Vol 50, Issue 4

Lariat WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8, 2017 // VOL. 50, NO. 4 LARIATNEWS.COM | FACEBOOK.COM/LARIATNEWS twitter.com/lariatnews | twitter.com/lariatsports

Skull & Bones. Saddleback Fine Arts Department host Day of the Dead Art Walk // page 12

the student voice of Saddleback College since 1968

MILO’S TROLL REGIME STORMS CSUF Local and state law enforcement, along with increased campus security, maintain and uphold the peace as Milo Yiannopoulos takes center stage to present his stance on the current political climate in the United States // page 4-5

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As flu season appraoches, handwashing etiquette should be acknowledged

OPINION

Saddleback College and IVC present funds raised for Houston after Hurricane Harvey

NEWS

Gauchos men’s water polo advance to the SoCal regional tournament

SPORTS

LIFE

The Astronomy and Physics Club to raise money via new radio-wave spectrum telescope

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2

News

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017

Saddleback lends a helping hand $4,137 was donated to HCC’s student body AUSTIN WEATHERMAN MANAGING EDITOR

South Orange County Community College Trustee member Marcia Milchiker visited Houston Community College on Wednesday, Nov. 1, presenting the funds raised by Saddleback College and Irvine Community College to HCC’s officials in efforts to aid in the recovery of their campus.

The total amount of money raised between Saddleback and IVC added up to $4,137. To date, HCC has received a total of $70,346.61 from 239 donors.

Hurricane Harvey hit Houston Aug. 17, feeling the full power

by Aug. 25, devastating the city with wind speeds up to 130 mph.

27 trillion gallons of rain fell onto land, damaging more than 200,000 homes and claiming 77 lives. The estimated cost to repair the damages Harvey inflicted is $150-180 billion, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Executive Director of HCC’s Foundation’s Office Karen Schmidt moved from Chicago, Illinois to Houston several days before Harvey hit. Her first floor apartment flooded, leaving Schmidt homeless for two days.

Schmidt took shelter in a neighbor’s apartment on the second floor until she could relocate to a safe location that hasn’t been affected by the hurricane.

Within days of the storm’s outpouring, she received an email from former Saddleback Interim President Denise Whittaker inquiring about HCC’s need for financial support.

“Saddleback responded within days of the storm. I actually received Ms. Whittaker’s email right when I was trying to figure

COURTESY OF HOUSTON COMMJUNITY COLLEGE RELIEF: Trustee Marcia Milchiker (right) presents the money raised to HCC’s officials out where I was going to live,” Schmidt said. “It took us about a week to get back to her with the numbers showing that the student body and employees had been impacted.”

Schmidt was the Chief Development and Marketing Officer at Presbyterian Mission Agency, a non-profit that also aids in disaster relief. Coming into Houston, unaware of the coming hurricane, Schmidt was equipped with the skills the college needed to recover from the damages done.

HCC sent out a survey to their student population and staff members in an attempt to gauge how many individuals were affected by the storm. 40 percent of the 5,500 students that responded to the survey either lost their home, transportation, job or all three.

20 percent of the staff lost their home, transportation or both.

Schmidt immediately set out to establish the HCC Disaster Relief Fund, aiding those in need with food, shelter, child care, transportation and even replacing school materials.

“Immediately, the foundation provided a $100,000 grant to the HCC Financial Aid office to help meet the needs of our students,” Schmidt said. “To date, HCC has received $571,755 in emergency

funds that have been award to 719 students in need.”

HCC has aided 280 employees with $124,750 and an additional $250,000 to students in the form of scholarships and financial aid.

When former interim president, now the SOCCCD acting Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, Denise Whittaker received the statistics concerning the need of HCC, she gathered the Consultation Council, a group of of staff, faculty and students who represent all major presences at Saddleback, and discussed how Saddleback could respond to HCC’s call for help.

Within the same day, the council had decided to aid HCC by incorporating Hurricane Harvey in classrooms, showing students how much impact the storm has had on the state of Texas and the people who live there.

“We as a community college felt it was appropriate to reach out more specifically to our colleagues and students at another community college instead of a general donation,” Whittaker said. “What I have found is that students and employees, whether they managment, faculty or staff, when we reach out beyond what is happening locally, we find that we are more sensitive about issues that impact others.

Education goes beyond the classroom.”

SOCCCD Trustee member Marcia Milchiker has been visiting Houston for the past nine years, having her own experience with natural disasters. Milchiker and her husband had to evacuate their hotel room due to Hurricane Ike in 2008.

“We were here when Hurricane Ike hit in 2008 and we had to evacuate,” Milchiker said. “It was pretty incredible because the hurricane winds were so strong that they required everyone in the hotel we were staying in to evacuate. There was no gasoline, cell phones, restrooms or electricity.”

During her latest visit, she was received with open arms as HCC’s officials guided her around their different college campuses, mainly the Coleman College for Health Sciences. Milchiker said she was amazed about the amount of people helping each other recover from Harvey, presenting a great opportunity for students to lend a helping hand.

“It’s a wonderful learning experience for our students as well as a great opportunity for our students, faculty and staff to donate to the Houston Community College students who really need our help,” Milchiker said.

lariatnews.com

vol. 50, no. 4

3

Transfer Center assists students with applications JOSEPH FLEMING STAFF WRITER

Saddleback College counselors are currently booked for the rest of this week as students assemble their application packets to send out to universities across the country.

Different options are available when delivering this academic evidence. Students can complete and send applications online or through the mail. Applications have a chance of being damaged or lost at post offices, so most schools recommend completing them online. These educational resumes are examined to meet specific requirements of one’s school of choice, providing a more than usual amount of preparation and urgency when finalizing this valuable document.

“Schools want well-rounded students,” said counselor Ruth Datu. “They take everything into consideration, your extracurricular activities, your major prep, your general ed, GPA, etc.”

When comparing University of California and California State University applications, the major difference between the two is that UC applications are holistic, meaning they evaluate personal insight questions. Depending on the specific UC or private school, students may also have to write an essay.

For Cal State applications, they don’t require personal essays, they just base it on numbers such as a student’s GPA, major prep and the minimum of 60 semester units. As for private colleges, both ways are used, so it depends on the particular school. Another major difference between the two types of schools involves guarantees.

“For Cal State we have what’s called an Associate Degree for Transfer Program,” Datu said.

