Spring 2015: Issue 6

A N AT I O N A L PA C E M A K E R AWA R D N E W S PA P E R

Volume 58, Issue 6

theswcsun.com

March 17 - March 28, 2015

Qataris cancel exchange program

Campus police app available to students Gov. board member expresses need for safety improvements

By Josh Carter Contributing Editor

By Domonique Scott Staff Writer

A campus police initiative to launch a new cell phone app with safety information has gotten mixed reviews on campus.

Some students and employees applauded the concept as innovative, while others insist the Southwestern College Police Department needs to address severe communication problems and its campus escort practices.

SWC Trustee Humberto Peraza said that SWC is an unsafe campus and the campus police need to listen to what students and faculty are saying.

“I think we need to make people safe on this campus, there have been way too many issues,” he said. “I think (the new app) is a good start, but I think there is a lot more we have to do.”

C a m p u s Po l i c e Chief Michael Cash said better communication is a priority. This spring Cash launched his “labor of love,” a cell phone application Cash c a l l e d My Po l i c e Department (MyPD). He said it is designed to assist students by providing detailed contacts and information about campus safety.

“All these safety features can be accessed and they’re right in the palm of your hand,” he said. Students who download the free app will receive a streamlined police contact list, information on police escorts, and lost and found menus.

Students also have the ability to submit tips, questions and feedback, which will reach an on campus officer instantly, said Cash.

Through push notifications students are able to stay updated on emergency information throughout the community, Cash said. SWC’s police department is the first MyPD agency in San Diego, according to Cash.

For the system to be effective, Cash said the campus community needs to know about it.

Peraza agreed.

“I think it is important to have it on every phone and displayed in every classroom,” he said. Cash said he is working with the ASO to promote the application.

of understanding (MOU) with the Mexican universities to open up international pathways for students and make exchanges more affordable.

Both agreements allow students from the universities to attend SWC at the district resident price of $46 per unit. Nonresident tuition is $193 per unit.

SWC President Dr. Melinda Nish announced the agreements at the University Presidents Summit hosted by the Consul General of Mexico.

“We wanted to afford the Mexican national students an opportunity,” Nish said. “If they participated in an exchange program with us, they could come here and do it at the resident rates. That is a big thing for them because it would keep the cost down.”

SWC has done cross-border work in the past, but the MOUs formalized the relationship. Dr. Carla Kirkwood, coordinator for international programs, said her department opened up pathways for SWC students to pursue.

“Here is one option for a particular part of our population,” said Kirkwood. “We should take advantage of those. It promotes who we are. We live close to the border and it should be a thing we cherish.”

Under the agreement SWC students could finish two years, then transfer to CETYS or UTT to complete a Bachelor’s degree. CETYS is a public university and the only university in Mexico accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), the American accreditation body that also evaluates SWC.

Southwestern College will be saying ma-a salama (goodbye) to the Qatar International Student Program.

The Qatari Ministry of the Interior will terminate the program one year into a threeyear agreement originally made with SWC, English Learning Centre San Diego (EC San Diego) and Maritime Institute Incorporated.

SWC President Dr. Melinda Nish said Qatari officials decided that their state-funded program no longer fit the country’s needs and plan to send the nine students, who are all active members of Qatar’s coast guard, to a naval academy later this year.

“They said they do not want these particular students to be in this type of educational environment,” she said. “They want them in a military-type environment.”

Participants were chosen after completing an application, exam and interview to become educated and culturally well-rounded future leaders of Qatar.

Dr. Carla Kirkwood, coordinator of the SWC Center for International Studies Programs, said programs like these are intended to assist students and their home nation.

“Qatar sees that their world is about engaging and being a part of the world,” she said. “That means language, culture and so on.”

As part of the agreement with Qatar students were required to pass courses at EC San Diego to learn university-level English prior to enrolling at SWC. Seven of the nine students have completed their obligation to learn English and are working towards their Associate’s Degree in leadership and supervision.

Tw o a r e s t i l l completing courses at EC. Had the pilot program been allowed to continue, Nish the students would have begun instruction at Maritime Institute Incorporated for coast guard training.

Project director Dr. Mourad Mjahed and said the students have just begun to feel comfortable with the program and their new surroundings.

“They were starting to hit their stride and build confidence,” he said. “The way the program was designed is really to support their transition.”

Mjahed said the students have greatly

please see Mexico pg.A3

please see Qatar pg.A2

David Hodges/Staff

Author of ‘Buck’ stops here

Charismatic Morgan State Professor M. K. Asante had a standing-room-only audience for a presentation and book signing.

Story on Page B3

Southwestern enters international exchange with Tijuana universities

By Eliza Cana Assistant News Editor

Geography quiz question: Name the closest university to Southwestern College.

San Diego State University? No, sorry.

The correct answer is Universidad Tecnologica de Tijuana (UTT).

Second closest? That would be Centro de Ensenaza Techica y Superior Universidad (CETYS).

Tijuana’s highly-regarded universities are close to SWC as the crow flies, but for decades have seemed light years away.

Until now.

SWC’s Governing Board approved two memoranda

“It promotes who we are.

We live close to the border and it’s something we should cherish. ” DR. CARLA KIRKWOOD, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS COORDINATOR

please see MyPD pg.A3

College addresses racial discrimination charges

By Lina Chankar Senior Staff Writer

Southwestern College will face the issue of racial discrimination charges by five minority employees “head on” promised Governing Board President Norma Hernandez.

“I know as a board, administration and the college as a whole, we want everyone on our campus to feel safe so that they can come to work and class free of harassment or discrimination,” she said. “And so we are taking this very seriously.”

After four custodians and a computer systems technician complained of racial discrimination in a letter to Assembly Member Dr. Shirley Weber that was copied to some African-American administrators and faculty, the district has initiated a series of measures, Hernandez said. Weber met with Hernandez and SWC President Dr. Melinda Nish to discuss the situation, Hernandez said. Nish and

Solar panels receive glowing reviews

By Adriana Molina Staff Writer

Hernandez also met with Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez. Hernandez and Trustee Humberto Peraza met with the NAACP as well.

Some of the complainants are taking a waitand-see attitude, but custodian Rick Allen said he is encouraged by the administration’s handling of the situation. He and other custodians attended a session with facilitators from the Anti-Defamation League.

“All the stuff that the administration is doing is going in a positive direction,” he said.

“Trying to implement this training across the board is positive. They’re not just trying to sweep it under the rug anymore.”

In January custodians Roderick Curry, Thaao Streeter, Eric Matos and Mark Gutierrez, along with computer systems technician Johnny Blankenship, wrote a

Southwestern College’s future for energy savings looks bright.

SunPower Corp. installed a solar power system on the main campus in November. Its 3.2-megawatt panels were funded by Proposition R, passed by voters in 2008. They cost $13 million.

Su n Po w e r e x e c u t i v e Ho w a rd Wenger said the silicon used for the solar panels is up to 41 percent more efficient than conventional cells.

“Southwestern College can rely on its high-quality SunPower solar systems to deliver guaranteed performance for the next 25 years or more,” he said.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimations project that SWC can help reduce 2,600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the

please see Response pg.A2

please see Solar pg.A3

David Hodges/Staff

LET THE SUN SHINE IN — College leaders predict the $13 million solar panels will eventually save money, reduce pollution.

A2

Bianca Quilantan, editor

NEWS

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Vol. 58, Issue 6

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: news@theswcsun.com

Compressed calendar squeezes class schedules

By Brenda Gregorio-Nieto Staff Writer

Students will be yelling schools out and headed straight to ugly Christmas sweater parties this upcoming fall 2015 with the new condensed calendar .

A plan that has been in the works since 2005 according to Kathy Tyner, Chair of the Calendar committee.

Taking the calendar from an 18-week schedule down to 16 week, will add a winter session to accompany the summer session. College hour will also be longer taking it from the normal hour of 11 a.m.-noon time slot to 11:45 a.m.-1:10 p.m.

Armando Gonzalez, Vice President of Club Affairs for the ASO and ICC President says it’s going to help a lot of students reach academic success.

“Winter session will go into effect now, it’ll help students finish and transfer earlier,” he said. “Which I think is something that’s incredibly important, it gives people just another opportunity to excel academically.”

Students will have decreased class meetings but longer classes.

According to Sayaka Ridley ASO President.

“There is a big misconception about the compressed calendar,” She said. “People think because we’re going from an 18 week to a 16 week we are going to lose two weeks of school, but that’s incorrect. We are going to have the same amount of school hours just classes will be a little bit longer.”

ASO representatives wanted to keep college hour at

“We are going to have the same amount of school hours, just classes will be a bit longer. ” SAYAKA RIDLEY, ASO PRESIDENT

the same time at 11 a.m. but were not able too.

“We advocated for college hour to be at 11:45” she said, “We wanted to keep it at 11 but the calendar committee didn’t want to so we met in the middle.”

Classes will not be offered during college hour, with a few exceptions. Gonzalez, said he thinks with the new increased college hour it will give students more time to be involved in club activities.

“I think it’s a good, it’s longer and people are aware that there are no classes during college hour giving them more time to be involved,” he said.

Ridley says will affect the ASO in a positive way.

The new increased college hour, “I think it will affect the ASO positively because now college hour is one hour for us to do our activities and now we have an hour and 25 minutes,” She said.

“Which will be very good for the clubs too.”

Professor Phil Saenz said that the calendar committee should have rephrased the 2013 survey conducted by Dean of Instructional Support Services Dr. Mink Stavenga that sampled about 660 SWC students.

“I am not protesting the compressed calendar, but I am questioning whether it in fact meets the needs of our students,” he said. “I recommend doing another survey with a larger sampling to better assess the needs of the students.”

Changes are quickly approaching to Southwestern College. Ridley believes SWC will be able to pull of this condensed calendar.

“If other community colleges can do it, we can do it,” said Ridley.

Qatar: Exchange student program is cancelled Continued from pg. A1

appreciated SWC’s guidance, access to the Academic Success Center and tutoring. He also said the experience of SWC’s faculty with English learners assisted the adjustment.

“The support has been wonderful, we take that for granted,” Mjahed said. “I don’t think you can get it at other institutions.”

Dr. Melinda Nish said the decision to end the Kirkwood program came as a surprise. She said she is satisfied with the experience SWC provided although developing a long-term program with the embassy would have been ideal.

“I am really pleased that these students were able to experience something for more than a couple months,” she said. “I think that will be a value to them for the rest of their lives.”

Kirkwood said she does not think this will be the end of the relationship between SWC and

Qatar. Ideas are in play for more Qatari students to study at SWC. “We will be working with the Qatar embassy for individual recruitment,” she said. “We are definitely still an option for students from Qatar.”

Trustee Humberto Peraza said enrolling new students at SWC through international programs is important to the college.

“We want to bring more international students to our campus,” he said. “Hopefully this will lead to more.”

Nish said lessons learned setting up the program would help SWC garner other international programs in the future. Increasing the amount of international students on SWC campuses would be in the best interest of the college, she said.

“I think everybody benefits from diversity,” she said. “Students will have a richer experience when they have people from other cultures and countries in their classes.”

Although the program will be discontinued before its completion, Nish said the college has other international student programs in its future.

“I don’t see this as a failure,” she said. “It was a great learning experience for ever ybody involved.”

Response: College arranges trainings focused on tolerance Continued from pg. A1

strongly-worded letter to Weber complaining of racial bias and hostile work conditions.

“On several occasions, a number of us have been called ‘nigger’ by our co-workers and subjected to others making monkey sounds in our presence,” said the letter. “And one of us even had his work locker broken into and feces was placed in it and his picture of President Obama was defaced with the word ‘nigger’ written across his forehead.”

Signers of the letter said they met with supervisors, human resources staff and Nish to tell of the mistreatment, but the issues were not resolved.

Nish, in a letter to the editor in the last issue of The Sun, wrote “workplace harassment or discrimination of any kind is not tolerated at Southwestern College.” She went on, however, to say that most of the issues brought forward in the employees’ letter were old complaints that had already been investigated or issues that had not been brought to her attention. (Both letters are available at http://www.theswcsun.com/.)

Curry said he had gone through the appropriate chain of command to make complaints about racial discrimination. He said it started about seven years ago soon after he began working at the college. He said SWC policies and procedures on racism and discrimination are not effective.

“I talked to my supervisor first,” he said.

“When you bring it up to them, they’ll listen to you and all the sudden when it’s time to take action, they’re afraid to take that final step.”

Curry’s immediate supervisor is custodial supervisor Ramsey Romero. Director of Facilities John Brown is Romero’s supervisor. Brown, however, has been placed on paid administrative leave and, according to campus sources who did not want to be named talking about personnel issues, will soon be terminated. College officials have refused to discuss Brown’s suspension and would not confirm that it was related to the situation with the African-American employees.

Some college employees have been critical of the men who charged racial discrimination, including Andre Harris, president of the CSEA, the union for classified (non-teaching) employees. Harris, in a letter to Weber, expressed dismay at the racial allegations of the custodians and Blankenship.

“As an African-American male and having worked at SWC for the past 15 years, I can honestly tell you that I (personally) have never witnessed any type of racial discrimination at this institution,” Harris wrote in his letter. “As one of the leaders on this campus (CSEA Union President), I write this letter on my own accord.

SWC is a diverse and respectful place to work and learn.”

Harris said the situation is a “pure management issue,” not a racial issue. He said he wrote to Weber because the original grievance letter implied that all African-Americans on campus had the same view.

“I thought I needed to speak up on behalf of other African-Americans that don’t feel that way,” Harris said. (Harris’s letter is published in full in this issue of The Sun as well as http://www. theswcsun.com/.)

Attempts by The Sun to cover the AntiDefamation League meeting with the custodians were unsuccessful. Staff development personnel said the meeting would be “sensitive” and that it was important for the custodians to have “privacy.”

ADL trainer Scott Gross said he was amenable to allowing a reporter from The Sun into the meeting, but that college personnel asked him not to.

Curry said the meeting should have been open and that he “couldn’t care less” if members of the news media had covered the presentation. He described the presentation as “common sense” with information presented lecture style with PowerPoints. He and two other custodians who attended the presentation said it was well done and useful. They all said the presentation was not at all personal and that they would have welcomed observers.

Hernandez said she and the governing board support freedom of the press, but the custodians needed some degree of privacy at the training without anyone from the outside. A follow-up diversity training for the custodians will be held April 24. Nish said the meeting will be closed to the public and the news media.

Hernandez said this is “a difficult situation,” but she expressed optimism that meaningful progress can be made.

“I know there are biases in this world and it exists in this institution,” she said. “Certainly Southwestern College is not exempt. I’m an immigrant, I’m a woman of color. I know the kinds of things that we experience in those areas, so I think it’s really critical that we work with all of those undercurrents that exist at our institutions and certainly at Southwestern College to make our place a better place.”

