Vol. 69, Issue 2 March 5

Photo Essay

Sports

Combat sports teaches students self-defense, P. 3

Sand volleyball opens the gates undefeated, P.10

EL CAMINO COLLEGE March 5, 2015

Sports

Track and Field lose momentum at the Cerritos Meet P. 12

THE UNION eccunion.com

TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA

CHAMPIONSHIP DREAMS SHATTERED

The playoff run is over for women’s basketball, as the Huskies top the Warriors 70-56 Eric Ramos Staff Writer @ECCUnion_Eric

EC’s upset bid fell short as ELAC went on a 15-4 run in the final four minutes to win, 70-56 in the third round of the SoCal regional playoffs.

The Warriors trailed 47-45 midway through the second half, sophomore center Alexis Delich layup tied it 47-47. EC watched as the Huskies Olivia Ochoa converted back-to-back 3-point plays.

ELAC’s defense gave the Warriors trouble throughout the game, forcing 26 turnovers and out rebounding EC, 44-32.

EC trailed at the half, 34-25.

Sydney Chase led EC with 21 points and four rebounds.

South Coast Conference - South Co-Player of the Year, Shontalene Trudeau added 13 points and five rebounds.

Warriors gave up possession 13 times in the first half.

The Huskies led by as many as 16 points in the first half.

The Warriors came off of an unprecedented 21-9 season which saw them clinch the South Coast Conference - south title for the first time since 2005.

John Fordiani/ Union

Above: Warriors’ freshman forward Jill Thebodeau fights for possession of the ball against East Los Angeles College. The Warriors lost to the Huskies 70-56 on Wednesday night.

John Fordiani/ Union

NEWS LINE

Coach Steve Shaw is frustrated on the Warriors’ bench after EC gave up a three-point lead in the second half. Shaw led the team to the SCC - south title for the second time in its history.

Warriors’ bench in disarray as the Huskies toppled them 70-56 on Wednesday night.

Festival parades at campus EC explores space day

Blood drive saves lives

UCLA presents workshop

The Annual Cherry Blossom Festival that is promoted in honor of Dr. Nadine Ishitani Hata will be presented in between the Shops and Communications buildings on Thursday, March 5 at 1 p.m.

This event is open to the general public. For more information contact 310-660-3593, ext. 3813.

A blood drive will be sponsored by the ICC in hopes to get blood donations. The drive will be a three-day event and will be hosted in the Social Justice Center’s East Lounge on March 12, 13 and 14.

UCLA will be having a summer program workshop hosted by the First-Year-Experience department and presented by Santi Bernal on Wednesday, March 25, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Distance Education Center which is located next to the library. For more information on the event, contact the office at 310-660-6936.

The Natural Sciences Division is hosting Onizuka Space Science Day 2015 on Saturday, March 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Marsee Auditorium and Natural Sciences Division. This event is free and open to the general public. To RSVP, send an email to spaceday@elcamino.edu. For more information, call 310-6603487.

Jorge Villa/ Union

G eccunion@gmail.com /ElCaminoUnion /ECCUnion /ECCUnion /ECCUnion

NEWS

2 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION

POLICE BEAT

By Sydnie Mills

Man claiming “Blood’s street gang” cited Feb. 18, 1:45 p.m. — Officers observed a man walking west bound from the Student Service Center, yelling at students that he was a member of the “Blood’s street gang.” Officers detained the non-student male. The subject had mental health issues but did not meet the criteria for a 72-hour psychological evaluation. He was issued a trespassing notice and escorted off campus.

Man cited for reckless driving Feb. 19, 11:56 a.m. — Officers responded to a reckless driving call on 154th Street and Western Avenue. Officers followed the driver who was running through red lights and cutting off vehicles.

The driver was pulled over and admitted to driving recklessly because he needed to use the restroom. He was issued a citation and released on the scene.

Man arrested for possession Feb. 20, 11 p.m. — Officers observed a non-student male subject walking in the middle of the road on the north side of the facilities yard. Officers located a small amount of cocaine and methamphetamine inside the subject’s wallet. The male was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and was then transferred to the Torrance Police Department.

MARCH 5, 2015

Creative arts journal strives to win another award Phil Sidavong

News Editor @ECCUnionPhil

In the corner of the Humanities Building in H101 the editors meet and peer edit stories, poems, artwork and more in hopes of producing quality material.

Creative thoughts, words, stories and art are accepted by El Camino’s creative arts journal, according to their flier.

The Myriad publishes once a year, every Spring, and this year the deadline for submissions is at 11:59 p.m. on March 10.

Randy James, 30, English major, said, “Each year is different. We try and meet the accomplishments of last year and we’re expecting the best.”

The editors would like the number of submissions to be high, but quality is also a factor, James added, “we’ve already received about a dozen submissions.”

The Myriad is a creative arts journal that accepts submissions of various types from students and then are edited on the Myriad team.

Then reading is hosted sometime after publication is finished for students to hear their work read aloud.

Torin Lee, 22, English literature major, said that the atmosphere of the room is “pretty mellow” and that most of the time they are “reading submissions, which makes for an informal” setting.

Jazmin Cruz, 20, creative writing major, agreed with Lee’s comments and said, “It’s a very personal place.”

Last year’s edition of the Myriad was entered College Media Association’s contest for two-year college’s literary magazine of the year. Myriad was awarded second place.

When asked about the history of the Myriad and the award Lee said, “I like the program, because it doesn’t feel like I’m doing it for myself, but to continue the tradition.”

Upon hearing that, Cruz said, “I agree, I think it’s rewarding. You get to do what you love, in my case reading, while doing something great.”

Some rules for submitting to the Myriad are that according to their website, “El Camino students (from summer, fall or spring semesters) can submit up to three poems, one short story (less than 5000 words) and three pieces of artwork.”

John Fordiani/ Union Myriad editors: (from left) Torin Lee, 22, English literature major, Jazmin Cruz, 20, creative writing major and Randy James, 30, English major.

Although this year, there is a new way to submit any work to them. There is an online submission form in which someone may attach their work and send it in for the editors at the Myriad to go over and see if its quality is good enough to be put in the journal.

Cruz said that she thinks its “important to be pushing.” She believes that the students “can be the

catalysts for the future.”

There are a mixture of reasons why the Myriad found enough success to win an award. Lee and adviser Peter Marcoux both touched on the same thing.

Lee said, “the journal is successful because of all the input. It’s a myriad of the students.”

Marcoux said, “remember the editors just edit stuff, everything

Sexual assault prevention discussed at seminar Grant Hermanns

Staff Writer @ECCUnion_GrantH

El Camino hosted a meeting about “Bystander Awareness” in the Social Justice Center on Feb. 26.

Discussed at the center was the importance of being aware of the possibility of assaults in public places and what to do and what not to do.

El Camino Police Officer Jan

Caldwell gave a powerpoint for those attending to get a better understanding the legal definitions of topics such as sexual assault and consent.

Caldwell opened the seminar by offering hypothetical questions based on real events, such as a woman getting too drunk at a party and going upstairs with a guy.

