Vol. 88 ∙ No. 12

Heptathlete Cecilia Hickman’s story

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An undocumented student’s struggle

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The Renegade Rip Vol. 88 ∙ No. 12

Bakersfield College

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Districts respond to $19m fraud Liability argued among KCCD, KCSOS and Treasurer-Tax Collector

By Morgan Park Editor-in-Chief

SAMUEL MORENO / THE RIP

From left to right: Emm West, Naomi Valladares, Richard Tovar and Elexus Thurman examine the mock murder scene on March 23.

Mock murder tests student skills

By Mario Saldaña

Digital Content Editor

A fake crime scene was set up at the Bakersfield College gymnasium for a criminal justice class learning about forensic evidence.

Teachers Patricia Smith and Harlan Hunter set up the crime scene for their class to get a better understanding of how a real crime scene would go through investigation.

The crime scene was located under the BC gym near the racquetball courts. Students would go into the room and try to solve the crime with little knowledge of the scene.

Patricia Smith, a BC criminal justice professor, explained the reason for these hands-on activities and how it will better prepare a student for a reallife situation when they are out in the field.

She said in this mock scenario, that individuals were working out, and a drug deal ensued and went bad.

“Someone owed someone money to the other, and they got in a fight and one got shot,” she said.

“Before this activity, we were talking about the evidence commonly found at crime scenes, so we’ve been around blood, spatter, and blood patterns, ballistics and all different types of evidence, and finger prints.

“In class, we also have a chapter on just crime scenes, and we have had officers come to our class and talk about police work,” she said.

The students can’t do real lab work because, Smith said, “we don’t have a lab, but we just talk about a criminal justice type of approach and how to handle a crime scene and how to protect a crime scene.

“So now they’re trying to put everything together we learned in class and figuring it all out by analyzing the crime scene, and what took place [in the crime scene]. Of course, this is not a real crime scene, this is a mock crime scene, they’re learning how to write a report, because I taught them that in order to convict and prosecute they have to go through the crime scene very thoroughly,” said Smith.

The eight individual teams that went into the crime scene March 21 and March 23 had no idea, when they first went in, what they were looking at, just the bit of information they were provided about the crime scene.

The eight teams had individual tasks: a report writer also known as the lead investigator, a photographer, an evidence collector and a sketcher. As Please see CRIME SCENE, Page 9

New bill could allow more B.A.’s at BC

‘Real Boy’ Q&A talks LGBTQ struggles

By Zach Sullivan Reporter

By Ambria King Reporter

The Bakersfield College Sexual and Gender Acceptance club, or SAGA, and California Humanities screened the awardwinning documentary, “Real Boy,” on March 16 in Forum 101 East.

One would have been hardpressed to find an open seat as the audience was filled with more than 100 faculty members, members of the LGBTQ community, and allies who came out to show their support and watch the film, which chronicled a young transgender man named Bennett Wallace over a period of four years.

Immediately following the film was a panel discussion with the film’s director Shaleece Haas, senior program officer at California Humanities John Lightfoot, and SAGA member Jack Backover, who is also transgender.

The Kern Community College District and Kern County Superintendent of Schools have issued a joint letter in response to the disappearance of a combined $19 million from both institutions’ Wells Fargo accounts.

The theft, which, according to Kern County Treasurer-Tax Collector Jordan Kaufman in a report by the Bakersfield Californian, occurred over two or three years, primarily targeted the KCCD, from which $16.4 million was taken. The KCSOS has suffered a loss of $2.6 million. So far, efforts have “recovered almost 80 percent of the funds,” said Kaufman on March 27.

The letter, signed by KCCD chancellor Tom Burke and superintendent of schools Mary Barlow and dated March 21, goes through the order of events in discovering the fraudulent activity beginning in January and assures readers that they are “working together with the County’s Treasurer-Tax Collector and its bank, Wells Fargo, along with the AuditorController, the District Attorney’s office and the F.B.I. to identify those responsible for the theft and recover the funds that have been stolen.”

The letter also claims comments to the media have led to confusion in the public.

“Unfortunately, since the discovery of this fraud, the County Treasurer and Auditor-Controller have made statements and/or released copies of documents to the media without consulting with us. This has led to confusion and misinformation to the general public and our partner agencies.”

The large majority of the theft occurred from the agencies’ payroll clearing accounts, which were “established exclusively for payroll payments to school district employees,” Please see FRAUD, Page 9

JESSE NAJERA / THE RIP

Director Shaleece Haas and SAGA advocate Jack Backover conduct “Real Boy” Q&A. While the film highlighted the physical and emotional difficulties Wallace faced during his transition, it also explored the complexities of family relationships, the struggles of addiction, and the importance of having a support system through difficult times.

The film showcased the difficulties that coming to terms with gender identity can have, not only on the one who is transitioning, but on the family as well. In the beginning of the film, there is tension between Wallace and his mother, Suzy Reinke, as she struggles to come to terms with her child’s transition and learn to

accept Wallace’s gender identity.

The film also highlights the deep bonds that Wallace has built with those outside of his family who are more supportive of his transition. Joe Stevens, a guitarist and vocalist in the band Coyote Grace, who is also transgender, becomes Wallace’s mentor and confidant. The relationship between Wallace and Stevens was one of the main focal points of the film.

“I was just really moved by the relationship and the friendship between Joe and Bennett.

In LGBT communities, there’s a long tradition of chosen family, whether our families support

us or don’t,” said Haas. “I was struck and moved by the way Joe and Ben were showing up for each other. ... I met Bennett’s mom, Suzy, and things expanded and I realized there was a story about both given and chosen family, and those intersections.”

By the end of the film, Wallace, Reinke and Stevens all embarked on their own unique journeys, worked through many different struggles, and came out stronger in the end. Wallace and his mother are able to rebuild their relationship, and both learn to love and accept each other, even when they don’t fully unPlease see REAL BOY, Page 9

Bakersfield College is one of 13 community colleges in California that offer a bachelor’s degree to students, and if Senate Bill 769, which was proposed to the California Senate last month, is approved, it would allow BC to offer bachelor’s degrees in multiple fields, said Matthew Garrett, a history professor at BC. According to Garrett, the requirements for the pilot programs currently in place are that schools create original degrees that do not duplicate existing degrees offered at any CSU or UC school, and that the degrees must have workforce needs.

Bakersfield College currently offers a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Automation, which according to the California Community Colleges Chancellors Office, “responds to today’s industry needs for

engineering teams involved in developing new products or systems.”

Garrett explained that if the bill is approved, it will amend the state education code to expand the existing four-year degree pilot program from 13 to 30 schools, eliminate the pilot program restriction of one bachelor program per school as well as lessen the nonduplication requirement from statewide to just 100 miles and extend the existing and future bachelor pilot programs indefinitely.

Garrett believes enabling community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees will help solve the issue of affordable education.

“Besides it being just very cool that BC will likely get to offer degrees, there is an equity and access issue at the heart of the discussion,” he said. “Many students cannot afford UC or CSUs. And if a student does Please see B.A.’s, Page 9

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Column

Finding that drag in you The Gay Agenda: Life and times of a modern gay man.

By the time this article publishes, the first episode of “Rupaul’s Drag Race” will have aired. I will have gagged and will be waiting insatiably for the next episode while speculating which queen I think will win.

What’s strange is that it wasn’t until my husband and I took in what we like to call a “stray,” did we even give drag race a second glance.

It was our h e t e r o s ex u a l roommate who J.R. Hensley turned us on to the show. He is beyond into it, which is why when we first started watching it, we were merely humoring him. Since that time, my husband and I have grown to actually enjoy the program.

I don’t know what our hesitation was in the first place.

Was it merely us just avoiding all gay stereotypes because we didn’t want to feel any shame? Or was it because we just didn’t see what was so entertaining about a bunch of men dressing up in women’s clothing, making catty comments to each other, and “lipsyncing for their life?”

I want to say it’s the second, but more than likely it’s the first.

I, like many of my gay brethren, don’t want to be “obvious.” Whenever someone tells me “I never would have guessed,” I feel a sense of pride well up inside my chest. Then I counteract that by, ironically, doing some effeminate hair toss. But why do I care?

What I have discovered is that most cultures pride masculinity and belittle anything mildly feminine, which is true even for gay culture. It is strange to me, that even in our own community we find discrimination because they’re too “swishy.” I can admit at one point I showed my own bias.

Drag is, without a doubt, feminine. Most cultures find a man wearing women’s clothes disgusting. Which is strange, they’re just clothes.

Garments don’t speak for the person wearing them. The disgust comes from the fact that it’s destroying the established gender norms. Men are men, and women are women.

The reality competition, doesn’t begin to illustrate the amount of work it takes to do a drag illusion. There are numerous layers of make-up, the planning of original “looks,” and then the infamous “tuck.”

Then there is the fact that when a person creates a drag persona they also have to create a character or world around them. It is truly elaborate. I liken it to a modern-day clown performance art. Yes, that sounds silly, but wearing copious amounts of make-up in ridiculous get-ups sure as hell sounds like a clown to me.

By and large, the strangest part I find with the entire show is how it has grown a very large and avid fanbase.

But what many of these fans don’t know is that there is a whole other side to it than what they see in this comedic competition. Many of the words and phrases are actually from the “Balls” that were held in Harlem in the ’80s.

After watching two seasons of the show, I delved into a little documentary I suggest every fan or possible Drag Race lover check-out: “Paris is Burning.”

The film discusses the idea of “realness” and how one can dress up to live a fantasy of stereotypes. And, man, is it quotable.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Bay Area artist speaks at W.H.A.M. event

By Fernanda Martinez Reporter Bakersfield College Women’s History and More committee held its second-to-last event for Women’s History Month on March 23. The event was a presentation that featured Crystal Galindo, an artist who was raised in the Central Valley and whose art focuses on Chicana and indigenous females conveying power, pride, and comfort in their bodies.

Born in Tulare County, Galindo taught herself to draw at a very young age. She said she has always known that she wanted to be an artist and painter. Galindo pursued her art passion and enrolled as an art major at College of the Sequoias and received her associates degree in Art. She later transferred to Sonoma State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art and Painting and Chicano Latino Studies.

After graduating, Galindo decided to move on to the San Francisco Bay area in hopes that her art would reach bigger audiences.

When Galindo was in college, she began to paint self-portraits.

“Who is going to tell my story better than I can?” said Galindo.

“I wanted to start a series of selfies to express myself and hopefully have others connect with me.”

She claims that while in college, she was often told to stop painting self-portraits and that people thought that she was simply full of herself.

“We used to have days where we would talk about each other’s work and offer constructive criticism,” said Galindo. “But for my work, I always received negative comments. I was told that the colors I chose were ugly and that my work was too Mexican.”

Still Galindo wanted to continue expressing herself with portraits of herself and other women whom she admired.

Galindo later started another series titled Multifacetica, which included portraits of women she knew to show off their power and beauty.

In this series, Galindo wanted to tell the stories of ordinary women and their struggles, while emphasizing their natural beauty.

Her most recent series, Dulceria Gallery, also portraits women who “share indulgency while being unapologetic.” In this series there are portraits of females indulging in some of Mexico’s most famous sweets and pastries, such as pan dulce, mangoniadas,

LIZETTE CHAVEZ / THE RIP

Crystal Galindo speaks about the criticism she received in art school for her work. and paletas.

Galindo is currently working on another series titled Xingonxs or Chingonas, which will portray Hispanic women who are hardworking and powerful.

Galindo hopes that her work connects with not only Hispanic

women of color but others as well. “There is art behind a selfie because it allows you to express yourself the way you want to be seen and recognized,” stated Galindo. “It’s important to explore ourselves and be comfortable with our image and our

roots.”

The W.H.A.M. committee will hold its last event, The Evolution of the Selfie: Deconstruction of the Female from 1400 to the Present, on March 30 at the BC Fireside Room from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

What a ‘W’ can mean for students

By Fernanda Martinez Reporter

Walking for justice and healing

By William Dubon Reporter Roughly 300 people participated at the third annual Walk for Justice on March 25.

Friends and family members that lost their loved ones set up booths displaying images and giving out leaflets that stated their story.