NEWS

The Southwestern College Sun

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Vol. 58, Issue 6

A3

Adelante Estudiante lends AB 540 students support

By Eliza Cana Assistant News Editor

Congress is busy kicking undocumented migrants back and forth on the political football field, argue their advocates. Colleges are often not much better.

National Immigration Law Center’s research concluded that undocumented immigrant students at public colleges and universities are treated inconsistently.

These students are denied admission to certain schools and if admitted, they are usually charged out-of-state tuition.

Worse still, parents of undocumented college students generally have very low average incomes and cannot qualify for government financial aid, which prevents countless bright students from attending college.

Ad e l a n t e Es t u d i a n t e , a u n i q u e Southwestern College support program, strives to provide students with motivation, guidance and, most importantly, financial support.

Spearheaded by Student Ser vices employees Beatrice Zamora-Aguilar, Omar Orihuela and Leticia Diaz, the program has offered guidance and grants to Hispanic students since 2013.

Adelante students include those whose family immigrated to the United States from Mexico and are undocumented. Adelante Estudiante enables these individuals a chance at a better education providing them grants donated by the Mexican Consulate of San Diego.

Adelante Estudiante student leader

Wendy Plata, 27, a visual arts major, said she emigrated as a child from Sinaloa, Mexico with her family. Plata is one of the 360 known migrant students at SWC without legal documentation.

She said that her motivation has suffered because she did not believe she would be able to pay for college.

“Being undocumented, you do not think you have access to financial aid,” she said. “I did not realize I could apply for BOG and EOPS. I felt chained up, like my hands were chained up to something that was holding me back.”

Plata said she found motivation in Adelante. Today she has submitted transfer applications to SDSU and UCSD as a visual arts major.

“This program has definitely helped me stay focused on my main goal and given me the confidence and the courage to strive for more and not settle for any less,” she said. “Even though I may not be here legally yet, this is my home, so I can do just as much as anybody can do.”

Members of the program are selected by filtering EOPS participants who are classified as AB540 students and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.8, according to Orihuela. SWC received $15,000 from the Mexican Consulate last year when 40 students received $300-400 each.

“Now we are targeting about $500 per student,” he said. “We feel that the funds we provided last year were beneficial, but as they went to universities just the application alone for a CSU was about $70. When they get admitted they had to pay a fee of about $400 for SDSU.”

Eliza Cana/Staff

A SLICE OF THE PIE — SWC alumna Anabein Grijalva gives advice to Adelante Estudiante members. Grijalva, who was undocumented when she attended SWC, now lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Faculty in the program mentor and advise students. Last year the program conducted a mentor/mentee objective where students served as mentors for three mentees. Mentors met with their mentees monthly and took them to events pertaining to their Hispanic heritage, to expose them to their importance in the community.

“We have all these perceptions about the special groups like Filipino, Latino, and African Americans,” said Orihuela.

“I tell students, yes you are Mexican and yes you might be immigrants, but you can be good citizens, you can change that perception. You can be the student that finds money and returns it, goes to class and does not cheat,

finishes your degree and becomes a good citizen.”

Plata said she is a proud Adelista.

“The main objective about this program is bringing us all together and taking us out of the shadows and giving us a platform where we can speak up and share our stories and finally be proud of who we are.”

Campus morale is low, leaders are ‘unapproachable,’ survey says

MyPD: New app designed to promote saftey on campus Continued from pg. A1

By Sun Staff

“This is a way to know where other resources are so that way you are going to be a whole lot safer,” he said. “Maybe you’ll be the one saving lives.”

Cash insisted campus police work hard to keep students well informed.

“Anyone who says we don’t have the information, we got it,” he said.

“We just got to find a way to give it to everybody.”

Anjanette Calderon, 21, a c o m m u n i c a t i o n m a j o r, s a i d t h e application is beneficial, but campus police have work to do.

“I feel they have not done a good job at promoting it to Southwestern, “she said. “I feel they need to make a bigger outreach in order to get that information out. I would have called them if I knew about this app.”

Joshua Macias, 19, a political science major, said he has heard about the app from a classmate and said he thinks it would be beneficial.

“I feel the app would be more helpful, especially for the police escort service,” he said. “It seems like campus police are taking a bigger step towards safety on campus.”

Domonique Scott/Staff

SWC employee morale re m a i n s l ow a n d c a m p u s leaders are not communicating effectively with faculty and staff, according to a spring 2014 employee satisfaction survey published by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

Respondents of the survey describe campus culture as “toxic” and “defeatist,” according to a summary in the survey.

Though most employees felt their work was personally rewarding and valuable to the college, many said there was little opportunity for advancement, according to the survey.

Although 72 percent of employees felt their supervisors paid attention to what they had to say, more than half did not believe SWC’s leadership created “an environment that promotes trust and respect.”

“Leaders are intimidating and unapproachable,” a synopsis

of the survey read. “Several employees report feeling bullied in the workplace.”

Only 21 percent of surveyed employees were satisfied or very satisfied when asked if the college “plans carefully for the future.” Only 32 percent said they were somewhat satisfied and 47 percent were not at all or not very satisfied with college planning.

Mo r e t h a n h a l f o f t h e employees did not feel there was a spirit of teamwork and cooperation at SWC. “A chasm exists between administrators and employees,” the survey read.

Sur vey takers believed administrator’s needs were fulfilled to a greater degree than that of faculty and staff, according to survey data. Less than 11 percent of respondents were administrators.

College leaders were viewed as selfish and “protected” by employees who complained

that the administration allows “criminals,” “bad apples” and “corruption” to run rampant through the college.

Despite harrowing feedback from the survey, a majority of respondents said they were proud to work at SWC. College officials are encouraging employees to complete the 2015 SWC College Employee Satisfaction Survey by 5 p.m. on April 6. Linda Hensley, director of research, planning and grants, said the survey is an important opportunity for members of the campus community to share ideas and concerns in an anonymous fashion.

Hensley said the survey takes less than 20 minutes to complete. “ We w i l l l e a v e i t o p e n throughout spring break to give everyone an opportunity to complete it,” she said. “The more people to complete the survey, the better the picture we will have of the campus climate.”

Mexico: Pair of Baja universities agree to exchange program

Solar: Southwestern drivers approve, welcome cool shade

Continued from pg. A1

Continued from pg. A1

UTT is a public polytechnic school.

Kirkwood said it is a good fit.

“Our logistics and transportation program matches up with (UTT) and we’ve been working together for a number of years,” she said.

Dr. Angelica Suarez, vice president of student services, said there will be a signing ceremony in April.

“This is part of our institutional effort for students with that globalinternational experience,” she said. “(The MOUs) are just part of a greater effort which is providing students with a different perspective and opportunities to learn from each other and really appreciate the diversity of having a global campus.”

Kirkwood said SWC leaders hope to open pathways with in the future with Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) and Universidad Iberoamericana.

“UABC is like the UCSD of Baja, while UIA is like the USD of Tijuana, a private and very prestigious university,” she said.

“If our students decide to go to (UABC) and complete a Bachelor’s degree, it is much less expensive than it is to go to UCSD. When they earn their degree at UABC they are eligible to transfer to a Master’s degree program anywhere in the U.S.”

equivalent of removing about 13,000 cars from California’s roads.

Solar panels have been installed in six of the college’s parking lots A, B, C, F, G and H. Panels power air-conditioning and provide shade for cars.

SWC student Jacob Landers said solar panels were convenient for him.

“I drive a black car, so it heats up pretty quick,” he said. “The solar panel structures provide shade and protect my car from heating up.”

Trustee Humberto Peraza said the college could see its energy bill reduced by $600,000 each year.

“I think it saves money,” he said.

“It makes us more green, which I think is good for our campus and in general, our community. It makes sense because you are saving a lot of money. It’s a wise investment in Southern California, especially when those costs keep rising.”

Peraza said the installations are a way to demonstrate to students what it is to be green and financially prudent.

“You’ll save more money and that will go back to education, to the students,” he said.

Peraza said there are possible solar panel additions depending on how far Prop R bond money can stretch.

Courtesy Photo

ANOTHER HISTORIC MOMENT— A display at CETYS Universidad in Tijuana tells about the history of the campus. A new compact with SWC will allow Mexican university students to attend at resident rates.

SWC is also a member of the Cali Baja consortium, which includes UCSD, National University, Point Loma Nazareth, UABC, UIA, CETYS and UTT. These schools are working together to create opportunities for students and promote President Barack Obama’s “100,000 Strong in the Americas” initiative, a plan to increase international study in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Suarez said she is excited by these openings.

“Having all of these opportunities for our students is amazing,” she said.

Nish said the agreements are a milestone for international education. Kirkwood agreed.

“If you have been working bi-nationally, that is one of the things the UCs want to know,” she said. “It shows that a student has an understanding of needing to work globally and bi-nationally.”

Nish said she also hopes to restore SWC’s damaged relationship with UCSD, which unilaterally cancelled its TAG program with SWC last year. SWC Transfer Center Coordinator Norma Cazares, Suarez and Nish met with UCSD administrators, Suarez said, and discussed other options for recruiting SWC students.

“There are a number of things we’ve identified,” she said. “One of them is ULINKS.” ULINKS guarantees enrollment to first-

year SWC students if they can maintain a 3.5 GPA and enroll immediately after high school. Kirkwood said ULINKS is inadequate.

“I find ULINKS a horrible change from the original TAG agreement,” she said.

TAG allowed students to transfer after their sophomore year after finishing UC transfer credits, while ULINKS has a maximum income limit of $40,000.

“I have been saying to them that is too low,” said Nish. “Chancellor Pradeep Khosla of UCSD told me ‘We are going to change that, we are going to get that up to $80,000.’ He has given me his word that we are going to work on that.”

A4

The Southwestern College Sun

VIEWPOINTS

March 17 - March 28, 2015, Volume 58, Issue 6

Editorials, Opinions and Letters to the Editor

The mission of the Southwestern College Sun is to serve its campuses and their communities by providing information, insights and stimulating discussions of news, activities and topics relevant to our readers. The staff strives to produce a newspaper that is timely, accurate, fair, interesting, visual and accessible to readers. Though the “Sun” is a student publication, staff members ascribe to the ethical and moral guidelines of professional journalists.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ALYSSA PAJARILLO

Anna Pryor

Spring break is rife with perilous sex

MANAGING EDITOR

Colin Grylls PRODUCTION MANAGER

Mason Masis SENIOR STAFF

Lina Chankar Serina Duarte Jaime Pronoble Kasey Thomas COPY EDITOR

Brian del Carmen NEWS

Bianca Quilantan, editor Luz Aramburo, assistant Eliza Cana, assistant VIEWPOINTS

Alyssa Pajarillo, editor CAMPUS

Asjia Daniels, editor

Andrea Aliseda/staff

Alberto Calderon, assistant ARTS

Gabriel Sandoval, editor Andrew Perez, assistant Cesar Hirsch, assistant SPORTS

Nicholas Baltz, editor Evan Cintron, assistant Rudee Amaral III, assistant ONLINE

Adriana Heldiz, editor Adrian Gomez, assistant Vito Di Stefano, assistant PHOTOGRAPHY

April Abarrondo, editor Mirella Lopez, assistant CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Josh Carter Kenslow Smith STAFF WRITERS

Andrea Aliseda

Martin Loftin

JoseLuis Baylon

Adriana Molina

Veronica Deck

William Nimmo

Abraham Gertz

Guillermo Ramirez

Elizandra Granillo

Netzai Sanchez

Brenda Gregorio-Nieto

Marianna Saponara

Brittany Henderson

Domonique Scott

Victoria Leyva

Tyrice Simmons

Joshua Liang

Jennifer Soto

CARTOONISTS

Stephanie Garrido Mark Hyde Michelle Phillips John Ryu Victor Santander PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jocelyn Melody Davalos Kayla Hall David Hodges ADVISOR

Dr. Max Branscomb

AWARDS/HONORS Student Press Law Center

Society of Professional

National College Press

Journalists

Freedom Award, 2011

National Mark of

National Newspaper

Excellence, 2001-14

Association

First Amendment Award,

National College

2002, 2005

Newspaper of the Year, 2004-15

San Diego Press Club

Associated Collegiate Press

Excellence in Journalism

National College Newspaper

Awards 1999-2014

of the Year

Directors Award for

National Newspaper Pacemaker

Defense of Free Speech,

Award,

2012

2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011,

Journalism Association of

2012 2014

Community Colleges

General Excellence Awards,

Pacesetter Award 2001-14

2001-14

General Excellence

Best of Show Awards, 2003-15

Awards, 2000-13

Columbia University

San Diego County Fair

Scholastic Press Association

Media Competition

Gold Medal for Journalism

Best of Show 2001-03,

Excellence, 2001-14

2005-2014

California Newspaper

American Scholastic Press

Publishers Assoc.

Association

California College Newspaper

Community College

of the Year, 2013

Newspaper of the Year

Student Newspaper

San Diego County

General Excellence, 2002-14

Multicultural Heritage Award

The Issue: SWC’s new 16-week compressed calendar is a mess on Tuesdays and Thursdays and destroys a prime instructional slot

editorial

Our Position: Calendar Committee should move college hour to 2:20 p.m. and free up valuable midday class time.

ASO’s College Hour ruins an otherwise excellent new compress ed calendar Like most students, an overwhelming majority of The Sun’s Editorial Board loved the idea of the new 16-week compressed calendar. Two fewer weeks of class in exchange for an extra five or 10 minutes per class period was a trade on par with the classic elementary school swap – half of our sandwich for Southwestern College’s chocolate chip cookies.

Then we took a bite and discovered the cookies were sugar free.

We thought we were getting a treat, but college administrators and the ASO took our dreams of a longer summer and crushed them with a day-wrecking College Hour, poorly-timed classes and a schedule that has left a bad taste in our mouths.

Admittedly, some of this was unavoidable. SWC was compressing the calendar, not shortening it, and was open about lengthening classes and increasing the number of Friday and Saturday classes to compensate.

In fact, Saturday classes should be welcomed by students that work full-time.

In theory, the class blocks should increase scheduling flexibility and prevent overlap between classes.

Theory, however, does not always translate to the real world. College Hour has given students scheduling options stiffer than SWC’s cafeteria pizza.

Former ASO President Laura Jessica del Castillo balked at an early draft of the compressed calendar that would have pushed College Hour to a more reasonable 2:20 p.m. time slot, so last spring she led a contingent of ASO executives to the compressed calendar committee. Her show of force sparked a sudden change in policy at the eleventh hour – College Hour will now replace the wildly popular 11:45 a.m. to 1:10 p.m. class block on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Classes will no longer be available at that time so students that would have normally taken a class at 11:45 a.m. must now wait until 1:20 p.m. and a Tuesday/Thursday three-unit class will not end until 2:45 p.m.

Students will instantly regret making that their last class of the day if they try to drive home – there are more than two dozen elementary, middle and high schools within a three-mile radius SWC and all of them get out between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. – and they can forget making it to their 3 p.m. shift at work on time.

