MESA speaker deliversCommunity college grad talks about her journey from child immigrant to doctor of rural medicine — page 3

Furry friends de-stressTwo dogs named Bella come to campus to help students relax during midterms — page 3

Kromer talks traveling Although she has been all over the world, the reference librarian calls LMC home — page 4

Walking toward a common goal

Winning arguments down southDebate team earns awards

V O L . 8 3 , N O . 7 F R I D A Y , O C T . 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 L M C E X P E R I E N C E . C O M

LMC partners with LGCEO and staff come to campus

F.Y.I.Important

Dates

Octoberis National Breast

Cancer Awareness Month

Nov. 9Veteran’s Day — college closed

Nov. 20Last day to drop classes with a “W” appearing on your transcript

Prepare for the HBCU fair The LMC Umoja Club will be hosting the first Historically Black Col-leges and Universities Regional Transfer Day Tuesday, Nov. 17. There will be a college fair in the outdoor quad from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and HBCU workshops in Library Room L-109 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. if you plan on attending bring your transcripts. For more information go to http://www.losmedanos.edu/umoja/events.asp.

Transfer Day draws closerLos Medanos College will be hosting two transfer events Oct. 27. — Trans-fer Day will be held in the outdoor quad from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and College Night in the gym from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Representatives from the CSU and UC campuses, along with out-of-state and private universities will be present to answer students’ questions about the transfer process. For more information, or a list of the colleges that will be present, go to losmed-anos.edu/transferday.

Sign-up and come kick-itThe Student Life Office will be hosting a kickball tournament, which will be open to all LMC students, staff and faculty. Teams must consist of 6-8 people and registration is due by midnight Tuesday, Oct. 27, which will be followed by an orientation Wednesday, Oct. 28 at noon at the the softball field. If you want to play but are not a part of a team you can sign up as a free agent and tournamanet organizers will try to find you a team with an open space.Tournament games will be every Wedsneday from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. starting Nov. 4 and ending Dec. 2. Applications are available for download or online submission at http://www.losmedanos.edu/studentlife/health.asp.

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

LG Electronics Alabama, Inc. President KyuMoon Yu speaks in front of the Student Services Building Oct. 8 during a ceremony signifying the most recent partnership between the company and LMC.

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

Members of the local community hold up a banner as they participate in Out of The Darkness, a suicide prevention walk held in Oakley on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

Richard Stanfield (left) and Genaro Mauricio prepare themselves for one of the eight tournament debates.

By DAMIAN LEWINdlewin@lmcexperience.com

It was cause for celebration as students, staff and members of the local community gathered in front of the Student Services Building Oct. 8 to recognize the formal signing of the recent partnership between Los Medanos College and LG Electronics Alabama, Inc.

As LMC President Bob Kratochvil welcomed those attending the event, he began the ceremony by thanking the company representatives who were on campus to sign the agreement as well as speak to students in the Appliance Service Technology program.

“I think it’s an honor that LG Elec-tronics has selected LMC to be the hub of their regional training,” said LMC Director of Marketing Barbara Cella. “Our students will have the opportunity to work on cutting edge appliances,” which, she added, will in turn help those students acquire “cutting edge jobs.”

Kyu Moon Yu, president of the company, is the first corporate CEO to visit the campus in forty years accord-ing to Appliance Service Technology Instructor Leonard Price. Joining him in their visit to the college was Michael Kozwolski, Director of Field Service and Strategy and Jae Park, Senior Human Resources Manager.

“It’s just fantastic the synergy that’s created with this partnership.” said Kratochvil before introducing Presi-dent Yu to speak to the crowd.

The partnership, which not only in-cludes the company donating products they manufacture for the students to train on, but valuable resources such

as online learning materials and the ability to sit in on future classes LG will hold on campus to further train their currently employed service technicians.

“I’m very happy to come here,” said Yu, joking about forgetting his sunglasses. He acknowledged how he “likes the California sun” then went on to speak about what his company strives for.

“We try to fix the broken customer,

not the appliance,” he added. “Make a better life for the customers. You all, including Bob and everybody, are our customers.”

A similar sentiment was shared earlier in the day as the LG repre-sentatives met with students in the Appliance Service Technology pro-gram during their morning lecture. The goal of the visit to the class was to give the students a better idea of what the new partnership will help

provide for them, as well as advice on the future of the industry in which they are pursuing careers.

“Thank you Len for having us here this morning,” said Kozwolski, addressing instructor Price by his more commonly known name on campus, adding that their being there was to help “find, develop and build the next generation of technicians.”

While speaking to the class about See LG, page 6

By GARRETT BELMEgbelme@lmcexperience.com

The Los Medanos debate team brought home two awards after competing in the USU National Debate Championship at Claremont McKenna College this past week-end. Team members Grace Babayan and Taylor Gonzalez captured the Community College Champions award, and teammates Genaro Mauricio and Richard Stanfield’s communication netted them the First Year Division Champions award.

Debate coach Marie Arcidiacono

expressed her admiration for her team’s efforts. “I’m extremely proud of not just the two teams that placed at the tournament, but of all the teams we traveled down. For many of our competitors this weekend it was the very first time they ever participated in a debate tournament and the energy and excitement they all had toward competing was amazing to witness. We had a long tournament weekend and the fact that on our seven hour drive home the debaters were actively engaged in discussing current events and rehashing the motions from the weekend was awesome. As a coach, I couldn’t have asked for a more productive tournament.”

Half of the duet that earned the Community College Champion

award, Grace Babayan, reflected on the moment she and her partner won said award. “Winning the award was so surreal; it almost felt as if I were dreaming. Afterwards, as the reality sunk in, the validation for the hard work my partner Taylor and I had been putting into our practices was so apparent. We didn’t need an award to mark our success, but recognition for our hard work was wonderful to receive,” she said.

Debate rookie Genaro Mauricio had similar feelings upon finding out he and his partner would also be winning an award saying, “Winning the award was a complete surprise to me but my partner Richard and I were ecstatic to have received an award for our first tournament.”

See TEAM, page 6

By XAVIER VALLE and CASSIE DICKMANcdickman@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College’s Alpha Gamma Sigma honor’s society joined Oakley commu-nity members in their walk to raise awareness for suicide prevention.

The national American Foun-dation for Suicide Prevention’s Greater San Francisco Bay Area chapter held one of its Out of the Darkness community walks Saturday, Oct. 10, to for loved ones to commemorate those who have died from suicide and to educate others about this ongoing issue.

The community walk,

which was officially supposed to begin at 10 a.m. but actually didn’t take off until at 10:35 a.m. due to a delay in organizing the finish line and getting the participants in place to start walking, kicked off at Cypress Grove Park in Oakley and was accompanied by various festiv-ities, such as barbecuing and local musicians playing music.

