The Orion Vol. 73, Issue 15

News

Sports

A+E

Graduation: Chico State is nearing its 2025 Graduation Initiative goal of having 25 percent of students graduate in four years. A2

Nutcracker: Chico Community Ballet brought fresh reimaginings of scenes and characters to the classic holiday ballet production. B8

Opinion Festivities: Opinion columnist Veronica De La Cruz loves Christmas decor on campus, but where is the love for Hanukkah? A6

Athletics: After being a member of the football, basketball and boxing teams at Chico State, George Maderos played for the 49ers. B1

Features Racing: Chico State engineering students built a car from scratch to race against schools from around the world. B6

John Domogma/The Orion

Chico State’s Independent Student News Source since 1975 theorion.com | Wednesday Dec. 10, 2014 | Vol. 73, Issue 15 | First copy free, additional copies 50¢

Holiday

State Legislature

New bill aims to steady tuition Ernesto Rivera

Editor-in-Chief

XXXXX XXXXX/The Orion

Photographs by Ernesto Rivera/The Orion

Hundreds of community members gathered at City Plaza to see a 60-foot Blue Atlas Cedar illuminated by 8,000 LEDs.

Tree lights up Chico

Community members flocked to downtown City Plaza for spirited seasonal celebrations David McVicker

News Editor

’Twas three weeks before Christmas and all through downtown, children were stirring, waiting for Santa to come ’round.

Raindrops fell swiftly and sounds of alarms struck.

Out of nowhere appeared Santa, riding in an antique fire truck.

The Downtown Chico Business Association, in partnership with the City of Chico, held the annual “Celebrating the Magic of the Season” Community Christmas Tree Lighting Friday in City Plaza.

Hundreds of community members gathered to watch the 60-foot Blue Atlas Cedar illuminate the night sky with more than 8,000 LED Christmas lights.

Chico resident and third-year tree lighting attendee Sarah Weller said she and her family enjoyed the event despite the soggy situation.

“It was beautiful,” she said. “We loved it and the girls thought it was amazing.

The turnout was great, even with the rain.”

Action News Now anchor Tamara Damante and The Blaze on-air personality Mike Wessels hosted the event. Newly-appointed Mayor Mark Sorensen welcomed spectators and wished everyone a happy holiday.

Santa Claus arrives in the pouring rain in an antique 1948 LaFrance firetruck.

A new bill introduced Dec. 2 aims to keep tuition steady and get students out in four years in the California State University and University of California systems.

SB15, co-introduced by Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, will give an additional $342 million to higher education, according to a press conference held by the bill’s authors. If passed, the bill will: • Give the CSU and UC systems each $75 million for additional sections and academic advisers.

• Create the KEVIN Completion Incentive DE LEÓN Grant for students Senate President that will provide $4,500 Pro Tempore throughout four years if they enroll in 15 units a semester.

• Create 10,000 additional slots for students in the California State University system.

But all this money has to come from somewhere. Co-author Senator Marty Block, D-San Diego, said in a press conference that they’ll get the annual funds from the following sources: • $82 million will come from increasing tuition and fees for non-California residents by 17 percent.

• $102 million from eliminating the new Middle Class Scholarship program and reallocating its funds.

• $158 million will come from the state’s general fund.

“We reject the increase on California students but we increase tuition and fees for international students and non-resident students,” Block said. “It’s critical that we have California universities accessible to California students, that’s our promise we’ve made the California taxpayers.”

Out in four Sounds of the Valley Chorus belted a barbershop version of the holiday classic “Jingle Bells” to begin the evening’s performances.

The Children’s Choir of Chico followed them with their adorable rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”

Weller and her daughters Georgia and Amara waited in the pouring rain for a chance to tell Santa Claus their Christmas wishlist.

“I want a new bike,” said Georgia, with Christmas cheer.

“I asked Santa for a new backpack and

lunchbox,” Amara said.

Mrs. Claus, portrayed by Frances Duty, answered the question everyone wants to know during the Christmas season. What is Mr. Claus’ favorite cookie?

“It changes from year-to-year,” she said.

“One time it was broccoli cookies and those did not go over well with the kids.

I think, this year, I’d have to say mango walnut. He picked that up from the time he was flying through Polynesia.”

David McVicker can be reached at

Getting students out of the CSU and UC systems in four years is a big concern the bill’s authors want fixed. The average CSU student graduates in 6.1 years, according to de León.

There are many reasons it’s taking students longer to graduate, Block said, including that: • Not enough course sections are available • Students don’t know which requirements they need to graduate • Financial need is causing students to work more and take fewer classes The bill’s authors hope SB15 will fix each

newseditor@theorion.com or @DavidPMcVicker on Twitter.

» please see BILL| A3

NCAA Divison II

Cross-country gets run off top-10 in national race Nicholas Woodard and Angelo Boscacci

The Orion

Since 1999, the Chico State men’s cross-country team has never failed to place inside the top 10 at the Division II showcase.

Until Saturday, that is.

The Wildcats finished 14th out of 32 teams at the final race of the year Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky, breaking a 15-year streak of finishing among the top 10. The women's team snapped their own 12-year run, finishing 13th.

"It was difficult," said Gary Towne, the team's head coach. "We have such a tradition and we've had such a good run of success. We underperformed out there."

Towne, the teams' coach for the past

19 years, cited a number of challenges for his squad. The Wildcats arrived in Kentucky to a heavily rained-on course that had to be shortened in areas because of four to five inches of standing water.

But the weather was just a small factor in Towne's mind.

Part of it may have been a lack of experience. Of the 14 that toed the starting line, only five Wildcats had ran at the championships before. Whatever the case, the men's squad started slow, but seemed to settle as the race wore on. In fact, a pair of teams that Chico State beat out at the West Regional finished ahead of the 'Cats.

"It was hard," Towne said. "There were teams that we beat pretty soundly at our regional meet that kicked our butts."

The women's team, meanwhile, started

» please see RUNNERS| A3

Photo courtesy of Gary Towne

Johnny Sanchez, second from left, runs in a pack during the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Graduation

Grad rate nears 2025 goal

More on theorion.com

Enrique Raymundo

Staff Writer

Chico State is close to hitting its graduation target rate set by the chancellor’s office for the year 2025.

Recent data provided by the Chico State Graduation Initiative Team showed that 61 percent of the 2008 freshmen class graduated within six years, and 24 percent of the 2010 freshmen class graduated within four years. Graduation rates have been steadily improving by three percent every year since 2011. Chico State was assigned a target rate of 64 percent for students graduating within six years and 25 percent for students graduating within four years by 2025.

Bill Loker, dean of undergraduate education and head of the Graduation Initiative Team, said although the university is close to its goal, the rates are not as good as they should be.

“It’s better than 21 and it’s better than 18 (the previous two years’ graduation rates), but for CSU Chico students, half of them should be graduating in four years,” Loker said.

He said the California legislature has been requesting graduation rate data from the CSU, and that the CSU budget allocations may soon be based on the graduation rate “success numbers” instead of the number of full-time students enrolled. There is no reward or penalty for reaching these targets.

It’s not clear why the graduation rates have been increasing in the past few years, said Jeff Bell, chair of the biology department and member of the team. Without that information, it is difficult to tell what the campus is doing right or wrong.

Bell said a major issue in keeping the target number is the retention rates of new students

The Orion file photo

You still have time to vote for Chico State’s Wildcat of the Year until Dec. 15. Softball pitcher Alex Molina is a nominee. theorion.com/wildcatoftheyear

Chelsea Jeffers/The Orion

Chico State students wait to receive their diplomas at spring 2014 commencement.

Photo courtesy of Chico State

in their freshman and sophomore year.

“If you lose 20 percent of your freshmen in your first year, then you’re capped right there,” he said. “The best you can do for that group is an 80 percent graduation rate.”

Chico State is also facing issues with retaining minority students from groups such as African-American, Hispanic and American-Indian students. There was a 62 percent overall graduation rate for the class of Spring 2014, while minority students had a 46 percent rate.

According to the graduation initiative reports, potential reasons why minority students have a lower graduation rate include: • Stress from relying on federal grants to support high cost of living, textbooks and tuition

• Doubts of success due to an imbalanced ratio of racial diversity in faculty and students.

• Family environment that may not be supportive of post-secondary education.

Chico State launched the Aim for Four and Take Two initiatives in response to the chancellor’s office graduation rate goals for Chico State. The Aim for Four initiative is intended to help freshmen graduate in four years by involving them in academic advising and planning, while Take Two is set to help transfer students graduate in two years.

A Winter Wonderland event held in the Bell Memorial Union recognized hardworking volunteers in the CAVE program. theorion.com/features

Enrique Raymundo can be reached at

newseditor@theorion.com or @ERaymundoCV on Twitter.

Crime

Annie Paige/The Orion

Student arrested, claims to be DEA

Opinion columnist Alyssa Dunning recalls how a lone fart set her free from all future embarrassment. theorion.com/opinion

Robert Engals

Staff Writer

Chico Police detained a Chico State student allegedly under the influence of a controlled substance after he fled an apartment, Thursday morning.

According to a Chico Police report the suspect, Tyler Musilek, entered an apartment at Paradise Apartments on West Sacramento Avenue around midnight where he was invited inside by the residents.

Resident Courtney Whitfield and her friends were watching T.V. when they heard a knock on their sliding glass door.

She then noticed her sliding door being opened by the suspect.

She said she assumed he knew one of her male roommates so she wasn’t startled. The Suspect approached the group and introduced himself. He began ‘freaking out’ and screamed that he was a part of the Drug Enforcement I am on Administration and the college that they were not (baseball) safe, according to a team police report.

“He said there were undercover. people out there to get I am really him,” Whitfield said.

38 years old.

He closed all the blinds Tyler Musilek, in the apartment and Chico State pleaded with the group to get on the ground. student Whitfield said the suspect told them that they would be shot if the front door was opened. For the next 30 minutes, he sporadically counted down from three to zero and opened the door assuring that Whitfield and her friends would be shot by someone outside.

There was no one outside, according to the

CORRECTIONS

Photo courtesy of blabbermouth.net

Kevin Lyman, the mastermind behind The Vans Warped Tour and Mayhem Fest, visiting Chico State to speak to students about managing tours. theorion.com/arts

Robert Engels/The Orion

Courtney Whitner, a Chico State student, had her house broken into by another Chico State student who was allegedly under the influence of a controlled substance at the time. police report. The suspect continued to say he was a member of the Drug Enforcement Agency and insisted they Google him because he was untraceable as a member of the government organization.