During her presentation, Caldwell gave tips for intervening when seeing a dangerous situation, such as not heading into the

situation with aggression, try to be friendly and try not to resort to violence.

One of her main points for awareness was that “Alcohol is not your friend,” Officer Caldwell said.

To get her point across that alcohol can lead to dangerous situations, such as date rape, she repeated it multiple times.

Near the end of the speech, they presented a trailer for the upcoming documentary “The Hunting Ground.”

Afterwards, there was announcement about some upcoming events that would be happening.

The Social Justice Center will be holding their Third Annual Social Justice Fair on Thursday, March 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The fair will feature organizations that are involved in helping homeless teens through an organization known as My Friend’s Place that has been providing for over 25 years and provide other resources for students on campus.

put into the journal is all work from the students.”

When asked about the future of the program and this year’s publication Lee said, “We’re going to do our best to make it great. We’re going to win another award. The nation will know El Camino College’s Myriad.”

If you have any story ideas for upcoming events around campus: Contact us via email and send an idea our way at ECCUnion@Gmail.com Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more daily news.

Tweet #ECCUnion with any news around campus happening daily for.

MARCH 5, 2015

PHOTO ESSAY

Arturo Medina (left), and Arnold Umana (right), are practicing specific strikes taught during the self defense course at El Camino.

EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 3

Tristan Bellisimo/ Union

Students wrap their hands with tape and place boxing gloves on in the mintues before they spar.

The sweat pours and the hits come flying as students cover their faces attempting to block the punches.

Those in Physical Education 14 learn boxing techniques and apply the skills learned in sparing matches. Physical Education 221 involvesself-defense tactics taught by instructor Bill Hood.

Many students find the boxing and self-defense classes unique and offer a change of pace in the life of a college student. “ I knew it was going to be fun, I needed a physical education credit and I really started to like it (boxing).” Isrel English, 28, business major, said.

— By John Fordiani

Gilberto Castro/ Union Isrel English,28, business major, warms up by hitting a punching bag before his Boxing class begins. Boxing is one of three combat sports classes offered at El Camino

Tristan Bellisimo/ Union Justin Garcia, administrative justice major, is wrapping his hands before putting on gloves. Garcia is taking the course to get a better understanding of boxing and self defense.

Gilberto Castro/ Union Roger Herrera, 21, English (left) and Joshua Willis, 23, undecided (right) prepare to spar in Sensei Yamashita’s boxing class.

Boxing is one of the three Combat Sport classes available at El Camino.

EDITORIAL

4 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION

MARCH 5, 2015

Campus Insight

Charlie James

Special to The Union

The mother of all clubs at El Camino

Illustration by Eugene Chang/ Union

A pint for a pint

As college students, we are often in a tight financial situation where Too busy? Of we are not able to freely show altruism to others.

We rather wish for donation from others.

However, it seems that we often overlook the most simple donation out there: blood.

Unlike money, clothing, foods, or household The issue: items, giving blood literally doesn’t cost you a penny. Contrary to what some people believe in, There is a blood drive blood is in need every day, everywhere. going on, here at El According to the American Red Cross, more than 41,000 blood donations are needed every day.

Camino That is roughly twice the number of students here at El Camino, and there is doubt whether even half of them will step up to donate blood.

Our stand: Giving blood only requires four simple steps: medical history review, physical check, donation, Giving blood is a necesand a rest. Why neglect such an easy procedure?

Medical history review asks simple questions such sity and everyone availas past of serious illness, tattoos, and trips outside able should do so. of the country.

Afraid of needles? Sure. But in the age of 2015, we’re very sure that everyone has had at least one vaccination shot before. Giving blood is much similar to that sense: the pain only lasts for a moment and you will not feel a thing after that.

course you’re busy. A lot of college students have a lot of things going on. Work, family stuff, and most importantly, school. College students should prioritize their schoolwork first and foremost, and there is nothing wrong with that. But are you really that busy that you can’t dedicate an hour or two of your life throughout the whole week? When the lines are short, it would not even take an hour sometimes.

Don’t want to feel weak? Nobody wants to feel weak. But know this one thing: giving a pint of blood has little to no effect to an average, healthy adult body. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, your body constantly makes new blood and will replenish within 24 hours of donating.

Disregarding the hour of your time and the pint of blood that you donate, there is nothing to lose when you give blood. Why not give back to the world when you have so much to spare?

And let’s not forget perhaps the biggest benefit of giving blood here at El Camino: you will get a free pint of ice cream coupon that is available for Baskin Robbins.

See related news story on front page.

If you see it, say it Bystander awareness, a stranger to El Camino It’s easy to see something wrong and to turn backs on the problem, but it takes courage to step in and take action.

On college campuses across the country, sexual assault and harassment is a continuous problem. Bystander intervention is just one of the many ways to educate college students on how to handle instances of sexual assault and harassment, and for bystanders to stop it.

According to a report released last April by The White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault, one in five women are sexually assaulted while in college.

While one in five is a high amount, that statistic can be dropped. People need to speak out and speak up to the harassment and assault. The Department of Homeland Security abides by the phrase “If you see something,

say something,” which refers to suspicious people and crime, to call the police before it becomes a problem.

By taking a simple step forward, you can help prevent a possible rape or assault situation. El Camino is no stranger to assault incidents, as there are many incidents in the past where strangers followed around female students in campus, after night classes.

The worst things imaginable can happen on campus late at night, especially for students who are defenseless.

According to mencanstoprape.org, 80 percent of college age men are uncomfortable when women are belittled or mistreated. But why does it feel like those numbers are not true? They do not express their discomfort, because they believe they are the only ones who

are uncomfortable. Needless to say, they are not the only one.

If you ever see anything suspicious, identify if it is an emergency or not and contact the El Camino Police Department immediately. You can either be a hero, or a cold bystander who chose to idly stand by a possible assault.

As cliché as this sounds, nothing will change unless you take action. You, as in, whoever is reading this. A change requires actions from every individual out there. The very thought of someone doing your job and taking your place for you is the reason why the word “bystander” exists.

It is important to notice and identify events as a problem and feel motivated to find a solution and finally act. Thinking will not help stop people getting hurt. Making actions will.

THE UNION

Vol. 70, No. 2 March 5, 2015

Email: eccunion@gmail.com Newsroom: (310) 660-3328 Advertising: (310) 660-3329

Editor-in-Chief ����������������������������������������������������������������������Jessica Martinez News Editor ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Phil Sidavong Features Editor ����������������������������������������������������������������������Jessica Martinez Opinion/Editorial Editor ���������������������������������������������������������������� Jay Bamba Arts Editor...........................................................................................Celine West Sports Editor ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ Rocky Rivera Photo Editor ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� John Fordiani Distribution Manager ���������������������������������������������������������Lorenzo Gutierrez Advertising Manager ������������������������������������������������������������������� Jack Mulkey Adviser ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������Kate McLaughlin Adviser ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Stefanie Frith Photo Adviser...................................................................................Gary Kohatsu

The Union is published Thursdays by Journalism 11 students at El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, CA 90506, and is free to the student body and staff.

