May 7, 2013

ChronicleRichland

Vol. XXXVII, Issue 14 May 7, 2013 A College of the Dallas County Community College District

Richlandchronicle.com

Official Chronicle Outlets

#Chronicle DCCCD

awards banquet

Also inside:

Richland SGA PETITIONS for CUTS ON TUITION

Collegiate students showcase capstone projects

PG. 2

pg. 7

RICHLAND celebrates

cinco de mayo

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About the Thunderducks loss the first time they met Eastfield, he said that in the begin-ning of the year the team lacked maturity as players and did not have all the experience they have now.

BLANCA REYESStaff Writer

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Helpful hints for finals

T-ducks split doubleheader

The semester is winding down, and so is student morale.

It is hard to keep up with last-minute schoolwork and continue studies when gradu-ation is within a week and finals a week after. Therefore, it is important to stay on top of things and make use of these quick study tips to get through that last paper or those final exams.

One of the best ways to utilize study time, especially constrained study time, is to find a place that offers seclusion and quiet. Attempt-ing to write a paper or study in an area where a multitude of people gather, including friends and aquantices, basically equates to procrasti-nation.

Instead, visit the library or the hallway in Bonham Hall; somewhere that decreases the chance of running into people you know. You will be surprised at the amount of work that can be done during those short breaks in a peaceful work environment.

Another simple way to prepare for finals that can be done on the go is to use flash cards, which are remarkable, easy-to-use study utensils that assist every type of learner: kines-thetic, those who learn by jotting down notes; auditory, those who learn by reading things aloud; and visual, those who learn by looking

at things. They can be kept in your pocket or in your

purse and taken every place you go. Writing concepts or definitions down on flash cards and reviewing them for as little as 30 minutes will greatly increase your ability to remember them. Also, connecting concepts or terms with meanings or visuals outside of the class you are studying for can improve your ability to recall definitions and understand concepts.

Finally, visit The Learning Center. It’s lo-cated in Medina Hall (Room M-216) and they offer tutoring in a variety of subjects if you require that last-minute assistance in a class. Some subjects they regularly offer aid in are trigonometry, statistics, calculus, economics, accounting, government, history and writing.

If you have a major paper due the week of finals, stop by the writing center and have someone edit your paper. If you expect to write a paper for a final or during a final, dis-cussing your topic or ideas with someone at the writing center may be beneficial and help you achieve a better grade. There is also the Science Corner in upstairs Sabine Hall that gives students assistance in any science class.

These simple tips, if used frequently, might provide the little push needed to get you through finals. Though it is hard to finish the last couple of weeks, organizing your time for study can better prepare you for finals, com-pared with the last-minute cram most students attempt.

“The National Tournament is something that we are not looking for right now,” said Guy Simmons, head coach of Richland’s base-ball team. “At this point, we are trying to finish the season strong, and then survive the play-offs.”

Even though the Thunderducks have con-siderably improved their play in the last few weeks, the three remaining games (at press time) are not going to be easy because they need to climb one more position in order to make the playoffs.

At this moment, they are in fifth place, but only the four best teams will participate at the next level.

Richland has to face Eastfield’s baseball team in all remaining games. Eastfield has been described by Simmons as a very strong opponent. Simmons, Garret Carruth, the as-sistant coach, and the players are ready for the challenge.

“I think it is an excellent chance to beat them,” Simmons said about this second op-portunity to confront Eastfield.

“It’s all about if our kids want to continue playing or if we’ve done,” Carruth said. “It’s what it is. I tried to simplify it.”

control in the late innings and lost a squeaker 8-7.

For more information about schedules, re-sults and more, visit the baseball team web-page at www.rlc.dcccd.edu/baseball.

Richland played a doubleheader against Brookhaven on April 27. The Thunderducks took the opener 4-0.

In the second game, even though Richland started slow, the Thunderducks almost took

Thunderduck David Lee scores a run against Brookhaven on April 27. Matt Johnson fires a pitch.

