Rampage Issue 2 Fall 2012

For the second time in Fresno City College’s 101-year history, the college along with Reedley College received a warning from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges last Wednesday, failing its ac-creditation.

The warning, the first and low-est of three sanctions assigned by the commission, given to Fresno City College and Reedley Col-lege had very little to do with

the colleges’current operations and more about the relationship with their governing body, the State Center Community College District.

Among the litany of recom-mendations and standards that FCC had to reach during its ac-creditation evaluation, the college received only one college-specific recommendation: that it add an Academic Freedom statement, or a statement admitting that students and faculty have the freedom to

express views not held by others in the classroom, to its course catalog.

Despite the Academic Freedom statement requirement, the com-mission’s 60-page evaluation report is underscored by one recommendation, entitled District Recommendation #1:

“In order for the colleges and district to fully meet the intent of the previous recommendation [from the 2005 report], the State Center Community College Dis-

trict (SCCCD) must engage in continuous, timely and deliberate dialogue with all District stake-holders to coordinate long term planning and examine the impact of the planned institutions. This includes creating, developing and aligning district and college plans and planning processes in the following areas: district strategic plan, facilities, technology, orga-nizational reporting relationship of

District Lacks Plan

By Alex TAvliAn

Rampage Reporter

RAMPAGEEDITORIAL

THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

See WARNING on page 3

Last week’s report from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges reveals serious problems within the State Center Community College District. The problem is centered on both the mechanism and processes for communica-tion. Presently, our district lacks a cohesive plan for communica-tion and cooperation between it-self and the colleges and centers it governs.

This is a major concern be-cause communication is essen-tial to the success of any institu-tion, especially a multi-campus district. There is a confusion that is palpable among students, faculty and staff that must be acknowledged and dealt with.

For us students, it is a concern that our college was issued a warning by the accrediting team that visited last October. Among the areas of concern was the gap in communication, the lack of a clear understanding in the way things should work.

This should not have come as a shock to the district because the chair of the accreditation team had mentioned this issue in his closing statements. He had said he feared that the college was losing its momentum and that his team noted gaps in com-munication.

We know the gaps. Most students enrolled in F.C.C. know the confusion expressed by fac-ulty members regarding the dis-trict’s add/drop policies. At the start of the semester, instructors are not able to add students over the cap. Students who sat on the floor of lecture halls, hoping to be added to rosters can describe the torture and uncertainty.

Faculty after faculty repeated that they were under stringent rules and couldn’t add anyone. But just as we were getting used to this rule, the district did a complete turn and told instruc-tors they could add as many as they wanted. And after the third of week of classes?

Yet another example of the breakdown in communication

See Communication page 13

FRESNO CITY COLLEGE WARNED BY ACCREDITING BODY

See Page 11

African American SterotypesVIEWS

See Page 15

Baseball: Shad WallaceSPORTS

See Page 8

FCC Gala PerformaceENTERTAINMENT

See Page 5

Summer Schools Here to StayNEWS

Interim Positions a ConcernIn Accreditation Report

The frequent change of lead-ership in recent years has left a glaring hole in the 2012 evaluation report of the State Center Commu-nity College District. The report, provided by The Accrediting Com-mission for Community and Junior Colleges Western Association of Schools and Colleges, found that the administrative changes have brought about instability.

Although the district was com-mended for its integrated plan-ning efforts, the Accrediting team

concluded that “changes in senior leadership at the district and col-lege have resulted in uneven

and ineffective starts and stops in district and college integrated planning.”

The report adds that, “Interviews at both the district office and col-lege revealed that the future plans for college and center expansion, enrollment management and the effects of the considered changes were misunderstood as a result of either incomplete or erroneous information. Comments about fre-quent senior management changes and instability, until recently, were noted as contributing factors.”

According to Chancellor Debo-

By TomAs KAssAhun

Rampage Reporter

“Changes in senior leadership at the district and college have resulted in uneven and ineffective starts and stops in district and college integrated planning.”

-Fresno City College Accreditation Report

See Interims on page 2

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RampageFresnoCity

CollegeFebruary 15, 2012Volume CXXII, Edition 2

Upcoming EventsTryout for

FCC’s Talent Show

Students if you got talent come show it off at the student lounge on Tuesday Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. -12.00p.m; Wednesday, Feb.29, 2.00p.m.-4.00p.m. and Thursday March 1, 9am-11am there are a total of 15 spots avail-able. Judges will evaluate show-manship, creativity, execution, and uniqueness. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to win some cash! First place: $200; second Place $100; third Place $50. The winner of the final will perform live on KMPH FOX GREAT DAY! This may be the start of your artistic career. For more information, contact Maile Glover at 559-265-5711

Performances on the Patio

If you can sing, dance play an instrument or perform a skit but couldn’t make it on the FCC’s Got Talent show, here is your op-portunity. Come to the patio every Thursday from 2.00 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. Call the Student Activities office at 265-5711.

TheSpiritual Beat:

Rhythms &Patterns

The college community is in-vited to come and honor Kathy Wosika, who will be retiring at the end of this spring semester

after 36 years. Wosika will open an exhibit in the Art Space Gal-lery on Art Hop, March 1, from 5.00p.m ending at 8.00 p.m. The exhibit will feature ceramic work and mixed media pieces. Contact Katy Wosika at 559-4424600 est.8326

Road Trip Is Coming To Your Area

The student lounge Road Trip Nation, an educational organiza-tion, will be at Fresno City Col-lege on Feb. 28.to encourage stu-dents who are undecided about their career to take a journey on the road. Road Trip Nation helps you explore your future pathways. Students join a public television series that helps them discover what they want in life.

For Further Contact Student Activities at 559-265-5711

Philosophy Lecture

FCC will have a talk on “War and Justice in 21 first Century” held by Dr. Borris Kashniknov a philosophy professor from Rus-sia on Feb 24 from 3:00-4:30 p.m. The philosophy lecture will be followed by a Q & A of Dr. Kashnikov. Dr. Kashnikov has held many positions which include, captain of Military, Chair of the Humanities and Law department of the Moscow Institute of Internal Affairs. Dr. Kashnikov is currently an advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross. For more information contact Bob Boyd at 559-442-4600 ext. 8329.

rah Blue, the evaluation report is pointing to one position in particu-lar and that’s the vice chancellor for educational services and work-force development. The position has seen several changes since the last accreditation visit in 2005.

It is currently held by Robert Fox, former vice president of stu-dent services at FCC until 2009.

Blue believes the position is absolutely essential as it is respon-sible for several duties including curriculum, workforce develop-ment, strategic planning, grants, and international education.

“Since I’ve been here I’ve taken the time to get a sense of what needs to be done in that office and what kind of support we need

to provide for the colleges,” said Blue. “I had my own idea about the need for stability but I want to reevaluate that in the context of our district and our culture. In the process I’ve realized that position is absolutely essential. It has to be filled permanently.”

Still it is only one of several po-sitions the district needs to fill per-manently. At Willow International, the search for a campus president is set to begin. Terry Kershaw, who is currently the vice chancellor of the North Centers, will also serve as the campus president until his retirement this summer. But by July 1, the district hopes to hire a new person for Willow. At that

point the title of vice chancellor of the North Centers will not be used any longer. Instead the position will only be campus president of Willow International.

However, the campus president for Willow will report to the Reed-ley College president directly and to the chancellor indirectly until candidacy is granted. “Once can-didacy is granted, it will switch. The campus president will report directly to the Chancellor and in-directly to the Reedley president,” said Blue.

At Fresno City College, the search for a new president is also underway. The search committee will recommend finalists to the

Board of Trustees on Feb. 29. The search will then continue with cabinet interviews, campus tours, chancellor interviews, pub-lic forums, and board interviews throughout the month of March. The Board of Trustees will then appoint a new president on April 3. The new president will begin his tenure in July.

Blue says the changes in ad-ministration have affected the planning process. “When we filled the position of vice chancellor on an interim basis, there were so many things that needed to be addressed,” said Blue. “We as-signed different duties to different administrators in addition to what they already do. We needed to get moving on our planning and we knew it before the commission came.”

Interims Pose Problems for FCC

Continued from page 1

The reporter can be reached at [email protected]

By DAisy BArrgAn

Rampage Reporter

OnlineStories

Find Us

Café Corazon and the Role of Free

Trade

By: Matthew Elliott

Café Corazon, one of Tower Districts most talked about coffee shops explains their aspect and benefits of the free trade market. Check out this article for the full story on how Cora-zon strives to brew the best cup of coffee in Fresno.

GOP Debates

By: Alex Tavlian

The 2012 presidential elec-tion is just months away and like always running candidates are gripping at each other’s necks fighting for the spotlight. Check out this article for the latest’s buzz on the presidential debates.

FCC Jazz Some-tet

By: Heather Jamieson-Brown

FCC Jazz faculty was proud to announce their re-cent Jazz Some-tet perfor-mance at Revue Café. Mu-sic instructors Larry Honda and Mike Dana along with a few others showed off their impeccable talent fill-ing the venue with live mu-sic. Check out this article for the latest details about their performance.

Find These Stories And More

Only AtTheRampageOnline.com

2 February 15, 2012 news

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1101 E. University Ave.Fresno, CA 93741

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its students, administration or the State Center Community College District.

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RampageFresnoCity

College

As leaders of Fresno City College address the findings of the accredita-tion team, they may benefit from the experiences of Shasta College and Northern Marianas College, both of which had received warnings from the Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

Shasta College ExperienceShasta College, located in Red-

ding, received an accreditation warning from in November 2008 for failing to meet the standard in its program and financial planning process, and found that it was lack-ing clear goals and objectives setting as well as step-by-step organization, according to the ACCJC report. The college was given 10 months to show improvements.

By March 2009, Shasta College

How Other Colleges Have Handled Shortfalls in Accreditation

centers, location of signature pro-grams, funding allocation, human resources [and] research capacity.”

The District recommendation was created by the evaluation team as an amalgam of three rec-ommendations from 2005: plan-ning, strengthening Fresno City College’s technology plan and increasing planning interaction be-tween the college and the districtx

In 2005, the last of the three recommendations, which focused on the college-district relationship regarding planning, was geared toward Fresno City College. Seven years later, the commission is fo-cusing squarely on the district and its role in the planning process.

When asked about what sur-prised them the most about the evaluation team’s report and the warning issued by the ACCJC, Cantu and Blue sat silently before answering.

“What surprised me the most was that we were still put on warn-ing even with the information that we had provided,” Cantu said. “And the work that we had done

Fresno City College Put on Accreditation Warning




By olgA verKhoTinA

Rampage Reporter

since the accreditation visit may not have been fully considered.”

