LMC Experience Vol. 98 No. 6 - April 7, 2023

Rocco Borrelli shuts down Marin College lineup in Stangs win

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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ full of enthralling action scenes

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F.Y.I. Important Dates

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Celebrating women’s history

April

is Autism Awareness Month

April 9

Celebrate Easter Sunday with your family

April 15

Honor Jackie Robinson and celebrate the anniversary of his breaking the baseball color barrier

Sex and gender in the anceint world History professors Denis Campbell of SFSU and Patrick McCarter of LMC will speak about sex and gender in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome Thursday, April 13 from noon until 3:30 p.m. in L-109.

Photo Courtey of Lorenzo Navales

From left Jancy Rickman, Star Louis Steers, Morgan Lynn, Adrianna Simone, Katherine Mustar and Nadiya Korkuna sit on the women’s panel

Shared stories bring LMC community together Tour the California Capitol building LMC students will visit the State Capital from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on April 28. Students can sign up at https://losmedanos. wufoo.com/forms/z1wfpw1t0mif9uq/ to go on the trip.

By: ALIYAH RAMIREZ Staff Writer

Inspiration, empowerment and unity are a few of the many words that come to mind when celebrating Women’s History Month.

To acknowledge the achieve-

ments of women at Los Medanos College, the Honors Club, Law Society and Student Life prepared an event for students and staff to come together and connect with each other’s stories. The event began with a movie showing of “Legally

Monday April 10 Hella Street Tacos & Betty’s Buns 11 a.m - 2 p.m

Watch parties for UEFA soccer games The Student Union will host UEFA Champions League soccer matches on the second floor at noon on April 11, 12, 18 and 19.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Memorial Ping Pong tournament A Ping Pong tournament in memory of a former student will be hosted by the Games Club, Art Club and Student Life Thursday, April 13, noon to 2 p.m in the Student Lounge. Prizes will be awarded.

Tuesday April 18 Hella Street Tacos 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Monday April 17 Villa’s Tacos 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Tuesday April 11 Sip & Scoop 11 a.m - 2 p.m

Blonde” following a women’s panel discussion in the student union from 2-5:30 p.m. on March 23.

Sharing similar ideas in ways to celebrate Women’s History Month, the Honors Club and Law Society worked together

Wednesday April 12 Villa’s Tacos 11 a.m - 2 p.m

Wednesday April 19 Groovy Gorditas 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Thursday April 13 Philly Cheese Steak 11 a.m - 2 p.m

Thursday April 20 Ike’s Grill & Betty’s Buns 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Alexis Ramirez • Experience

Food trucks cater to LMC students while cafeteria search continues.

Vendor search begins at LMC

By RAY KOPF Staff Writer

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shut down of Los Medanos College’ Pittsburg campus, the cafeteria that was introduced to the campus shortly before lockdown has been closed and vendorless.

But with more students coming back to in-person classes, it has become apparent to the district that the cafeteria needs to reopen. Recently, the district has submitted a proposal for vendors to serve in the cafeteria.

The process to select a vendor is still in the beginning

stages, but there are vendors showing interest so far. Carlos Montoya, the Vice President of Business Administrative Services at LMC, is putting together a committee to judge and score all of the proposals received from vendors. From there, the selected vendor will See VENDOR, page 7

to make this event possible and began collaborating a few weeks prior.

The event began with Law Societies’ movie showing of “Legally Blonde,” as the student union was decorated with pink balloons along with free

pizza and snacks for viewers to enjoy throughout the film.

Following an informal discussion, brainstormed and brought to life by Honors officers Cara Rieber, Valeria Navarro and Muskaan Adeel,

See WOMEN, page 7

School needs arise at joint meeting

By JADEN FORTIER Staff Writer

Los Medanos College’s Classified Senate, Academic Senate and student government held a joint meeting on March 20 in the Pittsburg library, room L-109 and Brentwood campus, room 135 from 2-4 p.m. The meeting was also broadcasted on Zoom and open to everyone, with those in person served Mountain Mike’s pizza.

Mark Lewis, president of the Academic Senate, described the theme of the meeting as “reconnection,” while the community college tries to build back after the pandemic.

The meeting was designed for students and faculty to express their thoughts, concerns and grievances on life and learning since more people have started to come back in person.

The first por tion of the meeting was dedicated to the students as members of the Los Medanos College Associ-

DALL-E

ated Students (LMCAS), who expressed shared problems.

Jacob Boyle, Commissioner of Marketing and Outreach for LMCAS, said food on campus could be a lot better than its current state as it “is the biggest thing that sets us apart from other colleges.”

Since LMC partially opened up in the 2021-22 school year, the cafeteria hasn’t confirmed a vendor, leaving students without access to meals on campus. To fill the void that is left by the cafeteria, LMC has had food trucks come to the campus and provide food See SENATE, page 7

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“Be kind whenever possible. It’s always possible.”

— 14th Dalai Lama

Tatihn Mellieon

Noah Cannon

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NOAH’S NEWS

Trump’s spectacle of an indictment

Former President Donald J. Trump appeared in New York City on Tuesday after being indicted by a grand jury for paying Stormy Daniels $130,000 dollars in hush money about an affair shared between them.

On the surface, this case is both confusing and straightforward. Although the evidence against Trump is strong, Daniels herself has been adamant about action for over a decade. Cases like this are typically filed as misdemeanors, but Trump is being charged with a felony, and there are other, more substantial cases against him.

Take the 2020 elections where a special grand jury investigated an alleged election interference that Trump participated in, going as far as to call Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asking him to “find” 11,780 votes, which would have overturned his loss in the state.

