PCC Courier 04/16/2015 by PCC Courier

VOLUME 111 ISSUE 10

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April 16, 2015

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Lancers slide into 3-game winning streak Matthew Kiewiet News Editor

Erica Hong/Courier Lancer Alejandra Grimaldo (freshman) slides safely into home past LA Harbor catcher Cassandra Sorto in the fifth inning at Robinson Park in Pasadena, Calif. on Tuesday, April 14. The Lancers beat LA Harbor Seahawks 7-2.

PCC women’s softball team dominated their third game in a row by beating the LA Harbor College Seahawks 7-2 at Robinson Park on Tuesday afternoon as they make a late push for a playoff bid. “Our team is determined and they realize that we can still make some noise in conference,” said head coach Monica Tantlinger. “I hope they understand what they have done so far and that finishing these last two games is huge for us.” The Lancers scored first in the bottom of the first with a lead-off single to center by sophomore second baseman Justine Zavala, followed by a triple by freshman outfielder Mariah Quintana and a double from freshman catcher Holly Riker-Sloan. “I am excited for the next two games,” said Quintana, who went 3-for-4 on the day. “If we continue playing like we have been, we will accomplish what we want. We are hoping to get a SOFTBALL page 8

Presidential candidates address Discussion resumes questions at three open forums on bachelor’s degrees Philip McCormick Editor-In-Chief

Matthew Kiewiet Staff Writer

The three candidates vying for the vacant president’s seat at PCC addressed the community at open forums held in the Westerbeck Recital Hall this week where the public was able to submit feedback to the Board of Trustees on each candidate. According to Board President Berlinda Brown, this will help the board make a decision on who will be selected for the position. “We encourage the public to submit feedback,” Brown told attendees at one of candidate Rajen Vurdien’s open forum on Monday. “This forum is part of the selection process for the board for picking the next

Talks of PCC offering bachelor’s degrees by way of state law SB 850—the law passed by the State Senate and signed by Governor Jerry Brown last May that would allow community colleges to offer four year degrees in certain fields—have resumed over the past week, and a proposal for such a degree at PCC was recently sent to the Chancellor’s Office, a school official said. “Good fortune has smiled upon us,” said Associate Vice President of Strategic Planning & Innovation Ryan Cornner to the Academic Senate on April 6, in reference to the fact that the college would have another opportunity to offer BA degrees.

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Dr. Rajen Vurdien

Dr. Patricia Hsieh

president.” Attendees were able to submit questions before each forum and a moderator presented each question to each candidate. The most prominent question asked in the forums seemed to be about shared governance and how the three candidates would deal with the tension between the faculty, administration and board. “One of the reasons I was appointed interim president of

DRAGON DANCE PCC and PCC Global Club host Chinese culture day

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Dr. Robert Miller

Sacramento State College is because I was able to work among groups of very divergent opinions and bring them together,” said Patricia Hsieh, president of San Diego Miramar College, on Tuesday. When similar questions were asked to Vurdien, Fullerton College’s president, he said that he had dealt with similar problems when he first arrived to Fullerton. FORUMS page 2

NOONTIME Abstract painter talks about her artistic journey

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Cornner, Dr. Julie Kiotas, Robert Randal, and Bakhtawar Bhadha have been developing a curriculum for PCC to off a degree in Applied Research and Data Analytics. “A Bachelor’s degree in Applied Research and Data Analytics will equip students for careers in managing research in a variety of fields including business, healthcare, marketing, education and social science fields,” Kiotas wrote in an email. There is a growing need in the business and industry sectors for well-qualified employees that use data and research to make informed business decisions, Cornner said. There are 30,306 jobs in Los 4 YEAR page 2

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Should California pass a law approving physician-assisted deaths for the terminally ill?

