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By Leslie Philp, March 8th, 2013

Classic brick-oven pizzeria to add specialty Napoletana spin to downtown pizza scene The already-legendary pizzerias of downtown may be getting a run for their money this summer.

The house-made mozzarella and Neapolitan brick-oven-prepared dough of Glendale’s La Piazza Al Forno, famous for an appearance on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” will be hitting downtown on May 1 and will be located in Cartel Coffee Lab‘s previous location near First and Washington streets.

Owner and home-taught pizza-maker Justin Piazza will open the new restaurant under the name La Piazza Locale, which will have a specialty of Napoletana pizza, appetizers and specials.

“My thing was always pizzas … I wanted to stretch out a little bit,” Piazza said of the vibe for La Piazza Locale. “It’ll be a cool place to hang out, for sure.”

Piazza said that La Piazza Al Forno, which translates to ‘Piazza’s Oven,’ has been owned and operated by the Piazza family for five years, and Piazza credits his father for his motivation to continue to create the “true” pizza.

“My dad was pretty much my inspiration to do it,” Piazza said. “He helped me learn how to make pizzas when I was a kid and I took the next step further.”

Piazza, who is originally from New York and New Jersey, said he wanted to open a location that reminded him of the comfort

of home and to contribute to the growing boutique restaurant scene in downtown. “(Locale) is also right in the middle of downtown,” Piazza said. “A lot of cool things are going on in Phoenix and I just wanted to be a part of it.”

For nursing major Emilee Lee, price, atmosphere and cleanliness are the key aspects she looks for when scoping out a new restaurant downtown.

“I want it to be pretty inexpensive, but I don’t mind spending a decent amount of money if the quality is there,” Lee said.

Business major Alex Jimenez said he finds eating downtown a hassle because most businesses require a parking permit and he has received two tickets for parking at a restaurant for too long without a permit.

“It’s extremely hard for me to find a pizza place,” Jimenez said. “But, you know, they have these … Google Maps and everything so if I have my phone I can look up a place.”

Locale’s “pizza so good it’s certified” takes the meaning of the word “pizza” back to its roots with Naples-imported, handmade brick ovens, San Marzano tomatoes and one of the only Verace Pizza Napoletana certifications in the state.

Piazza said that once the second location is open, he will consider adding discounts for students and local businesses among other specials.

The restaurant may have a soft opening with invited business groups and ASU faculty, Piazza said.

By Leslie Philp, February 22nd, 2013

Bubba Phatz BBQ co-owner brings ‘Good Food for Good People’ to new Phoenix location With the company less than a year old, Bubba Phatz BBQ co-owner Brian Banasek opened the doors to the restaurant’s second location on Roosevelt and Seventh streets about two weeks ago.

Banasek said he wanted to broaden his horizons outside of the Mesa area and support the local art district in Phoenix.

“Everything started out in Mesa at my two fine-dining restaurants,” Banasek said about his initial experimentation with barbeque. “Eight months ago, we decided to open up a barbeque restaurant, me and a couple of chefs and (Phoenix) is now a second location.”

Bubba Phatz’s name is derived from Banasek himself, who was affectionately called “Bubba” growing up. The smokedmeat lover’s paradise offers signature specialties such as the pulled pork sandwich with hot sauce and a side of coleslaw, boneless short-rib sliders and oak and pecan smoked beef brisket.

Banasek, a graduate from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, said his road to entrepreneurship began with a simple love for food and the passion for developing a delicious product for customer satisfaction.

Banasek said he chose the Phoenix arts district for his company, which he hopes to grow into a chain, because he wanted

to contribute to local small businesses. He also believes that his motto of “Good Food for Good People” sets his restaurant apart from others.

“I always wanted to kind of reach that blue collar … regular Joe kind of guy and I never really could do it with the fine dining,” Banasek said.

Banasek opened his first fine-dining restaurant, S Bistro & Simply Delicious Catering, and was forced to close shop after the economy took a downward turn.

He said De La Cruz Bistro was his second business venture, where he worked as an executive chef until opening Bubba Phatz’s Phoenix location.

Mike Wingert, a server for Bubba Phatz, said he has been working in the restaurant industry since he was 16 years old and has always had an interest in food trends.

“I have always followed the business of restaurants, eventually I want to own my own restaurant,” Wingert said.

Wingert said he has worked for Bubba Phatz for a year and spends his time at the Phoenix and Mesa locations, maintaining the high quality of meat and customer service at both.

Phillip McCarty, a bartender at Lost Leaf Bar and Gallery, said he stops in regularly to try different items on the menu.

“This is the best one in the world,” McCarty said. “I am a happy customer for sure. Come see this guy. He hooks it up.”

McCarty said that he was glad to see a barbeque restaurant occupy the newly rented space.

“I’m sure there are other (barbeque) spots but this is the first one to hit the area,” McCarty said.

Banasek, a Toronto native, said he has won two culinary gold medals, and his culinary creations have graced the tables of Queen Latifah, Bill Cosby, Jewel, Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Prince Henry of Wales during his cooking ventures, from restaurant work in Canada to his Bistro in Mesa.

Banasek said that his barbeque style has been compared to restaurants in South and North Carolina, according to customers.

“Some of these guys, the old timers, they’ve been all over the region and they say some of my barbeque is the best in the Valley,” Banasek said.

By Leslie Philp, February 14th, 2013

Short Leash expands its partnerships with local community, offers new brunch menu Locally owned and operated Short Leash Hot Dogs has expanded recently by partnering with Astor House in downtown Phoenix and offering a new brunch menu.

Brad Moore, co-owner of Short Leash, said he thinks partnering with Astor House will be a fun way to immerse his business further into the central Phoenix community and give him and his wife, Kat, an interior designer and co-owner of Short Leash, a chance to gain more business opportunities.

“We’re like-minded businesses, and we share similar values and kind of wanting to be a part of a neat community within the central Phoenix area,” Moore said.

The first collaboration was last Thursday, Feb. 7, according to Astor House owner DJ Fernandes.

“Creativity is what people like, and it shows in the attendance. … People are looking for different types of experiences nowadays, and so I’m glad that we’re able to partner up,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes said since Astor House opened in April of last year next door to Tuck Shop, the restaurant has been hosting community social events. He wanted to bring in more stability by partnering with the Phoenix Food Truck Coalition.

“You wouldn’t expect a restaurant to have a food truck come and show up at their place. I think it’s a nice, little collaboration,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes said in this economy it is difficult to market your business; however, he believes in constantly reinventing the wheel and bringing people together through his business ventures.

Astor House will not be Short Leash’s first partnership with brick-and-mortar businesses. The food truck can be found setting up shop in front of Urban Cookies at 4711 N Seventh St. every Tuesday.

“Short Leash was our first food truck,” said Dan Looney, operations and social media manager for Urban Cookies. “It’s been going strong for probably a year.”

Not only is Short Leash partnering with Astor House, but they also launched a new brunch menu last weekend. Moore said that their Saturday brunch menu will be available at their location near Made Art Boutique and Modified Arts gallery along with about five other food trucks.

“Some different menu items gives us a little bit more flexibility from what we do traditionally because we can stay open a little bit later. It’s a win-win,” Moore said.

This June will mark Short Leash’s third year in business, and Moore said he feels his company has been fortunate because of the genuine interest in food trucks from the media such as Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, as well as the acceptance from the public.

“It gives you flexibility. You can go out and do festivals and street fairs and

partner with local business,” Moore said of his mobile company.

Moore has a background in banking and finance and wanted to live out his dream of opening his own restaurant with his wife, Kat, without restriction.

“We both wanted something of our own,” he said. “We always had a fantasy that we’d start a restaurant one day but that was too expensive and cost prohibitive.

So, (this was) an easy thing for us to get started and finance ourselves.”

Broadcast sophomore Cissy Worstel said she discovered food trucks as an alternative to dining at Taylor Place and fell in love with the different selections Short Leash offers.

“I really enjoy it, customizing your own hot dog is pretty awesome,” Worstel said.

“You really can’t find that anywhere else.”

By Leslie Philp, February 13th, 2013

Hair salon doubles as art studio, offering creative setting for new hairdos Palabra Hair Art Collective, a hair salon that doubles as an art gallery, opened its doors early December in downtown Phoenix adding to the theme of small businesses with functional art spaces to the community.

“I feel like this place gave us room to change it up and not fit the mold,” Julia Duran said, salon co-owner. “We’re not pretentious, we’re friendly … and open.”

Duran said she has been working with hair for 10 years. The salon, located near Seventh and Pierce Streets, focuses on cut and color, waxing, extensions and dreadlocks.

“It’s becoming a little creative corner …

It’s still part of the art community but a little bit off the grid,” Jorge Torres said, co-owner of Palabra and graduate from Maricopa Beauty College.

With an urban yet classy atmosphere, Torres said he wants the salon to remain intimate so each client can get individual attention from the stylist and detail won’t be neglected.

“We can cater more to each client … less conversations at once. I wanted to really change the aesthetic as far as customer service,” Torres said.

Torres has been doing hair for five years and said Palabra was a way to be a part of a creative movement that would allow

him to provide for his family financially and to have a company built specifically with his brand.

By utilizing locally owned and operated small businesses, Palabra gives back to the small business community.

The logo for the company—a human body designed with cosmetic tools in place of the head, arms and legs—was created by local artist Ashley Macias with input from graphic designer Zack Newsome and Torres. Torres also uses Hermitag/e Press, owned by journalism students, for print work.

Priscilla Urrutia, dreadlock specialist at Palabra, focuses on dreadlock maintenance, which consists of recovery, installation, extensions and color. She said she was interested in the spiritual aspect of dreadlocks when she learned of their meaning in the Rastafari movement.

“The way we see hair, we love the natural texture of hair … we always like to keep it really fresh and edgy,” Urrutia said.

Each dreadlock for a Rastafarian member symbolizes a part of their soul that can never be cut, a journey of the mind and spirit as a test of patience to let hair grow naturally.

Ally Carr, print journalism major at ASU, said dreadlocks were a style that she always wanted to try.

“We were talking about (dreadlocks) at church actually and I was like ‘I bet I can do that with my hair’ so I just stopped brushing my hair,” Carr said.

Carr said she has had her dreadlocks for almost two years and had help from her mother with matting and backcombing because she said salons were too expensive. However, Carr said she was interested in visiting Palabra to experiment with different dreadlock styles.

The name Palabra, meaning “word” in Spanish, was a name that both Torres and Duran agreed represented their company personally and professionally.

“That’s your word, that’s what you’re going to stick to, that’s what you’re going to do … word is bond,” Duran said.

Local downtown business owner Shawna Franks of Space 55, a theater which focuses on producing and showing rare and original works, said the salon should add another creative element to the corner.

“It’s a nice collaborative group between (Palabra) and us and Parazol down the way so we all kind of work together,” Franks said. “The more business that we have downtown is going to be better for everyone.”

By Leslie Philp, January 3rd, 2012

Local LGBT Community rally against “pray gay away” facilities and followers On November 4, 2011, the National Association for Research & Therapy of homosexuality (NARTH) held there national convention at Phoenix Airport Marriot Hotel in Phoenix, Ariz.

Protestors such as No Longer Silent: Clergy for Justice, Humans & Equal Rights Organizers (H.E.R.O), and Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) held another conference in the same hotel to rally against the medical practices of NARTH deemed by the American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association and American Psychological Association as harmful.

“NARTH is a professional, scientific organization that offers hope to those who struggle with unwanted homosexuality,” Christopher Rosik, president of NARTH said. “As an organization, we disseminate educational information, conduct and collect scientific research, promote effective therapeutic treatment, and provide referrals to those who seek our assistance.”

H.E.R.O, a non-profit organization established in 2008 after the passage of prop 8 and prop 102 that protested the conference, hope to show the faces of the LGBT community and to fight for the rights that are being denied by the government.

“At the conference we were outside all day and had different speakers from X Games, Survivor, to families and friends of lesbians and gays,” Meg Sneed, Chair of H.E.R.O said, “We had ministers and clergies speaking … at the end of the day we were able to meet with the president of NARTH for about an hour.”

Sneed, who struggled with her own sexuality, wanted to make a difference by supporting same-sex couples acceptance into the community. “ … Something needs to change because if we continue to see hate crimes and we continue to see suicides and as long as there is a stigma attached to LGBT people, those things are going to continue to happen,” she said.

In this current day and age, 1 in every 10 people identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered. The number of samesex couples cohabitating in the state of conservative Arizona, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, has reached 21,000.

Despite the growing number of same-sex couples going public across the U.S., NARTH has grown as well, promoting reparative therapy across the country.

reasoning for the “school uniform” like clothing was so that the patients would not give any of the other residents an impression or provoke impure thoughts.

“The American Psychological Association is on record as saying that the origins of sexual orientation are not definitive, which is to say that science is not clear on this matter as pertains to homosexual orientation,” Rosik said.

“They feel it’s an addiction like drugs and they say—there’s a lot of restrictions when you go, you are wearing a certain attire … nothing revealing,” Henson said.

