The Renegade Rip Vol. 83 No. 14 by The Renegade Rip

The Renegade Rip Bakersfield College

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Vol. 83 ∙ No. 14

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Football playoff changes being discussed PLAYOFFS | Chance of BC hosting a bowl could increase soon.

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

According to Ryan Beckwith, Bakersfield College’s athletic director, the California Community College Athletic Association is working on improving the playoff system for football. As of right now, only four teams from the Southern California Football Association are

granted a chance to compete in the playoffs. “When I went to the coaches’ meeting originally in the fall, they talked about doing away with the playoff system the way it is because right now it’s not really a playoff,” Beckwith said. “It’s a subjective thing. It’s kind of like you’re chosen to be in the playoffs.” Last year, BC hosted the Golden Empire Bowl without the Renegades participating because they were playing at Mt. San An-

tonio College in the first round of the playoffs. The attendance for the Golden Empire Bowl was 302, a major difference to where it would have been at if the Renegades were involved. Back in August, Clifford and Bradford Insurance Agency stated that they would not be sponsoring the game unless the Renegades are in it. According to Beckwith, Wes Bradford, owner of Clifford and Bradford, was planning on spon-

soring the game. “That was one thing that we didn’t put into the media, but Wes and I had talked about it and he was going to do it,” Beckwith said. Beckwith, though, knows that it is tough for them to put the game together without knowing that the Renegades will be involved, something that may be undecided until after the regular season is completely over. “It’s tough, and I think something that the CCCAA is evalu-

ating right now is the selection process and the way they do that,” Beckwith said. “But that, unfortunately, is out of our hands at this point. It’s completely on the CCCAA.” Beckwith said that a major talking point of the coaches’ meeting was BC’s chances of hosting a bowl. “That was kind of the consensus that I heard is that [BC] has to have a bowl,” he said. “If there’s going to be a bowl, and Bakersfield qualifies to be in it,

Foggy mornings shroud campus

Honor Society arrives at BC

The Bakersfield College parking lot is invaded by fog in the early morning of Nov. 28, the first day back to school after Thanksgiving break. The temperature dipped below 40 degrees in the early hours of the day and caught some students off guard. “I couldn’t even see if the bus was coming to my bus stop,” said Jennifer Wood, BC student. The fog is expected to dissipate over the next few days.

By Martin Chang Online Editor

megan luecke / The Rip

Web site blocking blamed on filtering software BLOCKING | Malware defense

program causes stir on campus.

By Keith Kaczmarek Reporter

If you think that the Bakersfield College network is censoring Web sites, you are mostly wrong. According to Todd Coston, the recently confirmed Director of Information Technology, when a student encounters the KCCDbranded “This Page Cannot Be Displayed” page, it was because the Web site was automatically blocked by a piece of technology called the Cisco IronPort. “We don’t really do site blocking,” Coston said. “We have a device that scans for malware, but rarely does that impact students. It’s like anti-virus.” The IronPort is a device that uses a reputation list of Web sites and periodically checks sites for malware or viruses and then adds

them temporarily to a blocked “The MPAA and RIAA are list. The process takes place au- monitoring. We have a respontomatically without any input sibility to educate our students. from the IT staff at the company We become liable for not doing or organization using the device. anything about it.” In fact, the only computers at The RIAA is the Recording BC that are specifically blocked Industry Association of America from accessand the MPAA ing certain Web “We don’t really do site blocking. is the Motion sites are a set of Picture Associamachines on the We have a device that scans for tion of America. second floor of malware, but rarely does that im- Both groups the library that pact students. It’s like anti-virus.” have been in the are dedicated news for their –Todd Coston, to looking up efforts to sue Director of Information large numbers books in various databases. of people who Technology Coston has are downloadstated that BC ing movies or does not do any monitoring of music illegally as well as pass students, but did note that they legislation such as the Stop Onhad the ability and could use it in line Piracy Act that is currently the event of legal action. under consideration. “We get notices from the SOPA would make any use RIAA and the MPAA,” he said. of copyrighted material online a Such notices are sent to KCCD felony. offices downtown and his staff In fact, in order to meet the has to track them down. legal requirements of the Higher

Inside

Reporter

Page 2: The newest local alternative for your gaming needs. Student Government Association sparks campus smoking debate.

A KCCD page is displayed when a Web site is blocked. Education Opportunities Act, the IT department has set up a new system to log wireless users who connect to the KCCD portal and who download content illegally or commit other crimes. “If we have a legal situation, we have to [investigate],” Coston said. “If there was a threat, we would go look into it.” That being said, Coston sees end-user education as the biggest

challenge and warns students to never give anyone their password or login information, even if they appear to be a KCCD employee or have sent an email from a KCCD or BC email address. For the purposes of this article, the Rip staff noted that Web sites like the Pirate Bay, a file-sharing site, was not blocked from the KCCD network, but the popular dating Web site Match.com was.

Since Sept. 30, Bakersfield College has had a Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society chapter. Phi Theta Kappa provides scholarships for students and participates in community services activities. The group already has taken part in the Wounded Warriors Project, a project where wounded veterans are provided with kitchen supplies and cards for the holidays. Together with Virginia Avenue Elementary School, BC donated 500 cards to veterans, 400 of which were signed by students here on campus. In order to join PTK, you must have a 3.5 grade point average and a certain number of transferable units. There is a $65 fee to join. Students must be invited to join, but president of the society Genise Wallace said that if you qualify and are interested you will be invited to join. Members can be active or inactive and still get benefits like the scholarships. A major resource provided to PTK members are access to scholarships provided to its members. At the website collegefish.org, members are offered scholarships from schools and universities. The scholarships are provided only for members of PTK and other groups. Wallace said about the scholarships, “It’s about recognizing the students who work so hard to achieve such a high level that they are rewarded with getting that extra step of getting more scholarships.” The scholarships offered are also offered to students on the Web site without students having to seek them out, a detail Wallace was careful to mention. The society is open to many suggestions for future Please see PTK, Page 4

Banks signs pest control contract with BC By Cassandra McGowan

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they should be hosting.” Beckwith said that because of the attendance that BC draws to games, not just bowl games, it is a major reason why they are considering a change. “It’s just like how we’re hosting the baseball-softball state championships,” Beckwith said. “We were told in the CCCAA – it was our first year doing it – it was the best it’s ever been.” When asked what the difference was financially if BC didn’t Please see CCCAA, Page 4

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BC’s basketball teams’ seasons are in full force heading into break.

Bakersfield College has entered into a contract with Banks Pest Control to spray for bugs and rodents on campus. In an e-mail from Paula Bray to the BC faculty, she asks the faculty to remove or seal any food in their offices to prevent further infestation. She also asks that no one use household bug sprays on campus. “We cannot use household products and commercial pest control sprays together because they work at cross purposes,”

wrote Bray. She says they have been made aware of the concern about the safety of the chemicals that will be sprayed and they are working together with Banks to come up with an “Integrated Pest Management Plan” to minimize the amount of chemicals to be sprayed. There are a few issues with this, according to professor of chemistry Kenward Vaughan. “My primary concern comes from people spraying carelessly…” Vaughan doesn’t appreciate the “casual and prevalent Please see BANKS, Page 4

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

A male earwig, otherwise known as a pincher bug, makes its way across a desk in Campus Center 1 on Nov. 28.

Features

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Providing an atmosphere, not just a store By Zak S. Cowan

said. “By supporting them here we give people who still use that stuff a chance to see it and pick There are five GameStop lo- it up.” cations in Bakersfield all conThere are many things that taining the same product and make Otto’s different from a atmosphere. GameStop, and it surely isn’t That is a major reason why limited to the type of games that Otto Cargill decided to start his each store sells. own store dedicated to games. Cargill, who worked at Otto’s Video Games & More! GameStop for 10 years, takes is Cargill’s idea of the optimum pride in his store being a more gaming store. personal experi“Really, it’s about ence compared to See more coverage at … being able to do GameStop. theRip.com things [GameStop] “Our target For more photos and can’t … by also ofcostumer is, litermultimedia fering vintage and ally, if they play retro games, carrya game, we take ing the things that people collect care of them,” Cargill said. “On or the older systems that people top of that, basically the mantra still want to play,” Cargill said. has been: neat, clean and mom“For examples, the original friendly.” Nintendo, Super Nintendo, the Cargill has taken it upon himGenesis – the older-style systems self and his employees to not that nobody else carries,” Cargill only make their store a more perEditor in Chief

Zak s. Cowan / The Rip

Otto’s is located at 7701 White Lane, next to the Firehouse. sonal and warming atmosphere, but also to help educate people about the gaming world. Cargill talks about a “soccer mom” interested in knowing about some sort of “Grand Theft

Auto” game that her kid wants. Cargill explains that his first reaction isn’t to sell the game; it’s to help that person understand the purchase that they are considering.

“By being able to sit here and talk with people and educate them instead of being driven by upper management that doesn’t know what’s going on in the stores, we’re able to provide [a more personal experience] for the parents as well.” The store isn’t just about sales. The space also consists of tabletops for games like Dungeons and Dragons, as well as a gaming room for customers to try out games that they are thinking of spending up to $59.99 on. The gaming room, fully themed in “Bioshock” decorations, is stock full of flat screens and seating that Cargill calls the best gaming seat you’ll ever use: theater seating. Being able to decorate and theme his store the way he wants is another one of the advantages that Cargill employs over

GameStop. The space compared to a GameStop, which average just 1,500 square feet, allows Cargill and his employees to dress up the store as well as have a more relaxed and open atmosphere. “One of the advantages of having all this space to play around with, as opposed to having a cramped little mall store with no square footage where people are just going to be crammed there in a line all day, we give people the opportunity to explore the store; give them space to be here,” Cargill said. “For the parents who bring their kids in … they have the opportunity to kind of kick back and not be crammed in against a wall while a thousand screaming kids run around them in a very tight space.” Otto’s is located at 7701 White Lane, next to the Firehouse.

