The San Matean March 21, 2011 Vol 174, Number 4

College of San Mateo • www.sanmatean.com

Locals react to disaster in JapanKayla Figard

The San Matean

San MateanTHE

Students elect new trusteeBarry Jointer was elected as the

CSM student trustee representa-tive after edging Bill Callahan, in the election held on Thursday, March 10.

The candidates portrayed expe-rience and determination towards achieving the student trustee posi-tion. The campaign process began on February 25, after which can-didates were able to promote their platforms, particularly through posters spread throughout cam-pus.

The position entails several sig-nificant duties, all of which Jointer is prepared for. “One of the prima-ry jobs of the student trustee is to ensure the board is aware of stu-dent problems,” Jointer said.

Varsha RanjitThe San Matean

“We need someone to represent the students.”

With firsthand experience, be-ing a student himself and Vice Chairperson of the Associated Students of CSM student sen-ate, Jointer hopes to be an exact and true voice for the students on

campus, he said.Student senate member Cecile

Basnage reflected on the election process by emphasizing the im-portance of voting. “It’s impor-tant to speak up and get voices out there right now for when stu-dents vote on larger issues in the future,” Basnage said.

Students participated by voting at the poll booth in front of Build-ing 19. Elections kicked off with free pizza offered by ASCSM stu-dent senate volunteers to encour-age students to stop by and cast their vote.

Jointer will go in the student trustee election process to run against candidates from Skyline and Cañada College. The dis-trict student government will vote based on candidates chosen from community colleges on April 23.

More earthquake coverage insideSee page 3

The devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan Friday morning can be felt locally by students and faculty, even those who aren’t directly involved.

M a k i k o Ueda, a psy-chologist at CSM, wasn’t directly affect-ed because her family lives in a different part of Japan but has family that may have been affected.

“It’s unbelievable, but at the same time it’s real,” said Ueda. “Emotion-ally, I am in the shocked stage.”

Witnesses and survivors of the

Japanese earthquake and tsunami typically go into survival mode for the first few weeks after a disaster, she said. “After the immediate crisis is over, people can experi-ence trauma or Post Trauma Stress Disorder.”

People who are watching the news can also be affected. “Visual images are powerful,” said Ueda. “Depending on personal experi-ence, some may be more vulner-able.”

“A good example is 9-11. Many people who watched the news re-ported that they couldn’t get rid of the images,” said Ueda.

“My family and friends live down South and were safe,” said Machiko Conway, a Japanese lan-guage instructor at CSM. “I just stand in great respect and fear for the power of nature. I pray for the

victims of the people and family and friends, and to say deep sincere condolence.”

“When somebody experiences trauma, they can always come seek help,” said Ueda.

No students have been to visit the Health Center to seek counsel-ing as of yet, but Ueda strongly encourages it.

“Associated Students of CSM is accepting donations at the Office of Student Life that will go toward the tsunami relief effort,” said Jeffery Gonzalez, a CSM student senator.

“We are trying to raise money for the International Medical Corps to sponsor doctors, nurses, and medi-cal supplies,” said Aaron Schaefer, Coordinator of Student Activities in the Office of Student Life and Development. “At any point in time, students can donate cash or checks.”

Student helps createdisabled superheroSee page 6

Driving under the influence explainedSee page 6

Makiko Ueda

Community comes together to plant hope for garden

Tatianna SmithThe San Matean

CSM’s construction plan to replace a garden with staff park-

ing caused students to organize a meeting in defense. Student and faculty members have been planting a native collection in the garden for over 20 years. Non-

student visitors and 43 percent of CSM science students use it for projects and to enjoy the scenery.

Students Brandon Snyder and Tricia Gardener organized a con-ference on March 7 for students to discuss a plan of action to save the garden and make the con-structions plans public. An unex-pected group of 45 staff, faculty members and students attended to offer support, ideas and solutions to save Building 20’s garden.

Plans to replace the garden will affect more than CSM stu-dents.

“I often see little kids playing in the garden,’’ said Tricia Gar-dener, 21. “This change will af-fect us all.”

“There are specific species [of plants] only found in this garden

Volume 174, Number 4 March 21, 2011

Barry Jointer

Photo by Tatianna Smith of The San MateanBrandon Snyder and Tricia Gardner hope to save the garden.

that are not found anywhere else on the campus, this garden is our hot spot for plants and animals,’’ said Gardener.

The plans include tearing down the horticulture building and add-ing the course into one of the three physics labs.

Gardener said this will cause a domino effect on students, which may mean lower enrollment, de-struction of the critically endanger Dawn Redwood tree and loss of resources for the students.

“The students have the power, so get involved,” said Brandon Snyder, 24.

“Destroying this garden would send mixed messages if you drive up to campus and see signs about how our school is going green, but they want to remove a beautiful

garden with various species,’’ said Samantha Fitzgibbon. “This gar-den is practically my backyard.”

At a meeting on March 9, students met at the garden and marched to the district offices.

“The CSM President says he is open to compromise, but we are going to go above the president,” said Gardener.

“The students have the power and they are afraid of the stu-dents,” said Tania Beliz, Ph. D.

Ideas from the students to save the garden include incentives to take the bus, getting the neighbor-hood involved, posting flyers and contacting newspapers.

“There is another board meet-ing on Wednesday the 23rd and we will be marching there from the garden again,” said Snyder.

Photo by Varsha Ranjit of The San Matean

Pacifica police officers gather and organize methods of evacuation for its residents in case of a tsunami on Friday, March 11.

Photo courtesy of Paula Teixteira

The magnitude measurements of the earthquake in Tohoku, Japan on March 11, have risen from 8.9 to 9.0.

This is the fourth largest earthquake in the world since 1900. “This earthquake threw off the world’s axis by four inches,” said Linda Hand, Professor of Geology, Oceanography and Paleontol-ogy at CSM.

The Earth is on an axis that doesn’t stay in one place. It moves in small circles and a force as large as this earthquake can push the wobble, changing the axis. This is common for earthquakes, said Hand, as last year’s 8.8 Chilean earthquake moved the axis three inches.