This isn’t the only other criminal case against Trump, various others have also been levied against him: tax fraud, inciting the Januar y 6 Capitol riot, election interference and mishandling of classified documents. So why is the hush money case the only one getting Trump indicted? Well, a couple reasons.

First is that the case being made by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is founded on a prior case from 2018, where former Trump attorney Michael Cohen was charged with using campaign funds for non campaign activities, which coincidentally, was paying off Daniels.

Still intrinsic to the first point, is the allegation that the hush money and ensuing scandal was to protect Trump from another criminal investigation, only the case doesn’t mention what other crime he may have committed.

Now, with all the information in hand, what does the case mean materially, especially to the wider voting base looking towards next year’s election?

First and foremost, it means that Trump and his team will use this case as proof that the “deep state” and liberals are after him, an angle that has already begun to make the rounds on social media and in Trump’s own statements.

Not only this, but Democrats have had a rather lukewarm response, when there should be a much more analytic perspective on the case, especially when considering the other cases and charges that may be brought against him.

In totality, it’s a circus of an indictment.

The charges and case are solid, but rather clumsy, Trump seems worried but not too worried, and his political opponents aren’t using this to their advantage whatsoever.

Whether he’ll spend time in jail is up for debate, it has already boosted him in the polls.

Thanks America, I can always rely on you to give platforms to crooks!

Reader Opinion Policy The Experience welcomes Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns. All members of the Los Medanos College community — students, faculty and staff — are encouraged to write.

If you are interested in expressing your opinions on campus, national or world issues, drop them off in Room CC3-301 or email them to LosMedanos.Experience@gmail.com.

Letters and columns must be typed, signed and include a phone number for verification.

They may be edited for clarity, content taste and length at the editor’s discretion.

Experience Staff Editor-in-Chief ................ JUAN CEBREIROS Managing Editor ........ MOHAMMAD NAJIMI Perspectives Editor ........... JADEN FORTIER Campus Editor ............................ RAY KOPF Sports Editor ................... ALIYAH RAMIREZ Photo Editor .............. KATHERINE MUSTAR

Manners are lost in today’s society

Alexis Ramirez• Experience

Editorial

Don’t shun others opinions

W

hat do we do about cancel culture?

Cancel culture is a phenomenon in which those who are deemed to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner are ostracized, boycotted, or shunned from the rest of the world. This phenomenon could happen to anyone–in person or on social media–with high-profile incidents involving celebrities.

Over time, this phenomenon has been targeting everyone with the reasoning behind them getting more absurd and ridiculous.

However, there are solutions to this phenomenon: social media companies limiting each user to only one account, deleting spam accounts and providing access to counseling to aid mental problems caused by online bullying. But most importantly allow users to reflect on the implications of their actions This phenomenon has turned the world upside down with everyone afraid of getting ruined on the internet, especially celebrities. Nobody can share their opinions without the chance of getting canceled by the public, and something needs to be done to remove it.

The first amendment protects anyone from being sued for saying things, but nothing stops the public from altogether shunning that person for their apparent nonsensical comments.

One example of cancel culture’s abuse of power is in a syrup company, Aunt Jemima. The origins of the company were based on slavery, but since then the values and integrity of the company have changed. Not everyone knows about the full history because it’s a syrup everyone places on their pancakes.

However, harsh feedback led the company to completely rebrand, changing the packaging and the name from Aunt Jemima to Pearl Milling Company.

This practice has grown so much and has increased the mental problems of the people impacted. Cancel culture is just another word for cyberbullying, as these people pray for their downfall.

Cancel culture needs to be destroyed. The only way to do so is to have everyone seek counseling to really understand what destruction they are doing to these people because it’s giving victims suicidal thoughts which could lead to suicide.

There are solutions to this problem but action needs to be taken soon because if this continues, the consequences that follow it can be irreversible.

Don’t ruin other people’s lives and shun cancel culture!

Voices “I don’t really keep up with politics, but when I saw the news about it I was shocked.”

— Jr Valles

“Him going to jail would make our country safer in case he tries to run for president again.”

— Janessa Ollopernes

Here’s how my day went: I woke up, bungee-jumped from the planet Mars, hosted a unicorn tea party, buried myself alive, dug myself out when I found out SpongeBob was on, and then went online to find out what my fellow human beings were discussing.

Of course, I’m playing around, but I like seeing what’s going on in the world because I’m interested in how people handle and react to situations. Unfortunately, if you’ve happened to live on Earth for a reasonable amount of time, you might have noticed that it isn’t always positive. The words kindness and respect are tossed around considerably in the giant salad bowl that is the 21st century, one key ingredient that is missing tremendously from the bowl is “manners.”

For a society that preaches love, respect and equality, there’s a great lack of it when people have a different belief or opinion.

A vegan on Twitter or Instagram might be preaching “We need to love everyone!” and “All men are created equally.” However, if a hunter posts a picture eating at a steakhouse, the same vegan who’s all for love and equality says “This person is a disgrace! #banhunters! #meatiswrong!” If the person was an active supporter of the Democratic Party, and they see a Republican Candidate throwing a Bake Sale, they might say, “Don’t support this person! They believe in… yada yada.”

Even at the grocery store, I see similar behavior. When the bagger greets the customer with a smile, the customer stares at their phone with a moody look on their face.

“Would you want paper or plast—?” the bagger asks heartily before the customer, without even looking at them, quickly says “PLASTIC’’ in a sharp reply, almost as if they’re annoyed at the person’s existence.

