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The
Student Voice of diablo Valley college
• NEWS 1, 2 • SPORTS 3, 4 • OPINIONS 5, 6 • EDITORIAL 5 • ARTS & FEATURES 7, 8 • CAMPUS BUZZ 5 • CALENDER 2 • POLICE BEAT 2 • STAFF INFORMATION 5A •
She’s a witch! Student governement elections: Go out and vote! March 27 and March 28 in the Student Union Building.
“The Crucible” now playing!
Volume 79 No. 3 Copyright © 2012 The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College www.TheInquirerOnline.com Thursday, March 22 - Wednesday, April 19, 2012
Silent affliction affects womenDANIELLE BARCENA
News editor
The end of March marks the end of Endometriosis Awareness Month, but mil-lions of women will continue to suffer in silence from a dis-ease that causes pain “worse than childbirth.”
“Endometriosis is a puz-zling hormonal and immune disease affecting girls and women in their reproductive years.” Mary Lou Ballweg, President and Executive Di-rector of the Endometriosis Association said in her book, “Endometriosis: The Com-plete Reference for Taking Charge of Your Health.”
In 1993, the Endometriosis Association began utilizing the month of March to raise awareness for the, at times, debilitating disease that affects approximately 6.3 million women in the United States and between 89 and 176 mil-lion women worldwide.
“The Association was in-strumental in bringing about the legislation that created it as a National Health Observance,” Carol Drury, Education Program Coordinator & Associate Director of the Endometriosis Association said, “It is a month where we focus on aware-ness of the disease and the impact on women with endo and those who care for them.”
Women with the disease experience pain.
They may experience pain with menstruation, pain with bowel movements, during sexual in-tercourse, and pain in between cycles.
“In its severe form, [endometriosis] has been described as worse than childbirth.” Lorna Ga-rano, press contact Dr. Cook, a gynecologic surgeon who specializes in the disease, wrote in the press release for Cook’s upcoming book “Stop Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain.”
There is no cure for the disease and it is not known what causes it.
“Misinformation and ineffective treatments abound,” Dr. Cook stated in his release. “Endo is a complex and poorly understood condition even among the physicians who are supposed to provide care…while individual physicians do their best, the reality is that our healthcare system offers only marginally effective pre-
scription medications, which come with significant side ef-fects.”
Women suffering from the pain may find theirs cries for help going unheard when seeking medical assistance.
“Many have been told by doctors that their pain is ‘all in your head.’ Many times when women with endo go to the emergency room because their pain is so intense, they are la-beled as ‘drug seeking,’ and turned away,” Drury said.
The lack of help can leave women feeling alone and mis-understood.
“Because you can’t see endo, many women with it look nor-mal even though they are in agony,” Garano wrote in Dr. Cook’s release. “As a result, even well-meaning people can doubt the severity of the pain and wonder if sufferers are exaggerating when they try to explain how intense it is. This erodes a woman’s potential support system and can leave her feeling more isolated, frus-trated, and hopeless.”
When a woman’s support system is gone, she can be left with nothing.
“Women who once saw themselves as vi-brant, active, and competent become isolated
Photo illustration by The Inquirer
KARIN JENSEN / The Inquirer
Textbook companies are growing as students find new resources for obtaining the textbooks that they need for their college courses.
The ABCs of College TextbooksKARIN JENSEN
Staff writer
With gas prices increasing, college students are look-ing for ways to save money without having to work two or three jobs. Textbooks can also be expensive, but thanks to websites like Amazon, BookFinder, BookRenter, and Chegg, this is no longer a problem.
Amazon.com has long been used to buy top quality items at reasonable prices, or to sell that old junk you just can’t seem to get rid of anywhere else. Often, several people are selling the same thing at dif-ferent prices, and they also provide descriptions so you can choose whichever seems like the best deal. Sometimes free shipping is included.
BookFinder.com is similar to Amazon, except that you can only find books there, 150 million books, to be exact.
Head of BookFinder’s Pub-lic Relations, Scott Laming, described the website as “a price comparison search en-gine, meaning that we search dozens of bookselling web-sites on behalf of our users and then sort these findings allowing the user to find the bookseller offering the best possible price for the book they require.
The user is then able to buy the book directly from the bookseller. So we do not end up caring which bookseller/renter you purchase from, we just want to find you the best deal possible.” BookFinder
BOOKS, Page 2
AWARENESS, Page 2
ASDVC: Your vote counts
AIDAN HERRICKStaff writer
Spring students gear up for the ASDVC elections on campus
Running for President are Jae Chang, also known as Eric Lee, and Francisco Hinojosa. Lee, running with the U-AID coalition, has experience from Harvard and believes his experience with different cultures and his overcoming of personal struggles qualify him to be a leader.
His platform is based on ig-niting passion and excitement in the student body, cooper-ating with different organiza-tions on campus to inspire the students towards their goals and generate an atmo-sphere more reminiscent of a university.
Francisco Hinojosa could not be reached for comment on short notice, as well as any students running with 9-UP, the coalition running oppo-site U-AID.
Running for Controller is Kwan Woo Moon, is very concerned with the budget and wants to enforce a $1 representative fee for all stu-dents, which would generate over $22,000 which he hopes to use for improving the stu-dent life offices and student government, and hence help the student body.
Contenders for Vice Presi-dent are Peter Kim and Kyu Tae Kim. Peter Kim’s posi-tion works in three parts, the first being to make politicians promises deliverable as well as transparent, the second s to ascertain the desires of the student body through sur-veys, and third to allow DVC students access to cheaper textbooks through a website exclusively for DVC students through www.stdvc.com.
Peter Kim is running inde-pendently.
Kyu Tae Kim’s platform follows suite with other U-AID candidates, hoping to encourage student involve-ment in government and on campus through various fun projects and activities, and wants to offer an ear to stu-dent voice, vowing to have his own office hours for meeting with students.
The elections will be held Tuesday, Mar. 27 and Wednes-day, Mar. 28 from 9 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. in the student union building, with hot dogs and beverages at 11 a.m. on a first come, first serve basis.
A new age for the new age
Everyone has met or at least seen one around cam-pus: maybe they have dread-locks, or do yoga or meditate every day, recycle everything, or swear by the power of
healing herbs or crystals. So -called “neo-hippies”, follow-ers of the New Age spiritual movement.
New Agers pride them-selves on being open-minded
and having an “alternative lifestyle”.
They have alternative be-liefs, use alternative medicines, and usually have an alternative appearance.
Some are making a con-scious effort not to be part of our consumer society, to not use modern medicine, or to buck a restricting religion or set of values that they were raised with.
They have a growing con-cern for environmental and foreign policy. Many young people are getting frustrated with the government and seek
freedom from excessive laws and incompetent representa-tives.
The Occupy protests at-tracted many in the New Age movement, believing that non-violent dissent was a way to change our society for the better.
“What really attracted me at first was the art,” says student Sara Noelle. “I just started looking at all kinds of art and it was different from anything I’d seen before. I just feel like
MILLIE MCCORDStaff writer
NEW AGE, Page 2
Contact AIDAN HERRICK at AHerrick@TheInquirerOnline.
com
2 Thursday, March 22 - Wednesday, April 18, 2012The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College
NewsCALENDAR
Thursday, Mar. 22
Brown Bag Workshop - Could You Study Abroad?
