The Oak Leaf Magazine Spring 2024

Saving the Planetarium

Second chanceS

Starting anew at SRJC

Student WorkerS

Hana Seals

editorS

Lucas Cadigan-Carranza

Michael Combs

Rosemary Cromwell

Bryan Fructuoso-Zurita

Sam Guzman

Max Millan

Hana Seals

Nicholas Vides

reporterS

Yna Bollock

Juan Botello-Martinez

Erina Corl

Natalie Emanuele

Jaime Jauregui

Oliver Knidt

Amy Moore

Sal Sandoval-Garduno

Sean Shanks

Parker Stagnoli

ta/advertiSing

Mark Fernquest

adviSer

Anne Belden

deSign Support

Rosemary Cromwell

letter From the editorS

We’reecstatic to bring you a diverse collection of stories in the spring 2024 issue of The Oak Leaf Magazine. From showcasing Santa Rosa Junior College campus perks, shining a light on the resilience of formerly incarcerated students on their road to success and spotlighting students’ fight for fair pay, this edition highlights the best our SRJC community has to offer.

As journalists, it is our responsibility to report truthfully on the events that unfold in our community and beyond. We extend our solidarity to journalists worldwide, including those who risk their lives to expose injustices, and to student journalists who cover college protests.

With an ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, mass devastation in Gaza and the political circus of our oncoming presidential election, it's easy to get lost in the gloom of everyday news. However, hidden behind the door of Room 106 in Garcia Hall, SRJC journalists discuss their passions, share ideas and form bonds. While beautifully different, all of us have one thing in common: our dedication to the truth.

This semester concludes our run as co-editors-in-chief. We hope our impact is one of compassion and perseverance.

Peace and love, Hana Seals and Bryan Fructuoso-Zurita

dedication

This magazine is dedicated to the Oak Leaf's class dog of 15 years, Jetta Belden who took her last breath March 12 after blowing past all life expectancies for both heart and kidney failure. She actually beat heart failure (her heart shrunk) and enjoyed a relatively healthy bonus year in 2023.

She loved “going to work” with adviser Anne Belden and would sit by the front door on Tuesdays and Thursdays to make sure she didn’t forget her.

She spent many a late night and several overnights in newspaper and magazine production, serving as the Oak Leaf’s defacto emotional support dog. One newspaper production was delayed by at least an hour because the editor refused to put a sleeping Jetta down; instead, he designed pages with one hand. Ever since 2009, hundreds of Oak Leafers have showered her with love, attention and belly rubs.

Though small in size, she had the heart of a warrior, and she would likely boast that she defended generations of Oak Leafers from squirrels and wild turkeys and made sure the mice and rats stayed in the walls and ceiling of the old portable.

As her health declined, at least two years of newsroom staffs have helped care for her. Many Oak Leafers kissed her goodbye on her final day. She died peacefully surrounded by family, her bigger, younger sister Koya, and Mowgli, the cat she raised from a kitten. The entire Oak Leaf newsroom mourns the loss of our dog, and we dedicate this magazine to her memory.

Students Battle for Living Wages

By Amy Moore

The irony was not lost on Santa Rosa Junior College student-employee Alonso Rodríguez Villalobos that he had to quit his job as a student success coach — a job he loved — because the pay was too low.

His job duties included providing individual students with support — tips on time management and study skills — as well as giving speeches and leading workshops on topics like self-care and finishing the semester strong. And he connected students to resources, like financial aid, free food kiosks and counseling. He learned new skills like public speaking, teaching and coaching in the process of supporting other students.

“I really didn’t want to quit my job,” Villalobos said. He could barely afford the gas to get to work and school, and he could earn much more working for an off-campus employer.

So Villalobos did what a half-dozen student-employees in his department, and several dozens more campus-wide, would do over time: he quit.

Working as a student-employee in spring 2023, Villalobos earned $15 to $16 an hour.

SRJC student-employees earn an hourly wage according to a schedule set by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which contracts with the college. As of Aug. 10, 2023, according to SRJC Human Resources, student-employees initially earn $16.50 an hour.

After completing 200 hours of work, they are eligible for an evaluation and potential pay raise to $17 an hour. After 600 hours of work, combined with a positive performance evaluation by a supervisor and the completion of a work experience class, they may be eligible to earn $17.50 an hour.

The pay scale differs for international students, who earn $15 an hour and are capped at 20 hours a week while school is in session, and a maximum of 25 hours a week during official school breaks, according to the SRJC website.

Now Villalobos works at Humanidad Therapy and Education and earns about $25 per hour.

He, like many other SRJC students, found that working off-campus pays better. Students who work at fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s or Jack-inthe-Box can earn $20 or more an hour, thanks to a California law that came into effect April 1. The new law mandates that fast-food restaurants with 60 or more locations nationwide must pay their workers at least $20 an hour. Students report they can also earn $20 an hour or more at a local retail store such as REI or more than $20 per hour for a Santa Rosa City internship.

SAM

These jobs, however, may not provide students with experience and skills that will lead to higher-paying jobs in their field of choice. But with endless post-pandemic inflation increasing the cost of living, such choices are luxuries some students don’t have.

The minimum wage set by the Sonoma County Junior College District is lower than minimum wage in the cities surrounding the two campuses. Both Petaluma and Santa Rosa set the current minimum wage to $17.45, which will adjust annually to align with the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W).

In contrast to SRJC, the Peralta Community College District sets student wages to match the surrounding cities in the East Bay. At College of Marin, student-employees earn $17 or $18 an hour depending on their level, which is somewhat aligned with the county living wage ordinance. The College of Marin raised student wages in August 2023, said Kessa Kaplan, a human resources technician at the college. At Napa Valley College, student-employees earn $16 an hour, equivalent to the minimum wage in Napa.

We Became Student Advocates

Villalobos, along with other student-employees, first brought up the problem of low wages with a trusted

advisor and SRJC humanities and religious studies professor, Rafael Guzman. He told them about other students who had successfully pushed the administration for a wage increase in 2019, bringing student wages from $12 an hour to $15.

Since the 2019 pay raise, however, the cost of living has risen far more rapidly than student wages. The pandemic played a role in this, as the economic slow-down created ripple effects throughout the economy. Since 2020, prices have risen about 20% nationwide and slightly more so in California.

"I really didnt want to quit my job"

If student wages had kept pace, student-employees would earn at minimum $19.80 an hour. Prices for food, clothing, gas and other services continue to rise, causing financial insecurity for many SRJC students. Stagnant student wages compound this problem.

Guzman encouraged Villalobos and Kelly Zamudio, president of student organization M.E.Ch.A., to push the administration for a living-wage raise.

“If you were getting paid $15, it [becomes] very difficult to do that job of helping students or just the campus

overall, because you couldn’t afford to have basic needs,” Zamudio said, speaking for students who shared their work experiences with her in 2023.

Zamudio worked at Our House Intercultural Center on the Petaluma Campus. Like Villalobos, Zamudio loved her job but couldn’t make ends meet. She, too, quit.

“I feel like my job was very rewarding for myself and for other students, because you’re able to create so much content or workshops that kind of follow the guidelines that SGC teaches about diversity, inclusion and racism, no passivity, stuff like that,” she said.

“We saw that a lot of the students were leaving, because they got other jobs either at fast food or in other places.”

In April 2023, Zamudio and Villalobos drafted a petition they submitted to then SRJC President Dr. Frank Chong and members of the Board of Trustees. The petition focuses on the student-wage inequity, arguing that students should not earn less than the minimum wage in Santa Rosa and Petaluma. Because SRJC is a district, it is not required to follow the cities’ minimum wage. The student activists demand that student workers receive a living wage, pointing out that Target paid new employees a starting wage of $18.50 in 2023. As of April 2024, 564 people signed the petition in support of it. To date, neither the new president, Dr. Angélica Garcia,

Alonso Rodríguez Villalobos (left), Kelly Zamudio (center), Erandi Hernandez Aguilar (right) and other members of M.E.Ch.A have spoken up at multiple SRJC Board of Trustees meetings to call for a wage increase for all student-employees, but still do not feel like they are being heard.

nor the board members have signed or responded directly to the petition.

Nobody Talks About That Here

The college employs approximately 290 students, or 11.7% of the student body, in jobs that range from front-desk staff in counseling, Bertolini Information Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) and Tech Desk at the library, to student researchers, teaching assistants and student-success coaches.

A little under half of these students earn $16.50 per hour and about half earn $17 an hour. A small percentage earn $17.50 — 14 out of 290 — according to data provided by Sarah Laggos, SRJC interim director of communications.

Many students report that they value their college jobs. They describe skills they gain, such as leading meetings, giving presentations, advising and mentoring, or working with clinicians, counselors or instructors in fields they are interested in. Beyond the pay, students learn how to function and succeed in professional environments, skills that are difficult to quantify and impossible to fake without experience.

Many students didn’t realize that they earned less than minimum wage.

Even Logan Warren, student representative to the Board of Trustees and a student-employee himself, did not know. “I first learned about this in June 2023,” he said.

Neither had Khansa Tariq, student-employee who works the front desk in the counseling department, nor Malala Amdriantsoa, who works at the Tech Gear desk in Doyle Library. Nor did a student-employee in the EOPS office.

Both Tariq and Amdriantsoa expressed surprise when they learned, as did supervisors who overheard the conversation between the student-employee and an Oak Leaf reporter in the library and in the EOPS office.

“Nobody talks about that here,” Amdriantsoa said in an attempt to make sense of the wage discrepancy. An international student, she has worked at the college for a year and accumulated 600 hours, but lacks the time to take the required work experience class to earn the higher Step 3 wage, she said.

Tariq sought her position deliberately to gain contact and experience with counselors. To her, the job represents academic access. But she acknowledges her privilege: living at home, she does not need to use her salary to pay for living expenses.

Still, her earnings do not go far. At first, her dad disapproved of her on-campus job. Limited to four hours a week, her earnings barely covered the gas she needed to get to campus from Rohnert Park. But now that she takes on-campus classes, she works more hours, which helps justify the gas expense.

Amdriantsoa, an international student, has no choice but to work on campus. International students’ visas require on-campus employment. She believes wages should rise each year to match rising living expenses.

To This Day I Can't Make an Omelet

President Garcia said she fully supports students earning a living, dignified wage. She has worked since highschool, first in restaurants owned by family members and later for a mail and package company. She also worked as an undergraduate to pay for her tuition and living expenses.

Garcia knows first-hand the challenges student-employees face. As an undergraduate, Garcia worked in the college cafeteria for 25 hours or more a week. She supplemented these hours by babysitting for about 10 hours a week. At the time, budgeting her expenses was “pretty stressful,” she said.

International student Malala Amdriantsoa works at Doyle Library's Tech Gear Desk while juggling classes, making it hard for her to fulfill the requirements to move up to Level 3 on the pay scale.

SAM GUZMAN

Her situation changed when she rose to the level of student manager in the dining hall and resident adviser. While her employment covered her room and board, the work was hard, Garcia remembers. She worked weekend brunch, which was “kind of rough, on a college campus,” she said. Since then, she can’t bring herself to make another omelet. Despite the challenges, though, her work experience provided more than just the money needed to cover her books and basic expenses.

She learned a lot about developing a work ethic and working with people from diverse communities, she said. As a student manager to student-employees working in the dining hall, she emphasized that they contributed “good, honest work.” Early in her leadership career, Garcia pointedly acknowledged the fundamental relevance of human dignity in employment.

Fighting for This Since the Begining

Garcia notes that today’s students face similar and probably greater challenges. Many SRJC students work not just to pay for books and tuition, but also to support their families.

A student engagement survey conducted in 2022 reports that 66% of SRJC students work, either on or off campus. According to the report, of SRJC students who work, 24% work 15-35 hours per week and 24% work 35 or more

hours a week, “essentially full time jobs,” Garcia said.

On April 11, 2023, the Board of Trustees unanimously selected Garcia as SRJC president, noting her contributions to educational equity. At the public forum that day, Garcia expressed her gratitude for “a chance to do what I love, which is to help to disrupt the institutionalized racism, classism, sexism [and] all the things that keep people from being able to thrive.”

At the same time, she acknowledged that her work depends on the participation of the entire SRJC community. “Collectively, we are going to change the opportunity to disrupt generational poverty in this state,” she said.

Collective action requires the participation of all stakeholders. Especially those most impacted, such as student-employees. Like the board members, Garcia supports student-activists who bring their concerns to the monthly Board of Trustees meetings. “I appreciate students’ using the appropriate space for voice and agency,” Garcia said.

Students who have spoken at board meetings, however, lament that they’re not heard. “When we do talk at the meetings, there’s tension and mixed feelings with their body language,” Zamudio said.

She described trustees typing, looking away and, on one occasion, applying lipstick when a student began speaking.

Fall 2022 SRJC Student Survey

When asked if they were working for pay, 34% of SRJC students participating in a Fall 2022 survey said they were not working. Of the 63% of participants who reported working for pay, 24% said they worked full-time, 39% said they worked part-time, and 3% of participants said they were worked in an internship or apprenticeship.

“We don’t feel like they receive our message; we often feel ignored,” said Villalobos, one of the students who spoke at Board of Trustees meetings. This discouraged the students but, at the same time, “that discouragement lit a flame on us to keep trying on us to teach and not give up,” Zamudio said.

Speaking for the “incredibly student-centered” Board of Trustees, their perspective is “give us the information so that we can take action,” Garcia said. She describes the board, who know first-hand the cost of living in Sonoma County, as very supportive and attuned to the students’ needs.

Student Trustee Warren has been listening. While acknowledging that it’s “tricky” to negotiate with the union for higher student wages, he supports the students’ activism. “I’ve been fighting for this since the beginning. I’ve spoken about it every board meeting and, while I’m glad the administration has taken steps, I am hoping that changes will happen soon,” said Warren, though the boards’ student representative doesn’t get an official vote. For SRJC, one of California’s best community colleges, paying student-employees less than minimum wage “sounds terrible. It is terrible,” Warren said.

Warren holds office hours and has even set up a table outside to make himself visible to students. “I want more people reaching out to me,” he said.

Ezrah Chaaban, president of the Board of Trustees, emphasized the importance of student-employees to the SRJC community. “SRJC’s Board of Trustees is committed to supporting student employees with fair wages for their work. We appreciate student input and want students to know that their voices are heard and we are working to address these concerns,” he said by email.

Individually, some board members concurred. “Personally, I support a fair wage for students and have indicated that to our team,” trustee Maggie Fishman said by email.

But other stakeholders exist in addition to student-employees, President Garcia and the Board of Trustees. As a public institution, SRJC has collective bargaining agreements with union orga-

nizations, specifically, SEIU. The Oak Leaf reached out multiple times over four weeks to two SEIU spokespersons associated with SRJC. Both declined to comment on student-employee wages.

Negotiations with SEIU need to progress in a certain order, Garcia explained. That said, the administration, the Board of Trustees and SEIU are actively in the process of working out student-employee wages as well as bilingual student-employee pay rates.

“I want to be very clear that we’ve been looking at both the increase of the minimum wage matching Petaluma and Santa Rosa, [as well as] the recent state law [that raised fast-food employees’ wages] to $20 an hour,” Garcia said.

Garcia recognizes and understands students’ frustration over the slow pace. But students continue to wonder why it is taking so long.

