Issue 2 / 9.13.12

Cross-country team competes against UC Irvine Page 7

Online Exclusive:

Interview with Kenneth Brown on Mars rover curiosity Page 2

NIO U N Halloween Horror Nights: behind the scenes gallery

EL CAMINO COLLEGE

Sept. 13, 2012

Torrance, California

Financial aid and registration Playing with light and shadow priority changes coming in 2014 Thomas Schmit

News Co-Editor

Having been in the works since 2011, the Student Success Act of 2012 was passed by the California State Senate in a 36-1 vote last Monday.

Based upon the findings of the 2011 Community College Student Success Task Force, the bill aims to ensure a higher success rate among students despite increasing financial limitations.

According to the Task Force’s final report in December of 2011, “Only 53.6 percent of our degreeseeking students ever achieve a certificate, degree, or transfer preparation. For African-American and Latino students, the rate is much lower (42 percent and 43 percent respectively)”.

The report puts forward nine recommendations to the California Community College system, which include encouraging successful student behavior with incentives, increasing the education of basic skills students, and increasing coordination between colleges.

One of the major incentives the bill utilizes is a restriction of priority registration for students, Nishime said. “(Priority) for new students are for those who’ve completed assessment, orientation and educational plans, while continu-

ing students can lose priority for going on probation, or having (attempted) over 100 units” Nishime said.

However, before policies regarding priority registration can be changed, all community colleges will be left to individually implement changes to registration systems to better track students, as well as create an appeals process for students who lose priority registration, Nishime added.

Other new changes brought about by the Task Force that EC students should be aware of are minimum GPA requirements to receive financial aid, a limit to course repetitions for both normal and elective courses, and eventually, the adoption of centralized English and math assessment tests, as mentioned in previous issues of the Union.

Some students, like Natalie Vival, 18, Business Administration major, said she believes the changes could be a good thing.

“I’m trying to get where I want to be quickly, but there are alot of students here who aren’t really focused on a goal, and I just feel like it slows me down trying to compete with them,” Vival said.

Others, like President Tom Fallo, recognize that the changes could have unintended consequences.

“The demand on students is to

focus, and there’s a good part of that, and a bad part of it,” Fallo said. “When I say that, what I mean is that yeah, you should be focused once you make your commitment, but many students, at any age, are still really exploring, so you have to be really careful with this focusing, because students will change.“ However, while the Student Success Act calls for many new changes and regulations, these new demands are being left to the schools to implement on increasingly dwindling budgets.

“This is in Title V, so it’s a mandate, but it’s another one of these unfunded mandates, because there’s no way we can implement all of the recommendations from the Task Force without additional funding” Nishime said.

While the bill still awaits Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature, it seems likely that the new regulations the bill puts forth will be in effect for California community colleges relatively soon.

“We’ll be looking into how to best implement it (the Success Act) at the next enrollment management meeting, but the bill won’t go into effect until 2014,” Vice President of Student and Community Advancement Jeanie Nishime said.

both winter and spring sessions,” Gen said, “but we’re trying to be as fair as possible.”

Because it is yet unknown if Proposition 30 will pass, there is no exact plan that dictates which sections will be cut. “It’s a wait-and-see situation right now,” Vice President of Student and Community Advancement Jeanie Nishime said.

While students will have to wait until after the election to find out what will be cut, those relying on the winter session should be aware that “there are 80 classes in winter, and the last number I heard is that we would need to cut around 50 courses,” Gen said.

“The strategy is to try and protect the spring offerings as much as possible,” Gen said, “though it won’t be centered in one particular area.”

Both Gen and Nishime mentioned the administration’s consideration that many students may be relying on certain classes to transfer or graduate. However, students should be aware of the tenuous status of both part-time classes and classes that don’t count for transferrable credits.

“The cuts would be coming from part-time areas, full time faculty won’t be affected at all,” Nishime said.

“Classes that don’t transfer

Philip Prins/ Union Asia Hill,18, fashion merchandising major, takes advantage of the light cast by the setting sun to get some fashion shots of Alexis Scott, 18, fashion merchandising major, outside of the Technical Arts Building.

50 class sections depend on Nov. 6 vote Sarah Bremme Staff Writer

Administrators are in the midst of preparing a contingency plan involving section cuts should Proposition 30 fail to pass this November, Board of Trustees member Ray Gen said.

Proposition 30 proposes raising money for California by increasing sales taxes and taxes on high-income groups. If it does not pass, the state will instead cut spending on primarily educational programs, such as the community college system.

This would mean a $7.3 million budget cut for El Camino.

“Sections will be cut from

directly are going to take the brunt of it,” Gen added, “I really feel for students who want to take classes for fun.”

Despite the fact that much of the decision making process has been put on hold until after the vote on Nov. 6, students do not have to resign themselves to anticipating section cuts in their spring registration or transfer plans.

“As much as it doesn’t seem like your voice matters, it does,” Associated Student Organization President, Brooke Matson, said.

[See Section Cuts, page 2]

Philip Prins/ Union Students in the Student Services Building cluster around computers to apply for classes.

More than $100,000 in Scholarships goes unclaimed EC’s email system could be replaced with Gmail Angela Songco Staff Writer

NEWS LINE

In the midst of budget cuts and increased number of available scholarships for the school year of 2011-2012, about $100,000 in scholarship money went un-awarded.

The EC Foundation had more than $600,000 in scholarship money available last spring, but roughly one sixth of that amount went unclaimed.

By Monique Judge

Katie Gleason, executive director of the EC Foundation, said that majority of the un-awarded money was in scholarships that were intended for particular areas of studies.

“We have a lot of (major-) specific scholarships in the Fine Arts Division as well as in the Career and Technical Education, but because of the specificity of these scholarships we need to have students that are study-

ing in that area to apply,” Gleason said.

Gleason added that aside from the majorspecific scholarships, scholarships were also determined by merit or by financial need.

Despite the scholarship opportunities, many students still fail to apply or complete the applications, Gleason said.

Donna Factor, Spanish professor, said that many students do not apply because they do not know

that they are eligible for one. Factor is among the faculty who had actively informed students about scholarship availability.

The eligibility requires that a student must have completed 12 graded units that are courseapplicable, a GPA of 2.0 or better, and a letter of recommendation from a faculty member.

[See Scholarship, page 2]

Preliminary studies into switching the college’s current email system from elcamino.edu to Gmail may soon be underway, John Wagstaff, director of information technology services, said.

Wagstaff said that although this is not actively being pursued at the present time, he is aware of other colleges pursuing this course of action.

“They (the state) are cutting our budgets, so we are always looking for ways to do things more efficiently,”

Wagstaff said. “At the same time you do not want to sacrifice services.”

Wagstaff noted that some area community colleges such as Santa Monica College, Santa Barbara City College and the North Orange Community College district are looking at outsourcing or have already outsourced some of their services, like email.

A reason that the switch at EC is still in its preliminary stages is that the current services provided like; MyECC, MOX and the college email were systematically connected into a very mature and stable platform.

“The one thing we don’t want to disrupt or change drastically is the portal (MyECC),” Wagstaff said.

Wagstaff added that any final decisions whether to go ahead would be “collaborative, systematic and data driven.”

Recent graduate, Will Salazar, 26, said that he has already taken advantage of Gmail access after transferring to UCLA. “I like that it will automatically integrate existing Gmail accounts into your school Gmail,” Salazar said. “It makes it seamless to work on other Google products as well.”

UC Basics Workshop

Carl Martin

Staff Writer

Writing Center will have expanded evening hours

CSU Basics Workshop

Health Science Information Session

ASU Representative On Campus

The Writing Center will now provide tutoring until 7:40 p.m.

Monday through Thursday nights, while computers will be available to students until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The Writing Center is in H122 in the Humanities Building.

Students interested in transferring to the California State University system may learn more by attending the CSU Basics Workshop taking place Tuesday from 1 to 2 p.m. in Social Science 213. Interested students may contact the Transfer Services department.

The counseling department will be providing an information session on Tuesday for those interested in the programs offered by the Health Sciences Division. The session will be in the Distance Education Room from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. For more details, contact the counseling office.