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April 16, 2015

Upward Bound program receives $33k PCC’s TRIO Upward Bound programs recently received a two-year grant in the amount of $330,000 from the Los Angeles Scholars Investment Fund. The grant money funds both the Math/Science Upward Bound and classic Upward Bound scholarships for graduating high school seniors from Pasadena-area high schools. The Upward Bound scholarships provide low income and first generation college-bound students with awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 depending on their expected family contribution to college tuition and the cost of attendance. The maximum two-year award for students attending PCC is $1,000.

Upward Bound Director Angela Sotelo said that often with these students the hurdle isn’t being accepted to schools, but paying for them. “Working with first generation, low income students—one of the barriers is financial need,” said Sotelo. “Yes, you got into UCLA, you got into Berkeley, you got into all these institutions—but then when they see their financial aid awards, it doesn’t cover 100 percent of the costs.” The scholarships are highly sought after and competitive. Of the 96 high school seniors in the programs, only 47 will be getting the scholarships. In order to qualify students must have at least a 2.5 GPA, be enrolled at a community college or 4–year institution this fall and be eligible for the Pell Grant and Cal Grant. In addition, this year Math/Science Upward

Bound Director Juan Carreon said they are giving higher priority to students who have participated more in the programs. “One thing that’s different this year for this class is that we included involvement in the program because we might have had a student that’s been in our program for four years and they’re not as active,” Carreon said. “Then you have those students that have been in the program for maybe two years and they are really active, coming to every Saturday workshop we have, summer programs and field trips.” Karla Zelaya is a 22-year-old PCC student who received a Math/Science Upward Bound scholarship after graduating from John Muir High School in 2011. Zelaya first attended UCSD for Biology for a year and then transferred to PCC where she has spent the last two years study-

ing biology and working for the TRIO services that have helped her navigate the financial and educational hardships that accompany higher education. “You have to participate in the program in order to receive it and that’s why I’m giving back to the program because they helped me so much—with the scholarship, helping me get into college, they helped me with my ACT and SAT testing—they just provided a lot of help for me as a first generation student and low income,” Zelaya said. High school seniors involved in the programs and attending the Pasadena Unified and El Monte Unified School Districts have until May 1 to apply for the scholarships. Winners will be announced on May 23 and May 29.

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said at his open forum on Wednesday afternoon. “It was said that we were the most functional/dysfunctional college the accreditation team had seen… Our issues are significant but very solvable if we just choose to work better with each other.” According to Brown, the board hopes to make its decision by the end of April. Hsieh is in her tenth year as school president for Miramar College. She also serves on many local and national boards, including the San Diego Maritime Museum Board, the Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA), the National Coalition of Certification Centers, and the National Asian Pacific Islanders Council. Vurdien has been the president at Fullerton College since 2010 and before that was vice president of instruction at Saddleback College for six years. He also

currently sits on the executive board of the California State University Fullerton Doctor in Education Leadership program. Before being selected as the interim president of PCC, Miller was the senior vice president of Business and College Services. He is also a PCC alum.

Keely Damara Staff Writer

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Angeles within the fields of social science research, survey research, and market research analysis, most of which require a BA degree, according to EMSI occupation employment data. They pay an average of $29.86 per hour and there is an expected 23 percent increase in these jobs over the next 10 years, Kiotas said that it seems unlikely that the state Chancellor’s Office will approve the proposal, but if it is in fact approved they will immediately get to work planning courses and recruiting students to participate in the program.

