Sports
Baseball Players
Seek Relief
C
Page 15
Volume 160, Number 5
Diving Toward the Future
Walter Ramirez executes a perfect line in the campus pool for "Physical Education 102:
Swimming Skills" with instructor Jan McEveety. Students will soon bid farewell to the cur-
rent pool which dates back to the 1920s. Construction of a new pool could begin as early
as November. (See full story: Waves of Change, page 15)
Math Club First in Nation, Again
By Daniel Akers
and Esther Hirzel
S
tudents from Los
Angeles City Col-
lege (LACC) won
first place in the American
Mathematics Association of
Two Year Colleges (AMA-
TYC) student mathematics
league competition held last
month.
More than 11,000 stu-
dents from 190 community
Marijuana
Controversy
Smolders on
Melrose,
Heliotrope
By Frank Elaridi
Members of the community
are concerned that Los Angeles
City College and its bordering
streets have become a sanctuary
for drug dealers and users. They
complain that students from Los
Angeles City College stand on
Melrose and Heliotrope smoking
marijuana.
The owner of a small busi-
ness who has lived in the area
for more than 45 years says that
drug dealers sit on benches in
front of the campus on Vermont
and wait for students to buy their
marijuana. The business owner
did not want to be named, but he
said that he is bothered by the in-
crease in drug use over the past
Los Angeles
The Student Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929
colleges participated in the com-
petition held during the fall and
spring semesters. The school has
placed in the top 10, eight of the
last 10 years.
The department is proud about
the accomplishment, but also be-
lieves students need to continue
to improve their math skills.
“We are (LACC) the best
math department in the country,”
said Roger Wolf, chair of the
department. “We are interested
in the developmental aspect and
Photo by Jorge Ponce/LA Collegian
The corner of Melrose and Helio-
trope is questioned as a home for
drug dealers and users.
year.
“This is going to be a big
problem for these kids in the fu-
ture," the business owner said
referring to LACC students. He
has numerous police officers as
customers, and says that they too
are aware of the problem. “The
police know, but there are just too
many people."
Business owners remember
Campus
Photo by Jordan Angulo/LA Collegian
the ability for the student to
solve the problem.”
City College has won the
national competition four
times and has placed in the
top 10 nationally for eight of
the 10 years City has partici-
pated.
Anatoliy Nikolaychuk
who became the adviser nine
years ago, says he gets the
best and brightest students in
Math Club on page 4
the former medical marijuana
store on the corner of Melrose
and Heliotrope that the feds
closed down earlier this year,
because they were allegedly
selling marijuana to people
who did not need it. The store
is now a tattoo shop.
The former medical mari-
juana store and street benches
are not the only places believed
to be associated with drug
deals. There are other links to
drug use around the neighbor-
hood.
"I’ve seen people selling
drugs [outside] the Guatema-
lan Bakery,” radiology major,
Karen Santiago said. “I don't
know about marijuana, because
I don't smoke. I think whatever
you do in private is cool, but
not out in public."
Not everyone shares that
same view about drug use in
the community. For years, there
have been discussions about le-
galizing marijuana in the state,
but a public official is open-
ly considering the possibil-
ity for the first time. Governor
Marijuana on page 4
Highlights
Robinson Cruises
to Adventure
Page 12
Administrators,
Instructors,
Lost in ESL
Translation
By Theresa Adams
Wilshire Center’s ESL
lab designed to assist 1300 stu-
dents in the first three phases
of the ESL program has re-
mained unused for more than
a year. Faculty members from
the department say they have
been unable to open the lab
because they cannot hire full-
time staff or security for the
center.
Los Angeles City Col-
lege’s English department
received a First Basic Skills
Grant from the state of Cali-
fornia for $600,000 last year.
They received the same
amount of funding this year.
The department used $200,000
to purchase new computer
equipment and reading sup-
plies for the lab located at
3020 Wilshire Blvd.
“This is an offense to the
California taxpayers that we
have spent this money and
can’t use the facility,” said
Ronald Lapp, English/ESL In-
structor.
Lapp and three other
English instructors along with
the department chair, Dr. Tam-
my Robinson submitted a pro-
posal to a committee headed
by Kathleen Burke-Kelly, Vice
President of Academic Affairs
requesting staff for the ESL
Lab. The proposal was vetoed.
The reason given was that the
Basic Skills funds should not
be used to hire employees for
a program where the funding
may not be forthcoming in the
future.
ESL on page 4
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Paper Trail May
Lead to Problems
for Men’s Basketball
Information on student athlete eligibility forms might have
saved the cost of non-resident tuition for a handful of play-
ers, but could now cost City College, South Coast Conference
Champs, the entire basketball season’s wins and possibly more.
By Mars Melnicoff
Information student athletes
wrote on college eligibility re-
ports shows that five members of
the 2008-2009 Los Angeles City
College (LACC) men's basket-
ball team attended a campus of
Stoneridge Preparatory School,
but the prep school's director
doubts they were ever there.
Stoneridge draws basketball
players from around the world.
The small private prep school
currently has a single campus
located in Simi Valley. A second
campus located in Tarzana closed
down in 2004. The eligibility
reports for three of the students
Basketball on page 15
L.A. Times Now Endorses Pearlman
By Jamie Hong
Nancy Pearlman has been
a member of the Los Angeles
Community College District
Board of Trustees for two terms
and is now running for a third.
However, this is the first time the
Los Angeles Times has endorsed
her. In a May 4 article, the Los
Angeles Times states that they
now endorse Pearlman in the
May 19 election.
“Pearlman is the stronger
Budget on page 8
Students Say
Free Press
Denied at City
By Matthew Lopes
On the afternoon of
Wednesday, April 29 the Colle-
gian Wired Broadcast Team be-
lieves that they were prevented
by Dr. Jamillah Moore from con-
ducting an on-camera interview
with Harris & Associates Project
Director, Chris Dunne for a Los
Angeles Community College
District (LACCD) video contest.
The Green Video Contest
challenged current students of
any of the nine LACCD schools,
to create a video encouraging
presidents and chancellors of
higher education institutions to
support the American College
& University Presidents Climate
Commitment by showing what
steps each campus takes to limit
its impact on the environment.
Press Rights on page 4
state they attended the Stoneridge
Campus in Tarzana, in 2006 and
2007.
“The names we do not rec-
ognize at all,” Luisa Arnold, the
director of Stoneridge Prepara-
tory School said. “I myself do not
recognize any of those names,
any. I get students from 30 years
ago who want their records, and
I remember these names. If they
say ‘did they graduate?’ then I
have to check. But I remember
the names. These are five boys!
Why so many I don’t recognize?
It’s not like one or two. It’s five.”
Each athlete filled out a
form by hand and the form shows
the coach, the athletic director,
Nancy Pearlman
candidate of the two,” while her
opponent, Robert Nakahiro “has
yet to develop a deep understand-
ing of the community colleges,”
the Times wrote. However they
Index
Section A
Overcoming math anxiety
Page 4
Sasha Baron Cohen pushes
boundaries in his latest film
“Bruno.”
Page 5
Learn how to get the that de-
signer look without the price.
Page 5
Index
Section B
Explore the City College
playground: Los Angeles
Page 12
Summer class registration
begins with fewer classes.
Page 13
Students learn self defense
and get a “kick” out of Kung
Fu.
Page 15
 2 Editorial Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Editorial

To Speak or Not to Speak

T
he four Founding Fa-
thers of the United States
left us with a priceless
gift, worth more than all of the
precious jewels on Earth. As
the rich ink from their feathered
pens dried, the “Bill of Rights”
was born and with it, the First
Amendment which grants us
the freedom of speech.
George Washington said,
“If the freedom of speech is
taken away then dumb and si-
lent we may be led, like sheep
to the slaughter.”
It is the duty of journalists,
reporters and writers to inform
society of everything that is
happening in the community,
mainly with government: With-
out them, there would be no one
to keep the government in line.
Los Angeles City College
President, Dr. Jamillah Moore,
recently attempted to discon-
tinue the filming of campus re-
porters, insisting that they get
permission before shooting.
The reality is that the Consti-
tution protects these reporters
from the need to ask permission
before covering a story on cam-
pus.
The second part of Presi-
dent Washington’s quote refers
to people like Dr. Moore, who
attempt to halt the press from
reporting. Washington said, “It
will be found an unjust and un-
wise jealousy to deprive a man
of his natural liberty upon the
supposition he may abuse it.”
Take note, Ms. President.
Another subject of con-
troversy was a cartoon created
by one of our talented cartoon-
ists, which portrayed the recent
victory for gay couples to get
married in Iowa. Ladies and
gentlemen, the whole point of
the First Amendment is to pro-
tect the press when we publish
articles and cartoons; If all of
our stories were happy and or-
dinary, there would be no need
for the amendment at all. The
First Amendment was com-
posed centuries ago to defend
people like our cartoonist, from
people who try to prevent them
from expressing their thoughts
on a piece of paper.
Like the “Los Angeles
Times,” the “Associated Press”
and even the “Bible,” there are
writings and cartoons between
our glossy pages that people
will learn from and agree with,
and others that people will dis-
agree with; We are no differ-
ent. Rest assured, the “Col-
legian” will never publish the
three things we do not believe
in: pornography, obscenity, and
something that would directly
cause the community to pick up
their pitchforks and torches and
revolt in violence.
This is America. Would
you rather live in Mexico,
where the government pays to
keep the newspapers alive as
long as they only publish what
officials tell them to write? Or
Cuba, where negative writings
about Castro do not exist, be-
cause people fear they will lose
their lives? Perhaps you would
prefer to live in Iran, where nu-
merous journalists are jailed for
their thoughts. This includes
Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Ira-
nian who attempted to photo-
graph a controversial prison in
Iran. She was detained, report-
edly raped, and died in prison
of a fatal head wound. No, la-
dies and gentleman, we think
it is far better living here, in a
nation where you do not have
to choose between your speech
and your life.
You can all sleep sound in
your cozy beds tonight, and let
the words of Benjamin Frank-
lin echo through your minds.
“Without freedom of thought,
there can be no such thing as
wisdom; and no such thing as
public liberty, without freedom
of speech.”

Media Arts Department, Chemistry 208

Los Angeles City College
855 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029
Editor-in-Chief: Theresa Adams
Managing Editor: Jamie Hong
News Editors: Hugo Alvarez, Willie Williams
Opinion Editor: Frank Elaridi
Get "Wired"
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Arts & Entertainment Editor: Monica Olofsson
Distribution Manager: Tim Carpenter
Advertising: Theresa Adams, Tim Carpenter
Graphics: Beatrice Alcala, Lilit Atshemyan, Ester Castanho,
Ashley Gonzalez, Derek Villanueva
Reporters
Theresa Adams, Lisette Alvarez, Virginia Bulacio, Frank Elaridi,
Marc Escanuelas, LaTijera Griffith, Jamie Hong, Matthew Lopes,
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Photographers
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Jorge Ponce
Cartoonists
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Ashley Gonzalez, Derek Villanueva
Faculty Adviser: Rhonda Guess Next Issue:
Fall 2009
Email: lacollegian@yahoo.com
Editorial / Advertising offices: (323) 953-4000, ext. 2831 Editorial deadline:
(Mon. and Wed., 1-4 p.m.) Fall 2009

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office: Chemistry 208 Email: LACCBroadcast@Gmail.com
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Opinion 3

A Case of Chepidemic
By Ashley Gonzalez
We only need proof that it's nec-
essary to execute him. It's that
simple." He drove my family
and thousands more who were
lucky enough to get away from
their country and sunk Cuba into
an economic depression so bad
that the government resorted to
selling blood drained from con-
demned prisoners before their
death. Somehow a guy who wore
a Rolex until the day he died,
who lived in a palatial estate near
he spends his money on frivolity
and drink; the European comes
from a tradition of working and
saving which follows him to this
corner of America and drives
him to get ahead." He said that
"Mexicans are a band of illiterate
Indians." He tried on numerous
occasions to plant bombs at New
York's most prominent monu-
ments. Still, the largest image
hanging in the Alpha Mu Gamma
National Foreign Language Soci-

I
do not think I would make a
lot of new friends if I walked
around in a Heinrich Him-
mler T-shirt. Not many decent
people would wear anything that
glorifies hate, intolerance and
mass murder. Why, then, walk
around with Che Guevara mer-
chandise?
This is a campus built on di-
versity and I still have to look at
the face of man who called for
people to "keep our hatred alive
and fan it to a paroxysm," a man
who murdered so many, who sent
thousands of men, women and
children to the firing squad? But
hey, at least he had a philosophy
about it: "(T)o execute a man
we don't need proof of his guilt.
Havana with a ten-foot television
(with remote control, a massive
technology in 1959) and a pri-
vate beach, somehow this guy is
a martyr for the Socialist system.
The perfect image of poverty and
the anti-bourgeoisie, plastered
on Socialism Conference post-
ers across campus. Not to say
that Che did not enjoy the little
things, like his favorite place to
relax: an office at La Cabana
Prison where he had a wall re-
moved so that he could watch ex-
ecutions all day long.
Che once said "The blacks,
those magnificent examples of
the African race who have con-
served their racial purity by a
lack of affinity with washing ...
the black is indolent and fanciful,
ety's headquarters is that of Che
Guevara.
Che failed at most everything
he did, he was notoriously cow-
ardly unless in front of a bound
and gagged man ("Don't shoot!
I'm Che, I'm worth more to you
alive than dead."), he was self-
admittedly clueless about the
military, and he was bumbling
and epically stupid. If people do
not want to believe me, or the
thousands of Cuban refugees
in this country, or the hardcopy
evidence records of victims and
footage of executions, well, then
El Chacal de La Cabana will go
on being a hero and people will
go on looking revolution-chic in
their "I'm a citizen of the world"
Che shirts. Tragic.