Japan rests on three tectonic plates, which make the country so earthquake prone. It rests on Pacific-Phillipine-Eurasian junction. Tectonic plates move in relation to each other. The movement that happened in Japan is where they collided.

One plate gets forced down beneath another plate. Where one

Rachel NielsenThe San Matean

See “earthquake” on page 3

Quakes still shake the world

News

University of California Berkeley Campus VisitTuesday, March 22, 1 to 2 p.m.Bldg. 1, Room 115

Notre Dame de Namur University Campus VisitTuesday, March 22, 4 to 6 p.m.Bldg. 16

University of California Davis Campus VisitWednesday, March 23, 2011, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Bldg. 1, Room 115

San Francisco State University Campus VisitThursday, March 24, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Bldg. 1, Room 115 Study Abroad London Fall 2011 Information MeetingThursday, March 24, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.Bldg. 17, Student Life Lounge

Student Music Department ConcertFriday, March 25, 12 to 1 p.m.Bldg. 2, Room 110 Free Income Tax PreparationSaturday, March 26, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.Bldg. 14, Room 104 CSM 2011 Spring Health FairTuesday, March 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Bldg. 36

SPORTS

CSM Baseball vs. Hartnell CollegeTuesday, March 22, 2:30 p.m.Hartnell College

CSM Baseball vs. Cabrillo CollegeThursday, March 24, 2:30 p.m.Cabrillo College CSM Softball vs. Cabrillo CollegeThursday, March 24, 3 p.m.CSM

CSM Swimming vs. Las PositasFriday, March 25, 2 p.m.West Valley College CSM Baseball vs. Mission CollegeFriday, March 25, 2:30 p.m.Mission College

CSM Softball vs. Feather River CollegeSaturday, March 26, 11 a.m.CSM

CSM Softball vs. Modesto CollegeSaturday, March 26, 3 p.m.CSM

CSM Swimming Solano InviteSaturday, March 26Solano Community College

Campus BriefsIf there is an event that readers would like listed in Campus Briefs, please submit it to The San Matean at Bldg. 19, Room 123, or [email protected]., or call 574-6330. Submissions should be typed neatly.

by Kyle Laplante

Page 2 • The SAN MATEAN March 21, 2011

Campus Blotter Monday, March 7, 12:15 p.m. - A woman hit a metal “Patron Parking” sign while driving in Lot 12. When she hit the sign it flew 69 feet and hit another car’s bumper and dented it. The woman immediately flagged down an officer and told him what happened. It is going to cost $250 dollars to fix the sign.

Tuesday, March 8, 9:30 p.m. – An officer found a restroom stall door knocked off the hinges in the bath-room in Bldg. 8. Security does not know who did it.

This information was provided by Chief John Wells of CSM Public Safety.

— Kyle LaplanteThe San Matean

CSM plans to launch a new pro-gram to benefit Veteran Students. CSM is one of two colleges in California to receive federal grant money to support veterans’ transi-tion into civilian lifestyle and one of three of the Bay Area colleges to of-fer workshops to support veterans.

Currently there are 500 vets at-tending the SMCCD district and the number of vets coming home and enrolling is higher than ever before. Makiko Ueda, head of Psychological Services at CSM, is leading this program.

“Stigma is usually associated with seeking emotional help. We want to break that and try to reach out to the vet students,” said Ueda.

Chris PalomarezThe San Matean

Veteran services introduced

Student journalists win top state awards

CSM’s Journalism students were honored on Saturday, March 5 with three different awards from their coverage of last year’s San Bruno fire, a fatal East Palo Alto plane crash and a First Amendment controversy on the CSM campus.

The California College Media Association presented the awards at a dinner in Hollywood, Calif. CCMA had originally served four-year colleges and universities, but began including two-year com-munity college journalists in the competition since last year.

The CSM students won first place awards for Best Special Section on their coverage last September of the San Bruno fire. The students published several photos and stories that covered the event in a four-page section of the newspaper.

“Well-written and thoughtful coverage of a disaster stands tall against entries submitted by four-year schools,” said the judges that wrote about the students’ coverage.

The winning team’s students

Alexandra LujanThe San Matean

included Margaret Baum, Roger Boucher, Raymond Cheung, Alex Farr, Jeffrey Gonzalez, Tyler Huff-man, Bruno Manrique, Jason Pun and Sylvia Vasquez.

Farr and Manrique also collected first place honors in the Best Break-ing News Story category for their coverage in February 2010 of a plane that crashed into an East Palo Alto home, which killed all on board. The residence was home to a CSM student.

“It’s great to share this award with Alex, he’s a great writer,” said Manrique. “We’re competing with four-year schools and it definitely speaks to the body of work and the commitment we have here at The San Matean.”

“The story provided a good cam-pus link to a very big local story,” the judges wrote. “The writers provided a mix of first-hand reac-tion from the student victim and information about the status of the investigation.”

Baum, a former Executive Editor of the publication, received third place in the Best Editorial category for her writing about a longtime

First Amendment controversy in-volving CSM’s administration and campus press. Another journalism group, the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, honored Baum in November for the same work.

This is the second year CCMA honored CSM Journalism students. They won last year for their ongo-ing work of the stabbing death of a Skyline College student, in-depth reporting on budget woes, feature and column writing. Journalism advisers submitting their student’s work for competition are required to sign an oath ensuring they have not edited the staff’s work.

“It’s amazing that as a community college, we can win awards when we’re competing against four-year schools,” said Kayla Figard, Edi-tor of the San Matean. “But if our students didn’t win the awards, we would still be proud with the work they have done.”

“Were all excited about this,” said Ed Remitz, CSM Journalism Adviser. “Its always wonderful to see students honored for their hard work.”Follow us on Twitter — www.twitter.com/TheSanMatean

This program is open to veterans and their families. This unorthodox method is a new approach that Ueda believes is going to be more affec-tive because typically most services like these do not offer help to the family members and if so it requires the presence of the vet.

Aside from the program itself, plans are underway in developing a veterans’ center on campus.

“These types of programs need much more attention and exposure than they actually receive,” said Raul Gutierrez, 29, veteran and CSM student.