“The honest answer is because there are multiple moving parts, some of which I have no control over. And in our relationship and partnership, we’re doing our piece,” Garcia said.

Student Trustee Warren praised Gar-

cia’s efforts to adjust student wages and emphasized that it is a top priority for her. He has been working with Garcia on the issue and explained that union regulations contribute to the hold-up.

He quoted from the SEIU regulations that state short-term, non-continuing (STNC) employees cannot earn less than student employees (Article 5, Section 5.13).

In other words, the lowest-paid STNC employee must make more than the highest-paid student-employee.

In order to raise student wages, SEIU will need to be on board to raise STNC wages as well, he said. As of June 2023, the lowest rate for STNC is $17.75, or 25¢ more per hour than the highest paid student-employee.

working on this issue since June 2023. Months have passed and the delays compound the problem, Villalobos and Zamudio said.

They fear the delays will result in the movement losing momentum.

“What will happen once we transfer to a four-year college?” Zamudio wondered. Zamudio and Villalobos will finish at SRJC in spring 2024 and transfer in the fall. Will students have to fight for a living wage every year?

They want the administration to explain what’s taking so long.

“I know, I know. I know. And I know, I hear you,” President Angélica Garcia said in response.

Garcia does not know whether student-employee wages will rise before the end of this academic year. She hopes so, but she won’t overpromise and underdeliver.

Villalobos and Zamudio, leaders of the student movement for higher wages, presented their petition a year ago in April 2023. Warren, the Student Board of Trustees representative, has been

“I know that we [the administration, Board of Trustees and SEIU] care deeply about the college and the community. And I see a strong sense of support and collaboration,” she said.

The Inaugural Oak Leaf Poetry Contest

Red Wine and Chocolate Cake

By Regina Guerra

Tonight a speech pathologist

Told me that sometimes after someone has A stroke They can only sing

So refreshing!

Usually the cure is brown rice

Never red wine and chocolate cake

But if I have a stroke

Then it'll be Cat Stevens, Patsy Cline, and show tunes For once, when my body betrays me I'll have the last word

The Oak Leaf News is happy to present the winning poem from our inaugural poetry contest. Congratulations to our winner, Regina Guerra. We sincerely thank everyone who submitted their work. It was a pleasure to read them all.

Guerra grew up in Chicago, Illinois and has lived in Sonoma County for the last 12 years. She currently works and takes classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. “I’m a curious person and I love to learn new things so being at SRJC is a pretty great way to spend my time on Earth,” Guerra said. Her first memorable exposure to poetry was in her fourth-grade class.

“I loved how poetry could take a small moment and make you feel more connected to the world,” she said. “That’s when I first started writing poetry and I’ve continued throughout my life.”

Her educational background is in math and science, and she appreciates how a poem can contain a great deal of observation and analysis with few words. “I think that by exercising my poetry muscles, I tap into the ability to create unique solutions,” she said.

Guerra on a hawking trip in Killarney, Ireland She loves poetry and music, especially the piano, which she began learning during the pandemic.

The Perks of Being a Bear Cub:

How SRJC can meet your needs

By Max Millan

Hungry? Need therapy? Does your vehicle need repairs? Need affordable childcare, dental care, reproductive healthcare and more?

You may resort to grossly expensive options when fulfilling these needs, but does Santa Rosa Junior College come to mind? Well it should, because SRJC is more than just another run-of-themill college to take classes at. Believe it or not, SRJC features a cornucopia of services for Bear Cubs to meet the difficulties of day-to-day life directly and at free or reduced prices.

Here are just some of the ways SRJC’s services can help you meet your needs.

Free food

According to the California Student Aid Commision, 66% of students who applied for financial aid from 2022 to 2023 experienced food insecurity, a 27% increase from four years prior. And while this surge is most likely a holdover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the scourge of food insecurity nonetheless continues to persist for a majority of

students. Luckily, resources to alleviate these issues are plentiful and often just a click away.

One such resource is the Bailey Field pantry kiosk. Sandwiched between the eponymous football field and Garcia Hall on the Santa Rosa campus, this small building stores a pantry packed with free food.

The process is simple: Scan the displayed QR code with your phone, go to a Google form where you input your name and student information. Subsequently, you are able to select food available within the pantry and then receive the food a few minutes later.

SRJC’s Shone Farm and the Redwood Empire Food Bank provide food for the pantry, as well as the Student Resource Center, open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays. The white building adorned with a cobalt blue awning may look inconspicuous enough, but the student workers within have overseen nearly 4,000 transactions this semester, roughly 100 to 150 a day, according to Will Schettler, one such worker.

“It’s a really good resource for students to have,” Schettler said. “If you’re just stopping by and if you want, like, a coconut water, some beef jerky or stuff like that, or sometimes on the rare occasion where we have three tables full of produce and eggs — no matter what kind of stuff, it’s definitely a plus to have this kind of resource.”

The Petaluma campus boasts an equally notable amount of assistance. Inside the Welcome & Connect Center are a plethora of resources, including free food, showers, laundry, toothpaste, towels, soap, shampoo and lotion. The food pantry here is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 8 a.m. to noon Fridays. The Feed The Bears meal voucher, another resource, grants students who fill out a basic needs application up to four $15 vouchers to buy food and beverages at the Petaluma campus bookstore.

In addition, the Petaluma campus — in partnership with the Redwood Empire Food Bank — has hosted free farmer’s markets this semester from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month under the outdoor canopy be-

tween buildings 400 and 500.

Similarly to the Santa Rosa campus QR code, students must fill out a form to obtain the Petaluma services. More information regarding these resources is available at resources.santarosa.edu.

Free therapy

All enrolled SRJC students are eligible for free in-person or virtual therapy.

“If you have some hesitation about therapy, try going once or twice, or maybe only sharing some information,” encourages Dr. Bert Epstein, manager of SRJC Student Health Services and Mental Health Programs. “That can help people feel more comfortable. And then you decide if you want more sessions or want to share more.”

In 2022, 23% of Americans sought counseling, compared to only 13% of Americans in 2004, according to Gallup polling. SRJC students have followed this growing national trend. Available at SRJC since 1992, counseling has been a source of comfort for many students and despite a downturn during the pandemic, 600 students annually have turned to counseling in recent years, according to Epstein.

He noted that the Petaluma campus only offers in-person therapy Wednesdays, while the Santa Rosa campus offers them Mondays through Fridays because of the predominance of students there. “In the future we are looking to expand services to SRJC Roseland. And students at all campuses can make use of our remote services,” Epstein said.

With therapists seeing students on average for six sessions, the types of counseling services offered vary. “Students come in for a variety of issues; most frequent are stress, anxiety, depression and relationship issues of all types,” Epstein said, noting that funding from the county and state has resulted in additional psychiatric services, after-hours services, social workers and additional staff at SRJC. “We are very familiar with community resources, and assist students if they tell us right away they want long-term therapy, or after having some therapy with us want more.” SRJC mental health services are also

aimed towards specific demographics. “An area we focused on with recent funding was increasing the diversity of our staff and service. We now have a full-time therapist and outreach specialist, Brijit Aleman, who focuses on work with Latinx students,” Epstein said. “Similarly, we now have a fulltime therapist and outreach specialist, Joseph Hancock, who focuses on work with Black/African American students. Our intern therapists also bring a wide range of diversity.”

To make an appointment, call Student Health Services at (707) 527-4445, email studenthealthservices@santarosa.edu or stop by the third floor of the Bertolini Student Center or room 610 of the Call Building Wednesdays at the Petaluma campus.

Additional information regarding mental health services can be found at shs.santarosa.edu.

Free transportation and cheap car care

From bikes to scooters and from trains to cars, the ways in which students get to campus are extensive. Most of the time the commute is solitary, with a 2017 Sustainable SRJC transportation survey finding that 64% of students regularly drove alone to SRJC. However, the alternative commuting options come with notable differences: They’re free.

A feature crucial for this is the CubCard, a student identification card available to all SRJC students on the official CubCard website. With the CubCard, students are able to ride Sonoma County, Santa Rosa or Petaluma buses for free. For a $15 upgrade, additional benefits are available with the CubCard Premium, including discounts and free admission to SRJC events. The Gold

The SRJC Automotive program in the Lounibos Center will repair your car within the scope of the current class, provided that you cover the cost for parts, or bring your own.

The SRJC dental program offers $50 mouth radiographs and $80 dental cleanings. These prices are available to students and the local community.

Card, free to SRJC students 60 years old and older, offers the same benefits as a CubCard Premium.

Another service for students functions in a similar way. The Clipper BayPass, a two-year pilot program between Bay Area campuses, public transit agencies and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, allows SRJC students to ride aboard Clipper card-accepting public transit services including the SMART train, buses and ferries for free.

There have been exceptions, however. As a two-year pilot program, it was made available to students enrolled from fall 2022 through spring 2024, and is not available for newer students. Initially intended to run until summer 2024, the program was extended this spring until June 2025 for students already with a pass.

These resources are the tip of the iceberg. The SRJC automotive program in the Lounibos Center offers free auto repair and maintenance to employees, students and immediate family members. In service since 1980, the auto-repair services depend on some factors, including repairs needing to be scheduled in advance, availability depending on what is being taught in the course,

the make and model of the vehicle and the type of problem.

Vehicles must be currently registered and insured, and you must also bring your own parts, fluids or supplies, or have the technicians order parts for the vehicle at a cost. The registered owner must fill out and sign a liability release form, available at the SRJC AutoShop. The auto repair does not include body repairs for collision accidents.

“There is no labor charge, on our end, for the repair,” said SRJC automotive program instructor David Lemmer.

“There’s always somebody that works for O’Reilly or AutoZone, and they can get on their hotline and track [any necessary] parts. So we can work with people, but it’s up to the car owner to provide the car parts and materials.”

Lemmer emphasized that although repairs can be done, the fundamental nature of the program is an educational one for students. “We’re here to provide a service to the community as long as it fits structurally with what’s going on.”

For more information on the auto repair services, call (707) 527-4495 or visit the Lounibos Center in-person and talk to an available technician.

Nestled within the first floor of the William H. Race Health Sciences Building on the Santa Rosa campus is the dental hygiene teaching clinic.

Since its inception in 1999, the SRJC dentistry program has offered dental services including cleanings, x-rays, fluoride applications and sealants for students and non-students alike. Cleanings, X-rays, fluoride applications and sealants are provided, while restorative services like fillings, crowns or dentures are not offered.

“I just wish that there were more students who would take advantage of these services, and I think a lot of it has to do with them not knowing we’re here,” said Jennifer Apocotos-Kirk, the dental clinic’s second-year coordinator.

With appointments lasting around three hours due to dental students actively learning and practicing their craft, Apocotos-Kirk acknowledges the difficulty some people may face with scheduling visits. “I understand that it’s really tough to make appointments when students have classes, but if there’s an arrangement that can be made to get the dental hygiene student and the patient’s schedule to align and everybody shows up for appointments, then they can walk away with a good healthy mouth,” she said.

The longer visits may be worth it for those seeking cheaper dental services, since the clinic offers $80 dental cleanings, $50 full-mouth radiographs and more. Apocotos-Kirk added that revenue generated at the clinic funds the dental program itself.

To make an appointment with the clinic, call (707) 522-2844 or visit the reception desk in person. Additional information regarding the dental services can be found at dentalprograms. santarosa.edu.

Discounted dental cleanings and care On-campus childcare

The Robert A. Call Child Development Center on the Santa Rosa Campus allows child development students and

SAM GUZMAN

faculty to work and train with children, but it also functions as a childcare center, providing subsidized childcare to SRJC students’ infants and toddlers from 6 months to 5 years of age.

These services are selective, however. “Everybody is ranked by their family size and income,” Children’s Center supervisor Tina Rosenberg said. “And any time we have an opening, we are required to start at the top of the list, [with] children that are potentially at risk of abuse or neglect. And then we go by their income.”

She added, “For both [infant and toddler] programs, it is free to anyone whose income is below the 75th percentile over the gross median income level. From the 75th percentile on up, there’s a sliding-fee scale, but the State of California just this year has made it so that the fees can’t be more than 1%. So we went from fees that were sometimes $100 or $200 down to $40 or $50.”

The Children’s Center serves a maximum of 75 children, with the toddler’s program comprising 27 children. Due to staffing shortages, the Children’s Center does not currently serve 75 children, although a hiring process is underway. Rosenberg further explained that

the Children’s Center offers care only during fall and spring semesters.

Apart from hoping that childcare services were offered at the Petaluma campus, Rosenberg also wishes for greater access. “Infant and toddler care would be the other place that I would love to see being able to expand,” she said. “Our waitlist for infants is really long, but we have a tiny room for the infants, so we can’t really fit that many in there [because] it’s just not safe for them. So, I would love to see that expanded a little bit as well.”

The Children’s Center is open 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridays. More information is available at childrenscenter.santarosa.edu.

Tech loans

Beyond the abundance of books and quiet places to study, SRJC’s Doyle and Mahoney libraries are overflowing in technology they can provide.

From the typical white board markers and erasers for students in study rooms, the libraries also offer semester-loan laptops and hotspots, phone and laptop chargers, adapters, digital cameras,

Students are able to loan laptops, digital cameras, drawing tablets, corresponding chargers and more from the SRJC Doyle and Mahoney libraries.

projectors, light tables, drawing tablets and more.

Regarding laptops, Kat Dietrich, library technician at Santa Rosa’s Doyle library, gave insight into how many SRJC students benefit from them. “I can tell you that this semester, so far we have lent out 461 laptops across both campuses, 390 at Doyle [and] 71 at Mahoney,” she said. “In total, we have 848 laptops currently on [loan] to students.” Dietrich added, mentioning that the total figure includes students who still have laptops from past semesters and have not yet renewed or returned them, but likely still use them.

Genaveve Clendenen, an student worker at Doyle Library, elaborated on some of the libraries’ resources by mentioning that they can also offer headphones, calculators and digital media studio equipment like cameras, green screens and microphones.

The libraries also invite therapy dogs for weekly campus visits. This semester they were on-site from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays at Doyle Library and from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Mahoney Library. Their visits are the collaborative result between the libraries and Paws as

Loving Support (PALS), a non-profit organization that brings specially trained emotional support dogs to locations across Sonoma County for those who need them.

The culmination of all these services makes Dietrich particularly proud. “On one hand, I am a former teacher and a former public library employee — so I have an idea of what students and library patrons need, and coming here six months ago, I was surprised and delighted by everything we do to serve students,” she said. “That being said, I think students deserve every single thing we can do to make their educational experience more comfortable and fruitful. I’m always on the lookout for student input about their needs.”

Info on library services is available at libraries.santarosa.edu/computers.

Healthcare and homeless resources

SRJC also provides a litany of health-related services free of charge by nurse

practitioners, physicians and medical assistants through Student Health Services. They include short-term illness and injury treatments, pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, STI testing and treatment, and pap smear and mammogram referrals.

Health screenings like blood pressure, weight, vision, hearing and tuberculosis tests are also available. Student Health Services can also provide over-thecounter medications like pain relievers, condoms and band aids.

These services are provided on the third floor of Santa Rosa’s Bertolini Student Center and at room 610 of the Richard W. Call Building in Petaluma. More information is available at shs.santarosa.edu.

