Vol. 70, Ed. 7

Wednesday 04.10.19

ARC Arts Mapping Online feature will map out pieces across campus

Page 4

C URRENT American River College Sacramento, Calif.

The

SAFETY UPDATES INCLUDE RAVE GUARDIAN APP AND SECURITY CAMERAS

Photo by Patrick Hyun Wilson | Arts & Culture Editor

Electricians Billy Johnson (left) and Derrick Camero (right) install security cameras on the fourth floor of the parking garage at American River College on April 4, 2019.

Advancing technology makes ARC safer

By Ariel Caspar

arielcaspar@gmail.com At American River College, a network of police officers, campus patrol, staff and faculty are taking advantage of continuously modernizing technology to make the campus a safer environment for students and staff.

Over the past year, Los Rios

community colleges have undergone technological updates, according to Scott Crow, ARC’s public information officer, to improve student welfare on campuses.

From security camera upgrades to the new Rave Guardian app, the Los Rios Community College District is creating a network of systems that work together to ensure ultimate safety for its campus

community.

Crow said the Rave Alert system has gone through processes of evaluation to improve its functionality and ability to reach people districtwide.

“It used to be that if there was something going on at ARC, it would only go out to ARC,” Crow said. “Our population has become so mobile and we have students

taking classes at multiple colleges that it just didn’t make sense. We made the change a couple semesters ago to have those alerts go out to everybody now.”

Crow said it is important for students to keep their information current on their eServices account, so they can get the alerts when they are sent out.

Rave has also created the Rave Guardian app as another safety feature for students. According to the company’s website, the app was designed by Rave Mobile Safety, a software company based out of Massachusetts. Rave customized the app for Los Rios community colleges.

Crow said that in addition to the new app, which has been active since last semester, the Rave Alert system will remain in place. Rave Alerts will continue to be sent out as usual and the app is an additional tool for students to use.

The app has many features that allow users to discreetly contact security, access emergency procedures, receive alerts even without a cell signal, access a custom call directory and set virtual safety timers when walking alone.

“The safety timer is a piece that we want to let people know about because we hear from students that have night classes and are walking in the dark. Some students just want that extra security feature,” Crow said.

According to Crow, Rave Guardian allows students to create a list of “guardians” through the app.

The list of guardians is similar to a favorites list, with trusted friends or family.

Security updates | Page 2

Los Rios supports AB 2 Promise Grant extension

By Patrick Hyun Wilson & Thomas Cathey patrickhyunwilson@gmail.com

tcathey1196@gmail.com The California State Assembly Education Committee approved AB 2 on March 11 with the intention of extending the impact of AB 19, the California College Promise, for tuition-free community college for a second year. The grant promised a year of tuition-free community college to first-time full-time students replacing the Board of Governors fee waiver, and now AB 2 will add a second free year.

This year Miguel Santiago (DLos Angeles), alongside other Democrats in the California Assembly including Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), wrote AB 2 to extend the effects of AB 19. The Los Rios Community College District, along with student representa-

tives from all four Los Rios Colleges, has shown strong public support of the bill.

Brian King, chancellor of the LRCCD, supports the bill and hopes to see it approved in the near future.

“That second year [of free tuition] is a logical next step,” King said. “I think the message to students, that fees are not a barrier, is a really positive message, because people will know what a great option our Los Rios community colleges are.”

McCarty’s reasons for supporting the bill go beyond the financial situations of individuals in community college. His focus is on the future impact that the bill may have in regards to the United States and its global economic competitiveness.

“California’s economy will require about two million college students with new academic degrees by 2030,” McCarty said in a

Photo by Patrick Hyun Wilson | Arts & Culture Editor

Assembly Bill 2 pledges to extend the effects of the California College Promise, offering to add a second year of tuition-free community college.

January press release. “By providing two years of free community college, California will help more students graduate with less debt, and will grow the number of degree and certificated workers needed to compete in the global economy.”

AB 2 was amended by the California State Assembly on Jan. 30 and later again amended by the

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INDEX

2&3 News 4 A&C 5 Sports 6 Feature 7 Opinion

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Committee on Higher Education on March 19, which passed and referred the bill with 11 “Ayes” to 1 “Noes.” As of April 3, the education committee has referred the bill to the assembly Committee on Appropriations who have not set a date to hear it yet.

AB 2 | Page 3 /ARCurrent.com

LEGAL ARC offers only community college ASSISTING paralegal program in

PAGE 6

Sacramento

Vol. 70 Ed. 7

Passion for the game

Soccer coach reflects on 20 years at ARC

Page 5

“White lives matter” graffiti found in ARC restroom

By Jennah Booth jennahpage@gmail.com On March 18, the phrase “white lives matter,” a slogan associated with white supremacy movements and far-right political ideologies, was found scrawled in a restroom on the American River College campus, according to an email sent to staff by ARC President Thomas Greene.

“While we do not immediately know the intentions of the person(s) who vandalized the restroom, we are treating this incident with the highest level of seriousness since, in the past, this language has been linked to white supremacist groups,” he wrote.

According to Greene, the language used is concerning and ARC followed protocol by photographing and then removing the graffiti.

ARC has increased custodial checks of its restrooms and any vandalism will be reported to the Los Rios Police Department, according to Greene. Any graffiti that involves police investigation will be communicated to the campus community.

According to ARC’s Public Information Officer Scott Crow, Greene sent out a similar email at the same time Tuesday to formally notify students about the vandalism found on campus, but students did not receive it until Wednesday potentially due to a technical error on Google’s end.

The vandalism follows a series of incidents of racist graffiti found at Sacramento City College last October, during which the administration was criticized for not notifying students or responding to the vandalism soon enough, according to the college’s campus newspaper, the Express.

In response to the criticism, the LRPD promptly sent out a districtwide Rave Alert on Oct. 15, when racist graffiti was found in a women’s restroom at SCC. Multiple unauthorized flyers reading “It’s okay to be white” were also found on ARC’s campus on Nov. 1.

