CO U R I ER Pasadena City College
Serving PCC Since 1915
ELECTION UPSET ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT PCCCOURIER.COM
Photo Illustration by Katja Liebing & Samantha Molina
NOVEMBER 10, 2016 VOLUME 114 ISSUE 06
VOICES
How do you feel about the possibility of having Trump as president of the U.S.?
“Upset. Scared. Nervous. All of the above” Taylor Hancock (Theater)
Trump presidency a call to arms page 3
“It’s very unsettling but I understand to a certain degree the mindset of the Trump followers.” Julian Lopez (Environmental Science)
Michael Watkins/Courier Marchers in Downtown L.A. protest the election of Donald Trump Tuesday, after Trump was projected to be the winner.
PCC reacts with America in fear, uncertainty Amber Lipsey Managing Editor Many across the nation, including PCC students and faculty, are in literal shock after numerous polling predictions failed and Donald Trump was elected 45th president of the United States. The Grio reported that a Yale professor allowed his 115 students to skip their midterm exam due to the shock of the election results. “I am getting many heartfelt notes from students who are in shock over the election returns (Although as I write the election has not been called). The ones I find most upsetting are those who fear, rightly or wrongly, for their own families. These students are requesting that the exam be postponed,” the email reads. “On the other hand, I am sure that many students have sacrificed to prepare for the test. Further, it is not easy to reschedule exam rooms at this late date. Finally, postponing the exam would throw off the rest of the schedule as well. Therefore, I am making the exam optional.” The PCC community has felt the same feelings of shock and bewilderment all over campus. Sociology
professor Anthony Francoso spoke to the Courier about what he feels this portends for the future of the country. “I’m just speechless right now at this point, all the resentment and all the build up of people of color making too many gains potentially, women becoming maybe too empowered … I guess it’s just kind of a backlash of right wing folks who are trying to maintain their last bastion of white privilege, trying to protect what they think is the little bit of safety they have left,” Francoso said. “White supremacy is making its face very visible again and they’re coming out woodwork.” According to the L.A. Times students all across the west coast from California to Washington state vented their frustrations last night and today, by walking out of their classes, and marching in the streets in full protest. “The demonstrations — which mirrored protests from Seattle to Pittsburgh — followed protests in the predawn hours in which crowds openly disavowed the president-elect, with a few protesters resorting to vandalism,” The Times reported. “At Berkeley High School, about
1,500 students — half the entire student body — walked out of class after first period began at 8 a.m., Berkeley Unified School District officials said and students tweeted “#NotMyPresident” and pledged to unify. Others chanted, “Si, se puede,” Spanish for “Yes, we can,” and waved Mexican flags, according to posts on social media.” Associated Students President Julia Russo spoke to the Courier about the results. Russo stated that while the AS is nonpartisan and does not back any candidate, AS recognizes that there are many students on campus who feel marginalized by the results. “We know that it is in our best interests to make sure that we address those student’s needs and concerns, for example, our United Without Boundaries (UWB) club, we have Hispanics on campus and there are over 50 percent of Hispanics on campus. We have Muslims; we have all different groups that we pride ourselves on being diverse,” Russo said. “We’re going to be directly ensuring that we can communicate with those individual groups because we know that there’s going to be a lot of tension and sentiments. We
“I do think he is a little immature, and thats not a suitable quality for a president, maybe alot of the decisions he’ll make in the future will be irrational.” Olivia Mata (English)
do know that there’s a lot of work to be done.” Russo further stated that there are a lot of unknowns and ambiguity in terms of how the election will affect the student body and the college, but that moving forward they would be as positive as possible and ensure that the students on campus have a safe space to vent their feelings. In the aftermath of an unexpected election, the PCC community is now talking about next steps and “It’s scary to think about, I dont want what they can do to, in their opinhim to be president, he cannot run ion, minimize the potential harm this country. He doesnt know what and damage that may be done with a hes doing, what hes talking about.” Brandy Murry (Journalism) Trump presidency and a Republican House and Senate. “It’s time for us to really start organizing, it’s time for us to really start building coalitions focusing on solidarity, start taking back local elections and building to larger elections,” Francoso said. “Continue fighting at an even more urgent pace now, because we all kinda got lulled with Obama. We need to go back on the offensive and moving forward, not sitting “I’ll feel like a lot of people should on our butts thinking everything’s have voted.” Baile McDavid (undecided) cool.”
