The Renegade Rip Vol. 84 No. 3

The Renegade Rip Bakersfield College

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Vol. 84 ∙ No. 3

Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

Interim president arrives

By Jon Nelson Features Editor

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Interim Bakersfield College president Robert D. Jensen.

On the heels of Greg Chamberlain’s surprise resignation as president of Bakersfield College comes the news that an interim president has been found to take his place.

As of Feb. 27, Robert Jensen has taken over duties as president until a permanent replacement can be found.

“People have been very warm, very hospitable,” said Dr. Jensen as he shook hands with students and staff in the Fireside Room.

Jensen is excited about coming

to Bakersfield and says that stu- chancellor Sandra Serrano in an dents can expect a “great advo- email to BC staff. cate and an Dr. Jens‘open door’ en is no policy” as stranger to well as his leadership participation at the comin the arts munity coland athletics. lege level.

“Dr. JensHe has held en has come positions as highly recboth presi–Robert Jenson, ommended, dent and BC’s interim president and he has chancellor an excellent of several breadth of experience and an ex- community colleges totaling 19 ceptional reputation,” said Kern years of service.

Community College District “I enjoy being in the college

“I enjoy being in the college environment and seeing students pursue their goals and aspirations.”

BC 9-2 with WSC play on horizon

SGA seeks more turnout for elections

By Gregory D. Cook Photographer

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

Bakersfield College’s baseball has kicked off its season with a strong start in non-conference play and is ready to compete for a Western State Conference title.

Conference play will commence for the Renegades on March 6 when they head to Valencia to play College of the Canyons.

BC’s record of 9-2 through the first three weeks of the season has the team in high spirits.

“I think, as we’ve gone out and played, this group has gained a little confidence,” said coach Tim Painton. “We’ve kind of gotten a feel of who we are and what we are capable of doing at this point. I feel really good with where we’re at [emotionally].”

At this point last year, the Renegades were 7-4 with conference play approaching. They won seven of their next eight games before finishing the season on a downslide, losing 12 of their last 17.

Painton is confident that this group will not have the same outcome.

According to Painton, the pitching staff has held the team up when their offense was struggling to Please see BASEBALL, Page 11

environment and seeing students pursue their goals and aspirations,” said Dr. Jensen Jensen has a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in English literature.

He began his teaching career in 1962 and taught many subjects, including journalism. He then attended Washington State University for his doctorate in community college administration.

Jensen looks forward to working at BC and “assisting a college with a long history of excellence in serving its students and community with an outstanding faculty, staff and leadership team.”

omar oseguera / The Rip

Renegades outfielder Jordan Turner slides into home under Condors catcher Daniel Lerma during a game on Feb. 17 at Bakersfield College. BC won the game 7-4.

On March 20-21, the students of Bakersfield College will once again have the opportunity to decide who will be the new officers of their Student Government Association by casting their votes in BC’s spring elections. But this year, the SGA is making a few changes in the process, hoping to improve voter turnout and streamline costs.

While voting will still take place online, in an effort to improve on the 941 voters that participated in last year’s elections, the SGA plans on giving students the option of walk-up voting on campus as well.

“We’ll have booths set up in locations where students can actually walk up to the table and vote using laptops,” explained SGA general counsel Derrick Kenner, who is overseeing the elections. “And they can also receive prizes for voting.”

Currently, the SGA plans on raffling off an MP3 player, an E-reader and a tablet as prizes, with a student’s vote automatically entering them in the raffle.

“They can also receive walk-up prizes like t-shirts,” said Kenner. “It’s just something to Please see ELECTIONS, Page 5

Unicycling up and down the BC campus

By Nicholas Sparling Reporter

angie delgado / The Rip

Mike Taylor rides his unicycle on Feb. 23 down the stairs of the Math and Science Building. He has been riding for six years.

Many students around Bakersfield College have seen a gentleman riding around campus on his unicycle, dawned with a large afro and sporting his Bob Marley leather jacket.

Mike Taylor is a 21-year-old mathematics major at BC. He has been using his unicycle as a form of transportation since around 2005. “[It’s] something to get around and it fits in small places,” he said.

He doesn’t ride for the unique factor. Though it is rare to see people riding around on unicycles, for him it is more something so he “wouldn’t have to ride a bike somewhere where it could get stolen.”

When he first started riding around seven years ago, it took him about a

Inside

week to pick it up without having to he has autism. worry about falling.

“It’s like you can’t do everyday “[It] requires forward and back- normal activities like everyone else. wards balance [I] can’t do things more than left to without think“When you’re autistic, right,” he said. ing about them,” Taylor likes to said. “When you’re conscious of every he collect and find the you’re autistic, most comfortable single move that you make. you’re conscious unicycle for him. of every single Although he only It makes it really stressful to move that you has one that works make it through a normal day.” make. It makes it right now, he has really stressful to –Mike Taylor, many pieces that make it through a BC student he trades out. He normal day.” gets his unicycles Still, Taylor at Snyder’s Cyclery on Union Av- doesn’t let this discourage him from enue and rides back and forth from doing the things that he loves to do. home to school.

He likes to build calculators for chess Although Taylor seems to be a nor- positions, which Taylor calls “bots,” mal BC student who likes to ride his where moves could be solved using unicycle to class, according to Taylor, math and pure calculation.

BC recipient of major Chevron donation

By Angie DelGado Reporter

Page 4: The Skabilly Rebels headline local show at B. Ryder’s Page 7

New bacon milkshake hits the tastebuds with disappointment

Taylor makes these bots for chess, he said, “but not regular chess. There [are] too many people that make those so [I] make bots for chess variants.”

He cites tempestchess.com as a place to test his bots.

“It’s chess without turns, like you don’t have to wait for your turn to play.”

Taylor wants to make bots for that form of chess because there hasn’t been bots made that can beat humans consistently.

The future holds more programming for Taylor as he continues with his study of mathematics.

“Like right now, [I] can’t program that much with the math that [I] know.”

He says by learning more math, he could probably build more powerful programs.

Page 9

Women’s basketball team snubbed in playoff selection

Chevron announced a donation of $1.5 million to schools in Kern County at the Bakersfield College Science and Engineering quad during Engineer’s Week on Feb. 21.

“Chevron’s goal is to engage students, and have them understand that careers in engineering, science, and math are tangible and easy to get,” said Adam Al-

vidrez Government and Public Affairs representative of Chevron.

The $1.5 million donated by Chevron is going to help students by giving them the opportunity to experience science and math hands-on.

Out of the $1.5 million being donated, BC is going to receive $100,000 to support the development of the STEM Education/ Workforce Development InitiaPlease see DONATION, Page 5

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Tim Ambrose makes adjustments to the programming of his team’s robotic pirate ship during a Feb. 21 demonstration in the Science and Engineering Building.

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Gospel concert celebrates Black History Month

By Ruben Perez Reporter Harlem & Beyond put on a gospel concert at the Greater Harvest Christian Center Feb. 25 to celebrate Black History Month and to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The theme of the concert was “Embracing the Past for a Better Future.” The Master of Ceremony, Brother Charles Moore, said they put on the concert because “during the hard times, it was the music that brought people together.”

This is the third time that Harlem & Beyond put on the concert, but the first time at the Greater Harvest Christian Center.

The concert began with songs by the Greater Harvest Praise Team and a discussion of the book and movie “The Help.”

They brought up “The Help” as a reminder of the struggles people went through so that all people of color could eventually have the same rights and equality.

The concert then followed with the song “Walking in Authority” by the Bakersfield Community Children’s Choir. They

performed three songs throughout the evening. After the Children’s choir sang, the Bakersfield Community Praise Dancers performed a dance to a song about asking Jesus to help through the tough times.

The concert also included poetry from a local poet about the struggles she went through during the civil rights movement and when she was the help. She stressed the importance of people embracing their past to have a better future.

One Touch Music Ministry came from California City to perform a few songs.

The Children’s Choir performed again, but this time dressed as older women with large church hats and ran around the church in praise.

The older women they were imitating got a good laugh from the children’s choir’s performance.

The music got most of the people in attendance out of their seats and clapping their hands.

After the concert everyone was in good spirits, and a few people suggested that they hold the concert more often.

Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

Riding down the path together

omar oseguera / The Rip

Bike Bakersfield held Pedalpalooza Feb. 25 at Yokuts Park. The event encouraged participation from all age groups and creative decoration of bikes. Competitions were held for Best Single Rider, Most Creative Bike Float, Best Family Presentation, Best Group Presentation and Best in Show.

New iPhone app provides info on cost of homes

By Crystal Sánchez Reporter Many Bakersfield College students are wondering if the “Who Owns that Home” app is really a great invention.

“Who Owns that Home” is a free app for your iPhone. With the click of a button, it provides information on who owns the home, how much they paid for it, and when the house was purchased.

The app uses public tax re-

cords to get the information.

App creator, Chris Frank, said in an interview with KGET that the idea of iPointer is to change the way people learn about their surroundings.

The easy access to this information is leaving some Bakersfield College students uneasy.

“I think it’s creepy that people can have all that information,” said Katie Long, 27.

“My house no longer feels private because I am worried people will know my information.”

George Gutierrez, 20, believes that the app would best serve its purpose if only used the right way.

“That’s crazy that people would come up with this app,” he said. “I am sure if you use it the right way, it would be great, but you know a crazy person is going to use this to stalk someone.”

Lucas Alindajao, a realtor for Lenox Realty, believes that this app is great for people wanting to get a better idea of a home before they buy.

“It will help consumers gather information about what the prices ranges are in certain neighborhoods,” he said.

As for how it will affect the realty companies, Alindajao says that it really won’t make a difference.

“People will still need to see a realtor because they won’t know how to buy a house. There is a process to buying a house that needs to be followed,” he said.

“This app can really help realtors with marketing and listing the

houses.”

“I could understand the purpose of this app for realtors. I personally don’t care to know how much my neighbor paid for their house,” said Lukah Castro, 31.

Ashley Johnson, 57, thinks it is an unusual app, but she also believes it makes gathering information too easy for people.

“I cannot understand why you would give everyone access to such private information or why you would even want others in-

formation,” she said.

“Before, if you really wanted to find this information, you had to go down to the hall of records.

You had to work for that information, not just click a button on your iPhone.”

Sandra Perez, 36, disagrees.

“I really want this app. I think it is great to be able to know everything I can and have it at my fingertips,” she said.

“People just need to be responsible with the information they are given.”

Frozen yogurt trend excites Bakersfield residents

By Patricia Rocha Copy Editor

Omar oseguera / The Rip

Yogurtland is just one of several new frozen yogurt places located in the Bakersfield area.

Bakersfield residents have been known to get excited over new restaurant openings and the many new frozen yogurt places that have opened in the past few years are no exception.

Yogurtland, BurrBerry Frozen Yogurt, Daddy O’s Frozen Yogurt and Galato and Tutti Frutti have all recently gotten the attention of Bakersfield College students as the newest places to get a cool snack.

The new locations have caught the attention of student Amayrany Claros, 18, who said she hasn’t gone yet, but the variety of colors and flavors make it look interesting.

“They look tasty,” she said.

English major Patrick Reyes said he’s been to Daddy O’s and BurrBerry Frozen Yogurt, the latter being his favorite.

“They have really good flavors,” he said. “I like French vanilla yogurt, and I like to put caramel on it.”

He says he thinks people get excited over new openings because people just like eating a lot and BC student Arelie Paredos agrees.

“I guess they read reviews and are anxious to try it out,” Paredos said.

She said she likes the new Yogurtland location for its tasty toppings.

“They have more choices like cookies and junk food and all that,” she said.

Student Karla Peck also agrees that Yogurtland is her new go-to place, admitting she’s slightly addicted to the frozen treat.