“I did not know what to expect because I have knowledge about how the process works and you have no clue of what the final out-come will be,” Blue said referring to herself. “Was I disappointed? Yes. But I also knew that we have a lot of work to, because we’ve started that work and have been doing it for the last 18 months.”

In a discussion about the evalu-ation report, Chancellor Deborah G. Blue said that one of the causes of the accreditation warning is attributed to increased planning regulations at the U.S. Department of Education. However, the over-arching District Recommendation #1 highlighted that, because of changes in senior leadership in both the district and FCC, integrat-ed planning resulted in “uneven and ineffective starts and stops.”

“Based on the narrative of the recommendation, it’s clear that they were focused on one par-ticular position and that’s the As-sociate Vice Chancellor for Edu-cational Service and Workforce Development, because that office has the leadership responsibility

for planning,” Blue said. “If we go back to the last accreditation visit, there has been no long-term stability in that office.”

Since 2005, at least four people have served in that position, she said. Each time there is someone in that position, the district’s plan-ning processes operate correctly, but get off track when the slot is emptied. Blue said that a top prior-ity, and one she is bringing to the district’s Board of Trustees, is to initiate a search for a permanent and full-time Associate Vice Chan-cellor for Educational Services and Workforce Development.

Blue also said that, despite recent turnover in the district’s administration, the change in administrators was not a con-tributory factor in receiving the warning from the ACCJC.

Along with the accreditation failures, SCCCD faced anoth-er blow: Willow International Center’s bid to become a fully-accredited community college was deferred due to administra-tive issues.

The district was told by the accrediting commission that, in order for the process to move

forward, SCCCD would have to reorganize the position of Vice Chancellor of the North Cen-ters, currently held by Dr. Terry Kershaw.

First, the district changed the title of the position to Vice Chan-cellor of the North Centers/Campus President Willow In-ternational Community College President, Blue said.

On July 1, the district will officially remove the title of Vice Chancellor of the North Centers and reassign the responsibil-ity of overseeing the Madera, Oakhurst and Clovis centers to Reedley College President Dr. Mitjl Capet. Also, the Campus President of Willow International will report directly to Capet and indirectly to Blue. Currently, the command structure is opposite, with Kershaw reporting directly to Blue.

Blue said that the evaluation team was aware that many of the issues that were scrutinized, including integrated and strategic planning, technology resources and organizational reporting, were all issues already being dis-cussed and addressed by the dis-

trict prior to the visit in October.“The team chair said, ‘We want

to hold the college and district’s feet to the fire that you get all of the things you are working on now done,’” Blue said.

One of the first steps to close the college and district’s accredi-tation gap is the completion and alignment of the district’s strate-gic plan and the campus strategic plans at Fresno City and Reedley. The district’s new strategic plan is expected to be finished in June. Following the release of the district’s new strategic plan, both of the district’s colleges will undergo a yearlong process of re-evaluating their campus strategic plans with a release date in 2013.

Blue said that with each of the specific areas addressed in the district recommendation, from technology and facilities to orga-nizational reporting and district strategic planning, SCCCD is go-ing to have to establish and stick to its timelines for completion in order to avoid the path leading to accreditation termination.

had developed a strategic plan to improve student learning by provid-ing more technological tools and fa-cilities, to offer faculty trainings and to promote the college among local organizations by 2012. The ACCJC removed Shasta from warning status after reviewing its follow-up report without a visit in June, 2009.

However, the ACCJC evaluation team returned to Shasta College in Fall 2011 and then placed the col-lege on Probation because it did not find that the planning process had improved since 2008. The team required that the college identify student learning outcomes for all courses, programs and degrees.

Even though the institution has kept its accredited status during its probation, Shasta College will not be reaffirmed until all the problems are resolved and a follow-up report is submitted by Oct. 15, 2012. The commission will be compelled to take additional actions if the college

fails to meet this deadline.If Shasta College loses its ac-

creditation, students may lose their federal financial aid. In addition, other universities and potential em-ployers may not accept academic credits from an unaccredited college.

Northern Marianas College

Northern Marianas College, located in Saipan, recently came close to losing its accreditation.

In the past five years, the college has twice been placed on a Show Cause status, a step worse than being placed on Probation. The ACCJC evaluation team sanctioned NMC for continually failing to meet eligibility requirements and commission stan-dards in financial management and integrity, institutional governance and accountability, and autonomy.

NMC reaffirmed its accreditation in July 2009 but was placed back on Show Cause in June 2010 after the

ACCJC team came back to visit the campus. Since that time, NMC was trying to prove to the Accreditation Commission that the school meets all the requirements to be called accredited again. In January 2012, ACCJC finally removed the school from Show Cause and placed it on Probation. The Commission expects Northern Marianas College to dem-onstrate full resolution of the given recommendations by next visit in Fall 2012.

“Although we had hoped for an upgraded accreditation status,” said NMC President Sharon Hart, “we are pleased to see that the accredit-ing commission has recognized the College’s effort to resolve many of the issues and recommendations that had been raised in prior action letters and team reports.”

The Western Association for Schools and Colleges visited NMC in November 2011 and noticed that the institution had already resolved

eight out of 11 recommendations and concerns.

“Even before the receipt of the action letter from ACCJC, the Col-lege had begun taking concrete steps to address the issues and concerns raised in the outstanding and supple-mental recommendations,” noted NMC President Hart.

The college has already developed a five-year policy review calendar and made some changes to improve its financial control and reporting structure.

The ACCJC did not require the school to submit a separate accredita-tion report in addition to the annual follow-up report for the first time since 2007. NMC is already working on its 2012 Self-Evaluation process, and is working towards resolving all the recommendations and reaffirm-ing its accreditation status.

Case Study:3February 15, 2012news

Claudia Habib, president of the Academic Senate,

discussed the recent accreditation report on Friday.

Q: “Was it surprising that we were put on warn-

ing?”

A: We were hoping for a better result of course, es-

pecially because there was a lot of effort in tackling these. But the reality is we started working on these, especially at the district lev-el, in the last 12 to18 months. So in the eyes of SCCJC, this is kind of late when the last accreditation was in 2005. But again, I credit the administration for putting things in place. At the same time, even though we were expecting a better result, we were not surprised. We knew it; we had done a self-study, and we already recognized these areas. We already knew that that’s why things were moving along.

Q: “Should the student body be worried about

this warning?”

A: I don’t think so. Look at the commendations versus

recommendations. And the stu-dents participate in these. We’ve had a lot of progress in participa-tory governance, our councils and committees have students involved. And they’ve done an outstanding job; they’re really, really, informed. You could talk to Cindy Quiralte or Trustee Chris Coronado; they’ve been involved, and I think they’re aware of what’s taking place.

My concern is when we talk about ‘oh my god we’re on warn-ing,’ it looks like we’re failing, and that the community gets this perception, and we’re doing a lot of good things.

And to be in a panic mode, and this is my personal opinion not the senate’s opinion, it’s almost failing

to see the work that a lot of people have done- faculty, administrators, classified staff, on getting these things corrected since the last ac-creditation. As far as the district, and that’s the touchy point because everyone understands that Fresno City College is doing well.

As far as the district, the concern is that when we went into warning last time; it was not for reasons of the college, although we had things to work on, but mostly [because of] the district and that now we’ve been placed on warning again. It’s because the district has not moved fast enough on this issue.

All I can say is that since we’ve had new administration in the dis-trict, these things have started to move. We’re putting in place task forces, committees, to respond to these issues. So we are not right now scrambling to respond; we have been working on it except that we only started when we had a new administration. We didn’t start it in 2006 or 2005.

Q: “When you say new administration, do you

mean FCC or the district?”

A: The new leadership in the district…. So we’re in

a good place. I’m very optimistic that things are being done from the district level. We have a district strategic plan; now we have an actual committee – Facilities. We are working on the facilities master plan, and we’re going to have a final report at the end of February or March. Technology -- we have the Campus Works, a consulting firm that came last December to make an assessment of technology in the entire district and they had a very comprehensive, very good, report on Jan. 26, and it’s available.

As far as the organization report-ing relationship of the centers, they recognize that the structure has to change, and they’re doing some-thing about it. I really don’t know much but you can find out. Alloca-tion, we had in the past, what we call a resource allocation model, how they distribute the money on

the campuses, and Fresno City College has al-ways felt that we carry the weight of the district, and we don’t perceive the allocation of funding as fair. And there was not a clear process on how that money was allocated, now we have a re-source alloca-tion task force working on a plan that works for the district, that is equitable and that every-b o d y u n d e r -stands.

Q: What are the

plans to re-spond to the accreditation rec-ommendation?

A: The [accreditation] report is really good for us, it re-

ally is. I say that because we have one recommendation, and we have six commendations. Commenda-tions are congratulations; you are doing this very well. So put that in perspective.

When colleges go into accredi-tation, there are five results that you could expect. The first one is reaffirm, great, good job. The next one is warning, then proba-tion, then show cause, then you lose your accreditation. So when you look at that scale it’s almost like A, B, C, D. We’re at the first level. It sounds awful we’re on warning, but we have to be clear in saying that we’re not failing; we just have these areas that we have to look for improvement and work on improvement.

Now, I know that there is con-cern. My job is to represent the fac-ulty and express what the faculty feels. And there are two opinions

-- there are fac-ulty [members] who are really concerned be-cause we were on warning on the previous ac-creditation, and we came out of warn ing , and now we’re on warning again. The main con-cern for those is that the reasons we are on warn-ing are not be-cause of the col-lege, but because of the district.

Other mem-bers of faculty are feeling OK; the good news

is we have one district recom-mendation that we are working on, tackling all these aspects. And if you look at each one of these, it’s mostly about integrated plan-ning -- conversations between all of the colleges and the district in issues that affect all of us, and having processes in place aligning the colleges in strategic planning, facilities, technology, the relation-ship with the centers, signature programs, funding and location, human resources, and research capacities.

And when you look at this, and you asked me what are the plans to tackle it? we are already work-ing on it. We’ve been working on it, most of these not all, since last spring. So why am I optimistic? Because we knew we assessed; we had a self-study, a huge report, before we go into accreditation, for 18 months, we prepared this report and a lot of people worked on it. And it’s a looking inward on where we are on all these parts that SCCJC asked us to look at. So there were no surprises, we self-identified areas of concern such as communication, technol-ogy, I think there were a couple more. They were areas that we identified and we started working on, we put in place a communica-tions task force and we’re working on that.

Q: Did the district jump the gun on attempting

to get Willow International ac-creditation?

