Spring06totalissue7(april26)

Volume CX Edition 7

Malibu’s most wanted

April 26, 2006

Published since 1949

Men’s basketball coach leaves FCC to realize D-I dream.

by Quinn Robinson Rampage Reporter For the past four seasons, fans of Fresno City College basketball have witnessed “organized chaos” under the tenure of prominent and well-respected basketball coach, Vance Walberg.

Now Walberg takes his “organized chaos” to scenic Malibu, California as Pepperdine University announced in a press conference April 20 that Walberg would be the new Pepperdine Waves men’s basketball coach.

“It’s an experience you’ll never forget,” said Walberg, describing the phone call he received on April 18 from Pepperdine athletic director John Watson. “I was on pins and needles for some time. I talked to [Watson] on Sunday and we talked about possible coaching staff. I still didn’t know if I had the job or not.”

Walberg went another two days wondering if he would get that chance he’s been dreaming about his whole life and then that opportunity approached him Tuesday morning.

“Tuesday by 11:30 [a.m.] they gave me a call and it was unbelievable,” said Walberg. “He said ‘Vance this is the good phone call.’

Walberg will leave some very big shoes to fill as FCC looks to replace a coach that accumulated a record of 133-11 in four years.

“I am very excited about Vance Walberg and his new position at Pepperdine University,” said Fresno City College athletic director Susan Yates. “I am equally excited about being able to continue the strong tradition of FCC basketball through our next head coach.”

Walberg has been coaching for almost 30 years, the past 17 being in the Central Valley. No matter where Walberg has gone, he has been able to establish a following that will only get bigger as he enters the Division-I ranks this fall.

This hasn’t been the first time that his name has been in the mix for a D-I level job.

Last season, after leading the Rams to a perfect 34-0 record and a state title, the first in 35 years for FCC, Walberg was in consideration for the vacant Fresno State position that was later taken by Steve Cleveland. He was also considered by Loyola Marymount.

Cleveland also coached at Clovis West High School and Fresno City College, posting a record of 157-77 at FCC before making the jump to BYU where he coached the

Battle of the Big-Name Sodas: Coke contract to POP?

Vance Walberg speaks at press conference at Pepperdine Unviersity on April 20

Jessyca Dewey

Rampage Reporter Do Fresno City College students, faculty, and staff really want Coke on their campus?

This question has recently surfaced with both students and faculty members alike who are concerned that the district’s exclusive beverage contract with the Coca-Cola Company, which expired on April 2, might be renewed during the next Board of Trustees meeting scheduled in June.

Those who are interested in human rights at (FCC) stand in opposition against the contract renewal due to alleged charges that Coke uses extreme violence to intimidate workers at their plants overseas.

Coca-Cola has been accused of such atrocities as allowing paramilitary forces to operate within their overseas bottling factories, while using murder, torture, and other violent measures to discourage workers from becoming unionized.

Dating as far back as 1989 and continueing there have been eight union leaders at various Coca-Cola bottling plants who have allegedly been murdered.

According to the website, www.killercoke.org, the official website for the campaign against Coke and its alleged human rights abuses, hundreds of other Coke workers Office: (559) 442-8263

Courtesy of Pepperdine University

have been “tortured, kidnapped and illegally detained by violent paramilitaries, often working closely with plant managements.”

Additionally, another website www.indiares accusses the Coca-Cola company of overexploitation and pollution of water sources in India and other countries.

The Human Rights Watch has laid claims that Coke is benefiting from hazardous child labor in El Salvador and various other institutions have accused the company of a wide array of human rights violations.

Due to such horrendous allegations, there have been over 120 colleges and universities that have become active in the campaign to terminate their school’s contracts with Coca-Cola. Schools as large as Rutgers University and New York University have successfully eliminated their exclusive contracts with Coke due to the alleged human rights violations.

Gerald Bill, a sociology teacher at FCC shared a documentary with some of his classes about the atrocities of the Coca-Cola Company’s abuse overseas.

“It’s important that students learn about these things and know that what they do in Fresno can affect people in places like Colombia,” explained Bill.

Brandon Hill, the founder of FCC’s human rights club, Sustainable Action, would like students to band see Soda Page 5

Advertising: (559) 442-8262

see Walberg p.10

vs.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM

Fax: (559) 265-5783

e-mail: rampage-news@fresnocitycollege.edu

2 Rampage

News

A secret system debunked:

by Clare Frederick

April 26, 2006

How fate is determined for future nursing students at FCC

Rampage Reporter Harvard number genius John Nash would have had a field day with all the lottery numbers floating around in the air. If anyone’s seen “A Beautiful Mind,” they’ll know what I’m talking about.

Fourteen people met in a conference room at the Health Sciences building a couple Thursdays ago in a secret and closed session to hold a lottery to determine the next group of nursing students who would be allowed into the Fresno City College nursing program.

The FCC lottery process is intense, and is taken very seriously. Thousands from around the world apply to the program at FCC each year. It’s the largest one of its kind in California.

The volunteers were to choose 59 people, with 15 alternates for the 550 person program.

The odds of actually getting into the program are pretty slim, but the more you get rejected, the more likely you’ll get picked. So if your name hasn’t been called after five tries, you almost automatically get in.

“The lottery is not computer generated because the more people who participate, the better,” said Dr. Carolyn Drake, associate dean of Health Sciences. She believes it is important to have a lot of people involved to keep it as fair as possible.

What happens behind closed doors, and how are people really selected for this highly sought after program?

Surrounding a conference table, the volunteers were given a stack of 3x5 cards. Each card had the name of a person vying for a position in the program. They shuffled the cards upside down, to make sure the names would remain hidden.

A book of a million random digits perched at the head of the table where Drake sat. It appeared to carry an extreme amount of importance where it lay as it determined the futures of close to 60 students.

Photo by Clare Frederick

Lottery numbers jotted down on a white board determine the new and lucky nursing students.

Out of the book, Drake opened up to a random page, and began to read aloud a series of five-digit numbers. Each person at the table then took turns writing down the numbers Drake would call out, on the top right hand corner of their 3x5 card. They continued around the table in this fashion for about forty minutes until every card was assigned a number from the book.

Each participant then put each of their newly numbered

cards in numeric order in a pile in front of them on the conference table.

31711, 33936, 14845… The numbers swirled through the air in a trance-like rhythmic fashion. It seemed as though it would never end.

A lady at a white board in the front of the room quickly scrambled to jot down each number that was called out by Drake. “That’s mental exercise,” said one participant, referring to her constant number writing, over a significant length of time. “At least we all get a break.”

Chuckles erupted when a person accidentally read back the wrong number at one point. There was, however, an unspoken understanding of maintaining professionalism as the, “number calling out process” wouldn’t continue until she repeated the correct number back.

A mixture of grave seriousness coupled with lighthearted countenance filled the room.

When the first winner was finally determined, someone shouted out, “They should go to Vegas!”

If a candidate’s card was given an assigned number that started with the number 0, they made it into the program.

The program received a grant for $714,000 earlier this year, which will provide the necessary monies for additional students to participate.

A lot of interest has been generated for nursing careers at the school, and the demand for nurses in our area is high. FCC holds a nursing program orientation two or three times a month. At times, they have had as many as 75 people show up wanting to learn more about nursing opportunities in our valley.

When the long and intense event was over, people filed out of the room carrying smiles of accomplishment on their faces.

I wonder how many of these volunteers fell asleep to the sight of five digit numbers dancing above their heads that night.

April 26, 2006

Meet the ASG candidates

News

Rampage 3

Students compete for the top political spots on campus

by Quinn Robinson Rampage Reporter

“I bring a level of

“I have a lot of

“As a senator I’m

integrity and the ability

ideas. I’d like to

already doing as

to go forward with any

bring more cultural

much as I can. If

ideas I have for the

ideas. It would also

I get elected, I’ll

benefit of the school

be nice to have the

have a chance

only.”

library open a little

to represent the

longer.”

students.”

-Daren Esqueda President/Senator

“I can make a difference. I’d like to see more programs that help students stay in school.

-Quentin Pena Senator

-Alida Espinoza

-Kate Blanco

Executive V.P.

Student Trustee/ Senator

“I want to be

“I’d like to become

proactive, and get

more involved. I want

involved and make

to make sure stu-

the students here. I’d

changes. I want

dents’ complaints are

like to improve the

to be the voice

being heard. Lighting

college experience.”

representing the

in the parkinglot is

23,000 students on

an important issue.”

“I really want to help

The Associated Student Government is once again taking steps to hear the concerns of Fresno City College students, this time to the polls.

Students who have listened to candidates running for office now have their chance to vote those that they feel can voice the various opinions about student life on campus the best.

The Associated Student Government is holding their annual elections on April 25-27 for the upcoming 2006-07 school year.

“I think its awareness,” said ASG senator Rabiah Rahman who is in charge of running the elections. “A lot of people don’t really know that we have an ASG. We try to get out there and make the campus more aware, but I think that most of the students are here to get their schoolwork done and move on.”

The deadline for those who were in-

“I want to get more

-Reyna E. Lopez

see ASG p. 5

RAMPAGE

involved.”

-Christina Carballo Senator

-Jovanna Leon

FRESNO CITY COLLEGE 1101 E. UNIVERSITY AVE. FRESNO, CA 93741

Senator

-Sylvia Villalobos

campus.”

terested in holding a position in the ASG for next school year was on April 7. However, those who decide to run during the election can do so by being a write-in candidate. The candidate would then have to gather 150 votes that would take place of signatures a candidate who turned in their application before the April 7 deadline would have to collect.

Currently the ASG includes 16 senator positions and five executive board positions, which include President, Executive Vice President, Legislative Vice President, President Pro-Tempore and Student Trustee.

The requirements to run for ASG say that a student must be enrolled in at least six units and hold a minimum of a 2.5 GPA. They will also have to be able to hold three office hours during the week and attend the mandatory meetings which are held once a week.