“I don’t feel extremely full like after I eat ice cream,” Peck said.

“It’s healthy and yummy.”

omar oseguera / The Rip

Yogurtland offers an array of toppings for their frozen yogurts.

Though she said the location is a little too small and busy to hang out with friends and family in, she feels the yogurt is worth the hassle.

“I get the cheesecake yogurt or the passion fruit yogurt topped with pineapple and strawberries and animal cookies.”

Peck said she likes the service and the outside of the location is perfect for hanging out as Yogurtland is only a short distance away from River Walk Park.

“Everyone is pretty friendly there,” she said.

“You can just take your yogurt and go.”

Another selling point for the treat is the prices, which is said to be reasonably priced based on the overall weight of the final cup which many said was a good thing seeing as how there are hundreds of different flavor and topping combinations possible.

“You get a lot for really cheap, it’s not pricey at all,” said Peck.

“I like to get toasted coconut yogurt with sliced almonds and a bunch of fruit.

“It’s so good.”

Many students said they were excited to see what other types of dining venues will open in town in the future.

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Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

A new club for Hipsters goths opens add to Column

fashion WORTHWHILE STYLE | The Rip’s copy editor and resident shoe addict discusses the lost art of dressing for your own style.

Depending on who you ask, past decades and eras can be defined by many things. Some people will say it’s all about the politics, wars and diplomatic relations. Others will go straight to saying that just the names Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and Cyndi Lauper help define multiple generations. But to me, when someone names a famous historical event or genre of music from a certain decade, the first Patricia Rocha thing I think of is the fashion.

Bring up the second World War and I think of the way women had to give up wearing their nylon stockings and went through fabric rationing.

Bring up the mid ’70s, and my mind races thinking of the birth of punk fashion. Just saying the word “grunge” makes me cringe for the fashion victims of the ’90s. Oversized flannel is a friend to no one.

Because I see history this way, it kind of makes me sad to think what my generation will be remembered for in the future. Muffin-top inducing low-rise jeans?

Uggs with mini skirts? Anything with the name Ed Hardy written on it?

However, I still have hope that at least one group of individuals is saving us from complete style loss, and those people are called hipsters.

I think hipsters get a bad rap.

Yes, they steal all the good vinyl from Goodwill and annoyingly love putting mustaches and owls on everything, but they’ve done a lot for our generation in terms of fashion. They’ve taken some of the worst trends from the past and modified them to make them actually look good.

Women are wearing awesomely patterned tights with ’50s and ’60s style dresses. Men are wearing ties and vests. Everyone is wearing nerdy, thickframed glasses. And seriously, who thought Bill Cosby sweaters were going to be at the forefront of style again?

Not to mention the shoes.

Classic oxfords and saddle shoes in every color combination and pattern possible and ’90s style combat boots with dresses! It’s almost enough to make me forgive them for wearing Toms. (I said almost.)

Hipster fashion is all about being creative and resourceful.

Wearing rings made out of antique spoons, making straw hats a statement piece, and scouring the Salvation Army for the perfect Molly-Ringwald-in-PrettyIn-Pink-esque floral vest.

It kind of amazes me anyone would ever be insulted to be called a hipster.

They’re known for liking classic literature, lesser-known bands, and multiple mediums of art. Because of this, people think they’re snobby and stuck up, but I honestly don’t care about all of that.

If you go back in history, you’ll see the most notable fashions didn’t come from the mainstream, they came from the counterculture. Flappers of the ’20s, greasers of the ’50s, mods of the late ’60s, Madonna’s leather and lace ensembles, no one really took their style seriously at the time, but their style is really what’s best remembered.

For our generation, I think hipsters’ fashion statement is what’s going to leave a lasting impression, and someday when everyone else jumps on the bandwagon and starts to realize how awesome they really are, I’m not ashamed to admit I’m kind of excited I get the chance to say I thought they were cool before everyone else.

By Jon Nelson Features Editor The once unused back bar of Riley’s Tavern downtown is now playing host to something darker once a month.

Heresy, the brainchild of Bakersfield native Mike Fowler, is Bakersfield’s new Goth Night.

“My wife and I couldn’t find anything like it going on in Bakersfield so we decided to get together with some friends and go for it,” said Fowler about starting the event.

Heresy has been running since December and has a new theme each month. The event features DJs, bands and a multimedia show projected on a large screen behind the dance floor.

Even the staff at Bakersfield College is getting in on the festivities.

“For anyone with a history of being around goth clubs, there is

enough of the trappings to make it entertaining, although the music was a bit industrial for me.

Certainly some colorful characters in attendance,” said John Davies, adjunct English professor at BC. Fowler is also happy with the event.

“I am happy with the events so far. The attendance has been great. The club goers are excited. The bar owners are way cool and easy to work with. Also, I’m happy with the mix of people,” said Fowler.

The crowd at Heresy is an eclectic mix of the black lipstick set, weekend warriors and curious on-lookers.

“I love the fact that they’re trying to do something darker for the alternative crowd,” said Katt Purdue, who attended Heresy in February.

For Fowler, the central theme behind Heresy is the people and

Teela Walker / The Rip

Adrian Rocha showing off his dance moves for Club Heresy on Feb. 4 backstage at Riley’s Tavern. the sense of community it provides. “People who go to goth clubs seem to be united around a lifestyle of self-expression with their outfits and music as opposed to just wanting to go

out and get drunk at a bar,” said Fowler.

For the foreseeable future, Fowler plans to concentrate on Heresy and make the event better.

“Heresy is once a month and that takes plenty of planning.

When you have to get things planned, that once a month comes fast. If demand grows, then I will plan it more often.”

Local roller derby bouts

omar oseguera / The Rip

Dezi Von Dropya, Hooka Buzz-uka and Devious Darling, left to right, watch their fellow teammates play.

By Omar Oseguera Photographer Sports are highly thought of as dominated by men, but that does not stop the ladies of Derby Revolution of Bakersfield from stepping into the rink and displaying their intensity in Roller Derby.

Roller derby bouts consist of five women from each team on the track at one time, and so 10 women at a time on the track.

Two of them are jammers and wear helmet panties with a star on them. The goal of jammers is to score points. The rest of the skaters form a pack and try to let their respective jammer get in through a hole while attempting to block the other team’s jammer from scoring.

Tonya Warren, 41, also known as Tonka Toy, started the Derby Revolution of Bakersfield.

“I started Roller Derby six years ago, and had seen it on the

A&E TV show ‘Roller Girls,’ and was challenged by a friend to do it… so as soon as it came to town, I joined.”

Tonya, who has been an athlete her whole life, recognized that there aren’t many organized sports for women.

“Roller Derby isn’t just a sport. It’s almost like its own little entity.”

She acknowledges that, although Roller Derby is a physical sport, you don’t necessarily have to be an athlete to join.

“Everybody has their role on the team. You have the people that are athletes and then you have the people who are just great organizers that want to be a part of something … there is a place for everyone.”

The current captain of the team, Christy Chanley, 43, also known as Chris T. McKnuckles, is a correctional counselor for the California Department of Corrections outside of the rink.

omar oseguera / The Rip

The Derby Revolution faces the Visalia V-Town Derby Dames on Feb. 25.

“I’ve been skating for three and a half years now. I started in July of 2008, I believe,” she said.

“I chose to do derby because I saw a photo on the paper, and it was a friend of mine. She had a black eye, Tonka Toy, our founder. I finally kept a schedule on my refrigerator and finally made it to a bout. And as soon as I started watching it, I was like ‘oh heck, where do I sign up?’

“My skate name is Chris T. McKnuckles. The reason I chose that name is because as a kid I was always a tomboy. And when I was growing up, Christy McNichols was a pretty good actress, and she was a tomboy on ‘Family,’ so I went with that

because my friends use to call me Christy McNichols all the time.”

When asked about the nicknames, Chanley said, “Some girls go with tough nicknames.

It’s just usually something to do with your personality.”

The Derby Revolution of Bakersfield practices twice a week at the Boys and Girls Club on Niles Street Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“We do about 45 minutes of endurance drills … and just drills that have to do with the skills that we use on the track when we play,” says Chanley.

The Derby Revolution of Bakersfield also has a junior team, called the Derby Revolution Brats.

The team ranges from ages 8-17. Practice sessions for the young team are just as intense as the adult league.

“They can probably outskate some of the adults to be honest with you, and their practices run the same as ours,” stated Chanley.

Chanley describes Roller Derby as a very intense sport.

“Derby is a very physical sport. I would say it’s a cross between Nascar, going around the track, and football … it can get violent sometimes. Roller Derby nowadays is not what you remember from the past … we have strict rules, not that we don’t break those rules. It’s not your grandmother’s roller derby.

It’s real now.”

Social networks become an addiction

By Crystal Sánchez Reporter Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are becoming prevalent in the lives of many Bakersfield College students.

BC students spoke about how social media sites affect their lives and how addiction may soon become a problem. They discuss how the 10 tips to help social media addiction can be effective for curing social media addiction.

“I have a Facebook, Twitter and Flickr account to stay in contact with friends and to display my artwork,” said Henry Howard, 20.

Howard said that becoming addicted to social media is not difficult to do because most people do not keep track of how much time is spent online.

“I know for myself person-

ally, I can easily spend an hour to two hours on Facebook and not even notice.

“My studies have slipped a little bit because I spend too much time on Facebook or Twitter, but I am trying to keep my grades up and have Facebook and Twitter be less of a distraction.”

Dr. Rob Reiner, of Behavioral Associates in Manhattan, said in an interview with NBC New York that social media addiction could trigger anxiety, envy, and even depression.

“People are insecure and people think there is always something better and now there are more tools to take advantage of it.”

“I feel disconnected from my friends if I’m not on Facebook reading their posts or sharing pictures,” said Gabrielle Tills, 22.

“I can’t imagine my life

without Many stu10 Steps to help Facebook, dents even social media addiction much less believe that my phone. the 10 tips are 1. Admit you have I would die applicable to a problem without my their lives.

2. Track your time online phone,” she Kenneth 3. Remember the telephone said.

Parker, 35, 4. Go outside Frances said that the 5. Limit your memberships Garcia, 48, apps on his 6. Use your networks believes her phone are a productively frequent use distraction.

7. Prioritize of social “The apps 8. Stop procrastinating media has on my phone 9. Remove the cell decreased are an easier phone apps her time way for me to 10. Spend more time with spent with stay connected close family and friends family. at all times, but “Somethey also cause times I me to waste catch mymy time,” self paying more attention to my Parker said. “I use them just beiPhone than I do my kids. It’s cause they are on my phone.” really sad to admit to yourself “Sometimes you realize how that you are addicted to social much you miss hearing your friend’s voice rather than texting media,” she said.

them all the time,” said Anna Sheak, 44.

Sheak currently has a son attending Fresno State and said she often misses hearing her son’s voice over the telephone.

“I miss hearing my son’s voice and listening to him talk about his day,” she said.

“There is a human element to talking over the phone and hearing someone’s voice.”

Hannah Clark says she thinks limiting your memberships is the best way for avoiding social media addiction.

“I have so many memberships that it is hard to keep track of them all,” she said. “Limiting my memberships would help me centralize my time and mind to just one site.

“My life would also be a lot less stressful with not having to check all of the sites for updates.”

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Weirdest job title may go to BC professor Bill Barnes

By Angie DelGado Reporter Bakersfield College professor of Animal Science Bill Barnes is the first to admit he may have an odd job.

Barnes uses artificial insemination in livestock production, which is a very common job in the beef and swine industry. After all, it is an important aspect in producing milk and food for most of the country.

Swine production is mostly what Barnes focuses on, and while it may sound like an easy job, there are a lot of aspects to be aware of. First, you have to make sure that the female pig is in heat.

