THURSDAY
MARCH 3, 2016 Vol. LI No. 3 Clubs strut their stuff in Newark. See photos on Page 4.
COPELAND ON CAMPUS
FREMONT, CA OHLONEMONITOR.COM
Professor explores white privilege ALEXANDER LYKINS Staff writer Black History Month often celebrates the accomplishments of African-American innovators, activists and leaders. Brenda Ahntholz, a professor of Communication Studies and Gender and Women Studies, saw it as an opportunity to explore and discuss a delicate but important issue in regards to race in America: white privilege. Ahntholz shared her studies and experiences in a seminar titled “So, I’m White: Examining White Privilege” at noon Wednesday at the Student Services building on the Fremont campus. Ahntholz spoke to an audience of mostly students about what white privilege is and how it affects culture and society in America, from larger political and social issues to even things as mundane as returning a pair of shoes to the department store. The seminar began with an activity where the audience received blank pieces of paper and were asked to crumple them up. Then, starting with the first row and going all the way to the back, they tried to throw the pieces of paper into a trash can for “double extra credit.” Those in the front row earned themselves some easy points. Those farther back, however, weren’t so lucky. It was a case of “front row privilege,” and just
LAURA GONSALVES / MONITOR
Comedian, actor, author and radio show host Brian Copeland speaks at the Fremont campus on Feb. 11 in observance of Black History Month. Copeland is the author of “The Jewelry Box: A Memoir of Christmas” and the memoir “Not a Genuine Black Man: My Life as an Outsider.” He also hosts a Sunday talk show titled “The Brian Copeland Show” on KGO Newstalk 810.
Continued on Page 5
BROWN RETURNS TO OHLONE
COURTESY OF MAGDA BROWN
Holocaust survivor Magda Brown will return to Ohlone for a speech on March 10. This photo of Brown was taken when she was 14, three years before she and her family were taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. See story on Page 3.
Griffin remembered as men’s basketball ‘super fan’ RISHABH SINGHAL Staff Writer Hal Griffin, a popular longtime Ohlone employee renowned for his ukulele playing, yo-yo abilities and dedication to the men’s basketball team, died Feb. 9. He was 76. Griffin worked at Ohlone from 2000 to 2009. His last job was in the mailroom, where he worked for years and developed several friendships. Many Ohlone students will remember Griffin as the guy playing with his yo-yo during breaks. His yo-yo talents won him a first place in his division and age group at the National Yo-Yo Championships in 1997, and an 11th-place finish in 2005. Griffin was a Marine dependent for most of his youth; his favorite tour of duty was at Kaneohe Bay Air Station in Hawaii in the 1950s. At that time, learning Ukulele was mandatory at the local schools. Griffin later became a member of the Ukulele Renegades at Ohlone. “We all had Hawaiian shirts, ‘serious’ ukuleles, and the oc-
casional lunchtime free to practice, and so our band was born,” said fellow Ukulele Renegade Kathy Sparling. The group also included Sparling’s library colleagues KG Greenstein and Linda Dickerman, and English instructor Mark Brosamer. Griffin was impressed at the others’ repertoire of sheet music from the 1920s and 1930s, and they were impressed that he could pick out a “convincing solo” on “Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue),” Sparling said. “When Hal retired, we got a number of college staff to honor him in song: ‘Has Anybody Seen Our Hal? (Six Foot Two, Eyes of Blue),’” Sparling said. “He was a really fun, talented and sweet man, and he will be much missed.” Griffin served in the Marine Corps after graduating from San Diego State in 1961, and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He married Pat in 1964 in Maryland. Upon leaving the Corps, he came home to help raise his three children, Scott, David and Anne. While working as a sales rep, Griffin used the GI
Bill to get his MBA. Due to his avid reading and collecting, his Pleasanton house is filled with books, yo-yos, vinyl records, radios and assorted toys. Griffin was a popular figure on the Ohlone campus, befriending many over shared interests in sports. Known as a “super fan” of the Ohlone
men’s basketball team, he went to many of their games. “It was very common upon his retirement to see both he and Pat show up in the gym for a road game to cheer on his beloved Renegades, often times being the only Ohlone Continued on Page 3
MONITOR FILE PHOTO
Former Ohlone employee Hal Griffin died Feb. 9 at the age of 76.