Rosik has been a member of the organization since 1994 and practices an outpatient mental health practice.

“My hope is that mental health professions will encourage research that will help us more clearly identify patients who will respond positively to therapy for their unwanted same-sex attractions,” Rosik said on why he thinks homosexuality can be reversed in patients through therapy or medication.

Ryan Henson, a psychology major at MCC and recent transgendered woman to man, has experienced living in an inpatient facility similar to the medical practice of NARTH first-hand.

“I got sent to California to a place called Love In Action, they’re actually one of the first that was started … They do electroshock therapy. That is illegal, so there are children as young as ten there, I’ve heard, and adults go there as well,” he said on the 2 years that he was forced to live in the rehabilitation center.

Henson was sent to the Love In Action facility at the age of 13 and said the

According to Henson, the facility is not bracketed off by age but by psychological needs of the patients diagnosis by the resident medical practitioners of Love In Action.

“It was very intense,” Henson said of his treatment, “because I wasn’t sure necessarily what my sexuality was, I knew I liked girls, but I wasn’t sure like how in depth it was. I was still kind of assembling who I was at that time.”

By Leslie Philp, January 3rd, 2012

Spotlight: A Day in the Life of Dr. Pan Shouan Pan, born in China, moved to the U.S. in 1985 on an exchange scholarship to enhance and further his education on to graduate school after earning a BA degree in his home country.

“I believe in the mission of community college to help students who otherwise may not benefit from higher education,” Dr. Pan, president of MCC, said of his reasoning for choosing a career in education.

His day begins early on Nov. 22 for an 8:30 am meeting with the Legal department, then quickly moves onto an hour of paper work and emails, prepping before his next meeting with East Valley Partnership. Every Tuesday for lunch, Pan attends the weekly Rotary Club meeting at the Mesa Country Club, where he is surrounded by fellow educators and businessman in the community.

Pan stops in during the speaking presentation by Dr. Brian Fagan, a well known author of history and water crisis in the world at 1:30 pm back at MCC, meets with Naomi Story to discuss a community grant at 4:30 pm and then

ends his day with the Governing Board meeting at 6 pm.

“I have never left higher education, from student to instructor to administration— I’ve never left. I like the community colleges focus, its purpose, for me there’s a sense of equity and justice. I clearly, the last twenty years I’ve been at community colleges—it resonates with me as a person, it’s rewarding in that sense. When you think you get paid to impact someone else’s life, in small way, in big way—it’s satisfying.”

By Leslie Philp, November 17th, 2011

Terracycle program partners with Mesa Community College Mesa Community College—partnered with the Terracycle Outsmart Waste program—has been approved to have ink jet cartridges, cell phones, chip bags, candy wrappers, and cookie wrappers as select recyclables to be sorted on campus and transformed from garbage to a reusable product.

“The district got with Terracycle because they do a donation type program for recycling and the Terracycle company is known to recycle things that are normally hard to recycle. So, it’s not just plastic cups and stuff like that its oddball things,” said Suzi Dodt, environmental sustainability coordinator for MCC. “The district decided to sign on and have any sort of money that’s made from the recycling of those things go to the Maricopa Foundation which is a student scholarship foundation for our community colleges,” All ten colleges in the Maricopa district are pooling money into the same account for the student scholarship program geared specifically toward sustainability majors. Dodt also said due to the growing number of sustainability courses available,

there could possibly be a degree or certificate program added to the scholarship.

“The personal care products is the newest one that they’ve got us signed up for which is pretty much any packaging from the health and beauty section of a grocery store. Make-up containers from eye shadows or foundation (to) mascara tubes and nail polish bottles,” She said.

The Terracycle program is serving as a pilot program with Faculty at MCC to see if the operation runs smoothly, however Dodt said that there is a possibility that students will be able to contribute.

“We could probably try something out now if the clubs wanted to get involved.

The money wouldn’t go directly to the club … but they could arrange to make some boxes and have a certain collection event,” She said.

Many of the products used in the Terracycle program are used for an assortment of items created from beauty products which are melted down and used to build playground equipment while the wrappers from candy, chips, and cookies are used as recycled paper to create covers on notebooks.

Dodt also said that students and faculty can volunteer at the Dumpster Dive on Nov. 15 to help sort recyclable items for

both the Terracycle program and the Maricopa Foundation.

By Leslie Philp, November 17th, 2011

Healthy vending machine franchise branches from California to Arizona Obesity has been a prevalent issue among children, teenagers, and adults. However, college students between the ages of 18 and 24 are on a path towards chronic health problems due to high blood pressure, high cholesterol and inactivity.

Based on a study conducted by the University of New Hampshire in 2007, 95% of women and 85% of men were not meeting their proper nutritional needs for intake of fiber, iron, calcium, and folate and the average college student exercises 30 minutes or less per day.

H.U.M.A.N (Humans Uniting Man And Health) Healthy Vending, a Santa Monica, California based company hopes to make a few changes when it comes to health and exercise by adding custom made vending machines with healthy foods and beverages to gyms, schools, and independent vending locations statewide.

“We started HUMAN Healthy Vending because we recognized a gap in the health and nutrition needs of our country and what was actually accessible to the average person in the marketplace,” Sean Kelly said, CEO of HUMAN on the basis of which the company was founded.

“We wanted to make nutrition easy for both parents and children by making healthful food easily accessible alongside nutrition education at the point of sale,” he said.

HUMAN has partnered with Elite Healthy Vending, a Scottsdale, Ariz. based company owned by Jon Palermo and Jason Grossman, and together they have placed healthy vending machines in the Florence School District, Dobson H.S., Mesa H.S., Red Mountain H.S., Scottsdale Christian H.S., and select colleges statewide.

“This is one step in the direction that would help the (high obesity rate). If you take the option of having the bad food out of the equation, they have no choice but to eat a healthier more suitable product,” said Jon Palermo on the high obesity rate among college students.

“But, it also comes down to people educating themselves on what’s healthy and what’s not healthy and what the benefits are,” he said.

Palermo and Grossman have been in business for nearly 3 months and are both advocates of maintaining a healthy lifestyle through fitness and eating right.

Palermo also said the HUMAN vending machines are unlike any other machine on

the market because of the different varieties available for purchase.

“These machines have the option to take credit cards, student cards, and they also come refrigerated which other machines do not. So, you can have drinks and snacks all mixed into one machine and not have them spoil,” he said.

HUMAN allows the option to purchase a variety of different vending machines for operator teams as well as independent vendors such as the Media Mogul and the Rugged Man which features beverages and snacks, Joe Human for coffee, the Arctic Human for frozen foods, and the Hot Human for hot food choices.

“Being able to offer (people) a better choice obviously puts that in front of them, if they don’t have those choices they’re not going to eat it. Hopefully (the public) learns and educates themselves along the way,” Palermo said on his hopes for what the public takes away from Elite Healthy Vending as well as HUMAN Healthy Vending machines.

By Leslie Philp, November 3rd, 2011

Clothing drive cancelled, student misconduct speculated As of October 31, 2011 the clothing drive that Maricopa Community Colleges Women’s Leadership Group planned to host for a charity event, was cancelled due to a question of whether or not the members were following district guidelines.

“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen, you and I could agree that the folks running that fund drive were told that they wouldn’t be able to do it this year,” said Tom Gariepy director of marketing and communications for Maricopa Community Colleges. “however when people questioned it some more, a group of people in the district administration went back and looked at the situation and came up with guidelines that will allow the activity to happen,” He said.

The new MCCCD guidelines state that faculty hours are for work purposes only and no fundraising will be permitted on company time.

Gariepy also said that incidental or minimal work done on the clock is covered under the new guidelines but employees at any of the ten community

colleges under the Maricopa District cannot spend half of their work hours on personal affiliations.

“The exact wording is that the district supports limited employee fundraising. So, employees can do this, they can’t do it on company time but they can do it on their own time and they can conduct activities that provide a benefit to a charitable organization,” he said.

The remaining charities–specific to MCC’s Southern and Dobson campus as well as Red Mountain–such as Institutional Advancement’s Toy Drive and Empty Bowls will also need to follow the new regulations in place.

“District made an initial judgment based on the (clothing drive) and when we went back and looked at it; (the charities) are issues and questions that came up.

Bascially, people said ‘well, there are other activities that we’re going to have to think about’ and when we looked at the totality of it, one of them is Empty Bowls,” Gariepy said.

Gariepy said that the new rules state that student fundraising is allowed, but faculty fundraising will be stripped of company time and the new rules will apply to any new charity idea brought up by students or administration.

By Leslie Philp, October 27th, 2011

Ban on tobacco products at MCC As of July 1, 2012, the Smoke-Free Arizona Act (Prop 201), which prohibits smoking in public places as well as places of employment with the exception of designated smoking areas, is changing.

The act was approved on Nov. 7, 2006, and went into effect on May 1, 2007.

The Tobacco-Free Administrative Regulation (Smoke-Free Arizona Act adopted by Mesa Community College) will be implemented by Chancellor Rufus Glasper of the MCCCD, prohibiting the use of tobacco product for students and employees on community college campuses in the Maricopa District.

"Effective July 1, 2012, Maricopa Community Colleges will be smoke-free and tobacco-free. As of that date, there will be no smoking or use of any other tobacco on any district property," Glasper said in a recent Breathe Easy Tobacco Free-Smoke Free video with students from the IGNITE Tobacco Prevention Program.

"On Nov. 17, the day of the Great American Smoke-Out, we'll launch an initiative that includes educational

programs, tobacco sensation programs, and other features that will make it easier to kick the habit," Glasper said during the video on helpful ways for tobacco users to quit.

Though Glasper made this decision to promote healthy living, students around MCC's Southern and Dobson campus feel their rights are being violated.

Sean Barrett, auto mechanics major, feels the changes are being made as a "conspiracy theory" and the district is banning a product that helps calm students on campus.

"We all know cigarettes are not good for us, but it's our choice whether or not we can smoke, and it's our right so (the district) shouldn't be able to take that right away ‌ I just think it's wrong that they can sit here and set rules that don't really make any sense," he said.

"A lot of people (are) stressful through classes, and then if they can't smoke a cigarette they'll lose their mind, then they won't be able to think straight in their class," Dayrue George, psychology major, said on the dropout rate for college students.

George also said that the smoking tables were a way for him, as well as new students, to make friends.

Music major Adam Wilson is also against the new smoke-free regulations, and if tickets were issued constantly for smoking violations, he would not be deterred to smoke on campus.

"If it becomes a smoke-free Maricopa College, it's not going to deter people from smoking on campus because if there's a will there's a way. People will find somewhere where security doesn't go and everybody will just start going there to smoke," he said.

The new regulation will take away all smoking areas on community college campuses, prohibiting the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products within the Maricopa District, and will ban smoking in vehicles on Maricopa District property.

"I see that the chancellor has gone and he has banned tobacco use without enforcing the rules (already in place). We're not enforcing the rule as they should be as well which might lead the chancellor to believe that it's a bigger problem than it is," ASMCC's Executive VP and Senate Chair Ray Arecco said.

Arecco also said that ASMCC had a smoke-free opposition passed in the spring of 2010 co-sponsored by more than 20 student senators. ASMCC still opposes the new regulation and is forming a commission to repeal the smoke-free initiative.

"Senate's perspective is this was already passed, and we still resolve that this is the case because this was already passed. We still oppose a smoke-free initiative. This

policy is tobacco-free so it has nothing to do with smoking and everything to do with tobacco," Arecco said.

By Leslie Philp, October 27th, 2011

Fast-track to bachelor’s degree for nursing students at MCC with hybrid program The new Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP) between Mesa Community College and Northern Arizona University allows nursing students the opportunity to earn an associates and a bachelor’s degree in two and a half years.

“Students complete identified pre- and co-requisite classes for the MaricopaNursing prelicensure nursing program, as well as prerequisite classes for NAU. Upon acceptance to the program, students follow a program of study that includes a university nursing course with each semester of the MaricopaNursing program,” Debbie Bitter, MCC nursing department chair said on how the process works for nursing students to apply.

“When the student graduates with their Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS) degree, they can finish the coursework to complete a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree in one more semester,” She said.

The program was designed for students to earn their degree in a rigorous program and gain experience in the nursing field at

the community college rate as opposed to university pricing.

“The Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP) enhances the students nursing knowledge by complementing RN to BSN program coursework with the MaricopaNursing program of study. The time frame for completion of a BSN degree, a credential valued by employers, can be as little as one semester after graduating with their AAS degree,” Bitter said.

This program will give students a hands on, fast-paced experience in the medical field with studying in labs and interacting with patients in a hospital during clinicals.

“There are several benefits to students who are highly motivated and able to dedicate the time to this rigorous program. The MaricopaNursing program offers a strong foundation of prelicensure nursing knowledge at the community college tuition rate. Pass rates on the licensure exam (NCLEX-RN) have long been above the national average.”

Bitter also stated that employers look for BSN credentials on applications when applying for positions in the nursing field.

She said the process of selection for students entering the program is competitive and based on an

accumulation of test scores, GPA, and letters of recommendation. “Students must apply each application cycle, there is no waiting list for this program,� Bitter said.