Greene recognized in his email that incidents of racist and hate speech have been increasing nationally.

“Any incidents remind us of the importance of our shared social justice work to ensure that we can reach our vision of transforming the future of all students and our community through inclusive, equitable education,” he wrote.

Greene encouraged any vandalism on any campus to be reported to staff or police.

2

April 10, 2019

NEWS

C

The

URRENT An American River College student-run publication.

Editor-in-Chief Jennah Booth Managing & Copy Editor Hannah Yates Photo & Multimedia Editor Ashley Hayes-Stone Arts & Culture Editor Patrick Hyun Wilson

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor

Campus patrol officer Joshua Harris walks the perimeter of Davies Hall to ensure the safety of the campus at American River College on April 3, 2019.

Security updates take advantage of modern tech Cont. from page 1 Users can set a safety timer and select a guardian to track their movements. It is encouraged that the guardian contact the user right away if they have not heard from the user after the timer has gone off.

Not only is the Rave Guardian app up and easily available for download, but various security cameras are being upgraded to create safer areas throughout LRCCD campuses.

Charles Uhlmeyer, a facilities planning and engineering specialist with LRCCD, said that the camera upgrades are occurring districtwide.

Uhlmeyer said the main purpose of the project is to update an aging camera system with newer, high-resolution cameras, which will provide a more robust Video Management System (VMS).

“This will provide more complete coverage,” Uhlmeyer said in an email interview. “This project is part of the district’s ongoing efforts to improve safety and security on all our campuses.”

Uhlmeyer said that the new security camera system will be placed according to the identified camera placement standards set by the district. These standards call for camera coverage in all parking structures, parking lots, central campus quads and main pedestrian thoroughfares.

ARC’s police captain Christopher Day said that the more camera coverage there is throughout campus, the safer it is for students.

Day said the cameras are a tool for officers to pull up live footage of suspicious persons or activities and to go back and view footage to get more specific information.

“The more cameras we have on campus, the better off we are being able to provide some type of proactive or reactive security to that person,” Day said. “I’m looking forward to new stuff coming in.

Technology is constantly upgrading. It’s just going to help us in the long run to follow up on crimes or events on campus.”

Day also said students should

Opinion Editor Imani Smith Social Media Editor Alexis Warren Sports Editor Gabe Carlos Staff Anthony Barnes Ariel Caspar Thomas Cathey Katia Esguerra Irene Jacobs Breawna Maynard Emily Mello Makenna Roy Hameed Zargr y Faculty Adviser Rachel Leibrock Photo Adviser Josh Clemens Student Worker Luis Gael Jimenez

Photo by Ariel Caspar | Staff Writer

A worker installs new high-resolution cameras in the parking garage at American River College on Jan. 22, 2019.

be aware that the campus shuttle is a resource to utilize when prioritizing safety. The campus shuttle runs Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and is available to all students.

“Technology is constantly upgrading.

It’s just going to help us in the long run.”

Christopher Day ARC Police Captain

“I mean it won’t drive you right outside your classroom door, ... but it’ll get you from the edge of campus out to your car in the parking lot,” Day said.

Day said the campus shuttle circles through the lots on campus.

Students or staff can wave down a campus patrol officer on duty or call dispatch, and campus patrol will contact the shuttle to pick them up at their location. Pickup areas include Lots B, D and G. English major Isaac Kelly said he has used the shuttle to get around

campus.

“I feel very safe on campus. A couple semesters ago I was taking night classes that got out at 9 p.m,” Kelly said. “I’ve used the shuttle more than a few times to get around campus. I really like it and thought it was a very good idea to make ARC a safer campus.”

Another safety initiative that has been implemented over the last year is the standardization of body-worn cameras (BWCs) for all sworn-in police officers on duty.

According to Day, all Los Rios officers are required to wear their body cams daily. Officers have their own body cams with their own docking stations and any footage taken is then stored in the docking station.

Day said body cams are part of moving forward and taking advantage of the best technology.

“It’s technology, it’s law enforcement, it’s society, it’s protection of the public as well as the police officers,” Day said. “Technology is growing with society and its something our department decided to take on for everyone’s benefit.”

Crow said it’s important for students to know ARC is continuously working towards solidifying entire safety networks, where everyone in the community is contributing to safety and emergency preparedness.

“It’s not just this one thing, ... it’s all of us working together to make the campus safer. One thing we’ve been trying to emphasize is the phrase ‘see something, say something,’” Crow said. “We really mean it because we would rather get a report that turns out to be nothing, than not get a report on something that turns out to be a serious issue.”

Day said as technology continues to improve, creating a safe environment will only be made more possible.

“I think with the more things that are available with cameras, technology and cell phones, the more ability we have to head things off,” Day said. “The more technology and skill set that’s out there, the more we can all work together as a team throughout the district and our campus to make sure everyone is safe.”

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PACESETTER AWARD WINNERS JACC STATE CONVENTION 2016

POLICY The Current is produced by the students of College Media Production, J410-413. All opinions are signed and not necessarily endorsed by the Current staff. All letters and articles appearing in the Editorial, Opinion or Forum sections are not necessarily representative of the Current staff or American River College policy.

All articles are the property of the Current. Letters must be typed and can be submitted by mail, e-mail or in person at the following addresses: The American River Current 4700 College Oak Drive Portable Village 613A Sacramento, CA 95841 Phone: 916-484-8304 Fax: 916-484-8668 E-mail: Current@arc.losrios.edu www.ARCurrent.com

3

April 10, 2019

Current walks away with 13 state awards

NEWS

JACC AWARDS INCLUDE GENERAL EXCELLENCE FOR PRINT EDITIONS

By Ariel Caspar arielcaspar@gmail.com The American River Current staff enjoyed a successful weekend, bringing home 13 awards from the 2019 Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) State Convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento.

Journalism programs from community colleges all over the state gathered at the convention to attend workshops and compete in several on-the-spot competitions.

On-the-spot competitions at the convention included a multitude of journalism related assignments, such as news and feature story writing, copy editing and photography.

