A family of six Pakistani-American Muslims will take the stage at American River College for the school’s second theater produc-

tion of the semester, “The Domestic Crusad-ers.” The play touches on many subjects that are controversial and shows how the family reacts to the all of those topics.

The six actors are still working hard to per-fect their performance. Rehearsals start with Sam Williams, the director, leading the cast members through some stretches as he talks about how the rehearsal is going to proceed. As they run through rehearsals, the actors minimally ask for their lines and only seem to be working out minor kinks.

Charles David Souther plays Hakib, the grandfather. “When I was a kid I used to act, but then I kind of got spun off of it because I was too cool,” said Souther. He started acting again when he came to ARC two years ago and this will be his first production at ARC. “I pull all the history of the family together,” said Souther about his role.

“I’m kind of like the cornerstone of the family. I see all their problems, I see what’s going on, all the prejudices against all the

A LOOKINSIDE 4 11TEAM SUCCESS

ARCurrent.com

@ARCurrent

Vol. 64, Ed. 5 • Nov. 21, 2012

6 DITCH THE PUMPHEAD TO HEAD

Facebook.com/ARCurrentcom

American River College sports teams pre-pare for their chance at championships.

The Current’s Jeff Gonzales and Garitt Rocha ar-gue the pros and cons of Disney buying Lucasfilm.

Alternative modes of transportation are a good way to save money and possibly our economy.

american river

current

SCENE

SEE GOLD, PAGE 10

By Steven Paxiaopaxiaos@imail.losrios.edu

The Golden State has struck gold fever again.

California has long been known for the rich content

of its soil, but with gold selling at just over $1700 an ounce, people are once again pan-ning for profit.

“A lot of it has to do with uncertainties of currency, but also people who are selling gold are planning on people’s fear to want to stockpile gold for the collapse,” said Ameri-can River College Geology Professor Glen

Jaecks. “Then they’ll have gold while the price goes up or down.”

This wouldn’t be possible if the value of gold hadn’t increased substantially over the past decade. Since 2002, the price of gold has gone from $317 in 2002 to cur-rently just over $1700, with it reaching as high as $1900 just last year, according to goldprice.org.

There are many factors to why the price has raised so much, but the most relevant reason has to do with the value of money and the fact that gold becomes more valu-able as the scarcity of it grows.

“Gold is a precious metal and there isn’t much that can be done to gold,” said ARC Earth Science Professor Lisa Levy. “It’s always been worth a lot of money because of how scarce it is.”

The current prices are not the only things opening eyes of investors; the predictions for the coming year are opening them even wider. Global Hunter Securities, an investment bank which focuses on Metals and Mining, raised its gold price average for the next two years on Oct. 24 and said that it could surpass $2000 an ounce as early as next year.

Photo illustration by Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

ARC players don’t get a kick out of soccer fieldsPOOR PITCH QUALITY HAS FACULTY AND TEAMS PUSHING FOR CHANGESBy Jessica Maynardmaynarj@imail.losrios.edu

American River College has a modern stadium, gyms and playing fields. The football field has high quality turf,

the baseball and softball diamonds are maintained regularly and the tennis courts and basketball gyms have been recently renovated.

The soccer fields, however, haven’t been treated with the same respect as other facilities on campus.

“I’ve been here since 1993 and we’re still playing on the same field,” said Paul Arellanes, women’s head soccer head coach.

The soccer fields that matches are played on are also used for practice by other teams as well as physical education classes. The field conditions are beyond poor. According to players and coaches, there are mud patches, divots and holes in the ground that have been filled with sand. This field issues cause players to lose confidence at times.

“I feel like we’re not taken seriously when we play at home because we’re not as professional as the other teams,” said Nicole Lopes, women’s soccer forward.

Twisted ankles and knees are common among players according to Lopes, who sustained a knee injury earlier this season.

Even before facing dangers on the field,

SEE SOCCER, PAGE 2

Behind the scenes of ‘Domestic Crusaders’

SIX-PERSON CAST OF ARC’S DRAMATIC-COMEDY GIVE INSIGHT TO PAKISTANI-AMERICAN CHARACTERS IN POST-9/11 WORLD

By Cintia Lopezlopez22@imail.losrios.edu

SEE CRUSADERS, PAGE 7

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

Charles David Souther, left, who plays Hajib, the old man of the family in the play. Bhargav Kothi, right, plays Ghafur, the youngest of the family in the play.

NEWS

THEATER PREVIEW

PANNING FOR THE PRECIOUS METAL FOUND IN SACRAMENTO RIVERS

INCREASES IN POPULARITY

TWENTY FIRST CENTURY

GOLD RUSH

players are asked to help set the field up for the match.

Before each game, members of the soccer teams help set up the field. They attach flags to the back of a John Deere Gator and use it as a makeshift fence. They use laminated cards as their scoreboards and neither field has a game clock set up, which leaves it up to the head official to keep track of the time on their watch.

The football team practices to the left of the makeshift fence, so things can get hectic espe-cially when both soccer teams host matches on the same day according to multiple players and coaches.

“Their kickers are right next to us, so their footballs get kicked onto our field during our games,” said Lopes. “When we’re trying to play or are having a serious talk at halftime, they’re (the foot-ball team) over there with their

whistles going off and coaches are yelling, so it’s distracting.”

The women’s soccer team finished the season with a record of 11-5-3 and won their first playoff match on Nov. 17 versus Ohlone College 2-0. The men’s soccer team finished with a record of 8-10-3 and failed to reach the playoffs.

The poor conditions haven’t gone unnoticed. In February 2013, the Big 8 Conference Executive Board will vote to build a multiuse athletic facility used by the soccer teams and the physical education classes.

Greg Warzecka, interim athletic director, has a few ideas in mind for the field if the measure passes.

“The transformation will include brand new irrigation sys-tems; you can’t grow grass without good water,” said Warzecka. “It will probably be some sort of hybrid Bermuda grass; hybrid turf (which) is very resilient and also

grows well in the heat.”If passed, the measure will see

the facility construction begin to take place starting in 2014.

When asked about a soccer facility being built, women’s soccer defender Nicole Alberghini put it

best. “We spend so much time out

here, it’s disgusting and it’s kind of sad,” Alberghini said. “Just the aspect of having your own field, you will feel like you’re in your own space.”

The Associated Student Body briskly moved through the agenda for the Thursday, Nov. 8 meet-ing. With minimal discussion, the pace allowed for a productive meeting where all agenda items were covered, marking a first for the semester.

As the representatives of ASB Senate get used to the processes and procedures that are required in the meetings, senators seem to have more time to get things done. The backlog of old business that seemed to always be pushed back due to time was cleared. This, along with recently ratified

bylaws and a new constitution, demonstrates the determination of the American River College ASB.

With all the seats at the senate meeting table full, each meeting has more and more representa-tives signing up for the various committees that are authorized through the Student Senate By-laws and Constitution.

One such committee is the Sustainability Committee. With interest in making American River College a more self-sustaining place, representatives on this committee have been looking into more efficient ways the campus could recycle as well as conduct-ing a smoking survey with the students of ARC.

“We’re finally making it happen on campus,” said ASB Senator Brandon January. As a member of the sustainability committee, January has had the opportunity to visit other college campuses around the northern California. “I went to Riverside, which is a smoke free campus. It was nice to see the difference. It was a lot cleaner and the air was fresher.”

Another committee that could have an impact to all students is the Textbook Affordability Committee, known as TAC. The TAC had their first meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 14. This infor-mal meeting addressed what the TAC can accomplish and what goals they have to help students.

With many goals in mind for the campus and still feeling the effects of the ARC senate’s version of a fiscal crisis, the ASB Senate was able to discuss some much needed expenditure. These included everything from $6,000 for the March in March to spend-ing $74.45 to purchase a new gavel for meetings.

The ASB was also present on Club Day on Thursday, Nov. 15, participating in the activities of the day and showing their support for the various clubs of ARC. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 29 from 10:30 a.m. until noon in room 611 in the portable village.