Unsigned editorials and cartoons are the opinion of the editorial board and do not reflect the views of the student body, staff or administration. Letters to the editor must be signed and must be received one week prior to publication in the Union office, Humanities Building Room 113.

Letters are subject to editing for space, libel, obscenity and disruption of the educational process. Single copies of the Union are free; multiple copies can be requested through the Union.

“What is the Inter-Club Council?” This is a question I am often asked, and each time, I provide a different answer. However, the one phrase I repeat in all of my answers is that “the Inter-Club Council is the mother of all clubs.” This is because we give birth to clubs, nurture clubs, charter them, provide them with financial assistance, and finally, we help them grow by hosting events, like Club Rush, that allows them to spread awareness about their clubs and enrich the club community of El Camino College. This is all initiated at our meetings.

The Inter-Club Council hosts general club meetings every week on Mondays from noon to 1 p.m., although we often end earlier. At these meetings, at least one InterClub Council representative from each club attends and speaks on behalf of their respectful club. Our discussions consist of club events, concerns, and a plethora of other club-related topics. Currently, a popular topic has been how to allocate the remaining Inter-Club Council club budget – the funds provided for the Inter-Club Council to appropriate member-club activities. However, our club budget is insufficient because it is unable to support the various budget-request forms that clubs are submitting, which, consequently, is becoming a hot topic of controversy at our meetings. Still, although monetary politics sometimes becomes an issue, the fact that all clubs on campus who come from different backgrounds, who exist for different purposes, and who may otherwise have no association with one another, come together and work out these issues while representing the values of their clubs is a magical experience. Moreover, the results of these meetings provide progressive improvement to our club community, most frequently, in the form of club cooperation.

Actually, club cooperation has been pushing significant and potent positive changes within, not just our club community, but our school. For instance, the Associated Student Body (A.S.O.) Sustainability Committee has been working with members from the Geography & Environmental Conservation Club and the U.S. Green Building Council to provide recycling bins for EC. Currently, they have succeeded in providing recycling bins for the natural science building. This is an important change because it is a start toward creating a more environmentally friendly campus.

On that note, the U.S. Green Building Council is planning another positive green-game-changer for our students on campus. The U.S. Green Building Council is working a joint venture with Southern California Edison and the DEEP Project to purchase solar charging stations to be placed on campus for students to use at their discretion. I have seen pictures of the proposed charging stations, and they are amazing; imagine a bench just like the ones located in front of Camino Café but with an umbrella covered with solar panels. Believe it or not, these stations will provide access to outside power sources for the benefit of El Camino College students, and, in extension, our environment.

El Camino College has a stupendous, diverse, and caring club community, so, as a fellow student of El Camino College, on behalf of the Inter-Club Council, the “mother” of the El Camino College club community, I hope from the bottom of my heart that you will benefit from our community as well.

Write us a letter

Letters pertaining to campus issues or responding to articles will have priority over commentaries or other letters on the editorial page, to the discretion of the editorial board.

Letters may be from any El Camino student, faculty member, classified person or employee of the college. Letters from students have priority. Every attempt will be made to run all letters received before the editorial deadline, which is the Monday prior to publication, each week.

In cases of sensitive circumstances, anonymous letters will be published. Depending on the gravity of the content of the letter, some anonymous letters may not be published.

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OPINION

MARCH 5, 2015

EL CAMINO COLLEGE 5

Campus viewpoints

Column

By: Monique Judge @ECCUnionMonique

Should students be able to grade their instructors?

Monique Judge

Columnist ECCUnionMonique@gmail.com

That time Khloe Kardashian slutshamed Amber Rose

Welcome to Women’s History Month, that time of year when we are both commemorative of the achievements of women, and mindful of the mistreatment women continue to endure every single day.

As women, we tend to be some of the worst offenders when it comes to mistreating each other.

Ladies, why do we slut-shame each other? Why do we allow the hand-me-down notion that sexuality is something to be ashamed of to be used against us? Why do we turn this sharp sword in on our fellow sisters in the struggle?

By now you have heard about the twitter altercation between Khloe Kardashian and Amber Rose. If you missed it, here is the Cliff’s Notes version: Amber Rose gave an interview to Power 105.1’s Breakfast Club on Feb. 13 during which she criticized 25-year-old rapper Tyga for his alleged relationship with 17-yearold Kylie Jenner. During the same interview, Rose also revealed that she started stripping at the age of 15 in order to help support her family.

Khloe got wind of the interview and took to Twitter to defending her sister’s honor. She sent out a tweet comparing her sister to 15-year-old Amber, and said that the youngest Kardashian has her life together at 17.

First of all, Kylie hasn’t done anything in her 17 years to have it together except be born into the right family. Let’s not mistake a silver spoon for any type of real work or struggle.

Secondly, bringing up the stripper past of someone in an attempt to put them in their place is the worst type of behavior, and it runs into the “Mean Girls” category when we do it to each other.

A moment of humility would have reminded Khloe that her entire family’s infamy is based on two of the most heinous crimes in history: the Nicole Brown Simpson murder and the Ray J sex tape.

An ability to muddle through her own vacuity would have made Khloe realize that Rose wasn’t dissing her sister; she was dissing Tyga.

Khloe was careful to stay away from the topic of the alleged relationship, and who could blame her? Opening that Pandora’s box would lead to the type of scrutiny her family doesn’t get paid to undergo.

Instead of handling it like a human being, Khloe sank to snake level, and slithered her way (by means of subtweeting no less) into Amber’s Twitter mentions.

Khloe should understand the sting of slut-shaming, because the Ray J sex tape is something that people will not let her sister Kim live down; it comes up regularly when it’s time to crack jokes at Kim’s expense.

This is what we do to each other, ladies. We attack like rabid dogs, tearing each other down over things of a private nature in order to appear to be the morally attractive choice.

The truth is the number of sex partners you have doesn’t matter to anyone other than you and any potential sexual partners.

Being a stripper does not dehumanize you. Wearing revealing clothing is not an automatic societal condemnation.

Don’t believe the hype.

We are women; we are strong, and we give birth to the world.

Your mother had to get sexual at least once; that’s how you got here.

Is she less of a woman for that act?

Or is it one of the greatest things she did in her life?

For the rest of Women’s History Month, let’s make a pact to put away our inner mean girls.

Let’s devote our energy to lifting our fellow women up.

And please, no more slut-shaming.

Tonna Nnabue, 18, nursing “The school needs to know how the teachers are acting in the classroom.”

Illustration by Eugene Chang/ Union

UP FOR DEBATE

Brandon Mitchell, 18 journalism “Just like professors evaluate us according to our participation and our attendance in the classroom, we should be able to evaluate them on their curriculum and the way they teach in the classroom.”

Should students be able to grade their instructors?

Do not let them control our future

Students can and will not be objecive

Rate my professor is every students’ open diary where they are allowed to vent and express their thoughts on their professors. To professors, that is all it is: a diary. Just how would their teaching methods change if they were to be told that they are working for an actual grade?