Displaying Christmas from around the world ’Tis the season | Downtown display showcases customs and decorations from 40 countries. By Cassandra McGowan Reporter

Experience Christmas from all over the world and learn how Christmas customs from 40 other countries have been woven into American culture to make Christmas in the United States what it is today. Christmas Around the World opened Nov. 25 and will run until Dec. 30 on the second floor of Timeless Furnishings located downtown at 1918 Chester Ave. Sherrie Lewis along with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter started this event four years ago to educate people on how traditions from different cultures have come together in America to create our own holiday traditions. “What we do here is have tours, but people can go through on their own,” said Lewis. The tour starts with a display about Germany, which has 800 nutcrackers, and goes around the world from Japan to France and ends with the Czech Republic. There are storyboards explaining the legacy of Christmas within each country of the tour and each country displays décor that represents their Christmas heritage. Lewis said in Belgium they decorate their trees with choco-

late, lace and fruit, key items that represent some of Belgium’s biggest markets. The displays show the different aspects of Christmas celebrations around the world. “Africa gets up early to watch the sun rise,” she said. The Ireland display tells the story of how “The Twelve Days of Christmas” came to be and explains how each symbol of the 12 symbols represent a spiritual being. There’s an art gallery that features a Christmas tree decorated entirely with ornaments made from paper nativity scenes and also has hundreds of framed Christmas cards depicting nativity scenes. There was a sign that read: “paper nativities were once known as the nativities of the poor.” Lewis and her family spent countless hours getting everything set up. The night before her interview she said they stayed until 3 a.m. decorating and getting everything just right. “A few of our friends have stopped by and volunteered,” she said. Lewis does all the research and said she shops “all year long at yard sales and estate sales for the decorations.” They utilize the information the Internet has to offer, read

gregory d. cook / The Rip

A Christmas tree decorated with Chinese ornaments represents one of the 40 countries on display.

gregory d. cook / The Rip

Three wooden eggs, displaying paintings of the Madonna and child, are some of the many decorations that can be seen at Christmas Around the World. books, as well as conduct interviews with people from other countries to get a firsthand account of how Christmas is celebrated abroad. “We want to be accurate,” said Lewis. It’s not just about lights, trees and decorations. It’s about educating adults and children alike about where the legacy of Christmas came from and how all aspects of Christmas in the United States really represent the melting pot that we are. We pull traditions from other countries and meld them together and make them our own. “It’s a cultural event. It’s worth

Alt-rock legends come to The Fox Jon Nelson Reporter

It was all horn-rimmed glasses and skinny jeans as the hippest of the hip welcomed The Pixies to Bakersfield’s Fox Theater. “I wanted to die the whole time,” said Beth Harrell about the Nov.18 concert. The Pixies are probably best known for paving the way for ’90s alternative-rock bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins and for their underground hit “Where Is My Mind?” The band originally broke up in 1993, but reunited in 2004. They have been touring on-andoff ever since. In October 2011, the Pixies began the Doolittle Lost Cities Tour in which they play the entirety of their classic 1989 album “Doolittle” as well as b-sides and rarities from that time and miscellaneous hits. “We call it the ‘Lost Cities Tour’ because we wanted to go to towns we’ve never been to before,” bassist Kim Deal told the audience. Supporting act Imaginary Cities was the perfect warm-up band. They played loud music that was

perfect background noise for the crowd to chatter and wait for the main act to come out. The Pixies finally emerged as shadowy figures in front of a giant projection of Salvador Dali’s notorious surrealist film “Un Chien Andalou.” The band got comfortable and kicked off the show with the bside “Dancing the Manta Ray.” After they warmed up with a few of their lesser-known songs, The Pixies were ready to get into “Doolittle.” Watching the crowd combust when they started “Debaser” was worth the price. The band quickly proved that they still know what they’re doing even after all these years. Singer and guitarist Frank Black’s voice still has the same mentalpatient howl that it did 20 years ago. This was more than evident when they performed “Tame.” His sing-to-scream performance was impressive. Songs like “Hey” and “Wave of Mutilation” came complete with crowd sing-alongs. Screaming in unison with 1,500 people is really awe-inspiring. After they finished “Doolittle” and a few more songs, the band exited the stage only to come

back for two encores. The best song of the night came during the first encore. The band played the noisy juggernaut “Into the White” and employed an overactive fog machine to fill the Fox Theater with white smoke. At one point, the band was barely visible on stage. The highlight of the second encore was the Pixies playing a spontaneous and very rough version of “Dig For Fire.” One of the best things about the concert was the band’s communication with fans. Deal was constantly talking to the audience and asking questions. She even dedicated the song “La La Love You” to Bakersfield. “I bet you guys don’t get a lot of people playing through here?” she questioned. At one point, lead guitarist Joe Santiago was even using his iPhone to take video of the crowd. The Pixies have done what very few bands can. They’ve weathered breakups as well as the tide of popular opinion and managed to stay relevant. Over 20 years after their formation, they still sound amazing and I can’t wait to see them again.

people’s time. It’s fun,” Lewis said. All around the world people are celebrating Christmas their own way and Lewis and her family plan to show Bakersfield that Christmas is just another common interest. “There’s a very beautiful spirit about it,” said Lewis. Christmas Around the World is open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Tickets are $8 per person, $7 for seniors, $20 for a family of four, and children five and under are free. For information, contact Sherrie Lewis at 661-747-4316.

gregory d. cook / The Rip

A large collection of nativity scenes from around the world are part of the display that runs through Dec. 30.

Features

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Student, immigrant and musician By Patricia Rocha Reporter

International student Ivan Mendez and his America cover band recently showed off their musical abilities to a packed house at Coconut Joe’s banquet hall. “The response was amazing,” said Joe Coughlin, Mendez’s adoptive father and owner of the restaurant Coconut Joe’s. “I couldn’t be prouder.” “It was an awesome experience to watch them,” said Ami Coughlin. Listening to lead singer and guitarist Ivan Mendez’s vocals, it’s almost impossible to tell English is Mendez’s second language. Mendez moved to the United States when he was around 12 years old and says that the transition was difficult at first. “I don’t want to say it was a culture shock, because it’s not the same move to America from Mexico as the move to America from say, Europe…but I would say it was somewhat of a culture shock.” Leaving behind his mother and

hometown of Colima in Mexico, he says, was extremely difficult. “The first year was really hard, trying to learn the language, trying to adopt a culture, trying to get friends. It was just everything,” Mendez said. He said it took him about two years to really pick up English and find himself friends who would help him with his new language. “I tried my best. Every time I was in a class, I’d sit down and watch how people move their mouth. Try to pick it up from there,” he said. “I’d repeat a lot, everything I heard. Somebody would say a word, and I’d repeat it until I got it down.” Mendez felt it was extremely important for him to assimilate to his new home. “If you move here from another country, you must learn English in order to succeed. You can get by just speaking Spanish, but you’re not really going to go farther than anybody else.” “Ivan’s just been on this great journey and path in life and so we saw an opportunity to help him along with his journey,” said Joe Coughlin.

Mendez says his new family was a perfect fit and that the adoption was the influence that split the old Ivan into the new Ivan. “I started to get so much more education about everything; life and even music perspectives,” said Mendez. Majoring in business marketing, Mendez says his priorities are school, then the band, then helping out with the family business. Although music is a passion of his, he says being an international student means he has to choose his educational career path carefully. “Because I’m an international student, fees are very, very high for me, so if there’s a class I want to take, I really have to think about if I’ll get something really good out of it.” He says a three-unit class for him costs around $1,000, which is another reason why he chooses to major in business rather than music. He says he does have to sacrifice a lot for all the work that goes into being a student and musician.

Reporter

Outlawz Car Club of Bakersfield will hold its fifth annual toy drive Dec. 3 in the parking lot of La Cabana on White Lane from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Don’t let the name of this car club fool you because these people are actually very charitable and pay for all the costs of setting up the toy drive from their own pockets and all proceeds go to the cause. The club itself was started about seven years ago and has since been taken over by the current members, 18 families to be exact. When asked the main purpose of the club, Tim Lewis said, “Brotherhood and to have fun.” Five years ago, the Outlawz saw a need within the community, the need to bring a smile to a hospitalized child’s face. They decided to start the toy drive and have had so much success with the help of the community that they are now able to supply: toys, various books, children’s DVDs, and crayons year round. Jeff Hill works in Kern Medical Center’s Neonatal intensive

care unit and gets to see the need for smiles first-hand. “I’ve been at KMC for 24 plus years [and] in the pediatric unit for over 10 years. I had to move up there because I hurt my back, and now I love it,” said Hill. Everything they collect is for KMC, including any cash donations or money made from the raffles. It goes right to things needed for the pediatrics unit to make the children happy. “Everything is for the hospital,” said Bill Araujo The Outlawz take nothing, only give. “We collect enough toys in December to sustain for all year,” said Will Sheppard. The toy drive isn’t the only charitable thing the Outlawz participate in. They also help with two of the canned food drives KGET hosts, a fan drive and they also participated in Stuff the Bus. “We just do something for a cause,” said Bill Araujo. Various club members agreed that they like to help the community, they don’t want to line their own pockets, and they want to help the less fortunate. “[The toy drive] started off really casual and has devel-

courtesy of LEah coughlin

Ivan Mendez performs at Coconut Joe’s on Nov. 20

Gregory d. cook / The Rip

Members of the Outlawz Car Club pose with some of the toys they have received as part of their annual Christmas Toy Drive on Nov. 17 oped,” said Jeff Hill. Elizabeth Araujo said, “We didn’t expect it to do so well.” The Outlawz were all in agreement that the look in the children’s eyes once receiving the

gifts is priceless, and it’s all they can do to keep the tears from flowing. “To see these big guys with tears in their eyes, it’s something else,” said Elizabeth Araujo.

To make a donation, visit one of the various locations that the Outlawz have placed donation boxes or contact Bill Araujo at 661-912-4037 or Jeff Hill at 661477-2055.

