March 16, 2007

El Vaquero Glendale College College Glendale

Photo by Sumaya Mehai The first few weeks into the semester are always a hassle for students in all parking lots.

See story, page 4. www.elvaq.com

Volume 91 Number 2 FRIDAY March 16, 2007

In This Issue News...................2-7 Feature.............8-11 Entertainment......12 Opinion................15 Calendar.............16

Speech

‘300’

Hall of Fame

The Speech and Debate team reap more awards.

“300” proves to be success at the box office.

Six new inductees welcomed to Athletic Hall of Fame.

Page 5

Page 12

Page 14

Photo by Olga Ramaz

2

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com

OBITUARY

Campus Mourns Loss of Instructor and Friend

By Olga Ramaz

EL VAQUERO EDITOR IN CHIEF

P

aul Dozois, an engineering, drafting, Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM/CAD) instructor for 30 years, and former Division Chair of the Aviation and Technology department, died on the evening of March 1 of pulmonary and cardiac failure. He leaves behind a son and daughter, family, friends, and his girlfriend Donna Serra.

“Paul was just that kind of person that you’re happy crossed your life,” said Nick Papaioanu, a close friend and engineering instructor on campus.

Dozois suffered from many ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, complications from which

forced him to retire in June of 2006. Some colleagues, like Tom Ferguson, an Aviation and Technology instructor, said that he was “five years overdue” in his retirement.

“I think he would have been better off to retire five years before,” said Ferguson, detailing a hospital visit he made to Dozois last year. “It seemed like he was rebounding a little bit…he could have prolonged [his life] by taking care of himself. The Parkinson’s had lots to do with deteriorating him.”

According to Ferguson, Dozois spent the last couple of months prior to his passing, chair-bound because his swollen legs made it difficult for him to get around.

One of the last conversations Ferguson had with Dozois trig-

El Vaquero Glendale Community College

editor in chief

Olga Ramaz staff members

Graig Agop Susan Aksu Kara Aranas Tamara Baskin Vida Djaghouri Sose Frankyan Vartanoosh Kiourktzian Lenin Lau Anita K. Marto Sumaya Mehai Rachel Mills Diana Petras Jennifer Tinoco faculty adviser

Michael Moreau mmoreau@glendale.edu (818) 551-5214

advertising

Heather Glenn hglenn@glendale.edu (818) 240-1000, ext. 5128

design adviser

Charles Eastman El Vaquero accepts story ideas in news, features, profiles, sports and entertainment from the public. To submit an idea or an article, e-mail the editor at olga_ramaz@elvaq.com or call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5349.

Send Letters to the Editor

Letters may be reproduced in full or in part and represent only the point of view of the writer, not the opinion of El Vaquero or Glendale Community College and its district. Letters must be signed and typed and include the full name and address of the writer. El Vaquero is a First Amendment publication.

EL VAQUERO

1500 N. Verdugo Rd. Glendale, CA 91208 (818) 240-1000 ext. 5349 Member of the Journalism Asssociation of Community Colleges

Send E-mail to: olga_ramaz@elvaq.com First copy free Additional copies $.25

gered an eerie and almost prophetic message.

Dozois had stressed to Ferguson: “retire early if you can.”

But there was much more to Dozois that just teaching and the unfortunate illnesses that eventually cost him his life.

He was an artist, a collector of Southwest art, military paraphernalia and a lover of the desert.

“He loved the desert,” said chair of the Business Division and close Paul Dozois friend, Linda Serra. “[He was,] as my sister [Donna] would call him, ‘a desert rat extraordinaire.’”

Dozois owned homes in Palmdale as well in Kingman, Ariz. It is in Kingman where Dozois’ love for military objects and his spirit remain.

A few months ago, Dozois donated some of his military vehicles to the Kingman Army Airfield Historical Society and Museum. Back in 1942, the site where the museum now sits was a training field for the United States Army Air Force during World War II. The museum was later established in order to preserve the field’s history with artifacts, photos and displays.

Norm Berge, president and curator of the museum not only established a professional relationship with Dozois, but a personal one as well.

“He was a prince,” said Berge.

“His friendship will stay with me forever.”

Currently, a 1939 Army Scout donated by Dozois, sits on display at the museum.

According to Berge, Dozois had also planned on donating a Jeep, two trailers, military uniforms and other artifacts of

the time.

Papaioanu spent a great deal of time traveling with Dozois when the two took a class in Jef-

ferson, Ind. through GCC. He recalled visiting several locations throughout the state and going on paddle boat rides, among other things.

Papaioanu also heard from Dozois prior to his death. According to him, Dozois called him the day before his passing to ask Papaioanu how to install the ink cartridge into his new laser printer. Papaioanu believes that by the time he returned his call, which was at approximately 11 p.m. on March 1, Dozois had already passed away in his sleep.

“He was a really good person and I’m really going to miss him,” he said.

Dozois is considered by colleagues to have been generous, a workaholic, good with his students and possessing a great sense of humor, according to Linda Serra.

“He had a really interesting sense of humor,” she said. “I know, sitting next to him in division chair meetings, sometimes the comments that he’d make, not mean ones but just funny, I would have to try to keep my composure.

But sometimes, I just couldn’t.”

Back in the ’90s, Dozois won the Distinguished Faculty Award,

but most importantly, he is credited by his colleagues for being responsible for “building” the Aviation/Technology department when he sat as division chair.

“He hired the right people to keep this division going strong,” said Ferguson. “I think he really had a care about this division, especially the careers in engineering and administration of justice.”

Dozois would have been 64 on March 30. He had planned to go on a cruise to Alaska in the summer, a trip which Linda Serra said he was really looking forward to.

“It’s such a shame that he didn’t make it there,” she said. “But looking at him, it was doubtful that he was going to be able to unless there was some huge change in his health.”

Since his death, Dozois’ body has been cremated. Services for Dozois will be held on Friday, March 30 at the 20th Century Women’s Club located at 5105 Hermosa Ave., Eagle Rock. The service starts at 1 p.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Paul Dozois Scholarship fund at the Foundation office or to the Kingman Army Airfield Museum located at 4540 Flightline Drive, Kingman, AZ. 86401. For more information, call (928) 757-1892.

Faculty, staff, students and friends are welcomed to direct inquiries on Dozois and/or send condolences to paulspals2007@ yahoo.com Papaioanu said, “he should be remembered as a really good guy who really loved the students and made that job his number one priority.”

Olga Ramaz can be reached at Olga_Ramaz@elvaq.com

Classified Student jobs AT&T hired us.

We want you.

21 registration agents PT/FT $400-$800/wk.

Resume experience.

Will train.

Bilingual Armenian a plus Call now.

Mr. Sebastian.

(866) 676-6161

www.elvaq.com

Friday, March 30, 2007

3

NEWS

Canceled Classes Cost the Campus More Money

By Diana Petras

EL VAQUERO NEWS EDITOR

T

he current low enrollment epidemic affects both students and faculty members on campus with canceled classes as well as financial issues for the school.

In terms of running a college, the school receives money from the state based on the number of FTES (Full Time Equivalent Student). Each semester the number of FTES enrolled each year is expected to increase, but when the school does not reach the growth number expected, it looses money.

In the Sept. 22 story “Low Enrollment Epidemic Hits GCC, Classes Canceled,” former Vice President of Instructional Services, Steve White, said that an FTES is one credit or non-credit student enrolled at Glendale College.

He said that the college receives about $3,900 to $4,000 for one credit FTES and around $2,200 for one non-credit FTES. He also said, “The school receives about $70,000,000 for about 16,000 credit and non-credit FTES enrolled at GCC.” The money that the college acquires from the state is used to operate the school. With low enrollment, the school cannot gain enough capital needed to compensate for the use of instructors, utilities and student services.

According to Vice President of Administrative Services, Larry Serot, the direct cost of instruction for a professor is about $4,200 and that does not include the utilities or maintenance of the classroom.

For instance, current Vice President of Instructional Services Dawn Lindsay said that a three unit class with six students only generates $2,900 for the school.

With $2,900, it is not enough to pay for an instructor and the other costs needed to fund the school so the class may get canceled.

