Although the presidential elec-tion is currently taking up a large portion of the average citizen’s thought, in the Contra Costa County Community College dis-trict, a much smaller, although very important, election is also taking place.

The Ward V trustee position currently filled by Robert Calone will be on the November ballot. The candidates are former Heald College math professor and fi-nancial analyst, Greg Enholm; former LMC and DVC student, De’shawn Woolridge; and former County Education Board mem-ber, Daniel Borsuk.

This is the first time none of the three candidates are Ward V incumbents.

Below are explanations of each candidate’s platform or-dered alphabetically by candidate.n Daniel Borsuk, 65, says

that as a former Diablo Valley College student who transferred to a university, he has an exten-sive public service record, and will be able to improve the fiscal and academic condition of the

district.“I am running to inform the

Contra Costa County students and taxpayers (that) special inter-ests want to continue their con-trol and influence over those who serve on the college board,” Bor-suk said. “I will not let that hap-pen because I will represent the interests of all citizens of East County.”

He states that his experience representing the Contra Costa County Board of Education at the California School Boards Association Delegate Assembly, his experience teaching a writ-ing course for the San Francisco Community College District, his service on the boards of non-profit organizations, and his ex-perience publishing and editing California Education News are all examples of his “first-hand knowledge of how California politics works or, as the case is in most instances, does not work.”

His main priorities are to pro-mote fiscal stability so students can have better access to more courses, to assure all East Con-tra Costa County taxpayers that the district will provide quality

programs, to reduce student fees, to obtain new grants to support district academic and vocational courses and the graduation and transfer rate, and to improve la-bor organization/administration relations.

Although Borsuk worries about the current financial situ-ation, he believes that new cam-pus in Brentwood is necessary because of the growing East County population. He states that, “The district should build the campus on the 110 acre site because it will allow the district to hold down real estate costs and still offer enough property to build new facilities in the future.”

Borsuk emphasized the neces-sity of Proposition 30 due to its added $5.5 million for the school budget annually.n Candidate Greg Enholm,

58, believes that his first-hand experience of the community college system, his drive to finish projects, and his work as a finan-cial analyst are reasons he should be elected. “The board does not have anyone with my experience

Diablo Valley College began this week with one less tree. An electrical transformer near the Learning Center sprung an oil leak which contaminated the soil; the tree next to it was removed as a part of the clean-up procedure.

College President Peter Garcia reported the transformer, next

to the faculty-staff lounge, had been leaking and described the incident as “not an uncommon phenomenon,” in a safety alert which was sent to the entire cam-pus on Sept. 13.

In response to the tree need-ing to be removed, DVC student Marcos San Mateo said “…you can’t mess with mother nature, man. That’s the one thing every-one is trying to stop…”.

Student Aaron Petrossian

agreed: “There should be another way to clear the problem.”

The transformer leak was discovered while “preparing for a power shutdown which was planned for the week of August 10” as Chrisanne Knox said in a follow-up campus alert dated Sept. 14. Knox mentioned that the Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) levels were tested by RGA Environmental and were

INQUIRERThe

Student Voice of diablo Valley college

• NEWS 1, 2 • SPORTS 3 • OPINIONS 4 • EDITORIAL 5 • ENTERTAINMENT 6 • FEATURES 6 • CAMPUS BUZZ 4 • CALENDER 2 • POLICE BEAT 2 • STAFF INFORMATION 4 •

Math professor gets published Page 6

DVC alums produce album Page 6

Volume 80 No. 2 Copyright © 2012 The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College

While many people spent their Saturday morning tucked fast-asleep, 30-plus la-crosse players braved the early morning chill for the 9th An-nual Pleasant Hill’s Commu-nity Service Day – all for the betterment of others.

Said others were the stu-dents at Gregory Gardens Elementary School. Over the course of the day, the team weeded and replanted the school’s gardens, helped build cabinets, and even tackled a

project of great artistic am-bitions: painting the United States across a stretch of the school’s playground concrete area. This year marks the third year running that the team has collaborated with the school - something that Principal Cheryl Kolano was eager to praise.

“It’s so great that the team have come to help us again,” Kolano enthused. “We really appreciate their hard work, and it makes such a difference to the school.”

The lacrosse team is cer-tainly no stranger to hard

work. Their history, wrought with arduous struggles, began in 2008 when Terry Arm-strong – now the club’s advi-sor – first inquired about es-tablishing a lacrosse program at DVC. While the athletic director was quick to dismiss his efforts, Armstrong found support in Ralph DePew, the PE department chair. After some creative recruit-ment tactics, Armstrong was able to rustle up just enough lacrosse-enthusiasts to start a lacrosse club.