Students Suffer Because

of Insufficient Staffing
than 12 units ($150) at the Busi-
ness Office. Oh but wait, how
can I forget the joy of waiting at
the Admissions Office? How can
ence, a friend and I were waiting
in line for the I-Tap card during
the first week of Winter Session,
the process itself took 2.5 hours,
Artistic Arrogance
Incites Competition
several classes, snickers or mur-
murs can be heard when a stu-
By Jordan Angulo dent’s work is showcased. Sure,
over each other about how
crappy a fellow classmates’
work was, and immediately

anyone stand the machine calling
out letters and numbers with a
tone that is frighteningly similar
to the one found at the DMV?
By Arnold Rivas With the Admissions Office,
from the back of the line to the
front.
During that time while we
talked on issues such as the cur-
rent economic crisis, and how
A
fter taking several
classes in photogra-
phy at Los Angeles
City College and hearing re-
sponses from my friend in
they may be talking about some-
thing else entirely, but when you
can hear words that relate to your
piece and when their eyes meet
yours, they quickly look away in
ignorance.
hush up when one of their vic-
tims walks by.
I admit I have judged a
person’s work based on my
standards, but I can honestly
say that I have never found

W
hat I am writing on
today is the one thing
that most of the stu-
dents here at LACC, the drivers
at the DMV and even the ordi-
nary people like myself who
wait in line at Admissions have
in common; That is inefficiency.
Here at LACC, it is quite ap-
parent that there are not enough
workers to help out the students
on the first week of a new semes-
ter. Especially those who have
to pay off their enrollment fees,
health fees, parking fees and
paying a very steep price for an
I-Tap card for students with less
there are not enough computers
in order to add/or remove classes
(only five) and at the waiting ar-
ea where there are four window
stations.
The average number of ‘tell-
ers’ to help out the students is
two, sometimes one. The ques-
tion that comes to mind is, where
are the other workers that are
supposed to be there? It reminds
me of waiting at the Central Li-
brary where when there is a huge
line of people waiting, only two
people are there to help out while
the other four stations are myste-
riously vacant.
Speaking from past experi-
people are becoming more aware
of the pressing issues around us
(climate change, religious fa-
naticism, public transport just to
name a few) he and two other
students shouted from the line in
order to tell the people working
at the windows to hurry up and
get a second person to help the
one trying to handle our line.
They did eventually, the line
did move a little faster; my friend
told me that if people do not
speak up, things that we really
need will never get done. I can
say without a doubt, he is right.
I know it is never that simple,
but he is right nonetheless.
other art majors such as cin-
ema and music, there is a defi-
nite type of student that exists
in these classes. I am aware
that to pursue a career in any
of these fields would involve
a lot of subjective opinions
and competition, but I would
not expect such a hostile en-
vironment from a classroom
setting. No, the teachers are
not biting students’ heads off
with critique or calling them
failures. It is the fellow class-
mates that provide a sense of
inferiority to newcomers. In
Even outside of classes, the
egos from certain fledgling film-
makers or photographers can be
heard. Screenplays that are being
“tossed around in the industry”
and full-page spreads in a high
profile magazine whose name
cannot be said “for legal pur-
poses” are some of the many top-
ics discussed. The worst subject
would be when you hear a group
of students taking a drag from
their hand rolled cigarettes filled
with more than tobacco- because
you are only cool if you custom
build your cigs- laugh and yell
anything hilarious about anoth-
er artist or would attack them
without their knowledge. I may
not be the most arrogant per-
son, but I find my self-esteem
in working hard on my photos
and hoping that my professors
see the effort I put into them.
Everyone is entitled to their
own opinion, but it is a sad day
when someone has to mark
down someone else for not be-
ing as amazing as they think
they are. School is for filling
your head with knowledge, not
with ego.

Campus, a Place for Lovers, Not Loners Join

Speech 101 and I went all over where I could find solitude, I marched toward Jefferson Hall. with a low voice to an invisible

the
campus just to find that perfect thought. However, I soon discov- On the way there, I had dreams audience. Yes, that was prob-
space. Of course, there has to be ered that the secret rooftop deck of finding an empty classroom, ably it. Or maybe it was the hand
a few conditions: this place has to obviously is not secret anymore or yet, an empty hallway. It was gestures. Oh, but how I love us-

be safe, I have to be able to talk
out loud, and I should be able to
call out for help if need be.
This was my (not so) awe-
some adventure.
By Paula V. Neri I began my trek toward the
steps of the Learning Skills Cen-
for it is now mostly frequented
by sweethearts hoping to steal
some precious moments. Feeling
like an extra wheel in a packed
parking lot, I quickly left to look
for a vacant classroom I could
practice in. Nope. Those were oc-
actually the latter that saved the
day. Like a light from the heav-
ens directing me, I sat on the va-
cant steps of the staircase next to
where my speech class is held.
Ah, solitude.
Except for a few people
Collegian
ing hand gestures when I speak.
It was then that I realized that
LACC has just gotten so packed.
Gone were the days in 2006 where
the Quad seemed like a deserted
town – everyone was always on
the go and construction had not For more

I
love my privacy and a lit-
tle private space in LACC
would be a gift from God (or
Allah, Buddha, what have you).
A place disconnected from the
banging of ongoing construction
on campus, passed the boisterous
groups of people on the Quad and
the endless cloud of smoke from
cancer sticks. Yes, that would be
Heaven.
I spent last Thursday trying
to find a place of solitude where
I could practice my speech for
ter where I thought little ole’ me
would not be interrupted while
I was in my constant thoughts
of worry and panic over my in-
formative speech. I was wrong;
within ten minutes of sitting there
I was approached by a group of
LACC hopefuls asking if wheth-
er this was the place to take the
assessment exam. Yes, this was
the place, but it obviously was
not a good place to be alone.
I then walked toward neigh-
boring Holmes Hall; that is
cupied by couples as well. I ran
out as fast as I could, because you
know, it is rude to interrupt.
Next stop was Clausen Hall,
on the second floor. It would
have been perfect if it weren't for
the stream of sounds emanating
from various musical instruments
in each reserved room that lined
the hall. My head was already
stuffed with worry and I did not
need Beethoven’s “5th” adding
any more anxiety.
Determined not to fail, I
busy chatting away on their cell
phones, everyone else was in
their classrooms while I was left
to my thoughts. Of course, min-
utes later, students started to pour
out of their classrooms, because
it was close to dismissal time.
What awesome timing.
I thought, maybe I could still
practice without being bothered.
No, dead wrong. As I dived into
my speech, I felt confused stares
burrowing into my skull. Maybe
it was the fact that I was talking
started. At first I embraced the
recent newfound vibrancy of the info
college, but sometimes I could go to
use a place for quiet alone time collegianwireblogspot.com
and during these three years,
LACC lost that quality.
So what is the moral of the or
story? Practice your speech at lacollegian
home or better yet, if you are in
school, practice with your Speech
@yahoo.com
101 classmates. At least you will
not look like a fool if you are
with a group of other people talk-
ing to an invisible audience.
 4 News Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

From page 1

Math Club Does it Again

3 4 10
Lacc math club won 1st place 1st place students Students per year
transfer to ucla

190 11,000 8
Colleges compete Participants placed top 10

40 9 3
students gather per week to practice years old mentors

team in the nation

Math from page 1

the program and they transfer to while most other programs do
some of the most prestigious uni- not,” said Hanna Go a civil engi-
versities in the country. neering major.
“Most of my students do well Go is not the only one who Photo by Salvador Chavez/LA Collegian
during these competitions and has done well in the competition. Haykaz Stephanyan placed third in the nationial individuals competition for math. He shares his love for numbers above.
are able to get into some of the Haykaz Stephanyan a sopho-
best schools in the U.S.,” Niko-
laychuk said.
more at L.A. City finished third
in the women’s competition and
Tips for Overcoming Math Anxiety
Students transfer to schools has earned other awards form the What do you think about math anxiety? Ever find yourself stressing out about an upcoming math test?
like UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, school. Although Los Angeles City College's Math Department is said to be one of the best in the country, students
Stanford and New York Univer- “It feels awesome,” Stephan- are still having a hard time with their classes. Here are some tips from some of LACC's professors.
sity. Tedrick Leung a former stu- yan said. “It is not first place, but
dent and math club member won it is still good. I am happier that 4 “Frequently test yourself as you would in class. Have a classmate help you pick out problems from the
the contest four times, transferred we (LACC) finished first in the math book. Don’t just focus on the hard problems. Give them all equal attention. When you test yourself, do
to the Massachusetts Institute of team competition.” it under a time limit as if it were a test you would take in class. You then will know what your study plan
Technology. The math club meets Fridays should be,” said Roger Wolf, the math department chair at LACC.
Because of the success of at 9:30 a.m. in Jefferson Hall
the program, other students will Room 119. For more informa- 4 “You don’t want to study until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. on the night before a test. You need a good night's
enroll at City to be a part of the tion call the math department at rest. You have to plan ahead to make sure you have time to study. You also have to believe in yourself. If
club. (323)-953-4000 ext. 2810. you go in willing to take on a challenge, it will affect the way you perform on your test,” said Iris Magee, a
“We have a good program Math Professor at LACC.

Marijuana from page 1 Press Rights from page 1 ESL from page 1

Wilshire Center ESL Lab Closed for Now

Schwarzenegger recently said Harris & Associates is they were getting the run around by
that he does not necessarily the project manager for City the president’s office.
support legalizing marijuana in College and thus oversees all “They told us to wait until
Peter Sotiriou, profes- speaking skills. said. “It was the perfect storm
California, but he does want to renovation and construction 2:30…We called back at 2:30, she
sor of English, Ronald Lapp, Dr. Tammy Robinson, Eng- to not have everything come
study the affects and the hap- on campus. Project Directors, wasn’t there,” Bufete said. “We
English ESL Instructor and lish Department Chair says that out well. There were false as-
piness and progress of other Chris Dunne and Charles Wren were told to wait some more. At
Evan Kendall, English/ESL in the past the population, which sumptions on both sides. They
countries that have legalized are the company’s contacts for 3:00 we were instead told to talk to
Vice Chair disagree. They is made up mostly of older stu- believed that staff would come
the substance. He said that he all media inquiries regarding Earic Peters.”
say the cost to enroll in ESL dents “has been under-serviced.” with the facility and we thought
is always open to debates on operations on campus. Chavez says that by the next
classes is $10 for one half The level four, five and six staff was already in place.”
ways of increasing the state The issue arose when Col- morning he had received a voice-
unit. If you multiply this ESL students go to the Writing Burke-Kelly went on to
revenue and taxes. legian broadcast reporters Ter- mail from Moore, in which she
amount by 1300 students, Center for help with essays and say this was a lesson for every-
"This is a low-income cius Bufete, Salvador Chavez, sounded confused as to why the
the cost to hire a full-time other coursework. The level one, one. She also said that after the
area, a lot of people here smoke Jamie Hong, Abimael Rivera Collegian was asking for permis-
employee would be absorbed two and three students have tra- first meeting there was some
pot; I don’t think it's a recent and Jessica Rivera attempted sion.
by the enrollment fees. ditionally received assistance follow up discussion between
phenomenon," said Sophia, to videotape an interview with “As far as interviewing Harris
“You would think that from in-class instruction and one the department chair and the
an employee at ‘Pure Luck,’ a Dunne about the solar energy & Associates, it is fine with me; I
the vice president would be on one work with instructors. administrators on the Academ-
vegan restaurant on Heliotrope system on the roof of the Sci- don’t see why it would be a prob-
more understanding and try “In the 20 years I have been ic Affairs Committee.
and Melrose. When asked how ence and Technology Center. lem,” said Moore in a voice mes-
to find a way to resolve this here we have never served our The department received
she felt about possible drug use “I have no problem be- sage to the Collegian.
issue,” Sotiriou said. ESL students,” Lapp said. money from another fund to
in the area, she replied, "I don't ing interviewed on camera,” Jamie Hong contends that
The vice president con- Tahamina Hosain is current- hire tutors and student workers.
care." Dunne said. when the broadcast team returned
tends that the basic skills ly at level 6 in the ESL program. The amount of the fund was not
An employee who did not Despite having an ap- to the Harris & Associates trailer on
money was not intended for She came to LACC in 2007. disclosed and the details about
want to be named, at “Puff N pointment, the broadcast team Wednesday, April 29 with the presi-
the purpose of hiring per- “I started with English staffing have not been worked
Stuff,” a smoke shop on the members contend that when dent’s voicemail, Wren told them
manent employees. She also 2A but dropped out because of out.
corner of Melrose and He- they arrived with camera that since the voicemail did not
says that because of the cur- medical problems,” Hosain said. Dr. Robinson believes
liotrope, confirmed that he is equipment, the air of openness mention anything specifically about
rent economic conditions, “When I returned I took a series they will be able to open the fa-
aware of people smoking mari- that the Harris & Associates videotaping, only audio recording
future budget cuts could of classes four semesters in a row cility in time for the fall semes-
juana. However he is noncha- employees initially exhibited would be allowed.
have a negative affect on in order to catch up. I went to the ter and that this will allow them
lant about drug use in the com- changed. “When we first talked to Chris
staffing. Learning Center for assistance to more effectively address the
munity. “On Monday, April 27 and Charles they were more than
“If funding goes away because they have tutors there.” needs of the basis skills popu-
"I've seen it, but it's not we went to record Dunne on happy to be interviewed, Hong
[basis skills funds] some The satellite campus has a lation.
hurting me, it's hurting them— video,” Chavez said. “We were said.” “But for some reason when
other job would get lost five year contract but the ESL “As a department we are
as long as they come in and told by Charles Wren that we we went back with permission the
somewhere along the line. Lab will be empty if they cannot trying to move forward,” Dr.
buy cigarettes," the smoke needed approval from Presi- second time, Charles said that he
The instructors contend hire security to watch over the Robinson said. We have con-
shop employee said. "It's a free dent Moore.” was okay with it but we needed per-
that the lab would assist ESL lab while it is open or employ tinuity, state of the art equip-
country. ‘Puff N Stuff‘ sup- The reporters then went to mission from the president.”
students with the most needs qualified personnel to assist the ment for the students. It was a
ports the community and the Moore, who was not available When asked why the broadcast
and allow them access to students with instruction materi- compromise. It does not give
school." to speak to them at the time. team was not able to get a video re-
guided instruction materi- als. us what we want but it allows
Public Information Of- The broadcast team felt like cording of Harris & Associates offi-
als that would help them to “It is not that Academic Af- us to open the doors.”
ficer Mary E. Grady of the cials, Moore told the Collegian that
improve their reading and fairs does not care,”Burke-Kelly
L.A.P.D. was unavailable for Relations office said that drug she didn’t know what was going on.
a comment. Rampart Detec- related questions and informa- “I don’t know what you are For The Record:
tives Kearney and Ling were tion could only be answered talking about,” Moore said. “You On April 15, the Collegian reported that Coach Selwyn on the baseball team class roster as of Oct. 24, 2007.
also out of the office. Officer through email, which would can videotape them but only if they Young was fired, but he was simply not re-hired. In the same This was head coach George Hinshaw's first day as base-
Rosario Herrera in the Media take 10 days for a reply. want to be recorded.” story the Collegian reported that there were three players on ball coach. The staff regrets the error.
the first day of practice, but in fact there were three players
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Arts & Entertainment 5