Students could compensate for their limited midday options by signing up for one of the new 7 a.m. classes, but this an unrealistic solution for those avoiding the 1:20 p.m. class so they can work. An eight-hour shift that starts at 3 p.m. does not end

Online Comments Policy

until 11 p.m. and would leave just another eight hours to get home from work, do homework, sleep, wake up and get ready for class. Early 8 a.m. classes are unpopular as it is, 7 a.m. classes are just asking for trouble.

College Hour is supposed to be an opportunity for campus clubs to raise money, but currently few students attend. It was moved up behind the misguided logic that a monopoly on campus activity at noon will increase attendance, however, students with hour-long breaks are more likely to leave campus than stick around for the weekly festivities. Lolita’s Taco Shop, Jack-in-the-Box and In-N-Out will be the primary beneficiaries of the classless 1 hour, 25 minute block, not SWC’s clubs.

College Hour’s early time slot forced the college to create more classes during the hours SWC normally turns into a Scooby-Doo ghost town. We might even need those meddling kids to figure out who benefits from this schedule.

Students that have the flexibility to take these late classes will face an additional problem – start times for night classes have been pushed back from the current 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. and some will not start until as late as 8:20 p.m. Once per week, three-hour night classes will now end at 9:55 p.m., nine minutes after MTS route 709, the last bus of the night, leaves campus at 9:46 p.m.

The handful of students that sign up for the 8:20 p.m. three-unit, twice-per-week classes will have just one minute to sprint across campus to catch the bus. We hope college officials can negotiate a deal with MTS to extend the bus schedules. Otherwise, enrollment in these classes will resemble College Hour attendance.

SWC’s calendar committee has been overwhelmed with requests for college hour exemptions, including one from our newspaper class. When The Sun addressed the calendar committee to show our opposition to the delayed start time, and to make the case that Journalism 200 should qualify for an exemption, Dean Janet Mazzarella said she hated the new schedule so much that she will vote against every exemption request just to highlight the flaws of the compressed calendar.

While we applaud her determination to fix the calendar, we believe a better solution would be to give every applicant an exemption, effectively negating the College Hour debacle. Or better yet, college administrators could figure out how to postpone implementation of the new schedule until the halfbaked idea is fully cooked.

Letters Policy

The Sun reserves the right to republish web comments

Send mailed letters to: Editor, Southwestern College Sun, 900

Opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are those

in the newspaper and will not consider publishing

Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910. Send e-mailed letters to

of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent

anonymously posted web comments or comments that

viewpoints@theswcsun.com. E-mailed letters must include a phone

the views of The Sun Staff, the Editorial Board or

are inflammatory or libelous. Post web comments at

number. The Sun reserves the right to edit letters for libel and length and

Southwestern College.

theswcsun.com.

will not consider publishing letters that arrive unsigned.

As coffee and late-night studying are replaced with alcohol and partying during spring break, reckless sexual activity increases among college students. When care goes out the window, other things often come in.

Sexually transmitted diseases never take time off, even during spring break. In fact, it’s high season for the little nasties.

Unfortunately, most sexually active college students let their guards down during the season of spring fever. According to collegecenter.org, 74 percent of men and 88 percent of women said they never ever or rarely worried about contracting an STD over spring break.

In an ideal world, those statistics would be the result of college students practicing safe sex.

Unfortunately, they are not. A startling 75 percent of students reported never or rarely using a condom over spring break, despite college students being a high risk group for STDs. Every 1 in 3 sexually active students will contact at least one STD during college.

Alcohol blurs judgment and mistakes are made.

So what does one do after waking up next to a stranger and a scattering of bottles? Well, now there is an app for that.

Getting tested is now as easy as using Yelp to find a place to have breakfast after a night of wild partying.

Healthvana, a website and free app for iPhones, makes it easy to find clinics that provide STD testing.

Like Yelp, Healthvanna uses location settings to find clinics in the user’s immediate area. The app will also list wait times, hours of operation, the clinic’s phone number and website. Users can also see reviews written by other users about clinics.

Healthvana can be customized for the user with filters. Users can select clinics that offer only offer free services, accept insurance, speak Spanish and return lab results via the app. Users can also pick clinics that focus on the LGBTQ community, youth or women.

Along with test results, the app sends testing reminders. If a user tests positive for an STD the app provides educational information on the infection and the “next steps” for handling a curable infection. Results are also made sharable to other app users in the user’s network, making it easy to share with loved ones, family members or potential partners.

Sharing results can be opted out easily with a simple swipe in the settings menu.

Results for incurable infections like HIV or AIDS are only shared at the patient’s discretion.

It takes two minutes to sign up, so there is no excuse for students not to take advantage of this app to keep them updated on their sexual health all year long.

If, however, an app is not your thing, Planned Parenthood also offers testing on campus periodically throughout the year.

There are, for busy students, some tests they do not want to miss.

Alyssa may be reached at sexandthesun@theswcsun.com

Alyssa Pajarillo, editor

VIEWPOINTS

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: viewpoints@theswcsun.com

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Vol. 58, Issue 6

A5

Formal educations aside, professors are a casual crew

By Martin Loftin A perspective

Humans would like to think they are civilized, but they are just dressed up animals.

Professors might be some of the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom, but they follow the fashion laws of the urban jungle like the rest.

Despite the dangers that wearing the wrong clothes can attract in the real world, in academia there is nothing to gain from having a dress code. Professors can look like anyone and the stereotype of professors being balding, bespectacled grey-haired men in sweater vests is going extinct. A diverse group of instructors of all colors, shapes, sizes and both sexes are filling the ecological niche.

Clothing is a personal message in a nonverbal language that demands or suggests a number of things. Instructors use their clothes to convey their degree of professionalism, how seriously they take their job, or simply their interests beyond education.

It would be unjust to judge an instructor and their course based on their clothes alone.

Dr. Mark Van Stone teaches art history at Southwestern College, and even though he dresses in a t-shirt and jeans almost every day, the shirts he wears are about more than just being comfortable.

As a calligrapher and expert in hieroglyphs, Van Stone wears t-shirts that feature designs of his own creation.

Just because an instructor likes to dress up, it does not mean they are necessarily trying to look good for their students. Some professors might be dressing down as a defense mechanism against students who might negatively criticize their instructors for dressing beyond their expectations. Female professors in general are judged far more often for their style and receive more comments on how they dress from their students than their male coworkers.

Professor Vivien Vaughan dresses well every day and uses matching jewelry she made herself to complement her outfits. Even though she teaches the humanities and might be expected to dress more casually, her style is certainly not casual. Vaughan wears necklaces with large precious stones without appearing gaudy and can dress in all the same color without being boring. She certainly dresses up compared to other, more lax instructors, but she is not an intimidating figure and her clothes have little to do with class material or moral.

Some instructors are not trying to look good. SWC is a particularly casual campus and it is understandable that some instructors have abandoned the suit-and-tie look for something a bit more comfortable. No one wants to teach a class wearing that many layers, especially when there’s a chance the classroom might not have air conditioning.

At SWC, students learn that the clothes do not reflect the intellectual power of the wearer.

M.K. Asante, a professor at Morgan State University, dresses in the style of his hometown Philadelphia.

When he spoke at SWC, he wore a snap-back, a leather jacket hoodie, denim jeans and tan boots of

Letter to the Editor Classified union president rejects charges of racism My name is Andre Harris and I am an employee of Southwestern College. With the recent events our campus is reeling from, as some might view as racial epithets, I felt compelled to pen a response based on the letter you received dated Jan. 14, 2015.

As an African-American male and having worked at SWC for the past 15 years, I can honestly tell you that I (personally) have never witnessed any type of racial discrimination at this institution.

As one of the leaders on this campus (CSEA Union President), I write this letter on my own accord. SWC is a diverse and respectful place to work and learn.

Over the course of my years of employment, this institution has proven itself to have a solid foundation for all individuals based on collegiality and equality, regardless of race, sex, gender, color and creed. Like any large institution of this size (nearly 1,400 employees), there are going

the steel toe variety.

Asante can dress as casual as he wants and no one can erase the books he’s written or the films he’s produced.

The fashion world is not without prejudice. Despite Asante’s accomplishments, others judge the clothes he wears and they way he talks and make assumptions. Such criticisms might be an attack on his professionalism, but in truth he is being criticized for his race and his decision to not talk and dress white.

Everyone deserves to wear what they want, even instructors who have a responsibility to provide a good learning environment for their students. But if a student thinks their instructor’s fashion choices are their business, then they should focus on their studies instead.

Some students might assume a welldressed instructor could provide a better learning environment, but it is unlikely that students would follow suit and dress up themselves. Too many people enjoy coming to class in their pajamas. Other students find overdressed instructors intimidating and a casual instructor can appear more relatable and approachable to their students.

There certainly is a place for uniforms in society, but in academia where the focus is the meeting of minds, all a dress code does is discriminate.

Instructors do not have a responsibility to their students to dress up, but instead their wardrobe should suggest the career behind the subject. Some careers require a certain dress code just to get by, but those careers tend to be less about the individual.

Doctors, firefighters, police officers and judges are a few careers known for their distinctive uniforms, but the uniform is to identify those individuals as representatives of the state and that their career is, at heart, a public service. The person behind the uniform is less important f af st than the uniform itself. / r de It is much different for college professors. an t n While many see community college as a public a S service, professors are not defined by a common dress or t c Vi code. Instructors are valued for their intelligence and their teaching ability, so there is little value in making these unique minds dress in the same outfits all the time.

It might make students feel better about spending thousands of dollars on their education if their professors are dressed like politicians, but for the instructors themselves the result would be stifling for all who do not dress formally.

Students might think that a well-dressed professor is better, but a three-piece suit can make a professor more intimidating and make their time seem more valuable. Casual instructors are more approachable and relatable to their students than the stuffy professors of old who would act like their students questions were a waste of time.

Students should appreciate professors who treat their students with respect, and not gravitate to professors who use clothing to demand respect from their students.

to be issues, misunderstandings, misperceptions and disagreements.

But we have managed to work through them and come together to find resolutions. This college is nearly 60 years old, and I am sure in its infancy there were only one or two African-Americans employed by the district who had to fight for every single advancement opportunity. But now there are 65 staff, faculty and administrators.

Would I like to see more? Yes. African-American students represent close to five percent of the student population and the staff-to-student ratio is close to representing the five percent. Have we made progress…

Absolutely!

Trust me when I say writing this very letter to you and addressing what I view as a non-racial matter will prompt some to call me an “Uncle Tom” or even a “Sell Out.” So, I choose to explain to you what I view as a non-racial matter,

Undecided: By Michelle Phillips

but an operational issue between management and said employees who have decided to write to you their viewpoint based on what they believe to be racism at Southwestern College.

While I do admit there are issues on this campus, these issues are not based or founded on racial discrimination. I would employ; no, I would invite you to come to SWC and visit with the various ethnic groups on this campus to see and hear for yourself how our employees feel about working at Southwestern College. Let the employees speak for themselves, not a letter, a person or group.

What I know to be factual is that Southwestern College has intervened on every incident or charge reported regarding any type of discrimination. I know this because, in my leadership role, I am privy to certain documents related to our union group. In reviewing

these past documents, I have learned racial issues were reported, investigated, addressed and resolved.

I am, by no means, an expert, but I know the difference between discrimination and favoritism. In speaking to these gentlemen, the major issue is mismanagement and mistreatment by supervisors, which we (the union) will be addressing this with the District on behalf of these employees.

I do not proclaim SWC to be free of any issues, but a racial divide or separation, in my opinion, is not the case here on this campus. I will put my name on this. I ask you (again) to speak with all of my colleagues of color and see for yourself.

Respectfully, Andre L. Harris CSEA President Southwestern College

A6

VIEWPOINTS

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Vol. 58, Issue 6

The Southwestern College Sun

Midterm Madness: By Stephanie Garrido

Thinking Out

Loud

How do you feel about the compressed calander changes that take effect in the fall?

“I think it’s good for students who have jobs so that they have more time to get more hours and to have more money to pay for their textbooks and stuff.”

“I think it’s a good thing. They’re extending the hours of night classes so that people who have work have more time to study.”

“The last bus leaves at 9:40 p.m. so if I want to get a night class I wouldn’t be able to do it, or would struggle to get home at night.”

“People have different ways of learning so if they cut that learning into 16 weeks it’s possible for them to not experience as much learning as they want.”

Allison Hernandez, 19, Psychology

Cynthia Beltran, 20, Fine arts

“Students taking night classes will have a harder time because of the time frame. It will be more of a hassle then a positive thing.”

Gerard Santos, 22, Political Science

Bianca Olvera, 21, English

Ernesto Maduro, 19, Buisness Finance

“I don’t like the idea of the new schedule even though it’s going to happen anyway because I feel the students will be more stressed out with the compressed calendar.”

Iridiana Osuna, 19, Math and science

Prison system is a second home to one million African-American men

Michelle phillips/staff

By Evan Cintron A perspective

“My masters are morally, intellectually corrupting, deceptive, controlled by greed, hate unifies them. Animals are fed better than inmates at Folsom prison.

Personal space is not a consideration in the industrialization of human warehousing.”

-Michael Bradley, 37-year Folsom Prison inmate.

Numbers do not lie. Statistics prove justice only exists for some.

America has more people incarcerated than any other country in the world, even China.

Though the U.S. is five percent of the world’s population, according to the NAACP, it has 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.

More than 60 percent of American prisoners are ethnic minorities. A majority of those are African-American and Hispanic males.

One in three black males can expect to go to prison at some time in their lives. Although African-Americans are 14.2 percent (45 million) of America ‘s 316.1-million population, they account for 1 million of the 2.3 million incarcerated population.

There is a noticeable difference in the disparities between the population of whites and blacks. It has to be the fact that blacks do more drugs than whites.

Wrong.

According to NAACP, about 14 million whites report using illicit drugs compared to 2.6 million AfricanAmericans. Whites use drugs five times more than African-Americans, but African-Americans are sent to prison for drug related offenses at 10 times the rate of whites.

America ‘s justice system shows little actual justice.

Ferguson, Missouri was a media firestorm after the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson. Citizens of Ferguson had been protesting the legal system of their city even before the death of Brown. Department of Justice officials decided to do an independent investigation on the Ferguson PD. It found that the police department and municipal courts were racially biased when arresting and ticketing African-American citizens. After the investigation was published, Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned. Ferguson’s City Manager and Municipal Judge Ronald Brockmeyer also resigned.

New York has also been under scrutiny for its stop-and frisk-policy, which allows police officers to stop and search anybody they want. In 2014 New Yorkers were stopped by the police 46, 235 times.

White people were 12 percent of those stopped, Latinos 29 percent and blacks an overwhelming 55 percent. NYPD records showed that 82 percent of the time people were totally innocent.

Despite police targeting blacks more, whites were almost twice as likely to be found with a weapon.