NEWS
2 COURIER
November 10, 2016
Blotter: main campus suffers power outtage Monday, Oct. 31 Facilities reported that a homeless person was sleeping in the doorway on the Green Street side of the Child Development Center (CDC). The person was escorted off the property. A student’s laptop was stolen from room 301 in the C Building. However no suspects were seen. An officer took a report of the incident. A vehicle was left running in the parking lot at the Rosemead Center. Its keys were held until the owner returned and claimed them Tuesday, Nov. 1 A student’s cellphone was stolen in the quad while it was left charging unattended. An officer took a report of the incident. A homeless person had been sleeping on a bench east of the V
Building for several hours. An officer advised him to leave, to which he complied. A student reported that she struck a fire hose box while backing up her vehicle in Lot 5, Level 2. An officer took a report. An officer made contact with two homeless people who were loittering in CDC. He advised them to leave and they complied. Wednesday, Nov. 2 Facilities reported that a subject in a dark hoodie pushing a bicycle was walking around the Community Education Center, trying to open the doors. An officer responded but the subject was gone upon their arrival. A student reported that a man in his 20s wearing a dark blue shirt was peeping at her while she was
showering in the W Building locker room. An officer took a report but the suspect was gone upon their arrival. Thursday, Nov. 3 A campus wide power outage occurred. The city advised of a power outage and power was returned after 10 minutes. A student who had surgery was complaining of back pain and suffering from back spasms. She was transported to the Health Center, which later contacted the Pasadena Fire Department for transport to the hospital. She was later transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital. The manager of the Piazza reported that he was threatened by an employee after a poor work evaluation. The employee was escorted
off the property. A hit and run collision occurred in Lot 5, Level 2. A student’s cellphone was stolen from the C Building after the student fell asleep at their desk. Friday, Nov. 4 A female was complaining of abdominal pain in the W Building. The Pasadena Fire Department was notified to respond. She refused transport to the hospital. Staff reported two homeless people sleeping in the grass northeast of the LL Building, who were asked to leave and complied. A female was feeling light headed in the first floor women’s restroom in the CA Building. There were no requests for further medical treatment. Two calls were made about a
suspicious male who was possibly under the influence north of the LL Building. He was escorted off campus by an officer. A cadet observed a man in his 30s wearing a green hat, dirty white shirt, and jeans attempting to saw off a lock in the men’s locker room of the GM Building. An officer made contact with the suspect, who had lost the key to his locker. Saturday, Nov. 5 Spray painted graffiti was found on the northwest wall of Lot 5, Level 5. Sunday, Nov. 6 A cadet reported a verbal dispute between two subjects in Lot 5, Level 2. An officer counseled the subjects and advised them to leave.
STEM students awarded nearly $1M research grant Marta Valier Staff Writer The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the scientific brains of PCC with an $850,000 grant last August that will allow them to work in some of the most advanced labs in the area in order to expewrience the life of a scientist firsthand. Starting next summer a selected group of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) students will take part in the Early Career Undergraduate Research Experience (eCURe) and will spend six weeks doing paid research in places such as Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cal Poly Pomona and Huntington Medical Research Institutes. “This way students can actually take the time to work full time in one of these research institute instead of trying to go to work
and class, and everything else,” said biology assistant professor Katie Rodriguez, who wrote the grant with instructor Veronica Jaramillo. For the dean of the Natural Science Division, David Douglass, this kind of opportunity is not an isolated effort to give something extra to the students. “It’s part of a bigger idea,” to keep students studying science, Douglass said. “We lose a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) major every fifteen minutes in this country.” He believes the more that students are involved in doing handson science, something traditionally offered solely to more advanced students, the higher the probability that they will persist in science. “It’s a very difficult road to get a degree in science,” said Douglass. “The more we can do to keep them
excited, the better chances we have of students completing, especially our underrepresented minority students. That’s one of the groups we are really trying to capture with these kind of projects.” According to Douglass, many students grow up thinking that science is just about finding the right answer and putting in it in a little box. Instead, students must experience “authentic research” which, according to him, means giving them problems that “we don’t have answers to, or we only have ambiguous answers to, because that’s the exciting part of science.” During his years of teaching at PCC, Douglass learned that he and each STEM faculty member have had some early experience that inspired them to pursue their scientific careers. For him, it was when he was a student at PCC. He started out as a psychology major, but changed his mind after his first class. He took several geology classes and got a summer job at a geophysical company that helped shape his path. “It really made a difference because I could see what science was about and I could see the lifestyle of a scientist,” Douglass said. “That experience is probably what inspired me to go back to school and stick with it.”
