October 31, 2014 Vol. 81 No. 9

Page 1

Transfer Day at LMC

RENT opening nears

Soccer comes together

College representatives take to the Indoor Quad for Transfer Day. Story inside — page 3

The Drama Department seeks to wow with residence at the California Theater. Preview inside — page 4

Shutout victory over Contra Costa College instills confidence in struggling team — page 5

V O L .

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F.Y.I. Important Dates

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F R I D A Y ,

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

New site draws concern

BART delays action on Brentwood

November is Transgender Awareness Month

By CASSIE DICKMAN

cdickman@lmcexperience.com

Nov. 2

Daylight Savings Time — Turn your clocks back one hour at 2 a.m.

Nov. 10

Veteran’s Day — Campus closed

Experience • Cathie Lawrence

LMC President Bob Kratochvil speaks during the BART Board meeting.

Blood Drive to come again

O C T .

In a tension-filled meeting last week the BART Board of Directors and members of the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board discussed a proposed controversial letter from BART to the college district about the future site of the permanent Los Medanos College Brentwood Center. The letter, which was written and placed on BART’s Oct. 23 meeting agenda by its President Joel Keller, expressed concerns that the current location approved by the college governing board violates state and federal laws, deprives a disadvantaged group of minority and low income students access

to public transportation, and has significant and unavoidable impacts on the environment. In the end, action on the letter was delayed until the next BART meeting, but not before opinions were aired by representatives of both boards. Keller was not present at the meeting but his fellow board members said he asked them to adopt the letter and officially send it to College District Governing Board President John Marquez, who attended the meeting at the last minute to respond to the letter which, he said, he had only received word of that morning. “I’m hurt and angry actually that there could be any concern

Honoring the dead

Student Life & Blood Centers of the Pacific will be hosting another blood drive on campus. The drive will be held Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Library. For more information or to schedule your donation appointment visit Blood Centers of the Pacific website at www. bloodheroes.com click on “Donate Blood” and enter sponsor code = losMC. Student Life can be reached at 473-7554.

Spooky night draws youth By KIMBERLY STELLY

kstelly@lmcexperience.com

President Bob Kratochvil will continue his Campus Conversation series with these upcoming dates: n Tuesday, Nov. 18 from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Brentwood Center, Room 11 n Monday, Dec. 1 from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Library, Room L-105 The informal meetings offer the opportunity to have an idea heard by the president. Questions and feedback are encouraged on current LMC issues. Meetings with the president can also be scheduled one-on-one by calling Senior Executive Assistant Jennifer Adams at 473-7302 or emailing her at jadams@losmedanoscollege.edu

The Los Medanos College Puente Program hosted the first annual Dia de los Muertos celebration Oct. 29 in the Indoor Quad from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day focuses on remembering loved ones who have passed. The celebration traditionally takes place over a period of three days, starting on Oct. 30. Participants of the festivities were treated to facepainting, sugar skull decorating, food sales and altar displays. The displays were encouraged to be made by each department. Above, artist Cynthia Viera paints a skull mask on student Marcus Green. The display, left, was part of the days decorations.

Photos by Katrina Butler • Experience

The 5th Annual Soup Cook off will be held Tuesday Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (or until supplies run out) in the Indoor Quad. The event is a fundraiser for the Classified Senate. Pricing is $4 for a bowl with a slice of bread, and $1 for each soup shot. Call Linda Maniscalco at 473-7502 for more information.

See BART, page 6

2.6 billion spent on festivities

LMC2 to bring idea exchange

Soup cook off needs chefs

about my district and me to be discriminatory in any way toward our students,” said Marquez at the meeting. “Mr. Keller spoke of cooperation and working together but his actions say otherwise.” Keller attended the Sept. 10 meeting of the college governing board to express his concerns with the new Brentwood Center site. Along with Marquez, Governing Board Vice President John Nejedly, LMC President Bob Kratochvil and attorney David Suldany, who represents the district in legal matters, also made hasty arrangements to attend the meeting to voice their disapproval of premature action on an official letter. They urged

Debating propositions

Team skirmishes over worth of Prop 2 By JOSH WOOD

jwood@lmcexperience.com

Pittsburg Civic Center hosted the LMC Debate Team’s debate Wednesday night on Proposition 2, a measure on the upcoming Nov. 4 ballot to reallocate the budget to ensure the government saves money into a rainy day fund and increases school spending. The debate was held in the Pittsburg City Council Chamber and Debate Coach Kasey Gardner said that the

team “couldn’t be happier to keep partnering with the city.” Unlike a competitive debate, where the team would only have had 15 minutes of prep time, a public debate allows the team two weeks in advance to prepare and develop arguments. “We had 50 people here,” to view the debate, Gardner Experience • Cathie Lawrence said, “and a great discussion Opposition Whip Sergio Ramirez makes his afterward.” One of the defining features presentation during the debate. Teammate Brianna See PROP, page 6

Klipp listens as her partner makes his case.

The Halloween market is increasing. The average American consumer spends $75 per person up from $30 in 2005. The increase can be attributed to people ages 18 to 25. Over the past several years, there has been an increase in young adults celebrating or partaking in Halloween celebrations. Many people think of Halloween as a holiday for children but statistics compiled by various companies and websites suppor t the fact that young adults spend more money and par ticipate in certain festivities even more so than children. According to a creditdonkey.com survey, 1076 people over 18 were surveyed and 78.7 percent planned on partaking in Halloween celebrations. According to data compiled by the National Retail Federation, more than two-thirds of the American population will spend an estimated 7.4 billion dollars on Halloween and specifically, 2.6 billion dollars on costumes, with the majority of that money being spent on adult costumes. Honors Director Jenifer Saito said “It’s the only holiday for children and adults – who doesn’t want to dress up?” Some attribute these numbers to a melancholy reason; young adults are afraid to grow up. For some the celebration acts as a catalyst for nostalgia. Music major Marcela Zaragoza thinks young adults still celebrates the holiday because “We don’t want to think about growing older yet so we get once a year to dress up and act like kids again.” Other people like Music major Lauren Dunn think college students still celebrate Halloween so they have an excuse for dressing provocatively, getting drunk and partying. This does correlate See NIGHT, page 6


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