A: That has been a long process, and I don’t know

all the details. But I can tell you that it’s a long process. It started a long time ago, but there were some things that were not done correctly, things that we didn’t know, for example, that a college in candidacy must have its own structure in place. Another thing that we didn’t know is that a new

future college cannot have centers under its administration. That’s why they’re going to split Willow and Madera. Madera is going to stay with Reedley. They have deferred that status of college until spring, until they respond to some of these concerns.

Q: “What is your opinion on the lack of consistent

leadership?”

A: It’s not unusual, because the process of hiring takes

a long time. It’s not unusual to have interims. Yes it is a concern because it appears to be suddenly many people left from our campus.

We had a president that left, most recently our VP of Admin; we had a dean that retired; when people are going to retire you kind of know. It is expected that a lot of people are going to retire. It looks like for us that many people left at the same time. So we have an interim president and a search process and didn’t find a person that we felt was the right fit for our college.

So we continue to have an in-terim president, and what happen is, when you have an interim from internal, you have to fill in that position. To give you an example, Mr. Cantu was VP of instruction; he is now interim president. So somebody has to fill his spot, so Kelly Fowler came and took that spot. But that spot still belongs to Mr. Cantu if he decides to go back, or when we have a new president.

So we don’t have a vacant po-sition; we are just filling up the spots. Someone has to do the job. So when Fowler left her spot in Clovis, someone took her spot there, but that spot still belongs to her. It’s a domino effect. So it looks like we have many, but in that case, the vacancies are really one that generates three interims.

academic senate president claudia habib discusses accreditation during her peresentation at the Feb. 8 meeting.

Accademic Senate President Talks Accreditation

New Policy To Affect Students’ Ability To Repeat Courses

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Rampage Reporter



For a few weeks, it seemed as if Alice Cooper was right: school was out for summer. It took a large outcry from students to reverse Chancellor Deborah Blue’s proposal to eliminate summer school and instate a six-week session for 2012.

The Board of Trustees adopted an amended plan in a 6-1 vote, which cut $58,000 instead of $537,000 from summer school, creating a six-week summer session for students. The lone ‘nay’ vote was Trustee Pat Patterson who said that he opposed all cuts.

The amended plan shifted $479,000 in cuts from summer school to the undesignated contingency funds of State Center Community College District’s colleges. The undesignated contingency funds are part of SCCCD’s $44 million reserve fund. The remaining $58,000 of the initial $537,000 cuts to summer school remained in place.

Of the $949,200 being taken from the undesignated contingency funds of each of the SCCCD campuses, about $821,000 is being taken from FCC, about $54,000 will be taken from Reedley and about $66,000 will be taken from the North Centers.

The initial proposal was meant to reduce spending in fiscal year 2011-2012 after a number of cuts were triggered by the State of California. Blue said that the district hoped to have summer school, and the costs associated with it, in fiscal year 2012-2013 starting on July 1.

But Fresno City College Interim

President Tony Cantu contended that the college couldn’t host a six-week summer session starting in July because it would overlap with the week when teachers report back for the fall semester.

The reversal in the mid-year reduction plan marks the first roadblock to eliminating summer school. In the past two years, the district eliminated its four-week sessions, aside from special programs, and cut summer school at Reedley College and the North Centers last year.

During the Board meeting last week, 13 students and alumni, including Associated Student Government President Cindy Quiralte spoke in opposition to Blue’s original proposal. The tiny boardroom was standing room only with overflow in standing in the district office hallway.

“There are people who want to get out of here and we don’t want to be stuck here because of the cuts,” FCC graduate Rhyann

McClanahan said during the meeting.

The opposition was fierce enough that ASG representatives were able to whip 4,000 student

signatures for a petition opposing the plan.

“You have a responsibility to the student body,” Quiralte said holding the stack of signatures.

“Know that it’s our futures that you’re deciding.”

Hours before the vote on the mid-year reduction plan, Blue

admitted that the district had fumbled the proposal by not properly communicating with students.

“Initially when we started the

conversation [about summer s c h o o l ] , w e w e r e n o t i n conversation with the students and that is what we have to address from this point forward,” Blue said

6-week Program Set to Start in June

days after the Board meeting.Following the vote, Quiralte

said that students walked away with a six-week victory, though noting that the best scenario was having a 10-week summer school session. Reflecting on ASG’s rallying effort, she also said that the end-result came to fruition because students voiced their concerns.

“This was a great opportunity for students to take advantage of using their voice at the board level” Quiralte said of the students. “And a good example of the board’s perceptiveness to students.”


Students who take a class and either fail or withdraw from it, often rely on the fact that they may be able to retake the course. But with the new repeatability guidelines which will be effective in the summer of 2012, students’ ability to retake a course may be a more difficult venture than before. Even if students feel they need more practice to move up to the more advanced course, they might not be able to take it again.

The college’s course catalog details the number of times stu-dents can take the course again if they are looking to improve a skill learned in the course.

“So many courses were de-signed to allow repeatability even when you have succeeded in the course, even when you have an A,” said Claudia Habib, president of the Academic Senate at Fresno City College. “At this point, be-cause of the financial crisis, we have to prioritize. Theater arts, music and athletics definitely were the areas of most concern, and that’s why we have made an effort to take the out repeatabil-

ity from other courses, so we can justify and support those areas.”

For example, a beginner’s music class might need to be retaken, even if the student passed the class, in order to improve the skills learned before going into the intermediate or otherwise more advanced course.

“Simply put, we need students to repeat a course in order to im-prove their knowledge and skills in learning their musical instru-ments,” said Larry Honda, FCC music instructor.

It’s not clear at the moment how much these types of courses will be reduced in the number of repeats allowed.

Sarbjit Johal, chair of the Cur-riculum Committee said the major concern is going to be for students in fine arts, theater and music.

“The music faculty would say that it takes away from practice time or reaching proficiency if they don’t have enough chances to re-peat the class,” Johal said. “What are we saying when we give someone a C in the class? And then we say, OK now you need to

take it again.”In addition to the repeatability

changes starting this summer, the rules for repetition also changed at the start of the spring 2012 semes-ter. Repetition is when students take a course again to improve upon a substandard grade (D, F or NC). Students have a total of three attempts before getting locked out of the course and will have to petition to retake it.

W i t h d r a w -als count. If a student fails a course twice, and takes a W the third time, that’s it; they’re done. In order to take the course again in an at-tempt to pass the class, students must petition the college for per-mission to take it again.

Prior to this change, students could take the class several times, as long as they did not get three W’s or three F’s. If the student had two of each, it only counted as two of each, not four.

This can be a scary prospect, especially for a general education class, and even more so when

“You have a responsibility to the student body. Know that it’s our futures that you’re deciding.”

Cindy Quiralte

Asg President

there’s only one option, like Eng-lish 1A or maybe a prerequisite class like Math 101. But an at-tempt is an attempt. Once a stu-dent bails out on a class or fails it, graduating from college gets a little bit harder.

By Troy PoPe

Rampage Reporter

By Alex TAvliAn

Rampage Reporter

asg holds a rally For education in the Free speech area on campus to speak out about summer school cuts.

FCC Keeps Summer School

New Policy To Affect Students’ Ability To Repeat Courses


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Fresno city college counceling center on Feb. 14.

5February 15, 2012news

A Fresno City College instructor was recently awarded the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. After three years of refinement, professor Abel Vang and his brother, Burlee were awarded $30,000 from the Academy for their feature length screenplay of “The Tiger’s Child”.

“Nicholl has done wonders (for us). It’s opened up many doors in terms of getting attention,” professor Vang explained. Since

receiving the honor three months ago, the Vang brothers have signed with the Brent Rose agency. With their emerging reputation, promi-nent producers such as Gail Katz of “The Perfect Storm” and Gary Foster of “Sleepless in Seattle” have requested readings of their screenplay.

Abel Vang developed an interest for film after taking an extracur-ricular digital filmmaking class with Dr. John Moses here at FCC. In 2003, he transferred to Fresno State with an Associate’s Degree in Science. While focusing on un-

dergraduate work in molecular biology, Vang continued to pursue filmmaking.

“By the time I was finishing up my undergrad, I figured that I didn’t want to go to med school. I didn’t want any-thing to do with science anymore,” Vang explained. Then shortly be-fore his graduation, he had an opportu-nity to fly free of charge to Thailand to produce his first feature, “Nyab Siab Zoo (The Good-hearted Daughter)”.

“I wanted to get something underneath my fingers before I started film school,” Vang explained. “Without knowing how to make a film and without know-ing how to even write a script, I did it because I was given the opportunity.” His feature was later shown at the Sacramento Film Festival as well as the Wisconsin Film Festival and has been used for lectures at the Niagara Seminary College in New York.

With his newfound prestige, Vang decided to research film-making schools. He settled on the University of Southern California

Pop tarts, fast food, Top Ramen.A skipped meal here or there?No time to cook or a seat-down

dinner?Does this seem familiar?You are not alone. According to the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration, more than 70 percent of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 reported that they are overweight and currently trying to lose weight, while adults between the ages of 18 and 34 are also more likely to consume unhealthful food. Contrary to what you might think, it is possible to eat healthfully on the go. There are several ways to ensure you main-tain a healthful diet, even on your busiest days.

Experts agree that healthful eat-ing starts early in the day.

“Breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day,” said Ricarda Cerda, registered dietitian and instructor at Fresno City College. “When you eat that Pop Tart as your last resort in the morning, you are missing out on some important nutrients.”

One study that tracked nearly 10,000 young people from ado-lescence into their twenties found

that not only did skipping break-fast lead to obesity, but also that people who missed out on their morning meal also increased their eating at fast food restaurants, and both unhealthy behaviors caused them to gain weight according to information available on Every-dayhealth.com.

“Often when people don’t eat breakfast, by the time they get to work or school, they are wiped out and they just reach for the most con-venient thing which unfortu-nately tends to be something like a pastry or a donut,” Cerda said.

But most Fresno City College students interviewed for this story insist that their time is limited.

“Most of the time, I am at work or school, and I get tired, and I’ll eat whatever,” said Am-ber Kirkham, FCC student. Her sister-in-law, Kirstyie Kirkham, also a student, explained she goes to Carl’s Jr. for lunch because she doesn’t have time to cook or pack her lunch for the day.

Cerda explained that a little planning will make the healthy

food choices easy to grab before walking out the door in the morn-ing. An easy grab given by Re-alsimple.com is fruit and cheese - a balanced, easy-to-assemble, make-ahead morning meal.

