The Renegade RIp Vol. 84 No. 4

The Renegade Rip Bakersfield College

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Vol. 84 ∙ No. 4

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

New journal a publishing outlet for BC students

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief Bakersfield College professor Brad Stiles is currently putting together an online journal so that BC students will have the opportunity for their work to be published.

The journal, called the Roughneck Review, will be a collective of works by students, either current or former, from numerous subjects and aspects of education at BC. “The only criteria are as follows: it must be work created by

BC students, either past or present, and it needs to be work that was created for a class,” Stiles said. “Those are the only two standards by which we decide whether or not somebody’s eligible to have work in there.”

According to Stiles, the range of work is exponential, saying, “We accept all levels of work from every discipline.”

Whether it is artwork, history papers, English essays or videos of a speech, if the work is considered “excellent,” it can, and will, be published on the Roughneck Review.

“If [the Roughneck Review] turns out to be a vanity for faculty, what a waste. If it can be something that the students embrace and strive for and look forward to, that’s what I want.”

–Brad Stiles, English professor The site already has several entries, including work from English 60 students that are focused on paragraph construction.

“We wanted to show that at every level we recognize ex-

Palestinian

tribulations

By Omar Oseguera Photographer

Protesting, murder, attacks on innocent people and genocide. These are things Americans hear about on a daily basis, the majority coming from a foreign country.

Bakersfield College international relations major Mohammad Hammad has experienced some of these events first hand in his family’s home country of Palestine.

Hammad’s parents were both born in Jerusalem, but are no longer allowed back in due to conflict between Israel and Palestine. Hammad’s father migrated to the United States in the ’70s to work, and his mother came in the ’80s.

Hammad has been visiting Palestine since he was born.

“I even had my first birthday there,” said Hammad on his visits to Palestine.

Since then he has been visiting every summer. He also lived there from 2005– 06. Being a frequent visitor to Palestine, Hammad has been a part of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

During the Palestinian uprising in 2000, Hammad was only 8 years old. Israeli troops invaded a sacred section of Jerusalem, causing tension to spread like wildfire. On the streets, civilians would throw rocks and bottles at Israeli troops as they passed by the streets. Israeli soldiers would respond with live ammunition, and their “Break the Bones” policy, where they try to shatter the elbows of those they oppose.

Hammad recalled seeing this policy inflicted on one of his friends. After throw-

Inside

–Mohammad Hammad,

idea” that will do more than just allow the students to gloat about being published.

“There’s really something about getting that recognition that goes deeper, that pumps up a student’s desire to get better,” he said.

The students are Stiles’ main priority, not himself or the faculty involved.

“If this turns out to be a vanity for faculty, what a waste. If it can be something that the students embrace and strive for and look forward to, that’s what I want,” Please see JOURNAL, Page 5

BC set to observe 100 long years

By Nicholas Sparling Reporter

/ The Rip

Hammad’s passport, left, and his Hawiyya, which is used as an identification card, are vital to his travels.

It has been 100 years in the making, but Bakersfield College will be celebrating its centennial starting fall of 2013 through the spring of 2014. Many events and fundraising activities have been planned and many more are in the works.

The events are being planned by the Centennial Celebration Steering Committee, which is comprised of faculty and staff, alumni, community members and members of the Archives Association. They have been working for over a year planning and orchestrating the centennial.

All of the events for the centennial will be made possible through fundraisers.

“We will not be using any state funds. No state funds for instruction will be used for a party. We will be raising every dime that we will use for the centennial,” said Bonnie Suderman, the dean of Learning Resources and Information Technology and a member of the Centennial Celebration Steering Committee.

Money will be raised through the holding of a gala and golf tournament. Also, the selling of items and the Archives Association will comprise a book to sell, cataloging the past 100 years at BC. The committee will also be looking for donations from companies and alumni.

Suderman has, “a full spectrum of events that appeal to people with different backgrounds.” The celebration will be kicked off by the gala or centennial ball, it will be a formal event, and if all goes right it will be held in an airport hanger at Meadows Field Airport. The funds raised will be used for latter events.

The events for the centennial will not just be aimed at the scholastic Please see 100, Page 5

Tiner’s musical talents exist beyond BC campus

By Breanna Fields Reporter

Page 3: A local Irish business is ready for St. Patricks Day Page 6

“Most of the people here [in the United States] don’t want to believe what happened to me, so I direct them to my friends who were there … they don’t want to believe that things like this actually happen.”

ing rocks at a Jeep, Hammad and his BC student friends were tear-gassed, and one of them ended up getting caught and had his elbow shattered in front of everyone.

“That was a pretty eye-opening moment, because here it was happening to one of our friends,” said Hammad.

During that same stay in Ramallah, Hammad and his father parted ways to do errands.

This was the same time that Israelis positioned snipers on Ramallah and shot random passers-by.

“The first thing I remember seeing was a guy screaming and holding on to his arm, I wasn’t sure if it was shot or hurt from a grenade.

His hand was detached from the wrist.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I just started running with the crowd in their direction as the [Israel Defense Force] opened fire on people.

And then you look back and see people shot lying Please see Photos by omar oseguera HAMMAD Page 5 Mohammad Hammad wears his keffiyeh, which symbolizes Palestinian solidarity.

Mohammad Hammad displays his collection of various Palestinian flags.

Apple or oranges?

We’ll help you decide which one

cellence,” Stiles said. “So even though they’re only a paragraph long, they’re excellent paragraphs.”

Among the students that already have work published on

the journal is David Waller, who has come back to school to pursue a career in teaching.

Waller’s English 1A essay, “Controlling Mr. Smith,” was selected as a sample piece of what is to come with the Roughneck.

“I was blown away,” Waller said of the moment Stiles informed him that his essay would be used. “When he had said that he was going to use one of my papers, it really hit me. I was jazzed. I called every relative I had.”

Waller said that he thinks the Roughneck is a “great

Page 10

Athletic department preparing for likely budget cuts

Bakersfield College music instructor and critically acclaimed jazz trumpeter Kris Tiner does a lot more than grade papers in his spare time.

When he’s not teaching music appreciation or directing the jazz ensemble, Tiner is involved in a number of projects including Tin/Bag, a duo with guitarist Mike Baggetta from New York.

Tin/Bag plays an inventive form of jazz, traditional and contemporary music melded together by

the improvisational skills of both Tiner and Baggetta.

Tin/Bag has released three albums dating back to 2005; only a year after the project began. The duo’s second album, “And Begin Again” features special guest appearances by LA clarinetist Brian Walsh and NY jazz percussionists Harris Eisenstadt. Tin/Bag’s flare for an unusual and experimental sound has pushed the boundaries of this unique style through original compositions as well as works by Bob Dylan, Anthony Braxton, Sun Ra and Thelonious Monk.

omar oseguera / The Rip

Kris Tiner assists his Bakersfield College Jazz Ensemble.

“This is a very quiet, almost ambient project,” said Tiner, “The original material can almost be classical or chamber music.”

His most recent project, the creation of Epigraph Records, is a label that presents the talents of some of Bakersfield’s most Please see TINER, Page 5

Features

Page 2

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Bakersfield sound still around

By Breanna Fields Reporter

The Golden Age of country western music has all but withered in the eyes of Tehachapi based singer/songwriter Stephen David Austin.

While he admits the scene has changed, the local audience has continued to flourish and recognize the rich history and legacy of country music. Influenced by Bakersfield’s own Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, the release of Austin’s debut album, “A Bakersfield Dozen,” has carried on the legend that draws on their honky-tonk sound and American roots.

An honest recap of life’s most humorous and enduring moments, this collection blends a slightly embellished perception of reality through the tales of vengeful ex’s, celebrity overdoses and Bakersfield life. Austin’s ability to draw upon relevant events has allowed fans outside of the realm of country music to explore the raw energy of the signature Bakersfield sound found in many of his songs.

“There is a connection to

people’s everyday joys and sadness, to peoples struggles and triumphs that makes country music relatable. It verbalizes an emotion that people have not put into words on their own,” said Austin.

Austin was born in Omaha, Neb., though he eventually relocated to Southern California due to his father’s career. At the age of nine, he received his first guitar and took music lessons for a brief period.

The sounds of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Tom T. Hall were among his early discoveries thanks to his father’s musical interest.

“My dad was a country western fan and musician; that was my primary exposure. I’ve always identified with the lyrics to country music.

“I’ve always been drawn to how well country artists can tell a story.”

The expressive nature of the genre was taken into consideration by Austin who in each song invites the listener on a journey through the oil fields of Bakersfield and surprisingly, to the sounds that served as an

inspiration for George Harrison of the Beatles. Austin’s ode to their success includes a cover of “Baby’s in Black,” that was included on the album per request of a friend.

Prior to the release of, “A Bakersfield Dozen,” Austin found himself playing in a number of bar bands before making the decision to go solo and take on the daunting task of writing material and hiring session musicians for his album.

Starting off with fragments and transforming them into full-length songs proved to be a worthwhile task.

The session musicians featured on “A Bakersfield Dozen” creates a tight rhythm section that compliments Austin’s vocal abilities and country flare.

The final product was taken to an even greater height by these seasoned pros and their creative use of pedal steel, fiddle and harmony vocals.

“The only way I was going to have control over the outcomes of song was to hire people I respected and play up to their level,” said Austin.

He assembled a group of sea-

soned players that included pedal steel and slide guitar player Marty Rifkin.

His impressive resume boasts a number of well-known artists including Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty.

Other contributions were made by bassist Paul Marshall, pianist Skip Edwards, harmony vocalist Teresa James, drummer Shaw Nourse and Brantley Kearns on fiddle.

Their musical talents heightened the energy and created a solid backing band for Austin’s solo project.

“A lot of these people came together because they were players whose work I admired and I had seen them on the L.A. roots music scene for quite a while.”

The album begins with, “Best Ex I Ever Had,” a humorous tale involving the aftermath of a relationship gone awry.

On the second track, “Heroes and Heroin,” Austin addresses the tragedy of substance abuse and relives the loss of famed musicians Charlie Parker, Jerry Garcia and Gram Parsons.

“Bakersfield is to country music as what punk rock is to rock n

Gregory D. cook / The Rip

Local country musician Stephen David Austin recently released his debut album “A Bakersfield Dozen.” roll,” said Austin.

“More of a bare bones format to present attitudes, ideas and words.”

The sixth track off of the album “Kansas Ain’t Kansas Anymore,” is a slow-churning illustration of swampy roots rock at its finest, while “The Day Buck Owens Died” takes listeners back to the moment of realization when the Bakersfield icon and legend passed.

Austin has revealed plans for

an upcoming tour that will commence after he recuperates from a recent knee replacement. He plans to schedule shows for the spring and summer and embark on a European tour during the fall to support, “A Bakersfield Dozen.”

“I’m just hoping that the people that hear it like it and people understand it.

It’s something I had to do whether it was commercially accepted or not,” said Austin.

Holy Beast makes a connection with music

By Martin Chang Opinions Editor Holy Beast, a local band from Bakersfield, plays a unique a blend of soul, punk and R&B built on the special chemistry that they all share.

Alejandro Tuesta, the drummer; Chanell Hall, the lead singer; Edy Hernandez, the guitarist; and Carlos Contreras, the bassist; all met by answering a Craigslist advertisement. So although they met by random, the members of Holy Beast feel a sense of fate in them coming together and creating their music.

“It’s the craziest thing,” Hall said. “My life as a story has been manifested in this band. I’ll read poetry that Alejandro wrote years ago and think that reminds me of what I was thinking when I was 17. It happens. Somehow, somewhere or another our lives prepped us to meet and do something with that meeting.”

Both Hernandez and Tuesta feel similarly fated to find people that understand them.

“It’s meant to be. I got lucky finding a band. It came easy. I had to go through a lot of people that I had no match, no chemistry with,” said Hernandez. “Then to have to have that much chemistry out of nowhere, finding a bass player that’s right, a drummer that’s right, a singer that’s

right. It’s like finding a soul mate three times.”

Tuesta agrees.

“I feel lucky to have met them right now, we could be anywhere on this planet, to have the ability to play what we hear and to have the creativity and the weirdness, to bring that out of you. Also to keep it together as a band this long, I feel so lucky to have gotten through the hardships and everything,” he said.

“With them I don’t even care if we don’t go anywhere. I know that regardless of what happens economically or if we make a career, we’ll still be able to write whatever we want, because I already know in my body and mind that their creative outlet is never going to end. They’re the kind of people that will always go and give me so much energy to keep learning things and still play drums after all these years.”

This sense of challenge, of pushing each other into something they love, is a strong feeling in the band.

“I think we find enjoyment in the band room, in seeing frustration in other faces, like when I see Edy excited, when he’s trying to figure something out. I think that’s the ultimate goal. We challenge each other just because that is what comes out. I want to bring out the full potential of my instrument and my abilities,”

said bassist Contreras.

“Being in this band, seeing everyone who is beyond up to par, that’s the thing I’ve never experienced before. I’ve played with professional musicians, they never challenge me like this. This what I come to practice for.”

Hall feels that over the years they have developed a unique musical sense from their chemistry.

“I feel we’ve evolved in that we play around with what is not said. The rhythm and melody and notes that aren’t the first thing that you hear,” she said. “I feel like it’s getting to the point where we are expressing things in a not difficult way for other people but are expressing things that are usually difficult with music.”

As she plays music with them, Hall gets specific feelings from each of the other members of Holy Beast.