Page 2 NewsNov. 21, 2012

Editor-in-ChiefJosh Baumbach

Managing EditorSteven Paxiao

News EditorSergio Portela

Sports EditorJessica Maynard

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Cintia Lopez

Scene EditorMayra Sanchez

Opinions EditorJaime Carrillo

Photo EditorDaniel Romandia

Web EditorCarlos Guerrero

Assistant Web EditorKorbl Klimecki

Media EditorLance Gawthrop

Social Media DirectorShelby Young

Copy ChiefCody Alexander

Design EditorMegan Houchin

Feature Design EditorSteven Condemarin

DesignerSarah Scott

Staff Writers

Jeff GonzalesTrevor HornAlisha KirbyCarla Manes

Michael PachecoAlex Panasenko

Garitt RochaSharon Styles Olesya Sytnyk

Dakota Williams

Staff PhotographersBryce FraserAshley King

Stephanie Lee

AdviserTim Swanson

Photo AdviserJill Wagner

PROUD MEMBERS OF THE CNPA & JACC

POLICYThe Current is produced by the students of Newspaper Production, J402. All opinions are signed and not necessarily endorsed by the Current staff. All letters and articles appearing in the Editorial, Opinion or Forum sections are not necessarily representative of the Current staff or American River College policy. All articles are the property of the Current. Please go online at arcurrent.com to see the full text of criteria and guidelines for submissions. Letters must be typed and can be submitted by mail, e-mail or in person at the following addresses:

The American River Current4700 College Oak DriveLiberal Arts, Room 120Sacramento, CA 95841Phone: 916-484-8304Fax: 916-484-8668E-mail: Current@arc.losrios.eduwww.ARCurrent.com

ASB MOVES FORWARD WITH NEW CONSTITUTION AND COMMITTEESASBNOTEBOOK

Stephanie Lee / lees87@im

ail.losrios.edu

Since 1993, the ARC’s women’s soccer team has played on the muddy fields next to the softball diamond. They are hoping for construction on a new field to begin in 2014.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

By Jeff Gonzalesgonzalj68@imail.losrios.edu

Soccer: athletes hope for renovation

Los Rios to see increased fundsARC students react after Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax plan wins with 53.9 percent of vote

Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax plan, passed 53.9 percent to 46.1 percent on Nov. 7.

The plan known as the “schools and local public safety protection act” creates four sepa-rate tax brackets for high-income families who make $250,000 a year and higher, as well as raising sales tax from 7.25 to 7.5 per-cent. The purpose of these taxes is to apply them to funding for education.

The Los Rios school district will be affected greatly by Propo-sition 30 passing. It will see $2 million dollars in growth and res-toration, which will allow them to serve 10,000 more students on their campuses in 2012-2013. It will also add back 50 classroom faculty that includes adjunct and overload by 2013-2014, which will help with the growing num-ber of students coming into the

college. Los Rios will also be able to hire 16 non-faculty personnel and will have no salary rollbacks.

“Schools need funding des-perately,” said Brandon Brown, a math major. “If we didn’t pass it, the schools would have taken a huge hit.”

Some other American River College students went to social media outlets to voice their opinions and frustrations on this important proposition.

English and theater arts major Rachel Peterson at the time thought Proposition 30, which was at 20 percent reported, was doomed to fail as it was far behind in the polls.

“Proposition 30. I felt that,” Peterson said on her Facebook page. As her friends with the same disbeliefs voiced their frus-trations on her status.

“I felt it is extremely beneficial to the education system – not only for myself as a student, but to all teachers and classrooms throughout California,” said Peterson. “If we are not able to reach into our pockets and help

the general good of educating the future generations then it shows a major lack of judgment and priority within our state.”

A lot of people thought Proposition 30 was doomed to fail because the “No on 30” campaign began pushing hard, with beliefs of raising taxes for anything is too risky even for education’s sake.

But ARC students including Christian Castaneda, an engi-neering major, felt like taxes are necessary.

“It probably is too much of a tax,” said Castaneda, “but my education is a priority and if they raise the taxes more, well, they will use it for other things. Why not for school as well.”

When Proposition 30 was finally passed on Nov. 7, Peterson was able to breath a sigh of relief.

“I felt the people had voted with thoughts other than how it would affect them personally and more so how it could positively affect our education system,” said Peterson.

By Carlos Guerrero & Sergio Portelaguerrecg@imail.losrios.edu portels@imail.losrios.edu

IN GROWTH & RESTORATION

$2 MILLION

10,000MORE STUDENTS SERVED

66PERSONNEL ADDED BACK

PROPOSITION

WHAT IT MEANS FOR LRCCD

Imagine yourself standing in line outside of your neigh-borhood Wal-Mart, prepar-ing yourself to purchase that low-priced LED TV you saw in the paper last week. You do this with a stomach stuffed with turkey because this year, stores like Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Target and Sears are opening at 8 p.m., turning that Thanksgiving din-ner into more of a late lunch.

Since you’re standing in line, people tend to try and start conversations and get into your space. They tend to ask you questions like, “Hey, what are you here for?”

A nervous smile to appease the person in your space and a brief “I don’t know” will suf-fice. In the back of your mind, we know there is not a desire to hold a conversation, so the Current has a survival guide for those long waits next to the people you don’t want to wait next to in those Black Friday lines.

First things first, it’s going to be cold, so make sure you button up. A thermal would be nice, along with a pullover sweater and topped off with a nice, warm jacket. A beanie could also be a possibility, but

hand-warmers are a must.If there is not going to

be any company on your voyage, then earbuds are mandatory. Even if you do not have an iPod or smart-phone and if you don’t buy one of these things on Black Friday, wear earbuds anyway. When wearing earbuds, people will think you are listening to music - even if you’re not. It gives you a chance to ignore others.

There have been reports about people getting out of hand in those Black Friday lines. A stun-gun is a useful tool, just in case someone in line tries to cause trouble.

If energy is what you need for your device, then pack a portable solar panel that can be purchased on Amazon. These micro solar panels are brilliant and will allow you to plug in your smart devices to maintain a steady charge, so that you can Facebook stalk as long as you want.

Bring along a self-help book that is filled with words of encouragement or download a Tai chi instrumental CD to keep you in good spirits – you’re going to need it to keep

you calm while waiting.Lastly, and most importantly,

don’t forget your cash and credit card. You can bank on the fact

that there will be many things you would love to buy, so don’t forget extra cash for the upcom-ing holidays.

Page 3News Nov. 21, 2012

INBRIEFLOS RIOS CRIME REPORTS

According to Los Rios Police Depart-ment crime reports for October 2012, petty theft is up 280 percent. Most of the things stolen include electronics such as cell phones and laptops.Visit ARCurrent.com for the full report.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT/TALENT SHOWMy Night Out, first annual Christmas

pageant and talent show, is “designed to delight the hearts of disabled students throughout the Sacramento region,” as the information pamphlet says.It will take place at the Roberson

Center on Dec. 8, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance or $30 at the door. For more information, call (407) 253-6247

LIFE CYCLES: ISSUES WITH YOUR AGING PARENT“These discussions focus on how

to balance your own life and remain supportive to your parents’ aging process,” the announcement says. “Additionally, Life Cycles provides guid-ance towards understanding your role as a caregiver, insight into the stages your parents might experience, how to evaluate proper care for these stages, and how not to lose yourself in the process. “It will take place at the CTL Conference

Room on Nov. 26, 2012 from noon to 1 p.m.

GRAMMAR BOWLThere will be a Grammar Bowl in Raef

Hall room 160 on Nov. 29 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. As the announcement says, “Teams

from the ENGWR 51 classes of Profes-sor Arlene Clarke, Professor Mary Lou Nugent, and Professor Lyn Case will be competing in a demonstration of their knowledge of grammar.”

MUSICIt’s that time of the year soon and

ARC Orchestra’s annual holiday concert with new and traditional music of the season will take place at American River College Theater on Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $10 and $5 for students.For more information, please contact

Dr. Thompson at 484-8368.

SEMESTER ENDSThe last day of finals is Dec. 20,

2012.

n

n

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In Volume 64, Edition 4 of the American River Current, the following corrections are listed:

CORRECTIONS

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

By Lance Gawthropgawthrl@imail.losrios.edu

Back in black Helpful hints for surviving this year’s holiday sales

An illustration of The Current Black Friday Survival guide covered in coupons, scissors on the left that were used to cut out coupons and earbuds to the right, which is one of the things the guide says to bring with you on Black Friday.

Not all fun in video games

Death threats, crude remarks and thinking best reserved for the ‘50s. Women have been in the middle of some of the gaming indus-try’s biggest controversies in this past year.

Feminist Anita Sarkeesian experienced this when she wanted to create a YouTube series on sexist tropes in video games and became the victim of that same aggressive harass-ment. Jennifer Hepler, writer of the “Dragon Age” series and the online role-playing game “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” had a similar experience when she suggested adding an option to skip gameplay for a more story-rich experience and received death threats because of it.

The video game industry has a follow-ing that hangs on rumors and whispers from any website that has even the smallest amount of credibility. So when two mem-bers of the team behind “Halo 4,” head of 343 Industries Bonnie Ross and Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, recently stated that they would issue lifetime bans to anyone who makes a sexist remark to members of the opposite sex while playing the game, waves of gamers took their word for it.

Microsoft was quick to shutdown the ru-mors, stating that they wouldn’t be handing down any lifetime bans, but it still begs the question: has harassment towards women become so widespread that lifetime bans should be issued?

“I hope that they can keep up with (the ban), ‘cause I know that other people have experienced (harassment) with actual rude, sexist comments and things like that,” said

business major Hannah Utterback. “I think it’s a good thing that they are doing that.”

The problem with harassment in video games is that it is hard to document. With many people not reporting it or even turning a blind eye, individuals who have these expe-riences just deal with them.

“It’s one of those things we don’t talk about,” said biology major Elizabeth Bel-mont, whose boyfriend didn’t even know about some of her more awkward experi-ences.