“When you take the instructor’s salary out of [$2,900] and then look at the electricity, water, grounds keeping and maintenance [of the campus]... it isn’t enough,” she said.

Lindsay also said that even if a three unit class has reached the bare minimum of 15 students, it acquires $7,050 for the college while another class with 27 stu-

dents or so will attain $13,052. If a class with 15 students or more enrolled, the class is able to maintain a budget that benefits the school.

Serot said that the Office of Instruction is in charge of balancing the total budget that is given to the school in order to make the campus more efficient by deciding which classes to keep and which classes have to be canceled.

“We are not automatically canceling classes,” said Lindsay. “If there are classes running with less than 15 people in it, we’re looking at some issues of not being financially responsible. However, we do keep a few specialty classes because we felt that they [the classes] needed to continue.”

“We [the administrators] are working very hard to be responsible with the money used for the college,” she said. “We have to make sure that the money we’re generating [from the FTES] is used wisely.”

According to Serot, managing education along with economics is a balancing act.

Lindsay said that people need to understand to be really viable from a fiscal perspective because the more efficient the school is, the better off the campus is even though classes are canceled in the process.

“We’re in the market of educating students,” she said. “That’s what we have a passion for doing and that’s what we’re responsible for [because] there are a lot of variables in dealing with enrollment management.”

“There are all kinds of strategies [in dealing with enrollment] and we’re trying to make the class scheduling easier for the students,” she said.

“When there are classes with low enrollment, the school isn’t being fiscally smart because there will be classes that will not have high enrollment rates that students may need [for a certificate or a certain degree].”

The school’s goal is to be as efficient in education as well as economically, but it is a hard task because of the funds and manage-

ment that is required. to take. It’s why we cancel small “Canceling classes is not a bad classes and student should know that we keep a real effort to keep a class open.”

According to Lindsay, the school has to look at data in the past in order to evaluate the number of students - Dawn Lindsay and schedule Vice President of Instructional Services better time frames for thing,” said Serot. “The college classes. “You have to understand isn’t in the position to just offer your consumers, the students; beclasses that no student is going cause you want to make sure that

“We are working very hard to be responsible with the money used for the college.”

you’re addressing their needs.”

“Classes are canceled because of low enrollment, but managing the classes is really difficult because we only have so many classroom spaces available,” she said. “We have to look at the needs, demands, availability and scheduling to make sure that a student can take more than one class a day.”

Tamara Baskin can be reached at Tamara_Baskin@elvaq.com

Students Celebrate Armenian Culture

Photo by Ismael Reyes

GCC students barbecue chicken during the Armenian Culture Day Festival that took place at Plaza Vaquero on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event included a large number of displays consisting of photo montages, drawings and maps depicting Armenian art, literature, religion and history. Arutyun Chiroglyan performed and was followed by an Armenian circle dance, headed by dance instructor Tom Bozigian.

4

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com

NEWS

Students Continue Struggle With Limited Parking

By Diana Petras

EL VAQUERO NEWS EDITOR

E

ach semester parking becomes a chore for both students and faculty members. Most students opt to arrive on campus early, at least two hours before class, to try to beat the morning, afternoon or evening traffic.

Even upon arrival, the first few weeks into the semester are a hassle for students in all of the parking lots. They waste about 10 to 20 minutes because of bumperto-bumper traffic in and outside of each lot.

To make matters even worse, other drivers are forced to pass vulture-like-people stopped in the parking lots that are waiting to attack the next person leaving for an available parking spot.

“I come in [to campus] on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the morning,” said Kinesiology major Michael Gonzales. “I park near the McDonald’s parking lot and it’s just terrible. You’re forced to sit around and wait for a parking spot and stacked parking doesn’t do a good job either.”

With the current construction of the new parking structure, relief for the parking lot blues may just be around the corner as the project nears its expected completion

in late August. Gonzales believes that anything will help. “There should be no problem after the structure is finished,” he said.

“But who knows.”

“Parking is terrible and has gotten worse this semester,” said Director of Business Services, Bill Taylor. “We have a problem where students, faculty and staff are vying for parking. We used to have some faculty members park in the upper parking lot. We can’t do that now because the students need the parking.

“One of the problems with our part-time faculty is that they come to campus and they have to leave.

They have to have convenient parking. So any available parking spots on campus were marked for the part timers.”

However, GCC is not the only campus with parking problems.

“It’s not uncommon,” said Taylor. “Cal Poly had a new parking structure built in. Parking is always a limitation and it’s nothing new. It’s always been a problem and we’ve finally been able to do something about it.”

He also said that the school has asked administrators, classified employees and other faculty members to park off campus to alleviate the parking situation for the students. However, Biology

Photo by Sumaya Mehai

Diligent meter readers keep students on their toes. Even with a permit, many students cannot find a parking space.

and Physical Science Division Administrative Assistant, Robyn Fea is not affected by the parking situation.

“I park off campus at the church the school has set up on Wabasso

Photo by Sumaya Mehai

Horrendous parking condition continues as the semester progresses.

[avenue],” she said. “It’s a 12minute walk. It’s amazing how students can spend 12 minutes circling and circling [the parking lots], if they can’t find a place to park on campus all they need to do is go up to Wabasso. The parking is not restricted.

“The biggest complaint is that they never have a place to park.

But yes you can. You just need to walk a little. That’s my solution.

But the parking situation is going to be solved. We’re going to have that lovely parking structure in the fall.”

The total budget for the new parking structure and to improve the current parking lot is about $29 million.

“Construction is about $26 million and about $3 million towards everything from testing and inspection to engineering,” said Taylor. “We will be doubling the number of spaces in the upper parking lot before construction with about 1,185 new ones.”

He also said the campus’ parking limitation is one of the reasons why the school is affected by low enrollment.

“I talked to a student the other day that bought a permit and he can’t find a parking spot when he

needs to come on campus,” he said. “So his parents are dropping him off.”

However, there are some people do not have the luxury of having someone to drop them off so they are unable to go to class because they cannot find a parking spot.

“One concern that we hear from students is lack of parking and we’re doing our best to meet that with the new parking structure,” said Taylor.

Students can adjust to the current parking situation. Vice President of Administrative Services, Larry Serot said that students are allowed to parallel park along Verdugo Road and La Cañada as long as they have a student parking permit. “But the spots get filled up quickly,” he said.

“The parking structure will be open for the fall semester,” said Taylor. “I think it would be very difficult to fill up the new parking structure. We don’t guarantee a parking spot, but the availability of a parking spot should be much, much better in the fall.”

Diana Petras can be reached at Diana_Petras@elvaq.com

www.elvaq.com

Friday, March 30, 2007 5

NEWS

Construction Site Suffers Tolls of Accidental Fires

By Olga Ramaz

EL VAQUERO EDITOR IN CHIEF

I

n less than two months, the new construction site has seen two fire incidents, both of which have been attributed to human error.

The fire incidents of March 12 and February 16 did not bring forth any monetary loses, but did however raise some concern and a call to action.

According to Director of Business Services, Bill Taylor, there is currently a “movement” to clean up any extra brush that can be potentially hazardous.

This action comes directly after the dry brush led to a small fire on February 16, which was contained within 10 minutes by the Glendale Fire Department (GFD), fire station 24, located on Cañada Blvd.

However, Geology professor John Leland said that completely removing all of the brush from the area can increase the chances of erosion.

“The positive aspect of having any kind of brush cover our slope, especially such a small slope that

Campus Events • Blood Drive- The ASGCC and the American Red Cross will sponsor a blood drive on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the J.W. Smith Student Center, room 212. For more information call (818) 2401000, ext.

• Performance- The band Dirty Diamond will perform at Plaza Vaquero on Thursday, starting at noon.

• “Sabbatical Report”- Professor of Latin American Studies, Carlos Ugalde, will present a slide show of his year-long travels to Europe and Latin America.

The presentation will take place in Kreider Hall starting at noon. Admission is free and open to the public.

is so steep above the parking lot, it helps keep the ground a little bit more stable,” said Leland. “So those roots uphold the rock and soil in place. If it’s a bare slope, it’s going to erode very quickly.”

Four engines and two ladder trucks came onto the scene after they were dispatched at approximately 8:42 a.m.

