Viewpoints - Oct.. 18

October 18, 2012

An Associated Collegiate Press two-time national Pacemaker award-winning newspaper, serving as the voice of the students since 1922.

Riverside, CA | www.viewpointsonline.org

Vol. xci, No. 4

Riverside City College

Rushing for the end zone Riverside City College football is No. 7 in the nation with a 6-1 record as it has three games left in the season For

Sports

see Pages 7-11

Luis Solis / Staff Photographer

Determination: EJ Schexnayder, running back for Riverside City College football, avoids a tackle as he rushes in for a touchdown against Fullerton College on Oct. 6. RCC is 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the National Central Conference.

RCC seeks a Plan B for Proposition 30 page 3

Starting college at an early age page 12

Riverside creates its artwalk page 3

Viewpoints

Serving students since 1922

2 | October 18, 2012

News

Voting registration deadline approaching The deadline to register to vote in this November’s general elections is fast approaching. Oct. 22 is the last day to register to vote and citizens can register online at registertovote.ca.gov or in person at a number of public facilities including the Department of Motor Vehicles.

On the ballot this November are the presidential elections, state senate and congress elections and a number of ballot propositions, many of which have the ability to affect the day to day lives of Californians.

To read up on the November ballot propositions, visit http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/ propositions/ or look in any voter information guide which is sent through the mail.

Homecoming week set

Associated Students of Riverside City College is hosting homecoming week from Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 with the homecoming football game falling on Nov. 3.

Homecoming week will have different activities that the runners will be asked to participate in according to Miguel Bagsit, vice president of Associated Students of RCC. “The purpose of homecoming week is to showcase the students at RCC that are full of charisma and is meant to foster RCC pride by getting students together,” Bagsit said.

The homecoming game starts at 1 p.m. and the homecoming king and queen will be announced during halftime.

Jeremy fuerte/ news editor

Athlete of the Year awarded to RCC athlete James Williams Sports Editor

Riverside City College dual-sport athlete Andrea Antonissen was named the inaugural California Community College Sports Information Association Women’s Athlete of the Year for the 2011-2012 sports year.

“I found out when I was running and my coach called me to tell me about the award,” Antonissen said. “I was stoked. It almost means the world to me.”

Antonissen finished her career winning the MVP award in the state tournament for both sports she participated in, winning MVP of the CCCAA state water polo tournament as a goalie for the Tigers of RCC and women’s co-swimmer of the meet for the CCCAA state swimming tournament. Check the next issue of Viewpoints for a full length story.

Jeremy fuerte/ news editor

Hearing it out: Gregory Gray, chancellor of Riverside Community College District, (middle) and the Board of Trustees listen to the impassioned pleas of Associated Students of RCC.

Students invade trustees meeting Brianne McClaflin News Editor At Riverside Community College District’s Board of Trustees meeting, members of the Associated Students of Riverside City College gave an emotional plea to the board members as they asked them to protect the interest of students.

Associated Students of RCC members addressed the board directly and conveyed the importance of avoiding student cuts and the impacts that these cuts will have on the student population and on them personally in order to present a face to the cuts.

Doug Figueroa, president of Associated Students of RCC, asked the board to not cut winter and summer sessions, because students rely on them. Figueroa also asked that reductions start at the District office, and believes that the District office should take the biggest reductions before students do.

“We are not in the business to fire students,” Figueroa said. “We are not in the business to turn away students… Let us start from the top down; the only party that does not have bargaining rights, and is not protected by a contract, are our students; we have one voice; we are expressing that voice to you. Please, consider cutting from the top down, and not from the bottom up.”

Miguel Bagsit, vice president of Associated Students of RCC, said that budget cuts should never be taken at the heart of any college, or its students.

“I feel that by considering cutting student services, we are eliminating an important foundation that molds our future student leaders, and a foundation that brings our students together,” Bagsit said. “This type of unity is special, and one that brings our campus together for one goal: Creating a memorable student experience. Think of our students, and the experiences and lifelong skills we want them to leave with.”

Gregory Gray, chancellor of RCCD, responded to the student’s pleas by reassuring the students that their voices are being heard. He explained the importance of educating others on Proposition 30, and the responsibility of Associated Students of RCC to help their fellow students register and to vote.

“The challenge here today is to the

students,” Gray said. “The student vote is what is going to carry this thing; we need the vote, because if they do not vote, this thing will go down and we will get into some of the unpleasant things we have been talking about.”

Gray said that he has fulfilled his obligation to hear the collective voice of the college and that the district dealt with the previous budget cut successfully doing all it could to protect the students.

“We hear what you are saying, but it is impossible just to say that we cannot cut any more students when our budget is being so dramatically hit, but we will do everything possible to avoid as much cut in classes as possible,” Gray said.

In response to what Gray had to say, Joe Parades, a senator of Associated Students of RCC, said that he believed the board did get their message but did not comprehend it well.

“I do not feel he understands what we are trying to do; we do talk to our students to educate,” Parades said. “We want the chancellor to understand that we need to cut from the bottom up . . . he did not discuss Plan B at all.”

Figueroa also felt that the student’s interests are not a priority. Figueroa compared Gray to a CEO of a company, in that a CEO protects the people he works with and the people who pay his salary.

“The furthest from his mind are the students; we do not pay his salary,” Figueroa said. “I think he is very receptive to what the students are saying, but I think it is the board of trustees that needs to be held accountable for whatever the chancellor submits to them.”

Figueroa said that Associated Students of RCC does not want class cuts regardless of Proposition 30 or Plan B and Gray is not responding well to their pleas.

“Put that aside, the thing is that for him to come back and say that Proposition 30 is up to the students, and for him not to take accountability… That tells me that if Proposition 30 fails, he is going to blame the students,” Figueroa said. “As a leader, he should take those initiatives; not one person has said to protect the studentshat is what we are asking the chancellor to do, and he is not. We are not a priority.”

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News

October 18, 2012 | 3

Serving students since 1922

An artist on the rise Jordan Ward Staff Writer Set against the backdrop of dancing gypsies and interactive robots, admiring crowds walked under overhanging Christmas lights between wide boulevards and the open plazas of Downtown Riverside for the inaugural Long Night of Arts and Innovation on Oct. 4.

The Long Night of Arts and Innovation showcased Riverside’s premier talent in the fields of art, science and technology with over 130 featured events. A science based demonstration in Riverside’s sister city, Erlangen, Germany, inspired a steering committee to create a similar event in Downtown Riverside.

Lalit Archarya, international relations officer and member of the delegation to Germany, explained the objectives of the showcase in a recent phone interview.

“One of our objectives was to showcase Riverside as a powerhouse of science and innovation,” Archarya said.

Archarya described the event was meant to bring colleges Downtown to the general public as an opportunity to show average people what they are doing on their respective campuses.

In an interview with The PressEnterprise, Jackie Olds, event chairwoman for the “Long Night” describes both its relevance and purpose.

“Not only will this event showcase our community’s innovative arts and scientific expertise, but it will also encourage and inspire young people to pursue their own passion in these areas,” Olds said.

Passion, as described by Olds, was presented by the students from UC Riverside, La Sierra, Cal Baptist, and RCC throughout the night in symphony orchestras, bands, and exhibits. Among those involved, local resident Kurtis Resendes, 19, sat among a group of aspiring artist selling their work.

Resendes made a point to actively engage those interested in his art by describing its context and his creative process.

He flipped through his book of drawings with a patient countenance as he described his

Luis Solis / Staff Photographer

Heated Exchange: Gregory Gray, chancellor of Riverside

Community College District, leads a meeting for a Plan B for the District in case Proposition 30 fails in November.

Roundtable sparks debate Image courtesy of: Kurtis Resendes motivation as an artist.

“Having drawn for so long, I tend to see beauty everywhere.”

