THE SKYLINE VIEW The Voice of Skyline College, San Bruno, Calif.
March 24, 2021
theskylineview.com
Issue 2
KTP and FSU clubs speak out against attacks targeting Asian Americans The nationwide trend of violence towards Asian Americans has been ongoing By Steven Rissotto News Editor
Two Filipino-American student organizations in the San Mateo Community College District released a statement on March 7 regarding the recent attacks against Asian Americans across the country. In a joint statement, the Filipinx Student Union at Skyline College and Katipunan at the College of San Mateo expressed their concern about the spike of violent hate crimes against Asian Americans, particularly against elderly individuals within the community. In the statement, they focused on denouncing white supremacy and finding solutions to end all racially-motivated attacks. “Because of these recent attacks, the injustices that AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) members have been enduring for centuries has finally been brought to the forefront of BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color)’s fight against racism,” the statement said. According to a study conducted
by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernandino, the hate crimes against Asian Americans have skyrocketed nearly 120% in 2020 compared to the results in 2019. The study concentrated on 16 of the US’ largest cities. “Our goal, to me, was making sure that the statement not only continues conversations but to uplift stories with hope,” said Angeli Ong, Katipunan’s president. “Making sure that we say stories with meaning not only to spread the word but remind ourselves how we can change, heal, or forgive that.” The Filipinx Student Union and Katipunan believe the misconceptions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the controversial comments made by US leaders have played a decisive role in the rise in hate crimes. “Statements by our former US president did not help the AAPI community, but further escalated the racism, hate, and violence by
labeling COVID-19 the ’Chinese Virus’ instead,” the statement said. “As a result, suspicion and scapegoating of the AAPI community have heightened. These actions have put a target on the backs of many innocent Asian Americans.” The plan continues to list several actions the two organizations have agreed to condemn. These actions include: -Hate crimes and acts of violence against the AAPI community. being bystanders when witnessing an attack. -Racist comments and wrongful labeling of the APPI community in relation to the COVID-19 virus. -Institutions contributing to the ongoing attacks by not raising awareness. -The normalization of the model minority stereotype of Asian Americans. -prioritizing personal image over standing with the AAPI community. -Police brutality and lack of care towards AAPI life. The statement also listed their preferred steps to a possible solu-
tion regarding the recent attacks, and requests for different demands that could benefit the community: -Not allowing police to be the first responders to mental health crises in order to help stop the police brutality happening against marginalized communities. -The creation of more ethnic studies classes and programs in both high school and higher education aimed at inspiring the youth to understand and rewrite history for our generations. -The administration at (Skyline College and the College of San Mateo) to denounce white supremacy and continue to properly inform students of recent events. -Solidarity throughout our communities; we need to come together if change is to happen. “As our research piled up, words came together, and community members showed up to support, our goal developed into something deeper,” said Caitlin Collantes, FSU’s treasurer and acting secretary. “It was no longer just continuing to bring awareness to the racially
motivated attacks against the AAPI community, but also to end this violent cycle by pushing for more ethnic studies courses.” The organizations praised Skyline College for having recently introduced a class on Filipino-American community issues, but calls on SMCCD to offer more courses like it in order to help “ensure that history does not repeat itself.” In the future, the Filipinx Student Union and Katipunan plan to reconnect to team up and host workshops, group discussions, and other events to discuss issues concerning the APPI community. They strongly urge all members of the community, including those with no previous involvement in the organizations, to come together. “Our goal is to inspire and encourage the youth to understand how racism is played out in our daily lives, make connections to history of anti-Asian violence in the United States, and to learn from these lessons,” the statement said.
Photo illustration by John Harrison/The Skyline View
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News The Staff Editor-In-Chief Umaima ejaz News Editor Steven Rissotto
March 24, 2021
Skyline community reacts to SMCCCD extending distance learning The district’s extension will last through fall of 2021 By Holden McCandless Staff Writer
Focal Point Editor Christian Carlo Ceguerra Arts and Entertainment Editor Ashley Hernandez Opinions Editor Marco Milani Sports Editor Jasper Lindsey Chief Copy Editor Faisal Gresalfi Photo Editor Enrique Liganor Digital Editor John Harrison Graphics Editor Hunter Feiner Social Media Editor Daniela Ossa Lopez Staff Writers Zachary Navarra Pablo Morales Monica Grace Dollezon-Yu Arman Archouniani Holden McCandless Faculty Adviser Nancy Kaplan-Biegel
In the wake of the San Mateo Community College District announcing the extension of distance learning through the fall 2021 semester, the Skyline College community has mixed feelings about the decision. Just a few weeks ago, the district announced that its three colleges — Skyline College, the College of San Mateo, and Cañada College — would continue most classes online, with exceptions for classes in healthcare, emergency services, transportation, and essential STEM labs. The district is also continuing to provide essential services to students, such as their Drive-Up Wi-Fi and free food distribution, and the colleges are loaning equipment like computers to students. Some in the Skyline community agree that the continuance of distance learning is necessary. Skyline student Christian Martin Tabbada described what his reaction was upon having gotten word of the decision. “I was honestly not surprised,” Tabbada said. “Even though we have vaccines rolling out, it’s still kind of a risk to have a lot of students on campus.” Additionally, others, such as Skyline oceanography professor Malori Redman, are worried about the effects that going back to campus would have on the classes. “Guidelines put in place would slash my class sizes tremendously,” Redman said. “Additionally, with
It has been more than a year since students were last on Skyline’s campus
the new strains emerging, it seems better to do the safe thing.” The infection rate of COVID-19 in San Mateo County has dropped dramatically within the past few weeks, with the rate currently being just above 20 new cases per day. Sending so many adult students back to school would have the potential to result in some of that progress being undone. However, there are many criticisms of virtual schooling coming from the community as well.
Professor Redman described how, while she works hard to make her class engaging, many professors are failing to make sure their classes are engaging over Zoom. “I know of many tenured faculty that are making their classes miserable,” Redman said. Additionally, many students miss the interpersonal relationships of in-person classes. Many students find that relationships with other students can provide support, and bonding with professors can make
John Harrison/The SkylineView
them more invested in the class. Tabbada said that the aspect of in-person learning that he misses most is interacting with other people, particularly because it keeps him from getting distracted. Hopefully, by playing it safe for the rest of 2021, SMCCCD can come back in full stride for the spring 2022 semester.
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College community sets eyes on Senate as House passes DREAM Act “Dreamers“ remain hopeful as House passes DREAM Act By Umaima Ejaz Editor-in-chief
San Bruno CA 94066
The Skyline View is a First Amendment Publication. The Skyline View is published bi-weekly during the spring and fall semesters by the journalism students at Skyline College. The Skyline View is a member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges. Opinions expressed in the paper are those of the writers and should not be interpreted as the views of Skyline College, SMCCCD, the faculty, administrators or the newspaper adviser. Additionally, the paper does not endorse any of the products or services advertised. The Skyline View welcomes Letters to the Editors; letters must include full name, address, and phone number for verification. The Skyline View reserves the right to edit letters for length, libel, clarity, and taste.
