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WILL CALIFORNIA PUFF PUFF PASS?WILL LEGALIZING MARIJUANA FIX CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET CRISIS?

ENTERTAINMENT TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO LATEST VAMPIRE CRAZE IN MAINSTREAM MEDIA

MISSION

STATEMENT

MISSION STATEMENT

At IntenseCity, our mission is to inform, enlighten, educate and challenge the Fresno City College student body and community at large. Our goal is to provide our readers with information on community issues, cultural

highlights and artistic venues to improve the college experience.

Casey Cassady, Montae Dickson, Benjamin Fierro, Pabel Lopez, Manuel Morfin, Adam Myles, Hector Ruelas, Armando Sanchez, Tomiko Townley, Kimberly Lake Waldron

Kira Everett, Ramiro Gudino, Jorge A. Mora, Tomi Pierson, Ethan Stairs Amanda Hubbard, Justin Kim, Michelle Holmes, Leon Hall, Jacob Eckrich

Carlos Fierro

Fresno City College1101 E. UniversityFresno, Ca. 93741

Office: (559) 442-8262Fax: (559) 265-5783

Please send letters to editor or submissions to:intensecityfcc@gmail.com

www.myspace.com/intensecity_fccwww.twitter.com/intensecitymag

Editorial Board

Contributers

Faculty Advisor

Location

Contact

IntenseCity Magazine is produced by Fresno City College’s Journalism Department,

which is part of the Fine Performing Communication Arts Division

Cover Design Tomiko Townley

CONTENTSCAMPUS LIFE ...... 4 Day and Night By: Kira Everett RoomHates By: Armando Sanchez Firs Date Jitters By: Kira Everett PROFILE Dennis Schneider By: Kimberly Lake Waldron PROFILE Professor Dana By: Montae Dickson

MUSIC ..... 14 A World Without Music By: Manuel Morfin Ariginal Trend Settas By: Adam Myles

FILM ..... 20 Fresno Film Works By: Pabel Lopez Vampire Fantasy By: Armando Sanchez

FASHION .....24 Closet Convertibles By: Armando Sanchez

FEATURES ...... 27 Kwanzaa By: Dorenda Williams Posadas California By: Armando Sanchez Will Legalizing Marijuana Fix California’s Budget Crisis? By: Adam Myles Racism and Discrimination: Why Now? By: Kimberly Lake Waldron Classism By: Pabel Lopez The Pitter Patter of Little Feet By: Kimberly Lake Waldron Decade of Historical Events, Timeline By: Pabel Lopez Obituaries Timeline By: Kimberly Lake Waldron

EATS ..... 44 La Cabaña Restaurant By: Armando Sanchez Taj Of India By: Casey Cassady Edo-Ya Tokyo Cuisine By: Tomiko Townley Santa Fe Basque By: Benjamin Fierro

SPORTS ...... 52 Cheering our Team on to Battle By: Montae Dickson Girls Basketball Preview By: Benjamin Fierro Defending the Title By: Adam Myles

NEWS ......58 Economic Blunder By: Pabel Lopez Healthcare Reform By: Hector Ruelas

ART ...... 62 “Native American Woman and Child” By: Amanda Hubbard “Lonely Tree” By: Amanda Hubbard “Ghost” By: Amanda Hubbard “Pride of the Aztecs” By: Jorge A. Mora “Bob” By: Tomi Pierson “Grandfather’s Smile” By: Tomi Pierson “Tip my Hat” By: Tomi Pierson

POETRY ...... 66 “Time” By: Eathan Stairs “One By Self” By: Justin Kim “Farewell Mary Ann” By: Justin Kim “Baby Blue” By: Michelle Holmes “At the Poetry Spot!” By: Leon Hall “Vice City” By: Jacob Eckirch “Survival” By: Michelle Holmes

SHORT FICTION .....70 “Boy Meets Girl” By: Manuel Morfin

RESOURCES ......72 Food and Emergency Services By: Kimberly Lake Waldron Entertainment Hot Spots By: Kimberly Lake Waldron

Vol. 2, Issue II, Fall 2009

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Day and Night

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Day and Night

By Kira Everett

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When you attend college you have a lot of choic-es to make. How many

units are you going to take? What do you want to major in? How

do you create a schedule that fits your daily life? Students occasion-ally neglect the opportunities and

services that are provided for them in the daytime when they choose to take night courses. During the

daytime at Fresno City College, the students have more advantages and more services that are dedicated to them. For example free computer labs are available until 7:00P.M,

the night students miss out on the opportunity to print for free, get

help on class assignments, or have some free time to study if internet

is not available to them at home. Another great accessory is the dis-abled mobility cart, which picks up and takes disabled students to their

classes.

Student activities are provided some days during the month. Within these activities, they make well-known club sign ups, and the clubs have a fair called club rush. They sell various types of food at the club booths. Twice a semester they have a whole week where ven-dors come with their products and sell things throughout the week.

Administrative guidance is impor-tant, especially to new or enrolling students. Counselors, academic programs, and student tutorial services are limited when it comes

to night students. While day-time schooling has more to offer you, it has its disadvantages as well. It is harder to add classes, it can some times get over crowded while try-ing to walk the campus, and the restrooms may be occupied and messy.

Night school has its rewards. The classes are longer but you go fewer times a week. The courses are most likely easier to add and the park-ing is less crowded than day time parking. Arthur Contreras attends school here in the day time. His major is undecided so he is taking general education. I asked him why he attended college during the day and he replied, “I work nights and

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getting off in the middle of the day is easier.” Although Arthur is not receiving financial aid, he wishes to pursue his education because it is beneficial for any job in the future. Another daytime student that I chatted with is Reggie Brown. He is on the Fresno City football team and also attends school during the day. His major is Recreation and he does not receive financial aid either. Reggie only attends day

classes because he has football practice at night. He wishes to continue his education simply to succeed in life.

Night students pay the same amount of money to attend college, so why are there limited resources for them? Many night students work during the day and/or have a family. Limited resources are a big deal because they cannot rush

30 minutes before class to print out a test outline or a study guide. This is unfair. The best thing about night school is the snack shack and Pacific Restaurant stay open late.

Students that have night classes need more resources and direction on campus. What can we do as a college to fix this? ______Photos by Kimberly Lake Waldron

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complicated, and easier said than done, and COMMUNICATION is going to be your number one friend. “I want to avoid the squab-bles,” you say. Well, don’t we all? Avoiding the potential argument is running away from the problem.

Most of my roommate experiences have been pleasant, but I’ve had my moments where I would find myself locked in my room crying and wishing that this living night-mare would end. Some of these nightmares included incidents like finding that someone was having sex on my bed while I was out, personal property missing from my room, unexpected guests banging at my door in the middle of the night in the morning, losing two of my pets, and coming home to find a notice to pay rent or quit (eviction notice) at the front door, knowing well- YOU paid your part of the rent.

My most horrible roommate ex-perience happened in 2003, where I had finally been able to rent a home on my own in Fresno near the Downtown District. This home I lived in was a one bathroom and one bedroom too big for me. I figured I could help someone out by renting the other portion of the house. My new roommate seemed responsible enough that I felt I

with someone we may like or will grow to dislike. At times we are enforcing, or adhering to rules, practices, and even policies that we are not accustomed to. You come to realize that some-times you’re sorting more than just your dirty laundry; we tend to happen upon the DRAMA of dif-ferent issues, dilemmas, conflicts or experiences between you and your roommates, that tranform us

into prisoners of our own homes.

Many of us can think back to the times when we were growing up. If you were poor, your goal was to ‘get out’ of the ghetto. Or if you came from a big family, you looked forward to the day when you didn’t have to share a room anymore. For others, it was the idea of becoming independent. No more rules, or bickering, no more arguing, fighting, or crying...WRONG! Most of us are still experiencing this.

Most of these issues have a solu-tion to them, MOVING! “No, not again” you think, but it’s true! If you’re not happy with your current living conditions, change them. For some this is much more

RoomHatesBy: Armando Sanchez

Love’em or hate’em…room-mates; we all have them, need them, or want them.

We have all experienced rooming with others from different walks of life, belief, and/or customs.

Though it may feel at times that your room, your sanctuary, has become a cell and your roommates are your cellmates. However, there is hope and you can break free from this. The first step is to un-derstand that you are not alone as it happens to many peope around the world. A roommate situation can occur between siblings, friends, strangers, co-workers, partners, and yes, even between exes.

While some roommate experiences are worse than others, some can be harmonious. There are many rea-sons why people room together; ei-ther because we want the company, need help splitting living expenses or perhaps a temporary solution to an unexpected hardship, We live

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could take on some new expenses. Since he seemed reliable and stable I decided to buy a car. No contract, no credit or background check con-ducted on the new roommate. No reason, right? Wrong again! By the third month of our housing rela-tionship, 1st of the month, literally from day to night, my “roommie” was GONE. Now, I’m in a jam. Remember the car I bought? Yeah,

someone is stuck between keeping a car or keeping a roof over their head. I knew I couldn’t afford the car payment along with the amount of the full rent. I had to Re-priori-tizing, re-structuring, and pick up the slack. It was a brief moment in my life, where all where I had to regain composure and control of

what seemed like a spiraling, out-of-control life!

There are many more stories I can share both through experiences of my own, and those that others have shared with me. Some of those cas-es are far worse than mine. Here are a few you may be able to relate too such as, “Dude, where’s my car?” (A roommate decided to take your car for a spin), “After-party my place!” (Two bedroom house, over 50 people- talk about noise

violation), “Did you sign a lease?” (Impor-tance of contractual agreements and liabil-ity), diversity (“Dude you’re gay, I mean, uh um, I meant hap-py.”), indiscretions (Invasion of privacy, peeping toms, and exhibitionist.), and the list goes on. Half the time it’s a struggle

just to make ends meet, but more troubleing are these problems that we face within the confinements of the four walls we call home.

Don’t be a victim, be proactive! As the old saying goes “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Find the will power to change your life for a

better, brighter tomorrow and never give up on that idea. Communica-tion is essential in resolving rela-

tionship problems. What we avoid when we choose to not commu-nicate with others is the truth and reality of our current state, but in doing so we only harm ourselves, harboring feelings of resentment, distrust, fear and hatred that in no way, shape, or form contribute to healthy relationships. As an old roommate of mine would say, “Just come out and say it!” Don’t avoid a conversation, nip in the bud. Be truthful and honest, because avoid-ing communication only prolongs the problem and tortures you.

It’s important to note that as room-mates, we must be more open and understanding to different walks of life, rules and practices. Flex-ibility is key in adapting to your environment to co-exist in harmony with others. You’ve either come to learn, or will learn quickly that the rules, morals, standards and prin-ciples instilled in you when grow-ing up, become more and more important to you as you experience the world of RoomHates.

Let it out, and let me hear it. Share your “…terrible, horrible, no good very bad…” experiences here, and let’s expose the truths, lies and deceptions of how not to live, and how to overcome the dreaded roommates.______Photos by Armando Sanchez

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First Date Jitters

Meeting a guy or a girl that you like may be a chance of one in a billion. Get-

ting to know that person and actu-ally like their personality and style

can be one in a trillion.

Girls: When you go on the first date with a guy, what are your worries? Are they how your hair looks, if your outfit is cute and sexy but not too revealing, if your smile is perfect, or if you have any acne? We all question ourselves to make sure we do not leave the house looking like a mess.

Guys: What type of questions do you ask yourselves before going on that first date? How is my hair? Do my shoes look okay? Does my breath stink?

The first date is the scariest thing next to a wedding. Most people take the first date to the heart because the first impression is everything. You want to look as fine as you can, smarter than all the other girls they have dated, and have the best time you can. How do you play it cool doing all that at the same time?

Blind dates can be awful, especially when a close friend or family member sets you up. The things that run through your head could be, “Are they going to be ugly, fat or skinny? I hope they are buff,” is what the woman usually thinks. Most of the time, people would agree that blind dates are not worth it, unless one of your closest friends or family members know

your taste and makes wise choices. There is a good chance that you will even like the person and go on a second date. The other person’s personality has to be intriguing to you. Another one of your worries is personal pet peeves.

We are lucky to have great technologies today that allow us to Google, Myspace, and Facebook potential mates. When you’re on that blind date and they are the worst person in the world, there are plenty of ways to get out fast. Just do a little research and you’ll be good to go!

By:Kira Everett

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Dennis Schneider has been teaching here at Fresno

City College for 30 years. He got his start when the Dean of Students called him up and

asked him to teach a night class for advertising. Not feeling totally qualified but having some experi-

ence in advertising, he accepted. At the time he had a successful career as a buyer for Rhodes Department

stores in Fresno, managing 13 stores in total. Eventually, the chain

was bought out by another chain of department stores and he made

teaching his full-time job. When he started teaching his first class at Fresno City he fell in love with teaching and went back to school to receive his certification. He spent some time in New York, did his student teaching at McLane

High School, and went on to teach at Clovis High for ten years. Dennis is a busy man, teaching 7 classes at FCC and Marketing Prin-ciples and a Retail Management course at Fresno State, where he also supervises non profit volunteer work. He received his education at Fresno State and at New York University.

His classes are designed to be fun and have a good ambience. He likes to get to know his students on a personal level, so there can be person to person communication. He wants to help make the students want to come to class and feel in-volved by making it an interesting and enjoyable environment. Dennis loves teaching and is well-liked and admired by his

students. He feels that education is extremely important and advises that a two year degree minimum is criti-cal, but feels a four year degree will best help a student obtain successful career goals. His advice for students was “Find something to do that you love, surround yourself with posi-tive people…have a positive mental attitude, and find a mentor.” Dennis defines success as “attainment of an important personal goal.” Family is very important to Dennis. When he is not teaching he loves to spend his free time with family. He has been married to his wife for 44 years who is also a teacher, and has 3 children. He is also very involved in his grandchildren’s lives and hasa passion for sports and gardening._____ Photo by Kimberly Lake Waldron

Dennis SchneiderBy: Kimberly Lake Waldron

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Its 9:30 Monday morning, I’m sitting in room 106 in the music

department. It’s a normal bustling Monday full of chatter as we await our instructor’s entrance.

Today is out of the norm for us. Usually Mr. Dana would come in and play us a clip of a tune while he takes roll and writes important information on the whiteboard.

However, today instead of playing us some music maybe a little Miles

Davis, Duke Ellington, or some other great jazz performer he puts

on YouTube. Well I can’t believe it YouTube in a college class room?

Leave it to Mr. Dana to make it ed-ucational. Today he decides to let

us loosen up with a video of a great jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. As he

takes care of the first business of the day we sit back and watch the Pat Metheny Group performing a song called “Have You Heard.” If you haven’t guessed yet I’m in Mr. Michael Dana’s Jazz History and

Appreciation class.

Mr. Dana has been teaching Jazz for twenty years at Fresno City College, and before that he taught at Roosevelt School of Arts and at McLane High School. He enjoys sharing the passion of music with students and considers himself a musician as well as an instructor, so it gives him great joy to share with others.

Aside from teaching Jazz History and Appreciation he also teaches Student Jazz Essentials, Adult Jazz

Essentials, Online Music Business and Jazz vocals which he teaches with his wife Julie Dana who is also a music instructor here at Fresno City College.

When asked which class does he get the most out of teaching he replies; “Jazz Appreciation, be-cause jazz is not familiar to a lot of people. I get to meet a lot of students who aren’t music majors and they are the ones who I want to reach with this class. That’s a good thing for me.”

