Vol. 70, Ed. 1

‘City of Trees’:

Brass band from ARC brings the sound of New Orleans to Sacramento

Page 4 Wednesday 09.19.18

CURRENT The

American River College Sacramento, Calif.

DEMOLITION OF HOWARD HALL UNDERWAY IN PREPARATION FOR NEW STEM FACILITY

ARC Football:

Beavers move to 2-1 on the season after a late fourth quarter comeback

Page 3 Vol. 70

Ed. 1

Study finds ARC area fifth in US on alcoholrelated vehicle deaths

By Jennah Booth

jennahpage@gmail.com

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor Project superintendent Brain Hansen stands in front of a pile of wood during the demolition of the Liberal Arts building at American River College on Sept. 14, 2018.

The building on campus is being torn down to make room for the new STEM building project. The project will be completed during the next one to two years.

ARC feels growing pains; STEM Facility construction scheduled through 2020

By Jennah Booth

jennahpage@gmail.com Students attending classes at American River College may find parking, getting across campus and avoiding disrupting noise increasingly difficult this semester as construction begins on the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mechanics facility.

Cheryl Sears, the Director of Administrative Services at ARC, has been in her role for a little over a year and a half, but says she has been working with the Los Rios district for much longer.

“My job is to [lessen] the pain the campus is going to feel with [the] construction,” Sears said.

While students have only recently begun to see and feel the effects of the campus renovations, Sears says the plan for the new STEM building has been in the works for over a year.

According to Sears, once the plan for the STEM facility was approved, the Los Rios Community College District hired architects to optimize the alloted 57,000 square-feet and to ensure “we don’t have a brand new building and we’ve already outgrown it.”

They eventually decided on a design by architect Gould Evans.

“About a year ago, they put everything up to bid and so the construction companies ... bid on it to say who can do the job for however much money,” Sears said.

Los Rios Facilities Management is a group that manages the construction of facilities on campuses across the district and deals with contractors and vendors.

The facilities management office chose Flint Builders to construct the new STEM building at ARC and presented the package to the Los Rios Community College District Board of Trustees for approval.

The district evacuated and fenced off the Liberal Arts building area in early 2018 in preparation for construction, but it wasn’t until the Los Rios Board of Trustees approved the bid from Flint Builders for construction in July that the fencing was expanded.

An e-mail sent to staff by ARC’s Public Information Officer Scott Crow, on behalf of the ARC Operations Office, spelled out the new construction developments on campus and noted the expansion of the fencing in early August.

“We know this construction will impact the campus because of the loss of parking spaces as well as walkway changes. We will work hard to mitigate impacts

from the situation,” Crow wrote.

Once Flint Builders was contracted to start the project, the company had to evaluate the construction zone and expand the fence to fit their standards, according to Sears.

“The [builders] needed to be able to get all of their equipment in there and be able to tear things down and create a safe zone for our campus community,” Sears said. “So there’s no chance anyone is going to get hurt.”

Since the construction area was originally fenced off, additional parking spaces behind the Learning Resource Center and half of the staff parking lot E have been blocked off as well.

According to Crow’s email, parking lot E will no longer serve as a drop off and pick up location for students. Signage and police are now instructing students to be dropped off and picked up near the Oak Cafe or in the area just north of stadium lot S. “The police are really trying to get everyone to go to those spaces because I went over [to lot E] today and there were cars lined up,” Sears said. “It’s just too congested.

In addition to the blocked off parking, “the walkways between Davies Hall and the [Learning Re-

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source Center] and the [Information Technology Center] and the old Liberal Arts facilities will be off-limits because of the demolition work,” Crow wrote.

“We’re trying to be as helpful as we can, especially for people who have any mobility issues.”

Cheryl Sears

Director of Administrative Services Josh Bonzo is a filmmaking major at ARC and works with ARC’s Universal Engaging Inclusive Transformative Education, or UNITE, program.

Bonzo said the construction hasn’t been much of a problem for him or other returning students but he thinks it might be a hassle for new students trying to get around.

“I dont think it’s a big deal for us, but since there’s new students, they obviously don’t know how the campus was

Construction | Page 2 /ARCurrent.com

NEW MURAL Chicana artist leads

PAGE 4 over 25 volunteers in

painting of LRC mural.

A recent data analysis conducted by a car insurance company found the American River College main campus vicinity to be the fifth deadliest in the nation for alcohol-related driving deaths, according to a story published by the Sacramento Bee Wednesday.

The article references, but did not initially link to, a study conducted by Cheap Car Insurance that ranked ARC fifth, with 87 reported deaths between 2012 and 2016, after analyzing data collected from a 3 mile radius around rural, suburban and town schools, and a 1.5 mile radius for city schools.

The analysis found that between 2012 and 2016, 4.3 percent of all car accident fatalities happened within a 3 mile radius of a non-city college; of these, 25.4 percent tested returned a blood alcohol content level above the legal limit of 0.08.

In addition, 3.5 percent of fatal accidents happened within a 1.5 mile radius of a college located in a city, with 28.2 percent of returned BAC levels over the legal limit.

Not everyone agreed with the Bee’s interpretation of the study.

ARC’s Public Information Officer, Scott Crow, said the school was disappointed in the Bee’s lack of clarification in the article since the data references the geographical area around the campus and not the school itself.

Crow also said he recognized that ARC is surrounded by high traffic areas. Auburn Boulevard, Madison Avenue, and Interstate 80 are included in the radius around the school.

“The story doesn’t even specify which ARC campus it’s referring to,” Crow said, as ARC has multiple off-site satellite campuses.

The study looked at all public and private nonprofit colleges with at least 5,000 students enrolled, using data provided by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). According to its website, “NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.”