“When Alejandro plays the drums I feel it in my body as a twitch. It’s about being in between some of the timing that he keeps. It’s awakening something.

With Edy on his guitar, he plays weird melodies, it reminds me of the ocean breeze. It grabs you.

You feel your spirit fluttering.

“The tapping on the bass is really beautiful. It brings it together and makes it palatable for the person with the least expe-

Martin Chang / The Rip

Holy Beast, from left, bassist Carlos Contreras, drummer Alejandro Tuesta, guitarist Edy Hernandez and vocalist Chanell Hall, poses on Feb. 29 in their pratice space. rience in life, or with music in general.”

Tuesta feels that there is weirdness to their music.

“I listen to standard stuff, but there’s another side of me that likes the weird stuff. I can no longer play normal stuff because it has all gotten so weird, and our new stuff just keeps going crazi-

er and crazier. We keep learning and experimenting with all these weird patterns and polyrhythms because it all compliments and we have this vision right now.”

Hall wants this weirdness to speak to the many people out there that feel different and misunderstood.

“I feel like everybody is re-

ally weird and not everyone has a chance to feel together in their weirdness. There are a lot of people in this world who are just like ‘man nobody gets me.’ I want to play and perform music for those people out there who feel that no one gets them and I want them to be able to listen to our music and transcend that.”

Local restaurant serves up flavors of France

By Angie DelGado Reporter Walking into Cafe Crepes takes you away from the hectic feel of Bakersfield to a place that seems to be almost hidden.

Located downtown in a small building complex from the ’20s, across from the Rabobank Arena, Cafe Crepes takes its guests away from busy schedules and gives them a taste of French food.

Having French food downtown is very different than the usual restaurants that can be found in the area.

“It’s very unique for Bakersfield,” said Brian Homes as he finished his lunch.

With a friendly welcome, guests of Cafe Crepes can order variety of crepes, paninis, Peet coffees and blended drinks.

“I think they put drugs in the food because they keep me coming back,” joked Win Eaton while enjoying his chicken pesto crepe.

Eaton is not the only one who thinks the food is good.

“Oh my God, it’s wonderful,” said Gina Renslen. “This is my second time, and I am ordering the same thing…the chicken pesto.”

Owner and Chef Andres Barragan enjoys hearing the good reviews that his guests tell him.

Barragan said that he has had customers travel from far off places to come and enjoy a crepe.

“I’ve had customers come from Southern and Northern California specifically to enjoy our crepes,” said Barragan. “We have customers from Europe tell us our crepes are the best.”

Keeping the customers happy is one of the

angie delgado / The Rip

Cafe Crepes serves a variety of crepes and French food. main goals at Cafe Crepes.

“I emphasize customer service. I want customers to have an experience,” said Barragan.

“We think our food is good. I’ve never heard of someone unhappy with the food.”

Barragan admitted that while he doesn’t have a favorite dish, he enjoys making the chicken pesto crepe, which also seems to be the most popular.

“I think that the chicken pesto is my favorite to make because of the contrast of colors and the drizzle of pesto on top,” said Barragan.

Barragan and his wife decided to open Cafe Crepes in 2009.

In their quest for something different in their lives, they decided to learn more about making crepes and paninis. Together they made a menu that really stands out in a city like Bakersifield.

“We always toyed with the idea of having a restaurant,” said Barragan, who used to work in the world of technology. When the economy started to change, he decided to change his career path and open a restaurant.

There are nine employees at Cafe Crepes, and eight of them attend Bakersfield College.

Andrea Bersentes, a graphics major at BC, has worked at Cafe Crepes for two and a half months.

“It’s hard to make crepes, but once you get used to it, it becomes easier,” said Bersentes.

With the help of their employees, Barragan and his wife have been able to serve their own recipes of crepes.

“When we found all the many different types of crepes we asked ourselves, ‘what can we do different?’” said Barragan. “And that’s when we thought of the baja crepe and the gravy crepe.”

Along with crepes and paninis, guests can also find many different types of blended coffees, like the Mescolato, which also happens to be one of the favorites.

“I am proud of our recipes, particularly because we make our own sauces and spreads, and we use fresh organic ingredients,” said Barragan. “We serve our crepes fresh.”

Cafe Crepes is available for private parties at no additional cost, and has been a place where many organizations have held their meetings as long as 12 or more order from the menu.

Features

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The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pub brings a wee bit of fun to Bakersfield Tights

Column

By Crystal Sánchez Reporter

McMurphy’s Irish Pub is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in its own traditional style.

Angela Crawford, owner of McMurphy’s Irish Pub, located at 14 Monterey St, said that every year they throw a big party for St. Patrick’s Day. “It’s tradition to throw a party.

Every year we have a DJ, beer pong, a live band and we serve corned beef and cabbage all day long.”

Crawford, who is part Irish, said that St. Patrick’s Day is their busiest day of the year.

“During a regular day we serve about 30 people during lunch hour, but on St. Patrick’s Day we are crazy busy,” Crawford said.

McMurphy’s Irish Pub has been in business for almost 40 years and has many loyal customers.

Bobby Armendariz, 56, has been coming to McMurphy’s for six years and said that it is a really great place to eat.

“I’ve always liked the food because there’s always something

different I can try. It’s a good neighborhood pub with friendly faces,” he said.

So putting Armendariz’s words to the test, I decided to try bangers and mash in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Bangers and mash, also known as sausages and mash, is made up of Irish sausages, sour cream potato cakes and cabbage with bacon.

The dish originated from the English but then became popular with the Irish.

As for what makes a traditional Irish dish, Russell Meyers, chef for McMurphy’s Irish Pub, said that the dish must have some kind of potato and a large pint of beer.

“Potatoes are the basis for a lot of Irish meals, just because it was considered a poor person crop,” he said.

“And the beer, well, everyone loves a good beer with their meal. It’s standard to get a pint of beer when you order a meal,” he said.

Meyers said that the dish is relatively simple.

“It only takes about 20 min-

are not pants WORTHWHILE STYLE | The Rip’s copy editor and resident shoe addict discusses the lost art of dressing for your own style.

Omar Oseguera / The Rip

McMurphy’s Irish Pub on Monterey Street throws a party for St. Patrick’s Day every year. utes to make,” Meyers said.

“Just boil some potatoes and cook some sausages and you’re

ready to go,” he said.

The California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena is where

Meyers learned to cook traditional dishes like bangers and mash.

San Quentin protest sparks debate over death-penalty laws

By Metiqua Eng Reporter A recent protest at San Quentin Prison sparked interest and opinions that led college students to question and debate the very controversial topic of the death penalty in California.

The death penalty has been a very heated deliberation for some time now in which some people protest for the sanctity of life while others protest for the harshest punishment of lethal injection. Most times those opinions are based on moral values such as religion or the simplic-

ity of basic human rights. Either way this prolonged dispute has the public overflowing with opinions.

When interviewed, 41 out of 50 students at Bakersfield College are not pro-life and agree with the death penalty as punishment.

Several different students commented on the topic and gave diverse justifications as to why they chose to support the death penalty.

“I don’t care what anyone says if you kill somebody, especially more than one person and in a malicious way, you deserve to

die,” said Lelsie Barrera, 19.

The firmness of opinion that Barrera stands behind is based upon a very personal experience that Barrera said changed her life forever.

“I lost one of my good friends when I was only fifteen.,” said Barrera.

“One of my closest guy friends’ Jeremy was in the crossfire of a gang shooting and basically shot to death. They never found out who exactly was the person who shot Jeremy and I wonder everyday if someone will be brought to justice. I went through so much pain and I hope that one

day someone will be convicted and experience all the pain that myself and Jeremy’s family went through and possibly get the death penalty.”

There are always two sides to the story and other people strongly believe in the opposite of the death penalty, the belief to preserve life.

Damion Harper, 24, is a full time student at BC and completely disagrees with the idea of the death penalty. Harper justifies his strong beliefs on the death penalty with his religious background.

“I’m a Christian and extremely

religious,” said Harper. “I believe it’s not up to man to kill somebody no matter for what reason.

Whether it may be for murder or rape, I never believe or will believe in killing somebody else as a sentence.

“It’s downright crazy that people think they can take that kind of power into their own hands.

It’s ridiculous and I’m completely against it.”

Although Barrera and Harper both have compelling outlooks on the death penalty, some students at BC are at a standstill on their opinion and would overall just agree to disagree.

Nate Perez / The Rip

Nancy Salazar, owner of Express Registration Services, provides some of the same functions as the DMV.

On the fast track to all your automotive needs

By Nate Perez Reporter Do you wish you could go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and be in and out in less than five minutes? Express Registration Services can make that possible.

For the people that don’t have time to go to the DMV or just hate going there, Express Registration Services can make life a lot easier.

“It’s an in and out process.

If it’s not busy and I only have like one or two clients, the most you could wait is no more than five minutes,” said owner Nancy Salazar.

Salazar’s office provides a lot of the same functions as the DMV, but it is far from it.

“I do vehicle registrations, renewals, I give tags from here, plates, right away. I’ll transfer your vehicle and give you stickers. Everything from [my office.]

I do have a service fee though, $40 for a transfer and $29 for a renewal,” she explained.

“There’s some paperwork I can’t do like lean sales and salvage vehicles that I would have to take in for the following day, but it doesn’t take more than a day or two to give you your pa-

perwork back,” she continued.

Salazar has owned Express Registration Services for eight years. She got the idea for her business from visiting Los Angeles.

Registration Services are extremely prominent there and she knew it wasn’t a standard business practice in Bakersfield, so she had a feeling it could be marketable.

Salazar emphasizes that she doesn’t work for the DMV, but she does work with them.

She goes to a location that is an industry for registration services and dealers. Her clientele ranges from walk-ins, dealerships, oil companies and so forth.

Some states don’t have a DMV, so they have no choice but to go to a registration service.

“This place is for the people that don’t like the DMV, don’t want the hassle or if they don’t know how to fill out forms. This service can be really awesome for you. You’re in and out. You wish you could go to the DMV and be out of there in less than five minutes” Express Registration Services is located at 514 Chester Ave. It is open Monday-Friday from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Saturdays 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

The naked emperor called and he wants his pants back.

Tights are not pants. I find it highly disappointing that I will repeat this sentence multiple times in the following column, but as spring approaches and everyone starts adjusting their wardrobes, I just know I will see someone trying to wear tights as pants.

Let’s get something straight first Patricia Rocha of all, I am not against tights. I am not against leggings. Heck, I’m not even against a comfortable and cute pair of jeggings!

But I am definitely against the amazing amount of fashion crime that is happening when people are wearing tights and leggings alone as a substitute for bottoms.

First off, wearing tights and leggings alone is not at all flattering on any body type.

Tights cling to the body and leave little to the imagination.

They were literally created to be worn underneath clothing for modesty and now they’re being used for the exact opposite.

A few years ago, visible panty lines were one of the biggest fashion blunders, but now it’s totally acceptable for visible butt-cheek lines?

If Pippa Middleton can’t pull it off, I promise you no one can.

Tights are not pants, and they are also not some magic way of getting away with wearing a dress or skirt that’s too short.

Sure, they look great and add interest to an outfit, but if you’re wearing them as a backup for a skirt that’ll obviously ride up when you lean, bend or sit, just get a longer skirt.

With all of the amazing fashionable choices out there, I don’t understand why people would wear tights and leggings on their own.

There are hundreds of different types of tights and leggings, and you can pair them with virtually any type of outfit so the possibilities are endless.

You can wear them on their own with any style skirt: pencil, full, or mini (but not too mini).

Lots of people can pull off the shorts and tights combo too, usually if the shorts and tights are both pretty plain.

Vibrant colored or patterned tights work well with a simple outfit too, but if you want to downplay the attention factor, you can wear them under ripped jeans to show just a subtle peak of the accessory.

Tights are so versatile you can even layer them under knee or thigh high socks to keep warm in in-between season weather.

Many people find that fishnets and lace tights are pretty, but not school and work appropriate, but you can usually get away with it if you wear them in a skin-tone color or layer them over a pair of colored, opaque tights.

There are just so many possibilities that it’s baffling anyone would wear them on their own as bottoms.

There is just so much fashion potential being wasted and modesty being lost when there doesn’t have to be.

Just as you would not wear gloves as socks and jeans as a scarf, do not wear tights and leggings as pants.

News

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Theater department deals with closure

photos by gregory d. cook / The Rip

Bakersfield College’s outdoor theater has not been used for a number of years, forcing the Theater Club to find new venues. It is scheduled for a comprehensive refurbishment.

By Keith Kaczmarek Reporter With the Speech and Music Building locked down for repairs, the theater department and Theater Club are left without the stages and workrooms needed to perform and practice new plays.

In fact, they have only one play scheduled this semester instead of their usual two.

“We’re hoping to have another show,” said Kimberly Chin, advisor for the Theater Club and director of theatrical productions.

Acting classes have been moved to the gym until repairs on the Speech and Music Building are completed.

“We have to bring chairs in and strike them after the class,” he said.

“It’s been an inconvenience, but everyone is making it work.

The students have been great,” said Chin.

Since the gym floor was recently resurfaced, the theater students also have to be especially careful to wear the correct shoes to avoid marking the new floor.

Chin is hopeful about putting together a second production.

“We are hoping to do a spring show that’s an outside show in a found space,” she said.

Found spaces are outdoor locations that are converted into stages for productions.

