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An Associated Collegiate Press two-time national Pacemaker award-winning newspaper, serving students since 1922.
Riverside City College
May 26, 2011 Vol. xxxVIV, No. 14
Riverside, CA | www.viewpointsonline.org
RCC spring sports
wrap upPg. 15
Summer movie
rundownPg. 8
In debt withstudent loans
Pg. 7
JASMEET SINGH / PHOTO EDITOR
CHANGE: Nick Bygon, the new student trustee, looks to inform the RCC student body on important issues going on with RCC once he takes office.
A new voice for studentsFor a NEwS STory see Page 3
ViewpointsServing students since 1922
Students can spend the summer in Italy on the Riverside Community College District summer tour June 22 - July 6.
The trip costs $3,390 and all ages are welcome. For information on itinerary and an application, contact Jan Schall at jan.schall@
rcc.edu or 951-222-8340.
Spend the summer studying in Italy
fresno state universityhigher cost of education: Transferring to a Cal State University may become more difficult with recent tuition increases.
tuition hike hurts students’ futureJennifer sandySTaFF WRITeR
News2 | May 26, 2011
Spring 2011 FAFSA workshopsApplying for financial aid? Attend a Spring 2011 FAFSA workshop and get help
from the financial aid staff. Financial aid assistants help with applying for federal grants, Board of Governors
Fee Waiver, Cal Grants and Federal Work Study. Workshops will be held in the Business Education building on June 1 from 12-2 p.m.
in Room 104, and June 15 from 2-4 p.m. in Room 100.
Art department presents Animation showcaseThe Riverside City College art department in conjunction with Coil School for the
Arts presents the Animation Showcase. The showcase will take place in the RCC Digital Library Auditorium from 6-7 p.m. on June 7. RSVP at [email protected].
Poetry reading to benefit JapanTo benefit earthquake victims in Japan, featured readers will read the book “Blankets
& Other Poems: An Anthology for the People of Japan” in the Digital Library Auditorium on June 2 at 12 p.m.
The book is available with a $10 donation and the proceeds will go to benefit Japanese earthquake victims.
The event is free and all students and faculty are welcome to attend.
RCC baseball offers summer camp for kidsRiverside City College’s baseball program will be holding its 21st annual Summer
Baseball Camp July 18 - 22 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and is open to players 6-14 years of age.
At the camp, players will be exposed to the mental and physical elements of the game. Head coach Dennis Rogers and his staff will share the latest innovations of hitting, pitching and fielding.
The cost of the camp is $175, which includes a camp t-shirt, a BBQ lunch one day and a meeting with Howie Kendrick of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The camp will be held at the Samuel C. Evans Complex located across the street from Riverside City College.
Players can register for the camp online through the community services department. The website also offers registration for swim lessons and other summer sport activities the District offers to the community.
‘Nunsense’ shows the comedy of convent lifeThe satirical and ridiculous “Nunsense” comes to the Landis Performing Arts Center
June 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 8 p.m. and June 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 2 p.m.“Nunsense” follows a group of wacky nuns as they try to mount a production of
“Grease” as a fundraiser to bury the last 4 of 52 nuns who have died from botulism.Tickets are priced from $27 to $48 and can be purchased at the Landis box office or
performanceriverside.org.
Culinary fundraiser brings Paris to RiversideThe RCC culinary academy presents its annual “Springtime in Paris” benefit June
17 at The Mission Inn Hotel and Spa, Music Room in downtown Riverside. Tickets are $75 and include a raffle entry.
There is a cocktail reception at 6 p.m. and a six-course dinner is served at 7 p.m. There will also be live entertainment, a raffle and an auction.
For more information, call 951-328-3807.
‘Follow the yellow brick road’A special screening of “The Wizard of Oz” will take place at the Fox Performing
arts Center on July 23.“The Wizard of Oz” follows Dorothy, played by the legendary Judy Garland, as she
tries to find her way out of the magical land of Oz. Along the way she meets classic characters like the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and of course the Scarecrow.
For more information on the screening, go to foxriversidelive.com.
California State University tuition fees will increase by at least 10 percent in the upcoming 2011-12 academic year.
Many Riverside City College students planning on graduating and transferring to one of the 23 Cal State campuses will be left scrambling to find a way to fund their continuing education.
For many, such as siblings Genevieve and Gerard Weaver, who are both graduating from RCC this semester, this means going into debt.
“Our only option is to take out a loan,” Gerard said. “It’s unfortunate, because when I graduate I don’t want to have to worry about paying something back.”
The same thing concerns Genevieve. “With both of us graduating and moving on at the same time, it means we’ll be thousands of dollars in debt by the time we graduate, respectively,” she said.
Others, such as Yvette Perales, work for a company that has agreed to pay for their education in exchange for full time work.
“It’s really nice because it takes such a huge burden off my family, and no matter how much the rates increase, I’m covered,” Perales said.
According to Perales, many companies offer to pay for their employees’ education if they have worked for the company full time for a year or more.
Some students’ parents had started a college fund for them but are now having to turn to the workforce to supplement it.
“My parents started a college fund for me when I was born,” said Alyssa Moore. “They put a little in each year, and a few years ago it was enough to fund four years of college. Now it isn’t. I’m looking for a
full time job to help.”There are college scholarships offered
for arguably everything imaginable. There are not only scholarships for being
athletically gifted or having good grades, but also for being left-handed, having blue eyes, for being an animal lover and even for high school students who make their senior prom outfits out of nothing but duct tape.
With scholarships aplenty, many students take advantage of the opportunity and search for ones they qualify for.
Some are even surprising.“I was granted a scholarship for being
a natural redhead,” said Danielle Saunders, “It’s not much, it’s only paying for my books, but hey, it helps.”
Still, the most common option students use to help fund their education is financial aid.
It is estimated that over half of students who attend RCC receive some sort of financial aid and will continue doing so when they move on to a four year university.
“If it weren’t for financial aid, I wouldn’t be able to afford school,” said an anonymous student. “It pays for almost all of my fees when it comes to education and I really hope it continues when I graduate. I’m so thankful for it.”
Financial aid covers a broad spectrum of students, from those who need their tuition fully covered to those who need just a little extra help.
Those who work in the financial aid office at RCC encourage all students to apply, even if they think they may not qualify.
“You’d be surprised,” said one employee who wished to remain anonymous. “You never know what could happen. It doesn’t hurt to apply. Besides, who doesn’t need a little extra help when it comes to money?”
ViewpointsServing students since 1922News
ArAceli diAzStaff Writer
May 26, 2011 | 3
JAsmeet singh/ Photo editor
A greAt stArt: The students have spoken; Nick Bygon is the new Student Trustee for RCC.
rcc students vote for new trusteethe search for the next
student trustee has finally come to a close with Nick Randhawa Bygon emerging victorious after a grueling process of simply getting himself on the ballot.
Voting for the student trustee occurred May 17-18 at all three Riverside Community College District campuses.
The final results are posted in the Student Government building.
A total of 355 ballots were cast over the course of two days, with 14 being considered void.
Bygon campaigned his way to 196 votes. Coming in second was Francisco Ramos with 131 votes and coming in third with 14 votes was Maximo Anthony Raya.
The election for student trustee would have occurred much earlier had there not been an invalidation of the two candidates.
George Escutia Jr. and Maximo Raya failed to pay their student activity fees.
Both parties also failed to collect the 250 student signatures required to run for the position.
The election was therefore postponed and reopened for new candidates, leaving the door wide open for Nick Bygon and Francisco Ramos to submit their candidacies.
Bygon a longs ide Br ian Mcfadden are the students who formerly filed a grievance and collected the 220 signatures necessary to have the election reopened to the entire student body from the beginning.
The students who braved the cold weather to vote for the trustee acknowledged the importance of the position.
“These are the people who are informing us and letting us know what is happening on campus,” said RCC student Ruby Pena. “The trustee is our representative, they will represent our interests to the Board of Trustees.”
Jonathan Flike, the newly elected president of Associated Students of Riverside City College, acknowledged the importance of the trustee.
“these (Board of trustees) are the people who make the money decisions, so how much the purse
strings open and close depend on these people,” Flike said. “We really need a strong student voice to weigh in on these decisions.”
Not many students exercised their right to vote or note the significance of the position or even the importance of the Board of Trustees.