He continued, “It allows me to reach out to people who would not ordinarily be drawn into jazz mu-sic. Some people hear jazz and get it right away and others hear it just want to turn it off. I want to expose everyone to jazz. Jazz musicians

Professor Michael Dana By: Montae Dickson

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haven’t made jazz music comfort-able.”

How is it working so close with your wife? “It’s actually pretty cool. Most people it would drive them crazy, but for us it’s good because we are both super busy, we’re not together all the time or in each other’s faces. (The couple banter to each other lovingly across the wall, their offices are next to each other). I can understand when she comes home and has had a bad day because I go through the same thing. We share the same passion in loving music. We do the same things like to go to the same musi-cal shows so we spend a lot of time together without feeling like one of us is dragging the other to places they don’t want to be.

Michael Dana is also the Chairman of the music department and has held this position for eleven years

now. He always loved this position and title he has been given, but he must admit that in the last year it has been pretty tough with all the budget cuts. This means cutting some classes that are very impor-tant to students in a music major, and those of us who are not, but may need this class as an under-graduate class. This also means that some of the instructors are starting to be laid off as well

If you ask Mr. Dana who is his favorite jazz singer he will tell you; “Whoever was the last person I listened to. Jazz is so personal and everyone brings their own thing to the music. Some of it is hard, some soft, some dark and some light, you just can’t narrow it down to one.”

Michael Dana is an accomplished writer, composer and performer of jazz music. He is also the lead of a band called The Mike Dana

Trio. He is involved with The Jazz Composers Orchestra and in a group Sanctuary Band and also works with his wife Julie in the Jazz Vocals group here at Fresno City College.

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Can you imagine a world without music? Today more than ever, music is every-

where, it is almost impossible to not run into some type of music, no matter where you are in the world. The ancient Greeks used to say that music is the language of the gods, because with it the gods will hear you. Indeed today, music is one of the most popular forms of commu-nication in the world.In popular music today what is coming in is usually going out, but for the love of music, the notes of the music tends to amaze you. In other words, music stems from the soul, from the inner part of man that is beyond the total grip of the

psyche. Music is our passion our love, beauty, and war. No one can really explain why they go crazy over meeting a fa-mous musician. It is my belief that our aesthetic towards music satis-fies a deeper more subconscious drive, without the need of putting too much emphasis or going crazy over them. Music is a way devel-oped by man to express the current of emotion that is being felt by the composer or musician, or for that matter the listener. Whether we listen to Tomaso Albinoni or Tupac Shakur, we are listening to the same melody, that of human victory and defeat. In the classical sonata for example the structure is followed by play-

ing alternates between allegros and graves, thus bringing to relevance the subconscious connection be-tween love, pain, and happiness. In modern music today, there is no difference. If you turn on the radio, there will always be a song to dance to and a song to mourn to. I believe this is the core essence of music. Music is played with our families, in our car, when we wake up, when we are sad, when we celebrate, or when we just want to do some-thing. Today more than ever, music is there for us. Better and better mp3 players, music downloading applications, cell phones, radio communications, and the advent of the internet make music available

A World Without Music By: Manuel Morfin

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to us. The wonderful world of music is at our fingertips. What only the kings used to have, is now taken for granted. What only the fortu-nate used to hear, is now able to be heard by everyone. Music indeed appears to be a neccessity. Can you imagine a world without music? I guess that in some way with music, we are all made fortunate kings. According to a news release made by the (APP) American Academy of Pediatrics at the 2009 (NCE) National Conference and Exhibi-

tion, the average American youth listen to music from 1.5 to 2.5 hours per day and an analysis of at risk youth revealed they listen up to 6.8 hours a day. It is no wonder that the music industry is billion dollar market, not to mention the collat-eral effect that music has on other businesses and markets throughout the economy.I guess it’s like the old Zen saying, “If you understand the oneness of sound, then you will understand yourself.” Indeed if you listen carefully, you will see that we are

the music, and the music is us. You will find that the notes originate from inside of us. Music is at the core of who we are as people. Many cultures and popular movements define them-selves through their music. When we laugh and get together or when we are alone, music is our medium of expression. Without it we would not know what to do. Whether we are students with a music major or not, music plays an important role in our lives. The impact that music has upon our

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human experience is profound and powerfully evident. Now more than ever, I encourage the students at Fresno City College to take a music class next semester. If you like music, take a deeper look into it, you may find out something about yourself. I could probably bet you already heard some type of music today, so why not get class credit and learn more about it? Whether you like to dance, sing, play, or just listen to music, the music department at Fresno City

College offers a wide range of subjects to choose from. From vo-cal and instrument lessons, music theory and composition, dance and performing arts, to music apprecia-tion, FCC alumni have a variety of musical choices to pick for their curriculum. So next semester, why not try and speak with the gods, maybe you might have some luck and become famous, for doing so. With music you will reach for the stars._____Photos by Manuel Morfin

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The Fresno underground music scene is progressing at a rapid rate with local tal-

ent. With acts like Shake Da Major from Skhool Yard who appeared on an E-40 music video and solo artist Diego Red. However, the Ariginal Trend Settas or ATS has stood out

tremendously among others. I got a chance to chill with Dengee and Washeyi of ATS at their recording studio where Washeyi was compos-ing a beat on the computer’s beat machine. While I was there, Den-gee laced me with the history sur-rounding the group. “Real life rap is what we offer classical music. It

has always been in us”, says Den-gee. Some of the group’s major influences come from artists like Kool Moe D, Big Daddy Kane, the late Michael Jackson, Sugar Hill Gang, and M.C. Hammer. Dengee states he had the M.C. Hammer pants and used them to partake in doing the Hammer

Ariginal Trend Settas By: Adam Myles

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Time dance. Dengee informed me that the group got its name (Ariginal Trend Settas) from a member of the group named Dab. The original founders were Dab, OB, Ethic, and DLA. ATS has been on the valley hip-hop scene since 1995; the members of the rap assembly met when they were in high school. Going on fifteen years strong in the game, the group has learned a lot about the music industry. At one point in time, Dengee states that Protest and Pete Space were used to establish

their beats. Now Washeyi and Laz are on the keys composing different sounds. Similar to the Wu-tang Clan, the group started off deep. Each mem-ber brought their own vibe to the group, which Dengee calls, “The Gumbo Mix,” stating, “We’re all versatile lyrically and can switch up styles and flows.” Although their high school days are long over and many members are doing their own thing, Dengee, Washeyi, and Tre-80 are still producing hits. At this point in their careers, they

are all working on solo projects. Dengee’s last project was dropped a few years ago. It was called OUT OF NO-WHERE and was produced by LAZ. It Consisted of hot songs like Out of No-Where featuring; Planet Asia from Skhool Yard, Bubble Bubble featuring Tre 80, Reef, and Laz, and Hate on Me, all five mics classical hits in my opinion. His new project is labeled, “The Gumbo Mix”, which was released this October. Washeyi is also working on a solo project called, “Black Cocaine”; there is no specific drop date as of yet. Last but not least, it’s Tre-80 who’s coming with “Loose Change, which has no drop date thus far. Despite some of the others, Dengee is still pushing forward with the groups’ long term endurance. I asked him, when are you guys going to drop another massive group album? They haven’t since the release of, “Life is…” back in early 2000. “When the others get their mental right and join this hustle again”, says Dengee. “We definitely are going to drop another group album though again real soon; it’s just a matter of getting together.” I advise you to cop “Life is…”, if you haven’t bought it yet. On this particular CD, the group laid down 15 of their best tracks. If you can’t get enough of their group, I suggest you purchase their individual records as well. ATS is lyrically ridiculous, so be on the lookout for this Fresno talent. _____Photos by Adam Myles

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office wall, which made me real-ize I was not dealing with a light-weight here.

“Our purpose is to be a nonprofit exhibitor of first run films, not picked up by the commercial movie theatres.” he answers when I ask what the purpose of this organi-zation is,” said Moses. “ We bring many award winning films that are rarely seen by people out outside of the big cities.” A few examples he gives me are little seen yet critical-ly acclaimed documentaries such as “The Class” and “Waltz with Bishir,”which were shown at the 2009 festival.

When I asked Mr. Moses about turnout to FFW events he tells me laughing, “We have a very loyal base that attends our monthly screenings and festival, that tends

After a recent visit to a lo-cal movie theatre, Regal Entertainment, I had a

realization that just about every theatre is controlled by the Regal Entertainment Corporation. This company holds the monopoly and decides what movies are shown in the Central Valley. Major studio films that hold the almighty dol-lar in higher regard (Transformers, G.I. Joe ) than artistic merit, are given top billing. To watch mov-ies that have a more artistic feel or slip through the cracks and don’t get an opportunity to shine in major valley theatres, one has to go to a bigger city such as Los Angeles or San Francisco or San Jose where art house theatres are more appreci-ated.

Fresno Filmworks is a nonprofit organization working to change that situation. Fresno Filmworks was founded in 2001 by a group of citizens who wanted to see some diversity in films shown in the cen-tral valley. For the last 8 years, this group has brought foreign, domes-tic, independent, remastered, and re-released movies to the Tower Theatre on the second Friday of every month and a yearly festival held in the spring.

When I met with Professor John Moses, the former president of Fresno Filmworks and current programming director; his inter-est in film is evident. Pictures of the “Reservoir Dogs” crew in their iconic suits and Vincent Vega shar-ing a dance with Mia Wallace (Pulp Fiction) hang on the wall. Count-less movie posters also adorn his

Fresno FilmworksBy Pabel Lopez

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to be a little on the older side. Older people tend to have more disposable income and older actu-ally remember when Fresno had art house theatres, which ended in the late eighties and early nineties.” With that being said, he mentions that attendance really has to do with what type of movie is shown and what organization cosponsors that film. When I asked him about college students turnout, specifi-cally he tells me that “College kids are always welcome. Many college professors are on the board and of-fer extra credit to their students for attendance to a Fresno Film works event as incentive.”

When I ask him about the future of the organization he tells me that “There are no plans to expand.” The idea being to remain a non-profit organization and more films

would require more capital. He also tells me that the festival is quickly becoming a place for young film-makers to showcase their work. “We have a program that allows anyone to submit their short films.” “We have received submissions from all over the world.” This fact is a good indicator that this or-ganization is doing what they set out to do from the beginning and showcase little seen movies to the central valley.

The organization showcases their films at the Tower Theatre, which was built in 1939 as a Fox Theater and restored in 1990. This gave the theatre a new look and brought a new type of patron, which seems to work as a metaphor for some of the films that are restored and screened for new audiences. Therefore, breathing new life into works of art

that may have been missed the first time around.

While looking through the list of films that Fresno Filmworks has brought to the valley (available on their website), many films grab the attention of the reader, such as “Half Nelson“ and “Frozen River,’’ which were critically acclaimed and recipients of multiple Oscar nominations. Others like “Gonzo, The life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson” and “ The U.S. vs. John Lennon,” seemed aimed at a certain counter culture audience. “Bad Education” and “Blind Shaft” (two foreign films) also show the interest that the organization has in exposing Fresno audiences to good cinema regardless of language bar-riers.

John Moses, Fresno Filmworks Board Member

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V A M P I R E FANtasy

By: Armando Sanchez

Sweet, Sexy, and Single- the modern vampire! Back on the small screen and the big

screen, vampires have yet again, ‘sucked’ us in to the world of fantasy, lust, and passion. Sensual, seductive, sex-appeal is what you’ll now find in the fantasy world of VAMPIRES.

“I’ve come to answer your prayers ...life has no meaning anymore does it? ...What if I could give it back to you, pluck out the pain and give you another life, one you could never imagine!”-Les-tat from the film Interview with a Vampire (1994), reminds us of the infinite pow-ers most of us wish to possess, and eternal life we could only dream of to conquer the world. While physically and naturally impossible, we tune to the

world of vampire fantasy to give us that moment of pleasure and satis-faction our curious minds desire.

I am reminded of this film men-tioned earlier as newer TV series unfold on the small screen, like Vampire Diaries, where similar to the Interview with a Vampire, brothers Stefan and Damon play rivals to win over a girl named Elena. One of these two ‘Suck-ers’ wants her for ‘love’; while the other wants her for her body. These two actor buffs pave the way bring-ing sex appeal for the new wave of vampires on the small screen as once did Tom Cruise and Brad

Pitt on the big screen. The vam-pires in “Vampire Diaries” don’t fit your typical flesh eaters and blood suckers, savages, nor violent be-

ings. They’re more sophisticated and proper, younger, hip, and sexy, mis-understood heroes.

Popular film Twilight impres-sively connects and creates a

bond/relationship with its viewers by exposing us to the unordinary extraordinary! Twilight does a

great job of taking you on a wild ride you will never forget! It’s to the tune of what we experience with someone we are dating. You know…the times we went to an amusement park to experience a thrill ride. We prove how bold and brave we are, knowing darn well were “scaredy cats” but you ride with them anyway all in the name of romance. This is the thrill we seek and when we’ve survived the experience we feel safe and protected by that someone who is edgy, strong and brave; this is what gives us that sense of security that we all want in our lives. Mystery and curiosity plays into our minds and hearts as we experience the first kiss between the two main characters- she’s kissing someone from the ‘unknown‘, someone so unordinary. Brings you to your knees, doesn‘t it? You know what I’m talking about, that passion-ate moment between you and that special someone that you think you know, but you just don’t really know.

The case is the same for a simi-lar TV series True Blood where again you’re going to experience plenty more “fang-banging” action. Rebellious, bad attitude, rock star

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punks are who play the vampire villains on True Blood. Conflicting enough, we have “good” and “evil” vampires. Synthetic blood is what allows vampires to live, interact and coexist amongst the rest of us in the TV series! ‘These are issues we currently face in our personal lives with accepting people of dif-ferent races, backgrounds, lifestyles and beliefs. No matter how much and how hard some of us try to bridge the gap of “hate” and “fear”, others become plagued with dark-ness and hatred itself, to destroy and corrupt the beauty of… Love.

After all, It’s all about power and control isn’t it? While many of us wish to possess such abilities over others, we find comfort in know-ing that we potentially could, while tuned into the world of fantasy where anything is possible. That is we will not act on our own desires (mainly because we know the consequence and reality behind

conducting such devilish/mischie-vous behavior) as that performed on the big screen or small screen. This goes to question… who doesn’t like to be bad though? We all want to be the ‘bad-boy’, or the ‘naughty-girl’. Because of this- I believe more and more of these films/series- play into the fantasies that lie deep within us all. The lust and desire we feel for the meat and flesh of another being, (and no, I’m

not saying to eat) -but to feel, to have and to hold. The kisses that turn into little bites, and the ten-der whisper of warm breath at the back of your neck; in a moment of

passion, turns into a “hickey”. For the most part the fantasy world of film is more and more enticing, allowing us to feel more and more comfortable with our own desires.

So what’s love got to do with it? After all, aren’t Vampires heartless and mean? The attitude in these films and series is “relate with the viewers“. Those young girls who dream of Prince Charming, or the boys who dream of “total domina-tion”, In a nut shell looking for that sense of belonging, of being needed, and wanted. We all look for that special someone to spend quality time with. The things we think about only in the privacy of our rooms, we allow to float in the clouds of the endless and hopeful dreams that our minds compile, or what we write in our diaries. Every breath we take we think of that special someone, and what we hope and look forward to -should we ever get the moment to share the same space with that per-son. If earlier that day we saw our special someone, we go

home and ponder the thoughts of walking, laughing and playing by their side.