A representative from Arizona State University will be on campus and available for drop in appointments on Wednesday in the Transfer Center from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact the Transfer Center at 310660-3593, ext. 3408

Students interested transferring into the University of California system, there will be a UC Basics workshop on Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. in Social Science 213. The workshop will provide general information about the UC system.

For more information, contact the Transfer Services department.

2 El Camino College Union POLICE BEAT

By Coree Heard

Paramedics called to parking lot L Sept. 5, 10:30 a.m.–Paramedics responded to parking lot L after a female student called for assistance for her boyfriend. The female student said her boyfriend had thrown up and had a fever.

Paramedics transported him to a local hospital.

NEWS

Board member has link to Mars Carl Martin

Staff Writer

As pictures from the Mars rover, Curiosity, stream back to Earth, students and faculty can know that Kenneth Brown, member of the

board of trustees, contributed to the project.

Brown worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1987 to 2011, and worked on one of the rover’s science packages from 2007 to 2010, he said.

Brown said that he

Student’s backpack stolen outside Bookstore Sept. 4, 1:20 p.m.–Officers responded to a theft which happened outside the Bookstore.

A student left his backpack outside the Bookstore and found it missing after returning to get it. Police urged students to use the lockers provided outside the Bookstore.

Bike stolen near the Administration Building Sept. 4, 10:20 a.m.–Officers responded to a call from the Administration Building regarding a stolen bike. A female student said she parked and secured her bike beside the building and when she returned it was gone. There were no witnesses and police have been unable to identify a suspect.

Bookstore cashier finds counterfeit money Aug. 31, 3:40 p.m.–Officers responded to the Bookstore after receiving a call about the use of counterfeit money. The bookstore cashier had found $240 in counterfeit money which had been there for several hours.

Police were unable to identify a suspect.

September 13, 2012

Elfego Casasola/Union Board of trustees member Kenneth Brown sits in the board meeting room.

He is currently working as an associate system engineer for Booz Allen Hamilton, prior to which he worked for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he participated in the Mars rover project.

Scholarship Continued From Page 1

The eligibility requires that a student must have completed graded units that are course-applicable, a GPA of 2.0 or better, and a letter of recommendation from a faculty member.

Factor said that students were often discouraged because of the amount of legwork they have to do to start and finish the application process.

Aside from the perception that they do not qualify for a scholarship, students who may have initiated the process sometimes fail to complete the process.

Last year, 300 applications, out of the 1000 received, were unfinished and disqualified, Gleason said.

The Foundation had reached out to faculty and asked them to be involved in informing their students

worked on the Tunable Laser Spectrometer, which studied atmospheric and sub-surface gas measurements on Mars.

“I was responsible for capturing test-bed assembly and inspection data records and drawings as well as assisting with flight hardware integration,” Brown said.

Brown received his bachelors degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, and a masters degree from Clark Atlanta University.

One of the many questions Brown usually gets asked is what the importance of the Mars mission is and what people will be able to learn from it, he said.

“By understanding Mars, which many scientists think is a precursor of an older Earth-like planet, we can see if there was life

and they overwhelmingly agreed, Gleason said.

“We are trying to get the word out more and more,” Gleason added.

The Scholarship Office, under the Foundation, will also conduct workshops to help students complete and submit their applications.

Students find this information helpful in applying for a scholarship.

“The announcements from faculty, banners and posters plays a part (in the application process),” Fiat Tapaneeyakorn, economics major, 20 said, “but student responsibility is also important,” she added.

Lawrenz Manalo, architectural engineering major, 20, said that reminding students about scholarships plays a part, but it also depends on the person whether they will apply or not.

The foundation will open the ap-

on Mars to see if we can see what Mars was, to help us understand Earth’s future better,” Brown said.

He added that missions like this also allow the development of technology that we “take for granted” in everyday life, such as iPads and cell phones.

Students were taking advantage of the immediate data that the Mars rover mission was providing, Perry Hacking, astronomy professor, said.

He said that many of his students were following the adventures of Curiosity from the JPL website (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ msl/).

“There will be many contributions from the rover mission in future textbooks based on the data the rover on the surface produces,” Hacking added.

Brown said he sees op-

plication process earlier for school year 2013-2014 to give time for a more thorough review of submitted applications, Gleason said.

The scholarship application will be done electronically through the MyEcc portal.

The online applications will be open starting Monday up to Dec. 14, and will be awarded in April 2013.

The scholarship aims to assist a broad population of students.

“The Foundation has over $600,000 that we can award each year to incoming high school students, current and continuing students, and transfer students. Each scholarship is very specific to what student population the donors are trying to assist. Some of them are broad. For instance, it may be for a particular area of study, or they are just merit-based, or financial need based,” Gleason said. .

portunities for students in aerospace fields at local companies.

“EC can help feed the aerospace industry, even with two-year degrees, that if you are a programmer you don’t necessarily need a master’s degree in programming,” Brown said.

“But if you have that kind of skill coming out, people are going to swoop you up.”

Brown added that it’s a really good bargain to get a community college background before transferring to the four-year schools.

Brown said he sees his connection to the college as a trustee being inherent due to his family and roots in the community.

“I feel a connection just because there’s a responsibility,” Brown said.

“There’s a strong possibility that my kids are going

to be here the way tuition is going in this country.”

Brown said he currently resides in Carson and works at Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategy and technology consulting firm, as well as being an adjunct professor of physics at California State University, Dominguez HillsHowever he said that being a board member was “one of the hardest jobs” he has had.

Due to his connection to the district, Brown said he appreciates the opportunity he has had to direct the future of the college rather than having somebody from the outside do it.

“I just don’t think about these students, I think about the eighth and ninth graders who are coming up and what kind of campus this is going to be in three or for years,” Brown said.

Section cuts Continued From Page 1

Coming later this month, the ASO will be at information tablels and conduct events to inform staff, students, and their families about Proposition 30 in the hopes of preventing the cuts from taking place.

“We are working on a ‘Get Out The Vote’ campaign and students will be able to register to vote at events on campus,” Matson said.

ASO Vice President Dillan Horton is organizing this campaign and has been approaching students in hopes of acquiring volunteers to spread the word about the upcoming vote.

“A lot of it is down to interpersonal communication, more so than an ad on the TV or a poster on the wall,” Horton said.

Gen also encouraged students to “get informed on the campaign,”

while Matson wished to emphasize to students that the cuts are not set in stone and do not have to happen.

“The number one thing is to be informed about everything, and the number two thing is to register to vote,” she added.

Should the proposition, which will be added to the bottom of the presidential ballot, fail to pass, Nishime encouraged students to “take advantage of your registration date” to better their chances of getting a seat in class.

Nishime noted that the final decisions about section cuts for the spring would be available to students before registration for spring begins.

Until that time, administrators will not make any final plans, and students will have to do their best.

“Make your own decisions look at the information yourself and use that information to make your decision,” Horton added.

Two faculty members honored after 38 years of dedication to education Jorge Maldonado Staff Writer

Kyle Ward/Union Maria Brown, history professor, has been teaching at the college for 38 years and was receantly awarded the Distinguished Faculty Award for her service to the college.

Michael Williams/Union Hiram Hironaka shows his students the intricacies of working on an engine. Hironaka is a college alumni and has been teaching in the automotive department for 38 years.

After 38 years of inspiring and motivating students, two professors were recognized with top accolades by their peers.

Professor Maria Brown was honored in May with the EC Faculty of the Year award, while Professor Hiram Hironaka received the Teacher of the Year award from the Los Angeles County Industrial and Technology Education Association.

“It’s a real privilege and a real honor to receive acclamation from my colleagues and peers,” Maria Brown, history professor, said.

Inspired to teach by a mentor, Maria Brown became a history teacher at the age of 27, one of the youngest history teachers at that time, she said.

“I came out of graduate school in 1974 and was looking for a job and El Camino had an opening and I applied,” she said.

When Brown applied, she

had a background education in African American History that set her apart, she added.

On May 24, Brown was to receive the Distinguished Faculty and Staff Award, presented to instructors who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to their students, college and profession, according to the guidelines for the Distinguished Faculty Award.

Brown was unable to attend the 16th Annual Faculty and Staff Appreciation and Recognition Reception as she was hospitalized for surgery, she said.

