V O L . 8 0 , N O . 1 1 F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 L M C E X P E R I E N C E . C O M

F.Y.I.

A ‘Fusion’ of funReview of the newly released racing platformer “Trials Fusion” — page 4

ETEC job fairThe ETEC program held a job fair where students could talk to industry professionals for internships — page 3

Playoff birth clinch Mustangs baseball clinches a playoff spot for the second year in a row — page 5

Important Dates

Aprilis Autism

Awareness Month

April 25Last day to with-draw from full-term classes with a “W” appearing on tran-script

April 28Priority registration for EOPS, DSPS, qualified veterans, qualified foster youth and CalWorks

April 30Special registration for DSPS notetakers, early graduation ap-plicants and qualified athletes

New Wi-Fi and phone numbers/extensions

Scholarships are awarded

AGS brings home honors

Photo by Cathie Lawrence

Child Development student Anthony Olgin Jr. swings a broom to get candy out of a piñata during an Umoja sponsored Easter event Friday, April 18 at the Outdoor Quad.

2014 fall schedule outCheck out the 2014 schedule of classes for this fall online at losmed-anos.edu/schedule

Easter swings away

Youth Summit coming soonThe Supervisor Federal Glover’s Contra Costa County 2014 Youth Sum-mit will take place at LMC Saturday, May 3 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The theme of this year’s summit is “How to Survive Being a Teenager,” featuring keynote speaker Shaun Derik. The event will fea-ture workshops that offer college and job prepara-tion classes. Attendees will qualify for a free bus pass for use all summer. To register go to cccoun-ty.us/2839/Youth-Sum-mit-2014

Debate event at city hallThe award-winning LMC and CCC debate teams will tackle the topic of Measure E Thursday, May 1 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Pittsburg City Council Chambers, 65 Civic Ave., Pittsburg. Admission and parking is free. For mor information visit losmedanos.edu/speech/debate/.

By BRENDAN CROSSbcross@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College is in the process of a network infrastructure upgrade project that will include a change of the campus phones, new phone numbers and extensions for faculty and staff and new campus Wi-Fi.

An email sent out by LMC Vice President Kevin Horan said the implementation of the phones will take place during off-hours in order to minimize disruption and will be completed by the May 30 weekend. Each phone will receive a five-digit exten-sion for calls within the district and a 10-digit direct dial phone number for calls outside the district.

“We have an old system that is fairly limiting and I think it is going to help faculty, staff and students have better access to information,” said LMC President Bob Kratochvil.

Kratochvil also added that a second stage project is in the works to get a phone in each classroom upon completion of the current upgrade.

The new Wi-Fi was activated Friday, April 18. Students can connect to the Wi-Fi network labeled “LMC Student” by logging into the InSite portal with your ID and password. The speed limits for a student are restricted to 5mb/sec with phones being timed out after 60 minutes of inactivity. There is no device limit for students as the devices are

not registered. LMC employees have no speed restriction and

can register up to four devices to the Wi-Fi which is valid for a year before having to re-register. Guests can also connect to the Wi-Fi using a guest ID and password with a 1mb/sec speed restriction.

“We have had this commitment to have hotspots around the campus as much as we can. There are a variety of places where the availability has not been as good and we are working on that,” said Kratochvil.

While the new Wi-Fi should ultimately be bene-ficial to the school, some students have yet to see

By RATTANA KIMrkim@lmcexperience.com

Three members of Los Medanos College’s Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS), one of the California Community College Scholastic Honor Society organizations, were awarded scholarships at the 88th annual AGS convention.

The convention took place from Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 6 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose with an attendance of 526 members representing 39 college chapters.

All three nominees from LMC’s AGS were awarded scholarships of $600, $700 and $1,050 on Saturday night at the dinner ceremony. This is the second consecutive year that all three candidates have won awards.

Kunal Khanna received the Kathleen D. Loly Award, which recognizes academic excel-lence. Nick Kraber received the Robert Mantovani Award, which recognizes academic ex-cellence, outstanding service and exceptional leadership. Cristina Esparza received the Ed Walsh Award, which rec-ognizes outstanding service. A total of 55 student members were awarded scholarships totaling $40,000.

“I felt super proud of my-self when I won the award because I knew that my hard work paid off,” said Cristina Esparza, who is the secretary for AGS. Being Esparza’s first time at the convention, she particularly enjoyed meeting other AGS members from other chapters.

There were also a number of workshops, including award winning illusionist Timothy James and contests such as the name tag contest.

A dance followed the dinner ceremony.

Throughout the convention, AGS members were given the opportunity to bond with other chapters and participate in workshops to prepare for transferring to a four-year university.

“I think it’s just all about being together, asides winning awards for students, kind of getting to know each other,” said adviser Phil Gottlieb who is also a general part-time counselor at LMC, “just

Special ed transitional dilemma

By KELLIE McCOWNkmccown@lmcexperience.com

When Mary Brown was in third grade she developed separation anxiety so severe she told her mother she was afraid to go to school because she thought she would die.

“It was an eight-year struggle just to get through,” said her mother, Sue Brown.

Mary was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, anxiety and depression. She had problems communicating, even with friends, and was traumatized in her sophomore year of high school when her last two friends told her they didn’t want to associate with her anymore.

When Mary was 15, she was re-di-agnosed with autism, a developmental

problem that hin-ders the ability to develop social skills and affects learning in mainstream envi-ronments.

Ideal ly, Mar y would have gone to high school in a district that brought her into its spe-cial education program, established a well-rounded Individual Educational Plan (IEP), and put into play an Individual Transition Plan (ITP) after she turned 16. Surrounded by the support of her teacher, school psychologist, social worker and mother, the program would have equipped her with the resources needed to meet her own educational and career goals.

But Mary did not attend high school in such a district that equipped her, or her mother, with a transitional plan geared toward her goals.

“I was so busy trying to keep Mary together, let alone to think about tran- See AGS, page 6

See WIFI, page 6

Mentally challenged students not fully college prepped

sition,” explained Sue Brown. “Mary wanted to go to college, and they told us, ‘Yeah, Mary can go to college,’ but no one explained how. Mary was not talked to about her rights and neither was I. I didn’t know that Mary had the right to services to help her go to college.”

