FEATURES
OPINION
SPORTS
NEWS
Photo Credit: MCT Campus
Photo Credit: MCT Campus
Photo Credit: Chelsea Heath
Photo Credit: Robert Hatchett
Trump’s offshore drilling plan is putting wildlife at high risk
Oscars 2018. Who will come out on top, and who will go home without the gold.
Victims of domestic abuse share their stories
Mesa Women’s Tennis goes up against Imperial Valley
THE MESA PRESS
Volume 62, Issue 2
the Independent Student Publication of San Diego Mesa College
MARCH 6, 2018
New wave of associated students for spring semester By Aleah Jarin STAFF WRITER
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pring semester at San Diego Mesa College is underway and with this brings a new wave of students to be a part of Associated Students. AS is Mesa College’s student body who organize campus events, provide leadership opportunities and promote the many services Mesa has to offer. This spring, AS had a few positions available including: Senate Representative, Treasurer, and AS Senators. The elections were held over the course of three weeks beginning Feb. 7 and ending on Feb. 21. At the first election, Adrian Lopez was elected as Senate Representative. “The duties of Senate Representative involves guiding and looking out for the rest of the senate especially newer members.” Lopez said. He hopes that with this position he can make some changes on campus with the help of the rest of the AS Senators. On Feb. 14, Hong Nhung Nguyen, former AS Senator, was elected as AS Treasurer. Nguyen has experience in the accounting field and she is looking forward to “taking more responsibilities and being able to give more to others.” The elections concluded on Feb. 21, and AS welcomed nine new senators to the group. The new members include: Timothy Ackerson, Jennifer Ayala, Emilie Bengtsson, Theo Douwes, Rene Murillo, May Nguyen, Baktash Olomi, Jade Robinson, and Harley Sobreo. AS Senators are essentially the voices and representatives of students at Mesa. They are the links between students and administration. If there are any questions or concerns, AS Senators are the ones who will fulfill those needs. Newly elected AS Senator, Rene Mu-
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Index
OPINION..................PAGES 2-3
Seven of the newly elected AS Senators: (left to right) May Nguyen, Timothy Ackerson, Rene Murillo, Jade Robinson, Baktash Olomi, Emilie Bengtsson and Theo Douwes. Photo Credit: Aleah Jarin
rillo who has had previous leadership experience due to his involvement as a peer ambassador, shared that with this new position he is looking forward to being able to “relay information to students.” He explained that “so many students don’t know about the BOGW, don’t know about DREAM, don’t know about Promise, don’t know about STAR Trio, EOPS, DSPS, and I would love to help advertise that and get that out more.” Board of Governors Waiver (BOGW), California Dream Act (DREAM), Promise, Student Tutorial and Academic Resources (STAR Trio), Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), and Disability Support Programs and Services (DSPS) are all resources available for students to help them financially and to make their college
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experience go as smoothly as possible.
Adding on to this, Murillo made an insightful point and said, “we went the route of junior college to spend less, if it’s possible to not spend anything, why would we?” May Nguyen, another new AS Senator who has always been involved with AS since she’s been at Mesa, shared that she decided to become an AS Senator because she “strongly believes in being in an inclusive community.” Nguyen figured, “It’s my last semester, so why not become a senator?” Nguyen really wants to inform people as well, and hopes to let people know how AS is a community for all. When AS President Joe Newell was asked how he felt about the new additions to Associated Students, he said, “I’m ex-
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cited because a lot of them are new and continuing students, and so a lot of them are going to be able, if they choose, to continue on with AS next year.” Newell went on to say how exciting it is to have such a diverse group of students this year. He shared that many of them come from “different groups, clubs, and parts of campus.” There are so many resources and leaders at Mesa that are dedicated to helping students get involved and excel in their education, and AS is just one of them. Their main goal this semester is to get the word out about this great community and all the many benefits that come with joining. Newell is eager for what’s to come this spring semester and said, “I’m excited to show the way and get started!”
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OPINION MARCH 6, 2018
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The Mesa Press
The Word
How do you feel about arming teachers?