Summer ‘09 Fashion Trend:

Uproarious Vulgarity by BRÜNO
By Lisette Alvarez

T
he hot-list for this summer’s must see movies keeps getting bigger and bigger. Aside from the quintessential action soon-
to-be blockbusters such as "Star Trek," "X-Men Origins" and "Terminator Salvation," a little movie by the name "Bruno"
might be a contender for fashionable ticket in town.
Bruno, the comedy about the fictional character made famous from the "Da Ali G Show" and created by actor/writer Sasha Baron
Cohen, centers around the gay Austrian fashionista (Cohen) and his wacky adventures around Hollywood as he attempts to gain
his 15 minutes of fame.
The film’s original title, as reported by Hollywood Blog Defamer was "Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Pur-
pose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt," and from the
looks of the film’s trailer streaming online, it appears to be side-splitting, if not outrageous.
The trailer can be seen on Myspace and other entertainment sites. Given a red band graphic for its risqué content, the trailer high-
lights a montage of clips that astonish and put Borat’s exploits to shame. "Bruno" goes from crashing Milan Fashion Week, to a
swingers’ party gone wild with Ru Paul walking out of a hotel room, to a bizarre martial arts lesson on how to avoid someone with
a prosthetic member. In what could be the most shocking setup of a scene is one where Bruno waits for his newly adopted son via
the baggage claim at the airport and then appears on a Jerry Springer-like talk show where he introduces him to everyone as "O.J."
The movie, distributed by Universal Pictures, will be released July 10, 2009 and has received an NC-17 by the Motion Pic-
ture Association of America. Hopefully a couple of hours in the edit room will make "Bruno" more viewer appealing, but it would
appear that its crudeness is what makes it fashion friendly.

Photo courtesy of thebrunomovie.com

Local Artist Spotlight

Photos by Monica Olofsson/LA Collegian

Andrew Gates shoots photos for a class assignment.

By Monica Olofsson

A
ndrew Gates, a photography major from Toluca Lake, took
a break from a photo assignment and talked to the Collegian
about his artistic aspirations.
Why did you choose to study at Los Angeles City College?
I came here first time in 2004 and I really liked the campus, so I
knew that this is what I want when I started studying again this year. Photo courtesy of /LACC Theatre Academy
I thought, ‘What better way to do in my spare time than go to school’ 'Bloody Red Heart' OK with theater goers during its run at Camino Theatre.
and here I am.
What are your goals?
I want to be a better photographer and writer. I started up my own

'Bloody Red Heart,'

online magazine, Rukusmag.com, and I’m taking classes to secure
an A.A in photography. This will help me with my magazine. I’ve
been working as a photographer before, but I knew there was some-
thing bigger out there. That’s why I started my magazine. I designed
the website, I wrote and I photographed – it’s a one-man band.

Better Than 'OK'

What inspired you?
Taking pictures always in-
spires me. But I was broke and
despite everybody loving my
portfolio, I couldn’t get a job
[because] the economy bites. I By Monica Olofsson ing for the young audience; perhaps because

E
just decided that I could do it
on my own. ight girls sit on chairs or lie down
What do you see in your on stage as if waiting for class to
future? start. On a screen behind them,
I hope [that] my maga- “Are you OK?” is written. A haunting
zine is being printed as well question continuously asked throughout
as on-line. I don’t know what the production.
I would do if I didn’t do this. “Bloody Red Heart” is based on the
Somebody once said,’ If you book Red, edited by Amy Goldwasser, di-
do something you love, you’ll rected by Leslie Ferreira and performed by
never work a day in your life.” the Theatre Academy of Los Angeles City
I don’t know who said it, but I College. It is a heartwarming production
liked it! with a talented all-female cast, that takes
on real issues with words that have mean-
the play is based on a book written by “re-
al teenage girls” as the playbill announced.
Subjects as weighty as suicide, insecurity and
bisexual love are discussed. Nothing is too sa-
cred to talk about.
The acting is wonderful; the entire ensem-
ble. Each actress plays her part with honesty.
The play is divided into small stories and
some are sadder than others, but they all have
a message and attempt to answer the question,
“Are you OK?”
Yes ladies, you are OK, in fact you are
brilliant.
6 Opinion Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor:

A
Dear Editor:

A
friend of mine is currently a student at LACC - an
s an alumnus of LA City College, I am writing to Editor and Staff: institution which by the way I hold in high regard.
express my disappointment in the LA Collegian. He passed me a recent copy of the Collegian, in

Your decision to publish a cartoon lampooning the
landmark Iowa gay marriage decision (April 25, 2009) was
insensitive, incendiary, and in extremely poor taste. Derek
Villanueva's "humorous" cartoon is in fact little more than
a thinly veiled homophobic comment. It demeans the gay
community by portraying married gay couples as little
more than "corn holing" caricatures rather than the loving,
dedicated couples they are. It is insulting to the straight
community who recognize that gays and lesbians are equal
citizens and deserving of equal treatment. And it is far be-
low what I know the Collegian and LACC are capable of.
I am proud of my time at LA City College. It gave
me the strength of character to graduate Occidental Col-
lege and continue on to a Master's Degree, all the while
knowing that I was as good as anyone else. I have always
believed that LACC is an exceptional school on multiple
levels. This incident tarnishes that reputation, and I en-
courage you to correct the issue. Derek may believe this
is merely humor. If so, educate him. Help him and others
understand how words hurt people and communities. Your
own campus recently honored the Day of Silence to show
how injurious derogatory words can be to the gay and les-
bian community; it is shameful to see such words printed
in your paper the same week as that observance.
L
ast Thursday the Rainbow Alliance of LACC spon-
sored a day of silence protesting people's constant
use of homophobic remarks and their effects on the
gay community. So imagine how shocked and angered I
was by Derek Villanueva's cartoon equating gay marriage
with "cornholeing". I brought this cartoon to a gay organi-
zation I belong to and the response was the same ... dis-
gust and anger. If Mr. Villanueva has personal prejudices
against the gay community, he should keep them to him-
self. Gay marriage is a civil rights issue. Period! I realize
that the opinions of the Collegian are the responsibility of
the newspaper staff and advisor. I suggest they read Board
rule 9803.21 in the Standards of Student Conduct. I also
suggest the staff and adviser take a sensitivity class at the
Gay/Lesbian Center in Hollywood. I know you would
never publish a racist cartoon ... guess what? This is the
same thing. I hope to never see something like this again.
Harry Hart
Dear Collegian,
which I found an editorial cartoon referring to the Iowa
Supreme Court's recent decision to permit legal marriage
between people of the same sex. The image shows two
ears of corn (refering to a prime crop of the state); they're
getting married and one of the "ears" says "Finally in
"CornHOLY matrimony." Now, in a world rife with of-
fenses to one's dignity, this might seem to be a minor abra-
sion of your readers' sensibilities. And yet, I wanted to ask
you a question: if changes were made in the law regarding
marriage between males and females, would you have pub-
lished a cartoon referring in vulgar language to the genital
facts of their sexual relations? I won't in this letter give an
example of what I mean, out of respect. I don't think you
would either. The joke is made because gay people are
second class citizens - and jokes in the newspaper about
their intimate sex relations are fair game.
Respectfuly,
Bill Haugse

N
I hope to see a retraction and public apology by the
Collegian. I hope even more to see a submission by Derek ot only was the cartoon not even remotely funny, it
Villanueva showing how he has learned from this incident. is extremely offensive. Mr. Villanueva has poor taste
Gay and lesbian couples have struggled long and hard to as does the Collegian for publishing his cartoon.
win the rights mocked by this cartoon. They deserve better,
and I know the Collegian can give them that. Thanks,

Sincerely, Carrie Stauber

Brett VanBenschoten, ‘04

Dear Editor,

T
he National Day of Silence our club hosted in April brought attention to the negative effects of stereo-
types, jokes, and general harassment waged at the LGBT community in schools. The focus was that
words are powerful and even those that are not intended to harm can hurt.
Members of the Rainbow Alliance club found your cartoon about the legalization of gay marriage offensive.
It attached a tasteless sexual reference to what is truly a milestone for the LGBT community. This took the focus
away from an important victory for our families and made it a crass sexual joke.
We believe in free speech and appreciate that a diverse campus must embrace different forms of thought and
expression. But we also feel that the [Collegian] attempt at sexual humor is not a constructive way to address
our struggle for equality. Allow us to celebrate in this momentous occasion and leave the [cornHOLY Matri-
mony] jokes for the locker room where we’re already used to hearing them.

Ruben Rivera, President

Rainbow Alliance of
Los Angeles City College

Isn't someone offended by

that Rihanna cartoon?

Seriously? No one is offend-

ed by domestic violence?
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 opinion 7

Question:
What are some ways
students can be more
environmentally or
“green” friendly on and
off campus, and why is it
important?
Compiled by
Salvador Chavez
Justin Garrett
Psychology
“I see a lot of people littering,
especially people who smoke,
try to smoke near a trash
can. I ride a bike to school,
it's good for you and the
environment. [It is important
because] We're all gonna be
here for a while.”
Katherine Metz
Fine Arts
“I believe everyone should
stop driving and ride
their bikes or use public
transportation. I think it's
an easy way people can
contribute positively to the
environment.”
Jason Choi
Nutrition
“Global Warming. To
conserve our energy, start by
taking public transportation,
or carpool, walk more.
Educate yourself about how
to prevent global warming. It's
our future, it’s our land, our
world.”
Ivory Suber
Theater
“If you clean up after yourself
you won't have problems.
Even with cigarette butts, put
it out and throw it in the trash.
Instead of driving ride a bike,
carpool, ride a bus or walk
if you live close enough. It's
important because this is the
only planet that we have. It's
best that we take care of it
for our children and the next
generation.”
Jonas Coyoy
History
“Make an effort of driving
less, educate young
individuals in your life to
be more active instead of
using electronics, because
electricity pollutes our air
system.”