Bianca Simonian/Courier Dr. Dave Douglas, dean of science and math at PCC, discusses his grant approval from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) on Thursday, Oct. 27. The money from the grant will be spent trying to replicate such formative experiences for PCC students. The grant also comes with an industry advisory board of lead researchers from STEM fields, who will be working with PCC faculty to become familiar with what is going on in the industry. “I haven’t done research since I got out of graduate school,” said Rodriguez. “My knowledge is a little bit old and this is a great opportuni-
ty also for the faculty to be able to go and learn about what is happening in our field now, and look what we can put into the classroom from some of that.” Most of the money will go back to the students to support them during their internships starting this summer and the rest of the money will be spent developing a curriculum for a research method course, the first of which will be offered at PCC in the spring.
Cooper will now be split between the Office of Human Resources, which will manage responsibilities such as responding to public records requests, and external legal counsel “when circumstances dictate.” Other legal trouble the school faced during Cooper’s tenure include the Board of Trustees being sued by non-profit Californians Aware for violating the Brown Act by not properly disclosing Rocha’s severance package. The severance package for $400 thousand was later agreed to under the the proper disclosure procedures. When asked about the details of the financial arrangement in a public records request, Cooper responded that those records, “are protected by the attorney-client privilege,” according to the LA Times. Last year, former architecture instructor Coleman Griffith signed
a settlement agreement with PCC that cleared him of sexual assault allegations. The settlement included language that required both parties to neither admit the truth of their claims, nor assert the lack of merit of their opponent’s claims. The school was also found last year to have illegally canceled the winter intersession by not negotiating the 2012-13 calendar in good faith or in accordance to collective bargaining rules, according to the Public Employee Relations Board. Other highlights of Cooper’s tenure include accusing former Academic Senate President Eduardo Cairo of violating “Board policy and state law” for forming a committee to evaluate the president and at least three instructors being accused of sexual misconduct. Cooper was contacted and did not wish to comment.
School’s top lawyer retires, position to be discontinued John Orona Staff Writer Former PCC General Counsel Gail Cooper officially retired effective Aug. 17 after a five-year tenure which saw the school entangled in numerous legal scandals her hire was meant to prevent. Cooper was PCC’s first ever General Counsel, appointed by former Superintendent-President Mark Rocha who was bought out in 2011, and may be its last. “PCC will not be replacing the position,” Superintendent-President Vurdien said in an email. In April 2014 PCC settled a suit with former facilities supervisor Alfred Hutchings for $225 thousand in which he claimed defamation, wrongful termination by the college and sexual harassment by Cooper. According to a college spokesperson, the duties formerly handled by
OPINION
3 COURIER
November 10, 2016
Column: Trump’s presidency is a call to arms was evil, arrogant, egotistical and believed his power was absolute. He was cruel, violent and oppressive, which caused Moses to follow God’s word and free the Israelites. Had pharaoh been a middle of the road type guy who was pretty bad, but with some good qualities, the resistance that Moses led may never have happened. It had to be intolerably oppressive for them to open their eyes and see what needed to be done. If we look at the results of this election the same way, maybe this was needed to make real change and real revolution happen. I realize that it takes a massive amount of privilege to say that we needed a demagogue like Trump in the white house for people to see the true state of our nation, while minorities will be the ones to truly suffer under his regime. This is a privilege that I myself don’t even have because I’m
and face it down head on. Openly commit to dismantling white supremacy, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia. This is the moment to fight back against the wealthy establishment and career politicians who lie, cheat and steal to keep their seats and line their pockets, while they sell lies to the lower class about who put them there. This is the moment for all of us to commit to the idea of helping this nation progress. Step out from behind our keyboards and walk the walk. Help people who are unable to help themselves. Volunteer with organizations that are dedicated to progress and the protections of individual rights like the ACLU, Gage Skidmore/ Creative Commons Planned Parenthood, Southern The Guardian reported today to national protests and the Black Amber Lipsey Poverty Law Center, or the Human that preliminary exit polling showed Lives Matter message. Column writer Rights Campaign. The truth is that when black peoa stark racial divide in the voting Most importantly, this is our mople start asserting ourselves, white booths, with white voters, men and I went home and cried last night. ment to show love to supremacy refuses to allow “It’s time to stop fighting each other and fight women, voting overwhelmingly for I sat on my floor and cried on my one another. We face this and smacks us back Trump, while Clinton carried all the corrupt system that continues to line its own unimaginable hatred roommate’s shoulder for what I down however possible. non-white voters. pockets while we fight for scraps.” believe is going to be the loss of every day we walk History backs up this CNN exit polls, which are civil rights, basic human rights and -Amber Lipsey out into the world for theory when you look at currently still being updated, show the actual loss of lives for so many reasons like the color the Red Summer of 1919, the same contrast. Trump carried in our country. of our skin, our