Fall 2011: Issue 8

O N THE STANDS EVERY WEDNESDAY

Your student-run newspaper

L ariat

CASSIE ROSSEL

Photo by Alyssa Hunter/lariat

NBA Lockout has lasted 132 days and has no chance of letting up.

On A&E:

Melanie Roberts/Lariat

professional

clay

artists were featured in this months art exhibit in the Saddleback Art Gallery.

On opinion:

Photo by gerbzk20/flickr CC BYND 2.0

Adult oriented cartoons are making their comback

with

Butt-Head

www.lariatnews.com

English instructor missing and ‘at risk’

On news:

OC

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

Volume 44, Issue No. 8

photo by

N O V E M B E R 9 , 2 0 11

Bevis

Photo Courtesy of Lhoycel Teope

and

returning

back to TV.

On life:

Photo Courtesy of Lhoycel Teope

Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is celebrated to rejoin with dead ancestors.

On sports:

Photo Courtesy of Ben Gomez

Ben Gomez is in his third year at Saddleback College and is playing quarterback for the first time. He has already exceeded expectations.

INDEX News....................2 Opinion/A&E........3 LIfe/Sports...........4 Friend us on Facebook!

visit our website to read more!

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A.C.L.A.M.O CLUB: (Ayudando Chicano Latino A Mover Obstaculos) Ricardo Rosal, 20, criminal justice, Norma Solano, 18, chicano studies and sociology, Karina Alvarado, 19, anthropology, Yesenia Sotelo, 19, child development, Karen Huerta, 21, psychology, and Jose Monroy, 19, political science, celebrate Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

SEE ACLAMO PAGE 4

District acts on accreditation commission recommendations MICHAEL DORAME The Accrediting Commission issued a warning to the South Orange County Community College District on Feb. 3, citing various areas of concern and making recommendations for improvement.

Since then, the district has been taking steps to fulfill the commission’s recommendations.

In February 2011, Chancellor Gary Poertner, who replaced former chancellor Raghu Mathur because he did not meet up to the standards of his position, formed a task force to address each recommendation, in a joint effort with presidents from the colleges.

This task force focused in on needs for improvement involv-

ing three major areas.

Recommendations regarding Planning and Resource Allocation addressed a deficiency in the area of strategic planning because of a lack of clarity in the process of linking planning with resource allocation.

With the help of college governance groups, the district, throughout the last eight months, developed a district wide manual.

Problems regarding communication, and a lack of transparency in how decisions were made, are now being resolved through the use of a new intranet tool and new guidelines to ensure that process and action items are reported and consistently made available to staff.

There has also been an increase in communications to

employees throughout the district.

In another step towards better communication, board highlights will now provide a complete recap after board meetings, which will be emailed to employees and posted on the district’s website.

And college-wide forums will be held twice a year on both campuses in order to increase dialogue between the board and the chancellor.

Ethics policies have also been addressed, and recommendations for the board to include a violation clause in the board ethics policy were also given and approved in September.

An English instructor at Saddleback College has been declared a missing person by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Amy Ahearn, a part-time instructor at Saddleback went missing on Aug. 22, the first day of the Fall 2011 semester.

She was a no-show to every class she was assigned to teach for the semester.

Ahearn is a resident of Lake Forest and has no family members who live in California. She has also recently gone through a divorce.

The instructor was reportedly last seen in Norwalk on Sep. 9 while seeking an attorney to represent her in a case against the Orange County police, according to an article in the Orange County Register.

It is suspected that the past months’ events are due to a rare genetic disease known as Huntington’s Disease.

Ahearn’s mother had Huntington’s, and it is likely that Ahearn may have inherited the gene.

According to the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, Huntington’s is an incurable brain disorder which diminishes the victim’s abilities to walk, speak, and reason.

Early symptoms of the disease may affect cognitive ability or mobility.

Individuals that carry the gene will most likely develop Huntington’s between the ages of 30 and 50.

Ahearn is 40 years old, which puts her in the exact age demographic of the disease.

According to Ahearn’s sister, Margie, the instructor showed signs of the disease, mostly

Photo Courtesy OC Sheriff’s Department

MISSING: Amy Ahearn has been missing since the beginning of the semester and is considered at risk due to her possible mental illness. paranoia, in 2007.