Student Union12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Mar. 27 - 28
ASDVC Elections
DVC Student Union, San Ramon Learning Commons 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Mar. 27
Summer Job and Internship Fair
Diablo Room10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Mar. 28
Club A3 Car Wash
Student Union11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 31
Spring Plant Sale
DVC Greenhouse9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Monday, April 2 - 8
Spring Recess
Diablo Valley CollegeAll Day
Monday, April 9
Music Concert: The Night Jazz Band at Yoshi’s
Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Police Beat
March 2, 2012An employee informed
authorities of seeing a District Office van driv-ing around Martinez late in the evening.
March 5, 2012At 2:58 p.m. a student
stole a burrito from the bookstore. The student was referred to the Dean of Students after paying for the item and released with a conduct referral.
March 10, 2012A pair of minors were
arrested in the overflow lot for possession of 28.5 grams of marijuana at 10:24 a.m. The minors admitted to authorities that they had smoked some of the marijuana. They were released to an adult on citation.
March 12, 2012At 4:55 p.m. a woman
was taken into custody for possible intoxication at the bus stop in lot 8. The woman could not stand up and was cleared by arrest.
March 13, 2012A student informed au-
thorities that she fell vic-tim to a tire slashing. The student was in class on March 12 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. and when she returned to her car in lot 7 she found her tires had been slashed.
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also gives the option of renting a book, rather than having to buy some-thing a student may only need for a semester or less.
BookRenter.com and Chegg.com are relatively new websites that allow college students to rent the books they need. BookRenter has five rental pe-riods to choose from, ranging from 30 to 125 days. And you’re allowed to write and highlight in the book you rent, but the website cautions, “just don’t go crazy!”
When you’re done with the book, simply repackage it and send it back, or drop it off at a local store shown on the website. Standard shipping is free to and from your house. With every order, BookRenter donates to First Book, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving books to children in need.
“I think renting books is a great op-tion opposed to buying books,” said Mathematics major Jennifer Oertel. “The books are usually in great con-dition and it’s about $20-$40 cheaper than buying books. And with the ex-tra money we can buy other school supplies. But the problem with rent-ing books is that if you don’t return the books in time it costs a lot when they’re late.”
Chegg.com is very similar to BookRenter, but with a few add-ons. In Spring 2010, Student Monitor Life-style and Media report rated Chegg the “#1 source of college textbook rent-als.” Chegg appears to be more college student friendly, as it offers help with classes and homework, besides rent-ing and selling books and eTextbooks. Just put in the name of your school then search for a book. The results will show what courses at your school require that book, as well as the other
books those courses require. Then, during checkout, the option is given to donate a dollar towards planting trees. So far, Chegg has planted over five million trees. The site is funded by in-vestors, and recently raised $25 million dollars in equity.
Music major Francesca Reutzel said, “I prefer to buy used copies so that I can take notes inside, and high-light the text.” After being introduced to BookRenter and Chegg, she said, “I think renting is a great, cheap op-tion, and I might do this in the future. Books are crazy expensive.”
Homework Help is a corner of Chegg that offers just what the name implies. Submit a question any time of night or day, and get an answer from an expert within two hours. Chegg also released a free flashcard app in Febru-ary, which has already helped dozens of students prepare for exams.
“With regard to our increased out-reach efforts, our goal is to save stu-dents time, money and help them get smarter,” said Chegg Communications Manager Angela Pontarolo, “so we will continue to help students connect with their peers, educators, content and ser-vices when they need it most.”
Biology major Luis Yataco said, “I think it’s a good idea because even though DVC is implementing a rent system as well, it gives us as students the ability to have more options and get more for our money.”
Contact KARIN JENSEN at [email protected]
Courtesy of Chegg.com
Above, the Chegg.com website is familiar among students who are in the market for text-books.Left, the Bookfinder.com logo, one of the many web resources available for students who are looking for good deals.
Courtesy of BookFinder.com
BOOKSFrom Page 1
NEW AGEFrom Page 1
this lifestyle has so many creative outlets for your energy. As I’ve ex-plored the possibilities and met new people it has expanded my mind and really helped me discover myself.”
Most like the sense of community they have with similar-minded people and the acceptance they feel. Margie Santoya, a student who turned to ho-listic medicine after a major accident, agrees.
“I love the people I connect with. This is an avenue of stress release that we’re all trying,” Santoya says. “I’ve found meditation and being around people with good energy is very effec-tive. I also get more information from the people I meet.”
Some just do it because it’s cool. A New Age lifestyle is not the only way to go about expressing individualism, but it seems to have caught on particu-larly with college students in the Bay Area. The more liberal atmosphere is conducive to trying new things and rediscovering old ones, like crystals, herbal remedies, and methods of uti-lizing spiritual energy.
The Bay area has traditionally been more open to yoga, Buddhism, and New Age interests in general. There have been multiple Buddhist centers and temples in the area for years, but Buddhism is exploding in the United States. The tradition of nonviolence, oneness, and spiritual discovery has at-tracted many, especially young people. According to Pew Research Center, Buddhism’s number of adherents has
doubled since the mid-1990s. The number of people in the United States who practice yoga has grown rapidly as well, rising from 4.3 million in 2001 to 14.3 million in 2010.
On campus, the Mind-Body Heal-ing Club focuses on finding more holistic healing methods from all over the world, especially preventa-tive medicine. The president, Maria Manila, disagrees that the move to a more alternative lifestyle, particularly in medicine, is a trend.
“It’s been coming for years now,” Manila says. “All these different cul-tures and influences are coming to-gether and changing our attitudes. I think people are getting concerned about what’s happening to our envi-ronment and overpopulation. They’re realizing that if they want to take care of themselves and take care of the planet, this is the way to go.”
It’s not just the appeal of the life-style either. “People have been driven to extremes by the high cost of health care,” Manila says. ”I encourage peo-ple to use natural medicine, but there needs to be a balance between mod-ern medicine and holistic, preventative care. Both have their merits, it’s just that the natural way hasn’t been repre-sented in American medical practice.”
Contact MILLIE MCCORD at [email protected]
from the pain and can feel that their identity has been stripped away and redefined by endo.” Garano said in the release.
Students who were inter-viewed on campus were unfa-miliar with the disease. Dental hygiene major, Courtney, who declined her last name, said she has heard of the disease “briefly in my health classes.”
Hormonal treatments such as oral contraceptives and pro-gesterone drugs are used to try to treat the disease, which has no cure. Invasive surgery is also employed.
“Hysterectomy and removal
of the ovaries has been con-sidered a ‘definitive’ cure, but research by the association…has found such a high rate of continuation or recurrence [of endometriosis],” Ballweg wrote in her book.
The Endometriosis As-sociation remains hopeful with their endeavors with this awareness month.
“One of the most frustrat-ing things for a woman with endo is that others don’t be-lieve their pain is real. They may think the woman is just shirking her duties,” Drury said. “Awareness will create understanding, which we hope will lead to greater support by employers and families.”
Karin Jensen and Melissa Na-tividad contributed to this article.
Contact DANIELLE BARCENA at dbarcena@TheInquirerOnline.
com
ENDOFrom Page 1
BRIAN DONOVAN and KELLYN BORST / The Inquirer
“Endo is a complex and poorly under-stood condition even among the
physicians who are supposed to provide
care.”
~DR. COOKGynecologist and author of ““Stop
Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain.”
Last fall, freshman Logan Conners repre-sented DVC athletics with his big arm on the football field as the rotating back up quarter-back. But in the spring Conners is the self-pro-claimed “Jav Specialist,” showing off his arm in the javelin competition as a member of the DVC track and field team.