Douglas Graham, coordinator of student activities at Riverside City College, said that the small percentage of voters was not uncommon.
“We usually get one percent of the student body to come here to vote,” Graham said. “If the Board of Trustees doesn’t know what the students want, their decisions are arbitrary.”
“It is necessary to have a Student trustee to air the students’ voice to those people in charge,” he said.
Despite the small percentage of voters, some students have become very involved in the politics on campus and makes a point of
keeping well informed.Ash ley Ande r son , v i ce
president of Rat Pak, an up and coming activist group which focuses on college politics, was well informed on the candidates and their platforms.
“The student trustee is vital. They sit on the board, they know what is going on 100 percent,” Anderson said. “They’re right there in the action, they get a whole different perspective.”
“They are huge to this college,” she said.
Regarding their newly elected trustee the students seem hopeful for the future.
“Bygon presents himself well, and seems well informed and willing to argue, which is not always fun,” said RCC student Miguel Sanchez. “He has the kind of mind to be a good critical thinker and hopefully will represent us well.”
As far as his victory goes, Bygon takes a moment to look back on his journey to winning the trustee position.
“Being able to overturn it, being able enter the race, and being able to win is a great accomplishment and I look back really fondly on the whole experience,” Bygon said.
Bygon wastes no time in getting to work and has already begun to envision his future plans and goals.
“I’m really just excited about getting to work,” he said. “I’m just starting to kind of organize certain things I need to get through such as the fundamentals of operating in the board so that I essentially bring up the issues that are necessary to bring up.”
Bygon plans to make the board meeting more accessible to the students. He wants to utilize the internet and technology to make vital information more readily
available to the student body district wide.
“That’s my job to sit there for three hours at the board meetings, but I want to take that information and give it to the students,” Bygon said. “My goal is to give that information to them, so that they can make their decision so then I can take that voice to the board.”
As regards to the low voter turnout, Bygon does not entirely place the blame on the students themselves.
“It’s not the students’ fault entirely,” he said.
“There has to be those ins t i tu t ions tha t make the information available, accessible and useable,” Bygon said. “When those three things are accomplished so that an individual can see what the problem is and see what the possible solutions are, then we can start to say whether they are responsible or not.”
“Until those things are there in front of them, we can’t simply say they are to blame,” he said.
As far as future projects in the works, Bygon is all over digital media and methods of sharing information and updates on recent events to students.
“A website, a YouTube channel, a Facebook, a Twitter all of those will be up and running soon,” Bygon said.
He also plans on releasing video and briefs from the Office of the Student Trustee.
Bygon’s main goal is to give students, district wide, a voice.
“I’m here to change the system and make sure people are held accountable,” Bygon said. “I just can’t wait for students to start speaking, since I feel they haven’t had a voice this entire time and I’m determined to make sure they do have one.”
Bygon will debut as the new student trustee on June 7 at 6 p.m. at Moreno Valley College for a committee meeting and his first official board meeting as well.
Students are welcome to attend.
Brittney rye / Staff PhotograPher
Vote: Students cast their vote on May 17 and 18 for the Student Trustee in the Rock Star tent.
ViewpointsServing students since 19224 | May 26, 2011
Parking controversy surrounds nursing building constructionnita gandhinews editor
jasmeet singh / Photo editor
parking permits: Students, faculty and staff must have a parking permit while construction workers do not.
parkingpermitted
News
Parking is a problem for students, faculty and staff on campus and lot B has limited space due to the construction of the nursing building.
Construction workers at the riverside City College nursing building have been spotted parking early in the morning in lot B without parking permits.
Before classes started on May 4, an anonymous faculty member sent an e-mail and photos of construction workers parking in lot B to Viewpoints and riverside City College police Chief Jim Miyashiro.
the faculty member said in the e-mail to Miyashiro that she parked in lot B around 7:10 a.m. when she observed a small group of construction workers parking in student and staff parking spaces. she took photos of the cars and also observed that the cars did not display parking permits.
“now it could be that the construction company has made arrangements... to allow parking for its employees, but they should be made to pay for permits and to display them just like the rest of us,” said the anonymous faculty member. “if this is the case it is an outrage to me that they are allowed to park in our lots when space is at such a premium!”
Any person without a permit
is supposed to be issued a ticket and pay a fine.
Leslie escudero, an rCC art student, said she parks in lot B because she carries a lot of equipment and it is closest to the art building. she said she does not feel it is fair for others to park in the lot without a permit.
“I would find it very unfair,” escudero said. “it’s a slap for the students that we have to pay for it and it’s hard for us to find parking.”
Jeff olea does not have a permit and parks on ramona Avenue and agrees that it is not fair that people who didn’t pay for a parking permit take the spots anyway.
“that’s not correct and it doesn’t seem appropriate for construction workers to park here, because they should have their own parking lots shouldn’t they?” olea said.
Chief Miyashiro stated that the district sent a notice through facilities letting the construction workers know that they cannot park in lots on campus.
if construction workers are parking in the parking lots, they will be issued tickets and are subject to towing.
“there are paid lots that they can park in or there are some places across the street where they can park in,” Miyashiro said. “what we want is to make sure they are not taking up spaces that faculty needs or staff or students.”
Miyashiro further stated that this issue is recent and he is just hearing about it, though he said that it might have been a miscommunication between the subcontractors that the district hired to f inish the nursing building.
“the contractors that are coming in now are the finishing contractors because the building is almost done and they are hiring subcontractors to do a lot of
the detailed work that’s inside,” Miyashiro said. “it may have been a miscommunication where the contractor did not pass it on to the subcontractors who hired the workers and facilities did put out information to the contractors to let all the workers know that they cannot park there.”
he also mentioned that the construction workers at the wheelock gym are parking in the enclosure by the construction
site and they are not parking in the lots.
Miyashiro said that the community officers are out looking for cars without permits and will issue citations. it is required that all students, faculty and staff display their permits in the bottom left corner of the windshield.
Fines for parking permit violations run anywhere from $40 to $60 and are displayed on the rCC website.
opinionsViewpoints staff EDIToRIAL
Letters to the editor should be kept to 250 words or less. Deliver letters to the Viewpoints office in the room behind the Assessment Building. Viewpoints reserves the right to edit letters for space and to reject libelous or obscene letters. Letters to the editor and columns represent the opinions of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire Viewpoints staff, Viewpoints faculty advisers, student government, faculty, administration nor the Board of Trustees.
LetteRsTO THE
eDitoR
eDitoR-in-CHiefJavier Cabrera(951) 222-8495
[email protected]@viewpointsonline.org
ManaGinG eDitoRSonja Eide
(951) [email protected]
aDVeRtisinG ManaGeRLauren Garcia(951) 222-8488
faCULtY aDViseRsAllan Lovelace
Dan Evans
pRintinG sCHeDULeCopy deadline: Aug. 22 Photo deadline: Aug. 22Ad deadline: Aug. 22Next issue: Aug. 29
Viewpoints is a public forum, First Amendment newspaper. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval.
© 2011 by the Viewpoints staff, Riverside City College, 4800 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA. 92506-0528. All rights re-served. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the Viewpoints Editor-in-Chief.
Viewpoints’ editorials represent the majority opinion of and are written by the Viewpoints student editorial board.
viewpointsReaCH Us:
PHONE: (951) 222-8488 E-mAil: [email protected] in Chief PHONE: (951) 222-8495
R I V E R s I D E C I T Y C o L L E G E
Vol. XXXViV, no. 14 May 26, 2011
MeMbeR:
Associated Collegiate Press
Journalism Association of Community Colleges
California Newspaper Publishers Association
ViewpointsServing students since 1922
Skylar BlackmanRobert Boyd
Amanda BrownKyle CrouseAraceli DiazEdward DiazJesse Garcia
Diana GutierrezDominique Franklin
Leah FrostTaylor KincherlowJennifer LemusJustin Leustz
STAFF
John MendozaAllen OrellanaAllison PerezShardai PerryJosiah PhillipsFelix Pineda
Jessica RambozAlex Rivera-OrtizRafael Rodriguez
Brittney RyeYasmeen Salama
Jennifer SandyGlen Willett
may 26, 2011 | 5
UC campuses seek to set own tuition
senioR staff assistantStephanie Holland
news eDitoRNita Gandhi
opinions eDitoRRaymon Narez
spoRts eDitoRMatthew Dziak
featURes eDitoRDora Yrigoyen
pHoto eDitoRJasmeet Singh
onLine eDitoRRobert Boyd
Education is something that needs to be made affordable and available to all. Higher education is no different, and the amount of high school students enrolling, and students transferring into colleges and universities gives testimony to that.
