Cinco de Mayo Festival Page 8

VVC Fashion Show Page 6

RamPage May 13, 2011 Volume 31, No. 6

Victor Valley College

I won't eat any cereal that doesn't turn the milk purple. Bill Watterson

Christopher Dustin Elected ASB President I am happy to serve the Students as

the 2011-2012 ASB Vice President and very happy to have received the most votes in the election. If students have

any questions or concerns, I have an open door policy, said Brosowske. The Presidential positions were dou-ble checked By As-sistant Director of Auxiliary Services Deanna Murphy due to a 0.5 discrepancy in the presidential ballets. For the final count, Murphy used a meticulous proc-ess of checking and sometimes triple-checking the num-bers. The final unofficial

Presidential results are: Monica Cabin-gatan with 163, Roderick Gray with 209 and Dustin at 246 making Dustin the new VVC ASB President. The results will be recorded on May 14 in the ASB record and will be set in action on June 10, 2011.

I am comfortable that all counts are accurate, said Murphy.

The votes are in and Christopher Dustin is the President elect. On the morning of May 12, 2011 Deanna Murphy re-counted the Associated Student Body election ballets due to a discrep-ancy in the unofficial count the previous night.

Voting booths went up at 9 a.m. on May 10 and 8 a.m. on May 11. The booths were located in the Advanced Tech-nology Center, Student Activities Center and lower campus in the Gym. Students that voted received a free ticket for a slice of pizza and a drink of either water or soda courtesy of ASB.

Out of 674 ballets, 45 were not counted. The ballets that were omitted from the count were the ones that didnt have a signature, were without an identi-fication number or were a duplicate vote. According to a past issue of the RamPage, 580 students voted in last years election. This years count shows an increase of 94 student participation votes.

The unofficial numbers were in near midnight on May 11. Monique Ballard had 542 votes for Treasurer, Amanda OConnel for Athletics Senator at 542 votes, Joanna Cervantes at 534 for Ex-ecutive Senator, Alanha Medina with 531 votes for Fine Arts Senator, Manny Alvarez with 516 for Public Relations Senator and Vice President Jeremiah Brosowske with 553 votes.

Story by Micah Raimo News Editor

Summer Registration Begins May 18

To register for the summer semester at Victor Valley College students will have to follow a 5 block process where priority registration begins on May 16. These is where EOPS/ DSPS AND Mili-tary veterans can choose their classes. For continuing students registration begins on May 18 and ends on June 19. These is based on how many units the students have. For the classes offered students can go to web advisor and search for sec-tions where they can look for the courses they need. Summer semester is a condensed session for the students to get through their course in a short period of time, said Greta Moon( Director of Admis-sions and Records). Many classes will be cut off by 50 percent and the students will not have many classes available. I think is unfortunate we are not having many classes being offered in the summer due to the California budget cuts said, Lorena Ochoa VVC coun-selor. Students will have to pay attention for the listings of dates to register. The stu-dents can go to web advisor.

Story by Tracy Martinez

Reporter

ASB President elect Christopher Dustin.

In This Issue

News May 13, 2011 Page 2 RamPage VVC Protesters Aim to Spoil Family Fun Cinco de Mayo Festival

A group of anti illegal immigration protestor formed outside of Victor Val-ley Community College by We The Peo-ple, Californias Crusader, during the annual Cinco De Mayo celebration on Saturday May 7. They waved flags and shook signs for hours saying Celebrate USA. The protest started the same time as the celebration at 10:00 a.m. Our pro-test today has two full purposes, said the organizations event director Robin Hvidston. First purpose is that VVC is a tax payer college and therefore should not support the celebration. Their second purpose is to call people to celebrate America and request that govern-ment not support a foreign holiday. Perhaps their greatest objection is to where does all the money from the event go. Raymond Herrera, President and Founder of We The People, Californias Crusader,

Story and Photos by Samuel Mullen

Reporter

states that the High Desert Hispanic Chamber of Commerce requires a fee from participating sponsors that ranges from $1500 to $5000. The Californias Crusader asks for the full account of this money. This event is to raise money for illegal immi-grants, says Herrera, and its not in the interest of We The People. Herrera and his organization states that, Cinco De Mayo is not celebrated in Mexico and therefore should not be a day of celebration in America or the City of Victorville. Herrera has been a political activist for six years and has been fighting illegal immigration a private citizen since 1980. He has appeared on CNN and Fox TV

News, and has been a featured guest on Spanish TV shows. Hvidston says that they want HDHCC to be held accountable for the funds they collect. Herrera claims that the HDHCC puts on this celebra-tion for financial gain, to desecrate American culture, and by doing this they are displacing American work-ers. We The People, Califor-nias Crusader says their ulti-mate goal is to raise patriot-ism. After standing on the corner of the entrance of the college

for a couple of hours they decided to march through the celebration with their flags and signs in hand. The people in attendance at the cele-bration seemed to be a little confused of the purpose of the group. Police escorted the protesters out of the celebration to the entrance of the college where the honking of passing drivers met them.