Mary is not alone. School districts across California are failing to properly transition students suffering from mental illness and emotional disturbances from the structured learning environments provided in high school into the un-structured learning environments of higher education.

Nancy Shea, senior attorney for Mental See PREP, page 6

LMC network upgraded

“We can’t twist their arms and make them give us their time even though we know it would benefit their students.”

— Virginia Richards

Cartoon by Joseph Delano

F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 4

“Good words are worth much, and cost little.”

— George Herbert

Tamara Seward THOUGHTS OF A LADY

Aishling DohertyLIFE WITH ASH

The Experience welcomes Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns. All members of the Los Medanos College community — students, faculty and staff — are encouraged to write.

If you are interested in expressing your opinions on campus, national or world issues, bring your submissions to room CC3-301 and put them in the Perspectives Editor’s mailbox or mail them to Experience c/o Los Medanos College, 2700 E Leland Road, Pittsburg, CA 94565. You may also send them electronically through the Experience online newsite lmcexperience.com. Letters and columns must be typed, signed and include a phone number for verification. They may be edited for clarity, content, taste and length at the editor’s discretion.

ReadeR OpiniOn pOlicy

editORial

You learn many lessons in life

Be prepared for life’s changes

“The Internet works fast, and good, as long as my phone is working.” — Jessica Fuentes

“I noticed that the Wi-Fi is much better than the last time I used it. There is definitely no stall or lag.” — Lorenzo Fernandezees

“I am ecstatic that this new system has been implemented. It is such an improvement over the old system.”

— Jasmine Wallace

“So the new Wi-Fi for LMC is horrible because it’s like the old one. I can log on right away and now I’m over here looking for an update.” — Akili Bean

“So far it’s been great.It seems like it hasn’t shut off anywhere I walk on campus.”

— Tessa Garland

“I think that the whole Wi-Fi thing is a little too rigorous. They should make it a lot more simple by just putting your ID number.”

— Jordan Johnson

High hopes for new Wi-Fi system

letteRs tO the editOR

What do you think of the new Wi-Fi service at LMC?C o m p i l e d b y A i s h l i n g d o h e r t y A n d J A z m i n e g o r d o n

Finals week is fast approaching. I hope everybody is ready. Faculty and students alike will be scrambling to make sure everything is in order. Students will be cramming as they study for their finals. Hoping to get at least a passing grade.

I often wonder if the staff and faculty think the same way. Wishing the semester would hurry up and end, and at the same time cringing at the thought of all the final grading they have to do.

Are the graduates ready to leave LMC? Do the transfer students know what they are getting into? A university possibly far away from home. As finals fly closer to smack everyone in the back of the head I hope everyone is prepared as they leave LMC. Study hard to make good grades, but don’t forget to get proper rest and sleep. Take some down time every so often so you can recharge you batteries. I myself will be studying hard and retaking notes for at least one class I’ve struggled with since the semester began.

I remember my first day on campus. I looked around at all the younger men and women as they rushed to their classes, or milled around the quad. I’ve made a few friends and hope to keep in touch with them.

It’s fascinating to see everyone interact with each other. I like the atmosphere of the Brentwood Center, but I also like the big library at our disposal on the Pittsburg campus.

I am an older student and often, when stressed and frazzled with my studies, I wonder why I decided to come back to school. When I should be working instead.

I’ve always wanted to go back to school and frankly I haven’t done a bad job of it, finances aside.

How many students worry and think about quitting school? Yes, I hate to admit it but I have. Then I look at some of the other men and women on campus. A man in one of my classes who is over 50 is still going strong and wants to learn more. I use him as an inspiration to continue in my schooling.

Hopefully the graduates who doubt themselves will take a look at me or another student that is trying hard to make it.

Everyone has an Achilles’ heel so to speak. Something or someone who holds them back a little bit. A peanut gallery if you will. Little voices that say you can’t do it or you’re doing it all wrong. Silence those voices as you go out in the world and strive for excellence and success.

But do not forget the “little people,” your friends who tried to help you and you family and friends who supported you along the way.

As we all go along in life it’s better to remember the positive we have done. Leave the negatives and mistakes in the past. We all owe it to ourselves to move forward and leave it all behind.

If you did badly in one class, take some time off from the subject and retake the class later. I myself have to take one math class again for the third time. I hate tests and it seems my mind goes blank when I look at the paper. Who else has that problem?

Everyone on campus is the same in some way. Yet we all are so different whether it is our interests or our lives in general, but we stick together as we study for our finals. We cheer each other on as we try our best to everything that needs to be done for passing grades.

I would like the graduating class of 2014 to know I personally pray you all succeed far more than you imagined as you reach for the stars. I hope you are prepared to do what it takes, but remember one of the greatest rules in life. “Treat others as you want to be treated” it makes life a lot less complicated. Whether others treat you badly or not. Treat them with respect.

When I was in elementary school my teacher had me and my fellow class members sit in a circle in the middle of the classroom. As I sat in the circle, my teacher looked up and requested that we share something interesting about ourselves. Giving us a moment to think, my mind went in circles on what I could possibly say about my life that could be deemed “interesting”.

One thing that entered my mind was I’m an only child but that wasn’t too interesting. The next thing that entered my mind was I do however have two grandmas, a great grandmother. Now to me this sounded in-teresting, not too many of my friends have two grandmas and a great grandmother. When my turn came around I shared that interesting thing about myself and as I did my friends all looked at me and said, “You’re lucky.”

I was lucky, having four strong and pow-erful women that were and still are my role models today and it is something that I’m very proud to have. Each one of them taught me so much in life, as well as life lessons along the way. These lessons are ones I can pass down through out life. One of the lessons I’ve learned is from my Grandma. My Grandma was someone who would make anyone laugh, smile and feel loved. One of things that my Grandma taught me was to treat people with respect and there’s always room at the dinner table for another person.

