Apr i l 22, 2009 w w w . S t u d e n t V o i c e O n l i n e . c o m FREE Vol . 5, No. 13

Student Voice

Inside the Voice

Service for Cheryl Shearer held on campus.

Story on page 3

Story on page 7

Story on page 2

Story on page 4

Being recession-proof is thought to be the reason for the increase in business majors at VC.

Vice President of Business Services Ray Di Guilio ready to retire.

A review of “The Bakers Wife,” on stage at Ventura.

VenturaVenturaOxnardOxnard

MOOrparkMOOrpark a&ea&e

District to graduate more than a thousand students

VC/MC Track sprint toward WSC finals

Ryan KrebsNews editor

It’s the final curtain call for students in the district and as the end draws near, the class of 2009 will be able to participate in Commencement Ceremonies at all three colleges in less than a month.

Oxnard College will have about half of its 804 graduating students participating in its May 20 commencement exercises.

“Commencement is a cer-emony that not only celebrates our students, but also gives stu-dents an opportunity to honor faculty members that have been instrumental in contributing to their success,” said Oxnard Col-lege registrar Susan Cabral, who chairs the Graduation Planning Committee. “We hope that our

faculty will join President Du-ran and his administrative staff in sharing this momentous oc-casion with their students at the Oxnard College Commencement Ceremony.”

Within the next two weeks, four students will audition as the keynote speaker for the May 20 ceremony, representing the class of 2009. A committee of college faculty and staff will make the final selection.

The required rehearsal for graduates will be held at noon on May 20 at the Oxnard College Gymnasium, according to Cathy Garnica, Public Information Offi-cer for the college.

The ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Athletic Field Com-plex.

See GRAD page 5

Ryan KrebsNews editor

Gone are the days of the clipboard with the oft-crumpled sign-in sheet at your community college.

Following the example of other two-year colleges through-out the state, Moorpark College has installed computer terminals throughout the campus to replace the paper sign-in sheets.

Students may already be familiar with the computers which are currently in the Fit-ness Lab, the Tutoring Center and more recently the Career and Transfer Center.

English Professor Kathryn Adams of the Writing Center said that the system is from a compa-ny called “CI Solutions,” and that it will aid the college greatly.

“It will help us track infor-mation such as the number of people who use that center, the times when those people come, how long they stay, and in some cases, their reasons for coming” said Adams. “(Students) would be at the Learning Center for tu-toring but the system would tell me what subject they worked on.”

According to Adams, the information would tell faculty and staff data about when their peak hours are, what their great-est needs are, and it would help them to be sure they have hired enough staff to cover peak times.

“This would be true of any student service, not just the Learning, Math or Writing Cen-ters,” said Adams.

See IDs page 5

Electronic sign-in coming to student services on campus

Johnny Garcia-Vasquez believes that the students of the Ventura County Community College District will benefit from a philoso-phy that has guided him his entire life: the benefits of hard work and family values.

“I think that growing up with my family values and hard work led me to higher edu-cation,” said Vasquez.

Currently the president of the Oxnard College Associated Student Government, Vasquez is basing his campaign for the VCCCD student trustee on a number of issues he believes will benefit the students, some-thing that Vasquez believes the past student trustees have not adequately ac-complished.

With an experi-ence in politics thanks to an internship working for Pedro Nava, Assembly-man of the 35th District, Vasquez feels

he has what it takes to be an advocate for the students.

One of his goals is to create a check and balance system between the district and the individual colleges, which he will accom-plish through the board of trustees and a stu-dent trustee advisory vote.

Vasquez’s main goal, the one at the heart of his platform, is one that he strongly be-lieves can help the district.

“Help improve the student life at our campuses, and especially make higher edu-cation affordable,” said Vasquez.

President of the Ventura College Asso-ciated Student Government Nancy Pham has endorsed Vasquez.

“I really believe he is the one who can represent the

campuses equally,” said Pham. “He always puts the students first.”

Nick Turner believes that a sense of professionalism is lacking from the position of Student Trustee, and if elect-ed to that position, he aims to fix that.

“I believe it is not recognized profes-sionally,” said Turner, who is currently the director of student services for the Moorpark College Associated Student Government.

His main goals are to try and encourage communication between the three VCCCD campus student governments, which he be-lieves can help the colleges work together to overcome common problems the governing body may face.

“Communication is important to rec-ognize issues from arising and offer help,” said Turner.

Drumming up support for the athletic department is also an important goal for Turner, who once donned the costume of

the school’s “ M o o r p a r k

Raider,” and he believes that

seeing the foot-ball stadium not

even close to half full on a Friday night is something that needs to be rectified.

“I would really like to see people excited for the athletic department,” said Turner.

He strongly believes in making sure no money is cut from the fine arts program,

“The amount of creativity in that depart-ment is a wonderful thing,” he said. Turner’s main focus is to serve the students.

“I’m here for the Ventura County Com-munity College students, because that is what I am,” said Turner.

–Profiles by Brennan Whitmore

For election results

From all three campus

student gov’ts and stu-dent trustee, go to

studentvoiceonline.com beginning Wednes-day april 22 at 10:30 p.m.

Student truStee face-off: Garcia-VaSquez V. turner

Click here

StudentVoiceOnline.com

Page 10

Photo by Franz Tinio-Lopezcivic duty–Students at Oxnard College check in to vote in the student government elections in the cafeteria. The annual elections, which run throughout the day on Tues-day and Wednesday, will have various positions on the ballot, including Associated Student president, board of directors, and a district-wide position of Student Trustee. The Student Trustee represents all three campuses on the Board of Trustees, which governs the district. Voting will take place in the Campus Center at MC, the cafeteria at OC, and at Ventura College, students can vote at the East Campus in Santa Paula in the LRC and in the Campus Center on the Main Campus by the fireplace.

Johnny Garcia-VasquezOxnard College

Photo by Franz Tinio-Lopez

Nick TurnerMoorpark College

Photo by Jonathan Castillo

Voters turn out to elect peers

Students interested in being a part of campus leadership are vying for positions on student gov’t at VC, OC and MC, and two others look to

represent the whole district on the Board of Trustees

Page 8

Moorpark presents

student-written and

directed one-acts

Moorpark presents

student-written and

directed one-acts

Photo by Jonathan Castillobongo!–Drummers perform at Moorpark’s Multicultural Day, April 15. See story page 6.

Oxnard College2Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Oxnard COllege BOOkstOre

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Wednesday–May 20Thursday–May 14

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Brennan WhitmoreNews editor

Oxnard College honored the memory of former Dean Cheryl Shearer with a memorial orga-nized by students and staff.

“Cheryl Shearer was a friend and mentor, and instrumental in letting us grow and get us other classes that were ‘out of the box’ at the time,” said Fire Technology instructor Gary Morgan. “She is really missed.”

The memorial was held near the Letters and Science Clock Tower building at 9 a.m. and was attended by OC president Dr. Richard Duran, English Professor Jim Merrill and Auto Technology staff member Jeff Hiben.

“I had just started here at OC when we heard that Cheryl Shearer was going to be our dean,” said Hiben.

“One of our staff who had 15 years seniority over me was ex-cited about it.

“He said she would do well for us.

“In the following years I saw he was right.

“She looked out for our pro-gram and the classified staff.”

Shearer passed away on July 15, 2008 after battling ovarian cancer.

She was one of the founding faculty members, joining during the 1975-1976 school year and worked until her retirement in 2005.

Funded by donations from the staff and faculty, a bench has been installed on campus in Shearer’s honor, with an inscrip-tion that reads with one of Shear-er’s favorite quotes, “Life isn’t fair, but it’s always good.”

Another former OC dean remembers Shearer as an impor-tant figure on campus.

“She was a fellow woman manager role at the OC campus, a dedicated worker and friend,” said Delois Flowers.

Photo by Franz Trinio-LopezMeMorial–Oxnard College President Richard Duran speaks at Cheryl Shearer’s memorial, with Mary Jones at right and Shearer’s bench at left. Shearer passed away on July 15, 2008 after battling cancer.

Former dean honored at Oxnard

Holocaust survivor at OCMatt CliftStaff writer

A survivor of five Nazi con-centration camps will have his story heard as part of the Oxnard Arts and Lecture Series.

Mark Pierce will read a story written by his father, Holocaust survivor Charles Pierce. Since telling the story has become trou-bling to Charles, his son will read his life story, after which Charles Pierce will answer questions.

“This is the last generation of survivors,” said English pro-fessor and event coordinator Shelly Savren. “Charles Pierce is 90-years-old now, and other sur-vivors in the 80-90 range. It’s im-portant to hear their story while they’re still around.”

The lecture will take place on Wednesday, April 22 from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the Clock Tower Auditorium of Oxnard College. There is expected to be a large turnout. The lecture has been advertised in two newslet-ters from temples in Camarillo and Ventura.

Pierce is a survivor of five concentration camps, having gone through Mircze, Bliziny and Auchwitz in Poland, as well as Kaufering and Dachau in Ger-many. Dachau and Auchwitz

were among the largest concen-tration camps in World War II, Auchwitz killed an estimated 1.1 million people and Dachau killed 190,591 prisoners, while serving as the model for all other concen-tration camps.

Charles Pierce was born in Kielce, Poland on October 19, 1920, which later became one of the Polish ghettos during the second World War. Between 1939 and 1944, the Nazis established the ghettos in occupied countries for the sake of isolating Jews and other minorities from the rest of the population. This was usually the first step taken to concen-trate the population that would later be sent to concentration and death camps.

In 1949 he arrived in the United States, met his wife in 1953 and was married in 1954. They moved to California in 1983 to be with their family.

A letter regarding the lec-ture reads, “He started speaking about his concentration camp ex-periences a few years ago so that everyone should know of the horror he went through and that it should never happen again.”

Anyone who wishes to at-tend the lecture may do so as long as there is space for accom-modation.

Photo courtesy of Shelley Savren Survivor–Charles Pierce (pictured) and his son Mark Pierce will share his experi-ence surviving the Holocaust.