“Female pigs go through a cycle when she is in heat. It is called the estrous cycle. It happens ev-

ery 21 days,” said Barnes.

When the female pig is ready, a rod is inserted at a 45-degree angle, then it is turned to the left, and once it is in the cervix, it locks in.

Then a bottle of semen, which can cost upward of $150, is taken and put at the end of the rod.

Some pressure is applied slowly, and once it is empty, she’s done. Then the rod is turned to the right and it is removed. The same procedure is done again in 24 hours.

The way to tell if the procedure is successful is to wait another 21 days, and if she does not come into estrous cycle again, then the process does not need to be done again.

If she does come into the cycle, then the same procedure is followed again until it is successful.

“Once she is pregnant, it will last 114 days. That’s three months, three weeks, and three days. About 6 weeks into it, she’ll develop a tummy,” said Barnes about knowing when the pig is pregnant.

Some aspects of the process can be dangerous.

“When I was collecting from a boar one time, I was bitten by one. They get really aggressive,” said Barnes.

The boars are a little more aggressive than the female pigs; the female pigs are a little more stable.

“The females are normally not aggressive,” said Barnes.

Even though the job may sound a little bit different than most, it is a job that pays for itself. The average person may make up to $70,000-$75,000 a year for

beef production, while in swine production the average is about $50,000 a year. The beef industry is more popular in the West Coast while swine production is more in the Mid-West.

Barnes’ advice to someone who may want to get into the field is that he or she may want to major in animal science.

The courses can be taken at Bakersfield College, and then the student can transfer to a school like Fresno State, Chico State or Cal Poly.

While in a four-year university, a person interested in the major may want to do an internship with the large producers of pork or beef in the country.

Some people may want to be a part of the scientific aspect. They can also major in anatomy and work on new developments.

Teela Walker / The Rip

Bill Barnes, professor of Animal Science, on Feb. 23 stands in front of his office. He is a professional artificial inseminator for swine and is not afraid to admit that he has a weird job.

The Skabilly Rebels delight the crowd at B.Ryder’s

By Nicholas Sparling Reporter There was a good turn out on Feb. 25 to see Roddy Radiation of The Specials play with his American band, The Skabilly Rebels, at B. Ryder’s Sports Bar and Grill. The Specials have rocked the United Kingdom for over 30 years, and this was Roddy’s first time playing in Bakersfield.

Danny Dean, guitarist for the Skabilly Rebels, has been “waiting for eight to ten years for [Roddy] to tour in the US.” To him, it was well worth the wait despite his now-busy schedule.

The band spent the previous night in San Jose and is soon off to Australia and Italy for their tour.

Roddy enjoyed the turn out.

“I like a mixed crowd. It’s nice having all ages in,” he said.

Throughout the night, Roddy was quite worried about the band’s tour manager, who when standing up caught her head on a table and may have been mildly concussed for the better half of the night, but she was still dancing and swinging to the music which was a nice mixture of rockabilly and ska genres.

From his younger days, Roddy told a story about when he injured his head.

“I tried to jump down a whole flight of stairs and knocked me head on an eighth story beam. I had to wear a Liverpool hat the whole tour,” he said.

He said they wouldn’t give him painkillers when they

stitched his head after shaving a horseshoe into it because of the fact that he had been drinking.

Roddy, who will be turning 57 in May, is not as young as he once was, but still knows how to rock ‘n’ roll. He does recognize the fact that he’s getting older, evidenced by the arthritis that has set into his shoulder from playing a Les Paul since he was 13 which has made him switch to a lighter guitar. Also, the fact that on his last tour one of his teeth just fell out when he was singing on stage and he just spit it into the crowd.

All Roddy could say about these facts was that, “someone upstairs… he’s sure taking a piss. It’s like all you want to do is relive it, or do it all over again.”

photos by omar oseguera / The Rip

Above: The Skabilly Rebels, fronted by former member of The Specials, Roddy Radiation, left, performs Feb. 25 at B. Ryder’s. The Skabilly Rebels are currently making their way through the United States Left: Roddy Radiation of The Skabilly Rebels performs Feb. 25 at B. Ryder’s. The Skabilly Rebels were the headlining act for several bands at the show.

Levan Institute brings art of Tai Chi to Bakersfield College

By Nicholas Sparling Reporter Bakersfield College is bringing the ancient art of Tai Chi to its halls through the Levan Institute for Lifelong Learning. The class is taught by local martial arts instructor David Woods and teaches students martial arts through slow, graceful, gentle movements. “[Tai Chi is] most commonly practiced by older people who wish to improve their balance, coordination, joint mobility and blood circulation,” said Woods.

Woods is well qualified to be teaching Tai Chi as he has trained all over the world, including what he says was his most inspiring training at the Shaolin Temple in China. That is where he learned Tai Chi. There, Woods learned the slow, graceful art and also the practical application of Tai Chi, a fighting style.

Woods also teaches Kung Foo San Soo where he holds an 8th degree black belt. He taught at Fighting Dragons, but soon outgrew that facility and moved to Bakersfield Elite Martial Arts where he teaches with two other people.

The Levan Institute for Lifelong

Learning sent out a survey to find out what classes would be popular, and Tai Chi came back with a great report. It turns out that they were right.

“I wanted to do a Tai Chi class because it’s a popular topic,” said Robert Allison about catering especially to their demographic of 55 and older. The class turned up full and even waitlisted. Allison became personally interested in Tai Chi when he was in China and saw mostly older people practicing it.

Woods is quite happy with how his class is progressing and the turnout.

“I am very pleased to have a big class with students that are very focused and dedicated. [It is] progressing better than expected,” Woods said. “Because my students are so intent on learning, they learn a little faster than the average Tai Chi student.”

Woods would like to see selfdefense and Tai Chi as an actual class on the BC curriculum. He says that his biggest goal “is to kill people’s attitudes before it kills them. In other words, I teach a very violent form of martial arts in a way that teaches the student to be a more peaceful person.”

Show brings a different sound to Riley’s Andreotti plays the guitar during the Indie Mashup on Feb. 17, which was held at Riley’s Backstage. Joseph Andreotti founded the band Funeral Club with his wife in 2006. Funeral Club recorded their third full-length album in 2011. The event was presented

by Loiter Productions. Funeral Club was just one of five bands that played at the event.

Nathan Wilson / The Rip

News

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The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

Blood drive to be held over two days to save lives

By Gregory D. Cook Photographer The Student Government Association and Houchin Community Blood Bank would like to invite students to “save a life” by taking part in the National Cesar E. Chavez Blood Drive Challenge at Bakersfield College on March 7-8.

Hoping to build on the success of last year’s blood drive, this

Elections:

SGA to have online voting booths

Continued from Page 1 bring the people to the table to vote.”

Another change for this year will be that the voting will take place through the Inside BC portal instead of the Derrick Kenner Votenet.com Web site that was used last year. In addition to being more convenient for students, Kenner pointed out that the change will save money.

“We’re actually saving over $3,000 by going with the Inside BC portal,” he said. “So the only things we’re really paying money for are the incentives.”

Kenner estimates this year’s election will cost the SGA under $800. “And most of the money that we spend is going back to the students in the incentives,” he said. “It’s a really good deal.”

Students will be asked to vote for their choice for the positions of the SGA’s executive board. The offices of president, vice-president, secretary, activities liaison, legislative liaison, general counsel and treasurer are all up for grabs, and any student who meets the requirements can run for the office.

Candidates must have completed at least 12 units at BC, and be enrolled in at least 6 units during their term in office. Officers are also expected to maintain at least a 2.0 overall GPA. The first step in running for office is to pick up a candidate packet from the SGA offices in CC4. The packets, which must be submitted by March 13, contain the forms needed to declare candidacy and a petition upon which the candidate must gather 70 signatures of fellow students in order to have his or her name placed on the ballot. Candidates who miss the March 13 deadline can still run as writein candidates.

Officers serving on the executive board of the SGA are paid $8 an hour up to a maximum of 19 hours a week, with the money coming from the proceeds of the sale of the SGA discount cards.

Also on this year’s ballot will be a proposed recommendation to amend the school’s smoking policy.

“The smoking policy will be on there as well,” said Kenner. “There’s 100 percent tobacco-free, designated smoking areas, or just the current policy we have now.”

Kenner stressed that what students will be voting on is a recommendation. The results of the voting will be presented to the College Counsel, a committee made up of department heads, and finally the college president.

“And if they approve it,” said Kenner. “They will make it policy for the college.”

year’s drive will be a two-day event, a first for BC. “We’ve been doing a blood drive for years here and last year’s was the most successful year we’ve had,” said Will Chandler, SGA legislative liaison. “So we said ‘Why not do two days to have double the impact and save more lives?’”

This will be the first time Houchin has done a two-day blood drive, and Chandler says

that while they have lofty goals, he is confident that BC will come through.

“We’re hoping to get 200-plus donors a day over the two days,” he said. “It’s open to faculty as well as students, so we want teachers to donate. We want staff to donate. It’s a good opportunity to save a lot of lives.”

This year, the SGA wants to encourage BC’s clubs to turn out to donate.

“We want to get as much student involvement as possible,” said Chandler. “So we are going to have incentives for clubs that sign people up and get people to donate.”

Additionally, donors will receive free T-shirts while supplies last, free pizza and water.

Staff members from Houchin will be in the Fireside Room of the Campus Center screening potential donors from 10 a.m. to

4 p.m. on March 7, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 8. After answering some questions to ensure that they are eligible to donate, donors will board one of Houchin’s mobile collection buses.

Potential donors need to be at least 17 years old with photo identification and weigh at least 110 pounds. It is also recommended that donors eat a meal at least three hours before.

Chandler would like to en-

courage people that aren’t sure if they are eligible to give blood to at least ask.

“A lot of people think they can’t give blood because they are diabetic or whatever,” he said.

“When oftentimes, they can.”

Information provided by Houchin states that persons with diabetes and high blood pressure are still eligible to donate as long as those conditions are under control.

DONATION: Donation to help MESA with scholarships Continued from Page 1 -tive.

This money is also used for scholarships that are designed to help students achieve their goals.

The donation will support academic scholarships, Mesa Week Zero, Peer Mentoring, ElectroMechanical Program support and help students achieve their goals in the careers they prepare for in Kern County area middle schools, high schools and community colleges.

Travis Burns, 28, electrical engineer major, who received the Chevron scholarship last year, said it helped him reach his goal by helping him “pay for textbooks, because textbooks are so expensive.”

Burns wants to be an electrical

engineer.

Burn’s ultimate career would be “to create more accessible means for electricity so people get more electricity and pay less,” he said.

Chevron is looking for people who have goals like this to invest in, and to also teach young students about careers that are available to them.

There were many other speakers.

One of them was Horace Mitchell, president of Cal State Bakersfield, who feels that, regarding math and science, “as a nation we are falling behind.

In fact, we have fallen behind and now it’s catch up mode and Chevron is making it possible.

The way that you learn science is not by reading, but by doing.”

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Adam Alvidrez, a representative from Chevron North America’s department of Policy, Government and Public Affairs, speaks at a presentation on Feb. 21 in the courtyard of BC’s Science and Engineering Building.

Amgen coming to campus

By Jackie Gibson Reporter Amgen’s Tour of California is coming back to Bakersfield. This is one of the most recognized cycling events and one of the nation’s most popular sporting events and occurs on an annual basis. This year it will be held May 13-20.

The race is comprised of hill and valley routes that wind through our country and include a stop in Bakersfield.

In this scenic race of California put on by AEG Sports, there are eight stages that the athletes will have to overcome in order to reach the finish line.

Stage one will start in Santa Rosa on May 13. Stage two will be taking off in San Francisco starting at Marina Boulevard.