“I don’t agree, I think it’s more of a safety concern with the whole school.” -Roselyn De La Pena, 20, Child Development
“It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” -Christian Black, 21, History
“I think it’s a good idea but I also think it’s a bad idea because what if the teacher has bad intensions with the gun.” - Alyssa Valero, 19, Kinesiology
Trump administration offshore drilling plan putting wildlife at high risk By Melanie Reiter STAFF WRITER
“I personally don’t think it would be a good idea, what if something were to happen?” - Luis Hernandez, 19, Criminal Justice
The Mesa Press
Founded in 1966
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Dorian Uson KC Portee
NEWS EDITOR
Mayra Figueroa Vazquez
OPINION EDITOR
KC Portee
FEATURES EDITOR Anna Fiorino
SPORTS EDITOR Michael Scott
PHOTO EDITORS
Robert Hatchett Jessica Aquino
ADVISING PROFESSOR
Offshore oil and gas drilling puts wildlife at risk. Photo Credit: MCTCampus.com
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he Trump Administration proposes idea to open nearly all U.S. shores to offshore oil and gas drilling by the beginning of next year, completely reversing the ban implemented by Obama in which blocks 94% of the coastal waters from this dangerous operation. This is just the beginning of Trump’s efforts to promote energy production, diminishing any environmental restrictions that have been put in place in the past. Raising controversy in the white house, Gov. of Florida, Rick Scott says, “I have asked to immediately meet with Secretary Zinke to discuss the concerns I have with this plan and the crucial need to remove Florida from consideration.” Scott promises to protect Florida after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, leaving 11 dead and millions of gallons of oil and methane in the ocean. Not to mention the billions of dollars spent in restoration and the countless amount of marine life that were killed or harmed. The ones that survived still suffer developmental
damages including stunted growth and reduced fertility. The proposal concerns many environmental groups. “Trump’s trying to turn our oceans into oilfields. His reckless plan would expose more wildlife and coastal communities to devastating oil spills,” says Kristen Mondell, ocean program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. In response Zinke explains, “we want to grow our nation’s offshore energy industry, instead of slowly surrendering it to foreign shores.” As oil drilling can be beneficial to the U.S. economically, the administration is failing to assess the measure of damages this will have on our ecosystems and overall environment. These dangerous operations will have tremendous consequences on thousands of different species, including dolphins, whales, sea turtles, polar bears, fish, birds, seals, penguins, to name a few. With this aggressive expansion of drilling, it will effect their populations permanently, being that some are already endangered. But it
Janna Braun
also effects the environment, 21% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, are from extracted oil, gas, and coal. It releases these dangerous chemicals into the water and air, degrading the clean oxygen that humans –and wildlife– depend on for survival. “Nothing is final,” Zinke claims at a news conference, “This is a draft program. The states, local communities and congressional delegations will all have a say.” According to National Geographic, about 195 million gallons of gas are lost into our oceans yearly, due to extraction, transportation, and consumption. The new plan will raise the risk of damage immensely to the marine life, by polluting their waters, and adding to climate change. With the increased amount of population in the U.S. we are consuming more and more, relying heavier on our resources, however there are alternative options we must consider before it is too late.
STAFF MEMBERS
Cassidy Bartolo, Karina Bazarte, Aleah Jarin, Chelsea Heath, Lauren Lee, Dennis Lopez, Siera Matthews, Pia Mayer, Melanie Reiter, Delaney Schafnitz, Jake Smiley, Jonathan Smith, Rhet Takacs, Chris Varela Benitez
Contact
7250 Mesa College Drive, San Diego, CA 92111 Phone: 619-388-2630 Fax: 619-388-2835 www.mesapress.com mesa.press@gmail.com twitter.com/themesapress facebook.com/themesapress This publication is produced as a learning experience for aspiring journalists. All materials, including the opinions expressed herein, are the sole responsibility of the authors and should not be interpreted to be those of the San Diego Community College District. To submit a letter to the editor, please include your name (unsigned letters or letters signed with aliases will not be printed), age, major/ profession, college attending (if not Mesa) and email address.
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MARCH 6, 2018
The Mesa Press
Social Media Trends Put Young People at Risk By Dorian Uson EDITOR IN CHIEF
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vertime, as more and more of the population has become of the social media demographic, and the members of these websites get younger and more susceptible to peer pressure, the internet is becoming more and more dangerous. There are many different challenges that have travelled the different outlets of social media that can be fun and entertaining, but have started to become more and more deadly. From the cinnamon challenge, the milk gallon challenge, to eating tide pods, today’s youth needs to be more aware of taking care of their health before participating in these challenges for views, likes and retweets. One of the very first social media challenges to surface was the duct tape challenge. This challenge consists of a group of friends using duct tape to tape their friends to a wall, pole, or door and videotape them trying to get down without help. While this challenge seems lower on the totem pole of dangerous challenges, for 14-year-old Skylar Fish it was almost deadly. According the SheKnows.com, he suffered from many injuries from this challenge. “Fish was injured when he tried to break out of his duct tape, causing him to fall and hit his head on a window frame and the concrete. The teen was left with a crushed eye socket that caused a brain aneurysm, as well as 48 stitches in his head.” Another painful challenge teens participate in is the “salt and ice challenge”. This challenge calls for its participants to hold salt in their hand, then either their friends hold ice down to the ice, of the participant closes their fist around the ice. The goal is to see who can endure this pain the longest. The pain however, is causing participants to get second and third degree burns. According to parent Hollye Gray-