Oxnard College2Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Oxnard COllege BOOkstOre

Monday–May 18

Tuesday–May 19

Wednesday–May 20Thursday–May 14

Friday–May 15 Thursday–May 21

Monday–June 22

Tuesday–June 23

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Brennan WhitmoreNews editor

Oxnard College honored the memory of former Dean Cheryl Shearer with a memorial orga-nized by students and staff.

“Cheryl Shearer was a friend and mentor, and instrumental in letting us grow and get us other classes that were ‘out of the box’ at the time,” said Fire Technology instructor Gary Morgan. “She is really missed.”

The memorial was held near the Letters and Science Clock Tower building at 9 a.m. and was attended by OC president Dr. Richard Duran, English Professor Jim Merrill and Auto Technology staff member Jeff Hiben.

“I had just started here at OC when we heard that Cheryl Shearer was going to be our dean,” said Hiben.

“One of our staff who had 15 years seniority over me was ex-cited about it.

“He said she would do well for us.

“In the following years I saw he was right.

“She looked out for our pro-gram and the classified staff.”

Shearer passed away on July 15, 2008 after battling ovarian cancer.

She was one of the founding faculty members, joining during the 1975-1976 school year and worked until her retirement in 2005.

Funded by donations from the staff and faculty, a bench has been installed on campus in Shearer’s honor, with an inscrip-tion that reads with one of Shear-er’s favorite quotes, “Life isn’t fair, but it’s always good.”

Another former OC dean remembers Shearer as an impor-tant figure on campus.

“She was a fellow woman manager role at the OC campus, a dedicated worker and friend,” said Delois Flowers.

Photo by Franz Trinio-LopezMeMorial–Oxnard College President Richard Duran speaks at Cheryl Shearer’s memorial, with Mary Jones at right and Shearer’s bench at left. Shearer passed away on July 15, 2008 after battling cancer.

Former dean honored at Oxnard

Holocaust survivor at OCMatt CliftStaff writer

A survivor of five Nazi con-centration camps will have his story heard as part of the Oxnard Arts and Lecture Series.

Mark Pierce will read a story written by his father, Holocaust survivor Charles Pierce. Since telling the story has become trou-bling to Charles, his son will read his life story, after which Charles Pierce will answer questions.

“This is the last generation of survivors,” said English pro-fessor and event coordinator Shelly Savren. “Charles Pierce is 90-years-old now, and other sur-vivors in the 80-90 range. It’s im-portant to hear their story while they’re still around.”

The lecture will take place on Wednesday, April 22 from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the Clock Tower Auditorium of Oxnard College. There is expected to be a large turnout. The lecture has been advertised in two newslet-ters from temples in Camarillo and Ventura.

Pierce is a survivor of five concentration camps, having gone through Mircze, Bliziny and Auchwitz in Poland, as well as Kaufering and Dachau in Ger-many. Dachau and Auchwitz

were among the largest concen-tration camps in World War II, Auchwitz killed an estimated 1.1 million people and Dachau killed 190,591 prisoners, while serving as the model for all other concen-tration camps.

Charles Pierce was born in Kielce, Poland on October 19, 1920, which later became one of the Polish ghettos during the second World War. Between 1939 and 1944, the Nazis established the ghettos in occupied countries for the sake of isolating Jews and other minorities from the rest of the population. This was usually the first step taken to concen-trate the population that would later be sent to concentration and death camps.

In 1949 he arrived in the United States, met his wife in 1953 and was married in 1954. They moved to California in 1983 to be with their family.

A letter regarding the lec-ture reads, “He started speaking about his concentration camp ex-periences a few years ago so that everyone should know of the horror he went through and that it should never happen again.”

Anyone who wishes to at-tend the lecture may do so as long as there is space for accom-modation.

Photo courtesy of Shelley Savren Survivor–Charles Pierce (pictured) and his son Mark Pierce will share his experi-ence surviving the Holocaust.

Ventura College 3Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Off tO make a difference–Above, Jason Afable, 23, stands in front of a peace demonstration on the streets last year in Hol-lywood, Calif. At right, Afable found a monkey while travelling in Spain where he had the opportunity to pet the wild animal.

Photos courtesy of Jason Afable

VC tutor moves abroad

VC Bureau writers

Some Ventura College facul-ty members believe that students may be changing majors to adapt to the current economic situation. But many students are continu-ing to follow their dreams.

The top majors at Ventura College for spring 2009 are nurs-ing science, general studies, busi-ness and psychology, according to Ramiro Sanchez, the executive vice president for student learn-ing.

Forbes.com recently pub-lished a list of the “10 Most Re-cession-Proof Jobs.”

The list of the top recession-proof professions included sales, software designs and develop-ment, nursing, accounting, net-working and systems adminis-tration, administrative assistant, business analysis and research, software implementation and fi-

nance.Some

s t u -dents are switching majors in reac t ion to the c u r r e n t economic situation.

“I used to be a business ma-jor but I switched to international business,” said Alfredo Rivera, 18, business major.

Although the current state of the economy has not directly affected his career choice, Rivera said, this switch provided more money and career options.

Blanca Deluna, 20, psycholo-gy major, has considered switch-ing to a major involving market-ing and sales as a result of the shifting economy.

“It has definitely crossed my

mind,” De-luna said.

On the other hand, Jaye Acuňa, 19, nurs-ing major, is pursuing a nursing ca-reer because

she loves helping people and Jonathan Marrufo, 22, biology major, is planning to study stem-cell research and find cures for diseases.

Marrufo said he has a friend with fibromyalgia, a syndrome that affects muscle tissue. This is an impacting factor in Marrufo’s decision to major in biology.

Jeff Stauffer, Business De-partment chair, said that the cur-rent economy could be one of the key factors impacting a student’s decision for choosing a major.

“Business is like a draw card.

Anything you get into is like busi-ness,” Stauffer said, adding that there is currently an opportunity for small businesses as they make up 50 percent of the economy.

In her State of the College ad-dress on Feb. 5, Ventura College President Robin Calote, Ph.D., said there will be a $3 million cut for the next year, and Ventura College will start to focus on core classes rather than electives.

Stauffer does not believe the expected class cuts will affect the Business Department.

No business classes have been cut yet, he said, in fact, the department will hire a new full-time business instructor for the fall.

-Jeannette Arteaga, Matthew Burley, Matt Coppin, Alisa Manzelli, Carley Morgan and Alisa Sanchez

Gardenia ZunigaVC Bureau writer

Ventura College will be miss-ing one of its tutors as of Friday, April 24.

Jason Afable, 23, has been with the Tutoring Center and four English classes in the S.I. program. But he will be leaving May 13 to go to the Philippines for three months to work as an English teacher in a new interna-tional school in Manila.

After teaching, he said, he will go into the Peace Corps and will be assigned to a country in the South Pacific for two years.

Afable said he joined the Peace Corps after traveling and experiencing how people from other countries have a bad image of Americans and think they are lazy.

He is fluent in English and Spanish and is learning Tagalog, which is the language of the Phil-

ippines.While Afable has been to 15

countries, he said he will miss some typically American things while he’s in the Philippines.

“Mexican food, mole, frea-kin’ soaps, everything – I’m ad-dicted to Mexican food and high-speed Internet,” he said.

While he stays in the Philip-pines, he said, he will figure out whether he should continue to pursue his passion for teaching there or come back to America. He is also a songwriter and singer for a local group named Mestizo Magic, which has been perform-ing since 2003. Afable said he has been talking to a percussionist from the Philippines and will try to take his music partner with him so he can continue perform-ing overseas.

One of the challenges that Afable is concerned about in the Philippines is breathing. “The pollution is really bad over

there,” he said. He will be start-ing his journey as a teacher with hopes of changing young peo-ple’s lives and realizing his goal of teaching.

Afable is an alumnus from Channel Islands State University and has a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish.

Economy influences students on choosing major, career“

”Business is like a draw card. Anything you get

into is like business-Jeff Stauffer

Hannah CoyleStaff writer

With the economy charting unknown waters, people have been holding on tightly to their jobs or grabbing what they can in order to survive.

Moorpark College held a Job and Career expo Tuesday in the campus quad for students to meet prospective employers.

Tents filled the lawn outside of the Campus Center on Tues-day with different job opportuni-ties for students. The organiza-tions represented diverse career opportunities from jobs with the County to positions with Macy’s. Students were able to get an idea of what they might like to do, as well as what jobs are being of-fered.

“We are putting this on be-cause we want to offer opportu-nities for the students,” said Judi Gould of the Career and Transfer Center.

The expo provided students with the ability to look at jobs

that they could start working at now as well as jobs that they could have in the future.

“Obviously the students are looking for jobs,” said Gould, “but we want to provide them with their real future jobs.”

The career expo was not just for students, but was also open to the local community looking for a job opportunity.

Students were advised to dress their best, in order to im-press potential employers. De-spite the 90 degree weather, many students chose to wear suits.

The employers and repre-sentatives were offering various choices for the students, such as part-time jobs, summer jobs, internships and volunteer posi-tions.

“I think it’s very positive, the students have been very recep-tive, we like the fact that Moor-park College provided us with the tents,” said Christine Miller, an Avon representative.

Although there were many different job choices offered,

some students were not able to find the right job.

“I thought it was a good idea, I thought that there would be more that I would be interested in,” said John Lay, a MC student. “However I think it’s good that they made an effort.”

The expo gave students mul-tiple opportunities to advance their future career and to give them jobs that they could start working at now. They were also able to find volunteer positions and start networking.

“It’s more than just a career expo, it’s an opportunity to net-work,” says Gould. “It’s a chance to really investigate if what job you are looking at is a good field for you.”

Students can additionally learn about the business world from professionals at the “Busi-ness Expo” this Friday, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.

The event is hosted by the MC Business Students Associa-tion and is free.

Moorpark College4Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Students explore future at expo

VP retires after distinguished career in college district Ryan KrebsNews editor

His desk is covered with stacks of paper. A master plan of Moorpark College covers his of-fice wall, displaying buildings he had a part in erecting.