This will take the cyclists to stage three, taking place in San Jose, starting at Berryessa Community Center and ending at Livermore.

Stage four is the longest stage with 130 miles of ground to cover. With its starting point in Sonora and ending in Clovis, it is also quite possibly the hardest stage in the Tour of California.

To many, stage five is perhaps the most interesting, as it will be starting and finishing at Bakersfield College on May 17.

Stage five is an individual time trial that in past years has been a favorite on the tour. In Bakersfield, it will be an 18.4-mile trial

courtesy of Amgen tour of california

course.

The cyclists will be going down Alfred Harrell Highway to a turnaround point at Lake Ming on the China grade and then the finish. It is a fast and high-graded road for the cyclists and, as it is occurring in May, it may also be hot from the Bakersfield heat.

Palmdale is the starting point

for stage six and it ends at Big Bear Lake May 18. The seventh stage takes the riders to mount Baldy on May 19. On May 20, stage eight takes off in Beverley Hills.

The winner will be crowned in Los Angeles on a special stage at L.A. LIVE along with the team the rider rode with.

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The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Column

City Lights enlightens your mind AS MY BRAIN EXPLODES | Martin Chang’s take on people and culture.

When I visit City Lights, a bookstore and publisher located in the North Beach area of San Francisco opened by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1953, I feel a power. I feel the power of the hundreds of ideas and words, the power of the artistic dreams that fill the store.

This power is undeniable for Martin Chang me and many of the people that visit.

When I leave the store into the bustling streets of San Francisco, I feel energized, ready to write, ready to tell the world what I feel, the way I see the world.

It is not only me that feels that there is something special at City Lights. It’s a place that when people enter the store, they respect the store.

People from all walks of life, from teenage girls, to middleaged couples, talk in the store in hushed tones, as if at a library. At a chain bookstore people don’t act that way. When people enter this special place, they know it’s not just another Barnes and Noble.

These people can feel the undeniable something that demands quiet and respect, that something that makes the words jump out from the page and burn in your mind.

I call it a “something” because it’s hard to put it into words.

Maybe it’s in the rhythm of the creaky floors. Maybe it’s in the history of the place.

Maybe it’s the plain way the books are presented, stacked on top of one another.

It could be that it just comes from a feeling, a feeling in the air.

So many wonderfully human stories get played out there. A mom reading to her daughter patiently while her daughter hangs onto every word. Another mom discussing the philosophy of Kurt Vonnegut with her teenage daughter. Even my story, where a 19-year-old learns the power of art through the medium of comic art.

The lines and words of those graphic novels showed me a new way of looking at life. The quiet beauty of the stories seem amplified at a such a special place.

As technology progresses, it becomes less and less clear what printed books are for, why they should even exist.

Places like City Lights are the strongest argument for them.

What these places have is unique.

Computer files simply do not demand the quiet respect that these places deserve.

The collection of written work, of human expression, that surrounds you, the peace that you get walking into this world of human thought from the bustling city, it can only be achieved at places like City Lights.

If the stories, the moments, that take place there everyday were to disappear, we would be losing something as a people and as a culture. It’s OK to own a Kindle.

It’s OK to own an iPhone.

But let us not forget the value of these places.

Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

‘Arrietty’ impresses

By Nestor Fernandez Reporter Something that I normally don’t do, but decided to give it a shot, is go watch a full-length animated fantasy at the Maya Theater in Downtown Bakersfield.

I had ovie heard some good stuff eview about this cartoon, so I decided, “Hey, why not give it a shot?” It is the highest grossing Japanese movie of 2010, and was released for American audiences on Feb. 17, the day I attended. The movie is called “The Secret World of Arrietty,” and was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and written by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on the novel “The Borrowers” by Mary Norton.

The star of the movie, voiced

by Bridgit Mendler, is Arrietty, a tiny 14-year-old that lives in

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the crawl spaces below a suburban garden home with her parents, voiced by Will Arnett and Amy Poehler. The homeowner and her housekeeper, voiced by Carol Burnett, are unaware of their existence. Like all little people, Arrietty remains hidden from view except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to “borrow” scrap supplies, like sugar cubes, from her human hosts.

The little people describe themselves as “borrowers.”

When 12-year-old Shawn (voice of David Henrie), a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, the beginnings of a friendship soon follows. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty’s family from the home and into danger.

But once Arrietty begins to trust Shawn, their bond takes them through adventures together, and when they have to part ways at the end, that bond

Provided by filmofilia.com

This still from “The Secert World of Arrietty” shows the film’s keen attention to detail. is carried forever. I found the animation to have the distinct sense of being able to transport me into their world and, in the process, made it seem real and genuine.

The quality of the animation was excellent, and the detail in it made it seem believable. I was

impressed not only with that, but also with the quality and nature of the story itself. Even though the film is based on make-believe, for me it became real, and it took me to their world.

For me, this film is a beautifully crafted, intimate adventure

movie, and it got me thinking about a sequel. I really would like to see more. Whether you have kids or not doesn’t matter, go see it and you’ll probably enjoy it. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t watch cartoons.

Van Halen album brings rock back to airwaves

By Breanna Fields Reporter Van Halen’s new album, “A Different Kind of Truth,” stirred up a number of reactions within the music industry after its international release on lbum Feb. 7.

This longeview awaited reunion featuring the original line-up, with the exception of bassist Michael Anthony, has created an enormous amount of excitement and no doubt a bit of hype due to the fact that this is a group that at one point was considered the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band.

While electronic music currently rules the airwaves, this album has made a considerable attempt to bring back the essence of rock music that has been missing for quite some

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time.

For that fact alone, we must salute their efforts.

The single off of the album, “Tattoo,” proved to be somewhat of a disappointment. It was a lackluster piece that did little to show off the talents of these legendary hard rockers.

The standards of mediocrity were set early on as far as lyrics were concerned, when David Lee Roth belted out the first few lines singing, “I got Elvis on my elbow/ When I flex Elvis talks/ I got hula girls on the back of my leg/and she hula’s when I walk.”

A possible explanation for the lack of musical depth could be contributed to an inherent attempt at commercialism.

It would not be far-fetched to believe that a band would plan to reform and tour for the sake of selling records and merchandise. Take Aerosmith for example. Boston’s bad boys have

grown old and withered, but their ticket prices have only increased and their push for merchandise sales is enormous.

You can now purchase apparel, jewelry, and become an official member of their fan club, for a fee, of course!

That isn’t to say that Aerosmith or Van Halen couldn’t put on a thrilling live performance.

It’s just a matter of maintaining dignity and having the ability to write new material and continually progress beyond their hit songs released a few decades ago.

Sifting through the tracks, it was not difficult to identify the hidden gem that stood out as an original work. That track, “China Town,” is a fast-paced tune driven by Alex Van Halen’s impressive drum beats and Eddie’s intense riffs.

The song includes the core elements of classic rock while utilizing a more modern approach.

Provided by Rollingstone..com

Van Halen’s new album, “A Different Kind of Truth,” is their first album in 14 years and features David Lee Roth.

It also features a piercing solo that flaunts Eddie’s style and innate ability to play his instrument.

Another notable track off of the album is “Stay Frosty” which starts off with a calm and reserved blues melody and then builds and progresses into a daring feat that sounds very similar to the song, “Ice Cream Man”

off of their self-titled album released in 1978.

Recycling riffs can be risky business, but in this case they managed to pull it off well.

Van Halen has already embarked on its 2012 tour and is currently making its way across the U.S. This includes six tour dates in California that are scheduled to take place in June.

Political truths shadowed by marketing

By Keith Kazmarek Reporter In the Republican Party, there is an idea popularized by Reagan known as “The Eleventh Commandment,” and it states “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”

This is not a gentlemen’s agreement, but a simple marketing strategy. Most importantly, this rule can be seen as a representative sample of the way that conservative thought works.

Conservative thought withers under discourse. Simply talking about the ideas, taking account of relevant data and viewpoints, and bringing light to flaws in the arguments for those positions diminishes their power to

a great extent. The same techniques used to sell products on midnight infomercials form the basis of an entire wing of the American political system.

Conservatives know this on some level, so they work very hard to frame their arguments in ways that ignore the available data or employ other marketing tricks to fool the audience. Of course, liberals do this too, but it happens to such a huge degree among conservative thinkers that the public should take special note.

The current Republican primary is a prime example of this effect. Politicians who were considered front-runners have been forced to drop out of the race by the simple act of being

forced to talk about their ideas and actions.

The propaganda is so weak that it cannot survive even the weakest challenge.

We never talk about “social programs” because the conservatives would rather talk about “entitlement programs.” The two things are the exact same, but one sounds terrible and the other sounds great. In fact, polling suggests that the American people are overwhelmingly in favor of social programs and against entitlement programs, and the joke is on them because the two terms apply to the exact same thing.

Republicans refuse to acknowledge that the Democratic Party uses that name, instead

The Renegade Rip Editorial Board Winner of the 2003 and 2008 JACC Pacesetter Award The Renegade Rip is produced by Bakersfield College journalism classes, printed by Bakersfield Envelope & Printing Co. Inc., and circulated on Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters.

The newspaper is published under the auspices of the Kern Community College District Board of Trustees, but sole responsibility for its content rests with student editors.

The Rip is a member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges and the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Staff

calling them “the Democrat Party” because it’s a way of isolating Democrats from the good press of being associated with democracy.

Leaked documents from the Heartland Institute, a libertarian organization, show a structured plan to blur the minds of young children on the basic facts of climate science by presenting them as a controversy. Let’s be clear in stating that there is no controversy. The scientific community is overwhelmingly clear on the facts of climate science and in agreement that human activity is warming the world.

“Testimonials” are often trotted out to support the most bizarre positions on conservative publications, such Michelle

Bachmann’s “vaccines cause autism because someone told me” or the mythical “small business owner” who ends up being a millionaire owning dozens of businesses and thinks he should no longer be forced to adhere to local health and safety codes.

I’d cite a single example, but the “small business owner” is such a staple of conservative thought that it needs no citation.

As the election nears, people should take note of the marketing techniques that blur the facts.

If a politician accuses someone of being a Nazi or a Communist, there is a good chance that the accuser is just using marketing tricks to hide the facts.

Look deeper and make your own choices.

Write The Rip

Letters should not exceed 300 words, must be accompanied by a signature and the letter writer’s identity must be verified.

The Rip reserves the right to edit letters, however, writers will be given the opportunity to revise lengthy or unacceptable submissions.

If an organization submits a letter as a group, it must be signed by only one person, either the leader of the organization or the letter writer. Pen names are not allowed and anonymous letters will not be published.

Editor in Chief........................Zak S. Cowan Reporters/Photographers: Hannah Breeland, Gregory D. Cook, Angie Photo Editor...........................Megan Luecke Delgado, Metiqua Eng, Nestor Fernandez, Features Editor...............................Jon Nelson Breanna Fields, Jackie Gibson, Shaquiel Opinions Editor........................Martin Chang Jones, Keith Kaczmarek, Meisha Sports Editor........................Esteban Ramirez McMurray, Omar Oseguera, Nate Perez, Copy Editor...............................Patricia Rocha How to reach us Ruben Perez, Crystal Sanchez, Nicholas -Address: Bakersfield College, Sparling, Jerold Tanner, Teela Walker, 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93305 -Phone: (661) 395-4324 Nathan Wilson Adviser.......................................................Danny Edwards

-Web site: www.therip.com -Email: ripmail@bakersfieldcollege.edu

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Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Staff Editorial

The Renegades rip you a new president Bakersfield College will have a new president in the near future, and the Rip has decided to give the suits at the top our opinion on who should be selected for the much-esteemed position.