“I was upset at the time, because I wanted very much to be here, but I think when the award was finally given, which was on FLEX day (faculty training day), it was more meaningful because it was in front of all my peers, which was really great,” she said.

Inside the classroom, Brown motivates her students by having discussions of current events that directly affect them,

she said.

“I like watching students grow, that has been a reward for me,” Brown said. “I like it because it gives me that opportunity to give back what was given to me. I had teachers who cared about me and who were concerned and encouraged me,” she added.

“Instead of always lecturing, she gives us a chance to discuss and express how we feel about certain issues, such as the speeches given by First Lady Michelle Obama and Ann Romney,” Hanna Shim, 21, communication major, said.

Also in his 38th year of teaching, Hironaka was recognized on May 19 by the Los Angeles County Industrial Education Association with the Community College Teacher of the Year award.

“The difference between his teaching (and other colleges), he’s so easy to understand, he’s a teacher who really cares and relates to his students,” Ginette Perez, automotive technology

department intern, said.

Hironaka was well acquainted with the college when he started teaching in 1983 as he was an alumni before earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, Long Beach.

“The passion still continues after all these years,” Hironaka said.

“Working with the students branches out beyond helping them academically, it branches out to keeping them healthy, helping them emotionally and to feel that somebody cares,” he added.

In addition to teaching, Hironaka owns the restaurant Wasabi Sushiya located in the city of Gardena, he added.

Both instructors said teaching is what they’re passionate about as well as inspiring their students to accomplish their goals and lead successful lives.

“My greatest achievement is not to forget that which was given to me and that which I have imparted,” Brown said.

Use of smartphones on college campuses growing by leaps and bounds

Carl Martin

Staff Writer

The use of smartphones on college campuses is steadily rising, according to a Ball State University study.

Smartphones can be an excellent resource for finding information, organizing, or staying in contact with classmates and instructors. They may have also become a major accessory that many college students cannot do without.

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, about 45 percent of college students used their smartphones to help with school assignments and 46 percent for other work related-tasks. Some col-

leges and universities planned to use this increase in smartphone usage to their advantage.

Seton Hall University planned to provide smartphones and pre-paid cell phone plans to their incoming freshmen class, according to a US News and World report.

“We need to be able to reach (students) and connect to them,” Michael Taylor, academic director of Seton Hall University’s Center for Mobile Research and Innovation, said in the report. “We want to (provide) a device that’s always on, always connected, and tends to always be with the student no matter where they are.”

Many EC students may find their use of smartphones is similar to other stu-

dents around the country.

Bijan Eskandari, 28, civil engineering and computer science major, says he doesn’t use his smartphone during classes, but does use it to transcribe notes and research homework afterwards.

“I do have some engineering and graphing applications that I use for some of my math classes, but not much beyond that,” Eskandari said.

Smartphones may provide many benefits for students, but Eskandari said he tries to avoid some of their pitfalls.

Eskandari said he tries not to overuse his smartphone to avoid it becoming a “crutch to rely on” and preventing him from “interacting with others.”

Other students, like freshman student Enrique Gante, 18, undecided major, may just be discovering their smartphones’ potential.

Gante said he did not use his smartphone for high school classes, but plans to use it more in college.

“I think I’ll be able to use it more now for quick access and quick information before class.” Gante said.

Gante is part of a group that is receiving more attention from smartphone application designers that are tailoring more apps for college students according to a Bloomberg Businessweek article.

“Today, tech-savvy students can find apps of all sorts that will organize their

assignments, map out the university campus, and locate free Wi-Fi, among many other functions,” according to the article.

According to a recent Ball State University study, smartphone use on that campus had more than doubled since 2009 from 27 percent to 69 percent in 2012.

This college like many other colleges, provides the mobile access application MOX to help students gather this type of information, but some students feel it could be more comprehensive.

“I’m just now starting using the MOX app,” Gante said, “but wish it had additional information like being able to register or pay for classes to make it more useful.”

September 13, 2012

FEATURES

El Camino College Union 3

EDITORIAL

4 El Camino College Union

September 13, 2012

GPAs should determine who receives aid

Illustration by Karla Marmolejo

If Bill 1456 gets signed it will make students work much harder if they really want to get financial help. It really is something that is going to benefit many students in the long run.

This is another way that students will be able to show their full potential and show their determination, show that they know what they want and that they deserve the financial help to do it.

The state senate has approved the Senate Bill 1456, the Student Success Act of 2012, by a vote of 36-1 and it now awaits the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown.

If the bill is signed and passed

by Gov. Brown, it is going to ask and require a vast majority of reforms on how California’s 112 community colleges enroll their 2.6 million students.

It will hold the colleges responsible and make sure that all students receiving fee waivers meet the standards that will be expected of them academically.

Sadly, only about 54 percent of California community college students earn a degree or manage to transfer to a four-year college.

The Student Success Act will provide all the support students

will be needing right from the very start; focusing on an orientation, an academic plan and one single assessment of their academic readiness.

One way to really look at this bill is that if it is to be accepted, this bill can help the vast majority of students stay in school and the

The Issue • Should students GPAs matter in order to recieve fee waivers?

Our Stand • Yes GPAs should matter. result would be less dropouts and be on a path that will have results.

A main change the bill offers is that it will require the California Community Colleges system to all have a common assessment test, mainly because the system currently accepts a various amount of assessment tests.

This means that all students will be tested on the same level.

I think this will benefit students since we don’t like to be placed in different catagories when it comes to who knows more.

The Senate Bill 1456, written by the state Sen. Alan Lowentheal, D-Long Beach, will be asking more from students, mainly students that can’t seem to afford college and receive fee waivers from their college.

By making this change and moving all 112 colleges to a similar system, schools will be able to save money through buying in bulk.

The way the system works right now is that if a student shows that they are not financially stable they can earn the right to be exempted from unit fees.

Bill 1456 also states that students will have to earn a passing grade – a 2.0 GPA or higher – in order to keep their fee waiver.

If the students fail to do so they will drop into academic probation for a single semester, but if their GPA does not exceed the requirement for a second semester then they will be paying their own way through college. _See related article on Page 1

Switching email providers would be beneficial to students schedules Having a gmail account will allow students to check their email while also surfing their favorite social networks After a day of attending classes or going to work, one of the first things that a student might do is check his or her email.

By accessing their personal email accounts, students can gather updates and reminders from other personal areas in their lives outside of college.

If a student does not check their EC email account, they may be one of the students who are sent emails regarding their progress in class or even notifications for events such as fee deadlines and not even have the slightest clue of what is happening in their college life.

One possible reason behind students not checking their college email account may be due to

the idea that not all students are being asked by their professors or instructors to check these email accounts on a daily basis.

It also seems as though checking their college email account has not become one of their daily habits.

A student may feel as though checking their college email account may be of no importance, but these email accounts sometimes deliver crucial information, and they’re being checked less and less by students.

An idea that may solve this problem begins with merging both a student’s college and personal email.

This idea may make receiving notifications and reminders from

campus more accessible to students.

Daily email income is of high importance to students, so making school notifications another small part of that is a smooth transition.

While merging emails of different accounts, like Yahoo or Hotmail, may be a difficult task to begin with, perhaps an easier alternative to that may be creating an account with Gmail.

According to www.email–marketing–reports.com, as of June 2012, Google revealed Gmail to have 425 million active users globally.

Their estimated number of active users beats the 310 million email users for Yahoo Mail and 350 million users for Hotmail.

With college notifications and reminders being sent to Gmail accounts, the college may be more likely to get urgent notifications to their students successfully since it appears to be the leading email account in comparison to others.

Gmail is linked to Google, which is a search engine. Even though Yahoo does something similar, Google beats its popularity.

According to Experian.com, as of Sept. 8, Google beat other search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, Ask and AOL with a total of 1.5 billion users.

Bing followed Google as a second popular search engine with an approximate of 238 million users.

The same article says Gmail

is the third most popular website visited after search engines.

Gmail has a total of 2.2 percent of clicks in a day, following Facebook, which has 6.8 percent of clicks, and Youtube with 3.8 percent.

Keep in mind that Gmail is one of the top websites visited among 280, 754 other websites.