The trailer teaser for Vampire Diaries does a great job of descrip-tively placing us in a suspended moment of a time, where it’s view-ers are allowed to “ponder” the possibility that vampires are people too, that what you feel, they feel too, that in the end both Vampires and Humans all possess the same feelings, and we all seek the same.

So goes the Teaser Trailer for sea-son one, which gives us an under-standing of what it is we can look forward to in Vampire Diaries... not far from the experiences most of us encounter in the real life: “Dear Diary, Love bites, sometimes it can make you feel like it’s the greatest thing in the world. It can make you feel safe, it can make you forget everything, like you can start all over again. Love can also make you feel out of control, scared, like its eating away at you until there’s nothing left. Love really sucks!” I couldn’t have said it better! If you want to know more about the fantasies you and I only dream of, check out www.trailerspy.com for more clips, scenes, and snippets of the succulent world of vampires.

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It never fails that every so often I walk in a room and I’m told,

“Hey I like your outfit!” Little do they know that my outfit was an ex-tension of what I was wearing earlier in the day, and all I did was “switch it up” to make me “look the part”.

Now, I’m not talking about Gucci, Prada, and Dolce & Gabanna. I’m talking about “staples” each and everyone of us has (or should have) in our closets; clothing articles that

will take you from school-to-work and vice versa, to outfits that will take you from work-to-play. By staples I’m referring to the term “basics”. By basics, I mean one of each item that is a must have for those day’s where your outfit must compliment booked schedules. Everything from a corporate

meeting, to the class presentation, to meeting up with your friends for a quick lunch, and having margaritas at a nice restaurant in the evening. “Staples” hold you together throughout the day (hence the word). “Staple-Colors” for your wardrobe consist of black, white and brown. Here are a few ideas for you to keep it together and not look a HOT MESS, by converting from morning to night and vice-versa!

JEANS: We all have them. Make sure to have different types and styles for different occasions. Stock up: Jean type- Lose fit, slim fit, boot cut, low-rise, and straight leg jeans. Jean style- Faded, washed, dirty, distressed, dark and light.

HIP TIP: Jeans are convertible apparel in and of themselves, but the trick lies in type and style of jean. Your “favorite” pair of jeans are the ones you know you can where in almost any setting. Usually it’s the dark, low rise, straight leg jean. At the start of the day throw on these jeans (your favorite) with a shirt, hooded jacket and sneakers- easily converting it into a dressy casual look, by throwing on a sports blazer and changing into some loafers for an evening out.

BROWN: Being an earth tone color, it is the perfect color to wear on days you want to keep

Closet Convertibles

BY ARMANDO SANCHEZ

Maximize your wardrobe, and your wallet!

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it simple. Stock up: Sweaters (cardigan), track jacket, blazers, t-shirts.

BLACK: This color is a must-have in your closet. As dark and grim as this color may seem, it really brings out a tint of elegance, glamour and sophistication to any occasion. Not only that, but black is the one color you want to have on those days you feel bloated, gassy or just a few pounds over. Why? Well, we all know that BLACK is slimming! Stock up on the following: Collard button down, long & short sleeve polo,

t-shirt, track jacket, v-neck (shirt and cashmere sweater), vest, shorts, pin-striped dress pants, trousers, jeans, chinos, suit pants and SPORTS BLAZER.

HIP TIP: Emphasis on the Sports Blazer, carrying this sucker around with you on those long days, where you’re just not sure where you’ll end up is a huge plus. Simply throw it over what your wearing and in an instant you have a casual-dressy look.

GREY: This color gives you a chic, sophisticated, business-professional look. Stock up: Chinos, trousers, Collard button

down, polo, v-neck cashmere sweater and vest. Try and include different styles such as pin-striped, argyle and plaid.

HIP TIP: Bring along a matching track jacket or cardigan sweater and some loafers to go from business-professional to

evening-casual in an instant.

White- When did it become LAW to not where white after Labor Day? White is another MUST HAVE staple. White really brings out a casual side to any outfit… after all, to get that “boy-or-girl next door look” a white tee and some blue washed jeans with open

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without having to change into shorts or a tank top, unless of course, you plan to swim.

ACCESSORIES: For guys and gals accessories will vary in style, types and sizes. Here you can be creative by mixing and matching patterns, textures, and colors. Stock up: Scarves, Hats, Baseball caps, Fedoras- (the style of hat made famous by Michael Jackson during his performance of Billy Jean in 1983), Ties, Gloves and finally add charm, glam, and sex appeal with jewelry. Hemp jewelry is quickly becoming a popular trend, especially amongst men. Dog tag necklaces are popular accessories too among guys and gals. Create a bit of a rough, tough and rugged look to any outfit by throwing one on.

HIP TIP: Wear a white v-neck shirt, a black cardigan sweater, some slim fit jeans and sneakers with a dog-tag necklace and you have a very trendy and stylish, hip and fresh look.

or closed toed shoes really does the trick. White makes you look or feel cool and fresh. Stock up: White button down collard long sleeve/short sleeve, white t-shirt, v-neck, tank top and white “producer pants.”Ask for them at your local retail store. Also white patterned shorts whether plaid or pin-striped.

HIP TIP: You may want to stock up a little extra on this color, since it’s a fundamental basic in your closet. You may find yourself wearing white tops a little more often, especially if you’re the active type. If you plan on heading to the beach or perhaps the park right after work, a fresh look is the way to go. To achieve this “simple casual look,” throw on a white button down shirt (if you don’t already have one on), with a tank underneath and some khaki cargo shorts, some tan sandals, and your good to go!

COLOR- Important, have one of each color of the rainbow. You never know when you’re going to need the red v-neck sweater, or the blue striped shirt, a solid green t-shirt, or the yellow polo. Think ROYGBIV, Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.

HIP TIP: Wearing khaki pants/shorts with any of these colors and styles of shirts will look great. You can never go wrong with khaki pants (especially flat front) or shorts at work or play (always refer/adhere to your company’s dress code policy).]

SHOES: Okay here’s where things get a bit tricky,

because frankly an outfit is not an outfit without the shoes. Be very selective of the shoes as they must compliment a few if not all of your outfits. Stock up: Loafers, dress shoes (no laces, less hassle and easy to slip on and off.), tennis shoes, and athletic shoes.

SANDALS: Sandals can be any color any style, but make sure you stock up on the basic colors. Make sure to include flip flops as you may want to have these available for a day at the park, out at the beach or for around the house.

HIP TIP: Sandals really help dress down any outfit, especially for days where your heading out to a pool party, Luau, or meeting up the boys/girls at a pub or coffee shop. Compliment your top with the sandals that match it. Example if you were at the movies with sneakers, a white t-shirt, and some blue jeans, changing your sneakers for some tan or white sandals will do the trick for that pool party,

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Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba and Imani Do you know what those

are? Do you know what that represents? Well if not I am here to let you know what this is all about. These are the 7 principles of Kwanzaa. Some of you are probably ask-ing, “Kwanzaa? What in the world is that and what does it mean?” Kwanzaa is an African American non religious, non traditional holiday created by Dr. Ron Karenga to reinforce the seven basic values of the African culture which con-tribute and build strong, healthy African-American families. These are principles set in the sixties by Dr. Karenga that he felt would help to reconstruct the African American community, and help us get back to what an African family was about. Ron Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 as the first specifically African American holiday. He was just giving the African American people a reason to celebrate them and to get away from the celebrations that were already in place. Kwanzaa is a celebration that has its roots in

the African American movement in the 60’s and was created to help African Americans reconnect with their African culture and history. At first, many African American people thought that Kwanzaa was created to replace Christ-mas and substitute their religion, so a lot of African-American people shun from the holiday. However, since Kwanzaa has went more mainstream, people are now looking at it as learning a part of their culture and they are more acceptable of the Kwanzaa celebration. Many African-American Christians who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.

Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their homes with objects of art, colorful African cloth, es-

Kwanzaa By: Dorenda Williams

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pecially the wearing of kaftans by women, and fresh fruits that represent African idealism. It’s custom to include the chil-dren in Kwanzaa ceremonies and to give respect and gratitude to our ancestors. For they have fought a long hard battle for us and deserve all the respect. Non African-Americans can also celebrate Kwanzaa. It is a very educational and joyous celebra-tion that offers a lot of love, and hope. A Kwanzaa celebration may include drumming and musical selections, the Af-rican pledge and the 7 principles of Black-ness, reflection on the Pan-African colors.Since we have been speaking of the 7 prin-ciples of Kwanzaa here is a break down: Umoja is unity that stresses the importance of togetherness for the family and the community. Kujichagulia is self determination we define our common interests and make decisions that are in the best interest of our family and our community. Ujima means collective work, responsibility, and working together as a family and a community to make positive things happen. Ujamaa means supporting each other. Nia helps us look deep inside of ourselves and set personal goals that are beneficial to our communities and our families. Kuumba is the creativeness that allows us to build our community on our creativity and maintain it. Imani represents faith that honor the best of the African traditions that our ancestors have passed on. It helps us to remember where the African family came from and helps us strive to always be better or reach a higher level of life and believing in who we are and that we are worthy.

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‘Posada California’By: Armando Sanchez

Jack Frost is peeking at you, and the cooler temperatures are nipping at your nose and

ear lobes. Suddenly the coats and jackets that took up space in your closet are now finding themselves wrapped around your body. Sum-mer is months away and to keep you company, winter has decided to drop in. The season begins to remind us and prepares us for the celebrations that lay ahead; along with the many ways one can in-dulge, participate and become involved with a largely celebrated and diversi-fied holiday, Christmas. One of the many ways Christmas is cele-brated amongst many Latin communities, is through the tradi-tion of Posadas!

“Posada” in Spanish simply means lodging or shelter, but the actual festivities represent a religious event in which many people from different cultures can participate in. Traditionally, posadas recount the story that commemorates Mary and Joseph’s cold and difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search

of shelter to give birth to their son Jesus. One way homage is paid is by putting on a small community Christmas play, that re-tells the magical journey of all involved in the birth of the ‘‘Savior’’. In this play children act out roles of Mary, Joseph, three wise men, the northern star (yes some kids play the role of a star), and different farm animals; the setting takes place in a stable, where all characters circle around for the final scene, which is the birth of Jesus Christ.

Another form of celebrating the tradition is by gathering friends and neighbors from your local community and together go from home to home caroling. Carolers are considered “Peregrinos” as they

are known to be seekers of holy and spiritual sanctuaries. Each time they arrive at a door they begin to sing with children leading at the front of the group followed by adults. The caroler asks to be let in for shelter, if denied, then carolers continue seeking shelter at another home until, eventually a home (usually pre-planned) invites the carolers in and provides hospitality. It is in this home where friends and family celebrate with food, music and dancing.

While dancing, singing and “laughing all the way...” is what the Christmas spirit should be about, for some; the spirit of ‘giving’

is most joyful. Piñatas play a big role during this

holiday festivities as it represents an opportunity for many to give and receive small gifts and treats. Piñatas are shaped in star formation, vary by color and size; symbolizing

the heavenly star which mysteriously

guided the Three Kings to the newborn Jesus, bearing gifts to welcome the newborn

to Mary and Joseph. Piñatas are usually filled with candies and fruit for the children; and In some cases the may contain small toys.

Though the aforementioned is

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the traditional custom practiced by many throughout the world, Posadas are quickly becoming a part of a more mainstream culture. Nowadays, Posadas have evolved from religious festivities to social celebrations that take place on school campuses, city lots, and neighborhood blocks. With the meaning being Christmas, you’re certain to find a variety of foods, a diverse cultural atmosphere, and people from different walks of life. I experienced this evolution of Posada celebrations recently when I attended a non-traditional Posada event, where many people were present, as was plenty of food, free toys, and a concert with many different bands, groups and solo artist.

For many the holidays are an exciting moment to spend time with family, hanging out at the mall; enjoying fine dining and shopping. Others find joy in celebrating with music, dancing, games, and socializing! Of the many ways the Christmas spirit is felt and celebrated; ‘Posada California’ 2009 in the Central Valley let it show! This event took place at one of the largest venues in the valley, located in the central heart of the Golden State. The city of Tulare provided for a beautiful location. The venue: The International Agri Center. As I drove down Laspina Road to my destination, I noticed the cool, calm air, the road winded and was

clean, almost has if it were a lone highway; out in the country side. The weather was perfect! The sun was out and shining bright! I knew ahead was a place that would allow me to reminisce about my childhood years and the holiday spirit.

A dirt path guided the way to the

location, where families were unloading strollers, while ensuring the children would stay warm, by placing coats on the little ones in the parking lot. Late into the morning, and vendors were quickly preparing last minute touches to their booths, and though the look on their faces were screaming stress, stress, stress, their smiles invited guest closer and greeted each attendee with a warm welcome. It was a warm feeling throughout the location,

many smiles and plenty of love to go around. Much of the love I’m referring to, is the love expressed through the food that we eat and share with our families, and many of the booths that were serving food were ran by local Mom & Pop Shops. The warmth was felt with each champurado (A thick hominy-flour based drink, usually

consisting of cinnamon flavor or vanilla bean), with each bite of churro sprinkled with cinnamon, in each taco that was wrapped around a napkin to absorb the excess canola oil, and with each sip of hot chocolate. You knew love was present amongst other things.Aside from the food, the Christmas spirit amongst the Latino community doesn’t stop there. A celebration, isn’t a celebration without the MUSIC! Twenty-two groups (and some uncounted for) performed at this event, amongst them a 10 year old phenomenon Ricardito Paz, who brought me close to tears when he paid

homage to all the single mothers in the audience and actually called one mother to the stage as he performed a song dedicated to her. A special presentation by an Oldies group Los Bondadosos was resonated by the older crowds cheers, who enjoyed listening to old time favorites. Talk about tough crowds, one of the least favorites to perform was Tony “El chico del momento” whose hip-hop style was entertaining indeed, but in a few words, “was at the wrong

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place at the wrong time.” A crowd pleaser and entertainment favorite (working up their name) were three young, handsome fellows who make up Alerta3. Talk about dirty dancing, Andy, JC and Pollo know how to work a crowd just as they once did before at a local concert in downtown Fresno; I expect nothing less from these guys!‘Posada California’ performances were huge crowd pleasers and though I did not have the opportunity of being a spectator for one of many of the presentations, I did have the pleasure to speak with Raphael Lua, owner of a horse ranch in southern California where he trains and raises ‘‘performance horses’’. He and his crew put together a horse show

for the audience consisting of domineering acts to make a horse follow commands to dance along to music. I got a behind-the-scenes peek at what he and the horses can do together, it’s unbelievable and exciting fun!

Posadas California was really fun, but more so was the expression of joy on each child and parents face when a child was receiving a gift, courtesy of Toys for Tots, such an awesome act of kindness to give to those less fortunate. The spirit of the holidays was resonated with laughter throughout, and the smiles that reflected the beauty of the moment. Posadas are a celebration I invite you to be a part of, not only for the cultural experience but for

your own personal experience.

No matter where you are, and where you go, celebrations around the holiday’s will differ. Many of us will go on to keep the traditions alive while others may choose to re-create, modify or even make hybrids of certain traditions. Regardless, the purpose is to learn and to educate, and to remember people of the past and what affect it has on people of the present. We all march to the beat of a drum (mine is my heart), and I hope that your drum beats long and hard so you can get to where you want to go in life. This is my gift to you for the holidays: Best wishes and many blessings for a lifetime.