Resources in the works involve SRJC’s recently hired social workers, who connect students to discounted housing rates, community resources and help with Polly Hall applications, according to Candy Owens, student engagement coordinator for the Petaluma campus and Lily Hunnemeder-Bergfelt, director of reentry and student resources.

Owens explained that work is planned “for students who are either at risk, need units of emergency funding or [are] currently unhoused and looking for resources.” These services may prove to be crucial to students, given an estimated 22% are homeless and 54% are housing insecure, according to SRJC sources.

In addition to housing, Hunnemeder-Bergfelt urged students facing similar food and financial dilemmas to fill out the online basic needs request form in as much detail as possible so that SRJC can provide the best resources needed for students.

The Student Resource Center can then provide students with a personalized basic needs consultation to discuss what resources off and on-campus are available.

These SRJC resources, among others, are not the end-all-be-all for students. However, their continual availability can help make students’ lives more manageable. And maybe, just maybe, they may make you look at SRJC and yourself as a Bear Cub in a new way.

THE PLANETARIUM

By Rosemary Cromwell

Did you know there was a time when Santa Rosa Junior College students could smooch with their crushes under the stars in comfy recliners while sitting next to a family just trying to learn about our solar system's celestial bodies? Believe it or not, SRJC once had a working planetarium on the Santa Rosa campus at Lark Hall.

According to astronomy instructors Keith Waxman, and Laura Sparks, who also serves as Mayor of Cotati, the planetarium has been a defining feature of the Santa Rosa campus for more than four decades. They believe that not only is it vital that SRJC has a working planetarium once again, but that it can help alleviate some of the college’s recent decline in enrollment.

Waxman’s connection to the planetarium runs deep. His father, former SRJC astronomy instructor Gerald Waxman, played a pivotal role in Lark Hall’s establishment and the planetarium’s construction in the ‘70s. His favorite movie

was “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which is why he designated room 2001 for the planetarium. The planetarium opened in 1980 and has been dazzling students

Over the course of its life, the planetarium had at least 800,000 visitors come through its doors, almost twice the population of Sonoma County.

and the wider Santa Rosa community — including thousands of busloads of school children — with a view of the stars ever since.

Former planetarium director Ed Megill calculated that over the course of its life, the planetarium had at least 800,000 visitors come through its doors, almost

twice the population of Sonoma County.

So why did it close?

In fall of 2018, two years after Megill’s retirement, the planetarium closed due to an ongoing structural deficit in the SRJC budget; all staff were either let go or reassigned.

“Due to the age of the facility, which has never undergone structural renovation, the college plans to perform a full assessment of the viability of the building and equipment. Potential plans for renovation will be considered following this assessment. The planetarium will remain closed until spring 2019 at minimum. No date has been set to reopen the facility,” a 2018 college district press release stated.

Waxman said administrators told him and Sparks that the planetarium wasn’t financially sustainable in a meeting years ago, though at the time, it was bringing in thousands of people who could eventually enroll at the college.

The exterior of the SRJC planetarium dome with Maggini Hall and the soccer fields in the background. The planetarium entered service in 1980 and closed in 2018.

“It was really a lack of foresight of the previous administration and we hope the new administration will see things a different way,” Waxman said.

Recently the planetarium developed roof leaks, which halted shows, but should be patched soon.

“The District is currently working with the contractor to determine the best timing to begin the project to minimize impact on classes,” said Sarah Laggos,

SRJC interim director, strategic communications, government and public relations. “Once the re-roof project is completed, the District will conduct a structural assessment of the planetarium to determine the scale and scope of needed renovations.”

“We lost a service that used to engender a lot of goodwill from the community”

Once this is finished, the SRJC planetarium can host shows again, but its outdated tech may soon prove to be its Achilles’ heel. The Opto-Mechanical Star projector SRJC uses is likely the only projector of its kind still in operation in the world, according to Sparks.

Even more unique, it may be the only one ever painted orange, according to astronomy assistant John Blumert. It’s so old that representatives from the Japanese company GOTO, which made the projector, requested to have it shipped to them to place it in the company’s museum, according to Waxman. The department had a budget to have GOTO come to service the machine yearly, but since losing that in 2016 the planetarium has been running on “prayers,” Sparks said.

"The planetarium has been running on prayers"

They have been forced to scrounge eBay for spare parts when the machine breaks down, and without any dedicated planetarium staff, astronomy assistants like Blumert have been the last line of defense in fixing the machine. Blumert said the machine is so old he’s yet to find a manual online. He added that nothing inside the planetarium is digital except for a single computer. “We’re really learning it from the ground up,” Blumert said.

A modern projector would require a new electrical system in the building, a new dome interior and a new control panel. “The general public wants to be amazed,” Waxman said, “and that [new system] would draw a lot of people.”

An architect the district hired in 2019 to perform a feasibility study for a complete renovation of the planetarium estimated it would cost $6.6 million to get new equipment, a new dome, seismic retrofits and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) retrofits.

BRYAN FRUCTUOSO-ZURITA

The SPITZ-GOTO projector powers the planetarium's light shows. Parts such as the annular motion motor, which shows the planets in their orbits throughout the year, wear out overtime,giving the machine a limited lifespan. It's so old that representatives from the company that manufactured it said they would love to have it back to place in the company museum.

However, a more modest “refresh” to the building with a new projector and all the necessary accompaniments, new chairs and a new sound system would cost about $2.5 million, as long as those changes did not trigger the need for seismic and ADA updates to the building. Sparks and Waxman also believe in the need for planetarium staff, whether full or part time, to give the facility the attention it needs — and in their eyes — deserves.

Despite these setbacks, Sparks and Waxman want the community to know the planetarium continues to support the astronomy program. “We offer classes at SRJC that are special, like the Astronomy 12 class, and we use the planetarium for that,” Sparks said. Astronomy 12 is a threeweek class with a lecture component in the planetarium followed by two weeks of stellar observation at Lake Sonoma.

“This is still a space that supports our academic program that is in constant use with astronomy students so it is absolutely integral,” Sparks said.

"The OptoMechanical Star projector SRJC uses is likely the only projector of its kind still in operation in the world"

Waxman has hosted planetarium movie nights for his classes, including one last semester where he showed “Interstellar.” SRJC freshman Finn Robertson, an astronomy student who attended the movie night said, “It was cool to see something so integral to the public’s perception of space in an actual planetarium.”

He recalled how Waxman used two classroom video projectors to fill each half of the planetarium’s dome with the movie. “I don’t know why we don’t use it more often,” Robertson said.

There is another planetarium in town at Piner High School, where Kurt Kruger, in his 35th year of teaching, runs the Science Position Astronomy Research Query (SPARQ) Center, which opened its doors in 2014.

He’s a big fan of SRJC’s operation. “As a young man, the SRJC planetarium inspired me to do what I’ve been doing,” he said.

The Opto-Mechanical Star Projector by SPITZ-GOTO may be the only one ever painted red/orange by the company. The specialized projectors are typically painted black.

While it's a facility on campus, “it’s also a public resource that inspires young people.”

As the only currently operable planetarium around, the SPARQ center is responsible for fulfilling all of the field trips from local elementary schools. “I keep up, but I can use the help to meet demand and the need is definitely there,” Kruger said.

He hopes that SRJC is mindful of the future, as he sees the planetarium not only as a good PR and advertising tool, but as “an investment in the community.”

In response to questions about reviving the SRJC planetarium, Laggos said, “Recognizing the current limitations of technology, staffing, fiscal resources and the facility, SRJC is exploring a variety of solutions to offer educational opportunities in astronomy that are fiscally responsible and support student success.”

For now, the planetarium awaits its roof repairs, which are supposedly coming soon. Immediately following those repairs,

the astronomy team plans to put on shows with their current equipment while they petition and await for an investment into modern technology.

Instructors Keith Waxman and Laura Sparks show off the planetarium's control panel, which is entirely analog. Each button and switch connects to a series of relays.

“This is one of the things that makes the SRJC truly special. It would be a real loss to let it go,” Sparks said, to which Waxman added, “To keep it would be a boost to the school, and I think the school over some number of years will see their enrollment increasing.”

“It was really a lack of foresight of the previous administration and we hope the new administration will see things a different way”

Kruger agrees, and thinks it will drive people to the college.

“They gotta bring it back,” Robertson said. “Whatever plan there is to bring it back, I’m on board with that.”

The Opto-Mechanical Star Projector can display the Milky Way, the orbits of the planets, and constellations

onto the dome.

walks out to the mound ahead of his start against Sierra College at Santa Rosa’s Cook Sypher Field, Thursday, March 21, 2024.

HBear Cubs Spotlight: Hekili Robello

By Oliver Kindt

ekili Robello is the hard-throwing, Division 1 college or MLB-bound ace of the Santa Rosa Junior College baseball team, but you would never hear that from him.

Robello is a man of few words, never one to bask in glory or give much attention to compliments.

“He doesn't talk very much,” SRJC assistant coach Tom Francois said. “He just goes out there and does his

job. When I bring attention to him, his head goes down a little bit because he's embarrassed.”

The 6-foot-4 right-hander grew up in Hilo, Hawaii and graduated from Hilo High School in 2022. Back home he enjoys surfing, traveling and spending quality time with family.

“I started to take [baseball] seriously around my junior year in high school,” Robello said. “That's when I started to grow and also throw a little bit harder.”

Toward the end of his senior year, Robello made the tough decision to move off the Big Island to develop both academically and athletically at SRJC.

“I was never a Division 1 ballplayer and my academics were not the strongest,” Robello said. “Matt Kimura, an [SRJC] alumni who won a state championship in 2016, said nothing but good things about the program, the school.”

The decision to move far away and play at SRJC was made easier by his intense

Pitcher Hekili Robello

desire to pursue his goals. “It wasn’t a tough decision because I wanted to pursue the next chapter in my life,” Robello said.

Despite the confidence in his decision, Robello’s transition to a new home 2,000 miles away was not seamless.

“I had a rough start in the fall of 2022,” Robello said. “I was feeling homesick and the adjustment from high school to college. My teammates being supportive is really what helped me.”

Robello posted an impressive team-leading 2.09 ERA in 86 innings with 80 strikeouts in 2024, having come a long way in his time with the Bear Cubs. He is never one to let his emotions get too high or too low, despite the results of a game.

“You can tell he comes from a humble background just based on his demeanor,” Francois said. “Some guys strut and that's a sign of insecurity. He doesn't have to strut.”

Francois recalled talking to Robello about a game in which he thrived but the team underperformed. “I went and talked to him about it, and I said, ‘I'm just sorry that you pitched your head off and we didn't give you any run support.’

He says, ‘Oh, coach, it's OK. There'll be another time,’” Francois said.

While humble and never one to let his emotions get the best of him, Robello is equally competitive as he is modest.

“He hasn't given up many walks,” Francois said. “The reason for that, [Robello] says, ‘I don't want to walk anybody. I want them to try to win against me. I'm going to challenge them.’ He's the gunfighter that wants to take you on, but he doesn't boast about it.”

Robello has his sights set high on playing baseball at the next level, but he’s made sure not to put all of his eggs in one basket.

“I hope to transfer to a Division 1 college and continue to grow as a person and a ballplayer, and then hopefully play professional baseball,” Robello said. “If baseball doesn't work out, then I'm thinking of joining the fire department. My dad is actually a fire captain, back at home.”

“I think he's got more than a good shot of going to a D1 school and getting drafted,” Francois said. “I’m happy for him, whatever he wants to do, and he's just a great kid.”

Bear Cubs star center fielder Alex Leopard said Robello brings fierce determination and commitment to the team.

“Hekili’s the man,” Leopard said. “He’s been dominant on the mound for us. He works hard on his craft and has continued to get better and you love to see that out of your ace. He’s been such a great teammate on and off the field, always pulling for his guys.”

Bear Cub's pitcher Tony Suarez had similar thoughts to Leopard about their teammate.

“[Robello] is such a humble and simple man,” Suarez said. “He is always working and he pushes himself to be his best player. He’s really grown from when he first came, and he has got a lot ahead of him. He doesn’t even think he throws hard even though he tops out at 94 [mph].”

With the end of the baseball season approaching, Robello is ready for the playoffs, as the Bear Cubs finished in third place in the Big 8 conference with a 28-12 record.

“We just gotta go as far as we can,” Robello said. “Play as one, pull for each other and hopefully we win a state championship.”

Pitcher Hekili Robello winds up before his pitch during SRJC's dominant win over College of Marin on Feb. 21, 2024 in Santa Rosa. Robello pitched a solid four innings.

Hekili Robello pitches for six innings against Diablo Valley College at Santa Rosa’s Cook Sypher Field, March 14, 2024.

YNA

BOLLOCK

From the Bottom of the Bottle to the Bottom of the Ninth

Finding myself in the midst of motherhood and depression

By Yna Bollock

It is April 20 and I am almost five months sober.

The energy on Santa Rosa Junior College’s Marv Mayes softball field is electrifying. The bases are loaded and the score is 2-2 after SRJC center fielder Olivia Gabriel walks and scores pitcher Hailey Martin to tie the game. The Bear Cubs are up against the No. 2 stateranked San Mateo Bulldogs on sophomore day, the final home game of the season. It is the bottom of the ninth and catcher Haley Wyatt is at bat with two outs on the board. Fans in the stands hold their collective breath and grip the edges of their seats.

The pitcher winds up and throws. I hear the familiar crack of bat to ball. The crowd erupts as a base hit sails over the San Mateo shortstop’s head to left field and first baseman Sofia Uricoechea bolts from third to home for

the win. I blink away the happy tears as I advance out of the dugout and jog toward the celebration at home plate, trying to capture every shout, leap and hug through my camera lens.

I have had the absolute honor of photographing sports for The Oak Leaf News this semester. I can’t believe I get to be out on the fields during game days and do my thing. I challenge myself and try to document everything from the arrivals, pregame rituals and peak action to the postgame and clean-up at the end of the day. I have finally found something I love to do, and now I have the opportunity.

How could I not give it my all, especially considering the state of my life one year ago?

In the spring of 2023, I was quickly spiraling to rock bottom.

In the midst of learning how to be a mother of two, I lost a grandparent. My grandpa sparked my love of cameras, and he was one of my favorite people on Earth. When he died in March, my oldest child had just turned 3 and I had recently given birth to my second son seven weeks premature. The pregnancy was complicated and I had been placed on bedrest around Halloween. I was due around Valentine’s Day, but my son was born two days after Christmas.

Instead of resting and recovering, I spent nearly two weeks going back and forth from my home to the hospital to be with my little one. When I didn’t have to nurse him, I was almost relieved to have my body back, but I still had to pump every two hours to provide him what he needed. At first, I produced phenomenally, but as my body started to feel the effects of recovering from my C-section, my supply diminished. We

YNA BOLLOCK

The SRJC Softball team surrounds photographer Yna Bollock at home plate at Santa Rosa's Marv Mayes Field on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

eventually switched to formula entirely. My family and friends would exclaim, “Well at least you’re done with that,” not realizing the damage the inability to nurse was having on my mental health.

I began to feel the effects of postpartum depression creep up, similar to when I had my oldest child. All of this happened as my grandpa’s illness progressed. There was no time to grieve, and I found myself uncorking a bottle of wine for a “glass” every night, which always turned into a full bottle.