Belmont had some incidences while play-ing the popular “World of Warcraft” online PC game. While playing with a male member in a group she had joined, the person would hit on her consistently. The situation became uncomfortable when the player asked Bel-mont to send him inappropriate pictures,

at which point Belmont logged. When she reported this to the leader of the group, she was accused of overreacting.

“Basically, he didn’t accept that ‘no’ meant ‘no,’” said Belmont, “and since he helped start (the group), the guild (leader) wouldn’t do anything.”

Not every girl gamer has the same experi-ence playing games online. Many factors, including the game and the individual toler-ance of the gamer, all come into play. Yet even those female players who say they have not been harassed know of someone who has, but don’t agree with a lifetime ban.

“A lifetime ban is pretty harsh,” said Eng-lish major Sam Bennett. “I mean you pay so much for the console and the game. Maybe a (shorter) ban but lifetime is pretty harsh.”

By Jeff Gonzales & Garitt Rochagonzalj68@imail.losrios.edurochag@imail.losrios.edu

Issues of harassment towards female gamers arise after rumors of lifetime bans in ‘Halo 4’

Photo courtesy to Gamerlim

it.com

Women who play online video games sometimes face harassment solely because of their gender.

In the Briefs section, the story about a record set by Transfer Day should say seven CSU campuses instead of 29.

In the Scene section, in the Q&A with Brian Knirk, the paragraph with general information should say “two semesters at Oak Café,” not one semester.

On page three, the “Monster En-ergy” article on the fourth paragraph, Dr. Marie A. Shirmer agrees with Barry Meier when it should say disagrees.

On page six, the Feature story “Make Believe Time,” one quote is attributed to the Director Andrew Scott Ramsey when it should have been attributed to Phillip Frields.

n

The temperatures are drop-ping and the stakes are rising, meaning the American River College athletic department is gearing up for the Northern California playoffs and State championships.

FootballFor the first time since

1967, the American River College football team clinched the Valley Confer-ence title with a 52-13 win over Sierra College on Nov. 10 at Beaver Stadium.

The Beavers will travel to San Francisco on Nov. 24 to play in the San Francisco City College Bowl in a rematch with City College of San Francisco. The Rams defeated ARC 52-33 on Sept. 29, end-ing a 22-game win streak for the Beavers.

The winner will advance to the California College Athletic Association Football State Championship game on Dec. 1 at the home site of the Southern California champion.

Following an 11-0 season in 2011, the Beavers moved up to the “A” tier in com-munity college football this season with a Valley title and a shot at the state champion-ship as goals.

“For the first time in the conference, we really stepped up big,” ARC Head Coach Jerry Haflich said.

Despite a two-game losing streak, including the confer-ence opener at San Joaquin Delta on Oct. 13, the Beavers won three straight games heading into the season finale.

“The chance to get another shot is good,” said Haflich.

The Beavers’ dominating performance against Sierra has given players an added

boost of confidence going into the title game.

“I think we have the ad-vantage with how we played in this one and how we have finished lately,” sophomore safety Zane Petty said. “We are going to come in way ready and not start out slow.”

Women’s Soccer After a strong regular

season, the ARC women’s soccer team finished with an overall record of 11-5-3 and a division record of 7-4-3. The team looks to make a run during the playoffs.

Despite finishing the season with back-to-back ties against division rivals Cosumnes River College (1-1) and San Joaquin Delta College (3-3), the team and Head Coach Paul Arellanes have a positive outlook for the post season.

“There’s not a team out there that I have seen that is better than us. We just have to play well on our day,” said Arellanes. “It’s like I told them, ‘we don’t have to be the best team in the state, we just have to be the best team on the field.’”

The women have had strong showings by sopho-more goalie Heather Deros-sett, who allows a little over a goal a game, as well as fresh-men forwards Alexis Wallace (nine goals and six assists) and Ceci Velasquez, who led the team in goals (11 goals and three assists).

The Big 8 conference sent seven of its eight teams to the playoffs this season, including the Beavers who are ranked No. 15 in the state and No. 17 in the nation.

“I always tell people (Big 8 is) the best conference in the state,” said Arellanes.

The women kicked off the postseason at home versus Ohlone College on Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.

Volleyball Dominant performances

throughout the season have helped ARC claim the No. 4 seed in the NorCal playoffs.

In the past 10 regular sea-son games, the women have gone 8-2. During the streak, the Beavers beat division rival and state-ranked No. 14 Sierra College.

“The biggest advantage this team has is they’re extremely motivated and that’s hard to find in November,” Head Coach Ashlie Hain said.

Sophomore Bailey Humes has led the offensive attack for the women. She has tallied 486 assists that have led to kills this season. Katie Christ-ner leads the team in kills; she accounts for 242 of the 665 the team has had. Nicole Hareland leads the team in blocks with 24 and Hillary Horton has 182 digs.

“If we could serve harder and get the ball to Nicole Hareland a little more often, she’s pretty unstoppable,” said Hain.

The team finished the sea-son ranked No. 7 in the state. The team will host the first two-playoff matches of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. and the second round of the playoffs will be held on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m.

These four teams may be from different sporting realms, but one thing all the teams can agree upon is some-thing freshman volleyball middle hitter Katie Christner put best.

“I want to win state,” said Christner.

Page 4 SportsNov. 21, 2012

By Trevor Horn & Jessica Maynardhorntc@imail.losrios.edumaynarj@imail.losrios.edu

BEAVERS ACROSS DIFFERENT GAMES PREP FOR CHAMPIONSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

Stakes rise for ARC sports

From left to right: The ARC football team erupts after quarterback Jonathan Kodama connects with wide receiver Corey Meshack on Oct. 20 versus Fresno City College; Freshman forward Ceci Velazquez dribbling the ball versus a Modesto Junior College defender on Sept. 25; Freshman hitter Nicole Hareland hits a kill shot versus Shasta’s middle hitter Nicole Suther on Sept. 12.

Photo courtesy of Rick Anderson

Daniel Romandia / rom

andd@im

ail.losrios.edu

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

Third time’s a charm for men’s cross-country

BEAVERS CAPTURE THIRD STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH BACK-TO-BACK SEASON VICTORIES

By Jessica Maynardmaynarj@imail.losrios.edu

It was déjà vu all over again for Head Coach Rick Anderson and the American River College men’s cross-country team – the men won the state title at the California Commu-nity College Cross-Country Cham-pionships for the second straight season on Nov. 17 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The title represents the Beavers’ third state championship in school history. The men have claimed all three of their titles under Anderson; the first state title was won in the 2005 season.

Anderson, who was recently named the California Community College Cross-Country Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, etched his name in the history book. He became the first northern California cross-country coach to win back-to-back championships in the events 49-year history.

Anderson prepared the team for this victory throughout the season by chal-lenging them with a difficult schedule and training regimens that brought the group together.

“It’s the training and the races we go to. We don’t go race at rinky-dink races,” said Anderson. “In the Bronco Invitational, it was us versus 18 four-year schools and we finished fourth.”

Earlier in the season, the men won the Big 8 conference championship for the seventh season in a row. The men were also the No.1 ranked team in the California polls entering the season and remained ranked in the top spot throughout the year.

The Beavers recaptured their 2011 title by having five of their runners fin-ish in the top 28 spots. The men were led by the races individual champion sophomore Matt Airola, who recently committed to The University of Ala-

bama. Airola posted a time of 20:10.68 and finished seven seconds faster than second place finisher Omar Cortes (20:17.75) from Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

“You just gotta put your head down and work hard,” said Airola.

Airola was also named a California Community College All-American for the second straight season. Freshman teammate Will Reyes, who finished the race in 20:43.94, also received the CCC A-A award for his 14th place finish.

Jacob Huston (16), Will Melton (25) and Steven White (28) all finished with times under 21 minutes and were the other three runners whose scores were used in ARC’s final point total. The men combined for 84 points and nar-rowly edged out Glendale Community College, who finished with 96 points.

“It’s a happy thought knowing I was a part of three championships,” said Airola.

Sophomore Matt Airola claims first place during the California Community College Championships on Nov. 17.

The American River College women’s bas-ketball team started their season on Nov. 10 at the Cosumnes River College tournament. The team left the tournament with a record of 1-2.

One of their losses came from Feather River College by two points and another to Cosumnes River by seven. The team is lack-ing experience.

“We only have two returning sophomores from last year. One plays and one doesn’t play so much, so most of the time I’m playing three or four freshman at a time,” said J.R. Matsunami, women’s basketball head coach. But that doesn’t stop the optimism for the upcoming season. “The thing about this team is they’re real coachable.”

One of the things Matsunami has made a priority for the team to work on this season is free throws. Against Feather River in the Cosumnes River Tournament, the women struggled from the line. “At the end of the first half, we were two for 15 from the line

and only down eight. That was the difference in the game,” said Matsunami.