“There are a lot of veterans out there going through hard-time and instead of us having to search for programs like these we should be able to be easily be directed to them,” said Gutierrez.

The center is intended to be a place where veterans can seek medical services and resources to help with certain issues like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, talk about their experiences, and share experiences with one another.

“A lot of vets are coming back and have experienced a range of unique events. We want to create an environment that’s supportive and welcoming,” said Ueda.

“I want to help with mostly PTSD and be able to help relive a lot of the anxiety and anguish because obvi-ously the vets have been through a lot. I hope they will utilize our service more often,” said therapist counselor Candice Ya Simon.

The workshops are titled, “Wel-come Home: The Voice of returning Veterans.”

Unions fear Wisconsin caseMatt Furtado

The San Matean The bill that was passed by Wis-consin Governor Scott Walker on Friday, March 11 has many public sector workers around the coun-try worried that this could be the beginning of public unions being dismantled. The bill signed by the governor will eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights from public work-ers. This is an effort from the gov-ernor and other fellow Wisconsin Republicans to reduce government spending. The Wisconsin Governor’s Office could not be reached to receive a statement.

of AFT, but stating his own opinion. There have been protests during the past month in Wisconsin as well as many other states. According to other news sources there was an estimated 180,000 people at a protest in Madison, Wisconsin on March 12. “What you’re seeing here are the beginnings of a fight back” said Kaplan. “It’s not a surprise that the fight back is in Madison.” Along with the protests in Wisconsin, there was a march in Sacramento on Monday with an expected total of 20,000 students from all of California. The march was to show a mass disapproval for budget cuts and the outlawing of public employee unions.

“It worries me. It’s a little fright-ening to see all these states taking shots at unions,” explained Rebecca Webb, a part-time representative for the American Federation of Teach-ers in the San Mateo Community College District. “It doesn’t bode well for the working class. The working class has a foothold in society because of unions,” said Webb. Although there are similar ideas hovering around states such as Ohio and Indiana, some people are not worried about this affecting California. “I don’t think those phanatic republicans have that much of an influence on California,” said AFT Executive Secretary Dan Kaplan. Kaplan was not speaking on behalf

NewsMarch 21, 2011 The SAN MATEAN • Page 3

The San Mateo County disaster warning system proved to be ef-fective on the morning of March 11, after an 8.9 magnitude earth-quake struck Japan and caused a surge of possibly life threaten-ing waves towards the California coast.

Automated calls, text messages and e-mails went out at 4 a.m. warning people of the possible tsunami that was expected to hit the coast of California later that morning.

San Mateo County’s Office of Emergency Services used two dif-ferent systems to warn people of the tsunami. The first, called the Telephone Emergency Notifica-tion System or T.E.N.S., is de-signed to leave automated phone messages to households in case of disaster.

“That message indicated anyone who was receiving the call was in the inundation zone and needed to move to higher ground,” said Jeff Norris, the District Coordinator of Emergency Services with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office. “The inundation zone was already charted and mapped out by the National Oceanic and Atmospher-ic Administration or N.O.A.A. and we can tell precisely where

Tsunami warning system alerts coastKayla Figard

The San Matean

those phones are located.” The message was received by

3,200 telephones on the coastside, said Norris.

The second system, called The San Mateo County Alert system, sent out text messages and e-mail notifications to a group called Coastal Communities, ranging from Pescadero to Daly City. This system works on a sign-up basis. Anyone can sign up for multiple cities and regions, said Norris. The initial message was sent out to 3,905 people.

“We periodically will do rou-tine business using the system so that when we need to use it in an emergency, we are already good at it,” said Norris.

“The County Human Services Agency in cooperation with the American Red Cross are operat-ing four shelters for people who have left the potential inundation area,” said one notification from The SMC Alert system. “The shelters are located at Terra Nova and Oceana High Schools in Pa-cifica, Farallone View Elementary School in El Granada, and Half Moon Bay High School.”

“Because of the shape of the ocean floor, locations a quarter to half a mile island and an addi-tional 50 to 100 feet up hill would be safe from the tsunami,” said Norris.

Many students in the district are residents of Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. Laura Guillera, 19, didn’t have to be evacuated but got a warning from Terra Nova High school, urging her brother to stay home.

“I honestly wasn’t too wor-ried. I remember a tsunami warn-ing when I was 13. I was scared out of my mind then, but nothing happened, so my concern about a tsunami happening is low,” said Guillera, a CSM student and Paci-fica resident. “Plus I live on a big hill, so I don’t know that we’d be too affected.”

Kim Hansford, 19, also found out about the warning from her brother’s school.

“I was kind of surprised that the warnings went all the way out to here, since it wasn’t on Google last night,” said Hansford, a Sky-line student and Pacifica resident. “I was a bit worried because the only way out of town is going down towards the beach, which kind of throws off plans to go any-where when you don’t know if it’s safe to drive down the highway.”

Three and half hours before the tsunami was expected to hit the California coast, the wave hit Alaska and Hawaii. This allowed the Alaskan and Hawaiian warn-ing centers to give California more information about the com-

Continued from Page 1Earthquake

Original Art by Bentana Wilderness AllianceJapan’s tsunami affects the Pacific coasts, including Santa Cruz and Crescent City in California.

ing wave, said Norris. N.O.A.A. was able to figure out

that the wave was losing energy and that it wouldn’t be devastat-ing, but could cause damage. Tsu-nami alarm and emergency broad-cast systems would have begun three hours prior to the wave’s impact.

“Had it been determined that

the situation was life threatening, we would have begun knocking on doors as a last effort to save everyone we possibly could,” said Norris.

In case of future disasters, Nor-ris advises people to sign up for the SMC Alert system by going to www.smcalert.info and www.tsu-namiready.noaa.gov.

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1500 Ralston Avenue, Belmont CA 94002

Earlier this semester a Fire Sci-ence student started a rare Fire Technology club on campus.

There are 55 Fire Technol-ogy Programs in col leges t h r o u g h o u t C a l i f o r n i a and only eight Fire Technol-ogy Clubs within these schools including the addition of CSM’s new Fire Technology club.

The club was organized by Aaron Ramos, graduate of University of San Francisco and current CSM Fire Technology student.

