CITY TIMESCITY TIMES

By Nicholas A. PrestonCity Times

Many state universities have had students that have graduated and moved on to become success-ful people. What many people don’t realize is that there are several suc-cessful CEO’s and entrepreneurs that are the product of two-year com-munity colleges.

Before becoming Costco co-founder and CEO, Jim Sinegal, 75, was a shy and unfocused commu-nity college student. Sinegal earned an associate’s degree at San Diego Junior College in 1955, which was later renamed San Diego City Col-lege.

“City College reenergized me for learning, it made me more educated

and well rounded,” said Sinegal. Now a successful CEO, Sinegal

has very fond memories of City Col-lege and its campus.

“It was small and the campus was shared with San Diego High School, but some of the friends I made there, I still have today,” he said.

Sinegal intended to only take one semester of classes at City College, but he ended up liking it so much that he stayed for an extra three semesters and earned his degree.

While attending, he was active in intramural sports such as football and basketball. He also enrolled in several classes including: history, political science, business law, math, and psychology.

It took hard work and a love for his job to propel Sinegal to a higher

level of achievement. Being a college student that

needed money, he took a job at Fed-Mart and fell in love with retail.

“I loved my job, so I worked hard and took on more responsibility,” he said.

Sinegal has been in the retail business since 1954. In those years, he has lived and learned a lot.

Becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy task.

Sinegal worked his way to the top of FedMart under the mentorship of Sol Price, eventually becoming Executive Vice President in charge of merchandising and operations.

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December 6, 2011Volume 66, Number 7Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945

Is M Building on shaky ground?

By Amanda SantoniCity Times

The renovation of the M Building, which currently houses mathematics and sci-ence classes, has been halted due to a seismic fault that runs beneath the building.

It’s not surprising that vari-ous earthquake or seismic

fault zones have been dis-covered throughout the San Diego region and some run under downtown and City Col-lege campus.

Building codes in San Diego restrict new buildings from being built within 50 feet of an “active” fault or fault fragment.

If a fault is considered “potentially active,” there is no building code restriction.

Because City College is partially located in this zone on the west edge of the campus, many of the Proposi-tions S and N projects have

included a fault study.“The main goal is to under-

stand how seismic activity impacts the design and con-struction of the buildings, so we can provide safe and reliable educational spaces for City College faculty and students,” says Tom Fine, campus project manager.

Whether or not a fault is considered “active” is if it’s younger than 11,000 years old.

To be able to determine the age of a fault, geologists look at the topmost, unbroken layer of soil.

However, geologists cannot determine the age of a fault if the top most layers are disturbed or are no longer the native soil.

When this happens geolo-gists have to dig multiple trenches in hopes of finding the fault again where the native soil has not been dis-rupted.

This poses a problem for the soil around City campus.

As we all know there is construction on campus, so the top most layers of soil have been disturbed and are no longer the native soil.

This is the case for the M building. The finding of this faults has delayed the renova-tions of the M Building.

Until the trenches are dug and the age of the fault has been determined and reported, the renovation will be on hold.

The trenches (depending on how many have to be dug) will most likely not affect stu-dents around City College

“We are making every effort to perform the fault study/investigation at a time during the semester when it is least impacting to the

operations of the campus, so it will likely take place over the Winter break.” Fine said when concerns of traffic were expressed to him.

Renovation of the M Build-ing involves 1,500 square feet for student support services, new bookstore, common areas and related support space.

Work on the remodel of the M Building cannot begin until the Math and Social Sci-ences Building is complete in the summer of 2013.

The project is expected to be completed February 2014.

From ‘I don’t know’ to CEO

Throughout the fall semester students coped with construction which will be stepped up during the winter break. During this period crews will determine if the fault is “potentially active” which may delay the renovation. Anulak Singphiphat, City Times

Crews to study whether fault line under it is active

Costco at a glance

• Warehousestoreconceptbeganin1976withPriceClubonMorenaBlvd

• CostcoopeneditsfirststoreinSeattlein1983• CostcoandPriceClubmergedin1993• Costcotodayhas596storesin8countries• Annualrevenuefor2010about$88.9billion• Biggestsellerofall:toiletpaper

See CEO, page 3Former City College student and Costco CEO, Jim Sinegal.

www.sdcitytimes.com | December 6, 20112

TAKE NOTECompiled by Fernando Yates

Get your event in the paper. E-mail us at citytimes@gmail.com or call 619-388-3880

CAlENdAr

n Dec. 6, TuesdayFirst Year Service: Class-room EtiquetteA-218 – 1 - 2:30 p.m.

n Dec. 7, WednesdayBlood DriveBring identificationGorton Quad – 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Languages Department December CelebrationGorton Quad – 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

M. Basketball vs. Gross-montHarry West Gym – 5 p.m.

n Dec. 8, ThursdayDe-stress for FinalsGorton Quad – 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

n Dec. 9, FridayA.S. MettingD-105A/D-106 – 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.M. Basketball vs. MesaHarry West Gym – 5 p.m.

n Dec. 13, TuesdayJazz Live: Doug MacLeodSaville Theatre – 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

n Dec. 14, WednesdayM. Basketball vs. CuyamacaHarry West Gym – 5 p.m.

W. Basketball vs. Rio HondoHarry West Gym – 7 p.m

n Dec. 16, FridayW. BasketballSDCC Knights InvitationalHarry West Gym – 11 a.m.