“Because of this, I look at things and break them down as to how I would paint them, or notice why and how light hits objects a certain way; subtle things like that,” Resendes said. “My art is more of a surreal genre, but it’s definitely inspired and influenced by everyday life and has helped me open my eyes to what is really here.”

Continuing to describe his creative process, Resendes admits to a lack of motivation and procrastinating “far too much” because of the difficulties in creating a work of art, as well as acknowledging his sporadic sense of inspiration being pooled from music, nature, and people.

“I get strong urges to paint people,” Resendes added.

“Occasionally, the scenario seems too perfect to be real and it needs to be captured. Sadly, a lot of the time my skills don’t allow me to capture such a moment and convey it how I imagined” “Sometimes I want to paint and

capture an expression or feeling that a situation is giving me, but the majority of the time I simply can’t express it. So I forward that urge into another project and come up with a new idea or simply take the colors that got my attention and try to use them in a separate piece of art.”

As the night drew to a close, tables were disassembled, unsold canvases were packed into trucks and crowds dispersed. While lifting a folder into his bag, Resendes expresses in his closing remarks the resounding uniqueness that drives artists and anyone truly passionate about their interests, to the “Long Night of Art and Innovation.”

“I think artists may have a hard time describing what drives them because you can’t pinpoint what you love about something,” Resendes said. “My style is odd, strange and such, but I wish I could convey more realism. I want to connect with people through art by giving them that feeling I get when I look at something that I find beautiful.”

Jeremy Fuerte News Editor In the face of a possible $8.2 million trigger cut, Riverside Community College District hosted its Plan B roundtable meeting on Oct. 5, to discuss the areas of the budget that need attention if Proposition 30 on Nov. 6.

Budgetary items were split up into four categories which included: cost reduction items, budget process items, revenue enhancement and efficiency items and regulatory items.

The most heated exchange occurred when Dariush Haghighat brought up the issue of negotiated items being addressed.

“My pledge to everyone here is that, if you say it . . . it gets put on the board,” said Gregory Gray, chancellor of RCCD. “My pledge to you is, if you say it, we put the dollar volume down.”

The faculty union expressed their concerns over what they viewed as an ambush.

“The union did not come here to be ambushed,” Haghighat said.

“That is bad faith negotiation; that is a poison pill.”

Gray emphasized that the ideas presented were not solely his ideas

and he had a moral obligation to all of the stakeholders to present all of their ideas.

If Proposition 30 does not pass this November, then 1,800 full-time equivalent students will be affected.

“We are really on Plan C because we missed the opportunity for Plan B,” instructor Tom Allen said. “If we have to cut 1,800 (full time equivalent students) and we do that in winter and spring, we absolutely disrupt the whole schedule and it has a significant impact on the student’s ability to transfer and matriculate and fulfill certificate programs.”

While there were many disagreements during the discussion, Doug Figueroa, the president of Associated Students of Riverside City College, and the faculty union agreed that cuts should be made at the top.

“I think it would make some of us happy if you really focused on District cuts rather than college cuts,” Figueroa said.

Gray ended the meeting by pleading with those in attendance to get out the vote.

“I expect these guys to be the biggest cheerleaders of Proposition 30,” he said.

4 | October 18, 2012

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Opinions

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October 18, 2012 | 5

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Javier Cabrera (951) 222-8495 viewpoints@rcc.edu eic@viewpointsonline.org MANAGING EDITOR Destiny Rivera 951-222-8488 managingeditor@viewpointsonline.org ADVERTISING MANAGER Breanna Roybal 951-222-8488 ads@viewpointsonline.org FACULTY ADVISERS Allan Lovelace Jim Burns NEWS EDITOR

Jeremy Fuerte news@viewpointsonline.org OPINIONS EDITOR

Dominique Smith opinions@viewpointsonline.org Luis Solis / Staff Photographer

INSCAPE EDITOR

Conner Munson inscape@viewpointsonline.org

Standing up for what is right: Doug Figueroa (left), president of Associated Students of

SPORTS EDITOR

Students making a stand

Riverside City College, unites with Noemi Jubaer, student trustee of Riverside Community College District, to fight for students at the District’s Plan B meeting on Oct. 4.

James Williams sports@viewpointsonline.org FEATURES EDITOR

Iyanna Matthews features@viewpointsonline.org

The final season of “Jersey Shore” is running and thus far it has been horrible.

Has Viewpoints got your attention yet?

How about the news of Rihanna and Chris Brown getting back together after Brown beat the living daylights out of Rihanna a few years ago.

Now that we have your attention; it does not matter what is going on with that irrelevant news.

What is important is the outcome of a proposition that is scheduled to be on the California voter’s ballot on Nov. 6.

Proposition 30 is the “elephant in the room,” the big ape that is taking over the city; it is the proposition that is going to make or break the Community Colleges in California.

In a conference call with Community College student newspapers on Sept. 26, Dan Troy, the California Community Colleges vice chancellor for college finance and facilities planning, said the Community Colleges budget will face a $338 million cut if Proposition 30 fails in November.

At Riverside Community College District, Gregory Gray, chancellor of the District, said RCCD is facing a $8.2 million deficit if Proposition 30 fails.

He said the $8.2 million deficit will affect 1,802 full time equivalent students.

Along with the District being proactive about educating and informing its students about the importance of how crucial it is for this proposition to pass, the Riverside City College faculty union and Associated Students of RCC are also on the same page with the administration on making it a priority for students to make sure the proposition passes.

The problem some RCC advocate students and faculty members are expressing about their interaction with other students when they tell them about the proposition is that most RCC students do not know about the proposition or do not care about its outcome.

The majority of RCC students who do not care about

PHOTO EDITOR

Jesus Velasquez photo@viewpointsonline.org

STAFF Ashley Alvarez Ekezie Aranotu Monique Berduo Shani Booker Brigette Borjon Yohonna Brewer Nishe Butler Tabitha Carranza Amanda Centeno Lorenzo Chappell Courtney Coleman Brian Contreras Tim Cornell Kayla Corral Dennis Cruz Matt Dziak

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what happens with Proposition 30 are using the excuse that they do not care about the future of RCC, because they are only here for a limited time and the result to Proposition 30 is not going to affect them.

Wrong, the proposition is going to affect each college student seeking a higher education one way or another.

The proposition is going to affect each of us now or later.

The current RCC students are not taking into consideration that their younger siblings, cousins and later, children, are not going to be able to obtain the opportunities and experiences that past and current Community College students are receiving from Community Colleges such as RCC. It is a disappointment that most RCC students feel they do not owe the college anything if they feel it is not in their best interest to care what happens with Proposition 30.

The proposition is a tax initiative that Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to Californians; it is scheduled to increase the state’s sales taxes by one-fourth of a cent and adds an income tax surcharge to state residents who earn more than $250,000 annually.

Aside from the proposition funding education such as K-12 and Community Colleges, it also would fund public services such as fire and police departments and California prisons.

First thought: is why would students want to help fund prisons when the assumption for most is that prisons receive enough or more funding from the state?

True, but again, Community Colleges are a public service that a lot of students benefit from, because Community Colleges serve as a second try for most high school students who cannot get into a university after graduation.

So RCC students, make sure each of you are a part of the collective decision that Californians make on Proposition 30 on Nov. 6.

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Reach us: PHONE: (951) 222-8488 E-mail: viewpoints@rcc.edu Editor in Chief PHONE: (951) 222-8495

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Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. © 2012 by the Viewpoints staff, Riverside City College, 4800 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA. 92506-0528. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the Viewpoints Editor-in-Chief.

Viewpoints

6 | October 18, 2012

Serving students since 1922

Boarder patrol agent killed

Devon Everett Staff Writer A border patrol agent was killed by fellow agents on Oct. 2.

Nicholas Ivie, a six-year border patrol agent, patrolled an area of southern Arizona at about 1:30 a.m. and went to investigate a border patrol sensor, believed to be tripped by smugglers.

There was a second squad investigating the same tripped sensor.

