Los Angeles Collegian

“I led a very interesting life. Right after war, I was classified as ‘4C’, which is enemy-alien … and at the end of this period to receive one of the highest gold medals issued by the United States government seems to be just the opposite of how I started out in life.”

Kenji “Ken” SayamaLACC Alumnus

It has been more than 60 years since WWII, when Kenji “Ken” Sayama served in the United States Army. He is only now receiving the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal for his service.

0ne of the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government seemed unattainable to Sayama one year ago.

Now, he sits on his white living room sofa and reflects on a tumultuous yet fulfilled life. His eyes sparkle and he smiles with the shiny gold medal in hand. The medallion is a symbol of justice denied and honor restored for the former Los Angeles City College student who enrolled in 1938.

Now, at the age of 90, it is time. The ceremony on Nov. 2, 2011 at

the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., honored three units: the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelli-gence Service (MIS).

Sayama, along with 771 other WWII Veterans received the Congres-sional Gold Medal. More than 23,000 people were involved in the infantry. Although many of them have died, their relatives accepted the awards.

The medal is awarded to an individual or unit that performs an outstanding deed or act of service for the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States, according to the National Veterans Network. George Washington was the first to receive the Congres-sional Gold Medal.

Sayama says he was pleasantly surprised to learn he would be honored. He first heard about it in the Japanese newspaper, Rafu Shimpo. After one year, everything materialized. Sayama then waited patiently, wondering what it would all look like.

“It was a big event because we invited all my children and their children to come along with me,” he said. “And so they were all there with me to watch this ceremony … It was a very exciting experience for me to be going to Washington D.C. and receive the gold medal.”

Sayama was one of thousands of Japanese Americans evicted from their homes and relocated to intern-ment camps during the Second World War. Decades later, he says he is not bitter.

“No, I never had that kind of a feeling,” Sayama said. “I just thought it was my duty to do it and I did it … it [was] voluntarily … I was happy to do what I was doing. So I had no other reason for being bitter or backward for doing what I did … At the time, the old Japanese community on the West Coast were under the same classifica-tion, so I didn’t feel any different.”

He was considered one of the leading authorities on the gibbon—a small, tree-dwelling endangered ape from Southeast Asia. Alan Mootnick, the self-taught primatologist who was passionate about his work with Gibbons, died last month at Cedars Sinai Hospital from complications following heart surgery. The former L.A. City College student was 60 years old.

When he was 9 years old, the sounds of gibbons filled his ears during a trip to the zoo. After his first encounter with the primates, Mootnick knew his call in life.

Mootnick wrote many scholarly research papers for publications that were peer-reviewed, according to the Washington Post. He received his only formal education at LACC where he was only just two units shy of an A.A. degree in dental technology.

In 1979, Mootnick founded the Gibbon Conservation Center, a non-profit organization located in Santa Clarita. The refuge is the largest center for primates in America with 44 Gibbons on 10 acres of land with 17 enclosures that house the primates.

“I’ve put 35 years of my life into this place and I just knew I wanted to help save gibbons however I could,”

Mootnick told KPCC’s Jennifer Sharpe during one of his last radio interviews. “Didn’t know how I was going to do it, I just knew this is why I am on this planet.”

Mootnick worked to protect the species, and he shared his knowledge with others.

“He was this amazing person with a vision and completely did it on his own,” said Gerri- Ann Galanti, an anthropologist, cousin and President of the Board of Directors for the Gibbon Conservation Center. “At some point he just focused all his energy on taking care of these animals and he made himself into the worlds leading expert.”

Mootnick did not allow that to hold him back. Colleague Craig Standford, professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the University of Southern California said that although Mootnick held no titles or academic degrees, his work with gibbons was unparalleled.

“He filled a niche that no one else in the world occupied in his work with gibbons,” Standford told the Collegian.

Native to Southeast Asia, gibbons are considered amongst the most endangered apes on the planet.

The power of music has led a former L. A. City College student from homelessness and personal challenge to one of the highest civilian honors in the United States.

Dr. Margaret Martin says she has wanted to help people since she was eight years old. Now her journey to making her dreams come true has taken her from City College to the White House.

In October, Martin received the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal award, the second highest civilian honor for her organization, Harmony Project.

In the summer of 1965 at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, her mother took her to a protest. Although she was only a child, she realized that the demonstra-tion was a significant life changing experience, one that shaped her ambition and would eventually lead her from City College to the White House. She was only 8 years old.

“It’s so cool that the President and First Lady are personal contributors of the non-profit organization that I started,” Martin said. “I never would have started if I hadn’t gone back to school at the age of 33 to L.A. City

College.”The Nixon Administration

established the Citizens Medal in 1969 to recognize American citizens who have performed “exemplary deeds of service for the nation.” Martin was one of 13 recipients to receive the honor.

Harmony Project provides young people in the inner city with access to free musical instruments and training.

“This year’s recipients of the Citizens Medal come from different backgrounds, but they share a commitment to a cause greater than themselves,” Obama said in a written statement. “They exemplify the best of what it means to be an American, and I am honored to be able to offer them a small token of our appreciation.”

Martin’s journey took her from homelessness, back to college and eventually leads her to prosper-ity. The 33-year-old mother of three realized the importance of education.

“City College was an amazing experience for me. It was exactly the right place for me to start,” Martin said as she recalls her days at City College.

She recalls supportive professors who helped guide her to success. One in particular was counselor Bennie Padilla, who is now retired. She recalls an important conversa-tion with him. Padilla would agree to help her, but only if she made him a promise. Padilla said that he will help her on one condition: make your education count, make it matter.

Dr. Margaret Martin shakes President Obama’s hand as she is presented with the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal award at the White House in October for her work with her non-profit organization Harmony Project.

Photo by Pete Souza, official White House photographer.

Kenji “Ken” Sayama holds his U.S. Mint Congressional

Gold Medal for the first time after the ceremony in Washington D.C. last

month. He was a first lieutenant in the

U.S. Army.

Alumna Receives White House Honors

ALUMNI SHINE FOR AGE OF INSPIRATION

Primate Expert and Former City College Student Dead at 60

Compiled by Richard Martinez

02

Los Angeles

Wednesday | December 7, 2011The Voice of Los Angeles City College Since 1929

Volume 165 | Number 6

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INDEXOPINION & EDITORIAL / 2-3

FEATURES / 4

ELECTION 2012 / 5

NEWS / 6

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ 7

NEWS/ 8

SPORTS / 9

Q: What Career are You Pursuing?

See Honors Page 4

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Dr. Jamillah Moore, president of LACC to the California Student Aid Commission. Moore has worked as president of the College since June 2008, after she served as interim president in 2007.

The Journalism Association of Community Colleges awarded guest columnists Liz Gnerre the Second Place award for an Opinion Article published in the Collegian Times Magazine. Gnerre, who has been taking classes at LACC and working at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library for more than a year now, wrote an article exploring how librarians learn alongside the students they assist.

LACC’s Forensics Speech and Debate Team competed in the Southwest Collegiate Forensics Association’s Fall Championship Tournament. Team members Shamey Cramer and Jesse Quintanilla won finalist trophies in Persuasive Speech and Programmed Oral Interpretation respectively.

President Appointed to Student Aid Commission

Librarian-Student Writes Winning Column Forensics Students Win at

Regional Competition

By Tanya Flowers

By Tanya Flowers

JUSTICE FOR KENJI FROM ENEMY-ALIEN TO GOLD MEDAL HONOREE

See Medal Page 6See Primate Expert Page 8

By Amy Lieu

Alan Mootnick

Scan with your smartphone to see Dr. Margaret Martin talk about how she started Harmony Project.

Scan with your smartphone to view a slideshow featuring primatologist Alan Mootnick.

Success Briefs

Photo By R.J. Sakai

Call of the Wild

Basic Skills

Tutoring-Investigation?See Page 6See Page 6

Opinion & Editorial Los Angeles | COLLEGIAN02

EDITORIALEditor-in-Chief:

Tanya Flowers

Managing Editor:

Luis Rivas

Opinions and Editorials:

Hyun Chung

Arts and Entertainment:

Lauren Arevalo

Sports:

Richard Martinez

Distribution Manager:

Erleen Barrett

Advertising:

Richard Martinez

Marketing:

Lauren Arevalo

Graphic Designer:

Josue Hernandez

Copy Writer:

Stephen Clements

Reporters:

Amy Lieu

Byron Umana

Christopher Jorge

Emanuel Bergmann

Erleen Barrett

Hyun Chung

Lauren Arevalo

Luis Ponce

Matthew Mullins

Richard Martinez

Hayden Velasquez

Patrick Chong

Photographers:

Luis Rivas

Matthew Mullins

Patrick Chong

Illustrators:

Cesar Anzora

Jose Ramon Tobar

Faculty Adviser:

Rhonda Guess

Deadline ScheduleNEXT ISSUE:

Febuary 29, 2012Editorial deadline:February 22, 2012

For all submissions includingletters to the editor and

publicity releases.Advertising deadline:

February 29, 2012 Send materials to Collegian office:

Chemistry [email protected]

The college newspaper is published as a learning experience, offered under the college journalism instructional program. The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff.