“There was obvious smoke and there was lots of people who were making phone call,” said Public Information Officer, Capt. Jim Frawley.

At approximately 8:52 a.m., the fire units called “knock down,” which indicated that the fire was completely down.

Reports indicate that the fire was started by sparks that flew from a blow torch that a construction worker was operating.

The most recent fire took place behind the Advanced Technology building at approximately 4 p.m., outside of a welding class.

The origin of the fire is unknown, but Taylor assumes that it could have been started by a student who flicked a cigarette butt near the construction site.

According to Frawley, a wood-

en shed used by the construction company to store tools and other equipment, caught on fire, creating a dark cloud of smoke.

Commuters and people around the campus reported the incident to the GFD. Taylor said that the danger of this particular fire would have been if the diesel fuel that was being stored in the shed, would have been ignited by the flame.

Frawley said that this fire was also contained in a matter of 10 minutes and required one engine to arrive at the scene.

He also added that incidents like these are common in construction sites and that the way they can be prevented from happening again is if one takes the proper steps to secure the areas.

The Bhupesh Parikh Allied Health and Science building is scheduled to open in the fall and with so much time in between until the opening, there is still more room for fire incidents.

Photo by Ismael Reyes

Olga Ramaz can be reached at Olga_Ramaz@elvaq.com

Geology professor John Leland points out the area where a small brush fire broke out on February 16. The small fire was started by a spark released by a construction worker’s torch.

Senator of Campus Organizations Resigns 

By Kara Aranas

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

A

S president David Arakelyan announced that the Senator of Campus Organizations, Mitzi Mendoza, resigned from her position, due to an accident she was recently in which required surgery. Arakelyan said that it will not change anything in the ASGCC legislature since they are planning to appoint someone to that position next week.

The student government is also organizing a Campus Beautification committee that will help maintain the campus and makes changes to the way the campus looks. They are currently working on putting up signs and maps around the campus to help those who do not know their way around the college campus. They are also working on providing the campus with maps that reflect the new building, which is currently under construction.

An Adviser Appreciation Day was held in the JW Smith Student

Center on March 27 at noon. The student government does this every semester as a way of thanking those who take the position of advisor for a club. Food was served for those who attended.

An upcoming project that the student government is preparing to be a part of is a documentary.

Eric Stern who is a part of a company called Doc Workers that that uses documentaries to make aware of national issues, is working on a documentary titled, “In Debt We Trust.” What Stern is trying to do is explore the world of debt, such as national debt, consumer debt and of course college debt, and relating it to the government. Glendale Community College was selected to be a part of this project along with other schools such as UCLA. AS is currently trying to set up a team for this project and will provide more information when everything is set up.

As a part of the discussion, Arakelyan just wanted to remind his staff to do the best job that they can,“You would want to use

 

Classifieds       

Student jobs

Mitzi Mendoza

your time wisely here [in student government],don’t try to get away from responsibility” said AS president David Arakelyan, “It will be better for the community and for everybody.”

Kara Aranas can be reached at Kara_Aranas@elvaq.com

AT&T hired us.

We want you.

21 registration agents PT/FT $400-$800/wk.

Resume experience. Will train. Bilingual Armenian a plus.

Call now.

Mr. Sebastian.

(866) 676-6161

* To place an ad in El Vaquero, contact our ad representative at (818) 2401000, ext. 5128.





6

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com

NEWS

Instructor Collapses During Recent Marathon

By Olga Ramaz

EL VAQUERO EDITOR IN CHIEF

T

he 22 annual Los Angeles Marathon gathered 24,715 participants, one of them was Sona Donayan, a Culinary Arts instructor, who in spite of collapsing mid-race due to dehydration, finished the race like a true champion.

Donayan is no novice runner.

She has participated in 11 marathons since 2002, including Las Vegas and San Diego. This was her seventh run in the L.A. marathon.

This was the first time that Donayan had suffered from dehydration during a marathon.

“I kind of failed in the preparation phase for it in terms of hydrating my body,” she said. “I should have been paying attention to drinking water, which I didn’t do…instead I was drinking diet sodas, which dehydrates you in a way because it contains caffeine.”

She recalls that the first mile or so was uphill and that she was overexerting herself to try to break her record time of five hours, 14 minutes. After the first half of the marathon, she started

feeling faint.

“Coming after the first half I felt weak and nauseous, but I took some rest at mile 13 and 14,” she said.

Donayan slowed down her pace to stop and drink water. She decided she wanted to continue because she believed that she could complete the marathon. Unfortunately, severe dehydration took its toll at mile 22.

“I remember seeing the banner and passing it,” she said. “I guess I didn’t go far. I completely lost consciousness because I was extremely dehydrated.”

Donayan fell to the curb and suffered some scrapes and bruises. She does not recollect how long she was unconscious but she does remember hearing paramedics talking to each other and trying to get a pulse, which was very slow and not detectable.

“It was a scary experience and I learned my lesson in hydrating well,” she said.

Donayan was then taken to a medical tent and put on IV. She waited about three hours for her vital signs to normalize. The doctors at the scene allowed her to go on but prohibited her from running.

She had four remaining miles

El Vaquero Your Ad Can Be Here!

Call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5218

Photo courtesy of Sona Donayan

Sona Donayan reaching the finish line at the Las Vegas Marathon on December 2005.

to go and after some walking, Donayan completed the marathon at eight hours, 20 minutes.

“For the first time I got home in the dark after a marathon,” said Donayan. “I wasn’t used to it and it was quite unusual.”

Although not personally familiar with Donayan, Sports Information Director Alex Leon, was impressed with Donayan’s feat and assures that the last couple of miles are always the hardest.

Aside from dehydration, Donayan believes that the hot weather conditions, which reached 80 degrees, and the change in the course, might have been factors that contributed to her exertion.

“The first uphill part was treacherous, nobody that I can share opinions with liked it,” she said.

However, Donayan enjoyed the new route. She liked it better than the old one and expressed eager-

ness to run it once more.

Donayan was not the only one who suffered a mishap during the marathon. She said that there were a number of people at the tent, where she rested, that suffered from dehydration, and two that suffered asthma attacks during the race.

According to Melissa Kelley of the Los Angeles Fire Department, as reported by the Associated Press, a 50-year-old male bicyclist went into apparent cardiac arrest and died at 7:41 a.m. at South Catalina and Exposition Boulevard during the 22-mileplus L.A. Bike Tour, which was being held in conjunction with the marathon.

It was also reported that the fire department responded to more than 100 reports of injuries, mainly heat-related or from falls.

Kelley said that approximately 20 to 25 people were hospitalized.

This is not the first time a fatality is recorded in the history of the L.A. Marathon. Last year a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, 60-year-old James Leone and Los Angeles Police Department Detective Raul Reyna, 53, died at mile three and 24, respectively. Both Leone and Reyna suffered apparent heart attacks and became the second and third fatalities since 1990, when 59-year-old William McKinney died of heart failure at mile 21.

Although this mishap left a blemish on her track record, Donayan said that she already forgot about it.

She said, “it was a big thing and yet, it was an easy thing to forget when you have your eyes set on the next goal.”

Olga Ramaz can be reached at Olga_Ramaz@elvaq.com

www.elvaq.com

Friday, March 16, 2007

7

NEWS

Campus Offers Array of Choices During Club Rush Week

By Vida Djaghouri

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

P

laza Vaquero has seen a rise in activity for the past two weeks during Club Rush, which began on March 5.

During Club Rush, the plaza is lined with tents and ornamented with colorful posters, enticing freebies, and merchant stands while students meander among them, exploring several of the many options Glendale College has to offer.

The event, which takes place each semester, is a major opportunity for clubs and organizations to come out and recruit students as members. Representatives from many clubs reserved tables in

Plaza Vaquero and came prepared with brochures, applications, flyers, and even prizes for potential members.

Others incorporated such eye-catching incentives as free popcorn and bowls of candy conveniently placed alongside applications. ASGCC representatives even sold fresh fruit to passersby.

“I think it is very effective,” said Mery Vardanian, vice president of the English Club. “It is our first day out here and we already got three people.”

