Rampage Fall '12 - Issue 1

09.05.2012 Volume CXXIII Issue 1

AMPAGE The Student-Run Newspaper of Fresno City College

Budget Outlook Uncertain

STUDENT GOVERNMENT IN VIOLATION

BY KAITLIN REGAN

kregan@therampageonline.com

The budget situation for the State Center Community College District can be described as tentative at best and Fresno City College is preparing for the worstcase scenario.

The budget is currently projected at $66.6 million, a $2.7 million reduction from the 2011-2012 academic year.

Cheryl Sullivan, vice president of Administrative Services and current accounting supervisor, said the college is “definitely not in a preferred position.”

“The state of California right now doesn’t have the money,” Sullivan said. “We’re in the same place that everybody else in the state is.”

Sullivan also said that the budget situation is affecting opportunities at FCC and impacting instructors, particularly “parttime adjuncts who no longer have positions as well.”

Lynn Campbell, a representative of the Academic Union, states that life for adjunct instructors is becoming more difficult due to the cuts. She added that it is the adjunct instructors that carry the campus.

“Many programs on campus are built on the shoulders of adjunct instructors,” Campbell said. “As cuts are made, these instructors lose classes and therefore lose income. In addition, the programs suffer as well.”

Campbell added that the students are feeling the cuts more than anyone else.

With the cuts impacting the availability of classes, students are not getting into the courses that they need to finish their education.

“Additional cuts will continue to decimate adjunct instructors, programs, and students who need classes to graduate,” said Campbell.

Deborah Blue, chancellor of the State Center Community College District expressed frustration at having to cut necessary services to students.

“We have tried to keep the cuts we’ve had to make as far away from our students as possible, but continued decreases in state funding have forced us to cut almost 2,500 classes and we have almost 3,000 students on wait-lists,” she said. “Our enrollment has been forced down by 11.5 percent since the 2008-09 academic year.”

To make matters worse, the present budget is subject to change depending on the outcome of the November election, particularly the vote on Proposition 30, the ballot initiative to maintain funding for community colleges.

If it passes, Proposition 30 gives 11 percent of revenue generated from a 0.25 percent tax increase to California community colleges. Sullivan says that the college l SEE BUDGET ON PAGE 2

Senator James Demaree sits at the conference table second from the right as ASG votes to move forward with the impeachment process against him. Photo by Abel Cortez.

BY TROY POPE

tpope@therampageonline.com

Did the Associated Student Government violate the First Amendment rights of an elected senator by suspending him for voicing dissent on YouTube?

Did the organization violate the California Brown Act in the conduct of its meetings?

ASG Senator James Demaree was suspended from the organization by Advisor Sean Henderson on Aug. 23, the same day that he posted a YouTube video in which he criticized ASG and several of its members.

Henderson notified Demaree of the suspension via email. The email read, “Due to your recent actions, you are hereby suspended from performing any ASG ac-

tivities until further notice. This includes attending any campus committee meetings on behalf of ASG or entrance into the ASG offices.”

Demaree’s comments and allegations on YouTube may have been controversial and possibly unwarranted, but according to state law, he cannot legally be penalized for his actions.

The California Education code 66301(a) states, “Neither the Regents of the University of California, the Trustees of the California State University, the governing board of a community college district, nor an administrator of any campus of those institutions, shall make or enforce a rule subjecting a student to disciplinary sanction solely on the basis of conduct that is speech or other communication that,

when engaged in outside a campus of those institutions, is protected from governmental restriction by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution.”

The provision protects students from being penalized by a school for exercising their legal right to free speech.

Furthermore, there is no language in ASG’s Constitution or By-Laws that grants Henderson the ability to suspend any member of the organization. Also, all infractions of the Student Standards of Conduct, the college’s rules which governs the appropriate behaviors of students and the subsequent disciplinary action the school takes thereafter, should go through l SEE VIOLATIONS ON PAGE 5

Changes To Financial Aid Cause Confusion

BY OLGA VERKHOTINA

overkhotina@therampageonline.com

With the recent budget cuts, students at Fresno City College are scrambling to find a way to pay for their education and are seeking refuge in the Financial Aid office.

Kira Tippins, director of Financial Aid, said that more than 60 percent of the student population is receiving, at least, a Board of Governors (BOG) fee waiver which pays the full cost of tuition. However, the cuts and proposals at the state level could greatly impact students this year.

The most significant change that BOG fee waiver recipients now face is the increase in the minimum need required to be eligible for the award.

When the students fill out their

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), they get an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) value. Factors like the size of the household, the income level of the student and parents, the amount of taxes paid, and parents’ age determine the EFC number.

“That EFC is then used against the cost of attendance,” said Tippins.

The cost of attendance depends on whether the student is going to school fulltime or part-time, lives with or without parents as well as other expenses related to college education. So, the need is calculated by subtracting the EFC from the cost of attendance.

Before July 1, 2012, the students only had to show at least $1 of need to

pay for their education. Now, they won’t receive a BOG fee waiver unless their need is $1,104 or greater.

Tippins said this change was made because many students who didn’t have needs were dropping classes and still receiving the waiver.

BOG fee waiver recipients will also have to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to stay eligible after Gov. Brown signs SB 1456, the Student Success Act 2012. The California Senate has already adopted an amended version in the SB 1456 which was introduced by Sen. Lowenthal on Thursday, Aug. 30.

“That’s the big change that would l SEE FINANCIAL AID ON PAGE 6

2

NEWS

09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Ci t y Co

SEPT 05 2012

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F re

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Rampage Staff Editor-in-Chief Jesse Franz

Opinion Editor Troy Pope Arts & Entertainment Editor Matthew Elliott Sports Editor Tomas Kassahun Production Managers Troy Pope Ramiro Gudino Print Photo Editor Abel Cortez Online Photo Editor Paul Schlesinger Graphics Editor Jesse Franz Online Editors Troy Pope Jesse Franz Social Media Director Olga Verkhotina Illustrator Dale Holcomb Copy Chief Tomas Kassahun Copy Editor Sasha Bell Business Manager Sydney Excinia Sales Director Annette De Dios-Kassahun Reporters Chad Armbruster Marcell Dilworth Melissa Dyer Patrick Forrest Emilio Gutierrez Dale Holcomb Jere Kirkland Mai Lee Frank Lopez Pabel Lopez Peter Marez Daisy Martinez Cox Odia Montana Paxton August Promnitz Akeem Spearman David Thammavongsa Carl Turpin Kayla Valenzuela Faculty Advisor Dr. Dympna Ugwu-Oju Tip Line: 559.442.8262 Fax: 559.265.5783 Twitter.com/FCCRampage Facebook.com/FCCRampage YouTube.com/rampagenews Send Questions or Letters to the Editor to:

editorial@therampageonline.com

Fresno City College C/O The Rampage 1101 E. University Ave Fresno, CA 93741

Vote to save college funding

Smoke free is the way to be

I

SENT BY LEON VELASCO Fresno City College Student

am, Leon Velasco, a student of Fresno City College (FCC).

For many semesters Students have been complaining about the overwhelming health risk of cigarette smokers smoking in prohibited areas.

When Smokers are approached they get angry that they’re being told not to smoke where there have been postings not to such as stairwells, balconies and restrooms, and yes Faculty are not immune to temptations of smoking in prohibited areas.

I witness a Social Science secretary smoking 1st level stairwell next to forum hall standing next to sign saying no smoking within 20 feet of building entrance.

There have been many campaigns to get the campus to go smoke free. I even have student clubs collaborate to do a cigarette butt butt clean up and had it aired on the nightly news to bring awareness of the severity.

Finally, FCC Associated Student Government’s (ASG) Smoking Designated Area Committee is meeting to take action. Although this wasn’t the complete goal of the students in alliance to make the campus completely smoke free but we’re willing to compromise in hopes that for each year 1 smoking area designated be removed completely to ultimately make the campus tobacco free.

We students of the smoke free campus alliance do ask for a representative to be present to report to the public: 1) Progress being made to make the campus more health conscious.

2) Notify future students of the changes up for consideration to be made.

3) Hold FCC’s ASG accountable and force them to complete the project that has been delayed too many semesters.

W

SENT BY DANIEL CLARK

SSCCC Region V Student Representative

e as students are at a pivotal moment here in the 2012 election. After years of excessive cuts to higher education California’s school system is at a breaking point. Fees have gone up and resources for students have gone down. In a little less than a decade the cost of higher education has risen to unheard of levels.

For comparisons sake, last year California spent $9.6 Billion on the prison system while the UC and CSU system received $5.7 billion.

Something isn’t adding up and as students we must rally together and collectively say, “Enough is enough.”

This coming election we have an opportunity to pass a prop that will raise funds for higher education. That prop is Prop 30 or known as Governor Browns Tax Initiative. It will raise $210 million dollars for community colleges and make room for an additional 20,000 students throughout the state. If the prop fails it will cut an addi-

tional $338 million in funding in the middle of the academic year.

What does that mean to us, the student?

Fewer students would be allowed to enroll, course offerings would be slashed even further, and adjunct professors (part time instructors) would be laid off adding even more of a burden to us, the student.

Fellow students every moment is a chance waiting to be taken and we are the change we’ve been waiting for. We are the answers and the solution to this dilemma and the time to take on these problems is now.

I encourage you all to register to vote and make sure your voice is heard on November 6. We at the SSCCC will continue to advocate on the students’ behalf, however all of us need to come together and ensure that progress is made and that Prop 30 gets passed.

For those interested in volunteering and advocating for Voter Registration and Prop 30 please email me at: danieldcclark@yahoo. com

Be heard! Submit a letter to the editor today! 300 words or less. editorial@therampageonline.com Views expressed in letters to the editor do not nessisarily reflect the those of the Rampage or its staff.

l CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 is not optimistic on this initiative passing due a lack of support.

“It does not look like it is going to pass at this point in time,” she said based on last year’s delay in getting in the initiatives and a perceived lack of interest in the general population. The polls point to a defeat.

“About a month ago, we were polling at about 54 percent support for the governor’s initiative,” Sullivan said. “Typically for something to actually pass, it needs to be at 64 percent because you are going to have the opposition party actually going against the governor’s budget.”

“The voting public is hesitant to approve more taxes, no matter how worthy a

UPCOMING EVENTS

News Editor Kaitlin Regan

Budget outlook

cause,” Campbell said.