Would the professors who arrive with frowns on their faces resort to Mario Sosa a stoic expression? Would the ones Staff Writer who arrive to their jobs, only to bully @ECCUnionMario students to soothe their souls panic?

As students who rely on a website that is trivial to professors, we should be allowed to grade our own professors, and have it mean something. There are several subjects that are taught on campus, with many professors there to instruct them, each with their own teaching methods and means of communication.

Each professor has their own agenda as far as their classes go.

Some may be conducive to the success of students, and others may not. These are the things that should be brought out of the dark for schools to take notice of. If one class is close to failing because a professor does a poor job instructing the class, the students are the ones who suffer in the end. It is their grades that will be considered when applying to universities for transfer.

There will be no excuses. Universities will not care why we received the grades that we did or the explanation behind it.

Sure, most of the work done may be results of our own performances, but to say that even a slight bit of our grade and future is in the hands of our instructors is quite laughable.

We work our whole lives to get to where we are, only for one person to destroy what we have built and dictate our futures.

As a result, it affects our overall morale and outlook on life and makes us feel like success is something we will not be seeing anytime soon, thus creating the accidental quitters of the world who never knew the differences they could have made in this world and are left with nothing but what ifs.

Perhaps drop out rates would also decrease if we were allowed to grade our professors. Perhaps we would see a higher number of resignations in faculty because of this, resulting in the weeds being pulled from our garden. Passions would be spared and diligence would not cease to exist.

Professors are becoming the new authorities of the world who abuse their leverage. It is with deep regret that we say to professors: We bid farewell, and in hostile acquiescence surrender our futures, to you.

If students were allowed to grade their teacher in high school or college, the teacher might not do a great job with teaching the class effectively, because instead of teaching the class, the teacher would be more focused on becoming the student-pet.

There is already a site that allows students to grade their professor, so Trent Ledford why should the school allow students Staff Writer to grade their teacher? If a student @ECCUnionTrent wants to grade their teacher they could simply go to ratemyprofessor. com or ratemyteacher.com (for high school students) to write a review about them with grades.

The sites are very popular tools that many students use as a guidance in choosing classes, but it is not something that could affect a teacher’s career. Any student could rate any professor on that site, even if they did not take the class. Some of the reviews could be false, so that is why the site isn’t effective.

But if students were allowed to grade their teacher at school the school would have to take it serious because the school would know that the student actually took the class.

Instructors work really hard at making lesson plans for the students, teaching them and grading their assignments. Some students might give a teacher a bad grade, simply because of their inability to receive the grade they wanted.

Instead of teaching their class the way they want to, some teachers would become the student-pet, meaning the class would be taught the way the majority want it to be taught. Most students want an easy class instead of a class that actually challenges them to push themselves to learn more.

There are other negative outcomes if students were allowed to grade their teacher, such as lowered pay rates for teachers.

The teacher that receive bad grades could get fired, and also out of work for a long time just because a couple of students gave them a bad grade based on their emotional reaction to an unwanted grade.

It wouldn’t be fair to the teacher because students are mostly not going to grade objectively, and some students will grade based on what other students say they should do. It also wouldn’t be fair to the students that actually want to learn something.

Instructors wouldn’t be graded on their attitude, fairness, public speaking, and lesson plans.

In conclusion, students would overpower the instructors if they were allowed to grade their teachers.

Andrew Reimer, 20, philosophy “I don’t think it’s the student’s place to grade the professor on performance; I think it’s the people who select the staff of El Camino to judge whether they’re capable of teaching a class or not.”

Leah Peek, 23, undecided “Yeah. I think so, but I don’t think it makes a difference.”

Brandon Petrikowski, 23, political science “Feedback matters. It’s important to have quality instructors, and student feedback is important.“

FEATURES

6 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION

MARCH 5, 2015

The senior class of El Ca

These are the faculty members who’ division on campus the longest. Most have be have seen great changes t

Rosendo Vargas/ Union

Robert Horvath

James Hurd,

Math

Music

Q: When did you start at El Camino?

A: I started part time first in spring of ‘71 and then I started full time in fall of ‘73.

Q: When did you start at El Camino?

A: Fall of 1969.

Q: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your time here?

A: The biggest change, I think, has been demographics (in regards to) the types of students we had when I first began. And the other big change is the types of things students want to do. I was hired in a day and age when a number of students wanted to be the church organist and now we’re at a point where a lot of churches are using drums and guitars and, therefore, the organ isn’t the popular instrument like it used to be. We had one of the largest organ classes of all the colleges around. The other thing is that El Camino was only open to students in the district when I started and now there’s no boundary lines.

Q: Why did you choose to teach at El Camin A: I had another job and my wife was getting si teach at San Bernardino Valley College.

Q: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen at A: All the construction going on.

Q: What do you want people to know about A: I just like to see [students] to go on to a 4-ye

Q: What’s one thing you’ll always remember about teaching here?

A: I’ll always remember the students. That’s first. The students have left a very positive impact on me. I’ve enjoyed the students very much. I’ll always remember that so I think it’s my interaction with the students that I’ve come in contact with.

Q: What’s one thing you’ll always remember A: It’s very pleasant teaching here, everybody i

Q: When did you start at El Camino?

A: I started part-time in 1977 teaching one class at night, and started as a full-time instructor in January 1978.

Q: When did you start at El Camino?

A: I started here as a part-timer in 1978. I was a writer tutor in Steve Montgomery’s Writing Lab.

Q: What was the campus like in 1977?

A: Vietnam was over, so the vets were dwindling but still here. There were breaks at night, and the students used to socialize with each other. It’s sad, in a way, because they helped each other find jobs, find dates. Now they’re tied to their phones.

Q: Why did you choose to teach at El Camino?

A: I was a high school English teacher for a while and I liked the age group of high school students. I had just gotten a master’s degree in basic skills at Loyola Marymount and El Camino was looking for basic skills teachers at the time, so I decided to apply as a part-timer. So I did some part time work and one of my friends who was a full-timer here encouraged me to try to apply for a full time job and I was lucky enough to get one.

Q: Is there anything you want students to know about yourself or your subject?

A: I would hope more students understand that business is a good vocation. It’s an honest vocation. Students I’ve taught have their own businesses with their own employees now.

It’s not easy.

Q:What will you most remember about teaching here?

A: My colleagues. The reputation of the faculty at El Camino is stellar.

Q: What was the biggest change you’ve seen at El Camino?

A: In terms of students, the basic skill needs are getting a little bit stronger. Students are less prepared than they were when I started. With regard to administration and what’s required of us, we seem to have to do more paperwork, more editing of our classes, more answering to the state on certain requirements.

Rosemarie Kistler,

Michael Botello,

English

Real Estate

John Fordiani/ Union

Tony Pham/ Union

Leon Palmer of Natural Sciences and Minehiro Inouye of Socia longest in each of their divisions. They did not respond to requ

FEATURES

MARCH 5, 2015

EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 7

amino College

’ve been working in each een teaching since the 1970s and to the campus.