Under appropriate state and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by virtue of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the Los Angeles Community College District, Los Angeles City College, or any officer or employee thereof.

© 2003 Collegian. No material may be reprinted without the express written permission of the Collegian.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Here on campus, I teach two sections of Conversational English, speech 71 and 72. The students in these classes often are greeted with the harsh realities that life can present. Many of them are immigrants and are learning English for the first time. Each day along with my curriculum, I aspire to share valuable life lessons.

Never before has it been more important to share stories of inspira-tion with my students. Let me tell you about our latest inspiration.

Recently, I had guest speaker Sen. Kevin De Leon who came out to speak to my class at Franklin High School. During his brief presentation he shared his struggles. He explained his path to becoming a senator. De Leon came from a single mother who only had a third grade education. He lived in one of San Diego’s poorest neighborhoods.

He informed us that he was never an “academic brain,” but through perseverance he ended up at Univer-sity of California, Santa Barbara.

Because he didn’t have passing grades, after three quarters, he decided to drop out rather than be

kicked out. He then began to teach English classes in Santa Barbara. There was a push to increase enroll-ment. He made it his job to recruit other Latinos to a place where they could learn from a person like himself. He then persuaded his friends to get involved. Once he established these connections, he became their go-to person for their various needs. He eventually led the immigration rights group One Stop Immigration.

He later returned to college receiving his degree from Claremont College. By this time he had filled in the gaps and his real world experi-ences made learning that much easier. During his talk he stressed to the students that “going to college opens up a number of doors [that might otherwise not have been opened].”

His path had quite a few more steps beginning with the Teacher’s Association, National Educator’s Association, a labor organizer and currently the State Senator in the 22nd District. Summing up all of these experiences he said, “There are two keys to success; hard work and creativity.” He told my students that

with these two things the world would open up to them.

Amazing as his story is he also became an inspiration to me. I also grew up in San Diego and attended UCSB. In my 13 years teaching I have covered a wide diversity of students from all sorts of backgrounds. My longest stretch of teaching has been with the students of L.A. City College during the last 10 years. This is my favorite place to work. Creativity and hard work are two of my greatest assets. I may have the same core requirements each semester but there is something new I added.

I have my students do volunteer work known as Service Learning. From working with the Aids Projects Los Angeles, The Red Cross, Los Angeles City Childcare Center to tutoring children by working with 826LA program, my students are inspiring others and making a differ-ence in the world.

Sen. De Leon’s speech motivated me and my students and should motivate you as well because you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.

The figures of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for LACC are dismal.

In 2010, only 10 percent of entering students were counted as full time.The retention rate for full-time students was 61 percent, but 35 percent for

part-time students,LACC has a transfer rate of 12 percent, and 15 percent graduate from

degree or certificate programs.In order to boost the numbers, a statewide organization known as the

California Community Colleges Student Success Task Force is gearing up for reform to boost graduation and transfer rates.

How do you boost numbers?Get rid of the weakest link.Those weakest links would be part-time students who struggle with work

and family duties. They have obligations that compete with school.The Task Force could prioritize fee waivers for full-time students to ensure

that their degrees are completed within “normal” time.For an associate degree, three years is the maximum period of “normal” to

complete that study.What about learning for the sake of learning?The community college system in California is the largest in the nation.But every student who tries to apply for federal financial aid has to look at

the small completion and graduation rates at City College.Proponents of the task force have described their goals as ensuring

accountability.

In a financial crisis, how can the state continue to invest in “lazy” students who don’t bother with their classes?

The state should allocate its funds to the more “motivated” full-time students.

Community colleges have been known for their access. Registration at City College takes seconds, whereas getting into UCLA takes months of preparation.

Should higher education be available to everyone who desires it?Resources at community colleges are bleeding. Now the Task Force argues

that resources must be “rationed.”The safe investments are the ones who are progressing at “normal” time,

whereas, students who are progressing slower would be considered riskier investments.

Full-time students would receive fee waivers and priority registration.Vigorous opponents from San Francisco City College have argued that

getting rid of non-credit courses and a prioritization for full-time students is privatization.

The retention and graduation figures don’t tell the full story. It doesn’t reveal City students who are here to learn for the sake of learning, dabble into a new field, or to retrain.

When degrees are not achieved in “normal” time, the figures make City College look like a campus of idiots and dilettantes.

But, the government likes numbers. The percentages are too low. So make ‘em higher at the expense of part-time students? We think not.

Sound Off: Tell these political figures that you don’t want California Community College to become “ transfer machines.”

Governer Jerry BrownP 916 445 2841E. govnews.ca.gov/gove39mail.mail California Community College Chancellor Jack ScottP 916 445 8752 Read the task force report California Community Colleges cccco.edu/policyactionstudent successtaskforce

Education Opens Doors for the Disadvantaged

No Child Left Behind: Community College Edition

GUEST COLUMNISTRosalyn Kahn

Illustration by Jose Tobar /Collegian

Sen. Kevin De Leon speaks to a class of students at Franklin High School last Monday.

Wednesday December 7, 2011

President Obama must have had better days. Though he once boasted a sky- high Gallup poll job approval rating of 69 percent, his most recent ratings have tanked, leaving him floundering with only 43 percent of Americans’ approval. Over the past three years, Obama-hating has become a national pastime.

Get any group of people, young or old, talking about Obama and you’re bound to hear things like, “He’s done nothing while in office! The economy’s still in the sewer! No, not the gutter, it fell into the sewer, I saw it. Yes it did, it rained last week, don’t you remember?” Or, “Bush Jr., ol’ boy, he worked eight hard years at destroying this country’s finances, how dare this Barack Hussein Obama not clean it up and solve all our problems in less than half that time! Ugh, service around here, I tell you. Garçon! We require more braaaandy!”

One strong-willed group of Americans has even fashioned a political movement out of Obama-hating. Now, here, you’ve really got to watch out. These people are fierce. They’re organized. They’ve even

named themselves after either A) The fellows with pointy hats who threw a lot of tea fresh off a boat one time or B) The favorite imaginary game of six-year-old girls. The Tee Potty or something.

Frankly, I don’t understand it. It could be so much worse! We could have a president whose cronies forgot to remind him before he got up to the podium what the legal voting age is in America (I feel you, Rick Perry. 18 to vote, 21 to drink, you clearly remembered the more momentous of the two). We could have a president who has decried The Lion King as gay propaganda (Michele Bachmann at the November 2004 EdWatch National Education Conference—Google it). Or, we could have a president convinced he can run the country because he likes pizza and can maintain a thirteen year-long extramarital affair with (at least) one woman. Herman Cain, not cool, dawg. Not cool.

If that’s your cup of tea, though, you’re totally welcome to say so during the upcoming Republican primary election. I’m just saying, I

prefer a leader with a non- psychotic plan.

From day one, the Republican seizure of Congress childishly opposed every initiative the President tried to put through, just to be annoying. Obama, at least, slammed the brakes on the country’s precipitous fall into financial ruin. In just his first two years in office, he brought us economic stimulus, saved two automakers, trailblazed to national healthcare and capped monthly student loan repayment balances.

Granted, even these milestones leave a lot to be desired. The Occupy-ers would tell you that Obama simply stood by and let Wall Street continue to sabotage the economy. The Tee Pottiers would say that government still has too big a say in the personal lives of Americans (they’d also tell you that God hates gays and global warming is a myth, but, whatever). One says the president does too little, the other claims he does too much. I simply claim that it could be a lot worse.

Illustration by Cesar Anzora/Collegian

Opinion & EditorialLos Angeles | COLLEGIANWednesday

December 7, 2011 03

“Right now, I’m writing and directing short movies, just trying to get myself ready for my first feature, which I have already written the first draft for. I’m rewriting that right now. I pretty much know what my first 10 features are gonna be. I have done a lot of writing and a lot of thinking. I know this is the path I want. There’s no plan B, just plan A.”