They began with a march walking up streets of northeast Bakersfield and came back around noon, where they had a barbeque and shared stories of the ones from the past.

“Last Saturday, I walked my dog and was beaten by some police officers. A man almost ran over a dog and we started arguing, next thing I know there are cops almost everywhere. One cop rushed me and hit me right in the mouth knocking some of my teeth out. I hit the ground and when I got up they tased me. I hit the ground, started bleeding and they just start beating me. They were hurting my wrist and telling me to stop resisting. I was screaming ‘Stop, I’m not doing anything. I didn’t do anything; I didn’t do anything!’ I ended up with 6 stiches and I have two metal plates in my arms,” stated Kristie Briano. She was invited just a week later to attend this event and share her story.

“The event is to bring all the families together. It’s not much of a community event, but one for the families that have lost someone due to police brutality. The families that were there were the ones that set it up,” said Marie Salrs, who lost her 19-year-old son on Sept. 8, 2011 to Tustin Police Department.

Our Realities is an organization that sets up outings, potlucks, and picnics.

The organization reaches out to Bakersfield families to help with the grief they experience and give them support.

PHOTOS BY WILLIAM DUBON / THE RIP

Above: Judy Edens, center, tears up speaking about her son’s murder.

Below: Paul Garcia, a member of Brown Berets, speaks about their beliefs.

Every semester, Bakersfield College allows students to drop classes on two separate occasions.

The first opportunity to drop a class is two weeks after the start of the class and the last is more than halfway through the semester. However, the last withdraw date does have the effect of leaving a ‘W’ on a student’s transcript.

This semester, the final date to drop a class and receive a W was March 24.

The BC website states that “a W will appear on the permanent record for courses dropped between the 20% and 60% date of the term,” yet, for a lot of students, the meaning of that W is still somewhat unclear.

After asking 10 students of their knowledge of what it means to have a W on their transcript, only two had an idea of what it meant.

“I’ve heard some professors mention it like, ‘Oh, for those of you failing my class you might want to consider dropping soon so you can get a W,’ ” said BC student Omar Herrera. “But I remember it’s something like your last chance to drop a class without getting an F.” Another BC student, Natalie Gordon, mentioned that she had been told that a W could affect you in the long run.

“One of my professors once said that it can be hard to transfer if you have too many W’s and that even when you’re applying for jobs and they ask for your transcripts they might not want to hire you because they’ll think that you aren’t reliable,” she said.

“I’m not sure, but I’ve never had to worry about it because I always pass my classes,” stated another student who wished to stay anonymous.

The BC website also states that “a W grade is not used in calculating grade point averages, but excessive W grades will be used as factors in progress probation and disqualification.”

After asking another 10 students the same question, only one knew what a W was.

The student, who also wished to remain anonymous, stated “Yeah, I actually have two on my transcript and I only dropped those classes because I had a low GPA and I didn’t want my GPA to get screwed over more. So to save me they advised me to just get a W instead of an F.” W grades do not affect a grade point average or academic probation but an excessive amount can result in progress probation.

If a student is facing the need to drop a class with a W, it is best to speak to the professor and an academic adviser about the possibilities there are to pass the class.

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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

BC Choir tributes Harriet Tubman

By Lizette Chavez Reporter

The “Freedom” music event was held in the Indoor Theater at Bakersfield College on March 24. The performance is a tribute to Harriet Tubman and her accomplishments.

The event was well attended; there were lines of people hoping to get tickets at the door.

The demand for a seat was so high that some of the reserved seats were given up to accommodate the guests. The event began half an hour later than it was meant to at around 7:30 p.m., where veterans were honored before the “Star Spangled Banner.”

In the first act of the show the selection of songs performed by the Bakersfield College Choir and Chamber singers were supposed to represent Harriet Tubman’s journey to freedom.

Conducted by Jennifer Garrett, the first movement performed was “I’m Runnin’ On,” an African American spiritual performed by tenor Chase Adams.

Adams, 19, is not black but he shared how the members were

LIZETTE CHAVEZ / THE RIP

Frank Ticheli peforms his solo in the second piece of the night, “There Will Be Rest.” chosen for the solo, “She [Garrett] kind of just gives us the music and then if you want to audition for it you audition and she bases off that, on who auditions, she never just chooses and says ‘hey you’re doing the solo’ you have to audition for it.”

The second act was a collaboration between the combined choir and the chamber singers with Ron Kean’s commissioned work “The Journey of Harriet Tubman,” a film by Hannah Kean. The performers sang along to a short biographical

film where BC student Shanell Dillard played the part of Harriet Tubman. The film told the story of Tubman’s escape from slavery and those she helped through the Underground Railroad. The film also mentioned other accomplished women in history like

Marie Curie and Bessie Coleman. Kean also added conductor Garrett’s name to the list.

“I treasure this collaboration.

I hope that Hannah and I have honored Dr. Garrett, her students, and my college home of 23 years with this commission.

I am extremely proud to see the program that I led for 19 years thrive under the leadership of this great woman. Those of you who are privileged to know her understand that she inspires all of us to overcome adversity,” Kean said after the show.

The performance received a standing ovation and many of the people involved in the production were emotional. Amber Eliason, 20, said she cried and was very touched because she had history with Tubman. “I have done papers on her, so I already knew a lot about her and was already emotionally connected, and when I found out that we were going to do that I cried. Seeing how much emotion Ron Kean has put behind this music and behind her made me very very excited to sing this music.”

MEGAN FENWICK / THE RIP

Above: Bakersfield College’s cello section of the orchestra performs “Brandenburg Sinfonia.”

Left: Flute soloist Sara Andon accompanies the BC orchestra during a musical piece.

‘Sounds For Our Soul’ features flute troupe

By Megan Fenwick Reporter The Bakersfield College concert band and orchestra performed “Sounds For Our Soul” at the Indoor Theater on March 18.

They were joined by the flute ensemble known as Pipe Dream

Flutes and Friends and flute soloist Sara Andon.

The night opened with Pipe Dream Flutes and Friends, which played 14 pieces of music.

The group has played at various locations around the United States as well as the International Haydn Festival in Vienna, Austria. BC instructor and band di-

Random Renegade Every issue, The Rip will be interviewing a random faculty member at Bakersfield College about hopes and goals.

Jacen Alexander

rector Kathryn Kuby alternated between playing the flute with the ensemble and sharing the conductor’s position with Michael Stanley. A wide range of flutes were played, from the tiny piccolo flute to the towering double contrabass flute.

The BC concert band then filled the stage and performed

By Zach Sullivan Reporter Bakersfield College adjunct English professor Jacen Alexander has been teaching at BC since 2009 while also maintaining an adjunct position at California State University Bakersfield aiding foreign students in becoming proficient in speaking, reading and writing English.

Alexander, who was born in Los Angeles in 1969, moved to Bakersfield when he was six. He attended CSUB and studied English before transferring to Northridge and changing his major to film production.

Alexander said upon transferring to Northridge, he was unable to complete his degree. “I wasn’t able to finish my degree for various reasons and dropped out. I worked for about 11 years from 1992 to 2003. So for the next 11 years, I took a total of four classes, three of those at Glendale college in L.A, otherwise I was working in warehouses shipping and receiving,” he said.

Alexander said an opportunity arose to move back to Bakersfield, which he ended up taking.

“I had the opportunity to move back to Bakersfield, so I did, because Los Angeles was hell, it was not a good experience. I came back to Bakersfield and decided I wanted to complete my bachelor’s degree. I had 5 years of college and nothing to show for it because I had to drop out. So I figured most people go four years and get their de-

three musical pieces. The orchestra, consisting of only string instruments, proceeded to play four pieces.

Sara Andon, who has performed in Broadway musical orchestras and recorded with artists like Daft Punk, performed solos with both the concert and the orchestra.

gree, I went five years and got zip. So in 2003 I became a full time student focused on English instead of film production and double-majored with religious studies, which in 2005, I got the degree and decided to go for a masters.” Alexander completed his master’s degree in 2012, graduating from CSUB, the first college he attended.

It was during this time acquiring his master’s degree at CSUB that Alexander taught his first classes at BC. “In 2009 I got my first classes here at BC actually teaching at their Delano campus. The first couple of years I was mostly teaching up at the Delano campus, and every so often I still get a class up there,” he said.

Alexander said he was also offered an adjunct position at CSUB in 2009, but the class he was going to teach did not have enough students and was canceled. In 2011, CSUB reached out to Alexander again to become an instructor, which he accepted, and has held the position ever since.

When asked what he enjoys most about teaching, Alexander explained he likes seeing students become interested and involved in the material he is teaching. “When students respond to the reading it can be engaging. The right individuals responding and having something to offer is enjoyable,” he said.

“I can lecture, but that gets boring after a while. I want to hear what the students are getting out of it, I want to see what the students are bringing to

“These students are so talented, I see they’re working really hard and they’re going to keep at it, and they’re passion for music really wonderful to see,” Andon said after her performance.

The concert band joined the orchestra on stage to perform their final song, “Warrior Legacy,” by Soon Hee Newbold.

the class. I’m hoping students come in to my class wanting to be better communicators, that they become better writers, and be interested in the ideas that some of my reading selections are raising and respond to it. The stuff I’m selecting has real world consequences, it’s not just stuff I’m pulling out of a hat. When they are responding, and are becoming interested in the material, that’s when it becomes satisfying to me.”

Outside of teaching, Alexander claims he enjoys reading and watching movies. He said his favorite movie is “Empire Strikes Back,” and that he has been a lifelong movie watcher.

Alexander is a fan of fantastical stories, and some of his favorite authors include: Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling, Gregg Bear and Stephen King, among others.

He said he used to enjoy cycling, but had bad experiences while living in L.A. that dissuaded him away from continuing. “I used to cycle when I was younger, but I stopped when I was in Los Angeles because I was knocked off my bike twice, run over once and had to have physical therapy. I also almost got killed twice by two drivers who were not paying attention. So cycling kind of went out of me, thanks to Los Angeles,” Alexander said.

Alexander said he is completely fine being an adjunct professor at both CSUB and BC, and has no plans to become full-time at either for the time being.

Column

Tricks to survive summer

Beauty Addict’s Advice: Tips and tricks for beauty

With summer fast approaching, it gets harder to make your makeup, hairstyle, or almost any beauty product last on your body.

While the temperatures rise, makeup slides off and hair tends to fall flat. It may still technically be spring, but we all know that living in Bakersfield, it can skyrocket to 100-plus degrees at any given time.

I’ve learned a few tips and tricks over the years to help make eve r y t h i n g Kylie last, despite Hendrickson the temperatures. For makeup, it’s best to not wear a heavy full coverage foundation. Doing so in high temperatures causes the foundation to seep into pores, because sweat opens them more and that’s what creates breakouts. The best thing to use instead is a Beauty Balm (BB) cream.

For those who aren’t familiar, a BB cream is essentially a tinted moisturizer with extra benefits. It still gives coverage and has the perfection power of a foundation, but it also has the moisturizing power of a skincare product.

Keeping your skin hydrated in our dry heat is crucial, so having a makeup product that contains added hydration helps immensely. Some also contain sunblock, which is essential with how much sun we get here.

I’ve found the best bang for your buck is Dr Jart’s, the original BB set. It contains four tubes of BB cream for different needs/types of skin and is only $34 from Sephora.

These specific BB creams protect the skin from harmful UVA/UVB rays and also prime the skin for a flawless look. When setting makeup, I also never use a heavy powder during the summer because it can look cakey. I prefer using a translucent powder that will set my makeup and not give me any added color to my face. Laura Mercier’s translucent powder is my go-to and a staple that needs to be added to everyone’s makeup collection. Another staple is my personal favorite makeup setting spray by Mario Badescu.

Their facial spray with aloe, herb and rosewater is heaven sent. It keeps my makeup lasting all day while adding a quick pick-me-up of hydration. It can also be used to spray in dry hair.

Recently, Mario Badescu came out with a new facial spray with aloe, cucumber and green tea. It’s become another favorite and the cucumber helps revive dull or red skin. Both deliver a cooling boost of hydration and their $7 price tag for four ounces is exceptional.