It’s possible that students will be more willing to have a Gmail account and get access to school information, along with personal information, in the process.

By applying current trends, in this case the use of Gmail, with what students may be expected to do everyday, like checking college email, students may become more aware of exactly what goes on be-

tween their everyday and campus lives.

Rather than having to go back and forth between their college email account and other accounts, students can just read all of the info they need in one simple location.

While it ‘s not guaranteed that more students will interact with and pay attention to emails sent to them by the EC, it’s one more method in which students and faculty can be more easily connected. _See related article on Page 1

My first experience as a college student Students should have equal opportunity CAMPUS INSIGHT

My first thoughts of attending EC were not the best. I assumed going to a community college after high school was the worst idea and made me feel like somewhat of a loser.

Elizabeth Benitez I entered myself in the First 18, Undecided Year Experience Program where they helped me a lot and calmed the stress that I was having in my new life as a college student. Through this program and all of the information I found out about EC, it made me realize it’s one of the best community colleges in the state.

This college provides so many options and opportunities to prosper in life.

My first day in school was not as bad as I thought.

I had my first class with my best friend which made it so much better. The only downside of all of this is the timing of my first class being at 7 a.m. and I am not a morning person.

I was basically half-awake walking into a humongous campus, I was nervous that I would be late to any of my classes because me being a freshmen I was not familiar with all these different buildings.

I was still used to the high school world were everything was simple and only had about three buildings. I was shocked by all of the assignments I was required to do while it was only the first day.

At the beginning of my classes the teachers already expected us to have our textbooks purchased.

I didnt have that ready so there went another issue

U N NIO EL CAMINO COLLEGE

Vol. 65, No. 02 September 13, 2012 E -mail: eccunion@gmail.com Newsroom: (310) 660-3328

to add. I went to the Bookstore to go buy my books and as soon as I walked in, there was this gigantic crowd of people running around everywhere and the line to purchase merchandise was just ridiculously long.

I looked around the bookstore and I found the books I needed for one of my classes. I never would have thought that the prices were expensive for a girl who got a job barely paying minimum wage.

As I go into the Bookstore the following day, I find out that they were all sold out of the books I needed.

I basically panicked but then I spoke to one of my friends, she gave me an option of another bookstore where I could go purchase the books I needed. And it was incredibly convenient since it is located across campus, Textbooks Inc. Now that I am more comfortable with the campus and know that I am not the only one that is new, my only concern is managing my time with college and work, but I have enough faith in myself to know that I will be able to achieve my goals.

The views expressed in Campus Insight are those of the authors. They do not represent the views or opinions of the Union, its staff, editorial board or advisors.

This column is available to students and faculty.

All articles may be submitted to eccunion@gmail. com.

Please note that articles may be edited for content and length.

COMMENTARY It’s a sad fact that in this troubled economy that monetary resources often determine success, merit, or potential.

Few things illustrate this point more than the Cal state system’s Thomas Schmidt recent enrollment freeze of inStaff Writer state transfer students. According to Calstate.edu, out-of-state students pay $94 more per semester unit than California residents, and $63 more per quarter unit then a resident of the state.

It’s understandable that in a time of necessity, some schools would be tempted to only think about the short term gain to be had by higher paying students. However, in the long run, such narrow-minded strategies could have dire consequences for, not just the Cal State school system, but for the entire state of California.

Currently, out-of-state students represent only 3 to 4 percent of students in the CSU system. While it can be expected that that number will increase if the percentage of in-state students drops, an increased number of visiting students can’t possibly replace the dependence upon in-state students.

What message is being sent to the resident students of California? It seems unlikely that they will be pleased with being tossed aside like unwanted chaff.

It might seem like a minor concern to administrators, but it must be remembered that the CSU’s are public universities. And like all public schools, they are paid

for in large by taxpayer money.

Who pays taxes to the state of California? Yes, visiting students will pay sales taxes, but it’s doubtful that their families will contribute anything more than tuition money. Even more doubtful would be any of those student’s family members voting in support of California public education. Most doubtful of all would be the support and good will of disgruntled California residents who have nothing to gain from supporting an education system that does not support them.

Even ignoring the possible financial pitfalls such policies could cause in the future, the possible consequences are significant. After all, where will future California doctors, politicians, and educators if not from California schools?

Granted, these are all possible consequences, and nothing guarantees such policies will harm the CSU’s in the future.

On the other hand, as an article from the Huffington Post pointed out last March, “A family of four -- married parents, a high-school senior and a 14-year-old child -- making $130,000 a year,” with typical financial aid, would pay around $17,000 for tuition, room and board and other expenses if their child went to Harvard. However, if their child attended a Cal State, they would pay $24,000.

Going to the University of California, Santa Cruz would cost around $33,000; at UC Berkeley, it would be about $19,500. “ Doesn’t it make sense to pay less and go to a private school that would accept a transfer now, than pay more to go to a school that wouldn’t until next spring?

The Union is published Thursdays by Journalism 11 Editor-in-Chief ��������������������������������������������������������������� Viridiana Vaca-Rios Co-News Editor ���������������������������������������������������������������������� Thomas Schmit Co_News Editor..................................................................................Philip Prins Co-Opinion Editor................................................................Viridiana Vaca-Rios Co-Opinion Editor �����������������������������������������������������������������������Rigo Bonilla Features Editor ��������������������������������������������������������������� Viridiana Vaca-Rios Arts Editor ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������Diane Vay Sports Editor ������������������������������������������������������������������������������Mary Alvarez Photo Editor ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Philip Prins Advertising Manager ����������������������������������������������������������� Stephanie Alcorn Adviser ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Lori Medigovich Adviser ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������Kate McLaughlin Technical Support ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� Don Treat

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OPINION

September 13, 2012

El Camino College Union

CAMPUS CORNER

UP FOR DEBATE

Should cell phone use be allowed in classrooms?

Smartphones are a tool students shouldn’t let go to waste Every semester, a common thread in the syllabus for many teachers is the rule of “no phones in class,” but with an increasing amount of educational apps and tools for reference, shouldn’t these tools be used to further our in-class experience?

Yes. They should be taken advantage of.

The growing number of options brought forth by the smartphone is an inevitable convenience for students in the journey to researching and developing for their education.

With apps like iStudiez Pro, I have been able to keep track of class assignments, my GPA, exam scores and a number of reminders that help me to stay on track with my “to-dos,” and that doesn’t even include in-class activities.

Rather than fighting the advancement of the tech revolution, teachers can shift from the pencil-and-paper mindset and create a learning environment cohesive with the thought patterns of our generation.

Along with the rising number of applications on smartphones, there are a growing number of textbooks available in PDF and eBook form at a much cheaper cost than purchasing the physical textbook.

Students who would opt to buy digital versions of their books are being forced to buy bulky and expensive versions of the same information.

Though some students may not own a smartphone, the option to expand the classroom walls into the digital world should be open to everyone.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life project, as of February 2012, 53 percent of Americans owned a smartphone; this number has surely increased in the past several months.

However, even with the amazing power of technology, there is no replacement for the experience and common sense of professors. Smartphones are just tools to arm

Karly Daquila Staff Writer

students with.

With power comes responsibility. Smart phones should not be a crutch for the lazy, but a boost for the dedicated.

Learning patterns are changing as quickly as the updates on our smartphones.

Integration of technology into our classrooms is a progressive and positive idea.

Everyone is familiar with the practice of having students turn off and put away their smartphones during lectures, yet almost everyone can name a time when they’ve “just had to check” during class.

Smartphones are not efficient as learning devices.

Smartphones are one of the most re-

Illustration by Karla Marmolejo

markable advancements of the last five years, but are they having a detrimental effect on instructional time other than a disruption?

There is no possible way to monitor so many students to ensure that, not only everyone is on task, but also that everyone understands and is following instructions correctly.

If EC chooses to embrace smartphones and web-enabled devices for instruction, they would then be obliged to provide equal access to the web for all students.

This is an additional expense and security issue that the college has limited resources to support.

Any available resources are better spent elsewhere. Additionally, the college would have to provide more bandwidth to support those online devices.

Recently, colleges have struggled with students using the features on their smartphones to cheat or subvert the instructional process; this includes taking pictures of answer keys and study sheets for tests and passing answers to fellow students.