religion, our gender the Ocoee massacre of 1920 and white men and women of all ages Today, many of us are left wonon the chopping block too. or our sexual orientation. We look and educational levels, while Clinton the burning of Black Wall Street dering how a racist, sexist, misogyHowever, had Clinton won, many down on one another based on our in 1921, just to name a few. Black carried all other groups. nist, xenophobic, demagogue who of us, myself included, would have bank account balance or what kind progress has always threatened the We must acknowledge how is facing rape charges got elected been lulled into a state of false of car we drive. It’s time to stop Obama had to be near perfect while reign of white supremacy. president of the US. Perhaps Donsecurity. We would have felt content fighting each other and fight the ald Trump spoke to a populace who Trump can talk about “It’s time to acknowledge the master’s tools will with our “lesser of two corrupt oppressive system that conwas tired of the broken promises of grabbing women by evils” and most likely done never dismantle the master’s house.” tinues to line its own pockets while the pussy, not paying career politicians. nothing to fight back against we fight for scraps. — Audre Lorde the continued systemic intaxes, have an upPerhaps it was a demographic As Audre Lorde said, “It’s time to coming rape lawsuit, who had lost hope in their governequality, war mongering and To be fair, it’s less than 24 hours acknowledge the master’s tools will multiple bankruptcies, and three ment and decided to put their faith white supremacy that still permeates since the results were called, so never dismantle the master’s house. baby mommas. This is the privilege in an outsider and see what would our nation and would have continit’s unlikely we will have any more They may allow us to temporarily happen. Perhaps it was also a demo- of white mediocrity personified. ued under Clinton because in our concrete ideas of what else went beat him at his own game, but they Today, many of us have woken graphic who just really didn’t like or minds, at least it wasn’t Trump. wrong anytime soon, but one thing will never enable us to bring about up in a country in fear. If I’m being trust Hillary Clinton. This is our pharaoh moment to is certain: I now believe this is a genuine change.” honest, I truly believe that a big While all of these things are very organize, strategize and commit to Pharaoh Moment. A true reckoning is coming and cause of Trump’s win was due to true, we must acknowledge the fact this fight. This is our moment to If you’re familiar with the story it’s time to decide what side of that race also played a crucial role in the election of Barack Obama and reveal the true underbelly of this of Moses in the Bible, the Pharaoh this election. the Ferguson Uprising, which led country, bring it out of the darkness history we want to be on.
AT&T, Time Warner merger: Why it’s a bad deal Jonathan Gomez Staff Writer The AT&T/Time Warner merger is one of the most important business deals that has the potential to radically and detrimentally change the future of our media. The two companies announced the deal a few weeks ago and it created a slur of media attention as politicians from both sides of the aisle have publicly condemned the deal. “The world of distribution and content is converging and we need to move fast and if we want to do something truly unique, begin to curate content differently, begin to format content differently for these mobile environments, and this is all
COURIER
Photo Illustration/ Katja Liebing
about mobility,” said AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson in an interview on CNBC Senator Bernie Sanders, in particular, wrote a fervent letter
to the Acting Assistant Attorney General calling the deal bad news for Americans. “This merger represents a gross concentration of power that runs
Be Heard
Serving PCC since 1915
Editor-in-Chief John Orona
Features Editor Vanessa De La Rosa
Managing Editor Amber Lipsey
Lifestyle Editor Taylor Gonzales
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News Editor Angelique Andrade
Asst. Sports Editor Irma Carrillo
Asst. News Editor Emeline Beltran
Scene Editors Kait Davie
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Staff Writers Eric Haynes, Peter Chao, Anastasia Afanasieva, Eric Alvarez, Veronica Barriga, Homer Cabrera, An’tron Clark-Phillips, Jonathan Gomez, Jason Haygarth, Sally Kilby, Nicholas Mejia-Loza, Uyen Phan, Emiko Powell, Christina Rosales-Davila, Marta Valier, Trisha Vasquez, Jessica Villareal, Wei Xiong
counter to the public good and should be blocked,” said Sanders in the letter. The ”gross concentration of power” the Senator refers to is the fact that the merger would give AT&T unrivaled might in the media business. The unholy union would give the telecom giant ownership of some of the best and largest amounts of media content. Couple that with the fact that AT&T is one of the largest distributors of said content in the US, it would completely stifle competition within the market. President elect Donald Trump even had a few words to say about the deal in a campaign stop in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. “Deals like this destroy democra-
Staff Photographers Kathryn Zamudio, Veronica Barriga, Aaron Cortez, Cristian Cotaya, Erick Lemus, Will Mauriz, William Nestlehutt, Nicole Sebergandio, Bianca Simonian Faculty Adviser Nathan McIntire Photo Adviser Tim Berger Advertising Manager Daniel Nerio
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cy,” Trump said at the rally. While Trump’s ire may stem from his previous dealings with NBC/ Comcast, the network that once hosted his show, nonetheless it is remarkable to see politicians as polarizing as Trump and Sanders agree on something. Besides the fact that it would destroy business and competition, the merger would also mean that prices for watching media we enjoy now like HBO, CNN and Warner Bros. would rise to horrific levels. People are already “cutting the cable” to avoid paying the absurd costs associated with television providers and if AT&T would be allowed to devour Time Warner whole, be prepared to have to such prices rise again.