“When I first came here, I couldn’t find the club anywhere. I did some research and found out that a club didn’t even exist and I knew I had to create one,” said Ramos.

Keith Marshall, program director of the Fire Technology program, was all for it.

Donovan GomezThe San Matean

Fire tech club opens“I was enthusiastic about a club

to allow fire students to have a reaching effect into the college and community,” says Marshall. “It’s a great way to get them involved in the community and to improve it as well.”

Ramos said the club informs people on what to do in case of a fire emergency and also ways to prevent them.

“Anyone and everyone are wel-come to join,” said Ramos. “Even if you have the slightest interest in joining, come to one of our meet-ings. You may have a newfound respect on what firefighters really do.”

Although Ramos formed the club, he says there is no one solely in charge.

“There is no specific leader be-cause everyone has an equal say in what we accomplish. This club is one of a kind because there are only seven others in California,” said Ramos.

The Fire Technology club meets every Monday and Wednesday in Bldg. 12 room 101 at 4:30 p.m.

Aaron Ramos

plate bends down, it forms a deep spot on the ocean floor called a trench.

One of the reasons Japan is both seismically and volcanically active is that as a plate move down, the subducting plate, or the one mov-ing down, gets hotter. Heat creates magma, which then rises, Hand continues.

“I am worried about earthquakes in this area. We’re supposed to have the next big one, but we don’t know when,” said Amanda Lee, 19.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of large earthquakes over the next 30 years. Over 5 or 6, something

definitely feel able,” said Hand. “We can’t get a 9.0 on the San

Andreas fault because we are on a different type of plate boundary,” said Hand.

The 1989 Loma Prieta earth-quake was 6.9 and the 1906 earth-quake was 7.8.

The San Andreas Fault rests on the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. The Crystal Springs Reservoir is the boundary for the two plates.

Because of the expectation of future earthquakes with aftershock following, Hand advises every-one to be prepared for upcoming quakes.

• Magnitude 9.0• Tsunami waves up to 33 feet tall• 4,314 confirmed dead, 2,282 injured and 8,606 people missing• Strongest earthquake to hit Japan and fifth strongest recorded• Early estimates of losses are $14.5 to $34.6 billion

—Information courtesy of www.telegraph.co.uk

Earthquake at a glance

sportsPages 4 • The SAN MATEAN March 21, 2011

–Text and photos by Bruno Manriqueof The San Matean

After taking a tough 8-7 loss to Chabot College on Saturday, the CSM baseball team beat confer-ence rival Skyline College 5-0 on Wednesday, March 16.

After both teams were held score-less in the first inning, the Bulldogs scored two runs. Cody Zimmerman lined out to center field, then first baseman Chris Killeen was hit by a pitch.

Killeen came around to score from first base on a double to deep left corner field off of designated hitter Anthony Feliciano.

The next two batters walked to load the bases for right fielder Griffin Kirsch who drove in the second run.

Bulldogs’ starting pitcher Devin Bradley took the mound in the bot-tom of the second, striking out the

Matt FurtadoThe San Matean

Pitching staff shuts out Skyline 5-0first two batters.

Bradley struck out two of the three batters he faced, and after three innings of work he struck out five, giving up a lone hit.

With two outs in the top of the fourth, the game was called into a rain delay as a slight drizzle turned into a steady downpour.

Both head coaches and umpires discussed continuing, but after 30 minutes of waiting to see if the rain would stop, the game was called and scheduled to resume on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

The game picked up in the top of the fourth with two outs and Kirsch ended the inning flying out to right field.

In the bottom half of the inning, CSM head coach Doug Williams sent Josh Fredendall in relief.

“Devin threw 35 pitches yester-day,” said Williams about his deci-sion to bring the sophomore to the

Photo by Marcy Palacios of The San Matean

Starting pitcher Devin Bradley looks in for the sign as the Bull-dogs roll over Skyline College in a 5-0 victory.

hill. “(Devin’s) arm is too valuable to pitch with no rest.”

Fredendall continued where Bradley left off and held the Tro-jans scoreless for the remainder of the game.

“I just came in and pitched to get the win,” said Fredendall. “I was missing on a few pitches, but I just stuck with the fastball.”

Fredendall finished with five strikeouts, giving up three hits and five walks.

The Bulldogs scored three more runs to add some insurance to their lead.

CSM scored five runs on nine hits, while committing two errors. The Trojans were held scoreless on four hits with no errors.

“Both Devin and Josh pitched and executed the game plan well,” said Williams. “We are making progress and pitching well.”

The Bulldogs have won five of

their last six games to put them four games over the .500 mark.

CSM will play its next conference

rival on Thursday, March 24 when they travel to Santa Cruz to take on Cabrillo College at 2:30 p.m.

‘The Triple Threat’

Alyssa JepsenSophomore shortstop/pitcher.442 BA, 28 RBI, 4 HR2010 All-State Selection

Samantha PachecoSophomore first baseman.438 BA, 13 RBI, HR2010 First Team All-Coast North Conference

Lindsay HandyFreshman second baseman/shortstop.449 BA, 19 RBI, 2 HR2010 PAL Bay Division First Team Selection

The CSM softball team has won 12 straight games and now owns the second best win streak in Northern California. These three athletes have led the team in more than just one way.