Politically Correct Words Not Enough

Censor Reality in Education
als. They limit what children read
and assume this provides a better
education system. They want to
keep reality hidden.
This censorship system re-
moves all thought provoking
ideas, words and topics in text-
materials in the U.S. prevents
students from learning both
current and historical events in
proper perspective.
“Elementary, middle and
high school students are ex-
posed to school curriculums
Slices of Pi at City
able to teach the class. Of all the
tutors hired (about ten students),
not a single one of them has taken
By Lisette Alvarez Math 230. As a matter of fact, the
cording to one of the tutors, their
hours and resources have been
slashed due to budget cuts. What
if one has early morning pre-test

By Virginia Bulacio
books and testing materials.
Anything that might offend, dis-
criminate or sound unfamiliar to
a child’s mind or public group are
banned. The origins of the cen-
that bore its intended audi-
ence, the student, creating
an atmosphere where little is
learned because all the stimu-
lating and controversial topics
A
college student needs as
much help as they can
get, especially if it is free.
So where does one go? The Pi
Pi Shop mostly tutors students in
math 125 and below. After pes-
tering each tutor during their as-
signed shift, only two of the ten
tutors were available to help me.
jitters and can only benefit from
the guidance of one of these math
geniuses? I could hire a tutor, but
my depleting finances will not al-
low that. One other recourse is

