311 - jacc gen ex 10_23_12
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Two of three issuesTRANSCRIPT
Volume 96 Issue 4 October 23, 2012Serving the Sacramento City College Community Since 1922
Governor pitches
Prop. 30 pg. 3
Deferred dreams pg 5
Easy rider pg 9
2 10.23.12 • OPINION • SAC CITY EXPRESS
Editorial: Four more years• Jason Van Sandt Editor In Chief •
Former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “The vote is the most powerful instrument
ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”
This November when we find ourselves in our local voting booth we won’t simply be deciding who our next president will be, we will also be choosing, as a nation, our moral compass, a vision of where we as a country are headed and a leader willing to usher in a new era.
When choosing whom to vote for on Nov. 6, the Express editorial board has come up with three criteria every leader should possess to successfully guide America forward.
Every leader should have a clear and practical vision of the future, a strict moral and ethical code by which he or she lives by, and most impor-
tantly compassion for the people he or she represents.
So far in this presidential cam-paign Gov. Mitt Romney has failed on all three accounts.
According to Romney’s campaign website his vision of the future places industry profits above the needs of the American citizenry. His policies would shift funding for public education to private for-profit schools. His policies would turn Medicare into a voucher program, which will no longer cover the full cost healthcare for seniors and the disabled. How can privatizing public education and Medicare save costs and strengthen these desperately needed programs when companies always put profit first?
In a recent op-ed piece Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krug-man wrote, “Mr. Romney’s campaign is telling lies: claiming that its numbers add up when they don’t, claiming that independent studies support its position when those studies do no such thing.”
If Romney is willing to distort the truth and outright lie to the American people than his campaign is lacking
integrity and you cant have ethics or a moral code without
integrity. There was a time when a man was admired when he
stood up for his beliefs with cour-age, but now beliefs are subject to
change if those beliefs turn voters off from his party’s platform. Plato once said, “False words are not only evil in themselves, but
they infect the soul with evil.”Finally we come to compassion,
or the ability to understand and relate to another human being’s suffering. Mr. Romney holds a disdainful view of those less fortunate than himself, referring to individuals not paying income taxes as “dependent” on gov-ernment to survive and believes these people feel entitled to food, housing and healthcare.
“[M]y job is not to worry about those people,” said Romney. “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
These are the same people that struggle to put food on their table, or forgo medical attention because they can’t afford it. These are people that look to the government for help through a difficult time, but in pri-vately held fundraisers Romney is quick to demonize them as a scourge on America not worthy of his compassion.
This country needs a president that is concerned about all Americans. A president whose vision for America doesn’t focus solely on private indus-try profits. A president who places value on honesty and that person is President Barack Obama.
Here at the Express, the editorial board is proud to endorse President Barack Obama for reelection because he has a clear vision for America. A vision based on equality and fairness. Obama has shown immense integrity by standing up for what he believes in regardless of political popularity. Obama has consistently exuded com-passion for all Americans including those who need the government to survive.
Views published in the Express do not reflect those of the Los Rios Community College District Board of Trustees, the Associate Student Government, City College Journalism department, administration, student body or faculty, unless otherwise stated.
Let the Express know what you think. Letters should be 300 words or less. Please include contact information. No anonymous letters will be printed. The Express reserves the right to edit or reject any article, advertisement or illustration deemed inappropriate, including letters to the editor.
MembershipsJournalism Association of Community CollegesCalifornia Newspaper Publishers Association
ContactSacramento City College3835 Freeport Blvd.Sacramento, CA 95822-1386Phone: 916.558.2561 / 2562Fax: 916.558.2282email: [email protected]
Editor in ChiefJason Van Sandt Online Managing Editor Daniel Wilson
News EditorAngelo Mabalot
Sports EditorSteven Senn
Arts&Entertainment EditorWendy Aguilar
Photo EditorsTony Wallin- PrintEvan E. Duran- Online
Multimedia EditorL.T. Clayton
Web ManagerKate Paloy
Social Media OnlineJoseph Hall
Design EditorMatt Matteucci
Assistant Design EditorVivian Liu
Ad ManagerDustin Druecker
PhotographersRichard Hannah Callib Heard Kelvin Sanders
WritersCherene BriggsAaron JacksonTrevon JohnsonMichael JonesJessica RineYvonne SantyAlex SchildgenJose D. VillanuevaDiane WadeLatrice WattsNaomi Williams
Page DesignersDavid AngsteadLamere CarterCerberna CrenshawDa'Meah JohnsonBrent KennedyAngelo MabalotElaine RomeroNicki Winstead
AdvisorsRandy AllenDianne HeimerRachel LeibrockKate Murphy
Cover Design: Vivian Liu
Cover Photo: Kate Paloy
Photo Illustration: by Matt Matteucci
"Obama because I feel like he really has been trying. He said in his
inaugural speech that it would probably
take more than two terms to fix things."