As a freshman, Alyssa Jepsen led the Bulldogs in bat-ting average, hits, stolen bases and runs scored. This year the 5-foot-7 shortstop has stepped in the realm of pitching, often starting games before ace Callie Pacheco. “Coach calls me the ‘spark plug’ of the team, so when I don’t perform, I need to keep everyone else up,” said Jepsen. “I’ve worked on being more of a vocal leader.” So far, the sophomore out of Notre Dame-Belmont High has delivered, hitting consistently and helping the team with her infield play and constantly improving pitching. Yet while sitting in an 18-5 record and having won 12 straight games, Jepsen wishes she could take back a few games earlier on the season. “Out of our five losses, we could have won three of those games,” she said. “But at the same time it’s a learning experience, we are as good as we are because we learned from those losses.” The toughest loss was a 2-1 loss to undefeated San Joaquin Delta College. Delta pitcher Katie Cotta (11-0) recorded 16 strikeouts in the game, giving the CSM power

Samantha Pacheco has had her ups and downs this season. She hit a .227 average in the first six games of the season in which the Bulldogs went 2-4, but has bounced back to lead the team with a .563 average in conference play after some advice from assistant coach Toby Garza. “After I was struggling, I worked on putting my eye on the ball, I’d adjust the pitching machine and just watch balls go by,” said Pacheco. The advice and practice paid off for Pacheco as the sophomore out of Mills High has had several games where

A first baseman at Hillsdale High, Lindsay Handy has stepped up and beyond the learning curve, playing second base and shortstop positions for the Bulldogs. The 5-foot-10 second baseman showed signs of bril-liance from the start of the season, often drawing praise from teammates and coaches. “I love watching her play,” said head coach Nicole Borg.“She’s just so smooth, so fluid – I hope she’s enjoying her success.” Handy leads the team on batting average and doubles (11). “I wanna keep that consistency throughout the season, hopefully finish the season over .400 batting,” said Handy. Having to learn new plays and situations, Handy has earned a place as a utility starter. “My reflexes and field awareness have gotten better,” she said. Despite Handy’s success, the team struggled early on the season, losing games to Solano, Gavilan, Shasta and playoff rival Cosumnes River College. Since the latter, the Bulldogs have won 16 out of their last 17 games, developing into a force to be reckoned with.

“That is how we plan to take the conference

championship.”she went 3-for-3 at the plate. “We’ve really played together this year, once we figured out how to do that, that is when we started winning,” said Pacheco. A 6-0 conference record keeps CSM atop of the Coast-North Division, with archrival Ohlone College closely trailing in second place after a 3-2 loss to Chabot College. The Bulldogs faced the Gladiators a week after, shutting them out in a 7-0 affair. “A lot of the sophomores had a sore feeling about losing to them last season so we went into that Chabot game like we wanted to murder them.” Pacheco responded to the challenge going 2-for-3 at the plate, recording 10 putouts on defense. The 5-foot-8 first baseman looks to continue her hit-ting prowess and defensive play to lead the Bulldogs to the conference championship. “We’re taking it one team at a time and that is how we plan to take the conference championship,” she said. If everyone is focused in practice and during the game, we should beat all those teams, we have the players to do it.” “Even if I’m not hitting well, there are other ways to contribute to the team, I’ll do what it takes,” added Pacheco.

bats constant headaches. “Their pitcher is just a boss,” said Jepsen. “She’s about 5-foot-5, just a tiny little thing but her riseball and her spins were just ridiculous.” But a close loss to this non-conference opponent has sparked the team to a 12-game win streak. The Bulldogs have made every play since, including five shutout wins and a 51-7 differential. Regardless of the position she plays, one thing is cer-tain – Jepsen leads by example and has been all season long. “We’re the team to beat this season,” she added.

“We are as good as we are because we learned

from those losses.” “We started getting out of the slump at practice,” said Handy. “We just went over the fundamentals and practicing potential situations, talking to each other and getting in the same page.” “We are a tough team to beat when we’re focused,” said assistant coach Toby Garza. “If the defense is doing its job, we can make things happen on offense.”

—Story and photos by Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

“I love watching her play. She’s just so smooth, so fluid.”

sportsMarch 21, 2011

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

The SAN MATEAN • Pages 5

Athletics may take $140 million hit

A late two-run home run by Danielle Brenner helped the CSM softball team edge visiting San Jose City College 7-5 as the team extended its streak to 12 straight wins last Thursday.

The Bulldogs (18-5, 6-0 Coast-North Conference) put up five runs in the third inning before allowing five unearned runs in the last three innings.

After two scoreless innings for both sides, first baseman Samantha Pacheco drove in Callie Pacheco with a single for the first of five runs in the third.

With an eventless fourth inning, the Bulldogs ran into a chaos wall on the fifth and sixth innings, com-mitting errors and giving up scores in passed balls.

In the top of the sixth inning, CSM saw its five-run lead shortened to 5-4 after making several mental mistakes.

“We got a little sloppy with the

Bruno ManriqueThe San Matean

Dogs edge Jags for 12 straight winsball which we hadn’t done at all lately,” said assistant coach Toby Garza. “We’ve been on a roll the last few games and we kind of feel apart today. Unfortunately in a game like softball you can’t always stay hot.”

After leadoff hitter Alyssa Jepsen reached first in a fielder’s choice and a failed bunt attempt by Callie Pacheco, Danielle Brenner stepped to the plate with two outs and hit a two-run home run to give the Bulldogs a 7-4 lead.

“I had the chance to hit that same pitch in my last at bat, so I knew if she made the same mistake I’d be able to hit it where I wanted and I did,” said Brenner.

“Danielle was tremendous,” said Garza. “She handled that situation real well, a lot of people would be nervous on that situation, but she enjoyed it. That was her chance to do something big in the game and she made it happen.”

Though the Bulldogs defense was still shaky in the seventh, it only allowed one run, closing the game with a 7-5 victory over the Jaguars.

Photo by Bruno Manrique of The San MateanDanielle Brenner follows through on her swing as she watches her home run sky up in a 7-5 win over San Jose City College.

Jepsen (8-1) pitched her first complete game of the season, giving up seven hits and striking out four.

“I’m feeling my first complete game all over my body,” said Jep-sen. “I’m sore but my endurance has gotten so much better throughout the season.”

“I have a new found respect for the pitcher position,” added Jepsen. “It means a lot to have your defense play behind you, because you work your butt off to try and get some outs and if the defense is making errors it makes the job much harder.”

The Bulldogs will host Gavilan College on Wednesday at 3 p.m. after a last week postponement.

CSM will play the remaining four innings and hope to avenge a 5-0 early season loss to the Rams.

“We take games one at a time, so this one is done, we’ll put it behind us and focus on the next one,” said Brenner.

“We’re our own worst enemy, we just need to go out there and execute, make no errors and hit the ball hard,” said Brenner.

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The CSM athletic program might suffer part of a $55 million hit which will affect all California Commu-nity Colleges if taxpayers don’t approve the June ballot proposal set by Governor Jerry Brown.