Last week, Jack Scott, chancellor of the California Community Colleges issued a press release detailing the severity of cuts on the colleges.

“Budget cuts have resulted in a historic 17 percent drop in enrollment at the state’s community colleges over the past three years, impairing the ability of colleges to produce the skilled workforce that California’s economy needs,” said Scott in his Aug 29 press release.

Deborah Blue echoed Scott’s message and explained that SCCCD is having to cut classes for a population that relies heavily on junior colleges.

“For many living in the Fresno area,”

Art Hop 09/06, 5-8pm Transfer Day 09/07, 6:00pm Vendor Fair 9/11-9/13

she said. “Community college is not just one option, it’s the only option for higher education.”

But Campbell says the leaders of SCCCD can ease the situation somewhat.

“Given our unrestricted reserve account that is now sitting at $38 million,” Campbell said, “I would hope our Board of Trustees would spend that down significantly before agreeing to even more cuts that will surely have an even greater negative impact on students, programs, faculty and administration.”

l TWITTER.COM/K_C_REGAN

For information about the Bob Kizziar Ceramics Exhibit Reception contact Edward Lund at 442-4600 ext.8909 For information contact Fresno City College Activities at 442-4600 ext.

Be sure to visit the open market vendor fair next week along the college mall.

NEWS

THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM 09.05.2012

3

California Colleges Battle Accreditation Warnings 24 two-year schools fail to measure up to state and federal standards

What is accrediation?

The ACCJC accreditation process provides assurance to the public that the accredited member colleges meet standards; the education earned at the institutions is of value to the student who earned it; and employers, trade or profession-related licensing agencies, and other colleges and universities can accept a student’s credential as legitimate.

Graphic by Jesse Franz

In February, Fresno City College was place on accreditation “warning” for the second consecutive time by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). Since then FCC has joined 24 other community colleges across the state who have failed to meet up to state and federal accreditation standards last year, and now must remediate or face higher level sanctions. For some schools this means the loss of their accreditation altogether.

Prior to 2005, and for the first 95 years of its history, Fresno City College had never received a single accreditation sanction. However, in both of the last two accreditation cycles FCC has been placed on accreditation “warning”. When Fresno City College faced this same “warning” from the ACCJC in 2005, it was able to remediate upon the next visit from the accrediting board.

Part of remediating the “warning” is that the college must submit a follow-up report to the accrediting teams observations of the college, detailing the progress that it believes that it has made towards putting into place the recommendations that the ACCJC gave last February. This report must be submitted to the ACCJC by Oct. 15. A draft of the report was made available to faculty and staff on Aug. 6 for review, and is expected to be sent out to the accrediting commission by Oct. 4.

The “Follow-Up Report to Accreditation Recommendations” primarily detailed the college’s and

district’s response to the recommendations of the ACCJC to implement a more comprehensive and inclusive strategic planning process, the inclusion of an Academic Freedom Statement in the course catalog, and how FCC is addressing the high turn-over rate of college administrators on campus, which the ACCJC thought may have contributed to some of the accreditation challenges.

FCC President Tony Cantu believes that the college has responded to all recommendations appropriately, however, he stated that the end result will be dependent on the accrediting commission, saying, “I’m confident that we have [answered the recommendations], but you just never know. We do what we can, we’ve responded, we’ve done what we’ve needed to do, we’ve made significant progress in meeting the recommendations.

But at the end of the day it all depends on the commission and how they feel”.

The follow-up report must be submitted by Oct. 15, and the accrediting body will send out a few ACCJC officials in late November to audit whether the appropriate changes have been implemented. Fresno City College will be notified of the commission’s decision to either lift accreditation sanctions, keep FCC on “warning”, or place heavier sanctions of FCC in late January or early February, 2013.

However, Fresno City College is not alone in its accreditation woes. Twenty four community colleges were put on accreditation sanctions in 2012. Three of which, (San Francisco City College,

Photo by Brendan Raley

Fresno City College clubs welcome new and returning students to sign up for organizations that fit their interests.

BY MATTHEW ELLIOTT

melliott@therampageonline.com

College of the Redwoods, and Cuesta College), were placed on the highest warning, “show cause”. If the schools fail to remediate after being placed on “show cause” they face the possibility of losing their accredited status.

When colleges lose their accreditation they cannot receive federal aid, award recognized diplomas, or offer transferable courses. This diminishes most of their academic power as an institution, and often means that the school would have to shut down for lack of funding. If all three colleges on “show cause” lost their accreditation, and were forced to close,

“We do what we can, we’ve responded, we’ve done what we’ve needed to do, we’ve made significant progess in meeting the reccomednations but at the end of the day it all depends on the commission and how they feel.”

-Tony Cantu FCC President more than 110,000 students would be out of a school, and more than 2,500 professors would lose their jobs.

With the drastic increase in schools that have failed to meet up to accreditation standards, some have began

Tuition increases affect students’ ability to take care of other school related expenses.

BY MELISSA DYER

mdyer@therampageonline.com

to point the blame at decreasing funding for community colleges, paired with rising federal academic standards. David Baime, senior vice president of the American Association of Community Colleges told San Jose’s Mercury News, “The colleges in California have been subject to such savage budget reductions that it has placed institutions under a great deal of financial and administrative strain. I think that’s a big part of the issue for colleges.”

The Guardsman student newspaper of San Francisco City College echoed this idea stating, “…in the last fiscal year alone, the state cut $17 million for City College’s coffers. Then just as summer session began, the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges put the college on sanction for not having sufficient financial resources…”

However, some like Cantu see the increase of sanctions levied on colleges as the accrediting bodies simply enforcing their academic standards more concretely than in the past. “They’re just holding colleges more and more accountable. Then again, the fairness of the results, that’s all debatable, and we can debate that until the cows come home…” Cantu continued, “When the commission is taking action on a school, they’re looking at the history of the school.”

Regardless, FCC is moving ahead with its plans to remediate its accreditation short comings, and the results of their efforts should be handed down by the ACCJC at the beginning of the spring semester. l TWITTER.COM/JESSEFRANZ19

Photo by Paul Schlesinger

BY JESSE FRANZ

jfranz@therampageonline.com

The OAB’s East Wing has opened after years of renovations. Get the inside scoop.

BY COX ODIA

codia@therampageonline.com

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09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

BIKE THEFT PROBLEM REMAINS UNSOLVED

BY DAVID THAMMAVONGSA

dthammavongsa@therampageonline.com

Fresno City College experiences a serious amount of bike thefts throughout the year. In Fall 2011, SCCCD Police Chief Joseph Callahan reported that since January 2011 through August 2011, 105 bicycles were reportedly stolen from FCC campus. That was a reported stolen bike every 2.8 days. During the first 17 days of this semester, from Aug. 13 through Aug. 30, 10 bicycles have been reportedly stolen. That’s currently a bike stolen every 1.7 days.

Jared Piepmeier, an engineering major FCC student had his first bike stolen three semesters ago. After a late-night class outside the math building he went to unlock his chained-up bike. Piepmeiers’ bike wasn’t where he put it and he thought someone else’s bike was stolen. He then realized it was his lock, with the same code.

“Basically, I just had it in a bad spot, it was on the rack chained-up and they cut the lock. It was simple as that. I showed up and I was like oh-shoot where did I park my bike?” said Piepmeier who reported his bike stolen the next day.

Piepmeier is a multiple victim of theft, he has also had his car broken into and other bikes stolen before. Piepmeier recommends buying used bikes at yard sales for $10-$30 to lessen the financial impact if somebody steals a bicycle. He

recovered one of his stolen bikes when he found it rusting away in a canal.

Felix Figueroa, an English major in his third semester also had his first bike stolen near the Math building between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Felix said, “I’m not gonna lie, it was my own fault. I used a crappy lock.” Felix called his counselor who then gave him the number for campus police to file a report at the scene of the crime. He gave descriptions, received a report number, officer’s name and the badge number.

For Figueroa, his bike is his “allmeans of transportation.” He prefers a bicycle because it helps him to burn calories.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” he said. “I’m way faster on two wheels than four.”

When Figueroa had his bike stolen, he still had financial aid money and workforce tokens. “I wasted a bunch of money just going back and forth from school and it was a drag. The bus takes me an hour to get home. The bike takes me 22 minutes,” said Figueroa. “I get rides here and there from friends and family but nothing beats the bike. It was actually a really bad experience when I lost my bike.”

According to National Bike Registry, “the best choice is a strong, reliable Ulock.” Figueroa also recommends, “Get a good U-lock. Spend the extra money, make sure you put it on correctly. Two locks are appropriate.”

On the first day of Fall semes-

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ter 2012, Chief Callahan sent out Parking Control staff to staple National Bike Registry information to every bicycle. He plans on doing this a couple of times every semester to “etch it into students minds.”

Callahan’s main goal is to encourage students to take responsibility and get better locks. “We have to do the best we can. We have to educate people,” he said.

The SCCCD Police Department tried bait bikes and nobody stole them.

They tried this a couple of times last year, but they don’t have a lot of resources. Callahan assigns parking control staff to observe bike racks which accounts for the only arrest last year.

Although stealing bikes is a misdemeanor, nobody stays in jail. “We know several of those people and when we see them on campus, we immediately address them,” Callahan said. If students see a bike theft in progress, he suggests they don’t confront the person, but be a good witness and give a good description.

The Campus Police checks with the bike registry when stolen bicycles are recovered, crime reports include a property list and detailed descriptions of your bicycle. “A lot of students are riding bicycles now, they need to register their bike,”said Callahan. He also recommends GPS chips for bikes. However, the high startup and service costs are out of reach for many students.

“If we are going to encourage

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people to ride their bicycles we need to provide some secure space. Where could you put a centralized location for bike racks?” Callahan said. Students on campus are forming committees and clubs to help address the issue. Associate Student Government Senator Emily Rivera has formed a Bike Theft committee to help brainstorm and propose solutions.

“I just don’t have a solution for the problem, just a whole bunch of possibilities,” Callahan said. “Until we get people to stop being thieves, we have a problem.

And some of the victims, they need to harden the target as much as they possibly can. If it’s your only form of transportation spend the extra money and get a decent lock, I’d like to see theft end. It depends on the bicycle rider.”

Since 1984, the National Bike Registry has been working with law enforcement all over the country to return stolen bikes to their owners. A bike registered with NBR can be identified by police and returned to the student instead of being sold at an auction. The process can be done online at www.NationalBikeRegistry.com.