Despite being a club with no school funding, the team

has managed to develop from a collection of players who lacked a proper uniform to a team that has beaten Stanford, UC Davis, and University of Nevada, Reno - just to name a few. “Although we are a club, we feel very much that we are a team,” explained Devon Bahary, Club President and Captain of the lacrosse team. “We were the first and remain one of the only community college lacrosse teams in Cali-fornia who play competitively against four year universities let alone other countries.”

Being a club has clearly

not undermined the stu-dents’ dedication as athletes. “We might as well be taking

a three-unit class,” Bahary admitted. “We practice nine hours a week, but we still

have homework like everyone else… in that aspect we are no different from other stu-dent athletes.”

Indeed, the efforts of the lacrosse players have helped make DVC a model lacrosse program. Not only has the program attracted students from across the country, but other community colleges have approached Armstrong for a guide. “I’m going to have to sit down and write up the model,” Armstrong laughed.

www.TheInquirerOnline.com Thursday, Sept. 27 - Wednesday Oct. 10, 2012

MATTHEW EMMANUEL / The Inquirer

Chris Rowney, attacker for DVC Lacrosse team, working with community volunteers for Pleasant Hill’s 9th Annual Community Service Day.

Lacrosse contributes to community SAMANTHA CHIU

Staff writer

Transformer leak takes treeHAKEEM MONTES

Editor In chief

“We really appreci-ate their hard work, and it makes such a difference to the school.”

~Cheryl Kolano

MATTHEW EMMANUEL / The InquirerAn electric transformer was found to be leaking oil causing the loss of a tree.

Ward V candidates offer solutions

WARD 5, Page 2

ERIKA PETERSONStaff Writer

LACROSSE, Page 2

TRANSFORMER, Page 2

Viking football dominatesChabot College Page 3

2 Thursday, September 27 - Wednesday, October 10, 2012News

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CALENDAR

Police Beat

Thursday Sep. 27

Art Gallery Show “Inked Surfaces” until 3:00 p.m.

Library Exhibit: Political button displayall day until Nov. 30

Library Exhibit: “Scenes From My Life” by Karen Lee. Open until Oct. 13

Brown Bag Workshop w/ Glenn Onizuka – Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Student Union Conference Room 204

Friday Sept. 28

College Closed – Native American Day

Open Garden and Plant Sale

Every Friday through November. 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Parking Lot #9 DVC Women’s Soccer vs Cosumnes River College, 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday Oct. 2

Applied Music Recital2:00 p.m. Music Room 101

College Success WorkshopWeekly Tuesdays 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. Student Union Conference Room 204

Brown Bag Workshop “Alternative to Alternative Energy”12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.Student Union Conference Room 204

Friday Oct. 5

DVC Symphonic Band Concert8:00 p.m. Performing Arts Center

Saturday Oct. 6

DVC Choral Festival 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.Performing Arts Center.

.September 12, 2012

Student had a seizure in front of the Student Services Center.

Student had a seizure in front of the Student Services Center.

September 14, 2012

A golf cart owned by a construction company was stolen from the overflow lot.

Have a tip for a story?

Contact the Inquirer at 925-685-1230, ext. 2313.

Ward 5From Page 1

LacrosseFrom Page 1

on it and consequently they lose literally millions of dol-lars in ways that someone like myself would look at this and say ‘hey you need to look at this to avoid all of that,’” he said.

His top priorities are promot-ing the building of the 110 acre Brentwood community college, allow-ing high school students to take LMC courses, to change the current STEM (science, tech-nology, engi-neering, and mathemat-ics) system to an enhanced EMASET (English, math-ematics, arts, science, engi-neering, and technology) system, and to set up three community advisory com-mittees for the Bond Oversight Committee. He believes that his experience on various communi-ty-planning committees and his two published books are proof that he can process a lot of in-formation in order to reach his allotted goals.

Enholm is also an avid sup-porter of Prop. 30.

n De’Shawn Woolridge, 21, believes that his knowledge of the college infrastructure, his understanding of the challenges facing students and faculty, his strong advocacy for important issues, and his ability to function as a team with diverse people are reasons he should be elected.

With his experience hold-ing student positions on various community college boards, and

his current positions on sev-eral district councils, Woolridge believes that “No one should be judged because of their age whether they are 21 or 70.”

His main priorities are to work towards better student retention through financial relief initia-tives, to institute digital textbooks

and aid with transportation costs, to col-laborate with businesses, community and non-profit organizations for district recourses, to sustain col-lege programs through grants and donations, and to pre-pare students through stron-ger alignment of academic curriculum.

Woolridge feels that, due to the district’s cur-rent economic situation, the 17 acre lot is the only feasible option for the Brentwood area. “When more funding is available then we can devote funding to the Brent-wood project and increase it to a larger size.”

Woolridge thinks that in-creased outreach to local high schools to align high school cur-riculum to community college curriculum would prepare stu-dents to succeed in college. He believes stronger articulations with UC/CSU for more transfer-able courses is extremely impor-tant, and he states that increasing CTE job training would make sure that students are learning high in demand job market skills.