Whitfield searched for the suspect’s name on the Internet after he handed her his Chico State Flex Card. She found his Twitter and Instagram accounts which mentioned the Chico State baseball team.

Whitfield asked if he was a member of Chico State’s baseball team.

“I am on the college team undercover,” the suspect said. “I am really 38 years old.”

Once the police arrived, the suspected sprinted from the residence where he was soon detained.

Connect with us at : facebook.com/theorion twitter.com/theorion_news @theorion on Instagram

Robert Engels can be reached at

newseditor@theorion.com or @sullayyy on Twitter.

| College of Communication & Education | California State University, Chico | Chico, Ca 95929-0600 CONTACT | EDITORIAL Phone: 530.898.3138 Email: editorinchief@theorion.com

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theorion.com/news | Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 | A3

News Briefs Police search, find missing student

Online education receives top rating Chico State has been ranked No. 1 in California for online education by Edudemic, a popular technology and education website, according to a news release.

The Seattle-based website rated 740 California colleges based on graduation and retention rates, cost, financial aid availability and how the online programs are used.

“The best online university in California is California State University, Chico,” the Edudemic rankings states. “Their strong academic performance indicators, along with thoughtful responses to our questions about online education, landed them in the top spot.”

Chico State’s cost for online schooling is $233.40 per credit hour for in-state residents and is one of the most affordable schools in California.

Chico State’s online programs include Bachelor of Arts degrees in social science, liberal studies and sociology and Master of Science degrees in nursing and agricultural education.

Chico State faculty, academic advisors and support professionals are dedicated to students, said Debra Barger, dean of Regional and Continuing Education.

“We admit motivated students and challenge them with the same academic rigor as our on-campus degree programs,” she said. “Our online students should be commended for their academic achievements reflected in high graduation rates.”

–Madison Holmes

Scammers target Butte residents Butte County district court officers warned residents Thursday about a scam involving Pacific Gas and Electric.

District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a news release that his office has received several complaints over the last few days about individuals calling customers of the power company and telling them they have a debt that needed to be paid immediately.

A local private school was the most recent attempt in which officials at the school received a call and were told they needed to provide a credit card number

Photo courtesy of Chico Heat

Chico Heat co-owners Pat Gillick, left, and Steve Nettleton, center, with Heat mascot Heater the Dragon.

Chico Heat returns to Nettleton Stadium After a short lived drought, summer baseball will be back in Chico in 2016 with the reintroduction of the Chico Heat.

The announcement for return of the formerly-independent professional team was made Nov. 25th by Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Pat Gillick and Steve Nettleton, the original owner of the team and main donor for Chico State’s baseball facilities named Nettleton Stadium.

Gillick, a Chico native and the current interim president with the Philadelphia Phillies, and Nettleton will run the team that will feature elite college baseball players from throughout the nation.

The team will now help current collegiate baseball players become accustomed to what they can expect if they were to pursue a career in professional baseball.

“I’m thrilled we’re able to bring back such a high level of baseball to Chico,” Gillick said in a statement. “The fans deserve it and we’re going to make sure the fans come

immediately or the school’s power would be cut off.

Ramsey said the theft was almost successful but a last minute call to the local Pacific Gas and Electric office thwarted the effort.

Those targeted have said the people calling have what was described as either an Indian or Jamaican accent. The locations of the calls have been traced from as far as New York and Texas, according to the release.

first.”

The Heat will play in the newly-formed Great West League and feature a 60-game schedule, 30 of which will be played at Nettleton stadium, according to the team’s website. The league will feature six to eight teams in California and Oregon.

Chico has been home to two professional independent teams since 1997. After the original Heat team had a run until 2002, Chico gained its second independent team, the Outlaws, from 2005 to 2011. Both teams had great success on the field and were among the best in their respective leagues in attendance.

“We truly appreciate the hard work put in by the administration at Chico State and the community to make this happen,” said league president Ken Wilson in a statement on the team’s website. .

The team’s first game will be played June 3, 2016 at Nettleton Stadium.

Ramsey said that debt collectors are prohibited from saying: • You will be arrested if you don’t pay your debt.

• They’ll seize, garnish, attach or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so.

– David McVicker

Chico resident Brenton Snyder woke up to a voicemail from his friend, Rachelle Currier, a Chico State student, claiming she had been kidnapped and feared for her life.

Currier sent the message Dec. 7 at 2:23 a.m. to Snyder and other friends. Snyder then reported the voicemail to the Chico Police Department. Using Currier’s cell phone as a tracking device, police were able to locate the area and the last time she used the phone.

According to the police report, officers were able to get the address, 828 Nord Ave., where they encountered a resident identified as “Mom.” She told them that Currier was supposed to spend the night with her friend Macy Lincoln, a Chico State student.

Lincoln told the officers that Currier wasn’t there and that the last time she had contact with Currier was via a text message. The last text message Lincoln received revealed that Currier had been at the Crazy Horse Saloon where she met a guy named “Brett.”

The last text sent from Currier to Lincoln was at 4:27 a.m. and read, “I’m o.k.”

Lincoln also told police that Currier had planned on spending the night at her boyfriend’s house, Chico State student Brandon Ellingson. Police found Currier when they arrived at Ellingson's house near campus. There was no merit to the claims that Currier was missing, according to the Chico Police Department.

- Robert Engels

Assault on driver with firework A Chico resident was arrested after shooting a firework out of his truck at another while driving on the road.

Around 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Thomas Gerten became enraged after he couldn’t pass another driver on Vallombrosa Avenue, according to a Chico Police report.

Once Gerten got close to the other vehicle, he yelled death threats at the driver before shooting a firework at the driver out of his white truck. After shooting the firework, he turned left onto Hooker Oak Avenue where he sped away.

Adam Bankston, the driver in the other car, was not injured.

After police got Gerten’s information from witnesses, they went to his house and held a stakeout but Gerten didn’t show up.

Officers issued a warning for the lookout for Gerten and his truck.

–Robert Engels

Runners: Student athletes stay among top 40 during final course » continued from A1 more conservatively. Despite the muddy terrain, the squad gained ground in the final miles, ending just 10 points away from a top 10 finish.

One of the biggest obstacles may have been rising to the challenge of the championship. Towne likened a race of that magnitude to being down by a bucket with a minute to go in a basketball game.

It takes a calm and collected individual to sink the game-winner.

"The biggest challenge every year is handling the environment you're in," Towne said. "It's a high pressure situation with a lot of really good athletes that were well trained. You have to welcome that environment to be succesful in it."

As odd as it sounds, Chico State's storied past may have also played a factor.

Part of being a successful program means that expectations are always going to be high, and the thought of that can add an unneeded weight on an athlete's shoulders.

Back in 1999, there was no weight. That year's team entered the NCAA title race with no expectations. They surprised the field — and themselves — by taking sixth place.

The championship aside, there's no doubt that this season can only be called a success. The men and women earned

their 13th and seventh consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association titles, respectively. The men also won the NCAA West Regional for the 11th time in 13 years, while the women took second.

There were some strong points of Saturday's race. Individually, the teams collected some highlights.

On the men's side, Johnny Sanchez earned his third All-America honor with a 22nd place finish, becoming the fourth player in the program's history with three honors.

"It means a lot with all the names and greats in that category," Sanchez said. "It's an honor. It’s hard to believe and it’s a satisfying feeling."

For the women, Alex Burkhart and Sadie Gastelum both made their way around runners down the final stretch of the race. Enriquetta Peinado stayed among the top 40 for much of the course, and finished her first-ever NCAA Championship race as the top Wildcat for the women in 52nd place.

Peinado navigated the slick course well on her way to a strong performance. But she would have rather been racing for title shot.

"It definitely is a good accomplishment," Peinado said. "It would have been nice to have all of us cross together and be on the podium."

To rebound from a bitter ending to 2014,

Photo courtesy of Gary Towne

Sadie Gastelum, right, makes her way through a muddy course at the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

Towne wants to return to a more classic form of running. Back to running free from high expectations. Back to 1999.

"I've learned a lot in my years, and things change every year," Towne said.

"The big thing next year will be getting back to the basics; going out there and

having a fresh mindset about what it's going to take to have a good race."

The Orion can be reached at

sportseditor@theorion.com or @theorion_sports on Twitter.

Bill: Some funds will come from eliminating Middle Class Scholarship » continued from A1 of those concerns. According to Block, if students take 15 units each semester, they will graduate in four years and save $60,000 compared to graduating in six years.

“By finishing two years earlier ... they get out in the workforce two years earlier, making money for themselves, their families, becoming taxpayers which is good for the state of California,” he said.

The average time it takes freshman to get a degree at Chico State is 4.7 years, according to the university’s website.

Eliminating a scholarship The bill’s second-largest fund comes from eliminating the new Middle Class Scholarship. The scholarship is in its first year and was created to aid students with family income up to $150,000.

Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said repurposing funds from the scholarship to SB15 will benefit a greater number of students.

“With a closer look and review we can

decide how we can use those dollars more wisely to benefit more students, to increase graduation rates and save student debt cost,” he said.

Currently there is $36.8 million awarded from the scholarship to students in the CSU system, according to data from the California Student Aid Commission. About 58,000 CSU students were offered the middle class scholarship and had an average age of 23 years old and an average household income of $85,266.

The new Completion Incentive Grant will be awarded to students with financial need but will also consider middle-class students, de León said.

“We want to expand that pool and include more winners in the winner’s circle,” he said. “We don’t want to just focus on tens of thousands of students but rather hundreds of thousands of students who could be eligible if we utilize the resources more wisely.”

CSU Chancellor Timothy White released a statement in support of SB15 and called it a “critical need to develop and sustain a

Photo courtesy of California State Senate

Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León, center, announces SB15 with co-authors of the bill at a press conference on Dec. 2. well-educated California citizenry to fuel California’s economy today and in the decades ahead.”

“It is encouraging that the California State Senate Democratic Caucus has committed to stand with public higher education and

especially the California State University in the new legislative session,” he said.

Ernesto Rivera can be reached at

editorinchief@theorion.com or @ernestorivera on Twitter.

A4 | Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 | theorion.com/news

RED

POLICE

BLOTTER Friday, 11:53 p.m.: Evaluation requested at University Village on Nord Avenue.

“Building 13, requesting an alcohol assessment on a male. Disposition: has been drinking.”

Saturday, 9:00 a.m.: Elevator malfunction at Performing Arts Center on Chestnut Street. “Elevator near Room 134A, nothing heard except recording. Disposition: false alarm.”

Saturday, 9:45 p.m.: Area check at Sutter Hall North Tower on Legion Avenue. “Officer advising of possible suspicious subject in area milling about. Male adult, gray hoodie, orange backpack.”