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would allow pot to be legalized on the same grounds as alcohol. Ages 21 an over would be allowed to buy it, but driving under the influence of marijuana would be prohibited. Under Ammiano’s proposal which has been endorsed by some law enforcement officials, pot would be taxed at a rate of $50 per ounce and bring an estimated $1.4 billion into state treasury.

I had a chance to sit down with Anisha Patel who is a marijuana doctor who works for the Fresno branch of Medicann, the largest provider of medical marijuana recommendations in California. I asked her opinion on whether or not legalizing marijuana will have an effect on the budget crisis. “Yes, it would help California’s budget crisis from its massive revenue obtain...” says Patel. Next, I asked her if the legalization of the drug

To some pot is an ugly word, but can legalization solve California’s budget crisis?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in early Sept. signed bills intended to close the state’s $42 billion budget shortfall for the next year and a half. These bills include $15 bil-lion in spending cuts, $12.8 billion in temporary tax increases and $11 billion in borrowing. A solution yes, but to some the fix is as simple as legalizing marijuana. The spending cuts have already affected California’s prison system as well

as its public school programs and funding. Also, recreational pro-grams for senior citizens and kids have been troubled by the budget crisis. This has resulted in numer-ous employees layoffs in the past year.

A state legislator is vitalizing the debate about legalizing marijuana as a way of raising money for case-hardened state and local govern-ments. Assemblyman Tom Ammi-ano, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill September 7, 2009. If approved by the California Legislature it

Will Legalizing Marijuana Fix California’s Budget Crisis?By: Adam Myles

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will affect the Medical Marijuana business. “Yes, it would affect the medical aspect of the business.” “It should be still recommended by doctor’s and have certain restric-tions on it regardless.” She also goes on to say, “If alcohol is legal so should marijuana.”

According to a newsletter in the Sept, 2009 edition of the Commu-nity Alliance titled, The Economy Goes “Up in Smoke”; What’s really behind Fresno’s Drug Wars? Mike Rhodes writes how government agencies headed by Gil Ker-likowske the White House Office director of the National Drug Con-trol Policy work to eradicate mari-juana. One case in particular deals with the Sierra Mountains and the shut down of a medical marijuana dispensary in the city of Fresno. This all occurred this past summer 2009. This led to a campaign titled Operation Save Our Sierra, which has led to 91 arrests and approxi-mately $1.6 billion worth of mari-juana plants seized.

Medical Cannabis of Fresno Physi-cian Director Dr. Terrill E. Brown MD, MPH (Master of Public Health) granted me an interview. Dr. Brown is a graduate of UC Davis class of ‘93, and has been prescribing Medical Marijuana for four years. When I asked him would the legalization of mari-juana help the California Budget Crisis, he replied, “Yes, it would help from its tax revenues, but just a little.” “Law enforcement wastes tax payer’s money by enforc-ing and prosecuting laws against marijuana.” Dr. Brown thinks the drug should be legalized stating, “There’s no scientific proof why it

should not be and that its legality is purely political.” Elgerdon Graves, Director of California Patient Net-work, a Cannabis card recommen-datory thinks it should be legalized for medical purposes. He believes it would help fix the budget crisis and help generate funds to the great state of California.

The three interviewee’s are all highly qualified professionals, that shared similar answer to the ques-tions, “Should pot be legalized and

would it help solve California bud-get crisis?” What’s your opinion on this very broad topic? Although I feel this drug is much safer than alcohol, which the government le-galized during its prohibition days, many might not agree. I would like to hear from anyone who has an opinion. Is this the answer to revi-talizing California’s economy or an excuse for a legal high?

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Racism, Ageism, Gender inequality. When many

people think of discrimina-tion these topics usually come to

mind, but a form of discrimination has been around for ages yet it has remained hidden by media outlets and by the public; Classism. There have been countless examples of classism from the ways in which

workers were exploited in the 1840’s by the owners of the land, to the way many residents of New Or-leans were treated during Hurricane Katrina, to the way immigrants are

treated by American citizens.

The most symbolic example of classism may be the sinking of the Titanic which has an overwhelming number of survivors from the upper class or first class as compared to a third or working class. This is an example of the “victims of class,” people who have suffered because of their standing in the social order of their nation.

“The clashing of different social classes will always be around as long as capitalists need to make money and workers need to fight for better rights and avoid unfair exploitation there will be a constant struggle between the upper class and the middle and lower class.” says Dr. Paul Gilmore, a History professor at Fresno City College Every part of the world has differ-ent experiences in relation to class. For example, in the United States race and class are strongly bonded by the fact that black people were held as slaves by whites or “the ruling class” as opposed to other nations where race may not be as big a factor. Dr. Paul Gilmore, also stated, “A disdain for the working class is definitely present, almost as a learned behavior that has become second nature to everyone which makes make people believe that this issue is not a problem.” He mentions that “many members of American families that are a part of the working class are forgotten.” For example when a child says

that their father is “just a forklift driver,” as if there is something wrong or inadequate with the blue collar work that the father does. In holding negative feelings against people based on how much money they make or what type of work they do, people do the exact thing that makes any sort of discrimina-tion wrong.

When I ask Dr. Gilmore about Social Mobility and its relevance to this topic, he informs me that “Inter-generational progress” is a lot more likely to happen than direct social class progress. For example; a father working on an assembly line can have a son who becomes manager of the line or even an engineer, but not an owner of the company. The ‘rags to riches’ story is a nice story but highly unlikely.” Ideas about social advancement are planted in every-one’s mind from an early age with teachings of freedom and the right to the pursuit of happiness but in reality many factors play a part in

ClassismBy: Pabel Lopez

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to why sometimes this may just be an impossible dream. In the “Bonfire of the Vanities” a book by Tom Wolfe examining class and racism in the 1980’s in New York City, A rich white man named Sherman McCoy refers to himself as a “Master of the Uni-verse” repeatedly throughout the book. He has this idea because he has been groomed for success from an early age with a rich respected high class lawyer father, attending the finest prep schools and ulti-mately going to Yale University. Many people believe that just get-ting a college education is enough to succeed and somehow gain con-trol in the world, while in reality, this is a scenario that happens very rarely. The people who gain con-trol of the world are usually born into that world, which is a direct connection to classism. Everyone has the opportunity to gain control but many factors involving class stop progress for students such as;

money and racism.

When I ask Dr. Gilmore why this has become a hidden problem, He mentions that newspapers no lon-ger have a labor section they have a business section which is focused on white collar jobs such as the stock market. He says, “Media in the 1880’s until about the 1930’s had labor headlines (coal, steel industry strikes,) and huge working class appeal. When issues about the labor end are covered it is usually focused on how consumers will be affected.” When I ask the reason for this, his response is that “the massive corporate ownership of many media outlets plays a huge part.” While the focus shifted to softer news such as human inter-est, and entertainment, labor issues ceased to be as important to many media corporations. A quote by Gilmore makes the point excep-tionally clear as to how this became a buried issue, “Viewers are not consumers, viewers are a prod-

uct to advertisers and advertisers don’t want a product that thinks for itself.”

For people to be educated about this subject begins with looking at the world around them and asking questions. Who makes the rules? Who does the current work system benefit? How have I been affected by these issues? A little critical thinking goes a long way in think-ing about any sort of discrimination issues. Just as some empathy will also help people see the world in a new way, a change of perspective will give people a new look on the plight of the working people. As Dr. Gilmore said, “ When you miss the history of working people, you miss over half of the story.” Which goes to show, how important the working class truly is, and we can’t let the continued discrimination run rampantly as it has for so long.

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Is racial, social, and religious discrimination alive on FCC campus? Apparently it is. As

I walk though campus I see and hear evidence of it daily. A mixed group of African American and Hispanic males loudly stereotyping a caucasian woman, comparing her to how stupid Brittney Spears is. Using phrases like “ White mother fucker’s like that.” A caucasian man caught up in a loud rant about some “Mexican” that he was going to “Teach him how to act.” This goes on in all races it seems on and off campus.

There is evidence of silent discrim-inations to be seen on campus also. Little groups, of Asian, Mexican, Indian, caucasian religious and spiritual differences. Social classes, the “I’m better than you club,” gender, sexual preferences -you name it we’ve got it. The groups are standing close enough but the separation can be easily defined.

We have to get down to where this line of thinking comes from. Our parents, our grandparents, our ancestors, our peers, our fears? Not only is it ignorant but also it feeds hate, insecurity and aggression. We have all done it, maybe in only a

small way, made a judgment about someone based on the way they look, dress, act, yes speak or even smell. Is it right?

This has gone on for all of time I believe. Can we stop it? No. Can we take responsibility for our own actions? Yes. We can start by checking our own thoughts and actions. Defining them and then correcting them if need be. Think of a time when you yourself have been discriminated against. Did the person judge you fairly? Did they even know you? How did it make you feel?

I am not talking about living by the old cliché “I don’t see color.” What I am saying is, let’s see color, nationality, social class, gender, religious preference, sexual prefer-ence, personality, and so on. Let’s respect it, learn about it and value it. Am I telling you that you have to agree with everybody? No. What I am trying to express to you is that we all have a right to be seen for who we really are not based on ap-pearance or association alone.

We as a people have come through a lot of huge lessons about racism and discrimination throughout the

ages. We can be tolerant and live together by now I should think.

Look back on the Holocaust in Germany. Millions of people, not only Jews, were killed because of race, because of social, religious and sexual preferences. This action was basically driven by one man. Lets not forget that many followed him freely, and others by force.

When the Holocaust was happen-ing didn’t the world ignore it, as if it wasn’t going on at all? In the beginning we did. Even here in the United States some of us called Hitler a great leader. Let me ex-plain, we are not experiencing hor-rors here to such an extreme, but it still matters.

Think of the power that one man used, and the incredible effect it had on the world, not just the peo-ple in Germany but this discrimina-tion bled over in to our country as well. People were changing their last names here in America because they thought it sounded too “Jew-ish” and they might be discrimi-nated against. Even Jews here in America were outcast by some crowds.

Germany is just one example, the Japanese have suffered because of their race, put in concentration camps not for crimes they commit-ted but because of their national-ity. Asian cultures have had many experiences with stereotyping and oppression.

From the earliest recorded history people of all backgrounds have been persecuted at one time or another. All in the name of power, greed and cultural differences.

Racism And Discrimination Why Now?By: Kimberly Lake Waldron

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We can come together to fight rac-ism and discrimination and have a powerful effect on society. If we make the right choices and perpetu-ate this way of thinking. Consider the potential impact it would have for all human beings

In this century people from all walks of life have been able to make huge steps towards equaliza-tion. Women can vote, hold public office, own property, and obtain college degrees. African Americans can now receive an education, eat in the same restaurants, and use the same transportation like the rest of the country. Fortunately, accep-tance is growing in our nation for humans.

Unfortunately, some of us are still stuck in the thought processes of the past which held humanity back from progress for thousands of years. We still continue to discrimi-nate in our supposed new tolerant society.

Lets start here, right on campus and abolish these ignorant ways of thinking and acting. We need to act as educated citizens with a higher level of understanding.

Obviously, practices of racism and discrimination will not disappear anytime soon. However, it is our responsibility to think and act ethi-cal, moral and be as impartial as possible in the treatment of others around us.

We are setting an example for this generation to follow. We need to take responsibility for our actions and see what kind of impact we can have not only on this campus, but in the world too.

INTENSECITy 2009

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Our environmental “foot-print” can be measured in many ways. Do we drive a

block to the store instead of taking a short walk? Leave our car run-ning when we are sitting talking with a friend ? Do we leave the sink running while we brush our teeth? What types of foods do we eat? Do we unplug our cell phone chargers when they aren’t being used? There are so many things we can do to make our environmental shoe size smaller. Little things that can add up to us as a society mak-ing a tremendous impact on our future.

Turn on your TV and wait. You’ll see ads for products claiming to be environmentally safe, dish soap that is biodegradable, or claims to be natural. Cleaners claiming to be environmentally friendly.

Have you thought deeper than the label on a product? What about the process that it takes to make that product? How much waste, and en-vironmentally unfriendly processes did it take to create it? For instance an innocent looking bottle of water that takes more than 6 times the amount of water in the bottle to process it as reported by treehug-ger.com.

This is a good website for infor-mation on our environment. It

also provides links to documented scientific studies on a variety of environmental topics.

You see water bottles everywhere, laying around campus, in the park-ing lot it looks like my six year old had a water drinking party with all her friends and no one cleaned up. What if we all bought a quality wa-ter filter and kept the plastic out of the environment and off the streets?

Lets not forget to mention that bottle of water is going to cost you $1.50 or more depending on what label is on the front. A water filter can produce an average of 200 gallons of water per filter for about $25.00

The Pitter Patter of Little FeetBy: Kimberly Lake Waldron

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Our every day products that we use on our bodies, and in our homes in-cluding the food we consume have incredibly unhealthy chemicals in them. Not only for our bodies but for our environment too.

If you took the time to do a little research on the chemicals and pro-cesses used to make these products you would be amazed at the haz-ardous crap that is in them

Although I am by no means an expert in these areas, I can provide you with some tips to get you on the road to a “Greener style of liv-ing.” The following suggestions work for me, but always do your homework. The information is out there, knowledge is power.

Some good tips for environmentally friendly living I have found on a website called Tipnut.com. This website provides recipes for homemade laundry soap, dish soap, shampoo, conditioner, household cleaners the list goes on and on.

Some staples to keep in the house for safer cleaning are as follows:

� Baking soda--use it to as an alternative to Comet or Ajax. I use it to scrub anything. Sinks, pot and pans, counter tops etc. Use it to clear a clogged drain when mixed with vinegar. Pour about a cup of baking soda in the drain and then add a cup or two of apple cider vin-egar let it sit and soon most clogs will clear. It can be used in place of shampoo followed by a vinegar rinse for conditioning. You would be surprised how soft your hair is. I know this one sounds crazy but it works.

�Borax--can be used as a laundry

booster or as an main ingredient in homemade laundry soap. It can also be used as a bug deterrent This product has many uses and is not toxic to the environment like so many cleaning products.

�Pure Castile Soap--used as body soap, is a great soap. It leaves your skin soft and moisturized. Mix it with Baking soda to make a body or facial scrub. It can also be used to make shampoo dish soap, hand soap etc. Dr Bronner’s Magic Soaps is the brand I use. According to my research this is a environ-mentally responsible company.

�Lemon Juice and Salt can be used to remove stains. It takes a while but it is effective and environmen-tally friendly. I can be a problem if used on dark colored fabric.

�Set your printer to draft when your doing your printing if it’s not going to matter whether your printing is in high resolution or not. Save money and waste.

�Go to www.obviously.com/junkmail/ for a variety instruction to be removed from mailing lists, and call lists. That will help reduce

paper output and save you the headache of the unwanted mail and phone calls at dinner time.

�Buy used books--There are many sources for used books available. Local used book stores are a great place to buy. Or try your luck at a local thrift store, yard sales, book swap websites. Online sources require the least effort, but you may pay a little more. Even hot of the press books become available within a few weeks.

I do my share of damage to the environment. We don’t have to move to the forest and give up all things commercial to make a differ-ence. Start with small changes and try to incorporate them into your daily life. Analyze your activities. See if there is a way that you can reduce the waste and chemicals you are producing and using. As your awareness grows incorporate new ways to be “Greener”. It will save you money and help sustain our environment.