But with so many flocking to college during this time of economic and budgetary instability, change is bound to happen. But whether or not this change is for better or worse is in the air.
The state wide University of California system, a 10 campus system, has been throwing around the idea of giving the campuses a bit of freedom in setting their tuition.
The proposed idea would allow the UC campuses to set their own tuition, this means the price could differ from campus to campus.
This means, for example that while UC Irvine might have a certain estimated tuition, UC Riverside could have its own tuition that is nowhere near identical.
By giving the Universities leeway to decide and set their own tuition, the balance of things will be greatly upset.
But why would this idea even be brought up?
A l t h o u g h i t m i g h t hinder the opportunities some students have of going to some of the more prestigious universities, the revenue made could be of great importance to not only students, but to the state in its delicate budgetary condition.
California’s current budgetary downfall has left all educational institutions across the state, not only the University of California campuses, suffering.
The lack of funds has brought forth many job losses, increased tuition prices, and an increase in the amount of classes being cut with no end in sight.
so much is hurting the educational system right now, and times are calling for a way to possibly ease the pain.
To have students pay roughly the same amount across the state might not be working too well for the state. While the price of tuition did go up for the UC system by 8%, this was an equal increase throughout the 10 campuses, and does not reflect how some of the Universities might change the cost of tuition.
For students attending any of the UC campuses, tuition
varies only slightly from campus to campus for the time being, but if the budget crisis worsens, then a possible outcome will lead to a major difference in tuition prices.
Although the price changes would help the state, it would seriously cripple the chances of many students.
The amount of loans taken by students is already high, with the amount of debt even higher. If certain campuses were to change their tuition price, and raise it drastically if they saw fit, those attending will have very little options besides hoping to get more financial aid, take out more loans, or look for a new, cheaper university to attend.
Those seeking to transfer will feel the pain and anguish as well. Their choice of universities will dwindle according to only those they can afford.
Differences in price means that certain campuses will be immediately out of reach for any student who does not have
the financial blessings that others might have. If that happens to be the case in the future, the ability to attend college will be taken away from many.
To even assume that the economy wil l be uplifted in any way due to a freedom in setting prices is ridiculous.
If the UC campuses change their tuition, and raise prices, the amount of students enroll ing and applying to transfer could in turn go down significantly.
With less students enrolling and transferring, the money that should have helped the economy will be spent on a different, cheaper college.
With the budget cuts, and poor economy, having the knowledge that the 10 UC campuses are roughly the same helps keep a sort of peace of mind.
To change this, and allow the UC system to set the tuition as they please might help the state, but will hurt the students and
their education, period. But if education leads to a better future, then even if the campuses are allowed to set their own tuition then a fair, affordable price needs to be maintained.
It is imperative that students become more involved, the California economy will only get worse before it gets better. If education is supposed to be of such high importance, then colleges and universities cannot afford to have budget cuts take anymore than what they already have.
UniVeRsitY of CaLifoRnia, beRkLeYtUition tanGo: Students attending UC campuses face possibile changes in tuition.
ViewpointsServing students since 1922
More CSU tuition increases
Senate’s new tax proposal hopes to lessen state debt
It takes money to make money.
This is the lesson that many learn during adolescence, and truly adapt and begin to understand as they transition into adulthood.
This philosophy is what causes so many people to invest heavily into their education.
It’s the hope that by spending the money now for a quality education, that it will give back in the future.
By spending money on education now, the goal is that the money invested will lessen the pressure of making money in the future.
The same idea that college students and parents think of is an idea that California policy makers need to adapt.
Somewhere in deliberation, “it takes money to make money” needs to be remembered as the new tax plan is created.
California finds itself once more amidst a dense debate in
Sacramento about the tax plan for the next fiscal year.
Unfortunately, the political rhetoric continues as both parties hold firmly to their core beliefs.
Governor Jerry Brown has proposed a plan that mostly involves an extension of the current tax laws. Among the tax extension, taxes on income, vehicles and sales will see an increase.
According to the LA Times, the proposed tax extension will generate an estimated $11 billion through the next fiscal year.
The revenue, coupled with the recent spending cuts and an unexpected $2.3 billion increase in income receipts, will all combine to $26.6 billion by January.
That is a startling figure. So startling a figure that the revenue as a whole could potentially make California’s deficit woes a thing of the past.
Yes, California’s enormous deficit could be defeated just that easily. Unfortunately, every story needs a conflict.
The new tax plan will be no exception. In this case, Republicans refuse to vote for Brown’s proposed tax extension.
The days of not meeting the budget deadline are still fresh in the memory of many Californians.
In an effort to keep from repeating history, Democratic Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg has devised an alternative plan that may receive approval from the right.
The LA Times column sums up the Steinberg plan best. “Under Steinberg’s plan, counties and school districts will have a variety of potential taxes to choose from to raise money for services, including K-12 education.”
The taxes will of course have to be voter approved. Even still, under Steinberg’s plan the possibility of revenue from different sources grows substantially.
Since counties and school districts will make the decisions on taxes, they will have the opportunity to make the decisions for local taxes.
Taxes such as sales tax and the vehicle license fee. Taxes on liquor, tobacco, soft drinks, and oil production could all see an increase.
The new taxes however have the probability of being different in each county in California.
This snag in Steinberg’s plan is what causes many Democrats to say no.
The fac t tha t the s ta te government could lessen its load, and distribute more power to local counties excites Republicans, making this bill more favorable for them.
The same idea i s what worries Democrats such as Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce.
Though Zaremberg strongly opposes the Steinberg plan, he acknowledges that people may
immediately fall in love with it.His concern is that “1000
school districts will be able to raise taxes limited only by someone’s imagination.” With limited state government control, this is a legitimate concern.
The bot tom l ine is that Democrats believe there should be consistency in taxation throughout California.
Yet the plan proposed by Governor Brown is strongly opposed by Republicans.
Unless two Republicans can be persuaded to vote for the tax extension, the tax plan proposed by Steinberg may be the last remaining resort to provide funds for education and public safety.
Though he supports Brown’s tax extension, he of course mentioned that point.
Republicans have mentioned that they are waiting for pension and spending reforms. Democrats have replied by saying they are willing to deal, yet neither side has actually began the deliberations.
Though nobody likes taxes, it’s important to remember their importance.
While extending the high taxes may weigh heavy on the minds of parents, students, and other California residents, they may prove to be beneficial.
Higher taxes make it possible to provide more funding for education.
This in turn means parents don’t have to hear that their child’s
teacher is going to be laid off.It also means that college
students could potentially reach a plateau of the price of education, instead of its constant climb up. More classes could be provided to both college students and K-12 students.
Statewide jobs could potentially rise as well with an increased amount of revenue.
The best part of this means that two hour wait times at the DMV will come to an end.
The possible outcomes of higher taxes are completely hypothetical, but can be a reality.
Education, public safety and state jobs are all mostly dependent on government funding, which is provided for through taxes.
An increase in taxes, if put towards the correct programs, could actually be more of a benefit for Californians than a disadvantage.
Fact of the matter is that California is in the middle of a deep deficit, and actions have to be taken.
Funding has been caught across the board, but cutting isn’t enough. Revenue has to be increased. In order for that to happen, taxes must go up.
The best bet for Californian’s is Brown’s tax extension.
Nobody will enjoy another round of high taxes, but rest assured; if we weather the coming storm, the benefits down the road will be great.
DoMiniqUe FranklinSTAFF WRITER
6 | May 26, 2011 Opinions
State budget cuts have become problematic for the California State University System, and if tax extensions proposed by Governor Brown are not approved then the 23 campus CSU system is headed for catastrophic change.
The CSU Board of Trustees assembled on May 10 to concoct a contingency plan of action for the $500 million budget cut approved last fall by legislature that will hit CSU campuses by fall 2011, according to the CSU website.
Looking past the numbers and getting to the consequences that students will face if an “all-cuts” budget comes into play is overwhelming to say the least.
“There are no good options, only extreme choices,” said Chancellor Charles B. Reed at a trustee meeting. “But, we need to ensure that our students still receive a quality education, that we preserve the institution, and that a degree from the CSU maintains value.”