Club Rush is not only about recruitment and fund raising. It serves as a medium for on-campus organizations to simply relay their message and bring students of common interests together. Ac-

cording to Armenian Student Association (ASA) president Lusine Mosinyan, “We are a cultural club a lot of our members are Armenian, but aside from that fact, I believe students are attracted to ASA because of the informative meetings, activities, and our involvement in ongoing issues.”

One major role clubs and organizations play on campus is unification. According to Mosinyan, “Clubs and organizations bring diversity to the campus. Without these, the campus would be a pretty boring place to be.”

Organizations do not only play an important role in uniting students on campus, but several of them also generally contribute to the community as a whole. Alpha Gamma Sigma’s (AGS) director

of publicity, Luz Ramirez, said, “This semester, we plan to do a lot of community service and get students together to help out in the community.” According to Ramirez, campus organizations greatly accommodate such activities.

Not only were students introduced to on-campus opportunities at Club Rush, but they were also given a variety of off-campus opportunities as well. Several offcampus organizations, including UPS and the US Marines came to Glendale College during this height of on-campus activity, whether they realized it or not.

“I didn’t know you guys had

something going on right now,” said UPS representative Jennifer Rodriguez, “A counselor from the college scheduled me here at this time. I’m sure she knew what was going on, which is better for us.”

While the club representatives consider Club Rush to be a great recruitment and promotion opportunity, many students find it a valuable source of information and awareness regarding on-campus activity.

Vida Djaghouri can be reached at Vida_Djaghouri@elvaq.com

ASGCC Officers for Spring 2007 Semester REPRESENTATIVE OF FINANCE Aksel Martirosyan SENATOR OF ACTIVITIES Felipe Martinez SENATOR OF ACTIVITIES John Melikyan REPRESENTATIVE OF ACTIVITIES Lilit Simonyan David Arakelyan PRESIDENT

SENATOR OF RELATIONS Jennifer Ghazal ChristopherKhrolbian

VICE PRESIDENT OF RELATIONS Tamara Baskin SENATOR OF ADMINISTRATION Christine Gharibian

(888) 610-0800

SENATOR OF ADMINISTRATION Ani Mehrabian

Arieneh Tahmasian REPRESENTATIVE OF RELATIONS Chantal Terziyan REPRESENTATIVE OF ORGANIZATIONS Edit Arakelyan

REPRESENTATIVE OF ADMINISTRATION Ani Babayan New Campus! Sherman Oaks Galleria Bldg D-100!

CLASSES STARTING NOW IN SHERMAN OAKS!

SENATOR OF FINANCE Rabi Shamas SENATOR OF FINANCE Lia Thorosian

The ASGCC holds legislature meetings every Tuesday at 7 a.m. at the J.W. Smith Student Center. For more information on the ASGCC call, (818) 2401000, ext. 5783

8

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com 9

FEATURE

Self Image Epidemic

sometimes

— Story by Rachel Mills

- Story by Rachel Mills

A

Photo Courtesty by Anita K. Marto For a person with an eating disorder, sometimes it seems as if food is all they can see.

norexia, bulimia and obesity seem like polar opposites when in fact, they all combine to fuel a growing problem among college students in relation to their eating habits and lifestyle.

A person hoping to change their body type and image should consider the truth of obtaining the body that they want and if it is a reasonable goal to achieve through a healthy diet and exercise. In reality, there are only a handful of men and women who naturally possess the media based concept of beauty. At the same time, Sona Donayan, a GCC Culinary Arts instructor that teaches students about health and nutrition, said that only a few people can actually try to tone their bodies to the body image that they desire.

“A healthy woman is considered to be a woman who is measured 5 feet and 6 inches and weighs approximately 135 pounds,” said Isela Shavira, a dietetic intern from Cal-Poly Pomona. She also said that a man who is 5 feet and 10 inches tall and weighs between 142 to 152 pounds is considered healthy as well.

Recently, certain countries have begun to cater to a more realistic body image. Last year, Spain banned dangerously thin models from a runway in Madrid, claiming that the government wanted to give their country a more positive and healthier image. However, that seems nearly impossible to enforce in America.

More shows such as “America’s Next Top Model,” “The Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency” and “The Agency” send the wrong message out to high school and college men and women. The people shown in these episodes burn an image that others should aspire to accomplish and be.

“The media tells girls they should be very skinny, with perfect hair and airbrushed skin,” said GCC student Sterling Hirsh. “They present a retouched photo, which ends up being close to a drawing in terms of realism to the reader or viewer in the context of it being an ideal.”

There are college men and women are diagnosed with eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, in order to reach that body image.

Anorexics believe that they are overweight and see a distorted image when they look into a mirror. Often times they will go to extreme methods as in consuming inadequate amounts of food with excessive exercises regiments in order to see improvement. People who are bulimic will have the same symptoms as an anorexic, but they will also go as far as self-induced vomiting or abusing the use of laxatives to lose weight.

However, on the other side of the spectrum, there are those who are considered to be obese because of their genetic make up, eating habits or their active lifestyle. Soft drinks and fast food companies are adding to this upcoming epidemic of obesity. The government and other organizations have tried to combat this with their own campaigns. Even in the past, the Los Angeles County School District removed vending machines from school grounds so that they could promote a healthier lifestyle.

Eating right and exercising is the part of the overall solution to the weight problems that students may experience. Students could also utilize the resources here on campus by taking a physical fitness or nutritional class to benefit their needs. Chavira said that exercising between 30 minutes to an hour should be enough to produce better results.

“A gradual change is something you can’t expect from someone who has a terrible habit in eating and no exercise to change overnight. It takes one step at the time,” said Donayan.

Photo Courtesy by Anita K. Marto

For the girl looking for the perfect body, food can become an overwhelming obsession.

Inquiring minds want to know more, right?

These are some helpful websites and phone numbers for health and body image.

Web sites: http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/anorexiasupport/egroup.html a support group for anorexics http://www.anorexiasupport.net/ a support group online for anorexics http://www.pale-reflections.com/ a forum and posting board for people with general mental health issues with a strong focus on eating disorders http://www.oa.org/index.htm a twelve step program for compulsive eaters. http://www.shapeup.org a site dedicated to educating the public on healthy life styles. http://www.obesity.org/ ther American Obesity Association’s website with information http://www.lasencinashospital.com/ a hospital specializing in mental health located in Pasadena.

Photo Courtesy by Anita K. Marto

It’s easy for a compulsive eater to “slip up” and make inappropriate eating choices.

Books: “You: On A Diet: The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management” by Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen

The Health Center, located on the first floor of the San Rafael building, can also help.

For more information call, (818) 240-1000, ext.

5909.

10

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com

FEATURE

Small Fee Adds Up to Valuable Services

By Sose Frankyan

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

N

estled inside the San Rafael building behind the coffee kiosk, the Health Center offers counseling for students who might be depressed and need someone to talk to, among other services.

Students are required to pay a student health services fee of $15 per semester in addition to the $12.50 student services fee and $20 per unit enrollment fee.

Most students wonder why they have to pay the health fee since they think they will never get sick enough to use the services the health center offers.

“I know I pay $15 for health fee each semester at the time of registration, but I don’t know what the fee covers and what I can get out of it,” said student Annie Kirakosyan. This is mainly due to the fact that most students are not aware of the current services offered.

The Health Center, which has been around since the 1940s, is located on the first floor of the San Rafael building. It is open to assist students Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Some of the services it provides are: first aid, blood pressure checks, crisis counseling, immunizations, tuberculosis skin testing, vision and hearing screenings, rape referrals, pregnancy tests, and various over-the counter medications such as aspirin, cough drops, antihistamines, ibuprofen, nasal decongestant and heart burn medications, as well as band-aids.

“I will definitely consider using the services offered if I am in need since I paid for it,” said Kirakosyan.

“Our mission statement is simple,” said Mary Mirch, a registered nurse and the associate dean who has been with the health services for 12 years now. “We promote personal and educational success by assisting students to develop skills and behaviors that

allow them to become self-directed health care decision makers,” Mirch said.

The registered nurses from the health center respond to approximately 20 emergency calls each semester, providing aid to students who faint or have a serious medical emergency. The campus is covered by student accident insurance.

When a student gets hurt on campus and does not have health insurance, the health center helps them with the bill payments, or if their insurance does not cover all the costs, through the secondary policy. The health center covers the difference.