E
very day she goes to
her junior high class-
room and enters a
world of fantasy. At home she
turns on the television and
watches her favorite actors on
reality shows have sex, drink
excessively and waste time.
She changes the channel and
watches images of terrorism,
racial prejudice, poverty, evo-
lution and even death. Noth-
ing stimulates her. Her mind is
used to the “perfect” world her
classroom portrays.
For a number of years,
pressure groups such as Fo-
cus on the Family (right-wing
Christian) and Council on In-
terracial Books for Children
(left-wing) with the coopera-
tion of the federal and state
governments, textbook pub-
lishers and testing agencies
censor language and topics in
children’s educational materi-
Illustration by Lilit Atshemyan/LA Collegian
sorship were of good intention
but quickly became ludicrous
and questionable.
Diane Ravitch, author of “The
Language Police” discusses why
past tragedies in human history
would be banned in textbooks
for students. She explains topics
related to religion, abortion and
race are removed from books for
reasons of “bias” and “sensitiv-
ity.”
This pattern of secretive cen-
sorship denies children in the
U.S. a fully balanced version of
the world around them. In class-
rooms they are expected to re-
ceive a well researched and truth-
ful educational curriculum, but it
is evident that children are denied
proper education.
Gustavo Mendez researches
in the field of comparative inter-
national educational systems and
believes the blatant sanitization
and censorship of educational
shop, conveniently located in JH Their knowledge of the material bothering my teacher, who does
are eviscerated from the pro- 311, offers help to those strug- stemmed from their own logic. I not have an office of his own, and
grams,” Mendez said. gling with math. This semester, I was suggested by one of them that can only answer my questions in
These pressure groups re- am taking Finite Math, aka Math if worse comes to worse, I should between classes or email. Not to
move images of food such as 230, which in itself is not the charge into the Math Department take away from the hard work-
potato chips, salad dressing hardest math class offered, but I and cry for help. So cry I did, ing tutors in the Pi Shop; they do
or mayonnaise, because some am struggling, so I will take what only it was during my midterm. the best they can with what they
people might be allergic to I can get. I was foolish to believe On top of their lack of tutoring have. However, that does not ne-
them. They avoid behaviors that if one takes any math class at for certain classes, then there are gate my anger in that LACC does
that will lead to a dangerous LACC, tutoring is available, but the hours of operation. The doors not prioritize tutoring coverage
situation for students and top- that is not so. Upon my arrival, open at 11 a.m. M-F and close at of all math sections, because if
ics in classes such as Malcolm I was surprised to find out that 6 p.m. They are open Saturdays, one takes a math class at LACC,
X because it might be too there is not an official tutor avail- but only from 11a.m- 2 p.m. Ac- one should be able to get tutored.
“controversial.” They remove
material on tests that suggest
economic, religious, cultural
or gender bias. They shun any
language, content or context
that favors one religion and
rejects others. And even in
photographs, there are images
to avoid such as a rainbow, be-
cause it promotes homosexu-
ality and a woman cooking,
because it is a stereotype.
Mendez believes the cen-
sorship is not the teachers fault
but must and can be stopped.
He blames the federal and
state governments, publishers
of textbooks and testing agen-
cies for bowing down to pres-
sure groups to create a “safe”
curriculum for students.
“You can’t talk about peo-
ple with money because some
people do not have money,”
Mendez said. “You can’t talk
about evolution because some
people don’t believe in evo-
lution. You can’t talk about a
mother teaching her daughter
how to cook because it is a
gender problem or some kids
might not have a mother. So
you can’t talk about any sub-
jects that other people do not
know. You can talk about noth-
ing.”
If this continues to happen,
great literature and the history
of humankind will be not al-
lowed in classes. Knowledge
and culture are subjects that
should be considered part of
the student’s own curriculum.
Culture cannot be burned.
Words cannot be removed and
replaced.
 8 Section A
Don’t Stress, Get Distressed
By Anthony Suncin
F
rom department stores
to magazine layouts, no
matter where you look,
the 1990s “Grunge” trend is
back and has officially taken
over L.A.’s fashion scene. T-
Shirts, bags, denim, shoes and
even accessories have become
victims of the destroy your
clothing on purpose look.
Designers based out of
Los Angeles have taken ad-
vantage of the grunge couture
epidemic by coming up with
imaginative ways of show-
casing the worn-in look, only
it’s pricier than it was the first
go round. If you’re tired of
paying way too much for dis-
tressed and vintage looking
clothes You may already have
pieces in your closet that just
need a little revamping. Times
may be tough but that does
not mean your wardrobe has
to suffer or that you have to
pay an arm and a leg to keep
up with the trends. Everyone
has the tools they need to keep
up with the times in their own
wardrobe; it’s just a matter of
being creative.
If faded jeans are the look
you’re after,
there
a r e
Step 1: Cut off
the sleeves directly
across the seam.
also wrote, “This isn’t as en-
thusiastic an endorsement as
we’d like to e able to give.”
Pearlman was criticized by
the Times for putting green
construction above academ-
ics. “We hope Pearlman will
redirect her energies by put-
ting student-related goals at
the top of her list.”
Regardless of what the
Times says Pearlman remains
firm on her focus for green
construction. “Each Califor-
a lot of tricks for this.
First, wash the jeans a
few times inside out in
hot water. Understand
they can and will shrink,
so keep that in mind in
case the size needs to
be adjusted. Next use
sandpaper on the areas
you want lightened.
In general, sand any-
thing that is hemmed
and places that you
want distressed like
the thigh and but-
tocks area. If you
want to add frays or
holes in places like
the knees, a minia-
ture cheese grater
will give you that
effect. Simply rub
the grater over the
area until your ideal
look is achieved.
Do Not Use
Bleach Unless Abso-
lutely Necessary! Even
then, think very small.
You are not wearing
whites and if you are, make
sure it’s not after Labor Day!
All jokes aside, usually the
hot water, washing and sand-
ing will do the trick.
Leather is one
of those ma-
terials that
nia trustee has a focus,” she said.
“My focus is green building. It is
our platform always to green our
campuses and to have sustain-
able buildings. I’m glad that the
Times finally see the work that
I’m doing. I am pleased to have
all the endorsements I currently
hold.”
The ballot also includes
Proposition 1A otherwise known
as the “Budget Stabilization Act”
which will appear on the May 19
ballot in California along with
Features
Step 2: Cut an inch
horizontally into
the armpit region
of the now sleeve-
less t-shirt and
then shift upwards
towards the neck
at a 90-degree an-
gle creating a tank
top.
Budget on page 8
Proposition 1B. Proposition 1A cuts to the valuable services that
changes the California budget millions of people depend on in
process, limits state spending and the future."
increases the “rainy day” stabili- Supporters claim that if
zation budget. Proposition 1A passes it will
Former San Francisco May- change California’s flawed bud-
or Willie Brown says "Proposi- get system to a stable one that
tions 1A through 1F would end will protect taxpayers who are
the erratic budget cycles we face burdened every time the state
year after year and restore ac- runs a deficit.
countability to how our tax dol- Proposition 1B which is
lars are spent. Establishing these part of the 2009 to 2010 Califor-
fiscal policies makes great sense nia state budget and tax increase
and would prevent devastating agreement will give supplemen-
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
can look better with age. Sure,
brand new leather garments are
nice, but sometimes the old beat-
up pair of boots or worn leather
jacket is just plain cool! For
items made out of leather, the
distressing process will work but
it is a little more difficult.
The first step is to dampen
the leather with rubbing alcohol.
Placing some rubbing alcohol in
a spray bottle is the best way to
go. Spray the garment so that it
is damp. Do Not Soak The Gar-
ment, as it will then be harder to
work with and take longer to dry.
Step two is to crumple up the gar-
ment, the first thing you do is add
unnatural creases and lines to the
leather by crumpling it. Do not
be afraid to work the leather as
if you were kneading a bowl of
dough.
Step three is to sandpaper
your garment. Again, this is all
about how “distressed” you want
your leather. Remember to start
slow, as you can go further if you
decide to carry the look to other
areas of the material remember it
is impossible to reverse the pro-
cess. We have all heard the
expres-
sion
Step 3: Cut down the sides
of the t-shirt vertically until
there is an inch left of fabric
to create an oversized finish.
tal payments of $9.3 billion to
community colleges and schools
in the 2011 to 2012 fiscal year.
However, the LA Times wrote in
a April 30 article stating that “The
school funding measure could
lock the state into even more
budget-busting spending … The
proposition threatens to ratchet
up the auto-pilot budgeting that
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
says he’s trying to stop.”
It appears both ballots will
force the state to put away mon-
“LESS IS MORE” use a fine
to medium sandpaper and
grind the paper into the leather
as desired. Rub some places
more than others and leave
others untouched. Think of
the leather as a canvas you
are painting. In step four
you brush your leather with
a heavy bristled wire brush.
Any other type of brush will
do serious damage! The brush
will do a great deal to create
the worn look. The last step is
kick the leather around in dirt,
just make sure it is not muddy!
Try going to a park or a field
where dirt is not wet. Kick the
garment around until it is nice
and dusty, and then pat off the
excess dirt.
You do not have to attend
Parsons or the Fashion Insti-
tute of Design Merchandise to
create something spectacular.
These ideas are provided to get
your creative juices going and
help you make your own one
of a kind masterpieces.
Do not be afraid to take
risks when redesigning your
wardrobe. Remember,
looking chic for
cheap is in
and paying
for expensive
knockoffs is
out!
ey instead of spending all the
taxpayer dollars. The goal
of Proposition 1A and 1B is
to force the government to
move faster to implement a
new budget and allow schools
budgets and employee salaries
to remain unaffected. Voters
will decide on May 19 if both
propositions will help the state
to resolve the budget issue.
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Features
Hearing continued as former instructor City writes to publish. Faculty
gets new attorney in murder trial. covers gambit of topics.
Page 11 Page 13
Spin Master Turns the Music Up
By Jamie Hong remains the first female to sell
S
more than six-hundred-thousand
he travels as one of the top CDs playing some of the hard-
disc jockeys (DJ) in high- est, dynamic house music.
demand across the globe “Some people go to work
from England to Paris to Spain in a car,” DJ Irene said. “I go
and New York, and then finishes to work in a plane. It’s natural
her homework as a humble mu- now. I’ve been DJ-ing for 24, 25
sic student at Los Angeles City years.” “I love watching people
College (LACC). dance …when you play that song
Irene Guti- and the people just scream.”
errez Monte- Her eyes twinkle as she
vello otherwise talks about how much she loves
known in the her work. She sips her coffee
“DJ-ing” and stares into the distance as
world as the she reminisces about her perfor-
infamous mances. Life was not always so
DJ Irene pleasant. She labels her past as
“dysfunctional.”
“I had been homeless two
years in my life, I had a drug
addiction for 15 years, I lost
my family, lived in a car for
three years,” DJ Irene said.
“My faith, my strength,
my ambition and my
music are what kept
me fighting.”
After getting
clean and sober DJ
Irene enrolled as a
music student at
City College. In
2006 she took
a leave of ab-
sence when
her career
started
t o
take
Section B 9
off. She produced many dance
records as well as music for “Sex
learned
and the City”, “Punk,” “Queer
a basic
as Folk” and “A Midsummer
skill at LACC
Night’s Rave.” DJ Irene also ap-
that she did not
peared in Latin MTV and works
have before. She
with the Grammy’s dance com-
learned to play the
mittee where she reviews selec-
piano and she loves it.
tions of dance music. She calls
“DJ Irene came to the
her team the “dream team.” They
LACC music department as
have helped her with events like
a highly talented performer
New Year’s Eve in New Orleans
and producer of dance mu-
for Free-Base Society and the
sic,” said Dr. Dan Wanner,
Extra Strength Disc Jockey Com-
Music Department Chair.
pany (ESDJCO) Jet Set Tour. She
“She has received a strong
is signed with the William Morris
foundation in harmony, no-
Agency, one of the most presti-
tation and piano, all the es-
gious talent and literary agencies
sential elements needed to
in the industry.
begin a career in film mu-
But with all of the great
sic. She was a pleasure to
things going on with her career,
work with, a dedicated stu-
DJ Irene still chooses to attend
dent with boundless energy
school.
and a great sense of humor.
“Education gives you
We’re looking forward to
character.” Irene said. “I think
great things from her as a
[LACC] is great, very thorough.
film composer.”
They encourage students; no
Her musical jour-
one’s going to be disappointed.
ney continues at full
Everyone has opportunity, they
speed with her in-your-
care about the students.”
face music and sold
Music department students
out shows. She shows
are fascinated by the DJ and her
no sign of slowing
amazing life. They agree that
down any time soon.
the fame and attention must be a
DJ Irene loves what
thrill.
she does.
“Yea, DJ Irene, she has a pret-
ty crazy story,” said Kevin Polzer,
a guitarist studying at LACC. “DJ
Irene is one of the few if not only
‘ballers’ left at City College.”
She goes on to talk about
the courses and the instructors
at the college and the motivation
she has received that encourages
her to keep reaching. Despite
her amazing talent to spin
electronic music and throw
some of the most memo-
rable raves for L.A.
party goers, says she
 10
City Takes Denim to H.E.A.R.T
Kestee Davis, a Radiology major, holds up a black T-shirt in support
of Denim Day in the Main Quad.
By Victoria Safarian
C
olorful T-shirts decorated
with protests against sex-
ual violence surrounded
the Denim Day booth located
at the Los Angeles City College
campus on April 22, marking
its annual protest. On this day
people all across the nation wore
jeans to raise awareness about
rape and sexual assault.
California first established
Denim Day in April of 1999.
However, it was a particular
event at the Italian High Court
in 1998 that triggered the denim
movement.
After allegedly being raped
on the side of a road in Italy
by her driving instructor, a girl
(whose name was not released)
decided to press charges and
won the case, but the instruc-
tor appealed the sentence. After
the case went to the Italian High
Susan Lutz, Stereoscopic view of "Former site of the Pacific Electric
Railway with succulents, South Pasadena, CA" with reverse com-
mentary.
Photo by Salvador Chavez/LA Collegian
Court, a judge announced that
the victim’s jeans were too tight
to be removed by the instructor
alone so the girl must have freely
participated. Therefore, the con-
viction was overturned and as a
result, women, who were part of
the Italian legislature, protested
by wearing jeans to work.
“One in every five women
have been sexually assaulted,”
said Earic Peters, Associate Dean
of Student Life at LACC. “That
lady over there could be one of
them, you never know.”
H.E.A.R.T is the organiza-
tion at LACC that was respon-
sible for arranging and promot-
ing Denim Day. Students had
the option of painting protests on
T-shirts against any form of sex-
ual violence at the denim booth,
located in the Quad. Previous
students who had fallen victim
to some form of sexual assault
also had their T-shirts on display
Daniel Marlos shows a rocking chair commemorating the Mt. Wash-
ington Incline Railway. This piece will be on display at the exhibit.
News Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
N A T I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y ®
Continue
while other shirts offered advice
on how to avoid such horrific
situations.
your education
“I didn’t even know what
Denim Day was,” said Claudia
Ortiz, a student who is taking
without putting your life
classes on campus but has an un-
decided major. “I honestly never
even heard of it but I know some-
one in this situation and it will be
good for her to know she is not
on hold
alone. It just kills me that I know.
I need to tell her about this.”
H.E.A.R.T is in partnership
with Peace Over Violence, an or- National University’s unique one-course-per-month format,
ganization that promotes the pre-
vention and education of sexual including onsite and online courses, lets you finish your
violence. According to Peace degree at an accelerated pace—while keeping up with work,
Over Violence, 20 to 25 percent
of college women in the United family, and friends. And, to make transferring even easier,
States experience some form qualifying California community college students are
of sexual assault or rape during
guaranteed admission! We have 27 campuses in California,
their college career.
Yvette Lozano, Division and offer financial aid and scholarships. Classes start each
Manager-Intervention Services
month and you can register at any time. So why wait?
at Peace Over Violence indicates
how to raise more awareness
about rape and sexual assault in
a campus community. TRANSFER TO
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
“In order to prevent and re-
duce the rate of sexual assaults
the issue of sexual violence must
be talked about on campuses by
TODAY!
providing workshops regarding
sexual assault prevention and ed-
ucating the campus community
about the myths and realities of 1.800.NAT.UNIV
sexual assault. We need to edu- w w w. n u .e d u / t r a n s f e r
cate ourselves about the issues,
for example, knowing that rape
can happen to anyone regardless
of age, gender, race, sexual ori-
entation or socioeconomic status.
Remember it is never too late to
heal. A victim of sexual violence
can always receive services from
© National University 2008
their local rape crisis center no ™
matter how long ago the assault The University of Values
happened.”
• Peace Over Los Angeles Campus: 5245 Pacific Concourse Drive, Suite 100 310.662.2100
Violence will be holding
its next crisis intervention
training in the fall of 2009
for anyone interested
in volunteering. More
information regarding the
campaign can be obtained
at peaceoverviolence.org.
• Students
interested in learning
more about the H.E.A.R.T
program can contact The
Office of Student Life at
323.953.4000 ext. 2450.
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
City Triumphs in Journalism State Competition
By Virginia Bulacio
S
tudents from the Journal-
ism department won eight
awards at the Journalism
Association of Community Col-
leges (JACC) State conference
for news writing, cartoons, pho-
tography and magazine design
this semester. The convention
took place in Sacramento in
March, but students did not at-
tend.
Collegian Editor-in-Chief,
Theresa Adams, and Arts and
Entertainment Editor, Monica
Olofsson, took second place in
the feature profile news category
for their “Custodian Says Good-
bye After Three Decades with
College” article, published in the
Collegian in December 2008.
"As a reporter it feels won-
derful to win an award for writ-
ing," Adams said. "It is great that
the JACC Committee rewarded
me for doing something that I
love."
Adams has been part of the
Collegian for the last three years.
She has been Editor-in-Chief for
both the newspaper and maga-
zine and wishes to continue her
education at USC or UCLA.
However, not only writing
was recognized by JACC, car-
toonists Derek Villanueva and
Tercius Bufete received awards
for their work as well.
Villanueva took top honors
in state for his cartoon "Merrill
Lynch, The End of the Bull Run,"
published during the fall 2009.
He remembers the first time he
went to his first journalism con-
vention and competed against
students from other community
Murder
Motive
May
Remain a
Mystery
By Theresa Adams
P
olice arrested Ronald
Leroy Berg at his home
in Los Angeles on Sept.
26, 2008. He was later charged
with the murder of his wife of
20 years, Violeta Monleon-
Berg.
The 72-year-old col-
lege instructor taught finance
courses at Los Angeles City
College and Los Angeles
Trade Tech College.
Since his arrest in Sep-
tember 2008, Berg has made
eight court appearances. In
February 2009 he was remand-
ed over to another department
in the criminal courts building
for pretrial proceedings. The
hearing set for March 9 was
continued to April 8 when the
public defender advised that
new counsel would take over
the Berg case.
Marcia Morrissey of the
Law Offices of Marcia Mor-
rissey met for the first in court
that day. She told the court
that she recently received the
assignment and needed more
time to review the case. A sec-
ond continuance was granted.
Prior to this time Berg
Photo by Beatrice Alcala/LA Collegian
colleges.
"It is clear in its message
and striking in its impact," JACC
judges said. "This is what an edi-
torial cartoon can do, take a com-
plex idea and show it in an artful
way."
"Oh, God. I was so nervous,
but I loved the pressure,” Villan-
ueva said. “I was such a nerd! I
had my art bag filled with pens,
pencils, sharpies, erasers, tape.
I mean I packed everything be-
cause I was so nervous.”
Villanueva joined LACC af-
ter a short break from school. He
was part of Los Angeles Valley
College’s Journalism Program
but he felt the environment was
Former LACC instructor Ronald L. Berg (seated far right) meets his attorney after 9 months of representation by a public defender. Berg's a
ttorney, Marcia Morrissey, addresses the court as presiding judge, Barabara Johnson tells the gallery that once trial begins no cameras will