Along with the current struggles at the free throw line, the team is also lacking size. The 6-foot-4-inch center is sidelined due to an injury sustained during a scrimmage match. “They’re really undersized right now. We’re playing without our 6-foot-4-inch post player, but they’re still fighting for every position,” said Matsunami.

Freshman Mele Kolokihakaufisi, who had never played point guard before this season, debuted with a big game versus College of the Redwoods. She scored 28 points with four steals and was eight for nine from the line. “In the front end of the season to have a point guard that’s that aggressive… For her to take that position, it’s really going to work

in our favor,” said Matsunami. To start the season, the offense has been

kept simple to allow new players to adjust to the game. “Eunique Hopkins, a 21 year-old freshman, is a tremendous athlete but (has) no basketball background. This is her first real season. When she gets it, she’ll be an incredible player,” said Matsunami.

The women’s next home game is Wednes-day, Nov. 21 versus Gavilan College at 5 p.m.

Page 5Sports Nov. 21, 2012

SPORTSUPDATESMEN’S

SOCCER

The women finished the season in the sixth spot in the Big 8, led by freshman Megan Santo Domingo who led the team in golf scores with a 97.20 average. The team failed to qualify for the Nor-Cal Championship.

CROSS-COUNTRY

GOLF

WATER POLO

WOMEN’S

VOLLEYBALL

The women finished No. 13 in the Califor-nia Community Cross-Country Champi-onships. Alexa Lua led the way for the Bea-vers, finishing in 47th place. The American River College women finished the season as Big 8 Champions and claimed second place in the NorCal Championships.

The women’s soccer team won their first match of the playoffs versus Ohlone Col-lege, led by Ceci Velazquez who contribut-ed two goals to the team’s win. The women will play at division rival Santa Rosa Junior College on Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. The women are 0-2 versus Santa Rosa this season.

The team finished second in the Big 8 Conference this season, behind Santa Rosa Junior College. The women lost to Santa Rosa Junior College in the sopho-more match on Nov. 14 3 sets to 1. The team is ranked No. 4 in the Northern California bracket. They kicked off the playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 20 versus Taft College.

The women followed in the same foot-steps as the men. They finished in third place after beating Sierra College in the NorCal Championships, but failed to qualify for the state championships. The women had a strong showing in the Big 8 division, finishing 6-1.

FOOTBALLThe football team’s next game is the North-ern California Championships a rematch at City College of San Francisco on Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. The Beavers lost to the rams earlier this season 52-33. The Beavers recently saw many players verbally commit to 4-year uni-versities, running back Devontae Booker to The University of Utah, linebacker Sampson Faifili to the University of Kansas.

CROSS-COUNTRY

WATER POLO

SOCCER

Led by California men’s cross-country Coach of the Year Rick Anderson, the men repeated as state champions. Sophomore Matt Airola took first place in the race. The five runners whose scores counted toward ARC’s total finished in the top 28. The men beat second place finisher Glendale Community College by 12 points (84-96).

The men’s soccer team failed to qualify for the playoffs this season after an 8-10-3 re-cord and a 3-4-1 record in division. This is the first time the men have missed the play-offs in over 10 seasons. Daniel Lomeli led the team in scoring with five goals.

After a shaky start to the beginning of the season, the men redeemed themselves in the Big 8 division finishing 10-9. In the NorCal Championships, the men finished in third place. The team beat Modesto Junior College.

What’s the rush about rushing quarterbacks?

By Steven Paxiaopaxiaos@imail.losrios.edu

OutofBounds

By Dakota Williamswillidc@imail.losrios.edu

Head coach J.R. Matsunami focuses on improvement after 1-2 tournament run

American River College women’s basketball player Jessica Ayers (22), left, maneuvers around Cosumnes River College women’s basketball player Brooke Fletcher despite a seven-point loss against CRC.

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

Can someone please tell me what is so great about a rushing quarter-back? Besides the obvious addition of another threat on the ground, it just doesn’t make sense to me.

If it’s overall records you could argue for, you would be shocked to find out what they actually are. The top three rushing quarterbacks in the league right now would have to be Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and Michael Vick, but all three have losing records; 3-6, 2-7 and 3-6 respectively.

To make things worse, in the two years that Newton has been in the league, he has only been able to produce eight wins in 25 starts. Although Newton has put up some record-breaking stats, this isn’t what these athletes are truly after, which are wins and titles.

Pass-first quarterbacks have always dominated in the win column and certainly in the Super Bowl column as well. One of the best quarterbacks of our time, arguably, is Tom Brady. The thing that makes him so good is not his legs, but his arm. With that arm, he threw his way to three Super Bowl titles, two MVPs and over 42,000 yards.

When Newton passes more than rushes, he can hang with any team in the league. But when premeditated rushing starts happening, defenses can just sit in zone coverage and wait for him.

It should be no secret that Newton has the ability to throw the ball, hav-ing broken the rookie passing yards record last season, but what has hap-pened to that arm this season? Over halfway through the season, Newton has only amassed about a third of what he had during his rookie cam-paign.

Other notable passing quarterbacks right now include Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and Drew Brees. These quarterbacks have a combined four MVPs, four Super Bowl titles and 19 trips to the pro bowl. Of the top rushing quarterbacks in the history of the NFL (minus Steve Young because his ability to throw and his support-ing cast) there is Randall Cunning-ham, Fran Tarkenton and Donovan McNabb. Together, they may have had the same amount of pro bowl selections, but they only had one MVP and none of them ever won a Super Bowl.

Some critics may disagree with me, but if it’s accolades that make up a great QB, then these rushers just don’t measure up. When it comes down to it, the fact that Andrew Luck’s amazing season is being overlooked by the many Griffin III Subway commercials is definitely out of bounds.

BASKETBALLThe men played in the Shasta tournament on Nov. 16-18. The team went 1-2 in the tournament, beating Merrit College but lost to Diablo Valley College and Ohlone Col-lege. The team’s next home game isn’t un-til Jan. 11 when they play Sacramento City College.

ARC women’s basketball team faces rough start

Drake Tofi (20) maneuvers around a Sierra College player.

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

Members of the ARC volleyball team look on as a player from Santa Rosa Junior College drives for the ball on Nov. 14

Ashley King / kingaa@im

ail.losrios.edu

Freshman shooting guard Brandon Hoston during the Nor-Cal Jamboree hosted by American River College on Nov. 3.

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

Sophomore Matt Airola (439) leads the runners during the NorCal Community College Championships on Nov. 3.

Photo courtesy to Rick Anderson

Page 6 Nov. 21, 2012 Feature

CN

PR

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion, the news hit me like a rushing Rancor. I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, George Lucas has had a presence within Disney for many years now. Just ask anyone who has ridden the “Indiana Jones” ride or attended the Jedi Train-ing Academy at one of the Disney Parks. But does Disney really have to own everything?

The thought of the conglom-eration known as Disney owning more rights to the movies I love makes those movies feel just a little more corporate. Not that Lucasfilm was tiny, but at least it felt local-ish. I don’t really see Disney doing much in Lucas’s hometown of Modesto, Calif. As if there wasn’t little enough to do there, now they can’t have the occasional “Star Wars” hoopla either.

Disney CEO Robert Iger flexed the might of the company by purchasing Pixar in 2006 and Marvel in 2009. These monumental media moments, while having produced some decent films, have reduced the number of different voices that tell the fans the stories we want to hear.

My dad auditioned for the part of Luke Skywalk-er in the late 1970s, so the Lucas obsession was built into my DNA. It was a tiny 3-year-old me that held my fathers hand to watch Indy wade through a secret passage filled with bugs and sit down to a dessert of chilled monkey brains in “The Temple of Doom.” As an adult, I have continued to keep the Lucas films a family staple (my daughter is still try-ing to convince me to get a dog to name Indy).

And yes, I’ve heard the arguments from my fel-low geeks saying, “Disney did make the Avengers” as if this would make up for decades of butchering story lines and countless beloved characters. I had issue enough with Lucas going back to play in a galaxy far, far away, but to have Disney executives ruining the Old Republic tells me the evil empire may have finally won. If you thought Jar-Jar Binks was horrid before, I hate to think what Disney will do with him.

Sure, Disney has the big bucks to put big bud-gets behind the classic sagas that Lucas brought to life, but if you think the mega-corporation has the heart to reach out to the fans like Lucas always did, you may be in for a rude awakening.

The big-bang-like growth of the “Star Wars” ex-panded universe could now feel the effects of the Disney gravitational field and experience its own version of the “Big Shrink” theory. After all, Disney is not known to be generous in letting others tell a story they own.

We can talk about corporate-based entertainment monopolies all day, but when we get down to it,

Disney isn’t the first and they won’t be the last. So let’s focus on the

matter at hand: is Star Wars in good hands with Disney? The

simple answer is yes.No matter what your feelings on the prequel tril-

ogy are, it’s undeniable that the most recent set of films were not of the same caliber as the original trilogy. Even if midi-chlorians or a Darth Vader that looks like the unofficial sixth member of ‘N Sync don’t fill you with dread, it’s unquestionable how absolutely horrendous Jar-Jar Binks was and still is. Would Disney have created such an abysmal char-acter? Despite their family film history, I say nay.

