Fall 2011: Issue 11

O N THE STANDS EVERY WEDNESDAY

Your student-run newspaper Volume 44, Issue No. 11

L ariat

D E C E M B E R 7 , 2 0 11

Published since 1968

28000 MA R G U E R I T E PA R K WAY, M I S S I O N V I E J O , C A L I F O R N I A

On news:

www.lariatnews.com

Photos Courtesy of Michael Bennett

Walk-a-thon fundrasier to raise money for the adapted

kinesology

program.

On opinion:

Photo Illistration by Nicole Bullard/ Lariat

Police might have overused their authority with weapons in recent riots.

Campus Comment:

Would you rather be a quarter or semester system?

On life:

Photo Illustration by Saddleback College Library

LEARNING CENTER: An artists rendering of the newly renovated Saddleback Library, which will reopen in Fall 2012. The name of the facility is still open for debate.

Library name still under consideration Photo by Alyssa Hunter/Lariat

Saddleback

student

and DJ, Weston Ahearn, spinned some tracks in the SSC Quad.

On sports:

The name of the library is still up for debate, despite library renovations nearing the completion date.

NICOLE BULLARD

Lariat File Photo

Saddleback defeats East

F

or years there has been debate on the renaming of the James B. Utt Memorial Library and there has been more light shed on the

matter recently.

The library has been named James B. Utt for over 40 years now and the librarians have been considering changing the name for years.

Despite the request for the name change, there has been no official action from the board of trustees, but now the academic senate has taken up the responsibility of renaming the library.

Ana Maria Cobos, an instructor and librarian at Saddleback College, hopes to see a new name for the library as well.

The suggested new name for

the library is the Saddleback College Library and Learning Center.

“For years now, we’ve been asking if we could possibly change the name of the library,” Cobos said.

In 1973, the James B. Utt Memorial Library was dedicated in honor of Orange County’s late U.S. Congressman Utt. Utt was a “conservative Republic Congressman” who held office from the early ‘50s until his death in 1970.

However, on Dissent the Blog website, according to the OC

Almanac, in 1963 U.S. Congressman James B. Utt made national news by suggesting that ‘a large contingent of barefooted Africans’ might be training in Georgia as part of a United Nations military exercise to take over the U.S. In February, 1970, only a few weeks before his death on Mar 1, Utt attended the three-year anniversary celebration of the founding of the South Orange County Community College District.

When he heard that trustees had decided to name the first

permanent structure, which was the library, in his honor. Apparently upon hearing this, he was very humble and pleased.

So for forty years, the library has never changed its name until the past few years, the librarians and the Associated Student Government having requested the change.

The library is not only having its name redecided, it has been going through renovation and will continue until the beginning of the fall semester of 2012. nbullard0@saddleback.edu

Los Angeles in the finals 77-73.

On Campus:

Clubs eager to expand student membership RILEY TANNER

Photo Illistration by Nicole Bullard/ Lariat

Americans wastes about 30 tons of food each year.

INDEX News....................2 Opinion...............3 LIfe......................4 A&E....................5 Sports..................6 Campus..............7 Showcase..........8 Friend us on Facebook!

C

lub Rush this semester at Saddleback College had plenty of clubs attending, but unfortunately did not catch the attention of a large number of students.

With booths lining the sidewalks in the quad, the students that did attend checked the clubs they were interested in, and the club representatives kept their spirits up despite the low turnout.

The Appreciation of Philipino American Culture club was out in force, selling Bobas, which

www.lariatnews.com

SEE CLUBS PAGE 4

Photo by Alyssa Hunter/Lariat

ADVOCATES: Lauren Branson, 18, film production, Connor Hyland, 19, history, Jillian Chamberlain, 20, anthropology, and Edmund Cleofe, 22, psychology are members of the Global Activists Club.

Honors students present ‘Geography of Death’ projects KIRALYNN EDMONDSON

visit our website to read more!

are sweetened Asian tea drinks with milk.

The APAC club sold these chilled beverages for $3, and morale was high when they finally sold enough drinks to make a profit from their original expenditures.

Club Inglés, an organization for students who are taking English as a Second Language classes, proudly includes many bilingual students as members.

Club Inglés is pleased that their popularity is growing, and reported almost thirty partici-

T

he honor students at Saddleback College held a poster viewing displaying the information they researched about the geography of death around the world.

“At professional geography conferences there is always room for poster sessions, for people who want to present their research on a poster com-

pared to speaking about it,” said Mareen Smith, the honors instructor for geography.

Smith decided to do something different other than requiring a ten page paper for her class.

“For the idea of geography of death, students had to find a region of the world outside the United States, not American deaths abroad, but it had to be a different group or region that

are basically dying of something,” Smith said.

“The research was supposed to relate the why to the where and to figure out why it is specifically happening to these people in this region and maybe thoughts on the their conclusions and how to fix it,” she said.

One student did her research on the femicide in Mexico.

“It’s in relation to the drug

war that is happening, and because of the cartels and the gang activity there are a lot of women who are subjected to that violence and through the years that violence has begun to soar and its even spreading into the United States,” said Talia Samuels 19, Spanish linguistics communications, an honors student at Saddleback.

“I wrote about why it is an international issue and why the

world should be paying more attention to it,” Samuels said.

Other geography students participated in the event for extra credit. They studied posters and asked honor students questions about their research.

“This year we got a lot more people to show up,” Smith said.

“There has been a great turnout.” kedmondson0@saddleback.edu

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LARIAT

W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 7 , 2 0 11

Fundraising event helps students with disabilities MELANIE ROBERTS The adapted kinesiology department at Saddleback College is hosting their second wheel and walk-a-thon fundraiser called “Back on Track,” on Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event will take place in the stadium and raise money for the program and students with “severe and chronic disabilities.”

During the event, there will be a buffet lunch, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., a demonstration by the “Wounded Warriors” (veterans who were wounded in battle), student testimonials, and possibly a performance by a Zumba dancer.

Awards will also be given out for things like “most inspirational lap.”

Michael Bennett, an adapted kinesiology instructor said, “There won’t just be people walking, there will be people in wheel chairs or front wheel walkers doing laps. So we aren’t going for a pledge per lap, rather what we are trying to do is have people give pledges to the person individually.”

Mostly the effort has been through large quantities of small donations and a few big donors, according to Bennett.

Bennett is hoping to get half

of the students as well as their caregivers and family members to come out.

“I’d like to say that we are going to have 200 people out there. Maybe more, maybe a little bit less,” Bennett said.

The adapted kinesiology program has been operating for over 25 years and the first fundraiser was held in 2009.