Woolridge supports Prop 30.

Where the lacrosse commu-nity lacks in size it makes up for in passion. Attacker Chris Rowney explained, “When you find a football player, you compare how good your teams are. When you bump into a lacrosse player, you go, ‘you play lacrosse? Oh man, I love that sport!’”

It’s this deep love for the sport which has helped the players remain grounded despite their whirlwind of success. “We have a deep ap-preciation that we attend a community college with such a high transfer rate that also

allows us to play lacrosse,” ex-plained Bahary. “We want to

give back to the community which has made this possible for us.”

The team certainly left their mark behind at the elementary school. The teams’ enthusi-asm for the sport was clearly infectious, with third-graders squeaking their promise to show up at future lacrosse games. As midfielder Cory Callahan joked: “The only people who don’t like lacrosse are the people who don’t know about it!”

You can watch the Vikings play Simon Fraser University at the Viking Field on Friday

reported to be at the very low level of 1.5 ppm.

Knox stated, “…because PCB concen-trations are less than 50ppm the release was reported as a non_PCB re-lease…DVC officials have chosen to fol-low the strict-est clean-up protocol.”

Knox stated, “The majority if not all of the work will be done when stu-dents are not in class.”

RG Environmental had been

awarded the contract for clean-up consultation. The college is “not

required to get bids in an emergency sit-uation and (is) allowed to use trusted ven-dors who are familiar with the required work and who can get the job done,” said Knox. The final cost of the work is not known at this time, Knox said.

As of Sept. 25 at 2:25 p.m., the tree and

contaminated soil have been re-moved and the new concrete pad

has been installed. Knox reports the installation

of the new transformer is expect-ed to be completed by weekend of Sept. 30. A power outage is ex-pected to take place during the in-stallation of the new transformer. Specific dates and times of the outage will be communicated in advance said Knox.

DVC alum Craig Sanburn, said, “I think trees are good and oil is bad. Everything possible should be switched to solar [power].

The DVC lacrosse team contributes to the community with volunteer work at Gregory Gardens Elementary School.

Sebastian Rene / The Inquirer

TransformerFrom Page 1

““The only peo-ple who don’t like lacrosse are the

people who don’t know about it!””

~CHRIS ROWNEYLacrosse attacker

Contact SAMANTHA CHIU at SCHIU@TheInquirerOnline.com

“...because PCB concentrations are

less than 50ppm the release was reported

as a non_PCB re-lease…DVC offi-

cials have chosen to follow the strictest clean-up protocol.”

~CHRISANNE KNOXCollege Spokesperson

Contact HAKEEM MONTES at HMONTES@TheInquirerOn-

line.com

MATTHEW EMMANUEL/ The Inquirer

The new transformer is expected to be completed by September 30.

Enholm believes that his experience on various commu-nity-planning com-mittees and his two published books are proof that he can

process a lot of in-formation in order to reach his allotted

goals.

ERIKA PETERSON at EPeter-son@TheInquirerOnline.com

The score did not tell the whole story in the DVC soc-cer team’s 3-1 loss against American River College in their first conference game on Friday.

American River College came out quick when for-ward Ceci Velazquez scored the first goal in the opening five minutes of the first half. Knowing the importance of a conference win, both teams played strong and fought for possession of the ball. The first half ended with the score 1-0.

The second half started with both teams mixing it up early, and Velazquez scored her second goal in a break-away when communication in the DVC defense broke down. The Vikings took con-trol after that, maintaining the majority of the possession and winning most of the free balls.

In frustration, American River College resorted to

physical play and a foul re-sulted in a penalty kick 80 minutes into the game. Wendy Magarin stepped up and ham-mered the ball into the back of the netting to bring the game to 2-1.

With 10 minutes left in the game, assistant coach Sam Liubicich knew the game was not over. The Vikings were controlling the ball and play-ing to each other’s feet. In previous games, the Vikings were able to close out games and finish strong, so Liubicich

was counting on the team to pull themselves out of the hole they were in.

Unfortunately, one last goal put the game out of reach when American River College broke away to win the game at 3-1. Haley Paxton, a defender for the Vikings, felt there was “negative energy after the early goal,” and that they were not able to fully get back into the game.

The Vikings are now ranked fifth in the Big Eight Confer-ence, but there are still many games left to secure a better position and a shot at the playoffs. The next home game is Friday Sept. 28 against Co-sumnes River.

Sports 3The Inquirer - Diablo Valley CollegeThursday, September 27 - Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Football routs Chabot 44-20

HAKEEM MONTES / The InquirerDiante Jackson makes a leaping touchdown catch over a Chabot defender. Jackson scored three touchdowns and had 11 receptions for 211 yards.

Entering their second home game 0-3, Vikings football left Friday’s matchup against Chabot College with a resound-ing 44-20 victory and over 500 yards passing.