Conners’ abilities were put on display at the first meet of the season, the Beaver Relays on Mar. 3, posting a throw of or 189’-3“, the best throw so far in Northern California and cur-rently the number two throw in the State. His achievement earned him the Big 8 Athlete of the Week.
His throw in the subsequent meet, the Jack
Albiani Invitational on March 9, was only a few feet short of breaking that record.
“I enjoy it because it’s so different from football,” said Conners. “It’s a lot of fun and a good contrast.”
Conners is a natural thrower. He was the starting quarterback of his high school team in Corvallis, Montana. In his senior year he de-cided to throw the javelin to keep his strong in the off season. What started as a work out turned into a new found talent. He went on to win the State Javelin Title and finished 13th in the nation.
Coming out of high school, Conners was be-ing recruited by numerous Division 1 schools in the Big Sky conference, including Univer-sity ofMontana and Montana State. Conners decided to take the community college route
Sports 3The Inquirer - Diablo Valley CollegeThursday, March 22 - Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Advertisement
It’s that time of the year where whether or not you are a basketball fan, March Madness has its annual grip on sports fans and gam-blers alike, and fans coast to coast are filling out their brackets.
The safe bet for all you bracketeers is to pick the number 1 seeds and have a Final Four filled with power-houses like Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Syracuse, and the rest of the ruling elites of the college basketball world. How-ever, this year is different. With the first three rounds done, many of the powerhouse teams are already out.
The Connecticut Huksies, defending cham-pions of the 2011 tournament, and the Duke Blude Devils, the 2010 champs, were out in the first round. Second seeded Missouri was also bounced in the first round, along with the Texas Longhorns and the local St. Mary’s Gaels.
This is what makes the NCAA Mens Bas-ketball Tournament unlike anything in college or professional sports. The talent pool is so wide that sleeper teams that arrive with a com-petitive spirit have a real chance of advancing deep into the bracket. This year featured two teams ranked 15th or higher beating out two number two seeded teams for the first time in the history of the tournament.
This year’s Sweet Sixteen features the likes of North Carolina State, Ohio, and Xavier, all of whom are ranked 10th and up. It remains to be seen how well these teams will do in the next round, but if this tournament is anything like the previous rounds it should make for an exciting NCAA tournament and give the fans what they want; a chance to see somebody else get their fair shake and a chance at making his-tory and bring glory to their school.
Unfortunately, only three teams from the West Coast were represented in the tourna-ment, and the local schools Cal and St. Mary’s bowed out in relatively unimpressive fashion.
Mad about March
IAN McSHEAStaff writer
MADNESS, Page 4
Coaches honor Title IX anniversarySeveral firsthand perspectives were displayed
at a Title IX panel last Thursday, March 15th. DVC coaches Cailin Mullins, Theresa Flores-Lowry and Jackie Ponciano-Babb made up the panel and discussed athletic gender issues they’ve noticed and experienced throughout life, improvements that have been made and problems that must still be resolved.
Flores-Lowry has been coaching softball
and teaching for over 25 years, spending 10 years at the University of the Pacific coach and 15 years at DVC as a softball coach and teacher of various physical education classes. She was the first female to receive an athletic scholarship to the University of the Pacific.
As the eldest of the three panel mem-bers, Flores-Lowry was able to recount a lon-ger history of gender inequality in her sports career. She began noticing a divide in junior high regarding the equipment for baseball
and softball. “They had uniforms, we did not. They had twill, button down uniforms while we were playing in shirts and jeans.”
Mullins, the women’s soccer coach at DVC, and Ponciano-Babb, DVC women’s volleyball coach, shared very similar views which slightly varied from Flores-Lowry’s.
Mullins and Ponciano-Babb began their respective sports careers in the 1980s. Each stated they didn’t truly notice equity problems until they reached their higher education. “As
long as I had access to play, that’s all I knew. But I didn’t become aware of it [the inequaili-ties] until college,” said Ponciano-Babb.
Mullins recalled a detailed memory from her time at Maryland, where she played lacrosse and soccer. She talked about the poor con-dition of the female athletes’ dorms and the perks the football team was given: a separate dining space where they ate for free,
GABRIEL AGURCIAStaff writer
Hannah Voegtly burns through an intense heat of 100 yard butterfly. She finished first place in her heat.
SEAN WILKEY / The Inquirer
Vikings set sail against Pasadena
SEAN WILKEYStaff writer
In the middle of the season, the DVC swim team has proven their dominance in another crushing win of 272 to Pasadena City College’s score of 134.
With an early lead of two medley wins, DVC took a slight loss in the 1650 yd free. “Nor-mally you know, the first couple of laps, how it will turn out,” Chelsey Gutierrez reflects after placing second in the 1650 yd free, “but you just burn through it.”
Determination seemed to be a sentiment shared by the whole team, as moral was high among both the men and the women. “You have to keep going, to fight for the little gains;” Scott Wess, DVC’s 1650 yd free swimmer, who also placed second, concurs, “Each time has to be faster. Each 20 laps, you have to be willing to do your best.”
The best is what was delivered. DVC men pushed through with a strong 124 to PCC’s 67, and women went deep for a 144 win to
PCC’s 54.“Per capita, girls have
a lot of talent,” Head Coach Rick Millington explains, “but the guys need step it up.” Though the team demands a lot of commitment, rewards are just as sweet.
Don’t let the good vibes dispel the reality of swim
meets: they are a athletes, and just as vicious and chaotic as the pulse of the competitors when they leave the pool.
“If you feel like you’re dying, you’re halfway
there,” Hannah Voegtly said after a particu-larly intense bout of 100 yd butterfly. Hannah placed first, but like her teammates, knows that excellence comes at the price of coopera-tion. At every lap, every heat, the DVC swim team was there to cheer itself on, helping with scorecards and congratulating its members, win or lose.
“Our team is among the top three,” coach Rick Millington explains, “making us one of the strongest conferences in state, and this meet and our track record is a good indication of what to expect from us this season.”
Contact SEAN WILKEY at [email protected]
Conners wins Athlete of the Week
Courtesy of SHELLY PIERSON
Freshman Logan Connors threw a 189’-3” in the javelin throw, the best throw in Northern California and the second best in the state.
TOM RIZZASports Editor
TITLE IX, Page 4
CONNERS, Page 4
Need to Know
Follow Swimming and Diving on Twitter@DVC_Athletics
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summer job and
internship fair
11th annualpartnership for success
Tuesday,March 27, 201210 a.m. – 1 p.m.Diablo Valley College
Cafeteria (Diablo Room)
Sponsored by DVC Career and Employment Services and Pleasant Hill Recreation and Parks District
For list of employers please visit www.dvc.edu/career
4 Thursday, March 22 - Wednesday, April 18 , 2012The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College
Sports
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TITLE IXFrom Page 3
along with occasionally having pizza deliv-ered to their dorms; whereas Mullins’ teams had to eat in the general area and pay for all their food.
As coaches, all three members expressed the hurdles women face to become coaches, as well as the speed bumps that exist for those who do become coaches. “I think there is sometimes some subconscious discrimina-tion in sports administration,” said Flores-Lowry. One point in particular was brought up by each member: women have trouble being coaches due to the demands of family life. Flores-Lowry stated she knew numerous female coaches who had to give up their job because their tasks as a mother and wife sim-ply demanded too much of their time.