Fitness and GSA hosts dance for LGBTQ students fun coexist on campus By Esteban Ramirez Reporter

Fit and Fun was a project by the sports club to get people more active and fit, but at the same time having fun. It started on Nov. 21 and ended on Nov. 23. This is basically a representation of what the sports club does according to club president Sarah Elliott. “We are holding this for our semester project and we choose to do this because it goes with our name. We do this for fundraising for trips and for club awareness,” said Elliott. “We’re going to have volleyball, flag football and a hula-hooping contest. We also take trips to go white water rafting and hiking.” She added that they were selling corn on the cob, pumpkin rolls, hot apple cider and candy canes to raise money. “We are trying to raise enough money to buy a volleyball net because we are sharing one right now, but our goal is still to get people out here and get them to be active,” she said. She also commented that they welcome everybody to come out to play and get fit. “It’s a great place to hang with your friends, so come out and have fun,” she said. The sports club meets on at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Free Speech Area.

Fashion is what makes an impression What are you wearing? | The Rip’s Features Editor talks about what’s hot and what’s not.

More like Robin Hood than Billy the Kid By Cassandra McGowan

Column

Nathan Wilson / The Rip

Students and friends from Bakersfield College, California State University Bakersfield and various high schools dance during the Bakersfield College Gay Straight Association’s 2011 Winter Formal: Alice’s Masquerade at the Metro Galleries, located at 1604 19th St. on Nov. 18.

This will be my last fashion column in the Renegade Rip. In the past 10 columns, I gave a lot of advice for the money-saving fashionista, fashion-forward, and not-so-fash- Chrystal Fortt ion-forward person, but I never talked about why fashion is important. Fashion is much more than an interest to fashion-forward people. Whether people care about fashion, “practice” fashion, or just throw on clothes everyday, everyone picks the clothes they wear. No matter who you are, the clothes you put on say something about you. Some people say that it’s vain to judge people based on their appearance, but it’s not. Everyone makes an assumption about a person when they first see someone. Many people misconstrue this notion with not accepting a person because of the way they dress, which would be judgmental. But generally you can make an assumption about who a person is by the way they dress. For instance, when you see a man wearing rags, you assume he’s a bum. If you see another man wearing a collared shirt and tie, you can assume he’s a businessman. I wouldn’t call it vain to make this assumption. It’s just a way to know about a person before actually getting to know them. However, I’m not saying that everyone’s appearance is always aligned with a person’s personality. It is possible that a scary looking Goth can be the sweetest person, but usually the clothes that someone picks helps portray themselves. Clothes are a person’s nonverbal way of expressing their personality, who they are, and what they want the world to think about them. It would be wrong to ignore this insight on a person. Some people dress based on their beliefs in politics or religion. There are those who purposefully dress in rags to defy society. They believe people who care about how they look or dress in brand name clothes makes a person materialistic and a product of society’s consumerism. You can probably assume that someone who has dreads, wears tie-dye shirts, and walks around without shoes believes in this notion; they’re making a political statement that they profoundly believe in. Women in the Pentecostal religion wear long skirts and long hair because of its modesty and obedience to God. Many people make the mistake of ignoring other people’s apparel and not taking the time to care about their own wardrobe. Some people don’t realize that if they dress sloppy, other people see this as a reflection of their personality and they’re sloppy with everything else. If someone doesn’t take the time to care about him or herself, why would they take the time to care about anything else? That’s how people view sloppy-dressed people. Like it or not, everyone is constantly being judged by their appearance. Fashion is a powerful tool to change others’ perception of you.

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Tobacco use part of SGA agenda again By Jon Nelson Reporter

The Student Government Association is taking steps to ensure that the issue of tobacco use is at the forefront of student consciousness at Bakersfield College. For Fall 2011 the SGA and B-COUGH, Bakersfield Campuses Organized and United for Good Health, planned a number of events designed to educate students on the dangers of smoking and to hear student and faculty opinion on BC’s smoking policy. Several information booths were to be set up around campus. There was a presentation on quitting and two open-mic forums on tobacco-related issues planned. The centerpiece of all this was supposed to be an online poll and vote to possibly change BC’s smoking policy. “The student vote is the key to making this a success as we all must make every effort in getting the word out to ensure the success of achieving this goal,” said Derrick Kenner, SGA general counsel and head of B-COUGH. The SGA had even planned events to participate in the Great American Smokeout, a national campaign that encourages people to quit smok-

ing. Unfortunately, most of those events have been pushed back to the spring. “Yes, the online voting will take place during the Spring Semester during the opening week of school, all the way through the month of January,” said Kenner. There has also been a rumor that the SGA is trying to ban smoking on campus all together. “I heard about it, but I don’t smoke so I don’t really care,” said BC student Iraiz Bermudez. Rumors like this, however, are nothing new. Smoking has always been a big issue on campus. There have been numerous proposals to ban smoking at BC since 2005. “Everywhere you go, there’s smoke. You become a second-hand smoker,” said student Sally Fayes. However, not all students feel this way. “It’s upsetting,” said Drew Kurk, BC student. “I understand, but it’s a huge campus. If I had to be here for a few hours, I’d be upset that I couldn’t smoke.” All of this attention on smoking is meant to coincide with Senate Bill SB 795 that goes into effect next year. “This bill will go in effect on January 1st and it

CCCAA: Bowl game could be guaranteed for BC with new system Continued from Page 1 play in the bowl game at Memorial Stadium,” Beckwith said, “The CCCAA gets the majority of the money when we host a bowl game … it’s not about making money, it’s about hosting it and being the school that everyone wants to be at.” Back in 2010, though, BC’s athletic department offered Mt. SAC $20,000, half of which would come from Clifford and Bradford, if they would come to Memorial Stadium to play the game instead. Then-athletic director Jan Stuebbe stated financial reasons for

the offer. “If we have that game up here, we’re going to get a big crowd. I know in that particular game, we get 60 percent of the profits, and the last time we played Mt. SAC in the playoffs we had 12,000 people here,” Stuebbe said in an article in the Dec. 1, 2010 issue of the Renegade Rip. “We estimated having 10,000 people here and that would make us $100,000 and we would get $60,000, so I said I would offer them $10,000 to come up here.” Right now, a team must finish at .500 or better to be eligible for a bowl. BC’s team finished 4-6.

News Briefs Electronic recycling

Bakersfield College & Alianza Recycling is holding a Free Electronic Waste Recycling Event for all Kern County residents and businesses on Dec. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They will be accepting all televisions (with no restrictions on size or quantity), monitors, computers and all other electronic devices. They won’t accept florescent bulbs, alkaline batteries or large appliances. They will accept all car, golfcart, and rechargeable batteries. For more information contact Neil Agness at 369-9861 or nlagness@yahoo.com.

BC choir

gregory d. cook / The Rip

As part of a tobacco awareness presentation, students were invited to make a guess of how many cigarette butts were in this jar. is a bill that will allow for colleges and universities to enforce their smoking policies by citing for violations of the current policy,” said Kenner. “We (B-COUGH) would like to present this to the Academic Senate along with the massive numbers of votes that come in to complete the package for next year, which is a Revised Smoking Policy as well as a way to enforce the policy.”

PTK: New group at BC gives to veterans, offers accessible students scholarships Continued from Page 1 community projects. Wallace said, “We can do any suggestion. We can do a food drive, or if we wanted to, go out to a homeless shelter and feed people. It can be anything that helps the community. “We listen to everything and choose what we do. It’s about helping the community.” Carol Stiles, a member of PTK since its start here at BC, was invited to the society by e-mail and after researching the group and finding it valuable and hoping she would get some leadership experience. She said, “I’m really excited to do anything they are doing. It gives you

BANKS: Spraying pesticides on campus frowned upon by some faculty at BC Continued from Page 1 attitude/comment that ‘It’s OK when it dries.’” He goes on to say that anyone in the Chemistry Department will agree that the chemicals used within pesticides are not safe for people who may be sensitive to the toxins within the pesticides. “This is an issue regardless of who is doing the spraying,” Vaughan said. “[The pesticides are] considered by and large non-toxic, they’re not horrible to people, but you’ll find that people are sensitive to the chemicals,” he said. Although the chemicals are not said to be really dangerous to humans, Vaughan said he won’t be touching anything that’s been sprayed and he worries for students who come in to the hallways and sit down to relax before or after class. “Woe be it for those students who sit in the hallways,” wrote Vaughan.

“It’s a necessary evil. If we don’t take care of the bugs, we’ll be overrun.” –Lindsay Ono, BC agriculture professor

Not all of the BC staff feels the same though. “It’s a necessary evil. If we don’t take care of the bugs, we’ll be overrun,” said professor of agriculture Lindsay Ono. He said there are “all sort of critters around.” Bill Kelly, professor of agriculture, thinks the old buildings need to be sprayed, but thinks it should be done after summer school, but before the fall semester starts so there’s the least amount of people on campus as possible. Kelly also said he’s concerned about the endangered kit foxes that live on campus and said we

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

also have a raccoon and opossum along with stray cats and dogs that hang out around the horticulture lab. Kelly asked, “If the kit fox eats a dying mouse, is it going to be OK?” “If the pest control company is careful and uses chemicals that are compatible with farming, I think it’ll be OK,” he said. Horticultural technician Sally Sterns agrees that we have an issue with pests. “We’ve got cockroaches, we’ve got mice, we’ve got rats,” she said. Much like the other professors in the Agriculture Department, Stearns doesn’t feel the pest control is a huge deal. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” she said. Frank Daigle, an employee of Banks, said they use the “least toxic” pesticides and said, “We won’t be treating areas with animals or horticulture.”

a feeling of accomplishment to be involved in something like this.” Stiles thinks that the scholarships assistance provided by PTK will help her in her education. She said, “ I think it’s going to be very helpful when it comes to transferring to the university level. It’s really easy. You can create a profile, [and see] what you’re looking for in a school, what sort of scholarships match up with you.” Wallace said that the group is planning many events for the future, especially after the group gets training from other PTK groups. She is planning to have the group do more community service like the Wounded Warriors Project.

Bakersfield College’s choirs will hold their Annual Holiday Celebration on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and F Street. General admission is $10 or $5 for students, staff, active military and seniors, and can be bought at the door.