There is obviously an assortment of candidates to consider for the job, and it was mightily hard to narrow it down.

Let us start at the top of the totem pole.

Because of his position on the tips of everybody’s tongues, Rick Santorum was one of the first names to come up.

But, rest assured, he wasn’t

considered for very long.

Poor Rick just couldn’t keep a lid on his fear and hatred of the Prince of Darkness recently.

This can’t be a characteristic of our next president.

Someone who isn’t tight with the man downstairs will have a hard time getting anything done at the top.

Next, Hugo Chavez was considered, briefly.

But his unluckiness – you know, being on the brink of death and all – was his ultimate downfall.

So then we decided to move

on to Hollywood.

Yes. BC is totally worthy of a movie star making key administrative choices for the collective student body.

Enter Brad Pitt.

Great resume. Great face.

Everything you could want in a school president, right?

One problem: his significant other. Angelina Jolie can’t be trusted stalking the halls of the administrative building. It’ll be as if Hillary Clinton were elected president in 2008.

All right, enough negatives.

After going through the muck

that was the list of candidates, we narrowed down our search to three reasonable persons.

Donald Trump. Nuff said.

Yeah, he easily managed the quickest ousting of all the terrible presidential candidates last year, and he may very well be the biggest jerk that ever existed, but he will always be the best at what we want our president to do the most: firing people!

Trump’s fire-red hair, and how it stands up ever so devilishly, is what we need sitting in the president’s office. That’s what bleeding BC red is all about.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul also made the list, and not because of his desire to balance a budget – any budget.

Neither was he considered because he’ll restore student liberty to the BC campus. Paul made the list because of one attribute that will come in handy, especially for us.

Paul answers questions honestly and without fear of reproach (even if his answers are racist or condescending).

Call us homers, but that is exactly the kind of thing we want in a president.

The third and final candidate that made our final list is NBA commissioner David Stern.

Stern’s willingness to backstab anyone that stands in the way of his “duty” as commissioner makes him top-tier in our book.

Disregard the best team in the league wanting to get better if that makes our guy look bad.

Have at ’em Stern.

In reality, these are all characteristics that the American people look for in their president, and we hope that the Kern Community College District treats the search a little more seriously.

Divorce the Bacon Shake now Reformed primary should become a nationwide day

Martin Chang Opinions Editor Ever have one of those days that started out okay, not great, just okay, but then it gradually gets worse and worse until you are having an undeniably awful day? That is what drinkood ing the Bacon Shake eview from Jack in the Box is like.

Jack in the Box has recently launched the Marry Bacon advertisement campaign with their trademark strange humor.

The ads revolve around a character named Neal who is literally marrying bacon.

As a part of this campaign, they have released the Bacon Shake, the same sort of stunt that KFC pulled when they released the Double-Down, an item so strange it seemed like a joke. Yet their Bacon Shake is even stranger since the shake has no real bacon. It simply has bacon-flavored syrup, an ingredient that could only be created by a fast-food restaurant.

Looking at the shake, it looks like any other shake you might have at Jack in the Box. This was disappointing. A joke item like the Bacon Shake should have a garishly fun look with bright colors, and so you feel like you’re having a weird food item. After all, anyone ordering this item is doing so for the shock or strangeness of it, not to have an actually pleasant food experience.

It is actually really hard to mess up what a shake is. It’s basically drinking ice cream with an added milky punch. It’s the perfect dessert. The shake part of the Bacon Shake is actually pretty good. Jack in the Box is proud to have real ice cream in their shakes and it shows.

But then that bacon-flavored syrup comes into to play. The syrup has a vague taste of a generic pork product. Not really bacon, but a weird, sort of meaty, flavor. Yet it also has this really strong smoky taste that is very unpleasant. It’s hard to imagine the syrup tasting good on anything. It definitely doesn’t go good with what would otherwise be a pretty good shake.

Yet when I first started drink-

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By Gregory D. Cook Photographer

Nathan wilson / The Rip

Jack in the Box’s new bacon milkshake ruins a great American classic. ing the shake, the syrup was easy to ignore. The taste of it was not that strong. It basically tasted like a smoky shake. The syrup wasn’t adding anything to the flavor, but it didn’t overshadow the shake.

But as I kept drinking it, and as the shake melted, the bacon taste started to bother me more.

The smell and aftertaste of the syrup became more intolerable.

The horrible syrup filled my

senses. I tasted it in my mouth, smelled it on my fingers and felt a rumbling in my stomach that I knew wasn’t right.

What started out as a good shake with a little weird taste became an all-out attack on my body, especially my stomach.

Hours later, I still felt a sense of unease in my stomach.

The aftertaste of that weird, smoky flavor lingered and lingered much longer then anyone

would want. I wish I hadn’t ordered the thing.

So what was once a delectable, classic dessert is now a regretful decision with added flavor that not only doesn’t add to the item, but also actually destroys any appeal that the item once had.

A classic American milkshake is now disgusting. That bacon-flavored syrup is really, really bad.

Unless you actually have been living under a rock – a rock without television, newspaper or internet service – you must know that later this year, the people of this great land will be asked to once again enter the election booths to make their choice for America’s front man. To that end, “Primary Fever” is also sweeping the land, as the Republican Party scrambles over itself to decide whose name it will place opposite Barack Obama’s on the ballot. The Democrats are also holding primaries, but with President Obama’s main competition coming from the likes of Massachusetts’ Vermin Supreme, who campaigns on a platform of government-enforced teeth brushing and Zombie-Apocalypse readiness, the Republican Party’s primaries are garnering the lion’s share of the media attention.

With the mud-slinging and “he said this, he didn’t say that” sensationalism only promising to intensify over the next months, one might be tempted to wonder if the primary system is really necessary in today’s day and age or an unnecessary distraction and drain on the non-incumbent party.

The primary system doesn’t have its roots in the Constitution.

In fact, until the early 1820s, that party’s congressmen nominated the candidates for each party.

While the first primaries were held in 1910, it wasn’t until after the chaos of the 1968 Democratic National Convention that the primary system became the nation’s standard method of thinning the presidential-wannabe herd, and choosing the Republican and Democratic candidates.

One of the main problems with the primary system, as it currently stands, is the fact that they are spread out over the better part of a year. At the time this is printed, only 11 of the 57 total primaries will have been held, and already there is talk of a front-runner. We

are barely into the first turn of this horse race and already Mitt Romney is being touted as the potential winner. In fact, all but four of the horses have already quit the race based on the way they came out of the gate. This can’t help but affect the way the rest of the country votes. When the California primary finally roles around in June, what choices will we have left?

Even though California controls the most delegates of any single state in the nation, the race will more than likely be all but over by the time we get around to voicing our opinions. Are we really being given a fair voice in the political process? It doesn’t seem like it. Also, the primaries seem like a tremendous waste of money and effort for the nonincumbent party.

According to a recent New York Times article, Republican front-runner Mitt Romney has already spent over $37 million in hopes of winning the race just to the starting line of the real race.

In fact, the Republican candidates combined have raised over $100 million just to trash each other, while the Democrats are able to sit back and wait to unload on the unlucky fellow that manages to climb out of the mud pit of the Republican National Convention in late August.

We can’t just get rid of primaries altogether. Not only do they serve to focus the financial and campaigning might of the major political parties, they also prevent the American public from being presented with a ballot containing so many choices that it dilutes the vote to a point where there can be no clear winner.

But a fairer, more sensible proposition would be to have for a nationwide primary that took place all on the same day. That would, at the very least, give everyone, even the 53,000 people of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth that is last on the Republican primary list, a choice of the full field of candidates.

Depp’s adaptation simply not as good as original

By Nicholas Sparling Reporter Hunter S. Thompson was once quoted as saying, “Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” For him, this rings true. ovie The recent release of “The eview Rum Diary” on blue-ray and DVD stands as the third movie adaptation of his work onto the silver screen, not to mention the countless documentaries made about his life and madness.

I have been anticipating the release of “The Rum Diary” movie adaptation since 2004 when I first saw Johnny Depp’s original portrayal of Thompson in the crazy

M R

ride that was “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” a movie based off of arguably Thompson’s most popular work.

In training for “Fear and Loathing,” Depp lived with Thompson, and being the method actor that he is, learned Hunter’s mannerisms, everything down to the way he moved and spoke.

Thompson was much happier with Depp’s portrayal of him than Bill Murray’s movie adaptation, “Where the Buffalo Rome,” based on Thompson’s journalistic coverage of the super bowl. Even though Murray and Thompson were good friends, Thompson was repelled by Murray’s job in the film.

Depp did not receive full admiration, but got the closest he could to Thompson’s ideal.

It was because of his portrayal in “Fear and Loathing” that Thompson had Depp promise to portray him in his first and second personal favorite of his work, “The Rum Diary.”

“The Rum Diary” was written in 1961 when Hunter was no older than 22. It was based on his experience in San Juan as a writer for a failing newspaper. The story takes place in the late ’50s.

The book was narrated through the eyes of a 30-something-yearold man expressing Hunter’s fear of growing old and having done nothing with his life.

There was a secondary character in the book that was Thompson’s character that never showed up in the movie.

A grand disappointment for those who were fans of the book

and looking for a strict translation, as I was, was to find the character named Yemmon to be omitted from the movie.

Instead, the character was combined with another character named Sanderson. It was a monumental disappointment that the character that was supposed to be Thompson’s view of himself in the time period was not included.

Other than being disappointing in that respect, it is still truly entertaining.

As expected, the movie is filled with rum and even an ambiguous drug scene where Paul Kemp, Depp’s character, and his photographer and roommate try “the most powerful narcotic known to man,” a drug I can only assume as being LSD consider-

ing the time period in which the movie takes place.

Many of the inconsistencies in the translation could be attributed to the writer and director Bruce Robinson who, before taking on the project, was sober for 6 1/2 years. When he experienced writers block, he drank a bottle a day, then again sobered up when the script was finished.

Although Depp has obviously aged since his original portrayal of Thompson back in 1999, “The Rum Diary” seems to play out as a prequel to “Fear and Loathing.”

The movie hardly follows the book, but tries to make a political statement of greed and the rape of our natural resources, and this point it gets across quite well.

If you’re a Thompson fan, it is a movie that must not be missed

courtesy of moviespad.com

despite that it may not be what a fan of the book would be searching for.

Campus

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Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

BC club hopes to instill sense of purpose

By Metiqua Eng Reporter

Reaching out to help students on a spiritual journey with Christ is just one of the many goals and aspirations for the InterVarsity Club at Bakersfield College.

InterVarsity is an interdenominational Christian fellowship club on campus that has been around on many college and university campuses in the United States for over 70 years.

The club is dedicated to helping college students develop God’s word through the love of Christ no matter what their color or background.

Students gather together every Monday and Wednesday to practice fellowship, Bible studies, and overall share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with fellow Christians and non-Christians.

Amos Mbong and wife Emily Mbong are both staff members for InterVarsity.

They help lead students through fellowship, identity and feeling the love and purpose of Jesus Christ.

“One of our main goals is to in the world,” the website stated make sure students don’t feel in the Our Purpose section. like being at Bakersfield ColThe InterVarsity Club isn’t lege is just a pit stop. We want just limited to the gatherings on to bring a sense of purpose and campus. They also hold events direction to students,” said Amos off campus. The club attends Mbong. seminars to learn more and gain InterVarsity also tries to spread more knowledge on the teachthe word through the club website ings of God. where it indicates the awareness At a Feb. 24-26 Winter Conof Christian ference semicollege comnar held at the munities and “One of our main goals is to Olive Drive maturing Chris- make sure students don’t Church, firsttian faith. time attendThe website feel like being at Bakers- ees discussed also breaks such as field College is just a pit topics down what the “Our Identity club is all about in Jesus.” stop.” from beginning Returning –Amos Mbong, to end. attendees disInterVarsity Club “The Purpose cussed subof InterVarsity jects such as Christian Fel“The Wonder lowship/USA is to establish and and Power of the Word.” advance at colleges and universiThe club strongly encourages ties witnessing communities of others to join, and hopes to constudents and faculty who follow tinue to grow, and spread the Jesus as Savior and Lord grow- word of the workings and feling in love for God, God’s Word, lowship of Jesus Christ to other God’s people of every ethnicity interested students both on camand culture and God’s purposes pus and beyond.