For Vice President of Busi-ness Services Ray Di Guilio, the buildings are like badges of honor. In his three-decade-career with Ventura County’s commu-nity colleges, Di Guilio has had many responsibilities and has worn many proverbial hats. He has both hired and fired people. He closed a cafeteria and has overseen the opening of several academic buildings. In the mid-dle of his career, he ran for and was elected the Mayor of the City of Ventura.

After an illustrious 30-year career with the Ventura County Community College District, Di Guilio is retiring. He first was employed at Ventura College in the 1970’s, and worked there for 20 years. Then, he was trans-

ferred to Moorpark College with the help of then-President James Walker. At Moorpark, Di Guilio became the V.P. of Business Ser-vices, a position that Di Guilio said was under a couple of differ-ent names over the years. In the meantime he also worked at the district office in Ventura.

A few years later in 1996, he was transferred again to Ox-nard College. However, he soon decided to take a step into poli-tics, and was elected to Ventura’s City Council in 1995. He soon was elected again as mayor of his hometown, and found that being both an elected official and V.P. at OC was too much.

“The work load became over-whelming,” said Di Guilio.

Di Guilio decided in 1999 to “temporarily retire” from the dis-trict, or in his words, take a “leave of absence” to allow more time to serve as Ventura’s Mayor.

A sense of deja vu came to Di Guilio when he decided to not seek a third term for Mayor and instead came back to Moorpark

College as the V.P. of Business Services in 2004.

Di Guilio considered his greatest accomplishment to be, among other things, to “engage in stabilizing the college’s financ-es,” and to be involved with col-lege construction projects.

“I am pleased to be involved with the college facilities.”

Di Guilio considers the toughest aspects of his job to be dealing with budget cuts and having to give employees a pink slip. He cited the temporary clo-sure and laying off of employees at the MC Cafeteria in 2004/2005 to be one of the hardest decisions he had to make.

Di Guilio does not desire to have a quiet retirement. Instead, he aims to have a mix of “some work and some pleasure.” In-be-tween visiting his family and five grandchildren, he desires to go into consulting work, and also to be involved with the Community Memorial Hospital Foundation in Ventura.

In the end Di Guilio is glad

to have had a career with the VCCCD.

“I leave with a smile on my

face. This has been an enjoy-able job even through the tough times.”

Photo by Tony Sinticseek and you shall find–A Moorpark College stusdent peruses job opportuni-ties at Moorpark College’s Job and Career Expo, an event held in the campus quad.

Asbestos shuts down bookstoreTravis PerkinsStaff writer

The Moorpark College book-store was closed and renovated over spring break for the removal of asbestos from the floor tiles.

The tiles, which were in the bookstore’s office area, are non-friable, meaning that the asbes-tos contained within was not airborne and presented no risk to students in the building.

The asbestos removal com-pany sealed off the area so no ex-posure could occur.

“The buildings were built in the 60’s and 70’s,” said Ray Di Guilio, the vice president of busi-ness services at Moorpark Col-lege. “Since the asbestos was in the floor tiles, we are required to have an asbestos removal com-pany take care of it. So we decid-ed to close the store plus a day or two to have the work done.”

Asbestos was common in the late 19th century due to its abil-ity to resist heat, electricity and chemical damage, along with sound absorption and tensile strength.

John Sinutko, the chief of maintenance at Moorpark Col-lege, supervised the repairs to the store.

“After the asbestos was re-moved, the renovation of the bookstore went smoothly,” he said.

The college has completed other renovations of the store. In the fall 2008, the text book space was expanded.

Since the store is open dur-ing the better part of the year, the school upgrades one part of it at a time.

Darlene Melby, Moorpark College’s business manager, sent out an email stating the time that the store would be closed.

“The office now has new car-pet and new paint applied to the walls,” said Melby. “The remod-eling was really needed and we were closed over spring break anyway.”

The bookstore reopened on April 15 after the break.

Photo by Jonathan Castillohappy retirement–Executive Vice President Ray Di Guilio is retiring after a three-decade career with the college district.

News 5Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

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OCTV will cast the gradua-tion ceremony live on Time War-ner, Channel 15 and Fios, Chan-nel 33. Web casting can be seen at www.oxnardcollege.edu.

Free parking will be provid-ed on campus as well as disabled parking, located near the gymna-sium.

Ventura College will kick off its graduation festivities early with a Graduation Breakfast on May 20 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for graduates and their families, ac-cording to Public Relations offi-cer Alisa Moore.

“We have more than 1,300

eligible to receive AA/AS de-grees and Certificates. Last year almost 500 walked in graduation and we expect at least that many this year.” According to Moore, this year, speakers include Ven-tura College President Dr. Robin Calote, Robert Huber, board chair, Academic Senate President Peter Sezzi, Classified Senate President Barbara Cogert, and the Student Government President Nancy Pham.

The Commencement March and Ceremony line up starts at 12:45 p.m., and the Commence-ment event starts at 1:30 p.m. A reception immediately follows the ceremony at 3 p.m. on the lawn behind Guthrie Hall with

music and refreshments.The Ceremony will be taped

by CAPS TV. Students will be able pur-

chase the DVD as well as view the ceremony on a live webcast.

The link will be available on the Ventura College website.

Moorpark College’s Com-mencement is scheduled for May 21 at 5:30 p.m. in the Campus Quad, with a rehearsal at 10:30 a.m. the same day.

The Commencement speaker will be Dr. Richard Rush, Presi-dent of California State Univer-sity, Channel Islands.

This year, MC will allow transferring students to walk in the ceremony, according to Judi

Gould of the Career/Transfer Center.

“This is the first time they have been able to do it,” she said.

Gould said there was a sepa-rate transfer ceremony last year.

“It’s really nicer for them to walk in cap and gown, and we’re very excited about that.”

Over 1,000 students transfer from MC every year. These stu-dents will also have two new op-portunities in addition to Com-mencement.

GRAD: Festivities will to be filmed district-wide

SucceSS–OC President Dr. Richard Duran hands out dimplomas at last yeras graaduation at oxnard College.Photo courtesy of Cathy Garnica

Continued from page 1

“Other information gathered about the general majors who use our services or the stage of progression can also help us to make sure we really are connecting to all students and providing equitable services. In only are few areas (PE and Nursing) CI Solutions is used to track attendance.”

Ventura College also has a similar system, which has been installed in the Fitness Center, according to Ramiro Sanchez, Executive Vice President for Student Learning.

“VC does have a check-in system (swipe card) in our PE Fitness Center, that keeps a record of the amount of time students spend in the Fitness Center during the semester. They have to put in a certain amount of time to earn credit

for the class.” At VC the system is also used with library computers.

“The college recently installed a system that allows students access to specific academic websites and databases.

As of yet the college does not have a check-in computer system for our Career & Transfer Center.”

Oxnard College also is home to these systems in the Learning and Fitness centers among others, according to V.P. of Business Services John al-Amin.

“This software system is one of many that are utilized by colleges and universities throughout the country,” said al-Amin.

“As fiscal resources permit, we will continue to look for ways to upgrade our technology in order to provide our students with access to current

technologies and equipment that will provide them with the experience and skills required for today’s workforce.”

CI Solutions is a company that also supplies products to In-N-Out Burger and the Dodgers.

MC Criminal Justice Major Ryon Flack finds the system useful. “I actually like the idea of having the ID system. It’s not a big problem to me memorizing my ID number.”

Judi Gould of the Career and Transfer Center is excited to have the system in place in the Center, now in Fountain Hall.

However, she notices a trend among students, and encourages them to memorize their ID numbers.

“It’s great,” said Gould, referring to the ID check-in system.

“But students don’t know their 900 number.”

IDs: New check-in system coming

Stefanie KatzStaff writer

The diverse sounds of activi-ties, speakers, and vendors with an array of colors and patterns came together to produce the 19th annual Multicultural Day festival set to promote cultural awareness around the world April 15.

“The purpose of these events is to encourage people to discuss and come to an understanding about how each culture con-tributes to humanity,” said co-chair and co-founder Professor Ranford Hopkins.

The theme this year was Cul-tural Dimensions of Democracy in support of the college-wide Year of Democracy theme.

“Most Americans spend time

talking to people who agree with them, this is an opportunity for dialogue between people of other cultures,” said Christine Marx, a member of the Multicultural Day Planning Committee.

The events that took up near-ly the whole campus were ar-ranged for students as an “alter-native day of instruction.” Many teachers even canceled classes, others offered extra credit to those students who attended.

“Our goal is to get the pro-gram out early enough so that the faculty can allow their students to attend and work their sched-ule around it,” said Hopkins.

Those who were on campus, or even outdoors know that the weather wasn’t exactly perfect for the outdoor vendors and main stage performances.

However, the wild winds and loud bustling of the trees’ terrible reputation of ruining outdoor events didn’t pose as much of a problems for Multicultural Day Planning Committee.

“Some of the vendors are leaving, but it’s not too bad; we’ve been out here in the rain before,” said Co-Chairman Professor Sally Ponce-O’Rourke.

The large amount of students engaged in either appealing their taste buds with the sweet taste of the kettle corn, combined with al-luring their sense of sound with the outstanding steel drum per-formance was proof in itself that the wind really wasn’t a problem

Among the campus full of interested students, faculty, and children from the Child Develop-ment Center engaged in speeches and lectures was a student who admitted that her reason for at-tendance was simply opportu-nity to gain a few points for her women‘s history class.

For her and many others, however, what started off to be an easy extra credit opportunity, turned out to be an extraordinary learning experience.

“It sincerely inspired me to open my eyes to our societies culture,” said Kylie Bamberger, 19, after hearing about the Asian American Culture through the Angel Island Perspective.

There, the Asian American/Chinese American history was put into the broader context of American immigration history.

Hopkins, after a 19 years, can’t wait for more.

“I look forward to combin-ing the ideas of multiculturalism with next year’s theme, ‘servic-es,’” Hopkins said.