The next lesson I learned was from my second grandmother. My Granny was a strong person and a fighter. She cared about everyone and for that, everyone loved her. A couple of things I learned while being around her was to be a hard worker. This piece of advice is something I use while here at LMC and I know in order to achieve my goals and dreams in life, I must work hard. There are times when I wonder why I’m working so hard and sometimes it seems like it is not paying off. Then I realized the hard work isn’t going to be seen overnight but you will feel it inside. For me it feels like a sense of pride and achievement in knowing that I worked to make my dreams come true in life. The second thing she taught me was how to be a strong person. In life we’ll have doors closed in our faces, be told that we’re not good enough or just be thrown curveballs. These bumpy patches in the world only make us a stronger person. My Granny was one of the strongest people I know in life.

The next life lesson I learned was from my great grandmother, I called her Grammy. Grammy was the most sweetest and caring person I have ever met. She saw a lot of things in her life and worked hard in the process to achieve goals. She taught me to be who I wanted to be and chase my goals in life. There was this one time when I was sitting in the living room with my Grammy and she looked at me and said, “Never pretend to be someone else, be you and be happy with the person you are.” This lesson has stuck with me the most in my life. I’ve never been confident in my life nor have I had the best self-esteem. I’m always questioning myself if I’m good enough or smart enough and this is where the words my Grammy told me come into play. We always think that we’re never good enough and need to be better or be someone else in order to be liked, but it is not true. We should be proud of the person we become in life and never change for anyone.

As I grow as a person there are times when I find myself getting lost. These life lessons help me go on with my life and help me carry on. I was a lucky person for having three incredible, strong, caring and loving role models who have shaped me to be a better person. Even though they’re no longer alive, these life lessons live on.

The Los Medanos College community now has access to an improved Wi-Fi net-work. Students find themselves limited with a five megabytes per second speed and installation of software to be able to navigate it is required.

It is not ideal for students to be limited when the faculty is not, but the fact that there are so many more students than faculty makes it more understandable.

However, an attempt should be made down the road for students to have complete access to the wireless network.

Hopefully the new installation will allow all of the college’s smart classrooms to run flawlessly and be used to full effect. There is something far too agonizing about watching a professor attempt to present something to the class only to find out the network is not up to job.

Students need to do their part in allowing the updated network to be an improvement by not trying to catch the latest tweet of a messed up celebrity during class, update their status to “I am ready for class to end,” or watch the latest kitten on a skateboard video.

As great as the upgrade might be for the college other things are still needed. The various college labs having the same operating hours on Fridays as the rest of the week

could be a tremendous help to students who cannot study as effectively at home as when they are on campus. The fact that classes might not be scheduled does not mean students no longer have work to do. Quite the opposite tends to be true. The fact the weekend is also used to de-stress means getting a bit more work done beforehand could make everything else go more smoothly.

It would also be beneficial for students to be able to instantly access WebAdvisor without needing to go through the Insite Portal.

If there is an improvement to the college you would like to see, include it in a letter to the editor, read the reader opinion policy for directions on how to go about it.

AGS club thanks the community for supportDEAR EDITOR:

On behalf of all of our Los Medanos College Alpha Gamma Sigma Epsilon chapter club members, we would like to express how im-portant clubs are to students… to us.

Clubs provide us, the students, with the confidence, support and skills needed to reach our highest academic, career and communal aspirations. Skills such as communication, leadership, independence, collective thought, and organization all make a lasting impression on us as students and as members of our com-munity. We strive to improve awareness and to better our campus and our community. Even the smallest tokens or conversations can create a sense of togetherness.

It is not large-scale events, fundraisers or projects that are important; rather it’s the little things that seem to touch people and are vital to the success of our students and to promoting change within the community. Something as simple as making one student contact at Club Day or at a high school orientation, can lead to making more connections. It’s the support from others that support our cause, it’s the change they can’t spare but will add up to help out, it’s the desire in all of us to be the change, to be a part of something bigger, powerful, meaning-ful...This is what makes LMC different; this is what makes LMC empowering.

This year, we as a club did a very “small” fundraiser — “Penny Wars” — and a very “big” event on campus — “Super Heroes.” We as a

club noticed that our students (peers), staff and professors were majorly “Big” to our success.

LMC’s Pittsburg and Brentwood campuses both helped to make our events successful and we thank you. The most amazing thing is the support and help we received from campus and community members who may not be a part of our club but are part of our LMC family.

During “Penny Wars” you helped us donate $150 to Doctors Without Borders. Your penny made a difference just like each of you. Every penny you added to the containers in the LMC Bookstore, Information Center, Transfer Center, Honors Center, and at the Brentwood Campus Information desk added up. You helped us deliver independent emergency medical care to victims in the aftermath of the natural disaster in the Philippines. You helped with the fight against deadly epidemics that could have harmed many individuals.

AGS members thank you!During Super Hero Week in February we

worked with many unsung heroes and want to thank them for their hard work, especially because many were not part of our club and yet they were dedicated to the cause. We collected 188 bone marrow kits, and 136 were from mixed ethnic groups, which was our goal. We collected 50 pints of blood that served 114 individuals in our local area. Great job.

AGS thanks you all from the core of our marrow and the depth of our hearts.

— AGS Club

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Editor-in-Chief .................... BRENDAN CROSS Perspectives Editors...... AISHLING DOHERTY and JAZMINE GORDONCampus Editors ..................JOSEPH DELANO and ALEXANDRA TAGLIAMONTEFeatures Editors .......................RATTANA KIM and STEPHANIE PATTISONSports Editors ....................... LUKE JOHNSON and DAKOTAH ZABROSKI

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F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 4

“Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.”

— Kyle Chandler

Photo by Cathie Lawrence

EMT Instructor Carol Dooley watches as students Courtney Coniglio, Olivia Council, Anthony Deluca, Matt Cosby and Kelsi Chestnut go through a training drill Tuesday, April 23 near the patio behind the EMT area.

Hands-on healers

Job fair highlights industry needEmployers turn out for intern opportunities off campus

Fresh faculty at LMCNew fall members a welcome addition

© 2014 JFK University JFKU14_75An Affi liate of The National University System | www.nusystem.org. JFK University is a nonprofi t University accredited by WASC .

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Albert Garcia and Don Cooper talk with Bill Mahoney about available jobs at Shell Corporation, one of the many companies present at the job fair.

