The Oak Leaf, September 27

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The Furious Fans of SRJC sports Newspaper p. 4

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SRJC students embark on Italian adventure p. 2 Culinary construction cuts into business p. 6 Palestinian poet brings activism to SRJC p. 8

September 27, 2011 Volume CXXVII, Issue II

NEWS

2

September 27, 2011

Study Florence Staff Writer Dozens of SRJC students are mentally preparing for what some may call the experience of a lifetime: to study abroad in Florence, Italy for spring 2012.

“Students who participate in the program often describe it as an experience that changed their lives,” George Freund, SRJC instructor of Philosophy and Religious Studies said. “It broadens their minds and provides them with the skills to feel at home as citizens of the world.”

Instructors from Northern California community colleges will teach classes in English with an Italian emphasis. Freund estimates approximately 130 students will participate in the Florence Program, with about 45 from SRJC. He will be one of four instructors teaching in Florence, and previously taught in Florence in spring 2009. “It was an amazing experience for me to become immersed in Italian culture, history and ideas,” Freund said.

To be eligible for the program, students must be at least 18, have completed 12 units of college coursework, and have a cumulative 2.0 grade-point average at the end of the 2011 fall semester. Priority application submission is Oct. 7,

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Speaker stirs controversy

SRJC students travel to Italy for culture, classes and fine cuisine Grace Williamson

NEWS

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but applications will still be accepted until Nov. 3, if there is still availability.

Mary Sennello, an SRJC student with a passion for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, is taking part in the Spring 2012 Florence trip. “Florence was such a central part in the Renaissance and was an important city throughout early history,” Sennello Stock Image said. “I thought it would Students are readying to experience the elegance and ascetic sensibility that be an awesome opportu- marked the Renaissance. For more information visit: http://santarosa.edu/sa nity for me.”

Sennello took Italian I without his first priority, but was still able to ing lunch with or sitting on a train plans to go on this trip. “I continued experience Italy. “There are so many next to. Those little things make into Italian II because I was really restaurants, bars, clubs, museums, the study abroad experience what set on doing this program,” Sen- and libraries in Florence, I didn’t it is.” nello said. “I thought it would be a even see all of them with the three The hardest part about studylot of fun to go there; plus it’s Italy, months I was there,” Gilster said. ing abroad for most is the tranwhy wouldn’t I want to go?”

High points of his trip included: sition of returning home. For SRJC student Jared Gilster trav- seeing art, underage drinking, go- Gilster, re-entry to a house with eled to Florence in spring 2010 to ing to class drunk and eating Ital- parents after complete freedom escape Sonoma County and expe- ian food, he said. He also enjoyed and independence was the hardest rience something new. “I thought snowboarding in Switzerland and part. “I was glad to be home and living in a foreign country would be traveling to Greece, Barcelona, Am- I had a bigger appreciation for the the best way to do that,” Gilster said. sterdam and Venice. life I had at home, and my parents “My biggest surprise when I arrived “Take half the amount of clothes who made my study abroad expewas the amount of freedom I had. you are bringing and bring twice the rience possible.”

I wasn’t prepared for that and I just amount of money,” is Gilster’s best For more information, check wanted to have fun and experience advice to those planning on study- out the Study Abroad website: the culture, which was good, but my ing abroad. “You might get lonely http://santarosa.edu/sa grades suffered a lot.” or homesick. Find a close friend Gilster learned to keep school you don’t mind traveling with, eat-

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B. Robert Burdo Culinary Arts building well underway Domanique Crawford

Former UC regent who abolished affirmative action to speak at SRJC

Staff Writer

Parris Mazer Staff Writer A controversial guest speaker brought out many harsh feelings among faculty and members of the Arts and Lectures Committee in the past weeks. Twenty staff members from the social sciences, culinary arts, sociology, behavioral sciences and other departments filed an impassioned response against the committee’s proposal of allowing Prop 209 champion Ward Connerly to speak at SRJC. Prop 209 is a 15-year-old law that disbanded affirmative action in the University of California system.

Prior to the law, minorities such as African Americans, Latino, Native Americans and others were given special consideration when applying to UC schools. In 1995, before the law passed, twice as many African American, Latino and Native American students are enrolled in UC Berkeley as compared to 2003, seven years after Prop 209.

Connerly became a polarizing figure among many staff and minority rights groups after crafting a career as a lobbyist against affirmative action, or what some would call minority rights.

The Arts and Lectures committee originally wanted to allow Connerly to deliver his own lecture.

This was met with much outrage by both faculty and students. Brenda Flyswithhawks of the behavioral sciences department alluded to many groups upset and willing to protest the speech. Among them were the United Farm Workers, Aztec Dancers and the Students for Human Rights.

The main controversy within the committee was the role of Arts and Lectures and the people they present. Should they be published artists, and if so, how does a political lobbyist speaking unopposed fit in?

“Avoiding controversy is nonsense. The way people feel is not a suitable reason to prevent a discussion,” said English instructor Marco Giordano. “Suppose we brought in a Black Panther representative and police and sheriffs said their feelings were hurt. Controversy wouldn’t matter, feelings of people involved matter, but are not a reason to restrict free speech…the committee needs to make a point on principle.”