Holiday plants

Bakersfield College Agriculture is selling holiday poinsettias, wreaths, and topiaries this month. Check http://bakersfieldcollegeagricultureweebly.com for photos, descriptions and ordering information.

Play

“A Rosie Christmas” will be playing at Stars Dinner Theatre on Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 6 to 9 p.m. Show-only tickets are $35; matinee $45 to $50. Doors open at 6 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Call 325-6100 for more info.

Haggard

Merle Haggard with special guest will be at the Fox Theater on Dec. 10. Tickets are $40.50 to $60.50. Contact the Fox Theater for more information.

Workshops

Free CAS workshops are being held in SS151. On Weds. Nov. 30, the workshop “Effective Notetaking” will be 1-2 p.m., “Appalling Apostrophes” at 2-3 p.m., and “Rescuing Research” at 3-4 p.m. On Thurs., Dec. 1, the workshop “MLA Made Easy” will be held at 2-3 p.m. and “Commas II” at 3-4 p.m.

Campus

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The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Professor gets published Book Deal | BC English profes-

sor chronicles his 99-day bike ride across America

By Nate Perez Reporter

“The Winky-Eyed Jesus and Other Undescribables” is a book by none other than Bakersfield College English professor Scott Wayland. The book describes Wayland’s experience on his 99day bike ride across the United States. “The Winky-Eyed Jesus and Other Undescribables: An elite, feral recumbent cyclo-tourist wages human-powered jihad against the force of gravity and the awesome span of the North American continent” describes

the strange people and creatures Wayland meets, the landscape and his overall experience in 354 pages. Wayland’s journey took a little over three months, but his book took nearly four years to write. Wayland had to find time between teaching in order to finish. “During the semester, a lot of writing didn’t get done. Summer’s when a bulk of the writing happened,” said Wayland. The book originally began as a blog. While Wayland was on his journey, he would write on paper at night and would stop at a public library during the day. There, he would type out his daily journal onto his blog. “The Winky-Eyed Jesus and

other Undescribables” is selfpublished. Wayland himself did the layout, the design and so forth. Wayland hoped that the title would catch readers’ attention. The strangeness of it comes from an experience that Wayland had with a couple in Ohio. Wayland claims that if you read the book, you will fully understand the title. Wayland plans to write a new book after he finishes his next adventure. He is prepared for yet another bike ride, this time from Alberta, Canada to Colorado. Writing the book was also quite an experience for Wayland. Wayland claims, “It was real-

ly good for my teaching because I was doing what my students do during the semester.” The book is recommended for anybody, but people who love the outdoors will have an immediate attraction to Wayland’s book. It is filled with numerous photos of his journey, humor, internal debate and quite a few embarrassing moments that Wayland is not ashamed to admit. “It was such an incredible experience, I knew it would make a good book,” Wayland continued. “Hopefully, I inspire people to do some riding themselves.” “The Winky-Eyed Jesus” can be found on Amazon via paperback or on a Kindle edition.

School president speaks with students By Martin Chang Online Editor

A group of students recently had the opportunity to talk to Bakersfield College president Greg Chamberlain, Student Government Association president Tawntannisha Thompson, and president of the Academic Senate Cornelio Rodriquez in a casual conversation over coffee and muffins. These students had this opportunity as a part of President Scholar Program, a program for freshman students who show academic excellence. They discussed issues such as motivation, social networking, majors, and class transferring. Chamberlain described the talks as “an opportunity that the president scholars get. [It’s an] opportunity to have a casual get together, and it is just a chance to have a conversation and talk about whatever you want to talk about.” The conversation had a more

laid-back give and take. “I think that it was really good just to get to know the leadership of the institution you are attending,” said David Caploe, President Scholar member and digital arts major. “They’re really down to earth and friendly. They don’t take their position so seriously that they can’t talk to students. I like just knowing that they are interested individually in what we are doing.” Chamberlain also enjoys the talks. “I love it anytime I get a chance to talk to students in an informal setting,” he said. “I do meet with different students periodically, but I love to meet with the president scholars.” During the talks, the students and teachers talked about social networking and how it affects student lives. The students said that it can waste time and be isolating. But on the other hand, the students believe it could be great for jobs and net-

working. Chamberlain has a more negative view. He said, “It is a real issue. People get so involved in social media. Personally, I worry about how that’s impacting their personal, professional and student lives in terms of time, and I also wonder how that effects communication and interaction with people.” All of the leadership there seemed eager to answer and ask questions and have a discussion with students. Caploe joined the President Scholar Program to make connections and help him with his schooling. “The reason I joined is because the program offers really good opportunities to connect with other people that are trying to pursue their careers, their majors, and get good grades,” he said. “We get a $100 stipend maybe once a year, you get it for books. That’s really one of the benefits, too.”

Renegade Ranch annual plant sale offers seasonal decorations

Media services may be the most important department that Bakersfield College students have never heard of. It is the hub of all things technology for the college and the decisions they make affect every student’s learning experience. Bonnie Suderman, dean of Learning Resources and Information Technology, heads up the department. She explained some of the functions of media services, the challenges it faces in the current budget crisis, and how students can become more involved in the development of technology at BC. According to Suderman, media services provide and maintain the campus’ instructional technology. It oversees the operation of BC’s online and interactive courses as well as the library computer commons. It provides audio-visual equipment for instructors to supplement classroom lecture and is also the medium through which departments can request new equipment and technology for students to benefit from.

Features Editor

The Theater Club and African American Student Union Club are putting on an open mic event at the Bakersfield College Fireside room on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. To perform, there will be a sign-in sheet and each performer will have five minutes to perform anything. “You can do a song, monologue, poem, poetry slam, it doesn’t matter. You can even stand up there and just throw paint on a canvas – anything to show off your talent – just don’t be boring,” said Tyler Steelman, the vice president of the Theater Club. Steelman and Mithra Arambula, the president of the Theater Club and host of the open mic, has been planning for the event since last semester. “We wanted to do something that was around campus so we could reach out to the

Reporter

The Newman Club is a student organization for Catholic and Christian students, but anyone wishing to be involved in a prayerful, faithful community dedicated to serving others is welcome. Bakersfield College’s Newman Club was reinstated this semester after it was stopped about 18 years ago because, they needed a priest at the meetings but there was a shortage of priests, according to faculty adviser Lynn Krausse. “The students are fantastic,” said Krausse. “They’re always willing to pitch in and work, but it really surprised me how many faculty and former Newman Club members are excited and supportive of the whole thing. “Our big project is to collect food for BC’s pantry and students that donate get a chance to win a prize in a raffle.”

Keeping BC on the cutting edge The requests are reviewed by media services and forwarded to the BC Information Systems and Instructional Technology Committee. The ISIT committee includes representatives from faculty, staff, and even a student member. It makes recommendations for technology upgrades and final approval is then given by Greg Chamberlain, the college president. Suderman said there are many factors taken into account when considering a request for technology upgrades. “A lot of it depends on what the department wants and what they’re going to use. You have some departments that need to have the high-end technology and the latest equipment... Whereas other departments, the instructors concentrate more on teaching methods as opposed to technology,” she said. There are other considerations to be made, such as ensuring that BC has the infrastructure and trained staff to support the new equipment. There must also be funds lined up to replace it in three-years time when it will be considered

By Chrystal Fortt

By Esteban Ramirez

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

Reporter

BC students get to show their talents students more and interact more with the students to get them interested, not only in theater, but doing stuff as a school together,” said Steelman. Steelman feels there are not enough students going out to school events. “I think one of the big problems around campus with activities such as homecoming and the spring fling is that a lot of people working on them have great ideas, but a lot of students just don’t get behind them, especially last year,” said Steelman. “This year it’s been quite a bit better, but I still think more students should come out.” There will be a bake sale to promote the open mic event on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We’ll sell some baked goodies that we know are yummy to promote our open mic night so more people can come,” said Audraey Torres, the inner club council representative of the theater club.

Club donates food to BC pantry

Bakersfield College horticulture technician Sally Sterns stands at the back of the Horticulture Department’s mobile store parked in the Free Speech Area on Nov. 28.

By America Garza

Rip File photo by gregory d. cook

BC professor Scott Wayland rides his recumbent bicycle down Red Apple Road in Tehachapi on Feb. 12.

outdated. “We have to be careful [to] not get something grand that we can’t support later,” she said. According to Suderman, all of these factors contribute to the difficulty of adding new technology to the college during times of budget crisis. “The highest priority at BC is to provide instruction, to provide classes for you guys to take. So technology, although it is great to work with, will be cut before we will cut a class,” she said. Suderman explained that media services find ways to keep costs down and funds available for technology upgrades. Providing instructors with network access cards instead of having to pay for a Wi-Fi connection at off campus sites has saved the department money and the introduction of a remote technical support desk has saved on technician labor. Despite budget concerns, Suderman says the media services department welcomes student input when it comes to instructional technology. “It’s important to us to not just assume that we know what you guys need,” she said.

Students can bring canned food to the Student Government Association’s executive boardroom from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays to win an MP3 player or a touchscreen tablet. The drawing will be held on Dec. 8. “We’ve already had a successful bake sale, but we still haven’t decided where all the profits will go.” She added that they want to have a confirmation class for those who haven’t gone through confirmation. “Were hoping to get a big enough group to get a confirmation class and this way it would be a lot quicker than if you tried when you were younger,” she said. The Newman Club meets every Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-1p.m. and anyone is welcome to come in anytime between those hours. Krausse added that they haven’t yet settled on a day to meet for the spring semester.

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Local gym an outlet for young boxers

nate perez / The Rip

Joel Iriarte lands a left hook on Ivan Razo while Razo tries to land his own on Nov. 22. The sparring session went three rounds. The sweet science of boxing | A local gym provides good, clean, voilent fun for those interested in Bakersfield. By Nate Perez Reporter

eleonor segura / The Rip

Ready for their next sparring session, a pair of gloves and headgear hang from the turnbuckle of the ring.