After more than a year of uncertainties looming over those to whom the DREAM Act applies, the House acted to permanently protect its “Dreamers” on March 18. In a close-call vote of 228 to 197, the House passed the DREAM Act, making way for more than 2.5 million undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children. While this is a huge milestone for “Dreamers”, people are still skeptical about it being passed in the Senate. The bill lacks the bipartisan support that it requires to pass in the senate. Chad Thompson, director of SparkPoint at Skyline College and an administrative supervisor for the DREAM Center, said he was concerned about what the future holds for the bill, despite it moving forward to the Senate. “I’m also worried that we’re going to have a lot of sadness and a lot of frustration with hitting walls again,” Thompson said. “There are glimmers of hope, there’s a spotlight, but there’s language here seems to be a roadblock.” While the Biden administration considers this “a critical first step in reforming our immigration system”, Luis Escobar, Skyline’s dean of counseling, argued that while it
The DREAM Act passing through the House is a big victory for those who arrived in the US as children
Enrique Liganor/The Skyline View
is indeed a step in the right direction, it is not a “comprehensive immigration policy”. “It just wasn’t as comprehensive as I think was previously discussed,” Escobar said. “And from what I’ve seen is that this version of it is good enough for both Democrats and Republicans. In essence, it’s kind of meeting in the middle to get it passed.” For years, students all over the US have worried about getting
an education without a clear sense of how they would then be able to earn an income with the degree they would receive. Rayan Abuzahriyeh, an English major at Skyline College and a member of Fighting for Immigrants Rights and Equity (FIRE), described how he remains doubtful about the future. “I’m super, super thrilled about it right now,” Abuzahriyeh said. “I hope the Senate passes it, but even if it gets passed, it’s going to take
years to enact and I wonder if in four years — if we get a new president — does the bill, that will probably not have even been enacted yet, go away?” With everything being remote, Skyline College still operates its DREAM Center virtually to answer immigration questions, or connect you with a DREAM Center ally on campus. The center can be reached via email at skylinedreamcenter@smccd.edu.
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Opinions
March 24, 2021
Editorial
Our Asian American friends need our support
The epidemic of violence against this demographic is poisoning our world The increase in the rate of violence targeting Asian Americans is truly sickening, and enough is enough. But condemning violence doesn’t suffice. Action must be taken. The Skyline View has already reported on the way communities are coming together to condemn violence. The article “KTP and FSU clubs speak out against Asian American attacks” described how the clubs listed solutions as to how this can be cornered. That included not having police officers be first responders to calls related to mental health, introducing more ethnic studies classes, and showing solidarity more generally. Additionally, the interim president of CSM, Kim Lopez, described what the district is doing in terms of addressing racism in an email to CSM students. “This past year, the San Mateo County Community College District developed a District Council on Anti-Racism,” Lopez wrote. “The goal of the Council is to radically reimagine how we commit to anti-racism, and how we can transform the educational experiences for all students, especially hyper-marginalized students. We are leaders in anti-racist work
by ensuring our culture and education are critical, anti-racist, and justice-centered.” So, while these solutions are great in their own way, there needs to be even more action taken to fight this. An article from PBS gives a great example of what our community can be doing. The article
Columbia confronts the beast.
lists examples more related to the recent incident in Georgia in which a gunman shot eight people, including six Asian American women.
We can think about how this advice can be implemented in the context of our local community. One piece of advice the article mentions is to support AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) groups in Georgia. Luckily, there is a Bay Area chapter of an AAPI organization you can support. It is called Asian
Hunter Feiner/The Skyline View
Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP). An article on AAPIP’s website provided resources on where people can spread philanthropic action
in their community, and list nine foundations to which people can donate. They also list coalitions, and are promoting community efforts in order to curb this spread of hate.
“The goal of the Council is to radically reimagine how we commit to anti-racism, and how we can transform the educational experiences for all students, especially hyper-marginalized students. We are leaders in anti-racist work by ensuring our culture and education are critical, anti-racist, and justice-centered.” -Kim Lopez
ranging from public transit to sports teams, are making statements daily. However, one sports team is taking it a step further: the San Francisco Giants. In a statement on Twitter, they condemned the violence, but also stated that they will be making a monetary donation to the Stop AAPI Hate organization. So, how can our community do better? We can start by making small donations to these organizations that are trying to help curb this awful epidemic of violence against Asian Americans. The most important thing is to not just speak about it. Don’t just say that you condemn violence and be done with it. As the old saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words”, so use your actions to help stop these vicious acts.
Some say that speaking out about it is a form of support. Many organizations around the Bay Area,
Local newsrooms are almost dead, but there is still some time to save student journalism They also need the resources to do it
ic has made it even harder for them to survive while publishing print editions, with the rate of ad revenue declining. As community members, people should engage with them by donating or sharing their content, with the aim being to create a layer of trust, and paving a path towards an optimistic vision of the future of student journalism. Working for the college newspaper isn’t a part-time job — it’s a full-time job that we do while also being full-time students. Take some time out today and honor any student journalists you know who have used their platforms to protect you from people in power who failed to serve their community the way they were expected to.
By: Umaima Ejaz Editor-in-chief
Being a student journalist is an honor, and it’s high time the field’s community started treating it like one. The problem is not just with the community, but with how we student journalists ourselves so commonly fail to acknowledge our efforts as much as we should. While we speak, one of my primary sources for a news story, whom I had been trying to get in touch with for weeks has decided not to give us a comment on the email, but has scheduled an interview with a major publication. While this is an example of what the greater community thinks of student journalism, it also highlights the significant issue of credibility that exists in regards to student journalism. In a world of citizen journalism, student journalists like us at times fall short of being credible sources in certain contexts. While I agree that there is always room for improvement, I believe that student journalists are always striving for credibility and reliability of sources, just like any other journalist worth their salt. Just recently, while writing an obituary for a professor who taught at my college, I called four different people to confirm one fact. Not because there were any among them who I didn’t trust, but because our primary
A brief glimpse into the remote life of a student journalist.
source didn’t seem particularly interested in speaking to a journalist who worked with a college newspaper during my interview with them. So, I had to check everything they said multiple times due to how brief and surface-level the information they gave me was.
“I called four different people to confirm one fact. With newsrooms shrinking all over the US, as a report by PEN America shows, student journal-
ism is as important and relevant as it could be. Even with often insufficient access to the necessary resources, we for years have kept people with powerful positions in our institutions in check. Student-run newsrooms have on countless occasions proved themselves to be as capable as their community’s local newsrooms. A recent example is that of the University of Oklahoma’s student paper breaking news about the university hiring a new president sooner than the area’s local newspaper broke the same news. We could achieve even greater feats than that, if we had better access to the resources that would create the opportunities to. It is a pressing
John Harrison/The Skyline View
need that the hostility towards student journalists stops being an acceptable bias. We should be given easier and more direct access to reporting on events within our states, and should not be denied access to information or be treated with indifference by fellow journalists.
“We could achieve even greater feats than that, if we had better access to the resources that would create the opportunities to.
While independent student newspapers are free, the pandem-
“Working for the college newspaper isn’t a part-time job — it’s a full-time job that we do while also being fulltime students.”