The Current placed in three awards for submissions from previous semesters, including General Excellence.

Former Co-Editor-in-Chief Luis Gael Jimenez received first place for news story publication, and former staff writer Christian Sutton took fourth place for an opinion story.

The Current staff also received six honorable mentions for feature stories, editorial, inside page layout, feature photo and sports feature photo.

The Current also received four awards for on-the-spot competitions.

Editor-in-Chief Jennah Booth walked away with a first place award for editorial cartoon, and Social Media Editor Alexis Warren took first place in the social media contest.

Managing and Copy Editor Hannah Yates took fourth place for copy editing and Photo and Multimedia Editor Ashley Hayes-Stone took fourth for creative portrait.

Photo by Jennah Booth | Editor-In-Chief

The Current brought home 13 awards, including General Excellence, from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges State Convention March 28 - 30, 2019.

Photo illustration by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor

Los Rios Community College District has partnered with Wellspace to offer free confidential therapy for staff and students to combat everyday and academic stressors.

Health Center offers therapy services

By Irene Jacobs henrisquilts@gmail.com The life of a student can be a stressful one. When combined with a home life, social life and employment, deadlines and other academic stressors can become overwhelming. However, this semester, American River College’s Health Department is offering options for struggling students.

Since early February, ARC has provided free, confidential mental health services and therapy through a partnership with WellSpace Health. ARC offers a variety of student resources on campus, such as the Beaver Food Pantry, Veterans Resource Center, counseling, financial aid and now mental health services.

According to its website, WellSpace is a Sacramento-based foundation seeking to provide medical care, dental services, and mental and behavioral health services to underserved communities. The foundation partnered with the Los Rios Community Col-

lege District to offer their “peoplefirst approach to comprehensive healthcare” to all four community colleges.

Licensed clinicians at ARC’s Health Center are able to offer free and confidential therapy on a range of issues. Parrish Geary, the dean of admissions and transfer services, said the resources were a district-wide effort for students to receive the help they may need.

“This is in an effort to have the same resources available at all four colleges,” Geary said. “Clinicians will provide therapy sessions to address situational stress, such as relationship or family challenges, academic or financial stress, grief, loss, anxiety and depression.”

Michele Arnott, a nurse at the Health Center, said services are being provided at the center to combat students’ emotional and psychological stressors and prevent them from interfering with academic life.

“The WellSpace clinician will provide short-term therapy sessions to address situational stress (relationship or family challenges,

academic or financial stress), grief, loss, anxiety and depression,” Arnott wrote in an email to the Current.

Additionally, clinicians offer resources to a variety of individuals struggling with issues related to sensitivity to culture, the LGBTQ+ community, the military and various physical limitations.

Therapy sessions are intended to be short term, however, the clinicians are able to provide referrals if a patient wishes to receive more complex mental health assistance.

Arnott said services are only being contracted for one year, but that the Health Center hopes for these to become “a permanent service” in the future.

Any student enrolled at ARC or other Los Rios colleges is eligible to receive free and confidential mental health services.

Appointments can be scheduled by calling or texting WellSpace at (916)-340-8148 or by visiting the ARC Health Center.

AB 2 would extend Promise Grant a second year Cont. from page 1 Because the bill requires an appropriation of Proposition 98 funding, it will require 57 votes in the California State Assembly before being given to the state Senate, where it will require 27 votes.

The Proposition 98 General Fund provides K-12 funding and approximately two-thirds of the funding for community colleges, including $46 million for implementation of the California College Promise Initiative’s first year.

Rebeca Rico-Chavez, Associated Student Body President at

American River College, is also a strong proponent of AB-2. On March 27 she, along with other student representatives from Los Rios colleges, visited the Assembly floor in Sacramento to lobby in support of the bill.

“Regardless of financial background people should be able to come to community college and not have to worry about tuition,” Rico-Chavez said.

Rico-Chavez said that although she hasn’t heard a lot of criticism of the bill, she did hear one assemblymember say they believed that the money that will be appropri-

CAMPUS PU

L

SE

“[For spring break] I will try to spend some time with my family, because during the normal days I’m busy with school and work.”

-MANVEER SIDHU

Electronics Technology Major

ated for AB-2 should go towards other forms of financial aid.

After the process of voting has concluded and if it is passed by both the Senate and Assembly, the bill will then be sent to the Governor’s office.

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed his budget for the 2019 - 2020 fiscal year on Jan. 10. In his budget he appropriates Proposition 98 funding for the addition of a second year to the California College Promise.

In the proposed 2019 - 2020 budget, Newsom allocated an additional $40 million specifically

intended to extend the California College Promise Initiative for a second year for full-time students.

According to Newsom’s budget, $5 million will be allocated to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to expand outreach around the California College Promise.

The budget must be voted on and approved between June 15 and July 1, for the following fiscal year. Newsom’s proposed budget is in line with his campaign promises which included funding a second year of free community colleges.

The Public Policy Institute of California released a poll on Dec. 12, 2018 in which 47 percent of likely voters stated that tuitionfree community college should be a “very high or high priority” for Gov. Newsom.

“Community college changed my life,” assemblymember Santiago said in a January press release.

“It gave me choices and opportunities and it opened doors. I know that free community college will change the lives of all Californians.

To educate a community is to empower a community.”

What are your plans for spring break?

“As a photo major, [spring break is] the best time to put things down and take a day trip to smell the flowers.”

-STEPHANIE KADLE

Photography Major

“I’m going to head back home with my family for the first half and for the second half I’m going to study and catch up on my classes.”

-JENNIFER GUDINO

Bio Chem Major

“My plans for spring break are to go to Tahoe with a few friends and hopefully not do any homework.”

-COLE RINDAL

Engineering Major

4

April 10, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE

Patricia Wood brings art home to the Kaneko Gallery

By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor

Patricia Wood, James Kaneko Gallery director and art professor has made the gallery a home, not only for art, but for the students and faculty who visit.

