@lariatnews /lariat.saddleback /LariatNews @lariatnews VOLUME 45, ISSUE 12
Lariat
SADDLEBACK AND IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGES’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY, Februar y 27, 2013
Student kills 3, shoots himself
News
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Sports
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Opinion
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A&E
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LRC
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LARIATNEWS.COM lariat news site:
Saddleback student, Ali Syed, shoots his way across Orange County during 75 minute long rampage. Motives are still unclear as to why Syed carried out these acts. Vale r y fregoso k ri sti ne ma rt inez mi chael grennell
Lariat Staff Editors An gi e L. pineda
Editor-In-Chief
Saddleback student, Ali Syed, 20, was identified by Orange County Sheriff’s Department as the suspect behind the shooting spree that left three people dead and five people injured, before turning the gun on himself on Feb. 19. Information on Syed’s shootings was released by the Tustin Police Department at a press conference held that same afternoon. Syed was enrolled in one class this semester, Computer Maintenance and Repair I, taught by instructor Eugene Evancoe. Evancoe was surprised that it was his quiet stu-
angie l. pineda / Lariat
MOBILE UNIT: Authorities hold a press conference at the Tustin Police Department about OC shootings. dent who went on the shooting spree. “He didn’t give any reason for alarm or concern,” Evancoe said. “He seemed like a normal student. He was a little quiet, but he was well behaved in class.” Evancoe said that Syed seemed very interested in com-
puter repairs and consistently attended class. “He did well on his tests and assignments,” Evancoe said. “I think he liked to work on computers on his own because he knew a little more than what the class was covering.” Michael Hoefegn, a class-
mate of Syed’s said that he never really talked with Syed, but that he seemed like a smart kid. “I never saw it coming,” Hoefegn said. • At 4:45 a.m., several gunshots were heard from Syed’s parents’ home on Red Leaf Lane in Ladera Ranch. Courtney Aoki, 20, was found dead with multiple gunshots to the head inside the residence. • Syed fled from his home in his parents’ black SUV heading north on Interstate 5, exiting Red Hill Avenue in Tustin. • In a Denny’s parking lot near the Red Hill Avenue exit, Syed began shooting at the second victim’s car. The victim survived after receiving a gunshot wound to the back of the head. • Noticing damage to the SUV, Syed walked to the nearby Mobil gas station where he pro-
ceeded to steal a car, leaving the owner uninjured. • Continuing onto the I-5 to the California 55 south, Syed stopped his car at the on-ramp where he started to shoot at cars passing by. He shot at three cars, injuring one person. • Syed continued on the CA55, exited McFadden Avenue where he approached a BMW and shot Melvin Lee Edward, 69. • Taking the victim’s BMW, Syed fled back to the CA-55 before he exited onto Edinger Avenue. He then approached and killed construction worker, Jeremy Louis, 26, and injured another victim at the Micro Center parking lot. • He then proceeded north on the CA-55, exiting at Katella Avenue where he continued to the intersection of Wanda Road and Katella.
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michael grennell / Lariat
Baseball--Saddleback takes on IVC at home this Saturday at 2 p.m.
shirley smith / Lariat
Attack of the crows-Ravens find a home at Saddleback College.
LIBRARY HALL: The newly rennovated second floor has become home to many students between classes.
A modern
sean byrne / Lariat
shirley smith / Lariat
Clipping dog’s ears and tails - cool or cruel?
library
jo hnn y w ilson
News Editor
Since 1973, Saddleback College has hosted a library home to thousands of textual resources. This Thursday at 3 p.m., the Learning Resource Center (formerly known as the library) will be hosting an open house to honor 40 years of excellence, and to recognize a new chapter in learning at Saddleback College. What began as a mere collaborative storage of books has since then grown to be so much more. According to Patti Weekes, director of learning assistance, the library’s first steps toward transformation began in the late 1970s. It was around this time that the library started to become more than just a place for research, but also a home for student tutoring. This new focus on tutoring was first led by one individual, an anthropology teacher: Mike Merrifield. “Mike Merrifield – He founded tutoring at Saddleback College,” said Weekes. Toward the late 1970s, Professor Merrifield began devoting
For more LRC coverage, see page 6 more and more time to propelling a new tutoring service open to any students at Saddleback College. At first, the program consisted of one room located on the floor of the library (now the second floor of the LRC building.) By 1985, this tutoring program had become officially known as the Learning Assistant Program (LAP), and grew to house three rooms in the library’s top floor. In year 1990, the LAP moved locations yet again and took up 5,000 square feet on the library’s first floor. According to Weekes, this place had been previously used for admissions and records as well as faculty offices. The LAP remained there until the reconstruction and opening of the LRC in August of 2012. The 1980s and 1990s were decades of complete transformation for the Saddleback College
library. During these years, a shift in focus became apparent. Students were no longer just seeking a place of centralized research, but also a place of centralized and interactive learning. With the arrival of Professor Kevin O’Connor as Dean of Liberal Arts in 1999, plans to capitalize on this new library concept began to emerge. Commenting on the state of the library before the renovation, O’Connor stated, “It was an uninviting, dungeon-like building.” The need for a modernized center for learning/research was inherently evident. Thus, the LRC project was initiated with construction beginning in January 2010. “This was a collaborative project, with ideas, suggestions, and brainstorming coming from many people,” said O’Connor. “Funding came from two sources. This project was awarded almost $11 million from the State, with additional funding coming from SOCCCD (South Orange County Community College),” O’Connor added. During the reconstruction period, the library was forced to
Upcoming events/ Deadlines International Film Festival tomorrow in SSC 212 at 7 p.m.
susan ray / lariat
ACADEMIC SUCCESS: Students resort to the LRC tutoring center for extra help with studying, as well tutoring from staff and students. relocate to the village buildings – housing a limited selection of the materials during this time. Finally, with project completion in August of 2012, the library was able to return to its new and vastly improved home. However, it would no longer be known as “the library,” a new term that more appropriately describes the center was coined, the Learning Resource Center. “It serves as a dramatic symbol of what a college needs to be about,” said O’Connor – commenting on the newly renovated LRC. Jason Bone, Senior Project Designer of the LRC construc-
tion, added, “It’s impromptu, it’s social.” The library had taken on a new role as the LRC, bringing the life and learning back to socially interactive state at the center of campus. “I’ve never really went to the library at school before this year. Now I’m in the LRC at least two to three days a week; it doesn’t even feel like I’m in a library. This place is pretty cool,” said Hayden Yacobucci, 19 years old, business major. Stop by this Thursday to celebrate the new landmark building. jwilson.lariat@gmail.com
Spain: Studying abroad info meeting tomorrow in SSC 212 at 6 p.m.
Graduation application due Mar. 1. FASFA application due Mar. 2. Scholarship apps for Saddleback are due Mar. 10. Visit Saddleback’s website for more info.