For $10 students can register their bike for 10 years, $25 for 30 years. The NBR website also includes information on how to lock a bike, bicycle theft, California law, college data, the bicycle recovery act and additional bicycle safety information.

NEWS

THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM 09.05.2012

5

Psychological Services Recieves $249K Grant

BY TOMAS KASSAHUN

tkassahun@therampageonline.com

April 16, 2007. Americans woke up to horrifying news.

Twenty-three-year-old English major Seung-Hui Cho killed 27 students and five teachers on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Since that horrid day, many questions have come up. Why would anyone want to do this? What went wrong? What could be done?

At Fresno City College, Psychological Services Coordinator Dr. Brian Olowude, has been looking for the answer to these questions for quite some time. Particularly after the Virginia Tech shooting, Olowude felt the sense of urgency and decided to take action.

Hoping to receive state funding, he turned to proposition 63, which provides “an increased funding, personnel and other resources to support county mental health programs and monitor progress toward statewide goals for children, transition age youth, adults, and families.”

After identifying the different grants which he can apply for, Olowude attended a hearing in Sacramento. There he worked to determine what the grant will look like and also ended up being on the State Chancellor’s advisory committee for the grant. ”I was excited to do the work. I was even more excited to find that my involvement in the development of the grant would include our participating in

the grant competition to obtain one of our grants,” said Olowude.

The California Community College Chancellor’s office received close to 6.9 million dollars specifically designated to student mental health. The funding was divided in a few different ways.

First there was a training and assistance grant, awarded to the Center for Applied Research and Statistics in Santa Rosa. “Over the next two years they will be working with all community colleges to provide training and technical assistance when it comes to mental health,” said Olowude.

The second grant was awarded to Kognito, an avatar based training, designed for risk training and suicide prevention training. The program is available for free to all faculty and students who are given a special access code. “The program is available on the FCC Psychology services website and we will be advertising it more on campus,” said Olowude.

The final portion of the money was awarded to the State Chancellor’s office designated for campus based grants.

“I was very excited. I worked with one of my partners at willow. We put a proposal together. We were awarded the grant which will provide faculty and staff training on how to recognize signs and refer students,” said Olowude.

Also adding to the excitement for Olowude is the start of a new club on campus known as Active Minds.

“It is a student based club with

l CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Dr. Chris Villa, Vice President of Student Services.

Fresno City College President Tony Cantu said he had nothing to do with Demaree’s suspension, “Those student discipline issues are handled by the Vice President of Student Services [Dr. Chris Villa].”

Villa met with Demaree on Monday, Aug. 27, and Villa “was convinced that he should be able to participate in his role as an ASG Senator.” The suspension was lifted two days later, per Villa’s recommendation.

Insisting he wasn’t a legal expert, Villa declined to comment on whether or not the school was within its legal means to suspend Demaree, but he supports the actions taken by Henderson. He also pointed out that the issue came to him on a Friday, and he was quick to get it resolved early the following week.

Villa said that for further clarification on whether an advisor can remove a student from an organization, to contact the head of Student Activities, Sean Henderson.

Henderson had no comment.

According to Adam Goldstein, an attorney advocate with the Student Press Law Center, “At the end of the day, unless the student government is incorporated, the powers they are using devolved by the institution. Which means, at the end of the day, the institution is on the hook whether they step in or not.”

Unsubstantiated rumors have circulated that one the reasons behind the suspension was that certain ASG members claimed they felt their safety had been threatened by the speech Demaree’s videos.

Demaree addressed this by saying, “Personally, I wouldn’t have been threatened if someone had said those things to me. I did look back to it and I was very animated in my expressions. It was clear that I was angry and I was upset; how someone translates that to a threat, I don’t really know. I really don’t think anyone was threatened, I just think that they didn’t like that, so they used ‘threatened’ as a way to get me in trouble.”

Goldstein said, “If this was someone engaged in violent activity, they wouldn’t be suspended from ASG, they would be suspended from the college.... If there’s a legitimate fear for safety then you call the cops.”

Demaree has not been charged with breaking school or district rules, state laws, violating ASG’s Constitution

interest in student mental health, advocacy, and training. We will offer opportunities for students to become certified as pier educators to help their fellow students in a variety of issues,” said Olowude. “We will be having events on campus specifically targeting mental health. Will be doing special outreach to veterans. We plan to have a veteran’s appreciation conference.

Our challenge is to make sure all of our campuses have some benefit of this.”

According to Olowude, this is the first time community colleges have received specific money from the state for mental health. Unlike CSU and UC, the state doesn’t fund services for community colleges. Instead the services are funded by student health fee or general fund.

At the State Center Community College District board meeting in July, Olowude and nurse Naomi Blanco presented the SCCCD Student Mental Health Consortium proposal. As a result, Fresno City College and Reedley College will receive over 246,000 dollars for the next two years.

Faculty and staff will receive training on student mental health issues such as suicide.

The program is also specifically designed for veterans, students with invisible disabilities, and minority students.

According to Olowude,

the number of students who came in to Psychological Services increased by 100 percent during the 2011-2012 academic school year. “It’s because of the state of our community,” said Olowude.

Now he looks forward to assisting students even more in this critical time.

“It’s going to be a lot of work. Two years is a really short period of time but I’m working feverishly to officially launch the grant,” said Olowude. “We are at the very final stages of the grant officially launching and us being able to receive the funds. I’m very excited to start it.” l TWITTER.COM/THERAMPAGEGUY

Photo by Abel Cortez

Student Government Violations or By-Laws.

Goldstein commented on the matter, “The bigger question is why would you suspend someone for the content of their political speech? I don’t know why an advisor would think he has the authority of that to begin with...

He was criticizing a political opponent, if you don’t want people to criticize you, this [politics] may not be the career choice for you.”

BROWN ACT The Ralph M. Brown Act governs the open meeting requirement of local legislators in California, including student governments. It is a law that requires all government meetings to take place in public. It was implemented to promote transparency in the governing process. In the meeting on Aug. 28 ASG violated this law.

The Brown Act offers strict guidelines for a legislative body to go into closed meetings. The only reasons that a body may go into them are personnel issues, pending litigation, labor negotiations, property negotiations, and threats to public safety. In the meeting on Aug. 28, ASG motioned to enter a closed meeting under the personnel issues clause.

The personnel clause in Government Code § 54957 states, “Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the legislative body of a local agency from holding closed sessions during a regular or special meeting to consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline, or dismissal of a public employee...”

ASG invoked this clause to go into a closed meeting on Aug. 28 to discuss Demaree. However, they did so illegally, as the law also states, “For the purposes of this subdivision, the term ‘employee’ shall include an officer or an independent contractor who functions as an officer or an employee but shall not include any elected official, member of a legislative body or other independent contractors.”

This means that when ASG went into closed session, they proceeded illegally by misusing and misinterpreting the law.

When asked, Advisor Henderson told ASG that their actions would be legal under the Brown Act under the same provisions that other bodies, such as the Board of Trustees, use to discuss employee matters. However, his

advice was misguided as those provisions do not apply to an elected official such as Demaree.

Henderson explained the purpose and use of the closed session clause, “If the board of trustees goes into closed session, let’s say one of them is to decide who to hire for a position, they go into closed session, they’ll discuss the candidates.”

Demaree is not an employee of Fresno City College, the City of Fresno, nor the State of California. Demaree is an elected senator of the Fresno City College Associated Student Government. Therefore, Demaree is excluded from being classified as personnel under the Brown Act. On Aug. 28, ASG moved to enter into closed session to discuss issues relating to Demaree. Although records of what took place during the closed session are not publicly available, the results of the deliberation of the senate were to table the issue until Sept. 4. Demaree was not in the closed session due to his suspension.

“Normally when there is a closed session and it’s disciplinary, the individual is allowed to respond or make a statement,” said FCC President Cantu. At the time of the closed session, Demaree was on suspension and not barred from entering the meeting.

IMPEACHMENT At the Sept. 4 meeting, ASG continued its deliberation and ultimately resolved to move forward with a removal process that could revoke Demaree’s senatorial title. No official arguments were heard. They are set to begin Sept. 11.

In order for him to be impeached, The ASG Constitution states that he “must be awarded a fair and impartial hearing.” The reasons someone can be removed according to the By-Laws are due to excessive absence and/or incompetence in performance. Demaree can only be impeached by a three-quarters vote.

If impeached, he has the right to appeal to the Constitutional Appeals Committee, which is appointed by the ASG President and advisor, with the consent of the senate.

To view Demaree’s videos, and track the story as it evolves, visit therampageonline.com l TWITTER.COM/DARKTROY

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NEWS

09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

Motherhood: A Balancing Act

Mothers Share How They Manage Both Work and Family

Graphic by Jesse Franz

BY TOMAS KASSAHUN

tkassahun@therampageonline.com

It’s a universal dynamic.

No matter their color, culture, or financial standard; balancing work and family is a challenge for many women today.

Three women at Fresno City College understand this concept as well as anybody. Though these women come from different backgrounds and are at different stages in their life, they have found a common ground as working mothers.

The first, Jothany Blackwood, is a divorced AfricanAmerican woman with two children. Blackwood is faced with the challenge of balancing life as a mother, an inspirational speaker and a third generation college dean.

The second, Claudia Habib, is a Latina woman raising two children with her husband. In addition to her role as an instructor in the Architecture and Drafting

Department, Habib is the Academic Senate President.

The oldest of the three, Diane Clerou, is a Caucasian woman who has already raised two children. For the past 26 years, Clerou has been a human resources manager in the public and private sectors.

Together, the three women have a created a support system.

Through this support system, they learn to deal with the juggling act known as motherhood. And on Sept. 18, they hope to inspire other women as they speak at the 25th Central California Women’s Conference.

“Jothany and Claudia have become people who I work with who are friends. We did other presentations together. We’ve made it fun,” said Clerou. “We admit right now our lives are not in balance. I’m working too much. Jothany is raising kids and Claudia is raising kids. I’m not raising kids but my life is still not bal-

l CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 cause 40 percent of our current BOG students to lose their eligibility because they don’t have a GED,” said Tippins.

This would drop the percentage of FCC students receiving aid from 60 percent to 20 percent.