Young woman jumps on the bandwagon of the Tide Pods challenge. Photo Credit: Instagram.com/lunaseamedia son, who noticed her 13-year-old son with cause inflammation and, in more severe dark burn like marks on his hand, how chil- cases, aspiration pneumonia. Thus, the dren participate in dangerous activities has Cinnamon Challenge may pose greater changed drastically since the internet has and unnecessary health risks for persons been popularized. “Before YouTube we allergic to cinnamon or with bronchodidn’t have to worry about something like pulmonary diseases, including asthma.” this. This is clearly a big problem now, with One of the most recent trends to surthese kids copying these crazy things.” face, and one of the most talked about (and Challenges today have changed from made fun of), is the TidePod Challenge. physically hurting themselves, to consum- Participants are biting into brightly coling toxic materials. The cinnamon chal- ored liquid laundry detergent packets or lenge is one of these popular challenges. cooking them in frying pans, then chewWhile small amounts of cinnamon can be ing them up before spewing the soap from beneficial to your health, the cinnamon their mouths. According to the Washington challenge can have deadly effects. The cin- Post, warnings about the harm these pods namon challenge consists of participants can cause were issued years ago to warn eating a spoonful(or more) of cinnamon parents about protecting their young chilat a time, and trying to swallow. Accord- dren, but guess they forgot to warn about ing to a 2013 pediatrics report, there are the teens. “The U.S. Consumer Product many effects of inhaling cinnamon. “Cin- Safety Commission issued a warning to namon inhalation can cause pulmonary parents several years ago about the liquid inflammation, predisposing airways to laundry detergent packets. The agency said epithelial lesions and scarring. Aspirated the capsules — which are colorful, squishy powder entering the upper airways can and smell good — are attractive to young
children but contain “highly concentrated, toxic detergent” that can cause harm.” This challenge may just be the most dangerous of them all. “Children who have been exposed to the capsules have been hospitalized with vomiting, breathing difficulties and loss of consciousness. And the consequences may be much worse. Since 2012, eight fatalities have been reported among children 5 and younger, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers,” says the Washington Post. “Children and teens can aspirate on the liquid by inhaling it into their lungs, or they can become ill by ingesting it — experiencing a change in blood pressure and heart rate, losing consciousness or having seizures.” So the real question is, what is going on in the minds of these teenagers that make them put themselves at risks, just for social media exposure? The interesting thing is, that YouTube’s guidelines prohibits videos that’s intended to encourage dangerous activities that have an inherent risk of physical harm. Of course, YouTube is not responsible for these challenges and can not be held responsible to take down the thousands of videos posting teens participating in these dangerous activities, but how can these be stopped. Challenges navigate their way around the internet all the time, whether it’s a tag, something to promote a cause, or these dangerous challenges, they all start somewhere and never really end. These challenges aren’t even entertaining to watch, because often times you’re watching someone choke, vomit (or almost), or injure themselves. The solution, is change the way teens and children interpret these videos. They shouldn’t be viewing other people’s pain as enjoyable, but as a learning experience. The phrase “If your friend jumps off a bridge, would you” really comes in handy here as teens and children need to be taught not to succumb to peer pressure, and not to pressure others into putting their lives at risk.
Representation in Mass Media Matters
By Jonathan Smith STAFF WRITER
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s children, the most inspirational thing that could be placed in front of us were people that were most like us. Whether that be our parents, our friends, characters on television or people that we see in professional settings. This is a matter that should be addressed more. Representation is one topic that nobody seems to care enough about until they’re the ones being misrepresented. We’ve all seen movies and television shows that improperly cast their characters and give people who have no knowledge or experience on certain matters. For instance, in 2009, ABC Network aired its first episode of Modern Family that displays a multidimensional family that properly represents many different cultures and variations of society. Sofia Vergara plays the Columbian wife of her husband played by Ed O’Neill. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet play the homosexual couple that later end up adopting their first Asian child. This is what proper representation is, but it shouldn’t stop there. Last month, people of the AfricanAmerican community got the chance to witness their first ever all African diasporan cast be displayed as superheroes, engi-
Former U.S. President Barack Obama spending the afternoon with kids at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Photo Credit: MCT Campus. neers and inspirational leaders. “There’s this body of research and a term known as ‘symbolic annihilation’, which is the idea that if you don’t see people like you in the media you consume, you must somehow be unimportant”,
said Nicole Martins of Indiana University. This suggests that perhaps the media doesn’t want to enlighten the minds of minorities to unleash or recognize their true potential. There’s healing that needs to occur from centuries of colonialism and sup-
pression that has had a negative impact on the psyche. Anderson Cooper is another figure who boldly began living his truth publicly by coming out via email to a journalist, he stated, “In a perfect world, I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don’t give that up by being a journalist.” These are words to live by if you’re someone who’s trying to find their way out of a suppressing situation or lifestyle. Living in your truth and being able to identify with other people who share similarities can be empowering with overcoming anxieties and objections inflicted by society. With the fight to protect the DACA movement, representation and protection of our Hispanic community is more vital than ever before. No child, parent or elder should be turned away from bettering themselves and for wanting to enhance their way of life. Representation Matters and should not be taken lightly. Every human deserves to see people like themselves in a positive light and we should honor that right.
For The Record
In the issue dated February 20. 2018, The Mesa Press would like to correct the following errors: Page 1: Professor Starla Lewis was wrongly referred to using the word “infamous.”
Page 6: Speech and Debate coach Scott Plambeck’s name was misspelled. The San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts was incorrectly refered to as “The School of Creative and Performing Arts.” Page 8: Saddleback College was incorrectly refered to as “Saddleback Community College” and Santa Barbara City College was incorrectly referred to as “Santa Barbara Community College.”