However, not all is disappointing or dis-heartening. Since the inception of Title IX, numerous women’s sports have been added, such as basketball, soccer and water polo. A new women’s locker room was recently built at DVC, which all three coaches said is the most important improvement DVC has made for women’s sports to date. Mullins said that Title IX is a key recruiting tool for her. The soccer field was renovated not too long ago as well, with a new surface, irrigation and drain-age systems and a new scoreboard put in place, all made possible by Title IX.
Problems still remain though. Women don’t hold nearly as many head positions as men in the sports world, or the world in general, and women aren’t typically given the recogni-tion men receive. ESPN regularly covers all the major sports involving men, while the WNBA and other women’s pro sports are left with no headlines.
Mullins, Flores-Lowry and Ponciano-Babb all agreed that women seek respect equal to that of their male counterparts. “We want to be treated the same as the male athletes,” said Ponciano-Babb.
Title IX does set the ground rules for
equality from a financial stand point, but there are other factors to achieve overall equality between men’s and women’s sports.
Young women need more tangible ex-amples of female progress. The increasing popularity of the NCAA Womens College Basketball tournament highlights that prog-ress. Mullins stated succinctly, “Having role models is important for girls to see opportu-nities they can have.”
Flores-Lowry encompassed the key point of the panel’s discussion by saying, “We still have a ways to go. Not just at DVC but all across the nation.”
Sean Wilkey contributed to this article.
MADNESSFrom Page 3
College basketball on the West Coast is the weakest it has ever been, and that has killed a lot of the interest around here. But if you’re looking for the best competition in sports, then the NCAA tournament is the way to go.
Even if your team is not in the tourna-ment, the upsets, the drama and the suspense should be enough entertainment even to novice fans, and this year looks like it will be nothing short of exciting.
Contact IAN McSHEA at [email protected]
to better prepare him for the next level. “They handed me a list of community col-
leges that have good track records for pre-paring athletes in sports and academics for the next level,” said Conners. “DVC stuck out to me.”
Logan Conners is one of the many strong athletes representing DVC on the track and field team. You can catch them compete in the American River Invitational on March 31 in Sacramento.
Contact TOM RIZZA at [email protected]
CONNERSFrom Page 3
Coach Jackie Ponciano-Babb recounts her tales of growing up before Title IX. She is the head coach of both the volleyball and tennis teams at DVC.
ALEX BRENDEL / The Inquirer
Contact GABRIEL AGURCIA at [email protected]
K O R E A HOUSE
Lunch Special 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
“The best Galbi in town”
1835 Willow Pass Rd. Concord, CA925.691.8888
STAFF WRITERS Gabriel Agurcia, Aidan Herrick, Brandon Kersis, Millen McCord, Ian McShea, Melissa Natividad, Chloe Quinones-Crosby, Lorena Rojas, Ashley Rose, Sean WilkeyPHOTOGRAPHERS Sara Berkson, Pablo Caballero, Karin Jensen, DESIGNERS Kellyn Borst, Jack Dillon
INSTRUCTIONAL LAB COORDINATOR Ann StenmarkADVISER Mary Mazzocco
EDITOR IN CHIEF Brian DonovanMANAGING EDITOR Hakeem MontesONLINE EDITOR Andrew O’Connor-WattsNEWS EDITOR Danielle BarcenaOPINIONS EDITOR John KeslerSPORTS EDITOR Tom RizzaARTS & FEATURES EDITOR Christa BalingitPHOTO CHIEF Mike AlfieriBUSINESS MANAGER Dalila AbdelhadiADVERTISING MANAGER Yunhee RohCOPY EDITORS Raneem Taleb-Agha, Tim KhousnoutdinovDISTRIBUTION MANAGER Alex BrendelINQUIRER TV COORDINATOR Danielle Barcena
Opinions 5The Inquirer - Diablo Valley CollegeThursday, March 22 - Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Editorial Board Staff
• Phone: 925.685.1230 ext. 2313 • Fax: 925.681.3045 • Email: [email protected] • Website: www.TheInquirerOnline.com • Printed Every Two Weeks •
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afford food?
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The Inquirer is published Thursday mornings during the school year by the journalism students of Diablo Valley College. All unsigned articles appearing on the opinions page are editorials and reflect a two-thirds majority opinion of the editorial staff. All signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writer or artists and not necessarily those of The Inquirer, Diablo Valley College or Contra Costa Community College District.
Interviewer: Hakeem MontesPhotographer: Pablo Caballero
“I’m not finding it difficult. I have ample
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YVETTE LEWIS, 43Administration of Justice
“Yes. Trying to deal with fees is hard enough.”
MATTHEW SMITH, 28Computer Science
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KATIE GARRITY, 21Speech Pathology
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price of food is good.”
ARMITA ARYAMANESH, 28Engineering
“It’s been tough lately but I’m holding up.”.”
ADRIAN NAVA, 24Film
Letters to the editor
Opinions
KELLYN BORST / The Inquirer
Imagine female students not being able to play sports. This was the 1960s.
At this time, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, which helped energize feminism once again once in this country.
With this new feminist move-ment in full swing, gender equal-ity progressed by leaps and bounds.
In 1972, Congress passed a potential amendment to the Constitution. Known as the Equal Rights Amendment, the first section simply read, “Equal-ity of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” However, only 35 of the required 38 states rati-fied the amendment before the deadline.
Only in the United States can common sense not pass a two thirds vote.
Around the same time Con-gress passed a less radical law: the Mink Equal Opportunity in
Education Act, also known as Title IX. Title IX granted equal opportunity for both sexes in regards to educational programs, but its lasting legacy is that it allowed women to take part in school sports.
While this may sound sur-prising, it turns out that allow-ing women to play sports in high school and college (as well as funding sports programs for women) does a lot for gen-der equality. According to the Feminist Majority Foundation’s
1995 publication “Empowering Women in Sports,” high school girls who play sports earn bet-ter grades and aspire to be lead-ers more than their non-athletic counterparts.
The publication also notes that “expanding sports oppor-tunities for women and girls will help achieve the feminization of power in all realms.” In other words, today’s female softball and soccer players are tomor-row’s senators and CEOs.
One effect this has had can be
seen in the student population. Tara Parker-Pope wrote in a blog for the New York Times that Ti-tle IX “explained about 20 per-cent of the increase in women’s education and about 40 percent of the rise in employment for 25-to-34-year-old women.”
Additionally, Liza Mundy’s Time Magazine article “Women, Money and Power” reported that Census Bureau data from Reach Advisors revealed that “single childless women ages 22 to 30 in the majority of large U.S.
Cities now have a higher median income than their male peers.” Note that a 30 year old woman in 2010 (when the Census was done) would have been born in 1980 and thus within the first generation of students to grow up with Title IX.
Hard to believe that less than 40 years ago, there used to be a labor law in California that didn’t allow women to work in occupa-tions that required lifting more than 30 pounds.
We have come a long way since the 1960s and many of the myths of patriarchy have been washed away by time, education and persistent activism.
Having women test their physical limits and leadership in sports is just one part of making a better society period.
Gender equality is a no brain-er; women and men are equals. The world will be a better place when we realize this truth.
Title IX advances women
Job outsourcing betrays workersOutsourcing is when big cor-
porations and banking institu-tions take away jobs from their employees and send these jobs to countries where the pay is dirt cheap. The Bank of Amer-ica employees who were out-sourced from Concord (over 70 plus from just one department alone) had devoted ten, twenty and even thirty years of service and had full plans to retire with the bank. This dedication got us nowhere.