A.S. MeetingD105A / D106 – 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

n Dec, 17, SaturdayLast day of Fall semester

W. BasketballSDCC Knights Invita-tional TournamentHarry West Gym – 12 p.m.

n Dec. 18, SundayW. BasketballSDCC Knights Invita-tional TournamentHarry West Gym – 12 p.m.

n Dec. 22 - Jan. 2Campus ClosedCampus operations will resume on Jan. 3

n Jan. 4, WednesdayM. Basketball vs. PalomarHarry West Gym – 5 p.m.

W. Basketball vs. MesaHarry West Gym – 7 p.m.

n Jan. 13, FridayM. Basketball vs. Imperpial ValleyHarry West Gym – 7 p.m.

n Jan. 20, FridayW. Basketball vs. Gross-montHarry West Gym – 7 p.m.

n Jan. 23, MondaySpring semester begins

n Jan. 25, WednesdayW. Basketball vs. Mira CostaHarry West Gym – 7 p.m.

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By Anulak SingphiphatCity Times

The man arrested twice for spying into the womens rest-room remains in custody.

William Brown, 32, was arrested Oct. 20 after being

sighted at the Centre City Continuing Education build-ing on the corner of Park Blvd. and Russ Blvd. not in the Fitness Center as previ-ously reported.

Centre City offers a variety of vocational and certificate

programs.The office manager was

not available for further com-ments on the situation.

The Centre City Continu-ing Education facilities will be closed for the winter break. The end of the fall semester

there is on Jan. 28.The spring semester will

begin on Feb. 1, 2012.For more information

regarding vocational and certificate classes offered at Centre City please visit http://sdce.edu/

Peeping Tom remains in custody

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

By Joseph StremlauCity Times

If you were in complete control of San Diego, would you be running it differ-ently?

San Diego lovers are now able to put in their two cents on what they want San Diego County to look like in the future.

The San Diego Founda-tion, an organization that wishes to improve the qual-ity of life for Greater San

Diego, has started a con-versation online where San Diegans can give their input.

ShowYourLoveSD.org compiles nearly two years of research and input from the local community.

The four categories that people are able to share their voice on are community and culture, jobs and economy, learning, and future sce-narios.

Hot topics such as rede-veloping Qualcomm Sta-dium, a new university in Chula Vista, and easing height restrictions near the coast will be discussed in the forum.

Heading the project is Bill Geppert, a recently retired vice president and

regional manager of Cox Communications. He cur-rently holds the position of acting president of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.

“This is an opportunity to have input into our future,” Geppert said. “It’s an oppor-tunity to have a voice about what kind of San Diego we want in the next 40 to 50 years out that our kids and grandkids will live in, where they will live, work and play. It’s the chance to shape what’s possible in the future.”

The interactive website gives a several options so users can express what is most important to them in the future development of the San Diego region.

Once a user has com-pleted their “vision of the future” they will be able to compare it with everyone else in the region that has also taken the survey.

The website is available in both English and Spanish.

When the survey com-ments have been compiled they will be shared with gov-ernment officials.

He later became an Exec-utive Vice President for the Price Company in 1978.

After leaving the Price Company in 1983, Sinegal co-founded Costco with Seattle retailer Jeff Brotman.

“I wanted to take a chance to build a business of my own,” he said.

Since building a multi-million dollar empire, Sinegal has remained an advocate for low prices and high quality.

“That’s the model for a business, better quality and low prices,” he said.

Today, Costco is valued at over $38 billion. That’s quite a feat for someone with humble community col-lege beginnings.

Sinegal also shared some advice that could help out current and future students looking to become entrepre-neurs.

“Get involved in some-thing that you love and can be passionate about, then find someone in that field that you admire to become your mentor,” he said.

Community college is a place for opportunity and advancement. Jim Sinegal shows just what hard work and determination can get you.

December 6, 2011 | www.sdcitytimes.com3

News

By Jorge BenitezCity Times

James Dale is not going away. The 24-year-old has been a participant in Occupy San Diego for two months and plans to continue despite the police decision to remove the camp.

¨I’m going to be here until the end,” said Dale on Nov. 28 in front of the Civic Center. “It doesn’t matter if they like it or not.”

San Diego police began to clear the dozens of tents that had been set up in front of the center since Oct. 7. Unsanitary conditions and unlawful camping are the main reasons why the camps have been removed.

Authorities have closed camps and arrested par-ticipants across the coun-try, including Occupy Wall Street, which launched this movement.

It is uncertain of what is going to happen next. Pro-testers are evaluating the situation and deciding what the main goal will be.

In San Diego, at least one hundred have been arrested; many claim they have had their belongings taken away

and in some cases beaten up by police.

Only a few dozen people appear to be committed to continuing the Occupy San Diego effort, Dale being one of them.

Originally from River-side, Dale served in the Army for four years and has been involved in Occupy San Diego for two months.

On the afternoon that Dale spoke, Ray Lutz a former congressional candi-date, set up a table to regis-ter protesters for voting.

Police officers who are under constant surveillance of protesters, immediately jumped in and said that Lutz had no right of having his booth set up in front of Civic Center Plaza.

Lutz argued that he was in private property and that officers could not do any-thing about it.

Lutz was arrested the following day by building guards for trespassing and refusing to leave.

Protesters will continue to march and chant, accord-ing to Dale and other activ-ists.

Website gives residents a voice in the future regional planning of San Diego Daniela Solano, City Times

CEOContinued from Page 1

Ray Lutz defies police instruction and set up a table to register voters Nov. 24. He was arrested the next day for trespassing. Jorge Benitez, City Times

‘Occupiers’ ponder future

ASG embraces the needy, donates goodsBy Alec FernandesCorrespondent

College students from across San Diego gathered to support the third annual Embrace the Streets event on Nov. 12.