A report in the Huffington Post said only 1.9 percent of frisks in 2011 turned up a weapon. A New York Civil Liberties Union report said a weapon was found in only 1.8 percent of blacks and Latinos frisked, as compared to a weapon being found in 3.8 percent of frisked whites.

Prisons take away vast amounts of funding from schools. Poor schools means poor education. Almost 9 in 10 prisoners are functionally illiterate – the number one predictor of criminal behavior. Research dating back to World War II consistently shows that teaching a prisoner how to read is the best way to prevent recidivism. So in other words,

prisoners begat prisoners.

Since 1980 higher education spending in California has decreased by 13 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars, whereas spending on prisons and correctional programs has skyrocketed by 436 percent. California has built 23 new prisons since 1980. Prisons cost taxpayers close to $10 billion, compared to $604 million in 1980. Californians spend about $8,667 per student and about $50,000 per prisoner.

Most often budget cuts affect disadvantaged neighborhoods and people of color. Philadelphia ‘s school system is a prime example. Fundphillyschools. org, reported that school district is $748 million short of adequate funding.

Budget cuts caused the layoff of thousands of school employees, including coaches, counselors, nurses and full-time teachers.

Textbooks and classroom supplies were cut. Philadelphia schools suffered a huge financial crisis, but the state of Pennsylvania answered by spending $400 million on a new prison in Philadelphia.

Prisons are unsuccessful when it comes to “rehabilitating” inmates. Two-thirds of prisoners released will reoffend. Prisoners are not prepared for life outside a cell.

After becoming convicted of a felony, a person can no longer vote, get a loan on a house, file for welfare and on top of that makes it almost impossible to find a job.

People of color can live long and prosper in the United States of America by creating change. That starts with individuals. We must pay attention to our communities. Know your rights. Be aware of what is happening statewide, nationally and internationally. Register to vote and take the time to research ballot propositions and who is running for office. Many bad elected officials stay in power and things never change is because people never challenge them.

Black is beautiful! (And, by the way, so is every other skin color)

By Brittany Henderson A perspective

Stephanie Garrido/staff

Dr. King was right, black is beautiful.

Dating-age Americans, however, have such a hard time seeing the beauty.

Post-racial America remains a distant dream. For some skin color is all that matters.

Too bad.

Young men and women should not be completely written off as a candidate for a relationship solely because of skin color. Unfortunately, black men and women are.

A Facebook survey examined dating preference among young unmarried adults. Asian women received the most responses from men and Latinas ranked second. White women were second to last and black women were at the bottom.

Women preferred white men, followed by Latinos. Black men were dead last.

Asian women and white men are portrayed well in the entertainment media – black men not so much.

Black actors rarely play roles that do not involve sports, dance or criminal activity. Latinos have just as much trouble scoring roles that do not involve drugs, cleaning or agriculture.

On-screen black women are bossy, white women are adventurous in bed, Asian women are gold diggers and Latinas are knife-wielding locas.

Light skin is in, at least according to our films and TV programs.

For generations dark-skinned people have taken the brunt of our culture’s stereotypes and are mostly portrayed as inferior to those with lighter complexions. These stereotypes fuel depression, self-hate and low self-esteem in young girls and boys.

Our entertainment media greatly affects perceptions.

Commercials need more color, more variety and more personality. We need movies with normal black guys who are not thugs or rappers. We need to see Latinos who are not janitors or gang members.

Women must be portrayed in a different light as well. Black women do not constantly fight and yell, not all white women are easy, not all Asian women are gold diggers and not all Latinas are going to stab you. Movies, commercials and television should start featuring more positive role models that are realistic and relatable.

Not everything that glitters is gold and not everything that is gold glimmers. Gold is cold, expensive and weak.

Build a relationship with a person based on who they are on the inside, not what you see on the outside. You may just open yourself up to something wonderful you never thought possible.

March 17 - March 28, 2014 — Volume 58, Issue 6

SPORTS

The Southwestern College Sun

A7

Southwestern College pole vaulter Kayla Nunez left her family and friends in Ohio to follow the love of her life

I

By Netzai Sanchez Staff Writer

Mirella Lopez/Staff

LEAN ON ME — Calvin Knowlton did not let a move across the country separate him from high-flying pole vaulter Kayla Nuñez.

t took only three days after meeting for Kayla Nuñez and Calvin Knowlton to know they could not be without each other.

Nuñez counted the 283 letters she wrote to her now-husband while he was overseas serving our country in the Navy. Not even the widest ocean could interfere.

Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, 20-year-old Nuñez is a pole-vaulter for the Southwestern College track and field team. Nuñez left her family, friends Ohio State to follow her love, Knowlton to California.

Nuñez discovered pole-vaulting while playing a Wii sports game and it became her passion. In the spring of 2011, during sophomore year in high school she tried out for the pole vaulting team at Amherst Steel High School in Lorain. Her coach immediately saw potential in her, but an injury almost ended her carrier before it started.

Soon after she had to overcome a surgery on her left foot her take out foot and it was urgent for her to get it taken care of.

Nuñez was in a cast for six months a year passed before she was back on the track.

During the summer before her senior year Nuñez met Knowlton.

Coincidently their parents were long-time friends but the two did not know each other. Their timing was not that great, just three days before Knowlton was to be deployed by the Navy Special Forces as an Aircrewman. Though apart they grew closer through frequent letters and constant communication. Distance only made their love stronger.

At Nuñez’s high school graduation Knowlton returned to surprise her, and in December he proposed.

She said yes.

They were married two days later and because they both have firefighter fathers, they were married

in the Lorain firehouse where the fire chief officiated.

Nuñez had to make a life-changing decision, leaving her hometown, family, team and Ohio State to start a new life with her husband. Nuñez considered her team as her own family and she knew it would be hard to move away from such great friends.

“It was really hard to choose because I was so close with my team” she said.

Nuñez developed a great relationship with the Ohio State track coach Richard Ebin she said and he called her as a friend.

“There are not enough words to describe her,” he said. “Sweet little Kayla. She is what every coach wants. The perfect teammate.”

Ebin saw her raw talent.

“She was really fast, but needed work on techniques.” he said. “Her potential was phenomenal.”

She moved to San Diego with her husband and started attending SWC in the summer of 2014. She contacted SWC track coach Tonie Campbell and began training.

“I wasn’t going to give up pole vaulting!” she said.

Campbell said he wants Nuñez to compete at San Diego State and he has contacted the pole-vaulting coach. Campbell is also aware of her previous injuries.

“The only thing that can get in her way are the injuries, but she could do fine if gets controlled” he said.

Campbell’s goal for Nuñez is 12 feet 6 inches. She also is jumping into her Civil engineering major.

Nuñez plans to pursue her degree in Civil Engineering. After college the sky is the limit she said. A military life means the couple does not know where they will live, but Nuñez already plans to compete in Ohio at the Police and Fire Games. For now, Nuñez is adapting to her new life at SWC where she is a math tutor, newlywed and student athlete. On sunny Chula Vista afternoons as her feet fly over the bar her heart soars with joy. Home is where the heart is, and SWC is, at least for this spring, a happy home away from home.

Jags stealing bases and close games in key PCAC matchups

By Colin Grylls Managing Editor

Familiarity breeds contempt and Southwestern College’s rival baseball clubs are once again full of disdain after its six-game winning streak.

SWC (19-6, 11-4 conference) now sits in second place in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference and is ranked 10th in Southern California, though it trails second-ranked Palomar College (20-4, 11-1 PCAC) by one and a half games.

Sophomore first baseman Roman Garcia led the charge in the Jags’ 10-4 road win against archrival Grossmont College (11-13, 5-7 PCAC) to cap the season sweep. In the top of the first inning he stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second and immediately squared up on a fastball from Griffin pitcher Craig Grubbe.

A voice rang from SWC’s dugout as the ball sailed over Noel Mickelson Field’s shor t leftfield porch for a three-run home run.

“Somebody get a stewardess on that ball!”

Garcia said he was ready to play the moment he rolled out of bed.

“I woke up today and I was like, ‘Damn, I want to play baseball,’” he said. “It was hot. I don’t mind the heat, I just felt energized. I felt good.

I like to hang out with these guys and it’s the best part of my day.”

Hitting .313 entering the game, Garcia tallied four hits, six RBIs and hit a second home run, a solo shot to left field, in the top of the seventh inning. He said he was brimming with

confidence.

“I went up there and I felt like the greatest,” he said. “I felt big, I felt good. Everyone’s watching and I’m just trying to hit the ball. I’m sure it’s going to go far, it’s going to go hard.

I just got to make contact.”

T h e Gr i f f i n s , h ow e ve r, n e a r l y capped SWC’s winning streak after four games, but ultimately fell short, 5-4. Star Jaguar closer Kevin Ginkel had an uncharacteristically rocky performance in the top of the ninth after entering the game earlier than usual. Ginkel is tied for the state lead with six saves and has a 3.75 K/ BB ratio, but after recording three consecutive outs – a lineout followed by two strikeouts to end the eight and begin the ninth – he allowed his second earned run of the season after walking three Griffins and hitting another.

S W C h e a d c o a c h Ja y M a r t e l responded with an equally unusual replacement. Right-handed pitcher Dylan McDonald sports a 2.55 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 42.1 innings, but made his first relief appearance of the season in a one-run game with the bases loaded, one out and Grossmont’s red-hot centerfielder, Keith Krueger, stepping into the box.

Krueger is hitting .354 on the season and had already totaled a walk, two hits and three steals in the game. But he lifted McDonald’s pitch to shortstop Steven Sherwood for an easy out.

McDonald quickly went ahead in the count, 1-2, against Nathaniel Nguyen.

Grossmont’s comeback was shattered

Colin Grylls/Staff

GOING, GOING, GONE! — Jaguar first baseman Roman Garcia hits a three-run home run in the first inning of a 10-4 victory against Grossmont College.

when the right-handed freshman misread McDonald’s curveball and watched it tumble into the strike zone for a called strike to seal the Jaguar victory.

McDonald said he was relieved to silence the Griffins.

“They talk a lot during the game,” he said. “When we make them shut up at the end of the game and we get the W, they’re not talking anymore. That

just feels really good.”

Even the umpire seemed to agree with McDonald after he gave Grossmont head coach Randy Abshier an official warning for arguing balls and strikes in the top of the third inning. Jaguar starting pitcher Keith Kozak said his six inning, four strikeout win was aided by the incident.

“It just puts (the umpire) on our side, so it’s good,” he said. “I got

so many calls from him that just shouldn’t (have been strikes), but he was on our side and it was a great thing… That’s the one thing you don’t want to do, make the umpire mad.”

Abshier said he was upset, but did not blame the umpire for the loss.

“I was just hot trying to defend my club a little bit,” he said. “Every please see Baseball pg. A8

A8

Nicholas Baltz, editor

SPORTS

March 17 - March 28, 2014 — Volume 58, Issue 6

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: sports@theswcsun.com

Nicholas Baltz/Staff

SMOOTH SLEDDING — SWC student Joe Chavez, a member of the United States Paralympic soccer team, blocks a shot in practice with the San Diego Ducks sled hockey team. Chavez said difficulties with his legs will soon end his soccer career, so he is transitioning to sled hockey.

San Diego Ducks sled hockey team no quacks

By Nicholas Baltz & Rudee Amaral III Staff Writers

While the Anaheim Ducks nestle atop the NHL’s Western Conference on their quest for the Stanley Cup, their sled hockey counterparts the San Diego Ducks will be migrating east to Buffalo, New York for the 2015 USA Disabled Sled Hockey Festival.

The world’s largest hockey gathering of athletes with a disability will play host to 65 teams.

Ducks’ coach Pete Bellin, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, said he has been coaching hockey in San Diego for more than 20 years.

“We only started with a couple players, but it has really grown,” he said. “A lot of people don’t even know that this is available.

In San Diego, any ice is good ice.”

Former Southwestern College ABLE Club presidents Joe Chavez and Karina Mendoza were among the first to join the team.

Chavez, who is the goalie for the Ducks, also goaltends for the U.S. Paralympic Soccer team.

Baseball: Jags pounce on familiar foes during six-game win streak Continued from pg. A7

once in a while a coach getting ejected, getting a warning or making a statement isn’t necessarily directed towards the umpire, it’s more directed towards ‘Hey, I’m trying to protect my player.’ Ultimately, it’s not the umpire’s fault whether teams win or lose.”

In the bottom of the sixth, centerfielder Daniel Goodrich stepped up to the plate with the score tied, 2-2.

Speedy outfielders Daniel “Mighty Mouse” Macias and Roberto Lucero were on second and third, respectively, with two outs. Goodrich tagged a line drive up the middle, but Grossmont second-baseman Tanner Perry timed his jump perfectly and used every last bit of his five-foot-eleven-inch frame to haul in the hard liner.

That is, until the ball fell out of his glove and trickled away as his cleats hit the dirt.

SWC took a 4-2 lead after both Macias and Lucero crossed the plate on the play. Goodrich was credited with a hit after Perry’s extraordinary, but unsuccessful, effort.

Chavez heard about the Ducks through the ASRA newsletter and decided to translate his skills to the ice. Chavez said he realized Father Time is chasing him and sled hockey gives him a new opportunity to extend his athletic career.

“I have pretty much 80-year-old knees, chronic arthritis,” he said. “I never worried about the pain because that’s how dedicated I am to representing my country. Now I’ve found something I see myself playing for a really long time because it consists of my upper body, not my lower.”

A highly-dedicated athlete, Chavez flew to Fort Wayne, Indiana to learn from Steve Cash, a two-time Olympic goal medalist as a goalie for the U.S. Sled Hockey Team. Chavez said the experience was amazing.

“I really went into the camp as a blank canvas so I was able to soak in everything he was teaching me,” he said. “There are many differences from playing goalie in soccer.”

Chavez said later this year he will attend the Sled Hockey Jamboree in New Jersey to showcase his skills in front of the coach

Martel admitted that his squad was a little lucky, but said no winning streak is possible without plays like Goodrich’s two RBI single.

“I think anytime you win four, five, six in a row, in any sport, you’ve got to have breaks,” he said. “So we got a break there. The ball was hit well, the second baseman jumps, has it in his glove, then when he comes down he drops it. So that’s a break. If he catches it, that’s a great play on their part.”

The Jaguars began the three-game set with a 5-2 victory at Grossmont.

While 340 feet separates hitters from the left field fence at Jaguar Junction, Mickelson Field only measures 312 feet down the line. With a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth, shortstop Steven Sherwood took advantage of the difference with a solo home run that demoralized the Griffins. As he rounded second, whispers of “let’s freeze him out,” echoed through the dugout. Sherwood said he was not surprised.

“I knew they were going to go with the silent treatment,” he said. “I walk in and everyone’s on the fence. I sat down and I look over at Martel and he’s biting his lip trying not to laugh.”

SWC kicked off its streak with a 6-3 win against San Diego City College, though the Knights were more chivalrous than the Griffins.

of United States Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.

