THE THE
BREEZE VOLUME 26 ISSUE 5
The
THEBREEZEONLINE.COM ILLUSTRATION BY TRISTAN WALSH
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
Calendar Sunday, October 25
Wednesday, October 28
Thursday, October 29
Trunk or Treat: Families are invited to enjoy The Chaffey College Car Club’s annual Trunk or Treat held at the Rancho ATL parking lot from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The free event will contain games, candy and a haunted house.
Artist Lecture And Workshop: In honor of Latino Heritage Month, ASCC, EOPS and the President’s Equity Council will offer two workshops and lectures at the Rancho Campus by renowned artist and creativity crusader Simón Silva. To sign up, call EOPS at (909)-652-6349.
Halloween Costume Contest: Classified Senate and the Bookstore will be holding their annual Halloween costume party in the Rancho Quad. Group or individual contestants should sign in between 12:15 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. Prizes include $25-$200 Bookstore giftcards. Classified Senate is requesting an optional donation of a non-perishable food item from each contestant. Donations will be given to the Food Pantry to help current Chaffey students in need.
Tuesday, October 27, 28 Dress For Success And Mock Interviews: The Career Center will be holding workshops in MACC-208 to prepare students for job interviews. On Oct. 27 students will learn how to dress professionally and learn how to answer rigorous interview questions Oct. 28.
Editor-In-Chief Chris Salazar csalazar23@hotmail.com Managing Editor Sadie Gribbon Copy Editor Kristina Rocha Online Editor Erynn M. Affeldt Photo Editor Gina Duran Features Editor Jullian Aiden Bravo
Thursday, October 29 Humans vs. Zombies: ASCC and the ReActive Club will hold a game of Humans vs. Zombies on the Rancho Campus. Students may create a group or join one (either as a zombie or a human). Rounds begin at 2 p.m. For more information or to sign up stop by Student Activities.
Friday, October 30 Day of The Dead Celebration: In honor of Dia de los Muertos, ASCC and the Spanish Club will costruct an alter in Student Activities at the Rancho Campus.
News Editor Roberto Hernandez
Baseline Editor Joshua Arnao
Sports Editor Cody Warner
Staff Writers and Photographers Students of Journalism 30 & 31
Reviews Editor Hanajun Chung
General Manager Janet Trenier
Opinion Editor Erick Valenciano
Lab Tech Roberto Hernandez
A & E Editor Kyle Smith
Faculty Adviser Michelle Dowd Journalism Coordinator Neil Watkins
The Breeze is published up to eight times a semester by the journalism students at Chaffey Community College, 5885 Haven Ave., Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737. Telephone: 652-6934/6936. Opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff and should not be interpreted as the position of the Chaffey College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof. Letters and guest columns for or against any position are welcome. Letters should be kept as brief as possible (fewer than 300 words) and are subject to non-substantive editing according to guidelines established by the Associated Press. The Chaffey Breeze is a member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges and the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
OCTOBER 23, 2015
CHAFFEY BREEZE
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Contents News: 5. What You Need to Know Opinion: 6. A Case for the Genuine Politician 7. Seasons of Fall 8. Halloween Whore Night Feature: 9. Get to Know Your Student Body 10. Don’t Drink the Water 12. Plight of the Honey Bee Review: 14. Tell-Tale House 15. The Miracle Worker
Correction In the previous edition, volume 26 issue 4, we failed to properly credit Tristan Walsh for the cover illustration.