I don’t mean to put people down, just commenting on scenarios that I’ve seen .

It breaks my heart. What happened to the childhood lessons of old, where parents always expressed the value of being on your best behavior with anyone, even people who bother you? Media influencers are constantly eating bowls of love and equality and while those are great, manners are as important.

You might have heard the phrase “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin,” meaning you can still be kind and respectful towards others if you don’t share beliefs, actions or ideas.

The key phrase that stands the test of time is to treat others how you want to be treated.

If today’s message is to love everyone and promote equality, let’s stick with that. Perhaps a bit of kindness or setting a good example is what it takes to influence someone’s heart.

Manner, love and respect go together like steak, potatoes and broccoli, and they are as valuable as food, water and sunlight.

What are your thoughts on former president Donald Trump being indicted?

C o m p i l e d

“He should’ve been. I really wish we got to see the mugshot of him.”

— Carla Nicollini

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“I think it’s a good thing, hope something actually happens from it.”

— Stefan Johnson

“If he did something wrong I’m in favor of it.”

— Kamron Chavez

“Indifferent about it. Didn’t care about him then [in office], don’t care about him now.”

— Robert Lee

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“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

— Maya Angelou

Conference is intellectually enlightening

Katherine Mustar • Experience

Reina Ramos (front) and fellow students get snacks at the event.

Learning groups convene

By MICAH SIMMS Staff Writer

Katherine Mustar • Experience

Nina Ghiselli talks to the audience at the Learning Conference about her life history and gives students advice.

Prior to the spring recess, the transfer academy at Los Medanos held its annual Learning Communities Spring Conference.

Though usually this event is only confined to the transfer academy, UMOJA Honors, Puente, and Mesa were all invited to participate this year.

The festivities this time around started with the keynote speaker, Nina Ghiselli. She is one of the academic counselors at LMC who is also a stand-up comedian and public speaker.

From a young age, she was diagnosed with a central auditory deficit (where your brain and ears do not work well together) and dyslexia.

All of this plus a stutter made school difficult for her.

Yet she was the first person in her immediate family to get her bachelor’s,

master’s, and doctorate.

In high school and middle school, she struggled the most, especially with imposter syndrome. Ghiselli thought she was not smart enough because of her disability.

But as she said in the talk, “You should find a mentor.”

That mentor came in the form of a psychology teacher. This helped her find her passion for psychology.

She then did well at the College of Alameda and got herself into Cal Berkeley.

Some advice she gave to the students in the audience was to, “Take time to enjoy the college years.” She did not take advantage of the fun you can have in college and studied most of the time.

She then graduated and got into grad school for her passion for psychology.

See LEARN, page 7

Planetarium shows return to LMC

By ANTONIO JOHNSON Staff Writer

Astronomy’s planetarium shows are back at Los Medanos College after a hiatus due to COVID-19. The last show welcomed a group of girl scouts, who attended in the spring of 2022, but astronomy professor Scott Cabral is gearing the planetarium back up this semester with two recent shows on March 17 before spring break.

This planetarium show is a 40-minute exhibit that usually consists of viewing constellations from the GOTO Chronos projector. The projector shows more than 8,000 constellations, the Milky Way, planets, moons, and more.

The two recent shows were

Antonio Johnson • Experience

The projector behind the planetarium show. located in the planetarium theater room CC2-220. One showing started at 10 a.m. and the other at 12 p.m.

At the noon show, all the 54 seats in the room were occupied.

Glancing around the room you could see happiness and joy displayed on the faces of the mostly adult members of the audience. Many uttered oohs and awes in astonishment. It was as if these grown adults were kids again inside a candy room.

Cabral’s interaction with the audience seemed to captivate an astronomy group of retirees from Brentwood.

Guest Bruce Hobbs, said he “loved the broad overview and cosmos.”

The planetarium is managed

by Cabral, who has been teaching at LMC for 34 years and explained, when he was exposed to science at age 5, “He never lost interest in it.”

See ASTRO, page 7

Antonio Johnson • Experience

Professor Scott Cabral sits at his desk after a showing in the planetarium.

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“Champions keep playing until they get it right.

Then they play more.”

— Billie Jean King

Baseball wins one and loses one

Juan Cebreiros• Experience

Rocco Borrelli throws a quick pitch to the catcher for a strike.

Stangs sink Mariners

By JUAN CEBREIROS Staff Writer

Juan Cebreiros• Experience

Sliding under a high leap from the opposing team, Johnny Hoffmeister makes it to second base safely.

LMC falls to Contra Costa Comets in scoring frenzy

By JUAN CEBREIROS Staff Writer

Twenty-six combined runs were scored as the Contra Costa College Comets outlasted the Los Medanos College Mustangs 14-12 on April 4 at the Stangs home field. Comets starting pitcher Ubedel Mcgautha gave up eight runs in four innings, but a six-run fifth inning combined with seven errors was too much for the Mustangs to overcome.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the second that was powered by Bubba Rocha who doubled and tripled scoring runs in the first two innings.

The teams began to trade runs when Contra Costa’s Marcus Watkins knocked in two runs

Starting pitcher Rocco Borrelli led his team to an 8-2 victory over the Marin College Mariners on March 31 at the home field of the Mustangs.

Borrelli went eight innings and gave up two runs and six hits while striking out nine Mariners to help the Stangs defeat the Marin Mariners.

Seth Gwynn led off with a double for the Mustangs and later came around to score to give the Mustangs a quick 1-0 lead.

Michael Weber singled and Ryan Pierce doubled to put runners on second and third when outfielder Khamani Blakney doubled home both to extend the Mustangs lead to 3-0.