An alternative solution was proposed: a debate and question and answer session featuring Ward Connerly representing his position and Mills College’s Ajuan Mance taking the other side. Both will speak their own opinion and then participate in a moderated debate. Students will be able to ask questions.

The Arts and Lectures committee voted and approved on this debate compromise with only one dissenting vote. “(I have a) gut feeling that with so many people upset and the possibility of protests…there are too many unknowns…somebody else would have to be responsible with coordinating ..all the (possible) reporters, protests etc.” said Betsy Roberts.

The debate is scheduled for February 6th, 2012 during Black History Month.

Michelle Thach/Contributing Photographer

For the past two weeks the driveway has been closed due to construction blocking business parking lot.

Construction hurts small businesses Benjamin Brutus Gruey Layout Editor

While SRJC awaits a shiny new Culinary Arts Center, the local businesses 50 feet away across the parking lot suffer from a drastically reduced customer count.

Screamin’ Yogurt has less than half as many customers per day and the owner of Michelle’s Salon has made $37 in a day, significantly less than her average of $250.

The problems stem from the safety fencing around the construction site. While construction crews installed utilities last year and repaired trenching, the fence blocks off Mendocino Avenue access to both businesses. Construction trucks are often parked in the parking lot in the morning, the sidewalk is blocked off and two-by-fours with nails in them lay outside the construction zone, said Ryan Rasmussen, owner of Screamin’ Yogurt. “I can’t tell you how many nails I’ve pulled out of my tires.”

Rasmussen isn’t angry with the construction, just unhappy with how those in charge of the project have handled it. He is excited about the building for the students and knows it will help his business when it is finished, if his business can survive it. “At the end of the day, those guys [in charge of the project] are

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making fat bank. At the end of the day, I can’t pay my bills,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen chose to open his business next to SRJC. He attended the school for two semesters before transferring to CalPoly. “I want a community of harmony,” he said. “I want to be good neighbors, but [SRJC] needs to be a good neighbor back.”

Everyone passes the blame back and forth, from SRJC to the property manager and owner, Rasmussen said. “The only people it affects is us.

I don’t even advertise because I don’t want people to get discouraged because they can’t get in.”

Wright Construction created a sign directing traffic to side entrances on McConnell and Carr Avenues, but on Sept. 15 even that sign was obscured by the construction fence.

Last summer, the driveway from Mendocino Avenue was closed for six weeks, Screamin’ Yogurt’s busiest time of year. Rasmussen attended an informational meeting two years ago when the construction project started and was told the driveway would be closed for four to five days.

Michelle Thach, owner of Michelle’s Salon, said she has had no walk-in customers. She used to make between $200 and $300 a day.

On Sept. 14, she made $37. With a rent of more than $1500, she can’t afford to pay her bills. She talked to SRJC Dean of Facilities Plan-

ning and Operations Tony Ichsan, but did not receive compensation.

She went to the property manager asking for reimbursement and received an email saying the owner has spent $4,000 in legal fees seeking compensation from SRJC but was unsuccessful.

Jim Kallinger, property manager of Screamin’ Yogurt and Michelle’s Salon, fowarded questions to the property owner, who did not respond to The Oak Leaf.

Ichsan confirmed the claim and said SRJC’s lawyer decided the college was not legally liable to compensate the business owners.

Ichsan said SRJC is not involved with the lease between the building owner and property owner and thus is not responsible for compensating them for construction impacts. Also, the construction did not block all access, only the access on Mendocino Avenue, and therefore SRJC is not liable.

Despite no requirements for notice, “We made every effort to have meetings and notify the tenents” of both closures, Ichsan said. The college provided a police cadet for the duration of the closure of the Mendocino entrance to make sure customer parking is free of construction vehicles. The Mendocino entrance will be open on Oct. 3, Ichsan said.

A social atmosphere, job experience and a healthy menu are a few of the many features the new B. Robert Burdo Culinary Arts Center will offer. The center, originally scheduled to be open this December, is now set to open in January 2012.

The need for the new center is fueled by the growth of culinary programs at SRJC and the fact that food and wine are two of the largest industries in Sonoma County.

The goal of the culinary arts building is to support students in achieving their goal of becoming successful in the culinary arts field.

It is set up as a learning center.

With the new building, the culinary arts department will be able to offer more classes for Le Cordon Bleu and more certificate programs.

“We are all tremendously excited to make the move into the beautiful new facility and look forward to being back on campus serving as many students as possible,” said Michael Salinger culinary arts department chair.

The building is named after B. Robert Burdo, a member of SRJC’s Board of Trustees. Burdo has served on the board for more than

25 years, holding positions such as the board clerk, vice president and board president on four different occasions.

The new building offers a multitude of benefits to JC students: more space for incoming culinary art students, four state-of-the-art teaching kitchens, a demonstration kitchen with full multimedia capabilities, more storage space and easier access to the rest of the campus.

“It looks beautiful and it seems like it will be used well,” said Elizabeth Macdonald, SRJC student.

The center, located across from the Santa Rosa campus at 1670 N. Mendocino Ave., is a 22,000 squarefoot, two-story building. The first floor will include classrooms, a teaching kitchens, a student lobby and receiving area, a bakery and café and a café kitchen.

