The Renegade Rip Bakersfield College
w w w.t h e r i p .com
Vol. 83 ∙ No. 8
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Updated budget could bring higher fees
Gregory D. Cook / The Rip
Bakersfield College quarterback Brian Burrell breaks into the secondary on a keeper.
By Keith Kaczmarek Reporter
BC wins season opener By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief
The Bakersfield College Renegades defeated L.A. Pierce 32-19 with the help of strong defensive play and an explosive offense to kick off the season with a victory. BC’s rush defense allowed just 57 yards and caused three fumbles in the team’s first game of the season. Head coach Jeff Chudy said that he was pleased with what he saw out of his defense but that there are still major improvements that the squad needs to make to take their game to the next level. “I thought we did some good things at times,” said Chudy. “The turnovers that we created were huge and definitely played a big part in the outcome of the game.” Freshman quarterback Brian Burrell completed 16-of30 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut for BC. The passing game was inconsistent, especially toward the beginning of the game, but they made enough plays to come out on top. “Our chemistry’s good, but I missed some open guys,” Burrell said. “So we definitely need to come back to work on some things and try to get a little better in every aspect of the game. “There’s a lot of things I’ve got to improve on, but it’s good to get a victory on the first game.” Please see RENEGADES, Page 11
gregory d. cook / The Rip
Late in the second quarter, Bakersfield College running back Jalen Sykes makes his way into the end zone past Pierce College defenders Sept. 3. Although the touchdown was called back due to a penalty, the Renegades scored on the following play.
New online portal condenses system By Amber T. Troupe Production Editor
Inside BC is an online portal designed by the Informational Services Department at Bakersfield College to allow students an easier way to access personal accounts such as Banweb, Moodle and college e-mail. “The portal somewhat works like a Super Wal-Mart in the sense that it offers students these technological resources in one place with one login,” explained Todd Coston, interim director of Information Services. Coston’s colleague, David R. Barnett, Internet Services administrator,
said,“When the students sign in, it has that ‘my courses’ tab that lists all the courses you’re taking. “We automatically create this site for each course registration number an instructor teaches and so if a faculty adopts this, students will be able to navigate more than one instructor’s pages as well.” Both Coston and Barnett agreed that the biggest negative would only be the change. Students who have been around longer would have to adapt to the new way of logging in, but that’s really the only drawback in their opinion. This has been in the making for three or four years, and testing officially began during 2011 summer classes.
Inside
Now the portal is just working out any bugs that may be remaining. Students also have the ability to help administration with these bugs. Students are able to give feedback on how the portal is working for them, which has been and will continue to enable all involved parties to improve on it. Sandra Serrano, Chancellor of Kern Community College District, had expressed her vision among presidents and managers of each campus, which then led to them contacting Information Technology and wanting ideas and products supplied that would enable her vision to manifest. “All services and hardware are based
Thermal Energy System has yet to be utilized by BC By America Garza Reporter
Page 3: Located on 19th and Eye Street, Bakersfield’s First Friday is a popular and growing event that promotes the arts community, independent artists, and local businesses in the area. Page 5:
The Student Government Association kicks off their new year with big plans.
from the District Offices, who hosts all our sites,” Coston stated. “The portal is not just limited to the Bakersfield Campus. Cerro Coso and Delano campuses have access as well.” Barnett and Coston hope the new system will have a snowball effect to where students will gradually become used to the new login. IT believes that this is the new wave of registration among community colleges and universities in the area, with BC being somewhere in the middle among advancement of technology in this area. Eventually, this type of login will be how colleges and universities will interact with their students.
New fee hikes for next semester are in the budget that is currently under consideration, according to the listed budget on the California Community Colleges Web site. If California state shortfalls reach projected levels, California community college students may be facing fees of $46 a unit next semester if certain “triggers” occur. Additionally, there is authorization to make cuts at the midyear point that retroactively apply to the fall semester, potentially putting some California community colleges in a difficult position of needing to make drastic cuts to meet their budget. Bakersfield College’s own budget seems to have been already cut to handle any potential shortfall. An email last summer from Sandra Serrano, Kern Community College District chancellor, states, “No matter what state economic scenario occurs, KCCD’s tentative budget already anticipates the state’s projected revenue shortfall. As a result, KCCD will not have to make mid-year cuts.” She added later in the same email “While the KCCD budget will not change if the state revenues come up short, students may pay more for classes.” Some California community colleges have had such difficulty that they have not had summer classes at all, but BC has been spared this option. Greg Chamberlain, president of BC, said “We’ve had a significantly reduced offering, but our board feels that we should have a summer presence.” “We’d like to believe that we’ve done a good job keeping people,” he said. “We have cut people (adjuncts).” Adjuncts are professors that only teach part-time, and they are often hired by colleges because of the cost-savings they provide. This is because the positions don’t offer benefits. “No one likes that we had to reduce classes,” Chamberlain said. “We are going to do our best within our budget restrictions.” While there are rumors of cuts to many programs on campus, such as a 60% reduction in the budget for the Tutoring Center, there have also been confirmed extra expenditures. For example, Sgt. Chris Counts has confirmed that there will be two new temporary officers. “The school is very supportive of safety and security, and it has not affected us,” he said. LaMont Schiers, director of administrative services at BC, has noted that while cuts bePlease see BUDGET, Page 4
Page 10:
New athletic director discusses his new leadership role at BC.
Nearly a year and a half after its completion, the Thermal Energy System located between the Levinson Building and the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library remains unused. “We have some engineering items that we’re trying to address and take care of, and it’s taking a lot longer than we would like,” said LaMont Schiers, executive director of Administrative Services for Bakersfield College. The million-gallon tank, completed in Spring 2010, acts as a cold water reservoir for use in the campus’ air conditioning system.
Water is chilled at night and pulled from the tank during daytime peak usage hours. It is expected to save the college on energy costs by reducing gas and electricity consumption and avoiding costly surcharges from the power company. The project has faced setbacks in the final stages of integration with the cooling system’s water circulation line, commonly referred to as the chiller loop. “The opportunity is just the interface between the tank and the loop. Once those are resolved it will be brought online,” said Schiers. He stated that the contractor is being held responsible for funcPlease see THERMAL, Page 4
nathan wilson / The Rip
This 1 million-gallon water tank is intended to cool water overnight for use in campus air conditioning systems.
Features
Page 2
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Heavy metal receives a mariachi twist By Tyler McGinty Opinions Editor
Five brothers, with the same mother and different fathers, have formed a cover band dedicated to playing metal songs in a mariachi style. It seems outlandish, but that’s the story Vega de la Rockha gives on the origins of Metalachi. “We’ve been playing together since birth,” says Rockha. Metalachi is very passionate about metal, claiming to have learned how to speak English from metal. “Metal and mariachi are the best music on the planet, and you put them together and you get Metalachi,” says violinist Maximilan “Dirty” Sanchez. Their (possibly real) stage personas give Metalachi a unique flair that contributes to their music and bleeds into their performance. The story of a group of illegitimate children, all brothers fathered by different drunken mariachi musicians, following in their fathers’ footsteps seems like the makings of a legend. Or at the very least, a story you might hear in a bar somewhere. Metalachi kicked off their live performance at Fishlips on Sept. 1 with a cover of AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” and Rockha channeled Brian Johnson in a way that doesn’t seem possible if you’ve heard him speak. But all it took was the opening riff being played on El Cucuy’s trumpet for the crowd to get hooked. Metalachi seemed to be a little constricted by the smaller stage at Fishlips, so there weren’t a lot of onstage antics, but they did banter with the audience. They even brought a woman onstage when they introduced the band and made the “perfect” margarita for her. Each member of the band had one ingredient that they poured into her cup, one by one, as they were introduced. This concoction was topped off by El Cucuy, who squeezed a lime on the codpiece of his ornate KISS-styled armor (which he claims to have been born in).
Photos by Eleonor Segura / The Rip
Metalachi violinist, Maximilian “Dirty” Sanchez, performs onstage at Fishlips on Sept. 1. The band puts a mariachi twist on metal songs. But it isn’t just flair, outlandish stories and crazy armor that make Metalachi what it is. These may get them noticed, but if the band didn’t have talent then they wouldn’t have any staying power. With El Cucuy and Sanchez taking the center stage most frequently, playing the riffs people would know, a lot is riding on these two. Fortunately, these two can carry the band. Especially during “Sweet Child of Mine” when Sanchez plays pizzicato. Then it was easy to see why Sanchez claims that people call him the
“Mexican Slash.” The arrangement of their covers was innovative, and Rockha says they work hard on it. “We figure out how not to just cover a metal song, but to do a combination of mariachi with the metal,” says Rockha. “The instrumentation helps a lot, but we try to incorporate a lot of mariachi rhythms.” Metalachi doesn’t have an album out yet, but they’re working on raising money to start production. They’re relying heavily on fans, and using a Kickstarter account, but they hope to put out an album soon.
Above: Metalachi band members (from left) Vega De La Rockha, Poncho Rockafeller, El Cucuy, Maximilian “Dirty” Sanchez, Ramon Holiday pose for a photo in their stage costumes before their performance at Fishlips. Left: Metalachi kicks off their live performance with a cover of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” with an opening riff played on El Cucuy’s trumpet. The band is dressed in mariachi and metal gear.
