have gaming systems, or you can go with classic board games. Apples to Apples makes both an excellent party game and an excellent drinking game.

You could even organize a tournament of some kind. Bring out Street Fighter IV and see who has the most skills, for instance.

Winner gets to gloat forever.

You don’t have to be social to have fun, either. Dig out your favorite video game, set it to the hardest difficulty and see how quickly you can beat it. This is also a good activity for when you inevitably catch the flu.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

10

In The Know

December 6 SRJC Jazz concert SRJC-Newman Auditorium 8 p.m. / $5 / all ages genre: instrumental jazz

December 7 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Christmas Wells Fargo Center for the Arts 8 p.m. / $37-$47 / all ages genre: big band Christmas Decemeber 9 The Chris Duarte Group The Last Day Saloon 8 p.m. / $10 / 21+ genre: blues rock December 10 The Abyssinians The Last Day Saloon 9 p.m. / $20 / 21+ genre: reggae

Film explores hate and hope Quinn Conklin Opinion Editor More than 150 people turned out in the rain and cold for the Napa Valley premiere of Michael Ramsdell’s “The Anatomy of Hate, a Dialog for Hope” on Thursday night.

This documentary looks at the sources of hate, the manipulation of the fear response in humans and people who have overcome fear to identify dehumanized individuals as creatures like themselves.

Ramsdell spent time working closely with various hate groups, not to change their views, but to see them as humans.

During this time the question he had been asking himself took shape: “If man desires peace and prosperity for themselves and to pass it on to their children, why have we so universally failed?”

The groups Ramsdell chose to look at in his quest included Israeli soldiers and Palestinian insurgents, white power groups and U.S. soldiers in Iraq. What he found was that these groups had a need to pull together for their own defense, which led to the

Our Vinyl Vows-Beta State The Phoenix Theater 8 p.m. / $8 / all ages genre: rock Photo courtesy of Under The Hood Productions

Michael Ramsdell uses illustrations like this one to explain the origins of hate.

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creation of a shared identity. The cultures then remembered the fear that the original groups knew and pass that knowledge on to future generations. As fear becomes institutionalized, cultures attempt to combat the fear by amassing power, which is channeled to reinforce the original hatred.

In the film Ramsdell illustrates the concept with an animation of a young child enjoying a lollipop. Out of nowhere a man appears and takes the lollipop. The child begins to fear that man and others like him.

Suddenly, the child is replaced by a number of angry people holding lollipops looking across the empty space of the screen at narrow-eyed, aggressively posed others.

The movie is divided into four sections: fear, culture, hate and hope. Throughout each section, interviews with the different groups portrayed are cut together. We hear the stories of an Israeli tank commander and the stories of a retired Israeli soldier. There is a group of young Palestinian boys who live near the wall in the West Bank. There is Fred Kers Phelps and other members of the West Borough Baptist church. These people articulate their rationale for their hate, shout their hate as they march, shoot and threaten, live in their homes, raise their children and mourn their lost husbands.

The brutality of hate is shown graphically through burning crosses, exploding cars and executions of prisoners. But these images of death and the symbols that separate one person from another are not the most powerful moments in the film. The most powerful images come at the end of the film when Ramsdell turns the discussion to hope.

One story followed throughout “The Anatomy of Hate” is that of a man, who as a member of the Christian Identity Movement and its more militant arm, the Covenant, Arm and Sword of the Lord (CSA),

was tasked with starting a race war by blowing up a gay-friendly church. The story moves forward and you wait for him to talk about what it was like to kill. Instead, he tells how sitting in the church he hears the people around him begin to sing, “For the first time I put a face on the enemy. These were just people who had moms and dads.

Brothers. Sisters. Some of them even have children for all I know.”

He tells how he left the church, taking the bomb he had brought with him. He left the CSA and has spent time ever since helping to educate law enforcement. This is just one of the stories that gives hope to ending some of the hate.

As the lights came on in the auditorium, Ramsdell took the stage to answer questions from the audience. A young Hispanic man stood and began to explain that as a human rights activist and a Hispanic, he found himself afraid of police. Others asked about the proper response to hatred and anger, sharing their real experiences and presenting hypothetical situations.

Rialto Cinemas reopens Haley Sansom Layout Editor Independent film lovers cried foul in May when Rialto Cinemas owner Ky Boyd lost his lease, turning the building over to Dan Tocchini. On Wednesday, Nov. 24, Tocchini reopened the theater under the name Summerfield Cinemas, doing his best to preserve the environment the previous owner had created. While many were skeptical of the promises Tocchini made regarding changes to the cinema, most moviegoers will find that they hardly notice any difference.

Much to previous Rialto fans’ delight, the theater was not completely remodeled, just updated. Customers will be able to notice the changes immediately. The exterior received a fresh coat of paint and a brand new marquee, giving the theater a new vibe.

The interior was also upgraded. Each screening room received new seating similar to Tocchini’s downtown theater, the Roxy, updated sound systems and new interior decoration. The building also underwent some much-needed earthquake retrofitting and got a new roof.

However, all of the classic aspects of the theater stayed the same. The famous popcorn made with real butter, as well as all of the other components of the snack bar weren’t modified. Most importantly, the selection of films the theater will show is no different than what the Rialto would normally play.

Much to the public’s surprise, Tocchini hired someone to book Summerfield Cinemas separately from his other theaters, Roxy Stadium 14 and Airport Stadium 12. Most of the controversy that surrounded the owner switch was that the Rialto has always pro-

Eric Molyneaux/Contributing photographer

The Rialto reopened Nov. 24 under new ownership, but is still much the same.

vided Santa Rosa with a taste of culture and vibrancy, and Tocchini has no intention of changing that.

What many people don’t know is that this is not the first time Tocchini has owned and operated Summerfield Cinemas. In 1989, Tocchini took over the building, which was previously a church and an ice rink, and installed the five screens and seating.

Ten years later, while Tocchini was opening a theater downtown, Boyd took over the lease and converted the theater to the Rialto Cinemas.