By Leslie Philp, October 7th, 2011

MCC tackles the issue of interracial dating From the famous jazz couple Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson of 1952, to the forbidden marriage between Sammy Davis Jr. and May Britt of 1960, both of these couples have one commonality: interracial marriage.

Interracial dating and marriages have increased greatly in the last century due to multiculturalism and the interaction with more foreigners. In the 1970s, 6 percent of American marriages were interracial and highly scrutinized. In June of 2005, a Gallup's poll was taken, and 95 percent of 18- to 29-year-old Americans approved of relations between blacks and whites, proving that interracial dating has become more acceptable among the public.

"Not a semester goes by that a student will share – it's always been a white, female – that her family until this day does not want her to date a black person," Paul Harasha, residential faculty for the sociology department, said on students enrolled in his race and ethnicity class.

Harasha has also seen an increase in the number of students sharing that they date outside of their race. Harasha said although there has been an increase in

interracial dating, there are many people that are resistant to change.

"The data shows that even though young people are dating more across racial lines, even taking it further and cohabitating and living together, the interracial marriages have not risen a whole lot recently. Marriages are somewhat stagnant in the last 5-10 years," he said.

Harasha feels that this generation will define the new contemporary family by crossing racial lines and challenging old traditions.

"Ignorance, I think, mostly is what causes (dislike toward interracial relationships) because, I mean, they're just people.

Everybody's the same, we shouldn't have barriers at all," Bryan Moot, journalism major, said of most people who discriminate toward interracial relationships.

Moot of German descent has been in a relationship with Reem Desou, born in Egypt, for seven and a half months. He was a little nervous when they first began dating.

Desou said restrictions on freedom were more of why races cannot mix.

"Sometimes it's because of the culture (in different countries). Some people are not raised that way, they don't have the same

amount of freedom that Americans have," she said.

The couple met at Mesa Community College; however Desou, engineering major, has taken a semester off and will re-enroll in the spring semester. As much as their relationship has been accepted, there are some who still do have an issue with it.

"Her dad is Muslim so ‌ he wants a Muslim boy and to go through the cultures and everything, and I'm not a Muslim boy so he's not cool with it," Moot said.

According to Desou, only a few of her family members have a problem with their relationship.

"We're from Egypt, and it's not really allowed for girls to have boyfriends (because of) traditions and culture," she said.

Forty years ago, interracial dating was known to be taboo. However, on June 27, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court discarded a Virginia statute stating that whites could not marry non-whites. Similar cases also appeared in 15 other states, and since the landmark civil rights case Loving v.

Virginia ruling, black-white marriages have increased from 65,000 to 422,000 during 1970-2005 period.

When it comes to religion, both Moot and Desou do not let that get in the middle of their relationship.

"She knows I'm an Atheist, and she was raised Muslim but has since gone more to

an Agnostic view point, but she still has a lot of her Muslim faith in her. We never really let religion get in the middle of anything," Moot said.

"I think some people our age are against (interracial) relationships because of their parents," Jaimie Pridgett, pre-med major at ASU, said on the topic of interracial relationships. "Sometimes parents have a different idea of who they want their child to be with."

Pridgett of African American descent has been dating Brandon Spart, Caucasian, on-and-off for three years. Both Spart and Pridgett saw no issue with beginning a relationship because of their race difference.

"I wouldn't say (our families) wouldn't agree, but my parents don't really care.

They don't really care who I end up dating or falling in love with. Before I started dating, my dad always said he would prefer someone of (African American) race," Pridgett said.

When it comes to religion, Pridgett practices a Catholic belief while Spart was raised in the Jewish faith. Both Pridgett and Spart do not let their different backgrounds interfere with their relationship.

"It's not like the flood gates are open and it's all good and everybody's open to (interracial dating)," Harasha added on changes in the dating world. "I think more young people ‌ are more open to it and tolerant, and if it's a good person, they're going to date them. People interact with a

wide variety of people so I think that's given more opportunities to interracially date."

With the constant flow of immigrants from all over the world and exposure to different cultures, interracial marriages and multiracial children are helping to shape a 21st century America less defined by race.

By Leslie Philp, September 21st, 2011

Smartphone Apps: Brain Mush or IQ Booster With modern technology in this day and age there are new programs hitting the market daily, especially with iPhones, iPads, and smartphones. Many new editions to technology have been able to help scientists learn the inner-workings of the brain; however some technology that has been created is not useful to the general public such as Facebook and YouTube apps.

For the iPad, there are games designed specifically to engage the brain such as "Brain Fit" which involves bright colors for visual stimulation as well as to create different reactions that excite, depress, calm, and increase appetite within the body.

On the topic of electronics in the future, Analies Maisonet, fine arts major, feels that brain stimulation may or may not go down.

"The fact that we can pretty much look up anything which means we don't have to make any interaction with anybody.

So, that kind of brings it down a bit. But no as in we can't look up everything ‌ pretty much everything we need to know is on the Internet," she said.

Maisonet also feels that the more technology that is added to phones and computers is going to detach humans from one another. " 'Angry Birds' is fun and it kills a lot of time, but it's pretty useless in general," Maisonet said on the topic of new phone apps. iPhone has recently seen the release of a number of apps intended to test one's IQ. The app called "IQ-Test" challenges the reader to answer various questions in a limited amount of time. Another app released was "IQ Boost" tested to improve short-term memory and fluid intelligence.

Other popular games to download and try out are "Brain Fitness Pro," "Speed Brain," "Brain Shaper," "A-Z Brain Teasers," and "Mind Freak: Digital Drugs."

Unlike Maisonet, Andrew Kuhn, business sustainability major, thinks apps are useful tools for GPS systems, researching restaurants, and are a source of entertainment.

Kuhn also feels that the more information the human brain receives, the smarter the population becomes.

"If anything (new technology) will lower our attention span because the amount of information that we receive daily is far

more what we're used to. So, the less information we get the less our brain works," Kuhn said.

When it comes to the brain and IQ's, Taylor Blakesley, nursing major, believes the world will continue to gain more knowledge because "it takes smart people to make it."

By Leslie Philp, September 21st, 2011

Illuminati: Hoax or Hip-Hop? Over the ages, the Illuminati ─ an allegedly secret organization known to be "the power behind the throne" ─ has become a more public topic among the media, and its tell-tale signs have appeared in numerous music videos in the hip-hop community.

Many theories have been named as to how the Illuminati came to be, including Freemasonry, thirteen satanic bloodlines, genetic inbreeding between a reptilian extraterrestrial race and humanity, and the mystery religion of the Babylonians.

"The Illuminati comes into modern usage … in groups that follow conspiracy theories and the idea is that there is some type of group that runs everything (including) the world and never wants itself to be known … Something like this would be very popular," Elizabeth Ursic, the night department chair for religious studies, said.

The Illuminati earned its name from the Latin term "Bavarian Illuminati" in 1776, which means enlightenment. In modern times, it is referred to a conspiratorial organization that supposedly controls world affairs, wanting to establish a new world order.

Ursic also said that the Illuminati was male-dominated in the early history of its creation, though women were able to join as soon as the Eastern Star was recognized.

"This idea that fraternal organizations, I guess in the 1800s often here in America, you would have the secret handshake … to get in," Ursic said. "Now those secret handshakes pass on secret knowledge that (members) are not supposed to tell people outside of the group. So, we actually have a social-popular trend in the United States that is tied to secret knowledge."

Ursic also believes that the Illuminati can be seen in modern day organizations such as large corporations and the United States government.

"I would say that we can even see with our modern financial system and world politics system that we have multiple layers of people in different positions of official authority and unofficial authority that have power and help make things happen," Ursic said in comparison to historical and modern Illuminati.

"Whether we think that's appropriate or not, probably some of that exists."

"You sometimes see rappers doing the (pyramid sign). That is kind of tied into the Masonic trend. Do they really believe that it has power or do they like the buzz

of somebody kind of associating them with something kind of secret? … It definitely plays into a lot of publicity," Ursic commented on how hip-hop artists such as Kanye West and Jay-Z incorporate the Illuminati symbols into their clothing and music.

Patrick Spence, a sports medicine major, does not believe there are any secret societies controlling the U.S. government but there may be some behind the scenes in the music industry.

"I hear a lot of it among rappers, a lot of Illuminati, just with like Jay Z and Kanye West are really big with Illuminati, and Lil' Wayne and there's different kind of signs in music videos, kind of like in a recent music video … it had a person with a mask of mirrors which is supposed to symbolize something with the Illuminati," Spence said.

Spence is skeptical of any politicians joining the Illuminati; however he thinks that enough money will allow someone to buy their way in, such as athletes like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

Ariana Magedson, a fashion design major, believes the Illuminati have gone mainstream and she has just recently learned about the secret society.

"They'll say different lyrics that like hint at other things, you know … they're undermining. There's always like different things like that could hint at other things and … there's a lot of suggestions," Magedson said on how the government can be secretive.

Magedson also believes the government is controlled by money as well as secret societies.

"It gets down to the question of faith," Ursic said on what the public thinks of these conspiracy theories. "Do the people really believe it or not? Are they official, card-carrying members of one of these groups? Or are they just playing with the symbols for publicity? … That is up for anybody's guess."

By Leslie Philp, May 3rd, 2011

In-depth interview: Director of ‘Beginners’ on first movie debut Director/writer—of the motion picture “Thumbsucker”—Mike Mills made a stop in Phoenix, Ariz. on his tour to promote his new film “Beginners” due out for theatrical release on June 3, 2011.

Known for graphic design and an art background, Mills decided to try his luck at filmmaking by creating a personal, independent film with help from Olympus Pictures and Parts and Labor.

Question: So tell me the significance of the title of the film, what made you choose “Beginners”?

Answer: “I was writing a letter, as a director you’re always campaigning and always trying to get money or people or whatever. I was writing one letter and I was trying to describe to one person that it’s about a man who’s dying, he’s 75 and that’s a big part of the movie. It’s really not about death. The way that my real dad died was not like a downward pulling thing, he was … very unfinished, he was very hungry and still doing stuff … he’s just beginning. I thought ‘that’s a good title’, that positions the film in a way that I like because … it really wasn’t all just about sadness and horror, there’s a lot of

new stuff, there’s a lot of very beautiful openings, beginnings. I like that it feels vaguely positive.”

Q: What was the most memorable scene or your favorite thing from the movie?

A: “I think the favorite things for me were all of those history sections in a funny way. Because in a way that is the most adventurous film making and I pull it off enough that everybody’s not complaining about it. I went to art school, I didn’t go to film school … and I finally feel like I finally sort of got all of the pieces of my life together in one pot with parts of the film … It’s about Oliver trying to figure out who he is, where he came from, why we’re doing all these things that we don’t know that we’re doing.”

Q: What made you want to create a film about your story?

A: “The films I really love like Woody Allen’s films from 1977 … Stardust Memories, (Federico) Fellini’s films, 8 1/2, Amarcord, really personal movies …

So those are my heroes and it’s easy for me to want to make a personal film because that’s what my heroes do. When my dad came out it was like a strange, revolutionary experience … it was a really good story and then when he passed away, you know I wanted—I guess I still

wanted him around, I wasn’t done with him.”

Q: Do you micromanage the art and music in terms of the film?

A: “Yeah, it’s all one big stew to me so I worked on the posters, I did the type, I did these photographs, I picked all of the music and worked intimately with the composers that did the score … it’s all one piece to me, it’s all different sides of the same building. You work on films for so long, I’ve been doing this since 2005, and I like films that are pretty dense that have a lot of things in them, they’re almost like big collages.”

Q: What about the film do you think will resonate with viewers?

A: “I don’t know. I mean, that’s the trippy mystery about being a filmmaker, you can hope for things and you really make your films for strangers … it’s so great when the lights come on and there’s all of these people and you’re kind of like ‘that’s why I did this, this is what it’s really about’ the honor of getting to have 104 minutes of your brain (put on screen) … That’s why I work so hard. The way people interpret it, what people take away from it is endlessly mysterious and unpredictable and out of my control …

When (my dad) came out I got so much more (from him) and if that is contagious or idea or feeling is communicated in the film, I’m very happy.”

Q: What made you decide to go into the directing field?

A: “(In) the beginning, like when I was in college, seemed like going to the moon or impossibly complicated … I didn’t study (filmmaking) or anything, I go into it kind of late. I saw a film by Errol Morris called ‘Thin Blue Lines’, it’s a documentary and it’s very … graphic and (full) of these visual facts and the graphic designer artist in me saw that and thought ‘oh I can do that.’ Coming from art school, I really like being in the public and I don’t like being in the art world so much, because the art world is very closed in … So, I love that I’m in Phoenix, talking to strangers and more a part of the public sphere, a part of the entertainment industry. I love transposing (art) onto this bigger stage.”