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

Members of the Bakersfield College InterVarsity Club take time out of their Feb. 27 meeting to pose for a photo in the Fireside Room.

Photos By Nate Perez / The Rip

Above: Crismat Mateo covers “Price Tag” by Jessie J on his ukulele Feb. 24 during the “BC’s Got Talent” show held in the Fine Arts Buliding.

Left: Audraey Marie and Jotae Fraser perform a selection from “Sweeney Todd.”

Students dance, sing and quote in SGA-sponsored Black History Month show “BC’s Got Talent” was Bakersfield College Student Government Association’s Talent show held on Feb. 24.

The show highlighted the talents of BC students of all ages from all walks of life and consisted of many acts, including dancers, singers, musicians, and poets.

Though the SGA was prepared

to give away cash prizes to first, second, and third place winners, a tie caused there to be two first place winners. These winners were a dance team called Team Dance Fever and inspirational singer Crismat Mateo. According to SGA president and talent show host Tawntannisha Thompson, this will hopefully not be the last talent show BC hosts.

EPA recommends special handling for CFL bulbs

By Ruben Perez Reporter Compact Fluorescent Lamp light bulbs are being pushed by our government onto consumers for their ability to save more energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Fox News and CNN have raised some concerns about the fact that these light bulbs contain the element mercury and emit ultraviolet radiation.

’G ade Feedback

Although the CFLs do contain mercury, it is about four or five milligrams whereas old thermometers contained about 500 milligrams of mercury. Though the bulbs do not pose a serious threat, special care needs to be taken when the bulbs go out or break.

When the bulb does go out, the Environmental Protection Agency says that it should be recycled. This prevents the bulb from being broken down and left

to sit in a landfill where the mercury could sit and accumulate. In addition to keeping the chemicals out of landfills, parts of the bulbs can be recycled.

In Bakersfield, you can recycle these bulbs at the Metro Kern County Special Waste Facility or at your nearest Home Depot or Lowe’s Home Improvement store. The website Earth911.com can help you find the nearest recycling center to you.

The EPA suggests that if the

CFL does break, special precautions need to be taken. When it first breaks, they suggest that you air out the room for 5-10 minutes to the outside environment and shut off any central air system you might have on so that it does not contaminate your house.

The EPA stressed that you should not vacuum the broken light bulb as it could spread the mercury into the air and to the rest of your house. They recommend picking up the broken

pieces with sticky tape to keep your fingers safe and to put the broken pieces into a sealable container.

After the cleanup, you should place the container outside until they can be taken to the proper facility. The EPA suggests that after cleanup you continue to let the room air out for several hours.

The other important issue pertains to the UV radiation from these bulbs. The Food and Drug

Administration has taken precautions to make sure that the levels of radiation within these bulbs are at safe levels. If CFLs do exceed these levels, they are either not sold or sold with a warning.

The Health Protection Agency, an independent organization in the United Kingdom, did a study on the UV radiation emitted and found that they can exceed safe levels if you are within 30 centimeters of the bulb for an hour or more.

What did you think of the Oscars?

Editor’s note: ’Gade Feedback is a feature that asks students their opinion on various topics.

Compiled by: Megan Luecke, photo editor

Holly Steele, Psychology “It was funny watching it, we sat around and drank beers. Talked about what everyone was wearing.”

Renzo Navarrete, Astronomy “Dull. I didn’t see any of the movies that were nominated except for one, ‘The Help.’”

Chelsea McNally, Undecided “I swore I saw Jennifer Lopez’s nipple. The silent film won too much.”

Alfred Cadena, Welding “The French won most of the awards.

A lot of the awards I had never heard of the movies.”

Meagan Papasergia, Psychology “They made a big deal out of Angelina Jolie’s leg.”

Sports

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Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

Women’s team falls short of playoff berth

By Esteban Ramirez Sports Editor Bakersfield College women’s basketball team beat West Los Angeles on Feb. 18 to get its first Western State Conference title, but fell short of a playoff berth.

BC coach Paula Dahl commented that the reason why they missed out on the playoffs is because Canyons had a better record against Citrus College.

“Since we had the same record, they looked at how we did against the third team in our conference, but we both split against L.A. Valley so they looked at our

records against Citrus,” she said.

“We won one game and lost the other, and Canyons beat them twice, but one of the wins was one of the 16 games that Citrus had forfeited.

“We have no rule that addresses forfeits, and this is both a conference-level and state-level problem.

“I think it’s something that needs to be addressed at the CCCWBCA (California Community College Women Basketball Coaches Association) executives and coaches meeting and I’ll definitely address it when we meet.”

BC beat West L.A. 67-56 in overtime. BC had good contributions from sophomore guard Jausecca Cockeral, who had 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Forward Brittany Smith also had 21 points and forward Gabi Morales had 11 points and nine rebounds.

BC had the lead throughout the game and were up by four points at the end of the second half, but then they turned it over two times and West L.A. tied up the game 51-51 to force overtime.

BC was able to outplay the Wildcats in overtime, outscoring them 16-5.

“I told them that we’ve given the crowd an exciting game, but now let’s get the win in overtime,” said Dahl.

Along with getting their first conference title, the Renegades also posted the first undefeated record at home and beat every conference opponent at least once.

“We have a special group of young women, and they all bought in before the season started,” she said.

“One of our goals was to win the conference, so it felt good that we were able to accomplish that goal. The game was amaz-

ing and it was exciting to get the first conference title for BC. We had an amazing crowd over there, and it was special for me to have my family there.

“Since I lost my dad a year ago, this was a good way for us to honor our loved ones. There was a moment during the game when there was only 20 seconds left in overtime that I looked up and thanked my parents.

“It was one of the best moments I’ve had as a coach.

“This year’s team was unique because from the start they were completely committed, so it’s not an accident.

“It was a lot of hard work and commitment to teamwork. It was great to be a part of the life of these special young women,” she said.

Dahl ended up getting the Coach of the Year in the conference, and she commented on what it meant to her.

“It’s definitely an honor, but it’s also interesting when you get it because it makes it easier when your whole team buys in and when you have a point guard like Jausecca,” she said.

“When you have that, it can make you look like the greatest coach.”

Strong offense carries BC to seven straight wins

By Meisha McMurray Reporter The Bakersfield College softball team hit seven home runs while winning seven games over the past two weeks.

The Renegades raised their record to 11-4 by defeating Rancho Santiago 8-6, West Hills College 10-1, Taft College 9-1, Cuesta College 7-2, Cerritos College 6-5, Southwestern College 4-1 and Cypress College 1-0.

BC freshman infielder Sarah Smith hit a home run against Rancho Santiago and a two-run home run against West Hills in the third inning, bringing BC to a 5-1 lead.

In the same inning, sophomore catcher Kara Frankhouser also hit a two-run home run bringing BC to a lead 10-1 over the Lady Falcons.

In the bottom half of the second inning against Taft, BC freshman infielder Brittney Roberts hit a home run.

Smith also hit a home run in the bottom half of the fourth inning.

In the game against Cuesta College, BC freshman pitcher and third basemen Kaila Williams hit another home run for BC. “Everyone is always excited about their first home run in college and their first home run of the year, so it was really exciting,” said Williams.

In the game against Cerritos, Smith hit a three-run home run.

In the game against Rancho Santiago, BC freshman pitcher Kelsey Best pitched two innings and finished with two hits, four runs scored and one walk.

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

Bakersfield College catcher Kara Frankhouser is struck by a pitch during a game against Cerritos College on Feb. 25 at the Dean and Adah Gay Sports Complex.

Renegades infielder Sarah Smith follows through after connecting for a double against Cerritos College in the Bakersfield College Classic on Feb. 25 at the Dean and Adah Gay Sports Complex.

Relieving Best in the third inning was BC sophomore Julie Estep, who pitched the rest of the game.

She finished with five hits, two runs scored and three walks.

In the game against West Hills College, BC sophomore pitcher Jessica Simpson pitched five innings, had six hits with one run scored and no walks. Due to the run rule, the game ended in the fifth inning.

BC finished with 10 runs, 10 hits and one error.

Williams pitched five innings against Taft College and gave up

I really love my team and my coach.”

In the bottom of the first inning against Taft, BC sophomore outfielder Brittany Messer brought in the first run of the game ending the first inning with one run on two hits and one player on base, putting BC in the lead 1-0.

In the bottom half of the second inning, sophomore Kaitlin Toerner had a base hit, which brought home sophomore Megan McCormick, making it the third run for BC. Kara Frankhouser hit a double which brought in sophomore Callie McRoberts

one run on six hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

“With my pitching I did very well,” she said.

“I feel I helped my team out a lot, and they congratulated me.”

After taking a year and a half off of playing softball when she completed high school, she came back ready to enjoy softball again.

“I stayed home and hung out a little bit,” she said. “I was really burnt out playing a lot. It was a hard decision, it was hard to take a year and a half off then come back, but it’s been a lot of fun.

and Messer, bringing BC to a 5-0 lead over Taft.

BC and Taft picked up a run in the third inning.

In the bottom half of the fourth inning, Williams strikes out, but BC bounced back by picking up three runs on four hits and an error.

Against Cuesta College, Julie Estep pitched for seven complete innings, gave up six hits, two runs, no walks, and six strikeouts.

In the bottom half of the seventh inning, BC finished with seven runs on eight hits and had

four errors.

In the game against Southwestern, Simpson pitched seven innings, giving off one run on seven hits, one walk and four strikeouts.

Estep pitched seven innings for BC against Cypress giving off no runs on three hits and one walk. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Messer hit a single following her was Toerner with a bunt single.

Messer scored a run with the help of an error made by Smith.

BC will host Oxnard College on March 1.

Renegades first baseman ready to add power to lineup

By Nestor Fernandez Reporter

(Arvin 2008), has the first sacrifice fly in Titan history (Arvin 2008), has the first RBI in Titan Blayne Ontiveros had been history (Arvin 08), is the all-time a huge part of Frontier High home run leader in Titan history.

He was the first Titan selected School’s success the past four years. A pitcher in high school, to the all-league team in 2009 he is now the starting first base- and 2010, and was all area in man for the Bakersfield College 2010.

He also earned the first Valley Renegades baseball team in his Championship win as a Pitchfirst year at BC. While at Frontier High, he had er in 2010. Since Ontiveros is 317 at-bats, scored 90 runs, post- slated to play first base for BC, ed 106 hits, 117 RBIs, 30 dou- and given his outstanding high bles, 24 home school career runs and a caas a pitcher, Ontiveros’ list of high school reer batting BC coach awards is a long one. It includes: average of Tim Painton .353. While commented 2008 SWYL Rookie of the Year fielding in if he had any 2009 SWYL 1st Team Pitcher 88 games, intentions of 2009 2nd Team All-Area Utility he commithaving him 2010 SWYL 1st Team Pitcher ted only 11 pitch for the 2010 1st Team All Area Pitcher errors.

He Renegades 2011 SWYL Player of the Year pitched in this season.

2011 All Area Player of the Year 194 innings, “Blayne while comand I sat down piling a 22-8 record with a 2.62 as he came in this summer, and ERA, and threw for 189 strike- there’s a big transition from high outs. school baseball to here,” he said.