Staff photos by Blanca Reyes

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(Image courtesy Kevin Nguyen

CAMPUS

SGA members at dinner during the Houston convention.

Upcoming EventsEach week, the Division of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts at Richland College presents its Recital Series. All performances are on Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. in the Fan-nin Performance Hall and are free to the general public. For more information about this series, contact Dr. Michael Crawford, associate dean of performing arts.

Today: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Fannin Performance Hall, Room F-102 About 10 outstanding students from the vocal classes will be performing.

Today: 1 to 2 p.m. Blue Star Club meeting El Paso Hall, Room E-076 If you have an interest in supporting our military and veterans or in meeting new people, come to the last Blue Star Club meeting for this semester. The club is composed of Rich-land veterans and students who are dedicated to supporting each other and other veterans. They help veterans of Dallas who are homeless and are in need, provide care packages for deployed service members serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and other such services.

Thursday, May 9: 12:30 p.m. Fannin Performance Hall Instrumental Honors Recital - Several outstanding students will perform.

May 13-16: Final Exams Free massage May 13-14 from 9 a.m. to noon, Student Lounge

Monday, May 13: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Finals Week) Textbook Buyback Follett Bookstore, Sabine Hall Beginning today, students with unwanted textbooks can sell them back to the bookstore. They will pay 50 percent of the purchase price for needed books.

Registration for Summer 2013 classes began April 23 for returning students and April 29 for all students.

JoYCE JACkSoNCopy Editor

Student government submits petitions to cut tuitionT-ducks split doubleheaderCollege students throughout the state of

Texas are taking a stand against higher tuition and the high cost of textbooks.

Richland’s Student Government Associa-tion (SGA) is doing its share to rally against the state’s budget cuts, which affect every stu-dent at the community college and university levels. The intent is for every campus SGA in the state to do the same.

Richland SGA members and President Kevin Nguyen, 20, spearheaded a student pe-tition drive since mid-March in the Office of Student Life. Each petition form had 50 signa-tures per page.

“We had thousands of them [signatures] from each district, each school, which includ-ed the other six Dallas County Community Colleges plus three Region 3 schools.”

In 2008, there was a budget cut, another one in 2010 and another upcoming in 2013.

“That’s one too many,” Nguyen said. “We’re trying to stop that.”

Nguyen said the SGA was allowed to get as many signatures as possible before the Texas legislature passed the bill.

Nguyen, eight other SGA members and Ja-son Barr, student program development spe-cialist in the OSL, attended a four-day Hous-ton convention, which takes place every year.

“As soon as we got to the convention, they already voted on the bill,” Nyugen said. “There were two bills – the Senate version

and the House version. Right now, the Senate version offers more for community colleges, about $100 million more.”

The idea for the petitions came from the Texas Junior College Student Government Association (TJCSGA), which is the Texas-wide student government for community col-leges. Richland is part of this organization. To sign the petition, one didn’t have to be a Richland student, or faculty member, just a registered voter.

“The petition is to look out for students and to try to make college more affordable for ev-eryone,” Nguyen said.

At the convention, Nguyen said, those at-tending came up with a resolution, which was to have a call drive for people to contact their representatives and tell them which bill they

stood for. “We have been putting flyers everywhere

on campus trying to raise awareness about the budget bill,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen said the petitions are now void be-cause the Texas legislature already voted on the bill.

“Nothing came of it,” he said. “It was too late. Our only choice is to focus on the call drive resolution. We called our representative and let them know where we stand on which bill we prefer.”

Nguyen said he thinks more funds should be going to community colleges because a lot of students can’t pay for college.

“When they transfer to the university, tu-ition is going to be too much for them to handle,” he said.

The budget cuts will take place in the fall. There will be a tuition increase and book in-crease.

“It’s not favorable for students,” Nguyen said. “Our goal for SGA is to be there for the students and protect the students’ interests, rights and needs. Saying that, we want to lower tuition and cost of books and make college more affordable for all students.”