The University of Maryland, for example, caught 12 students in a trap designed to catch those who used their smartphones for pulling answers from the class website during an exam, according to USA Today.

That students could cheat in this way points out larger security and monitoring issues associated with classroom phone use.

In the end, if EC were to integrate smartphones into classes, after all of the added costs, what would be the return on that investment?

Are we so sure that students would learn more efficiently?

There’s not enough evidence to support the change.

It’s clear that colleges aren’t quite ready to assume the burdens that come with allowing smartphones to be used in classrooms.

iPhone 5’s unveiling Wednesday will challenge students to find a balance COLUMN

Karly Daquila Staff Writer

Wednesday Sept. 12 has been the topic of discussion for the past few months in technology circles.

Apple Inc. was scheduled to unveil the design and capabilities of its latest generation of iPhone Wednesday at 10 a.m.

News feeds and Twitter trends have been buzzing with speculation about the newest capabilities of the latest generation of iPhone.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the new worldwide 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) will allow iPhone users to use 4G connection speeds across Europe,

Asia and the U.S. Rumors range from the new iPhone being cased in “liquid metal,” with fingerprint security, to it being an orange phone with a physical keyboard.

Tech blogs have either started fueling the rumors or making jokes out of them like idownloadblog.com has with the orange iPhone debacle.

Outlandish hearsay is not keeping die-hard Apple fanatics at bay however; sales are expected to skyrocket by the end of the month.

The question of whether our generation has been binging on technology looms in the minds of many.

I have begun to question my own possible addiction to the technological revolution with the release of the new iPad and the iPhone 5.

I am still getting used to having a conversation with the iPhone’s interactive personal assistant feature named Siri.

CAMPUS VIEWPOINTS

By Rigo Bonilla and Philip Prins

She tends to have quite the attitude with me.

Thinking back to middle school, I remember chatting endlessly on AOL instant messenger with friends.

Blocking the phone lines with a dialup connection and arguing with the chatting robot “SmarterChild” was routine.

The uses for technology have stayed the same for the most part, but it’s becoming more of a way of life than a curious pastime.

“There’s a huge pent-up demand for the new iPhone, it’s the most anticipated upgrade in the history of civilization,” Gene Munster, Tech analyst of Piper Jaffray said.

The projected numbers are astonishing.

“Market watchers generally expect that Apple will report sales of between 22 million and 23 million iPhones in the September quarter.

But a launch of the next iPhone this month could push total sales

By Monique Judge

Switching to education with smartphones is not worth the costs

Sarah Bremme Staff Writer

as high as 28 million,” according to Neil Hughes at AppleInsider. com.

Has our generation become so enamored with electronics that we cannot see a life beyond a Wi-Fi and 4G wireless connections?

Though not all students at EC are glued to their iPod, Android or iPhone, it does affect the overall ambiance of the campus.

It’s hard for students that live socially in real life to connect to students who walk around participating in social media and vice versa.

I am guilty of walking into my fair share of trashcans while texting at EC. However, with the realization that our technology fueled generation is not slowing down, it’s important to find a balance between revolutionary trends, like the products Apple creates, and still being able to enjoy life around you.

Take advantage of our eclectic campus.

Nurture relationships between people that can actually enrich your life.

When walking out of your next class, try not to whip out your iPhone or Android.

Instead, have a conversation with someone in person, open a door for a faculty member or enjoy the warm sunshine.

Then, when you get home, maybe you can add all your new friends on Facebook.

Please connect with me by email at karlydaquila@gmail.com Follow me on Twitter @ECCUnionKarly Join the conversation online at www.eccunion.com The views expressed in this column are those of the author. They do not represent the views or opinions of the Union, its staff, editorial board or advisers.

5

Laura Valdez Vice-President ECC Salsa Club

Laura Valdez is the Vice-President of the ECC Salsa Club. The Salsa Club will meet Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. in the PE South Building, Room 233.

How did the Salsa Club get started on campus?

Salsa Club started in 2010 in response to the fact that there is no large salsa presence in the junior college community.

Do you have to know how to salsa in order to join the club?

No. Salsa lessons are given in the club, and we teach from the ground up.

Does the club paticipate in any performances or competitions?

Salsa Club’s performance season is from January to June. Performances are mostly at university campuses, in particular Califonia State University Long Beach and California State University Northridge. I would like to see more on-campus performances here at EC, and I am working on that.

Why should people join Salsa Club?

They should join to make new friends.

We are focused on bringing new and younger people into the salsa community. Having a club at the community college allows younger people to join and get exposure to the culture of salsa.

What is one thing you want people to know about Salsa Club?

It’s not just about dancing. We want to bring people together in a fun way without drugs and alcohol. Salsa is a good way to have fun and get in shape!

How can people find out more?

Come to our meetings! You can email us at ecc.salsaclub@gmail.com Check out our Facebook page, “ECC Salsa Club.”

Follow us on Twitter @ECCSalsaClub Follow us on Instagram ECC_SalsaClub What’s the difference between EC Salsa Club and Sabor de Salsa Club?

Our main focus is to train students to dance socially instead of in team choreography. We teach students from beginners to intermediate to dance in real- life settings.

Should cell phone use be allowed in classrooms?

REPORTED FROM CAFE CAMINO

Shintaro Ara, 22, Language Studies Major

Crystal Blockson, 24, Business Major

Ricky Arechiga, 26, Biology Major

Emily Berardino, 20, Biology Major

Andy Schuchard, 22, Architechture Major

Paula Mack, 39, Sociology Major

“No. We shouldn’t in my opinion. We could use a dictionary or other books for any information we need.”

“Yes. Most of the time I need to access things online for the class I’m in while the class is in session.”

“No. It’s more distracting than productive. There’s too many people playing Angry Birds.”

“Yes. Phones should be because it’s quicker access of questions that might not be in your book.”

“Yes. They allow you to access information fast. It could help teachers be more efficient.”

“No. They shouldn’t at all.

Phones are a total disturbance; all electronics are a distraction.”

6 El Camino College Union ON THE SCENE

ARTS

September 13, 2012

Tropical garden blooms at the Art Gallery

Monique Judge Sarah Bremme

Art Art Gallery exhibits ‘Tropical Planet’ The Art Gallery will display the artwork of Dave and Deborah Patterson in “Tropical Planet.”

This exhibit will feature artwork such as digital photos, paintings and collages. For more information, interested persons may contact Susanna Meiers, Art Gallery curator at 310-660-3010.

Faculty and staff share art through ‘Arts Saves’ “Art Saves: ECC Faculty and Staff Exhibit” will be on display at the Schauerman Library from Aug. 8–Sept. 30. The Library will display photos of various imagery and ceramic figures created by faculty and staff members on campus. For more information, interested persons may contact Ed Martinez, public access librarian, at 310-660-3593, ext. 3876.

Dance Auditions for Advanced Dance Concert Choreographers and dancers who are part of the dance department can register for the 2012 Advanced Dance Concert today. Students are to arrive at the Physical Education South Building, Room 212 and 230 of the at 6 p.m. to fill out registration forms for the audition. The second date for registration is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m. Registration forms must be complete to audition for performance. For more information, intrested persons may contact Pamela Santelman at 310-660-3593, ext. 5656.

Staff Writer

Coinciding with the start of the semester, “Tropical Planet,” is a collection of paintings, collages, digital prints, and furniture that appear to focus on images of bodies of water, trees and various types of flowers.

On display are artworks of two former faculty members, David and Deborah Patterson, a husband and wife duo who decided to share a part of their lives through their artwork. The exhibit is scheduled to take place at the Art Gallery from Aug. 28 – Sept. 20.

“It’s representative of the joy and the happiness in our lives and the spirit of life,” Deborah Patterson said.

Her artwork shares what appears to be digitally-enchanced photos while her husband, David Patterson, shares other works including paintings and collages.

The couple agreed that one of the themes of the show is the use of bright color and lush, natural imagery to suggest the uplifting nature of life, a theme tied closely into the Pattersons’ personal lives.

“We have a large garden, we use strong color in our house, it’s an integration,” David Patterson said.