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Opinions
March 24, 2021
This March is once again National Nutrition Month, so... Make it a responsibility to have healthier eating habits
By Monica Grace Dollezon-Yu Staff Writer
Here is food for thought you might want to consider: Most of us tend to push the mental calculation of our nutrient intake to the backs of our minds as long as the food we consume satisfies our hunger. “More than 80% of Americans’ diets are low in vegetables, fruits and dairy, according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” reads an article from Livestrong. In another study, “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020”, international organizations joined forces and presented an agenda, which highlighted how hunger isn’t the only issue to be considered, but that the necessity of taking measures to ensure that the world’s population can access food that meets the nutritional standards is as well. March, being National Nutrition Month, serves as an appropriate time to remind everyone that keeping track of nutrients from the food we eat should be a priority. Also keep in mind that because this month encourages us to remember the importance of receiving the proper nutrition, we should consistently discipline ourselves to make better food choices, and incorporate that into daily life. While this is significant, further research from the scientific review of March 2021, the Healthy Eating TABLE, emphasizes how each life stage calls for a different dietary plan, as well as how a given individual would be better off “choosing foods based on overall nutrient density.” The concept pretty much explains itself: getting into the habit of eating healthier requires experience, motivation, commitment then failure and patience. Perhaps that perseverance hasn’t yet sparked in those who keep trying but keep going back to the same old habits. Each person is different, especially when it comes
USDA/Dept. of Health and Human Services
Graph showing the majority of the US population who are below the daily intake of fruits and vegetables.
to what they each eat. Douglas Wood, a nutrition professor at Cañada College shared a simplified version of his advice in the form of the acronym ABC-VM, which could help serve as a guide to a balanced nutrition: Adequacy: “Since the start of the pandemic, I have seen many students have suffered and may be eating a diet without adequate vitamin and mineral content,” Wood said. “This makes studying difficult and can lead to long term health problems. If students are short of money please encourage students to make use of SparkPoint.” Here are links to SparkPoint for the College of San Mateo, Cañada College, and Skyline College. Balance: “One of the key areas of nutrition is balance. A simple way to balance your diet is to aim for 50% of your calories to come from carbohydrates, with half of that coming from complex carbohydrates like whole grains.
Then 25% of your calories from fats, especially heart healthy oils. Finally, around 25% of your calories should come from proteins, especially lean meats, soy products, beans, and fish.” Calories: “The one thing everyone is told is ’watch your calories’, yet this advice is probably the least helpful. Most people quickly tire of counting calories. I suggest paying attention to serving sizes, and using the Japanese philosophy of ’Hara hachi bu’, from the longest-lived people in the world on the island of Okinawa. It means ’eat until you are 80% full.’”’eat until you are 80% full.’” Variety: “My personal favorite. Current scientific advice supports a diet high in variety. ... Try foods from different cultures, try something new!” Moderation: “Certainly this is an important consideration, and difficult for us all. The three top foods to moderate are added sugars, like those found in breakfast cereals
(not the sugars in fruits, which are very healthy); saturated fats (think of any solid fats like coconut oil or beef fats); and lastly salt — Most of my students discover their diets are high in salt. High salt is one of the most common issues with foods, particularly processed foods, in the United States.” However, the habits that the busy schedules of college students and people who work full-time jobs result in may also interfere with reaching those goals. These habits include things like skipping meals and resorting to highly-processed ready-to-eat products because they are not time-consuming. Some may only have enough time to cook their own meals once or every other week. Personally, I think it is all about good practice of time management when it comes down to hunting down groceries and preparing your meals. When I had the chance to speak to Gil Perez, a personal counselor from the College of San Mateo,
he shared his own insight concerning what he has typically been eating throughout the course of the pandemic. His back-to-back virtual meetings keep him from cooking his own food, so he usually orders takeout from various restaurants. He also told me about a juicer he has acquired, which has made part of his diet more enjoyable. Having it motivates him to buy lots of different kinds of fruit to make juice from when he goes to the grocery store. According to Perez, striking a balance between the various foods you eat is important, and whatever you consume will have an effect on your mood. Caffeine, for example, might make you feel more energetic, or more anxious. But he emphasized that he is not in a position to make recommendations about his client’s eating habits. When you are eating the right food in the right proportions, your body benefits from all the right vitamins and minerals it receives, which could help you perform better and save you from costs and casualties in the long-term. Eating healthy reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. In the United States, unhealthy diets are the leading causes of death, poor quality of life, disabilities and loss of independence. Adapting these habits is not a punishment for having developed past bad habits. On the contrary, I think eating new kinds of food is fun, and a wonderful opportunity to discover what works sustainably for you. Since this National Nutrition Month’s theme is “Personalize Your Plate”, the concept effectively shows off the versatility, diversity and varied benefits of food through customization and arrangement on the plate. If you are feeling lost about what to eat, and want to know more about how to keep track of your nutrient intake, eatright.org offers tips and suggestions about planning your diet, and can help connect you to a dietitian or nutritionist near you.
Artistic License Caricatures of world leaders
Joe Biden
Vladimir Putin
Hunter Feiner
Hunter Feiner
Boris Johnson
Rodrigo Duterte
Hunter Feiner
Hunter Feiner
Xi Jinping
Kim Jong Un
Hunter Feiner
Hunter Feiner
Features
March 24, 2021
From basketball to self-driving cars
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Meet the Skyline alumnus and his endeavor to revolutionize the automotive technology By Ashley Hernandez
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Etienne Boutan attended Skyline from 2013 to 2014. His interest in technology led to him choosing to study in California. Whilst playing basketball as a shooting guard at Skyline College, Boutan found a passion for the tech industry, and is now a co-founder and chief financial officer of the startup company Heex Technologies. Heex Technologies is a software company that helps development teams select the important data in autonomous vehicles. The company helps development teams work faster and more efficiently in order to develop an algorithm for the autonomous vehicle. It is based in France, but worked with US-based programs such as Plug in Play Program, Microsoft for Startups’ autonomous driving program and Nvidia Inception. Once in San Francisco, Boutan connected to networks in the area, seeking to find out what problems engineers in tech companies were facing. One of the engineers Boutan met talked about the difficulty in accumulating all the data from the autonomous vehicles’ algorithms. “To give a perspective of the amount of data, the amount of data accumulated for an hour of driving by a single vehicle will take at least four days to be sent with perfect 4G connection, which is huge,” Boutan said. “So the guys had to actually take the hard drives to data centers and work on it, and we thought there was an opportunity there.” Thus, the idea to start a data management company was born. Boutan, Bruno Mendes Da Silva, and Arnaud de La Fortelle started the company in March 2019. Da Silva came up with the idea of the name Heex, an alternation of the letter X, intended to
symbolize technology and sustainability crossing over and meeting together. “Autonomous driving cars need to be very accurate,” Boutan said. “If your algorithm is 99% accurate and is killing 1%, it is a terrible result. In order for self-driving cars to be safe, you need to be so close to 100%. Self-driving cars are driving roads over and over again in order to find scenarios and cases they don’t know, in order to improve.” Companies were forced to adapt to COVID-19-related restrictions last year, and were not allowed to drive in the street. Because of this, they have been using simulation
software to test scenarios on computers. An athlete, a scholar, a businessman As a sophomore, Boutan transferred from Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, to Skyline College. Upon his arrival, he reached out to Justin Piergrossi, professor and head men’s basketball coach, and was told about an open position as shooting guard. This confirmed Boutan’s relocation to the Bay Area. Piergrossi lauded Boutan for his stellar performance as a player for the Skyline
College’s basketball team, and as an outstanding student. “Etienne was a pleasure to have in the (basketball) program,” Piergrossi wrote. “He was a great teammate and worked hard every day to prepare.” Piergrossi mentioned how from 2013 to 2014, the basketball team put Skyline College on the map. He also credited Boutan’s team for laying down the foundations that allowed the 2014-2015 team to have a record of 12-0 and be ranked number one among community college basketball teams in Northern California. “It’s great to see how much success Etienne has already achieved in his career,” Piergrossi said. From playing basketball more on the casual side, Boutan would visit big campuses like those of Facebook and Google on the weekends to discover what was offered in Silicon Valley. Boutan would go to San Francisco, Palo Alto, Stanford and Berkeley to take in the best of the atmosphere. Kappa Beta Delta Honor Society recognizes the best students and helps them reach the top colleges in California. During Boutan’s stay at Skyline, he kept a 4.0 GPA and joined the Kappa Beta Delta Honor Society. Boutan used his leverage from Kappa Beta Delta and received a scholarship to UCLA. After two years at UCLA, Boutan transferred to the International University of Monaco, where he would receive his bachelor’s in business administration. Boutan interned at Total Impact Capital for three months while he received his bachelor’s, and he went on to work for companies, such as Barclays Wealth
Management, Societe General Private Banking and Julius Baer. As an analyst at Barclays Wealth Management in the technology department, Boutan coded VBA applications, before working his way up to the front office and the investment and client desks respectively. Realizing he wasn’t satisfied with the jobs he had been doing, Boutan set goals for himself and began doing startups on the weekends. He noticed the numbers of his clients and decided he wanted to make that money for himself, so he delved into technology. A friend of Boutan’s brought up the idea of venturing into autonomous vehicles, so Boutan decided to pack his bags and explore the autonomous field in San Francisco with Da Silva, another one of Heex Technologies’ co-founders. What are Heex Technologies’ plans for the future? Heex Technologies has worked hard to create valuable software that improves algorithms used in autonomous vehicles. The company plans to be reachable to markets and sell their developing software. Their next goal is to launch private programs with car manufacturers, tier 1 suppliers, or big tech groups like Google within the next few months. The point of autonomous vehicles is to be better at driving than humans. According to Road Safety facts, approximately 1.35 million people “die in road crashes each year; on average 3,700 people lose their lives every day on the roads.” “Just like a computer or a calculator is better at taking calculations, there is a strong rational thinking that self-driving cars driven by a computer can be better than human drivers.” Boutan said. “There will be a lot less traffic jams and pollution in the cities. Self-driving cars will be efficient enough to be able to pick people up because of A-grade software. Autonomous vehicles can also bring mobility to people who are handicapped or old.”