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OCTOBER 23, 2015
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
NEWS
What You Need to Know ROBERTO HERNANDEZ
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The First Democratic Presidential debate of the 2016 election aired Oct. 13 on CNN to an audience of 15.3 million viewers, making it the most viewed democratic debate ever. The debate saw Clinton and Sanders fighting for stage time, leaving the other candididates, Lincoln Chafey, Jim Webb and Martin O’Malley with little to say. Clinton saw her numbers rise by 10 percent immediately follwing the debate. On Tuesday, Oct. 20 Webb announced he was dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination. He plans to instead run as an independent. Vice President Joe Biden announced he was not running for president in the 2016 election, amidst rumors and speculation of his candidacy. Biden cited the death of his son as a reason for not running. Additionally recent polling data shows that support for Biden is waning. One poll conducted by Real Clear Politics puts support for Biden at 17 percent compared to Clinton’s 48 percent. Sources: CNN, Reuters, NPR
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Hilary Clinton testified in defense of her handling of the Benghazi incident as Secretary of State on Oct. 22. The congressional committee was led by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) along with
6 other republicans and 5 democrats. Critics claim that the Obama administration mishandled the situation, which left 4 americans dead, including the U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, in an Islamic militia-led terrorist attack against a U.S. diplomtic compound in Libya in 2012. In 2014, now-former Republican house speaker John Boehner initiated the investigation, which curently sits at 4.3 million dollar and has spanned over 17 months. Democrats have been critical of the investagion, claiming it aims to politicize the issue and discredit Clinton’s presidential campaign. “Clearly, it is possible to conduct a serious, bipartisan investigation,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). “What is impossible is for any reasonable person to continue denying that Republicans are squandering millions of taxpayer dollars on this abusive effort to derail Secretary Clinton’s presidential campaign.” A recent poll by CNN and ORC International shows that while 59 percent of Americans are “dissatisfied” with Clinton’s handling of the situation, 72 percent of Americans think the investigation is politically motivated. Sources: CNN, New York Times
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Rep. Paul D. Ryan will seek to serve as speaker of the house, under certain conditions, including prioritizing time with his family. “I believe we are ready to move forward as one, united team,” he said. Ryan gained the support of about 70 percent of the House’s far-right conservative Freedom Caucus, who are notoriously difficult to negotiate with, and allegedly contributed to former house speaker John Boehner’s resignation late October.
Sources: New York Times, Washington Post
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OCTOBER 23, 2015
OPINION
A Case for the Genuine Politician
CALEB BEAVER
Political Columnist
M
ost people strive to be genuine, but it is no small task. We live in a society where people commend those who say how they feel and mean what they say. However, the ramifications for being genuine at the wrong times can be severe. Most of the time people refrain from saying what they are thinking to their bosses, parents and children. So why do we expect our politicians, whom we vote in, to be genuine to us? The political establishment along with how it packages candidates is in question. American voters truly want a normal, if not real, person serving as POTUS, the highest political office in the land. I’m not sure if being genuine is really something I would want. There is this strange expectation of a career politician being absolute in their beliefs. Voters have issues with flip flopping, although very few people don’t change their views on a situation over time. Wait, no. It’s absolutely stupid to expect someone who’s been in politics for decades to never change views. The average individual constantly changes opinions, because as we experience life, our situation changes. No one is born fully formed, it is experiences and lessons learned that form us into who we are at any given
moment. Personally, I have flip-flopped on my opinion of Bernie Sanders, Scott Walker, and John Boehner just this summer. Flip-flopping about a situation is truly humanist. If you love Bernie Sanders that’s fine, but your perception of him being genuine is a fallacy.
“It’s absolutely stupid to expect someone who’s been in politics for decades to never change views.” In the most recent CNN debate, Bernie Sanders was asked about his stance on guns, and for the first time publicly, he squirmed. He didn’t give
back the straight, common sense answer that was expected. At that moment, I disliked him. I know he is a liberal Senator from a rural state which puts him in an awkward position on guns, but his purity was shattered when he couldn’t give a Bernie answer. He maintained his sencerity, but he’s been grilled by liberals since. People only want genuine politicians when they’re benefiting. A poor person doesn’t want a politician who only cares about the interests of the rich. The politician may be totally genuine, but it doesn’t matter. When you want something that is vital to your quality of life or your belief a politicians feelings make no difference to you. Politicians are public servants and they exist to do a job. When a politician does something you want because of their beliefs, they are saintly, but if they do something you hate because of their beliefs, they are a tyrant. We have no genuine politicians, because in the end no one wants them.