Chavez said sled hockey is his new favorite sport.

“This sport keeps me going, keeps me active and my mind set on bigger things,” he said. “Goalie is really intense. I’m probably the only one who is a dancing starfish on the ice. It’s really physical.”

Sarah Bettencourt, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, founded the Ducks.

In 2008 Bettencourt developed a rare neurological disorder that led to her retirement from military in 2012.

Bettencourt said she reached out to the sports community to fundraise $20,000 for the team. The Ducks have adult and youth programs for both travel competition and recreational. Teams are also allowed three able-bodied players in a game.

Live games from the sled hockey festival will be available for live stream through http://www.fasthockey.com. The San Diego Ducks practice Thursday at 5:45 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 a.m. at the UTC mall ice rink on La Jolla Village Dr. To donate contact http:// www.adaptivesportsandrec.org/sledhockey/sarahscampaign.

Photos by Colin Grylls

SUPER BASH BROTHERS— (above) Shortstop Steven Sherwood blasts a solo home run in the top of the ninth to cap a 5-2 win at Grossmont College. (left) Sophomore infielder Roman Garcia blasts his second dinger in the seventh inning of a 10-4 road victory in a breakout six RBI performance. (below) Sophomore pitcher Keith Kozak lets his tongue hang out as he blows a fastball by Grossmont outfielder Justin Mitchell for a strikeout as the Jaguars defend the Junction, 5-4.

In the top of the third inning, Lucero pushed a bunt down the third baseline with two outs. Knight third baseman Kyle Golden fired the ball to first in a bang-bang play, but the umpire called Lucero safe.

When City College head coach Chris Brown trotted out to plead his case for the out, Knight assistant coach Cordell Hipolito, a former Jaguar assistant, yelled to Martel from the dugout.

“Ask the photographer,” he joked.

“Ask the photographer before he deletes it!”

Russell Scoffin, a former SWC Sun staff photographer, then walked across the dugout to Martel and the pair looked at the camera. Martel grinned at Hipolito and held up his hands, six inches apart.

“He got the shot.”

Hipolito could not help but chuckle.

“He always does.”

Brown could not sway the umpire, allowing Lucero’s single to extend the inning and spark a four-run rally.

Martel said small ball has set up the Jaguars’ winning ways.

“I don’t know if we’re hot or not,” he said. “What we’re doing right now is we’re getting good pitching at the right time and we’re getting timely hitting. I think the biggest thing right now is that our short game, our bunting game has improved. We’ve been really good at getting bunts down and the last two weeks have given us some opportunities to score runs.”

Despite being on the wrong end of SWC’s streak, Ashbier was in good spirits. He said Grossmont and the Jaguars have always had a goodnatured relationship, even if “there’s a little crap-talking going on.”

“It’s always been a little rivalry and so it continues,” he said. “Jay’s a good friend of mine. He coached me and he gave me my first assistant college job. I was at Southwestern, so there’s a little rivalry there… We like to compete with each other. Usually the winners pop off and the losers drop their heads and lick their wounds.”

SPORTS

The Southwestern College Sun

March 17 - March 28, 2014 — Volume 58, Issue 6

A9

David Hodges/Staff

Amphibious Academic

TIME IS ON HER SIDE — Gisel Chavez is looking to break a few of her SWC swim records.

Women’s swim captain Gisel Chavez competes in 10 events, owns two college records and still aces her midterms

By Joshua Liang Staff Writer

G

isel Chavez was a fish out of water before her mom introduced her to swimming. Good call, mom.

Chavez, 20, an accounting major, is a sophomore record-breaking machine and captain of the Southwestern College swim and dive team. She is a human torpedo who started young.

“When I was three my mom was afraid that I would drown in a pool or the ocean so she signed me up for

swimming classes,” she said.

Chavez swam two years ago at SWC and broke school records in the 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley.

After a year away she is back with the team this year and hopes to break more school records, including her own personal best of 1:03 in the 100- meter individual medley.

Chavez did not compete with the team last year, because she did not meet the athletic requirements.

“I was one unit short,” she said. “I didn’t know after registration for that semester, so it was a little bit late.”

Head coach Matt Ustaszewski said

Chavez performed tremendously in their first competition at Golden West College.

“She finished first place in the 100yard IM, and went 1:06.25 overall,” he said. “She swam 10 races. We expect her to work hard to lower her time and do more than the two conference championship titles she did two years ago.”

Chavez won in all three of her events in their last competition against Palomar College, with her best time coming at 5:26 in the 500-meter freestyle.

Assistant coach Jennifer Harper said the referee had high praise for Chavez

as a swimmer.

“At the end of the meet the referee came up and told me that was a beautiful meet,” she said. “I’ve never had a referee say that to me about a player before.”

Ustaszwski said Chavez has put in the time to get better.

“Sometimes she would stay one or two hours before or after practice, to continue to improve on her time and improve on her fundamentals,” he said.

Chavez’s work ethic is contagious.

Men’s captain Michael Gutierrez said she exemplifies leadership.

“She motivates the team to work

harder,” he said. “Her encouragement towards the team, has given confidence to her teammates.”

Harper said she sees great potential in Chavez.

“As an athlete she is exceptional and competitive,” she said. “She pushes others to do their best. She is a absolute pleasure to coach.”

Chavez still sees herself in swimming into the future.

“This is my last semester at Southwestern,” she said. “Then I will transfer to either UCSD or SDSU. Hopefully I make the trails for swimming and we’ll see from there.”

CV Youth Sports is a win for child athletes

By Adriana Heldiz Online Editor

April Abarrondo/Staff

DOWNSIZING—Southwestern College assistant men’s basketball coach Kyle Colwell goes miniature and helps out as a coach for a Chula Vista youth team.

A talented band of young basketball players are preparing for the time they will be Varsity. In 15 years they ought to really be something.

Chula Vista Youth Sports (CVYS) basketball players ranging in age from 3 to 9 now call Southwestern College home. This is the first year children from Chula Vista teamed up to learn how to play basketball, said head coach Netzer Ruperto, but he said he wants to teach children more than just how to play the game.

“Our emphasis is on building selfesteem and character through positive reinforcement,” he said. “Those were the things I was brought up with, so I just want to pass it on.”

In an eight-week program players will learn the rules and fundamentally of basketball through a series of exercises and scrimmages. Dribbling the ball can be hard for these little athletes, but they can practice their skills during the Saturday morning games.

Parent Amy Warren said sports can help children develop as people.

“It teaches them how to work as a team,” she said. “It’s an important lifestyle.”

Parents or guardians who want to enroll their children must pay a small fee, but do not have to deal with the stress of having their young athletes compete with other teams. All games are internal.

Nine-year-old Trent Warren says his favorite part is playing defense and

“Our emphasis is on building self-esteem and character through positive reinforcement” -Netzer Ruperto

shooting the ball.

“I like pushing people away with my booty,” he said.

CVYS coach Kyle Colwell said seeing his three-year-old son and other children grow as players and individuals was one of the biggest highlights of the season.

“They’re three years old, four years old − they don’t know how to play,” he said. “So just watching all of them develop and start passing to teammates, making shots where they hadn’t before (is impressive).”

CVYS coaches hope to expand the selection of sports children can experiment with, including volleyball.

Ruperto said many parents have begun seeing changes in their children’s character.

“Some of them have come out of their shell,” he said. “Personality wise, they are more outgoing and outspoken.”

Five-year-old Nate Balte said he has big plans in his future.

“I want to be LeBron James and play for the Heat!” he said.

Check back in 16 years.

A10 The Southwestern College Sun

CAMPUS

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Volume 58, Issue 6

Photos by Bianca Quilantan

Sisters in Arms Stand Together Campus honors its courageous and talented women veterans

WOMAN WARRIORS— (clockwise from top) Keynote speaker Kristine Wunder urged attendees to “fight like a girl.” Honored veterans Catalina Noguez, Elizabeth Kahline, Lyudmila Mastevilo, Laura Melidona. SWC President Dr. Melinda Nish.

Rogelio Manzano honors Laura Melidona on behalf of the Army for her six years of service and sacrifices she made to protect and serve.

N

Story by Josh Carter // Contributing Editor

ot every GI is a Joe. Four SWC GI Janes spanning four of the five major branches of the United States military were honored at the Veteran’s Glenn at the Sisters in Arms ceremony. Laura Melidona, Lyudmila Mastevilo, Elizabeth Kahline and Catalina Noguez were recognized for serving the U.S. and representing Southwestern College with a grace and elegance befitting the most valorous of veterans.

Mastevilo, a former Marine, was born in Kazakhstan and lived in Russia before moving to the U.S. nine years ago. She is working towards a nursing degree. Mastevilo said she was very honored to be the attention.

“It’s really nice that females are getting recognized,” she said. “When we serve, we’re not any different from the males.”

Psychology major Kahline served in the Navy before dropping anchor at SWC. She said it is important for nonveterans to understand that war heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and both sexes.

“You can never tell who’s a veteran,” she said. “I think that is a fun aspect of the military. They come from everywhere and can be anyone.”

Melidona, a biology major, joined the Army in 2005 and served a 15-month tour in Iraq. She said double standards in a male-centric work environment motivated her during her deployment and ever since.

“Women have struggled a lot to come as far as we have,” she

said. “It’s great to know we are recognized here.”

An Air Force Reservist, Noguez studies logistics. She said she knows the plight of deployed women and the pride she feels for having served honorably will never subside.

“To have that pride in putting that uniform on is outstanding, it’s awesome, it’s courageous,” she said.

Tr u s t e e Gr i s e l d a D e l g a d o , a n A r m y v e t e r a n , said SWC should continue to honor female veterans.

“As a women veteran, I have never been honored or anything like that, so I thought this is amazing,” she said. “I’m so glad an event like this is going on. I was not going to miss it.”

Milt Ellison, president of the SWC Student Veteran Organization (SVO), said organizing events like this go a long way in debunking age-old militaristic stereotypes.

“I think women play a very important role in todays military,” he said. “It’s just great that we get to acknowledge that a change.”

National City Mayor Ron Morrison, Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas, Congresswoman Susan Davis, Supervisor Greg Cox, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and Assemblywoman Shirley Weber commended the SVO and proclaimed March 26 as Sisters in Arms Day. Major Kristine Wunder was the keynote speaker. She is the recipient of the 2014-15 Chula Vista Veteran of the Year Award and is the District 51 Veteran of the Year.

“The tenacity of women is just unbelievable,” she said.

“Women throughout our history have had to overcome. Its all about tenacity, so fight like a girl.”

CAMPUS

The Southwestern College Sun

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Volume 58, Issue 6

A11

Board member all aboard Like many students, trustee Tim Nader is a devotee of mass transit explained, “it has to be publicly accessible.”

No sign was posted and the security Tim Nader has places to go, people guard now seemed hesitant. He called to see. his supervisor and then told Nader And trolleys to catch. and the journalists they needed to On a recent pre-dawn Monday, go an MTS building at the 12th and below a black, star-spangled sky, Imperial Station in San Diego to learn Nader drove to Chula Vista’s Palomar about the MTS rules.

Street Trolley Station, his usual The journalists, not wanting to weekday destination. Ready for work press the issue further, told Nader that — suited, wearing a digital wristwatch they were okay with not recording a and electric-blue JanSport backpack video or an interview with him on the — he stepped away from his parked trolley. The four trolley riders, now car and into the chilly morning fog, closer by the experience, boarded the finding his way to the station’s kindled trolley once again, pledging to the port. Beaming like a light, he greeted guard that they would not record a three red-eyed, sleepy journalists on video or an interview. Before they assignment. It was barely 6 a.m. boarded, however, Nader, a one-time “You don’t hate me for this,” Nader winner of The Sun’s Free Speech said, extending his hand for a shake, award, gave his closing statement, “do you?” kindly mentioning to the guard the Shivering, a half-awake journalist guaranteed rights of citizens protected replied, “Not at all.” by the First Amendment of the U.S. Three to four times a week Nader, Constitution. a Southwestern College Governing Born in Fresno in 1957, Nader Board trustee, rides the trolley to moved with his family to Chula Vista downtown San Diego, where he works at age one. He first became aware of as a deputy attorney general for the politics on November 22, 1963, the State of California. day President John F. Kennedy was “I have been riding the trolley off assassinated, he said. From then on he and on since it opened in the early had a penchant for politics.

‘80s,” he said. “I want to do something As a teenager he joined the San good for the environment.”

Diego Youth Commission, politics for He also said, quite candidly, he minors essentially. He graduated from wants to do something good for his Hilltop High School in 1975 and went pocketbook. on to the University of California, “It usually costs me nine bucks Berkeley where he graduated from for each day that I drive and park law school. downtown — just for parking, not the Upon returning to Chula Vista gas, wear and tear on the car and all seven years later, he was hired as a that,” he said. “I’ve got better things prosecutor at the California Attorney to do with nine bucks than park my General’s Office. car, or I like to think I do.”

In 1986 and’87, Nader served on the Parking downtown is not just Chula Vista City Council. Then, in expensive, he said, it is scarce.

1991, he was elected Mayor of Chula For those reasons and others, he Vista. He was 33. said he prefers to commute downtown His predecessor Gayle McCandliss with the San Diego Metropolitan had died suddenly of cancer, less than Transit System, even with its faults. a month into her tenure. She was 36.

“It’s not uncommon now to have Nader said her death was particularly (passengers) who are obviously on difficult – he had known her since they drugs, harassing other people,” he were teenagers. They had served on said. A few weeks ago “some guy the city Youth Commission together. came on who was drooling and yelling A special election was held after her nonsense and there was no security death and Nader said he had to run there to do anything.” for the good of Chula Vista, although Nader said he remembers a time he would have given anything to have several years ago when his rides were her back. “wonderful.”

“Serving as mayor was certainly “It was really comfortable,” he said. one of the best experiences of my “You could do some work while you life,” he said. “We brought in new were in transit, which you couldn’t programs for youth, for recreation, do if you were driving, or you could for law enforcement, for housing, read or you could talk to somebody social services and environmental you had never met before. People protection. We were one of the first were by and large very courteous to cities our size – I’m pretty sure in each other.” the world – to start to develop a Upon boarding the undeniably red greenhouse reduction plan… Those trolley — Blue Line, northbound — things I can fairly say happened an MTS security guard stopped Nader because I was the mayor.” and the three journalists.

As mayor, Nader said, he did not While riding the trolley, the security ride the trolley as much. guard said, it is against the law to take On that Monday morning, though, photographs, record video and record Nader was a true rider. interviews. The tense standoff, which For a fe w stops he stood, the lasting about a minute, caused Nader passengers around him held bags on and the journalists to exit the trolley their laps or set them on the floor. with the guard.