The charity drive, hosted by the Embrace organiza-tion, provided the local homeless population with blankets, clothing, and food at a distribution site on the corner of 16th Street and Island Avenue.

City College students worked with SDSU, UCSD, and USD students to feed the homeless and keep them warm during the cold winter nights. City College gath-ered goods during its cloth-ing, blanket and sheet drive hosted on campus from Oct. 31 through Nov. 4.

Among the City College organizers was Public Rela-tions Officer Juan Carlos Cruz, who believes that being homeless doesn’t take away one’s dignity.

“I don’t like to call them homeless,” Cruz said. “I like to call them economically challenged.”

Tents were set up at the event so that those in need could shelter themselves from the bad weather.

“The most moving part for me was that it was rain-ing,” Cruz said. “Living on the streets is hard, but no matter what your situation is, there are programs out there that can help.”

According to an Embrace press release, “Embrace is a nonprofit organization… [that] creates a community outreach/service-learning model that utilizes college students to remedy prob-lems within civilian and veteran communities on a volunteer basis.”

Trung Nguyen, president of the Inter-Club Council at City College, was also pres-ent at the event.

“[The most meaning-ful part] was handing out clothes to the homeless,” Nguyen said. “You might think [old clothes] are just trash, but the homeless would be happy to have it.”

Those wanting to get involved with the Embrace organization or with other charitable organizations affil-iated with City College may contact Cruz at 619-388-3353.

“You meet great people and form great relation-ships,” Cruz said. “I want the school to know that we’re out there kicking ass for our stu-dents and the community.”

What should SD be like?

Offer your opinion at ourgreatersandiegovision.org

Website allowspeople to vote for how region should grow

By Cecelia AretaCity Times

First Year Experience is hosting a “De-stress for Finals” event in Gorton Quad from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 8.

Workshops on study skills and relaxation activi-ties will be offered, as well as free yoga and meditation sessions in rooms D-105 and D-102.

The Humane Society will also hold a special pet ther-

apy session.Vendors like 5-hour

Energy and Activate water will be holding booths, as well as giving away free samples.

This event is open to all City College students.

To secure a spot in one of the sessions or for more information, visit the F.Y.E. office in room L-206, open Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday 8 p.m. to 12 p.m.

‘De-stress’ before finals

www.sdcitytimes.com | December 6, 20114

Life

By William T. HarcourtCity Times

City College’s cosmetology program is designed to provide entry-level skills to students who are interested in a career in the cosmetology profession.

Students are taught the fun-damental practices and proce-dures of the service by a handful of subject matter experts.

One such expert is Con-stance Calhoun, a professor who’s been teaching cosmetol-ogy at City College for the past 19 years.

Calhoun was born in Stock-ton in 1948. She later moved to San Diego after earning an Eng-lish degree from the University of California Davis and a cosme-tology instructor’s license from the state 1970.

“By the time I got my bach-elor’s degree, I had already been working in cosmetology for over 3 years,” Calhoun said.

At 20 years old, Calhoun was already the proud owner of a salon in Stockton, a business she later sold after her move to San Diego.

“It became more of a chal-lenge to try to juggle the busi-ness and purse a teaching career here. I had to let it go,” Calhoun said.

Once in San Diego, she took various teaching jobs in beauty schools across the county and, in 1992, was hired by City Col-lege.

“There were a lot of differ-

ences back then: the students wore more larger hairdos, from the peacock look to the huge updos,” she explains “...now the looks are not all conserva-tive, but more professional; I see more longer hairdos on stu-dents these days.”

Change has not spared having an effect on gender, as the number of male students in her classes have risen over the years.

“I now have about 13 men, of various ages, in my classes, a big difference from when I first started teaching here nearly 20 years ago,” Calhoun said. “My first class at City College had just one male at the time.”

Calhoun passion for teaching is evidently just as strong as her passion for cosmetology.

“I always wanted to share my knowledge with up-and-coming cosmetologist,” she said “…with time and experience that I’ve gained in doing so, I know this was what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Calhoun now teaches both intermediate and advance levels of cosmetology, specializing in facial care, hairstyling, and hair cutting studies. She conducts two advance labs in the field, as well.

“The [labs] allow students to really learn the proper pro-cedures of actually performing

cosmetology; it sure is a science in its own right,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun’s dedication to teaching and her keen attention to her students’ academic needs are quite clear in the way she leads her classes.

Her years of knowledge, experience, and dedication to her craft and as an instructor at City College has made her an asset to the college and serves as an inspiration to the students she teaches.

“She’s very disciplined,” said Ariel Jackson, a student in Cal-houn’s Advance Cosmetology Lab.,”She takes a lot of time to listen to us. She’s just an awe-some teacher.”

By Jennifer ManaliliCity Times

Maurice Martin is a stu-dent who has used his past as a veteran to start a second life at City College as director of the campus’s chapter of Veter-ans for Peace.

“He has a tremendous heart,” said J. Allan Ruhman, a Vietnam veteran that met Martin three years ago. “At times it’s hard to imagine he can give so much of himself to others given his own life trials.”

Mental illness, homeless-ness and drug addiction were some of the trails faced by Martin.. These experiences are what allow him to help veterans recover from pain he felt so vividly before.

“You can’t read about it in a book, movies do it no justice, speaking of it in stories gives no clue to the horror.” Martin said.

Martin was born in Chi-cago and adopted by a couple in their 60’s, both strong figures in the civil rights movement. While his par-ents worked, he was shuffled between family members.

He found his niche in mar-tial arts but struggled with what he thinks was undiag-nosed mental illness.