INTENSECITy 2009

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2000The biggest news event of the year 2000 was the election of a new American president after eight years of Clinton. Everyone was asking, “Who is next?” After the proverbial dust had settled the two contenders left were George W Bush a Republican governor from Texas and Al Gore, the Democrat Vice President to Clinton. Doing a simple Google search of “Bush, Gore, election” most articles mention the words Election, stolen, and Florida.” Media coverage of these candidates was skewed with Bush being portrayed as the charming Young Cowboy and Gore cast as the Dull, boring

government nerd. (Vanity faire) 2001 9-11 September 11 October 7 (why: millions of people affected by deaths in New York brought nation closer together.) On 9-11 2001 the nation woke up to find the biggest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Two planes attacking New York and the Pentagon seems like a plot from a bad movie starring Kurt Russell, but on that day that became a scary reality. As bad as the death toll of this event was, in the following years people such as conspiracy theorists and right wing political pundits couldn’t help but use this event as a way to push their own

political agendas about the government. 2002 Oxley act July 30(Enron millionaires were stealing brought white collar criminals to forefront) In 2002, “the smartest guys in the room” were exposed as a bunch of criminals. With the recent news of Ponzi Schemes and all sorts of financial scams, the Enron case seems to have a new sense of relevancy. Many people lost their life savings because of the fraud committed by the heads of the company, which led to hostility in the state of Texas and in the city of Houston which led the head of the company to

ask for a new trial in a new location. 2003 California Recall March 19 (California recall people decided that a new leader was needed.) Californians were fed up after an energy crisis had left many without lights in their homes and workplaces. Petitions were handed out to get the recall process in motion. Many California governors had faced some level of the recall process but never on the level that Gray Davis did in 2003. Many candidates came out to try and replace Davis such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arianna Huffington, Mary Carey and

Gary Coleman. 2004 George W. Bush needed to win the election of 2004 with all of the massive projects he had started in the first four years of his presidency. Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts was chosen as the candidate for the Democratic Party. Running on a platform against the two ongoing wars seemed to be a good campaign move until Vietnam veterans began to challenge Kerry’s war record. Aside from the veterans involvement the election had many controversies such as voter rejections and faulty voting machines, which played a huge part in George Bush’s victory.

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2005 (Hurricane showed how unprepared country was for a natural disaster aftermath was a disaster too) Hurricane Katrina, a class 5 hurricane struck New Orleans On august 30 2005, this storm left the city underwater and many of its people homeless. The cities levees were shown to be unfit for a storm on the scale of Katrina. The government was shown to be unprepared for the effect that the storm would have on residents of New Orleans. In the wake of the storm, Criminal behavior such as looting seemed to take over the streets of New Orleans. In 2009, rebuilding efforts in New Orleans were still being conducted by the government 4

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Decade of Historical Events TimelineBy: Pabel Lopez

2005

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41

Gary Coleman. 2004 George W. Bush needed to win the election of 2004 with all of the massive projects he had started in the first four years of his presidency. Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts was chosen as the candidate for the Democratic Party. Running on a platform against the two ongoing wars seemed to be a good campaign move until Vietnam veterans began to challenge Kerry’s war record. Aside from the veterans involvement the election had many controversies such as voter rejections and faulty voting machines, which played a huge part in George Bush’s victory.

Face

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2005 (Hurricane showed how unprepared country was for a natural disaster aftermath was a disaster too) Hurricane Katrina, a class 5 hurricane struck New Orleans On august 30 2005, this storm left the city underwater and many of its people homeless. The cities levees were shown to be unfit for a storm on the scale of Katrina. The government was shown to be unprepared for the effect that the storm would have on residents of New Orleans. In the wake of the storm, Criminal behavior such as looting seemed to take over the streets of New Orleans. In 2009, rebuilding efforts in New Orleans were still being conducted by the government 4

years after the devastating hurricane.2006 On December 30th Saddam Hussein was executed after a lengthy trial which found him guilty of war crimes. The trial of Hussein was seen as an opportunity for the newly formed Iraqi Government to make a good first impression on a global scale. A day after the execution, shaky video footage of the hanging was leaked, ruining the credibility of the new Government. The Iraqi Leader had been the focus of a manhunt and when he was found hiding in a cave, the world was curious as to what his punishment would be and who would be in charge of his prosecution. This was a man who had been portrayed as one of the biggest villains in the world for a number of years and was a fixture on American news programs all through his time

in power. 2007 (Massacre in school big tragedy reminiscent of columbine) On April 16th, 2007 Seung Hui Cho a student killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech University. His rampage was reminiscent of the Columbine Tragedy that rocked the Nation in 1999, a loner who gave clues to his nature yet was ignored by the system. The fact that this person fell through the cracks was a big point to family members of the victims. In 2009, Cho’s records were released to the public after being held by the state. Many victim’s families believed that there may have been warning signs in the records which may have helped avoid the tragedy. In the end 27 students, 5 teachers, and the killer himself all lost their lives on that April day.

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2008 A Cyclone tore through the nation of Myanmar in the fifth biggest natural disaster in recorded History. The death toll was 22,500. The credibility of the countries government was in question since political uprisings by monks had been squashed which made the idea of them lying about the relief money plausible. Nations such as Thailand, and India all helped the relief effort by sending supplies such as food and medicine to the nation. A big concern to the agencies in charge of aid was about the access that rescue teams would be granted by the government of Myanmar. Many complaints stemmed from the statements that the dictators made about the victims.

2009 (Barrack Obama elected as the 44th president of the United States) Barrack Obama The 44th president of the United States of America was sworn in on January 20th 2009. The new president was a new embodiment of an American president a young charismatic smart man different from the man who held office for the past 8 years. The way in which he defeated McCain was also completely different than the two elections George Bush had won. The results of the popular vote had Obama winning 53% of the votes and Mccain conceding the election that same night. As opposed to the past elections which had been long contests that no one wanted to give up to the other party.

Hurricanes, Executions, epidemics, and a new era of hope, the past ten years have had some of the wildest events

in history. Now at the end of the first 10 years of the 21st century looking back, some of these events make

people feel a sense of nostalgia, while others give us feelings of dread and hurt that many people would never

want to feel again. There is no denying that these events had a huge impact on everyone involved which is why the media

gave them so much attention. The impact of these events may also be directly related to how much media attention these

events received.

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

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2000Charles Schulz, Nov 26 1922-Feb 12 2000 American cartoonistKnown for creating the Charlie Brown character which first appeared in the 40’s comic strip “Little Folks”.Schulz comic strip Peanuts, which ran for almost fifty years had a cast of characters based on people in his life, such as family members, and coworkers. Charlie Brown, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy and Linus to name a few.He formed the Snoopy Senior World Hockey Tournament in 1975. His comic strip is still syndicated to newspapers today. The strips are published as reruns only and at his honored request United Features who owns the rights to the cartoon have kept all characters true to their natural state and any new Peanuts cartoons produced are based on strips that he created.

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2002Anne “Eppie” Landers Jul 4, 1918-Jun 22, 2002 ColumnistEppie Friedman Lederer wrote a syndicated advice column from 1955-2002. The column was originally created by Ruth Crowley. Eppie took over the column when Crowley died in 1955. She wrote 365 advice columns a year during her career. She was known for her insight and etiquette. Eppie regularly voiced her support for controversial issues such as gay rights and supported many medical charities. Her sister Pauline Esther wrote the Dear Abbey column under the name Abigal Van Buren. The competition between the two articles often caused tension between the two sisters. They did not talk for many years but reconciled in the years prior to Eppie’s death in 2002

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2003Columbia Space shuttle disaster, Feb 1, 2003 Seven Astronauts were killed as the Space Shuttle Columbia re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated because a piece of foam insulation came off of the Columbia during take off. The Crew included astronauts, Rick Husband, William McCool, David M. Brown, Kalpana Cjawla, Michael P. Anderson, Laurel B. Clark, and llan Ramon.The crew included 6 out of 7 first time space flight astronauts. There were two women on the flight one of which was a medical doctor and U.S. Navy Captain Laurel Clark, the mission specialist aboard the flight. Clark’s last correspondence to family and friends was sent by e-mail from the Columbia read “Life continues in lots of places --and life is a magical thing.” The other woman was Kalpana Cjawla, born in Indian- American scientist. These two women a considered to be pioneers in space travel for women, though they were not the first women in space.

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2004Christopher Reeve, Sept 25, 1952-Oct 10, 2004 Died from complications from injuries he received in a horse riding accident leaving him quadriplegic in 1995.Christopher Reeve was a well known actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his leading role as Superman in a series of films produced between 1978 and 1987.After a trip to Israel to research advanced treatment for his injuries he came back to the United States with a hope that using his name he could help call attention to research on spinal cord injuries. He spoke all over the country on the issue and created the Christopher Reeve Foundation which has collected over 73 million dollars for research and life time grants. He is said to have done more for research on spinal injuries and rehabilitation than anyone, leading to many advances in spinal injury research and treatment.

Obituaries TimelineBy: Kimberly Lake Waldron

2005

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2005Rosa Parks, Feb 4 1913-Oct 24 2005 Died at home after being diagnosed with progressive dementia the year previously. Parks was called the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement”. She was best known for refusing to stand up for a white passenger on a city bus in heavily segregated Montgomery, Alabama. The refusal lead to her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a movement of African Americans who boycotted the Montgomery Bus System that effectively crippled the bus system. The boycott which lasted 381 days resulted in the law requiring Segregation on public buses to be lifted. Parks also worked as a secretary for U.S. Representative John Conyers from 1965 until her retirement in 1988.

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2004Christopher Reeve, Sept 25, 1952-Oct 10, 2004 Died from complications from injuries he received in a horse riding accident leaving him quadriplegic in 1995.Christopher Reeve was a well known actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his leading role as Superman in a series of films produced between 1978 and 1987.After a trip to Israel to research advanced treatment for his injuries he came back to the United States with a hope that using his name he could help call attention to research on spinal cord injuries. He spoke all over the country on the issue and created the Christopher Reeve Foundation which has collected over 73 million dollars for research and life time grants. He is said to have done more for research on spinal injuries and rehabilitation than anyone, leading to many advances in spinal injury research and treatment.

2009Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy Feb 22, 1932-August 25, 2009 Died after a battle against brain cancer.Kennedy, the son of President Robert F. Kennedy’s Brother Joseph P. Kennedy. He served 46 years in the Senate and was the third longest serving senator in U.S History. Kennedy ran for president in 1980 and lost against Jimmy Carter. He considered running in several elections in future years but never actually ran. He publicly spoke out against our troops being in Vietnam saying relating his disapproval of South Vietnam’s actions. Kennedy pushed for healthcare reform in the 70’s saying current reforms were too expensive for those economic times. He supported gay rights, women’s issues. He even joined republican senators on their fight for these issues. He was also involved in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

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2005Rosa Parks, Feb 4 1913-Oct 24 2005 Died at home after being diagnosed with progressive dementia the year previously. Parks was called the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement”. She was best known for refusing to stand up for a white passenger on a city bus in heavily segregated Montgomery, Alabama. The refusal lead to her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a movement of African Americans who boycotted the Montgomery Bus System that effectively crippled the bus system. The boycott which lasted 381 days resulted in the law requiring Segregation on public buses to be lifted. Parks also worked as a secretary for U.S. Representative John Conyers from 1965 until her retirement in 1988.

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2006Coretta Scott King, April 27, 1927-Jan 26, 2006 Activist, wife of Martin Luther King.Coretta took her husbands place in the civil rights movement after his death. She was involved in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She became involved in many successful movements, including women’s rights, rights for gays and transgender rights, world peace and worked against apartheid.Throughout her life she attended activist rallies and sit in protests for many different civil rights groups. She maintained relationships with several presidents and worked with them in crating a better quality and more equal life for many social and cultural groups.

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2007Boris Yeltsin, Feb 1931-Apr 23, 2007 Died of congestive heart failure.Yeltsin was president of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999. The dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred during his first year as president. He hoped to transform Russia into a free market economy with open foreign trade policies. He openly declared himself a democrat and frequently went against parliament in his decision making. He looked towards American policies to help him to transform his country. He raised taxes and interest rates in an attempt to control inflation. This crushed many companies and cut state welfare monies causing what is said to have been an economic downturn equivalent to America’s Great Depression. Yeltsin’s popularity plummeted leaving his approval rating an about 2 percent by the time he voluntarily stepped down from office in 1999. He apologized the morning of his resignation and spoke to his country about going into a new decade with new politicians.

2008Heath Ledger, Apr 4, 1979-Jan 22, 2008 Died of an accidental drug overdoseHeath was a well known Australian and American actor. He had leading roles in several blockbuster hits such as, 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), A Knights Tale (2001) Brokeback Mountain (2005), and his last film The Dark Knight (2008). Heath was in a total of 19 films during his career. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Broke Back Mountain and The Dark Knight for which he received several acting awards for both films. He also produced and directed music videos.He died during the editing stage of his last film, The Dark Knight. He won several awards for his performance posthumously. Rumors circulated about Heath being very depressed and deeply affected by the dark role he played as the Joker in the film The Dark Knight and may have committed suicide but that was later proven to be false and cause of death was ruled accidental.

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INTENSECITy 2009

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La Cabaña RestarauntBY: Armando Sanchez

Wanna make your taste-buds jump for joy?! Ar-mando Gonzalez, own-

er of La Cabaña Restaraunt invites you to try a little style/flavor from Mexico City, Mexico. After visit-ing many other "so called mexican restaraunts" in the valley, Gonzalez found that no such style was avail-able in the greater Fresno area. La Cabaña has been open since 2001 the first establishment opened up

on First/McKinley.Sadly, the restaurant burned down and this only pushed his faith further to re-open La Cabaña Restaraunt off of Blackstone and Clinton where he has now been estab-

lished for the last 5 years, serving popluar dishes known in english as "The Sandal" and "The Wire”.With courses like these, you are certain to fullfill more than just an appe-tite. Catering is available to resi-

dents of the Fresno County area at La Cabaña Restaraunt. It offers an entertainment venue composed of a little dancing, karaoke, and great

food, all under one roof!

Speaking of great food, I tried one of it's popular dishes called "El Huarache,”which was similar to a famous Mexican meal known as the "Sope.” It consisted of a hand-made thick corn tortilla-(according to its menu) thats deep-fried and topped with beans, mexican cream & cheese, served with tomatillo salsa on the side. Very delicious! Another popular dish is known as

"El Alambre." This dish is composed of diced beef steak, simmered with ba-con, bell peppers and onions, topped with melted white cheese. Gonzales invited me to try a dish they call "Pambazo,” A Mex-ico City sandwich-dipped in red sauce. It is stuffed with chorizo, potatoes, let-tuce, mexican cream and cheese... the list continues with

"Chochinita Pibill,” Consisting of shredded pork meat cooked in their very own special sauce, accompanied with red onions and habanero hot sauce.

Aside from food, the owner here wanted to offer a bit more to it's customers by providing enter-tainment. It begins Wednesday nights- kicking off the mid week, with a little karaoke during happy hours from Noon-9pm! Following with a local Low-Rider Carshow Thursday for car enthusiasts, who can enjoy inexpensive food as well . If you like a little old-school, like to get down to hip-hop, and enjoy a little latin flavor. Music provided

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and sophisticated, with all seeking great food, fun and entertainment at a very economical price. On top of it's already economical deals, just as an added bonus- students

by local dj art-ists who will give you a feel of the Mexico City nightlife. Saturday nights provide a fea-tured live band and more music.