Officials believe that Ivie was aware of the other squad, but must have lost radio contact with one another as they approached.

Ivie fired several shots, and the other agents returned fire, killing Ivie.

Would it be possible for his murderers to claim self-defense?

After all, Ivie did fire first.

So who’s really at fault? Are the accused shooters at fault for shooting one of their own, or is Ivie at fault for his negligence?

Ivie was laid to rest on Monday in a service at a Mormon Church

in Sierra Vista, Ariz.

The investigation into the incident is continuing, officials say, but a review of protocols is expected to be put into place to avoid future tragedies.

But will the protocols be enough to prevent this scenario from occurring again?

The “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude is most likely how Ivie died in the first place, and it would take more than a few new protocols to change someone’s behavior.

When you’re putting your life in danger, there’s little room for error.

Many border patrol agents have lost their lives defending our borders.

This case is only unusual because Ivie was killed by fellow agents, not bandits.

For example, there was an incident two years ago, not far from where this incident took place, where another agent, Brian Terry, was killed when he and other agents came across five men they suspected of being illegal immigrants.

This just shows that being a border patrol agent is a dangerous job.

So should civilians be able to be border patrol agents? Should it be left up to the military?

How much training should

a fledgling agent receive before being placed on a task force?

One thing is for certain: Ivie was an agent for six years and made a fatal error. So six years of experience may not have been enough.

So is there someone experienced enough to monitor our borders?

One can entertain the thought of having the military take over border patrol.

While this may sound like a good idea, it would be taking away several hundred jobs across America.

With the economy the way it is now, it would be unwise to take jobs away.

At the same time, not everyone is cut out to be a border patrol agent. There should be some sort of extensive screening and testing, much like the military’s basic training, or the police academy, and require this be taken on an annual basis.

Hopefully, Ivie’s case will set an example for future generations of border patrol agents.

People make mistakes, it’s in our nature. But one can’t learn from a fatal mistake.

And that fatal mistake cost us one of America’s unseen heroes.

Ivie put himself in harm’s way countless times over the past six years, and for that, he deserves a king’s funeral.

Jerry Sandusky sentenced to 60 years

dominique smith Opinions Editor Jerry Sandusky used money, power, and kind attributes to lure innocent children into his grasp.

The former assistant coach of Penn State, working under the reign of Joe Paterno, was stripped of 112 of his 409 wins and lost a place as the coach with most wins in college football history.

What once was a legacy at Penn Sate is now a stain tarnished by a child predator.

How did a man so beloved by his community manage to deceive so many of his friends, colleagues?

In an interview on Oprah.com, forensic Psychologist, Dr. Michael Welner, describes “grooming” as a process in which a predator isolates a child and integrates him or her with affection the child otherwise wouldn’t receive.

Sandusky ran a charity for 20 years called “Second Mile” for underprivileged and disadvantaged youth.

Sandusky and his wife were

also foster parents throughout the years, adopting six children.

According to Welner, there are six steps to “grooming,” target victims; gain the victims trust; fill a need; isolate the victim; sexualize the relationship and maintain control.

During the Sandusky trial, it was revealed that most of the boys involved in sexual assault came from his charity.

They were also boys who needed “special attention,” according to Sandusky.

On May 3, 1998, Sandusky called the home of an 11-year-old boy and brought him to the Penn State athletic facilities.

He was isolated and Sandusky gained his trust by kissing him on the forehead, saying “I love you,” then Sandusky allegedly proceeded to take this boy into the showers, and began to shower with him.

Sandusky claims to be an innocent man; to be a victim. On Oct. 10, Sandusky was sentenced in front of the judge.

During the hearing, Sandusky said “In my heart, I did not do these alleged disgusting acts.”

Sandusky was known as the prankster, the jokester, a funloving character who would never do such a thing.

That may have been so, but the fun-loving jokester was sentenced on 45 counts of child molestation.

How the mind can fathom having a hometown hero be convicted of predatory crimes could potentially leave a dark stain for many years to come.

Paterno died before the real fire and brimstone that resulted in the arrest and conviction of Sandusky.

However, his statue and legacy at Penn State were both tore down.

Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President-Finance and Business Gary Schultz, were not so lucky; they will be facing charges for not reporting the abuse sightings from 1998-2011.

The entire Sandusky situation is a wakeup call to how vulnerable children really are; how defenseless they are to the attacks of manipulative individuals.

Sandusky was brought to justice when he was sentenced to 60 years in prison and will most likely die there.

However the emotional scars left behind in the hearts of his victims still remain.

It makes me sick to think for more than a decade, he preyed on children who needed some type of father figure and they were greeted by a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

There are no winners in this case, only losers in every aspect Paterno, Shultz and Curley could have stopped this from happening, yet they did nothing.

Justice is being served.

What is done in the dark always comes to the light.

Opinions

Political tactics

still cut off funding to the shows program.

Sometimes politicians will act more humble than they really are.

Was Obama using this tactic in his debate? He seemed pretty lucid, the critics arguing that he lost the debate with his quiet demeanor.

Was he faking humility to make Romney seem overly aggressive?

Was he simply not prepared for the debate? Or maybe he just wanted to get home to celebrate his anniversary with his wife.

The thing is, we may never know why politicians act the Courtney Coleman way they do (and until in a major Staff Writer Let’s face it, no one likes leadership position we can never politicians. Even the most fully understand anyway).

We can however be aware seemingly sensible ones can get that political tactics will always, under our skin.

I often think that if we just knew undoubtedly, be used during a these politicians on a personal campaign.

These kind of political level we might like them more. We might like the same sports teams strategies are nothing new. Many as them; we might enjoy the same famous speeches are built off of foods; we might exchange funny tactics implemented to the speaker stories or we might discover they to better woo the audience.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing, hate politicians, too!

What we see that infuriates us as a leader, these men and women are just trying to stay afloat. is how two-faced politicians are.

So how does it concern us?

What we don’t see is they are Being aware of it might trained to be two-faced, whether they are Republican or Democrat help us keep the blinders off to make unbiased decisions and doesn’t matter.

They are taught to put on a observations.

It also might help us be a front.

It’s called “political tactics,” little empathetic to our political s t r a t e g i e s i m p l e m e n t e d b y leaders.’

Not that they need our politicians to win over a crowd.

Never mind the needs of state sympathy or our understanding, and country. When it comes down but too often we make our own to elections, especially, politicians decisions based off of what we see as character flaws. revert back to their “training.”

We let emotions get in the That’s what we see. The strategies at work, not necessarily way and we analyze a politician’s the person behind the political personality before looking at the principles they stand for and before mask or the ideas they support.

The first presidential debate taking time to understanding those between President Barrack Obama principles.

Further debates are coming and and Gov. Mitt Romney got a little crazy. Both candidates had their it’s crucial to keep our focus on the material, not the delivery. arrogant moments.

It’s also important to keep in Both threw each other under mind that a president is a leader, the bus at least once.

Both scrambled to get the last a representative of the country, word in, going over their allotted NOT a savior.

It can’t be up to one man to fix time to speak.

See any tactics being used? our countries problems.

You may not like Romney’s Accusation is one of them.

The whole “you said, he arrogance, but you might agree with his concept said” bit. of limited Like Obama government or his mentioning at the beginning s t r a t e g i e s i m p l e m e n t e d approach to the debt. of the debate by politicians to win over a national M a y b e “for 18 you don’t like m o n t h s crowd.

Obama’s stories (Romney’s) or speeches, but been running you might agree on this tax with his healthcare reforms or plan.”

And now, five weeks before foreign policies.

Don’t get me wrong, the election, he’s saying that his big, bold idea is “never mind” a politician’s personality and avoiding the plans being discussed personal opinions will play a part in their political career. We at present to bring up the past.

Aggressiveness is another. definitely learned something Like how Romney pounced on about both candidates in the most Obama’s words like a hungry wolf recent debate. Pretty sure throwing tantrums can’t be labeled under the throughout the debate.