The 3rd Street Cinemas, which served as a temporary holding place for the Rialto until the theater reopened, has also undergone changes. When Tocchini reopened Summerfield Cinemas, he decided to convert 3rd Street Cinemas into a second-run theater, granting admission to any movie for just $3.

With Oscar season coming up, it will be interesting to see if Tocchini continues to book independent and art films at Summerfield Cinemas. Currently, the theater is playing six independent films, including “Fair Game” and “127 Hours.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

www.theoakleafnews.com

11

Willy Wonka: a show worthy of a golden ticket Allyce Ferrua A&E Editor There are a few things I remember from my childhood. My favorite toy: pogs. My favorite TV show: Rugrats. And my favorite book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. So when I found out SRJC’s Theater Department was putting on a stage adaptation, I was excited but nervous. I hoped the producers of the show would stay true to the book, the original movie starring Gene Wilder and the 2004 play adaptation, and try to stay clear of the 2005 remake with Johnny Depp. I was more than delighted at the final result; the play was the most fun I have ever had at the theater.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the 12th play directed by SRJC theater veteran, Laura Downing-Lee. The play took more than three months to put together with approximately 86 cast and crew members, including costume and set helpers, board operators, mic technicians, a flight crew, make-up crew and a seven-person band. Willy Wonka is one of the more challenging plays to put on in SRJC’s history.

The key in a good play is casting, and no one was better cast than Zane Walters as Willy Wonka. The character is so unique. He has to be playful but a genius; he has to be someone approachable, yet a tiny bit of a creep. Walters nailed it, his facial expressions, his excitement and his ability to create the world everyone else lives in cannot be matched. I have never seen

Cash’d out with Lariats of Fire The Mystic 8 p.m. / $15 / 21+ genre: Johnny Cash tribute band December 12 Kim Wilson’s Blues Allstars The Last Day Saloon 7 p.m. / $23 / 21+ genre: blues Allyce Ferrua/Oak Leaf

SRJC actors Matlock Zumstead, braedyn Youngberg and Dana Nelson-Isaacs capture the playful, unique characters, bringing back childhood memories.

a more promising career waiting to happen.

Downing-Lee states her interpretation of the casting and portrayal of Willy Wonka was based on the book and not the movies.

Michael Lumb can sing, and as raisedpoor-but-still-has-a-positive-smile-on-his-face Charlie, Lumb plays the innocent-faced boy well. Instantly, Lumb makes your heart cry out for Charlie. When the Candyman asks Charlie if he wanted anything and Charlie makes up an excuse for why he does not purchase any candy.

I wanted to jump on stage and give him a dollar. In other words, he was believable.

The great casting does not stop at Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket. Every character was played well, but Augustus Gloop, played by Braedyn Youngberg, caught my eye the moment he opened his mouth. Youngberg played out perfectly. Every detail, every word from the book describing how awful this fat boy lived.

Youngberg revived the humor the character was deprived of in the second movie remake. In the first scene where Augustus Gloop is introduced he Allyce Ferrua/Oak Leaf belts out “I EAT MORE,” Zane Walters leads the audience through candy-filled world summing up his entire with his exciting performance as Willy Wonka. character into one sentence.

The play is a huge production, from costumes to sets to direction. The show was incredible because no matter how tedious and close to impossible to put on, Downing-Lee kept the scenes to the book and first movie. How could they make the famous glass elevator scene possible? They made it happen by using a video screen and amazing sound effects.

The costumes are well done. My favorite was the Oompa Loompa’s bright green, glittery coat with a big W on the side. Costume designer Marianne Scozzari really understood the concept behind each character. Scozzari with Costume Shop Supervisor Julia Kwitchoff put in countless hours of design and constructing costumes for the 31-member cast.

I laughed every time an Oompa Loompa came onto the stage, the actors gliding on their knees with Oompa Loompa legs glued on. I do not think anyone in the theater didn’t giggle at every “Oompa-Loompa-doompa-de-do.”

Did I mention they gave out candy during the performance? Powell’s Sweet Shoppe donated the candy and is offering a 10 percent discount to customers who bring in their Willy Wonka program.

I cannot say enough good things about this production. It brought a flood of memories back and I found myself singing along to the classic songs brought to life in the first movie, “The Candyman” and “Pure Imagination,” to name a couple. The cast took me on the tour with them through Willy Wonka’s factory, something I have dreamt about from age 3. Well done, theater department, well done.

Hot off the racks Our rating system:

Terrible

The Call of Duty franchise has quickly become a gaming world juggernaut. With the immense success of its previous releases “Call of Duty: World at War” and “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” it is no surprise that Treyarch’s latest addition is flying off the shelves. “Call of Duty: Black Ops” takes the best aspects of its predecessors and combines them to create a fun, tactical and fast-paced, first-person shooter that can be played for hours on end in multiplayer mode alone.

The game’s developers did well to fix some of the kinks and exploits in the online multiplayer mode, and the storyline in the “Black Ops” campaign may possibly be the best of the series.

The game begins with Alex Mason, a soldier captured after attempting to assassinate Fidel Castro, who is now being interrogated and tortured during the Cold War. You must play through Mason’s memories to gather information vital to your captors, while simultaneously learning the story’s plot. While there are some bugs and annoyances, namely with the artificial intelligence of both enemies and allies, the characters are well-crafted, the plot

December 11 Saint Rose Records 2 & 1/2 year Anniversary Festival - 17 bands Arlene Francis Theatre, 99 6th St Noon / $10 / all ages

Mediocre

Average

is captivating, and the finale far surpasses that of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” or any of the previous games.

Although the campaign is more exciting and enthralling than its predecessor, most

Good

Excellent

people buy the games for their massive online multiplayer modes. “Call of Duty: Black Ops” did well to live up to expectations, making a major change by adding CoD points, a new banking system in which you earn points to buy weapons, modifications and various other rewards. This allows players to sculpt a character to their liking as opposed to every rank being the same, which was the case in “Modern Warfare 2.” The developers omitted the game-ending “tactical nuke” option, and brought back one of the favorite killstreak rewards from “Call of Duty: World at War;” a vicious team of attack dogs.