Photo by Cathie Lawrence

Fernando Paz talks to Jason Fiori about available jobs at Dow Corporation.

By BERTHA AGUILARbaguilar@lmcexperience.com

Six new teachers are going to be joining the Los Medanos College team this fall, while two teachers will transition from part-time to full-time.

The biology, chemistry, fire technology/EMS, English, math and nursing departments are going to be gaining new colleagues.

LMC President Bob Kratochvil said, “Over the course of the searches, hundreds of hours were dedicated to the task of seeking out exceptional, highly-qualified individuals,” he added, “more than 500 applications were received and evaluated, resulting in more than 100 interviews.”

The teachers are: Bri-ana McCarthy, Dr. Melinda Capes, German Sierra, Jill Buettner-Ouellette, James Noel, Rick Estrada, Maria Per-rone and Dr. Barbara Snyder.

McCarthy comes from the California Acad-emy of Sciences. She was the Science Teacher Educator and Instructional Coach. She also has a B.A. in Environmental Systems from UC San Diego and a M.A. in Biology from San Francisco State.

Biology Department Chair Durwynne Hsieh is excited about the new addition “I am looking forward to the many interesting things that I will learn from my new colleague and the contributions that she will make to our new curriculum and to our collective knowledge about how best to get the students to learn about biology,” she said.

Dr. Capes will be coming from Diné College and Mira Costa College, she holds a B.A. in Biochemistry from CSU San Marcos and a

Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland.

Sierra will be making his way from Foothill College. With his wide-ranging experience, he will be a good fit for the Fire Technology/EMS department. He holds an A.A. in Psychology from Foothill College and is currently working towards a Bachelor’s at CSU East Bay. Fire Technology/EMS depart-

ment chair Mike Grillo is looking forward to new promise his colleague will bring to his department.

“I have only met German once, he appears to me to be a very energetic individual who will

“Hundreds of hours were dedicated to the task of seeking out exceptional, highly-qualified individuals.”

— Bob Kratochvil

See NEW, page 6

By STEVEN LUKEsluke@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College played host to a job fair for its Electrical and Processed Technology programs. In addition to the fair, students in the program were offered chances to obtain summer internships to help them take the next step into the workforce.

The job fair held on April 23 in the Library Community Room consisted of 20 different employers from the industrial industry present to connect with the over 800 graduating or graduated students that were invited. The fair has been a reoccurring event over

the years organized by ETEC Director Cecil Nasworthy and PTEC Director William Cruz. This year the Workforce De-velopment Program stepped in to make it bigger

Tara Sanders, the Workforce Development Program’s com-munity partnership liaison, took some of the burden off of the hands of Nasworthy and Cruz.

Networking is important for all students and four years ago it was important to Victor Cornejo at the same job fair. Cornejo graduated from the ETEC program, and thanks to connections he made at the job fair he was able to get a job as a contractor with Phillips 66.

A year and a half later he got hired on in an house position.

“If I wasn’t here four years ago, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” he said.

Cornejo spent the day speak-ing with students on behalf of Phillips 66 as a company am-bassador and former student.

Albert Garcia is a current student who hopes to be follow in Cornejo’s footprints, and he will take the first step this summer as he interns for USS-POSCO.

Garcia is excited about the opportunity because the reason he is in the ETEC program is because he wants to work for USS-POSC0. He was so eager to get a job that when he heard he would need special cards for security clearance and safety — he went out and got both of them in advance.

“It said (the internship appli-cation) if you get an internship you might be required to get these, but I got these before I even started the program,” Garcia said.

When he was told he was selected for the internship, it took a while to set in. It was one step closer to where he wants to be.

“It’s competitive, a lot of people want in on this,” he said. “I’m still in awe, my wife started crying when I told her because she gave me two years to get something out of LMC and she believes more in our future now.”

Garcia said he’s not sure why he was selected, but Nasworthy believes it is because Garcia is determined.

“Albert is a very determined person he’s ver y diligent

and wants to make sure he covers all of his bases,” said Nasworthy adding, “POSCO recognizes things like that.”

Nasworthy said that he had 34 students in ETEC apply for internships and 10 were selected by the four companies: USS-POSCO, East Bay MUD, Shell and Phillips 66 that the program interns with.

Garcia is one of four interns USS-POSCO is taking this summer, three from ETEC and one from PTEC. If last

year is any indication to what is going to happen they all could be looking at jobs when they graduate.

Joann Rowney, human resources coordinator for USS-POSCO, said that they highly promote both programs and all three of the interns from last year will be hired on when they graduate.

“It’s a very good program and we’ve actually hired on the interns from last year and they will be coming on

this year after they finish the program,” she said.

All three interns from last summer getting hired on with USS-POSCO is evidence that these programs are working, with help from the Workforce Development Program, the ETEC and PTEC programs have no where to go but up.

For information on joining the ETEC and PTEC programs contact Nasworthy at cnaswor-thy@losmedanos.edu or Cruz at wcruz@losmedanos.edu.

L O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

CampusQuotable

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L O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

Features 4Quotable

‘Hell’ party debuts album

‘Snare’ ready to hit hard

By JOSEPH DELANOjdelano@lmcexperience.com

Transcendence should have been a good movie.

The film had an interesting premise and a nice direction. That being said, the development of the

storyline was lacking from the beginning.

To begin with, the story took quite a while to grab attention. Extensive set-up and background embel-lishments left the film stagnant, without a clear idea of where the plot was going.

The cast included: Johnny Depp as Dr. Will Caster; Rebecca Hall as his wife Evelyn; Paul Bettany as Max Waters and Morgan Freeman as Joseph Tagger, a great line-up, right? No, I was expecting so much more from Depp, as he haphazardly bumbled through the film, while Bettany was the same personality type that he always seems to play.

Poor execution outweighs plot

Standouts were Hall and Freeman, both of whom showed restraint and character development throughout the movie.

Another character Bree, played by Kate Mara, the leader of a resistance known as R.I.F.T. was completely irrelevant. The movie would have been much better had there been no resistance aspect. For the most part, they are never defined and hardly ever used in the film, leading to more questions than answers.