It’s obvious he felt he had the “political tactic category”. Still, upper hand and used that to his the rest of what we see might just be what they are told to do: win advantage.

And why shouldn’t he? He’s at all costs.

The point is, educating trained to win and if that’s what will win the debate, he knows ourselves on political tactics could help separate us from our first that’s what he needs to do.

Politicians will often “act responses.

It might help us to see past all against their own self interest”.

In other words, telling PBS this political melodrama and stay that you like Big Bird but will focused on the bigger issues

“Political tactics: ”

Viewpoints

October 18, 2012 | 7

Serving students since 1922

Basketball: Midnight Madness Seles Rodriguez Staff Writer The Riverside City College men’s basketball team formally introduced itself to its fans during its midnight madness event that took place on Oct. 6 in the renovated Wheelock Gym. “We use midnight madness to promote our great character kids, all our good players in hope to build a fan base and support system,” said RCC coach John Smith.

The team kicked off the event with individual introductions, followed by a pledge performed by the freshman as they lined up and stated their nicknames lead by team captain Mason Biddle.

Shortly after their pledge the freshman performed a dance routine to the song “Call Me Maybe,” by Carly Rae Jepson joined along with the RCC dance team and later joined by the sophomore players as well as pulling in coach John Smith.

“As a freshman come in and learn as much as we can. We want to learn from coach Smith and the captains,” said Wright. “We are always practicing, no days off, we practice six days a week; early mornings six am until sometimes 7 p.m.”

The team hosted a dunk contest,

Luis Solis / Staff Photographer

Guard: Traonte Jones sets up the offense during the midnight madness scrimmage at Wheelock Gymansium Oct. 6. three point shot contest, a team scrimmage among themselves and a raffled off an iPad. The Tigers showed off their ball skills by shooting from long distances, jumping over team mates to dunk the ball.

Luis Solis / Staff Photographer

Set up: Kendall Schmit takes control of the offense in his first experience in a tigers uniform.

Basketball coach John Smith was very happy with the turnout of RCC students, friends, and family who attended Midnight Madness.

“I think that tonight was one of the best Midnight Madness we’ve had in the past five years. The guys were really into in as you can tell with the dance that they did,” said Coach Smith.

“It was a lot better than last year, we really showed off what we have planned for this year and we just need to go out there and show them again,” Biddle said.

Shooting guard freshman, Nathan Wright fascinated the crowd during the dunking contest by successfully jumping over two of his teammates and dunking the ball.

“My idea for the slam dunk was last minute, I knew that my jumping was really good so I just threw someone out there and then threw someone else,” said Wright, “ I just tried to jump as high as I could.”

6 foot 11 inches center Macam Bak Macam astounded the fans as well when he accomplished a 360 windmill dunk alongside with team mate Nathan Wright throughout the dunking contest.

Smith and team captain Mason Biddle were satisfied with the turnout of the Tigers supporters, such as Cynthia Azari, presient of RCC, and are excited to begin their season on Nov. 6.

“We just want to dominate, no matter what and nobody should beat us on effort, heart, skill, really anything like that,” said John Guilliam.

Practices continue with the tough leadership of Coach Smith we are sure to expect nothing but the best from our 2012-2013 RCC

basketball team.

“He makes sure that we’re going in the right step, we take it slow to make sure that everybody gets it so we can be competitive to other schools in our conference,” said Wright.

“We know what we stand for, we have a lot on our plate, but we feel like we have a great chance of winning and exceed what other teams have done in the past,”

Guilliam said.

This season will be the first year that the Tigers will have the opportunity to play on their home court in the renovated Wheelock Gymnasium.

“It’s a lot better than Cal Baptist University, we like being at home and playing at the school that we actually go to. I think we’ll have more fans and it’ll be better for the community,” Biddle said.

Luis Solis / Staff Photographer

Lay-up: The Tigers ran a game like scrimmage during the midnight madness event on Oct. 6 in front of fans.

Viewpoints

8 | October 18, 2012

October 18, 2012 | 9

Serving students since 1922

Tigers withstand Warriors in offensive onslaught

MatT dziak Staff Writer Riverside City College football never got the message that the game started at 1 p.m., instead it waited until the second quarter to go to work offensively.

Trailing 15-7 after the first quarter, the Tigers scored eight more touchdowns in an offensive onslaught against National Central Conference foe No. 17 El Camino College Warriors as No. 3 RCC cruised to a 63-35 victory.

Following an opening drive 20-yard touchdown reception by E.J. Schexnayder, El Camino marched down the field 75-yards and answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jesse Scroggins to Derrick Macon and successfully converted the two point conversion.

The Warriors built upon their success on offense scoring again on a 13-yard quarterback draw by Scroggins.

RCC (6-1) came into the game leading the conference in total defense, surrendering only 301 yards per game, but the Warriors five wide receiver spread passing attack led found holes in the Tiger defense and gained 433 yards keeping the game closer than comfortable for RCC. El Camino’s 35 points were the most surrendered by the Tigers this year.

“They threw the ball well,” said RCC coach Tom Craft. “We have to tighten up things in the secondary.”

After regaining possession, Craft reached into his bag of tricks, calling a halfback pass as Adkins swung the ball out to former high school quarterback Breon Redman, who launched a rocket to the wide open Jamil Austin, cutting the Warriors’ lead to 15-14.

“It was something we needed as we looked for ways to score,” Craft said.

“Breon can do those types of things and we need to get him more plays.”

With two seconds left in the first half, the Warriors prayers were answered with a 68- yard Hail Mary touchdown pass from Scroggins to Brady Luckner as time expired cutting the Tigers halftime lead to 28-22.

To open the third quarter, the Tigers well oiled offensive machine came out blazing, scoring on a 17-yard pass from Adkins to tight end Gus Penning for the first of five second half RCC touchdowns.

Adkins, the National Central Conference leading passer continued his success, completing 23 of 34 passes for 371 and six total touchdowns.

Picking up where they left off, El Camino (2-5) got within striking distance, scoring on another 68- yard touchdown pass from Scroggins to Luckner that would make it a one possession game.

However the Tigers managed to get pressure on the touchdown pass when Scroggins, a Southern California transfer, got drilled as he threw injuring his throwing shoulder and was unable to return.

Scroggins finished with 295 passing yards and four total touchdowns in only three quarters of play.

In a back-and-forth duo, RCC answered with an 88-yard scoring drive capped off by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Adkins to Josh Long. That score gave the Tigers a bit of breathing room with a 42-28 lead.

“We are getting a lot of people involved making the defense account for everybody,” Craft said.

But the Warriors rose to the occasion, led by freshman backup quarterback Nicholas King who found Luckner on a 27-yard touchdown pass, Luckner’s third receiving touchdown of the game.

The RCC secondary was no match for Luckner’s speed and route running ability on his way to gaining 230 receiving yards. “(Luckner) is a player to watch at receiver in this league,” Craft said.

“We didn’t put enough pressure on their quarterbacks and it hurt us.”

After RCC regained possession in the fourth quarter, the Tigers took precious time off the clock, relying on their run game and the trucking E.J. Schexnayder who continued his dominance in the run game, scoring two touchdowns and gaining 126 rushing yards as well as 87 receiving yards.

Starting the year as the starting quarterback, Tyler Shreve took over in the fourth quarter and had 38 rushing yards on his first drive, scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers set a new school record with 733 yards of total offense and scored nine total touchdowns.

“We are getting a little spoiled,” Craft said. “We lead the conference in scoring for the second straight year.”