4 COURIER
SCE
The Col
Crowds gather at the starting line of the 5k Color Run Night at the StubHub Center in Carson on Saturday.
Michael Watkins/Courier Participants run through a sea of orange chalk.
The crowd celebrates a successful finish.
Runners get splattered with green chalk.
Michael Watkins/Courier
Michael Waktins/Courier
Michael Watkins/Courier
Participants head towards the finish line.
ENE
5 COURIER
November 10, 2016
lor Run
Michael Watkins/Courier
Runners take off from the starting line.
A runner gets doused with pink chalk.
Michael Watkins/Courier
Michael Watkins/Courier
Michael Watkins/Courier Participants run through a sea of orange chalk.
A Crowd of runners celebrate their finish at the concert after the Color Run.
Michael Watkins/Courier
FEATURES
6 COURIER
November 10, 2016
Fall Festival unites students in name of art
Kait Davie/Courier Ernesto Serrano bobs for apples in the name of art at the Fall Festival on Halloween. Jessica Villareal Staff Writer As dark clouds filled the skies over PCC on Halloween, the ambience of gloom and doom fit like a puzzle piece for the Fall Festival hosted by the PCC art club. The festival allowed students to engage
in Halloween-esque games and activities while simultaneously inviting everyone into the world of art. The Fall Festival was an incredibly social event; a photo booth, games like bobbing for apples, candy, and drinks were all located throughout the quad so that wandering students could take a look at
each activity being held and appreciate the different types of art. “We wanted to create a fun way for students to participate in art forms … we wanted to make a platform for collaboration and for people to work together,” president of the art club, Faina Danielian said. “So there’s gonna be performances, people selling their art, and people playing games or dancing and expressing themselves in the way they know best.” The festival not only included members of the club, but also volunteers and presidents of other clubs joining in on the fun by hosting games and recruiting students to join the art club. “I appreciate what art club does and I like to collaborate with them because I’m a president as well. I’m the president of the gardening club and it’d be cool to incorporate art into stuff that we’re doing,” Connie Ebner said. Assisting alongside Ebner with the ring toss game was president of
the Vietnamese club, Edward Diep. “I’m here to help out,” Diep said. “It shows how our clubs can be united.” The festival included games like ring toss, where students would throw glow stick rings onto witch hats and ‘Pop-a-pumpkin’ where cups were aligned across a board and covered with napkins or tissue paper hidden with secret prizes. All the games were created by the art club students to make the festival more interactive and fun. “We put everything together, we had a lot of decorations donated to us, we made some decorations we built our photo booth,” said Danielian. “It was a lot of hard work but I think it was worth it, it was lots of fun.” Everything in the festival was free; if a student wanted to play a game they would just walk up to the table and play. Students had the option of buying refreshments of either a mason jar or a science flask cup filled with apple cider or an Izze
drink of multiple flavors. Since everything was free, there were multiple donation boxes located on the tables to help out the festival and the art club. “[The donations] go to helping fund our future activities … basically we’re gonna use it to host workshops and help members expand their skills, get them more exposure and maybe doing more future events this semester,” Danielian said. Students were able to let loose and enjoy themselves with classic Halloween activities such as sticking their faces into a bucket of water to bob for apples. They were also able to participate in being blindfolded to try and find a Krispy Kreme donut. “I was playing games, I won a prize, a little eraser and I also got some drinks and pizza,” said first-time attendee freshman Laura Beralda. “I hung around here, talked to people and made new friends,“I would definitely [come again].”
Kait Davie/Courier Kyle Cogshell plays a game where he must blindly bob through the air and try to bite a Krispy Kreme donut at the Fall Festival held by the PCC art club on Halloween day in the quad.