MARCH 6, 2018
FEATURES
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The Mesa Press
Oscars Winners Predicted By Cassidy Bartolo STAFF WRITER
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rom thrillers to dramas to action films, last year was jam-packed with beautiful cinematography, heart-pounding suspense, and thoughtful storylines. The 90th Annual Academy Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second year in a row on March 4 at 5 p.m. on ABC. The Academy had their hands full this year with a bounty of critically acclaimed films from many genres. “The Shape of Water” is going for a sweep this year with an amazing 13 nominations and expected to take home a handle of awards. Gary Oldman is going for many nominations as well with his incredible transformation and dedication to Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.” A well deserved honorable mention goes to new director Jordan Peele for his racially sparked thriller “Get Out” which light up a big conversation and ideas. Although his film is overshadowed by other acclaimed films like “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Shape of Water,” the uprising of fresh ideas and creative direction excites us all for what’s to come.
Best Picture: “Shape of Water” portrays delicate and relevant social issues with grace and wit to completely captivate the audience. If you’ve seen it, you’d understand.
Lead Actor: Gary Oldman, because someone who envelops their entire being into a character and person like Winston Churchill deserves an Oscar. Oldman blew the audience away with his unrecognizable transformation physically and emotionally. In addition, he’s already swept up plenty of pre-Oscar awards. Lead Actress: Frances McDormand. In “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,”
she portrayed the tenacious and ballsy, but grieving mother who gives the local police station one hell of a ride as she pushes the urgency to catch her daughter’s killer. McDormand’s outrageous and bold performance strikes viewers as the hero we didn’t know we needed.
Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell. Rockwell carried his character so strongly
throughout “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Despite the controversy over his character’s racial slurs and personal agenda, Rockwell took on a difficult and muchneeded character to complete this film’s storyline.
Supporting Actress: Allison Janney. She thankfully supported, if not stole, the show in her amazing performance and dedication to the character. Janney brought out a different and fresh dynamic to the film, bringing the real life story into a great light. If “I, Tonya” is to win an award, it’s for this lady right here. Director: Guillermo del Toro’s “Shape of Water” is hands down the the taker of this award. Thirteen nominations only goes to show how acclaimed and widely appreciated the film has been to viewers, and that credit is definitely owed to its director del Toro. With all the film’s other nominations, this ought to be one well-deserved to the man who swept us off our feet. Animated Feature: “Coco” deserves the award for being able to use a typically children’s animated film to a storyline that would resonate with many people of many backgrounds. It managed to strike the hearts of everyone, no matter what age, making them want to run home and hug their family close. Last year was a perfect time for this movie to appear while representing the Latino community and having a film so passionate about its culture. “Coco” received praise for its representation of Latino community and culture.
Cinematography: “Blade Runner 2049” was a much anticipated sequel for the new
generation, and it did not disappoint. Although interest and dialogue may have fallen short, the stunning and unique visuals were breathtaking and truly made the two-hourplus film one you couldn’t take your eyes off of. The film was a magnificent take on futuristic society in the most desperate of times.
‘Color Theory’ and its colorful artists By Mayra Figueroa Vazquez NEWS EDITOR
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oung local musicians, poets, artists and photographers came together on Feb. 23 to showcase their work at the Sandbox studio in Downtown San Diego at an exhibition hosted by “Color Theory Club”. Amongst those artist was San Diego Mesa College student Taylor McCabe. For this show, McCabe exhibited a painting that was completely different then her usual work of portraits saying, “I wanted to try [and do] inanimate objects rather than simply animite.” She further elaborated adding that her work tends to consist of a “very complicated face” which is her way of showing emotion in her art. This time she went a completely different route to challenged herself and her abilities as an artist. She said “I wanted to see if I could do the same thing without having an expression.” McCabe describe the emotion of her painting as “peace.” She made this piece at a moment when she was feeling “weird” and painting this is how she got rid of that emotion. “I guess the feeling that comes out of feeling bad is peace.” To compliment her painting she displayed a quote across the top stating that “the hardest thing to do when you’ve gone back underwater, is talk about what the sky was like.” The exhibition was curated by Victoria Martinez, founder of “Color Theory Club,” and Gabriel Lozano. Martinez’s inspiration behind “Color Theory Club” was her inability to differentiate in the variation of every color. She stated that this uniqueness in her eyesight hasn’t stopped her from making art in any way, she said “it sounds like a negative thing and you would think that it would negatively impact the way I see things but it actually enhances my sight.” Since making that discovery, Martinez has always been fascinated by color and the theory behind it, hence “Color Theory.”