Let’s take a trip through Disney’s track record with more grown-up films. Maybe my memory is a little fuzzy, but I don’t recall anything even slightly resembling the wayward Gungan in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. Sure, it has Pintel and Ragetti, the comically terrible pirates sporting three eyes between the two of them, but they simply serve to add a bit of slapstick to the film.

And let’s not forget Disney’s most recent acquisi-tion: Marvel Comics. Did you see “The Avengers”? It was fantastic and also grossed $1.4 billion dollars worldwide. Really, most of the Marvel movies that have come out since Disney’s December 2009 pur-chase of the comic book company have been solid, with very few exceptions (looking at you, “Thor”).

The potential for the next “Star Wars” film to be great is up in the air, but the matter of whether or not it’ll be better than the prequel trilogy is nearly unquestionable. With lackluster writing that in-cludes fantastically awful lines like Padme’s roman-tic plea to Anakin – ”Hold me, like you did by the lake on Naboo; so long ago when there was noth-ing but our love. No politics, no plotting, no war,” – I have a feeling that Disney can improve on the sci-fi series with no issues.

If Disney can treat “Star Wars” the same way they’ve treated Marvel by staying out of the way and letting people who understand the franchise do their work, this combo could be wonderful. With Disney’s influence in the film industry and the sheer amount of money they could throw at anything “Star Wars,” the potential for the next films to finally resemble the original trilogy is there. Regardless of whether or not Disney can make that happen, there’s no way the new trilogy can be worse than the prequels in terms of butchering our collective nostalgia. So let us rejoice, because we are on the cusp of a brighter, “Star Wars” filled tomorrow.

By JeFF goOzAlESgonzalj68@imail.losrios.edu

By Garitt Rocharochag@imail.losrios.edu

HelpHarm Will this deal harm or help star wars and other

lucasfilm properties ?

Disneybuys

LucAsfilM

Not too long ago, in

our very own galaxy. . .A $4 billion

dollar deal is causing discord

among fans

Not the first&

Not the last

W hen the Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment

in 2009, the fan outcry was almost as big as the $4 bil-l ion deal. Fans raised ques-tions such as, “will Wolverine be walking around Disney-land now?” Since then, only a few things have noticeably changed, such as Marvel su-perhero cartoons airing on the Disney networks. Then came the next big announce-ment: Disney announced they are purchasing Lucas-film Ltd.

This announcement would send the geek world into frenzy, only three years after the Marvel deal. Memes and Photoshop mash-ups invad-ed the Internet immediately. Pictures of Princess Leia Dis-ney-fied while surrounded by Cinderella and Snow White, included as a “Disney prin-cess,” or Woody from “Toy Story” wearing the iconic “In-diana Jones” fedora, just to name a few.

It seemed fans were either vehemently against the move or they embraced it. Either way, the coming years of the Disney/Lucasfilm relation-ship will prove to be very in-teresting.

By josh baumbachbaumbaj@imail.losrios.edu

races. (The family) all stem from me and my experiences and what I did in my past.”

Priscilla Esparza plays the role of Khulsoom and “The Domes-tic Crusaders” will be her first theater production ever. “She’s the mother and sort of the prayer warrior of the group,” said Es-parza on the role of Khulsoom. “I try to bring everybody together, but I will shut people up too.”

Brandon Lancaster plays Salman. He has been acting for

most of his life. “I started seri-ously training when I was in the seventh grade,” said Lancaster. “The Domestic Crusaders” will be Lancaster’s fourth produc-tion at ARC. He has also been in the ARC productions of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Gumbo” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

“I’m Salman, I’m the father. Son of Hakib (and) husband of Khulsoom. He wants his tradi-tions and religions to be respect-ed,” said Lancaster about his character. “He tries to instill that

in his kids. He wants him and his family to be successful.”

Rajiv Laffey plays the role of Salahuddin, the oldest son. He’s been acting for about eight years and “The Domestic Crusaders” will be his first play at ARC. “I play Salahuddin, or Sal for short. He’s the oldest son in the family. He’s always cracking jokes,” said Laffey about Sal. “He thinks he’s a genius, like the most right person of all time. He does have a few dramatic moments, but he tries to mask them with jokes.”

Mondis Vakili takes the stage

as Fatima, the middle child. She has been acting for about 14 years and this is her first production at ARC. “She’s kind of a radical,” said Vakili about her character. “She stands up for what she believes in. She does protests and riots. She’s proud of her culture and where she comes from and she’s a law student. She comes back for Ghafur’s birthday, so that’s when you see her.”

Ghafur is played by Bhargav Kothi and this is also his first show at ARC. Gafur is the young-est son, and his 21st birthday is

being celebrated in the play. “My character is all about changing the world and trying to be posi-tive,” said Kothi. “He’s all about seeing the world in a different way, different angle. He’s kind of a rebel.”

“The Domestic Crusaders” opens on Friday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. at ARC’s theater stage two, which is located in the theater’s music wing.

Imagine the 1950s and the outdoor din-ers; red and white-stripped boarders, small walk-up window to order with minimal seating. That’s how Sam’s Classic still looks today - just as it did over 20 years ago.

Located between Auburn Boulevard and Antelope Road, Sam’s Classic brings you the taste that you are looking for when it comes to burgers and fries for a low cost. They give you the choice of a single, double or triple burger. Not to mention their 13 different flavored milkshakes. The burger prices range from $3 to $5 and cheese is an extra 50 cents.

For this review, the reporter got a single cheeseburger, fries, fried zucchini and a vanilla shake. After placing your order,

you have the choice of one of three con-crete tables to sit at while you wait for your food.

After waiting around for five minutes the order arrived in white plain paper bag. The burger was wrapped up and smelled de-lightful. However, before you even notice the burger itself, you are welcomed with an overwhelming sea of lettuce. It almost makes you feel like a rabbit rather then a carnivore there to eat a burger.

Thick-diced onion lined the bottom of the bun, while the tomato and cheese add just the right touch. The burger almost slides out of the bun, which made it dif-ficult to eat, even when kept wrapped up in the paper. The burger patty itself is thin

yet juicy. Their French fries give off the appearance of being under-cooked crinkle cut fries but ended up tasting just a little over-seasoned with salt.

Smooth to drink and thick enough in consistency, their milkshakes give off a look and taste of an ice cream malt rather then a shake.

Sam’s offers a good family setting with a middle school and a high school within walking distance, and even has a private parking lot.

If you want to pay with a credit card, be prepared to be hit with a $1.25 charge, or you can go inside and use their ATM.

Page 7Arts & Entertainment Nov. 21, 2012

SAM’S CLASSIC7442 AUBURN BLVD.

CITRUS HEIGHTS, 95610

«««MEAL FOR 1: $

By Stephanie Leelees87@imail.losrios.edu

AUBURN BURGER JOINT TAKES CUSTOMERS BACK WITH 1950s STYLE

From left to right: Sam’s Classic Burgers offers outdoor seating even during nearby construc-tion; A hamburger, fried zucchini and chocolate shake from Sam’s Classic Burgers; American River College student Cody Alias mulls over the menu.

Ashley King / kingaa@im

ail.losrios.edu

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Crusaders: From religion to rebels

Ashley King/ kingaa@im

ail.losrios.edu

Ashley King / kingaa@im

ail.losrios.edu

Sam’s Classic serves decent burgers with old-school flare

Reaper Miniatures, Bones: $3.4 million.

Rich Burlew, “Order of the Stick:” $1.2 million.

Amanda Palmer, “Theatre is Evil:” $1.1 million.

Those numbers are the amounts raised of three Kickstart-er campaigns, known as “crowd funding services.”

With the exception of Reaper Miniatures, they’re not the most funded or even in the top five. They are, however, the most funded projects in Games, Art, Music, and Comics, with Reaper being the fourth most funded Kickstarter project. Three of the other top five are video games, in-cluding the open-source, Android based Ouya console, with the top funded being an E-paper, smart device linked watch called the Pebble, which is the top funded project according to Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is a “crowd funding

service.” An entrepreneur outlines a project, sets a monetary goal and rewards pledges of money with various incentives.

Palmer raised 1,192 percent of her $100,000 goal. Reaper raised 11,430 percent of their $30,000 goal. The goals were reached within hours or days of beginning their campaigns through social networking, the endorsement of internet celebrities, constant connection to their pledgers and compelling pledge rewards - mak-ing use of the oddly small-town dynamic of the vast internet.

Palmer is a “punk cabaret” musician who reached 200 percent funding by the end of the first day. Pledge rewards for her Kickstarter ranged from a digital download of the album for $1, to massive parties with the singer and her band at the pledger’s own house for $10,000.

Reaper produces pieces for games such as “Dungeons and Dragons,” known as miniatures. Originally only pewter, they cre-

ated a line of low cost, polymer minia-tures. Rewards

ranged from their thanks for $1, to mas-sive rewards of 60 min-iatures, to the chance to custom design a miniature

and exclusive col-lectables. Reaper reached their goal within four days.