The second floor adds an additional classroom, a teaching kitchen, faculty offices, building mechanicals and a deck. The grounds will include a parking lot for public café customers and an outdoor barbecue and patio area.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer our students a brand new stateof-the-art facility that will prepare them for their careers in the culinary and hospitality world,” said Betsy Fischer, SRJC faculty member.

Burdo Culinary Arts Center:

A $20 million project from March 2010 to January 2012.

In August 2010 a man handed out fliers falsely claiming Congrove Corporation was under fed-

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SPORTS

4

Polar Bears stomp: Spencer Harris

September 27, 2011

Sports spectators create an unforgettable experience for anyone interested in exciting SRJC athletics

Co-editor-in-chief The boisterous Polar Bear fans packed into Snoopy’s Home Ice for the opening game of the hockey season against the UC Berkeley Golden Bears. With not a single seat empty, the standing room reached all the way around to the players’ bench. Fans cheered wildly as the game started and energy ran high the entire game.

Cal-State came onto the rink first and was immediately drenched in boos.

Throughout the game, SRJC fans screamed for their team and ridiculed Berkeley every chance they got. “Hey number 19! The streetlights are on, does your mother know you’re out?” screamed one heckler. Another antagonist shouted, “Yo, goalie! Does your glove have a hole in it or do you just suck?”

At almost every stop in play the audience would erupt with, “Hit him in the mouth!” Two minutes into the second period, two players wailed away on the ground as the refs slowly approached while the crowd howled with glee. With every Polar Bear goal scored a monstrous roar arose from the crowd with fans flailing their arms and jumping in excitement. Players constantly checked each other into the glass boards, dislodging hooks holding in place a feeble plastic net protecting the audience.

The hockey club, known as the Polar Bears rather than the Bear Cubs, the official SRJC mascot, pulverized the Golden Bears on Sept. 16 scoring six goals in the first period alone.

They finished the game tallying 11-1.

The impressive combination of Adam Johnson, who scored four goals, and Cam Davis, who scored twice, proved to be lethal.

This is an average night at an SRJC hockey game or at any sporting event the Bear Cubs host. Whether you are a gridiron junky, a soccer hooligan or a baseball lifer, the Bear Cubs’ athletic

Mischa Lopiano/Oak Leaf

UC Berkeley’s Golden Bears’ goalie spent most of the game on his knees struggling to stop the slap shots from the ceaseless SRJC Polar Bears.

department has something to offer.

SRJC won a statewide general excellence athletic award for the 201011 season for the all around success achieved by the Bear Cubs. The women’s basketball team won a state title and both swim teams took third overall in the state.

The Polar Bears played back-toback games on Sept. 23-24 against the defending American Collegiate Hockey Association champions College of the Canyons and Cal-State

Northridge. The squad lost the first game to the defending champs 7-4, but pulled out an impressive win over the highly ranked Northridge 10-7.

Fans across Sonoma County would be hard-pressed to find a higher quality source for sports other than SRJC. The Sonoma State Seawolves have experienced recent success in various sports, however, the student and fan support is almost non-existent.

An average Seawolves’ sporting

Bear Cubs defense crippled

by Bear Cub fans is incomparable.

SRJC students and fans embrace the Bear Cubs tradition of supporting the community’s local athletes while appreciating the college environment.

“I’ve been to both SSU and JC games and JC fans are always crazy fun,” SRJC student James Cope said.

College athletics has always been about creating a thrilling atmosphere along with school pride, which can be enjoyed by fans of all ages and SRJC provides nothing less.

SPORTS

Keshia Knight

Social Media Editor

Staff Writer

Mischa Lopiano/Oak Leaf

SRJC cross country coach Jerry Noble has one goal this year: get the Bear Cubs to the state championships.

Stepping into his first season as head coach, Noble is determined to get the team’s overall numbers up from the last season. In 2010, none of the cross country runners competed in the state tournament.

Overall, the men’s team finished third and women’s team placed last in the Big 8 conference meet.

To help the team compete at the next level, Noble is coaching his runners to work hard and strive for overall consistency in their training. Both teams’ coaches have begun to individualize each runner’s program, hoping that their num-

Mike Tuaua sustained a fractured fibula in a game against Siskiyous.

Spencer Harris

The next best finisher among SRJC teams was the Co-editor-in-chief women’s soccer team with the Lady Bear Cubs winning For SRJC, the 2010-11 year a fourth consecutive conferwas one to remember. Bear ence title and reaching the Cubs athletics earned second state championship game. The place in a statewide overall genchampionship game against eral excellence athletic award.

San Bernardino Valley College “This award typifies the was the only loss the women’s excellence our athletic departteam suffered last season. ment possesses. It recognizes The men’s soccer team the effort put in from all our had a solid season capturing players, coaches and everyone the Big 8 conference title and involved,” said Jim Forkum, reaching the state quarterfiSRJC’s head athletic director. nals.

Mt. San Antonio College In volleyball, the women edged out SRJC for the general reached the state title match, excellence athletic award for but lost a close-deciding game 2010-11, given by the National to L.A. Pierce College, finishAlliance of Two-Year College ing as the state runner-up.

Athletic Administrators.