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“The person who gets this job has to make sure that he or she can work with all the constituent groups to create a climate that will promote student success,” he said. “Through transparency, I was able to improve the climate at Fullerton… I feel that at PCC, I could do the same by being just as transparent.” Interim President Robert Miller, who was appointed to his position after Mark Rocha retired last August, said that with accreditation pending, it was up to the entire school—himself included—to try and work on the climate.” “It’s the collective responsibility that we all have to work on this and it’s only if we trust each other and respect each other that we begin to move forward,” Miller

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April 16, 2015

Courier

2014 JACC General Excellence Award-Winner Editor-in-Chief Philip McCormick Managing Editor Kristen Luna News Editor Matthew Kiewiet Online Editor Justin Clay and Mick Donovan Opinion Editor Hannah Gonzales Features Editor Mick Donovan A&E Editor Anthony Martinez Lifestyle Editor Ashley Park Sports Editor Daron Grandberry Asst. Sports Editor David O’Connor Photo Editor Nagisa Mihara Online Photo and Graphics Editor Daniel Valencia Asst. Online Photo Editor Traece Craig Scene Editor Keely Damara Design Editor Samantha Molina Staff Writers: Ahmad Akkaoui, Daniel Axume, Nataly Chavez, Alex Chhuon, Keely Damara, Alan Flores, Monique LeBleu, Samantha Molina, Neil Protacio, Luis Rodriguez, Sammy Wu Staff Photographers: Traece Craig, Victoria De La Torre, Mick Donovan, Shaunee Edwards, Michelle Gonzalez, Eric Haynes, Erica Hong, Kristen Luna, Mary Nurrenbern, Michael Osborne, Scott Spencer, Daniel Valencia, Tiffany Yip, Max Zeronian Faculty Adviser

OPINION

After debates and confusion, it has been decided that the Academic Senate and shared governance leaders will participate in training sessions to clarify which bodies are subject to the California Brown Act. Although this is a step in the right direction, it also exposes how little administration and shared governance bodies understand about the Brown Act. The training sessions, held by lawyer Todd Goluba this month, will clear up which PCC governing bodies need to be regulated by the Brown Act. However, this issue should have been resolved when it became apparent that not all shared governance leaders fully understood the Brown Act.

The topic came to a head when, last month, a heated dispute occurred after senate member Sarah Barker said she was not allowed to defend a decision she had made about a Lancer Radio program during a senate meeting. The Academic Senate’s function is to make recommendations on academic and professional matters. Although this means that they are advisory, it is also given that they are the voice of the faculty at PCC and should thus conduct themselves in a manner befitting someone who has been entrusted to do what’s best for the campus as a whole while also make sure that students have all the tools they

need for success. This means looking over grading policies, making sure that degree requirements are up to standards, and other matters that affect student life at PCC. This, however, cannot be achieved if governance bodies cannot even agree on whether or not they are subject to the Brown Act. Bickering causes nothing but frustration and only adds to the confusion. It leads to problems that could have otherwise been avoided, such as the lawsuit filed last year by Californians Aware, and diverts attention and energy away from other important topics. The training sessions will be a test to see if shared governance

leaders can cooperate and effectively communicate with one another so that everyone comes away with a better understanding of the Brown Act. It is also a challenge for shared governance to be more open about their meetings. This means publically posting meeting dates, agendas and minutes—something that many senate committees have been accused of not adhering to. Whether this causes more conflict among members or resolves issues, this is a chance for all shared governance bodies to learn from past mistakes so that they can better serve the school and students in the future.

Sammy Wu Staff Writer

with the Confederate flag. In response, the Texas DMV denied their request on the grounds of offensiveness associated with the symbol, causing the SOCV to challenge the DMV’s refusal as an infringement on their First Amendment rights. Without knowing much about the freedom of speech and its various complexities, one may be convinced that the SOCV is right in this legal battle. If the group purchased the license plates out of their own pockets, there should be no reason why they would be denied what they want .Yes, the message may be controversial and offensive, but who are we or the Texas DMV to decide what can and cannot be put on a private citizen’s car, or property for that matter? “The First Amendment really was designed to protect a debate