Borrelli got into a jam in the fourth inning when Marin College put runners on the corners looking to get on the board.

Cam Appling attempted to steal second base which prompted Stangs catcher Bubba Rocha to tr y and throw him out at second. However, this allowed the runner from third, Joey Taddie, to run home and score Marin’s first run of the game.

The Stangs got this run back in the bottom of the fifth when Pierce scored after an error thrown from

Marin’s third baseman Jake Ferguson to make the score 4-1.

In the top of the sixth, the Mariners responded when Appling singled to score Lucas Schaefer to cut the Stangs lead back down to two runs.

The Mustangs looked to put the game away in the bottom of the seventh when they loaded the bases with just one out in the inning.

New pitcher Zach Chilson walked Blakney, which scored Rocha to extend the Mustangs lead to 5-2.

However, this is all the Mustangs would score as Johnny Hoffmeister struck out and Colton Trudeau flew out to right field.

However, in the bottom of the eighth, the Mustangs did not let any scoring opportunity get away from them as three runs scored to give the Mustangs an 8-2 lead and secure the victory over the Marin Mariners.

Errors were the difference in the game as the Mustangs took advantage of Mariner mistakes to jump out to a lead and never relinquished it.

The Mustangs first four batters combined to tally eight hits and eight runs while Blakney also had a solid game at the plate, as he knocked in three runs in the Stangs 8-2 victory against the Marin College Mariners.

with a base hit to the left. Then, in the next inning, Darion Davis stole home on a wild pitch to bring the score to 5-4. The Mustangs responded with three more runs that came from a Seth Gwynn home run, Jeremy Hill sac fly and Michael Weber scoring on a wild pitch to re-grow the lead 8-4.

The top of the fifth was a disastrous inning for Mustangs pitchers as six runs crossed home to score 10-8 in favor of Contra Costa. Ansel Carson hit a double that scored Watkins leading to a Davis single to bring home Carson. With two outs and the bases loaded, Khalil Freeman singled and scored two runners, followed by Octavio Martinez, who doubled home two

Women’s mistakes lead to blowout loss

By JUAN CEBREIROS Staff Writer

Juan Cebreiros• Experience

Pitcher Tatiana Serrano winds a strong pitch.

Juan Cebreiros• Experience

See COMETS, page 7 Before opposing Marin baseman catches the ball, Seth Gwynn No. 3 reaches seond base.

The Los Medanos College softball team put themselves in a hole they could not climb out of as they fell to Ohlone College 12-5 on March 27. Errors were costly for LMC as the Ohlone Renegades were able to capitalize on them during a blowout victory.

The Mustangs plunged into a deficit in the top of the second after a single up the middle by the Renegades knocked in the first two runs of the game.

Another single to center field

scored another run as Ohlone took a 3-0 lead.

At the top of the third, Ohlone was threatening to score again having two runners on base but the Mustangs needed just one out to end the inning. A hard ground ball was stopped from going into the outfield by third baseman Charlize Howay, who looked to get the Stangs out of the jam.

However first baseman Vannessa Fritzler couldn’t handle Howay’s throw and the ball bounced into right field, allowing two runs to score. Ohlone would

then single to center field which scored a run and made the score 6-0 in favor of the Renegades.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Mustangs would show signs of life with a rally to get back.

Ohlone’s pitcher loaded the bases, and the Mustangs took the opportunity. Priscilla Self doubled to knock in two runs which were followed by another double by Paris Willis to score two more runs to make the score 6-4.

In the half of the fourth, Ohlone scored two runs off of a base hit and a wild pitch to score 8-4.

In the top half of the fifth, the Renegades put the nail in the coffin when they scored three runs after LMC walked the bases loaded which was followed by a throwing error to allow two runs.

A base hit scored one last run in the inning as Ohlone led 11-4.

Both teams tallied another run but the game was out of reach for the Mustangs as final score was 12-5.

The Mustangs play Tuesday, April 11 against Solano College with first pitches scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and 2 p.m..

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“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much .”

— Helen Keller

What goes into a game Story & photos by KATHERINE MUSTAR

T

Staff Writer

here is a lot that happens behind the scenes to prepare and conduct a baseball game that often goes unappreciated by the fans who attend such events.

Several hours before a game, you can find staff and players at the sports facility setting up and preparing for the competition that will occur on the field and receiving pregame treatment. LMC’s personal physical therapist, Brain Powelson, manages the physical therapy room for not only baseball, but for every sports team on campus.

Other personnel found in this room include LMC’s athletic equipment manager John McDermott, who is known by LMC athletes as the go-to man for all sports uniforms.

Players are tasked with helping warm up fellow teammates, preparing the field and spray painting fresh lines on the home plate, all in preparation for the upcoming game.

During each contest, coaches Matt Lisle and Cliff Colman not only monitor the statistical progress of the game but also communicate to the team’s catcher with hand signals to

control which pitches will be made at the mound.

The game scoreboard is manned by the team’s own players sitting out from the game due to injuries, or simply because they are not on the field at the moment.

Without these people playing different roles in supporting LMC’s

Clockwise from top left: Base is set; players Sevastian Palma, Kylian Mok and David Trujillo chat during warm-ups; Terry Baker, No. 17, spray paints home base markings; Athletics Trainer Brian Powelson treats outfielder Johnny Hoffmeister; uniforms in the equipment room; catcher coach Cliff Colman signals to home base.

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“The only way John Wick will ever have freedom, and peace, is in death.”