be allowed in the courtroom.
was represented by a public de-
fender. The American Federation
of Teachers (AFT) was contacted
to find out if they provided coun-
sel to faculty charged in crimi-
nal cases. The AFT advised only
union members receive the ben-
efit of counsel, under certain cir-
cumstances.
“We would only represent
someone in a case pertaining
directly to a contract violation,”
said Mattie Moon, Social Scienc-
es Department Chair and Chap-
ter President of the Los Angeles
Faculty Guild, Local 1521.”And
then only if the person were on
the verge of being fired.”
As he was classified as an
adjunct faculty member Berg
was not a part of the union and
had no union representative.
More than one year ago,
Ronald Berg came to class,
taught finance and interacted
News
Tercius Bufete, Derek Villanueva, Theresa Adams and Jonathan
Velasquez show off their JACC Awards.
“very introverted," and so he left.
After 9-11 he decided to go back
to school to become an active
cartoonist.
Villanueva plans to work on
a couple of projects this summer
and wants to continue to draw
until he finds his place in the pro-
fessional world.
“The pen is our microphone
and my voice is what I create,”
Villanueva said. “Sometimes,
people will feel offended by what
you draw because it might be
offensive to them. As a cartoon-
ist, you have to take the positive
feedback as well as the negative.”
Cartoonist Tercius Bufete
received an honorable mention
with his peers at Los Angeles
City College. On September 26
Berg’s wife Violeta was killed,
the instructor was charged with
the crime and in that moment life
changed for Berg and the family
members who mourn the loss of
their loved one.
According to Abner Mon-
leon, there was nothing in his
bother-in-law’s behavior that
would suggest that he should be
concerned for his sister’s safety.
The Collegian contacted a
professional to comment on the
possible mental health of Berg.
Dr. Joyce Aronsohn a Psycho
Therapist with 33 years experi-
ence.
“There can be 7,000 reasons
why this happened,” Aronsohn
said. The person could have pent
up rage, childhood anger. It is
difficult to say. You have to get
to know the person in depth and
Photo by Virginia Bulacio/LA Collegian
in the mail-in editorial cartoon
competition.
“I'm extremely honored to
recieve this award. I am glad that
I had the opportunity to represent
the LACC journalism program,”
Bufete said, an English and jour-
nalism major.
He currently works with the
broadcast team as a producer.
When he came to the Collegian
newspaper, he was asked by for-
mer Editor-in-Chief Ivie Anne
Hasagawa if he knew how to
draw.
"I can draw, I said and she
said 'then you are a cartoonist.'
It was as simple as that," Bufete
said.
they have to be willing to open
up.”
This is not an isolated inci-
dent. According to a CBS news
report, award-winning teacher
Nancy Seaman confessed to kill-
ing her husband with a hatchet.
She claimed it was self-defense
and testified in court that she
would do that fateful day over
again if she could. Seaman, who
met her husband Bob in 1972, tes-
tified that she was a battered wife
for more than 20 years. Although
she said she was defending her-
self, a jury found her guilty of
murder in the first degree.
In another case, first grade
teacher, Delores Laster, 61 was
accused of shooting her husband
in 1988. She told police she dis-
covered the body in the garage.
Evidence collected indicated the
husband was killed in another lo-
cation and the body was moved
His cartoon represented
Proposition 8 with a scene from
the "Lord of The Rings."
Also, work published in the
Collegian Times, LACC's annual
magazine was awarded by the
judges.
Jonathan Velasquez, pho-
tographer and reporter for both
the newspaper and magazine, re-
ceived a Honorable Mention for
magazine line illustration for his
poem "I, Dessert" published on
the Collegian Times issue of May
2008.
"I wanted to include two of
the things I like to do: photog-
raphy and poetry, to create this
piece." Velasquez said. "It is al-
ways nice to be recognized for
your work, especially when you
represent your school at a state
level."
Velasquez arrived at age 15
from Colombia. He did not speak
English but was eager to learn the
language. After graduating from
high school, he enrolled at LACC
to pursue an A.A. degree in jour-
nalism. He won the Los Angeles
Photo by Theresa Adams/LA Collegian
to the garage. She was sent to
prison.
During the preliminary
hearing the lead detective in the
Berg case testified that the in-
structor believed his wife was
going to leave him. He also said
that Berg was very disturbed
about the possibility of losing his
job. The public defender asked
a number of questions about the
defendant’s mental state, which
the defective stated he was not
qualified to evaluated.
“He lost his job a long time
ago,” Monleon said. “He got his
job back.”
Neighbors and family told
the Collegian Berg began talk-
ing about losing his job last year.
However, he never explained
why he thought this might hap-
pen.
“He was an adjunct employ-
ee and we heard nothing about
11
Collegian Journalism Scholar-
ship, second place in the Latino
Heritage poetry competition, the
Gamma Delta Upsilon scholar-
ship. He also received the Expre-
sion Cultural award presented by
the Latino Student Union and a
regional JACC Honorable Men-
tion for news photo and now
a state JACC Honorable Men-
tion for his contribution to the
magazine. He has worked for La
Prensa de Los Angeles and plans
to transfer to CSUN in the fall to
pursue a B.A. degree in Commu-
nications.
The Collegian staff was also
awarded second place in the state
presented to Media Arts for East
Hollywood Portraits for the mag-
azine photo story/essay, which
judges said was very nice work
and there was a "good use of dif-
ferent lighting styles."
JACC hosts two conventions
annually, one regionally and one
at the state level. JACC awards
community college students for
their journalism achievements.
him losing his temporary as-
signment,” Moon said.
The American Federa-
tion of Teacher and the Los
Angeles Faculty Guild say
that mental health services are
offered to teachers through a
Verizon health plan. The ser-
vice is available to tenured or
probationary faculty members
who have four years of service.
As Berg’s employment status
did not fall into either category,
there were no health benefits
available to him or his family
through the Verizon plan.
Dr. Aronsohn explains that
in reality we don’t know why
something like this happens.
There are times when displaced
anger can cause acts of vio-
lence but so can other things.
“We may be angry with
the people we work with but
we go home and kick the dog,”
Aronsohn said. “In the past in
our society it was ok for a man
to be angry but not hurt or sad.
Women cried. They could be
miserable or scared but not an-
gry.”
She said that sometimes
people get caught in old stereo-
types. The bottom line is that
no one will ever really be able
to say they know why this hap-
pened.
Staff members said Berg
seemed frazzled at times and
would say from time to time
that he hoped he would not get
arrested. No one questioned
what he meant by those com-
ments or why he made them.
“It was a self fulfilling
prophecy,” said one office ad-
ministrator. “It was as if he
wished it upon himself.”
 12
ds &
y nol
R e
o nica
r t
By
Ve ge s
C olle heir ci in the lity ne anals ur wa
C
ity hat t hes
e t t e a c
g
e n ic b copic its nam re ma
s c do s
k alei l amo gton b
it s tro l
and int. S Was ardwal t wher
o d
app ice an the bo our le
e n n g
V h alo
t der
nor Mean
the world. The waters here are clean
fect place to escape the frenetic city.
L.A. can be surprisingly walkable.
fecta of Los Feliz, Silver Lake and
reachable by the Metro Red Line. If
& Vermont, you can either walk nor
of either Vermont or Hillhurst Avenue
with shops and cafes or walk east
The Intelligentsia Cafe is a great plac
watch the fashionable world go by.
Supervisor Sets Sail for Adventure
By Argelia Hirzel
L
os Angeles City College
Business Office Supervi-
sor Robin Robinson set
sail on the Silver Seas Cruise
Line in January on a trip to Af-
rica.
Robinson visited Kenya,
Tanzania and the Seychelles Is-
land on the East Coast of Africa
and islands in northwest India
located near the Indian Ocean.
She also visited the Spice Islands
and Nosy Be and Nosy Komba,
located off the northwest coast of
the Madagascar islands.
“We saw water buffalo, hy-
enas, warthogs, lemur monkeys,
tortoises, chameleons and boa
constrictors. But we did not get
to see any of the big cats,” Rob-
inson said.
When the cruise ship had to
stop, they had to contact authori-
ties to receive permission to an-
chor and get a little boat to shore
because it looked like a deserted
island. They went to a village on
Campus Highlight
ñu elas
sca e n for-
rc E
a o
t
s of e most
M e n
el f th ch
n d Ang ome o ce Bea is-
a es n i d
u d ents ts asid try. Ve fail to een
i n
ty s cou ver betw y
c
a yo
p e rson esake king
Aven
ng ef o ard
i ndw
hin k. W w
e exp alls, a ands t
f ress
to y
and clear, the per-
The boho tri-
Echo Park are even
you alight at Sunset
th to your choice
s, each brimming
to Sunset Junction.
e to pause and
If after all of that
the shore and walked through the
jungle where a lemur monkey
came to greet Robinson and to
eat a banana while sitting on her
shoulder.
The ship was supposed to
continue to its next destination,
however the boat did not sail
out until the next day because
the crew said there was an emer-
gency.
“We got to the boat and we
were supposed to sail that eve-
ning. But, we did not sail that
evening,” Robinson said. “And
so people began asking why
we were still in port, there was
not any official notification to
us [passengers], but we heard
through the grapevine that there
might have been pirates.”
Robinson was more inter-
ested in the ecology and the peo-
ple. She wanted the trip to be a
positive experience.
“[I had] no concern about
the pirates, I really want to be
in touch with the people and the
animals,” Robinson said. “On
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
City College
Playground
doors to give denizens a chance La Brea Tar Pits. Its collection
to view their collections and contains a plethora of specimens
meet the artists. Arrive early for from the prehistoric era as well
free wine and appetizers. as replicas of the saber-toothed
Griffith Park overwhelms cats and wooly mammoths that
the senses with things to do for previously roamed Wilshire Bou-
people of all ages, including the levard. The first Tuesday of each
Los Angeles Zoo, amusement month is free for visitors, while
park rides for those with children all other days are $7 for adults
and a golf range that overlooks and half price for students and
Los Angeles. The Los Angeles children. Parking is $6 with mu-
Zoo is only $12 for adults and $7 seum validation.
ue
mee
for children two and up and park- For early birds, start your
ing is free. day at either the Melrose Swap
fiti ts the For those with no budget, Meet at Fairfax High or the Hol-
s
sp o lo nature in all its magnanimous lywood Farmer's Market on Ivar
Its
ethe thems ace set ok at V beauty stretches as far as the eye on Sunday mornings. Besides
sam r e a
e vi eal nat lves w side f enice's can see. Cheapest of all? Grab shopping, it affords you the op-
ew ure i t h or l
o leg
be Once twice. ensure spray cal ar endary someone special and fly a kite. portunity to see L.A. before it
s y s th p ti
the ure to ou ha at y aint a sts to graf- Flying a kite is a unique way to wakes up and everyone else
focu wal ve o u'll n d fre spend a sunny afternoon that will stakes a claim to it.
swi
mm s of V k alon oaked
s nev conc ely
e g er h re stimulate your senses as you run For a change of pace, vol-
ibu i
to o ng, fol nice's Abbot p eno
u ave te.
bse lo s u the through the grass with the kite unteer with a local charity. It is
rve w the hoppin Kinne gh lo
som P g y, ca string pulled taut. It’s an interest- a great way to meet people who
e of acific C and d which l colo
the o i n i r, ing sensation to be led around by care about their community and
mos ast Hi ing. Fo s now little more than a string and wind to forge new friendships with
t att ghw r go
ract a o
ive y to M d resistance as you watch your kite those who share the same inter-
surf al-
ers soar above you. Best of all, af- ests.
in
ter that initial investment for the “There is a moment in time
kite, you now have a free source when each and every one of us
of entertainment that is also needs a helping hand,” said First
earth-friendly. Lady Michelle Obama when
For those of high style and she was spotted by MSNBC re-
thin wallet, sometimes a little cently serving food to the home-
window shopping makes a great less a few blocks from the White
afternoon. Start at Third Street House.
and Fairfax Avenue and walk Project Angel Food is al-
west along Third Street to La ways seeking volunteers to aid
Cienega, where you'll turn north. them with their goal of delivering
You can either continue north into meals to the terminally ill. Orien-
West Hollywood or turn east onto tation is easy and you have the
Beverly. Each of these streets is choice of volunteering with food
lined with cafes and shops that preparation in their kitchen on
run the gamut from upscale to Vine Street or spending an hour
lowbrow. or two on a weekday afternoon
Nearby sits the Page Muse- delivering meals. They run routes
um and its extensive collection of throughout the city so chances
both artifacts culled from the adjacent are there’s one convenient to you.
m e g r eenery, to
o
n y o u want s k are nearby
atio all Pa r
observ Barnsd
social ark a n d
new ga
l-
f fi t h P e r a s
Gri . simm dors.
reather ues to n corri
take a b ntown contin liven its urba red indi-
Dow s en cultu
n d r e s taurant e with other D owntow
n
r i e s a m i n g l i d e d .
le
a c h a nce to t h e self-gu of the month
For mi s s sday ain
, don’t second Thur Spring and M ir
viduals y o n t e
h
r t W a lk ever allery Row” e n u e s open
A G A v
night, “ eventh
On this Second and S
n
betwee Photo by Marc Escañuelas/LA Collegian
View of Los Angeles from the Santa Monica Mountains on a "clear
day" by L.A. standards.
the small islands you could see
that their lives are very simple,
they live in little small huts and
I would be surprised if they had
running water.”
Robinson wants to return
and bring natives of Africa to
come to America to learn.
“I would like to go again to
see Africa and make a connection
to bring more students to Los An-
geles City College,” she said.
Robinson says she enjoyed
her trip and would like others to
have the opportunity to have a
once in a lifetime experience.
“My children are African-
American and are interested in
Africa. I spoke to Dr. Reginald
Brady in the International Stu-
dent Center about the idea of
recruiting more students from
Africa to Los Angeles City Col-
lege, but because I was in a cruise
I could not make the link. Later, I
would like to go back to visit and
speak with the people that might Photo courtesy of Robin Robinson
help me make that link to Los Robin Robinson surrounded by children on her adventure to Africa in January.
Angeles City College.”
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Publish or Perish:
Compiled by Alba M. Solórzano
Author: Ana Lya Sater
Published work: “Latin
American Studies: An Annotated
Bibliography of Core Works”
“Latin American Jewish
Studies: Annotated Guide to Lit-
erature”
Librarian Ana Lya Sater
wrote two annotated bibliogra-
phies, which summarize and de-
1 2
4 5
1. Sena Samuelson - “Love Mizoram” and “Ramah”
2. Anderzeh Mejgnski - “An Underground Conference Report in Poland for Solidarity Movement Labor Unions”
3. Tom Stempel - "Storytellers to the Nation: A History of American Television”
4. Sam Eisenstein - “Cosmic Cow”
5. Andrew Walzer - “Narritives of Contemporary Male Crisis” The Reproduction of National Discourse”
6. Ana Sater - “Latin American Studies: An Annotated Bibliography of Core Works”
Return to Manzanar
By Marc Escañuelas
M
anzanar rests more
than 200 miles north of
Los Angeles, a perti-
nent and timely reminder of when
wartime paranoia forced the relo-
cation of approximately 11,000
Japanese and Japanese Ameri-
cans within its dusty borders dur-
ing World War II. Following the
attack on Pearl Harbor, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an
executive order authorizing the
military to sequester those of
Japanese descent, regardless of
citizenship status, in internment
camps in the Western United
States. The majority of the more
than 120,000 interned at those
camps came from the Los Ange-
les area.
"These people survived and
they lived and they made the best
of what they had,” said Shonna
Aalto, president of the Japanese
Club, with whom she made the
trip to Manzanar in April. “They
made it their own little commu-
nity and they were happy even
under those bad circumstances.”
Aalto, an international law ma-
jor at Los Angeles City College
(LACC) who plans to transfer
to USC, had a family member
at Manzanar. She was startled to
find the name of her grandfather’s
sister, who died at Manzanar, on
the wall of the Mess Hall. Aalto
was the first in her family to re-
turn to the camp, which is now
a state park. She hesitated to tell
her family about the trip because
the topic still makes her grand-
mother emotional.
The 40th Annual Manzanar
Pilgrimage included a ceremony
that incorporated numerous faiths
in its prayers as well as traditional
scribe main points of a source.
Sater earned a M.A. degree in
Latin American Studies, because
she wanted to learn more about
her country and the culture of
Chile.
“There’s an explosion of
information and if you don’t nar-
row it down, it would be difficult
to find what you’re looking for,”
Sater said.
Sater wanted to write the
bibliographies because as she
would do some research she no-
A photo of the Soul Consoling Tower at Manzanar.
Japanese tanko bushi dancers and
music. Aalto said about 3,000
people attended from schools
and colleges all over California.
She stressed how important it is
that younger generations make
themselves aware of this trag-
edy. A recent Asian Week article
by Emily Leach details how the
Japanese community has reached
out to American Muslims in the
wake of Sept. 11, as both groups
are all too familiar with the sting
of xenophobia and the slippery
slope it can lead to.
The camp is a shadow of its
former self, as fires and strong
Campus Highlight
ticed how difficult it was to find
information, especially with the
Internet explosion.
Author: Tom Stempel
Published work: “Story-
tellers to the Nation: A History of
American Television”
“American Audiences on
Movies and Movie Going”
Framework: A History of
Screenwriting in the American
Film
Screenwriter the Life and
Times of Nunnally Johnson
Understanding Screenwrit-
ing: Learning From Good, Not
3
6 the Civil Rights movement and
Photo courtesy of Mathew Grimm
winds have destroyed some of
the buildings, many of which the
National Park Service plans to
rebuild. For now, most prominent
is the Soul Consoling Tower, a
white obelisk that stands on the
site of the camp’s cemetery. It
memorializes the 146 prisoners
who died at the camp, although
the majority were reburied by
family elsewhere.
The trip was a joint effort
between the Japanese Club and
the LACC Office of Student Life.
The club has future plans to bring
in an internee to speak to stu-
dents.
Faculty Strikes a "Prose"
and Writes to be Read
So Good and Bad Screenplays
Tom Stempel has written six
books all together, five of which
are about screenwriting and one
biography. Stempel wanted to
write about screenwriting be-
cause nobody would notice the
screenwriters of films during his
time and he felt like they should
be praised just as much as actors
and directors.
“When I started nobody
wrote about screenwriting, ev-
eryone thought that the director
thought everything up,” Stempel
said.
Author: Anderzeh Mejgnski
Published work: “An Un-
derground Conference Report in
Poland for Solidarity Movement
Labor Unions” for “Solidarity
Regional Conference”
Librarian Anderzeh Mejgn-
ski was against communism in
Poland and wanted to find a way
nit
y Coll
ege Di
Congratulations
m u
C om
s M
le
ge
An
Los
City College winners: Jessica Rivera, Abimael Rivera,
Salvador Chavez, Jaime Hong and Tercius Bufete
Learn Convergence : Join Journalism 217, 218 and 219 in the fall
to fight back peacefully through
writing illegal publications.
“ In spite of all of America’s
problems at least you do have
freedom of speech, you only rec-
ognize the value of it when you
lose it,” Mejgnski said.
Author: Sena Samuelson
Published work: “Love
Mizoram” and “Ramah”
Sena Samuelson teaches
Social Sciences
Wrote a controversial book
called “Love Mizoram,” which
criticizes the politics in the coun-
try. She was living in the coun-
try during the time she wrote the
book and didn’t like how their
leader was putting people in
prison for very unfair reasons.
She also wanted the rest world to
know what was going on in her
country so that they could have
their own independence.
The second was called Ra-
mah, which is about the places
Samuelson has visited.
Samuelson was
very interested in
going to biblical
places and de-
cided to write
st rict Runners-Up Aw
ard:
How
13
a book about where she had been
when she finally began traveling.
“Write your own truth be-
cause nobody can dispute it, if
you don’t write it now your life
will fade after you’re gone,”
Samuelson said. “We have to
write down our own history for
posterity.”
Author: Sam Eisenstein
Published work: “Cosmic
Cow”, “Merciless Beauty”, “Nu-
dibranchia”
English teacher Sam Eisen-
stein has written many books
like “Cosmic Cow”, “Merciless
Beauty” and “Nudibranchia” for
the last 60 years. Eisenstein’s in-
spiration from many things, but it
all comes down to just having fun
while making up his own world
for him.
“I get a lot of ideas from stu-
dents but I have to bat them down
sometimes,” Eisenstein said. “I
have fun when I write; each one
of us is making up our own little
world all the time.”
Author: Andrew Waltzer
Published work: “Narra-
tives of Contemporary Male Cri-
sis: The Reproduction of Nation-
al Discourse” in “The Journal of
Men’s Studies”
Humanities professors An-
drew Waltzer writes about how
white males through history
have thought themselves to be
the “true Americans” and how
women’s rights among other
things brought them down.
“Equality is a good thing is
what it’s about,” Waltzer said. “
I am supportive of changing the
dominance of white male power”
Gr
een
IS
y
Ca
mp
us
Photo by Jordan Angulo/LA Collegian
 14 Campus Highlights Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