Multicultural Day6Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Thursday, May 14, 2009 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Friday, May 15, 2009 9 a.m. - Noon

Monday, May 18, 2009 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Thursday, May 21, 2009 9 a.m. - Noon

Raider Bookstore in the Campus Center

(805) 378-1436

MooRpaRk College

Exploring world democracy

Cultural DemoCraCy–Mati Waiya, far left, plays a traditional drum during his Chumash Culture presentation at Multicultural Day on Wednesday, April 15. Above top, Taylor, son of a Moorpark student, Budhi Harlow, and Brock Redney dance to the drums of the Konkoba Drum and Dance Ensemble. Above left, Melvin Eddy Blues Band performs in the Forum. Above right, Bailal Redd, The Bean Pie Man, attracts visitors to his booth. Redd was one among 23 other vendors on Multicul-tural Day. The day’s festivities included students, faculty, staff and members of the community.

Photo by Paul Roush

Photo by Paul Roush

Photo by Paul Roush

Photo by Randy Phenning

Click here

For stories on Multicultural Day and

more, go to StudentVoiceOnline.com

Arts and Entertainment 7Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Open University enables members of the community to take regular course offerings on a space-available basis without going through the formal admission process. Those enrolled in Open University attend regular day or evening credit courses, participate side-by-side with degree-seeking students, and enjoy the same intellectual challenges and rewards. Students may select from the hundreds of University classes offered in Summer 2009. Credits earned through Open

University can be applied to degree work and transferred to other Cal State universities.

Enhance your professional skills Prepare for a career change

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Cast rises to the stage in ‘The Baker’s Wife’ at Ventura College

Rob OrtegaStaff writer

Every spring the Moorpark College Dance Department show-cases dances choreographed by aspiring student dancers. The dance concert lets the dancers explore their growing potential, hence the title “Motion Flux.”

“These are students who are still in flux, venturing, or who haven’t reached their pinnacle,” explains Dance Professor and organizer of the event, Robert Salas.

The eclectic concert, features six student choreographers with different styles. Some of the dance styles explored includes dances such as hip-hop, jazz, and modern.

Along with the student danc-ers performing, guests dancers will also be featured “Motion Flux.” Representative dancers from La Danserie, a non-profit,

contemporary ballet company based in Los Angeles will per-form as well as Carinne Bach, an Artistic Director and Lecturer at California State University Chan-nel Islands, and her dance en-semble from the university.

While the dances are for en-tertainment purposes, some ma-ture content will be included in some of the performances. One of the dance touches on the sub-ject of abuse, while another cho-reographer will be honoring the passing of her mother.

With the diversity of all the dances, Salas believes that every-one will connect with the perfor-mances. “We hope to touch the audience, they will be made to laugh, think, and maybe even moved to tears” explained Salas.

Contact the Box Office at 805-378-1485 for tickets. Adults are $16, seniors and faculty are $9, and students and children are $8.

MC ceramic sales to support art students MC ‘Motion Flux’ exploresdancers’ abilities and styles

Katie YatesArts and Entertainment editor

“The Baker’s Wife,” brought in the customers at the newest performance by the Ventura Col-lege Opera and Musical Theatre.

Directed by Angela Rasmus-sen, “The Baker’s Wife,” follows the story of a baker and his wife who move to the small town of Provence, France.

What ensues there are bicker-ing townspeople who love their bread, the curiosity about the newcomers and an infatuation between the baker’s wife and a young man.

But what is more important is the underlining meaning of the tale.

“It is a story about never tak-ing someone for granted,” said Jeff Wallach; the choreographer, Associate producer and the char-

acter Marquis of the show. “It is a story of relationships, friend-ships, feuds and tolerance.”

In what is a great story and the meaning behind it, is only fu-eled by the cast’s performances.

Each character was highly amusing and each relatable.

“It’s really an ensemble show that can appeal to all ages,” said Keaghlan Ashley, who plays Hortense, the butcher’s wife. “There is something for every-one and every single character undergoes some sort of transfor-mation.”

I even found myself gig-gling at the banter between the priest (Christopher Mahr) and the teacher (Mitchell Burns). The chemistry between the cast flowed through them into the au-dience.

“There is so much emotion and love put into this show, it re-

ally shows,” said Mahr, 20.However, my only issue with

the cast’s performances was the projection of their voices.

Sitting in the second row, right in front of the stage, I found myself straining to hear the words to the song.

But the entertainment factor should not be the only reason to see the show.

“People should come to see the show to support the commu-nity, the VC opera and Musical theatre department and good, quality, local, live theatre,” said Wallach.

“The Baker’s Wife,” will be held at the VC Theatre and the last performances will run April 24-26. Fridays and Saturdays be-gin at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets for general admis-sion at $17, students and seniors $10.

Stefanie KatzStaff writer

Need an idea for a mother’s day gift, or something to fill the gap on your boring living room table? Look no further.

A money making and learn-ing opportunity for Moorpark College Students, the ceramics sale is a chance for others to dec-orate their home with an authen-tic hand crafted sculpture, or to purchase those always dreadful last minute Mothers Day gifts.

Close to 35 students will sell around 600 pieces of art that they’ve worked hard on all se-mester in a semi-annual ceramic sale. “Whatever they make, they can sell,” said Art Instructor Ger-ry Zucca.

Each ceramic student that decides to put their piece up for sale gets the opportunity to determine a price for their own piece. The student gets to keep 80 percent of the profit, the other 20 goes into advertising for the sale or towards funding the program.

Last semester Zucca was able to use the $4,000 saved from 5 years of previous sales to pur-chase a new kiln that students are now using.

For many of the beginning ceramic students who don’t put any of their finished products up

for sale, it is an opportunity for them to learn from their class-mates. Beginning students tend to become more attached to their work, whereas advanced stu-dents have a much more relaxed attitude.

“I’ve been doing this for a

while, so it’s fairly easy for me to part with my work,” said Dorean Callari. Callari has contributed her unique organic, theatrical pieces for about 5 years now.

On the same tray as Callari’s work also waiting to be glazed was Bruce Love’s perfectly sym-metrical flask, which helps con-tribute to the variety and inimi-tably of each and every piece. “Everything is special, hand-crafted and unique to the person that made it,” Said Zucca.

All containing hours of hard work and a style unique to the artist, the individual, three-di-mensional, representational art pieces can range anywhere from $1-$100. “They are really nice pieces, and most of the time they are really under priced,” Said Zucca. The extraordinary sale will be taking place on May 6-7 in the Technology building, room 114, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. So come treat yourself, become in-spired, or purchase that perfectly unique, handcrafted Mother’s Day gift your mom deserves.

Photo by Tony SinticSpinning Wheel–Mike Huber, 21, undecided, focuses on throwing a clay pot for his ceramics class.

Photo by Hannah DaveyFreSh Bread–The citizens of Provence, France salivate and sing over the fresh warm loaves in the song “Bread” in “The Baker’s Wife” at Ventura College. Scott Groeneveld, center, plays Aimable Castagne, the baker.

Arts and Entertainment8Student Voice • VCCCD •April 22, 2009

Frank LopezStaff writer

The Oxnard Student Digi Film Festival is now seeking en-tries for its annual festival, and will be accepting entries through August 19, 2009.

The festival, a spinoff of the long-running Oxnard Indie film Festival, is in its second year as an all-student festival. It is co-spon-sored by Oxnard College and the city of Oxnard to benefit youth in Ventura County and beyond.

The Student Digi Film Festi-val director, Kitty Merrill, is on the staff of Oxnard College Tele-vision and teaches part time at the college.

The Student Digi Film Fes-tival is open to students every-where. New this year, students can submit 3 films for a single $10 entry fee. Entries may be submitted in categories ranging

from drama to horror or comedy to news or extreme sports. “The experimental category gives filmmakers a place for the film that defies categorization,” Mer-rill said.

A category added this year is Community Production.

“Groups of students who work closely with a mentor to create their digital films and vid-eos needed a place to be recog-nized. Here, we can honor their work in a special category,” Mer-rill added.

Students can download en-try forms at the festival website, studentdigifilmfest.org.

Entries can be submitted on DVD or Mini DV, and must be received by August 19th for con-sideration. Festival finalists will be screened at the downtown Oxnard “Plaza 14” movie the-atres on October 16th and 17th. Award winners will be honored

at the conclusion of the festival on Saturday August 17th. Volun-teers are seeking donations for prizes for the students.

Festival founder, Luis Guere-ca said he is interested in getting donations to be able to provide students with the technology they need. “I’d love for the festival to be able to give away things stu-dents can really use, like external hard drives, camcorder accesso-ries, the things that can enhance a student’s work.” Guereca said. “Donations are needed to fund student prizes and to cover the festival’s costs,” he added.

To receive more information about the Student Digital Film Festival, and how to become a sponsor, or to donate, contact Kit-ty Merrill at O. C. (805) 986-5817 Donations can be mailed to Stu-dent Digi Film Fest, c/o Oxnard College 4000 South Rose Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033.

OC film festival accepts entries

Hannah DaveyStaff writer

The “One Acts” are student-written and directed plays that explore ideas like the impact of school shootings, stereotyping, the War on Terror and the fact that hugs make everything bet-ter.

“The wonderful thing about

one act plays is that they are short. Instead of spending a lot of time with one story, one point of view—the audience gets to expe-rience a number of different sto-ries and view points in one eve-ning,” said Theater Professor and Producer Katherine Lewis.

The “Original One Acts” will be performed in the MC Perform-ing Arts Center Studio Theater.

Tickets cost $8 for one evening, $6 for a matinee, or $12 for two eve-nings if the tickets are bought at the same time. Evening A is April 23, 25, 29 and May 1 at 7:30 p.m. with a 1:30 pm matinee on April 22. Evening B is April 22, 24, 30 and May 2 at 7:30 p.m. and April 29 at 1:30 p.m. For more informa-tion, contact Katherine Lewis at 805-378-1568.

Art students recieve recognition and scholarships at the VC galleriesChristian RandolphContributing writer

Over 60 Ventura College art students received recognition in the form of several thousand dol-lars worth of scholarships and awards last Thursday evening.

The awards were given out to students who had submitted work into the Annual Student Awards Exhibition and chosen by a panel of judges.

Art Department Chair Bob Moskowitz emceed the event and along with a few professors handed out many of the awards.