The services are open to all credit students.

“We assist non-credit students only in case of an emergency since they are excluded from the health services fee and each credit student is covered by the health services from the first day of each semester to the final day of the semester,” said Mirch.

Each year, about 18,000 students visit the health center. This

is a number that include students who visit multiple times. .

“When a student walks into the Health Center, the clerk or the receptionist will take care of the necessary paperwork that is needed to be filled out,” said Jessica LoGuercio, the administrative assistant who has been working at the health center for 11 years.

Before any treatment can be provided a medical consent form needs to be filled out by the student. This gives permission to the center to provide care. If a student is over the age of 18 then he or she may give the consent, but if the student is a minor then consent has to be given by a parent or a legal guardian.

All health services are confidential, with legal exceptions such as domestic violence cases, sexual assault cases, and elder and child abuse cases, all of which have to be reported to the county health department. The students’ medical records are kept for 10 years from the last visit made to the Health Center ,after which they are shredded.

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO?

Go to CALENDAR Amusements Films Music Sports Theater & more in

@ El Vaquero

www.elvaq.com

“I see over 20 students a day who come in the health center for various reasons such as for T.B. testing, immunizations for study abroad programs, or they simply want to ask the registered nurse a question,” said LoGuercio.

Currently, the health center offers free health evaluations administered by dietetic interns where one can learn about basic nutrition, healthy weight loss and maintenance, diet facts and fads.

This service is offered to both students and staff, by appointment only.

“I would like the students to think if they do not know where else to go and who to turn to they should at least try us, to come in and see how we can help them and if we cannot help them then we will refer them to someone who can,” said Mirch.

Sose Frankyan can be reached at Sose_Frankyan@elvaq.com

www.elvaq.com

Friday, March 16, 2007

11

FEATURE

Self-Defense Intructor Wins ‘King of Cage’ Title

By Susan Aksu

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

A

rmando Sanchez is more than just a tech-savvy guy who sits behind a desk and helps students and faculty with computer problems. Sanchez, also a self-defense instructor on campus, has taken his love for martial arts one step further and has made it a career by recently becoming a champion fighter (75) in the world of professional cage fighting, The world of professional cage fighting is a sport known to be brutally dangerous and was only recently sanctioned by the California Athletic Commission. It combines the elements of martial arts as well as jiu-jitsu, both of which Sanchez has excelled in.

Sanchez, 30, began to show interest in martial arts in elementary school while living in East Los Angeles, through his close friend and neighbor, John Robles.

At the time Robles was a brown belt and was ready to advance to a black belt, the highest honor in karate. In order to receive a black belt one must teach another the art and Robles decided to teach Sanchez and make him his protégé. Sanchez began to learn Tae Kwon Do and said he thought “it was pretty cool.”

After earning his black belt, Robles moved on to other martial arts such as Jujitsu and Judo while Sanchez continued his interest in martial arts. He began training with Robles with a focus on kick boxing. While with Robles they formed a fight team known as The Modern Gladiators consisting of mixed martial arts.

At the time mixed martial arts was illegal in California, except on Indian reservations due to its violent combat nature. He moved on as an amateur kickboxing competing in smoker (meaning non- sanctioned) type events which consists of striking.

“I was good with my kicks and hands,” said Sanchez. “I did really well. I would take on people who were bigger than me.”

Sanchez’s professional fighting career did not take off until Robles and Robles’ brother Sylvester began to feud about who is training the stronger fighter.

Sylvester claimed he had a student that could take on Sanchez, a

claim which John dismissed.

Meanwhile in San Jacinto, an organization called King of the Cage was formed and was looking for fighters. The King of the Cage was similar to the Ultimate Fighting Champion, a mainstream cage fighting organization which had been removed from air due to its extensive violence which was not yet accepted by athletic associations.

The structure of the fights are no rules, everything goes, with the exception of no biting and no kicking the groin area.

The Robles brothers set up the fight between the two students for the cage match to settle their claims. John told Sanchez his brother claimed he had a student who “could man-handle” him.

Despite the risks, Sanchez agreed to fight, proving Sylvester wrong with a “nothing to lose” mind set. Sanchez won the fight after two five minute rounds, bringing his opponent to the floor, according to Sanchez.

“To be honest, I don’t remember my first fight, not until I saw the video [did I remember]. I just blacked out,” he said.

Sanchez continued to fight, but knew his striker and kickboxing background was not enough to beat the more experienced fighters. The others he had fought had strong jiu-jitsu backgrounds which he could not compete against with just his kickboxing experience.

His close friend and colleague, Mark Ragonig who works in IT Operations has been to almost all of Sanchez’s fights and said that there is “more to cage fighting than just fighting.”

“It’s not just two brutal people hitting each other. You have to know the disciplines: wrong punctuation Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, muay thai,” said Ragonig.

“It’s like a chess game between fighters.”

Ragonig helped Sanchez during his self-defense classes for six semesters. Rheonig would serve as Sanchez’s “dummy.” Sanchez would apply moves on him as a demonstration to his class.

“I would get hurt a lot,” said Ragonig, recalling the times when he assisted Sanchez during class. Sanchez has been teaching self-defense classes at GCC for

Armando Sanchez applies self-defense maneuvers on his colleague Mark Ragonig.

five years. He had been interested in teaching a men’s self defense class as a women’s self defense class had already existed. GCC athletic director Jim Sartoris offered Sanchez a position to teach both the men’s and women’s self defense class since the former teacher had stepped down.

His second competitor was the King of the Cages’ champion Valentine LaFoya (5-0) who he lost to during the first round due to submission.

His third fight was against a former high school wrestler who had just returned from serving time Marines who also had a significant background in jiu-jitsu.

This fight led to one of Sanchez’s excruciating injuries. Within the first 30 seconds Sanchez tore the muscle in his shoulder as his opponent raised him in the air and threw him to the floor face first.

“That wasn’t very fun,” said Sanchez about his painful experience. “I went the distance and pretty much got pounded out for 10 minutes.”

Regardless of his torn muscle, Sanchez stayed in the event though he remained defenseless.

His persistent determination got him involved with learning jiu-jitsu on his own. He entered in competitions and began placing in second and third place.

Due to personal issues Sanchez stopped training with Robles and sequentially blew his left knee which required surgery. He took two years off from fighting in order to rehabilitate his knee and spend more time with his family and three young children.

Fighters would drop weight by dehydrating their bodies for an entire day in order to compete in a certain weight class. The day after the weigh-in fighters would spend the day drinking water, re-hydrating their bodies and gaining the weight they dropped back. Sanchez would fight against people who weighed in at 155 pounds, but would weigh at least 170 pounds the day of the fight.

He decided to move down to a smaller weight group instead of having to compete against fighters who were unevenly matched against him. Being in a smaller weight class required Sanchez to drop weight by dehydrating and then re-hydrating.

Photo by Jane Pojawa

When he returned to fighting, his jiu-jitsu training paid off. He reached his goal by winning his first championship belt, the Feather Weight belt on Feb. 24 against Martin Bautista (3-3) in the Total Fighting Alliance’s (TFA) “Conflict of the Coast,” held in Santa Monica.

“I wanted my first belt and I accomplished that. Now I just want to see how far I could take this,” said Sanchez.

This year Sanchez has approximately three TFA fights scheduled for July, November and December as well as jiu-jitsu competitions throughout the rest of the year. Sanchez had originally anticipated his cage fighting days would be over last year, but as he started to win and do well he said it would have been a shame to come so far in his fighting career and to just stop fighting.

His popularity earned him sponsorship offers from the fight gear lines Hear and Soul and from Take a Nap Fight Gear as well.

Susan Aksu can be reached at Susan_Aksu@elvaq.com

12

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

o

Film

o

review

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

‘300’ Slays Audiences Across Country, Reaches Number One

By Kara Aranas

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

“R

emember this day men, for it will be yours for all time!” roars Leonidas to his legion of Spartan soldiers as a thousand armed Persian men come rushing towards them. This intense battle scene is one of many in Zack Snyder’s gripping movie “300.”

Based on the historic battle that took place in Thermopylae, Greece in the year 480 B.C. and Frank Miller’s comic Spartan king, the story pits Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 of his best guards against the advancing Persians under the leadership of the Persian Emperor, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).