Discover arts on campus with new map

By Gabe Carlos legitgmc@gmail.com There are more than 250 art pieces across campus, but no way to find them all unless you wander around for hours on end. The art department is trying to change that with a new online map feature on the ARC website that will show students and visitors where they can find the arts on campus.

This new feature, out at the end of April, will allow anyone who visits the ARC website to see what paintings, murals and sculptures the college has to offer, including art classes. It will also tell the readers what the artifacts are about

and where they can find them when they visit the campus. The map, however, could also be used as an opportunity for students to study other non-art options at ARC before possibly getting into a career in art.

Patricia Wood, an art professor at ARC, said that initially the head professors of the art department wanted a paper map so that people could tour the Permanent Art Collection (PAC) themselves on campus.

Wood met with Randy Schuster, a professor in the Technology Education department who had a student already working on a Wayfinder’s map, a mobile naviga-

Photo by Gabe Carlos | Sports Editor

Art on campus will be mapped online so visitors can easily locate over 250 artifacts publicly on display at American River College.

tion system, for ARC. This is when the idea sparked for Wood.

ARC’s Tech Ed sent over two interns, Amanda Baker and Jessica Giles, to help the art department out with the project by going with the Instructional Assistant, Dolores White.

“She has been taking them around campus to different sites where art is located and have been using their phones to take pictures,” Wood said.

Wood also said that when the first edition of the map is out readers can access each artifact location through the website.

“They should be able to use their phones to find out more information to each piece via a QR [Quick Response] Code,” Wood said.

Wood said that along with information about each piece, it describes each artist for every artifact.

Jodie Hooker, an art professor at ARC, is also part of the team developing the map for arts around campus.

Hooker and Wood both said that the first edition of the map will come out at the end of April, but the final edition of the map will not come out until much, much later.

“The final version may change with one or two elective suggestions,” Hooker said. “We are still working on this as a department.”

Hooker says that the map does not apply the necessary development required for artists who want to have a career in art and

completely,” Jacobs said. “She has made the gallery my home.”

During her time at ARC Wood has made friends with her follow art colleagues, including photography professor Jodie Hooker, who says she looks up to Wood’s teaching style.

“I absolutely love how she interacts with the students and how she can break content down to meet every student where they

are and I really like that learning environment,” Hooker said.

To Wood, the Kaneko Gallery is a different environment than an ordinary gallery with modern lighting and fancy art.

“My overall impression of the Kaneko was and always has been more than an art gallery, it’s a place that students could call home,” Wood said.

Arts & Culture Schedule of Events

JAZZ

to teach community college and so she gladly took on the additional work.

After Sheldon retired, his position as gallery director was offered to Wood and she accepted in 2016.

Wood says she wanted to add more diversity to the gallery rather than just having Sacramento local artists. Wood has artists from all around coming to the Kaneko to display their art for ARC students and faculty to see.

To help her run the gallery, Wood hired fine arts major Jade Jacobs as an intern in 2018. Jacobs says she admires Wood as a mentor and professor.

“She always had a connection with her students where most professors remove themselves

4/14 4/22 & 23

“River Run w/ ARC Jazz Collective” The Auditorium at CLARA @6:30 p.m.

“A Tribute to the War Years” ARC Student Center @7:00 p.m.

Dance Theater

versity in 1997. When Wood graduated, however, she says she felt Arizona had little to offer art degree students so she packed her bags and with a few bucks in her pocket returned to Sacramento.

The first year Wood was back, she waited tables at Chevy’s until she got a job teaching developmentally disabled adults art at the Short Center. While there, Wood picked up gigs left and right. She would teach at the Short Center in the morning, children in the afternoon at Fairytale Town and at night she headed to the prison to teach inmates art.

In 2004, ARC had an opening for an adjunct art professor and Wood applied and got the position. Despite her busy schedule, Wood says she had always wanted

KANEKO GALLERY

In 2016, part time art professor Patricia Wood and art department chair Sarah Mattson took a seat in the Oak Cafe at American River College. The restaurant’s beige high ceiling held modern square light fixtures that shone down on the two professors as they discussed their day.

While they scanned the elegant paper menus, Mattson brought up the topic of Kaneko Gallery art director Mick Sheldon’s retirement, which left the full time position open. Woods gripped her menu tighter in excitement as Mattson asked her if she was interested in the position.

“I always wanted a place to show exhibitions of artists that I thought deserved to be seen,” Wood said. “At the college I can do that without having to worry about the rent.”

In 2017, Wood took over as gallery director and the full-time art professor and has since displayed various artists in exhibits at the college.

Wood said she has always had an artistic side and took art classes throughout high school. The young artist didn’t take school seriously until she graduated high school. In 1988, Wood attended Sacramento City College where her art professors pushed her to do her best. She knew from her experience there that she wanted to teach, especially at a community college.

After graduating SCC, Wood attended University of California, Davis where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history in 1994. Wood then pursued her education further and received her Master of Fine Arts degree at Arizona State Uni-

Accepting submissions for Student Exhibition Kaneko Gallery

Annual Student Competition Exhibition Kaneko Gallery

4/265/5 “Studio Jam” Dance Studio 235 @6:00 p.m.

will be able to transfer.

“For instance, only one ceramic class and one photo class are in the map but to transfer to a fouryear school in ceramics or photography at the upper division level you must have several courses in that media,” Hooker said.

Hooker also said that the map will include a layout of each semester leading to a degree or certificate in various disciplines.

“That part is great. They also include information about the fall or spring courses only,” Hooker said.

“If you use the map but then study all general education and elective

4/26 4/295/17 “Animal Crackers”

ARC Main Stage Friday and Saturday @8:00 p.m.

Sunday @2:00 p.m.

Thursday 5/2 @6:30 p.m.

4/25 options in the catalog you will build a great program for yourself.”

Hooker said that she was many things before an art professor. For example, she worked as science lab technician for a year, studied school psychology for a year and then studied history. She suggested that students don’t follow the map too closely and look at other options to fill their other interests.