Anti-illegal immigration protesters escorted off campus by campus security.

Protesters outside VVC.

Protesters on the sidewalk at the entrance of VVC.

May 13, 2011 Page 3 RamPage VVC

Faculty and Staff Honored at Annual Students Choice Awards

Started as a way for students to show their appreciation for the staff, the Vic-tor Valley College Students Choice Award continues to honor teachers and faculty members. The VVC Students Choice Award came about as a result of a faculty appre-ciation initiative that took place about 4 years ago, according to Angela Per-domo, Activities Senator, and Deanna Murphy, ASB co-adviser. Its a way for students to show appre-ciation for the faculty, said Perdomo. Other ASB members shared that senti-ment. Its fantastic to host an event for pro-fessors who do so much for us, said Jeremiah Browsoske, ASB Business and Math Sentor. This year, award winners were pre-sented with an ice-cream treat. Last year we organized a dinner, so this year we wanted something more informal,

said Perdomo. Next year, its going to be a lunch. Christina and Sarah Han, sisters and ESL instructors here at VVC, of 5 and 7 years respectively, both appreciated their students nominations.

They were told about the Award on Tuesday and about half of the class ended up voting. I was pleasantly sur-prised, said Christina. I didnt even know about it, Sarah said jokingly. Both the Han sisters also felt strongly about the goals of the Students Choice Award. I wished more students got involved because there are a lot of fac-ulty members who deserve recognition, said Christina. Tom Turner, Director of the Fire Tech-nology Program, echoed the same senti-ments. I am very honored to have been chosen by the students of VVC Fire Tech is happy to support ASB and its activities, especially the Christmas pa-rade, said Turner. Though Turner had been nominated before, this was his first time winning the award. Turner has been with VVC for over 20 years, with the last six years as a full-time faculty mem-ber. Any further questions about the Stu-dents Choice Award may be directed to the Activities Senator by e-mail at per-domoa@vvc.edu or by calling 760-686-1519.

Story and Photo by Phillip Phan

Reporter

Setup at the annual Students Choice Awards.

Financial Aid Awareness Event Informs Students

The Financial Aid Department held a Financial Aid Awareness Event on Tuesday May 10 for high school stu-dents attending college in the summer and fall semesters of 2011. To apply for financial aid, a student must go online at www.fafsa.gov and fill out the application. U.S citizens can ap-ply and they must include their social security number, their parents social security numbers if necessary, and fed-e r a l t a x r e t u r n s . There are many different forms of financial aid such as grants which a stu-dent does not have to pay back, loans, work study, the G.I Bill for veterans, and scholarships which are mostly available to all students except a few of them. One of the staff members talked about the Pell Grant which awards a student up to $5,500 based on his or her Expected Family Contribution, and the Board of Governors Grant (BOGG) which pays

for a students tuition and fees. Another form of financial aid is fed-eral work study which awards a student up to $3,000 a year. In order to be eligi-ble for federal work study, a student must be enrolled in 6 units, he or she must have their fafsa file completed. If the student is not eligible they can go into the office and look in a white binder that has many different jobs available. There is also the Cal Grant which has three different types. Cal Grant A varies in the amount of money awarded and is only awarded to students who are attend-ing a four year university. Cal Grant B only awards a student attending a two year university $1,551. However, if a student is attending a four year univer-sity, they receive $1,551, but they also receive $9,232 per year for tuition. Another grant is the CHAFEE Grant which awards a student $5,000 a year if they were ever a foster youth under the age of 22 as of July of the award year, or if they were a ward of the court at the a g e s o f 1 6 t o 1 8 . In order for a student to receive a loan, they must be enrolled in 6 units.