Image via Etienne Boutan
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Features
March 24, 2021
San Mateo County police departments vs. COVID-19 How has implementing law and order changed amid the threats of the global pandemic? By Holden McCandless STAFF WRITER
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be no job that has been as uniquely changed as the role of the police. In the face of the world turning over, guides for police departments to follow to navigate the pandemic have been published by local organizations, cities, counties, and even the United Nations in their document “Police Planning During a COVID-19 Pandemic”, which was released in April 2020. The document outlines a variety of guidelines, designed to be applicable to police departments around the world. The biggest changes they recommend are the usage of PPE, or personal protective equipment, and the allocation of resources to the enforcement of public health orders. They also recommend that the police force be the “main interface” for the community to ask questions and receive assistance, and provide a list of calls in which to expect an increase, such as domestic violence, human trafficking, and civil unrest. In the local community, similar alterations to those recommended by the United Nations are observed. Corporal Mark Kosta of the South San Francisco Police Department (SSFPD)’s Community Relations Division spoke about how their department enforced San Mateo County’s stay-at-home order and other restrictions during the beginning of the pandemic. “During the early stages of the pandemic, the SSFPD took on the role of facilitator for the guidelines set forth from County and State Health officials,” Kosta said. “In many ways, we are trained for this; however, a pandemic of this magnitude was unprecedented for many of us as first responders in the Bay Area.” The chief of police at the Pacifica Police Department, Dan Steidle, echoed similar sentiments in a video released to the department’s Facebook page in March. “I cannot stress the importance of the orders from the San Mateo County health officer and the governor of the state of California to shelter in place,” Steidle said. “Please make good decisions during these turbulent times and help us to guide our community through this period. Pacifica is a strong community, and we will get through this together.” Captain Michael Haobsh of the San Mateo Police Department’s Media & Community Relations described how their department’s calls changed when the pandemic started. “Our calls for service changed when COVID-19 started happening and the county and the state created the stay-at-home order,” Haobsh said. “People would call in to report violations that included landscapers, or groups of people not wearing masks, or restaurants that may have been open.” Even as they promote the county and state restrictions, however, local departments’ focus seems to be education in place of enforcement.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be no job that has been as uniquely changed as the role of the police.
John Harrison/The Skyline View
“In the event we received information of potential POV (Public Order Violations), the SSFPD made it a point to immediately respond and educate individuals who may be in violation,” Kosta said. “In many ways this was considered a ‘warning’, but in all honesty, members of the community were so committed to public safety and abiding by the guidelines, further counselling or any means of enforcement was never needed.” This approach to policing the pandemic, with a focus on educating those in violation of health orders, has been taken on by most of the city police departments in San Mateo County. The approach seems to have been effective as well. Chief John Munsey of the Colma Police Department shared his experience with keeping the community safe and following the orders. “For the most part the Colma Police Department followed the same procedure as other San Mateo County Law Enforcement agencies and adhered to a ‘stopand-educate’ policy as opposed to an enforcement procedure,” Munsey said. “We had almost no pushback from individuals who refused to follow the health orders.” Munsey also spoke about how willing businesses were to comply with public health orders as well. “We worked closely with the San Mateo County COVID-19 Business Compliance Unit,” Munsey said. “If they received complaints regarding businesses in Colma not complying with the health orders, they would forward the complaint to us and we would inform the business. In all cases, the businesses we contacted were happy to work with us in finding solutions to the problem.” Highlighting how well the community stuck to the stay at home orders, Haobsh shared how few citations the SMPD gave out during the stay-at-home orders. “We only handed out a handful of citations — maybe four or five — and those were related to gang shootings and loitering
and partying,” Haobsh said. “But overall, most of our contacts stayed in the education phase.” Captain John Gamez of the Daly City Police Department shared that the department has not given out a single citation related to the COVID-19 restrictions throughout the course of the pandemic, and were able to convince individuals to cooperate in every situation. The pandemic hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for the police, though. The role of many police departments involves engaging with their community, and requirements to social distance and stay home have reduced the opportunity for this kind of activity. Chief Munsey spoke about Colma’s struggle with this challenge and how they have worked with social distancing to keep connected with the community. “With the onset of COVID-19 it has been difficult to continue many of the community engagement opportunities we are used to,” Munsey said. “Nevertheless, we have done the best we can and still managed, while socially distancing, to participate in National Night Out, Coffee with a Cop, Elderly Food Distribution, Blood Drive, Candy Cane Day, Veterans Christmas Eve Dinner Distribution and an upcoming nocontact Food Drive.” Gamez shared similar sentiments, speaking about the pandemicspecific events that the Daly City Police Department has hosted. “We’ve gotten involved more with community outreach and events which are specific to the pandemic, which are things like food drives,” Gamez said. “There are a number of food drives in Daly City, and we’ve participated in all of those food drives for quite some time, as well as things like drive-by birthday parties to make a little kid feel good on his birthday.” While police try to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, they also have to ensure that
the virus does not ravage their own departments the way they did to the New York City Police Department, where, early in the pandemic, almost one in five employees were out sick with COVID-19. The police departments in San Mateo County have taken a series of steps, including surveys for all officers before shifts, various PPE being distributed, increased disinfection, and a COVID-19 safety team, in order to stay in compliance with the latest guidelines. Haobsh shared one unique way that the SMPD has increased disinfection in their department. “We ended up filling shallow buckets with bleach water so that we could dunk our boots into the
bleach water before we came into the police station.” he said. Police are now finally eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination in San Mateo County, so they are entering the process of getting their police departments vaccinated. This pandemic has put a strain on the community and its police alike, but it also represents an opportunity for improvements on the part of the police. While precautions such as masks and social distancing will not be necessary in the future, some of the policies and procedures taken on during this pandemic — the policy of education over enforcement, for example — can improve San Mateo County’s law enforcement agencies.