“It led to my parents and

the law to thinking that the Army was a better choice for me. John Wayne movies, the cool uniform and the prom-ises that the recruiters made ... got me in,” Martin said.

It’s the same kind of glo-rified picture of war that he hopes to steer others away from now as he speaks to middle and high school stu-dents through the Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities and the Educa-tion Not Arms Coalition.

Martin was 17 when left for South America. He sur-vived his tour but did not return unscathed.

“You’re out in the middle of nowhere with equipment to take on just about anything the world has to offer,” Martin said. “…Throw in a little fear, a dash of anger, and retribution and it leaves you with little to hang onto your humanity.”

Martin found as a stunt man and as security for a number of major music acts and tours. He traveled the country as a successful mar-tial arts tournament fighter.

Along the way he became a father.

He lost it all in a “long, agonizing time span” when trauma from the war became too much to bear.

Stays in state institutions and jail, the drugs and alco-

hol became part of Martin’s lifeuntil “the nightmares came bleeding through the high.”

The end came in the form of a police escorted ambu-lance heading towards a VA hospital.

“I was found hiding in some bushes and holding a knife, ready to pounce on anyone who didn’t care about what I went through,” Martin said.

With the help the unlikely trio, his ex-wife and two ex-girlfriends, Martin finally got help.

It’s the kind of second chance Martin hopes to help others grasp.

“I came to school to learn to ask better questions and not so much in search of answers,” he said.

Now, Martin is an Honors student and Treasurer for Phi

Theta Kappa, and member of B.E.A.T.

But it’s City’s student chap-ter of Veterans for Peace that is most important to him.

The organization, consist-ing of veterans of different wars, is dedicated to increas-ing public awareness of the consequences of war while offering alternatives.

“We create a safe harbor. We provide support and

referrals for our veteran students while not leaving our veterans in the civilian community on the streets,” Martin said.

Veterans for Peace makes an effort to offer access to clean water, shelter, health care, mentoring and jobs. They also hand out ponchos, back packs, and sleeping bags to the homeless and offer an Adopt a Veteran pro-gram.

These efforts includes a partnership with Amikas, a helping house for homeless veteran women, and working to bring a Workers Rights Center to campus.

Martin is a SDCC Work-ers Rights Center Intern with AFT and the Employment Rights Center. He also works in prison ministry, inmate reentry and mental health service programs.

Flipping what was pain-ful over on itself is the only way Martin has been able to release the pain of his past and save others while also saving himself.

“I know where the pot holes are and which roads will cause the least harm and danger... I can point the way,” said Martin.

“Sometimes just knowing you are not alone makes all the difference,” he said.

Forty years of hairdos and don’ts

C. Pool gets the flat-iron treatment at the cosmotology lab, where he has been a patron for 15 years. Troy Orem, City Times

War, ghosts and helping local veterans

Maurice Martin speaks at the Veterans Day event held in Gorton Quad. Troy Orem, City Times

By Brennan MacLeanCity Times

A classroom on the City College campus houses young, vibrant students striving to obtain a well rounded education.

The City foreign languages department encompasses Arabic, Latin, Chinese, French, German, Vietnamese, Japanese, Russian, Taga-log, and Spanish. With many options to choose from, students take language courses for many different reasons.

“I believe communication is the key to reducing tension among countries and cultures. I have taken Spanish and Arabic classes. When I meet people from countries that speak these lan-guages, I feel the tension dissipate,” said Laura Tate a Russian 101 student.

In the R building, students enrolled in a Russian class prepare for the course instructed by Professor Sofia Laurein, Department Chair of History and Political Science.

This introductory Russian 101 course is designed to stimulate student’s minds in a fun and interactive way.

Laurein focuses on basic grammatical rules which she says can be slightly tedious. As a way to escape the tedium, Laurein introduces amusing anecdotes that lighten the mood and offer entertainment to the students.

“I find her to be more interesting than all of my other instructors at City College. I like her method of teaching and the various topics she discusses,” said Jeffrey Seper, her student.

Laurein has been a professor at City College since 2006. She received two degrees in Philology from Odessa State University and

See Russian, page 5

Students armed with language skills speak out

By Brennan MacLeanContributer

The famous Voltaire and his less known lover Emilie du Chatelet were brought to life in a won-derfully entertaining play featuring City College students and faculty in the Saville Theatre Nov. 14.

The event was a showcase of City Col-lege’s artistic talents and a celebration of professor Laurel Corona’s novel titled, “Finding Emilie.”

Published in April, the fictional book tells a story of Emilie’s daughter Stanislas-Adelaide and her search to learn of her mother who died six days after giving birth.

Emilie, a scandalous intellectual of her time in 18th century France, grasped all too well the constraints women faced in the scientific com-munity.

Known in history as daughter to the Baron de Breteuil, the principal secretary of ambassadors to Louis XIV, and as Voltaire’s assistant, she had other roles: that of habitual gambler, squanderer, and seductress helped to mold the legacy that is Emilie du Chatelet.

She enjoyed intellectual debate, but being a women she was barred from the Academy of Sciences as well as coffeehouses where such conversations took place. Losing no courage, she simply dressed as a man in order to participate.

During her time, women did not receive recognition for contributions to science. Eventu-ally, though, she came from behind the shadow of Voltaire and published a great scientific work,

the translation, commentary and mathematical appendices for Newton’s Principia Mathematica. Her inspiring tale motivated Corona to publicize her achievements.

“Women in history have contributed so much more than they’re given credit for,” said Corona, a City College humanities professor and an award winning author.

The performance began with an infor-mative introduction by the Department Chair of History and Political Science, Sofia Laurein. Her witty presentation helped the audience gain a clear image of who Emilie was.