Many Kick-starters can attributable their success to the use of “stretch goals,” once the goal is reached, more rewards are revealed at mile-stone amounts, often adding onto existing pledge levels. Some supporters re-ceived an extra 184 miniatures at no extra cost, with an option for more. Rich Burlew’s Kickstarter funding the reprint-ing of collections of his webcomic also used this model. Stretch goals can serve to drive huge amounts of funding as seeing what the next stretch reward can be is as much a reward to the pledgers as the actual pledge rewards them-selves, and people who weren’t interested at first might find the new rewards more intriguing.

Kickstarter’s original purpose was funding creative projects, not starting businesses. For this reason, and the sometimes restric-tive nature of Kickstarter’s rules and fees, other crowd funding sites such as Indiegogo have sprung up, offering a more even playing field, less oversight and no requirement of success for funding - you get what you raise, whether you reach your goal or not - at the cost of number of pledge rewards.

Kickstarter campaigns are not without issues, however. Some entrepreneurs have found success beyond anything they could have imagined, leading to exceeding

capacity of their printers and being left in limbo as they search for someone who can handle the demand, poor financial pre-plan-ning, or even insufficient staff.

“We would have been more than happy to make a thousand watches,” Eric Migicovsky told Wired magazine regarding his Kickstarter for Pebble, with 85,000 watch pledge rewards still being produced after receiving funding on May 18.

More than that, Kickstarter projects only receive funds if they meet their goal. They, along with Amazon, who handles the transactions, take their own small but noticeable cuts. Established companies, such as Troma Films and Obsidian Entertainment, have also began to use Kickstarter, overshadowing small businesses and individuals with their ability to offer bigger rewards. A useful platform for independent entre-preneurs is now being roughly taken by established companies, to the detriment of the people who need it. All numbers provided by Kickstarter.

MOVIE

Page 8 Arts & EntertainmentNov. 21, 2012

Puerto Rico tries to succeed while others

try to secedeBy Carlos Guerreroguerrecg@imail.losrios.edu

QueCarlos

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INOURHEADS

portels@imail.losrios.edu

The Current’s Sergio Portela shares the wide variety of

what is in his head

BOOK

GAME

MUSIC

TELEVISION “Darkness Take My Hand” by Dennis Lehane -- The second novel

of The Kenzie-Gennaro series that follows two Boston private

investigators who agree to pro-tect a psychiatrist’s son. They

stumble upon numerous dead bodies, expecting it to be a serial

killer who has been in prison for 20 years, but a major twist occurs when finding the culprit.

“Madden NFL 13” -- As a sports fan, I’ve always been in love with “Madden” since 2003. I’m always amazed at the new graphics and how realistic they make the game feel. They even have CBS com-

mentators Phil Sims and Jim Nants doing play-by-play analysis.

“Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” by Kendrick Lamar -- If you’ve been waiting for the return of west coast hip-hop, then look to Dr. Dre pro-tégé and Aftermath artist Kendrick Lamar’s major label debut about a good kid going through the conflicts that come with being a teenager in Compton.

“The Dark Knight Rises” -- It’s the third and final film of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Batman must save Gotham City from the terror-ist Bane, who is physically and mentally stronger than Batman. The film leaves an epic ending to Nolan’s Batman saga and it’s the best ever at that.

“The Walking Dead” -- I’m a little late, but I recently started watching this due to a friend’s recommendation and I’m glad I took it. The zombie apocalypse drama, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Robert Kirkman, follows the lives of Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes and other survivors as they try to find salvation in this new world.

By Korbl Klimeckiklimecb@imail.losrios.edu

ENTREPRENEURS KICK THE TRADITIONAL INVESTMENT MODEL AND START GOING TO THE CROWD FOR FUNDING

Photo courtesy to Oldies.com

Amanda Plamer’s album, “Theatre is Evil,” funded completely by Kickstarter with $1.1 million.

Puerto Rico could become the 51st state of the United States, possibly leaving Guam and the Philippines to wonder, “Damn, that could have been us.”

The U.S. hasn’t allowed a state to join since Hawaii. That’s more than 50 years of nobody getting in.

It is necessary for two-thirds of the U.S. Congress to vote yes on the request to become a state – like on American Idol where you need two of the three judges to vote yes so you can go to Los Angeles – in order for President Barack Obama to sign it into law.

The numbers are a little murky, but the majority of the people would like some sort of indepen-dence. The two-part ballot voted on first asked Puerto Ricans if they liked the way things were with them being a U.S. territory.

According to New England Cable News, 900,000 voters, or 54 percent, voted no, saying they were not happy with the current situa-tion of only being a U.S. territory.

I would have run out the door yelling, “freedom!” But in part two, all voters had a chance to decide if they preferred statehood, indepen-dence or to become a “sovereign free association.”

If Puerto Rico wants to be the 51st state, then all power to them in their quest to statehood. I would prefer this option. Fifty-one is the new 50. Now we don’t have to cross a border for real authentic Latino flavor. We can just cross the Gulf and visit our new state.

If they just want independence, they should also be allowed that.

I do, however, have a little problem if they wanted to become a sovereign free association, which would grant the Islands four mil-lion people more authority. It’s like they want to stay friends with the United States with all the benefits, but without the overbearing com-mitment.

All this talk of a state possibly joining has taken some focus off the news that over 20 states have petitions going around trying to secede after President Barack Obama’s victory.

The last seceding attempt went really bad last time. Most of the states with these petitions are the states that supported Mitt Rom-ney, including Texas, Alabama and South Carolina. Since they can’t take their country back, they will just leave it.

If Texas wants to leave the county, I feel that is our own fault. We had our chance when we took her from Mexico and thinking we could change someone was our own fault.

Online funding program kick starts creativity

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As a smoker of eight years, quitting is a decision that comes almost too easy for me. Who quits smoking during midterms? That’s just asking for an F. I lost 65 pounds in the last year; won’t quitting smoking make me gain weight? I was finally willing to admit to my manipulative mind that I needed help. I needed professional help.

I decided it was about time to explore the resources here at ARC. The American River College Health Department had my answer: Smoking Cessation Therapy.

I’d like to thank Robyn Huetter, a nurse in the health center, for this service. When we

spoke, I had already conquered seven brutal smoke-free days, but was nowhere near the com-fort of a clean system.

Huetter answered questions I didn’t know I even had. Im-mediately, I began to sweat a lot on a particularly cold day when I first arrived.

“It’s not uncommon for the withdrawal symptoms to mani-fest as flush feelings, stomach aches, headaches, (and) nausea,” said Huetter. I was still mentally chastising my deodorant as Huetter continued to explain, “it can be a really confusing time for your body.”

I sat across from her and answered questions that seemed unnecessary to me, until I heard my ridiculous answers. She asked me about triggers,

people in my life who smoke, my support system and even my preference in brand. I found that I smoke more during heat waves and thunderstorms, that classical music can be an abstract aid in conquering the fear of traffic without nicotine and how I felt urges to smoke when just talking about smoking.

I was given a “quit kit” con-taining honey sticks, spearmint gum, candy, sunflower seeds and a stress release toy, all tucked in a water bottle donated by STAND (Sacramento Taking Action Against Nicotine De-pendence). A quote printed on the water bottle carrying it all

inspired me.“The journey of a thousand

miles must begin with a single step.” Too bad when you first quit, it feels like your shoes are on the wrong feet.

If you’re even thinking about quitting, stop by the ARC Health Center to come up with your personal plan. There are answers available about your changing body and emotional outbursts. You don’t have to go through the struggle alone.

Describing his music genre as “folk and rock mixed together,” Mac Russ is a musician with, as he says, “a bit of a unique sound just because I taught myself everything I know about music.”

Self-taught isn’t a disparag-ing thing; Russ can play and sing so well that while he was being recorded for a video in the portable area here on campus, a student on her way to class complimented him and whispered, “he is really good” to her friend.

“I enjoy playing music that gets people tapping their feet, but also may give them a shiver from time to time,” Russ says of himself on his Facebook pro-file. “I have very little formal instruction in music and have developed a strange style all my own. I play a seagull guitar and I love it dearly.”

Pete Seeger is Russ’s musical hero, along with his grandfa-ther. Russ likes being a solo act, but wouldn’t mind sharing the stage with other musicians.

“I’ve been playing solo for a long time and it’s just really nice when you actually have other people there playing with you,” said Russ. “It’s like, intoxicating when you are able to play with other people from beginning to finish and everything sounds good. You just flow to-gether and nothing was rough or uncomfortable, everyone knew what they were doing, it’s just a great time.”

When asked what song he would like to possibly release as a sin-gle one day, “Probably the song ‘Kiss The Devil’ that’s on my YouTube,” replied Russ. “That’s a really fun song. It’s really fun to play live because everyone dances and it’s just a good time.”