In respect to creating the club she said “I wanted it to feel like a community, multiple people [coming] together.’’ Martinez’s vision came to life that night as there were over thirty artist who took part in the exhibition. Both Martinez and Lozano has art showcasing in the show. Lozano’s painting was inspired by his recent trip to Florence, Italy with his family. The piece illustrates two distorted figures, one more than the other, sitting across a table from one another in what appears to be two different settings or “mindsets,” according to the artist, but what the viewer is unaware of is that it’s actually the same person. The figure on the left has an exit wound from a bullet which Lozano added to depict “the thoughts on himself and how he can’t even consider himself human, [which] is why he looks like a monster.” Lozano credits his girlfriend, fellow artist Victoria Martinez, for inspiring him to take the next step in his artistic abilities. He said, “I’ve always had this type of creative feeling, creative direction to be different and stray away from other,” but ultimately Martinez gave him the final push to pursue art. Lozano and Martinez showcased their work side by side. Martinez’s painting featured a portrait of Lozano with some if his thoughts at the top. Martinez recalls wanting to be an artist ever since she can remember. She mentioned that she found herself spending a lot of time indoors due to her overprotective mother who refused to let her play outside “with the other dirty kids” as she would say and tried to raise her to be a “highly elevated person.” Martinez explained, “I feel [that] the way my mind is set and almost formulated [comes] a lot from things she would tell me when I was little.” All that time playing in her room, Martinez began drawing and
painting, eventually expanding into film, photography and now recently sculpting. Her dream of becoming an artist was always encouraged but those in her life, until the end of high school, an age where she recalls things becoming real. She had people telling her all sorts of negative things like, “you can’t make a living out of art,” “you’re gonna starve to death,” or “art isn’t a career,” but she never let it get to her. “It’s not like I’m creating anything new,” she said, “there
are thousands of artist who have created things and have made a living out of it.” Besides paintings and photography, musicians and poets took the stage to deliver work of similar themes ranging from love to politics. Local band “Hand Drawn Tree” preformed a thirty minute set including their single “Mechanical Love.” Lead singer and guitarist, Hector Quintero, described their sound as “jango pop rock.” Other performers included acoustic guitarist RJ and poet/ rapper A.2.Z.
Mesa student, Taylor McCabe, stands next to her artwork. Photo Credit: Mayra Figueroa Vasquez
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MARCH 6, 2018
The Mesa Press
Album Review
Movie Review
Kendrick Lamar releases ‘Black Panther: The Album’ By Michael Scott SPORTS EDITOR
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his February, Grammy-awardwinning artist Kendrick Lamar released the official soundtrack to the highly anticipated Marvel film, “Black Panther.” “Black Panther: The Album” is a compilation of songs for, and inspired by the movie itself. Although the movie did not come out until Feb.16, the album was released through Interscope Records to the public on Feb.9. Originally, Kendrick was chosen to only do a few songs for the movie, but after director Ryan Coogler showed Lamar a large portion of the movie, Kendrick said he felt inspired and wanted to curate the whole soundtrack. It was said that the album was being heavily worked on with TDE producer Soundwave while Lamar was touring for his Grammyaward-winning album “DAMN.” Kendrick recruited an all-star cast of talent to feature throughout the album, which created a beautiful body of work all together. This soundtrack features big names such as 2 Chainz, Future, Anderson .Paak, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Vince Staples, Swae Lee, UK artist James Blake, and Kendrick’s fellow TDE counterparts SZA, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. Kendrick also gives young up and coming talent such as Jorja Smith, Khalid, and Bay Area rap group SOB x RBE a big break into the mainstream world with their respective tracks. Kendrick Lamar is on a large portion of these songs, with at minimum of a chorus, or few bars by the Compton rapper on each track. Production-wise, Soundwave used many African tribal elements to his music, featuring drums, vocals, and other instruments that you do not often hear on a hip-hop/rap album.
It is extremely hard to pick some standout songs on this album, mainly because each track has its own completely different vibe, but the album flows ever so beautifully. From the first track, “Black Panther,” to the final track “Pray For Me” which features The Weeknd, this album has no skip able tracks. Even the interlude, which comes toward the end of the album, is as good as the tracks “King’s Dead” and “Redemption” it ties together. Every artist Kendrick got to feature on this album did an incredible job on his or her respective tracks, but Jorja Smith stole the spotlight with her song, “I Am,” which comes towards the middle of the soundtrack. If you’ve never heard of her, I highly recommend going through her discography and getting familiar, because with a voice like hers, I don’t see her fading away any time soon. In all, Kendrick Lamar curated a movie soundtrack that can stand alone as an album itself. “Black Panther: The Album” charted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the second soundtrack to reach No. 1, the first being “The Greatest Showman” which released earlier this year. This soundtrack has so much heat and hype behind it that it will be difficult for any rap album that is set to release this year to compare to Lamar’s “Black Panther.” It may be too early to draw comparisons, but Kendrick created a classic soundtrack that will be played until the end of time like Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly.” With that being said, Kendrick Lamar is solidifying his spot in the rap game, and the music industry, forever with another groundbreaking release.
Movie Review
‘Every Day’ shows audience love has no boundaries By Delaney Schafnitz STAFF WRITER
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hiannon’s life takes an unexpected turn when she meets “A”, a 16 soul who switches bodies every day. This teen romance is based on the book “Every Day” by David Levithan and captured the feelings one gets while reading the book very well. While the movie was a little cheesy, the story was well-written and the acting was great. The story starts out with A inhabiting Rhiannon’s boyfriend, Justin, for one day. During that day, Rhiannon and “Justin” spend an out-of-the-ordinary, but amazing day together. Come the next day, Justin doesn’t remember a thing. That was because Justin was actually A for those 24 hours. While A usually tries to keep its personality and feelings hidden, so it does not affect the life of the person it is inhibiting that day, A feels this sense
of closeness with Rhiannon. Having never felt this before, A decides to tell Rhiannon of the incredible thing that happens every day. While extremely hesitant at first, Rhiannon decides to give A a chance to prove that this is real. After a little convincing, Rhiannon realizes that this is not a joke and eventually believes A. The two grow closer each day, but each day A looks like a new person, making their relationship a tricky one. An unexpected twist occurs when A happens to wake up one day in Rhiannon’s body, allowing Rhiannon to experience what A has to go through. This brings the two even closer together. There was almost a sense of realness to the film, because it’s true—you can’t choose who you fall in love with, no matter the circumstances. “Every Day” has a theme that sets a good example to the younger audience this movie is intended for: it’s about what is on the inside that matters, not the way one looks.