With the addition of self-mounted security cameras, remote-controlled cars strapped with explosives, manually-guided Valkyrie rockets and devastating napalm strikes, the ways to dismantle and defeat your enemies are virtually unlimited. All of these promising new features coupled with a variety of unique maps from urban to jungle settings make it very difficult to put down the controller. Overall, aside from a few small bugs, the game hits its mark and is quickly becoming one more major success story for the Call of Duty series.

- David Anderson

December 16 Fox Jingle Bell Ball The Last Day Saloon 8 p.m. / $10 / 21+ genre: rock December 18 The Jacka-Husalah The Phoenix Theater 8 p.m. / $25 / all ages genre: hip-hop December 23 Dirt Nasty The Last Day Saloon 9 p.m. / $20 / 21+ genre: pop, rap December 31 Tommy Castro’s New Years Eve The Mystic 9 p.m. / $50 / 21+ Decadence Club Latitude 9 p.m. / $25 / 21+

December 6, 2010

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

12

Editorial Editorial

Quinn Conklin Opinion Editor

This would not be Comcastic!

Imagine what would happen if a major automaker owned all the highways in Sonoma County. This would give the automaker freedom to charge a toll for competitors’ vehicles to use the highway or to ban competitors’ vehicles from using the highway altogether, effectively controlling what we drove and giving it power over its competitors.

Last year Comcast began the process of acquiring NBC, a deal that would put control of one of the largest producers of television programming in the hands of the largest cable provider in the nation. If Comcast is allowed to buy NBC it will be able to control both the production and distribution of media. Antitrust hearings by the federal government have caused delays in the purchase being finalized.

During the hearings, Comcast officials promised they would not use their control over both production and distribution of media to gain an unfair advantage over their competition. However, in recent weeks a dispute between Comcast and video streaming company Level 3 Communications showed just how willing Comcast is to use its size to control competition.

Level 3 recently won a bid to be the internet provider for Netflix streaming service. Akamai, the company that provided this service prior to Level 3, is a Content Delivery Network. This type of network provides copies of videos and music hosted in different physical locations so they can be accessed without creating bottlenecks on the network. These companies provide an important service to the web as a whole, but are minor players. In contrast, Level 3 is a Tier 1 network; these networks are large and sometimes referred to as the backbone of the Internet. This type of network shares its infrastructure, effectively without charge, through peering agreements with the other Tier 1 networks, and this is at the heart of the Comcast/Level 3 conflict.

Comcast is not a Tier 1 network; however it owns a large share of the residential network infrastructure. While it already has a paid-peering agreement with Level 3, Comcast wants to change the rates it charges due to the deal reached with Netflix. Level 3 has argued that this is the equivalent of setting up a toll booth on the Internet.

This seems reasonable until you remember that Comcast is also in the business of providing movies and television to people’s homes. In other words, it is in direct competition with Netflix for the streaming video market.

This is the reason why net neutrality is important. Companies that control the networks making up the Internet should not be allowed to price data from different places at different rates or control the speed that different types of data are allowed to travel on their network. The victim of Comcast’s demands is the consumer, not Level 3 Communications or Netflix. It is the consumer who will bear the brunt of this higher cost of operation. If Comcast does not relent in the demands it has made of Level 3 Communications and Level 3 refuses to pay, many people will not have access to the services they paid for.

Since Comcast is not afraid to hold its network ransom over the source of data, how can we believe it would not use its content library and control of the networks that deliver that content to force other companies to bend to their will.

Jefferson would be pro-choice for Loko

In 1819, Thomas Jefferson said, “Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law,’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.”

Thomas Jefferson may never have envisioned his words being used in a case such as this, but he would undoubtedly view states’ ban on Four Loko, a caffeinated alcoholic beverage, as violating an individual’s rights.

Although Four Loko is not the best drink of choice because of its blood-thinning and fast drunk-inducing properties, it should not be banned nor altered.

The government does not have the right to tell people what they can and cannot put in their body as long as the substance in question is legal. All of the ingredients in Four Loko can

legally be sold individually, meaning the sale of Four Loko violates no laws. Banning a product made entirely of legal substances is a waste of resources and time that could be used to deal with real problems. Besides, what is going to stop dedicated Four Loko consumers from buying malt liquor, a Rockstar energy drink and creating their own highly caffeinated alcohol mixture?

People mixed alcohol with energy drinks years before Four Loko hit the market. Regardless of whether or not they can buy Four Loko, anybody of legal drinking age can walk into a bar and order a Red Bull with vodka.

The Four Loko-related deaths and hospitalizations were not a direct result of consuming Four Loko, but stemmed from the bingedrinking craze that permeates American culture. We have organized opportunities for people to drink far too much alcohol without it being socially stigmatized. The fact that the government is more concerned with stopping

people from consuming one beverage than stopping them from overindulging and ending up in the hospital is, frankly, sad.

States that banned Four Loko should address the habits that lead Americans to binge drink rather than banning one drink. A simple disclaimer and education on the affects of combining alcohol with stimulants could prevent people from drinking excess amounts of the beverage. If we as a culture are so accepting of our young people going out and getting so trashed they’re passing out and forgetting what they did the night before, we should not be surprised when those same young people wind up sick or dying because of this behavior.

If you want to get rid of a problem, deal with the cause, not the symptoms.

Banning Four Loko sets a legal precedent that makes banning any beverage that someone died after consuming fair game. What’s next, banning soda because people have diabetes?

Student on the street

Meet this semester’s Oak Leaf

James L. Alban

Most likely to fall asleep during something important.

Jessie De La O

Andrew Cameron

Craig Couden

Quinn Conklin

Most prone to a nervous breakdown, except when in a penguin suit.

Most likely to hit on any girl who walks into the newsroom...badly.

Most likely to have a new idea.

The normal one.

Allyce Ferrua

Benjamin Gruey

Spencer Harris

Most likely to scare away new students.

Jerome Janairo

Isabel Johnson

Michelle Peirano

Haley Sanson

Most likely to be hoarding candy.

Most likely to threaten your life.