at the fringes,” said American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director Steven Shapiro in an interview with NPR. “You don’t need the courts to protect speech that everybody agrees with, because that speech will be tolerated. You need a First Amendment to protect speech that people regard as intolerable or outrageous or offensive — because that is when the majority will wield its power to censor or suppress, and we have a First Amendment to prevent the government from doing that.” Toni Massaro of the James E. Rogers College of Law built on Shapiro’s argument. “Free speech doctrine is especially concerned about ‘viewpoint discrimination,’” Massaro said. “So, if the state allows one message, it cannot deny access to another on the same subject matter that expresses a different viewpoint.” However, if the government is producing the speech, there are specific rules that are legally permitted to be at play. This comes from the difference between “public forum speech,” which is seldom regulated and produced by private individuals or institutions, and “limited forum” or “government speech” which is made by the government and follows a different set of guidelines. Speech shown on license plates is still seen as sanctioned by the government. The government is also handing out the license plates, so any messages on the plates are considered to be government sponsored. The Supreme Court must consider the distinction between government speech and public forum speech. The Confederate flag contains

a racist implication understood by many Americans. It stands for an organization that condoned slavery of African Americans and espoused the doctrines of racial hierarchy in society. All governments, including the state of Texas, has a responsibility to their citizens not to support any message that communicates racism, sexism, homophobia, and hatred in general. If the Supreme Court declares the SOCV the victor, then any hateful, extremist group, such as neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, can legally draft their own license plates if they have the money to do so. The First Amendment does entitle these groups to their own hateful viewpoints, but the government must also refuse putting these opinions on official state speech. Doing so is not just a mark on the government, but it is also offensive to citizens, whom it is the government’s job to protect. “It is not a question of free speech. It is offensive speech,” said Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson. “It is a state-issued license that honors my oppression.” This is without a doubt a complicated predicament. On the one hand, the government should not monitor speech, since it is protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Yet, it is inappropriate and unjust for the government to put hateful messages on official forums. “Our constitutional values here collide,” said Jackson Wright, a law professor at Harvard Law School. “We care deeply about free speech, but we also understand it is not absolute in all contexts.”

Freedom of speech is not entirely absolute

Although freedom of speech appears to be a straightforward and agreeable issue on the surface, it has been proven to be a great conundrum for both the government and private citizens. The most recent complication comes from the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SOCV), who wanted to finance and support a Texas license plate carrying a picture of the Confederate flag. The United States Supreme Court presided over the lawsuit last week in which the Texas SOCV sued for the right to display the flag. The case started when the SOCV communicated to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles their desire to possess a specialty license plate decorated

VOICES:

Which presidential candidate would be the best choice?

Photo Adviser Tim Berger Advertising Manager Daniel Nerio “I think Dr. Patricia Hsieh would be the best candidate to encourage students to work harder and achieve their academic goals. She has a lot of experience.” Cindy Zhang, English

“Dr. Rajen Vurdien is the best candidate because he has enough experience. I think he will be the most proactive candidate who will still be enthusiastic to encourage change.” Fatema Ghafarshad, paralegal

“I think Dr. Robert Miller is the ideal candidate because he has experience within PCC. He already knows what’s going on around the campus, and he can put more useful input into school issues.” Joshua Vega, English

“I’d say Dr. Patricia Hsieh. It could be nice and different to have a woman’s perspective.” Wilbert Romero, engineering

The Courier is written and produced as a learning experience for student writers, photographers and editors in the Journalism Department. Phone: (626) 585-7130 Fax: (626) 585-7971 Advertising (626) 585-7979 Office: 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., CC-208 Pasadena, CA 91106-3215 © Copyright 2015 Courier. All rights Reserved.

Shared governance fumbles Brown Act

Nathan McIntire

The Courier is published weekly by the Pasadena City College Journalism Department and is a free-speech forum. Editorials and comments are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the institution and its administration, student government or that of the Pasadena Area Community College District.