Game night isn’t always fun and games. Photo Credit: http://gamenight.movie
‘Game Night’ is a cinematic win By Chelsea Heath STAFF WRITER
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Game Night” had its opening weekend at the box office Feb. 23, leaving the audience in tears from laughter. Directors John Francis Daly and Jonathan M. Goldstein have created an action-filled, comedic masterpiece that is guaranteed to produce a laugh-out-loud response. Married couple Max and Annie, played by Jason Batemen and Rachel McAdams, are two competitive game enthusiasts who regularly host game nights for their friends. Typically, game night for the couple means an evening of board games or Charades, but it gets taken to the next level when Max’s suave brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) drives into town with his classic red sports car. Brooks gives game night a facelift when he decides to host a murder mystery party. He
even ups the ante by offering a game prize to the winner -- his sports car. Then suddenly, what is supposed to be a night full of fun and games turns deadly….or does it? “Game Night” is certified fresh with a rating of 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Brian Lowry from CNN says, “‘Game Night’ is a riot- an energetic, consistently clever comedy that playfully toys with the expectations of a savvy audience weaned on such fare.” Full of twists and turns, “Game Night” has much to offer. Hilariously witty, action packed, with an added undertone of romance. It will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat while your stomach is aching from belly laughter.
Band Review
Cafe Tacvba: One of the greatest Mexican rock bands alive By Karina Bazarte STAFF WRITER
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afe Tacvba, a Mexican rock band, was born in 1989. With only having house garage performances, no one knew how important and successful Cafe Tacvba would become. Cafe Tacvba counts with its original group members like Ruben (vocalist), Meme (keyboard, piano,etc), Quique (bass guitar), and Joselo (acoustic guitar). Cafe Tacvba has touch of indie rock, folk rock, garage rock, experimental, and marichi. Their biggest hits are “Maria” which was nominated for video of the year in 1993, “La chica Banda,” which has a touch of Native American and Mestizo culture, La batallas, “La ingrata” which has a taste of mock-nortena, “Dejate caer,” “Cchilanga banda,” which is slang for Mexico D.F tongue-twisters, “ El baile del salon,” Eres,” a romantic song singed by the drummer Meme, and their latest hit “1-2-3.” These are only a few of their many incredible hits. On Feb.17, Cafe Tacvba performed at El Foro in Tijuana. The concert started around 9 p.m. and ended around 11 p.m.
They promoted their new album, “Jei Beibi,” which has won a Latin Grammy Award for best alternative music album. Their opening song was “Futuro,” which stands for future. As soon as those drums started playing, the crowd screamed with excitement. Not one person sat down for the whole entire concert, and using their cell phones as lights when the room turned pitch black. These four members are natural performers when it comes to concerts; not once did they stop dancing. Cafe Tacvba not only performs, but they express their feelings towards nature, animals, and issues around the world. Cafe Tacvba has 12 albums, and the album that made them rise to the top was “Re.” “Re” was so successful that they were compared to the Beatles by the Rolling Stones Magazine. Cafe Tacvba has had amazing collaborations and some productions. Cafe Tacvba has become an amazing legendary band, not only because of their music that speaks from the soul, but because of their freedom of speech and the connection between them and their fans.