Interviews by staff writers Ryan Decker, Sydnie Mills and James Thompson For the full Q&As, go to eccunion.com.

h,

Rosendo Vargas/ Union

John Fordiani/ Union

Lance Widman,

Political Science

Q: When did you start at El Camino?

A: September 1971. Fall semester. That was back when the semesters were 18 weeks.

Q: It’s been a long while since 1971. What was the campus like when you started off?

A: Well, it was much more relaxed, much younger, whiter. I mean, when I started, the district had defined boundaries that included the three beach cities, Torrance, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, El Segundo. That was the district, and at that time, if you wanted to attend El Camino you had to live in the district. But frankly, the district wasn’t even acquainted with something called Inglewood, much less Hawthorne, so it was overwhelmingly a white Anglo campus. That was most of the population, and it has changed dramatically since then. The diversity of the student population is huge.

no? ick of the smog (where we lived). I used to El Camino?

yourself or the subject you teach? ear school and get their degree.

Q: What’s the one thing you’ll always remember about teaching here?

A: Interacting with students and my colleagues, teachers and the students. In my classes, we cover the basics, as I have for the last 40 years. What you can do to make it more entertaining, more relevant, more current. I just still enjoy the hell out of it, going on 45 years. I have this 10 hour day today, I’ll finish up four classes by that time, and I’m still ready to rock and roll.

r about teaching here? is really friendly.

Q: When did you start at El Camino?

A: In the ‘70s I started teaching part-time and in 1976 begin teaching full-time.

Q: When did you start at El Camino?

A: Fall of ‘77.

Q: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen at El Camino?

A: I just think El Camino keeps up with the times, especially with vocational classes.

There’s always new trends that are happening and are changing constantly, El Camino has done a good job trying to help us keep up with the current trends.

Q: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen at El Camino?

A: There’s a great emphasis on computers and electronics versus traditional blackboards and those kinds of things. As far as the difference between students now and then, I think students rely on technology too much. They become smarter in the sense of technologically smarter but I think there’s something to be said for a lack of basic skills.

Q: What do you want people to know about yourself or the subject you teach?

(Cosmetology) is a very exciting field that is constantly changing. The Academy Awards (just took place) and students are anxiously watching for the new hair and nail trends.

Q: What’s one thing you’ll always remember about teaching here?

Just how much fun it is to work here. My friends talk about retiring and when I think about retiring I feel sad because every day is a new adventure.

Patricia Gebert,

Jerry Muraoka,

Cosmetology

al Sciences are also the faculty members employed the uests for interviews by deadline.

Q: What’s the one thing you’ll always remember about teaching here?

Students. They seem to remember me from years ago and I really find that rewarding. It’s not just getting a grade and leaving. There are the students who really take from the class, who learn something from it and appreciate it and let you know (much) time later. I had a student who I wrote some letters of reference for. He’s at Columbia Law School. It’s his first year and he sent me an email that he’s in Southern California for the holidays and he appreciated the fact that I wrote the letters for him for various schools.

Law

John Fordiani/ Union

John Fordiani/ Union

ARTS

8 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION

MARCH 5, 2015

On

EC history professor is the creator of the Long Beach Independent Film Festival Celine West Arts Editor @ECCUnionCeline

Several minutes after class is dismissed, not one person is ready to leave. A few people begin to rise from their chairs and walk toward the door, but most stay behind, form a line, and wait to talk with their history professor.

After an hour lecture, it is common for students to linger, then follow Daniel Walker down the hall to his office where they can have a longer conversation with him.

Walker, a history professor, is the founding director of the Long Beach Independent Film Festival.

“I work as a documentary filmmaker,” Walker said. “I try to tell stories that are true and beautiful. I hope what I do will inspire people and move people to act.”

With an undergraduate degree in psychology and a Ph.D in history, Walker does not have a formal background in art.

“I was being more of a producer, making spaces for others so others could perform, but I wanted to do my own vision,” he said.

“I started to tell my own stories.

There have been things tied to my life.”

When Walker started to work with Ken Bernstein, whose work he says is important to him, he wanted to find a way to mesh his love for history and the power of art. He now runs a program at USC called the “Gospel History Music Project.”

He said that they have been going around for 10 years with a film camera and photographers, interviewing and documenting and preserving gospel music so that people can have access to this art form.

“It was working on that project at USC that opened me up because it put me in this world of working with cameras and everything,” he

Rene Paramore/ Union

Daniel Walker, a history professor, is the founding director of the Long Beach Independent Film Festival. said. “It made me do something that has a story to it.”

Walker said that since he was working with camera people, lights, and sound, he felt that he could begin do an original project that enabled him to tell a story.

“So when I did decide I wanted to do this, I started to make “When Roosters Crow,” he said.

“I got lucky that there was all this film available of him (Daniel Scarborough) and the people granted me the access to have it so then I felt an obligation to tell the story.”

“When Roosters Crow” is about professor, dancer and choreographer Daniel Scarborough, who later died of AIDS, Walker said.

“He is an amazing human being in addition to being a crazy professor and a teacher of dance that would take regular people with no dance experience, and mold them in one semester,” he said.

“Their first time on TV, they won an Emmy.”

When Walker first started in filmmaking, he realized that a lot of people at the film festivals didn’t know anything about business.

“Because of all of the stuff I’ve done in my life, I understand how to leverage a brand, how you create your own reality,” he said. “A lot of people thought they had a film and that’s it.”

Walker explained that the reason why the Long Beach Independent Film Festival has a huge educational component is so that young filmmakers learn how to make things happen.

“We have a college career fair and it also has this film, music and media conference. They need to know more than ‘lights, camera, action,’” Walker said. “I don’t see anyone else as serious about the educational component as what

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mine has. Mine is about hands on stuff you can learn how to do.”

Hamoun Dolatshahi, 21, communications major, said that when he was a volunteer at the film festival, Walker told him to learn from the experience. Dolatshahi was then presented with the opportunity to host a question and answer session between the director and the audience.

“I was holding up the mic and I was learning what I should and shouldn’t do,” Dolatshahi said.

“That was a great experience.

He gave me the experience that I needed.”

Dolatshahi said that people came away from the film festival very satisfied. He said it was because of the policy of Walker and that he makes sure people have fun.

“I think what works for him is his energy,” Jarrett Gillett, 31, film major, said. “He’s able to captivate

an audience with his energy.”

Walker explained that some things can become very stressful when organizing the film festival and it can feel like sink or swim.

“I had to raise $22,000 in four days,” he said. “If it didn’t happen, it was over. There were days when I am like, ‘Why am I doing this?’”

Walker said that people came away from the Long Beach Independent Film Festival last year saying it was the best film festival they ever went. Film festivals often play on chaos, he said, but his film festival was well organized.

“I think it was the hospitality of the volunteers and the quality of the movies. They were very high quality films,” he said, “Every film played on time, there were no glitches.”

Students at El Camino helped him review films, Walker said.