‘Dia de los Muertos’ brings PCC campus to life Emeline Beltran and An’Tron Clark Staff Writers
As students put together their final touches on their marigolds and sugar skulls for the PCC community altar, Spanish rock music beamed throughout the quad. PCC was brought to life with the two-day celebration of “Dia de los Muertos” from Nov. 1-2, hosted by Associated Students VP of Cultural Diversity Kiely Lam, the Cross Cultural Center, the Puente Project, and CLAVE. “Dia de los Muertos” is a traditional Mexican holiday that celebrates the deceased. The name itself translates to the “Day of the Dead” in Spanish. On this holiday, Mexican families build altars to honor their deceased loved ones. They are bountiful with decorations such as flowers, sugar skulls, candles and foods like fruit or salt. All of these offerings surround a framed picture of the person the family is honoring. Lam is part Mexican, but admits she does not celebrate this holiday often. Putting this activity together, especially with organizations that focused on the Hispanic and Latino
culture, such as CLAVE and the Puente Project, allowed Lam to honor one of her traditions. “I don’t go all out as much as I would like to but my Dad and I try to participate in events in our communities as much as we can,” Lam wrote in an email to staff. “Doing this event this year and learning more about my culture was also my way of celebrating.” To start festivities with that tradition, students spent their Tuesday afternoon sharing smiles and conversation while turning tissue paper into handmade marigolds, the flower of the dead, and decorating sugar skulls to put in front of Campus Center for PCC’s own altar. While some decided to stop by simply because the scene appeared interesting, others came to pay their respects to family, friends or celebrities who have passed away recently. “Two years ago I had a friend who passed away from cancer, I’m doing this in his honor,” student Todd Wooton said, while applying the finishing touches to his skull. Along with their marigolds and sugar skulls, students got to customize picture frames for those they wished to commemorate.
The crafts were so appealing to the students, that extra tables were set up during the event to accommodate the sudden crowd. Participants had the choice of keeping the final product or placing it on the altar that was colorfully decorated with skeletons donning sombreros, marigolds, and “papel picado” (cut paper) banners. “The goal is for it to be a community altar,” Cross Cultural coordinator Emily Roh said, who was overlooking the festivities. After completing an art piece students were rewarded with raffle tickets, which were exchanged for traditional Mexican food: tamales, horchata, and agua de Jamaica. The dark sky and cold weather were not enough to keep students from enjoying the delicious yet cold refreshments. As students got their fill of art and food, they made their way to the vendors selling art and jewelry inspired by the celebration. Goodlife Roots, a collective of many different artists’ works also had a tent in the quad. Products ranged from baseball T-shirts to coffee mugs. They featured deceased celebrities of the Mexican community such as singer
Selena Quintanilla and painter Frida Kahlo. Art students and professors also had their own vendors where students sold their own art to raise money for the school’s art department. The festivities continued Wednesday afternoon with all vendors in the quad, and concluded that night with a movie screening of Disney’s “Book of Life,” provided with free churros and hot chocolate. Lam was pleased that this event specifically caught the attention of students who take night classes, since campus events usually happen during mornings and afternoons. “I chose ‘Book of Life’ because it was a relatively new movie that, I felt, captured [the] vibe of how vibrant this holiday should be and more of a celebration,” Lam said. “Also, it’s a movie that can appeal to people of all ages.” Some students were able to relate to the two-day festivities with their own culture of how they celebrate death, family, and honoring those who have passed. “Throughout the movie, I was able to learnthe history behind ‘Day of the Dead’ and how similar it is to my culture. In the Chinese culture,
we have the Qing Ming festival. It is a day in April where we go to visit graves of our relatives and pay respect to them,” student Andrea Ng said. “On this day, we believe that they come back to visit us so we lay out their favorite food, clean their tombstone, and burn ‘paper currency’ so that they can use it in the world they’re currently apart of.” The altar has been taken down, but what will always be around is PCC’s concept of diversity. Forty-nine percent of the Lancers are Hispanic/Latino, but the altar, movie night, and vendors were crowded with students of all cultures. No marigold or skull was labelled with the race of the student who made it, because that didn’t matter. What mattered most was the unity of cultures that came to recognize one. “Obviously, I couldn’t learn everything about the holiday in one Disney movie. I’m not even an expert after this two-day celebration,” said Roh. “However, I learned more about something that may not be a part of my culture, but is something that some students may have grown up on. And that sort of interaction is one of the best things that happen at these cultural events at PCC.”
LIFESTYLE
7 COURIER
November 10, 2016
Farmer’s market celebrates Halloween breads and sweet treats. As the sun began to set, an impromptu concert and live entertainment was provided by an old, grayhaired man who played the guitar and sang uplifting melodies which poured out through his portable speaker system. Many of the kids in costumes praised his words and danced lively to the songs. “My child wears a costume almost daily, but any chance I get, I like to pair her with other kids who are also in costume. I mean look at them, they go wild, it’s fun for them,” Bruce Jordan, a father of two said. Part Halloween celebration, part concert, or maybe just a regular outdoor market shopping trip, the South Pasadena farmers market offers fun for all ages. The market runs year round every Thursday between 4-8pm and is located at the corner of Meridian Ave and El. Centro St. in South Pasadena.
