By Sam Attal EDITOR-IN-CHIEF [email protected]The statewide budget huddle has caused the district to recon- sider salary, workload and the importance of certain positions at all three of its campuses. On March 15, academ- ic managers at Contra Costa College, Los Medanos College and Diablo Valley College received pink slips that indicat- ed their positions would become flexible to cuts or changes in the upcoming fiscal year, CCC President McKinley Williams said. Although Williams did not comment on which of the eight academic manager positions at CCC will be faced with changes beginning July 1, he did say that making such a decision to allow changes to the hierarchy of the college is a sign of the times. “We’re going to have major setbacks with the budget next year,” Williams said. Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for 2011-12, California community colleges must take a $400 million cut as part of a total $1.4 billion cut to higher education. Contra Costa College will be hit with a $4 million setback. Although Williams declined to say whether or not any of the positions will be cut complete- ly, Vice President Carol Maga said some academic managers will “probably” lose their cur- rent jobs. “You can’t cut $4 million By Sam Attal EDITOR-IN-CHIEF [email protected]Outdated electrical fuses barely saved Contra Costa College from a potential disas- ter that could have sparked a major fire after power shut down on campus Thursday. Greg Poole, president of Industrial Tests, an engineer- ing group hired by the col- lege to assess the cause of Thursday morning’s power outage, told The Advocate on Monday that electrical com- ponents located behind the Student Activities Building caused a small explosion that could have struck a nearby gas line or started a fire. If the old fuses did not kick in to limit the intensity of the explosion, as a maintenance crew near the baseball field tried to restore power that day, the campus could have gone up in flames, Poole said. As a result of the power outage, the campus was closed late Thursday after- noon and didn’t open again until Tuesday morning. Stationed at the SA Building’s loading dock only 2 feet 8 inches from a gas line and directly under tree branches, the electrical trans- former, a large utility box that transfers current, experienced an electrical explosion called an arc flash. This came after condensation collected in it during recent rain storms. When the transformer blew Thursday afternoon, the college was still heavily populated with students and employees. Luckily for them, Poole said, three old fuses went out just before the arc flash became any bigger and turned what could have been a disastrous explosion that easily could have ignited the SA Building and surround- ing landscape on fire, into a minor blast. “It would have been like 10 sticks of dynamite,” Poole, who has done electrical work for 30 years, said. “It’s a bad design. It could have blown C M Y K C M Y K CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW B C M Y K C M Y K CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW B THE WEEKLY STUDENT VOICE OF CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE, SAN PABLO, CALIF. SINCE 1950 8 PAGES, ONE COPY FREE VOL. 96, NO. 17 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011 ACCENTADVOCATE.COM Boxing exhibi- tion displays local talent, provides stress relief for Bay Area youth Neglected unit threatens campus Transformer causes hazard, power outage SAM ATTAL / THE ADVOCATE Danger zone — An electrical transformer (right) sits near a natural gas pipeline (left) and below tree branches behind the Student Activities Building, posing a threat on campus. Managers receive pink slips GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE Brawlers — Nine-year-old Vallejo Police Activities League boxer Jihad Tayeh (left) collides with 9-year-old Rock Boxing boxer Angel Alfaro at the “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition at the Richmond Auditorium on Saturday. in brief w Pink slips were given out on March 15. w All aca- demic man- agers from Contra Costa, Los Medanos and Diablo Valley col- leges were given slips. w Eight aca- demic man- agers from Contra Costa College may face changes in their jobs beginning July 1. w Classified managers and staff may receive pink slips on May 16. w Contra Costa College will need to cut $4 mil- lion from its 2011-12 budget due to the $500 million cut to California’s community colleges. Budget crisis forces decrease in employees ■ SEE NOTICES: Page 4 By Rodney Woodson STAFF WRITER [email protected]RICHMOND — For two years, Richmond native John Island has been the coach of the Richmond Police Activities League boxing team. This past year, he and the Richmond PAL staff have been trying to organize a boxing event to promote a positive presence in the city. “I felt Richmond was missing something,” Island said. “I fought hard to bring boxing back to Richmond and I’m hoping that the youth and the gangsters will try boxing as an outlet instead of the streets.” On Saturday, in the Richmond Auditorium, Island’s dream found fruition. Richmond PAL present- ed “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition,” showcasing 16 bouts between young boxers from all over the Bay Area. Making the event happen took a lot of work, even once the contestants were chosen, Island said. ■ SEE BOXING: Page 4 “Matchmaking was a lengthy process,” he said. “I don’t pick easy fights. I made every match even so every- one was going to have to fight hard.” Four-year USA Boxing referee Ray Westergard, who is also Island’s assistant coach, helped with matchmaking. “It was hectic contacting all of the other gyms,” Westergard said. “It was confusing at first, but after we really got going, everything worked out and started to flow.” The fighters ranged in age from 9 to 29 and there were both male and female contestants who traveled from boxing gyms in various places — San Jose, Vacaville, Oakland and San Francisco to name a few. Each of the 16 fights was close and entertaining but the “Fight of the Night” was awarded to the bout between Richmond PAL’s Leon Brown and 20-year-old Terry Fernandez from Phight Club Oakland. The match began on even terms but in the second and third rounds, Brown took control of the fight using his MCHS reduces admittance GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE Hard at work — Middle College High School students work on assignments during their English class in HS-3 on Monday. By Adam Oliver NEWS EDITOR [email protected]In a district flooded with under- achieving schools that continue to be shortchanged by a deflated budget, West Contra Costa Unified School District’s highest perform- ing institution will be forced to downsize and adopt the admittance rate of some of the nation’s most elite universities. In the coming year, more than 400 prospective freshmen will apply for Middle College High School, an alternative high school hosted at Contra Costa College, but less than 10 percent will be accept- ed. That’s just 40 students, halving last year’s ninth grade enrollment of 80. “I’m sad that they are reducing the number of students admitted, and the fact is whether it’s 80 or 40, (more than) 400 students are still apply- ing and there are going to be rejections,” said Brandon Amargo, Governing Board Student Trustee and MCHS Senior.” I just hope those 40 students will take advantage of what Middle College has to offer.” Additionally, statewide bud- get cuts and the expiration of a six-year federal grant will relin- quish the position of vice principal, displace one of the 11 MCHS teach- ers and reduce the number of days counseling will be available from ■ SEE MCHS: Page 4 ■ SEE TRANSFORMER: Page 4 Priorities questioned Action from the district to maintain the working condi- tion of cam- pus electrical equipment is necessary to prevent a pos- sible disaster. Instead of wor- rying about cost-effective- ness, the dis- trict needs to focus on stu- dent safety. page 2 edit orial Related stories w Website: Power out- age causes school’s servers to go offline. w Scholarships: Extensions given due to campus shutdown. Stories on Page 5 “I fought hard to bring boxing back to Richmond and I’m hoping that youth and the gangsters will try boxing as an outlet instead of the streets.” John Island, Richmond PAL boxing coach R ICHMOND ’ S FINEST FISTS “We’re only human. (Principal Smith) can’t do everything. And without the staff to help, it will be rather difficult.” Ja’Shawn Fields Jr., Middle College High School senior
The statewide budget huddle has caused the district to recon-sider salary, workload and the importance of certain positions at all three of its campuses.
On March 15, academ-ic managers at Contra Costa College, Los Medanos College and Diablo Valley College received pink slips that indicat-ed their positions would become flexible to cuts or changes in the upcoming fiscal year, CCC President McKinley Williams said.
Although Williams did not comment on which of the eight academic manager positions at CCC will be faced with changes beginning July 1, he did say that making such a decision to allow changes to the hierarchy of the college is a sign of the times.
“We’re going to have major setbacks with the budget next year,” Williams said.
Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for 2011-12, California community colleges must take a $400 million cut as part of a total $1.4 billion cut to higher education.
Contra Costa College will be hit with a $4 million setback.
Although Williams declined to say whether or not any of the positions will be cut complete-ly, Vice President Carol Maga said some academic managers will “probably” lose their cur-rent jobs.
Outdated electrical fuses barely saved Contra Costa College from a potential disas-ter that could have sparked a major fire after power shut down on campus Thursday.
Greg Poole, president of Industrial Tests, an engineer-ing group hired by the col-lege to assess the cause of Thursday morning’s power outage, told The Advocate on Monday that electrical com-ponents located behind the Student Activities Building caused a small explosion that could have struck a nearby gas line or started a fire.
If the old fuses did not kick in to limit the intensity of the explosion, as a maintenance crew near the baseball field tried to restore power that day, the campus could have gone up in flames, Poole said.
As a result of the power outage, the campus was closed late Thursday after-noon and didn’t open again until Tuesday morning.
Stationed at the SA Building’s loading dock only 2 feet 8 inches from a gas line and directly under tree
branches, the electrical trans-former, a large utility box that transfers current, experienced an electrical explosion called an arc flash. This came after condensation collected in it during recent rain storms.
When the transformer blew Thursday afternoon, the college was still heavily populated with students and employees.
Luckily for them, Poole said, three old fuses went out just before the arc flash became any bigger and turned what could have been a disastrous explosion that easily could have ignited the SA Building and surround-ing landscape on fire, into a minor blast.
“It would have been like 10 sticks of dynamite,” Poole, who has done electrical work for 30 years, said. “It’s a bad design. It could have blown
C M Y K C M Y K
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW B
C M Y K C M Y K
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW B
THE WEEKLY STUDENT VOICE OF CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE, SAN PABLO, CALIF.SINCE 19508 PAGES, ONE COPY FREE
VOL. 96, NO. 17WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011
ACCENTADVOCATE.COM
Boxing
exhibi-
tion
displays
local
talent,
provides
stress
relief for
Bay Area
youth
Neglected unit threatens campusTransformer causes hazard, power outage
SAM ATTAL / THE ADVOCATE
Danger zone — An electrical transformer (right) sits near a natural gas pipeline (left) and below tree branches behind the Student Activities Building, posing a threat on campus.
Managers receive pink slips
GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE
Brawlers — Nine-year-old Vallejo Police Activities League boxer Jihad Tayeh (left) collides with 9-year-old Rock Boxing boxer Angel Alfaro at the “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition at the Richmond Auditorium on Saturday.
in brief
w Pink slips were given out on March 15.
w All aca-demic man-agers from Contra Costa, Los Medanos and Diablo Valley col-leges were given slips.
w Eight aca-demic man-agers from Contra Costa College may face changes in their jobs beginning July 1.
w Classified managers and staff may receive pink slips on May 16.
w Contra Costa College will need to cut $4 mil-lion from its 2011-12 budget due to the $500 million cut to California’s community colleges.
RICHMOND — For two years, Richmond native John Island has been the coach of the Richmond Police Activities League boxing team.
This past year, he and the Richmond PAL staff have been trying to organize a boxing event to promote a positive presence in the city.
“I felt Richmond was missing something,” Island said. “I fought hard to bring boxing back to Richmond and I’m hoping that the youth and the gangsters will try boxing as an outlet instead of the streets.”
On Saturday, in the Richmond Auditorium, Island’s dream found fruition. Richmond PAL present-ed “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition,” showcasing 16 bouts between young boxers from all over the Bay Area.
Making the event happen took a lot of work, even once the contestants were chosen, Island said. ■ SEE BOXING: Page 4
“Matchmaking was a lengthy process,” he said. “I don’t pick easy fights. I made every match even so every-one was going to have to fight hard.”
Four-year USA Boxing referee Ray Westergard, who is also Island’s assistant coach, helped with matchmaking.
“It was hectic contacting all of the other gyms,” Westergard said.
“It was confusing at first, but after we really got going, everything worked out and started to flow.”
The fighters ranged in age from 9 to 29 and there were both male and female contestants who traveled from boxing gyms in various places — San Jose, Vacaville, Oakland and San Francisco to name a few.
Each of the 16 fights was close and entertaining but the “Fight of the Night” was awarded to the bout between Richmond PAL’s Leon Brown and 20-year-old Terry Fernandez from Phight Club Oakland.
The match began on even terms but in the second and third rounds, Brown took control of the fight using his
MCHS reduces admittance
GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE
Hard at work — Middle College High School students work on assignments during their English class in HS-3 on Monday.
In a district flooded with under-achieving schools that continue to be shortchanged by a deflated budget, West Contra Costa Unified School District’s highest perform-ing institution will be forced to downsize and adopt the admittance rate of some of the nation’s most elite universities.
In the coming year, more than 400 prospective freshmen will apply for Middle College High School, an alternative high school hosted at Contra Costa College, but less than 10 percent will be accept-ed. That’s just 40 students, halving
last year’s ninth grade enrollment of 80.
“I’m sad that they are r e d u c i n g the number of students a d m i t t e d , and the fact is whether it’s 80 or 40, (more than) 400 students are still apply-ing and there are going to be rejections,” said Brandon Amargo, Governing Board Student Trustee and
MCHS Senior.” I just hope those 40 students will take advantage of what Middle College has to offer.”
Additionally, statewide bud-get cuts and the expiration of a six-year federal grant will relin-quish the position of vice principal, displace one of the 11 MCHS teach-
ers and reduce the number of days counseling will be available from
■ SEE MCHS: Page 4
■ SEE TRANSFORMER: Page 4
Priorities questioned Action from the district to maintain the working condi-tion of cam-pus electrical equipment is necessary to prevent a pos-sible disaster. Instead of wor-rying about cost-effective-ness, the dis-trict needs to focus on stu-dent safety.
page 2
editorial
Related storiesw Website: Power out-age causes school’s servers to go offline.
w Scholarships: Extensions given due to campus shutdown.Stories on Page 5
“I fought hard to bring boxing back to Richmond and I’m
hoping that youth and the gangsters will try boxing as an outlet
instead of the streets.”
John Island,Richmond PAL boxing coach
RICHMOND’S FINEST FISTS
“We’re only human. (Principal Smith) can’t
do everything. And without the staff to
help, it will be rather difficult.”
Ja’Shawn Fields Jr.,Middle College High School senior
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011 ● VOL. 96, NO. 17
EditorialDistorted
valuesDistrict should maintain
safety over savingsad three old fuses in a major electrical unit behind the Student Activities Building not triggered,
stopping a powerful explosion from happening on Thursday, Contra Costa College would not be the same today.
As it was, the college shut down from Thursday morning to Tuesday morning, when classes resumed, when electricity was restored to almost every building on campus after a major power outage.
As a maintenance crew tested elec-tricity near the baseball field Thursday afternoon, those fuses, rusted and cor-roded, barely saved the SA Building, and maybe the entire campus, from fire while students and employees were still present, an engineer hired by the district to assess the cause of the outage told The Advocate on Monday.
As crews tried to restore full power, an arc flash, a powerful electrical explo-sion, occurred due to condensation col-lected in an electrical transformer right behind the SA Building.
The flash was barely contained in a neglected steel box full of rust and condensation. The engineer, Greg Poole, president of engineering group Industrial Tests, said CCC’s equipment has been poorly maintained compared to other facilities and colleges he has worked on during the past 30 years.
Had the fuses not triggered, the impact could have been much greater and caused a huge explosion through an exposed gas line less than a yard from the transformer, Poole said.
Imagine the San Bruno natural gas line explosion right here in San Pablo.
And this time, PG&E could not be blamed for neglecting equipment and endangering lives. Our own college dis-trict would have shouldered the blame.