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Features
March 24, 2021
The role of higher education in media and information literacy
Why is there a need for college students to be responsible media consumers? By Christian Carlo Ceguerra FEATURES EDITOR
Before March began, journalism students and student newspapers’ staff around the country observed Student Press Freedom Day on Feb. 26, along with the Scholastic Journalism Week, which lasted from Feb. 21 to 27. Student journalists were thrilled and proud in sharing their best works over the past year, with the COVID-19 pandemic raising the bar high for student publications to continue producing community-related and localized content despite the demands of materializing stories remotely and conducting interviews online. Moving forward, the country is observing the Newspaper in Education (NIE) Week during the first week of March. According to the National Day Calendar, NIE is celebrated with the objective of “(inspiring) educators to incorporate newspapers in the classroom.” This observation can be traced back in 1795 when the Portland Eastern Herald in Maine, published an editorial that suggests interaction between schools and local newspapers. In a primer released by The American Press Institute (API), NIE is applied in classes of “language arts, reading, social studies, math, and science” which varies on specific grade level. The habit of reading newspapers and other print media is strongly advocated for due to its myriad effects, ranging from vocabulary, writing up to critical thinking enlightenment and diversifying the student’s point of view. Over the years, however, there has been a constant decline with the circulation of newspapers. Just recently, Hussman School of Journalism and Media of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill released an article entailing the vanishing of newspaper publications. Comparing the total numbers of daily and weekly newspapers publication combined from 2004 and 2020, the number have decreased by 26%, from 8,891 publications down to 6,736. Pew Research Center – Journalism and Media also found out an 8% and 9% decrease in newspaper circulation in daily and Sunday print and digital circulation in 2018 compared to its previous year. Elementary, middle, and high schools are the usual observers of newspaper glorification, but how about the college students — young adults who are entitled to their own volition? For digital media professor Michelle Brown, she believes that the observance of Newspaper in Education Week should also be observed in college across all disciplines. “The newspaper industry is just so influential,” said Brown, who teaches “Media in Society” course at the College of San Mateo (CSM). “In our society, it’s quite often the birthplace of a trend, or even a change in our social behavior, or what we think is important. It’s going to make its way to your classroom, whether you invite it or not, because it just permeates our culture.” Brown also pointed out the
importance of media literacy for college students, especially with the current media climate with news outlets “framing everything as conflict, instead of just reporting it.” “I think we also know that a lot of news organizations seem to make the decision that they’re going to frame the narrative a certain way,” Brown said, explaining how the news outlets make headlines and stories more and more sensational. “And they don’t include anything that opposes that in the story.” Journalism professor Nancy Kaplan-Biegel believes that media and news literacy should be infused into as many classes as possible because college students are “living and breathing media.” “I think it’s enormously important for college students to be reading newspapers, even if it’s not through print,” said KaplanBiegel, who teaches the “Mass Media and Society” course at Skyline College. “I think that in this era, students come across so much information that is not vetted information.” With students and the majority “living on social media”, KaplanBiegel described how they are being exposed to fake and biased information that lacks depth and nuance. She said that this kind of information has “gone a long way into dividing and polarizing the country.” Media consumption habits Diana Bennett teaches media law and ethics at the College of San Mateo. Based on her observation as a digital media professor and a multimedia professional, she believes that students and younger audiences tend to consume less print media. “It is all whatever comes through their mobile phone, whatever is pushed to their mobile phone, or their social media,” Bennett said. “That’s where they’re getting their information. I think the younger generation has forgotten about the newspaper or may not even have picked up a newspaper to be honest with you.” A 2018 study by the Pew Research Center found that more Americans get news from social media than from print newspapers. Among the different social media platforms listed, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest deemed to be the most popular. Brown agrees that younger audiences are consuming newspapers less, but she believes that the numbers can be misleading. “They are definitely, definitely (consuming) less print, but that (Pew Research) survey also had a significant amount of that age group who use news websites,” Brown said. “That’s probably the convenience factor for them. I think sometimes those numbers can be a little deceiving, in that it might look like news isn’t important to young people, when it’s just where they’re getting the news has changed, and how they consume it has changed.” Kaplan-Biegel, on the other hand, described how the experience of reading print newspapers differs from that of reading something online. “When we go online to look at news, we can be really directed on the exact thing that we want to
Daily and weekly newspaper publications have decreased by 26% between 2004 and 2020.
Christian Carlo Ceguerra/The Skyline View
go to,” she said. “And while that’s great, in some respects, it means that we are less likely to, kind of, on our way to what we’re looking for, see a bunch of other stories.” She argues that whilst reading a printed newspaper, a reader would likely have the tendency to go through the whole paper and stop on stories that will grab their attention, ones they would not normally seek out. She also noted that it helps understand page prioritization. In 2017, the American Press Institute partnered with the Associated Press conducted in a research titled “Paying for News: Why People Subscribe and What It Says About the Future of Journalism”. Upon surveying print and digital newspaper subscribers, they found out that print is the most favored format, and more than half of the respondents find it easier to read compared to digital
most local news in general, they are, in some cases, the sole outlet disseminating information to their local community. Sommer Ingram Dean, staff attorney for the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), shared her thoughts on how crucial and pivotal the student media’s role is in the community. “Student journalists have an enormous power and responsibility within their communities,” she said. “Student media is absolutely crucial to the functioning of not only college campuses, but the larger communities they are a part of. In some places that have lost daily news outlets, student publications step into the void and are often the only reliable source of news in these areas.” As a student newspaper adviser, Kaplan-Biegel also gave her sentiments on how important student media is. According to
versions. Student media Media is the fourth estate, and the free press is vital in upholding the country’s democracy. Media is said to be essential, but it is not ubiquitous. Some areas in the country are identified to be “news deserts”, and no longer have any news outlets to subscribe to and thus be kept up to date with the latest national, regional, or local news. This is where student-run media is critical. Aside from being a source for the
her, student media should be present: to introduce the college community as a whole, to hold power to account, and to give voice to everyone in their campus. “I think there’s a ton of value to The Skyline View being here, regardless of how many students read it, because it is literally the history of the college told from the student perspective,” KaplanBiegel said, explaining how people can learn the history of the community as documented by students.
Last month, The Skyline View published an article prior to the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) cutting ties with former Chancellor Ron Galatolo due to his alleged unethical actions during his administration. In 2015, a similar article was published on the topic of Galatolo being under investigation for using school funds for inappropriate expenses. Seven years ago, Skyline College was in hot water after a policy was passed along the faculty and staff restricting them to speak to media relations in order to protect the “image” and “brand” of the college. The present and the future The previously mentioned Professor Diana Bennett requires students to read newspapers as part of her class instruction. “Then every week, I’ll ask a student, ‘Okay, what’s happening in the world? And let’s talk about it,’” Bennett said. Bennett also mentioned CSM’s information literacy requirement, which are criteria for college student’s information competency based from the standards of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Professor Brown is open to the idea of making news writing and reporting as part of the college general education requirement. “Because we’re all going to be news consumers for the rest of our lives, I can see that that would be a good requirement,” Brown said. “And knowing how a newspaper article or a news report is constructed is really the best pathway for media literacy.” Although Kaplan-Biegel finds writing and reporting for the media substantial, she prefers to advocate media and news literacy classes as a requirement. “We have institutional student learning outcomes, and one of them is information literacy,” she said. “But I think media literacy is a particularly important component of that, and I would almost like to see that as a standalone student learning outcome.” Kaplan-Biegel is very “supportive” of the program providing free New York Times digital subscriptions for the campuses and she thinks that it’s “a great place to start” in developing media literacy among students. Skyline College also recently provided students with access to Flipster, a digital magazine stand students can login to read a variety of journals and periodicals from different publications in different categories.