— Saïd Taghmaoui as The Elder

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ future unclear Action-packed fight scenes mesmerize

By MOHAMMAD NAJIMI Staff Writer

“John Wick: Chapter 4” is an action-packed nail-biting movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what’s going to happen next.

The movie contained some incredible scenes that showcased the truly dangerous side of John Wick and how far he is willing to go to be free of the High Table.

The movie star ted out showing John underground punching wood as the Bowery King, portrayed by Laurence Fishburne, enters the room lighting a fire asking John if he is ready to go after the High Table for his freedom.

It started off right where the last installment ended and displayed intense fight scenes unique from other films in this franchise.

The storyline for the movie was simple, but the plot was very intriguing nonetheless.

The one thing that always impresses fans is the fact that Keanu Reeves does his own stunts in the movies he stars in because the stunts in the John Wick franchise aren’t exactly safe for top actors to do themselves. They normally need stunt doubles, so they

REVIEW

don’t risk getting injuries that would postpone the release of their films.

Towards the end of the movie, Wick was headed to a church to have a one versus one duel against Caine, who was nominated to participate in the duel by the main villain The Marquis de Gramont, a fearsome member of the High Table por trayed by Bill Skarsgård. Skarsgård is famously known for his roles as Pennywise in “IT” and Kro in “Eternals.”

On his way, there was a massive staircase needed to climb to reach the church and it was said it had over 200 steps.

Marquis didn’t want Wick to reach the church, so he had sent his men to stop him from climbing the stairs, but it didn’t help as Wick had backup from Caine and Tracker to lead him to the church.

This movie ended on a major cliffhanger where the director and main actor were unsure whether another installment for the movie would be happening.

When asked about this topic, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Joe Drake said to The Hollywood Reporter, “There’s a will and there’s an openness. We’re all going to take a tiny rest here and then scratch at ideas about

Photo courtesy of IMDB

John Wick (left), portrayed by Keanu Reeves, waits for a High Table mercenary to round the corner to take him out. whether there’s a credible way to get into five. But there’s no guarantee.”

A fifth installment isn’t out of the question, but it’s not guaranteed it will actually happen.

The movie displayed a really good ending for Wick, but Drake, in that interview, alluded to the possibility of a

prequel for Wick before he got married to his late wife.

There still is more stor y that could be shown, but it’s not confirmed whether or not it’ll happen.

The major standout for the movie would be Keanu Reeves as John Wick but that’s predictable. My under-the-radar choice is Shamier Anderson

as Tracker because his character wanted money to kill Wick and when he made a deal with The Marquis to get money for Wick’s whereabouts, the information on the deal changed where he needed to kill Wick for the money.

Tracker’s decision changed after Wick shot The Marquis henchmen before he killed his

‘Shazam!’ 2 humor controls pace of film

By RAY KOPF

their fair share of serious moments and battles, but the humor seemed “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” was to drown down the seriousness of released into theaters recently and the situation at times. That could it provides an interesting look on the also simply be an indication of how family life of a superhero. Taking place well both Zachary Levi and Asher two years after the Angel play the character of Shazam. events of the first Despite this, the film is still carried movie, the film forward by the humor and acting. takes an in-depth look into the lives The flow of the movie was great and of Billy Batson and his family after the fight scenes were accompanied they were all granted powers. Batson with fitting music. But if there was attempts to fight one thing to hold of f the antagoback this movie, nists’ of the film, it would be the The Daughters of computer-generAtlas, alongside ated images. his family to save For the scenes the world. of flying and fightThe film starts ing with lightof f by showing ning, this film what The Daughdoes a good job ters of Atlas are with the CGI. But Photo Courtesy of IMDB when it comes to capable of before it cuts to the pro- Anthea uses her powers to shift attempting to antagonist and his the world around her. imate world-shiftfoster family doing abilities, the ing separate tasks around the family film falls flat. It isn’t the worst CGI home. Before long, Billy gets alerted given the type of scenes production to a collapsing bridge across town was going for, however. and calls the family to action, minus Trying to animate reality before their bewildered foster parents. From someone and them moving buildings here, we get a sense of what Billy can’t be easy. In films such as “Doctor and his foster family of superheroes Strange,” the CGI of these scenes is have been doing since getting their amazing, but in this film it falls short. powers at the end of “Shazam!”

The acting and humor of the film The film itself delivers good action alongside the action sequences are scenes and funny humor. In fact, all well done. it is what makes and breaks this “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is movie. The encounter of Steve: the overall an enjoyable superhero movie. all-knowing pen is as hilarious as the It isn’t the best, but it’s also not the dialogue between Billy and his family. worst in recent years. I would still But the humor is ever-present recommend this film for superhero throughout the film. The movie has fans and non-superhero fans alike.

Staff Writer

REVIEW Photo Courtesy of IMDB

A band of unexpecting adventurers come up with a plan to defeat the antagonist of the movie.

New D&D film brings game to life

By MOHAMMAD NAJIMI Staff Writer

A new fantasy movie based off of a fantasy tabletop role-playing game, or TTRPG, titled “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” recently released to theaters and it brought the TTRPG to life.

The movie was about a charming thief, named Edgin Darvis, and a band of unlikely adventurers who embark on a quest to retrieve a long-lost relic, but their charming adventure goes dangerously awry when they run into conflict with the wrong people. The band of unlikely adventurers include an amateur sorcerer named Simon Aumar, a druid named Doric, and a barbarian named Holga Kilgore.