“This sounds terrible,” said FCC nursing student Jay Siphanhtong. “I don’t have a steady job, and if I lose my BOG fee waiver, I don’t know how I’m going to pay for school.”

The Student Success Act 2012 has also introduced some innovations to improve the services of financial aid offices throughout the state.

“The Legislature clearly recognized that this bill is important; policy changes will put more students on the path to completing their educational goals and will make California more competitive eco-

anced.”

But the critical question the women ask is: Are we happy?

“Whatever life is handing you now, have fun, do the best you can, make friends, feel like you are contributing to the betterment of society.

And know it’s only temporary.

Good or bad, it will change tomorrow,” said Clerou.

Ultimately the women make it a priority to celebrate each other. Even on the job, they experience failure and success, but support is always there. Blackwood is especially thankful for the support.

“For someone like me who didn’t have family in this town, I had to create a support system. That came from friends and church,” said Blackwood.

It’s also this support system that carried Blackwood as she went for her doctorate and at the same time worked at FCC. “Claudia and I went to our doctoral programs at Fresno State while we were working here.

We both have children at home so we talk about adding an extra layer of responsibility. We talked about how important it is to have a support system,” said Blackwood.

During her doctorate years, Blackwood had to make sure her kids didn’t suffer because of her busy schedule. Her typical day consisted of getting off work, running home to spend time with her children, going to bed with them, waking up at 2 a.m. to study and waking up early to take the children to school.

In the midst of all this, Blackwood had to find time for herself.

“There were times where I got a babysitter. I didn’t have any-

where to go but I just needed time for myself,” said Blackwood.

“You come back refreshed. You have more energy to focus on your children. You have time to invest in a pedicure, manicure, to visit adult friends, read a book, or go to a conference.”

For Clerou, the challenge was a little different.

After working for 12 hours, she would come home at 7 p.m. and dinner wasn’t ready, homework wasn’t done.

“The children would say what’s for dinner and I would say is your homework done? They would say no and my husband would be watching TV because he is exhausted. After 12 hours, I would have to come home and make dinner and do homework,” said Clerou.

Looking back, Clerou feels that she left her children with a sense of being second rate. She says she gave her children a snippet of her time instead of giving them full attention.

“I think it was hard on my children and I regret that. If I could relive that, probably with my personality I wouldn’t do it any different, but I’d recommend for other people to have more of a balance in their work and family life while their children are growing. I think everyone would be happier and healthier,” said Clerou.

There was also one more challenge for Clerou.

“I have one special needs son, my oldest son. I remember how hard it was to raise him and to work a lot,” she says.

At last, it was a psychologist that gave Clerou the answer she needed. He said to her, “The homework, the meals, the grocery shopping, the clothing, the sports, is all temporary.” Though it took a while for Clerou to understand

what he was saying, now she says, “OK, this is only temporary.

This is only one chapter in my life. This is a just busy chapter.”

As for Habib, she has found that the best method for her is to involve her family in every project. When she decided to go for her master’s degree, she consulted not only her husband but also her children, who at the time were six and 10w. When she knew she had their support, she pursued her degree online and enjoyed the flexibility it allowed.

Four years later she went for her doctorate and again she turned to her family.

“I needed everyone’s support. My kids have always understood that this is a project for all of us and we support each other.

The benefits are for the entire family,” said Habib.

Though she was surprised when chosen to speak at this year’s Women’s Conference, Habib is eagerly anticipating the day.

“We go on in our daily lives and we forget about this being a big deal. But when you think about women, the challenges we go through, the progress we have made, it’s important to tell the story. It’s good to encourage other women or to avoid the mistakes we made,” said Habib.

The women also agree that the purpose of the conference is to show women that it’s all temporary. Blackwood wants women to remember that unsuccessful times will not last. She also stresses the importance of maximizing the good moments. “This time with my children is small,” said Blackwood. “I have to be there. They won’t get smaller. Soon they want to hang-out with their friends.

They won’t want me there.” l TWITTER.COM/therampageguy

Financial aid changes nomically,” Jack Scott, chancellor of California Community Colleges, stated in a press release. “This is the result of nearly two years of hard work that started with the recommendations of the Student Success Task Force. But it’s not the end. Instead, it’s really just the beginning of a restructuring of our priorities, so our students succeed in greater numbers.”

Another change that was not anticipated but would impact all Cal Grant recipients is the across-board reduction. Tippins said Gov. Brown used his line-item veto power to make a 5 percent cut to all Cal Grants across the state.

The other thing that has significantly changed this year is the maximum lifetime eligibility for a Pell Grant. Since 2008, college students had nine full academic years to use their Pell Grant award to complete

the academic program.

Starting this year, students are only left with six full years. There is also no appeal process after a student reaches the maximum number. Tippins suggests that students take their core classes instead of the electives first to make sure they get all the classes they need.

In order to avoid their financial aid cut for any reason, Tippins also suggested that students should keep themselves informed and upto-date on the ever-changing

financial aid policies.

“Everybody says ‘you don’t give us the information to succeed’. We do. The students are not going out to get it. We put it out there; you have to meet us halfway,” Tippins said. “I always recommend to the students I meet – go to our website and read this.” l TWITTER.COM/verkhotina

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THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM 09.05.2012

Lawless proves worthwhile

7

BY AUGUST PROMNITZ

dpromnitz@therampageonline.com

“Lawless,” directed by John Hillcoat and starring Shia LeBeouf, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce and Tom Hardy opened in theatres on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The film is set in Franklin County, Va. during the Prohibition era. Based on the true story of the Bondurant brothers: Howard (Jason Clarke), Forrest (Hardy) and Jack (LeBeouf) and their fight to keep their bootlegging business afloat against the crooked authorities led by hitman Charlie Rakes (Pearce).

The film is a hit-and-miss. If you have a penchant for history, then you can respect the fact that while the events of the story may have been exaggerated, the film is pretty accurate in terms of customs, buildings, clothing, weaponry and vehicles. However, the writing of the script seems dry. The romance of the film is kept to a minimum.

And while LeBeouf’s escapades in courting the preacher’s daughter are charming and cute, the romance between Forrest and Maggie is a gag-worthy bit. The whole affair between them is quite frankly an insult to not only one’s intelligence, but to women as well. The climax being a pointless and cheap topless scene, followed by Maggie’s advances with a line that is in the spirit of “So, are we gonna do this, or what?”

While Shia LeBeouf gives a decent enough performance, the acting of Tom Hardy as Forrest is an underscore. Hardy, who you may recognize as Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises,” doesn’t handle his performance that well. Throughout the film he does an okay job only to be immediately upstaged by everyone else, being overcast by

Photo by The Weinstein Company Tom Hardy (left) and Shia LaBouf (right) as the Bondurant brothers in the crime thriller, Lawless.

Pearce, LeBeouf and Oldman.

By far the best part of the film is Pearce’s performance as Rakes. He plays the role of a dainty “city boy,” who turns out to be a menacing sociopath. At first, you want to laugh at him, but when you see him lose his temper, you see him for the true bad guy he really is. Pearce handles the role of the villain in such a way that he can be genuinely hated by viewers, but thats exactly what makes a villainous character.

The music, while fitting is something forgettable, but the cinematography for “Lawless” is amazing. Every

angle of the camera, every trick with the lighting, every gunshot is well planned and it can be duly appreciated by viewers.

So where does “Lawless” stand? It certainly won’t win any Academy Awards, and while it had its down-sides, they were outweighed by the good. It’s nothing spectacular or thought-provoking, but it is entertaining, and worth the price of a $10 movie ticket.

Grade: B l TWITTER.COM/FCCRAMPAGE

Thrills propelled by Premium Rush

BY KAITLIN REGAN

kregan@therampageonline.com

Getting a rush from a movie rarely happens these days but when it does, it is something to talk about. “Premium Rush,” starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, is this season’s laugh-out-loud action film.

The plot line, while demonstrated in a somewhat cheesy manner, is intriguing and allows for more than enough good humor.

As with any storyline, character development and trials play a key role in capturing the interest of the audience. While the carefree adrenaline junkie, Wilee, is the best at what he does, his people skills lack. He focuses more on the ride of the moment rather than the truth of the future, which proves to be a problem both early

Photo by Columbia Pictures Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Wilee in the action-packed film, Premium Rush.

on, and later in the film.

A qualm to be had of the film may lie in the constant shift between past and present. This flashback method can be somewhat annoying and pointless to an audience that is not used to it. The mind tends to process things chronologically and flashback moments interrupt that sequence enough to fluster the viewer into missing other points about the story.

The main shift of the film was in the focus on mapping out the scene, literally.

In just about every scene, a map popped up on a mobile GPS device directing the characters on the best route. While this is relevant to the story being that the characters are bike messengers that need to find the fastest ways through town, the viewer does not need to see a map every ten seconds.

Maps and flashbacks aside, the action scenes were well played out and there

was an effective use of slow motion cinematography. The audience could see the finer details in a better frame and not much was left to interpretation. This included “hypothetical” crash scenes playing out in the character’s mind. While the tendencies leaned towards the gruesome, they were vivid and explained the dangers of the profession in an effective and sometimes comedic way.

The comedy of the film resonated through the characters’ quirks and personal ticks. For instance, the dirty cop’s anger management and lack of impulse control lead to some funny interactions while a bike cop’s frustration kept the laughs rolling. Between the plot, cinematography and laugh-loaded cast, “Premium Rush” is sure to be the funniest action film this season.

Grade: B+ l TWITTER.COM/K_C_REGAN

Ming’s balances portions and prices

BY MATTHEW ELLIOTT

melliott@therampageonline.com

Are you looking for a bounty of Asian cuisine served in a calm environment and at a fraction of the cost of nearby competitors? After four weeks of sampling what Fresno City College has to offer, perhaps the portion sizes aren’t worth the price you’re paying. Or perhaps the repetition of a noisy, crowded and abrasive atmosphere undermines your study routine.

If this is the case, then look no farther than Ming’s restaurant. Students and faculty will discover that Ming’s walking distance from the school and their rapid service time set it apart from nearby competitors.

The majority of their lunch plates range between $4.75 and $5.50. Most of their dishes include miso soup and three items. Iced tea, soft drinks and hot tea sell for $1.50 while freshly brewed coffee is available upon request for $1.75.

Ming’s service is immediate and courteous. The

miso soup arrived just moments after placing an order.

The main course is usually delivered to the table within five minutes.