Cheap Car Insurance also collected crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) which collects and publicly reports yearly data on fatalities caused by

DUI Study | Page 2

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Sept. 19, 2018

Alcohol-related death study cont. from page 1

motor vehicle crashes.

Crow said he sent a statement to the Bee on behalf of ARC asking for clarification. Crow provided the Current with a copy of the statement.

“We feel the headline and lead are misleading,” he wrote in the statement.

“We are disappointed that this story prominently places American River College in the headline and lead when the ‘study’ (which is not linked in the story) actually refers to potential data related to the geographical area near our main campus,” Crow also wrote. “The second paragraph refers to that radius but the headline and lead imply that all of the 87 reported fatalities are connected to the college community in some way.”

According to Crow, the Bee did not reach out to ARC for comment therefore the school was unable to provide any context to the data or the study.

The Bee has since linked the Cheap Car Insurance study and modified the headline and first paragraph of the article to clarify that the study focused on the campus and surrounding area.

“I actually had a great back and forth with the writer,” Crow said.

Crow emphasised the priority of the school and the Los Rios Police Department to encour-

age safe driving.

“Any alcohol-related fatality

in our Sacramento community is a sad tragedy,” he wrote. “We can all do more to encourage safer driving in our community … We will continue to do all we can to educate our campus communities about the importance of safe driving.”

News

STEM Facility to open in 2020 cont. from page 1

before,” he said.

Sears said her top priority is to get the pathway between Davies Hall and the LRC open so students have better access to the campus.

“I get it. I have shin splints because I’ve been walking and walking and walking,” she said. “So we told [Flint] we need this open as soon as possible.”

Sears hopes that as the Liberal Arts buildings gets demolished, Flint will be able to push the fence back and open up the pathway. It may need to be closed off again for a few days at a time to sever the roof between the Liberal Arts buildings and the LRC, and for the installation of a hydronic line, she said.

The hydronic line will run from the Fine Arts facilities, all the way across campus to the STEM building. It will support the school’s heating and cooling system across all buildings and facilities.

Until the pathways are opened, Campus Operations is working to alleviate the disruptions the construction has on students by providing a golf car shuttle to help people get around the fenced off areas and across campus.

“We’re trying to be as helpful as we can, especially for people who have any mobility issues,” Sears said. “One of the biggest complaints we get is the noise.”

Bonzo said that while he doesn’t currently have any classes in Davies Hall, he can imagine that the noise is disruptive to the students there.

“I could hear the people blowing the leaves outside of the classrooms at Davies, so if I was in those classes I would definitely be hearing those drills,” Bonzo said.

In terms of students with sensitivities to sound, the ARC Campus Operations will post construction dates weekly on its website so that students are aware well ahead of time.

Demolition of the 32,000

ASB NOTEBOOK

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The

URRENT Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor Project superintendent Brian Hansen stands in an abated classroom at American River College on Sept. 14, 2018. The Liberal Arts is being torn down so the new STEM can be built in it’s place.

square-foot Liberal Arts building will happen during school hours and in multiple sessions. In a tentative schedule provided through e-mail by Matthew Blevis, operations technician of Administrative Services at ARC, Flint currently predicts the first demolition to be Sept 24-26.

Before then, Flint has to remove any potentially hazardous materials from the buildings, which were originally built in the 1960’s, according to Flint’s website. Due to the structures’ age, many materials used in its construction can now be considered dangerous, especially if inhaled.

In order to remove these materials, the buildings must be sealed off and a fan will suck out any particles stirred up as the inside of the buildings are gutted.

“It’s called abatement,” Sears said. “What they do is they go through and they tear up the floors and the walls and anything in the ceiling so that there’s no concern when they destroy the building … There’s no dust or anything that could float out of the areas and we could breath in.”

Consecutive demolitions are scheduled through Nov 6. ARC Campus operations will provide an updated schedule on its website. Blevis warns that the schedule may change.

Once the area is fully demol-

ished, Flint will begin constructing the STEM facility; the entire project costing an estimated $32,053,000, according to its website.

The three-story structure will feature standard classrooms and faculty offices. In addition to the basic amenities like outlets and efficient heating and cooling due to the new hydronics line, the building will also be equipped with an engineering yard, a multi-story art piece, many indoor and outdoor gathering spaces and collapsable glass walls.

“It’s exciting, because the outcome is going to be awesome,” Sears said. “We can open it and have an indoor and outdoor learning environment.”

Despite the new STEM facility’s modern features, many of the currently enrolled students facing the effects of the construction will never reap its benefits, as they may graduate or transfer before the structure is finished and the facility opens.

While working closely with ARC administration and Campus Operations to provide updates and timelines, the speed of the entire project is dependent on Flint Builders pace of construction and is predicted to continue through the fall of 2020.

For weekly coverage of ARC student government, go to ARCurrent.com.

An American River College student-run publication.

Editor-in-Chief Jennah Booth Co-Managing Editors Alexus Hur tado Hannah Yates Copy Editor Hannah Yates Photo Editors Ashley Hayes-Stone Tracy Holmes Multimedia Editor Ashley Hayes-Stone Opinion Editor Tracy Holmes Social Media Editor Alexis Warren Sports Editor Gabe Carlos Staff Itzin Alipizar Breawna Maynard Felix Oliveros Imani Smith Christian Sutton Patrick Hyun Wilson Hameed Zargr y Faculty Adviser Rachel Leibrock Photo Adviser Josh Clemens Student Worker Luis Gael Jimenez

ASB ADVANCES VARIOUS HEALTH RELATED RESOLUTIONS

By Hannah Yates whut.hannah@gmail.com The Associated Student Body ASB Student Senate discussed bills that would improve multiple health resources available on campus, and continued their discussion regarding budgets last Friday.