I was one of these employees. December 9, 2009 was my last
day of employment. It was my desire to contribute to our unit until I would retire; this was the same feeling from others as well as my retirement was still a few years down the line. Our depart-ment was placed under the Fed-eral Trade Act which enabled us to return to college to be re-trained in another field.
Going back to college has been uplifting but also physically and mentally challenging. With our current economy the way it is, this makes finding new em-ployment almost impossible as
there are no jobs in “these new fields.” Also when competing for job positions, looking and finding work when your middle age is difficult and frustrating.
Bank of America is guilty of operating with “profit” be-ing their bottom line for their shareholders at the expense of dedicated employees. Plans of retirement are shattered, health care lost, 401K and Pensions abolished, and for many the start of a foreclosure is just a heart-beat away from reality.
Many of us have had to
downsize our lifestyle to the bare necessities. Trying to stay opti-mistic is a daily chore and my life may have taken a turn in a dif-ferent direction if it weren’t for college. Many of us trade act stu-dents are enrolled here at DVC, seeking degrees in a world full of uncertainties.
Bank of America may possi-bly lose its foothold in Concord as more jobs are being out-sourced. This also undercuts the local economy as these workers bought gas, ate at local restau-rants, grocery shopped, handled
banking needs, and visited local physicians and hospitals for ser-vices. This is also a loss for Con-cord as taxes are not being paid by employees moving elsewhere in order to secure new jobs.
The government needs to stop outsourcing by levying heavy fines against these banks and corporations that deliberate-ly leave the United States. Shame on you Bank of America.
Sincerely,Susan Blatz, student
S. Korean FTA passage is contentious
South Korea, a powerful mar-ket-orientated society, is becom-ing increasingly more important within the global economic sphere, even in this current re-cessive era. It is a member of the G20 and it hosted the fifth G20 Summit in its capital city, Seoul, in November 2010. Analyzing the South Korean economy, one thing that comes to mind is the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. During the process of overcom-ing the crisis, South Korea’s gov-ernment forced big companies to be more independent, profit-able and transparent, laying the ground work for the explosion of Korean firms like Samsung, Hyundai and LG in the global market.
South Korea’s economy is also diversifying and incorporating foreign components. Film, video games and pop culture have fil-tered into the corporate world as
part of the rise of “creative” industries. With such a press-ing drive for greater financial strength and international standing, it is hard to believe that more than 50 percent of the Korean population op-posed the recent Free Trade Agreement between the Unit-ed States and South Korea, as according to the Realmeter
polling service.Essentially, the FTA is an
agreement for the elimination of tariffs on over 95 percent of ex-changed industrial and consumer goods between the US and Ko-rea within a five year time frame. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the deal would give South Korean companies improved access to U.S. markets, widen consumers’ choice of products and create 350,000 jobs over the next 10 years. According to the opposi-tion, however, the FTA clearly favors the United States over South Korea. They claim that this is because of the article on the automotive tariff, import of American beef to the South Ko-rean market, and the Kaesong Industrial Complex which also involves North Korea.
On November 3, 2011 – the
day the agreement was signed – 2,000 opponents took to the National Assembly to voice their beliefs that the FTA would sub-jugate South Korea’s economy and ruin their livelihoods. Police responded by arresting 12 and shooting the rest with water can-nons. This is just one example of how many Koreans choose to oppose this potentially destruc-tive arrangement. But why are they doing this? Isn’t the success
of Korea rooted in strong capi-talistic economic growth?
There are various answers to be considered. One relates to how the Korean legislative body and the president approached the negotiation. While South Ko-rea’s main opposition party said that they vowed not to support a free trade deal with the United States unless certain points were addressed, President Myung-bak Lee offered to reopen nego-tiations with the United States if opponents in parliament voted for ratification.
The deal, which triggered heated debate in both coun-tries, faces lingering resistance in South Korea with the main liberal opposition party pledging to seek a renegotiation if it wins December’s presidential elec-tion. Activists also say they will continue to rally for the deal’s nullification. However, in South Korea, dissatisfaction does not necessary lead to political sup-port of the opposition parties.
An opposition alliance would show a great move towards soli-darity in addressing issues like poor administration of the Lee Myung-bak government. How-ever, apathy and indifference is still pretty high. The rate of voter
turnout in the 2008 parliamen-tary election was 46.01 percent and that of the Presidential elec-tion is 63.01 percent according to the Institute for Demography and Electoral Assistance. It is im-perative that individuals–Korean citizens both at home and living abroad–choose to wield voting power to make changes within their society, and thwart the lin-gering aura of suppression for a cleaner political dialogue.
Regarding citizens that are living abroad, new legislation will allow them to vote, starting with this April’s general election. Coupling this with resources such as social media may allow for more effective and unified debate or opposition to politi-cal developments at home. My advice would be for all groups to utilize technology, track the media, and maintain pressure on the government so that the po-litically empowered citizenry can exercise their rights to vote with real results. This current battle will continue to be waged for many more months, so act now and be heard.
YUNHEE ROHAdvertising Manager
Contact YUNHEE ROH at [email protected]
ATTENTION READERSIf you want to write a letter to the editor, please submit a
letter with your phone number, name and
address to: [email protected]
“It is imperative, that individuals–Korean citizens
both at home and abroad – choose to wield voting power to make changes within
their society, and thwart the linger-ing aura of sup-pression for a
cleaner political dialogue.”
6 Thursday, March 22 - Wednesday April 18, 2012The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College
Opinions
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Food punishes wallet
Human beings have a few ba-sic needs when it comes to sur-vival. Water, sleep, and food range among the highest priorities of these needs. In our currently troubled economic state, more of your neighbors are finding it in-creasingly difficult to gain access to the necessary calories needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
According to the United Na-tions Food and Agriculture Or-ganization website, “Food secu-rity exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food pref-erences for an active and healthy life.” Now, I’m not talking about having enough money to pur-chase luxuries like a front row
ticket to a hot upcoming concert, I am talking about people hav-ing enough money to provide themselves with the daily meals required to sustain a healthy ex-istence.
There has been a significant spike in the amount of Con-tra Costa residents who have begun accepting food stamps through the Contra Costa Em-ployment and Human Services Department. Joe Valentine, the director of this county organiza-tion, stated in a November 2011 KCBS interview, “We now have over 30,000 households on food stamps. Three years ago we had 16,000. So those applications have increased significantly.” This is an 87.5 percent increase of food stamp participants over the course of only a few years.
Food banks have also become inundated with an ever increas-ing demand of people who are accessing their services. A 2010 Hunger Survey of the Food Bank of Contra Costa County and Solano Counties, as reported in a local needs assessment by UC Davis SNAP-ED, states that
“more than 130,000 people re-ceive food each month through the food bank. The findings rep-resent a 64 percent increase since the findings were reported in Hunger in America 2006.”
It is going to take an effort on behalf of us as a community to help those who are hungry here in our very own neighborhood. If you are reading this and wonder-ing where you will find your next meal, you are not alone. There are solutions available to help you re-solve this immediate need.
In our society, there seems to be a stigma or even prejudice which exists when somebody does not have enough money to sustain their basic needs, as though they were in this position by their choosing and deserve to suffer. This is simply not true. In a society where we reward those with greater wealth and celebrate CEOs as if they are gods, I can see why it is easy to not speak up and let people know you are in need.
While some are worried about whether or not they will be able to own the latest version of the
iPhone, there are people on our college campus who can’t even afford their next meal. Try to imagine studying or taking an exam on an empty stomach. This lack of focus will directly affect your performance and may result in an overall lower grade in your course.