Nguyen hopes to transfer as a dual com-puter science and computer engineering major to the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. He plans to get a master’s degree in computer science and possibly a Ph.D. His long-term goal is to work with a video-game company and develop video games.

Nguyen’s term, as well as the other SGA members elected last year, is just about over.

“Our duty as the remaining executives is to train and educate new and incoming members to SGA about any issues, concerns and parlia-mentary procedures,” he said.

Nguyen said he enjoyed being president be-cause it taught him how to work with a team and be a team leader, as well as teaching the foundation of communication.

“You don’t just communicate with stu-dents,” Nguyen said. “You communicate with faculty, staff, employees, anyone.”

Muneerah Jamal was elected president and Katie Corzo vice president in the April 24-25 SGA elections. Their induction was scheduled for May 3 on campus.

[Those interested in this issue may visit www.house.state.tx.us or they can call or email either their House or Senate rep.]

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A quiet but vicious problem perme-ates society everywhere: bullying. I’d like to address my problem with it.

“Bullying is not the word people usu-ally use,” Julie Hanson, Richland counselor, said. “Harassed, abused, assaulted ... bullying doesn’t sound as serious as the acts sometimes are. In general, we have a lot of bystanders who may see something or know something is going on, but don’t take any action.”

Dallas has an initiative going right now that encourages individuals who witness bullying to take action. There are no special privileges for doing this ... only the satisfaction of know-ing you are doing your ethical and moral duty.

There are two rules that every one of us can live by and hardly disagree with, no matter our personal paradigm: have fun and don’t hurt others.

If you contribute to the misery of oth-ers, especially on a regular basis, you are an (expletive deleted). If you see someone bul-lying someone, you don’t have to jump in harm’s way; but tell someone. You don’t want that nagging feeling on your mind from failure to act if it turns tragic. The biggest contribu-tor to bullying is a lack of engagement from people who witness it.

If you do see someone being bullied, stand up and defy the abuser, notify an authority or call 911. If it occurs on cam-pus, 911 calls are immediately routed to the Richland Police.

- J.D. Stockman

Mariachis on the bridge

Top left: Some students hit the piñata while others sing the traditional song.

Top right: Students line up for free food at Richland’s Cinco de Mayo festival.

Bottom left: After break-ing the piñata, students scramble for candy.

Bottom right: Luis Rangel enjoys the tacos.

Photo courtesy Jannette Morales

Photo courtesy Jannette Morales

Photo courtesy Jannette Morales

Staff photo Isai Diaz

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MovieS/GaMeS

Images courtesy Designresourcebox.com, Gamebackgrounds.com, Gamingbolt.com

“Dead Island Riptide” is a first-person action horror thriller game, filled with zom-bies, weird mutated zombies and, oh yeah, more zombies. If you haven’t played the first installment, “Dead Island,” no need to worry, they’ve got you covered. In the be-ginning of “Dead Island Riptide,” they will give you a run-down of what happened be-fore by using cinematic cut scenes to bring you up to speed.

There are five characters to choose from. I chose Purna, an officer of Sydney Police Department and later lost her job. She then started working as a bodyguard for VIPs in dangerous places all over the world. I chose her not only because she’s a woman but be-cause she is very skillful during combat. You can also use co-op teamwork that will test your skills against armies of zombies.

After taking off in a helicopter and escap-ing Banoi Island, they search to find a place

MARY CHANNELLGaming Editor

Don’t let the ‘Riptide’with no infection and eventually find a ship and land there. Soon you will find out that this ship was no safe place for them. In fact, they ended up being experimented on because they all were somehow immune to the virus. And typically everyone knows how this would end. Virus spreads on the ship and crashes into a big rock by an island called Riptide that is also infested with zombies.

I’m not going to lie; I was a bit worried about how well this game would turn out. I was already having some complica-tions with just moving my char-acter. At times I felt like I was a little stuck to the floor when there was nothing in my path. Also what bugged me was the “look sensi-tivity.” No m a t t e r h o w high you

set it, when you are trying to aim at crazed zombies, it was a little too slow for my com-fort. But when you were not using it for aim, it was way too fast to even focus on anything. Luckily you do get used to it. Once you get

past that, it’s much more fun kill-ing a horde of grotesque zom-bies.