CSU students are already facing a 10 percent tuition increase, approved last November, which will take affect this fall.
In addition to the 10 percent hike in tuition, students may face a 32 percent increase to be signed into legislature in July, if the tax extensions proposed are not granted, based on the plan outlined on the CSU Website.
Tuition costs vary slightly from campus to campus, but on average if the full increase in tuition is to take place, CSU students will be paying around $6,450 for annual tuition, which does not include the campus fees which averages $950, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to the actions taken to compensate for the budget through tuition hikes, enrollment
will also be effected in order to offset the budget.
The initial $500 million brought forth the plan to reduce enrollment across the CSU campuses by 10,000 students this fall. This is the best case scenario, according to the CSU website.
It has been stated by CSU that they plan on “waitlisting” students applying for winter and spring 2012.
The University may eventually have to turn away 20,000 applicants that would normally be approved for the winter and spring 2012 sessions.
“Neither of these extreme measures—raising tuition or
closing spring admissions—will be necessary if the tax extensions are continued,” Reed said. “It is critical that we continue to advocate in Sacramento that they are part of the final budget solution. That is the only way to avoid going down the budget path of no return.”
Additional plans have been tossed around but put on the back burner for now by the Board of Trustees in order to compensate for the possible additional $500 million in budget cuts.
To compensa te fo r t he additional funds, CSU campuses across the board will be asked to cut their own budgets as well as
the chancellor’s office, reducing programs, personnel elimination and furlough days as well as other cost cuts throughout the system.
Although the entire CSU system is going to have to make extreme changes to compensate for what Reed referred to as “a scorched earth budget,” the main concern is what the future will hold for the CSU system students.
At this time the CSU system is the affordable alternative for students to complete a degree in order to join the workforce as graduates of higher education.
With the increase in tuition, it is likely that it will take longer for many students to complete their degree due to lack of funds to support tuition costs.
Students face the probability of program cuts leading to a longer wait to get the courses needed, in return, costing students more in tuition to attend a CSU campus longer than the four years usually expected.
In the end, it may cost students nearly the same amount to finish a degree at a private university, which have higher tuition rates, in order to finish a degree in a shorter amount of time as it would for a student to pay tuition for the extra time it will take to get the classes needed to graduate from a CSU.
Until the conclusion of the complete budget is realized at the end of the fiscal year, July 1, the impact for students cannot be definitively defined.
leah FroStSTAFF WRITER
Cal poly San lUiS obiSpoleSS Money, More probleMS: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is one of the Cal State Uni-versities that may be raising tuition to offset continuing budget concerns.
ViewpointsServing students since 1922
High cost of college under fire
dominique franklinStaff Writer
it’s generally accepted that a college degree is better than no degree.
Does that statement still stand true when the quality of education from the colleges and universities in the United States has deteriorated to such a dismal level?
Unfortunately, the education system being on a steady decline is not just a mere opinion.
Statistics provided by an article titled “Student loan debt hell,” on dailymarkets.com offers facts to support that statement:
50 percent of U.S. students in colleges or universities have never taken a class where they had to write more than 20 pages.
thirty two percent of U.S. students have never taken a class where they had to read more than 40 pages a week.
the most startling statistic is that nearly half of the graduate science students are international students.
D e s p i t e t h e p o o r U . S .
education system, the price of tuition continues to rise sharply. from 1978 to 2010, the cost of tuition in the U.S. has taken an increase of 900 percent.
With such a high jump in the cost of education, a cost that still continues to increase, students must find new ways to pay for the remedial education.
another statistic shows that in 2010, the average college graduate had accumulated nearly $25,000 in student loan debt.
Such a large number far surpasses the debt college students accumulate from credit cards.
Since college students can expect to at least be able to receive a middle class job, dealing with the high level of debt now would be worth it then, right?
Wrong.in the past, having a degree
was basically an automatic ticket to the middle class.
this is no longer the case.according to the previously
mentioned article, in the U.S., 18,000 parking lot attendants have a college degree, 317,000 waitresses and waiters have a college degree, 365,000 cashiers have a degree, and 24.5 percent of sales people also have a degree.
to add insult to injury, in many cases a college graduate will not even be hired at a part time job.
this is because the company often prefers to hire someone who
is more likely to invest more time into the company.
the unemployment rate for college graduates under 25 years old remains at a startling 9.3 percent. Students now have been asking what the point to acquiring a degree is.
Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for classes that a highly trained person can pass does not set college students up for success in the future.
However, students should be able to share some of the blame.
though the price of tuition is basically indecent of student opinions, how a class is structured is not.
the majori ty of college students now spend about four hours in class, and one or two hours studying outside of the classroom.
Giving that much attention to coursework is also not a good set up for the future.
in order to receive an acceptable percentage of passing students, and hold onto an already dwindling amount of jobs as an educator, professors are being pressured to lower the level of difficulty so that their students can pass.
as with everything else in life, there’s more than one side to a story.
it’s a fact that the cost of colleges and universities has skyrocketed.
this puts many people at a disadvantage when it comes to enrolling or finishing school, and places students in a rough position when it comes to obtaining high levels of debt.
even still, to say that higher education is no longer worth it would be stretching all of the statistics too far.
the article did not mention the advantages of having a degree, which still vastly outnumber the disadvantages.
Measures need to be taken to bring down the cost of education.
Students must also do their part to pass all their classes, and devote more time to studying despite difficulties.
if students were to make this change when it comes to education, then the U.S. will regain respect for its education system.
Professors will be able to hold their students accountable for learning the proper material, and assigning the proper amount of work that comes with being a college student.
if the balance is once again reestablished between jobs, the level of education, and the price of education, then more people will be looking forward to achieving their degree.
if the current trends do continue, then the U.S. college dropout percentage will surely continue to rise.
Student loanfacts
- Between 1993 and 2004 the proportion of graduating college students with student loan debt grew from under 50 percent to nearly two-thirds. - in 2004 alone, more than $61 billion was dispersed to students in the form of loans.- Between 2000 and 2005 - only five short years - the pr ice of tuition at public colleges rose by more than 57 percent.- Private loans are the fastest-growing source of student financial aid, with $14 billion in loans in 2004 coming from private sources - an increase of 600 percent over ten years before.
info provided by:http://education-portal.com/articles/Facts_About_Student_loans.html
May 26, 2011 | 7Opinions
ViewpointsServing students since 1922 Inscape8 | May 26, 2011
June 3: The origin of Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto’s (Michael Fassbender) friendhsip is explored in “X-Men: First Class.”
June 17: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) joins an ancient intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps and becomes the protector of sector 2814, which includes Earth in “Green Lantern.”
July 15: Harry, Hermione and Ron prepare for the final battler against Voldemort in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.”
August 19: Jason Momoa is the famed fighter in “Conan the Barbarian.”
Summer of Heroes
ViewpointsServing students since 1922Inscape May 26, 2011 | 9
July 1: Optimus Prime and his fellow Autobots must once again protect Earth from the evil Decepticons in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”
F o r movie fans, summer is always the
best time of year. The most anticipated films of the year are released and there is a new blockbuster every week.
The summer of 2011 is no different, however, this year there are a large number of movies based on comic book heroes, literary legends and franchise favorites.The summer got off to an action packed start with the return of Capt. Jack Sparrow in “Pirates
of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” Johnny Depp once again donned his pirate garb in the fourth installment of the billion dollar franchise. The film co-stars Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane and Geoffrey Rush,
and features the eccentric Sparrow on a search for the Fountain of Youth. Though it was critically panned, fans still love the series, as it had a $90 million opening weekend.
For fans of the “X-Men” franchise, the latest film in that series, “X-Men: First Class” opens June 3. The movie introduces Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) before they become Professor X and Magneto.
The two friends meet in the ’60s and begin to form a squad of mutants that includes Beast, Mystique and Emma Frost. This team is an early version of what will become the X-Men. While this is the fifth film in the “X-Men” franchise, the depth of the characters
provides many stories to tell. The early days of Xavier and Lehnsherr’s friendship is a story fans have been anxious to see.As one of the best selling comic titles currently in stores, “Green Lantern” is one of the summer’s most anticipated films.