I would vote for Mitt Romney, I think he would do what's right and not as much wager on people getting cuts from working."
"Undecided, because I'm not sure how I feel about all of Obama's policies, and if his reforms
would be better than Romney's ideas."
"I will be voting for Obama because if the other party wins there is no hope for the 1 percent, everything he tried to do during his term was blocked by the Republicans in Congress."
Who will you be voting for and why?
• J.D. Villanueva Photographer • [email protected]
• Trevon Johnson Photographer • [email protected]
Jacob HoopesUndeclared
Christina Ladd, Undeclared
CITYTALK
Natasha Sanders,
Law
Nick Lombardo,
Undeclared
SAC CITY EXPRESS • NEWS • 10.23.12 3
• Claire Sullivan Staff Writer • [email protected]
“You’re in a school. You’re here to learn not just facts, but you’re learning here how to think, and
you can open up your minds.” These were the words of Gov. Jerry
Brown in talking to City College students at a rally for Proposition 30 in the campus’ Art Court Theatre Oct. 18.
“When you come to a school, you learn about history,” Brown said. “You learn about the world, you learn about other people. And that’s really what building a society in a civilization is all about.”
Proposition 30, one of the state propo-sitions on the Nov. 6 ballot, is designed to raise sales tax one-quarter cent for four years to fund education and public safety. Additionally, taxes will be increased by a small percentage on individuals who make $250,000 per year—or couples who make $500,000 per year or more.
Brown spoke to about 500 students, faculty and staff on the importance of stop-ping statewide budget cuts on education. He was joined by City College Student Senate President Taylor Valmores and other state politicians: Darrell Steinberg, California Senate president Pro Tem; Brice Harris, incoming chancellor of California Com-munity Colleges and former chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District; California Assemblyman Roger Dickinson; and Jeff Freitas, secretary-treasurer of the California Federation of Teachers.
“The state has been cutting commu-nity college courses,” said Brown. “The idea of Proposition 30 is to put some more money into the state coffers so we can pay for schools, and colleges and University of California. This is a crucial opportunity.”
“The cuts overall are about $5.5 billion to education, that's [kindergarten] through UC and CSU; now, UC and CSU have specific cuts of $250 million each, and then the balance of that, essentially $5 billion is going to come out of kindergarten through community colleges,” said Dickinson. “We know the effects of that are going to be dra-matic so what we’re trying to do is stabilize the circumstances so that we at least can start to build back, not go deeper into the hole. That’s what Prop. 30 is all about.”
Education leaders on campus have been using the past few weeks to help educate students on Proposition 30 and the effects it will have on class cuts if the proposition loses. An Oct. 22 forum on the topic was held and voting registration booths have been made available on campus.
“We’ve been through a series of cuts over the last few years,” said Jared Ander-son, City College communication professor. “We’ve been cutting our budget, cutting
programs. One of the hardest hit areas has been higher education, in particular, com-munity colleges.”
Anderson said that failure of Proposi-tion 30 will lead to another $6 billion cut
from the already budget-stricken commu-nity college system.
“If [Proposition] 30 does not pass, it is going to become exceedingly difficult for students to go to college in our state schools,” said Anderson. “Particularly in community colleges you’ll be looking at massive cuts to your classes, further than we’ve already cut. There will be a 6 percent salary cut for all of your teachers.”
Raising taxes to raise revenue for the greater good is something voters realize is necessary, said Paul Frank, political science professor.
“I think that Californians in general understand that you need to pay taxes in order to get the things that are valuable to our state like roads and schools and public safety,” said Frank. “Given the economic crisis that we’ve had, we’re not getting those things.”
Early in October, the organizer who brought Brown to campus and executive director of the Los Rios College Federation of Teachers, Robert Perrone, posted a You-Tube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVccymL42lA&feature=youtu.be) to explain to the public the specific effects of Proposition 30 on the Los Rios community colleges.
Perrone stated in the video that if Prop-osition 30 passes, the district will receive money that will in part restore 470 classes
that were cut in past few years, affecting more than 14,000 students. He also said the district would be able to employ 50 more part-time faculty.
He stated that if the proposition is not approved, the district will be forced to cut 595 more classes and part-time professor assignments of 315. Additionally, faculty salaries will be reduced 6 percent and health care premiums will increase.
“Vote wisely,” Perrone said at the close of the video.
Frank said he believes the passage of Proposition 30 is an investment in students’ futures.
“Right now there aren’t a whole lot of jobs out there, but when there are, we won’t have students who are prepared for that-- other states will, other countries will,” Frank stated. “So I think, personally, that this is an investment. Prop. 30 would stand to spread the pain in terms of an income tax for high-wage earners.”
“School is the pillar,” Brown told students at the rally. “Community college is the base. And Proposition 30 is the way forward by which we pay the bills that will provide our future. And you are the future. And together we will win.”
Additional reporting by Wendy Aguilar and Daniel Wilson.