“If I do a show in the fall, I’ll need to do an indoor show because of the weather,” she said.

The theater department has been coordinating with the Empty Space Theater and their artistic director Bob Kempf to put on the current crop of productions.

The Empty Space Theater has been keeping the box office re-

ceipts from the plays, but has not been charging BC for use of the theater.

The next play will be the Ten Minute Play Fest held on May 11 and 12. This event will feature six plays written, directed, and produced by students at BC. Tyler Steelman, 22, is a Theater Club member who wrote a play for Play Fest about a young man caught in a compromising position with his girlfriend while living in his parent’s house.

“It’s very strange. I’ve been doing auditions for professors on campus, but it’s a change of pace,” he said when asked about how he feels about seeing his play being performed instead of being in someone else’s play.

Audraey Marie, 21, is another Theater Club member who has a play in the Play Fest, but her production involves a young

mother and father trying to have a romantic evening despite a crying baby.

“It’s been difficult, but we’ve been able to manage it and do what we wanted to do,” she said about the changes to production this semester.

The Theater Club has also been inconvenienced by the closing of the Speech and Music building since it makes it hard for them to find practice space, and they have been using the Fireside Room when it’s not being used for other events.

Kimberly Chin has also been active in getting both the club and acting classes more involved in performing off-campus, starting a children’s performing group and planning to bring in a puppet master to teach his craft, a clown teacher to address performing for kids, and partnering

Yellow wildflowers are a mute audience in the seats of the Bakersfield College outdoor theater. with a local school to put on performances.

The Theater Club will also be performing theater games in front of Daddy O’s Yogurt and Gelato

Shoppe in the Albertson’s shopping center on Mount Vernon on Thursday, March 29, from 5 -9p.m., and anyone purchasing yogurt or gelato will help the club.

Kony campaign causes sensation Former president finishing duties

By Patricia Rocha Copy Editor

Few Youtube videos capture as much attention as Invisible Children’s viral video Kony 2012.

The almost 30-minute video went viral recently as it campaigns to help the International Criminal Court arrest Joseph Kony for his many crimes against humanity in Uganda and other surrounding African countries. The video, which has been viewed more than 74 million times on Youtube, urges people to contact their local government to make sure the United States keeps an interest in its cause.

Bakersfield College students have taken notice of the video’s immediate popularity and commented on the recent interest in Invisible Children and the Kony 2012 campaign.

“At first I thought it was just one of those videos where some guy shows off to the world his son or something,” said BC student Marily Mendoza describing her initial reaction to the video.

The production is narrated by Invisible Children activist Jason Russell, who hopes to have his son Gavin live in a world where people like Joseph Kony are brought to justice for their crimes. The video states that in the past 20 years Joseph Kony has kidnapped over 30,000 children for his child army and forced them to commit crimes such as mutilation and murder of their own parents.

“I started to look at it and that’s just cruel, I just couldn’t believe it. It was horrifying,” said Mendoza.

Student Ben Ablin said he felt it was interesting and he was intrigued by the video.

“It was well meant… somebody’s out there trying to get some word out,” Ablin said.

“To an extent it is getting popular because of the hipster, ‘oh lets support people who have problems’ thing… or whatever you want to call it, but then because of that, it is also getting a lot of attention through to people who could honestly care about something like this.

“If enough people see it, enough people will get involved. It’s like inviting people to a party. Invite 10 people, five people show up.”

The video has even created a nation-wide event that is supposed to take place the evening of April 20 where it urges its supporters to cover their towns in Kony 2012 posters and stickers to spread the message even further.

Student Adriana Ramirez said though she hasn’t seen the video yet, from what she’s heard from friends she would like to participate.

“I’ve never heard of anyone trying to do anything like this until now,” Ramirez said.

“I think it’s important.”

Though the video has gained an amazing amount of support, its popularity has been followed by a large amount of controversy.

One factor leading people to question the intentions of the video is the fact that it asks of its viewers to purchase “action kits,” which contain posters and bracelets.

By Keith Kaczmarek Reporter

If you’ve been walking around campus and noticed that former Bakersfield College president Greg Chamberlain is still working here, you are not hallucinating.

Chamberlain has a temporary office on campus and is finishing projects like the school’s self-evaluation for BC’s state accreditation happening this year.

Chamberlain has also been helping ease the transition to the interim president Robert Jensen.

“I’ve met several times with him to hand off projects to him. I will have some projects assigned by him and the chancellor,” Chamberlain said.

He later added, “We are very fortunate to have Dr. Jensen. His experience is vast, and we are very fortunate to have him to push us up.”

During this transition period, Chamberlain is also honing his skills to return to the computer science classes. While not officially scheduled for classes yet, he is exercising the “rights of retreat” in his contract that allows him to return to teaching classes next semester to his former position of tenured professor.

Chamberlain is thrilled to be getting back to his roots as a frontline educator.

“I’ve been accused of skipping down the hallways,” he said.

Courtesy of kony2012.com

This has led many to question the motives of Invisible Children as a non-profit organization, but the members have been quick to respond on their website, stating, “We are committed, and always have been, to be 100 percent financially transparent and to communicate in plain language the mission of the organization so that everyone can make an informed decision about whether they want to support our strategy.”

The website includes all of the financial information of the organization for all to see.

The organization has responded to many of the claims against it.

“Whether you’re criticizing Invisible Children or not, it’s not about us. I think that everyone can agree that this violence needs to stop and children should not be forced to fight,” said the organization’s movement director Zachary Barrows.

Despite the controversy, Ablin feels the purchase of the action packs is a good way to go about raising awareness.

“It’s the most convenient form of donating short of just sending them a check for ‘x’ amount of dollars,” he said. “There are

people who won’t watch the video because it’s 30 minutes long. It’s kind of inconvenient as far as that can go, but if you see dozens of posters that say ‘Kony 2012,’ you’re like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ You Google him and you find the links, eventually you’ll either watch the video or find something leading to it that’ll explain it.”

Mendoza also agreed that the action packs are a proactive way of fundraising.

“If we’re trying to stop him we’re going to need those resources. We obviously need the money, so it’s a good idea,” she said.

Many feel the video is also a good representation of how the Internet and social media is changing the way we participate in our society.

“Something that would have taken days or weeks to get out is now world wide instantly. Someone in South Carolina can post a video and someone in New Zealand can watch it within two minutes,” said Ablin. “It’s made everything global and instantaneous. It’s made the world smaller.

Hundreds of people have said that, but it’s true.”

Returning to the classroom will mean a cut in pay of around $80,000 a year, but to this Chamberlain replied, “I don’t know anyone who comes to the community college for the money.”

With Chamberlain’s children leaving university this year or next year, he says that his personal finances won’t suffer for the cut in income. His years of experience already put him in the top income grade for BC professors, roughly $107,000 a year.

Chamberlain leaves the school administration in the midst of harsh budget cuts, but he cites the fiscal conservatism of the Board and chancellor for keeping BC on the right track.

“It certainly paid off for the college. There are colleges trying to make cuts in mid-year,” he said. “When we budgeted for this, we budgeted for these cuts to be there.”

That being said, Chamberlain sees more changes on the horizon. “There are going to be some significant changes to California community colleges, not just here,” he said.

He also thinks there will be strong candidates for the new president, and that the school has a chance to come out of the state’s budget crisis even stronger.

“This is a fiscally strong school with a strong chancellor and board. There will be strong candidates coming here.”

10 inducted into Hall

By Esteban Ramirez Sports Editor Bakersfield College will be having their 30th annual track and field and cross country hall of fame induction ceremony on March 22.

Along with inducting 10 former Renegade coaches and players, they will be awarding two plaques. Michael Tivnon will be awarded the “Life-Time of Service to Bakersfield College Athletics” plaque and Gary Frank will be awarded the “2012 Bill Heffernan Memorial Track and Field Official of the Year” plaque.

The social will begin at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria in the Campus Center. The dinner will be served at 6:45 p.m. and the award ceremonies will follow. The dinner

price is $35 and partly tax deductible.

They will also be solemnly acknowledging Renegades who passed away in the past year, such as former track coach and former college president John Collins, track official Lucille Sautter and hall of fame athlete Leon Harris.

Bill Covey commented on the event.

“We’ve been doing this for 30 years,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of great players and coaches and it’s nice to honor them.

“Some of these guys haven’t been back to BC in a while, so it brings them back memories,” he said. Covey added that he originally started the ceremony 30 years ago because he wanted to see how many people would be interested in an event like this.

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Vietnam’s culture sparks discussion

By Martin Chang Opinions Editor As a part of the Norman Levan Colloquium, Jeannie Parent shared with fellow Bakersfield College teachers, staff and adminstrators, her study of the Vietnamese culture on March 9.

The Norman Levan Colloquium was established in 2005 after BC Professor Mike McNellis asked Levan for a grant.

Since then, around every semester, professors share their study in a specific subject. As a part of the Colloquium, the professors are also awarded $1,000 in order to further their studies.

According to Susan Pinza, the chair of the Colloquium’s steering committee, Parent was picked because of her subject’s relevance to the community.

“We thought her topic would be of interest to the BC faculty.

She does tie in what she does to the classroom, and so we were able to learn a little about methodology and pedagogy.”

Parent’s presentation focused on her time spent in Vietnam as a part of The Fullbright Group Project Abroad, in which she learned about the culture of Vietnam.

She learned of the culture by doing everyday things like eating the food and looking at art. But she also learned from interviews she conducted with many people

from many different areas of Vietnamese life, from young artists to monks.

She also heard many different speeches from different areas of academia in Vietnam.

“It was very enriching. It was different than going as a tourist.

It was much more educational because it was a study,” she said.

Parent’s inspiration to study Vietnamese culture goes back to when she taught Vietnamese refugees in the ’80s. She was inspired by the quality of its people.

“It was so difficult for them and yet the resilience, the persistence and the humility was so inspiring to me. They were so appreciative.”

This led to a lifetime appreciation of Vietnamese and Asian culture for Parent.

“Somehow, I have a connection. I’ve been to Nepal, China, Thailand. I think the humility of the people [is why I have a connection.] I feel that humility is really important in a person.

Less ego is better.”

She took her experience from her time in Vietnam and created a three-week project for her listening and speaking class where students interview their parents to learn about their own culture.

Parent believes that her students learn about themselves and others through the project.

“We’ll have 12 to 14 different

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

TINER: More than a professor

angie Delgado / The Rip

Jeannie Parent gives a presentation March 9 on her quest to learn about Vietnamese culture. cultures in the class, so this is one way to expose them to different cultures. But in their own interview process they actually learn about their own cultures and it often brings them closer to their own family and friends.”

Parent has, with others, started a nonprofit called South East Asian School Project or SEASP. Its goal is to provide education for Cambodian children that do not get education.

After she connected with the children in Cambodia, she

learned that many do not have an education and are orphans, so her and a roommate decided to do something about it.

“My roommate and I really wanted to do something for them, so she and I and others started a nonprofit. We just did it.”

The nonprofit group has already helped some of the children of Cambodia.

“We were able to collect some donations and some supplies, but we had to delivery it personally because of the corruption.”

HAMMAD: Coping with conflict Continued from Page 1 on the ground dead in front of you. I know I say this a lot, but I was only 8 years old and I was scared,” said Hammad.

In January of 2012, Hammad experienced another conflict with Israeli troops on his way back home. While standing in line at the last checkpoint, he was approached and pulled away by security.

Hammad was questioned for six hours about his stay in Palestine, if he was involved in resistance groups, and even if he was in a relationship. After a few hours, the security left and came back with a laptop showing Hammad’s Facebook and his personal blog.

“At this point, I found it creepy that they found it that quickly, but things like that happen all the time,” said Hammad on the situation.

“They asked me why I do this, and if I was going to stop. I told them no and that I would probably record what is happening right now,” said Hammad on his interrogation.

Hammad was then asked for his password to the blog, to which he refused. Eventually, he was let go, but his cell phone and camera memory card were wiped.Hammad also experienced another confrontation this

past year when he went with friends out to eat. On the way home from Ramallah, they were stopped by a checkpoint. Hammad was unaware that the car they were in was an Israeli car, which is not to be driven by Palestinians.

“I’m sitting here cursing him [his friend] in my head, wondering why we are in this car,” said Hammad on driving to the checkpoint. The main soldier had a scent of alcohol on his breath and proceeded to let Hammad and his male friend go, but they had to leave the two girls they were with.

After refusing and arguing, the soldier pulled out his M16 and pointed it directly at Hammad.

“At the time, I felt somewhat scared, but I was in the zone … who knows what a drunk soldier is going to do with two young girls,” said Hammad. Eventually the soldier put the gun down and they were let go.

“It was a crazy night.”

Hammad elaborated on his experiences and reactions he gets when bringing them up.

“Most of the people here [in the United States] don’t want to believe what happened to me, so I direct them to my friends who were there … they don’t want to believe that things like this actually happen.”

International students share experiences in Cup of Culture

By Angie Delgado Reporter Students looking to further their knowledge of other countries and cultures or would like to know how they can become a student abroad through the Atlantis Project, can attend the Cup of Culture event on March 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Fireside Room.

The Cup of Culture event is an annual event that is held in the spring semester to promote an understanding among college students around the world.

This semester, four Bakersfield College students will be in the exchange program. Two are going to Italy and two are going to Spain.