The film, opening June 17, follows Hal Jordan as he becomes the newly appointed protector of Earth. Ryan Reynolds stars as Jordan, a test pilot who discovers crashed alien Abin Sur and becomes the Green Lantern when Abin’s ring chooses him as its next owner. Though fans were wary of the film when its first underwhelming trailer was released, they have gained confidence in recent weeks, as more elaborate footage has been released. Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan and Mark Strong portray some of the other Lanterns, and Peter Sarsgaard plays the villainous Hector Hammond.
Though it made $402 million at the box office, fans agreed that “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” was terrible. Michael Bay and Shia LeBeouf even apologized for the film’s poorly written story. Following dismal fan reaction to the previous film, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” which hits theaters July 1, hopes to recapture the astonishment of the first film in the series. The third entry once again pits the Autobots vs. the Decepticons, with the future of Earth at stake.
A world of muggle fans will weep on July 15 when “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II” marks the end of the long running series. The film picks up where “Deathly Hallows: Part One” left off, with Voldemort capturing Dumbledore’s elder wand as part of his plan to become the most powerful wizard ever. The franchise has made more than $2 billion over seven films and
its end will leave a hole in the box office.Following a July schedule that includes “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Cowboys & Aliens,” August 19
brings “Conan the Barbarian.”The remake of the ’80s action film stars “Game of Thrones’” Jason Momoa in the title role as a warrior who
sets off to avenge the murder of his father. The movie co-stars Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang and Ron Perlman, and is said to feature a star making turn by Momoa.
Though these films span genres and themes, they all have one crucial element in common; they feature strong heroes out to save the world. While these characters, tend to appeal to
fanboys and nerds, they offer something that the casual fan can enjoy as well.With all the problems in the world, now seems like the perfect
time for movie audiences to discover heroes they can depend on.
sTEPhAniE hOllAnDsenior staff
assistant
FOr MOrE suMMEr MOviE hErOEs sEE
PAgE 16
ViewpointsServing students since 1922
Laith SaLamaSpecial to ViewpointS
Jazz sound takes over Rcc at annual music festivalRafaeL RodRiguezStaff wRiteR
10 | May 26, 2011
Hundreds of people around southern california gathered to come and listen to the music that they enjoy at Riverside city college’s Jazz festival.
Jazz music originated in the southern United States in the early 20th century with influences from african-american communities and european music traditions.
Jazz music is interesting as it incorporates music from all sorts of genres branching out to many sub-genres of the music, and all of these genres could have been seen throughout the festival.
the event started on May 13 where vocal Jazz ensembles performed to show off for the other groups in attendance.
a l t h o u g h i t w a s n ’ t a competition, many of the groups tried their best to make their performances top notch.
there were no instruments played on this day. everything was done vocally.
the performers all made
noises that would simulate real world instruments to give their performances a more lively feeling.
certainly, a lot of practice went into these performances, when asked about it, Brandon crenk and Derrek ferrell both stated that they practice several hours every day to prepare for events such as these.
However, crenk doesn’t let his love of this music stop there, as he hopes to one day become a jazz music ensemble director.
this was just the beginning of the event, as it carried on to the next day.
Day two was more focused on the instrumental portion of Jazz music.
Jazz Bands from various ages flocked to RCC to perform for the attendees of the festival.
the love for the music was definitely in the air.
everywhere guests went during the event, people could be heard talking about music, trading advice or techniques on how to achieve a certain sound while playing an instrument. other participants
were heard practicing for their performances throughout the day.
the performances themselves were really enticing as many types of jazz music would be played using various instruments ranging from saxophones to trumpets, to drums to electric guitars.
each one was played perfectly, encompassing the feeling of the performers that were playing them; and that seemed to be the theme of the day.
“it allows us to put ourselves in our music. we could easily represent ourselves and our feelings that we are feeling into what we are playing. if we are feeling down we would play softer and quieter, or if we were happy we could express it by playing very fast and happily,” said SGMS Jazz Band, a first year jazz band.
t h e f e s t i v a l ’s o v e r a l l a tmosphere was def in i te ly memorable and one wor th attending.
Seeing hundreds of people joined together by one single cause is one worth watching and experiencing. Source: RCC music department
game demo amps up excitementever since the words “Gears
of war 3” began popping up in gaming circles, with teaser phrases like “dedicated servers” and “sawed-off shotgun,” it’s been difficult to get a decent night’s sleep.
Unfortunately it does not hit stores until September; however “Gears of war” creator cliff Blezinski released a multiplayer beta on april 18 to tide fans over until then.
a beta is a demo of just the multiplayer mode, so the creators can watch fans play and see what needs fixing before the game actually comes out.
the beta is amazing. fans of “Gears of war 2” are
going to notice right off the bat that the game was cleaned it up and smoothed out.
Before the game starts players can choose what shot gun and what machine gun they want.
a lot has changed. the lancer, though the weakest machine gun, has an unbelievable ammo capacity, the hammer burst is now less strong but very accurate and the new retro lancer is ridiculously powerful, with little to no range whatsoever.
and speaking of little to no range, the new sawed-off shotgun will kill anybody who’s in front of it, provided the player is standing on top of them.
gameS pReSSenemy aSSauLt: The full version of “Gears of War 3” is scheduled for release Sept. 20.
there was the possibility that the new weapons wouldn’t have a point, because the gnasher shot gun from “Gears of war 2” was plenty shotgun to go around and the two machine guns were different enough from one another, that neither was made obsolete.
now where can they possibly fit all these new weapons in “Gears of war 3?”
Well they fit in just perfectly. the sawed-off, though over
powering, only fires one shot at a time and then takes forever to reload.
The retro lancer is significantly different from the lancer and the hammer burst, so they all fit to preference.
also “Gears of war 3” introduces the incendiary grenade, which sets enemies on fire.
“Gears of war 2” had a standard frag grenade and the smoke grenade was useless.
in “Gears of war 3” the smoke grenade blinds enemies, the ink grenade explodes on impact, the incendiary grenade kills enemies instantly and the frag grenade is still the same in all of its glory.
the game is all together very well balanced out.
in “Gears of war 2” it was so hard to get a kill and so easy to die and likely deterred a lot of people from playing it.
in “Gears of war 3,” anyone
can get a kill, though maybe not as many as others, but they aren’t worthless anymore.
people who hate “Gears of war 2” are going to want to give the third installment a chance.
the beta demonstrates an excellent direction this franchise has taken, but fans will have to wait until September to get their hands on the real thing.
“Gears of war 3” is scheduled for release on Sept. 20.
ViewpointsServing students since 1922 May 26, 2011 | 11
ViewpointsServing students since 1922
Young men making a difference in their community
Photo Provided by the brotherly love ProgramhaPPiness: Brotherly Love’s Ge’Ray Adkins (Left), Lance Penland, and Gentre Adkins IV show their love with a student at a Valley View High School’s Unity Fashion Show.
a moment to shine on stage alone
alexia kingSpecial to ViewpointS
Performance riverside summer PlaysnUnsense: June 3, 4, 10, and 11 at 8 p.m. June 3, 4, 11, and 12 at 2 p.m.
oklahoma: september 23, 24, 30, and october 1 at 8 p.m.september 24, 25, october 1 and 2, at 2 p.m.
12 | May 26, 2011
while drugs, sex and crime continue to be problems with today’s youth, three Riverside community activists figured out a way to solve them.
lance penland, 21, Ge’Ray adkins, 21, and Gentre adkins iV, 29, are the founders of Brotherly love, a program established in 2010 in Riverside.
“i wanted to create a program to treat the problem itself, and the
problem is the lack of love,” said Gentre.
Ge’Ray described the program as a way to aid kids from elementary to high school with the problems they face in the community.
“Brotherly love promotes the idea of sharing with one another; not looking at the color of your skin, but looking at your heart,” Gentre said.
penland, Ge’Ray and Gentre describe themselves as three individuals that desire a change in
dora yrigoyenfeatuReS editoR
travis Rhe t t wi l son , a Riverside city college theatre student shined in his one-man, multi-media show, “edgar allan poe: lord Save My poor Soul.”
al though the aud i ence consisted of mainly Junior High students, wilson gave a stellar performance as he reenacted the life and work of poe.
wilson’s performance of poe is precise and so wonderfully done that his performance won an award from the inland theatre league in april.
wilson has been preparing for his portrayal of poe in 2007 as he spent countless hours of time memorizing his lines for months.
in a question and answer session with the audience after the play, wilson said repetition after repetition helped him remember all his lines, which clearly paid off.
wilson delivered each line as if it was second nature, which was no easy matter considering he was required to not only remember the facts of poe’s life, but some of his work such as, “the tell-tale Heart,” “annabelle lee” and “the Raven.”