Fate of community collegesProposition 30, putting education funds first
“ The idea of Propo-sition 30 is to put some more money into the state cof-fers so we can pay for schools, and col-leges and University of California.”
–Gov. Jerry Brown
Gov. Jerry Brown held up his "Yes on 30" banner and excited City College students and supporters followed.
Kate Paloy | [email protected]
4 10.23.12 • NEWS • SAC CITY EXPRESS
It is nearing the three-month mark since U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting applications
under Deferred Action for Childhood Arriv-als (DACA) on Aug. 15. Yet a lower than expected number of applications have been received thus far, due in part to confusion about who qualifies, and concern about the temporary nature of benefits it confers.
On Oct. 10 the Department of Home-land Security reported 179,794 applica-tions been accepted for processing out of the approximate eligible population of 1.5 million. So far only 4,591 applications have been approved.
According to USCIS guidelines, ap-plicants must have been under 31 years of age as of June 15, 2012; have continuously lived in the US for the previous five years; arrived in the country before their 15th birthday; and either their immigration status has expired or they have no immigration status as of the June 15, 2012.
Additionally they must prove they were physically in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, and have no felony or other major criminal record. And they must be in school, have graduated or achieved a GED, or be a US military veteran.
The qualifications are not easy to understand for many, so immigrant rights advocates have been working, along with groups like the Mexican Consulate in Sac-ramento, to reach out to different impacted communities with workshops and applica-tion help, according to City College English professor Travis Silcox, who helped sponsor the Sept. 18 DACA workshop in the Cul-tural Awareness Center.
“It seems hard to turn your back on students, on people in the military, who are trying to make something really positive of themselves,” Silcox says, referring to what she hopes is a changing immigration climate. The benefits for those whose applica-tions are accepted include a two-year pledge not to be deported and authorization to work legally in the U.S. In California, the recent passage of AB 2189 gives those covered under DACA the right to apply for driver’s licenses.
Community members have been working to help immigrants understand the implication of the DACA policy, using City College as medium to spread their message.
At the Sept. 18 DACA workshop, Sergio Garcia spoke to approximately 30 students in the Cultural Awareness Cen-ter about the new law and the application process. Garcia, an undocumented law school graduate who passed the California bar exam only to have his license denied because of his immigration status, has been speaking at workshops across the country. A Supreme Court case to decide his bar status is scheduled for the current docket.
Garcia told students not to fear going to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regional center for fingerprinting.
“Please don’t be afraid to go to the im-migration office, you will not be deported,” Garcia dead-panned. “I walk in and out of there many times. I have asked them to please deport me.”
“'No, Mr. Garcia, that’s not how the process works sir. You’re not a criminal,'” Garcia recounted the INS staff's response.
His humor and example were directed toward comforting students with concerns about turning in documents to officers feared for their deportation powers. But he also paraphrased the INS officers to make a point about changing status.
When the Obama administration an-nounced DACA on June 15 this year, it was in lieu of more permanent federal legisla-tion. That is because a more permanent leg-islative policy—the DREAM Act—stalled in Congress earlier this year, according to Wendy Feliz Sefsaf, director of communica-tions at the American Immigration Council.
“The reason why Obama… pursued this initiative was because the DREAM Act had become intractable and they weren’t able to get it through Congress,” Sefsaf explained. “So what he did was direct the Department of Homeland Security."
Sefsaf said Homeland Security was given more discretion in who to prosecute and then advised to establish an affirmative office for immigrant children to apply for deferred action. Sefsaf says this “stop-gap” measure rests on a new, “affirmative” interpretation of deferred action.
“Usually deferred action is used for someone who is already in proceedings. They’ve been picked up,” Sefsaf says of the difference in the application of deferred ac-tion before and after DACA. “But here was this sort of affirmative way where you could come forward and ask for it. And that’s what we’re in the middle of. I think that was
Obama’s band-aid. This is how we can at least do something for these kids.”
“I’ve recently heard that [USCIS is] not receiving as many applications as they expected," said one undocumented student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “So that makes me infer that a lot of people are worried or scared to apply. I’m pretty sure that many people will think that immi-gration will get their information and know where they live.”
Much of that fear is founded in the chief difference between the DREAM ACT and DACA, and the distance between a permanent and temporary solution.
“People are trying to wiggle around in very little space because the federal govern-ment has just failed to act, or Congress has failed to act,” Sefsaf said of the lack of long-term policy answers. “We’re at this weird impasse and people are trying to find a way forward.”
Deferred Action
"We're at this weird impasse and people are trying to find a way forward."
– Wendy Feliz Sefsaf,Director of communications at the
American Immigration Council
• Matt M. Joye Guest Writer • [email protected]
Without DREAM, immigration status moves forward
Evan E. Duran | [email protected]
Deferred City College student, also referred to as "dreamer", walks in front of the City College sign located on the southwest corner of Freeport and Sutterville.