AGS honors society mem-bers attended the walk and helped with various stages of the event – from set up to clean-up – depending on what shift they signed up for, said AGS Vice President Ines Torres, and who that about half of those

See WALK, page 6

QuotableL O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

Perspectives 2

The LMC Experience is published Fridays by students in the Journalism Program. The newspaper serves both as a laboratory for journalism classes and as a First Amendment forum for campus communication. Opinions expressed in the Experience are solely those of the students and do not represent the views of the college.

L O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E

ExperienceL M C e x p e r i e n c e . c o m

MemberCalifornia Newspaper Publishers Association

“Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without news-papers, or newspapers with-out a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

— Thomas Jefferson

Voices

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

F R I D A Y , O C T . 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.”— Amy Bloom

Lately, I have been hearing a lot of people talk about the trend “Netflix and Chill” over the Internet. It is possible that I do not look to into these so-called “internet trends” but this one caught my attention. Many parents and family friends post complaints about their children using the term “Netflix and Chill” and were curious as to why it was such an issue.

According to many people online, “Netflix and Chill” means going over to a friend or significant other’s house to “watch” Netflix, but usually ends up turning into a something more sexual. This term is becoming part of not only teenagers, but also young adult’s vocabulary.

At the age of twenty-two, this kind of terminology makes me feel as if I am not up with the times. I just cannot believe this is actually used in many individuals everyday vocabulary. To me, this term is inappropriate. It’s quite possible that I am old-fashioned, but for young people to have someone over to their house for Netflix, when in reality it is a so-called “booty call” is unnecessary.

Young individuals are being exposed to many things on the Internet that are not age appropriate. Not that the term “Netflix and Chill” is age appropriate for anyone, because I think the hype is ridiculous for anyone of any age to even have in their vocabulary. Although this nominal phrase can mean relaxing with family or friends, it can range from something casual to something a bit more serious. I guess you can say that many people interpret this phrase differently.

After doing some research, it seems that Netflix and Chill started as a hashtag on Twitter, further moving on to Instagram, Vine, Facebook and even turning into memes. Many people decipher the term to mean “hooking up”. At first Netflix and Chill had no alternative meaning, other than simply watching Netflix and relaxing. Over the course of time since 2007, when Netflix made its debut, the term has grown drastically.

In 2015 the phrase is a stand-alone term all on its own.

Personally, I think this phrase is rather redundant. The thing that bugs me about it is that people actually use the phrase in a serious manner.

I might sound like an angry mom, but the younger generation is being subjected to things on the Internet that is totally unsuitable for them, which is a whole other issue in itself. Netflix and Chill has bombarded the Internet and quite frankly, it is annoying. It’s an unneeded euphemism for sex, plain and simple.

Might as well say rest in peace to romance because this term is taking over. I don’t know why the term works me up so much, but just stop with the weird and awkward terminology. Instead of Netflix and Chill, why don’t we work on, I don’t know, maybe Textbooks and Skills?

Brendan CrossCROSS’ COMMENTARY

Marissa PerryPERRY’S POV

Editorial

The real story of Halloween

Trending now: Netflix and Chill

The Experience welcomes Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns. All members of the Los Medanos College community — stu-dents, faculty and staff — are encouraged to write.

If you are interested in expressing your opinions on campus, national or world issues, bring your submissions to room CC3-301 and put them in the Perspectives Editor’s mailbox or mail them to Experience c/o Los Medanos College, 2700 E Leland Road, Pittsburg, CA 94565. You may also send them electronically through the Experience online newsite lmcexperience.com. Letters and columns must be typed, signed and include a phone number for verification. They may be edited for clarity, content taste and length at the editor’s discretion.

rEadEr opinion policy

“It’s cool just let people be them. If they show nip then cover that up, that’s not cool around here.”

— Derek May

“I think they’re OK. It depends, you can’t go too far though, there’s a limit to them.”

— Javier Mejia

“I don’t really care for them, I don’t like to dress provocatively. Not that I have anything against showing some skin.”

— Angelica Gonzalez

“I hate them. It gives girls a reason to show off everything.It’s stupid.”

— Kaytlynn Lawhorn

“You can be cute and flirty but still be respectful of people’s eyes, especially children.” — Gabrielle Brown

“I’m totally down for free expression. I think people can dress as whatever they want whether it’s sexy or scary.”

— Konnor Heredia

Partners a plus, need more

Body positivity is always healthy

What do you think about provocative Halloween costumes?C o m p i l e d b y J o s e p h d e l a n o a n d y e t u n d e o g u n l e y e

Editors-in-Chief ...............DAMIAN LEWIN and

CASSIE DICKMAN

Perspectives Editor .....YETUNDE OGUNLEYE

Managing Editor...................JOSEPH DELANO

Campus Editor....................LISSETTE URBINA

Features Editor............BEATRIZ HERNANDEZ

Sports Editor.......................BRENDAN CROSS

Photo Editor......................CATHIE LAWRENCE

New Media Editor .................. JAMARI SNIPES

Special Projects Editor..........LUKE JOHNSON Copy Chief ........................ KIMBERLY STELLY

Every Oct. 31, children and adults alike don costumes of anything and everything that will garner a laugh, a fright or an “oh how cute.”

The kids go trick-or-treating while the older crowds have parties, but chances are, neither could tell you what the point of the Halloween holiday is to begin with.

It dates back to roughly 2,000 years ago to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. The Celts celebrated their new year Nov. 1 and believed that the line between the living and the dead was blurred on the eve of the turning of the calendar.

On the eve of Samhain, they believed the dead returned as ghosts, to which they left offerings of food and wine on their doorsteps to keep the spirits away. They even went as far as to wear masks when they left their homes that day in order to blend in and be mistaken for actual ghosts.

Centuries later, Samhain was changed into All Hallows by the Christian church. The night before was then called All Hal-lows’ Eve, shortened to what we know it as today, Halloween.

Halloween today has turned into what we know as trick-or-treating, spawned from medieval Britain traditions called souling and guising. The former was a custom where impoverished people begged for a type of pastry called a soul cake, and in return, would pray for their bread-bearers dead relatives. The latter was practice where the youth would dress in costumes and accept gifts such as food and money in exchange for telling jokes, singing or poetry reading.

Irish and Scottish immigrants that came to America during the 19th century revived those traditions in the form of trick-or-treat-ing, which back then, was more about the trick. The current form we know today took its shape in the 1950s.

Halloween today is big business, and has become entirely too commercialized. An estimated 6 billion dollars is spent on candy and costumes yearly in America, making it second only to Christmas in terms of profitability. A quarter of all annual candy sales in the U.S. can be directly attributed to Halloween.

Most everything nowadays has a mar-keting angle to it, but it does not mean that the true background of the holiday has to get lost in the shuffle.

