The Advocate - Sept. 15, 2010

By Sam AttalEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

A small earthquake with an epicenter located less than half a mile from campus shook the Bay Area on Sept. 2.

The magnitude 3.2 temblor took place at approximately 9:35 a.m. and originated near the Broadway Street and Rumrill Boulevard intersection in San Pablo, said Chris Wills, supervising engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey. It was located on the Hayward Fault, which runs through Contra Costa College.

“It’s one of the more active faults,” he said.

Susan Garcia, public infor-mation officer with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Science Center, said although many residents felt and reported the incident, no accounts of damage were given. Garcia said the temblor was a dem-onstration of a fault’s typical behavior.

“These are friendly earth-quakes,” Garcia said. “They remind people that earth-quakes do happen and there’s a lot of stuff we can do to prepare for the big one.”

Garcia said although the smaller shakes may go unno-ticed and be forgotten, a large earthquake is expected to occur on the Hayward Fault in the next 30 years.

According to the USGS, the last time a major earth-quake happened along the Hayward Fault was in 1868 when a magnitude 6.8 temblor hit the Bay Area. Thirty people died and it caused millions of dollars in property dam-age.

Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King felt last week’s earthquake in the Student Services Center and said the inci-dent was smaller than what he normally would expect.

“It was kind of a thud,” he said. “It was real quick. Normally, I experience a rolling (sensation) for about 30 seconds.”

The Hayward Fault starts in San Jose and travels north. It runs through Lot 10, Lot 1 and the Bus Transfer Center.

The Student Activities Building, Student Services Center and Gymnasium sit on areas of the Hayward Fault Zone fractures.

King said although the campus is not earthquake-proof, its buildings are strong and some were recently worked on to help them keep stable if a large temblor were

C M Y K C M Y K

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW B

C M Y K C M Y K

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW B

THE WEEKLY STUDENT VOICE OF CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE, SAN PABLO, CALIF.SINCE 19508 PAGES, ONE COPY FREE

VOL. 95, NO. 3WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010

ACCENTADVOCATE.COM

COURAGEOUS COMET

Quake alertsWhile geolo-gists warn of a serious impending earthquake, Contra Costa College seems grossly unprepared.

page 2

editorial

Rally helpsliftspirit

SAM ATTAL / THE ADVOCATE

Accomplished — Former student and Comet basketball player Savannah Stewart was sworn in as a Richmond police officer at the Richmond Police Department on Sept. 7.

MEETING HER DREAMS

SupportSquad created to raise morale

focus pages 4-5◆scene page 8◆

Worksshown

Academic Senate president featured

campus beat page 6◆

Family,

friends

elated

to see

player

sworn in

as

police

officer

By Janit SaechaoSTAFF WRITER

For the fourth year, the African-American Male Leadership Conference was held Sept. 8 in the Fireside room.

The meeting is designed to educate and aid African-American males, gearing them toward success in both their college careers and the rest of their lives.

Event organizer Athletic Director John Wade said his inspiration for the confer-ence when it first began was the environment on campus, along with events happen-ing in and around the com-munity.

“The goal is to bring as many African-American males on campus together as possible to talk about their responsibilities as young men and encourage them to bring their ‘A’ game to the classroom and college,” Wade said.

Students quickly filled all available seats and some were left standing in the back. Most attendees were young African-American men from Contra Costa College’s ath-letics teams.

The conference started off with the showing of “Sister Africa,” a slideshow with pictures of people and places all over Africa. It was followed by the documen-tary “Bring Your A Game,” a motivational film that features successful African-American men encouraging other African-American men to do their best.

Featured at the meeting were guest speakers Chris Chatmon, Ed Reed, and Dr. Mark Alexander, all success-ful African-American men.

Chatmon stressed his opinion of the three keys to success: “passion, purpose,

African-Americans encouraged

■ SEE LEADERSHIP: Page 3

Smoking rubberDrift serieshits Sonoma

Sticky fingers

— Comets wide receiv-

er Najee Lovett

(right) cele-brates after catching a deflected

ball and scoring a

touchdown at Comet

Stadium on Saturday. It marked the

first time the Comets

have won a opener

since 2006.

By Cassandra JunielSPOTLIGHT EDITOR

The childhood dream of a former student has been achieved.

Savannah Stewart, who at the age of 5 told her parents she wanted to become a police officer, was sworn in to duty as a Richmond police officer during a ceremony held at the Richmond Police Department on Sept. 7.

Well-wishers consisting of many of Stewart’s family members and friends were in attendance, as well as many of her teammates on the women’s basketball team, coaches and representatives from the Vallejo and Hercules police departments, and from the Contra Costa Community

District Office. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and a few city council members were also present.

Her father, Desmond Stewart, said he was elated by his daughter’s accomplish-ments as he recounted her childhood.

“When Savannah was 5, she would make paper guns all of the time and watch the movie ‘The Terminator.’ Now that she has become a police officer, words cannot express how I feel,” he said.

It was difficult at first for her mother, Michelle Stewart, to believe that her daugh-ter wanted to become a Police Officer.

“I did not believe her when she was young, yet it hit me that she really meant it when she became a police explorer while in high school,” she said. “She has always

Temblorrattleslocals

Comets enjoy overdue victory

By Malcolm LastraSPORTS EDITOR

On Sept. 2, 2006 the Contra Costa College foot-ball team defeated Los Medanos College 34-26 in its season opener that year.

The Comets had gone exactly four years and nine days since winning their first game of the season.

And Saturday the drought ended, as solid defensive play and a late surge from the offense helped CCC gain its first win of the sea-son in the opener against Monterey

Peninsula College 32-18 at Comet Stadium.

“It feels good to come out with the victory,” coach Alonzo Carter said. “This win was good, especially

for the players, since they are so used to losing. It’s good for them to have a win-ning spirit.”

The Comets (1-0 overall, 0-0 in the Bay Valley Conference) managed to seal their first win of the season under Carter against the Lobos (0-1 over-all, 0-0 in the Coast

Conference) by forcing several turn-overs and running the ball well.

Earthquake epicenter located near campus

GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE

■ SEE STEWART: Page 3 ■ SEE EARTHQUAKE: Page 3

■ SEE FOOTBALL: Page 3

Smoking Smoking rubberrubber

hits Sonomahits Sonoma

ScoreBoardComets 32 Lobos 18

Next game: Friday at Diablo Valley College, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010 ● VOL. 95, NO. 3

EditorialPreparing

needed Earthquake shows

campus what can comeany local people felt a tem-blor on the morning of Sept. 2, when a 3.2 magnitude earth-

quake centered on the north end of the Hayward Fault shook the Bay Area.

Some were frightened, caught at a loss for what to do, while others were unfazed by the slight shake. Others slept right through it.

Since 2004, various buildings on campus have been works in progress toward earthquake safety. The Library and Learning Resource Center, the Liberal Arts Building and the Student Services Center are just a few of the structures Contra Costa College has recently revamped in its effort to be more prepared for the next quake.