Quorum was met, as four out of the six senate officers were present at roll call during the board meeting on Sept. 14.

After discussion, the senate amended a resolution concerning wifi coverage on campus grounds.

The bill, proposed by Director of Finance Dallas Vue, looked to address the lack of wifi coverage outside of many buildings on campus. After some modifications to the bill moved by Senator Laurie Jones, the resolution was adopted.

Vice President Elena DeNecochea proposed a bill that addresses student safety and access during the construction. The bill requested at least one additional temporary and safe pathway for students to navigate between

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor Student Senate Vice President Elena DeNecochea and fellow senate members led the meeting on Friday, Sept. 14.

classes and services. Jones suggest taking the bill to faculty senate for corroboration. The bill was passed as amended with no objections.

Committee reports began with a report on the Disciplinary Appeals Committee, which has two members appointed so far. “[There are] the two persons who have been selected to be on

[the Disciplinary Appeals Committee],” Johnson said. “However, that committee needs seven people altogether so that they can appoint people to attend each one of those meetings.”

Jones also mentioned the senate’s need for another Club Day Committee and a Student Elections Committee.

Jones then asked for updates re-

lated to other health resolutions, one of which would be improving the lactation rooms available on campus, and about money that was supposed to be approved for the supplies to do so.

She also asked the board if any action had been taken towards a resolution about service animal awareness that was passed last year. The service animals resolution did not have a report.

“A lot of times we pass stuff and nothing happens,” Jones added.

After reports Parliamentarian Lorenzo Cuesta, who advised the board meeting, emphasized the importance of taking action to advance the resolutions that the senate passes.

“It’s fine to get a report, but ... we’re supposed to do something.

We need to bring it back and form committees to create and get people to work on something,” Cuesta said. “So — it’s not just that they report it — we need to take action.”

Read the full ASB coverage at ARCurrent.com

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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

Sept. 19, 2018

SPORTS

ARC secures win in fourth quarter comeback

3

ARC SEEKS REVENGE ON SAN MATEO

By Patrick Hyun Wilson patrickhyunwilson@gmail.com After their devastating loss at the hands of Laney College last week, American River College’s football team spent the week practicing hard and regaining its momentum.

Head coach Jon Osterhout got the team back on track in practice over the course of the week. The week of practice paid off for the Beavers in a 18-13 win against College of San Mateo.

“We had an unbelievable week in preparation and practice and it certainly played well through the course of the game,” Osterhout said.

In the final minutes of the game quarterback Jacob Cruz threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Davis Jr., pushing the team to win.

The Beavers have a history with the San Mateo Bulldogs after losing their chance to compete in last year’s State Championship, losing to them, 24-21.

The Beavers fught hard for the win, coming down to touchdowns made in the fourth quarter with a rush by Cruz and a pass to Davis Jr. A pass by Terrell Carter of San Mateo was picked off by Beavers linebacker Justin Houlihan who brought the ball to the 41-yard

Photo by Patrick Hyun Wilson | Staff Writer

Running back Evyn Holtz is tackled in an attempted rush against the College of San Mateo Bulldogs at Beaver Stadium on Sept. 15.

line. The team pushed towards the end zone until Cruz rushed six yards for a touchdown, with five minutes left.

San Mateo scored their final touchdown with two minutes left, leading the Beavers, 13-12. In the final minute of the game, Cruz fired a 46-yard pass followed by a 41-yard touchdown pass to Eric Davis Jr. earning a win for the Beavers.

“It was a tough game throughout the whole game, we had to finish it,” Cruz said.

Women’s soccer drops to 1-4 in the season TEAM OFF TO SLOW START

By Alexus Hertado alexus09@gmail.com In the women’s soccer team’s home opener, the American River College Beavers lost 2-1 to the Butte Roadrunners on Aug. 31.

During the first half of the game, both teams were communicating well on and off the field.

Players on the sidelines from both teams encouraged their teammates.

ARC moved the ball and passed well, moving up and down the field in small groups. They played strategic defense by grouping together during defensive moves and stayed on top of the Butte players from the start of the game.

Butte’s defense could’ve been stronger during the beginning of the game, and ARC’s defense, including the team’s goalie Josie Gover, kept them at bay. ARC began to play very physical towards the end of the first half and pushed back on Butte to keep their momentum going.

ARC‘s defense began to weaken towards the middle of the first half and they began to struggle against Butte’s defense and with working together.

They stopped communicating with each other and players were becoming quiet and weren’t getting to the ball quick enough.

“I feel like first half we weren’t really connecting as much and attacking,” said forward Savannah

Tijerino-Santos.

The Beavers were becoming visibly frustrated but pushed through.

In the second half, ARC still hadn’t scored and were having difficulty keeping up with Butte and their tight defense. ARC was getting frustrated and began being more physical in their defense.

There were several elbows thrown from both teams due to the intensity of the game.

Both teams got through the second half by staying on top of each other and trying to finish the game strong. ARC was finally able to score 20 minutes into the second half with a goal from midfielder Monet Lopez.

However, ARC didn’t end the game strong; the teams we burned out by the end but they pulled together as a team to finish the game.

“Second half we did well at connecting, attacking, and ball movement.” said Fworward TijerinoSantos.

Finishing games strong overall seems to be a recurring issue for the Beavers.

“We just need to work on finishing, that’s our biggest thing right now,” said the team’s forward Bianca Avila.

The team is looking forward to possibly making the playoffs this year and improving from last year.

“We want to go to playoffs and we want to be the state champs,” Avila said.

Evyn Holtz rushed 155 yards in 29 attempts, pushing the team towards victory.

“It was an amazing game. That’s a tough team in San Mateo,” Holtz said. “That loss [against Laney] really was a reality check for us, so we got back to the way we’re supposed to practice at American River and it worked.”