There is a problem with how it is cele-brated today as a whole, perhaps the sexy [insert pretty much anything here] costume trend could calm itself, but, it is also not as if America is going to all of a sudden devolve into celebrating the practices of yesteryear anyway.

In general, however, a history lesson never hurts. Halloween has fallen into the long of line of holidays with traditions such as bringing a tree into your home and putting lights on it and painting eggs and hiding them because it is just the thing to do, without any inkling as to the purpose and meaning behind any of it.

It would be pleasing to see a Halloween where the main goal is to be frightful instead of what it, and seemingly every other holiday has become, an excuse to party to no end and for no reason of any substance, for the non-trick-or-treating crowd anyway.

If we all dressed up in a scary costume when leaving our homes on All Hallows’ Eve, it would, at the very least, be a callback to the reason why dressing up on the day was a practice in the first place.

While you are at your next Halloween party, please enlighten all the attendees by spreading your new found knowledge of Samhain, souling and guising. You will be undoubtedly penned as the weird guy or gal at the party, but hey, at least everyone will be smarter for it.

Beatriz HernandezBEA’S BEATS

It’s become increasingly apparent that continuing support from both local and interna-tional businesses is beneficial not only to current and future students at Los Medanos College, but also to the local communities in which they will soon be entering as trained professionals and the companies themselves for which they will be employed.

As a result of partnerships with corporations like Dow Chemical Company and most recently, LG Electronics, students in programs like MESA and Appliance Service Technol-ogy are already taking advantage of the many resources the companies have to offer. From specialized training and equipment donations to LMC programs, as well as industry support and job placement, these companies are striving to bring what they can to the table to help make an impact in their fields by supporting the next generation of potential employees.

But why aren’t all LMC students benefitting from support by local, national or international entities?

Is this substantial amount of assistance only limited to those pursuing a career in tech or service industries?

For instance, what outside support can a history or English major receive?Can educational institutions such as museums and historical preservation societies provide

learning resources or assist in job placement?Are there opportunities for those enrolled in the college’s music programs to learn first

hand from those in the field they wish to pursue a career and are there those out there willing to donate their time and valuable materials to help those students?

Is there something that can be done to get more assistance not only from large corporations, but local small businesses and individuals as well?

These are questions that need to be answered so every student can attain the most out of their educational experience at LMC, an experience that will stay with them through the rest of their lives.

Regardless of who can do it, or who they can do it for, it’s this help from the industrial and private complexes that will continue to be an extremely important part of LMC and its continuing effort to strive toward educational success for students — something which will benefit them long into their futures as viable well-trained professionals in the community.

There is nothing unhealthy about body positivity.

It may be hard to believe, but there are people out there who believe not everyone should be positive about their body.

Like many other movements advocating for societal change, there are many miscon-ceptions about body positivity and negative portrayals on social media such as “real women have meat on their bones.” These people are counterproductive and only make others want to not support it.

Another critique on body positivity is that it promotes an unhealthy lifestyle. Meaning that, telling a person their body is beautiful if they are over or underweight is really just encouraging a lifestyle that could lead to health problems and negative consequences.

Just how cynical and hateful do people have to be to want to discourage others from loving themselves?

Recently, YouTuber and self-proclaimed “co-median” Nicole Arbour made a video entitled, “Dear Fat People,” in which she mocked the body positivity movement and made completely offensive remarks about fat people as a “joke.” Because neglecting to understand the reasons someone could struggle with weight issues and telling people “fat shaming does not exist” should just be taken lightheartedly.

I mean, according to Arbour, that’s just satire, right? Wrong.

Just because a person is over or under-weight doesn’t mean they can’t be confident in their body.

There are people who are comfortable

with their body and are still working to lose or gain weight for their own reasons and not simply to please others who don’t accept them as they are.

While I can understand that someone may not have bad intentions while saying these things, it can still be hurtful.

A person can’t tell if someone is healthy just by looking at them. People could have just lost or gained 15 pounds and are working hard to like themselves. It’s not fair to judge someone when there can be actual health reasons that make it harder for someone to lose or gain weight.

Hyperthyroidism for example, can make it hard for someone to gain weight, as an excess production of hormone thyroxin can cause a person’s metabolism to speed up and burn more calories. Someone with hyperthyroidism may have a bigger appetite, but cannot gain weight due to health reasons. Conversely, hypothyroidism can cause the opposite effect.

It does not even have to be a specific health condition.

Regardless of the reasoning everyone should be able to like the way they look even if it does not meet society’s standards.

L O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

CampusQuotable

3Newswatch

F R I D A Y , O C T . 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

— compiled from press releases and staff reports

Breast Cancer Awareness MonthBreast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual health

campaign to increase the awareness of the disease. It was founded in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Astra-Zeneca to promote mammograms as the most effective method to fight against breast cancer.

The goal of the campaign is raise funds for research for the cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of the disease. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer for women behind lung cancer with about 1 in 8 women in the US having the disease.

About 40,000 women and 400 men are expected to die from breast cancer each year. There are a variety of events to raise awareness and fund for the disease like walks, runs and even the pink illumination of landmark buildings. For more information about early detection and other info, visit www.nationalbreastcancer.org.

CSU workshops set for fallTransfer Services are offering fall workshops for stu-

dents interested in transferring. The next workshop will learning to complete a CSU-

Mentor application to schools like CSU East Bay, San Francisco State, CSU Long Beach and more on Oct. 19 from noon to 2 p.m. and Nov. 3. from 1 to 3 p.m. in Student Services Building Room 412.

There will be a workshop focused on CSU East Bay Oct. 29 from 4 to 5 p.m. in Assessment Room SS3-314.

The workshops will be hosted by transfer counselor David Reyes along with CSU representatives.

There will be UC application workshops in November.

Daily cancellations onlineSave yourself from making an unnecessary trip to

campus for a class that has been canceled.Professors sometimes cancel classes unexpectedly and

often can’t tell their students in person. The LMC website offers a daily class cancellation

page for students to see if their class has been canceled. For the list of daily cancellations, visit www.losmedanos.edu/classcancel.

The LMC Experience Facebook page also posts class cancellations as well as other campus updates. Visit www.facebook.com/lmcexperience.

Free campus tours availableUnsure of where to transfer? Sign-up for the Transfer

Center’s upcoming university campus tours online:n UC Santa Cruz-STEM Day: Oct. 23. Registration is

now open. n St. Mary’s College: Dec. 4. Registration opens Nov. 4.The Transfer Center will provide transportation. For

additional information, registration, future tours and tour suggestions contact the Transfer Center at 473-7444 or check out its website losmedanos.edu/transfer/default.asp. The Transfer Center is currently located in Student Services, SS4-435.