COURIER

Reporting by: Ashley Park Photos by: Kristen Luna

ONLINE POLL RESULTS

Online, we asked: Which presidential candidate would be the best choice? Results as of 5 p.m. Wednesday: Dr. Patricia Hsieh (38 votes, 55%) Dr. Robert B. Miller (22 votes, 31%) Dr. Rajen Vurdien (9 votes, 13%)

Vote at PccCourier.com

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Erica Hong/Courier Maggie Moran walks her dog Honey Girl with Liz Hamada on Tuesday, March 31.

Stroll at Michael Osborne/Courier Participants scramble for the prized golden egg at the first annual Egg Bowl at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on Saturday, April 4.

Erica Hong/C A Boston Terrier scampers through the grass on Tuesday, March 31.

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A remote kit plane takes flight on Tuesday, March 31.

the

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Erica Hong/Courier

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Max Zeronian/Courier Hobbyist Tim Gostony flies his powered glider on Sunday, March 29.

Max Zeronian/Courier Car enthusiast Hugo Ramirez displays his 1966 Chevrolet Stepside next to a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;66 Baja Bug on Sunday, March 29. Ramirez has been working on the truck for over a year.

Erica Hong/Courier A large group of cyclists bike together on Tuesday, March 31.

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FEATURES

April 16, 2015

Lions, dragons and drummers celebrate Mick Donovan Features Editor

Lions danced, dragons soared and drummers pounded to their own ethnic beat in the warm spring air as crowds gathered in a circle to watch on Thursday in Galloway Plaza at Pasadena City College. PCC and the PCC Global Club hosted Chinese Culture Day on campus and invited the Developing Virtue Boys School’s Lion and Dragon Dance and 24 Seasons Drumming clubs to perform and teach workshops for the fourth year in a row. The festivities for the annual Chinese Culture Day included a lion dance, a dragon dance, 24 Seasons Drumming, a calligraphy lesson, healthy lifestyle, eating and meditation demonstrations and a workshop on learning the lion and dragon dances. The two dances were fantastical and hinted at a bit of magic. The beautiful costume pieces are puppets and typically just called “lion heads” and “dragons.” Both are manned differently to bring these creatures to life.

The lion consisted of two performers, one for the head and another for the tail end, while the dragon requires nine performers. The dances were eloquent and subtle with their movements. The lion itself slowly approached the audience through a type of bowing gesture and near the end of the piece the dancing became more enthusiastic. At moments the performer in the head will jump onto the shoulder of the tail-end performer to demonstrate the lion standing on it’s hind legs. This is a feat of great agility and core strength and the dancers were able to demonstrate it with ease and grace. The dragon seemed to fly effortlessly through the sky in circles and fluid gestures and patterns, all while blowing a fireball forward in the air. These dances, as well as the two featured animals, are iconic to Chinese culture and traditions that go back centuries. “Lion dance and dragon dance are both very celebratory dances and are iconic and beloved products of Chinese Culture,”

wrote Riley Fong, a senior at Developing Virtue Boys School, in an e-mail. “You will almost always see the lion dance at Chinese New Years celebration, while dragon dance is a bit more rare. You may see dragon dance at festivals where people want to call down rain, as dragons are ‘in charge’ of rain in the heavens.” The drumming itself is a separate art form and a celebratory performance but it is performed in conjunction with the two dances by the school as the clubs travel and perform together as a unit. The drummers stacked the drums into a pyre and ended the number with three of the performers jumping up onto the drums and all finishing the piece on the single top drum and igniting confetti poppers from the top. “Though drumming itself has obviously been around for centuries and has always been a large part of Chinese culture, the specific form of drumming that we perform—24 Seasons Drumming— is a relatively nascent form that was created in Malaysia around a decade ago,” Fong wrote.

provement compared to regular smoking. There are even some that have never smoked conventional cigarettes, but have still used some form of nicotine vaporizer. A recent survey conducted by Biomed Central Public Health found that one out of five teenagers had either purchased or tried some form of electronic cigarette, which has led some to fear that e-cigs could be a possible gateway for future cigarette smokers. “A lot of people see smoking and it seems tempting, so sometimes to break that temptation they might start vaping which might keep them from trying out an actual cigarette,” said Ty White, an employee at Vapemastaz, a vape shop located near campus. “A lot of people see it and might think automatically that means that young people who start vaping initially is a bad idea, but technically the sensation of them wanting to try cigarettes, but they want to try vaping first in order to avoid cigarettes.”