“What it does is, it’s offered for certain majors and if students can complete the ‘Degree with a

JOSEPH FLEMING/LARIAT

APPLICATION MONTH: Transfer Center staff advise walk-in students in need of application help Guarantee’ it guarantees admission to a CSU campus.”

The ADT earned the nickname because once requirements are met with the majors offered, guaranteed priority admission to a CSU campus, not necessarily by choice, is accepted to those students. Over 20 different majors are presented with some of the degrees including an Associate in Art for Transfer and an Associate in Science for Transfer.

On the other hand, applying for UC schools doesn’t guarantee anything, but almost challenges admission.

“You have to stand out,” Datu said. “Bring up experiences both academic and in extracurricular activities that involve your major and what you want to do within your major. A lot of people qualify to go to a UC, but not everyone gets in.”

To separate from the crowd of applicants as a better candidate, one must review and check over answers, making sure they are sincere and thorough. Recommendation letters are also crucial, making teachers, counselors, and work managers great examples of people who could vouch for an applicant.

With deadlines for next year transfers at the end of this month,

applications supply a sense of imperativeness due to the fact that a student cannot be accepted to a college without the application being sent out and received.

Fortunately, when it comes to the

application process, Saddleback College lends a helping hand.

The college’s Transfer Center is located upstairs from the counseling offices. The Center provides resources such as counselors and university representatives who visit for hours at a time, answering students who are interested, as well as presenting workshops that go in depth on the application process. With specific workshops, representatives from different schools, and counselor appointments a phone call away, makes applying that much easier.

Looking ahead, Transfer Center representative visits and workshops will begin Monday, Nov. 6, and continue throughout the rest of the month into mid December. To see who, when and where these will all take place, the schedule is located on Saddleback College’s Student Success tab, under “Transfer Center.”

4

News

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017

ADAM GILLES/LARIAT

TROLLING: Milo Yiannopoulos (left) encourages deportation of illegal immigrants. OC Sheriff’s (top right) provide security at CSUF. An attendee (bottom right) goes through security checkpoint at the “Troll Academy Tour” at CSUF.

‘Mammoth troll’ spotted at CSUF ADAM GILLES NEWS EDITOR

Milo Yiannopoulos brought his Troll Academy Tour to the California State University Fullerton campus, speaking to a sold-out crowd of more than 800 people on Halloween night.

Eight protesters were arrested at the event.

A large number of local and state law enforcement were on hand, along with an increased campus security presence, to maintain safety for those inside the event and the numerous people protesting Yiannopoulos’ appearance from outside.

Some protesters held up signs that said “Fascists go home!” and “CSU students say no to Milo and his fascist entourage.”

Two people were reportedly arrested prior to Yiannopoulos’ speech while others were arrested within the hour after the speech when the majority of the altercations occurred. One individual — dressed in all black with a helmet and goggles — pepper-sprayed the crowd.

“I just like the fact that he’s got enough chutzpah to say what he wants and get paid for it,” said Sarah Fitch, who drove from Port Hueneme with her husband to attend the event.

“The way he goes after liberals and the left is refreshing,” said Mark Ang, a financial and estate planner from Claremont who

came to show his support for Yiannopoulos.

“I bought my ticket today from a scalper for like four times the value.”

Some fans of Yiannopoulos were drawn to the event mostly for the entertainment value.

“He’s just an entertaining guy,”said Daniel Denney from Orange who attended with a friend. “I agree with most of what he says. It’s mostly entertainment, which is why I’m here.”

College student Mina Naziri was at the event to show her support for freedom of speech.

“I can’t say that I stand behind everything he says, but I definitely do support his right to speak,” Naziri said. “I definitely admire him for his fight against the craziness on college campuses and the censorship.”

Pete Summers, a Los Angeles businessman who attended UC Berkeley during the ‘60s, had a more historical take on the event.

“In 1963 we saw the head of the American Nazi Party from Illinois give a speech to a packed auditorium,” Summers said. “He was there in his uniform, but everybody was basically polite and listened and then just left.

There was no attempt to shut him down.”

Summers, who said he used to be a Democrat but is now Republican, spoke about seeing Malcolm X and Richard Nixon speak at the same spot on the Berkeley campus during a two-week period in May 1962.

“People were polite, and they listened, even though we had conservatives, middle-of-the roaders, liberals and far-leftists,” Summers said.

“All of them could speak when they wanted to, and to me, that’s what free speech is all about.”

Even though Summers said he worked on various Democratic political campaigns in the past, he is currently a fan of Yiannopoulos.

“I think he’s trying to goad people into speaking freely,” said Summers. “He’s trying to demonstrate that you can do that if you have enough nerve, because people are really intimidated right now to say what they really think.”

Many supporters and protesters of Yiannopoulos were able to express their opposing viewpoints with each other constructively. Hunter Jensen, co-owner of The Knawledge, engaged in a debate with a Yiannopoulos supporter over immigration policy after seeing the person involved in a screaming match with a protester.

“Behavior wise, the vast majority of protesters were peaceful and observant,” Jensen said. “There was a small amount who got worked up in political argument and let their emotions get the best of them.”

Jensen said that he has a difficult time distinguishing between Yiannopoulos’ message and what he says just to simply get a reaction from people.

“Milo is a very well-thought-out, provoc-

lariatnews.com ative and sensationalized media machine,” Jensen said. “He is always very good at saying the most inflammatory remark, in the perfect way, at the right time and I find this archetype very common throughout media today.”

Jensen sees fault on both sides of the political debate regarding Yiannopoulos.

“Milo, and others in the media, have learned how to capitalize on people’s emotions in a way that makes the most compelling media, but does not necessarily represent reality,” Jensen said. “Yet, the more and more this type of provocation continues, the more and more it becomes the reality of the political climate.

The CSUF Republicans Club were responsible for bringing Yiannopoulos to speak on campus. Public relations and event coordinator Brooke Paz acknowledged the large amount of club volunteers for helping to make everything run smoothly at the event.

“We have about 50 to 60 that actually attend our meetings, but we have 20 volunteers here today,” Paz said. “It’s really been a big team effort, and everyone’s really excited that he’s here.”

Fullerton Mayor Bruce Whitaker helped to coordinate with campus security and state and local authorities to plan for adequate security and safety personnel at the event.

“They were concerned about some of the violence that was threatened at Berkeley and some of the events that happened at UC Irvine,” Whitaker said. “We had a really nice session in here with very plain talk about free speech and what it means to everybody, so I think it was a valuable event to hold.”