Contra Costa Community College District Chief Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said he and district officials were aware of the problems with condensa-tion and rusted components inside the SA Building transformer, but not that they could trigger an explosion.
However, instead of fixing the prob-lem and maintaining the unit regularly, Pyle said waiting for the building and transformer to be completely torn down in 2012, as part of the college Facilities Master Plan, would be a more cost-effective decision.
But who would say that putting the lives of students in danger is cost effec-tive? Or setting a building on fire is cost effective? Or having a gas explosion on campus is cost effective?
Even though there are plans to replace the burned parts, none of the work sug-gested by CCC maintenance workers or Poole is being considered. And if the facilities plan is delayed longer, CCC will face the same threat for years.
Full repairs should be done now. The district must get its priorities straight and consider lives before funds.
H
“I’ve been spending the time relaxing and doing homework. (The power outage) gives me an opportunity to do things I normally wouldn’t have time for.”
Iris Chindance
CampusComment
What did you do in your free time during the school’s power outage?
“I’ve been doing home-work. I don’t like it (the school closure) because I like doing my work at school.”
Gabriele Banksbusiness
“Well, I’ve been com-ing up here for no good reason, and I’ve been studying and taking care of business that I can’t do usually.”
Lisa Reyeshealth and human services
“Not much. If I had known, I wouldn’t be here.”
Rodney Dunlapundecided
“I didn’t even know about it because my first class starts today. I’ll probably transfer colleges.”
Steven Armstrongcomputer technology
“I’ve been reading and trying to do homework ahead of time.”
Andrea Galvinpsychology
FAYTHE DELROSARIO AND JESSE SUTHERLAND / THE ADVOCATE
Skinny-legged pants look stupid, outdated
■ Fashion
here can a man go to get a man’s pair of pants?
This style that the younger generation is wearing is kill-ing me, literally. The pants I am almost forced to buy are putting a strain on my under-carriage.
Skinny jeans have ush-ered in a new era, which is actually an old era — the ’80s reborn. But where did this style come from?
I have a theory. In 2006, I worked for a
company that sent me to work in Salt Lake City.
A few of my co-workers and I decided to take a stroll to the local mall. We noticed that the mall had almost every store you would think to be in a mall. But the other thing we noticed was that the young men were wearing mostly skin-tight jeans.
For the most part these youngsters were seen carry-ing or riding skateboards, but pretty much everyone was wearing the strangely tight pants.
We were all shocked because at that point we, all being from California, had only seen women wearing their jeans that tight. It was like they had blue skin. One day while I was at work, one of the Salt Lake City locals removed his coveralls and even underneath his coveralls were the skin-tight jeans.
One of my fellow Californians, a woman, asked him where he got his pants, and what he told her shocked me. He told her the jeans he was wearing were women’s pants.
I continued to eaves-drop and found out that he
wore a size 7. Being from Richmond, I was confused. Wearing women’s pants was the style for guys? I thought these kids were going crazy.
But maybe I was the one that was crazy. After the suc-cess of songs like “Kick Push” by Lupe Fiasco and “Party Like a Rock Star” by the Shop Boyz, just to name a couple, for the first time that I could remember, young black celebrities were embracing what was considered white style and culture.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel like the youth of today should embrace one another’s styles and cultures, especially living in the most diverse soci-ety in the world here in the U.S.
But I can’t lie. I hate skin-ny jeans.
I thought “nut-hugger” jeans were in the past and I was glad to see them leave with the ’80s. But when I saw kids in Richmond and rappers like Lil Wayne wear-ing smaller pants with the waist chain, I knew the wom-en’s jeans were right around the corner.
The worst part about them is that guys wear them and try to sag, which looks
really stupid. Maybe they sag in them so that they can breathe. I don’t see how these kids wear these pants. I know they have to struggle to reach in their pockets.
Skinny jeans have also affected supply and demand to the point where the best-designed jeans are all skinny jeans or slim fitting. I miss my baggy pants. They were nice, warm and comfortable.
I used to know what size pants I wore, but now I have to try on every pair I’m thinking about pur-chasing.
The tiny pants were just the begin-ning, though. At this point, fashion seems to have moved back to the ’80s. Men are wearing high-top fades and women are wearing haircuts that you would see if you looked at Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It” video.
The ’80s are over; please update your outerwear and pull up your pants because I’d rather
not see your underwear. Start wearing clothes that fit.
And could somebody tell Kanye West to never, ever wear those red skinny jeans he wore at the NBA All-Star Game again? They were so tight I could count the change in his pocket from my couch.
Rodney Woodson is a staff writer of The Advocate. Contact him at [email protected].
JARED AMDAHL / THE ADVOCATE
rodneywoodson
W
THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 20112 OPINION
I thought
that “nut-
hugger”
jeans were
in the past
and I was
glad to see
them leave
at the end
of the ‘80s.
Quotable“With freedom of speech,
the accent is not on the speech itself but the right to say it. And the right of the freedom of the press
cartoons are the opinion of individual writers and
artists and not that of The Advocate. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the
Editorial Board, which is made up of student editors.
University of Georgia economist David B. Mustard found that just a year after opening, crime begins to increase at an accelerated rate, far sur-passing what it would have been sans casino.
On the average, five years follow-ing the opening of a casino, robbery in the community goes up 136 per-cent, aggravated assault is up 91 per-cent, auto theft is up 78 percent, bur-glary is up 50 percent, larceny is up 38 percent, rape is up 21 percent and murder is up 12 percent, compared with surrounding communities.
After the initial deluge of resources fade, communities don’t tend to continue adding police, allowing increased crime to eventually exhaust police resources.
Not only are police agencies over-whelmed, studies have shown that casinos increase the need for child welfare, mental health, emergency medical services and pathological and problem gambling programs in the surrounding community.
I think most of us have heard at least a few devastating tales come out casinos.
I know a man who once banned himself from Casino San Pablo, tell-ing security to take whatever mea-sures they found necessary to keep him away.
It didn’t work. And unfortunately for him, while violating his own ban,
his big win finally came
few weeks ago while fill-ing out a form to donate
blood, I approached the area asking for my ethnicity and got lost.
Despite the many choices, none fit me correctly.
There was no spot for Middle Eastern or Latino. Hispanic did not apply to me and South American was under a section called “Indian,” meaning indig-enous. There was a spot for “other,” but I decided to put the closest thing that might describe me best, “white.”
Having to classify our eth-nicity to one or several groups does not provide an accurate way to define where we come from or who we are.
It was weird for me to put “white,” since I was born in South America of a Brazilian mother and a Persian father. Persians are technically con-sidered white and Brazilians are Latino. Hispanic does not apply to me because they are people from Spanish-speak-ing countries and I am from a Portuguese-speaking country, thus I am Lusitanic.
Another reason I can be considered white is the fact that though many Latin Americans may be consid-ered Latino or Hispanic, the Americas have been colo-nized by Europeans.
Brazil is somewhat a “melting pot” of cultures with people from many backgrounds, ranging from German to Japanese to African descent. If those people were to come to the United States, how would they be classified?
I believe that if there are groups classifying our ethnic-ity, Brazilians deserve their own selection because they are in Latin America, but are not Hispanic.
Usually on these forms Filipinos have their own selection box, so they are not stuck deciding between Asian or Pacific islander.
Middle Easterners also should have their own area because there is a big cultural difference between them and Europeans.
When we think of white, we think of Europeans, not Middle Easterners. The Middle East and most of Russia are technically in Asia, but we never consider them as Asian. Take Egyptian-Americans, for example. We generally do not think of them as African-Americans, even though Egypt is in Africa.
I know some African-Americans who would not consider themselves such because they in no way relate to being from Africa.
But really, why does it mat-ter what our ethnicity is?