NEWS
MARCH 6, 2018
Page 6
The Mesa Press
Victims of Assault Share Their Stories By Cassidy Bartolo STAFF WRITER
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tudents opened their ears for the “Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking Event” at the Learning Resource Center quad on Feb. 21.Mark Malebranche, community health nurse adjunct, put together the event to promote awareness of these social issues with the help of local organizations like Children of the Immaculate Heart, Center of Community Solutions and Southern Indian Health Council. Jenna Christakis, office manager at Immaculate Heart, stated that San Diego is of the FBI’s 13 most trafficked cities in the country, with Mission Valley being the “hot spot” for people to get picked up into trafficking. Gangs made an estimated $800 million in sales each year in San Diego in the sales of the underground sex economy. “We want to give them something they haven’t felt and surround them with people who care about their well being,” Christakis said. Christakis said that young individuals need to always keep their guard up, especially with online dating, as traffick- Mesa providing its students information about the issues surrounding human trafficing and ers look to groom you into gaining their domestic as well as outreach programs that provide aid. Photo Credit: Chelsea Heath. trust. for students to learn about consent and Heart and Talia McGuire-Haywood with All the organizations presented tables with information and a safe space for the rights individuals have to their bodies the Southern Indian Health Council told students to seek advice, information and with the examples of offering and making their stories about breaking out as a human awareness of the things happening in their someone tea. The video showed students trafficked labor slave and abusive domestic community and potentially in their life. that at any time one may withdraw their relationships. Zellars first spoke out about Malebranche said, “we want to see stu- consent and if the person is unable to give her long history being trafficked from Inconsent to sex or other related activities dia to the United States only six months dents gain the knowledge to help others.” ago, where she now openly tells her story Malebranche played a “Tea and Con- then no sexual action should be taken. Renuka Zellars with the Immaculate to others for inspiration about life after besent” video on replay throughout the event
ing trafficked. The Southern Indian Health Council primarily focuses on services for Native American individuals but they extend to anyone seeking help and more information. McGuire-Haywood mentioned that their main goal is to spread the message of importance of healthy relationships and communication to all. She stated, “I hope to get closer to the younger generation and help them understand consent, respect and the power of control.” Mesa student, Sabrina Davidson, 30, was taking in the event and its offerings as she described the subject as “sensitive but the students need to know this.” Davidson added, “we should practice peaceful relationships and be more mindful.” Community Solutions offers support, hotlines and counseling to many diverse members of society like the LGBTQ community, domestic violence victims and sexual assault victims while working closely with the justice system to provide these victims the encouragement they deserve. Immaculate Heart advertised their upcoming achievement of opening a home in North County late summer of 2018 to bringing in six girls at a time to provide special counseling and needs for victims, proper education and group work and other amenities to give them the platform the build a new life. McGuire-Haywood said, “being busy at work is scary because it means a lot of women are in need of help, but it’s a good thing because they are here seeking the help they deserve.”
White Supremacists Fail To Recruit By KC Portee EDITOR IN CHIEF
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t the beginning of the spring seWhen Moctezuma saw the first flyer mester students and faculty on San posted on the banner for the exhibit for Diego Mesa College campus were black history month she said “the poster welcomed by flyers filled with hate. had a very hateful image talking about The white america being supremacist conquered.” group Patriot Shortly after Front posted seeing the messeveral posters sage she began around Mesa to take them all campus that down. contained the message that Most students America was were unaware conquered of this occurand will be rence due to the maintained by swift actions “resurrection of faculty on through insurCampus. Moctrection”. This ezuma praise group was that “[A.] a lot founded in of us removed Austin, Texas them right away by a 19-yearand [B.] we are old named bombarded by Thomas Ryan. so many visuThe Anals everyday so ti-DefamaI doubt anyone tion League noticed them stated,“Patriot Flyers hung on campus by white supremacy right away. Quite Front is a group. Photo Credit: KC Portee ironic right.” white supremI n acist group any case this whose members maintain that their ances- group failed its mission to recruit on metors conquered America and bequeathed it sa’s campus. Mesa has high standards for solely to them.” equality which is why President Dr. PaFaculty quickly removed all these mela T. Luster asserted that “San Diego posters throughout the day. One of those Mesa College seeks to build a culture of faculty members was Alessandra Mocte- diverse, equitable and inclusive practices zuma a professor of fine art, and the direc- that create an enriched environment for tor of the art gallery. our students, staff, faculty and the broader community.”
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SPORTS
Page 7
The Mesa Press
MARCH 6, 2018
Mesa softball team struggles in conference opener
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By Chris Varela Benitez STAFF WRITER he San Diego Mesa College Olympians were 9-5 heading into their conference
debut against the 4-3 Southwestern College Jaguars. A dramatic game unfortunately finished in Southwestern coming from behind to win 9-5 on the road.
The Olympians, coming off a five game win streak, rallied over Southwestern in
the first inning, scoring four runs. At this point, Mesa’s dugout was absolutely roaring.
The coaches, athletic trainers, player’s families and friends, were all cheering for the ladies to keep it going. Southwestern was unable to respond until the 4th inning, where they scored one run.
Southwestern stepped up their game and brought in four runs in the 6th inning,
and played impeccable defense, which prevented Mesa from scoring. You could see the game slipping away from the Olympians, as Southwestern scored four more runs in
the 7th, while Mesa was only able to bring one runner home. Mesa’s offense is looking solid at the moment but the defense needs work. Southwestern’s four points in the final innings did some serious damage to the Olympians confidence.
San Diego Mesa’s starplayer Savanah Wallace was at base four times with two hits
and two runs. Among the other Mesa standouts were, Linda Brown who provided a run with two hits along with Cassie Gonzales, and her sister Chelsea Gonzales had one hit
and run. Savanah did not hesitate to point out her team’s mistakes by commenting, “We started the game strong and got confident. These conference games are crucial because
we have high expectations and goals.” The Gonzales sisters both agreed that, “It is a learning process and we will bounce back to see the results we absolutely need.”
Coach Jaclyn Guidi seemed disappointed with her team’s effort and mentioned,
“It was horrible, we let the game slip away from our hands, and we need to execute on defense and offense.”
The lady’s next conference game is Feb. 22 against San Bernardino Valley College,
and they hope to turn things around and bounce back from this unfortunate loss.