The reward of holding a seat in the ASG can go far past one’s time here at FCC. “It shows leadership to potential employers and colleges,” said Rahman. “It says you took that

Senator

Senator

The FCC Department of Dental Hygiene is scheduled for an accreditation review by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation on September 7 and 8, 2006. In compliance with the ADA’s requirements, the Department of Dental Hygiene is posting the following statement: “Third-party comments relative to the Commission’s accredited programs may include comments submitted by interested parties such as faculty, students, program administrators, Commission consultants, specialty and dental related organizations, patients, and/or consumers.” A copy of the appropriate accreditation standards and/or the Commission’s policy on third-party comments may be obtained by contacting the Commission at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago IL 60611, or by calling 800-621-8099, extension 4653.

All comments must pertain only to the accreditation standards for the Fresno City College Dental Hygiene Program and should be in the Commission office no later than July 8, 2006. Each comment will receive a response regarding the relevancy to accreditation standards. Relevant comments received at least 50 days before the accreditation sitevisit will be forwarded to the FCC Dental Hygiene Program for a written response.

Editor in Chief: Quinn Robinson News Editor: Clare Frederick Business Office: Leah Edwards Sports Editor: Quinn Robinson Views Editor: Matthew T. Mendez Reviews Editor: Victoria McLoughlin Photo Editor: Jennifer Schmidt Adviser: Dympna Ugwu-Oju

Reporters Jacob Wiens, Nigel Wojtak, Joseph Rios, Jessyca Dewey, Jeff Rodriguez, Herbert Graham, Nathan Tyree, Sean Felten, Sonya Henson, Macrina Aivazian, Mike Read

Photography/ Graphics

Russel Bourg, Nathan Tyree, Joseph Rios, Matthew T. Mendez, Jennifer Schmidt, Clare Frederick

Dance for Life

FRESNO CITY COLLEGE THEATRE ARTS AND DANCE DEPARTMENT PRESENTS

Spring 2006

Featuring works of the Fresno City College faculty, student choreographers and Special Guest Artists.

Fresno City College Theatre April 27 and 28 • 7:30 pm April 29 and 30 • 2:00 pm April 29 • 7:30 pm, Special Benefit Concert $10 $10 General Admission, $7 Students Relaxed parking in Lots D, E and F Theatre Box Office: 442-8221, Mon–Fri, 9 am–3:30 pm and one hour before the performance.

State Center Community College District • Photo by Josh Hires • Graphic Design by Dumont Printing

Letters to the editor and submissions to the calendar will be accepted via e-mail or in person noon-1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at The Rampage, Room SC- 211, above the bookstore. Please keep all letters to a maximum of 500 words.

Newsroom: (559) 442-8263 Business: (559) 442-8262 Fax: (559) 265-5783 E-mail: rampage-news@fresnocitycollege.edu rampage-editor@fresnocitycollege.edu rampage-sports@fresnocitycollege.edu rampage-business@fresnocitycollege.edu

Rampage is an award-winning newspaper published biweekly by the Fresno City College Journalism 5 program and is a member of Journalism Association of Community Colleges.

Views expressed in The Rampage are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of Fresno City College, its students, administration or the State Center Community College District.

April 26, 2006 News Reporter’s Notebook: Armenian Genocide still alive

4 Rampage

Macrina Avazarian

nians have a certain influence, and what affects them is of interest to the community at large,” Rampage Reporter says Prof. Topouzkhanian.

“History repeats itself.” It is a concept that Here in Fresno various events are has been taught to us through our history books held every year to commemorate the genocide. over and over again. Though the sentence may Besides the civil and religious services held on seem to carry a negative connotation, it is not alApril 24th, (the official day of commemoration) ways a bad thing. There have there was a flag raising ceremony been moments in history that on Saturday morning at Fresno have made us proud at times City Hall where various local digand yet, in contrast, there have nitaries attended. In addition, there been instances where we have is also a temporary exhibit at the been ashamed. When we learn Fresno MET of a highly renowned we are empowered, we are Armenian artist who survived the unlikely to repeat the same genocide, Arshile Gorky. mistake.

Despite our local efforts This was the idea to shed light on this tragic event Prof. Topouzkhanian repeated and to remember those who were over and over again during our victims, the United States governinterview. He is the professor ment has yet to officially recognize of Armenian language here at the Armenian genocide despite the Fresno City College and the overwhelming evidence in favor of history he kept so passionately it. Many states require the genoreferring to was the Armenian cide to be mentioned during the photo by Jeffinfer Schmidt Genocide. The annihilation of education of the Jewish Holocaust.

Here in Fresno it is not. When asked the Armenian people began in ROTC students from Fresno 1915 and ended roughly around High School raise an Armenian as to why he thinks the genocide is not 1918. It was a systematic plan of extermina- taught in classrooms here at Fresno City, Prof. Topouzkhanian replied, “Because of it’s indifference to events in other tion meticulously planned by the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey). Approximately parts of the world. People don’t care about something if they don’t feel it on their skin. But as I have said, if a mis1.5 million Armenians were killed.

For those who don’t have relatives take is not corrected it will be repeated. Historians always remind us that history repeats itself. As Hitler said, ‘Who who were victims of the genocide, it is an uncommon story. Most students have heard nowadays remembers the annihilations of the Armenians?’

He repeated the same plan knowing that if they don’t about the [Jewish] Holocaust, not many remember that one, they won’t remember this one either… know about the genocide that preceded it.

Why? To put it simply: The current Turkish We must remember all genocides so one day the whole government still denies the mistake of their world will condemn the act even if a hundred years have ancestors and their attempt to systematically passed since it was committed. No one should think that it will be forgotten. The perpetrators should know that they wipe out the Armenian race. will be brought to justice.”

Here in Fresno, we have one of Despite popular belief that genocide is merely a the largest Armenian communities in the historic occurence, history continues to repeat itself today.

Diaspora. “It is important to talk about genocide in Fresno because of the presence In places like Sudan and Darfur genocide continues to take of a large Armenian community, about 40 to place. “If Turkey is not made to pay for its crimes, other 50 thousand in the Fresno metropolitan area. countries will think that if nothing happened to Turkey, Because of the size of the community Arme- nothing will happen to them either. But if Turkey is made

to pay for its mistakes, even after a century, then other nations will take heed.”

Currently, FCC does not have any commemorative events to remember those who did and to educate those unaware of the Armenian Genocide.

When asked if he teaches about the genocide in his classes Prof. Topouzkhanian replied, “When the anniversary approaches in April we talk about it, but not extensively because the class is strictly an Armenian language course, it does not encompass all Armenian Studies.”

Commencement and Certificate Ceremonies Rehearsal for Commencement Ceremony *DATE:* THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2006 *TIME:* 4:00 - 5:00 PM *LOCATION:* SELLAND ARENA - 700 “M” STREET

Commencement Ceremony *DATE:* Friday, MAY 19, 2006 *TIME:* 7:30 PM *LOCATION:* SELLAND ARENA - 700 “M” STREET

Certificate of Completion Recognition Ceremony *DATE:*Saturday, May 13, 2006 *TIME:* 1:00 p.m. *LOCATION:* Tower Theatre - Olive & Wishon Ave

Certificate of Achievement Recognition Ceremony *DATE:*Saturday, May 13, 2006 *TIME:* 3:00 p.m. *LOCATION:* Tower Theatre - Olive & Wishon Ave

Honors Recognition Ceremony *DATE:* Saturday, May 13, 2006 *TIME:* 6:00 P.M. *LOCATION:* Tower Theatre - Olive & Wishon Ave

Two Evenings with Susan Stewart Come Join

Poetry reading

Sunday, May 7, 2006

Us

5:00 pm

for free talks

Susan Stewart

on great

Monday, May 8, 2006

poets.

For programming and parking information, call (559) 488-3856.

www.fresnolibrary.org www.poetrybranchingout.com

Lecture on Anna Akhmatova 6:30 pm - Music by Carl and Kathryn Johnsen 7:00 pm - lecture

Woodward Park Regional Library 944 E. Perrin Fresno, CA

News

April 26, 2006

background check.

Once the applicants were admitted, they were on their way to a new career. Graduates of the pilot program will automatically be employed be the California Department of Corrections.

“I have for a long time wanted to do a Correctional Officer’s Academy here in Fresno, but we never had the money to do it,” said Hickman. “We also never had a guarantee our graduates would get a job.”

Officers who graduate will go from the academy to a full time position at the California Department of Corrections. “Our graduates are guaranteed a job at one of the nine local prisons here in the valley,” said Hickman.

Officers graduating from

ASG: New Beginnings continued from p. 3 extra step to participate in [the functions] of school and help guide the students to a better future.”

“Each one of us has a different role,” said Student Trustee Zyanya Bejarano. “We’re are representing not only college wise but district wise.”

Currently, everyone whose name is on the ballot will be elected to office if they receive one vote during the election.

“I like competition,” said Rahman in regards to the amount

Soda:

of candidates this year as to years past. “If there are more people running, then they will have to go out there and look harder for support of their campaign. I would like to see more people in the election, just as long as it was a clean campaign too.”

The elections run through April 27 from 9 a.m.- 5p.m. Rahman hinted that the voting booths may be open until 7 p.m. on the final day of voting and that ASG is still looking for help to run the elections so if anyone is interested contact the ASG office.

SCCCD Board of Trustees to decide

500 450 400

A poll of 500 FCC students If you had to choose between Pepsi or Coca-cola, which would you choose?

If you knew that either Coca-cola or Pepsi had a recent record of murders and kidnappings in connection with their union workers, would that influence your choice in choosing between the products?

350

250

260 52%

337 67.4%

300

240 48%

163 32.6%

200 150 100

continued from p. 1 together and follow the footsteps of the universities campaigning against Coke.

“It’s financially beneficial to have a contract [with Coke], but can they [FCC] get a better contract?”

Hill asked.

When the Coca-Cola contract was negotiated five years ago, Coke offered FCC a higher bid than the one that Pepsi had offered so FCC chose to go with Coke’s offer.