The instructor’s students also noticed that something was different about the instructor, and some took to RateMyProfessor. com to voice their reservations about Ahearn.

One post from January 2010 said, “All papers are very restricted to topics that all pertain to torture or cults.

In the first session you are given a 13-page syllabus that explains you should not be overly nice to her as this is sexual harassment and the final was an essay about rape.”

Former student of Ahearn, Dorothy Friedlander, said, “As an educator she [Ahearn] was phenomenal, but to me it seemed very evident that something had happened to her and that she seemed very distant.

The only time she really engaged with her students was when it was on a topic about the literature we were reading.” crossel0@saddleback.edu

In Brief

The Saddleback College baseball team’s annual Christmas tree fundraiser is returning this year and order forms and payments must be received by Wednesday, Nov. 9.

The team will be selling fresh-cut Oregon trees with a choice of either Douglas or Noble Fir. The option in sizes range from 5 to 9 feet.

In addition to order a tree for yourself, there is a new option to donate a Christmas tree to a family in need or student veteran from Saddleback.

Pick up will be on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the baseball field. An additional fee will be charged for home delivery.

Make checks payable to Saddleback College Foundation.

For more information, contact Coach McCartney by calling (949) 582-4254 or emailing him at tmccartney@saddleback. edu.

- Melanie Roberts

SEE ACCEDITING PAGE 2

IVC men’s basketball looks forward to promising season MARYANNE SHULTS CONTRIBUTOR Irvine Valley College Athletics released its 2011-2012 team rosters last week for both men’s and women’s basketball.

The teams have five returning sophomores and a crop of newcomers.

Jerry Hernandez is in his 17th year as coach of the men’s team.

It finished last season with an impressive 23-8 overall and 8-4 in the Orange Empire Conference, ranking third and making the regional finals after defeating No. 1 Mt. San Antonio.

In the 2009-10 season, the team reached a milestone playing in the state tournament for the first time.

Winning 26 games, it ranked in the top three in California.

The previous season the team set a school record winning 27 games, ranked as one of the top teams in the state and playing in the regional finals.

Hernandez said he lost two good players who transferred to a four-year college so he will take each day at a time.

“We have two guards with steady experience, while the others develop their skills,”

Hernandez said.

Returning this season are guards Kalob Hatcher, Ramon Mejia, Chris Taylor and Jose Vasquez.

Hatcher shot 84 percent on free throws in 31 games played last season, averaging nine points per game with Mejia right behind with 82 percent averaging 8.8 points.

The 6-foot-7 forward Yanick Kulich returns with the highest field goal average at 52 percent with 50 percent of 3-pointers.

“Kalob Hatcher and Ramon Mejia are smart and tough,” Hernandez said. “They’re the

backbone of our team.”

New to the team is guard Jordan Hamamoto who made AllSouthern Section his junior year of high school at Anaheim’s Western High.

Last year he played for Lake Superior State.

Another transfer, Austin Loeb, a 6-foot-8 center, comes from Colorado Christian University.

Prior, he played for Brethren Christian in Huntington Beach where he was recognized most valuable player for both his team and league.

“In time, success will come in

the development of Austin Loeb and will determine how good we’ll be,” Hernandez said.

Other incoming freshman show promise based on their high school experience.

Christian Scott comes to IVC from Irvine’s University High.

The 6-foot-4 freshman forward averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds a game.

Rounding out the newcomers are Zach Mills (Esperanza), Michael Bolden (Trabuco Hills), Steel Sylte (Tesoro), Kirill Sergeyev (Irvine), and Jeff Given (Los Alamitos) bounds per game last season.

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National Basketball Association lockout continues CHRIS CANTWELL SPORTS COLUMN

The NBA lockout has lasted 132 days so far and there is no sign of it letting up. The players and owners have still not agreed to terms, and they are not close to an agreement.

The most recent proposition made by the owners was a 50/50 revenue deal. The owners believed that the money made from the NBA season should be split equally between them and the players, officials said.

All of the players in the NBA, including Saddleback alumnus Anthony Carter, are against that proposition and think that they should make 52 percent to 53 percent of the revenue.