For hair, whether you prefer wearing it up or down during the summer or warmer months, the best hairspray to keep those strands in lock is from Sebastian.

Sebastian’s shaper plus extra hold hairspray has been my secret weapon for years.

It’s designed to hold up in high humidity while still giving a touchable feel that’s not stiff or sticky.

No matter the hairstyle, this hairspray holds up to its designated promise. For any additional dry areas, I use the multifunctional Josie Maran 100-percent pure argan oil.

This oil can be used absolutely anywhere. I use it on dry cuticles, hair, or on my face.

Summer heat may not be friendly, but there are plenty of options to make sure your skin is well taken care of during Bakersfield’s long summer months.

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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

BC’s first hackathon ends with fun for all

By Morgan Park Editor-in-Chief Teams of coders, researchers, presenters and planners worked tirelessly to build and prototype innovative projects at the Public Health Renegades Hackathon, a three-day competition held March 17-19 on the Bakersfield College campus.

Eleven teams embraced the theme of public health and over the weekend brainstormed ideas, laid out plans for implementation, and presented their prototypes on the final day to a panel of judges and fellow competitors, most of which were BC or CSUB students. The people behind One More Idea, the team that developed the Down With Depression project that was awarded the first place prize, knew they wanted to work on something related to depression, but finalized their project on the first day.

“We initially had so many ideas, but now we’re nailing it down to an app where you can talk to medical professionals, like with suicide lines, but the

app would let you text and talk with them. We’re trying to figure out a way that doctors can volunteer,” said BC biology major Harneel Gill, 19, on day two of the competition.

At the time, Gill said the main goal was to finish their chat prototype by the deadline, but they also had plans for how to secure funding and expand on the project if they continued to work on it after the competition.

Plans appeared to have shifted by presentation day, as Gill and team member Sahib Dhillon, 19, took the stage and presented their prototype for an informational website that allows students to take two types of self-evaluation tests that help them determine if they’re experiencing a form of depression. Gill and Dhillon, along with Fanny Dwifathia, 17, were responsible for research and the presentation, while other team members Andrea Hernandez and Kabir Advani worked on coding for the website.

“We’re trying to find all the information, talk to companies, see how we’re going to get funding, and who is going to volunteer to

WILLIAM DUBON / THE RIP

Event organizer Sarah Baron congratulates the 11 teams on a sucessful hackathon event on March 19.

go raise awareness of a situation like this,” said Dhillon on day two of the competition. “[Depression] is common, as in it’s well-known, but it’s not really emphasized.”

Second-place winner Team BCCSUBandUCD developed a prototype for their project Safe Searches, a website that “helps the LGBTQ community search for supportive doctors that are accepting of people considered as such.” The website would also list info such as accepted insurances, trustworthy doctors, and nearest clinics for LGBTQ needs.

Third place was awarded to team MentalMapper, which developed “an interactive application to stimulate the brain activity and improve cognitive functions for patients affected

by Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders.”

BC Business Management and Information Technology faculty Eddie Rangel helped organize the event alongside serving as one of the judges.

“Seeing what our students have the ability to create was very inspiring. It validated my thoughts on our ability and capacity to change our community,” he said.

Rangel also spoke on his personal favorite project in the judging process.

“As judges, we each had the ability to assign some additional points to our favorite. Down With Depression received my vote for favorite. I really liked how they used their existing skill set to build on top of and create something they’ve never worked with before.” Allied Health faculty and BC professor Sarah Baron also helped organize the event alongside Kern Innovation & Technology Community (KIT Community), the BC computer science club, and local partners like Kaiser Permanente, Chevron, and Building Healthy Communities. Baron spoke to the room of participants awaiting word from the judges about continuing their projects after the hackathon was over.

“All of you guys rocked on your pitches, and all of your stuff was awesome,” Baron said. “I will follow through. I will get back to you.”

WILLIAM DUBON / THE RIP

Left to right: Karen Goh, Fanny Dwifathia, Sarah Baron, Andrea Hernandez, Kabir Advani, Harneel Gill, Sahib Dhillon, and Alyssa Haas celebrate the first place prize.

Baron promised to start reaching out to teams that want to continue their projects by the end of April to get the ball rolling, including reaching out and setting up meetings with local organizations that might want to invest in some of the projects.

Before announcing the winners, mayor Karen Goh took to the stage to celebrate the hackathon and speak on the future of technology in Bakersfield.

“How great would it be for Bakersfield to become a tech hub?”

Goh said. “Don’t you think the cost of living here is quite a bit more affordable than up north or down south? We’re in the perfect location where we can get to the coast and get to Los Angeles, and it’s very, very affordable here.”

Goh sees events like the Public Health Renegades Hackathon as the beginning to solving very real issues in the community.

“I was speaking with somebody in San Francisco whose company is focused on brining exponential technology solutions to the grand global issues.

What if we, just as a start, could bring solutions to some of the challenges in our community?

And you’re already doing that,” she said addressing the crowd.

Diego Diaz, student market-

ing assistant at KIT Community and computer science major at BC, thought the event went well but sees some areas for improvement in the future.

“In the heat of the moment, as an organizer worrying about making sure everything goes right, and as a competitor worrying about pulling the team together and making sure we are on track to get something done on time, I definitely noticed a few things that could have gone better or more efficiently, but once I took a step back from being so critical, I started to notice the excitement in the room. It was definitely our most energetic group and at the end of the day, that’s what I was happiest about,” he said.

“I did a lot of promotion for this event and the word definitely got around. We had many register, but had around a 60 percent turnout (which we still find to be a successful turnout). In future events, I’ll try to change my strategy to see if I could get that percentage of turnout to be closer to the 80 percent or up area.

Some feedback I received from those who have backed down was mostly because of uncertainty of how the event works.”

According to Diaz, hackathons

Renegade Struggles: Juan We all have a struggle, and every person has a different story. Each issue, The Rip will feature a student overcoming certain struggles to gain an education and better their life.

By Samuel Moreno Reporter Meet Juan, 20, a student who has been attending night classes at Bakersfield College and working a full time job, all while being an undocumented immigrant.

Juan first arrived in the U.S. in 2010, when he was only 13-years-old.

He came with two other people, his cousin “Nacho” and his uncle “Pancho.”

Juan’s parents stayed in Guanajuato, Mexico, his hometown.

“I was so scared to leave my parents, but at the same time I wanted more in life and I think my parents wanted the same for me,” Juan said.

Juan recalls coming to the U.S. with little to no money.

“My tió [uncle] Pancho probably had $2,000 in his pocket that he protected more than us. His hand would never leave his pocket,” said Juan (not his real name).

Juan’s journey to the U.S. was not an easy one.

He crossed U.S. borders illegally in order to come into the country.

When Juan arrived in Lamont, CA, he shared one bedroom with his uncle and cousin.

The owners had remodeled the garage into a single unit living space, which was a studio, built within the home.

“We lived there until I was 17, a family friend let us rent this small living space. It had a bathroom and a small kitchen, so that’s all that mattered,” Juan said.

He went to Arvin High School and he would work as much as he could.

“This nice lady that my uncle met in the fields-

gave me a job at her taco truck. I had this job while I was in high school. The pay was very low; I’d be lucky to see $20 at the end of the night. On weekends we would stay open until 2 or 3 a.m. I had to quit once I graduated. I had to find a better job, well, the best available to me,” Juan said.

When he graduated high school, he began working as a farm worker because his previous job was not giving him enough work hours to be able to pay his bills.

“Farm work is tough, it’s hot, it’s tiring and most of all it’s not rewarding. People have died out here,” Juan said, “Last year, a man died in the field next to the one I was working at. I think he died of dehydration or something.”

Farm work is one of the few places willing to hire Juan, who has no documents.

“I want to have a better job. I want to be able to have the same opportunities as others,” he said.

As an undocumented immigrant and worker, Juan has limited job options and not having the proper documents causes him to live in fear.

“I worry that one day everything I have worked for will be for nothing,” he said, “I don’t fear that I will do something that will get me deported. I fear that laws will get stricter and I will be forced to leave this country.”

Juan wakes up before sunrise every Monday through Saturday and attends night classes at BC twice a week, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.

“I’m still doing my general education, but I worry that all the classes I am going to need to graduate are not always going to be offered at night time,” he said, “eventually, I am going to have to take a day class and in my line of work, if you don’t show up, they hire the next [undocumented] person begging for a job. No matter how

long you’ve been at that job.”

Finding a job is not necessarily simple for someone with no social security card or documents. Not having the proper documents limits his options. He also does not qualify for any alternative government assistance programs available to citizens, like unemployment insurance benefits.

“Like everyone else, I rely on my job. Although it doesn’t pay much, it provides me with my necessities,” Juan said.

Juan had to save up for nearly a year, putting away as much money as he could every paycheck in order to buy his first car. He needed a car in order to be able to attend college and continue his education.

“I bought my uncle’s old beat up car, it was so run down; it was a 1995 Corolla. He sold it to me for $600,” Juan said, “I had to buy a car because I work from 6 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m. and night classes begin at 6 p.m. usually, so riding the bus all the way from Lamont would make me late to every class.”

Juan began attending BC in 2015 and majors in automotive.

“I plan to graduate BC and stay in the right path. I want to have a good career. I want to bring my parents to live with me; I miss them,” Juan said. He has not seen his parents since he left his hometown in 2010.

“I talk to my parents whenever I get the chance to, which is usually on Sundays,” he said.

Juan is unable to call his parents as frequently as he wishes due to his parent’s lack of resources.

At one point his parents landline broke and it took them nearly 2 months to purchase a new one.

“I miss my parents so much, I barely remember

are still new to Kern County, this being only the fourth held

by KIT Community. Looking forward, the event’s organizers would like to make more hackathon events happen at BC, and a few even have their own ideas for possible themes for the next one.

“I think a theme around environmental health issues would be exciting. Environmental health is a pressing concern for Kern County like air quality, water resources, hazard wastes, biosolids and public awareness on how environment can impact their individual and community health,” said Baron.

Rangel would like to see students experiment with some of the larger industries that make up Kern County.

“We have a large Oil & Gas presence with many students on campus that are thinking of ways to innovate these industries. Many of them are currently working in the industry and are anxious to disrupt it. Same with agriculture. Those industries rely on outdated technologies that can be enhanced with new software systems. Any workplace that uses a spreadsheet can be disrupted with a responsive web application,” he said.

Juan sits on a cooler and poses for a picture during his break at the vineyard where he works.

SAM MORENO THE RIP

what they look like,” Juan quavered.

His parents stayed in their hometown in Mexico because his father was too sick to take on the “dreadful” journey of crossing the heavily watched borders of the U.S. and Mexico, according to Juan.

However, both of Juan’s parents supported Juan’s decision to leave with his uncle for a better opportunity from the beginning.

“My mom always tells me ‘God has a plan for all of us’, and she says this to remind me that I am doing the right thing in pursuing a better life,” he said. Juan fears that his plan will come to an end one day.

“As someone who has no papers, you live a life of paranoia. I don’t hate cops, but they intimidate me. A bad decision I make can negatively change the rest of my life, so I have to be careful in everything I do,” he said.

Juan strives to be a law abiding citizen.

“Just because I’m not a legal citizen here doesn’t mean I don’t act like one,” he said.

Juan has never had an encounter with law enforcement, but he has friends who have been deported after being pulled over for a minor traffic violation.

“As an undocumented immigrant, you must live a cautious life,” he said.

Juan is grateful to be in this country and is very thankful for the opportunities he has received from living here.

“I remember arriving here, not knowing English. I never thought I would be going to college here. It’s truly amazing the opportunities I have been given here. So I cherish every one of them.

I do go through struggles but it will be worth it in the end,” he said.

Campus

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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Free gift cards for practice test

By Zach Sullivan Reporter In an effort to persuade students to take pilot assessment tests in language arts and mathematics, Bakersfield College is offering $20 gift cards to Target, according to Sue Vaughn, director of Enrollment Services at BC. The cards were paid for by the state of California and issued through the chancellor’s office, Vaughn said. BC is one of 12 pilot programs collecting data through the assessment tests, which are taking place throughout the state.