RCC football’s game statistics vs. El Camino College Passing

Completions Attempts

Yards

Touchdowns

Zach Adkins

23

34

371

5

Breon Redman

1

2

54

1

Rushing

Attempts

Yards

Average

Touchdowns

E.J. Schexnayder

22

126

5.7

1

Jamil Austin

9

56

6.2

-

Receptions

Yards

Receiving

Average Touchdowns

Devonn Brown

7

94

13.4

1

E.J. Schexnayder

5

87

17.4

1

Jamil Austin

1

54

54.0

1

Gus Penning

2

52

26.0

1

Kenny Torrance

3

38

12.7

-

John-Chris Simposon

1

32

32.0

1

Image courtesy of: Bobby Hester

Viewpoints

10 | October 18, 2012

Sports

Serving students since 1922

Women’s water polo dealt second loss Riverside City College women’s water polo moves down to No. 3 in the state after loss Travis West Staff Writer With a triple overtime loss at Fullerton College, the Riverside City College women’s water polo team suffered its second loss on Oct. 10 Fullerton was coming into the game ranked No.4 in the state, not far behind the Tigers, who are No.3 The Tigers took an early lead scoring a quick four goals, only a few minutes into the contest.

The Tigers began to pull away from Fullerton with what looked like a large enough lead to secure the win at 8-2 in the third quarter.

From that point on Fullerton buckled down on defense and only allowed the Tigers two more goals.

Along with increasing their defensive pressure, Fullerton managed to get its offense rolling to tie the match at 10.

Despite their attempts, the Tigers could not get the ball passed Fullerton and lost the match in the third overtime 11-10.

Players are still have high hopes although it was a tough loss.

“The loss is only motivating us to for harder,” said leading scorer Megan Geurts.

Other players like Emily Holmquist thought the team didn’t play a full game.

“We didn’t play to the best

of our ability, and when we did we thought that was enough to win it so we let in easy goals an before we knew it we were tied,” Homlquist said.

Players moral has not been effected by the tough loss and still believe they will be there when its time for state.

“I strongly believe golden west and RCC will be competing for a state title again,” Holmquist added.

Following the loss, Riverside had a short turnaround as it hosted a tournament on Oct. 12.

RCC faced American River College and Long beach City College.

The Tigers faced off with American River in its first match in the tournament, as Riverside was able to win the match 14-5.

Tara Scheibeler scored four goals in the win over American River as Summer Reyes and Chelsea Dement shared time at the goalkeeper and combined for 11 saves.

In the second match of the tournament RCC faced No. 5 ranked LBCC and won 8-2.

Megan Geurts continued to produce with four goals while Rebecca Griffith had three and Jamison Mahar contributed with one goal in the win against Long Beach. The Tigers are undefeated coming off a loss this season.

The Tigers will participate in the Long Beach on Oct. 19-20.

Paul Harris / Staff Photographer

Staying a float: The Riverside City College omen’s water polo dropped to No. 3 in the JCwaterpolo.com coach’s poll after losing to Fullerton, 11-10 on Oct. 10.

Men’s water polo shows strong outcome in its latest matches Riverside City College men’s water polo places No. 5 in the state following its victories Tim Cornell Staff Writer While adding three more wins to its record at the Riverside City College Tournament, the RCC men’s water polo team moved up to fifth place on the newest California Community College water polo coaches’ poll according to JCwaterpolo.com.

RCC continues to make a name for itself after going 3-1 at the tournament it hosted on Oct. 5 and 6.

RCC has gone 6-2 in the last two tournaments it competed in

after starting the season 4-4.

The team dropped the first match of the RCC tournament to Long Beach City College in a close match with a final score of 13-12.

Trenton Virgil led the Tigers with five goals while Sean Evans also had four goals and one assist.

RCC won its final three games of the tournament defeating Grossmont College, Cerritos College and Los Angeles Valley College with scores of 15-10, 1411 and 16-11, respectively.

In the team’s game against Grossmont, Tigers’ James Myers

led all scorers in the game with four goals.

Evans also had a game high six steals.

RCC held Grossmont leading scorer Daniel Straub to two goals.

R C C g o a l k e e p e r, N i c h o Morabito, also recorded 16 saves in the match.

Against Cerritos, Evans led the Tigers with five goals and five steals.

Chris Forte dominated all aspects of the game for the Tigers, recording four goals, six assists and five steals.

Myers also tallied four goals and four steals for RCC. The Tigers closed up the tournament with a win against Los Angeles Valley, 16-11.

Forte had five goals for the Tigers while Matt Hass recorded a team high six assists.

Virgil also added four goals en route to the Tigers’ victory.

The win is the second win for the Tigers against Los Angeles Valley this season.

The first game the Tigers took with a final score of 15-12.

After the RCC Tournament, Virgil leads the Tigers in scoring

with 46 goals.

Forte is a close second with 41 goals.

Hass leads the team with 32 assists, the most by far on the team.

Myers leads the Tigers with 47 steals and Morabito leads in saves with 123.

The Tigers have two more conference matches, which are against Saddleback College and the Golden West College.

After winning two more games in the tournament, the Tigers currently stand at 13-6 overall this season.

Viewpoints

Sports

October 18, 2012| 11

Serving students since 1922

Cross Country out ran the competition Usman Siddiqui Staff Writer

Football

Volleyball

Men’s Water Polo

Season Record 6-1 Conference: 3-0 Next game: At Citrus 1 p.m.

Season Record 7-5 Conference: 2-3 Next game: At Santa Ana at 7 p.m.

Season Record 13-6 Conference: 2-0 Next game: Vs. Golden West at 3 p.m.

Football Sept. 1

RCC 27 Ventura 28

Sept. 8

RCC 47 Palomar 7

Sept. 15

RCC 51 Saddleback College 13

Sept. 22

RCC 31 LA Harbor 7

Sept. 29

RCC 75 Long Beach 12

Oct. 6

RCC 45 Fullerton 28

Oct. 13

RCC 63 El Camino 35

Oct. 20

At Citrus 1 p.m.

Oct. 27

Bye Week

Nov. 3

Vs Desert 1 p.m.

Nov. 10

At Mt. Sac 6 p.m.

Women’s Water Polo

Cross Country

Basketball

Next Men’s game: Season Record At Riverside 17-2 7 p.m.

Next meet: Conference: At Irvine Park at 10 a.m.

2-1 Next Women’s game: Next game: At Bakersfield Vs. Golden West at 4 TBA p.m.

Cross Country

Men’s Water Polo

Sept.1

RCC 9 Claremont 7

Sept. 7

At Palomar TBA

Sept. 7

RCC 10 Golden West 18

Sept. 15

At UC Riverside 7:30 a.m.

RCC 15 LA Valley 12

Sept. 21

At Central Park, Huntington Beach

Sept. 12

RCC 18 Santa Ana 9

Sept. 14

RCC 8 West Valley 12

18000 Goldenwest St. At Irvine Regional Park 9 a.m.

Oct. 5

RCC 10 Ventura 5 Sept. 15

1 Irvine Park Road Orange, CA

RCC 6 Diablo Valley 12 RCC 12 Cuesta 14

92869 Oct. 12

At Leadbetter Beach 3 p.m.

Sept. 26

RCC 14 Orange Coast 10

Shoreline Drive & Loma Alta

Sept. 28

Cal Baptist Tournament 8am-6pm

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Sept. 29

Cal Baptist Tournament 8am-6pm Oct. 26

At Irvine Park 10 a.m.

Oct. 5

RCC Tournament TBA

1 Irvine Park Rd. Orange, CA 92869

Volleyball

Oct. 6

RCC Tournament TBA

Oct. 10

RCC 23 Fullerton 7

Aug. 31

RCC 3 San Bernardino 2

Oct. 12

RCC Mini Tournament TBA

Sept. 4

RCC 3 Canyons 0

Oct. 17

Vs Saddleback 3 p.m.

Sept. 7

RCC 3 Mt. Sac 2

Oct. 19

Golden West Tournament TBA

Sept. 14

At San Diego Mesa

Oct. 20

Golden West Tournament TBA

All Day

Oct. 24

Vs Golden West 3 p.m.