Students going to the event will gain a lot of knowledge of other cultures and an understanding of what it’s like growing up in different areas of the world, according to Shohreh Rahman, counselor at BC and Internation-

al Student Services coordinator.

Rahman believes that students need to broaden their horizons and take trips abroad to learn of other cultures and take the knowledge that they gain back to their homes.

“This knowledge could help create a more peaceful world,” she said.

This year, the event will have presentations, performances and cultural activities from students of countries all around the world. Students from Cameroon, Croatia, Honduras, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Spain and Venezuela will be presenting.

The Atlantis Project is the first official study abroad program at Bakersfield College which is sponsored by the Atlantic Degree Program. This program is a one-semester program that allows students to study abroad.

Students can apply on the BC website.

Continued from Page 1 stylistically inventive artists as well as international musicians that come to town. The label is co-owned and operated by Ron Ramirez, the owner of Going Underground Records in downtown Bakersfield.

The record label’s debut release, “Ritual Inscription,” is just a taste of what is to come from Epigraph Records which will incorporate experimental jazz, electronic music, classic music and a number of other styles that involve original composition derived from artistic creation. The album “Ritual Inscription” was recorded live at a midnight concert at Metro Galleries, featuring Tiner on trumpet, percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani from Japan and guitarist Jeremy Drake from Los Angeles. There are a limited number of albums available, released strictly on vinyl format.

“Every time we do a concert, I get to encounter people who are hearing this music for the first time. As an artist, that excites me because it makes me feel like there’s some relevance to this thing that I’ve been studying and doing,” said Tiner.

The next live performance scheduled to be recorded and released under Epigraph Records is local musicians the Invisible Astro Healing Quartet.

Their eclectic style ranges from electric jazz to funk with a psychedelic element thrown in the mix. Members of the quartet were all former students who have gone through Tiner’s music program.

“There is a great audience here who are appreciative of unusual music. With the record label, I want to prove that it’s happening and also have something to give to the local community as a way for people to see what’s going on,” said Tiner.

Tiner’s ambition to bring awareness and deepen support in Bakersfield has extended beyond the creation of music and into the realm of booking agent

for venues around town. He has made a number of connections along the way, leading to projects that have afforded him the opportunity to travel across the country and to Europe.

While at first the improvised creations of jazz music may have been foreign to the local music scene, Tiner hopes that this is no longer the case having been involved in it for 25 years.

He explained that local audiences are often enthusiastic.

As a music instructor working at BC and part-time at CSUB, Tiner is constantly producing ideas that are customized to his student’s particular interests. As the director of the jazz ensemble, he explained that oftentimes he doesn’t know which direction they will go until they meet and decide if they would like to take a more traditional or progressive route.

“I try to engineer my appreciation classes so that students who aren’t musicians come away with a deeper sense of what music is,” said Tiner.

Born and raised in Wasco, Tiner began playing the trumpet at the age of 10. He played in school bands and received his first trumpet lessons from his father. He played a broad range of styles and, by the time he was a teenager, he began to focus solely on jazz music. He received his degree at CSUB in music and attended the California Institute of the Arts for his master’s degree in African-American Improvisional Music. He’s been a music instructor at BC since 2004.

The decision to teach music was made early on in Tiner’s career, opting not to struggle as an artist trying to make it. As a result, he has been able to share his knowledge with aspiring musicians and perform the music that he loves.

“When you do a performance, you don’t have to worry about making a thousand dollars. You can put more time and energy and thought into the artistic side of it,” said Tiner.

JOURNAL: A first of its kind Continued from Page 1 Stiles said.

Students will have two different ways to get work on the website. The student’s work can either be submitted by professors with the permission of the student, in which case the work is automatically accepted, or the students may submit their work on their own.

In the latter case, the student’s work will go through a review process.

The Roughneck’s editorial board already consists of several professors, but Stiles is determined to round it out more so that every piece of work is critiqued and reviewed properly.

The Roughneck, according to Stiles, is a rarity that he’s had as an idea for over 10 years.

Stiles has put together one of these journals before. When

he was employed at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Ore., Stiles created the Banyon Quarterly, which showcased the work of students from that school.

Stiles said that he used that as a model for the Roughneck.

Stiles often used the Banyon to bring up essays to provide examples for his students on various topics. This eventually led to the idea to create one dedicated to BC so that students could use their peers’ work as an example.

The Roughneck will get a proper introduction later this semester, according to Stiles.

“We’re hoping to have some events to launch the [Roughneck], including a public presentation and reading, so the students can see their work and present their work to other students,” he said.

100: Celebrating BC Continued from Page 1 aspect of BC but will encompass the whole collegiate experience including athletics and the arts. There will be a joint choir comprised of alumni and the current BC choir, and alumni will be working with students to plan the homecoming game.

The Steering Committee will also be working with the Student Government Association.

They have worked with the current SGA and will be working with it more closely next year as the centennial gets closer.

“We tried to work closely with SGA a year ago, but then we got a new set of officers so it’s difficult to start and stop,” said Suderman.

The committee is hoping to end the celebration with a big event as well, something like a festival. They are hoping to have a 5K run and a family fun run as well as booths offering food at the same cost that it was 100 years ago. “We are trying to make as many activities as

we can that are low cost or no cost so that the community can attend,” said Suderman. They are also hoping to hold an event or two every month.

There will be a waterfall that will be known as Centennial Falls built and donated to BC, located in the garden area. According to Suderman, “we’re hoping to get events that students here will enjoy, but also bring alumni and retirees back on campus too.”

Suderman is disappointed that they haven’t heard a lot from current students and welcomes their input.

She says, “We would really like to hear from students and how they would like to celebrate. That would be very important. They can contact me, and we would love to have them on our committee or just give us ideas or let us know where they would like to work with us.

We certainty don’t want to have ideas that sound dull or boring to the current students.”

Commentar y

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Column

Check into this musician to get your fix AS MY BRAIN EXPLODES | Martin

Chang’s take on people and culture.

Daniel Johnston’s music has an undeniable quality. He’s the reason I write music, so if you ever hear me wailing one of my songs, it’s his fault. He’s influenced musicians such as Conor Orberst, Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, and Kurt Cobain, so I’m not the only one that finds his music to be extraordinary.

Martin Chang His most powerful music was not recorded in a studio, he simply sang his songs by himself, where he lived, with whatever was available, whether it was a boom-box or a tape recorder.

Listening to this music you can tell.

You can hear pop and hiss and sometimes the vocals are hard to hear.

Yet this is what makes his music special. By recording his music this way, he leaves no space between the emotions of his songs and the recording. The intimate portrait that emerges has a power like no other.

You feel with these recordings the emotion of the moment, of the song.

In the comfort of his home, Johnston lets the song take him away. There is no hesitation.

He is singing his heart, and his soul.

He’s revealing his artistic vision with directness and honesty which only he has been able to accomplish.

Not just any musician can make singing into a boom box this powerful. Johnston has a connection to music that he simply has. It’s something you can’t teach.

This connection goes deep into the spirit of music, deep into the part of music that transforms, that changes lives. People talk of a muse in a distant way.

To Johnston this musical muse isn’t a far away concept.

He lives inside it and expresses himself in a way that shows he knows that mysterious place.

It goes beyond technical skill or talent. His voice cracks and his playing is simple. He expresses himself quietly over start and stop piano, while singing in a natural, easy way that reminds of the innocence of children. His voice is brimming with emotion yet he never screams or yells, it gives songs that could be quiet and boring a monumental emotional punch.

A part of that punch is how deep he goes into the highs and lows of life. His first album is called “Songs of Pain” and that title is a good summary of his work.

He sings of lost love and his lifelong struggle with mental illness in a way that lets you know he has felt the pain of both deeply. He makes much of the music that covers the same territory cliche and soulless. Even the musicians that do it very well, like the music of Alice in Chains, don’t hold a candle to the power of Johnston.

Yet it’s not all darkness and depression from Johnston. The flip side to all that pain is an undying belief in the beauty of the world. He sings of the beauty of nature, of women, of love, of the quiet moments of struggle and introspection that is life’s journey. The joy of these songs is pure. These songs are brilliantly alive. They reach a spiritual level that is the most inspirational music I have ever heard.

Not many of the people that I play Johnston’s music for hear what I hear. But that doesn’t matter. As long as there’s people like me, musician and non-musician alike, that can feel his music, his music will inspire and live on for anyone to hear, feel and know the extraordinary gift he has given the world.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Rip compares the incomparable After historically trying to keep their distance, apples and oranges fight for dominance

By Metiqua Eng Reporter

By Ruben Perez Reporter

Apples vs. Oranges. It’s the historic rivalry that still leaves people with the solid question of, “Which one is my favorite?” But why question when it’s evident that most people fall into the category of team apple.

From the tasty delight of caramel apples, apple cider, apple sauce or all-time favored apple juice, the scrumptious temptation of the apple stems all the way back to Adam and Eve with its alluring sweetness. The apple is so tantalizing that Adam couldn’t resist taking a bite.

But does this mean the apple is the most wicked of all fruit through its illustrious appeal? No, the apple is just so appetizing that one would be bizarre not to covet the most desired fruit.

Why do you think that New York City is called “The Big Apple?” The city has attraction, and it’s fascinating as well as alluring. No one calls New York City “The Big Orange!”

Many could argue that an orange is delightful and sweet, but can you even enjoy that sweetness? What’s the first thing you have to do when eating an orange? Peel it. It feels like it will take a decade just to unravel the complexity of an orange peel.

Why waste the time? Why waste the energy? By the time an orange is halfway peeled, I’m exhausted and I’ve lost my appetite.

That’s when I look over to see a shiny refined apple staring me in the face saying, “Eat me! Eat me!” And in half the time it takes to peel an orange I’ve already halfway eaten my yummy apple.

Not only can it be a healthy treat to start your day with, but you can also easily turn an apple into a nice evening treat. Nothing quite compliments caramel like a crunchy, sweet apple underneath its silky goodness.

The apple also comes in different colors and tastes. The appetite for sweetness can be stimulated in a red apple or the thirst for a hint of sour sweet delight can be found in a green apple. Either way, it’s the best of both worlds.

Some of the greatest benefits of an apple are all the rich vitamins and nutrients that it offers. An orange only offers the simplicity of Vitamin C when an apple offers Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron and anti-oxidants.

Being that an apple isn’t nearly as acidic as an orange, it won’t eat away at your teeth or cause acid indigestion inside your stomach. It can also benefit health tremendously as it has been proven that eating apples reduce blood cholesterol, improve bowel function, and reduce risk of stroke, prostate cancer, asthma and type II diabetes. But all health mumbo jumbo put aside, whether team apple or team orange, it is apparent the apple dominates over all and is defined as Mother Nature’s sweetest temptation.

Apples and oranges have been compared for years, but the answer is obvious, oranges are better. First off, the fruit came before the color. That’s right, oranges are so awesome they get a color named after them. Oranges are the superior fruit because they are healthier, last longer and don’t bruise. Oranges have seven nutrients in them, which makes them the healthier than apples that just have fiber and other less important nutrients.

An apple a day will only keep the doctor away if you’re chucking it at him. If you are throwing apples be prepared to clean because they make a mess. Unlike oranges, they tend to splatter when you throw them at people.

Also, apples leave bruises so you can get in trouble if you’re hitting kids with apples at school. Plus oranges don’t leave bruises so whomever you hit has no proof you were chucking oranges at them.

Also on the topic of bruising, if you drop an apple, they bruise or sometimes break, because they’re so freaking delicate.

If you drop an orange it stays intact, doesn’t bruise, and it’s protected by a peel so you can still eat it or throw it at someone eating an apple.

If you’re hot and Zak S. Cowan / The Rip you have to choose which fruit is going to cool you down, you don’t choose a lame apple, you take the orange and eat it like a real man.

Apples are not very juicy and are kind of a pain seeing as how you have to eat around the center.

You can just peel and eat oranges, or if you’re a real man you can cut open your orange with your pocketknife. Orange juice is also better than apple juice in taste, convenience and health.

Commercials always say you can have a glass of orange juice a day and you’re good to go. Why don’t they do this with apple juice? How the hell do you even get the juice out of an apple? With an orange you can just squeeze and you’re good to go. Orange juice is basically an orange on the go. This is probably why it’s more available to us, unlike apple juice.

If apple juice was any good it would be served at places like Denny’s or McDonalds, but it isn’t. Another reason apples are bad is because they are a gateway for school kids to get high. You can put a hole in the top and the side of an apple and smoke drugs out of it.

With their bad reputation, apples are not even worthy of having a soda. Who loves orange soda? Everyone loves orange soda. It’s true. Whether it’s trying to be a juice or a convenient snack, the apple just falls short compared to the orange, as it should.

APPLE

ORANGE

‘Lorax’ wins over Seuss fan with visuals

By Jon Nelson Features Editor The three types of films I despise the most are crappy adaptations of books I love, musicals and morality tales.

I don’t need “Naked Lunch” made into a movie. I ovie don’t need washedeview up starlets doing high kicks and I certainly don’t need Hollywood reminding me of what a terrible person I am.

Having said that, I really wanted to hate The Lorax. On the surface, it seems like everything I dislike rolled up into a nice, neat package. Combine that with a theater full of screaming children and I’m done before I can even find a seat.

As a kid I was obsessed with Dr. Seuss. I wanted the Cat in the Hat to show up at my house on a rainy day. I wanted to eat green eggs and ham on a train

M R

and I’m sure my mom is still tired of reading “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” to me. Even today, it’s just not Christmas without watching the animated version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at least 15 times.