“It’s great to get our first win, especial-ly after the three weeks we’ve had,” said head coach Mike Darr. “They’ve played well enough to win all three (previous) games and they knew it. Playing hard was never a problem so it’s nice for them to have that reward walking off.”

DVC wide receivers led the charge in Friday night’s victory, notably sopho-more Diante Jackson, who played in the Rose Bowl with Oregon for the 2009 season before coming to DVC.

Jackson thanked fellow receiver An-

dre’ Lewis for allowing him to get open on several occasions against Chabot.

“(We) started off slow… but we got it together in the second half and learned from our mistakes… it ain’t even about the numbers to tell you the truth, I’m just glad that we got the win,” said Jackson.

While it may not be about the num-bers for Jackson, it easily could be. Jack-son scored three touchdowns and 211 yards, entering the game leading the state in receptions. (Teammates Cameron Rowland and Andre’ Lewis were second and eighth, respectively.)

Jackson said, “(Oregon) wasn’t the right fit for me, I didn’t wanna go there at first, I kind of got forced to go, a lot of people don’t know that.”

Jackson said he took time off from football to get himself in the right mind-set after his father passed away last year. “I was out partying and doing the wrong things, and I’m better than that. This is me getting myself back together.”

Lewis spoke on the team’s pregame attitude against a Chabot team that was also 0-3 going into Friday’s game, “We

came in with the mentality that we were gonna eat and fight all four quarters. We couldn’t come out flat.”

The Vikings’ first home game against Santa Rosa on Sept. 7 was a much closer game, and this proved detrimental for DVC, which staged a second half come-back to no avail. Santa Rosa won in the final minutes, 28-26.

“Our mistakes and our penalties forced us to lose that game and on top (of that) we didn’t finish,” said corner-back Malachi Harris. “My job in the Santa Rosa game was to take away big pass plays. We weren’t where we were supposed to be so we focused in practice on that.”

Prolific passing gives Vikings their first win of the season

ANDREW O’CONNOR-WATTSManaging editor

RYAN PETERS / The InquirerKate Sallstrom runs at the George Brooks Invitational at Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez. Sallstrom finished in first place for DVC and fourth place overall.

Cross Country: 2nd and 3rd place at George Brooks Invite

RYAN PETERSStaff writer

Contact ANDREW O’CONNOR-WATTS at AOConnorWatts@TheInquirerOnline.com

“Playing hard was never a problem so it’s nice for them to have that reward

walking off.”

~Mike Darr, Head coach

The Diablo Valley Cross Country team earned a second place finish for the men and a third place finish for the women in Friday’s First Annual George Brooks Invitational meet at Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez.

The women’s 5k run flew by, with the win-ning time of 19:32. Kate Sallstrom placed 1st for DVC and 4th overall in the event. Behind her, Carmen Martinez came in 32 seconds lat-er to post an 8th place finish. At 21:18, Kaeli Hancock placed 10th overall and 3rd for DVC.

“I feel like I left it all out there, especially in the last 100 meters,” said Sallstrom after the race.

In the men’s 4.1 mile event, DVC stacked up nu-merous top 20 finishes. First for DVC and 5th overall, Domi-nique Caston started strong and held his pace for a time of 23:20. Dylan Winn followed him in 10th overall with a time of 23:27. In third place, Damian Kellogg finished in 24:06.

Friday’s race was a practice run for the Big 8 Conference event that will feature the same course on Oct. 26. Volunteer Jim H. stated,

“Everything went smooth and the races went off without a hitch.”

Coach Shelly Pierson worked her runners up to the meet, so they went into the meet fa-tigued. She wanted to use this meet as a practice run and allow for something to build on.

Pierson said that in spite of this being more of a training run, her teams placed in the top three of both events. “A second place finish and a third place finish…happy coach,” said Pier-son.

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Advertisement

“I feel like I left it all out there, especially in the

last 100 me-ters.”

~Kate SallstromCross country runner

Contact RYAN PETERS at RPeters@TheInquirerOnline.

com

DVC drowns vs. American River

RYAN PETERSStaff writer

“(There was) negative en-ergy after the early goal.”