EDITORS Editors in Chief: Andrew Cameron and Michelle Peirano oakleaf-editor@santarosa.edu A&E Editor: Allyce Ferrua Features Editor: Jerome Janairo News Editor: Isabel Johnson Opinion Editor: Quinn Conklin Sports Editor: James L. Alban Copy Editor: Craig Couden Photo Editor: Allyce Ferrua Layout Editor: Haley Sansom Web Editor: Craig Couden Advertising Manager: Benjamin Gruey oakleaf-ads@santarosa.edu

The

Best dimples.

Best cake delivery service.

Most likely to actually have a job in journalism.

Oak Leaf

CONTACT THE OAK LEAF Address: 645B Analy Village Santa Rosa Junior College 1501 Mendocino Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Newsroom: (707) 527-4401 Editor Line: (707) 535-3773 Adviser, Anne Belden: (707) 527-4867 abelden@santarosa.edu

The resilient one.

STAFF WRITERS Brittney Bailey, Jessie De La O, Benjamin Gruey, Spencer Harris

LETTERS Send letters to the Editor to: oakleaf-editor@santarosa.edu or to the Oak Leaf office. They should include your first and last name and be limited to 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length, clarity and taste. Libelous or obscene letters will not be printed.

The Oak Leaf is published six times per semester by the Journalism 52 newspaper practice class at SRJC. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the students, staff, faculty or administration.

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

www.theoakleafnews.com

13

A new chapter for gay rights begins with 2010 Even before I came to the United States, I got the impression that the quest for equality is a recurring theme in this country’s historical narrative. As an adolescent, I read and marveled at the women who marched for their right to vote and at African-Americans who bravely defied racism and demanded they be treated as human beings. Back then I never imagined I would be in America to see the next chapter in the fight for civil rights, and that this new struggle would ultimately affect me. But this is where the country is right now, and this past year we’ve seen significant gains for gay rights.

It’s happening just as I have come to realize I am a second-class citizen in this country. People like me cannot marry the ones we love, serve as our honest selves in the military, and in some places, lose our jobs.

I began to notice that I don’t have access to things my straight friends and neighbors have, and I realized that I am treated differently when I know I shouldn’t be.

The overturning of Proposition 8 was this year’s first big gain for civil rights; on Aug. 4 Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the ban on gay marriage in California is unconstitutional. The language of his ruling is as deadpan as any, but it was the most eloquent documents I have ever read. It effectively debunked every claim and argument against gay marriage through logic and superb legal knowledge of the Constitution. The ruling

showed that opposition to marriage equality has no legal standing. In the eyes of the law, no one gets to vote on the rights of others.

The study conducted by the Pentagon about allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military is another shining example of intelligence finally being exhibited in our biggest institution. It was a blow to all the idiotic justifications for keeping “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But aside from showing the plain truth on what our men and women in uniform feel about serving alongside homosexuals, what moved me was seeing the Secretary of Defense and the Chief of Joint Staff show their support on behalf of the thousands of gay men and women who serve in silence as they risk their lives for this country. As someone who is entering the military, it feels like they have my back.

These past couple of months I’ve also seen the gay community come together in solidarity when the alarmingly high suicide rate of gay youth was no longer bearable. With the “It Gets Better Project” on YouTube, hundreds of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from different walks of life reached out to teens who were being bullied or tormented because of their sexuality. Their message was simple: hang on; life gets better. But the project expanded to include not just people who survived their years as LGBT youth, but also celebrities, high-ranking government officials, politi-

Other Curious Things

cians and even the President. Making videos on YouTube is a simple feat, but the sense of urgency to save the lives of teens at risk is hard to miss.

As with every civil rights story, it’s not a right easily given. Judge Walker’s ruling was stayed and is currently awaiting review by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, paving the way for the case to reach the Supreme Court.

The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is up for vote in the Senate, and it faces strong opposition from conservative politicians despite the military telling them that DADT must go. Yet, all across America many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered teens still see death as the only means of escaping their tough lives.

But this is why it’s a fight for civil rights.

It’s because people like me are no longer willing to live in our current conditions and we’re tired of the unjust laws and attitudes that keep us less than equal. This time the momentum for change is on our side, and the support we have garnered from the public is strong, vocal and visible. These are exciting times to be gay in America, and I imagine that decades from now I will look back in this moment in history and remember how I saw the country once again become a land of equality for all people. Maybe, I’ll get to use my real name next time.

-Closet Recruit

You’re doing it wrong

By Quinn Conklin

Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, It pains me to send this e-mail as I was glad to see the Oak Leaf had improved over the last time I attended SRJC (2005-2006).

However, the last three issues have been filled with errors of fact, as well as typos and misspellings.

However, I feel I must write about the Student Center Referendum. First off, the headline implies there is already an existing Student Center Fee; there is not. The purpose of the Referendum is to establish a fee for all the stated reasons in the brochure, which you conveniently left out of the article. Secondly, Dr. Brian Phifer is NOT VP of Student Affairs; that would be Ricardo

Navarette. Dr. Phifer is Director of Student Activities. And lastly, the quotes attributed to Jude Rowe were actually said by Ian Maurer.

These mistakes, especially the first, could easily negatively impact the outcome of this election.

I would suggest that you start fact-checking your articles before you make even bigger mistakes, and your copy editing actually get up to speed.

I look forward to seeing a much improved Oak Leaf in the near future.

Sincerely, Kory Kevin Ryan

To the Oakleaf Editors: I’ve just read most of the recent online edition of The Oakleaf and want to commend you on producing a great edition. I found the articles to be very well-written, thoughtful and timely.

Keep up the good work!

-Joan Boucher

Corrections In the last issue of the Oak Leaf, “Sudents to vote on campus center fee increase this week,” Brian Phifer’s title should be Assistant Director of Student Affairs. Also, Jude Rowe was misquoted.

Isabel Johnson News Editor

Mac computers are overrated Can somebody please explain the purpose of an iPad? Because I can’t understand how a glorified iPod Touch that you can’t use at the gym is worth $499 or more. The only iPods for less than $100 are iPod Shuffles, which don’t even have a screen, and still cost at least $49. My 8GB Sandisk Sansa Fuze cost $70, has a screen and has a slot for an extra memory card so I can have anywhere from 4GB to 32GB of extra space.