Local author sells over 100,000 Bluesfest to return copies of self-published novel to CSUB this fall By Jon Nelson
By Amber T. Troupe Production Editor
Originally from Lamont, Adam Rendon graduated from Arvin High School in 2009 and soon after graduating, published his first book. In its first two months, “The Vallie” sold just over 100,000 copies on Amazon.com. With a self-publishing company, a majority of things are taken care of by that company and publicity is something that isn’t offered. So Rendon had to go out and get his own publicist and had to learn a hard lesson when the publicist took advantage of him. That’s something he charged to be being eager and naive as a new author. As for content, Rendon said, “Generally I talked about everything that was going on in society at the time, looking from the outside perspective that high school is a lot harder than what people think. People like to read gossip, whether it’s celebrity or local. I decided, you know what, I’m going to let them read the truth.”
Rendon began writing his book because he was going through a lot of things and didn’t really want to talk about any of it, so he began keeping a personal journal. One of his friends got the journal, read it and really liked it. Once he got the feedback from his friend, Rendon decided to continue on with the book. Rendon stated, “In the book I talked about the other person’s perspective, how they perceived me and I decided I want to let them hear my side of the story because they never got the opportunity. It let me clear out a lot of my skeletons in the closet.” Being self-published, Rendon talked how he had to do a lot of research about it and once he was sure that was the way he wanted to go, he invested a total of about $1,100. He came up with a majority of it on his own and then he later started fundraising. Rendon’s book officially published and released on June 11. Prices start at $9 through the publishing company, $10 through E-books and $11 on Amazon.
com. With the self-publishing deal, Rendon gets to decide on the percentage from the royalties, which was a better deal to him than what a big publishing company offered him. “It was an offer that I could live the rest of my life off of and when they offer so much money for something they want then there’s value in that item,” Rendon expressed. “I don’t want to consider myself a sellout because there were things they wanted to change that I didn’t because I felt it made the book more valuable.” Now able to really enjoy the spoils of his labor, he was invited to the University of Southern California’s Festival of Books sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. He was able to speak along with noted authors like J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, and R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series. Rendon was also invited to the 2011 Music Television Movie Awards. Rendon recalls his friends and families reactions once the book was published.
Rendon explained, “Once I actually got copies of it, I signed them and gave them out and within six to eight hours I got calls from friends and family crying and saying that they didn’t know a lot of this was going on, such as the sexual abuse and being openly gay. A lot of people wanted me not to put the book out, and I lost a lot of friends because of it.” However, Rendon has yet to let any of this stop him on his road to success. He bought his own company, which he wants to use for allowing others to join the company. Rendon is currently still employed at a local pawnshop, where he has been an employee for the last year and a half. He has goals to move because he feels he can’t stay in Bakersfield because it’s too conservative. He has more books in mind and wants to be a motivational speaker at high schools, letting teens know they’re not the only ones going through things in high school.
Reporter
Blues fans and the Houchin Blood Bank will both benefit Sept. 17 when the Cal State Bakersfield Amphitheater once again hosts the B-Town Blues Fest. “It promotes people reaching across artificial boundaries that don’t need to be in place,” said Pat Evans, founder of the festival and owner of Bakersfield Institution World Records. This year’s lineup features Joe Louis Walker, John Nemeth, Gina Sicilia, and the Flying Arvizu Brothers. Nemeth and Sicilia were chosen specifically because they are young artists. “Blues music is really for everyone. They can all have a good time. It’s fun to see parents bring their kids,” said Evans. “It’s a beautiful melting pot.” Evans started the B-Town Blues Fest in 2005. He began doing a series of concerts in the late ’90s, and they were so
successful and he had so much fun doing them that he decided to transform the shows into a yearly festival. “Blues artists are the most dedicated musicians I’ve ever seen,” said Evans. An important part of Blues Fest is the association with Houchin Blood Bank. All food and drink proceeds go to the blood bank’s Bone Marrow Program and a 40 percent discount on tickets are given to blood donors. “There’s always a need for blood donors. It’s something that people need to be aware of,” said Evans. Evans explained that the festival isn’t just for seasoned Blues fans. “We have a great, diverse lineup,” said Evans The event also features what Evans described as “great, cheap food” from local restaurants, Coconut Joe’s, Frugatti’s, and Jake’s Tex-Mex. Tickets for the B-Town Blues Fest are available at locations across Bakersfield, including World Records, which has moved to 2815 F Street.
Features
Page 3
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Column
Designers make it affordable to be stylish What are you wearing?| The Rip’s Features Editor talks about what’s hot and what’s not In the fashion world, I’ve noticed a trend of top-notch designers designing for lower-end stores. One of the world’s greatest fashion legends, Karl Lagerfeld, has designed a 41-piece line called Impulse for Macy’s de- Chrystal Fortt partment store that was released Aug. 31. The fall line features tweed jackets, faux leather pants and sleeveless turtlenecks, sheer long-sleeve collared blouse, fall style floral prints on dresses and tops. None of the line costs more than $170. Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, the ever-so-popular socialites, have also launched a 41-piece line that came out Aug. 11. The collection is called Kardashian Kollection and is designed for the Sears department store. The line features jumpers, tuxedo dresses, wide-leg trousers, cut-out dreses, lepoard prints, and sequenced blazers None of their line costs more than $70. A historic and successful fashion house that’s been around since the 1920’s, Missoni has designed 400 items for Target and will launch Sept. 13. Missoni not only designed clothes, but also kitchenware and home items. The entire collection features their iconic retro zigzags on shorts, boots, coats, shirts, headbands, you name it, they’ve got it. If you don’t have the money to drop on a Chanel blazer that Freja Beha was wearing in the Spring 2011 campaign, then buying Lagerfeld’s designs from Macy’s is pretty awesome. But why would Lagerfeld, the creative director of Chanel design for Macy’s? Why would the Kardashians, who own D-A-S-H boutique, design for Sears? Why would fashion house Missioni design for Target? Some people think the designers might’ve got bored designing in their own house and wanted a challenge to design something. Maybe they needed to amp up in sales and needed extra marketing; whatever the reason, there’s a catch. The catch is, people might think they’re getting a great deal of top-quality clothing for cheap. Don’t be fooled, expensive clothes are not expensive just because of good design and just because it has the “brand name” but mostly because of the quality of the material. Chanel is a high-end brand and is expensive because it has all around qualities in the design and materials. Missoni’s fashion house has the same high quality of expensive material and well-thoughout designs from the best of the best in the fashion world. Don’t let their super clever marketing trick you into thinking you’re buying “real” Missoni quality clothes at Target. Just because it says Missoni on the advertisements doesn’t mean you’re getting all of Missoni. I’m guessing Missoni isn’t going to be the last designer to design for a low-end store. I’m sensing that this is a trend that might become increasingly popular with fashion designers if the economy doesn’t rebound soon. I’m not saying that this trend is bad. I’m just saying you shouldn’t be surprised when your favorite Kardashian jumper starts to fall apart.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
First Friday animates downtown By Chrystal Fortt Features Editor
Every first Friday of the month, on 19th and Eye Street, art, people, food and music take over downtown. Don Martin is the owner of Metro Galleries and is the creator of Bakersfield’s event First Friday. “Basically, it’s an art related event, all the galleries are open and do their new exhibit opening every First Friday,” said Martin. “And then the shops and boutiques also are open late and do special events, sales, music, refreshments and things like that.” Each business has something different to show every First Friday. “We all show different types of work, and that’s the great thing. You’re not going to see the same thing. Every gallery is different. Some focus on photography, some focus purely on local artists,” said Martin. There is also the Art Walk where artists set up stands along the streets to show and sell their
work. Loren John Presley is an artist and author who is a part of the Art Walk. “It’s a lot of fun, you meet a lot of people and see a lot of cool stuff,” said Presley. “You’re surrounded by creativity, and you’re a part of it all. You participate, and people come see your stuff and show admiration.” “I would’ve figured that just because it’s an arts type of thing that we wouldn’t get that many people, but we really do have a great arts community,” said Martin. First Friday has surpassed the success that Martin had expected when it was first started. “I probably got about 35 people [when it first started], I was happy with 35 people on our Friday night, and the next month it was 40 and it took about a year and then we were getting a couple hundred,” said Martin. Bakersfield’s art event has grown tremendously in the last three years with about 3,000 to 4,000 people that come to every First Friday.
With that many people in the streets, people will often assume that First Friday is a street fair. Martin emphasizes that First Friday is not a street fair; it’s an art event that promotes the downtown arts district and also the local businesses in the area. “It’s really to encourage people to get into the businesses,” said Martin. “If I have somebody out there selling hot dogs or sandwichs or whatever, they’re competing with all the restaurants we have downtown.” To make First Friday more about the locals, they need more local people to come to the event. Martin has been trying to bring people from other sides of town to really help revive downtown. “It’s just trying to blend all of [the local businesses] together and let people know that we really do have a revitalizing downtown,” said Martin. Martin welcomes any age and anyone who wants to get out of the house and enjoy entertain-
eleonor segura / The Rip
Art vendors display their work at First Friday on Sept 2. ment. “I know a couple and they have two little boys, they walk around on First Friday, they get them an ice cream, they come in, show them the art, the little shops, maybe buy some things,
maybe have dinner, maybe not,” said Martin. “They take the kids home and then come back out and have dinner as a couple and go to Fishlips and hear a band, or go to the Padre and see some music.”