Also boosting SRJC’s California colleges receive overall athletic rating with points based on how teams fintwo, third-place state finishes ish in conference play. The top was the men’s and women’s five men’s and women’s teams swimming teams, as the men are rated for the award. achieved their third conferRounding out the top five ence title in the past four years. were Fresno City College, Sier The men’s golf team finra College and American River ished third overall at the NorCollege. Both Sierra and AmerCal championships and fifth ican River compete in the Big 8 overall at the state finals. conference with SRJC, indicat The women’s water polo ing the conference’s strength team also made a state water across the range of sports.

Photos by Mischa Lopiano, TJ Verdier and Jayne Kamin-Oncea polo quarterfinals appearance, “From top to bottom the Big SRJC Bear Cubs placed second in the overall general excellence award and are hungry for more this semester. With earning third overall in North8 conference is considered the a strong set of determined teams, the Bear Cubs are preparing themselves for another season of athletic excellence. ern California. best in the state,” Forkum said. en’s team beat the City College of ing scorer Janis Peterson averaging Greco earned all-state honors “There is a strong commitment Leading the SRJC effort was San Francisco Rams 52-45 in a de22 points per game, however, the with her performance and has since from the administration and board Mia Greco and the state title winfensive battle.

The Rams averaged Lady Bear Cubs’ stifling defense was been recruited by St. Mary’s Univerof trustees and the award is a great ning women’s basketball team. In 78 points per game with their leadtoo overpowering. sity, a Division I school. testimony to that,” Forkum said. the state championship, the wom-

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replacing Shull and Tuaua, Simons said, “That’s why you have second and third teams so, back-ups can go in and play and we need guys to step up.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Bear Cubs are led by center and team captain Cameron Matusik, a 6 foot, 2-inch, 280-pound sophomore from Flint, Mich. Sophomore run-

ning back Orion Kamins has experienced success in the red zone scoring a touchdown against Siskiyous and Shasta from two yards out while Ronald Burt and Sandro Jean-Baptist look to continue to contribute from the backfield. The Bear Cubs running backs are an asset to the offense because they play as a group.

“They work hard as a group and so because of it I think it will help us all persevere, by them doing their job and pushing one another which they do everyday in practice makes them all better.” running backs coach Jerald Demery said.

The next home game will be at 1 p.m. on Oct. 1 against Diablo Valley.

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defense struggled without Shull and Tuaua, as back-ups had difficulty playing to their opponent’s level.

“Back-ups are going to have to step up and play, and that kind of hurt us in our first game because the guys that went in for our guys who got hurt did not do a very good job,” Simons said.

When asked about prospects for

bers will improve with time.

“My philosophy is to have lots of numbers; with numbers comes talent,” Noble said.

For Noble, the cross country team as a whole is on the brink of being a team to watch out for in Northern California. The men’s team has some work cut out for them competing against American River College, the top ranked team in the state. The women’s team has a chance to be conference champions.

While it might take some time for the cross country team to reach its full potential, returning runners Elijah Stephenson and Maggie Garza, along with new players, are continuing their tradition of working as a team.

“SRJC is one of the best teams I have ever coached as far as chemistry. Both teams are really closeknit,” Noble said.

5

SRJC receives second in California athletic award

New coach for cross country

Alex Campbell

SRJC football players will have to step up and play at a higher level for the remaining schedule, or winning games could prove elusive this season. Bear Cubs defensive leaders Austin Shull and Mike Tuaua suffered season-ending injuries in the first game of the year against College of the Siskiyous on Sept. 10.

“I doubt that there are too many teams in the state that lost their two best defensive players in the first quarter of their first game,” head coach Keith Simons said.

Tuaua, a 6-foot, 3-inch, 255-pound freshman defensive lineman from Rancho Cotati High School has a fractured fibula while Shull sustained a knee injury. The loss of Shull will be particularly challenging because he is one of two team captains for the defense, the other being sophomore linebacker Jack Goodwin.

In the game against Siskiyous the

event consists of scattered cheers and a dispirited fan base. Most of the fans who show up to express their support are parents or family members of the players and do not bring much excitement to the crowd. There are no signs symbolizing team pride, no one with ridiculously painted faces and no exuberant heckling. Not an exhilarating experience.

Whether people attend an SRJC football game, water polo match or a swim meet the environment provided

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ARTS &ENTERTAINMENT

6

September 27, 2011

Rise against the dying of the light

Poetry and politics at SRJC Keshia Knight

Social Media Editor As Therese Mughannam-Walrath passed out fliers for a night of spoken word with Remi Kanazi, a woman stopped and asked, “Spoken word? What is that? Is it like telling the truth out loud?” For Mughannam-Walrath, that was the perfect description of the lyrical, impassioned words that awaited listeners at the North Coast Coalition for Palestine Support event featuring the spoken word artist.

About 40 members and friends of the Coalition gathered on Sept.

17 in SRJC’s Newman Auditorium

to hear Kanazi, as well as local poet and activist Rebel Fagin, speak about the injustices they have witnessed and voice it through spoken word.

Performing an array of poems from his book “Poetic Injustice,” Kanazi recited each emotionally drenched word with more “passionate, not angered” conviction than the last. The candor with which he spoke in such poems as “Religious Harmony” and “Like Ghandi, Like Martin,” was both informative and entertaining.