By Leslie Philp, May 3rd, 2011

Texting, the rise and fall of modern relationships Texting has become a popular form of communication, whether it be to talk with a family member about their day, to catch up with an old friend or to be essential in a relationship. "(Texting) eliminates the face-to-face (aspect), you don't get to see body language . 80 percent of communication is through body language and we're trying to read other people's faces and body language and trying to understand (people)," said Mary Horton, a psychology professor. "So, you eliminate that whole thing and a lot of miscommunications can occur."

Horton also feels that a relationship solely based on communication via cellphones is an inferior relationship.

"To some degrees, when you're forced to (text) it's a good thing, but when you have the ability to talk to somebody faceto-face but instead you text them, you have to ask yourself 'Why are you doing this instead of talking to them?'

"So, in that case it would be putting up some sort of a barrier," Horton added on relationship dynamics.

It is estimated that 2011 is going to be the highest ranked year for the number of text messages sent with an average of 7 trillion messages.

"I think (texting) keeps people from having a normal relationship," said creative writing major Jessica Ingoglia.

"When (people) talk to each other through texting, you don't have the eye contact, the body language and all of that so you don't really know what that person's thinking."

Ingoglia also feels that people can lie more easily over texting and when couples get into fights, they can shut their phones off.

"I actually got rid of texting in a relationship that I had. I dated a guy for like three years, and after like two years I just got rid of texting because we just fought so much through text and I think it totally estroyed our relationship.

"But when I got rid of texting it really helped us." Ingoglia said.

However, John Molina, a creative writing major feels that texting itself cannot destroy a relationship but the people using the phones can.

"I think it's with the people who are in the relationship screwing up via texting as opposed to texting itself messing (the relationship) up. Like you can give somebody a gun and they can either be a

policeman or they can be a bank robber," Molina said.

Anthony Ochoa, also a creative writing major, feels similarly to Molina on texting and relationships.

"I was in a long distance relationship for a while and all we could do was text and talk on the phone. Of course it's a strain not being able to talk to each other faceto-face," Ochoa said.

A number of books have been written about the communication between men and women. Horton feels that texting and emailing make these problems worse.

"Some people say it makes you not as smart because you do impulsive things, texting is impulsive. You are not thinking twice before you hit that send button.

By Leslie Philp, April 19th, 2011

New college website for casual sex spreading the love across the U.S. Casual sex has always been up for debate for many people, but when it comes to the new Web site www.eduhookups.com, college students from different universities around the United States can find sex partners with ease.

The site has only been up for one month but already has many college campuses on board including the University of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University and, as of April 4, Brown University.

When asked if the site was immoral, fitness major Cody Negrette disagrees and believes people have the right to have the freedom of choice.

School of Design.

Within the past 30 days of being available to the public, the site has received over 815,000 hits and has registered 1,300 members, whose majority is male.

"I just think it'll spread more STDs that are already running ramped through college campuses and cause a lot of problems and more unplanned pregnancies," said Allison Giroux, an early childhood education major. "You're going to end up hooking up with someone that you don't really know and it's going to be a sketchy situation."

Alison Benedick, illustration major, fears the site will lead to women being put in harmful situations that could lead to rape.

Both Benedick and Giroux said they would never put any of their information on a Web site designed for college students to find sex partners.

"If people want to do it, that's great, but it sounds pretty STD spreading-like," said Negrette. "There's lots of people that would object to it and there's lots of people that wouldn't admit to liking it."

The site's founders hope to encourage their classmates to engage in causal sexual encounters by using the motto "Chastity is curable if detected early."

Colleges joining the hookup circuit in later weeks are School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis, Yale University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Rhode Island

"If it came to ASU or MCC, it would be worse than it already is and ASU is already pretty bad. I don't think it'll make it here though, maybe, maybe I'm wrong," Giroux said.

By Leslie Philp, April 19th, 2011

Sports Opinion: Can the Thunderbirds please get some love?

For the record, the baseball game this past Tuesday, April 12, was my first sporting event ever to see at MCC. I was surprisingly a little shocked at the turnout.

Where the heck is everyone!?

Friends and family were the only people sitting on the bleachers, decked out in Thunderbirds memorabilia, while cheering on the players.

MCC sporting events, from my standpoint, are on the under attended side of things.

I say that, not to take away from the teams or discredit them in any way, but because there are hardly any people out there.

The game itself is exciting if you're on the winning team, but this game in particular was all MCC and the Glendale Gauchos was not a worthy opponent.

Where is the love?

The answer to that question is not here.

Let me just say, there was a grand total of eight people on the opposing team's bleachers and none of them were wearing anything that represented their team!

The MCC Thunderbirds do have team spirit going for them. But where is the good sportsmanship?

Maybe it's because I'm new to this, but when a batter gets hit in the face with a ball, isn't it common courtesy for the pitcher to apologize?

Or at least throw out there, "Hey, I feel for you man," instead of standing back and watching him fall to the ground.

If people were more proactive with attending sporting events and students would get involved with more clubs on campus, then there would be more MCC spirit overall.

Get your butts out there and go to a game!

Come on T-Birds, I know you've got in it in you!

By Leslie Philp, April 19th, 2011

New film ‘Hop’ puts modern twist on Easter tradition When it comes to Easter, images of scavenger hunts for colored eggs and collecting candy come to mind. Why not picture an enchanted candy factory hidden away on Easter Island with chicks operating the machinery?

The animation/live-action film "Hop", created by the producing-writing team behind the animated film "Despicable Me" and director Tim Hill of "Alvin and the Chipmunks", incorporates a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque candy factory with matching sled and flying chicks into a plot based on acceptance.

Russell Brand voiced E.B., who is next in line to the Easter throne and was held on Easter Island by his traditional father (voiced by Hugh Laurie).

E.B., however, had different dreams for himself and wished to become a drummer in a rock band.

The live-action part of the film came into play when E.B. fled Easter Island-out of a rabbit hole acting as a portal and stumbled across Fred O'Hare (voiced by

James Marsden), a slacker house-sitting a mansion.

Destiny allowed E.B. and Fred to cross paths when E.B. auditioned for "Hoff Knows Talent"-yes, a cameo of "America's Got Talent", complete with David Hasselhoff and pleather jacket-and Fred thought becoming the Easter Bunny was the "perfect job" for him.

Actor, David Hasselhoff did the exact opposite of his job description. His lines were stiff and he did not contribute anything to the film-unless his chest hair was at the top of the priority list to seebecasue his shirt was unbuttoned in almost every scene.

After E.B. and Fred saved Easter Island from the evil takeover of second in command Carlos (voiced by Hank Azaria), a heavily accented-coup d'etatfactory chick on a power trip, Fred and E.B. became Co-Easter Bunnies and Fred finally reached a new title instead of jobless slacker.

The set up of Fred (James Marsden) being a jobless slacker and having no respect from his family was endearing, but was not believable for the audience to think after becoming the Easter Bunny he suddenly gained respect.

But then again, magic can always make people believe in the Easter Bunny and flying chicks pulling a sled.

All in all, Universal Pictures produced an entertaining movie with the blend of animation and live acition.

The film had comical one-liners from Carlos as well as his partner in crime Phil (also voiced by Hank Azaria.)

Children under 10 will enjoy the film immensely and more or less beg for candy throughout the movie.

Adults will also love the film because of the humor.

By Leslie Philp, April 19th, 2011

Dragon boat racers make waves at Tempe Town Lake’s annual fest

and I'm the captain of the Arizona Dragon Riders team. I also coach for the Mesa Community College team," said Lana Walther of her position on each team.

The Arizona Dragon Boat Festival housed a number of in-state and out-of-state teams on March 28-29, including college teams such as Mesa's very own MCC Thunderdragons whom won 1st place in their division.

"This is (a) wonderful sport, team sport.

Nobody's VIP in the boat. We all have to paddle at the same time, be in sync with each other and the team spirit has to be strong (because) this sport is a lot more than just muscle."

The San Diego Dragon Boat team, traveling from out of state to compete in the event held at Tempe Town Lake Marina, came in 2nd in their division.

Not only does Walther feel that dragon boat racing is a team sport, but people can get a whole body workout.

"You have to belong to a club. The clubs bring their members, turn in a roster and then they keep track of who's racing and what each division is doing," said San Diego Dragon Boat team member Elizabeth Toro on how the team travels.

"We have 22 paddlers, a drummer, and a steer's person and we also bring alternates."

Toro also said there are a number of races for each team to compete in such as the 200 meter, 500 meter, 1,000 meter and 2,000 meter race which each should take two minutes to complete for each team.

"I am the coach of the woman riders team

"(People) can come out and try our clubs a couple times, and if they like it they can join us. You need to get in the boat first to see if this is the thing for you," Walther said.

Vendors for the event included Fuse, Thai and Thai BBQ, Chinese Cuisine, Paradise Hawaiian Barbeque, Old Fashioned Lemonade, and boutiques to sell gear and clothing to racers and the crowd.

Southwest Airlines also offered the chance to win 2 roundtrip tickets to any location desired.

Julie Keith, a first-time dragon boat racer, is involved in three different races for the SRP corporate team, the Arizona Dragon Riders team and the Divas

Dragon Riders, the women's team for the Arizona Dragon Riders. " I think for me (the most difficult) is the timing and learning to twist my body in a way that I'm not used to . and just getting down the timing with all of the other paddlers," Keith said of the practice sessions leading up to the festival.

By Leslie Philp, March 29th, 2011

Ditch car for bike, save gas and receive a free breakfast Bike-to-Work Day is an event hosted every year in the city of Tempe on various different weeks of spring as well as in Canada and different states in the U.S to promote the option of bicycling to work.

"We encourage residents or people who happen to work in Tempe to bike to one of our seven breakfast locations, get a free breakfast, a free T-shirt, and then bike ride on to work," said Sue Taffee, Community Outreach Marketing Coordinator.

Every week leading up to the Bike-toWork Day event, national, regional, and local cycle groups encourage people to try bicycle commuting as a form of exercise and a safe alternative to driving.

All of the breakfast locations are in Tempe, but Taffee said the bike ride may be longer depending on where people are biking from.

"Well, it depends on where your (biking) from because you're biking to a breakfast location of your choice of the seven (locations) that provide the free breakfast, so it depends on where you live and which location you want to bike to," Taffe said. "For instance, one of them is at

Whole Foods, which is at Rural and Baseline so if you live near there it may only be a couple blocks (to the breakfast location)."

The 20th annual Bike-to-Work Day will be held on April 20 starting at 6:30 a.m. and last throughout the day. At 7 a.m.

Mayor Hugh Hallman, as well as other Tempe City Council members, will be starting their bike ride.

"The Mayor will be leading the ride from Whole Foods Market to Downtown Tempe to The Center Bistro, that's a pretty short ride," Taffee said.

Taffee also said that if people reach their destination at Whole Foods, they are welcome to join Mayor Hugh Hallman in his bike ride to The Center Bistro in Downtown Tempe.

By Leslie Philp, March 29th, 2011

For non-coffee drinkers, The Street offers smoothie options Artists, writers, cartoonists, and the average person that can work a pen are all welcome to stop into The Street Boba Café in Mesa Ariz. for a smoothie and an opportunity to write on the walls. “(Boba) is also known as tapioca bowl but it has no flavor to it, it’s just the gummy bear feeling of it,” said Destiny Lauvar, a café employee. “Boba is … what we put in the smoothie. With Boba you can get the drinks with it and like fruit smoothies, tea … it usually comes with the drink.”

Jean Lee has been the owner for seven years and said the reasoning for the writing on the walls is because she wants people to feel like they are walking down the street when they walk in to get a drink.

“This is mostly Asian drinks, Chai Tea, milk tea, green tea,” said owner Jean Lee. “Actually (this idea) is from Taiwan and we learned it in California and then we started the business (in Arizona).”

Lee feels the best item on the menu is Diamond Ice and the different kinds of tea that can be ordered with the Boba.

She also feels that these items set her café apart from others.

“We (offer) drinks and we do Ramen …

(Diamond Ice) is shaved ice with fruits and toppings with condensed milk,” Lauvar said.

Ramen noodles and Diamond Ice are the types of food they serve at The Street Boba Café as well as the different types of tea and smoothie drinks.

Lauvar has been working for The Street Boba Café for six months and she plans to leave a little of herself behind by adding her artwork to one of the walls.

By Leslie Philp, March 29th, 2011

Student video contest boasts prizes from $200 to $500 This spring semester, Mesa Community College is offering a fun and rewarding way to win $500 cash by entering the MCC Student Video Contest.

“The student video contest is a chance to win $500 by producing and posting a video about how their experience at MCC has positively impacted their lives,” said media relations director Delynn Bodine.

“The concept came from one of our art faculty members, Gingher Leyedecker,” she said.

Any student enrolled at the Southern and Dobson Campus or Red Mountain Campus of MCC, including international and online students, can enter the contest.

“Gingher Leyendecker (noted) that critics of community colleges call them drop-out factories without acknowledging the contributions community colleges make to communities and individuals that they serve,” Bodine said of Leyendecker on how much of an affect community colleges have on the average person.

Bodeine also said that student-produced videos have more potential to spread through social channels and websites to get the word out about MCC. “The contest runs from April 1 (to) May 1. Students are encouraged to involve their friends, be creative and have fun,” said Bodine on contest dates. “The winners are selected based on (the) total number of YouTube hits.”