A few months later, I lost a mentor to an accident. When the time came for the funeral, I was walking on eggshells. I just wanted to disappear. Knowing that my mentor’s demons were the same as mine, I was shattered. I poured myself a glass and could barely take a sip before the tears took over. The answer was never going to be at the bottom of the bottle. Was I really going to let darkness swallow me whole?

The weight on my heart was almost unbearable. Drinking dampened the pain, but I knew I was towing a dangerous line. I had reached a bottom I knew I couldn’t afford to stay in, and that’s where my camera came in.

I enrolled in a couple of online classes, beginning art and library resources, at SRJC in the fall 2023 semester to re-familiarize myself with school. Just enough to get my feet wet.

Fast forward to 2024, and I am fulltime and in-person at SRJC. I decided to major in photojournalism because I love to tell stories with my camera. The minute my grandpa handed me his fancy Nikon camera at age 8, I was hooked on photography. I always walked around family parties to snap photos of friends and family enjoying each other’s company.

Ever the shy kid, I found that looking through the lens allowed me to interact with them without becoming too overwhelmed. I fell even more in love after photographing travel softball last summer, so I researched team photographers and sports news photography. It checked all of the boxes I was looking for in a career. I felt elated — I was moving in the right direction.

Re-entering SRJC this time around proved more challenging than when I first took classes after high school more than a decade ago. Now, I had two tiny humans who depended on me. I could only attend school in the afternoon once my husband was home, and I could only take classes on certain days because of my full-time job.

"Was I really going to let darkness swallow me whole?"

I am so grateful to The Oak Leaf News for working with my schedule and welcoming me with open arms.

I was only available to cover games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so it always worked out to photograph softball. Watching the players’ commitment to the sport made me want to be better

too. I started as a fly on the wall, shooting with a longer lens from the cutouts at first and third base. I didn’t dare move past the athletic trainers at the back of the dugout.

I began to share my photos on social media and received positive feedback from the players and their friends and family. I found this to be a good window to introduce myself to the players who made their way to my Instagram.

I was wary though because I did not want to be a distraction during game days. Eventually, the players began to say hello and get goofy with me in the dugout. Now braver, I inched closer to them every game, always making sure to stay respectful and out of their way. I found creative spots near the dugout and in the stands to capture the team in more off-action ways.

As the semester progressed, some games began before my husband came

Outfielder Nataya Brown works on pitcher Jessica Hernandez's game day hair before the game against College of San Mateo at Santa Rosa Junior College's Marv Mayes Field on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

home from work, making it challenging for me to get to them. At first I questioned whether bringing my children to the games was a good idea, but missing a game was not an option. Being an athlete takes dedication and I wanted to show these players that I was equally as dedicated to making every home game in show of support.

So one day I loaded the double stroller with half a lifetime’s worth of supplies, added my two kids, and photographed the first game of the day. I made sure we were not in harm's way and shot with a long lens from the outfield fence. It felt insane at first, but then my oldest began to ask to go to the softball fields with me every day, and it became our thing.

Integrating my home and school life on the softball field healed much of the pain I experienced in the early stages of motherhood. Especially after coaches and trainers approached me and encouraged me.

One trainer who also had young children was floored to discover that at one point, my 1-year-old was hanging out in a carrier while I photographed near home plate. He said, “Moms can do it all!”

I replied, “Yes, we can!” It took several breaths to keep from crying. Hearing those encouraging words strengthened my resolve. This could really work.

On April 20, the team honors its sophomores in true fashion with a walk-off win in game No. 2 to beat the Bulldogs. SRJC Coach Madison Green heads to the dugout triumphant as her team races towards first base to celebrate Wyatt’s game-winning hit in their final home game. I see her motioning to her arms as if to say, “Goosebumps!” I have them, too.

After the game, each sophomore takes a final walk to the mound carrying bouquets of flowers and personalized gift baskets given to them by the freshmen. My camera fills up with photos of the young women making their way to the mound, as well as photos of each with their friends and family. Everything comes full circle for me as I stand in the middle of a field I could not have imagined five months earlier. Players and their parents, friends and family members are approaching me and thanking me for my work.

Just before I leave, members of the team present me with my very own basket, complete with snacks and a kneeling pad for when I take lower angle action shots. An athlete’s father painted my logo into a sign. When I asked why he would do such a thing, catcher Esperanza Marquez, whose father painted the sign, said, “Because you’re our photographer, that’s why!”

Tears flood my eyes as I mumble an incoherent word of thanks. Their generosity continues to floor me. No longer just a fly on the wall, I felt like I have become part of the team.

This semester changed my life. I am grateful for all of it — bad and good — from struggling with depression to shooting more than 25 games this season. I am excited to see where next semester takes me. As the Marv Mayes dugout would say, “Ain’t no party like a Bear Cub party!”

Center fielder Olivia Gabriel prepares for the home game with third baseman Gabby Schenone on Saturday, April 6, 2024.

Freshman Kayla Ling cheers from the dugout during a game against Taft at Santa Rosa Junior College's Marv Mayes Field on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

Adriana Novak and Haley Wyatt take a moment after their walkoff win against College of San Mateo at home on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

YNA BOLLOCK

Growing New Wings

SRJC Students metamorphosize

through Second Chance

By Michael Combs

Kenny Hotchkiss, SRJC student and member of the Second Chance Club, a student-run club for formerly incarcerated students, compares his life to a caterpillar’s. Since he’s become sober after almost a lifetime of struggling with addiction, he now can break free from his cocoon and show the world he is a butterfly.

Seven years ago, Santa Rosa Junior College student Kenny Hotchkiss had only one wish: to die.

He was 11 years into living unhoused with constant stints in and out of jail and nearly a lifetime of battling drug addiction, and he was ready to give up.

On Christmas evening 2017, his wish came true.

“A 6-foot, 300-pound kid [who] I knew ever since he was young proceeded to kick my stomach in with steel-toe boots,” Hotchkiss said. Too damaged to move from the spot of the attack, he lay moaning in his homeless encampment for two days until paramedics arrived.

“A person from my camp called 911 and gave an anonymous tip that someone was screaming ‘I’m dying,’”

he said. “They came and got me and pronounced me dead on the way to the hospital from internal bleeding, a ruptured spleen and other damaged organs,” he said.

Despite a basic motor function test showing his body was responsive, two ER surgeons at Memorial Hospital passed on helping Hotchkiss due to a do-not-resuscitate order in his medical records.

However, the third and final surgeon on duty that night held true to his Hippocratic Oath and performed surgery, saving his life.

“If it wasn’t for that doctor, I wouldn’t be here. And when I came off of life support, he told me ‘I took a chance with you. Now do me a favor and do the next right thing.’ So since then, I’ve been clean and sober,” Hotchkiss said.

Six years later, Hotchkiss, 54, works fulltime as a counselor at the Campobello Chemical Dependency Center in Santa Rosa and is gaining his Alcohol and Other Drug Counseling (AOD) Certificate at SRJC. He has his own apartment and car.

Hotchkiss’ warm smile would fit perfectly in a commercial if it wasn’t so genuine, and a few minutes of conversation with him could easily turn into an hour if one wasn’t watching the clock. Only his calloused hands, and perhaps too-blunt-at-times demeanor hint at the rough life he’s led, yet Hotchkiss still struggles with the perception the general public has toward people with similar backgrounds.

“When you think of people who have been to jail, you think tattoos, guns, drug addicts, people who have done just all this bad shit,” he said. “There’s

MICHAEL COMBS

always going to be a stigma about if we should be allowed to be reformed and mingle with society. That we don’t want to change our lives.”

Hotchkiss is one of at least 10,000 formerly incarcerated Californians who attend a community college, according to Kelly Nadler, the Bay Area coordinator for the Rising Scholars Program, which provides state support and services for students previously or currently incarcerated. He is also one of the 172 formerly incarcerated students within the SRJC Rising Scholars Program, along with the Second Chance Club, a student-run club for formerly incarcerated students.

Despite wanting to achieve a better life for themselves, the feeling that they don’t belong in a college setting is often a significant barrier to success.

Even though more than 60% of previously incarcerated students desire to get a degree, fewer than 4% actually do, compared to 29% of the general public who get degrees, according to a 2018 study by the Prison Policy Initiative.

Hotchkiss enrolled at SRJC with his family’s encouragement. Eventually, he was able to gain momentum academically from the support of the Second Chance Club.

Second Chance became a student club in 2015 and eventually an official Student Services program that works under the Rising Scholars umbrella in 2018. At that time, it served about 20-25 students but has grown to about seven times that number. Rising Scholars also serves 20 students who are currently incarcerated in juvenile hall this semester and youth in the community who are attending continuation schools.

“I started to feel like these people were my family. My mom is my immediate family, but the Second Chance club knows more about me than my mom does”

A major scope of the Second Chance Club is providing a space where previously incarcerated students can find confidence in themselves by meeting others like them who are excelling at school, said Jessy Paisley, Second Chance faculty coordinator and Rising Scholar counselor. They also use campus outreach to try to reduce the stigma members face.

At meetings, counselors provide training for members to comfortably share their stories with other students at campus club days. “If somebody says something that is hurtful or makes you feel not good inside, how do you respond to that? How do you take care of yourself after interactions like that?” Paisley said.

So far they’ve been successful. In her two years as faculty coordinator, Paisley has noticed more students have become accepting of Second Chance as they learn more about the club.

Paisley said SRJC administration has also become more Second Chance-friendly by opening up student employment opportunities, such as teaching assistants and tutors in the campus tutorial center.

The Rising Scholars Program offers services such as grants for the SRJC Bookstore, peer coaches who can help students with school and online work and referrals for off-campus assistance. Another benefit of the program is that it works with The Access Project (TAP) that helps members expunge their criminal records.

Within Rising Scholars is the IGNITE program in which SRJC faculty teach classes at Juvenile Hall and the

SRJC’s student-run Second Chance club offers formerly incarcerated students a place where they can be themselves and free from the stigma they often face in public. Members offer each other inspiration as they share their stories of facing similar challenges.

NICHOLAS VIDES

Jason Dorfer has been president of the Second Chance Club for formerly incarcerated students for four years and said the group has become like a second family to him. He also works as a peer mentor to youths in juvenile hall, where he checks up on them and gives them someone to talk to.

Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility, or MADF. Besides social and human services classes, SRJC instructors teach kinesiology, creative writing and humanities.

The Second Chance Program counselors receive rosters of inmates who took the classes while incarcerated, so they can call them after their release to entice them to enroll at SRJC. “We usually get two or three students a semester that were enrolled at MADF and come to campus to keep going,” Paisley said.

These programs greatly enhance the academic performance of formerly incarcerated students, with half of participating students receiving a 4.0 GPA and over 80% receiving higher than a 3.0 GPA, according to a 2020 Stanford Law School study. They also reduce recidivism rates by 48%, which increases with every degree students earn, according to the Vera Institute of Justice.

And of course, there are also the Second Chance Club’s weekly meetings. Paisley said new members often start

out quiet. After a month or two they begin to share, and by month four, they’re likely to become actively involved in club days.

“Kenny [Hotchkiss] is an example,” Paisley said. “I remember him starting a few years ago and he was quiet, for Kenny, and now we really rely on Kenny’s positive attitude, welcoming nature and vulnerability.”

Hotchkiss immediately joined Second Chance in his first semester at SRJC, spring 2023. He said a lot of members call it a class, but it's really a place where they can be themselves.

“To forget about the stigma, forget about society and how people look at us, how they frown at us or flinch when they see us,” he said.

Now he almost never misses a meeting. From his struggles with drug addiction, he knows how easy it is to slip into the deep end without constant support and check-ins.

His drug use began early, when he was only 9. Hotchkiss grew up in San Francisco as the youngest of five siblings, with an overall 15-year age difference between them. His dad was a Vietnam War medic who continued to serve there after it ended, for clean up purposes. Since he was gone a lot, his mom placed the responsibility of watching Hotchkiss to his brothers and sisters. They often did drugs and would offer him some.

“I think it was an easy way to keep a tab on me. ‘Drink this, smoke this.’ If I liked it I wouldn’t go anywhere. I would stick right with them,” he said. “So I grew up a lot faster than I should have. When I was 9, I would pretend I was like 14.”

Soon, Hotchkiss began having run-ins with the law. “I’m what they call an OG gangster. I knew a lot of the original gangbangers through my brothers and sisters. I grew up with them,” he said. Most of the crimes he committed were graffiti. When he was 15, he got busted tagging a federal building. Besides spending time in juvenile hall, he received some serious community service of scrubbing helicopter pads in Alcatraz. “There’s some big ass helicopter pads out there,” he said.

At 16 he moved to Petaluma and attended Casa Grande High School. Since Hotchkiss had access to drugs through his dealers in San Francisco, he became the go-to hookup. Through his early 20s he considered drugs as a fun time, but his use turned to “maintenance" as life grew more complicated with work and starting a family.

“I had two kids. My wife didn’t work. She stayed home to take care of them. So I had like three jobs. I just kept going,” he said. Despite short stints in jail due to drug possession charges, Hotchkiss never slowed down.

He ran a personal carpet and upholstery cleaning business, so his criminal record didn’t get in the way of employment at this time.

However, it wasn’t until much later in life that Hotchkiss realized he also resorted to drugs as his only form of therapy, an attempt to gain the emotional grounding he never learned as a kid, even if it was only temporary.

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He had endured a lot of physical, verbal and mental abuse from his brothers and sisters. “They beat the hell out of me,” Hotchkiss said. “My dad had been a raging alcoholic and drug addict, too. So my drug use was to disguise the trauma I went through. When I share my story today, I tell people drugs and alcohol wasn’t my addiction. It was my solution. To correct my anger.”

With no support and no one to tell him to quit, his true addiction set in and maintenance wasn’t about the lifestyle, but holding withdrawals at bay.

“I had to keep it going, or else I would get sick,” he said. “Your body hurts. Your mind hurts. You’re throwing up. You’re shitting yourself. All this stuff your body’s not used to doing, and all you want is to cure that.”

It eventually caught up with him, and he simply let his carpet and upholstery cleaning business go. He also lost his housing.

For the next two to three years he and his wife lived in motels, a van they owned for a time and even storage sheds. They grew apart and Hotchkiss began living on the streets. He couldn’t get a job because of his criminal record or his inability to pass a drug test, and being homeless didn’t help.

According to the study from the Prison Policy Initiative, the unemployment rate among previously incarcerated people living in the U.S. was over 27% in 2018, the most recent data available.

"Some of us hide it because we have scars, mental and physical,” Hotchkiss said. “Society looks at us as always being bad. But we’re not bad people; we’ve just made bad choices or been in bad situations”

This is almost five times the rate of the general public and higher than the total unemployment rate during the Great Depression. The study indicates that employers don’t want to hire formerly incarcerated people and not their unwillingness to search for jobs. Employers are legally prohibited from asking about convictions in California, though they can still run background checks.

This means the previously incarcerated are more likely to get stuck in poverty.

Hali Brenner, Rising Scholars administration assistant, said the outreach she did with the Second Chance Club for formerly incarcerated students gave her empowerment over the imposter syndrome she felt from being a felon and gave her reassurance that she belonged in college.

They are also, like Hotchkiss, 10 times more likely to become unhoused, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

There are 595 SRJC students who have reported being homeless, according to Fall 2023 data, almost 30% more than the 352 students housed at the Polly O’Meara Doyle Hall Dormitory, which opened last semester.