A fresh alternative to the cappuccino bar By Cassandra McGowan Reporter
If you like tea, Tea Bar may be your hidden gem. Tucked away behind Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors and next to Body Exchange Sports Club on White Lane, Tea Bar is a new alternative to the ever-popular coffee house. Andy Nguyen opened Tea Bar four months ago and says he serves anywhere from 70 to 100 drinks per day to thirsty customers. All drinks are made to order in a fashion that Nguyen describes as “like bartender.” There’s even an actual bar where you can see your pick of tea, displayed in clear jars, while sitting and watching your drink of choice being made. Or, if you’re in a hurry, there’s a drive-thru to get you in and out quickly. There is a pretty extensive menu of drinks that include, but are not limited to: tea, coffee, smoothies, flavored shots and Italian sodas. At this time the only snacks offered are small bags of chips, but Nguyen says he is working on a menu for hungry patrons hoping to eat as well as enjoy one of the many tea varieties or other drinks offered at Tea Bar. Nguyen says tea is a healthy alternative to energy drinks and coffee. One goal of his business is to educate people on the health benefits of tea. Nguyen says white tea is especially appealing to women. According to Nguyen, white tea can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines as well as help to keep teeth and hair healthy. There is a health chart hanging on the wall, as well as on Tea Bar’s website (www.TeaBarca.com), where you can read about the health benefits of the different tea categories. Nguyen’s slogan for Tea Bar reads: “Flavor + Health = Tea-Mates.” A weekend special Tea Bar offers is coconut Jell-O, served in the coconut shell complete with decoration, and made fresh by Nguyen’s wife. The building looks very small from the outside, but once inside there is room for about 25 people to sit comfortably, Tea Bar offers free Wi-Fi for people to use while hanging out or studying. There is also a stack of games available to customers who want to pass the time while savoring their beverage of choice. Nguyen said, Tea Bar used to have free live music on the weekend and is currently looking for a new musician to fill the space left empty. Tea Bar is located at 7697 White Lane and is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.
Joseph Cota / The Rip
Above: Ivy Nguyen, co-owner of the Tea Bar, prepares the ingredients for one of the bar’s many flavors of tea. Below: The Tea Bar, located at 7697 White Lane, offers a wide variety of teas for patrons to choose from.
Culture is back in town By Nate Perez Reporter
Sept. 9, marks the 28th season of FLICS, which is a volunteer organization that shows international films at the Fox Theater every other Friday, and occasionally Saturdays, at 7:30 p.m. from September to May. Everyone from the board of directors, to the website designer, the distribution of fliers, and the people working at the event are all volunteers. A lot of the films FLICS show are foreign films that require reading subtitles, but there will also be a few films in English this season. The English films will also include subtitles for the hearing impaired. All the films are story driven that include a wide variety of genres. Phil Neufeld, president of FLICS, said, “FLICS is not everyone’s cup of tea, but you’re
in for something different if you attend.” Anybody can attend FLICS, including children and teenagers. However, according to the FLICS website, the films shown are best enjoyed by mature individuals who are not easily offended. According to Neufeld, opening night for the last season of FLICS housed 1,100 people. An average of 400 people showed for the movies overall, and the average age of an attendee was 40. Opening night begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes punch, wine, and snacks. The film marking the beginning of the season is called “La Prima Cosa Bella,” an Italian comedy. Admission is $5 and season passes are available for $50. For more information visit http://www.flics.org.
News
Page 4
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Plans finally carried out to renovate SAM building By Esteban Ramirez Reporter
For a few years now, Bakersfield College has had plans to start renovations on the Speech, Arts and Music building. According to LaMont Schiers, director of administrative services, they will finally start the renovations as early as December. All classes that are in the SAM building are currently being held in the Fine Arts and Student Services buildings. Some are even being held in the gym so the students can continue taking those classes, but they were just temporarily moved elsewhere until the remodeling is done. The equip-
ment that is needed right away for the classes has been moved to the new rooms, but some equipment is currently being stored. “Any major renovation to a building on campus has to go through a state evaluation process because they give us the funds, and that’s why it takes a few years,” said Schiers. “The state has approved the renovations to the SAM building and all the architect drawings have been finished. We are currently now preparing all of our documentations to bid,” said Schiers. Once the bids come in, BC will award the bid to a contractor for an “x” amount of dollars that they agreed to and they will come in and do the remodeling.
“The construction can start as early as December, but if it doesn’t start on December I guarantee it will start January. It was decided that we won’t hold classes in the SAM building this semester, but we would continue to have those classes elsewhere on campus.” “The next step we took is to empty the building of all the equipment and supplies and then we had to categorize the equipment and figure out where they would go. “Some of the equipment hasn’t been easy to move like the pianos or xylophones because of climate changes. We are looking for acclimatized storage so the xylophones and pianos won’t be
Bookstore starts new beginning By America Garza Reporter
Ownership of the campus bookstore transitioned to Barnes & Noble this semester, but new store manager Brian Griffin says it still belongs to Bakersfield College and its students. “The only changes were that Barnes & Noble, as the management company, helps to run the bookstore,” Griffin said. “We’re still the BC Bookstore.” The store features an expanded staff to accommodate early semester traffic, as well as faster register systems that make for a more efficient checkout process. Students had shorter wait times than in previous years and the usual start of the semester line around the bookstore was nowhere to be seen. “We didn’t really have any problems with books being unavailable for students,” said Griffin. “Everything went pretty smooth.” The merger with the retail bookstore giant has afforded student’s options and benefits not available under the previous
gregory d. cook / The Rip
Brian Griffin is the new Manager of the Bakersfield College Bookstore. operation. This semester saw the arrival of the first textbook rental program offered at BC. Griffin says many students took advantage of this option for its many perks. “You rent your books for about 49 percent of the price
News Briefs Workshops
BC’s library is holding 70 workshops on seven different topics concerning research skills. The schedule is available on the library’s homepage and paper copies are in the library.
SGA
The SGA is looking for teachers to make their class available for a short presentation about the goals and responsibilities of the SGA and to hand out student planners. Please contact Julia Cruz at sgasec@bakersfieldcollege.edu.
Wylie and May
The Wylie and May Louise Gallery at Bakersfield College is presenting Surface, an art exhibition by Anderson, Soffer, and Sopcznski from Sept. 8 to Sept. 29, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Transfer Day
The BC Transfer Day Fair is Mon., Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Over 40 colleges and universities will be in attendance.
BC BBQ
The 5th Annual Barbeque will be on Sept. 15 on the Bakersfield College Football Practice Field. The Tony Ernst Band will be providing live music, and socializing begins at 5:30 and dinner is served from 6-8 p.m. Steak or chicken will be served, and adults are $25, Seniors are $20, Students are $15 with student ID and children under 12 are $5 for hot dog meals. Tickets are on sale in the ticket office and at 395-4326.
Big Red Dinner
The Big Red Dinner event will be happening before every home football game from 4:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Bakersfield College Cafeteria and it will be a spaghetti dinner with salad, rolls, and fountain drink for $7.50 per person.
BC Pool
The Bakersfield College pool is now open Mon to Thurs. 10:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. It will be free to faculty/staff, $30 a semester for students, and $60 a semester for non-students.
of a new book, you get to write and highlight in it like it’s your own book, you just have to make sure there’s no water damage or missing pages, and bring it back at the end of the semester,” said Griffin. The bookstore is in the planning stages of an interior remodel, tentatively scheduled to begin in October. The remodel includes plans to reduce office space and move the location of the textbooks and cash registers. “The store will be more setup where your textbooks are in the back half instead of it running diagonal like it does now. We’ll gain a little more space that way,” said Griffin. “We’ll have a marketplace area with chairs and tables where students can sit down and relax between classes like you’d see at a regular Barnes & Noble.” Griffin says that students can expect to continue seeing upgrades to the bookstore under Barnes & Noble’s management. “We always want to make things better and improve on our processes,” said Griffin.