“(The exhibition) is a cul-mination of a full year of hard work and it represents a lot of the best of what we do for years and years,” said Moskowitz.

A total of $6500 worth of scholarships were given be-fore the opening of the Annual Student Awards Exhibition in the New Media Gallery and Gallery 2.

Any VC student that had tak-en an art class within the last two semesters was allowed to enter artwork. A panel of professionals went through all the entries and selected what would go in the show and awarded scholarships.

The funds for the scholar-ships came from artwork that was donated by local artists and VC professors and auctioned at the 2009 Art Auction held on campus a few weeks prior. Hon-orable mentions, awards of merit and awards of excellence were given out to students in twenty-one different categories along with several memorial and other special awards.

Linda Marie Monier received the Barney Dietz Best in Show for her mixed media self-portrait.

Monier found inspiration to create the self-portrait during a summer class at Ventura Col-lege.

“It wouldn’t exist if I wasn’t taking classes here,” said Monier.

“I normally paint really clean, pretty things so I thought people wouldn’t like the artwork. It’s very emotional.”

Among the usual awards that were handed out, a brand new Future Award was introduced in the photography category, and

awarded to Margaret Donahue based on a submitted portfolio and essay.

The award was setup up by VC and Art Center College of Design alumni Scott Council to assist a student with a future in photography.

“It’s exactly what I wanted and it makes me feel like I’m right ontrack,” said Donahue.

The Annual Student Awards Exhibition will be in the New Media Gallery and Gallery 2 un-til May 7 which are open from noon to 4 p.m.

OC Art FundrAiserThe Oxnard College Mc-

Nish Gallery presents its new-est gallery, “The Spring Art Show Fundraiser.”

Art was donated from art-ists in the Ventura County area as well as Los Angeles. The art displayed in the fundraiser is priced at $10 to $100 and will be donated to area students at Oxnard College.

The fundraiser will be open Wednesday, April 22 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will continue Thursday, April 23 at noon. For more information, call Christine Morla at 805-986-5800 ext. 1929.

MC ‘One Acts’ ready to entertainPhoto by Jon Seyster

YEEHAW–Lauren Sinutko and Dave Wright portray Rose April and Deputy Dwayne in Ray Hebel’s “Secret of the Chili.”

Photo by Christian RandolphCongratulations–Linda Marie Monier accepts an award at the Annual Student Awards Exhibition. Monier won the Barney Dietz Best in Show award for a mixed media self portrait.

Arts and Entertainment8Student Voice • VCCCD •April 22, 2009

Frank LopezStaff writer

The Oxnard Student Digi Film Festival is now seeking en-tries for its annual festival, and will be accepting entries through August 19, 2009.

The festival, a spinoff of the long-running Oxnard Indie film Festival, is in its second year as an all-student festival. It is co-spon-sored by Oxnard College and the city of Oxnard to benefit youth in Ventura County and beyond.

The Student Digi Film Festi-val director, Kitty Merrill, is on the staff of Oxnard College Tele-vision and teaches part time at the college.

The Student Digi Film Fes-tival is open to students every-where. New this year, students can submit 3 films for a single $10 entry fee. Entries may be submitted in categories ranging

from drama to horror or comedy to news or extreme sports. “The experimental category gives filmmakers a place for the film that defies categorization,” Mer-rill said.

A category added this year is Community Production.

“Groups of students who work closely with a mentor to create their digital films and vid-eos needed a place to be recog-nized. Here, we can honor their work in a special category,” Mer-rill added.

Students can download en-try forms at the festival website, studentdigifilmfest.org.

Entries can be submitted on DVD or Mini DV, and must be received by August 19th for con-sideration. Festival finalists will be screened at the downtown Oxnard “Plaza 14” movie the-atres on October 16th and 17th. Award winners will be honored

at the conclusion of the festival on Saturday August 17th. Volun-teers are seeking donations for prizes for the students.

Festival founder, Luis Guere-ca said he is interested in getting donations to be able to provide students with the technology they need. “I’d love for the festival to be able to give away things stu-dents can really use, like external hard drives, camcorder accesso-ries, the things that can enhance a student’s work.” Guereca said. “Donations are needed to fund student prizes and to cover the festival’s costs,” he added.

To receive more information about the Student Digital Film Festival, and how to become a sponsor, or to donate, contact Kit-ty Merrill at O. C. (805) 986-5817 Donations can be mailed to Stu-dent Digi Film Fest, c/o Oxnard College 4000 South Rose Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033.

OC film festival accepts entries

Hannah DaveyStaff writer

The “One Acts” are student-written and directed plays that explore ideas like the impact of school shootings, stereotyping, the War on Terror and the fact that hugs make everything bet-ter.

“The wonderful thing about

one act plays is that they are short. Instead of spending a lot of time with one story, one point of view—the audience gets to expe-rience a number of different sto-ries and view points in one eve-ning,” said Theater Professor and Producer Katherine Lewis.

The “Original One Acts” will be performed in the MC Perform-ing Arts Center Studio Theater.

Tickets cost $8 for one evening, $6 for a matinee, or $12 for two eve-nings if the tickets are bought at the same time. Evening A is April 23, 25, 29 and May 1 at 7:30 p.m. with a 1:30 pm matinee on April 22. Evening B is April 22, 24, 30 and May 2 at 7:30 p.m. and April 29 at 1:30 p.m. For more informa-tion, contact Katherine Lewis at 805-378-1568.

Art students recieve recognition and scholarships at the VC galleriesChristian RandolphContributing writer

Over 60 Ventura College art students received recognition in the form of several thousand dol-lars worth of scholarships and awards last Thursday evening.

The awards were given out to students who had submitted work into the Annual Student Awards Exhibition and chosen by a panel of judges.

Art Department Chair Bob Moskowitz emceed the event and along with a few professors handed out many of the awards.

“(The exhibition) is a cul-mination of a full year of hard work and it represents a lot of the best of what we do for years and years,” said Moskowitz.

A total of $6500 worth of scholarships were given be-fore the opening of the Annual Student Awards Exhibition in the New Media Gallery and Gallery 2.

Any VC student that had tak-en an art class within the last two semesters was allowed to enter artwork. A panel of professionals went through all the entries and selected what would go in the show and awarded scholarships.

The funds for the scholar-ships came from artwork that was donated by local artists and VC professors and auctioned at the 2009 Art Auction held on campus a few weeks prior. Hon-orable mentions, awards of merit and awards of excellence were given out to students in twenty-one different categories along with several memorial and other special awards.

Linda Marie Monier received the Barney Dietz Best in Show for her mixed media self-portrait.

Monier found inspiration to create the self-portrait during a summer class at Ventura Col-lege.

“It wouldn’t exist if I wasn’t taking classes here,” said Monier.

“I normally paint really clean, pretty things so I thought people wouldn’t like the artwork. It’s very emotional.”

Among the usual awards that were handed out, a brand new Future Award was introduced in the photography category, and

awarded to Margaret Donahue based on a submitted portfolio and essay.

The award was setup up by VC and Art Center College of Design alumni Scott Council to assist a student with a future in photography.

“It’s exactly what I wanted and it makes me feel like I’m right ontrack,” said Donahue.

The Annual Student Awards Exhibition will be in the New Media Gallery and Gallery 2 un-til May 7 which are open from noon to 4 p.m.

OC Art FundrAiserThe Oxnard College Mc-

Nish Gallery presents its new-est gallery, “The Spring Art Show Fundraiser.”

Art was donated from art-ists in the Ventura County area as well as Los Angeles. The art displayed in the fundraiser is priced at $10 to $100 and will be donated to area students at Oxnard College.

The fundraiser will be open Wednesday, April 22 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will continue Thursday, April 23 at noon. For more information, call Christine Morla at 805-986-5800 ext. 1929.

MC ‘One Acts’ ready to entertainPhoto by Jon Seyster

YEEHAW–Lauren Sinutko and Dave Wright portray Rose April and Deputy Dwayne in Ray Hebel’s “Secret of the Chili.”

Photo by Christian RandolphCongratulations–Linda Marie Monier accepts an award at the Annual Student Awards Exhibition. Monier won the Barney Dietz Best in Show award for a mixed media self portrait.

David LopezSports editor

Seven years have come and gone since Moorpark softball has been able to call themselves league champs, but because of a sweep against Ventura College, Moorpark walked away Western State Conference Gold champi-ons.

Moorpark took the first game behind a stellar pitching job from Taylor Neumann who gave up only two hits in the complete game shutout.

The second game was a great showing turned in by Bonnie Ward who also tossed a complete game and turned in five strike-outs.

Neumann’s record moved up to 6-2 with an ERA of 2.66, while Ward picked up her twen-tieth win and made her strikeout total 135 on the season.

But despite the gem turned in by Moorpark pitching, defense is what helped aid the home team to victory..

“My defense was solid,” Ward said.

“I could throw fastballs all day and they would make all the outs.”

Neumann got the biggest help on the defensive end when she was in a tough situation in the top of the sixth inning.

Venura had runners on first and second with no outs, when a line drive was smacked right to the short stop.

The short stop made the catch and tossed it over to the second

baseman that was covering the back who immediately threw it to the first baseman.

The result, a triple play that deflated Ventura’s chances at making any sort of comeback.

“That was a big play and a huge momentum killer for them,” said Moorpark College head coach Kelly Lovato.

“I knew at that point we had that game won.”

A great defensive effort was also turned in by third basemen Michelle Zakosek.

In the second game she knocked a hard hit ball down which left Lavotto wondering if

she hurt hand badly. Moorpark got a great offen-

sive turn out from Ward in the first game of the double header, as she went 2 for 3 including two doubles and an RBI.

Jennifer Irvin also went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Kristen Torres rounded out the group of players with multi-hit games for Moor-park, as she went 2 for 3.

Ventura’s Sabrina Gonzalez connected with a triple in the top of the third inning.

In the second game of the double header, Neumann hit a lazy fly ball right behind the catcher that no body called, and the ball dropped between three infielders.