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
OPINION
Seasons of Fall
KYLE SMITH
Sports Columnist
F
orget the special holiday drinks from Starbucks and cuddle weather. The best part about fall is seeing how many channels—out of the few hundred that you likely have—are playing a sporting event. During October, MLB comes to an end, the NFL and NHL continue on and the NBA season begins. The four main professional leagues plus NASCAR, soccer, golf, tennis, women’s basketball and college football make for the best time of the year to be a television owning sports fan. The World Series is the biggest event in October. As the Mets finished their NLCS sweep over the Cubs on Wednesday (what a pity), they await to see if they will match-up against the Blue Jays or the Royals in the Fall Classic starting Oct. 27. The NBA season begins the same day as the World Series. Oh, what a day! The reigning champion, Golden State Warriors will play the last game on opening night at home against the Pelicans at 7:30 p.m. PST. Hockey is just underway and it is still too early for assumptions, but the Kings do have more wins than the Ducks. Stay tuned to see how the rivalry plays out. There are football games on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays until the last regular season game in December,
which is followed by playoffs. As the Major League Soccer regular season comes to an end, LA Galaxy takes on Sporting Kansas City on Oct. 25 in their most important game of the year. With three goals, they will ensure the second spot in the Western Conference and a first-round playoff BYE. Playoffs are certain for Los Angeles’ professional soccer team. So, those are the big ones. But that’s not all. Rugby isn’t an American sport, but it is a contact sport that Americans take part in. It is worth watching the big hits and rules that ignore safety. Who knows, maybe your football team will pick up an Australian rugby monster to return punts like the 49ers did. Then there’s college football. Stanford is undefeated in the Pac12, leaving UCLA and USC—who both have losing records in intra-conference match-ups—behind. Leonard Fournette is having the year of his life at LSU and Jim Harbaugh is the unluckiest man there is. Sports on T.V. is just another reason people love fall. So, take your Pumpkin spice latte to the stadium and enjoy watching athletes do their thing; or better yet, find your cuddle partner and watch the game at home.
Games to Watch: Basketball: Pelicans @ Warriors Oct. 27.
Hockey:
Ducks @ Stars Oct. 27.
Football:
USC @ Cal Oct. 31.
Packers @ Broncos, Nov. 1.
Baseball:
World Series begins Oct. 27.
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
OPINION
Halloween Whore Night
SADIE GRIBBON
H
ow come I am allowed to dress like a slut on Halloween, but not on any other day? Our culture is sexually driven and it is generally accepted to take more off for Halloween.When you miss out on a chance to go beyond wearing your regular attire, it’s like going to the beach and not wearing a swim suit. The main character from “Mean Girls,” Cady Heron, said it best: “In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it.” Halloween used to be a time when we dressed up, but now it is a sacred night to strip down. The older we get, the more revealing our Halloween costumes become. There are the obvious: Playboy Bunnies, Wonder Woman, the sexy police officer. Our age has taken it to the next level and morphed from something innocent, like a Disney Princess, and turned her into a stripper. It has reached the point where I question if women just recycled their tiny Pocahontas dresses from when they were eight. At least that would
Sex Columnist chaffeysextalk@gmail.com be Eco-friendly. Women are told it is acceptable to dress this way one day and the next day they wear something too short and are judged or bullied. Men aren’t held to this standard. Men aren’t forced to feel this harsh reality. So what has happened in our so-
her costume. This is a thriving market that makes money by exploiting sex. There is a psychological draw to impress one another with our looks and on Halloween there is no gauge on promiscuity, because it is non-existent. But the next morning, that magical idea of not being judged and ridiculed for dressing how you like is gone. Women are expected to switch over to this sexy side for one night only and that is what young girls are learning, forcing them into this inconsistent society at even younger ages than before. 364 days of the year women must dress to a specific standard, but on Halloween the expectation is much greater. There is more ridicule for not dressing down than there is for wearing minimal clothing. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
ciety to allow this one day to the exception? Money. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) the amount of money spent on adult Halloween costumes alone is $1.22 billion, with each person paying an average of $65 for
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
FEATURES
Get to Know Your Student Body SOFIA MERCADO
Christopher Cooper, kinesiology major “ I used to live in Florida with my mom. After high school I came to California to live with my dad to attend Chaffey and run track. We had a great team and an amazing coach my first year. I was top five in the state of California. Well, that is until the school decided to cut the track team and fire our coach. It was a slap to my face. They killed my dreams of being number one. Now I only have school and soccer to focus on since track is out of the picture.” Liesa Hudson, business administration major “I have two sons, one is seven years old and the other one is twenty-two. My sons are my motivation. I went to Everest college before coming to Chaffey but I didn’t get the job I went to school for. I started applying for jobs. However, I didn’t meet their requirements, so I decided to go back to school and major in business administration. School isn’t hard for me, it’s just a lot to keep up with. I don’t want to start anything I can’t finish.” Anthony Singh, music major “In 2012, I took a music class and I was also taking a computer science class. Computer science was my major at the time and I didn’t really like the way the teacher was teaching the class. She would put a power point
Christopher Cooper enjoying break in the quad on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Photo by Andres Vargas
up and go over it a little and I would think ‘Man, this sucks. Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?’. Now in my music class, I loved how my professor Patrick Aranda was so passionate about teaching and stuff, so that’s when I really started to look at music differently. I love reading and understanding all the concepts with cords and so on. That’s when I started thinking, ‘Man, I really like this I like playing my guitar. I should try switching majors’ and here I am, getting better little by little.” Kelvin Montgomery, computer science major “My biggest struggle at Chaffey so far has been failing my pre-calculus class; that was an eye opener. When
I found out I failed, I knew it wasn’t because of the teacher or my class mates. It was because of me. I would spend all day with my classmates from that class; since it was a small class we would study all day together. I was taking a tri class, a pre-calculus class and some other classes all at the same time. I was upset I wasn’t going to be able to move on to calculus with my classmates. We formed a bond and I didn’t want to be left behind. It’s more than just failing a pre-calculus class. it was letting my group down. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I can’t believe I failed a class I really liked.’ Now that I’m taking a calculus class I understand why I had to study so much.”