This is because the campus sits directly on top of the Hayward Fault that starts in San Jose and runs through the Berkeley Hills on a path to San Pablo Bay. This puts not only the build-ings, but also the people, on campus in a precarious position.

Retrofitting the structures, though a progressive way to be prepared, is only one measure required to truly prevent injury in the case of a serious earth-quake. What if this big one, which seis-mic scientists say is likely to occur on the Hayward Fault in the next 30 years, does damage other than structurally?

The buildings remaining intact in the wake of a quake is all very good, but what if a bookshelf falls on a table of students, or an oven left unattended by fleeing chefs in the Three Seasons Restaurant kitchen explodes?

CCC does not currently have a nurse on call in case of emergencies. When a student gets injured on campus, they’re transported to the nearest hospital. If an earthquake like the one predicted happens, the entire community will be scrambling, and there may not be resources ready to help the injured.

From elementary school, children are told to crawl underneath their desks and grab one of the legs for support during an earthquake. Does this still hold true, or should everyone file out of the ret-rofitted buildings onto the grounds and wait the shaking out?

Since very few students are aware of the campus’ location on the fault line, and the college makes little effort to direct earthquake-safe procedures, people may be ignorant to the proper way to react. This in itself could lead to someone getting hurt.

One would think that since we live in California, and near a large fault that has the potential to erupt, earthquake safety would be on our minds. One would also assume that a community college with thousands of students in attendance would be appropriately equipped with the medical personnel and services nec-essary in an emergency situation.

We all need to be prepared for when the big one comes.

M

“It was really scary. If something were to hap-pen, the school would not have been prepared for it.”

Tayler Owensliberal arts

CampusComment

How do you feel about the epicenter of the earthquake being so close to campus?

“It was a wake up call. It could have been on campus.”

Chandi Williamsundecided

“I didn’t even know it happened.”

Reggie Tanobusiness

“I didn’t care because to me it wasn’t really that big.”

Harpreet Chalotranursing

“The quake was also a mile away from my house. You can worry about it, but there is nothing you can do about it.”

Randi Johnsonmedical assisting

“I feel that it is not safe being this close (on campus) to the epicen-ter.”

Alexa Laranursing

Quotable“I can’t imagine violat-

ing the First Amendment by trying to muzzle our students. If we did that,

somebody would be hung in effigy.”

Chris Lambprovost and vice president for

academic affairs at Middle Tennessee State University

2001

Sam Attaleditor-in-chief

Dariush Azmoudeh

associate editor

Lamar Jamesassociate editor

Cassidy Goodingopinion editor

Cassandra Junielspotlight editor

Malcolm Lastrasports editor

Alexandra Waitenews editor

Cody McFarlandscene editor

George Morinphoto editor

Christian Sotoassistant photo editor

Paul DeBoltfaculty adviser

Staff writersCorrin Bailey

Hilberth IbarraNatalie Estrada

Elsie FullerCary Gooding

April HalogJermaine Harrison

David Kelley IIICheuk KoLina Lam

Kathryn MorenoJanit Saechao

Rodney Woodson

Staff photographersKavion Gordon

Qing HuangAdam Oliver

Staff illustratorsRoy ChanJoel Ode

Faythe Del Rosario

HonorsACP National Newspaper

Pacemaker Award1990, 1994, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008,

2009

CNPA Better Newspaper Contest 1st Place Award

1970, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000

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2010

Member

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Journalism Association of Community Colleges

How to reach usPhone: 510.235.7800

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E-mail: [email protected]

or [email protected]

Editorial policyColumns and editorial

cartoons are the opinion of individual writers and

artists and not that of The Advocate. Editorials reflect

the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which

is made up of student editors.

ROY CHAN AND FAYTHE DEL ROSARIO / THE ADVOCATE

Girls eager to please, turn out ashamed

■ Peer Pressure

e do almost every-thing with some back

thought about gaining accep-tance from peers, family and possible lovers. However, sometimes it can be taken to the extreme.

Some people, usually young girls in denial, lose themselves in their search for respect from others. They perform actions that show they are either not thinking for themselves or cause them to lose their integrity.

I have seen this too many times throughout the years. There are girls I know who only seem interested in what is happening now or in the near future. I also have observed this mentality with the personas I have encoun-tered while browsing sev-eral different popular sites like Facebook, Flickr and Tumblr.

I cannot stress how unhap-py this makes me. The want-ing of trivial attention makes me feel annoyed about it at times. I know someone (we’ll call her Kendra) who always tries extremely hard to make me notice her pres-ence online by regarding nearly everything I have posted or updated for my own interests.

From knowing Kendra personally, I can tell she is doing this to have my affir-mation as her friend. I know I should be flattered that someone is trying to place herself in my life, but I am not.

Being a female whose majority of close friends are male, I find actions like this clingy and think it shows little ability for having her

own personal opinion about any subject.

Quite a number of girls have been using the Internet to follow the most popular trends as closely as they can, or to try to become an expert on things that are overrated, like pop-culture and mate-rialistic ideologies, in the attempt to be well received by the majority of people they know or look up to.

Kendra tends to do this in social situations as well. The 20-year-old woman sleeps with various men. This is a cliché attempt to get the guys to develop feelings and become her boyfriends after-ward.

However, this ends with an undesired outcome – peo-ple would address her with titles that are not the desired in a “girlfriend.” I used to think that this type of thing was only found in TV dra-mas and movies, but it’s part of her everyday life.

Girls who are too worried about finding lovers never seem to get to know their current infatuations well enough. They realize too late that they are with unwanted men who cause unnecessary grief and heartache.

Kendra is in the tough situation where the only thing she can do is seek the acceptance that she most likely will not end up obtain-ing because of her neediness

and actions.Furthermore, the imma-

ture females of our genera-tion actually disregard their stupidity and act stubbornly about it. I cannot possibly believe that someone can be so oblivious to what they are doing.

A mutual friend and I have told Kendra numerous times that what she is doing is not helping anyone out and is damaging her character. However, she says what we speak is not true. She states that she actually does enjoy what “everyone else” favors, and that her good friends would agree.

The saying, “You’re your own toughest critic” does not apply to this situation. Most of these girls have someone who is willing to be hon-est with them. Yet, they get angry when someone tries to tell them that what they are doing is not right.

The only way young ladies (and a few men) might stop acting the way they have been is to continue to let them know it is not all right. One should not have to keep looking for acceptance from other people and should learn to appreciate things for themselves.

If that does not work, then the only alternative is to start ignoring their actions and allow them to realize that insignificant mimicry will not get them more respect, good friends or a respectable relationship.

Faythe Del Rosario is a staff illustrator for The Advocate. Contact her at [email protected].

FAYTHE DEL ROSARIO AND JOEL ODE / THE ADVOCATE

faythedelrosario

W

THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 20102 OPINION

done everything she was sup-pose to do and I am so very proud of her.”

Immediately following high school, Stewart enrolled at CCC in 2007, with the intention of majoring in criminal justice and playing on the women’s basket-ball team.