The program’s goal is to create a more efficient system that better places students based upon their results from the assessment tests as well as making their assessment scores from one school accessible at any other community college if they decide not to attend the original school where they took their assessment ex-

ams.

Vaughn said the gift cards are an incentive to persuade students to take an assessment, if not two exams that do not benefit them in any other way.

Students will receive a $20 Target gift card for completing either the mathematics or language arts tests, and $40 in gift cards for completing both.

Vaughn explained this is the second time BC has offered the gift cards in exchange for students completing the pilot assessment tests. “We had one pilot test last spring, and they didn’t get enough data from that around the state to be sure that all of the questions were valid questions, and so they’re doing it again to get more questions validated so were giving them out again now,” she said.

“This time were trying to get people at specific levels, so we’ve tried to arrange instructors to bring whole classes, and they’ve been very cooperative in

doing that, but we’re also making it available to any students that want to come in and take the tests.”

Vaughn believes that the adopted series of new statewide electronic services will make it easier for students all over the state by not forcing them to retest at every community college they attend.

“If you took your assessment test somewhere else and you decide to come here, we will be able to pull up your scores. We will set our own placements, so your scores might mean something different at the two schools, but you wouldn’t have to retest, which will save a lot of hassle for students, and frankly a lot of time and money for the colleges,” she said.

“The third round of testing which is called field testing, will not only take place at the pilot colleges but at our sister colleges as well. So students at Porterville and Cerro Coso will be able to

be a part of it, and I assume that there will be gift cards again. In the meantime, we’re learning how to use the test. If all goes well with the field testing, we will actually be using that test to evaluate our incoming students starting this fall.”

Vaughn believes the new electronic services the state is implementing will benefit students in more ways than just making them not have to take assessment exams at every community college they attend.

“I think this will help place students more accurately. We have automated multiple measures so our high school seniors, when they take the test, have already uploaded their high school GPAs, and if they have a high enough GPA will move them up to a higher level placement. We will still be doing that with this new test, but if it’s already a little bit finer test to place students more accurately,” she said.

Vaughn believes the improved

placement testing will help place students in courses that are not too hard, yet still challenging.

“We don’t want students to start too low and waste time, but not start too high and not be able to succeed. That doesn’t help them to have bad grades on their record, even if they retake the class.”

The only downside, according to Vaughn, is the lack of a writing assessment on the new exams. Vaughn claims that the school has been without a writing assessment before, though, and that not having it makes only a small difference, she said.

Vaughn explained that the assessment testing will run until April 4, or until they run out of gift cards to give students.

She said once the gift cards are gone, the testing period is over, and that she believes this will most likely be the last time the school gives the gift cards away in return for completing the pilot testing exams.

Event held to honor Ward

By Gaiana Latelers Reporter On March 25, the Bakersfield Fine Arts building hosted a Celebration of Life memorial. This event was held in recognition of Danell Ward, a professor from the Child Development Center.

Danell Ward worked closely with families in the Bakersfield College community and the children in the development center.

In her time working there, she made a lasting impact on those around her and the children she interacted with.

In the beginning of the ceremony, people gathered around in the lobby of Fine Arts 30 in Bakersfield College to comfort and talk to one another about Ward, their friend and colleague.

There was a large canvas set up where friends and family could write messages on cards and stick them onto the board in Ward’s memory. Many of the guests were doing so, writing about their memories of and with Danell Ward. Many of the people writing on the cards were former students and children from the

J. R. HENSLEY / THE RIP

Christopher Counts places an index card of his memory onto the memory board in the lobby at the Celebration for Life memorial for Danell Ward on March 25.

Child Development Center who had known Ward throughout her time at Bakersfield College.

In the beginning of the ceremony, a duet was sung by Mia and Elizabeth, a song that was one of Ward’s favorites. The performers were friends of Ward and her family. Afterward, Tammy Burns came up to say a few words about her friend and colleague. She spoke of how Ward was “very much about the families.” Ward was an advocate for getting involved in the community and even put together BC’s first North Of the River Christ-

Dezi Von Manos

Candidates for SGA president

By Brandon Cowan Reporter Dezi Von Manos, 31, is a communication major who is currently the Bakersfield College student government director of legislative affairs. She is currently running for BCSGA president.

“I personally believe that in order to help others, you have to first and foremost be able to listen,” she said.

Manos has been married for four years and has one boy and one girl.

At her second year at BC,she has been not only been a leader of supplemental instruction, but is also the president of M.E.Ch.A. She said, “[At M.E.Ch.A.], we help students thrive here at the college campus.

So, it can be anywhere from providing information as to where they can get anything from financial aid, tutoring, supplemental instruction, or actually

mas parade. Burns said Ward was, “our voice in the community, she was always looking for ways to expand services for families.” She noted that Ward left a lasting impact on the community.

Another speaker during the ceremony, Leticia CabreraMendoza, noted that although Ward had only been at BC for four years, she left her mark with families on campus. She noted that Ward had “found her passion and was living her life in her passion.”

Ward was an advocate for fol-

getting them involved in doing something like community service.”

As a supplemental instruction leader, they would help students with questions similar to tutoring, but it involves more people at one time getting help.

Manos learned Spanish at the age of 4.

“Being bilingual would definitely allow me to reach out to potential students who honestly wouldn’t really understand what’s going on with the elections,” Manos said.

Manos was a part of the national debate team at Centennial High School and it got her interested in “the art of argumentation.”

Manos recalls her first job at the age of 17 at Jack in the Box. She said that she had perfect attendance and has brought that habit to her in every other job.

Voting Starts April 3 at 8 a.m.

Ends April 6 at 4 p.m.

For more info, see SGA ads on pages 6-7 Vote online via InsideBC www.Bakersfieldcollege.edu/ bcsgaelections

lowing and achieving goals. She had helped families in the community with this in her time at BC. After a few more speakers and words of remembrance, a slideshow was shown of Ward with family and friends. Other photos included Ward with students and children in the Child Development Center where she spent most of her time getting to know different families and helping others in the Bakersfield College community. After the slideshow and a few friendly words about Ward, a musical tribute was per-

formed by Melissa Hillyer and Diora Perez.

After the ceremony, people gathered in the lobby and spoke to one another about Ward. A friend of Ward’s, Adriana, said that, “Danell was an awesome person, she was always so loving to my son. She always made sure everyone was okay. May she rest in peace.”

Many who knew Ward knew that she had a way with kids. Another friend, Felicia, said “Mrs. Danell always had a listening ear and cared about her staff. The other door was always open.”

Daniel Mechem

By Brandon Cowan Reporter Daniel Mechem, 37, a veteran and nursing major, is running for BCSGA president.

“I don’t see why we can’t become one of the best community colleges in California. I really don’t,” he said.

Mechem served in the Marine Corps for two years before being medically discharged. According to his resume, being a part of the Marines included leadership training.

Mechem is currently a fulltime student at Bakersfield College, has been married for seven years, and has three boys with another one due in August.

“I think that a lot of the students that I’ve talked to, that I know, kind of look at student government as just this thing over there,” he said. “They don’t realize that the student government is supposed to be their voice. Realistically, the students

are the most powerful voice on campus, and a lot of them don’t realize that.”

Mechem said that there are many things that BC can improve at. One of those is helping “lost” students, meaning students undecided on classes and direction.

He said that BC needs to show students that they are on the correct path in regards to which classes they are taking for their degree.

Another thing that Mechem wanted to address is allowing students to have a voice in where some of the funds for Measure J will go.

Mechem owned the business M.O.G. Mobile Servicing from January 2012 to January 2016.

Column

Removing the labels of identity The Stress Free Tips: For mental hygiene and wellness You know what’s really frustrating? Labels! They are so stifling because people literally always only associate you with your label. Whether that label be jock, nerd, prep, stoner, slacker, and the list goes on. They are so irritating.

Recently I had two separate conversations with my sister and some of my friends, and this whole labeling topic came up in both conversations.

Daulton Late last James week, my sisJones ter and I went to dinner, and at dinner we obviously started to talk about our days. My day was fine, you know, the usual college stress, but hers, on the other hand, was not a walk in the park.

She’s in high school, and she basically spoke to me about how she’s tired of being labeled the “Angry Black Girl” not only by students, but teachers as well.

My sister is not one to hold her tongue when it comes to matters of equality among people, and she goes to a very conservative school where many people just don’t share or understand her point of view.

Needless to say, it frustrated her to the point of literal tears at dinner. She was so fed up of people always fighting her on issues, and at the end of the argument they always chalk it up to, “Well, all black women are angry and aggressive, even though they instigate the problem.”

When one of my friends came into town this weekend, we all got together and hung out. We were all having a good time until one of my friends took it upon themselves to start categorizing us as jock, nerd, funny, weird, etc.

I’m not sure why, but this conversation bothered me, so I said something. I just calmly told my friend, “Don’t dumb down my existence to one thing so you can put me in a box.”

They didn’t take what I said in a good way, so I had to explain it. I got the jock label, which I can understand out of all my close friends as I’m the only one who really ever played sports or works out more than once a month.

The thing is I’m more than that. I’m more than just an athlete. That is not my entire existence, and this is not the only label I have ever been given. Growing up I got the weird one because I didn’t fit the mold of whatever stereotype they were trying to apply to me.

I was the “church boy” because I went to church and spoke about how fun it was (it didn’t help I would wear a purity ring), and the “black friend.” All of those labels have angered me so much because I feel like I’m being dumbed down just to have other people understand me. When truthfully I don’t care most of the time if you get me or not. I’m more than just a church goer, an athlete, weird, and hell there’s way more to me than the color of my skin.

I would love it if, personally, we took this opportunity to journal. Write down some of the labels that have been placed on you, and write how this makes you feel.

Do you like them? Are they stunting your development as a person? Doing this will make you less likely to stunt someone’s growth by labeling them.

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

VOTE FOR YOUR

STUDENT GOVERNMENT OFFICERS Starts Monday, April 3, 2017 | 8 a.m.

Ends Thursday, April 6, 2017 | 4 p.m.

Online via InsideBC www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/bcsgaelections

RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

Dezi Von Manos - BC M.E.Ch.A, President - BCSGA Director of Legislative Affairs - Supplemental Instruction, Leader - Bakersfield City School District P.A.L.S, Parent Leader - Provides support, information, and resources for low-income, previously incarcerated, and adults/ parents who seek to further their education and enhance their lives

Major: Communication

Major:

Manos understands the importance of collaboration between a group or groups of people, that would allow for the proper functioning of an institution. With skills such as leadership, critical thinking, adaptability, and effective communication, as well as holding positions on campus such as President of M.E.Ch.A and a Supplemental Instructional Leader, Manos sets forth an understanding that would allow the political body of Bakersfield College to continue excelling in voicing student opinions, concerns, and needs in an equal and professional manner.

With this, Manos strives to maintain the integrity of BCSGA, leaving her only one option if selected for President, and that is to succeed in representing the student body of Bakersfield College.

Mechem believes that the students of Bakersfield College should have someone that will give them a voice and help them realize the power that they have. He wants to effect changes and policies that will help them not only in their time at Bakersfield College but also in their future. Daniel knows how to utilize people's strengths and help build their weaknesses while also encouraging them to be more than they are. He wants all students to know that they are part of a large family that wants what is best for them.

Daniel Mechem - BC Veterans Club

RUNNING FOR VICE PRESIDENT

Lawrence Salcido Jr - Extra-Life Gaming Charity - BC Renegamers - Student Learning Alliance - American Sign Language Club - CSUB Campus Gamers - Bakersfield College Tutoring Center

Nursing

RUNNING FOR DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Major: Psychology

Major:

Salcido attended BC in the Autumn of 2008 and quickly found himself overwhelmed and dropped out in 2009. Since 2014, however, he has returned to fix his mistakes, create new experiences, and assist however he can to make sure that no student feels the way that he once did. Salcido has been a tutor for over a year and helps students in the subjects of Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Logic, and English. Though his major is in Psychology he has also found a love for Philosophy and American Sign Language. At present, he is the President of the Student Learning Alliance student organization on campus, an advocate for the Deaf and other disabled students, as well as an active member in the BC Renegamers. He is running for Vice President because he knows that he holds the connections and skills to improve the student and faculty perception of the BCSGA. His primary goal will be to close the gap between the BCSGA and the student body, as well as the gap between the BCSGA and faculty. Fixing these gaps will allow the BCSGA to appropriately and properly be the voice of the student body.