The NBA made $3.4 billion last year and is at a stalemate over $240 million. These owners and players make so much money and continue to argue over an amount of money that isn’t very significant.

Both groups are going to lose more than $240 million by not having a season anyway. That amount of money could be spent in many ways, such as helping people in need.

One of the bigger issues is that the owners think that every single team should be able to compete for a championship.

The extra money for the owners can help their teams in trying to acquire franchise players. Ever since Lebron James and Chris Bosh went to the Miami Heat and Amare Stoudamire and Carmelo Anthony went to the New York Knicks, the smaller market teams don’t stand a chance at beating these powerhouses.

It is understandable where the owners are coming from, but these big market super teams are good for the sport. These teams raise the ratings, and the NBA season had more viewers last year than any other year in its 65 year history. Last year was when all these superstars

went to the big market teams.

Another thing that the players are against is a hard salary cap which doesn’t allow a team to spend above the cap.

In a soft cap, if a team has a salary cap of thirty-six million, they can sign whoever they want with that money.

They also get a Mid Level Exception.

This is a one year deal for roughly $5 million. They also get numerous veteran minimums. These are one year, roughly $1 to $1.5 million deals.

The hard cap wouldn’t have any of these features, it would just have the $36 million cap.

The players are outraged, and believe that a championship team can’t be built with a hard cap.

The most important thing is the fans. The committee needs to come up with a solution as soon as possible so basketball fans can be happy again. ccantwell0@saddleback.edu

College awarded $1 million jobs grant

CAPTIVE: Negotiations continue between the players and owners of the NBA. The lockout does not show signs of ending soon, although a national mediator is helping the two sides reach a resolution.

Thanksgiving for veterans KIRALYNN EDMONDSON

ADAM JONES The United States Department of Labor awarded a $1 million grant to Saddleback College to train American citizens for engineering jobs currently held by foreign citizens inside the United States.

Saddleback’s Math, Science, and Engineering Division and RapidTech, the National Center for Additive Manufacturing are the primary recipients of the grant for Saddleback.

The grant, which will be paid over four years, consists of approximately $776,000 for Saddleback’s MSE Division, and $317,000 for RapidTech.

“Congratulations to our Chemistry and Mathematics Departments and our RapidTech program for their work in securing this grant, which will help us build a program around the incredible talents of Dr. Jim Zoval, Frank Gonzalez, Ken Patton, and Ed Tackett to train students for in-demand jobs for many years to come,” said Tod Burnett, the college president.

“The Bridges to Engineering Program at Saddleback is sure to become a model for other colleges that seek to train engineers for jobs here in Orange County,” Burnett said.

The Orange County Bridges to Engineering program consists of an accelerated math bridge program, tutoring for students, specialized counseling

Photo by Alyssa Hunter/Lariat

Photo courtesy of Ben Dolan

PRINTING: RapidTech creates 3D models to help envision a project. The model shown is of the Veterans memorial at Saddleback. and mentoring support, research opportunities, internships, and on-the-job training sponsored by local engineering and biotech firms, according to Saddleback’s news release.

The program aims to help students articulate into engineering pathways that exist in the California State University and University of California systems. Through the program, Saddleback hopes to increase the participation of minorities and women in engineering and increase the supply of qualified engineers in Orange County, according to the news release.

Jim Zoval, a chemistry instructor, and Frank Gonzalez, a math instructor, are co-project directors for the MSE portion of the grant.

Instructor emeritus Ken Patton and Advanced Technology Center Director Ed Tackett will manage the grant funding given to RapidTech.

“Saddleback’s MSE division and RapidTech are required to expend the funds awarded pursuant to very specific requirements of the grant,” said Cathy Arreguin, Saddleback’s grants analyst.

“For the MSE division share, funds are scheduled to be ex-

Accrediting Continued from Page 1

Another recommendation calling for the board to conduct a survey, in addition to a self-evaluation, was fulfilled last spring.

The first effort to provide regular updates on their progress occurred at the college forums held on both campuses Nov. 2.

“I am very proud of the effort our district has made in addressing these recommendations,” Portner said in a statement regarding the district’s actions concerning the recommendations.