R.I.F.T. is the organization that opposed the advances in science that Caster is making. In order to stop him, they assassinate him. Before he dies, his partner, and wife Evelyn, uploads his subconscious into a computer program the two of them had created.

The system allows for Caster’s essence to remain intact in the form of artificial intelligence. Freeman’s character, Tagger, a government scientist is wary from the begin-ning, and along with Bettany’s, Waters, attempts to triumph over

F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 4

“For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake.”

— Alfred Hitchcock

REVIEW

“These guys are my peers so it means a lot when they come to check it out, and to hear their opinions is very cool.”

— George Anderson

Photo by Damian Lewin

See FILM, page 6

See BAND, page 6

REVIEW

‘Trials Fusion’ a fun platformer

Heavy sound is ‘rad’

Photo courtesy of kurzweilani.net

Dr. Will Caster (Depp) gives a speech on transcendence.

LMC music eventsLos Medanos College is having a series

of musical events throughout the semester in the Recital Hall located in the Music building, next to the Lot C parking lot.n Concert Band Performance, Friday,

May 2, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. with Concord High School. General admission $5 and seniors/students $3.

n Guitar Concert, Monday, May 5, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Free admission.

n Gospel Celebration Concert, Saturday, May 10, 7 to 10 p.m. Admission $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

n Piano Honors Recital, Monday, May 12, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Free admission.

n Concert Band Performance, Tues-day, May 13, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. General admission $5 and seniors/students $3.

n Jazz Studio Concert, Wednesday, May 14, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Admission: TBA.

‘Esperanza Rising’The Los Medanos College Drama

Department will be performing the play “Esperanza Rising” from April 27 to May 2. Directed by Hugo Carbajal, written by Lynne Alvarez, based on the story written by Pam Munoz Ryan. Call 439-2181 ext. 805 for more information and tickets.

‘Dream’ to play againThe Contra Costa College Drama Depart-

ment is performing the play, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare, directed by Linda Jackson-Whitmore.

Events surround the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to his kidnapped bride Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.

Four young Athenian lovers and a group of amatuer actors are bewitched and manipulated by the mischevious magic of the fairies that inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set.

The play will be showing April 30-May 3. Call (510) 235-7800 for more information and location.

‘Mousetrap’ is setAgatha Christie’s play “The Mousetrap”

is the world’s longest running play. It is now celebrating its 60th year and will be performed at the California Theater.

During a snow storm, a group of strangers are stranded in a boarding house, one of whom is a murderer. The suspects include a newlywed couple who run the boarding house, a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone.

The performances will take place May 9 at 8 p.m., May 10 at 2 and 8 p.m. and May 11 at 2 p.m.

Ticket costs are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, $10 for children under age of 11.

There is an additional $1.50 facility fee charge for all tickets. Purchase tickets at www.pittsburgcaliforniatheatre.com. The California Theater is located at 351 Railroad Ave, Pittsburg.

‘Love of Classical’The California Theater is hosting an

evening of classical piano and guitar, featuring the artistry of Carille Bruno-Thay-er, Jim Coniglio, Grace Edwards, Good Shepherd Choir, Ronald A. Llenado, and Leandra Ramm.

This event will take place Saturday, May 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets will cost $7 for students and $15 for adults.

The California Theater is offering a dinner package for this night, adults cost $40 and children $20.

Purchase tickets at www.pittsburgcali-forniatheatre.com. The California Theater is located at 351 Railroad Ave, Pittsburg.

Films now showingn “Captain America: Winter Soldier” Rated: PG-13, Genre: action, adventure,

sci-fin “Locke” Rated: R, Genre: drama, thrillern “The Other Woman” Rated: R, Genre: comedy, romancen “The Quiet Ones” Rated: PG-13, Genre: horrorn “Brick Mansions” Rated: PG-13, Genre: crime, drama, actionn “A Haunted House 2” Rated: R, Genre: comedy, horrorn “Draft Day” Rated: PG-13, Genre: drama, sportn “Divergent” Rated: PG-13, Genre: adventure, ro-

mance, sci-fi

Movies coming soonn “Walk of Shame” — May 2 Rated: R, Genre: comedyn “Belle” — May 2 Rated: PG, Genre: draman “The Protector 2” — May 2 Rated: R, Genre: actionn “Neighbors” — May 9 Rated: R, Genre: comedy

— compiled from press releases and staff reports

Marquee

Photo courtesy of Ubisoft

Biker takes flight during a trial in one of the courses.

Photo by Cathie Lawrence

The Los Medanos College Drama Department is set to perform the new play, “Snare” on May 1 at 7:30 p.m. Actor Luna Garrison (left) plays Delilah who is the wife of Konnor Heredia’s (middle) character, Phillip. Du’Praisejah Smith (right) plays Cassandra, who does not speak for the entire length of the play.

Failure to transcend

By BRENDAN CROSSbcross@lmcexperience.com

While the theme song music leaves little to be desired, as it the cheesiest thing since spray cheese, Trials Fusion, developed by RedLynx and published by Ubisoft, is an extremely fun plat-former racing game.

Trials Fusion is a sequel to the 2012 game Trials Evolution

released on PC and Xbox 360. It is the 13th

game to be released under the Trials name, although it is the first one available on three or more ma-jor platforms including the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

In the ca-reer mode, t h e r e a r e eight dif fer-ent themed areas you can ride with your bike, which you can un-lock six total through the course of the game. There are a handful of courses in each themed area where the goal is to earn a bronze, silver or gold medal based on the time it took you to finish the course and how many faults you had. Within each area there are specialized challenge courses where you need to complete a specific task such as doing tricks to earn points or even bailing out of your bike after a jump to see how much air you can get before landing.

As you continue to progress

through the game you unlock bikes, courses and upgrades to your own character. With your bike you can change the color, upgrade the body kit and the wheels by earning specific medals on specific courses. With your character you can change the way they look by buying themed helmets, shirts and pants with the in-game currency you earn from the races.