So how can you make a differ-ence? Participate in or organize a food drive. Not just during the holiday season when everyone is giving mood, but year-round. If you are somebody who is expe-riencing food insecurity, don’t be ashamed or afraid to speak up about it. You have a right to eat so don’t let anyone get you down and know there is help available.
Please contact the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties for information on how to access food, make donations or volunteer. They are located at 4010 Nelson Avenue, Concord and can be reached (925) 676-7543 and online at www.food-bankccs.org
HAKEEM MONTESManaging editor
Contact HAKEEM MONTES at [email protected]
End heritage months
In case you didn’t already know, March is Women’s His-tory Month. During this month of awareness, we are suddenly supposed to be interested the history of approximately half of the world’s population. We host events to bring attention to wom-en’s problems and focus our cur-riculum on women. This month, we care. But only for a month.
Apparently, the other eleven months of the year, women don’t count. We don’t have to care about the achievements women have made throughout the course of human history. We don’t have to learn about what women have gone through and what their status in society is like today. A month of appreciation is enough to cover it all.
Creating a month designated toward women’s history does nothing to create equality or al-leviate the discrimination we have endured over the years. While it makes a good point to educate others about our struggles, the problem is that it creates aware-ness for a period of time and then ignores it for the rest of the year.
The same goes for other heritage months: Black History Month in February, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May and LGBT Pride Month in June. The list goes on. Equality isn’t about finding a time frame dedi-cated to the history of every mi-
nority. This isn’t what we’ve been fighting for all these years.
What these months do is set these groups aside and label them as different. They help set the white heterosexual male as stan-dard. When it’s not Women’s or Black History month, that’s the perspective we look at history from. But there shouldn’t be a standard. In a society as diverse as ours, we should be learning about all histories and heritages all the time.
Morgan Freeman said in a 2005 interview on “60 Minutes” that “Black history is Ameri-can history.” Women’s history is American history, the world’s his-tory. The same holds true for all groups of people – male, female, gay, straight, Black, White, Asian and Latino. For as long as we’ve been a part of this country, we’ve been a part of its history. There’s no need to keep us separated.
RANEEM TALEB-AGHACopy editor
Contact RANEEM TALEB-AGHA at [email protected]
Mortal Kony 2012 Deception
Who is Joseph Kony? Activ-ist Jason Russell wants this guy famous.
Russell’s organization, Invis-ible Children, recently released a viral video, “Kony 2012.” Ac-cording to Time Magazine, the group said that “Kony 2012” re-ceived a million views in the first day and a million every 30 min-utes after 48 hours. This video was all over my Facebook feed.
In case you’re unaware of anything, “Kony 2012” is a cam-paign to raise awareness about the Lord’s Resistance Army and their leader Joseph Kony, an Af-rican warlord who steals children and makes them his slaves. He’s a monster who doesn’t belong in this world, so I don’t have a
problem with this.Here’s where I have a problem:
cash rules everything around this campaign. “Kony 2012” feels more like an infomercial instead of an awareness campaign. The movie’s director, Russell, and his son Gavin are the focal point of film and more time is devoted to describing Russell’s activist achievements than the atrocities committed by Kony. “Watch the Throne” was more humble.
In addition, the call to action in the last five minutes involves buying things from the orga-nization. Activists can spread Kony’s name everywhere by us-ing the tools inside the (sold out) $30 “Action Kit.” One can also wear a (sold out) $10 bracelet to “show your commitment to the Kony 2012 campaign”as the offi-cial Invisible Children web store puts it.
Here’s a better idea: take that money and donate it to a better charity. (any ideas for better charities focused on Africa?)
Another issue is that “Kony 2012” misrepresents the situa-
tion. The video implies that Jo-seph Kony is an active threat to Ugandans and advocates for mil-itary intervention to stop him.
This may not be the case. Adam Branch, an assistant professor of political science at SDSU, wrote in an article for Al-Jazeera that the serious problems the Ugan-dans face today are caused by foreign land speculators working with the Ugandan government as well as the government itself. Branch also notes that the US government can use the activists’ requests to increase military pres-ence in central Africa, which is – get this – a very oil rich region. Can you see a conspiracy?
In addition, the video takes a morally grey situation and turns it black and white by casting the Ugandan army as the good guys fighting the evil LRA. In reality, both sides are like the Storm-cloaks and the Imperials from “Skyrim” in the sense that they’re both awful.
In 2005, Human Rights Watch released a report that stated that both the LRA rebels and the
Ugandan army were committing atrocities in northern Uganda. The LRA’s crimes “include tor-ture and mutilation, abduction, sexual violence, forced recruit-ment, and killing of people it considers supporters of the gov-ernment.”
As though they were tak-ing part in a cruelty contest, the government forces “have raped, beaten, arbitrarily detained and killed civilians in camps. Some beatings are inflicted for minor infractions such as being outside the camp a few minutes past cur-few.”
Perhaps Gavin could helpfully point out that both sides are the bad guys here.
Perhaps I should take a page from Russell’s book. I urge you to share this article with every-one you know in order to get the word out about Russell’s mislead-ing activism.
Let’s make the truth famous.
JOHN KESLEROpinion editor
Contact JOHN KESLER at [email protected]
The American Harsh Reality
Ah…the American Dream. What is that anyway?
Well, according to the Library of Congress, which cites James Truslow Adams, the American Dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every-one, with opportunity for each according to ability or achieve-ment.”
So how well are we doing achieving that dream?
First off, it is kind of hard for one in six Americans to live that dream when they need food stamps to eat. It is even more difficult if a third of Americans work for Wal-Mart wages ac-cording to U.S. government es-timates.
Member of the National Writ-ers Union Jack Rasmus wrote that the average hourly wage back in 1979 was equal to $15.91/hour. By 1989 it went up to $16.63/hour. Good job, Reagan. Work-ers gained 7 cents per year on av-erage when you were president.
While wages have remained stagnant for over 30 years, infla-
tion has run rampant. According to the U.S. inflation calculator, what would cost $1 in 1979 now costs $3.14, which is a 213.6 per-cent increase.
What about college then? The Huffington Post reported that college graduates and advanced degree holders are as vulnerable as high school dropout to long-term joblessness. Wasn’t there a time when a high school graduate could afford to raise a family?
Hate to burst your bubbles, but George Carlin put it best: “It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
BRIAN DONOVANEditor in chief
Contact BRIAN DONOVAN at [email protected]
CORRECTIONSThe permance of president Putin
TIM KHOUSNOUTDINOVCopy editor
Despite the great opposition of earlier months, the United Russia party has “swept” the competi-tion yet again with Prime Minis-ter Vladimir Putin winning 63.64 percent of the presidential vote. With the rules re-written by legis-lators working largely for his aims, he will replace his puppet and ally, President Dmitry Medvedev, on May 7 of this year for a new six year term.
Medvedev, despite being seen as a potential man of progress for the Russian state and its people, will simply step aside to let his superior continue a likely corrupt and questionable agenda, closing the door for thousands hoping that he would steer Russia into a new and brighter direction.
As for the actual protests, their attendance and energy has clearly suffered. According to the LA Times, a March 10 gathering in Moscow yielded close to 10,000 participants, down from 100,000 just three months before.
Opposition leaders such as former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, tried to keep the momentum going by saying, “The most terrible thing that can happen to us now is that we find ourselves demoralized. They have been taking away our freedom for the last 12 years, and it is impossi-
ble to get it back in three months.” The result of this confusion and supposed reorganization is yet to be clear.