The show was a staged reading in which actors portrayed the relationship between Voltaire and Emilie. Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire was played by Jeff Smith, who said he could relate to his character.

“I am actually married to the woman who plays Emilie, she is my wife. We hope this show will awaken people about the book,” he said.

Smith’s wife, Sally Tinker Smith felt it was important for the audience to take with them an important moral concerning the role of Emilie.

“Women finding their voice and having an interest in science makes me feel grateful. If you have something to say, than say it, you’re free to,” she said.

The character of Georges-Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon was played by a familiar name on campus: Terrence Burgess, president of City College.

Buffon was a French naturalist and encyclope-dic author in the 18th century. The scene included Buffon and Lili conversing about the classifica-tion of a butterfly. Being his first time on stage, Burgess felt he filled his character’s shoes quite uncomfortably.

“I practiced wearing high heels. My white wig made it very hot. I was definitely in character. What a great experience. My first time acting in high heels and a wig,” Burgess said.

The play was an elegant display of the romance that lasted for fifteen years. Corona’s goal was to bring to life the two famous characters in a way that inspired audiences.

“It makes me wonder how many other Emilies there are out there. I would hope for women in the audience to become their own Emilie,” Corona said.

Copies of “Finding Emilie” were sold at the show and all proceeds were donated to the City Works publication. Copies of the book are on sale now at bookstores.

December 6, 2011 | www.sdcitytimes.com5

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1” feels just as heavy as it’s lengthy title and doesn’t deliver much.

The fourth installment in the “Twilight” series revolves around an idea that seems too far fetched even for a series that relies on larger than life werewolves and vampires that don’t burn but sparkle in the sun-light.

The film centers around the birth of a half-vampire, half-human baby.

The sequel opens right where it’s predecessor, “Eclipse,” left off as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire fiancee Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) prepare for their much anticipated wedding.

On the other hand, her friend and other suitor werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), has seemingly disappeared, hurt by Bella’s deci-sion to marry Edward and become immortal.

For once, everyone is allowed to be happy for at least a little while here. The love triangle that the saga heavily relied on in “New Moon” and “Eclipse” is gone and it’s refreshing to see the series return to it’s vam-pire/human love story roots from the first “Twilight.” The wedding scene, a beautifully shot slow build-up to the alter, is especially wonder-ful.

The teen angst that was heavily present in the previous films seems to vanish too as Bella and Edward both seem content to finally marry, leave their families behind, and embark on their honeymoon and new lives together.

For a brief moment, Bella and Edward are able to spend time like a normal couple but this is also where “Breaking Dawn” takes a sharp turn

and goes from being a young adult series to what can be perceived as an argument for anti-abortion and pro-life.

Bella and Edward finally consum-mate their relationship, something three books and movies worth of material have been leading up to, but their carefree time together is short lived as Bella quickly finds out she’s pregnant.

Edward becomes fearful because vampire myths say nothing about the possibility of such a child. His wife on the other hand stays deter-mined, adamant that she must keep the baby even if delivering it runs the risk of killing her before Edward can change her into a vampire and save her.

The dialogue even reflects this notion as the members of Edward’s family debate whether to refer to Bella’s future child as “the fetus” or “the baby.”

Less than an hour into the movie and Stewart’s blushing bride is reduced to a pale, ghastly version of herself. The CGI effects are used well here. As Bella’s pregnancy goes on she grows weaker before the audience’s eyes; her appearance more frail, thin and sickly as the movie goes on. It’s clear that car-rying the baby is killing her slowly from the inside out.

Meanwhile, the werewolves are reduced to background noise as Jacob leaves his pack and sides with the Cullens, vowing to help them protect Bella from his own family.

This alliance is probably disap-

pointing to the small male fan base that “Eclipse” was able to win over last year with it’s action scenes. This time the film packs all but one fight sequence and relies heavily on char-acters doing a whole lot of nothing as they wait for Bella to go into labor.

When the film finally picks up, it nose dives into science fiction territory with a gory, violent birth scene that could even make a few horror movie fans proud and proves impressive even with it’s PG-13 rating restriction. It’s easily the most interesting scene.

“Breaking Dawn” could be the best film out of the entire “Twilight’ franchise but that isn’t saying much.

It feels like an entirely different film from the rest of the series and it’s simply hard to believe that this is the direction the story takes. Per-haps this is also why the two male leads, Lautner and Pattinson, seem barely believable in their portray-als even though they’ve endured a series worth of time to get to know their characters. Stewart is the only one who seems to have shown some growth in her acting.

Unlike a movie like “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” which was also split into two films, “Breaking Dawn” suffers from a lot of filler and not enough substance to carry it’s running time of two hours.

Where “Potter” was successful because it had many things hap-pening at the same time, “Breaking Dawn” simply has nothing going on.

At it’s best, the film’s only tri-umph is that it’s able to take a ridicu-lous novel and turn it into a slightly bearable movie going experience.

And thanks to director Bill Con-don’s (“Dreamgirls,” “Chicago”) help, it all ends with a cliffhanger that is sure to leave the audience wondering what the next and final installment will bring when it’s released next year.

‘Breaking Dawn’ barely bearable

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart return to their roles in the penultimate Twilight film. Summit Entertainment

Professor’s novel performed in Saville

REVIEWJennifer Manalili

‘Finding Emilie’ reading showcases the manytalents of City College’s students and faculty

Life/Arts

RussianContinued from Page 4

a P.h.D in World History from Moscow Humanities University.