White himself uses a nicotine vaporizer even though he has never smoked a traditional cigarette and he credits the vaping industry for him never picking up one. Like traditional cigarettes, the sale to minors is prohibited in California. And many cities have restricted their use in public places where smoking is prohibited. “We strongly restrict that, if a customer looks young we will ask for I.D.,” said Rikk Alverez, a manager at Vapemastaz. “As a community we should treat this with responsibility,” said Alverez. Alverez is a former smoker

Daniel Valencia/Courier The Developing Virtue Dragon and Lion Dance club performed the dragon dance for Chinese Culture Day at the Galloway Plaza on Thursday April 2.

This club featured 13 drummers and drums while a full team will have 24. Each drum represents one of the 24 Chinese farming seasons. The four main seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter, are each divided into six more. The Developing Virtue Boys School is an all-boys boarding school in Ukiah, Calif. It isn’t a large school but the students are dedicated and work hard to

bring these performances to life with vigor. “It’s very small and very intimate, and a large majority of the students are involved in these clubs. We rehearse, for all three clubs combined, about 5-6 hours a week,” Fong wrote. While these art forms are not widely done professionally in the U.S., they are far more common in Southeast Asia.

who says that before he started vaping, he smoked as many as four packs of cigarettes a day. He says that before he discovered vaping, he tried a variety of methods to quit smoking, even hypnotism. Another perk that might attract potential smokers is the fact that the nicotine used in e-cigs can come in a variety of different flavors, which many say is a vast improvement over the taste and lingering smell that is left behind from traditional cigarettes. “With traditional cigarettes, you only get a choice of two flavors, stale and super stale,” said Alverez.

Alverez says that the employees at Vapemastaz understand all of the chemicals that are contained in the e-liquids that they sell and that the staff is always willing to answer any questions that customers may have about the liquid and its contents. “We only deal with e-liquid dealers in California because California has some of the most strict chemical regulations,” he said. Alverez gets many different requests for flavors and modifications from customers because there is no standard when it comes to how people prefer their vaping experience.

Tobacco use on decline as vaping culture grows

Justin Clay Online Editor

Cigarette sales have been on the decline in the United States for the past few years. With cigarette taxes and ad campaigns designed to teach the dangers of smoking on television commercials, internet spots and billboards on the street, it is no wonder that more people have decided to pass on traditional smoking. One of the reasons for tobacco’s steady decline is the rising popularity of electronic cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs, are battery powered handheld vaporizers that heat up liquid nicotine and allow the user to breathe in the vapor without the tar and smoke associated with traditional smoking. They were designed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. Supporters of e-cigs say that they are much safer than conventional cigarettes and many former smokers say that the benefits of vaping is a vast im-

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April 16, 2015

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Soldier and author speaks at Borders of Diversity Matthew Kiewiet News Editor

Despite a handful of unsatisfied students, the Borders of Diversity Student Conference hosted by the Cross-Cultural Center, College Diversity Initiative, and the English Department was both moving and educational. The seminar began with student panels and presentations about the importance of unity and tolerance, which fit the theme of “Crossing Boundaries: Finding Home.” “I thought the Borders event overall was terrific,” said English professor Roger Marheine. “My colleagues worked hard to bring it all together and the student panel presentations are so inspiring.” The key note speaker was American author and soldier, Brian Turner. He is most famous for his poems “Here, Bullet” and “The Hurt Locker.” He read both of his poems and offered anecdotes of his time in the army that related to each poem. He