“I spent four years in community college before I settled on my career path; art education,” Hooker said. “My advice [is to] study all of your options not just the map as published.”

5

April 10, 2019

SPORTS

Tanihana’s drive will take him to the next level

By Patrick Hyun Wilson

patrickhyunwilson@gmail.com The course was muddy at Whitney Oaks Golf Club in Rocklin at the American River College golf team’s first Big 8 Conference Tournament in February. Jonathan Tanihana played the course with close attention to his swings. He wasn’t thinking about the other players or the mud under his feet or the fact that last season he missed a first place spot by a close margin.

By the end of the day, Tanihana blew the competition out of the water, winning first place for individuals by 11 strokes.

“That was really big for me,” Tanihana said. “To come out of the gate and say to everybody ‘Hey, I’m serious about this, this year.

There’s no playing around anymore.’”

Ever since Tanihana was a kid, he would join his father, Russell Tanihana, at the golf course and participate in youth tournaments.

When he started at John F. Kennedy High School, the sport became a lifestyle for him.

During trips to the golf course he began to take the game more seriously, trying to win the game.

Although he doesn’t remember the first time he beat his father, from then on he began to work on improving his game to win against other schools and win in outside tournaments.

“I said, ‘Hey look, if you want to really measure yourself, you gotta compete with some other kids .

You’ve got to play in some bigger

Photo courtesy of Jonothan Tanihana Jonathan Tanihana (left) plays at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach for the PGA Tour Champions. He played alongside professional golfer, Kevin Sutherland, placing second out of approximately 81 golfers.

tournaments,’” Russell Tanihana said.

Despite his numerous victories, his dad made it clear to him early on that beating the other players wasn’t the goal.

For Tanihana, golf is more of a mental game than a physical.

When he was young, his father taught him some of the formative techniques while playing on the William Land Park golf course.

Russell Tanihana described a day at the golf course where he and Jonathan were matched up with two strangers.

“I said, ‘What do you got?’ he

said, ‘Dad, [the green] goes left to right and it’s going to break maybe a foot depending on the speed,’” Russell Tanihana said. “He hits it and sinks the putt for birdie, and [some] older guys go ‘How old is that kid?’ and I say, ‘8, why?’”

The technique Tanihana employed involved close examination of the green, both with his eyes and by walking on the green to get a feel for the shape of the grass.

“My dad used to tell me that ‘You’re not playing the other people, you’re playing against the golf course.’ So as I’ve gotten older,

I’ve gotten better at not worrying what other people do, just focusing on myself,” Tanihana said.

Outside of ARC, where Tanihana majors in communications, he spends his days on the golf course teaching kids golf at Haggin Oaks—some as young as 3 years old.

Kelli Corlett works with Tanihana at Haggin Oaks Golf Course and has known Tanihana since he was a kid and participating in programs she taught.

“He has a great amount of patience with the kids and gives them someone to look up to,” Cor-

lett said. “I’m really excited to see where he goes and what he does in the future.”

At ARC, the golf team’s coach Michael Thomas says he trusts Tanihana to motivate himself and work towards his dream of playing pro.

“When you’re successful at one level then you pursue it at the next level and you have success… transferring to the next level, being successful there is the next level.

Thomas, said. “It’s just taking that step.”

Tanihana has worked on his golf swing since he was a kid, and even though it is like second nature to him, he sometimes can lose control.

Tanihana recalls a game last season at Santa Rosa where the wind and rain doubled down on his own poor performance that day hitting, what he called ‘absolutely horrendous shots.’

“Every part of me just wanted to take my club and chuck it as hard as I could,” Tanihana said. “It was just one of those [days] where clearly nothing is going well.”

Tanihana will leave American River College next semester and is considering playing professionally after attending a four-year college. Overall, he wants to work as hard as he can to improve as much as possible.

“If you’re waiting on other people to tell you to do something or give you approval then you’re going to be waiting for a long time,” Tanihana said.

ARC men’s soccer coach shares his passion for the sport A LOOK INSIDE THE STORY OF PAUL HANSEN

By Emily Mello emilycastellar97@gmail.com Encouraged by a neighbor, Paul Hansen, the men’s soccer coach for American River College, started his journey as a young soccer player then later decided to be a coach.

Soccer wasn’t the major sport of Hansen’s childhood growing up in Fremont, but his neighbor gave him encouragement to try it out.

Since then, it’s become Hansen’s biggest passion in life.

“When I was growing up, soccer wasn’t the mainstream sport. All it was was football, baseball and basketball. I remember being by myself in my backyard juggling, and practicing different skills with the soccer ball,” Hansen said.

One of the things that he noticed throughout the years is how players have improved. “[Our team’s] training methods are getting better each year,” Hansen said.

Hansen started his journey into the soccer world playing for California Polytechnic State University. Hansen played professionally in Santa Barbara, Salt Lake City and Sacramento.

Hansen says the money put into the kinds of teams he’s played for doesn’t even come close to the money invested in Major League Soccer teams.

“The infrastructure, organization and money involved [for the

teams I’ve played on were] kind of low level,” Hansen said. “I have been in four different leagues that folded up because of those causes.”

As time passed by, Hansen married and had three kids; two girls and one boy. He passed his passion for soccer on to them. Now, all of his kids are also soccer players at their respective colleges.

“My two daughters went to the same university as I went [to], Cal Poly. It’s sort of a family thing; even though the oldest had already graduated a year ago and the others are still playing,” Hansen said.

“For me as a dad, it’s pretty awesome to see her over there and being able to help them out, giving some instructions with soccer.”

Since Hansen started working at American River College 21 years ago, he always took his kids with him to practice and games.

“Bringing them with me has motivated them to like soccer as much as I do,” Hansen said.

“He has helped me a lot as a player to understand better what my functions are on the team.”

Pedro Flores Left Striker

He says his wife Yvonne is also a very good supporter of his soccer journey and passion, since she is also a soccer fan and has always watched the games with him.