Sunday, 12:18 p.m.: Burglary at University Village on Nord Avenue. “A Kia car key and charger in his vehicle that does not belong to him. No sign of forced entry.

Reporting party did not wish to file report.”

Sunday, 9:01 p.m.: Suspicious subject at Albert E. Warrens Reception Center on Mansion Avenue. “Reporting party advise continuing problem with students gathering on Mansion Avenue side by light, drug use, noise.”

Monday, 1:57 p.m.: Suspicious subject at University Village on Nord Avenue. “Subject in silver minivan selling miscellaneous items from the back of his van.”

Monday, 11:06 p.m.: Elevator malfunction at Meriam Library on West First Street.

“Staff elevator stuck on third floor, no one inside, doors open/closed.”

Chico Police

University Police

The police blotter is a selection of information cited directly from Chico Police Department and University Police Department.

Friday, 4:45 p.m.: Directed patrol at Glenn Hall on West First Street. “Male subject disrupting class, male adult, dark long brown hair has been hanging around classroom disrupting and using finger as weapon through door window at students.”

BLUE and

Friday, 4:00 p.m.: Theft from vehicle at Chuck Patterson car dealership office on East Avenue. “Reporting party went to the station filling out counter reports. States that he was getting his vehicle serviced at Chuck Patterson dealership at 10:00 a.m. Reporting party states that he had a bag of medication in the vehicle. After his vehicle was finished being serviced, he noticed that his bottle of oxycodone was emptied.”

and always new!

The BloTTer JusT goT BeTTer.

Friday, 9:17 p.m.: Parking violation at Park Ave Pub on Park Avenue. “On the 20th Street side, vehicle parked the wrong direction and vehicle is partially on the sidewalk. Reporting party believes driver was driving under the influence when he parked and entered the bar.”

Sunday, 7:35 a.m.: Suspicious circumstance on Cayman Court. “Reporting party just checked his voicemail in the a.m., got a message from a female friend who lives in Chico, stating she was kidnapped, was crying, afraid they would kill her.”

Sunday, 10:35 a.m.: Domestic dispute on Pomona Avenue. “Ex-boyfriend from about eight months ago just broke into the apartment and was refusing to leave. Showed up two nights ago, was told to leave, returned the next morning. Came back last night and left her a bible and returned today.”

Monday, 1:48 p.m.: Missing person on East 18th Street. “Reporting party is roommate, states missing person was hospitalized for alcoholism and recently released Saturday. Not heard or seen since.”

Monday, 4:09 p.m.: Loose animal on Bartlett Street. “California Highway Patrol out with a full size pig. CHP called back, owner located. Requested Fire to respond with plyboards to direct pig as rope will not work.”

-Compiled by Anna Sobreviñas

daily police blotter Theorion.com

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EDITORIAL BOARD | Fall 2014

Chico State’s Independent Student News Source since 1975

Opinion Editor Zachary Phillips Sports Editor Nick Woodard Features Editor Lindsay Pincus A+E Editor Ashiah Scharaga Photo Editor Annie Paige Video Editor Courtlynn Cerrito Public Relations Director John Riggin

Editor-in-Chief Ernesto Rivera Managing Editor Mozes Zarate Art Director Monica Fitch Chief Copy Editor Kathy Kinsey News Editor Christine Lee News Editor David McVicker

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Send letters to opinioneditor@theorion.com

theorion.com/opinion | Wednesday Dec. 10, 2014 | Vol. 73, Issue 15|

Editorial

New tuition bill has good ideas, needs better enforcement

A

proposed bill from the California State Senate seeks to cancel out tuition hikes, pay students to finish fast and add class sections. This, in exchange for the recent Middle Class Scholarship.

Students were in a mixed state of fury and fear last month when the University of California governing board voted for yearly tuition raises. Fiscal fortune tellers consulted the cards, and tuition hikes for California State Universities were sure to follow.

Luckily, the state Senate has an ace up its sleeve.

Its newly proposed bill, SB15, promises to eradicate tuition hikes, fund more academic advisors to coach students through school, open up more course sections so classes are readily available and reward students with checks for taking on course loads of 15 units and higher.

Everything comes at a cost, however, and in this case it’s middle-class students’ pocket books. On top of the $158 million fronted by the state and tuition hikes for out-of-state students, this new bill will be funded by

immediate and tangible help for the students it covers, but Bill SB15 will be of far greater benefit to all California college students down the road if it’s effectively enforced.

That being said, there are still a few details repurposing money from the Middle Class about the bill that raise concerns.

Scholarship, a scholarship that is less than a $75 million will go toward expanding secyear old. tions and academic There’s a lot of advising programs controversy swirling in hopes that stuaround this scholarDespite these valid and pressing dents will stay on ship siphon, and it concerns from families who are track with their makes sense. unduly expected to front college graduation plans .

Middle-class stufees, this bill has to happen.

None of this funddents have been crying means a thing if ing foul for a while students don’t take now, stating that an advantage of the $80,000 yearly income doesn’t leave room for advising that’s offered. As is the case with putting a kid through college. several majors at Chico State, academic adDespite these valid and pressing concerns vising should be mandatory for students. It from families who are unduly expected to will help them stay on track and ensure that front college fees, this bill has to happen. these new funds are put into use.

It’s the age old dilemma: sacrifice a few to Another concern is the Completion Incensave many. tive Grant, rewarding students for taking on The Middle Class Scholarship would be an 15 units or more per semester. The idea be-

hind these incentives is golden. Pay students for doing the work to graduate on time.

However, if students are filling their schedules with electives, a Zumba class here or advanced frisbee there, they aren’t getting any closer to a degree.

The Completion Incentive Grant should only count for units that fulfill general education and major requirements, even if it means excluding internships and electives.

The state Senate’s new bill has good intentions and could ultimately be the sleight of hand that gets students degrees without limb-locking them in debt However, the Senate still needs to fine tune the details if it really wants to see success written in students’ stars.

The unsigned Orion editorial is the collaborative opinion of the editorial board.

MORE ON A1 AND THEORION.COM Check out The Orion’s news article on Bill SP15.

Students deserve diverse decorations

to be so big on diversity doesn’t embrace other holidays like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and many more.

I think that a lot of people don’t take the time to think about what other cultures celebrate, because it’s not what they are used to. But that shouldn’t mean that other cultures can be forgotten.

It’s apparent that the school has enough money to spend on decorations for holidays, so by splitting it and showcasing different religions and culture, others will really feel like their identity matters on this campus.

By the time class was over, I had asked Julia plenty of questions about what her family does to celebrate Hanukkah. I don’t know if it was just me, but I sensed that her mood had improved just because I took an interest in something that was important to her.

If I can take five minutes out of my day to appreciate someone else’s cultural holidays, then our school should do the same.

Veronica De La Cruz

Opinion Columnist

As I was speed walking past the Bell Memorial Union to get to the Performing Arts Center with my friend Julia for our history class, I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes were glued to all the Christmas decorations.

I didn’t blame her. What better way to show that Chico State is in the holiday spirit than by slowly filling more and more of the school with beautiful arrangements?

As we entered the lecture hall, it was safe to say that Christmas had thrown up in there. I personally had no problem with it because it’s my favorite time of the year, and something about all the lights and festive ornaments instantly puts me in a better mood.

Julia, on the other hand, was more bothered by it than anyone I know. I quickly learned that she’s Jewish, and that despite the fact that she doesn’t hate Christmas, she wishes that Chico State acknowledged more than one cultural holiday.

She made such a good point that I couldn’t help but wonder why a school that preaches

Veronica De La Cruz can be reached at

opinion@theorion.com or @Veronica_dlc on Twitter.

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Thumbs Thumbs up to the rogue Mrs. Claus at last weekend’s Community Christmas Tree Lighting. She knew more about Santa’s favorite cookies than Santa knows about Santa’s favorite cookies.

Thumbs down to Rolling Stone Magazine publishing false rape accusations against University of Virginia’s Phi Kappa Psi chapter.

And people say The Orion unfairly targets Greeks...

Thumbs up to Time Magazine’s People of the Year shortlist. Between the Ebola caregivers, Ferguson protesters and Taylor Swift, we can’t decide who’s most important.

Thumbs down to the Chico State men’s cross-country team missing the NCAA Division II top 10 for the first time in 15 years.

Winning streaks get old after a while, anyway.

theorion.com/opinion | Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 | A7

To bro, or not to bro

Mickey Layson/The Orion

Leave Barbie alone Megan Mann

Opinion Columnist Growing up, my favorite toys were my Barbie dolls.

I'd play with them all the time, dressing them up in outfits and sending them off on the most outrageous adventures my young mind could imagine.

And although I practically lived and breathed Barbie, I never once looked at one of my dolls and thought, "I have to be her."

This is one of the main reasons why I don't like Lammily, the "normal" Barbie doll.

Shorter and with a more average build, the creators of this doll originally modeled her off of a regular Barbie doll. Now she's available for purchase, complete with stretch mark, tattoo and acne sticker sheets to allow for customization.

I get the whole concept of wanting a more realistic looking doll on the market, but that doesn't mean that I agree with it.

There was nothing wrong with Barbie to begin with. Sure, she really likes pink and, yes, she's not very representative of the average young woman.

However, it doesn't matter if she doesn't

look like you or me. She's a doll. She doesn't have to look realistic.

Truthfully, I don't think that Barbie is the problem. What's really the problem here is that parents are too lazy to teach their children what's right and wrong, what's healthy and what's not, what's real and what's fiction.

Many of Lammily's supporters are parents who praise the doll for abolishing the idea of unattainable physical attributes like those that Barbie has. But it shouldn't be up to a doll to teach their children what a healthy body is and what's completely fantasized.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there's nothing wrong with our beauty industry and culture. It's a madhouse full of Photoshop and plastic surgery.

But parents these days want easy fixes for life's problems. They always want to blame the media and their children's toys for their lack of parenting.

It's not a company's job to raise children.

Maybe if parents step up to the plate and teach their kids that Barbie is just a doll and isn't representative of a healthy and realistic woman, we wouldn't need Lammily.

Megan Mann can be reached at

opinion@theorion.com or @meganisthemann on Twitter.

Rachel Dugo/The Orion

Pits and holes: Bleach beauty fads boggle minds Alyssa Dunning

Opinion Columnist

While searching on Pinterest for doit-yourself projects I will never actually do, I came across a recipe for armpit bleaching lotion. I was completely baffled. When did I miss this trend?

I started looking at my armpits in a different light and began to hate them.

I was a monster.

I knew I had to try this DIY magic potion. I couldn't have my friends judging me and my unbleached armpits.