The winner of the contest is awarded $500, second place winner receives $300 and third place receives $200.

The prize money was donated by MCC faculty and staff.

For more information on contest guidelines and how to enter, visit www.mesacc.edu/win500

By Leslie Philp, March 8th, 2011

North Africa makes voice heard with a bass, drum beat In 2009, a group of Libyan exiles created an organization called Khalas, which means “enough” in Arabic, in response to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s speech to the United Nations.

The group’s goal is to not only bring awareness to the struggles of the dictatorial regime in Libya, but to the rest of the world as well. The MCC Legend spoke with two rappers from Libya and Egypt. Their quotes have been translated.

“Now is the voice of revolution,” said Ramy Donjewan, a North African hiphop artist on a mix tape by Khalas. “The right sound, the voice of freedom ... Hiphop imposed itself strongly on the Arab street and the African one and the reason for this is to be bolder.”

“Hip-hop and rap have a huge role all over the revolution that happened in Tunisia. I’m a young man who makes rap music, particularly committed rap music.

Rap is the voice of the people and also the spokes person of the people,” said El General, a Tunisian rapper.

“Protest music usually comes from chants and emotion during demonstration and

times of social unrest,” said MCC student Andrew Kuhn. “This music (hip-hop) still invokes the same emotions in those that were not present or even alive at the time they were written.”

With the revolution in Egypt, Tunisia, the Middle East and other areas in North Africa, the common thread for protest has been rap music.

“We are close to more people and we can express who they are, which is our situation as well ... We became the rappers in North Africa, the real voice of the people ... If you want to know what is happening within the real state of the countries of North Africa ... listen to rap music’s own,” Donjewan said.

Though music has the freedom of speech in the United States, North Africa has restricted certain lyrics from being broadcast.

“Words that I say in my songs are not accepted by the broadcast anywhere, only the Internet allows me to ... disseminate my work ... I hope to view my work at a big party but I cannot find the right place,” Donjewan said.

Khalas’ new mix tape features artists such as El General, Mr. Shooma, Mohamed Ali Ben Jemaa (Tunisia), Ramy Donjewan, Ahmed Rock, Revolution Recordz

(Egypt), Lotfi Double Kanon (Algeria) and Ibn Thabit (Libya).

Though Donjewan could be arrested for his accusations against the government, he has taken a stand.

“I’m not afraid because people do not remember the cowardly ... people remember the courageous person only, and I want people to remember me.

“The proof of my words (is in) my song agains the government, that song was released on Jan. 5, twenty days before the Egyptian revolution.

“Although Mubarak was in a period where the summit of his power and his regime was completely dominant on the country, this is the period before the revolution,” Donjewan said.

Donjewan believes North Africa is moving “toward freedom and true democracy” of which hip-hop will remain a powerful voice.

By Leslie Philp, March 8th, 2011

Paddle boards debut at Tempe Town Lake Paddle boarding or Stand up Paddle Surfing (SUP) originated in the Hawaiian Islands in the 1960's. This is a sport slowly being integrated into different states in the U.S. This past Sunday, Feb. 26, Paddle boarding lessons were given for free on the northern side of Tempe Town Lake along with rowing teams and kayakers.

"We're kayakers so we're on the distribution list for all of the events going on in Tempe Town Lake," said Jan Killebrew a participant in the paddle board lesson.

Killebrew stated that she and her husband receive notifications for lake news and were excited about learning how to paddle board.

"Today is just an Expo," said Isaac Schmidt, a paddleboard instructor at Tempe Town Lake. "We've got about another hour and a half of basically people hopping on and messing around."

Schmidt is a lead kayaking instructor and recently became a certified paddleboard instructor.

"It's a huge growing sport and it's a huge sport in California and over in Hood River Oregon . (paddle boarding) is a huge revenue source for the city and it's a fun and interesting sport.

"It's really easy; you can pick it up in about twenty minutes and have a good time on the water." ". We have a 2 hour introductory," Schmidt said on how the lessons begin. "...we'll explain to you all of the safety, how to get on, how to use it and then we'll get people on board as fast we can and out onto the lake."

Schmidt attends classes at ASU and is no stranger to the waters of Tempe Town Lake. Schmidt also feels that looks are deceiving when it comes to the quality and color of the water.

"I've actually been an instructor on this lake for a year and a half and I haven't gotten sick from the water. It's got a lot of ... brown algae in it, it's completely safe water.

"I know it has a bad rap but it's really not as bad as people think. It's really actually a pretty high quality water system. The color is affected but the actual quality of the water isn't.

By Leslie Philp, February 22nd, 2011

Second-hand stores: Stay stylish and save money at the same time Thrift stores are growing in popularity, especially during this economic crisis.

People are searching for bargains and according to the Association of Resale Professionals, it is a nationwide trend.

Leslie Lecroy, the Store Manager of Buffalo Exchange on Mill Ave. has been around thrift stores for the majority of her adult life and has been with the company since 1994.

“I started at 24 and I was in Tucson and I had worked a few other jobs and what I learned from those other jobs I could use in this particular one,” Lecroy stated on her background in retail. “But this particular…job made me feel more nurtured and I also always had a passion for clothing…an eye for things that are the next big thing in clothing.”

“Most of our clothing comes from the public and we encourage people to bring their clothing in and when they do we go through it and we decide what we think will sell for our store. That’s usually based on current fashion that we see selling in malls, magazines, media—that really determines what is desirable in our store,” Lecroy said.

Lecroy believes that clothing is more of an art form that should express an individual style.

“Clothing is one of the most innocent but profound…ways of showing who you are.

Not too deeply but in a way where people kind of get you … ” Lecroy said.

Lecroy is originally from Tucson and has been the new Store Manager since Jan. 19 2011.

“Once we decide that we want to try an item that you’re selling, we put a price on it and from that price the customer either gets 35 percent cash or 50 percent trade… on the spot. All you have to do is come armed with a valid ID such as a driver’s license, passport or military ID and a phone number…then we start the buying process right there,” Lecroy said.

Another thrift store similar to Buffalo Exchange is Name Brand Exchange.

Vanessa Dougan, the Store Manager for Name Brand Exchange, has been with the company for seven years and has been working with MCC’s recycling program.

“We try to pull people in by being cheaper than everyone else” said Dougan on pricing of clothing “ … we’ve (also) worked with MCC for a while with the recycling program. Since we recycle clothing, we recycle all of the materials in the store.”

Dougan feels that Name Brand Exchange is a fourth cheaper than the local malls and the store only purchases clothing that has come out within the last year.

“We keep the same hours as the mall every day … you basically bring in the clothing you don’t want and we’ll go through it … then we’ll offer you either 40 percent cash or 55 percent of what we price your item at …” Dougan said.

For more information on either of the thrift stores, check out www.buffaloexchange.com or www.facebook.com/namebrandexchange.

By Leslie Philp, February 22nd, 2011

5th yearly Parkinson’s walk raises more than $57,000 The Fifth Annual Parkinson’s walk-athon known as “Walk-The-Fight”, was held this past Sunday on Feb. 13.

Participants were encouraged to work in teams and fundraise to help exceed the goal of 60,000 dollars.

“Last year we walked all the way up to Scottsdale Road and across and back,” said Suzanne Roderick, a member of Suzie’s Team. “ It was pretty hard for me because I’m the one with Parkinson’s…It was really worth it because we had our whole family there and it was really neat.”

The event entailed a choice between a 5k walk and a 2 block walk around Tempe Town Lake along with paramedics, firemen, and policemen stationed around the area.

Alyssa Harrison, a volunteer stationed at the poster making booth, signed up for the event through her high school.

“I just signed up at my high school,” stated Harrison. “There’s a signup sheet … for community service hours.”

Also featured was the band Decades, face painting, a magician, raffle tickets for Celebrity Fight Night, and appearances

from the Phoenix Suns Gorilla, Baxter the Bobcat from the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Sparky from the ASU Sun Devils.

“This is our individual team,” said Grandma’s Corner team member, Kurt Schoop of the teal shirts. “… the red shirts are for the whole event.”

“The person that we’re here representing she’s…my boss’s mom. She’s had Parkinson’s for 38 years so we’re here to walk for her. Most of us work for Cox, but (there are) also a lot of friends and family (walking) …” Schoop said.

The festival also featured catering from Riteway Catering BBQ and Co., Paradise Melts and Jamburritos Cajun Grille Express. Not only did the mascots make an appearance at the “big foot race” but local news station CBS5 came out to support. “ … We get involved in the community as much as we can and this is one of our pay it forward events,” said Paul Horton, a CBS5 employee. “We’ve got about 80 employees from CBS5 involved with this.

We’re a team member with SCAN and of course a benefit to help fight Parkinson’s and that’s what we’re doing here today.” “ … the money raised today will go in to help the center and help activities for folks with Parkinson’s” Horton said.

Horton also stated that the event was sponsored by Parkinson’s Network of Arizona (PNA), SCAN (Health Plan Arizona), CBS5, and a number of vendors in support of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Center (MAPC).

“Basically we asked folks to get teams together, sign up for this great event, and then…raise some money. We’ve raised so far over 57,000 dollars just from this walk alone” Horton said.

PNA membership is open to anyone willing to participate and mail-indonations are welcome.

By Leslie Philp, February 8th, 2011

Mill Avenue: A place for those of age, catering to a younger crowd Local music and art venue, The Fixx, has just opened up for public display with members of the Tempe Starving Artists community as well as a music line up to bring an urban twist to the Tempe music scene.

“I run the Tempe Starving Artists…art magazine so that’s kind of how I got into this gig,” said Robbie Pfeffer, manager of The Fixx. “I have thrown shows and worked at coffee shops, and basically all of the other things but managing…is brand new to me.”

Pfeffer feels that a local mix of art, music, and culture will contribute to the growing population of youth in Tempe.

“I think (the) location is a big thing… there is no other all ages music or art based venue in Tempe at all. They’ve got places that are bars that are all ages but you know not art based. I think the fact that Tempe is a young city, Tempe is a city of kids, kids who are looking for something to do…it will provide a separate avenue for entertainment and meeting people,” Pfeffer said.

This venue is also a cultural exposure for the music line-up featuring Kid Sampson, The Muddy Moneys, Stellacutta, and Lawnchair.

The four members of Kid Sampson— Andrew Waterhouse, Barry Hazen, Steven Totten, and Cory Gassner—have been playing together for over a year and a half, using all of their musical talents to create an alternative/rock sound.

“Our music is like moon rock. It’s like space rock with a bit more gravity.” said Waterhouse of Kid Sampson’s sound. “ …i t started with me and Barry, we were roommates in the dorms. (We) started jamming together and met Cory and (he) started playing drums with us and Steven came along with bass…then we developed all of the other instruments.”

“I think one thing that separates us is the fact that we exchange instruments a lot, which people seem to enjoy and we incorporate sounds that…people wouldn’t expect to hear,” Totten said.

The band founded their name from the book Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, stating that the character represents their image well.

“Personally as a band I think, we just like to play as loud as we can with it still sounding good, trying to make people feel good,” Waterhouse said.

Not only does this venue accommodate an all ages crowd, but The Fixx also incorporates local artists from Tempe. “ … I have been doing stuff with Tempe Starving Artists for a long time, doing live shows and just kind of helping out with the magazine,” said Chet Lawton, a fine arts major at ASU. “So the second Robbie Pfeffer told me he was opening up a shop and he wanted artists to hang around and be painting at his grand opening…I immediately was down.”

Lawton has been painting for over two years and is currently working on a mural with another local artist for The Fixx. He also hopes to contribute artwork and spreading the word through his work at Wet Paint Artists Supply.

“We’re doing it for the betterment of the Tempe arts community and Tempe Starving Artists and The Fixx…just trying to support the local scene … I just want people to know there is a scene blossoming in Tempe …” Lawton said.

“I think it’s awesome and it’s an authentic community, local style of place for once where people can get together and just enjoy themselves and others…” said Lauren Vogt, an undecided major at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, of the new venue.

For more information on the band Kid Sampson, check out www.myspace.com/ kstempe as wells as www.facebook.com/ tempestarvingartist

By Leslie Philp, February 8th, 2011

Donald Trump aspires to be CEO of America The web has been buzzing with the news that real estate billionaire, Donald Trump, will run for the United States presidency on a Republican ballot in 2012.

The season 11 reality television show, “The Apprentice” airs on Mar. 6 and Trump stated in a recent interview that he will make his decision when the show wraps in June.

“If he (runs), great!” said Michael J. Green, a physically therapy major.

“Hopefully he utilizes his cut throat economic talents and balances our nation’s budget.”

Green feels that Trump would be best for the position of President because of his vast business skills.

“His businessman talents are certainly his strongest qualities to be President, but his people skills may prevent him (from) winning the election,” Green said.

Trump also stated in the interview that he is willing to give up “The Apprentice” if he were to win the election. But not everyone thinks ‘The Donald’ can make a difference.