~Haley PaxtonDefender

Soccer defense flounders in Friday’s 3-1 loss

Contact RYAN PETERS at RPeters@TheInquirerOnline.

com

STAFF WRITERS Gabriel Agurcia, Thalia Avila, Anthony Camancho, Samantha Chiu, James Frazier, Julia Kinkella, Josh Knoll, John Michaelson, Celeste Milina, Ryan Peters, Erika Pe-terson, Sofia Putri, Riley Shingler, Jessica Trimmer, David Vargas, Colleen Wallace, Brandon Zaeni

PHOTOGRAPHERS Matthew Emmanuel, Sioban Flynn,DESIGNERS Jack Dillion, Ransom Fulgham

INSTRUCTIONAL LAB COORDINATOR Ann StenmarkADVISER Mary Mazzocco

EDITOR IN CHIEF Hakeem MontesMANAGING EDITOR Andrew O’Connor-WattsONLINE EDITOR Kellyn BorstNEWS EDITOR Aidan HerrickOPINIONS EDITOR Brenan Peterman ARTS & FEATURES EDITOR Josh KnollPHOTO CHIEF Karin Jensen DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nick Holmes

Editorial Board Staff

• Phone: 925.685.1230 ext. 2313 • Fax: 925.681.3045 • Email: inquirer@dvc.edu • Website: www.TheInquirerOnline.com • Printed Every Two Weeks •

What do you think about California Community Col-

leges losing over halfa million students over the

last four years?

EditorialBuzzTh

e

THE INQUIRER

Diablo Valley College321 Golf Club Road, H-102

Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

The Inquirer is published Thursday mornings during the school year by the journalism students of Diablo Valley College. All unsigned articles appearing on the opinions page are editorials and reflect a two-thirds majority opinion of the editorial staff. All signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writer or artists and not necessarily those of The Inquirer, Diablo Valley College or Contra Costa Community College District.

Interviewer:Thalia AvilaPhotographer: Ryan Peters

“It speaks to the country’s priorities... Military is going to come first and everything else that is essential will be scaled

back.”

Julian Rodriguez, 21Business

“I agree tuition has gone up a lot, but particularly for four-year colleges so that means that commu-nity colleges are in much more demand and I think that’s why more schools

are impacted and we can’t get a lot of students in.”

Kelsey G, 18 Music therapy

“That’s horrible. I mean it’s going to have a huge nega-tive impact on California

economically in the future. I just wished that the

politicians could figure out that the best investment in the future in California is

on schools and education...

Matt Cody, 37 Computer Science

“I believe people go more for the four year route

or are just depending on a high school G.E.D. to

get them through a career path and that speaks for

desperation. ”

Alyssa Kim, 17Undecided

“It could be anywhere from students not want-ing to continue school or people not being able to afford it because school

does cost a lot money now that they raised the tuition

fees for school.”

Michael Griffin, 20Undecided

Letters to the editorDear editor,I would like to refer to the report of

the Editor in Chief Mr. Brian Dono-van in the issue of the Inquirer of May 17, and to kindly request you to include this letter in the next printed issue of the Inquirer.

“I am grateful to the staff of the Inquirer particularly Mr. Donovan for attending the lecture to introduce my book “Understanding Islam: Fifty Questions”, organized by the Muslim Student Alliance Club at Diablo Val-ley College. However, there are some issues that included in the report that were taken out of context and needed clarification. I provided prayers for peace in Arabic that was part of the tradition, but I said the same prayers in English. The reference to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict came when I spoke about the efforts I made after the ter-rorist attacks of 9/11 to enhance co-operation between all sectors of the American society including the Mus-lim communities. Since then, I have spoken at many religious, social and academic institutions, and called for a better understanding, mutual respect and cooperation between the Mus-lim world and the United States of America. I always emphasize that there should be a understanding that all our faiths have common roots, and the re-ferred to the Islamic traditions (as well all other traditions), which emphasize that the best people who serve other

people in the best manner they can. In the meantime, I referred to three ques-tions which had been facing the Unit-ed States and the Muslim world before 9/11. First, the Palestinian/ Israeli conflict, which should be resolved on the basis of peace and justice, mutual recognition and normal relations be-tween all the states in the region after ending the Israeli control over the Pal-estinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Second, end the United Na-tions embargo against Iraq (between 1991 and 2001) that led to the death of about one million Iraqi people mostly children, women and old men. Third, I said that the Muslim world was (and is still) part of the Global South, and it was suffering from hard economic conditions, lack of good health sys-tems, famine and all other problems. I called for solving these issues in or-der to prevent terrorists from exploit-ing the despair and anguish of many people,and directing them to attack civilians and other targets. Each com-munity should acquire accurate and pertinent knowledge and understand-ing of the cultures and aspirations of the other communities, cooperate, and resolve conflicts by peaceful means. That is the way for peace justice and in the Holy Land and all over the world.”

-Dr. Amer Araim

Dear DVC Inquirer,

Why is it that all my classes are always full or even over filled in the beginning of the semester, and then by the end of the semester they are almost empty? I have noticed this mysterious occurrence every semes-ter since I started college here at Di-ablo Valley College two years ago. Sure, some people take a class and then realize that it is too difficult for them, or some students may have a personal emergency in which case they have to drop the class. These are all valid and true reasons of why the number of students decreases as the semester goes on. Another reason that I found also contributes to the dropout rate is that some stu-dents are only in it for the money. What do I mean by that? Well, there are a lot of students who qualify for financial aid here at DVC, and once they get their check they are out. They do not care about having “W’s” on their record because they are just in it for the cash.