For Hotchkiss, the cycle of jail and living unhoused lasted over a decade.

“Days became weeks, weeks became months, months became years, which all blurred together,” Hotchkiss said. “You can imagine how quick a day or a week can go when you’re not taking time to rest. When you’re always having to break down camp and move it again. Or you’re being taken to jail. You don’t even know how many days you’ve been in jail before being released. That was my routine for a long time.”

He said between the age of 22 to 47, he’s spent half his time in jail. “I was what they call a frequent flier. Once you’re in the system, it’s easier to go back. You just go in and out, in and out,” he said.

Most of Hotchkiss’ arrests were for drug possession, with some for vagrancy. He said it was easier to get arrested because the cops knew his face and were aware he had a substance use disorder. If they saw him, they’d search him, and odds were he was carrying an illegal substance. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, more than half of people who are arrested multiple times report having a substance use disorder and 20% of people incarcerated in the U.S. are there for drug-related offenses.

To Hotchkiss, the difference between life on the streets or life in jail was either having to live like an animal or being treated like one.

“When you're homeless you have to worry about people stealing your shit, your bike, your clothes or drugs,” Hotchkiss said. “Nobody stole in jail because you didn’t have anything. You have to fight for your food when you're homeless. In jail, you just had to stand in line. But at least you got a name in jail. On the street you go by ‘hey you’, or ‘hey homeless.’”

By the time of that fateful Christmas night, Hotchkiss had lost most of his self-worth.

He knew his attacker had anger issues and was out for blood. When the “kid” started kicking Hotchkiss, he welcomed the onslaught, saying, “You can’t kill something that's already dead.”

The last thing he remembers of the waking world that night was the ambulance doors closing and a paramedic saying “we’re losing him.”

While unconscious and on life support, he remembers dreaming. Dreaming of his mother, brother and cousin, all of whom had been dead for years.

“They were so vivid. I could see them just standing there and they were telling me ‘Go away,’” Hotchkiss said. “I said, ‘I just want to be with you,’ and they were like, ‘No, you’re not welcome here. You’re not ready to be here. Go back home.’ I said, ‘I am home,’ and they said ‘No, you’re not.’”

Hotchkiss felt rejected when he woke up at Memorial Hospital surrounded by tubes and machines. “Now I realize it was them telling me I had a purpose,” he said. “I didn’t understand until I got more into recovery and into doing what I do now.”

Martha Piña enrolled into SRJC to get her AOD certificate since that would lead to the only employment she thought she could get with a criminal record. Since joining the Second Chance Club for formerly incarcerated students, she said has expanded her horizons and is now transferring to Sonoma State in fall 2024 to earn a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

The hospital discharged Hotchkiss on Jan. 9, 2018. He weighed about 120 pounds, about 70 pounds lighter than usual, with staples in his belly, yet still had to make it to a court date a week later. He faced up to 15 years in jail because of multiple charges for trespassing — setting up camp in private lots — and breaking probation, which added up in years.

Luckily, with the help of his medical papers, he was able to convince the judge to take “pity” on him, and he received Drug Court, which is an intensive drug program, instead of jail.

Drug Court worked. He’s been clean since Dec. 28, 2017, the day the ambulance picked him up. Besides his sober date, he also calls it his “rebirthing.”

Once clean, he was eventually able to get a job as a detox counselor at the Campobello Chemical Dependency. He then enrolled at SRJC in spring 2023 because he wanted to get his AOD certificate and make his counseling position official.

Interestingly enough, this was not his first experience on the SRJC campus, but his first in which he didn’t get arrested.

Hotchkiss said his classes were initially on Zoom, a pain since he’s not tech savvy. In-person was better, but then he

started to feel self-conscious because of his age, a common issue among Second Chance members.

Jason Dorfer, president of the Second Chance Club, said it was intimidating to come onto campus in his late 30s when most of the students are 18 to 21 years old. He felt like he was under the microscope.

“When people find out you're a felon, they look down on you like you wouldn’t want to be looked at, like a cockroach,” he said.

His time in jail had also damaged his self-esteem, making him self-conscious around others. “It’s really draining on your brain, on your well-being. When I got to Second Chance, it’s like I didn’t trust my own shadow, let alone other people,” Dorfer said.

His father, who was a drug addict, introduced Dorfer to drugs when he was 7. He said he didn’t have a chance to learn right from wrong as he grew up, and he’s been in trouble with the law for most of his adult life.

“I was running the streets hard, and I didn’t have any way to stop,” he said.

Dorfer, 46, was eventually sentenced to Drug Court, where he first met Hotchkiss, and since then he’s been sober, going on nine years.

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He decided to enroll at SRJC after mentioning he was interested in welding to his probation officer.

Through his time with the Second Chance Club, he learned to open up and trust others. He also found common ground with members.

“They’ve been down rocky paths, and they are trying to do something different. So then, I wanted to do something different,” Dorfer said. “I started to feel like these people were my family. My mom is my immediate family, but the Second Chance club knows more about me than my mom does.”

Since then he’s been thriving. At SRJC he has obtained three welding certificates. And he got his criminal record expunged through Second Chance, which he sees as gaining back the name he lost as a child.

He’s also found employment at SRJC as president of Second Chance, and a peer mentor. As a peer mentor, Dorfer checks on inmates at juvenile hall, usually one to three times a week. They can talk to him, and he can also help them cope with adjusting to life outside.

“If someone is struggling with having a relapse, I’ll take them to a meeting,” Dorfer said. “I’ve sat next to somebody on Thanksgiving at an NA meeting in Cotati, from like 7 at night to early in the morning.”

He is legally kept from mentioning people he has mentored, but said quite a few of them have come to Second Chance meetings after their incarceration, then graduated from SRJC to enter well-known universities around the Bay Area, Dorfer said.

“That can happen to you. You can go down that rabbit hole, then get out and succeed. People who have thought that they had nothing in life have pulled miracles,” he said.

Like Dorfer, Hotchkiss has begun to see his enrollment at SRJC as a chance to be an advocate for previously and currently incarcerated.

“I’ve been a failure for so long in my own mind and to society, and now I have this big freaking opportunity

to prove to not just myself but other people, that I can do anything,” he said. “I’m 54 years old, father of three. I’ve got six grandkids and one [more] on the way, and I would never have thought that I’d be going to college, working on a certificate that can turn into a bachelor’s or master’s [degree].”

Hotchkiss has also realized that community college students are more used to seeing classmates of various ages. Despite his initial self-consciousness about being older, the confidence he’s gained from the Second Chance Club has led to him becoming more outspoken in class. He’s noticed that younger students expect him to know things they don’t, like about events that happened in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and ask him a lot of questions.

To Hotchkiss, the difference between life on the streets or life in jail was either having to live like an animal or being treated like one

From his confidence, Hotchkiss also doesn’t mind “drilling the instructor” about something he doesn’t understand in class. He expects other students, who may be shy, to appreciate this from him.

Hali Brenner, the Rising Scholars Program administrative assistant, didn’t have to deal with the stigma of being an older student when she enrolled at SRJC at 23, but she still felt like an outsider on campus due to a felony on her criminal record and struggles with addiction, which lasted for 10 years starting at age 11.

She also had extensive trauma from being a victim of human trafficking from age 18-21.

“I thought that ‘felon’ and ‘addict’ were stamped on my forehead,” she said. “I had so much baggage and horrible PTSD. It was so fucked up. It’s funny because even though no one can see it,

you swear they’re just staring at you and judging you, when they have no idea.”

Before entering SRJC and Second Chance, Brenner had bleak predictions about her future, either expecting to spend her life in prison or end up in a ditch with a needle in her arm. Luckily, while in jail, she simply saw a “glimmer of light,” and dove into programs. At 29, she has been sober for eight years.

She said working at tables on club days helped her develop a sense of empowerment over her trauma and dismantle her imposter syndrome, a feeling of being a fraud or not emotionally accepting success despite personal achievements. Now, when she participates in outreach to local high schools, she appreciates the chance to empower other students. After club presentations, she said girls would approach her to share their own stories of sexual abuse.

Brenner also found her own personal empowerment through writing and taking English classes at SRJC. After reading works from other authors from incarcerated or gang backgrounds, she’s found there is healing when writing about trauma.

She is working on her own memoir, unofficially. “Because my story has purpose. My pain has purpose,” she said.

Since then she has earned her associate’s degree in English at SRJC and is now working on her master’s degree at Sonoma State University. With an interest in pedagogy and rhetoric, Brenner wants to eventually come full-circle and teach literature at SRJC. She thinks it's critical for people like her to initiate discussions about reentry and fight stigma around incarceration since traditional students won’t understand it on their own.

Hotchkiss said his presence in class, and blunt openness about his past, often sparks discussions about incarceration and drug addiction. Students usually don’t believe him at first when he opens up about himself because he is doing so well. “You make it look easy,” they tell him.

But he is quick to remind them of the effort he has put into recovery. A big

part of that is taking classes at SRJC and his pursuit of an AOD certificate, which he said gives him focus.

He is also a member of the Students For Recovery Club for students who struggle with addiction and is a sister club to Second Chance, with Paisley as coordinator as well.

Students For Recovery Meetings cover more than addiction, but also mental wellness and how that affects school. “If you don’t have your mental illness and self-care in check, your recovery doesn’t mean shit,” Hotchkiss said.

He thinks a lot of people hesitate to join these clubs because they don’t know how to talk about their mental illness.

However, Second Chance and Students For Recovery member Martha Piña, 51, said everyone is so “damn friendly” that it’s too easy to bond with other members and eventually open up to them.

Piña enrolled at SRJC two years ago to get her AOD certificate since she thought that it would lead to the only gainful employment she could get with a criminal record. She struggled with alcoholism since her first time getting drunk at 14, and it eventually led to her third DUI and a felony. It cost her a 21-year career that she loved, but it did lead to sobriety, and she's been in recovery for six years.

As an introvert and someone who doesn’t like to join groups, she only entered the Second Chance Club because it offered criminal record expungements. “But my mentality is: if I’m going to take, I’m also going to give, so I decided to join their weekly meetings. Then I started to share,” Piña said.

Second Chance gave her a sense of community, one that extends beyond campus. She said members create a network when they leave SRJC and find human service jobs and are able to help new members with essentials like food and housing.

After a year in Second Chance, Paisley asked Piña if she wanted to be a student success coach within the program. Piña already has an associate's degree in child development and will get three more degrees this semester; in social

work and human services: addiction studies, social work and human services: advocacy, and social and behavioral studies.

“I don’t struggle with academics, but I know a lot of people who have been incarcerated do, and they don’t have experience in academic settings,” she said.

As Piña started participating more at school and Second Chance, she said something shifted and she felt a desire to expand her education beyond SRJC. She plans to transfer to Sonoma State in fall 2024 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Piña said the Students For Recovery Club goes in and out of being active, depending on who can run it. She overcame her introversion again and, along with a few other members, restarted Students For Recovery two years ago.

The special thing about Students in Recovery, she said, is that it is inclusive to all paths of recovery.

“We’re all familiar with the 12-step program for AA (Alcoholics Anonymous),” Piña said. “Some people love it, and some, like myself, don’t vibe with it. Everyone’s different and has their own way. We embrace that.”

Students For Recovery has two meetings a week. Since a lot of Second Chance members also have substance use issues, this gives them the opportunity to attend support sessions three times a week. Members also have chances to meet outside of meetings and learn to socialize without the need for substances.

The club recently held an event showing a film about a man who killed someone during a DUI and got 30 years of jail for it. “I took my 13-year-old son to that because it was a kind of apology letter to him. But my main amends is him seeing me not drink and do better things,” Piña said.

Hotchkiss feels that treatment is all about facing the hard truth. When he’s working with a patient at Campobello and they start crying, he makes a point not to give them a tissue. “You got to feel that shit,” he said. Once the tears pour down your cheek, you’re releasing all

that fear and animosity that’s been pent up for the last 20, 30, 40 years.”

He likens his life to that of a caterpillar. Caterpillars hide in their cocoons to one day gain a pattern and become a butterfly. He’s been locked up for so much of his life that now is the time to break free and show the world that he is beautiful. The evil of stigma, he said, is it makes people think that everyone who has been through what he has isn’t a butterfly.

“We’re ordinary everyday people. Some of us hide it because we have scars, mental and physical,” Hotchkiss said. “Society looks at us as always being bad. But we’re not bad people; we’ve just made bad choices or been in bad situations.”

Second Chance gives them the opportunity to change that, he said. “We’re kicking statistics’ ass. We’re making stigmatizers look like they’re the bad people. The ones that make up the stigma need to look at themselves and ask, ‘Am I making this worse?’”

NICHOLAS VIDES

Confessions of a Digital Pirate

By Erina Corl

I am a digital pirate, but a moral one.

Let me explain. I confess that I’m part of the 75% of college students who cost the United States between $29.2 and $71 billion last year alone, according to NERA Economic Consulting. I download whatever show or movie I want through legally dubious means. However, I would not call myself the sort of pirate media companies imagine, the type that looks at a computer wearing a ski mask and cackling as I put artists on the streets. My relationship to media piracy is more complicated, and I'm not the only one.

I pay for several streaming services, and I use them frequently. I enjoy purchasing physical media, Blu-ray and DVD releases, when I can afford it, and when it comes to independent media, I try to buy it in a way that best supports the artist. In fact, I often greatly prefer physical over digital media for the sense of ownership.

So what makes me a pirate? Let's start with the most obvious answer for this question, one that most college students can agree to: the cost of streaming is far too expensive.

Paying for five of the top streaming

services — Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, MAX and Hulu — costs at least $48 a month, going up to $78 a month to watch without ads. The sheer number of movies and television shows to choose from may seem worth the price of admission, however it’s unlikely that any college student working part-time jobs can afford $50 to $100 a month for subscriptions.

One of my favorite series is the mecha anime "Mobile Suit Gundam." Most of the Gundam shows are available on Netflix and Crunchyroll, yet they are spread out across both. Some episodes are not on either streaming service, and the only legal way to watch them is through buying Blu-rays, which can cost $60. You might ask why not just subscribe to these services one at a time, take my time to watch these shows and then switch subscriptions each month? Well, there's no guarantee the show will still be there by the time I get around to it.

Streaming services have a history of suddenly removing shows from their catalog, for copyright reasons or simply a tax write-off. For example, the streaming service MAX, formerly HBO MAX, has written off critically acclaimed shows like “Over the Garden Wall”

and “Infinity Train,” meaning that it is not legally allowed to distribute or sell shows to anyone for a set fee. Sometimes audiences are given no reason at all. Netflix, in the month of April alone, removed 37 shows that may not land on another streaming service.

The lack of affordability and the uncertain availability of my favorite shows leads me to pirate. But I’m not alone among college pirates. More than 40% of students in private universities admit to pirating, despite 94% of them having access to Netflix and a third having access to other options, according to a study conducted at the Texas Christian University.

As a pirate, I admit I sometimes download shows for my friends and family who ask. It's rewarding to provide entertainment for people I like simply because I know how torrenting works. Not all of my friends have streaming services available or the ability to buy physical media, so piracy allows me to become a personal streaming service.

Yet I am an ethical pirate, one who spends money to see what I can get first. When it’s not available any other way, I see no choice but to pirate.

I Went Looking for Bigfoot and Found Myself

By Sal Sandoval-Garduño

Morning traffic. Tax season. Las Vegas Raiders fans. This is the price we pay to live in “modern” society.