SAC CITY EXPRESS • NEWS • 10.23.12 5
• Matt M. Joye Guest Writer • [email protected]
“I do not expect to be perfect, but I do expect to be of the best…[be] one of the best students, [be] one of the
best citizen-models,” says an undocumented City College student, whose name was not used in this article to protect him from pos-sible deportation.
Under the promise of anonymity, the student described expectations shared by many at City College, but added he has an extra motivation as an undocumented student. “I feel like this will prove that I do have the potential, that I’m as qualified as any other United States citizen.”
For an undocumented student like this man, who dreams of attending Stanford and of one day being a college professor, noth-ing is ever simple.
“When I first came to Sac City, I was a full time student and I was also working full time. I was working in the fields,” he says. “Let me tell you that’s a really, really tough job. And then also to be able to manage to do well in your studies, it’s really compli-cated.”
Complicated doesn’t begin to de-scribe life for undocumented City College students, before—and now under—the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.
“I was working 70-something hours a week," he continued. "I’m not at the level where I can say I need to talk to my boss and tell him ‘I need to cut down my hours because of my school because in my position, then he’ll be like ‘OK you can’t work? Then you can go ahead and dedicate yourself to your studies, and then I’ll get someone else who will do the job for me.’”
Without legal access to even minimum wage jobs, without a driver’s license, and paying full price for classes each semester without being eligible for scholarships, hardships pile up, he says.
“We can’t really complain,” he says. He explains how the consequences of
speaking out can be serious. “In society there’s this stigma, that
undocumented students, they come to take American jobs, they are breaking the law, they’re criminals, and all this bad image that is there—that society created—so you
feel intimidated,” he explains.Although he was accepted to Sacra-
mento State, a lack of funds forced him to turn down the offer. That is when he came to City College and found a different atmo-sphere.
“When I came to [City] College, I felt like I was able to open up because I saw more people like me who are also in school, trying to get an education and be open about it.” He says he found fellow undocumented students “fighting for their rights, because they believe that this should be given to them.”
Qualifying to be an AB 540 student, the undocumented student was eligible to pay in-state tuition costs. But that didn’t begin to address the cost of college, or his immi-gration status. That is why he hoped for the passage of the federal DREAM Act since he heard about it in high school.
“I saw [The DREAM Act] more like a permanent solution to this issue. Some-thing that I wouldn’t have to worry any-more about looking for a job that will pay minimum wage, and I wouldn’t have to hide anymore,” he says. “[I thought] I’ll be able to have a driver’s license. I’ll have all the benefits that a U.S. citizen has, so I’ve thought of it as the solution to the issue and I was really hoping it would pass.”
But the DREAM Act stalled in Con-gress this year.
Still, the undocumented student is ex-cited about DACA, and what it offers.
“The first thing that came to my mind was job opportunities,” he said of his first reaction to the news of DACA. “If I receive a work permit I will be able to apply to this other job that pays more or this company that relates more to my studies, and not have to work in the fields.”
A self-described “average student,” the student says he has a good academic record and hopes of attending Stanford or UC Riverside, and one day becoming a college professor.
Yet until recently he could not drive to school legally. His hope mixes with practi-cal concerns when he explains the benefits of DACA.
“It is a benefit that will allow me to show my potential and growth,” he says of the benefits of DACA and subsequent California legislation (AB 2189), granting
driver’s licenses to those receiving work permits. “Also I didn’t have to worry so much about driving in Sacramento and be-ing pulled over, having my car taken away, or even being deported just because I was driving without a license.”
Now he is waiting for an attorney to help him submit his application under DACA. The process itself doesn’t worry him.
“I don’t feel unsafe or insecure about the process because it's been established that the information that goes to USCIS is not going to go to [Immigration and Cus-toms Enforcement]. So we are safe in the process,” he says.
Still, there are bigger fears and ques-tions that only time can answer.
“What worries me is if this deferred action doesn’t last,” he says about the future status of a temporary measure, “[What if] someone comes and takes it away or if
something changes and we are not protected by deferred action any longer and there’s no other solution and then we end up being worse than when we started? So that is what mostly worries me.”
But the he says he can’t let fear or worry overcome him. After all, his dream of being on the other side of the lectern means he has to keep working as hard as he can. And take what opportunities he can.
He knows that to get into the universi-ties he desires, to get the scholarships he wants to help fund his education, and to keep on top of it all, he has to meet a lot of expectations.
"I need to show that I am giving back and I’m not just a parasite as many people think,” he says, underlining his motivation. “So I do have this pressure on my shoul-dersw of being of the best.”
Something to proveUndocumented student sees school as way to exhibit potential
Photo Illustration by Vivian Liu and Evan E. Duran | [email protected] and [email protected]
6 10.23.12 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • SAC CITY EXPRESS
• Jessica Rine Staff Writer • [email protected]
Displayed on the stark white walls are 33 letters sent to art galleries, jobs and art programs. 33 letters of
hope asking for an opportunity, for just one chance. 33 letters respond with encouraging words, but no words of acceptance.