The loss against Laney put a weight in the team’s head during the game. Davis Jr., a wide receiver for American River College, ran the final 46 yards to a touchdown

in the fourth quarter push for hout in the end of game huddle.

American River College.

He praised the teams drive and “We just had to come ability to close the game Evyn Holtz out with a chip on strong.

Running Back our shoulder and “It’s a game of go to work. It momentum and was the time to we were just bounce back sble to continand just had ue to rie to the Rushing Yards per to play Beaver occasion nd get yards carry ball,” Davis Jr. the momentum said. back on our side,” The team’s vicOsterhout said. The tory sparked an imnext game will be at passioned speech by OsterModesto on Sept. 22.

155

5.3

Sports Schedule Football

Women’s Volleyball

Sept. 22 @ Modesto

Sept. 19 @ Sierra

6 p.m. @ Modesto

6:30 p.m. @ Sierra

Sept. 29 vs Fresno

Sept. 26 vs Diablo Valley

Oct. 13 vs Siskiyous

Sept. 28 @ Santa Rosa

Oct. 20 @ Sierra

Oct. 3 @ Sacramento City

1 p.m. @ Home

1 p.m. @ Home

1 p.m. @ Sierra

Oct. 27 @ Butte 1 p.m. @ Butte

Men’s Soccer Sept. 18 @ Yuba 6 p.m. @ Yuba

6:30 p.m. @ Home

6:30 p.m. @ Santa Rosa

6:30 p.m. @ Sacramento City

Oct. 5 vs Folsom Lake 6:30 p.m. @ Home

Women’s Soccer Sept. 21 vs Cosumnes River 6 p.m. @ Home

Sept. 21 @ San Joaquin Delta

Sept. 28 @ Sierra

Sept. 25 vs Cosumnes River

Oct. 2 @ Diablo Valley

Sept. 28 vs Santa Rosa

Oct. 5 vs Sacramento City

4 p.m. @ San Joaquin Delta 6 p.m. @ Home

4 p.m. @ Home

Oct. 2 @ Folsom Lake

6:30 p.m. @ Folsom Lake

5 p.m. @ Sierra

3:30 p.m. @ Diablo Valley

3:30 p.m. @ Home

Oct. 9 @ Santa Rosa 3:30 p.m. @ Santa Rosa

4

Sept. 19 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Multimedia Editor

City of Trees Brass Band members (from left to right): Isaac Negrete, Matt Voller, Devon Edmond, Ben Hillier and Miguel Recendez pose in front of their van, “Ashley,” on Sept. 6, 2018.

ARC planted the seed for City of Trees Brass Band

By Ashley Hayes-Stone ashgstone@gmail.com The smell of intoxication fills the air as an excited crowd stomps and claps along to a sousaphone, its deep sound bellows off the muraled brick walls. The scene makes it seem like you’re in the center of New Orleans.

Under a string of lights, beer steins clink around the courtyard as more brass instruments accompany the sousaphone bringing out the full sound of the second line. Though it’s not in the heart of Louisiana, City of Trees Brass Band brings a piece of the city of jazz to Der Biergarten in Midtown, Sacramento.

American River College alumnus and manager, Ben Hillier, is one of the many musicians that brought these sounds of second line to the streets of Sacramento.

He and other students began the process in 2013, forming the band while attending ARC. Five years later, the City of Trees brass band owes its foundation to ARC for providing a space for everything from practice rooms, to mentors, to like-minded musicians, all under one roof.

“We were spending a lot of time in there, because we were invested in our craft and inspired by the

campus,” Hillier says. “It was like a playground that we all go to, so ARC was like the platform that organize and united us.”

The brass band got its start five years ago when Hillier and friends Alan Ferreira, Josh Cambridge, Seamus Smith and the guy they refer to as Vanishing Scott hung out in the music department at ARC. Hillier begged them to start a band and though his friends resisted at first, they eventually gave in and formed the Brass-o-nauts.

The Brass-o-nauts took to the streets of Sacramento and before long they began to get noticed. It was then that Hillier and the band decided it was time for a name change. Within the halls of the ARC music department, a small practice room was crowded with the members of the Brass-o-nauts trying to figure out a different band name that fit their personalities.

During the meeting, band names started floating around the ARC practice room and one name that Hillier was torn with was the name The City of Trees Brass Band.

“Do I pick [a name] that represents the band right now or do I pick one that represents what we are trying to accomplish?” Hillier says.

Unsure about the name, Hillier

adopted it and throughout the months of them playing gigs on the streets people started remembering the name. Hillier and the band knew then they made the right decision.

Gaining more success, the band got to experience its first tour with another brass band. After a few gigs, they landed in Portland where they got invited to college party. They were hoping to play but one of the roommates who lived there turned the idea down.

Disappointed at not being able to jam, the band joined the party.

The house was jammed packed with over 250 hammered college students who were dancing and drinking throughout the night.

During the party, Hillier and the four members said they were approached by a tall guy who was wearing a robe and was accompanied by two ladies, one on each arm.

Hillier describes him as a 24-year-old with the “demeanor of a 60-year-old Hugh Hefner.” The young playboy lookalike asked them to play. He led them to the garage that was complete with a halfpipe. With excitement in their eyes and instruments in their hands, they piled on the halfpipe stage and began to play. The inebriated 20-somethings crammed

into the garage, lured by the sound of the brass music.

“I realize I could hold a sousaphone and feel like a rock star at the sametime,” Hillier says.

But it wasn’t the intoxicated college kids that made Hillier realize his band had made it, that came when he took the band to where brass music really came from: New Orleans.

In 2016, the group decided to take their horns to the motherland of brass bands. There, they immersed themselves into the music instead of playing, but their mentor Bill Bua, also known as the band’s “jazz dad,” had other plans.