“I would have to say that’s ridiculous,” Rachel Turley, a journalism major stated.

“He’s trying to be a Jack of all Trades and when that happens you can’t really excel in all the areas. He should stick to what he knows and that is business, not running the world.” “ … I think that he might have a couple good ideas to contribute but in the big scheme of things I don’t think he has what it takes to be the President of the entire country. And on top of that, he would have to be informed that he wouldn’t be able to go around and fire random cabinet members and vicepresidents whenever he so pleases … that may be his deal breaker,” Turley said. “ … I think he would be too worried about personal gain more than how to help people,” said Allison Giroux, an early childhood education major. “… considering he has filed for bankruptcy 4 times, (it) makes me think he wouldn’t help the economy issues at all,” she said.

Trump stated that the economic downturn can be rectified, despite lack of respect for the country.

By Leslie Philp, January 25th, 2011

Party lines hold true despite Tucson tragedy The Tucson shooting that occurred on Jan. 8 left the nation stricken. The U.S. as a whole is still feeling the aftermath.

“There’s definitely a lot of emotional kickback,” Alex Avila, a political science professor at MCC said. “ … at this point in time I think people are just kind of shocked. I mean how long has it been since a public figure has, especially an elected one, been shot?”

“And all of the carnage that came with it … When President Reagan was shot, it was kind of like it was directed towards him and … clearly Brady, his aide, was severely wounded but it wasn’t the carnage that you saw this time. It was just…slaughter to a certain extent.” Avila said, comparing the attempt assassination on President Reagan to the massacre in Casas Adobes, Ariz.

Among the fatally wounded, were United States Chief Judge John M. Roll, Giffords’ political aide Gabe Zimmerman, a nineyear-old girl and three others.

“Well, considering the volume of people that were shot, I would argue that [Loughner] didn’t care who he hit as long as he hit her. And who knows in the

process of the shooting, when she went down, when he clearly shot her…how long after that did he continue…” Avila said.

Avila feels that this was a premeditated attack and that Loughner went to the event with one target in mind and “… everybody else was just extra.”

“Seems to be the kid really just, for whatever reasons, had a long history of having issues…” Avila said of Loughner’s mental health.

“He met her apparently, not once but twice or at least had correspondence with her more than one time, where she even sent him a thank you letter for being a participant at one point in time. But that being said, there’s obviously something wrong.”

Avila argues that when the public first found out about the shooting and that it was a member of the House of Representatives, that it was a breaking point resulting from the negative dialogue. “ … this was a boil over from all of the just nasty talk that’s going on…to such a point that hate seems to be festering all over the place. So if you’re the target you’re bound to eventually get all bent out of shape and do something really drastic. Especially now, since the Republicans control the state and it didn’t dawn on me that we still had a Democrat

sitting out there still serving on the Federal level” Avila said.

Avila also stated that he was not surprised that a Democrat had been shot because it would not have mattered if Loughner was provoked or not.

“I think it’s gotten to that point where if that kind of talk continues and all you’re doing is pushing people, that either those who are doing the pushing think that they have a license to go beyond a certain point, or those that are being pushed are going to push back and it can be something just as grave as…the [shooting]” Avila said.

Avila feels that an example of negative dialogue is that “…decades ago, they had a Republican Senator, and the Republican Senator was attacking a democratic state of New Mexico and that was normal…

But the Republican all of a sudden made it personal and at that point, both the Democrats and Republicans hooked up in the state and the Republican was no longer Senator, he was replaced…”

Avila compared the constant negative dialogue among politicians and the leaders of this country, to the current immigration issue in Ariz.

“I think if we keep this dialogue going, as negatively as possible, and you’re targeting certain people just because of immigration status, that you’re also targeting people who may look like the immigrants,” Avila said.

Avila feels that the majority of the attacks among politicians have become personal and “ … if you look at, think, or do something ‘un-American’ it’s kind of like you’re the target. I think it depends upon the leadership of this country, I think it depends on the talking heads and if they say anything.” “ … there are lines and unfortunately I think the leaders of this country and the talking heads need to stop and think about what they’re talking about,” Avila said.

By Leslie Philp, January 25th, 2011

Opinion: Terrorism is in the eye of the beholder Terrorism; the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation and instilling fear.

Do you remember the brutal lynching’s done by the Ku Klux Klan? Do you remember the massacre at Virginia Tech?

What about the attempt to erase an entire ethnicity by the Nazis? Or the serial rapes and murders of the Green River Killer?

Do we call these people terrorists?

I can only speak for myself, and I say yes.

I believe it is internal terrorism for an individual to attack innocent people in order to corrupt, rape, kill, and brainwash.

There have been a number of hate groups throughout history, whites against blacks, neo-Nazis against Jews, and crips against bloods. Every single group has the common denominator of a deep hatred that was drilled into them.

Timothy McVeigh, one of the Oklahoma City bombers, was of the mentality that his freedom of speech was being taken away and believed that the United States

Government committed murder during the raid at the Branch Davidian in Waco, Texas.

1% of the general population has mental health problems and are the most likely to act out in violence. Of that 1%, the extremists live, breathe and plot.

Jared Loughner, the gunman in the recent Tucson shooting, can be compared to many extremists such as Seung- Hui Cho (Virginia Tech shooter) who murdered 32 people before taking his own life.

Some people would even argue that PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) are terrorists!

If I think about how many hate groups have murdered, raped, and beaten innocent people every single day of my life, then I would probably develop some kind of ulcer and check myself into therapy!

No one wants to live in fear every day of their lives but sometimes you look at all of the carnage and killings and have to ask yourself. “Is anyone really safe anymore?�

A sociopath has no conscience and they feel no guilt, shame or remorse. They are manipulative and conning, pathological liars, and they have an incapacity to love.

I believe this is the definition of a terrorism.

By Leslie Philp, January 25th, 2011

Tempe is known for an assortment of shopping centers, restaurants, and outdoor entertainment as well as the theater nearby.

The Buckle also has a number of advantages that cut prices in half for students such as layaway and The Buckle card. “Layaway is 20% down then you have 60 days of payment which is great for college students…the Buckle Card is great to help students build their credit and you get 10% off your first purchase.”Layton said.

Chelsea Layton, a retail store owner at Tempe Marketplace, feels that The Buckle is one of the hot spots of Tempe because of their customer service, fairly priced BKE denim, and sale denim.

“I’m learning a lot, as a first year manager you go through your ups and downs. But it’s going to help me throughout the next year. I’m learning so much and I wouldn’t change it for anything.” Layton said.

She also feels that The Buckle Tempe brings in more traffic because of the nightlife.

Tempe Marketplace conveys an interactive shopping and entertainment setting, but also encourages people to check out an assortment of casual or upscale themed restaurants.

Tempe Marketplace has become the place to be in Tempe

“Buckle has always been that destination for denim…when [people] are out doing those kinds of things, they always want to come in here and see what’s hot and new.” Layton said.

Layton has been the owner of The Buckle Tempe for 8 months, but she has been with the company for almost 6 years.

“I started going to [The Buckle] when I was fourtee.n ... I knew I wanted to [work at] Buckle since that age.” Said new owner Chelsea Layton. “I knew I wanted to manage and right when I turned sixteen, I went in and had an interview and I got hired on as part time.”

“I think we have a really great array and something to offer for pretty much everybody, whether it’s just a casual night out with friends or…more of a special occasion type deal” Said Noelle Vestuva, a manager at Ruby Tuesday. “We have an awesome, fresh garden bar. The items are prepped fresh everyday and maintained throughout the day…it’s one of those things people continually come here for.”

Vestuva has been with the company for 9 years and feels as though the pricing is affordable for the atmosphere of the restaurant and quality of food presented.

Mike Dizzino has been the owner of the Canada based franchise, D’Arcy McGee’s, for 2 years and nine months and was the first to open the pub in the U.S. in May of 2008.

“We have probably one of the best happy hours in the area” Said Mike Dizzino.

“And we’re actually going to expand it in January. That includes $3 drafts, $3 wines, $3 premium wells which is Smirnoff, Jose Cuervo…and other name brands.”

He also feels that the pub is unique because of the story behind the name and believes there are more openings to come in the U.S. for D’Arcy McGee’s.

“D’Arcy McGee’s is named after a politician who was a rebel. He’s the only Canadian [Irish] politician who was assassinated. In the United States we’re the first franchise to open up but I think there’s going to be many more coming along the way.” Dizzino said.

By Leslie Philp, January 25th, 2011

Book club addresses addiction with new reading selection The MCC community houses many different clubs for students to get involved in.

“This is such a great opportunity for our students, faculty and staff members to mix and mingle together on campus,” said Kate Mohler, a full-time faculty member in the English department.

“Book club provides a unique community with building college experience.”

Book Club offers extra credit opportunities for students that join.

“We always provide two sets of discussion questions to al Book Club members ... in other cases, students simply write out answers to the discussion questions and submit those to their instructor,” Mohler said.

Mohler also feels that Book Club will help participants develop and exercise analytical skills, and will help students feel active and involved.

“On a campus like ours, sometimes it’s difficult to develop friendships and contacts,”

“Book Club provides an important social opportunity as well. We want students to feel that they belong here,” Mohler said.

The novel, Methland, was chosen because of the subtitle, “The Death and Life of an American Small Town.”

“We chose this book in order to bring what is often a hidden or shameful topic, as addiction often is, out in the open,” Mohler said.

By Leslie Philp, December 7th, 2010

New airport screening devices have some up in arms The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has changed their standard operating procedure for airport security nationwide. The Screening Partnership Program (SPP) was designed under contract by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) for testing in five chosen airports in Nov. 2002.

Protestors gathered at SkyHarbor Airport on Nov. 23 to defend their rights to freedom of speech and chanted “Don’t touch my junk” repeatedly to passersby entering and exiting the terminal.

“Most of the protest was organized over Facebook,” Halina Reed, a protestor at SkyHarbor Airport said. “Personally I’m here because I feel as a sexual assault survivor; I don’t want people getting in a space that I’m already that uncomfortable as it is.”

Reed also stated that Republican congressman Ron Paul, whom ran for presidency against John McCain a few years ago, was in Arizona a week ago giving speeches on why the government is wrong.

“Pilots don’t get touched, the flight attendants’…their not allowed to touch their private areas but their allowed to touch their breasts, their allowed to touch their behind. Their allowed to touch [the average person] wherever they want…It’s just not okay,” Reed said.

Bystander Brian Berkland feels that “people have really had it…with all of the new security procedures that their doing.

It’s taking away people’s rights,” Berkland said.

Though some were content to express themselves in a traditional fashion, others got more creative by stripping down to spandex.

“I am naked because I don’t think it’s fair to the American public to subject us to aggressive groping of…machines that haven’t been tested or could have long term results,” protestor Nate Palmer said, “I’m naked because I think it’s a funny way of drawing people’s attention to the issue. Plus it feels good to be naked at the airport.”

Fellow libertarian and anarchist Chris Broughton feels that the public needs to be aware of the security procedures.

“If they just brush it off … then we’re going to start seeing these scanners, we’re going to see this type of checking going on everywhere … ” Broughton said.

“We’re American citizens, we’re not terrorists,” activist Harold Norton said, “Especially the five-year-olds, the older women and the people in wheel chairs have been just accosted … I say at least change your gloves. They wear those gloves for hours straight groping different people right on down the line and they never change their gloves. It’s gross, It’s a way to spread disease,” Norton said.

By Leslie Philp, December 7th, 2010 Contributing Author: Ryan McCullough

but not something they would just go spend money on,” Hamnonds said.

Arizonans hopeful for discounts, economic recovery during holiday season

Claudia Perez, a dental hygienist major, feels that the economy could be affected in a positive way or a negative way because of Black Friday.

The day after Thanksgiving shopping spree, more commonly known as Black Friday, has been a tradition for years to kick-off the Christmas shopping season.

However, the tradition has changed this year with stores in the area giving away special deals for the entire month of November.

“Honestly I’ve never been to a Black Friday, this is going to be my first year.

[Black Friday] might be good [for the economy] because people are going to try and go out and try to buy things because they are cheaper, but many people don’t have the money to go out and [buy] …”

Perez said.

The term Black Friday has been dated back into the early 1960’s, when people decide to “Blackout” that day and stay home, hence the term Black Friday now known to all retailers across the country.

There has been speculation this year that Black Friday deals are not always what they seem. For example a $550 television brought hundreds of people to one store last year only to find out the store had 4 units in stock.

“I feel like there’s not going to be any stupid sales,” Cheyenn Hamnonds, a nursing major said, “I feel like all of the sales are happening now and their not even that good, but I still want to go.”

Hamnonds also feels that Black Friday may help the economy a little bit this year. “…I know someone that works at WalMart and they said that there’s going to be huge, random sales on things that people would buy for Christmas presents,

“I’m really excited and I’m going to go shopping at the mall,” Kelly Desjardins, a nursing major said. “I feel like [black Friday] is a good thing because more people are going to go shopping.”

Desjardins also feels that Black Friday this year will help to re-stimulate the economy.