One of my favorite perks is being able to modify

your weapons. If you have a bat and some nails in your inven-tory, find a bench and put them together

and get a pretty fun weapon to use dur-

ing combat. And yes, it w o u l d n ’ t

be a zombie game with-

out all the

goriness and getting scared when you hear the groaning of the undead near you. And of course, that scared me every time, which brings me to the reason of why I actually enjoyed the game. It’s running around the island in hopes of surviving and to escape zombies in the most fun way possible while getting scared out of your pants, like me.

I know, I’m a sucker for zombie games and I can’t help it. “Dead Island Riptide” is en-tertaining, chaotic and just a blast to play. If you want something to add into the mix of your games, try this game out and invite your friends while you are at it. It’s more fun.

So, hold on to your seats, my gamer friends; “Dead Island Riptide” is going to give you one hell of a ride. “Dead Island Riptide” is available on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and the PC.

pull you under

RICKY MILLERStaff Writer

Have faith in Jon Favreau.Although he’s not directing this chapter

of the “Iron Man” franchise, Favreau put his faith in fellow filmmaker Shane Black, a director (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”) and writer of the original “Lethal Weapon,” “The Last Boy Scout” as well as “The Long Kiss Goodnight.”

The fun thing about “Iron Man 3” is all the plot twists.

The audience does not get to see Nata-sha Romanoff, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).

Favreau does return as the driver for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)

In lieu of Black Widow, we have a middle school kid named Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins). His appearance, although brief, provides a lot of comic relief.

Don Cheadle also returns as friend and

colleague Jim Rhodes. Stark has built him a suit as well. “War Machine” is his moni-ker, but the higher-ups in D.C. don’t like that very much.

This chapter introduces two new vil-lains, starting with Guy Pearce’s scientist Dr. Aldrich Killan.

The other is Ben Kingsley’s The Man-darin, a foe of unknown origin from over-seas.

What is kind of cool is seeing William Sadler as the president of the United States. The same goes for Miguel Ferrer, usually cast as a bad guy, as the vice presi-dent.

Twists abound in this chapter, kind of like a pretzel or impossible jigsaw puzzle.

Grade: A- “Iron Man” (2008)To me, the original “Iron Man” was

the epitome of a comic book flick. After an incident in the Middle East, Iron Man erupts from the ashes.

His opposition turns out to be an old

friend in Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stone, a former colleague who turns out to be the villain of the story.

Grade A+“Iron Man 2” (2010)With his sophomore effort in the “Iron

Man” lexicon, Favreau got the acting chops of Mickey Rourke as Russian bad-die Ivan Vanko. His father worked with Stark’s dad back in the Cold War days.

Fun in the mix was conniver Sam Rock-well’s Justin Hammer, an arrogant man who befriends Vanko.

Further fun came with the package of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Scar-lett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, be-cause the duo are both superheroes. They help Stark battle the vile blood occupying his body.

Ridiculous fun comes in the latter acts when both Johansson’s Black Widow and Faverau’s Hogan battle Danko’s staff.

Grade B+Image courtesy spinfoff.com

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CHRISTIAN TANNER BLANCA REYESStaff Writers

CaMpus

JOYCE JACKSONCopy Editor

The Collin College Spring Creek campus that students evacuatued.

Staff Photo Sayako Metoki

STUDENT MEDIA LEADERS

Editor-in-ChiefManaging Editor

Radio News DirectorCopy Editor

Gaming Editor

Rebecca BanksKisten S. ChettyCarla DavisJoyce JacksonMary Channell

ON THE COVER

Students dance to the mariachi band during the Cinco de Mayo celebration.