My lone quibble with the game thus far is the FMX trick system, which is new for the series. With it you can do different tricks to earn points in each event. The system is not hard to use but it is diffi-

cult to pull off specific tricks when asked. Each different trick is done by pressing a variety of buttons which I assigned as t h e a r r o w keys on the PC version I played. There are about fif-teen different tricks you can

do with just 4 buttons, so it can get confusing, especially if you have to also worry about having to actually land and continue to move instead of just doing the trick.

Thus far, I have yet to even touch the multiplayer portion of the game, but it is clear that the value is there, regardless of the platform.

The game is everything you would expect in a Trials game. It is entertaining while still being challenging and is tough to put down once you get going.

By DAMIAN LEWINdlewin@lmcexperience.com

Cheers and applause erupted as the lights dimmed and the first track of From Hell’s newest release “Ascent From Hell” began playing at the Shrouded Monkey Lounge for the band’s private CD listening party inside Oakland Music Complex April 11.

“Thank you everyone so much for coming out tonight,” said George Anderson, front man and founder of the group as he stood on stage before a group of friends and peers from the Bay Area music scene. “Enjoy.”

“I think the album is really good,” said Jeremy Von Epp, guitarist for the bands The Venting Machine and BlackGates. “It’s heavy, it’s like the

heaviest thing that I’ve heard in a long time.”

In a band with Paul Bostaph, who played drums on this record, Von Epp added, “I wanted to come out and hear it. I loved it.”

As the CD played on through its 12-track entirety the crowd listened as well as conversed with each other, taking periodic trips to the back of the room where the lounge had provided free refreshments. Drake’s IPA on tap and chips with salsa labeled “kinda hot” were among the favorites. Those with a sweet tooth indulged in cookies frosted with a pentagram to commem-orate the event.

“Sick!” shouted a voice from a

F R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 5“I’d play for half my salary if I could hit in this dump (Wrigley Field) all the time.”

— Babe Ruth

Mustangs ‘steal’ a spot in the playoffs

Polansky and Foreman are NorCal standouts

Photos by Cathie Lawrence

Ben Polansky (above), lays down a sacrifice bunt. He won Player of the Week for his complete game shutout of Mendocino April 12. Wyatt Foreman (right) throws down to second on an attempted steal. He won Player of the Week for his offensive performance from April 14-19.

Back-to-back CCCBCA Players of the Week

By LUKE JOHNSONljohnson@lmcexperience.com

In an era dominated by Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem

Abdul-Jab-bar and an emerging

Michael Jordan, somehow a band of misfits was able to make its mark and take part in NBA history.

The Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s were made up of gritty, hard-nosed players that weren’t afraid to back down from anyone, and won back-to-back championships in ’89 and ’90.

With the slogan “Sometimes

you have to be bad to be good,” this documentary tells about a real life drama that is complet-ed with a full cast compelling characters. The ESPN film “Bad Boys” from its 30 for 30 series lived up to my high expectation.

I was intrigued with how two star players, who grew up in the same town, but lived on opposite childhoods, were able to connect without batting an eye. Bill Laimbeer was raised in a wealthy neighborhood in Chicago by his mother and father, who was a exceptionally successful businessman, while

Mustangs baseball playoff bound

Photo by Cathie Lawrence

Ryan Petrangelo pitched seven innings in Tuesday’s 11-4 win over Laney that clinched a playoff spot for the Mustangs.

LMC leads state in stolen bases By STEVEN LUKEsluke@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College Baseball clinched a playoff birth with an 11-4 win over Laney College Tuesday, April 22.

The win was the sixth in a row and their ninth win out of their last ten to rebound from a four game losing streak that knocked them out of first place.

The win gives them a berth in the playoffs, but the Mustangs will not be content with just getting in.

Head Coach Anthony D’Albora does not want to let off of the gas, because even though they need Solano College to beat the College of Marin, they have to continue to win to have a chance to win the conference.

“If we find a way to win this series, or sweep this series we have a chance to win the conference,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happens to Marin if we don’t win two out of three or three out of three.”

D’Albora’s Mustangs did their part in the clinching game by turning what was a close game into a blowout by scoring seven runs after Laney scored twice in the seventh inning to make it a 4-3 game.

The two runs in the seventh by Laney knocked Mustangs starting pitcher Ryan Petrangelo out of the game after he cruised along through the first six innings.

The first blow to put the game out of reach came in the bottom of the seventh when Mustangs right fielder Matt Jacobson took a hanging curve-ball over the left field fence for a three run homer.

“I’ve been talking about curveballs all day,” he said. “We were talking about cement mixers and what that was, hanging curveballs, and I just so happened to get one and put a good swing on it.”

The three run shot was good for his

second, third and fourth runs batted in on the day. His first came when he knocked in second baseman Chaz Meadows in his previous at bat with a sacrifice fly.

The four runs batted in for Jacobson gives him 30 on the year, good for first in the Bay Valley Conference a tie for 25 in the state. He continues to lead the Bay Valley in every major offensive category.

The game was then put out of reach in the eighth inning when the Mustangs poured on four more runs, two being the direct result of their continued aggressiveness on the base paths. The Mustangs stole three bases in the inning including a steal of home by cen-terfielder Jerome Hill on the back end of a double steal when Meadows stole second, and Meadows later scored on an error after Laney’s catcher Marcos Valencia overthrew second base on

ESPN highlights ’80s ‘Bad Boys’ of NBA

See STEAL, page 6

See BAD, page 6

REVIEW

By LUKE JOHNSONljohnson@lmcexperience.com

For the past two weeks the NorCal Community College Baseball Player of the Week Award has gone to a Los Med-anos player. The California Community College Baseball Coaches Association recog-nized Pitcher Ben Polansky and catcher Wyatt Foreman for their exceptional perfor-mances.

April 12, Polansky threw a complete game shut out against Mendocino, only allowing four hits while striking out six. He followed that up with another successful day on the mound against Contra Costa April 18. Polansky threw another com-plete game, this time allowing only one earned run.

“He’s good at being con-sistent,” LMC Head Coach Anthony D’Albora said. “He just kept attacking the strike zone… He has been really good at getting ahead in counts.”

Foreman had a big series offensively in the three-game sweep against rivaled CCC April 15-18.