According to Gonzales, your average every-day atmosphere consists of young adult couples and singles. The crowd is be-tween the ages of 23-35, with the occasional family which is always more than welcome. Your Entertainment nights have a mixed group and diverse lifestlyes from the young and the restless to the more calm

who show a Fresno City College student ID recieve 20% OFF on all lunch and dinner services."Esto es comida autentica from Mexico City, come and get a little taste of

the biggest city of the world!" -Armando Gonzalez

INTENSECITy 2009

EATS

Taj of IndiaBy: Casey Cassady

Walking into Taj of India, I took a deep breath of the air rushing in

my face as the door swung closed behind me. A mix of sweet and spicy aromas filled the air, and

mouth-watering smells of warm tea, honey, milk, bread, garlic, and spices drift up my nose. There is no turning back after my senses take control. The second thing I no-

ticed was color. Red curtains hang from the walls, the main lights are dimmed but enough sunlight peaks through the slightly covered win-dows. There are also beautifully hand-woven lamps in each corner

of the room. The sophisticated brown wooden tables and match-ing chairs are perfectly lined up. I ran my fingers across the decora-tive table cloths, and unrolled my silverware setting already placed at my seat. As I looked down at

the table and even the floor under me, not a single misplaced piece

of trash or food from the previous customer is spotted. I am greeted by the thirty-something year old Chinese manager, Reggie Lee. What a great start so far, at this

Indian Restaurant I now go to on a regular basis.

I had the chance to enjoy an Indian Cuisine buffet for only $7.99. It includes several entrees, curries, appetizers, rice, soups, sides, des-

serts, and even a basket of either buttered or garlic naan (bread). I asked for the garlic naan! It was fluffy and crispy at the same time with garlic and herbs.One of the many entrees is the tandoori, which is your choice of meat that is marinated in yogurt, garlic, ginger, herbs and spices and then cooked in a clay oven (an earthware pot) over mesquite charcoal. The chicken, steak and shish kebob meats are all cooked on skewers. They also have tandoori quail, lamb kebob, and a paneer ticca which is paneer and vegetables cooked in a clay oven with spices.

Another main dish is called ma-sala. Masala is a tandoori dish prepared in a delicately spiced sauce with herbs. According to the manager, chicken masala is an employee and customer favor-ite. They also have lamb botni masala, tandoori fish masala, and tandoori shrimp masala.

What would an Indian Restaurant be without their famous variet-

ies of curry! The curries here at the Taj of India are sauces made from spices, onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. You have a choice of chicken, lamb, shrimp, fish and goat curry. My favorite was the chicken curry.

A couple of the appetizers include deep-fried pastries with meat and vegetables in them called samosas, and either fish, vegetable, or paneer pakoras, which are deep-fried frit-

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ters. As for desserts, save room for kulfi, which is an Indian ice cream, Gulab Jamun, which are milk balls rolled in syrup and rosewater, and kheer, which is a rice pudding with almonds and raisins. I did not like the Gulab Jamuns though. They were too sweet, and the texture was very unpleasant to feel in my mouth.

As a beverage, I ordered the hot tea. It was very good, tasting mostly of nutmeg and cinnamon. However, I had to add sugar be-cause it wasn’t sweet at all!

Unfortunately, they are not hiring at the moment, (yes I did ask for all of our unemployed readers!) However, you can always go in and see when they are! They plan to ex-pand to multiple locations one day, if you need a job in the future.

All in all, the restaurant was clean, they have good service, and the food is fresh! I used to not care for Indian food as much as I do now, thanks to this restaurant.

LOCATION:

Northeast corner of Shaw & Blythe.

HOURS:

Monday - Saturday

11:00 AM – 2:30 PM

5:00 PM- 10:00 PM

(includes buffet)

Sundays

5:00 PM – 10:00 PM

(excludes buffet)

PHONE: 277-2002

INTENSECITy 2009

EATS

Edo-Ya Tokyo CuisineBy: Tomiko Townley

If you have some extra cash and are looking for a good meal

and a good time, take a trip to Edo-ya. Edo-ya’s Tokyo cuisine

offers much more than a delicious meal. From the moment you walk through the doors you are greeted with a welcoming scene. From the bright fish tank and Buddha statues to the excitement of having a meal created and served in front of you. The experience will be well worth the somewhat high prices. Edo-ya is open for lunch and dinner, and gives it’s customers a choice of

eating style. You can choose from eating:

-Teppan-Yaki style of eating is when up to 22 customers sit around a grill where the chef cooks and serves a delicious meal. Custom-ers have access to the Teppan-Yaki menu, the dining menu, and the sushi menu.-Regular dining is when the cus-tomers are seated in the dining room; these tables can fit 1-24 people and allow access to the full menu.-Sushi Bar has 18 seats and offers fresh sushi served right away and access to the full menu.-Private dining rooms or the Tatami

rooms are available by strict reser-vation and can seat up to 22 people. They also allow access to the full menu.

Even though you have a few choices in eating style, you will get the most bang for your buck by eat-ing teppan-yaki.The lunch specials at Edo-ya are a very good deal for a lot of food. Every lunch item is served with rice (fried or steamed), soup, grilled vegetables, salad and comes out to around $11.00. My favorite order is the teppan-yaki ginger sliced steak, the flavor depends on the teppan-yaki chef that makes the order, but all the chefs cook the

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steak in butter, soy sauce, green onions, and sesame seeds. It is mouth watering. Edo-ya’s teppan-yaki lunch specials are exactly like the meals offered at dinner without the flash and fire show. Whether you eat sushi or teppan-yaki, you will get a great meal and leave with a very full belly and a box of leftovers.Edo-ya’s dinner scene is a com-plete transformation, and more

expensive perfect for dates or celebrations. During dinner you really get to experience why this restaurant is so popular. Teppan-ya-ki chefs not only create your meal in front of you, they display their talents with their cooking tools, like flipping an egg into their hat, or shaping the fried rice into a heart and making it look like it is beat-ing with their spatula. Something you can look forward to seeing at every grill in Edo-ya is fire and lots of it. Every time I go I hear, “Do I

still have my eyebrows?” at least twice. One of the fire tricks the chefs do is create an onion volcano by stacking slices of onions on top of each other, pouring vegetable oil and ethyl alcohol in the middle and lighting it.Some things to think about when planning a dinner at Edo-ya are: The tables for teppan-yaki are set up for a group of eight, so if you plan on going with a date or alone no matter how far in advance you make a reservation you still have to wait for a group big enough to fill those empty spots. also bring enough money to tip the waitress and the teppan-yaki chef, maybe make Edo-ya the last part of the date because by the time you get out of eating teppan-yaki you are going to smell like smoke and cooked meat.Edo-ya is definitely a restaurant you shouldn’t miss out on if you live in Fresno.Average Costs at Edo-ya (accord-ing to the website):Lunch- $9.50Dinner-$18.00

Sushi-$12.00Edo-ya Japanese Cuisine

3050 Shaw Suite 112Fresno, Ca 93711(559) 275-7535

Hours of Operation:Lunch: Monday-Saturday 11:30am-2:30pm, Sunday 12:00pm-3:00pmDinner: Monday-Thursday 4:30pm-10:00pm, Friday-Saturday 4:30pm-11:00pm, Sunday 4:30pm-9:30pm

INTENSECITy 2009

EATS

Santa Fe BasqueBy: Ben Fierro

Since 1926, Santa Fe Basque has always had one common goal: family-oriented meals.

With a wide variety of plates to choose from, everyone will find something they can enjoy. Each dish at Santa Fe Basque is served family style, so make sure you’re really hungry or take a lot of friends. Each meal includes soup of the day, salad, bread, the side dish of the day, vegetables, maca-roni salad and dessert for the entire table. The soups, vegetables and side dishes are made at the chef’s discretion. With no set menu this keeps the customers guessing.Santa Fe Basque offers many main courses such as lamb, chicken, beef and fish. These can be prepared either roasted, grilled, sautéed or fried. During my visit I was able to sample their most popular dish, Chicken Casador. It consisted of a grilled chicken breast, topped with a lemon bacon caper cream sauce. I would have to say that it was one of the most delectable dishes I have ever eaten. The sauce and chicken came together in perfect harmony, creating a balance of flavor in every bite.

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I also sampled the egg-dipped orange roughy. Not being a very big fish eater, this dish posed a challenge for me. Even though it did not have an overpowering scent of fish, the dish did not delight me. The fish was overwhelmed by the resounding taste and smell of egg.The soup of the day was vegetable beef with orzo pasta. It was a veg-etable soup with chunks of ground beef and pasta in a wonderful beef broth. The side dish and vegetables were also delicious. The beef stew consisted of a medley of vegetables along with large pieces of ex-tremely tender bites of beef. The zucchini sautéed with bell peppers and onions brought together all of the great vegetable flavors as well as a hint of vinegar and olive oil. The macaroni salad was your tra-ditional macaroni salad sprinkled with paprika and parsley for added flavor.Santa Fe Basque has a very family-oriented atmosphere with fast and friendly service. Lunch is served 11am-2pm. Dinner is served 5pm-9pm. They are closed between lunch and dinner so make sure to check the time. The aver-age cost of lunch is $15.00 per person and worth every penny. You will not be disappointed. I enjoyed my first visit to Santa Fe Basque and I know that I will be going back soon.

Santa Fe Basque3110 N Maroa AveFresno CA 93704

Open Mon-Sat

INTENSECITy 2009

SPORTS

CHEERING OUR TEAM ON TO BATTLE!!!! By MONTAE DICKSON

Hey all you football fans, I got a hot topic for you. No it’s not talk about the

newest recruit, not who had the most yards in the game, not even who scored the most touchdowns.

This article is all about the men and women who cheer the Fresno City College sports teams on to battle.

That’s right our cheer team.

I believe it is time to cheer for them. These young men and wom-en work hard to lift our spirits keep us pepped up and interested during a game and to cheer our team on to battle.

I went out to watch the team practice early one Thursday morn-ing they are there at 8:45 in the morning and practice until 10:45. These men and women both have to have a lot of strength to do what needs to be done. As my nine year old daughter would say is, “Mom you’ve never had a cheer life,’’ and she is right because some of the things that they do I would never be able to do that not even in my prime.

Sitting with Coach Hope Villines(HV) I was able to ask her a couple of questions before the team came to join us.

IC: Coach Villines how long have you been a cheer coach?

HV: This is my second year at Fresno City College and I also cheered here.

IC: Oh really what year was that?

HV: NO we won’t mention any dates on the subject (laughs). I was also at Dinuba High School and Pacific College.

IC: What do you look for when they try out for the team?

HV: I look for voice pro-jections, arm movements and body strength. I’m looking to see how well they cheer, how well they dance and their athletic ability.

IC: Is there a certain rou-tine that they must know during tryouts?

HV: Yes. They must be able to per-form a cheer routine and a dance routine that they are taught in advance. They need to know Game Actions; these are offense and defense cheers. I require them to make up three consecutive cheers all different and one of these must incorporate a toe touch, cartwheel, round off, back hand spring and the splits. And this is just for our females. Our males are the “Stunt Men”, they do partner stunts. They

need to know “Toss to Hand” which is putting the girls up in the air supporting them just by their feet, they must also know “Toss to Chair Sit”, this is when they toss them in the air and support them by one foot and they girls are sit-ting in one of their hands in the air. They are also judged on their voice projection, arm movements and on their strength.

IC: What do you do to keep your teams spirits up?

HV: When they try out for this team they already know what I

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expect from them. At this level of cheer they already have the spirit in them; most of them have either been cheering for years or has participated in some kind of sport already. Besides cheer for Fresno

City College is reason enough to be hyped up and full of spirit.

I was also fortunate enough to sit down with one of the cheer leaders and also two of the stunt men. Michael Sapp(MS), Sean Henderson(SH) and Tiffany Diaz(TD). Ms. Diaz is the return-ing captain of the team. This group made for some lively conversation and gave me a lot more insight into what it takes to be on a cheer squad.

IC: What do you enjoy most about

cheering for the Fresno City Col-lege cheer team?

MS: Cheering keeps me grounded. It keeps me focused and wanting to stay in school. I wasn’t such a good

student before joining the squad but Coach Villines is inspiring, she makes me want to be here and do better. For a minute we thought that we would lose her and I didn’t think I was going to stay until she decided to stay.

IC: How long have you been cheering?

TD: I’ve been cheering since the third grade. I also danced for four years. I cheered in elementary school, junior high, high school and on a couple of competition squads. This year I am the returning member and captain of the team. This is really an honor because I can take things from last year and build on to it this year.

IC: Is this the only team you are cheering for right now?

SH: I also cheer on a competition team called, “Madera After Shock All stars. This year City college doesn’t have a competition team but we will next year, there aren’t too many junior colleges that go to competition or have squads. We do compete against Dinuba.

IC: Which sport do you prefer to cheer for?

TD: Cheer leading for me is my life not just a sport. No matter which team I cheer for I get a different rush every time I step out there.

Whether it be Saturday Nights under the lights on the football field, or in a gym for basketball or volleyball I’m ready.

IC: Which routines do you find the most tedious?

SH: Well there’s really not one rou-tine that is tedious, it’s the usage of different muscles that you are not using all the time. People think it’s easy to do lifts but it’s not. We train two times a week at school and most of us practice 6 days a week on our own. We just can’t come to practice at school and think that’s going to be enough because if we do one false move someone can get hurt not just me but also one of our flyers.

IC: Do you for see cheering in your future?

MS: This year opened my eyes a lot to the possibility, so it is most definitely a thought. I know that there is a lot that I can do in this field in the future if I decide to pursue it as a career.

SH: I have the dedication that it takes to go far and I know a lot of influential people in the field who could help me out if I decide to pursue a career in the field. My goal is to go to Cheer Empire Na-tion competition team and travel around cheering.

TD: I’m working hard to go on to Fresno State and cheer there for two more years. I don’t want to be a cheer leader like the Raiderettes or anything, but I would love to cheer for the rest of my life if I could reach the level of expertise that it takes to get there.

INTENSECITy 2009

SPORTS

Pull out your banners and air horns! The Fresno City

College women’s basketball team is back for another year of

high energy entertainment!!!

The Lady Rams are back to give you another awesome season, making sure you’re wired from the time you enter the gym, till the time the game is over. The Lady Rams are excited to appear in the state tournament, while capturing another Central Valley Confer-ence title for the third straight year.

Under their coach Brian Tessler, the Lady Rams have achieved a winning record of 65-10 during the regular season and two straight ap-pearances in the state tournament. In the last two seasons, they have consistently finished in the top ten for the state.

Don’t expect any letdown as the Rams bring back key players from last year’s squad, including All-Conference players Blakely Gold-berg, Jasmine Nolden, and Sumiya Darden. While the Rams bring

experience to the table, they also bring in a group of freshman, who will be looking to make their mark as well. Coach Tessler has no wor-ries as he feels his group of sopho-mores will provide positive leader-ship and guidance. “Rather than verbally get on the freshman, we try to show them by our work ethic. If the sophomores are our hardest workers, the freshman will follow.” With four veteran players already proving they can elevate their work ethic to the next level, the freshman should be in good hands.