Grab an apple, wrap one to two ounces of cheddar in plastic, and

toss one fourth cup of fiber-and-

protein-rich walnuts into a re-sealable plastic bag. Starting the day with more energy means you’ll feel better throughout the day. The following are fast healthy meal tips from WebMD which anyone can use to improve the quality of their diets:

Divide leftovers into individual

containers.Freeze serving-sized meals for

use on hectic days. Just micro-wave the meal in its container and go!

Have a portable cooler or de-cent-sized lunch bag on call at all times.

Keep a stash of napkins and plastic ware in your car, backpack,

briefcase, or purse.Chop vegetables in ad-

vance and place in baggies. Slice cheese and meats ahead of time.

Wash fruits ahead of time (un-less prone to mold, like strawber-ries).

Keep a few boiled eggs in the fridge for quick protein or turn them into egg salad for sand-

wiches.Pack your grab and go meal

the day before when you know you’ll be busy the next day. Have transportable yet healthy foods handy.

“Eating healthfully means eat-ing food the majority of the time which will maintain your body,” said Cerda “Think of your body like a vehicle. Are you a beat up old Volkswagen or a Maserati? Wouldn’t you want to put the best quality fuel in your body?”

Benefits of a healthy diet include a strengthened immune system, improved body weight, energy and physical strength, improved emotional health and extended life expectancy. According to the American Heart Association, a healthy diet is essential to pre-venting cardiovascular disease, America’s leading cause of death. It is important to eat healthy to improve your overall physical and emotional well-being.

According to the U.S. De-partment of Health and Human Services, unhealthy eating and inactivity cause 310,000-580,000 deaths every year. “It’s never too late to make changes,” said Cerda. “Look at your diet and recognize what is problematic.”

after discovering their top ranking in a Google search. In 2009, he was accepted into the USC film program. Vang graduated with a Master’s Degree in Film Arts for Cinema and Television Production in late 2011.

During his time at the University of Southern California, he and his brother, Burlee, began to col-laborate on what would eventually become “The Tiger’s Child”. “I would travel back to Fresno twice a month so that we could work together to brainstorm and write,” Vang recalled.

In the early 1960’s, the Central Intelligence Agency hired Hmong mercenaries, including children, to sacrifice themselves in a secret war against the North Vietnamese Army. By the end of the Vietnam War, over 100,000 Hmong had perished amidst the conflict. In exchange for their sacrifice, sol-diers eventually received refugee status and residency within the United States.

In “The Tiger’s Eye”, the Vang brothers explored this secret war through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy. “We never see a war film where the protagonist is a soldier and a child,” Vang explained. “And so I wanted to write a story revolving around this child, see-ing the whole secret war through his eyes.”

Prior to the CIA’s intervention

in the 1960s, Hmong culture contained no written language. Extraordinarily, two direct de-scendants of the secret war have produced a culturally accurate, award-winning screenplay that preserves and exemplifies Hmong history.

Abel and Burlee Vang could have just as easily missed this op-portunity after nearly having fallen short of the Academy’s submis-sion requirements. As the contest deadline approached, Abel Vang realized that he could not fully account for the $40 entry fee. “I had to call [Burlee] to help,” he explained.

Only shortly before the Acad-emy’s deadline did Burlee manage to account for the cost of entry of “The Tiger’s Child”. Had Burlee paid for his monthly expenses sooner than he did, their lives would have taken a different course. Treading water, the Vang brothers turned a nearly unac-countable $40 investment into a $30,000 story of perseverance.

This achievement reflects a commitment to the expression and preservation of Hmong history and culture. With a foundation of pres-tige, the Vang brothers have begun development on a television pilot and a second full length feature screenplay. Professor Vang, now 27, teaches Film 1 here at the col-lege and will offer an additional film class beginning February 21st.

Eating Healthy On A Tight Budget

By ChAnTrell Allen

Rampage Reporter


Film Instructor Awarded Screenwriting Fellowship

By mATThew ellioTT

Rampage Reporter


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won’t be going to the theater as often as I used to.

Story-wise, “Phantom Menace” did lack many of its predecessors’ qualities. For starters, it does not have a central main character. While there are many characters that are

being followed closely, there is no one character that could serve as the main protagonist.The movie’s act ion

scenes are great, utilizing CGI and choreography to make

for some cool firefights and lightsaber battles. In be-

tween the sequences of action is a lot of politics,

one thing that many fans did not enjoy seeing in a “Star

Wars” film. However, the poli-tics do play a pivotal role in the plotline of later episodes.

If you haven’t gotten into the “Star Wars” films, now is as good a time as any to experi-ence them in theaters. If you’re an avid fan, the feel of seeing this movie in theaters again will be worth it. However, if you’re hoping for the pod race to look like it’s flying out at you, don’t

get your hopes up. It’s only slightly more 3D than if you popped the DVD in and watched the movie from your living room.

The Critics Say... Journey 2: Not So Mysterious

By KAiTlin regAn

Rampage Reporter

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sWarner Bros. Pictures has struck again with their sequel to the criti-cally acclaimed “Journey To The Center Of The Earth.”

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is well equipped with an all-star cast and plot line that is sure to please audiences across the world, if they are under ten years old.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Hank) teams up with Josh Hutch-erson (Sean), Vanessa Hudgens (Kailani), Luis Guzman (Gabato) and Michael Caine (Alexander) in the adventurous search for a mys-terious and mythological island. Their journey includes several plot twists and even more encounters of the great unknown.

Hank’s role as Sean’s stepfather builds up the predictable plot line of a growing bond. It is inevitable that a certain point in their journey throughout the film will change their relationship into one of mu-tual affection and tolerance. The

efforts put forth by Hank to bond with his step-son can only be de-scribed as stereotypically cheesy.

His actions are meant to guide the “troubled” teen but, as in many plots before this film, they push Sean further away. Sean also falls into a predictable role being that he is a teen with a bad relationship with his step-father. His blatant lack of regard for rules and au-thority follow the behavioral path of teenagers through the many generations before him.

Gabato, played by Luis Guz-man, brought a sense of comedic relief to the film as the father of Kailani. The purpose he wishes to fulfill by accompanying Hank and Sean to the Mysterious Island is to send Kailani to college. His actions as a father stand out above his comedic cowardice.

On numerous occasions, the cowardly Gabato cracks one-liners that leave the audience with a laugh. His supporting role flows well with the personality of Alex-ander, played by Michael Caine.

As an absentee grandparent, Alexander seeks to make up for his relationship with a grandson by urging him to embark on this journey in the first place. He acts as a guide with extensive knowledge on the land and symbolism behind the journey.

An aspect of the film that makes a difference in its quality is the storyline that becomes an adap-tation to the Vernian goals and myths. Vernians, zealous followers of Jules Verne and his writings, believe in a mysterious island that can be found by reading the clues in his novels.

There were many technical as-pects of the film that increased my enjoyment and left me wondering how they were done. I believe that the special effects crew for the film did their job and more.

The 3D experience did enhance action scenes and brought about many an “oh!” and “ah!.” An elec-tric eel was illuminated to a shock-ing brightness while still having realistic features. As water rushed

through the scene at one point, it was as if it was surrounding the audience. In this aspect, the film was successful and enjoyable.

The technical qualities of the film were severely let down by the level of acting. Dwayne Johnson was not a decent choice for the male lead in this film. His interpretation of the script not only let down the other actors, but it displayed a disregard for the effort in the film.

Also, the film has situations that are unrealistic. Even though the story is fictional, there needs to be an accurate representation of situations. There needs to be

a sense of consistency and the film lacks just that.

Taking into consideration that this is a film meant for audiences of all ages, it met the requirement of being entertaining. The standards of enter-tainment, as they change throughout the levels of ratings, were relatively low when it came to this film.

The overall experience of “Jour-ney 2: The Mysterious Island” was mediocre at best. The special effects thrilled me but I was left in a state of disappointment when it came to the acting.

Rating: C+The reporter can be reached at [email protected]

Star Wars: Nostalgia Delights, 3D DisappointsBy AusTin verBurg

Rampage Reporter


20th century Fox

One of the first movies I remem-ber seeing in theatres was “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.” I feel a small sense of pride knowing that the latest movie I saw in theaters was the same. When it comes to re-releases such as these, the nostalgia seems to be what’s drawing me in more than anything. However, when it comes to re-releases such as this, I feel that the 3D was not up to my expectations.

“The Phantom Menace” is part one of George Lucas’ space-fantasy set “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” as the opening of every “Star Wars” film says. The story revolves around the Jedi, who serve as the peace protectors of the Galactic Republic.

When Jedi knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan learner, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are sent to negotiate a treaty between a peaceful planet known as Naboo and the corporate-run, greed-ridden Trade Federation, the two end up in the middle of a war that leads to a change in the leadership of the Galactic Republic, as well as the discovery of a boy, one Anakin Skywalker, who may fit into an ancient Jedi prophecy.

When “Phantom Menace” was released in 1999, it received mix re-

views from the critics and franchise fans alike. Most felt that it lacked in comparison to the original tril-ogy. Since then, it’s become an accepted fact that the newer “Star Wars” movies are inferior to the older ones. Regardless, excitement for the prequel trilogy from “Star Wars” fans never weakened, with fans lining up for the midnight screenings of each one, and doing the same for the re-release of this movie.

The nostalgia felt from seeing the movie again in theaters was exciting. The 3D however, was not. This is a problem I’ve had with other re-released movies that were being presented in 3D. The problem with these re-releases is that when they were made, it was never conceived that they would be able to have them in 3D. Now that the technology is common, filmmakers see a quick buck in taking their old films, splitting the images so it creates the illusion of depth, and then putting it back in the theaters.

And that’s all it is: an illusion. Not to say that regular movies meant to be 3D aren’t illusions,

but those movies are specifically designed to appear as if objects and characters are flying out of the screen right into the theater itself. You will get none of that with a 3D re-release just because the movie was never designed to do that.

For me, it seemed like the 3D effects wore off after the first 30 minutes of the film. All that “converting” the film to 3D means is they made the movie so that it is blurry unless you are wearing

clunky, awkward-looking glasses. And honestly, the whole effect just made my eyes hurt.

I’d prefer to enjoy movies without having to put glasses on, and I’m sure it’s inconvenient for

people who have to wear prescrip-tion glasses to have to wear an extra, clunky pair on top of them to enjoy the film. If that is trying to be pushed as the norm of the theater experience, I probably

7February 15, 2012entertainment

Gala Concert In OAB Auditorium:

By KArinA ornelAs

Rampage Reporter

The Fresno City College music depart-ment held a Gala Concert on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Old Administration Building auditorium as a grand reopening of the building. The afternoon’s event followed the theme it was named after, “Past, Pres-ent and Future,” by honoring previous generations of now-retired, full-time music faculty, as well as by celebrating the current music faculty and their students.