As the current director of student organizations Smith, along with the help of his amazing team, were able to make many great and new achievements this year for the student organizations at Bakersfield College. If re-elected, he would like to continue his work to maintain the progress they have made as well as improve upon it to further the progress in which the student organizations are seen, heard, and understood. And this would not just be on our local campus, but hopefully to the public eye of the Bakersfield community. He hopes you will consider him as a possible choice for your vote this election season.

Art

Dontae Smith - BC Men's Swim Team

RUNNING FOR STUDENT TRUSTEE

Major:

Engineering Technician and American Sign Language

Rayven Webb - American Sign Language Club, Member - Bakersfield High School, Cadet Training Officer - Bakersfield Club of the Deaf, Member - BCSGA, Public Relations Manager - M.E.Ch.A Club, Member

Acosta-Webb is a sophomore student here at Bakersfield College and would now like to apply for the position of KCCD Student Trustee. She is a double major here at the college focusing on Engineering and American Sign Language. Her previous experience consists of working as the BCSGA Public Relations Manager in the fiscal year of 2016-2017. What she can offer is a new perspective, as well as an understanding of the diverse needs she has on campus. She wants to become more involved with her campus organizations, staff and fellow students to help create a louder voice for all who attend, and reach out within all areas of the college. She thinks it’s most important that all Renegades know that their opinions and concerns matter. She would like to utilize her ability to listen and help get the ball rolling in areas in which people have found themselves stuck or felt neglected.

She will try her best to help generate change that benefits all attending KCCD Colleges and would be honored if selected for this position so that she may be one step closer to her personal goal of helping KCCD continue to thrive.

Bakersfield College Student Government Association

FEES @ WORK

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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

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Page 8

‘Breath of the Wild’ disappoints

Renegade Events News

Scribes wanted. Bakersfield college is looking for students to participate in the scribe program to help students with disabilities take notes. Scribes are paid $10.50/hour. If interested, go to collegecentral.com/bakersfieldcollege to apply.

The 12th Annual Garden Fest, which will be held on April 22, is looking for BC clubs, organizations, departments or programs to set up booths. Reserve your space now by contacting Sally Sterns at 661-395-4446. Submission forms are online.

By Brandon Cowan Reporter Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BotW) is a game with a massive open-world with unrewarding side-quests and a grand total of four dungeons.

I played through this game on the Wii U and beat it in about a week.

The weapon durability that was introduced to me at the beginning was not something I was initially happy to see. Soon after it turned out to not be such a bad mechanic because Nintendo made it so that the way you get more weapons is by defeating foes. I grew to like this concept because it encouraged me to go inside of shrines, which has strong weapons to be looted.

These shrines also served the purpose of obtaining more health and stamina for yourself. When I first found out about this, I was skeptical if I were to prefer this over doing side-quests.

The main reason I did not end up liking this feature is because I would much rather do sidequests and get rewarded health or stamina for helping people.

The graphics in Breath of the Wild were not particularly amazing, but Nintendo somehow managed to make the game not look terrible with the art style that they used.

The draw distance for this game was great. I am happy to see that they managed to make it look so far.

Unfortunately, the framerate suffers often on the Wii U. There

Campus Events

NINTENDO OF AMERICA

are many times when the framerate will drop well below 30.

This annoyed me when I would fight enemies and it would turn the game into a slideshow. Thankfully, the dungeons did not have this issue, but they still disappointed.

The dungeons for BotW are short, and there are only four of them.

Zelda always shined when it came to the creativity of bosses and dungeon layouts.

Unfortunately for BotW, the dungeons are all the same concept with all the same type of bosses.

All the dungeons are the same concept with the same color pal-

ette, but with a different shape.

When you enter a dungeon, the first thing you do is grab a map of the place, and then you have control of the dungeon in order to turn it in a way to activate terminals. There are five terminals in each dungeon and then almost immediately after, you fight the boss.

It would be creative and interesting if Nintendo did not decide to have the same design for every dungeon. It got to the point that I did not want to do the dungeons because they all felt like a chore instead of exploring an unfamiliar place.

In order to get the full story for BotW, I would have to explore

the map and run into this one person that would give me hints to find Link’s lost memories. I did not have the patience to find every memory after finding eight of them.

Nintendo also lacked creativity in the items that were not melee weapons or bows. The game gives you three “runes” that are: bombs, stopping time for objects, and moving magnetic objects around. You can upgrade each of these runes once, which felt lazy because you use the same items for every puzzle in the game. It gets boring fast.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ stays true to the original

By Kylie Hendrickson Reporter I’m not a fan of Disney movies, however, Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite since I was a child. I related with Belle when I was younger because like her I also love to read and it has been one of my favorite hobbies for as long as I can remember.

With that said, when I first heard they were making a real life adaption of Beauty and the Beast, I was elated. Although, I still had skepticism because my six-year-old self had some high expectations.

To my surprise, the movie didn’t disappoint my adolescent heart.

From the beginning to end, it depicted the original animated movie superbly. I was also floored with the visual effects, every detail was intricate, down to the CGI of each character.

One major difference between the animated one was how the movie divulged into how Belle’s mother died. This brought more understanding and connection to Belle and her father Maurice and how they came to be on their

R enegade M ind s

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

own.

The costuming was another eye-catcher, every actor had the most beautiful and elaborate outfit, all so perfectly tailored.

Belle’s yellow ball gown was extremely ornate and absolutely to die for. It made my Belle Halloween costume I wore when I was six look like rags.

I have to admit, even I choked up a bit during some scenes because it was so emotional, and I’m not necessarily an emotional person.

I found myself singing along to all the songs like I did when I was a kid and loving every single moment. “Be Our Guest” was always my favorite scene and the movie portrayed it so brilliantly.

Emma Watson represented Belle perfectly and the acting was done very well by every performer.

I was definitely apprehensive about this move at first because it was so hyped up. But I can personally say that I actually enjoyed every part of it and that it’s something the whole family can enjoy seeing together.

March 29: Juan Felipe Herrera – Surveillance, Violence, Creativity and Compassion, Wednesday, 7 p.m. Juan Felipe Herrera is the first Latino to be named the 21st Poet Laureate of the United States. Location: Simonsen Indoor Theater.

March 30: The Evolution of the Selfie, Thursday, 6:30-8 p.m. BC Professors team up with professors from Taft College will host a discussion about the historical and social constructions of femininity and how these ideals exist in language, self-presentation, and individual interpretation. Location: Fireside Room.

March 30: Workshop: “What am I?: Identifying Parts of Speech Within Sentences,” Thursday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The workshop will address the importance of understanding word classes and their placement within sentences.

Location: Writing Center.

March 31: Math Articulation Day, Friday, 8 a.m. -3 p.m. Instructors from local schools will gather to have discussions, workshops, and activities that focus on mathematics. Location: Fireside Room and cafeteria.

April 1: Last day to file for graduation.

April 1: Broadway Spaghetti Dinner Frundraiser, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. Tickets must be purchased by March 24 to include dinner and cost $15. Tickets purchased at the door will be $15 and be for entry only.

Tickets can be purchased by sending an e-mail through Jen Garrett or from any BC Choir member. Location: BC Cafeteria.

April 3: Spring Fling Week: Ice Cream Giveaway, Monday, noon-1 p.m. Location: Renegade Crossroads.

April 3-6: BC Cheer Tryouts, Monday-Wednesday, 4-5 p.m., and Thursday 5:30 p.m. Location: BC Huddle (Gil Bishop Sports Center entrance near stadium.)

April 3: Workshop: Ethics of Research, Monday, 9:30 a.m. Location: L217.

April 4: Spring Fling: Egg Hunt, Tuesday, all day.

Location: Campus wide.

April 5: Spring Fling: Pizza Fest, Wednesday, 12 a.m.

Location: Renegade Crossroads.

April 5: Early web registration for the 2017 Summer/Fall Semester begins.

April 6: Spring Fling: Laser Tag, Thursday, 5-9 p.m.

Location: CSS Lawn.

April 6: KCMEA Jazz Day at BC, Thursday, all day. The event will feature student jass ensembles performing in the Simonsen Performing Arts Center. It will include special guests and a presentation of “Billie Holiday at 100” by jazz vocalist Susan Scaffidi and her Quartet.

Location: Indoor Theater.

April 10-14: Spring Recess.

April 17: BCSGA Open Mic, Monday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Location: Fireside Room.

April 19: Renegade Pulse Health Fair “Social Determinants of Health,” Wednesday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Location: CSS Lawn.

Around Town

WALT DISNEY PICTURES

March 30: “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day,” Thursday, 10 a.m. The ceremony will include a presentation of Colors, singing of the National Anthem, musical selections by the Highland Scots Pipes and Drums Band, and remarks by Joe Drew, U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran.

Location: 1120 Golden State Ave. March 31: Peace, Friday, 7 p.m. This is a free event that celebrates the words and music of legendary peacemakers. Light refreshments will be provided. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Location: Center for Spiritual Living, 222 Eureka St.

“How do you feel about our national defense receiving a surplus buget?”

Compiled by William Dubon

Jose Galindo

Luis Martinez

Jose Aceves

Dayana Lucho

Betssie Borja

Lisa Riley

Age 18

Age 19

Age 20

Age 22

Age 23

Age 23

“Our national defense should have an extent on how much they can spend. The political administration is going the wrong way by overspending, but our national defense should be strong.”

“I’m not into politics, but the president was chosen and I think he’ll handle the national defense pretty good.”

“I think the government pushes national defense too much. I see statistics on the limited budget for education and it’s really low which isn’t right. Manufactors of guns benefit by this surplus.”

“I feel it’s a good thing that the administration is helping our military. It’s a win-win, it will help our economy and the military protects our freedom. They give us the liberty to do what we want.”

“I’m not sure but I think our national defense is going to be better because of some cabinet members. There’s three Marines with experience, so they’ll give a positve impact to the military.”

The Renegade Rip EDITORIAL BOARD First place for newspaper in 2011, third place in 2013, 2014, 2015 for CNPA General Excellence Ninth place for newspaper in 2016 for national Best of Show contest by Associated Collegiate Press Second place nationally in 2016 for website publication by Associated Collegiate Press The Renegade Rip is produced by Bakersfield College journalism classes and is 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 California Newspaper Publishers Association, Associated Collegiate Press, and California Colleges Media Association.

Editor-in-Chief.......................Morgan Park Sports Editor...........................Sam L. Jaime Photo Editor............................J. R. Hensley Digital Content Editor.......Mario Saldaña

“I always thought we should give the military more money since prisioners get treated better than the military. If there isn’t a military, who’s going to protect us? They allow us to keep our freedoms.”

Write The Rip

STAFF Reporters/photographers: Dylan Bryant, Lizette Chavez, Brandon Cowan, William Dubon, Megan Fenwick, Kylie Hendrickson, Daulton James Jones, Ambria King, Gaiana Latelers, Fernanda Martinez, Samuel Moreno, Jesse Najera, Zachary Sullivan

Adviser.......................................... Danny Edwards

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. Anonymous letters will not be published.

How to reach us

-Address: Bakersfield College, 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93305 -Phone: (661) 395-4324 -Email: ripmail@bakersfieldcollege.edu -Website: therip.com

News

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Page 9

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

REAL BOY: Panel with director discusses trans issues in Bakersfield Continued from Page 1 -derstand each other.

As the lights came back on in the auditorium, the film received a round of applause, and a few audience members could be seen wiping tears from their eyes.

During the panel discussion, many audience members opened up about their own experiences of either being transgender themselves or having friends and family members who are transgender, and how they’ve been affected.

“I think for a lot of us when we realize that we are transgender, we find that it’s a spark, and it immediately begins to turn into a fire.

“We’re so excited to have found a solution, because for a lot of us the only other solution is suicide,” said Backover.

