March 17, 2011 eccunion.com

UnionEl Camino College

At Gardena High School, a deafening shot fi red accidentally from inside a backpack struck two in-nocent classmates. Tennessee State University saw a heated argument between two classmates lead to gunshots fi red. In Columbine in 1999, two assail-ants massacred 13 classmates in the broad daylight.

And now with the recent tragedy in Tucson, campus shootings are thrust into the limelight again. The question of campus safety is raised, and stu-dents are wondering whether they should feel safe.

“What happened in Columbine was pretty scary, and set the tone on how school shootings can get crazy and some times can’t be prevented,” Andy Miller, communications major, said.

Incidents within the last few years have caused more students to be worried.

“I’m not saying that the campus police are lousy, but I think they can do a little more to help bring assurance for student safety,” Hillis Sherfi eld, psy-chology major, said.

Communication and awareness seems to be the

key, as students acknowledged not being very alert.“I would say that there needs to be more aware-

ness on campus, to be more alert of our surround-ings,” Armand Rodriguez, Japanese major, said.

Night classes are also a major student concern.“I think that there should be closer parking avail-

able for students, because it gets pretty dark at night here, and just more security around in the evening would help,” Stacey Koo, architecture major, said.

Other students believe that the campus should

take even more precautions at all times of the day to help ensure safety to those at EC.

“There should be more security cameras through-out the campus, to help catch things students aren’t aware of, when we’re in class or walking around,” Sherifi eld said.

Although many can argue that campus shootings can’t always be prevented, many students do feel assured that campus security are doing their best.

“I don’t really think that there is a problem with our security on campus, I do see them a lot more on campus now, and they’re doing what they can,”Mariana Villegas, journalism major, said.

Students also agree that the campus doesn’t dis-play an environment of endangerment.

“Everyone around the campus seems to be at peace here, and to themselves for the most part, I don’t see too many problems to be worried about on campus,” Joey Carreras, undecided major, said.

Students do agree that if an incident like a cam-pus shooting were to occur on campus they believe they wouldn’t know what to do.

“If I was in a classroom where someone had a gun and it went off, I would be in shock and prob-

ably adrenaline would take over, but I would at least try to call 911 as soon as I could,” Alex Ventura, political science major, said.

According to a recent New York Times article in regards to the Tucson shooting that occurred in Jan-uary, the alleged shooter Jared Lee Loughner was diagnosed with mental instability and never sought out professional help.

With this in mind some students believe that the campus should teach students about mental illness awareness or provide more assistance to students with such illnesses.

“You can’t really help people when they have ill-nesses like that, but it would help if there’s a way the campus could provide some type of information that can help us out pick up on it,” Andrew Miller, communications major, said. “Because I honestly wouldn’t know what to do or how to tell,” he said.

Although faculty and students admit that they aren’t prepared for such events, many feel great as-surance in the safety of the campus.

“Things like that are unpredictable, and I believe we have enough security to manage, and we just have to take it as comes,” Carreras said.

MariaCristina GonzalezOnline Editor-in-Chief

Students seek added safety and increased awareness

This is part three of a three part series about students with mental illnesses at community colleges.

NEWS LINEGive “A Toast to El Camino” today on campus

-Tayani Davis

Otis Art Center offering tour of campus

American Red Cross holding blood drives

ASO to attend conference for student leaders

San Diego State University giving tour of campus

Associated Students Organization presents “A Toast to El Camino,” to-night from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Activi-ties Center East Lounge.

Interested in Art? There will be a tour of the Otis College of Art and De-sign tomorrow at their campus in Los Angeles from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Inter-ested persons may call 660-3593 ext. 6137.

American Red Cross will be at EC Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Activ-ity Center East Lounge. Interested persons visit redcrossblood.org.

Members from the Associated Student Organization will be attend-ing the Advocacy Conference for Community College Student Leaders in Washington D.C. from March 19 through 22.

If you are a student interested in transferring to San Diego State Uni-versity, a California State University campus, SDSU is having a tour of their campus this Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With text messages being fi red off to family members as quickly as their outboxes allow and an endless frenzy to frantically contact their loved ones back home, Japanese students struggled to reach their homeland after the disasterous earth-quake that hit Japan last Friday.

The news broke throughout the day to students in seeming disbelief.

“I found out by getting a phone call from a friend that I met here on campus, he told me about the earthquake and then I immediately went onto Yahoo Japan online,” Yuko Nagatsuka, journalism major, said.

Nagatsuka, who has family back in Japan, has been lucky enough to be in touch with her loved ones over the past few days. She said that the earthquake was bound to happen after experienc-ing much smaller ones in Japan before moving.

“I spoke with my father over the phone, but he is chief of police over in Japan so he was busy, but he told me that my mother and sister are all doing well,” Nagatsuka said.

The earthquake has taken the lives of over 4,000 people, caused 11,000 to go missing, and displaced about half a million more from their homes, according to a Wednesday article by tele-graph.co.uk.

Other numbers provided in the article include 1.5 million people without access to water, over 6,000 buildings completely destroyed, and 5 mil-lion homes left without power, causing complica-tions for those trying to contact their loved ones.

Like Nagatsuka, other students have reached out to loved ones in Japan.

“To see all the destruction on the television, I was scared for the people I know over there,” Susan Shieng, psychology major, said, “but they were lucky to not have been so close to where it was all happening.”

Yukino Noro, 23, business major, spent all day Friday trying to locate her family who lives in Misawa, a city located in the northeast region of Japan.

“It’s a small city so there isn’t a lot of infor-mation on the news,” she said. “I know the earth-

quake wasn’t that bad but then the tsunami came, I’m just worried about that. It should be OK but every city is blacked out, so there’s no way I can contact my family.”

After three days of uncertainty, Sayo Guillau-me, 19, art and Japanese major, has only been able

to contact fi ve members out of a family of more than 30 individuals.

“Some of them were in Sendai, where the tsunami actually hit and some of them were in Fukushima, where the nuclear power plant is,”

Guillame said.Sue Oda-Omori, Transfer Center coordinator

and faculty advisor of the Japanese club, has also been trying to locate her relatives in Tokyo.

“They say that the best way to get in contact with people is by text messaging or e-mail,” Oda-Omori said. “Then again all my relatives are a little older so I’m not even sure if they have e-mail addresses.”

Jeanie Nishime, vice president of student and community advancement, has announced some accommodations that would be provided in the wake of Japan’s recent tragedy.

“The International Student Program (ISP) has attempted to reach each student to offer assistance and support,” Nishime said.

“In the event that any student must return home to assist family members in coping with the situa-tion, we want to accommodate the absence with as much fl exibility as possible,” she said.

Student clubs such as the Japanese club as well as the Associated Students Organization are also planning to show their support for victims by rais-ing funds for the Red Cross.

Ashley Arikawa, president of the Japanese club, said the club plans on selling T-shirts to raise money and is also looking into collaborating with other clubs to raise awareness for their cause.

“I’ll be making an announcement at the ICC meeting on Wednesday, in case any clubs want to join,” she said. “Hopefully we will have donations very soon.”

“I’ve reached out to ASO and we are trying to come up with an outlet so students can contribute to help support Japan,” Nishime said.

ASO president, Jessica Lopez said due to the suddenness of the incident the group has yet to develop anything; however they are promoting di-rect donations to the Red Cross at this time.

To donate, interested persons can text “red cross” to 90999. Donations can also be made directly to the Japanese club by contacting club president Ashley Arikawa at ashley_arikawa@el-camino.edu. For more information on donations to the Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org.

Rabiya HussainStaff Writer

Rolls of copper, hand tools, brand-new tube cutting machines and other items totalling about $10,000, were stolen from the Construction Tech-nology area in the northern part of the campus near the baseball fi eld in January, Jim Sims, plumbing instructor, said.