This option is part of a Legisla-tive Analyst’s Office $685 million CCC doomsday scenario which cites a $55 million cut to eliminate funding for intercollegiate athletics courses like sports theory and lab classes (team practice).

“If you cut those classes, you’re cutting the students’ ability to move on and perform at the next level,” said Andreas Wolf, Dean of Athlet-ics, Physical Education and Dance.

“We don’t just teach them how to play the sport; we teach them lead-ership skills – skills that employers often look for,” he said.

Without these classes, student-athletes will be left without com-pensation for their efforts in their athletic endeavor of choice.

These students often spend three to four hours a day between weight training, theory and practice time.

“It would have been hard for me to transfer to the school I wanted if I didn’t have the chance to take those classes,” said O’Koyea Dickson.

Dickson is 2010 baseball Junior College All-American at CSM and first baseman at Sonoma State University.

“These classes taught me how to be a leader out there on the field and lead by example. It also showed me how to have fun and love baseball,” said Dickson.

“I’ve learned a lot about the strategic angles of the game as well as situational thinking,” said sophomore Ashley Rincon, a soft-ball pitcher.

“Aside from that I’ve also gained a lot of respect for the game and time management skills. If I didn’t have athletics to keep me focused I wouldn’t be as good a student as I am,” she said.

Rincon, a Sequoia High gradu-ate had originally planned to go to California State University at

Los Angeles before a last minute change of mind to join the CSM softball program.

“It has been a 100 percent worth it, no, 200 percent worth it,” said Rincon.

CSM has had a long line of gradu-ate student-athletes that have gone on to play professionally, from San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl cham-pion Bill Ring to Boston Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava.

The latter recently became the second player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in his first pitch as a pro and the fourth player to achieve the feat in his first at bat.

“Our success rate for student-athletes is extremely high,” said Wolf. “In the last year we generated $1.5 million in scholarships for our athletes.”

Aside from professional players, CSM also has a wide range of for-mer student-athletes that now coach at the college, such as baseball head coach Doug Williams and softball head coach Nicole Borg.

“I’m a firm believer that there are so many life lessons learned in sports, that it would be so sad to see that being taken away from these kids,” said softball assistant coach Toby Garza.

“To have somebody that has gone here like Nicole (Borg), moved on to a four-year and now coaching this program, it’s a tremendous influence on our athletes and a huge success story,” said Garza.

Several CSM student-athletes come from underrepresented groups, some of which are first-generation college students.

“I hope the legislators see the importance of these courses,” said Wolf. “They don’t understand our environment and demographic, the needs are different in every area.”

This doomsday scenario will not be up for consideration unless Brown’s revenue proposals are rejected by the voters.

“This whole situation can be draconian, it really can,” said Wolf. “I can’t see these courses being cut, they have academic rigor just like a math or science class.”

The LAO also suggested a $55

million cut to eliminate funding for repetition of credit physical educa-tion and fine arts classes as well as a $30 million state funding for noncredit classes in the same fields.

“We are aware that some students aren’t as physically active,” said Wolf. “So if we don’t provide these classes then all of a sudden we’re shipping that burden to the health

care system which is already in massive crisis.”

“The legislators shouldn’t be telling us what to cut,” said Wolf. “Tell us how much we need to cut and we’ll see where we cut from.”

According to a January pro-posed state budget document, for every dollar California spends in education it receives three dollars

in return. In a February 18 CCC budget up-

date, both houses rejected Brown’s proposal to allocate funding reduc-tions through a reform of the census date process.

If taxpayers approve the tax extension in June, a doomsday scenario could be avoided, making the cuts less rigorous.

Feature March 21, 2011Page 6 • The SAN MATEAN

Buzzing under the limit

From upper left counterclockwise: Patrick Carhart drinks beer. So-briety is tested by walking in a line. One participant murders a cone in the multi-point turn. Carhart’s eye move-ment is measured and he is given the breathylizer test.

SONOMA COUNTY – A demonstration was held on Thursday, March 17 at Infi-neon Raceway about the dangers of drinking and driving.

“The message is to realize the level of impairment is well below the legal limit,” said Steve Page, General Manger of Infineon Raceway.

In the past two years, an average of 60 people were injured in 118 alcohol-related accidents on St. Patrick’s Day, according to CHP.

The following tests were administered both before and after consumption: two road tests and a multi-point turn. They were first completed sober to measure skills. Two beers were consumed before the sobriety test.

With the first test, eyes were watched for uncontrolled movement. Next, the officer instructed participants to lift one foot six inches above the ground and count until instructed to stop. The final test consisted of the participant walking in a straight line for nine steps and turning around. The officer stated most of individuals would already be given a DUI.

Driving tests were re-administered. Instructors noted many drivers braked prior to changing lanes and completed tasks more quickly and less carefully. The multi-point turn was an utter failure.

Many students reported experience with a friend driving under the influence or receiving a DUI. “If someone gets a DUI, it should depend on what they did and their tolerance,” said Grace Trang, 18.

Even with a BAC of 0.049, impairment was felt. The tests confirmed that even after two drinks, recklessness can be had behind the wheel.

Student helps create first Muslim disabled superheroYasmine Mahmoud

The San Matean

CSM student Sarah Funes par-ticipated in an Open Hands project in Syria where she helped produce the comic,“The Silver Scorpion,” about the first Muslim disabled superhero in the Middle East in the summer of 2010.

Funes, 19, a Political Science and International Relations major and has always participated in disability activism. She has limited use of her left side from a brain tumor, causing learning disabilities and vision issues.

Funes applied for the Open Hands Initiative Youth Ability Summit

in April 2010. The Open Hands Initiative was created in 2009 and includes U.S., Syria and Pakistan.

Funes competed with disabled applicants all over the world and

was one of ten chosen to participate in the project.

“I was at Tanforan Mall and I said, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to Syria!’ It was a totally surreal moment,”

said Funes.Funes left for “The Silver Scor-

pion” project summer 2010 and stayed in Syria for four days. She brought Michaela Sullivan, an assistive technician and speech communication specialist along for her journey.