The one thing that Apple seems truly talented at producing is flashy products and a sense of superiority in its customers. How many PC users have had a Mac user say that Mac is better, because they don’t get viruses?

Yeah, not a good defense, in case any Mac users were wondering. Oh, and they don’t work better for graphics. In fact, they’re pretty terrible compared to a custom-built PC. One of the worst things about Macs is people who own them and insist Macs are superior to PCs without having any evidence.

The vast majority of them are a lot less clever and tech savvy than they think they are. Oh, wow, you paid way too much money for a machine that won’t run the majority of programs and games on the market. Good job!

My computer at home is built with parts that I chose, with what I wanted my computer to do in mind. With a PC, you can choose to buy AMD instead of an Intel processor and save lots of money. With a Mac, you are stuck with what Apple chose to put in its computers. I know of one person whose MacBook battery died twice before the replacement that Apple provided managed to work properly. I know several people whose Mac disk drives make loud gurgling noises while reading disks.

Because of Apple’s obsession with being super proprietary with its computers, manufacturers may not make the latest tech to work with Macs until after getting it out for PCs, because like it or not, PCs are a heck of a lot more popular internationally.

Macs are pretty in an incredibly boring, ultra modern way. I get that. You can feel all space age and cutting edge because your computer is shiny and white and you got it at a store that looks ready to lift off and rejoin the mother ship at any moment. Well, sacrificing performance so you can combine both the monitor and the tower into one space that overheats far too easily is not worth it.

I don’t mind having extra wires connecting my computer’s parts, because I don’t have a computer that needs a built-in thermometer so it can shut down when it reaches a certain temperature.

If I move to a place where there’s no Apple Store, I don’t have to worry because I can fix my own computer. I can get replacement parts online, and there are myriad programs and hardware available to do what I need to do with my computer. Even a novice PC user can replace a disk drive or a graphics card.

In summary, Mac’s are overpriced, a pain in the ass to get fixed and full of faulty hardware. Apple Store “geniuses” sometimes replace the faulty hardware with more faulty hardware. Macs are designed to not let you customize your computer and really, truly, honestly are not better than PCs. Before you can start, there are viruses for Macs, not as many as for PCs but that’s because far more people use PCs than Macs.

So, before going to the Apple Store to drop $500 on a shiny new toy that will be obsolete in a year anyway, consider whether or not you’ll use it for anything but pumping your ego.

December 6, 2010

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

14

SRJC student Andrew Cameron doesn’t let cancer ruin his year Andrew Cameron Co-Editor-in-Chief There were no colorful wrist bands with my name on them. There was no 5k walk in my honor. My family and close friends didn’t shave their heads. Yet I was not alone in my battle against cancer this year. 2010 could have not started off worse, but it has been one of the best years of my life.

Last December I experienced a pain in my back. I woke up one morning thinking I just slept wrong. The pain was located in lower back right on the left-hand side above my kidneys. As the week progressed, the pain did not go away. People get pain all the time, and it’s just a part of life. I didn’t see the need to mention it to anyone because I didn’t want to appear weak.

Two weeks passed, and the pain was getting progressively worse. Now it felt like a fist pressed against my kidneys; the pain was not just an annoyance. Driving in my car was problematic because I could not sit. I kept trying to turn and find a comfortable position. I was unable to sit still for any extended amount of time, making sitting on hard seats in class unbearable. Yet, I trucked on for another week without telling anyone.

One evening after school I was lying on the couch and I rolled off and let out a scream. I had had enough. My parents ran into the living room to find me rolling on the floor groaning. They promptly asked me what was wrong. I told them that my back pain was getting worse. I made an appointment with my doctor. His first impression was kidney stones.

He ordered an ultra sound and a blood test.

The ultra sound test revealed a mass the size of an egg [roughly 3.5 cm] in my lower left abdomen. I was sickened and relieved at the same time. Sickened that the mass could be cancerous and relieved that they knew what was causing me all this pain.

I was referred to Dr. Wayne Kiser, an oncologist. He had treated my grandfather seven years earlier for cancer. I had a CT scan of my testicles, a needle biopsy of the tumor and then a follow-up appointment to hear the results.

I sat in the lobby, my legs bouncing 50 times a minute. My stomach was uneasy. As patients staggered slowly out of the treatment center, looking frail and battered from their

treatments, I wondered if my fate would be the same.

On Jan. 26 I was diagnosed with stage II testicular cancer. Dr. Kiser explained how a cell broke off from my left testicle and sprouted in my back, causing me pain. As Dr. Kiser outlined what lay ahead for my family and me, all I could hear was one word replaying in my head: cancer. It felt like a Toyota Prius hit me in a parking lot; this slow moving thing snuck up on me and it was going to change my life forever. My mom was in tears, trying her best to hold them back. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are 8,000 cases of testicular cancer a year, most commonly in men age 15 to 34.

I left the doctor’s office to head back to Santa Rosa Junior College to cover a women’s basketball game for The Oak Leaf Newspaper.

It was a short drive, but a thousand thoughts ran through my mind. How do I tell my family and friends? What am I going to do about work? Am I going to continue to go to the JC? As I drove, my mind drifted to larger questions about life. What if I will no longer be able to have kids? What will the long-term effects of chemo have on my body? What if I die?

As I parked my car I picked up my cell phone and called my grandparents to tell them the news. The news silenced them for a few seconds.

They were supportive, and they knew what I was going to be going through because my grandpa was a cancer survivor. They told me it would be hard but it was nothing that I coudn’t handle and that I would come out a better person.

I then called my Starbucks manager, Nicole, to let her know that I was going to need time off from work. I have known Nicole for four years and she has been like an older sister to me. Nicole knew something was wrong right away. My voice trembled as I told her that I had cancer, and I would be doing chemotherapy for three months. She told me that if I needed anything she would be there.

After my phone calls I headed to Haelh Pavilion to cover the game. I must have covered 20 games before and have never had a problem staying focused and keeping notes. This game was different. I felt like I should be home with my family. My entire life I have loved sports, but that was the first time I was not at a game mentally.