“It happened in the third week in January, but I found out weeks later by the maintenance depart-ment,” Sims said. “They were surprised I didn’t know.”

Carl Turano, a stock clerk in the shipping and receiving warehouse, said he discovered that some-body had stolen the items when he went in for work at 5:30 a.m. in the morning in January.

“When I came in, the gate was undone, there were wheelbarrows around, and the little sheds back there were emptied out,” Turano said.

Among the other things listed, Sims said a tank-less water heater was stolen.

“Of all the things they could have stolen, they stole the most expensive things,” Sims said. “It was certain things that they took.”

Both Sims and Turano said that whoever com-

mitted the theft used the wheelbarrows located in the area to cart out the stolen items to the nearby road.

“They took the time to take the tarp we use to shield the students from the sun and wrap it around the building to block the light out while they were stealing the stuff,” Sims said.

The budget of the Construction Technology Division had to be moved around, with materials from other classes going toward the plumbing class, which may effect other classes down the way.

“We have to look at what was stolen and how much of it was school property,” Stephanie Rodri-guez, dean of construction technology, said. “We prioritized what exactly was needed to teach the class so we didn’t lose any class time out of it.”

“Copper is the one thing in the budget that we need,” Sims said. “I’m just disheartened. My stu-dents want to learn to solder copper and without those materials, we can’t do that.”

Turano and Sims both questioned the security in the northern part of the campus, an area largely de-void of students at certain times of the day.

“It’s a plain joke around here that people could come here and steal stuff. Where was our police de-partment when this was going on?” Turano asked.

Eric FarrellCo-News Editor

In the aftermath of the devastat-ing earthquake and tsunami in Japan, EC students struggle to contact their families back home.

When the chaosin Japan subsided

Dillon Conniff, 19, art major, is in the zone as he works on his piece of art during his Fundamentals of Painting class.

Patrick Osborne /Union

MariaCristina GonzalezOnline Editor-in-Chief

Plumbing class materials stolen

Drawing inspiration from music

March 17, 2011 / El Camino College Union2 NEWSPOLICE BEAT

Offi cers respond to public disturbance

March 8, 9:49 a.m. — Of-fi cers responded to a call from the Music Building where a suspicious person was seen in the building. A male student was being disruptive inside the music library as well as other areas of the building. The stu-dent was escorted off campus by offi cers and referred to the Dean of Student Affairs for his misconduct.

Student has backpack stolen at Bookstore

March 10, 11:12 a.m. — Offi cers responded to a theft that took place at the Book-store. A male student left his backpack unattended outside the store with a laptop inside. When he returned from inside the store the backpack was missing. Since the student’s property worth exceeds $400, a grand theft report was fi led.

—Ashley Curtin

Hit and run reported in parking lot H

March 10, 5:53 p.m. — A female student reported a hit- and-run collision on the second fl oor of Parking Lot H. When she returned to her vehicle at 5 p.m., there was damage to the right rear passenger door by an unknown source. The student fi lled out a claim for the acci-dent at the station.

This spring semester brought good news for students as more sections were added despite the budget cuts ex-pected for next year.

“What the state has told us is that even though there are some huge budget cuts coming for next year, in the current year there is money for growth, so that means a little bit of additional money,” Arvid Spor, dean of enroll-ment services, said.

Enrollment increased four percent over last spring, Lovell Alford, academic affairs analyst, said.

“It increased partly because we added a few more sections this spring semester than we had the prior year,” Spor said.

Classrooms are now at a 100 percent fi ll rate, he added.The total budget for EC, this year is approximately

half a billion dollars, while only a little more than $106 million make up the general unrestricted budget, which is slightly less than last year’s amount, Spor said.

However, due to growth funding provided by the state, an estimated 30 sections were added to what was origi-nally planned for spring 2011, Alford said.

Although the amount of sections added was small, stu-dents were able to notice a change when registering for classes.

“It seems like it was a bit than easier last semester, I wasn’t on the waitlist for classes,”Aaron Deering, 24, English major said. “Pretty much all the sections that I tried to add, I could not get into. This semester I’ve got all my classes, I think it seems like it’s been easier for everyone.”

Other students like Nicole Lee, 30, Art major said get-ting classes was still hard, especially math classes and this may be a result of a small increase in the amount of stu-dents who enrolled for classes this semester.

But this is not a good model for what’s going to hap-pen in the future.

Enrolling for classes next semester will only become more diffi cult as budget cuts will continue to impact the college.

Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a plan that would bring a 6.8 percent budget reduction for the upcoming fi scal year.

“For next year, the best case scenario is we would have to cut about $7 million, and this is the best case scenario; in the worst case it can be almost $18 million,” Spor said.

If budget cuts stay within $7 million an estimate of

195 sections would be cut and if budget cuts reach the $18 million a total of 681 sections could be cut during the course of a year, Spor said.

This will make it harder for students to get the classes they need and it could eventually force students to delay their transfer process.

The new proposal could increase the fees students pay per unit to $36 or even $66 dollars a unit.

Students currently pay $26 per unit, a fee increase from the previously $20 per unit students paid before the Fall 2009 semester.

“I don’t know about all the factors involved in raising the price, I mean I know it’s tough but it’s still a pretty decent education for the amount that we’re paying,” Deer-ing said.

EC has currently one of the cheapest fee rates per unit among community colleges in the nation. This may change if the budget stays the same, EC may see another tuition increase.

“We’re trying to do the best we can given the budget situation and that’s why we’re very helpful that things will get resolved Spor said. “Budget cuts won’t be as severe but we really don’t know until they work that out at Sac-ramento.”

Alma ZazuetaStaff Writer

Enrollment increases despite impending budget cuts

With so much opposition against winter session cut, students have created a petition against the proposed aca-demic calendar change with several hundred signatures.

They also plan on attending the town hall meeting schedule at 1 p.m. on April 7 in which the topic will be the budget.

As the proposed state budget cuts move full steam ahead, students are advised to plan for all contingencies. Even though there is no formal proposal to eliminate win-ter session, a reduction in the number of courses offered will take place all around.

Budget uncertainties put faculty and students on edge as forums were held last fall to discuss the possibility of eliminating winter session.

With the proposed budget cuts in preliminary stages and talk surrounding a change in the academic calendar, students are advised to plan ahead for what’s to come.

“There are no plans to make changes to the academic calendar,” Jeanie Nishime, vice president, student and community advancement said. “We are still having a win-ter session but we need to reduce the number of courses offered.”

As Nishime and many other people wait to see if the

tax extension package makes it on the upcoming ballet there are three scenarios of budget cuts EC faces; the fi rst option includes a seven percent cut; second option is an 11 percent cut, and third option would be an 18-20 per-cent reduction. Taking all three options into consideration, Nishime says it’s important to save wherever applicable and winter is the most costly session.

“Faculty is not on contract during this session so we need to pay extra for this,” Nishime said.

She went on to say that she wants to keep the college’s doors open and keep faculty happy.

While Nishime needs to deal with the budget crisis, she also wants to do what is in the best interest of the stu-dents.

Jeffrey Cohen, professor, mathematics, opposes any focus on winter session cuts.

“Winter session is our highest success rate and reten-tion rate of the four sessions,” Cohen said.

This proves that students stay enrolled in classes and have great success during winter session.

At the past two forums held at the beginning of the year, an overwhelming representation of students attend-ed. Jam packed leaving standing room only at each fo-rum, students vocalized their concerns and took a stand. As many students feel they will be affected if there is an academic calendar change, they wanted their views to be heard.

Many transfer students would be against any change in the academic calendar. For these students, it would hinder their transfer to a university.