Well, I’d had enough.

My girlfriend seemed to sense my mood and recommended a weekend escape into the redwoods. Together we would drive into the mountains to revitalize, maybe even to get… hairier.

I say hairier because, while I was desperate to live the hermit lifestyle, I like my hands well-moisturized and have a grave fear of spiders. And, what do I know about living like a recluse? We realized we needed a mentor. And when we examined our options for hairy, hard-to-find mountain folk, one legend stood leagues above the rest: Bigfoot.

So we booked an Airbnb — just because Bigfoot shits in the woods doesn’t mean I have to — and off we went to our weekend getaway in Willow Creek, the Bigfoot capital of the world.

A small mountain town located near the Trinity River in northeastern Humboldt County (specifically at 40°56'22''N 123°37'53''W), Willow Creek sits in the center of the Six Rivers National Park, surrounded by majestic, massive redwoods that lead gracefully to the pebble beaches along the Trinity River.

One might think these pebble beaches are a perfect spot to don a Bigfoot costume and record some “footage” for a documentary of the big ape. However, that’s silly, since real footage of the hairy hider has already been shot there.

The river connects to Bluff Creek, located 50 miles north of Willow Creek, known as the home to the Patterson/ Gimlin film, THE definitive, one-minute-long clip famous for clearly showing the first Bigfoot caught on film.

While the authenticity of the grainy footage is highly contested, naysayers of the film are wrong since the film clearly shows a Bigfoot, not a man in a gorilla costume. The filmmakers have both maintained that the footage is real, with one of them declaring its validity all the way to his grave.

The 50-mile stretch of land between Bluff Creek and Willow Creek is renowned for dozens of Bigfoot sightings, making the area the perfect location to look for the large, unkempt wild man.

But the journey there took longer than anticipated. We had a roughly five-hour drive ahead of us from Sonoma County to the mountain town. Heading north on Highway 101, a breathtaking scene straight from the forest moon of Endor played out before us. We passed the town of Leggett and the long, rolling golden hills common to Sonoma and Mendocino counties quickly disappeared into snow-capped mountains covered with gigantic redwoods.

Just past Leggett, my girlfriend’s 2015 Honda Civic began making a worrisome noise, as though something was stuck in the AC. As we pulled off the road, I wondered if Bigfoot himself was responsible. Could he have tampered with the car? Before the odd noise erupted, we’d been driving “slightly”

Oak Leaf reporter Sal Sandoval-Garduño and the mental manifestation of his inner Bigfoot confronting each other after he realized that Bigfoot was in his heart all along, on March 31.

Sal Sandoval-Garduño

Shannon Burrows

above the speed limit. While the kind and gentle spirit known as Bigfoot would never intentionally cause us any serious harm, could he have used his Sasquatch sorcery to teach us a lesson?

We turned off the AC and reduced our speed, and Bigfoot’s message became evident. If we had continued speeding, we would have missed all the grandiosity that the northern section of Highway 101 has to offer. The road is littered with interesting tourist attractions.

That said, skip the Chandelier DriveThrough Tree. It costs $15 to drive through a tree, and I learned the expensive way that it’s not worth it.

Beyond the town of Leggett lies Confusion Hill, founded in 1949. This tourist attraction served as the inspiration for the Mystery Shack from the Disney Channel cartoon “Gravity Falls.” Here, for just one-third the price of driving through a tree, an intrepid traveler can experience the Gravity House, a cabin where tourists hang by their arms at an angle and watch a ball roll up a track. Some lucky few even claim to see the legendary “Chipalope,” a mutant hybrid between a chipmunk and an antelope. These antlered rats love peanuts.

The next must-stop on Highway 101 is The Legend of Bigfoot, a gift shop

loaded with Bigfoot-themed paraphernalia. Here visitors can find everything from plush Bigfoot dolls and Sasquatch T-shirts to ape-man mugs, footprint keychains, elusive-creature puzzles and vials of Bigfoot’s luscious locks.

Warning: The store also contains two large velociraptor statues. Why? Unknown, but they are for sale.

In the parking lot, I discarded my clothing and donned the furry, latex-smelling suit

The last place Bigfoot would allow himself to be spotted would be along a major highway, so we veered from 101 onto the Avenue of the Giants, a road that continues north and envelops tourists in redwoods, free of charge.

This road is a slower one, with many cars driving at 35 mph, but the low speed limit ensures no one misses any of the guided stops, which mostly consist of hiking trails into the redwoods.

It was at the Mahan Plaque trail that my hunt for Bigfoot began. The trail is named after Laura and James Mahan, a dynamic duo who took it upon themselves to protect the forest surrounding

the trail from loggers. In 1924, Laura physically put herself between redwoods and logging machinery while James fought the battle in the courts. Their efforts bought the Save the Redwood Organization enough time to purchase the land and save the grove.

We pulled over, parked and began hiking the trail. Realizing that walking on a designated path probably wasn’t elusive enough for Bigfoot, we took a left turn into the undergrowth.

In short order we encountered multiple ancient redwoods with hollowed-out sections sunk into the earth about 4 feet, the perfect refuge for Bigfoot during Humboldt County’s rainy season. We were so very, very close.

At this point I heard footsteps in the distance, and intuitively knew they were Bigfoot’s. I could tell by the receding sound of the steps that Bigfoot did not intend to reveal himself to me yet, and in truth I was not quite ready to meet him myself.

We returned to the car and finished the drive to our Airbnb, ending the day’s adventure with the best-evermade Bigfoot movie: “The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot,” which starred actor Sam Elliott and his famous mustache.

A comparison between the left foot of Oak Leaf reporter Sal Sandoval-Garduño and an alleged cast of a Bigfoot print found in Willow Creek.

That night I went to bed anxious about what the next day would bring. What if Bigfoot found my love for modern amenities, like Roombas and trains, annoying and wrote me off as another digital addict? With Bigfoot clouding my every thought, I eventually drifted off to sleep, my dreams haunted by an elusive, furry figure.

The next morning we drove to Willow Creek. The town’s Bigfoot idolization was immediately apparent.

A two-story-tall Bigfoot statue stood proudly outside the Willow Creek China Flat Museum, popularly referred

to as the Bigfoot Museum. The museum’s star attraction was, of course, the Bigfoot exhibit, with its walls lined with enlarged photos of Bigfoot, newspaper clippings of reported sightings and stills pulled from Bigfoot-sighting films.

However, the real treasures were locked away inside glass display cases: Bigfoot footprint casts. Though they varied in size and shape, one aspect proved the same in every print: All the feet were quite big. It’s difficult to believe there’s so much debate about Bigfoot’s existence when so much evidence exists inside an official building.

Outside the museum, it was nearly impossible to take a single step down Main Street without encountering a Bigfoot-themed store or statue.

The Bigfoot Cannabis Company quite possibly sold Bigfoot-grown weed, and the large-footed lad himself prepared me a hairy steak at the Bigfoot Steakhouse. I assumed both the Bigfoot Barber and the Bigfoot Motel wanted for business — the former due to the scarcity of Sasquatches and the latter because of its shorter-than-a-Sasquatch length beds.

For such an elusive figure, Bigfoot stood in the spotlight in Willow Creek. I realized why as the town’s mellow mountain vibe began to sink in.

Outside of Bigfoot tourism, Willow Creek serves as home to roughly 2,000 families. It isn’t a party town. The resi-

dents — and Bigfoot — choose to live in the mountains because of the privacy the redwood curtain provides. It’s important to respect a town’s culture.

At this point in my journey through Willow Creek, I began to understand why Bigfoot enjoys such notoriety among Humboldt County residents: He serves as their mascot. On the outside, he represents the city-slicker view of Humboldt’s residents — as grizzled hermits who growl at out-of-towners — but as Inner Bigfoot, he represents their modest nature.

At this point I need to confess that I didn’t embark on this trip with the sole intention of finding my inner wild man. While I did need to get away from the modern world's woes and I enjoyed my hunt for the mythical hairy ape, I also traveled to Humboldt County to help my girlfriend film a Bigfoot mockumentary. One in which I played the starring role: Bigfoot.

We drove to a local river access point, where the sun’s appearance proved a welcome contrast to the prior day’s rain. It was the perfect weather for faking Bigfoot footage, an ominous omen. Perhaps a higher power — or the hairy power — did indeed motivate this trip. Maybe something inside me had yet to be realized.

In the parking lot, I discarded my clothing and donned the furry, latex-smelling suit. From that moment onward I experienced the world through Big-

Sandoval-Garduño

A taxidermied Bigfoot, or a statue located in Willow Creek, California.

Masks or trophies of hunted Bigfoots located in the window of Unique Boutique on Mayfair Street in Willow Creek.

foot’s eyes, and nearby hikers saw me as Bigfoot — or just another guy in a Bigfoot costume.

We began filming on the riverbank, and in no time at all I began to melt. The suit was unbearably hot in direct sunlight; the thick hairy fabric provided almost no ventilation.

Thankfully, when I moved under the thick redwood canopy, the shade and the slight breeze cooled me. My appreciation for the redwoods skyrocketed, not only for their majestic beauty but because they kept me from drowning in sweat. The escape from heat is difficult to find in concrete-laden cities, and I now understand why Bigfoot lives in cooler climates.

Wearing a modest size 9.5 men’s shoe, I never realized all the troubles that accompany such big feet. The costume’s shoe cover added an extra 5 inches to my foot length, which slowed my pace considerably and forced me to stomp to avoid tripping over my own pretend toes or the odd stone.

Those size 20 men’s shoes forced me to tread cautiously. The ground was no longer designed with people in mind, and if I didn’t watch my stomp, I could quickly go from vertical to horizontal.

Perhaps most enviable is that Bigfoot doesn’t care about the opinions of others; he doesn’t need to live up to anyone’s expectation of what an ape man should be. Most people can’t take a

step without influencers dictating their cadence. Even if Bigfoot’s actions are odd and antisocial, they’re his.

Something else became apparent while in costume: my inherent need for privacy. It’s become increasingly difficult in today’s world to find alone time; even if I turn off my phone, even in solitude, true privacy is elusive.

People with phones and cameras are always within sight — neighbors, passersby, Las Vegas Raiders fans. As soon as I turn my phone back on, a scroll of messages and notifications reminds me just how electronically connected and socially bombarded I’ve become.

As onlookers stared at me in costume, I felt the urge to escape deeper into the redwoods. So I did, and suddenly I was free. My apprehension disappeared.

Stomping alone and hairy in the forest, my modern worries also evaporated. I had no access to my phone — but Bigfoot does not need pockets and his large fingers make using a touchscreen nightmarish. Everything outside of my limited view ceased to exist.

It could have been just the suit, but I did walk away from my performance more Bigfoot than I ever thought I could be. So many of my life’s stressors were reduced by the Bigfoot lifestyle. Although I was able to take off the Bigfoot suit, a part of Bigfoot stayed with me. Initially, I set off to find him; little did I know he was with me all along.

During my weekend stay, I received the mentorship I desperately sought. Bigfoot — in one way or another — guided me throughout my trip and taught me the importance of being alone, unshaven, in nature and letting my over-civilized troubles drift away. I wanted Bigfoot’s guidance, but by the end of my experience, I became my own shaggy, smelly sensei.

If traffic, taxes and Raiders fans get to you, too, take a page out of Bigfoot’s book. Leave the crowded city behind and venture to Humboldt County or anywhere you can get away and disconnect. Maybe you’ll find your inner Bigfoot too.

Oak Leaf reporter Sal Sandoval-Garduno investigates a hollowed-out tree, likely Bigfoot's sleeping quarters.

Sal Sandoval-Garduño

Shannon Burrows

Interns Bailey Glashan and Natalie Kozlowski work as a team when sampling bees at Pepperwood Preserve. They recall bonding during a biology class visit to Pepperwood over a dead frog that Kozlowski found and wanted to keep.

Under the Oaks

SRJC Interns Support Local Ecological Research

By Parker Stagnoli

After navigating 15 minutes down a bumpy gravel road cohabited by a herd of cattle, Santa Rosa Junior College students Bailey Glashan and Natalie Kozlowski pull into a small turnout and hop out of their car.

The duo follow the road on foot for a few minutes but quickly turn onto a game trail, stopping to admire native wildflowers. Sunlight peeks through a smattering of clouds above, illuminating oak trees and grassy, rolling hills, lush green from the winter’s rain.

Finally, they reach their destination: a patch of flowers hidden amongst oaks. Something catches Kozlowski’s eye, and she reaches for her bug net. After one fell swoop, she holds the net up for a better view before declaring success. A small black bee is in the mesh.

Glashan and Kozlowski are student interns at Pepperwood Preserve, a local site for ecological research, where their work focuses on native bees.

Nestled quietly in the Mayacamas Mountains of eastern Sonoma County and a mere 25-minute drive from Santa Rosa Junior College, the 3,200-acre Pepperwood Preserve is a hub for ecological research. Internships hosted in partnership with Santa Rosa Junior College allow students to participate hands-on with Pepperwood’s work.

Landowners Kenneth and Nancy Bechtel created the preserve in 1979 when they donated a plot west of Calistoga to the California Academy of Sciences. Nearly 30 years later, local philanthropists Jane and Herb Dwight purchased the property and established the Pepperwood Foundation, placing the land under the management of the newly-created foundation.

Though typically closed to the public, the preserve offers classes, volunteer opportunities and guided hikes. Some SRJC biology professors take their classes to the preserve, too.

However, research conducted by residential postgraduates and Pep-

perwood's own ecologists is key to the preserve’s operations.

Steven Hammerich, a wildlife specialist with the preserve, described the site as “a living laboratory.” Pepperwood’s research focus is diverse. “We’re what’s called a sentinel site,” Hammerich said. “So we’re a site that does a lot of monitoring. We do climate monitoring, we do vegetation monitoring and we do wildlife monitoring.”

Glashan and Kozlowski work under Pepperwood’s Barnhart Herbarium Internship, a paid position that lasts for a year. Selected students create a research project that aligns with their interests.

The internship is named after Steven Barnhart, a retired SRJC professor who taught for 37 years. Barnhart and his wife, Linda, are still involved with activities at the preserve. He said that watching interns grow and succeed is “very gratifying.”

Shawn Brumbaugh, an SRJC biology professor, handles many of the logistics

Parker Stagnoli

behind the internship. “If anyone is interested in doing any sort of resource management, conservation or ecology, just spending time in the field is essential,” Brumbaugh said.

After all, experiments don't always go as planned, and the variability on the field teaches scientists to think on the fly.

“As an ecologist, you have all your plans of how something should work, and you get out there and it’s like, ‘This isn’t going to work,’” Brumbaugh said. “And then it’s a lot of problem solving, it’s like, ‘Okay, I need to study this system a little more and see how I need to adjust.’”

Brumbaugh also works with Pepperwood to clear the projects interns select. Though the autonomy of proposing research projects is valuable, there is also responsibility to consider.

“[Pepperwood] is limited in the amount of time and energy they can put into things, and so they have their set of objectives,” Brumbaugh said. “So we do want to be mindful of that, whatever the intern is doing, that it also benefits the priorities the preserve is setting.”

Glashan and Kozlowski’s project involves collecting bees from sites on both the SRJC campus and at Pepperwood Preserve.