As I was making the potion, I remembered being the laughing stock a few years ago when I was the only one not having my asshole bleached.

"Never again," I thought to myself.

Then I decided I should try and bleach my knees which are always a tad darker than my other leg skin.

By the week's end, I was completely bleached. Sure, it stung and I was dizzy from inhaling so much chemicals, but I had the whitest knees and armpits of any of my friends.

Rachel Dugo/The Orion

Talking Point

I couldn’t have my friends judging me and my unbleached armpits.

Alyssa Dunning can be reached at

opinion@theorion.com or @alyssadunning3 on Twitter.

Comments of the week Chico State is close to reaching its goal of having 25 percent of students graduate in four years or less by 2025. It’s great to see the school making progress, but this bar seems like it’s been set pretty low. Since when is a quarter of the student population graduating on time something to be proud of?

Chelsea Jeffers/ The Orion

I showed up to school ready to flash around my newly whitened skin when I heard my friends talking about a new product that makes your lady parts smell like peaches.

It may have been the bleach talking but I started to wonder at what point would it be okay for women to stop altering their bodies. Is it really all that necessary to have the most sparkly white pits around?

Women have bodies, and parts of their bodies have functions. Maybe we should just let our bodies be, instead of making more weird products to make women feel weird about their normal selves.

In response to the opinion blog, “How a lone fart set me free” by Alyssa Dunning: “‘College Misery’, the professors’ ‘secret blog,’ has linked to this story. They are not impressed.”

-Strelnikov on theorion.com

In response to the features article, “Best and worst bathrooms on campus” by Michaela Sundholm: “4th floor of Tehama. That place was my sanctuary. Except when the lights would turn off and I would sit there alone. Pooping in the dark, waving my arms around for the motion sensors to turn them back on.”

-Tyler Harbaugh on facebook.com

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Wildcat of the Year: J Patrick Smith and

Kasey Barnett are this week’s featured nominees. B4

Wildcat Watch

theorion.com/sports | Wednesday Dec. 10, 2014 | Vol. 73, Issue 15 |

Living Legend

Photo courtesy Debbie Maderos

George Maderos, former Chico State multi-sport athlete and coach, takes a swing at an opponent during a fight in the early ‘50s.

Former ’Cat, coach holds 59-year record Samuel Wolfson Staff Writer

I

t’s a pretty strong claim to call someone the greatest athlete to have ever walked the halls of Chico State. But looking at George Maderos’ career as a Wildcat, it becomes difficult to label him as anything but.

Maderos was a multi-sport star at Chico State. As soon as football season was over, he would leave the field and walk onto the court to prepare for the basketball season. After basketball ended, he would go to the boxing ring.

Maderos began at Chico State in 1951, and the accolades piled up from there. To name a few: • Maderos has the school record for most points per game over his college career with 20.85, a record that has stood since 1955.

• He’s received 14 letters with four sports including: basketball, boxing, track and field and football.

• He went on to play professional football with the San Francisco 49ers for two seasons.

The athlete has been in Chico his whole life after being born here Nov. 3, 1933. He also attended Chico High.

Ted Blofsky, a former sports editor for the Chico 20, Bill scored 40.”

Enterprise-Record during the time Maderos was head Sam Simmons, a former player of Maderos’ on the coach for the Chico State football team, said he considfootball field and boxing ring and a fellow member of ers Maderos one of his closest friends. the Chico State Hall of Fame, said that Maderos was the Blofsky got to know him during his first year at Chico most humble athlete he has ever met.

State while Maderos was helping Art Acker in physical “You would have never guessed (Maderos) was ever education classes. in the NFL or had multiple “He had a passion for comschool records that were He had a passion for petition,” Blofsky said. “He was unbeatable,” Simmons said. the fiercest competitor, but also Simmons got to know Macompetition. He was the the quietest. (He) would try just deros at a young age after fiercest competitor. as hard for a dime or $5.” his father, Will Simmons, Blofsky recalled a story Maanother Chico State Hall of Ted Blofsky, close friend deros told him that always gives Famer, was Maderos’ coach him a chuckle. in basketball and boxing.

Bill Russell, a basketball Simmons said that when player who played on the Boston Celtics for 13 years Maderos played football, he was phenomenal on deand won 11 championships and five MVP trophies, first fense. started playing in college at UC San Francisco. Made“He was so gifted,” he said. “He had flow like no other ros played against Russell a couple times during his and made it look graceful. He understood what was college career, and recalled one game where he scored always going on and he knew exactly where the ball was around 20 points against the future legend. going to go.”

Blofsky told Maderos that he had a great game against Russell and Maderos replied, “But if I scored » please see LEGEND | B4

B2 | Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 | theorion.com/sports

Wildcat Week of the

Johnny Sanchez

Sanchez took 22nd place at the NCAA Championship race Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky. By doing so, Sanchez earned his third All-America honor, making him the fourth athlete in program history to earn the honor.

JOHNNY SANCHEZ

Sport: Cross-Country Position: Runner

Class: Graduate Major: Teaching credential program

Photo courtesy Gary Towne

Johnny Sanchez, center, races with fellow members of the Chico State team.

In Case You Missed It

Stat ’Cat

700 (Men’s Basketball) Jordan Semple became the third player in team history to pull down 700 rebounds in his career.

14 (Men’s Cross Country) Chico State snapped a streak of 15 straight top-10 NCAA Championship finishes on Saturday, taking 14th.

Photos by John Domogma

Chanelle Di Croce and Robert Duncan, a pair of players for the men and women’s basketball teams, handle the ball during practice.

The Wildcats earned the National Soccer Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Team Academic Award by posting a 3.0 or higher as a team.

.27 (Women’s Basketball) Chico State shot 27 percent from the field in Friday’s loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Cross-Country

Men’s Cross-Country

WEEKEND PERFORMANCE

WEEKEND PERFORMANCE

WEEKEND PERFORMANCE

WEEKEND PERFORMANCE

2-0 0-2 13th 14th

3.0 (Women’s Soccer)

Men’s Basketball

The Chico State men’s basketball team went 2–0 over the weekend against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A., to start conference play. After losing two games at the Mac Martin Invitational, Chico State bounced back, throttling the Toros by 10 points Friday night. Senior forward Jordan Semple had a career night on Friday, scoring 14 points to go along with a season-high 14 rebounds–one off his career high. Collectively, the Wildcats outrebounded Dominguez Hills 45–27. The ’Cats vamped up their defense Saturday night, beating Cal State L.A. with a final score of 62–46. Chico State held the Golden Eagles to a .390 field goal-percentage. The men’s team is now in a 4-team tie for the top spot in the CCAA conference.

The Chico State women’s basketball team kicked off its conference play with a 2-game losing streak against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. Going into the weekend, the ’Cats were averaging 71 points a game, however, they were held by the Toros on Friday night allowing them to only score a season low of 42 points the entire game. The following night, the ’Cats tried to bounce back falling short against Cal State LA. Chico State tried to rally back from a 22-point deficit but fell short against the Eagles. The women’s basketball team is now 3–3 for the season, with a 0–2 record in the conference.

The women’s cross-country team ended its season at the NCAA Division II Championships and finished 13th. The first Wildcat to cross the finish line was Quetta Peinado.

The junior finished in 52nd place.

Following Peinado was Sadie Gastelum, who placed 70th. Coming into third was freshmen Alex Burkhart. Burkhart finished 86th.

Rounding out the fourth spot was Bailey Henshaw, who placed 104th.

Camila Turati finished fifth on the team placing 112th. The last two spots were Rebekah Bahra and Lora James. Bahra and James finished 168th and 198th, respectively.

The men’s cross-county team ended its season at the NCAA Division II Championships in Kentucky finishing in 14th place. Crossing first was Johnny Sanchez, placing 22nd in the massive field. Sanchez became the fourth Wildcat in history to win three All-American honors in his career. The second Wildcat to finish was Kyle Medina who placed 62nd. Coming in third was Nick Grubliss. Grubliss finished 93rd. Aaron Mora took home 118th place while Alex McGuirk placed 138th. Claming the last two spots were Dillon Breen and Barron Maizland they placed 146th and 177th respectively.

-Compiled by Jose Olivar and Angelo Boscacci

MORE ON THEORION.COM/SPORTS Follow along online for the latest results. For live updates, follow along on Twitter @theorion_sports.

Standings

Upcoming Games CCAA

Overall

1. Sonoma State

2-0

4-1

2. Chico State

2-0

5-2

3. Cal State Stanislaus

2-0

4-2

4. San Francisco State

2-0

4-2

5. Cal Poly Pomona

2-1

5-2

6. UC San Diego

2-1

4-2

7. Cal State Monterey Bay

1-1

4-3

8.Cal State San Bernardino

2-2

9. Cal State L.A.

1-2

2-3

0-2

2-5

CCAA

Overall

1. Cal State San Bernardino

2-0

6-0

2. Humboldt State

2-0

6-1

3. Cal Poly Pomona

2-0

4-2

4. Cal State Dominguez Hills

2-0

5-3

5. Cal State L.A.

2-0

3-3

6. Cal State East Bay

1-1

5-2

7. UC San Diego

1-1

3-4

8. Chico State

0-2

3-3

0-2

2-3

0-2

2-4

MEN’S BASKETBALL

10. Cal State East Bay

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

9. Cal State Stanislaus 10. Cal State Monterey Bay

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Friday, Dec. 13 7 P.M.

VS. Stanislaus

2-3

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Friday, Dec. 13 4 P.M.

VS. Stanislaus

theorion.com/sports | Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 | B3

Women’s Basketball Cat Bites

Senior Wildcat leads new group Ryan Grady

Staff Writer

After losing the backcourt that has guided the Wildcats over the last four years, someone had to step up. So far in this early season, that someone is Hannah Womack.

Womack, senior guard for the Chico State women’s basketball team, knew she was going to have to step up and play well in the absence of graduated guards Courtney Hamilton and Jazmine Miller.

Womack has taken on the challenge, leading the team with an average of 14.5 points per game so far. Womack is not only finding the basket, but is also taking quality shots from the field. Thus far, Womack has shot 44 times and converted for 18 of them, averaging out to a shooting percentage of 40 percent.

“It feels really great to get off to a good start for our team and me personally,” Womack said. “Our challenge is to get everyone comfortable out on the court and to be consistent.”

If there is one thing that Womack lacks, it is not consistency. Four games into the season, Womack had scored in double figures in all of them.

So what’s her secret?

It’s nothing more than just getting to the gym early and putting up shots, she said.

“Every time Hannah makes a basket, she always points to the person who passed it to her,” said Annie Ward, a senior guard on the women’s basketball team. “This just shows how much of a team player she is.”