In May she received her associate degree in liberal arts from the college. In May 2009 Stewart graduated from the police academy at Napa Valley College.

“In her freshmen year, Savannah made the 10-mem-ber All-Bay Valley Conference team and averaged more than 14 points a game,” Paul DeBolt, coach of women’s basketball, said. “It showed immediately that she was a special person. She was very focused, goal ori-ented and compassionate.”

Her public service work began in high school where she volunteered as a police explorer for the Hercules Police Department. Her commander from Hercules, Bill Goswick, watched her grow and acceler-ate toward her present position.

In addition to her work as a police explorer for Hercules, she worked in parking enforce-ment, then went on to the police academy in Napa and is now an officer with RPD, Goswick said.

“She has a good work ethic and carries the determination

and drive to do what is right, no matter what’s at stake. I am very proud of her. She’s going to help the city (Richmond) a lot,” he said.

Stewart was able to par-ticipate in an extended police academy program that acceler-ated her training to nine months, which is not typical of the stan-dard training time.

“I had the opportunity to bypass the entrance application process. My commander, Bill Goswick, told me that there was a spot open and asked if I wanted it. My ‘yes’ was the open door to my future,” Stewart said.

To train at the academy in Napa, Stewart had to temporar-ily take time off from college and reluctantly leave the basket-ball team.

“She cried when she went to the academy because she did not want to leave her team,” Teri Williams, assistant coach of women’s basketball, said. “I encouraged her to go the acade-my. (After graduating), she was able to play for one more year.”

According to Officer Bisa French of the RPD, there are 20 women serving on the force of 193, five of whom are African-American. Stewart, who is African-American and only 21 years old, is the youngest police officer on the force.

Stewart said that many indi-viduals along the way have encouraged her; however, other

than her mother, the one person who stood out among everyone else was her former coach.

“There were lots of great professors and coaches that inspired me and showed a lot of love, but the one that made a significant impact in my life was coach Paul DeBolt. He was like a ‘father figure’ to me. Our relationship, as well as with the other players, went further than the basketball court,” Stewart said.

Stewart will officially begin her assignment on Sept. 26. She emphasized that police work is a type of public service that is all about helping others.

“A lot of people don’t know that helping people is what being an officer is about. People will remember you by it. Public ser-vice work is a great opportunity to help and is the way I want to be remembered,” Stewart said.

DeBolt said that he is impressed with Stewart’s desire to serve her community, espe-cially at such a young age.

“Savannah wants to give back and help the community. In five years, if all goes well, she will be a leader on the police force, as she strives to do everything the right way – not to please people, but to just do things right,” DeBolt said.

Contact Cassandra Juniel at [email protected].

Newsline

Wednesday, Sept. 1An officer responded to

a report of a group of stu-dents smoking marijuana at the creek.

Thursday, Sept. 2An officer responded to a

non-injury accident.

Friday, Sept. 3A petty theft was reported

from the Bookstore.

A student reported her cell phone was lost in the Library.

A person was stopped for a traffic violation and it was determined he was an unli-censed driver.

Wednesday, Sept. 8A theft was reported on

campus.

Thursday, Sept. 9A person was stopped for

a traffic violation and it was determined he was an unli-censed driver.

A person was stopped for a pedestrian stop and was found to be in possession of marijuana.

— Cassidy Gooding

CrimeWatch

accenta d v o c a t e

TwitterReceive breaking news and updates by following The Advocate’s Twitter account, AccentAdvocate.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

■ MEETING

ASU asks for participation

The Associated Students Union will host a “Meet the ASU” event Thursday in the Fireside Room from noon to 2 p.m.

The event will give stu-dents and ASU members a chance to share questions and concerns they may face.

Light refreshments will be provided.

CAMPUS BEAT WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010 l THE ADVOCATE 3

■ FROM: Page 1

Stewart | Sworn in as officer

to happen. He has confidence that the buildings would withstand another large shock as they did in the magnitude 6.9 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake on the San Andreas Fault when the college remained unscathed.

“These are fairly good structures,” he said.Recently, the Liberal Arts Building was ret-

rofitted with beams on its outside to help reduce possible damage, King said. The building is to eventually be torn down and be replaced with the Classroom Building.

Along with the LA Building, the Early Learning Center, Library and Learning Resource Center and the Computer Technology Center were all seismi-cally retrofitted as part of the college’s Facilities Master Plan.

Contact Sam Attal at [email protected].

Faculty showcases artworkBy Natalie Estrada

STAFF WRITER

The Faculty Art Show had everything from beauti-ful art to those pictures that inspire wonder, held Sept. 9 in the Art Building’s Eddie Rhodes Gallery.

The exhibit began at 4:30 p.m. with food assembled on the table, but only two attendees showed up to the event.

Due to the low attendance, the show ended at 6:30 p.m., an hour in advance of its expected closure.

The first pictures that draw the eye are “Limpir in the Forest” and “Tyson.” These images are unfocused and made up of archival inkjet print, and involve a human body shape mixed with an animal.

In “Limpir in the Forest,” art department Chairman Eric Sanchez transforms a little girl skipping in the for-est into a black cat with a determined face. The yellow haunting eyes glared at any observers in its path.

One person thought the photo was a racial remark, but there is nothing racial about it, Sanchez said.

He said he is looking into the relationship between pet owners and parental practic-es which is called “Animalia Hybrids.”

Another image that Sanchez displayed in the art show, titled “Tyson,” was of a male baby with the fea-tures of a pit bull.

Sanchez said he does not stick to one concept, even

though he moves around art, science, and pop culture.

“‘Animalia Hybrids’ refer to when people use their ani-mals as their children. Now you see people using their pets as accessories, replac-ing their purses,” he said.

A sculpture by art profes-sor Jiajun Lu, titled “Adam and Eve,” consisted of the limbs and headless torsos of a nude man and woman.

“I see my art as my lan-

guage and a way to express myself,” Lu said.

He said he sees his work as a mother sees her child, something that he has cre-ated and cares for dearly.

Art professor Donna Fenstermaker said a pho-tograph she submitted was inspired by the place she used to live, and how she remembers it in her mind.

She said when a person leaves somewhere special to

them and comes back years later, it is never the same.

In her piece, Fenstermaker described the life experienc-es she had in her old town and how everything changed once she moved.

“I wanted to do a piece about something that researches the past,” Fenstermaker said.

At first glance the imag-es in the frame appear to be nothing but scratches.

However, upon further examination, the outlines of a swimming pool and an overlook become evident.

In her collage “Bird on Plate,” Fenstermaker uses different photographs of grass, a bird and a table with utensils to create her work of art.

Contact Natalie Estrada at [email protected].

“I was most happy with the level of intensity the team played with,” Athletic Director John Wade said. “Early in the game it was tenuous and I couldn’t see any separation between the teams, but once the second half progressed I began to realize that we were actually going to win the game.”

All of last year and the year prior, the team has seemed to struggle establishing its offense and making any defensive statements as most teams were well ahead of the Comets by halftime.