Graduation application dates If you have applied for fall 2015 graduation, you will

receive notification of your status by Nov.15. If you complete your graduation requirements this

semester, you will receive your diploma or certificate by Feb. 15, 2016.

Students who plan to graduate in spring 2016 can apply for graduation once they have registered for spring classes.

The deadline to apply for spring 2016 graduation is March 1.

Please see your counselor to make sure you are on track.

Sharpen your business skillsLMC is offering a unique, focused Business Career

Academy during this semester. The “Fundamental Busi-ness Skills” academy will prepare students for entry-level positions by providing instruction in the Microsoft Office Suite and in business math and English skills — skills valued by employers.

LMC business certificates provide skills needed for immediate employment, while preparing students for advancement to positions that require more in-depth knowledge of organization and business principles.

For more information and an application, see the East Bay Career Academy on the LMC website, or contact Melina Rodriguez at mrodriguez@losmedanos.edu or call 473-7416.

Counselors ready to assistLooking to make an educational plan or review your

current one? Do you need career advice or a personal coun-selor? LMC offers general counseling at both campuses.

Drop-in hours are offered throughout the week and change on a weekly basis. Students must have a student ID number and a photo ID to meet with a counselor.

Appointments on the Pittsburg campus can be made at the Counseling Department in the Student Services Building, Level 4, calling in at 473-7449, or by visiting www.losmedanos.edu/counseling and clicking on the Make an Appointment link.

Appointments at the Brentwood Center can be made in person, or by calling 513-1625.

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”

— Helen Keller

The UCSC McHenry Library is one of the smallest general libraries in the UC system and the largest research library between Stanford and Santa Barbara.

Photo from www.boora.com

Experience • Alexandra Riva

Terry Thoresen, owner of cavapoo Bella, sits with MESA Director Nichole Trager. Thoresen is a member of Tony LaRussa’s ARF Pet Hug pack.

Doctor shares journey

By ALEXANDRA RIVAariva@experience.com

Flor Mounts, M.D. visited Los Medanos College’s MESA center Friday, where she spoke to students about her life and becoming a doctor.

“I’m a family physician up in Oregon, in Klamath Falls. I don’t know if any of you guys have heard of Klamath Falls. Anybody?” asked Mounts, to the audi-ence who fell silent. “Yeah, it is a pretty small town.”

Mounts was born in Nicaragua’s capitol, Managua. When Mounts was 6-years-old,

Speaker tells her story as a part of series

Experience • Chris Ruiz

Mounts speaks with Azuka Atum at the MESA Center.

Huggable dogs relieve stress

By ALEXANDRA RIVAariva@losmedanos.com

The Los Medanos College MESA Center welcomed two furry friends to serve as a distraction to students studying for midterms this past Monday. LMC had dogs from Tony La Russa’s ARF Pet Hug Pack come to the library before, but this is the first time the MESA center has held the event.

“It’s good for general areas. In here, there’s a lot lounge areas and in the library there is a lot of open space,” said Nicole Trager, the MESA program director.

The dogs that visited stu-dents were accompanied by

their owners Kathy Thill and Terry Thoresen. Thill brought a 7-year-old Belgian shepard named Bella and Thoresen was accompanied by a 7-year-old cavapoo, also named Bella. Both dogs have been with their owners since they were puppies and have a strong connection with them.

Special training and tests are required if an owner wants their dog to become a service animal. Being touched by unfamiliar people could potentially stress out the animals, but resisting the urge to bark, growl and bite at foreign hands is nec-essary if a dog is going to be around those who need their

Experience • Chris Ruiz

Flor Mounts, M.D. shares her work with students Oct. 9 as a part of the program’s speaker series.

her family came to the United States.“Part of the reason we came to the

United States was because of the political things that were happening in Nicaragua. There was a big civil war. The Sandinistas were trying to overthrow the government and they did — they ended up winning,” said Mounts.

The Sandinistas would recruit young

men like Mount’s father, to join their rebellion against the government.

“He was in college when they recruited him and he didn’t realize what he was getting into,” said Mounts.

However, Mount’s maternal uncle, did not want to be a part of the Sandinistas, so he moved to Los Angeles and his family eventually followed him.

“My grandmother — my mom’s mom — said ‘well, I’m going to follow my son’ so she came up as well. After all that happened, my mom said, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore, there’s a lot of turmoil’ and my dad didn’t want to be with the Sandinista movement, so he decided to leave as well,” said Mounts.

When Mounts and her family arrived in the U.S., they were under asylum. This means her family was able to stay in the country legally for a certain amount of time before they had to leave.

assistance. The dogs and their owners go to a lot of different facilities and help many people.

“We’re sent out to visit hospitals, libraries and schools

during midterm times. It serves as a distraction. We also go to a lot of nursing and assisted living facilities. Memory care

Companions welcomed as midterm distraction

See MESA, page 6

See DOGS, page 6

L O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

Features 4Quotable

F R I D A Y , O C T . 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

MarqueeMovies just released

n “Steve Jobs” Rated R Genre: Drama, Biography

n “Crimson Peak” Rated R Genre: Horror, Thriller, Supernatural

n “Goosebumps” Rated PG Genre: Suspense, Family

El Campanil eventsThe El Campanil Theatre is located

at 602 W Second St., Antioch. For ticket sales and additional information visit elcampaniltheatre.com or call 757-9500.

n Musician James Garner will be per-forming a tribute show for “The Man in Black” Johnny Cash Oct. 24 with 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. showings. Ticket prices are $27 for adults, $25 for seniors and free for youth 18 and under with a paid adult.

n The International Film Showcase will be screening a showing of social comedy 1960s French film “The Woman on the 6th floor,” Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $7 for seniors and students.

‘Olé’ at Little Theater The Los Medanos College Drama De-

partment is bringing the show “Olé for Hollywood” to the campus community. It will be performed at the Little Theater and will run Oct. 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. with an 11 a.m. showing Oct. 21. Tickets will be $7 for students and those with military ID, $10 for the general public and $5 for middle school and high school students with ID.

SRCT ‘Legend’ showThe Stage Right Conservatory The-

atre performs their shows at the Nick Rodriguez Community Center Theatre located in Antioch at 213 F St. For ticket sales and additional information call 216-4613.“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” will be performed Oct. 16 and 17 at 7 p.m and 18 for Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors and $5 for students. On Sunday matinees tickets are $5 for seniors only.

Shows at the theaterThe California Theatre is located

in Pittsburg at 351 Railroad Ave. For ticket sales and additional information call 427-1611.

n Award-winning comedian Marc Yaffee, known for his original topics and sarcasm, will be performing a comedy show Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. Ticket prices are $18 in advance and $21 at the door.

n The classic interactive performance of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” will be put on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 10 p.m. It is a comedic spoof of Hollywood horror mov-ies. There will be a pre-show beginning at 9:30 p.m. and live shadow casting by The Bawdy Caste. Ticket prices range from $12 to $15.