However, when the most recent contract expired in April, the school went right to Coke for renegotiations even though Pepsi, which has a substantially cleaner human rights record, was looking for a chance to make an offer.

“Hopefully, we could get that request for a proposal and then see what we could negotiate,” said Robert Buerger, Pepsi’s key account manager for education.

According to Buerger, Pepsi would really like the opportunity to make an offer for a contract at FCC, but has yet to be offered that option.

“Different districts are looking for certain things.

Some of them would like a scoreboard. Or maybe they’re looking for game sponsorships. It all depends on what the school is looking for,” said Buerger.

The company usually offers a 40% commission on sales. According to the Coke contract, the company has paid the school an up-front fee of $90,000 a year and has paid the school a 35% commission on full-service vending sales.

“This is money that’s devoted to scholarships and

officer training.

After all the training is done for this program, graduates will receive a CPOST certificate. which certifies them for employment.

The Fresno Police Academy at FCC needed some extra manpower to be able to meet these needs. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sent some people to assist in training. The Fresno Police Department also is lending a helping hand. There are also teachers from FCC to help with the academic part of the program.

After each school completes it’s academy, the state will see whose facility ran the program the best. It will consider who had the highest graduation rate, whose facilities have the best access.

“They may give us money in the future based on our performance,” said Hickman. If the program is a success at any of the campuses, the state will possibly continue the program at that campus.

50

NO

Fresno City College launched a pilot program for a Correctional Officer’s Academy on Saturday, April 22. Head of the Fresno Police Academy Richard Linstrom, and former Associate Warden of the Department of Corrections Harlan Rippetoe, are heading this one time trial of the program.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was seeking campuses to host the one time pilot program.

They were in need of more officers because more prisons are being built, and a number of officers are retiring. Galt was the only facility where correctional officers could be trained in the past.

Fresno City College wrote a grant last year to be one of the training sites. “We were one of three community colleges chosen to create training academies and

this program will be able to choose from Avenal, Corcoran one or two, Chowchilla one or two, Delano one or two, Coalinga, or Pleasant Valley Correctionl Facilities.

They are lucky. The officers who graduate from Galt do not get to pick. They get placed at any open prison facility.

Before they are allowed to become an actual correctional officer, they have to pass the program by meeting all the requirements.

“We have to provide the same curriculum they provide at Galt,” said Hickman. “Because before you become a peace officer, you have to meet the minimum proficiencies.”

A person must know how to do an arrest. They have to learn how to use three different firearms.

They have to know the process of controlling inmates. There are also procedures and laws that are standardized which each officer must know. Any peace officer is required to do 640 hours of peace

YES

Rampage Reporter

graduate a class of correctional officers,” said Katherine Hickman.

Fresno City College received a $300,000 grant to run this program. Napa and Santa Rosa are the other two colleges chosen for this one time pilot program.

Fresno City College responded to the academy quickly.

“When we announced our program, we had about 4000 phone calls,” said Hickman. FCC only 42 spots available for this program.

“We could fill 10 academies on any given day,” said Hickman. Getting in the program was not an easy task for all people interested.

First step to getting in was applying. Then the Department of Corrections tested each applicant. There were written and physical test. The physical agility test was to see if applicants could handle the physical demand of the job. A fingerprint was taken of all applicants who passed the exams. Applicants were checked for felonies through a criminal

COKE

By Jeff Rodriguez

Correctional Officer program pilots at FCC

PEPSI

Arrested Development:

Rampage 5

0

Pepsi wins by a landslide at FCC 1

speakers forums among other things. We had Maya Angelou as a speaker and Coke was listed as a sponsor. We can’t do that with public money,” said Michael Guerra, the school’s business manager.

However, some wonder if it would be worth it to accept an alternative contract in order to take a stand for human rights.

“You know, to me money is not about money. It’s about being ethical,” said Isabel Barreras, Secretary of the Board of Trustees. “I think we need to join hands and support our brothers and sisters worldwide and say, “Hey, this is not okay.”

Regardless of whether or not the student population cares about Coke’s violations of human rights, the student population does care about taste.

In a Rampage survey of 500 students, an overwhelming 67.4% of students preferred Pepsi to Coke, however, these students are unable to purchase the beverage of their choice due to the exclusive beverage contract.

“They [students] are part of the decision making process and we need to respect what the students want. They are the consumers on campus and we need to provide what they want,” said Barreras.

Still, not all feel that a survey of 500 students is substantial.

“It’s a small sampling and I can’t speak to that,” said Guerra.

According to cokefacts.org, the Coca-Cola Company completely disagrees with claims their labor relations are poor.

“The Coca-Cola relations practices are among the best on the planet and we are continuously working to improve them.”

The company also states that 30 per cent of its employees belong to a union, and their environmental practices are superb.

Randy Vogt, director of purchasing for the State Center Community College District said, “We chose Coke for financial consideration for the district. It had the best offer, sponsorship, marketing, ect. Coke was more adventageous at the time.”

One way or another, the school board of trustees will vote on the issue in the June meeting.

“At my next board meeting I will definitely bring it up,” said Barreras.

News

6 Rampage

April 26, 2006

Frank Quintana retires after 36 years at FCC

Quintana worked at FCC for 36 years, 25 of which he spent as a counselor.

“You may think that 25 years is a pretty long time, but I enjoyed helping students,” said Quintana, “If you’re helping some students, you’re helping all the students. If you remove a barrier, you remove it for everybody.

My goal was to be the best counselor I could be.”

So what does Frank Quintana want to do when he retires?

“I have a lot of work and it’s a lot of stress. Although it’s fun working with creative people and the nice people we have here, dedicated, committed people, there is still a lot of work. Being away from the stress of everyday work is going to be great. My wife and I will do a little bit of traveling. I want to do some of the basics like, I’ve not read as much as I would have liked. I would like to take time to read some more or go to the ocean whenever I want.”

“One of the great things is that the last three years my wife and I have come to more college activities than in the previous thirty years; coming to see plays, hear the jazz band, or choral group. We’ve enjoyed that, it’s been a lot of fun.”

On behalf of the students at FCC both past and present, the Rampage would like to thank Frank for the many years of outstanding dedication to our school.

by Sonya Henson Rampage Reporter

Frank Quintana has always believed in helping people succeed. He plans on entering a new chapter in his life at the end of this semester, leaving Fresno City College behind with many years of excellent service.

After graduating from Edison High School, and even playing in FCC’s concert band, he completed his degree at Fresno State. His initial goal was to become an elementary school teacher, and taught at Carver elementary school for two and a half years.

But Quintana still wanted to help students in different ways, so he started taking counseling classes.

In 1970, he was hired as a counselor at FCC. While he was a counselor, Quintana was very involved in the community. He was a club sponsor for five different clubs. He founded the “Teachers of Tomorrow” group. Some students wanted a karate club but there wasn’t one, so Quintana sponsored the new club. He also co-founded the Puente program which provided academic and counseling support for Mexican-American and Latino students.

He was also co-coordinator of the Student Success Project for five years.

“It means giving up your lunch hour.”

Quintana says of how he managed to sponsor five different clubs while still being a counselor at FCC, “I’ve always been active with students.”

Frank Quintana enjoyed helping students find direction for their education. Whether it was a plan to transfer to another college, selecting a major, or choosing a college, Quintana was ready to help direct students to a path to their goals.

“I’d basically help students who were 5:01:18 PM lost and reassure students that they could do it,” said Quintana, “I think that people can succeed much stronger on their effort and their motivation than actually their ability.”

In 1996 he became an EOPS (Extended Opportunity Programs and Services) coordinator. When the then-current director of EOPS retired, Quintana became the EOPS director, which lasted three years. This was his first administrative position.

In 2003, he became the first Associate Dean of instruction for the newly created Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts Division. The new division included theater, dance, music, speech, journalism, and art.

Frank Quintana

Rampage archive

“I got the opportunity to become the first dean of the Fine, Performing, and Communication arts,” said Quintana. All of these programs had existed before as part of the Humanities Division, but in 2003 the Fine, Performing, and Communication arts became its own division. This created more focus on the arts, and the ability to lobby for additional funding.

When Quintana became the Division Dean, his goal had to change from student services to setting up programs and helping the faculty of the division achieve success. Quintana’s experience in counseling was very helpful while working with the division to identify and attain various goals. He also worked to remove obstacles and obtain funding for the division.

“In helping teachers succeed, I was indirectly helping students to succeed.”

Overall, Frank

“I think that people can succeed much stronger on their effort and their motivation than their actual ability.”

-Frank Quintana

Rampage

April 26, 2006

Rampage 7

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Sports

8

April 26, 2006

One step ahead in CVC Rams go down to the wire in race for top seed in upcoming playoffs

by Jeff Rodriguez Rampage Reporter

Since last year’s exit from the state championship, Fresno City College Baseball coach Ron Scott highlighted May 29, 2006 on his schedule.

“If we win league, we will get a top seed for the state playoffs,” said Scott. “We will do well with a top seed.”

The Rams need to take care of business first to get set up for that top seed. College of the Sequoias came to Euless Park on April 6 ready for a battle. COS jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.

FCC got a couple of hits from both Kris Haycock and Sean Halton, but never recovered. Lee Collins (3-1, 2.75 ERA) picked up his first loss of the season for the Rams. COS took the road win over FCC 5-2.

FCC bounced back from the loss against Porterville, who came to Euless Park for a make-up game on April 7. Rams scored two runs in the first and never looked back. Halton hit a home run with 3 RBIs while going 2-3 for the day. Derek O’Reilly went 3-3 at the plate, and Brian Oliver added 2 RBIs of his own for the Rams.

Daniel Mora (6-3, 2.55 ERA) was

the winning pitcher for FCC, as they smashed Porterville 12-4.

Merced came to visit Euless April 8. Taylor Lewis (6-0, 3.86 ERA) cruised on the mound for FCC. Rams blew the game open in the seventh when they took a 7-1 lead. Merced added two runs in the ninth, but it was too late.

Lewis kept his record perfect as FCC won 7-3.