Against the Lobos, however, the CCC offense was able to score first on its second drive of the game and managed to control the momentum thereafter.

“We have young guys on this offense who are playmakers,” Carter said. “They simply make things hap-pen.”

Defensively, the Comets were sound, as they hurried MPC’s quar-terbacks numerous times, made a total of five sacks, forced fumbles with jarring hits and reeled in two

interceptions.“Despite being real young on

defense, we played well,” Carter said. “Although we have talent, we must tighten up on our mental mistakes and clean up our passing coverage.”

The team is known for its offen-sive line committing a majority of their penalties with mental errors such as false starts and holding pen-alties, as they managed to have a total of 11 penalties in the game, though the Lobos had 10.

The group hopes to continue its solid defensive prowess and cut down on committing penalties in order to stand a chance in the road game against Diablo Valley College (0-0 overall, 0-0 in the NORCAL Conference) on Friday.

“We could have done better today since we made a lot of mistakes,” first year running back Jimmy Hines said. “We won, but we have to con-tinue to work hard and clean up on mental mistakes.”

Despite coming into the game fired up defensively and scoring the first touchdown, the Comets offense started off slowly as the quarter-

back made rushed inaccurate throws and several dropped balls from the receivers.

“I was pretty nervous coming into this game since it’s my first one at CCC,” freshman quarterback Jeffery Anderson said. “When the offense started getting down I knew we had to get something going for us and not force our defense to be put against the wall.”

The Comets also had a problem with fatigue, especially on defense, as they allowed Monterey Peninsula running back Kyle Graf to break off a 68-yard run, setting up a Lobo touchdown in the third quarter.

“Throughout the game we were pretty fatigued,” Hines said. “One of the things we have to work on in practice is to run more because we got tired.”

The Comet crowd rallied behind the squad as the defense stayed aggressive and pressured the MPC quarterback as the Comets’ offense began to gain momentum.

CCC’s receiving play opened late in the second half, as freshman wide receiver Najee Lovett caught two

touchdown passes, one of which was caught in the end zone after two MPC defensive backs knocked both Lovett and the ball toward the ground.

“I trust my receivers and I know once I throw it up someone is going to get it,” Anderson said. “I’m blessed as a quarterback to have a depth of good receivers.”

Toward the end, the Comets held the Lobos to score only twice in the second half.

Despite the result, both CCC and MPC blocked one another’s extra point kicks five times, with the Comets only able to make one.

The team hopes to minimize its mental errors, stay durable during games and continue to play aggres-sive to keep the winning momentum throughout the season.

“If the team continues to have a winning presence and the fans come to the games, it boosts up the school’s enthusiasm,” Wade said, “I think the only way you get the old Comet spirit back is by winning.”

Contact Malcolm Lastra at [email protected].


Eerie details — Art department Chairman Eric Sanchez talks about his piece titled “Tyson” during the Faculty Art Show reception held in the Art Building’s Eddie Rhodes Gallery on Thursday. The show dis-played a variety of works such as paintings, sculptures, photographs and digital art.

■ DOCUMENTARY

Movie helps speakers

The documentary “The Real Great Debaters” will be shown in LA-100 at 3:30 p.m. Thursday by the speech department.

Following the documen-tary will be a presentation by Eleanor Boswell-Raine, who will speak about com-munication skills.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Dr. Connie Anderson at 510-235-7800, ext. 4544.

■ RESEARCH

Workshop aids students

For new Internet users and those seeking help with searching the Web, a work-shop will be hosted in the Library Sept. 22 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Free and open to all stu-dents, the workshop will go over general internet usage, navigation and research skills.

■ CAREER FAIR

Informationprovided

The Associated Students Union is teaming up with the Rotary Club to host a career fair in the Fireside Room on Sept. 29 from 12 to 6 p.m.

Students looking for jobs or hoping to obtain informa-tion about careers are asked to attend.

■ FROM: Page 1

Football | Carter leads squad to win opener

Leadershipand profession.”

Reed delivered an empowering speech that ended on a positive note.

Student and baseball player Brandon Davis said the conference had a positive effect on the audi-ence and was one of the more upbeat meetings he has been to.

“Feelings fade out, sometimes people forget about motivation, but this conference kicked things off,” Davis said, “I know after this the boys are going to be working really hard, at least for a week. Hopefully it lasts longer.”

Contact Janit Saechao at [email protected].

Earthquake■ FROM: Page 1

■ FROM: Page 1

THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 20104 FOCUS

SLIDING


Dance party — Disc jockey Arnell Benitez mixes a track during round six of Formula Drift at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on Saturday.

Getting Sideways — Drifter

Fredric Aasbo

slides his Mark IV Toyota Supra

around the track during

round six of Formula

Drift at Infineon

Raceway in Sonoma on

Friday.Drift

vehicles can vary

from four-cylinder

imports to V8 muscle machines.

CHRISTIAN SOTO / THE ADVOCATE

A happy finish — (L-R) Third place winner Tanner Foust, first place winner Vaughn Gittin Jr. and second place winner Ryan Tuerck celebrate their victories after competing in round six of Formula Drift at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on Saturday. Winners receive a cash prize and trophy after each round of the series.

with

FOCUS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010 l THE ADVOCATE 5

SLIDINGSAM ATTAL / THE ADVOCATE


A happy finish — (L-R) Third place winner Tanner Foust, first place winner Vaughn Gittin Jr. and second place winner Ryan Tuerck celebrate their victories after competing in round six of Formula Drift at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on Saturday. Winners receive a cash prize and trophy after each round of the series.


The man behind the wheel — Second place winner Ryan Tuerck signs autographs for fans during round six of Formula Drift at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on Saturday. Attendees were given the opportunity to meet and speak with their favorite drivers.

In tandem — DrifterDaijiro Yoshihara and his V8-powered Nissan S13 240sx (right) chase Mike Whiddett and his three-rotor RX8 during a round of competition at Formula Drift in Sonoma’s Infineon Raceway on Saturday.The win-ner of each round is determined by the driv-er’s angle and speed as well as the amount of smoke produced.



Hands up — A crowd cheers on a model as she throws Nos-branded merchandise such as shirts and sun-glasses to the loudest fans at round six of Formula Drift at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on Saturday.

Spirit raisers found

By Cody McFarlandSCENE EDITOR

After roughly eight years without a cheerleading squad, the college has once again gathered a group of enthusiastic students together in hope to raise spirits in its 60th year.

Bringing back cheerleaders will ultimately provide the college a way to invoke school spirit and celebrate its anniversary, while also providing another extracur-ricular activity for students to get involved in, college President McKinley Williams said.

“We want to provide students every opportunity available to explore their interests,” he said. “Starting a cheerleading squad was another attempt at making sure students have a variety of activities to participate in.”

Athletic Director John Wade said the addition of a squad will have a positive effect on the ath-letics department, that cheerlead-ers will gather crowd support and influence athletes to do their best.

“Cheerleaders create excite-ment, get people involved, (and) enhance the college experience,” he said. “I’m very excited about having a cheer squad. It’s long overdue.”