“ Professor Laurein is one of my favorite profes-sors and has a very good method of teaching a foreign language. I work in the health-care field and it makes me feel good when I can help patients that speak other languages. I currently speak English, Spanish, and Korean. Russian just seemed like an interest-ing language to learn,” said Mario Gonzalez her student.

Several walks of life cross paths in the classroom. Students taking Russian for mere interest converse with students learning the lan-guage for their careers. It’s a mix of varying motivations that come together in a productive, thought provoking way.

“The main reason I took Russian 101 was because it seemed the most appropri-ate foreign language for my degree in aerospace engi-neering since Russian air and spacecraft tech is as modern as the USA,” said Seper.

Foreign language classes at City College offer curriculum ranging from introductory courses to advanced levels of study thus enabling students to expand in their ability to communi-cate on a global scale.

Customer service is a topic of much heated discussion in the media and with many companies.

Service review sites such as Yelp, Angies List and Super Pages make searching for customer friendly businesses much more accessible.

When consumers find businesses with services or products that are below sat-isfactory there can be imme-diate feedback or retaliation with Facebook posts, Twitter updates, and review site posts.

The days of person to person customer service are dead.

The boom of modern technology leaves those that yearn for outstanding cus-tomer service representatives in the dark. Automated call centers, touch to order kiosks and online purchasing sites don’t require the human inter-action that many consumers are used to.

Even in many grocery stores there is an option for self-checkout where the cus-tomer can bypass the cashier and complete a transaction on their own.

Many consumers have become numb to the daily of face to face interactions of making a transaction. There is no friendly greeting at the door, there is no attendant there to help you find the product you desire.

Businesses have dropped their customer service model and have replaced it with a transaction efficiency model. You go in, pick out your item, pay and leave.

Consumers are so quick to besmirch the name of busi-nesses due to the lack of a great customer service expe-rience, but they do not look at

the reality behind an automated checkout counter.

When you go to scan your can of Monster you leave the business not thinking anything of the transaction but the fact that you got the product you wanted. If any problems arise from the auto-mated transaction consumers are left with a negative experi-ence.

With online shopping con-sumers can now find exactly what they want online and never have to deal with a single person to get it. A sense of entitlement and availability is created in many consumers mind’s.

If a person knows exactly what they want and choose it to buy it in store, problems arise when to store is out of stock. After all the product is available else where, and comparative items are not what are wanted. Regard-less of customer service, the patron has had a bad experi-ence.

It may not be that cus-tomer service is dead but more that we as consumers expect what we want, and we expect it now, because that is what Amazon gives us.

For every positive review that is posted for a business there may be five negative review. You may have experi-enced this phenomenon your-selves. You hear your friends or family members complain-ing about a product or service before you hear about any good comments they may have about their day.

www.sdcitytimes.com | December 6, 20116

Good customerservice is on the customers

VOICE

City Times is published twice monthly during the semester. Signed opinions are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent those of the entire newspaper staff, City College administration, faculty and staff or the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees.

District policy statement | This publication is produced as a learning experience under a San Diego Community College District instructional program. All materials, including opinions expressed herein, are the sole responsibility of the students and should not be interpreted to be those of the college district, its officers or employees.

Letters to the editor | Letters to the Editor are welcome, 350 words or less. The staff reserves the right to edit for grammar, spelling, punctuation and length.

Memberships | Journalism Association of Community Colleges,California College Media Association, Associated Collegiate Press California Newspaper Publishers Association

Journalism Program | www.sdcity.edu/journalismRoman S. Koenig, associate professor, journalism and mass communication

How to reach us:City TimesSan Diego City College1313 Park Blvd.San Diego, CA 92101Newsroom: T-316

Published as:The Jay Sees | 1945-1949Fortknightly | 1949-1978City Times | 1978-Incorporating the newspapersTecolote, Knight Owl and Flicks

CITYTIMES

Volume 66, Number 7December 6, 2011

www.sdcitytimes.com

Phone: (619) 388-3880Fax: (619) 388-3814E-mail: citytimes@gmail.com

Anulak SingphiphatEditor-in-Chief

Fernando YatesManaging Editor

Cecilia AretaFeatures Editor

Jennifer ManaliliArts Editor

Troy OremPhoto Editor

Aida Bustos-GarciaJournalism Adviser

City Times StaffPaulina Aguilar, Sydney Bryant, Sandra Galindo, William Harcourt, Nicholas Preston, Francesca Rodrigues, Pablo Rojo, Daniela Solano, Amanda Santoni, Joseph Stremlau, Kevin Stover, Michele Suthers, Lashekita Sutton, Robert Whaley, Michael Wheeler

CorrespondentsAlec Fernandes

ContributorsBrennan MacLean

EDITORIALCity Times

Editorial Board

“Que se siente ser legal? (What does it feels like to be legal?)” Susy asked Noel after learning that he became a legal U.S. resident.

That’s the type of ques-tion an undocumented immi-grant asks.

The story of Susy, a City College student, is one of living years apart from her mother and coping with being in the country illegally.

She is one of thousands of capable students in San Diego County, and millions across the United States living the nightmare of not knowing their future.

Susy was 8 years old when her mother emigrated from Guerrero to the United States to search for a bette job to support her two kids, who stayed with their grand-mother.

Her mother’s absence kept Susy in a state of perma-nent grief. After two years, she begged her mother to return.

Her mother decided that they had to be reunited and arranged for smugglers to bring her into the country.

Susy took an airplane trip alone to Tijuana, where she was transported to a dark house.

As soon as she walked in,

she noticed other children and adults waiting anxiously, many dreaming of reuniting with family, others of earning enough money to send their families.