The original “Lorax” book is about a boy who travels to see a man named the Once-Ler to find out how their world became so desolate and polluted.

The Once-Ler reveals to the boy through a series of flashbacks that it’s because he cut down all the trees to massproduce a sweater-like invention despite warnings from a mustached creature called the Lorax. The Once-Ler then entrusts the boy with the last tree seed in order to right his wrongs. The book is worth checking out even today if nothing other than because it’s so uncharacteristically bleak for Seuss.

The movie holds true to the spirit of the original story with added details and plot points to

make it full-length. The love story between the main character, Ted Wiggins and the girl-next-door is cute without being generic. I loved the idea of having the story take place in a town that is completely artificial, even down to the flora and fauna.

Betty White as the voice of the main character’s grandmother is a nice addition to the story and Danny DeVito is charming and fun as the Lorax.

I was smiling and engrossed in the story before the beginning credits had finished rolling.

My favorite part of the movie, by far, was the animation. courtesy of universal studios Because it was done entirely in The film-version Lorax is a bit less menacing than his CGI and, because it’s a Suess counterpart in the original Dr. Seuss children’s book. story, the visuals were nonstop psychedelic bliss. The deforestation and pollution be- rax was more aggressive and texture of the “Truffula trees” come irreversible, was appar- menacing like in the book. has to be seen to be believed. ent without being preachy.

Overall, the Lorax is a great Each one looks like a puff of The combination of the plot effort. It’s smart, funny and has cotton candy from a 5 year- and animation was enough to a great message. It’s almost old’s dream. even make the musical num- enough to make me want to The message of the film, bers and screaming babies check out all those other Seuss that we need to protect the en- bearable. My only gripe with remakes that I’ve been ignorvironment before the effects of the film was that I wish the Lo- ing.

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

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

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

Staff

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

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Staff Editorial

Let the success carry over SGA With the spring semester comes sunshine, allergy attacks and Student Government Association elections.

While students (and the Rip) may criticize SGA, they’ve also done some great things for Bakersfield College. Like most things in life, the SGA seems to have positive and negative elements. With the incoming officers, there are some changes that need to be made and a few things that should stay the same.

The Renegade Food Pantry is one program that’s at the top of the positive list. The non-profit program takes food donations

and hands them out to students that need them.

Last semester alone the pantry gave away food to over 6,000 students. It’s great to see that even in these hard economic times, there is help and hope available.

It’s even better to know that over 6,000 students didn’t have to choose between gas and dinner.

Another noteworthy contribution is the Be Fit program that started last semester. Be Fit was implemented to encourage a healthy lifestyle in BC students.

The activities have included exercise classes, demonstrations and starting a Weight Watchers

group on campus.

At a time when most of us are living off of coffee, peanut butter sandwiches and good intentions, it’s a welcome change to be able to do something healthy like take a Tai Chi class or pick up actual fruits and vegetables from the Renegade Pantry.

Although the BCOUGH campaign has had debatable success, the SGA should be commended for trying to reach out to students and staff and consider their opinions. The planned poll to vote on the campus smoking policy might be beating a dead horse, but democracy is important, es-

pecially at BC where SGA officers are paid with money from students.

One issue that the SGA needs to improve upon is their transparency to the student body. Rumors of mismanaged funds, suspicious resignations and a strange policy of privacy still surround the SGA and all its officers. The fact that the Renegade Rip has had problems getting in touch with various officers over the last few semesters and that their meetings are all but exclusive events doesn’t help matters.

The SGA needs to be more open about the goings-on of of-

ficers that have been elected to serve the student body and where our money is being spent.

It also needs to be more available to the newspaper whose job it is to inform students about what’s going on around them. They’re only hurting themselves and their credibility by remaining silent on important issues.

Another welcome change would be to see SGA officers finish an entire term. Over the past few years, there have been several instances of officers resigning for no given reason and elected candidates not even being put in office. Again, students

deserve the right to be kept up to date on their elected officials and when the SGA provides no answers, it’s only giving students reason to be suspicious.

In the past elections, less than 1,000 BC students voted. The SGA is about to bust out a campaign that includes raffles and special events. (Please disregard the fact that funding to the tutoring center has been cut, but the SGA can give away iPads.) It’s in everyone’s best interest that as many students as possible vote this semester and that everyone keeps their elected officials accountable for their actions.

Video game trilogy sees tremendous finale to series

By Martin Chang Opinions Editor Mass Effect 3 tells an in-depth story with many great moments, from an alien race nearly wiped out by the horrors of war, to the tragic deaths and unsung ame heroes that such a war eview brings, to more quiet moments between friends. In Mass Effect 3, these moments have an emotional impact that is unique in video games.

They have this impact because there is an attention to detail, a sense of craft that oozes from the game. The way the writing, voice acting and combat integrate into a fantastic story is a high watermark for games.

In Mass Effect 3, an alien race called The Reapers is attempting to wipe out all other life in the galaxy. It is up to you, the captain of the ship The Normandy, to build a coalition among the many races of life forms that could defeat the threat of The Reapers and then try to defeat this force that has you greatly outnumbered.

From the start of the game in which you watch the devastating Reaper attack on Earth, it is clear that you are playing a game of high quality. This starting moment makes a strong impression.

It right away tells you how dire The Reaper situation is.

The rest of the big moments of the game have this same impact.

In fact, the further you get into

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the game, the moments of the game, big and small, have a surprising emotional resonance.

From the quiet moments you share with your shipmates where you share hopes and memories of destroyed home worlds, to the epic moments of character sacrifice, these moments are touching in a way that is rare in video games.

These moments shine because of the quality of the writing and the voice acting. The writing emphasizes character development and storytelling techniques, like pacing, that you would expect from a great novel or movie.

The writing here is brimming with life. It is descriptive and the way that the different races talk seems real and true to life. The characters and races have distinct personalities.

You know that the Asari are quiet and thoughtful, that the Krogan are boisterous and aggressive, and the Salarians are intellectual and cold. When these races face the incredible losses of having their planet destroyed and their race nearly wiped out, you truly feel for them.

In fact, when I made a choice that killed off the Quarians, a sad, quiet race that I liked, I felt so bad that I just had to start over and make the other choice. I felt the choice I made in a way that I never experienced playing a video game.

This all would fall apart if the voice acting was not up to the quality of the writing. But the voice acting never falters. The game handles the emotional mo-

courtesy of microsoft

ments with a sensitivity that is rare in games.

The larger moments are given the correct gravitas by its many actors. Many times the writing in video games are ruined by bad voice acting, so the quality acting stands out even more here.

The world of Mass Effect is extraordinary in detail and scope. The many races and many planets to explore, it’s all given life through the writing and acting. There is fun in simply walking around and observing the life

and landscape of the many planets and interacting with the many races, in learning about the large world that has been created. Not all of it is gold, some of the sidequests can be a little boring, but you can ignore that content.

Much of the game is also third person combat such as the combat in Gears of War. This even is a great experience. The combat is snappy and is given great variety with its attack and weapons options. Yet what really makes it great are the combat scenarios.

Ron Paul was the right choice

By Nicholas Sparling Reporter With the 2012 election right around the corner, one candidate stands like a lone wolf among a herd of elephants.

That man is Ron Paul, a republican congressmen and doctor from Texas, although we won’t hold that against him.

At this point in the game, it looks like the match has already been called for him, and that greatly saddens me.

Ron Paul’s ideas, though they could be considered somewhat radical, are received poorly by the GOP, who considers him to lean too liberal.

Still, the party could use a breath of fresh air with his set of fresh ideas.

It is surprising that someone who has been in the game as long as Ron Paul could be the most controversial of all his congressional peers.

Ron Paul himself is an on and off member of congress and the disillusioned game of politics, and at the age of 76 he is no spring chicken.

Despite his age, Ron Paul has a way of keeping his mind open and his ideas new, making him the prime choice for office with college students over the better

part of a decade.

As a member of congress, Ron Paul has taken a difficult stand on difficult issues.

Issues like dissolving the war on drugs, mostly in part to try and end the related violence.

He also advocates stopping America from acting as world police in matters of foreign affairs, stating that “[We] can’t spread goodness through the barrel of a gun.”

Ron Paul’s ideas are a doubleedged sword for him and his popularity with his party.

What other Republican candidate supports completely equal rights for homosexuals and heterosexuals?

Or thinks evolution should not only be taught in school, but can peacefully co-exist with the idea of creationism?

Or voted for the legalization of medical marijuana, and believes that we should eliminate the death penalty?

What other elected official would vote to cut his own salary, so much so that, if elected president, he would earn as much as a well-paid teacher?

Of all the candidates in the running, Ron Paul seems to have his finger on the pulse of the national character.

He isn’t so detached from the

The places and obstacles you fight give the combat challenge and variety, even though you are fighting the same enemies in much the same way. The different areas are just well designed in terms of art design and giving you different strategies to employ and stuff to do, plus you care about the combat because it’s integrated in the story well.

The multiplayer part of the game is disappointing. It is a wave-based survival mode that is generic and not exciting. It sim-

ply does not have the same variety in the combat scenarios or attention to detail that the single player does.

Plus without the connection to the story, it just seems tacked on.

It is not important though and, like the lower quality side quests, easy to ignore.

Yet this doesn’t get in the way of this fantastic world that has been created, a world this large, with this much emotional power and polish is an experience worth having.

Ja Rule’s time in prison didn’t help his music

By Esteban Ramirez Sports Editor Ja Rule is back with the new album “Pain is Love 2” and it’s his first album in almost eight years. The album was released on Feb. 28.

“Pain is Love 2” was a lbum pain to listen eview to because of the mediocrity and the fact that it could’ve been better.

He’s still the same Ja Rule and still has that famous raspy voice and good hooks, but still lacks the lyricism that can make an album great.

This album is the same as all his other albums. It has a couple of songs that are catchy, but the rest of the album is mediocre and lacks clever wordplay.

“Pray” is the best song on the album. It has the deeper meaning that should have been throughout the album.

I thought he could’ve put out all his struggles and tribulations on this album instead of just in a couple of songs.

In “Pray,” not only do you hear everything he’s been through, but you also get that catchy hook that has been synonymous with Ja Rule.

In this song he really expresses what he’s going through when he says, “Everybody shedding a

A R

courtesy of ronpaul2012.com

common American working class that he might as well be living on the moon, and he isn’t so hung up on ideology and conservative doctrine that he should be seen in a literal plastic bubble.

As far as 2012 goes, you can count Ron Paul down, but don’t count him out.

When it’s all said and done this is not the end.

Ron Paul is doing better than he did in the 2008 election and, with any luck, he’ll run again.

He may not overtake the White House in a grand blitzkrieg, but for those of us looking for a new face with new ideas we can only hope for a slow, but strongly persistent crawl for the presidency all in due time because there’s still hope for 2016.

tear for me. It’s lonely the way I walked in and I’m practically lying in a coffin.”

He could’ve done so much more with this album since he will be serving a 28-month prison sentence for tax evasion, and he just didn’t express himself through this album like I thought he should’ve.

Songs like “Superstar,” “Strange Days” and “Black Vodka” just didn’t give me a sense of what he was going through.

These songs were very simple and these songs were a perfect example of why mainstream music is so horrible now. He could’ve done so much more lyrically with these songs.

With all the legal trouble he’s faced and the 28-month prison sentence, I expected an album where he put all his emotions and feelings on the album, but he only expressed that in a few songs.

“Parachute” is the other song that will catch your attention because it’s got a catchy beat and probably the only song with some clever wordplay.

The rest of the album isn’t bad, but they’re not songs that you will keep repeating over and over.

This album has the two songs “Parachute” and “Pray” that you will get hooked on, but “Pain is Love 2” is definitely not worth getting.

Campus

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The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

First two-day blood drive on BC campus

By Hannah Breeland Reporter For the first time, the National Cesar E. Chavez Blood Drive Challenge was held for two days instead of one at Bakersfield College.

It was held in the Fireside Room on March 7-8. On the first day, 168 people registered, but only 131 could give.

On the second day, 112 registered, but only 85 people could give.

In total, 216 people gave blood and 280 people tried. The Student Government Association and Houchin Community Blood Bank combined to bring the twoday event to BC. Stephanie Gibbons of Houchin

said that even though they don’t have anything to compare to this blood drive since it was held for two days, it was definitely a success.

“There was plenty of food and enough staff on hand to accommodate all the donors. It’s really amazing how well it turned out.

This surpassed our expectations,” said Gibbons.

Donors were drawn to giving blood for different reasons.

“I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do, and even though it took up a lot of my free time, I would do it again,” said Natalie Rocha, BC student.

Some students did it for the free food. “I did it for the free pizza,” said BC student Alex Mora.

Some participated because of peer pressure. “My buddies were talked into it by their girlfriends.

I wasn’t going to, but I figured, ‘why not?’” said Jay Rodrigues, BC student.

To give blood, donors first had to answer a questionnaire. Blood pressure and iron was checked after that.

It’s estimated that the whole process took 30 to 45 minutes.

Donors had to be at least 16 years old and weigh 110 pounds. Unfortunately, some students were sent away because they didn’t weigh enough.

“I would give blood if I could.

I just don’t weigh enough,” said Elizabeth Parnell, BC student.

The next blood drive will be held at BC next spring.

megan lucke / The Rip

Bakersfield College students donate their blood during the school-wide drive on March 7.