Black Friday may have been around for years, but analysts believe that 2010 will be ground breaking because early

discounts are both wider and steeper and the sale period is longer.

In the early hours of Black Friday, several shoppers camped outside the stores in hopes of getting deep discounted products.

Best Buy always draws those interested in with Black Friday deals. Pablo Nevares was drawn to the Best Buy outside the Chandler Mall.

“They have a 55-inch Samsung T.V. and I haven’t bought a T.V. in ten years,” Nevares said.

By Leslie Philp, December 7th, 2010

Opinion: Stuck in a gray area on a green issue The passing of proposition 203 is nothing but horrible news for the state of Arizona.

If you had asked me two days ago about the passing of medical marijuana, I would have fully believed in this statement.

When I heard that the proposition had passed, I was filled with a slow boiling anger that spilled over the more I overheard groups of people saying “Let’s smoke a bowl.” I started analyzing my friendships and judging other people that thought the passing of prop 203 was a “good” thing.

Now that I have done more research, I have come to understand the benefits for medical marijuana and having the knowledge of how many people it can assist, my view point has changed.

I like to refer to it as being stuck in the gray area, in between the two extremes of black and white.

I was raised with the D.A.R.E. programs and the constant declarations of “say no to drugs” all of my life as I’m sure many others were. But I understand how important medical marijuana is to the ill. I have absolutely no right to judge how much pain others are in because if I

suddenly developed Glaucoma, I would want something to ease the pain as well.

Smoking marijuana has become just as prevalent as drinking hard liquor and alcohol. But with alcohol they just tell you to call a cab if you’ve had too much to drink. If you smoke too much pot, then you are considered “under the influence” and the famous words “let’s take a ride down to the station” will be ringing in your ears.

But now, generations have changed and drugs have become a nonchalant party favor. At least some of them anyway. A strong part of me still believes that marijuana is a gateway drug because it is being used recreationally and no one seems to care about the effects it will have in the long run.

I can’t say I am for or against the passing of proposition 203. I stand in the gray area, right in the middle of both extremes.

By Leslie Philp, November 16th, 2010

Creative dates on a budget Whether it’s the first date with a new guy or girl, or the usual Friday night date night, it can be difficult coming up with something fun and new to do that won’t break the bank.

“I normally go out to Chilli’s or something” Said David Garne, an MCC student. “It’s better than McDonald’s but not as good as you know, Elephant Bar or something.”

One way to keep things spicy and creative in the dating area is to try something new such as having a dinner where all of the food and decorations are the same color or pitch a tent in the backyard, order in Chinese and tell ghost stories by flashlight.

Chase Garrett, a civil engineering major, preferred going to a drive in movie.

Cheap dates are hard to come by and Rachel Jensen, an MCC student, felt that her best cheap date idea was to “maybe make dinner and watch a movie…if you want to get crazy with it, then maybe go have a picnic.”

In the economy today, money is always an issue, especially when it comes to dating.

Many couples have found themselves getting imaginative in designing fun dates such as going for an all day hike and then getting ice cream or spend an afternoon test driving cars.

“I’m not cheap,” Debbie Hendricks, a professor in exercise science at MCC said.

Ordering in pizza and hanging out at home is one of her favorite things to do next to going out with her husband.

Mike Morgan, an MCC Public Safety officer, felt going to a movie was a good cheap date.

A romantic date can still be attained while on a tight budget by packing a picnic and watching the sunset or going to a local department store and challenge each other to come up with the most romantic gift possible to buy each other.

Even though the recession has put a damper on dating, MCC students and faculty can get the most bang for their buck and still have a fun on dates by thinking outside the box.

By Leslie Philp, November 16th, 2010

Cutting the fat out of Thanksgiving with portion control, calorie counting For most Americans, a Thanksgiving feast usually includes a turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. This menu however has not changed for the last 200 years.

The Plymouth colonists often ate wild turkey, lived off the land, and gathered fresh herbs from nature. Today, the Thanksgiving tradition involves turkey with stuffing cooked inside, fruits poured from a can with added preservatives, and desserts piled high with whipped cream.

“I don’t know that there is one specific food that is unhealthy, but is…quantity of everything,” said Lori Zeinkewicz, Department Chair of Nutrition at MCC. “When you look at a credible portion of turkey, three ounces, like the size of my computer mouse, people probably eat three or four times that.”

“People load up on the carbohydrate, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but if it’s over quantity, then the carbs are converted to fat and stored,” Zeinkewicz said.

Not only is portion control changing in modern day society, but the amount of

certain ingredients going into a dish has increased over the years.

“There is a culmination of everything, too much pumpkin pie, too much whipped cream, too much cranberry sauce, too much alcohol. Too many calories because when you increase energy consumption and eat until your belly hurts, where’s the physical output?” Zeinkewicz said.

Zeinkewicz also gave tips on how to reduce the amount of calories going into the traditional Thanksgiving meal and some ways for MCC students to get involved in the kitchen.

“As far as the traditional Thanksgiving meal goes roast [turkey] or put it in the oven…people would be better off with real whipped cream with just a little bit. If you’re making a sweet potato casserole and it calls for six tablespoons of butter, you could probably cut it down to four and it would be just as good.”

“You could intentionally trick your guests at Thanksgiving and buy small plates because there’s a lot to be said about tricking the eye with portion size,” Zeinkewicz said.

Over the break for Thanksgiving, students can spend quality time with their families by helping to prepare meals and to be able to have a say in which ingredients go into the dish.

“Take the time to appreciate where food comes from,” said Zeinkewicz. “Maybe over the break, encourage their parents or whoever their celebrating with to visit a Farmer’s Market and get fresh produce from there and incorporate that into the meal.”

By Leslie Philp, November 2nd, 2010

Millenials demonstrate highachieving attitude in new book According to Neil Howe and William Strauss of the book Millennials Go To College, Generation Y—also known as Net Generation, Generation Next, and Millennial Generation—describes the demographic legion following Generation X. Born in the range of 1982 to the present, represent a generational clash between the Baby Boomers.

The book stated that Milleanials are known for being optimistic, highachieving, and team-oriented. Notably compared to the G.I. Generation which was also known as the “Greatest Generation,”meaning no other adult peer group meets anything near the upbeat, team playing, high-achieving, and civic minded reputation.

Renelle James, nursing major, believes that Generation Y as well as others coming through the ranks, are defined by technology because she watches her nephew play video games all day with no outside activity.

“He is not interested in even playing outside anymore. His entertainment is based on video games and I know a lot of that has to do with decision making, but

it is pretty much everything he does,” James said.

James also has her phone on her at all times and if she forgot her phone at home she would “turn around and get it because of emergency purposes” Said James.

“Technology helps us improve going further and further in life,” Alicia Beliston, nursing major said, “so it just keeps pushing each generation beyond what they were previously without the technology.”

Beliston also feels that Generation Y may not be defined by technology but does check her Facebook frequently and always carries her phone or music device. “[My phone] sits next to my bed because it’s my alarm clock. I don’t know how to work a regular alarm clock,” Beliston said.

The seven core traits of Generation Y are special, sheltered, confident, teamoriented, conventional, pressured and achieving.

By Leslie Philp, November 2nd, 2010

Rich soils and fine foods The Farm at South Mountain located in Phoenix, has been dubbed by guests and diners “The valley’s favorite escape.”

The Farm is equipped with organic gardens, three award winning restaurants, a health and wellness retreat, art gallery/ studio and an arts and crafts shop.

The Farm’s vision was originally created

by Dwight Heard, benefactor of the Heard Museum, in the early 1920’s. Over time, the ancient river bed with naturally rich soils, became known as The Farm and was bought by A. Wayne Smith. “[Wayne Smith] purchased this property from the Skeeter family, and it started first with The Farm Kitchen and then just developed more and more. So all of these restaurants that are on the property now, used to be homes. [Smith’s] daughter used to live in Quiessence which is now the restaurant,” said Nikki DeHerrera, event planner of The Farm at South Mountain.

“The Farm Kitchen, which is simple soups and salads … is owned by Pat Cristifolo.

She owns Santa Barbara Catering and she has a lot to do with this property,” DeHerrera said.

“In the back is the Morning Glory Café, a breakfast restaurant and then Quiessence

is a fine dining restaurant which is a separate owner, Greg LaPratch” DeHerrera said.

For over 40 years, Skeeter Coverdale a retired cattlemen, nurtured and oversaw the property. Diners can take a tour through Skeeter’s Cottage, located near the main office.

Maya’s Garden is also the organic garden on The Farm and provides fresh produce and herbs for the restaurants on the property. “[Maya] is also involved with the Phoenix Farmer’s Market and she sells her produce to other local restaurants around the valley,” DeHerrera said.

The menus for each restaurant change each day to introduce something new.

Also featured on the property is the Retreat Healing Sanctuary where guests can receive a therapeutic massage, energy balancing, intuitive readings, and the ancient healing art of Curandera.

“The owner, Wayne Smith, wanted it to feel like you’re not in Arizona; it’s a whole other destination space. It’s supposed to make you feel like you’re on vacation,” DeHerrera said.

For more information visit www.thefarmatsouthmountain.com or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

By Leslie Philp, October 19th, 2010

SkySong helps students with business ideas SkySong is the new 1.2 million square feet of office, retail and research space, and a hotel/conference center located in Scottsdale, developed by Plaza Companies.

This new building also has resources to Arizona State University and will serve the needs of businesses, the research and technology industry, and academics.

“The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center is the place where Arizona State University brings together technology innovation and knowledge-driven industries,” Derek Sarley, Public Relations manager of the SkySong said.

Sarley also illustrated three consecutive points of interest for the SkySong.

“Accelerate the market application of research breakthroughs, Support student, faculty, regional, and global entrepreneurship, and promote economic development for Greater Phoenix and Arizona” Sarley said.

Arizona State University has also located its technology program, entrepreneurial units, and select engineering research programs at the SkySong.

“SkySong helps ASU fulfill its commitment to fostering the economic and social well-being of Metropolitan Phoenix,” Julia Rosen, Vice President for Innovation and Entrepreneurship said.

“SkySong operates as both a doorway and a magnet for global innovation-based companies looking to enter the U.S. market. Tenant companies benefit by having access to the unmatchable resources of the largest university under one administration in the United States.”

The original grand opening for the SkySong Innovation Center was March 2008 but today, the two buildings have reached an 85 percent occupancy.

“The master plan for the 37-acre site was created by design architect Pei Cobb Freed and Partners of New York City along with the Phoenix office DMJM (Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall)” Sarley said. “[DMJM] was the architect-of-record on the project.” “(SkySong) is home to the Edson Student Entrepreneurial Initiative, which provides $200,000 in seed annually to student entrepreneurs” Sarley said,“We also offer a wide range of events…and even entrepreneur office hours where students can come in and talk to an experienced mentor about how they can turn their idea into a business.”

By Leslie Philp, October 5th, 2010

Scottsdale’s Comedy Spot hosts aspiring comedians The stand-up comedy class of The Comedy Spot, performed to a sold out crowd on Sept. 16 under the guidance of their host and instructor Dee Ann Kinkade who has been teaching classes at The Comedy Spot for six years.

The line up featured 12 comedians and a brief intermission with the owner Sean Dillin, who interacted with the audience with off-the-wall jokes and imitations.

“Before I taught stand-up comedy, I taught four years of French conversation” said Kinkade, the instructor of the comedy classes. “I work at SCC, I work at the film school, and I work at a college T.V. station. We have a show called Maricopa Now and I do a report on one of the ten community colleges.

When she was younger, Kinkade went away to France for a short vacation and ended up staying for 10 years. She had no skills to market, so when she returned to the states, she taught French Communication while pursuing a screen writing career.

“My screen play was being auctioned and it went to Bette Midler, it went to Kathleen Turner, but it did not go to the

screen. So, everybody said ‘you’re a good comedy writer, why don’t you try standup?’” Kinkade said.

She soon realized that her voice sounded comedic and wanted to pursue comedy classes in Los Angeles before returning to Ariz. and booking gigs.

Nathan Evangelista, a performer from the Comedy Classes featured in the showcase, stated that he’s used comedy in his life since he was a child.

“I’ve always tried to be funny,” said Nathan Evangelista, a performer from the Comedy Classes featured in the showcase.

“Growing up I was kind of shy but being funny was my way to make friends” Evangelista said.

Evangelista became serious about standup comedy a year ago when his friend started performing and is inspired by Saturday Night Live and Kids in the Hall.

“The showcase was my first time performing” Said Chase Stevens, a sixteen year old Brophy College Proprietary student.

For more information on The comedy Spot Comedy Club go to www.TheComedySpot.net for show times, tickets and discounts.

By Leslie Philp, October 5th, 2010

Local restaurant haunted after brutal strangling Casey Moores Oyster House was established in 1910 originally as a ranch house by businessman William Anthony Moeur.

From 1930 to 1955, this house has held two generations of families, the Moeur’s and the Hennes. After the families had passed, the house was used for parties with heavy drug use, orgies, suicides, and even murders.