This mental error would ul-timately turn out to be the differ-ence in the game as two batters later, a passed ball brought Neu-man came home to score.

The passed ball would stand to be the difference as the game ended with a score of 1-0.

With the two wins Moorpark advances to 30-12 overall and 18-5 in Western State Conference Gold. Ventura moves to 15-8 in league play.

By the end of the double header the team was glad to be champs.

“It’s sweet doing it at home and getting it done,” Lavato said with a smile on her face.

Sports 9Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

MC takes WSC Gold title for first time in 7 years

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Ventura sends 16 to state finals

Focused–Bonnie Ward picked up five strike outs to take her total up to 135 on the season. Ward also picked up her twentieth win of the season. Photo by Jonathan Castillo

Ventura swimming breaks WSC record with 982 points for the men and 714 for the women

David LopezSports editor

The Ventura College swimming team made a strong case that they were one of the most untouch-able team yet.

The Pirates men’s side blew away the competi-tion by scoring an impressive 982 points over the three day championships in Bakersfield.

“The meet was very exciting for the men,” said

men’s and women’s Ventura head coach Larry Bar-rate.

The Citrus men’s swimming and diving team came in second place, with 492 points, only half of what powerhouse VC posted.

Ventura is sending ten men and six women to the state championships.

They will leave Wednesday morning to head up to state championships.

Students interested in keeping up with the swimming team can get the results nightly through www.collegeswimming.com.

Barrate explained how the women’s side kept the meet interesting.

The women barely edged out Santa Monica City College with a score of 714. Santa Monica was right on behind the women with 628.

Photo by Christian RandolphPractice makes PerFect–Ventura College swimming team practices before traveling to state championships in Bakersfield.

Sports10Student Voice • VCCCD •April 22, 2009

Rebecca BorgioliAntioch University Santa Barbara(805) 962-8179 x330rborgioli@antiochsb.edu

antiochsb.edu

All qualifiedtransfer applicants

accepted.Transfer up to 80 semester units to AntiochBoost your employment potential by getting your BA

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Jeremy ZellerManaging edtor

As the coach of the West-ern State Conference-champion women’s volleyball team, Moor-park College Health Instructor Steve Burkhart finds himself on the court a lot of the time. However, he finds that either beside the net or in the class-room, there are always teaching opportunities.

“I really enjoy the teaching aspect of my job,” said Burkhart. “I enjoy working with all the stu-

dents in the Health and PE dept. I try not to say one is more im-portant that another but the team does take up a lot of my time.”

And a lot of Burkhart’s time is no exaggeration. As the coach of the men’s and women’s vol-leyball teams, Burkhart finds himself court-side every day, in-cluding some weekends.

However, it seems to be pay-ing off, as the his men’s squad has gone 14-2 this seasson and the women’s ended their regular season undefeated.

Students not interested in Vol-

leyball however, have had posi-tive interactions with Burkhart from his Saturday sessions on sexuality, alcohol and stress.

“I enjoy teaching health, and learning about health,” he said.

Before coming to Moorpark, Burkhart had 12 years teaching experience at the high school level, and has been coaching for 31 years.

“Certainly the coaching part of it is something I enjoy doing,” said Burkhart.

“There’s a lot of teaching in coaching. That’s basically what

you’re doing. “You get to have pretty close

relationships with a lot of adults, and I value those relationships.”

Burkhart got his undergrad-uate degree from Northern Illi-nois Univ. and a Masters degree from Azusa Pacific University. In Illinois, they didn’t have volley-ball, so his sport was tennis.

“It was pretty incumbent on me to learn volleyball business,” said Burkhart, referring to his move to California.

“And that’s pretty much what I did.”

Tim WeisbergStaff writer

The saying goes that there is no “I” in team. For the Moorpark College Track and Field team, there is a strong bond between the players, contributing to the team’s overall success. A talented group of men and women, where any person can step up and help the team has lead to many years of dominance in the WSC.

Women’s track coach Traycie Kephart really had to think about who has put on the best perfor-mance this season.

“They are all really special,” said Kephart.

She emphasized that a talent-ed team with strong comrodary, and not individual performanc-es, was the key to their success this year and in previous years.

“What makes a successful program is one that has fun and works hard,” Kephart said.

“People come out everyday showing commitment.”

With powerful team chemis-try, the Moorpark College Raid-er’s men’s team is attempting to win their ninth consecutive West-ern State Conference champion-ship, dating back to 2001.

The woman’s team has also

enjoyed success over the years, winning WSC titles from 1998-2001 and one in 2003. The men’s team even won California state

championships in 2003 and 2007. The team is as united as ever, ac-cording to Kevin Lashley, who competes in the triple jump, long

jump, and 4X100 relay.“We as a team are support-

ing one another, which helps me a lot in succeeding,” Lashley said

with confidence. “We like to push each other.”

There are many players who have excelled on the field. Brittni

Showers is a sophomore 4X100 runner, and one of the fastest on the team.

Dennis Aliotta is leading the team in the shot put and ham-mer events, and freshman Mad-elyn Stoltze leads the long-dis-tance crew in the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter.

Brittni Showers, who also is the fastest 400-meter hurdle runner in the conference despite just starting in that competition, believes the team has great team comrodary, and each individu-al can contribute to the team’s successes.

“We definitely have good team camaraderie,” Showers said. “The amount of talent we have helps with our competitions and helps everyone get better.”

Although one of the most successful programs in Moor-park athletics, it is often the most disregarded by many standards.

The team is confident they can continue their success on the track, working very hard, yet having fun in the process. The Moorpark College Raiders track team has their WSC finals this Saturday, April 25 at Citrus Col-lege, before heading to the South-ern California Prelims at Mt. Sac College Saturday, May 2.

MC Track & Field moving to state championships

Down anD Dirty– Moorpark’s Kevin Lashley triple jumps 47 feet 6.25 inches at Ventura College. Lashley advanced to state championships to be held in Bakersfield.

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Prof. volleys coaching and teaching at Moorpark

Photo by Jeffrey Farar

Photo by Randy PhenningDetermineD– Coach Steve Burkhart has been a staple in MC volleyball.

Sports10Student Voice • VCCCD •April 22, 2009

Rebecca BorgioliAntioch University Santa Barbara(805) 962-8179 x330rborgioli@antiochsb.edu

antiochsb.edu

All qualifiedtransfer applicants

accepted.Transfer up to 80 semester units to AntiochBoost your employment potential by getting your BA

No math requirement to transferSmall, personalized classesFlexible schedulingFinancial aid available

Accepting applicationsnow for SPRING,

SUMMER, and FALL ’09

Application fee waivedif you mention this ad!

Complete your Bachelor’s Degree inSanta Barbara

SANTA BARBARA

Jeremy ZellerManaging edtor

As the coach of the West-ern State Conference-champion women’s volleyball team, Moor-park College Health Instructor Steve Burkhart finds himself on the court a lot of the time. However, he finds that either beside the net or in the class-room, there are always teaching opportunities.

“I really enjoy the teaching aspect of my job,” said Burkhart. “I enjoy working with all the stu-

dents in the Health and PE dept. I try not to say one is more im-portant that another but the team does take up a lot of my time.”

And a lot of Burkhart’s time is no exaggeration. As the coach of the men’s and women’s vol-leyball teams, Burkhart finds himself court-side every day, in-cluding some weekends.

However, it seems to be pay-ing off, as the his men’s squad has gone 14-2 this seasson and the women’s ended their regular season undefeated.

Students not interested in Vol-

leyball however, have had posi-tive interactions with Burkhart from his Saturday sessions on sexuality, alcohol and stress.

“I enjoy teaching health, and learning about health,” he said.

Before coming to Moorpark, Burkhart had 12 years teaching experience at the high school level, and has been coaching for 31 years.

“Certainly the coaching part of it is something I enjoy doing,” said Burkhart.

“There’s a lot of teaching in coaching. That’s basically what

you’re doing. “You get to have pretty close

relationships with a lot of adults, and I value those relationships.”

Burkhart got his undergrad-uate degree from Northern Illi-nois Univ. and a Masters degree from Azusa Pacific University. In Illinois, they didn’t have volley-ball, so his sport was tennis.

“It was pretty incumbent on me to learn volleyball business,” said Burkhart, referring to his move to California.

“And that’s pretty much what I did.”

Tim WeisbergStaff writer

The saying goes that there is no “I” in team. For the Moorpark College Track and Field team, there is a strong bond between the players, contributing to the team’s overall success. A talented group of men and women, where any person can step up and help the team has lead to many years of dominance in the WSC.

Women’s track coach Traycie Kephart really had to think about who has put on the best perfor-mance this season.

“They are all really special,” said Kephart.

She emphasized that a talent-ed team with strong comrodary, and not individual performanc-es, was the key to their success this year and in previous years.

“What makes a successful program is one that has fun and works hard,” Kephart said.

“People come out everyday showing commitment.”

With powerful team chemis-try, the Moorpark College Raid-er’s men’s team is attempting to win their ninth consecutive West-ern State Conference champion-ship, dating back to 2001.

The woman’s team has also

enjoyed success over the years, winning WSC titles from 1998-2001 and one in 2003. The men’s team even won California state

championships in 2003 and 2007. The team is as united as ever, ac-cording to Kevin Lashley, who competes in the triple jump, long

jump, and 4X100 relay.“We as a team are support-

ing one another, which helps me a lot in succeeding,” Lashley said

with confidence. “We like to push each other.”

There are many players who have excelled on the field. Brittni

Showers is a sophomore 4X100 runner, and one of the fastest on the team.

Dennis Aliotta is leading the team in the shot put and ham-mer events, and freshman Mad-elyn Stoltze leads the long-dis-tance crew in the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter.

Brittni Showers, who also is the fastest 400-meter hurdle runner in the conference despite just starting in that competition, believes the team has great team comrodary, and each individu-al can contribute to the team’s successes.

“We definitely have good team camaraderie,” Showers said. “The amount of talent we have helps with our competitions and helps everyone get better.”

Although one of the most successful programs in Moor-park athletics, it is often the most disregarded by many standards.