Girls Basketball PreviewBy Benjamin Fierro

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While bringing a fast paced style to their game, the Lady Rams are poised to attack their opponent as well as the basket. Coach Tessler feels that this is the formula suited for his team and the players he recruits. “We like to recruit athletes and shooters…it allows the athletes to be athletes and it opens up a lot of shots for our shooters. “ Also, a frantic pace allows the Rams to wear down their opponents while rotating all their players into the game, giving them experience, while maintaining a high intensity level.

Some may speculate that because they have a fast style of play, the ladies may experience fatigue with the possibility of injury. Coach

Tessler however informed me that his ladies will be prepared to go out and play the game. “We practice at the same level that we play.” With the help of mini camps and count-less hours spent in the gym moving up and down the court, these ladies are conditioned and ready to go and are prepared for whatever comes their way. “I feel there’s a risk of injury when you don’t go hard. When you take it easy, that’s when you have a risk of injury.”

Although getting to the state tour-nament is their main goal, Coach Tessler would like his players to bring one certain X-factor to every single game: effort. “My main fo-cus at all times is effort, effort and good character. If we have good

character and maximum effort, the winning will take care of itself.” The winning has certainly taken care of itself, as the Rams have posted some of their best seasons in school history the last couple of years continuing the trend by past teams.

While the Lady Rams season is already underway, their first taste of action was on November 12th when they played Merced College in the opening game of the Merced Tournament. Their first home game was December 10th, when they hosted the Fresno City Tournament. Start making your banners and buy a new air horn! Come out and support your Fresno City Women’s Basketball Team!

INTENSECITy 2009

SPORTS

Fresno City College men’s basketball team is on a role winning yet another confer-

ence title for the eighth consecu-tive year. This is going on Coach Madec’s fourth season at Fresno City, and you can see him and his group of guys are truly champions. They have accomplished three conference championships upon finishing his third year as Head

Coach of the Fresno City College Men’s basketball program.

I had a chance to sit down with Coach Madec, and asked him several questions about his team during my interview.

My first was, “How was last sea-son’s outcome, and how did you predict the season would transpire, during the beginning of this sea-son?” ‘‘Our record was 34 wins-1 loss. Last years team consisted of sophomores returning from ’07, so the team was more experienced and knew what to expect.” Ed Willis

and Ing Corral are the only two returning players from last years’ team and are the veterans on this year squad.

Despite that recruiting went well this summer, Madec told me me to wait to see his new team of rook-ies. I then asked him who the crew leader or Most Valuable Player is. “The team has no MVP; they’re all winners, warriors, and champions.” Adding, “We’re a unit and we work together as one; there’s no just one individual effort on this team, so there’s no personal prize awarded

Defending The Title By Adam Myles

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to just one player.”

When asking him how he gets his group of guys prepared for battle, he replied, “Using the fundamental approach to life; thinking right, treating others with respect on an off the court, getting the proper amount of rest (sleep).” Summer conditioning for the team started this summer June 29, 2009, and the season has since kicked off.

Last season, our team tied a school recorded set back in 2004 for most wins in the FCC existence with 34 total wins, one win shy from breaking it. Coach Madec tells me he did not follow the state rankings last year but his team was pretty far

up with their 34-1 recorded. Sweeping through their competi-tion with their previous record showing that, brings me upon my last and final question for the coach.

Who are the toughest opponents you have played so far? Answer-ing, “Ourselves when we’re in practice scrimmaging.” With a re-cord that shows why Coach replied with that answer, I encourage you to check out our Fresno City Men’s basketball team if you havent, already done so.

I had the opportunity last year to catch the team in action, hosting visiting San Francisco City Col-

lege, which resulted in a blow out. FCC dominated the whole game giving SFCC not a chance at all. In closing the 2009-2010 Men’s Basketball kicked off its season Nov. 6 playing in the City College of San Francisco Tournament, but their first actual league game isn’t until January 6, an away game against hosting Reedley Junior Col-lege. All I can say from here is, Go Rams!

INTENSECITy 2009

NEWS

Economic Blunder By Pabel Lopez

T he Wall Street Journal Conde nast Portfolio, Mad Money with Jim Cramer

etc. With so many informa-tive educational financial re-sources available why is the United States in the biggest recession since the Great Depression, 70 years later? This was the equivalent of a hurricane to the economy and yet it hit the American economy and people were caught totally off guard. While other immedi-ate American disasters such as the invasion of Iraq, the devastation in Tornado Al-ley and Hurricane Katrina received so much press coverage from all news outlets the road to economic ruin was completely unre-ported, even by the news outlets that are specifically designed for that topic. An analogy that fits in this situation is if the Weather Channel would have missed Hurricane Katrina and said they had no idea about it and expected to get off scot-free.

Everyone involved is guilty in one way or another, consumers for not being aware and being so misin-formed, the banks and mortgage

brokers, for being so lenient with their loans and irresponsible with others property, the government for not giving these problems the attention that they demanded. The media who make this topic their

priority should be held re-sponsible

as well.

According to an article on roryoconnor.

org, “Some offenders were Mad Money with Jim Cramer,

CNBC who failed to dig deep enough and inform the people of the severity of the crisis. Fox Busi-ness Network who focused more on ratings and being friendly to the audience while giving them their financial news is singled out as the Worst offender.” It seems as if they had a choice to be the mean guys who told the public the truth about the danger that was around the corner and lose ratings or continue being the nice TV people who would continue to give the pub-lic what they wanted to hear and keep higher ratings. They chose the latter and it cost them dearly. This is a sad state of affairs when media outlets are afraid to tell the truth. Their fear of hurting view-ers feelings, losing their trust and

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most importantly, losing the ratings and revenue that comes along with them.

According to Mediamatters.com, CNN ran a two hour special that was dedicated to the huge Ameri-can deficit which in many experts’ opinions, was the wrong problem to be focusing on in respect to fix-ing the economy. This only added to the sad state of affairs when not only were warnings ignored by experts, government officials and consumers but an insane amount of attention was given to the wrong topic, sending the viewers on a wild goose chase. Even if the pub-lic tried to look into the topic they still would have been at a disadvan-tage because of misinformation.

This issue brings to mind just how important the media is in keeping the public informed. Just because the national media did not report that their was a problem on the horizon the majority of the Ameri-can public chose to assume that everything was going along steady instead of doing some independent research, asking some meaning-ful questions and looking toward the rocky times that are only a few

months away, and now suffering the consequences.

The fact that Conde Nast has gone bankrupt is ironic in the finest sense. A magazine that used “Busi-ness Intelligence” as its subtitle and could not stay in business is very telling of how they were reporting on the topics. It is quite surprising that the news wasn’t flooded with headlines declaring “Mass Firings at the Economic News sources.”Any other industry would have im-mediately declared a state of emer-gency and began a spring cleaning type spree.

Hindsight is always 20/20; now that the worst of the crisis has passed Nielsen-wire is reporting that many people be-lieve the media is now doing a better job in helping them understand the nuances and reasons of the economic crisis. Too little too late in my opin-ion though.

I’m not expecting the media to be perfect because that would be unfair in the highest form, but they could at least make

it look as if they were trying a bit harder. This was probably a prob-lem during the great depression as well, but there wasn’t a huge amount of different news sources aimed at financial issues which looking back on it now seems a bit useless. Seventy years later the same problems are still occurring which gives a sense of inevitabil-ity. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Seems like a very appropriate quote at this time.

INTENSECITy 2009

NEWS

Healthcare ReformBY: Hector Ruelas

Healthcare Reform. Many of the American people don’t understand what the

President of the United States is proposing in this plan. So what is President Barack Obama’s plan? Here are the basic principles, If you have insurance it means more sta-bility and security. If you like your

insurance you can keep it. No more denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. No dropped coverage when you get sick. It eliminates yearly and lifetime caps on cover-age, caps out-of-pocket expenses because in the United States no one should go broke just because you get sick.

If you don’t have insurance, there will be quality affordable choices for all Americans. New insurance marketplace, new tax credits for individuals and small business, low cost coverage for individuals and small business making additional steps to keep insurance companies

honest by making nonprofit public option available in the insurance exchange. Obama made it clear there will be an option for any American that doesn’t have insur-ance and no one will be forced to choose this plan. For all Americans the plan won’t add a dime to the deficit and will be paid up-front. The healthcare plan will also help eliminate waste, fraud, abuse, the prescription drug “donut hole.”

Many say universal healthcare is the moral thing to do, becuase it offers affordable healthcare for individuals and families. One of the firsts should be no one should be excluded based on poor health

President Barack Obama

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61

status, a pre-existing condition or chronic illness. Also there should be few or no administrative barriers to obtaining or renewing insurance and coverage should be guaranteed to all persons in the United States. One of the other things that health-care should be comprehensive. As such, everyone should have access to a primary care provider and medical homes throughout their lifespan and continuous coverage must be transferable throughout employment, unemployment or geographic relocation.

The other principle for healthcare is that healthcare should be afford-able. Every American should have access to insurance premiums they can afford. Financial assistance will be necessary for lower income people and the other co-pays and deductibles present a barrier to care for low-income people. They tend to discourage people from obtain-ing necessary medical care. We oppose co-payments that impose significant financial barriers to care.

“I am pro healthcare reform. I definitely would like to see it pass.”said Jacob, who attends Fresno City College. “I can’t afford it. It’s so ridiculously expensive. My job does not provide healthcare at all.”

Opposing views on healthcare sug-gest that a government run program would be disastrous. Those who oppose government run programs argue that, there isn’t a single government agency or division that runs efficiently. Do we really want an organization that developed the U.S Tax Code handling something as complex as healthcare? Where

is the money going to come from? The taxpayers? There is also the argument that healthy people who take care of themselves will have to pay for the burden of those who smoke, are obese etc....

So how many students here at Fres-no City College don’t have health insurance? I would say the majority don’t have any. I myself don’t have any health insurance and its obvi-ously one of the biggest problems with healthcare is not having it. It’s just not affordable. As of now, about 46 million people are unin-sured and that’s also including the illegal immigrants.

President Barack Obama will have to sell the idea to the American people.Obama has said many presi-dents have proposed this idea but he will be the last to do so.

Extreme sports enthusiast and Fresno City College student Joshua Jones was recently involved in a mountain bike accident which resulted in breaking his clavical. Jones’ injury required immediate emergency surgery. After having to pay doctors, x-ray technicians, emergency room visits, and an anasetheologist, he racked up over 20,000 dollars in hospital bills. If he didn’t have health insurance it would have taken over ten years to pay for his hospital bills.

“If the healthcare reform is passed not only will it add to problems of our already troubled economy, but it will also add more trouble to those who find themselves in similar situations to which I ex-perienced.They will not be able to receive much needed medical

attention in a timely manner which I did,” said Jones. “They might have to wait days, if not weeks to receive the procedures they need as do those who live in a country where socialized medicine is in effect.”

Universal healthcare has bedeviled, eluded, or defeated every presi-dent in the last seventy five years. Franklin D. Roosevelt left it out of Social Security because he feared it would be too complicated and at-tract some fierce resistence. Harry Truman fought till the end but eventually lost. Dwight Eisenhower reshaped the public debate about it. John F. Kennedy was passion-ate about it and Lyndon B. Johnson won the first major victory on the road toward achieving it. Richard Nixon devised the essential ele-ments of future designs. Jimmy carter tried in vain to re-engineer it. George Bush senior toyed with it. Bill Clinton lost it and never men-tioned it again. George W. Bush expanded it significantly, but only for retirees.

As President Obama said, “The time for bickering is over, the time of games has passed, now is the season for action, now is the time we must bring the best ideas of both parties together and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do, now is the time to deliver on healthcare.”

INTENSECITy 2009

ART

Native American Woman and ChildWoodcut Relief Print By: Amanda Hubbard

Lonely TreeLinoleum Tile, Four Colors, Relief Print By: Amanda Hubbard

GhostLinoleum Tile, Five Colors, Relief Print By: Amanda Hubbard

ART

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Pride of the AztecsBy: Jorge A. Mora

INTENSECITy 2009

ART

Grandfather’s SmileBy: Tomi Pierson

Tomi Pierson is currently attending Fresno City College taking the Medical Billing Courses. She has been interested in Drawing from a very

young age. Her formal art training was done through-out High School. Tomi plans to continue her art educa-

tion through classes offered at FCC next semester. Two of her pieces are portraits of her Grandfather one as a young boy and the other as an adult. Tomi also en-joys painting and sewing as another form of creativity.

ART

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Tip my HatBy: Tomi Pierson

INTENSECITy 2009

POETRy

TimeBy Ethan Stairs

I held you close during dark timesYou disappeared in my armsI try to be there.

Time stands still when you’re here, next to me.

Apart from you I grow wearyTime spent alone is very solemn,Bury my feelings when among others.

Time flies when you’re gone, away from me.

Our hands never partHand to hand, in harmonyHolding on is ever so sweet.

Time stands still when you’re here, next to me…

Clutching onto a jestIs foolhardy at bestLet me fall, chest first.

Time flies when you’re gone, away from me.

I wish I’d never held youI wish I’d never met youI’ve lost myself, my heart cannot be felt.

Time is irrelevant, I do not need it.

One by SelfBy Justin Kim

O, dear Misery, how you're around me,even in the daylight and through the night.

I am looking and you; through me,I don't know where you are looking.Or why you are hereat all, why dear, why-?I don't know when you'llfree me from your chains.

Farewell Mary AnnBy: Justin Kim

Fare thee well, Mary Ann, the night's here and agedme more than you there.The night rider rideswith his gypsy queenbehind on his twowheeled motorcycle,passed here an hour ago.

Princess and servantsliving inside theirhigh built cold stone walls,don’t ever get out-side, who doesn’t know allthat life is but ajoke. They just wonderabout the ones outside.

Me on the other sideof the road pass bymany people and things.They all started to lookalike, could careless.But you, still draw mein, faster than Ican swim out of it.

The dark night wind howls;outer toe will be coldout of all five toes.Barefoot boy diggingfrom garbage to another,doesn’t cry about it,but boldly presses onwithout his mother.

POETRy

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Farewell Mary AnnBy: Justin Kim

Fare thee well, Mary Ann, the night's here and agedme more than you there.The night rider rideswith his gypsy queenbehind on his twowheeled motorcycle,passed here an hour ago.

Princess and servantsliving inside theirhigh built cold stone walls,don’t ever get out-side, who doesn’t know allthat life is but ajoke. They just wonderabout the ones outside.

Me on the other sideof the road pass bymany people and things.They all started to lookalike, could careless.But you, still draw mein, faster than Ican swim out of it.

The dark night wind howls;outer toe will be coldout of all five toes.Barefoot boy diggingfrom garbage to another,doesn’t cry about it,but boldly presses onwithout his mother.

It has been a whilebut I can't help it,to look at you, dear,the same way I didwhen we were younger.What love is, who knows,but I think of youwhen I shouldn't be (doing so).

The penny beggarout on the street, heknows a thing or two;I've read good poems, books,and tales, I should knowhow I should be feeling.but I should ask himof things that he knows.

Money doesn't talk butswears, put you in tears.And I don't need it;when you're with your love.I know it's no good,probably make mecurse way more than now;you won't be mine anyhow.

The train will leave here,when the sun is slowand the winds so fast.Bump the useless onesin some foreign land.I remembered whenyou joked and told methat I, too, should go.

The bootlegged whiskeyand cigarettes, theycomfort me dearly.Day or night won't matterwhere I'm staying, so quite,

I speak silence, andhear in black and white,feels like I'm dreaming.

People say I'm uptight,maybe too sensitive,I won't deny it.I, too, am a victimof myself and me.I am not too sureif anyone willever get me like you.