Irma Carrillo/Courier A cow carved pumpkin displayed at an organic milk booth at the Halloween themed Flea Market on Thursday, Oct. 27.
Nicole Sebergandio/Courier The Information Booth at the Flea Market got into the Halloween spirit with decorations.
Nicole Sebergandio/Courier A wide variety of pumpkins on display available for purchase.
Veronica Barriga Staff Writer
Gray clouds gathered above South Pasadena and light raindrops sprinkled the crowd loomed at the weekly Farmer’s Market last Thursday in the week leading up to Halloween. The community got the chance to celebrate the holiday a bit early, as families with young children embraced the opportunity to go trickor-treating throughout the market. Vendors provided candy to mostly kids who requested it but many also gave out samples of their organic fruits, vegetables, sweet breads and even fresh honeycombs as treats. “I enjoy introducing kids to new types of fruits, in hopes that they discover a new appreciation for things that are actually healthy for them,” vendor Samantha Rodriguez of Whittier said. Her booth displayed a variety of exotic fruits — from Japanese
persimmons, to Mexican-grown tejocotes, and her personal favorite, pitaya, more commonly referred to as dragon fruit. “That’s usually the one I get the kids to try, because they think the name is cool,” Rodriguez shared. There were also new things for adults to discover. Perhaps the most interesting was a booth which sold French “yoghurt” in every flavor that you can imagine, including a sriracha-inspired spicy yoghurt and even a seasonal zucchini-flavored yoghurt. “The more you buy, the more you save, buy in bulk,” the man in the yoghurt booth announced to passers-by. A worker from “Bill’s Bee’s,” a local beekeeper, showcased a variety of honey flavors for sale, including avocado, buckwheat and almond orange blossom honey. Homeboy Bakery, an L.A. -based company known for employing and training former gang members, was also there selling a variety of fresh
SECO cooks up American gourmet with variety Veronica Barriga Staff Writer
Will Mauriz/Courier Top: Indoor mural seating at Seco New American Cuisine on Oct. 4. Bottom: Seco New American Cuisine’s wagyu burger gruyere.
Smitty’s Grill, Arroyo Chop House and the long-standing Parkway Grill are Pasadena staples. TOwner’s the “Smith Brothers,” owners of all three restaraunts have successfully mastered the art and demand for American plates, from comfort food to the traditions of an old-time steakhouse, they are known for it. SECO, their latest venture, falls somewhere in between. Located on Lake Ave, it resides in the small courtyard which hosts a variety of business. The location itself is sweet, unassuming, almost as if you walked into a friend’s home. Upon entering, a host immediately greets me and instantly, the vibe is casual, with a dash of hip, and an ounce of cool. As we walked past the open kitchen she politely asked me if I’m okay with her seating choice, and I appreciated it. Seconds later a waitress arrived, better yet, in 4 minutes flat, there’s fresh baked bread with soft, warm butter and a glass of iced water in front of me. The staff and atmosphere are fabulous, but what about the menu? Food options here are no doubt American, however, notably gourmet-driven. Main dishes include, a variety of choices under simple banners like, “Starters, Salads, Fish/ Meat, Pastas, Pizzas, and finally, Burgers/Sandwiches.” Some stand out starters and salads include, fried oysters, sashimi flatbread, and their lardon sal-
ad which is comprised of frisee, braised bacon, heirloom tomatoes and a soft poached egg. Main dishes offered appear standard but among items like a filet, I found the moules frites an interesting option. The grilled salmon with Israeli couscous, urfa pepper, pickled cucumber and coriander yogurt also stood out among the typical. For those who crave pasta, a fusilli short rib pasta might catch your eye and the lasagna, made with chicken, sauteed spinach, chorizo and three different cheeses may satisfy your tummy. Although tempted by Italian, I opted for a lighter lunch. “I’ll have the roasted heirloom beet salad, please.” To my delight SECO offers shrimp, salmon, chicken, and even ahi tuna as a protein add-on. I chose the grilled chicken. Before the waitress left the table I asked her to pair my dish with a glass of wine... she was unsure. Oops, not good! Anyone with basic wine knowledge would pair the salad with a white wine in the least.