Transferring a step-by-step process

By Crystal Sánchez Reporter

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

Nick Acosta loads food into a box for a student during the pantry’s March 8 distribution in the Campus Center.

Pantry receives food donations

By Gregory D. Cook Photographer With rumors of even deeper budget cuts to student-aid programs looming on the horizon, the Renegade Pantry is looking to increase the donations it receives in the hopes of putting more food on its shelves for students in need.

In an email distributed to faculty and staff, Nick Acosta, student coordinator of the pantry, encouraged employees of Bakersfield College to donate to the pantry, either by giving non-perishable food, monetary donations or through payroll deductions, and according to Acosta, a little bit from everyone would add up to a lot for the pantry.

“We looked at how many people we have on campus that are employed by BC, and I totaled up that every person gave just $1 a month for the whole year it would come out to over $21,000,” he said. “That could almost run us for the whole year.”

Acosta is pleased so far by the results his email has generated.

“Ever since that email went out, donations have been rolling in, and not just from the campus,” he said. “State Farm brought almost a truckload of food. They really stepped up to the plate and helped us out a lot.”

The Renegade Pantry first opened its doors in January of 2010 in response to cuts in the state budget to special needs programs for students. Every other Thursday, the pantry distributes boxes of food to around 100 or more students.

To maintain consistency in what goes in the boxes, the pantry purchases the core ingredients, and then fills out the boxes with donated items.

“Because our distribution is

of this magnitude, the majority of the food we put together into a box we buy ourselves,” said Acosta.

“We have an account with U.S. Foods, and they give us a good discount. “We also get produce from the Gleaners at cents on the dollar.”

Care is also taken to ensure that the food given out is nutritional as well.

“We switched from popcorn to oatmeal to be more healthy,” Acosta said.

“A normal box will have a bag of rice, a bag of beans, two cans of soup, vegetables, tomato sauce, spaghetti and tuna.”

Vegetarian boxes can be requested, and students with children are also given additional soup, Graham crackers, canned fruit and macaroni and cheese.

Peter Flores is a single father of two who returned to BC to pursue a degree in sociology.

“I worked in the community for years with just a GED,” said Flores. “But now it’s hard to find a job because you have to have a degree.”

Flores was taking part in the pantry’s distribution for the first time. “It helps out, you know,” he said. “This is going to give me some relief as far as being able to have some healthy meals for my kids.”

Students wishing to take advantage of the Renegade Pantry’s services must visit Campus Center 4 and sign up before the day of distribution. Delano Campus students can sign up at Admissions and Records.

Acosta encourages students that need the Pantry to take advantage of the service. “If you really need help, this is here for you,” he said. “If you are in need, please, do come, because we are here to serve you.”

For many students at Bakersfield College, finding a major and taking the steps to graduate can be difficult. Biology major Oscar Gomez said that finding his major was rather hard.

“Finding a major was difficult because I had to find what interested me the most. I had to decide between biology and history. In the end, I went with the one that I loved the most,” he said.

Transfer services counselor Sue Granger-Dickson said that students should find what it is they are passionate about and what interests them in order to find a major.

“In many cases, you don’t have to have a specific major because lots of majors are good for different things.”

Granger-Dickson, who has been a counselor for 18 years, said that students must be specific in what it is that they want to do.

“Students need to figure out

what they want to study, what careers they want to be eligible for, what kind of money they want to make, and then set a goal,” said Granger-Dickson.

Taking an educational planning class the first semester at BC will help students set a goal, create a plan and receive priority registration.

Marina Torres, a freshmen at BC, said that taking the educational planning course her first semester at BC definitely helped her narrow her options on picking a major.

“I wanted to be so many different things from a business manager to a model. I eventually found a balance and decided to become a theater major.”

Torres plans to hopefully graduate next year with a degree in theater arts.

If a student wants to be eligible for graduation, they must complete 60-degree applicable units and must meet one of the general education patterns.

The general education patterns can either be BC’s own pattern or the California State

Universities general education Breadth list or the IGETC pattern.

Then, on top of all that, students need to complete major requirements. Students could often get confused when looking at assist.org because not all of the majors match BC’s majors said Granger-Dickson.

“What many students do who are transferring is that they are looking at assist.org and following major prep, and sometimes the majors don’t always match.

So they’ll end up getting a liberal arts major.”

The state of California has a new associate degree for transfer program called the SB1440.

This program will allow an upwards of 25 associate degrees for transfer. BC currently has 3, that require 60 units here and 60 units at a California State University.

“It guarantees your admission into a CSU campus, not necessarily a particular campus or major, but with a 2.0 GPA, 60 transfer units, and completion of the IGETC or Breadth pat-

tern,” she said. The new SB1440 program is something students at BC should be very excited about because all of the degrees are the same at all community colleges.

“A student can now start at Porterville and come to BC without having to take any extra classes. When they transfer, all of their classes will be recognized as being valid for the degree. It will save time and money; it’s creating clear-cut pathways for transfer students.”

Remembering deadlines is another important thing students need to remember. The deadline to file for graduation is Apr. 2. Students must come into the counseling center and see a counselor or advisor and fill out a candidacy form.

“It’s actually an application where they need to apply and then the counselor or advisor must sign it and do a degree audit,” said Granger-Dickson.

Last year, 679 students graduated from BC, and this year Granger-Dickson hopes the numbers will be even higher.

Sports

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The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

BC softball continues its winning season

By Nestor Fernandez Reporter Oxnard College came to Bakersfield College on March 1 to face a Renegades softball team that was on a roll and had won seven straight games.

It soon became eight straight as BC rolled past Oxnard 6-1 and improved their record to 12-4.

Starting pitcher Julie Estep (54) hurled a solid seven innings of work.

As she gave up only one run on four hits while striking out seven and allowing one walk.

Kara Frankhouser, who was two for four and drove in three runs, again spearheaded the offensive attack.

But it was once again a concerted team effort, as they collected 12 hits to post their six runs.

“The pitching has been getting stronger and stronger, and then I think our offense has just been battling and taking what the pitcher gives us. We’re finding a way to make something productive out of it,” said BC head coach Sandi Taylor.

After the defeat of Oxnard once again showed how strong and consistent the pitching has been during the winning streak, Coach Taylor had this to say about the lone run (6th inning solo homer from Heather Bacon ) given up on the day.

“We got behind in the count on that girl, and she’s a good hitter.

“I think what is happening is our athleticism is starting to show.

“We’re manufacturing runs with speed and timely hitting which is something we talk about all the time.

“We stole a couple of bases today, and I thought our athleticism is what got us going.

“Early on, Brittney Roberts, she was two for two in her first two at bats. In those first four innings, we were a little bit slug-

gish.

“So I thought she gave us a little spark there.

“And then Kara shortened up and lifted singles instead of trying to hit long balls, which we needed.

“We just needed singles to score a couple of runs, so I was real pleased with the manufacturing of runs.”

The manufacturing of runs once again led to the manufacturing of wins, and in bunches.

On March 6, the Renegades faced Santa Barbara City College at BC in a very cold and windy afternoon.

Despite the adverse conditions, BC gutted it out for a 10-5 victory.

After Santa Barbara scored twice and broke a scoreless tie in the top half of the third inning, BC answered right back in the bottom half with three runs of their own to take a 3-2 lead.

Then in the fourth, Santa Barbara scored a run to tie it up at 3-3.

In the bottom of the fourth, BC loaded the bases and a couple of miscues by Santa Barbara led to a couple more runs by BC, and the Renegades went up 5-3.

Jazmine Irvin came up and belted her first home run of the year over the right field wall in the fifth.

That led to a couple more runs for BC as they took a commanding 8-3 lead after five after a couple of errors by BC in the sixth inning allowed Santa Barbara to tighten the score to 8-5.

Irvin struck again in the sixth with an RBI single, and BC added another run to account for their double-digit total of 10 runs.

Taylor admired the way the team kept its focus despite the chill factor.

first was then topped with four more runs in the second and a 7-0 lead.

Center fielder Toerner started things going with a walk. Then she was followed by Frankhouser who was hit by a pitcher. Then third baseman Sarah Smith hit a double.

A two-run double was followed by Irvin, and an RBI double by Williams produced the four-run second.

It was all that was needed for the win, as the Eagles posted two runs in the fourth, and a single run in the fifth.

The Renegades answered right back with a run in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth to end the game with an eight run lead after five innings (per governing softball rules).

Taylor commented on how her team responded after being scored on.

“Every time they scored, we answered right back, and so we didn’t allow them to get any momentum.

“But more importantly, when those kids scored, we got the closing out, so that keeps the momentum on our side and keeps the pressure off.

“I was real pleased the way we played defense. We played solid.

“A couple balls got by us in the infield and that’s going to happen sometimes. Our pitcher [Estep] went down with what we think is heat exhaustion so Kaila [Williams] comes in the third, and she didn’t miss a beat.

“She was good. She didn’t get a couple calls that she would have liked, but I thought she threw the ball really well. So it was a good day.”

The “good day” culminated another good week of softball for BC.

“The pitching has been getting stronger and stronger, and then I think our offense has just been battling and taking what the pitcher gives us.”

–Sandi Taylor, BC softball coach

“I am really proud of these girls today because they endured the 30 mile an hour wind and cold.

“It takes a lot of concentration and focus.

“We were pleased with our pitching staff today. Those two gals did a nice job of shutting them down.

“I felt the turning point of the game was when my center fielder (Kaitlin Toerner) threw that girl out at home.”

The Lady Renegades conference season opener on March 8 saw the winning streak reach 10 straight after beating the LA Mission Eagles 11-3 in BC. It didn’t take long for the Renegades to put up multiple runs.

In the bottom of the first inning, Brittany Messer (Lf) walked to lead off.

After an out, Frankhouser hit an RBI double to bring home Messer for the first run.

Another out was followed by another walk to shortstop Jazmine Irvin.

Designated hitter Kaila Williams then bunted for an RBI that brought in Frankhouser.

Pitcher Julie Estep ripped a double to bring in Irvin for the third and final run of the inning.

The three runs posted in the

The Bakersfield College softball team has won 10 straight games as of March 12.

During the streak, BC has scored 72 runs and allowed only 25, averaging 7.2 runs per game, while allowing 2.5 runs per contest.

After splitting their first eight games (4-4), they now sit with a 14-4 record after winning their conference opener 11-3 against the L.A. Mission Eagles on March 8 at BC. On paper, there’s no question it has looked great.

But there’s a lot more to it than that.

BC coach Sandi Taylor makes reference to their overall balance, speed and athleticism as probably the team’s greatest strengths.

“Watching them play shows you that, but also reveals much more. The Renegades play together, play for and support each other, and they have fun. Winning just seems to be a by-product of their intangibles.

“It is widely acknowledged throughout the team that they are in a very tough conference, and the mental approach is what it should be, take it one game at a time.”

Center fielder Kaitlin Toerner commented on how this team is approaching this season.

“Right now, it’s just one game at a time,” she said.

Left fielder Brittany Messer added, “You can’t really get too far ahead, cause you never know what can happen, take it game by game and go from there,” she said.

When talking about the strengths of the team, Toerner quickly pointed out its ability to manufacture runs.

“I think that’s definitely our strength, we get on base and we know how to move them over, and then our big hitters score

them from there.

“Even hitters that aren’t normally big get those clutch hits when there are runners on base.”

Messer also mentioned another focal point: the team’s pitching.

“I think our pitching is really strong this year. There are four pitchers that we can go to at any time, and they’re doing their job, so it’s nice.”

“I think we’re just focused on playing our best, and if we play our best, the rest will take care of itself,” said Toerner. “I think we’re really consistent, and we know how to get on base and move them over. And that doesn’t really change from game to game. Once we get people on base, we usually move them over and that’s our strength. We’re very consistent with that,” said Toerner.

Messer added, “I think we all know the game, so we all know what we need to do, like the coach doesn’t really need to tell us, we kind of take it in our hands that if we need to bunt the ball, then we bunt it.

“So we don’t rely on coach as much, which I think is a big strength.

“The coach and the players are all on the same page on what we need to do, so I think that’s a big strength in our team.”

The question was put to Taylor about the potential of this team as far as making a deep run in the post-season, and she responded with an optimistic view on their abilities to get better and go for the big prize, a state championship.

The state final 4 is also in Bakersfield, scheduled May 18-20.

“Well yes, because this team is striving to get better every day, and we feel like we haven’t reached our potential yet, and we’re hopeful, so that’s the goal, to vie for a state championship,” Taylor said.

“So yeah, sure, I think we can do it, absolutely.”

Date March 15 March 22 March 24 March 25 March 27 March 29 April 3 April 5 April 10 April 14

Softball Schedule

Opponent *Glendale, 2:30 p.m. *Santa Monica, 3 p.m.

Taft, 10 a.m.

Santa Barbara, 2 p.m.

Riverside, 2 p.m. *Citrus (DH), 2:30 p.m. *LA Valley, 5 p.m. *LA Mission, 1 p.m. *Canyons, 2:30 p.m. *Glendale (DH), 2/4 p.m.

Cuesta, 1 p.m.

Mt. SAC, 5 p.m. *Denotes WSC Blue Division Games

Site Glendale Santa Monica Bakersfield Bakersfield Bakersfield Bakersfield Bakersfield Sylmar Santa Clarita Bakersfield Bakersfield Bakersfield

Schwartz gets back on track

BC team focuses on one game at a time

By Nestor Fernandez Reporter

Megan Luecke / The Rip

Bakersfield College catcher Kara Frankhouser bats early in the game on March 1 against Oxnard College at home.