“I’m undecided right now but it’s between fashion marketing and sociology: fashion marketing because I love fashion and I can market and advertise very well; sociology because I love understanding why we are the way we are.”

“I’m interested in working with special-needs children because I work in an elementary school and I love children. They are our future. I [have] had great teachers in the past and I remember them. They weren’t necessarily heroes but they were people who taught me a lot, and I learned a lot from them.”

“I want to pursue a career in illustration and character design because I love how characters are illustrated and how they are expressed. I also want to become a character illustrator because I don’t see that many characters that have my skin color or of other ethnicities. So if I want to make that change, I can.”

“Most likely graphic design, painting murals, or about art. For my future career, I want to do graffiti art mixed with cartoons, and also graphic design because [it] will help me [draw] my characters and also my writing skills [will become] better. I want to draw actual cartoons, not like the cartoons you see on Cartoon Network and Channel Five. I want to make real old-school cartoons.”

Ulisses UrrutiaMajor – Graphic Design

Marcy Alvarez Major - Undecided

Beverly Johnson Major - Art

Jennifer Barreda Major - Psychology

Joseph Mastriacovo Major - Cinema

Q: What career are you pursuing?

FUTURE GENERATION

Compiled by Patrick Chong

OBAMA, THE HONEYMOON

IS OVER

TRAGEDYLEADS TOTRIUMPH

By Melissa Leon

One day, I came home to find my roommate dead. He was using meth by injecting it into his arm to get high. Somehow I was smart enough to never put a needle in my arm. Finding his corpse visualized my own mortality and scared the shit out of me.

I never used to wake up in the morning. I was a drug addict and lived each day with no clarity.Those days, usually about three in a row without sleep, would go by without a thought of what was to become of me. My obsessive grip on the past only

prolonged my habitual consumption of drugs.

It took another year of weaning myself off drugs until one day before Thanksgiving 2008 I had a fight with my boyfriend and we both made a deal to quit meth. I realized that our relationship was more important than the emptiness that my life had become. I never touched the stuff again after that day! No rehab, no 12-steps—just one leap forward.

Now, I see life differently.I am building my future by going to City

College and doing everything I can to achieve what I want to be when I “grow up.” Keep in mind that I am 31. I do not regret my mistakes and I am open to anyone who wants to know what I have been through. My past created the person I am now.

I learned the power of change through my experience. Journalism spurred an inspiration to take the first step to my metamorphosis.

Journalism has given me the gift of being able to connect with people, change minds, and motivate people

to think and change the world in ways that I never thought possible. We all have that power, it’s up to you to create that change. Whatever you want to be IS possible. We have more strength buried deep inside us than any of us realize. Go out and seize the day. Seize the opportunities that are awaiting you. Carpe Diem.

By Matthew Mullins

DREAMS LOST IN BITTERSWEETS

Illustration by Cesar Anzora/Collegian

My friend ordered a Hershey’s chocolate chip cheesecake for my birthday. I left some in the fridge, eager to eat it. As my mouth waters to finish my dessert, topped with chocolate chips, rich chocolate rum-colored cheesecake, and moist chocolate cake, I bit into the chocolate and tasted a sharp bitterness—perhaps, because of what I had recently learned about Hershey’s.

One of my (and arguably America’s) favorite chocolate brands had mistreated student workers who were hired to work in the U.S. through the Department of State’s J-1 visa cultural exchange program. The students hailed from various countries: Turkey, China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Romania, Mongolia, Moldova, Poland and Ghana.

The international scholars had come to America expecting to improve their English, earn wages, and learn about the American culture. With idealized hopes of the American dream, little did they know that their hopes would be dashed.

The students were expected to work backbreaking labor for 40 hours

a week, with wages that calculated out to be less than minimum wage. Students had to stand all day packing chocolates, resulting in strained hands, arms, and backs. Fees for housing, $400 per week, were automatically deducted in their paychecks, which left their net earnings at $200 per week. Their rents in company-designated housing were charged higher than market value. Furthermore, they had paid $3,000-$6,000 for the program.

So, who is responsible for these unfair and exploitative work conditions? According to the New York Times, the finger-pointing never ends.

“A spokesman for Hershey’s, Kirk Saville, said the chocolate company did not directly operate the Palmyra packing plant, which is managed by a company called Exel. A spokeswoman for Exel said it had found the student workers through another staffing company.”

Hundreds of enraged, fed-up, yet determined student workers had protested in front of Hershey’s packing plant in Palmyra, Pennsylvania.

Now, 400 international students

are working with the National Guestworker Alliance to stop the exploitation of student workers, give the jobs to local workers for living wages and refund of the thousands of dollars each paid.

There is nothing wrong with holding a cultural exchange program in a chocolate packing plant, but at least the wages and treatment should be fair. It is a human right to be treated with humanity and dignity in any workplace, regardless of country of origin or status of position.

A Hershey’s Cookies N’ Cream bar sits on my kitchen table waiting for me to just dig my craving teeth in… but I hesitate, thinking about the oppression this chocolate might have been the product of.

By Amy Lieu

NewsWednesday December 7, 2011 Los Angeles | COLLEGIAN04

Photos by Tanya Flowers/Collegian

Alumna Honored

For the Record In the Oct. 19 issue of the Collegian, an article entitled “Bring Back the Cubs, School Pride,” was published in

the Sports Bin crediting Sherly De Brosse. The opinion piece was actually written by Jenniffer Jennings, a Collegian reporter. We regret the error.

Honors From Page 1

Martin took his advice and after receiving her degree in general science and communications from City College, she was awarded $1,200 from the Snyder Scholarship from Alpha Mu Gamma National Foreign Language Honor Society.

After graduating from City College she attended Antioch University where she was class valedictorian and received her B.A degree.

She then received her Doctorate in Public Health from UCLA in Community Health Science, and holds advanced degrees in Behavioral Science, Health Education, and Population and Family Health.

“The main reason I went back to school was because I realized that if I have the ability to inspire people to do cool things,” Martin said, “I also had the responsibility to think about a way to raise the money and not have them compro-mised in the process.”

The birth of Harmony Project started from Martin’s drive and passion. It is a result in her determi-nation to help others.

Her youngest son started playing the violin when he was 3- years- old. By the age of 5, he was playing violin concertos. She took him to the farmers market to perform, recalling the moment she knew she had to start the program. It began with a unexpected encounter.

Martin remembers a sight of gang members with “shaved heads, tear drop tattoos and attitude so thick you can cut it with a knife” who stopped dead in their tracks to watch her son play music. It was then that she realized the power of music.

“I lost it. It was like the heavens opened and God spoke,” Martin said. “It was then that I knew I had to try, because frankly I knew how far away and impossible it would be for them to have the same opportu-nities that my boy had. I knew that that was wrong. I knew I had to do something about it or at least try.”

What started with a $9,000 check from the Rotary Club in Hollywood in April 2001 and 36 kids has grown to a 1.8 million dollar annual budget that provides music to more than 1,400 lower income kids.

Over the past four years the graduation rate reached 100 percent and students in the program have gone on to pursue a college education. Harmony Project provides students $5,000 scholarship, distributed over a period of four years. The project has formed 13 youth orchestras.

Until recent construction began in Clausen Hall’s music depart-ment, Los Angeles City College hosted the program. Martin says LACC president Jamillah Moore has promised to have the group

back on campus once renovations are complete.

“The idea is to create a banner that reads ‘Music Academy for Children’ [to show our] full partnership with City,” Martin said. Some of the students from program attend L.A. City College.

L.A. City College students need to treat their education like the investment that it is and not give up, according to Martin.

“My advice to City College students is invest in your own education,” Martin said. “It’s something that no one can ever take away from you. Don’t stop and follow the path to your dreams … Yes, it’s hard to go back to school but it’s the kind of hard that gets you somewhere that actually changes that equation. It empowers you to be a positive resource for yourself and others.”

A string of recent emails obtained by the Collegian questions use of monies from the Basic Skills Initia-tive. The emails were written by members of the English/ESL depart-ment and addressed to the English/ESL faculty, as well as administra-tors within the college and the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD).

The Basic Skills Initiative (BSI) is a grant-funded initiative by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO). It began in 2006 as part of the strategic planning process. The goal of the BSI was to improve student access and success.

As part of the initiative, this plan allocated colleges supplemental funding to specifically address basic skills needs. This funding was guided by locally developed action plans documenting use of the funding.