Responding to questions on the reported high cost of security and law enforcement presence at the event, Whitaker said he expects the state to cover the majority of the cost, since they provided most of the extra law enforcement on campus. Whitaker explained that Fullerton typically keeps a large staff on hand during holidays whose overtime would be the city’s only additional expense.

“Especially the ones where we celebrate more freedom just like he was talking about tonight,” Whitaker said. “We do have that see saw between authoritarian or police state and really aggressively defending our freedoms and our ability to behave as adults as we can in this society, but we don’t really need that heavy of an oversight from any of our governmental agencies.”

This was Mayor Whitaker’s first exposure to Milo Yiannopoulos.

“I was pleasantly pleased and surprised, because I’ve heard all of the exaggerated criticisms from the other side and from the media and I thought what he did was almost equal time from what we see on the late night talk

vol. 50, no. 4

ADAM GILLES/LARIAT

BANNER: Protestor at CSUF holds sign promoting free speech.

“If you’re a gender studies major, you can hang your thesis around your neck, and when people ask you what you came as, you can say, ‘a fucking idiot.”

Milo Yiannopoulos

shows,” Whitaker said. “I really saw it as not being really any more offensive than what we see with the nightly bashing of President Trump and our national institutions.”

Yiannopoulos’ stage included an open coffin with the word “Hollywood” displayed inside and two large screens playing a slideshow background displaying various images and phrases featuring actor Kevin Spacey, who is in the news recently for allegations of sexual misconduct towards minors.

The speech focused on recent sexual misconduct and harassment stories involving Hollywood celebrities, the debate on immigration, and his stance against the Democratic party and the press.

Following chants of “Build the wall” from the audience, he said, “Let’s hope by this time next year we can celebrate Halloween together with a big, beautiful wall.”

During his speech, he told the crowd he was going to be educating them on the religious and cultural history of Halloween.

“I’m going to show you some fabulous

5

Catholic Halloween history now,” he said.

“It’s a multi-day celebration of the dead that evolved in Mexico and Latin America. So there — Mexico does have some pleasant exports.”

He referenced some of the controversy surrounding the cancellation of his speech at UC Berkeley which led to violent protests and a reported $100,000 worth of damage to the campus according to the university.

“A Berkeley professor invented that I was planning to out undocumented students during my talk, which I was really mad about, because I wish I’d thought of it,” he said.

Yiannopoulos joked about not being able to find a sexy Michelle Obama costume for Halloween, “maybe because nobody’s ever attracted to transsexuals,” he said.

He referenced to the recent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville where a man drove a car through a crowd of protesters, killing one person and injuring 19 others.

“Alright — back to costumes,” he said. “How’s this one? A Dodge Challenger with an Antifa protestor still on the hood.”

Yiannopoulos then directed his humortoward college degrees he felt were a waste.

“If you’re a gender studies major, you can hang your thesis around your neck, and when people ask you what you came as, you can say, ‘a fucking idiot,’” he said.

Encouraging the audience to put political correctness aside, Yiannopoulos said, “Do the most triggering thing you can this Halloween.”

He also spoke out about society and Halloween in America.

“What the first amendment means is, if you don’t like Halloween, if you’re offended by a costume, don’t participate,” he said. “The rest of us are going to spend the rest of the night being dangerous. We’re going to spend the rest of the night being offensive and not worrying about people who disagree with us, expressing ourselves however we feel appropriate.”

In reference to the eight people killed by a terrorist who drove a truck through a bike path in New York City this week, he expressed relief: “I’m glad it was mostly cyclists, not any actual human beings.”

Yiannopoulos closed with a message to those who oppose him and his followers.

“For 30 years, progressives and social justice warriors have been able to terrorize and intimidate and bully us with this obsession about the right and wrong language we use in public, and that is changing with Trump’s election and the success of me,” he said. “If the last 30 years were about intimidation and bullying, the next 30 years are going to be about liberation, and it’s going to be a really, really miserable time to be a social justice warrior.”

6

Opinion

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017

Lariat

“Saddleback’s student-run newspaper since 1968” Editor-in-Chief Colin Reef Managing Editor Austin Weatherman News Editor Adam Gilles Opinion Editor Ally Beckwitt Life Editors Diana Tomseth Maria Marquez Sports Editors Hanna Petersen DJ McAllister Media Editor Daniela Sanchez Copy Editor Sam Price Staff Writer Joseph Fleming Faculty Advisers Tim Posada MaryAnne Shults Instructional Assistant Ali Dorri

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Wash, rinse, repeat, for God’s sake Handwashing etiquette has become a disgusting, dirty habit and is being disregarded by many people COLIN REEF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I wonder if these people know I can see them. Are they in a rush or just extremely lazy? There is something pretty grotesque going around the Saddleback College campus and it’s making me not want to shake your hand.

It’s this notion that it’s completely appropriate to not wash your hands after using the bathroom. I see people walk up to the urinal, do their business, and walk straight out of the bathroom.

So let me get this straight, your hand just touched your junk and that same hand that flushed the toilet will soon touch the door handle that hundreds of students touch each day. No, no, no say it ain’t so.

We are all aware of how important good hygiene is, right?

After all, isn’t cleanliness right

there next to godliness? For my whole childhood, I remember my mom always saying: “wash your hands,” “cover your mouth,” and “use a tissue not your hands.”

Why should it be any different nowadays when we have more responsibility? Our health should be the top priority, hands down or washed.

Now that flu season is in full effect, I don’t want to constantly worry about my health due to any one student’s inability to maintain their hygiene.

It’s bad enough I can hear you sneezing and hacking up a lung while you’re dropping the browns off at the Super Bowl.

What’s worse is watching you blatantly disregard the sink afterwards.

Not only did you sneeze awnd cough all over the bathroom but now you have feces on your fin-

gers. But, it’s fine just go right ahead and pass along those germs.

According to the CDC website feces from people or animals is an important source of germs like salmonella, E. coli, and norovirus that cause diarrhea, and it can spread some respiratory infections lik hand-foot-mouth disease or basic influenza.

These kinds of germs can get onto hands after people use the toilet or change a diaper, but also in less obvious ways, like after handling raw meats that have invisible amounts of animal poop on them.

The scariest fact mentioned in that article is that a single gram of human feces—which is about the weight of a paper clip—can contain one trillion germs. So, next time you think about skipping out on washing your hands, remember that there’s poop on them.

lariatnews.com

vol. 50, no. 4

7

Do not give in to Milo’s trolling game DANIELA SANCHEZ MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Controversial conservative media figure Milo Yiannopoulos paid a visit to Cal State Fullerton as part of his Troll Academy Tour on Halloween night. Yiannopoulos spoke to a sold out crowd of 819 individuals, not all too happy about his presence.