I can understand when it involves a medical reason, like giving blood, but I do not understand the point when it comes to standardized tests or when applying for school.
Haven’t we been taught not to judge somebody by his or her ethnic background?
When we get into all these technicalities, it is just con-fusing. People have gotten into identity crises because they are multiracial.
Just imagine, as an American, going to a different country where they ask for your ethnic background and you do not see “American.” Whatever you fill out, will you think it is accurate?
Dariush Azmoudeh is the online editor of The Advocate. Contact him at [email protected].
ar from the Las Vegas-style grandiosity and allure, and even further from the pockets
of the so-called high rollers and well-to-do, lies San Pablo’s Lytton Casino, one of the city’s most thriving enter-prises.
No matter the hour of day, a steady flow of foot and car traffic can be seen swarming the 1,100 machine casino, sometimes filling the expan-sive lot to maximum capacity, and bringing a highly disproportionate mixture of regulars and occasional gamblers.
Over time, the Lytton Casino has become the veritable hub of the small city, allowing convenient 24/7 access to Class II gaming, or slots deemed games of chance rather than gambling.
But for all the success the casino experiences, someone will always be losing money.
Casinos would like you to think that the revenues and jobs they pro-vide do more than offset the human damage they cre-ate, that they are actually a positive com-munity force.
And on the surface, it seems like the perfect cure; tax revenue flowing into the city increas-es, local unem-ployment drops and police patrol shoots up imme-diately after casinos open their doors.
But according to a study released in June 2006 titled “Casinos, Crime and Community Cost,” which studied 3,165 counties in the United States from 1977 to 1996, these benefits are statisti-cally short-lived.
Casinos bring crime, poverty to communities
F
Gambling away
FORUM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011 l THE ADVOCATE 3■ Rebellion
Students, masses need to fightemember how it feels to have lost something
important to you. Whether it’s keys, a
phone, or a piece of jewelry that may have been a family heirloom, you feel as if you have lost a piece of you.
Take the time to remem-ber that feeling and magnify it times 10.
With the uncertainty of the state’s budget and pro-posed legislation to cut state financial aid grants, many of us are in jeopardy of losing our education.
Thousands of community college students gathered for the March in March last week to protest and rally against cuts to education in Sacramento.
This march, which was an effort to show legislators that students will stand up for what they deserve, is a great idea and an effort that should be praised. But the battle must continue to be fought.
In a book titled “The Irony of Democracy” by Thomas Die and the late Harmon Ziegler, the two
authors agree the masses have no power against the elite.
The masses are defined as ordinary people in a society and would be considered people like us, students.
The elites are defined as a small group of people who have more power, social standing or wealth.
They would be considered people like the chancellor, president and other high officials or authority figures.
In a system known as stratification, elites work together to ensure power and wealth will continue to flour-ish in their community.
The elites are not con-cerned with the masses, and often do things to hold them back from power.
Withholding informa-
tion and keeping the masses uninformed is one way in which the elites keep the masses under control.
The elites are not con-cerned with the condition of the masses.
Instead, they continue to look out for themselves con-tributing little or no relief to the masses.
Elitism and the idea of stratification may be a dan-ger to education.
Because the elites no longer have the interests of the people in mind, but the interests of the wealthy and powerful, their judgment is often clouded.
The belief shared by both authors that there is no power in the masses can cer-tainly be debunked because we see there is power in the masses through history.
Starting with the rebel-lion of the slave trade, slaves fought and resisted for hun-dreds of years to be free.
Another example of the masses having power are the movements of the 1960s for equal rights.
These are examples of masses of people coming together and using their power.
In a time when their futures were at risk, many people came together to fight the power and wealth of the elites to make change.
The elites have been challenged by the masses a number of times and most of those times the masses reached their desired results.
When we are at our most vulnerable, are we going to let the elites trample over us, or will we take the lead from our predecessors and rally and protest?
Our best choice is to fight against the challenges.
It is our education and only the masses are at threat.
We are the ones who will feel the effects of the deci-sions made by elites who have vested more interest in themselves.
Lamar James is an associ-ate editor for The Advocate. Contact him at [email protected].
lamarjames
R
and he was forced to pay off a meth addict $4,000 to get past security.
I know another man who would walk every dime he earned from El Sobrante down into San Pablo, and return without a penny.
This desperation is not rare, and the anecdotes continue to multiply.
Horror stories of robberies outside of the Lytton Casino or of being fol-lowed home and robbed at gunpoint should not come as a surprise.
And even more, Mustard’s study found that surrounding non-casino counties show no significant increases in crime, proving that casinos breed crime locally rather than displace it from other areas.
Though I have no real memory of San Pablo without the Lytton Casino, I can’t help but feel that my community has been bamboozled and scammed.
When a majority of the people who frequent the casino are only able to do so because of proximity, it becomes clear that the Lytton Casino, however unintentionally, is preying upon the destitution of its community.
It has become a cesspool of second-hand smoke, violent crime, stimulants, alcohol, gambling and other bodily abuse, and it is a festering sore in the socio-economic conditions of this region.
Our community does not deserve this degeneration.
JARED AMDAHL / THE ADVOCATE
without cutting people,” Maga said.
If positions are not cut, the employees who fill them may face furloughs or salary cuts.
Maga added that positions that are cut will not be refilled until the budget situation gets better.
“Once a position is eliminated, it’s gone until budget can fund it again.”
Williams said if an academic manager is laid off, he or she still has tenure and could go back to teaching since they have a faculty service area.
Liberal Arts Division Dean Helen Kalkstein said she is optimistic and expects to keep her title.
“I don’t necessarily expect a change in my position, but I expect a salary reduction,” she said.
Kalkstein said she is not holding a grudge against the district for issuing her a pink slip because she understands where the higher education budget stands for next year.
“It’s a very unfortunate time for education and the country,” she said “We are severely under funded.”
Williams said although only academic managers received March 15 notices, classified managers and staff may still receive pink slips on May 16. Unlike academic workers, clas-sified managers and staff must be given notices only 45 days before the end of the fiscal year.
Liberal, Applied Health, Vocational Training, and Athletics Division Dean Susan Lee said she too finds it important to understand the decisions the district has to make and why it has to make them before making any judgments.
“I’m not surprised that I received one,” she said. “It just gives the district flexibility.”
Lee said if her position is eliminated, she will go back to teaching early childhood education.
Maga, who received a March 15 notice as well, she said she’s not surprised either. She said she is used to them since she has received them twice before in the field of education.
accenta d v o c a t e
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
■ TRANSFER
Representatives to visit campus
Representatives from Cal State-Sacramento will be in SSC-106 located in the Transfer/Career Center from 9:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. Thursday to meet with students interested in transferring to the campus.
To schedule an appointment, students can call 510-235-7800, ext. 4241.
Newsline
Saturday, March 12: A suicidal adult male was con-
tacted at the Bus Transfer Center. He was intoxicated and urinated on himself. He was transported to Martinez County Hospital for mental evaluation.
Monday, March 14: A student reported she saw a
person going through her locker on a previous day in the Gym Annex Building. Nothing was found to be missing.
— Alexandra Waite
CrimeWatch
■ FROM: Page 1
Boxing | Locals fight
THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 20114 CAMPUS BEAT
superior quickness and counter punch-ing.
Brown said, “I was just listening to my coach and doing what he said. My straight right hand was my most effec-tive punch.”
Another contestant, 11-year-old boxer Andre Conway from the Ring of Fire boxing club in San Francisco, said he has been boxing for three years.
“It’s fun learning how to box,” Conway said. “Amateur boxing is just about the learn-ing experience. What I like about boxing is traveling, fight-ing and meeting new people.”
Conway won his bout against 1 1 - y e a r - o l d Jorge Vasquez of Richmond PAL.