The following week I underwent more tests

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Cameron

Nurse Tamara changes one of Andrew Cameron’s chemotherapy bags.

including a MRI scan of my brain and another CT scan. I had an appointment with my doctor about the removal of my left testicle.

The night before my surgery I tried to sleep, but I lay on my bed staring at the roof. My surgery was scheduled for early in the morning.

This was my first hurdle in dealing with cancer.

I was a little nervous, but I knew that it was going be all right. The surgery lasted an hour.

I was able to return home that afternoon. Surprisingly, I did not experience any pain from the incision. The only pain was from the tumor.

The following day around noon my doorbell rang. It was Nicole, along with another girl from work with an orchid and card signed by the rest of the girls at Starbucks, wishing me a speedy recovery. Two days later Nicole returned with five more cards from customers who had heard about my cancer. She also brought me a pile of movies and candy. We chatted for a while about Safeway business, and she reassured me that I was going to be alright.

I spent the weekend resting in bed and on the couch. Walking at first took some getting used to. I was still in severe pain from the tumor in my back. I didn’t want to do anything but sleep. However, I remained in high spirits because I was trying not to over-think my situation.

Monday was my first chemotherapy treatment. My chemotherapy schedule was to go for five days; that was one set.

Then in two weeks I was scheduled to go through another set. I was supposed to have 20 treatments, or four sets.

My appointment was at 8 a.m. and I was the first one there. I had no idea what to expect. The treatment center is in the back of the office. The room was larger than I thought.

There were eight chairs on each side and a nurses’ station in the middle. Nurse Mara gave a brief explanation of what I should expect.

I sat in a nice leather recliner seat overlooking south Santa Rosa. She put the IV in my left arm and I sat there for four hours as the drip system ran. First was the hydration bag that took about 45 minutes. Then the Cisplatin took about an hour and a half. The next one, Etopside, took an hour and a half. Last was a small hydration bag. I did not feel any different that day. Dr. Kiser said it could take four or five days till I felt the effects.

During my fours hours I watched movies on a portable DVD player. Mara provided me with a lot of ‘80s movies. When I was done with the movie I sat and stared at the clock.

I did not talk to anybody in the chairs next to me. Most of them were reading or taking a nap, and I had no idea what to say. So I kept Photo Courtesy of Andrew Cameron to myself.

Andrew Cameron shares a laugh with Nicole, at his 21st birthday party on April 3.

As the week progressed I did not notice

“It felt like a Toyota Prius hit me in a parking lot; this slow moving thing snuck up on me and it was going to change my life forever.”

much of a change. If anything I was tired, and groggy. Friday came, and I made it through my first week. However, leaving the center I started feeling sick to my stomach. The effects of the chemotherapy were starting to take place.

I went straight to bed and did not feel like eating. My parents called the doctor to get me some stronger nausea medicine because the one I was taking was not working.

The weekend was horrible. I had no appetite. Nothing sounded good. I slept for a good part of the weekend and was starting to feel exhausted. My energy level plummeted. The following week was worse. The chemo made me vomit and it gave me chills and a fever. My day consisted of watching sports shows, having three small meals and many naps. Sometimes I got tired going from my bed to the couch only 30 feet away.

Chemotherapy is known to make people’s hair fall out. And sure enough mine started to fall out about 14 days after my first treatment. Not a lot at first. The idea of being bald intrigued me. I always wondered what I would look like with no hair. This was not how I wanted to find out, but life goes on and that is how I approached dealing with cancer. Life goes on.

I dealt with cancer the only way I knew how. I was going to be stubborn. I refused to believe I was not going to be fine. I was going to get through it and then continue my life; this was only a speed bump. The last week of February my hair started coming out in big chunks in the shower. When I got out I had about four spots with no hair. The next day I shaved my head to avoid random bald spots.

Five days before my next set of chemotherapy, two friends from high school visited me. My nausea was slowly becoming tolerable.

Since I rarely left the house other than to go to the doctor we decided to go and see the movie, Shutter Island. We had an awesome time. The movie sparked a debate on the ending of the film.

When I went back for my second set of chemotherapy I had my blood drawn and was weighed. I was 143. I had lost 13 lbs in three weeks. My treatments seemed to go as they did before, except this time the effects from chemotherapy seemed worse. I felt good until about Thursday. I felt nauseated, my appetite had diminished, and my energy had disappeared. However, there was one food that I did crave while on chemo: macaroni and cheese with hotdogs.

During my two weeks off of chemo I watched movies. Sometimes I watched two or three a day. I didn’t feel like doing anything else. I was so tired and the nausea had me feel-

“The idea of being bald intrigued me.”

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OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

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Continued from page 14

ing sick constantly. My hair was gone on my head, arms, eyebrows and legs. My skin became pale like chalk, and I continued to lose more weight. It was safe to say I looked like I had cancer.

Near the end of March I strolled into the Safeway Starbucks where I work. I noticed a flier on the door. It was a 21st birthday party for me! Nicole was setting up a surprise birthday party for me on April 3. I was really excited.

I showed up around 12:30 p.m. at Howarth Park to find balloons on four tables. Two of the tables were covered with chips, crackers, a vegetable tray, a fruit tray and cookies. Two coolers contained soft drinks. One of the tables had three poster boards signed by people I work with and loyal coffee drinkers I have gotten to know over the past few years. There must have been 50 signatures on each card. By 2 p.m. more than 35 people ranging from close relatives to Jim Fox, a loyal Safeway shopper who gets a tall hazelnut latte every day made an apperance. Many people stopped by for a few minutes to say “hi” and drop off a card.

When the party was drawing near a close, Mr. Bartow showed up. Mr. Bartow has been the store manager for more than 20 years. He had donated all the food, drinks, plates, cups and napkins. He said he wanted to personally wish me a happy birthday and grab a piece of cake. The party was tremendous. It was a lot of fun to so many of people I hadn’t seen in a while.

I returned for my third set of chemo with a low white blood cell count. It was so low that Dr. Kiser postponed my treatments for another week hoping that my white blood cell count would improve.