I do not think Yiannopoulos should have been invited to CSUF because he is a political antagonist with the goal of trolling people who are passionate about modern day civil rights movements.

Students protested the event while other students created a Unity Block Party on the same day as Yiannopoulos’ visit. Police arrested eight participants, according to the Daily Titan Twitter page for CSUF. Yiannopoulos does not directly attack people, but the way he speaks upsets those who strive to be politically correct.

He is known for denouncing Black Lives Matter, feminists and religious groups.

Yiannopoulos uses a sardonic, yet blunt, approach as his niche for sharing his political ideas. I often suspect that he is just a performance artist and that the real message he wants to get across is that people can’t express their thoughts without offending someone.

“October 31 is the only day when 14 year-olds willingly go to Kevin Spacey’s house,” Yiannopoulos said.

His YouTube channel, “MILO”, features a video where he claims that his function in society is to speak inconvenient truths and “to instigate debate.”

In interviews with news outlets, I find myself disagreeing with his attitude and ideas but agreeing with him on the subject of social justice warriors. People use this term with a negative connotation to refer to those who accuse others of being politically incorrect.

ADAM GILLES/LARIAT

TROLL: Milo Yiannopoulos jokes and references to Kevin Spacey’s recent confessions.

I see social justice warriors on social media, like Tumblr and Twitter, who in the past few years have built up vocabulary such as manspreading, mansplaining, cisgender, cishet, heteronormative, polyromantic and aroace. It would take a good 2-3 hours on Urban Dictionary to get familiar with all the new terms made these past few years.

From my perspective, some of these words have started to become antagonizing over time. For example, the word mansplaining is used to describe when a guy is obnoxiously explaining something to the point that it sounds condescending. Yet, the word is very accusatory. People mistreat this word to insult people who have no intentions of trying to sound superior.

That is where I agree with Yiannopoulos when he says people are afraid of upsetting others and their free speech is limited as a result. Now don’t get me wrong, free speech is not an excuse to spread hate to others. There are some disturbed people whose ideas promote hate to certain groups. They are easy to find in the comment section of YouTube videos, along with people who say stupid things to anger others just for giggles.

We call those people trolls.

They purposefully leave controversial and false claims to incite people to argue. All they do next is watch as more people join the dispute and entangle themselves in illogical nonsense and despair.

This is how Milo Yiannopoulos works. The more people that

“October 31 is the only day when 14 yearolds willingly go to Kevin Spacey’s house.”

Milo Yiannopoulos

lash out against his arguments, the more power he gains in influence.

For example, his earlier visits to other colleges brought protesters.

This only means more police protection and brings more attention to his appearance.

I would prefer inviting a guest speaker who doesn’t have that controversial presence to him. Judging by the amount that others colleges paid for security

for this guy, one can assume that hosting Yiannopoulos will cost thousands of dollars. It’s too much money for one speech and one visit.

CSUF event coordinators did not invite Yiannopoulos, rather it was the Young Republican’s Club.

CSUF as a college protects the free speech of their students. Refusing the visit would have been a limitation of the students’ right to the first amendment.

This is a main factor as to why the Yiannopoulos visit was made possible. Although, I am curious as to where the money to fund this event came from.

There is no way that one club would have that kind of money.

A CSUF student shared a graphic to me explaining Yiannopoulos’ method of getting attention. The graphic says “CSUF’s reaction is exactly what gives him powers. We could ignore him go back to class, and stop collectively making his voice stronger.”

The fact that I am writing an article about him may be against my point, since I am giving him attention. Yet, I still think it is important to point out that getting upset over his arguments will only give him free entertainment.

A Veterans’ Affair

HANNA PETERSEN/LARIAT

BOX IT UP: Cheer coach Denise Harris and athletic executive assistant Jess Perez pose with their food donations on Halloween.

Classified Senate helps veteran students HANNA PETERSEN SPORTS EDITOR

The Classified Senate collected food and monetary donations for the past several weeks to help student veteran families in need.

Last call for donations was Friday, Nov. 3. The Classified Senate is now preparing to put the baskets together.

Student veterans in need signed up anonymously to receive a basket, and were only required to provide contact information and the number of family members, according to Giziel Leftwich, an administrative assistant in the Liberal Arts division and coordinator of the food drive.

“Student veterans are allot-

The organization is wrapping up its annual Veterans Thanksgiving Food Drive, donations end Nov. 3 ted money from the government based on the region we live in and we only get paid for the days were in school,” said Chase Tolles, president of the Veterans Student Council at Saddleback.

“That means all the Thanksgiving breaks, Christmas breaks and summer breaks we don’t get paid.”

When the student veterans receive assistance from outreach programs like the ones the Classified Senate put together it helps to get them through those long breaks.

Some veterans don’t have a second income to help them when

they need it most so having programs like this allows them to put money aside.

On average, the Classified Senate assembles about 20 baskets each year depending on how many sign up.

“It’s not only student veterans, but I believe the student homeless population as well,” Tolles said.

“Anyone in need has to do is sign up in the Veterans office to receive these benefits.”

For donations, anyone interested could donate money on the Classified Senates page directly or they could bring cash, checks,

or gift cards to the designated drop off spots that could also be found on the same website.

The list of foods that were needed the most could be found on posters and flyers that were posted around campus and at the drop off spots as well as on a pdf linked on the website.

Leftwich was in charge of the publicity aspect of the annual food drive, including creating posters and flyers that covered Saddleback’s campus. She also contacted the college’s media to publicize the event.

In order to incentivize the departments to put the word out and receive donations, there are contests for best decorated box and most donations collected.

The winners will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 16

A Veterans’ Affair when they assemble the baskets.

The special needs department put in a great effort to raise money and food donations for their box and is currently at the top for the competition with tadults at the ESL adult center from Silverado High School.

“As a veteran I think that what the community at large is trying to do and trying to help our veterans during the holiday season is probably the most American thing that anyone can do,” Tolles said. “It's very heartwarming to see all these organizations get together to donate money and resources to help

“Trying to help our veterans during the holiday season is probably the most American thing that anyone can do.”

Chase Tolles

veterans during this time.”

This event is an introduction for what ASG will be putting on this week for Veterans Week.