The Youth Ability Summit, run by Victor Pineda, a champion of disability rights, was intended to extend hands to the Middle East through the youth of many countries. Funes said that it was beyond youth with disabilities, and was meant to encourage solidarity throughout the world.

“[Sarah] is knowledgeable, enthusiastic, talking to other stu-

—Text by Rachel Nielsen and Patrick Carhart —Photos by Rachel Nielsen

Photo courtesy of Sarah Funes

Illustrations of Bashir Bari from comic, “The Silver Scorpion.”

dents about advocacy …and very proactive about getting things done worldwide,” said Sue Roseberry, Alternate Media Service Provider at CSM.

“The Silver Scorpion” features Muslim and disabled character Bashir Bari, a young man who is injured in an explosion and loses his legs.

While some may believe that disability is a hindrance, Funes and those involved in the Open Hands Initiative do not believe so.

“Disability transcends all barri-ers, sexual orientation, race…we are all a part of a global community. We all have the same wants and needs as everyone else,” said Funes.

Campus LiFe The SAN MATEAN • Page 7March 21, 2011

Campus SpotlightName: Mike SansoeAge: 28Title: Assistant Baseball Coach.

SM: Where did you play college baseball at?MS: Saint Mary’s College. SM: What position did you play?MS: Mostly center field, but I did play all of the outfield positions.

SM: How did you get a coaching job at CSM?MS: I met coach Williams through a friend and we became good friends right away. I liked the way he coached and I am glad that I can be a part of such a great program.

SM: When did you first realize you had a chance at playing professional baseball?MS: During my senior year at Saint Mary’s. I was never a good hitter in my career until one of my coaches helped me change my swing and he ended up changing my career. I felt more confident at the plate and that’s when scouts started to notice me and I thought to myself that I could do some-thing with this.

SM: Where were you when you first heard that the San Diego Padres se-lected you in the 18th round and what were your emotions like then?MS: I was in my apartment at Saint Mary’s watching the draft online. I was excited because not everyone gets the chance to play baseball at the profes-sional level. As kids we dream of playing baseball when we’re older, but to actually do it, felt good.

SM: How is it moving up the ranks from single A all the way to the majors? MS: It is not as glorified as it seems. It’s a business, if someone gets hurt you have to step up because there are so many other guys trying to reach the same goal that you are. I played well and got lucky because some guys got injured.

SM: Is it rough traveling everywhere?MS: I got used to it. It became a lifestyle for me because I could be playing

Photo by Donovan Gomez of The San MateanMike Sansoe

Yuliya Gergi, 25Anthropology, Ukraine

“Punch it and kick it.”

What if you saw a leprechaun?In the Mix

By Matt Furtado

Joel Simon, 19Undecided, Millbrae

“I would ask for a wish.”

Nick Vasquez, 19Psychology, Redwood City

“I’d catch him and get his pot of gold.”

Cory Wong, 19Computer Engin., Burlingame

“I wouldn’t do anything.”

Jeff Stanley, 20Political Science, San Carlos

“I would probably kick it.”

London provides opportunity to study abroadVarsha Ranjit

The San Matean College of San Mateo will be

offering yet another exciting oppor-tunity for students to study abroad starting Fall 2011 in London, Eng-land through the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS).

This study abroad program al-lows students to earn college credit while living and studying in another country.

Professor Beth Harrison will be attending this year’s study abroad program in London and is look-ing forward to teaching literature courses in England. Having had

traveled overseas as well, Harrison encourages students to attend the trip.

“The importance of studying abroad is how exciting it is; stu-dents are able to have a real hands on learning experience,” Harrison said.

This year’s program will offer CSM courses mainly focusing on literature.

“We’ll be studying British au-thors such as Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. What better place to learn about Shakespeare than in England?”

Harrison also mentions that past students and alumni who had at-

tended previous trips remain good friends even after the semester is over. Students even organized re-unions because of the friendships made over the course of these trips.

Student Nikko Saraos attended the London conference last se-mester in fall 2010, and keeps in contact with friends he made over his trip.

“We’re all close friends and still try to see each other,” Saraos said.

Saraos took classes such as art history, Introduction to Shake-speare, and math courses also taught by CSM Professor Michael Burke. The British Life & Culture class is his favorite because learning more

about London made all the differ-ence to his experience.

“It was the best 3 months of my life,” Saraos reflects. “If students have the chance to go, they should take advantage of it.”

AIFS organizes several trips for junior colleges and selected state colleges alike to offer travel op-portunities for students. Scholar-ships are available for all students wishing to attend, but early applica-tions are recommended and highly beneficial.

Upcoming programs include trips to Florence, Italy in Spring 2012 the and Barcelona, Spain in Fall 2012.

Photo courtesy of Beth Harrison

Big Ben illuminated in London.

here one day and leaving the next. At first it was rough not knowing what hotel you’re going to stay in or what diner you’re going to eat at, but in the end it’s the same game, just new city.

SM: Why did you decide to come and coach at CSM?MS: I liked the way the program was headed. You get to spend a lot of time with these kids and know them on a personal level. I like to teach them as much as I can and giving back to the kids feels great. They’re at such a young age and are eager to learn the game and I’m glad that I can help.

SM: What are your best memories as a coach?MS: Last year seeing those kids make it all the way to the final four in Fresno was amazing. Seeing them getting to celebrate at home was a good feeling, too. They all worked their butts off and it payed off. They were the center of atten-tion and it was fun to be around a winning environment.

–– Donovan GomezThe San Matean

opiNioN & pubLiC Forum March 21, 2011Page 8 • The SAN MATEAN

editorial

Wrap it up

The San MaTean is a First Amendment newspaper published bi-weekly during the academic year by the Journalism 120, 300, 690 and 850 students at College of San Mateo as a medium for campus communication and laboratory for classes. Opinions, letters and commentary reflect only the opinion of the writer, and not necessarily the opinion of The San MaTean. Letters to the Editor and opinion articles are welcome, although they may be edited for style, space, content and libel. Mail or deliver letters to Building 19, Room 123, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402.