“Students don’t want to wait a session longer, this won’t benefi t anything,” Mahwish Akhtar, 20, communi-cations major said.

Other students will seriously think about changing col-leges if this change goes into affect.

“I am used to taking classes year round and want to continue that way,” Rilando Boudroux, 19, criminal jus-tice major said. “If I have to change colleges to do that, I will.”

Ashley CurtinStaff Writer

Students start thinking of alternatives as winter session may see classes cut

“I am used to taking classes year round and want to continute that way. If I have

to change colleges to do that, I will.”

—Rilando Boudrouxcriminal justice major

Yoga mats and running shoes are shoved be-tween textbooks and note pads in her backpack. She’s on her way to class, barely 22 years old, with every intention to transfer. She’s from Tor-rance, a North High School graduate, Latin and proud of it. According to statistics, she’s the typi-cal EC student.

A study done by Institutional Research dur-ing fall 2009 shows that 52.5 percent of students are female while 47.5 percent are male. The av-erage age of an EC student is 20 to 24, but there are students ranging from 17 years old to 50. The majority of students, 34.8 percent, take less than six units and only 6.8 percent take 15 units or more.

“To defi ne the word average, you would have to say all EC students enroll in 16 units or they have one thing in common,” Julieta Ortiz, student services specialist, said. “The only real thing that they all have in common is that they want to pursue higher education.”

According to Institutional Research, 34.7 percent of students on campus are Latino, 19.2 percent are white, 16.8 percent are African American, 16.6 percent are Asian, 9.8 percent are unknown and only .4 percent are American Indian.

“So many students are from different cul-tures, from different economic backgrounds and different levels of academic preparedness,” Sta-cey Allen, sociology professor, said.

Most students transferred from Torrance, with 929 from North High School, while West High School and Redondo High School both had 833 students transfer in 2009. The majority of students, 42.8 percent, intend to transfer to a university with most of them receiving General Studies degrees. The next most common degree is Health Sciences.

“The largest UC transfer destination for EC

students is UCLA with an average of 130 students. For the Cal State system, there was a 14 percent de-crease in transfers for 2008 to 2009. The top Cal State transfer schools are Dominguez Hills and Long Beach with an average of 355 and 382 stu-dents, respectively. On the other hand, transfers to private institutions have increased in the last year. University of Phoenix and USC are the top private school destinations,” the 2009 report said.

Though these are typical of EC students, to say they are average is not the case.

“Is there an average student? No,” Allen, said. “I am constantly reminded by my students that they are all individuals.”

According to EC’s Institutional Research, there are about half as many full-time students as there are part-time students, but the data gives little insight as to what these students do in between those hours.

“I think it would be boring if everyone here were to be the same,” Ricardo de Saracho, 22, mechanical engineering major, said. “It’s inter-esting to see the diversity in the classrooms and see what other people are all about.”

During his free time, de Saracho said he en-joys building cars as well as training for several triathlon.

Kathy Urso, art major, on the other hand works as a stylist for a jewelry company and sells vintage furniture on eBay Inc. and Etsy. She also studies fashion and is taking a photog-raphy class.

Every student has a unique interest, wheth-er it be volunteering at the Los Angeles Fire Department like Jose Contreas, 19, fi re science major, or playing guitar at his local church like Francisco Mojica, 21, photography major.

Melissa Van Brunt is a 22-year-old full time communications major. Her favorite thing to do is travel. She has been to France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands. She also enjoys collecting books of all sorts, especially books regarding The Beatles.

“Well, I’m pretty confi dent in saying that a person does not defi ne themselves as average,” Van Brut, said. “I mean, who am I to decide what is average or not?”

Lisa Nena is a 21-year-old part time Eng-lish and art history major. Some of her hobbies include art museums and exploring.

“I try to stay away from routine. I love sit-ting in nature like parks or the beach,” Nena said. “I don’t think there is an average EC stu-

dent, we are all so diverse and it’s amazing how many different majors the school offers.”

With such a diverse community and campus, it’s impossible to explain everybody with one single student, Ortiz said.

“We would hope to say that the average EC college student is a successful one, and we can say that,” she said.

March 17, 2011 / El Camino College Union

Jessica Mendoza

Staff Writers

FEATURES 3

Typical EC student is more than average

Joshua Sherman

SudokuFill every row across,

every column down, and every 3x3 box with the digits 1 through 9.

Each digit must appear only once in each row across, each column down and each 3x3 box.

For the solution to the puzzle, visit the Union website,

www.eccunion.com

All of the information displayed on the graphs is from a 2009 study out of a total of 27,271 students done by Institutional Research and Planning which can be found on the El Camino College website.

Disregard what you have read or heard for that mat-ter. Winter session has not been canceled. Don’t worry just yet.

In the president’s newsletter, a few statements were made that raised some eyebrows as to what really was go-ing on with winter session.

A sentence brought a lot of confusion to students and faculty as it read “the forums were intended to elicit input regarding changing or eliminating the winter session, as early as 2012.”

However, the real intention of the calendar forums was to explore possible calendar options to better deal with

budget cuts that did not have to do with the winter session. Although the topic brought up wasn’t meant to focus

on winter session being eliminated, it turned into one, due to the amount of concern shown by not only students, but from faculty and staff as well.

The article also stated that “more than 200 faculty and staff” from EC and ECC Compton was in attendance to participate in the three forums that were held.

The correct information, however, was that most of those who went to the forum were EC students.

E-mails sent back and forth between faculty show a lack of communication and understanding.

Even though the information provided on the newslet-ter was incorrect, those who published the letter should take responsibility for what was printed and retract it as soon as possible.

We are in a time where registering for classes is almost impossible due to the economic crisis we are in. Classes in this college are incredibly impacted. Waiting lists are full as students eagerly anticipate a drop in the class they are waiting to get into. With this kind of incorrect information, students can be set into panic.

How can people who attend these meetings as well as are in charge of these newsletters fail to provide one with the right information?

In order to avoid future incidents like this, there should be a better form of communication amongst faculty. There is no need for arguing and fi nger pointing and focus on get-ting students informed.

After all, isn’t the reason for their existence on campus to better assist students in furthering their education?

4 EDITORIALS March 17, 2011 / El Camino College Union

Newsletter mishap creates bad vibes among students and administration

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Campus tragedies fueled by lack of communication

Without a doubt, the Political Science Club is another sign of our campus’ intellectual environ-ment.

I often hear remarks by students condemning the importance of politics to be boring or uninteresting, but the fact of the matter is, this is a principle that af-fects the micro and macro aspects of our lives, in our country, and here in our own educational institution.

As president of the club, I am searching high and low on these school grounds to fi nd driven minds to join our club and create an agenda that serves to teach the masses the importance of politics in our community.

I and our cabinet members are among some of most accomplished students currently awaiting re-sponses from prestigious universities such as Berke-ley, UCLA and USC.

We are prepared to share our experience and knowledge to all our members in accomplishing similar pursuits.

If you are reading this short commentary, please fi nd the time in your busy schedule to see what our club is all about.

You do not need to be politically involved on any level, but please come with an open mind and make votes on proposals introduced by other mem-bers for the club to undertake.

We all have individualistic views towards the policies lawmakers in Washington debate on and this is the club where you will hear what some of policies are and how they affect our generation in the upcoming future.

You may have you own personal opinions about abortion, immigration or education-funding cuts, and if you do, this is your chance to share those

views with other stu-dents.

Similarly, to be a participating member in our democratic so-ciety, a basic knowl-

edge of politics is important, so make your time here in-tellectually invigorating and join our club because what you will learn here, you will take with you to your future academic endeavors.