An undergraduate receives $3,500 if they have less than 30 units and $4,500 if they have over 30 units. Students can also receive a G.I Bill if they are veterans. This allows them to have priority registration, and they can also apply for financial aid. The bill also allows veterans to receive work study as w e l l . The last form of financial aid that a student can receive is scholarships. A scholarship is awarded to a student based on his or her academic achieve-ment, ethnicity, income, and other cate-gories. Students can apply for scholar-ships online at www.fastweb.com and www.federalstudentaid.ed. Students can also check the library reference section and the Victor Valley College website. In order for a student to maintain re-ceiving his or her financial aid, they must meet the Satisfactory Academic Policy (SAP). There are two standards pertaining to the policy. The quantative standard states that a student must com-plete 67 percent of their classes, and the qualitative standard states that a student must maintain a 2.0 GPA.

Story by Charay Franklin

Reporter

May 13, 2011 Page 4 RamPage VVC

Maintenance and Operations Recognized During Special Breakfast Ceremony

If anyone deserves to be recognized on the Victor Valley College campus for their hard work and dedication, it is Maintenance and Operations. On Friday May 6, the Associated Stu-dent Body did just that with a special breakfast to thank the individuals who keep the campus looking top-notch. At the bright and early hour of six in the morning, the ASB council served breakfast to about 30 Maintenance and Operations staff members in the student activities center as many of them were getting off work. The ASB Council does this every year for Maintenance and Operations because we appreciate how much they do for our school. They keep our campus clean and this is an event we look for-ward to every year, said ASB Student Advocate Senator Sheri Schmoll. Breakfast served during their recogni-tion consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, fruit, orange juice and coffee. The variety proved to be satisfying to

the VVC staff members as they all casu-ally communicated during breakfast in the SACs laid back environment. Its nice to have something given back for the work we put in, said custo-dian Alfred Randolph as he ate his breakfast. Fellow custodian Vaughn Bryant added Its a good thing. Its good to be recognized for what you do. Midway through the breakfast, ASB Advisor Robert Sewell, head of Mainte-nance and Operations Chris Hylton and Student Advocate Sherry Schmoll all stood and shared their thoughts on the staffs hard work this semester. We are the beneficiaries of the hard work that you put in and we dont say thank you often enough to the people that make that happen. You all are very much appreciated, said Sewell. Along with the appreciation from the staff, students were also showing their gratitude for the diligent work that the crew puts in on a nightly basis. Its so fantastic to give back to a great staff that has given so much to us, said VVC student Jeremiah Brosowske as he served the crew their breakfast. While students may sometimes take the clean campus and classrooms for

granted, the ones making it all possible were not overlooked on this day. Their commitment alone to maintaining the best possible campus received proper recognition from staff and students as everyone kicked back, relaxed and en-joyed the food.

Story by Stephen Boyce

Reporter

Staff served breakfast during M & O Breakfast.

Guild of Creative Writers Hosts Open Mic Night

Good music, laughs and political speeches were enjoyed by many at the first annual open mic night hosted by the Guild of Creative Writers on Monday, May 2. Public relations senator and Associ-ated Student Body presidential candi-date, Roderick Allen Gray Jr, opened the event and gave a mini campaign speech and talked about the upcoming produc-tion of Almost Maine inviting Britney Harter, member of the cast, to come speak. Who here has been in love? Harter asked then this play is for you. Harter spoke awhile about the play before passing out fliers to the audi-ence.

Roderick then passed the mic to Nick-olas Alexander who played the guitar and sang for the audience. Alexander played Johnny Cashs Folsom Prison Blues and Poisons Every Rose has its Thorns. The next performer, Plush, took the stage. Plush opened his comedy act with a segment about college life. He poked fun at audience members and talked about kids, drugs and life as a young adult. Most of his act was met with laughter and applause. However one audience member, Joanna Cervantes the Athletics senator, did not appreciate Plushs harsh sense of humor and went on stage to try to censor him. Plushs act got derailed and turned into a tense yet humorous debate between him and Cervantes. The show continued with performer V - s m o o t h s i n g i n g a f e w songs. Afterwards Christopher Dustin

delivered his ASB campaign speech with the slogan, Trust in Dustin. Chris The Verdict, a rapper, took the mic and free styled five songs with Plush and V-Smooth. Laura Dunley, a member of the veter-ans club, gave information regarding the VVC Veteran Club. Debbie Pesch a member of the Campus Crusade for Christ gave a speech and handed out flyers. Michael Galbraeth, a student, read an excerpt from a novel hes writ-ing. A student and poet, Carol Wilson, read some of her works as well. The night came to a close with a head-lining performance by the hip hop group Underground Anthem. Most of the performers were pretty good, I had a good time. said audience member Sara Pratt, a VVC student. It was a fun filled night and audience members wandered away and came back, it was a very relaxed atmosphere.