The thought of somebody trying to hit you as hard as they humanly can is a scary one. The fact that it is completely legal, and the main objective of boxing, is even scarier. On a regular training session, there is between 10-15 fighters training at Refuse To Lose boxing gym. “They come and they go,” said owner, Joe Cardenas. He continues, “They’re almost all amateur fighters. I got one pro, but he’s on vacation.” Refuse to Lose boxing gym is located at 1131 19th St., and is open from 3:30 p.m. until the last person leaves, usually between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. The gym is a very loud environment with alarms going off every three minutes. The sounds of grunts being let out every time somebody hits a bag is common and loud music is thrown somewhere in between. To join Refuse to Lose boxing gym, you need to pay $45 monthly, have some handwraps and your own mouthpiece. What one doesn’t tell you bravery is a requirement. The rest of the equipment, such as gloves, jump rope and headgear are available at the gym. Cardenas himself was an amateur boxer in the ‘80s and trained out of Ten Goose boxing gym in North Hollywood with Joe Goosen. Many world champions have trained with Goosen including the late Diego Corrales, Gabriel and Rafael Reuelas, Terry Norris, Michael Nunn and others. One fighter who trains at Refuse to Lose is 11-year-old Tony Moreno. He’s fought for regional titles and has competed in multiple tournaments throughout California including one in Oxnard hosted by famed boxing trainer, Robert Garcia. Another fighter that Cardenas trains is 8-year-old Joel Iriarte. Iriarte currently has had two amateur fights, but has been training for almost one year. Boxing is something that Iriarte has wanted to do willingly since he was 6 years old. No pressure from his dad or anybody else, just himself. Iriarte said, “I like boxing a lot. It gets my anger out.”

eleonor segura / The Rip

Boxers are required to wear proper safety equipment when sparring.

“You have to really love it. You can love something, but you can’t love it enough to actually do it. You can do it for the sport, but when you love it, you’ll do anything.” –Joe Cardenas, Owner of Refuse To Lose boxing gym

eleonor segura / The Rip

The Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym, at 1131 19th Street, is a gym dedicated to the sweet science of boxing. A daily training regimen at Refuse to Lose starts with a jog followed by jump rope, shadow boxing, three or four rounds of the heavy bag, three rounds of the double-end bag, three rounds of the speed bag, followed by pad work with the trainer, and finally ab work. The routine typically lasts two hours. If a fighter is getting ready for a fight, sparring is also thrown somewhere in the mix. When asked what it takes to be a boxer, Cardenas said, “You have to really love it. You can love something, but you can’t love it enough to actually do it.” He continues, “You can do it for the sport, but when you love it, you’ll do anything.”

eleonor segura / The Rip

For a fee of $45 per month, people can train at Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym at 1131 19th St.

eleonor segura / The Rip

Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym has a regulation boxing ring for sparring sessions and matches.

eleonor segura / The Rip eleonor segura / The Rip

Tony Moreno, 11, prepares for an upcoming fight by doing some sit-ups at Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym on 19th Street on Nov. 24.

The walls of Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym are adorned with some of boxing’s greatest moments to provide inspiration.

eleonor segura / The Rip

A typical day’s training has fighters jogging, jumping rope, shadow boxing and working on the speed and heavy bags before working in the ring with a trainer.

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Page 7

Local gym an outlet for young boxers

nate perez / The Rip

eleonor segura / The Rip

Ready for their next sparring session, a pair of gloves and headgear hang from the turnbuckle of the ring.

eleonor segura / The Rip

Boxers are required to wear proper safety equipment when sparring.

eleonor segura / The Rip

For a fee of $45 per month, people can train at Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym at 1131 19th St.

eleonor segura / The Rip

Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym has a regulation boxing ring for sparring sessions and matches.

eleonor segura / The Rip eleonor segura / The Rip

Tony Moreno, 11, prepares for an upcoming fight by doing some sit-ups at Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym on 19th Street on Nov. 24.

The walls of Refuse to Lose Boxing Gym are adorned with some of boxing’s greatest moments to provide inspiration.

eleonor segura / The Rip

A typical day’s training has fighters jogging, jumping rope, shadow boxing and working on the speed and heavy bags before working in the ring with a trainer.

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

People in positions of power destroy trust By Cassandra McGowan Reporter

Molestation and child pornography seem to be a trending topic lately and quite frankly, I’m disgusted. Grown men forcing themselves on children, girls or boys, is wrong in so many ways that it just makes me want to vomit. Coaching football, working charities for children, composing music for children’s shows, teaching, policing, and preaching are all upstanding job titles, and the people hired to do these

jobs are supposed to be able to be trusted with our children. As a matter of fact, we teach our children to trust these individuals and that these are the people to go to when something bad happens. Then we come to find out these are the people who are harming our children the most. People like Jerry Sandusky and all the other people tied in with the Pennsylvania State University accusations were supposed to be trusted, but they allegedly allowed numerous boys to be molested and said nothing to po-

lice about it. How would you like it if someone molested your child when they were at a football camp and someone else on the staff saw it and said nothing or did nothing to stop it? Your child will have to live with that shame for the rest of thier life. All of these people with their feelings of pity for good ol’ Joe Paterno and Mike McQueary, I’ll bet they wouldn’t be so quick to root for them had it been their own child making those allegations. Even a former composer for

Sesame Street, Fernando Rivas, was charged with making child pornography when New Jersey police searched his home and found several inappropriate pictures of children on his computer. Rivas was also a jazz music instructor at a private school. It has been speculated that Rivas handcuffed a naked 4-yearold girl and posed her for pictures that he had on his computer. Now there are allegations against Syracuse University’s associate head basketball coach, Bernie Fine. His wife alleges that she has reason to believe

Fine molested a boy in their house 10 years ago, and another man is accusing Fine of molesting him. What the hell? Where are they finding these people? Why aren’t the people who are speculating these things saying anything until years later? All I know is if I found out someone who was supposed to be trusted with my children was sexually abusing them, I’d be the one in jail because I’d probably go ballistic and fly into a fit of rage and do some serious dam-

age. And if I saw something like that going on, I would be the first one in the police department making a report after I physically stopped the abuse. I can’t imagine not doing anything about it. I couldn’t live with myself. Those who have suffered through it can never forget these horrendous acts, and the internal damage is forever. In my opinion, all of these men deserve what’s coming to them, and I’ve heard that the men in prison don’t like child molesters.

Poisoning pests on campus isn’t bad, it’s necessary By Gregory D. Cook Photo Editor

Anyone who happens to find themselves on campus in the twilight hours of the day can’t help but notice that a good number of six and eight-legged beings also attend Bakersfield College. In fact, they make their homes here. To help control this microinvasion, the college has hired a local company to do some spraying, and that has more than a few people up in arms over the supposed dangers of using pesticides on campus. During the first week of this semester, I was surprised to discover a large black widow in the men’s restroom of the Fine Arts building. I’m not sure what was more disturbing, the fact that a potentially deadly creature was just hanging out in the men’s room, or the fact that this potentially deadly creature was a “she” in the men’s room. But in any case, it should serve to illustrate that there are places that bugs just shouldn’t be. In 1948, a Swiss chemist named Paul Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for figuring out the chemical Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, could be used to kill insects such as mosquitoes and fleas. It was a discovery worthy of such acclaim, not because it reduced the itching and scratching of the prize committee, but because the control of such insects caused a dramatic reduction in diseases like malaria and yellow fever. That’s right, despite the bad press it got in the 1980s, the evil pesticide, DDT, undoubtedly

saved countless lives that would have been lost due to mosquitotransmitted diseases, and used responsibly, countries like South Africa continue to use it today with great effect and little harm to the environment. And let’s not forget the Black Death that swept across Europe in the 14th century. It is estimated that the plague may have killed 40 percent to 50 percent of the population of Europe over a four-year period; over 200 million people dead. While rodents carried the disease, it was transmitted by fleas. Today, pesticides could prevent such an awful outbreak from occurring. The responsible usage of pesticides is crucial to man’s survival on this planet. There are from 6 to 10 million different types of insects creeping, crawling, squirming and squiggling over the surface of the Earth, making them, by far, the most abundant form of life in the world, and some scientists estimate that bugs make up 90 percent of the living organisms on this planet. They have to eat the same as we do, and when they get hungry, our farms, orchards and ranches are their fast food. It is estimated that insects destroy 10 percent to 30 percent of the food crops grown around the world. Without the protection that properly used pesticides provide, those numbers would skyrocket, leading to even more shortages of food and starvation. The key phrase here is “properly used.” It is abundantly clear that the unregulated usage of pesticides can have detrimental effects on the environment, but

chrystal fortt / The Rip

that statement can be said about almost anything. I imagine that the unrestricted use of doughnuts would cause a devastating increase in obesity. Unfortunately, self-regulation has never been one of mankind’s strong suits, and the misuse and over-

use of pesticides such as DDT has caused damage to the environment in the past. But as science progresses, and our understanding of our environment improves, safer pesticides are being developed. Many of the pesticides being

Letters to the Editor

used today in residential applications to control such pests as bedbugs and termites biodegrade. After doing their job, they break down into harmless chemicals, leaving the environment nice and clean for the time when man finally destroys himself, and

the insects get their chance at the top of the food chain. Pesticides are a necessary part of life, unless you want to share your food, your beds, your homes or your Fine Arts building’s men’s room with the little creepy crawlers.