Though cost was a factor, it was not necessarily a budget-ary issue that prevented the col-lege from having a squad for so many years, EOPS Manager and co-adviser of the squad Vicki Ferguson said. The real challenge, she said, was in finding a coach

or teacher with enough time and interest to instruct them.

Not only did many girls approach her showing interest in cheerleading, but Wade and Williams both asked about get-ting a squad together as well, she said.

“Instructing any team or club is very time consuming,” Wade said. “A lot of teachers can’t put in that time. It’s good to have found some that can.”

Ferguson and marketing and communications coordina-tor Michele Jackson donned the task of becoming co-advisers of the cheer squad, taking up such responsibilities as planning the tryouts, fundraising and acquir-ing uniforms.

The tryouts took place in the ASU Recreation Room on Sept. 1-3, a three-day process in which those trying out learned and prac-ticed a routine the first two days and on the third day performed before a panel of judges.

Women trying out were judged on their technique, dancing abil-ity, jumps and spirit, Ferguson said.

“We’re looking for good tech-nique, but most of all we want to see them having fun with it,” she said.

The first tryouts were held in June and judged according to a rubric reused for the second set of tryouts, to ensure fairness, Jackson said.

A total of 10 cheerleaders make up the squad, four selected from the first tryouts and six from the second.

Williams, who had watched the tryouts, said he really enjoyed and appreciated the enthusiasm of those trying out and could see an obvious and strong interest

in becoming cheerleaders among them.

“Some see cheerleading as a small, unimportant thing,” Ferguson said. “Where I come from (Alabama), it’s a sport. These girls are athletes.”

Ferguson, having cheered in high school and college, said cheerleading is just as demand-ing as other sports and requires a great deal of time, dedication and ability.

Student Marlisa Wilson said it felt great to make the squad, that the tryouts were fun and she liked the routine. Although she was nervous at first, her anxiety turned into excitement as she performed for the judges, she said.

“I want the squad to be suc-cessful,” Wilson said. “I want to make the fans proud, increase their participation and all around boost school spirit.”

Immediately after its forma-tion, the squad was invited to perform off campus at the El Sobrante Stroll. For the time being, however, they are going to “take it slow” and perform almost exclusively at home games, Jackson said. The only excep-tion will be performing at nearby schools, such as Diablo Valley College and Laney College, to show off “that great CCC spirit,” she said.

Football coach Alonzo Carter said he is glad to see cheerlead-ing brought back to CCC.

“We definitely want cheer-leaders. We need all the school spirit we can get,” he said.

Contact Cody McFarland at [email protected].


Give me a “C” — Cheerleader Monique Sampayo (left) cheers with cheerleading co-adviser Vicki Ferguson in the Rec Center during the cheerleading squad tryouts on Sept. 3.

Cheerleading squad formed

THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 20106 CAMPUS BEAT

LAMAR JAMES / THE ADVOCATE

Clubbin’ — Christian Club President Norma Prado and Vice President Ana Ortiz explain the goals of the club to student Tommie McClough during Club Rush in the quad on Sept. 8. The event is hosted by the ASU every semester.

By April HalogSTAFF WRITER

Extended Opportunity Program and Services, also known as EOPS, is a state-mandated counseling program that provides support for low-income and educationally disadvantaged students. The program was established at Contra Costa College in 1970 after Senate Bill 164 was passed by then Gov. Ronald Reagan in Sept. 1969.

Today, the program still continues to flourish in its promise to help students with its various services and helpful staff. The program offers support services such as book support, scholarships, fee waivers for University of California and California State

University applications and academic and personal counseling.

This fall, the EOPS program has increased the coverage for the book support services from the $225 limit from last spring to $300.

EOPS/CARE Outreach Coordinator Kenneth Reynolds said that this decision was based on the allocation of last year’s budget by the state, as there was extra money to roll over for the fall semester. The state gives the program a set amount, and if any money is left over at the end of the year, it adds to next semester’s budget, he said.

This is a definite help for students, Reynolds said, as the prices for books increase every semester, making it difficult for students to afford them.

Full-time student Julia Carabajal, who joined the program during the summer, said that without the money, “it would’ve been more of a struggle to pay for books.”

The extra money from the state was a needed assistance, since the program under-went a 39.6 percent budget cut, program assistant Chau Tran said.

Approximately 450 students received book support this fall, EOPS program assis-tant Sarn Saepharn said.

Many more would have received the money, but there was a large number of students that were cut off from the program due to failure to comply with the program’s requirements such as maintaining a 2.0 grade point average for each semester in the pro-gram.

Since the budget cuts, the counseling pro-gram grants funds to, on average, 550-750 students a semester.

Before the budget cuts, the program used to service an average of 900 students per semester.

This increase is temporary, however, and only for fall semester at the moment, Reynolds said. The program is not sure if it will be able to maintain that budget for future semesters, he said, since the budget is mandated by the state.

There is a possibility to gain the 39.6 per-cent worth of cuts back to the program if the state is able, however, Reynolds said.

Contact April Halog at [email protected].

Fund increase to support EOPS students

By George MorinPHOTO EDITOR

Kelly Ramos is now the backbone to the new ASU.

Former Student Life Director Jennifer Ounjian was assigned the position of interim senior academic/student services manager at the district, and in doing so must take a one-year leave, leaving the ASU position empty.

At the ASU retreat held in the ASU chambers, Senior Dean of Students Frank Hernandez assigned the student life director position over to Ramos, who was then working at the Financial Aid Office.

Four internal faculty members went for the position, and one dropped out of the running toward the end for personal reasons, Hernandez said. The four members were interviewed by a committee to see who was the most fit for the position.

“(Ramos) has a great deal of experience across this campus and would be a great addition to the ASU,” Hernandez said. “She has worked with Financial Aid Office, out-reach, scholarship workshops. I have a lot of trust in her and in her upcoming endeav-ors.”

Ramos has a lot of energy, creativity and innovation and is a very competitive person, he said. Since she has spent a lot of time in the Financial Aid Office helping students, she has had a lot of experience with custom-er service and should be able to help students with their questions, Hernandez said.

She is poised and is very good at articu-lating herself and what she wants, which is something the college needs in a position like this, he said.

Ramos spent three years working within the Financial Aid Office, and also spent time as a student at the college.

“I have a love and passion for this col-lege,” she said. “My father, Rick Ramos, has worked here for many years, and I spent a lot of time here as a young student. I’ve always been interested in this sort of thing. I spent a lot of time in student government in high school and different outreach programs.”

Ramos hopes to create and add a lot of things to the campus, including a self-

defense class for women in the future. She also hopes to bring a lot of local businesses and begin to bring local farmers’ markets to the campus.

Ramos is a very strong woman and has an amazing work ethic, ASU president, and Ramos’ husband, Joseph Camacho said.

Ramos has worked with outreach groups throughout the Bay Area, including Former Fostered Youth and the Concord and San Francisco Veterans Association, Camacho

said.With the low budget, Ramos was

initially nervous with how the ASU was going to get things going.