The OAB auditorium was not just the perfect setting for the gala concert; it was the reason for having the concert in the first place. During the past 30 years that the auditorium had been out of use, audi-ences were deprived of the opportunity to attend music events in a building that was originally used for music.

“We always wanted a grand opening for the auditorium,” said music department chair, Larry Honda, “a grand celebration featuring the department’s largest groups.”

The groups that participated from the music department were: Jazz Ensemble, Intermediate/Advanced Guitar Class, City Singers, Concert Band, and A Cappella Choir. A set was also performed by mem-bers of the music faculty with the Faculty Jazz Some-tet. The concert also featured Gary Deeter and Dr. LeGrand Andersen as guest conductors for sets by the Concert Band and the City Singers respectively.

Having the concert on a Sunday afternoon not only eliminated issues with parking, but also gave many people the opportunity to see all of the music groups perform together.

“This is the first time all the groups per-form together,” said Honda, “it provided students the opportunity to hear each other.”

Honda said he didn’t predict it would hap-pen, but thought it was great that by having the previous generation of music instruc-tors involved, the students had the unique opportunity to hear the history behind the OAB auditorium and the music department.

In doing so, those same instructors also had the chance to hear the present students and recognize the effort the current music faculty put into the concert.

“It was a cross-generational thing,” Honda said of having the three generations come together for the Gala Concert.

The concert was a meaningful event for everyone involved, and for Julie Dana, Choral Ensembles director, it was also emotional, as some of the previous instruc-tors present were her own teachers when she was studying music as a young girl in college.

Current music faculty members were able to show their appreciation for the previous generation of music instructors by pre-senting them with plaques certifying their achievement and dedication.

Former full-time faculty members who were honored with plaques were Dr. Vin-cent Moats, Dr. LeGrand Andersen, Eiji Maruko, Robert Nielsen and Gary Deeter.

“We just invited them and it was a sur-prise,” said Honda, “It was a way of passing on the torch.”

Adding that special touch to the event was a way of tying everything full-circle, as well as having Nielsen MC the event, as he took the opportunity to share the history with everyone every time he was at the microphone.

“What a great event, aren’t you glad you came!” Nielsen said to everyone in the auditorium.

Putting this event together required a dedicated effort from the collective col-laboration of many.

“Larry Honda has been the driving force behind this event,” said Dana.

Honda acted as the producer for the event, organizing everything from set times to fli-ers and everything in between. Many others, such as other non-music departments on campus, also helped in some way. Even students pitched in to help.

As the performers of the concert, as well as the previous instructors who were hon-ored, all received standing ovations from the audience, it was clear that in the end everyone was pleased.

“Now that it’s over I feel it was a really great event on so many levels,” said Honda.

Many audience members went up to performers and instructors to congratulate them after the concert.

“We’re pretty proud of all the kids,” said Dana, “It was a really amazing showcase of what our students are doing in music at our school.”

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preVious Full-time music Faculty members were honored with certiFicate plaques. recipients were: (l to r) eiji maruko, VinVent moats, dr. legrand andersen, robert nielsen, and gary deeter.ww

Honors Past, Present, Future


8 February 15, 2012 entertainment

craft at FCC, and has produced a diverse body of work that includes a classical string quartet, a romantic guitar solo, and a contemporary sonata for viola and piano.

Both Hall and Baranskiy plan to transfer into music degree programs, Hall focusing on piano performance, Baranskiy on com-position. They are currently in the midst of auditioning for several universities. Hall has applied to CSU Northridge, CSU Long Beach, San Diego State University, and San Francisco State University. Baranskiy has applied to USC, UOP, and the San Francisco Conservatory. Both Hall and Baranskiy hold the San Francisco colleges as their top choices. “It’s a very inspiring

By JorDAn russell

Rampage Reporter


Fresno City College piano students Andrew Hall and Roman Baranskiy are both preparing to transfer out of FCC into four-year institutions after this semester. But before they leave the FCC music com-munity, they will share the results of their hard work in a distinctive recital.

“It’s sort of a celebration, I think, for both of us,” said Hall of the event. “It’s a culmination of a lot of really hard work and determination. We’ve both encoun-tered obstacles – Roman’s injured himself, I’ve injured myself.”

The amount of work that Hall and Ba-ranskiy have put into preparing for this recital has been extensive. Both began working on their pieces in early summer of 2011. While this may seem like an exces-sively early start, the time is necessary to the learning process. Olga Quercia, FCC piano instructor, cited the high level of the pieces as the reason behind the massive time requirement. “They’re technically demanding, and they’re artistically de-manding,” she said.

On the program are such works as J.S.

Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in B minor, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 “Pathetiqué,” and Liszt’s “Funerailles.” Many who attempt pieces of this level have been training for years. Hall and Baranskiy are

comparatively inexperienced, but have at-tained this advanced level of musicianship nonetheless.

“I have been around the piano for as long as I can remember, but never really had any sort of formal training with it,” said Hall. Hall’s experiences with piano consisted of playing jazz, blues, and rock ‘n’ roll.

“But as soon as I got to high school and learned music theory, the world of piano really opened up,” he said. He continued to play jazz, and has worked with a number of performance groups here at FCC. The decision to major in piano performance, however, required Hall to begin training classically. This semester is only his fourth of formal training.

Baranskiy began studying music at a young age in his native country of Ukraine. “I started going to music school studying guitar,” he said. However, he quit after five years of study. “Some of the teachers in Ukraine are not devoted to teaching students,” he said. He soon began studying piano at a different music school, but only spent two years there before graduating. At the age of 16, Baranskiy moved to the United States. He spent years away from

the piano before picking it up again. “I remembered that I always wanted to be a composer, but that I just never gave myself a chance,” he said. Baranskiy has been composing for two years, studying the

city,” said Baranskiy.In the future, each has

goals centered in the world of music. “I’m anticipat-ing going on and doing graduate work and get-ting a Master’s at least in Piano Performance, either Jazz Studies or Classical Piano,” said Hall. “And ultimately,” he continued, “I’d like to try and make it as a performance artist. But if that doesn’t work I guess the fall-back would be teaching.”

Though Baranskiy is planning on majoring in composition, he said, “I ac-tually want to study music more than write it.”

Their recital marks an important transitional peri-od for Hall and Baranskiy. In addition to preparing them for futures in the music world, it will also

serve to enlighten and inspire other music students. “The purpose is two-fold: to give them a completion of their work and also for the department to know that we are constantly trying to keep the standards high and to get people ready to move on, which is very competitive, especially in piano,” said Quercia. “And,” she added, “I think it’s good for the students here – kids that are in piano classes, or music appreciation – to hear some outstanding performers.”

The recital is scheduled for Feb. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the FCC Recital Hall.

andrew hall (l) and roman baranskiy mark their last semester with a recital.

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“It’s really a culmination of a lot of effort, and time, and a lot of love.”

Andrew Hall

Piano Students To Hold Recital9February 15, 2012entertainment

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Black Hair And Skin Products Go Natural

Fresno Brewing Co. Livens Up Downtown

By niCole rAnDAzzo TurPin

Rampage Reporter


Black hair and skin care compa-nies are beginning to take a more natural approach when creating their products. African American skin and hair care products make up a billion dollar industry.

African American women spend hundreds of dollars on chemical relaxers. Brands like Ambi and RX For Brown Skin are routinely sought out by black people in order to even out skin tone. Lotions and crèmes like Queen Helene and Palmer’s Co-coa Butter, designed to quench thirsty skin, are marketed for the black consumer.

While these concoctions are used throughout the African American community their in-gredients are not widely known and many of these formulas have

been identified as counterproduc-tive when it comes to the health of one’s hair and skin.

Petrolatum and mineral oil are some of the most commonly used ingredients found in black hair and skin care products. Accord-ing to Chicago-based black hair and health examiner, Shamontiel Vaughn, both of these ingredients only appear to be “temporary fixes” when in fact they actually cause dryness to the hair and skin.

“Imagine having a wet body and trying to moisturize your skin with petroleum jelly, or pet-rolatum,” explains Vaughn. “The petrolatum just sits on the skin and doesn’t rub in.” She said the same applies when using hair products that contain those ingredients. “It may hide dandruff temporarily, but the ingredients will eventually dry out and just sit on the scalp,

blocking hair follicles and more dandruff will top what’s already on your scalp,” Vaughn said.

She and other beauticians are advising people to start using products that contain natural oils such as coconut oil or jojoba oil, as they moisturize effectively.

African American skin is very delicate and scars easily. This causes many black people to purchase skin lightening products such as, Ambi or Fair and White. According to an article published in Essence magazine, written by Tia Williams, these lightening products contain prescription-strength steroids that can “cause horrible acne” and “make your skin so thin that it bruises at the slightest touch.”

Nicholas Brooklyn, of nicho-lasbrooklyn.com, points to natural alternatives. “Songyi Mushroom

extract helps to naturally reduce blemishes and even dark spots,” he said.

SheaMoisture is a company that provides natural hair and skin preparations for African Americans. In an interview with tinygreenmom.com, Richelieu Dennis, founder of SheaMoisture, shared his ideas for the company. “We’ve made it our mission to create culturally authentic skin and hair care, with organic, fair trade and sustainable raw materi-als,” Dennis said.

Big-name brands are taking note of these companies and are beginning to follow suit. Softs-heen-Carson, a well-known leader in African-American hair care, has come out with their Roots of Nature line. Enriched with natural ingredients such as mango oil, cupuacu butter and sweet almond

oil, these products are free of pet-rolatum and mineral oil.

In 2010 Nutrogena debut its Visibly Even skin care line. For-mulated with essential soy, it is said to be a more natural approach to lightening the skin.

The accessibility of these af-fordable, natural alternatives are appealing to many African Ameri-cans on campus.

When deciding on whether or not to choose between prod-ucts with these natural benefits and products without them Ra-gina Jensen, 27, says it’s an easy choice. “I’d much rather use prod-ucts with natural ingredients,” she said. “People in other countries have been using them for years and they have seen the benefits.


By KATrinA reynA

Rampage Reporter

Fulton mall is an outdoor mall that once was a very attractive and busy area to downtown Fresno.

Unfortunately, its business has been running slow and not many people are there for the shops however, people still go for the art that surrounds the mall.

There are some shops that still run but it’s a very slow area for merchandisers. Starting a business in this area would be a risk that owners would have to take since this area is no longer lively.

Fresno Brewing Restaurant Company has been one to take on that challenge. This new res-taurant/café, located on Fulton

Street, was opened by Ephraim and Sara Bosse on Dec. 1, 2011.