Deborah Patterson’s pieces involve what appear to be artfully reconstructed photographs of significant locations to both herself and her husband.

For example, in the giclee paint on paper piece, “Moonlight Reflections,” the hibiscus photograph was taken at a waterfall in Hawaii.

In turn, David Patterson’s work features a variety of bright paints and plantlike textures, which he said is meant to tell his self-composed story of a fertile, vibrant Egyptian paradise along the Nile, occupied by characters Adam and Ava. One of the art pieces that may tell the story of Adam and Ava is “The Serpent and the Giza Platau.” In this painting, the serpent represents the Nile river which David said represented an oasis.

David Patterson said Adam and Ava are two characters from a fictional story that he is writing during his spare time.

Philip Prins/ Union The “Hope Chest” by David Patterson sits in the art gallery as part of the “Tropical Planet” exhibit. The exhibit is a combined showing of pieces by David Patterson and his wife Debora Patterson that includes paintings, digital prints, furniture and drawings.

He said these two characters were inspired by the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although the story may not have a title and may not be published, the story may be told through the artwork in the exhibit.

Together with these art works, the show also features hand-made furniture from the Pattersons’ home, including the Baltic Birch wood “Spice Cabinet.”

“I made ‘Spice Cabinet’ for my wife because she loves to cook,” David Patterson said. “She puts her actual spices in there.”

Other works include multiple Baltic

Rock band experiments with album

Birch and plywood “Hope Chest” pieces.

“I was opposed to the idea of using our furniture at first, but seeing it alongside our art makes it look so much more impressive,” David Patterson said.

In addition to the furnishings, certain walls of the gallery have been given a colorful coat of paint, a decision on the part of Susanna Meiers, Art Gallery curator.

“The walls help to bring out the color,” Meiers said, “I’m very pleased with how it’s all turned out.”

Meiers requested that the Pattersons put together the show due to the couple’s history with El Camino.

David Patterson was an instructor in the arts department and Deborah Patterson was a teacher of digital media.

Both artists are now retired, though they first met one another at the college.

Meiers said this is one of the reasons why the show “is a kind of insight into who they are.”

Although the show has only been open for what seems like a short time, there have been “very positive reactions so far.”

“I come in to see what’s new. It’s really interesting and vibrant,” Cory Schreider, 21, photography major, said.

Bear’s strategy for this CD was to throw in a little bit of everything.

There’s the electronic, synth-sounding “Zeros,” a Following a drum introduction, an electic guitar song reminiscent of Minus The Bear’s, “OMNI,” the joins the song with sounds similar to short and quick album ranked lowest by fans across discussion sites beats. In the background are sounds from a keyboard like Sputnikmusic. that seem as though it was played with an upbeat and Directly preceding this, however, is “Cold Comhigh-pitched manner. pany,” a song characterized by a hard rock sound and On Aug. 28, a math-rock (experimental rock) group staccato vocals that doesn’t quite seem to fit with the called Minus the Bear, released its new album, “In- rest of the album. finity Overhead.” In it, the band sounds as though it Song titles are almost always repeated word for decided to add new material to avoid producing a CD word in the lyrics, including the name of the album identical to its earlier work. itself in “Diamond Lightning” smack at the start of the With this album, their attempts may not have suc- song: “we all go down to Coselyn Bridge / where we ceeded. ended and we began / infinity overhead.”

Prior to the release of this fifth album, the album, Additionally, most of the tracks, no matter how dif“OMNI,” sounded as though it focused more on elec- ferent they may be, seem to be love songs. tronic guitars, keyboards, and synthesizers.

“Heaven Is a Ghost Town” has awkward deliveries While fans may have anticipated this album to and rhymes, including “it’s so dark at night / and since cover an electronic theme, the latest album, “Infinity they outlawed love / it gets too cold / there’s no one Overhead,” covers music in another way. to hold.”

For this album, it sounds as though the band foTo close off the album, Minus The Bear­­­­­­’s final song Kyle Borden/ Union cused more on producing sounds similar to rock music. “Toska” includes a mix of popular indie rock sounds, Mychal Harris, 24, dance major, strikes a pose for the camera. Harris is a dance major who has spent his life The album starts off with “Empty Party Rooms,” including softer vocals and playful segments on the exploring varying styles of dance and also works for LAUSD after school-program as a dance coach. a track that seems to set the tone for the rest of the keyboard, which transitions into their recipe of vocalalbum. ist Jake Snider’s straining voice and guitar picking.

Layered vocals are combined with the drums and In that way, “Toska” seems to be an accurate sumguitar, a theme that sounds as though it carries on to mary of the “Infinity Overhead” theme – mainly, that most of the other tracks. there isn’t one.

Dave Knudson’s guitar playing seems impressive Minus the Bear sounds as though they are trying to Angela Songco “Mychal (Harris) has a maturity that is on another and gets time to shine in more punchy, upbeat tracks balance their desire to experiment with their desire to Staff Writer level and he is never afraid to show his personal insights such as “Lies and Eyes” and “Steel and Blood.” His please their select fan base. in his choreography,” Berney said. sounds may be considered drowned out by the same Take that $9.99 for “Infinity Overhead” and put it As music plays in the room, he spreads his arms and He said Harris’s character is reflected through a forced vocals in every other track. towards coffee before class. At least you’ll be left with dances as if his heart and the song’s rhythm beat as one. combination of his outlook in life, personality and emoThe first few seconds of each of the songs them- something enjoyable, which Minus the Bear’s latest Mychal Harris, 24, dance major, first found his pas- tion and passion. selves are so different, it seems as though Minus The album frankly isn’t. sion in dancing through the tap dancing classes he took Harris plans to transfer to AMDA (American Musiwhen he was 9. He learned line dancing when he was 11 cal and Dramatic Academy, which specializes in dancand hip-hop dancing when he was 18. ing and acting. Harris said he wants to pursue a bachWhen he started going to EC, he discovered free- elors degree in Dance and Performing Arts. dom in the combination of Aside from his dance classes, jazz and modern dance. he also dances with two on-cam“I’m trying to find my pus dance groups, the Funderown style,” Harris said. burk Dance Artists and the Jamie “Although my choreogHammonds Pony Box Dance raphy is more enhanced Theater. than how it used to be, I Harris said he is also working am enhancing my style as a dance coach for the Los Ancontinually.” geles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) After-School Harris said while growing up, his mother took both program. him and his sister to tap dance classes.

Aside from his career as a dancer, Harris said alHe said when he started tap dancing, he did not enjoy though he sometimes struggles with his body’s flexibilit. However, his thoughts started to change as he gained ity, it does not hinder his dancing. more experience in dance techniques that he enjoyed.

“Mychal is a good example of somebody who follows He said he became exposed to the dancing field more his passion and is not afraid to show it to other people,” and more, he said he found motivation and inspiration Berney said. from the renowned choreographer and activist, Alvin While Harris (Harris) may not be afraid to present Ailey. Harris said Ailey had used his dance as a tool to his dance or choreography to others, he may also be empower African-American’s cultural expressionism. considered as an individual with motivation.

“Where Alvin was, that’s where I want to be. He in“Mychal’s (Harris) dedication and passion is really Photo Courtesy of Shaker Maker PR spires me to want to do it,” he said. strong. Once he decides to do something, he gives it his Minus the Bear realesed its fifth album of experimental rock, “Infinity Overhead” on Aug. 28. This album is a Harris said he strives to continually mold his talent one hundred and twenty percent,” Porche Norman, 25, follow up to their prevouse album “Omni.” by attending EC as a dance major. dance major, said.

Sarah Bremme

Staff Writer

Choreographer inspired through dance

RISING

STAR

September 13, 2012

ON DECK

By Mary Alvarez

CROSS-COUNTRY Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Fairview Park, Costa Mesa Orange Coast Invite

FOOTBALL Saturday at 6 p.m. at Pasadena City College

MEN’S SOCCER Tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Rio Hondo College Tuesday at 4 p.m. at San Bernandino Valley College

WOMEN’S SOCCER Tomorrow at 5 p.m. at EC vs. Alan Hancock College Tuesday at 2p.m. at San Bernandino Valley College

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Tomorrow and Saturday All Day San Diego Mesa

WOMEN’S WATER POLO Tomorrow at 12 p.m. at EC Tournament Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Rio Hondo College

SPORTS

El Camino College Union 7

Cross-country teams feel the pressure Brooke Buckaway Staff Writer

With the finish line in sight and the crowd roaring, Anique Villegas, freshman, keept the pace slow and steady with her teammates right behind her.