Raised to learn nothing else but the art of war and to know no other craft but to fight and kill, the Spartan soldiers willingly take up the task to fight in order to preserve their freedom and continue to have their liberty for generations to come. Their moving spirit and noble valor was not enough to save them though when a disfigured Greek local, Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan) hands them over to Xerxes in exchange for wealth, women and power, by showing the Persians a mountain path that leads them behind the Spartan army.

With visually arresting combat scenes and an inspiring underdog story, “300” is an invigorating and bracing movie that holds your attention from start to finish. Perhaps it is the full blooming cast of the movie that is responsible for its accomplishment making the film unlike most Hollywood remakes of historical events such as “Alexander” and “Troy.” Lacking the additional dramatics that reputable actors such as Brad Pitt and Colin Farrell inflict onto the big screen, “300” brings forth a sense of rawness making the story more original and lifelike.

Having striking computer effects and astounding cinematography is the complete finishing touch, making the movie superb.

Each fight scene gives audiences

  

King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler) in the midst of his final battle.

an adrenaline rush as every thrust and stroke the actors take gives spectators the feeling as though they are in the midst of all the action, witnessing the chaos and struggle surrounding them.

The end result a revitalizing, unique production that has not been created in a long stretch of time, with good acting and giving viewers hope that producers in Hollywood are not all about remakes after all.

Rating **** out of 4 Kara Aranas can be reached at Kara_Aranas@elvaq.com

Classified

      





www.elvaq.com

Friday, March 16, 2007

13

SPORTS

Lady Vaqs Stumble at Home Against Ventura

By Lenin Lau

EL VAQUERO SPORTS EDITOR

T

Photo by Ismael Reyes

Jennifer Chung warms up before a match against Ventura Community College on Tuesday.

he Vaqueros women’s tennis teamed hosted undefeated Ventura College Tuesday, hoping to improve their conference record but came up emptyhanded falling 8-1 in a Western State Conference game.

Ventura was in control of the most of the contest, dominating Glendale on both the singles and doubles matches.

Glendale (2-3 in WSC) lost every doubles match. Glendale’s Maria Bagafora and Jennifer Chung lost to VC’s Ally Limon and Maria Sanchez 8-1. Mikyuki Yokozuka and Sonia Rodriquez likewise faced similar defeat losing their doubles match 8-1.

Glendale’s Nancy Bogado and Zaria Rojas match against Ventura’s Carly Van Riper and Rachel Culbert was closely contest, but

Vaqueros Sports Summaries Updates • Scores • Highlights

WOMEN’S SOFTBALL Glendale split a pair of games last week to improve to 118-1 overall and 6-1 in WSC .

They beat Allan Hancock 6-2 last Monday in a game rained out on February 27 and lost to Ventura Thursday 3-1. They also lost to 3-2 to LAVC on Tuesday The Vaqueros host Citrus on Thursday in a doubleheader that starts at 1:00 p.m. at the Glendale Sports Center and play at Pasadena Friday at 3:00 p.m. They also play at Cypress College Saturday against Merced and Cypress starting at noon.

BASEBALL The Vaqueros lost two of three games last week to fall to 1311 overall and 2-6 in the WSC South. They beat Mission 6-5 last Tuesday and lost to Citrus 4-1 last Thursday and 14-2 Saturday.

TRACK AND FIELD Glendale competed in the WSC meet No. 3 Friday at Citrus College against Valley, Santa Barbara and West Los Angeles last Friday. The men finished

second with 68 points behind meet winner Santa Barbara and the women finished third with 47 points behind meet winner Valley.

For the men, Michael Flowers won the 800 meters in 2:02.15 and Chris Lopez was also a winner in the 3000 meters in a personal best time of 9:01.99. Cecil Menifield took first in the 400 meters in a personal best time of 50.03 and Ricky Davis won the long jump with a leap of 21-feet, 2 inches and James Poet won the hammer with a throw of 42-4 meters.

Joshua Edmonson was second in the 800 in a season best time of 2:02.68 and the 4 x 100 relay team had a season best time of 43.0. Troy Huizenga won second in his heat of the 200 meters and finished third overall in a personal best time of 22.54 and finished fifth overall in the 100 meters in a personal best time of 11.12.Chris Marshall was third in the 100 in a season best time of 11:01 and Alberto Ramos was third in the 3000 meters in 9:23.47. Varaz Markarady was third in the high jump at 6-feet and the 4 x 400 relay team had a season best time of 3:26.9. James Poet was also fourth in the discus

with a throw of 115-feet, 8 inches and Lucas Williams was fourth in the long jump with a leap of 19-feet, 11 inches. Ruben Hernandez was fifth in the 1500 meters in 9:40.74 and Alex Delgadillo was fifth in the javelin with a toss of 39.6 meters.

For the women, Tove Berg was a double winner in the1500 meters in 4:53.58 and the 3000 meters in 10:15.69 and also finished fourth in the 800 meters in 2:32.84. Lili Hernandez was also a winner in the 800 meters in a personal best time of 2:27.64, finished second in the 3000 meters in 10:45.8 and third in the 1500 meters in 5:00.1. The 4 x 400 meter relay team also took first in 4:28.5. Sandra Martinez was second in the 800 meters in 2:28.53 and Desiree Ruiz took third in the 3000 meters in a personal best time of 10:53.14 and finished fourth in the 1500 meters in 5:04.66. Yui Ishida took fourth in the 400 meters in 1:11.04 and Cassy Vasile was fourth in the discus with a throw of 22.93 meters. Ana Rodriguez was fifth in the 1500 in 5:23.95 and fifth in the 3000 11:28.58.

Glendale eventually fell 8-6. “[We] knew Ventura was undefeated and was going to be a tough match,” said Coach Terry Coblentz.

“Our girls had their work cut out for them.”

Glendale was also unsuccessful in their singles matches. Bagafora lost to Ventura’s Ally Limon in two sets, losing 1-6 and 1-6. Yokozuka also lost her match against Michelle Gray, 0-6, 1-6. Chung won her first set 6-4 against VC’s Andrea Collomb, but then lost the next two sets 4-6.

Rodriguez gave Glendale their sole win, sweeping Van Riper 6-3, 6-0. Bogado won her opening set before losing the next two, and losing the match.

Rojas was swept by Culbert.

Glendale hopes to have better success when they host Bakersfield College in the opening game of the second.

“I’d like to say I want to win every match,” said Coblentz, “But I don’t want to put pressure on the kids, because I’m not sure that’s a realistic situation.”

Lenin Lau can be reached at Lenin_Lau@elvaq.com

MEN’S TENNIS Glendale is 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the WSC after beating Pierce 7-2 last Tuesday. They had a bye Thursday. In the win over Pierce, Dylan Kim, Derik DerMegerdichian, Matt Taoatao, Greg Arutunyan, and Craig Strazzeri had wins in singles as did the doubles teams of Taoatao and Arutunyan and Strazzeri and Michael Maarup.

The Vaqueros play at Ventura Tuesday and host Glendale College from Arizona Thursday.

Both matches start at 2:00 p.m.

WOMEN’S TENNIS The Vaqueros split a pair of matches last week and are 2-2 in WSC and 2-4 overall. Glendale lost to Santa Monica 6-3 last Tuesday and beat Cuesta 54 Thursday. In the win over Cuesta, Jennifer Chung, Sonia Rodriguez and Zaira Rojas had wins in singles as did the doubles teams of Bogado and Rojas and Sonia Rodriguez and Miyuki Yokozuka.

GAMES Saturday: * Baseball v. College of the Canyons at 2:00 p.m.

Thursday: Softball v. College of the Canyons at 1:00 p.m.

Women’s Tennis v.

Bakersfield College at 2:00 p.m Saturday, March 24: Baseball v. LA Valley College at 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 29: Softball v. LA Valley College at 1:00 p.m.

Women’s Tennis v. Allan Hancock College at 2:00 p.m.

*All baseball games are played at Stengal Field and softball games are played at the Glendale Sports Complex.