Cynthia Leon, a 20-year-old fight-er from the East Oakland Boxing Association, said she likes everything about boxing; that it’s a great workout and it relieves stress.
“My brother used to box until he was in a car accident and now I box to make him proud,” she said.
From The Kennel in San Leandro, 14-year-old Angelic Hernandez said, “I always wanted to do it. Boxing has taught me that no matter what, I can always get through anything because I’m strong enough to do it.”
In attendance was Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board member John Marquez and Richmond PAL President John
Ziesenhenne.Marquez said, “This is great. This
is the kind of thing our young people need to see to show them there are other ways of living besides being in the streets. The eighth fight was my favor-ite. They were tiny, but they showed a lot of spirit.”
Ziesenhenne said, “I liked watching the 9- and 10-year-olds. These kids learn a lot in two minutes.”
R i c h m o n d PAL Athletic Director and President of the Richmond Eagles Pop Warner foot-ball team Mark Torres said 100 percent of the proceeds from the event are going to be donated to help children in the city.
All members of the event staff were volunteers.
The event was set up as a traditional boxing event.
The ring was the centerpiece and there were rows of seats in front of every side.
At the start time of the event there were a good amount of empty seats, but they began to fill up as the fights started.
Also in attendance was former pro boxer, the “Richmond Rifle,” Ralph McCoy. McCoy was once ranked No. 6 in the world as a middleweight during his career in the 1960s and 1970s.
“I love boxing and I love to see the competitiveness and good sportsman-ship that the kids are showing,” he said.
up and hit the gas line right there.”Poole said the problems with the transformer
were simply ignored by the college and the district. All that the rusty unit needed was a heat source plugged in to evaporate the condensa-tion.
“Nobody paid attention to it,” he said after he discovered the problem Monday night. “It’s never been maintained.”
And even though the district knew of the condensation problem officials chose not to move to action because it was not a cost-effec-tive solution.
Chief Facilities Planner Ray Pyle said the unit will be replaced along with the SA Building next year under the college Facilities Master Plan, The money for such renovations was readily available from the Measure A+ bond of $286.5 million passed by voters in 2006. Yet, since the bond’s passage, the college has had no repairs done to its electrical infrastructure to prevent electrical problems and blackouts.
Pyle said money has been used for other projects at CCC as well as the other colleges in the district. He said the bond can no longer pay for most repairs.
“I don’t think there’s enough money in the bond to fix all the problems with the (CCC) campus,” Pyle said.
College maintenance worker Marc Mariana said he is tired of seeing the district ignore such important problems in favor of other projects.
“It’s been five years since the (2006) bond was voted in and we have nothing to show for it except paperwork (as it pertains to the electrical infrastructure),” he said in frustration. “We keep telling them up above (at the district) that we need to make changes and they keep dragging their feet. They abandon problems.”
Mariana said the transformer was not the only issue. Next to it, rats were found living inside electrical switchgear Monday night.
“I don’t know what the priority (of district employees) is,” he said. “It’s dangerous (but) it doesn’t affect them.”
At about 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, CCC lost full power across campus. Buildings and Grounds called PG&E to replace a fuse near the baseball and softball fields, Pyle said.
After the crews replaced the part and full power could still not be restored to the campus, workers determined that there was a problem on CCC’s end, not PG&E’s.
Buildings and Grounds Manager Bruce King said the dated infrastructure created major prob-lems for workers who tried to track down what the cause of the blackout was, forcing the cam-pus to close completely at 5 p.m. Thursday.
“Electricity is like chasing rabbits,” King said. “(The college) has an old utility hookup.”
As of press time on Tuesday, power was restored to all buildings except for the SA Building. King said college officials need to decide whether or not to lease a generator to power the building, which would take a day to install and cost $18,000 to lease for a week. Installation costs would not be included.
If the generators are leased, the transformer’s parts can be replaced without further disrupt-ing the operation of the SA Building until the weekend when the Bookstore and Subway, both located inside the building, are closed, King said.
The college may just wait for the parts and not run generators. If this method is chosen, repairs could halt operations in the building for two to three days after the parts are available, King said.
Still, King said there is no way to promise everything will run smoothly once the repairs are made as crews found out this past weekend.
As they made one repair after another, Buildings and Grounds ran up a bill of more than $50,000. The price of labor from outside engineers and contractors has not been factored
into that number, King said.King and his crews discovered that three
different major fuses had blown out after the blackout. The special parts were shipped into the Oakland Airport from Oregon and cost about $12,000 each.
Another transformer, this one powering the Art Building and Early Learning Center, took minor repairs Monday night.
Mariana said although the blackout did dis-rupt normal college operations drastically, he sees a positive side to the whole ordeal.
“It’s good that we approached these prob-lems,” he said. “A year from now, this problem won’t exist, but a new one will.”
President McKinley Williams said the out-age must be reported to the state, and it will dent the amount of money the college is allocated.
“If we cancel classes, we have to let the state know,” he said.
Poole said that many of the college’s electri-cal problems could have easily been fixed over time, thereby lessening the number of days school was closed.
Transformer | Component poses hazard
three to two.“We will be gutted by taking
away the administrative staff. We want to maintain our high standing and the awards we win because of the staff that we have now. It’s a shame,” Vice Principal Jennifer Crowell said.
In 2006, MCHS was nationally recognized by the US Department of Education as one of fewer than 300 Blue Ribbon schools, an honor given to both public and private K-12 schools nationwide that demon-strate superior academics or strides in achievement.
Integrating college classes into a highly monitored high school envi-ronment, MCHS boasts a CAHSEE pass rate of nearly 100 percent, more than 20 percent higher than any local public high school.
Furthermore, MCHS has an Academic Performance Index (API), an integrated figure assess-ing student learning, of 852 — the highest in the district.
Crowell attributes much of this success to the students’ exposure to college-level courses and their willingness to learn, but not neces-sarily to their abilities beforehand.
She said students of all perfor-mance levels are accepted in and
that MCHS aims “to reach the student who has the potential, but doesn’t have the support or back-ground to succeed.”
“(MCHS) is about picking out students who wouldn’t normally succeed in a traditional high school environment. You may start out here as a B or C student and end up an A student. It’s a combina-tion of low and high perform-ing students, and through this we succeed,” Amargo said.
S e r v i n g more than 300 students, the loss of Crowell’s position and a day of counsel-ing with coun-selor Michelle Hart will leave a void in student services and general guidance at MCHS.
Some worry these changes may threaten the school’s structure and future academic excellence.
“If they do proceed (with the cuts), this school will fall apart. It doesn’t make any sense. There is
no rationale or logic. We need a stronger administration to lead our school,” Amargo said.
“It kind of worries me about the future of Middle College,” MCHS senior Ja’Shawn Fields Jr. said.
However, college President McKinley Williams said the school
will continue its exemplary p e r f o r m a n c e regardless.
“ T h e y ’ r e going to have some cutbacks on staff, but the quality of i n s t r u c t i o n won’t change,” he said.
But some said the acces-sibility and work efforts of Crowell will not easily be replaced, and
could be too much for remaining staff to handle.
“(Vice Principal Crowell) does a little bit of everything. If she’s gone our counselor would surely be overwhelmed. You can’t do that work with one person working two days a week,” Amargo said.
Crowell did not challenge the elimination of her position, but instead expressed concern for stu-dents and faculty.
“(I understand the situation), but at the same time it does not negate the fact that I’m needed here. I’m an integral part here at this school. It’s like chopping off a leg,” Crowell said.
Inevitably though, the work must continue to be done, and would likely fall upon Principal Hattie Smith, students said.
“We’re only human. (Principal Smith) can’t do everything. And without the staff to help, it will be rather difficult,” Fields Jr. said.
There remains a chance for MCHS to retain some of its servic-es, Williams said, dependent upon the approval of Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax extension and the June special election ballot.