“But as more time came along, I realized that the ASU senators have everything in place,” she said. “They’re very diligent and a bunch of go-getters.”

Camacho said his wife’s enthusiasm for her job is great, and she seems to do it almost effortlessly.

“She loves what she does, and I’m very glad to have her as a part of our team,” he said. “It’s like a match made in heaven hav-ing her here to help out and push us.”

Ramos said she will be present to advise, give suggestions and help push the ASU any way she can.

“I hope I can maintain and give justice to Jennifer Ounjian’s position until her return in a year. Until then, I hope to help bring some unity to this college,” Ramos said. “I’ve worked a lot with other groups around the college and hope we can all collaborate together. I want to find a way to supplicate to the students and collaborate with them.”

Director of Financial Aid Viviane LaMothe and Leadership Institute member Lissette Pontier pushed Ramos to get her resume together and apply for the position, she said.

Due to a lack of funds, Ramos has been asking for volunteers to help out in the ASU chambers.

“I want to make the ASU a place students can come to ask questions and feel at home,” Ramos said. “I want them to realize that we are here for them and to help them.”

Contact George Morin at [email protected].

Ramos to direct ASU

Ramos

By Dariush AzmoudehASSOCIATE EDITOR

The Comets took on one of the top men’s soccer teams in California Friday but found trouble in their own defense, which resulted in a 4-2 home loss to Fresno City College.

In the first half, both teams were playing with the same rhythm and were offensively equal except for the halftime score of 3-2 in favor for the Rams (3-2-1 overall, 0-0-0 in the Central Valley Conference).

After taking an early goal in the fourth minute of the second half, the Comets (1-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 in the Bay Valley Conference) began to struggle on both ends of the field, but mainly on defense. They were defending poorly and making too many passing mistakes.

“We let them play all over us. We didn’t pressure them enough. (We needed) more communication, effort and take (the game) more

serious,” Comet midfielder Jaime Sahagun said. “They are a good team, and we knew (that). We played good, but we made mistakes that cost us the game.”

After the loss to Fresno, the Comets look to fix their defense and turn their bad luck around in their next game on Friday at home at 4 p.m. against Chabot College (2-2-0 over-all, 0-0-0 in the Coast Conference: North Division).

The Comets’ offense kept up with the Rams in the first half, with both teams taking seven shots each, but the second half told a different story. Fresno outshot the Comets 8-1 in the second half.

Comet forward Iury DaSilva scored the team’s tying goal, hit-ting the ball off his head on the 25th minute from a lob pass by midfielder Cassius Botelho. CCC’s second goal came toward the end of the first half, on a shot by forward Daniel Ramirez.

“They’re a good team,” DaSilva said. “We kept up with them until their fourth goal.”

On the Rams’ offense, forward Eligio Morales was the name that

kept causing trouble for the Comet defense by exploiting its left side and finding a clear pathway to the CCC goal.

He played a huge role on all four of Fresno’s goals by scor-ing one and getting the assists on the others.

Comet goalkeeper Kevin Esquivel had six

saves in the game.“We’re having a tough time play-

ing as a team,” Comet coach Rudy Zeller said. “We’re playing indi-vidually, not getting our marks right or organizing our defense.”

Along with defensive organiza-tion and working as a team, he said the Comets need to improve on their energy, speed and winning loose balls.

He said the two goals the team scored were flashes of good work,

but it needs consistency in playing.“We learned a pretty good lesson

in this game,” Comet defender Juan Acosta said. “We’ve got to con-trol our tempers and get the quick touches.”

In the past four years the teams have met four times, with the Rams winning three of those games.

Over the years, Fresno City has proven to be a powerful force by consistently being one of the top teams in the state and making it to the playoffs.

Last year, the team was ranked No. 5 statewide and made it to the semifinals of the State Tournament.

“I always choose to play Fresno because they’re always one of the top teams,” Zeller said. “They have always been a tough team.”

Zeller said playing a tough team, such as Fresno, shows him where his team is in terms of quality of play.

“It’s a way to measure a team, and we’re not measuring up,” he said.

Contact Dariush Azmoudeh at [email protected].

By Rodney WoodsonSTAFF WRITER

Tougher defense and a more physical playing style did not equal a win for women’s soccer coach Nikki Ferguson and the Comets, as they are “struggling with competing” after their 5-0 loss to Cañada College on Sept. 7.

The Comets (0-4-0 over-all, 0-0-0 in the Bay Valley Conference) were much more physi-cal against the Colts (2-0-0 overall, 0-0-0 in the Coast Conference: N o r t h D i v i s i o n ) than they were the pre-vious week against San Joaquin Delta College when they were defeated 8-0.

Midfielder Daisy Huizar and defender Lizette Puhido led the charge defensively for the Comets, with for-ward Vanessa Johnson in control of the front end.

With the lack of inten-sity on offense, however, the first half was almost com-

pletely played on Contra Costa College’s side of the field.

Comet goal-keeper Maggie Junco recorded nine saves and made some great plays while the Colts were driving toward the goal. With the Colts reeling off 22 shots compared to just one from the Comets,

however, it was difficult for CCC to stay in the game.

The Comets allowed 10 shots in the first half, which produced two goals for Cañada by forward Vanessa Garcia and mid-fielder Cythnia Mora.

Huizar’s shot off the crossbar in the first half was

the Comets’ only shot of the game.

The pushing and shoving was evidence of Ferguson’s game plan to play physical and with passion, resulting in multiple bodies hitting the turf. Puhido hit the ground hard after colliding with a Cañada player while push-ing toward the goal in the first half.

She sat out with an undis-closed left shoulder injury but returned later in the sec-ond half.

The beginning of the sec-ond half was a stalemate, as the physical play continued. Cañada defender Nicole Hoffert fell hard while chas-ing a ball toward the sideline after colliding with Johnson, yet there was no penalty.

Comet midf ielder Angelina Peña fell from a hard bump as well and noth-

ing was called.The defensive battle

ended with a corner kick that was shot in by Colt Alexandria Warren, which was deflected in by Comet midfielder Alexandra Waite while trying to make a save. This goal was the first in a string that Cañada scored on three out of four shots.

The frustration was visi-ble in the actions of Johnson, as he went back and forth arguing with a linesman after a controversial call.

Shortly after, Comet defender Moni Rodriguez fell to the ground after sus-taining her third leg cramp late in the second half.

Huizar said that after being down two at the half, there was no need for change and that they just wanted to continue playing hard. She also said that she had a

minor right thigh injury after the game.

Ferguson said the team had a few players playing with pre-existing injuries that were aggravated during the previous game.

He does not feel the Comets need to change much about their game play, but the team just needs to play with more passion and compete to the best of their abilities.

There are a lot of players new to the sport of soccer as well as a few players who are not playing due to eligibility, he said, but they are getting better, and he’s happy about the improve-ments that the team is mak-ing.

Contact Rodney Woodson at [email protected].

Volleyball Contra Costa College

V S.