14

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com

SPORTS

Athletic Hall of Fame Welcomes Six New Inductees

By Olga Ramaz

EL VAQUERO EDITOR IN CHIEF

T

he Athletic Hall of Fame, in its sixth year, welcomed six more inductees on March 3 at a special banquet honoring the finest athletes of years past as well as athletic coaches and supporters who have left their mark in the history of Glendale College sports.

A small reception, which was followed by a three-course meal prepared and served by the Culinary Arts department., gave several of the guests and honorees an opportunity to exchange some words and anecdotes of their time at GCC. “[I’ve gotten] a lot of positive feedback,” said Alex Leon, member of the Athletic Hall of Fame. “It’s all about bringing people back to the campus, putting on a nice event and keeping the spirit of the college going.”

Harry Hull, who sits in the Glendale College Foundation Board of Directors and the Hall of Fame Committee, was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening’s event. Hull kick-started the presentation and welcomed the 160 plus attendees who filled SC 212, located in the J.W. Smith Student Center.

The six new inductees included three Outstanding Athletic Achievement awards presented to: Ron Wielochowski, Marji Gilles and Steve Messmer, an Outstanding Coach award presented to Don Bennett, a Meritorious Service award presented to Ted Tiffany, and an Outstanding Team award presented to the 1961s Men’s Swim Team.

Athletes, coaches and meritorious honorees are selected based on their outstanding athletic achievement, records or contributions to the campus. According to Leon, the committee’s goal is to be broad in their selection of honorees in hopes of not leaving any groups out.

“We haven’t honored a volleyball team [yet], so maybe next year it will be that group or an individual that stands out,” he said.

Wielochowski, a men’s basketball legend and the holder

of most scoring records in the history of Vaquero basketball [highest scoring average in conference, 33.5, season, 30.5 and career, 23.8 points per game], was not present at the event due to illness.

In a statement to the committee, Abe Androff, a former Glendale College men’s basketball coach and 2004 hall of fame inductee, reflected on 1962, the year when Wielochowski tried out for the team.

“I knew he was a talented player and I know that he liked to drive to the basket, so we played a little one-on-one,” said Androff. “I tried a few tricks to cut off his path to the basket but he was very strong and determined.

Right then I knew he had what it takes to become a very special player.”

Gilles, a Track and Field star back in 1989 and 1990, competed in as many as 10 events in a single meet and became state champion in the triple jump at 37-3 in her final meet as a Vaquero in 1990.

“Attending Glendale College was the best decision I could have ever made,” said Gilles. “It allowed me to compete in several different events without the pressure of excelling at one or two and I still had time to represent women’s athletics as a member of student government.”

After her stint at GCC, Gilles transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo were she competed in the triple jump and still ranks among the top 10 jumpers in the school’s history.

Messmer, a former tennis player for the Vaqueros in the ’60s and ’70s, honed his skills at GCC and went on to compete professionally at Wimbeldon in 1973 and the U.S. Open in 1976.

“You have levels…and Glendale College was one of them,” said Messmer. “With me, I had a passion for sports, I had a passion for tennis. At this level [attending GCC], I was able to raise my game up to a point…and I think that kind of jump started my career to go to the next level.”

Bennett, the recipient of the Outstanding Coach award, led the Vaqueros to a pair of Western State Conference titles between 1961 and 1965, among other achievements. A former coach

Photo courtesy of Alex Leon

Athletic Hall of Fame inductees from left to right, Don Bennett, Marji Gilles, Steve Messmer, Ted Tiffany and the 1961 Men’s Swim team.

to both Hull and Jim Sartoris, GCC’s Athletic Director, Bennett does not hesitate to credit his players and coaching staff for his “sterling record,” which would have not been what it is without their efforts.

Sartoris, who presented the award to Bennett, was thrilled to be able to introduce his coach.

“We [had] several players from the decade [present at the event],” Sartoris said. “Believe me, we are so proud of what he accomplished and we are so proud that we had the opportunity to play for Don.” “He was an inspiration in our lives and many of us went on to coaching because of the work ethic and values he created in us,” he said.

Tiffany, the recipient of the Meritorius award, was an athlete himself. An alumnus of Glendale High, Tiffany excelled in both the varsity basketball and baseball teams. He also served the campus as the student body president in 1952.

No stranger to the GCC campus, Tiffany was a student at the college from 1952 through 1954 as well as an all-conference and team most valuable player for the Vaqueros basketball team.

An All-American basketball player in 1957 at Occidental

College, Tiffany was the first player selected to the Occidental College men’s basketball hall of fame in 1985. After graduating from Occidental, Tiffany pursued a teaching and coaching career at Clark Junior High before being elected to the Glendale College Board of Trustees in 1981. During this time, GCC was on the verge from separating from the Glendale Unified School District and embarking on growth as a community college.

“It was a wonderful time of growth at the college,” said Tiffany. “One of the things I’m most proud of is helping the Glendale College Foundation get started with Dr. John Grande at the helm and seeing what great work it has done for the college over the years with Ann Ransford and a wonderful group of volunteers.”

The final inductees were the 1961 Men’s Swim Team. Under the guidance of coach Bill Reinhard, a two-time hall of fame inductee, the Vaqueros won the Western State Conference (WSC) title in 1961 and finished ninth among the top teams in southern California that season.

Thanks to swimmers Jim Baugh, Jim Ballard, Garry Johson, Mike Towels and Jerry Wexler, the 1961 team went into the season as the defending WSC

Champs and snagged two titles in a row by going undefeated in coference dual meets.

Several years later Baugh took over for coach Reinhard as both the water polo and swimming coach until 1978. That same year Proposition 13 [the landmark proposition that froze property taxes and made it harder for schools to get money] caused Verdugo Pool to shut down, which marked the end of the Glendale College aquatics program.

“If you have a winning team, you have a winning coach,” said Baugh. “We took first place in every competition and we were really proud of that.”

By June or July the Hall of Fame Committee will make its final selection of athletes for the 2008 induction.

“Walt Smith…was the guy behind the desire to get this sort of event formatted and get it to where it is today,” said Leon.

“He deserves all the credit in the world because he had the vision…and this [the Athletic Hall of Fame] is a piece of history for the college.”

Olga Ramaz can be reached at Olga_Ramaz@elvaq.com

www.elvaq.com

Friday, March 16, 2007

15

OPINION

Global Warming Continues to Cause Concern

By Jennifer Tinoco

EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER

B

eing the smartest creatures on Earth, humans have made a huge impact with population and technology. Global warming is beginning to grow and even though people are always trying to make it a better world for numerous reasons, the inhabitants might be destroying the planet rather than helping it. People need to start spreading the word about global warming and educate others about it.

According to an article by Thomas Maugh on Feb. 2, 2007, global warming has not been proved, but there is plenty of evidence to prove some certainty of it. Scientists have been aware of global warming since the 1970s when they suspected that climate changes would only occur hundreds of years from now. Maugh also stated that “the United Na-

tions (UN) reports [that] it strongly links human activities to global warming, which will ‘continue for centuries’. ” “Global warming has not been proved [that it exists and] we should be proactive about it now than reactive later on,” said Professor of Oceanography and Geology John Makevich. He is also the faculty advisor for the Environmental club “Project Earth Tomorrow” on campus.

In the fall 2006, Makevich screened Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth” at the GCC’s Planetarium. “I feel like there is still a lack of awareness about global warming,” said Makevich. “ I think that a lot of us are more concerned about today’s problems, rather than the long run [problems that may affect us in the future].”

It is astonishing to know that many people are still in denial of global warming. The primary reason must be because most of us are not being directly affected

by it. According to Maugh, some scientists still do not believe that global warming will affect the world population and that there are other explanations.

The warming up of the Earth’s oceans is causing powerful storms and hurricanes never seen before.

The 2004 Indian Tsunami, also known as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was such a powerful oceanic earthquake that left hundreds dead and missing and another thousand without shelter, food or water.

In Gore’s book, also named “An Inconvenient Truth,” he explains how the oceans are getting warmer; causing stronger hurricanes, such as hurricane Katrina.

Gore also said that if the climate gets hotter and so do the oceans there may be even larger hurricanes all over the country and heat waves occur in many parts of the world.

Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York held a study in Sep-

tember 2006 and said, “If further global warming reaches 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, we will likely see changes that make Earth a different planet than the one we know.