Each day a new branch of the military will be honored for their service.

They’ll be concluding Veterans week on Thursday by celebrating the Marine Corp’s birthday.

“It’ll be a combat fitness test, were going to try to get them to do some martial arts demonstrations,” Tolles said. “We’ll have a cake cutting ceremony that correlates to the Marine Corp birthday on Nov. 10.”

These are just a few of the programs and events that Saddleback College’s Veterans office conducts for student veterans.

Warrior Scholars at Notre Dame ALLY BECKWITT PHOTO EDITOR

Wake up calls at 6 a.m. every day for school is not usually part of the college lifestyle. For Chase Tolles and many other veterans, this military structured schedule helped keep these men on track.

Getting up every morning, Tolles was given an hour to make the long trek across the Notre Dame campus for morning chow.

After that, the long haul of classes began.

Around 8 a.m., the veterans were expected to be in the classroom, where they stayed until 6:30 p.m. These classes revolved around discussions, writing assignments and lectures all based on different majors. For Tolles, topics included humanities, philosophy and international relations.

After the 10 hour in-class sessions, students went back to their housing with course instructors and continued on with discussions about separate readings outside of the classroom. On top of that, they would go back to their room and write a paper for the next day.

Even though the days were long and gruesome, the setting Tolles was learning in put school into a manner that he knew how to operate in.

“It actually did make it helpful, just because it’s very structured and very rigid,” Tolles says.

“There was no time to take a break, your break was at chow or when you were sleeping.”

The program that Chase Tolles, as well as many other vets at Saddleback College, took part in over the summer is called Warrior-Scholar Project, which gives active duty service members and veterans who are in either a junior college or a four-year college an academic rebuild.

This program motivates vets back into a classroom at different prestigious schools around the country and demonstrates that

COURTESY OF CHASE TOLLES

PHOTO OP: Chase Tolles stands among other veterans from all other military branches in the hall of Notre Dame. they are capable of being in classrooms and succeeding in them.

“When veterans sit in a classroom for the first time in a long time it is very intimidating,” he says. “We haven’t done this in a long time and we’ve lost all those intangibles that we’ve learned as a young child. So that’s the whole premise behind Warrior Scholar is to show them that they can stand on the shoulders of giants and be able to play in the same playing field as everyone else. ” After spending time at Notre Dame and going through Warrior Scholar, Tolles felt refocused coming into his classes this fall semester. With the help of the professors he was able to start fresh, realizing the academic potential he has.

“Coming back here I try to live everyday as if I was at Notre Dame,” he says. “I really try to push myself in the classroom.”

One thing Tolles feels Warrior Scholar taught him is to be more humble. He was taken through a process called degraining which taught him to take who he is now and who he was before and reassess to find a balance between the two.

For Tolles, he was not the best kid before he enlisted. Barely caring about academics and more about partying, he joined the military after graduating. Going

back into school was difficult, but with the help of Warrior Scholar, he was given a boost of academic courage.

“It’s really cool because you look at every class different now,” Tolles says. “I can sit in a classroom at Notre Dame or Cornell or USC and really contribute something back to the program.”

Coming back to Saddleback was not the easiest for him before he did Warrior Scholar. Luckily with the help of the Saddleback Vet Program, he was well supported. Everyone there wants to help out the vets anyway they can and make sure they have everything they need to success. The program, at Saddleback specifically, is not just veteran friendly but it is veteran ready. Which helps guide vets through their school year instead of just handing them a military discount.

After coming home from Notre Dame he no longer only felt supported but confident in succeeding and knowing that he is capable of doing anything. He has different people at Notre Dame telling him that they need more people like him at the school.

“If I had a car that was bought and paid for and all you had to do was go and get it, would you do it?” Tolles says.

“It’s the same thing with knowledge, why wouldn’t you.”

10

Life

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017

Out with the old and in with the new The Saddleback Astronomy and Physics Club attempt to raise enough money for a brand new radio telescope COLIN REEF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Astronomy and Physics Club at Saddleback College has been hosting informational workshops both on and off of campus in order to raise enough money for a high powered radio telescope. These events have included ‘Totality’- the day the sun disappeared and the Navigating the ‘Night Sky’ workshop.

The objective of the project is to build a telescope that operates in the radio-wave spectrum.

This idea was first coined by Cory Hague, the treasurer of Astronomy and Physics Club. His goal is to build a system that will automatically track constellations and assemble digital images of the Milky Way with the data that it compiles.

This project will give students a hands on experience and bolster student resumes for transfer admissions and job applications.

It also has the potential to grow student interest for the programs at Saddleback and give Saddleback public exposure to what the students, clubs and educational programs are capable of accomplishing.

“There is a remnant of a radio-wave telescope on top of the science and math building but it was never fully completed,” Tony Hardy, Astronomy and Physics Club Director said. “When I asked people in the department if there was any data I could gather from it, they just told me how

COURTESY OF TONY HARDY

WAVELENGTHS: These wavelengths show different ways the Astronomy and Physics Club can view the Milky Way Galaxay through a radio-wave spectrum telescope. there is none because it has always been missing parts.”

The telescope was never completed because having it on the roof has some real problems. The architecture of the Science and Math Building is outdated, making images really difficult to focus on due to outside vibrations.

“The new Sciences Building would be the best bet because of the way it’s made,” Hardy said.

“The architecture of the new building would eliminate most of the outside vibrations from things such as earthquakes.”

The Astronomy and Physics Club has been attempting to raise money by selling raffle tickets at their workshops and giving away books about the cosmos and even smaller telescopes ranging anywhere from $200 to $500.

This radio-wave spectrum telescope has some costly parts, so they are doing their best to raise as much money as they can by next year.

A 2.1 meter, prime focus satellite dish would be required to collect the radio waves. A broadband low noise amplifier would be needed to filter out noise and amplify the desired signal. A digital satellite finder would be necessary for dish alignment and calibration. A low noise block down converter would also need to be purchased in order to detect a signal coming from the dish.

Other components that would be needed include linear actuators, a mount to rotate the satellite dish, microprocessors, analog digital converters, hardware, wires, LED’s, relays, switches, power supplies, motor controllers and a webcam to automatically align the telescope as the constellations rotate to prevent streaks in the image.

“My best estimate of how much this would cost including all miscellaneous parts like wiring and circuitry would range anywhere from $6,000 to $6,500,” Hardy said. “The most

important aspect of this project though is the high speed PC computer because of how much data we would be gathering.”