In our own community, there is a wide range of issues

in need of support. I therefore call any other club with a politically

driven agenda to extend their partnership with the Political Science Club and cooperate on mutual measures in benefi t to our campus.

We are prepared to provide any sort of assis-tance to any club wishing to work with us.

Your stay at El Camino College is precious; make this your journey to academic excellence. Join us.

For more information on the next Political Sci-ence Club, e-mail me at edguy52@gmail.com.

The views expressed in Campus Insight are those of the authors. They do not represent the views or opinions of the Union, its staff, editorial board or adviser.

This column is available to students and faculty. All articles may be submitted to Eccu-nion@gmail.com. Please note that articles may be edited for content and length.

Co-Editor-in-Chief.................................................Haipha SimonCo-Editor-in-Chief.................................................Nelson AmayaManaging Editor.........................................................Matt SimonCo-News Editor...........................................................Matt Simon Co-News Editor...........................................................Eric FarrellCo-Opinion Editor..................................................Haipha SimonCo-Opinion Editor..........................................Viridiana Vaca-Rios Features Editor.....................................................Samantha TroisiArts Editor..........................................................Erika Maldonado Co-Sports Editor.....................................................Nelson AmayaCo-Sports Editor........................................................Andrew LimCo-Photo Editor...........................................................Jose Flores Co-Photo Editor....................................................Patrick OsborneOnline Editor-in-Chief.............................MariaCristina GonzalezAdvertising Manager..........................................Stephanie Alcorn Adviser................................................................Lori MedigovichAdviser...............................................................Kate McLaughlinTechnical Support.....................................................Don Treat

Vol. 64, No. 12March 17, 2011

E-mail: elcaminounion@yahoo.com

Newsroom: (310) 660-3328Advertising: (310) 660-3329

The issue: Lack of awareness and education in dealing with students with mental ill-ness on campus.

Our stand: All parties on campus must be more vigilant.

Tilo E. LopezPresident Political Science Club

Illustration by Dan Baldonado

CAMPUSINSIGHT

UnionEl Camino College

—See related article on Page 2

In the aftermath of the deadly Tucson shooting in January where 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner was charged with the fatally shooting of six people, injuring several more including U.S. Rep. Gabri-elle Giffords, D-Tucson, the nation – and this campus – must open its eyes and spot the warning signs before another tragedy strikes closer to home.

Not all perpetrators of the shootings showed signs of mental illness, but the warning signs were evident in the case of Loughner, who had a teacher and class-mate both step forward with concerns.

Mental illness can be anything from de-pression to personality disorders to schizo-phrenia, according to suicide.org.

When you consider the free therapy ses-sions that the Student Health Center pro-vides and how campus police works in conjunction with the Gardena Police De-partment, our administration is offering a certain degree of care for those in need. But is it enough?

Our college, including faculty, staff, and students, can do their part to prevent a di-saster from happening on the grounds in a variety of ways.

Students can be vigilant and mindful of those around them and avoid saying hate-ful things.

Hateful things isn’t just limited to what is physically said. One of the growing problems is cyber bullying.

According to bullystatstitics.org more than half of teens and adolescents have been bullied online.

Suicide warning signs, include appearing depressed or sad all the time (depression is the number one cause for suicide), per-forming poorly at work or in school, ex-hibiting changes in personality and losing interest in most activities, according to suicide.org.

Faculty members can do this too while also extending offers to speak with a stu-dent privately to assess the problem and recommending a trip to the on-campus clinical psychologist for counseling.

As it stands, faculty gets no formal training on what to do in the event of a shooting tragedy.

The administration could also expand its six therapy sessions per year to as many times as students need, and hiring on a full-time clinical psychologist with an open-door policy to make people truly feel like EC is here to help them.

All it takes is a little bit of effort by all parties and educating ourselves on the warning signs of suicide and mental ill-ness to prevent a tragedy like the one that happened at Tucson happening here at EC. —See related article on Page 1

Green shamrocks, streamers and tiny lepre-chaun cutouts adorn the stores around the city as “St. Patrick’s Day Sale!” banners hang high above the alcohol aisles.

St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday once celebrated with a parade and a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage, has now been replaced by a pitcher of tinted green beer served straight from a keg.

Named after St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by both Irish and non-Irish peo-ple and is considered one of the busiest holidays for bars and restaurants.

However, since when has alcohol become such an important ingredient in holiday fun?

Think about it.People all over the world begin the New Year,

Jan. 1, and end the year on Dec. 31, the exact same way, by popping bottles open and enjoying a fes-tive night alongside friends and booze.

So why would things be different in between those two dates?

Besides New Year’s Day and St.Patrick’s Day; Valentine’s Day, which has been also labeled “Sin-gle Awareness Day (SAD) by those lonely souls, is another major holiday to be celebrated or acknowl-edge by a vast majority of people.

Whether it is having a shiny glass full of your favorite wine to share with your sweetheart, or tak-ing a shot glass full of tequila at the bar with your friends, because you are once again, single; alcohol seems to be the perfect way to celebrate an eventful evening.

Cinco De Mayo, which has been also given the name, “Cinco De Drinko,” is a holiday that com-memorates the victory in the Battle of Puebla.

However, it is now easily celebrated by a diversity of people at one’s favorite can-tina.

With half-off price drink specials, how could one resist?

Just when you thought your liver could have a break, another holiday comes around that gives reason to drink.

Halloween, a holiday once celebrated by chil-dren dressed up in costumes asking for candy is now a night for the 21 and over crowd to parade around town in costumes inebriated and make fools out of themselves.

However, while many holidays are used as an excuse to drink, with so much alcohol involved in partying it is only expected that drinking on holiday nights can be a danger.

One holiday in particular holds the title for most dangerous.

According to Forbes.com and the National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration, the most dangerous holiday out of the year is Thanksgiving.

With about 502 alcohol related deaths, it beat out Labor Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Holidays are meant to be fun; however, why not enjoy them for what they truly stand for.

Learn the history behind them and celebrate them the way they originated, because most of these holidays, don’t involve a 40 oz.

Holidays are just another excuse to get drunk

Viridiana Vaca-RiosCo-Opinion Editor

Voice your political views with fellow studentsCOMMENTARY

Recent presidential newsletter inaccurately announced the cancellation of winter session bringing students to a panic.

OPINION 5March 17, 2011/ El Camino College Union

Should class schedules be printed?

Tayani DavisStaff writer

Class schedules are a waste of

money.

Not everyone on campus is

technology savvy.

The Architecture Clubs meets on Thursdays in the Technical Arts Building, Room 253, at 1 p.m.

What inspired you to be pres-ident?The fi rst year I was here it was really exciting. Everyone was really helpful in the club and the bonds I made helped me with my classwork. The more I talked to people, the easier it became to learn techniques. The social aspect brought me into the club, and from that, I wanted to help other people from what I had learned. I want-ed to give back. What is the main goal of the club?Architecture is such a broad fi eld, we look for ways to help members discover what they want to do and where they want to go with architecture after EC. It’s a lot of work and you want to make sure you go in the right direction, because you only get so much out of the classes. We also want to give back to the community. We have a lot of talented people, including art-ists and drawers, and we want them to get experience.

What are some past events the club has planned?Some events have included visiting universities with archi-tecture programs, having guest speakers talk about different kinds of architecture and what professionals do in the fi eld. We plan on making a trip to San Diego to check out universities with programs.

What future events are you planning?We plan on working on an ocean themed mural in one of the hallways of Daniel Freeman Elementary school in Ingle-wood. We also have an annual event in San Luis Obispo, a design competition, where we have to create a sustainable living structure that we design over months in pieces and drive up there for the weekend, put it together and live in it for a cou-ple of days. We have won twice in the past and I want to uphold the tradition of going.