“It’s a ritual that me and my wife

on Saturday mornings, grab a cup of coffee and watch soccer at six a.m.,” Hansen said.

As a coach, Hansen’s personality has some variations throughout seasons, especially in the games.

“I don’t think I have multiple personalities on the daily basis with my players, only during the games when I feel like I’m a player too and I shift gears pretty quickly,” Hansen said.

In spite of that, Hansen has been very supportive with his players during the season and games. He tries to teach them how to be supportive of one another and to be respectful of the rival teams.

Pedro Flores, who plays left striker and midfielder, emphasizes how important Hansen has worked for the team.

“He has helped me a lot as a player to understand better what my functions are on the team,” Flores said. “He has also helped me to be respectful in and outside of the field, no matter how the game ended up, and to keep our heads up.”

Ramses Galvez is a future player for the ARC men’s soccer team and said he has known Hansen for a long time.

“He was my coach when I played in a soccer club in the Sacramento area and he hasn’t changed a bit,” Galvez said. “He always played a dad sort of role for me, and for the whole team too, demonstrating that everybody was important.”

Hansen says his expectations for this upcoming season are very good, since he is getting new players and keeping most of the good players from last season.

“I’m very excited to for this season. I’ve got some good players

Photo by Emily Mello | Staff Writer

American River College men’s soccer coach Paul Hansen has played on professional teams and has coached ARC soccer teams for more than 20 years.

that did pretty well last season and there is some good players coming for this fall,” Hansen said.

“We will have a mix of them together and I can’t wait to start working with them and to a much better season and become the champions in the end.”

ON THE WEB For more ARC sports coverage, go to ARCurrent.com

6

April 10, 2019

FEATURE

American River College is the home of many aspiring and former hip-hop and rap artists, including current and former students and staff.

Photo illustration by Jennah Booth | Editor-In-Chief

Uncovering different hip-hop cultures at ARC

by Gabe Carlos legitgmc@gmail.com Many people want to make it big time in the music industry.

Whether it’s playing an instrument, singing or being in a band.

Being a rapper or producer is also very popular in today’s music world at American River College.

On SoundCloud, a music streaming platform, there are millions of artists hoping that one day someone big will recognize their music, sign them and offer them loads of money to continue their music career; and some of those artists are part of the ARC community.

At ARC, there are all different styles of hip-hop floating around; including dance. Dance derives from hip-hop as it is has street dancing, competitive hip-hop dancing and break dancing.

Josh Bonzo works with UNITE and his passion for hip-hop derives from break dancing. He helps run the Tell it Tuesdays event on campus in the Student Center every other Tuesday. Tell it Tuesday is when people can visit and perform their music or say a few lines, poetry and more.

“We have Tell it Tuesday and

that’s a form of hip-hop because people are using their spoken word poetry or even music sometimes,” Bonzo says.

ARC is an open campus; people who don’t even attend ARC are allowed to come in to play their music, freestyle (rap), poetry and much more, according to Bonzo.

Rapper and Sacramento native JMac, or Jordan McCormick, is known by other artists in the music community at ARC but isn’t a student at the college. He has attended Tell it Tuesday a few times to share his music with other people.

“It’s always good to have conscious rap because it brings the reality to the music.”

Jordan McCormick Local hip-hop musician

On McCormick’s birthday this year, Feb. 25, he released his newest mixtape on SoundCloud, “Born Alone, Die Alone.”

McCormick says he feels his music is more of a subgenre in conscious rap because of the deep

meanings in his lyrics. He says he wants his music to make people understand where he comes from.

“Especially nowadays with a lot of controversy going on, a lot of negative stuff going on [that’s] negative in the environment and community, it’s always good to have conscious rap because it brings the reality to the music,” McCormick says. “People would listen to more music then they would news or anything else.”

McCormick says that he will continue making music due to what he uses his platform for.

“Even though I do have a lot of self-doubt but I’m most definitely going to keep doing it until I can’t anymore because I have a voice,” McCormick said. “Even though I may not have a big following, I still have voice even if one person hears what I’m saying and they take it to heart, it means something.”

Rafael Rivera is another artist at ARC. Rivera has been a counselor at ARC for 13 years and he’s been apart of the music industry in a number of different ways.

Rivera grew up in New York while rap music was growing in the ‘80s.

Rivera started a rap group, Sons of a Rough One, with his

three brothers and his cousin in Los Angeles in the early 1990s after graduating from University of California, Davis. The group performed for about eight years.

His group got studio time and opened for famous hip-hop artists like Daddy Freddy, College Boyz and Earthquake; but unfortunately, the group never reached its full potential.

Rivera returned to Sacramento, where he began another group called No Mad Order. Rivera said this group was thriving until one of the producers didn’t want to sign to a label so the producer left.

After that, he quit making music, got married, earned his master’s degree in counseling and had kids, until one day he saw his son producing beats on his laptop about a year ago.

“My son starts working on a computer and he starts programming drum tracks,” Rivera said. “I was always more on the rap side but payed attention to the production side, so what he did is he started to make a beat and I started to freestyle (rap) to it and we just caught a vibe.”

Rivera’s son wanted to make beats similar to trap music, while Rivera wanted to stick to his roots and produce beats similar to the

a New York style. Eventually, him and his son found a way to coexist.

“I’m old school. I’m more of that late ‘80s, ‘90s hip-hop boom bap style. But he is 16 and more of that trap wave, which is a different genre and I blocked that out,” Rivera says. “I kind of had to change my attitude and kinda begin to learn about the trap style and what made it work.”

While Rivera says he wants his son to focus on getting an education and playing varsity baseball for his high school team, the duo enjoy making beats during their free time.

The father-son duo goes by the name of Sound Radicals and the music is available to stream on SoundCloud. Rivera says they aim to come out with a five-track instrumental-only EP over the next five months, and are hoping to come out with a full mixtape with beats produced by him and his son sometime this year.

The community of hip-hop is continuing to rise, especially with students making big names for themselves. The idea of spreading knowledge through music is key to the listeners. Big or small, everyone has a voice in what will benefit them on the come up.