BC beat Oxnard 6-1.

By Esteban Ramirez Sports Editor This year’s Bakersfield College track and field team has gotten a big boost from freshman Chris Schwartz even though it took Schwartz a while to get going after not competing for over two years.

After high school in 2009, he attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, but it didn’t work out as he expected.

“First off, they didn’t give me a scholarship and I was paying for most of it,” said Schwartz.

“Also, my grades weren’t that good.

“I think it was the course system. It was too fast for me, so I had to come back.

“At Cal Poly, I was trying to adjust and do everything at once all by myself, but once I got here I changed that.

“I know I can do some things on my own, but I know now that I can’t do everything on my own.”

Schwartz went to Foothill High School here in Bakersfield where he posted a lot of impressive times during his time there.

He posted a 4:13 for the mile, 8:45 for the 3,000, 3:57 for the 1,500 and 8:51 for the 3,200.

He also was the cross-country state champion and the number one runner in the state in his final year at Foothill.

He also made the top eight in the Foot Locker National State Championship.

“After I left [Cal Poly,] I took two years off.

“I didn’t want to do anything but just work,” he said.

“It wasn’t until this year that I decided to come back to school.

“The first few races were tough because I had only trained for about a month, but as I started

training with coach Frickel I’ve started to get back in shape.

“He’s pushed me, giving me a lot of tips along the way, like riding my bike a lot more often.

“I think it has helped me get back in shape a lot quicker.

“I’ve always liked running. It’s fun, but I’ve enjoyed this year more because of everyone on the team,” he said.

BC track and field coach David Frickel commented on how Schwartz has progressed.

“He’s doing really well, which is incredible because he’s only been practicing for a short while,” said Frickel.

“He does everything well, and he’s a good leader in the way he handles himself.

“I like that he’s a competitor out there, and if you tell him to get a certain time he goes out there and does it.

“We’re still trying to get him comfortable with competing and school.”

He added that he thinks that Schwartz taking those two years off helped him out.

“It helped him get more mature physically.

“I also think the two years off made him hungrier,” he said.

“I saw him throughout his high school career.

“I knew what he brought to the table and what he’s capable of.”

Schwartz posted his best time in the 1,500 in the last meet with a time of 3:57 He has also had some close races with Chris Lowe from College of the Canyons, who was last year’s state champion.

“It’s a goal of mine to beat him,” said Schwartz. “My main goal though is to win state in the 5,000 and 10,000.”

“My main goal is to win state in the 5,000 and 10,000.”

–Chris Schwatz, BC athlete

Megan Luecke / The Rip

Bakersfield College’s Chris Schwartz runs during practice March 8. Schwartz was a former number-one runner and former cross-country state champion in high school.

Sports

Page 10

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Athletic department ready for cuts, reflects

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief With new details of the state budget coming out of Sacramento, and the Moorpark College baseball program disbanding after this season, members of the Bakersfield College athletic department are bracing for the likely cuts coming their way and reflecting on the loss of a member of the Western State Conference.

BC athletic director Ryan Beckwith is preparing his department for the worst possible outcome.

“With the situation that we have in the state, we’re going to have to be proactive in the way we do business,” Beckwith said.

“We’re trying to cut costs everywhere, and we’re going to have to make adjustments and get out in front of this thing.”

The news of the Legislative Analyst’s Office’s latest report has brought the budget issue to the forefront of every person involved with the California Community College Athletic Association.

CCCAA president Carlyle Carter has of between $13.2 and $17.8 million for encouraged athletic directors across the the 2013 and 2014 budget years,” Serrano wrote. “The $17.8 million reduction state to take the situation seriously.

“Many still hold the opinion that the for KCCD assumes that the Governor’s economic situation and effect on sport tax proposition will fail in November. programs is ‘business as usual,’” Carter This projected decline represents the largest decrease said in an email in ongoing unreto all athletic directors of the stricted funding CCCAA. “Given ever encountered the recent situaby KCCD.” tion regarding the Beckwith and LAO recommenthe rest of the dation to disallow athletic departapportionment for ment are currently intercollegiate PE considering their courses … and this options and how –Ryan Beckwith, latest development, to handle the situI would hope all of ation.

Athletic director us would view this “That is, right as a need to step up now, the big disour efforts [and] find more advocates on cussion that we’re contemplating right campus and around the system.” now,” he said. “How are we going to cut According to an email sent out by costs so that we don’t lose anything?” chancellor Sandra Serrano, the deficit Beckwith said that they are going could have a major impact on the Kern to accomplish this by doing their “due Community College District. diligence to make sure that we’re saving “The growing state deficit could re- our costs so that we are not costing the sult in a reduction in the KCCD budget college as much.”

“We’re trying to cut costs everywhere, and we’re going to have to make adjustments and get out in front of this thing.”

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief The Western State Conference will be losing Moorpark College’s baseball program after this season due to financial issues and budget woes, forcing the Bakersfield College baseball team to say goodbye to a friendly and familiar foe.

“Over the years, there is a friendship and a mutual respect that has been developed between the two programs,” BC coach Tim Painton said. “You hate to see that disappear.”

Painton’s relationship with Moorpark coach Mario Porto dates back to when he took over to coach the Raiders 13 years ago after 10 as an assistant coach.

Painton credits Porto with conducting a successful program that has consistently moved players on to four-year schools, as well as seen players move up to play professionally.

“He’s done everything right,” Painton said. “And to have the carpet pulled out from underneath him is something that doesn’t seem fair.”

Moorpark, over the past few years, has become a constant presence on the BC campus.

“This has really become their second home,” Painton said. “They play two tournaments here and usually come up and play us a single game as well.”

Athletic director Ryan Beckwith is sad to see Moorpark’s program go.

“To see any program or sport cut is sad all the way around, even if it’s not here,” Beckwith said. “It’s a great, historical and successful program.”

BC second baseman Elijah Trail said that seeing such a familiar program go down “is kind of heartbreaking” after so many years of stability and success.

“To see them shut down all of a sudden is unfortunate,” Trail said.

“They’re a great group of guys and playing against them was fun. They have great class [and] they’re just true sportsmen.”

Renegade outfielder Jake Verdugo said that seeing a program like Moorpark shut down should make BC put its own situation in perspective.

“You just can’t take what you have for granted,” Verdugo said.

Trail setting the tone behind the plate for BC

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

Painton said that working on swing mechanics and developing a proper routine has helped Trail Often overshadowed by his tremendously over the past year. teammates during his freshman “As he’s done that, we have year at Bakersfield College, sec- seen the benefit of his hard ond baseman Elijah Trail is now work,” he said. “He’s put in a the clear-cut leader of his team’s lot of hard work into making the offense in 2012. adjustments that needed to be Trail credits his turnaround made.” from last season to a conversaTrail agrees that maturity tion he had with played a big “I don’t know where I’m part in his disapoutfield coach going after this, but right Sean Alexander pointing freshnow I’m just focusing on before the year this team and what we man year. have to do to get to the started, in which “My matuultimate goal, and that’s rity level has Alexander told the Final Four.” him, “Regardless changed since –Elijah Trail of your stats, just Second baseman last season, but go out and have I’ve been able fun and do what to make the Trail’s latest performances you can to help AB R H bi HR game easier on the team win.” March 1 Moorpark 4 0 2 0 0 myself,” Trail “That’s been March 3 West LA 4 1 2 0 0 said. “Because the only thing in March 6 at Canyons 6 2 3 6 2 the game is hard my sights since,” March 8 LA Valley 5 1 2 1 0 enough as it is.”

Trail said. “I March 10 at Citrus 4 1 0 0 0 But now, Trail just realized that has his team on there are bigger things than just the fast track to the playoffs and myself.” to his ultimate goal for his team: Trail has lit up opposing pitch- the Final Four. ers so far this season and leads “I don’t know where I’m going his team in nearly every batting after this, but right now I’m just statistic, including a batting av- focusing on this team and what erage of .387 and a we have to do to get See TheRip.com conference-leading to the ultimate goal, For up-to-date results and that’s the Final four home runs.

Coach Tim Painton and coverage of the BC Four. baseball team appreciated Trail’s “We’ve taken it consistent production upon ourselves,” he as the rest of the team’s offense said. “That’s where we want to went through growing pains to get to.” begin the season.

Trail’s success has garnered his “He has been consistent since attention from Division-I scouts, day one,” Painton said. who can often be seen scattered Painton said that Trail showed around the crowd at BC home signs as a freshman of the domi- games, but Trail says he tries to nant player that he’s been so far not look ahead. this year, but an inadequate men“To be honest, it’s just a little tal approach toward the game confidence thing,” he said. “But hampered his production. at the same time you have to “We sat down and talked about think about the game like it’s a a mental approach and being new day and anything can hapconsistent on a day-to-day ba- pen. I just try to leave that behind sis,” Painton said. “He’s put a lot and focus on this team and what of time and effort into develop- we are doing, not really what is ing that.” going to happen next year.”

POWER | The Renegade offense explodes midway through season

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

omar oseguera / The Rip

Elijah Trail, right, has lit up opposing pitchers so far this season, batting .387.

Men’s golf lagging behind in disappointing season

By Esteban Ramirez Sports Editor The Bakersfield College men’s golf team continued to struggle in the Pt. ConCeption tournament at Valparaiso Golf Course on March 5-6.

BC placed sixth out of seven teams with Santa Barbara taking first with a score of 388. Ventura took second with 390 and Glendale took third with 391. BC ended up with a score of 424.

“We’ve struggled to play well,” said BC coach Bill Kalivas.

“It has been a tough year because we’re kind of just giving away strokes.

“We’re making small errors that are costing us on our score.

“The scores aren’t as important as our play, but our play has been bad.

“We need to keep the ball out of the hazards. I think for the most part we’re not used to playing in courses like these, and I think it has made it tough

for us,” he said.

He added that he thinks the unfamiliarity with the courses has been a big problem for them.

“Our team is good enough. We shouldn’t be 30 strokes off,” he said.

“I think we just haven’t been exposed to these golf courses, while all these other teams are close to these courses so they have the opportunity to practice on these courses.

“We’re very young so I know it’s going to take a while. I think we will start to do better in the second half of the season. Sometimes you just got to take your lumps,” he said.

Freshman Jack Henneberry led the team with 79 on the first day, but had a big drop off on the second day with an 87.

BC also struggled at the Western State Conference Meet on Feb. 27 at Rio Bravo Country Club.

They fell to seventh place out of seven teams.

BC’s next tournament will be the North/South Cup Invitational at Paso Robles on March 18-19.

Bakersfield College’s pitching staff dominated the first few weeks of the baseball season, but recently, the Renegades have come of age behind the plate, creating balance and stability across the roster and leading the state in home runs.

To start the season, the pitching staff carried the load for BC at a time when the team’s offensive production was limited to just a few guys inconsistently stepping up in big moments. Lately, though, the team’s bats have come alive.

“It’s baseball, and things come and go,” coach Tim Painton said. “We’ve felt since the beginning of the year that we have a very good offensive club, and at times haven’t produced. But that’s the game of baseball.”

Painton points to the team’s March 6 win over College of the Canyons, when the offense put 18 runs on the board, as a stepping stone in the right direction.

“Hopefully that will jump start our offense a little bit and get us going to where we can get a little bit more consistent,” he said.

The team certainly got production when they needed it.

Second baseman Elijah Trail has been the teams most consistent player, but is relieved to see his teammates find their strive.

Trail said that his team leans on the long ball for the majority of their production “Most of our lineup can put the ball out of the yard at anytime during the game,” he said.

BC’s offense is constantly swinging for the big hit. The offense is ranked 56th overall in the state with a mere 49 walks, but ranks first in the state with 15 home runs.

“We’re just aggressive,” Trail said.

“We want to hit. We don’t want to walk.

“We get a lot of guys in 2-1 counts, 3-0 counts, but when we get a fastball, we rip our underwear trying to swing as fast as we can.”

Sports

Page 11

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

BC swimming wins in dual meet

By Esteban Ramirez Sports Editor Bakersfield College’s swim team hosted a dual meet against College of the Canyons on March 2, and won after having their last two meets cancelled.

BC men’s team outscored Canyons men’s team 523-436, while the women outscored Canyons women’s team 464-319.

BC won 13 of the 22 events, including the women and the men’s 200 medley relay, the women’s 1000 freestyle, women 200 freestyle and the men’s 200 freestyle relay “I think we did good since it was the first dual meet of our season,” said BC coach Charlie Pike. “I think it was great that they were able to overcome them being rusty and swim really well.

“It would’ve been nice to get in a stretch of a lot of meets, but I think the kids will get back into the flow of things after the next two meets,” he said.

He added that they took a team

hike before this meet, and he thinks it really helped them grow as a team.

He also said that he thought sophomores Jake Reed and Francesca Wyatt did really well.

“Jake and Franny did really well,” he said. “I was impressed that they had such fast times, since they were really tired coming in.

“They’re starting to come together as a team I would just like them to clean up some of the small things.

I really want us to get off the blocks quicker because we’re still a little slow in the start, and we need to turn quicker as well.”

BC competed in the Cuesta Invitational on March 9-10. Twenty-three teams competed and BC’s women took 10th, while the men placed 12th.