The following week my blood count was back up. I had five days left of chemo and was excited to be one step closer to being back to normal. Unfortunately, my last week did not go well. The effects of the chemo seemed to take place the first day. I was drained. I did my best to stay positive knowing that I had only four more treatments, but I was frustrated with not feeling good. Chemo makes you feel worthless.

Lying in bed all day only made matters worse.

On Tuesday I broke out in hives. My entire body was full of red dots. I had an allergic reaction to the steroid they were giving me called Dexamethasone. My last day of chemo I was as happy as a sick person could be. I was exhausted. I did not want to go. I felt like I had just run a 5k race and had a horrible hangover.

My body was the sorest it had ever been and all my energy was zapped. As I sat in the car before my final treatment I said, “I hope I can do this.” I put on a smile and gingerly walked to the treatment center and sat in the closest chair by the door. “Only four hours till I could ring the bell,” I kept telling myself. There was a bell the patients rang when they are done with chemo.

Today was my day to ring the bell. Ringing the bell I had mixed emotions. I was so glad to be done. On the other hand, as people clapped, I knew that they had more treatments and not everyone would get the chance to ring the bell.

I was getting close to being done with cancer. There was one more hurdle standing in

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Cameron

Andrew Cameron opens presents on his birthday while going through cancer.

my way. This one was the one I was dreading most. My tumor had to be removed along with all the lymph nodes around the tumor. I was referred to Dr. Maxwell Meng at University California San Francisco Mt. Zion [UCSF]. Dr. Meng specialized in this kind of surgery and is considered one of the best. I met Dr. Meng for a consultation and he told me I could have the surgery in June. I was looking at a five-day hospital stay and a six-week recovery period.

The surgery required an incision right below my rib cage down to my belly button. Then Dr. Meng would remove my intestines to get to the tumor and remove it. Then he would have to remove all of the cancerous cells around the tumor. The surgery would last about four and half hours.

I had more than a month until my surgery.

I spent the first half recovering from chemo.

I must have watched 50 movies, some more than once. I still had little to no energy. I was bored, but I never felt alone. My friends texted me at least once a week asking how I was doing. I must have missed about six close friends’ 21st birthdays because I was too exhausted to go out and celebrate. On my 21st birthday I learned that chemo and alcohol do not mix.

About two weeks before my surgery I was feeling healthier. The World Cup was about to start and I was stoked. I went down to a friend’s house who was having a World Cup extravaganza. We drank most of the night then got two hours of sleep to wake up early for the first match only to start drinking again. I had a fantastic time.

The day before my surgery, I drove down to San Francisco to stay in a hotel with my parents since I had to check in an hour before my 7:30 a.m. surgery. I was unable to eat all day. I had to take a laxative. It was in full force around 5:30 that night. Between anxiety, and trips to the bathroom every 20 minutes I was awake all night. This was the only time I was scared. There was some risk in the surgery as the tumor was located near some large blood vessels.

I don’t remember much of the day of my surgery. I remember being very quiet and short with the nurses as I was being prepped for sur-

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Cameron

Andrew Cameron spent six days in the hospital after having a tumor removed.

gery. I rolled out of the operating room at about 1 p.m. I was in recovery for another two hours.

The surgery went great except I lost a little blood. Most of my time in the hospital I slept.

I was cancer free.

My stay in the hospital was surprisingly eventful. My mom spent the week there keeping me company and providing moral support. The following day I met legendary coach and broadcaster John Madden. He was walking past my room when my stepdad stopped him and asked if he could get a picture with me. After the picture he stayed for a few minutes. I told him what I had been going through the last few months. Sadly his son had cancer and was getting treatment at UCSF. He was in his 40s and had prostate cancer. During my stay he stopped again to check on me.

The following day, four of my friends from the newspaper made the trip to UCSF. The next day I had two more friends from high school come to see me as well. We reminisced about better times and how more good times were to come. I felt hopeless lying in the bed seeing them and hearing stories about their crazy nights.

Up to this point I had not eaten anything in five days. Dr. Meng started me off on a liquid and soft food diet, like pudding and gelatin. On Friday night I was set to have my first

meal. I was given three options, and I chose the chicken and rice. Unfortunately, shortly after eating the meal I was unable to keep it down.

The nights were the worst part about my stay. Every two hours, 24 hours a day, I had to get my blood and my temperature checked.

On the third day I was to get up and walk three times, no easy feat. It took me awhile to sit up and get out of bed. Then walking, I could only go about 10 feet. I got dizzy and everything started to go black. The next day I did a little better; I walked four times and made it to the nurses’ station down the hall. By Saturday I was able to do three laps around the hospital wing.

I went home on Sunday. The ride back was painful because the seatbelt was pressing up against my stomach. The crappy roads did not help. Every pothole felt like we were driving into a ditch.

During my six-week recovery from surgery I was to be on a low-calorie diet. I love food.

The thought of eating healthy three times a day did not sit well. This meant no double-decker ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, no mini-corn dogs and worst of all no CheezITs. I took walks around my block everyday to get my strength back. I was nearing the end.

I was looking forward to going back to work.

The thing I missed most was human interaction. I missed getting up early to go to work and school. I missed late nights hanging out with my friends.

I went back to work in August; I had been out for more than seven months.

I didn’t miss a beat when it came to making drinks. I still remembered customers’ drinks that I hadn’t made in a long time.

I met my replacement Chantel who had become good friends with Nicole. After working with her a few times, I knew why. I hung out with her and Crystalbelle, another girl I work with, for two months. It seemed like we were together every night. We had several adventures, including hikes at Annadel, a trip to the beach and the river. Hanging out with them I felt like I was a part of something special. Every time we hung out seemed like an instant classic.

Finally, I felt like a 21-year-old, not a cancer patient. I was no longer a cancer patient, I was a cancer survivor.

“There was one food that I did crave while on chemo: macaroni and cheese with hotdogs.”

Photo Courtesy of Andrew Cameron

While recovering from surgery at UCSF, Andrew Cameron met John Madden.

December 6, 2010

SPORTS

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Football coach Simons’ former success translates at SRJC David Tedla Contributing Writer Keith Simons completed his 15th season as the head coach of the Santa Rosa Junior College football team. That makes him the second longest tenured coach SRJC has had for its football program, second only to Marvin Mays who coached for 22 years. In Simons’ 15 years as head coach he has compiled a win/loss record of 103-56 (.647) and three championships.