Not only is Womack the leading scorer, but leads the team in assists as well with 12. Womack’s experience on the court and ability to make plays feeds onto the rest of the team.

“She is very dedicated to the sport and the Chico State program,” Ward said.

“Hannah is always pumped up for practice and the games which feeds into the whole team’s energy. She is a hard worker and a hustler.”

Womack’s hard work and dedication to the game came early, Womack said. She would watch her dad play and always wanted to be just like him. From there, she was introduced to the game in sixth grade.

Since then, she hasn’t looked back.

“I love to play basketball and I’m very competitive,” Womack said. “I do not like losing.”

Ryan Grady can be reached at

sportseditor@theorion.com or @RyanGrady23 won Twitter.

Photos by Kevin Lucena/The Orion

Levi’s Stadium, the new home of the San Francisco 49ers which holds 68,500 fans, is set to host the 2016 Super Bowl.

Niners say ‘bye’ to bay The Orion weighs in after a visit to San Francisco’s new venue

Kevin Lucena

Staff Writer

Nineteen feet. That’s all the room fans had while walking the concourses inside Candlestick Park. For 43 seasons, the San Francisco 49ers played at Candlestick Park.

Now, compared to that, a jumbo jet could be landed on the 63-foot-wide concourses at the team’s new stadium, Levi’s Stadium, located in Santa Clara.

I’ve attended over a dozen games at Candlestick Park and experienced its cramped feeling. I miss that feeling. I’d rather stand shoulder to shoulder with my fellow fans than feel like I’m walking into the mall, which is how it felt walking into Levi’s Stadium for the first time Nov. 23.

In addition to the lack of closeness at Levi’s Stadium, there’s actually less seats in it than at Candlestick. The ‘Stick houses 69,732 spectators, while Levi’s Stadium has room for 68,500. After watching the 49ers face off against the Washington Redskins, I have to say I remember Candlestick Park as being louder.

There are a few areas that benefit from the size of Levi’s Stadium though. The new locker room is about twice the size of the one at Candlestick Park. Inside, the players have access to new hot and cold tubs, along with a state-of-the-art hydrotherapy pool with an underwater treadmill for players rehabilitating from an injury. Levi’s Stadium also has a larger press box with room for 33 more seats for reporters, and space for another 50 in the press box’s dining area.

A look at Levi’s Stadium from high above the field before a game on Nov. 23.

The new stadium has openings in two corners, I guess to give a great view of the freeway. My dad commented on how much better the setting could be if you were looking out at the bay in San Francisco, and it’s hard not to agree. Of course, building a stadium in the suburbs leads to higher prices than the prices at Candlestick Park, which was located close to nothing near its size or profitability.

The average cost of a ticket at Candlestick Park was $165 with another $30-$40 for parking. At Levi’s Stadium, be ready to crack open your wallet. The average ticket prices to a game so far this year has been over $200 and $40-$60 dollars for parking.

With this new stadium and its upgrades for the players, fans and even the press, Santa Clara is set to host Super Bowl 2016.

With so many businesses nearby, the team has yet to secure enough parking to host Monday Night Football games this season.

Candlestick Park played host to 36 Monday

Night Football games, more than any other stadium in NFL history. I know I’ll never forget how the stadium erupted when Navarro Bowman picked off a tipped Matt Ryan pass and ran it back for a 49er touchdown, clinching the last game played at Candlestick Park and a playoff spot for the team on Monday Night Football.

The 49ers will be able to host Monday Night Football games starting next season.

Hopefully by then the team will have solved their offensive issues, and can host some playoff games in the new stadium. The 49ers hosted the most NFL playoff games and won the most home playoff games at their old park. Maybe when Super Bowl 50 comes to Santa Clara in 2016, the 49ers could be there playing in the game.

Kevin Lucena can be reached at

sportseditor@theorion.com or @theorion_sports on Twitter.

Women’s Soccer

’Cats miss bid for NCAA Championship Jose Olivar

Staff Writer

For Chico State’s women’s soccer team, failing to be selected by the NCAA’s Division II Women’s Soccer Selection Committee to compete in the championship tournament dampened an otherwise successful season.

The Wildcats capped off their year with a second-place finish in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, holding an 8-2-1 conference record along with an appearance in the CCAA championship tournament final.

After the Wildcats’ successful 2014 campaign, Kim Sutton, women’s soccer head coach, said she thought they had done enough to state their case to deserve a spot in the tournament.

“We thought because our strength of schedule (was) probably the strongest of the three teams that were considered for the last spot, we thought we’d be chosen,” Sutton said, “but obviously that wasn’t the case.”

Instead of Chico State, the committee chose Cal State Stanislaus and Cal Poly Pomona from the CCAA conference to go in the tournament.

Hearing that the team was not invited to play in the NCAA tournament was very disheartening, especially for the seniors who felt like they should have been in it, Sutton said.

“When we found out we didn’t get invited to the tournament, it was heartbreaking,” said senior defender Halima Abdelshife. “It almost didn’t seem real that our season was done because I know we deserved it more than anybody.”

Both Cal State Stanislaus and Cal Poly Pomona finished behind Chico State in the conference standings, but the team’s place in the standings did not mean much in the committee’s selection process, especially in its conference where teams were separated by a slim margin of wins and loses, Sutton said.

“I knew it was going to be really tight,” she said. “In the rankings, teams three through nine virtually had the similar record, plus or minus. A half a game record was only a small part of it, and we knew it was going to be very, very tight, so it

SERVICE DIRECTORY

was very unfortunate.”

NCAA’s selection committee has standards to determine which teams to invite in the tournament, Sutton said.

These seven factors are: • Overall winning percent • Strength of schedule of overall winning percent • Non-conference winning percent (out-of-conference games) • Strength of schedule of non-conference games • Head-to-head • Common opponents • Results versus ranked teams.

But even with the criteria, it is still unclear why the Wildcats did not get invited, Sutton said.

“Why they picked the team they did based on what piece of the criteria, I just don’t know, “ she said. “You could’ve picked any one of the teams and argued in a positive manner for them, and picked them, but you know we’re just never going to know.”

Brianna Furner, senior goalkeeper, who tied the school record for wins by a goalkeeper and second all-time in career shutouts, said that she could not have asked for a better way to finish her career as a Wildcat, despite not making it to the NCAA tournament.

“We were a young team,” she said. “And for us to have as much success that we had throughout our season and in the (CCAA) tournament was more than I could have asked for, for my senior year.”

The team finished with a .684 winning percentage — the seventh highest in the program’s history.

Abdelshife, who is in her fifth year with the program, said that though she knows the team could have made a solid run in the national championship, there was no overlooking all the other accomplishments and positive strides that it made throughout the season.

As for Sutton, she said that this will hopefully serve as a learning experience for the younger players in the team, and will hopefully help to motivate them next season.

Celebrating

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John Domogma/The Orion

Cassi Scroggins, defender, moves down field earlier this season.

“I think it’ll on the positive side push them to do better next year and realize that every game really does matter,” she said.

“And, you know, one more win, we would’ve been in there, so maybe it’ll fuel their fire for next year.”

Jose Olivar can be reached at

sportseditor@theorion.com or @jpu_olivar on Twitter.

B4 | Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 | theorion.com/sports

Wildcats of the Year

Barnett , Smith ’Cat of the Year nominees

Photo courtesy of Kevin Brunk

J Patrick Smith, right, competes alongside a teammate during a race last year.

Former Chico State decathlete recognized for storied 2014 season, competition overseas Nick Reddy

Staff Writer

The Orion file photo

Kasey Barnett, a former Chico State pole vaulter, gets ready to jump in practice.

Pole vaulter, Chico native makes her mark both in academics and on track as a ’Cat Lars Gustafson

Staff Writer

Whether it’s on the track or in the classroom, Wildcat of the Year nominee Kasey Barnett was on top during her senior season.

Now the former pole vaulter has been nominated for the 2014 Orion Sports Wildcat of the Year.

Growing up in Chico, Barnett started her athletic career as a gymnast until her freshman year at Chico High. Barnett started her track and field career as a hurdler and high jumper, but found her stride in a different event.

Kristi Stanley, Chico High track and field coach and Chico State alumna, was one of Barnett’s first coaches. Stanley had Barnett try the long jump during her freshman year of high school and the rest is history. Barnett jumped farther than every long jumper on the junior varsity and varsity teams.

Originally, Barnett wanted to leave Chico to study elsewhere.

She credits Oliver Hanf, Chico State’s head men’s track and field coach, for reaching out to her to join Chico State’s track and field team.

“Oliver told me if I came to do track and field, they would teach me to do pole vaulting and convinced me to come,” Barnett said.

Barnett had a number of successes during the 2014 season.

She said her biggest came with the 400-meter relay team.

“Our 4x100 won the conference meet,” Barnett said. “I loved the fact that the 4x100 team had a team element to it. I loved running with those three girls.Our goal all season was to win the conference meet and we did it. We were the first Chico State women’s team to win the 4x100 at conference.”

In the classroom, Barnett accumulated a 3.96 GPA and graduated with a recreation administration major.

“I’ve always been a really good student,” Barnett said. “School has always been really important and I’ve always been really dedicated to my studies. It’s an honor to be the (California Collegiate Athletic Association) and the Western Region scholar of the year.

That was really special to me.”

Ashley Jones was a member of the record-breaking 4x100 team with Barnett, and commented on her teammate’s attitude towards competition.

“Kasey gives 100 percent every single day; she never stops,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t necessarily describe her as a teammate, but as family. On the track team, we say ohana, which means family. She’s a sister to me.”

Jones and Robert Nooney, head coach of the women’s track and field team, said Barnett was one of the leaders of a team with 130 male and female athletes.

“She absolutely was a leader,” Nooney said.

“She made a coach’s job very easy. We have 130 athletes on the team and if nine coaches had to motivate 130 people every day, it would be hard. We rely on our upper classmen to take on some leadership roles for the younger athletes.”

Since graduating last spring, Barnett is currently completing an internship at Pebble Beach Resorts. Barnett is learning how to manage multiple aspects of the resort and hopes to get a management position after her internship is over.

Even though Barnett’s track and field career is over, she plans to run a half marathon in May. “I miss track and field,” Barnett said. “I love it. I’m really satisfied with my accomplishments. The year ended on a good note.

Everything as a whole was so positive and I don’t feel the need to go back and compete again.”

During her time as a Wildcat, Barnett collected a long list of accolades and awards.