Can anyone join?Yes. Last semester I got mail from people who weren’t even in the architecture program and were interested in joining.

What is your overall feel of the club?Our club is run by the enthusi-asm of the club members. We have the usual club positions, but we are like a family. We all like what we do and we’re all friends.

Kyle YamadaPresident

Architecture Club

With budget cuts occurring on cam-pus, spending $200,000 on class schedules makes no sense.

There is no reason to have class sched-ules printed.

If anything, a “borrowing system” should be put in place, similar to the text-books students are allowed to check-out in the East Wing of the Schauerman Library.

While the convenience of having sched-ules in your hands can be gratifying, classes are available online and the site is not as hard to navigate and use as some people make it out to be.

Course schedules can be accessed on the website and students have earlier access to them.

Let’s not forget as well, that our school budget is dwindling. Budget cuts are being made .

Thankfully, the world is becoming more tech savvy as the years go by and the new “smartphones” give users the capability of not only accessing the Internet while they are away from home, but also gives users the ability to download various applica-tions.

EC has taken advantage of this with the MOX application that gives informa-tion on the time and date of classes.

Some students may be without a phone, Internet access or even a computer within their household, but computers are available at the Library, the Student Ser-vices Center, and several labs throughout campus.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statistics show that 68 million tons of paper and paperboard is used by Ameri-cans and the average American uses ap-proximately one 100-feet-tall Douglas fi r tree in paper products per year.

We need to get with the times and while online capabilities are incomparable to the real thing, when it comes to conserving our environmental resources and budgets, pa-per distributing traditions can be hung up to dry for the time being.

EC is slowly going green. The Associ-ated Student Organization (ASO) is going paper light and has even started a recycling committee to help bring some very neces-

sary eco-order to this campus. According to the EC news and events

Web page, the new Math, Business and Health Sciences Building will be built to fi t the Leadership in Energy and Environmen-tal Design (LEED) silver criteria, making future facilities energy effi cient.

The next step is to reduce the college’s usage of paper, and spending $200,000 on course schedules.

What may seem like a waste of time, paper and money to some students, to oth-ers it’s an absolute necessity to have print-ed class schedules.

According to an Academic Senate meeting, $90,000 was spent in printing and mailing of class schedules, with $200,000 spent for the year on mailing alone.

Although the amount of money used to print class schedules may seem too high,

cutting the cost on printing them shouldn’t be an option.

Even though our world is surrounded by technology, there are a number of stu-dents who are not up to date with this cen-tury.

Not everyone is computer knowledge-able to learn how to look up their class schedules.

There are still some students who do not know how to use the college online system.

People cannot assume that every sin-gle student owns a computer at home or that they know how to use one.

Has anyone stopped and thought about the students who don’t have computers at home?

How will they choose their class schedules in the summertime for the fall semester, if there is no computer avail-able to them?

Yes, computers are available on cam-pus but there is often a long wait to use the computers and that can be very time consuming.

With a schedule in hand, students have the time, class meeting dates and what classroom their class will take place in front of them.

Although we’re in hard economic times where there are so many budget cuts and $200,000 may seem like a waste, there are other alternatives that they can turn to.

A possible option for students can be to sign-up to receive a class schedule ei-ther online or through the telephone sys-tem.

Although students pay enough fees for their education, another solution could be that class schedules be charged for a minimal price that is easy on students pockets.

The size of the class schedules can also be changed in order to reduce costs. Large class schedules are not needed, small ones will do just as fi ne.

With different alternatives to choose from, this college can meet its budget and reduce spending on schedules while keeping all students content.

As Bob Marley once said, “Love the life you live and live the life you love.”

This quote has always been one of my favorites, but it wasn’t until recently that it was really been in the back of my mind from the minute I woke up to the minute I go to sleep.

When I woke up to watch the morning news last Friday morning, I was shocked to view the devastating news that struck Japan. My eyes watered and I instantly felt helpless for these people.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake took over, in one of Moth-er Nature’s most powerful moments also bringing a tsu-nami that swept across parts of the country.

Millions affected by this tragedy and damaging billions of dollars worth of property, it most importantly took the lives of many.

I am so grateful to have what I have more than ever, my life.

I want to encourage people that if you are having a bad day at work or you didn’t get the grade you wanted on a test, instead of saying “life sucks” remind yourself of all the good that is in your life and really embrace it.

Instead, look at ways to make your day better and be-come more optimistic.

I understand that at times we can get stressed out. Wheth-er it is with a bad shift at work, a horrible day in class, an ar-

gument with a family member, or a break-up with a boyfriend or girl-friend, or any other issues that may be going on in your life. Take a mo-ment to think of the victims in Japan, and the lives that were taken unsus-pectedly.

Taking life for granted is some-thing that I fi nd myself doing, but it isn’t until a tragedy hits our world like this that it opens up my eyes to seeing how beautiful life really is.

I shouldn’t only become optimistic when something awful like this occurs, but it’s something that I am working on and hoping to live the rest of my life with this mentality.

I have found ways to calm myself when I’m feeling stressed and unhappy with my day.

I’ve begun painting and have found that it makes me feel at peace and blissful. I don’t care if I’m not the next Pablo Picasso; it still grounds me and brings me back to the simple things in life that can create happiness.

Go out there and fi nd something that will make you feel good about yourself and relieve stress. Whether it’s cuddling up watching your favorite movie, or cooking yourself your favorite meal, it will help you become in tune with yourself and fi nd the simple things to make you appreciate your life.

It’s not only the events of Japan, but also those that live in a third world country and the people who are living in poverty. These people don’t have what you have, such as the latest technology devices, fashionable clothes, a refrig-erator full of food, or a home.

It is important to stay grounded and help others, espe-cially during a world crisis such as what others are cur-rently experiencing.

Donate to the Red Cross, start your own fundraiser and donate what you can.

If you can’t do any of those things, then at least think with a positive mindset. Wake up in the morning excited about life. Wake up feeling that you can accomplish some-thing to make the world a better place. Put out good vibes, love one another, and live your life to the fullest because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

Remember what Marley said. Love the life you live.

Jessica MendozaStaff writer

Tragedy in Japan sheds light on what’s importantCOLUMN

Mark Klasson, 25,mathematics major

"Yes. I think there should be a limit to how much is spent and printed and class schedules should be available upon request.”

Vinicio Mendoza, 19,biology major

“Yes. I always pick class schedules up. Everytime I walk into the library, I go get one and I use them a lot.”

Alex Siquenza, 21,journalism major

“No. Students need to be more responsible with where they leave their class schedules, that way too many wont be printed.”

Jesenia Alvarado, 20, psychology major

“Yes. It is much easier to use class schedules when you have them in your hand and can carry them around with you.”

Krasette Mosqueda, 21, nursing major

“No. If the class sched-ules are online on the web-site, then you could simply print what you need online.”

Anthony Co, 19nursing major

“Yes. I think class sched-ules should be printed be-cause not everyone on cam-pus has access to the Internet.”

CAMPUS VIEWPOINTSBy Joshua Sherman and Jose Flores

Should class schedules be printed?

UP FOR DEBATE CAMPUSCORNER

Illustration by Dan Baldonado

—Samuel Barke

Samuel BarkeStaff writer

Across thousands of keyboard strokes and illuminated screens, a new learning-method has emerged in the wake of the technological revolution.

The graphic design department is in the process of building a virtual class-room of sorts that could possibly expand the frontiers of educational growth.

Using Skype, Tumblr, Oovoo and other Internet messaging systems, stu-dents will be able to give feedback in different stages of another student’s work to help development. The idea was born from three EC instructors: Andrea Mi-callef, Eric Holman and Walter Cox.