According to a report released by WCCUSD on March 2, if Brown’s cuts plan is accepted by legislators and the tax extension is passed by voters, the district could minimize damage to a $19 per pupil loss. But if Brown’s cuts aren’t approved and if voters shoot down the five-year tax extension, the district could stand to lose $330 to $800 per pupil.
“We will be gutted by taking away the administrative staff.
We want to maintain our high standing and
the awards we win because of the staff we have now. It’s a
shame.”
Jennifer Crowell,MCHS vice principal
“It’s been five years since the (2006) bond was voted in and we have nothing to show for
it except paperwork. We keep telling them up above (at the district) that we need to make changes and they keep drag-ging their feet. They abandon
problems.”
Marc Mariana,senior equipment maintenance worker
Notices | Given
“This is great. This the kind of thing our young people need to see to show them
there are other ways of liv-ing besides being in the
streets.”
John Marquez,Contra Costa Community College District
“I’m not surprised that I received one. It just gives the district flex-
ibility.”
Susan Lee,LAVA Division dean
■ SINGING
EOPS to host Karaoke Night
EOPS/CARE will be host-ing Karaoke Night in the Student Dining Room on Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The event is a fundraiser for the program and is open to all students, staff and faculty. The cost to par-ticipate is $1 per song.
■ HONOR
Women’s history celebrated
Contra Costa College and the West Contra Costa Branch of the American Association of University Women will present the 11th Annual National Women’s History Month Celebration Thursday in the Knox Center from 7 to 10 p.m.
The theme of the event is “Our History Our Strength” and the pro-gram will acknowledge women throughout the college’s service area for their community contribu-tions and advocacy.
■ CONCERT
Gospel Choir to sing at Knox
The CCC Gospel Choir will perform a Gospel Choir Concert on April 9 in the Knox Center at 7 p.m. The concert is open to the public and the choir will render traditional gospel and non-tradi-tional contemporary gospel under the direction of Denise Hunter.
For more information, contact the music department at 510-235-7800, ext. 4276.
■ PERFORMANCE
Speech, drama to be showcased
The speech and drama depart-ments will host the annual “Speech & Drama Night” on April 7 in the Knox Center at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend and support the drama and speech students per-forming in the show.
For more information, contact Dr. Connie Anderson at 510-235-7800, ext. 4533.
Samples of dishes from more than 40 restaurants and wineries will fill the Gymnasium during the 4th Annual Food and Wine Event on April 10.
Hosted by the culinary arts depart-ment, the event will also provide live entertainment, souvenir wine glasses and bags, and fundraisers such as a cake raffle and a silent auction are planned.
“It’s the best opportunity to meet your future employer,” culinary arts major Erlinda Vance said.
Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Advance tickets are available at the culinary arts department office in AA-234.
“This is a steppingstone to gain more knowledge and build up department’s reputation,” student Jason Walker said.
Culinary arts department Chairman Nadar Sharkes expects a full house and all of the culinary arts students to be in attendance.
These students get an opportunity to travel and study abroad through the money collected during the event, pro-viding unlimited benefits to the edu-cation and future of aspiring culinary students, Sharkes said.
THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 20115 CAMPUS BEAT
Scholarship application deadlines will be extended due to the power outage that dark-ened Contra Costa College on Thursday.
The new due date for the schol-arships had not been announced as of press time on Tuesday.
Student Life Director Kelly Ramos announced on Monday through e-mail notification to stu-dents’ personal e-mails that they will be able to have more time to fill out and turn in their scholar-ship applications.
President McKinley Williams said, “We will extend the scholar-ship due date because we know students won’t be able to turn them in on time because of the blackout.”
The deadline for scholar-ships was initially on Thursday, but since the college website was inactive because of the power out-age, students were unable to turn in their applications.
“The blackout has been a dis-ruption and very unfortunate to the college,” Williams said. “Any time you disrupt the learning pro-cess it’s not good. Students are depending on us.”
For four and a half days, Contra Costa College was put through the stress of can-celed classes and chaotic communication due to a power outage that took place Thursday morning.
With a majority of classrooms not receiv-ing power, the school was forced to shut down that day and re-opened on Tuesday.
After the decision to close the campus
was made, it was necessary for students to be informed that they need not come to school until the problem was fixed.
But with no electricity to power the serv-ers that host CCC’s website, or any to power student and teacher e-mail addresses, the college possessed only a few ways to com-municate with students, President McKinley Williams said.
One was through the college district web-site, 4cd.net.
The second utilized the school’s phone line.
When an individual called the college, an automated voice message informed the listener about the situation at hand.
Also, e-mails were sent out to stu-dents’ personal e-mail accounts through
Admissions and Records Director Michael Aldaco.
As attempts were made to communicate the fact that the college was closed for the duration of the power outage, students were either finding — or not finding — out about the news.
Student Leticia Cosey did not receive an e-mail and came to class Monday ready to make up her midterm, which was canceled due to the power outage last week.
“I haven’t been able to access the web-site,” she said. “I had an idea there was still a power outage, but I had to come here and make sure it was true.”
Staff and students alike were forced to play the waiting game as no chances to restore power could be made until the blown
fuses were fixed. “Any attempt to power the campus before
the damage was repaired could risk the school’s computer memory, (including) the website,” Vice President Carol Maga said.
With plans in place, the college was scheduled to re-open Tuesday, after allowing for the website to become operational on Monday and teacher e-mails to work once again.
But when attempts to restore power had failed on Monday, Williams mentioned a word that sums up morale during the event: “discouraged.”
He said it’s important that students check to make sure that their personal e-mails are on file with the college as it is the easiest way to contact student individually.
As a provisional appointment, mem-bers of the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board selected retired plumber Robert Calone to fill the vacancy left by former Ward 5 trustee Jess H. Reyes, who died on Jan. 31.
He will be seated at tonight’s Governing Board meeting.
In filling the vacancy, members of the Governing Board had two options.
They could have held a special election that would have cost more than $300,000, or make a provisional appointment.
Two trustees, Ward 2 Trustee Tomi Van de Brooke and Ward 3 Trustee Sheila Grilli, made the provisional appointment.
Calone, who will represent Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Knightsen, Bethel Island and Bay Point, will sit on the board as Ward 5 trustee, which also serves Los Medanos College.
Calone said, “I am very excit-ed about being appointed.”
Grilli said that the application pro-cess went smoothly and the board can now go on as a complete unit.
She said there were nine applicants and that every applicant was qualified to do the job, making the decision dif-ficult.
“In one way or another everyone was qualified to do the job.
But the board chose to go with Calone because he had experience and did well in the interview,” she said.
She said the board was looking for someone who can learn quickly.
Now that it is again complete, the board can do what is necessary to pro-vide for the colleges, she said.
“We are expecting to get back to work,” Grilli said.
“We will be trying to figure out how to keep the campuses open and how to continue to offer classes to students.”
She said Calone has the energy and wanted to do the job, which is what landed him the position.
The process of choosing the trustee went quickly, which the board mem-bers wanted so that they could continue with business as soon as possible.
“Not that this (open position) has halted work, but the board can be more effective with five members instead of four,” Grilli said.
According to the district web-site, www.4cd.edu, Calone grew up in Pittsburg, Calif. and received his associate degree from Diablo Valley College.
He also received his bachelor’s degree from Golden Gate University.
His resumé, which is posted on the website under the agendas and minutes of March 9, states Calone has been a part-time vocational education teacher since 1978, a former superintendent of plumbing for Los Medanos Plumbing Company and a retired journeyman plumber.
Grilli said Calone has a number of years representing the building trades, and he should bring that experience to the board to access the needs of the campuses.
She said the board is happy with who was chosen, and thinks his quali-fications will accompany the board well.