Their sweet and sour pork dish was fully loaded with pork, chicken chow mein and pork fried rice. Ming’s portions were rather generous and the quality of the food was better than expected.

Despite Ming’s reputation as an inexpensive restaurant, they thankfully avoided pouring excessive amounts of sweet sauce onto the pork in an effort to mask poor flavor. Instead, there was a nice balance between strong flavor and crispy meat.

Although the simplicity of chow mein doesn’t leave much room for praise, the chicken chow mein was exceptional and abundant. The heaping portion of pork fried rice absorbed the leftover juices and certainly meet the expectations students may have Ming’s restaurant offers a fair

amount of variety. Other available food options include orange chicken, black mushroom chicken, asparagus beef, fried shrimp, lemon chicken and almond chow yuk.

With remarkably low prices, delectable choices and swift service, Ming’s Chop Suey restaurant is certainly one of the most exceptional eateries available to budgeting FCC students and faculty members.

Ming’s is located at 1414 N Van Ness Ave and operates Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and weekends from noon to 9 p.m.

The restaurant is a brief walk south from campus, next to Audie’s Olympic.

For more information or to order take-out, call 559266-4453. l TWITTER.COM/PATH_OF_LOTUS

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09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

Photo by Reverbnation.com

Session, local band rising to success

BY FRANK LOPEZ

flopez@therampageonline.com

Session has been building quite a following, up and down California in the past two years, and in 2011 they won a month-long competition to become the 104.1 KFRR New Rock FM house band. Session is frequently featured on the station and it has helped to spread their music. They are at a point in their career where they are the opening for big acts such as BUSH, Of Mice and Men, and Suicidal Tendencies.

They deliver their mash up of hard rock, funk and soul with a garage rock attitude that makes them a definite crowd favorite. Session can jam out songs that express some intense emotions and sentiments but they are also a very technical and precise band.

Session consists of brothers Jordan (vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Poytress (guitar), Patrick Raley (bass), and Codie Collins (drums).

Jordan and Patrick played together in high school and shortly thereafter, Jeremiah started to play the guitar.

In 2008 they started a band with two other members but after a short while it was just Jordan, Jeremiah and Patrick again. In November 2009 Codie Collins, a friend of the band, was invited to an audition and was then asked to join the group. The band Session had been born.

They began practicing twice a week, and had their first gig in 2010 during an open mic night at the Babylon

BY CHAD ARMBRUSTER

carmbruster@therampageonline.com

club in Fresno where they played a four-song set. Session would then play anywhere they could and they built their reputations in all the clubs, bars, house parties and events in Fresno.

Session has made a sound that is all their own. The simplest way to describe their music would have to be soul-rock. They write all of their own songs and they have a hard rock sound that is edgy and modern that taps into a soulful and rhythmic blues sound that as Session puts it, “evokes emotion in the soul.”

Guitarist Jeremiah Poytress says that their style of music has been growing more fine-tuned and tight since they began.

“Our song writing has become more refined and mature lyrically,” says Poytress. “We usually don’t try to write a song in any particular style though; it’s just whatever comes out.”

The scratching rhythm guitar of Jordan is layered perfectly with the lead guitar of Jeremiah. Jeremiah solos with some whaling sustained notes and complex riffs that bounce off of Jordan’s guitar work. Patrick provides heavy but steady bass lines that provide a hip rhythm that compliments the guitar and drum work. The percussions of Codie have the energy and boom of hard rock but the precision and spontaneity of jazz, and he doesn’t leave out the use of symbols which leaves a very resonant drum performance.

Jordan has a cool voice that is smooth and mellow but it is also capable of some good range. He can hold a

note and can have a softer, calmer voice or one is that is full, raw and gritty. Jordan has a strong rock voice that carries his lyrics of life, love, and girls. He says that he gains inspiration from his past experiences.

“My life inspires my music, the mood I’m in determines the feel of the song, what I write about typically reflects my life experience,” Jordan says.

Session recorded and released their first EP through Pyramid records in Fresno in July of 2012. They have sold a solid amount of copies and are promoting their music via concerts, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Session is currently working on a four-song EP to follow-up on their debut EP and will be pitching to some recording companies in hopes of getting signed to a label.

They hope to find a producer, but until they do, they will keep on trying to build their fan base and send their music to recording companies.

“All we can do is play live shows and build our fan base, and send our EP’s to labels and hope they hear something they like,” says Jeremiah. “Until something like that were to happen though, we’re pretty much sticking to the D.I.Y. (do it yourself) method.”

Session is currently recording their second EP album and they will be opening for Chevelle at this year’s Fresno Fair, while continuing to make new music.

As drummer Codie Collins puts it, “We just want to keep our momentum up and keep moving forward.” l TWITTER.COM/VIVAFRANKIE

Local farmers markets offer fresh choices

For more than 17 years, Fresno farmers have gathered near Warnors Theatre in downtown Fresno to sell produce to the local community with a helpful hand and a one-on-one connection that cannot be experienced at a grocery store. Some locations now offer an “market match,” which can match up to $20 per day with Cal-Fresh EBT to be applied at the end of the sale.

The farmers market located in the Fresno Manchester mall has daily picked fresh fruit, country harvest vegetables, 100 percent pure honey and farm fresh eggs.

Compared to the local market, the price is good for any financial status. It’s opened Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. until dusk. Estela Zavala, owner of Estela Antojitos Mexicano y Pupusas says “I like the area, sales are good and I meet friendly people.”

Max Nikolaychuk, vendor at Manchester and owner of BZ Bodies selling honey, claims that honey is good for your health. Some flavors vary upon availability and season while supplies last. Some offered flavors are nectar, orange, blackberry and wildflower.

Customer service representative Mary Yanes with the Manchester Mall

Farmers Market encourages parents to bring their children to visit the Kid’s Corner which offers different weekly events for entertaining children while parents shop. “Weather is never a problem,” Yanes says. “If it rains, we go inside.”

Prices for vendors with daily booth fees start at $25 per space and an additional $10 for every Friday year-round. To a farmer’s market vendor member, fees vary from $50 beginning of season, $25 at half the season, $15 daily pass for food and $20 for daily non-produce vendors. Food vendors include local produce and other fun items to purchase.

Catch River Park Farmers Market located on the corner of Blackstone and

Nees avenues before the end of the season every Tuesday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. through Oct. 26. Clothing and produce can be purchased at the same time.

Clovis Farmers Market has a wide variety of items to choose from with more vendors than other local markets. The Clovis Farmers Market is located on the corner of Fourth and Pile streets in the First Baptist church parking lot. This market takes place every Saturday at 8 a.m. and Tuesday at 4 p.m. until everything is sold.

For information on any of these Farmers Market & locations contact Pat Scrivner at 559-298-8989. l TWITTER.COM/ARMBRUSTER_CHAD

THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM 09.05.2012

A&E

9

Photo competition opening doors for students

Former student’s efforts generate interest in Art Hop

BY MATTHEW ELLIOTT

melliott@therampageonline.com

A tremendous opportunity awaits aspiring Fresno City College photography students. A photo contest is being held in part to generate community interest with Fresno’s art scene.

Photography students have the chance to have their body of work showcased at the downtown Broadway Studio during the first Art Hop of October. Time is of the essence. Contest submissions are due afternoon between 5:00 and 6:30.

During this Thursday’s Art Hop, former FCC photography student, Jorge Miguel Castillo is generously donating his Broadway Studios space in an effort to showcase contest submissions from current FCC photography students.

“I want to motivate photographers to go out there and show their work,” Castillo explained.

Attendees of this Thursday’s Art Hop will vote for their favorite FCC student photo submission. The student who receives the most votes will have the privilege of returning to Broadway Studios to showcase their body of works to hundreds of visitors next month. Fresno’s Art Hop takes place on the first Thursday of each month from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

“When I was going to school, I would have liked it if somebody helped me

out getting Art Hop going,” Castillo said.

“I just started thinking about it. What if I give some of my friends the opportunity to have their work shown here at Broadway?”

The contest rules require that FCC photography students submit their entries today, September 5, between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Broadway Studio No. 14. The entry fee is $5 per photo with a submission limitation of two photos. Photograph sizes must range between 5-by-7 and 11-by-14.

Castillo, 26, graduated from FCC in 2010. After completing high school in 2004, Castillo focused his studies and his future on photography.

“This is what I like to do. I picked it up from my mom because she was a photographer in Mexico City. So I decided to keep going with it,” he explained.

Later this year, Castillo is hoping to grant FCC student photographers with an additional opportunity to submit their works. Castillo believes that this will give photography students more time to diversify and build their portfolios.

Students who choose to submit their Photo by Paul Schlesinger work will be pleased to know that all vaJorge Miguel Castillo accepted student submissions Saturday for the Art Hop competirieties of photography work are welcome. tion in his gallery at Broadway Studios.

“I’d like a lot of the students from Fresno City to come check out their fellow student’s work out here. That way they can the corner of Broadway and Tuolumne at get interested in the art of Fresno,” Castillo 1416 Broadway St. said.

For more information, contact T:10” l TWITTER.COM/PATH_OF_LOTUS Broadway Studios #14 is located on J.M.C. Photography at 559-304-6030.

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A&E

09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

ART SPACE GALLERY

BY AKEEM SPEARMAN

aspearman@therampageonline.com

The Art Space Gallery offers students a metropolitan gallery experience right here at Fresno City College.

Founded in the mid-70s, it caters to the importance of having a gallery space designated for art students.

It has since been a way for local artist to showcase their work whether it be in the form of paintings, drawings, ceramics or even fabric arts.

“Every two years we do a faculty show and every spring we do a student show,” said curator Edward Lund, an artist and previous art history teacher who also runs the gallery at CSU, Fresno.

Lund has been the curator for the Art Space Gallery since 2006. He partakes in the arts directly through painting and putting together installations in his spare time.

He detailed the process of how the shows are chosen which is completed through a committee consisting of himself and other faculty members.

The planning begins in the fall before finalizing in the spring. The student pieces are usually chosen through a juried show, where the crafts with the most votes gain entry into the gallery.

Essentially, not only does the gallery highlight renowned local artists, but it also allows students of the college to gain exposure.