And there are many more. Rejection hurts. Few would argue that
hearing the word, “no” can damage the soul—and it happens to everyone.
Sacramento artist, Arthur Gonzalez, revealed his way of dealing with rejection as an artist in his exhibit, “The Art of Rejec-tion,” currently showing in the Kondos Gallery at City College.
Now, letters of rejection that have been converted into art pieces line the walls of Kondos Gallery. What began as a way to deal with continued dismissal turned into a story of pain, humor and opportunity, said Gonzalez at a discussion panel with John Natsoulas, founder and owner of the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts, at Kondos Gallery Oct. 10 to cel-ebrate the exhibit.
Gonzales says he didn’t initially think of the rejection letters as a future art exhibit.
“They [the letters] were never intended to be seen by anyone except me,” said Gon-zalez. “It just sort of happened.”
The drawings vary from cartoonish to realistic, and range from bright with color to shadowy with blacks and whites. Gon-zalez uses watercolors, pencils and colored pens. Some of the characters appear sad, distracted or lonely, others appear to be in a state of self-reflection and yet oth-ers seem to be looking to the future. Still others reveal determination in their drawn faces, ready to keep pushing onward.
In each letter Gonzalez draws the eye to a different word, but it soon becomes ap-parent the words are repeating themselves. The words, “although,” “sadly,” “unfortu-nately” and “however,” pepper the letters with their negativity. However, Gonzalez transcends rejection through the exaspera-tion and humor in his drawings. Even when his name is spelled wrong, he says he laughs in the faces of those who have told him, “No.”
It can be daunting for artists to face
rejection from prospective galleries, jobs or programs.
Natsoulas, longtime friend of Gonzalez, says he appreciates this fear when looking for art to display in his gallery. Saying, “no, this doesn’t work for us,” is part of the business, he said.
“For a lot of artists, this is a great way to deal with rejec-tion, to make it into art,” said Natsoulas.
Gonzalez talks about rejection like he is talking about an old friend. Being rejected was hard he says, but all of those refusals opened up doors he never knew he wanted opened.
“We [artists] do all of this to get that one thing because we aren’t smart enough to know what that one thing is,” Gonzalez said with a laugh.
As he was finishing his Master’s Degree in figura-tive sculpting at University of California, Davis, Gonzales says, he began searching for the next step. He received countless rejections from galleries and residencies until one “yes” came along
from the University of Georgia, Athens. And it was there where he was supposed to be, he said.
After his time at the University of Georgia, Gonzalez said he felt anxious about the next big job, or gallery exhibit or show. Who would take him on? Again he sent out eight letters and received back seven rejections, he said. The one accep-tance was from a gallery in New York City that wanted to represent him, but only if he moved there. So he did.
“I’m glad I got seven rejections be-cause New York changed my life,” Gonza-les said.
Having the exhibit in the Kondos Gal-lery is a great way to show students how to handle rejection, he said. It is a large world full of “no,” and Gonzalez says his mes-sage to them is to keep searching for what inspires them.
Other artists agree with this idea.“We want the students to embrace
rejection,” said Michael Stevens, Kondos Gallery curator. “To learn that rejection is not always a bad thing.”
As art students at City College prepare to show their work to the outside world, they need this type of encourage-ment from older, more experienced artists like Gonzalez. To know a professional artist has been said, “no” to so many times can inspire young artists to keep moving forward even if their art is not what some-one else may want.
“I am totally scared of rejection,” said Brittany Kozitza, 20, studio art and psychol-ogy major. Kozitza says she hasn’t given
her art the opportunity to be turned down.
“On the one hand, it is their opinion,” Kozitz says about those who might not like her art. “But I am afraid it won’t be good enough for some people.”
But Gonzalez says rejection in one area creates opportunity in another.
“What is opportunity? Opportunity is being able to realize a life in art,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez says he’s been able to create opportunities for himself by embracing the rejection from others.
“You can have a filing cabinet of rejec-tions before you get to where you want to be,” said Gonzalez. “You can’t let rejection stop you.”
“Art of Rejection” runs until Nov. 2 at the Kondos Gallery.
Art of rejectionArtist deals with his rejection at Kondos Gallery
Artist Arthur Gonzalez (left) signs an autograph for student Allan Pryor, art major.
Kelvin Sanders | [email protected]
“For a lot of artists, this is a great way to deal with rejection."
–John Natsoulas,gallery owner
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CHANGE THE WORLD FROM HERE
8 10.23.12 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • SAC CITY EXPRESS
• Wendy Aguilar Arts & Entertainment Edtor • [email protected]
For nearly two years, City College students ran into the same thing when navigating through the quad:
a massive construction site in front of the Performing Arts Center.
But that’s no longer the scene. Instead, City College now has a newly
renovated facility, which was unveiled to the public on Oct. 12 at a grand opening gala. The event brought together faculty and stu-dents and showcased different arts by City College students and faculty.