From the outside, it seems that what the Occupy Move-ment largely struggled from―a lack of direction and dedicated leadership―may afflict its Russian counterpart as well. Time will tell how strong this “resistance” is, and what it is willing to do as an approaching six years of the same political game will surely cause the displeasure of those who aren’t in the government’s pocket.
To shed some light on this, Time Magazine reported that hundreds of “pro-Putin” voters were paid to vote and attend the rallies. With comprehensive poll-ing station monitoring alongside opinion surveys, added onto the many who have simply given up fighting Putin’s political machine, it is reasonable to see the real ap-proval figure being 40 percent at best. Despite evidence of these underhanded tactics, the state ap-proved the validity of the final vote count. This, if not anything else, shows how far the Russian political system has “progressed” since Boris Yeltsin’s time.
It would be a good thing for you, the reader, to pay attention to this, as great lessons can be learned for advancing our own political lifestyle in the states. With all of our societal tension and socio-economic unbalances, compared to the rigid landscape of post-Soviet Russia...does our future look just as bleak?
- In the Buzz in the March 8th issue, “Limes Preclaro” should actually be “Miles Preclaro”
- In the Arts & Features story “Growing locally,” some names were mispelled. The correct spellings are “Joan Symonds” and “Keith Mikolavich.”
- On the Opinions page, the protest photo has an inaccurate cutline. It does not depict the March 4 protest but instead it shows an Occupy Oakland march from January 28
Contact TIM KHOUSNOUTDINOV at [email protected]
Arts & Features7The Inquirer - Diablo Valley CollegeThursday, March 22- Wednesday, April 18, 2012
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Seeking an alternative to fast food in the area, from greasy burger joint fries to crusty cornflower tacos? Look no further than Quickly’s.
Since May 2008 in the College Square Shopping Center, the restaurant has served a wide variety of menu items, which cater to customers who see the restaurant as not just a place for takeout, but a place for diversity.
The overall selection consists of over 264 items, with additions and changes being made to the menu according to customer satisfaction. The supply of certain item depends on the season, just like coffee shops and whole food markets.
Among the regular selections are a variety of fried foods which range from $1.99 to $3.99, ramen and udon all conveniently priced at $6.99, meals bento ranging from $5.99 to $7.99, and even burgers at around $6.00 to help accommodate customers who desire a more western approach to their food.
Specials are added whenever enough demand is made by customers for a particular item. They can be found on the white board next to the front counter, along with a selection of drink additives that add a luscious tropical flavor to your tea or smoothie.
“If its one thing I like about Quickly’s, it’s the drinks,” Lucas Chen, a DVC student, said, “For that, it’s the only shop open late to go.”
Though Quickly’s seems like a rare culinary find
with community appeal, it didn’t start out that way. Originally owned by a Chinese store called Pearl
Island, the property was left by the previous owner to be claimed by the Quickly’s chain. Once pur-chased, Quickly’s was advertised and accepted as an “Asian” alternative to fast food chains like Burger King and Taco Bell.
The manager, Calvin Liu, saw the restaurant through a difficult transition from city environ-ments like San Francisco and Oakland, to areas such as Concord where exposure was crucial to draw in customers.
With a permit that required limitations such as keeping the roof green, dimensions for the kitchen and other nuanced prerogatives on restaurant de-sign, Liu was faced with a unique dilemma: keep the restaurant legislatively sound or attempt to loophole around these limitations to appeal to customers.
Though strenuous, loopholes would help Liu create a restaurant to appeal to customers to make Quickly’s the DVC community hub it is today.
Taking the comics left over from the previous store, Pearl Island, Liu stacked the entrance door shelves with reading material for customers to pe-ruse while waiting for their orders. Inclined custom-ers are then inspired to add unwanted comics of their own to the restaurant’s selection, helping to develop a new appeal among avid manga readers.
Liu added an interest of his own: overhead moni-tors that blast a lengthy selection of the latest asian pop music videos, which gives Quickly’s a youthful, mainstream feel.
“We run it well and keep a peaceful atmosphere,” Liu explains, “Though it sometimes crowds to over-capacity, we know that customer service is key in any situation.”
Customer service seems to be the restaurant’s greatest success: “Of the coolest places to eat, it’s closest to DVC,” says Matthew Ma, a DVC student, “it’s someplace to meet friends.”
Quickly’s is located in the College Square Shop-ping Center, and you can contact them at: (925)-356-0188.Store hours are M-TH 11:30 AM-11:30 PM, Fri-Sat 12:00 PM- Midnight, and Sunday 2:00-11:00 PM.
NAME XXXXXXXX / The Inquirer
Quickly’s drink selection, above, is complimented by its selection of additives
‘21 Jump Street’: A comedic success
Those looking for a good laugh will love the new film ‘21 Jump Street.’
To start off, the movie shows Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) during their high school days. Schmidt is a nerd with braces while Jenko popular guy who is into sports. When they run into each other years later in police training, they help each other out.
Schmidt gets help with physi-cal training and Jenko finally pass-es his exams.
The characters get sent to 21 Jump Street. Schmidt and Jenko are tossed into high school un-dercover as students trying to find criminals. Being forced to take their positions where they are to play into their stereotypes, Schmidt is terrified and Jenko thinks he’s got it in the bag.
The movie set up stereotypes and played them throughout the entire show. Also, the script will keep you laughing through the
entire movie. Everyone fit to character re-
ally well. Jonah Hill will always be able to get away with the comi-cal “high school look” since the majority has seen him play Super-Bad’s Seth. Throwing Channing Tatum into a new role was a long shot, seeing that majority of his starring roles are more dramatic or romantic, but he pulled it off.
On top of that, the camera crew found a way to coordinating angles with comedy. The music choice fit the “teen” atmosphere, yet the movie would be enjoyed by the 18-35 demographic.
Jonah Hill fans will like the film immensely. Many were sure to be skeptical on the “funny” role that Channing Tatum played but those who enjoy comedy movies will appreciate his ability to be humorous.
Overall, it was one of the bet-ter comedies I’ve seen in awhile and I would pay to see again.
SARA BERKSONStaff writer
Contact SARA BERKSON at sberkson@TheInquirerOnline.
com
Young artist credits DVC for album release
Who knew picking up a guitar in the 6th grade to ser-enade girls could lead to an album years later?
DVC student Michael Pitt-man, 19, recently released his album entitled, “IYDLIT,” on Dec. 12.
Pittman himself has worked with blues, jazz, death metal, hip hop and much more.
His main focus for this album, though, was jazz and hip hop.
It all started when he picked up a guitar to impress and serenade women when he was younger.
After awhile, though, he
found he enjoyed it.“I love music,” Pittman
said. “It carries so much power. It’s something that everyone can understand to and relate to regardless of what country or ethnic back ground you come from.”
The plan was to make mu-sic that could compete with songs heard on the radio to-day, but a little bit different in style.
“There’s a lot of crap mu-sic out there,” Pittman said. “I see it more in hip hop than anywhere else. I wanted to make something that sound-ed different.”
He worked on the album
for a year and a half. It was produced at his
home and the Music Tech-nology Center located in the music building.
Since entering DVC two years ago, Pittman said his knowledge of music has ex-panded.
“When I first came here, all I had was a bunch of ideas,” Pittman said. “But I took music classes like song writing and music theory. They’ve been so mind blow-ing. It helped me become a little more organized.”