The Art Space Gallery is advertised multiple ways within the community to attract attendance through campuswide emails and occasional inserts in the local paper to a mailing list and radio broadcasts. In addition, the gallery plans events in conjunction with Fresno’s monthly Art Hop. “We keep track of how many people visit on an hourly basis. Most of our visits are from students,” said

The campus’ hidden treasure Photo by Daisy Martinez Titled “Thanks Dennis,” a ceramic sculpture on display in the Fresno City College Art Space Gallery on Aug. 28.

It’s sculpted by FCC instructor, Bob Kizziar whose work is featured Aug. 27 - Sept. 20.

Lund. “A local artist will get a number of people due to their friends and supporters, but if it’s an outside artist then we have to hope.”

The first and current showing of the fall semester contains work created by the soon to retire FCC art department chairman and ceramics instructor Bob Kizziar, whose work is also being presented in a group showing at the Visalia Arts gallery.

“I appropriate and recontextualize,” he said, quoting a common phrase heard around Berkeley, but also from artists such as Peter Voulkous and Dennis Gallagher. Both

of whom are present influences in his current exhibit.

Kizziar hopes to stimulate minds and to give “a visceral sensation of something that hasn’t felt before.”

Bob’s Grad Show will be available for viewing anytime from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday; and from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

Other upcoming exhibits this year include FCC’s own Ulises Meza, Clifford Ward from Baltimore and a special bonsai showing. l TWITTER.COM/FCCRAMPAGE

OPINION

THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM 09.05.2012

Campus STUDENT ADVOCACY Voices NOT STUDENT APATHY

Do you feel like you can influence change in government?

JOSEPH DELACRUZE Undeclared

“No, you need a lot of money to change the government.”

11

STUDENT

APATHY

BY RAMPAGE EDITORIAL BOARD editorial@therampageonline.com

There has been no more important year in recent memory only industrialized nation in the world that still uses the death for students to be involved in the state and national legislative penalty. Capital punishment is currently illegal in 14 states. Caliprocess. fornia currently has 725 inmates on “death row”. If you have a The number of major ballot propositions is staggering -- preference in this debate, get involved. To get involved in Propobudget propositions that could determine the future of commu- sition 34, go to safecalifornia.org. To help keep it from passing, nity college funding; legislation that could substantially change go to waitingforjustice.net. the way criminals are prosecuted, and the ability of Californians Proposition 35 will provide stricter punishments for human to influence state campaign funding laws. trafficking and sex slavery convictions. Even though it’s obviOn top of that, there is a general election featuring presi- ously already a serious crime, this proposition increases prisons dential candidates who hold drastically different views on the sentences, requires sex slavers to register as sex offenders, apeconomy and civil rights. plies additional fines that The Rampage edigo towards their victims, torial board is not endorsand requires all sex ofOn The Number Of Students Able to Attend California Community Colleges ing any of these pieces of fenders to disclose their legislation; rather, we are internet accounts. = 10,000 Students endorsing student advocaTo get involved in 20,000 More cy in this year’s political Proposition 35, go to casecycle. College students act.org. If you are against Students Would Be are notoriously absent Proposition 35, register able to attend from the voting process. with Megan’s Law. During the 2010 The next issue is 180,000 Less election cycle only one in one that will take some five between the ages of thought. Proposition 36 Students Would Be 18 to 29 voted. America’s would repeal the “Three Able to Attend youth is vastly underrepStrikes” law. As it stands resented when it comes to right now, if convicted of the policies which govern three felonies, a person us. would receive a life senStudents are the detence. The “Three Strikes mographic most affected Law” is on the ballot beby the biggest issues in cause some people argue this election cycle. Eduthat the law should be cation is in dire straits. If more relaxed, and only we don’t make our voices apply to violent crimes. heard, we could find our To help get Proposition schools in calamitous situ36 passed, go to fixthreeation. strikes.org. To campaign Three thousand against Proposition 36, go According to cccco.edu Graphic by Jesse Franz fewer students would to savethreestrikes.com. be able to attend Fresno City College, and community college Finally, the presidential contest requires everyone’s atteneducation can become just a game of Russian roulette, with not tion. President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney enough classes to get the education students deserve. You must have different views for the country and their take on social isget involved to make sure this does not happen. sues are starkly different. While Romney believes that students The results of Proposition 30, a combination of the highly should “get as much schooling as they can afford,” Obama argues publicized Millionaires Tax Plan and Gov. Jerry Brown’s school that “education cannot become a privilege of the wealthy.” stimulus plan, could make or break the California school sysRomney believes that marriage should be limited to a man tem. The plan proposes increasing state sales tax by 0.25 percent and a woman, but Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to enand raising taxes on individuals making over $250,000 per year. dorse gay marriage. On both social and economic issues, these This is estimated to raise between $6.8 to $9 billion for the Cali- candidates for president are fixed in their places and the nation fornia school system. has become even more polarized than it was just four years ago.

You can help make this happen. To get involved in ProposiThe challenge is in discovering who best represents your tion 30, go to yesonprop30.com. To help put a stop to it, go to view and joining forces to advance that position. Your future is at stopprop30.com. stake; make sure your voice is heard.

Another important concern is Proposition 34 which if passed will end the death penalty in California. The U.S is the l TWITTER.COM/FCCRAMPAGE

PROPOSITION 30 EFFECTS

Passes Fails

LARRY RIVAS Political Science

“Yes, I can influence the government by using my knowledge and voting.”

DIANA PEREZ Film

“If I believed in something strongly, I would go for it.”

Editorial Cartoon BRYAN MALLORY Undeclared

“I personally feel like my vote is pointless because once they get into office they are going to do what they do anyway.”

WRITTEN BY JERE KIRKLAND PHOTOS BY OLGA VERKHOTINA

by Dale Holcomb

12

OPINION

09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

Drop the class, don’t sleep in it

BY KAITLIN REGAN

kregan@therampageonline.com

Staying conscious during class has become a serious issue for students. Take a look around your classroom and see how many people are actually awake.

More and more students are falling asleep during class with no regard to its actual cost.

The cost of sleeping through class means much more than missing out on the information provided in the lecture.

The loss that the student suffers should be calculated with the damage the student suffers in missed work, in fees, and in the knowledge he passed up on.

It means lost opportunities to improve one’s chances in an even more competitive world.

Dr. Sabjit Johal, a political science instructor, urges students to take into consideration that each class requires two hours of outside work per week for every unit the class is worth.

For a standard three unit class, that is six hours of

work a week. Multiply that number by the number of class weeks per semester.

Furthermore, multiply that number by the hourly wage earned at a job. A student taking 12 units and making minimum wage is missing out on $3,456 without adding the actual course fees.

That is an additional $552. Of course, neither of those calculations factor in the cost of books and materials.

The point that this illustrates is the notion that not only are students losing the material of their education, they are wasting the money that they have worked for.

While some students receive financial aid, others have to do it the old-fashioned way. This means working one or two jobs on the side to make ends meet.

Working that much definitely contributes to students being tired and falling asleep in class but working hard for an education is the reason behind getting an education.

However, why would someone work so hard for something that they are going to sleep through? It does not make sense to literally sleep away the education you are paying for.

Putting the cost to the individual student aside, sleeping through class does affect other people. It is unfair to classmates as well as students unable to get into the class.

Classmates can be distracted by snoring or just the sight of sleepers. It creates opportunity for joking and trivializing the real goings-on of class. Students who are denied access to the class feel particularly insulted by it.

Students can take certain precautions to avoid falling asleep in class. There is tea and coffee that can keep people awake.

But the best precaution is getting enough sleep. A good night’s sleep and a decent breakfast can work wonders for tired students.

College is a huge undertaking and students should know that as they enroll. The horror stories of no sleep and little spare time are not just stories.

Students succeed if they have a plan that provides a perfect balance between work, school and recreation.

Every student is capable of success, but it begins with a solid plan and wise choices. Falling asleep in class provides an easy pass to certain failure. l TWITTER.COM/K_C_REGAN

The Zen Guide to Insensitivity: Abortion is not a mens’ issue

BY TROY POPE

tpope@therampageonline.com

One life rule to learn quickly is when you’re asked a question with which you have no answer, or no expertise, just keep your mouth shut.

A lot of the social problems we face in this nation are caused by people not knowing what they’re talking about, but acting as if they do, and speaking on behalf of more people than just themselves.

We need to stop acting as if

abortion is still a crime. Whether you agree or disagree with abortion, it isn’t against the law right now, so we should stop treating it as such.

Republican Senator Todd Akin from Montana has a case of “needs to keep his mouth shut”

syndrome.

On the topic of abortion, which he is against, he was asked about cases of pregnancy due to rape. Akin’s “highly educated” response was, “It seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, it’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”

Yeah, that’s just great. He spoke about a women’s health issue, which men really shouldn’t, and he spoke from the “expertise” of unnamed doctors.

It’s a frightening precedent that keeps popping up within the Republican party. Despite the general Republican stance on keeping government out of people’s lives, they keep saying and doing things in an attempt to control women’s bodies.

Stop.

Abortion is a medical issue that should be regulated through the medical community, not through government. The religious right stays intimately involved in this issue trying to convert the country into a Christian nation.

I agree with your right to disagree with abortion; I do not agree with attacking people that

seek abortions, vandalizing and terrorizing abortion clinics, and men speaking on this very clear women’s issue whatsoever.

Anyone that is convicted of burning down an abortion clinic should not be charged with arson. They should be charged with terrorism and sentenced accordingly. Only then can we begin to quell the violence committed “in the name of” religion.

Earlier this year in Virginia, the Republican controlled Senate (also male controlled), voted in a mandatory medical procedure that would require women seeking an abortion to undergo an invasive vaginal ultrasound.

After the issue became a major controversy, it was dropped and spun stating they didn’t know how invasive the procedure was.

What that really says is that they wanted to add an additional layer of difficulty getting abortions, and they didn’t bother to research a law they were voting for.

It’s really sad. And it demonstrates why government shouldn’t be involved whatsoever in medical issues that involve another human being. But they are, and it says a lot about how crazy this nation has gotten. l TWITTER.COM/DARKTROY

OPINION

THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM 09.05.2012

13

SHOULD THE COUNTRY ENFORCE MORE STRICT GUN LAWS? PRO

BY PATRICK FORREST

pforrest@therampageonline.com

T

he state of California is at the forefront of limiting unrestricted use of firearms.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence ranked California as the number one state for gun safety.

California is in fact the only state to receive four stars.