Bua had connections with countless local musicians in New Orleans, many of which were known to play in the streets. The band was told to grab their instruments, because they were going to get the opportunity to play alongside jazz greats like Doreen Ketchens, a famous clarinetist in New Orleans.

There, he saw locals “stepping,” which is a form a dance in which performers dance and walk at the same time to the beat of the music. Seeing locals enjoy their music, Hillier says he knew his band was doing something right.

Hillier’s journey at ARC may have ended, but he left his pro-

fessors proud of what he and his fellow bandmates accomplished in the span of five years, including ARC music professor Joseph Gilman.

“It’s wonderful and very rewarding [to see their success],” Gilman says. “I’m happy I choose this career path because you are making a differences in people’s lives.”

The band has since expanded from five members to 40 members which includes 19-year-old ARC trombone player Miguel Recendez, one of the youngest band members. While listening to brass bands in high school, Recendez says he never thought he would be a part of one.

“That would be cool to be apart of [a brass band], but I doubted I would come across anything like that, but here I am playing in one and I didn’t expect that,” Recendez says. “It’s pretty cool and I like it.”

Now, Hillier is living his dream as a full-time musician and still gets to play alongside his friends.

“The City of Trees means so much to me, because I don’t need to worry about my purpose in life is and I have a community of people that care about each other,” Hillier says. “I get to spend time with my friends who are constantly encouraging me to be the best version of myself.”

Familiar faces adorn newly painted mural at LRC

RENOWNED CHICANA ARTIST LEADS VOLUNTEERS

By Jennah Booth jennahpage@gmail.com

Tucked into a fenced-off corner of the campus, a representation of student life at American River College and Sacramento is slowly accumulating just outside of the Learning Resource Center.

That representation is a mural that is a culmination of student and community input and is the brainchild of muralist Ruby Chacon and James Kaneko Gallery director Patricia Wood.

Chacon is a Chicana artist from Salt Lake City, Utah who is currently working to get her teaching cre-

dentials from Sacramento State University. Her goal is to teach collaborative community art to high school students.

“I love working with teens so I wanted to do it with a school that would be supportive of that, where you do participatory research with the students that would inform the design,” she said. “That way they would get to know their communities and they come up creatively with the images that would validate those communities.”

Chacon was brought to ARC by Wood in January, when her art was displayed in the James Kaneko Gallery. The show, “In the Spirit of Itzpapalotl, Venceremos,” was a collaboration between Chacon and photographer Flor Olivo.

“I prefer collaboration, just because I feel like we’ve been

“I think muralism has a lot of power to tell the counter-narrative to stereotypes.”

Ruby Chacon Muralist

taught to do art as more of an individual,” Chacon said. “The way I like to do art is more communal and collective because I think you learn more; you’re more creative.”

Chacon brought this collaborative spirit to the organization of the project. Plans for the mural began in the spring of 2018, when Chacon and Wood held a focus group with approximately 10 ARC students in order to carve out the foundational ideas for the mural.

“We tried to invite pretty much

everybody. … We went through the various different clubs, faculty, advisers for clubs; anyone we thought was connected to different groups of students,” Wood said. “It was kind of our brainstorming session.”

Chacon and Wood provided the students with brainstorming questions and collaborated on different images and concepts on butcher paper, “and then with that information we put together a survey and we sent it out to the at-large community,” Chacon said.

Wood facilitated the distribution of the survey to the public, which went out several times in order to reach as many people across the Los Rios Community College District as possible.

In addition to the concepts provided by the brainstorming workshop, the survey also had a

section for people to write in their own ideas, many of which were included in the final design of the mural. It also allowed students to volunteer to participate further in the project.

“We analyzed the information, did other workshops, met with students to go over the survey,” Chacon said. “And then those following workshops we had students, who were informed with the survey, bring ideas, either through images or just through discussion on what the design could look like.”

Getting ARC’s and Los Rios community’s input was an important part of the process for Chacon.

She said she felt it allowed the art to represent more than just her own interpretation of a community.

Mural Project | Page 5

5

Sept. 19 2018

ARTS & CULTURE

Kaneko show almost a year in the making PROFESSOR CRAIG SMITH SHOWCASES ART

“All of the paintings are based in observation of reality but then they are changed or adjusted in order to have some visual, espressive, characteristic or flavor.”

By Patrick Hyun Wilson patrickhyunwilson@gmail.com Patricia Wood entered an old machine shed barn just west of American River College. The 1000-square foot barn had a 75-foot extension cord leading from the house to light the room.

“Rough as a cob” on the outside, the barn was filled with abstract landscape paintings whose bright colors were a stark contrast to the old shed; figurative sculptures that twist and turn with the flow of the clay and plaster were scattered around the room.

“Why don’t you bring in some of those?” Wood said, referring to the sculptures made by the imaginative and expressive Craig Smith.

Wood is the director at Kaneko Gallery where she’d been trying for about a year to set up a show for Smith.

The exhibition, “Symbols of Objects” came together and features the work of ARC art professor Smith and former ARC student Phyllis Hayes in the James Kaneko Gallery at ARC. It is the first exhibition of the fall semester.

Smith described the process of creating one of his paintings from observations to the highly abstracted final product.

“All the paintings are based in observation of reality but then they are changed or adjusted in order to have some visual, expressive, characteristic or flavor,” Smith said. “The sculptures are largely invented.”

The oil paintings are made with thick lines and garish colors, that

Craig Smith

ARC Art Professor

Photo by Patrick Hyun Wilson | Staff Writer

Craig Smith speaks at the Kaneko Gallery about the “Symbols of Objects” exhibition during the opening reception on Aug. 30.

are reminiscent of a Max Beckmann piece, that crisscross the canvas and blend into one another; they hardly resemble the observational studies Smith made using watercolor that hang next to the piece.