There’s a catch though. The project does not focus on bee species that most people think of, like the honeybee, which is not native to California, or even the bumblebee, which lives in large colonies. Their research focuses on a unique type: solitary bees.

As the name suggests, solitary bees live independently from other bees, with females building a nest and providing for young. Males, meanwhile, often sleep in flowers and emerge to mate with females. It’s a diverse category, accounting for around 90% of bee species in North America.

"I’ve never felt more connected to Sonoma County”

This variety is a large part of the reason Glashan, 21, enjoys researching insects.

“I was blown away with the diversity you don’t even see,” she said.

The research begins in the field, where the process is simple. Glashan and Kozlowski scour key sites at Pepperwood and on campus for actively pollinating bees. Using bug nets and “kill jars,” containers with fumes fatal to the bees, they sample notable species. The two then bring the bees into the lab where they identify specimens using

a dissecting microscope. By collecting additional data, including the flower being pollinated and the day’s conditions, such as temperature, they get a better idea of the bee’s environment.

The goal is to help local bees thrive, said Jen Palladini, an SRJC instructor who oversees the work of students like Kozlowski and Glashan.

“If there are plants at Pepperwood, for example, that we find to be really important for a host for native solitary bees, it makes sense to try to plant some of those on campus so that we can better support the bees,” Palladini said.

Palladini, who has taught at SRJC for a decade, finds this research especially relevant in today’s world.

“Many of us have this idea that there’s the city and then there’s the nature, and the nature is for the wild species and the city is for people,” Palladini said. “As we expand our footprint out and out and out, we need to figure out how to better support wild species in areas where people are living.”

Human expansion is not the only threat to bees, Glashan added. She described a phenomenon called temporal mismatch in which changing climate factors cause bees to miss the window to pollinate.

There is a technique to obtaining field samples properly, but Pepperwood Preserve interns Bailey Glashan and Natalie Kozlowski have become skilled. Kozlowski says certain types of bees are tougher to wrangle than others, though she has yet to be stung while collecting a sample.

Parker Stagnoli

“The bees die because they don’t get anything to eat, and the flowers die because they don’t reproduce,” Glashan said, describing the bee’s essential role as pollinators.

This is not Glashan’s first experience researching bees. The semester prior to obtaining her Pepperwood position, she began working on a project with a similar premise.

Though still fairly uncertain about her future, the Pepperwood experience has shown Glashan that she is passionate about both ecology and fieldwork. She’s interested in ecology “with special consideration and in the context of indigenous wisdom.”

Kozlowski says she also gained a lot from the internship. The exposure to research fields is important, but she highlighted how the opportunity helped her see value in natural lands.

“It’s been a very personal thing to research where I live and where I go to school,” Kozlowski said. “It’s given me an appreciation for native things… I’ve never felt more connected to Sonoma County.”

Glashan and Kozlowski are not the only students interning at Pepperwood through SRJC programs. A short distance from the bee-sampling site, a separate team of interns works in the gallery of Pepperwood’s Dwight Center, a multi-use facility within the preserve. Their mission is to sift carefully through thousands of photos in search of elusive wildlife.

Laid out across the preserve is a grid of trail cameras. The cameras are programmed to take bursts of photos when a sensor detects movement.

Members of the Conservation Science Internship (CSI), a program that’s entirely separate from the Barnhart Internship, are responsible for searching through massive volumes of pictures, often in the thousands.

This semester, SRJC’s Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program made two seats with the CSI internship possible. MESA, which aims to support first-generation, low-income STEM students, partners

with Pepperwood as a part of its career development services.

“Once they apply for scholarships or four-year universities, or even apply for other jobs, [students] are able to put [the internship] on their resume, which gives them the hands-on experience that other students may already have,” said Jessica Zambrano, manager of the MESA program.

That sort of marketable experience has proved perfect for student Oliver Murray, who had never interned prior to Pepperwood.

“I think [Pepperwood] is doing great things that will reverberate further than just our couple thousand acres”

Murray, 25, started his journey at SRJC studying computer science but ultimately decided to switch his major after struggling in classes. He now takes biology courses with the hope of going into DNA forensics.

“I love organizing things and filling out a spreadsheet,” Murray said. He attributes this analytical mindset to both attracting him to the CSI program and success in the position. Interns like Murray catalog images from

the trail cameras by first identifying the animal in the picture. The image may be “blank” with no animal in the frame, or the observer might spot playful foxes or grazing deer. The intern then enters the information into a spreadsheet so researchers can track and analyze the data over time.

“It’s always something to laugh at or something to be curious about,” Murray said. “I’ve found I did not really have much of that in my life before.”

In one instance, Murray remembers working through a set quickly because a majority of the photos were blanks. “And then all of a sudden, like point blank, there were just two eyes and a nose,” Murray said, chuckling. “I screamed because it scared me.”

Murray is grateful for the opportunity. He advised students to put themselves out there. “Don’t be afraid to apply even if you think you won’t meet all the requirements or if you only want to do parts of it,” Murray said. “People are really accommodating, not just in a path forward but elsewhere. And the worst that they could say is, ‘No.’”

Besides working with image catalogs, CSI interns spend time roaming the preserve’s grassy expanse. The most common task is coverboarding, a technique where researchers rake the ground and then cover it with a plywood sheet. After a waiting period, a researcher flips over the cover board and records the species underneath.

Oliver Murray meticulously catalogs a set of trail camera photos from a workstation in Dwight Center's gallery. Murray is a natural at combing through images and has stood out for his ability to notice birds that otherwise might have been missed.

Parker Stagnoli

Savoth Chea remembers the first time he flipped over a coverboard. “The first one I lifted up, I saw a red salamander, and I was shocked, a scorpion,” he said. “I thought in my mind that scorpions are only in the desert like Arizona or Texas, but not here. And there was a beautiful-looking scorpion.”

Chea is the second CSI intern participating through MESA. At 45, Chea is also a returning student.

Born in Cambodia, Chea’s family fled violence and instability associated with Khmer Rouge, a totalitarian and genocidal regime, when he was about 6. Among a family of six siblings, only Chea, his mother, grandmother and sister survived.

“I never met my dad,” Chea said. “My only recollection of my dad was the shadow from sitting on his shoulder walking down the market shooting little rubber bands.”

In the U.S., Chea began working at a young age. He struggled to find direction in his SRJC classes and did not progress far. Still, he found his way into various lab tech positions, including working at Hewlett Packard manufacturing circuit boards and Thermo Fisher testing pipetting equipment.

However, his lack of formal education limited his ability to progress within these jobs. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Chea assumed the responsibility of watching his young grandniece. It was then that his perspective shifted.

“I realized you have to do something for yourself,” he said. “Don’t be so scared, and then you have to leave a legacy behind.”

Chea has since returned to SRJC and is taking classes to pursue a career change to astronautical engineering, a field that focuses on developing spacecraft. He’s deeply passionate about the topic, and is now at Pepperwood to gain internship experience before transferring to a four-year university.

Savoth Chea has had his life uprooted before. Now, he's leaving behind his past as a lab tech to study astronautical engineering, and is interning at Pepperwood while on his way to that degree.

As Chea sees it, there are links between the grassy expanses of Pepperwood and the depths of space. Not only is the data management side of wildlife cataloging reminiscent of engineering work, Chea also likes to consider how satellite photography can support conservation.

“We’re like a fish in an aquarium,” Chea said. “There’s only a certain amount of resources. I want to think about how we can use space technology to help us eliminate wastefulness.”

Adrian Cabrera-Cortez, 19, also shares a deep passion for conservation. “Healthy biodiversity creates healthy ecosystems, and healthy ecosystems provide the services that we need for our societies to function,” Cabrera-Cortez said. “They give us our water, our food, our air.”

Cabrera-Cortez remembers his connection to ecology starting at a young age.

“My mom brought home the original ‘Planet Earth’ series on a DVD,” he said, “and I watched that thing straight—all the episodes, every second, and just rewatched it for years.”

Interested in the effects native and invasive plants have on ecosystems, Cabrera-Cortez set up an at-home project by

After living in Las Vegas for two years, Adrian Cabrera-Cortez developed a greater appreciation for conservation here in Sonoma County. Alongside his internship at Pepperwood, Cabrera-Cortez grows native wildflowers as part of a passion project.

Parker Stagnoli

Parker Stagnoli

planting a plot of native wildflowers and documenting their growth. He’s also working on a short documentary to capture the project. “[The wildflowers] get the rain when it comes, but when it’s not there they don’t need it, and they grow up beautiful,” Cabrera-Cortez said. “I see it as a win-win in all regards; little effort, high reward.”

Being the newest intern on site, Cabrera-Cortez is still learning the ropes. But either way, he admires the ongoing work at Pepperwood.

“I think [Pepperwood] is doing great things that will reverberate further than just our couple thousand acres,” Cabrera-Cortez said.

Kevin Brady and Jacob Lewis have both been CSI interns for just shy of two years. Both have ties to SRJC, with Brady having received a natural resource management certificate and Lewis being a current student.

As veterans of the program, they have their share of lessons to teach. Lewis, in particular, enjoys how there’s always so much to learn. “It’s that mentality, combined with the rigorous outdoor therapy that we get here, is addicting to me, like spending my time around curious scientists and getting to experience the outdoors,” Lewis said. “It’s this low rumble of spirituality that I get out here that the Earth is just here.”

The two also have stories from the field. Brady recounted lifting up one coverboard to find a surprise underneath: a rattlesnake. “I kind of froze. And my partner was like, ‘Slowly put the board back,’” Brady said. “You really do have to be careful when you lift up cover boards. And there are things out here that can hurt you.”

Whatever wisdom the pair has to offer, they’ve begun to step into more of a mentoring role for the program’s newcomers. Though Hammerich spearheads the program, they’ve been able to help out by teaching. “

For a while now, I’ve felt like I get to teach interns, and I love training and teaching. It’s my jam,” Lewis said.

Brady appreciates putting the work of the team into context. “We’re kind of a

part of something bigger,” he said. That “something bigger” is evident in all the ongoing projects, be it wildlife monitoring, coverboards or bee studies.

At Pepperwood, ecologists have a unique sandbox, a place to experiment with different variables and quantify the results.

Take coverboards. By making initial observations about what’s popping up underneath the coverboards, Hammerich said, Pepperwood scientists can use those results as a baseline and begin tinkering with the conditions.

“You go in there and you do a bunch of thinning, so you’re cutting down a bunch of trees and stuff,” he said. “And then you can see how that might be affecting them. And then you burn it, and then you can see how it’s affected after burning.”

No one method works in isolation. Alongside coverboards, data from trail cams gives another perspective. “Overtime, we can see how wildlife are using different vegetation communities,” Hammerich said.

Independent projects, like that of Kozlowski and Glashan, further refine the scope of the picture. Ecologists gain understanding of what types of flowers bees are pollinating and what species are out there.

Based on those results, Pepperwood scientists draw conclusions. “Then you can say with some level of confidence that the things we’re doing in the forest are having no impact on the wildlife, or they are having a negative impact, or they are having a positive impact,” Hammerich said.

It’s like putting together a giant puzzle. And students get to play hands-on roles in making that puzzle come together, which can be valuable in exploring interests and building roots in the field. This is something Hammerich, a former SRJC student, finds important.

“I’ve seen lives change here. Not kidding, I’ve seen students come here who didn’t know that they were as passionate as they were about conservation science,” he said. “I get to see them later when they start their careers in the field. And I get to know that I’ve been a small part of that. It’s very rewarding.”

Created by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, the “Indiana Jones” franchise is one of the most popular adventure movie series in film history. The ongoing saga of the fearless archaeologist and his quests has grossed more than $2 billion internationally over the past four decades and solidified Harrison Ford’s status as a legendary actor. While four of the five films have seen box office success, they vary in cast, style and quality.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)

Set in 1936, this fast-paced, humor-filled movie is loaded with action, suspense and mystery. The adventure is pedalto-the-metal from the very first scene, when Jones braves an ancient temple in Peru to find a golden idol. His antics include avoiding flying darts and a giant, rolling boulder, which sets the tone for the entire series. The action continues without letup; Indiana Jones travels from Peru to Nepal, and then Egypt to find the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred Judeo-Christian relic with supernatural powers. He teams with Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), a bartender who possesses a mysterious artifact crucial to the plot, and together they fight Jones’ rival archaeologist, the villainous Nazi stooge Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman). The film's climax sets a high bar for all subsequent historical action movies — including the "Indiana Jones" sequels.

“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984)

This movie serves as a prequel to “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” taking place in 1935, one year before the first film. As such, we are introduced to new characters like Willie Scott and Short Round,

SERIES RETROSPECT

By Jaime Jauregui

played by Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan. They travel with Jones to India, where they help a small village find the Sankara stones which have been stolen by an ancient Thuggee cult.

The three characters find the cult, ruled by the nefarious Mola Ram, at a nearby temple, where swordplay and whip-lashing ensues. Jones’ fight with Ram eventually leads to a high-speed chase with mine carts and plenty of close calls. The finale may even outshine that of the first film. As a side note, this movie helped inspire the PG-13 rating for films, as it did not quite fit in either the PG or R rating.

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)

The original trilogy's last movie is as enthralling as the previous installments. It opens with River Phoenix playing a young Indiana Jones, as we dive into Jones’ origin story, including his fear of snakes and how he acquired his iconic whip. As we return to an adult Indy, John Rys-Davies returns from the first movie as Sallah and Sean Connery plays Indiana’s father, Henry Jones Sr.

Filled with the familiar trademark action and mystery, “The Last Crusade” follows Indiana Jones’ attempt to find his missing father and the centuries-lost Holy Grail. The movie features seat-gripping visuals, such as Indiana Jones and Henry Jones tied to chairs while a fire engulfs the castle, and Indiana fighting the evil Nazi Colonel Ernst Vogel (Michael Byrne) on a tank before it falls off a cliff. It also featured the first digital composite of live images ever made for a scene when a character ages into bones and dust right before the audience’s eyes.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)

The fourth movie in the franchise holds a special place in my heart. “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” introduced me to Indiana Jones, and I have loved the characters and world ever since. The adventure continues 19 years after “The Last Crusade,” when Lucas convinced Spielberg to have another go. Indiana Jones searches for a telepathic crystal skull in Peru while playing cat-andmouse with Soviet KGB agents led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). The film faced criticism over its use of CGI and a plot involving aliens, but it still manages to capture the signature Indiana Jones adventure, suspense and humor.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023)

This is the only film in the franchise that Spielberg did not direct, and the only one that didn’t achieve box office success. Due to Harrison Ford’s age, Jones engages in very little action. The film does, however, showcase quality de-aging technology at the beginning when Indiana Jones revisits nostalgic action on a train.

Characters like Sallah and Marion Ravenwood return, but they don’t play major roles. Indiana Jones and his goddaughter find themselves in a race to locate the Antikythera mechanism before the villain Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a Nazi trying to go back in time, can change the outcome of World War II. Overall it’s a good movie, but lackluster action and mystery keep it from being among the best in the series. It best serves as a tribute to prior films.

BAD MOVIES THAT ARE WORTH THE WATCH

By Sam Guzman

It wasn’t until COVID-19 shut the world down that a harrowing realization set in: Movies are not essential to this world. Not only did movie theaters close, but movie studios halted productions — yet the world carried on. When the world slowly re-opened, however, an interesting phenomenon began to appear in online discourse.