However, the interdepartmental emails from last summer suggest, “money was transferred to cover up some debts from other Basic Skills call centers” and that “project managers were not required to document the spending of funds.”

The emails further state that “on Dec. 07, 2010 the Student Success

Committee held a meeting to decide on allocating Basic Skills funds to a project entitled ESL Tutor Labs.”

Former English Chair and project manager Dr. Tammy Robinson headed the project. She was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 31, 2011 in connection with an investiga-tion into the implementation of the EducoSoft “Watch Your Language” software.

For the Spring 2011 semester, the ESL tutoring project received $26,000 for the off-campus ESL lab near Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. This amount is equivalent to more than 2,000 hours of tutoring.

However, on June 7, 2011 an email from the LACC Accounting Office advised that the Basic Skills account had a negative balance of $3,500 and that the project had gone beyond its expenditure limit. One month later, by July 11, 2011, the negative balance had risen to $12,000.

Additionally, there was confusion as to the tutors who had been paid from this fund. English faculty members had been given a list of names that differed from the list of the Fund Account 10410-C6134-249000.

More names had been added to

that list, including at least one alias. Only five days later, on July 12, 2011, the negative balance had ballooned to $30,000. However, in an email dated July 12, 2011, Robinson mentioned that she had requested, and was about to receive, “the ASO check for $25,000” from ASO.

The check was cut on July 15, 2011, even though it is unclear whether or not Basic Skills is allowed to receive outside checks. The ASO is the Associated Student Organiza-tion at LACC. According to the Basic Skills budget, the president and chairman of the student senate received $532.43 for the Spring 2011 semester for student tutoring.

The subject of tutoring came up in an email dated Sept. 20, 2010 about tutoring openings in the Writing Center.

Robinson wrote “Not yet. I received 25K for tutoring from ASO. I have an obligation to hire some of there folks. So we’ll have to find something. I’ll keep you posted.”

According to the 10411 Basic Skills budget for the fiscal year 2009/2010, at least $12,196.67 had been spent on up to 11 student tutors whose positions and purpose remain unclear.

By Emanuel Bergmann

Questions Raised about Tutors,

Basic Skills Funds

What does music mean to you? Scan with your smartphone to view a video of students and staff sound off on music.

Alumnus Shares in Kennedy Center Meritorious Awards

A coyote spotted near the construction site in front of the Chemistry Building looks over, unfazed by people in the vicinity at approximately 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 5. Some

residents on Heliotrope have complained of coyotes attacking their cats. Sheriffs say the coyotes, who have come from Griffith Park, tend to travel in a pack of three.

Contact Animal Control at (213) 485-8855 should you spot one.

LACC alumnus Lance Brittan was a part of the joint multimedia theatre production, “Medea” held at St. Gregory’s University (SGU) in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

The former film student turned director collaborated with the cast and crew that won recognition for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF).

SGU entered their production of the classic Greek tragedy in the KCACTF. Fabrice Conte, Chairper-son of SGU’s Fine Arts Department, received The Meritorious Achieve-ment Award for Excellence in Directing, while Olivia Bicknell won the Meritorious Achievement Award for Excellence in Acting for her main role as “Medea.”

The unique theatre performance

incorporated a multimedia film component playing in the background with live on-stage performers. Brittan produced the multimedia package for the theatrical play. He graduated in 1991 with an A.A. degree in cinema.

The filmmaker says multimedia provided another dimension to the performance.

“The video segments added a cinematic element … and also accentuated themes in the play through moving images,” Brittan said. He also says he was honored to be a part of the show.

KCACTF is a national organi-zation that celebrates the creative process of student theatre produc-tions and bridges the academic and professional worlds, according to Fabrice Conte.

By Amy Lieu

Doctor Margaret Martin is greeted by President Obama as she receives the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor, in the East Room on Oct. 20, 2011.

Multimedia video, produced by LACC Alumnus Lance Brittan plays in the background while actress Olivia Bicknell performs the main role Medea in St. Gregory University’s theatre production “Medea.”

Photo Courtesy: Br. George Hubl

Photo by Pete Souza, official White House photographer.

CALL OF THE WILD

Election 2012Los Angeles | COLLEGIANWednesday

December 7, 2011 05

In less than a year, students will join the rest of America at the polls and elect a new president, or perhaps re-elect the incumbent, Barack Obama. According to polls, Obama appears to be vulnerable, due to a high unemployment rate and a stagnant economy.

Presumably, the economy will be the driving issue in the upcoming election cycle. According to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis-tics in November 2011, 36 states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment decreases, five states posted increases, and nine states had no change.

And yet, 2010 alone saw the creation of 863,000 private sector jobs, exceeding the total of the previous administration. The lack of a clear economic trajectory allows each party to interpret the data, and to create a narrative that resonates with voters.

Many of Obama’s core support-ers appear disillusioned, albeit for different reasons. Some hoped for more far-reaching political and economic change, while others felt that the current White House Administration had overreached.

Jessica Schneider, a political science and sociology major, remembers the important role that students and young people played in the movement to elect Obama in 2008.

“As a student I feel really dismayed [but] not entirely hopeless,“ Snyder said. “I feel betrayed because the student base is really what rallied

behind Obama in the grassroots movement to begin with and he really capitalized on their momentum. And once he got to office it was like ‘okay, you guys got me here but these are the guys I will be doing business with.’ It’s like taking a date to the dance and you don’t dance with her. He represented so many of the ideas of the young people today but once he got into office he didn’t create policies to harness any of the momentum and ideology of the students. One of his first acts was appointing Lawrence Summers as economic advisor [which] was really offensive to the general population… He is too embedded in Wall street.”

Although disappointed by the Obama administration and the Democratic Party, Schneider will continue to vote Democrat.

“There is a shift in Obama’s priorities since he got into office. I always vote Democrat because I can’t vote Republican. I just won’t do it, but he is not my first choice.”

Holman Jenkins wrote on Nov. 22, 2011 in the Wall Street Journal: “Has a president ever arrived freer to choose his own course, to devise his own response to the economic crisis that greeted him in office? Candidate Obama landed with no explicit ideological commitments (at least that he cared to share). He was an icon of something else altogether, and his followers were ready to follow wherever he led.”

Among liberal voters, there is a general consensus that the Obama presidency has not brought about

the changes they had wished for. This suggests that the 2012 election will be fought with much less enthusiasm, which might prove problematic for Obama, who had previously expanded the electoral map to include more minority and young voters. Should these voters abandon Obama, he will face serious challenges.

Although many supporters feel that Obama has not lived up to the vaulted promises of “hope” and “change”, there have been no major ideological digressions from the vision laid out in 2008.

For example, Obama has always expressed support for continued military engagement in Afghanistan, which was subsequently reflected in his policies – much to the chagrin of many liberal voters.

In 2008, Obama had quickly become a media darling. Many voters had readily embraced a largely inexperienced and inscru-table candidate. Now, the trend is reversing. Much of the media and many voters have soured on Obama. Still, his administration can point to a significant number of promises kept.

Examples include the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $789 billion economic stimulus plan, the new START nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, a $1.4 billion funding bill and jobs bill for veterans, the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act which provides health care to 11 million children, four million of whom were previously uninsured, tax credits for students, eliminating subsidies to

private lenders of student loans and protecting student borrowers and significantly expanding Pell grants.

Most notable is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which allows for greater consumer protection, and prohibits banks from engaging in proprietary trading and Obama’s much-maligned Health Care Reform Bill prevents insurance companies from denying insurance because of a pre-existing condition and allows children to remain covered by their parents’ insurance until the age of 26.

The Health Care Reform Bill includes an expansion of Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level and requires health insurance providers to disclose how much of the premium goes to patient care.

Columnist Thomas Friedman wrote in the New York Times: “I voted for Barack Obama, and I don’t want my money back. He’s never gotten the credit he deserves for bringing the economy he inherited back from the brink of a depression. … He’s making health care possible for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions, and he saved the auto industry. This is big stuff.”

Still, the president has failed to significantly address the national deficit. He has continuously called for tax increases for “the rich,” alienat-ing many independent voters and prohibiting constructive debate with the Republican opposition.

Thomas Comstock, currently without a declared major at LACC, feels that the American public has a misconception as to what the president’s role actually is. This, Comstock argues, is where the dissat-isfaction among many Americans begins.