John lynd, producer and director of the play and founder of Jtl productions had nothing but positive words to say about wilson.
“He’s a brilliant actor and he takes on the role intuitively,”
lynd said. “He works at his craft very hard.”
“He’s got a presence that’s valuable to a writer or a director that wants to put any kind of piece together,” he said.
working hard on his scripts to deliver a great performance isn’t wilson’s only strategy for his award-winning performances.
wilson also likes to identify with the pieces and roles he chooses; he said that is one of the reasons why he chose to portray edgar allan poe.
“it’s a very emotional piece, and i like to try and identity it with something in my own life,” wilson said.
along with identifying in his own personal ways to the life of poe, wilson has always had a desire to play poe since he was young.
“when i started reading about poe, i said if there’s a movie or a play i want to do it,” he said.
wilson also recalls being interested in performing at a young age.
He told the audience of his very first play, “The Three Billy Goats of Gruff,” in the fourth grade.
“in this particular rendition,” he said. “the troll has a pet frog, i was that frog.”
However, whether he is playing the pet frog of a troll in the “three Billy Goats Gruff” or Henry Higgins in “My fair lady”, wilson has proven he is a hit.
as for other theatre students
who would like to follow in wilson’s footsteps and one day make a name for themselves, he encourages those students to
Photo Provided by Jtl ProdUctionsa one-man act: Travis Rhett Wilson as Edgar Allan Poe.
the community. that change is to help kids and
even adults realize that the many problems with our youth does not come from irresponsibility, but from the lack of love.
“our strength with the program is our ability to sit down and take the information that the school or community center gives us and create something that is powerful, awesome and motivating for the young people,” said Gentre.
Brotherly love has reached out to schools with assemblies, l e a d e r s h i p t r a i n i n g , a n d inspirational productions.
each of their activities helps show kids love in many ways, which they can redistribute to their peers.
“our tact line for the program is ‘see it, experience it, produce it,’” Gentre said.
instead of the common lecture assemblies for drug abuse or problems in their home, kids are put into mock situations such as court cases or talk shows.
there they discuss with one another any problem they face, which helps kids learn how to cooperate and also learn about their peers around them.
Having a background of family and friends who showed both penland and Gentre an immense amount of love, they decided to take that love and disperse it back to the children of their community.
However, the love isn’t only being passed down from their family but also to each other.
with Gentre being heavily influenced by his parents, Penland in return sees Gentre as his role model.
with their strong ability to confide in each other, these young men are not afraid to share their problems with others.
in fact, being vulnerable and open to others is one of the key tactics they use to help children understand that no matter what, everyone goes through hardships, including the staff themselves.
the kids involved in their program go from receiving love from their Brotherly love staff, to experiencing it with one another throughout the many different activities.
lastly they are challenged to go out and produce it.
“that means go out and whatever love you felt, however
it inspired or motivated you, go out there and do that for someone else,” Gentre said.
the purpose of the program is to change the lives of children by showing them love, but not only are they gaining it, all three brothers receive it back.
“they give me the motivation to keep going in life,” Ge’Ray said.
“they bring me hope; they show me that everyone has the potential to be positive,” Gentre said.
future plans are in the making for Brotherly love as it progresses. Gentre not only wants to put together plans to globalize the project, but he also plans to make a valid effort to turn the company into a 501c3 (a non-profit organization).
Gentre’s plan is to spread love with as many kids as he can, no matter what it takes or where it may take him.
By paying their dues in the community at a fairly young age, these young men continue their quest to show children of all communities love.
So that they can see i t , experience it and produce it.
“work hard and get ahead.”although some might have
missed his edgar allan poe performance, wilson is scheduled
to star in plays this summer. To find out more on Wilson’s
performance and future plays visit performanceriverside.org.
ViewpointsServing students since 1922Features May 26, 2011 | 13
Yasmeen salama / Asst. News editor
a mother’s Dream: Jan Taylor (right) helps former foster youth Miracle Spicer transport furniture donated by the Lost Youth’s Ministry to her new transitional housing.
mother of a thousand childrenFrom the jumbled pile of toys
in the sun room to the too-big couches filling up a living room barely large enough to fit five people comfortably, Jan Taylor’s tiny house had an inviting, cozy feel.
“Even when I was a little kid I always wanted to be the mom of a thousand kids,” Taylor said.
Taylor has lived in the tiny house for nearly 15 years with her three children, two of whom were adopted.
More often than not, the small family shares the space with a foster child.
During those same 15 years, Taylor fostered 12 children ranging in age from infants to teenagers, adopted a drug baby and a premature baby.
She has volunteered with just about every organization she could find that focuses on helping foster children.
Taylor, a member of Child SHARE, a support program for parents adopting or fostering children, has made it her life’s mission to help as many teen foster youths as possible.
Along with volunteering and working with different associations, Taylor is also the founder of the Lost Youths Ministry at her church in Nuevo.
Acting as their lighthouse in a
storm, she has opened her home to them as a warm and safe place to start out their lives.
“Most people won’t take teenagers,” she said. “They don’t know how to handle them or what to do with them.”
Taylor explained the constant replacement of children into different foster homes is one of the most detrimental things they experience because they don’t develop lasting friendships and personal relationships.
With each new placement comes a new face to acquaint themselves with, new rules to learn and a new school to fit into.
“They lose something like six months of education every time they get moved,” Taylor said with a reproving shake of her head.
Recognizing this problem, the non-profit organization Child SHARE, an acronym for Support Help Advocacy Resources Encouragement, aims to support foster parenting and adoption by providing advice on what parents can do for these children.
Taylor joined the organization and hopes to someday advocate for it.
But Taylor already advocates for foster children in a different way.
Sometimes, social workers may take an extra step to help the children by filing for a court appointed special advocate, a qualified volunteer who represents
the child in court as well as provides advice and guidance.
Taylor is one such advocate in Riverside County.
She looks through files of foster youths who are in dire need of help and selects the youth she wants to represent.
She specifically searches for pregnant teens and gives them the guidance that she said a mother would normally have given.
“I can help them apply for college, or for a job,” Taylor said, counting on her fingers.
“I’ll sit with them in court . . . I sometimes will take them to an interview and give them advice on how to present and things like that,” she said.
“I want to teach them to be independent, not dependent, which is what they learn if we don’t step in and help,” Taylor said.
Life gets worse for them once they reach age 18 and effectively “age out” of the foster system.
“Ninety percent of former foster youths wind up homeless, incarcerated or dead,” she said. “That’s just not acceptable to me.”
To prevent these possibilities from happening, Taylor searches for these youths at the homeless shelter in Hemet.
one of the people she found is Molly Robinson, a former foster teen who “aged out” of the system.
“She would drive me down
to the Ross Distribution Center,” Robinson said, “and kind of encouraged me to try for the job.”
“It’s just like, whenever I needed someone to talk to, she was there to talk to,” Robinson said. “I just really appreciate everything she’s done for me.”
Rob inson now l ives in transitional housing, and thanks Taylor for helping her get there.
With about 20,000 youths aging out of the foster system each year nationwide, Taylor said the wait list for transitional housing
can be up to six months. She has recently diverted her
efforts to increasing the amount of transitional housing available, hoping that someday her Lost Youths Ministry will provide it.
“That’s my biggest dream,” Taylor said, nodding to herself and smiling warmly at the thought.
“To get more transitional housing, I don’t really care who does it or where, or if I’m the one to start it.”
“But if I can help it along,” she said with a shrug and another nod. “That’s my dream.”
Yasmeen salamaAsst. News editor
ViewpointsServing students since 192214 | May 26, 2011
RobeRt boyd / online editor
too little time: Jessica Brown’s work at Border’s at the Riverside Plaza leaves her little time for volunteering.
Volunteer time at a premiumRobeRt boydonline editor
Features
Children, seniors, veterans, animals, the hungry, homeless and jobless.
it is an abbreviated list of the vulnerable, abandoned and forgotten.
it’s a list that most everybody can identify with, especially with layoffs, furloughs, cutbacks, setbacks and foreclosures.
these a re the faces o f neighbors, coworkers, friends, family and parishioners who replace impersonal statistics with familiarity.
these statistics are countered by another statistic that many in riverside cannot identify, though.
that i s the s ta t i s t ic of volunteerism.
it’s an anonymous statistic because , accord ing to the Corporation for national and Community Service, less than 20 percent in the community participate.
the Corporation for national and Community Service is a federal agency focusing on volunteerism in the United States.