Omar Yunes, kinesiology instructor and adapted kinesiology specialist said, “Our college is based on state funding, and with the state crisis, it’s affecting all of us. There have been talks about offering less classes and less money to pay the helpers, and as you can see with students with disabilities just one instructor doesn’t make it happen.”

While they had hoped they wouldn’t have to have another fundraiser, funding for the program has diminished.

“We are running out of funds, so the idea of the fundraiser is to bring more money to our program so we can pay for helpers and even to accomodate the larger number of students that continue to join us each semester,” Yunes said.

Bennett said, “The general fund has been able to back fill a lot of the losses that we’ve had with the categorical fund-

ing. It’s still not enough, so we did the fundraiser three years ago and aimed to raise about $20,000 and we over did it and raised $28,000.”

While the money raised in 2009 kept them afloat until now, their financial situation has not improved and they need to raise more to support their trainers and pay for equipment.

“Without helpers, I can’t teach a class of about 48 students. It’s just not safe and the quality of the class is not as good,” Bennett said. “Unless I have folks that can physically help those that are generally most severely disabled, the class just can’t happen.”

According to Yunes, the program accomodates over 400 students and has students with a variety of disabilities from spina bifida to stroke victims. There is a class under the adapted umbrella for everyone.

“Most of our students have some sort of disability. We have students with disabilities since birth, students that acquire disabilities throughout life or even because of accidents. They can be 18 years old or 80 and needing assistance.”

With some students requiring one on one assistance, trainers are paid to work with them.

Yunes said the classes are a

Photo courtesy of Michael Bennett

INSPIRED: Students and instructors from the Adapted Kinesiology program in the gym after a class. perfect environment for these students to socialize and see their disability in a more positive light. Seeing so many other people with disabilities, they realize that they are not the only ones and work together to help each other.

“It’s a very psychologically positive environment for them: socially, mentally, and emotion-

ally,” Yunes said.

The program helps them out physically as well, since all the classes are kinesiology based.

The physical exercises are however adapted to students with disabilities.

“Right now there is an open repeatability for disabled students, but that’s likely to change within the next couple of years.

With all likelihood, there is going to be some reductions in the classes that we offer.” said Bennett.

Bennett and Yunes both feel they are going to have to continue this fundraiser annually.

mroberts32@saddleback.edu

Mental health advocates raise support KIRA EDMONDSON The Psi-Beta and Psychology Club organized a week dedicated to mental health awareness at Saddleback College last week.

“I got a chance to go the American Psychology Association is Washington D.C. in August and I saw they had The Out of the Darkness suicide prevention walks, and I wanted to do that here at Saddleback in April because we do psychology week,” said Jessica Barr, the Psi-Beta and Psychology Club president.

“So when I had a chance to talk to the student development I presented and asked to do this walk at Saddleback. Student Development suggested that we did the walk in the fall, but of course I wanted to make it a full week,” Barr said.

With little time to spare, Barr and her secretary Annabel Sun, clinical psychology, came up with idea to not just focus on suicide but to have a Mental Awareness Week at Saddleback.

The week consisted of free seminars, informational and awareness booths, and even a fun day.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness and Project JOSH (Journeying Onward Substance Abuse Help) jumped on helping the Psi-Beta and Psychology Club in their Mental Awareness Week.

“The Associated Student Government was extremely helpful too, they gave us $2,000 out of their $5,000 budget to help with games and brochures,” Barr said. “Having their support and watching everyone else jump on board was so amazing, because people could have just put up their hand and said no.”

“When we first started out, I felt like this was a good cause so I might as well help out, but it wasn’t till after the suicide walk where the reality really hit me of how much of a good cause this was. Students actually came up to us, they were almost close to tears, and thanked us for doing this because they had attempted suicide before,” Sun said.

Sun was pleased with the outcome of The Mental Health Awareness week that she helped put together.

“Seeing the responses in students it has actually really encouraged me and hearing the people come out and talk I have noticed that we really are helping to make an impact in peoples lives. It would seem to me that this campus event had so much school spirit more than I have ever seen at Saddleback,” Sun said.

Mental Health Awareness week ended last Thursday night with a seminar presented by NAMI, making students aware of mental illnesses.

See https://www.lariatnews. com for the full story. kedmondson0@saddleback.edu

for

Column

Cigarette debris plagues the campus GUISEPPE CEFLAU CONTRIBUTOR Let’s admit it, we are so fortunate to be students here at Saddleback College. With the superb administration, exceptional professors, abundance of student resources, and a clean environment, Unfortunately there is one issue that I have been observing here at Saddleback over a period of time, and that issue is the excess cigarette butt litter all over campus.

I’m sure every student has seen them. They cover our floors, planters, benches, lawns, tables, and are even abundant in our bathrooms.

The area most plagued by this debris is right outside of the Business/General Studies building. Many students gather in this area between classes to study, snack, socialize, or smoke a cigarette.

The problem with this is that many of the smokers in this area are not disposing of their cigarette butts properly. Just looking at this field of cigarette butts is disgusting.

The ethics behind the litter is my greatest concern. Are we, as current students, setting a good example for incoming students to our college? Are we expect-

Visit www.saddleback.bkstr.com for additional buyback hours and locations.

Saddleback Bookstore Student Services Center

Photo courtesy of Guiseppe Ceflau

LITTER: Guiseppe Ceflau, environmental engineering, cleaned the BGS courtyard with the help of several other students. ing the staff at Saddleback to pick up our mess? And what does this say about the way we carry ourselves outside of academia?

These questions don’t need to be answered here, but should guide us in moving forward.

On November 23, 2011, I organized a team of four to take action. Patrick Dobson, Jeffrey Whitridge, Bart Piwczynski and I decided to clean up the cigarette butts around the BGS building and in the quad.

We wanted to leave an impression on people, so we created fliers that asked students “What are you contributing to?”

with before and after photos of the areas, and then posted them around the BGS building.

As I prepare to end my journey here at Saddleback and make my way into the UC system, I felt compelled to give back to Saddleback for all the wonderful education that was provided for me. I feel that my experiences here at Saddleback have helped me become a responsible person.

I hope that the students will begin to dispose of their cigarettes properly, and that they will motivate others to continue this legacy of a clean and respectable campus.

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W E D N E S D AY, DECEMBER 7, 2011

California tuition prices reach new proportions for students TAYLOR CARNEY The recent rise in tuition at University State California’s and University California’s, in effect fall 2012, is affecting not only students but families as well.

How much more money can they take from us?

Community Colleges tuition has raised 8 percent while Universities has raised 14 percent.

According to UCLA’s website, UCLA was $29,771 a year living in the resident halls in the 2010 to 2011 school year.

The tuition is now $31,554 according to the UCLA website.

Who knows how much higher the prices will go up for the 2012 to 2013 school year?