Ventura College women’s team took first and Santa Rosa College ended up first for the men’s. Wyatt continued to swim well, placing eighth in the 1,650 and 10th in the 200 and 500 freestyle.

RIPPING SPORTS | Taking on

Megan Luecke / The Rip

Bakersfield College’s Catherine Lugo swims the butterfly in the 200 medley relay during a dual meet against College of the Canyons on March 2.

“They’re really tired,” said Pike. “They’ve been going through some of our toughest week of practice that’s called `Hell Week.’

“This invitational was important for me to see how they measured up against everyone

By Nestor Fernandez Reporter

Jimmy Moran serves the ball to Robert Herr of Santa Barbara City College on March 6. SBCC defeated Bakersfield College 9-0.

College athletics must stay intact every sports issue.

else.

“I wasn’t happy with how we competed. I would call it a lackluster performance because I think they haven’t learned how to swim through the pain. When they get worn down they tend to shut down. Some of them are

novice still and don’t know how to run through that wall.

He added that he thinks as soon as they get through this week they’ll be fine.

BC is scheduled to have their next meet on March 23 at L.A. Pierce College.

Struggles continue for BC

Nate Perez / The Rip

Column

On March 1 at L.A. Pierce College, the Bakersfield College men’s tennis team took another one on the chin as they lost 8-1 in matches.

The only win for BC came with number two-seeded Michael Rice defeating Royce Pasiliao 6-4, 7-6 in a close two setter.

The BC women’s squad defeated Santa Monica College 5-4 on March 2 for their first conference win of the season.

The match was played at BC, but the start of the match was delayed because Santa Monica ran into a traffic situation.

The theme of the day for BC seemed to be a slew of comeback matches, and BC head coach Teri Lynott was pleased with the overall effort the girls put forth.

“Our first win of the season, it was a very interesting match.

We had quite a few good comebacks.”

At No. 1 singles, BC’s Kim Butler defeated Courtney Gulihur 6-2, 6-3; at No. 4, BC’s Haleigh Dilbeck beat Karla Hernandez 5-7, 6-1, 6-3; at No. 5, BC’s Kassandra Beadle beat Arlette Peimbert 1-6, 6-2, 6-1; and at No. 6, BC’s Morgan Frazier beat Gua-

dalupe Vega 6-2, 6-0. BC’s No. 2 doubles team beat Leah Stewart/ Kassandra Beadle beat Courtney Gulihur/Ariette Peimbert 8-0.

“We do need to figure out a little bit of how to be better prepared to go into the match and be ready to play, so that we’re not losing first sets,” Lynott said.

“But it’s great that we’re able to come back and pull them out in the second and third, that’s been pretty exciting.”

Santa Barbara City College came in to BC on March 6 to play the men’s team.

The SBCC squad left after winning all their matches (9-0) against BC. The Renegades also lost their top-seeded singles player Adrian Magallanes to a right ankle sprain near the end of his singles match to SBCC’s Miles Seemann.

Because of that injury, BC had to default their top-seeded doubles match against them.

BC, Victor Valley College, and Reedley College men’s squads met in a three team round-robin on March 7 at BC. The men got their first win of the season against Victor Valley in the afternoon matches, beating them 7-2.

It was a very long day of tennis, but well worth the effort for

the BC men as they also won the nightcap against Reedley 5-4. The Reedley matches came down to a very exciting doubles match between Thomas/Rivera (BC) and Moralez/Sangera (Reedley).

They ended the match winning it 9-8 (9-7 in the tie breaker), and it was the deciding match that finished after 10 p.m.

It was a very competitive match that featured some heated verbal exchanges, and it added to the drama.

Reflecting back on the matches, Lynott was pleased with the results considering they had lost their top singles player Magallanes due to an injury against Santa Barbara.

“It was a good match today against Victor Valley. You know we were missing our number one player today because he was hurt on Tuesday. He sprained his ankle.

He is going to try to play tomorrow [against Ventura], but we didn’t have him for the matches today, you know I really can’t separate the two things out really.”

Against Ventura College on March 8, both the BC men and women were shut out 9-0. Ventura is currently ranked No. 1 in the Western State Conference by Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.

Athletics is usually one of the first things to think of cutting when a school is faced with financial problems or a budget crisis, but I think athletics is one of the departments that needs to stay.

Athletics can help the school’s financial issues because a lot of sporting events make a lot of money for schools Unfortunately, a few schools have had to forfeit some of Esteban Ramirez their sports because of financial problems.

Recently, Moorpark announced that they will be losing their baseball program after this season, but Moorpark isn’t the only school facing this crisis.

Many schools are not only forced to drop certain sports, but also having to cut PE courses.

I think this is the worst thing that can happen to athletics as a whole because I know I started to die slowly each day during the NBA lockout.

I’m sure that all the baseball players for Moorpark were really ticked off because I know I would be if I found out that there wouldn’t be a baseball season next year.

It’s a lot easier for sophomore who will be leaving after this season, but the freshman must be at a loss because some of them will either go to a different school or just not play baseball anymore.

I know if I was athletic enough to be on the Bakersfield College baseball team and found out that there would be no season next year, I would seriously consider going to a different school.

I wish I could say that the solution is easy, but anytime you’re dealing with a budget crisis, the solution will hardly ever be simple.

I think we’ve got to find a way to keep athletics, at least if we can’t save PE courses, because sports are very important.

Many of these student athletes learn many valuable life lessons as a part of a team.

They learn how to be a good team member which can not only come in handy in certain jobs, but also you learn how to handle yourself when the team is doing good and when the team is doing bad.

These are qualities that you can’t learn in just any class or course.

I’m not going to say that sports are more important than a good education, but it’s not something we should throw away.

It can be beneficial to not only students, but the school as well because when sporting events are handled right, it can help any school financially.

Aside from sporting events, you can hold fundraisers for certain teams, and usually a lot of alumni will donate to make sure to keep the athletics department intact.

We shouldn’t have to take away the athletics department because there is more than one way to ensure that it stays, and if a school can’t find an answer, well then obviously they’re not putting a good effort to ensure that it stays.

Athletics is an important part of the college atmosphere, and it’s every schools obligation to ensure that it remains a part of the school.

Hopefully BC never has to go through what Moorpark has gone through.

Hopefully every other school, including BC, can find a way to ensure that no sports get taken out, so this incident does not happen to any other school because we need to keep sports intact.

Spotlight

Page 12

Friday night fighter

By Nate Perez Reporter

Bakersfield boxer Mike Dallas Jr. has a record of 18-2 with seven knockouts and one draw.

Dallas isn’t known as a knockout artist, but he possesses other physical tools that make him a tough challenge for anybody.

“I’m a guy that usually has a good jab, very fast and [uses] good footwork,” said Dallas.

When Dallas isn’t boxing, he walks 2025 pounds above the Junior Welterweight limit of 140 pounds.

“Through a course of like two-three months, I get all the weight down,” he explained.

Dallas began boxing at five years old and had a long amateur boxing career prior to turning pro. Dallas made it all the way to the Olympic Trials before losing on points.

“I lost in the quarter finals. I shouldn’t have lost, but a lot of it is the computer scoring [and] a lot of politics,” he said. “I really won a gang of fights. [I felt] I had more of a pro style than amateur.

“I was ready to turn pro. I was already 21 and I [had a lot of amateur fights], won a lot of national amateur championships. I had like 180 something fights, so I thought it was time to turn pro. I felt I was ready to do it.”

The loss at the Olympic Trials was a big blow to Dallas.

“The worst [moment I had in boxing was losing at] the Olympic trials when I really won a fight, but [officially] lost,” he said.

“It kind of threw me off because it was a big dream to go to the Olympics.”

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Bakersfield isn’t known as a hot spot for boxers. There are a few local gyms, but not many prizefighters.

Dallas trains in Oakland with renowned boxing trainer Virgil Hunter, best known as the trainer of Super middleweight champion Andre Ward.

Dallas began working with Hunter last year after getting knocked out in seven rounds by Junior Welterweight prospect Josesito Lopez on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights in January 2011.

Dallas started off boxing well, but as the rounds progressed, Lopez’s relentless pressure eventually broke down Dallas and the referee intervened in order to stop the punishment.

In his very next fight, Dallas lost a controversial majority decision to Mauricio Herrera on Friday Night Fights in June 2011.

The bout was very close and although Dallas officially lost, many felt he actually won.

Prior to working with Hunter, Dallas was trained by his father, Mike Dallas Sr. “Its been cool training with Virgil, he [has] a lot of experience training. My dad taught me everything I know and [Virgil] added onto it,” he said.

“It’s a different environment, [but] he’s a good coach to work with. He knows a lot about boxing.”

On Feb. 17th, Dallas faced heavy puncher Miguel Gonzalez on Friday Night Fights and easily out fought Gonzalez to a unanimous decision win.

“I knew Miguel from the amateurs. He was a top amateur and a very good fighter, but I knew I had to be aggressive and I took the fight to him and it really took him out of his element because he thought

Nate Perez / The Rip

Mike Dallas Jr. shadowboxes on March 7 at the Bakersfield Police Activities League Center where his father Mike Dallas Sr. began training him as a kid.

I was going to be moving around and stuff, [but] I was more aggressive.”

Dallas credited his tough training regimen and his sparring partners for the win.

“I trained with Eloy Perez, Karim Mayfield, who’s another [Junior] Welterweight and a guy named Stan Martyniouk. I had a lot of good work, top athletes,” he said.

Dallas currently has 21 fights in his five-year career. Dallas feels like he will be ready for any of the titleholders at the Junior Welterweight division.

“It wouldn’t matter as long as it’s a title fight. Whoever the guy is, I’ll fight him.”

Dallas reminisced on his two loss-

es.

“Both of them [were] kind of iffy,” he said. “Especially the Herrera fight, I know I won that. I just went into the gym and I was hungry. I didn’t want to have any more losses on my record.

I added some more stuff working on strength training, so it all worked out.”

Prior to training in Oakland, Dallas would often travel to gyms in Southern California such as Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood owned by Freddy Roach. Wild Card is the home of many professional boxers and is known as one of the best gyms in the world.

There, Dallas got the opportunity

to spar with the likes of Manny Pacquiao.

“I felt like I gained a lot of experience sparring with Pacquiao,” he said.

“He had a lot of experience. When I was sparring [with him] I only had like six fights at the most.”

Dallas attended California State University, Dominguez Hills for three years pursuing a Kinesiology degree, but put his college career on hold in order to pursue a professional boxing career.

Dallas plans on returning back to school sometime soon. ”When my boxing career is finished, I’ll probably coach and help out the kids in the community.”

Top: Mike Dallas Jr. shadowboxes upon returning to the gym for the first time after his most recent fight against Miguel Gonzalez.

Left: Mike Dallas Jr. does heavy bag work at the gym. Dallas plans to fight again in May on the undercard of Super Middle Champion Andre Ward’s upcoming fight.

Right: Mike Dallas Jr. shadowboxes at the Bakersfield Police Activities League center. Mike Dallas Jr. began boxing at 5 years old.

Nate Perez / The Rip

The Campus Cat Coalition works to save cats at BC

By Angie DelGado Reporter Many Bakersfield College students have not heard of the Campus Cat Coalition. The Campus Cat Coalition is designed to help decrease the population of feral cats around college and university campuses. Bakersfield College is a part of this organization.

At BC, there are over 70 members, some of them are professors and others are community members.

Carol Paschal, library technician at BC, is also a part of this organization. She has been trying to take care of the population of feral cats at BC since 2002.

Through the Campus Cat Coalition and the Trap-Neuter-Release Program, many feral cats are trapped, neutered, and released back into where they were picked

up. This is to decrease the population of feral cats by keeping them from reproducing.

Even though the population at BC has been decreasing, the way that it’s been happening is not necessarily favorable. Over the years, there have been some dogs from the neighborhoods around BC that have been coming into the campus at night and have been attacking and killing feral cats.

“I was afraid to come to campus for fear of what I could find,” said Paschal.

Cat issues are happening on almost all campuses. Some have feral cats because there are dorms, and some, like BC, because of the close neighborhoods that surround the campus.

There are many myths about cats on campus, and Paschal feels that these get in the way of helping these animals. For example,

the myth that if a cat is fed it will always stay.

“By nature, cats are attracted to areas where people gather,” said Paschal.

Whether they are fed or not, they will stay around. Even if they are not being fed, cats stay and begin to try to feed themselves.

“If we don’t feed cats, they will find food in trash cans, and dumpsters and resort to killing birds for food,” said Paschal.

By sterilizing these cats and feeding them, this organization will be able to help reduce the population of cats around campus. One of the goals of this group is to help these cats find a home.

One particular myth that impedes with finding a home for the many cats at BC, is the myth that feral cats carry diseases that put people and other cats at risk.

“Studies have shown that the

rate of these diseases among managed feral cat colonies is no higher than among domestic pets,” according to an article in the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Paschal hopes that people will become aware of these myths and know that they are not true and that more people will be willing to help find these cats homes.

Even though this organization exists, Paschal hopes that it does not encourage people to drop off unwanted animals around the BC campus.

“Not only it is illegal, but their chance of survival is very small,” said Paschal.

She does hope that in the future more people will want to become involved with this organization.

“Maybe students would like to become involved and form a club,” said Paschal.

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

A cat pauses briefly before entering a shelter next to the Library on March 12 at Bakersfield College.