FCC traveled to Santa Maria over spring break for the Allen Hancock Tournament, where it got a preview of what to expect in the state championship.

“We went 1-2 against three of the top teams in Southern California,” said Scott.

Cerritos took a pitcher’s duel 2-0 on April 11. FCC came to play against Canyons April 12, and took the game 6-5. FCC squared off with Cypress, the No. 1 team in Southern California, without Coach Scott. Scott and assistant coach Darin Ghimenti got ejected in the game against Canyons, and were suspended one game. The game was knotted at three until the seventh, but Cypress blew the game open to finish FCC 10-3.

FCC traveled next to Merced to take care of league play.

Chris Sosa hit a double and triple with 2 RBIs. Haycock added three hits and scored three runs. Mora picked up the win for FCC as they cruised to an easy 7-1 victory.

Modesto came to Euless Park April 20 for a clash of the top two teams in Central Valley Conference. The Pirates put together a five run third inning to jump on FCC early. Kyle Gerhart hit a double while going 3-5 for the afternoon. Oliver went 2-3 with a double. Haycock hit a double and a triple, as the Rams tried to climb their way back into the game.

Modesto took the game from FCC 5-3.

Modesto has handed FCC three of their four conference losses of the season. FCC is one game ahead of Modesto with six games remaining.

FCC traveled to struggling Reedley April 22. The Rams scored four in the first and five in the second, to jump all over the Tigers. Matt Lieb hit a double and 3 RBIs while going 2-2. Gerhart hit a home run with 3 RBIs. Halton added two RBIs, as Carlton Wilder scored three runs for FCC. Larry Holscher (6-2, 1.64 ERA) was the winning pitcher in the 16-3 blowout.

FCC has played well heading toward the upcoming state playoffs. They are holding down the No. 1 ranking in the Northern California coach’s poll, but Modesto is right on their heels in league standings. FCC needs to finish out league strong for a high seed in state playoffs.

“We are planning on winning league, but we still have two tough games at COS,” said Scott.

COS is currently third in league, and the only team other than Modesto to give FCC a league loss.

The Rams will finish the season with six league games before the state playoffs begin.

The first round of the playoffs begin May 13. The final four will be right here at Euless Park May 27-29.

Photo by Jennifer Schmidt

Fresno City College remains the team to beat in the Central Valley Conference as they’re just ahead of Modesto for the CVC lead

Softball continues to improve

Softball team is able to get back on track after bout with mother nature

by Quinn Robinson Sports Editor

Coach Rhonda Williams and the Fresno City College softball team remain in playoff contention as the season winds down to its final games.

The Rams took on Central Valley Conference rival Modesto Junior College on April 20 here at the softball diamond. The Rams needed all the victories they could get, coupled with a Merced loss here and there would put the Rams in position for their first conference title since 2001.

The Pirates had other plans however as Modesto played the Rams and pitcher Tina Gonzales tough in the first half of the doubleheader, taking the game to the final inning. Gonzales, who had found herself in a couple jams earlier in the game before battling out of them, couldn’t quite get out of the jam in the top of the seventh

inning.

The Pirates strung together a couple hits in the top of the seventh to get the first run of the game on the board. Modesto added a couple insurance runs for precautionary reasons to take the first game 3-0.

The Rams came back with a vengence in the second game.

Gonzales once again took the mound for the Rams and fell behind early.

This time, the Rams offense was able to figure the Pirates out.

Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the second, FCC started a two out rally when Jessica Coronado laced a double into left center, scoring her sister Jennifer Coronado.

The Rams followed up with doubles by Jenny Richardson and Allison Asahina to increase the FCC lead to 5-1. Tina Gonzales then followed suit with a hit of her own, scoring Asahina to make the score 6-1 before Modesto was

finally able to shut down the offensive explosion by the Rams.

Gonzales had smooth sailing for the rest of the game before encountering trouble in the top of the seventh where Modesto mounted a comeback to make the seven run deficit shrink to two.

After a brief meeting at the mound, Gonzales was able to settle down and record the final out to give the Rams a split of the doubleheader with Modesto in the form of an 8-6 victory.

“We had to make some adjustments for the second game and get some offense going,” said Williams. “We knew we were going to face the same pitcher and we needed to have different results against her and they hit her well the second game.”

Fresno City College is 2018 overall and 11-7 in the CVC and looks to hold on to the second spot in the final CVC standings for a potential playoff birth.

Fresno City College’s softball team remains in a close battle for second place in the Central Valley Conference with a handful of games left to play. After a disasterous season last year, coach Rhonda Williams has her team back on the winning track behind pitcher Tina Gonzales.

The Rams split a doubleheader with both Modesto and Taft College on April 20 and 22.

Photo by Jennifer Schmidt

Sports

The Legend of April 26, 2006

David Witte

Operations Manager Fresno City College forward Rick Cardoso was listed at 6-9, 190 pounds at the beginning of the 2005-’06 season. Jordan Farley was listed at 6-5, 200 pounds. Neither one of them looked anything close to that at the end of the season.

In fact, by the time the playoffs rolled around, the whole team looked as if they had just jogged across the Sahara Desert, had a bout with anorexia, and maybe cultivated a thriving tapeworm colony fed by TrimSpa pills.

These guys make Calista Flockhart look like Rush Limbaugh.

They could sprint from wherever you’re currently reading this to, oh, say, Albuquerque, stopping only once in Flagstaff to take a leak.

The importance of this is that former FCC head basketball coach Vance Walberg’s teams can run faster than other teams, and for longer.

Now that Walberg is headed to Division I Pepperdine to replace Paul Westphal, his critics have revived the old arguments against his fast-paced game style. They say that guards at the next level will be better ball-handlers, and will be able to break the press.

They said the same thing when he

made the jump from Clovis West to FCC, where he has posted a 133-11 record.

Walberg’s response is, and always has been, that his system isn’t about whether or not they can beat the press. It’s about running them into the ground. Imagine Shaq or LSU’s Glen Davis trying to sprint up and down the court for an entire game. They would be sucking wind within two minutes.

In fact, guys who are in excellent shape pale in comparison to FCC players. During the quarterfinals of the 2005 state championships, Ventura guard Charles Dillon had to breathe oxygen on the bench during the third quarter to keep from passing out.

Walberg’s teams pressure on defense and offense. The teams that beat him are the ones who can run with him.

On defense, at least two guys will pressure in the backcourt on every play. This makes the opponents work just to get to half court. It’s not lazy pressure, either, where they just hang back there and make them pass it a couple of times. It’s in-your-face pressure. Walberg calls it “controlled chaos,” but to the casual eye it doesn’t look controlled at all. This creates turnovers, time violations, and most of all, it makes them use energy.

O n o ff e n s e , Wa l b e rg doesn’t appreciate lollygagging. If his players aren’t pushing to the front court fast enough, he will let them

Photo by Daisy Rosas

Above: Vance Walberg chews out guard Geoffrey Clayton during the Rams’ 34-0 title run in 2004’05. Right: Forward Chad Thornton-King jokes with Walberg during the 2003-’04 season. The Rams lost in the second round of the playoffs that year to American River College.

Photo by Josh Hires

know. He shouted, “Push it, Anthony!” to his assist-driven point guard at least 20 times each game this season, and encourages the extra pass to get the open three.

Again, the most important thing here is to make the opposing team waste e n e r g y.

Jumpers f r o m just inside the threepoint line are forbidden. Either you’re shooting threes or taking it to the rim. What’s the point of making that shot when you get an extra point for taking a step back?

Players who in the past have transferred from Walberg’s FCC team to a Division I college say the practices at their new school are jokes.

His system has caught the attention of such notables as Dick Vitale, Memphis coach John Calipari, and UNLV legend (and wily schemer) Jerry Tarkanian.

Rampage 9

College basketball is made for systems. In a field where skill levels vary so much, systems help even it

the next three seasons.

Question is, can FCC find someone who can replace Walberg? With assistant coach Loren LeBeau considering Walberg’s offer to go with him, what are the options? One is Tony Amundsen, who coached under

out. Where We s t p h a l went wrong was using the NBA strategy based on matchups, which is needed to exploit the minute weaknesses of star players.

Walb e rg w i l l succeed at Pepperdine. He will go to the Big Dance within

Walberg at Clovis West, then took Walberg’s system to Central High. He spent last season as an assistant under Walberg at FCC. Another option is Clovis West coach Tom Orlich, who took his team to the State Championship this season. He doesn’t run a pressure system (boring…), but two of FCC’s last four coaches have come from Clovis West.

LeBeau is the obvious choice, but if he goes to Pepperdine with Walberg, it falls to Amundsen. Orlich is surely a good coach, but why stray away from a system that has brought such fantastic results?

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Ya Gotta believe in the system.

Sports

10 Rampage

April 26, 2006

Walberg: Head coaching position is a hot commodity Continued from Front Page

Cougars for eight seasons and is fourth all time in wins with 138. Cleveland took his team to the NCAA tournament three times and the National Invitational Tournament twice.

Walberg is replacing former NBA coach Paul Westphal, who guided the Waves to a 76-72 record in five seasons and one NCAA tournament appearance in 2002, Westphal’s first season.

Pepperdine hasn’t made post season since, finishing off Westphal’s tumultuous five-year tenure with a 7-20 record last season.

Size is one positive that

Past FCC Coaches

Coach Steve Cleveland

stands out—literally. The Waves are returning five players that stand 6’8” or taller. The tallest of the bunch being 7’0” sophomore Russell Hicks “We have some size here but we might have a little too much,” said Walberg. “I love the size here, but I want the size that can run and it’s going to take time to develop and get them to where you want them to be.”

During his past 17 years of coaching at the high school or junior college level, Walberg hasn’t experienced anything less than success. He posted a combined record of 476-79 and six Central Section Championships spanning

from 1997-2002, continuing his coaching dominance at FCC. In his four seasons here, the Rams have scored over 100 points 88 times and passed the 90-point mark more than 20. The Rams grabbed Central Valley Conference championships each of his four years and reached the state tournament in 2003, ‘05 and ‘06, with the pinnacle of Walberg’s career so far coming in 2005 with a state title.