Bresso to make students priority By Thomas Howell Reporter
Michele Bresso has been recently selected to be the Kern Community College District’s fulltime Associate Vice Chancellor of Governmental and External Relations. As a former Communication professor and former director of marketing and public relations, Bresso has carried out the KCCD governmental relations position on an interim, part-time basis since August 2010. Bresso has been with the KCCD for 18 years. After 11 years of public relations, she went back to school and got her master’s degree and started teaching in the Bakersfield College Communication Department. She has worked with the Kern High School District for 12 years and studied journalism. Bresso is currently nearing completion of her doctorate at Fielding Graduate University, where she is working on her Ph.D. in Human and Organizational systems with dissertation research in community college leadership development. In her current full-time position, Bresso said she will miss her role as a professor of communication at BC. “The relationships with the students are irreplaceable,” said Bresso. She plans on being on campus regularly and said, although she’s not formally teaching, she will always be connected with the students. Bresso’s new job entails communication with legislative branches of government, including federal, state and local government personnel. Her two main goals are to communicate to both legislators and staff and speak on the behalf of KCCD and also to build a relationship with the community businesses and other local governmental agencies. Bresso said a field representative by the name of Javier Reyes for Assemblywoman Shannon Grove comes to BC on the third Thursday of every month. The next meeting is Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Levinson building room 5. Bresso is currently trying to get more assembly representatives to stop by BC to have the students voice their opinions and say what is on their minds.
brandon barraza / The Rip
The Speech, Arts and Music Building is currently undergoing construction, and the outdoor theater is littered with overgrowth. subject to temperature swings,” said Schiers. “I don’t think this will do any harm to the students’ education, but some of the rooms don’t have as much space as in the SAM,” said Stephen Eaton, dean of instructional services. “The choir is in a room where they are on the stands and the conductor is on the stage, but that’s just a mi-
nor inconvenience. “People ask, with the state having no money, why are they renovating? But the truth is, this has been a plan for a while,” he continued. “No one is allowed in if you’re not moving anything out. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” BC is planning to renovate the
BUDGET: Cuts likely to surprise Continued from Page 1 gan on on-campus services in 2009, this year would not be as bad. “This year,” he said, “we planned for minor reductions.” He also notes that BC is “overcap,” meaning that we are serving more students than we are receiving money from the state to serve. “We have been overcap for several years, but we believe that we can be over-cap for several more years and still serve our students.” He also noted that eliminating sections and part-time adjunct professors acts as a safety valve on the school’s budget, noting that “we take one year at a time” when it comes to determining what classes will be cut. Also, a lobbyist was hired to work with the state legislature. Sandra Serrano stated in a July 5 email “It’s important to note that advocacy with our
legislators is giving them and other decision-makers a better understanding of how community colleges benefit the communities we serve. While all of higher education is seeing deep cuts in this year’s budget, the community colleges, for the first time in a long time, fared better than the CSU and UC systems.” “The state’s workload reduction language emphasizes that we must protect our core mission – transfer, career, and technical education and basic skills. This remains KCCD’s enrollment management priority. In a statewide budget discussion this week, we were warned that the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Department of Finance will continue to carefully monitor community college course schedules and will take measures to enforce this priority with a heavy hand.”
building and also the outdoor theater. “I think that the outdoor theater really does need a renovation because when you go out there you see weeds growing out of the ground,” said Eaton. According to Schiers, the renovations are to last a year and a half. This means that if it starts in January of 2012, it will probably be done by the summer of 2013.
Thermal: Plans in work to get system going Continued from Page 1 tionality of the tank. “There were some expectations that weren’t met, and so we’re trying to iron that out,” said Schiers. Work is being done at the district level between the contractor and facilities management to ensure the tank and chiller loop are linked up and operational in the near future. The Thermal Energy System is one of several projects undertaken by BC in 2009 as part of a state and PG&E funded campuswide green initiative.
Campus
Page 5
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
SGA seeks new senators and to improve campus By Keith Kaczmarek Reporter
Gregory D. Cook / The Rip
Casy Schauschlagur (left) tells Michael Alvarez, a USMC veteran, and Bakersfield College student, about some of the services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs on Sept. 1.
Aid for vets found on BC By Amber T. Troupe Production Editor
The local Bakersfield Department of Veteran’s Affairs was on Bakersfield College’s campus from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, with their Mobile Vet Center from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., located in front of the campus Huddle. Vincent Runnels, a workstudy employee and former U.S Marine, was helping out the mobile center providing veterans on campus with information about the services the Veterans Affairs offers. Runnel said, “We come out and discuss what options are available and guide them in the right direction by providing contact information and references, as well as counseling and advice about VA benefits.” Runnel talked about what some of the purposes of the Mobile Vet Center were and how it allowed veterans to attain a work-study position like any school would, but it also enables them to get experience for government positions. The information about services provided by the Mobile Vet Center ranges from G.I. Bills for education, to veteran
housing assistance. They also offer outreach and referral services to veterans on BC’s campus. Inside the Mobile Vet Centers, there are two closed-off sections that provide private on-site counseling if needed at events. There is Internet access to the VA Web site and large television screens that can provide them with live conferences. The choice to use a large vehicle for their communication purposes stems from the organization wanting to make it easy to spot these valuable portable-counseling centers during any event they attend. Each Mobile Vet Center has a readjustment technician who is the driver and a readjustment counselor who handles issues such as military trauma and bereavement. Jenny Frank, office manager at the Bakersfield VA center, explained how the mobile vet center is based on certain regions. In the San Joaquin Valley region there are at least 13 of the Mobile Vet Centers available with the main offices in Santa Cruz, Fresno and Corona. Frank talked about how the
Gregory D. Cook / The Rip
The truck houses a fully functioning Department of Veterans Affairs office, complete with counseling rooms. mobile centers are actually requested from the main offices and sent out to cover local events within the region. The moving services is not
just present to help all forms of veterans, it also provides information and counseling services for family members of deceased veterans.
Students best professional chefs in contest By Tyler McGinty Opinions Editor
Over the summer, while many students keep school as far from their thoughts as possible, one group of Bakersfield College culinary students traveled to the Mammoth Blue Sky Fest to take top honors in the culinary competition on July 9, against many culinary professionals, including an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America. “I don’t think we knew it was a competition on the level that it was at, because we were the only actual students there competing. Everyone else was actually culinary professionals,” said Summer LeBrecque, one of the culinary students in the competition. “So, the fact that we actually placed first was quite a pat on the back for us just because we went up there not knowing what we were getting into, and we beat out some of the top chefs in that area,” LeBrecque said. The dish that the team of BC students made that won the competition was Chicken Del Monaco, a dish made of breaded chicken with garlic, onions, a mixture of mushrooms, artichokes, cream sauce and seasonings. Served alongside the chicken was a salad composed of various colors of tomatoes and watermelons. Not only did the students win
On Aug. 31, the SGA began the first stage of their new BC Be Fit program by starting a flash mob to Beyonce’s “Move Your Body” with members of the BC Cheer team, setting up a “Beer Goggles” driving simulator, and presenting drinking and tobacco use dangers which included displays and General Counsel Derrick Kenner dressed as a giant cigarette butt. SGA also recently voted on several improvements. They have allocated $20,000 for a new Veterans Resource Center, $18,000 for reconstruction of the Campus Center bulletin boards. They will also include some cases so that notices aren’t destroyed in the rain, and $500 to buy cotton candy machines for use by campus clubs that in the past had been rented. The cotton candy machines will be a cost-saving measure since clubs have been renting them for fundraisers, and owning the machines will prove cheaper in the long-term. The SGA has also been going to classes and telling students about the Renegade Food Pantry, a program that gives boxes of food to enrolled BC students every two weeks. Students can sign up and find out information about the program in Campus Center 4, and must sign up on designated days. There are no other requirements to receive the food boxes. When asked about the need to combat student apathy on campus, Tawntannisha Thompson,
Brandon Barazza / The Rip
SGA President Tawntannisha Thompson encourages the crowd at the Be Fit rally Aug. 31.
BC teachers contribute By Jon Nelson Reporter
Joseph Cota / The Rip
Bakersfield College culinary students Dana Wesson, left, and Daisy Madrigal, 20, hold their trophy in which they earned by winning the Mammoth Blue Sky Fest on July 9. an award and wooden bear trophy for their Chicken Del Monaco, they also received job offers and experience. Before the actual competition, the team helped out at various events with the very top chefs that they would defeat later. In addition, Olimpo Alvarez and Sirahuen Martinez both re-
SGA President, said, “If you don’t see the SGA, you don’t know we are out there. Once you know we are out there, it gets better.” She then commented on the SGA efforts the last few weeks to tell students about opportunities for students to engage in campus programs and give their feedback to the SGA, saying “Once they knew what we did, people were asking about Senator applications.” Thompson is a returning SGA member, last year having been the Activity Coordinator. Her most notable accomplishments from last year include getting patio furniture for the campus center and opening up the homecoming King and Queen process so that any BC student can run. This year she is planning to spearhead the BC Be Fit program and the MAPS peer-mentoring program. Information on both is available in Campus Center 4. The SGA would like students to know that Senator positions in the SGA are still open. As a Senator, the student’s role is to talk to other students and contribute ideas for the SGA to act on, as well as help on projects and set-up for events. Applications are available at the counter in front of the SGA office and students who wish to apply must be taking at least six units of classes. They must also have an overall GPA of at least 2.0. Positions will remain open until filled and there are still 19 slots open for Senator with interviews beginning the middle of September.
ceived jobs after the competition, and Maura Chavez has a job offer because of the team’s victory. “I think that added to our resumes as far as being employed by restaurants,” Martinez said. “Also, with the other chefs that were there, they were able to help us out by teaching us little techniques here or there.”
“It was a nice experience,” said Alvarez. “We all bonded, we got close.” As the team recalled the event, they all had smiles on their face as they talked about what happened. “It was really fun, it was a really good experience,” said Martinez. “And we get to go back next year to defend our title.”