He also gives a lot of cred-it to Doug Michael, who is a part-time instructor at DVC.
“Doug really gave me di-rection,” Pittman said. “All of the beats I did myself, but Doug would give me in-
sight on different tracks. He helped me explore different ideas.”
Aside from his album, Pittman has also started his own record label called 19 Year Records.
He welcomes all artists who have a desire to really make a career in the music industry.
“Being involved in a re-cord label is exactly what I want to do,” Pittman said. “I’m always looking for art-ists to collaborate with. It’s also for artists who have ideas and just want to take the next step.”
Pittman also said that while he had been doing mu-sic before DVC, he felt that after he came to the school it became more cemented.
He also performs fre-quently outside of DVC. While he’s performed many times in M-101, which is where a lot of concerts take place, he can also be found at The Red House in Walnut Creek and Rooster’s Road-house in Alameda.
Even though his album came out last year, Pittman has plans of revising it for production purposes.
“DVC has really taught me a lot,” Pittman said. “They taught me so much in the short amount of time I’ve been here.”
CHRISTA BALINGITArts & Features editor
SEAN WILKEYStaff writer
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8 Thursday, March 22- Wednesday, April 18, 2012The Inquirer - Diablo Valley College
Arts & Features
Rebecca Nurse, left, and John Proctor, right, played by Megan Scott and Kerel Rennacker, are hanged after refusing to admit they perform witchcraft. The play opened March 16 and will run through April 1.
DVC students present powerful performance
CHRISTA BALINGITArts & Features editor
Abigail Williams, standing, is played by Lilian Wouters. Wil-liams and her friends accuse various people of withcraft.
Contact JOHN KESLER at jkesler@TheInquirerOnline.
com
“The Crucible,” written by Arthur Miller, is more than just a history lesson. It’s a complicated story involving death, betrayal and doubt.
DVC students did an excellent job on portraying the emotions that went into each character.
Everything from the acting to the cos-tumes displayed a type of authenticity.
The play, written by Arthur Miller, is a rather complicated plot that deals with very heavy themes.
It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, during the witch trials.
A young girl named Abigail and a group of other girls convince the town that they are being bewitched.
They accused various townspeople of being witches and caused an uproar. Those accused were hanged, burned or pressed.
Ken Hein, who directed the play, said that he was very confident with the show.
“We had over 100 people try out,” Hein said. “We had good choices. There’s a lot of talent to work with. We’re in really good shape. You don’t have a lot of direc-tors that can say that.”
The play shows the kind of hysteria and chaos erupted during tthe Salem witch trials.
It was the DVC students, though, who demonstrated it with such realistic acting that those sitting in the audience could feel the emotions themselves.
DVC student Garret Allbroom saw the play opening night. He said that he was very impressed with the talent of the cast.
“I remember reading the book in high school,” Allbroom said. “When I heard they were putting on this play, I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought it would be a really hard play to act out, but the leads did a really good job.”
While Allbroom was impressed with the acting, student Shayna Takasaki said her favorite parts were the finer details.
“I really enjoyed the costumes,” Taka-saki said. “It’s really nice to see a play acted out while staying as true to the time period as possible. I don’t really like how directors sometimes try to modernize a play.”
The details were not only in the cos-tumes, but the language and the acting as well.
Nicole Hess-Diestler, the acting coach for this production, has directed her own DVC productions before.
“Our actors had to have a different mentality for this production,” Dieslter said. “It was almost a culture shock.”
The actors for this production had to rely mainly on their facial expressions to get their emotions across.
They also had to rely on huge hand gestures and exaggerated expressions.
“The type of acting we are doing in
‘The Crucible’ goes against the realistic and modern style we teach today,” Hess-Diestler said. “I’m so proud of the way our actors have handled it.”
The performers themselves found the story and acting challenging.
Parker Nevin, who plays Reverend Samuel Parris, said that he especially liked working with Hein.
“This is my first time working with Ken and it has been a tremendous opportunity,” Nevin said. “He’s a great director. You can see his vision come through once you’re sitting in the audience.”
Lilian Wouters, who plays Abigail Wil-liams, was a fan of Miller himself.
“There’s a sort of power that comes with this show,” Wouters said. “Arthur Miller is amazing. If you really listen to the words, you can hear that there’s so much power.”
Wouters said that there are two things the audience gets out of the performance.
“I want people to see a different way of living,” Wouters said. “I also want them to see the power of doubt and corruption.”
The plot was extremely powerful, but it was the cast that really made the story come to life.
Those looking for a play that has superb acting, authentic costumes and a powerful message will find just that in “The Cru-cible.”
“The Crucible” opened on March 16 and will run through April 1. The performance will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. On Sun-day the play will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Rever-end John Hale, far left, played by Blake Rosier. His char-acter at-tempts to in investi-gate who is responsible for the bewitching of the girls.Krechona Westbrook playsTituba, left, who is accused of performing witchcraft. She later admits it out of fear of being hanged.
‘Mass Effect 3’ has anaverageending
“Mass Effect 3” is a fitting but uneven conclusion to one of my favorite sci-fi stories of my lifetime.
So how does “Mass Effect 3,” available now for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, stack up against the previous games? I stayed up until 4 a.m. to fin-ish the original “Mass Effect” due to the gripping story and characters. Thus I wasn’t sur-prised to find myself staying up that late to finish this in-stallment.
“Mass Effect 3” concludes the story of Commander Shepard. Shepard begins the game escaping Earth as it gets invaded by the Reapers, an unstoppable alien force. To get a chance to stop them, he (or she) must negotiate an alliance among various alien races in order to save galactic civilization.
One of the best features is lost on new players: you can import a finished “Mass Ef-fect 2” save to continue the story with all the choices you made in the previous titles. It was satisfying to discover that a choice I made at the end of “Mass Effect” still impacts my character two games later.
The combat is fun. The gameplay resembles a cover based shooter such as “Gears of War,” although your char-acter can also use powers called “biotics,” which range from setting opponents on fire to throwing them around. The key to success involves select-ing your teammates ,who have their own selection of biotics, to complement your set-up.
On the flip side, the game-play outside of combat is in-teresting and enjoyable as well, which is one of the “Mass Ef-fect” series’ many strengths. When speaking with people, the player can direct the tone of Shepard’s responses from friendly to intimidating. Com-bined with strong voice acting, this makes the story extremely engaging.
“Mass Effect 3” isn’t per-fect, though. The writing is wildly uneven. Genuinely touching scenes in which Shepard and friends bond demonstrate some of the best dialogue in a video game. However, the plot features a ridiculous amount of contriv-ances, such as Shepard con-stantly running into people from previous games.
Not only that, but the last 15 minutes negatively alter ev-erything else about the game. It was not the best way to end the series.
There are many bugs and visual glitches that ruin im-mersion, ranging from char-acters having their hands go through their faces to the camera zooming in on a wall as a character speaks off cam-era.
In addition to a solid single player campaign, BioWare included a cooperative class-based multiplayer mode avail-able free to new purchasers or as a $10 add-on.
Unlike most multiplayer modes, completing matches impacts the single player by making it easier to obtain the best ending. It isn’t phenom-enal but it’s still fun.
Ultimately, “Mass Effect 3” is worth buying. The stra-tegic combat combined with the engrossing dialogue more than makes up for the con-trived and linear story and the ending.
JOHN KESLEROpinions editor
Photos by ALEX BRENDEL / The Inquirer
Contact CHRISTA BALINGIT at [email protected]