For Kanazi, spoken word is a useful tool to engage the masses: a less boring outlet for his activism.

Michelle Thach/Contributing Photographer

Palestinian Poet Remi Kanazi captivates audience members at SRJC’s Newman Auditorium with his powerful spoken word political poetry.

“A lot of people are turned off by the normal op-ed or news report and if you can really connect to them on a real level, if it appeals to people just like me, then I think it’s a very good way to get the message across,” Kanazi said.

Drawing on inspiration from the early days of hip-hop when the words reflected reality and thoughts were not pre-packaged, Kanazi developed an appreciation for the “truthfulness” of his art by attending a Def Poetry Jam on Broadway.

“I saw so many people from different backgrounds just delve into social politics and justice and talk about so many issues,” Kanazi reflected. “I just remember going home with my brother and sister and being like, ‘I want to do that.

I want to go back to people and transform their minds and really get at them.’”

At Saturday night’s event, it was clear he chose the right path.

Kanazi had the audience captivated as he talked about not only the injustice and oppression of the Palestinian people, but of the same plight suffered worldwide. The audience connected with the story of Kanazi’s Grandmother in the poem “Haifa,” and so knowingly nodded their heads as he recited the line, “We are the future. That’s not a campaign slogan but a lifestyle” in the poem “Revolution.”

For the North Coast Coalition for Palestine Support, having Kanazi talk was a perfect event to inform the community about the continuing oppression of Palestine and get people inspired to act.

“If we can inspire and inform, people’s eyes will open and they will have that epiphany and will get active,” Mughannam-Walrath said. “And it doesn’t have to be Palestine; it could be immigration, police brutality, or the homeless, or whatever cause they feel drawn to. As long as we’re really working to make our world, beginning with our own backyard, a better place.

That’s what it’s about.”

Big Love seeks brave audiences at SRJC Chardé Wydermyer Staff Writer Leslie McCauley, chair of the Theatre Arts Department, giggles as she walks back to her seat, while the cast quickly prepares for its third line up of the night. Rehearsal started approximately 10 minutes ago.

“Let’s try that one more time,” McCauley calls as she cues the music to run through the first scene in Big Love, a play by Charles L. Mee, that opens Oct. 7.

McCauley has been involved in SRJC theater since 1994. When she was 8 years old, her father enrolled her in a summer program so that she could overcome her shyness.

There, she developed an incredible love for theater.

“There is nothing like being in a dark theater with hundreds of people when an actor has a simple, deep, heartfelt moment that resonates with everyone there,” McCauley said. “For that one, brief

moment, I feel connected to all of humanity.”

Big Love is about 50 sisters engaged to their 50 cousins. Their father gave them away before they were born, and now the young men have come to claim their property.

The women want nothing to do with them, so they take a boat to Italy and plan to hide there, but trouble arrives when the men come to get what they think is rightfully theirs.

Either the women will have a say in love or the men will force them into marriages this battle of the sexes unfolds “The play tosses around ideas about love, life, relationships, and even our notions of justice,” McCauley said. “Big Love” is recommended for ages 18 and above as it contains

nudity and strong language. The play runs at 8 p.m. on Oct. 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15; and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 8, 9, 15 and 16. General admission is $15; seniors 62 and older $12; students with a valid ID $12 and youth 12 and under $10.

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

www.theoakleafnews.com

Isabel Johnson Opinion Editor

My dad killed himself when I was 15. He drove himself to the beach outside a small town in Southern Oregon and shot himself, becoming the most interesting piece of news the town had seen in years. It’s been eight years, and I’m still angry, confused, guilty and incredibly sad.

My life doesn’t revolve around my father’s bad choices, but I’ll never “get over” losing him like that. Sometimes I cry when I hear Frank Sinatra, because all I can think about is riding in Dad’s car, singing along with him.

I can’t walk around a bookstore without remembering countless sessions of begging for just one more book to add to my collection.

I’m getting married. When my brother walks me down the aisle, I’ll be happy to have him there, but it should be my father giving me away. It’s easy for people who haven’t experienced a suicide in their immediate family to say, “call the hotline, watch for signs.”

Afterwards, we have to remember there was nothing we could have done; above all else, we can’t blame ourselves.

Does anyone else see the contradiction?

There were plenty of the signs listed on suicide prevention pamphlets. My dad certainly wasn’t behaving like what a psychiatrist would describe as healthy. But his symptoms could match plenty of other problems. Was I supposed to notice my dad saying goodbye in indirect ways every time I saw him? A dad giving his daughter advice is considered pretty normal, but in retrospect, the series of emails warning me against making the same mistakes as him seem like a pretty obvious farewell. Should I have noticed?

Any therapist would be reassuring me at this point, “You were just a child.” But that doesn’t make the guilt go away. I’ve come to terms with the fact that my dad is gone. No spur-of-the-moment road trips to the Grand Canyon, no watching chick flicks while eating bad pizza, no taping episodes of “Ally McBeal” and pretending it’s just so he can mock it (secretly, he loved that show). On the rare occasion somebody uses the “shave-and-ahaircut” knock on my door, it isn’t him. I’ve stopped expecting to see his truck when I hear a diesel engine pull up outside my house.