As of yet, FCC has made no names public in the quest to replace Walberg. Sources close to the Rampage have said that Loren LeBeau would be the likely candidate to take over, but LeBeau has been offered an assistant coaching Pepperdine University

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position at Pepperdine and is still in the decision making process.

“Coach LeBeau would like to coach,” said Walberg. “He just has to find out what’s best for him and his wife. It’s been his dream, and it’s something that he wants to do. It’s not only you, but it’s your family’s decision and that’s

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Vance Walberg

133-11

NIT: 8 (2001)

what he’s working out right now.

I’m hoping that he comes, he’s a tremendous coach.”

Several candidates interested in the coaching job from all over the country have contacted Yates about the open position. She expects the position to be filled by early June at the latest.

Rampage

April 26, 2006

Rampage 11

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Views

April 26, 2006

12

Another year wiser or another year wasted?

Nothing can be considered a waste as long as you put your attention on the bigger picture

Mike Read Rampage Reporter “You are never going to cease existing and there is nothing you can do about it.”

I read that when I get into my car every day. Sometimes I forget because it’s been in the same spot for so long. I need to move it.

I like it because it reminds me to give reason and purpose to all that I do. I think I forget most days. But with out it, without remembering these 80 years will lead to something some thing after death, without remembering to give purpose to everything I do, my time on this campus and life in general is going to be a waste.

If we live, work, and play in the knowledge that we are mortal, life will take on fresh meaning.

And that is pretty much my thesis. Your time here at FCC is worthless if you don’t think about the future. Not just tomorrow or 20 years from now, but long after that and on into death.

I like to think I have not wasted it. My mind is growing out from a state of perpetual laziness. I smoked a lot of pot coming out of high school and engrained some negative habits.

FCC has unquestionably been a time to let the smoke clear and gain perspective. I’m sure if I’d gone strait to a four-year I would have been a fish gasping.

Being required to turn things in on time, do work even when I don’t want to, show up on time, work in groups, drink coffee, and all those kinds of adult things have fashioned me into something worthy to attend a place of higher education and be grateful to be there.

I think it is the college person’s plague to think only of the next 15 years. We focus on the task at hand, knowing next week the test is coming, knowing this test will gear us for our choice college, knowing that college with give us our job of choice.

It is a rut that we chug along in until we reach the goal. We make more goals along the way until we die.

I bring this up because I wonder what it would look like if those of us that believed we had souls lived our lives with an eternal perspective.

If the 80 or whatever percent of the nation that says they are Christian went on to give of themselves the way the Word of God says, each individual’s life would resonate together with a global effect. Who knows how our world would look.

To believe in God, to believe in the afterlife is the only way to ensure that your time here at FCC will not be a waste. There is no lasting purpose outside of God. Because you will die one day, and you just might have to answer to Someone regarding who you know and what you did with that knowledge. Spend the time seeking.

The only time I’m not wasting time is when I’m partying it up, which is all the time

Matthew T. Mendez Rampage Reporter This year went by really fast because all I did at school was hang out with my friends and take six units per semester. I like to schedule my classes three hours apart from each other because I like to spend those hours doing nothing on campus.

Nothing compares to the satisfaction I get from ruining my transcript--it’s absolutely glorious to me. I don’t mind the fact that I’m probably never going to leave this school, because I’m having too much fun hanging out here. The campus police officers don’t bother me all that much anyway. That is, until they get sick of seeing me around campus without so much as a notebook in my hands.

I don’t care that I’m on some level of probation every semester, and that I have to get cleared by a counselor every time I try to register for classes.

I enjoy hearing counselors tell me how awful my grades are, and I bet they enjoy seeing my face time and time again.

I really like using the school’s computers to go on Myspace too. Nevermind the fact that other students need to use the computers for homework, or that

the website has been banned on campus. All I care about is what I want to do, so screw you and your homework assignment.

No matter what style a teacher uses to instruct their classroom, I enjoy complaining about it to my fellow students.

If I feel the teacher hands out too much work, I complain. If I feel the teacher is too laid back a n d d o e s n ’t c h a l l e n g e m e , I complain. That’s just how I am; I feel as if the world is against me, and nobody can make me feel otherwise.

I enjoy spending more time planning my weekends than planning my future. I’m probably never going to transfer anyway, so there’s really not much of a reason for me to think about where I’m going to be in two years. There are, however, plenty of reasons for me to think about what I’m going to be wearing when I hit up the Citron on Friday night.

Do I feel like this last year spent at Fresno City College was a complete waste of my time?

Yes, because my time itself is worthless. Everything I do is a waste of time in my book. I don’t read, I don’t listen, and I certainly don’t help. All I do is run my mouth, complain, ridicule, and daydream about things other people own that I‘ll never have.

That is just how me and my crew do things, and we‘ll continue to do so until we‘re too old to be seen with each other anymore.

(In case you don’t already get it by now, I’m not really talking about myself, but it’s actually about a lot of people I see around school. Wink wink.)

Campus Voices

by Matthew T. Mendez

Was your year at FCC time well spent or time you wish you had back?

Martylynn Salgado Law/transfer “Well spent. I’m trying to finish my education.”

Teresa Acosta Nursing

D.C. Botany

“Time well spent, I’m going to do it again.”

“A waste, because I wanna raise midgets.”

Lee Seltzer Construction Managment “Well spent. My speech class is very applicable to everything else I am involved in.”

Kelly Smith Fashion Design “Well spent. My art class has taught me to view the world in a more enriching way.”

Views

13 Rampage

April 26, 2006

Why do we avoid Jungle Fever?

It is wrong to look down upon interacial relationships and the people who are in them

Nathan Tyree Rampage Reporter Celebration!

Just hearing that word should bring joy to our ears, bring us to our feet and make us stand up for our right to have beauty. As human beings, we are a species of voice, color, faith, and aptitude. However, one’s own diversity and place in this world seems to come with the price of persecution and discrimination.

A melanin romance should now be rejoiced and fulfilled within our skin in a society in which it was greatly rejected and victimized just 50 years ago. The color of our skin is just one of the ways we are liberated and freed from a society that is conformist and safe-minded. About one in every 19 children are born into an interracial family; less than 40 years ago, only one in every 100 children born were of a mixed race. And in California, Washington, and other

highly multicultural states, the percentage is closer to one in every ten children (Newsweek, May 8, 2000).

But in some cases, interracial prejudice is still reigning and striking at the depths of our hearts. In some regions of the United States, interracial relationships are continually despised and shunned into a dark corner as arrogant men and women condemn the love birds as swine and inferior beings.

Being a tan Caucasian boy, what would it look like if I married a Hispanic woman in today’s society? Whose face in today’s society would turn to me to embrace my relationship with my spouse? Caucasian?

Hispanic?

Fortunately, I know my family and her family would embrace and support our relationship, because our social and religious values would agree with one another. Our relationship would have an enrichment to help mingle different social standards, cultural customs, and relational values that would not have otherwise been previously included.

But what would semisocieties in inter-Mexico or inter-Suburban white America--y’ know, like the intercity limits of Clovis--think of my

relationship with someone of a different race? Would the social values I hold contradict those held by white conservative America?

Interracial marriages were practically outlawed in the United States for over 200 years, before the United States became part of the America we have come to know today.

Forty states had once banned the marriage between the “wrong” races; Massachusetts being the first in 1705.

Until Earl Warren’s Supreme Court made the “Love” decision of prohibiting a ban on interracial marriages in 1967, states were convicting different race couples to felonies. With a ban on the interracial marriage charter, these state felonies could be manipulating the U.S. Constitution by convicting people who legally marry in one state but later move to a state barring the somehow horrid interracial marriage. These felons of 16 states were subject to five years in a state penitentiary…for accepting holy matrimony!

Multicultural relationships were considered against God’s “divine law,” and described as “immoral,” and “unnatural unions.” State judges (mostly Southern), have re-

peatedly misinterpreted verses from the Bible to testify that God created different races on different continents so that different cultures could not mix or marry with one another.

Truth be told, the judges were mostly likely trying to use the religious text to satisfy their own beliefs and prejudices.

And how invalid could their statement be if our Creator is a beautiful artist, giving each of us a color of intelligence, talent, health, and fellowship?

G o d ’s o w n p o w e r f u l hand created a people full of color, aspiration, integrity, talent and beauty. In the celebration of diversity, we should live a reality full of peace, love, liberty, and life. In light of our beauty, Christian music’s most influential rock band, dc Talk, produced the song, “Colored People” to confirm their stand against racism and prejudice of one’s skin. The lyrics of the song’s second verse are, “A piece of canvas is only the beginning for/It takes on character with every loving stroke/This thing of beauty is the passion of an Artist’s heart/By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope/We’ve gotta come together/Aren’t we human after all?”

Racism of our skin took

away from the grace seen in another’s skin tone. It ended a peaceful love and friendship from our society and for many people, the bridge may never be built up again between races to replenish a depraved culture. Furthermore, it separated our purpose from the grace of God, and it detached our aspirations from His intentions and celebration.

Hatred, racism, and racial desegregation dampened God’s romance for us and our connection to the world as a group of peaceful and coherent individuals, for we were unable to see the splendor of His creation. The tint of our skin shows only a segment of the diversity of this world, and certainly here at Fresno City College, the color of our skin is a paint that is continually mixed to make a new color of people on campus.

Look at interracial couples as pioneers breaking bondage and staring into the face of prejudice. Look at interracial couples as discovers who can see a grace in someone else’s color and contrast, brightness and darkness. Look beyond the surface of one event to see the picture of many events.

Let us look past our past of discrimination to see a world of beautiful canvases.

Try living you life with an inward desire All other things we focus on will only get us to a place nobody wants to go

Mike Read Rampage Reporter There is this story that I can barley remember about Spanish sailors. They died of thirst while floating unknowingly atop fresh water. So vast was the expanse of this fresh water that they sailed from the salty ocean unconsciously into this drinkable water.