City College’s Auditorium first opened in 1937 and was a popular place for social events in Sacramento. The renovation proj-ect, which started in June 2011, updated the PAC with modern features that include a motorized orchestra pit, a trap floor and updated lighting.
The grand opening gala highlighted these changes and more.
“I wanted the audience to see kind of a sampling of all of the different things that Sacramento City College has to offer as it relates to training for stage performances,” said Kathryn Jeffery, president of City College. “It was a chance to showcase our academic programs, but an opportunity to showcase the facility as well.”
The event, open to students, faculty and retired faculty, gave attendees the chance to mingle, enjoy catered appetiz-ers and check out the vintage '50s cars on display for the night.
Guests were excited to see the facility’s renovations and how the improvements can turn City College’s PAC into a desired venue.
Former librarian Jack Halligan who worked at City College from 1968 until his retirement in 1996 said the renovations to the PAC served an important purpose.
“It’s something that all citizens of Sacramento can be proud of,” Halligan said. “It’s going to get great use from the theater arts faculty and also it’ll be able to do a lot of plays, musical performances, lectures [and] just all kind of things once it gets rolling.”
After the reception, the crowds of 100 to 150 people moved inside and the scent of fresh wood in the auditorium started to fade.
Communication professor Patti Red-mond served as hostess for the event, or
“mistress” as she called herself. Throughout the evening, she made guests feel comfort-able, putting them at ease with jokes before various City College artists launched into a night of dramatic performances.
After welcome messages from Jeffery and Chris Iwata, dean of Arts and Humani-ties, the City College Chorale performed pieces from the set they sang at Carnegie Hall earlier this year.
Linda Hardy, arts major, 50, is an alto singer for the City College Choir and said she decided to go to the event to support her peers—even though she wasn’t performing.
“All my friends are singing tonight,” Hardy said. “I’ve been singing with these people for three years. We’re like a big fam-ily. We know each other, we support each other when things are going down, or when things are happy. It’s been a really great group to be a part of.”
Apart from vocal music performances, the theater department showcased their talent.
Audience members gasped as sword fights sent sparks flying in scenes from the-ater professor Luther Hanson’s well-written and well-acted play, “King Arthur.”
Faculty as well as students performed on the renovated stage that night.
Faculty Fusion Ensemble, composed of music professors from City College, ascended from the trapped floor into fog and colorful stage lights. The auditorium
transformed into a jazz club, and their performance could make any person want to learn how to swing dance just to get up in the aisle and sway to their music.
Audience interaction allowed guests to feel like a part of the performances. During an act from Hanson’s musical production, “Woody Guthrie’s American Song” audi-ence members remembered childhood moments as they joined in a sing-along to “This Land Is Your Land.”
While showcasing the talent at the renovated facility, the event was a preview of performances the PAC will host in years to come.
“I think that 70 or 80 years from now, as the audience there reflects on the legacy of plays, musicals, concerts and events which defined this Performing Arts Center, I think they’ll wonder, ‘Well what can we do to top that?’ and as far as I’m concerned, that’s their problem,” said Iwata.
A night full of dramaPerforming Arts Center grand opening gala displays arts
The audience anticipates the beginning of City College's Performing Arts Center grand opening.
Kate Paloy | [email protected]
“It’s something that all citizens of Sacramento can be proud of.”
—Jack Halligan,former SCC Librarian
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
SAC CITY EXPRESS • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • 10.23.12 9
A RTS & ENTERTAINMENT
• Yvonne Santy Staff Writer •[email protected]
Just the other day, a woman whizzed by me and the soft breeze danced in her red, curly hair. Accelerating faster
than me on my red beach cruiser was a lady on a sleek, sea-green scooter. We rolled southbound on Freeport Boulevard. I was going to class and she was out of sight soon enough.
What a lucky witch, I thought. She didn’t have to worry about pedaling her way uphill, over the light rail tracks, rough terrain and afternoon traffic to make it to campus.
I locked my polished bike frame onto the rack between the Learning Resource Center and the Public Information Office where I counted 17 bicycles, one moped and 10 motorcycles. I noticed a Kawasaki, some Harley Davidsons, Hondas, Suzikis and Yamahas in the vicinity. I was sort of surprised I didn’t find the sea-green Vespa that raced by me just minutes before I located a parking spot.
Scooters are, after all, an alluring, trendy mode of transportation.
Hours before I hopped on my cruiser that day, Sacramentan and self-proclaimed “scooter enthusiast” Darrel Kloss explained to me his affinity with Vespas.
Vespas were popularized by the Mod culture of the 60s, he informed me. Accord-ing to Kloss, Audrey Hepburn’s adven-ture on a Vespa in the 1953 film “Roman Holiday” helped expose scooters to popular culture.