explained how he arrived at the title of “The Hurt Locker,” which went on to become the title of a critically acclaimed film that depicts disarming bombs during the War in Iraq. The phrase originated from one of his former sergeants at West Point, Turner explained. The sergeant meant to threaten the platoon with a “hurt box,” which meant they would be in a world of hurt if they did not complete a certain task. He misspoke and said, “hurt locker” instead. “The Hurt Locker” was written in the summer of 2004, a time when it “felt like for months we were being hunted.” It constantly felt like him and his fellow soldiers were on the verge of being put in a hurt locker, Turner said. “It was complete boredom punctuated by significant chaos,” remembers Turner. Turner is also famous for his memoirs titled, “My Life as a Foreign Country.” In this book he tells brief stories about his deployment, along with his rea-

soning for joining the military in the first place. “…He was personable and worked hard to connect with the students,” said Marheine in an email. “I do believe he represents a major current of what I have called ‘American war culture’ which is to say that he expresses a genuine perplexity regarding war’s root causes and his own participation in those wars. To that extent he raises questions and uses his literary voice to work out his own psychological ambiguity.” Several students in the audience felt they needed to be clear that they were anti-war, demanding answers as to why he would fight for what they believed to be an unjustified cause. Turner responded, seeming a tad disengaged with the question, that they made a valid point that should be discussed. Much to the student’s dismay at the time, he chose to abruptly move on to a different topic. “Overall the subject of war was not properly addressed,” said psychology major Lindsey

Iniguez. “Students need to know what’s going on, and a heart-felt explanation was not given.” Turner had given out his phone number to the audience at the beginning of his lecture, so Iniguez expressed her concerns in a text message. She said that Turner got back to her and explained that the

way he raises awareness is not by telling people what to believe, potentially offending those on either side of the political spectrum. Instead, he aims to urge a person to ask questions, which in turn makes them think. “Believe in imagination,” said Turner as he wrapped things up. “That is all we have.”

to a certain format,” said Weatherford. “I thought that if I’m an artist with some ideas, I get to use whatever means I want to make my idea concrete.” She spoke about her development as a young artist and how she felt pressured to find her unique style. She encouraged students to try creating in many different mediums. “When I was a young artist like you, I thought I had to figure out a style and stick with it. Well, I haven’t done that,” said Weatherford. In her latest work inspired by Arte Povera, an Italian modern art movement from the early 70’s that literally translates to “poor art,” Weatherford incorporated repurposed neon light tubes into her pieces attached directly onto the canvas in a series titled “The Bakersfield Project.” Weatherford was inspired to incorporate the lights into her paintings after salvaging neon tubes from the old Thrifty Mart “T” sign in Bakersfield. She chose to leave the electrical cords hanging bare, using them to add shape and connection to the painting. “Of course, they are not only about information and information traveling, but about power traveling, moving,” said Weatherford. “And it’s always a closed circuit.” Students were encouraged to take part in a critique of how she created her art pieces. Weatherford asked how her work would feel different if she had decided to hide the cords powering the neon lights behind the canvas. “There is a sense of connection with the outside world when you have the cords on the outside that you wouldn’t have with the hidden cords,” respond-

ed PCC art student Cindyroy Komoto. Noon-Time Artists’ Talks is a new program created by Maryrose Mendoza, the associate professor and drawing coordinator for the Visual, Media and Performing Arts Division. Men-

doza said she approached art faculty and asked them who they would suggest to invite to speak based on what their students are interested in. “What I tried to do is get a diverse group of artists from disciplines that are a part of our

visual arts department,” Mendoza said. The talks this year have also included creative director Lisa Krohn, ceramics artist Julia Haft-Candell, entertainment designer Scott Robinson and conceptual artist Jennifer Moon.

Nagisa Mihara/Courier Students gather to listen to keynote speaker Brian Turner talk about his work for the Borders of DIversity annual student conference in the Creveling Lounge on Thursday, April 2.