Awards: •Four CCAA All-Academic Awards •Three Division II Athletic Directors’ •Association Academic Achievement Awards •Named twice to the CoSIDA/Capital One All-District and United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association All-Academic teams •CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American •2014 CCAA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year •2014 Western Region Field Athlete of the Year •2014 All-CCAA, All-West Region honors and All-American in the long jump Chico State Records: •Pole Vault: 13 feet, 1 inch •4x100: 46.50 seconds Lars Gustafson can be reached at

sportseditor@theorion.com or @theorion_sports on Twitter.

MORE ON THEORION.COM/WILDCATOFTHEYEAR There’s still time to vote online for the Wildcat

J Patrick Smith set a new standard of excellence for the men’s track and field program that has won 11 consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association championships. The Santa Barbara native and Dos Pueblos High School star graduated in May with a degree in nutrition and food science.

For his senior season in which he garnered numerous accolades and for his feats in post-collegiate competition, Smith has been nominated for one more distinction: The Orion Sports Wildcat of the Year.

Here’s how Smith’s senior year played out: •Named the NCAA Division II National Champion in the decathlon for the third consecutive year, with a Chico State record of 7,645 points.

•Earned his fourth career All-American recognition with an eighth place finish in the long jump.

•Awarded West Region Field Athlete of the Year honors by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association for the second straight year.

•Finished sixth overall at USA Track and Field Nationals in June.

•Represented the USA in the Thorpe Cup against Germany in July.

•Named Chico Enterprise-Record Sportsperson of the Year.

•Named CCAA Co-Field Athlete of the Year.

•Named CCAA Male Athlete of the Year.

•Named Chico State Male Athlete of the Year.

•Ranks among the top 10 in Chico State history for the 100-meter, 110-meter hurdles and long jump.

Smith’s collegiate years may be over, but that does not mean his aspirations for a professional decathlon career are.

In early April, he competed against the top decathlete in the world, USA gold medalist Ashton Eaton. At the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational, Smith lined up right next to Eaton for the 100-meter.

Smith said running alongside the world’s best as simply “awesome.”

Smith did not win that race, but he won the meet, which qualified him for a competition in Oyonnax, France in early June.

“It was the first time I experienced another culture,” Smith said. “I stayed with a family that was connected to the track club in France via their two sons and was welcomed with open arms.”

Later that month, Smith participated in the U.S. Track and Field Championships in Sacramento. He went up against another decorated American decathlete and Olympian, Trey Hardee.

“I’ve had tracks of him on my iPod for motivation for years,” Smith said. “Competing against him in the flesh made him human in my mind.”

Smith’s sixth-place finish in Sacramento qualified him to officially join Team USA and represent the country at the Thorpe Cup, an annual decathlon event between the U.S. and Germany.

“It was an incredible experience, being able to have people view you as a representative for your country,” said Smith of his time in Marburg, Germany.

His time in Germany did not end well, however. Smith suffered from a torn anterior cruciate ligamen in the hurdles, his 109th

event of competition in 2014. Smith was told at the time that his knee was structurally stable, so he continued competing anyway. He will sit out his 2015 season.

Despite sustaining such a serious injury, Smith still dreams of making a career out of what he does best.

“I would love nothing more than to pursue a career in the decathlon,” Smith said. “If it is physically and financially possible for me to do so, I will.”

Smith did not have any scholarship offers out of high school. He chose Chico State for family reasons: his grandparents live in town, as well as his aunt and uncle. He also knew the Wildcats had a decathlon program.

Prior to becoming the national champion for the first time in 2012, he doubted whether he could stand above the rest, Smith said.

“I never truly believed that I could or would win a national title,” Smith said. “I knew I could compete at nationals and be an All-American eventually, but never win.”

In 2012 and 2013, Smith won his first two national titles while being seeded fourth in the field both years. In 2014, he entered as the favorite and stayed on top. Many athletes in Smith’s position could have taken their foot off the gas pedal and gone into cruise control, but not this ‘Cat. “I needed to hold on to that third win, for myself,” Smith said. “I had to prove to myself that I was capable. That the hours spent in my room stretching, rolling, rehabbing and doing core paid off. That regardless, year after year my competitors didn’t believe I could end on top. I remember hugging my family afterward thinking that all the stress and pressure I put on myself was gone. It was all over and finished and I had succeeded.”

Smith cited his parents and coaches for helping him succeed so much over his Chico State career.

“My dad told me my freshmen year, ‘By the end of the year, you will be the best decathlete the school has ever had,’ which I wasn’t, but by my second year I was,” Smith said. “(Men’s track and field head coach) Oliver Hanf taught me many things over the past five years on and off the track,” he said. “I attribute him for lots of my personal growth.”

“JP was the best decathlete that I ever coached and perhaps the best track and field athlete we have had at this university,” Hanf said.

Together with fellow seniors John Brunk, Teddy Elsenbaumer and Adam Nikssarian, along with four freshmen, Smith steered the Wildcats to the Webb Cup title, an honor bestowed upon the best decathlon program nationwide. The Wildcats outscored top Division I programs like University of Oregon and University of Texas.

“JP was a diligent competitor right from the start,” Hanf said. “He always considered himself an underdog and thrived in that situation. One difference (from 2014) was the fact that he was the definite favorite to win the national title. This was new territory for him. He handled it as well as I could have expected. The goals he set for himself personally were really impressive, but many of the goals he set were about the team. He is a huge reason we were able to win the last four (CCAA) team titles.”

Nick Reddy can be reached at

sportseditor@theorion.com or @NickIsReddy on Twitter.

of the Year award. Voting ends Dec. 15.

Legend: Maderos spent time as pro football player, Wildcat coach » continued from B1 Eddie Booth, another Hall of Famer and sports editor for the Enterprise-Record, wrote a letter to try and get Maderos into the East-West Shrine Game. Without Booth writing his letter to the right people, Maderos may have never had a career in the NFL. The East-West Shrine Game is mostly comprised of Division I players who are trying their hardest to get drafted to an NFL team. Maderos was one of few Division II players to make it on that field his last year at Chico State. This led to him being picked 250th overall by the San Francisco 49ers.

He only played two seasons out of college for the 49ers before blowing out his knee.

After the injury, he was offered a job at

Chico State to become the head football coach. He became the youngest head college football coach of his time at age 23.

Simmons said he considers Maderos an “offensive genius” at football. He was amazed by how Maderos could keep the team in games no matter who the opponent was.

Maderos made the most of his team even though at some points of the seasons, he “only had one guy in the starting lineup over 200 pounds,” Blofsky said.

Simmons said Maderos would also help him one-on-one in boxing instead of his dad, Will Simmons, the head boxing coach at the time.

“He would take me aside to coach me, because he knows it is difficult for a father to coach a son,” Simmons said.

After Maderos retired from coaching, he

tried golf for the first time in his life. “(He) won the city championship three times and I don’t think he picked up a golf club until he retired from coaching,” Simmons said.

Blofsky said he has known Maderos best since they started playing golf together.

Maderos told him that golf was the hardest sport he ever played, and that he hated that he was not able to conquer golf, although eventually he did.

“Two years ago, I didn’t know if he could play or even walk due to his health,” Blofsky said. “But he got in the golf cart and we played four rounds of golf. And last year he did the same exact thing.”

Samuel Wolfson can be reached at

sportseditor@theorion.com or @theorion_sports on Twitter.

Photo courtesy Debbie Maderos

George Maderos poses in his football uniform for Chico State in the early ‘50s.

The Nebula B6 Sex Column B6 Theorion.com/features | Wednesday Dec., 10, 2014 | Vol. 73, Issue 15 |

Formula SAE

Courtesy photos by Formula SAE

Chico State’s SAE team works together on the new and improved race-car for the Formula SAE competition on June 17, 2015 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Engineers rev up for competition The Society of Engineers builds a new race car for international competition

Sam Rabellino, mechatronic engineering major and president of Chico State’s SAE team, raced their 2014 finished product.

Vincent Uribe, Tyler Gellinck (middle), and Sam Rebellino (right) start to work on the their 2015 car model.

1

2

3

Design

Manufacture

Test Drive

This year’s tournament

Lincoln, Nebraska June, 17-20

Wearing protective equipment, such as safety glasses and fireproof bodysuits, is essential when working in the manufacturing zone.

The team plans to have a model ready and built by the end of winter break, which they will then start testing. They use a private road located in Chico to drive the car, but space limitation causes many dangers for the drivers when attempting to get up to a speed of about 60 miles per hour.

Stephanie Schmieding “We couldn’t do the full length because we didn’t Staff Writer have enough space,” Rabellino said. “So by the time Just follow the piercing sound of metalwork, you get up to speed, you pretty much have to slam welding and heavy-duty machines and you’ll find on the breaks because you’re going to hit a fence or yourself in the courtyard of Plumas Hall, where something.” the Society Of Engineers at Chico State are hard Along with dangers in relation to the process, the at work designing a race car from scratch for the project requires a lot of money that comes out of Formula Society of Engineers competition. the pockets of the team members.

The student design competition is organized by Vincent Uribe, sophomore mechanical engineerSAE International. Teams from all over the world ing major and public relations leader for the team, come to compete, and said about $8,000 goes Chico State will be subinto the car just from I do this because it teaches us mitting a new and impersonal cost. That proved automobile for doesn’t include the $9,150 a lot about teamwork, and not the event. This year’s the team needs in order only that but for engineering, tournament will be held to its design into the in Lincoln, Nebraska on race.

Vincent Uribe, sophomore mechanical June 17–20.

To help with these engineering major Chico State’s Society expenses, the team of Engineers team has held a fundraiser Dec. built one car in the past.

3 at Woodstock’s Pizza However, its new and improved car this year will to help with preparations for the car, enrollment top previous designs, said Tyler Gellinck, junior into the competition and the excursion to Lincoln, mechanical engineering major and team member.

Nebraska.

“We learned a lot from the old one, like what areas Despite these risks, physical labor and high exneeded improvement and redesign, so we used that penses, the dedicated team members still reflect on as a foundation,” Gellinck said. “The experience the wonderful experience and excitement they get from building that one taught us a lot about what we from working on this project. need and what we need to incorporate for the next “We have specific meetings throughout the week, car.” and then there are certain sections of the car that When it comes to building a car though, it’s not meet up and do work,” Gellinck said. “But I would all fun and games. There’s a strict process that the say it’s kind of like a part-time job. At least 20 hours team must follow in order to have the car finished a week, minimum. Once you get to drive the car and on time and working properly. see what all of your work has accomplished though, Currently the team is in the design stage, where it’s pretty cool.” they design all of the components of the car and To learn more about Chico State’s Society of determine exactly what they need to build it. Then Engineers team and keep up with the progress of its they enter the manufacturing stage, where they journey, visit its Facebook page. The page includes start to build and put the car together. information on sponsors, team members, events and Sam Rabellino, junior mechatronic engineering how to get involved. major and president of the team, said there are “I do this because it teaches us a lot about teamdangers associated with the process. work, and not only that, but for engineering,” said “We work with a lot of dangerous machines,” Uribe. “We learn a lot doing this rather than just in Rabellino said. “The CNC machines in Langdon are the classroom sitting down. Then we can apply it really cool, but they spin at 600 RPM’s. So if you toward that also.” don’t program it right, it can take a tool and just shove it straight into the material which will break Stephanie Schmieding can be reached at the tool and send pieces flying out.” featureseditor@theorion.com or @stephbottt on Twitter.