“[Polansky] talked to me today and it was just cool to see a pitcher and catcher get it two weeks in a row. It’s also a fortunate time to get it late in the year for a playoff run,” Foreman said.

The catcher had multi-hit games in all three wins, to-taling seven hits with a .500 batting average. Foreman also accounted for seven runs

ESPN photo

The Pistons 1989 NBA Championship celebration on the cover of ESPN’s 30 for 30: “Bad Boys.”

See WEEK, page 6

QuotableL O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

Sports

STEALFrom page 5

WEEKFrom page 5

WIFIFrom page 1

NEWFrom page 3

L O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C EF R I D A Y , A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 6

BADFrom page 5

PREPFrom page 1

AGSFrom page 1

Health Advocacy Services, said “school districts are doing no job at transitioning. They definitely aren’t doing a good job, because they are doing no job.”

Federal special education law requires school districts to “provide transitional planning services for students with disabilities regardless of which agencies provide support or educational services.” ITPs designed by California to follow federal and state law, must take place at the first IEP meeting after the student turns 16, a law Shea said is rarely followed.

“It’s absolutely mandated at the age of 16, and it’s part of the law that isn’t being enforced,” said Shea, who has spent 30 years representing students with special needs.

One reason school districts are failing to transition special needs youth is because special education isn’t being seen as a priority.

“School districts have low expectations for special needs students,” explained Shea. “It is believed that students in special education services can’t be academically successful. We know that’s not true.”

According to the California Legislative Analysis’s Office, K-12 students with disabilities participating in the Standard-ized Testing for Academic Reports scored 30% higher in English and Math during the 2011-2012 academic school year than in 2002-2003.

Special needs students are also succeeding in college. Learning Specialist Virginia Richards, who coordinates Disabled Students Programs and Services, said Los Med-anos College boasts a 20 percent graduation rate for students with mental illnesses or learning disabilities. That is compared with a 22 percent graduation rate for the entire college.

“One of our student learning outcomes is that students will

bring a wealth of potential to our programs,” said Grillo and continued, “I will especially be leaning on German to expand our EMT department.” Grillo is looking at future prospects such as offering a Paramedic program at LMC.

Buettner-Ouellette is mak-ing her way from West Valley College. She holds a B.A. in English from CSU Fresno and a M.A. in Literature from CSU Sacramento.

Noel is coming from DVC. He has had prior experience in teaching here at LMC as well as Modesto Junior College. With an A.A. in General Studies, a B.A. in English and a M.A. in English Literature, he will be a great fit for the English department.

Estrada will go from his part-time teaching role into a full-time position in the LMC math department. He has an A.A. in General Studies from Modesto Junior College and he gained both his B.A. and M.A. in mathematics from San Francisco University.

Perrone is coming from Bakersfield College, where she was a full-time faculty in the math department. She has taught both math and science at a middle school in Italy and she received her M.S. in

Mathematics from the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Brescia, Italy.

Dr. Snyder is currently teaching part-time in the LMC nursing department. Previously a nurse and nurse practitioner at John Muir Medical Group, Alta Bates Hospital and Kaiser Permanente, Dr. Snyder will bring extensive experience from her time in the field.

She holds a B.S. in Nursing from San Jose State and a M.S. in Nursing from UC San Francisco and a Ph.D. from the Wright Institute. Nursing/Allied Health department chair Joanne Bent is pleased that Dr. Snyder has been hired to teach nursing she said, “Dr. Snyder is an expert in maternity nurs-ing, she will help our nursing students learn to care for pregnant women, new moms and newborn babies,” and added, “she’ll also be teaching all nursing students strong therapeutic communication skills, and ways to cope with patients who have physical and mental health issues.”

These new teachers will all bring something new to each department as they all have had their share of experience in their field, but their educational backgrounds demonstrate their expertise and qualifications.

Jacobson’s steal.The three steals in the

eighth gave the Mustangs four steals on the day and put their season total at 103. They have 24 during the six-game winning streak.

Laney kept the Mustangs from stealing with starting pitcher Keith Britton on the mound. While he was in he kept the runners close. Va-lencia threw out Mustangs shortstop Ryan Lacy in the first inning and nearly caught Hill in the fifth.

D’Albora said that it was the amount of times Britton threw over to first that kept the runners close.

“I don’t have the totals, but I’d guess they picked off 70,000 times today,” he said with a smile. “That’s smart, because they know that’s something they know we want to do so

they varied their looks and were quick to the dish and their catcher did a good job getting rid of the baseball.”

Laney Head Coach Francisco Zapata said it wasn’t something they did special, it was the same thing his pitcher has been doing all year.

During the game Zapata was not happy. He voiced his opinion multiple times about the strike zone yelling loud enough for everyone to hear.

“When an umpire starts with a zone, I don’t care as long as it’s consistent, but I just referenced to the level of consistency,” he said.

There will be a meeting to decide the playoff seeds Sun-day, April 27. The seeding will determine who and where LMC plays in the playoffs. There is a possibility that LMC could host a playoff game or a series.

Isiah Thomas struggled with finding meals and getting to school without being involved in a physical altercation ev-eryday. The irony in this is that Laimbeer was portrayed as the tough and thug-like character on the court, while Thomas was seen as sweet and smiley player.

One thing I wished the docu-mentary dipped into more was Dennis Rodman’s upbringing. Rodman has arguable lived the most interesting life by any being that has walked on this planet. He is one of the most loony personalities in the world, and you knew his background, you would understand why.

I was never able to witness Detroit’s Bad Boys, because they were around just a few years before I was born, but this documentary opened my eyes to how differently basketball is played now.

Today players pretend to get hit and flop on the ground with intentions of drawing a foul. When they try to act tough, they just hop up and down and say, “Hold me back, bro!”

The Bad Boys weren’t scared to throw a punch, and neither were Jordan, Bird, Dr. J and the rest of the NBA. But the rules have changed. In the playoffs in 1987, Boston Celtic legend Robert Parish sucker punched Laimbeer with two hammer fists, didn’t receive and an ejection, and played the rest of the game. If that were to happen today, Parrish would be suspended for 15 games and pay an extensive fine.

much of a difference. “I use Wi-Fi probably every

day and have not noticed a difference yet,” said Amber Griego.

Computer Center Technician James Spagnol said some stu-dents complained about some of its other problems.

I have had students already complain about the restriction on speed for students and the need for [software] installa-tion,” said Spagnol.

More detailed instructions on the Wi-Fi can be found at 4cd.edu/wifi. For more information, contact Direc-tor of District Information Technology Satish Warrier at swarrier@4cd.edu.

sharing the event and having fun together.” Gottlieb enjoyed seeing his students bond and work together as a team.

Gary Fridland, who is the President of AGS, attended the convention for the first time and encourages students to join AGS.

“I think that it’s something everyone should experience who’s in AGS,” said Fridland. “Out of many clubs I’ve been involved in, this is definitely the most fun convention I’ve ever been to. It was really cool and I think that all members that join AGS should live the day to experience it for themselves.”

For more information about AGS visit losmedanosags.com/. Faculty advisers Tenille McEwen and Phil Gottlieb can be reached at tmcewen@los-medanos.edu and pgottlieb@losmedanos.edu.

by hitting in four and scoring three of his own. He is also the team’s closer, and in the first game of the LMC-CCC series, he picked up a save in extra innings to give him a total of six for the season.

“We’ve been doing the same thing all year and now it’s starting to pay off but I sure hope it does, but I think the overall success my team is having will carry over to playoffs,” Foreman said.

Polansky and Foreman are the second and third LMC athletes to be named the CCCBCA Player of the Week so far this season. Outfielder Matt Jacobson was selected for the week of February 17-23.

the sentient program.To me, there were many

more questions than answers by the end, and was left with a sense of incompleteness. So many facets of the movie were lacking.

There were no great graphic scenes or emotionally enthrall-ing moments.

The audio was quirky, either by the hand of the mixer or the theater in which I viewed the film.

The director, Wally Pfister, may want to think twice about bragging for this steamy pile of poorly executed film.

I expected much more from an Oscar winning director.

FILMFrom page 4

corner of the room. “That’s so heavy,” comment-

ed another. The overall support for An-

derson’s project was definitely observed in the crowd, this “community” that gathered to celebrate the premiere of the CD.

“Very stoked of all the local guys who came out to support,” said Anderson. “These guys are my peers so it means a lot when they come to check it out, and to hear their opinions is very cool.”

One of the people he hadn’t seen in a long time, he said, was John Riggs, who is well known through the local music scene for his skill as a drummer and percussionist. Anderson worked with him in his previous band Down Factor, recording the drums for the 2001 release “Pure.”

“The CD was rad,” said Riggs, “I think my favorite song was the title track Ascent From Hell. It has an awesome groove that makes it super heavy.”

“It was awesome to see how supportive and into it people were,” said Shantel Gahr, who lent her voice for one of the thematic segments of the CD and has shared the stage with Anderson as a “zombie dancer” for live band performances.

“There were people of all ages from the scene,” she said, “and I really liked seeing that.”

Overall, the listening party “was a blast,” said Anderson.

With so much support from the local music scene, as well as the global attention the CD is already getting, it just might be the release Anderson was hoping for.

“George has been doing this for along time, he knows what he’s doing,” said Von Epp. “He just wants to have fun, and go for broke, and I think that he really did that. Obviously with the cats he has on this record, he’s definitely gonna gain some notoriety more so than the average band out there.”

“Ascent from Hell” is avail-able now worldwide through Scourge Records and can be purchased for $12 through the band’s website fromhell.net.

BANDFrom page 4

achieve their academic goals,” said Richards.

To help students achieve these outcomes, DSP&S offers support to students with mental or physical disabilities. These services, mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act, include help with note-taking and test-tak-ing along with academic and emotional counseling. While the law requires California Community Colleges to have a DSP&S program, it is up to the student to seek out these services.

“We find that some instruc-tors don’t value the transition plan in high school,” said Richards. “They say ‘Oh, they’ll find their way. Oh it’s easy. Oh, go talk to LMC,” but they’re not bringing students to LMC.

Richards said that despite her best efforts at outreach to local high schools, some dis-tricts decline her invitations to orientations and school tours.

“We can’t twist their arms and make them give us their time even though we know it would benefit their students,” said Richards. “At the same time we can’t seek students out. By law we can’t give them accommodations until they ask for them.”

According to Shea, since students have to seek their own accommodations in college, the skill of learning to become your own advocate is critical to the success of youth transitioning out of high school.

“The school districts have a responsibility, a mandate to follow, that everyone who touches that student prepares them with the skills they are going to need to be successful,” said Shea. “They graduate, they go to college, and the burden falls on them.”

Shea added that when the burden of self-advocacy falls on the shoulders of a student who is not prepared through an ITP, the burden of caring for what potentially happens to that student falls on the citizens of California.

“The law says that this matters,” said Shea. “ The

consequences of breaking this law is that we are losing out on talent, on bringing significant skills to competitive jobs.”

In a study done by the Na-tional Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare in 2008, youth with a history of mental disorders were at higher risk of unplanned pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse, dropping out of high school, and were more likely to be unemployed and less likely to attend or complete college.

“We are not preparing these students to be self advocates and to get jobs and give them the opportunity to be taxpayers, instead we are going to be having to spend tax money to support them,” said Shea. “We are not letting that student be the person they are meant to be.”

After a year of research and advocacy for her daughter, Sue Brown finally got Mary, now 25, into a program through the Regional Center that helped her gain the skills to get her own apartment, the academic support to attend Long Beach City College where she majors in early child development, and the maturity to maintain an internship at a local preschool.

She now “has a chance to be a productive member of society,” said her mother Sue.

Mary is reflective about her experience transitioning from high school.

“It’s upsetting and a little disappointing,” she said. “I try not to think about it. I just think about what’s happening now and moving forward.”

But Sue Brown insists the only way to fix the lack of transitional support is to hold school districts responsible and educate communities to be advocates for those with mental challenges.

“There is no one advocating and supporting in a way that makes these programs success-ful. These programs are not going to offer you something that you don’t demand,” she said. “If we don’t invest on the front end, we will pay for it later.”