Another federal agency, the U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics, reports that riverside volunteerism is 6 percent lower than the national average.
Why are local volunteer
statistics down?Some point to priorities.
Jessica Brown, the riverside Borders café supervisor, blushed when admitting that she no longer volunteered.
“i just ran out of time,” Brown said.
She once gave blood and volunteered time at the animal shelter.
Full-time work and school forced her to pick priorities.
She added that she wanted to return, but hadn’t found the time.
“if i could spend my days not worrying about money,” she said, “i would spend my days giving help to others.”
So would tracy Hilborn, a marketer, who commutes between riverside and los Angeles.
For her, volunteerism requires time.
“i leave the house anywhere between six and seven in the morning and don’t get home until between seven and eight at night and that’s five days a week,” Hilborn said.
She g rew up be l i ev ing volunteering was a way of life.
“it seems like as a kid we were always volunteering and tagging along doing stuff for the community,” she said.
A c c o r d i n g t o H i l b o r n , her retired parents continue volunteering time in Port Austin, Michigan.
For her though, working and commuting cost Hilborn approximately 65 hours a week, leaving her little time to regroup, let alone volunteer.
Still, she said that she wants to give.
“one thing i could see doing on the weekends,” Hilborn said, “is assisting at church functions where they’re taking food to the homeless or helping at soup kitchens.”
Many, like Hilborn and Brown, fill their hours with work and studies, fortifying their lives against the siege of recession, leaving little time for much else.
the current economic climate threatens to increase volunteer opportunities while depleting volunteer participants.
As more houses are foreclosed and more people are unemployed, more people struggle not to join the statistical ranks of the needy.
Communities like riverside scramble to find time and means to assist family, friends and neighbors afflicted by crisis.
Kevin McCarthy, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of the inland Valleys, has an answer.
He suggested that the challenge of volunteerism is meeting the value needs of the volunteer.
He proposed that it’s important to clarify a person’s objective for volunteering so you can create a
rewarding experience.“identify what they’re looking
for and then try to craft it around them,” McCarthy said.
A rewarding experience can give volunteers a reason to return, if only for a few hours a month.
“We have people here who are putting in eight hours a day volunteering and we have other people putting in an hour a month,”
McCarthy said.For those who want to give,
but are unsure about the best way to donate their time, McCarthy suggests contacting Community Connect 211, a United Way funded organization, with a database of local volunteer opportunities.
to con tac t Communi ty Connect 211, visit http://www.connectriverside.org.
Baseball
Fastpitch
Men’s Tennis
Women’s Tennis
ViewpointsServing students since 1922
Baseball
Season Record21-15
Conference: 13-8
Finished third in the Orange Empire
Conference
Fastpitch
Season Record37-9
Conference: 17-4
Finished first in the Orange Empire
Conference
Men’s Tennis
Season Record13-3
Conference: 7-3
Finished second in the Orange Empire
Conference
Women’s Tennis
Season Record12-4
Conference: 7-3
Finished second in the Orange Empire
Conference
Feb. 12Feb. 15Feb. 19Feb. 20Feb. 24Feb. 25Feb. 25March 1March 3March 5March 8March 10March 12March 15March 17March 22March 24March 26March 29March 31April 1April 5April 7April 9April 12April 14April 15April 20April 21April 26April 28May 6May 7May 8
RCC 13 Fresno 9RCC 17 Cuesta 11 RCC 4 Western Nevada 2RCC 9 Western Nevada 6RCC 5 Sacramento City 6RCC 0 Sacramento City 4RCC 2 Sacramento City 3RCC 8 Mt. San Antonio 3RCC 12 Golden West 7RCC 13 Saddleback 6RCC 10 Irvine Valley 9RCC 1 Santa Ana 11RCC 7 Cypress 2RCC 7 Fullerton 3RCC 4 Orange Coast 10RCC 7 Golden West 3RCC 13 Golden West 14RCC 5 Saddleback 7RCC 7 Saddleback 6RCC 11 Irvine Valley 3RCC 15 Irvine Valley 5RCC 5 Santa Ana 6RCC 10 Santa Ana 2RCC 12 Cypress 4RCC 5 Cypress 7RCC 15 Fullerton 16RCC 7 Fullerton 1RCC 6 Desert 0RCC 3 East Los Angeles 4RCC 3 Orange Coast 7RCC 9 Costa Mesa 5RCC 8 Santa Barbara 1RCC 3 Santa Barbara 9RCC 1 Santa Barbara 9
Feb. 22Feb. 23Feb. 25March 2March 3March 5March 9March 11March 14March 16March 18March 19
RCC 0 Cypress 1RCC 3 Santa Ana 1RCC 15 Orange Coast 0RCC 3 Golden West 0RCC 8 Fullerton 0RCC 3 Fresno Tournament 1RCC 3 Santiago Canyon 0RCC 3 Saddleback 1RCC 6 Southwestern 0RCC 2 Cypress 1RCC 4 Santa Ana 1RCC 9 Bakersfield 1
Men’s Swim and Dive
Feb. 3Feb. 8 Feb. 10Feb. 15Feb. 24March 1March 3March 8March 10March 15March 17March 22March 29March 31April 5April 7
RCC7 Victorville 0RCC 3 Mt. San Jacinto 6RCC 5 L.A. Pierce 4RCC 9 San Antonio 0RCC 6 Saddleback 3RCC 5 Orange Coast 4RCC 0 Cypress 9RCC 6 Irvine 1RCC 8 Fullerton 1RCC 9 San Diego City 0RCC 6 Grossmont 3RCC 3 Costa Mesa 6RCC 7 Irvine Valley 2RCC 7 Fullerton 2RCC 7 Saddleback 2RCC 5 Santa Barbara 4
RCC 7 Imperial Valley 1RCC 6 San Antonio 0 RCC 9 Lancaster 0RCC 4 Grossmont 5RCC 2 Saddleback 7RCC 6 Orange Coast 3RCC8 Cypress 1RCC 4 Irvine Valley 5
Feb. 4 Feb. 8Feb. 17Feb. 22Feb. 24March 1March 3March 8
Feb. 4Feb. 5Feb. 11Feb. 25March 4March 11March 12March 25April 8April 15
April 23
April 30
Waterman Festival 9 a.m.Waterman Festival 12 p.m.Conference Meet At HuntingtonGolden West Invitational 2 p.m.Conference Meet 2 p.m.Chaffey Invitational 9 a.m.Chaffey Invitational 10 p.m.Conference Meet 2 p.m.Vs. Palomar 2 p.m.Conference Diving ChampionshipAt Torrance 10 a.m.Conference Championship Meet At Fullerton 3:30 p.m.CCCAA State Championship 5 p.m.
RCC 10 Orange Coast 0RCC 7 Golden West 1RCC 6 Fullerton 5RCC 0 Santiago Canyon 2RCC 6 Monterey Park 5RCC 2 Saddleback 1RCC 1 Cypress 0RCC 6 Palomar 8RCC 4 Santa Ana 3RCC 8 Orange Coast 0RCC 1 Mt. San Antonio 0RCC 5 Fullerton 1RCC 0 Huntington Beach 1RCC 4 Antelope Valley 3RCC 1 Santiago Canyon 4RCC 2 Ventura 0RCC 2 Ventura 1RCC 2 Antelope Valley 1RCC 0 Cypress 1RCC 16 Santa Ana 4RCC 5 Cypress 1RCC 1 Cypress 5
March 23March 24March 30April 1April 4April 6April 8April 12April 13April 15April 16April 19April 20April 21April 27May 7May 8May 13May 14May 14May 15May 15
RCC 5 Fullerton 4RCC 5 Orange Coast 4RCC 6 Cypress 3RCC 5 Irvine 4RCC 7 Fullerton 2RCC 1 Saddleback 8RCC 5 Mt. San Antonio 1RCC 2 San Monica 5
March 10March 22March 24March 29March 31April 5April 19April 26
Track and FieldAt Santa Ana 2 p.m.Cerritos Invite 8 a.m.Cerritos Invite 8 a.m.Vs. Cal State Long Beach 2 p.m.Vs. Golden West 2 p.m.Ben Brown Invite At Cal State Fullerton 8 a.m.Vs. Fullerton 2 p.m.Conference Championship 8 a.m.Conference Championship 8 a.m.Riverside Open 10 a.m.Vs. Fullerton 2 p.m.At Mt. SAC Relays 8 a.m.So. Cal. Hep/Dec Competition At Lancaster 8 a.m.So. Cal. Hep/Dec Competition At Lancaster 8 a.m.Conference Prelims 10 a.m.Conference Championships 10 a.m.So. Cal. Prelims 2 p.m.So. Cal. Championship 2 p.m.State Championship At American River, Sacramento 10 a.m.