“The rises in tuition is stupid,” said Kimia Ahankoob, 19, political science. Ahankoob moved to Mission Viejo from L.A. recently and planned on attending UCLA. However, the tuition raise has made her question the plan.

“Why wouldn’t I just go to USC then? I’m not paying for a private school. It’s just UCLA, and I heard it is accepting everyone now a days,” Ahankoob said.

The cost of tuition makes getting an education for students who don’t have the option of financial aid just that much more difficult.

It’s understandable that financial aid is only available for the students that need it, but maybe the government doesn’t understand that the standard of living has also gone up, plus we are in a recession, and the tuition has

“It is ridiculous how after two jobs... I am definitely still going to need to take out student loans,” said Garret Yazdani, 21, history. just gone up.

So now that $80,000 a year just doesn’t cut it anymore, especially if there is more than one child in a household.

People might think that working and going to school full time at Saddleback can be stressful, but unfortunately the stress of college is only beginning.

Garrett Yazdani, 21, history, has been attending Saddleback College for two years now with

a non-stop schedule.

He intends to transfer to CSU Fullerton, but is afraid that the costly tuition could easily set him back.

When it comes to how he’s going to afford it he said, “It’s a combination between me and my parents. I work two jobs, one which is full time, and go to school full time,” Yazdani said.

“It is ridiculous how after two jobs to help from my parents I am definitely still going to need to take out student loans then it’s at least $100 for textbooks.”

Protesting is a great way to get involved, not only with improving the community, but changing the outcome of the future. I applaud the protesters of the occupy movement and the protesters at different universities for standing up for what they feel is right.

Unfortunately students like me are too busy working two jobs and striving to get good grades, which means protesting is an activity that doesn’t fit in the mix.

“Stand outside [protesting], I’d rather just pay it,” Ahankoob said.

CAMPUS COMMENT

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ALYSSA HUNTER AND TAYLOR CARNEY WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS ON HAVING A QUARTERLY SYSTEM INSTEAD OF THREE SEMESTERS TOTAL?

Kimberly Veeneman, 19 environmental studies

Corrie Larek, 18 undecided

Vivianna Gonzalez, 18 psychology

“I think the quarterly thing would work better, for me at least.”

“I say no to the quarterly idea because it’s going to cause too much pressure. More students might fail courses.”

“I’d rather have the semester system we have now.”

Ardi Houshmand, 20 art “Four quarters would be better for me because I could get more classes done.”

Yamah Karim, 20 political science “I like quarters because it’s hard to keep up an A for sixteen weeks.”

Charlie Ngethe, 21 undecided “Quarters because it would be faster and easier.”

tcarney4@saddleback.edu

Photo illustration by nicole bullard/lariat

RIOT CONTROL: Pepper spray has gained much media and popular culture attention and scrutiny following the now famous protests about tuition price rises at University of California Davis.

Pepper spray, batons, and microwave beams: Are these ethical to use on occupy protesters?

DAVID GUTMAN Starting in early September the occupy movement has become a world-wide phenomena, with hundreds of arrests seemingly daily, and hundreds more injured by the methods used by the police.

When the average person thinks about a police officer they typically think of somebody in a blue or green uniform, usually with a baton, a taser, and a firearm on their belts. The law enforcement should be ready but not eager to use them unless a situation rises.

Another aspect of their gear that many people look over usually is pepper spray.

The active ingredient in Pepper spray is the chemical Capsaicin, this is what makes some peppers hot to the taste. One pepper in particular has such a large concentration of Capsaisin that it can burn somebody if

placed on the skin.

Isolated and put into a can, it can have dramatic effects on people. With the amount of power at their fingertips, police officers can cross the line between defending and repressing.

On Nov. 18 University of California Davis, proved how pepper spray can be abused.

Campus police officer for UC Davis, John Pike, was caught on video dowsing a line of students with orange pepper spray.

The pepper spray as seen in videos covered the faces of the students, with the bright orange spray going down the throats of some protesters. Two of them had to be hospitalized while the others became violently ill.

Pepper spray is not the only riot prevention weaponry around. The Active Denial System is a truck mounted emitter that emits microwave particles and can be aimed at people to disperse crowds.

L ariat Evelyn Caicedo Managing Editor Chris Cantwell Sports Editor Taylor Carney Life Editor

Kylie Corbett Editor In Chief Adam Jones News Editor Riley Tanner A&E Editor

MaryAnne Shults Advertising Manager

When the ADS is activated, the people in the cross-hairs will start burning up as if their skin is on fire. According to globalsecurity.org the ADS was in development for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect from small arms fire.

However, the ADS is supposedly nonlethal and why is something that is supposedly nonlethal being used in a war zone?

The question that should be on people’s minds is the ADS being developed for purely military use, or is it being developed to quell American riots or maybe a protest that is protesting a bit too loudly?

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and with these weapons at the disposal of the police, it is only a phone call away for a mayor of a city to strip our freedoms of speech and assembly with excessive force. dgutman1@saddleback.edu

Lila Rahimi, 38 English “I’d like just spring or summer semesters.”

STAFF Saddleback College has the rare opportunity to start over in recreating one of the most pivotal buildings on campus, the library.

The library at Saddleback has been under construction since spring of 2010, but the wait is almost over. The renovated building is scheduled to reopen in the fall semester.

The next step to completing the Library is to give it a name.

Currently the name is the James B. Utt library which has been given the nickname the “Butt Library.”

Many different names are up for consideration with sparking rumors with different camps wanting different names.

Some of the speculated names

Jessica Osiecki Social Media Kiralynn Edmondson Web Editor Alyssa Hunter Photography Editor

Reporters: Kira Edmondson, Cassie Rossel, Nicole Bullard, Jessica Osiecki, Melanie Roberts

Photographers: Alyssa Hunter Faculty Adviser: Paul McLeod Instructional Assistant: Ali Dorri Phone: (949)582-4688

Nasim Eshragh, 20 biomedical enginerring “I think how it is now is fine because I work too. I wouldn’t be able to take as many classes.”

Editorial: What should the new library be named?

“Saddleback’s student-run newspaper since 1968” David Gutman Opinion Editor

Raquel Altman, 18 nursing “I like the quarterly system better. I could get a lot more classes done that way.”

Fax: (949)347-9483 E-Mail: LariatEditor@gmail.com Web: www.Lariatnews.com Address: 28000 Marguerite Parkway Mission Viejo CA, 92692

on the list for consideration are named after specific administrators that are currently employed

by Saddleback.

Many people are in favor of naming the library after a person, however there are some arguments against this.

Some students view it as silly to name the building after a person or administrator of whom few may be aware.