Villegas placed 18th, with a time of 20:18 on the 3-mile course at the crosscountry meet at UC Irvine on Saturday.

Although the women’s team was unable to compete as a team for a lack of runners, the women ran as individual runners.

“We ran as close together as possible,” Villegas said.

Villegas explainined the strategy she and her teammates used to advance in the individual race.

“We only had four runners and we needed five to compete as a team,” Villegas said.

Three of the five women on the team are injured, and due to last week’s meet in Ventura, one of the women was unable to compete, leaving the women’s team one runner short.

“There is always an ache or pain,” Dean Lofgren, coach, said.

“There is a high risk for chronic injuries.

We are sore in a day and then it goes away and something new is sore next week. It’s just the nature of the sport,” Lofgren added.

Nicole Sroczynski, freshman, placed 25th, with a time of 20:34.3, which has helped her realize areas that need improvement.

“We are very competitive,” Sroczynski said.

“I think we push each other and make each other better by running next to each other to push ourselves,” Sroczynski said.

Although few people were in attendance at the 8 a.m. meet, Sroczynski explained how the men’s team was there to cheer on the women’s team and show team spirit.

With the team preparing for the Orange Coast Invitational this Saturday, the UC Irvine Invite was a chance for the team to anticipate the larger competitions in the following weeks.

Philip Prins Union Jimi Duffin, No. 387, sophomore and Rio Miranda, No. 395, freshman, push up a hill at the beginning of the men’s 8-kilometer run during the UC Irvine Collegiate and Open Cross Country Invitational on Friday.

“The track was not too hard and had some hills that were very gradual and a lot of downhills,” Villegas said.

“I feel a lot more confident for Saturday’s meet,” Villegas said.

“I went out too fast and need to keep a better pace than I did at the last race,” Sroczynski said.

“There are little things I can work on, but, overall, I think I’m doing OK. People ask me ‘What’s your strategy? and I tell them that I just want to do my best,” Sroczynski said.

Reo Miranda, 17, undecided major, ran the men’s 8-kilometer race and placed 46th, with a time of 27:01.3 with an injured knee from last week’s meet in Ventura.

“The competitors follow their results from high school and I knew what I was up against,” Miranda added.

The competitors have track, cross-country experience and are well prepared for the meets, most of them precede and take pride

of their high school statistics and records, he said.

“It was everything I expected, I prepared myself for this competition by having no expectations,” Miranda said.

With no specific strategy in mind and no anticipations Reo was able to compete with the some of the best runners, he added.

“I was disappointed, I tried the best I could and I was injured,” Miranda said.

The injury prevented Miranda from giving an outstanding performance, eventhough he had no expectations, he was upset and blamed his injury for placing 46th.

During the Ventura meet Miranda got a minor injury on his left knee Miranda said.

“My IT band is injured and so is the bottom of my knee,” Miranda said.

An IT band injury is a common injury within the sports, specially runners and if the muscle is being flexed or extended the muscle will swell and create discomfort, he said.

“It stared killing me on the third mile, so I just kept pushing through it with whatever mental strength I had,” Miranda said.

Going to the meet and really trying to Although several of the runners were injured, the cross-country team placed 14th out of 19 schools, with the competition being spread out between community colleges, four year colleges and universities.

“We got our bells rung a little bit,” Lofgren, said.

“This wasn’t so much our opportunity not to run with the four years but our opportunity to run against them. This year we are in the middle of it,” Lofgren said.

The next meet is Saturday at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa at 9:30 a.m. where the men’s and women’s cross-country teams will compete in the Southern California Preview Championchips.

SPORTS

8 El Camino College Union

Warriors’ stay upbeat despite loss to Cypress Zachary Weber Staff Writer

After a successful opening game against Santa Monica College and first win against Santa Barbara at the EC Classic, the women’s volleyball team experienced its first loss.

Last Friday during the EC Classic second game against Cypress College, the Warriors had its first loss.

The Warriors loss 22-25, 2515, 16-25, 25-16, 15-13 in five sets.

Both teams were evenly matched going into the deciding fifth game, until Cypress took the lead on a hitting error and clinched the match.

“It’s going to be a big load for her (Luafalemana) all year, to see her keep working, stay positive and lead the team, which she has handled very well,” Le Valley Pattison, coach, said.

A dominating performance by Tarryn Luafalemana, outside hitter, who had twenty-five kills and fifteen digs.

Pattison has praise for returning sophomore, Luafalemana and wants to see contributions from

every player on the team.

“We need a little offense from every position, we rely a lot on Tarryn and Nigeria,” Pattison said.

Nigeria Owens, middle blocker, is a returning sophore who had eight kills and nine blocks at the match against Cypress College.

Luafalemana is confident that the team will clean up its mistakes and bounce back.

“We know what we need to do to grow to get better on the court, nothing we can’t fix in practice,” Luafalemana said.

Elise Tizon finished with nine kills, three blocks and one ace against Cypress.

“It was intense, we commited to the game even though we had small errors,” Tizon, rightside hitter and libero, said.

Leading the defense was Karlee Napoleon with 19 digs.

“We just need to work more on our technical stuff like blocking, serving and looking for open areas to hit for everybody on the team including myself,” Luafalemana said The women’s volleyball team beat Santa Barbara College at the earlier match last friday soundly

in three games 25-11, 25-16, 2725. Luafalemana led the way with 20 kills and 10 digs.

Freshman Nicole Echeverri chipped in with five kills and two aces and Karlee Napoleon had nine digs.

“We had a good game kind of Rocky but it was our first game,” Luafalemana said.

The women’s volleyball team had a victorious win against Santa Monica College in Wednesday night’s nonconference game.

Striking three wins in a row, 25-9, 25-18, 25-22, the Warriors had an impressive season opener.

“We came out strong in the first game, the second game I was a little nervous and the third game was close,” Pattison said.

“We got off to a good start and it was fun to finally see the women play,” Pattison said.

Santa Monica College has a great libero, Karlee Napoleon, libero, said.

“We have to keep on playing hard and aggressive,” Napoleon said.

Luafalemana, outside hitter, led the way with 13 kills and 11 digs at the Santa Monica College game.

In 2011, Luafalemana had a successful season where she tallied 54 kills.

“Our first game together, we did really well with communicating, we played together and got better as the game went on,” Chelsea Mataalii, outside hitter, said.

The Warriors played well in their first two games, but struggled in the third game against Santa Monica College.

“Our freshman did a good job communicting with the team during the game,” Owens, middle blocker, said.

Allison Lim, freshman, setter, helped the Warriors with 29 assists Pattison added.

“They did not give up I expected them to roll over, we realized that we had to come together and finish the game off,” Mataalii said.

“In the third game, we struggled passing, it was a little hard to run our offense, we had to push hard to get the last points,” Mataalii said.

The women’s volleyball team will play all day at the San Diego Mesa Invitational tomorrow and Saturday.

September 13, 2012

Philip Prins Union Nicole Echeverri, No. 6, prepares to try and pound the volleyball past the Cypress defensive wall during the team’s second game of the EC Classic Women’s Volleyball Tournament Friday.

The team won its first game against Santa Monica College, but lost to Cypress in a close game that went all the way to the fifth set.

Warriors’ fall 2-0 after loss to Alan Hancock College Sam Tedla and Zachary Weber Staff Writers

The Warriors couldn’t find that cohesive connection to put together a productive game Saturday against Alan Hancock College.

Jesse Scroggins, quarterback, struggled to find that continuity with his receivers, going 10 for 33 passing and rushing for 32 yards on 12 attempts.

“I know in week one Jesse (Scroggins) kind of struggled a little with his timing and it kind of carried over to the game,” Royshaun Lewis, free-safety, said.

He had a solid week of practice with his timing and connection with the receivers, Lewis added.

“I guess seeing a new team and going against a team’s defense besides ours, his timing was off with him and the receivers,” Lewis said.