Once the image is captured it must be analyzed and put together which would take a tremendous amount of processing power. Only a highly functioning computer would be able to analyze the data and process it in a timely manner.

“What I would really like to do is pitch the idea of getting a planetarium,” Hardy said. “We are the only community college in Orange County that doesn’t have any plans to construct one any time soon because of how expensive it actually is.”

There will be a sign up sheet for people to help build towards this goal at every workshop offered by the Astronomy and Physics club. Every raffle ticket purchased will go towards the club and helping them to complete this project by June of 2018.

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vol. 50, no. 4

11

DANIELA SANCHEZ/COURTESY

SHE’S A FIESTY ONE: The club meets on the first Saturday of the month. The next meeting will be on Dec. 2.

Astronomy and Physics Club students discreetly disrobe Venus for extra credit Jason Smith highlights facinating facts about the planet Venus DANIELA SANCHEZ MULITIMEDIA EDITOR

The Saddleback College Astronomy and Physics Club hosted a lecture called “Disrobing Venus,” given by guest speaker Jason Smith in Saddleback College’s Science and Mathematics Building Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. to raise money for the club.

Synthesizer music played as students sat among the cushioned seats of the auditorium in SM 313. Dimmed lights gave way to the presentation, all about the history of exploring the planet Venus.

Each month the club has three workshops, one field trip and one general meeting. This event was the general meeting while the club is planning for a radio telescope workshop, once it gets built.

Engineering major Christina Gates attended the presentation to get extra credit for her physics class.

“I learned that Venus was close to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.

I didn’t know that,” she said “That’s probably my biggest takeaway.”

Political science major Rob Luecke,18, said he was also there for extra credit “Extra credit, because I need to get them As,” Luecke said.

Despite Venus’s proximity to Earth, getting a decent photo of Earth’s nearest planet has always been difficult, Smith explained.

“It turns out that Venus also has the harshest environment of

any of the planets,” he said. ”Venus’s surface is hotter than any other planet on the solar system by far — 850 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Smith said Venus’ surface is hotter than a pizza oven. The heat will melt most types of metals like lead. Several space probes have blown up on their way to Venus for this reason.

Venus’ atmosphere weighs 90 times heavier the atmosphere of Earth, giving it more pressure, another reason the space probes to Venus failed. Our atmosphere has mostly nitrogen and oxygen while Venus’ is mostly carbon dioxide. This causes a greenhouse effect which makes the planet scorching hot.

The failed probes couldn’t take the heat or the pressure. It also doesn’t help that the clouds on Venus contain sulfuric acid.

The elements leave the planet completely uninhabitable by hu-

mans.

Smith went on to tell the history of all the American, Japanese, and Russian probes that made it to Venus. Mariner 2 in 1952, four years after the first Russian satellite to orbit, was the first probe to reach the planet and record its temperature, but did not last longer than a couple minutes and was never able to take pictures.

Smith walked the students through a timeline of space probes and how certain things on each probe had to be changed after every attempt, such as shape and design, as well as ways to keep the space probe camera lenses uncovered during each mission. One mistake could cost a whole mission, even if a probe is fully functioning.

The club meets every on the first Saturday of every month.

The next meeting will be on Dec. 2.

12

Life

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017

Students contribute to Day of the Dead Art festival featured ritual displays, salsa recipe competition, steamrolling art and face painting DIANA TOMSETH LIFE EDITOR

Saddleback College’s Fine Arts Department hosted a Dia de los Muertos event on Wednesday, Nov. 1. This was the first year the department has set up the free event in honor of Day of the Dead. Large scale prints of skeletons, homemade salsa and colorful papel picado banners attracted visitors to the fine arts courtyard and art gallery.

The event included steamroller printmaking, a salsa-making competition, an art sale, an altar and a food truck. This event was a collaboration from many different departments including the art, culinary, ceramics and anthropology.

El Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday, separate from Halloween. People take time to remember their loved ones who have died. Family and friends visit cemeteries and create their own altars at home. They display pictures and traditional foods and cultural items. The holiday runs from Oct. 31-Nov.2.

“I always celebrate Day of the Dead,” said Erika Carmona, mother of two. “I bring my kids so they can see what it is all about.”

Carmona enjoyed seeing her children receive skeleton painted faces at the face painting set-up. Carmona, like many other people who celebrate the holiday, builds an altar at her home in her grandmother’s memory.

About 25 students from the culinary arts department competed for the Best Salsa, but only seven made the cut. Three judges narrowed down the choices, with each competitor sharing their own recipe in a sample lab to determine who would go on and have the opportunity to compete.

“I put my heart into it,” said Almendra Lara, a culinary student/competitor. “We have the traditional roasting.”

Lara said that she comes from the state of Queretaro, Mexico where roasting is a common way of cooking. She is inspired by her brother who also loves to cook. When she participates in the celebration, she feels

DIANA TOMSETH

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A Day of the Dead alter features photographs, candles and skulls to honor their loved ones who have passed on. closer to home. She has fond memories of visiting the temples in Mexico.

“It’s a remembrance even though our relatives pass away, they are still here,” Lara said.

Lara, who is pursuing her nutrition certificate, made the cut, showcasing her own salsa recipe. She celebrates Dia de los Muertos every year. She says she usually goes to a big celebration in Las Vegas, but this year she was happy to stay back and be part of the campus Day of the Dead celebrations.

Ceramics art students created bowls and platters of varying designs and colors that sold for $10. People could select any one they wanted and then continue on to the salsa competition. Chips were placed into the platters and sample salsas were handed out.

Some salsas were roasted, others included mango or green tomatillos, each had their own distinct flavor and style.

“It was a collaboration with culinary arts,” said Bobby Free, the ceramics department lab tech.

A bright orange steamroller stole the show. Students, faculty and staff used the steamroller to create works of art in the parking lot. The large machinery drove over wooden frames and the item to be printed including t-shirts, fabric bags and large prints.

“Whenever printmakers take printmak-

ing, they always draw skulls, so I’m like let’s just get it out of your system and make it relate to a cultural event,” said Erin O’Shay, co-chair of the art department. “And now you’d never have to carve a skull again.”

Students created intricate pieces of art using paint, ink and chalk at booths set up around the Fine Arts quad while keeping to the Dia de los Muertos theme.

“I’m taking a printmaking class here,” said student Faith Feltwalker. “ It’s actually beginning printmaking and I have no experience with printmaking previous to this class.

I actually work digitally mostly so this was a really interesting experience.”