“I mean, I guess I’d give him a “C” but it’s not really telling the whole story,” Comstock said. “It’s not a fair way to label an entire presidency. I think if I had to really give a grade, I’d give an “F” on what the American citizens think their politicians are supposed to be doing for them. And I think … he’s the president, so what? He can’t do anything. It’s just funny because the same people that wouldn’t give him the “F” are the same people who argue against socialism, that’s what they’re arguing for, that’s why they want a better grade because they don’t have their houses bailed out. They want all these programs. All these things he’s supposed to do. Well, you know, that’s not what he’s supposed to do. He’s basically there to appoint Supreme Court people, give speeches to China to help bring companies over here.”

His own debt commission, the Simpson-Bowles Commission, went ignored.

During the 2008 election cycle, Obama decided to seek the counsel of Timothy Geithner, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, whose decision not to rescue Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy was a major contributing factor to the current financial crisis.

After the election, Obama appointed Geithner to the post of treasury secretary, a move, which seemed inexplicable to many.

Obama appointed Larry Summers his chief economic adviser. Summers played a prominent role in the deregulation of the financial markets in 1999, saying “the American financial system takes a major step forward toward the 21st Century.” Less than 10 years later, the system collapsed.

Brenden Hantges has not decided on a major, but he knows how he would grade the president. The grade would be lower than Obama’s own self-appointed “B+” from 2009.

“He deserves much less than that because of everything going on,” Hantges said. “And a lot has to do with the people he surrounds himself with in this administration … He’s almost a puppet for their agenda, which is as he says in his own words ‘to fundamentally transform America.’ How that’s defined, he never says. What it is that is actually going on [in his administration] isn’t transparent to the public. I think a lot of people are starting to see that, that he’s good with words, good at speeches. That deceives a lot of the public. Obama is in the pocket of Wall Street. He ran on the idea of change and hope and uniting the people of America, but it’s more divided than it has ever been right now.”

The ContendersYouth Vote

19.3%

17.9%

19%

13.3%

14.4%

16.1%

POLITICAL 411 Students weigh in on Election 2012

The three-term Minnesota Congress-woman, is the current chair of the Congres-sional Tea Party Caucus.

Her highly charged political rhetoric stands in contrast to her more humble legislative accomplishments. (Perhaps her most significant bill was the 2011 “Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act”, which died in Congress.)

Bachmann is running on a platform of conservative fiscal demands, such as lowering the corporate tax rate and cutting govern-ment spending, combined with ideological fringe views on religion and gay rights. She advocates for the repeal of “Obamacare”, the 2010 Health Care Reform Act, which she calls “cancerous.”

Michele Bachmann

Compiled by Emanuel Bergmann

By Emanuel Bergmann

Rick Perry

Newt Gingrich

Political SpecialistsModerately high levels of political partcipa-

tion and relatively low levels of service participation

Voted

Did notVote

Only VotedVote but are otherwise disengaged in civic

activity

Broadly EngagedLikely to engage in all types of civic behaviors

Politically MarginalizedMost arre active in political discussions and groups, and may donate to causes, but none

are registered to vote

Engaged Non-VotersModerately engaged in community activities,

but do not vote

Civically AlienatedAlmost completely disengaged from civic and

political life

Jon Huntsman

Mitt Romney

is a former history professor, and from 1995 to 1999 served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

His uncompromising stance led to a government shutdown. Facing allegations of misappropriating charitable donations, Gingrich gave false information to the House Ethics Committee and was subsequently fined $300,000.

At the same time, he was one of the leading voices for government accountability and personal responsibility.

His current positions as presidential candidate include “nominating conservative judges”, “ending taxpayer subsidies for abortion” and overturning existing child labor laws.

is the current governor of Texas, and is hailed as a staunch conservative.

A charismatic campaigner, Perry has recently slid in the polls, following awkward debate performances and moments of forgetfulness. He is credited with reviving the Texas economy and substantially boosting job creation in his home state.

He has called the Federal Reserve “treasonous”. He is a strong supporter of the death penalty, and has expressed a desire to prohibit abortion and same-sex marriage.

According to the Washington Post, Perry and his family are currently leasing a private hunting camp in Texas that, until recently, bore the name “N*****head”.

is perhaps the most centrist of the current Republican candidates and the most experienced.

Huntsman served as Governor of Utah from January 2005 until August 2009. He resigned as Governor during the first year of his second term to serve as United States Ambassador to China.

He is a moderate fiscal conservative in favor of low tax rates. His views on social issues are remarkably moderate when compared to some of the other candidates.

However, his approval rating among Republicans is in the single digits. Like Mitt Romney, Huntsman is a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, which places him at odds with many traditional Republican voters.

As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with both Democrats and Republicans to institute statewide health care reform, which has proven popular in the state.

However, Republican opposition to any kind of health care reform forced Romney to renounce this legislative achievement and to run on a stricter anti-government platform. His frequent reversals on policy issues have earned him the reputation of a “flip-flopper”.

In recent polls, many voters claim to be troubled by Romney’s religious identity as a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints.

As the former CEO of the highly profitable Wall Street investment firm Bain & Company, Romney oversaw the rise of companies like Staples, but is also charged with eliminating thousands of jobs in rust belt states, including 1,600 in Illinois alone.

Illustration by Jose Tobar /Collegian

Graphics by Josue Hernandez /Collegian

FeaturesWednesday December 7, 2011 Los Angeles | COLLEGIAN06

More than 400 tents on the north, south and west lawns of City Hall, crude

protest signs, political pamphlets and beer cans are scattered on every free space

of wet ground. There’s street art that is mistaken for

trash, trash that is mistaken for street art and drum

circles: Los Angeles City Hall has never looked like

this. I was told to meet him at City Hall tomorrow.

Nowhere else and no other time would do.

“If you want the story, you will meet me there,”

he said.I wanted the story and if needed be, I would

break all plans I had for tomorrow to be there.

Initially, he refuses to give me his real name and tells me to call him

Star Walker. Eventually, he confesses his first name as Joe. I don’t ask

for a last name, a declared academic major, nothing; I’ll take what I can

get, piece by piece.Joe has been at City Hall since Oct. 6, just

five days after a group of demonstrators officially

began camping out on the lawns of City Hall in

Downtown Los Angeles in protest against wealth

inequality, the political and financial corruption

in the country and in support for New York’s

Occupy Wall Street.The next day I arrive and after asking around

I am promptly directed to a grouping of tents

on the west lawn of City Hall on Spring Street. There’s approximately six tents

that make up the group. A large blue tarp covers and connects them all. At the

beginning of the tent formation is the welcoming tent, which has a small table and

a chair. On the outside of the tent is a big black flag with a red Anarchist ‘A’ in the

center. This is known as the Star Tribe.

Upon entering, I am struck by the lingering smell of weed smoke and old wine

that almost entirely masks the smell of musk and sticks to the trapped, humid air.

I ask for Joe. Someone inside the tent group says he’s asleep. I leave a note

and come back an hour later. Joe is still asleep. I decide on going home.

Sharing and Living at City HallThe next day, I come back. Joe and I bump into each other at the nightly

general assembly.He has a small, neatly-trimmed mustache and a skinny beard that lines his jaw

bone, long curly hair which is trapped underneath a black beanie. He’s slightly

above five feet tall, wearing an army-styled jacket with heavy sleeves that almost

cover his hands. He studies me, my eyes, my face, the validity of my words and

gives in. He tells me his real name is Joseph Serrano, a 24-year-old anthropology

major at LACC.Joe is with a large group of young people. A young, pretty women sticks by his

side. Joe has a small pipe in his hand and a baggie of weed. He admits to being a

little drunk off wine, as well as high. A few people from the group start smoking

and passing around a bong.

The vast majority of the Occupy movement is made up of young people,

particularly students. Although Joe knows this, his reasons for being at City Hall

in support of Occupy Los Angeles has very little do with the traditional student

issues such as the rising cost of tuition, fees and text books, student loans and lack

of employment opportunities after graduation.

As a student of anthropology, the community and interaction amongst the

Occupiers is what single-handedly draws in Joe.

“It’s more about community,” Joe says. “I study anthropology so it’s more

about the cultural aspect, that dynamic.”

There are more than 400 tents at City Hall. The south, west and north lawns

have all been almost solidly covered by these tents. Tent groups, or what the

Occupiers call “Tribes,” began forming in response to the lack of camping space

and theft. People could freely come and leave without fear of their belongings

being stolen—someone would always be at the tent or near it, and room was

quickly running out for more tents. Sharing, eventually, was a necessity.