Halloween Fun RunThe first Halloween Fun Run/walk 5K

will be held at Railroad Ave. and 6th St. in Old Town Pittsburg Saturday, Oct. 31 from 8 a.m to noon. People are encour-aged to wear costumes to the event. No inappropriate costumes will be allowed as it is a family event. Medallions will be presented to the first three finishers by age group and gender. Tickets cost $30 for adults and $10 for children $12 and under. For additional information call 252-6970.

Halloween bashThere will be a Halloween bash and

Pumpkin Patch from noon to 5 p.m. held at Small World Park on Saturday, Oct. 31. The park is located at 2573 Harbour St. There will be live music, magic shows, pony rides and a costume parade begin-ning at 2 p.m. The first 800 children 10 and under in the park will recieve a free plastic jack o’ lantern pail. Ticket prices are $4 for adults, $2 for children 10 and under or free with canned goods. For more information call 252-4842.

— compiled from press releases and staff reports

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

— George Bernard Shaw

REVIEW

See GLOBE, page 6

See SIC, page 6

Librarian trots the globe

Travels take her to all 7 continents

New album shows a ‘colourful’ side

Blunt leaves her mark in ‘Sic’ flick

Experience • Alexandra Riva

Reference librarian Christine Kromer, a world traveler, working at the LMC library.

‘City’ calms listener

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

A screen grab from the movie “Sicario” featuring Emily Blunt as FBI agent Kate Macer.

Photo courtesy of srctgrp.org

Screenshot of the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

Photo courtesy of cityandcolour.com

Screenshot of City and Colour’s new album “If I Should Go Before You.”

By TYLER MORTIMOREtmortimore@lmcexperience.com

“This is going to be the most ridiculous interview,” said Los Medanos College reference librar-ian Christine Kromer, regarding her plans for visiting Tokyo next spring. Her agenda for her trip includes Animal cafes.

“There are a lot of animal cafes in Tokyo, like cat cafes and owl cafes, so you go and get a cup of coffee and you can pet a cat, or get a cup of coffee and …” She searches for a word to use to describe an interaction between a human and a bird of prey, “... pat an owl.”

Globetrotting is one of Kromer’s passions. The LMC librarian has been to all seven continents and a host of countries from Australia to Zanzibar. A winter excursion took her to Antarctica, where she saw penguins and leopard seals. She described the unoccupied research bases she saw, left as a sort of na-

tional “dibs” on land rights if the Madrid Protocol — which prohibits mining and other exploitation on the continent — ever lifts.

“It’s so pristine and beautiful,” she said, “if people come in and start mining, it’s going to be like the Arctic.”

A trip to the coolly named De-ception Island, led to a holiday experience most people might prefer to avoid.

“I did a polar plunge on Christ-mas Day. I wasn’t planning on it, but there was a bunch of college students on the trip and they were all doing it, and there was a 70-year-old guy doing it as well. I was like ‘If he can do it, and they can do it, I can do it too.’ So I did it.” Jumping in the Southern Ocean, its waters typically hovering around 28 de-grees Fahrenheit, was “very, very cold,” she reported emphatically.

Over the summer Kromer went to Scotland to visit friends, the

Jersey Shore to visit family and the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary in Southern Alaska to visit grizzly bears.

“Everyday we’d go out hiking and observe them. We were sitting on a bank in front of a waterfall and bears would walk by us, four feet in front of us, it was crazy! They’d just walk right by,” she said.

In addition to the program hav-ing a clean safety record, armed Alaska Fish & Game employees accompany visitors and the bears are used to visitors.

“I thought I was going to be scared, totally scared, but I felt safe the whole time,” she said

Kromer grew up in Woodstock, Conn., a small New England town of 7,900 people.

“It was a really small town. Until I was about 15, we had more cows than people,” she said. She explained that her wanderlust started early.

“I saved up my babysitting money to go to Spain when I was in high school. That was my first big international travel,” she says, speaking of an exchange program that sent her to Spain for three weeks and a Spanish student to her family’s home in Woodstock.

Wisconsin’s Beloit College and its tradition of sending students abroad attracted Kromer, where she decided to major in anthropology.

“I think it’s because I’m nosey,” she said, “I’m very curious about people.”

She spent her junior year study-ing in Glasgow, Scotland, where she returned this summer to visit old friends.

Kromer knew early on that she didn’t want to pursue a career in anthropology.

”My mom always told me “when you go to college, it doesn’t really matter what you major in, just make

By JOSEPH DELANOjdelano@lmcexperience.com

With another dramatic role under her belt, Em-ily Blunt has cemented her status as one of the best actress-es of the past few decades. “Sicario,” directed by Denis Villenueve (“Prisoners”), revolves around the life of FBI agent Kate Macer (Blunt) and her involve-ment in breaking up a drug cartel in Mexico. Macy joins a small, focused in-ter-agency team with CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and “consultant” Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro).

Initially, I was a touch under whelmed by the film. I knew I liked it better than Matt Damon’s “The Martian,” but was not completely won over.

After thinking about how great the movie was

directed, along with the expert acting, I think this is one of the best films of the year, and definitely the best work that Blunt has ever done.

Del Toro and Brolin were great as well, but with the two of them, it seems as though they are the same characters in real life. del Toro is soft spoken,

By BEATRIZ HERNANDEZbhernandez@lmcexperience.com

Alternative rock artist City and Colour recently released his fifth studio album, “If I Should Go Before You,” last Friday, Oct. 9.

City and Colour is the recording alias of the Ca-nadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green. It comes from his name, which is a city and a color. Before releasing his first solo album in 2005, Green provided guitar, piano and clean vocals to post-hardcore band Alexisonfire.

Released two years after his last album, “The Hurry and the Harm,” “If I Should Go Before You” has done fairly well since its release date, reaching the Top 40 of the iTunes albums chart.

The overall feel of the album has a more positive and hopeful sound that is different than the emotional and acoustic sound that he usually has on his albums.

One of the biggest critiques I have about most Indie-type artists is that unless you are a fan of the band or you listen to their songs multiple times, it’s hard to differentiate one song on the album from another. However, with this album, the songs are catchy and musically interesting enough on their own that it doesn’t seem to have that problem.

Fans of City and Colour’s previous albums may be disappointed at this more amped up and upbeat sound, but I feel this new change of direction is exactly what this vocalist has been looking for.

If all of his albums had the same acoustic sound, then it would get eventually get bor-ing. He is experimental and always trying something new.

Listening to the album all the way through, it can be hard to get past the nine-minute opening track, “Women.” Although stylistically pleasing, from my experience no matter how

good a song is, a long song can be hard to get through.