Brooke Alves at the plate during Mesa’s Feb. 21 loss to Southwestern Photo Credit: SD Mesa College Softball Facebook Page
Women’s basketball unfortunately loses last game of season
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By Chris Varela Benitez STAFF WRITER
he San Diego Mesa women’s basketball program played their final game of the 2017-2018 season at home against Imperial Valley College, but unfortunately they lost 8456. Finishing the season 1-22 was a disappointing result, but the young, inexperienced team learned a lot throughout the season. At first, the program did not know if there was going to be a team this year because of the lack of players, but with the help of Coach Dorchella James, Romalyn Apostol, and Jeelasak Klankwamdee they were able to recruit enough players to establish the team. The first half of the game began with both teams scoring layups and three pointers, but by the end of the first half it was Imperial Valley, 19, Mesa College, 14. The ladies were responding to each play and showed their abilities, but by the start of the second quarter, Imperial Valley controlled the ball and scored fourteen more points than Mesa. Scoring only eleven points in the second quarter, at half time the score was 44-
25, Imperial Valley. The team’s countless hours of practice all came down to this final game of the year, for the sophomores it could of been their last ever collegiate game. The start of the third quarter showed a Mesa team was finally starting to make plays, drain shots, and force turnovers. Led by Freshman’s Breanna Archie and Madelyn Cumbie who scored 25 and 19 points respectively, it seemed like a comeback was The Mesa Olympians patienly wait for the rebound while the opponent is at the free throw line in the makings, but Photo Credit: Robert Hatchett the opponent’s deThe final quarter was inspir- be a coach or enough players for because that is one of the fundafense successfully executed their ing to watch, mainly because a team, luckily coach got hired mentals to building a successcoach’s game plan. The third Mesa continued to fight despite and there were eight of us will- ful program. Also, consistency quarter ended in Imperial Valley being behind. The Olympians did ing to play.” She also mentioned, because that drives the team to scoring another 19 points against not give up and played hard until “I think it could have helped if we stay, and compete at a high level. Mesa’s 13. Breanna said, “I’m clicked as a team sooner and also Coaches are recruiting heavily to the game clock reached 0:00. proud of my team’s effort all seaensure that the team succeeds with At the end of the game soph- had a longer season.” son regardless of the difficulties With that being said, the team their goals and visions. With comomore Melissa Craven said, “We we encountered.” Madelyn added, are all proud of each other be- is looking to build a stronger foun- mitment and dedication, Mesa’s “I am excited for next season we cause coming into the season no dation heading into next season. women’s basketball team will rise are going to work hard so we see one was sure if their was going to Starting with off-season training, once again. the results we want to see.”
SPORTS MARCH 6, 2018
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The Mesa Press
Mesa drops the ball against Imperial Valley
By Robert Hatchett STAFF WRITER
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lthough it was a close match and could have swung in either teams favor, the women’s tennis team lost their match March 1 at home against the Imperial Valley Arabs 6-3. Olympians No. 1 Mikayla Hatzopolus and No. 2 Helena Secrest picked up wins in both their singles, as well as their doubles competition, in dominant fashion, just like Venus and Serena Williams would do at Wimbledon. Even more impressive was that Hatzopolus managed to prevent Imperial Valley’s No. 1 Stacey Bendenillio from even scoring a single set during their individual match. “To win (6-0), (6-0) is huge,” head coach Nick Szyndlar said about his star athlete. Hatzopolus has been playing tennis competitively since the 8th grade, only taking off the last six months and returning to the court this season. “I think I played pretty well, just
stayed consistent and let her make all the mistakes first before me,” Hatzopolus said. “I just focused and played my game. Didn’t let her dictate my shots.” Szyndlar did seem optimistic about his team after the loss where he mentioned, “I think the biggest thing for these girls is learning how to compete. It‘s not just about tennis balls and being able to swing a racket. It’s about finding yourself in those competitive moments and those bigger moments and being able to step up to the plate and offer yourself and see what you’re made of to a degree. I think some of these girls [are] walking away with frustrations and some tears but I think the second time we play this team it’s a different result and a result in our favor.” The women’s team head up to Mt. San Jacinto on March 6 before coming back home to face San Diego City College March 8.
Hatzopolus delivers a serve while Helena Secrest waits on the return back in their doubles match on March 1. Photo Credit: Robert Hatchett
(Left) Hatzopolus & Secrest await the opponents serve (Right) Imperial Valley’s No. 1 and Mesa College’s No. 1 meet on the court before they face off Photo Credit: Robert Hatchett
Episode #4 of the Mesa Press’ signature podcast, “Something Newsy,” is now online!!! Streaming on mesapress.com
Olympians Home Schedule Baseball 3/8- vs. Southwestern @ 2pm 3/15- vs. Mt San Jacinto @ 2pm Softball 3/7- vs. College Of The Desert @ 3pm Women’s Tennis 3/8- vs. San Diego City College @ 2pm 3/13- vs. Cuyamaca @ 2pm Men’s Tennis 3/6- vs. Palomar @ 2pm 3/7- vs. Mt Marty @ 2pm Badminton 3/9- vs. Grossmont @ 3pm