He currently holds Titan re“He felt like trying to handle cords in many categories, in- one thing this year was going to cluding most complete games in be enough. He had some elbow a season, lowest ERA (2.47 in problems in high school as well.

2010), most at bats in a season, It was his decision to play first most hits, most RBIs. base, and that’s what we’re goHe pitched the first shutout ing to do with him. in Titan history (East 2009), hit “He won’t pitch at all for us the first single in Titan history this year. We’ll revisit that this

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

Renegades freshman first baseman Blayne Ontiveros keeps his eye on the ball during an at bat against the San Diego Mesa Olympians on Feb. 18 at Bakersfield College. summer and see where it takes us next year.”

Painton talked about how Ontiveros started the season and played in his first game while not feeling well.

“He has been battling the flu, I don’t think we’ve seen him at full strength yet. He’s going through

some growing pains as all freshmen do. He’s had some good spurts, and some bad at bats, but I think over time that’s all going to work itself out. He’ll figure the thing out and be a better productive player for us. I think any freshmen that walks in to this level of play goes through some

growing pains, and he’s going through that a little bit right now.

He’s going to be a great player for us, and like I said, he’ll make adjustments and figure this thing out as we go along,” said Painton.

Ontiveros also commented on the start of the season “I had the flu. I thought it was food poisoning, but it ended up being the flu,” said Ontiveros.

“So it put me out a little bit, I was sick opening night, but I wanted to play Saturday. It was best that I didn’t play. I played the first game, and the second game I was worse than the day before, so I sat out the second game.

When referring back to the first game, Ontiveros recalled that at the beginning of the game he was OK, but it changed as the game progressed.

“I was fine at the start of the game ‘cause I had all the adrenaline going and everything, so I really didn’t feel anything, and about the sixth inning, I started having symptoms of wanting to like throw up and all that, but I played through it, didn’t think about it,” he said.

He also talked about his and the teams expectations this year.

“As a team, we have very high expectations, ‘cause we want to bring home conference that’s our

number one goal right now, and then go on with that and hopefully win the final four if possible.

So for me, it’s really not about me, it’s more about the team.”

“Whenever called upon to do a job, I want to hopefully succeed in it. Right now I’m hitting fifth but I can see myself jumping third to fifth. We kind of have an alternating line-up where the line-up could change any day, so right about third or fifth.”

He also talked about what kind of player he is.

“Kind of like a mixture of like a power hitter and basically an average hitter,” he said. “I could hit for power, but I like hitting for a high average also. I try to limit my strikeouts. I don’t strike out a whole lot, and I’m also real aggressive at the plate, so I don’t really walk a whole lot.

“When I see a fastball, I pretty much get a little antsy and go after it,” he said.

“I feel real confidence with our team, I think we all feel confidence with each other, and up and down the line-up, our pitching, our defense is pretty top notch.

“What’s cool about playing this year is, I don’t think BC has ever won a final four championship in all the years it’s been here, so we would like to be the first ones to bring that home.”

Sports

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Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

BC tennis struggles to capture consistent victories

By Nestor Fernandez Reporter

megan luecke / The Rip

Kassie Beadle follows through after returning a volley from her opponent on Feb. 23 at Bakersfield College.

The Bakersfield College tennis team played Glendale College on Feb 23. The women played at BC and lost a tight match up 5-4, after being tied 4-4 going in to the last doubles match. The men’s squad did not fare as well and was defeated 8-1 at Glendale.

The only BC win came from the singles, with fifth- seeded Joseph Theisen winning 6-1,6-2 over Rick Ivynian.

The BC women posted wins by fourthseeded Haleigh Dilbeck 6-2,2-6,6-3 over Phoebe Minette, fifth-seeded Kassandra Beadle 6-1,6-1 over Katherine Akmakji, sixth-seeded Morgan Frazier 6-1,6-2 over Brianna Hayes, and in the doubles, the third-seeded team of Kim Butler/Morgan Frazier defeated Brianna Hayes/Katherine Akmakji 8-6.

BC assistant coach Chuck Provencio, who presided over the women’s matches, discussed their matches.

“Glendale is traditionally one of the toughest schools in our conference,” he said.

“They really pushed us in the top three, and we pushed back in the bottom three in singles.

“Doubles, they showed more strength, they mixed in the one and three together, and the two and four, so they could keep a strong number two doubles. We pushed them, we just didn’t quite push hard enough in that number two doubles, so we had an 8-4 loss.

“It was a good showing from everybody, our girls showed a lot of heart, so I think we got some room to improve, but we’re definitely on the right track,” he said.

“The things we’re going to look at a little bit harder is serving.

“We’re on the right track with it, but we’re coming up a little bit short, so we’re going to work on the serves. I think we need to look a little bit more at playing

megan luecke / The Rip

Morgan Fraiser returns a volley back to her Glendale College opponent on Feb. 23 during a match at Bakersfield College. some extra doubles in practice.

“I think we looked a little bit uncomfortable in some key moments in the doubles, and I would like to strengthen up those areas.

“Overall, I feel like we did a real good

Cockeral named WSC MVP

Beckwith has track and field history

By Esteban Ramirez Sports Editor

Sophomore guard Jausecca Cockeral was named the Western State Conference Most Valuable Player, and it was the first time since the 1996-97 season that a Bakersfield College women’s basketball player got MVP honors. She also made the all-state team averaging a team-leading 13.8 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game. ports Three Bakersfield Colroundup lege women’s basketball players were named to the WSC all-conference second team and they were freshman forward Brittany Smith, sophomore forward Gabi Morales and freshman center Madison Tarver. BC coach Paula Dahl was also named the WSC Coach of the Year.

S

Baseball collects scholar awards The California Community College Athletic Association honored BC’s baseball program recently when they named the Renegades a Scholar Team for 2010-11.

The team had an overall GPA of 3.42 in the spring of 2011.

Former Renegade David Pennington was also named 2011 Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. Pennington finished at BC with a GPA of 3.83 and was also picked because of his off-the-field charity work.

Pennington was one of BC’s best players last year and finished with a batting average of .358.

The Renegades also landed three spots on the CCCBCA’s 2012 All-Academic Team.

Phillip Valos, Elijah Trail and Stephen Eyherabide were all selected with 3.76, 4.00 and 3.81 GPAs respectively.

Lester joins all-conference team BC men’s basketball starting forward Conroy Lester was named to the all-conference team. He averaged 19 points and eight rebounds in conference play, including a season high of 30 points in the final game of the season. Freshman guard Duncan Schramm also made the all-conference team as an honorable mention.

Golf team underperforms The BC men’s golf team placed fifth out of seven teams, because of some tough weather conditions, at Solvang on Feb. 13.

BC scored a 407, but they were only eight strokes away from second place. Santa Barbara City College took first place with 394.

Canyons took second with 399 and Ventura just a little behind with 400.

BC got some good performances despite

job of rallying and really pushing the other player to make a good move.”

Next up for the BC women is a road match against Allan Hancock College on Feb. 28, and the men’s squad plays against L.A. Pierce on March 1 at BC.

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Sophomore guard Jausecca Cockeral, recently named Most Valuable Player of the Western State Conference, is the first Renegade to win the award since the 1996-97 season. the tough weather conditions. Jack Henneberry led the team scoring a 78. Max Schmidt had 79 and Travis Millwee had 81.

“I thought for the most part we played well, considering the conditions,” said BC coach Bill Kalivas. “The conditions made it tough for us to keep the ball in play and to consistently play our best. We needed to keep the ball in play and, maybe, if our two best golfers did four strokes better, we would’ve placed higher.”

He added that they still don’t know who their top six golfers are.

“We keep interchanging our lineup, so we haven’t built some consistency yet,” he said. “We have to improve on keeping the ball in play and controlling the placement of the ball. We also need to improve on hitting the fairways.”

He added that he thought Henneberry, Schmidt and Millwee performed well.

“I thought they did well because, usually

when you’re competing in tough conditions like they were, you have a tendency to get down on yourself after a few balls go out of play, but they were able to keep their composure,” he said.

BC’s next tournament will be the Pt. ConCeption Tournament at Santa Barbara on March 5.

Slew of swim meets canceled The BC swimming team meet on Friday, Feb. 17 against College of Sequoias was canceled due to transportation issues. In its place, the team held an intra-squad meet at BC. The purpose was to stay sharp and competitive in preparation for their meet on Feb 24-25 in the Mount San Antonio College Invitational.

Unfortunately for the BC squad, the meet at Mt. SAC was also canceled due to a lack of funds.

pared and that was the fun part of it. You won’t ever be perfect at everything and the pole vault Many people at Bakersfield extenuates that. I think it really College know Ryan Beckwith as helps me in this job because you BC’s athletic director, but before have to work hard to achieve that he was training in the de- your goals. cathlon for “My least the Olymfavorite has pics.

“I always wanted to be the “I always to be an Olympian, 1500-meter, wanted to not exactly and I think that’s because of be an Olymwhat caught my eye the event, pian, and I because it’s grueling but where it think that’s what caught and fun with all the was placed. my eye be“It was the events.” cause it’s last event on –Ryan Beckwith, grueling and the last day, fun with all so by that Athletic director the events,” time you’re said Beckphysically with. “I grew up in a military drained.” family, so we moved around a The events that are in a decathlot. So sports were my outlet, a lon are the 100, long jump, high way to express myself and meet jump, shot put, 400, 110 hurdles, friends.” discus throw, pole vault, javelin He commented on how he first throw and 1500. got into being a decathlete.

He also added that he’s look“I played football and track ing forward to watching some of while I was at the University of the decathletes compete in June.

Georgia, but it wasn’t until I got He’s looking forward to seeto UCLA that I started being a ing the defending gold medalist decathlete,” he said. “Coach Bart Bryan Clay, and Trey Hardy and Goddell asked me what events I Ashton Eaton. was doing (pole vault and sprint“I think Eaton might break ing) and asked me if I was inter- the record in a couple of years. ested in the decathlon. I always I think he might be the guy to wanted to do it, but I never had reckon with. I was looking forthe right coach. All because of ward to competing with him the luck of the draw of meeting because he’s great and humble, the right guy that I became a de- and I think that makes him even cathlete.” better.”

While at Georgia, Beckwith He added that both him and got his master’s, something that Eaton have similar training styles his grandmother, who was a big because Eaton’s coach coached influence to him, wanted. He’s his coach. also a graduate from California “I’ve thought about going back State University, Northridge. to compete in the decathlon, but Afterward, he started teaching this job is something I always at UCLA and met with Goddell, wanted,” he said. “I would like where he started training for de- to say that I would want to go cathlons until he was hired as back, but I’m in a position where BC’s new athletic director last I can help the students with my experience as a college athlete year.

He added that the pole vault and decathlete. That helps them was his favorite event in the de- out because I think I’m a good example of what athletics and a cathlon.

“I loved the 100-meter and good education can do for you. the hurdles, but if I had to drop I always wanted to be an aththe decathlon and go with one letic director, but I didn’t think I it would probably have been the would enjoy it this much.”

Some of Beckwith’s best efpole vault,” he said.

“I love that it’s got all the el- forts were 17-8 in the pole vault. ements, speed, power and free- He also had 10.48 seconds in the 100-meter and 46.83 seconds in flight.

“You got to be extremely pre- the 400-meter.

Sports

Page 11

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

Lewis throws out first pitch to support BC

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Professional baseball player, and Bakersfield College alumnus, Colby Lewis throws out the first pitch before BC’s Feb. 18 home game against San Diego Mesa.

Bakersfield College alumnus and Texas Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis threw out the first pitch at the Renegades’ Feb. 18 game against San Diego Mesa College.