But when it comes to safety, California and the other 49 states in this country should not stop at four stars. Insisting on gun safety now can transform the U.S. into a safer place for generations to come.

Without stronger, sensible gun laws, thousands of people will continue to die and be injured needlessly each year. It is far too easy for unstable or criminally-minded people to obtain dangerous weapons.

There should be stricter restrictions for convicted felons, the dangerously mentally ill, domestic violence offenders and youth to get the guns in the first place.

This can be achieved by passing strong and effective laws as well as by curbing laws and policies that allow guns on college campuses.

According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), every day, 270 people in America, 47 of them children and teens, are shot in murders, assaults, suicides, accidents, and police intervention.

Every day, 87 people die from gun violence, 33 of them murdered. Every day, eight children and teens die from gun violence.

Every day, 183 people are shot, but survive their gun injuries. Every day, 38 children and teens are shot, but survive their gun injuries.

There is no coating the truth.

Who can deny that the U.S. has a huge problem when, according to the NCIPC, 100,000 people on average are shot, and nearly 32,000 are killed in one year?

As a nation we have learned that rights are to be protected and if they aren’t, they will be taken away.

But there comes a time when we must be protected from ourselves and while there are laws to regulate the sale, those laws do not go nearly as far as they need to.

There are two major ways guns are sold legally. Sales from federal firearm

licensees (FFLs) require a background check. Sales between individuals, under federal law, do not require a background check. This means that felons can “lie and buy” at gun shows and other places where guns are readily available.

It is true that there are cases where a gun is used in self-defense and everyone should have the opportunity to defend themselves and their families from harm.

According to the Jim Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violance, for every gun that is used in self-defense, 11 are used in an attempted or successful suicide, seven times in a criminal assault or homicide and four times in an unintentional shooting injury or death?

Also, the Campaign averages 20 mass shootings every year. A mass shooting is defined as a shooting where a shooter or shooters injures at least four other people.

The campaign also says that we have had eight such shootings in the month of July 2012 alone, three in Chicago, one in Seattle, one in Tuscaloosa, Dover, Oak Creek, and Aurora.

There are a lot of “in your face” statistics, the problem is large, but it is one that can be handled in our time. And if done properly, the children of this country can live in a safer place.

Now is the time to have this discussion and make the improvements, not after a disaster.

Instances at different middle schools, high schools and colleges have shaken the country.

Shootings at parks, movie theaters and places of worship have severely shrunk the number of places you can truly feel safe from gun violence.

There must be a movement to take back what were once safe places by removing guns from wrong hands.

And the best way to do this is to put accountability on the dealers of these weapons.

Ninety-four percent of licensed dealers approached as part of undercover stings at gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee, and Nevada, completed sales to people who appeared to be criminals or straw purchasers, according to Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution is important and needs to be protected. Even more important are the citizens that the Bill of Rights accords freedoms. That is why America needs to take a serious look at adjusting their gun policy before even more people get hurt. l TWITTER.COM/FORRESTP8

CON

BY MATTHEW ELLIOTT

melliott@therampageonline.com

A

s the saying goes, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.”

When facing the issue of gun regulation, there is a fundamental element to interpret and respect. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The U.S. government is tasked with regulating militias to strengthen the security of the nation and the livelihoods of citizens.

How can the state regulate the militia without infringing upon the liberty of the people to possess arms? The idea of imposing additional gun restrictions in an effort to circumvent murder is irrational.

There are two underlying issues.

First is that existing gun laws are somewhat effective, but are insufficient and lack proper enforcement. Second and more importantly, gun violence is symptomatic of abnormal mental health conditions.

As a means of reducing violence, one method is to require that all guns manufactured or imported into the U.S. contain serial numbers. This is already in practice.

Tracking and registering handguns and assault rifles is not an infringement of a citizen’s right to keep arms. These actions merely increase an owner’s mindfulness of the consequences of perpetrating gun violence. In addition, every single bullet in the U.S., whether manufactured here or imported, should be RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tagged and registered to the purchaser.

Doing so would increase the accuracy of forensic work, thereby narrowing persons of interest lists. This would also improve a prosecutor’s chances of determining who is partially or entirely

culpable in gun-related crimes. This does not infringe upon an American’s right to own guns.

An individual’s proclivity towards violence is a factor that is already present in the law but is insufficiently examined during the gun registration process.

Considering the temperament and history of potential gun owners is perfectly acceptable. Doing so fulfills the spirit of the Second Amendment by soundly regulating militias to preserve the security of the country.

In late February of 2010, Minkler resident, Ricky Liles used two high powered assault rifles to murder Fresno County Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier, critically injure Reedley police officer Javier Bejar and moderately injure a third deputy. Following this, he took his own life.

According to the Fresno Bee, police officers found two additional assault rifles and six handguns inside the mobile home. Liles was a 51-year-old former security guard with a purported history of violence and rage.

Prior to the incident, Liles is accused of committing a series of arson fires and shootings. In the months leading up to the tragedy, he mentioned to his wife several times that he intended to shoot officers and then take his own life rather than go to prison.

Liles’ unstable behavior was consistent and predictable during the past several years. A better analysis of his mental condition would have helped to ensure the safety of those fallen officers.

Psychological analysis is pivotal in safeguarding Americans and ensuring that potential militias are well-regulated.

Another means of protecting the American people is through long-term, violence prevention programs. Gun violence is a symptom of underlying social and psychological issues. There is a direct correlation between deep poverty and escalations of violence.

Outlawing guns outright is a foolish endeavor. Attacking the symptoms of deep poverty and mental illnesses is no more effective in treating the root causes of gun-related violence than outlawing narcotics is in eradicating psychological disorders that are falsely attributed to illegal drug use. Suppressing the symptoms of serious ailments merely exacerbates social dysfunction and does nothing to resolve the underlying causes.

Prevention though the use of modern profiling to determine the atypical behaviors of those with a history of violence should be encouraged. Registering and tracking weapons and ammunition also helps to preserve our collective safety.

In addition, reducing poverty, providing for quality education, funding community outreach programs and ensuring that all citizens receive ample access to quality mental health services dramatically reduce the likelihood that citizens will participate in gun-related, violent crime.

Rather than outlawing guns, the state can use modern technology and empirical data to improve upon the collective security of the American public.

In doing so, the fundamental right of citizens to keep guns will not be infringed. l TWITTER.COM/PATH_ON_LOTUS

14

SPORTS

09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

Women’s soccer looks Men’s Soccer off to fast start forward to a new season

BY CARL TURPIN

cturpin@therampageonline.com

Head coach Oliver Germond takes away plenty of positives from his side’s opening day defeat at the hands of Cosumnes River.

The women’s Rams soccer team lost 2-1 in a game which Germond says they commanded but nevertheless came away losers.

“We felt we were dominating and just couldn’t score,” said Germond.

“They had a penalty kick and a free kick and those were the only two shots they had all game and they won.”

The Rams’ goal was scored by freshman Stephanie Agavo. Germond feels Agavo has “A lot of potential to be a goal scorer.”

After losing both last season’s leading goal scorers and seven other starters who have all received scholarships to four year universities, Germond is rebuilding his team.

“That’s what’s challenging about coaching at this level,” he said. “You only have the players for two years.”

Germond hopes his sophomores can raise their game to fill the void left by those who have moved on. “Our returning players are now the leaders of our team, they need to step up and make plays,” he said.

Germond be-

lieves players like Jasmine Woodruff can make the plays needed to win games.

“She’s a key player,” said Germond. “I feel like she could create a lot of opportunities for us in the attacking third.”

Woodruff has a message for the freshman players.:“You have to work your way up to get a spot. I didn’t start in the beginning. I had to work my way up to get a start,” she said.

Woodruff said she learned a lot during her time as a freshman soccer player.

“I got better as a player. The sophomores were good role models.

They taught me a lot.”

She intends to give the freshman the same help she received during her first year. “This year I have to be a leader and show the freshman how we need to play and work hard in every game,” said Woodruff.

Germond is also pleased to have Marrisa Pacheco returning after she missed the entire 2011 season. “She’s very creative with the ball. She missed out last year because she broke her ankle right before the season began,” he said.

Despite the loss, Pacheco is happy to get her first game out of the way. Prior to the game she was “a little nervous” but came out of the game with “more confidence.” Pache-

co is now hoping to make up for missing out on last season and is confident the team will go far this time around.

“I know we can make it to the final four, we can get to the state championship. I have a lot of faith in this team. We have a lot of good individual skill. We just have to learn to put it together as a team,” said Pacheco.

Goalkeeper Jasmine Cordova believes this season will prove to be a “successful” one. Cordova believed the first game was an opportunity to see the team’s dynamic in action. “Now we are starting to figure out how everyone plays,” she said.

Cordova believes that this year’s team can outshine the team of 2011.

“I think we have potential, we just have to put our minds to it. We need to step up and fill some big shoes. I definitely think we can be more successful than last year,” she said. l TWITTER.COM/FCCRAMPAGE

SCOREBOARD Sept. 1 Women’s Soccer FCC - 1 San Diego Mesa - 0 Sept. 1 Men’s Soccer FCC - 4 Allan Hancock - 2

Photo by Paul Schlesinger The Rams defeated Evergreen Valley College 3-0 on Tuesday and face Contra Costa College on Friday in San Pablo.

BY CARL TURPIN

cturpin@therampageonline.com

The Rams enter this soccer season as the central valley conference champions of 2011. Head coach Eric Solberg’s team start their campaign with five games in the first eight days.

Solberg knows a challenge lies ahead of him with six of last year’s players, including All American Andrew Campbell, now attending four year universities.

“We don’t have a big nucleus of returning players,” he said. “We are less experienced than last season, the 100 dollar question is can we gain experience and win, or gain experience and lose?”

The Rams have 19 freshmen on the roster this year and Solberg picks out Juan Madrigal and Alex Cul-

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two captains so basically I’m going to have to step in and take a captain’s role,” he said.

Gallegos believes that this team is capable of rivaling last year’s team. “This team, without doubt, can live up to the standards of last year. It’s just a matter of how much the team wants it. We definitely have the players to do it,” he said.

The Rams will be playing most of their conference games away from home.

That is something Solberg is used to. “Nobody really likes playing us here.

We’ve lost, like, 10 games in 13 years here,” he said.

Solberg knows that the Rams are the team to beat in the conference. “We’re the team that walks off the bus and through the gate with the target on our back,” he said.