Feb. 11Feb. 18Feb. 19Feb. 23Feb. 25March 5
March 11March 17March 18March 25April 1April 9April 12
April 13
April 22April 29May 6May 13May 20
Women’s TrackMen’s Track
Finished first in the Orange Empire
Conference
Finished eighth in the state finals
Finished first in the Orange Empire
Conference
Finished fourth in the state finals.
Sports May 26, 2011 | 15
The Riverside City College athletic program received a remarkable award which highlighted the success each RCC athletic team has accomplished in the past year.
The athletic program won the 2011 T. Mark Johnson Orange Empire Conference athletic supremacy award.
The award is named after the former RCC sports director and current Orange Empire Conference commissioner.
The award is handed out annually to the college who racks up the most points based on its team’s performance in the conference.
RCC’s football, women’s water polo, men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men and women’s track and field team won their conference which boosted RCC’s points to receive the award.
Each college receives 10 points for first-place finishes in each sport division in the conference.
RCC’s Athletic Director Barry Meier said he is extremely proud of the athletic program.
“Of course, it signifies that we are the best overall athletic program in the Conference and it’s always great to be No. 1 and the best,” he said. “As athletic director, I’m very proud of the coaches, support staff and student athletes that all worked so hard to make this possible.”
Sports Briefs
RCC athletics wins an award
RCC Fastpitch falls shortA game away from advancing to the state finals tournament
the Riverside City College fastpitch team lost May 15 to Cypress College 5-1.
Riverside began the Cypress regional finals tournament with a 2-1 victory against Antelope Valley.
The win sent the Tigers to a match against the defending state champions, Cypress College, the next day where RCC and Cypress drew even as the score stood 0-0 through seven and a half innings.
Riverside suffered a late game loss to Cypress in the bottom of the seventh inning as Cypress beat Riverside 1-0, and sending Riverside to a second game against Santa Ana 30 minutes later.
Once Riverside lost to Cypress, RCC had to recharge and prepare for a game two match-up against Santa Ana as the winner would advance to day three of the tournament to face Cypress College.
Riverside went lights off scoring at will against Santa Ana as the Tigers went on to win the match 16-4 and got another chance to beat Cypress.
Day three looked great for Riverside as the Tigers found a way to defeat Cypress 5-1 but the Tigers needed two wins against the defending champs on May 15 to advance to the state finals tournament.
Unfortunately Riverside was unable to beat Cypress twice in one day as Cypress defeated Riverside 5-1.
Riverside ended its season as co-champions of the Orange Empire Conference along with Cypress College.
Amber Sanford was named state champion in the long jump after jumping a distance of 19 feet 5.25 inches during the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship Tournament at American River College.
The distance was Sanford’s second best performance of the season, second only to her jump of 19 feet 7 inches during a February 11 meet at Santa Ana College.
The title was a fitting end for a great season at RCC for Sanford, a freshman from Martin Luther King High School in Riverside.
Sanford was also the Orange Empire Conference Champion in the long jump, high jump, triple jump and was also part of the women’s 4 x 100 meter relay team that won the conference crown.
Sanford also had a respectable conference showing in the 100 meter dash, finishing second to RCC teammate Camille Bowen.
RCC athlete wins state title
Visit Viewpoints’ sports blog for summer coverage
of professional, local and RCC sports at
http://viewpointssports.blogspot.com/
ViewpointsServing students since 1922 Inscape16 | May 26, 2011
‘Cap’ secures superhero legacyjavier Cabreraeditor in chief
paramount piCturesa ClassiC Hero: Chris Evans stars as Steve Rogers in latest Marvel Studios release, “Captain America: The First Avenger.” It is the fifth movie that takes place in the Avengers universe and follows “Thor,” which came out May 13.
stepHanie Hollandsenior staff assistant
as one of Marvel’s earliest heroes captain america has always held a special place in the hearts of comic book fans.
He first appeared in 1941 in “Captain America #1,” as scrawny Steve Rogers, who volunteers for Operation: Rebirth and through scientific advances becomes captain america.
the origins of rogers’ story is being told in the Marvel Studios/Paramount Pictures release “captain america: the first Avenger.”
The film, which stars Chris Evans in the title role, hits theaters July 22.
evans is no stranger to comic book roles, having previously appeared in the “Fantastic Four” movies, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and “The Losers.”
even with that experience evans admits that he was hesitant to take on such an iconic role.
“it’s exciting and terrifying at the same time. there are so many people who are so passionate about the film,” said Evans in a conference call interview. “a movie like this, you either win big or you lose big, and that’s daunting. So it certainly was in my head, and I was extremely apprehensive.”
Though he had those previous roles to draw on, Rogers is unlike other superheroes, in that he volunteered for service. This difference wasn’t lost on evans.
“I think most superheroes, they either were born that way or they were given their powers by a freak accident. i think steve rogers is the only person who was really chosen,” Evans said. “Steve was chosen for his values and his morals,...because of who he is, and that’s a pretty admirable quality.”
the film is directed by Joe Johnston, whose previous directing credits include “October Sky,” “Jumanji” and “The Rocketeer.”
Johnston also worked on the effects team of the original “star Wars” trilogy and won an Academy award for his effects work in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
With all the moving pieces involved in making a film of this magnitude, having Johnston behind the camera provided evans with a lot of confidence.
“Joe Johnston is fantastic. i had an amazing working relationship with him. he’s one of the best directors I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” Evans said. “He listens, he has no ego, he’s such a collaborator.”
evans felt Johnston’s directing style really helped the atmosphere on set.
“ h e ’s s o i n t e r e s t e d i n everyone’s opinion, and that makes for such a seamless process,” he said. “You feel heard and you feel involved…It is a giant collaboration, and he really goes out of his way to make sure that you feel listened to.”
“captain america: the first Avenger” co-stars Tommy Lee
Jones as rogers’ commanding officer Col. Chester Phillips, Stanley Tucci as the scientist behind Operation: Rebirth, Abraham Erskine and Hugo Weaving as the evil Red Skull.
Working wi th an ac to r like Weaving was certainly intimidating, but it also made evans work harder.
“Everything about Hugo belongs on f i lm. and i t ’s intimidating and exciting to be able to work with such an iconic character, but at the end of the day, you’re just so happy that they cast the right guy for the job,” Evans said. “he’s only going to make the movie better.”
Though comic book fans are famously critical and protective of their favorite heroes, Evans tried not to let online commentary inform his performance.
“You have to make a decision
early on when you decide to do a movie like this whether or not you’re going to let that stuff affect you, because there’s going to be an avalanche of opinion and critique, whether it’s good or bad,” he said.
those same fans are also extremely loyal and that was something evans wanted to respect.
“These movies wouldn’t get made if there wasn’t a built-in fanbase, they just wouldn’t,” he said. “So at the end of the day, your loyalty is to the people who are passionate about these comic books, so you want to make sure that they’re happy, first and foremost.”
Captain America is unlike other heroes, in that he isn’t mired in depression or haunted by his dark past. he overcame his adversity to become a hero when the nation
needed it most. that aspect of the character
is what evans relates to most and what he hopes the audience relates to.
“i like the fact that he’s not jaded. Life has dealt him a pretty lousy hand, but instead of being jaded and bitter, he manages to rise above and be a good man and do the right thing, regardless of the misfortunes life has dealt his way,” he said. “that’s an impressive attribute, that’s something that I think everyone can try to aspire to. And for that reason, I really thought it was a special superhero story.”
As Marvel continues to expand its Avengers universe on film, evans is slated to appear in “the Avengers” in May 2012 with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson.