A combination of oil paintings, watercolors, clay and plaster sculptures, and oil pastel drawings made on old maps are on display.

The work is largely abstract, relying on the color and expressive quality of the lines to carry the meaning of the work.

Hayes and Smith describe the works as having a “language of visual cues,” in the exhibition statement.

“Things are expressive, because of the way they look, for instance, a jagged line is expressing some-

thing different than a curvy line,” Smith said.

The artists use this language of visual cues to communicate with the viewer, and each other. The artists have been displaying work together for between four and five years, according to Smith.

“In terms of the way [Hayes] handles the material, the way she composes, puts thing together; it’s after my own heart,” Smith said.

“We have the same concern for observation and then turning that observation into something else.”

Wood described the artists as “life partners who paint together.”

“We wanted to show them together so you can see the similarities and have them interact and have a conversation,” Wood said.

Wood described how the two

artists communicate by using the language of visual cues, a language that transcends politics and history.

“It’s really art in its purest sense, it’s not necessarily trying to also be historical or narrative, the message is more visceral, it’s more emotional,” Wood said. “I want [viewers] to walk away with a sense of what it means to make a mark or a form on a canvas.”

One of Hayes’ sources of inspiration is the American River Parkway.

“The drawings of the Parkway are my humble attempt to express my experience of its extraordinary beauty and profound influence on my life,” according to her artist statement.

Her treatment of the observa-

tions she made on the parkway employed a subtler approach compared to the highly abstracted work of Smith, though she was by no means adverse to expressive abstraction in her work.

She used a more naturalistic color palette in her oil pastel drawings, which depict landscapes from the American River Parkway on top of old maps.

The mixed media drawings attracted the attention of freelance photography students Tara Duvall and Danielle Emery, who were admiring the pieces that covered the gallery walls.

“It’s a really cool idea to show images over the maps. The oak leaf over the map is really standing out to me,” Emery said.

Hayes’ drawings of the parkway attracted the attention of Duvall as well.

“I like the American River Parkway with the roots,” Duvall said. “I find the root structure really cool.”

The Kaneko Gallery is open to students Monday through Thursday.

“Symbols of Objects” will be on display until Sept. 20, there will be a closing reception at 5:00 p.m. on its last day.

LRC mural aims to empower marginalized communities cont. from page 4 “I think muralism has a lot of power to tell the counter-narrative to stereotypes and what is told about marginalized communities, or whatever communities that feel like they’re not part of the power structure,” she said.

Many of the images that came from the survey were included in the mural in a more interpretive, rather than literal, way.

During one of the workshops, Chacon asked participants to pose and embody different concepts physically. Students were photographed shaping their bodies into the form of an oak tree or kneeling to paint flowers and those photographs were incorporated into the design.

Symbols that hit closer to home for ARC students included: rainbow butterflies to represent the Pride Center, hands spelling out “Make peace prevail on Earth” in American Sign Language, and images of students and people involved with the Los Rios community.

Other images included the Tower Bridge and the Ziggurat building — the pyramid-shaped building on the riverfront in West Sacramento — to represent Sacramento and flowing water to represent the Sacramento River.

“I couldn’t have come up with putting that design together without all of the converging ideas from all of the other artists

involved,” Chacon said. “You need that in order to really gain a whole picture of a community, otherwise it’s just my interpretation which isn’t going to be as authentic.”

Armed with all of these images, photographs and concepts, Chacon collaged everything and came up with the final design, which according to Wood, then had to be approved by “the powers that be.”

Chacon and Wood met with Kuldeep Kaur, the Vice President of Administrative Services, and along with a handful of students, presented the design to the rest of the president’s staff, using a video to help present their case for approval.

The mural was approved July 24, and painting began the following week. Josh Bonzo, a filmmaking major and volunteer for ARC’s Universal Engaging Inclusive Transformative Education (UNITE) programs, has worked with the mural team since the beginning of the painting process.

Bonzo filmed the mural process in order to make a montage to be shared on UNITE social media pages, in addition to paiting.

“My idea was to do a time-lapse [video] of the mural, so at the end of the day, when it’s all done there will be a quick little montage of how it all started from the beginning,” Bonzo said.

Guided by Chacon, over 25 volunteers helped paint the mural throughout the summer and into

the new school year. According to Wood, anyone who was interested could come out and paint, regardless of experience or age.

“One day we had so many students out here working on it, Ruby and I didn’t really have a spot to work,” Wood said. “I think we had a week or two where we were here almost every day and I actually started having dreams about mixing paints the wrong colors. ...

I wouldn’t say I was sick of it but it was kind of all-consuming.”

Now, well into the fall semester, the mural is half finished and progress has slowed.

“To a lot of people it seems almost finished, but you see some of the detailed areas, like some of the portraits. … It all needs to be built up to the same amount of detail. So there isn’t one part that’s complete,” Wood said.

Chacon and Wood meet on Sundays to work on the painting, welcoming any volunteer that can make it out. For Chacon, nearing the finish of the mural painting will be bittersweet.

“I can’t wait until it’s done so we can see the finished product, but then at the same time this is also like a community building thing … so it’s also going to be sad,” Chacon said. “That’s what I love using murals for and that’s why it’s important to collaborate because you’re not going to have everyone’s experience. ... So those ideas, when they intersect, can be very beautiful.”

Photo by Jennah Booth | Editor-in-Chief

A mural currently being painted outside of the Learning Resouce Center features the likeness of students and symbols that represent Sacramento and American River College.

6

Sept. 19, 2018

SCENE

ARC bathrooms: The best and the worst...