Telephone: 650-574-6330. E-mail: [email protected]. All letters must be signed and accompanied by phone numbers or addresses to verify authorship. Names may be withheld upon request. Advertising that conforms to San Mateo County Community College District regulations is welcome. The San MaTean reserves the right to refuse advertising. Single copies are free —additional copies 25 cents each.

the saN mateaN is printed thanks to a generous donation of printing services by the San Francisco Newspaper Company

and John P. Wilcox, President and Publisher.

adviSer: Ed Remitz

adverTiSing: Melissa Berger(415) 359-2721 • [email protected]

California College

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CollegeMember ofCaliforniaNewspaperPublishersAssociation

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Colleges

Back Talkby Matt Furtado

STaff:Amy Black, Estrella Benavides, Khiry Crawford, Donovan Gomez,

Kyle Laplante, Alexandra Lujan, Yasmine Mahmoud, Andrew O’Melveny, Manuel Orbegozo, Marcy Palacios,

Chris Palomarez, Petero Qauqau, Varsha Ranjit, Tatianna Smith

MaTT furTado

maNagiNg editor

Bruno Manrique

sports editor

rachel nielSen

VisuaLs editor

JeSSica riTTer

exeCutiVe editor

Kayla figard

editor

Will henneSSey

Copy editor

Founded in 1924

San MateanTHE

STD tests are among the many services the Health Center offers but few students utilize the service. The Health Center experienced a slight increase in STD tests after their Valentine’s Day condom flower promo-tion said Sharon Bartels, R.N., F.N.P.

She also added that the test costs $40 if students have health insur-ance, but if they belong to Fampack, a government provided health cov-erage, the test is free and they help students register.

In 2008 California alone had 4835 new AIDS diagnoses according to the statistics given on the Centers for Disease Control website. They also estimate that there are nearly 19 million new cases of STDs each year. Even with all the promotional advertisements warning about the risks of contracting the infection people still engage in risky behavior. The tests take less time than most people spend on the Internet and is relatively painless considering the potential pain and suffering of mis-carriages and birth defects caused by untreated STDs.

People are still not bothering to worry about the chance of infection. Break the cycle and practice safe love. Remember that services are available in case of any doubt.

Guest opinion

Some of you may remember this time last year as the time when college students were wet n’ wild about standing up against the budget cuts. All over the place you could find teach-ins and rallies. The March in March saw thousands of students, many from CSM, demonstrating in the Bay Area and at the capital.

But this year, there was little ballyhoo to get students riled up. Cañada Strikes Back, a very ac-tive anti-budget cut club, even dis-appeared because there were hardly any motivated members left.

Last year, the ASCSM funded the rental of buses to transport CSM protestors to the march.

This year, not even a flier was handed out to pro-mote demonstrations.

So what happened?Due to discord within the Student Senate for

California Community Colleges, a regional student government organization, no plans could be firmly established.

Because there was too much bickering over meeting procedures and power grabs the SSCCC waited too long to begin the process of mass ral-lying.

Permits to protest arrived late, giving student government groups little time to rally their stu-

ASCSM missing in action

How are you prepared for an earthquake?

Dennis DeRosas, 42Business, Daly City

“I’m not even thinking about it.”

Melissa Torrigino, 21Campus Coffee Sales, Pacifica

“I volunteer at the Red Cross, so they have prepared me for an emergency.”

Andrea Chan, 19Psychology, Millbrae

“I have a lot of canned food at home.”

Ryan Cook, 23Civil Engineering, Burlingame

“My family has talked about what to do in the past.”

Danny Godfrey, 22Criminal Justice, Union City

“I’m not at all. Just what they taught me in middle school, to duck and cover under the desk.”

Adam Aguirre, 32Pharmacology, San Jose

“I have water, a flashlight, cell phone and an emergency radio app.”

erin BroWner

seNior staFF writer

PaTricK carharT

oNLiNe editor

Extend taxes or ... else

Modesto Junior College, like CSM, faces millions of dollars in bud-get cuts for the next academic year.

Many of the college’s programs that were once very popular are being completely cut, such as the mass communications department. This will be the end for majors in film, TV, radio, and journalism.

“Given the governor’s proposed cuts, the district looked at the worst case scenario and we would have to cut $13.5 million,” said Nick Stavr-ianoudakis, Director of Public Affairs for the Yosemite Community College District.

Students gathered at Modesto Junior College on March 9 to speak out against the cuts. “Every item that was on the proposal had speakers to represent,” said Linda Flores, Chair of the Yosemite Community Col-lege District Board of Trustees.

Still, it remains up to the voters. If the voters do not pass the tax in-crease in June, there will be a $685 million hit to California Community Colleges.

“Let’s say the June ballot passes and less than $13.5 million get’s cut. Depending on what savings we have, it will go back to each college to decide which programs will be restored,” said Stravrianoudakis.

With $8 million in cuts for the San Mateo community colleges pro-posed for the next academic year, one can only hope that CSM’s fate will not be as bad as Modesto’s might turn out. Though it’s good to protest at the community college level, we need to take it a step further. The community colleges are going to have to make cuts somewhere regardless if they want to or not.

“This is a very difficult situation, but we need to know that we are ready,” said Flores.

We need to convince California voters that these programs are im-portant and that by accepting a tax extension, they can help save many programs. If we can convince the voters, we might still have a chance to save important programs for our school.

dents.Along with our sister colleges, ASCSM decided not

to join the march this year, largely due to this lack of coordination and the uncertainty of student participa-tion.

With its own internal clashes, ASCSM focused more on arguing about what type of hats to get for President’s Day instead of organizing students for these rallies.

A protest is only as strong as the mo-tivations behind it. Only through the path of persistence can change come. Yet we find our-selves these days facing struggles with expectations of immediate grati-

fication, These days, our protests are like the fires at the tip of

the match. They’re strong and hot for a second before they are extinguished by the wind.

What we have to do is start looking at the issues at hand in depth.

Not only showing up at the capital, but become part of the legislation processes.

We have to douse the house with kerosene, let it sink in, and then set it ablaze. We must create a fire that truly burns, unlike the match.

—Jeffrey GonzalezCSM Student Senator

“A protest is only as strong as the

motivations behind it. ”– Jeff Gonzalez