“It’s one step beyond blogging in a

way,” Andrea Micallef, design and vi-sual communications professor said. “It’s such a great way of learning rather than this linear way with one person spewing wisdom and everyone trying to absorb a little kernel of wisdom.”

The project was made possible by a grant given to the graphic design depart-ment last year. With new computers and equipment arriving this summer, the vir-tual classroom is scheduled to launch in the fall.

“It would be an additional way for students to keep in touch with each other outside of the classroom,” Micallef said.

The virtual classroom would consist of about 24 students that would all con-nect via group chat. Although it is in its early stages of development, the project is on track to expand nationally and even-tually globally.

Micallef also emphasizes the impor-tance of interaction between students within and out of the classroom.

“It’s a good place to bounce ideas back and forth, but at the same time you get to know each other on a more per-sonal level,” Dylan Cunningham, 20, graphic design major said.

Cunningham is leading the Skype group video chat and is one of 24 stu-dents in Micallef’s class participating in the virtual classroom.

“The art department is different than any other department because of the in-volvement of work,” Cunningham said. “You become more like a family.”

Students who have graduated and transferred to universities come back and take Micallef’s class.

“I think it’s a sense of community that we’re able to build,” Jorge Mosta-cero, 29, illustration and graphic design major said. “Andrea runs the class as if it were a design studio.”

Mostacero, who is a California State University, Long Beach student, de-signed a line of T-shirts for Whole Foods

with knowledge gained from EC. “One of the things I like about taking

the design class here is that it’s not just the instructor teaching,” Mostacero said. “You also learn a lot from students.”

Learning communities are essential for growth, Micallef said.

“The closer connection we can create between students, the more pertinent the critique is,” Micallef said. “Not only is there a strong sense of community built, but also a strong sense of leadership and creative solving.”

Although the project will serve as a learning platform, it has the potential of creating a virtual community.

“The classroom connection creates the community. Virtual communication adds something special to the class but I don’t see it as a replacement,” Micallef said. “I’m just excited that there is anoth-er way to help students succeed because we all have different methods of learning and absorbing information.”

Using crayon on paper Wes-ley Pacleb, 24, fi ne arts major’s fi rst experience with creating art was a scene of a frightened Gold-ilocks with the three bears.

“I didn’t even try on that painting, it just came out. That’s when I realized that I wanted to be an artist. I can just go with the fl ow and how it comes out is how it comes out,” Pacleb said. “That’s your style and you should be confi dent. I learned that at very young age.”

As a kindergartener at Domin-guez Elementary School in Car-son, Calif, Pacleb’s illustration was featured in an off campus art gallery featuring works from elementary, junior high and high school students.

Pacleb uses various mediums including painting, printmaking, drawing, digital art, and writes poetry. He also fi nds time to serve as president for the Inter Disciplinary Exploration Arti-sans Society, IDEAS, Art Club on campus.

“It has everything to do with

art in any way,” Pacleb said. “It’s a variety of artists who network through the club including people who work with fi lm, poetry, and music.”

The club, Pacleb said, is also a great place to meet friends, net-work and promote their art.

“Every time I see him, he has a painting that he is working on or something to present. He’s always taking initiative,” Juan Estrada, 20, art major, said. Es-trada is also involved with the Art Club.

“I’ve never seen someone work so hard toward something. His work ethic and his passion is inspiring.”

Pacleb’s artwork has been featured at the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, San Pedro Art Walk and the Downtown Long beach Art Walk.

Although it seemed like an

unattainable goal at one time, he recently got accepted to the Art Center of College and Design in Pasadena, Calif. It was his No. 1 choice university.

Pacleb said he hopes to work at a museum and do restoration art in the future. He also wants to continue working with galleries. No matter what obstacles Pacleb may face, he said he uses his art as an outlet to overcome any dif-fi culties life may bring.

“As an artist, I feel that I solve problems creatively, I fi gure out a way to deal with obstacles and get around them,” Pacleb said. “An artist is someone who gets the job done, there is no wrong way to do something. It’s up to you to fi nd the way that is most comfortable for you.”

Pacleb said he hopes to in-spire one person a day. He wants to bring out the inner art in ev-eryone, and to help others act on their passions.

“You’re doing art no matter what,” Pacleb said. “The way you pick your outfi ts or the way you make your food, to me that’s art.”

6 ARTS March 17, 2011 / El Camino College Union

‘Godspell’ featured at Campus Theatre

With a unique ‘60s and ‘70s feel, EC’s fi rst production of the musical, “Godspell” explains biblical parables with music that will make the audience want to dance in the aisles.

Friday and Saturday perfor-mances this week and next week begin at 8 p.m. in the Campus Theatre. Sunday matinees be-gin at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the box offi ce for $25 and $18 for children 12 and under.For more information, in-terested persons may call 832-ARTS.

—Joshua Sherman

As part of “Transferring in the Arts Month,” universities includ-ing USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach and Dominguez Hills will present information about admission re-quirements and various programs offered on Wednesday.

Admission is free. It begins at 11:30 a.m. and will take place at the Haag Recital Hall. Inter-ested persons may call the Trans-fer Center at 310-660-3593 Ext. 3408 for more information.

Garment works from various artists including Joyce Dallal, Marshall Astor and Robin Valle will be featured in the latest ex-hbition. It will run from March 28 through April 29. Interested persons may call 310-660-3010 for more information.

ON THE SCENETheater

Universities to present in Theater Panel

‘Uncommon Threads’ at the Art Gallery

Theater

Art

Graphic design classes go virtual Andrea Micallef, associate professor of art, (left) critiques her student’s latest poster project that required representing an important event in a designated year using only text.

Joshua ShermanStaff Writer

Wesley Pacleb, 24, fi ne arts major, has exhibited his work in numerous galleries and Art Walks in surrounding cities.

Andrew Kang /Union

Artist helps inspire others

Jessica MendozaStaff Writer

STAR RISING

Patrick Osbourne /Union

Online connections help facilitate student growth.

SPORTS 7March 17, 2011 / El Camino College Union

Wednesday at 3 p.m. vs.East L.A. College.

—Andrew Lim

Today at 2:30 p.m. atHarbor College.Saturday at noon vs.Harbor College.Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. atCerritos College.

ON DECKBADMINTON

BASEBALL

Sunday at noon at Hunter Ranch Golf Course.Monday at 8 a.m. at Hunter Ranch Golf Course.

GOLF

Today at 3 p.m. vs.Long Beach City College.Tuesday at 5 p.m. atMt. Sam Antonio College.

SOFTBALL

Tomorrow at 2:30 vs.Chaffey College.

SWIMMING AND DIVING

Today at 2 p.m. vs.Cypress College.Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Long Beach City College.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS

Tomorrow at TBD atCerritos College for the Cal-ifornia Relays.Saturday all day at UCIfor the UCI Spring Break Invite.

TRACK AND FIELD

Tomorrow at 6 p.m. vs.L.A. Pierce College.Wednesday at 6 p.m. atMoorpark College.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Shorthanded soft ball team loses to East L.A. CollegeWith infi elder Nicolette Royal and

pitcher Mea Flores headlining the fi ve play-ers who were not able to play due to per-sonal matters or injuries, the Warriors were shorthanded from the get-go, resulting in a disappointing loss against East L.A. Col-lege.

“I don’t think there’s been a game that we’ve been at full strength with every-body,” assistant coach Tony Flores said.

The Warriors have a home game against Long Beach City today at 3 p.m.

“Defensively I thought we played very well,” coach Susie Calderon said. “The in-

fi eld is looking better everyday.”With only two errors, the softball team

cleaned up its game; one of the two errors was the cause of a pickle between third and home base and after seven throws it ended in an overthrow.