“I actually thought of album cover I wanted to do the other day,” said

Russ. “On the corner of El Camino and Fair Oaks, they have those palm trees and they haven’t cut the straps yet so the leaves haven’t fallen down. So they are up in these weird leaf buns. And I thought it would be cool to take a picture of them with the blue sky behind them because they look so bizarre.”

Even among other musi-cians, he tries his best to remain humble. “Whenever I try to start a band, people always say, ‘why don’t we just go by Mac Russ?’

And that’s no fun. I like band names, and I don’t want all the attention on me. I like sharing everything.”

And Russ really does love to share. In fact, Russ is in it for anyone who will listen to himself more than he is in it for himself.

“I am really big on sharing my music with people. My music doesn’t do anything for me. I just enjoy it when other people enjoy it. That’s when I know the song is good,” said Russ.

ARC student Mac Russ plays an acoustic cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Truck-in’” in the portables on Nov. 7.

Page 9Scene Nov. 21, 2012

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

CAMPUSPULSE

“I’m thankful for my volleyball team here at ARC, and my wonderful boyfriend and amazing family. Go Beavers!”

“My boyfriend, because he has been with me through a lot. I’m also thankful for my friends.”

SOPHILOZANOCommunications

What are you most thankful for?

“I would have to say I’m thankful that people are becoming more involved in things like charities. More people are taking time to help children around the holidays.”

“I am thankful for being here today, living my life in my own little way.”

“I guess I am thankful for family and community most. Family is important, even if it’s a family that you made or fell into.”

“I’m thankful for Proposition 30 passing. Also my wonderful co-workers because (when) you spend the majority of your day at work, it’s nice to enjoy the people you work with.”

ANNELISEMILLERRespiratory Therapy

AMANDARUIZCounseling

MARKCESA Psychology

LUKESCHWANNPhilosophy

TANIKABYRDStudent Life Supervisor

By Alex Panasenkopanasea@imail.losrios.edu

FOLK-ROCKING ARC STUDENT MAC RUSS WISHES TO SHARE HIS UNIQUE SOUND

Stephanie Lee / lees87@im

ail.losrios.edu

I am really big on sharing my music with people. My music doesn’t do anything for me. I just enjoy it when other people enjoy it. That’s when I know the song is good.

MACRUSS

“

Happy to play the blues

When you first quit, it feels like your shoes are on the wrong feet.

ASHLEYKING

“

A SMOKE-FREE STRUGGLEBy Ashley Kingkingaa@imail.losrios.edu

THE CURRENT’S ASHLEY KING DESCRIBES HER BATTLE WITH SMOKING CESSATION THERAPY

SCAN TO

HEAR MAC RUSS PERFORM

“DR. DOG” BY COUNTY LINE

AND “TRUCKIN’” BY GRATEFUL DEAD

The ClassTA 437, or Stage Make-up, isn’t your

average YouTube makeup tutorial. After learning techniques to work with highlight, shadow, color and more, students learn how to work through the whole aging process - how to make themselves look middle age, old age or extremely old age. After that, they work on different projects that include getting turned into someone from the 1600 or 1700s, as well as switching genders and working with beards.

If realism isn’t your thing, the curricu-lum also features lessons about clowns and mimes, animals and four fantasy projects as their final, where students “can do anything from (the) Wicked Witch of The West to Klingons,” according to Professor Kathy Burleson.

Why You Should Take ItThis isn’t your typical “sit down and take

notes” style of class. While the early weeks of Stage Make-up are mostly lecture as you learn all of the techniques, the days where you work independently and get to be creative will make it all worthwhile.

Page 10 SceneNov. 21, 2012

TAKETHISCLASS STAGEMAKE-UPBy Alisha Kirbykirbyam@imail.losrios.edu

Students of TA 437 working on their “clowns” stage make up project on Nov. 8 at American River College.

Daniel Romandia / rom

andd@im

ail.losrios.edu

I would say a third of the class are people that think they actually want to go on to become makeup artists and the rest

of the class tend to be people who like to do Hal-loween houses or that kind of stuff. Most of them are theater majors or some kind of performing arts majors.” One of the main purposes of this class is

to “lose them as actors and gain them as characters.

KATHYBURLESONPROFESSOR

“My favorite project was the Cirque du

Soleil. I got to let go and just be crazy with copying a design made by professionals.

KATHRYNBUSCHTHEATER ARTS

“

Four kinds of dates, four different headaches

By Mayra Sanchezsanchezm25@imail.losrios.edu

theXO

On

The dating world can make any single girl want to commit to a nunnery. But every once in a while, when I meet an interest-ing guy, I’ll decide to leave the comfort of my sofa and go on a date. I’ll put on my fancy shoes and take an extra five minutes or so putting on my makeup, all in hopes that it’s worth missing an episode of “Breaking Bad.”

The first date should be fun, easy and leaving me wanting to call my mom to brag right after. But time and time again, I’m disappointed and quickly lose interest.

Here are four reasons that have me headed straight back to my sofa.

The Bad Texter: After I give a guy my number, I actually prefer the guy to send me a text rather than calling. However, tex-ting me “what up doe” or “what chu up to 2nite” not only makes me cringe but also instantly want-ing to delete your number. There’s no way I can sit through a whole date knowing you don’t know the proper way to spell “doe” or, even worse, that you prefer it that way.

The Ghost of the Ex: Here I am trying to enjoy my rib-eye steak and somehow, I’ve become your therapist. While you’re going on and on about how your ex never cared, I’m looking at you like, “wow, she really did some damage. Where is that damn waitress with our check?”

Don’t be pushy: The absolute worst types of guys are the ones that expect a home run on the first date. Telling me about how “experienced” you are just makes me wish I would have worn a turtleneck instead of a lacey dress. Calm down; get your hand off my lap because I ain’t scared to whip out the pepper spray.

Talk too much/show off: In words of Shania Twain, “that don’t impress me much.” Telling me about all the things you own just gives me a headache. Plus, it’s probably all in your mom’s name anyway. There’s no need to be a show off. Relax, I already agreed to go out with you – there’s no need to keep convinc-ing me you’re cool.

Just be yourself. And if that doesn’t work, be a gentleman.

Daniel Romandia / rom

andd@im

ail.losrios.edu

Daniel Romandia / rom

andd@im

ail.losrios.edu

Gold: Panning returns in CaliforniaCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Panning and how to get started

With the value continuing to rise, panning for the metal has become a profitable hobby once again. As it was during the original gold rush, panning is still one of the most popular ways of obtaining the mineral from the rivers.

You can’t just go to anywhere and expect to find gold, but there are a lot of rivers within 50 miles of Sacramento that are rich in gold flake. In fact, the discovery of gold in California by James Marshall in 1848 happened just 30 miles from Sacramento in the small town of Coloma. This was the beginning of what would become the Great Gold Rush of 1849.

There are also many other spots to try. On the American River, there are places in Auburn and Forrest Hill that offer great po-tential for gold, but there is truly no way of actually knowing unless you put some gravel in a pan and swirl.

It’s doesn’t take much to get started either. The basic tools of panning are a pan, a bucket, a crevassing tool and a snuffer bottle, which is simply a baster used to suck up the small flakes of gold. All of these can be bought

on your way to the river in Auburn at Pioneer Mining Sup-plies on Main Street for no more than $30 total.

After acquiring the tools needed, head down to the river and look for a good spot to get started. Start by look-ing at the surrounding landscape. The best place to start is any exposed bed-rock that has cracks or holes. When the water level rises, sediment is pushed over this bedrock and the heavier materials, i.e. gold, is pushed to the bottom of the cracks. This process is known as crevassing and it is one of the most popular ways to prospect.

Once a crack is cleaned out, the material brought out needs to be separated. This part can be the deciding factor for most people of whether or not they truly want to be panning for gold, as it can be

very tedious and strenuous.While the product is in the

pan, swirl water around either direction at a slow and consistent speed. Once at the bottom of the pan, the only thing remaining will be black sand, lead and any gold that was contained in the mate-rial. As the flakes are found, use the snuffer bottle to suck up the pieces. Some black sand will be sucked up with the gold, but a second processing will eliminate most of this later.

Although panning may seem like a hard task, it can be very rewarding over time. With gold prices so high, even the smallest amount of flakes will add up to being a whole lot after multiple pans are processed.

Perhaps Samuel Brannan said it best as he ran down the streets of San Francisco in 1848 with a bottle of gold dust in his hand: “Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!”

Bryce Fraser / fraserb@im

ail.losrios.edu

A glass vile containing flakes of gold found while panning near the American River.

I started to think to myself if there will ever be something in my life that I would be strong enough to stand up for something that I believe in. Immediately, I think yes – boycott the gasoline pump.

There was a time in my fresh-man year at American River Col-lege that I had to work to drive to work and pay to drive to school.

Working to pay for the gasoline to drive me to work was a dead end, and my grades showed for the time absent from studies. For ev-ery squeeze on the pump handle, I can feel a squeeze on my wallet.