Staff Editorial

Smoke-free campus Smoking ban is a waste of resources and money Dear Editor, No-smoking on campus should be enforced, even though the smoking limit is within 20 feet from a building. Smoking on campus is disrupting. It may be a stress reliever for some, but many people don’t like the smell. It gives others headaches as they walk by, and there is no way to avoid it. I think it is gross to smell smoke all over the campus. Every place I travel on campus, there has to be at least one person smoking. For instance, I get a headache and cough when I am around a smoker. It bothers me because they should

have a designated smoking area. That way if they want to smoke, they could and it won’t bother the rest of the students. It may be deadly for asthma patients to be exposed to the smoke every day. Also, secondhand smoke could be harmful for the young children coming from daycare or pregnant women passing by. This is why I think it should be enforced on the Bakersfield College campus. We come here to learn, not to be exposed to cigarettes and their smell. Daisy Morales BC student

Smoking has always been a touchy subject at Bakersfield College. The SGA has tried to regulate smoking on campus since the fall of 2005, and they’ve been failing at it since. So we’re going to tell you what we think should be done. The state law on smoking in public is all we need, and there is no need for extra rules and regulations. The state law reads, “No public employee or member of the public shall smoke any tobacco product inside a public building, or in an outdoor area within 20 feet of a main exit, entrance, or operable window of a public building.” If this is good enough for the governments of most the states,

then it should be good enough for BC. The state rule as it stands is a perfect compromise. The 20 feet that the law states does not greatly inconvenience smokers, while also placating those worried about secondhand smoke. The 20 feet is enough so that the smoke is not leaking into buildings, where the smoke is being forced onto nonsmokers. It is enough space that people worried about smoke can simply walk away. We at The Rip have not observed huge clouds of smoke outside classrooms, we have not observed smokers being rude. We have not observed anything that suggests that the smoking here is out of control or that the smoking on campus needs to be more con-

trolled. Some of you may remember a staff editorial published in May 2010 where The Rip’s staff spoke in favor of stricter smoking regulations. We certainly thought that than, but opinions change with the editorial board. The state law is perfectly fine and the SGA can do a lot more for its students than trying to crack down on smoking for the third time in six years. The SGA can better serve its students by addressing issues that need attention such as the impacted classes. Instead they attempt again and again to regulate and change something that doesn’t need tinkering with. The important thing is that if the

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

Editor in Chief........................Zak S. Cowan Reporters: Monica Bolger, America Garza, Keith Kaczmarek, Cassandra McGowan, Meisha Features Editor.......................Chrystal Fortt McMurray, Jon Nelson, Esteban Ramirez, Opinions Editor.......................Tyler McGinty Patricia Rocha Online Editor............................Martin Chang Photo Editor.........................Gregory D. Cook Production Editor...............Amber T. Troupe Photographers: Brandon Barraza, Megan Luecke, Nate Perez, Eleonor Segura, Nathan Wilson

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

SGA decides to spend time and money in this attempt to regulate smoking on campus, this needs to be the last time. After this year, no more tries whether the initiative succeeds or fails. If the SGA is serious about controlling smoking, then they need to get organized. The polls and forum meetings they plan need to actually happen. They need to consider the students’ beliefs. If they pass a new rule, they need to actually make it happen. It is the best use of everyone’s time if we simply leave the policy as it is, instead of putting effort into these policies that never actually materialize. So give it one last shot and when it fails, don’t bother another time.

Write The Rip

Letters should not exceed 300 words, must be accompanied by a signature and the letter writer’s identity must be verified. The Rip reserves the right to edit letters, however, writers will be given the opportunity to revise lengthy or unacceptable submissions. If an organization submits a letter as a group, it must be signed by only one person, either the leader of the organization or the letter writer. Pen names are not allowed and anonymous letters will not be published.

How to reach us

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

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Polls show a race bias in America

Column

It’s Oscar season Pop, Girls, Etc. | The Rip’s Opinions Editor shares his thoughts on pop culture and media. I know it may be a bit early to guess what films are going to win the 84th Annual Academy Awards. Sure, some of these movies haven’t come out yet, but I think I can make an accurate guess. So here are my picks for the Oscars.

By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

With the election of Barack Obama in 2008, people around the world applauded the United States for making a step forward in the fight to defeat racism and inequality. Now, three years later, there is a scary trend going on in national polls regarding Obama’s performance as president as well as his handling on various issues. In the latest CNN/ORC International Poll that included 1,036 adult Americans, signs of a racial line were clear. On one question, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?” Just 36 percent of “whites” approved, with 61

percent disapproving. “Non-whites,” on the other hand, approved 67 percent of the time with just 32 percent disapproving. This was the instance throughout the polls and got worse, when it delved into the issues. When asked if they approved how Obama was dealing with the economy, the disparity was even larger, with 70 percent of “whites” disproving and 52 percent of “non-whites” approving. Clearly, the racial line did not vanish with the election of President Obama and it seems we are in for a hell of a ride come election 2012. American citizens voting for somebody simply because of the color of his/her skin is the single-most detrimental thing that

could happen to our political landscape. When issues like national health care, our presence in foreign lands, and the national debt should be at the forefront, but when the color of someone’s skin is a voter’s deciding factor, we are in trouble. Now, I am not asking you to vote for Obama. I am not asking you to vote for a conservative candidate. If you are, or are not, going to vote for Obama, let it be because he is a left-wing politico and doesn’t fit in with your beliefs. And if you are, or are not, going to vote for Herman Cain, make the choice on whether he is a right-wing whack job, not because he is an African-American candidate. When 95 percent of African-Americans

voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 elections, those with any sort of education should have known that the racial line was still there. There is no possible way that Obama’s beliefs and stances on the issues line up with 95 percent of any group of people in the entire world. And now, three years later, we have more proof, with these polls, that it is still there and will be an elephant in the room come election time 2012. I truly believe that the majority of American voters are the most educated and well-informed democratic body in the history of our planet. If they can just get rid of their racial boundaries, our country will be on top of the world for decades to come.

‘The Muppets’ is a homage to ’70s films By Keith Kaczmarek Reporter

The new Muppets movie is a little too faithful to the long history of Muppet movies. It’s a fun movie and don’t let anyone tell you differently. It has two decent comedic actors and it has Muppet songs and Muppet jokes. It has everything you might remember if you were a fan of the Muppets when you were eight and you still have a soft spot for Muppets in your heart now that you drive a car and pay taxes. That’s the problem. It doesn’t take the Muppets into any new territory and it still feels like it was designed and written by mildly stoned hippies in the ’70s. The dialogue still feels stilted and forced and anyone who is not stoned wants the pace to speed up and get to the next sight gag, or next joke or the next song. The choices of locations still have the 1970s lack of imagination and feel like someone spent almost a day to scout and then rented them out with a banjo song and a bag of brownies. Most of the songs are old classics. Movie making has come a long way in the last 40 years and you just don’t see the evolution

here. There are a few shots of a famous actors like Jack Black walking Kermit that were obvi- making hilarious cameos and ously CGI and felt extremely plenty of laughs to be had. Once jarring with my memories of the set up for doing the actual Muppets, but there really isn’t Muppet Show has sucked up a any evidence that the substantial section of movie wasn’t remastered the movie, you get a ovie from old prints found in hit of pure Muppet Jim Henson’s attic. magic and you forget eview Where are the kinds of all the trials it took to sets we now expect in a get there. Kids and modern movie that are adults leave the thefull of life and character? ater humming songs How about a real Hollyand that’s exactly the wood/Broadway dance number effect you hope for when you set that doesn’t look like a flash mob out to watch the Muppets. you rustled up on Twitter? Heck, It’s also fun to see famous coI’d be happy with just some more medians and actors taking potoriginal songs and not retreads of shots at themselves in the proud the old classics. Muppets tradition. It’s a who’s There is also some real exis- who of “people in Hollywood tential darkness in this movie. with a sense of humor about All the characters, human or themselves” and I won’t spoil the Muppet, are questioning their surprise by naming any names. very identities and it’s hard to In conclusion, my hope is that watch sometimes. (I won’t even this movie is just the early stage go into how the premise of every of a new Muppet revival. The Muppet abandoning performing seeds are there, but it still feels a for soulless corporate day jobs, little odd to chastise the Muppets vagrancy, neurosis, or third-rate for being too serious and not zany Reno acts is just the set up for enough. Muppets are supposed their future being stolen by cor- to be fun, crazy, light-hearted porate greed. It’s just too on the entertainment for children and nose for a country in the middle adults alike, not a dark and introof the great recession.) spective look into the nature of That being said, it’s still the personal identity and self-esteem Muppets. There is still a cast of done in plush and felt.

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Winter brew warms you Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

The holidays are well under way and they’ve brought with them some of the best beers in the world: winter seasonal brews. Samuel Adams is known for having awesome seasonal brews and their Winter Lager carries on that tradition. Winter Lager isn’t new, having first been brewed in 1989, but is only available from the month of November until the end of January. Winter Lager has a beautiful reddish amber color that fits in perfectly with the brewing method that uses orange peel, ginger and cinnamon. When pouring the beer into a glass (as every good beer should be), a nice consistent head forms at the top. The head doesn’t stay around too long and does not dissipate too quickly. The aroma of the beer is telling of what tastes are to come with the most noticeable being the citrusy smell that permeates from the orange peels.

The beer’s taste medium if you want evokes quality and reto enjoy a Samuel eer freshment at the same Adams beer without time as providing a feeling like you have eview kick that is expected to push it down and Overall: from a Samuel Adams you don’t lose any of brew. the taste. There is a subtle Appearance: Other beers that I sweetness in the taste love to drink in the that coincides perwinter to keep me fectly with the holiday Aroma: warm, like India Pale season, but there is Ales, the flavor is lost enough alcohol in the in the bitterness of the beer (5.6 percent) to Mouthfeel: high-alcohol content. give you that warming In Winter Lager, the feeling that is expected alcohol is there, but from a winter seasonal Taste: the folks at the Boston almost immediately. Brewing Company The ginger in the ladidn’t forget any of ger is my favorite taste the flavor. and makes the most Instead, they magimpact. It exudes everything I nified it just enough to make the love about winter and the thought beer sweet and enjoyable along of sitting next to a fire. with the warming affect. The feel of the beer is as Winter Lager is a beer that evsmooth as I’ve had. It isn’t too eryone should try at least once light, like a Budweiser or Hei- in his or her life, preferably beneken, but it also isn’t too coarse fore it goes away for another 10 like a Guinness or even the origi- months when January ends. nal Samuel Adams beer, Boston It’s the holidays, so indulge Lager. and do so at least once with a Winter Lager is the perfect Winter Lager.