The movie started off showing Darvis and Kilgore attempting to clear their names after being falsely accused of stealing riches from a cave told to them by Sofina, who was secretly a red wizard. Sofina

REVIEW

betrayed them using a time-stopping spell and was caught by the authorities. Before getting trapped in the spell, Darvis threw the tablet of reawakening, which could revive one person who passed away, to Forge, a con-artist, and told him to protect his daughter Kira.

Later in the movie, Darvis found out that Forge betrayed them and called the authorities. He also wouldn’t let Darvis’ daughter go free and fed her lies for two years that her father was greedy and ungrateful.

The final fight scene brought everything together as Sofina was outsmarted and defeated by the heroes. The entire scene showcased the strengths and weaknesses of every character in the fight. It was a perfect scene that heightened the overall cinematography of the film.

“I think you got her,” said Darvis after watching Doric slam Sofina in the ground multiple times similar to when The Hulk slammed Loki

dog. It was major character development that Anderson portrayed very well.

The film contained epic fight scenes, and displayed incredible choreography from the actors which heightened the intensity of the movie. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who isn’t queasy to blood or gunshots.

in “The Avengers.” It was an ironic quote that was meant to bring laughter after an epic fight.

The standout actor for the movie is Michelle Rodriguez, known to most as Letty Ortiz in the Fast and Furious franchise, as Kilgore. Her depiction of Kilgore was spot-on to the RPG and gave the fans a more understanding of how she needs a family to be at her best. Other standouts are Chris Pine as Edgin Darvis and Justice Smith as Simon Aumar.

The film brought life to the tabletop game that fans of the game were happy with. Fans who play the game on a regular basis know the plot isn’t exactly unique, but they realize the difficulty to bring some of the more dangerous campaigns onto the big screen.

I would recommend anyone to watch the film as it is an action-packed but light-hearted movie that would appeal to everyone, not just to fans.

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she wanted to learn calligraphy, which she did thanks to a connection her friend had to a calligraphy teacher. After moving back to California, she studied with another Japanese calligrapher for seven years. In these two places she learned the rules of kanji and calligraphy — and how to break them, making her calligraphy her own. Though her calligraphy works are fluid and free, their craftsmanship show years of dedication to the art.

The non-calligraphy works in Abt’s show reveal another aspect to her passion for societal issues. One piece is about immigration and another about Malala. She explained that she has a whole series of work surrounding Malala not shown in the exhibit. The piece “Fleeing Across Continents: Child” shows a series of images, but the one that sticks out and subsequently ties the piece together is the depiction of a little boy. The image was from a newspaper report about a little boy who washed up on shore, and the black inky figures are bodies around the page. She hopes the piece can portray “both the struggle and the spirit of people trying to find a new

to those that want something to eat while at school.

Boyle said while he likes the idea of the food trucks, “it’s just a little pricey.”

Another major issue addressed on the student front was the feeling that the campus isn’t ver y welcoming. Beth Ann Stone, president of the Classified Senate, said how the results of the LMC Fall Equity 2022 Survey showed that students aren’t feeling welcome on campus.

Mary Grigsby, Treasurer of LMCAS, spoke to this idea, as she noticed there’s “a lot of cliqueness on campus.”

She added a possible solution relies on the older people on campus to step in and make sure things are going well for students.

Students in the crowd expressed similar sentiments, sharing their own stories of interactions with other students that made them feel like they weren’t being taken seriously.

Following the theme of feeling disjointed, Morgan Lynn, Curriculum Committee Chair

“Imperfect Heart” by Diane Abt on display at the Los Medanos College Art Gallery. place to live.”

These artists were paired together in the same collection

by Galler y Director Carol Ladewig. She said she plannwd something that could be appreciated by everyone who comes to visit.

“I wanted something that speaks to me and students alike,” Ladewig said.

She also wanted to show how these two artists with vastly dif ferent aesthetics manage to contrast each other yet share common themes.

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who organized and narrowed down the nominees voted by Honors students to create a panel of inspirational LMC women.

Honors Advisor Jennifer Saito described the event to include all students and “hope people will come away inspired to maybe have courage and do something that’s outside their comfort zone.”

The discussion featured a diverse group of professors, classified professionals and students. Moderator of the panel, Rieber, described the focus on “uplifting the voices and experiences of marginal-

There is commonality in the importance of line work, in their own respective ways.

There is also a difference in the focus of their works and execution of their craft. But most importantly, what these two artists share in common is their talent and dedication.

Both exhibits show the lifetime of work put into honing their skill. Whether it be a piece that took hours of meticulous work, each hair individually painted, or a single bold brushstroke on paper. Both artists spent

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— Mahatma Gandhi

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an incredible reaction to the winners. The two tag teams battling it out in this match were Jimmy and Jey Uso versus Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

The championship changed hands, which might have some important implications in the future for the WWE Universal Champion. The second night didn’t change hands, which destroyed most of the fans as they wanted to see the challenger, Cody Rhodes, beat the current champion, Roman Reigns, who is currently on 945 days and counting on his reign.

Without including the main events, the two standout matches on the entire event were the Smackdown Women’s Championship match and the triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship.

The women’s championship match was between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair, daughter of Ric Flair.

The triple threat match was between Gunther, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus and lived up to fan expectations as it was as hard-hitting and intense.

The women’s championship

“Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow.”

From page 3 match turned out to exceed expectations as the storyline going into this match wasn’t as exciting as some of the other matches.

“WWE’s hot. Rolling hot and it is as mainstream as it gets,” said Levesque during the press conference after night one of Wrestlemania.