The team is confident they can continue their success on the track, working very hard, yet having fun in the process. The Moorpark College Raiders track team has their WSC finals this Saturday, April 25 at Citrus Col-lege, before heading to the South-ern California Prelims at Mt. Sac College Saturday, May 2.

MC Track & Field moving to state championships

Down anD Dirty– Moorpark’s Kevin Lashley triple jumps 47 feet 6.25 inches at Ventura College. Lashley advanced to state championships to be held in Bakersfield.

Nurturing Lives Since 1981

Do you work in the field of applied behavior analysis/Human Services or are you studying to do so? Growth is the goal at IABA, and we offer unique opportunities to be part of a team where service is rooted in ABA and strong,

mutually caring relationships. For over a quarter century, our progressive programs and direct support have improved the lives of individuals with Autism and other developmental disabilities. Join us and get rooted in a career you will love!

• Community Support Companion — Help people challenged w/ a developmental disability develop necessary independent living skills. AA and/or 1 yr exp. PT or FT.

• Employment Specialist — Support individuals challenged w/ a developmental disability at place of employment & in community. BA and/or 1 yr exp. FT.

See www.IABA.com for complete position

descriptions/qualifications.

Institute for Applied Behavior AnalysisInstitute for Applied Behavior Analysis

SKYDIVE TAFT* Over 20 years experience. * Excellent safety record. * State of the art equipment. * Personalized video of your skydive. * Open 7 days a week, year round. (weather permitting) * Tandem and Accelerated Free Fall available.* BBQ, bunkhouse, camping & showers on site

Discount Rates for students,

birthdays, military, fire and police.

www.skydivetaft.com

661-765-JUMP500 Airport Road

Taft, CA 93268

Prof. volleys coaching and teaching at Moorpark

Photo by Jeffrey Farar

Photo by Randy PhenningDetermineD– Coach Steve Burkhart has been a staple in MC volleyball.

BrennanWhitmoreNews editor

The mainstream’s in-fatuation with Twitter is un-questionably a fad that will burn out before too long.

But to write it off as some-thing that can’t deliver news or benefit the world of journalism is the same kind of close minded at-titude that editors once had when refusing to believe that an online edition could replace print. Not to say that a 140 word “tweet” could ever replace the standard 500-600 word news story, how-ever it can supplement it.

Finding out through the ser-vice the verdict to a trial would be a godsend, especially if you received it on your old-fash-ioned, internet-less cell phone while away from the computer.

Sports coverage can also

greatly benefit from the service, with an up to the minute update on game scores.

Student Voice Sports editor David Lopez Twittered a Ven-tura College women’s basketball game from Fresno, providing coverage literally as it happened.

The problem lies with the in-ability to choose which news to receive.

If you follow either the New York or Los Angeles Times, you’ll be buried in tweets before an hour passes, forcing you to dig through the pile to find some-thing interesting.

Newspapers are long past the “dying” stage, and are now desperately trying to cling to any medium. One of these happens to be Twitter, yet another move-ment so heavily inspired by ‘Web 2.0” that also gave us Youtube, Flickr and the entire concept be-hind the blog.

Twitter also becomes a whole new beast when a smart phone such as an iPhone are brought into the equation, where a tweet can become a free text message that lets you know whether the Celtics won, while you shop for groceries.

If they manage to let me choose which news I want tweet-ed, then I can see the service liv-ing on long after the mainstream stops caring.

The avenues an undocument-ed student may take to obtain an education and find a career after-wards are quite narrow.

The Federal DREAM Act, in-troduced in both houses of Con-gress March 26, would grant un-documented students a pathway not only to a college degree, but a means to earn legal residence in the United States.

If passed, the bill would pro-vide undocumented immigrant students access to an education that they otherwise would not be able to obtain.

One student here locally is planning for college while living in the country illegally.

Asking to remain anony-mous due to her residency sta-tus, she believes the DREAM Act would help improve her overall situation.

“(The DREAM Act) would give me a bigger range of oppor-tunities for going to college and make it easier for me to move towards getting permanent resi-dency,” she said. “I don’t have a lot of options for college because of the fact that money is an issue and only citizens and permanent residents are even considered for financial aid. That limits my op-tions hugely for college, since money is a big factor in choosing colleges I can realistically consid-er going to.”

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act states that students that graduate from high school in a given state, obtain a GED or get accepted to college can earn “conditional per-manent resident status.” After ei-ther graduating from a two-year

college, or two years towards a B.A. degree or two years in the armed forces, the student be granted “unrestricted lawful per-manent resident status,” accord-ing the the National Immigration Law Center.

Cosponsored by a long list of liberal and conservative Sena-tors and representatives, Calif. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Con-gresswoman Lois Capps of the 23rd Congressional District, the DREAM Act would provide stu-dents with no other options a way out of deportation and a means to a better life. The children of illegal immigrants have lived in the U.S. for the majority of their lives, and are by all means what we consider to be “American.”

As it stands now in Califor-nia, undocumented college stu-dents can qualify for in-state tu-ition under Assembly Bill 540.

“Any undocumented alien must spend at least three consec-utive years in a California high school and graduate to be con-sidered eligible to enroll in a CC,” said Moorpark College Executive Vice President of Business Servic-es Ray DiGuilio. “A high school transcript is required to verify their status. If they are eligible to enroll, they do so as a California resident and do not have to pay non-resident tuition.”

The College Board estimates that 65,000 illegal immigrants graduate from U.S. high schools a year. Congress needs to pass this before Fall 2009 to help otherwise well-qualified and hard working students get the education they deserve. By giving everyone a fair chance at getting a college degree, we help build a more pro-ductive and competitive society.

Opinion 11Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Alex WallerContributing writer

As someone who takes an in-terest in world politics and keeps up with current events, I am of-ten confronted with things in the news that frustrate the hell out of me and lead me to further believe that humanity is well on its way to self destruction.

Well ok, that last part has more to do with the popularity of reality television, but you get the picture.

Anyway though, because I have nothing better to do at the moment and occasionally enjoy sharing some of my cynicism, this is a rant about a current event in the world as I see it.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or just have no in-terest in what’s going on in the world, you’ve probably heard about that little gem of a basket-case-nation-waiting-to-explode, North Korea, launching a long range rocket recently.

They say it’s for a “peaceful communications satellite” while 90% of the rest of the countries that matter in the international community are calling “BS!”

Taking into account North Korea’s history of giving the world the finger, and their enig-matic, much beloved Dear Lead-er Kim Jong Il’s (give him a hand everybody) insistence on acquir-ing nuclear weapons despite the

angry letters he received from the UN, that he probably had in-cinerated or fed to peasants, I’m inclined to agree with the major-ity in this case.

Think about it: We invade Iraq because we think Saddam has stockpiles of WMD and could threaten the security of the world from his little sandbox. Fast forward a few years, mov-ing on up that “Axis of Evil” list

and the United States along with the UN are shaking their fists and passing economic sanctions on Iran for creating nuclear material that could potentially be used to make nukes.

All the while, North Korea is actually making nuclear weap-ons and not even bothering to deny it.

Wow. Yeah, the UN shook its fist at North Korea and sanctions

were passed on them, but by God they were already so deep in the hole I doubt it would have made a difference to “Dear Leader” if a few thousand more peasants starved to death because of a decrease in aid shipments. He’s stuffing his pudgy face with lobster and baby panda bear or whatever psycho dictator’s con-sider a delicacy anyway.

I know Jon Stewart at the

Daily Show already made the Iran/North Korea comparison about their nuclear ambitions, but it still merits discussion.

The bottom line is that North Korea has the bomb, and seems to be intent on being able to threaten other nations with it in the future (Communications sat-ellite my ass).

My question is this: How can this still be going on? I guess it makes sense that we can’t just in-vade North Korea. After all, our hands are just too tied up man-aging the messes in Iraq and Af-ghanistan, and China wouldn’t appreciate another Communist regime biting the dust, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

It’d be a big mess for South Korea too, especially if nukes are in the equation.

Still, the free world really dropped the ball here, and al-though some progress was made with trying to talk N. Korea into dismantling their nuclear pro-gram, their rocket launch just shows that they’re still at it.

Also, because North Korea doesn’t really have anything that we want, it’s doubtful we or any other nation will take direct ac-tion against them until Kim Jong has his finger hovering over a bright red button. At that point though, what can you do but sit back and watch the fireworks?

We certainly live in interest-ing times.

Student Voice7075 Campus Rd.

Moorpark, CA 93021phone: 805-378-1552

fax: 805-378-1438

EditorSean Greene

Managing editorJeremy Zeller

News editorRyan Krebs

Brennan Whitmore

Oxnard Bureau editorFranz Tinio-Lopez

Opinion editorMichael Fields

Features editorEric Lee

A&E editorKatie Yates

Hannah Davey

Sports editorDavid Lopez

Photo editorRandy Phenning

Editorial artistRobbie Eich

Staff writersMatthew CliftHannah Coyle Stefanie Katz

Rochelle LeahyKen McWaidRob Ortega

Travis PerkinsJosh Saylor

Tim Weisberg

PhotographersJonathan Castillo

Paul RoushEric SenzigTony Sintic

Advertising Inquiriesstudentvoice@vcccd.edu

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In Print and OnlineStudentvoiceonline.com

–Editorial–>

Matthew CliftStaff writer

In a recent announcement, United Airlines stated that they will begin charging “heavier” customers extra if they require more than one seat.

They were careful to be polit-

ically correct, as always, though the tone didn’t do a very good job of hiding their message.

Practicality and moral-ity aside, I see no need to dance around the English language in the hopes that it’s somehow go-ing to offend people less.

When you’re referring to

someone as “large,” or “big-boned,” or “husky,” it’s not as though they’re going to stare at you in ignorant confusion, un-able to discern your implied meaning. That aside, I take no is-sue with the new rule, legitimate medical exceptions aside.

When the airline industry is hemorrhaging billions of dollars, this requires them to take planes out of commission, leading to fewer, fuller planes in the sky. If someone’s body mass is such that they require two seats to be transported from one location to the next, they should be expected to pay for both.