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
FEATURES
Don’t Drink the Water ABRAHAM NAVARRO
C
alifornia has a long drought history. Despite theories stating that droughts are a result of government conspiracy or climate engineering, numerous studies show otherwise. Currently, Southern California is struggling to find ways to solve the latest drought that has now lasted four years. Water rationing is the new attempt at fixing this problem. The Cucamonga Valley Water District has adopted the State Water Resources Control Board resolution. The mandate involves restricting household water usage depending on home addresses, and prohibits watering during certain days and times. Penalties for violating such restrictions may include a fine up to $150. A large part of providing water to Southern California requires spending millions on water rights. The Sacramento Bee shows The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has agreed to spend up to $71 million to buy ground water from Sacramento. Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee reports, “In one year, prices have gone up by $200 per acre foot. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, roughly a year’s supply for two Southern California households.” Not only is buying groundwater expensive, but it also allows the ground to sink. California does not have laws that prevent residents from digging water from the ground. Technically, residents can dig as deep as they want, even though it could affect their neighbors.
In addition to ground water purchases, Fox 5 Vegas reports Southern California spent $45 million to purchase lake water from Southern Nevada Water District last month. These purchases are becoming a regular occurrence. This is a temporary solution due to a limited amount of lakes available.
“Whiskey is for drinking: water’s for fighting over.” -Mark Twain A National Geographic article in 2014 states, “[The drought] has depleted snowpacks, rivers and lakes and groundwater use has soared to make up the shortfall.” Natural fresh water resources are becoming scarce. Continuing this path will only result in even more strict water usage regulations, hot and dry climate conditions and inflated prices. California does not have many water retention systems in place, making current resources even more valuable. Despite the current state of water, usage has been careless. According to The Atlantic, 80 percent of water goes to farms, ranches and golf courses. According to cbsnews.com, there are 866 golf courses in California. An av-
erage 18-hole course uses 90 million gallons of water each year. That means over 77 billion gallons of water are used on golf courses in a single year. Instead of only using this water once, it could be recycled and reused. Many colleges, including Chaffey, have adopted changes, including drought tolerant landscaping. In addition, there has been construction on a large tower designed to store fresh water during non ‘peak’ drought hours for future use during ‘peak’ hours. Changes such as these could be considered by the state as well. For California as a whole, a long term solution may be needed. Outside of affecting lakes, reservoirs and historical landmarks, the drought also greatly affects the economy. According to National Geographic, California is projected to lose $2.2 billion and 17,100 jobs this year. Chaffey geography professor, Peter Konovnitzine, said “California is the number one agricultural state in the United States.” In 2014, the Department of Food and Agriculture reported agriculture in California made $54 billion. The Department of Finance’s California Budget estimates the total revenue of the state in 2014 at $106 billion. The revenue agriculture generates is just over half of the total money garnered as a state. The drought puts this revenue at risk. Like other experts, Konovnitzine believes the drought is a result of a high pressure system known as the ‘ridiculously resilient ridge.’
CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
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Chaffey enacts a policy to reduce water usage by eliminating superfluous field irrigation. Photo by Michael Baughn The ridge is a large barrier located in the Pacific Ocean. It diverts storms like El Nino and prevents rain from restoring water levels in lakes across California.
“California is the number one agricultural state in the United States.”
Konovnitzine believes a possible solution for California is to mandate eco-friendly homes. New homes would require solar panels and a type of water collection system. These are not new ideas. He mentions how Constantinople has utilized an underground system for almost 2,000 years now. An alternate solution is desalination. It converts salt water into drinkable water. This process alone could help eliminate droughts by assuring we have a reliable water source like the Pacific Ocean. It would eliminate the need for rainfall to replenish natural water sources. Konovnitzine said , “[Desalination] is really the only solution to the cyclical drought that we have.” Although cost is a major concern among sup-
porters of desalination, Konovnitzine believes more desalination plants will reduce costs of production. For those interested in this topic, Konovnitzine is awaiting approval from the curriculum department to teach a weather climate class next Fall. It may take desalination, water retention and storms to help our water supply improve. Mark Twain once said, “Whiskey is for drinking: water’s for fighting over.” The good news is California has many options and solutions that can help end the fear of continuous droughts, so we won’t have to reach the point of fighting over water.