Although the government has taken some action against this, such as the new law where students can only repeat a class three times at one institution, there is still more that needs to be done to fight against this crime. It is not fair to students who are actually here to learn and meet the requirements needed to transfer because those money hungry students are only taking up room in classes in the be-ginning of the semester when other students are trying to find sections to add. I propose that every student who receives financial aid from the government must not be allowed to drop a class without a valid rea-son in which case the student must provide evidence of the reason for dropping the class. It is not fair to the tax payers who help fund the fi-nancial aid students receive, and it is even more unfair to the students here at DVC working hard toward earning a degree.

Sincerely, Karen Becerra-Bautista

Islam speech story omits context Money hungry students

Sept. 1 was Teachers’ Day in Singa-pore, an official national celebration and school holiday recognizing the dedication of teachers, where stu-dents would bring little meaningful gifts to school for teachers or write letters and cards for them.

Unfortunately, I have observed that the commitment of teachers is much less appreciated in the United States.

Albeit being at a community college, DVC instructors are no less than in-spirational and influential. They have played a huge part in shaping who I am, which explains my astonishment when I observed the lack of teacher appreciation from students on cam-pus. On the final days of instruction

for the past three semesters I attended DVC, the most significant form of gratitude I witnessed appeared to be people who thanked instructors while shaking their hands.

To address this concern, I will use specific examples I have encountered. The first instructor I would like to thank and commend is Professor Ben-jamin Armerding. The English 126 Critical Thinking class taught by him is by far the most mentally stimulating course I have ever taken in DVC. Ex-pecting an ordinary English class with discussions of critical thinking, I was amazed when presented with theories from Rhetoric, Philosophy, Psychol-ogy, Sociology, Literature, and even Politics in this course.

The second professor that left an indelible impact is Professor Katy Ag-nost, who taught my English 123 Lit-

erature class. Her cheerful personality always brightened the classroom, and she was always ready to lend an ear whenever I encountered problems in my personal life. Professor Agnost’s class intensified my passion for Lit-erature with her creative utilization of graphic novels for two of our texts.

I have also encountered instructors in DVC who have amazed me with their extraordinary talents and unique personalities. Professor Carolyn Seef-er with her entertaining traveling sto-ries and dedicated contribution to the DVC Scholarship Committee; Pro-fessor Claudia Eckelmann with her love of cats and adventure; Professor Martha Laham, a Business instructor who breaks social taboos with her va-riety of tattoos; Professor Jacob Van Vleet, who wrote a book that is used as a text in UC Berkeley and two Aus-

tralian universities; Professor Kevin Young with his interesting experienc-es around the globe; and last but not least, Professor Beatrice Osborne, who willingly wrote my scholarship recommendation letter despite being home bound after an accident.

I feel that there should be an im-provement in teacher appreciation in DVC. After all, William Prince once remarked, “Teachers appreciate being appreciated, for teacher appreciation is their highest award.” Who ought we thank but the individuals that have dedicated their lives to educate us? Without them, we couldn’t soar towards greater heights and attain brighter futures ahead.

Have you noticed fewer stu-dents in California’s commu-nity colleges? Unfortunately we may not have noticed either. According to Gover-nor Brown, there are roughly 500,000 fewer students in the California community college system compared to 2008.

According to a report of the Master Plan for Higher Education issued by Califor-nia’s state legislature, “In or-der for California to compete in the global marketplace, re-place the baby boomer gen-eration and ensure a cohesive and democratic multicultural society, our State must keep… its commitment to universal access for every qualified stu-dent.”

This proclamation on behalf of our state’s legislature im-plies that the students denied access were not “qualified”.

A double standard lies in the cap on California resident enrollment for CCCCD; a sys-tem which they contribute to through local property and sales taxes. However, there is no cap on the number of out-of-state students and interna-tional students which may en-ter into the same system.

According to the DVC website, the current per-unit course enrollment fee is $46, while out-of-state students pay over $250 per unit.

Not only are California stu-dent residents being denied access to a system which they fund in part, but they are los-ing seats to those able to pay higher enrollment fees.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) issued a report emphasizing the im-portance of college educated residents: “California will need

to produce many more col-lege graduates if it is to even partially meet its increasing economic demand for college graduates… The retirement of the large and relatively well-educated baby-boom co-hort…and demographic shifts toward groups that have his-torically low rates of college attendance and graduation.”

With a reduction in college graduates, residents of Cali-fornia will have fewer career options causing them to take entry-level jobs.

As community college stu-dents are being denied access, California will find it increas-ingly difficult to compete with the world labor market. The recent dramatic reduction of community college students is a negative mark on the future of this once-flourishing state economy.