Estimated out of pocket costs

$8,000

Money needed to enter the race

$9,150

B6 | Wednesday, Dec 10, 2014 | Theorion.com/features

De-Stress Fest

WREC hosts wellness event before finals Amanda Rhine

Staff writer

As the semester nears its end, the stress is just beginning. That is exactly the reason why at the end of every semester there is the De-Stress Fest.

From Dec. 2–5, the Wildcat Recreation Center hosted the recurring event with themed days centered around the purpose of relieving students’ stress, if only for a little while.

“De-stress Week is to get students to destress, basically, before finals and just take a deep breath and come in and see what we have going on here at the WREC to help them out during madness week,” said Diana Hass, senior recreation, hospitality and parks management major.

Dec. 2 was dubbed “Tranquillity Tuesday” and was expected to be the event’s introduction day to let people know that it was happening, said Athena Oreck, senior recreation, hospitality and parks management major.

There were several booths dedicated to relaxation and meditation. The hot tea and and scent stations were stocked with calming drinks and aromas to ease the nerves.

Those who wanted to delve a little deeper into composure attended a yoga workshop.

The big hit of the day was the eye pillow creation station. Made with rice, fragrances and new socks, students tied together their own eye pillows to take home and rest on their tired eyes while they recharged.

Taking the time to recoupe should be necessary to live a healthy lifestyle and that is exactly what the week is meant to promote,

said Charlie Curtis, a junior international communications major and representative of the Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center.

Dec. 3 was “Wellness Wednesday” and proved to be very popular. A sugar hand scrub-making station drew a large crowd of curious people.

There was a banana bar where students had numerous toppings to choose from to satisfy their sweet tooth. It was so popular that the food ran out shortly after the station was set up. If that wasn’t enough, a “chill pills” candy bar was set up with large bowls full of M&Ms;, Mike and Ikes, gummy bears, Good & Plentys and Reese’s Pieces that students had the opportunity to mix in jars with handmade “prescription” labels.

“It was such a cute idea and the labels we made were so cool, along with the jars,” Hass said. “I mean, free food gets anybody in here and we had a line for (the) station and it went so quickly. It was really successful.”

Dec. 4 was truly “Therapeutic Thursday” with two masseuses and an acupuncturist working magic to relieve stress and teach students techniques for home. “(My favorite part) was giving students the opportunity to get a massage or get acupuncture — those types of things that they are not always be able to do,” said Oreck. “I actually got acupuncture done. It was really cool. I had never gotten (it) done before.”

While the getting free massages and acupuncture was the highlight for the day’s event, a furry friend stole the show. Oso, a lovable 8-year-old Burmese mountain dog mix from the Butte Humane Society, pro-

Amanda Rhine/The Orion

Diana Hass (left) and Athena Oreck, both senior recreation, hospitality and parks management majors, man the prize wheel on the last day of De-Stress Fest. vided a healthy dose of love and affection to those he came in contact with.

“Fitness Friday” brought the event to a close on Dec. 5. The Butte Humane Society was in attendance again, this time with Chunk, a playful 9-month-old pitbull mix, and Lola, a sweet 3-year-old pitbull mix.

There was a prize wheel that made a winner with every spin and a yummy make-yourown-trail mix table.

“We did better than we thought we would,” said Oreck. “We were expecting to have 100 to 150 people every day and we had between 200 and 300 people show up every day.”

Overall, staff from the WREC hailed the four-day event as the most triumphant De-

Stress Fest to date, Hass said.

Whatever the outcome of future events, the point of the week is to get students to take a second to breathe and take their minds off of the impending final weeks of the semester.

“These types of events the WREC does purely for students to come and relax, there’s no catch to them,” Oreck said. “They do it for the students because they care. I think they put a lot of effort into it and the students (can) gain a lot if they do come. It’s purely positive.”

Amanda Rhine can be reached at

featureseditor@theorion.com or @am_rhine on Twitter.

Humans of Chico State: Holidays Q: How do you celebrate the holidays?

John Domogma

Photographer

A: It’s just about giving back to the community, giving to your family and appreciating everything that is going on, not so much just getting whatever you want. I usually just hang out with my family and we do a tree. On Christmas morning we have breakfast with my grandparents, we have dinner, open our presents and just hang around.

Q: What does Christmas mean to you?

A: I love Christmas. It has been a tradition in my family as it is with other families in the United States. We celebrate it every year just at home.

Nothing really special.

–Cameron McKibben, undeclared major

Photographs by John Domogma

–Victoria Krehe, psycholgy major

Q: What do the holidays mean to you?

Q: What does Christmas mean to you?

A: I think Christmas is about helping your fellow man no matter who they are. Me and my sister started a tradition where we get our old clothes that we don’t use and donate it to the homeless shelter in Marysville. We feel that we get so much new stuff during Christmas that we don’t need and other people do.

A: For me, Christmas is really a time to be with family and friends. Celebration is just going to connect with those people, whether it’s a train ride or them coming to see me. Either way, I just like to be around family.

–Angelica De la Torre, liberal studies/ bilingual education major

John Domogma can be reached at

–Malcom Dixon, communication design/media arts major

photoeditor@theorion.com or @Domogma1985 on Twitter.

The O-Face: Oral sex: Spit or swallow TJ Carter

Staff Writer

I love getting a good blow job. They work wonders on stress. But the biggest question that come up with a BJ is the choice to spit or swallow?

There are strange stories of people swallowing so much sperm that they have to have their stomachs pumped. The cheerleader that blows the basketball team,

or the chick that works the glory hole at all of the parties.

Swallowing sperm cannot make a person sick like most people may think. Yes, sexually transmitted diseases is an issue with oral sex, but swallowing will not cause a person to vomit. Vomiting usually happens because a person cannot handle the smell or taste.

A guy can make his sperm taste a little better by eating pineapple or strawberries.

The reason his sperm may have a strong

smell is because of his pH balance.

Drinking lots of water can help this problem.

Some people may find the taste of sperm gross and will not swallow after the work is done. The best course of action would be to just spit it out or have your partner shoot somewhere else other than the mouth.

My wife gives a great BJ, and to finish the experience, she will usually swallow.

She mostly enjoys the experience but when she is not up to it, she will spit it

into the sink or a tee shirt. We usually save blowjobs for when she is on her period.

It really doesn’t make a difference if a person spits or swallows. Even though swallowing can make things a lot easier during cleanup, just make sure not to swallow too much or you may have to skip dinner.

TJ Carter can be reached at

sexcolumnist@theorion.com or @tjdreadhead on Twitter.

The Nebula

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Food

» Review: Local holiday rock ’n’ rollers the Yule Logs hosted a festive, packed show at Duffy’s Tavern on Friday, complete with artificial snow and candy cane parasols.

» Party pasta: Try this tasty, healthy spaghetti dish with tomatoes and kale, perfect for serving at holiday celebrations. theorion.com/arts

Arts & Entertainment

theorion.com/arts John Domogma/The Orion

theorion.com/arts | Wednesday dec. 10, 2014 | Vol. 73, Issue 15 |

Q&A

jazz

Jeffrey Fox/The Orion

Local singer-songwriter Lisa Valentine is inspired by old blues greats like Sam Cooke and poets like Robert Frost and Dorothy Parker.

Soul, R&B singer on poets, iced crotches Jeffrey Fox

Staff Writer

Local soul and R&B singer Lisa Valentine grabbed a coffee and chatted with with The Orion at Empire Coffee about being raised by her mother and grandmother, the irony of her stage name and how she writes such soulful tunes Dec. 2.

How long have you been a singer-songwriter?

I’ve been playing and writing songs since I was 16. When I came to Chico, I was hopping on the open mic scene, and I picked up gigs at art shows with just me and my guitar.

You’ve won best vocalist and best singer-songwriter at the Cammies in the last two years. What has inspired your lyrics?

My grandma gave me tons of poetry books when I was younger, and that inspired much of it. Also, listening to a lot of older soul music, like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Your grandmother must have been pretty influential.

Yes. I grew up in my grandmother’s house, and her and my mom raised me together. She started reading me pretty deep poetry at such a young age, like Robert Frost and Dorothy Parker, who became a favorite of mine and had a twisted way of making light of morbid things like death. I guess that’s just weird for a kid though (laughs).

What is your songwriting process like?

I will come up with the lyrics and chords for it at the same time, and it will take about 30 minutes or so. Sometimes I will be driving or doing something and a melody or lyrics will come to me, and I will try and piece them together later and it just doesn’t work like when I sit down and do it all at once.

Is Valentine your real last name?

No, but I was born on Valentine’s Day, and I like the old black-and-white Valentino films.

I also think it’s funny, ‘cause so many of my songs are about heartbreak and sadness. So being related to Valentine’s Day is kind of ironic to me.

Will you be doing another Indiegogo fundraiser for your next project?

That is a matter of when I get back together with Dave Elke (recording artist, performer and Butte College instructor). He’s going to help me produce this next (EP or album) as well. I’m kind of leaning toward an EP. I love seeing a full album and the artwork and all that, but it takes a lot of money and it takes more time, and I don’t know how much of that I have.

Anything funny happen while you’ve been on tour?

(Lisa Valentine and The Unloveables) had a show in Santa Cruz, so we got all our stuff ready and Ben Sallmann, our trombone player, was like, “I wanna drive my car, it is kind of her last adventure.” So we take his car, and about 45 minutes into the trip we are sweating to death, and Ben lets us know that his car doesn’t have air conditioning. We’re all just dying, so we get these ice packs. The guys had them, like, in their crotches, and I had one in my shirt and on my neck. (Then) we got to Santa Cruz and we got lost. We finally show up at the venue all sweaty and exhausted, and it was just funny.

What does your musical career look like?

I have an agent now who is promoting me, and he is suggesting I move to the Bay Area to get more of a following there and to be around more musicians who want to play a lot of clubs and things. Right now, though, I just want to focus on recording and hopefully get into some cool festivals and events where I can be more showcased.