A person should be memorialized with his or her name on a building only if they have contributed a lot to the campus, both in his or her terms of time and monetary patronage.

One of the more popular ideas is to give the name a sense of learning and dedication.

The Saddleback College Library of the Pursuit of Higher Dedication to the Continual Journey of Knowledge, is cer-

tainly not a practical name but the essence is to give it a cerebral quality that should be found at a college.

Gaucho Library or even just Saddleback Library are more preferable to many students who would rather see students learning at an encouraging place than at a place with a random person’s name that most people haven’t even heard of plastered on the side.

All in all, it is just a building that has books and classrooms, and most of us who currently attend Saddleback will probably not be able to enjoy it. However, names can be important to some people.

lariateditor@gmail.com

About the Lariat The Lariat is the student newspaper of Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College. The Lariat is an independent studentrun public forum.

One copy of the Lariat is free. Additional copies may be purchased at the Lariat newsroom, located in the Student Services Center at Saddleback College.

Letters to the editor are welcome. Please limit letters to

200 words and include a name, valid email address and signiture.

All letters are subject to editing.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Lariat’s ediorial board and do not represent the views of Irvine Valley or Saddleback Colleges or the South Orange County Community College District.

Lariatnews.com was launched in fall 2007.

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w e d n e s d ay, d e c e m b e r 7 , 2 0 11

IVC hosts angel toy tree evelyn caicedo

photo by alyssa hunter/lariat

music for mental health: DJ Ear stands in quad playing music for KSBR radio station promoting mental health awareness. His large ears attracted many students to his table.

DJ Ear spins in the Saddleback quad melanie roberts Weston Ahearn, better known as DJ Ear, spun music in the quad from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. last Thursday in support of mental health awareness week.

DJ Ear is recognizable by his green hat with white floppy ears, is in the advanced radio broadcast class at Saddleback College and does work on the KSBR radio station as well as OCrockradio.com.

He was asked to come out and DJ for the event.

For eight years now he has been making his own music.

“I know a lot of people who aren’t quite there, and I have nothing but respect for them,”

Ahearn said.

“There’s not a lot I can do to support, so if I can come out here and let people have a good time, that works for me.”

When he came into the business, he wanted a new name and he came up with “DJ Ear,” which was a secondary choice.

It developed into a nickname that many people call him by today.

Ahearn said earlier in the day there was a dance troop that performed a jazzercise routine and a pie eating contest.

Students who were at the event said music can help improve your mood and your mental state.

Angela Darnall, 19, undeclared said, “I’m sure music has

something to do with therapy. If you are in a bad mood and you turn on music that is happy, it makes you feel better.”

Jason O’neill, 22, criminology said he has a different perspective on mental health, since he has Asperger’s syndrome.

“Maybe this type of music isn’t everybody’s thing, but it is true that it helps, I mean I think music is the greatest thing on this planet,” O’neill said.

“Without music, I would be a depressed person.”

O’neill said, “I don’t know what exactly you would call it, but music definitely changes my mood. If you like that music, than it can change your mood in the direction you want it to go.” mroberts32@saddleback.edu

The Associated Student Government at Irvine Valley College is sponsoring the annual Angel Tree Toy Tree which will benefit the Boys and Girls Club in Tustin.

“We are very thankful that ASIVC chose us because there are a lot of worthy organizations and it is so great that they felt the need to give back around their community,” said Gary Oustad, the director of operations at the Boys and Girls Club in Tustin. “When there a lot of other deservering organizations and needy people that really need the help this time of year as well.”

The Angel Tree will be located in the Student Services Building down in the lobby from now until Dec. 9.

“A lot of the children’s households are with a single parent and we are also dealing with a population of homeless youth that we do an outreach to,” Oustad said.

“There is about 60 children in that situation from our outreach and around Orange County.”

The Angel Toy Tree donations will not only help with kids from Boys and Girl Club, the donations will be distributed throughout Orange County because of the outreach Oustad is apart of.

To be eligible the club has interviews with the families to learn a little more about their

Clubs Continued from Page 1

pants at their last club meeting.

“Both parties are learning something from each other,” said Matt Wright, president of club Inglés.

The Global Activists club had a flurry of temporary tattoos and cookies at their club rush booth.

“Anything that anyone is interested in, or passionate about... We will find a way to

photo by jessica osiecki/lariat

art sale: Janis Marcus, 57, undecided demonstrates how to make jewelry out of real sea glass.

Artists market hand-made art and jewelry in gallery jessica osiecki The Saddleback College art sale took place on Nov. 30 and last Thursday, which gave other students the opportunity to look for new jewelry and art pieces.

The students are all coming together for this sale to benefit other students of Saddleback College by raising money for scholarships for fellow students to be able to go to college.There are different types of jewelry seen today at this jewelry sale and all this jewelry was done by students from Beginning and Advanced Jewelry sale.

There were some students that were not interested in jewelry at first and those who want to get into a hobby that make money. For some students, it was both.“At first, I did not know anything about jewelry,” Janie Marcus, 57, undecided said. “I just enjoy making things that people want to buy.”

There were all different kinds of jewelry and they ranged from jewels that are hard to find un-

less a student goes into mountains, and there are things can make just from finding glass on the beach.Marcus also said that if a student goes to Port Townsend in Washington, they can find a dump where people take their glass products to the dump and they throw them onto the beach. It is simply recycled glass, like glass bottles, that are used for her jewelry.

There are students and professional jewelry makers alike that have a life story on how they first got into making their jewelry.Marcus then went on to say that she once saw a lady that that had earrings on that were made out of sea class. And once see saw that see glass, she wanted to take a class at Saddleback that had something to do with jewelry and sure enough there was a class called Jewelry 1, which is a beginning class where a student makes Jewelry with found objects.

For the student jewelry makers here at Saddleback, at every table that was selling jewelry,

there was always a book or magazine all about how to make jewelry. And there are those who make jewelry by getting ideas from other people, but still has their own unique talent.

It is not just sea glass and metal, but there was also jewelry that was made out of something called cannabis or hemp jewelry or Macramé, courtesy of Saddleback’s Environmental Awareness Club.

Whether a student makes mixed metal, sea glass, or cannabis jewelry, all the students selling their jewelry enjoy what they do and they do what they can to raise money for those scholarships.

For more information about sea glass jewelry, go to: http:// naturalseaglass.com/whatisseaglass/faq-s-about-the-jewelryand-sea-glass.html.

And for information on Cannabis jewelry or Macramé, go to: http://www.india-crafts. com/trivia/macrame.html. josiecki0@saddleback.edu

living situations and the children to receive the right donation.

“There is about 60 children in the situation from our outreach and Orange County.”

The children have no idea about the drive and will be given the gifts a few days before Christmas.