Why shouldn’t I feel that my free time is taken away due to the punch-clock that pays for petro? After all, gas prices rose in the fear brought on by the 9/11 attacks. Gas prices rose while you were watching the infamous debates. And after Manhattan is all washed up from the floods of Hurricane Sandy, gas prices lower out of sym-

pathy. Who is in charge of that? Not me.

“Every time gas goes up by a penny, oil companies usually pocket another $200 million in profits,” said President Barack Obama on the campaign trail back in March.

According to Popular Mechan-ics, Charles Nelson Pogue invent-ed a vaporizing motor that pro-duces 200 miles per gallon in the late 50s. Soon after, his invention was laid to rest and the combus-tible engine superseded its way to only 18-to-23 miles per gallon for consumers instead. Where did the vaporizer go? Gone the way of the dinosaur, thanks to the car compa-nies and the folks at big oil.

Perhaps the same folks at Gen-eral Motors, who sued the state of California in 2003 for estab-lishing a zero emissions law and crushing all electric vehicles such as the EV1, only to mass-produce the loveable Hummer that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger likes so much.

I’m not suggesting traveling back in time to Bedrock to move our cars with our feet. I’m suggest-ing that we boycott gas pumps all together for two weeks to reveal by a show of hands that we refuse to squeeze the pump. What would gasoline speculation look like if there were no consumption for

two weeks? Wouldn’t that mean a price cut for surplus afterwards?

Would it help spur the federal government to invest in alterna-tive fuels? It might.

Put down the car keys, strap on your kneepads and join me. Let’s see if we can’t make a difference.

Page 11Opinion Nov. 7, 2012

CURRENTEDITORIAL

By Jaime Carrillocarrilj8@imail.losrios.edu

I OughtaKnow

By Lance Gawthrop gawthrl@imail.losrios.edu

Things are getting better.The unemployment rate is

dropping, slowly but surely. According to the U.S. Depart-ment of Labor, we’ve had eight months of job growth and the horizon looks far less bleak than once thought. However, students should do all they can to hedge their bets when it comes to join-ing a job market that’s still a little tumultuous.

One thing a student can do to increase his or her chances: stay in school.

No, it’s not just a trite saying repeated ad nauseam to elemen-tary school students. It actu-ally rings truer than you might

think. According to a study by Georgetown University, unem-ployment with college graduates for October 2012 was only 3.8 percent. Comparatively, those with only high school diplomas see an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent. That’s a drastic differ-ence. Not to mention how much more money you’ll make in a lifetime; according to another Georgetown University study, college grads make $1.3 million more than high school grads in their lifetimes.

Going to college doesn’t come without its headaches. Yes, it can be a mental and even emotional strain when you’re taking a par-ticularly difficult class. But most

every college and university, in-cluding ARC, has resources such as the Learning Resource Center for any student who needs that extra push to make the grade.

It can also be very costly. In the U.S., college loan debt has sur-passed credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. But just as there are resources for getting through classes, there are resources to help pay for them.

President Barack Obama recently signed a law that starting in 2014, new borrowers will never have to pay more than 10 percent of their income a month for their federal college loans. After 20 years, all remaining debt will

be forgiven. And if you go into public service such as teaching, nursing or the armed forces, all debt will be forgiven after only 10 years. But none of these opportu-nities put out there will be of any use unless students are willing to put their nose to the pavement and stick with it.

Yes, college is a long-term in-vestment, not only of money, but also of time. Best-case scenarios have students going to college for at least four years. But like the old saying goes, “numbers don’t lie.” And in an economy that needs skilled jobs to move forward, students would serve their best interest to stick it out until they have a diploma in their hand.

My first suicide attempt occurred five years ago, when I was 15-years-old. Between a fight with my new girlfriend, parents who did not approve of my life and feeling like I had no one to confide in, I truly felt like I was less than human. I vividly remember wrapping a cord around my neck and tying the other end to my door. If my brother had not come to check on me at that moment, I’d probably not be here right now.

The Huffington Post recently reported that suicide takes more lives than any other form of injury in the U.S. A study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 3.4 percent of Californians experience sui-cidal thoughts. And a study from the Univer-sity of Texas at Austin showed that 15 percent of students across 70 colleges had considered

suicide, with more than five percent seriously attempting suicide at least once.

I’m not a mathematician, but given those numbers, I would hazard a guess that someone you know has experienced suicidal thoughts.

Despite how common of a problem it is, there still seems to be a stigma against people who have or have had suicidal thoughts. The stereotype against those who experience these kinds of thoughts as “crazy” is one that exists to this day. However, suicidal thoughts can stem from a variety of issues including personal rela-tionships, academic difficulties and economic stress. For myself, my battle with suicidal thoughts began at a young age.

While I attempted suicide two more times in the years since my first attempt, things have gotten better overall. I made friends that I love and care very deeply for and I learned that my suicidal thoughts stemmed from an anxiety disorder, which I have learned to keep under

control.It’s hard to explain what suicidal thoughts are

like to a person who has never had them, espe-cially considering that there is no set course for an individual’s experience. Some deal with it once, others battle it for the rest of their lives. Some never attempt to take their lives, while others may sadly not be here because they were successful. The important thing to realize, for those who have dealt with this and those who haven’t, is that battling suicidal thoughts is un-fortunately, incredibly common.

My only wish for those that don’t realize what it is like, who may hold onto the stig-ma of “crazy,” is to somehow understand the minds of people who battle these thoughts and what they go through, even if only for a mo-ment. My wish for those that do know what it’s like is that someday, they can be as fortunate as I was and overcome these thoughts.

By Cody Alexanderpiersoac@imail.losrios.edu

The Current’s copy chief tells his personal struggle and helps diminish stigma of those in need

Growing up suicidal

Boycott the pump

Daniel Romandia / rom

anddx@im

ail.losrios.edu

current@arc.losrios.edu

Election night for me was more tumultuous than I’d like to admit. The nerves made me treat my body with little respect, shoving as much hydrogenated oils and trans fats into my mouth until Ohio was called for Obama. The fallout was delicious.

Watching Karl Rove lose it on Fox News, or hearing Gov. Mitt Romney read a speech he clearly wrote five minutes beforehand had me cackling like Mark Hamill’s rendition of the Joker. Congrats, Mr. President. Now if you’d be so kind, I have a few requests for your next term.

Lose your optimism - We get it, “there’s no red states or blue states.” But guess what: there is. In fact, right after your re-election, 15 states (most of them former slave holding states) filed petitions to secede. Man, they really don’t like you. You should respond in kind and not like them back. Politics have never been a rosy endeavor and they never will be. I don’t want to come together and fake cama-raderie with people who want to re-define rape or have the law treat gays and lesbians as second class citizens.

Close Guantanamo – Some people forgot about this campaign promise. I did not. It’s been on my mind ever since you took your oath of office. We will continue to bring terrorists to justice, but we should do it American style, under the confines of the constitution. Rule of law is a beautiful thing; it makes me tear up more than the “Wind Beneath My Wings” sequence in “Beaches.” Also, can we please get rid of the Patriot Act? There are no bombs hiding inside my cowboy boots, I promise.

End the Drug War – You want to earn a spot on the quarter? Do this. It won’t be easy. There’s an entire Legion of Doom assembled who’s profiting from keeping marijuana illegal. The prison industrial com-plex, the painkiller industry and even the alcohol industry (which in the 20s was considered a drug) did their best to stop it, but both Washington and Colorado voted to legalize pot on Nov. 6. Taxes levied on pot growing could help ease our financial woes. Because it’s true – everyone is doing it. I have friends who partake including, but not limited to: students, law-yers, doctors and yes, even priests. Heck, I even know about a handful of presidents who used to toke up, and I Oughta Know.

2nd term 2-do-list

It’s hard to explain what suicidal thoughts are like to

a person who has never had them.

“

IN DEFENSE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

A college diploma is the best investment a student can make in a tumultuous job market

The Kwik Serve gas station on Watt Avenue and El Camino Avenue on Nov. 16 in Sacramento.

Students and consumers have the power to affect change by ditching their cars for alternative transportation

Heavy metal band Gwar, formed in 1984, performed at the Ace of Spades on Nov. 6. The band is known for their unique, intricate costumes and graphic shows. They had fake representations of public figures come out on stage before ripping them apart and spraying blood over the audience and even the photographers in the photo pit.

Scan for an exclusive interview with lead singer Oderus Urungus.

GWAR

A representation of former Gov. Mitt Romney was brought out and decapitated along with other figures, spray-ing fake blood throughout the crowd.

Photos by Bryce Fraser

Left: Lead singer Oderus Urungus, real name Dave Brockie. Above: A photographer’s digital camera with fake blood splatter over it. Bottom Right: Balsac the Jaws of Death, real name Mike Derks, playing guitar and singing background vocals for the band. Bottom Left: A mixture of excited fans with faces of shock and horror shortly after Gwar marched on stage, decapitated rep-resentations of people and sprayed fake blood over the audience.

SHOTS

PARTING