Legal assisting program will soon change to paralegal studies

by Makenna Roy makennaeroy@gmail.com A change is coming.

In the near future the American River College Legal Assisting Program will be changing its name to Paralegal Studies, according to department chair Asha Wilkerson.

The program is changing its name because the term paralegal studies is more widely recognized.

Currently, ARC is the only college in the Los Rios Community College District that has a paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association; the next closest California community college that has been approved is in San Francisco.

The ARC Legal Assisting Program is a paralegal training program that prepares students for jobs as assistants to attorneys.

A legal assistant works on many tasks, from researching case law and statutes that are relevant to a case, to writing and preparing motions that go before a judge.

Wilkerson has been the department chair of the Legal Assisting Program for the last two years.

Before becoming the department chair, Wilkerson had her own law practice in Oakland, Calif., where she practiced business and employment law.

Wilkerson says that ARC’s program gives students who do not already have a degree the option to obtain an Associate of Arts in legal assisting or paralegal studies. Even students who have an AA can widen their knowledge of the law.

“Even though I encourage evPhoto illustration by Makenna Roy | Staff Writer eryone to go on and get a four- American River College is currently the only college that offers a legal assisting year degree, entering the legal program in the Los Rios Community College District. profession with an AA in paraleWilkerson says. “From your rights Battaglia says. “[Students] leave gal studies allows you to increase as a student … to your rights with with pleadings, briefs, contracts, your earning potential significantly even though you don’t have police officers ... the more that you corporate handbooks and many that four-year degree yet,” Wilker- learn about the law the more em- other legal documents we creatpowered you are in every other ed ourselves, that can be used to son says. demonstrate our ability as paraleWhile Wilkerson comes from aspect of your life.”

April Battaglia, currently in her gals during interviews for jobs.” the business side of law, she says Battaglia says that though her she has always had a passion for last semester with the program, education. During law school she says her experience over the past time with the program she has cretaught a class on street law to high two years has been enjoyable. ated a community and is planning school students, where the law is Battaglia says her time in the pro- to remain a part of the community broken down in a way for kids to gram is what has inspired her to beyond graduation. To stay a part understand. When she graduated, take the Law School Admission of the community Battaglia says that she plans to continue volWilkerson began to look for ad- Test and apply to law school.

“The best part of the program is unteering at the criminal record junct teaching positions.

“Law touches everything we do,” the work product we take with us,” expungement clinics held by the

program.

“When I complete the program, I will continue looking for employment as a paralegal in criminal and family law practices in and around Sacramento,” Battaglia says. “I plan to apply my education in the community where I earned it.”

Alvaro Solis is in his second semester with the program and sees his time in the program being a link towards his future law career.

For Solis, the program gives him the opportunity to gain more knowledge of the law and network with different law firms.

“It is important to have a program like this in the community, to have more educated people who might not have decided [on] law school yet but they get the [chance] to work in an environment with lawyers,” Solis says.

The Legal Assisting Program is currently housed under the Continuing Education Department at ARC. According to Wilkerson, while in the program students gain practical skills in an office profession and these skills have an unlimited potential for job opportunities in other career fields.

7

April 10, 2019

OPINION

CURRENT EDITORIAL

Could the counseling office be more efficient?

It’s a nightmare...

By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com

A counseling office is a place where students go to sit down with a person to figure out what they are going to be in life and how they are going to get there.

This is such a crucial part of a college student’s life because counselors are the gatekeepers of career path knowledge and guidance. As college students, balancing the stress of classes and the everyday responsibilities that come with adulthood can be overwhelming.

American River College urges and recommends that all students make an appointment with a counselor every semester to make sure they’re on track with their education plan.

Students who go without seeing a counselor lose the benefit of vital information like majors that lead to their careers, how to organize classes to be on track to graduate and most importantly how to transfer out of the community college pit.

If that’s the case, then why is it so damn hard for students to get an appointment to sit down with a counselor to talk about their future goals? I’m pretty sure the president of the United States is easier to get a hold of than an ARC counselor.

The ARC Counseling Center appoint-

If counseling is such a crucial part of a student’s success then the process should be more accommodating of our busy lives as college students. ment system is the most frustrating thing students may ever encounter on campus — so frustrating that it’s to the point where many students dread making an appointment.

Here’s why it’s frustrating: In order to meet with a counselor, students have to wake up at dawn to call and endure an excruciatingly long wait while listening to cheesy elevator music. By the time someone picks up, students could have done a month’s worth of homework. The worst part is after all that waiting, students are told that the counseling office is completely booked. During the conversation, students are told to do a drop-in appointment instead where they come to the office and wait for half their life. I know that when I’m told this advice, I feel my left eye developing a nervous twitch because even though I called at the time they opened I am still told to drop in and

Photo illustration by Jennah Booth | Editor-in-Chief

Photo editor Ashley Hayes-Stone and sports editor Gabe Carlos have had very different experiences at American River College’s counseling center, and they can’t agree on whether the process should be made more efficient.

wait forever.

I wanted to get to the bottom of this issue and chatted with someone in the counseling office on how the appointment making system actually works and how to make this process less of a headache. The front desk representative told me the many options that they offer students when it comes to making an appointment and drop-ins.

Students who want to make same-day appointments are urged to call at 7:30 a.m. and they can book the same day, but only for appointments one week out.

They also have the option of booking online if calling is too much of a hassle. In my personal experience, I have waited as long as 30 minutes to even talk to an individual, therefore I was relieved to hear about the online booking service.

When it comes to drop-ins, the center is open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. through 7 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. on Fridays. The counseling office doors open at 7:20 a.m. for the 7:30 drop-ins. The first Saturday of every month during the spring and fall semester students are welcome to drop in between the times 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The center should advertise these alternatives a bit better by ensuring that all students know the appointment making options.

Ultimately, if counseling is such a crucial part of a student’s success at ARC then the process should be more accommodating of our busy lives as college students. ARC’s counseling office could do more to make students’ lives a bit easier during their counseling experience.