“We plan to distribute them right before Christmas when the

kids are out of school sometime before Dec. 16 which is their last day of school,” Oustad said.

“The kids will be surprised.”

To get involved students and staff just need to pick an angel off the tree and bring the unwrapped toy or donation to SC 260.

“It is with our sincere appreciations for choosing us and making the holiday season brighter for some very deserving children and their families,” Oustad said. ecaicedo0@saddleback.edu

photo by ambuj saxena/flickr: cc by

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christmas: A giant tree and shrubbery around it are decorated for the Christmas spirit. Lit presents surround the tree. make a change,” said Jillian Chamberlin, the vice president of the Global Activists club, in reference to activism for anything that is going on around the globe.

The Global Activists club recently raised money for Invisible Children with a street-side band performance.

The Young Democrats Club also made an appearance, attracting students to their booth to get more names and numbers for their contact list.

A passionate plea for new membership was delivered

by the the Speech and Debate club, and many students were persuaded to stay and listen.

The Speed and Debate club is strongly linked to the Forensic Activity class, SP 106.

Interested students must sign up for SP 106 to be part of the Speech and Debate team and vice versa. This program is nationally renowned, having received second place in 2010 and third place 2011 in a national debate competition.

See https://www.lariatnews for the full story. rtanner0@ivc.edu

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5

LA R I AT

W E D N E S D AY, DECEMBER 7, 2011

Winter Winds blow in holiday-themed concert EVELYN CAICEDO A mix of Saddleback College students and community members got together in the McKinney Theatre to play holiday-themed music in the Winter Winds concert last Thursday.

“It is the holiday season so I wanted to do a mix of holiday music and traditional band literature. It worked out,” said director John Hannan, the conductor of the concert. “I thought the concert was OK. We did well.”

At 8 p.m. the lights began to dim and the musicians did one last piece before the first piece.

The ensemble included musicians playing piccolo, flute, obeo, clarinet, sassoon, saxophone, french horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, and the percussion were all the instruments involved in the concert.

“Sleigh Ride,” composed by Leroy Anderson, the first song, dove right into the winter holidays and prepared the audience for the rest of the concert.

The second piece, “The White Ensign,” showed some signs of tension with Hannan “stalling” while some musicians switched spots or got ready to play two instruments.

“We had a missing person,

but the percussionist did a good job for filling in for him,” Hannan said. “It affected the concert a little bit because everyone was on edge, but it all worked out in the end.”

Hanna described the third composition as his favorite.

“I chose the music I did because I thought it would be appropriate for the beginning of the winter holidays,” Hanna said. “The third piece, “December Dance,” is my favorite from the concert.”

The piece showed that minimalism adds so much more when the musicians have pristine timing.“The song is a great piece of music with many intricacies and solos,” Hanna said.

Guest conductor, Kent Klingbeil, switched spots with Hanna to play his favorite piece of all time, “Fanfare and Allegro.”

“I have been in love with this piece since 1972,” Klingbeil said. “It has been buzzing around in my head ever since then, so it [was] with great pleasure to conduct the piece.”

While Klingbeil conducted, Hanna filled in for him on his instrument.

The fifth and sixth songs were “Fantasia in G” by Timothy Mahr and “Fantasia on Greensleeves,” which was an exact transcription from Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Photo by Nicole Bullard/ Lariat

SEASONAL COMPOSITION: Musicians from the commmunity and Saddleback College unite to provide six holiday songs.

Both songs were originally written for an orchestra, but the musicians did a good job with the union of wind instruments and made it easy to listen to.

The night ended an hour later

with its last tune, “A Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson. “[That was] the best holiday tune every written and everyone will probably hear it everywhere they go this season,” Hanna

said. The upcoming concert will take place next semester in March.

“The next performance will be an all Americana folk concert,” Hannan said. “It will be

great. Everyone should come out to see it.”

ecaicedo0@saddleback.edu

Cockeyed vision does not daunt these optomists CASSIE ROSSEL The Los Angeles-based band, Cockeyed Optimist, entertained students at Saddleback College with the sounds and rhythms of pure rock n’ roll.

The four musicians performed at the college’s student quad from noon to 1 p.m last Monday.

Cockeyed Optimist (CEO) is made up guitarist, Sean Pierce Johnson; bassist, Erick Feliciano; drummer, Gus Cannizzaro; and lead singer, Cynda Renae.

When watching the members of CEO perform, one can sense the effort they put forth in order to present their music with passion and honesty, right from their attitudes on stage, to the lyrics that they sing.

“We’re very honest with how we present ourselves, and how we approach our music,” Johnson said.

Although their fan base is in L.A. and the Orange County scene, not all members of the band are California natives.

Renae hails from Pennsylvania and Cannizzaro comes from Alaska, while Johnson and

Feliciano grew up in California.

Music is the force which ultimately brought the foursome together.

Renae, Cannizzaro, and Johnson met while attending the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood three years ago.

Renae and Johnson’s initial musical collaboration was the stepping stone that led to the formation of the band.

After writing music together, Renae and Johnson decided to take their efforts further into forming the band that came to be known as Cockeyed Optimist.

They recruited two of Johnson’s friends, Cannizzaro, and Feliciano.

Johnson’s friendships with Cannizzaro and Feliciano began through their mutual loves of music.

After forming the band in 2008, the group performed their first live show in 2009, without a manager or a booking agent.

They are a self-motivated group with a do-it-ourselves kind of mentality, and have managed to be their own booking agents and promoters since

Photo by Alyssa Hunter/Lariat

STAGE PRESENCE: Cockeyed Optomist is proud to be upbeat, keeping a positive attitude during their perfomance in the quad. the very beginning.

While most bands seek desperately to get signed, CEO does not set its sights solely on the fame or fortune that signing with a label will bring.

“Our goal is to really build our band one fan at a time, and having a label won’t help us do that,” Renae said.

From relocations, to several changes in the band’s members, it is safe to say that the founding members of CEO have gone through numerous rough patches on their journey.

Despite several setbacks, Renae and Johnson kept pushing forward and never let any obstacle sidetrack them from their goals.

APPEAL: Put those hands up The name of the band itself, Cockeyed Optimist, gives way to the band’s inspiration to keep going.

something new.”

Johnson said that as a band he hopes that CEO will be unique in its music as well.

The members do not seek to copy the trends of mainstream rock.

Cockeyed Optimist is set to embark on a two-month tour through several cities in California beginning in January. Their EP “Undocumented” is also available on iTunes.

For more information on Cockeyed Optimist, visit their website at cockeyedoptimist. net or visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/cockeyedoptimistrock. crossel0@saddleback.edu

Seasonal sing-along and show

In Brief

The Jazz Department hosted the Jazz Combos concert on Monday, Dec. 5.