Despite the tidy game, the team lost 8-0 in four innings and the game did not con-tinue due to the mercy rule.

Flores will bat in the next game and will not pitch in the upcoming game due to an arm injury that has been plaguing her for a couple weeks; Flores has the lowest ERA in the conference with a 1.40.

“We’ve really been struggling all year with our hitting,” Calderon said. “We

haven’t been very consistent.”The Warriors’ only hit was produced by

catcher Camille Redman who also had one walk.

“Basically it comes down to hits, we have to hit and we have to score runs,” Flores said. “You get three of your sticks back and it’s going to help.”

The three other players who were not able to play were outfi elders Georgina Sil-va and Ivana Verdin, and infi elder Michelle Lopez-Rodriguez.

“I didn’t do as well as I wanted to,” Sara Gazzaniga, pitcher, said. “ I don’t think I was on like I was over the weekend.”

Gazzaniga allowed 12 hits but didn’t

walk a player.“I don’t think I had a lot of spin on my

ball when I was pitching,” Gazzaniga said.Most of the runs scored by East L.A.

College were in the third inning giving the Warriors little time to catch up.

The team could not play or practice on its home fi eld for more than a week due to the dugout being repaired and the fi eld be-ing too wet.

The players are not focusing offen-sively; they need to select good pitches and make adjustments according to the pitchers Calderon said.

“When you hit, you’re going to win, that‘s it,” Calderon said.

Joshua ShermanStaff Writer

Streaky Warriors swept by the Vikings

With the game scoreless in the fourth inning, outfi elder An-thony Graham is up to bat.

Graham had a chance to re-deem himself from his last at-bat when he hit into a double play with the bases loaded.

With runners at fi rst and sec-

ond with two outs, Graham has a chance to put EC in the lead.

Klunk!He hit the ball to the ground

for a harmless grounder to end the inning.

This was the story for the Warriors as they left multiple

runners on base throughout the game.

The result: a 4-1 loss to the Long Beach City College (LBCC) Vikings, who completed a three-game sweep over EC.

“The pitcher threw hard and threw a lot of dirty pitches but

nothing we couldn’t hit,” Graham said. “We need to work on play-ing more calm because we tried to hit the ball too hard. We just need to be more selective at the plate.”

EC will host Harbor College today at 2:30 p.m.

“You try to stop thinking about the losing streak because whether you win six in a row, like we have, or lose six in a row, like we have, all it comes down to is how you execute in the next game,” coach Nate Fernley said. “If you let yourself get too high, bad things happen, and too low, same thing. We just try to ap-proach every game like it is a brand new game.”

Leaving nine men on base through the fi rst fi ve innings, the Warriors failed to get the clutch hits time and time again.

“We played a good game,” Fernley said. “We played better defense than they did. I think we hit as good or better than them.”

“But early on we left a lot of guys on base. We didn’t get the hits that we needed to cash in some runs.”

With LBCC getting three runs in one inning, it ended up being enough as the Warriors suffered their sixth straight loss.

“We didn’t get any hits in clutch timing. We just got hits and didn’t do anything with the runners in scoring position,” shortstop Atlee Schwab said.

Starting pitcher Chris Vo-pinek, being wild with his pitches at times, was cruising through three innings but could not get out of the fourth inning, giving up three runs in the process.

“(Vopinek) pitched OK to-day,” Fernley said. “He had that rough inning, but he has been sharper. His breaking balls hit the dirt, too far away from the plate. We had better outings from him but he battled for us.”

With the team’s struggles, the players were dissappointed with their recent play.

“It’s OK to be disappointed but team morale is good,” Fernley said. “They are all behind each other. There’s no team fi ghts. If the Miami Heat can cry in the locker room, I think it’s OK to at least be a little disappointed.”

Marvin Flores, catcher, throws out a runner during a loss against Long Beach City College 4-1 on Saturday.

Mike Williams /Union

Badminton team benefi ts from rest

Rabiya HussainStaff Writer

Jose Flores /UnionKumiko Noguchi hits the shuttlecock during the win at Compton College.

The team looks to improve its record after having extra practices.

With Yokino Noro, 23, not be-ing able to play at the last minute due to the earthquake in Japan, other players on the team had to step up and compete.

“She’s from a town (in Japan) that was ripped apart by the tsu-nami, so she’s trying to locate her family,” coach John Britton said. “Our thoughts are with her.”

However, even without Noro, one of the most experienced play-ers on the team, the Warriors man-aged to get their fi rst win of the season.

The Warriors defeated the Compton College Tartars 19-2 last Friday.

The team will have a show-down against East L.A. College at home at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Due to the inexperience of the Compton College team, Brit-ton said he was confi dent that the Warriors would have a good chance at pulling out a victory against the Tartars.

“It feels good, we worked hard,” Tanelle Barnes, 19, said. “I was pretty confi dent going in to the game because a lot of the players (on the Compton team) were beginners.”

The team was also at an ad-vantage due to the cancellation of some of its previous games, re-sulting in extra practice sessions.

The team has not played since the Warriors were completely overmatched by East L.A. Col-lege.

The Warriors lost in the season opener to East L.A. by a score of 21-0 on Feb. 23.

The team has improved its sea-son record to 1-1.

“The days we were supposed to be playing were turned into practice sessions,” Britton said. “It actually helped us a lot and it was good for the (women) to get the extra practice.”

The previous four games were canceled to allow Britton, former U.S. Men’s National Champion for doubles, to attend the 100th

anniversary of Scottish badmin-ton where the patron of Scottish badminton, Prince Edward, was present.

“I used to play for Scotland before I came to America, and so I got honored as the top doubles

player of the last century,” Britton said.

During Britton’s absence, his daughter, winner of several U.S. Junior badminton championships, took charge of the team and led the practices.

Britton said the additional prac-tice for players showed instant results with new players Vanessa Reid winning her fi rst doubles match and Ramie Flamengo win-ning two singles matches and a doubles match.

“Considering I’ve only been to four practices and I’ve never played badminton before, it was totally new to me and so when I won I was just like ‘Oh, that’s ex-citing!’” Flamengo said. “I totally wasn’t expecting it. “

—Tanelle BarnesBadminton player

“I was pretty confi dent going in to the game be-cause a lot of the players (on the Compton team) were beginners.”

hsh

SPORTS 8March 17, 2011 / El Camino College Union

Warriors excel at CSUN Invitational

David Cardona competes at the 3000-meter steeplechase during the CSUN Invitational last Saturday, winning the event with a time of 9:21.33

Roger Morris /Union

Joshua ShermanStaff Writer

Volleyball team loses the conference opener falling to 4-3

With a broken knuckle, Joseph Tanuvasa did all he could to set the volleyball, but the hitters couldn’t put the ball away and continued to rack up hitting er-rors. When push came to shove, errors on the game cost the Warriors a conference win.

Down 8-5 in the fi nal game of the match, the pass-ing game continued to suffer, players were mentally exhausted and a defi cit proved hard to overcome.

Starting out strong, the Warriors allowed Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) back in the fi rst game and a shift of momentum infl uenced the outcome of the match. The Warriors fought hard over the next 4 games but errors and low energy gave them a loss

in the books.“We played down to their level, gave them en-

ergy and ultimately let them win,” coach Richard Blount said.

Now 0-1 in their conference giving the Warriors a 4-3 record, the team faces two conference games this week. The team looks to defend its court against Pierce College on Friday.

Passing as a team was poor in games 1, 3 and 5 and subsequently were lost. On a 3 point scale, the Warriors put up a low 2.3 passing average in game 5 and the team couldn’t bounce back from the defi cit.