While she didn’t bet on a response, she did however, quickly inquire with the bartender. The bartender suggested that a chardonnay would fit best, on a rebellious move, I have the sauvignon blanc instead. The salad was everything I imagined, the dressing was quite nice, light but flavorful, the fried goat cheese satisfied a hearty craving on a mostly healthy dish. The candied walnuts and fresh roasted beets defined the arugula based plate. The chicken made it a meal. Yum. Overall, I enjoyed dining at SECO, the staff is attentive, the atmosphere is well executed. The food lives up to the hype. With that said, the price points are not the lowest, a lunch for myself set me back about $30 plus tax and tip, but aside from that it’s absolutely worth checking out. 4.3 Stars / SECO 140 S Lake Ave Pasadena, CA 91101 Open daily from 11:30am “Social Hour” 4:30pm - 6:30pm
Will Mauriz/Courier Seco New American Cuisine’s outdoor decor on Oct. 4.
8 COURIER
Cross country headed to state
SPORTS
November 10, 2016
Biology major Joselyn Yamamoto studies zebrafish stem cells for breakthrough treatments to human diseases.
Will Mauriz/Courier PCC’s Eduardo Urbina at Southern California Championships held at Irvine Regional Park last Friday. Emeline Beltran Staff Writer Despite a stomach cramp and some vomiting , the men’s and women’s cross-country team found success at Southern California Championships last Friday. The men’s team qualified for the CCCAA State Championships, while the women’s team will be represented by Ramina Padashi Fard and Franceska Millanponce. Nathan-Michael Guzman took the lead for the men and impressed himself as he finished in 35th place among 197 men, with a time of 21:26.2. Just over ten seconds later, Eduardo Urbina followed in 21:37.6, and swept up a 45th place finish. “Beforehand, I was expecting to get around 50th to 60th place, so I was very surprised with how well I did at that race,” Guzman said. Urbina, however, expected himself to run faster and place higher than how he performed. “The third and fourth miles were the most difficult,” Urbina said. “There’s a hill on the third mile where everyone really needs to push themselves. I felt my body begin to break down.” During the men’s four-mile race, Marcelo Ramirez, who Guzman and coach Innocent Egbunike consider one of the key runners, was interrupted by a stomach cramp, followed by a vomit, but he overcame both fallbacks and finished in 154th place in 23:52.1. “It’s common for runners to throw up during a race,” Guzman said. “What isn’t common is for someone as experienced as Marcelo to have that happen to him. He’s one of our strongest runners and he was supposed to come in third.” Men’s cross country finished the championships with a score of 86 points. They are currently ranked third among seven schools, with wide score gaps between El Camino, which scored 64 points at championships, and Mt. SAC, with a 17 point finish. Women’s cross country did not qualify in CCCAA State Championships as a team, but two individuals from the team will be competing. Millanponce finished in 26th place in the women’s 5 kilometer race with a time of 19:40.4, while Padashifard finished in 38th place with a time of 20:01.8. Millanponce felt that she could have done better. Similar to Urbina, Millanponce felt that the middle miles got the best of her during the race.
“Everyone starts to feel really tired during the middle miles, and is on the verge of giving up,” Millanponce said. “I had to push myself to pick up the pace. When I run, I think about the person in front of me and how I can pass by her. I do that to every girl in the race.” Both have been the first two runners to take the lead in each race this season, which is why Egbunike considered them to be key runners of the team. “Ramina and I push each other a lot when we race and practice,” Millanponce said. “We work off of each other by telling each other to run faster.” The women’s cross country team ranked No. 22 out of 27 schools with a final score of 541. Coach Egbunike is proud of both of the teams’ efforts this season because the team was able to cooperate with the adjustments of the new staff. “I’m glad they were able to handle those circumstances regarding the new staff because I know those kinds of adjustments could take time, but they overcame it while doing well,” Egbunike said. “I hope our team grows bigger in the future.” With this being his first year on the team, Urbina believed that the staff really pushed the team all season to get them where they are now. “Coach Innocent is my motivation. He gives everyone as a whole and individually so much motivation when training,” Urbina said. “Coach [Tyrus] was a physically demanding coach, but it was because of him that I found myself doing things I didn’t think I was physically capable of doing.” “Everyone on the staff this year was just so determined that we’d do well this season,” Guzman added. “They were so passionate when they helped us train.” Egbunike, who used to compete in the Olympics, he always kept in mind to focus on doing his best, while getting into the habit of taking every bit of training during practices seriously. He passed on those lessons to his team this year. “Our next few practices before State, we’re going to work on fully executing workouts very well to build up endurance,” Egbunike said. “Building good habits during training is needed to be a championship athlete.” Padashi Fard, Millanponce and the men’s cross country team hope to finish off their season victoriously at the State Championships in Woodward Park, Fresno on Nov. 19.
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