The standouts of the album and my favorites are the songs “Friends” and “Blood.” The songs have lyrical substance that is relatable and that have a calming effect.

Overall, the album is different, but a good different.

REVIEW

TriviaL O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

Sports F R I D A Y , O C T . 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 5Sixty or more points scored by a player in an NBA game has been done 64 times, who has the most?

Bay Area football struggling

Experience • Xavier Valle

Marin’s Maddie Bailey takes a penalty kick over LMC’s Haley Weder, Samantha Donovan, Maggie O’Shea-Friedman and Paola Perez. The Mustangs were unable to create many offensive chances, losing to the Mariners 1-0.

See BALL, page 6

Stangs stifled by late goal

LMC shutout for fourth time this year

Jared Ambuehl REAL TIME WITH JARED

A: Wilt Chamberlain (32)

Baseball in midst of fall games

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

LMC’s Maggie O’Shea-Friedman attempts to gain control of the ball from Marin’s Jocelyn Lopez.

By XAVIER VALLE and CASSIE DICKMANcdickman@lmcexperience.com

The Los Medanos College women’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss after Marin College’s Jenny Huezo scored a last-minute goal at the intense Oct. 13 game.

After returning home from a 2-2 tie with Napa College the week before, Mustangs’ head coach Mark Bryant knew what his players would need to do to win against the Mariners and said he was expecting the most from them.

“The key for this game is to at least put on the pressure on their defense to attack and take advantage for a shot,” explained Bryant before the first whistle blew Tuesday night.

But the first half of the game proved to be unfruitful for LMC despite controlling the ball almost the entire time. Most of the half was a lot of back and forth, with the mustangs taking the ball up the field only to be shut down repeatedly by the Mariners’ strong defense.

After half time, the Mariners came out aggressively with the their center and defensive players fouling and tackling the Mustangs to keep them from scoring

– and it worked.This type of play culminated with LMC

forward Autumn Kish’s yellow card. Fol-lowing repeated attempts by the Mustangs to shoot, Kish finally made it past most of the Mariner defense and made a play for the goal. All that stood in her way was the last defender, who came in to block her, but Kish used her body to shield the ball and the defender fell hard to the ground – resulting in a yellow card for Kish.

“That was real strate-gy and aggressiveness that Autumn pulled out there,” said Coach Bryant in the middle of the booking. “The referee’s decision to pull a card was unacceptable compare to what Marin’s defense had been doing.”

As the second was wrapping up, it looked as if the game was going to be a shut out for both sides, but at minute 80,

Marin College received an opportunity in the form of a corner kick and took full advantage of it.

Mariners’ midfielder Grace Gurang took the kick, giving herself the assist to

fellow midfielder Jenny Huezo, who headed the ball into the net for her first goal of the season. Unable to come back from the blow, LMC left the scoreboard at 1-0 when the final whistle blew.

Following the game, Bryant said they need to work on developing routine plays and mak-ing small passes which could be the key to scoring goals.

“It’s soccer and we need to improve more … and take risks that

can lead us,” said Bryant. The Mustangs will face off against the

second-place Yuba College this Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and Contra Costa College Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. — both away.

The San Francisco 49ers have now dropped their last four games after winning the regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Every journalist and every Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area person who appears on television, seems to think quarterback Colin Kaepernick looked a lot better in the Sunday night loss to the New York Giants. I’m here to tell you, if you are a Niners fan, this game may be as good as it gets for the team all season.

Although the Niners did lose in heartbreaking fashion, thanks to an Eli Manning last minute touchdown pass to tight end Larry Donnell, it must have felt pretty good for Kaepernick to actually create some offense. The third-year quarterback completed 23 out of his 35 throws in the loss, passing for 262 and recording 2 touchdowns and no interceptions in the process.

“[I was] able to let balls go and trust our receivers, and our receivers made big plays,” Kaepernick said in an article posted by the Bay Area’s very own Paul Gutierrez on Espn.com. “It was a confidence-building thing for both sides. ... It was something that we can build on moving forward and improve on.”

The problem the Niners face is Colin Kaeper-

Soccer Sched. *denotes conference game

Opponent Date Time

@ Yuba* 10/16 4 p.m.

@ Contra Costa* 10/20 4 p.m.

@ Merritt* 10/22 4 p.m.

Folsom Lake* 10/27 6 p.m.

Solano* 11/3 3 p.m.

@ Mendocino* 11/6 3 p.m.

Napa* 11/10 3 p.m.

@ Marin* 11/13 3 p.m.

The Mustangs baseball team has three contests remaining

of their seven-game fall schedule which acts as

preparation for the upcoming 2016 campaign. The last remaining home game is Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 1:30

p.m. against Contra Costa College. Top, first baseman Troy Livingston catches the ball for a successful putout

in their Oct. 2 game against Diablo Valley College. Right,

infielder Mike Wagaman slides in for the score.

Photos by Cathie Lawrence

L O S M E D A N O S C O L L E G E E X P E R I E N C E

6WebFollow the LMC Experience online at lmcexperience.comBack Talk

TEAMFrom page 1

WALKFrom page 1

LGFrom page 1

F R I D A Y , O C T . 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

From left to right, LG President KyuMoon Yu cuts the ceremonial ribbon as LMC President Bob Kratochvil, LG Director Michael Kozwolski, LMC Dean Natalie Hannum and LG Manager Jae Park observe.

GLOBEFrom page 4

ALUMS OF THE WEEK

Experience • Chris Chard

Terrance Polk, LMC wide receiver in 2011-12

n Terrance Polk (NCAA football): had three receiptions for 24 yards and a touchdown in Ottawa’s blowout victory, 58-0, over McPherson, n Shawn Vasquez (NCAA football): rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown off 14 carries. His team, Texas A&M-Kingsville, lost to Tarlenton State in comeback fashion, 38-34.n Taylor Scriven (NCAA volleyball): collected six kills in Alcorn States’ 3-1 loss to Southern U. (22-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-22). n Sterling Moore (NFL): contributed solo tackle in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 38-31 win to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

their possible futures in the industr y, Kozwolski also talked about the future of the industry and how LG products are changing for that future.

“Connectivity,” he said, meaning that the ability for dif ferent technologies to merge together, such as pairing a smart watch and cellular phone, is what the consumers are looking for in their products, products that are, he said, “convenient with their lifestyle.”

And it’s those consumers who play an important role in the futures of not only the company itself, but the potential future technicians now enrolled in the college program.

“It’s about taking care of the customer,” said Kozwolski, adding that the technicians aren’t there to fix the ap-pliance, but instead to “fix the customer,” and how “at the end of the day, you’re the one who represents the company.”

Following the visit to the students of the program, Park explained what the company was looking forward to when

initially pursuing the joint venture.