“When we pass poorly we give our setter less op-tions and our hitting becomes predictable to our op-ponent,” Blount said.

Losing the advantage in the fi rst match 29-27, the

Warriors came out strong in the 2nd putting up a 7-0 lead on the scoreboard. David Estes, defensive spe-cialist, recorded a string of service points to help the team win 25-20 but the battle continued in the third game as the teams went point for point. Quickly becoming the underdogs, the Warriors lost the battle 25-21.

“We just weren’t ready and couldn’t fi ght back,” Jonathan Pettit, libero and team captain, said. “We didn’t execute properly.”

A win in the fourth game gave the Warriors an edge in the match. The team played with setter and team captain, Joseph Tanuvasa’s leadership winning 25-21. In game 5 the Warriors switched sides of the court down 8-5. With little energy and noise from the bench, the team wasn’t able to rally back losing

15-11.“We were mentally exhausted and had little en-

ergy which put us out of reach,” Pettit said. A recorded 7 hitting errors negatively affected

the fi nal game. With their opponent camped out at the net, SBCC forced hitters to make poor decisions.

“We couldn’t put the ball away,” Hunter Hov-land, opposite hitter said.

Even though the errors ultimately cost the War-riors the match, some of the players played well. Hovland had 22 kills while Race Munger, middle hitter, recorded 11 kills and 9 blocks. Pettit racked up 26 digs on the match.

“We can’t dwell on this loss,” Pettit said. “We need to learn from it, get hungry and win our next game.”

Ashley CurtinStaff Writer

Tennis team loses to Mt. SAC

Tennis team loses again in rematch against Mt. SAC

With the game on the line, Jon Fisher had to step up.

Jon Fisher went through a 10 point tie-break with Eric Kan of Mt. San Antonio College; Fisher lost his previous two matches with him.

Kan would catch Fisher in the tie break, but Fisher would hold on to win the tie break 12-10. However, it wasn’t enough as EC lost 5-4 last Th ursday at Mt. SAC.

EC’s next game is this Tuesday, as they play against Long Beach City College at 2 p.m.

“In singles, Lassu started off fl at losing the fi rst set 6-4, but suddenly showed up and stormed through his second set with the score of 6-2 and fi nishing him off with the 10 point tie-break score of 10-3,” Robertson said.

No. 2 starter Andrew Sarawasi won 7-5 aa his opponent had to default late in the second set be-cause of injury.

“Sarawasi started off his singles slow but he won the fi rst set and was ahead in the second set before his opponent pulled his groin and default-ed,” Robertson said.

EC fi nished singles matches at 3-3 against Mt. SAC and had a chance to win the others.

“Our singles could have gone our way, but we were tied (at three) going into doubles, our no. 3, 5 and 6 lost their singles,” Robertson said.

Lassu and Sarawasi won their doubles match by a score of 6-3 and 6-0.

“I am excited to see them fi ght through tough matches,” Robertson said, “If we stay healthy we will be a force to reckon with.”

Jillian Dineros was very confi dent going into the match against a tough Mt. San Anto-nio College team.

Dineros had won both the singles and doubles matches last time against the same team.

This time out, she did not play as nearly as well, as Dineros ended both her matches with a pair of losses.

“Maybe for doubles I think I was a little bit too confi dent. For my singles, I just wasn’t prepared,” Dineros said.

“It was a tiring match. Both of us were hit-ting so hard that we were both off the courts,” Dineros said referring to her singles match.

“She played very well and she was very consistent but the girl was just a little too strong,” coach Steve Van Kanegan said. “Jill lost 6-4, 6-4, you don’t get much closer than that.”

Unfortunately for them, she was not the only to leave the court with a loss as the team

ended the day 6-3.The Warriors will play a non-conference

match against Cypress College today at home at 2 p.m.

The match was rescheduled due to a rain-out.

“We practiced for this day and even though we lost we were happy with the result because we were all focused and worked re-

ally hard,” Mio Hosaka said.Mt. SAC has only one loss this season

which was against Santa Monica College.“Their whole team is experienced. Every

player on their team has played in tourna-ments, high school tennis, and they are very consistent,” Van Kanegan said.

“Several of the matches that we lost were very close so maybe on a different day we

would have won those matches,” he said.The Warriors needed to win this game to

have a chance at being the conference cham-pions.

“We were hoping to have better results for this past match but we didn’t win so we are just going have to shoot for second, which is better than last year,” Dineros said.

Last year the women’s tennis team was last in the conference.

“It’s the fi rst time we were ever in last place but this year’s team is much more im-proved,” Van Kanegan said.

With the women now aiming for second place the team will continue working on its skills.

“We need to keep working on what we’ve been working on and that is trying to get con-sistent, trying to use our spin, trying to play smarter on the tennis court and just trying to be mentally tough,” Van Kanegan said.

Content with how the season has been go-ing, the team will continue to battle, Hosaka said.

“Even though we might not be able to be the conference champions we’re not let down, and we’re not going to change how we’ve worked till this day, so we are still going to keep doing our best,” Hosaka said.

“It’s the fi rst time we were ever in last place but this year’s team is much more

improved.”

—Steve Van KaneganTennis Coach

It was familiar ground but a new race with water gleaming below the last barrier like a mirrage on the track.

David Cardona set his foot on the start-ing block and focused on his breathing and the 3000 meters of track ahead of him.

The team heads to Cerritos tomorrow to compete in the Cerritos California Re-lays and will be heading to UC Irvine for a Spring Break Invitational.

Not quite cooled down after his record-breaking feat last week, sophomore David Cardona won a 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9 minutes and 21.33 seconds, making him the state leader.

“It was one of the fi rst times I tried the 3,000 steeple,” Cardona said.

“I was thinking I have to clear the bar-riers, make sure I don’t trip and make sure I don’t fall into the deep end of the water,” Cardona said.

According to the ECC All-Time Top 10 Performer List, Cardona has moved up to No. 5.

If making the Top 10 Performer list once wasn‘t enough, Myshauna Alexander proved that she could make it twice.

Alexander had a strong day in the javelin with a throw of 148 feet and nine inches, which bumped her up to third for the EC’s all-time top ten list for javelin throwers; she is also the state leader by 22 feet.

“To prepare for an event I don’t think about it and just let it fl ow,” Alexander said. “The more you think, the more you mess

up; just let it come naturally.”Her discus throw was also outstanding. A throw of 128 feet brought her to fi fth

place on the all-time top ten list for discus throwers.

Another strong contender in the discus throw was Jason Harrell who is currently the top community college performer with a throw of 156 feet and seven inches

“I think I did fairly decent, I’ve been try-ing to catch up to where I was before the season started,” Harrell said.

Furthermore, sophomore Kara Kalmar, the current state leader and fi rst in commu-nity colleges for pole vaulting, vaulted 11 feet 8 inches, placing her third overall in the competition.

The long jump event saw an outstanding performance as well, as freshman Ronisha Vallery placed second overall with a jump of 17 feet and 11 1/2 inches.

Richard Smith threw the shot put 50 feet 1/2 inch. He is also the top community college shot put thrower and is third in the state.

“I was holding back power so that means I’m going to throw even farther next time when I get my technique down,” Smith said.

The Warriors continue to place tops in the state and do well in all the events.

“I think right now we’ve trained prob-ably 80 percent of what we’re capable of doing,” Cardona said.

“We’re kind of setting aside all of our good workouts toward the end,” Cardona said. “Right now we’re getting most of our speed and base training in.”

Jorge CamarilloStaff Writer

Alma ZazuetaStaff Writer

Mio Hosaka serves during a match last Tuesday against Cerritos College.

Jose Flores /Union

The Warriors do not have a chance for fi rst place in the conference after losing