Scroggins ran for a 21-yard touchdown in the first quarter, which was the Warriors only led of the game at 7-6.

“We came into the game knowing that it was a big game, knowing that it was a must-win game,” Lewis said.

It seemed like we have started off a little slow, and then the team started to pick it up in the end of start of the first quarter Lewis added.

“As far as the first and second quarter, I felt like the offense started off pretty good, but as the game went on we had bad communication and everything just went downhill from there,” Lewis said.

Luckner Brady, wide receiver, had one catch that went for 23 yards and Derrick Macon had three catches for 39 yards.

“We played a better second half so that is something positive, offensively, we started getting things moving but it was too late,” EricCapacchione, team captain, fullback and tight end, said..

“We were pumped up, it was a long trip, but we thought we were ready but we didn’t come up with the plays,” Capacchione said.

The defense could not contain Alan Hancock’s Cameron Payne, running back, giving up 232-yards rushing yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries.

The Warriors’ defense also could not get in the backfield to create pressure resulting in no sacks and no tackles for loss.

“The fact that we never started two quarterbacks before that’s the most painful thing, we need to get that win to get back on track,” Cappachione added.

The Warriors could not move the ball down the field due to struggles on third down, going just three for 15 on third downs.

The Warriors will look to regroup and get its first win against Pasadena City College on Saturday.

“We are looking forward to getting our first win really, by working hard, coming together as a team, hoping to do very well against Pasadena College because we need to prove ourselves,” Capacchione said.

“We are going to get it done on Saturday,” he said.

If the team goes out in the field, handle their business and focus, the team will do good, Antoine Anderson, wide receiver, said.

“We started out real slow, we just need to tighten up, we were out of focus defense and offense,” Anderson said In the second half the team played better but it was too late, Anderson added.

“We’re going to focus and tighten around the edges and work more with our quarterback, we were out of sync with him and do all the little things to help us win,” Anderson said..

Last Saturday’s game the team struggled a lot with pass and plays, the defense had missed tackles and long coverages, Kelvin McCoy, left

guard, said.

This week the Warriors are preparing and practicing harder, McCoy added.

“We need to come out with a bigger tempo; defense and offense picking it up have every assignment on point, wide receivers and quarterbacks working out after practice,” McCoy said.

Running backs going over blocking assignments, he said.

“Coaches going through preparations for us, I can see a big difference from this week compared to last week,” McCoy said.

The intensity has picked up this week and the team is not taking any games lightly anymore, McCoy added.

“We have to play at 100 percent, during every play, blocking has to be perfect as well as tackling and defense positioning, it all has to be perfect,” he said.

The team was out in the EC stadium perfecting all of our mistakes, McCoy said.

“We are young, we just have to click on the offense and defense side,” Auston Johnson, linebacker, said..

In the game against Alan Hancock College the offense was better, Johnson said.

“We had a little team meeting, things are more together,” he said..

In the meeting the team talked about people doing their jobs and not worrying about what the other team is doing just to focus on their position, Johnson said.

“The team’s strategy is more clear and more together now,” Johnson added.

The next game is Saturday agaisnt Pasadena City College at 6 p.m.

she said.

“We should have won we were starting to find our feet, we started to play a lot better, we created more opportunities and our defense was more organized,” Baquero said.

“We did a lot better than we usually do, they didn’t dominate as much we didn’t make that many mistakes,” Jasmine Brink, defender, said. “We had had a lot of shots on goal and much better passes.”

By talking a lot more, the women played much better together, she said.

“There is many small things to improve on the women’s soccer team,” Brink added.

The team has many players playing out of position, Brink said.

“We have a good team we have a lot of people playing out of position,” Brink, defender, said.

The team played very well overall, the talent and skills are there, Brittany Brown, outsidemid, said.

“It is a work in progress, the team is still getting to know each team player’s style, we need more time to know each other,” Brown said.

Baquero is very proud and is confident the women’s soccer team will have a succesful outcome for the next game, she said.

The next game is tomorrow at home against Alan Hancock College at 5 p.m.

ter, but then around fourth, we started to get a bit tired, we just need to practice more and build more endurance,” Ashton Derojas, utility, said.

The team had many chances to take the game and the match between Fullerton could have been won but we just needed to focus, Derojas added.

“For me as a goalie, it’s positioning. Where I am in the goal as

Men’s and Women’s soccer Men’s water polo team test teams’ effort wasn’t enough the water for the first time Zachary Weber Staff Writer

With 18 freshman on the roster, the men’s soccer team is struggling to find some cohesiveness as it fell to Victor Valley College 3-1, in the game last Saturday.

Fatigue and heat could have contributed to the teams’ lack luster play. The game was played in the high desert and delayed because the officials showed up an hour late.

“It was really hot, and it was two hours away and the referees came in late, so that interfered with our mind set,” sophomore midfielder Ozzy Rodriguez said.

Falling behind 2-0, the Warriors tried to get back in the game as freshman forward Dani Guzman scored the only goal for the Warriors.

The team drops to 1-2-1 and coach John Britton was not pleased with the effort.

“Perhaps we expected an easy game, we didn’t prepare ourselves mentally, and we paid the price,” Britton said.

The level of effort was not there and it was a disappointing loss to a very good team, Britton added.

Ozzy Rodriguez said he believes his team needs to give a better effort.

“Many of the players are lazy.

A lot of the men don’t have intensity it shows in practices,” Rodriguez said.

“Not enough talking and I would take blame in that, there was no communication,” Rodriguez said.

Without communication within the men’s team, the players won’t perform as well, Rodriguez added.

“Jess (Chamberlain) and Alex (Perez) have been putting in hard work and they go all out,” Rodriguez said.

“It is a work in progress, the team is still getting to know each team player’s style, we need more time to know each other.”

—Britney Brown outside mid

Both players have been a positive influence on the men’s soccer team and contribute to the bringing out the best in the players, he added.

Last Tuesday the women’s soccer team tied in a scoreless game against San Diego Mesa College.

Coach Jaymie Baquero is very optimistic going forward, but believes her team should have won,

Karly Daquila Staff Writer

One point separated the Fullerton College Hornets from the Warriors up until two minutes before the game ended this past Friday at 3 p.m.

The Warriors’ last play did not work against Fullerton College.

The men’s water polo team was taken by surprise when the Hornets brought an extra man into the water, causing the Warriors to miss its opportunity to go into overtime. The final score was 6-5, with the Warriors one point behind Fullerton.

“They are traditionally a pretty strong team, so that we had a close game with them bodes well for us.

We actually had several opportunities to win the game and we just couldn’t convert them,” Cory Stanbury, coach, said.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors had a penalty throw and the Hornets’ goalie blocked it.

“This is something that should be scored 95 percent of the time,” Stanbury added.

The upcoming games are forcing the players to focus on what needs to be strengthened to beat their upcoming opponents.

“It was a slow start coming back for us, a lot of new players too. We started to pick up the pace around the second and third quar-

“We actually had several opportunities to win the game and we just couldn’t convert them.”

—Corey Stanbury coach

opposed to where the field players are. I need to know exactly where I am,” Stephen Sorbom, goalie, said, “We missed a lot of opportunities.”

Sorbom provided the team with 11 saves during the game.

One of the best plays was by Dylan Colbert who scored three goals during the game, Stanbury said.

“We were playing a pretty good team and a good team will

mess you up a little. But they only scored 6 goals. Looking around other teams that were playing, their goal production was over 10.

We did a good job on the defense,” Stanbury said.

Colbert managed to score three goals for the team, while Adam Rudow and Alec Ortiz comtributed with scoring one goal each for the total of five goals.

“Fullerton frequently gets into the playoffs, so the fact that we had a one point ball game with them straight out of the shoot was a good indicator that we were going to do pretty well,” Stanbury added.

What the men’s water polo team learned from the game on Friday and putting it to use for the rest of the season, The men’s water polo team are taking its missed opportunities at beating Fullerton and looking at them from a positive perspective.

“We can see some things that we need to work on, opened our eyes to a lot of things, we have a lot of freshmen that are playing that came from a lot of different programs that need to learn how to work together a little bit more.

This takes time,” Stanbury said.