Kellyn Borst/ The Inquirer

In the article titled, “ASDVC deletes critics”, which was published in the print edition of the Inquirer on May 3, 2012 and on theinquireronline.com on May 7, 2012, the description of an April 26, 2012 ASDVC executive meet-ing, which missed its 72 hour public posting deadline, was misclassified as a “secret” meeting.

CORRECTION

Take a little time to thank teachers

Where’d they go?

SOFIA PUTRIStaff writer

Contact SOFIA PUTRI at sputri@TheIn-quirerOnline.com

4 Thursday, September 27 - Wednesday, October 10, 2012The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College

Opinions

JESSICA TRIMMER / The InquirerProfessor Katrina Keating displays the cover of her coauthored book, “No Lunch, No Money, No Rice: The Pursuit of Education in Asia.”

“The Master” is the bril-liantly acted and adeptly di-rected epic tale of a World War II veteran whose drunk-en stumbling takes him to the charismatic leader of a cult religion called, “the Cause,” which vaguely resembles Sci-entology.

For director Paul Thomas Anderson’s (“There Will Be Blood”) sixth feature-length installment, he provides aes-thetically stunning cinematog-raphy and is the first fictional film shot in 65mm since 1993. The film also boasts Oscar-worthy performances by established actors Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. That said, the film lacked a clear message and left the viewer wanting to know more about the motivations of cult leader Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman) and his group of followers, namely his devoted wife Peggy (exceptionally por-trayed by Amy Adams).

The film begins with Fred-die Quell (Phoenix), a trou-bled alcoholic soldier at the end of his tour of duty dur-ing WWII. The first signs of Freddie’s unusual nature and loneliness appear when a group of his fellow soldiers build a woman from beach sand and Freddie uses the im-age to masturbate and simu-late sex with before falling asleep with his arm around her.

After several failed attempts to rejoin society, Freddie flees to San Francisco where he sneaks onto a ship owned by self-described writer, doctor, nuclear physicist and theo-retical philosopher, Lancaster Dodd. Instead of chastising Freddie’s indiscretion, Dodd

believes he can help Freddie, using his method of “pro-cessing” which attempts to confront past traumas using name repetition and recalling of past traumatic events.

Dodd senses Freddie’s helpless floundering and both men see in each other the possibility of a mutually beneficial, albeit unusual re-lationship. Freddie physically attacks any dissenters of the Cause and although he does not approve of Freddie’s violent reactions, a particu-larly memorable scene de-picts Dodd defending Freddie when several family members voice their mistrust and dis-like of Freddie.

Dodd makes little progress in helping Freddie cope with his troubled past, and Fred-die’s volatile anger reinforces a similar tendency in Dodd. While usually a charming and polite gentleman. Dodd’s own brutish nature surfaces with bursts of extreme anger when challenged or questioned by one partygoer and in another scene, by an avid Cause fol-lower, Helen.

Toward the end of the mov-ie, Dodd explains to Freddie he must commit to the Cause for life or never show his face again. Dodd finishes by tell-ing Freddie, if you discover how to live without a master, please tell us how you did it.

While somewhat unclear, it seems Dodd feels Freddie is his ultimate test subject. If Freddie stays with him, Dodd believes he can “cure” him, but an uncommitted Fred-die would be a reminder of Dodd’s failure and an invali-dation of the Cause.

Because of the unsatisfy-ing ending, and vague mes-sage, “The Master” is not for everyone but a must-see for

cinephiles, that leaves the viewer with endless possibil-ities for post-film discussion. Phoenix gives a stunningly vulnerable performance and immerses himself in the role to the point where every movement belongs to Quell, not Phoenix. Hoffman so phenomenally portrays the captivating Dodd, he leaves the viewer begging for deeper exploration into his character, giving yet another reason to never question his range as an actor.

ANDREW O’CONNOR-WATTSManaging editor

‘The Master’ delivers cinematic mastery

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Tsuchida added that “one of the big problems is that a lot of these countries are not putting enough money into education, into public education, for their people.” Keating agrees, adding that “the world needs better infra-structure for education.”

This book is both a re-minder and an inspiration for students. One the one hand, it reminds us that our problems are first world problems. In lieu of the mess surrounding budget cuts in California, “at least we still have the open access to higher education” professor Tsuchida said. “I think it’s important to have this perspective.”

On the other hand, the book acknowledges the struggles of students every-

where. “You’re not alone, you know, other people are struggling too,” Keating said. “It is a global problem.” Tsuchida remarked that “a lot of students have found it moving and encouraging.”

Professor Keating and professor Tsuchida have sponsored several students in Southeast Asia over the years, giving them the op-portunity to attend and finish school. For about fifteen dol-lars a month, they are able to send a student to school and reimburse the family for the loss of labor.

“One of the most abso-lutely worthwhile things we’ve ever done is to help somebody transform their own life,” said professor Tsu-chida, further explaining that

these students are far from helpless. “They just need that little bit of extra support to make it happen, which is exactly what student loans are for us.”