Calone fills vacant East County spot
ADVERTISEMENT
Fundraiser anticipated
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DARIUSH AZMOUDEH / THE ADVOCATE
the Chinese dish dim sum, which will be demonstrated at the upcoming food and wine event by the students.
Student Edger Moreno said the event is fun to go to, and he hopes to gain more experience and meet new people.
Robert Balga, a Contra Costa College culinary arts student, said the event will give insight into the industry and show how things are run outside of the culi-nary arts program.
Student Rodney McElmore said this year the proceeds from the event will go to award CCC culinary arts students with a trip to study abroad in Italy this summer.
The trip will give students hands on experience and introduce them to the availability of fresh herbs that are pro-vided in the country.
Sharkes said the goal of the fundrais-ing is to send six to 10 students to Italy, hopefully raising $5,000 per student.
Balga said he wants to learn how to cook Italian food accurately.
Proceeds from the 3rd Annual Food and Wine Event helped fund last year’s culinary arts trip that sent six students to China.
Student Tom Tokarski, one of the six students who went on last sum-mer’s trip, said China is “not a little community, it’s a whole world.”
The trip was a cultural experience for the students, Tokarski said. Attending the Martin Yan Cooking Academy in Southern China, the students studied the art of China’s five major regional cooking styles in a 10-day program.
Any students at Contra Costa College hankering for the spotlight will be offered an opportunity to sing on stage by the EOPS Club.
The EOPS Club will host Karaoke Night as a fundraiser for its ongoing scholarship program available to EOPS students and for the program itself.
The event will be held Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Student Dining Room.
Karaoke Night will be facili-tated by the students of the EOPS Club, the outreach coordinator and the club’s vice president.
“We hope this event will moti-vate students to get involved and (fundraise for) scholarships, but I think this is also a fun event for stu-dents and staff to move out of their comfort zone for one night,” EOPS Outreach Coordinator Kenneth Reynolds said.
Reynolds said the event has no particular dress code, as it is very small compared to other events and it will be open to everyone who is willing to participate, though non-participating audience members are also welcome.
The EOPS Club will also be selling snacks to students, partici-pants and their guests.
“Our reason for this event is that music is one key factor that brings people together, and I enjoy it especially when we have Karaoke Night,” EOPS Club Vice President Christina Rathavongsa said.
Throughout the night, partici-pants will pay $1 to perform one
song, students that choose to not participate they can also come out to watch, which is a way of show-ing support for the EOPS club, she said.
EOPS club Treasurer Rizwaan Ali agreed.
“It’s a great event that will also give students a better perspective
song.EOPS Club members recently
decided to change their karaoke events from its usual Friday nights to Thursday nights because more students are on campus on Fridays than on Thursdays, Rathavongsa said..
“More students would be inter-ested in going to a school-facili-tated event on a Thursday night,” she said.
There have been eight Karaoke Nights within the last two years, and Thursday’s event will mark the club’s second such program this school year.
Ali said that the Karaoke Night is always considered to be a suc-cessful event due to its fundrais-ing aspect. But club members also have received lots of positive feed-back from participants and specta-tors who enjoyed it.
ROMAN YOUNG / THE ADVOCATE
Feeling the Jazz — Jazzanova members Daniel Hernandez (left) and Marva Dylus (right) sing “My Kind of Girl” at La Strada restaurant on Monday to a packed room.
EOPS invitestalent, tunes to showcase
Ampim, students await Ethiopia
THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 20116 CAMPUS BEAT
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For nearly 16 years, social science depart-ment Chairman Manu Ampim has been making educational trips to different coun-tries in Africa each summer.
This year, he and his students will visit Ethiopia for the first time.
Ampim has taken groups on summer tours that primarily focused on Egypt. Yet, due to the recent political conflict in the country, his 2011 plans were changed.
“Originally, the trip focused on both Egypt and Ethiopia,” Student Life assistant Laliani Coffee said. “But, because of Kemet’s (Egypt’s) political turmoil, he decided (only) to go to Ethiopia.”
In his History 110 class, History of African Civilization, Ampim said he often shows slides of his travels through Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.
These slides show the professor’s first- hand experience in the field.
“The greatest part of student learning is outside of school,” Ampim said. “Experience gives a new level of African history and its cultural contributions, as well as a much deeper understanding of the past.”
Coffee is a former Contra Costa College student who graduated from Spelman College and plans to earn her master’s degree in African studies.
“I’m going to apply to graduate school. This highly educational trip to Ethiopia will benefit my degree,” Coffee said.
However, that is not the only reason Coffee wants to go to Ethiopia.
“I’m 35 years old and sort of lost 15 years of studying African history and African-American history. This trip will be a spiritual and intellectual trip that is long overdue,” Coffee said.
At 3 p.m. Thursday an orientation meet-ing on the West African excursion is sched-uled in the Fireside Room. However due to the campus being unexpectedly closed this past week, the event may be postponed to a later date, she said.
As far as costs, there are a couple things planned to help those who are trying to go on the trip to Ethiopia.
Participants will have four fundraisers;
two on campus and two off campus.Their first attempt to raise money is
scheduled for Friday, although Coffee said she is unsure what is going to happen when everyone returns after the closure. This first event also may be delayed.
Black Student Union President Erika Greene said, “It hasn’t been decided if the BSU will try to support the trip financially, but in terms of the ones who are going, by names and faith — we are all surely support-ing them.”
Greene has also decided to go on the trip. “Ethiopia has a very rich and historical cul-ture. I love the country, food, the people and its history,” she said.
The tour to Ethiopia will be CCC Financial Aid Director Viviane LaMothe’s second time traveling with Ampim.
“I went on his tour of Kemet and learned a lot there,” she said. “I am very eager for this to happen. It’s an opportunity to discover a completely different culture.”
LaMothe was disappointed that the sum-mer tour did not happen last year. Though there was an initial plan, nothing was ever finalized.
The main reason was that there were not enough students signed up to go on the trip, she said.
Ampim said, “Their (students’) interests haven’t changed from before. The economy now has made it difficult. It has affected their ability, not their interest.”
The price for the tour is $3,850, which covers everything, he said.
The money is used for airfare and trans-portation while in Africa, food expenses for each individual and the costs of accom-modations.
Those on the tour will visit six primary sites, which include the source of the Blue Nile River and Ethiopia’s national museum, he said.
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Transfer Students with 15 credits or more are eligible
Men’s soccer coach Rudy Zeller said, “Mack (Williams) told us that soccer or baseball could possibly be the first to be cut. If the (budget situation worsens), football and basketball may follow.”
While it has already been hard for teams to raise money in the past, they are now required to gar-ner more money to save programs.
“We don’t have much (as a program) to be cut as we have been dealing with budget problems for the past (several) years,” base-ball coach Marvin Webb said. “We haven’t had any budget for our teams, so we have been (forced) to take care of ourselves as far as pay-ing for jerseys and equipment.”
Zeller said that the budget chaos which began at CCC in 2003 has caused him to find alternative ways of raising money.
“In 2004, we had our first cut-backs so I went from being funded $3,000 (for supplies) a year to having it all wiped out,” he said. “Before, I would have to fund raise about $3,000 to $5,000 a year to
keep up the soccer program, but now (coaches) are faced with a lot more because we are saving the athletic program.”
The budget plague has struck many community college ath-letic programs up and down the state over recent years, California Community College Athletic Association President Carlyle Carter said.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget pro-posal asks the community college system to take a $400 million cut, affecting many programs, includ-ing athletics.
And because the college will take at least a $4 million decrease to its budget for 2011-12, athletics will have no choice but to elimi-nate a men’s program by July 1, Williams said.
CCC Athletic Director John Wade and Williams both are hop-
ing that fundraisers can help aug-ment the budget.