Simons attended Federal Way High School near Seattle, where he excelled in three sports: baseball, basketball and football. In his three years of high school athletics he and his teammates went on to win an astonishing amount of championships.

“I played three sports a year,” Simons said.

“That’s nine seasons. And in nine seasons of high school our team won eight championships. The only championship we didn’t win was when I was a sophomore playing varsity baseball.”

As a senior in high school Simons was selected the Washington State Player of the Year.

He accepted a scholarship to play football at Oregon State University. After a year at Oregon State, Simons decided to transfer. “It just wasn’t a good fit,” Simons said.

Simons went on to play two years of football at Spokane Falls Community College. After two years at the junior college level Simons signed with Idaho State University.

A big part of Simons’ success at the quarterback position was due to his quarterbacks coach Mike Shepherd. “I learned a ton from him. We won the national championship when I was a senior at Idaho State. I just learned a lot of football,” Simons said.

Simons keeps in touch with all his former college teammates: “We have a reunion every 10 years for the Idaho State national championship team. Those relationships in sports, those

relationships and friendships you build based on your college experience, those are lifelong friends.”

After Simons’ playing days were over he planned to return to his high school and get a full-time job there, and also become the head football coach. After four years of being the offensive coordinator and assistant coach at Federal Way High School he figured out he made the wrong move.

Simons said, “After four years of high school coaching I went back to the college level at Humboldt State and was a graduate assistant.”

Simons coached the receivers as a graduate assistant for two years at Humboldt State. His big break came when Wayne State College in Nebraska offered him a full-time position as offensive coordinator. Simons was there for seven years.

“Everybody in Nebraska flies a Cornhusker flag on Saturdays. We would have sell outs at our stadium and half of the people watching our games had the radio up to their ear listening to the Cornhusker game. That was kind of tough but we were really good and we drew a lot of people,” Simons said. In 1993, Wayne State set a Division II record when it had a 3,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard running back.

Simons flew out to California a lot to recruit athletes from Northern and Southern California junior colleges. It was then that several coaches told Simons that the best coaching jobs are at the junior college level. “It took me a couple of years to find out that was correct.

I knew which programs in California were the good JC programs,” Simons said.

Dave Baldwin, the former head football coach at the SRJC, told Simons everything about the school and the football team. He applied and got the job to become the head coach of the SRJC football team.

Simons runs a spread offense that has the quarterback in the shotgun position, four wide receivers and a running back who also plays a

receiver. “Spread. No huddle. Throw the ball.

We are going to throw it first and run it second.

We want to stress the defense out with our formations and the speed at which we run the no huddle,” Simons said. It’s an offense that draws heavily from the BYU system. He took BYU’s system and put some of his own wrinkles in it and developed the philosophy with the no huddle.

Simons has had the same playbook for the last 22 years and says that this offense is great for his players: Our quarterbacks are very well schooled and it’s no surprise that most of quarterbacks scholarship out of here to programs that run the no huddle and spread offense.”

In his 15 years as the coach Simons has led the Bear Cubs to three championships, in 1997, 2001 and 2006. “Since 2004 we have played in the toughest conference in the country. So when you win a championship in the NorCal, which we were fortunate enough to do in 2006, that’s a great accomplishment because that is big time football,” Simons said.

“We are on a down cycle in Sonoma County. The last four or five years they haven’t been pumping out as many players as we got before that. So we have to go out of the state and out of the area to bring some guys in and that’s very difficult too because of the apartment cost and all that. This is a high place to live. It’s a challenge,” Simons said.

But that has not stopped universities from offering players scholarships. Simons listed three reasons why many of his players get scholarships: “Number one, our guys go to class. This is a great academic junior college.

Number two, our guys get coached. When they get recruited and looked at by the four year guys on film those guys are seeing guys that know what they are doing physically and mentally. Number three is the level of competition we play. It increases marketability because we are going against Division I guys.” Simons said. The team averages 20 players who receive scholarships.

Soccer

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for anybody to score on the Lady Bear Cubs this season. SRJC has shutout its opponents in eight of its last 11 games; including playoffs.

The Bear Cubs (17-0-5) will need that aggressive defense on Friday if they want to remain undefeated when they face the number 4 seed Cerritos (21-1-2) out of Southern California. Cerritos is known to have an aggressive offense and its stingy defense has only allowed 10 goals this season. The Eagles are coming off a huge victory against Southern California’s number 1 ranked Los Angeles Pierce College.

The Bear Cubs are ranked number 1 in California. They have won the Big 8 Conference title the last four years and are looking to win SRJC its first CCAA State-Championship title in school history. A win against Cerritos would advance SRJC into the Championship game against the winner of the San Bernardino Valley vs. Fresno game.

Photo courtesy SRJC

Keith Simons’ past accomplishments include setting a Division II state record.

Volleyball

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Wood said.

The fourth set the Lady Bear Cubs could not punch their ticket to state. Once again their receive serve was not going well and the Rams dominated the entire set. “After winning the first two in dominant fashion then getting destroyed in the third and fourth set, I tried to emphasize: let it go. Forget about it. It’s over. Brand new game. Game five,” Wood said.

The fifth set the Rams had all the momentum. They won the previous two sets easily, and it looked like the Lady Bear Cubs were crumbling under the pressure. However, the Lady Bear Cubs matched the Lady Rams intensity and they won the fifth set. “We got a good start.

We got some energy flowing through us again.

We pretty much were in control in the fifth set,” Wood said.

The Lady Bear Cubs’ road to the third round of NorCal was an easy one. They crushed Siskiyous in straight sets. Then the Lady Bear Cubs got the better of Foothill College.

This is the fourth straight year the Lady Bear Cubs have made the state final. Coach Wood has experience in coaching a team to the state final but is not sure if that will matter.

“Unfortunately only four of them were on last year’s team,” Woods said. “We don’t have a lot of experience but that could work in our favor.

We can go down there and not know what to expect and go after it. We are going to go and play aggressively as we can.”