The art major student said she researched Dia de los Muertos art before creating any of her own work as she wanted to be accurate and respectful to people who celebrate the holiday.

“So I painted the entire board black and then I used chalk to draw out the design and then you only carve away what you don’t want the ink to hit,” she added. “So everything that is light is carved away, everything that is dark is the original surface.”

The steamroller prints are on display in Fine Arts Gallery located on campus in Fine Arts building, Room 202 from Nov. 1 through Nov. 22.

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vol. 50, no. 4

13

Majid Jordan’s ‘The Space Between’ demands attention DJ MCALLISTER

CO-SPORTS EDITOR

When it comes to music, more specifically, hip-hop, the buzz doesn’t get any bigger than that which surrounds Drake. Drake is arguably the biggest name in the music and entertainment industries. When he drops music, you typically stop the music you’re listening to and bump his new hit.

While he is the owner and frontman for his label October’s Very Own, the rest of the firm is not to be slept on. Drizzy doesn’t miss when he creates new music, and he he’s been on the mark when he hand-selects new artists to join his camp. The Weeknd, PARTYNEXTDOOR, NAV, Belly, Roy Woods, DVSN — have all found success and notoriety through their music that deserves respect. An endorsement from Drake is a big deal.

While The Weeknd is easily the most successful of Drake’s

signees, Majid Jordan might be the most unique. Majid Jordan is a duo from Canada. The voice Majid Al Maskati and producer Jordan Ullman create a mysterious, hypnotic style of hip-hop that creates a vibe that is their own.

Majid’s light yet resonant voice mixed with Jordan’s entrancing use of synths, bass drums, and snares produce music that is smooth and easy to listen to.

Their newest album, “The Space Between,” definitely separates their sound from anybody else. This followed their 2014 EP “A Place Like This,” and their 2016 self-titled debut album which established their spot on the map.

Tracks like “Small Talk,” “Forever,” “All I Do,” their collaboration on Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” and “My Love” (feat.

Drake) have all made Majid Jordan a name to be on the lookout for.

The duo didn’t take long to make a splash again, but “The

WARNER BROS. RECORDS

Space Between” might make some serious waves. The album was teased with singles “Body Talk,” “One I Want,” a song about still wanting an old flame even after experiencing success, and “My Imagination,” a reminiscent song about a love that went wrong but still lives on in their mind.

Throughout their career, the duo has created mellow, moody, expressive R&B, introspective songs about romance, all the while being able to capture the hopefulness of youth. With this album, it

feels as if they were finally able to capture their true sound: a balanced, expressive, rhythmic collection of emotions and events.

Unlike a lot of artists today who release music sporadically on soundcloud, Majid Jordan waited and aimed to make music that can still be listened to 10 years from now.

Jordan explained the concept of the album, saying, “The first song ... sounds like you’re getting on the highway ... You’re getting on the highway and it’s a 50-minute excursion on the highway, and you’re just going through your emotions.”

Having an individual or unique sound is often what keeps artists in the game rather than quick success stories disappearing from the scene faster than they arrived. Through “The Space Between,” Majid Jordan were able to define and spread their original style, humble swagger, and unmistakable sound that will surely keep them trending.

14

Sports

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017

COURTESY OF JOHN MOURER SPLASH: Nathan Benge takes aim to put Saddleback up against Santa Ana College. The Gauchos finished in fourth place.

Men’s water polo head to Socal Regionals

AUSTIN WEATHERMAN MANAGING EDITOR

The Saddleback College Men’s water polo team placed fourth in the Orange Empire Conference Water polo Championships at Cypress College on Saturday, Nov. 4. The team ended the tournament with a 1-2 record, finishing their regular season with a record of 219. The Gauchos placed ninth in the Southern California region, sending them into the postseason at the Socal Regional Tournament starting Nov. 9.

Head coach Jason Lynch said despite the team’s performance at the OEC Championships, the team had qualified for the tournament due to the number of matches won against non-conference teams.

“Despite our fourth place finish in conference we still managed to get the ninth place seed in the Socal Regional tournament based on our 21-9 record and wins against non conference opponents,” Lynch said. “This is the first time since 2008 that Saddleback has qualified for the Socal championship tournament.”

The Gauchos faced off with Santa Ana College, defeating the Dons 27-4. In the semi-final

round, Orange Coast College defeated the Gauchos in a close match with a score of 10-7. Saddleback finished the tournament against Riverside Community College, who the Gauchos had previously beat 13-7 earlier in the season. The Tigers took down Saddleback 13-8, placing the Gauchos in fourth.

minds and couldn’t put shots away.”

Jabbour scored six goals throughout the tournament, one goal made while being drowned by three other opposing players.

During the OCC match, Jabbour even broke his tooth while defending the rowdy Pirates. He has been playing water polo

Sophomore Keeon Jabbour said the Gauchos came out strong with their win against Santa Ana, but fell short in their last games due to attitude. They had not played well against OCC in the regular season, giving the Gauchos a bad taste after their loss. He said going into the Socal Regionals, the team is going to need to improve their attitude.

“I feel like the thing that broke us is that at some point in the game, we started playing defeated,” Jabbour said. “It’s almost like we got into our own

since he was 12-years-old andplaying both years while at Saddleback. He plans on transferring to a in-state college to study business but does not plan on continuing his water polo career.

As the Socal Regionals may be his last tournament, Jabbour said he is ready to compete.

“If this is my last season, I want to leave on a high note which is why I am really looking forward to beating Riverside in the tournament,” Jabbour said.

Sophomore driver Max Gronter finished the regular

“If this is my last season, I want to leave on a high note, which is why I am really looking forward to beating Riverside in the tournament.”

Keeon Jabbour, team captain

season with 92 goals, the third highest scorer in the California Community College Athletics Association. Gronter scored 10 goals at the OEC tournament, but despite his high stats, his focus isn’t on scoring.

“I’m not really focused on scoring, it just kind of happens through the style of play our team has adopted,” Gronter said.

“Myself and my teammate Joshua Mourer just end up taking the most shots so I am lucky enough to be able to shoot the ball.”

Gronter hopes to transfer to University of California, San Diego to study political science, possibly going on to study law or joining the military. Going into the Gaucho’s rematch against Riverside in the Socal Regionals, the team is excited to redeem themselves according to Gronter.

“They are the first team we are playing so we are excited to get another shot at beating Riverside,” Gronter said. “We have to re-evaluate what we are doing because obviously it didn’t work against RCC the last time we played them.”