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Best Adapted Screenplay This is a difficult Tyler McGinty category because right now the theater is flooded with adaptations. Most of the movies that look like Oscar bait aren’t original screenplays so it’s hard to narrow it down to just one. “Hugo,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” could all be contenders. Of course, two of those three films aren’t out yet so it’s hard to judge. Still, “Dragon Tattoo” is a safe bet seeing as how it was written by “Schindler’s List” scribe Steven Zaillian, and that’s where my money is. Best Original Screenplay This is another tough category because there were so few original screenplays this year. I think it’s up between “J. Edgar” which I thought had some minor script issues, “The Tree of Life” which I didn’t see, but had “I want an Oscar!” written all over it and “The Iron Lady” (the not yet released biopic of Margaret Thatcher). Unless “Iron Lady” blows it out of the water, I think the writer for “Tree of Life” should start clearing a space on his mantle. Best Lead Actor This is really impossible to call, because I don’t even know how big of a role some people have in some movies. Tom Hanks has top billing in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” but is he really the lead? Because I thought it was the kid. Is Christoph Waltz or John C. Reilly the lead in “Carnage?” So, I’m going to guess Brad Pitt, either for “Moneyball” or “The Tree of Life.” The guy was the lead in two Oscar bait movies, so he’s got a good chance.

courtesy of beyondhollywood.com

Letter to the Editor

BC classrooms don’t follow fire safety codes Dear Editor, Fire safety is the concern and responsibility of everyone. It has come to my attention that the computer lab and other library lower floor areas are unsafe, especially for physically challenged people. Take for instance the classroom and office of professor Adie Geiser. Geiser’s classroom has an abundance of unused chairs and in the event of a fire the ensuing panic may very well leave him trapped in the classroom. On any given day, Geiser must move the chairs just to get to the front of the classroom. In the event of an emergency, this would be difficult at best. I have also noticed that his office is located next to the computer commons where there are a number of office chairs used by students. In the event of a

fire, the likely scenario that the students will leave chairs out, making it near impossible for a wheelchair to get through the area. I am deeply concerned with the access paths of this area and highly recommend that the school make the following corrections: 1. Remove the excess chairs from the classroom. 2. Move the computers that are in front of Geiser’s office back five feet. 3. Hold monthly fire drills and have a safety monitor observe the flow of evacuation to ensure that everyone will have the ability to get out. 4. Use a daily walkthrough chart to ensure that there are no safety hazards. Donna Hamm Psychology Major

Best Lead Actress I’m rooting for Rooney Mara, playing Lisbeth Salander in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” The role is going to be exceptionally tough, and if she pulls it off she deserves the Oscar. Best Animated Film “The Adventures of Tintin.” Enough said, but “Rango” will get a nomination. Best Director “Hugo” is practically a love letter to a French silent film director, so it is right up the Academy’s alley. However, I’m not sure that they’re going to give Best Film to a familyoriented movie. (But you can certainly expect it to win multiple technical awards, which is a shame, because it really was fantastic.) If they don’t give Best Film to “Hugo,” they may throw Scorcese a bone with the Best Director award. Otherwise, I’m going with David Fincher for “Dragon Tattoo.” Best Film I really think “Hugo” deserves it at this point, but I doubt it’s going to win it. The two movies I think have the best chance are “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and (you may have already guessed) “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

First-year athletic director discusses issues By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

With the football team finishing 4-6 and attendance slowly declining as the season went on, first-year athletic director Ryan Beckwith is pleased with how the other sports have picked up the slack and he’s using a method that hasn’t been utilized at Bakersfield College. The athletic department has been charging for all sporting events on campus this semester, with the exception of the one wrestling match BC hosted, and that will continue indefinitely, according to Beckwith. “A lot of [sporting events] haven’t been charging to get in,” Beckwith said. “This is college athletics. We should be charging to get into these events.” Sports like swimming, wrestling, both men’s and women’s tennis and both men’s and women’s basketball, that were previously free to get into, will now charge for admission. “Now obviously the students are free, but outside of our student body, people should pay to get into these games,” said

Beckwith. “Now that we’re doing that, we’re making a little bit of money and we’re able to cover our costs, which is great.” Beckwith’s reason for the change is the bleak economic outlook for the California community college system and the threat of budget cuts to athletic departments around the state. “With the way [California] community colleges are right now, they’re cutting back so much that the funding that we would typically get from the state could go away at any point,” he said. “So we’re trying to show progressive ways of us saying, ‘hey, you don’t need to cut this or that. We’re making money through our own events,’ which would allow us to have operating costs.” Despite the new charges to attend, Beckwith is happy with the turnout at events so far in his first semester as head of the athletic department. “You have to look at the athletic department as a team,” Beckwith said. “Sometimes, your best player goes down and you’ve got to pick up the slack in other areas.” Beckwith said that the athletic

“You have to go at it little by little until you build credibility in the program, and that’s what we’re trying to do. I want the community to see what we’re doing to make ourselves better before we ever ask for help.” –Ryan Beckwith, Athletic director department has done so with strong attendance in sports like volleyball and soccer. He also expects the two basketball teams to do well throughout the year. “It’s really about the other sports stepping up this year and having a presence themselves,” he said. Athletics to get new Web site The athletic department will have a new Web site in the near future. The site, www.gogades.com, has been under construction for the majority of this semester by Willis Design Studios and is expected to be up and running before students come back for the spring semester. Beckwith is at the forefront of the process and is excited for

what the Web site can do for the department. “If you think about how the world is right now, it’s all socialmedia driven,” Beckwith said. “Our athletic department is filled with student athletes that are 1822 and are followed by the people on campus and the student body. So the Web site is everything … and obviously, the one we had wasn’t giving us what we wanted and we received a lot of complaints about it.” The biggest criticism of the previous Web site, which is still active under Bakersfield College’s Web site, was that it wasn’t updated regularly and there wasn’t a lot of information about the teams themselves. The new Web site will have detailed bios on the coaching

staffs of every sport as well as information about every student athlete. “Doing an all-inclusive Web site like this and being able to move forward and have something a little more dynamic is huge,” Beckwith said. Court to be refinished Beckwith is also currently working on getting the basketball court in the Gil Bishop Sports Center redone. As of now, the court isn’t up to regulation. “Right now, we are out of code because we don’t have the [charge] arc which is a new rule that you have to have it,” Beckwith said. “So we have it taped.” The California Community College Athletic Association has also done away with the women’s three-point line that is still painted on the court. Beckwith also plans on adding the new logo for the athletic department at center court among other things that he said will “dress up” the floor. The refinishing process, involving sanding down the floor and painting and staining the wood, will take 10 days accord-

ing to Beckwith and the funding is close to being finalized and approved. “It is one of those maintenance things that needs to be done,” Beckwith said. Beckwith said that he would like the funding to come from a department within the school such as the Alumni Association. “As of right now, we are working on getting that money going,” he said. “We don’t have a final dollar figure yet, but it’s only going to be a little bit more than what we would normally spend on it.” When asked whether the refinishing would be complete by the time the spring semester starts, Beckwith said, “It’s likely, but it’s not 100 percent at this point. “It’s just about taking little steps, and any time you’re in a position to revamp anything … you can’t go out and take out the biggest chunk you can chew,” said Beckwith. “You have to go at it little by little until you build credibility in the program and that’s what we’re trying to do. I want the community to see what we’re doing to make ourselves better before we ever ask for help.”

Volleyball sees early exit as BC’s lone playoff team By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief

Bakersfield College’s volleyball team was defeated in the first round of the 2011 California Community College Athletic Association’s Women’s Volleyball Championship playoff at the hands of Pasadena City College. PCC swept the Renegades 25-19, 30-28 and 25-22 in the Nov. 22 match in Pasadena. The two teams rarely were more than two points apart through the first two sets with PCC pulling away from BC in the third set. The disappointment, though, comes with the hopes of success for next season. The team will see freshmen Megan Black and Brittany Smith back next year. The two players led the team in kills and blocks. The Renegades will see their assist leader Erica Rico move on. Rico averaged 9.34 assists per game through

the season. Black had 202 kills (.348 kill percentage) and 46 blocks with just 48 errors. Smith accompanied Black along the front line all year and finished with 193 kills, 50 blocks and just 59 errors. The Renegades finished their regular season off with a sweep against West Los Angeles College 25-15, 2515 and 25-12 in the Gil Bishop Sports Center on Nov. 17. Coach Carl Ferreira is encouraged by what he sees from his team mentally, how they finished the season, and what the team will look like in 2012. “We’re in a very healthy stage,” Ferreira said. “I’ve tried to develop a lot of internal leadership and at this stage we’re extremely healthy from the inside out, which means the nucleus and the core of the whole team is real powerful, real strong, and they’ve got their eyes dead set on what they want to accomplish.”

photos by gregory d. cook / The Rip

Above: Bakersfield College traveled to Pasadena City College for the first round of the CCCAA SOCAL Regional playoffs Nov. 22. Right: Renegades middle blocker Brittany Smith attempts to send the ball past Lancers setter Jessica Xu (8) and middle blocker Jackie Valle-Acosta (15).