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Arts & Entertainment All you need to know about spring fashion By Ashley Hernandez
Arts and Entertainment Editor
“Florals... for spring? Groundbreaking.” -“The Devil Wears Prada”. Put away your winter gear, including those UGGs, because spring is here. But fret not, because your favorite Lululemons and denim jackets go all year long. Your turtlenecks, sweaters and rainboots are still acceptable, because we can expect spring showers. During your spring cleaning, make sure to get rid of those old clothes, and make room for these new trends. According to Vogue, trousers are the new replacers for sweats. I can agree with this, since they are both equally comfortable. Trousers also have the ability to transform your outfit into a classy, sophisticated and comfortable look. Get ready to turn heads and bring a fun experience to your closet. Another trend to expect are psychedelic prints. Have you always wanted to experiment with your clothing? Well, now is the time, because prints are in, so don’t be afraid to mix and match. Get your shopping carts ready, because Vogue predicts puffy sleeves this season. Prepare for a sensible style with a
Victorian attitude. Thanks to daylight saving time, we will be seeing more sunlight. This is good news for all the dresses and skirts that have been hiding in your closet. Who What Wear shared their suggestions on spring trends, and wearing sheer garments is one of them. I stand with this idea, because you can layer and wear a sheer blouse underneath your dresses or t-shirts! Colors to look out for are lime green, tangerine and bubblegum pink — Adopt this fun idea and stand out in a crowd. A trend that I look forward to are knee-highs. Whether it’s boots or knee-high socks, it will for sure
flare up your outfit. Forbes might have said it best as to what’s to come this spring. First up are corsets. We saw this trend
choice or a vintage tee. Fifth on the list are miniskirts — Miniskirts bring me back to the early 2000s, so I’m glad they’re back. Sixth, seventh, and last on the list are tinted sunglasses, bubble quilting and checkerboard respectively. Men’s 2021 trends Men and women are free to share whatever trends Photo Illustration by Ashley Hernandez appeal briefly at the end of last summer, to them and take away from each but it looks like they’re back again, other’s categories, and here are a season early this time. Coming men’s fashion trends to adopt, second and third are square toe as suggested by GQ Magazine. shoes and cool cutouts in clothing. Share positivity and buy shirts The fourth trend is the baggy look that spread good vibes, or go for — Put this in effect with pants of sensible attire and purchase outfits
SPRING 2021 FASHION TRENDS
March 24, 2021
with good pockets. Hand-knitted garments are the move in men’s fashion, as well as the classic look of long-sleeve polos. Going down the list for men’s spring trends are bright yellow attire, polar fleece pants, soft suits, patchwork shirts, jeans, clogs, and Japanese work coats. Spring is the time of rebirth — Flowers are blooming and the sun comes out for longer each day. Last year, around this time, we all entered the lockdown. Although social distancing guidelines are still in place, you can still enjoy yourself through self-expression. Try out one of these fun trends and uplift your mood with color, texture and pattern. Remember that while you don’t have to follow the trends, it doesn’t hurt to try them. Even if you choose to dress comfortably, you can still be fashionable about it. For example, a sheer blouse with a pair of sweats sounds like a compromise to me. Choose how to dress freely, I know I will be mixing those men’s trends with my own style. Feel free to share your spring looks on Instagram or Twitter. Let us know what trend you adopted, and tag @theskylineview.
Recognizing 10 most influential women in country music By Marco Milani Opinion Editor
This month is International Women’s Month, a month celebrating women and their achievements. Coincidentally, my favorite style of music is country, so I couldn’t think of a better way to combine those two worlds and compile a list of the 10 most iconic women in country music. 10. Shania Twain Starting off this list is an artist who broke into the world of country music in the early 90s, marking herself as a staple of country music. According to Grove Music Online, a service from Oxford Music Online, Twain has won a Grammy award for Best Country Album and an American Music Award for Best New Artist. She was also called the best-selling female artist in country history, with the article citing two examples: “The Woman in Me”, “Up!”, selling over 12 million and 11 million copies, respectively. Two songs that she’s particularly known for are “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” and “Still The One”. 9. Carrie Underwood Underwood was the winner of the fourth season of “American Idol”, and after, like Twain, took the country world by storm. You may know her for her song, “Before He Cheats”, but after her “Idol” win, debuted with her album “Some Hearts”, which, according to Forbes, is the best-selling solo country album of the past decade, with over 7.4 million copies sold. Forbes also lists some achievements that she’s experienced throughout her career, which include 58 million records sold worldwide, 21 #1 singles, seven Grammys, and 1.5 million streams of her music worldwide. 8. Reba McEntire Dubbed “The Queen of Country” in an archived Entertainment Weekly article from 2007, McEn-
tire has made a name for herself in music and in acting. In music, according to an article from The Herald Bulletin, she has “released 29 studio albums and acquired 42 #1 singles. She has sold more than 75 million records worldwide.” In her acting career, she starred in a sitcom produced by her, called “Reba”, which aired on the WB Network (now The CW) from 2001-2007, with over 125 episodes over six seasons. She also recorded a version of her hit, “I’m a Survivor”, to be the theme song to the sitcom. You can still watch the series, as it is in syndication, airing occasionally on CMT and FreeForm. 7. Martina McBride McBride was #1 on a list Rolling Stone compiled of 25 artists who have never won a Grammy, having been nominated 14 times. However, that doesn’t define her career. McBride has many albums and singles in her career that have gotten RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, certifications of either gold or platinum from 1995-2018. However, her achievements go beyond music, as she is a contributor to charities Loveisrespect and National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline with her program “My Time to Shine”, promoting healthy relationships. 6. Patsy Cline Cline is arguably one of the legends in country music, but she crossed over into pop later in her career. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Website, she became a regular performer on the Grand Old Opry, which “largely defined the country music genre.” Her most popular song, “I Fall to Pieces’”, was popular for 39 weeks straight. Although she died at age 31, after a plane crash in March 1963, her music has lived on for generations. 5. Trisha Yearwood
Photo illustration by John Harrison/The Skyline View
Yearwood, according to an article from The Tennessean, has sold 15 million albums and has 19 singles that have ranked in the top 10. Most of her albums have gone gold or platinum, like McBride. She is more known, however, for her cooking, as she hosted a show on the Food Network called “Trisha’s Southern Cooking”, using the instrumentals from her hit “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” as the theme. She is also known for her songs “How Do I Live”, and her debut hit, “She’s In Love With the Boy”. 4. Taylor Swift While Swift has mostly made her name in pop music more recently, her start came in the world of country music. Some of her most popular country hits include “Love Story”, “Teardrops On My Guitar”, and “Our Song”. Her album “Fearless”, according to RIAA, reached Diamond certification in 2017, with over 10 million sales worldwide. She is also a multiple-time award winner in the country sector, winning New Female Vocalist in
2007, and Album of the Year in 2008 for “Fearless”, among countless others at the American Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. 3. Tammy Wynette Wynette was dubbed a queen of Country Music in a 1998 New York Times article about her death. Her most popular hit, “Stand By Your Man”, reached number one on the Billboard country singles list, and was part of three that reached number one, including “Take Me to Your World” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”. Wynette was the first female country singer to reach a million albums sold. She also recorded 50 albums and sold 30 million recordings. 2. Loretta Lynn Lynn is another legend in Country Music. Her Billboard page tells the entire story of why. She has 16 #1 hits and 56 in the top 10. She has won three Grammy awards: one for best performance in “After The Fire is Gone”, and two in 2004 for vocal collaboration in the song “Portland Oregon”, and best
album for “Van Lear Rose”. It was announced also at the beginning of the year according to Pitchfork, that she will be releasing another album, her 50th album. It will be called “Still Woman Enough” and will be dropping March 19. 1. Dolly Parton Is there any surprise that she’s #1? Parton is arguably the most popular woman in country music history. Her most popular hits include “I Will Always Love You” (notably covered by another legendary woman in music, Whitney Houston), “Jolene”, “Here You Come Again”, and “9 to 5”. She also starred in a movie with comedy legend Lily Tomlin, which shares the name of the last hit mentioned. She continues to be a household name when it comes to women in country music. And that concludes the 10 most influential women in the history of country music. Many are inspired by their careers. On International Women’s Month, l highly suggest you listen to at least one song from every artist on this list.