Jeffrey Fox can be reached at

artseditor@theorion.com or @FoxyJeff on Twitter.

MORE ON THEORION.COM/ARTS Watch a video of Lisa Valentine performing her orignal song “My, My, My.”

Brittany Hausman/The Orion

Bogg’s violinist Matthew Weiner, left, and keyboardist Josh Hegg perform with Bogg every Friday at Cafe Coda.

Not Bogg-ed down

Local jazz band Bogg promotes Chico’s music scene, releases tunes with fervor Trevor Whitney

Staff Writer

program, it turned out he ended up in a well-positioned place for musicians, near cities like San Francisco and Tahoe with more affordable rent prices.

Hegg and Fitzgerald went to high school together in San Diego, but weren’t friends then. They only knew of each other from marching band before running into each other in Chico.

Weiner, a violinist and also a Chico State alumni, originally joined the band because it wanted to go on tour but needed a horn player to cover the parts. The musicians thought the violinist just might work better.

“And now I know the difference between trumpet and violin,” Fitzgerald joked.

That’s how was formed, using a name that is actually Bone and Hegg’s names smushed together.

Once upon a time, in a pre-Bogg world, drummer Michael Bone and keyboardist Joshua Hegg were stranded in Chico during summer and felt the need for a musical outlet.

“Most people were out of town and it was the summertime,” Hegg said. “And we were really interested in improvisation and jazz-type stuff.”

The duo’s other band, Clouds On Strings, is a more structured, progressive rock band that doesn’t quite satisfy that improvisational hunger. So the now popular modern jazz quartet formed, adding Clouds on Strings ‘mates Matthew Weiner on violin and Gavin Fitzgerald on bass.

Since then, the quartet has made strides in the Chico music scene, promoting and starring in Cultivating shows prothe Chico MuWhat we’re trying to do duced by their sic Scene is generate interest that local producIn bigger you can’t escape. tion company, cities, like San Uncle Dad’s Francisco, Art Collective, companies and Gavin Fitzgerald, bassist playing as venues are often Bogg every looking for musiFriday at Cafe cians and bands.

Coda and performing in various venues There are plenty of opportunities. across the city.

“But in Chico, that doesn’t really hapUncle Dad’s had its one year anniverpen,” Hegg said. “If you are a musician sary of its first show Nov. 21, and Bogg’s that wants to do something, you just have newest album will be released Dec. 13. to create that something. If you want to play a show, you have to create that show, Becoming Bogg instead of getting onto a pre-existing one.”

Bone and Hegg, both Chico State With the formation of Uncle Dad’s alumni, met at orientation, which both Art Collective, the boys of Bogg started attended as recording arts majors. If anybranching out, not just performing but thing, the recording arts program helped becoming a driving force behind creating them figure out what they didn’t want to local dance, theatrical and musical prodo for a living, Hegg said. ductions to promote the Chico arts scene “It was a great department. I’m glad and hopefully get local bands national we went through it,” Hegg said. “I always recognition. wanted to be a performer and really “There are about 10 or so bands in Chico wanted to record ... but I think it’s easier right now that could be huge,” Fitzgerald to be a musician than it is being an engisaid. “These are bands that I bet half of neer.” the Chico State campus would love. ... If Chico seemed like a random place to go the students would come out to the $5 allto school, Hegg said. Though he only came ages shows, we would have a real music up here because of the recording arts scene. easily.”

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Calendar

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CONCERT

BAND CONCERT

The U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West, featuring famed professional airmen-musicians from Travis Air Force Base, will grace Laxson Auditorium in a celebration of the holiday season and the U.S.’s freedom.

Photo courtesy of 1078 Gallery

Local singer-songwriter Pat Hull will share his signature indie R&B vocal style in a concert opened by The Lowest Pair and Garret Gray of Perpetual Drifters and Broken Rodeo.

WHERE: 1078 GALLERY WHEN: 8 P.M. PRICE: $7

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In September, Uncle Dad’s Art Collective hosted “Led Zeppelin IV” at Chico State, bringing bands from across the community to perform covers in a night of live music of all styles.

“What we’re trying to do is generate interest that you can’t escape,” Fitzgerald said. “(We) had about 200 community people go, which is, you know, good,” Hegg added.

“But if 150 were students, what percentage of students is that? So, like, if 3 percent came, we would get attention from the cool Bay Area bands and people might start to take us seriously.”

Harvesting Interest In February, Uncle Dad’s Art Collective will produce another album tribute show.

“We’re going to perform Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ in February,” Fitzgerald said.

“It’s almost like we’re saying, ‘Okay kids, you don’t wanna come out? Well, here’s a show on your campus highlighting like, 10 local bands.”

This is on top of the Energy Plant Sessions video series the group co-produces with Energy Plant Arts and Mixed Media Mixers at 1078 Gallery the collective actively produces every month to highlight local artists.

Bogg’s third album, “Summer Harvest,” will also be released Dec. 13.

Bone said that this one feels like more of what the audience would hear the band actually play live, unlike its last two albums.

“On the first couple of albums, we got really bombastic,” Hegg added. “We had horn sections and a lot of guest vocalists.

And then we went on the road and we’re like, ‘Shit, we can’t play this album.’”

“Summer Harvest” was recorded live, with no overdubs.

“It’s like a stamp in time doing it live, because there are no overdubs and there are mistakes in there. It’s like, ‘This is what we sounded like this summer,’” Hegg said. “‘Four dudes trying their best at the time.’”

Trevor Whitney can be reached at

artseditor@theorion.com or @nicefgrandmas on Twitter.

MORE ON THEORION.COM/ARTS Listen to some of Bogg’s tunes, including a cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic.”

12 S13

HOLIDAY SHOWCASE

BAND CONCERT

Jose Hernandez’s famed Mariachi Sol de Mexico will serenade the audience with classic holiday songs and traditional mariachi tunes in this festive concert.

Photo courtesy of Steve Twist/Avalon Photography

Photo courtesy of Chico Performances

WHERE: LAXSON AUDITORIUM WHEN: 7:30 P.M. PRICE: FREE

Join Believe Chico for “Believe,” a local musical production inspired by “The Polar Express” that will take audiences on a journey to the North Pole.

WHERE: PLEASANT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL TIME: 7 P.M. PRICE: $20

Photo courtesy of Chico Performances

WHERE: LAXSON AUDITORIUM TIME: 7:30 P.M. PRICE: $10

MORE ON THEORION.COM/CALENDAR Check out full listings and an interactive map.

B8 | Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 | Arts & Entertainment

Review

Photographs by John Domogma//The Orion

The Snow Queen, Sofia Allmon, and Snow King, Clinton Bell, enchant audience members during Chico Performances’ “The Nutcracker.”

‘The Nutcracker’ tastefully brings classic story to life in local ballet production started to fade, the guests of the opening party scene made their exit, leaving Clara Staff Writer alone with the disabled nutcracker she The original Nutcracker ballet’s debut had just received. in 1892 was an utter failure. In fact, What’s odd here is that the impressively Tchaikovsky never lived to see the piece costumed mice show up before she falls succeed. asleep on a chair. They’re scared away a But today, somehow it has transcended second time by Drosselmeyer before apsuccess and become tradition. pearing once again with the Mouse King.

Chico Community Ballet was the latest Under normal circumstances, the mice local production company to uphold the creep up on Clara when she’s asleep, tradition with its performances Dec. 4-7 at prompting Drosselmeyer to shrink her Laxson Auditorium. and bring the nutcracker to life, for whatThe two-act ballet’s survival is based ever reason. It makes sense to extend the on its steady self re-invention, which has mice roles to give the kids a bigger part, become traditional in its own way. “The but more power to Clara if she’s able to Nutcracker” always has the same plot and shrug-off the fact that life-sized, hungry music, but what keeps the performance -looking mice just broke into her house fresh is the liberty that the directors, choand then disappeared. reographers and The ensuing costume designers Mouse King fight have to make the was spectacular.

More power to Clara if she’s able performance their CCB sprung for to shrug off the fact that life-sized, own. costumes with Inevitably, not bright red eyes that hungry-looking mice just broke into every new idea is glowed menacingly her house and then disappeared. going to work. in the dark. The Chico CommuKing had three nity Ballet took libfaces, paying triberties mostly, as many companies do, with ute to the biting darkness of the original Herr Drosselmeyer and the party scene, Nutcracker story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. the confrontation with the Mouse King In this scene, all of the hench-mice are and the portrayal of certain characters in usually slain simultaneously, leaving the Land of the Sweets. the Mouse King alone to be disarmed Drosselmeyer, expertly captured by

by Clara and stabbed through the heart professional photographer Derek Ralston, by the Nutcracker. Often, Clara will just came across as an estranged, flashy throw her shoe to draw the King’s attengodfather hoping to earn his way back tion for a second, but this more-involved into the family’s life by blowing their choreography seemed to work better. minds with tricks he picked up from a Fewer liberties were taken as the show magician’s handbook a few days ago. It’s progressed, and every dance in the Land G.O.B.-esque, only less delusional and of the Sweets was classic and tastefully with exceedingly less lighter fluid. done. During the dance with Mother As the young, knife-wielding boys Goose, however, it took some time for quenched their blood thirst and the magic audience members to register what was of the girls’ sparkly snowflake wands happening Trevor Whitney

Mother Goose waddled out on top of a giant bustle that must have had some sort of gate on it, with the way the kids ran in and out of there. Upon further examination, an actual goose head protruded from the front of the dress, effectively shattering reality and begging the question, “Is Mother Goose actually half goose?”

Either way, it was refreshing to see the Cat and the Fiddle, Little Bo Peep, Miss Muffet and her Spider and Jack and Jill all on stage. It’s a safe bet that had a moon been included in the set, a cow would have been jumping over it.

The audience was as hesitant to leave the Land of the Sweets as Clara, but eventually Drosselmeyer dropped in to take her home. Either that, or he was just checking in on how she was handling that Ketamine he slipped her when she said she was seeing giant mice.

Trevor Whitney can be reached at

artseditor@theorion.com or @nicegrandmas on Twitter.

Above: Clara, Jenna Large, Butte College sophomore physical therapy major, snoozes while Herr Drosselmeyer’s giant mice appear in “The Nutcracker.”

Left: Cameryn Titus and Clinton Bell dazzle as characters from the Land of the Sweets in Chico Performances and Chico Community Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.”

MORE ON THEORION.COM/ARTS Check out a photo gallery for more scenes from “The Nutcracker” and watch a video featuring interviews with people involved in the production.