It’s not that bad...

By Gabe Carlos legitgmc@gmail.com Meeting with a counselor at American River College may be a strange process, but it’s not as difficult as many students think.

Students complain about the ways to schedule an appointment with a counselor: One of the many reasons students criticize the Counseling Center is because they have to wake up early and risk losing sleep.

While some students don’t realize how important the Counseling Center is, the center provides the best opportunities for students to get an appointment with a counselor with either same-day appointments or a week in advance.

Sure, waking up on a Friday morning when most students don’t usually have class may be annoying, but it really depends on how urgent a student’s needs are. The main goal for students is to meet with a counselor so calling a bit early is not a big deal.

The process works like this: representatives at the front desk tell students to call Friday mornings right when the doors open at 7:30 a.m. to schedule an appointment for the following week, and it’s really not bad.

I know students who have lucked out, including myself, who have walked in and were able to schedule an appointment with a counselor on the spot.

Same-day appointments are not anything brutal either. Along with Friday appointments, students have the option to make an appointment for the following week. Calling the counselor’s office when it opens up in the morning is beneficial when there are only a few days before you choose classes and it suddenly becomes important to see a counselor, such as in my case. Sure, I was lazy those times but what’s wrong with waking up early to make sure you get an appointment?

I’ve waited for a long time before but I did go at a busier time and I didn’t lose my patience. Students need to also consider that the counselors are busy with plenty of students who need help for their education.

There were other times, however, when I only had to wait a few minutes to see my counselor or if I wanted a drop-in. Overall, I’ve never waited more than 20 minutes to see a counselor.

All of the times I’ve able to see a counselor have been great, but I did have to put in some effort and sacrifice some sleep.

The process of meeting with a counselor is not a faulty system. It benefits the students to continue with their education plan and ensure students are on track to graduate or transfer. If you’re not seeing any counselors to benefit your education because you’ll have to wake up early to schedule an appointment, then that’s a personal problem.

Toughen up.

Online courses could be a trap for unfocused students

By Hannah Yates hannahjycurrent@gmail.com The assortment and availability of online classes at American River College recently increased with the launch of ARC Online 2.0, and students will now be able to obtain majors solely through online course units.

While, I think this is mostly an improvement, and will make academia more accessible and affordable, and these classes are especially useful for completing general education requirements, the concept of online classes can be misleading.

A lot of students assume that taking a class online will be easy — or at least easier than taking classes in person. And while most college students (myself included)

avidly support any opportunity to avoid getting up and being human before 1 p.m., there are many drawbacks to online classes to consider before rushing to add a full schedule of them.

It’s incredibly easy to get distracted while online. Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Netflix and YouTube are just a click away, and red dot notifications sit waiting to be clicked, promising validation and praise in the form of likes and shares.

Focusing on online coursework can require an attention span and sense of self-restraint that is uncharacteristic of many college students.

Students looking to take online classes also need to find a space suitable for working. It’s easier to get distracted or doze off when

you’re not in a casual work environment, so it is important to have a quiet area to do classwork at — preferably at a desk.

There is the increased chance that some students will try to multitask while doing their schoolwork outside of school or class.

This is not inherently bad, as some of that multitasking may be activities supplemental to the course material.

Unfortunately, a lot of online classes are also not engaging. Responses and Discussion Boards become a chore, and students feel there is no point to putting effort or individuality in our writing.

I once took a hybrid online class to fulfill an English general education requirement, in which we completed most of our work online, but still met on campus every

two weeks for a writing assignment. We were expected to peer review each other’s writing easily, despite our apparent unfamiliarity. This is besides the fact that we received and had to write our essay prompts in the same meeting, completely rushed.

This can be especially hard when you have a professor who is unfamiliar with technology. Once I took a business course with a professor who had taught at that college for a long time. He rarely, if ever, checked his emails or messages within the application the class used.

Even us shy students who avoid raising our hands in class can benefit from hearing other students’ questions answered. It’s generally a good idea to avoid taking classes online in subjects that you’re

having trouble with.

Online college classes are undoubtedly a huge advancement for technology in education. Distance education offers opportunities to people who previously could not go to college due to reduced mobility, health issues, transportation expenses, or busy schedules.

It is also important to remember that not all of these classes or professors are the same. Every professor or class is different, and there are online classes that may be effective and interesting — it really depends on how they are presented to the students. In my experience in the California Community Colleges System, I have yet to take an engaging online course.

8

April 10, 2019

PHOTO ESSAY

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor

Horticulture major Rosalie Cipolla examines the trimmed branch of a grapevine in the horticulture department at American River College on April 1, 2019.

Bloom, baby,

By Ashley Hayes-Stone & Anthony Barnes

ashgstone@gmail.com anthonylbarnes@gmail.com Graphic illustration by Jennah Booth

Bloom

It’s not common for a classroom to be set outside, unless that class is part of the American River College horticulture department. Tucked behind the Technical Education offices, the department’s lush green pasture is always filled with students getting their hands dirty.

The horticulture department offers many hands-on classes to fit any plant enthusiast’s needs, including floriculture, plant identification and landscape design. Students grow all sorts of different species of plant life, including lavender, grapes and even beer hops.

To help fund the program, the department holds plant sales, and students volunteer to sell flowers. Horticulture instructional assistant Marianne Sala said those weekly sales benefit the department.

“All the proceeds go back to the horticulture trust. That money is used specifically to buy seed and plant material,” Sala said.

The floral sales are held every Thursday; the next one will take place in the Student Center April 11 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Photo by Anthony Barnes | Staff Writer

Horticulture students make portland cement pots for their plants in the horticulture department at American River College on April 1, 2019.

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor

Horticulture student assistant Hope Coulter waters the staghorn ferns in the horticulture department at American River College on April 1, 2019.

Photo by Anthony Barnes | Staff Writer

Horticulture student assistant Julie Kuzelka displays an example of underdeveloped roots in a Blue Arrows Rush plant at American River College on April 1, 2019.