Sports
March 24, 2021
March Madness has finally returned
9
One year removed from a lost season, the 2021 March Madness tournament has reminded us all of why we love college basketball By Jasper Lindsey Sports Editor
The date was March 12, 2020, and the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament had just been cancelled, with college sports’ most popular sporting event soon to follow. This year, however, the big dance is finally back, with upsets left and right, high-flying dunks, and sports fans everywhere tearing their brackets to shreds. For sports fans across the country, spring doesn’t only mark the return of warm weather or lounging by the pool, but the days spent on the couch watching the country’s top college athletes compete for the NCAA’s most elusive prize. March Madness is unlike any other sporting event in the world: there are no series, no chances for redemption — It is the essence of “win or go home”. In March, no team is safe, as the next big upset could be right around the corner, and this year has been no exception. The Big 10 were hit especially hard in the round of 64, with Ohio State and Purdue making early exits, losing to double-digit seeds. Ohio State was the biggest upset to occur on Friday, as just a week removed from being crowned champions of the Big 10, the Buckeyes lost a 72-75 heartbreaker to a surging Oral Roberts University. The Buckeyes’ offense ranked among the top teams in the country, but their lack of defensive prowess ultimately came back to bite them. The SEC and Big 12 were no stranger to upset fever, as sev-
After a year of cancelled tournaments culminating in a lost season, March Madness returns more chaotic than ever
Photo illustration by John Harrison/The Skyline View
en-seed Tennessee and three-seed Texas were both bounced out of the tournament in the first round of the tournament. Both of these teams carried heavy expectations entering the 2021 season, as Tennessee was an early favorite to compete with Gonzaga for the national championship. However, much like their seasons, both Texas and Tennessee’s early exits were riddled with disappointment and underperformance. As for the teams wreaking havoc on top seeds, Loyola Chicago and 101-year-old superfan Sister Jean are once again making a name for themselves in this year’s tournament. Knocking off in state rival Illinois, who had been a favorite of many to make the final four,
the Ramblers looked to slip on yet another glass slipper as their Cinderella season gained further momentum. Oral Roberts University, who was alluded to earlier, is also building momentum in the tournament — Having knocked off top seed Ohio State and a powerful Florida offense, their path to the final four could be halted by a tenacious Arkansas Razorback team led by star guard Moses Moody. Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t discuss the Pac-12’s incredible performance in the tournament thus far, as the conference is 7-0 in the big dance. Oregon State’s momentum after winning the Pac-12 tournament has carried over into the big dance, as they have knocked both Tennessee and
now Oklahoma State and booked their ticket to the Sweet 16. Guard Ethan Thompson has exploded in the tournament putting up 25 points in the Beavers’ upset win over the Cowboys. However, the Pac 12’s latest team to catch fire is the Oregon Ducks, putting up 95 points on their way to a major upset of Luka Garza and the Iowa Hawkeyes. With the Sweet 16 set to take place this Saturday, college basketball fans still have plenty of chaos to look forward to. With only one team having been forced to forfeit due to positive tests, the NCAA bubble has been largely successful thus far, and shows no sign of slowing as more teams leave the bubble.
This tournament has given fans everything they missed from last March and more, and with the Final Four fast approaching, the nation’s eyes will be glued to the screen as college teams chase their one shining moment.
Jasper’s Final Four: West: Gonzaga East: Alabama South: Arkansas Midwest: Syracuse
The 2021 Rookie of the Year race has been blown wide open
Following the season-ending injury of LaMelo Ball, Rookie of the Year favorite, rookies across the league now see a pathway to win the award By Zachary Navarra Staff Writer
LaMelo Ball is out for the season. After averaging a league best among rookies in assists (6.1 P/G) and falling in at second in points (15.9 P/G) and rebounds (5.9 P/G), the rookie phenom’s season came to an unfortunate end after suffering a wrist fracture during a hard fall against the Los Angeles Clippers. The youngest Ball brother has lived up to, and perhaps surpassed, the hype that surrounded his older brother Lonzo Ball in 2017. LaMelo Ball impressed many while leading the Charlotte Hornets in this season’s campaign. His outstanding gameplay forced many to see him as the clear favorite for the coveted Rookie of the Year award. LaMelo Ball still has a chance to win the award, but after only playing 41 games this season, he would make history if he did. No player has won the Rookie of the Year award after playing less than 50 games in their rookie season. With Ball likely out of the picture, the race has opened up to the rest of 2020’s talented draft class. Anthony Edwards of the Min-
nesota Timberwolves, former first overall draft pick, will likely become the new favorite to win Rookie of the Year. Edwards leads all rookies in points (16.67 P/G), proving he can get a bucket when he needs too. The young shooting guard falls short in both assists (2.55 P/G) and rebounds (4.31 P/G), ranking at seventh and ninth among rookies respectively. However, NBA awards are as much statistics as they are storylines. Edwards suffers from being on a small market team that is receiving minimal national coverage and has the worst record in the league. Similar to Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton plays for a small market team with minimal national coverage, the Sacramento Kings. On the bright side, Haliburton has the opportunity to help end the NBA’s longest playoff drought, one that has lasted 15 years. The Kings currently sit 3.5 games back from qualifying for the play-in game. Haliburton is second among rookies in assists (5.11 P/G) and fourth in points (12.39 P/G). However, he has struggled over the last five games since returning from a calf injury, shooting a dismal 31% from the floor and
LaMelo Ball’s Rookie of the Year campaign is cut short after season-ending injury Photo illustration by John Harrison/The Skyline View
scoring just 7.6 points per game. Unlike Haliburton or Edwards, Immanuel Quickley finds himself on a big market team that’s making waves due to a surprisingly decent season, the New York Knicks. Quickley is by no means the star of the team, but his 12.71 points per game, third among rookies, has played a key role in the Knicks’ success this season.
