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ETEC job fair

A ‘Fusion’ of fun

Playoff birth clinch

The ETEC program held a job fair where students could talk to industry professionals for internships — page 3

Review of the newly released racing platformer “Trials Fusion” — page 4

Mustangs baseball clinches a playoff spot for the second year in a row — page 5

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F.Y.I. Important Dates April is Autism Awareness Month April 25

Last day to withdraw from full-term classes with a “W” appearing on transcript

April 28

Priority registration for EOPS, DSPS, qualified veterans, qualified foster youth and CalWorks

April 30

Special registration for DSPS notetakers, early graduation applicants and qualified athletes

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L M C E X P E R I E N C E . C O M

LMC network upgraded New Wi-Fi and phone numbers/extensions By BRENDAN CROSS

bcross@lmcexperience.com

Los Medanos College is in the process of a network infrastructure upgrade project that will include a change of the campus phones, new phone numbers and extensions for faculty and staff and new campus Wi-Fi. An email sent out by LMC Vice President Kevin Horan said the implementation of the phones will take place during off-hours in order to minimize disruption and will be completed by the May 30 weekend. Each phone will receive a five-digit extension for calls within the district and a 10-digit direct dial phone number for calls outside the district.

“We have an old system that is fairly limiting and I think it is going to help faculty, staff and students have better access to information,” said LMC President Bob Kratochvil. Kratochvil also added that a second stage project is in the works to get a phone in each classroom upon completion of the current upgrade. The new Wi-Fi was activated Friday, April 18. Students can connect to the Wi-Fi network labeled “LMC Student” by logging into the InSite portal with your ID and password. The speed limits for a student are restricted to 5mb/sec with phones being timed out after 60 minutes of inactivity. There is no device limit for students as the devices are

not registered. LMC employees have no speed restriction and can register up to four devices to the Wi-Fi which is valid for a year before having to re-register. Guests can also connect to the Wi-Fi using a guest ID and password with a 1mb/sec speed restriction. “We have had this commitment to have hotspots around the campus as much as we can. There are a variety of places where the availability has not been as good and we are working on that,” said Kratochvil. While the new Wi-Fi should ultimately be beneficial to the school, some students have yet to see

Easter swings away

AGS brings home honors

Scholarships are awarded

2014 fall schedule out

By RATTANA KIM

rkim@lmcexperience.com

Check out the 2014 schedule of classes for this fall online at losmedanos.edu/schedule

Debate event at city hall The award-winning LMC and CCC debate teams will tackle the topic of Measure E Thursday, May 1 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Pittsburg City Council Chambers, 65 Civic Ave., Pittsburg. Admission and parking is free. For mor information visit losmedanos.edu/ speech/debate/.

Photo by Cathie Lawrence

Youth Summit coming soon The Supervisor Federal Glover’s Contra Costa County 2014 Youth Summit will take place at LMC Saturday, May 3 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The theme of this year’s summit is “How to Survive Being a Teenager,” featuring keynote speaker Shaun Derik. The event will feature workshops that offer college and job preparation classes. Attendees will qualify for a free bus pass for use all summer. To register go to cccounty.us/2839/Youth-Summit-2014

See WIFI, page 6

Child Development student Anthony Olgin Jr. swings a broom to get candy out of a piñata during an Umoja sponsored Easter event Friday, April 18 at the Outdoor Quad.

Special ed transitional dilemma Mentally challenged students not fully college prepped By KELLIE McCOWN

kmccown@lmcexperience.com

When Mary Brown was in third grade she developed separation anxiety so severe she told her mother she was afraid to go to school because she thought she would die. “It was an eight-year struggle just to get through,” said her mother, Sue Brown. Mary was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, anxiety and depression. She had problems communicating, even with friends, and was traumatized in her sophomore year of high school when her last two friends told her they didn’t want to associate with her anymore. When Mary was 15, she was re-diagnosed with autism, a developmental

problem that hinders the ability to “We can’t twist their arms develop social skills and make them give us their and affects learning time even though we know it in mainstream environments. would benefit their students.” I d e a l l y, M a r y — Virginia Richards would have gone to high school in a district that brought her into its spe- sition,” explained Sue Brown. “Mary cial education program, established a wanted to go to college, and they told well-rounded Individual Educational Plan us, ‘Yeah, Mary can go to college,’ but no (IEP), and put into play an Individual one explained how. Mary was not talked Transition Plan (ITP) after she turned to about her rights and neither was I. 16. Surrounded by the support of her I didn’t know that Mary had the right teacher, school psychologist, social to services to help her go to college.” worker and mother, the program would Mary is not alone. School districts have equipped her with the resources across California are failing to properly needed to meet her own educational transition students suffering from mental and career goals. illness and emotional disturbances from But Mary did not attend high school the structured learning environments in such a district that equipped her, or provided in high school into the unher mother, with a transitional plan structured learning environments of geared toward her goals. higher education. “I was so busy trying to keep Mary Nancy Shea, senior attorney for Mental See PREP, page 6 together, let alone to think about tran-

Three members of Los Medanos College’s Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS), one of the California Community College Scholastic Honor Society organizations, were awarded scholarships at the 88th annual AGS convention. The convention took place from Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 6 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose with an attendance of 526 members representing 39 college chapters. All three nominees from LMC’s AGS were awarded scholarships of $600, $700 and $1,050 on Saturday night at the dinner ceremony. This is the second consecutive year that all three candidates have won awards. Kunal Khanna received the Kathleen D. Loly Award, which recognizes academic excellence. Nick Kraber received the Robert Mantovani Award, which recognizes academic excellence, outstanding service and exceptional leadership. Cristina Esparza received the Ed Walsh Award, which recognizes outstanding service. A total of 55 student members were awarded scholarships totaling $40,000. “I felt super proud of myself when I won the award because I knew that my hard work paid off,” said Cristina Esparza, who is the secretary for AGS. Being Esparza’s first time at the convention, she particularly enjoyed meeting other AGS members from other chapters. There were also a number of workshops, including award winning illusionist Timothy James and contests such as the name tag contest. A dance followed the dinner ceremony. Throughout the convention, AGS members were given the opportunity to bond with other chapters and participate in workshops to prepare for transferring to a four-year university. “I think it’s just all about being together, asides winning awards for students, kind of getting to know each other,” said adviser Phil Gottlieb who is also a general parttime counselor at LMC, “just See AGS, page 6


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