The event included eight creative jazz combos.

These compositions featured everything from hard-swinging standards to original student compositions.

Throughout the show, CDs were given away based on audience participation in a series of Jazz Trivia questions.

Tickets were $7 for students and seniors, and general admission was $10.

- Cassie Rossel

Photo by Alyssa Hunter/Lariat

“Our band’s name is a testament to what we have to do every day,” Renae said. “We must remain optimistic, even when everything in life seems chaotic and difficult because there’s always gonna be that light at the end of the tunnel.

There’s always hope, you never should just give up and give in.”

The members of CEO are a unique breed of musicians, focused not on the perfection of their sets, but on what they can learn and take home from each show.

“We made some mistakes in our set today and we’re fine with that,” Johnson said. “It’s just room for improvement in the future. Every show we learn

NICOLE BULLARD

Photo bcredit by Saddleback College

JAZZ: This show hosts both classical jazz and student pieces

A holiday-themed concert will be hosted by the Saddleback College Big Band.

They are proud to be performing a unique collection of holiday favorites to celebrate the winter season tonight.

The performance will be held Wednesday, at 6:30 p.m. in the McKinney Theatre.

The audience will be able to enjoy participate in a sing along event and even find some humor in between the musical performance.

Joey Sellers is the director of jazz studies, but has gone on

sabbatical so someone else is needed to run the band.

The position is currently occupied by Ron Stout, who is also an accomplished musician.

He has taught jazz theory and improvisation and trumpet since 1978.

He has traveled world-wide and played in the Woody Herman Orchestra from 1984 to 1990.

While there, he worked under the Maestro, Woody, and later under Frank Tiberi.

Since 1991, Stout has taught part time, and has performed and recorded around Los Angeles.

The concert starts early as

it will be a kid-friendly performance and an opportunity for younger people to discover genres like classic American music and jazz.

This fun concert will involve the audience in an interactive performance that welcomes the holidays.

As an added bonus, the first 150 audience members in the theater will receive a special gift.

Tickets are for $10 for general admission, and students and seniors enjoy a discounted $7.

nbullard0@saddleback.edu

6

LARIAT

W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 7 , 2 0 11

Gauchos take tournament Saddleback women defeat L.A Trade Tech, edge out East L.A. for basketball championship.

CHRIS CANTWELL Saddleback College defeated Los Angeles Trade Tech 75-57 in the semifinals of the Lady Gaucho Classic and East L.A. 77-73 in the finals.

Shala Kirkpatrick and Shalae Edwards were the stars in the tournament for the Gauchos.

In the semifinal game, Kirkpatrick and Edwards led the team in scoring and rebounding.

They made some crisp passes, pounded the glass, and made the majority of their field goals.

Kirkpatrick dropped 19 points against the Tech Beavers, going 9-for-13 from the field, and grabbed a team-leading 14 rebounds. Edwards had 15 points.

“Kirkpatrick and Edwards are very good players,” said Coach Fentriss Winn. “Kirkpatrick does a great job getting to the basket and Edwards is very strong.”

The Gauchos had a 36 point lead over the beavers at one point in the game, but the Trade Tech made a slight comeback.

Despite a good effort by the beavers, the Gauchos still won in a surmountable fashion.

Saddleback’s defense played very well, causing numerous turnovers. Pressure defense by the Gauchos resulted in some loose balls.

After a great semifinal win, East L.A. was in the way of a tournament championship.

Saddleback was ranked No. 10 in the state and East L.A. was No. 19.

Saddleback’s record was 4-1 and East L.A’s was 5-0.

The Gauchos got off to a great start and was leading East L.A. by double digits throughout most of the second half.

East L.A. didn’t go down with out a fight.

They made a great comeback and had a great shot at winning.

Saddleback was just too much.

They pulled out a close four point win for the tournament championship.

Edwards led the gauchos with 17 points and had 51 points in the Lady Gaucho Classic.

Edwards was named the tournament most valuable player and rightfully so.

“We played very well in our tournament and we excited for the next tournament in Chaffey,” Winn said.

The Lady Gauchos will play in the Chaffey Tournament in Chaffey on Dec. 2 through Dec. 4.

This tournament will host five top 10 ranked teams in the state.

“We play five top 10 teams in this tournament, and I think playing great competition will help to improve our team and our mistakes,” Winn said.

Lariat file photo

ccantwell0@saddleback.edu

Men’s basketball starts season strong, strives to continue winning Saddleback College played in the Grossmont tournament this past weekend. It lost its first round game to Los Angeles Southwest, 66-54, but won its consolation final against College of the Desert, 94-73.

Prior to this tournament, the Gauchos started off the season with a record of 3-0.

They defeated San Diego City, 84-65, and won their first two games in the Fullerton Tournament against College of the Desert and Barstow.

They were handed their first lost of the season in the championship game of the Fullerton Tournament against Chaffey College. The score was 50-48.

Darnell Taylor and Josh Smith have been the best players for the Gauchos so far this year, and they are all freshmen.

They are both averaging around 15 points per game.

After the Gauchos’ first loss to Chaffey, their next game was against College of the Canyons.

Saddleback easily defeated Canyons, 77-53.

Darnell Taylor led the Gauchos with 13 points and the

Lariat file photo

BLOCK ATTEMPT: Gauchos play aggressive defense and go for the emphatic rejection.

offense played well.

But it was the defense that played great.

Saddleback’s defense caused Canyons to turn the ball over 19 times.

After a huge win like that, the Gauchos had a lot of momentum going into the Grossmont Tournament.

The Gauchos were held to 54 points in their first game of the tournament because of L.A. Southwest’s first half offense.

Surprisingly, Southwest had 19 turnovers to Saddleback’s 17.

Southwest’s field goal percentage in the first half was great.

It shot 43.5% from the field and 50% from the three-point line.

The Cougars’ shooting and offensive presence was just to much for the Gauchos.

L.A. Southwest advanced to the championship game against Grossmont but lost, 73-69.

Saddleback’s consolation game against College of the Desert proved to be an easy win.

All five starters for the Gauchos scored in double digits, and their results proved that they played great team basketball, according to reports.

The Gauchos host their own tournament. It opens Thursday and runs through Saturday in the campus gym.

Among these teams (Riverside, Fullerton, Mt. San Antonio, and Citrus). The Gauchos have a lot of young talent and look to make big impact in the rest of their games this season.

STRONG DRIVE: Gauchos women’s basketball team competed against L.A. Trade Tech in the semifinals and East L.A. in the finals of their own tournament. Gauchos won 75-57 in the semifinals and 77-73 in the finals.