It’s not easy being a student and it’s definitely not easy being a student who doesn’t know where the bathrooms are, let alone the good ones. So the staff of the Current decided to help its fellow peers and write a guide to the best and worst men’s and women’s oval offices on campus. All the restrooms were judged based on cleanliness, low foot traffic and aesthetic qualities.

By Ashley Hayes-Stone

Best: Fine and Applied Arts Building

Best: Science and Fine Arts

These porcelain box seats will have you remain seated for your entire performance — from the wood tile floor reminiscent of a stage, to the spacious dressing room-sized stalls. Students can find these restrooms when they walk in the main entrance of the Fine and Applied Arts building. These restrooms features lighting that makes you feel like a star heading out to the stage or to the next class.

This restroom deserves a standing ovation.

Best: Student Center

Worst: Raef Hall

« «

The Student Center is like a one stop shop where there are resources, food, coffee, and speedy, convenient toilets. The amenities of these restrooms include eight clean stalls, nicely lit mirrors and — unlike the line at Starbucks — little to no wait time so you can get back to studying or eating.

« « « l

Best: The Learning Resource Center

Worst: Davies Hall

Nothing is worse than that morning coffee hitting you in the middle of class during that “going to be on the test” lecture. So you just have to hold it while planning your escape route to beat the sea of students rushing out the door at the end of class. After your escape, the best potty dance waitfree-guarantee is in the Learning Resource Center.

These restrooms have eight clean stalls, favorable lighting, black marble countertops and matte grey floors. Once relieved, you can take advantage of the computers and tutoring resources nearby.

Long lines, clogged toilets, a lingering terrible stench, Davies Hall has earned its spot for the worst restrooms at ARC. Most of us have had or have classes in this building and have had to encounter the terror that lies within the stalls. Beware of Davies Hall.

What’s great about the five gender neutral, single-stall restrooms on campus is that they provide a safe and judgement-free zone for trans and gender non-conforming students. They are more accessible for students that require accommodations, as the restrooms are private, less cramped, and close to important campus resources. These hidden gems can be found in the Administration Building, Student Center, and the library. A visual guide on locating the gender neutral bathrooms is available from the Pride Center inside the HUB.

CAMPUS PU

Illustration by Jennah Booth

These contemporary restrooms displays a gallery of four stalls, sleek grey floor and turquoise backsplash wall tile. With bright lights, these restrooms makes you feel like you are walking into a studio gallery.

Whether you are an artist or not, anyone can appreciate the modern aesthetic vibe.

v

Located near the two largest classrooms at American River College, these old shoe boxes have few stalls, all of which overflows with students throughout the day.

The floors are plastered with paper towels and dirty footprints that lead to stalls filled with mounts of toilet paper.

It’s no wonder these restrooms have made it on this list.

ashgstone@gmail.com

SE

“Instead of burning [Nike merchandise] why don’t they donate it to a veteran’s cause?”

-JEFFERY LIMARY Sociology major

«: Gender neutral, single stall bathrooms v: Gendered, low traffic bathroom

l:

Gender neutral, staff bathroom

How do you feel about Colin Kaepernick being the face of Nike’s newest campaign?

“It’s really important that people... are allowed to make their opinion a spectacle for others around them.”

-REID HONEYCUTT Mathematics major

“He has a huge platform and I think he has the right to use that in a political means if he chooses.”

-KEONI JOHNSON Political science major

“It doesn’t make sense on why that [ad campaign] would have anything to do with what you wear.”

-DANIEL LOPEZ Criminal justice major

7

Sept. 19, 2018

OPINION

CURRENT EDITORIAL

ARC fights negative reputation

By Current Editorial Board current@arc.losrios.edu

There are many factors that contribute to the reputation of a college and they all play a role in the overall perception of a school and the pride students feel about the college they choose to attend.

On Sept. 5, American River College’s reputation was put on the line when an article published by the Sacramento Bee reported on a study conducted

by Cheap Car Insurance that ranked ARC fifth on a list of the deadliest colleges in the United States for alcohol-related driving fatalities.

At the time of publication, the Bee’s article did not clarify in the headline or lead that the study referenced data pertaining to both the campus and the area around the campus — an important distinction to make when it comes to ARC’s reputation.

It was also written and posted without a reporter from the Bee getting comment from ARC beforehand, according to Scott Crow, ARC’s Public Information Officer. “[ARC] did not have the opportunity to provide any context around the potential data or the study,” Crow wrote on behalf of ARC in a statement to the Bee. Contacting ARC may have given them the opportunity to inform the Bee of the effort the campus is making to improve itself, its safety, its quality of education and its reputation.

One of the efforts ARC and the entire Los Rios Community College District is making is to educate students and staff of the dangers of driving while in-

Although the STEM facility will provide students with many new resources, according to Sears, the construction of the building will continue through 2020. In the meantime, students have to endure disrupted pathways, peace and safety on campus.

ARC’s Associated Student Body Senate addressed the safety of students during construction at their meeting last Friday.

Student Senate Vice President Elena DeNecochea proposed a bill that addresses stu-

Photo by Ashley Hayes-Stone | Photo and Mulitmedia Editor Professor Jason Vitaich waits for his class to begin as students walk around Davies Hall on Sept. 18, 2018.

the campus and surrounding areas a safer place, the Arcade Creek Recreation and Park District is working with ARC to install a new bridge across Arcade Creek.

According to Cheryl Sears, ARC’s Director of Administrative Services Operations, many students use the trails behind the school to get onto campus.

“We had some issues out on the trail,” she said.

While Arcade Parks and Rec is paying for the bridge, as well as clearing the area for fire suppression and installing motion sensor lighting, ARC is doing its part in positioning security cameras and installing a police call box near the bridge.