College of Alameda

When: Sept. 24, 6 p.m.Where: GymnasiumRecords: CCC 0-0 overall, 0-0 in the BVC. Alameda 0-0 overall, 0-0 in the BVC.

Background: The Comets open up Bay Valley Conference play coming off a tough scrimmage against the College of Marin on Sept. 8. CCC displayed troubles in communica-tion and inconsistency between sets. The Cougars have been the only team that CCC has managed to defeat in the past two years, holding a 3-1 record against them. The Comets are hoping to start the season on a good note with a win under new coach Zachary Shrieve. CCC finished the 2009-2010 season with a 1-15 overall record, 1-15 in the Bay Valley Conference, which placed them last in the con-ference. Alameda finished second to last in the BVC going 2-17 overall, 2-14 in the BVC last year. CCC also enters the season with a team full of new faces as there are no returnees from last season to the team. — Malcolm Lastra

Box scoresFootball (Sept. 11)

Monterey Peninsula,Contra CostaMonterey Peninsula 6 6 12 18 — 18CCC 6 12 19 32 — 32First Quarter CCC — Hines 9 yd run (kick blocked) 11:50. Monterey Peninsula — Davis 11 yd pass from Connors (kick blocked) 8:46.

Second Quarter CCC — Hines 7 yd run (kick blocked) 9:08.

Third Quarter Monterey Peninsula — Graf 2 yd run (kick blocked) 6:37. CCC — Hal 19 yd fumble return (Munguia kick) 3:07.

Fourth Quarter Monterey Peninsula — Graf 7 yd run (kick blocked) 14:56. CCC — Lovett 59 yd pass from Anderson (Munguia kick) 14:36. CCC — Lovett 15 yd pass from Anderson (kick blocked) 9:03.

Individual statistics

Rushing — Monterey Peninsula — Graf 20-126, Connors 5- (-10), Gordon 2-32, Fales 4-18, Farias 1-4. — CCC — Green 20-86, Hines 8-29, Burden 2-2, Allen 6-24, Anderson 4- (-7).

Passing — Monterey Peninsula— Connors 6-10-1 63, Fales 10-13-1 81. — CCC — Anderson 7-13-0 117, Keyes 1-3-0 18, Tobler 0-1-0 0.

Receiving — Monterey Peninsula — Graf 3-20, Chernetsky 3-37, Davis 1-11, Farias 4-52. — CCC — Green 2-19, Allen 1-9, Hines 1-12, Burden 1-10, Williams 1-7, Lovett 2-74.

Missed field goals — Monterey Peninsula — None. — CCC — None.

Record — Monterey Peninsula — 0-1 overall, 0-0 in Coast. — CCC — 1-0 overall, 0-0 in BVC.

Men’s soccer (Sept. 10)

Fresno,Contra CostaFresno 3 1 — 4CCC 2 0 — 2

First Half1, Fresno, McEowen 13 (Morales), 9th minute.1, CCC, DaSilva 9 (Botelho), 25th minute.2, Fresno, Amarillas 7, 29th minute.3, Fresno, Morales 11, 32nd minute.2, CCC, Ramirez 16, 44th minute.

Second Half4, Fresno, Montellano 22 (Morales), 49th minute.

Yellow CardsCCC, Juan Acosta, 16th minute.CCC, Alex Duenas, 62th minute.

Individual statisticsGoals — Fresno — McEowen, Amarillas, Morales,

Montellano. — CCC — DaSilva, Ramirez.Assists — Fresno — Morales 2. — CCC — Botelho.Shots on goal — Fresno — 10. — CCC — 3.Saves — Fresno — Martinez 1. — CCC — Esquivel 6.Record — Fresno — 3-2-1 overall, 0-0-0 in CC:ND.

— CCC — 1-2-0 overall, 0-0-0 in BVC.

ScheduleFootball at Diablo Valley College, Friday 7 p.m.

Men’s soccer vs. Chabot College, Friday 4 p.m.

Women’s soccer vs. City College of San Francisco, today 3 p.m.

Women’s volleyball at Napa Valley College, Friday 6 p.m.

Team lacks solid play

Game of the Week Contra Costa College

Squad suffers second defeat against Colts

SPORTS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2010 l THE ADVOCATE 7


Kicking around — (L-R) Midfielder Daisy Huizar and defender Teressa Jimenez try to defend (middle) Cañada College midfielder Doris Vargas at the soccer field on Sept. 7. The Comets lost 5-0 in their second game against the Colts after they displayed a lack of offensive coordination.

he beginning of fall sports has been disap-pointing so far for the Comet women’s soccer team. In its first four games the team has yet to score a goal and has given up 20.

Though the defense is showing signs of prom-ise, the lack of offense is holding the Comets back.

Their woes are not due to poor effort, because I have seen game-to-game improve-ment. What I would love to see is the energy on defense displayed on offense.

In both of their home games, about 90 percent of the game time was played on the Comets’ side of the field.

Comet goalkeeper Maggie Junco has been the team’s most outstanding player so far, especially against Cañada College, diving for balls and shouting out directions while being the anchor of the defense.

Yet when the ball crosses midfield things go awry. It seems that only forward Vanessa Johnson is aggressive in trying to score and maybe two other ran-dom players jog ginger-ly across the field and seldom help out.

Though there are players who still stand out in the Comets’ defeats, I cannot put the blame solely on the few players who do not. The team, however, is show-ing improvement and an increase in effort.

A key factor in the team’s struggles is due to the handful of play-ers who are academi-cally ineligible, making the Comets have only 13 active players to compete against teams with complete rosters. Among the active play-ers, there are a few who are new to the sport and are trying to learn the college game.

Coach Nikki Ferguson is optimistic about the team’s perfor-mance saying that it will keep getting better as long as the squad keeps playing hard and per-forming with passion.

I hope so, because I would like to report something positive about the team after a game instead of just the Comets being shut out.

A majority of Comet sports teams have been dismal in recent years, and the addition of new coaches on the football and volleyball teams might help turn CCC’s athletic misfortunes around.

As far as the wom-en’s soccer team, I believe they will con-tinue to get better over time. Ferguson is doing a good job improving the team so far, but it is a process.

Hopefully they can turn things around by the start of conference play and put some wins together.

Rodney Woodson is a staff writer for The Advocate. Contact him at [email protected].

rodneywoodson

Rocky start in need of resurganceT

Rams buck Comets to win 4-2

A NEED FOR DEFENSE

ScoreBoardColts 5 Comets 0

Next game: Today vs. San Francisco, 3 p.m.

Constant errors hurt squad in loss

ScoreBoardRams 4 Comets 2

Next game: Friday vs. Chabot, 4 p.m.

By Cassidy GoodingOPINION EDITOR

Richard Akers, Contra Costa College’s Academic Senate president, was featured at San Francisco’s first Ceramics Annual of America exhibition and fair Sept. 10-12.

Held in the Herbst Pavilion of Fort Mason, the exhibition played host to hundreds of pieces of ceramic art, including those of Akers.