If you're coming to cityof desolation,pretend you don't knowme at all, would you-?I don't think I couldbare the pain, seeing youwith your lover whenI'm with me alone.

Black is the colourand fast is so slowand slow is the past.Mixed in between ofBetweens, time doesn’texist here. I wonderif you could or evenremember me, babe. As good as I’ve beento you, I’ll pray, ‘Lord,

protect her from thecold howling wind, Lord!’Shouldn’t bother me soif you can’t recall.I’ll just have the timesof us that I saw.

INTENSECITy 2009

POETRy

Vice CityBy Jacob Eckrich

The cockroaches eat upintestines as the mid-day soap opera creeps along the television. Inside themedicine cabinet, third shelfdown on the left next tothe syringes is the bottleof Rx

This is how we overcome

Brooding faces pass alongBlackstone Avenue, litteredwith CLOSED signs andthrow away youth. A freshlyprinted one-hundred dollarbill is creased in two placesinside the wallet. Tonightwon’t be another one aloneas the car pulls to the curb,windows down, as heels against the concrete echoinside eardrums

This is how we overcome

Empty stomach and eyes arefilled with translucent barleycausing the corneas to becomesmoked glass

This is how we overcome

Father please forgive me,for I have sinned is utteredthrough a facade mesh screen into the ears ofa man of God, a man of Sin.My son, confess before the Lord

This is how we overcome

At the Poetry Spot!By Leon Hall

At the poetry spot! At the poetry spot they said they loved my wordsI became cocky I thought I was the best at itThe way I spit these flows so dopeThey thought I was a crack addictIt was legit, it became a babe magnetAnd with it I tried to hollaShe said, “I love the way you talk but the way you walk

Between love and hate, that thin line you bend”She said, “You can speak real but try to be real and you can dust yourself off and try again.”

So I did I tried to win,I tried to spit the hardestShe said, “regardless I would always give you my ear but never my heart.”

it’s the part where she believes love is just an excuse to play women for fools

No excuse, but excuse me miss, maybe it’s you.You seem to always excuse yourself with them sad excuses for dudes.

With me, if you give me a chance we can slow dance to the rhythm of our heart-beat

From the start-she said she would never place reality where my art-be

She said “its just poetry” but she love itAt the poetry spot she seems to get awayWhere she can close her eyes and fantasize about a better day

But still she feels the same wayOutside the words love does not really existShe said she can’t fathom it, it doesn’t’t make sense

When she thinks of it, she’s astonished-it’s setshe would not give me a try nor my promisesBut my words are bondMy promises also glowLike when the pain come and the rain goesMy promise will still show in the likeness of the rainbow

like sunshine Anderson, she said “I hear it all before.I can line up seven guys who told seven lies in a rowI would not go make the same mistake and line up eight

Just wait til I can relate to the patterns of your speechFor me Just speak!”See she enjoys those sweet nothings But along with them sweet nothings no matter how long will be nothing

Was I in the wrong for not knowing how long it tookLike from the first time she fell in loveTo the first time she got hurtTo the from time some lame guy said she was crazy because of love she went berserk

From the first time she realized that all lie intertwine in the mind of all guys

And that the truth can never conclude in any man’s essay

“but what I like about you” she said “you can write about fiction!”

Can I blame her for being hurt or blame those who never gave her a chance to feel the warmth of love

See At the poetry spot she seems to get awayWhere she can close her eyes and fantasize about a better day

But still she feels the same wayOutside the words love does not really exist.

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SurvivalBy Michelle Holmes

More than the sour of lemonsI am bitter. Salty from sweatand from tears. Agonized.Mind, Body and Soul weatheredlike leather.Heels cracked with blisters upon blisters –I’ve put miles on these feet.Running from the painor playing with fire;Whatever it is –It is stronger than me.I see only destruction, hazy;with moments of clear and pure tortured realitiesthat is my life.To no one I bother to speak.Not on these streets.I fear not death, nor rape or bodily harm.What I fear for is my one and only child.I fear for this world and collapse of society.It is my mission to ensure his survivaland provide him with better ways andopportunities of life.That I never had.I give up on material possessions,lust and even food.For nothing gives me comfort.No time to relax.The mission is to preserve life at its best qualitypossible for my son.Provide a normal routine and healthygrowing environment that I amstruggling to keep.There is no one I can trust anymore.This pain is hurting me deep.Yo it’s hurting me deep.I can’t hide it. I just accept it and move along –‘cause I don’t have time for it.Nor the energy to spare.These motherfuckers are unaware.But I see every horrible possibility all at once.That’s why I’m so nervousand at times I want to explode.I’m a survivalist – It’s what they made me.

When she thinks of it, she’s astonished-it’s setshe would not give me a try nor my promisesBut my words are bondMy promises also glowLike when the pain come and the rain goesMy promise will still show in the likeness of the rainbow

like sunshine Anderson, she said “I hear it all before.I can line up seven guys who told seven lies in a rowI would not go make the same mistake and line up eight

Just wait til I can relate to the patterns of your speechFor me Just speak!”See she enjoys those sweet nothings But along with them sweet nothings no matter how long will be nothing

Was I in the wrong for not knowing how long it tookLike from the first time she fell in loveTo the first time she got hurtTo the from time some lame guy said she was crazy because of love she went berserk

From the first time she realized that all lie intertwine in the mind of all guys

And that the truth can never conclude in any man’s essay

“but what I like about you” she said “you can write about fiction!”

Can I blame her for being hurt or blame those who never gave her a chance to feel the warmth of love

See At the poetry spot she seems to get awayWhere she can close her eyes and fantasize about a better day

But still she feels the same wayOutside the words love does not really exist.

INTENSECITy 2009

SHORT

FICTION

Boy Meets GirlBy: Manuel Morfin

Scene One

(boy)Though I hidePainted by GodYour face I cannot rid

Do you have head of me

Can I walk with youLet me stay

As I riseI cannot thinkFor low, is my heart without you

Can I help from falling to your feetI tremble, though I loveI cannot speak

Why do I fight goodMake my eye, an eyeTo see your pure image

For what is beautyIf I shyFor what is truthIf I hide

Come close to meThere is no other way

Comfort me sweetYour love so softYour touch so warm

Inside you let me restFor I will hold no secretTo you I will give all

Lovely roseBlossomGive forth your nectar

Scene Two

The boy and girl are in love

(boy)With youI cannot tireI have overcome sleep

(girl)Come lets goPlay with meLet’s play hide an’ seek

(boy)All day at your sideI could not want moreIs this my heaven, are you my door

The passage you openThrough the middle I goAll day long, we frolic and fro

(girl)Fetch me the coverAnd carry me roundOh how I love it, and don’t put me down

Never get tiredI won’t let you goHold me foreverAnd don’t let me go

(boy)You are my angel from heaven above

(girl)You are the one who I give my love

(boy) Kiss me

(girl) Hug me

(boy/girl) don’t let me go

(boy/girl)I love you forever, you are my girl/boy

Scene Three

The boy is sent off to war, the boy declares his battle cry

(boy)As I wakeI do not restYour face not upon me

You are my dreamSleep is my roseI fight today

If I die I care notThere is no other wayMy love too great

To war I goWith my swordI will spare none

I hate the smell of deathOh, how I love to smell a roseWith you, I will always be

I am a warrior, this is my lotI must please the godsOr suffer death

To gain life, is to gain you, in gloryVictory is oursSound the trumpets

Scene Four

The boy gets drunk after a battle and sings out his pain and experience

(boy)When I see you, I do notWhen I do not, I see youWhy am I nervous, why do I think of you

SHORT

FICTION

71

Can, I not, enjoy your beautyWhy do I fall on my ownFor you I will give everything

The only way to suffer no longerIs by neither seeing or not seeingThen I can truly see you at all time

(chorus)When I see you, I do notWhen I do not, I see youWhy am I nervous, why do I think of you

When I am truly with youThere is no nervousnessI do not even think, I simply enjoy

Oh, how glorious your fountainThat I cannot thirstFor you are my living water

My imaginations are falseWhen compared to your truthNothing can replicate your beauty

(chorus)When I see you, I do notWhen I do not, I see youWhy am I nervous, why do I think of you

With you I go beyond all thingsTo a place where nothing could happenIn our love we are untouchable

Can I see you all timesWhy do I need to rememberWhy this pain

(chorus)When I see you, I do notWhen I do not, I see youWhy am I nervous, why do I think of you

It is neither of us that wanted to separate

So why are we separatedYou are my sufficiency, why are we divided

Though we are not together in body, we wereWe are together in mind, we areThe fruit of your loom, I reap

Scene Five

Boy writes letter to girl

(boy)Your sweet lipsBottom and topHow sweet their taste

I let myself out, with your mouthI cannot get my head off youThis is beyond pleasure

I am so excited, I am shakingI feel to burst of energy when I see youYour beauty heavenly divine

Like an angel did you come to my lifeMuch did I learn from the love you gave meEven though you were virgin

You gave birth to my salvationFor you are with me, and you are my lifeOur love is true, you made it clear to me

Love me your wayThe only wayMake me a father

For I will suffer any and allJust for you to love mePlease do not deny me

Do not hate me

Do not let lies separate usDo not make no other a father

I know you will not, and if you doI am still your first love, and you are mineAnd truth is forever

Come into my armsAs we have spent many nights together beforeYour tongue in accord with mine traverse time

We were one, and are oneYour hand across my stomachAnd our feet together

This is our patternFor we are in loveFore ever and ever

Scene Six

The girl responds to the boys letter

(girl)I feel you now as I felt you thenIn my heart beats the same melodyUntil I die can they take me away

As I live to dance from night to dayYour breath in mineHear my voiceHow oft, I hear your laugh

Your whispers in my earSing aloud my heartIn you I place my love

For you are in me, and I in youHow much can one loveI give myself completely to you

You are everything for me, I need nothing elseAnd here you are with meNow, as then, as forever

INTENSECITy 2009

RESOURCES

This time a year there seems to be an increase in the need for community services. There are higher PG&E bills, gift purchasing to do, and extra hours cut from your paycheck, stemming from holidays. There is help out there available not only this time of year, but all year long. This is thanks to community service

organizations like Salvation Army and Catholic Charities and many community churches that provide help with not only food but also help with PG&E and clothing too. Some organizations provide help with much needed medical care also. Below is a list of some of the community resources available for people in need.

This is also a time of giving, so remember your community charitable organizations during this time of year. They often have food, clothing, and toy drives to collect items for people in need, but you can donate all year long.

Food and Emergency ServicesKimberly Lake Waldron

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RESOURCES

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SALvATION ARMy233-0138, 497-6616 (fax)1752 Fulton StreetFresno, CA 93721-1623http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsfServices OfferedEmergency services such as food, utilities, and referrals.

CATHOLIC CHARITIESPANTRy(559) 237-0851149 N Fulton StreetFresno, CA 93701-1607http://www.ccdof.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=29Services OfferedProgram provides emergency food to individuals and families in need. Help with clothing and PGE if funds are available.

COMMUNITy FOOd BANk (559) 237-36633403 E Central AveFresno, CA 93725http://communityfoodbank.net/index.htmlServices OfferedProgram provides emergency food to individuals and families in need.

vETERANS COMMUNITy PROgRAMS INC.(559) 287-3456899 E Birch AvenueFresno, CA 93720Services OfferedProvides emergency food to Veterans and their families

AMERICAN REd CROSS2002 N Fine AveFresno, Ca 93727559-455-1000

http://www.fresnomaderaredcross.org/Services offeredOffers assistance to families in crisis of fire/natural disasters. Health and safety services such as CPR and first aide. Offer Housing food and clothing assistance.

FAMILy IMMUNIzATION CLINIC1221 Fulton MallFresno, Ca 93721559-445-3550Services offeredProvides immunization for children and adults. Help families manage immunization records.http://www.co.fresno.ca.usDivisionPage.aspx?id=2084

INFOFRESNO.NETinfofresno.net/housing.htmServices OfferedFree Housing for up to 30 days. Short stay daily shelter. Services are listed for men, women and youth.

LAO FAMILy COMMUNITy OF FRESNO COUNTy4903 E Kings CanyonFresno, Ca 93721559-453-9775http://laofamilyfresno.org/index.htmlService OfferedJob placement, job development and training

MEdICAL COUNTy HEALTH ANd HUMAN SERvICES 1821 FultonFresno, Ca 93721http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/CountyPage.aspx?id=16319Services offeredFood stamps, and Medical assistance, cash aide, services for the disabled.

PLANNEd PARENTHOOdP: 559-446-1515 | F: 559-446-12735727 N. Fresno Street Suite 101Fresno, CA 93710http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/centerDetails.asp?f=2365Services OfferedProvide mammogram, auto sound and biopsies. Breast management. Men and women health services. Some children’s health services. Low cost or no cost.

MARjAREE MASON CENTER559-237-47061600 M StreetFresno, Ca 93721http://www.mmcenter.org/Services OfferedShelter and counseling for female victims of domestic violence

FRESNO RESCUE MISSION559-268-0839310 G StreetFresno Ca 93706http://fresnorescuemission.org/Services offeredHelping homeless and at-risk individuals with physical needs of food, clothing and shelter.

ALCOHOLICS ANONyMOUS CONTACT OPEN559-221-69072812 N Blackstone AveFresno, Ca 93703http://www.aa.org/Services Offered12 Step program for Alcohol and substance abuse Various meeting sites available.

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INTENSECITy 2009

RESOURCES

Fresno Art Museum 2233 North First St Fresno 93703 559-441-4221 www.fresnoartmuseum.org Open Wed -- Sun 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission $5 free on SunOngoing art exhibits including Sumpf Gallery of Mexican Art 500 to 2500 years oldPeruvian Pre Columbian Textiles and Artifacts Art classes and lectures available

Fresno County Library www.fresnolibrary.org several locations with varying hoursCall for hours locations available classes and hours vary per locationOffers a variety of free services including computer classes, job search counseling and job search lists, Author presentations, Practice tests for GED, Postal workers, corrections officers, and nurses aide. Research help and archives are also available. Talking books for the blind.

Art Hop organized by the Fresno Arts Council www.fresnoarts.net 559-237-9734 Every 1st Thurs of the month for the Downtown and Tower District locations and the 3rd Thurs of the month for all other locations. See new art, meet the artists, meet new people, and network with local artists and business‘. Look on the website for more information.

Open Mic NightEcho street corner of Weldon and Echo in Fresno. 559-237-9734Open mic Tuesday 7 p.m. -9 p.m. Sunday 2 p.m. -5 p.m.

Starline 833 E. Fern Ave. Fresno, CA 93728www.starline1.com Open mic on most Mondays. Cover charge varies. Check website for event info.

Entertainment Hot Spots

The Rampage1101 E. University Ave.

Fresno Ca 93741Phone (559) 442-8262

Fax (559) 265-5783

Volume CXVIV Since 1949 Spring 2010

Serving the Community for Six Decades

The Rampage is an award winning student run newspaper serving the Fresno City College community since 1949. Student journalists, photographers, and

graphic artists hone their skills through first-hand experience in newspaper production and online content keeping pace with the shift in professional journalism.

Advisor: Dympna Ugwu-Oju <dympna.ugwu-oju@fresnocitycollege.edu>Production Manager: Ramiro Gudino <gudino.r@gmail.com>Business Manager: Leah Edwards <rampage-business@fresnocitycollege.edu>

www.fresnocitycollegerampage.com

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