Quickley’s biggest challenge will be adjusting to his new role now that veteran point guard Derrick Rose has joined the squad. The Golden State Warriors’ second overall draft pick James Wiseman remains in contention as well. The 7-foot-1-inch center produces while on the floor, leading all rookies in rebounds (5.97 P/G), and ranks fifth in points (11.83
P/G). Wiseman’s largest obstacle is his inability to stay on the floor. The young bigman has already missed 14 games this season on account of injury and COVID-19 protocols. With LaMelo Ball gone, the award is up for grabs, and it’s time for the league’s young stars to prove why they deserve to be the next Rookie of the Year.
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Sports
March 24, 2021
Miles Mastrobuoni’s opportunity
At 25, the product of Livermore continues to make strides towards the big leagues By Steven Rissotto News Editor
Miles Mastrobuoni sat with his family at the dinner table as a 13-year-old in Livermore, California. While a plate of food was waiting for his attention in front of him, the wide-eyed kid was too distracted, fixated on the baseball game playing on the TV in the background. Growing up in the East Bay, it’s a normal occurrence to see Giants or A’s hats in the public view. Whether it’s in restaurants or out on the streets of Bay Area cities, green and orange are everywhere. However, Miles was focused on rooting for the New York Yankees, a team that his father, Frank, grew up watching in the 1970s and 1980s. Even though they were a half-hour from the Oakland Coliseum and almost an hour from Oracle Park, rooting for a team other than the Bronx Bombers simply wasn’t allowed in Frank’s view. After the spaghetti and meatballs were finished and the dishes were washed, the Italian-Irish household would take inventory of the evening’s Yankees game. Frank would lead the way, teaching Miles and his older brother Marcus the beauty of the game. Derek Jeter became an instant favorite with Miles, who was already a noticeable shortstop for all of his past baseball teams. Along with millions of fellow baseball fans, he even took up wearing number two in honor of the future Hall of Fame shortstop. “Jeter was my guy growing up,” Mastrobuoni said. “Being a middle-infielder, playing shortstop for a while, just everything about
the way he handled himself on and off the field. He did everything the right way, which was something pretty cool to look up to.” As he continued to grow, more and more weekends would be filled with travel baseball tournaments at fields all over the Bay Area. After attending Granada High School in Livermore, the College of San Mateo began to take notice of his impressive skill set. “He stood out as someone who was a really good defensive player, a real strapper, and we really liked his intangibles to play the game all-out competitively,” said Doug Williams, CSM’s head baseball coach. “Coming out of high school, I didn’t want to go to junior college,” Mastrobuoni said. “Looking back on it, that was definitely the best decision I made in my life. When you get to a Division I program, you kind of might get lost in the mix. There’s a lot going on.” In his two years as a Bulldog in 2014 and 2015, Mastrobuoni hit .330 with 51 stolen bases and 51 RBI in 82 games played. His advanced knowledge of the strike zone showed in his plate discipline statistics, recording 63 walks against 27 strikeouts. Defensively, he was regarded by many as a spectacular force at shortstop. In the latter season, the crew was one game away from playing in the state championship. “You don’t get to where he’s at without having a little bit of a work ethic, he’s just a baseball rat in every sense of the word,” said Ryan Krainz, Mastrobuoni’s frequent double-play partner at second base. “He showed up to practice early for hitting and
Miles Mastrobuoni was selected in the 14th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays and has thrived in different positions
Photo courtesy of Miles Mastrobuoni
defense, and he definitely elevated other people’s game.” His outstanding play was enough to receive attention from four-year colleges, and with a blink of an eye, he found himself with the University of Nevada, Reno. After a monster junior campaign with the Wolf Pack, the Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the 15th round in 2016. A baseball trend of recent years has been the expanded versatility of position-players and their ability to seemingly play multiple positions at high levels. As a result, Mastrobuoni has been utilized at second base, center field, left field, third base, and shortstop. He even has pitched in a few games. “You can’t prepare for a guy like Miles,” said Dylan Isquirdo, his college roommate and teammate. “He’s probably one of the
smoothest infielders I’ve ever seen and he’s always been such a well-rounded player. It’s not surprising that he’s up there doing well for the Rays.” Now entering his fifth season in the Rays organization, he continues to live out his boyhood dream of becoming a professional baseball player. This spring, he received an invitation to participate in his second Major League Spring Training in Port Charlotte, Florida. He may be in the presence of Rays’ big league stars like Tyler Glasnow and Randy Arozarena, but he still has time for his junior college and the friends he made along the way. He not only regularly visited the CSM campus pre-pandemic, but he also attended Isquirdo’s wedding and promised Krainz a 3-wood golf club.
“Honestly, CSM is a big part of why I’m still playing and where I’m at in my career right now just because of the fact it teaches you to just grind,” Mastrobuoni said. “You’re trying to grow up and CSM did that for me. It was a very good experience.”
Miles’s Spring Training Stats as of Today: Avg: .250 HR: 2 RBI: 3
Golf: the sport of the pandemic
Golf has increased in popularity since the beginning of last March and shows no sign of slowing anytime soon By Jasper Lindsey Sports Editor
As we approach the anniversary of the stay-at-home orders disarray, I can’t help but find myself reminiscing on the sportsless world we were left with. The thrill of the NCAA tournament and NBA All-Star Weekend that usually accompany the month of March, was replaced by “The Tiger King” and Netflix Originals. It wasn’t until late May that we finally saw sports return to our screens, but it wasn’t basketball or baseball, the sports that usually dominate the summer months — It was golf. On May 24, four men took to the course, as the first major sporting event to be televised in months got underway. Now, this was no ordinary match on the green — It was “The Match”, as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were joined by NFL greats Tom Brady and Peyton Manning for one of the most electric golf games I’ve ever witnessed. After months of being stuck indoors, seeing these four titans of sport hit the links offered a sense of normalcy amidst uncertain times. Unlike the average golf tour-
nament in which etiquette and professionalism are showcased on a grand scale, “The Match” shed light on the casual side of the game. The four legendary athletes spent the day much like anyone else on the course would: letting loose and talking trash. Here viewers were offered the jovial and carefree portrayal of a game that so often is dubbed one of the most serious sports known to man. However, as all good things do, especially in a pandemic, the match eventually came to an end and we returned to the sports-less world that had filled our lives since March. Having shown viewers the fun side of a serious game paired with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, golfers, new and old alike flooded courses come June. A golf revolution had begun, as many wishing to get out of their homes and compete had finally found a way to do so. Driving ranges were packed with people newly inspired to pick up the sport and while the swing form wasn’t necessarily present, the spirit was. Golf is unlike any other sport — It requires one to maintain their competitive edge while displaying a superhuman level of patience: a set of skills the average golfer
With “The Match” being one of the few live sporting events to take place amid the pandemic, golf has seen a huge spike in popularity as a result Via Creative Commons
doesn’t really possess. The ball is not kicked nor thrown, but remains grounded until it connects with a club. Golf teaches one to remain even-keeled, as if you let one bad shot rush to your head, it can throw off your entire day on the course. Yet, it also offers one the chance to relax, enjoying the sunshine with a couple of friends, and escape from the trials of everyday life. It is the latter that many of us
who don’t possess the potent stroke of Tiger or Phil must settle for. We struggle, we end up in the sand trap, and we find ourselves all too often crying out “fore”! But once you and your fellow golfers find humor in poor play on the course, you build a sense of community in the inability to hit a ball straight. Above all, golf teaches you how to fail and get right back on your feet, a lesson that many
other aspects of life simply can’t teach. It is through golf that I was able to find solace amid the pandemic, as being a former baseball player myself, I found it a lot easier to hit a ball that wasn’t speeding toward me at 90 mph. Golf has taught me a whole lot over the past year and my journey has only just begun — so why not start yours?