COVER AND FONTS

Cover PhotoPepper

Sombrero

Isai Diazsweetclipart.compartt.org

Certain fonts are provided by the following:http://www.nymfont.com - http://www.bvfonts.com

STUDENT MEDIA STAFF

Fred Allen Terry Blend

Isai DiazSayako Metoki

Ricky MillerBen Siebel

Raymond Thomas PronkLora AdvinculaBlanca ReyesAlice RobinsonJ.D. StockmanChristian Tanner

STUDENT MEDIA ADVISERS

Erica EdwardsJack Fletcher

David GoodloeTim Jones

Steve NovielloLarry RatliffMarshall Siegel

Spring 2013 ISSUES

January 15January 22January 29February 5

February 12February 19February 26

March 5

March 12April 2 April 16April 23April 30May 7May 14

AWARDS

ACP Pacemaker Winner, 2000, 2001, 2007ACP Pacemaker Finalist, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007

ACP Online Pacemaker Finalist, 2007, 20081st Place - TIPA Sweepstakes, 20053rd Place - TIPA Online, 2005 & 2006

Over 160 Texas college journalism awards since 2000

CONTACT INFORMATION

El Paso Hall, Room E-020, 12800 Abrams Rd. Dallas, 75243Newsroom: 972-238-6079 E-mail: [email protected]: 972-238-6068 E-mail: [email protected]

Fax: 972-238-6037

MEETINGS & POLICIES

Staff meetings: Monday and Wednesday 3:15 p.m. in E-020-------

Letter PolicyLetters to the editor may be edited for space. They will be edited for spelling, grammar and malicious or libelous state-ments. Letters must be the work of the writer and must be signed. For identification and verification purposes, let-ters also must include the writer’s classification (grade level), full name, address and telephone number, although address and telephone number will not be published.

Editorial PolicyThe Chronicle is the official student-produced newspa-per of Richland College. Editorials, cartoons, columns and letters are the opinions of individual students and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other individual stu-dent writers, editors, advisers or the college administration.

© Richland Chronicle 2013

Carnival of Steel a big successThis year, Richland's "Carnival of Steel," the

annual steel drum festival of North Texas held on campus April 20, was "extremely success-ful," according to Derrick Logozzo, director of instrumental music, who heads the outdoor music event every year.

"Basically, we upped our attendance a lot this year," Logozzo said. "We had over 1,000 people both day and night."

The event ran from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and featured Liam Teague, steel pan recording art-ist, Jose Aponte, drums set and world percus-sionist, and Shelly Irvine, steel pan and per-cussion artist.

Logozzo said that six steel bands from mid-state participated in the festival. The list

included bands from Austin and Laredo and four from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

"The group from Austin and Laredo were outstanding because of their quality of play-ing," Logozzo said. "About 40 band members were in each one. They were all students at high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. There was some rock, calypso and salsa."

Logozzo teaches 26 steel pan students in two classes, all of whom performed in the festival. They're named the Richland College Steel Band and they performed a two-hour concert.

Logozzo said his students really did well and that they were well prepared.

"I performed, too," Logozzo said. "I per-formed on steel drums with the guest artists at the evening performance."Teague, Apon-te and Irvine played along with Logozzo's

students. Teague, the headline guest artist, organized the musical arrangements and has done so in previous festivals.

"The students were very happy at the end of the event," Logozzo said. "The students ran the festival. They all formed a logistics team. We used radios throughout the day to get things done. All 26 students helped. That's a huge point. It's run by the students and led by me."

Logozzo said his students made sure that everybody got what they needed. Parking and food crews, among others, took charge throughout the event.

"It's a huge thing with them," he said. "They learn about event management."

Logozzo said the next "Carnival of Steel" is already scheduled for April 26, 2014. He expects the same guest artists and says he's already in the planning stages.

Youth steel drum students performing for the carnival.

Summer is right around the corner. For many students, that means another semester out of the way. Summer registration for all students began April 29.

This is a great opportunity for students who plan on graduating early. Summer semesters allow Thunderducks to gain credits quicker and ultimately graduate early.

This is also an opportunity for anyone who has failed or withdrawn from courses. You need to catch up somewhere and summer is the perfect time to do so.