“This has provided us with an opportunity to come together to implement important planning and processes that will serve as a foundation as we focus on our commitment to serving students,” Portner said.

-Michael Dorame

pended to support additional faculty, counseling services, lab supplies, tutorial services, clerical assistance, program oversight and field trips for students in the Bridge 2 Engineering program,” Arreguin said.

Many grants target their funding at specific areas of a proposal or project, disallowing the recipients of the grant to do as they please with the money. In this case, the recipients were pleased with the areas covered by the grant.

“Professor Gonzales and I have not identified any areas in this project that we would like to spend money on outside of the items in the proposal budget,” said Zoval.

“The RapidTech share of the grant funds will support needed supplies and staffing to run a summer academy focused on interactive learning through advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing,” Arreguin said.

“Students will also have the opportunity to apply the math and engineering concepts and skills learned in the classroom during the RapidTech summer program,” Arreguin said. ajones54@saddleback.edu

Registration began yesterday for continuing students, and opens for new and re-entry students on November 28.

ASB Stamps are available for $10, and have unique benefits for students. On campus, students get 10 percent off cafeteria items, bookstore supplies, and coffee cart purchases. Off campus benefits include discounts at theme parks, movies, Howie’s game shack, Boomers, Saddleback Lanes, and more.

The Classified Senate Giving Drive to student veterans placed baskets throughout Saddleback College in each division office inviting the public to donate to the student veterans, so they can have a memorable Thanksgiving this year.

Because it was unclear on how many donations the divisions offices were going to collect last year, the student veterans entered in a drawing this informed the school that they were going to need help feeding their family, knowing that their name may not be picked.

But there was such a great turnout in donations last year,

that all thirty raffle contestants received baskets.

“Other student Vets who were not aware of the raffle, saw the contestants retrieving their holiday baskets, and ran down here to my office to see if their were left overs. It was phenomenal.

Luckily I had a few gift cards left over,” said Tracy McConnell, the program assistant for the giving drive.

McConnell has reach both inside and outside of Saddleback this year.

“I work with many other outside agencies who informed me that the public would also like to donate and that I should advertise to the community,” McConnell said. “So I got in touch with KSBR and Channel 39 in

hopes there will be more donations.”

McConnell is picking up the baskets this Thursday.

“For people with 3 to 7 family members we get them a nice big basket a certificate for a turkey, and a little cash for perishables, but the rest of the dinner is in the basket,” McConnell said.

There are many Veteran families who are in need during this time. The more donations collected the more families the public will be helping out. Look for the baskets in each division office and drop by what you can to help give Veteran families a memorable and comfortable Thanksgiving. kedmondson0@saddleback.edu

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LA R I AT

W E D N E S D AY, NOVEMBER 9, 2011

13 OC ceramic artists featured in ‘Clay Today’ other artists,” Elizalde said.

She became interested in ceramics because of a curiosity she developed her senior year of college, according to Elizalde.

It was different for her to have such small scale ceramics in the show, since her usual pieces involve large scale figurative work. Another addition to the

MELANIE ROBERTS Art appreciators of all types crowded the Saddleback College Art Gallery on Nov. 1, for the opening of the exhibit, “Clay Today: A Re-visit.”

The exhibit was first shown in 1995 and featured 14 active ceramic artists in Orange County, who were professional in the field. In the returning exhibit, seven of the original artists have come back and six new artists have joined them.

“It’s nice to see 16 years later what the artists from 1995 are up to,” said Scott Young, the curator for the exhibit. “Some have retired, died, or are no longer in the area.”

Young said, “It’s different from the old show, because we had more funding back then to have workshops and lectures.

Now we are limited to what we can do.”

Young has been an instructor at Saddleback since 1986.

Bob Rickerson, the art gallery director said the object of shows like these is to display the type of art taught during classes, so that students can see professionals from their community.“My job is to display the pieces and make them look beautiful. That was not hard with these particu-

photo by

exhibit was Marlo Bartels.

“It’s great company and great to work with other people. It’s nice not being stuck in the studio. Some of my favorite artists are in this show, like Fred Stodder and Bill Henke,” Bartels said.