Along the way, the smug-gler gave her a new iden-tity and told her to practice words in English and to answer “San Diego” when asked where she was born.

Finally after two days, the moment to cross through the port of entry arrived, but the Customs agent did not ask her any questions, and like that she was in.

The last stop was at a Jack in the Box. She recognized her mother, who was pray-ing. Hugs, kisses and tears of joy to recover the two years they had lost.

But Susy’s new life in San Diego was hard. She had to learn a difficult language and

new customs. She felt separated from all

those people who spoke so differently from her, insen-sitive to her pain of being ashamed of not being able to communicate. She began to fail in her classes.

Someone told Susy that since she had no papers, she would never do anything. That depressed her even more.

Fortunately, she met some advisers at her high school that changed her life.

They were from the Chi-cano Student Movement from Aztlan and MEChA and they explained to her how the DREAM Act would help undocumented students to pursue their education.

The DREAM Act is a bipartisan legislation that would give undocumented students who grew up in the United States a chance to attend public colleges and universities and apply for public financial aid. The act did not make it into law.

A few months ago Gov. Jerry Brown took a stand for immigrants’ rights when he signed the California DREAM Act, a similar legis-lation to the DREAM Act.

Susy is the first in her family to receive a high

school diploma, and the first to go to college. She has become an activist for the rights of undocumented (this is a note for me) students.

According to the White House Blog, on December 2010, stated that passing the DREAM Act at the national level will allow students to live up to their fullest poten-tial and contribute to the economic growth of this country.

Students like Susy are the future of America. She is a full-time student who plans to enter nursing at UCLA. She and the millions of others will assume the jobs when Baby Boomers retire. Her work as a waitress help pay for books, but she also helps her mother financially.

The California DREAM Act is only one of the many steps in the civil rights move-ment that we need to enact.

We need to continue supporting the education of undocumented students in the United States.

Ten years have passed since Susy arrived in this country. Susy has become stronger and gained a voice.

Susy is taking honors classes and she looks for-ward to the day she knows what it feels like to be a legal.

SOCIAL MEDIUM

Sandra Galindo

California DREAM Act supporters rally near Lincoln High in September. Alexandra Mendoza, SanDiegoRed.com

Woman dreams of her future

Have strong opinions and enjoy voicing them?

Consider joining the City Times staff for spring 2012.Register for J-210 A-D now.

December 6, 2011 | www.sdcitytimes.com7

Voice

What do you think about customer service?

Question by Jorge BenitezPhotos by Troy Orem

Jamie Scott 23 years oldChild Development

“It’s good in general, but not as much as it used to be”

Greg 26Art

“It depends on their mood; they have to deal with angry customers, and have to react differ-ently”

David 26Nursing

“People don’t acknowl-edge you anymore, and everyone has become rude in general”

Guadalupe Cervantes 19Psychology

“It should be inviting, pleasant and put issues aside because they tend to get angry”

“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”

This quote by Walt Disney, should resonate to all who interact with customers and wish to suc-ceed.

From the outside looking in, business models with slo-gans such as “Have it your way” (Burger King) and “Expect more” (Wal-mart) you think would have great customer service models.

However, Burger King had an 11 percent customer satisfaction rating and Wal-mart scored even lower according to Consumer Reports.

This is not to pick on a select two businesses, think of the other times you have had a horrible customer service experience, per-haps it can even be recently.

When going through the finan-cial aid office at City College, how long did you wait in line to speak to someone who did not even look at you through the window, only for them to refer you to some-where else?

Some people have come to expect a horrible visit when visit-ing anything run by the govern-ment, however the low levels of customer service definitely don’t stop there.

High-end brands as well don’t

seem to offer any better customer care then their lower competitors.

Going to an Apple store recently at Fashion Valley mall not only did I have an hour wait (even after making an appointment online the night before), but was greeted by a rude woman who made me feel as though I was cutting into her time.

Too often we let these bad experiences slip by, only to have the next person experience the same service.

Bad customer service is all around us and it is only going to escalate with the way we the people react to it.

Anyone that argues that cus-tomer service is still alive and well must be either working in a cus-tomer service job themselves, or haven’t traveled out of their homes for quite some time.

This is not promoting you be rude to the worker, however it’s their job to provide a service that results in a good experience.

If they say it isn’t their job, don’t you believe that workplace should find someone else who makes it their job?

Customer service isn’t dead. It may be hard to believe, what with so many websites dedicated to customer service ratings, all it takes is a quick scan of the “Yelps” of the Internet to see that the glowing reviews are far more scarce than the scathing ones.

Good reviews are such a rarity in fact, review sites like Yelp.com will actually filter out the reviews and responses from people whom open an account just to post a good review, determining these reviews to be most likely a friend or some-one who has a vested interest in the place succeeding.

Sadly, this means if someone were to log on to give a server a glowing review, it would most likely be rendered invisible to others viewing that particular venue.

To put it simply, customer serv-ers that exhibit a complete lack of talent get a big old spotlight, but the ones that do a superb job get relegated to the shadows.

One of the main problems with the typical “review” is that it is used to state a problem with that particular venue, and is very rarely implemented in a way to give kudos to the person whom you interacted with. This kind of “reviewing” plagues the market-place of nearly every service ori-ented job by only bringing forth the worst of a place of business or a customer server and rendering the positives of a place nonexis-tent.

The detriment with this system, is not the reviews, but the reviewers. Humans as a species

respond to negative stimuli far more readily than that of positive stimuli. We are much more likely to pursue a course of comment if we have been “mistreated” than if we had been expertly taken care of. Its enough to say people are very unlikely to ask to see their waiters manager if they’ve been doing a good job.