More than Half of Disabled Budget Cuts Strain

Tutoring Services for
Access Doors Repaired Disabled Students
Eight months after a Collegian
investigation of non-working should be doing less,” said
push-plates on disabled access

B
doors, repairs have been made, udget cuts are forc-
but some doors are still in need ing the Office of Spe-
of attention. cial Services (OSS)
to rely on volunteers as they
By Tim Carpenter no longer can afford to keep
Susan Matranga, Learning
Disabilities Specialist. “It’s
our responsibility to make the
material accessible.” Many
tutees have specialized needs.
One such student is blind and

S
tudents using dis-
abled access doors at
City College may have
noticed improvements in sev-
eral buildings over the past eight
months. Wheelchair accessible
buttons located in Jefferson
Hall, the Chemistry Building,
Holmes Hall and the Life Sci-
ence Building are all functioning
properly. However, the disabled
doors located at the back en-
trance of the Learning Resource
Center (LRC) and the Vermont
Avenue entrance of Clausen Hall,
still do not work.
Last September, the Colle-
gian documented six out of seven
doors and push plates were out of
order. A follow up visit in April
revealed that four doors have
been repaired and three are still
out of order. The college attempt-
ed to repair the plates at Clausen
Hall and the LRC, but they broke
down again.
Moises Medina, who gets
around campus in a wheelchair
and
is a
com-
puter
engineer-
ing major,
showed the Collegian that the
push plate in the back of the LRC
was out of order and he was un-
able to use the entrance so he
could attend classes in the Learn-
ing Skills Center.
“I saw them [repair crew]
fix the push plate and the door
at the Learning Resource Center
at the beginning of the semester
[Feb. 9] and I was able to get in,
but it was out of order the next
day,” Medina said. “I am frustrat-
ed because it makes it tough for
me to get into the center because
of equipment that does
not work.”
Medina is just one of
many disabled students who
use the wheelchair accessible
doors, but visually impaired stu-
dents may be inconvienced as
well.
Willie Richmond, former
Assistant Vice-President of Fa-
cilities initiated the repairs in
September of 2008. Bruce Baron,
Vice-President of Administrative
Services who took over when
Richmond left, says the school
will look into the matter and take
the necessary steps to resolve it.
“I was not aware that the dis-
abled entrances at the LRC and
Clausen Hall was not working,”
Baron said. “We [LACC] will
address this problem immedi-
ately and
will stay
on top of
it, to make
certain that
no [disabled]
students has a problem
getting to class because of mal-
functioning equipment.”
Visually impaired and
wheelchair students are not the
only ones who have a difficult
time navigating around City Col-
lege. Mark Nisgone, a computer
science major who uses a cane
to get around the school says it
is an inconvience because of his
condition.
“It makes it tough when I
have to walk up a flight of stairs
because of equipment that is not
working,” Nisgore said.
as many paid tutors on staff.
The OSS provides individual-
ized tutoring for special needs
students who are challenged
with any number of disabili-
ties such as blindness, hearing
impairment, ADD or learning
difficulties. Drawing upon
a number of disciplines and
techniques, the program’s tu-
tors aspire to be instruments
of learning for their tutees
to advance in their subjects
regardless of whatever im-
pairment they experience. Al-
though the semester is draw-
ing to a close, the program
is always on the lookout for
new volunteers. The program
looks for individuals who
are patient, dependable and
knowledgeable in their sub-
jects. The program provides
services weekdays from its
offices in Clausen Hall, Room
109.
“Just because someone
is blind, doesn’t mean they
enrolled in a geometry class.
In order to help the student
visualize his schoolwork, the
tutor made a tactile graphic
so that the tutee could feel the
lesson. The OSS tries in ear-
nest to address the needs of
everyone to ensure that their
tutees have the best opportu-
nity to learn.
One example is Kath-
leen Potter, who has been a
student at Los Angeles City
College since 1999 and uti-
lized the OSS’s tutoring ser-
vices for most of that period.
Potter is both blind and deaf
and communicates using sign
language. Potter’s tutoring
sessions often include an in-
terpreter, who fingerspells to
Potter as her tutor reads from
her textbook. Potter is work-
ing towards an A.A. in Lib-
eral Arts and expressed how
vital the program has been in
helping her achieve this goal.

Budget Deficit Means Fewer

Summer Classes for Students
By Veronica Reynolds

“We’re definitely offering less classes this summer,” said

William Marmolejo, Dean of Admissions at City College.