The last time it was that warm was in the middle Pliocene, about 3 million years ago, when the sea level was estimated to have been about 25 meters (80 feet) higher than today.”

The Earth’s atmosphere is trapped by greenhouse gasses everyday and it makes the planet very warm. These gasses are mainly made out of carbon dioxide, and it is found in gasoline, oil, coal, and when forest fires occur. Sadly, the UN also reports in a 20-page summary that “the warming of the earth and increases in sea levels would continue for centuries... even if greenhouse gas concentrations were to be stabilized.”

In comparison to 1961 to 1990, the Union of Concerned Scientists summarized how California may be affected by the year 2070 to 2099 in climate changes. There can be between 22 to 30 inches of seal level rise and 3 to 4 times as many heat wave days in major urban cities. There may also be a 90

percent loss on the Sierra Snow pack.

“We should consider investing into a hybrid vehicle [since it helps conserve gas and pollute less],” said Makevich. “We should also be aware of how global warming could affect us.

We need to pay attention to government policies and how they are linked with making our environment a better place [especially as a community],” adds Makevich.

On Feb. 16, Gore announced his “Live Earth Concert” to gather people around seven different countries to help stop global warming. The pop-concert will run for 24 hours starting on July 7 and will bring together more than 100 of the world’s top musical acts. The names of the performers have yet to be released.

“In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people” said Gore in a statement to CNN. “We are launching SOS and Live Earth to begin a process of communication that will mobilize people all over the world to take action...this climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement,” added Gore.

Some Americans may believe that global warming may never come around, while others do not even know what it is. People need to act now and save energy by recycling, taking public transportation, walk or ride a bike to school or work, and plant more trees to eliminate carbon dioxide.

If people are smart enough to make space rockets, iPods and tv dinners (as a way of survival) then they should be smart enough to prevent a disaster such as global warming affect the whole population on this planet.

Everyone is affected by global warming. This is why people should inform others about the issue and think about the long run effects will have on Earth.

. w ww q. a v el m o c

Jennifer Tinoco can be reached at Jennifer_Tinoco@elvaq.com

16

Friday, March 16, 2007

www.elvaq.com

Calendar On Campus lectures ‘Women’s History’ — A Women’s History month event featuring female voices of the community along with State Assembly Member of the 47th District Karen Bass. The event will be held today at Kreider Hall from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

‘Going the Distance on the Academic Highway: A Panel Discussion on Women in Administration’ — Speakers for this special lecture, “Going the Distance on the Academic Highway: A Panel Discussion on Women in Administration,” will feature Superintendent/ President Audre Levy, Vice President of Instructional Services Dawn Lindsay, Sharon Combs and Vicki Nicholson.

The lecture will be

moderated by Peggy Renner and will take place on Tuesday at Kreider Hall from noon to 1 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

‘Doctors on TV Making it Right’— The Science and Lecture Series presents “Doctors on TV Making it Right,” a lecture by Walter Dishell, medical adiviser for M*A*S*H. Dishell will be speaking on March 27 at noon in the Santa Barbara building, room 243.

employment Aflac — Job recruiters from Aflac will be on Plaza Vaquero from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday. For more information contact the Student Employment Services office, located in the second floor of the San Gabriel building, at (818) 240-1000, ext. 5403.

UPS — Job recruiters from the UPS will be at Plaza Vaquero on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Contact Student Employment Services at (818) 240-1000, ext.

5403 for more information.

YMCA — Recruiters from the Crescenta/Cañada chapter of the YMCA will be on campus on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

sales AGS Book Sale — Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS) Honors Society will be holding a book sale Monday through Friday, at Plaza Vaquero.

GCC Swapmeet — Vendors will set up on Sunday at the upper campus lot from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission to the swapmeet is free. For more information call, (818) 240-1000, ext.

5805.

exhibition ‘Modern Lovers’ — A group art exhibition curated by Kathryn Andrews will feature works

by Jeffrey Rugh, Stan Kaplan, Brett Cody Rogers, Jonas Wood and many more. The show runs at the Glendale College Art Gallery, located in the Library building, from March 24 through May 5. A reception will be held on March 24 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will feature a reading from Stephanie Taylor at 6:30 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday’s from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free. For information call (818) 240-1000, ext. 5663 or visit www.glendale.edu/artgallery

health

Mental Health Counseling — The Health Center provides free and confidential counseling. Appointments can be made at the Health Center located on the first floor of the San Rafael building. For more information call, (818) 240-1000, ext. 5909.

adult classes Life Long Learning Seminars — Through June 13, a wide range of free classes are being offered to mature adults as a part of the Glendale Community College’s Lifelong Learning Seminars program. Courses such as Quiltmaking, Philosophy and Ethics, Sketching and Oil panting classes will be held at several locations throughout the community. For more information on class times and the Lifelong Learning Seminars, call (818) 243-5196.

Around Town exhibitions ‘Hammer Projects: Ezra Johnson’ — Animation that tells the story of a pair of art thieves in New York City. The Armand Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood and runs through May 5.

For more information call (310) 443-7000.

‘California Tile: Focus SeriesD&M Tile/Hispano-Moresque Tile’ — Tile, murals, tables, ceramics and historic photographs of the two SoCal tile manufacturers are being show at The California Heritage Museum which is located at 2612 Main St. in Santa Monica. It runs thru Sunday May 20 and costs $5 for students. For more information call (310) 392-8537.

Casting Nature: FrancoisThomas Germain’s Machine d’Argent’ — This sculpture by the 18th-century silversmith (the official sculptor to the king of France) is an assemblage of

birds, a rabbit and vegetables and is shown alongside paintings, drawings and prints at the Getty Center and runs until Sunday March 25. The Getty is located at 1200 Getty Center Dr. in Los Angeles. Admission is free.

‘Joe Ledbetter: Fever Dream’ — New paintings by Joe Ledbetter at Gallery 1988. The gallery is located at 7020 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles. Admission is free and the show runs through March 30. For more information call (323) 937-7088

theatre ‘Romeo and Juliet’ — Today, a rendition of ROMEO AND JULIET, Shakespeare’s tragedy is twisted with Capulets as Republicans, Montagues as Democrats and their offspring the innocent victims. Loaded Media Productions and Theatre Planners at ART/WORKS THEATRE, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd.

‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ — Friday March 16 the Ethos Theatre Company serves up a “gritty and unapologetic” evening of immorality. Located at 1523 N. La Brea Ave., Second Floor, Hollywood. Call (310) 383-4053 for more information.

‘My Fair Lady’ — Written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, “My Fair Lady” takes center stage at the Glendale Theatre Centre located at 324 North Orange St., Glendale, through April 7, is the story of phonetician Henry Higgins, who transforms the the flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a society lady. Performance showtimes are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. Tickets for the show are $21 Wednesday and Thursday evenings as well as for Saturday and Sunday matinees.

Tickets for Friday and Saturday evenings are $24.

music The El Rey — • M for Montreal. Monday, March 19. Doors open at 8 p.m.

• Sondre Lerche with Willy Mason. Wednesday, March 21. Doors open at 8 p.m.

• The Clipse with Low B, Them Jeans. Friday, March 16. Doors at 8 p.m. The El Rey is located at 5515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. For information call (323)936-6400.

Wiltern LG — • Bloc Party with guests Final Fantasy and The Like on Monday.

• Anti-Flag with guests Alexisonfire, Set Your Goals, Big D and The Kids TableThe Wiltern LG is located at 3790 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA For information call (213) 388-1400.

The Troubadour — • The Ambulance Saturday, March 17 at 10:15 p.m.

• El-P with Percee P and C Minus,

Monday March 26 at 8 p.m. The Troubadour is located at 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

The Echo — • The Presets play with Crystal Castles at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

•Part Time Punks play with Giant Haystacks at 10 p.m. on March 25. The Echo is located at 1822 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.

film ‘Houseboat’ — The Glendale Public Library located at 222 E. Harvard St.,presents the classic film, “Houseboat,” featuring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren.

This film earned two Academy Award nominations in 1959,, story and screenplay. The film will be screened on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the Central Library auditorium. For more information on the Glendale Public Library Film Program call, (818) 548-2030.