There is more to the customer service industry than reviews however, for in its sim-plest form customer service is the interaction between one person and another. Sadly, reviews tell very little of the actual story. As a society our standards for cus-tomer service have been set quite low. Anyone who’s had to be in a Department of Motor Vehicles office for any period of time will know that being amicable is very low on the list of priorities.

The “take a number” approach to customer service has left a neg-ative stain on the psyche of would-be customers.

It doesn’t really matter what the venue is, it doesn’t really matter who the person serving you is, it could be the cashier at a clothing store, or the waiter at a nice family restaurant, people will go out of their way to be downright mean to the person who is tending to their needs.

It is this that is really hurting customer service most of all.

CONTroy Orem

It is alive and wellHas customer service died?

It is getting worse

My name is Michael Wheeler. I am 52 years old and decided to go back to school. I have not been in school since I graduated from San Diego High School in 1978.

This is not what I expected, being disabled with six screws in my lower back after an indus-trial accident.

Being very proud, I decided not to use the services for dis-abled students at City Collage.

Walking to my classes and not being very familiar with the campus is a real struggle for me.

I am taking three classes and seeing all the young adults on campus makes me see that it has been a while since I've been in school.

I find the young adults are very friendly and outgoing.

Sitting through class in pain, taking medication and trying to stay focused, I am getting through the semester with fair grades.

For me what I see different in the classroom is the technol-ogy that is being used.

I am used to doing assign-ments in class and not so much note taking. Other older stu-dents in my classes agree that keeping up with the lectures in class and taking notes at such a fast pace makes it difficult to keep up.

The teachers are very aware of the older students in their classes and are willing to work with them before and after class.

I am enjoying my first year experience being back in school, it has been worth all I have gone through this semes-ter and I am looking forward to the next semester.

Well if you happen to be a bit older and are thinking about returning to school my advice would be to go for it.

What do you have to lose? But more importantly what you have to gain?

PERSPECTIVEMichael Wheeler

30-year break is over

PROJoseph Stremlau

Illustration by Anulak Singphiphat, City Times

*Source: Zogby International

www.sdcitytimes.com | December 6, 20118

Life

By Kevin StoverCity Times

Jeff Walker remembers the hunger.

“When I was hungry and had a long day of job hunt-ing and going to school” he recalled. “Hunger is such a downer, and it makes situa-tions feel so much worse than they really are.”

It’s a feeling that dogged Walker for days at a time when he was a City College student 2 years ago.

He had returned to San Diego to study, but lacking a job left him homeless and at times hungry.

But for several weeks during fall semester 2009 he was struggling to find a job and a place to live, all while trying to get through his courses.

Experts say there are around 9,000 homeless people in San Diego county, many of which are downtown alone sleeping in places like under B Street bridge.

When speaking with Walker you would never think that at one point in his life he was forced to sleep on couches, floors, and in the worst case scenario his car under the highway on B street right across from the campus.

He moved back to San Diego from his mothers house in northern Oregon with hopes of attending San Diego State University, but first he needed to complete a semester at City college before he could be admitted.

At the time of his arrival he

had no job, no home, and little money to live off. He attended classes all day and searched for jobs after school. Walker explained “I kept my clothes in the trunk (of my car), and had a folder full of resumes.”

He knew if things got to

bad he could make a phone call to family members and ask them for some assistance, but that was the last thing he wanted.

“I have always believed that as long as I was alive and healthy I was better off than so many people in this world, so everything else was just extra,” Walker said.

Today, Walker, age 27, has transferred from City College to San Diego State, and has recently been accepted to a

few lawschools and is trying to decide which is best for him. He is working in real estate and lives in a nice apart-ment downtown.

Like Walker, there are students facing these same hardships everyday at City College.

Sgt. Jordan Mirakian of the San Diego City College Police Department believes some homeless may even enroll in a minimum of one class so they have access to the facili-ties, health care, and Learning Resource Center.

Julie Tunnell, accounting professor at City College, was

Walker’s professor during this period of his life.

“I remember Jeff as a very intelligent young man with strong analytical skills. He did very well on his exams and papers,”Tunnel said.

“Jeff was fairly quiet and soft-spoken, so to learn after the fact that he was facing such tremendous challenges while studying at City College is amazing. I am truly awe-inspired to think of all that he accomplished in spite of his extremely difficult living situ-ation. Jeff’s story is incredible and can and does happen at City College,” Tunnell added.

Walker realizes that there are many people out there who have had similar obsta-cles and much worse, and that many are still in those situa-tions.

“My goal would be for everyone to realize that no matter what you want to do in life is possible.” Walker said. “Negativity will get you nowhere in life … You never know who is having a low time in their life … My advice is to treat everyone as if they have had struggles in their life just like you, because I bet you they have.”

Once Walker knew that

he had some money coming in he borrowed some money from a friend and moved into a place of his own. Walker described it as the highest point throughout the ordeal.

“I got a good laugh when I looked at my closet and thought back to a few weeks before when those same clothes were crammed in my trunk. I realized that I had changed my whole situation from my sole perseverance and determination,” Walker said. “It feels good to see what you are made of as a person and overcome obstacles that seem almost impossible”.

Homeless doesn’t mean helpless

People pass by the collections of carts, blankets and other belongings, that have become the closest thing to a home for those with no home. Troy Orem, City Times

The overpasses near City College serve as a shelter for many homeless people. Troy Orem, City Times

“Negativity will get you nowhere in life … You never know who is having a low time in their life … My advice is to treat every-one as if they have had strug-gles in their life just like you, because I bet you they have.”