Earlier that same day, I watched Hepburn’s adventurous character enjoying herself as she learned how to suddenly ma-neuver a vehicle. Hepburn stays safe after a man hops onto the Vespa with her, helping her avoid oncoming traffic, pedestrians and eventually causing a ruckus as she collides into stands and attracts the sirens of the “polizia.”
Is this supposed to be cute or annoy-ing? The sexist depiction of a man “help-ing” a woman irritated me. Hepburn is an elegant classic in my eyes, but scooters aren’t any sexier than they are practical.
The scooter lady on Freeport Boule-vard didn’t need a man to help her pass me by. She was just cool enough to do it on her own.
Could scooters, bikes and similar ve-hicles embody the ideal mode of transporta-tion for City College students?
It seems like scooters are seen more frequently around the city these days—and I’m not the only one who’s taking note.
“I’ve noticed Vespas outside by the bike rack,” says Cheryl Bratton, a barista at the Coffee Garden on Franklin Boulevard.
She says she likes the idea that Vespa and scooter use is increasing in the area.
“I don’t really like cars,” says Bratton. “Vespas use a gas/oil blend and only need to be filled up once a week. They are more efficient and less dangerous.”
Bratton has another reason not to like four-wheeled vehicles: An oncoming car driving 40 mph in midtown hit Bratton on March 6 while she was walking. She recalls “the shock of laying on the ground, hearing people and an ambulance nearby and being frozen, almost, not able to do much but breathe.”
For a few months, Bratton says she couldn’t use the stairs to her apartment due to a broken shoulder, arm and leg. She then stayed with her parents for a few months.
Not only are scooters safer than cars, Bratton says, they also reduce travel time on a bicycle, are easier to park and get around with.
Vespas are also easier to use, but more expensive than mopeds says Kloss, which require pedaling before an engine starts.
“Newer Vespas are easier to drive because they have a twist and go [feature about them,]” says Kloss. “They definitely provide the ‘feel cool’ factor [of riding a ve-hicle] because they go faster [than a regular bicycle and save gas.]”
The idea of longevity and a classic look of a Vespa make it one of a kind, says Kloss.
The look of a bike got him enraptured, he says and how cool he feels while scoot-ing down the street.
“Going 45 mph is not that fast, but it’s cooler,” says Kloss. “There’s a little danger to it that makes it sexy because you have to be aware and awake when you’re on a scooter. It’s meditative for me and helps me focus.”
Affordable and stylish, Vespas are just one example of a smart investment while scooters and bikes in general are a safer, en-
vironmentally friendly and cheap alternative mode of transportation.
Robert Ferris studies mechanical engineering at City College and says that scooters are a better buy and that Vespas are all about an image.
“More power to anyone who wants to get a scooter or a Vespa,” Ferris says. “The more people who know how to ride two wheels, the safer I know I’m going to be.”
Vespas and scooters and bikes, oh myChoosing the right transportation
Mopeds have been getting more popular at City College, and the one students seem to like best is the Vespa scooter.
Yvonne Santy is a writer for the
Express, focusing on pop culture in
and around the City College campus.
Tony Wallin | [email protected]
10 10.23.12 • SPORTS • SAC CITY EXPRESS
With a serious look in his eyes and a let’s-do-it attitude, City College wrestler Tyler Brown, 20, liberal
arts major, says he’s aiming for the top. So far this season he’s placed second and third in the tournaments in which he’s competed.
“I want to be state champion… and I just want to stay healthy,” said Brown.
After missing last season with a torn tricep injury, Brown says his health became a big concern and he concentrated not just on getting better but on making physical changes.
“I rehabbed… I gained a lot of weight, mostly muscle,” he said.
As a result, Brown jumped up weight classes to the 174 pound from the 157-pound weight class he had wrestled in prior to his injury.
“I hit the weights real serious and I just kept coming to off-season practices,” said Brown.
According to Brown, wrestling isn’t just a sport, it’s also a shared bond he has with his younger brother, Justin, a senior at the same school Brown attended, Calaveras High School. When he was 11, Brown and his younger brother checked out a youth wrestling practice together and both ended up liking it and continuing with the sport.
Wrestling Coach David Pacheco praises his standout wrestler. This will be the third year he’s coached Brown and he says Brown has become a better wrestler during that time.
“When he first came he was very physical and not as much technical,” said Pacheco. “He’s still physical but now he has more technique to go with it.”
With the hard work and improvement Brown has shown, Pacheco believes he can make it to the next level.
“I think he’s very capable of getting to the four year level,” he said, “I think many people will like his work ethic.”
Although Pacheco says he believes Brown can go to the next level, the wrestler isn’t so sure that’s in his future.
“Honestly I see myself as a coach later on in life, helping out other kids,” said Brown. “I’m just kind of going with the flow right now.”
But for now, he’s considered a leader in the wrestling room
“He’s one of our hardest workers in our room,” said Pacheco. “He’s a leader-by-example kind of guy, and he doesn’t mind getting vocal either though.”