OCTOBER 23, 2015
CHAFFEY BREEZE
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FEATURES
Plight of the Honey Bee DISHANI LEULA
The honeybee population has decreased rapidly in the last seven years. Vanishing of the Bees, a documentary, details how Bees pollinate more than $15 billion worth of food annually in the United States. Without honeybees supermarkets would be completely empty some weeks and even when filled would cost triple the regular price. Pollination is an important function of nature dependent on two factors: insects and wind. To keep bees comfortable, Don Stephens, a beekeeper who sells homemade honey encourages people to grow a variety of different plants in home gardens. “Adding flowers around different fruits and vegetables is more attractive to bees and other insects that are vital to our ecosystem,” Stephens said. He believes single produce-crops, monocrops, are a main factor of the impact on the bee community. Planting strictly these crops are a major downfall of the honeybee. “That’s just not the way nature works,” Stephens said. “That’s like if I was feeding you oatmeal everyday, and that’s it, nothing else, just oatmeal. You‘d get sick of it, right?” Much speculation has surrounded the disappearance of bees since 2006. “Colony Collapse Disorder” (CCD) is considered an incurable epidemic by some. Stephens believes a primary cause is the interference of science with nature. Experiments such as artificial insemination, queen replacement and the substitution of raw nectar with artificial sugar in honey combs may have impacted the health of bees dramatically.
He also believes that excessive use of pesticides deters insects from pollinating. As a commercial bee keeper he has been a victim of CCD and has lost over 200 hives in the past two years. “See now, what I didn’t do was treat for the varroa mite,” Stephens said.”These commercial pesticides not only kill your mites, but they also kill your bees. So what’s the point?” He encourages hobbyist gardeners to use natural pesticides sold at local farmers markets. Websites such as localharvest.org offer detailed information about local farms and farmers markets that provide convenient delivery services. They sell things from seeds to livestock, including fruits, meats, teas, baked goods, fruit jams, soaps and herbal remedies. Don encourages everyone to purchase any product from local farmers community. Unlike many name brand companies that claim to use honey in their products, holistic farmers do not ultra-filter their honey. This is a process where the honey is heated, sometimes watered down, and strained through small filters which removes the pollen,
making it synthetic so that it will last longer on grocery store shelves. Food and Safety News provided Professor Vaughn Bryant, the director of Palynology Research Laboratory, with samples of honey from various stores. Testing the amount of pollen, the prominent melissopalynologist, found that brands including Safeway, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS Pharmacy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Kroger, Walmart, Target, Smuckers, McDonalds and KFC all tested one hundred percent pollen free. Bryant found that the honey sold at farmers markets and organic stores such as PCC and Trader Joe’s had the expected amount of pollen advertised. Honey products labeled natural and organic are more likely to be heavy with pollen versus big-box stores. The plight of the honey bee is necessarily linked with that of people, consitently affecting fiscal and agricultural assets.