The college will receive less money from the state this
year than in past years because of statewide budget cuts.
“We don’t have the same funding from the state to pay for
the teachers,” Marmolejo said.
City College offers summer classes that have the highest
probability of reaching capacity in order to keep their doors
open during the ‘off season.’”
Courses such as “Mathematics 112,” “English 101” and
other core classes that all students are required to take in order
to transfer to a university are what fill classrooms during the
summer months.
“The demand isn’t there,” Marmolejo said. “Few upper
division classes are offered during the summer months. Nor-
mally we have about 15,000 students in the fall and spring ses-
sions and in the summer we have about 5,000. That’s off the
top of my head.”
There are three class sessions offered this summer at
LACC. The longer summer session gives students enough time
to gain a complete understanding of certain subjects that re-
quire more time to learn.
There are two, five-week summer sessions offered this
summer. The first short session begins June 15 and ends on
July 18. The second short session begins on July 20 and ends
on August 22. Classes offered for the eight-week session start
on June 15 and end on August 8.
Students can sign up for classes now online at www.laci-
tycollege.edu or in the Admissions Office located in the Ad-
missions Building, Room 100.
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Paper Trail from page 1
Player: 'I didn't think he would do anything that would jeopardize me or my career.'
Current South Coast Conference coach of the year, Mack Cleveland, motivates his players at a home
game against Compton; Assistant coach James Wilkes listens in.
Waves of
Change
Emerge
for Pool tion that supervises all construc-
By Abimael Rivera
A
long Willowbrook Av-
enue on the north side
of the Los Angeles City
College (LACC), campus, stu-
dents swim in a landmark pool
that dates back to the 1920s when
the school first opened.
The pool has no name or
title and a floor made of tiles,
which is rare to see in any pool
today. It is 27 yards long that is
two yards longer than regulation,
this prohibits LACC from hold-
ing competitions on campus.
Years of constant mainte-
nance enable instructors like Jan
McEveety, chair of the women’s
P.E. department, to offer swim
classes for students and nearby
residents as a community service
offered by the school.
However, students can look
forward to the construction of a
new pool that will be built next to
the women’s gymnasium build-
ing along Heliotrope Drive.
“I think building a new
[pool] is wonderful,” said busi-
ness administration major, Gua-
dalupe Salas. She is currently
taking “Physical Education 102:
Swimming Skills” with McEv-
eety.
“The pool is very, very small
and sometimes we get like five
people per lane,” Salas said. “It’s
very hard to swim because we
end up crashing into each other.
It’s too small.”
Plans for the new pool, how-
ever, are still in the process of ap-
proval at the Division of State
Architect (DSA) in Sacramento,
CA. The DSA’s function in state
government is to guarantee that
kindergarten, high schools and
community colleges are safe
enough to endure earthquakes
and is accessible to everyone.
This includes reviewing struc-
tural safety, fire and life safety
accessibility for persons who are
disabled.
“The pool doesn’t quite
meet current guidelines,” McEv-
eety said. “No diving boards; the
deep end is too shallow at 8 feet,
regulation requires a minimum
of 10 feet; jumping off a diving
board could cause injury. It’s just
too old really.”
Project management of the
pool is conducted by Harris &
Associates, the same organiza-
tion on campus. Aquatic Design
Group—the official aquatic con-
sultant for the College Swim-
ming Coaches Association of
America prepared the blueprint
of the pool. Steinberg Architects
is the same company who de-
signed the new Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Library.
“Aquatic Design construct-
ed two 50 meter pools within a
week or two for Olympic tryouts
in Long Beach on a parking lot in
2004. So they know what they’re
doing,” McEveety said.
Once the project is approved
by the DSA, Harris & Associates
will send the plans out for bid-
ding. The project was submitted
on March 4 and could take up
to six months for the state to ap-
prove it. Construction could start
in November, but the pool will
not be opened until September
2011.
Joel Vindua, a graphic de-
sign major, took the class in fall
2007, spring 2008 and fall 2008.
McEveety was his instructor. one I’m all for that.”
Students Center Punch with Kung Fu
By Jessica Rivera
U
p on the roof of the
Men’s Gym as the
sun sets, students of
all ages challenge themselves.
They practice kick and punch
moves to protect themselves
and defend loved ones.
Kung fu is offered to
people of all ages at Los An-
geles City College (LACC)
every Monday from 7:30 p.m.
to 9 p.m. for only $50 per
month through the community
service classes.
The Kung Fu program is
designed for anyone interest-
ed in self-defense techniques.
It stresses straight and angu-
Sports
Photo courtesy of Mario Villegas
“The current pool is pretty
nice,” Vindua said. “It’s clean.
Sometimes there would be prob-
lems with the plumbing, it [the
pool] wouldn’t be heated, but it
wasn’t bad.”
The new design will be 25
yards in length and have eight
lanes across, each lane being 8
feet wide, which will allow City
College to hold competitions.
Along with the shorter size,
the pool will have a one-meter
diving board and a filtration sys-
tem that classifies the pool as an
overflow pool. The system runs
along the perimeter of the entire
pool.
“I’m sure it’s pretty behind
compared to newer pools today,”
Vindua said about the construc-
tion of a new pool. “Seems like a
good thing.”
It will also contain a touch
pad system for score keeping.
These pads will be attached to
a wall underwater and once a
swimmer touches the pad his or
her time will register on a score-
board rather than having some-
one keep time with a stopwatch.
Hjose Penasa an art major
also took the swimming class in
spring 2008, where he sharpened
his freestyle swimming skills.
“The [current] pool is nice,”
Penasa said. “It’s always clean,
[the water] is clear and heated up
in the mornings when it’s cold.
If they’re going to make a better
lar fist and hand motions, and
ancient traditional kick combi-
nations. It also consists of body
mechanics and defending tech-
niques. Professor Nan Schwartz,
a fifth generation black belt pro-
fessional who started martial arts
at the age of 17 teaches the Kung
Fu class. She is internationally
recognized and has studied with
masters of the art in Singapore;
she has taught this class at LACC
for the past 10 years.
“My students enjoy it very
much,” said Schwartz who is
also known as the “Iron Lady
of U.S.A.” by journalists who
saw her performance in Singa-
pore. “They are very dedicated to
the registrar/administrative rep-
resentative and the athlete signed
it. Athletes are signing to the fact
that “I understand that there are
special rules for student athletes
... Information falsely given …
will cause my college’s forfei-
tures of all games … in which I
may compete, and that I may be
designated ineligible for further
competition ...”
The names on the LACC
forms that claim Stoneridge
Prep as the last high school at-
tended are: Clarence Davis, Cor-
daryll James Desmond, Jerrett R.
Towns, Marvin A. Coats and An-
tonio Owens. Owens was the star
player on the Cubs 2008–2009
men’s basketball team.
“I don’t know why coach
[Mack Cleveland] wanted to say I
went to Stoneridge,” Owens said.
“I never asked him why. I knew
him, I didn’t think he would do
anything that would jeopardize
me or my career … I filled it [the
student eligibility report] out and
gave it to him. And he was like
‘Oh no, no, no do it over’ and he
was just giving the answers. We
Baseball Players Seek Relief
By Tim Carpenter
L
ast month, several
Los Angeles City
College (LACC)
baseball players addressed
the Los Angeles Com-
munity College District
(LACCD) Board of Trust-
ees at the Faculty and Staff
Center, accusing City head
baseball coach George Hin-
shaw of intimidation and
abuse.
Players who spoke to
the Board of Trustees about
allegations included Kenny
Mickens and his father Ken
Mickens Sr., Walt Roberts,
Michael Pina, Conrad Cho,
Joshua Zuniga, Cameron
Jimenez and Tony Man-
zanares.
Roberts who was on
the team until April 8, ad-
dressed his concerns with
the board,
“I informed Coach Hin-
shaw that I was hurt and
could not pitch, but he
[Hinshaw] put me out to
pitch anyway,” Roberts
learning.”
The program improves
physical health, strength and
stamina and with focus, it is said
to improve the ability to analyze.
“I find Kung Fu to be very
graceful, very artistic, yet very
effective in self-defense,” said
Moti Buchboot who has had an
interest in martial arts since he
was a little boy, and has been in
the program for four years.
The program also relieves
stress and improves self-confi-
dence for those who are afraid
of the outside world or think that
they are not capable of defending
themselves.
“It gives me confidence,”
put it on there. But it wasn’t our
information. We just listened.”
According to records, Ow-
ens graduated from Boyd County
High School in Ashland, Ken-
tucky in May 2007. He then at-
tended Ware Prep in Atlanta,
Georgia in 2008. His student eli-
gibility report states that the last
high school he attended was the
Stoneridge Tarzana campus in
May 2006.
Owens says that finishing
his first year of college is im-
portant him, but he never got the
chance at LACC. When he went
home to Kentucky to deal with
a family problem, he planned to
return to school. Cleveland told
him not to come back, mention-
ing a “personal problem.”
Under first year head coach
Cleveland, LACC dominated.
They were South Coast Confer-
ence champs, and Cleveland was
voted South Coast Conference
Coach of the Year. He spoke with
the Collegian by telephone.
“How long have you been at
LACC?” Cleveland asked the re-
porter. “If you want to stay here, I
said. “Right after the game, he
cut me from the team.”
Ken Mickens Sr. accused
Hinshaw of misleading his son
when he enrolled for classes at
City College.
“My son came to LACC
from San Diego State because
his grades were low and he
needed to improve his GPA
in order to transfer. However
coach Hinshaw had my son
take unnecessary classes like
weight training, instead of im-
portant classes he needed to
re-enter a four-year universi-
ty,” Mickens Sr. said.
On April 23, the players
boycotted their scheduled
contest against El Camino
College because they feel
Hinshaw has treated the team
poorly and that his assistant
coaches Freddy Tolliver and
Mark Talmo have not done
enough to help defuse the situ-
ation.
A few of the staffers in the
athletic department believe the
players should have taken a
different approach in their at-
tempts to resolve the dispute.
said Oscar Echeveria, a John
Marshall High School student
who has been in the program for
three years. “I used to be scared
to go to school because I was
afraid that someone would try to
jump me, but now with kung fu
I am confident everywhere I go.”
Schwartz also teaches
10-year-old children as their par-
ents watch the program and if
they like it, she has them all work
together. Schwartz also encour-
ages students to come, for a small
extra charge, on Thursdays from
7 to 8:15 p.m.
“I like the beginning students
to come Monday,” Schwartz said.
“I usually like to teach them new
15
highly recommend that you drop
this story. Can’t you find some-
thing productive to focus your
time on?”
Cleveland later said, “Do
not ever call me about this story
again. I am serious.”
Still, the coach later sug-
gested that the Collegian look at
the job description of the athletic
director, and that of the coach.
He said that the “coach has noth-
ing to do with eligibility.” Des-
mond played both guard and
forward, wearing Cubs number
24. An interview with him in the
LACC library ended abruptly. He
was not eager to answer ques-
tions about Stoneridge.
“I do not have to tell you
anything, no offense, but I am not
scared of you,” Desmond said. “I
have been on ESPN before. Who
are you? What can you do?” Des-
mond then yelled, “Someone
please get this girl away from
me, I am just sitting here trying
to check my Facebook.”
Another player on the team
Paper Trail on page 16
“The players should
have gone through a chain
of command, like they do
in the business world,” said
Robert Horowitz, the ath-
letic trainer for the sports
programs at City.
Players and parents hope
that the district will address
the situation soon.
“We [LACCD] investi-
gate these allegations and if
we find evidence that there
was negligence on the part
of the baseball program, we
will take action,” said Kelly
Candaele, President of the
Board of Trustees.
This is the second time
in the past three seasons
that the athletic department
and the team had come un-
der fire. Selwyn Young,
who coached the Cubs
baseball program in 2006
and 2007, was dismissed
after the school said his
contract was not renewed.
Hinshaw was unavail-
able for comment.
things on those days.”
Schwartz believes that
one night is not enough for
practice. On Thursdays she
integrates weapons like the
double knife, or the bench.
She does not offer black belts,
but prepares students to be-
come better at the sport.
“I have a good relation-
ship with my students, and I
hope they make it a good ex-
perience in their lives and car-
ry something positive along
the way,” Schwartz said.
For more information
call (323) 654-0760 or e-mail
nnano9@yahoo.com.
 16
Sports Bin
Runners Do
Not Appear
Out of Thin Air
By Mars Melnicoff
C
oaching a team is a
challenge that takes
skill, sweat and tears
… blood too. But you can not
coach a team that you don not
have. I feel that, in the light of
the basketball story, it would be
nice to focus a bit on a positive
recruiting story also.
Her recruiting has been
very determined, very hands
on. Sylvia Mosqueda is the cur-
rent head coach of both Cubs
track and field and cross coun-
try, for which Los Angeles City
College (LACC) at this time
has only women’s teams.
Now, Mosqueda is looking
for ways to attract the most at-
tention possible to build up her
LACC cross country program.
Mosqueda has been run-
ning in big races, such as the
Carlsbad 5,000, where she
earned a Runner’s World write
up for winning the masters di-
vision. She has also been mak-
ing rounds doing clinics at high
schools that are within the re-
cruiting area.
“Young athletes see me
and come up to me and ask
questions,” Mosqueda said.
“’How do I run fast? How can
I be like you?’ And so then I
let them know that I am a head
coach at LACC and I motivate
them to come and compete for
LACC.”
There are obstacles in the
way at City College when it
comes to recruiting runners.
“There is … no transpor-
tation [for daily practices], and
no facilities to train,” Mosque-
da said.
The new track will no
doubt be a great aid to her once
it is completed, but that is more
for track and field than for cross
country.
When she arrived as head
coach in 2007, she took to the
streets and recruited joggers
from Griffith Park. She took
them right over and enrolled
them into classes.
Mosqueda was not green
to LACC in 2007. In fact, she
was assistant to track and field
coach Gary Manzanoti in 1996,
and also women’s cross country
coach.
In order to make the team
back then, she recruited seven
joggers on campus, and made
them into competitive runners.
She took these runners as a
team to state championships.
From jogging on the sidewalks
to state in one season, not bad.
When Mosqueda left the
program in 1996 it was to pur-
sue her career, and her dream of
making the U.S. Olympic team.
She missed the 1996 Olympics
in Atlanta by one place, as she
placed fourth 10,000 meters in
trials. The top three are taken
to represent the U.S. She tried
again in 2000 and 2004, and
was almost as close.
She has her work cut out,
but she is an experienced coach
who feeds on challenge, and on
molding young athletes.
Paper Trail from page 15
Forms May Cause Cubs to Forfeit Games from Last Season
had questions. Charles Sneed,
who sat out the season in order
to extend eligibility and develop
his skills—known as a redshirt—
found out about the issue and
says he confronted the coach.
“I asked him [Cleveland]
if he knew about Stoneridge be-
ing closed,” Sneed said. “And he
said ‘yeah.’… it’s not the play-
er’s fault. The players just want
to do what they love. The coach
just wants players to play. He is
who they trust, since their high
school years.”
The Collegian verified that
the Tarzana Campus—where
three players claim in writing
they attended—no longer exists.
“The Stoneridge School
used to be here,” Reverend
George Bet-Rasho of the Assyr-
ian American Christian School
said. “They left years ago … Now
we have the Assyrian American
Christian School here. Could you
bring some flyers to your school
about this festival we are having
this weekend?”
Some feel that tuition was
the motivation. In-state tuition
at LACC is $20 per unit, while
non-residents paid $181 per unit
in the 2008–2009 semester. Cali-
fornia Community College COA
constitution committee mem-
ber and South Coast Conference
Commissioner Rich Kollen says
that he would be surprised if this
happened at LACC.
“Because the program there
is so successful, they have stayed
very clean,” Kollen said. “A lot
of eyes are on them. I have never
had any report of violation from
that program.” The state Legis-
lature empowers the Commu-
nity College League of Califor-
nia’s Commission on Athletics
(COA) to establish the rules and
regulations that govern athletics
throughout the state. The Colle-
gian contacted the executive di-
rector Carlyle Carter via email to
understand the implications.
“If any individual associ-
Cubs Overcome Obstacles
to Defeat Pasadena Lancers
By Hamza Utman
I
n front of a small crowd on
a sunny, windy afternoon at
Pote Field in Griffith Park,
the Los Angeles City College
(LACC) Cubs defeated Pasadena
City College to end their nine
game losing-streak last month.
Despite injuries, team tur-
moil and five errors, the Cubs had
one of their best offensive games
of the season as they pounded 13
hits in route to an 11-5 win over
the Lancers.
City took an early 2-0 lead
when Kenny Mickens blasted
a two-run homer off Pasadena
starter Jeff Stirling.
After a rough start, Cubs
starter Brandon Kolpac settled
down and pitched a complete
game that propelled LACC to the
win. Kolpac struck out five and
walked only three batters.
The Lancers briefly tied
the game at three in the fifth in-
ning before City came back with
a vengeance as Eric Smalling’s
two run RBI took the Cubs back
into the lead, never to look back.
City prevailed again in the
sixth with a three run triple RBI
by Juan Benabou to make it an
Sports
Boyd County's Antonio Owens drives for a shot during a game in
2006, which is the season his eligibility report shows he was at
StoneridgePrep.
ated in any way with the insti-
tution,” Carter wrote, “did what
you explained, it is a violation of
not only our rules, it is fraud and
a felony because of implications
for financial aid both state and
federal. The A.D. [athletic direc-
tor] also signs the form so they
also [have] the responsibility to
review the info and investigate
anything that looks suspicious.”
Kenny Mickens, Cubs outfielder, hits a pop fly for a triple base hit against Pasa-
dena City College Lancers. Cubs pawed the Lancers 11-5.
Los Angeles Collegian
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Georgia and the University of
Miami.
Kollen knows the former
LACC basketball head coach
who is currently athletic direc-
tor, Michael Miller. He consid-
ers Miller on top of regulations.
Article 7.5.7.2 in the COA/Cali-
fornia Community College Com-
mission on Athletics (CCCAA)
Constitution and Bylaws states
“violations shall be reported to
the conference commissioner
within two (2) working days af-
ter discovery ...” Kollen confirms
that Miller made an announce-
ment at the South Coast Confer-
ence meeting on May 4. Miller
reported misrepresentations on
five student eligibility reports
from the LACC men’s basketball
team.
Miller said that he could not
comment.
The president of LACC, Dr.
Jahmillah Moore, did not want to
comment either.
“I can’t give you anything
on that because of an ongoing in-
vestigation,” Moore said.
“The minimum punishment
would be the forfeiture of all
games,” Kollen said. “The issues
here are a lot bigger than that.
There is tuition owed. There will
need to be restitution financially.
And there could be serious sanc-
tions against the program. I re-
quested the report in writing. The
future of the athlete’s eligibility
will also be decided.”
COA Constitution Commit-
Photo courtesy of The Independent, Ashland, KY
tee member and athletic director
at Saddleback College Tony Li-
pold says that juggling the myri-
ad of tasks that being an athletic
In the past 15 years, 59
director requires makes it almost
LACC players have gone on
impossible to catch everything.
to Division One teams, many
More checks and balances are
seeing floor time in the NCAA
soon to be in place.
championships. LACC players
“It is a major concern
go on to play at schools includ-
throughout the state at this time,”
ing the University of Kansas,
Lipold said. “Effective July 1,
the University of Oklahoma, the
2010, student athletes will be re-
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
quired to show high school tran-
(UNLV), Louisiana State Uni-
scripts ... It’s really tough as ath-
versity (LSU), the University of
8-3 game in favor of the
Cubs.
The Lancer’s scored in
the eighth but not enough
to close the gap before City
scored two more runs on
base hits by Benabou and
Lorenzo Benetti and the final
score 11-5.
Head coach George
Hinshaw congratulated the
team after the game and said,
"We’re pretty proud of
the guys, the way they got
up off the floor. We’ve had
a tough time. We’ve had
some injuries and lost some
key guys, but the guys for
the most part have battled,”
Hinshaw said. “We’ve been
short a few players, but to-
day we battled all the way
through and I’m always
proud of the effort like that.”
The players were en-
thusiastic about the long
awaited win.
“It was a good game,
we fought hard in the be-
ginning we got on the board
quick and we just kept on the
lead. We were never down
at all, we were either up or
we were tied, and we just
letic director to catch everything
… if a kid flat out lied there’s no
way I’d know.” Currently, For-
mer Ventura College men’s bas-
ketball coach Greg Winslow is
being charged with grand theft
for falsifying admissions appli-
cations for four athletes, which
allowed the students to obtain
in-state tuition. He is also being
separately charged with smaller
counts. Senior Deputy District
Attorney (D.A.) Wendy McFar-
lane, who is on the case, echoes
Lipold.
“It goes on everywhere,”
McFarlane said. “There are so
many people that are so upset
more isn’t being done at the state
level. The college is the victim
but the college is owned by the
State of California, which is ul-
timately taxpayers’ money. Tech-
nically both him [Winslow] and
the students are guilty of theft.
But it comes down to who do
you think is the more responsible
party. And the player can’t do this
without the coach.”
McFarlane explains, a coach
who is involved in this type of
situation is usually vague, say-
ing something along the lines of
“don’t worry, I’ll take care of
things.” If he doesn’t explain, no
one will be there to “tell on” him.
The players don’t usually think
to ask questions, they just want
to play ball and get an education.
Joseph Taylor, a former
LACC basketball player who
went on to play at the University
of Wyoming, and then profes-
sionally in Sweden, lived with
the five players when they moved
to L.A.
“They didn’t know nothing
about it,” Taylor said. “They just
kids. Those kids don’t have no
one. They have nothing ... As a
player you are taught your coach
is always right no matter what.
He’s not worried about them.
He don’t care if they graduate or
nothing like that.”
kept fighting throughout the
whole time. We never gave in.
Our pitcher never gave in. The
guys on the field never gave
in. The defense stepped up big
time, seriously. We had a little
crucial errors you know but
we licked our wounds and we
got back up and we turned out
the victory today,” said Tony
Manzanares, a Cubs outfielder
Even though the Cubs
came out on top, one of the
players said he was not happy
with the team’s performance.
“I want to win. I want
to go out there every game,
battle and get these Ws be-
cause that’s all that it is We
can have players on the team
with incredible stats but if we
don’t win then there’s no fun
in that,” Bernetti said.
The Cubs had a record of
5 wins and 35 losses overall
and 2-21 in the South Coast
Conference and tied for last
place along with Pasadena.
Now that the season is
over, Hinshaw looks forward
to help the ballclub with new
players and hopes to improve
on what was a terrible season
for the program.