They coddled their smartphones and “What ordinance is it?” Nader wore headphones. One passenger, inquired, standing once again where who boarded the trolley, blasting he stood when he first arrived. He reggae music, brazenly announced identified himself as an attorney. after a few stops that he “did not have Befuddled, the security guard said headphones!” A woman, a moment ordinance “two.” earlier, had politely asked him if he “Ordinance two?” a journalist asked. could lower his music or if he had Backtracking, the security guard headphones. changed his mind.

Nader eventually found an open seat It was actually an MTS rule, he said. and pulled his iPad from his backpack.

“If there is such a rule,” Nader Casually he skimmed emails and

LET THERE BE LIGHTRAIL — SWC Trustee Tim Nader uses the San Diego Trolley to travel from his home in southern Chula Vista to his downtown office.

By Gabriel Sandoval Arts Editor

Photos by April Abarrondo

surfed the web.

Some passengers closed their eyes, resting before their stops. Others slept.

Nader and the three journalists, friends by this point, arrived at the Civic Center Station in downtown San Diego. It was 6:55 a.m. and time for breakfast. The four went to Coffee Bean and got coffee and jalapeño cheese bagels. Delicious! They walked to the steps of his building, chatted momentarily, said goodbyes and parted ways.

By Colin Grylls Managing Editor

Collin Grylls/Staff VIDEO GAME ROYALTY — Tom “Ito” Gonda (far left) won the Club Web Super Smash Brothers Tournament. Ito is the county’s #1ranked player.

Six-foot tall stacks of Fatte’s Pizza and coolers full of Mountain Dew awaited gamers in the Student Union East for this year’s Club Web Videogame Tournament.

For just $10, they could play in unlimited tournaments, grab a slice of pizza and a drink.

Club Web President Joe Martorano, 27, said he was pleased with the turnout of more than 200 participants.

“It was a great event,” he said. “I guarantee it made the most revenue out of all the clubs put together, in

Nader said he hopes more public leaders will start making a serious commitment to public transit as an alternative to the automobile. They could also use more guards, he said, ones who would be able deter actual misconduct.

“There’s only one legitimate reason to run for office or to desire power of any kind,” he said, “and that is to help others… If you remember that you’re there to serve and not do things for yourself, it’s probably the best way to stay out of trouble.”

this one day.”

Though the concessions table had a party-like atmosphere, the screens were surrounded by the Jordan-esque stares of elite players focused on games ranging from FIFA to League of Legends and Super Smash Bros.

Adolfo Coronel of StreetPass San Diego said some of the county’s top gamers were present. “ You can just look around, everyone’s having a great time,” he said. “You’ve got some of the best Smash players in all of San Diego right now. You’ve got ranked number one over there, ranked number four in all of San Diego, number three.

They’re all right here right now. It’s a fun time.”

Top-ranked Tom Gonda, or Ito as he’s known in the gaming community, took home the cash prize for winning the Super Smash Bros.

4 tournament. Martorano said aside from the cash prizes, the tournament’s revenue will seed future events.

“All of this is going towards something else down the road,” he said. “So we just put it in our little piggy bank and once we have enough to host an event where we don’t need allocations, please see Games pg.A12

JoseLuis Baylon

Microbes may hold the key to autism treatment EDITORS NOTE: Typographic error in the last issue of The Sun, the wrong draft of From Pluto To Plato was published. Following is the intended version.

When the microbe was first discovered in 1674 by Dutch microscopist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the Royal Society in London ridiculed the existence of these small organisms. That point microorganisms were mostly unknown.

Microbiology moved into the 21st century and now scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta discovered microbes are reigning in the clouds. Known that microbes exist at high altitudes, no one had been able to find out if microbes can exist over the ocean.

Hitching a lift with NASA, the research team attached sample collectors to the outside of a DC-8 platform. It sampled air masses through low and high altitudes before, during and after hurricanes Earl and Karl.

Researchers concluded that bacterial microbes have the capability to exist in the atmosphere and create an ecosystem in the sky. Data revealed that an average cubic meter of air possessed 5,100 bacterial cells.

About 60 percent of the microbes were still alive upon collection. Researchers took a look at the genes of the cells and found 314 different families of microbes,17 sharing the ability to digest oxalic acid, an eco-rich compound in the atmosphere.

Microbes in the atmosphere strengthen the hypothesis that they could act as cloud condensation nuclei and help form raindrops.

Such is life with microbes.

Until humans discover them, microbes are hidden in plain sight. Sometimes finding them takes a gut feeling. Hidden in the gastrointestinal system (GI) is a neural connection called the vagal afferent pathway. Its job is to interpret information about ingested nutrients and monitor bacteria.

When veterinary scientists at Chungnam National University sought to identify what kind of microflora develops in the GI of beagles with experimentally induced obesity, they kept their eyes on serotonin levels. Dog serotonin levels dropped dramatically while a gramnegative bacteria began to dominate 75 percent of the GI microflora. Obesity occurs when serotonin drops out of sight and creates an appetite in its absence. If a disruption occurs within the GI, such as a change in the microbial community, the message that gets sent to the brain will have affect on psychology.

For humans, serotonin is the essential neurotransmitter for creating the emotional feeling of happiness. About 90 percent of serotonin is produced in the gastrointestinal system.

Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, a researcher for Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, realized that GI problems are consistent with subjects across all levels of autism spectrum disorder. Her team analyzed the DNA of microbes found in the GI of 20 autistic children and 20 symptom-free children. They discovered that autistic children have a significant community of bacterias missing from their GI microflora, including Prevotella, Coprococcus and Veillonellaceae.

Absence of these carbohydrate-degrading microbes influence the overall structure of information that the stomach reports to the brain. Upon receiving update that a particular set of microorganisms are missing, the brain initiates the behaviors and presence of autistic symptoms.

This led researchers at the University of Colorado to study whether autism in mice can be reversed by introducing healthy bacteria back into the GI. By confirming that autistic mice, like humans, have a lower gut microbe count, autistic-born mice were fed a probiotic, a microbe that stimulates growth of other microbes. To the researcher’s surprise, the microflora diversified and lessened the presence of autism-like symptoms. It seems neurology and the microbe work together.

I am what I eat and I think, therefore I am, but our tiny friends help us along.

JoseLuis may be reached at plutotoplato@theswcsun.com

A12

Asjia Daniels, editor

CAMPUS

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Volume 58, Issue 6

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: campus@theswcsun.com

Outspoken prof teaches ‘correct’ history

By Kenslow Smith Contributing Editor

A

n odd man to the ignorant and a brilliant one to the morally aware, Stanley James is a crusader in the classroom.

In a “Black Lives Matter”-era crossed with post-desegregation racism, James, like the late Tupac Shakur, is like a rose that grew from concrete.

The son of a special-ops solider, James was born in Texas. He says he has dealt with racism his entire life.

He lived the life of an Army brat in 34 different states. He attended 18 schools. James received an early education that most never will. He saw the United States through his own eyes rather than a television screen. He said he also faced racism that would influence him to this day.

James says he has held wisdom in high regard ever since he was a child, largely due to his grandfather who said “I don’t want you to have a head full of nothing.” Now he encourages his students to seek wisdom and knowledge.

“If you have wisdom you are probably the one person in the insane asylum saying, ‘You know that all the crazy people have the keys around here?’” he said.

“Three percent are doing fine then the rest of us are running around like lemmings, pushing us over the cliff saying this is what we do,” he said. “And then halfway down when it is too late, they think that maybe you were right, before both of you smash on to the rocks and it is over.”

Once a man running toward the cliffs himself, James was a top junior

broker at the Pacific Stock Exchange.

“I had the saddle shoes and whole preppy look down,” he noted.

His career as a stockbroker ended one day when the owner of the Pacific Stock Exchange visited his office and asked James if he were a Republican. James responded, “No, I’m a Democrat.” Within minutes James was fired, without the opportunity to collect his belongings.

His white friend who helped him get the job was also fired.

After that James decided he was not going to be one who smashed onto the rocks below. After thousands of encounters with racists, he said he has survived them all.

Since then James has been an outspoken Civil Rights activist, leader of the anti-apartheid movement at UCSD, a researcher for three Pulitzer Prize winners, and a teacher for 28 years. His mother wanted him to be a preacher, but James says, “his teach is his preach.”

James calling to teach came from his mentor, UCSD theater professor Floyd Gaffney, who suggested he apply for SWC’s vacant AfricanAmerican studies position. James revived collapsing classes and breathed fresh life into the program.

His first class was only 13 students, but with spirited lectures, vacant seats filled to 27 and finally to 40.

James teaches “correct history,” he said, which eludes mythologies found in many classes and books.

He was hired full time in 1989 and estimates that he has taught more than 25,000 people.

James gifts students with knowledge and anti-racism armory.

History is more then knowledge, he said, it is an anti-racist tactic. James teaches his students that people who are bigots and racist are people who are unaware of the correct history of America. He educates students in

hopes that they will spread the real stories of our past.

James called for The Sun to “start to behave like Black Lives Matter and begin to discuss the racial environment of this campus, and academic dilemmas our young black Americans face.”

James said he is a firm believer that universities by their very nature should incorporate a plethora of diverse people. Students should learn by interacting with others and receiving perspectives they otherwise would not gain within the pursuit of higher learning.

Meanwhile, academic dilemmas facing young students of color a r e w h a t Ja m e s c a l l “ h o s t i l e” environments.

“For 20 years we have failed to educate large amounts of AfricanAmericans because of the idea that they would lower the quality of education,” he said.

He is still puzzled about what motivates the hatred of a racist person. He said much of racism is learned from our environment and our life experiences.

At his age James has seen acts I, II and III of racial hatred. Each scene is different, except ignorance playing the role of antagonist. There will be no encore, as James has already made a quick exit to uplift students.

As for racism in America, James said we are in a state of regression, caused by the fear of opportunities going to minorities. He remains optimistic, however, reminding SWC students that they “cannot let one man judge or run the earth.”

James teaches the importance of service to others and believes that truth will set all free.

As the physical battle for freedom was settled long ago, today James advocates for the mental freedom of his students.

Asjia Daniels/Staff

EDUCATING THOUSANDS — Professor Stanley James said more people of color need to earn university educations to close the nation’s knowledge gap.

Games: Great gamer ‘Ito’ wipes out the ‘Super’ competition Continued from pg. A11

“We have been taught (about sex) through a world of fiction.”

Photos by Melody Davalos

WOMEN HAVE IT TOUGH — Jeff Buchholtz told a rapt audience that words matter and Americans must stop degrading women.

— Jeff Bucholtz

Campus sexual assault is everyone’s problem, says activist

By Veronica Deck Staff Writer

Fo r g e t t h e s t i c k s a n d s t o n e s platitudes, words do hurt.

Anti-rape activist and communications instructor Jeff Bucholtz returned with his popular and provocative “Men Against Rape” presentation at a time when the nation is finally having a serious conversation about sexual assault on college campuses.

The Obama Administration recently issued a statement warning colleges and universities that failure to report and address rape will be met with harsh sanctions, including loss of federal funding. More than 100 colleges across the country are under investigation for not adequately enforcing federal laws to ensure a safe collegiate environment.

Stats surrounding rape are troubling.

Almost 1 in 4 women are raped, according to federal studies of sexual assault. Only about a quarter of these women describe the incident as rape and only 10 percent of those reported.

Bucholtz said he is sometimes asked why his presentation is called “Men Against Rape” rather than “People Against Rape.” Rape affects men also, he acknowledged. About 1 in 9 rape victims are men.

California’s well-intended “Yes Means Yes” policy is a bit misguided, Bucholtz said, because it puts the responsibility on the victim to speak up when often the fear and shock of an incident make that impossible. He defined anything sexual that is nonconsensual as rape. With rape, he said, “You lose the ability to choose what happens in a sexual encounter.”

Bucholtz has been on the forefront of these issues for more than a decade.

More than 1,000 students have attended his seminars already this year. His love of theatre and women’s studies have made him a powerful advocate.

“I did study theatre and performing arts my whole life, it has been a big part of my adult life,” he said. “I enjoy bringing performing arts, comedy and entertainment to help people connect to these important issues.”

Entertainment media plays an enormous role in sexual perception.

TV, music and movies present twisted concepts of what good sex is. They seldom align with reality, Bucholtz said.

Young adults we have practically been taught not to communicate, he added. Communication is portrayed as “lame, boring, and kills the mood,” he said.

“We have been taught through

a world of fiction,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we do that here all of the sudden? We literally grew up in a place where they don’t do that. But that place isn’t real, it’s make believe.”

Sex roles are often vicious. Sexuallyactive American men are praised and somehow respected. Women, however, can be considered a “slut,” “whore” or “easy.” Women, ironically, are also labeled “prude,” “boring” or “stuck up.” For a man, however, it is an issue of masculinity, Bucholtz said.

Men who “run like a girl” or “play like a girl” are looked down on as if being compared to a girl is a bad thing.

St u d e n t s Du l c i e B owe n a n d Miranda Fleming said how the seminar opened their eyes. “[The presentation] definitely gave us the tools to help change,” Bowen said. “Maybe we can lighten up the situations that happen on campus.”

then we’re going to go from there.”

Club Web’s tournament drew players from all over San Diego County, in part because of its partnership with gaming companies StreetPass San Diego, San Diego LAN and LAN Diego. Martorano said Club Webjust facilitated the process.

“I was like alright, let’s get PCs, let’s get consoles, merge them together and then all the DS people can come as well,” he said.

“So now the three of them are working as a family and Club Web is just kind of here making sure everything’s available.”

Nick Nguyen, who is taking a semester off from his studies at UC-Riverside, said the event will help grow San Diego’s gaming community.

“What I like about tournaments like this is that it gets people that aren’t familiar with competitive play,” he said.

“It might give them the urge to look more into the scene, get more involved.”

SDSU student Khac Thanh-An, originally from Germany, also said video game tournaments help people connect.

“In my opinion the top priority is that you can play with friends, meet other people,” he said. “The community is the most important thing. After that, you have to choose a game which you like. If you play competitively you meet other people that are, not worse, but inexperienced, and you grow up as a family.”

Martorano said he has big plans for Club Web. “So this is my idea – the more revenue we get now, the bigger that we can have more events this semester,” he said. “I want to do this job fair where all the clubs get together and they use all the works they’ve created this semester and everything they’ve accomplished and promote that.”

E v e n t u a l l y, h e h o p e s t o h e l p SWC expand its tech programs.

“Now this is just whispering Rome,” he said. “You whisper it too loud and it just disappears. I’d like to try and have enough support to where I can get Southwestern to start (its) own I.T. school.

Like a whole separate school that’s built.”

He also said he was pleased with the event’s success, especially after the difficulties the club had booking the Student Union East.

“They (facilities) gave me the ultimatum,” he said. “‘If you do this event and you don’t get the amount of people, then you’re going to ruin it for all the clubs.’ Roger that! I know what’s going to happen, I’m set. That’s cool, go ahead.”

Martorano said he thinks the tournament’s success will prevent issues in the future.