“There are very few teams in the state of California with a larger target than us,” he said.

l TWITTER.COM/FCCRampage

GAME SCHEDULE Women’s Volleyball Women’s Golf

Sept. 7&8 vs. Delta Classic @Stockton Sept. 6 @ Fig Graden Golf Course

Cross Country

Sept. 8 @ Woodward Park, Fresno

Men’s Soccer

Sept. 7 vs. Contra Costa @ San Pablo

Women’s Soccer

PAY OFF AMS-02_5.933x5_Ramirez.indd 1

well as the two to look out for.

Culwell feels he has a lot to prove with this being his first season playing for the team.

“I feel a lot of people don’t expect much from a freshman, but that just makes me work harder,” he said “My goals are to play as hard as I can, start as much as possible, contribute to the team and hopefully win state final.”

Solberg has seen many of his more experienced players move on, he is encouraged by the return of Eligio Morales.

Morales missed last season due to sustaining an injury.

“He was our leading goalscorer two years ago. Very good player,” Solberg said.

He is depending on all of his sophomores and expects them to take on more demanding roles within the team this season. Among those are co MVP Adrian Plascencia and fellow midfielder Eli Gallegos. Gallegos is eager to meet Solberg’s expectations. “We lost our

Women’s Waterpolo

Sept. 5 vs. Canyons @ Santa Clarita Sept. 7&8 vs. River Range Tourney @ American River College

SPORTS

THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM 09.05.2012

Athletic program earns national award

BY PATRICK FORREST

pforrest@therampageonline.com

Fresno City College won the Inaugural Junior/Community College Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup for the athletic excellence it showed during the 2011-2012 year. The Rams topped the nation with 169.5 points beating second place Mt. San Antonio by 9.

The National Alliance of Two Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) gave the recognition to FCC for being the highest point-getter of their three divisions. Iowa Central CC won the NJCAA Scholarship division for the fourth consecutive year, and Gloucester CC won the NJCAA NonScholarship division for the third consecutive time.

Although all of the team’s performances contributed to this award, the Rams were led by their state champion wrestling program, men’s basketball, and men’s tennis teams.

“My goal as a wrestling coach is to coach my team and I don’t have any control over soccer, football, or baseball, or any of those guys,” wrestling coach Paul Keysaw said.

“But I have a lot of confidence that those coaches are doing the same thing that I’m

doing, getting their teams ready to compete and by all of us doing that it has come together and ended in us winning that award. And that’s what’s really special about it”.

The Rams were also in the progress able to win their third state association title, which is more than any of the other 104 two-year schools in California “It’s very special when your total athletic program can work together so you have a team of teams that come together and to win that type of national award, it’s very special,” said Athletic Director Susan Yates.

“We were unaware of the Director’s Cup because it was an award for four year colleges,” Yates went on to say. “I was going to a convention to accept the NATYCAA cup in Dallas, and I got a call saying I needed to stay two more days because we won the National award as well”.

“At this athletic program I see caring coaches,” said Yates. “And above that I see a caring chancellor, caring president, and a caring board without any of those components we wouldn’t have the athletic success that we do, it takes a district”.

In these tough budget times, Keysaw sees a lot of schools where athletics aren’t really supported that much.

“Being an athletics guy, I don’t like to see that,” said Keysaw.

He feels FCC is a special place because “people appreciate athletics here, and athletics has brought some good things to FCC”.

FCC will be celebrating this accomplishment at halftime of the Oct. 20 football game against American River College, where the Director’s Cup will be presented to the campus.

“No one else can get the first trophy,” Yates said. “Fresno City is the oldest community college in California so we’re first in a lot of things. This will just be another one”.

“A lot of times, I think, in athletics we are not viewed the same as an English department, or the Math department but here at Fresno City College I don’t think that’s true,” said Keysaw.

“I think the Athletic department is very well respected here, so it’s cool to be a part of that”.

“This is the greatest department to work in. Fresno City has been an absolute blessing to work for,” Keysaw said. l TWITTER.COM/FORRESTP8

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15

Wall Of Fame Inducts Nine

BY PABEL LOPEZ

plopez@therampageonline.com

Nine former football players of Fresno City Football teams were inducted to the Wall of Fame on Aug. 26. Exfootball players, staff members, current players and family gathered at Pardini’s Cafe in Fresno to honor the football players who contributed immensely to Fresno City College football.

FCC Football coach Tony Caviglia said, “The criteria to become inducted to the Wall of Fame is to be a good teammate, a good team member, a good player, not necessarily the best, graduate, and be productive in the community”.

Caviglia also said that Cornerstone members of the wall are people who didn’t play football at the school but supported the football program by “going above and beyond”.

This year’s class of inductees included defensive back Cameron Worrell who also went on to play in Super Bowl XLI with the Chicago Bears.

Worrell is now the defensive backs coach for the FCC football team.

“I think back to my mentality as a player and a student when I was here and try to avoid some of the mistakes I made and help get them to the next level,” said Worrell.

Worrell’s fellow inductees are linebackers Keith Earl, Jeff Peracchi, and Mike Pogue, Running back Steve Franklin, and linemen Randy Wood, Mark Molthen, DeWayne Williams, and Chad Ede.

The nine inductees were introduced by master of ceremonies, George Takata, and brought to the stage for brief interviews. Many of the players thanked their former coaches and fellow teammates during their interviews.

Many of the inductees remained in the Central Valley after their playing days while Pogue moved back to his hometown of Dadeville, Ala. The honorees now work in a variety of fields. Wood, Pogue and Williams went on to become teachers. Peracchi now farms almonds and grapes in west Fresno. Molthen is a physician while Franklin is a correctional officer at the Wasco State Prison This year marks the twenty-third induction to the wall of fame. The earliest Ram squad represented was the 1973 team and the latest was the 2000 squad. The names of the

inductees are etched into the marble wall on the western entrance of Ratcliffe Stadium.

The wall has 152 former players on the wall of fame.

Some past inductees include Tom Flores, former coach of the Oakland Raiders, and Shannon Pulliam, head coach of the Lemoore High Tigers. The wall also includes lesser known players like Mike Ryan who scored the first touchdown in the college’s football history.

Ledio Fanucchi, the first FCC player drafted to the NFL, played with the Chicago Cardinals in 1954. He said, “I was inducted in the second class and even though I’ve missed a few of these dinners, it still feels good to be here”.

Mike Killijian, a member of the 1948-1949 Rams, added, “This is a great thing for the program. We have had some great athletes at Fresno City and it is important to honor them”.

Throughout the night, many of the inductees stated how honored they felt to be inducted into the wall.

Former Linebacker, Jeff Peracchi, said, “There are a lot of familiar faces and it’s really neat to be a part of this”.

Dewayne Williams said, “It’s very humbling. With all the great players and coaches that have come through here and the great people and community that has preceded you. It’s fun to be part of this”.

Long after his playing days Williams has kept in touch with the program. “I’ve coached some of these kids and still catch a few games when I can. Once a Ram, always a Ram,” said Williams. “It feels wonderful to be honored,” said inductee Steve Franklin, who holds the record for the longest run from scrimmage in FCC history, “to be thought of that way by the community and the committee is wonderful”.

Current FCC Linebacker Kyle Staples said of the event, “Community is important for whatever school you play for, so it’s good to honor past players”.

Another FCC linebacker, David Ford, also attended the event. “It would be great to become positive role models in the community after our playing time,” said Ford.

While the event celebrated the past, it also served as a way to look toward the future. Williams said, “To see how Coach Caviglia has elevated the program to what it is now is really exciting”.

Perracchi echoed, “I really want to see us beat San Francisco this season. I’d really like to see that”. l TWITTER.COM/PABELLOPEZ

16

SPORTS

09.05.2012 THERAMPAGEONLINE.COM

Photo by Abel Cortez Freshman quarterback Mike Baker No. 9 runs for the last touchdown of the game on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 as the Rams beat West Hills Falcons in their fist game of the season.

RAMS TAKE SEASON OPENER 30-6

BY JERE KIRKLAND

jkirkland@therampageonline.com

The Fresno City College football team displayed teamwork, resiliency, and athleticism in the first game of the season Sept. 2. The Rams dominated the West Hills Coalinga Falcons and came away with a 30-6 victory at Ratcliffe Stadium Saturday night.

West Hills Coalinga

struck first on the scoreboard.

They scored their only touchdown within the first 45 seconds of the game as freshman running back Cameron Boyd carried the ball from 12 yards out. West Hills then failed to convert the extra point.

It was also a rough start for the Rams. They dropped passes and caused a few penalties that reversed touchdowns.

The Rams had three touchdowns called back due to holding penalties. “We knew we

were going to make mistakes, we have a lot of freshman on the team,” said sophomore Wide Receiver Tim Brown.

Going into halftime, the Rams led 9-6.

The defensive line had multiple stops by sophomores defensive back Taijuan Martin with 5 tackles, Defensive Lineman Ioane Sagapolu with 4 tackles, Left Back Nathaniel Palomino with a quarterback sack, and Left Back Kyle Staples lead the defense with 7

tackles.

Brown said, “The first half of the game was rough, but once we came together in the second half, everything started clicking”.

Freshman starting quarterback Michael Baker ran the ball for first downs and scored the final touchdown of the game.

Baker racked up 15 completions, 172 yards and 2 touchdowns by the end of the game.

“We expected to go out there and execute plays that were

scripted and win,” said Baker.

“We had all week to prepare to achieve the goal and we did”.

Baker had help in the scoring department thanks to sophomore running backs James Holland with 108 yards and Larry Overstreet with 42 yards and one touchdown each.

“I just wanted them to play as hard as they could,” said FCC Head Coach Tony Caviglia. “I was very impressed, impressed with the effort. We played physical football, we played hard footl TWITTER.COM/JEREKIRKLAND ball. I am happy with how we

FRESNO CITY COLLEGE TRANSFER CENTER

University of California California State University Independent Colleges & Universities

TRANSFER DAY Wednesday, September 12, 2012 9:00AM – 12:30PM University Mall (between the Library & Student Services Buildings)

Representatives from CSU, UC and Independent colleges and universities will provide transfer information and materials.

JOIN US FOR AN EXCITING DAY! HOSTED BY THE FCC TRANSFER/COUNSELING CENTER FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 559 4428290 STATE CENTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT