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With bases loaded and two outs, the opposing team’s cleanup hitter steps up to the plate. He stands on the mound with a distinct tattoo, peeking out from under the left sleeve of his jersey, lips pursed as he shakes off a signal from his catcher; he negates a few more before he and the catcher fi-nally agree upon a pitch. He throws a fastball that skates
across the edge of the
strike zone; the batter con-nects on the pitch, hitting a pop fly caught by an outfielder ending the top of the inning.
For American River College baseball pitcher and utility player Jason Fletcher, a sopho-more, this scene has occurred many times. Fletcher, a first team all-conference player from the 2012 season, has only been able to pitch in five games this season due to a nerve injury in his throwing
arm.“It start-
ed last year. My last three starts, my elbow was giving me some problems and I thought that it would get bet-ter over summer and it hasn’t,” Fletcher said. “It’s just getting to the point where I can start pitching again.”
Overcoming adversity can be a tough feat for most people, but Fletcher isn’t your average person. He has overcome the loss of his father, the financial
strug-g l e s
h i s m o t h -
er went through, and
giving up his op-tion to play Division 1 baseball to keep playing at ARC.
“Mentally he doesn’t get flustered. He’s steady,” base-ball head coach Doug Jumelet said. “He’s been through a lot in his life that other people haven’t had to deal with. Things that have made him
ARCurrent.com@ARCurrent
Vol. 64, Ed. 11 • April 24, 2013
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The recent American River College As-sociated Student Body elections came with their fair share of controversy. Students from Fierce, the campus’ LGBTQA club, along with a few members of ASB chose to take a vocal stance against two candidates running for office. The protests included individuals walking around campus with signs that read, “Vote no,” on the controver-sial candidates.
Los Rios District Student Trustee candi-date Luke Otterstad and the newly elected ASB Director of Finance Jorge Riley came under fire during campaigning for a con-troversial stance they endorsed as part of the ASB in 2008.
“I didn’t want my constituents to be ma-nipulated,” ASB Student Senate President Quierra Robey said for her reasons to pro-test the candidates. “We are supposed to be leaders. We are supposed to inform them.”
The 2008 ASB Student Senate made na-tional news by endorsing the now infamous Proposition 8, banning same sex marriage in the state of California. As the only Stu-dent Senate to endorse Proposition 8, ARC was the subject of much public scrutiny.
Riley does not believe that his support of Proposition 8 should have been used against him during his campaign.
“They say stop the hate, but that is what they are doing,” Riley said to The Current.
The controversy prompted one ASB Sen-ator to resign on April 18. Former Senator Paul Coram notified the board via an email that stated, “I regrettably believe that American River College Student Senate has taken to altercations of ‘free-speech’ and, in turn, began to fail to be the repre-sentation of ‘all’ students of American Riv-er College. These altercations have caused division and have misconstrued the alloca-tions of equality amongst our constituents.”
American River College students protest ASB candidatesMEMBERS OF FIERCE AND INDIVIDUALS IN ASB VOICE OPPOSITION TO STANCE By Jeff [email protected]
By Jessica [email protected]
U.S. government-sponsored foreign rebels, asylum-seeking immigrants, and crack cocaine deals performed with CIA knowledge—Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Gary Webb reported on subjects that would change people’s lives.
Hollywood films can both
glorify and fog reality. The sto-ry of former American River College student Eric Webb’s father is taught in history classes and, as The Current reported, is now being made into a Hollywood movie. The years during Gary Webb’s in-vestigative reporting and after his suicide were filled with triumphs, tragedy and confu-sion. Unanswered questions
led to numerous theories over what happened to Gary Webb. To his family, the reasons are unfortunate but clear.
The Reporting“For most of a decade, a San
Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a
Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelli-gence Agency, a Mercury News investigation has found,” be-gan the story that started Gary Webb’s problems and changed the lives of those closest to him.
Following the trail from a large-scale crack cocaine dealer
ERIC WEBB HOPES TO BRING AWARENESS TO HIS FATHER’S STRUGGLE TO PRESERVE JOURNALISTIC ETHICS IN HIGH-POWERED MEDIA AND SHED LIGHT ON THE DEPRESSION THAT LEAD TO HIS 2004 SUICIDE
By Jeff [email protected]
BASEBALL STAR COPES WITH INJURY, LOSS
AND HEARTACHE ON THE FIELD
SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 7
SEE WEBB, PAGE 7
Photo Illustation by Jenn Schopfer
A LOOKINSIDE 6 11Diversity of ARC Athletes8 MLS in Sacramento“The Three Musketeers”
Athletes bring culture to campus Chelsea Ciechanowski speaks to The Current about her upcoming role in the theatre production
Staff writer Jorden Hales makes his case for downtown soccer stadium
Editor’s Note: This is the sec-ond part in a
two-part series showcasing the
conspiracy theo-ries surround-
ing the death of former ARC stu-dent Eric Webb’s father, reporter Gary Webb, in
2004.
Page 2 NewsApril 24, 2013
Editor-in-ChiefJosh Baumbach
Managing EditorSergio Portela
News EditorJeff Gonzales
Sports EditorJessica Maynard
Arts & Culture EditorAlisha Kirby
Assistant Arts & CultureEditor
Carlos Guerrero
Scene EditorCintia Lopez
Opinions EditorMayra Sanchez
Photo EditorDaniel Romandia
Assistant Photo EditorEmily K. Rabasto
Web EditorKorbl Klimecki
Assistant Web EditorJonathan H. Ellyson
Copy ChiefRobert Aguilar-Rudametkin
Design EditorsSteven Condemarin
Sarah Scott
Distribution ManagerCarlos Guerrero
Staff WritersMark AhlingEd Gebing
Jorden HalesNatasha HoneywoodTracy Johnson Novak
Alex PanasenkoCesar AlexanderOlesya Sytnyk
Sam Urrea
Staff PhotographersMark Ahling
Stephanie Lee Michael PachecoAlex PanasenkoJenn Schopfer
Contributing EditorJaime Carrillo
AdviserKel Munger
Photo AdviserJill Wagner
POLICYThe Current is produced by the students of Newspaper Production, J402. All opinions are signed and not necessarily endorsed by the Current staff. All letters and articles appearing in the Editorial, Opinion or Forum sections are not necessarily representative of the Current staff or American River College policy. All articles are the property of the Current. Please go online at arcurrent.com to see the full text of criteria and guidelines for submissions. Letters must be typed and can be submitted by mail, e-mail or in person at the following addresses:
The American River Current4700 College Oak DriveLiberal Arts, Room 120Sacramento, CA 95841Phone: 916-484-8304Fax: 916-484-8668E-mail: [email protected]
PROUD MEMBERS OF THE CNPA & JACC
The 2013 ASB elections could have repeated the same course as last year, which had lowest voter turnout in the history of the school. From a popula-tion of students roughly the size of Fair Oaks, only 296 voted. It was a very small percentage of voter turn out, and most people polled agree that students still don’t even know we have a student-run board that re-quires votes, but that changed with over 950 students voting this year.
ASB has been worked hard to get the word out to students to vote at various locations on campus. A $3,500 bill was passed for funds available for the purpose of trying to get more stu-dents to the polls. A drawing for prizes was considered by the board but was turned down by the student advisor because it was against the rules.
Some flyers posted still represented the thousands in giveaways; however student advisor Byrd made it clear in her message to the board that it would not be permitted. It was final-
ized with a free lunch for those who voted
and new flyers were posted to reflect the change. During informal poling by The Current, many students voted be-cause of the free food offer.
At the polls, positions were posted as being unopposed, such as Director of Finance and CAEB President. ASB spent some of the funds approved to decorate the campus with balloon col-umns designed to gather attention of students in the student center. Video signage boards displayed voting dates and times, and colorful flyers were posted on message boards around the campus. But the lunch lines seemed to draw the most attention from stu-dents.
Social media sites, such as Face-book and Twitter, provided informa-tion about candidates and bios for some of the higher profile positions.
According to the unofficial polls posted by Campus Life, Tyrone Rob-inson beat out current student Sena-tor Kenneth Hinton for ASB President. Jorge Riley was the winner for Direc-tor of Finance and Jeremy Diefen-bacher was the shoe-in for ASB CAEB President. Both positions were unop-posed on the ballot.
Student Senators elected were Joel Dacarro, Sam Elliott, Laurie Jones, and Timothy Cody Lipuma.
The biggest win of the election goes to Los Rios Community College Dis-trict Student Trustee: Ricardo Lemus. Congratulations to all the candidates and thank you for voting.
ASB APPROVES EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES AGE REQUIREMENT FOR ARCASBNOTEBOOK
The American River College Associate Student Body weekly Thursday meeting was brought to order on time and with the bang of a brand new gavel. The symbolic new wood mallet would be just the shot to start the clock for these 14 hardworking students.
Student by-laws, which had been on the agenda since last term, were sent back to the student governance committee. Vol-unteers for this committee were lined up by Vice President Omba Kipuke and were tasked to report back to the ASB by May 2.
Upheld in a vote with the meeting time expiring, a $3,500 bill for elections was ap-proved. The Board members cheered and congratulated each other before adjourning. The Director of Legislative Affairs and new
ASB President Tyrone Robinson, the bills author, shook hands with everyone.
Former Director of Finance Kindra Pring had earlier cautioned the board that approv-ing these funds could cause problems later. On April 12, Pring sent an email updating the financial condition of the ASB in which she commented, “According to my recalcula-tions…we have more money than previously thought!”
Newly appointed Senator Debbie Dixon was tasked to investigate The Currents arti-cle on Sexual Harassment and will announce her findings to the ASB at a later date.
A time-sensitive matter on agenda was funding for the White Privilege Conference. This was a bill sponsored by Senate Whip Brett Spencer and provided funds for stu-dents to attend the WPC in Seattle, Wash-ington.
According to its website, the “WPC is a
conference that examines the challenging problems of privilege and oppression and offers solutions and team building strategies to work toward a more equitable world.” On its third reading and under pressure of loss, the board approved it. Some members were skeptical about the accountability of the more than $3,000 that was approved, and asked for more oversight. This bill met the qualifications to fulfill some of the funds approved last year for the Wisdom Grant, which had neared its deadline.
The Tanishq Abraham bill was passed by unanimous vote. This bill would allow stu-dents of any age, based on academics, to at-tend ARC. Abraham, age 9, was the youngest student to apply and receive approval to at-tend ARC. A standing ovation by the board and public was given several weeks back when he was allowed to speak on behalf of himself.
By Mark [email protected]
By Mark [email protected]
Kinesiology major Spencer Thomas, 23, votes for ARC’s General Election using the Student Center’s computer lab on Tuesday, April 16.
Professor of Psychology Peg Scott attaches an “I Voted” sticker onto the jacket of ARC student Josh O’Brien after voting in the Student Center for the ARC General Elections. All voters also received a free lunch voucher after casting their vote.
ARC students vote in Associated Student Body elections
VOTER TURNOUT INCREASED DUE TO FREE FOOD OFFER
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
SOCIAL MEDIA HOW-TOOn April 26, join American River
College’s social network evangelist Don Reid, as he shows you how to market your business/club/hobby with social networking. He’ll share his successes and strategies to engage your user base while having them do much of the work. Feel free to bring a thumb drive (or create a Dropbox account) to use, as this will be a hands-on workshop in a state-of-the-art Mac-based computer lab.
APPLIED MUSIC STUDENT RECITAL
On April 26, The ARC Music Department is proud to present their Applied Music Students in recital, beginning at 12:30 p.m. in room 547 of the music department.Admission is free to this event. For more information, contact Dr. Dyne Eifertsen at 916-484-8676.
Page 3News April 24, 2013
to an army in Nicaragua, Webb worked many hours in several countries getting information for the story, revealing the con-nection between the explosion of crack cocaine usage in African American communities and the CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras. The San Jose Mercury News printed a three-part story by Webb in 1996 called “Dark Alli-ance.” As the stories were pub-lished, Gary Webb found himself under incredible scrutiny.
When major news publica-tions and government agencies claimed that Gary Webb wrote inaccurate information, the edi-tors at the SJMN did not defend their reporter. With all this scru-tiny and lack of support, Gary Webb published “Dark Alliance” in a book on his own.
“When the book came out, there were a few people back-ing him up, like Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Senator John Kerry,” Eric Webb said. “But the problem is that people were still associating all of these con-spiracy theories with my Dad. That he was saying things that he wasn’t.”
RepercussionsThe Mercury News pulled
Gary Webb from the stories he was working on, then trans-ferred him to remote cities and assigned him dull stories. Re-fusing to publicly apologize for anything he wrote in “Dark Alli-ance,” Gary Webb resigned and moved to the Sacramento area.
The Pulitzer Prize-winner found himself unemployed and blacklisted in the mainstream media. Unable to find work with a large daily, he found a home at the Sacramento News and Re-view.
“I think some of his best work happened there,” Eric Webb said of his fathers time at the local al-ternative weekly publication.
However, Gary Webb’s depres-sion worsened as his marriage fell apart and his bills started piling up. By 2004, his family and friends could see the effects wearing on him.
“It doesn’t take a rocket sci-entist to figure out how he felt,” said Tom Dresslar, a friend and former colleague of Gary Webb’s, in an article published about Gary Webb’s saga. “For him to get chewed up by the powers that be in American Journalism, to get shuffled out, exiled and made to eventually quit: you know how that guy feels.”
According to Eric Webb, his fa-ther was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and severe depression about a year before his suicide. He also took each of his children out for a “special goodbye” night before his death.
“My father and I ended (our) night playing “Call of Duty 2” on-line on his PC in his office, as we often did when I visited, switch-ing off in between ‘deaths,’” Eric wrote in an email to The Cur-
rent. “I will always treasure that night...because it helped bring closure.”
ConspiracyWith the CIA a central player
in “Dark Alliance,” conspiracy theories ran rampant after Gary Webb died. The coroner report-ed the cause of death as suicide. The fact that two shots were fired added fuel to theories of CIA involvement in his death. A simple Google search reveals numerous articles with just as many theories. These theories trouble Gary Webb’s family, who watched his depression spiral. There is no doubt in their minds that it was suicide.
“He gave us individually-typed letters to each of his children and my mom,” said Eric Webb. “People say, ‘It was typed. It could have been anyone.’ But he
was an author. You can tell his voice. The notes mentioned spe-cific events that no one would have really known. I felt like he was speaking to me personally.”
In the letter Gary Webb wrote to his ex-wife, Susan Stokes, as reported in the American Jour-nalism Review, he wrote,
“All I want to do is write, and if I can’t do what I love, then what’s the sense of going on? Tell them I never regretted anything I wrote.”
The story that Gary Webb re-ported in “Dark Alliance” is one of many investigative pieces that he wrote. His work and courage will be remembered by many people.
Gary Webb concluded his final note to Eric Webb by writing, “Think of me now and then, and I will hear you.”
SB 520 is a measure presented by Senator President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento. The bill will set up the first of its kind statewide network of fac-ulty approved online courses for credit.
This bill is to be paired with two other bills that were passed in 2012, SB 1052 and SB 1053, which will create an online li-brary where the 50 most popu-lar lower level college textbooks can be downloaded for free, or $20 for hard copies, for Califor-nia State Universities, Universi-ties of California, and commu-nity colleges.
The classes will only be avail-able to those students who are unable to get into the classes they need to earn a degree or if the school does not offer the class.
ARC student David Stewart, like many others, has had issues trying to get into certain classes.
”There’s been a of couple times that I’ve wanted to take a class, and every time I try, its full or it just doesn’t work for my sched-
ule. If there was an online ver-sion of it, I would have already of taken it,” said Stewart.
Last fall, according to Legalin-fo.com, 80 percent of the state’s 112 community college campus-es reported waitlists for classes. On average, that equals to about 7,000 enrolled students forced onto a waitlist at each campus.
This bill will be able to take those students on waitlists for their needed classes and allow them to earn their credit online so they can transfer to a four-year university.
Joshua Kuykendall, an ac-counting major at ARC, is a sup-porter of the bill.
“I’m for it. Its perfect for those people who are more on the fast track, they can get it done faster,” said Kuykendall.
Senator President pro Tem Steinberg believes that this bill will help struggling students be able to move forward with their education.
“The California Master Plan for Higher Education promised open access to all, yet thousands of students are struggling to complete their degrees and go-ing deeper in college debt be-cause there simply aren’t enough classroom seats available in the
courses they need,” said Stein-berg in a press release. “We need to tear down these barriers. We want to lead the nation in meld-ing technology with our great institutions of higher learning.
No college student in California should be denied the right to move through their education because they couldn’t get a seat for the course they needed. “
INBRIEF
n
In Volume 64, Edition 10 of The Current, the following corrections are listed:
CORRECTIONS
n
By Sergio Portela and Mayra [email protected]@gmail.com
State Senator proposes new accredited online class systemMORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO TAKE CLASSES THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE CLOSED
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
WEBB:
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
Eric Webb, 25, holds the suicide note written by his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb, on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
I will always
treasure that
night...because it
helped bring closure.
ERIC WEBB
“
Conspiracy theories persistCAREER FAIR
On April 25, more than 45 em-ployers will be on campus. Students will have the opportunity to network with representatives from business, government, and non-profit sectors. The Career Fair will take place in the Community Rooms inside the Student Center. For more information, call the Career Center at 916-484-8492.
n
On page three “Veterans’ resources short handed due to budget cuts” Social Media Director Jared Thornburg’s
email is incorrect it should read [email protected].
On page five “California community college coaches face disadvantages,” Rick Anderson’s quote is incorrect, it should state he spent $31,000 to save $4,000.
On page eight “Musketeers: the story explained” Chelsea Ciechanowski, who
portrays the Villainess in “The Three Musketeers,” is spelled incorrectly.
On page nine “Campus Pulse” Business Management/Marketing major Nathan
Eurie-Turner II is spelled incorrectly.
On page 10 “Now hiring at American River College” Opportunities is spelled
incorrectly in the deck.
The American River Current’s Journalism Association of Community College State Conference Awards of 2013:
The American River Current staff - General Excellence
Editor-in-Chief Josh Baumbach- 1st place in on-the-spot Critical Review
Photo Editor Daniel Romandia- 2nd place mail-in Illustration
Assistant Photo Editor Emily Rabasto- 3rd place on-the-spot Feature Photo
Design Editor Sarah Scott- 3rd on-the-spot Tabloid Design
News Editor Jeff Gonzales- Elected JACC NorCal Student President
Page 4 SportsApril 24, 2013
Competing for a championship is an improbable task for most ath-letes. Discipline and repetition are not agents of control, but tools to mitigate the unpredictable. How-ever, for the American River Col-lege diving team, elite performance is not something that’s hoped for, it’s something that’s counted upon.
“It’s definitely a weight on my shoulders. People expect me to go to state,” said James Kent, a mem-ber of the men’s diving team. “ I think I will, but it’s just that added pressure when I go to NorCal’s and [while] I’m competing against oth-er people, I have it in the back of my mind that I have to get to state.”
The elevated expectations are not exclusive to competition. Al-though the divers perform individ-ually, there is a strong chemistry among the team that requires its top performers to assume leader-ship mentoring roles. These roles have kept both Kent and his team-mate Zach Yokoyama accountable to their results.
“I’m kind of nervous because everyone’s expecting me to make states,” Yokoyama said. “I just don’t want to let them down.”
Kent feels a similar dynamic with his teammates and is very conscious of how it affects his kin-ship with the other divers.
“We don’t have captains in div-ing, but we’re definitely two of the bigger presences,” Kent said.
Though the added pressure may
seem like a burden, Kent and Yo-koyama have used it as a muse.
“It makes me work as hard as I can to improve and show [that the expectations are reasonable] in state,” Yokoyama said.
Yokoyama has proven himself among the elite for several years now. During his high school career, he was selected by ARC head div-ing coach Dede Crayne to compete on a Junior Olympic team. The two have developed a rapport to which Yokoyama attributes much of his success.
“I’ve been with Dede since my freshman year in high school,” Yokoyama said. “I started off as a beginner, and I’ve gotten better increasingly working with her. Her coaching is tremendous.”
Crayne has seen a lot of effort from Yokoyama and is impressed by his steady improvement.
“Zach has really stuck with it over the years,” Crayne said. “In diving, you’re going to plateau and then have seasons of improve-ment. He’s maintaining that im-provement and I’ll expect some more upswing as he keeps sticking with it.”
State competition is scheduled to begin on Thursday, April 25, at East LA College. Crayne is not sur-prised by her diver’s strong chanc-es of being there.
“They’re pretty much just doing what I expected,” Crayne said. “I was thinking [before the season] that Zach could be a state cham-pion.”
Making a splash at state championshipsARC DIVERS JAMES KENT AND ZACH YOKOYAMA HOPE TO LEAVE THEIR MARK ON THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPSBy Jorden [email protected]
Performing a dive at the AR Sprintathalon on March 29 at American River College, freshman James Kent is expected to go to the state championships.
Imagine yourself having to get up early in the morning, before most peoples’ coffee has even started brewing. After eating breakfast, you make a stop at the gas station to fill up your tank before you hit the road.
American River College freshman Colton Passey starts his day off at 5:40 a.m., before most students even think about hitting the snooze button. He leaves his house and is on his way to school by 6 a.m., where he commutes 45 miles before his first class at 7:30 a.m.
Passey started out playing golf during eighth grade.
“One of my best friends played golf all of his life. I did basically every sport there was and couldn’t stay healthy, so he suggested I try out golf,” Passey said. “He ended up paying for all my lessons and I just got super into it.”
Passey played golf at Jim Elliot Christian High School until his junior year before deciding to concentrate on basketball for his senior season.
Passey was drawn to ARC, where he was hop-ing to play for the basketball team.
“I got a call from [head coach Mark] Giorgi and he said to tryout for point guard, so I went there and played,” Passey said. “I couldn’t stay healthy and they got a couple of good recruits, so I just kind of got lower on the depth chart, then Giorgi called up the golf coach, Mike Thomas, and I was
like ‘Ah, I’ll pick up the clubs again.’”Golf coach Mike Thomas touts Passey as a
hard worker who uses his brain to help improve his level of play.
“Colton’s greatest attribute is his knowledge of the golf swing,” Thomas said. “Even though he is young at it, he has the ability to make a swing that he wants to try to do. His golf IQ is high.”
Passey’s teammates really enjoy their time with him and appreciate his talent on the course.
“He’s a rad dude. He’s fun to play with,” Kelly Schnase said. “A lot of fun to watch especially when he’s on. He’s a really good golfer.”
After finishing his classes at 1:30 p.m., Passey heads to Stockton to practice golf at The Reserve at Spanos Park, which is closer to his home. He usually practices until 7 p.m., before heading home for dinner and studying.
Currently, Passey is working toward his de-gree in business finance. He has aspirations of someday playing on the PGA Tour, with Augusta National, which hosts The Masters, being his dream course to play. If that doesn’t work out, he would love to work as a golf course manager or do something with sales.
The advice Passey would give to anyone try-ing to improve their golf game is advice that should not be limited to the sport.
“Put in a lot of work, don’t be stubborn and think that you know it all, because no one knows it all, and just stay positive.”
Lodi golfer brings new meaning to the term ‘one long drive’FOR ONE AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE STUDENT, THE DRIVE TO SUCCEED MEANS MORE THAN JUST DOING WELL IN CLASSES
By Ed [email protected]
Daniel Romandia / Daniel.Rom
andia@gm
ail.comDaniel Rom
andia / Daniel.Romandia@
gmail.com
Zack Yokoyama, a freshman diver for ARC, performing a dive at the AR Sprintathalon on March 29 at Ameri-can River College.
Freshman golfer Colton Passey commutes 45 minutes every day to play for Ameri-can River.
Jenn Schopfer / jenn.schopfer@gm
ail.com
grow up and handle the curveballs life throws at you. This is fun for him, it’s the easy part.”
Baseball is Fletcher’s escape. When he was 16, turmoil arose. His father died.
He has three tattoos showcasing the heart-ache he has overcome. The first one is a bird landing onto two roses on his left arm that you see every time he puts on his jersey.
“My dad actually died when I was in high school,” Fletcher said. “He had two kids with my mom, me and my sister, and this signifies me and my sister and that’s him. It repre-sents us.”
A portrait of his grandmother is tattooed on his calf.
“She was the sweetest lady in the world and she took care of me, my sister, and my mom when we had down times. Just a beau-tiful woman inside and out,” Fletcher said.
The words “Carpe Diem,” [seize the day] are tattooed on the inside of both forearms.
“To me it means don’t dwell on all of the negatives that happen and take each minute
as a positive experience,” Fletcher said. His biggest fan is his mother, even though
she may not get to attend all of his games be-cause of a hectic schedule; Fletcher knows she’s rooting for him.
“She’s in here in spirit,” Fletcher said as he points to his heart. “I can feel her love when I’m on the field. I definitely do all of this stuff for her.”
Fletcher’s will to succeed on the field is in-spired by his family. He currently leads the team in batting average, hitting .369 for a team that has played the toughest schedule in Calif. He has pitched five games this sea-son, with an ERA of 4.76.
“It’s been great knowing there is a guy on the team who can get a hit or a double at just about any at bat,” Jumelet said. “It would be nice if he could have pitched for us all season long. Last year, it was nice when he pitched, we knew we had a chance to be in every game.”
He is the kind of guy who doesn’t need to speak in order to set the tone for his team-mates. He holds himself accountable for his actions, he leads by example and his team-
mates and coaches respect him for that.“When I’m out here, I feel like everything
that’s going on off the field goes away,” Fletcher said. “I just focus on things out here, not anything else.”
Page 5Sports April 24, 2013
By Sergio [email protected]
The rules are changing
Unnecessary Roughness
Football is a violent game that children, as young as five years old, are playing. Safety is crucial when such young kids participate in foot-ball. I don’t think safety regulations should start with the NFL players.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has made some rule changes since becoming the com-missioner in 2006. He has been successful in taking out the big hits on offensive players, espe-cially wide receivers, not allowing defensive players to lead with the crown of their helmet. This makes the game friendlier for the offense because there is no fear of getting hit when going over the middle.
Another rule which protects the quarterback does not allow the de-fensive player to touch the quarter-back’s helmet when they go in for a tackle. Even if it’s just a tap, it can be called for a personal foul result-ing in a 15-yard penalty.
A new rule recently implement-ed by the NFL penalizes the offense when a runner lowers his head and makes contact with the defender.
The penalty moves the offense 15-yards back, which slows down the game, having to stop for some-thing that, for a player, is an instinct to protect oneself against a hit.
I am not against rules imple-mented to keep football safe. Some of these rules are a good start in the right direction, especially with a high rate of concussions in foot-ball.
I don’t believe that we should start applying these rules to the NFL first. High School and youth football should be where these rules are implemented, then it should lead into college, and later transition into the NFL. It’s best to introduce these rules when the player is new to the game rather than trying to teach an old dog new tricks.
The league and Roger Goodell are changing the game I love, and they do so without even bother-ing to include NFL players in their decision. If they do, it must not be running backs, because they don’t seem to agree with them. Play-ers like Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears, NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, and Cleveland Browns run-ning back Trent Richardson have all expressed dislike for the rule. Richardson also believes that he may be the reason for the rule.
How far will Roger Goodell go until there is no more tackling and we are watching glorified flag football. The NFL knows what it’s doing. It can change the game as much as they want and not face a decline in viewership from the fans and that’s unnecessary roughness.
SPORTSUPDATES
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
WOMEN’S SWIM&DIVE
SOFTBALL
BASEBALL
MEN’S TRACK&FIELD
MEN’S TENNISAfter the teams 22 game win streak was ended in a 5-0 loss to No. 1 ranked Fresno City College during the NorCal championship match, the No. 3 ranked men are gearing up for the singles and doubles state champion-ship in Ojai, Calif., on April 24 through the 28.
WOMEN’S TRACK&FIELD
MEN’S SWIM&DIVE
MEN’S GOLF
ARC sophomore pitcher Karolanne Tipton throws a fastball in a game against Diablo Valley College on Tuesday, April 9.
ARC’s Tennis player Kevin Valentine in a match during the Big 8 North Conference Tournament hosted at ARC on April 5 and 6.
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
The women are entering the North-ern California championships with an 11-point lead after sophomore Han-nah Hardy won the NorCal Heptath-lon with 4,146 points on April 17 at the College of San Mateo. The women will host the NorCal Championships on May 4 and May 11 at 12 p.m.
Freshmen divers James Kent and Zack Yokoyama look to claim state titles for the team at the State Swim and Dive Championships on April 25 through the 27, hosted by East LA College. The men will also have a shot at claiming a title in the freestyle event, having 14 guys eligible to compete in the event.
The team is currently the No. 1 ranked team in Northern California and is favored to win the Big 8 con-ference title again. Luis Luna is the favorite to win the 3,000-meter stee-plechase. The team hosts the NorCal Championships on May 4 and May 11 at 12 p.m.
The team will have 12 eligible swim-mers to compete in the freestyle event at the competition. Nicole Grottkau and Meghan Neep are strong contenders in the sprint event as well. The women will travel to Los Angeles to compete in the State Swim and Dive Championships on April 25 through the 27 at East LA College.
After starting the season off 14-3, the women have sputtered during divi-sional play going 10-10 for an overall record of 24-13. The team is gearing up for playoffs, led by sophomore pitcher Karolanne Tipton who leads the Big 8 conference with a .206 ERA and is No. 15 in the state.
With two games left in the regular season, the men look to shake up the NorCal championship bracket. The men play at Cosumnes River College on April 25 at 2:30 p.m. and finish the regular season at home versus Diablo Valley College on April 26 at 2:30 p.m.
The men’s last match before the Nor-Cal Championships is the Big 8 #12 Conference match on Tuesday, April 30, at the Chardonnay Golf Course in Napa, Calif., at 12 p.m. The NorCal Championships will be held on May 6 at the Diablo Grande Golf and Coun-try Club in Patterson, Calif., at 7:30 a.m.
Sophomore Jason Fletcher in the pin throwing some pitches at practice on April 10 at ARC’s baseball field.
Jenn Schopfer / jenn.schopfer@gm
ail.com
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Baseball: Fletcher uses his tattoos to express memories of loved ones
Luis Luna running in the steeplechase race at American River College on April 6. He is ranked third in the state in this event.
Daniel Romandia / Daniel.Rom
andia@gm
ail.com
Page 6 FeatureApril 24, 2013
Growing up in a foreign coun-try helps individuals develop certain values, morals and beliefs. Moving to the United
States can be a culture shock for many. American River College athletes Luis Luna, Goretti DeAnda, Santiago Rodriguez, and Onome Pela have all experienced the shock of moving to America.
Cross country and track & field head coach Rick Anderson knows the impact a foreign-athlete can make on a team. He recalls recruiting Nel-son Mwangi, a former athlete of his. Mwangi was born in Kenya and later became the track & field assistant coach.
“It is kind of nice to have them talk [to the team],” Anderson said. “I let him [Nelson] talk to all the guys about how he grew up. His mom would take a rake across the dirt floor inside their concrete house, we would vacuum the carpet or mop the floors and she dragged a rake across to make nice straight lines on it.”
Anderson now has four players on his team that were born in different countries, including Luis Luna and Epi Nunez. He believes diversity doesn’t just include being born in a foreign country.
“A track team is as diverse as any team on campus,” Anderson said. “We’ve got guys from other countries: we have Hispanic, black, white, and everything in between.”
Cross-country and track & field run-ner Luis Luna grew up playing soccer in Mexico but made the transition to running track when he was in middle school. After posting a fast time in the mile, the school’s track coach con-vinced him to start running.
Despite moving to California when he was 12, Luna has not lost his roots; he still attends church every Sunday and acknowledges some of the vari-ances between the two countries.
“The way people act,” Luna said. “In Mexico we’re a lot simpler, we appre-
ciate what we have. I think that’s the biggest difference.”
There are currently seven student athletes who attend ARC on a student-athlete visa, as well as numerous athletes, like Luna, who were born in foreign countries. Despite the changes of residence that these foreign-born athletes have endured, the sports they participate in help them to keep a part of where they came from at all times.
Much like Luna, Goretti DeAnda grew up in Mexico playing soccer with her entire family. She came to the United States when she was five years old and her passion for soccer didn’t change. She currently plays on ARC’s soccer team.
“My dad and brothers all played it,” DeAnda said. “In fact, my dad still does, and he’s 62!”
Another South American student, Santiago Rodriguez, found his passion in the pool; he currently competes on the water polo and swim and dive team. Rodriguez came to the United States strictly to play water polo and compete on the swim and dive team at ARC.
Like the other athletes mentioned, Rodriguez grew up playing soccer.
“I love soccer and so does all of Colombia,” Rodriguez said. “But in En-vigado, we swim and play water polo.”
In Delta City, Nigeria, Onome Pela grew up playing soccer. He has been living in California for nine years after moving here at the age of 12, but still finds himself facing the shock of American culture when it comes to food and school.
“In high school here, we have differ-ent classes. You go from class to class,” Pela said. “There, we’re just in one class and one teacher teaches you Eng-lish and math. Here, it’s really diverse. There are different kinds of people from different cultures.”
These particular athletes are not just expressing their skills and style in the way they play. They are manag-ing to keep a part of their culture with them no matter how far away from their home they may be.Additional reporting by: Jessica Maynard
Beaversw rldt
he
fromaround
By Sam [email protected]
FOREIGN ATHLETES FIND
THEIR HOME AT ARC
Photo Illustrations by Daniel Romandia
How many people have parked their cars at the 99 Cents Only Store to walk to class simply to avoid the parking situation? Or how many students have passed by the intersection of Auburn Boulevard and College Oak Drive? If you have, then you most certainly have passed the corner restaurant that offers several authentic Mexican dishes within steps of our campus.
Xochimilco, or as the menu says, “So-chee-mill-co,” has been family owned since 1964.
All of the food that is made in this restaurant is made fresh daily and the quality of the food speaks for itself.
After eating enough Chipotle, Subway, Jack in the Box, and caf-eteria food, I thought this would be a place worth trying on a lunch break. When I first walked in, I noticed the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” cardboard cutout standing in the background.
When you go in, you can choose between a table near one of the two televisions, a booth, or, if the weather is nice, you can sit out on the patio. There were menus and place settings already on the tables. Once I chose my spot, I
was greeted by the server who al-ready had a glass of water, a bas-ket of chips, and some fresh salsa.
I decided on the lunch portion of the chile verde burrito, which was served with rice, beans and cheese, and lettuce with some diced tomatoes.
The burrito was a good size and the pork was very flavorful, like it had been marinating for a while. The beans were tasty, but the rice was a bit bland. Overall, the meal was good and tasted very authen-tic. I also made sure to get some of the fresh homemade tortillas they have, which I would recom-mend to anyone.
They don’t have a happy hour, but they do offer lunch and din-ner portion sizes. The prices range from $8.95 for a taco salad, $10.95 for a combination plate, all the way to $13.75 for shrimp fajitas with guacamole that also comes with sides of Spanish rice and refried beans with melted cheese on top.
Xochimilco is located at 4904 Auburn Blvd. They are open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. They have enough room for parties or large groups.
I would highly recommend stopping by for lunch or dinner sometime.
There’s something exhilarat-ing about sifting through bins of records, seeing the artwork, and being able to hold something in your hands. There’s an excite-ment one experiences when they find the exact album that they were looking for, a feeling that’s absent when downloading music online.
Record Store Day looks to help music consumers recapture that feeling. What started as a concept in 2007 by Chris Brown, an em-ployee at an independent record store, has become an annual cel-ebration of music. Independent record stores across the world participate by releasing special
issued vinyl and CDs, hosting meet and greets with bands and their fans, and sponsoring live performances on the third Satur-day of every April.
“It’s about coming together, and getting people back into re-cord stores to buy albums,” says ARC Commercial Music major Kasey Crooks, who’s been collect-ing records for about three years. “I think that people lose track of the social medium of going into a record store and enjoying and talking to people. It’s just a fun experience to [go and] exchange music knowledge.”
Judging by the increase in vi-nyl sales since 2007, it appears Record Store Day has been suc-cessful in getting people out from behind their keyboard and
into stores. According to Nielsen Soundscan, 4.6 million vinyl LPs were sold in 2012. That’s an in-crease from the 3.9 million sold in 2011, and the 2.8 million sold in 2010. Since 2008, the year Record Store Day was officially launched, vinyl record sales have increased more than 58 percent.
People who buy records can range from the occasional browser to the hardcore collec-tor. “When you start thinking
about all of the things people collect, stamps, baseball cards, you know?” poses ARC History professor Bill Wrightson, whose personal collection holds well over 3,000 records. “What’s bet-ter that records?”
“Vinyl is part of recapturing my youth,” says Wrightson. “And there’s memories that come with holding a record when you’re playing it for the first time.”
Now there’s a new generation
discovering this same feeling. “You have to listen to every song, and I like that. You get more of an appreciation for the album as a whole instead of one or two tracks,” says Crooks, who grew up in an age of CDs and MP3 players. “You get into that constant click-ing motion and you start not lik-ing any music. We’re so busy with the world around us that we don’t just stop and listen to the music.”
Page 7Arts&Culture April 24, 2013
4904 AUBURN BLVD, SACRAMENTO, CA 95841
««««PRICE RANGE: $
XOCHIMILCO
XOCHIMILCO OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOOD CHOICES ON CAMPUS
(Top) A pork tamale swimming in red sauce served with refried beans, Spanish rice, and a carne asada taco at Xochimilco on April 4.
(Middle) Xochimilco’s chile verde pork burrito completed with fresh flour tortillas, Span-ish rice, refried beans, and a lettuce and tomato salad on April 4. (Bottom) Xochimilco on Col-lege Oak Dr. serves inexpensive authentic Mexican food near the ARC campus.
Record Store Day brings about vinyl boom
By Alisha [email protected]
RECORDS FLY OFF THE SHELVES ON THIS MUSIC ENTHUSIAST’S HOLIDAY
Record Store Day patrons looking through bins to find limited vinyl that was released for the “holiday” at the Sunrise Dimple Records location in Sacramento, Calif., on April 20.
FRESH MEXICAN FOOD JUST STEPS AWAY FROM ARC
Photos by: Robert Aguilar / roberto.andrei.AR@gm
ail.com
Daniel Romandia/daniel.rom
andia@gm
ail.com
By Ed [email protected]
Chelsea Ciechanowski may not be the biggest name in the American River College Theater, but if you ask any of her peers in the theater department, you may start to wonder why. Ciecha-nowski plays Milady deWinter, the lead female role in ARCs “The Three Musketeers.”
While this is Ciechanowski’s first time auditioning on this campus, she is no stranger to the performing arts. “I’ve always been a performer, always danced or sang something. Ever since I was little, my mom would have me in dance class, or a gymnas-tics class,” Ciechanoski explains. “Any time we’d have guests over, I’d be showing them some new dance I learned or some new song I could sing.”
At Oak Ridge High School, she had roles in several shows, in-cluding “The Odd Couple” and “Dracula,” directed by her high school drama instructor, John Healy. “He was an amazing man. He worked on Broadway for years. He was an outstanding hu-man being, he really inspired me to get into theater,” said Ciecha-nowski.
She first attended Folsom
Lake College, studying medicine for two and a half years. “While I was passionate about theater, it is far from a lucrative pursuit, and neurosurgery was my sec-ond interest,” she said. While still doing pre-med, she only au-ditioned for one show at FLC but didn’t get a part. “I came to the conclusion that [studying medi-cine] definitely wasn’t for me. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life giving good people bad news,”
commented Ciechanowski. She switched her major to theater.
Just over a year ago, after fin-ishing all of the acting classes at FLC, she switched colleges and began attending ARC as a theater major. “The Three Musketeers” is the first time she is back on stage since high school.
Like most artistic people, she is most critical of herself and her abilities. The cast happens to dis-agree; Julian Strode, who plays
a musketeer and didn’t know Ciechanowski before the pro-duction, said, “She is perfect for the part. When I was looking at auditions, without a question in my mind I knew she was going to get it, I couldn’t think of any-one else in that role.”
“She’s very professional, she’s easy to direct, and she has a good work ethic,” says director Pam Downs. “I think that the audience will be very pleased with her performance in this play.”
“The Three Musketeers” has very few female roles, accord-ing to cast member Peter Mes-sick. Almost every actress au-ditioned for the part of Milady deWinter. “Some [actresses]
came in with a preconceived idea of how the character would be, and that didn’t work out,” explained Messick. “During
[Chelsea’s] audition, she brought a natural aspect, something oth-ers couldn’t. She was just there to audition. She didn’t care what part she got, she really wanted to be part of the theater.”
“Since being in this production I’ve felt better,” Ciechanowski said. “I’m happy where I am, other people think I should be where I am, and I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
Page 8 Arts&CultureApril 24, 2013
So close to Hollywood, yet so far away
By Carlos [email protected]
QueCarlos´
?
?
Quick, think of a prominent Mexican actor or star. When George Lopez, who barely counts, comes to mind first, there is an is-sue.
There have been few portray-als of Mexicans in any American pictures and television shows that aren’t blindingly obvious to stereotypes.
It’s gone on for years and the underrepresentation is a little odd when compared to the popu-lation of Mexicans and Latinos represented in the United States.
But the same old roles are, and will always be there.
Need a gangster guy? Mexican actor. Need a drug lord? Mexican actor. A hot pool guy? Mexican ac-tor. That last one isn’t so bad, but when you need a neutral lead-ing role, Ryan Gosling or another good looking white actor will get it.
The cupboard isn’t completely empty of famous leading actors. The most authentic one that comes to mind is Edward James Olmos, whose roles include “Sele-na’s Dad” and his Oscar nominat-ed role as a teacher in “Stand And Deliver.” But after Olmos, there’s a huge drop off in talent, avail-able roles, or how Mexican you really are.
Next on that list would prob-ably be actor Michael Pena, who had his breakthrough role in the 2004 Academy Award winning film “Crash.”
But after a great racially charged performance, he’s been in a slew of riveting roles, such as an elevator operator in “Tower Heist,” drug dealer and thug in “30 Minuets or Less,” or the sup-porting actor to Jake Gyllenhaal’s leading role in “End of Watch.”
On top of a short supply of ac-tors, there is also a short supply of Mexican inspired movies.
“42,” a biopic on the life of Jackie Robinson, which opened on April 12, tells the story of the racial struggle Robinson went through. “Malcolm X,” another big time movie, also profiled a fa-mous African American.
When there seems to be a chance at one, Hollywood will just have a white actor play the leading role.
Seriously, how are you going to title a movie “The Mexican” and have it star Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts? That would be like Tom Hanks being the star of “Blood In Blood Out.”
Sure, there was HBO’s “Walk-out,” starring Pena, which de-tailed the 1968 student walkouts in East Los Angeles, but that wasn’t made by Hollywood. I haven’t seen a movie about Mexi-can struggle that hasn’t gone straight to video or been a made for TV movie. I want production value.
MOVIE
INOURHEADS The Current’s Carlos Guererro shares the wide variety of what
is in his head
BOOK
GAME
MUSIC
TELEVISIONZombie Spaceship Wasteland – On top of being a really funny come-
dian and appearing on TV and in movies, Patton Oswalt shows us
his writing talent. His onstage success translates well into print
with this hilariously descriptive book of essays and stories. It’s bet-
ter if you picture his voice reading this to you.
The Simpsons: Tapped Out – “Tapped Out“ is free in the App store and available for any
smart phone. “The Sims” like game will keep you busy while
listening to character dialogue, as well as building some of your favorite
Simpsons landmarks form the show.
A$AP Rocky – “Long Live A$AP” – A clear flow, some savvy beats, and striking lyrics has kept this album bumping on my iPod since its release. On top of all that, A$AP Rocky probably has one of the best and most manageable problems to have.
“Hot Rod” – If you’re looking for a movie with no underlying messages at the end of it, “Hot Rod” is the flick for you. This movie gets its charm and cult like following with its impossibly silly antics and a story completely lacking in plausibility.
Community – This is such an exaggerated and fun look into the community college world. If you haven’t seen it, the show has a packed, all-star cast including stars like Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, and Ken Jeong, but it’s Donald Glover and Danny Pudi’s chemistry as Troy and Abed that allows them to steal scenes and carry episodes.
ARC performer finds her place onstageCHELSEA CIECHANOWSKI RETURNS TO THE THEATER IN “THE THREE MUSKETEERS”By Jonathan H. [email protected]
Theatre major Chelsea Ciechanowski on April 5, 2013. She is attending her third semester at American River College, though this is her first role in a col-lege stage production.
Stephanie Lee / lee.steph.photo@gm
ail.com
The American River Review is a publication that begins and ends with the students. Our peers bring all of the literature, photography, art, design and layout to life. Even though works are categorized into sections, including fiction, creative non-
fiction, poetry, and gallery, the pieces that fall under these labels are scattered throughout the book.
Although the white matte color compli-ments the art on the front and back of this
well-bound book, very few of the stories come with original black and white draw-ings. The rest of the art is neatly organized in the middle of the book on glossy white pages and in color.
The two sections that stand out the most are the fashion section with the title, “Night In The Pool Room,” and the food photography section that is titled, “A Day At Oak Cafe.” Un-fortunately, the fashion section lacks a little in variety and it seems like it was torn out of a hipster’s coffee table book.
For literature, two pieces were picked at random for review. The first, “Paintings in the Rafters” is a work of creative non-fiction by Dorothy Rice. It’s an intimate look at the inner workings of a family; the labels parents give their children, and how siblings stick to-gether during the process of watching their parents age, including when it comes time to sort through their personal items.
“Counting Coins in a Jar,” is one of those po-ems one person will consider gibberish and
the next will deem a work of genius. Author Shawn Lynch uses abstract imagery to touch on concepts, including love and its imperma-nence, and witnessing a hero’s mortality. It asks the question that, if we weren’t human, would we be conscious of sentiments like love, the fear of death, or the fragility of our hero’s? It’s a poem that you’ll get more out of with each read.
Our peers produced every word, and photo, and every piece of art. These creative works combined can leave you feeling like there’s a brick in your chest, as each one brings up a different emotion. It’s not a book you’ll flip through haphazardly, rather, it’s a collection of small details you’ll catch with each read.
Campus magazine offers some of students’ best efforts
By Steven Condemarin & Alisha [email protected]@gmail.com
AMERICAN RIVER REVIEW IS A VISUAL AND LITERARY DELIGHT
Read the whole story at ARCurrent .com.
Stars, black holes, anti-matter, mutual annihilation, and scientific speculation. Those are only a few of the topics that are covered in Astronomy 320 with Professor Paulo Afonso.
Walking into the room, you feel your-self back in your old science class from high school. With long tables that seat four people, and various cupboards around the room with science-related items inside, you immediately know that you are in a science class.
Although very few students are enrolled in the class, Afonso leads a very enthusi-astic lecture. From telling jokes to pausing for questions, the class doesn’t have a quiet moment.
The class starts with a 10 minute review of the key points talked about in the pre-vious class. Afonso then starts on the new topic. With the lectures revolving around the textbook, it would be a good idea to
skim through the text before class to be able to understand the lecture. Astronomy 320 is filled with many interesting topics. At one point in the class, Afonso brought the topic of anti-matter up, saying that the universe is very asymmetric, but there is still a possibility of anti-matter existing.
When Afonso showed a video in the class, he joked about there being no pop-corn.
Although the class is challenging, there are many different topics discussed that can catch your attention. At one point, Afonso said that the course is a beginning course, but beginning advanced.
The course description says: “This course explores the nature and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the universe. Empha-sis is placed on how astronomers gain and refine their knowledge of the universe and interpret the latest results of space explo-ration.”
Afonso stresses to his students that it is a good idea to read the book and meet with fellow classmates if they need extra help.
He also lets the students know that he is always available during office hours and warns students of times when he won’t be available.
The course will be tough at times, but like in any class, you have to put in the hard work for a good grade.
Page 9Scene April 24, 2013
Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im
ail.losrios.edu
CAMPUSPULSE
“Help, I’m trapped in a bottle!”
“You shouldn’t throw trash in the ocean!”
ZACHARYNAJJARComputer Science
“What is your message in a bottle?”
“I’d probably do something to creep people out, I’d write something to make people think it’s more than it is; like, ‘the body is behind the alley,’ or, ‘the treasure is behind the cove.’”
“Live life, tomorrow’s never promised. [Take] every chance that you have to make an impact on yourself or other people.”
“My message is: ‘Don’t take anything for granted, be grateful, thankful, and love your parents.’”
“If you’re going on a cross-Atlantic voyage, don’t forget to bring lemons.”
ALLISONJOHANSENMusic
ALEXTORRESCommercial Music
DRAKETOFIKinesiology
TANALAGA’AIASociology
ASHLEYDENTBiology
TAKETHISCLASS ASTRONOMY320By Cintia [email protected]
Professor Paulo Afonso, originally from Portugal, discussing the Higgs Boson during his lecture.
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
Scale is the most important thing you can learn in this class. If you are lost in this huge space between the very large and the very small, you
are lost in the course. How big the solar system is, the galaxy, how big the observable universe is.
PAULOAFONSOPROFESSOR
“The teacher really explains it and there are no stupid questions. We go
into detail about everything, which is hard, but I like a chal-lenge.
TABITHAFUGETTINTERIOR DESIGN
“
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
Emily K. Rabasto / em
ilyksmith6@
gmail.com
With all the faces on campus it’s always difficult to find someone that stands out. Most of us go through the day without so much as a second glance at any of the other people here except for a campus Starbucks employee.
Alla Kozlova quickly became one of American River Colleges most popular fig-ures at Starbucks. Every Monday through Friday morning, you can find her compli-menting her customers, and making sure everyone leaves with a smile on their face with their favorite coffee in hand.
“I love to make people happy and send them off in a good way,” Koslova says.
Although Starbucks is new on campus, Kozlova is not. She has worked at ARC for eight years, mostly in the cafeteria and formerly at Java City. Starbucks quickly became her favorite place to work, as she enjoys the higher volume of customers and the fact that students ask for many differ-ent drinks in different ways.
But her drink of choice is a standard fa-
vorite. “Caramel Macchiatto” she says, as it rolls off her tongue with an accent thick and sweet as breve foam, and her rosy cheeks bloom with glee. Koslava has her beloved drink every morning. “Unless it’s busy, then I have it after work,” she said.
“[Koslova] is very genuine,” said Court-ney Klousner, Koslova’s supervisor at Star-bucks and a psychology-philosophy double major. “When she talks to customers, she
always compliments their name. I’ve heard her say that to customers with a typical name. It’s just the cutest thing ever. And she means it every time she says it.”
Salvador “Sal” Leon, a psychology major who also loves caramel macchiatos, said it was “awesome” to have Koslova compli-ment his name. “It definitely lightens my day.”
Although Koslova spends most of her time working on campus, she was once a student at ARC as well. She studied ESL for a few semesters, but found that there wasn’t enough time to be a student and take care of her family. She does hope to one day get her degree and become a registered nurse, a job she had for 14 years back in her native country of Ukraine, before coming to Sacra-mento 10 years ago.
Outside of Starbucks, she loves to spend her time in her yard, tending to her flower and vegetable gardens, as well as camping with her family. For more peaceful mo-ments, she loves a good book. Currently, she is reading “Gone With the Wind.” “I like the history in the book,” Kozlova said.
Koslova is “the oldest, wisest of us all. She takes care of us, but we all take care of each other,” Klousner said.
For many, a little dose of Koslovas TLC, along with their cup of joe, is the perfect nurturing addition to their day.
Barista serves up coffee and complimentsA STAND OUT AT STARBUCKS, A UKRAINIAN BARISTA IS A SIGHT TO SEEBy Tracy Johnson [email protected]
Alla Kozlova on April 15, handing a drink to a customer.
The library has more to offer students than just a quiet place. Their services are constantly being updated and are offered to help students reach their full potential. Here are five things that you may not have known about the library that you may want to take full advantage of.
Laptops: Need a computer as soon as possible? Instead of walking around the computer area like a zombie for 30 min-utes, you can checkout a laptop. All you need is your student ID card. If a laptop is in stock, you can check it out for two hours. This is great for students who don’t need a printer.
Books On Reserve: At the circulation desk, there are textbooks that you can checkout for two hours. To check out a textbook overnight, you need to do so two hours before the library closes. The books are then due back the next day at 8:00 a.m. If you check out a textbook on Saturday, it is due back Monday at 8:00 a.m., because the library is closed on Sundays.
Request a Book: Need a book but it’s not on campus? You can go to the ARC website, click on “About the library,” scroll down to “request,” and follow the directions. You can order a book from the local colleges or from anywhere in the United Sates.
Research Appointments: Need help finding new sources and don’t know where to start? You can make an appointment
to have a librarian’s undivided attention for 25 minutes. During this time, you get help with things like MLA and APA citation styles, and navigate around the Library Catalog and Research Databases.
Databases: If you need more accurate sources than just Google searches, then the ARC databases might just save your grade. Through the database, you can locate mag-azine, newspaper, and journal articles that give you exact citations. You can find sec-tions such as general, arts, basic skills, e-books, etc.
Remember that there are always more things to a library than meets the eye. Li-brary hours are Monday-Thursday from 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Five things you didn’t know about the ARC librarySERVICES OFTEN OVERLOOKED BY STUDENTS ARE AVAILABLE YEAR-ROUNDBy Natasha [email protected]
Alex Panasenko / aypanasenko@gm
ail.com
Page 10 SceneApril 24, 2013
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In any job field that is typically male dominated, women have to constantly strive to prove themselves. Welding is no different. According to the Tulsa Welding School in Tulsa, Okla., less than six percent of the workforce is female.
The male-to-female ratio of welders at American River College is pretty low. “We have approximately ten percent females in our classes,” said Welding Advisor Mark Reese, who teaches two classes in the welding department at ARC.
The saying “Anything you can do, I can do better” isn’t one that applies to the women of ARC’s welding depart-ment. And it certainly doesn’t apply to two of the welding majors currently enrolled this semester, Melissa Scheetz and Sarah Spitzer.
Males are known to be hard on their female counter-
parts, but if you ask anyone of their classmates or teachers, they will all say the same thing: the guys accept them for what they can do, not based on their gender. “Female weld-ers often have more patience and attention to detail than many of the male students,” said Reese.
Jimmy Mackri, who is enrolled in Reese’s WELD 321 class, says, “I believe [women] were the backbone of our industry, but we lost it. I would like to see more women in this industry.”
What makes them stand out amongst the roughly eight women currently enrolled in one of ARC’s welding classes? What about the appeal of wearing a hood, leather gloves, and staring into fluorescent lights attracts these ladies into this line of work?
Scheetz, who’s grandparents, and now parents, own and operate Scheetz Welding Services, Inc. in Folsom, Calif. hasn’t known anything else. “I have been around welding and fabrication my whole life. Literally, my playpen was in the office,” said Scheetz.
For Spitzer, the road to welding came via a different route. “I started welding in fall of 2011. I was an art student who wanted to work more in metal. At some point I real-
ized that I liked welding more than art,” said Spitzer. And welding isn’t just fusing two pieces of metal togeth-
er; rather, there are Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG), Shield Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), Flux Core (FCAW), Metal Inert Gas (MIG), and many other welding styles. If you took a look around the back of the lab on campus, you would find ta-bles, chairs, and spare metal amongst the other objects that can be used to practice on technique.
From April 4-7, Scheetz, Spitzer and fellow female weld-er Katherine Collingwood all competed at the SkillsUSA California 46th Annual State Leadership Conference in San Diego, Calif.
SkillsUSA California is a welding conference that, accord-ing to their website, “provides leadership training to stu-dents and instructors in the career and technical education sectors.”
“We work great as a team. Katherine is a really good TIG welder, while Sarah is a good stick welder,” said Mackri. Scheetz’s fabrication team came in second, while Spitzer and Collingwood placed third.
It doesn’t matter how these ladies came into welding, what matters is how they do their job.
Fusing the gender gap at American River CollegeFEMALE WELDERS TAKE ON THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS IN CLASSBy Stephanie [email protected]
(From left to right) Katherine Collingwood, Sarah Spitzer, Christinialynne Bonilla and Melissa Scheetz outside of the ARC welding lab on April 9, 2013.
Practicing in the ARC welding and technologies lab, Jennifer Sallade’s welding rod emits a shower of sparks and smoke while honing her techniques on April 4, 2013.
Stephanie Lee / lee.steph.photo@gm
ail.com
Stephanie Lee / lee.steph.photo@gm
ail.com
American River College has a history with Proposition 8. That history includes everything from vocal protests in (Rose Marks Pa-vilion) during a moment of silence, to the Associated Student Body at the Supreme Court. Yes, even we at The Current got swept up in the controversy.
Well, a couple of those former ASB folks jumped into the ARC political fray at the last election. The U.S. Supreme Court heard ar-guments about Prop. 8 and the Defense Of Marriage Act in March. We feel it’s time for us to enter the fray as well.
The students of ARC have tre-mendous impact on the Sacramen-
to community. Alumni work in the region to help the local economy. Professors work in businesses throughout the city. Some stu-dents live their entire lives within the city limits. All these things in-fluence our local communities as well as the local economy. So when ARC students take a controversial stand on a hot button political is-sue, people listen.
The ASB is the voice of the stu-dents. They are our clubs and our representatives. When the ASB took a stance in 2008 on the issue of Prop. 8, they crossed over the line. They represent all of the stu-dents and the needs of the school. They should not have taken a stance supporting Prop. 8. They
should not have alienated stu-dents and faculty. They should not have been pushing the religious beliefs of a few people.
That same reasoning applies to our state and federal governments. With multiple recent poles show-ing that American opinion has, to use Obama’s term, “evolved” on the issue, shouldn’t our represen-tatives stop pushing ideological is-sues and side with treating every-one equally?