Suicide is a terrible thing. The idea of wanting to cut your own life short is contrary

to the most basic of human characteristics.

We want to live, and fight, and love and leave something of ourselves behind to be remembered by. Dylan Thomas said it best, “Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rage at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

If you’re considering suicide, find someplace you feel safe expressing why. Talk to a friend, a therapist or an operator for a hotline. Throw things, scream at life, write dark poetry and listen to loud music. Do anything you can to express your feelings without hurting yourself. Death is final, and the only way to guarantee that life won’t get better is to end it. There is always hope, and people willing to help you. Make a list of everything you love to do, and all the things you want to do.

Make an appointment with Student Health Services can be made by calling (707) 527-4445 for the Santa Rosa Campus or (707) 778-3919 for the Petaluma Campus.

They provide individual and group therapy.

Call (800) 273-8255 for the Sonoma County Health suicide prevention hotline.

Do any or all of these things, just don’t give up.

Student on the street Mischa Lopiano/Oak Leaf

The Time Travel Gallery can change your perception of photography.

Art speaks beyond borders Ken Kutska Staff Writer

During the next month you will be able to walk into a sea of photos and let them tell you a story.

The SRJC Art Gallery opened the Time-Travel Gallery, on Sept.

22, an exhibition of SRJC Art Professor Renata Breth’s photography, that will run until Oct. 22. The exhibit consists of pieces ranging from single images to strings of photos shot over various periods of time.

The exhibit has nothing to do with traveling through time, but is shown in a way that allows viewers’ minds to change and transform, exposing them to a different reality of what photography means.

Several of the photos are abstract, from mechanical construction cranes building enormous skyscrapers to planes on the tarmac.

Breth, who’s worked at SRJC since 1984, earned her MFA in filmmaking and photography from the Art Institute of Chicago. Breth views photography in a way that allows viewers to create their own descriptions of photos.

She has traveled all across the world shooting photos in Russia and the United Arab Emirates among other countries.

The exhibit is made up of four main series: Zulu-Zeit, TimePieces, Change Blindness and Formerly Monumental.

“Zulu-Zeit” shows various airports around the world with photos of massive aircraft taking flight and landing, travelers in airport lounges or on the concourse and airplanes presented as buildings in architectural landscapes. On the opposite wall

a series of photos titled “TimePieces” includes pictures of construction cranes and equipment used to show power and change.

This series has few, if any, people in them. Breth found when a crane was used outside a church, the crane made the church look miniscule.

Toward the back of the exhibit, “Change Blindness,” creates a series of visual phenomenons and exposes the mind’s inability to notice changes in the environment through a string of photos taken of the same thing. Breth wants her viewers to notice more of what’s going on and how often people can be blind to certain things.

The last series, “Formerly Monumental,” is a string of photos shot all across Russia that shows the relationship with the former Soviet Union and the country today. The photos are set on a line of red paint, making them stand out.

Breth thinks every photo has a symbolic meaning and story behind it, whether it’s a photo of a statue of Lenin with a cell phone or a picture of a construction crane. “I can’t say that I have one favorite because I sort of see them connected and they are all sort of intertwined,” Breth said.

She believes photography is always showing us new and interesting worlds, even though viewers many not understand the images all the time. “Only fiction, never truth,” Breth said. She takes her photos without even looking through the camera; she uses the scene in front of her to take the picture. Breth rarely uses a digital camera; almost all of her work is done with film.

Most of the time Breth doesn’t even know what she’s going to get from a photo. “I do react, [there’s] spontaneity wherever I am,” Breth said.

If you were the next SRJC President, what would you want to change?

Jesse Tamayo

Cody Abercrombie

Kellye McKee

“Parking. Something needs to be done about that. Maybe implementing some type of plan to offer priority parking.”

“Try to get a pool open for all students, offer open swim hours.”

“I would create a new gymnasium. It looks a little old and run down compared to the library and cafeteria.”

Editorial

Students smart enough to deal with controversy

The Arts and Lectures Committee considered bringing Ward Connerly to speak on his own at SRJC. Connerly, a former UC regent, is a controversial figure because he helped abolish affirmative action in California universities in 1996 as the key figure behind Proposition 209. Added to the controversy is Connerly’s own racial background, a mix of African American, Caucasian and Choctaw.

But this is not about Ward Connerly.

There are members of the faculty who feel that Connerly should not be given the opportunity to speak on campus. There have been threats of protest and questions about the purpose of the Arts and Lectures Committee.

But this is not about upset teachers.

SRJC has a responsibility to see to the health and well being of its students while they are on campus. The school also has an obligation to teach us students how to make decisions and evaluate information. This obligation does not extend to “protecting” us from political positions that members of staff and faculty may EDITORS Editors-in-Chief: Spencer Harris and Michael Shufro oakleaf-editor@santarosa.edu A&E Editor: Isabel Johnson Features Editor: Michael Shufro Multi-Media Editor: Noah Diamond News Editor: David Anderson Opinion Editor: Isabel Johnson Sports Editor: Spencer Harris Social Media Editor: Keshia Knight Copy Editor: Isabel Johnson Photo Editor: Mischa Lopiano Layout Editor: Brutus Gruey Web Editor: Quinn Conklin Advertising Manager: Brutus Gruey oakleaf-ads@santaro1sa.edu

find abhorrent.