“We’re looking at other options (to help out the budget), but fund-raising is most likely our main option because it’s something we have control over,” Williams said. “We have to reduce our costs.”
To receive money from fund-raising, the athletic program is planning to host another crab feed in April and sell banners advertis-ing local merchants to hang in the Gymnasium.
However if enough money is not raised, resulting in the elimina-tion of an athletic team, CCC will not only be losing athletes, but students as well.
“A lot of kids go to college not only for school, but (to play) soccer,” Jaime Sahagun, who is a midfielder on the men’s soccer team, said. “Cutting soccer will be closing a door on kids because they put more effort into school by playing on the team.”
If baseball gets cut from the college, it will force CCC baseball players to play for sister schools Diablo Valley or Los Medanos col-
leges.Since CCC is the only college
in the district that offers soccer, cutting the program will affect players who attend DVC and LMC too, as they would then have to travel to other schools such as Las Positas College in Livermore just to play soccer.
Wade and Williams are hope-ful that fundraisers will help the school keep its teams.
“Hopefully we can find a mil-lionaire or a professional athlete to donate money,” Williams said. “These are tough times and the college is going through a down-sizing that will be painful.”
QING HUANG / THE ADVOCATE
Strike out — Comet pitcher Chris Lovejoy throws a pitch against Los Medanos College Thursday at LMC. CCC lost to the Mustangs 5-4.
The possibility of cutting a men’s team from Contra Costa College’s intercollegiate athletic program due to the 2011-12 col-lege budget shortfall has put a great amount of stress on the ath-letic department.
Although he has not chosen a team to be cut, President McKinley Williams told coaches last week in a meeting that the decision may be based on the amount of revenue teams generate.
If revenue is the deciding fac-tor, the baseball and men’s soccer programs are the top contenders to meet the chopping block, Williams said. Neither of the two teams charges spectators to attend games,
PITTSBURG — A strong start and a solid ninth inning were not enough for the Comet baseball team (6-12 overall, 4-3 in the Bay Valley Conference) to beat Los Medanos College (7-11 overall, 5-2 in the BVC) in its battle for second place in the conference as the Comets lost here 5-4 on Thursday.
“We had the lead and we let them catch us, as usual,” baseball coach Marvin Webb said.
Contra Costa College got into a nice offensive rhythm in the first two innings.
And at the end of the second the team had a total of five hits and two runs.
The defense was solid as well, allowing no runs, and pitcher Chris Lovejoy struck out two batters.
Webb said, “Lovejoy pitched a good game. Both pitchers did an excellent job.”
During the following three innings, the Comets went into a slump and gave up five runs, including three in the fifth.
Third baseman Cameron Doorn said a couple of errors and cheap LMC hits cost the team the lead.
“Our defense isn’t as good as what we should be,” Doorn said.
The offense ran into some trouble as well. After gaining early control, CCC only managed to get five hits through the final six innings of the game.
Webb said, “(The LMC) pitcher threw a good
game. We were trying to pull the ball down the line and he kept pitching away from our bat-ters.”
Lovejoy said, “We need more batting practice and we need to work on (hitting) the outside pitch.”
The game was tied 2-2 after the fourth inning and CCC took a one-run lead in the top of the fifth.
After a defensive meltdown in the bottom of the inning, CCC stiffened up and gave up just one hit for the rest of the game.
Down two runs in the ninth inning, Comet outfielder Donnie Hogan got a base hit, which drove in infielder Joseph Airoldi.
With two outs and Hogan on second base, outfielder Charles Lyte hit a ball toward right field but during the play Hogan rounded third and tried for home plate where he was tagged out to end the game.
Webb, who was coaching third base, said, “He made a big turn around third base, he was already past me. I couldn’t stop him.”
The Comets came into the game holding a half-game lead over LMC in the BVC stand-ings.
The loss dropped CCC two spaces in the con-ference standings. The Comets are now sitting in fourth place.
“We just have to play hard every game, think a little more and make adjustments,” Webb said.
Sloppy fielding by Contra Costa College during the third inning allowed Solano Community College to score 12 runs in the Comets’ 15-2 loss at home on Thursday in the second game of a doubleheader. The game ended after the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.
The Comets (0-6 overall, 0-4 Bay Valley Conference) allowed 10 hits through 16 batters as the Falcons (9-5-1
overall, 4-0 BVC) dominated in the third inning and continued through the rest of the game with strong pitching.
After losing the first game of the doubleheader 8-0, the Comets looked to take charge with pitcher Krissy Oshiro taking the mound in game 2.
“We played pretty decent,” Comet coach Edward Miller said. “We’re not very skillful defensively
but they tried hard. We gave up too many unearned runs.”The Comets play their next doubleheader Thursday at
Yuba College (0-14 overall, 0-4 BVC) with the first game beginning at 1 p.m.
“(Solano) didn’t have many earned runs. Out of the 23 runs in the two games, probably four or five were earned,” Miller said.
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011 l THE ADVOCATE 7
WAY OFF
Athletics in search of new funds
CCC fails, Solano seals 15-2 victory
ROMAN YOUNG / THE ADVOCATE
Failed effort — Comet outfielder Shantanay Briggs fails to catch a fly ball against Solano Community College Thursday at home. The Comets lost both games of their home debut, 8-0 and 15-2.
Baseball, soccer face hazy future with coming cuts
Second straight loss disappoints Comets
Lack of experience stings young squad in home debut
Team fails to get win, earns third BVC loss
“Cutting soccer will be closing a door on kids because they put more effort into school by playing on the team.”
Jaime Sahagun,soccer player
Oshiro pitched two innings before leaving the game in the third inning after taking a line drive to her pitching hand.
With Oshiro injured, Comet midfielder Myeshia Ellison took over pitching duties but was soon replaced for the remainder of the game by first baseman Maritza Reyna after she walked the only two batters she faced.
Errors and spotty pitching hurt the team’s morale.“We could have done a lot better, but we were all down,”
Reyna said. “It felt like some people gave up.”The Falcons had 18 stolen bases, which Miller said was
partly due to the team’s lack of defensive prowess.
“Defensively, we weren’t on our toes, but we executed some key plays,” Ellison said. “As a team, we’re not produc-ing runs or getting on base. We could definitely improve on our hitting.”
The Comets managed to create a spark in the final two innings, scoring twice after catcher Meagan Maile and Ellison batted in runs.
Despite the losses, the team saw some positive things in its games.
“I was really proud,” Ellison said “Some of our players who just started playing got their first hits.”
ScoreBoard
Falcons 15Comets 2
Next game: Thursday at Yuba, 1 & 3 p.m.
ScoreBoard
Mustangs 5Comets 4
Next game: Thursday at Yuba, 2 p.m.
THE ADVOCATE l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 20118 FOCUS
RICHMOND
GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE
Proud victory — Vallejo Police Activities League boxer Jihad Tayeh celebrates his win at the “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition on Saturday.
Double impact — East Oakland Boxing boxer Cynthia Leon (right) and Pacific Ring boxer Rebecca Villagram (left) both make contact with their punches dur-
ing the “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition held at the Richmond Auditorium on Saturday.
SAM ATTAL / THE ADVOCATE
Roar from the crowd — Family and friends celebrate the win of East Oakland Boxing boxer Cynthia Leon at the “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition at the Richmond Auditorium on Saturday.
SAM ATTAL / THE ADVOCATE
GEORGE MORIN / THE ADVOCATE
Strong guidance — Trainer Jesse Lopez coaches J. L. Tepito boxer Sammy Tan during his bout at the “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition on Saturday.
Preparing for battle — DeLeon Brown, 17, has his hands wrapped by former boxer Ralph McCoy, who was known as the “Richmond Rifle,” at the “Richmond’s Finest” Boxing Exhibition at the Richmond Auditorium on Saturday.