“We really wanted to have a strong partnership,” said Park. “Even though a student may not apply for us, we know they will get back to certain jobs, and at some point they will repair our product. So that’s really what we see as a win-win situation.

“I’d like to spend more time with candidates, future employees,” he added. “Defi-nitely we’d like to come back here. That’s how we foresee the future.”

And it’s that future that is among many of the reasons why the crowd gathered outside last Thursday to bear witness to the ribbon cutting signifying the newest venture.

With this par tnership, among many others on an ever-growing list, the futures of many LMC students will now again be pushed further into the success of achieving both the most update to date learning experiences as well as the having a first hand oppor-tunity to catch a glimpse into their potential career paths.

who attended also participated in the walk itself.

“The out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk was a great and special experience,” said AGS Treasurer Clare Dinh. “I helped set up, cheer people on, handed people water and cleaned up at the end.”

Along with being a California community college honors so-ciety, AGS values giving back and members can earn points for performing community service and participation in this event could count toward each student’s 100-point se-mester goal.

But that wasn’t the only reason AGS members decided to help out with and take part in the awareness walk.

“I went ‘cause it is something I hold dear and I wanted to help out with the cause,” explained Dinh, who lost someone close to her from suicide.

And although not all mem-bers of AGS had such a per-sonal connection with the issue, like AGS Vice President Ines Torres, they desired to be there for the people who did.

While winning awards at tournaments will no doubt leave a good impression on the debate judges, award-winning debater, Richard Stanfield, explained another way the LMC debate team is leaving judges with smiles on their faces.

“I think it’s really important that we represented LMC really well. We are a junior college among these big prestigious four-year universities and we equated ourselves very well. The judges in fact singled out our college as the most congenial polite professional as far as our appearance and demeanor, and that we were the nicest college that we have ever dealt with,” said Stanfield. “I thought that that showed how we want to represent our college.”

MESAFrom page 3

SICFrom page 4

“Asylum only lasted for so long and eventually they said, ‘you have to go back’ but my parents said ‘no, we’re going to stay,’” said Mounts.

Mount’s parents applied for residency and eventually citizenship, but did not end up becoming citizens until Mounts was in high school.

“I want to talk about my education, because a lot of it was influenced by that. I went to public schools the whole time,” said Mounts. Mount’s family was poor and lived in South Central Los Angeles. “Eventually we moved up to East LA. One of the things my parents did that really helped me become successful, I feel like, was getting me into different programs.”

As a child Mount’s was in an English Second Language pro-gram. Mount’s mother found a way to send her daughter to Brentwood Elementary School.

“I don’t know how my mom did this and how she found out about it, but she sent me off to Brentwood Elementary School in the valley, to a magnet program.”

Mounts credits the mag-net program for helping her get ahead and getting out of the ‘ghetto’. Every morning, Mounts was bused out of South Central and East Los Angeles to Brentwood.

“It gave students like me access to good teachers. Not that there aren’t good teachers everywhere, but a lot of places in low income areas are over-whelmed and teachers aren’t really able to do what they are meant to do,” said Mounts.

When Mounts graduated from Roosevelt High School, she had a 3.7 GPA. Being involved in many dif ferent programs growing up gave Mounts the edge she needed to get ahead and go to college, where she would major in Biology.

“I ended up going to Point Loma Nazarene University,” said Mounts, about her life after high school. “Part of the reason why I went here was because my family grew up in Nazarene, we’re Nazarene Christian and I got a scholarship for that. I also got a scholarship for my academics and ended up with about a 75 percent ride.”

During her college years, Mounts had a boy friend and didn’t always make it to class. When she graduated she had a 3.06 GPA. Eventually she broke up with her boyfriend and took a year off.

“Life happens when you are trying to get into a job,” said Mounts, when recalling her college experiences.

A year later Mounts decided to apply to medical school. The

application process begins with the Medical College Ad-missions Test. The MCAT is a seven and a half hour test and cost Mounts, $305 dollars. After the MCAT, applicants must then complete the American Medical College Application Service.

Mounts $789 dollars in AMCAS fees when applying to 18 different medical schools. Schools will ask students for secondary applications, which cost between 50 and 150 dollars.

“I sent those out and I got one request for an interview. One. One request out of 18 schools and all that money. UCSD! I was like, I’ll take it,” said Mounts, who was living in San Diego at the time.

Mounts was given condition-al acceptance to UCSD due to her 3.06 GPA.

“The first two years of medical school were lectures. Learning a lot of basic science stuff along with physiology. Then the next two years you do your clinical work. That’s when they release you into the hospitals and you learn how to become a doctor,” said Mounts.

During this time, students in medical school will begin the US Medical Licensing Examination.

“This is what everyone has to take in order to get licensed as a doctor,” said Mounts.

The USMLE is a two-part process, including an all day simulation where students interact with actors who play patients.

“They really just want to know that you’re not weird. A lot of international students have problems with this be-cause of language issues. They don’t want you to be like, ‘You’ve got cancer now, bye’ so they videotape you and go through everything,” said Mounts.

After passing medical school Mounts had to decide what type of residency she wanted to go into. Family medicine was the best fit for her be-cause she wanted to become a doctor that could do every-thing.

“There is a lot of need for family doctors,” said Mounts.

The only residency not in California that Mounts ap-plied to was in Klamath Falls, Oregon. In rural areas, like Klamath Falls, there is an even greater need for family doctors. Family medicine residency consists of an intern year and three years of training, which prepares residents to become a doctor.

Mounts, whom just finished her residency, will be taking her Medical Board Exam in November of this year.

is a big one too,” said Thill, with Bella sitting calmly at her side.

Most students were thrilled to see the dogs in the MESA center and dropped whatever they were doing to spend time with them. One student, Andrew Donato, was partial to the cavapoo, but showed both dogs love.

“I have midterms coming up soon. I like this because it’s a good stress reliever at school,” said Donato.

Although mostly MESA students were at the event, all students were welcome to attend. In addition to Trager, other staff members dropped in to be a part of all the excite-

ment. Christine Kromer, LMC’s Technical Services Librarian, walked around the MESA center handing out buttons that read, ‘I love therapy dogs at the LMC library’ to all in attendance.

“I think it’s fun. It’s one of my favorite events. Students love it. Faculty and staff love it. It’s good for stress relief and it makes everyone happy,” said Kromer about the therapy dog visits.

LMC will host another ‘Hug-a-Dog’ event in December this semester and, since it will be in the library, there will be around five or six dogs for the students to bond with.

DOGSFrom page 3

secretive and thick-skinned. This portrayal was great in the movie, but really he plays this same character in almost every part he’s in.

It’s the same for Brolin. His jovial but serious atti-tude is resonant of previous work.