Casey Moores is now believed to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl who was strangled in the upper front bedroom in 1966 by a jealous lover.

She has been seen in the oval shaped mirror—placed in the corner where the bed used to be—by diners enjoying a meal upstairs.

“He would come in and his bottle of booze would be gone and he would later find it downstairs in the oven and the oven was on. His (marijuana) was gone and he’d throw a fit. This would only happen when he would bring a girl home” Said Grunow.

15,000 pages of research are being dedicated to a novel specifically on the haunting of Casey Moores Oyster House

by Grunow and his team of ghost hunters including the property history, people who owned it, and the ghost legends.

Casey Moores owner, Gavin Rutledge explained how it came across its name.

“It was named by a Flappers girl, Patty Ridgebank, my cousin and her husband Richie. It’s named after her grandmother Casey Moores, because she owned a little Speakeasy piano down in her basement and had people over and charged them for drinks” Rutledge said.

“The funny thing, Mark Ringer used to live here back in the 60’s,” said Jeff Grunow, Operations Manager of the paranormal investigators group, West Coast Ghost and Paranormal Society. “If he went out to a restaurant or bar…he would bring her into this room.

The haunting of Casey Moore’s Oyster House has never fully been pin-pointed but the ghost of the murdered girl will make her presence known from time to time, by throwing a fork into the same spot on the wall whenever the owner enters the room or if there is a kissing couple present.

Grunow detailed activities that Ringer experienced in the house.

Fox10 News will be running the report on Saturday, Sept. 25 while Grunow and his

team spend 24 hours in the haunted room upstairs.

Check out www.ghostsofarizona.com/ CaseyMoores for The Legend of Casey Moores and visit www.caseymoores.com/ Caseys for specials and menu information.

Visit the Arizona based team, West Coast Ghosts and Paranormal Society at www.wcgaps.com

By Leslie Philp, September 21st, 2010

The Season Premiere’s new single popular with fans at local show The Nile Theater houses many diverse artists including the PopPunk/Rock band The Season Premiere, who performed their new EP single “She Doesn’t Know” for the first time live on Sept. 6.

The five members of The Season Premiere —Justin Garza, Riley Knapp, Karl Kwaitkowski, Pat Boyle, and Jeff Little— have been performing together for seven months.

“When the band started originally, we didn’t have a name.” Said Guitarist Pat Boyle. “We we’re just trying to come up with a fresh phrase that would stick in people’s heads. It came down to The Season Premiere or The Season Finale and TSP sounded more new and upcoming.”

Garza, Boyle, and Knapp come from an extensive musical background and have been in numerous bands before The Season Premiere came together early last year with new Bassist Karl Kwaitkowski.

“My dad’s whole side of the family is extremely musical and we have connections on our side.” Said Drummer Riley Knapp. Knapp is also the youngest of the five members and has been surrounded by music his entire life.

Guitarist Jeff Little thinks The Season Premiere is unlike other bands because “We like to perform more entertainment rather than just playing the songs, so we try to explode our songs on stage.”

Along with their alternative rocker edge, The Season Premiere has also dubbed their look as “The Morning After Prom” which is messy but still nice all wrapped in one.

The most important part of the show for Lead Vocalist Justin Garza is reaching the fans. “I want people to be encouraged by our music, go out and make a positive influence on the world and I want people to be changed by what we’re doing.”

In the words of Bassist, Karl Kwaitkowski. “The Battle has just begun.”

As well as the captivating performance by The Season Premiere, The Nile Theater also featured Sherwood, The Dangerous Summer, Soletta, RadioDriveBy and Goodnight Darling. The Underground of The Nile Theater featured Paper Machete, Josiah Leming, All My Friends, and AV Club.

For more of The Season Premiere, check out new songs, blog entries and upcoming show dates at www.myspace.com/ TheSeasonPremiereAZ or follow them on Twitter.

By Leslie Philp, September 21st, 2010

September 11th: Nine years after Nearly 3,000 people were killed the day the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, launching the United States into turmoil.

This day will always be remembered as the crash of September 11, 2001.

The 7th annual “Healing Field” was held at Tempe Beach Park this past weekend, paying tribute to all of the innocent lives lost from the attack on our freedoms.

There were 3,000 flags placed in rows throughout the field, standing as a patriotic tribute.

“I was supposed to be getting ready for my World History class in 7th grade, when we got word that the plane hit the North Tower,” said Lilliana Espinoza, an English major.

“I was sleeping,” Said Rene Smalley, a Criminal Justice major. “My mom knocked on the door and said ‘we’re under attack!’”

Smalley and her daughters spent this past weekend blogging and researching stories of families that lost loved ones.

Many American flags were sponsored by local families and organizations for this event and had roses placed next to each flag pole. 72 pairs of military boots were also placed at the base of 72 flag poles to pay respect to the active military personnel who lost their lives.

“I was at dance class,” Said Kami Randall, a Nuclear Health major.

Each flag also held a placard portraying the name and biography of a life lost on 9/11.

Arizona is one of three states to host The Healing Field Memorial and volunteers included The Boys and Girls Club, the Exchange Club, the Young Marines, and local business members.

Memorials like The Healing Field, will help America to never forget the lives lost and the families who lost them.

By Leslie Philp, September 21st, 2010

Opinion: A healthy lifestlye is more than just buying a treadmill A new revelation some may find hard to swallow, is that science is proving the old saying, “you are what you eat.”

The American dream is to have a cookiecutter dream house with 2.5 children and a dog named Fido.

It now includes living a fast food lifestyle.

The average American family has to eat, right? So, why not grab a cheeseburger with a side of fires and a chocolate shake to go.

America! Stop speeding through the fast food lanes late at night! It’s not enough to just exercise and it’s not enough to just cut the meal full of lard in half. You have to make a lifestyle change.

Obesity is now a bigger health problem.

Partly because Americans work sedentary jobs while eating a high calorie diet, and partly because people are smoking less.

You have to push through that little voice in your head that says, “just quit, you can try again tomorrow.”

If you quit now, then you’ll quit the next day and so on, until you’re too big to fit on the airplane with the passengers and

instead, have to be stowed in the cargo hold.

What will happen when the human population has reached Titanic size and there are no more sizes to go up?

‘Wide load’ passengers will be stowed o the airplane is what will happen unless people start taking exercise and healthful living more seriously.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a necessity in our diets because they are high in fish oils and unsaturated fat, but over the last year alone, our diets have shifted to omega-6 fatty acids high in soybean oils and saturated fat.

Junk food and fast food are also included in saturated fats and when these fats are hydrogenated, they are known as transfats are are poisonous.

The fact still remains, that though people are aware of what is in trans-fat foods, America is still consuming them.

If we are what we eat, Americans are ground beef and potatoes.

If the nation continues on down the path of ingesting fast food, not exercising and putting strain on their hearts, then we have just given ourselves a death sentence.

By Leslie Philp, September 7th, 2010

Anthropology club The term anthropology came from the Greek word anthropos meaning ‘human’ and logia meaning ‘study,’ first discussed

by Francois Peron with Thasmanian Aborigines, introducing the term human study.

Learn about the Origin of King Tut, the genetic makeup of the prehistoric man and discover new finds at archaeological sites.

“Anthropology Student Club is basically to allow networking and social interaction for students with an interest in anthropology,” said Annalisa Alvrus of the cultural science department. “This gives people a way to do fun, anthropology related activities.”

Anthropology also has origins in the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences.

In order to these fields outside of the classroom. Alvrus is planning a number of field trips for the fall semester including a visit to the downtown Phoenix Archaeology Center.

“We wanted to give students a way to get together with each other because a lot of our students go to different schools including ASU,” Alvrus said. “We are

planning a filed trip over to ASU, especially for the students thinking of transferring. We can take a look at their anthropology department and their resources.”

Alvrus is one of four anthropologists at Mesa Community College, which makes the anthropology faculty the largest of the community colleges in Arizona.

Club meetings are on Wednesdays, once a month in room SC14 on the south side of the Dobson campus.

By Leslie Philp , September 7th 2010 Contributing Author: Matt Schaeffer

Nursing program moves to new home Mesa Community College has been under construction this pat summer of 2010 and has been completed with the school’s newest addition, the health and wellness center.

Emily Hall, a nursing student, is looking forward to the new ER simulation room and attending classes in the center.

Formerly the physical science building, the health and wellness center houses two departments; nursing and exercise science.

“Smith Group was the architect and the construction kicked off in the spring of 2009. It was completed a year later.

Including design, construction and moving into the building,” Kurt Conover, interim vice president of administrative services said.

Richard Cluff, director of maintenance, stated the architects had help with the design of the building.

“Some of the people from the nursing department worked together with the architects to help give them an idea of what they needed,” Cluff said.

Another improvement to the building is that it is more eco-friendly with manolium flooring, a very environmentally friendly form of linoleum.

The new building contains an Obstetrics and Gynecology Simulation Lab and is furnished with life-like subjects and mannequins to interact with so the students can have more hands-on and realistic experience.

As a result of the General Obligations Bond, a 2004 90 million dollar tax bond, Mesa Community College was able to fund the construction of the health and wellness center, the English faculty offices and the journalism academic skills center.

By Leslie Philp, September 7th, 2010

Opinion: The online game of love not what it seems Online dating, the new dating craze that has swept across North America, has become a more efficient way to meet people.

As an experiment, I decided to join an online dating site to see if people actually find matches.

Two days into my campaign, I was forced to take down my page because my message box was filled with “Want to chat pretty girl” and “Let’s get XXX” trash talk from 40-year-old men who were clearly lost and trying to find a porn site.

Internet dating has been portrayed as an easy and safe way to meet people. But it’s really just about spilling your guts into the small “Bio” box and declaring that you want to “get busy” with anyone that is willing.

When I created my profile page for the dating site, I originally had planned to try and connect with some people. I evidently made a mistake when I saw Naughty1 trying to Instant Message me. I immediately rejected.

It’s safe to say the experience of online dating for me was very awkward and uncomfortable. In a word, eerie.

The first few guys seemed the same: generic and quiet. Then there were some that talked non-stop about how much they liked sex.

As I was reading some of their messages, my thoughts kept wandering to how creepy and smarmy their minds must be.

Eyes never lie and a person reveals their true colors in the first couple minutes of speaking. In this case typing.

So, I scanned the screen and silently analyzed them. For instance, some of the men buffed up their pictures and tried to appear innocent. I felt like all of the guys were either quiet perverts or lions on the prowl with come-hither-eyes and I was the gazelle.

Online dating was definitely a horrifying experience, one that I will not repeat.

By Leslie Philp, September 7th, 2010

MCC offers students structure after summer of fun Heading back to school can include the first-day-jitters, switching out the batteries of that old alarm clock or getting back into the grind of morning classes.

Back to school can also mean finding the right daycare for children, acclimating to a foreign place or just picking up a parking pass.

The first week of school can be nerve racking and thrilling.

“I’m excited to be back to school,” said nursing student, Alexis Nordvold-Young.

For me, it’s a lot different than the first time because now I want to be in school versus when I was younger. I wasn’t as excited.”

Nordvold-Young sad she is eager to be coming bak to school because she feels that nursing is what she should have majored in prior to attending MCC. Now, she is working a full time job and has made nursing her priority.

“I love school,” Nordvold-Young said.

Returning student Kristen Boothe is eager to further her education with a degree.

“I’m looking forward to getting my degree and starting a life long career, which will help me in the future when I’m ready to start a family,” Boothe said.

Michael Flemister, an exercise science major, said that “It’s just another day of school.”

Flemister is looking forward to joining a sports team next fall.

Along with the nursing program, MCC has a variety of features offered including performing arts classes, on campus computers for student usage and financial aid for needed assistance.

“Coming back to school, you’re getting back into it and working toward your major,” Shelby Hackworth, performing arts major said.

Hackworth recently made the MCC dance company and said she is interested in taking psychology classes.

By Leslie Philp, September 7th, 2010

Breathing Techniques & exercise can reduce stress Many people find stress to be an everyday emotion, one that controls how you deal with problems, your environment and even relationships.

Sharon McLaughlin, a healthful living instructor at MCC, stated that an individuals mindset can have a large impact on stress.

“I think your attitude can affect stress positively or negatively, depending on how you’re feeling. If you meet it with a positive attitude, it is much easier to overcome.”

She suggested breathing techniques to help relieve stress before a test.

“You can take two or three minutes to sit and deep breathe before an exam or stressful event and that has a positive physical affect on your body,” McLaughlin said.

Another way, suggested by McLaughlin, to alleviate stress for college students is to get in a regular amount of physical activity and balance a hectic schedule with social events.

Francesca Pervencio, an international business major, said she manages her

stress by working out or going out to meet friends. She also stated she is under the most stress toward the end of the semester.

“Even moderate exercise can be beneficial,” said McLaughlin. “If you have time in between classes, just follow the colorful footsteps around campus. If you finish where you started, then you’ve walked one mile. That’s known as the Mesa Mile.”

Nursing student, Kelly Seefeld, has controlled her stress level by going to yoga classes, practicing deep breathing and by walking her dogs.