Work from Kern County college art instructors will be highlighted starting Sept. 15 in a Bakersfield Museum of Art exhibit called Convergence. The show will feature pieces by 20 Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield art department faculty members. “The art department chairs contacted my predecessor with content and proposed the idea of merging work from the two colleges’ faculty members. There have been many changes to the staff in the last few years, which have strengthened the art department programs with very notable working artists,” said Vikki Cruz, curator for The Bakersfield Museum of Art. The exhibit came about because of cooperation between the Bakersfield Museum of Art, BC, and CSUB. “This show is a result of a conversation between Joyce Kohl, chair of the Art Department at CSUB and myself. We decided to approach the Bakersfield Museum of Art with the idea of the show, and we were delighted when they accepted the idea and scheduled the exhibit,” said David Koeth, art professor and chair of the
BC Art Department. Convergence includes a wide range of classic art forms such as painting, drawing and sculpture as well as disciplines like assemblage and multimedia work. “I am showing three mixed media citrus spheres, which are part of a series that I’ve been working on for the past few years,” said Koeth. There is no central theme for Convergence and faculty members were responsible for choosing the work they wanted to display. “We were asked to create something or show our most recent work,” said Kris Stallworth, instructor of photography at BC, who contributed photographs to the show. Convergence will also coincide with the California Art Education Association’s annual conference being held in Bakersfield this year. “Our exhibits are constantly changing and we try to offer a variety of exhibits annually. I don’t know if this will be a repeated event for next year, but maybe further down the road we might consider hosting this exhibit again,” said Cruz about the possibility of the show becoming an annual presentation. Convergence runs from Sept. 15 to Nov. 20.
Commentar y
Page 8
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Herpa Derp
Staff Editorial
by Zak S. Cowan
Student gov’t can’t stay silent In “Rights of Man,” Thomas Paine wrote: “A nation under a well-regulated government should permit none to remain uninstructed. It is monarchical and [aristocratic] government only that requires ignorance for its support.” These words should ring true to any student currently attending Bakersfield College, as our own governing body, the Student Government Association, has repeatedly left its constituents in the dark in recent months. Toward the end of last semester, five members of the SGA resigned from their positions before their terms were complete, and they failed to give any concrete reasons why they were failing to fulfill their duties to the students of BC. Dean of students and SGA adviser Joyce Coleman refused
to shed light on what had taken place, and failed to respond to the rumors circulating around campus stating, “I am not at liberty to respond to questions as they relate to specific students. This would be a violation of federal, state, district and college laws, guidelines and procedures.” This isn’t the first time something like this has taken place, and the leadership of the SGA has failed to fill in the blanks. Back in October 2008, three members of the SGA were removed from office after they consumed alcohol during the ASGA National Student Government Summit in Washington, D.C. In an article written in the October 8 issue of the Renegade Rip, then-SGA President Lyne Mugem stated, “there was a violation of the student code
By Tyler McGinty
complish the story. ame I’m fascieview nated with the idea of video games as a story-telling medium, and finding a way to make the player feel like they’re having fun, and making choices and telling a story is difficult. I think “Deus Ex” does a great job of giving you options without sacrificing story. When the first mission begins, Jensen is asked by David Sarif, head of Sarif industries, how he wants to handle the anti-augmentation radicals who have taken over the plant. I decided to handle it nonlethally and from a distance. It may have been easier to use a real gun instead of a tranquilizer rifle, but I figured a corporation that’s trying to advance humanity would try to respect life. Plus, non-lethal takedowns turned out to get you more experience points. You’ll be expected to do all kinds of things in your missions for Sarif Industries. You’ll have
of conduct and, as such, necessary measures were taken.” That was all the information provided on the subject. In a country where government is meant to serve the people, elected officials should be more open to the people that they serve, and if they aren’t, that implies that they are trying to hide something that would substantially harm their reputation. Transparency in government should always be of the utmost importance in any free and open society, and our student governing body has failed to achieve any such thing. These students are paid with the money that the rest of the
student body pumps into the school, and yet, when they resign from a position we pay them to hold, we get no answers to why they did so. It must be understood that these students are, well, students, and commendations should go to Coleman for protecting them. The SGA has also done great things like the food pantry, and they have been known to spend their money on the occasional worthwhile endeavor. Nonetheless, we have a right to know what goes on with our elected officials, and anyone thinking otherwise is flat out wrong. When those students are on
SGA events, and when they are carrying out SGA duties, they are our employees, and they should be treated as such. Our government was built on openness, and if our student government can’t achieve such a small thing, they shouldn’t be treated like a real government body, and they shouldn’t be given income that is generated by the students that they govern. We ask the SGA to come forth and quit trying to leave us ignorant to the actions of our elected officials. Water under the bridge is water over the dam, but looking forward, let us hope that the SGA will be more willing to
open up to its students so that we can know that we can trust the men and women that are in that association, and that we can trust that they will do the right thing when presented the chance. It is hard to support an organization that you know so little about, and until they practice true transparency with their constituents, it is unlikely they will ever get the turnout they want for elections, homecoming and other SGA events. Only when they have true transparency will they earn the respect among the student body and gain the student participation that they try to gain every semester.
to hack into computers, sneak around guards, try to convince people to do certain things, and occasionally kill people in the name of transhumanism, or in the name of your corporation. Of course, there are augmentations that will help you do all of these things, and as you level up, you get to pick more and more augmentations that help you. You can choose to specialize in certain things, or try to do a little bit of everything. It seems like you level up slowly, so you should really think about which augmentations you pick. I really love the game mechanic that lets you take cover, although sometimes the controls get a little hard to get used to. Every once in a while, instead of moving under cover, I would pop up to take aim, when I really wanted to move to a better position. One of my favorite little details I noticed was that the game has two auto-saves, which is wonderful when you make a huge mistake right before the game auto-saves.
The game does have its problems though. I had a lot of trouble when I was given a very limited amount of ammunition for the tranquilizer rifle, and found almost no extra ammo. I think I found one pack in the whole first mission, but I found plenty of ammo for weapons I did not have. The game also had somewhat long loading times, and in a normal game they wouldn’t have been an issue at all. However, the game lends itself to trying out different ideas, and you may play a certain area many, many times as you try to find the right solution. When you have to load the same save over and over, the longer load time gets to be a pain. “Deus Ex” is still a great game. You can play it as stealthy as “Metal Gear,” or as gung-ho as “Call of Duty,” with a great story that paints a terrifying picture of our possible future. If you have any interest in transhumanism, or just sneaking around and shooting terrorists from the shadows, “Deus Ex” is a game for you.
Social commentary delivered with a bang Opinions Editor
I’m fascinated with transhumanism, I love stealth games, and any game that gives you multiple ways to overcome obstacles can easily win me over. If you share any of those qualities, you’ll love “Deus Ex: Human Revolution.” Set before the first game, “Deus Ex” puts you in the shoes of Adam Jensen, former SWAT member and now Security Manager for Sarif Industries. Sarif Industries is responsible for researching technology that allows humans to augment themselves with various technologies. The augmentations are really what make me love this game. I absolutely hate open-ended story games. When I have the freedom to do absolutely anything, such as in games like “Oblivion,” I end up doing absolutely nothing. I explore side quests or I spend a lot of time just messing around. However, I love games that give you different tools to ac-
G R
courtesey of google images
“Deus Ex” is available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
New guitarist adds a fresh sound to an old band TheRip.com By Thomas Howell Reporter
With the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, “I’m With You,” comes a new style and a new guitarist: Josh Klinghoffer, previously of Dot Hacker and Ataxia, in which he collaborated with former guitarist John Frusicante. Klinghoffer joined the band in 2007, on the last leg of the Stadium Arcadium Tour. This may be the first album with Klinghoffer but the legendary Rick Rubin still adds his sound by producing the album. Perhaps because of Frusicante’s departure from the band back in 2009 and the release of their 10th studio album marks the bands biggest gap to date between studio albums, five years since 2006’s “Stadium Arcadium.” The new RHCP album starts
with “Monarchy of lbum Roses,” a eview song with a heavy rhythm section intro and leads into the first glimpse of the new guitar sound of Klinghoffer. It’s pretty obvious from the start that the sound of RHCP has changed substantially with the departure of Frusicante. The new sound of Chili Peppers is good, but when you think RHCP you tend to just expect a certain style to come of it. I don’t know if the change is going to excite fans or agitate them, but only time will tell. With the new album, there is more emphasis on the rhythm section especially with the second track of the album “Factory of Faith,” with bassist Michael
A R
Courtesy of Google Images
Balzary, better known as Flea, and longtime drummer Chad Smith. The beginning of the album is more melodic and slower paced, with tracks like “Brendan’s Death Song” and “Ethiopia,” while the middle of the album hits a faster pace with tracks such as “Look Around.” The album’s single, “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie,” is a mediocre song, and I feel it is
the weakest part of the album. The album picks back up with “Did I Let You Know,” and leads into “Happiness Loves Company,” which starts off with a piano intro and is an upbeat song. “Police Station” brings the album back down to a slow pace. Finishing off the album is “Dance Dance Dance,” which ends the album on a steady note. The album is very strong album overall. It seems stronger than their previous “Stadium Arcadium.” The most disappointing part of this album is the single “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie.” Even with Frusciante absent, this is a solid album. This could be a turning point for the Red Hot Chili Peppers career with a new guitarist and a new sound and their ceiling seems limitless.
Visit TheRip.com for these online-only stories:
A review of the newest installment of the Madden NFL video game franchise. A multimedia presentation on students’ hopes for the year.
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, Thomas Howell, Keith Kaczmarek, Cassandra Features Editor.......................Chrystal Fortt McGowan, Meisha McMurray, Jon Nelson, Opinions Editor.......................Tyler McGinty Esteban Ramirez, Patricia Rocha, Sandra Photo Editor..................................Joseph Cota Ward Online Editor............................Martin Chang Production Editor...............Amber T. Troupe Photographers: Brandon Barraza, Gregory D. Cook, Megan Luecke, Nate Perez, Eleonor Segura, Nathan Wilson
Adviser.......................................................Danny Edwards
The first official Rip podcast that covers various topics about BC.