Cooper Matlock, one of the Richland advisors, said that the best advice for getting into summer courses is not waiting until the last moment. “Classes fill out quickly,” he said.

Another useful tip that Matlock shared was students should start an academic relationship

with them. This relationship can be helpful for each student’s academic success at Richland College.

Even if these don’t apply to you, taking a single summer class can free up time for the next semester. Think about knocking out developmental classes you need or your basics.

“Summer courses such as Summer I or Summer II last one month instead of spring or fall semester, which last four months,” Matlock said to those students who are thinking about getting into summer classes. “They are four times more compacted. In other words, you need to be ready for this.”

Summer courses can help you stay in the habit of doing class work for when fall rolls around. Your studying habits remain strong and consistent, too.

The daily life for summer classes is much better. The entire campus is open, but with fewer students which means that parking will not be such a hassle.

However, Matlock emphasizes, “If you

like to procrastinate or have trouble with assignments, summer courses may not be for you.”

Despite these facts, you have decided to spend your summer in a classroom. Matlock advices you to take a class that is easy for you.

Language courses are good courses to consider for summer. Richland is offering Arabic,Chinese, English as a Second Language, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Summer I begins June 5 and runs through July 3. Summer II begins July 9 and runs until August 8. Registration will end the first day of classes. If you want to take an evening class, come early in the morning to get into the class, if it is not yet full.

Because the length of the semester is shorter, it will go by more quickly. If you’re one to get bored with class toward the end of the semester, you don’t have to worry about that during the summer.

Summer class deadlines looming

Staff photos Isai Diaz

High school students on the steel drums

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MAJId ABdEL-RAzIqStaff Writer

CaMpus

RICHLAND COLLEGE BOOKSTORESABINE HALL

CHECK-IN YOUR RENTAL BOOKSnow through

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Collegiate seniors present capstone

If you were on campus April 17 and 18, particularly in the El Paso student lounge, you may have noticed the large number of nicely dressed students carrying poster boards and other presentation materials.

That was part of the Richland Collegiate High School (RCHS) Senior Capstone Project.

Seniors in the high school program are assigned to take what they learn in class about a certain academic issue and apply it to a problem they have witnessed in their community.

RCHS pays for textbooks as well as all college courses for high school students. In return, all RCHS students are required to do at least 15 hours of service learning/community service to give back to the community that has provided them with a unique educational opportunity.

Students are encouraged to help in an area related to their major, and service learning gets them involved in helping at hospitals, nursing homes, tutoring and other community needs.

The Senior Capstone Project began as a way to have students tie their entire RCHS experience into a real-world endeavor. Students use knowledge from their courses to help relieve an issue they may have witnessed while doing community service. Students usually focus on something in their projected career field. For example, a political science major may go through the process of proposing a bill for legislation.

Capstone projects include a 15-page scholarly paper with works cited as well as a

presentation or exhibition. Some students develop websites to showcase a product or a preview of an application for smartphones that targets an issue. Some students have even gone on to publish a book or article from their senior project and a few have done presentations at scholarly conventions using their project.

Dr. Christopher Manes, Capstone project coordinator, said that one student developed a blueprint for a space shuttle that will reduce

the risk of kidney infection for astronauts. The student went on to publish a scholarly article and began research with NASA on the issue.

Students who have not chosen a career path can explore a potential field or get better at a subject that’s giving them trouble. Some have developed study programs and school curriculum that targets people who have the same academic weakness such as problems in their math class.

It is amazing to see the creative solutions the seniors at RCHS develop. Watch for the projects next year and attend the presentations to witness what great learning can produce.

Professor Barbara Oakes, left, student Farruah Jangda and Richland Collegiate Principal Dr. Kristyn Edney.

Photo courtesy Dr. Kristyn Edney

Photo courtesy Dr. Kristyn Edney

Student Maury Moreno demonstrates his project to Professor Dwayne Carter.

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Princess talks about how A&M-Commerce is preparing her for the world at:

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