The Gauchos are set to face off with Riverside City College Nov. 9. The time and location has not been confirmed.

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vol. 50, no. 4

15

Heartfelt Cardiac Projects seeks to prevent tragic death by sudden cardiac arrest Value of heart screening detailed by foundation’s founder HANNA PETERSEN SPORTS EDITOR

Felipe Andres De La Cruz, a 13-year-old boy from Westminster, died on the soccer field on Aug. 26 due to sudden cardiac arrest. De La Cruz was a healthy young boy with no signs of any heart conditions until the moment he collapsed on the field and passed away.

The De La Cruz family contacted Holly Morrell of Heartfelt Cardiac Projects to set up a screening for their community so no one else has to go through the tragic loss that they did.

Holly Morrell founded Heartfelt Cardiac Projects in 2007 in order to serve and educate the public by making them aware of many undetected but deadly heart conditions that can be present in many young people.

Morrell lost 6 of her family members to a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and is one of three of her family members that live with the condition. She dedicates her work to them and all the families she has helped to find heart conditions that can be dealt with before tragedy strikes.

“Sudden cardiac death is the no. 1 killer in the U.S.,” Morrell said. “It’s also is the no. 1 killer of women in this county.”

A major misconception when it comes to sudden cardiac arrest in athletes is that most people don’t understand the difference

HOLLY MORRELL/HEARTFELT CARDIAC PROJECTS

ELECTROCARDIOGRAM: Heartfelt Cardiac Projects performs an EKG on a patient. between a heart attack and cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association describes cardiac arrest as a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system, unlike a heart attack, which is caused by a loss of blood flow to the heart due to a blockage.

“Marathon runners, Olympic athletes, professional athletes, World Cup soccer players, and high school athletes are dying every three days in this country, ” Morrell said. “I think that if people would understand the difference between cardiac arrest and heart attack so many lives would be saved.”

Heartfelt is an organization dedicated to serving its community by making cardiac screening, including the Echocardiogram and Electrocardiogram, available to the public for a donation of $85.

These screenings can detect many heart problems ranging

from structural issues like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, that can be detected on the ECHO, to a major rhythmic issue like Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a syndrome that causes rapid heartbeat, that can be detected on the EKG. “Early detection isn’t generally available to the public, at least without it being an enormous financial burden,” Morrell said. “The type of screening that we offer, conservatively speaking, is about $1,500 and it’s not typically covered by insurance.”

Unlike most cardiologists offices, Heartfelt does not require insurance or extensive wait times to be screened. The patient simply registers online, shows up to the screening event and gets screened.

These screenings usually only take about 30 minutes per person and are completely painless. No prior action is necessary for the screening.

Heartfelt Cardiac Projects rely on donations and volunteers in order to keep them up and running. Donations can be made either through a link on the website or by bringing the donation to the screening directly.

Setting up screenings takes money, time and energy which Morrell and her team need assistance with.

“Volunteers do anything from helping us set up/pack up, to helping at the admin desk, checking in and out patients,” Morrell said. “Basically, we go into a community based venue and set up a whole screening facility.”

The next screening in the Orange County area will take place on Nov. 12 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Festival Hall at the Old World German Village in Huntington Beach. Registration is now open on Heartfelt’s website.

16

Sports

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017

COURTESY OF TY FREEMAN

YUNG VIZIONARY: Ty Freeman, poses for his 2017 album/mixtape I.G.N.F. which can be found on his SoundCloud account

Ty Freeman, Yung-Viz the Klout God Hungry, humble and focused on a bright future COLIN REEF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Saddleback College sophomore Tylon Freeman, aka Yung Viz, is more than just a prolific wide receiver for the Gaucho’s football team.

He is a passionate, highly motivated and expressive young hip-hop artist whose steady determination and lyrical prowess could one day provide him the tools he needs to ultimately succeed at the highest level.

“I’d like to believe that I pour every ounce of my heart, soul and energy into everything I do,” Freeman said. “Whether that be in sports, music, anything, you name it. As long as I love what I’m doing and love who I’m with, I’m on the right path.”

Freeman is a 19-year-old Orange County native whose roots extend all the way east to New

Orleans, Louisiana. Previous to Saddleback, Freeman lettered in football, basketball and track at Tesoro High School before graduating in 2016.

While at Tesoro High School, he was an all-league selection in football and an honor roll student. Freeman is an avid supporter of the Never Ever Give Up Foundation, helping children with cancer and disabilities.

He is currently studying psychology at Saddleback and looks to further his education at either UCLA or USC. If the latter doesn’t pan out, he aspires to continue his education and football career at a smaller division I or II university here in California. Aside from football, his true passion is exemplified through his new found love for recording music.

“I only started making music and recording my lyrics about six months ago,” Freeman said.

“I would write down my lyrics acapella, with no beat, and share them on social media. A couple

of my close friends who produce beats heard the stuff I was recording and asked me if I wanted to step in the booth and actually make songs out of them.”

Freeman knew he possessed something special when his music started gaining notoriety on music platforms like SoundCloud.

After naturally gaining a few hundred followers, one of his friends told him about how rap’s newest rock stars, Trippie Red and Lil Uzi-Vert, had been listening to his music.

“Finding out that artists I look up to and listen to were listening to my stuff was all too real for me,” Freeman said.

“I upgraded to SoundCloud Pulse and was able to see who had been playing my music and when Trippie Redd and Lil UziVert popped up, I lost it.”

Freeman’s latest album “I.G.N.F.” has eleven songs that have reached nearly 27,000 plays in total on SoundCloud.

The album was in collaboration with local producers such as lil-

nunubeats, Nor’Ledges, CASHMONEYAP, Kid Ocean, Cormill and Billionaire Beatz.

Freeman isn’t just a hip-hop artist but rather a savvy business enthusiast, looking to fund his projects all while networking to create a platform for his music. He currently hosts and performs at party venues under the title “Addicted To Music” or ATM. He once drew a crowd of nearly 1,200 people all while being paid to perform.

“The craziest part about all of this is how quickly things unfold,” Freeman said. “I mean this last Tuesday, on Halloween, I was performing at the Observatory in the Constellation Room and people were going crazy for us. Seeing everyone in the crowd vibe with us only gave me more reason to be motivated.”

Freeman mentioned that none of this would be possible without the support of his cousins Mykal and Courage, his DJ James Pendergrass, brother in arms Jair, producer Lil Nunu and his immediate family and friends.