“We really have a heart for wanting to see downtown be revitalized and for people to come down and feel comfort-

able here,” Ephraim Bosse said. “We felt like if it was going to

happen, we needed to be a part of it,” said Bosse.

In addition, the owners like to host a free themed movie or

The D-PadBy AusTin verBurg

Rampage ReporterAs a story-telling medium,

video games are as susceptible to the same issues that movies have with their story-telling, one of these issues being stereotypes; racial stereotypes to be specific. Writers resort to stereotypes, either knowingly or subconsciously, be-cause it’s easier to write characters in ways that everyone will already identify, regardless of who might be hurt by said stereotype.

More popular games like “Elder Scrolls” and “Mass Effect” allow you the freedom to edit your play-able character, so that they are whatever race you want.

However, I cannot name a single video game where there is a set-in-stone main playable character who is black. And the characters you do meet that are black are usually drenched in stereotype. Cole from Gears of War is probably the most notable character to name.

The only nameable main play-able black character is C.J. from “Grand Theft Auto,” who is a gang member. Not the best representa-

karaoke night one weekend out of the month.

Live music is always a hit and a great way to relax, so every Thursday between noon and 1 Steve Ono, acoustic jam happening guitarist, performs at the café.

The Fresno Brewing Com-pany also has a newly added section where it features the off-shoot of Twee, the original Indy craft shop in the Tower District.

The café serves drinks such as special types of coffee, as well as pastries. Hopefully by next year, they will begin brewing their own beer.

The prices are very low and you get so much more than what you pay for, which is always nice.

The Aztec Warrior, a specialty

drink inspired by downtown workers, is a mocha drink with Mexican chocolate and shots of espresso and is under $5.

The Bacon Broccoli Strata, which is an egg and cheese omelet topped with bacon, is a breakfast meal said to be one of the most popular items on the menu, only costing $3.50.

The Fresno Brewing Com-pany also recently added an item that is featured only on Saturdays called the “I’ll never drink again” breakfast burrito. The burrito is made of two eggs, two hash browns, bacon, pepper jack cheese, red peppers, salsa and it also includes either a V8 or cup of coffee for only $7.

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tive of black characters in games.I feel there is a glimer of hope in

the fact that there are black charac-ters in a few nameable titles who are rising above the sterotypes.

Captain David Anderson from the “Mass Effect” games is a great character to reference. He shows total dedication to the human race as he gives you advice and helps you along anyway he can.

This game has muliple end-ings, but one of the endings can involve you helping him become the representative to the human race in the counsel of intergalactic species that governs our galaxy. He completely deserved the position.

Another great character is Bau-rus from “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.” You meet Baurus at the beginning of the game. Eventually you run into him again and he be-friends and helps you out through the rest of the story. His conver-sations with you are articulate and serious, lacking any negative stereotypes that would be involved with a black character.

At one point, there is a battle that Baurus can die in, depending

on the difficulty. If Baurus dies, the player might feel the loss of their closest ally and greatest friend in the game. If he lives, the player can continue to converse with him and talk about all the events that take place from that point on.

The developers of these two games are usually pretty open to presenting the same level of char-acter development and intelligence in all their characters, regardless of skin color.

I think that that type of dedica-tion to the characters they create is the beginning of fixing the prob-lem. It also falls on the gamers to appeal to the developers.

It is not fair that only one race can usually relate to the main character, but if fans give their voices to the developers, we can see more games that allow for the main character to be whatever race we, as the gamer, choose him or her to be.

And in time, see more black characters that rise above the stereotypes.


10 February 15, 2012 entertainment

If you need a quick list of films that are full of racism and stereo-types, flip to the children’s section of your Netflix account - you’ll find a bunch.

Yes, children’s programming. Disney is filled with characters and passages portraying African-Americans in an uncomplimentary way. The tragedy is that in spite of societal gains overall, and the rec-ognition of this in some media pro-grams, Disney, the largest influence in young children’s lives, continues to peddle a one-dimensional view of a group of people.

“We work all day, we work all night; we never learned to read or write.” In “Dumbo”, the only black

people in the film were singing a song about working, not reading, and being happy. They were work-ers putting up the circus tents with the animals at the beginning and that was their only representation. The crows at the end of the film, led by “Jim Crow,” were outsiders that spoke with southern accents and heavy use of slang.

Jim Crow laws mandated seg-regation in southern states that supposedly created “separate but equal” public facilities for African-Americans. What was Disney trying to do by naming their character Jim Crow? Was it a political statement or sick joke?

In 1999 Disney released “Tar-zan.” To avoid any racial issues seen in previous versions, Disney decided to “solve” this problem by not having black people in the film at all. Essentially there were no Africans in Africa. If a child watched Tarzan with no concept of reality versus fiction, they’d assume Africa was full of only white people and animals.

Is there a reason the bad guy is al-most always portrayed as dark? The

character of Scar in “The Lion King” was an uncharacteristically black-haired lion. It doesn’t catch my eye directly when I see things like that, but that’s because I grew up on Dis-ney. I now expect to see the villain be someone with dark features. This tells our children, however subtly, to expect people with dark features to do bad things.

Whose fault is it? Does the blame go to Disney for perpetuating ste-reotypes, or does the blame fall on the parents for not realizing it and subtly instilling those values into their children?

“Snow White and the Seven

Dwarfs” came out in 1937, and it took 72 years for there to be a black princess. Is this discrimination or ignorance? The real question is, is either OK?

Just because something is unin-tentional, that does not mean that it is acceptable.

When racism or a stereotype is in a wrapper labeled “family friendly,” sometimes we don’t realize that our inability to see what lies beyond is really demonstrating our acceptance of prejudice and acknowledging that it’s something we’ll pass down to our children.

The issue is not even necessarily

the implied or direct racism, but what the parents continue to do with the content. Would you let your kids listen to Howard Stern? Probably not, and you shouldn’t.

Unfortunately we cannot attach the “adults only” rating to Disney films. Disney has us so brainwashed that not only do we not see the rac-ism, we will defend it. It will take effort, but maybe someday we can attach “informed parents only.”

I think the message here is that we need to be more careful about what material we expose our children to, and I don’t mean just Disney. Rac-ism doesn’t always stand up and punch us in the face. Sometimes if we blink, we might miss it.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we might consider how to begin countering this negative image. Do I have a solution? No, and you’ll have to pry my DVD of “The Lion King” out of my cold dead hand. But we cannot begin to look for an answer if we didn’t even know that there was a question that needed asking.

By Troy PoPe

Rampage Reporter

The Zen Guide To Insensitivity: Disney Perpetuates Black Stereotypes


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11February 15, 2012Views

We all need an escape once in a while. For some, an escape is a hobby. For oth-ers it may simply be time with family. For African Americans, February is an escape. It’s a journey away from the negativity that plagues the community year around. It’s a journey into a rich, diverse culture which is often left un-exposed.

Even if for only 28 days, it’s a month unlike any other. For in these few days, African-Americans are not simply hearing about how far black people have fallen behind, rather, they are hearing about how far black people have come.

In these few days, African Americans are not only ballers, rappers, or gang-sters. Rather they are men, women and children who have overcome the great-est odds.

They are a people who have marched thousands of miles to have their voices heard. They are a people who gave their lives so their children can have a life. They are dreamers, inventors, lov-ers, scholars.

In these few days, African-Americans are black and proud. We rise and rise and rise.

For the dreamers of today, February is often an introduction to the dreamers

of yesterday. It is an introduction to a better path, to a bigger picture, to a higher standard.

February is a journey back home. It is an exposure to a rich culture, which often appears nonexistent although it is a common bond shared among people of all African descent. It is a reminder of the greatest atrocity mankind has ever seen and a chance to meet the heroes who overcame such a tragedy.

Unlike in any other time, African-Americans come together to celebrate and to seek solutions. Topics of all kind are raised. Young men are reminded of the value of women. Young women are led on a quest to become brighter, stronger, and more independent.

Unlike any other time, there is light shed on black history. We are exposed to a history that goes even beyond Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. We are led to a history that goes back to the Ethiopians, who still hold some of the greatest structures built in the history of Earth’s existence. We meet the Egyptians, who are in fact black and responsible for shaping our thinking today.

Little known heroes also come alive in these few days. Stories of Medgar Evers, John Carlos, Tommie Smith , Ruby Bridges and four little girls killed in the midst of prayer are suddenly brought forward.

A culture sometimes diluted reveals its true colors during the month of February. Powerful words of Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou echo throughout the month. The sweet sounds and inspirations of James Brown, Aretha

Franklin and Michael Jackson are celebrated.

The festivities alone are designed to propel us forward. The colors, songs, sounds, and dances are to remind us that black is beautiful. And as black people from all over come together to eat and laugh together, we see beauty in diversity.

We see there is no shame in our hair, no shame in our color, no shame in where we come from. We see that our role mod-els are not ones who perpetuated the ste-reotypes and detained us from a brighter future. Rather they are men and women who gave precedent to our values.

Young African Americans displays their talents in special events across the nation. Simultaneously we are reminded that black is not synonymous with inferiority. The voices of aspiring poets and singers are clearly heard. Powerful messages are spread, dreams are relived, dreams are created. The only thing left to do is to celebrate even as the calendar turns.

Is Black History Month Still Relevant?

PRO CONBy TomAs KAssAhun

Rampage ReporterBy Jesse FrAnz

Rampage Reporter



At different times throughout Ameri-can history, it has been deemed good and moral to segregate ourselves by religion, creed, or color. Now it seems as if it is acceptable to segregate ourselves by date of the year. We have been taught to call February “Black History Month”, not only confining and insulting the proud history of the African-American culture by relegating it to just 28 days, but mis-understanding what it truly means to be American.

America was not founded as one white nation under god, but as the birthplace of an idea. That idea was that anyone, of any class or background, could achieve anything with perseverance. That ideal was no more true to the white backwoods Kentucky boy that grew up to be Abra-

ham Lincoln, than it was to the young black preacher in Montgomery, Alabama named Martin Luther King Jr.

There have, of course, been those who have been willfully ignorant to the ide-als of equality. The southern plantation owners justifying their acts through a false sense of fascist superiority; those enslavers of their fellow countrymen who have littered the pages of American history with drops of blood; those who have let their bigoted fears overcome their desire for liberty.

And this should never be forgotten, nor should the bold struggles of African-Americans to break the shackles of slav-ery, or the noble sacrifices of those who believed in the fulfillment of the ideal of American equality. However, that is not black history. That is American history.