Transgender individuals are far more likely to attempt suicide in comparison to those who aren’t transgender. They also experience higher rates of discrimination and abuse.

According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, 41 percent of transgender people polled reported attempting suicide at one point in their life, compared to 1.6 percent of the general population.

Transgender people are also four times as likely to live in poverty, and twice as likely to struggle with unemployment.

Ninety percent of transgender people polled report experiencing harassment, mistreatment, or discrimination on the job, and transgender individuals still cannot serve in the U.S. military.

According to Backover, community support plays a pivotal role when it comes to ensuring that transgender individuals get the assistance and support that they need.

“The community here in Bakersfield is really strong for how small it is. We all really support each other as much as we can. I think a lot of people’s families don’t support them. We have a high volume of trans youth who are homeless because their families didn’t support them,” said Backover.

Despite Bakersfield’s strong and supportive LGBT community, the city is still under-served when it comes to having medical professionals who are able and

Column

U.S. still Berns for Sanders Practical Idealism: Balancing the political landscape.

JESSE NAJERA / THE RIP

Transgender man Dillon Epkins and his mother Lisa Jo engage in a discussion with the panel following a viewing of the film “Real Boy.” willing to assist transgender patients who want access to hormone treatments and/ or surgery.

“We’ve been trying to get a doctor to come and work from our little center so that people don’t have to go out into these clinics where they’re being turned away every day. We go in and they tell us, ‘oh we don’t do that.’ We face a lot of obstacles,” said Backover.

Transgender Bakersfield residents who wish to receive hormone therapy often have to travel to the Bay Area in order to receive those services.

Toward the end of the panel discussion, one audience member brought up the topic of trans-regret, which is when those who have started or completed the process of physically transitioning genders change their mind and begin to regret their choices.

“We have to go through two to three years of therapy prior to beginning the transitioning process,” Backover replied.

“It is not an easy thing. You can’t just go and transition, no matter how much money you have. You have to have been transitioning and living as your preferred

FRAUD: KCCD and KCSOS expect no losses to be absorbed Continued from Page 1 according to the letter’s attached fact sheet.

The fact sheet asserts Kaufman and his office as the party responsible for watching over the afflicted accounts.

“The law imposes a legal duty on the Treasurer-Tax Collector to serve as a ‘trustee’ for those funds. This requires the highest degree of trust, good faith and honesty to safeguard school agency funds, as a matter of law.”

In response to the question of how education agencies authorize payments, the fact sheet further implies that responsibility for the fraud lies with Kaufman’s office. Operating on a “positive pay” system, the Treasurer-Tax Collector and bank are given a list of approved expenditures from the education agencies.

No payments exceeding that approved list are allowed.

“Neither the Treasurer-Tax Collector / Auditor-Controller nor Wells Fargo reported that any payments were being made beyond the positive pay instructions given by the education agencies at all times material to the fraudulent transactions. Nor did the Treasurer-Tax Collector or Wells Fargo inform the education agencies that non-payroll expenditures were being processed through the account reserved exclusively for payroll,” according to the fact sheet.

The fact sheet goes on to assure community partners that they “expect no losses will be absorbed by the education agencies because the Treasurer-Tax Collector, the Auditor-Controller and Wells Fargo did not disburse our funds strictly in accordance with our positive pay instructions and the Treasurer’s trusteeship responsibility.” In simpler terms, no losses are expected by

the KCCD or KCSOS because safekeeping of the funds is not their responsibility, according to the fact sheet.

This is not how Kaufman sees the situation, according to a report by The Bakersfield Californian on March 23 following the letter’s release. Kaufman allegedly provided The Californian with letters from the AuditorController’s office, written in 2005, that makes clear that the KCCD and KCSOS would be responsible for reconciling account funds going forward.

“The joint letter appears to be an attempt by the two districts to redirect attention from that responsibility,” said Kaufman in the report. “While the county has provided documentation to back up any claim that it has made, the districts have not provided any documentation to date. Therefore, at this point, I do not feel it necessary to respond to any baseless claims made in the letter.” The joint letter also claims that neither district had access to the afflicted accounts until February 2017. Kaufman also told The Californian that while the letter “has many inaccurate statements, my office continues to work with both districts and the bank to recover as much money as possible from the perpetrators of this crime.”

In a statement to The Rip on March 27, Kaufman said, “At this time I am 100% focused on the recovery efforts because that is the most important thing right now. … We continue to get money back every day and that process will take at least another few months. We will exhaust every avenue possible to get every penny back that we can. The taxpayers deserve to have our full attention on the recovery efforts.”

gender publicly for more than two years before you can even consider starting the medical transitioning process.”

Haas said that “generally speaking, a lot of the pushback that people experience is due to a lack of acceptance, not regret.”

In many cases of trans-regret, the regret is due to either botched surgery that causes a loss of sensation, or the individual still not being able to pass as their preferred gender, despite receiving hormone therapy and/or surgery.

Bakersfield is also under-served when it comes to resources for family members of transgender individuals.

“It is a transition for their [family members] as well,” said Backover.

“My mother told me that if there was a group she could go to with other parents of transgender kids, she would go.”

Many people in the audience who were family members of transgender individuals agreed that they, too, had to go through a transitioning process, and that they wished there were more local resources available to them.

Backover stated, “I often refer people to PFLAG.org. It’s a great resource for

Spring Fling week to offer fun events

By Megan Fenwick Reporter Spring Fling week will kick off at the Renegade Crossroads on April 3 with an Ice Cream Giveaway that is free to all Bakersfield College students. A questionnaire on BC will provide stu-

friends, family, and allies.”

The panel discussion also allowed audience members to pose questions to Haas about the film, and to express their appreciation for her work.

“Some of the most amazing responses that I’ve received have been from parents of trans kids in places where there’s not a lot of community support,” said Haas.

She went on to express what has been the most fulfilling part of making this film.

“When people in the community who said, ‘I went into this film with a preconceived notion of what I thought about trans people, and it’s changed my mind,’ that feels so gratifying to be a part of that process.”

“Real Boy” has been shown at over 70 festivals in 20 countries. It has won more than 15 awards, and has been translated into five languages.

For those who want to watch the film, but were unable to attend the showing, “Real Boy” will air on PBS on June 19.

It will also be available for free streaming on PBS.org beginning June 19 and for one week thereafter.

dents with opportunities to win free toppings with every question they answer correctly.

On April 4, there will be a campus-wide Egg Hunt that will be held all day. “Some of them might have chocolate, some of them might have a slip that says, ‘come and redeem your prize at the Office of Student Life,’” said Garcia.

The next activity is a Pizza Fest, which will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Renegade Crossroads and will be free to students. Restaurants around Bakersfield will donate their pizzas to be judged in a blind-taste test and students will be able to determine which pizza they like best.

Laser Tag will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. on April 6 on the CSS lawn as the last event of Spring Fling week.

CRIME SCENE: Students test investigative chops Continued from Page 1 they all examined at the crime scene, one of the individuals set down markers (donated by the Bakersfield Police Department) on any items they classify as evidence. The dummy that played the victim of the crime scene was donated by Allied Health to professor Harlan Hunter.

The crime scene didn’t finish in the gym. More scenes were conducted around the campus in the Athletics Department. The group asked a mock witness to the crime who they saw go into the gym, and if he was alone or did he go with another individual.

Kenjiro Rivas, a student in the criminal justice class who is looking to become a lawyer, shared his thoughts on the activity and how it could help him later in life.

“At first the activity seemed exciting, but once you’re in there it became more serious, and it just hit me with what the officers go through, and even though I knew the body was fake, it still felt weird feeling like there was an actual person laying there, with the blood looking like it was really coming out of him and this crime scene actually

happened,” Rivas said.

“When looking at the body, the first thing I thought is where do I start? I know there is yellow tape around the scene so I now know where it starts, and from there it started getting easier and started going off step by step, like here’s the money, here’s the drugs and we start piecing things together,” said Rivas.

He also found it easier working with the team.

“I found it easier [working with a team] because you’re trying to figure out a case and with a team, you come up with different ideas and different views.” Another student, Noemi Valladares, who plans on becoming a police or correctional officer, also liked the activity and found it very helpful for the type of career she is looking for.

“I found it really fun, so I think it’s something I would expect when I become a probation officer or police officer, and I now know what I’m going to run into when I’m at a crime scene,” Valladares said. “The challenging thing about it was trying to figure out what happened, ’cause when there is a lot of evidence, you just don’t know what happened.”

B.A.’S: Professor expects new B.A. bill to pass Continued from Page 1 not get into their local school, it is even more expensive to relocate and attend at a distant location away from family. If you attend CSUB, it will cost you about $6,850/year in tuition and fees, but the same 30 units of upper division courses at BC would cost $3,916 (regular $46/unit fee plus an additional $84/unit upper division fee equals $130/unit). “Also, there are only 10 UCs and 23 CSUs compared to 113 community colleges, making education affordable and accessible to

all.” Garrett believes that in the near future, BC will be offering numerous four-year degrees.

“If I were a betting man I’d say that in five years BC will have a handful of baccalaureate degrees in industrial automation, cyber security, some sort of liberal arts for teaching degree, and a few other unique degrees,” he said. Garrett claims faculty at BC are anticipating SB 769 being approved and are extremely excited about the opportunity to offer more bachelor’s degrees to students on campus.

Now that we’re in the Trump era, the most popular politician in the United States is by far and away ... Bernie Sanders.

A Fox News poll published March 17 found that Sanders has a plus-29 favorability rating, higher than any other politician or institution included.

President Trump came in with a favorability rating of minus-9, and Paul Ryan scored a minus-10, while Nancy Pelosi scored minus-17. The new poll reaf- Dylan Bryant firms my belief that the Democratic Party, as a whole, is destined to fail unless they embrace Sanders’ message.

Since the election, Democrats have held the Sanders wing of the party off, squashing the campaign of Keith Ellison to become DNC chair, and promoting Bernie himself to a seemingly powerless leadership position within the Senate, placing him in charge of Outreach. And Outreach is exactly what he’s been doing.

Since Clinton’s defeat, Sanders has been on countless Town Halls on CNN and MSNBC, debating Ted Cruz on healthcare or finding common ground with Trump voters in West Virginia.

He’s been in the public eye since his own ride to fame, and he’s only getting more popular. Hillary Clinton disappeared into the woods after her loss, and has only come out to shake hands with donors at galas.

Trump, on the other hand, has seen a dramatic decline in support since swearing in, and multiple controversies swarming his office at any given time only further this.

Sanders message is landing. Membership in the Democratic Socialists of America, the nations’ oldest socialist organization, has tripled since the election, to its largest membership in decades. A Harvard Institute of Politics poll released last year found that 33% of 18-29 year olds identify as socialist.

If you analyze Sanders’ support among the coveted “Independents,” you find his support skyrockets to plus-41 points, a borderline unheard of margin.

On top of that, Sanders has the largest mailing list in the entire party, the most popular social media accounts, and the strongest grassroots organizing seen in years.

He is effectively already campaigning for the presidency in 2020, and he doesn’t have to waste time “finding a message” or “shaping his image.” He is himself, and that’s why he is so popular.

The healthcare debate taking place right now perfectly displays why Sanders has the high ground on issues.While Democrats are beholden to defending every part of Obamacare against impending destruction, Sanders is able to defend that which is defensible, criticize that which needs criticism, and advocate for a single-payer system the whole time, which is the most popular healthcare reform policy in the U.S. Democrats who continue to hold Sanders’ platform at arms-length risk absolute failure. Democrats positioning themselves as an opponent to his movement (Cory Booker, Andrew Cuomo) embody the same establishment mindset that has left the Democrats the most powerless they’ve been in decades.

When the most popular politician in the U.S. is on your team, you should probably just step aside.

Sports

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Page 10

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

J.R. HENSLEY / THE RIP

Sophomore Brian Bender chats with a swimmer in another lane (not pictured) after defeating his opponent in the 50-yard freestyle against Clovis Community College on March 25.

Bender coming up big for BC men’s team

By Mario Saldaña Digital Content Editor Many people know what they’re good at from a young age, and with commitment and determination they improve that talent, especially athletes.