This might lack sympathy, but when the NIDDK says that roughly two-thirds of Americans over the age of 20 are either over-weight or obese, I wouldn’t guess that it’s because they all have le-gitimate medical conditions that keep them that way.

If a passenger is unable to buckle their seatbelt using a

single seatbelt extender, or are unable to put the armrest down when seated, they will be re-quired to purchase an additional ticket or be denied permission to board the flight.

This is not a cover-all policy, and is only reserved for situa-tions where there is no empty seating to compensate for their needs.

It is for this reason that the policy is fair, and it’s not a new practice to begin with. Southwest Airlines has used the policy be-fore, it’s more a matter that it’s spreading to other airlines as well.

For the mere purpose of lo-gistics, there’s no other way to do it unless people don’t mind sitting on each other’s laps.

When you’re flying an 18-hour trip from California to Aus-tralia in coach, it’s unlikely that you’re going to question the pol-icy just because someone’s feel-ings might get hurt.

DREAM Act will aid undocumented

Kim Jong il: Destabilizer of the far east

Overweight can’t fly like the rest of us anymore

Sean GreeneEditor

Not since the Furby have I seen such a ridiculous fad in my lifetime.

The latest social networking phenomenon, Twitter, has not so much invaded the lifestyle of young people, but more disturb-ingly, that of the media.

A while back, I decided to test drive this new machine.

For those unfamiliar, Twitter is a tool (pun intended) in which users post what they are doing at any given moment, whether from a cell phone or a computer to update their “followers.”

Said “followers” have the op-tion of receiving tweets from their friends and stalker prey in the form of text messages, essentially keeping everyone that cares, and then some, in the loop.

The role of electronic commu-nication has increased drastically in a short period of time, making it easier to convey information to more people in less time.

How effectively can a jour-nalist communicate ideas in 140 characters or less?

And, really, who is going to be able to pay attention to a con-stant stream of text messages about something going on else-where, while trying to live life in the “real” world?

The answer is bleak for both questions.

Twitter will never replace a consolidated written news story in print or online.

Tweets can do little more than notify people of some news tidbit, a lost cause if most Twit-

ter users receive alerts on their phones.

After the first of the text mes-sage alerts I received from Twit-ter, I had had enough. The term “information overload” came to mind.

On the “About Twitter” sec-tion of the site, the creators at-tempt to answer this question.

“Twitter solves information overload by changing expecta-tions traditionally associated with online communication,” it said.

“On the receiving end, Twit-ter is ambient--updates from your friends and relatives float to your phone, IM, or web site.”

The makers act as if constant cell phone updates aren’t at all intrusive; they simply “float” to my phone and cause it to vibrate loudly at all hours.

With text alerts turned off, the idea of constantly up-to-the-minute-journalism is also defeat-ed.

A feed of tweets on some-one’s Twitter feed will go ig-nored in lieu of more interesting updates about arriving at work or being bored in class.

Hopefully, Twitter is mere-ly a fad to attract attention in a troubled time for the journalism industry.

Even though I received error messages for the first 30 times I tried to deactivate my experi-mental Twitter account, I in the end purged myself of the beast.

Communicating important ideas through Twitter is almost as futile as discussing election re-sults and Somalian pirates with your Furby.

Can change the face of journalism?

GC: Bad Guitar HeroBrennan WhitmoreNews editor

The one music game that hundreds of fans have been wait-ing for the minute Harmonix bundled a Fisher Price looking guitar controller with the first Guitar Hero is nearly upon us.

The Beatles: Rock Band, de-veloped by Harmonix and pub-lished by MTV, lands on store shelves Sept. 9.

And I have reached the point of utter music game fatigue that I can’t even consider trying to get excited.

The once awe inspiring thought of picking up a control-ler shaped like a Les Paul and playing along to the songs left by

the gods of rock has faded, and in its place is a burnt out feeling and a serious case of claw hand from gripping the old blues and reds. Not only is my mind strained, but so is my bank account. When the first Guitar Hero came out, $90 was a lot to ask for one game.

Now we’ve gotten to the point where they can charge $250 for the game and plastic instru-ments, and with Guitar Hero: World Tour taking the similar band approach, it’s guaranteed your living room will be drown-ing in Playmobile band equip-ment.

I’ll consider picking up Rock Band’s tribute to the fab five if the included drum set can be converted into an ottoman.

<–Pro––Con–>

Robbie Eich

Robbie Eich

Features12Student Voice • VCCCD • April 22, 2009

Travis PerkinsHannah CoyleEric LeeStaff writers

New college students head to community colleges for a variety of reasons, including parent pressure, financial difficulties or a desire to take care of basic courses before transferring to a four-year university.

“I had a 3.5 GPA at the end of high school and I could have gone to a UC, but my choices at the time were unre-alistic,” said Joshua Mayhew,19, a political science major. “So, I decided to come here and work hard to gain access in to any UC school with the best opportunities and without complications.”

Some students see community colleges as an opportunity in these economic hard times as a good option for their schooling.

“I decided to attend Moorpark College due to it being close to where I live and how cheap the courses are,” said Alex Konysky, 19.

Transferring from a community college to a four-year university can be simple and rewarding if the right steps are taken, and another year at community college and stagnant lifestyle if the wrong steps are taken. When consid-ering transferring, take some time to actually figure out what you want to do with your life.

“If you want to transfer, do some research on the school, see if it really meets what you are looking for in terms of preparing for your career,” said Leroy Geter, the Associate Director of Transfer Services at CSUN.

The first step in picking a college is to simply check out the university’s website. Look at the academics they of-fer, the prices of tuition, the location, and the extracurricular activities. Find a college that fits you. But more impor-tantly, find a university that fits your Asian parents’ high expectations. Once you have found a college that interests you or Asian parents, set up an appointment with your school counselor. They may know the transfer agreements of the school you are looking at already, and can help you decide if the school meets your needs as a student, and when to transfer.

“It’s really important for students to connect with us during the whole [transfer] process,” said Judi Gould, the Career Transfer Center Coordinator at Moorpark College. “When you go to a meeting to discuss transferring, be sure to bring all of your supporting documents, including your transcripts, which will help the counselor design the best plan for your transfer.”

The most important thing you can do in transferring is to be prepared early on. This means to have a good GPA.

“I would think that a student would want to come in with a high 2.57 or better, just to compete,” said Geter. In addition to having a good GPA, you will also want to make sure that the classes you are taking are transfer-

able. One of the easiest ways to do this is to go to the ASSIST website. ASSIST stands for Articulation System Stimulating Interinstitutional Student Transfer. ASSIST is the official repository of articulation for California’s colleges and universities. Assist.org can tell you if the classes you have taken will transfer. In essence, they can tell you if you are compatible with the college you want to go to.

“ASSIST is set up between us and other schools where they [students] can determine if they are going to be accepted,” said Gould. “Seven out of nine of the UCs use this system.”

Another preliminary step is the Moorpark College’s Transfer Admission Guarantee program (T.A.G.) which will give you early notification of admission, help you with course planning, and with invitations to university events.

Participants in the transfer program must have approximately 30 units of transferable credit, sign a contract, complete the required number of transferable credits (56/60), main-tain the stated GPA for that university, apply during the appropriate filing period, and fulfill the class requirements stated in the contract.

Other ways of preparing are visiting the campus of the school you are looking at and talk to representatives to really get a feel for what it would be like to attend.

“Students should not only be meeting with counselors, but should be coming in here and visiting with reps from other schools,” said Gould. All three campuses have transfer centers and have a sched-ule for counselor visits.

After you have decided on which school you want to attend, the real process of transferring begins. You will want to check application deadlines for your chosen school. You can do this via their website or by coming into your counselor’s office.

“We can save time and heartaches from something, for instance, like missing a deadline,” said Gould. Then comes actually applying to the school. “Basically the first step is to apply online and then send us

your transcripts and we can complete a preliminary credit evalu-ation,” said Dane Rowley, Associate Director of Admissions at CLU.

Make sure that all of your information is correctly filled in and get god critiques on your essaid.

Once you have applied, you wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. One day will feel like a life-age of the earth.

“Check the mail, both snail mail and via the web,” said Geter. “The schools are now connecting more and more to you through e-mail.”

Plan ahead and be ready. “Certainly, do everything early,” said Geter. “Early, early,

early and pay particular attention to the deadlines.” For more information, contact the transfer center on your

campus.

You missed your application deadline, start over!

The Judge calls your “art” graffiti and

sentences you to a year in jail. Game over!

Playing

(and winning)... The Transfer game

Start here at

Community College.

Got in a car accident and missed a test. Lose a turn.

You take the internship you

applied for. Move ahead 2 spaces.

Graphic by Bobby Ognyanov

Directions

Attend a city counsel meeting.

Roll again.

Visit the school zoo for extra credit, even

though you don’t need it. Your turn is over. Stay here.

Overachiever.

you made it to univerSity,CongratulationS!

A tragic “accident” ends your need for an education.Game over.

Love and love lost; just a part

of the bigger game of life.

You have one too many and

don’t finish your project.

Skip your next turn.

Explore your sexuality, lose a turn to visit

the health center for a free “test.”

Navy saves you from So-mali Pirates.

Move ahead 3 spaces.

Music helps you write that

paper faster. Roll again.

Get recruited to the CIA. Roll a 1,

4 or a 6 to survive.

Find inner peace, and still fail Math.

Go back 1 space.

Get fired-up about school. Move

ahead 3 spaces.

Procrastination and laziness get you behind early. Skip your next turn to catch up.

Players: 2-4ages: 18ish+To Play:

Use a penny, a nickel, a dime and a quarter as game pieces. Let the lowest value coin represent the oldest player, and the highest-value coin to represent the youngest player. Roll a die to see who goes first. the lowest roll starts. The Die can be any kind, a regular six-sided die, or one of those crazy dungeon and dragons ones.Go around the board, starting at Com-munity College, heading towards university. Follow the directions next to the spaces. Continue rolling the die in order until someone wins.

Winning The game:The winner is not the person who

gets to University first, but the person who gets there with the least amount of hassle. Have fun!