American history is that of enslave-ment, just as American history is Abra-

ham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. American history is that of segregation, just as it is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Me-morial speaking of a dream. American History is John Wilkes Booth rolling over in his grave as Barack Obama is named President of the United States. American history is African-American history.

King once proclaimed, “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brother-hood.” That table of brotherhood does not come closer to realization through the segregation of our histories, but keeps it at a distance. And until we can truly come together and celebrate the fact that history cut us all from the same clothe of humanity, the dream will never be realized.

To say that the quest for racial equality has been fulfilled is ignorant. However saying that we can end racism by segre-gating the months of the year is just as absurd. The only way to overcome the centuries of racism that have preceded us is to continue the quest for change, which started in 1865.

We must continue the movement towards a brighter tomorrow in which true unity exists; A unity in equality where we are defined by name, not by color, creed, or religion. However, we cannot achieve this by continuing to discriminate through trivial things such as month of the year.

Actor Morgan Freeman, an advocate against Black History Month, may have said it best when interviewed by 60 Min-utes host Mike Wallace. When asked, “How are we going to get rid of racism?” Freeman replied, “I’m going to stop call-ing you a white man, and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace, and you know me as Morgan Freeman.”

We have learned to call February Black History Month as a way of mak-ing peace with America’s past when, in truth, it is the very thing tearing us apart. The mentality that we are so obscenely different from one another that we need to segregate our history is demolishing dreams of equality, and we will not find the unity we seek until we reconcile the fact that Black history is, as it always was, American History.

“We must continue the movement to-wards a brighter tomorrow in which true unity exists...”

-Jesse Franz

“Powerful messages are spread, dreams are relived, dreams are created.”

-Tomas Kassahun

12 February 15, 2012 Views

The City of Fresno should, as a part of its revitalization efforts in Downtown, open the Fulton Mall to vehicle traffic.

Currently, Fulton between Inyo and Merced streets is a pedestrian mall, a stretch of concrete modern architecture dotted with dried up fountains, abstract tile mosaics and twisted metal sculpture that is lined with vacant storefronts and restaurants.

This part of Fresno was once the city’s cultural and economic center, but it has been in decline for many years. Currently, more than a quarter of the mall’s ground-level properties are vacant, retail sales are flagging and rent lev-els are depressed, a symptom of the lack of demand for space on the mall.

The City believes that it can restore Downtown to its former glory, and has drafted the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan to outline the strategy for doing so. The way Fulton Mall is dealt with is one of the focuses of the plan; the question of whether to allow vehicle traffic in Fulton has yet to be decided. It is vital that Fulton Street be reopened.

Downtown’s troubles began dur-ing the 1950s when community leaders, fearful of competition from businesses in the growing suburbs,

went to the City demanding help. The City responded quickly, hiring famed urban planner Victor Gruen to redesign Downtown. Gruen de-

cided, as a part of a broader plan, to close Fulton Street, which was still a thriving business center, to all vehicle traffic and convert it into a pedestrian mall.

In a glorious example of the kind of karmic revenge that only the free market can provide, limiting vehicle access (and thereby consumer ac-cess) to Fulton Street made the area less desirable to prospective busi-nesses, many of which began to look on suburban areas more favorably.

During the 1970s, major retailers such as Gottschalks and JC Penney left Downtown for good, completing its transformation into the decaying

art project it is today.

Reopen-i n g t h e mall to ve-hicle traffic will give greater ex-posure to properties

situated within and make them more desirable to businesses, which need the kind of visibility and acces-sibility for customers that the mall largely lacks. The City estimates that the ground floor vacancy rate will fall to 9%, a dramatic reversal of the area’s current condition.

Optimism should be tempered with a more realistic view of current conditions in Fresno. Replacing a pedestrian mall with a road will not automatically increase the amount of

business activity in the area. People will not live in or do business in a place that doesn’t offer them any advantages they can’t find in their current location.

A number of areas outside of the Fulton Corridor boast a quality of life that is equal to, if not higher than, that found downtown. If Ful-ton Street is to become the hub of activity that it once was, it must be attractive to newcomers who will provide the economic activity that the area lacks.

Low rents in comparison to other areas of Fresno, while bemoaned in the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, might be the lure that draws enter-prising individuals looking to start their own businesses, just as cheap land on Fresno’s outskirts drew new residents to the suburbs during the post-World War II era. Hopefully, these newcomers will be able to recreate the same kind of success.

By JACK BouChArD

Rampage Reporter


Revitalize Downtown Now

Most people say “Black His-tory Month” some say “Afri-can American History Month”. Some black people like to be called “African American” and I’m one of those who prefer “Black”, “Mixed”, “African”, or “Haitian”.

For nearly 90 years, Febru-ary is the month dedicated to black history and culture, when Americans can reminisce on what African American heroes have contributed to make enrich this society.

Icons such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Mal-colm X paved the way, not just for African-Americans but for other disadvantaged communi-ties. They put their lives on the line, fighting discrimination to make sure all had the right to

recieve the same education and the right to vote. They have justly earned the reverence with which we remember them and their efforts to make the world a better place.

Martin Luther King Jr., a pio-neer for civil rights, has earned the title of “Our King.” His speech on his dreams about peace between races sparked a new flame, supporting the right that all men are created equal. In addition to MLK’s crusade for civil rights, Malcolm X, the Muslim minister and human rights activist indicted Cauca-sians in the harshest terms for their crimes against African Americans.

But have you ever wondered why only one month? Why February? And why the shortest month in the year?

Then again, we can thank Cart-

er G. Woodson for even having a month to ourselves. Woodson he started “Negro Week” on Feb. 12, 1926. His goal was to get African Americans to be more significantly involved in Ameri-can society. He chose February to acknowledge the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass, two men who greatly influenced the African American population.

The week extended into a month, and finally in 1976, it turned into a month for our-selves in recognition of all our African American ancestors. We need to remember is where we came from -- 500 years of slavery, trials, headaches, pain, and tears, and many African Americans have no apprecia-tion of the immense sacrifices. If Martin Luther King Jr. came back today, he’ll probably wave

his arms in frustration and ask, “What are you doing?”

It doesn’t make any sense how black people have one of the highest rates in crimes. No won-der we get followed whenever we enter any store; store clerks stare at us like we’re going to steal something.

It has happened so many times that people expect us to mess up in the real world. This affects oth-er African Americans, even those who have no criminal records. It’s not racist; it’s just expected. We gave the world a bad im-pression of African American people and it’s time to change that. “We are all equal.” It’s in the bible, and the constitution. We’re no less than the white man, nor are we greater than the white man, or any other race. We’ve been blessed with free-dom; let’s act like we earned it.

Let’s not stop celebrating Afri-can American History Month af-ter February 29 but instead, treat every month like it is Black His-tory month. Let’s celebrate with the words of Martin Luther King: “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we’re free at last.”

Celebrate Black History Month Year-Round


“Optimism should be tempered with a more realistic view of current condi-tions in Fresno.”

-Jack Bouchard

By PhilliP romAr

Rampage Reporter

cuse instructors of having two different agendas. Students who have attended every class are informed that there is no room,

but a few weeks later, an email completely contradicts the previ-ous policy.

Keeping students on their toes is necessary, but this back-and-forth is severely disturbing. While the district may have been operating under difficult circum-stances, their lack of coherent communication made it seem as

is the summer school debacle. Again, no one consulted the different constituencies. Stu-dents – the main reason we are a college district – were not asked for their input. Faculty and staff said they received emails that summer school was cancelled followed by other emails that it was not.

This form of conflicting action does nothing but confuse all par-ties involved. This is what the accreditation report means by a lack or gap in communication. The different constituencies are not able to play any part if they are obscured by a constricting bottleneck in the organization’s conduit of information.

There is a sense of confusion rippling through the faculty about which policy to adhere to. They say it undermines their relationship with their students and erodes trust. Students ac-

if there was something to hide. If all stakeholders had been part of the decision from the begin-ning, there wouldn’t have been

as much anxiety. When trying to reach a diverse

community, there are more ef-fective means than using student email. If past experiences are anything to go by, emails to students do not work. It should not be the only notification to students and faculty about an upcoming meeting. The district

can communicate its efforts towards change through fliers on information boards, letters to the departments and ads placed in

the college newspaper. Forums and Town Hall meetings would be conducive to an efficient flow of information between the lev-els of administration, students, faculty and the district.

There needs to be a greater transparency when it comes to how the district conducts busi-ness. Yes, there are varying con-

“The different constituencies are not able to play any part if they are obscured by a constricting bottleneck in the organi-zation’s conduit of information.”

-Rampage Staff

stituencies that must also play their parts, but it is the district that controls the game. It is the district that the colleges look to for guidance when it comes to structure. If there is no sense of structure, there is no model for needed.

To remediate the recommen-dations proposed by the accredi-tation team and to guarantee success in future accreditation exercises, there is much work to be done. As a college, FCC leaders have the responsibility to stand up and be assertive while the district needs to patch the holes and effectively communi-cate with the masses. Coming together to achieve this goal is the only way to avoid problems in the future.

Rampage Editorial:Communication Is Key

The staff can be reached at [email protected]


13February 15, 2012Views

feated. Their next two games are against Porterville and Reedley.

season. She also racked up 80 blocks and 30 steals last season. In the meantime, the Rams hope to finish their conference unde-

With two games left in the season, the Fresno City Col-lege men’s basketball team has clinched a tenth straight Central Valley Conference Champion-ship.

The Rams are on the verge of completing an undefeated sea-son thanks to marginal victories against Merced, Porterville and Reedley. “We want to build on last year and keep the tradition,” said DeAndre Madlock.

This year’s state tournament promises to be a thriller. Top ranked Santa Rosa should be the biggest challenge of the tourna-ment for the Rams. Santa Rosa Community College has six sophomores including one of the top 100 junior college players in the country, 6-foot-1 inch point guard Sama Taku who averages 17.5 points per game.

Defending champions, Com-munity College of San Francisco could also pose a challenge. They are led by 6-foot-6-inch Raysen Hariston and Ivan Dors-ey who each average 13 points per game.

FCC’s Tomas Sanchez, Mar-cus Hall, Alex Perez and De-Andre Madlock are the scoring and defensive leaders of the team. Sanchez, Hall, Perez and Madlock average a combined 45 points out of the 82 points the team averages.

The Rams are currently ranked No. 8 in the state.

Women’s basketball remains undefeated

By Jere KirKlAnD

Rampage Reporter



Rams currently ranked No. 6 in the state

Men’s Basketball Heads to State Tournament

By Jere KirKlAnD

Rampage Reporter

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Rams clinch 10th straight conference title

The Fresno City College women’s basketball team clinched the Central Valley conference on Feb. 1 with a 93-56 victory against Taft.