Floating atop water,

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they died from lack of water.

It is a sad and ironic story. That is why I bring it up. It is a metaphor for our day.

I think a lot of people walk through life desiring to be spiritually fed from God. Through lack of knowledge or selfishness they cover this desire with things other than God. I believe all men have an inward knowledge that they are created; that they need the Lord. No amount of science, philosophy, or whatever can continually cover that up when one sits in the quiet of his or her bedroom at night or looks up into the sky.

We w e r e c r e a t e d t o have a relationship with

the Lord; a deep, full, and spiritual relationship with the God who created us. And I don’t think anything can fulfill or bring peace the way God does. We were wired to be with Him. What I was awakened to in my life and now see in others is something that is very sad. I see people cling to other things that are not God; things that sustain and affirm and drive peoples lives other than the great Sustainer.

This breaks me at times because I know so much of what people idolize and cling to each day are things that were never meant to sustain. These things cannot and will not. The sex, drugs, booze, relationships, money, material stuff, success, and

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education was never meant to affirm our existence the way God was.

The strange words that Jesus quoted back to Satan as he tempted Him take on new meaning as we understand this.

“Man does not live on physical things alone,” Jesus said. But on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” This implies a deeper side of man then that which we normally look at; a deeper side that receives life from spending time with God. This being the last issue of the semester and may-

be the last article of my FCC career, I want to give you these last thoughts in hopes that you might hear them and be spurred on to seek truth. I believe you will find Christ because that is what the word of God says. “Seek and you shall find.”

When the pattern of this world proves unsustainable seek out the truth, sincerely, and you will find.

Christ is calling out to us.

May we be given the grace to lend an attentive ear and respond.

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April 26, 2006

Rampage 14

Decriminalize our most used drug?

Prohibition didn’t work then, and it’s not exactly working like we want it to right now

Jessyca Dewey

Rampage Reporter The Prohibition of the 1920’s was a great failure. Looking at all of the statistics, one can see that by banning the sale and consumption of alcohol in order to reduce crime and solve social problems, it did exactly the opposite. Instead of giving up alcohol, people became smart about it and created the thriving black market that we have today.

Instead of having less criminals filling up jail cells, the alcoholics got thrown in too and there were more people in jail then there had been previously.

During the 1920’s the government spent approximately $22 million dollars annually in order to enforce the laws against drinking. In the end, the prohibition backfiredbecause people found their way around the laws and the appeal became even greater because everyone always wants what they can’t have.

Growing up, I always wanted red hair with loose curls instead of my plain brown.

When I went to the toy store with my mom, no matter what

toy she’d buy me, I’d always want a different one. As I grew older, this theme of wanting what I couldn’t have became an issue. If I wasn’t allowed to be out past midnight, I’d want to be out past midnight and now that I’m on my own, I’m happy to be asleep by 11 P.M. If my parents said they didn’t want me to go to a party, I suddenly had a desire to go to one.

Though I’ve not personally experienced the extremes of this rebellion, I’ve witnessed many who have. They are in high school and they aren’t allowed to have alcohol and therefore it automatically becomes appealing. They drink and drink and drink. Then they turn 21 and legally drink and drink. By the time most of them reach 22, they realize that they can legally buy and consume alcohol and they no longer find it all that charming. I mean, they still drink, but not as much as they did when they were seniors in high school and they become smarter about it. They know when to not drink and how to avoid alcohol poisoning. They don’t have to hide their beers from their parents anymore and if they get drunk, they can get help without being afraid of getting into a legal mess. These same people are the ones who are drawn to marijuana.

If we legalized marijuana, it would no longer have this great rebellious appeal and people who think that it would only make it easier to come by

obviously have been out of high school and college for awhile.

Finding a good supply of green is as easy as taking an art class and making it legal would hardly make it more accessible than it already is. What legalization would do is regulate the quality of the drug and insure that it isn’t going to make a person sick or die. Rather than make the drug more accessible, it would make treatment programs more accessible and rather than cost huge chunks of money to combat the drug-related crime, we’d no longer have to combat drugs, just crime, in essence making people take responsibility for their actions rather than just attributing their lack of virtue to drugs.

Although we are becoming more and more socialist, our country is based on a capitalist economy and I think we should resort back to the laissez-faire state of mind. Leave it alone, dang it! If kids want to smoke pot and ruin their own lives, let’s at least make some money off of it! They are going to do it anyways, why not slap a sin tax on it? Every choice has a consequence, whether good or bad and, to some of these potheads, jail sounds like an appealing option, so why would we let them off the hook so easily? Make them suffer. Let them smoke their brains out so they are living on the streets. That’s incentive to stop puffing the magic dragon. Some of these people come from such bad backgrounds that

jail would be like the Hilton. So let them deprecate their bodies and minds and suffer in that way.

“Then they’ll be littering the streets” some say, but hey, them littering the streets doesn’t cost us tax dollars...them littering the jails does.

Looking at the debt our nation is facing, one has to wonder how much pot the financial advisors are smoking. The debt is never going to be paid unless we take some major action. If even the nation’s top financial advisors are smoking pot, why not tax it? The nation makes tons of tax dollars off of the sin tax on alcohol and cigarettes. Why let all that perfectly good money go to the hands of some border runner? Let the good decent folk get a hold of it. With all the paychecks I see my peers handing out for an ounce of chronic, a good 10% tax would make a huge dent in the nation’s debt problem.

If marijuana became legal, the rebellious factor of getting high would quickly be eliminated and then more people would live. Everyone who’s ever known a stoner knows that they get the “munchies” and eat a lot. If they eat a lot they become obese and I just read that obesity is quickly becoming the nation’s #1 cause of preventable death.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have more skinny people around?

I mean, any logical thinking parent knows that children don’t rebel because it’s fun. They rebel because they

know they’re not supposed to.

The other side of the fence is greener--literally-- than hanging out with the family for a day at the park, watching monkeys eat bananas. So why do you think that pot has become such an epidemic? Not because it’s great!

No! It’s popular because stupid kids know they’re not supposed to and they’re jumping to the other side of the fence. The lure of anything bad- booze, drugs, porn- are attractive for reasons other than pure rebellion, but what made people try them in the first place? The fact that they knew they weren’t supposed to!

They hear about people hallucinating and doing stupid things and they aren’t like “yeah I want some of that!” but their parents say “Now don’t smoke marijuana!” and they think “Hey, that sounds fun!”

The legalization of marijuana wouldn’t cause its’ usage to increase. People who want to smoke pot are going to smoke pot, whether it’s legal or illegal.

If it’s illegal, people get shot over drug money. If it’s illegal, millions of dollars slip under the tax-counting table. If it’s illegal, the rebellious are drawn to it.

On the other hand, if it’s legal, everyone gets a break off taxes.

If it’s legal, rebellious teenagers don’t care so much anymore.

If it’s legal, the jails won’t be overflowing. If it’s legal, the government won’t be imposing.

If it’s legal, all would benefit.

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Views

15 Rampage

April 26, 2006

The truth is ugly, and you probably are too I know I am, and I really don’t mind. Most people say they don’t care what others think about them, so why are so many of us worried about what we look like?

Matthew T. Mendez Rampage Reporter N o o ff e n s e to m y fellow Fresno City College students, but there sure are a lot of ugly people at this school.

Every time I’m on this campus--no matter how long I’m here for--I see at least one person who is so hideous I have to remind myself that I am amongst my peers in college, and not battling Orcs to determine the fate of Middle-earth.

Before you whip out your favorite writing utensil in order to start crapping out the first draft of your rebuttal, let me begin by saying that I consider myself to be an ugly person as well.

Despite the steadfast beliefs held by my legions of loyal readers (my mom), I am not perfect.

Yes, I know, such a ludicrous statement is almost unfathomable, but

trust me on this one. My skin is pale, my teeth are slightly crooked, and my Adam’s apple is so damn big it looks like a golf ball is stuck in my throat (just look at my picture!).

But do you think I allow these and other inauspicious physical attributes to tarnish my self-esteem or determine the amount of confidence I have in myself? Pleeease, I’m not even going to try to dignify that stupid question with an answer.

The answer is no by the way…

But I digress, because by now you may be wondering if there‘s even a point to this column. Don’t ask me. Perhaps it’s time to ask yourself this question: How many people in my life spend more time criticizing themselves in front of a mirror than they spend showing appreciation for their loved ones?

I know a few, and each one of them are highly influenced by either current fashion trends, the opinion of their peers, or the look of their favorite celebrity.

Television fuels this self-defecating mentality by bombarding viewers with programs about plastic surgery and extreme makeovers, which in turn leads them to be-

lieve that the answer to all their social problems is to completely change their physical appear ance.

Just once, I would like to see one of those shows follow their test subjects for at least a year after their change is made. That way, we can all see just how addictive plastic surgery can be, as well as just how quickly that slovenly husband reverts to his old ways after his makeover.

Then there’s MTV, which I believe needs to be eradicated and completely wiped off the face of Mother Earth if we ever plan on progressing as human beings. Television shows about pimping cars, being “Made” into the most popular kid in school, wanting famous faces, and your mama jokes are NOT shows! They are ways to keep our minds off of w h a t ’s i m p o r t a n t , a n d what’s important is that MTV sucks. How are you ever going to be happy with yourself when you keep watching miserable people do miserable things to themselves?

As big of an influence as television can be, it’s not the only thing that causes people to try to look like everybody else. Magazines and bill-

boards consistently sell products with advertisements that show beautiful people doing normal everyday activities. Those beautiful people spend hours each day putting on pounds of makeup and thinking about nothing but themselves.

Everybody has something wrong with them; everybody has something about them that makes them feel ugly. Live with it. Stop being so concerned about why you don’t look like the models on the Hollister posters. Hollister, American Eagle, and Abercrombie and Finch are all low quality clothing brands that sell their products at a ridiculous price--and people flock like mindless sheep to buy their products. A mind is a terrible thing to waste on a $35 shirt that only cost $1 to make.

I’ll never understand why it’s so difficult for some people to do without the popularity contests and simply appreciate the fact that they are alive and breathing.