Fall semester sports coming to a close By Esteban Ramirez Reporter

This season for Bakersfield College women’s golf was filled with great individual performances, but they couldn’t put it together as a team. “I thought it was a fairly ports good seaoundup son, but we weren’t able to reach our goals which is pretty disappointing,” said women’s golf coach Bob Paillet. “I thought some of the bright spots were seeing Malea Miller breaking a BC record and seeing Paula Robinson shoot a career best,” he said. He said that the team didn’t meet their goal of a state championship, and even though they played well at times, he thought they didn’t get enough consistency. He also added that losing Mill-

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er and Robinson will hurt them, but he thinks that Kambria Ulrich will be a fine player next year as long as she is not hurt. “I am really excited about Kambria coming back, that we can get some talented freshmen and hopefully the team continues to get better,” he said. Cross-country BC’s cross-country team’s season is over and the team met the goals that it set out for from the beginning. “We were a young team, but we were able to accomplish some of our goals like qualifying out of the conference and qualifying to the state meet,” said women’s cross-country coach Pam Kelley. Kelley added that because they were committed from the beginning, they were able to have those successes. “Each year it gets harder to qualify, but I think since this year all the freshman got to experi-

ence it and by next year we will know what to expect,” she said. She added that this year was a success, but they are excited about next year. “I think it was a successful season. We accomplished our goals. We’re looking forward to the future,” she said. The men’s cross-country team’s coach David Frickel gave his thoughts on how the men’s season went. “I think we had a very good season by achieving some of our goals and I’m happy with the results,” he said. “I think it’s a big achievement when you reach the Southern Cals and the state championship.” He added that everyone made big improvements from the beginning of the year and he said he is looking forward for them to improving during track season. The men will lose their top four runners next year, but Fric-

kel hopes that those returning and the incoming freshmen will step up. Wrestling BC’s wrestling team had a non-conference match against East Los Angeles College to make up for a match that was canceled Sept. 30. The makeup match was on Nov. 19, team scores were not held and it was a round-robin of individual matchups. “I thought we did good and I thought it was important to have mat time before the regionals, and I think that at first when it got canceled I thought it hurt us, but we have benefited from the match being canceled,” said wrestling coach Bill Kalivas. “I thought we looked better defensively on our feet and escaping, but now all we need to work on is limiting mistakes. I also want to see them continue to compete and just let the athleti-

megan luecke / The Rip

Memorial Stadium is drowned by fog the morning of Nov. 28, as Bakersfield College settles in for the winter break, except basketball which will play through the break. cism take over.” He added that he thought Marc Collier, Jesus Valdovinos, Tyson Pinon, Brandon Silva and Jonathan Gomez wrestled well. Pinon wrestled in both the 197-weight class and heavyweight, and had three wins and three losses. Collier won all four of his matches including an impressive

victory over number-one wrestler in the state Jake Harrison from Cerritos College. Kalivas also said that they don’t know the matchups at the regionals yet, but he wants at least five or six wrestlers to qualify from the regionals. The regionals will be at Palomar College in San Marcos on Dec. 3.

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The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Renegades win again and improve to 4-1 By Esteban Ramirez Reporter

After suffering a tough loss to Moorpark College, Bakersfield College women’s basketball team responded with an impressive victory over Reedley College. BC beat Reedley 68-54 on Nov. 18 in the Gil Bishop Sports Center. BC was only up 32-24 after the first half, but then to start the second half BC went on a 21-7 run to take a commanding lead. “I think we just finally woke up in the second half and started playing at our tempo,” said starting sophomore forward Gabi Morales. They got a big contribution from Haley Huntington, who put up 21 points off the bench with 15 coming from behind the three-point line. They also got good rebounding production from Gabi Morales

“I think we just finally woke up in the second half and started playing at our tempo.” –Gabi Morales, Forward

and Madison Tarver. BC women’s basketball coach Paula Dahl commented on the game. “I thought we responded great after losing to Moorpark, but we still turned the ball over too many times,” said Coach Dahl. “I think our depth really helped us because there was no drop off when the subs came in, and when the subs play like that we’re unstoppable. “We still need to continue to clean up our defense, fastbreak and not turning the ball over,” she said.

Column

Huntington, who is a backup freshman guard, commented on her performance. “I think sometimes I’m on and today I was feeling like all of them were going to go in, but I also got some good passes from my teammates. “We were definitely motivated to come out to play, and even though we turned the ball over a lot we managed to keep our composure. “I think we turned the ball over so much because we kept reacting before we got the ball and that caused us to travel,” she said. BC lost to Moorpark 78-63 on Nov. 15. They had a hard time stopping the three-point shooting of Moorpark, and they also had 30 turnovers that limited their scoring opportunities. BC’s next scheduled game is at the Cuesta Tournament from Dec.1-3.

Cali teams deserve your support Chiefed | The Rip’s Editor in Chief tells you what’s what in the world of sports.

eleonor segura / The Rip

Renegades forward Gabi Morales goes up for a jumper over Tigers forward Stephanie Ficher in the Gil Bishop Sports Center on Nov. 18.

Second-place finish for BC By Esteban Ramirez Reporter

The Bakersfield College men’s basketball team hosted the Thanksgiving Renegades Classic and had two competitive games that came down to crucial possessions. The Thanksgiving Renegades Classic was on Nov. 25-26. BC redeemed a loss they had in the last tournament against Allan Hancock by beating them on Nov. 25 with a score of 65-64, thanks in part to good defense at the end and a game-winning shot by starting guard Gerald Bates as the game clock hit zero. Allan Hancock had taken a 6256 lead after a three-pointer with 57 seconds left and then coach Rich Hughes called a timeout. “I think the game changed when coach Hughes called a timeout and told us to give it our all on defense,” said Gerald Bates. After the timeout, BC went on a 9-2 run to come away with the win. Coach Hughes commented on how the team played. “It wasn’t a pretty win. We did enough to come away with the win and we played for all 40 minutes. I thought we defended them better than when we played them on Sunday, but I still think

we have ways to go defensively,” he said. “I thought our full court defense was the reason we came back because we got some turnovers and the momentum changed in our favor.” He added that on the gamewinning shot the play wasn’t originally for Bates. “The play was for Aubrey Ball, but they defended it so Bates just took it himself and made a play.” Bates said that he knew he would make the shot because he felt that it would go in. He also commented on the team’s performance. “We did very good, played hard on defense and had some good offense. We just got to continue to play as a team and work hard on our defense, but we need to start to make our free throws,” he said. In the championship round, BC played against Porterville and lost by a score of 88-79. Porterville’s starting guard Jason Carmichael scored 36 points on BC, but even with that the game was close throughout until the last minute when Porterville pulled away thanks to them sinking their free throws and BC’s lack of it. BC was up 79-76 with a little

over two minutes left and then Porterville went on a 12-0 run to finish the game. BC also missed two crucial free throws when they were only down by two points. “We did terrible. Our defense as a whole was just terrible. We didn’t defend the ball,” said Hughes. “Their guys were just blowing right by us and we’re not good enough offensively to give up 80 points.” Hughes also said that they lost it at the end because they took bad shots, missed their free throws, had some dumb fouls and Porterville made their free throws. “We’ve got to play harder because they outplayed us and out scrapped us in our own gym,” he said. “I was just disappointed in our effort.” Starting freshman guard Aubrey Ball, who scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, commented on the team’s performance. “I think personally I did good, but I’m a team guy and I think Coach has a good system so if we listen to what Coach tells us we’ll start to have success,” said Ball. “We just didn’t have the effort consistently and we got to

Gregory D. Cook / The Rip

Bakersfield College guard Gerald Bates tries to squeeze between two Porterville College players for a shot. have it throughout the game not just in spurts.” The team was scheduled to play Porterville again on Nov.

29, and their next game will be on Dec. 10 against Los Angeles Trade-Tech College here at BC.

I hate when Californians support out-of-state teams. Our great state is full of great franchises, both professional and collegiate. It doesn’t matter what background you come from, black or white, hippy or redneck, we should all support California teams first and foremost. Zak S. Cowan I can’t stand it when someone from Los Angeles roots for a team like the Dallas Cowboys or someone in Oakland supports the Boston Celtics. It boggles my mind that someone can get into a team that is based 4,000 miles away from where they sleep. Me? Lakers, Raiders, and Dodgers. All three, when I first understood sports and team affiliation, were less than 200 miles away from my house. That should be the limit. Unless you’ve relocated, there should be a 200-mile limit. Forget book burning. Let’s burn out-of-state baseball caps. When going out for a beer at Firehouse to watch my Raiders try to stay competitive, it’s hard for me to hear myself think with all the Cowboys fans erupting every time the team gets two or more yards. If everyone would just root for the same teams, everyone would be screaming in unison and I wouldn’t miss any part of the game or my conversation because I’d be screaming at the same time. Would you root for a sports team out of the country over an NBA team? I didn’t think so. In America, where our states are so close to being their own countries (especially California), how could you not root against a team from Arizona, New York or Boston? Rooting for teams outside the 200-mile limit can also make one susceptible to wagon hopping. No one can say they have strong loyalty if they are rooting for a team that doesn’t represent their home and California is our home people. So I hate the Chargers and everything that they represent, including their fans, but at least they’re rooting for a local team. I can’t stand all the Bronco stickers I see on cars in Bakersfield. Don’t get me wrong, I’d hate seeing Donco stickers even if I was in Denver. In fact, it’d probably make me sick, but it’s much worse when that person grew up a drive away from three or four other teams. It isn’t that there aren’t good teams in California, either. Yeah, Bay Area football has been bad lately, but it’s on the up nowadays. And the Lakers were two-time world champions just six months ago. Even though I hate them, the Giants just brought some more hardware to the Golden State just over a year ago. And we’re not just blessed with success either; the tradition runs deep in every team in California (with the exception of the Chargers, maybe). Think about the Dodgers-Giants rivalry; the Raiders and the 49ers and their traditions of winning. Even the Lakers and Clippers and how one team has dominated it for so many years can be considered deep rooted in tradition. My point is, any Californian who doesn’t support the state’s teams, I have a hard time respecting him/her, which works out perfectly because the majority of Cowboy fans are totally full of themselves anyway.

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Spotlight

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Renegade Rip www.therip.com

Bassist Randy Armstrong, of Red, plays at the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular at the Rabobank Arena on Nov. 17 while a smoke and fire show goes off in the background.

Winter Jam

Photos by Brandon Barazza

hits Bakersfield

Winter Jam was held at the Rabobank Arena on Nov. 17 for Christians to praise their beliefs together

Joe Rickard of Red plays his drums at the Winter Jam Tour at the Rabobank Arena on Nov. 17.

Lead singer of Newsboys, Michael Tait, takes a ride above the crowd while singing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Born Again.â&#x20AC;?

Randy Armstrong plays bass during Winter Jam Tour on Nov. 17 at Rabobank Arena.

Newsboys lead singer Michael Tait dances next to lead guitarist Jody Davis on Nov. 17.