At San Diego Mesa

Nov. 1-3

OEC Championships TBA

All Day

Nov. 8-10

So Cal Championships at

Sept. 15 Sept. 21

RCC 3 Victor Valley College 0

Sept. 21

RCC 3 Grossmont 2

Sept. 28

RCC 3 Santa Ana 0

Oct. 3

RCC 1 Cypress 3

Oct. 5

RCC 0 Orange Coast 3

Oct. 10

RCC 3 Fullerton 2

Oct. 12

RCC 0 Saddleback 3

Oct. 17

Vs Golden West 6 p.m.

Oct. 19

Vs Irvine Valley 6 p.m.

Oct. 24

At Santa Ana 7 p.m.

Oct. 26

Vs Cypress 6 p.m.

Oct. 31

Vs Orange Coast 6 p.m.

Nov. 2

At Fullerton 6 p.m.

Nov. 7

Vs Saddleback 6 p.m.

Nov. 9

At Golden West 6 p.m.

Nov. 14

At Irvine Valley 6 p.m.

Nov. 20

So Cal Regionals (1st Round) TBA

Nov. 24

So Cal Regionals (2nd Round) TBA

Nov. 27

So Cal Regionals (3rd Round) TBA

Nov. 30

State Championships TBA

Dec. 1

State Championships TBA

Nov. 16-17

Sept. 12 Sept. 14

At Woodward Park 9 a.m.

7775 Friant Rd. Fresno, CA 93720

Men’s Basketball Nov. 6

Scrimmage at Riverside 7 p.m.

Nov. 9-11

At San Jose TBA

Fullerton College TBA State Championships at De Anza

Nov. 20

Vs Miramar College 5 p.m.

Nov. 27

Vs Southwestern 7 p.m.

RCC 15 American River 2

Dec. 4-8

Riverside Holiday Tournament TBA

RCC 21 San Joaquin 1

Dec. 19

Vs Fresno City College 7 p.m.

RCC 20 Fresno 0 RCC 13 Santa Rosa 1

Dec. 27-29 College of the Canyons Tournament at Santa Clarita TBA

RCC 21 Santa Ana 3

Jan. 4

At Orange Coast 7:30 p.m.

RCC 18 Fresno 0

Jan. 11

Vs Cypress 7:30 p.m.

RCC 13 Cerritos 9 Sept. 15

20777 Lorain Rd. Fairview Park Nov. 17

Nov. 16-18 Tournament at San Bernandino TBA

Women’s Water Polo

Sept. 7-8

At Fairview Park 10 a.m.

Nov. 3

RCC 15 Chaffey 2 RCC 15 Cypress 3

Sept. 26

RCC 15 Orange Coast 6

Sept. 27

RCC 12 Foothill 5

Sept. 28

At Cuesta Tournament TBA

Sept. 29

At Cuesta Tournament TBA

Oct. 3

Vs Cypress 3 p.m.

Oct. 5

Vs Northwood Aquatics 11 a.m

Oct. 10

At Fullerton 4 p.m.

Oct. 12

RCC Mini Tournament TBA

Oct. 17

Vs Saddleback 4 p.m.

Oct. 19

At Long Beach Tournament TBA

Oct. 20

At Long Beach Tournament TBA

Oct. 24

Vs Golden West 4 p.m.

Nov. 1

Orange Empire Championships at Cypress TBA

The Riverside City College men’s cross country team has achieved much success this season. After finishing just four points shy of first place at the Brubaker Invitational, the Tigers managed to finish first at the Santa Barbara Invitational.

The Brubaker Invitational was held on Oct. 5 at Irvine Regional Park and was hosted by Santa Ana College. At the meet, the Tigers top three runners, freshman Luis Gutierrez and sophomores John Guzman and Brandon Johnson, finished in first, second and fourth place, respectively.

San Bernardino Valley College was the only school that outperformed RCC, as they finished with a total of 34 points compared to the Tigers’ 38 points. Although the Tigers had a lower total race time than San Bernardino and had two of its runners finish in the top three, but fact that the team’s fourth and fifth top runners, were sophomores Daniel Ybarra and Justin Samaniego, who finished at number 12 and 19 resulted in the team falling behind in total points.

San Bernardino’s fourth and fifth runners finished in ninth and tenth place respectively to make up for the gap that their top three runners left.

RCC coach Jim McCarron reflected on the team’s performance at the meet.

“Our top three runners ran great today, placing first, second and fourth but when our fourth and fifth runners step it up we will be hard to beat,” McCarron said.

RCC finished second out of ten schools at the meet and Gutierrez finished first out of 124 runners.

The times of the top runners were not given correctly due to a mistake made by a course supervisor, which caused the top 60 runners to run an extra 400-500 meters.

RCC went into the meet ranked fifth in state and San Bernardino came in at number four.

The Santa Barbara Invitational meet was held on Oct. 12 at Leadbetter Beach and saw a strong performance from the Tigers. They topped the rankings again, finishing in first place with 53 points. The Tigers looked dominant in the meet, finishing with a 14-point difference between them and runner up Orange Coast College.

At the meet, RCC was able to fend off Glendale College who was ranked number three in the state by 16 points.

Notable performances were on display from RCC’s Gutierrez, Guzman, Johnson and Ybarra as they placed in second, third, tenth and eleventh respectively in the four mile run.

Both Gutierrez and Guzman had an identical average mile time of 5:31 and Johnson and Ybarra also had the same average mile time with 5:40; exactly what Ybarra wished for this race.

“Daniel is going to play a huge roll for this team when it is all said and done. His race plan was to stick close to teammate Brandon Johnson, who was tenth overall and one of the best runners in the state, and he did,” McCarron said.

Santa Barbara City College was the host to 13 teams in the meet but placed seventh.

After this meet, the Tigers will compete in the Orange Empire Conference championships on Oct. 26, which will also be held at Irvine Regional Park. They hope to achieve the ultimate success of the season by winning the OEC championship.

Women’s Basketball Nov. 9-10

At Bakersfield TBA

Nov. 15-17 Santa Barbra MXTE Tournament TBA Nov. 29

Gilcrest Invitational Tournament at

Dec. 2

Sequoias TBA

Dec. 7-9

L.A. Valley Monarch Tournament TBA

Dec. 13

Vs Mira Costa 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 14

Vs San Diego 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 28-30 Ventura VC Optimist Club Tournament TBA Jan. 4

Vs Orange Coast 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 11

Vs Cypress 5:30 p.m.

Illustration by Jackie Trejo

Viewpoints

12 | October 18, 2012

Serving students since 1922

Catherine Beni returns to RCC after 11 years BRIanne Mcclaflin Asst. news editor Imagine yourself reliving elementary school, but instead of tetherball at recess and pointless crafts, you were beginning your college education at the age of eight.

Catherine Beni was Riverside City College’s youngest student to graduate with an Associative Arts degree at the age of 11.

Instead of creating hand-traced turkeys in public elementary school, Catherine was home schooled by her mother and father, and learned at an accelerated pace compared to students her own age.

Her perfectionism and genuine dislike for giving up motivated her to continue to challenge herself and excel academically.

Catherine comes from a distinguished background of professionals, which contributed to her interest in math and science.

Her mother, Susan Hackwood, is the executive director of the California Council on Science and Technology. Her father has a PhD in theoretical physics and has retired from teaching electrical engineering at UC Riverside.

Catherine was eight years old when she first attended RCC. Catherine received permission to enroll in concurrent enrollment at the college, as long as she got permission from the instructors beforehand.

Rogelio Ruiz, Catherine’s past instructor, still remembers her vividly.

“I had her in two classes, calculus III and linear algebra, when she was younger,” he said.

“Very memorable; I still remember a lot about her.”

For Ruiz, the difference between Catherine and other college-age students was noticeable.

“In the beginning, it was kind of different because she is so young. She used to sit right in front (and) sometimes for exams, she would bring her teddy bear.”

Ruiz said that it was fun knowing Catherine and keeping in touch with her throughout her academic journey.