People hated everything. Every movie coming out was bombarded and lambasted. Box office earnings also reflected this. Even the titan of the industry, Marvel Studios, produced flop after flop. Talks of “wokeness” and oversaturation flooded movie critiques, and I felt as though hating movies had become popular. But for me, every movie is worth watching. Not every film has to be Oscar-worthy. It’s OK if movies are “just OK,” as long as they inspire, entertain or allow us to escape.

BLACK ADAM

Yes. I am defending this movie. For the sake of cinema. “Black Adam,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, released on Oct. 21, 2022, follows Black Adam, who seeks to reclaim his throne of Kahndaq while being challenged by the Justice Society. This film is a prime example of not every movie needing to be a shining star. The villain is bland, annoying characters are present for much of the movie and Johnson, who has always been criticized for playing the same character in every movie, attempts to change it up here. But putting that aside, this movie offers plenty of superheroes, fight scenes and bright spots. Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate is easily the coolest character of any DC movie, with his mystical powers making him a delight to watch. Stunning visual effects for characters and fights (except for the villain) make this more of a spectacle than a film. And that’s OK. Sit back, relax and enjoy the weird characters punching each other for two hours.

BULLET TRAIN

“Bullet Train,” released Aug. 5, 2022, has a star-studded cast, with Brad Pitt as the lead, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji and Joey King in the supporting cast. The movie revolves around a briefcase that Brad Pitt’s character, Ladybug, must retrieve, while several assassins try to either hunt him down or steal the case, all while stuck on a bullet train. The movie is off-the-wall ridiculous, with amazing, fast-paced editing that keeps viewers on their toes. Countless cameos from different actors, as well as a humorous tone throughout, make this a fun movie to watch. Sudden drips of character backstory and stunning action sequences both add depth to characters and the movie. Negative reviews used words like “mayhem,” “over-the-top,” and “laid back” to describe this movie, but these are easily “Bullet Train’s” strengths.

THE MARVELS

“The Marvels” released Nov. 10, 2023. This movie suffered from the “wokeness” critique and is considered Marvel Studios’ biggest box office flop. Despite that, “The Marvels” is an easy watch, and its greatest strength is the leading three women. Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani exude excellent chemistry, bouncing off each other. The dynamic between the three — fangirl, estranged relationship and hesitant mentor — gives the leads a lot to work with from an acting perspective. The movie has the usual quippy Marvel humor, but “The Marvels” tones down the comedy. This makes up for the movie’s pacing, which can be janky at times.

Several creative action scenes, with the three leads swapping places mid-fight, lend to the movie’s fast pacing. Longtime fans will enjoy the usual Marvel Easter eggs and references. But this is a short, fun watch, excellent for a family movie night. Yes, this movie sets the scene for sequels, but in and of itself, it’s a nice story. Comparing this movie to others in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is unnecessary because it stands on its own.

SNAKE

EYES MORTAL KOMBAT

Starring Henry Golding, “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins” was released in July 2021. This movie’s biggest criticism is the fact that Golding’s character, Snake Eyes, is incredibly unlikable and is overshadowed by Andrew Koji’s character, Storm Shadow. Regardless, this movie follows Snake Eye’s personal mission to find his father’s killer as an ancient Japanese clan welcomes him into their clan. This movie has it all: sword fights, family drama, bright colors and large group shootouts. Low lows and high highs make for an engrossing watch. In particular, Koji’s performance as Storm Shadow develops a fantastic character arc to watch unfold. If you’re not familiar with the G.I. Joe franchise, worry not; this film doesn’t require any previous knowledge. But if you’re looking for a solid popcorn flick, “Snake Eyes'” fast action and drops of snappy humor don't disappoint.

This first movie of the franchise in more than 20 years met with middling reviews, particularly from fans of the game series. Released in 2021, complaints that “Mortal Kombat” is not loyal to the source material are true. The movie forces a new character never seen in any previous game, Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan, into the limelight. Young, a baffling character, is infinitely less interesting than every other character in the movie. Outshining him, though, are an Australian mercenary, Shaolin monks who shoot fire from their hands, ice ninjas, fire ninjas and four-armed monsters. While characters are not the most complex, the movie does not fail where the Mortal Kombat series has always shined: blood and violence. No punches are pulled when it comes to gore and profanity in this movie, carrying over the game's “Fatalities.” Definitely not the best family movie choice, but for the 18-and-older crowd, “Mortal Kombat” is a highly entertaining fantasy flick.

Three Aesthetics You’ve Seen on TikTok (And Three You Haven't)

Art & Story By Natalie Emanuele

How would you describe your style? Chic? Alternative? Pastel grunge?

Avant apocalypse? Pink Pilates princess? Goofcore? Sewer circus?

Okay, that last one wasn’t real but you get the point. Everyone has a different style, and TikTok and other social media sites have allowed us to express ourselves more than ever. We’ve gone beyond goth and prep to a new era of fashion aesthetics so vast we need The Aesthetic Wiki to catalog them all. While some have made the jump from Pinterest boards into mainstream fashion, others remain relatively obscure aside from their dedicated spaces online.

Anyone on TikTok in 2019 knows about VSCO girls, but what about the plaguecore girls? From tomato girl summer to winter fairy coquette, let’s take a look at some aesthetics making their way into modern fashion and a few that may be on their way.

Y2K

Get in loser, we’re going back to 2001. Y2K is a celebration of pop culture from the late ‘90s and early 2000s, from clunky flip phones to even clunkier platform flipflops. With an emphasis on designer brands and bling, this style takes inspiration from fashionable celebrities of the era like Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. Y2K truly is a product of its time, but aspiring mean girls need not despair. With low-rise jeans and colorful sunglasses coming back into style, Y2K is back and with more bling than ever.

Coquette

A sweet style tied in a bow, coquette is perfect for those days when you want to think in pink. The word coquette itself means a woman who flirts or otherwise uses her charms, tying in perfectly with the romantic and feminine nature of the aesthetic. Coquette fashion comes in various pastels and uses embellishments like frills, lace and ribbons for an outfit with a hyper-feminine flair. While other fashion aesthetics like dollcore and princesscore share similar elements with coquette, it remains unrivaled when it comes to the dress code for a romantic picnic in a rose garden.

Cottagecore

Have you ever wanted to frolic in a field of wildflowers after a long day of baking in your idyllic fairytale cottage? True to its name, cottagecore represents all that is good and pastoral. Floral patterns, earthy tones and a wistful soundtrack straight from Studio Ghibli are all cornerstones of this homey genre of vintage fashion with an affinity for the agricultural.

Cottagecore may actually owe its surge in popularity to the COVID-19 lockdown, when baking became a popular hobby, along with escapism through cozy games like “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” and an overall urge to be outdoors again. Many found themselves yearning for something simpler, like comfortable flowy skirts and lantern sleeves. After all, it's hard to worry about the world around you when you’re too busy looking cute and picking fresh blueberries for a pie.

Whimsigoth

How would you dress if you were a trendy witch in an early ‘90s Disney Channel original movie? If you’re visualizing jewel-toned layers of velvet and mesh patterned with celestial imagery and laden with beads and baubles, you’re probably right on the money for whimsigoth. Also known as whimsical gothic, whimsigoth takes a more fantastical approach to goth fashion. Hot Topic shoppers may recognize this star-speckled style from the clothing brand Cosmic Aura, whose “Celestial” line embodies whimsigoth to the moon and back.

Clowncore

Clowncore is a bright, colorful aesthetic inspired by everything under the big top. While not necessarily the kind of fashion you’d see in your day-to-day life, TikTok’s clowncore hashtag boasts upwards of 132,000 posts full of creative makeup and fun accessories. Coulrophobes need not worry, as the modern era of haute-couture harlequins errs more on the side of rainbows and balloon animals rather than the smiling face you see in your nightmares.

Decora

You actually might have seen decora before but under a different name. Sometimes called Harajuku after one of the pop culture epicenters of Japan, decora is a feast for the eyes when it comes to Japanese street fashion. This style emphasizes accessories to DECORAte your look, with colorful stickers and hair clips especially prominent. Decora might not be as popular here as it is in Japan, but with the recent release of the fashion doll line “Decora Girlz,” it might just get some of the attention it deserves.

Chronicles of a Compulsive Crafter

Watch your step! I lost a couple of LEGO pieces which may or may not be the same color as the floor and are probably sharper than gravel. Also, let me know if you find the sewing needle I dropped two months ago. I want to try embroidery again, and I definitely won’t give up after an hour this time.

I am the kind of person who always needs to have a creative outlet in my free time. Whether it’s a tried-and-true hobby I know I’m good at or something I saw in a TikTok, I’ll try just about any craft once to get that creative energy out. My willingness to try new things comes at a price though: my hubris and ADHD conspire to create a crafting graveyard of half-finished projects of all varieties, as well as those precious few that keep my attention long enough to see to the end. From diamond paints and pens, to crafts I will never touch again — welcome to craft limbo.

Diamond Painting

Paint by numbers, sure — but you will find remnants of your attempt on the floor for weeks to come. Diamond painting canvases are adhesive with a grid overlay across the image, each square containing a symbol to indicate the color of the tiny plastic “diamond” that corresponds to it. All you have to do is pick a color, place each individual diamond, move on to the next color and repeat until your hand hurts. Depending on the size of the canvas and the tools you have available, diamond paintings can take months. The quality of the finished piece can also vary widely depending on the manufacturer, so sometimes all that effort comes out looking sub-par. Against all odds, this tedious and carpal tunnel-inducing hobby has become one of my favorites. I find repetitive tasks therapeutic, and turning my brain off while doing something creative is relaxing to me. A new diamond painting, paired with a long video essay, continues to be one of my favorite ways to de-stress.

Coloring

The best part of diamond painting is watching the final piece come together. Sure it's a time consuming wrist injury waiting to happen, but at least its shiny!

As someone who loves being creative with color, I was positive coloring would be a slam dunk when it came to keeping me occupied. After finding a particularly beautiful and detailed coloring book that doubled as a weekly planner, I did what any sane person would do and bought a pack of 168 colored pencils from Amazon. I was ready to fill the book with all my plans and creativity — only to lose confidence in my ability to do the art justice and shelve it after one page. I constantly promised myself I would return to it over and over until the year ended and the planner became obsolete.

The pride and joy of any crafter: a well organized box of all the goodies you need for a project! Too bad it won't stay that neat for long...

Doll Customization

Cross-Stitch

Having failed miserably with my last DIY embroidery project, I was hesitant when I found myself drawn to cross-stitching. I’ve never been adept with a needle and thread, but the siren song of the official “Stardew Valley” cross-stitch guide was too compelling. The one good thing about my prior embroidery disaster was that it forced me to take cross-stitch very slowly, reading the tutorial every step of the way, as if my future as a cross-stitching grandma depended on it. Surprisingly, I managed to learn cross stitch over the course of a single afternoon.

Despite being so easy, cross-stitching is incredibly time consuming. I’ve only finished three small projects from the book, and each one took at least three hours. Still, the process is relaxing and speeds up once you get into the groove. I’m not sure if I’ll ever work my way up to the bigger projects that caught my eye, but at the very least I can be proud of myself for turning a blank square of fabric into a blank square of fabric with a little brown hen on it.

If you ever played with dolls as a kid, odds are you probably tried to give at least one a “makeover,” only to end up with your very own Weird Barbie. Turns out the urge to give a doll a glow-up doesn’t go away, and that’s where doll customizations come in. My introduction into OOAK (one of a kind) doll customizations was the You Tuber “Dollightful,” who used Monster High dolls as bases for her own creations. As I often do, I saw how easy she made it look and assumed I could do the same. After a quick trip to Michael’s, I had everything I needed to begin the lengthy process of doll customization. I popped the doll’s head off, cut off all her hair and removed her face with acetone in preparation for my masterpiece. All I had to do was follow the internet’s instructions for making doll hair out of yarn wefts, and I would be set.

However the pastel pink yarn fell apart in my hands, and so did my dreams. I had counted my proverbial doll heads before they were painted, and taken on too much for a first attempt at customizing. Sadly, the doll’s body remains beside her bald, severed head in the depths of my craft corner to this day, startling all who gaze upon her.

NATALIE EMANUELE

Feud of the Fighting Flicks

Top 5 Groundbreaking Combat Films

By Juan Botello-Martinez

Sylvester

Stallone’s “Rocky” paved the way for future boxing movies and is the gold standard for the genre. The film portrays a Philadelphia amateur boxer, Rocky, who is given a one-in-a-million shot at the heavyweight title against the champion, Apollo Creed, who sees the fight as a publicity stunt. He doesn’t think he can win the fight, but he wants to prove he’s on the same level as Creed. The movie’s philosophy espouses doing what you love and pursuing your dreams. Not only is the boxing epic, but the film made training montages a must-have for all subsequent boxing movies. Just about every fan has worked out to the classic "Rocky" theme music and dreamt about running up those 72 steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Martin

Scorsese’s “Raging Bull,” starring Robert De Niro, is an all-time classic. The film follows the story of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta, who gets a shot at the middleweight title. He falls in love with a girl from the Bronx, but then, unable to control his jealousy, enters a downward spiral with devastating consequences. This film was revolutionary at the time for its unusual cinematography, such as the scenes in which the camera is right in Jake’s face as he receives punishments in the ring. The film doesn’t try to copy “Rocky,” instead, it is shot in black-and-white and set in the '40s and '50s. Though it opened to mixed reviews, it became critically acclaimed as one of the best movies ever made. De Niro won an Academy Award for Best Actor, and “Raging Bull” was nominated for Best Picture.

Aging

pro-wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke, tries to survive while making a living in the independent pro-wrestling circuit in “The Wrestler.” After a heart attack, he retires and uses the extra time to patch up his relationship with his estranged daughter, but the itch of excitement lures him back to the ring. Another gritty wrestling film, “The Wrestler” portrays the struggles of a professional wrestler who destroys his body in his efforts to find fame and financial security. The action may not match the other films mentioned, but the realistic storytelling makes it exceptional among fighting films.

Gavin

O'Connor's "Warrior" follows a family seeking redemption, with members finding it somewhere they didn’t expect: the world of MMA. The main character, Tommy, asks his father to train him for an MMA tournament called “Sparta,” even though his father’s alcoholism makes for a difficult relationship. Tommy’s brother Brenden, who’s struggling financially, also enters the tournament, and the two make it to the final round. The film features a lot of old-school MMA fighters, and some of the wrestling, jiu-jitsu and boxing are fought in the current MMA fighting style. This is one of the most well-rounded sports-action films; fans will keep rewatching it for its fight choreography as well as its heart-gripping drama.

Amust

for this list, "Enter the Dragon" was released in 1972 and brought the “GOAT” Bruce Lee worldwide acclaim, even though Lee died before its release. Lee plays an MMA warrior who enters a Kung Fu tournament held by a big-time narcotics dealer on his private island. Along the way, Lee gains allies in the kungfu masters Williams, played by the legendary Jim Kelly, and Roper, played by John Saxon. Other future legends appear, including Bolo Yeung, the main henchman, and young Jackie Chan, an extra in the film. This film is significant to the history of MMA, as it includes a scene with Lee wearing the earliest version of MMA gloves. Lee’s amazing physique also inspired many fans to get in shape, with some immediately jump-starting their fitness routines by jogging home from the theater.