Students learn at lunch with influential LA-based abstract painter Keely Damara Staff Writer

Mary Weatherford remembers her first and most influential experience viewing art as the time she visited UC Santa Cruz at the ripe age of 5 and saw “The Fruit Room.” It was a student art exhibition in a vacant room underneath the dining hall that consisted of supermarket fruit advertisements pasted over every visible surface. “I saw it in 1968 when I was 5-years-old and it really stuck with me,” said Weatherford. “As young artists, there may be things you saw when you were 5-years-old that have stuck with you. You might think, well, they are insignificant for my work now, but for me it’s proved to be – this is probably one of the most significant things I’ve seen in my life in terms of what has come later.” Weatherford, a critically acclaimed abstract painter based in LA, detailed her evolution as an artist in the Center for the Arts building at Pasadena City College earlier this month as the last artist featured in a series of Noon-Time Artists’ Talks over the past year. Weatherford’s art spawns from a feminist viewpoint but has spanned many mediums—paint, pencil and mixed media—as she doesn’t like to limit her expression as an artist. In a piece titled “Girl Menace by Early Work,” Weatherford pokes fun at this idea by incorporating her first critically acclaimed art titled “Nagasaki, 1989” of a bulls-eye into a different piece. “The target paintings I had made were very, very popular— critically and with collectors— and I didn’t want to be married

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SPORTS

8 COURIER

Swimming primed to bring home title

Shaunee Edwards/Courier Swimmer Courtney Fukushima swims in the South Coast Conference Pentathlon and Relays at Rio Hondo College on Feb. 13. Luis Rodriguez Staff Writer

Coming off a perfect 8-0 dual conference title in the South Coast Conference, women’s swimming is poised to make a run at the SCC Championship title this weekend at East Los Angeles College. Their biggest competition is expected to be rivals Mt. SAC, which finished 7-1, losing only to PCC. Head Coach Terry Stoddard is tasked with preparing a success-

ful team to not let their winning streak affect their performance. “We’re poised to be a contender. Without a doubt,” said Stoddard after a Tuesday practice. “You have to focus on the turns and the finishes. I strive every day to make hard work normal,” added Stoddard, which he uses as a motto. In the sport of swimming, placing first and placing second comes down to fractions of a second. Ariahn Givens, who swims in the 50 and 100 freestyle, understands this better

than anyone. “It’s all about technique,” said Givens. “If you do one thing wrong, you could lose the race in a split second.” Givens even has something of a personal rivalry with someone at Rio Hondo College. “I hope I can pull it together and beat her at conference,” said Givens. “She’s at 24.90 and I’m at 25.07.” Courtney Fukushima wasn’t joking around after practice but she is more focused on improving her personal best times over just focusing on winning the

conference title. “That’d be awesome,” said Fukushima. “I don’t know if we will [win] but that’ll be cool. Right now I think we’re mainly focused on getting our best times for conference and also trying to make state.” The men’s swimming team, which has not had as good of a performance, are also preparing to compete for their own title. The championships will be at ELAC this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

April 16, 2015

SOFTBALL

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nod for a playoff spot.” PCC added another run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by freshman outfielder Yecenia Cardenas, scoring Quintana. That would be all the Lancers needed. “Our team did great and if we keep fighting this way we should be able to win these last two games,” said Cardenas, who also went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases. “It’s going to be an interesting battle.” They managed to tack on another four runs in their half of the fifth as a result of four more hits and three Seahawks errors. LA Harbor managed to get on the scoreboard with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the sixth before the Lancers slammed the door shut. Freshman pitcher Brianna Lopez turned in a stellar performance, throwing a complete game where she only faced 28 batters, seven above the minimum. The Lancers close out the season at East Los Angeles College this afternoon and host Compton in the season finale on April 21. PCC has one win and one loss against each team this season, and will need to win out in order to be considered for an at-large playoff bid.