The arguments against gay mar-riage are many, but most of them seem to have a fundamental flaw. They say that marriage should only be between “a man and a woman.” The reasoning for this is usually backed up by biblical ref-
erences. The problem here is not with an individuals right to believe that, it is with forcing any belief on other people. Marriage, as rec-ognized by the government, is not religious.
The argument that marriage should be defined by religious val-ues misses the fact that married people receive different federal and state benefits. That argument also fails to recognize that non-religious heterosexual couples get married everyday.
We at The Current are as diverse as our campus. We are gay and we are straight. We are single and we are married. We are politically right and left. We are students. Treat us as equals.
Page 11Opinion April 24, 2013
Being in a love triangle is overrated
By Mayra [email protected]
On
the
XO
As if my life isn’t already complicated enough, I have somehow found myself in the middle of a love tri-angle. After dating a guy for a couple of months, and seriously considering set-tling down, my ex (as if he has some sort of “Mayra’s happy, let’s go mess it up” radar) contacted me want-ing to catch up.
I should’ve just ignored his whole existence, but part of me thought, “Hey what’s the harm?” It’s bet-ter than an awkward, “Oh, hey how you doing,” at the grocery store; and with my luck, that would be bound to happen on a bad hair day. At least now I could plan my outfit. I had no idea, however, that this “catch up” would consist of him confessing how much he still cared for me and wanted me back. This was coming from the same guy who never held my hand in public.
I should have got up, thrown my half-full glass of strawberry lemonade in his face, and left, just like I had repeatedly practiced in my head. But no, instead I sat there and listened to every bittersweet word as if the past two months with my new guy had meant nothing and you could almost hear the maudlin violins playing.
After our little talk, I shamelessly began seeing both my ex and my new guy. I know, I’m terrible and I felt horrible. My life had somehow become an episode of “The Bachelor-ette.” Being the object of two men isn’t as glamorous as it looks, like in the mov-ies. One day I’d be with my ex doing things we used to do (like watching “Game of Thrones” until we fall asleep), and the next day I would be having store- bought sushi with my new guy’s family and doing all of that post-couple stuff.
I had convinced myself that what I was doing was fine since I wasn’t officially committed to either guy. But I knew what I was do-ing was selfish and it had to stop. I was ruining a pos-sible future with a great guy for someone who already had his chance.
I eventually broke things off with my ex and got seri-ous with my new guy, be-cause, just like the movies, being in a love triangle is not the sort of thing that ends well and it is best left avoided.
ARC SHOULD LEARN FROM ITS PROP 8 MISTAKES
Sacramento should remember its past as it plans for the futureLOCAL SOCCER FANS SHOULD PRESSURE CITY OFFICIALS TO BUILD NEW STADIUM DOWNTOWN RATHER THAN ELK GROVE TO AVOID LOSING OUT ONCE AGAIN
Last month, it was reported that the city of Elk Grove is working toward financing to build a stadium to accommodate 15,000-18,000 peo-ple for a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. Sacramento-area investors have been in con-stant contact with the MLS about the prospect of buying a team, and the league has a strong interest in the market as well.
While locals should be excited about the prospect of another professional sports fran-chise making its way to California’s capitol, they should do so without ignoring the valu-able lessons of the not-so-distant past.
When the Sacramento Kings arrived in the mid-’80s, basketball was in a very similar predicament to that of soccer today. The NBA was quickly gaining popularity, first-class ven-ues were being built to create new revenue streams, and investors were anticipating un-precedented growth both fiscally and cultur-ally.
Three decades later, Sacramento’s anti-quated facility still sits in an isolated, subur-ban pocket of the city with its lone tenant on the verge of relocation for the third time in as many years. According to a 2011 report from the City of Sacramento, the facility cannot be renovated because its current location would not produce a timely return on the investment.
Though far more developed than the deso-late field it once was, Natomas is still a poor location for a major sports venue and a scape-
goat for ownership looking to abandon the city. City officials lacked the foresight to grant Kings’ then-owner Gregg Lukenbill the proper zoning to build the facility downtown, and it has cost us dearly.
According to a study conducted by the city in 2011, 75 percent of Sleep Train Arena’s pa-trons come from outside Sacramento. Rather than feeding downtown meters, walking past numerous bars and restaurants, and spending an extra buck or two before and after events, patrons are confined to a concrete grid where they are forced to pay premium prices for sta-
dium food. In addition to less-than-optimal consumer experiences, such an infrastructure creates a situation in which almost all parking and concession revenues go directly into team owner’s pockets.
Professional soccer in Sacramento would be a beautiful thing. Watching locals grow increas-ingly fond of their civic asset without benefiting from its full economic potential, then seeing its owners pursue greener pastures after its value sky-rockets would be anything but. It is painful to deal with the fallout of such mistakes now; doing so again would be grossly reprehensible.
By Jorden [email protected]
Crashing waves on a cerebral theory
The strangest part about the In-ternet is the fact that it never runs out of room for us to surf. We are surrounded by the overabundant waves. Some of us are drowning, while some of us are becoming professional surfers. Friends are
getting left behind without notice as we try to catch the next wave.
In 1993, British anthropologist Robin Dunbar proposed his theo-ry based on the size of the brain’s neocortex, which is the largest part of the cerebral cortex to evolve in the human brain and is correlated to several factors of human social interaction. According to Dunbar, we have a cognitive limit that only allows for us to maintain an ap-proximation of 150 stable social relationships. Some of us are able to sustain up to 230, while some may only deal with 100.
As the Internet has evolved at a frightening pace in the past two decades, news, opinion, and imag-es have been able to be shared in an instant, which exudes a craving for more attention, causing us to get lost in a web full of search bars
and preferences. We prefer certain friendships, whether online or in person, without actually interact-ing with them, until a year goes by and you run into a friend you used to spend consecutive weekends with.
Cell phones have made it easier to ignore the world in front of us for whatever world we choose to be a part of. Some of us are lost in a world of cat videos, while some of us are living high profile lives vicariously through celebrity ac-counts.
Have you ever caught yourself recalling a memory of something that you actually just saw on the Internet? Society has essentially evolved into a social experiment where subjects are led to believe that their online friendships genu-inely have the same affects as their
relationships in real life. I don’t deny the glory in finding
others across the country and, in some cases, even in foreign lands that share our interests, but I do believe we need to step out of our comfort zones, if only for a few hours during the day, to make some real life memories with the suggested cognitive limit we have been given.
Whether it was something posi-tive, negative or even meaningless, we connect incidents with individ-uals into a level of importance for what they have done for us.
The great part of human social interaction is that we are all very different and we must learn to em-brace that, learn to build upon our differences, and not divide our-selves even more through the use of cyberspace.
THE TSUNAMI KNOWN AS SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING THE WAY WE PROCESS RELATIONSHIPSBy Cesar [email protected]
There are several potential sites for Sacramento’s proposed Major League Soccer Stadium in Elk Grove.
Photo courtesy of Sac Bee
Facial hair. It is becoming more acceptable and popular in our
society, so much so that an entire culture is burgeoning just under
the surface of the mainstream, even to the point where there are beard-growing teams that
compete internationally. On April 6, 2013, at the Powerhouse Pub in Folsom, Beard Team USA
hosted the Northern California Beard and Moustache competi-tion. Competitors from all over
the state came to show off their whiskers and have a good time. As those with the beards would
say, “Let it grow.”
MOUSTACHE & BEARD
the
Social Club
1.
2. 3. 4.
5. 6.
7.
By: Daniel Romandia
1. Isiah Webb, also known as Incredibeard, holding his trophy for winning the all-around title. He also won first place in the freestyle beard category.2. A close-up of a Beard Team USA pin, worn by a competitor. Beard Team USA is the organization that represents the United States at international beard and moustache competitions.3. Simply known as Zeus, this competitor poses for the judges during the freestyle category of the com-petition. He won second place.4. Aarne Bielefeldt, one of the world’s most famous beard-growers, and one of the stars of IFC’s “Whis-ker Wars,” holding his first place award for natural beard over one foot long.5. Part of the judging is for the judges to feel the competitors’ beards and to critique the texture of the facial hair.6. A close-up of the trophies given to the competi-tors who placed in their respective categories.7. “Dodgeball Sean” competing in the natural beard-styled moustache category of the competi-tion. The more elaborate and styled facial hair could take hours of preparation and could use a lot of hair product.