“San Francisco is trying to become the ‘City of Clay’,” Akers said, similar to the way Seattle is known as the “City of Glass” or Paris is revered for its painters. Even though he’s attended and shown works in many shows all over the world, Akers commended the CAA as the best show he had seen dedi-cated solely to ceramics.

With a turnout of hundreds of people over a three-day peri-od, the fair displayed all sorts of pottery, from huge statues to small figurines. Akers’ pieces, which he calls “Sociological Stalagmites,” towered over the rest of the works, reaching about 7 feet in height.

“My works feature layers of icons from society,” Akers explained. Totem-pole like in design, the “stalagmites” rise from the ground in separate and connected pieces, fashioned together with metal hooks. Into each block are carved said icons, which included the familiar faces of Arnold Schwarzenegger, George W.

Bush and other political fig-ures, as well as religious sym-bols and objects like computer keyboards, guns, television remotes and hand cuffs.

“All the pieces really flow together well,” San Francisco resident and ceramics student Rex Dacanay said. “For such big works of pottery, the tiny details and bigger messages really blend pretty seamlessly.”

During the show, fans and connoisseurs were welcome to admire or purchase the var-ied pieces. Prices ranged from $50 to $25,000. Akers’ three

pieces were tagged at $18,000, $19,000 and $20,000.

“At an international show in Hong Kong last year,” Akers said, “I made $25,000 before lunch.” This show, however, he was not so successful. Though he said he was received very well, not one of the towers were bought by the patrons of the exhibit — a great disappoint-ment, considering the money Akers invested into showing his work.

Though disheartened, Akers said, “When you’re an artist, that’s the way it is. This is a dif-

ficult league to be playing in, and a tough economic market at this time.”

Even though he didn’t make any commissions, Akers was offered paid teaching work-shops and countless compli-ments. He said the trip wasn’t a total waste. He’s even excited to play a more elaborate part in the second show next year.

“As next year will be the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I’d like to see if I can get a special show,” Akers said. “9/11 is the central theme in a lot of my works.”

By Rodney WoodsonSTAFF WRITER

With another installment in the Madden NFL game fran-chise, developer EA Sports has outsmarted itself. While add-ing new features on “Madden 11” to speed the game up, it changed a lot of things that faithful Madden fans have grown to love.

The addition of “Gameflow” allows players to push a button and have the computer call a play for them. This feature is effective in shortening game time by calling plays strategi-cally without necessitat-ing the gamer to choose plays based on his or her own tactical rationale.

EA Sports also added “auto sprint,” which allows the com-puter to determine when you should run fast or not. In addi-tion to changing the audible and “hot route” systems, EA has unnecessarily changed key features of the game.

“Gameflow” takes the strat-egy out of the game, which is a key reason for its popu-larity. It is a good thing that “Gameflow” is an optional feature.

While EA Sports added all of these features, it left out the emphasis on the most impor-tant aspect of any game: the game play. The artificial intel-ligence has taken two steps backward. Half of the time the defenders are out of position or they are missing tackles.

This makes it nearly impos-sible to stop the characters of running backs Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson, who can very easily run for 350 yards in

any game. Gamer complaints have led the company to issue a game update to fix these glitches by early October.

This is still a game worthy of purchase even with the dismal changes. The graphics have been upgraded, giving the players a more realistic look, in addition to the new player

motions. The improved presentation solidifies the visual effects, mak-ing this the most realis-tic looking Madden to date.

The franchise mode is still fun giving you a nice glimpse of what it is like to run an NFL team.

However, I would like to make one suggestion: stop putting the NFL’s

elite players on the cover of Madden releases. Every year since “Madden 2001,” with former running back Eddie George, the player on the cover has sustained an injury dur-ing the season. This has been known in the football world as “The Madden Curse.”

The curse has caused cer-tain players, such as running back LaDainian Tomlinson, to decline appearing on the cover. Call it superstition, but check the facts; numbers do not lie.

This cover has Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.

Why not just put John Madden on the cover? The only way he’ll get hurt is by stepping off the Madden Cruiser and if that happens, so be it. At least the NFL’s star players will no longer be at risk.

Contact Rodney Woodson at [email protected].

Newreleases:Linkin Park: “A Thousand Suns”

Trey Songz: “Passion, Pain And Pleasure”

Of Montreal: “False Priest”

Weezer: “Hurley”

Brandon Flowers: “Flamingo”

Games

CDs

DVDs

Movies

This week:“The Town” (R)

“Never Let Me Go” (R)

“Alpha and Omega” (PG)

“Easy A” (PG-13)

“Devil”(PG-13)

Unleashed

Editor’s note: This column lists popular new (and upcoming) releases for the week.

Newreleases:Halo: Reach (XBOX360 - M)

Swords (Wii - T)

Intellivision Lives! (DS - E)

Prison Tycoon: Alcatraz (PC - T)

THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 20108 SCENE

‘Madden’ tweaks winning formula

Social iconsshown in art


Testament — Academic Senate President Richard Akers presents a ceramic tower at the Ceramics Annual of America exhibit in San Francisco on Sept. 11. The piece, titled “Cores from Ground Zero,” features dual towers paying tribute to the 9/11 tragedy.

Bay Area event exhibits Akers’ ceramic pieces

This week:“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (PG-13)

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadel-phia: Season 5” (NR)

“Letters to Juliet” (PG)

“Paper Man” (R)

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“Madden 11”

★★★★★Studio: EA SportsGenre: SportsMSRP: $59.99

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Of his 15 pieces, one of the three Akers brought along with him is a testament to the American tragedy of Sept. 11. Many of the images in his double towers, named “Cores from Ground Zero,” speak reminiscently of the terrorist attack. And mixed in with the flames and police badges and visage of Osama Bin Laden is Superman’s iconic symbol.

“Superman was the hero of my day,” Akers said. “We didn’t have 9/11. We didn’t have Osama or Bush. We had Superman, and he always saved the world.”

“I like how they all tell a story,” San Francisco resi-dent Sue Fox said of Akers’ works. “Or many stories, actually. I like the way the technology and religion are put together on the same level, because there are so many ways that they’re the same thing these days.

“I’m really sick of hear-ing about religion, so I usu-ally tune that stuff out, but it’s more subtle here. I’m not beat over the head with it, and since it doesn’t step out so aggressively at me, I like to see it. I want to listen.”

The definition of a “ceramic” object is some-thing made with clay and hardened by heat. After each piece is detailed to the artist’s liking, it is placed in a kiln to solidify. This process, when done right, makes the piece very durable.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in South America and China, and was very impressed by their ruins. Some people say that my work looks very ‘Mayan,’” Akers said, “And they are similar; I took the idea of making ‘ruins’ out of contemporary icons and ele-ments of our society.”

In this way, he put a mod-ern spin on ancient works of art.

“We wouldn’t know any-thing about ancient cultures — or even that they were there – but for these ruins,” Akers said. “And ceramics last. These will be the ruins of our society.”

Contact Cassidy Gooding at [email protected].

Documents

The Advocate - Sept. 15, 2010