After graduating from RCC, Catherine went to the University of California, Los Angeles for two years, where she graduated with her Bachelors in applied mathematics at the age of 14.

At 14, Catherine should have been in middle school and would have only begun to study algebra.

Instead, she was applying to colleges for her doctorate degree in math.

Catherine went on to the California Institute of Technology, where she graduated with her PhD in applied and computational mathematics after six years of study, at the age of 20. She was the youngest student to have graduated

from Cal Tech at that time.

When asked about the world’s general dislike of math, Catherine said that people are not exposed to real math.

“Algebra and geometry are only tools of math, like a toolbox,” Catherine said.

She explains finding the algorithm of a perfect circle, which does not exist in reality.

“You create it as if in a perfect world and (mathematics) almost brinks on philosophy,” She said.

Catherine’s current goals are to become a surgeon or to work in a research lab.

At RCC, Catherine is currently working on publishing the research she wrote while studying at Cal Tech and exploring a new major.

Catherine’s recent interest in the medical field is due to an experiment she witnessed while interning at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands last year.

Catherine was in a postdoctoral research study which focused on engineering heart valves grown from a patient’s own tissue, which would provide a safer and more efficient way to perform heart surgery.

An experiment was performed with a pig’s heart taken from a local slaughterhouse, frozen, and taken back to the lab. The heart was then electrified back to life.

“I got to feel the heart,” Catherine said. “And feel its power.”

Catherine’s thesis was focused on developing efficient and accurate numerical algorithms for medical models. This involved the reconstruction of images from positron emission tomography scanners and magnetic drug delivery.

Through her thesis, Catherine learned that she enjoyed the mathematics involved in medicine, and felt that it was a field she could contribute to.

Catherine has applied to 21 different universities, some of which include; UC San Francisco, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Yale, University of Southern California, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, and Stanford in hopes to explore a new major within medicine.

Catherine is very passionate about education.

“Teachers give busy work as homework,” she said.

“They don’t know how to teach efficiently, when students are given multiple versions of the same problem; they know how to do it within the first few problems, then they get bored of it.”

She believes that this weakens the child’s initial enthusiasm.

Catherine admitted that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.

She laughed when asked of her own weakness and describes her

Jonathan rivas/ staff photographer

A prodigy: Catherine Beni explains the algorithm involved in her thesis on developing efficient and accurate numerical algorithms for medical models.

Jonathan rIVAS / Staff Photographer

inspiration: Catherine Beni stands in front of an algorithm that was within her thesis, which led her to explore the medical field. inability to go grocery shopping without over-analyzing every item she puts into her cart and for not being in tune with society and their love for the “Jersey Shore.”

When Catherine heard about the concurrent enrollment cancelation at RCC due to budget cuts, she was shocked. Concurrent enrollment allowed her to get to where she is today and she is thankful to have had access to the program.

“Access to concurrent enrollment not only helped me accelerate my education, but also helped to prepare me for entering a four-year college,” she said.

Viewpoints

Features

Luis Solis / Staff Photographer

Keep on rolling: Macam Bak, center for the Riverside City College men’s basketball team shows off his skills.

Student slam dunks through barriers

Dennis Cruz Staff Writer Macam Bak is a 19-year-old freshman who stands at 6 feet 11 inches and plays center for the

October 18, 2012 | 13

Serving students since 1922

Riverside City College men’s basketball team.

Bak is a terrific, unique and hard working player.

At the age of eight he moved

to the United States with his mom, sister and brother to Boston, Mass. from Sudan, Africa.

Bak was born hearing but at the age of seven he became ill with meningitis, which is the inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain or the spinal cord.

Meningitis can rapidly progress to be life threatening and cause permanent brain damage, hearing loss and neurological problems.

Unfortunately, due to his illness, Bak became deaf, losing his hearing in both ears.

When Bak was eight year old he enrolled in school to learn sign language and since has continued to succeed as a basketball player despite the language barrier.

During his junior year at Newman North High School in Boston, Mass.

Bak was playing in a fall league and during his warm up, he attempted to drunk over someone but he couldn’t see the floor as he was coming down, and he broke his leg and tore his anterior cruciate ligament, also known as (ACL).

Throughout his recovery he went to rehab and physical therapy to help him re develop and heal his ACL. After 11 months of recovery, Bak wasn’t too sure if he wanted to continue to play basketball, but with the support of his high school coach Paul Conely, his friends and family, he decided to continue to play.

In 2009, Bak was presented with a major opportunity to be a member on the USA Deaf

Olympics team.

At the try outs in Washington, D.C., Bak met Orion Palmer, a deaf basketball player who was on RCC men’s basketball team last season.

Palmer notified RCC’s men’s head coach, John Smith about Bak’s terrific skills.

Palmer also suggested to Bak that he should come to RCC so the basketball coaching staff could assist him in developing his skills.

Smith organized a scrimmage between the USA deaf Olympic basketball team and the RCC men’s basketball team, and realized Bak had potential and wanted him to play for Riverside.

“I have three years in coaching deaf players and we have come to accustom to adjusting to that but having someone his size and skill set is a little different,” Smith said. “He is a powerful center and skilled as a guard and can definitely shoot the ball.”

Smith said he needs some time to adjust to playing with RCC. “He has a way to go on learning how to play the college style because he hasn’t played basketball for two and a half years,” Smith said.

“Overall it’s been pretty good; he struggled a little but with a deaf player, once one of your sense goes down your other senses go up and if he sees it once he can pick it up,” Smith said.

“I film certain practices when the team puts together something new and make him copies, and he watches them at home.”

Smith said Bak is the only deaf

player on the team at the moment and he has an interpreter helping him communicate with the coaches and players on the plays and mistakes Bak makes at practices.

“He is still developing physically and mentally he’s maturing and we look forward to helping him to get the levels he needs to be at,” Smith said.

Smith said Bak’s length and athleticism is going to cause problems for the other teams.

The RCC men’s basketball team is on radar of the deaf community, because its first deaf player, Palmer, was very successful.

Palmer is now playing at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. The only college in the world specifically for the deaf.

Smith has made attempts to contact the NCAA to see if there’s any way it can grant exceptions to deaf players being admitted to the university level.

Players coming from Community Colleges to universities with scholarships are required to pass English 1B, but players who are deaf experience difficulty in this since they speak a different language.

Despite the hardship of there being a language barrier between Bak and his other team mates, he said he is glad to be at RCC, and his long term goals at Riverside are to study hard, get good grades and help the men’s basketball team win the state championship.

Bak plans to transfer to a university with a Division 1 basketball team because he aspires to go to the NBA one day.

Viewpoints

14 | October 18, 2012

I

Inscape

Serving students since 1922

N

S

C

A

P

E

Being a Wallflower has its Perks

Destiny Rivera Managing Editor In 1999 MTV productions published ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ by author Stephen Chbosky.

Old and new generations have picked it up off the shelf and have related to it in many different ways.

Thirteen long years later, it has finally become a major motion picture where readers can watch it come to life.

The movie was released only in New York and Los Angeles on Sept. 21 and to selected theaters on Oct. 5.

Over the years, readers have fallen in love with the book and its characters time after time.

For those unfamiliar, ‘Perks’ is about a young boy who goes by the alias of Charlie played by Logan Lerman.

Charlie writes letters to an anonymous friend throughout the book, explaining events of his first year in high school.

Emma Watson and Ezra Miller costar as the offbeat stepsiblings, Sam and Patrick. Charlie tells stories of the trio and all their infinite adventures, how he accepts the love he thinks he deserves, and how life doesn’t stop for anybody.

His English teacher, Bill Anderson, played by Paul Rudd, is a great influence on him when it

albert melendez / asst. Photo Editor

102 minutes of introspection: comes to these realizations.

More than a teacher, Bill is a role model to Charlie and inspires him to ‘participate’ instead of being the so-called ‘wallflower’ that he is.

The book as well as the movie is a great story of facing tragedy and hardships and of coming of age.