One of the films, “The Dam Keeper,” that they played in the classroom and gave their thumbs up to ended up being nominated for an Academy Award.

“That was cool. That’s the ‘Dam Keeper,’” he said. “It’s about bullying, people making fun of this pig and he decides not to keep the water out. He takes out a certain group of people and then he stops the dam.”

When screening the films, Walker said that he figures out what overall effect he wants for the festival and then he aims to create a balanced and educational experience.

“My job is to curate the process, so if you’re coming in for five days then, ‘What’s your experience?’” he said. “For me, the big thing about film is film brings people together, so I believe that if people come to together and talk to each other, good things happen.

My job is to pick the film that creates the conversations.”

The Scene The Alan Chan Jazz Orchestra performs The Alan Chan Jazz Orchestra will be performing at EC on Friday, March 6 at 8 p.m. in the Marsee Auditorium. Tickets for this performance are $20.

The Tectonic Theatre Project puts on “The Laramie Project” The

members of the Tectonic Theatre Project are putting on a performance of “The Laramie Project” on Sunday, March 8 at 3 p.m. To purchase tickets call 1-800-832-ARTS

Kenny Loggins Performs at The PV Norris Theatre The PV Norris Theatre will be having musical artist Kenny Loggins on March 21 at 8 p.m..

Tickets can be purchased online or over the phone. The contact number is 310.544.0403 x221.

Nathan Stark, operatic bass singer will perform Operatic bass singer Nathan Stark will be performing at EC on Friday, March 13 at 8 p.m. in Marsee Auditorium. Tickets are $24 and can be purchased by calling 1-800832-ARTS.

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EL CAMINO COLLEGE 9

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Get a free copy of The Union at any of the following locations Northeast side of campus - First floor of the Humanities Building - Humanities division office - Crenshaw door of the Humanities Building - Switchboard Desk - Outside the front and back doors of the library - Library Reading Room - Cafe Camino - Natural Sciences Courtyard - Natural Sciences division office

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- Math division office - Business division office - Music division office - Music library - El Camino Police Department - Marsee Auditorium - Social Sciences division office - Art and Behavioral Science division office - Campus Deli - Student Health Center

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SPORTS

10 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION

MARCH 5, 2015

Sand volleyball spikes opponents in season debut Women’s team sweeps both L.A. Pierce and Rio Hondo to go 2-0 Mario Sosa Staff Writer

@ECCUnionMario

The EC sand volleyball team inaugurated the newly added sport, winning their season opener against both Rio Hondo College and L.A. Pierce College.

The Warriors beat Rio Hondo 5-0, and ended the day with a 4-1 victory over L.A. Pierce.

“This is their first competition; brand new sport as an intercollegiate sport for EC,” coach LeValley Pattison said. “I think we represented the brand new team pretty well.”

Indoor volleyball veterans also played their first sand volleyball game for the Warriors, including Laynie Thompson and Nia Masui.

“I think we stuck to the basics and we really just made it our own game,” Thompson said. “It’s hard to play like this because you’ve never seen these people before and you have to go along and figure out what their weaknesses are.”

“I feel like we kept our energy up good the whole time and we’ve all managed to really support each other,” Masui said. “When our teammate’s down we do a really good job of picking them back up and just stay positive as much as we can.”

Masui also spoke about the differences between indoor and sand volleyball.

“We’re all getting used to warming up on our own, not being in a whole team, so getting used to doing our own thing,” Masui said. “We’re looking forward to the rest of the season. Hopefully we’ll get into the swing of things quicker and know what to expect next time.”

The Warriors’ next games are on March 6. EC will play against Cypress College at 11 a.m. and then follow that with their match against Santa Barbara City College at 1 p.m.

Laynie Thompson spikes to gain El Camino a point against Rio Honda.

Amira Petrus / Union

Take your education beyond the classroom.

Gilberto Castro / Union

Sophomore catcher Gabby Fordiani has been a standout player for EC this season with a batting average of .378 in 17 games played. Fordiani’s five home runs this season have put her in sixth place in that category among all California community college softball teams as of this publication

Softball catcher a huge hit for the Warriors Aryn Hicks

Staff Writer

@ECCUnionAryn

As she walks up to the batter’s box, the song “Wildfire” by SBTRKT plays in the background.

Gabby Fordiani looks at her teammates on second and third base raising her bat and preparing for the pitch. She connects the ball to the bat and hits a home run.

In her first year playing for EC’s softball team, 21-year-old catcher Fordiani, has helped the Warriors have a successful midseason with five home runs so far. “(Fordiani) as a player is so good,” coach Jessica Rapoza said.” She’s very easy to coach because she takes responsibility for any mistakes. She really makes corrections (and) is really mature.”

Fordiani who grew up in Torrance developed her love for the game early when she started playing t-ball as a child.

“The competition that’s my favorite,” Fordiani said. “Going out there and competing (and) just knowing that they want it as bad

as you do. It’s just so fun going at it that’s the best part.”

She says that playing softball has taught her many things like discipline and how to handle pressure situations. She credits softball for helping her grow as a person.

“You have life long friends every team you go to,” Fordiani said. ” I feel like not being in the sport I would have gone a different direction in life.”

Fordiani has a leader presence on the field. She cheers on her teammates and keeps everyone positive when they are in tough game situations.

“It’s really fun playing with her because she helps pick everyone up,” teammate Jacqueline Gonzalez said. “She makes it easier around the field for everyone and its fun playing with someone who is that good of a player.”

Teammate and friend Reina Trejo has known Fordiani since they were nine and have played together for years. She describes Fordiani as fun and a great time.

“Well she’s our catcher and she

is our voice,” Trejo said. “She carries everyone and keeps us on our toes.”

Fordiani says she is inspired by her father who played baseball and football. She’s says she has read all the stories about him and learned the game from him.

“He has taught me everything I needed to know in softball,” Fordiani said. “He’s my number one fan.”

A fan of Drake and Aaliyah, Fordiani likes to listen to them before and after her games. She also has four tattoos including her jersey number 13.

“I’ve been (number) 13 my entire life in softball,” Fordiani said.

“It’s really just a lucky family number.”

Fordiani who is a psychology major has big plans after she leaves EC. In the future she says she would like to continue to play softball.

“Career path wise I want to be a firefighter so I’m going that route,” Fordiani said. “But right now its softball first get as far as I can then on with my career.”

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SPORTS

MARCH 5, 2015

Conditioning coach enhancing the Warriors’ game Eric Ramos Staff Writer

@ECCUnion_Eric

The sounds of moans and groans fill the weight room. She walks between the players looking intently at her watch and shouts, “one minute.” The moans and groans grow louder as the football players try to hold their plank during offseason training.

The weight room is where 5’3” Kimberly Jones works on enhancing the performance of student athletes at El Camino College.

Jones is the Strength and Conditioning coach at EC, and she mainly works with the football team. When she’s not training athletes on campus, you can find her at the fitness center running day to day operations. She’s a performance coach and International Federation of

Body Building (IFBB) figure professional.