After Wrestlemania, fans expect a lot from the Monday Night Raw following as it usually brings surprises, returns and the beginning of new feuds for the champions. However, the Raw after Wrestlemania this year wasn’t what the fans were expecting as the only surprise and return was Matt Riddle interrupting The Miz. Wrestlemania was a great event that had an unanticipated ending that confused most of the fans. Many believed that Rhodes was going to dethrone Reigns as champion because he mentioned that he wanted to take a break from WWE to focus on his family, which he deserved to do. Now, it’ll be interesting to see what happens in WWE now with all the decisions made.

ized populations” as it “allows us to shed light on experiences that are typically suppressed by mainstream narratives.”

Panelists featured: biology professor, Jancy Rickman, speech professor, Star Louis Steers, English professor, Morgan Lynn, ethnic studies professor, Adrianna Simone, admission and records representative, Nadiya Korkuna and LMC student, Katherine Mustar.

Smiles and laughter filled the room as the panel connected with the audience through topics of imposter syndrome, barriers in the workplace, identity and recognizing inspirational women.

One of the academic counselors discouraged her during her first week of graduate school. telling her to “drop out” and “you do not belong here because of your disability.” Though she had a little bit of imposter syndrome, she made it all the way to earn her Doctorate in Psychology.

She then closed with a sentiment that all of the students could agree with. They are at the beginning of the rest of their lives, and they should enjoy it while it lasts and work their hardest no matter their roadblocks.

It then transitioned into three blocks of workshops, with nine total.

In the first block, there was a UC Berkeley representative talking about the odds and the best way to get into the university. Workshops on how to build career experience through internships and on-campus jobs were offered as well.

Then, after a ten-minute recess, it smoothly slid into the second block of workshops.

The main headliner was the workshop on the benefits

Conversations brought vulnerability and honesty amongst the panelists as they shared their stories as a woman and redefined their roles from feminine expectations. Rickman believes hearing others’ stories “moves the needle in someone’s mind about who they are,” and Simone reinforces the impor tance of “pushing the boundaries” through “equality and equity.”

Steers described the experience as “sincere” as there is “power in people sharing their stor y,” and L ynn was motivated to seek her path to “define success for ourselves.”

Korkuna believes her experiences help her “understand

years learning and fine tuning their skills and those years amalgamated into each piece of work in the exhibit.

Drawing Imagination will continue through April 18 in the Library. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 12-4 p.m. The exhibit is open to the public free of charge.

To see more of their work you can go to Porges’ instagram @mfporges and Abt’s instagram @diane_abt or visit Abt’s website https:// dianeabt.com

and experiences of studying abroad in places like Italy or France, hosted by Honors’ own Jenniffer Saito.

A representative from Saint Mary’s College came to speak on tips and tricks to get into universities such as Stanford, USC, and Saint Mary’s, while also explaining the benefits of going to a private university.

There were many workshops offered, including one on how to properly study for STEM classes and to manage your time wisely while taking multiple STEM adjacent classes.

The alumni panel was filled with eight former Transfer Academy members who recounted the trials and tribulations of being a community college student and what ultimately led them to leave community college and transfer.

Rachel Annaceti and the transfer and career department hosted the last workshop on planning college tours, giving suggestions for sightseeing.

The event finally wrapped up with a final meeting with all the students for dinner. With servings of Dominos pizza, all of the students left feeling stuffed intellectually and full.

students’’ and “make an impact” with Mustar reminding her fellow students to “become the person to fall in love with yourself.”

LMC student Eliette Bustos believed the conversations were empowering as they are “centered around women, to see how far they’ve come, and their story and use them as positive role models as we progress in our academic journey.”

The event put together by students and staff allowed participants to connect, listen and understand individual stories to reinforce the importance of maintaining a strong community on campus.

of the Teaching & Learning Committee, said pre-pandemic, the Classified and Academic Senates were “a lot more engaged with each other.”

A divide was caused when the Classified Senate was required to work in person again while the Academic Senate could still be at home.

Lynn said that there are no emails that go out to recognize new faculty senate members and, if there are, it goes all the way to the bottom.

An idea she said could solve this is, having management in the departments of new faculty send out emails so they are acknowledged.

During the Classified and Academic Senates portion of the meeting, only this issue was discussed in depth, as most of the meeting time inadvertently went to the students.

While not able to go into every problem, both students and faculty got the chance to express how they felt about LMC and possible solutions that could help improve work and school life.

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hold a tasting event for two LMC students before finalizing a contract with the district.

If the vendor meets all of the required criteria set forth by the tasting committee, then the plan would be to get them into the cafeteria soon.

“Our goal is to try and get somebody in here by the start of the Fall semester so we can have that process good to go,” said Montoya.

LMCAS President Jeffrey Bui has been working alongside Montoya in this process.

“This is a good time to kind of look around and see what students are prioritizing in terms of food. Do you need a wider selection? Is affordability an issue,” said Bui about what factors will be taken into consideration when deciding

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Cabral said he loves teaching and explaining things as simply as possible and has been hosting LMC planetarium shows since 1989.

Cabral said it is important for the college to build positive relationships with the community through exhibits, adding, “it’s a great way to get to know your neighbors.”

Matthew Bajet, a student from LMC who attended the planetarium show said, he “felt like a little kid again watching stars at night in his backyard.”

When the projector came up and the lights went out, he said he felt a sense of excitement as he sat waiting.

“Tur ning of f the lights usually makes me sleepy,” Bajet said, “but inside the planetarium I felt energized and enthusiastic.”

“Some changes are needed to keep the planetarium shows running more ef ficiently,” said Cabral. For example, the chronos projector model needs to be upgraded with a retro fit to reduce the chances of making dim stars.

the vendor.