You could be dead you know. On the other hand, embalmers are known for making people look great under difficult circumstances, but would you really go that far too look like a star? Hmmmm?

Ugly Voices

My point is simple: never let people who don’t care about you influence the way you live your life, and most importantly, think for yourself.

Next time you’re getting ready to go the mall and you’ve got on a headband and a band-aid on your face, ask yourself why you‘re doing this.

Don‘t forget, you’re ugly and everybody hates you.

And ladies, next time you’re putting on those big fuzzy Eskimo boots that look like C h e w b a c c a ’s f e e t , t r y to remember why those unsightly things became popular in the first place.

Was it your idea to kill Chewy and chop off his legs? Probably not, so what made you think that those things looked good in the first place?

Embrace your ugliness and accept it as who you are. Don’t try to be somebody you’re not just because everybody else seems to be doing the same thing. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth the money it will cost you, it’s not worth the headaches it will bring you, and it’s certainly not worth the shallow people it will attract toward you.

pictures courtesy of uglypeople.com

How do ugly people make you feel?

Joshua Tinkleton Omnipresnce “They scare me because I see them in my sleep.”

Laura Birdman Ornithology “I hate them, I think they stink.

Mister Piggy Farming “I reckon they don’t bother me none.”

T.J. McHippy Undecided “Huh?”

Georgia Bush Mediocrity “I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

April 26, 2006

Reviews

16

Is myspace.com evil?

Mike Read Rampage Reporter After exhaustive research I’ve found traces that Myspace may in fact be driven by the spirit of the Anti-Christ. Yes, the Anti-Christ.

There are roughly four to seven people in the Rampage news-production class plotting a plan to end my life on account of the nature of this article. It’s their religion and I’m pretty sure they call this blasphemy.

Now I’m only 60 percent serious, but with such consuming forms of entertainment and internet addiction finally receiving recognition, it is due time to address the consuming power of these sites.

So I ask the questions: why has such a strange form of communication fostered a methamphetamine addict-like following? Can we see parallels between the behavior of a drug user with that of a Myspace user?

With 70 million members, such a craze deserves attention.

Even from the most erudite of scholars like me, Mike Read.

In order to purge your soul from this bondage I have supplied bullet points to help you identify and understand your Myspace addiction. Answer these questions honestly, and seek help if required.

-You are late to class

because you were on Myspace.

- Yo u c h e c k y o u r Myspace between classes in the library instead of studying.

-The librarian in the West Wing has banned you from the computers.

-You spend more than one hour a day commenting or customizing your page.

-You have anxiety.

-You obsessively think about your page.

- Yo u s p e n d l o n g e r amounts of time on Myspace than originally planned.

- Yo u r t i m e s u r f i n g Myspace each day has increased.

available through myspace.com.

Don’t stop cold-turkey. Delete your myspace.com account and proceed to detoxification by getting a less ensnaring form of entertainment. I recommend a fun and hip new email account, AOL Instant Messenger, or ICQ. These will help wean you off myspace.com gradually.

Bear in mind that after deleting your myspace.com account many of your buddies will fall away. This is ok; let them go, they obviously were not real friends to begin with.

Also acknowledge that your need to be on the Internet or myspace.com will still persist, long after you’ve kicked the habit. Such a feeling will fade over time, and you will habitually choose to use something to replace the hole in your heart.

In case you think Internet addiction is all poppycock I encourage you to “Google” the topic. Sites can be found to identify online video game addiction, plain ol’ Internet addiction, Myspace addiction, and even tests to determine if you are an addict.

You will see the Internet not just as a tool but a way of life, for some.

Now that we’ve identified the intensity of your myspace. com habit, it’s time to seek recovery.

First, admit you have a problem. No healing can take place without this realization.

Next, with an accountability partner, log on to your myspace. com account and post a message that you will no longer be

Try tennis, bow and arrow fletching, air hockey, or giving your heart to someone eternally lasting like Jesus, the God who died for your sins.

After the healing process runs its course, make amends with the real life people you neglected while you were spending time on myspace.com.

Once you’re cleansed from the darkness and brought into the light, you’ll feel more liberated than you ever have before.

Instructors get rated and slated via myspace.com

Herb Graham Rampage Reporter Myspace has become one of the top websites. Students and adults are logging on to discuss entertainment, friendships and even their professors. Students are able to rate their professors as well as give comments. Students rate professors giving an “A, B, C, D, or F” letter grade. An overall grade is also included in the grade report.

Fresno City College professors are listed on myspace. com’s “Rate Your Professor”.

Three professors who are listed are Charles Erven, Linda Quinn, Kenneth Chacon, and Polly Begley.

Interestingly, there are no more than 20 comments for each professor; a small percentage of the Fresno City College students.

The students grading the professors are anonymous. Is it fair for so few comments to represent the feelings of approximately 22,000 students attending Fresno City College?

For example, it is hard to grasp who the real Kenneth Chacon is, if only four students out of 22,000 rate him with 2,120 classes to consider along with 107 subjects.

Charles Erven received ten

comments via Rate My Professor.

For the most part, Erven received positive comments with an overall grade of an “A.” Erven teaches Theater, Beginning Acting, Intermediate AC, TA 31, and TA-42.

“He’s a fantastic teacher,” said one student. “He’s obviously very passionate about what he does, and it shows.”

But one student was more critical. “Never really liked him,” said the anonymous grader. “Spent too much time focusing on the “how to” of acting. He’s a nice guy though.”

Charles Erven’s overall grade was an “A.” Erven received an “A” in the categories: lecture, homework, tests, fairness, grading, and accessibility.

Linda Quinn, a Theater instructor, was also rated via

myspace.com’s Rate My Professor.

One student, who gave Quinn an A, said “she is fantastic, always believed in my work… lovely!” Another student said “Linda Quinn is an absolute star.

She’s hilarious and really motivating. You’ll actually look forward to going to class!” This student also gave Quinn an A. English instructor Kenneth Chacon was also graded on Myspace’s Rate My Professor. He was given an F by one student.

“This instructor sucks hell.

He seems to favor people. Just do not take him.”

On the other hand one student explained giving him an A+ “The negative comments about Mr. Chacon are really unfair. I took his class in Fall 2004. His grad-

ing was fair (he always explained in detail why he gave the grade he did, if asked) and his lectures were interesting. Stop dissing Chacon!”

Because of these mixed messages, Chacon received an overall grade of C+, as well as the categories: homework, tests, fairness, grading, and accessibility.

The comments about Polly Begley, Speech 2 instructor, were unanimously positive.

“Awesome teacher, very nice!” said one student.

“Hot, funny, and interesting, what else do you need to know?” said another.

So, will “Rate My Professor” soon become a necessity for all FCC students applying for classes? Only time will tell.

April 26, 2006

Vicci

Reviews Another epic battle in the war of the sexes

vs.

Don’t indulge whiney guys Guys should do their own laundry. They should buy their own shampoo. Most importantly, guys should fend for themselves rather allow their mothers, aunts or significant others to take care of them, when they come of age.

Why? Because if a guy gets too used to being provided for, too comfortable having his underpants folded and his potato chips served on a heart-shaped dinner plate, he may never learn that the entire world does not revolve around him.

For those wrapped in cotton wool, this is a serious misconception. Without sufficient life experience to prove that toiletries and home-cooked dinners don’t cosmically materialize but are instead the fruits of hard work and finite monetary resources, some guys lack the understanding “if I’m good, I might get lucky.”

Molly-coddled guys also don’t take criticism well; they’re not used to it. Sugarcoated play-by-plays are the norm, thus Johnny Mama’s Boy cries when he’s “attacked”. And it doesn’t end there.

Some of the most self-

centered, insecure and needy guys have mothers available anytime, anyplace. Some mothers never truly cut the cord, and promise to be at their son’s side in sickness and in jail. This creates a certain breed of son: one that cannot take “I’m busy”, “I’m hungover”, or “I’m sick”: No: a needy guy craves attention even when it’s half-assed.

“I’ll just watch you pluck your eyebrows,” he’ll say.

“I’ll just sit in the corner ‘til you’re done.”

What ever happened to quality time? Why can’t some guys wait patiently for a decent date, rather than simply “hanging around” on a lifeless pseudoouting?

It’s not fun to help your girlfriend choose mascara that’s black but not too black. It’s not fun to “just be around” when she’s searching for her size in a lingerie department. And few women will thank their partners if they try to hold hands while grocery shopping.

But if a girl tells her boyfriend that Tuesdays really aren’t good for her, or that her Ob-GYN appointment really isn’t a twoperson get together, the guy gets nasty. Or worse, whiney. And all because his mother never drew sufficient boundaries.

Girlfriends need to rise up in the face of whiney guys.

They need to find a mountain or megaphone, and scream “there are times to be together, and there are times to be apart,” “I’m going to do some things without you and it doesn’t mean I want to break up, it just means...I want to do some things without you.”

And guys need to know that just as there’ll be a time when limitless supplies of Pantene and Pringles won’t be available, there’ll also be times when a girl doesn’t plan her every move around her boyfriend.

One glorious day, there’ll be a time when even whiney guys understand this.

Jake Let him go with love

Spring semester is coming to an end, which means many relationships will also close their doors. Many Fresno City College students will be graduating and venturing off to other cities to complete their education.

But what happens to the ones who won’t let go? So many hopeful couples will battle the treacherous waters of a long distance relationship. But can girls really handle being so far away from their man?

There are so many horror stories about long distance relationships that most people will avoid them at all costs. Some will put out the effort if the end result means a ring on the finger or at least a shared apartment in the near future. But what about those relationships with a question mark attached to them? You know the kind...those most common among college students. Billy loves Sally. Sally

17 loves Billy. Billy isn’t ready to tie the knot. Billy is moving to UCLA. Now what?

Taking a steady normal relationship and adding hundreds, maybe thousands of miles to it, seems ridiculous.

Especially when one of the partners is a little jealous and melodramatic, this equation seems more like a prison sentence than a happy ending.