Brown’s teammate, Logan Whalen,
says he agrees with their coach.“He’s a good captain,” he said. “He’s
a team leader; he always makes sure we’re working hard.”
Brown says he’s a team-oriented athlete and he has high hopes for the team this season.
“We realistically want to be state champs and we definitely have the poten-tial, but we’re gonna need to work our butts off to get it,” said Brown.
He says that before a match his mindset is very combative.
“You just got to go in with that mental-ity that you’re gonna rip their head off,” he said. “You gotta do your thing.”
But he also stresses the importance of having fun with the sport.
“I want the team to enjoy wrestling more than anything,” he said. “The biggest
goal, I think, is if you have fun with wres-tling you’ll always like it. You gotta have fun but also be serious.”
When he’s not competing, he says he enjoys bass fishing and turkey hunting in his hometown of Valley Springs, Calif. His goal after he leaves City College is to become a physical therapy assistant. And, with his future career possibly conflicting with wres-tling, he soon has a decision to make.
“I have to choose if I want to go to a trade school or go to a four year and keep wrestling,” said Brown.
But for now, Brown says he’s just liv-ing in the moment, trying to have fun with his teammates and pinning opponents any chance he gets.
“I love the sport to death, but I know eventually I’ll have to give it up,” he said. “[We’ll] see where it takes me.”
Laying it all on the matCity College wrestler Tyler Brown eyes state championship
City College standout wrestler Tyler Brown is in his third year on the wrestling team.
Tony Wallin | [email protected]
• Nicholas Avila Staff Writer •[email protected]
“You just got to go in with that mentality that you’re gonna rip their head off,”
—Wrestler Tyler Brown
SAC CITY EXPRESS • SPORTS • 10.23.12 11
• Teri Barth Staff Writer •[email protected]
The City College women’s water polo team played four matches over the weekend of Oct. 13, and, its members
say, they couldn’t wait for the opportunity.“We're excited, nervous – mostly
excited,” said 24-year old kinesiology major Leanna Lopez, a first year team member.
Lopez’ teammate, another first-year member, agrees.
“We're positive about [about the games],” said sociology major Jeri Smith, 36, with a smile.
“I've never played before,”says Smith. ”I'm having fun.”
The fun comes largely in part thanks to the skills of head coach Steve Hanson, who coached the team to its first victory of the season – an 11-8 win over Laney College.
Lopez praised her coach.“He's so knowledgeable and the way
he's able to relay that knowledge to us in an
understanding that everybody gets is really good,” she said.
Overall, she added, the team’s skills have improved since the season started in September.
“There's been a lot of growth and development as a team and as individual players,” said Lopez. “It's definitely excit-ing to see each game [how] everybody steps up their level.”
The team has a 1-12 overall record so far this season, but Hanson says team’s spir-its remain high during this rebuilding year.
“[Morale] is getting better, despite our record,” he said, "But we knew from the very beginning of this season it was going to be like that.”
“We get excited when we put the points on the board,” he added. "We get excited about all the good things that happen.”
Hanson says he believes this year's team camaraderie has helped the women remain positive.
“It’s good chemistry that we didn't have last season,” he said. “This new group is much more team-oriented and group-oriented."
Still, with a team made up of newcom-ers, improvement is necessary if the team is to see more wins, he added.
“My assistant coach, Jon Gullone, and I, have been trying to push the right combi-nation of buttons and push the group hard enough without overwhelming them at the same time, which sounds like we're being a little bit soft,” said Hanson.“However, [after] every game … we practice a little bit more physical and we have a little bit more of the skills we've talked about.
“The understanding of the game comes with experience,” he said. “[They] have to play it and [they] have to play it at a high level or against others who are at a higher level.”
Still, Hanson said, the team does have standout players – particularly goalie Han-nah Wilman.
“[Hannah] Wilman is an outstanding goalie, just amazing,” he said. “She’s phe-nomenal at it. Because she is our best ath-lete, I try to work her into the field as well.”
Hanson praised other team members as well.
“Lopez is a very good swimmer,” he said. “She and Brittney Wilson are our best ball handlers.”
Hanson also pointed to Kayla Smith as a key player, stating that her game improves each day.
“[Kayla] is scoring a lot of goals by chasing down rebounds and being in the right spot at the right time,” said Hanson.
As for the rest of the season, Hanson says he is optimistic.
“If [the women] can take this season's chemistry and some of last season's skills and if we can mesh that together and make all the commitment and sacrifices that we do as a team to do better and to dedicate ourselves to it, we could be quite good,” he said.
From ripples to waves Women’s water polo team finds chemistry in the pool
"There's been a lot of growth and develop-ment as a team and as individual players.”
–Leanna Lopez
University of the Pacific
is accepting applications for Spring, 2013
Deadline is November 15 Transfer housing available
No application fee!
For a list of open majors and more information call 209.946.2211 or
go.Pacific.edu/TransferToPacific
Pacific.edu
470CLASSES
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Information provided by:Robert Perrone, executive director
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