Bartels said the theme in his work is love. “I like when peo-

ple come together. I’m lucky to have gotten into something I love doing and travel with my passion for ceramics.”

Art goer, Ken Kleinberg said, “It’s a wonderful show, certainly a diverse set of work here and a variety.” mroberts32@gmail.com

Melanie Roberts/lariat

CERAMIC EXPOSITION: Students and art connoisseurs alike enjoy the pieces placed on dispaly at the Saddleback Art Gallery lar pieces,” Rickerson said. show, but the pieces are more Erika Shrader, 22, art, a ce- complex. I have added shapes ramic student in Young’s class, together in order to trend away said she became interested in from the structural and functionthe exhibit while watching the al,” Au said. “I go to the market set up process over the last few to find naturally organic forms, weeks. slip cast copies of shapes.”

“I heard about the show According to Au, in the 1995 through my ceramics class,” ceramic display, he presented Shrader said. “I came to check simple teapots with a clear funcout the music and I wanted to tion, but this year his teapots see [the exhibit] up. There are take the shapes of things like so many ways to put clay to- vegetables and fruits molded gether.” together, making the functional Even though the returning aspect less evident. artists had done this before, New artists to the show, like ceramic artists, like Randy Au, Susan Elizalde, felt honored to said they had changed their be included. “I felt honored to styles since the initial exhibit. be asked to be a part of this. I “My work is similar to the old was already familiar with the

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CAMPUS COMMENT ALYSSA HUNTER AND TAYLOR CARNEY DO YOU KNOW THE BENEFITS OF THE ASG STAMP?

Photo by gerbzk20/flickr CC BY-ND 2.0

LEWD BEHAVIOR: Beavis and Butt-Head became a subject of immense controversy for depicting two dumb, teenaged heavy-metal music fans and their week-to-week misfortunes and antics.

Cartoons are not just for children DAVID GUTMAN Derek Duenez, 19 music

Alex Kaplan, 20 undecided

“The coffee discount is almost cheaper than Starbucks.”

Jamie Migliore, 20 undecided

“I think the cafeteria discount is the only discount that is worth it.”

Julie Wichstrom, 19 musical theater

“I don’t have a card, let alone a sticker. I only have one class a week.”

“Not often, but at restaurants.”

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

Alex Ayres, 19 communications “Yes, I like the discounts on coffee.”

Ellen Hulse, 19 psychology “I do not, so I can’t take advantage of the benefits. I don’t really know what the benefits are.”

Yes it’s back: the wonderful, the glorious, Beavis and ButtHead. Probably an overstatement but they do have their fans.

I don’t count myself as one of them because it was before my time, but I have come to respect the genre of adult oriented cartoons that Beavis and ButtHead helped create.

First premiering in 1993 on cable TV station, MTV, Beavis and Butt-Head have showed the world that cartoons don’t have to have the story quality of Disney classics or artistic ingenuity as anime from Japan to be popular.

Beavis and Butt-Head has some of the crudest and laziest animation than any TV show before it with even cruder humor.

It was this kind of crude humor about sex, drugs, and general popular culture of the time that appealed to young adults and not so young adult in its four-year run.

However, many people protested the show and labeled it as the cause of many death re-

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

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

lated accidents such as the case in 1994 when a mother blamed the show for influencing her son to light his trailer home on fire, killing his younger sister.

It eventually came out that the family didn’t even get cable.

This proof didn’t stop many people from labeling the show as offensive, forcing the show to be moved to later time slot .

According to MTV, jokes and scenes were cut because MTV’s parent company Viacom was too afraid of a class-action lawsuit.

Eventually Beavis and ButtHead was canceled in 1997.

Beavis and Butt-Head may have been gone but its influence can be seen in many of the adult cartoons of today.

South Park, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken, Metalocalypse, and Family Guy have used the tried and true combination of crude animation with popular culture comedy to influence a new generation which I am proud to be a part of.

South Park, which critics claimed was purely about “fart jokes and toilet humor” has become a cultural icon of pure cleverness with political, cultural commentary.

Having insulted Islam, Christianity, Mormonism, Scientology, and just about anything that a reader can think of, South Park has already dedicated an episode to make fun of it.