“I train most of the sports teams on campus,” Jones said. “Sports performance is a different style of training than bodybuilding.”

After trying Psychology for three months, Jones knew it wasn’t for her. She got certified as a personal trainer and began training athletes while she coached basketball at Notre Dame Academy High School in 2004. Jones went on to work with athletes at UCLA and CSUN. Before coming to EC in 2012, she worked with the United States Tennis Association.

“I did the four years of Psychology, I felt like I owed to myself to try,” Jones said. “I didn’t like it.

I knew I wanted to get into personal training.”

EC’s football team has benefited immensely from Jones and her strength and conditioning program. Her job is to make them bigger and faster. Coach John Featherstone has raved about her impact on the football program.

“She’s one of the greatest things to happen to this school,” Featherstone said.

“She made it perfectly clear what she was going to be here for, and her job was to make our kids bigger, faster and better. She’s done that.”

The football players can see and feel the difference of Jones strength and conditioning program. She’s hands on and teaches the players proper ways to lift weights and how to improve.

“She changed a lot of athletes,” sophomore fullback Esera Iosefa said. “She helped them build muscle but not only that, she helped with their individual aspects on what they need to do in life. Her workouts are intense, don’t be fooled by the way she looks. She’ll work you.”

Jones has been participating in fitness competitions since 2012. She placed 4th in her first amateur competition. In her second com-

EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION 11

petition at the National Physique Competition (NPC) West Coast Classic she won first place. She was able to turn pro in July of 2014 after placing first in the NPC USA Championships.

“Back in 2012, somebody from Metro Flex in Long Beach called me when it just opened and said we got some Olympic lifting and power lifting type of equipment here you can train your athletes with,” Jones said. “I started training some people and just started meeting competitors. They kind of told me they could see me doing a figure competition and at the time I didn’t know it was a division.”

Jones said sports performance training is different than body building training.

It’s different type of muscle fibers you’re trying to activate.

“Sports performance is broken down differently,” Jones said. “It’s about explosiveness, it’s about power for some sports. It’s also about injury prevention. My job is to make them stronger and faster.”

Gilberto Castro / Union

Kimberly Jones, EC’s Exercise Fitness Specialist and Strength/Conditioning Coach, guides Joe Luck, 19, Business, a member of EC’s swim team, through the cable pull down exercise. Jones has worked for El Camino since January 2012, and works with a variety of athletes from EC sports teams.

Baseball team ends 2-game losing streak Grant Hermanns Staff Writer

@ECCUnionGrant

Tristan Bellisimo / Union

At the top of the first inning, Reina Trejo on first base, gets a Pierce player out. The Warriors swept the Brahmas 11-0 on Friday Feb. 27.

Softball team clobbers L.A. Pierce Warriors rout visitors 11-1 to go second in the conference Aryn Hicks Staff Writer

@ECCUnionAryn

Not even slight drizzle, dark clouds, and the wind before the game could hinder the Warriors’ spirit as they prepared to face L.A. Pierce College.

EC continued to dominate on the field beating L.A. Pierce College 11-0 in five innings.

“I felt we did good about making adjustments on what their pitcher was throwing and Dani did a great job coming in and making strikes for us defensively,” coach Jessica Rapoza said.

Taking over for freshman pitch-

er Sierra Gabriel at the mound was sophomore Danielle Bonsky who had four strike outs, and one RBI. “We stuck with defense a lot and (we) just kept hacking away,” Bonsky said.“My team backed me up. That is the most important thing and just to get ground balls and let the defense do the work.”

In the third inning, the Warriors solidified their 2-0 lead by scoring nine more runs.

Sophomore third baseman Jacqueline Gonzalez played hard; hitting an inside the park home run allowing Bonsky, sophomore catcher Gabby Fordiani, and sophomore right fielder Reina Trejo to score. By the end of the third in-

ning the Warriors lead 11-0.

“Our strategy is always the same; we just want to put pressure on the defense,” Rapoza said. “(That) usually means putting the ball on the ground, hitting the ball hard on the ground or line drives, and making the defense make plays.”

On the defensive end, the Warriors made stops and went after every ball. The infield caught fly balls and Bonsky struck out the competition. Offensively, the Warriors had good looks at the ball and made stops.

EC made quick adjustments in the game that broke down L.A. Pierce’s defense and got the War-

riors on base to score. In the end, after multiple dropped balls and errors, L.A. Pierce couldn’t catch up.

“Every time you come into a game you got to know that no matter who you’re playing, they are competition,” Trejo said. “Staying focused is definitely key.”

The Warriors’ overall have a 12-5 record and they are 5-1 at home. EC’s next game is on March 3 at L.A. Harbor College at 3 p.m.

“As a team we are going to practice hard,” Trejo said. “We’re going to run over things that we need to work more on and get everything together.”

El Camino Warriors baseball team hosted the LA Mission Eagles Thursday, defeating them 4-1 and ending their two-game losing streak.

The Warriors pitchers were solid all day against the Eagles.

Sophomore pitcher Ulices Moreno relinquished only two hits throughout eight innings, recording six strikeouts.

After the Eagles recorded three more hits against Moreno, freshman pitcher Sebastian Sanchez stepped up to the mound to close out the day for the Warriors.

Coach Nate Fernley felt Moreno was one of the biggest assets against LA Mission.

“Moreno had a great start,” Fernley said. “He did a great job throwing strikes and continuing the game.”

Sophomore shortstop Fred Smith felt that Moreno was one of the big reasons for the win against the Eagles.

The Warriors had an impressive day at the plate, recording nine total hits against the Eagles.

EC’s biggest hitters on the day were sophomore designated hitter Alex Turner, freshman right-fielder Jonathan Pasillas, and Smith, all recording two hits each against LA Mission.

The Warriors scored early against LA Mission, earning two runs in the bottom of the first inning, scoring two more runs in the bottom of the third inning.

The Warriors scored early when Pasillas hit a triple to left center field, bringing in sophomore Alex Turner for the run and the RBI. The next run came when sophomore catcher Joey Notch hit a single to right field, bringing in Pasillas for the early 2-0 lead.

The Warriors scored again in the bottom of the third inning when Joey Notch hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing in Alex Turner for the score.

The Warriors scored one final time when Smith hit a single to right field, bringing in Pasillas for the run.

Smith felt the early lead really helped to kick start the Warriors.

“We hopped out early, which I think really helped our momentum,” Smith explained.

After eight scoreless innings, the Warriors gave up one run in the top of the ninth inning, falling just short of a shutout.

Moreno felt one of the biggest things the team needs to work on is keeping their energy up.

“We need to not give up, and we need to keep scoring runs,” Moreno said.

Smith feels that the Warriors need to work on closing out their games better.

“We get these hot starts,” Smith said, “but we need to get that killer instinct.”

The Warriors improve their record to 9-4 after the victory against LA Mission, snapping their twogame losing streak.