“When you have a lot of people together, you avoid thievery and you

actually promote a sense of community. So within every tribe, in their own sense,

they provide a sense of community. That whole aspect gets everyone really

comfortable.”A Community of TribesApproximately 10 or more tribes number City Hall’s lawns, some include the

Music center, Mix tribe, Black Hole, Love Tribe and the Star Tribe.

“These are little mini apartments—each tent—and we get along well,” Joe

says. “We wouldn’t be each other’s neighbors if we didn’t.”

Star Tribe began on Oct. 6 by Ricky, the leader, which the tribe refers to as the

Star Keeper. When asked for the origin of the tribe’s name, Joe says it was simply

decided upon because someone donated a parachute with a design of stars to

Ricky. Everyone in the tribe has a nickname. Joe is Star Walker. Joe’s cousin is Star

Fox. The women inside Joe’s tent is Star Queen. Her real name is Odara. She

declined to state her last name but admits in being a graduate student at USC in

the Rossier School of Education. They met at City Hall.

Although Joe does not align himself with any political ideology, he is

anti-capitalist—as most of the Occupiers are—and hopes for a more egalitarian

society based on human and community need instead of the current global

capitalist market system.

“I would like to promote more of

a collective consciousness, a sense

of unity and humanity,” Joe says.

“And people realizing a sense of

commonality with people they

might otherwise disagree with.”

Outside of the tents, there

is a disturbance. One man is

screaming at another man, talking

rapidly, clutching onto his bags

and threatening to assault the

other much bigger man. The

bigger man slowly walks toward

him. The skinnier man falls

down, quickly jumps up, shouts

and walks away, continually

shouting and provoking him.

Fights or confronta-

tions are now a regular

occurrence at City Hall. You

are hard-pressed to find a

person that is willing to

quell tension and fights.

People are left on their own,

egalitarians and the not-so

egalitarian. Nonetheless, Joe

believes in the goodness

of people, especially in

a communal setting like

Occupy Los Angeles.

Overall, the entire Occupy Los Angeles

operates on a barter

system, with little reliance on money.

Joe picks up a long, foot-long skinny crimson glass

pipe from the ground. There’s a nugget of ash and dark green weed

packed in the bowl. He raises it to his lips, lights it and inhales.

“The way we live here,” he says, while holding the smoke inside his lungs. He

exhales. “We hardly bring our money to each other. We’ll trade.”

Smoking weed and drinking are controversial issues for Occupy Los Angeles,

with repeated general assemblies being held specifically on how to address the

drug use. Each time the issue was addressed, the discussion turned into heated

debate and name-calling, hippies and libertarians usually being the ones most

upset. But at Star Tribe and other tent groups, Occupiers freely smoke weed and

get drunk.“Like my buddy,” Joe says. He looks around, deciding if he should say what

he’s about to say. “[He] wanted this pipe so I gave someone a gram and they gave

me this pipe.”As I was interviewing Joe inside the Star Tribe, a fellow Occupier stepped into

the welcoming tent with a neon purple bong and asked if anyone wanted to trade

something for it, maybe some weed or another pipe. Joe said thanks but no.

“And it’s not just pipes and bongs and drugs,” Joe says. “People actually trade

food and clothing. And supplies like tarps. Whatever you need, like a broom, a

shovel.” The Upcoming Eviction: the End of Occupy LA?

During a press conference last Friday Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced

an end date for Occupy Los Angeles at City Hall.

“Today I am announcing that City Hall Park will close on Monday, Nov. 28,

at 12:01 a.m. We’re asking the participants in the Occupy LA encampment to

begin to pack their belongings and to leave City Hall Park in an orderly manner,”

Villaraigosa said during the press conference.

Many demonstrators have expressed dismay over the city’s decision to

go through with clearing out the encampment, especially after City Council

publically and unanimously passed a resolution in support for Occupy Los

Angeles on Oct. 12.Some Occupiers are worried that the city will show similar brutality exercised

by police across the country, such as at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Portland,

Oakland and New York.

“They’ve been holding back from doing it,” Odara said. “Once there in

combat mode—action mode—there is no reason for them to do it mildly. Because

they’re there to get a job done.”

Joe doesn’t necessarily think it will get violent if the demonstrators remain

peaceful, even though the vast majority of Occupy protestors on a national scale

have remained non-violent and were nonetheless brutalized.

In addition to health and safety concerns, the mayor has said that the lawns

and grounds of City Hall are in need of repairs as the justification for the need for

the encampment to end.

When asked what the Star Tribe will be doing, Joe says they’re staying.

“It’s so important for us to stay here that we’re thinking of just moving our

tents before 10:30 p.m. to the sidewalk, and just playing that for as long as we

can,” Joe said.

Reporter’s Notebook:

Communitywithin Communities

Sayama was born in Los Angeles and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He then enrolled at Los Angeles City College. He says he remembers taking a streetcar in those days, walked the block to Vermont Avenue, where back then, there was only lawn with green grass.

“I lived in Boyle Heights so I took a streetcar all the way to City College,” he said.

Sayama enrolled in LACC where he took math and science courses for a year. Then one of his friends suggested he would be better off at Cal Berkeley, so he transferred there to finish his undergraduate education. The U.S. Government forced him into internment camps toward the end of his undergraduate career at Cal. The university mailed his diploma to him while he was held captive.

Sayama and others considered the Japanese American internment, under Executive Order 9066, an act of racial discrimination. The former detainee recounted the period when about 120,000 Japanese on the West

Coast were forced to get rid of their belongings and report to designated points to be transported to camps.

Sayama says he carried all of his suitcases by hand, because in those days there were no wheels attached to luggage.

The WWII Veteran says he was never despondent while he was in camp. During low points, however, he says he wondered how much longer he would remain there.

“I was taken to Santa Anita Racetrack first for about half a year, and then from there I was taken to [an] internment camp called Rohwer in Arkansas,” Sayama said. “And there I spent about a year and half. When the government realized that putting us in camp was a big mistake, and they started a program of releasing people to go out and work…I [then] had an opportunity to volunteer for the Army.”

The idea to enlist actually came from friends. When he was in college, he had Caucasian roommates who were all in the service; so Sayama

thought that was “the logical thing to do, to join the Army and get involved.”

Joining the Army was one way to get out of internment. At the time, friends of Sayama’s mother would make fun of her, saying that her son joined the same Army that put them all in camps. However, this did not stop Sayama from serving his nation.

When he was inducted in 1944, he was sent to Fort Snelling, Minnesota to study military intelligence language for one year.

He first met his wife, Hatsuko “Sue” Sayama, in Minneapolis.

“It was love at first sight on my end,” said Sayama of his life partner.

While Sayama was in the United States Army in Minneapolis, his friend had asked him to go “pick up chicks.” That’s when Cupid’s arrow struck.

They had dated from only April to December that year and married on Dec. 8, 1945. After the war ended, he was sent to Japan to work for the occupation force. He served there

for two years. Sayama and his wife Sue had spent the first two years of their marriage apart. Sayama says they had written letters to each other every single day.

Fate may have brought them together. However, daughter Jo Sayama Sakai says that her father always maintains a positive attitude and believes that internment led him to join the army, which ultimately brought him to his future wife.

After returning from the army, he continued to study at Cal where he earned his masters degree and later, a Ph.D. in zoology. Eventually, he and a friend formed a company called Central Analytical Laboratory. He worked there for 40 years.

The husband and wife are now retired. They had formed a large family together, with three daughters, four grandsons, and even three great grandchildren. He credits his wife that the children take after their mom and her happy-go-lucky attitude. Sue will turn 89 on her upcoming birthday.

“There is nothing I could do to

change it so I just let it not bother me at all,” Sayama said about his secret to a long life, “I [also] have a wife who never argues with me. We never had one fight during our 66 years of marriage.”

Recognition for Sayama and the WWII Nisei Veterans would not have come without the efforts of Sen. Barbara Boxer among others. Sayama says the senator was the one who first initiated the petition in the Senate to honor the Japanese American Veterans.

“She got the bill in Senate to give us the medal award,” Sayama said. The bill’s official title is “The Gold Medal Bill S 1055.”

U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff also introduced and helped pass the bill in the House of Representatives. On Oct. 5, 2010, President Barrack Obama signed the bill into law.

“The story ends up beautifully, from enemy-alien to Congressional Gold Star recipient,” he said. “I think I’ve gone from bottom to top during my lifetime. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

Congressional Gold Medal Brings Fairytale EndingMedal From Page 1

Joseph Serrano, known as Star Walker, stands in front of the StarTribe tent, a grouping of tents at Occupy Los Angeles on the west lawnof City Hall.