One student that they sponsored, My, whose three older brothers had to stop go-ing to school, is now study-ing in Massachusetts with the U.S. Government Global Exchange Program. “She’s just taken off” professor Tsu-chida said enthusiastically.

To learn how to help, to buy the book, or to view a free preview of the book, go to Nolunch.org.

LUNCHFrom Page 6

The Inquirer 5The Inquirer - Diablo Valley CollegeThursday, September 27 - Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Philip Seymour Hoffman, left, and Joaquin Phoenix star in the story about a charismatic leader and his tr0ubled follower.

Courtesy of ANNAPURNA PICTURES

ANDREW O’CONNOR-WATTS at aoconnorwatts@TheInquir-

erOnline.com

JESSICA TRIMMER at jtrim-mer@TheInquirerOnline.com

Your Art could go here!

New Arts & Features editor is now seeking original, student produced artwork for print publication. Please send submissions care of: jknoll@

theinquireronline.com or in person to H102

Advertisement

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DVC alums ‘Grow

Up’

The new release from Wal-nut Creek native band, enti-tled “Grow Up” offers a cyn-ical but decidedly optimistic view of an uncertain future through the nostalgic lens of reminiscence. The melodic harmonization of guitarists

Sean Gaffney and Rob I. Miller serve as a dream-like vehicle for Miller’s silken baritones and decidedly high-brow lyrics.

Bassist Charlie Koliha and precision drummer Nick Clark keep the high intensity tempo constant throughout the album. Catchy and poi-gnant choruses clearly com-municate the band’s sense of yearning to find a place in a world that seems to discount or reject them. The theme of “us against the world” is a reoccurring theme in “Grow-ing Up”, as demonstrated in coming-of-age anthems such as “Undesireables” and “Strange and Futureless”.

The songs range from pop influenced dance tracks like “Wild Summer” and “Nineties Children”, to com-plex and nuanced narrative songs like “Her Parents” and “Saint Obscure”. The band’s polished, deliberate sound, driven by coherent and catchy choruses, conjures compari-sons to legends of post-punk alt-rock such as Weezer, Sub-lime and Incubus.

“Grow Up” represents a polished and precise sound with a contemporary sense of self-discovery. It’s an al-bum everyone should hear.

JOSH “GRASSY” KNOLLArts & Features editor

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No money, no lunch

DVC math professor Ka-trina Keating and Skyline college math professor Ta-dashi Tsuchida have co-written and self-published a book called “No Lunch, No Money, No Rice: The Pur-suit of Education in Asia” about the struggles of many students in rural Southeast Asia. The title was inspired by a woman named Xue from northern Vietnam who was interviewed for the book. “I ask my father if I can go and he say to me ‘We have no lunch, no money, no rice, and no pig so you can-not go to school.’”

Keating and Tsuchida, a married couple, made their first trip to Vietnam in 2004 without the intention of writ-ing a book, but Southeast

Asia quickly became their second home. “We made lifelong friends on that first trip,” professor Keating re-membered. Although they planned to stay a few days, they ended up spending two weeks.

Interviews and photo-graphs in the book were col-lected by the couple in the summer of 2008 and fall of 2009. Professor Tsuchida, who had been teaching at Skyline College for eight years, was able to get a sab-batical for the fall semester. Professor Keating had only been teaching at DVC for three years, so she took a se-mester off unpaid.

Being educators, they were both surprised to find that many of the people they met had been unable to fin-ish school. Some people they met had been unable to attend at all. “It was diffi-cult hearing the sad stories,” professor Tsuchida recalled. “We were so surprised by the spirit of people. They’re willing to do so much to get an education.”

“All of these stories are close to our hearts,” added professor Keating.

Professor Tsuchida ex-plained that part of the prob-lem is teachers’ pay. “In Cambodia the teachers are paid so little that they’re re-ally like poverty wages.” He added that “in order to sur-vive they’ve found ways to extort money from their stu-dents,” such as by charging them for lessons. “There’s all kinds of variations on the scam.”

A larger part of the prob-lem is that many students are physically unable to get to school. Professor Keat-ing recalled a particularly inspiring story about a stu-dent who walked four hours every day to get to and from school. She also mentioned a story from Cambodia in which a student could not get to school because “they could not afford a thirty dol-lar bicycle.”

JESSICA TRIMMERStaff writer

“All of these stories are close to

our hearts,”

~Katrina KeatingDVC math professor / author

Professor’s ‘Pursuit’ for improved pedagogy

LUNCH, Page 5

Courtesy of MISTER LOVELESS

JOSH KNOLL at jknoll@TheIn-quirerOnline.com

“The album will stand as a call to arms and a chal-

lenge to a genera-tion that will have to find their place in the world and

make it their own.”

~MISTERLOVELESS.COM

6 Thursday, September 27 - Wednesday, October 10, 2012The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College

Arts & Entertaiment