SPORTS

12 EL CAMINO COLLEGE UNION

MARCH 5, 2015

Men’s tennis loses 7th straight game Warriors have yet to win at home or in conference play after losing their 8th game of the season Jerriel Biggins

Staff Writer @ECCUnionJerriel

Freshman Sara Curren participating in the pole vault competition. Curren won her third gold medal in as many meets for women’s pole vault this season.

John Fordiani / Union

Track and field team under performs at Cerritos Jed Fernandez Staff Writer @ECCUnionJed

Track and field fell short of expectations last Saturday at the Cerritos Track Invitational as they were outmatched and struggled to take home gold medals.

The track team has been on a roll as of late but this latest performance showed that there is much work to do be done if the Warriors expect to take state. EC outran Cerritos the last time they met in the season opener earlier this year in February but could not repeat the feat.

Both men’s and women’s 4×100 meter teams failed to secure good handoffs. This caused the team to fall short of the gold in both categories. The men placed fourth and

the women took third.

“We were all right but we had really bad handoffs,” freshman Kimberly Markley said.

Markley’s performance was still impressive as she managed to take the bronze in long jump and the 200 meter dash as well as fourth in triple jump. Even though the team didn’t do well Markley believes a bounce back for the team is near.

“I think we are headed to state still,” Markley said.

Despite failing to place top three in many events, the Warriors still brought home some medals. Both men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams took gold.

The women’s 4×200 team took the gold while their counterpart took silver.

In the 4×400 dash roles were reversed as the men’s team won the gold while the

women’s team took silver. Sophomore Khalil Flemister was disappointed with the team’s overall effort in the 4×100 and didn’t want to make the same mistake in the 4×400.

“It was disappointing when we ran the 4×100, everyone was rusty and just had an off day,” Flemister said.

Flemister said that the team overall did not perform to their potential but is confident his team will rally at this week’s invitational on Saturday hosted by Cal State L.A. Flemister also took silver in triple jump right behind sophomore William Ingram, who took gold.

Ingram took gold in the high jump while sophomore Chris Rasmussen placed third for the bronze. Freshman Chris Park looked in mid-season form as he took home gold in men’s long jump.

Sophomore Blaize Ali-Watkins earned bronze in both the long jump and the 400 dash. Sophomore Chris Graham captured the bronze in the 110 hurdles.

Sophomore Alex Guzman won his first gold of the season in the 3000 steeplechase.

“Feels great getting that first gold and it motivates me to become faster,” Guzman said.

Freshman Sara Curren continues to amaze as she locked in her third gold medal for women’s pole vault making her a perfect three for three this season. Curren hit her personal record but she knows there is always room for improvement.

“The wind was a major factor today but I got to my personal record and I need to work on my turns,” Curren said.

Men’s volleyball crushes L.A. Pierce’s win streak Phil Sidavong

News Editor @ECCUnionPhil

The men’s volleyball team led the L.A. Pierce Brahmas 24-20. Looking to win the set and carry the momentum through the rest of the match, freshman outside hitter Cesar Medina stepped up to serve.

He threw the ball up and served up an ace to end the set 25-20.

The visitors tried as hard as they could, but there was no stopping the defense of the Warriors as Pierce ultimately got swept,

3-0 in sets.

In the first set, the Warriors struggled offensively, hitting for 14 kills and 11 errors. But on the back of Medina and sophomore libero Allen Sarinana, the team carried through and won set one.

The action did not stop there as the attacking in sets two and three showed 16 kills. With only three errors in set two, 17 kills and only eight errors in set three, the Warriors showed their strength.

EC’s sophomore middle blocker Peter Nordel said, “after coming out of that weird first set with three early timeouts we

got stuff done. Our blocking was phenomenal, and they were a really strong team.”

The Warriors’ defense on the night was “very nice,” sophomore setter Chris Griebenow said.

Sarinana and sophomore outside hitter Casey Wood had 11 digs apiece.

Coach Richard Blount said, “(Sarinana’s) defense was wonderful. He’s having a great year, and it’s nice because he’s a practical joker. Whenever I say something he’ll say something right back just to bust my chops.”

The Brahmas’ bench had a chant they

WARRIORS SCHEDULE sand volleyball: Friday, March 6 vs.

Cypress/Santa Barbara 11 a.m. /1 p.m.

men’s Volleyball: Friday, March 6 at Moorpark 6 p.m.

softball: Today vs Mt. San Antonio 3 p.m.

baseball: Today vs.

Long Beach 2 p.m.

said whenever it was their team’s turn to serve. They hoped that whoever received the serve would shank the pass and force a misplay.

Medina, who had six digs himself said that it did not bother them, because coach Blount told them to “just rip the ball” and it gave him confidence to just get it up and get the point himself.

Nordel, who had 11 kills and Medina who had 17 had great showings that kept them in the match even when it was tight.

To read about the Warriors’ latest results visit ECCUnion.com.

Sophomore Dillon Sisson brought out his speaker and plugged his phone into the auxiliary cord.

The speaker blasted all types of music from rap, alternative and many other genres in order to pump his teammates up for the game.

The men’s tennis match was a non-conference encounter between Los Angeles Pierce College and the Warriors. EC lost 3-6.

Going into the singles competition, strategy was key for assistant coach Yasuto Miyawaki who said that he was “switching some players around.”

Sisson said, “I don’t know how it’s going to play out because we have never played Pierce before this season.”

This is one of two home games being played this week for EC as they are still in search of win number two this season with the record of 1-8 and a seven-game losing streak.

The key wins should have come from sophomore Josh Legardy, freshman Mark Dalton, freshman Ricky Kingham and freshman Christian Vergara in doubles, Miyawaki said. He also said Legardy, sophomore Whitney Reed, and Seth Abram in singles were vital.

The day started in singles competition as Legardy, who is usually second in singles competitions, started in first position this time around. The usual first singles starter, sophomore Whitney Reed, played second on this match.

Dalton was the key player in the singles round, taking his game to three sets. He lost 1-6, 6-2, 10-8 playing as number three in singles.

Miyawaki said that Reed is “super strong” in singles play. EC’s assistant coach also complimented the team of Seth Abram and Dillon Sisson saying they were both “positive” and bring “good energy” to the team.

Reed finished his singles appearance by by losing 6-2, 6-0.

The team of Abram and Sisson earned the Warriors one doubles win against the Brahmas.

The loss comes off of a defeat last week to Cerritos.

Although the Warriors received a singles win by default against Cerritos, EC were shut out during the singles round. Ricky Kingham was the glimmering hope the Warriors needed after losing his first set 7-5, but lost in his second set 6-1.

All that was left for the Warriors were the doubles in which all three matches ended with the score of 8-2 going in favor of Cerritos.

Next up is a conference game against Mt. San Antonio here at EC at 2 p.m.

WARRIORS SCOREBOARD sand volleyball: Warriors 4 (2-0), L.A. Pierce 1 softball: Warriors 13 (13-5), L.A Harbor 3

men’s Tennis: Warriors 3, L.A.Pierce 6

For more information

baseball: Warriors 4 (9-5), Long Beach 5

check out ECCUNION.COM