“If the right people notice it, then they’re going to see Club Web is a man of their word,” he said. “Or people of their word, I guess.”

March 17 - March 28, 2015, Volume 58, Issue 6

The Southwestern College Sun

ARTS

Premier of Arts/Com gala a success

>REVIEW Ernesto Bogarin’s ‘Al Dois No Concido’ is breathtaking

By Cesar Hirsch Assistant Arts Editor

By Kenslow Smith Contributing Editor

Trash was not always trash. Today’s discards were yesterday’s treasures.

A brilliant art show gave garbage a second chance to shine.

Student artist Ernesto Bogarin sacrificed his time to bring SWC students the gift of beauty, humor and faith in the form of sculptures, paintings and poems with “Al Dois No Conocido” (Offerings to an Unknown God) in the SWC Student Art Gallery. Discarded pieces of trash were transformed into pieces of artwork, displayed like treasure to be caressed. Interfusions of clay, metal and twine, produced by the hands of Bogarin, brought life to the lifeless, form to the formless and meaning to the dismissed. Each sculpture was bathed in bright acrylic paints and soaked in allure, cleansed of imperfections.

Bogarin’s sculpture “Despues de la selfie” (After Selfie) depicted a Mayan woman made of clay and acrylic paints, standing in a garment of bold greens, yellows and reds. Headphones upon her head, and smartphone in hand, she instantly captured attention, with an Instagram-esque selfie. A traditional woman that was a real piece of work, “After Selfie,” rivals any popular #WomanCrushWednesday posts on social media.

“After Selfie” bridged old and new, and the Star of David upon the woman’s headphones finished a trendy and faith influenced piece.

Bogarin employed DiGiorno pizza boxes, a Dole juice bottle, broken toys, M&M candy wrappers and other discarded trash to encompass his artistic endeavors. This approach lead Bogarin to recycle all materials with creativity, in hopes to enthrall the eyes of those who saw his piece “No Robaras” (Thou Shalt Not Steal).

“No Robaras” was a barrage of garbage restored into a mobile vehicle of exuberant expression. Within the truck bed lay a lesson, in the form of a story. A small plastic boy had allowed his temptation to steal to trap him in the ill-fated trunk. With an appetite incapable of satisfaction, the plastic

B1

Photos by Kenslow Smith

DEPORTING GUADALUPE — The Virgin Mary is chained and transported in “Idols Have No Power.” (below) Aztec warriors engage in a game of soccer in Ernesto Bogarin’s exhibit “Al Dois No Conocido” in the SWC Student Art Gallery.

boy lay with his desired sweets in an imprisonment of greed and gluttony.

“Enamorado,” (In love) exposed viewers to one man’s bare affection. A tall male doll figure became possessed by the image of a beautiful woman within a window frame, soon to frame the man within a seal of his own obsession. Roses in hand hidden from her sight, his sight on his beauty, he hopes in vain. Unaware that his vanity has lead him to fall for an image of a woman, and not an actual woman, the tall man awaits his unfortunate rejection from a fortunate gaze of a graceful beauty.

Viewers received a glimpse into the man’s future: an impending broken heart. “In Love” was a piece for those whose hearts longed for peace.

Demolished and fractured at the

feet of the breaker, “Quebrador De Idols” (Breaker of Idols), were broken idols at the mercy of the breaker man’s force. Tall, strong, masked and mighty, the breaker stood steadfast with fierce eyes. Among the broken idols were Diana of Ephesus, the Golden Calf from the Old Testament and Mayan gods. Crafted into an action pose, “the breaker” is forever bound to battle, swinging a blunt object to project a blunt statement.

Before his tool of weaponry strikes, his eyes strike first, exemplifying Bogarin’s passion for God. Bogarin’s faith was attributed to this piece, as it emphasized monotheism.

Artistry flourished into a luscious bloom of panoramic art utopia, nestled in room 710. Bogarin led attendees into a grove of enchantment.

Playwrights run free behind bars Story on Pg. B2

Film festival wins praise for expanding artistic horizons

By Vito Di Stefano Assistant Online Editor

Few would look to Fashion Valley on a Tuesday night as the hub of a cultural revolution, but the many motivated students, filmmakers and cinemaphiles who eagerly awaited the San Diego Latino Film Festival were at ground zero of a powerful movement.

For the 22 nd year the SDLFF has graced the city with its diverse selection of domestic and international Latino cinema.

SWC Adjunct Lecturer Neil Kendricks led his History of Film as Art class on a field trip to the festival. Kendricks, who has taken his classes to the event since he started teaching, has shown work there himself. He said he saw inherent value for students of film.

“It’s just the exposure to a lot of different forms of story telling and how images can be very impactful,” he said. “I think it’s really important in terms of Southwestern, which has a large Hispanic community, that students get to see a range of Latino voices from around Peter Merts/Courtesy

WRITER’S CELLBLOCK — Robert Kenedy, a Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility inmate, and Bryan Barbarin, a professional actor, read a work in progress for “Out of the Yard,” a production made possible by the Playwrights Project and other organizations.

From the jazz band to the cocktails to the glamorous décor, this year’s Falling in Love with the Arts Gala debut was like something out of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Southwestern College boosters gathered at the Hilton Hotel in Mission Valley and raised $14,000 for SWC Schools of Arts and Communication.

This money will go towards creating scholarships and funding programs at SWC. Under dim lighting, 13 students were honored with a medal and certificate for their outstanding contributions to the arts at SWC. Donning tuxedos and evening gowns, attendees dined on white tables decorated with ceramic centerpieces made by the SWC Clay Club. A silent and live auction featured engraved Chinese brass trays, Native American jewelry, mystery gift bags and prints by artists like Synthia Saint James and the late Charles Rucker.

Dr. Donna Arnold, dean of the School of Arts and Communication, was the instigator of the gala. She said she felt an urgency to host an event that showcased the quality of work done by the students in the School of Arts and Communication.

“I wanted to show that as a school we contribute greatly to the rest of the college and the community,” she said.

Pro f e s s o r o f C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Eric Maag opened the ceremony by remarking on the importance of the arts on campus, an importance that Arnold said tends to be undervalued and eclipsed by other majors that people consider more serious and practical.

Along with raising money, the gala also gave faculty and staff members an opportunity to relax, dance and mingle with their colleagues and students, said Nicholas Muller, assistant professor of art.

“I think events like this help us see the great work that is being done by our students and colleagues and encourages us to improve the program,” he said.

Arnold said she enjoyed interacting with students.

“I don’t usually get an opportunity to personally meet with the students,” she said. “It was really important for me to see the incredible quality of work that was being done by them.

That’s something that I feel should be recognized.”

the world get to create a forum for self representation. This a great place to see people doing really effective artwork and telling their own stories.”

Kendricks also stressed the value of students seeing films beyond the mainstream Hollywood fare typically shown at a local cineplex.

“It’s the same movies playing,” Kendricks said. “What film festivals bring to the table is that they widen the palette of what you get to taste and enjoy.

A festival like this provides access to other voices that you otherwise wouldn’t get an opportunity to hear. ” Kendricks’ students picked up this notion quickly. Scarlett Caro, an anthropology major, said it was important that students didn’t limit themselves to a singular small community.

“I think it’s actually great to expand from our common modern outlook,” Caro said. “We are expanding (our outlooks) to other countries. That’s great. Even if it’s next door.”

Juan Quemado, a journalism major, said the festival helped him get in please see Latino pg. B3

B2

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Vol. 58, Issue 6

Gabriel Sandoval, editor

ARTS

Tel: (619) 482-6368 E-mail: arts@theswcsun.com

ARTS

The Southwestern College Sun

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Vol. 58, Issue 6

B3

> PREVIEW

> REVIEW

Artistic summer workshops heat up

Bucking Convention

‘12 Angry Jurors’ guilty of not enough anger

By Andrew Perez Assistant Arts Editor

Youthful Morgan State Professor MK Asante brings an inspiring message to students and faculty April Abarrondo/Staff

KNIFE TO MEET YOU — Vanessa Johnson, as juror no. 4 in “12 Angry Jurors,” makes a point to her fellow jurors.

By Cesar Hirsch Assistant Arts Editor

David Hodges/Staff

If anything, Ruff Yeager’s production of “12 Angry Jurors” is guilty of being overly ambitious.

Jurors, cramped in a dingy and tiny conference room stage in Mayan Hall, failed to do justice to Reginald Rose’s archetypal characters.

Rose’s nameless characters become symbols in the play. Southwestern College’s student actors failed to grow beyond themselves and instead focused too hard on trying to act like grown-ups.

On a muggy New York City afternoon, jurors from all walks of life gather over a worn wooden table to decide the fate of a young man accused of murdering his father. As clear-cut as the verdict first appears, one righteous juror surgically dissects the evidence against the son and wins over every juror, raising doubt in their minds. Jurors eventually declare the defendant not guilty by reasonable doubt.

With a humming fan hovering over a freestanding water cooler, a dusty window in the distance and a shabby table centered by fluorescent lighting, gifted set designer Michael Buckley created a human hot house, where audience members felt just as trapped as the jurors deliberating the verdict.

This unique production featured two separate performances, one titled “12 Angry Men,” the other “12 Angry Women.” Yeager said his experimental revival was inspired by current events involving race relations.

Actors on both sides (male and female) generally lacked presence, sometimes stumbling or rushing through their lines.

Jurors no. 8, played by Julian Sobejana and Ciara Ceniceros, helped carry the escalating tension by inhabiting their personalities and stage with conviction. Sobejana felt effortlessly passionate and intelligent in his role.

Male juror no. 3, portrayed by Andres Efren Losoya, delivered his aggressive pronouncements stiltedly, while in the female version, Itzel Perez encapsulated all of the opinionated hostility of her character with forceful brilliance.

In his portrayal of a bigoted, angry man, Isaac Rojas highlighted the show with his racist speech. Rojas burrowed deep into his role and delivered a raw, emotionally charged moment.

Omar Ruiz-Medellin gestured awkwardly as he paced the room playing a wealthy businessman concerned only with the facts.

Donning an impeccable and elegant dress, Vanessa Johnson’s portrayal of juror no. 4 appeared more organic and her sanctimonious tone carried a weight that was lost in RuizMedellin’s phony accent.

Artistically, much of the mounting tension of the play was lost through uneven performances.

Sociologically, the production was successful in showing how our assumptions of gender roles played out in a theatrical setting. Much of the approach by both casts, however, was merely high-volume hostility, rarely showing any transformation through their characters.

At the end, the play endures.

Through heated arguments comes resolution, as juror no. 8 forces the other jurors to confront themselves and convinces them that there are too many unanswered questions for the boy to be guilty.

SWC’s revival of “12 Angry Jurors” turned out to be merely a polite nod to Reginald Rose’s timeless classic.

Much of the fire of the plot was robbed by affectless performances that failed to inspire a moral tone and deliver a message, forgetting that what they were voicing was bigger than them.

Andrea Aliseda/Staff

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE, EVEN PRISON — Donovan State Prison inmates (l) Joshua Jones, Ryan Barber and Robert Kenedy participated in a play writing program for incarcerated men. Donovan officials would not allow cameras inside the yard, so Sun staff artist Andrea Aliseda sketched the dramatists during the event.

Prisoners let their caged imaginations run wild

By Gabriel Sandoval Arts Editor

O

tay Mesa’s newest theater has a steep price of admission – 25 to life.

“Out of the Yard,” a series of 10 plays written by inmates at the maximum-security Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, had finally come to fruition.

Professional actors gave shape to untold truths and stories from the minds of men morally discredited in absolute confinement.

A program developed by the Playwrights Project and the William James Association, in collaboration with the California Arts Council and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, “Out of the Yard” gave hope through art.

Cecelia Kouma, executive director of the Playwright Project, a San Diego-based non-profit corporation, said participants were given the opportunity to express themselves like never before.

“Our mission is to empower individuals to tell their stories through the Playwrights Program and theater productions, so that we can advance creativity, communication and literary,” she said.

In November inmates who volunteered for the program took their first of about 10 two and a half hour workshops in which they wrote and revised plays in collaborative group settings. Inmates were encouraged to write three scene, one act plays and give each other constructive criticism.

James Pillar, lead teaching artist for the Donovan Playwrights Project, said most participants were highly engaged. Others were withdrawn, but began to blossom with each successive workshop, he said, as did the entire group. He said working with the inmates was almost unreal.

“It’s really like you go into this other country,” he

said. “(Donovan) exists in its own world – like it’s in the world, but it’s not really part of it.”

Kouma was also a teaching artist. She said the participants developed camaraderie and the group sessions gave the inmates a much-needed outlet.

“They would often say, ‘I love coming in here because when I’m in here, I forget that I’m in here, in prison,’” she said.

Pillar and Kouma acted in “Out of the Yard,” as did four other actors, Veronica Burgess, Brandon Kelley, Albert Park and Taylor Wycoff.

These actors, however, did not steal the show – possibly to avoid being incarcerated themselves.

Writers captivated the audience with their forays into fiction. Each play gave a glimpse into the mind of a person society had forgotten.

A diverse range of topics, the inmates’ plays covered almost the entirety of human emotion. “Love in Rehab” by William Farag and “The Dance” by George Jasso had themes of love and relationships.

Others focused on families during times of war, like “Moonlight Knight” by Michael McCraken and “Patronicus” by Ryan Barber. And of course, there were plays of inspiration like Joshua Jones’ “Looking Up.” There were even heartbreakers.

Robert Kenedy, 37, an inmate at Donovan, wrote a play called “The Boy and His Dying Father.”

In this play, a boy comes home with a straight A report card only to find his dad unconscious on their living room couch, breathing irregularly, with a empty bottle of vodka near his feet. The boy tries to wake his dad by shaking him and yelling in his ear.

“Wake up, Dad!” No reply.

The boy calls his father’s girlfriend on the phone.

She answers, tells him she is at work and cannot be bothered. The boy hangs up and then finds a note written by his dad. It looks like a will. He calls his dad’s girlfriend back, pleading with her to come home. She

eventually does. Paramedics arrive, too.

Five days elapse and the boy is in a hospital with his dad, who remains unconscious and is now on life support.

If you make it through this Dad, the boy says, I will be the best son. I will do everything you taught me to do right. I will go to college, take care of my family and be a role model. But if you die, Dad, the boy says grimly, I will be bad, so bad I might even kill people.

A narrator then speaks – the father flat lines and dies.

The boy walks out of the hospital, forever blaming himself.

A front row of women shed tears and Kenedy seemed to appreciate the recognition.

After the production had ended, a brief meet and greet occurred between theatergoers and writers.

The inmates reveled in the opportunity to mingle.

Kenedy said his play was entirely “autobiographical,” even though his teachers encouraged him to fictionalize it. He also said he is currently serving a life sentence for a “bank robbery” and will probably never be released.

Kouma said inmates were able to examine themselves and their behaviors through the writing process. They were able to stop and think, she said, instead of just reacting to impulse in the moment of tension.