The Rams struggled in the first half, but they managed to stay focused and over-come their struggles. A strong defense led to easy points for the Rams. Their offense also clicked as they shot 50 percent from the floor. Since then the Rams have defeated the College of the Se-quoias and Merced to improve their conference record to 8-0. With Two home games left in the Central Valley Conference, FCC is ranked No.1 in the con-ference and No. 6 in the state. The Rams feel optimistic about their chances to win the state title as they are led by sophomores Nicole Chapple, Tabitha Torres as well as twins

Taryn and Sarina Sayama. Chapple says the key to the team’s success is tak-ing it one day at a time. She also emphasizes the role of each player. “Everyone can be a leader,”said Chapple Going into the state tourna-ment, the Rams plan to play their hearts out every game while staying out of foul trouble. This year’s state tournament will be a challenge as the Rams will have to face teams such as the No.1 ranked Venture Pirates, last year’s runner up City college of San Fransisco, and current State Champi-ons Santa Rosa bear cubs. The Rams will also be prepar-ing for players such as Santa Rosa’s 5-foot-6 inch sopho-more guard Jen Tsurumoto and Venture’s 6-foot-1 inch forward Destine LaFountain. Tsurumoto is the fourth lead-ing scorer in her conference with 14 points per game, while LaFountain averages 12 points

per game. LaFountain aver-aged a double double and had a career high of 25 rebounds in a single game her freshman

Fcc Freshman guard madeline diamante goes For two in a win oVer taFt.

Game ScheduleFEB. 15 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

PORTERVILLE COLLEGE5 P.M.

FEB. 15 MEN’S BASKETBALLWEST HILLS COLLEGE7 P.M.

FEB. 16 BASEBALLCHABOT COLLEGE3 P.M.

FEB. 17 SOFTBALLGAVILAN COLLEGE10 A.M.

FEB. 17 BASEBALLCHABOT COLLEGE2 P.M.

FEB. 18 SOFTBALLSJ DELTA10 A.M.

FEB. 18 WOMEN’S BASKETBALLREEDLEY COLLEGE5 P.M.

FEB. 18 MEN’S BASKETBALLCOLUMBIA COLLEGE7 P.M.Freshman guard alex perez scores in a Victory oVer merced.

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Shad Williams shares his experience and passion for baseball

14 February 15, 2012 sports

save. It’s pretty neat to see it right there, I had him since he was little so that was pretty neat to hear that.”

Williams feels fortunate after having achieved his boyhood dreams. “Not everybody is going to make it, percent-ages are low,” he said. “I got paid to play baseball, there’s no better feeling than that.” The reporter can be reached at [email protected]

FORMER FCC ATHLETE RETURNS TO THE VALLEY

Shad Williams is part of an elite group of players that have made it to the major league after playing for current Rams coach Ron Scott.

Now re t i red , Wil l iams uses his professional ex-perience and love for the game to offer baseball and softball instruction locally. “I’m mentoring them and passing on what I’ve learned and making things easy for them as they grow and develop, dealing with challenges,” Wil-liams said.

He admits to experiencing “bumpy roads” in his career and was able to adjust. He now seeks to pass on this persever-ance to the athletes he instructs. Williams credits his success to Ron Scott and Eric Solberg, both still coaching baseball at Fresno City College, “Those two guys, I mean, really just turned me around and groomed me and the rest is history,” Williams said. He speaks highly of Scott. “He was the guy that you wanted to play for,” Williams said. “We’d (the FCC team) want to go in and make him proud out there.” Assistant coach Eric Solberg was influential in Williams’ early career. “He’s the pitching coach.

He’s the one that kind of mentored me and got me where I needed to be at the next level,” said Williams. Once drafted into the Cali-

changes in attitude of some fellow professionals.

“I did feel a lot of that be-tween players, when they got called to the big leagues, how they changed, personalities changed,” said Williams.

But he was determined not to let success take over. “I wanted to be humble, you know, I treated people like I wanted to be treated,” he said. Toward the end of his career, Williams struggled after sepa-rating his shoulder in a game against the Fresno Grizzlies. Following the 2002 season, Williams was offered a coach-ing role, but turned it down because he wanted to continue playing. “I wasn’t ready to hang up my spikes,” said Williams. He jumped at an opportunity to extend his playing career in the Taiwan major league. “I wanted to prove to myself and everybody around that I was still healthy,” he said.

Williams experienced cul-ture shock in Taiwan, but after he settled in he found it fun. “The baseball field was the same there. The competitive-ness was the same,” he said. Williams returned in 2004

to play independent ball briefly for Fort Worth. He then went on to join the Brockton Rox.

After finishing his play-ing career at Brockton, he became a coach for the team. During his time coaching the Rox, Williams was asked by actor/co-owner Bill Murray to instruct his son. He cherishes the fun times he had with Mur-ray. “We’re playing a game and I’m looking down the bullpen in the third inning, thinking ‘who’s up?’” said Williams. “I looked down and it wasn’t one of my players. It was Bill Murray. He’s down the bull-pen doing towel work in the third inning,” said Williams. Equipped with knowledge and experience, Williams now shares his talent with local baseball and softball play-ers. “It’s mainly one on one, but I do take two or three,” said Williams. “I enjoy the one on ones because it’s real personal, we get our work in a lot easier than big groups.” Through his instruction Wil-wliams strives to teach his students hard work. “When you stop working, that’s when somebody is going to pass you up. I wanted to keep my uniform so I had to perform the best I could. That is what I try to pass on,” he said. The Rams are already begin-ning to reap the benefits of Shad Williams’ instruction lessons.

The current roster contains one of his students, James Barger. “I got a text the other day from my first student. He actually plays at Fresno City,” said Williams. “His dad texted me and said he got his first

shad williams coaches Valley players.

By CArl TurPin

Rampage Reporter

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“I wanted to keep my uniform so I had to perform the best I could. That is what I try to pass on,”

-Shad Williams

Shad Williams

* Played high school ball at San Joaquin Me-morial in Fresno, Calif.

*In 1991 the Califor-nia Angels drafted Shad out of Fresno City Col-lege in the 17th round.

*Played professional baseball from

1991-2005

*Willams spent half of the 1998 season with first the New

York Yankess, then the Philadephia Phillies

before returning to the Angels.

Shad Williams shares his experience and passion for baseball

fornia Angels organization in 1991, Williams knew he would have a tough time com-peting with the early round picks. “You know as a 17th round pick I had to stay really mentally focused,” he said. “I just figured if I just stayed healthy I might have a shot.” After spending five years in the minor leagues, Williams’ breakthrough came on May 18, 1996 when he stepped out in front of 22,821 people to face the New York Yankees.

“I was just so locked in. The nerves really didn’t get to me until after the game,” he said. According to Williams the game was a good experience for him. “I had a few little niches go wrong, I think in the fifth inning,” he recalls “I went into the fifth inning with a no-hitter so far, then a couple of base hits, a couple of errors and then things kind of broke open.”

But Williams would push through that game. “I got my feet wet and it got me in that comfort zone and it was well worth it,” he said. During his time in the Ma-jor league, Williams noticed

15February 15, 2012sports

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In an era where so much emphasis is placed on winning, Fresno City College track coach Jesus Reyes dares to say win-ning is only a byproduct.

“We just want to go out, have fun and work hard,” says Reyes.

Even as he prepares his team for the upcoming track and field season, Reyes has more than winning on his mind.

In fact, one of his main goals coming into the season is to increase the number of female athletes.

“I would love for women to take more interest in sports after high school,” said Reyes. “The majority of the girls we try to get to come out are looking to move on to the next stage of their life. Female athletics is a huge part of not only what we’re doing, but what everyone is doing.”

Sophomore Raquel Rochon is one woman who is eagerly anticipating the beginning of the new season.

Last season, Rochon set a personal re-cord of 1:00.84 in the 400 meter at Delta Mustang Invitational, and placed second.

“We can make it to state this year. We have a pretty good team,” said Raquel. “There are a lot of new girls coming out. We have a lot of speed, we’re focused and mentally prepared.” She spent the offseason working on details such as lift-ing her leg more as she runs in order to cover more ground.

Jenny Saklar is also a sophomore who already sees the potential in her team. “There are a lot of new runners as well as veterans so there is a good balance between people with a lot of experience and people that are coming in fresh,” said Saklar. Although the team has lost a few all-stars from last year, Saklar says the team has more depth than previous years.

“We have more talent than last year. I’m excited to see it play out,” said Saklar.

Coming into this season, Sak-lar is challenging herself to try more events.

“I’m trying to bump my endur-ance and speed to go to the 800 meters. I will also try the 400 and the 1500 middle range burn,” said Saklar.

Regarding her team, Saklar has a l ready no ted improvements. “This year I see a bit more focus. We do more team stretching and more warm ups. It’s gets going to help us as the season progresses,” said Saklar.

Still Saklar is looking for even more progress. “We will be pushing even more, giving it our all every practice, using every interval in practice and taking care of ourselves off the track,” said Saklar.

On the men’s side, freshmen Ian Dil-dine is looking to make an impression as a jumper and sprinter. Dildine is convinced that the Rams can win state.

“We’re basically a family and we’re talented in as many ways as we can be,” said Dildine. “We always encourage each other. When the jumpers are doing their workouts, the sprinters are always encour-

By TomAs KAssAhun

Rampage Reporter

aging them and vice versa.” Another freshmen, Lee Daniels, will be

taking part in the 110 meter hurdles and 400 meter hurdles. Daniels is looking to making an adjustment as he comes from Roosevelt High School, where the track team wasn’t nearly as big.

“The sprinting team alone is bigger than my team at Roosevelt,” said Daniels.

Nevertheless, Daniels is impressed by what he has seen from his team so far.

“Everyone gets tired, but it’s about not showing it,” said Daniels. “We’ve been working hard in the weight room. We come to the track early and even on our days off, we come to the track. The main

No Ceiling for the Track Team

goal is always to come together.” Reyes says it’s possible to see a repeat

of last season in which the Rams exceeded all expectations. “Last year’s expectations of people around us were not high but we continued to grind and we continued to get better. We don’t put a ceiling on ourselves,” said Reyes.

And after what he has seen from his team so far, Reyes is ecstatic. “I’m very satisfied with how we have bonded,” he said. “We have embraced it. We are natu-rally falling into that.”


seth barserian, keVin booker, and taylor allsup pass batons to each other during practice.

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Rams ride into season with high expectations

16 February 15, 2012 sports

Documents

Rampage Issue 2 Fall 2012