So why do girls cling to the hope that a long distance relationship will work?

Is this just a part of being a female? Do girls just have a more optimistic outlook on love? Do movies make it seem like love will prevail and “we can survive anything, as long as we love eachother”?

Because this seems like a load of crap to me.

Then again, maybe that mentality is what guys need. Maybe the world would be a fine place if men and women shared the same ideals.

For this reason, I’d like to pose a question to the males. Why don’t we have such an optimist outlook on long distance relationships?

Is it because we know we’ll stray without the pressure of a girlfriend nearby 24/7? Is it because we WANT to stray? If we put half as much energy into long distance relationships as girls do, they’d have a chance at being successful.

Right now I see them as an inevitable failure, sorry ladies.

So to all the graduates out there who’ll soon be packing...good luck.

Pink still has it Sean Felton Rampage Reporter Pink, real name: Alecia Moore, has had four albums in her music career. “Can’t Take Me Home” (2000) had the singles, “There You Go” and “Most Girls.” “Missundaztood” (2001) was about the divorce of Alecia’s parents. “Try This” (2003) did well in the U.K., but fell short of expectations this side of the

Atlantic. This year marks the release of a more serious album for the artist, I’m Not Dead.

The first track is “Stupid Girls,” Pink’s current single.

This song is about the superficiality of Hollywood. Pink spoofs celebrities such as Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan in her latest video.

Other songs that draw upon Pink’s relationship expereinces are “Long Way To Happy” and “Who Knew.” The first blends R&B with rock; the second, “Who Knew”, has an upbeat, pop-like sound.

More mellow songs also feature on the album. “Nobody Knows”, “Runaway”, and

“Conversations With My 13 Year Old Self.” “Nobody Knows” deals with being insecure and loneliness, “Runaway” focuses on not listening to what people say. “Conversations With My 13 Year-Old Self” is about being lost, and will remind fans of a song on her second album, called “Family Portrait.”

Pink even gets political.

“Dear Mr. President” is used as a vehicle to voice her concerns on how Bush runs the nation.

Pink certainly proves that her music is not dead with this latest offering. “I’n Not Dead” is available in stores now.

May 15-19 FCC Bookstore

Rampage

18 Rampage

Victoria McLoughlin Rampage Reporter Fefe Dobson knows a lot about realization, much more than her tender 21 years suggest. In her lifetime, she has uncovered her passions, her dreams and the depth of her inner strength; she has also come to some difficult conclusions about both her parents. Unlike many people her age, she has written many songs, secured a record deal, and still manages to keep her feet firmly on the ground.

If life were a fantasy novel, Dobson would be dressed instead in a robe, with a walking stick, and possibly a pair of spectacles, instead of combats and a hoodie. She seems wise, particularly regarding her inspiration for her second album, “Sunday Love”.

A long time ago, Dobson realized her major musical influences were rock, pop, punk and R&B.” I figure, why not mix everything into one...kinda like my ethnicity,” Dobson said.

Dobson is biracial: a mix of English, Irish, Scottish, Dutch, and Native American (on her mother’s side) and Jamaican and Asian (on her father’s side).

She is surprisingly calm discussing her absent father, and her mother, who she believes is mentally ill. “She wasn’t always there for me,” Dobson says of her mother, but she quickly clarifies her thoughts. “Sometimes you’re blessed with a family thats functional, and sometimes you’re blessed with a family that’s not.”

Dobson seems genuinely at peace with this realization.

“It’s fine,” Dobson says. “It’s made me who I am, it’s given me writing material, and I’m gonna be the best mom I can be because I was treated so poorly.”

Dobson’s relationship with her mother inspired many tracks on her first, self-titled, album. “Sunday Love” features material from other aspects of Dobson’s life, but is equally revealing.

“It’s very important to speak through your music; we have that moment to speak and be heard, so why not [say] something thats important?”

Two songs on her new album address real life relationship pain: “Scar” and “Be Strong”. The first was written as an apology letter to an ex boyfriend; the second, a story about a girl who loses everything she cares for. Dobson expects both to be favorites among fans.

Without question, Dobson knows her past and her pain intimately.

She also knows herself, and how best to utilize positive influences. “My best friend Stacey is my angel,” Dobson says with a smile. “She always seems to say the right thing; even if its something I don’t want to hear.”

April 26, 2006

www.islandrecords.com

Photo by Victoria McLoughlin

www.islandrecords.com

Above left: singer Fefe Dobson opens up.

Above right: Dobson’s self-titled debut album, and below, her latest album, “Sunday Love”.

Almost on cue, her cell phone rings from behind her chair.

“That’s probably her!” Dobson says, grinning.

“We’re so connected,” she said. “We talk every night for hours and hours.”

With a smile, she explains how after meeting in high school and being separated for four years, she and Stacey bumped into one another in downtown Toronto and became fast friends again.

Her phone rings a second time.

“That’s her again!” Dobson laughed.

There’s joy in Dobsons voice, and her eyes sparkle. She seems to ooze life and optimism.

When it comes to questions, she can’t be stumped. The only thing Dobson has to think for a moment about is her favorite food (strawberry yogurt pancakes) and car (a nice, safe SUV, surprisingly).

She may be young, but when it comes to Fefe Dobson, one thing’s for sure: she realized who she was, who she really was, a long time ago.

April 26, 2006

Reviews

Rampage 19

Not-so average Hollywood Photo by Victoria McLoughlin

Victoria McLoughlin Rampage Reporter It would be easy to hate JoJo. She has a platinum album, a worldwide fan base, and skin so flawless it’d make even Cleopatra green with envy.

She’s had a record deal since age 12, and now, still only 15, she’s promoting her latest movie, “RV” (also starring Robin Williams).

She’s conducting interviews at the Ritz Carlton, in the heart of San Francisco. The entrance to the hotel is guarded by large men in top hats. They smile politely, but something tells me that if I posed a threat, they could break me in half.

The hotel is adorned in marble.

This opulent palace, to JoJo, is comfortable enough to spend a few hours in, answering questions to goggle-eyed journalists that can’t believe her silky, mermaid-esque hair is actually real. Now that is the life.

Astoundingly enough, JoJo is not a diva. She’s not even a Diva-ette. She seems warm, and quite charming.

She talks about how good the hotel cookies are and even (gasp!) eats half of one. When she speaks, she maintains eye contact and hangs on to your every word, smiling and nodding at appropriate moments.

She seems like no ordinary 15

Above:singer-turned movie star JoJo shows off her newest look: highlights.

Below: A scene from the movie “RV”, in which JoJo plays fiesty teenager “Cassie” (far right).

www.empiremovies.com

year-old, let alone a celebrity one.

B e i n g d i ff e r e n t m a d e JoJo unpopular back her home town of Foxborough, Massachusetts. By age 11, after being taunted by kids daily for her passion to be a singer (she didnt ever perform at school events, for fear of being ridiculed further), she begged her mother to move to California, where she believed she’d have a better chance of being signed.

But her mother, Diana Levesque, did not want to move. She was incredibly close to friends and family in Massachusetts, and reluctant to leave her home town of Foxborough.

“It bothered me a lot more than it bothered her,” Levesque said, of the possible relocation. “She was pursuing what she wanted to pursue, so it was different for her.”

The two did move, shortly before JoJo’s 12th birthday.

They lived with a relative in California, and shared a bedroom with one another.

Levesque also took a job as a cleaner to support the two of them.

The move paid off. JoJo secured a spot on “Kids Say the Darndest Things”, singing Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”.

She performed at Faneuil Hall, and wowed host Bill Cosby.

“The Oprah Winfrey Show” also invited her to perform.

After seven months of living in California, the soon-to-be star was offered a record deal.

From this point onwards, the teen’s career skyrocketed.

She recorded an album, performed at the Orange Bowl, and

sang for the president, among many things. One by one, all of JoJo’s dreams came true, and she was able to regain the confidence that her bullies had knocked back in Foxborough.

“What motivates me is proving people wrong,” JoJo says.

Recently, JoJo has returned to Massachusetts with her mother, who is incredibly glad to be home. Levesque has advice for kids who want to break into showbiz: “Don’t.

It makes everything more difficult.”

From experience, Levesque says, “If you’re underage, you can’t do it on your own...you have to have someone totally committed to give up their life for you.”

Levesque is no Hollywood mom; she didn’t project any unfulfilled dreams or ambitions on her daughter, she didn’t force her into any pageants.

She gave up her career and left her friends and family to help her daughter with a dream she didn’t know would come true.

As JoJo poses for photos, her mother waits patiently in the entry way. She won’t take part in any formal interviews, her picture won’t be in a magazine. But her story should be told. Because, like her daughter, she sets herself apart from the crowd.

JoJo’s next single will be released in May; the title is to be announced. Her album, the title of which is also to be announced, will be available in late summer.

JoJo’s movie “RV” will be out in theaters this Friday.

SNIPPETS

JoJo talks candidly about fears, on-screen kisses...and back hair.

JoJo almost has an on-screen kiss in “RV”. “They cut it out!” JoJo squealed. “[The director] cut that out, probably ‘cause it looked so bad! I was so embarrassed and nervous and [my co-star] didn’t make it any easier for me...”

“I fear bugs so much!” JoJo also admitted. Who’s in charge of killing scary spiders? JoJo’s mom, of course!

JoJo identified the difference between her and other singer-turned actresses: “I can actually sing!” Controversial.

“If you come to see me in concert, it’s going to sound like it does on the record, and that’s something I’m proud of,” JoJo said. “Singing, for me, is something that’s really authentic.”

JoJo verified that Robin Williams is a sweaty guy. “Between takes he tends to take off his shirt...he’s also pretty hairy!”

Is hairiness a turn-off for JoJo “I don’t care,” she said. “Just be clean!”

www.jojoonline.com

Above: JoJo’s self-titled debut album.

Below: her upcoming album, which has not yet been named. It will be released in late summer.

Far left: movie poster for “RV”, which is out in theaters this Friday.

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20 Rampage

Reviews

April 26, 2006

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