UPCOMING GAMES Saddleback baseball: vs. San Diego City, Cuy, 2/3 2:00 p.m; @ San Diego City

Saddleback men’s basketball: Saddleback Tournament , 12/8-12/10 TBA.; @ Saddleback Saddleback men’s tennis: vs. El Camino, 1/31 2 p.m.; @El Camino.

Saddleback women’s basketball: Allen Hancock Tournament, 12/8-12/10 TBA. Saddleback women’s tennis: @ Palomar, 2/9 2 p.m.; @ Palomar.

IVC women’s badminton: vs. Grossmont, 2/15 10 a.m.; @ Grossmont IVC men’s basketball: Saddleback tournament, 12/15-12/17 TBA @ Saddleback IVC women’s basketball: vs. Palomar (OCC Tounament), 12/16 3:30 p.m. @ Orange Coast

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NICE SWING: Saddleback’s women’s softball gears up for the upcoming season in the Spring semester.

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Gauchos softball primes up for winning season DAVID GUTMAN A successful season is predicted to be on the rise for the women’s softball team at Saddleback College for the spring semester according to Coach Nick Trani.

Trani has coached at Saddleback for nearly 18 years and felt really confident in his current roster of players.

“I feel that we are real strong this year, and the last four years we have gotten to the championship round but have been knocked out,” Trani said. “We have been knocking on the door

to the championship for a while now, but I feel confident that we can do it.”

One of their greatest strengths this year Trani said, is having three pitchers on the team instead of relying on just one for the entire game or going through the trouble of training a player to play a position that she is unfamiliar to.

On the downside, the team’s roster consists of primarily freshmen girls, however Trani was not discouraged.

“We also have a good track record for scholarships,” Trani said. “About two years ago nine of our players received

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scholarships to play in schools all over the place.”

The high amount of scholarships is attributed to the high grade point average of the team Trani said, with the GPA consistently being over a 3.00.

“I feel like we will do really well, preseason went very well and the outcome looks good,” said Katlin Olesky, 18, sociology.

“Our goal this year is to go to the State Championship and this year we can back it up,” Trani said.

Courses begin January 4, 2012.

Enrollment open now.

Learn more extension.uci.edu/ucionline (949) 824-0697 ucionline@unx.uci.edu

dgutman1@saddleback.edu OnlineUCI_SBCAd_F.indd 1

11/10/11 12:17 PM

7

LA R I AT

W E D N E S D AY, DECEMBER 7, 2011

America, land of the consumer Research shows that consumers waste 30 tons of food a year.

NICOLE BULLARD As a consumer in America it can be astonishing to see how much we waste, especially when it involves retail and food.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimated that Americans produce 30 million tons of food waste a year, which is 12 percent of the total waste stream.

With all of this food waste, it seems odd that not only does America have the highest food waste rate, but the Nation’s Food Bank Network, which is a group of over 200 food banks, has said that donations are down 9 percent.

So where is all this food going?

Considering this is not a new issue in America, there is a growing need for consumers to be less wasteful with their food

than they were in the years before.

In light of the latest holiday, Thanksgiving, how can waste be cut short when the holidays require heaps of food, and in the end, leftovers that will be possibly discarded? And second, what happens to all of this food?

Two percent of this food ends up in land fills, and the remaining waste is composted.

Incidentally, rotting food releases methane into the atmosphere which is another factor to the problems of food waste.

This problem can be solved, if one is willing to make the effort.

For example, most people always prepare for more guests than they have actually invited, in fear of not having enough food and embarrassing themselves.

The obvious solution would be to cook for the amount of people that will be attending.

Of course, talk is cheap, and this can be harder to accomplish when unsure of the end result.

Thanksgiving is not the sole cause of food waste in Ameri-

ca. Everyone does their share, whether willingly or not. Restaurants, retail, and the household fridge all have one thing in common: they all contribute to the waste factor.

There are several programs dedicated to cutting food waste in half, and hopefully to almost nothing at all.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association and The Food Marketing Institute have released details of a three year initiative that was created to help their industry prevent food waste.

There is also the proposition of abolishing buffets, because they are an enormous weight on the shoulders of the food industry and a leading factor of waste.

According to the Bread For The World Institute, 3.5 percent of U.S. households deal with hunger, skip meals and sometimes don’t eat for a whole day.

More than 9 million people live in these homes, including 3 million children.

Well, how is it that there are Americans still going hungry throughout the years, and food waste still hasn’t been lowered?

illustration by

Nicole Bullard/Lariat

CONSUMERS WASTE FOOD: This photo depicts how much food consumers waste a year.

To answer this, a 2004 study from the University of Arizona in Tucson, has found that an average of 14 percent of food products were wasted in American households.

Unless the food industry and

retail services concoct a plan to cut food waste in half, the consumers should realize it’s going to take a lot of self-responsibility to contribute to the end of food waste.

Everyone can make a change,

it doesn’t just have to be family households who might buy more food products because of the number of people living together.

See https://www.lariatnews. com for the full story.

Grammy nominations reveal shocking results

1. Preheat oven to 200°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt on medium-high speed until white and foamy, about 1 minute. With mixer running, gradually add sugar in 3 additions beating for 2 minutes between each addition.

Beat until firm peaks form, about 2 minutes longer. Add powdered sugar and peppermint extract; beat to blend, about 1 minute.

2. Dot coloring over surface of meringue; do not stir (the coloring will form swirls when piped). Spoon meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a ½” tip. (See Prep School; alternatively, spoon into a plastic freezer bag, then cut ½” off 1 corner.) Twist top; pipe 1” rounds onto prepared sheet, spacing 1” apart.

3. Bake meringues until dry, about 2 1/2 hours. Let cool completely, about 1 hour (meringues will crisp as they cool). DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature between sheets of parchment or waxed paper.

Compiled by Nicole Bullard

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“The Descendants” hit theaters recently last Thursday on Thanksgiving as a family oriented movie portraying the way a busy father keeps balance in a time of strife.

George Clooney has the role of a father dealing with financial issues, his two daughters, and his wife’s failing health.

“The Descendants” is an uplifting movie that juggles the comic relief of life and also the

contrast the complicated baggage that comes along with raising a family.

For a movie that has arrived in theaters around Thanksgiving, it emphasizes the need to be grateful for family, and the story resonates with many who have had losses in their family or are dealing with them now.

This movie is a reminder that families can stick together in a time of crisis, and it’s important not to forget our roots and to respect the family we are descended from.

RECIPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

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Rated R

heavy emotions of a family trying to mend old resentments.

George Clooney’s character, Matt King, attempts to reconnect with his two daughters 17 year old Alex (Shailene Woodley) and 10 year old Scottie (Amara Miller) after being the “back up parent” as he said, and realizes he barely knows them at all.

