Remembering a ‘Renaissance man’ ARC STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN ‘CHANCE’ WHEELER COMMITTED SUICIDE JAN. 19
american river
By Joseph Daniels
current
joseph64daniels@gmail. com
Vol. 66, Ed. 7 • February 11, 2015
Obama college proposal unclear PROPOSAL HAS SOME CONDITIONS By Kameron Schmid and Miranda Bolar kameronschmid@gmail.com miranda.bolar@gmail.com President Barack Obama spoke specifically to college students in his State of the Union address on Jan. 20 when he proposed free tuition for the first two years of classes, with certain conditions. While specifics are scarce, American River College President Thomas Greene and public information officer Scott Crow both say that any nationwide conversation about the value of an education is a good start. “The biggest key to a twentyfirst century global economy is an educated workforce. Hands down,” said Greene. Added Crow, “We’re just glad that the president has put a spotlight on the value of a community college education.” “It shows that there is value in education, it transforms lives, it’s an economic engine in the community. Study after study shows that increased education increases economic worth for individuals.” According to the fact sheet sent out by the White House, students who “attend at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 GPA while in college, and make steady progress toward completing their program” will retain eligibility for the program. It is currently unclear how the proposal will affect programs such as California’s Board of Governors fee waiver or the federal Pell Grant, commonly known as FAFSA. Also unknown is how flexible the program will be for those who have educational needs other than a two-year transfer degree. Initial proposals said payment for the program will come from the federal side mostly, with individual states chipping in a smaller amount. But students who now receive FAFSA may be wary,
SEE TUITION, PAGE 2
Photo courtesy of Cat Stehr
John ‘Chance’ Wheeler, pictured here with his daughter, Menolly. Wheeler committed suicide on Jan. 19.
SUICIDE PREVENTION
Learn about the outlets and avenues that ARC and the community have for those who feel at risk, including a campus club that focuces on suicide prevention and provides counseling opportunities. SEE PAGE 3.
SEE SUICIDE, PAGE 3
New professor has Disney past DAVID AUSTIN USED TO CHOREOGRAPH PARADES AT THE ‘HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH’ By John Ferrannini jferr1995@gmail.com Speech professor David Austin’s path to American River College has included bullying, living on the streets of Los Angeles, and working at Disneyland. “When I worked for Citrus College, I worked as a hired choreographer who worked with their music department,” said Austin. “Disney hires out entertainment and then that entertainment goes to Disneyland and performs there.” Austin also choreographed John Ferrannini / jferr1995@gmail.com performances at Disney World, Professor David Austin is in his first year teaching speech classes at ARC. in the Bahamas and Jamaica, and
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INDEX
An American River College student committed suicide a day before the start of the spring semester. John ‘Chance’ Wheeler took photography classes during the Fall 2014 semester at ARC. Wheeler posted a suicide note on Facebook in the form of a poem. In the post, Wheeler first cited his physical condition and pain as reasons for his depression. A diabetic, Wheeler had also recently been diagnosed with neuropathy, a condition where nerves that carry messages to the brain and spinal cord from the rest of the body are damaged or diseased. Wheeler said in the note that he was “tired of being in constant pain,” and “tired of living in a body that betrays me.” “He found it hard to walk, and just in case he would be in a wheelchair, so that he wouldn’t fall down or anything,” said his daughter, Menolly Wheeler, 14. Wheeler shared his passion for video games, comic books and anime with his three daughters, and also took them to conventions. “He was your typical ‘80s nerd. So non-judgemental, accepted everybody,” said Aubrey Ford, a high school friend of Wheeler’s who organized a wake for his friend. The wake was held Friday at the Citrus Heights Community Center. Friends and family recounted their fond memories of Wheeler at the event. Many who attended Wheeler’s wake were friends he had made during his involvement with a live shadow-cast production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
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News pages 2 & 3 Sports pages 4 & 5
Feature page 6 Scene page 8
A&C pages 9 & 10 Opinion page 11
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on Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines. While Austin said “it’s way less exciting than it seems,” he thinks the experience helped his selfconfidence as an instructor. “Having the opportunity to teach dance at Citrus College where they then went on tour in different situations, that was really my first opportunity of knowing I could actually teach,” he said. Paul Duax, a speech professor at ARC, said he is impressed with Austin. “He’s the new hot shot teacher on campus,” said Duax.
SEE DISNEY, PAGE 8
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Student from overseas, Peter Sukhin, experiences a new enviornment while conflicts develop in his homeland.