OCTOBER 23, 2015
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Bee keeper, Chris Frike, looking for the queen bee. Photos by Julie Cavalier
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OCTOBER 23, 2015
CHAFFEY BREEZE
REVIEWS
Tell-Tale House HANAJUN CHUNG
S
et in the late-19th century — “Crimson Peak” follows struggling novelist Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) during the early days of industrial North America. She meets and falls in love with English aristocrat Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) during his attempt to gain Edith’s father as a possible investor for his clay-mining operation. “Crimson Peak” is a beautiful film that’s hard to recommend. After a tragic incident, Edith and Sir Sharpe marry before departing to his estate in England: Allerdale Hall. As she adjusts to the prodigious yet dilapidating mansion with her new husband and sister-in-law, Lucille Sharpe ( Jessica Chastain), Edith is haunted by ghostly spirits from deep within the house. Director Guillermo del Toro is without a doubt one of the most interesting and unique filmmakers working today. Much like Quentin Tarantino, del Toro is a filmmaker whose influences are on his sleeves, one who takes said influences to make something completely his own. “Crimson Peak” is without a doubt a del Toro film, expertly infusing Italian Giallo, British Hammer Horror and Edgar Allen Poe with the romances of Jane Austen. There’s a practicality to the world of “Crimson Peak,” especially during the scenes in Allerdale Hall. The work went into building the mansion set pays off on screen. Whether the walls whisper from the winds or bleed from
the land’s excess clay, the house comes alive in amazing ways. It’s absolutely stunning. Del Toro and the set design team have truly outdone themselves in both scale and vision. Also making the world feel lived in is the solid cast. Wasikowska’s Edith is vulnerable enough without being completely weak or helpless. Hiddleston’s Sharpe is balanced and understated, conveying internal conflict through gazes and expressions. However, Chastain’s Lucille is the real star, providing a cold and sinister performance that makes all her scenes an unnerving experience. The film also succeeds on several technical levels. It’s gorgeously shot, mixing vibrant colors with harsh shadows creating a gripping, gothic design. The wardrobe, designed to be both vivid yet dark in design, adds to the gothic look. The score is romantic and big, reminiscent of the sweeping orchestral sounds found in many Jane Austen adaptations. So why is this a tough recommendation? The story is thin. Once the central mystery is solved, the film ends with a standard horror climax. Tonally, there’s a large disconnect between the horror and romance. The ghost stuff isn’t as startling as the violence in this film, which can get quite gruesome. The heightened scenes of romance don’t always work well with the horror, except in the film’s climax, which is reminiscent of the genre films coming from South Korea. It’s too light
on both horror and romance to recommend to dedicated fans of either genre. However, fans of del Toro are right at home. Those who love his Spanish-language films, such as “Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” will find much to enjoy here, but fans shouldn’t expect anything as layered as those titles. “Crimson Peak” is a gorgeously crafted film, a celebration of an auteur and his love for the classic horror films of Hammer Pictures. I just wish he had a bigger story to match the theatrics. Grade: B
Underseen Halloween horror gems: “We Are Still Here” (2015, Ted Geoghegan) “It Follows” (2014, David Robert Mitchell) “V/H/S/2” (2013, assorted filmmakers) “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012, Drew Goddard) “Detention” (2011, Joseph Kahn) “Attack the Block” (2011, Joe Cornish)
OCTOBER 23, 2015
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
REVIEWS
The Miracle Worker DECHANNE LANE
T
he Miracle Worker, directed by Christa El-Said, had its opening night Oct. 16, 2015. The play is a gripping account of the true story of Helen Keller played by Brooklyn Vizcarra and Annie Sullivan played by Isabel Arreola. Sullivan, a half-blind student from Perkins Institute, was called to tutor Keller. Keller, who became deaf and blind during infancy grew up spoiled. On Annie’s arrival, she is without manners or discipline. Keller’s parents use her handicaps to justify her behavior. Actor, Michael Anagnos, who plays James Keller, Helen’s older brother, provides comedic relief. He often collides with his father for speaking too much. He disagrees with his parents’ upbringing of Helen and believes she needs more discipline. Sullivan relates to Helen and insists that she be treated as any other child, opposed to a blind and deaf one. Her teaching methods are not readily accepted by Helen’s parents, but she is able to convince the Kellers to give her complete control over Helen. While the beginning started out slow, it didn’t take long to fully engage me. There were a few times when actors recited their lines incoherently. There are brief instances where the play drags on but it is brought back to speed with an outburst from Helen or a sarcastic comment from James . Vizcarra, 11, is an absolute delight to watch. I sat through the entire play thinking, she could not possibly be a
Isabel Arreola (left), Brooklyn Vizcarra, Kaylee Lowrey (right) in scene for The Maricle Worker on Oct. 14, 2015.
Photo by Andres Vargas
child. I believed her character; she is Helen Keller. Her acting is mature and believable overall, not just for her age. Vizcarra’s performance rivals her much older peers. Despite having only one line, “water”, her performance is riveting. Although Vizcarra is young, she is one of the more experienced actors in the play. She has appeared in 15 shows since she began acting four years ago. In comparison, Arreola, 22, was outstanding in her debut performance. Her character had the most lines in the play and she recited them flawlessly. Ultimately, her delivery is what keeps the play going. The audience relies heavily on her
performance. She successfully livens the relationship between Helen and Annie. Her facial expressions mimic her mood and her body language strengthen her lines. She is fully committed to her character. Overall, “The Miracle Worker” is an enjoyable production with great performances. Grade: B+
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CHAFFEY BREEZE
OCTOBER 23, 2015
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