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
Commentar y
Page 9
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Buccaneers of the electronic seas: Stealing sales or promoting them? Many college students share two characteristics: a love of music and a lack of money. In the Information Age, there is a wealth of music, movies and video games that are free for the taking with simply an Internet connection and enough tech skills to use a web browser. But just because you can, does that mean you should? Two members of the Rip staff tackle the issue of music piracy below to illuminate both sides of the debate. Chrystal Fortt
Column
DC tries to gain new readership Pop, Girls, Etc. | The Rip’s Opinions Editor shares his thoughts on pop culture and media.
By Keith Kaczmarek Reporter When you pirate music, you are not hurting the artists. “But how will they make money?” you say. “How will they get their royalties?” The simple truth is that most artists never see a dime from the sale of their songs. Recording contracts are designed in such a way that the record company takes most or all of the profit because even when an artist sells several million CDs of their music, various hidden fees in the contract work to eat away at the actual profits. These fees have such names as breakage fees, container fees, reserve fees, free goods, and uncollected accounts, and when they are done eating away at a 10% royalty rate, many artists end up owing the record company for their platinum-selling album. Artists such as Tom Petty have been famously quoted as saying that they have never made a dime off selling their music. Today’s recording artists are making their money off of merchandising (T-shirts, post-
ers, etc.) and from live performances. This means that the sole value to them in selling their album is the promotion, it gives to their band so that people want to come to performances and want to buy the merchandise. In this sense, pirating their music only helps them because it’s a promotional tool that doesn’t cost them any money, and many obscure bands welcome pirating for this reason. Now, some artists do own their own labels. Jack White is pretty famous for owning his own label, and we can assume that he’s decided to get in on the scam before the revolution in digital music basically kills off all the record companies. That being said, some artists who don’t own record companies have come out against pirating. Famously, old-school bands like Metallica and John Lennon have been vocal opponents of music piracy, but they have one thing in common: they are already wealthy and their only income is coming from long-tail royalties. John Lennon is actually notorious for buying up the rights to
PRO
other artist’s songs and making money off them, so we can assume he doesn’t actually care about whether the original artist is still making money off their music. Of course, this means that we are cutting out the middleman. Pirating music does mean that record executives won’t be able to take advantage of artists that are either not smart enough, or too desperate to hire a topnotch entertainment lawyer to negotiate before they sign a record deal. This is going to radically change the entertainment landscape. There have even been rumblings in the music industry that wide-spread piracy has led to a revival of the live-music scene because of both the changing economics and the exposure it gives to less mainstream bands. It’s hard to see that as a bad thing. Finally, studies have shown that it’s actually difficult to make the argument that music pirates actually cause losses. People who pirate music spend much more on music than people who don’t, meaning that being exposed to music might have such a large promotional effect that it overshadows any lost sales.
By America Garza Reporter
We are living in a post-Napster world. Twelve years after the most popular of the early peer-to-peer file sharing systems revolutionized the digital media marketplace, the music industry is still struggling to recapture a consumer base that has little interest in going back to pre-Napster times–a time when we happily handed our money over for music without giving it a second thought. The Napster era music freefor-all instilled us with a false sense of entitlement. Like a spoiled child, we cling to the notion that music ought to be free. Well kids, the time has come to grow up and start paying for our music just like we do any other commodity. The problem faced by the record companies trying to convince us to stop pirating is that file sharing just doesn’t feel wrong. There is nothing seedy about the transaction, or any guilt associated with the act itself. Stealing from a record company
through an illegal download just doesn’t feel like stealing at all. It’s anonymous. It’s indirect, a victimless crime. If there are victims we’d like to think of them as fat cat record execs, gold-chain wearing producers, and rock stars – and don’t you just want to stick it to them anyway? The reality is that the recording industry employs far more regular people than it does people of celebrity or wealth. A 2007 study by the Institute for Policy Innovation estimates that 70,000 jobs and $2 billion dollars are lost annually due to illegal downloads. It’s safe to the say that revenue lost to illegal downloads has had some impact on our current economy. In essence, we stopped paying for music, but it never became free. Music is art in its most accessible form. And while the artist in all of us wants to believe in open access, the realist in us must accept that music is also a business, and if we hope to continue to enjoy it as the industry we know today, a business we must support by leaving the Napster mentality behind.
CON
Sparks fly in first issue of ‘Justice League’ reboot as two familiar superheroes meet for the first time, yet again By Martin Chang Online Editor
Other then music, no other medium has made a deeper impression on me than comics. But the superhero style comics represented by DC Comics have never been a part of that. It just has never clicked with me. The long history and back-stories of these styles of comics has made it even harder to get into. Therefore, the recent DC comic reboot is ideal for readers like me. “Justice League” #1, one of the recently renewed comics by DC, balances action and character development in a way that provides excitement without feeling soulless. The comic opens with Batman chasing an unknown villain while the police are chasing him,
since they consider him and all superheroes, dangerous. When the villain has him at omic the end of his rope, The eview Green Lantern saves him by plowing a huge fire truck created by his scientific ring into the villain. This is how Batman and The Green Lantern meet. That glowing fire truck is the perfect way to introduce The Green Lantern. His cocky, flashy attitude is my favorite thing about the issue. His swaggering overconfidence put a smile on my face and his various quips made me laugh. Batman is not impressed with Lantern’s theatrics. Every conversation is thick with tension
C R
and their back and forth is what keeps the action from seeming meaningless. It is the thing that gives this first issue character. It’s this tension that provides the entertainment and it’s what made the story interesting. Without the conflict and humorous dialogue the action would have been a bit too overwhelming and would have seemed meaningless. It was smart to focus the story on the two characters instead of trying to introduce too many characters at once. When I have tried to read other superhero comics, I would find my eyes getting tired, the explosions and bright colors just seemed to blend together. Reading “Justice League” #1, I now know I need something other then the action to keep me reading.
courtesy of dccomics.com
That is not to say that the issue does not have action. Nearly all the conversations between Lantern and Batman happen while they are fighting someone
or someone is fighting them. These action scenes get the job done. They are drawn well and fun to look at. My eyes didn’t get tired like often do. Like with the story, this comes from the decision of keeping things fairly simple. The plot of the story smartly leaves much of the details of characters outside Lantern and Batman a mystery; the villain and other characters are introduced without a lot of direct information, but with more of an impression. It makes me want to find out whom these characters really are. This element of mystery combined with the already established The Green Lantern and Batman relationship make “Justice League” a series I want to continue reading.
It isn’t quite the start of a new year, but September always is a new beginning. A new school year, the beginning of autumn, and fresh episodes of your favorite television shows. This year, September brings another begin- Tyler Mcginty ning: a brand new DC Comics Universe. Earlier this year, DC announced that it was going to cancel all of its titles (with some flagship titles such as “Batman” being renewed, of course), and start fresh with 52 brand new issue number ones. This is clearly a strategy to gain new readers. It’s far easier for someone new to comics, but interested in them, to pick up issue one than issue 800-andsomething. I would guess it’s DC’s way to compete with Marvel Comics’ popular movie franchises as a way to drum up more interest in their comics. The only movie that DC had that was on the same level of popularity and critical acclaim is Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” and it’s very hard for one movie to compete with “Iron Man,” “Captain America,” Robert Downey, Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson. It seems odd to me that DC would push so hard to gain new readers, when January of this year they launched a campaign where they were dropping the prices of all of their titles to $2.99, which was enticing current readers to keep buying the same amount of titles they were already getting. It only took nine months before DC decided keeping their old readers wasn’t enough, and as a DC fan who has put a lot of money into their company, I feel a little left by the wayside. Another part of this announcement that doesn’t sit well with me is the announcement that DC will also be releasing their new 52 titles in a digital format on the same day as the physical copy is released. At least keeping it the same price as the physical copy is a step in the right direction, but I’m a bit of a purist. I think my music should be on a vinyl, or at least a CD (no digital for me, thanks), and my comics should be in print. I’ve tried reading digital comics before, and nothing ruins a two-page spread than having to scroll to read it. Print comics are already dying out and flooding the market with digital counterparts will hurt the struggling comic shops and will hurt the medium itself. If artists end up adapting their styles to fit on a tablet or, even worse, a smart phone, they will lose their flair. I buy titles drawn by J.H. Williams III because his art is so fluid and innovative, and a digital comic just won’t do his work justice. But the relaunch isn’t all doom and gloom. DC is at least smart enough to keep most of the teams on their various Green Lantern and Batman titles, DC’s highest profile and, in my opinion, better titles, relatively the same. It was nice to see Scott Snyder get upgrade from Detective Comics to Batman, the more popular title. Superman and Wonder Woman are getting high profile writers who will shake up the characters, something they tried before over the last year, with poor critical reception. I think what I’m most excited for is Aquaman getting his own title again. Say what you will about him, but if anyone can write a good Aquaman story, it’s Geoff Johns.