If they have done their job, if they have taught students how to use their minds, then we should be trusted to discern for ourselves whether or not a speaker’s views are valid. By sheltering us from controversy they do students a disservice.

The Arts and Lectures committee agreed on a compromise: Connerly will speak Feb. 6, but alongside a Mills College professor who will provide an opposing viewpoint, a watered down solution. The committee should not have bowed to the threats of protest, but welcomed them.

Hearing a controversial speaker like Connerly is a perfect opportunity for students to make up their own minds while also offering classrooms a context for discussion. The job of the college is to educate us and make us people who are qualified to participate in the American democratic process.

This process is filled with contention and controversy. Shielding us from political dis-

CONTACT THE OAKLEAF Address: 645B Analy Village Santa Rosa Junior College 1501 Mendocino Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Newsroom: (707) 527-4401 Editor Line: (707) 527-4401 Adviser, Anne Belden: (707) 527-4867 abelden@santarosa.edu STAFF WRITERS Alex Campbell, Domanique Crawford, Sean Dougherty, Ken Kutska, Grace Williamson, Chardé Wydermyer, Parris Mazer

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 seven 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.

Visit us on the web at: www.theoakleafnews.com

putes does not grow good citizens.

Shielding us from controversial views means SRJC is controlling the ideas to which we are exposed. This validates a tactic that has become all too common in American politics, the controlling of opinions by controlling the information that is made available. This is what Orwell warned us about in the novel “1984”.

To best prepare SRJC students for the conflict and dispute that comes with democracy, we need to be exposed to it. For us to be exposed, the college must be brave enough to play host to demonstrations and protests. The Arts and Lectures Committee must be willing to bring provocative figure to campus, without a politically correct counterpoint by another speaker.

And that is what this is about: having courage. The courage to expose us to the fires of political discourse. To be brave enough to say, bring on your protests. Have the nerve to challenge us to think.

The SRJC

Oak

leaf

Newspaper

7 Quinn Conklin Web Editor

This is not what we signed up for Between the changes at Facebook, the division of Netflix and the release of Star Wars on Blu-Ray we are seeing a number of unasked for changes in the brands we use and love. Whenever we put in the DVD or log on to the web site and see things have changed, we feel betrayed.

Facebook In the last month Facebook has rolled out a number of changes: a new ticker, smart lists and subscriptions. These features provide new ways for users to manage their streams and target updates they want to see. However, every time Facebook makes any kind of change everyone shares their opinion and they all hate it. But they keep using it.

As users it’s easy to resent these changes.

For many people, Facebook feels like our home on the internet; when it changes it’s like coming home and finding the furniture rearranged.

But Facebook is not home. It is at best a guesthouse in someone else’s home and at worst a cage in a hen house. We do not pay for Facebook with money, but by allowing them to show us ads. Like a chicken farmer they put out the seed, the site, and take our eggs, the clicks.

In the end, it is their farm and they can make the changes they want.

Netflix On Sept. 1, Netflix made the first change in what appears to be an ongoing series of changes. The company has raised the price of its DVD and streaming business by about 60 percent. Now Netflix charges separately for the two services and the streaming business was split off and rebranded as Quickster.

Netflix knew this would not be a popular decision. Subscribers were notified of the changes through an apology email from CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings.

“I messed up. I owe you an explanation. It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes,” Hasting wrote in the beginning of the announcement.

He further explained the split would give Netflix a competitive edge in the streaming market so it would not end up like AOL or Borders.

Now a company has to be flexible to survive, but it must not drastically change its product so that it alienates the customer base.

Star Wars George Lucas has released a Blu-Ray collection of all six movies, a move that should have fans rejoicing. However, Lucas decided once again to “enhance” the movies. He rerecorded dialogue, replaced puppet Yoda with CGI and added digital effects to the Ewoks.

In other words: a new way for Lucas to make more money.

Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon. For many it is a landmark in their childhood, a loved and treasured memory. While the movies started as Lucas’s creation, they now have a life of their own that lives in the hearts of fans who want to revisit it the way they remember.

In three situations, profit-motivated companies have made changes without showing respect to consumers. Some are more warranted then others; Facebook is doing the thing it deems is necessary to keep people coming to its site. Others are not; Lucas is tampering with memories while he stagnates, stuck on perfecting an old idea.

Whether warranted or not, these changes have left consumers feeling disrespected. How much more will we take before we take our dollars elsewhere?

FEATURES

8

September 27, 2011

Poetry floods Downtown Petaluma streets Michael Shufro

Co-editor-in-chief As dusk falls on the corner of 2nd and H Street, the last of the poets, muses and local literati settle inside Aqus Café to soak in the last of the 16th annual Petaluma Poetry Walk.

Avotcja, a middle-aged poet, wails a soul full of words into the microphone on stage, her arm stretched out toward the crowd as if the spirit of her poem had traveled up through her body, then out her fingertips and into the audience.