Not only that but Bui states that the two tasters will be looking into dietary requirements as well in order to cater to all who go to LMC. If a vendor is selected for the tasting event, the district will work with the vendor to schedule the event.

“The two days if we need them right now are tentatively May 9 and 10, but we don’t have any more details yet,” said Montoya.

Until then, the cafeteria will remain closed to LMC. “We’re looking for a vendor to of fer something,” said Montoya The search is still on for the future vendor and the food trucks will be continued to be offered at LMC for the foreseeable future.

Planetarium shows were historically scheduled four or five times a semester, but due to COVID-19, LMC had to suspend them until recently.

Stars in the planetarium are shining again for guests.

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to get the final out of the inning.

The Mustangs battled back when Borrelli scored on a single in the bottom of the seventh and Kris Leffle knocked in Ryan Pierce and Weber in the eighth to make the score 14-12. In the bottom of the ninth, Borrelli tripled and Gwynn walked to put the tying run on base and bring the winning run to the batter’s box. Yet, with runners on second and third and one out, Rocha and Weber struck out to kill the Mustang’s comeback.

With the loss, the Mustangs drop to 17-9 on the season and 7-3 in conference play. The Mustangs get a rematch with the Comets on April 7 at home before traveling to face Solano College on April 11. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

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“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

— Andy Warhol

‘Drawing Imagination’ meshes distinct styles

By NYLA RAHIMI Staff Writer

Art is not simply the work you see, it’s the meaning behind the piece — the process of creativity infused with the experiences of the artists themselves. A piece of artwork is a journey into the life of its creator.

Artists Maria Porges and Diane Abt display the duality of creation in their joint exhibit, Drawing Imagination. The new art show opened March 23 in the Los Medanos College Library.

Walking through the gallery, you’re shown how two lifelong artists can present their immense knowledge and dedication to their craft in vastly different, yet still comparable ways. Each artist’s work communicates separate meanings in their collection of pieces, but their commonalities still tie the works together where you may think they’re more different than the same.

Arranged by the LMC Art Department, this gallery featured the two artists’ separate collection of “I wanted works. Porges’s pieces show a dedication to something detail, the majority that speaks are tied together by A chair made from hair titled “Louie Can(s)” by Porges. the unifying visual to me and theme of hair. Chairs students painted as hair, odes to the big 18th century alike.”

— Gallery Director powdered wig, vases Carol Ladewig painted as hair.

As you get closer to the ar t you can see that each strand of hair is done individually, whether painted or drawn with graphite. This precision creates a texture that looks almost physical — as if you could reach out and touch one of the art pieces and feel the strands flow through your fingers.

Abt’s pieces were, on the other hand, a show of fluidity.

Abt’s collection of works reflect a passion for calligraphy, specifically Kanji, which is a system of Japanese writing using Chinese characters. her Painting by Diane Abt titled “One Girl Among Many.” work also incorporates themes of societal issues, which she’s aware of and passionate about thanks to century wigs. It was this interest that culminated in this hair frenzy, in which she collected pieces upon pieces her prior time as a journalist.

When viewing Abt’s pieces, you can almost see her over time of paintings and drawings with hair. The most process as if it were written on the page. There are personal of the pieces, she explained, are the hair chairs.

“They’re stand ins for people…they’re inflexible,” blotches and splatters of ink dripped on paper, places you can see the drag of a dry brush. Crisp clean lines Porges’s said as she elaborated on how she believes show the confidence of the brushstroke and the artist chairs are unlike other furniture. “They have to relate making that stroke. It’s a collection of art that tells a to people.”

In her perspective, if a chair doesn’t fit a person, that story in the fine lines.

It wasn’t long before people started crowding in to makes the chair unusable, that’s a bad chair. It’s not the look around. Soon after opening the two artists were same as a bed or a table — that can come in varying sizes given mics to talk about themselves and their works, to fit varying needs. Chairs need to be for everyone.

Abt’s work takes you through her journey with calligexplaining the meaning behind the piece, answering questions, and sharing how they came to do this spe- raphy. She and her husband moved to Japan because of Mohammad Najimi • Experience his job and lived there for seven years. In those years cific craft.

See SHOW, page 7 A line art drawing by Maria Porges sits above its terra cotta pottery twin.

Porges’ hair journey began with an interest in 18th

‘Wrestlemania’ shines in LA

By MOHAMMAD NAJIMI Staff Writer

WWE

The official logo of the World Wrestling Entertainment’s annual event “Wrestlemania.”

“Wrestlemania 39” is an annual event that the World Wrestling Entertainment, hosts as the top stars in the business battle it out on the grandest stage of them all. It’s an event where major storylines end, new storylines begin and are full of major twists in each match.

This year’s Wrestlemania is different from the others due to a change in creative management that occurred in July 2022, when Vince McMahon retired from being the chairman and CEO of WWE.

He was also in charge of the storylines, matches and gimmicks of superstars.

The management change went from McMahon to Paul Levesque, or better known as “Triple H.” This is the first year with Levesque in charge of how the matches and storylines begin and end.

During the pandemic, “Wrestlemania 36” took place on two nights instead of one. WWE has always said that the event is too big for just one night and they might be right. The amount of top talent in the company that is on the card forces Levesque or McMahon

to make the event two nights to heighten the drama of the matches on the card.

Both nights consisted of many different matches that showcased the continuation of certain storylines and the end of others. It had some epic battles that proved why those matches deser ved to be on a huge platform, such as Wrestlemania.

The two main events had both a feel-good and unexpected ending. The main event for the first night was for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships, which had See MANIA, page 7