Sports
Page 10
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
New athletic director has big plans for BC By Zak S. Cowan Editor in Chief
Ryan G. Beckwith, 32, was hired as Bakersfield College’s new athletic director over the summer and has big plans for the athletic department going into his first year on the job. Beckwith has coached and worked in administration at the high school level, NCAA Division I level and most recently the community college level here at BC as an assistant track and field coach. “I’ve been at all three avenues where we would want to model our development after, [and that’s] the Division I hybrid of everything: the study side of it, the academic advising side of it, the support side of it and then obviously the look and feel of the athletic department,” said Beckwith. “We want our athletic department to have the Division I feel and look.” In addition to his administration experience, Beckwith was also a student athlete through college, and has been a professional athlete in track and field before taking the position. Beckwith respects the man he has followed, Jan Stuebbe, but is looking to put his own stamp on the athletic department that he claims is in “pristine condition.” Beckwith wants to create an atmosphere in the athletic department that is molded around his “high-energy” attitude. “There just seemed to be an atmosphere that should be here that wasn’t for whatever reason, I don’t know,” he said. “But [my
gregory d. cook / The Rip
Ryan G. Beckwith replaced Jan Stuebbe as Bakersfield College’s athletic director over the summer. main duty is] building an atmosphere, it’s building a brand of BC athletics that maybe at one point was and at this point isn’t.” Beckwith’s plans for the future don’t stop at the environment of
the department, though. He has his eyes set on bigger and loftier goals. “There are a lot of things we want to do to update the facilities to kind of bring us into the
new millennium, because a lot of the stuff that we have is a little bit older because it was built back in the ’60s and ’70s,” Beckwith said. “Again, at those times, believe
it or not, we had some of the best facilities in the country.” Being in the economic situation that our district and state is in, Beckwith’s goal is to persuade administrators that the
department he has taken over is worth the money. “I think that everyone understands the avenue that athletics can play,” he said. “We kind of have that way to bring the community back here. We are a community college and if we update our facilities, and we have things like that going on, the community is going to be here using the facilities.” Beckwith said that he might not be able to get those types of things done as soon as he would like to, but that isn’t going to stop him from working to improve the athletic department in every area he can. Beckwith is extremely upbeat about what he has planned for the athletic department, and has already set several marketing campaigns in motion, most notably schedules of every BC sports team posted around campus. “It’s all about baby steps at this point,” Beckwith said. “Do I have the money to go out and buy a new track right now? No. But can I get posters done? Yes. So, it’s those little steps of just showing progressive movement, having tribute games for the military and trying to pack the house, and bring that atmosphere back here. “It’s just about working for it and trying to work together with everybody to get the ultimate done, which is to update our facilities and have as many events as we can for the community.”
See www.therip.com
For the entire interview with Beckwith
Coach has eyes on the top Both Bakersfield College cross-country teams begin the season on Sept. 10 at the Fresno Invitational at Woodward Park. “I am excited to get the season started,’’ said women’s cross country coach Pam Kelley. “The season opener is a chance for experience, work on performance, and [to] learn something new,’’ said men’s crossports country coach oundup Dave Frickel. Kelley has Compiled by many expecMiesha McMurray tations for the runners this season. She expects the team to make it in the top 30% of the Southern Cal regional, and even make it to state. Frickel expects to finish in the top three in the conference. This season, the women have 18 runners and the men have 10 runners. On the women’s team there are three returning sophomores. For the men there are four sophomores, three returning and one who is a transfer from a fouryear university. The freshmen on these teams have all had experience in cross-country from their high school careers. “The depth of the team is pretty good. Actually, it is one of the best years, and I’ve been here for seven years. This is one of the better teams,’’ said Frickel.
S R
“These runners have a lot to work for, so they will be working as hard as they can to reach their goals,’’ said Kelley. Volleyball Bakersfield College’s women’s volleyball team won its first match of the season Aug. 31, beating Ventura 25-23, 25-13, and 25-16. Coach Carl Ferreira was pleased on how his team performed on its passing. On a scale of 3 they passed at 2.6 with 69 percent of perfect passing. “I thought it was outstanding for the first match of the season,’’ said Ferreira. The team’s next match will be held at BC on Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. against Porterville. On Aug. 27, BC had an intersquad scrimmage that went very well. Ferreira said the intersquad scrimmages are good for matches, conditioning, and even to learn additional things that may not have been learned during practice. “If you ask me do I have a plan, the answer is yes, “ said Ferreira. Ferreira is not focusing on just losing and winning because it is the byproduct of the game, but he hopes that it will build the players’ character with each loss or win.
During this season there are 22 players, 13 of which are freshmen that have had successful high school careers. “It’s truly an honor and privilege to work with young people, they are the life of this sport, and they play very well together,” said Ferreira. Soccer Soccer Coach Scott Dameron doesn’t have too many expectations since it’s the beginning of the season. All he hopes for is the team to grow as a group, build together, and play the best soccer that it can. A scrimmage was held on Aug. 19, against Marymount College. “It was fine, just a place where we learned about ourselves,” said Dameron. “Some of the players were shocked at how fast the game went, but they managed to pick it up quick.” On Aug. 26, the team had an alumni game. An alumni game is where past players that were in the program up to 10-15 years ago come back and play with the new players. “It was nice to keep in contact with them, after most of them are married with families,” said Dameron. Since it’s the beginning of the season, they can’t really tell how
Brandon barraza / The Rip
Bakersfield College womans soccer player Brittany Hernandez fields a pass on August 6, while alumni players Amanda Duran and Merina Arias play defense. the results of this season will compare to last seasons results. Also, they are not too focused on wins and losses. “Just focusing on doing the right thing, if we do the right
thing correctly then we will succeed,’’ said Dameron The team mainly consists of freshmen, with just three sophomores holding roster spots. With just three sophomores,
and 11 starting positions, the starting squad will be extremely freshman-heavy. “We’re definitely excited, I love the team, [but] they’re a young group,” said Dameron.
Sports
Page 11
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Column
The losers deserve a little love Chiefed | The Rip’s Editor in Chief tells you what’s what in sports.
gregory d. cook / The Rip
Brahmas running back Josh Johnson is wrapped up by Renegades defensive lineman Tanner Melson in Memorial Stadium on Sept. 3.
RENEGADES: Freshman quarterback impresses during first start for BC Continued from Page 1 Burrell’s main target throughout the game was wide receiver Brandon Hobdy, who finished the game with 148 yards receiving on eight receptions and a touchdown. “We always connect in practice, so we come out here on the field and we already know what we’ve got to do: connect,” said Hobdy. Pierce’s starting quarterback, Jake Basmajian, passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns, but the majority of it came in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter when the game was decided. During the first half, both teams had chances to blow the game wide open, but neither could capitalize. After they stopped BC during their first offensive possession of the game, Pierce drove 76 yards to BC’s 14-yard-line during a long 14play drive that took over six minutes off the clock, but was stopped and forced to attempt a 30-yard field
ter, BC started its rally. In those final minutes of the first half, BC scored 16 unanswered points that included a 64-yard touchdown pass from Burrell to Hobdy to make the score 16-7 at the half. “We have a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball,” Chudy said. “Offensively we have, other than our one wide out, no returning starters. “So, there’s a learning curve with everything and we’re just getting our feet wet,” he said. “If we do things right, then we’re pretty decent, but when we don’t execute we can be as bad as anybody.” Pierce started the second half the same way they ended the first. The Brahmas lost three fumbles during their first three drives of the third quarter, and BC capitalized when running back Mustaafa Cobb broke a 32-yard touchdown with 8:59 left in the third quarter to push BC’s lead to 23-7. In the fourth quarter, Burrell led his team to another scoring drive, this time passing to Darius Tubbs for a 16-yard touchdown Sept. 3 BC 32, Pierce 19 that pushed the lead Sept. 10 vs Saddleback 7 p.m. to 30-7 with just unSept. 17 at Antelope Valley 7 p.m. der 12 minutes left Sept. 24 vs Citrus 7 p.m. in the game. Oct. 1 at Mt. San Antonio 6 p.m. Pierce went 11 Oct. 8 BYE plays in its next Oct. 15 vs Alan Hancock 7 p.m. drive, pushing BC’s Oct. 22 at Ventura 6 p.m. defense back to its Oct. 29 at El Camino 6 p.m. own 34-yard line, 7 p.m. Nov. 5 vs Cerritos but BC held strong 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Canyons and Pierce turned the ball over on goal that BC blocked. downs. In BC’s next possession, they Pierce scored 12 of its 19 points drove all the way down to Pierce’s during the final 3:20 of the game, 2-yard line on a 53-yard connection but the deficit was too large to overbetween Burrell and Hobdy. Two come. plays later, BC running back, Jalen “Obviously, we have a long way Sykes, fumbled the ball at the 5-yard to go,” said Chudy. “We didn’t do line. things right all the time and I was reThe first quarter ended without a ally disappointed in how we finished point on the scoreboard from either off the end of the game in those last team. three minutes.” Early in the second quarter, Pierce BC will face Saddleback on Sept. struck first on a 52-yard connection 10 at Memorial Stadium. Saddlebetween Basmajian and wide re- back defeated Orange Coast College ceiver Brandon Smith. 44-20 in its first game. Basmajian stood back in the “We’re going to have to play a pocket free from any pressure as he lot better to play with [Saddleback], delivered the bullet to Smith. who are a good football team,” said BC looked demoralized as their Chudy. “Our hope is that we got our defense slouched off the field. feet wet, so let’s take our game to With 5:37 left in the second quar- another level.”
martin chang / The Rip
Bakersfield College football coach Ken Chapman discusses plays with his team during its 32-19 victory over L.A. Pierce on Sept. 3.