In addition to trying to make the campus a safer place for students and staff, ARC is also making changes to reduce its carbon footprint.

This past summer, ARC’s Print-

toxicated.

“Any accident, any fatality, is a sad tragedy and we can always do more as a college do educate our community,” Crow said to the Current.

The Los Rios Police Department and California Highway Patrol held a Campus Safety Awareness event on Sept. 12 that aimed to bring awareness about drunk driving, along with other information on campus safety.

During the event, students gathered outside of the library to test their balance and coordination through a tricycle course while wearing drunk goggles. “[I]t just shows you that it’s really not as simple as ‘Oh I’ve only had a couple. I can still drive and it won’t impare me.’

Well, actually it will,” Crow said.

In additional effort to make

ing Services Supervisor, Don Reid received an award from the California Resource Recovery Association for an “Outstanding School Recycling Program.”

This award is part of the ongoing project to achieve President Thomas Greene’s goal of becoming a waste-free campus.

Efforts on campus have included the cafeteria diverting waste, the refurbishing and purchase of new recycling bins and in July, receiving solar energy powered trailers that function as outdoor charging outlets, light poles, and electric car chargers.

Larger changes than the installation of new bins and the solar units have also come to ARC. Construction of the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics facility will bring students a new hightech building with modern features and resources.

dent safety and access during the construction, that included at least one additional temporary and safe pathway for students to navigate between classes and services.

The current pathway has resulted in high student traffic on the sidewalk, which has forced many students to resort to travelling in the roadway, a safety hazard for students, according to DeNecochea.

One way the ARC community has alleviated the stress of navigating the construction is by providing shuttle rides and visual guides that are placed across campus.

While ARC’s reputation may have hung on the line Wednesday in the Bee’s headline, the campus itself is ever improving for the sake of it’s students and staff.

“I think in the social space what we can try to do is... go ahead and provide some context and some clarification, or just a response… I think that that, if nothing else, tries to communicate, we’re listening.”

Read the full editorial at ARCurrent.com

New construction not so convenient WALK THIS WAY; NO WAIT, WALK THIS WAY

By Tracy Holmes tdholmes80@gmail.com It’s the beginning of fall semester and everyone is back to the same routine at American River College, but wait, the construction ...

The not-so-new construction that’s currently going on in the six subdivisions of the old Liberal Arts buildings will make way for the anticipated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM, building and is, at minimum, annoying, inconvenient and loud.

Still, we as a campus community need to be patient while the work is being finished, even though it’s hard to do so.

Cheryl Sears, the college’s Director of Administrative Services, explained via e-mail that this is an ongoing project.

“The construction has been in the planning phase for the past several years,” Sears wrote. “Some may think this is a new process, however there are many steps in-

volved in demolishing a building and building a new one.”

Some may wonder why they couldn’t do the construction at night when classes aren’t in session, however it would then be a disruption to the residential area around ARC. “Due to noise restrictions and labor agreements, most of the construction will be taking place during the day Monday - Friday,” Sears wrote.

Whether you are a new student or a returning student, the construction is problematic to campus life, irritating, and difficult to navigate. I was caught up going the wrong way and ended up walking all the way around the construction site instead of turning around to try and fight through the crowd. The signage is difficult to read and follow, especially for first semester students who do not know the campus well.

According to Sears, Campus operations is taking suggestions from students and faculty on how to make the signage easier for students to follow. This has definitely been an issue this semester as I have been asked several times, more than usual, for help finding

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

The construction has made being on campus loud and fustrating creating a disruptive environment for students.

a place on campus.

The other hindering issue is the noise — I have overheard students complain about it. I have my own issues with loud sounds and I have to say the noise is unreasonably distracting. I wonder if this was considered when they started construction.

The operations staff tried to take all aspects of student life into account, according to Sears.

“For any type of accommo-

dation that is needed, contact should be made with the college’s Disability Services and Programs for Students,” Sears wrote.

I suppose if you have all of your classes in one area and can park there, you won’t have an issue, but for the rest of us at ARC, this construction is not enjoyable or exciting and we must live with it until the STEM building is finished.

The Liberal Arts building was built in the 1960s and it’s sad to

see it go but the STEM building is the future. The ARC Science department “produces 47 percent of ARCs graduates and is the largest in the Los Rios Community College District,” according to the STEM Center page on ARC’s website.

Change is the only constant.

While construction is underway be considerate and mindful of your fellow students and staff.

ARC is making an upgrade.

8

Sept. 19, 2018

BACKPAGE Madison Rosen Geography Major

Wafaa Abdullah Political Science Major

“[My style is] relaxed, just chill, not too complicated. ... I look for basic pieces that I can dress up. You can make it yours with what you put on top of it.”

“These look like pajamas honestly but they’re cute and comfy. ... My mom likes to think I dress Bohemian

The Current Style: Back-To-School Style 101 is being taught every

day on the American River Campus. Your fellow students are teaching the classes and their syllabus says dress to the nines.

These students are using the hallway as their catwalk as they start classes this fall

By Patrick Hyun Wilson

Jacob McFatter Culinary Arts Major

“I saw that it was National Bow Tie Day and I thought, ‘Why not wear a suit?’ ‘cause I mean, you need something to look classy with a bow tie.”

Julia Dimant Psychology Major “I like the unique clothing styles and elegance [in anime] and it kind of stands out to me. It’s an inspiration.”

Farzana Sultani Nurse’s Assisstant Certificate

“When I choose I think, ‘How can I mix the shoes, the jeans, and my [head]scarf.’ ... sometimes I wear it like this, sometimes like that, and make it in a different style.”

Richard Gonzales Art Major

“Anything I see, if I like it, I’ll probably wear it. At the mall or thrift stores; wherever I am. Downtown is a good place too.”