Kenji Sayama’s father Robert Sayama took his son’s portrait in his U.S. Army uniform before he headed to Japan in 1945.

occupy lABy Luis Rivas

Photos by Luis Rivas/Collegian

Photo By Robert Sayama

The visual arts was something LACC student Robert LaChapelle found solace in later in life. His first passion was music. “I had a recording deal with Warner Brothers in the late 90’s with a group called Step Brothers, which you can Google if you want.”

The experience was pivotal to him in more ways than one, finding many things he’d learned on his path relevant to his budding art career. One of his mentors was Quincy Jones, Grammy Award-winning producer and musician who worked with such acts as Michael Jackson, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles. “He taught me his philosophy about music – people don’t buy records, they buy the artist,” said Robert. “Usually with art people want you to tell a story that they don’t usually have the context to – what the story is about or what it’s built on.”

Robert finds his inspiration and lessons in his upbringing and the variety of open and accepting people Los Angeles has to offer. Growing up in South Central, Robert did not know of anyone who did art as a profession. He thinks of his art as narrative in form. “I like graffiti; I do a lot of writing in my paintings […] Even if the painting was a specific thing as a hill and bush, people will find their own connection with it.”

Looking forward, Robert wants to continue his education in at UCLA or Cal State LA. “Hopefully in five years I’ll be finished with my MFA, showing my work, and getting some opportunities to expand my execution and the criteria of my work.” To him, the sociopolitical aspects of art are just as important as the images they portray. “If you’re a writer, engineer, or mathematician, your job is to take into account the social paradigm. Art can be a part of that and I like to be a part of that.”

The art of Jameson Carter, featured in the DaVinci Gallery beginning Nov., displayed sculptures and prints to provoke and inspire.

Hand cut silicone rubber and glass sculptures took on the form of some gelatinous sea creature on draped a slab of glass. Tendrils of rubber hang elegantly around the base of glass, looking like something internal.

The glass part of these sculpture acts as a bone structure and the rubber is like tissue framing the base as a rib cage in fascinating and abstract ways. You want to touch it to understand the material but you cannot.

In his own words he describes this as, “Pattern based three dimensional amorphic and spherical forms presenting microcosmic and microscopic imagery on a large scale.” Indeed, it is.

The prints lining the walls of DaVinci Gallery are almost three dimensional and appear as though they are coming off of the wall. As amorphic and look like figures from a microbiology textbook with swirls of blue and green colors that are truly different. He describes them as “natural form like cells or and biological growths [sic].”

The titles of these beautiful creations are almost satirical, such as “Given to flights of inspiration but impatient with the requirements of landing” or “And the reason that there’s the added piece of information that you’ve recognized it, and by recognizing it you’ve changed the character of information.”

These titles do change your interpretation of the art and one could guess is that Mr. Carter doesn’t like titling his work, only because many were dubbed “Untitled.” Untitled or titled, they are excellent works.

These pieces exude the same maturity and charisma that many works of art in places like LACMA or MOCA do. Carter displays great potential in this auspicious showing to hold the attention of gallery patrons in his own exhibition. By using such pedestrian materials as glass and silicone, he surpasses the expectations for the typical uses of his materials and gives them fluidity.

REVIEW

Arts&EntertainmentLos Angeles | COLLEGIANWednesday

December 7, 2011 07

Right now I’m sitting in my garage and waging a battle with myself-- not very different from any other night – right when it’s apparent I am sleep-deprived and having all sorts of crises. As much as I like “doing things” I have very little evidence to account for the things I do. Like writing, for example. Having an audience absolutely terrifies me.

I remember there was a time I was a prolific blogger, and I wrote about plenty of stuff that upon re-reading is very trivial and angsty, but that these graveyards of Internet-space exist and house my former selves, a sort of ecdysis – snake skins – is a comfort to me. It was the only journal-like I kept, which in retrospect, is sort of angering. I then enjoyed the social aspects of blogging and would post things that were – to quote 15-year-old Lauren, “[in] no way a chronicle of my life...but rather, teeny weeny snapshots of what I think wouldn’t be too alarming to a passing stranger.”

My present self is now very interested in what was going on in my former self’s brain. There are occasions when, if I had the rare volition to figure out old user names and passwords, I might have deleted them. I am glad I haven’t. There are gems, moments of enlightenment that I would not delete for anything.

It’s a strange modern problem – curating what parts of yourself you expose to the Internet. Twenty years from now, what sort of person will I be then? Would my future-self want me to say this? It’s all so much easier on paper-- it’s biodegradable, the ink lifts easily with water, it’s flammable. When posting things on the Internet, even after removal there is an impres-sion left behind. If the Library of Congress really does catalog tweets, the ones you posted in compromising situations or out of anger aren’t really gone at all. Is any of it really gone at all?

I have bouts of wanting to delete myself from the Internet entirely, but it would be a time-consuming process. All of those old passwords I’d have to remember, the full history of the sites I’ve visited, and in a few cases, editors I’d have to bother. I admit to committing social-network suicide countless times.

Currently, I have three different blogs under pseudonyms for fear that whatever I’m writing will follow me home one day and murder me in cold blood. I always imagine a situation where, when older, and I’ve acquired that distinctive writerly persona that comes with age, like a fine scotch, that I’ll want nothing more than to cover up the fact I once wrote about the local music scene.

Our forefathers seem to have had the advantage of anonymity if they wanted it. We have no choice but to live our lives in full disclosure.

“Elroxo,” a self-portrait of LaChapelle and “The Bird”

Sculpture by artist Jameson Carter on display at the Da Vinci Art Gallery.

Reflecting on Transparency

Objectof Art

By Lauren Arevalo

Artist SpotlightRobert LaChapelle

By Matthew Mullins

By Lauren Arevalo and Byron Umana

Photos by Patrick Chong/Collegian

Photos by Patrick Chong/Collegian

MondayDecember

DAY

TIME

Classes starting between 7:00 – 7:55 a.m. MTWTh, or Mon/Wed, or starting between 7:00-8:55 a.m. Monday only

Classes starting between 10:00 – 10:55 a.m. MTWTh, or Mon/Wed, or starting between 9:00-10:55 a.m. Monday only

Classes starting between 11:00 – 11:55 p.m.. MTWTh, Mon/Wed, or starting between 11:00 a.m.-12:55 p.m. Monday only

Classes starting between 1:00 – 2:55 p.m.. MTWTh, Mon/Wed, or starting between 1:00-3:15 p.m. Monday only

Classes starting between 3:20-4:55 MTWTh, or Mon/Wed, 3:20 – 4:55 p.m. or 3:20-5:55 Monday only

Classes starting between 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. MTWTh, or Mon/Wed, or Monday only

Classes starting between 7:00 – 7:55 a.m. Tue/Thurs or starting between 7:00-8:55 a.m. Tuesday only

Classes starting between 10:00 – 10:55 a.m. Tue/Thurs or starting between 9:00-10:55 a.m. Tuesday only

Classes starting between 11:00 – 11:55 p.m. Tue/Thurs or starting between 11:00 a.m.-12:55 p.m. Tuesday only

Classes starting between 1:00 – 2:55 p.m. Tue/Thurs or starting between 1:00-3:15 p.m. Tuesday only

Classes starting between 3:20 – 4:55 p.m. Tue/Thur or 3:20-5:55 Tuesday only

Classes starting between 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Tue/Thur or Tuesday only

Classes starting between 8:00 – 8:55 a.m. MTWTh, Mon/Wed, Wed/Fri, or starting between 7:00-8:55 a.m. Wednesday only

Classes starting between 9:00 – 9:55 a.m. . MTWTh, Mon/Wed,Wed./Fri, or starting between 9:00-10:55 a.m. Wednesday only

Classes starting between 12:00 – 12:55 p.m. MTWTh, Mon/Wed, Wed./Fri, or starting between 11:00 a.m.-12:55 p.m. Wednesday only

Classes starting between 1:00 – 2:55 p.m. Wed./Fri, or starting between 1:00-3:15 p.m.Wednesday only

Classes starting between 5:00-5:55 Mon/Wed or Wed Fri, or 3:20 – 5:55 p.m.Wednesday only

Classes starting between 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Wed/Fri or Wednesday only

Classes starting between 8:00 – 8:55 a.m. Tue/Thurs, or starting between 7:00-8:55 a.m. Thursday only

Classes starting between 9:00 – 9:55 a.m Tue/Thurs, or starting between 9:00-10:55 a.m. Thursday only