Lewis, one of the most successful baseball players to come out of BC, said that he takes pride in supporting the BC baseball program.

“It’s definitely a pleasure to come back here and continue to support these guys and be a part of the program,” Lewis said.

“That’s really all I want to do.”

Lewis’ success on the mound has garnered him two American League pennants with the Rangers. He was a major piece for both of the Texas teams that competed in the World Series in 2010 and 2011, winning two games.

Lewis, in 2010, was the first pitcher in Texas Ranger history

to win a postseason game when Lewis said that Painton put he defeated the New York Yan- education first for him, and that kees on Oct. 16 in the American was a major reason for his sucLeague Championship Series. cess at BC and after he moved on He also won game six of that to the majors. series, pitching eight innings “[Painton] works really hard with one earned run on three hits, to get everybody to conitnue clinching the AL pennant. to go to school,” he said. “And Lewis’ jourthat’s all I really ney to Ma- “When I retire I’m going to wanted to do. jor League I was fortunate Baseball, that continue to come here and enough to throw includes gradu- watch them and continue to hard and get ating from North drafted.” support them.”

High School, has Lewis said that –Colby Lewis, brought about he tries to stay Texas Rangers pitcher some barriers, humble about and he credits his success, esBC coach Tim Painton with get- pecially when coming out to ting him through a major one. support the Renegades, which he Lewis was unable to pitch plans to do for as long as he can. during his senior year of high “When I retire I’m going to school, but he found a home at continue to come here and watch BC the next year. them and continue to support “I was coming off of surgery them,” he said. “That stuff (suc… and coach Painton gave me cess) comes and goes, and I just the opportunity to come up here love coming out here and supand pitch,” he said. porting these guys.”

Renegades perform strong at home

By Nestor Fernandez Reporter The Bakersfield College track team held a seven-school meet at BC on Feb. 17. The BC squad posted a total of eight first-place finishes that combined both the men and women. The Renegades also finished second in three other categories.

On the men’s side, Justin Evans won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.64, Davis Loustalot won the 800 in 1:57.80, Chris Schwartz took the 1,500 in 3:58.98, and the 3000 in 8:45.50.

Bevan Wemhoff took second in the high jump with 1.93 meters, and Ethan Horsey placed second in the long jump with a 6.75m jump.

On the women’s side, Tejera Dial won the 800-meter run in 2:25.26 and teammate Elizabeth Sanchez placed second in 2:25.58. In the 3000-meter steeplechase, Serraya Hermosilla won with a time of 13:57.87. In the pole vault, Sarena Underwood won with a vault of 2.90m.

In the hammer throw, Breann Goodman took first place with a toss of 39.26m.

The Western State Conference Relays on Feb. 24 at Citrus College produced many outstanding performances by the BC team.

“I thought this was a great meet for both the men and women,” said BC coach Dave Frickel.

“Both teams stepped up and had some great performances. We’re making dramatic improvements; we’re starting to show quality performances.

“The kids are starting to really understand the competition as a higher level than high school.”

Even though they placed second to West Los Angeles College, the BC men’s 4 x 100 meter relay team finished with a good time of 42.45. West L.A.’s winning time was 41.73. The BC team consisted of Michael Norwood, Myren Moore, Justin Evans, and Walter Hunt.

In the men’s distance medley relay, the BC squad finished third and was highlighted by Schwartz, who ran the 1,600 an-

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Renegades runner Chris Schwartz holds on to his lead in the men’s 1500-meter race on Feb. 17 at Memorial Stadium. chor portion in 4:15.

A BC school record was toppled in the women’s 4 X 800 meter relay, as the team of Danielle Tidahl, Tejera Dial, Elizabeth Sanchez, and Halle Meadows finished first with a time of 9:53.78.

The same BC men’s team that finished second to West L.A. in the 4 X 100, ended up beating them in the 4 x 200, as they took first place with a time of 1:28.53.

A 43-second improvement from her previous best mark came from Natalie Fernandez, when she finished third in the women’s 3000 with a time of 11:10.15.

Schwartz won the men’s 3000 with a time of 8:49.49.

The field events saw personal bests for a couple of the BC athletes.

In the women’s hammer throw,

Breann Goodman took first place with a throw of 133-5 (her personal best). Ethan Horsey also achieved a personal best mark in the men’s triple jump, winning the event with a jump of 46-0, while beating Masson Blow of Allan Hancock College. BC’s Bevan Wemhoff matched the winning mark of 6-4 3/4 in the men’s high jump, but it took an extra attempt. He also finished second to Jimmy Darling of Santa Monica College.

BC has a meet March 2 at Antelope Valley College that also involves College of the Canyons, Saddleback, Antelope Valley College and San Bernardino Valley College.

“That should be a real good meet,” Frickel said. “There are some good schools that we haven’t seen. Saddleback and San Bernardino has some really good athletes.”

gregory d. cook / The Rip

BC’s Sarena Underwood vaults her way over the 2.9-meter bar to finish first in the women’s pole vault event on Feb. 17 at a track and field meet held in Memorial Stadium.

BASEBALL: Pitching has carried lagging offense Continued from Page 1 be consistent.

Starters Tyler Painton and Brad Lindsley have solidified the top of the team’s rotation.

Painton, through his first four starts, is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.17 and 22 strikeouts.

The team’s bullpen has closed out the majority of their victories with ease to back up the strong performances by the starters.

“Our bullpen has been absolutely phenomenal in the early part of the season, and it has really been a major shot in the arm to get us to where we are,” coach Painton said.

Freshman closer Ryan Stapp has four saves in seven appearances with an ERA of 1.64.

Painton said that, although the team’s rotation at the top is set, the coaching staff is still deciding on the third spot and will

make a decision before conference play starts.

Establishing a third starter isn’t the only concern for the team.

“We haven’t been very consistent offensively from a team stand point, but fortunately we’ve had individuals step up and have good days at the right time,” Painton said. “We’re kind of searching a little bit right now to find that group of people that can give us the consistency we are looking for.”

BC is batting .281 as a team.

Individually, third baseman Elijah Trail is hitting .372, and Tyler Painton is hitting .381 from the designated-hitter spot.

The Renegades’ success has come despite their inconsistencies on offense, and Painton and his coaching staff are working on getting all that worked out.

“We have [some time] to kind

of get stuff in order … before we start conference play, and hopefully we can do that,” he said.

“We’re spending a lot of time with individuals on swing mechanics and trying to get some things ironed out. Hopefully that happens as we head into conference.”

Once conference play starts, the team’s schedule gets much more structured. The team played five games in a six-day span between Feb. 14-19, and even though they went 4-1 in those games, the schedule took its toll.

“That just doesn’t happen in conference,” Painton said. “The focus is a little bit different as opposed to playing two or three games over the course of a weekend. So it allows you to get into a routine that is a little easier to manage and deal with.”

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Renegades shortstop Brent Peterson dives for first base to avoid an Olympians pick-off attempt during Bakersfield College’s game against San Diego Mesa on Feb. 18 at BC.

Column

New playoff system needed RIPPING SPORTS | Taking on

every sports issue.

In sports, a lot of the talk is usually what should be the criteria to make the playoffs, and if a certain team is even worthy to be considered for a playoff spot.

I like how in most sports, if Esteban Ramirez you win the division, you can make the playoffs, but when two teams are battling for the division and have identical division or conference records, what do you look at next?

I would definitely look at how the teams played against each other and then how they played against the third place team.

What if each team beat each other once, and did the same against the other team?

Well, that’s the position the Bakersfield College women’s basketball team found itself in.

BC and Canyons had the same conference record and split the season series.

So, they looked at how they did against Los Angeles Valley, but they both beat L.A. Valley once.

Then they looked at how the teams did against a 7-20 Citrus College team that had forfeited 16 of their games, and one of those games was against Canyons.

I think that situation was handled poorly, and they could’ve looked at different things to decide who would get the playoff berth because it’s not BC’s fault that they had the bad luck that they actually played them twice and split the season series. Canyons beat Citrus once, and got another win because of the forfeit.

The California Community College Women Basketball Coaches Association currently has no rule about forfeited games or a situation like this one, but I think that something needs to be put in, in case something crazy like this happens again.

BC had a better overall record and the same in conference; it’s just too bad that something crazy like a team having to forfeit 16 games happened.

I don’t really know what can be done to change this.

Maybe they can make it so that forfeited games won’t count as wins, or just not count those games in tiebreakers for a playoff berth.

Another way they could’ve settled it is to make it like baseball; put in a tiebreaker to get the playoff spot.

There are not many things better in sports when two teams battle it out for a last spot in the playoffs. It’s as simple as this: you win, and you get in.

If you do that, there won’t be teams upset that they didn’t get a fair chance to get a playoff berth because every team will leave everything on the court, and there will be no doubt about who deserves the playoff spot.

I understand why there’s no rule, because who in their right mind would ever think that would happen, but what I don’t understand is how they didn’t look at the overall record instead of looking at how they did against a team that forfeited more than half of their scheduled games.

Whatever they decide on, I hope it’s something that is prepared for a situation like this.

Page 12

Spotlight

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, Februar y 29, 2012

Whiskey FLAT DAYS

The crowd’s anticipation grows while waiting for the parade to start on Feb. 18 at Whiskey Flat Days.

50,000 flock to Kernville to attend the four-day annual festival to show appreciation of heritage and tradition “I thought I was going to fall off!” said eight year-old Bessie Spielman after getting off the mechanical bull at Riverside Park during the Whiskey Flat Days festival.

An estimate of 50,000 people attended the annual Whiskey Flats festival in Kernville this year.

The festival consists of many thrills and exciting activities, and it is held on President’s day weekend. On Saturday the town gets together to watch the Whiskey Flat parade down Kernville road.

The parade shows floats from all walks of life. Some are dressed like cowboys and others are Indians. Kern Valley High School and Cerro Coso Community College also enter the parade and promote their school spirit.

The festival also has square dancing, an Indian encampment, carnival rides, food vendors, a melodrama, live music, face painting, fishing for live trout for the little ones, a Whiskey Flat mayor election and even a mechanical bull.

The festival is held every year on President’s day weekend. It is a celebration of the old town of Whiskey Flat that existed under what is now Lake Isabella.

Many of the town folk dress up in old western attire, and participate in the different activities that are put together by members of the Kernville Chamber. The festival brings a lot of life into Kernville during the dead of winter months.

The Whiskey Flat celebration started in 1957.

“We still rely on this celebration 55 years later to help us survive through the winter months up here in a town of only 1,860 people,” said Cheryl Borthick, president of the Kernville Chamber of Commerce. “That’s why it’s in February, and we always pray we have decent weather for the festival.”

The name Whiskey Flat dates back to a couple of years ago. Some believe that the town acquired its name from all the saloons that were located within the town. Others date history back to the 1860’s when Adam Hamilton set a plank on top of two Whiskey Barrels and called it Whiskey Flat.

“Some of the folk, mainly the ladies, decided it was a very unbecoming name for their town and renamed it Kernville,” said Borthick.

A lot of people that visit the festival like to go for the food. There are many different food vendors; some of the most popular by the visitors are the Indian tacos, kettle corn, and the Sausage King.

Tanika Waye, a local of Kernville, commented on the event.

“This is my third year coming to this and I come here because of the food,” Waye said.

“It’s really good.”

Story and Photos

by Angie DelGado

Django Stauffer plays the role of Billy Wigs, and Lauren Chaffe portrays a Mrs. Wiggs, at the Kernville Melodrama on Feb. 18 during Whiskey Flat Days.

Bessie Spielman, 8, tries to hold on for dear life on Feb. 19 at Whiskey Flat Days, Kernville’s annual festival that celebrates its tradition.