Blunt stole the show with her emotional bravado. In the male-dominated world of federal enforcements agencies, she holds her own without compromising her ability to empathize with anybody for any reason.

Hopefully, this role shows that she is serious about becoming a staple on the dra-matic stage. She was great in comedic roles like “The Devil Wears Prada,” and stellar in action flick “The Edge of Tomorrow.”

Blunt was snubbed last year at the Academy Awards for her role in “Into the Woods,” but with this part, she surely deserves a nomination.

Overall, “Sicario” was a great, cerebral work that fur ther h igh l ights the drug wars across our bor-ders. It’s a must-see for peo-ple who love real life issues brought to screen, and a definitely gem to add to the resumés of all those involved.

sure you like it: You’re going there to learn how to think.”

She got her start in the library industry at the Beloit librar y as her work-study job. After graduating from Beloit, she worked in a museum in Massachusetts, but soon encountered a problem: “I realized the pay was really low.”

She took another library job at the Boston Architec-tural Center Library and then dabbled in graphic design at an architectural firm before moving to California and enrolling at San Jose State University.

“I realized I wanted to be back in academia, and all my friends that were librarians, loved being librarians,” she said. “They loved their jobs. I thought I would probably love being a librarian. So I decided to go to school [for her Masters in Library and Information Science], and I’m so glad I did, because I love my job.”

She was hired by Touro University in Vallejo after graduating from SJSU, and worked there for three and a half years before coming to LMC in 2011.

Her experience with li-brarians was positive from the beginning, and she remembers a favorite librarian, Mrs. Cady, from her early years.

“Library day was always my very favorite day of the week. She was just so nurturing. When we were little, we had story time and when we were older she would help us find biographies and stuff for book reports,” she said. “She was just really caring and really nice, I just felt at home in the library.”

Kromer also pointed to her mom— who went back to col-lege and became a CPA when Kromer was growing up-— as an empowering figure.

“She was a good role model for me to see that you can go back to school, you can get a job, and you can grow in that job.”

Kromer is ebullient about her job at LMC.

“I love connecting people to the information they’re looking for — that is one of my favorite things,” she said. “Being at the reference desk and helping people find what they’re looking for papers, finding the right article or right book, is probably the most satisfying thing.”

When she’s not helping stu-dents find a keystone resource for a paper or visiting other hemispheres in her time off, Kromer can be found running all over the Bay Area. The veteran jogger has run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon three times, along with the Bay to Breakers and the Berkeley Half Marathon.

“I do enjoy running my road races in San Francisco because it’s so pretty,” she said.

She also enjoys going to concerts and other live per-formances, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer in Scotland, which ran for 25 days and featured thousands of performers in venues ranging from bars to churches.

“When a band I really like is playing I try to go,” she said. She had recently seen Belle & Sebastian and They Might Be Giants. “I just saw the Replacements,” she added, “They piled into a tent before the encore.”

What’s next for this way-farer? She’s planning a trip to Australia to visit friends she met in Antarctica. Of particular interest is Rottnest Island, home of the quokka, which Huffington Post named the happiest creature on the planet.

“The quokkas are little marsupials,” she says before pausing. “Quokkas? Qwak-kahs? I’ll need to learn how to pronounce it correctly before I get there.”

nick, who isn’t going to look much better than he did Sun-day night, and they still lost the game. Naturally, analysts and fans of the Niners would assume they didn’t give the ball up enough to their young buck, running back Carlos Hyde. The fact of the matter is Hyde got the ball 21 times, rushing for 93 yards to the tune of 4.4 yards a carry.

Being a power runner is what Hyde brings to the table in the backfield, but it wasn’t enough against the younger Manning and the New York Giants. Now the Niners have a problem: if they cannot win when Kaepernick and Hyde have good games, then how are they going to win any games? The team will have to re-group for this Sunday, as they play Baltimore Ravens, who have also slid to a 1-4 record, in a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII.

This should be a winnable game for San Francisco, they are at home, and the Ravens have not looked good all year either. If the 49ers find a way to lose this game, I would say they would be right on pace to go 1-15 this year. If that happens, hopefully they could snag the local wonder boy quarterback from Cal, Jared Goff, with the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

On the other side of the bay, the Oakland Raiders are also coming off of a tough loss to their division foe, the Denver Broncos. In the 16-10 loss, Charles Woodson found a way to intercept Peyton Manning for the first time in his career, and then he did it again. Despite Woodson’s efforts, the team’s offense could not seem to get anything going, as quarterback Derek Carr through a crucial pick-six to Chris Harris Jr. to put the nail in the coffin.

“The most important individ-ual development of the season has been Carr’s improvement. He is the long-term key to the franchise,” said ESPN Staff Writer Bill Williamson. “Carr has struggled at times, but for the most part, he is productive. What encourages me most about him is his improvement in accuracy, against the blitz and on down-field passes.”

Although the Raiders have Woodson, Khalil Mack and Aldon Smith anchoring their defense, the unit’s overall play has been shady. They are doing just enough to give their offense a shot to win the game, but Derek Carr’s only 24-years-old, he is not going to be able to put the team on his back every game.

The Raiders will continue to compete this season, and they have a much-needed bye-week right now. If they continue their solid offensive trend — for the most part — and clean up the defense, look for the Raiders to be in the AFC Wild Card race at the end of the year.

BALLFrom page 5

Torres, who participated in the actual walk, said he “wanted to suppor t those who have overcome a tre-mendous obstacle in their life and spread awareness about prevention and [the] signs of suicide.”

According to SF chapter’s Board of Director Chair Gordon Doughty and his wife Board Member Janis Doughty, the foundation puts on three different types of Out of the Darkness walks to support their efforts — community walks, campus walks and overnight walks — in which all donations go toward programs such as the Youth and Teen Suicide Prevention, Yellow Ribbon Foundation, Wounded War-riors, designed to help veterans, and those with mental illness within the community. And this is an issue they hold close to their own hearts.

“We’ve lost our young 16-year-old,” said Janis Dough-ty, adding that it was a sunny October day when her child, who had suffered from clinical depression since age 10, died.

“It takes such a long time to cope and to confront, but you realize doing these events for the community, takes so much to give in and to have other people understand our story,” she said.

As reported by the website of Clinical Psychologist and Mental Health Advocate David Susman, it is estimated that as many as 41,000 Americans took their own lives in 2013 – that’s about 113 per day – and that “about 90 percent of people in a suicidal crisis will give some kind of warning to those around them.”

The foundation will also be sponsoring other upcoming local events including an overnight walk in Oakland Oct. 17 from 6:30 to 9:00 a.m. the following day and another over night walk in San Francisco May 21-22. Fore more informa-tion on these upcoming events or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention go to afsp.org.

— Jamari Snipes contributed to this report.