Classes starting between 12:00 – 12:55 p.m. Tue/Thurs, or starting between 11:00 a.m.-12:55 p.m. Thursday only

Classes starting between1:00-3:15 p.m.Thursday only

Classes starting between 5:00-5:55 Tue/Thurs or 3:20 – 5:55 p.m.Thursday only

Classes starting between 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Thursday only

Classes starting between 7:00 – 7:55 a.m. Wed/Fri or starting between7:00 – 8:55 a.m. Fri/Sat or Friday only

Classes starting between 10:00 – 10:55 a.m. Wed/Fri or starting between9:00 – 11:55 a.m Fri/Sat or Friday only

Classes starting between 11:00 – 11:55 p.m.Wed/Fri or starting between12:00 – 2:55 p.m. Fri/Sat or Friday only

Classes starting between 1:00 – 2:55 p.m. Fri/Sat, or starting between3:00 – 4:55 p.m. Fri/Sat or Friday only

Classes starting between 5:00 – 5:55 p.m. Fri/Sat or Friday only

Classes starting between 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Fri/Sat or Friday only

Classes starting between7:00 – 8:55 a.m. Saturday only

Classes starting between9:00 – 11:55 a.m Saturday only

Classes starting between12:00 – 2:55 p.m. Saturday only

Classes starting between3:00 – 4:55 p.m. Saturday only

Classes starting between5:00 – 6:55 p.m. Saturday only

No exams scheduled

7:00-9:00 a.m. 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. 2:30-4:30 p.m. 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

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NewsWednesday December 7, 2011 Los Angeles | COLLEGIAN08

Fall 2011 Final Exam ScheduleMonday, Dec. 12 – Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011

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Modern dance, jazz, hip-hop and other styles of dance will be performed by students and faculty for audiences at the Camino Theatre on Dec. 7 at noon and on Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. Admission to the first performance is free.Tickets are available for the second performance for $7 online and $10 at the door. Seating is limited and there is no will call.

Job search help is available to students through the Career & Job Development Center. The Center has scheduled “mock interview sessions” on Dec. 12 from 5-6 p.m., and Dec. 15 from 1-2 p.m. in Admissions Building, Room 109. Individual sessions last for about 10 minutes and are designed to help students develop their interviewing skills. Sign up before the event is not required. For more information, call (323) 953-4000 ext. 2210.

Ceramic pieces crafted by City students and alumni will be on sale in front of Da Vinci Hall, Dec. 7 and 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4- 6 p.m. Art materials will also be on sale. All proceeds from the event will go to art scholarships.

Books N’ More, the College Bookstore has scheduled its end of semester book buyback for Dec. 12-15 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 3-7 p.m. and on Dec. 19 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The Bookstore is looking to buy all supplemental equipment purchased alongside textbooks regardless of where they were purchased. Ask a store employee for information on how to participate in Books N’ More iPad giveaway.

City College finds itself running low on basic restroom supplies. From Da Vinci Hall, Jefferson Hall and the Science and Technology Building students have complained of an absence of paper towels.

NEWSBRIEFS

Compiled by Richard Martinez

Free Dance Recital at the Camino Theatre

Career Center Offers Interviewing Help

Ceramic Goods on Sale to Support Art Scholarships

Book Buyback, iPad Giveaway Begins

Budget Cuts into Restroom Supplies

Public Service AnnouncementProduced by Stuart Murphy Scan with your smartphone

to view a message about campus safety.

Primate Expert From Page 1

“The establishment of the Gibbon Conservation Center in Santa Clarita to breed rare and endangered gibbon species gave him the opportunity to refine the husbandry of captive gibbons, knowledge which he shared with zoos in the United States and facili-ties throughout much of Southeast Asia, and to make significant contri-butions...,” said Ardith Eudey of Asian Section, IUCN Primate Specialist Group. “At the same time, he made his facility available to others doing non-invasive studies and encouraged their work, especially that of students.”

Volunteer Coordinator for the Gibbon Conservation Center, Chris Roderick recalls the moment she first met Mootnick. During the 2007 Santa Clarita brush fires after driving down a dirt road looking for neighbors in need, she spotted a “skinny bearded guy, wearing suspenders and dragging a rake.”

Mootnick informed her that he and his assistant had been working all night fighting the fire to protect the center with a garden hose. Seeing his passion and dedica-tion for the center and gibbons, Roderick quickly found herself involved in the center.

“Alan taught me the valuable lesson that anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time. Stubborn, comical, stoic and passionate ---- that was Alan,” Roderick said. “He worked harder than anyone and created a true sanctuary for his gibbons.”

Mootnick was born on Jan.23, 1951 in the San Fernando Valley. He is survived by his sister Ronnie Weinberger.

Primatolo-gist Expert Dies at 60

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Sports ScheduleBASKETBALL GOLF

FOOTBALL BADMINTON

SOCCER

ALL

CANCELLEDALL

CANCELLED

SportsLos Angeles | COLLEGIANWednesday

December 7, 2011 09

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When I was a little kid, I remember looking forward to coming to school with my mom. She attended LACC and every weekend we would come and watch the soccer and basketball matches. Watching the college students engage in their respec-tive sport was exciting, and it was in high school that I came to realize that sports were not just something to do; they were a way of life.

My blood boiled when I discovered that sports had been cancelled at LACC. It is ridiculous that a school would cancel an activity that encourages discipline and brings students a sense of pride in their school.

I find it outrageous that East Los Angeles Community College and Santa Monica College still have sports while at the same time dealing with the same fiscal problems as L.A. City College. I know that many students who used to play for the LACC teams have gone to other schools to pursue their passion and careers.

On the college website it states that cancelling sports “was a difficult decision, but our primary mission is education of our community.” If that were truly the case, art and music education should have been cut as well, for they enhance the mind just as much as sports.

Cooperation, communication and commitment are things that we learn through playing sports. These are all qualities that will serve us well in our future careers.

An institution of learning should clearly encourage activities that promote healthy living and personal development. The administration must try to meet the needs of all students, and not overlook athletes looking for an education.

It is no secret to anyone that basketball has a stronger following than volleyball.

When LACC decided to pull the plug on its athletic program in the fall of 2008, the volleyball program was the last to go; getting spiked the following semester. Even then, the program suffered from an inadequate fan base.

Karmina Garcia, sports coordina-tor and member of basketball team Revenge of Rock Bottom says that having the games take place on a day the campus is completely deserted is one of the reasons fans are missing in action.

She says basketball’s popularity causes it to overshadow the volleyball program. Still, she remains optimistic about the program’s future.

“We put the same amount of effort into both [programs], it’s just that basketball has always been more popular,” Garcia said. “We’re definitely working on that, because

that would really pump us up even more.”

Compared to last semester, the co-ed volleyball program has seen an increase of both players and teams. Teams like Exotic, Mathology and Revenge of Rock Bottom are just a few of the teams that take it to the court.

Players like Kimberly Moran, a nursing major who plays for team Exotic, harbor mixed emotions about the program. She feels that the volley-ball program is more for recreational purposes than an actual competition. Having played in both high school and college, she yearns for a gym filled with fans cheering for intercol-legiate athletes.

“I kind of feel bad sometimes. It makes me want to transfer to another school,” Moran said. “It would feel much better [with fans] … you would feel the hype.”

Nonetheless, Moran is still hopeful that before she transfers to a

university, she can represent the Cubs in an actual competition against other schools in the district. She says that there is ample talent in the program to put a competitive team together.

Nursing major and member of both leagues, Aristote Tumba knows that a vital part of a successful program has to do with a solid fan base. Tumba said that volleyball has come a long way from last semester when very few students signed up to play. Still, Tumba says the fans have yet to show up.

“I guess they [the fans] just don’t care about volleyball,” Tumba said, “I wish there would be fans support-ing us.”

While a number of volleyball players remain indifferent, others hope to play in a gym full of cheers to match those of the basketball league. Fans are an integral part of any sports program; their presence and support will undoubtedly aid in bringing sports back to LACC.

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LEAGUE STANDINGSIntramural Basketball Stats

By Byron Umana

By Luis Ponce

SPORTS

BINBasketball Draws Crowds; Fans Show Little Love for Volleyball

While collegiate sports fans cheer for their fellow student athletes in the intramural basketball league, the same cannot be said for the volleyball league.

College Overlooks Student Athletes; Encourages ‘Academics’

Tumba Aristote serves the ball at the Intramural Volleyball game in the Women’s Gym, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011.

Photo by Patrick Chong/Collegian

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