Brian Bender, a big basketball enthusiast, is now a swimmer at Bakersfield College and has been growing a larger interest in the sport.

Bender said, originally, he wasn’t interested in swimming. “I didn’t really like it that much,” he said. “I was more of a basketball player, and then I emailed [Coach] Matt Moon and asked him about the swim team and he said it was really cool, and how determined the team was, what their focus was, and what his philosophy was.

“I just love how there’s no ceiling in the sport, and you can just keep getting better and better.”

Before coming to BC, when he was younger, he swam in the summer recreational league at Rio Bravo Greeley for five years and swam in high school, but was on the team for only a short time, due to basketball season overlapping and he was more focused playing basketball.

Bender’s main hobby is basketball. He loves the sport, he plays it, and his favorite team is the Chicago Bulls.

Like any other athlete, most of them are superstitious, and Bender admitted to being one of them.

His secret ingredient is when he gets onto the block in swimming, he says a little prayer and touches his toes five times and loosens up his back.

J.R. HENSLEY / THE RIP

Freshman Cameron Reeves rips through the water duirng the butterfly on March 25.

Transitioning from high school to college sports felt like a big difference for him.

“The biggest transition I noticed while playing in college is the intensity, probably the yardage.

In BC we have a really nice pool facility so we have a lot of room to swim, and in high school we have five to 10 people in a lane, so you don’t really get to work on the small things, and you had to be careful not to kick anyone,” he said jokingly.

Bender is on his second year on the swimming team. His main event is the 100 and 200y breaststroke, and he has been showing leadership and really stepping it up for the team.

He is optimistic about his season individually

so far.

“The season is going really well,” Bender said.

“Coach Moon is working us really hard, and he knows that he is. We’re trying to do the best we can every meet, and we had a little drop taper at the Cuesta Invite, so we got some really fast times, and I got better times than last year. I’m looking for a pretty fast season this semester.”

At the 39th annual Cuesta College invitational on March 10-11, Bender won first in the 50-yard breaststroke with 26.85, second in the 200-yard breaststroke with 2:14.16, and third in 100-yard breaststroke with 59.11.

On March 25, at the meet at Bakersfield Col-

lege with Clovis Community College, he finished first in the 50-yard freestyle and first in 200-yard breaststroke with 2:20.35.

“My favorite meet this season might be the Cuesta Invite, because it was a three-day meet and there are ton of events, and like I said I was pretty fast at that meet. It’s just fun to swim fast, and with the whole team,” he said.

Outside of swimming, Bender is majoring in biology and is looking to transfer to get his B.A. in biology and eventually his teaching credential to become a high school biology teacher.

Bender is really grateful for Moon’s philosophy and how he trains him.

For Bender, Moon has been a leader who pushes him to do his best, even though he can be a pain to Bender at times.

Though he is still thinking about continuing swimming after BC, he does want to swim at a four-year college level but only if the opportunity arrives.

On March 25, during the swim meet at BC, Bender teamed up with Kenneth Rodriguez, Cameron Reeves and Steve Santana to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:42.62, beating second-place Clovis by six seconds.

Santana placed second in the 200 and 100 freestyles.

Francisco Montoya came in third place in the 200yard breast.

BC’s Jennifer Quan won the 400-yard IM by nearly two minutes in 5:16:81, and Niquelette Rimer took first in the 200 backstroke in 2:28.85.

Sophomore Lux is a bright light for BC tennis

By Daulton James Jones Reporter J.R. HENSLEY / THE RIP

Freshman Alex Slykerman prepares to return the ball against Folsom Lake on March 8. The Renegades men’s tennis team would go on to lose 8-1 in overall play.

Bakersfield College tennis serves aces as programs aim for playoffs

By Daulton James Jones Reporter With the rough hand they were dealt at the beginning of the season, men’s tennis is on the upswing, winning two matches against Fresno 8-1 and 9-0 on March 26.

After a week of back-toback matches during the first couple of weeks of March, the men’s tennis team got a break last week with only one match against LA Pierce to worry about, but due to weather they had to reschedule the game to a later date.

The LA Pierce game is only one of the many games that have set the Renegades back this season. The majority of the games they played in the earlier weeks of March were

rescheduled games due to this past winter’s weather.

“You know, this Bakersfield weather has been killing us.

Last week we were all ready to play and a couple hours before the match, it started raining,” head coach Nick Jacobs said. “Then literally an hour before the match, I came back out here, and the court was dry.

It sucks we already rescheduled the game to next week, though.”

Even with the cancellation of their LA Pierce game, the men’s tennis team came back out to beat Fresno. “The guys were ready for Fresno. They had a lot of rest from the last time they played, and now they were ready,” Jacobs said.

“They’ve come a long way since the beginning of the sea-

son. Now they are getting it and doing well. The season for women’s tennis has been on the up and up for the most part, minus some losses against Orange Coast earlier in the season, and Santa Monica and Santa Barbara earlier this month. The women came back to beat Antelope Valley 9-0 on March 23.

After the win it gave them a record of 16-4 overall and 9-2 in the conference.

“You know our girls are doing good. They beat Antelope Valley badly. Oh, yeah, they beat them badly. Now they’re just preparing for Ventura this week,” Jacobs said. “They have a lock on the regionals, but right now they are just wondering if they have to host or travel because right now they are looking at a four or five seed.”

Many people think about athletes as well-oiled machines whose sole purpose is to dominate and win. That’s true in terms of winning for their team, but there’s always more to the story.

Sophomore Austin Lux is on the men’s Tennis team at Bakersfield College, and there’s more to him than meets the eye.

Lux is a little past the halfway point of his sophomore tennis season, a season that has been an uphill battle in the eyes of his head coach Nick Jacobs.

Lux doesn’t let the rough start to the season get to him. He just keeps going, and moving forward.

“This season has been rough, but just the other day we got news that we are placed 10th in the top 10 teams in SoCal,” Lux said. “So, I think we’re coming along well.”

Like many collegiate athletes, Lux has spent a majority of his life playing tennis.

“When I was younger, my mom and my grandfather would take me out to play because that’s just what the family did,” Lux said. He noted that Swiss tennis player Roger Federer as one of his major tennis inspirations in life.

Federer inspires him to try harder, and just be on the top of his A game.

Most athletes use many ways to get in the zone to pump them up from doing push-ups to jamming out to some music.

Lux, like many other athletes, has a few pumpup jams, such as “Blaze of Glory” by Bon Jovi and “Win Again” by Nicki Minaj.

“My team hates it when I play that song. They’re always like, ‘why are we listening to Nicki Minaj?’

And I’m just like, listen to the words, we gotta win,” Lux joked.

Since he’s been playing tennis his whole life, other than a short break between elementary and

WILLIAM DUBON / THE RIP

Sophomore Austin Lux prepares to backhand a ball during a practice. high school, Lux estimates he’s played over 150 matches throughout his tennis career.

Besides being a tennis player, he’s also a theater major at BC, something that he has been a part of since his youth.

In between taking his break from tennis, he played baseball, soccer, and was in theater. “I’ve been in some plays at the Bakersfield Music Theater, and I haven’t really had time to participate in any here on campus because of tennis,” Lux said.

With his major in theater, he wants to pursue a career in voice acting, whether it be in movies or television.

“I do many impressions. My favorites are Shaggy and Scooby, Sponge Bob and Patrick, and I can do Nick Jacobs perfectly,” Lux said jokingly as head coach Nick Jacobs was laughing at his cartoon impressions.

Tennis and theater are two important things in his life, and many people don’t understand what all really goes into tennis.

From practice to finding hours to do homework, many just feel like tennis isn’t a “real” sport.

“What I want people to know about tennis is that it’s actually a lot of hard work,” Lux said.“It’s not just running and hitting a ball back and forth.

There’s a lot of footwork involved in this. A lot of technique that you can’t just master in a session of doing tennis. I just wish people were more aware of how tennis works,” he said.

Sports

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Page 11

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Track star yet to meet her match

By Sam L. Jaime Sports Editor Freshman Celia Hickman might be considered a superhero in plain clothing. The 18-year-old Bakersfield College track and field athlete manages to juggle sports, school, work, and a relationship, with stellar results.

Hickman’s journey began at Ollivier Middle School in the sixth grade. “I remember my very first race, we didn’t have jerseys yet, so we just wore our regular clothes, and I was super-duper nervous for my 100-meter race. But I actually ended up doing really well. So I won by a really good margin so it set up my confidence,” Hickman said.

Her track and field career continued at Bakersfield Christian High School where she ran hurdles, relays, and the long-jump and triple-jump along with her usual races.

Since joining the BC track and field roster, Hickman has only expanded her involvement in the sport, becoming the school’s heptathlete.

“I do seven events. Those seven events are, the 100-meter hurdles, long-jump, highjump, shotput, javelin, the 200-meter and the 800-meter. So I train for all of those, and it’s not too big of a difference for me because in high school I learned the hurdles, I ran the relays, I did the jumps, all the jumps, so really when I came here I just had to learn the javelin and the shot, and the high jump,” Hickman said.

The amount of training to prepare for such a large number of events has Hickman’s schedule filled. “So I practice more than everyone, javelin starts around 1 p.m., then I go to real practice, and I usually stay later because I’ll be working on hurdles or I’ll go work on jumps while everyone else is kind of done working on whatever event they have. Every once in a while they’ll throw me into another event. When it comes to meets, I’ve been doing like six events each meet. Usually people do like three,” Hickman said. All of this practice and competition in meets is preparation for the two-day heptathlon quickly approaching April 4-5.

It might speak to her character that her fa-

vorite event is one she wasn’t even allowed to do until the collegiate level. More telling might be her methodical reasoning behind such. “I love the javelin; I’ve gotten really good at it. It’s so technical, the throwing events are so technical. A lot of runners, jumpers, throwers, they don’t get a lot of appreciation for that. Even for sprinting, your form is everything when it comes to your time. When you want a better time, you work on your form, not your speed. You have the speed, your speed will be there, it’s working on how to incorporate that speed with your form. I really like the javelin though, I have a chance to go to state for javelin.”

Hickman has enjoyed her time in the BC track and field program, praising not only her coaches but her teammates, saying, “We are pretty good; we are one of the top in our league. We don’t have that many girls, but we are doing phenomenal. It’s kind of a different experience, a little bit of different training, but overall I love the coaches, they are really vocal in the way they coach us meaning they’ll yell at us if we aren’t using our arms enough or if we aren’t getting our knees out, they focus so much on our form because they care that much about us, and they want us to get a scholarship and go out.

They’re always saying, that we only have two years so we have a lot of work to do. But I love it, the people are great. There’s a really big love within everyone. Yeah, there’s been drama at times, but overall we’ve been able to get past it and it’s really awesome, and that interaction, and being close with each other, and supporting each other, just pushes us to do better every practice, and at every meet.”

While Hickman spends upward of four hours per day devoted to track, she still manages to keep other aspects of her life in balance. “I am very good at separating my priorities. Like right now I have to prepare for practice, but throughout the day I focus on my classes, and usually there’s a shift in my mindset, and I’m able to keep track where track needs to be, and school where school needs to be, and keep my relationship where it needs to be,” Hickman said, “I’m a full-time student, full time worker, I have a part time job and track is definitely

Column

Thoughts of a dying humanity E9: What you wouldn’t believe about sports.

WILLIAM DUBON / THE RIP

Freshman Celia Hickman, Bakersfield College’s track and field heptathlete, stretches before practicing the javelin on March 27. like a part-time job. I’m trying to go off and get a scholarship somewhere, and I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t have a chance to.”

Hickman’s solid ethic has been transparent in her educational and personal growth as well. “Right now I’m at a 3.68 grade point average and I was surprised that people were surprised about that because my whole life I’ve always been like, ‘I’m going to get it done, I don’t care if I don’t sleep for three days, I’m going to get it done.’

I exceed, but I am my worst critic as well. That’s just what I do. I do sports, I do school, and I work, and it’s all hard but that’s a part of making me grow as a person and making me have responsibilities. It’s hard around finals time, midterms time, and times I have to skip javelin to get tutoring. And it’s not just making sure you’re getting your homework done in each class, while balancing doing a sport, it’s about getting good grades in those classes,” said Hickman.