As we follow him through his hectic life, the plot unfolds in a series of secrets being brought to light, and there’s always a surprise in the horizon.

Taking place in Hawaii, the paradise is a perfect scene to

coveted Best New Artist award.

Along with surprising nominations came unexpected snubs, which include Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.

Gaga only managed to gain one nomination in a pivotal category this year, Album of the Year for “Born This Way,” and Swift did not gain any nominations in either one of the “Big Four” categories despite being one of the year’s top selling artists.

See https://www.lariatnews. com for the full story.

he’s the Fi

NICOLE BULLARD

Year, not to mention he is also up for Best New Artist.

Justin Vernon, the bearded musician also known as Bon Iver, earned a stake in threequarters of the “Big Four,” an achievement only matched by Mars and Adele. Being the most unpredictable nominee, Vernon has become the biggest Grammy story.

Bon Iver will duke it out against country band The Band Perry, dance act Skrillex, rapper-singer J.Cole, and the favorite to win, Nicki Minaj for the

fS

‘The Descendants’

bing one in a top category, Album of the Year for “Wasting Light.”

Following in the footsteps of Arcade Fire’s Album of the Year triumph at the previous Grammys, voters have continued to include indie artists, such as Bon Iver, in their nominations.

Bon Iver’s four nominations was by far the most surprising streak of nods.

Without the support of radio or a major label, his track “Holocene” earned nominations in both Record and Song of the

e? ag i ll

categories, Album, Record, and Song of the Year, Adele was expected to walk away with the most nominations this year, not West.

With an unpredicted six nominations, Bruno Mars will be going head-to-head with the British singer for Record, Song, and Album of the Year with his single “Grenade” and debut album “Doo-Wops and Holligans.”

Rock band, Foo Fighters also tied with Mars and Adele with a total of six nods, but only nab-

W i

The nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards were announced last Wednesday in Los Angeles, and many were unsatisfied with the results.

Leading the way, with a total of seven nominations, is Kanye West for his album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”

Although the album achieved critical and commercial success, it was not nominated for the prestigious Album of the

Year award. He was only nominated for one major category, Song of the Year, for the track “All of the Lights.”

Many critics have claimed 2011 to be the breakthrough year for Adele because of her highly successful album “21,” and worldwide hit “Rolling in the Deep.”

Yet, the English songstress came in a surprising second place to West with a total of six nominations.

Although her nominations include three of the “Big Four”

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CASSIE ROSSEL

Visit us at shesthefrst.org and follow us @shesthefrst to learn more

LA R I AT

8

SHOWCASE

W E D N E S D AY, DECEMBER 7, 2011

Community unites in support of 4-year-old boy with brain cancer Latest effort for faculty and staff to donate sick leave time to mother of ailing child approved. Super Max Benefit set tonight with a goal of adding additional funds to youngster’s battle against his diagnosis. Organizers cheered.

KYLIE CORBETT

recap Saddleback College’s faculty came together this past summer to lend a helping hand to Director of Student Development, Audra DiPadova, and her family situation.

Max, her 4-year-old son, was diagnosed with brain cancer at the beginning of August, according to Erin Long, Inter-Club Council adviser and senior administrative assistant.

She described Max as a lively kid who has lots of friends and loves to play outside.

When administration found out about his condition, they realized the importance of DiPadova needing time to spend with her son. As a result, they began trying to donate a large amount of sick leave time to her.

During the process however, classified staff members were told that they couldn’t donate sick leave time to her because of a board policy regarding catastrophic leave.

F

aculty and staff now have another way to help a four-year-old boy in his on-going fight against brain cancer.

Since last summer, Saddleback College staff and students have assisted the Director of Student Development, Audra DiPadova, and her sick son Max, by staging a variety of fundraisers.

Carmenmara Hernandez Bravo, a Spanish instructor, also came up with the idea of donating sick leave days to DiPadova for her to be with Max. But it required an act of Congress, in other words, district approval.

On Nov. 7, Debra Fitzsimons, vice chancellor of business services for the South Orange County Community College District, after two months of discussion, said that it would be okay to do so.

Erin Long, a colleague of DiPadova’s, believes that the policy change was an important process because it creates a community atmosphere within the district.

“Anyone in this circumstance who needs to be with a sick family member,

but also needs to provide for their family would be incredibly grateful for the gift of a colleague’s sick time,” Long said. “I know that Audra has, on numerous occasions, been completely humbled by the outpouring of support from everyone across the campus.”

DiPadova pondered her son’s diagnosis.

“What are the chances that your child will be one of 3,000 kids diagnosed with brain cancer each year in the U.S.?” DiPadova asked herself.

DiPadova described this experience as beyond challenging...and earth shattering. With all of the support they’ve received however, she believes her family is incredibly fortunate.

Max’s prognosis is a good one, DiPadova said.

“It’s our community that’s made Max’s treatment possible,” DiPadova said. “I don’t know where we’d be

without the excellent health benefits, donations of time and resources, gifts of food, and outpouring of love and life-sustaining support.”

Student Development will be hosting the “Super Max Benefit Showcase” today in honor of Max. The showcase will include performances from the Saddleback community, “ranging from dance groups to singers to improv groups and everything in between,” according to its event description.

Other people outside of DiPadova’s familly have

been affected by the news of Max’s prognosis.

Former Associated Student Government President, Melissa Fenerci, said that she had no idea how to help when she found out about Max’s condition, until she learned of this event.

“I personally feel happy to be able to pay forward all of the nice things that Audra has done for me and for people I love and care about,” Fenerci said.

“Audra specifically has helped change my life and has contributed tremendous efforts to my personal devel-

opment, as well as the personal development of many ASG members from 20082011 thus far,” she said.

DiPadova said that there are no sufficient words to capture her family’s gratitude.

“We really see how it takes a community to save a child’s life,” she said.

“We’re completely humbled by how the Saddleback community, including some people we’ve never met, have so significantly contributed to Max’s recovery.” kcorbett5@saddleback.edu

Details on tonight’s fundraiser The event is tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. in SSC 212.

Tickets for the Showcase will be $5.00 per person; any and all members of the community are invited.

The Office of Student Development encourages you to bring both your friends and family.

Food will be served at the event for a suggested donation price.

Opportunity drawings will also take place, in addition to a jewlery sale. photo by alyssa hunter/Lariat

TAILGATE DONATIONS: At the tailgate event before Saddleback’s homecoming game, donations were collected for 4-year-old Max Wilford.

photo by alyssa hunter/Lariat

Information compiled by Kylie Corbett

CLUB SUPPORT: The Psychology Club and Psi Beta Honor Club helped at the tailgating event before homecoming to raise awareness.