Pillar said Playwrights Project gives people the chance to explore artistic modes of communication that they may have otherwise never tried.

“We’re looking forward to moving this project forwards, onwards and upwards,” he said. Playwrights Project has been speaking with Donovan officials about “making it more accessible to more inmates.”

Robert Brown, community resource manager for Donovan, said inmates who finished the program have given him “nothing but positive feedback.”

Each time members of the public receive tours, he said, they are told the same thing.

“People will be surprised by the amount of talent behind these walls,” he said.

> PREVIEW

Vets encouraged to audition for film

By Martin Loftin Staff Writer

Southwestern College’s renown arts program and America’s renown veterans are about to hit the big stage together.

On April 14 veterans and SWC students are invited to open auditions for the general public at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park.

Theater instructor John Warriner, who teaches Acting for TV and Film courses at SWC, and Anthony “Tony the Vet” LoBue, a disabled veteran who teaches art to vets, will hold open auditions from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for a project in development.

LoBue teaches free arts classes at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center every second Tu e s d a y a n d e n c o u r a g e s ve t e r a n s o f t h e community and of SWC to audition.

“What we’re trying to do is start a creative collective,” he said.

Auditioners need a prepared monologue, headshot and resume.

Warriner’s Acting for TV and Film course teaches students how to act on camera and how to improvise, as well as techniques for concentration, memorization and relaxation.

Anthony “Tony the Vet” LoBue

. B1 m pg o r f nued Conti

POWER OF WORDS — MK Asante tells a standing- room-only audience that language has the power to improve thinking, illuminate others and fuel change.

By Mason Masis Production Manager

At a glance, MK Asante looked much like a Southwestern College student in his timberlands, leather jacket and baseball cap. But the arrival of the 32-yearold Morgan State University professor attracted hundreds to Student Union East and to hear an African-American story of struggle, redemption and success.

Asante is an award-winning filmmaker, novelist, musician and professor of creative writing and film. He was invited to speak at SWC about his book, “Buck,” by Staff Development Coordinator Janelle Williams.

Published in 2013 when Asante was 30 years old, “Buck” is an autobiography of Asante’s life and details his struggles with school, family, drugs and crime. “Buck” was a Los Angeles Times Summer Read and was Baltimore Magazine’s best book of 2013. It also won a NAACP Image Award. Maya Angelou said it was “a story of surviving and thriving with passion, compassion, wit, and style.”

Asante had 40 copies of “Buck” available for purchase at a book signing after the lecture. The copies sold out in less than

15 minutes.

Williams was not surprised. She said she had heard Asante was a fantastic guest lecturer so she contacted his coordinator to have him come to SWC. “The book is raw and brilliant,” she said.

Asante said he chose “Buck” as the title of his memoir because he wanted it to slap readers in the face.

“See, for me, when I chose ‘Buck’ it was young buck, buck wild, buck shot, buck town, slave buck, black buck, made buck, buck it was all of those things,” he said.

“The book is about bucking now.”

Education happens constantly, Asante said, in and outside of school.

“School and education can be as close or distant as love and sex,” he said. “Want me to repeat that?”

For Asante, a thirst for knowledge came as he neared adulthood. After being kicked out of multiple high schools and completely out of options, his mother enrolled him in an alternative school.

His new classmates, however, made him rethink the promise he made to his mother to attend.

“Damn, I’m not this alternative!” he reminisced.

His epiphany came in a creative writing

class, he said. Acting out, he wrote, “fuck school,” on his paper. Instead of being punished, his teacher encouraged him to keep writing.

From that point, he said, he became immersed in writing.

“If you limit someone’s vocab, you limit their thoughts,” he said.

Asante read a passage from his book and said he was no longer limited.

“Now I see why reading was illegal for black people during slavery,” he read. “I discovered that I think in words. The more words I know, the more things I can think about.”

Asante said he did not censor anything when writing his book and presented his story in its gritty and honest form.

Thekima Mayasa, chair of Black Studies at San Diego Mesa College, said her department uses “Buck” for all its classes.

She said Asante and his honest approach to writing has continued to change the lives of her students.

“What I hope everyone takes away today is what a black man looks like, what a black man thinks like,” she said. “You are beautiful, you are brilliant, you are powerful, you are valuable and your life matters.”

“Now I see why reading was illegal for black people d u r i n g s l a v e r y. I discovered that I think in words. The more words I know, the more things I can think about.”

MK ASANTE MORGAN STATE PROFESSOR, AUTHOR, FILMMAKER

Summer is a time for road trips, beach dips and Shakespearian quips. At least in Chula Vista.

This summer the Southwestern College School of Arts and Communication will host a summer arts program for secondary school students.

Performing and Visual Arts Coordinator Silvia Lugo, who set up the program with Dr. Teresa Russell, the director of Choral Activities, said that it is more popular than ever.

“We have had this program for five years, with only two or three classes offered,” she said, “but this year we have a large lineup of classes, offering 14 workshops for a wide range of subjects.”

Students can learn the movements and rhythms of African dance, produce short movie videos at “Filmmaker’s Bootcamp,” create 2D animated cartoons in Character Animation, form concise arguments in Debate and create a poster highlighting a favorite band for Beginning Photoshop.

A wealth of music classes are being offered, including Westwind Brass, orchestra, Mariachi, “Are you the next VOICE?” (vocal group and solo practice) and “Broadway Bound,” which covers musical theatre choreography and repertoire.

Theatre is also well represented, with two improvisation workshops and two classes on the art of Shakespearian acting. A beginners class focuses on the Bard’s comedies, the other on the tragedies is for more advanced students.

Lugo said that registration will begin April 6 and the deadline to apply is June 1.

Latino:

Fashion Valley AMC hosts the 22nd annual Latino Film Festival

touch with his Latino roots and is key to promoting a mixture of cultures to a public that is otherwise unaware of non mainstream Hollywood films.

“I don’t think a lot of people are aware of how many Latino movies come out,” he said.

Phillip Lorenzo, the exhibitions director of the Film Festival, said San Diego’s borderlands location is significant.

“The Latino Film Festival matters more than anything else because of where we are,” he said.

“San Diego is directly connected to Tijuana. We have a direct connection to Latin America. That necessitates us having a (Latino) Film festival. It’s to celebrate culture, it’s to celebrate nuestra gente in a way that won’t be done by Hollywood.”

“Everything else is pretty much standard Caucasian cinema,” he added. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But it’s a matter of accurate representation of the complexity of the continual (influx and mixing) of ethnicity and ethnic identity in the U.S. And I think that Hollywood still ethnically cleanses us and really doesn’t have much understanding of what we’re really about.”

Writer/director Mike Ott, whose film “Lake Los Angeles,” a movie about a girl who creates a fantastical world in a hostile desert habitat in Central California, was screened at the festival. He said the atmosphere was great for independent cinema.

“It’s a place to get exposure, it’s a place to kind of get the ball rolling on your films,” Ott said. “Getting to come to San Diego to show my movie (and see) all these little kids running around holding the posters is really exciting. For me it’s inspiring to see people watch the film.”

Public reception to the events has been positive, at least from the students. Kendricks said his classes are mostly made up of people who have never been

to a film festival before.

“This was my first time at this festival and I definitely will return next year and hopefully sometime during this following week to see other films,” said Katrina “Kat” St. Aubin, a visual arts major.

St. Aubin said “Lake Los Angeles” was eye opening.

“It made me feel fortunate that I was raised here and it made me feel like I took a lot for granted,” she said.

St. Aubin said she also appreciated the international aspect to the festival.

“It’s a celebration of film outside of the U.S,” she said. “I think that it’s important for filmmakers from other countries to share their artistic style and also their (home culture’s) messages. It’s a great opportunity for us to share cultures visually, I mean we are a melting pot regardless, but it’s nice to actually sit and have someone tell you a story that you can experience for an hour or two. ” St. Aubin said the post-screening Q&A with writer/ director Ott was also culturally enriching.

Ott agreed.

“When I was going to film festivals when I was a student it was inspiring for the sake you can see some one who made a movie with not a lot of money and watch it and (say) maybe this is something I can do,” Ott said.

Kendricks’ praised the way the fest made the filmmakers accessible to the public and the networking opportunities that arose from that.

“If you are an aspiring filmmaker you need to go to festivals,” Kendricks said.

Lorenzo also pointed out that festivals build communities, with artists and critics coming together to network and to make something new.

“The Mexican New Wave,” he said, “if it’s Alejandro Iñárritu (“Birdman”), Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”), Guillermo Del Toro (“Pacific Rim”), if they don’t form this bond, we don’t see them in Hollywood.”

SDLFF is more than just a networking opportunity, it is a beacon of inspiration and community involvement “We are the largest single Latino event in San Diego,” said Andy Gonzalez, director of Art De Latino, the visual art portion of the festival. “It’s a focal point for a lot of people.”

Gonzalez said he first attended the festival 15 years ago and volunteered to use his curator experience to add to the experience.

“Every year we try to make the festival bigger and better and try to introduce more things,” he said.

“So this year we have art, we have music, we have dancers and things like that. The focus is always films but we try to have different cultural pieces.”

Gonzalez said he considers SDLFF as a sort of reunion.

“They saw each other last year,” Gonzalez said.

“They exchanged ideas, thoughts on the films that they saw, so every year people come back expecting to see old friends that they haven’t seen in a year.”

Lorenzo said the festival was a way for people to see each other differently and be more understanding of different experiences.

“A film festival is absolutely necessary,” he said, “because films are one of the greatest art forms we have. It combines still art, music, performance and motion, and it combines it in a way that communicate cultural understanding, it communicates ideas, gives us calls to action at times and shows us something about ourselves we may never have seen before.”

B4

March 17 - March 28, 2015 — Vol. 58, Issue 6

BACKPAGE

Page Design by Anna Pryor Tel: (619) 482-6368 e-mail: eic@theswcsun.com

ALL THE PRETTY PEOPLE — Four gifted photographers mounted a bi-national exhibtion split between Tijuana’s Centro Cultural and the Southwestern College Art Gallery (above) cheap eats from Gustavo Mayoral’s budget dining series. (below) Mayoral’s work focuses on models in surreal lighting.

Exhibit bursts borders with creativity

G

ustavo Mayoral & Fr i e n d s , the current exhibition in the SWC gallery, is as disparate as it is striking. It is a four-way communion of four artists: Mayoral, Maung, Richardson, Pildas. They are a tetrarchy of photographers whose work travels through space and time, through material and border.

Gustavo Mayoral dominates the gallery. His muses are odes of inkjet. He finds inspiration in the flesh, be it woman or ramen. Mayoral is a Mexican artist, born in Tijuana, and his area of expertise is portraiture and fashion. He currently operates in San Diego and occupies his time as an internationally published photographer, who creates tools for digital photography and writes books on the subject.

Focus of the exhibition is his series of model photographs, more of which are available for viewing in his one-man show “TFP. Time for Print,” at the Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT). Pieces from this series on display at SWC are compositionally beautiful. The models are also beautiful. Therein lies the rub.

They are too perfect. They stand demurely in front of a robin-blue background and stare back with doe eyes, their plastic faces supposedly expressing what is perhaps playfulness or lust.

Maybe innocence.

STORY BY ALAN LUNA // PHOTOS BY APRIL ABARRONDO

These large prints are not boring, but bland. If there was one piece that stands out among these model prints, it would be the red-haired girl.

She has the poise of an Edwardian lady, delicate and sensible, her large green eyes looking off into the distance. There is something here that cannot be put to words. Others, including those hanging in the CECUT, are blank canvases of humanity. They might as well be pictures in an H&M catalog. Models are too stylized, too removed from themselves and from their clothes, be it a solitary green scarf draped across the sculpted muscles of a young man or a blood-red corset that softly embraces the sharp curves of a tattooed woman.

None of this could be said of the other series he is exhibiting in SWC. In May 2013 Gustavo Mayoral collaborated with the photographer David Maung, who has worked in Tijuana since 2006. Maung focuses on the dynamic relationship between San Diego and Tijuana, and the rugged borderland. His work has been published in major newspapers on both sides of the border and this time he found himself on the Mexican side.

La Mesa is the Baja California state penitentiary and at that time it was abuzz with an unusual activity: a beauty pageant. “Miss La Mesa” was meant to provide the inmates with an opportunity to develop confidence, skills and self-esteem, and Maung and Mayoral were there to document it.

Maung’s photographs capture the private moments of these women as they prepared for the pageant. Contestants have had their

womanhood taken from them. These images are powerful and stark in their contrasts.

Between two oversized, gaudy heels solidly stands a pair of prisoner guard’s combat boots. A small stage draped in multicolor fabric has women standing around, glittered in the floodlights, a barbed wire fence encircling it like a razor-sharp cocoon.

Mayoral’s portraits of the contestants are personal and tender, unlike the large photographic prints on the adjoining wall.

These are strong, rugged women, young and old, staring back with fearless expressions.

Not professional models, ivory white and beautiful by Western conventions, these women are Mexican, who would not, in usual circumstances, have their portrait taken.

Women with lined faces and fading tattoos, their quiet dignity burning through the cheap dresses and plastic jewelry. These apparently hardened criminals bear themselves regally.

Mayoral said the image that first brought him recognition is one he dubs as being a sort of “Vermeer girl.” The two portraits of the girl are a modern day “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” There is something about the way she gazes back at you, the way her wide-eyed gaze echoes in the soft curves of her face, the pout of her lips. She is almost innocent, naive. At the same time, she gazes back at you with a certain knowing, a certain provocativeness that unnerves and excites inviting the viewer to stare more.

Carlos Richardson’s work begins with his walks. Trekking alone to the Mt. Helix cross, he took pictures for the next few hours. His shots

captured the shifting light of day as it struck the white stucco of the cross, resuscitated in colors like bright yellow on a dusk blue, tender pick on light blue, with the exception being the violently neon-magenta cross on black, the product of Richardson collaborating with Vallo Riberto, the curator of the show. Pictures of the cross, which is really more of an X and as such stripped of any religious meaning it might have, is turned and skewed and thrown about every which way. From a distance they seem like abstract paintings.

On another wall, there are a series of photographs, colored like candy. Some of the pictures are candy. Fifteen pictures show Dollar Store food, fresh from the package, some appetizing and others decidedly not. They all look lovely. Mayoral wanted to explore the concept of food that cost a single dollar. Was such a thing possible? Did calories become so cheap?

On each photo are a few lines of descriptive writing. Nutritional value, the taste of the item. Mayoral consumed all of the foodstuffs depicted in the series. Despite how he might have felt about the food, he always expressed gratitude for the food.

Pildas work is featured in a series of six pictures, early experiments in inkjet photography, and they depict lively scenes of a bygone world: 1970s Hollywood, street-side pimps and show-it-alls, seedy as it was thriving.

If the exhibition had a lesson to be learned it may be that anything can be inspiring and be capable of inciting awe and appreciation.