Her journey to this point has been different than initially intended however. “I thought I had it all together, my senior year, I was hoping to go off to school in Virginia, be a walk on for track, do nursing, be married by 24, have my first kid by 26. Now I’m just kind of taking my time, I feel like God kind of placed me here to slow down and figure out what he wants for me, I’m Christian, and I’m really big on my faith. My faith is what helps me to become the athlete that I am. So right now I’m just focused on trying to get

out of here in two years. I don’t know where I’m going to transfer to, I might just transfer to CSUB. Wherever I go though, I want to do track, and have track be my scholarship, plus my academic scholarship, maintain my relationship, and then after college I want to become a school counselor, and then go on through there,” Hickman said.

Hickman pursues knowledge and holds a passion for people. “I love learning, sometimes in my free time I research about things that I’m curious about. I like reading and writing. Writing for me is like therapeutic, it helps to get my sanity out on a paper. If I can find a good book, I love to read, I love inspirational books. I also love people; my boyfriend says sometimes to a fault.

I love people, in fact I’m also a mentor, and I tutor this girl at Chipman Junior High, and that’s just inspiring her, ‘you can keep going, even if things get chaotic in your life, you can keep going’ but yeah, I love being around people,” Hickman said.

Religion has also been a large part of her life. As Hickman said, “I was raised in a Christian home, but when it comes to Christianity, I’ve learned to come to experience God myself, and I did go to a Christian school where we learned how to argue for both the side of Christianity and for atheism. It’s something that I have come to experience and something that has given me a purpose in life. And that purpose in life is also just running, and I feel like running reflects life so much like just keep going no matter what.”

PHOTOS BY J. R. HENSLEY / THE RIP

Sophomore Harry Tyler, pictured above and right, has helped the Renegades throughout the season, with both his bat and outfield prowess. Tyler is batting .279 this season.

Scottish-born outfielder a hit in Bakersfield

By Sam L. Jaime Sports Editor The journey for sophomore Harry Tyler from Aberdeen, Scotland, to the outfield of Gerry Collis Field has been quite incredible. When Tyler was just 2 years old, his family moved to a town roughly six hours outside of Paris, France.

Tyler began playing baseball when he was 6 years old, joining his brothers on the club team just 10 minutes from his home in France. As Tyler got better and better, he got a chance to go to an academy when he was 13 years old. After five years and transfer into a higher level academy, Tyler met a person who would change his life.

Former Bakersfield College studentathlete Matthew Martin, who went on to play professional baseball in Germany after his time at BC, met Tyler while playing in France with his brother. It was Martin who spoke highly of the BC baseball program, convincing Tyler to emigrate from France and enter the US. “For me leaving, not really knowing which university to go to here, because there’s so many choices, and I want to go for baseball, obviously, and there’s just so many choices, I didn’t even know where

to start. The fact that Matthew Martin can just say, ‘Hey, Bakersfield’s got a really good baseball program, you should go there.’ And here I am. I’m just really happy to be in Bakersfield, playing baseball in this program. It’s awesome,” said Tyler.

From there, Tyler began preparations for crossing the Atlantic to find his way in Bakersfield. “My mom helped me a lot with the visa process,” he said. “I don’t think I would have been able to do that on my own, but it was a really crazy because I lived basically a six-hour drive from Paris, so it’s about a three-hour train. Before I got my visa I had to go up to Paris and have like an interview. They say it’s an interview, but it lasted a question, it was ‘what’s your name?’ then they stamp, and there you go,” said Tyler.

The timing of his arrival was not quite as ideal, however, arriving in late August.

“I got my visa, I think the 20th of August, and school started on the 24th. So I basically arrived here on the 22nd, I wasn’t registered for classes, didn’t even know if I was going to make the baseball team. I was talking to coach [Tim] Painton, emailing him and saying, ‘Hey, I’ll be here, I’ll be able to go to practice and stuff.’”

Since his time on the team, Tyler has

been productive, playing in the outfield and batting a stellar .393 since conference play opened this season. Tyler says his level of preparation is pretty much the same as it has been his whole life. During tough stretches at the plate, Tyler’s approach remains the same.

“I’ve found out that a lot of it is in the head,” he said. “You have to be able to work through it, because technique-wise it hasn’t changed from at bat to at bat. It’s all in the head, so you’ve just got to be strong.”

Tyler’s hard work can be summed up in his favorite aspects of the game itself.

“Honestly, like every sport, winning. At the end of the day, there’s a winner, there’s a loser, and being the winner is the goal.

That’s why we’re working hard every day to be there. On the field, a diving play in the gap to save a run or prevent a double is probably my favorite,” Tyler said.

Despite being in a different hemisphere, Tyler feels quite at home, finding comfort in the new things he’s found.

“It’s different, I don’t think I miss it because it’s so much different. The culture is different in America, and I kind of wanted that as well. Coming here, I knew that was going to be different, and I wanted

that so it hasn’t been too bad. I do miss it sometimes, you know, not batting well, and you start overthinking stuff, but it’s not too bad,” he said, “Baseball knowledge is different here. Baseball is just way bigger here. It’s like soccer in France. I’ve learned so much from the coaches and our field is fantastic as well. There’s just more baseball talk, the way they talk, they just know more about baseball basically.”

Tyler has developed an appreciation for football since his arrival, and has seen his baseball fandom expand in recent years.

“I like American football. At first I didn’t really understand the rules. It was hard to get throughout it, but as the years go by, it’s been fun to get to know the sport, and now I do enjoy it. I don’t have a favorite team though. Baseball, I was always a Yankees fan because of Derek Jeter. I was a Derek Jeter fan, but now I honestly just watch baseball,” said Tyler.

As for the future, Tyler is focused on baseball and advancing through school.

“I’m trying to get a scholarship, because I’ll be out of state anywhere I go, so it will be expensive for me. I don’t mind where, but I’ve been in California for two years now, and I kind of like it, so if I could stay in California, I would definitely.”

I have to apologize upfront about this. I sat down to write about how Russell Westbrook is, in my opinion, the runaway MVP of the NBA. I did some research, took notes on stats, etc. and built my case.

But somewhere throughout my usual process of creating this bi-weekly miracle I call a column, I just couldn’t ignore something so much bigger than sports.

Sure, by the time you read this, Sam L. Jaime team USA will have met its fate in the World Baseball Classic, the NBA postseason seeding will be creeping closer, the Elite Eight round of the NCAA March Madness Tournament will have come and gone. The world will be a little older, and we’ll be a little closer to our eventual end. Death, taxes, and the continual regression from relevance. These things I accept, my head held high, as nothing survives time eternally. But there is a foreboding cloud of pestilence, that once lingered along the edges of my thoughts, which now gives cause for concern.

It started with a singular thought.

“When April rolls around, the Tigers will be playing just over an hour away from Flint, Michigan.” Heavy stuff considering the conditions in Detroit. How complacent we have become. It’s asinine that we carry on amid the product placements distracting us from our social media feed, oblivious to the world as it crumbles around us.

It was 120 degrees in India last summer, and nobody in America cared. We are burning fossil fuels faster than at any previous point in humanity, while patches of garbage and sludge navigate our oceans. Add to this the rising levels of obesity, increased social disconnection, and continuing decline of agricultural America, and it’s easy to see how an entire generation taught that we need to “reduce, reuse, recycle” before it’s “too late” could have some severe anxiety issues.

I make no reservations about how important it is to kick our oil dependence. That might not be a popular opinion here, but it’s true. Turning a blind-eye to this need is not only harmful to the planet, but to our economy and species.

When did we stop evolving?

Our predecessors constantly developed new technologies.

Sure, we have inventions, too, but if they don’t line the pockets of the rich, they become novelty rather than revolutionary. The biggest leap in fuels used throughout American history has been the transition from whale oil to crude in the late 19th century. It’s alarming to think that we’ve been using fossil fuels to power our world longer than we’ve been able to fly, especially since that’s been over 114 years.

I’ve never seen our nation so divided. I’ve never felt so fearful for the people I work with, live with, go to school with, and see throughout the community. I read about vital programs being cut and watch as tensions begin to fray the delicate strands that’ve kept us entwined. I’m exhausted of the headlines and worn thin from being pitted against others who are just as American as myself. Working together doesn’t mean we have to like each other, but it does mean we have to own our mistakes, and be honest with each other.

Anyhow, Westbrook should walk away with MVP honors.

Renegade Adventure The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Page 12

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

OVERCOMING MY STAGE FRIGHT

STORY BY BRANDON COWAN PHOTOS BY LIZETTE CHAVEZ When I was younger, I knew that I wanted to write. I thought that if journalism did not work out, then I would do standup.

Doing this adventure has further asserted this second plan of mine.

The weekend before I had to go to the Open Mic, I spent a good portion of my time brainstorming ideas for what stories I would tell.

I came up with three stories that I thought might all have some crude way of coming together to teach a lesson. This did not work out because I could not find a way to connect these three stories that I had in mind.

I spent several hours in my room saying the stories out loud to myself repeatedly, which caused them to go through many different stages of incompletion. I was never happy with what I would come up with at the end. I hated how I would say them to myself.

I could never see them in a way of making people laugh, unless it was at me.

Eventually I got to the point, after almost three hours, where

I came to the conclusion, “Who the hell is going to even care that much about this except for me?”

I decided that if I was going to do this, I would never be happy with the end result because I am horrible at telling stories with my voice. That was not the worst part of it.

I am pretty sure that there is something wrong with me, because if there is something that I have to do that I have never done before, I get anxious.

Every day that went by, I could not help but think that I was somehow going to embarrass myself horribly, that it would somehow ruin my life. It also did not help that a bunch of people from the newsroom said that they were going to show up as well.

The flier that advertised the Open Mic had a link at the bottom where anyone interested could sign up. I spent 30 seconds manually typing the address in my phone, only to find out that it said that the form was “over,” and I couldn’t get in.

This stressed me out because I

thought that maybe I could not do the Open Mic, and the hours that I spent stressing over this adventure would be for nothing.

Someone messed up and my adviser for the Rip told me to go over to the Student Life office in the Campus Center and to just tell them what I know. I went over there and signed in. I told them what I knew and they took my name, student ID, and my phone number. That was the day before the Open Mic. Later that day, I found another issue.

The Bakersfield College website said a different time on the calendar than what was on the flyer. This made matters worse because on the website it said an earlier time, and if that was the actual time that it would start, I thought that I may not have enough time to do an interview that I had with someone.

It would not have mattered either way because I had time to do whichever time it actually was. For some reason, I enjoyed stressing over this assignment way more than I probably should have. I enjoy being uncomfort-

Brandon Cowan (right) gathers his nerves with Mario Saldaña (left) before his standup. able because it creates memories that will never be forgotten.

When the time came to go to the Open Mic, I was still hesitant to go because I am probably stupid. As I walked over to the Fireside Room my hands began to sweat and my heart beat got faster.

When I could finally see inside, I saw three people from the Rip and two other people that I did not know. I was conflicted inside because part of me was happy that there was no one there to see me mess up and embarrass

myself to death. The other part of me was disappointed because I wanted more people to be there because I wanted to feel anxious and stressed.

I went and sat down with the people that I know. They asked me what I was going to do and I told them the name of the two bits that I thought of.

The adviser for the Rip came a few minutes later. He kept pushing me to go and do my bits, but I was hesitant because I was hoping that more people would show up. Eventually, he and the

Transfer to University of La Verne in Bakersfield

other people from the Rip started pushing everybody else to do things for the Open Mic. Afterward, I went up there and did one bit and made people laugh. I really enjoyed telling the story even though there were a total of six people there at the time.

Later on, I told my other joke which also got some laughs. I was pretty happy that I decided to do this. It made me realize that the second plan that I had was still a good idea if I do not end up in journalism.

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Natalee Garrett

BS ’14, MSLM ’16 Manager, Kern Legacy Health Plan

Kern County Regional Campus 1201 24th Street, Suite D-200 Bakersfield, CA 93301

Mario Saldaña takes the stage at Open Mic to perform some of his favorite poetry.

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