Football Schedule/Results
joseph cota / The Rip
Bakersfield College Renegade Tyrome Nelson returns a missed PAT during the fourth quarter of the team’s 32-19 victory over L.A. Pierce on Sept. 3.
Wrestling team to get first test against former champs By Esteban Ramirez Reporter
This year, Bakersfield College’s wrestling team is already off to a better start than last year with all their weight classes filled and more depth. Last year they ended up placing sixth in state with four All-Americans and this year’s wrestling team has 10 wrestlers
returning from last year, including Quinn Moore, a heavyweight who finished third in the State Championships last year. “I realistically believe that we can be a top-five team. It won’t be easy, but it’s possible,” wrestling coach Bill Kalivas said. “Our goal is to keep improving on our skills and we need to eliminate mistakes and the wins will take care of itself.
“As a whole, we need to be accountable and need better balance because last year we depended too much on our better wrestlers.” According to Kalivas, the most impressive newcomers this year are two wrestlers from Lemoore: Lance Castaneda and Jacob Pendelton. Both are in the 174 weight class, but Kalivas is open to that
changing. Last year the wrestling team didn’t have all the weight classes filled, but so far this year they do. “As of now, our weight classes have been filled, but you don’t know if someone might not like it or find out it’s not for them,” Kalivas said. “But I think that depth will help our team so we can keep improv-
ing.” The team gets a chance to see how they matchup against the best because they will start off their season with the Bakersfield Duals here at BC, that will include Santa Ana who two years ago were the state champs, Cuesta College who got fifth last year, Mt. SAC, and East Los Angeles. The tournament will be held on Sept. 24.
With football starting tonight, I am so sick of all the talking heads telling me who is going to win the Super Bowl. So I’m here to do things a little different and predict the other side of the season and fill you in on who is going to have the worst re- Zak S. Cowan cord in the league and will pick first in next April’s draft. In football, there are three basic categories that the team must flat out suck at to be considered for the position of Draft Queen. Those categories go as such: quarterback situation, pass rush, and coaching staff. There are five teams most likely to end up with the prized position among bottom feeders, so let’s take a look at them and how badly they fair going into a fresh new year. Cincinnati Bengals The Bengals have nothing going for them at this point, having lost their starting quarterback to retirement. The team will start formerTCU quarterback Andy Dalton this season, and he comes from a pass happy offense that bloated stats. The team’s defense, the same defense that was in the top five just two years ago, is in utter disarray now. Last year, they failed to put any sort of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and they did nothing to help the area of the defense. The team’s coaching staff is, unfortunately, the same, and it shocks me that Marvin Lewis still has a job (trifecta!). Denver Broncos The Doncos only fit in one of the categories; their quarterback situation is terrible. So, they have two quarterbacks vying for the starting job and both quarterbacks have players and fans that have a certain amount of allegiance with them. This could be the leading factor if the Broncos do indeed finish with the worst record in the league. The pass rush in Denver has a chance to be one of the best with Elvis Dumervil coming back fully healthy. The coaching staff is led by John Fox who I think is one of the best in the game. San Francisco 49ers Any team that has Alex Smith under center is likely going to end the season in the bottom of the outhouse. It amazes me how Smith is still taking snaps in the NFL considering he has been the face of a franchise during its darkest days. I wouldn’t be surprised if it came out that new coach Jim Harbaugh wanted to throw the season just to pick up his old quarterback from his days at Stanford, Andrew Luck. Even if he does, it will be hard for them to be as uncompetitive as the Bengals. Carolina Panthers The Panthers have Cam Newton, sure, but every other piece of the puzzle is missing. Ron Rivera has done nothing in this league to show that he can be a successful head coach, and the defense got no significant additions over the offseason. If you ask me, the Panthers are more likely to be battling for the number two overall pick in April’s draft than any. Oakland Raiders Oh, the Raiders, how I root for you year after year, and you always disappoint me. The Raiders were seemingly a team on the up last season, but lost both their pro bowlers during the free agent frenzy. Now they have nothing but a new head coach, a strong defensive line, and Jason Campbell. Oh, and did I mention that Al Davis is still alive? Prediction Who Dey? The Bengals, that’s who. Sorry Cincy fans, the Bengals will have the top pick, and you will all have to deal with Carson Palmer on ESPN saying, “If they would have just traded me, maybe the would have had the couple of pieces they needed to be the second-worst team in the league.” And the Patriots will beat the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLVI.
Page 6
Page 7
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
“A high-speed railroad would most likely help
bring awareness to society about public transit.” ––Linda Wilbanks, Transportation Development and Kern Country Roads Department planner
With construction, parking permit mixup, a new transit service, and the regular transportation rush at the beginning of the semester, the campus has been a traffic jam.
Kern Regional Transit provides new routes that will aid BC students By Monica Bolger Reporter
Two new bus routes have been added that should be of interest to students: one from Lamont to Arvin and another from Lamont to the campus that leaves the campus late enough that a rider could still attend evening classes. They will both be available Monday through Thursday, a sched-
ule much later in the evening than previously available. The rates are $1.25 from campus to Lamont with another $1.25 from Lamont to Arvin with the last bus leaving campus at 9:30 p.m. and stopping in Lamont at 9:59 p.m. and Arvin at 10:21 p.m. (schedules available at the Kern Regional Transit website). The Kern Regional Transit continues to serve the community by providing one-way transit fares to
various locations in and around Kern County, with additional routes and an updated schedule of ticket and service operations. Transportation Development and Kern County Roads Department Planner, Linda Wilbanks, discusses in depth the success of the county transit and the services available to residents who are seeking transportation assistance now and for the future.
“Our transit offers great reliability and our services are always at reasonable prices,” said Wilbanks. Transit departures range in different locations within the Kern Regional Transit network, that not only include intercity routes, but also long distance locations that run north, south, east and west through Frazier Park, Gorman, Lost Hills, Mojave, Boron, California City, and also the Ridgecrest area and distances beyond that are within the same network. “The distance of where you want to go will affect the price, but taking the transit is a smart, safe, and effective choice to getting where you need to go,” said Wilbanks. The standard departure fee for general public tickets averages seventy-five cents and up. Discounts are available for the disabled, seniors, and youth riders. According to Wilbanks, not only does the Kern Regional Transit offer reliable and inexpensive transportation, but it also grants parents and their children a “safe” and “crime-free” environment. When asked if the transit’s position would ever be jeopardized due to other transportation coming in to the community, such as a new railroad or high-speed train, Wilbanks disagreed. “A high-speed railroad would most likely help bring awareness to society about public transit,” said Wilbanks. “Hopefully, it will mean more people will want to use our services to travel.” BC sophomore and current student Eduardo Guerra has been taking the bus to school for the past semester and considers it to be a reliable source of transportation. “If you know the times of the buses, then it’s good to take. I come from Stockdale and I normally take the blue bus because itzs the fastest and really cheap. Its only a dollar,” said Guerra. The Kern Regional Transit also offers express transportation to fixed areas around Kern County and is noticeably painted blue or white with a California poppy. Dial-A-Ride service is available for those who call a day in advance and whom are interested in being picked up from a specific destination under the appropriate conditions and at given running times.
Lack of parking permits causes stir in first week By Cassandra McGowan Reporter
Megan Luecke / The Rip
Parking that could hold nearly 30 cars is blocked off while the new bus stop is built on Panorama Drive.
brandon barraza / The Rip
The restroom for the new bus stop is the lone structure standing at the construction stite.
“Sold out.” That’s not what Bakersfield College students expected to see when logging on to purchase parking permits for fall semester the weekend before it started, but that’s what the Web site read. But that was just a “hiccup,” according to Sgt. Chris Counts and the first time something like this has ever happened. Student Luis Ortiz said, “Like, it kept saying they had permits available, but when I went on the website, it kept saying sold out, sold out.” Several students complained on the first day of school Aug. 22 that they couldn’t purchase parking permits over the weekend. Bakersfield College uses ThePermitStore.com to distribute its parking permits. Upon calling iParq, the company that runs ThePermitStore.com, the woman who answered the phone was not forthcoming in explaining why the website had run out of permits so close to the start of the semester. Come to find out, no one was at fault, it was just a great surge of permit purchasing in the week before school started. “Not a whole bunch of people had purchased permits during the weeks before that led up to school, and so there must have been a huge run between like Thursday and Sunday and it just depleted the availability,” said Counts. “So I came in Sunday morning, or Monday morning (the first day of school), and we rectified the situation by 7:45 in the morning.” When asked how many permits were available, Counts said “As many as want to be bought.” The Web site no longer reads as being sold out and has plenty of permits to go around. Meanwhile, some parking has been lost on Panorama Drive on the north end of campus because of construction on the new Golden Empire Transit bus terminal. Construction is currently under way to move the GET bus stop at BC, which currently stops near the Fine Arts Building on the northeast side of the campus across
BRANdon Barraza / The Rip
A worker hammers a spike into the ground at the construction site of the new bus stop. It is expected to be finished after this semester. from the solar-panel parking lot. There will also be a restroom facility as part of this new bus station. BC officials have stated that the new stop will remove foot traffic from the congested
area of the northeast parking lot. Currently, there is fencing around the project that will be removed once the project is completed, which is expected to be by the end of this calendar year.