The biggest difference between then and today is that these TV shows are on later time slots, being on stations that advertise as being adult oriented and not for little kids. Comedy Central, Fox TV, and even Cartoon Network’s late night shift to Adult Swim carry these shows.

Adult Swim is popular for showing the previously mentioned cartoons, and broadcasting them late at night during or after prime time.

They cater to an eager audience who want to have a fix of clever writing and jokes disguised as crude humor to the rest of the masses.

In the end what is probably the funniest part of it all is that the average person is just blaming and pointing fingers, when the rest of us are just enjoying a good show. dgutman1@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, N O VE M BER 9 , 2 0 11

Deceased being honored on the Day of the Dead

photo courtesy of lhoycel teope

Day of the dead: A table dedicated to the dead is filled with flowers, candies, pictures of loved ones, candles, traditional holiday dinner, miniture statues and sweet bread for dessert. jessica osiecki Saddleback College’s international languages department hosting the Dia de Los Muertos, a Day of the Dead celebration.

“Dia de los Muertos is an amazing time to celebrate those that are not here,” said Carmenmara Hernandez-Bravo, the director of the international languages department.

One of the tables had candles

and pictures of loved ones that passed and another table had marigold flowers, candies, and little miniature statues representing the loved ones that passed onto the afterlife.

The tables were not just filled

with flowers and candy, but there was traditional holiday food. There were beef tamales, refried beans, and mexican rice.

For beverages, there was a drink called horchata, which is a cinnamon rice milk.

And for dessert, there was a sweet bread, Pan de Muerto, which is enjoyed by the families of the deceased during Dia de los Muertos.

All of the instructors from the department all came together at this celebration because they all wanted to honor those that are no longer living. It was not just Dia de los Muertos that was celebrated, the dead are honored on holidays all around the world.

Another holiday that is celebrated the same but in a different culture is called Ii Giormo de Morti or All Soul’s Day. All Soul’s Day is a Christian religious holiday that is celebrated in Italy on Nov. 2 every year just like the Day of the Dead. It is known to gather with friends and family and celebrate life and the loved ones that have passed.

This is a time for families to bring fresh flowers, mostly chrysanthemums, to the tombs of their departed loved ones.

These flowers are the traditional

flower on All Soul’s Day and it represents death.

Another interesting fact is that on All Soul’s Day, the souls of the departed visit the homes of the loved ones that were left behind in the living world.

There was also a presentation about Togo, Africa and how they also celebrate the dead. It is believed that when someone dies, they are reincarnated over and over again after each life

“Dia de los Muertos is an amazing time to celebrate those that are not here.” spent.

In China, two main holidays celebrate the dead and they are Tomb Sweeping Day that happens on April 5 and the Ghost Festival that happens on July 15.

Among Chinese, the Ghost Festival and Tomb Sweeping Days are times to honor ancestors and appease ghosts and spirits of the dead.

It’s all part of the traditions and superstitions in the Chinese culture.

Ghost Sweeping Day is for honoring ancestors and to make sure they are happy in the after world. Ancestor worship includes cleaning and sweeping of their graves, offerings of food, normally fruits, buns and sweets, and burning of incense.

It is also common to burn other offerings, specially “ghost money.” The belief is that by burning something, the essence of the burnt element is transferred to the spirit world, where it can be used by the dead.

It was not just the dead that were honored, there was a presentation from ACLAMO Club and they are all about removing educational barriers for undocumented students at Saddleback by letting fellow Saddleback College students know about the Dream Act. The California Dream Act gives undocumented AB540 students to be able to apply and compete for institutional financial aid to be able to go to public colleges and universities.

Finally, the best part of the celebration was that everyone was together to celebrate a holiday to honor those that are no longer here with us. josiecki0@saddleback.edu

Cinema students win best documentary and DJ awards nicole bullard The College Broadcasting Inc. held their award ceremony last week in Orlando, Fla. at the National Student Media convention for all participating cinema students across the nation.

Debra Hill, Larissa Garrett,

Ryan Rodriguez, and Zac Rodriguez all contributed to their documentary on disabled veterans returning home and finding ways to enjoy life despite their disabilities by scuba diving, which was called “Bullets to Bubbles.”