Poised and quiet, Shirley Kazuyu Muramoto, seated beside Avotcja, plays the delta blues on her koto, a Japanese harp with 13 strings and a 6-foot-long body built from kiri wood. Muramoto pushes down on one string, and pulls another taut; then strikes a swift series of melodic notes, elegant and sudden.

Both performers, internationally renowned for their unique artistry, show an arresting contrast to the standard experience of art and entertainment today. But tonight they are only one of dozens showcasing the power of rhythm, rhyme and the extraordinary range of the human voice.

Sprawling more than 10 blocks of Petaluma’s historical downtown district, the Walk spanned a full 10 hours of free events, starting at 11 a.m. Sept.

18 in the Petaluma Art Center, and switching locations every hour.

Performance venues included Copperfield’s Books, the Phoenix Theatre, Pelican Art Gallery and three

cafés, with readings and contributions from nationally renowned poets such as Jane Hirshfield and Gerald Fleming, to San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland based writers, Sonoma County Poet Laureates and multiple SRJC faculty and staff.

Of those representing SRJC’s community and culture of poetry, SRJC Counseling Instructor Donna Emerson read aloud from her new book, “Wild Mercy,” to a crowd of 40 outside Jungle Vibes Café; SRJC English Instructor and Sonoma County’s third Poet Laureate Terry Ehret hosted and introduced three poets at the Petaluma Art Center; and SRJC Librarian Karen Petersen volunteered her time, as she has for years, with the Walk’s setup and promotion.

Each year Ehret invites her students to join in the Walk and offers SRJC attendees extra-credit plus a free copy of “Lost Body,” her first book of poems. For many students the Walk is their first introduction to poetry, Ehret says, and opens up an entirely new for them to explore.

“There are always some students who are drawn to poetry and find an emotional home there, but most get very nervous,” Ehret says. “Their poems start to sweat and they look for an exit route, but as they begin thinking through images, they calm down a bit and can move around in the poems and often find their own way to the meaning.”

As a counseling instructor and practicing psychotherapist, Emerson encounters life’s heavier burdens carried by hundreds of students on

a daily basis. Due to poverty many SRJC students struggle to simply get by, Emerson says, sleeping in their cars and living out of vans parked in abandoned lots.

“People tend to go home and not read poems, they read novels,” Emerson says. “But when they get in trouble they read poetry.”

She often presents poems in her classes to show students how powerful and effective plain language can be when used to talk about issues of a painful or complex nature. When a former client lost a child to sudden infant death syndrome, Emerson wrote a poem to illuminate her role as the counselor in the situation and better understand the best approach toward healing.

This year’s poeticized stories included everything from the love poems of dragon hunters to slam poems about Christ and American Indians.

Under the house lights above the bare, black stage of the Phoenix Theatre, A.D. Winans, a beat poet and old friend of famed beat Bob Kaufman, rolls his voice in long incantations as if to awaken the haunted spirits of dead poets with his séance of words.

His whole voice and body tighten around the microphone as he wheezes out in dreamlike prophecy, “Un-

til every newborn is encircled in a poem,” then softens in silence before igniting his next line.

Several of Winan’s listeners sit with their faces pointed to the floor and eyes closed contemplating each word; some intently watch him read down the page of his book, as others shuffling in their seats scratch their beards, cock their eyebrows and wrinkle their foreheads.

Other performers approached their audiences with a slant of humor like poet and playwright Marvin R. Himestra who yelped and crooned behind a frog mask while reciting a poem titled ìThree Poet Frogs about to Croak.î Geri Digiorno, founder of the Petaluma Poetry Walk and Sonoma County’s fourth Poet Laureate, says the event came to life after a friend from out of town had visited and recommended Petaluma as the perfect place to celebrate poetry. Digiorno followed the idea and started inquiring with local businesses and calling upon prominent poets like Diane di Prima and Dorian Locke for support. “And the event has been a huge success, all 16 years,” Digiorno says.

Sonoma County’s current Poet Laureate Gwynn O’Gara and her Lau-

For poems, pictures and more about Sonoma County’s Poets visit www.theoakleafnews.com

reate predecessor Mike Tuggle shared the patio stage with Digiorno in the early afternoon at the Apple Box at the Mill.

O’Gara says the poet’s role today is the role of the dreamer, musician and truth teller, the polisher of thought, the one who can praise when everyone else is despairing and sometimes the leader in the chorus of grief.

And in Sonoma County, O’Gara and her colleagues are discovering poets who inherit these roles everyday.

“What’s unique about this area is how supportive literary members of the community are and how minimal the competition is,” Ehret says.

“What’s front and center is the way we celebrate and support each other.”

Apart from the Petaluma Poetry Walk, Ehret notes the slew of local opportunities for writers to come together: open mics, poetry slams, literary speaker series, the Sonoma County’s Book Festival and WordTemple, a radio show series about poetry on KRCB FM. For those interested in learning more, Ehret encourages exploring her community website, Sonoma County Literary Update, a calendar and archive of local events, writers and all things literary at www. literaryfolk.wordpress.com.

As her set comes to an end, Avotcja, who’s traveled and performed with artists from California, New York, Cuba and Peru, stands up smiling as the crowd applauds. “This is the only place I know of where the whole town turns into poetry once a year,” she says. “It’s truly amazing.”

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