Despite high ticket prices, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” will surely deliver a cathartic experience.

It displays love, and friendship and accepting people for who they truly are.

The film teaches its audience that everyone has something their struggling with and it is important to recognize those struggles.

It gives insight on how the little moments in life are passing by and to take advantage of the time we

have now.

Those morals that are expressed in the book are also the lessons taught in the movie.

In most cases, book based movies tend to disappoint the readers who are devoted to the storyline.

Of course, there were minor unavoidable differences, and many

scenes that were not included.

However, the film for ‘Perks’ was also directed by Chbosky, with him being the author, the outcome of the movie was extremely accurate and very enjoyable.

Both viewers who have read the novel, and those who have not, will still make a connection with the film in their own way.

ART: Instructors can do it Brianne mcclaflin asst. news editor Students of art at Riverside City College will be shocked to discover that their own instructors can not only teach others to be creative, but have the ability to create masterpieces themselves.

The yearly exhibition of RCC’s faculty, Faculty Exhibition 2012, is now available for viewing.

On Oct. 4 the Quad Gallery held opening night of their new exhibit.

The exhibit will be available for viewing until November 21.

RCC’s professor of art Robert Jew believes that the exhibit is a great opportunity for the students of RCC to see how impressive their instructor’s art work is, and to provide insight to their instructor’s own achievements.

“The faculty looks at it (the exhibit), as if you get the students fired up, the students become more active and are more likely to work.

We do it for selfish reasons,” Said Jew. “(The talent) is in every department. You’d be amazed. It is in the music department, even in the science, and you would be surprised at who is teaching your classes.”

Jew uses Jeff Sotto, a world

Johnathan Rivas/ staff Photographer

Little Families: Professor Robert Jew stands next to his collection “Family Portraits.” renowned painter, as an example.

He describes recently coming across a YouTube ad, on YouTube’s front page, of Sotto on a Chevy commercial for the Chevy Sonic.

“All of a sudden I see Jeff up there. We have class next to each other, and there is Jeff… on a Chevy commercial,” Said Jew. “I am sitting here going ‘wow’,

and Jeff comes in and he’s all, ‘Oh yeah, I did that a couple months ago.’”

Jew thinks that many students believe that if a professor is teaching at a college; teaching is all that they can do. Jew wants students to realize that the art faculty of RCC are working professionals. “(The exhibit) is a great

opportunity for students to pick the faculty’s brain, and they have the opportunity to learn a lot,” Jew said. “I think if students are aware of the caliber of the work the faculty does, then they are more apt to prod them for more information, as opposed to blowing it off as if it is just another class, and just getting it over with.”

The Art Exhibit displayed various art work from the faculty.

The exhibit included photography, acrylic paintings, sculpture pieces, oil paintings, and abstract pieces.

Jew’s own piece, “Family Portraits”, included multiple acrylic painted framed portraits of Jew’s past pets.

The animals painted with halos were the ones that have passed, and the animals without the halos are living. Still a part of Jew’s living family now is his pet pig, his three cats, and his bird.

Jew’s dogs and large lizards have passed away, including the exotic lizards Jew used to breed.

Despite the already large collection of animal portraits, “Family Portrait” is not yet finished, and Jew still has many more animals to paint.

In 1997, Jew was commissioned by the United States government to create an official and international Earth Day poster for the year of 1997. The Earth Day poster hung in every U.S. embassy during that year.

Jew agrees that in creating his artwork, it is his way to leave his mark on the world.

“It is just nice to know that when you are gone you have left something,” Jew said.

Viewpoints

Inscape

Courtney Coleman Journalism Specialist Hate filled riots on the streets of Iran, Iranians overtaking the U.S. Embassy, embassy workers franticly burning important documents, windows shattering, security guards being beaten, an American flag in flames, that’s the opening scene of lead actor and director, Ben Affleck’s latest film, “Argo.”

There’s no question of why “Argo” made it to number 2 in the box office opening weekend.

Affleck’s portrayal of the 1979 uproar does more than tell a story, it parallels near exact events taking place within the last month, starting with the U.S. Embassy attack in Libya on Sept. 11, 2012, making the movie more engaging.

The film is a historically accurate account of the Iran hostage crisis that took place in 1979.

The U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran was overpowered and 52 Americans were taken hostage.

Six Americans managed to

October 18, 2012 | 15

Serving students since 1922

Argo ...see this film escape, taking refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador.

In the film, Affleck strategically takes us from riot, to White House, to America 69 days after the attack where citizens prayerfully wait for the hostages to be returned.

Cue CIA operative Joe Mendez, played by Affleck, who is burdened with the task of extracting the six Americans unnoticed and as soon as possible.

His plan? Create a fake film, recruit a couple of witty film producers, get the refugees to pose as a Canadian film crew scouting locations and ultimately, get out of Iran.

Special effects expert John Chambers (John Goodman) and movie producer Lester Seigel (Alan Arkin) are entrusted with classified information and it’s Hollywood to the rescue.

Leave it up to film experts to fabricate a movie convincing enough to fool anyone, with only a few weeks at hand. Affleck lightens the seriousness of the film with these two humorous

characters.

They do well to contrast the flashy, sparkling lifestyle of Hollywood with the desolate, chaotic country of Iran.

Goodman plays his eccentric character well making him one of the most likable characters.

Seigel’s character, who takes on the CIA assignment confidently, is especially entertaining.

“Argo” reveals to the audience that we never really know the truth. The contents of the Argo operation were kept classified until just recently.

A whirlwind of doubts are arising with the current issues of the attacks in Libya.

The movie even notes how film is a complicated business founded on lies and schemes.

The weight of the movie’s importance is always there, lurking in the background, reminding us that though entertaining, the film has a point.

“Argo” is graphic, not holding back on revealing how this crisis affected everyone: Iranians and

Listen to this:

Americans alike and that the same thing is happening again today.

It raises the question, why is man so cruel? Why do we let hate get the best of us?

The producers of “Argo” get it, the actors get it, we get it, human nature gets the best of us, or rather, destroys the best of us.

Affleck’s character quotes, “There are only bad options, right now it’s about finding the best one.”

Luckily, producing a fake scifi hit and convincing six embassy workers to act as if they live for film, was a pretty successful option.

Likewise, Affleck’s third

attempt at directing a film was also a success. Audiences will walk away satisfied having gotten not only their money’s worth but a motivational history lesson as well.

They will feel a sense of pride and relief at the success of the impossible mission.

Even so, there’s still an underlying darkness, a reminder that we are again faced with this kind of disaster and the truth is hazy.

You have to wonder, was “Argo” just another great story turned into a well made film? Or is there a hidden message to find the truth and do the impossible.

‘Your Poem Here’ This week’s contest winner: The Kiss by Michael H. Nguyen It seemed so simple on that balcony I was thirteen at a homecoming dance in the clear of the night hands clasping

the cool breeze brushing her hair across thinly cut layers and outlines of her pale skin shone by the dancehall behind

Alt-J (∆) – “An Awesome Wave” Tame Impala – “Lonerism” Miguel – “Kaleidoscope Dream” Grizzly Bear“Shields”

playing a beat

a foreign tune I recall faintly her lavender shampoo

as I tried frantically to slow my breath

drew her face toward mine

Flying Lotus – “Until the Quiet Comes”

held it there but missed my first attempt I tried again and there we lingered tight

Dum Dum Girls– “End of Daze” EP

lips pressed

The Stay Classy Creative Writing Club is holding a contest throughout the fall semester called “Your Poem Here.”

Writers can submit poetry (1-25 lines) to stayclassycwc@ hotmail.com and possibly get published in the next issue of

Viewpoints.

The club judges the poems submitted to it and picks the winner each time.

The next deadline is Oct. 26.

The club meets every Tuesday 12:50-1:50 p.m. in Room 212 of the Quadrangle.

16 | October 18, 2012

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