The entries for the Best Documentary award were allowed to be thirty minutes in length or

less, while the Best DJ award was only allowed to be a length of five minutes.

Their documentary earned them a nomination for the Best Documentary Award, which was given out by CBI. Debra Hill, 54, cinema, TV, radio, expressed her surprise and happiness over being nominated for such a prestigious

Gaucho QB exceeds standards kiralynn edmondson Sophomore Ben Gomez is engraving his accomplishments into Gaucho history, in his first season playing quarterback he has thrown 30 touchdown passes through 9 games, averaging more than 300 yards passing per game.

“The season is going really good,” Gomez said. “I just keep pushing myself to do good and it feels great to be playing.”

Gomez broke the Saddleback College record for passing 478 yards in a game, against Victor Valley College, and broke the school record for throwing 35 completions against Mt. San Antonio College.

It is Gomez’s third year with the Gauchos. In his first year he played second-team receiver for coach McElroy in which he got the opportunity to throw three passes, all of which were completed for touchdowns.

“Coach I think I want to red shirt [next season],” Gomez told Coach McElroy at the end of his first season. Gomez said that while red shirting he want-

ed to learn to offense and compete for quarterback next year.

McElroy’s response to Gomez’s goal was positive.

“I am really proud that he followed his heart and he is competing at the position he wanted to play,” McElroy said. “He has a lot of determination, he could actually be the best quarterback I’ve ever coached because he has all the things your looking for in a quarterback. He really is very talented.”

Gomez is also taking other classes to add to the stress of football. He is enrolled in history, sociology and health but has not yet declared a major.

“The biggest challenge is just staying focused and keeping my head on school, football, and especially keeping in shape, but its perseverance and it pushes me,” Gomez said.

“I have complete and total confidence that Ben has given his best effort 100 percent of the time,” McElroy said. “He would love to go to a four year, and I’m confident that somebody is going to offer him an athletic scholarship to play.”

Gomez gets a lot of calls and texts from friends, but some-

Under the guidance of experienced coach Julie Hanks, the IVC women’s team has made the Southern California Regional playoffs nine out of the last 12 years.

With a 13-14, 4-6 finish last season, the Lasers grabbed fifth position in the Orange Empire

my nomination. I was really surprised,” said Jones.

The submission for Best Disc Jockey is an air-shift, which is a segment of a broadcast.

“My radio life is like a sundae. My radio show is is like the chocolate sauce, but the awards is like the cherry on top. nbullard0@saddleback.edu

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photo courtesy of ben gomez

Gaucho Star: Saddleback quarterback Ben Gomez at the pumpkin patch. times can’t fit it into his schedule.

“When I do get time I hang out and play games with friends.

I find myself out to dinner with my girlfriend on the weekends or hanging out with my dog,” Gomez said.

“I would love to hang out with them more often, but that’s just a challenge most people [my] age face.”

As for his goals, Gomez is eager to play in the championship game, “We just have to take it one game at a time.” kedmondson0@saddleback.edu

Lasers seek return to postseason Conference.

“I’ve got five returning players--one redshirted last season.

We should be very competitive this year based on returning players,” Hanks said. “This should be a fun year.”

Returning sophomore, 5-foot10 forward Megan Blackwell finished the season with 37 percent on field goals in 94 of 252 attempts and 84 percent on free

tion for Best Disc Jockey, for her work on KSBR 88.5 FM. Jones also is a disc jockey on the C Rock radio called Monday Night Meltdown from 7 to 10 p.m.

“The Director of College Radio Station Operation submitted one of my air-shifts, and I didn’t even know until one of my instructors congratulated me on

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• WOMEN’S BASKETBALL •

Maryanne shults contributor

award.

As the director, Hill was not only the director but also the producer and helped edit the documentary.

“I spent several hundred hours on this film editing. I also helped with the underwater cinematography,” said Hill.

Kelly Jones, 43, news broadcasting, also received a nomina-

throws. Her scoring average was 9.3. She scored 21 points in only 18 total minutes of game play against Taft High.

Other returning players include guard Camille Rosales, guard/forward Ashlie Washington and forwards Jackie Fa’asamala and Melanie Kashanchi.

To read full story visit www.lariatnews.com

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