Story by Sky Martinez

Reporter

May 13, 2011 Page 5 RamPage VVC Features After Two Years

Came Juneteenth

Although most people are well aware of slavery, its effect on 18th century soci-ety and the problems it caused on Afri-can Americans worldwide, many have never heard of Juneteenth. Juneteenth, which recognizes the emancipation proclamation and the free-ing of the slaves, is celebrated annually on June 19th. President Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation and the slaves were granted freedom in January 1863. However, it was a slow process until everyone in the United States received word of Lincolns proc-lamation. Texas was one of the last states to receive word of the results, and it wasnt until June 19th, 1865 that they became aware of the news. Today, people all across the globe celebrate this important day. Locally, Hook Park in Victorville is hosting an event recognizing Juneteenth. The event will take place on Saturday June 18th, oddly enough. It begins at 10 a.m. and doesnt end until six in the afternoon. It includes free food and drinks, games and a live dj. I encourage any and all who are inter-ested to attend the event. If you are un-able to attend for whatever reason, take the time and research the topic. I think that more people should familiarize themselves with Juneteenth because it represents our history.

Story by Shaun Canady Sports Editor

Activist Anonymous Screens Invisible Children

Though Uganda and its civil war are thousands of miles away, Activists Anonymous refuses to shy away from the im-portant task of raising awareness about the struggles of its people. Invisible Children is a documentary that seeks to expose the crimes and inhumane acts of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and in particular, its practice of forced enlistment of young Ugandan children into its ranks. The documen-tary mainly focuses on the stories and struggles of Ugandan youths who travel to cities to sleep in the streets at night in order to avoid being abducted by LRA soldiers. Some members have been involved with the cause since Invisible Children was first released. Ive been involved since 2004. Its just one of those stories

that you cant just ignore, said Michelle Freeland, President of Activists Anony-mous. Although many people were invited to the screening and many were committed according to Brittany Stuebe, a member of Activists Anonymous, not very many

showed up. Still, everyone present re-mained optimistic. Even one person is worth it, said Freeland. It was worth it for me, said Dave Graham, Activists Anonymous Faculty Advisor. Nathan Aronson, Vice President of Activists Anonymous, believed that the time of the event could have played a part in the low turnout, while Freeland believed that fliers could have helped boost awareness of the screening. Word of mouth (could have been) very effec-tive, said Graham. Future events involving Invisible Chil-dren could possibly include a money-raising event. We might do a fund-raiser, though we havent talked about it yet, said Freeland. We havent planned that far but if we do we will (announce) it, in regards to the pros-pects of future screenings. Students interested in joining Activists Anonymous may e-mail them at VVCActvistsAnonymous@gmail.com or attend a club meeting, which takes place on the first and third Fridays of the month, upstairs in the Student Activities Center.

Story by Phillip Phan

Reporter

DVD cover for Invisible Children film.

Poster from the Invisible Children website.

Promotional flier for Juneteenth event.

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 6

VVC Faculty Shows off Clothing from the Bookstore at the Fashion Show

Victor Valley Colleges first annual fashion show made its a debut May 5 in the evening at the Student Activity Cen-ter. The fashion show was a part of Rams Week and showcased the cloth-ing available in the VVC bookstore. Robert Sewell from Auxiliary Ser-vices set Rams Week into motion. The biggest issue was to convince the models to get on stage, Sewell said when asked if there were any difficulties having a fashion show. All the models came from different aspects of the college, from stu-dents to staff and even manage-ment. Props were made by stu-dents and the backdrop for the main runway was painted by staff. We fulfilled our expectations, said Sewell in regards to the shows success. The bookstore staff and Associ-ated Student Body members also lent a hand to help the fashion show. Maria Rempfer, operation assistant in the VVC bookstore, planned and organized the fash-ion show. I think everything went well. I was very thrilled to see the seats filled and Im starting to plan now for next years show, said Rempfer. Daniel Wilkens, a student at VVC, also attended the fashion show. I thought it was neat to see teachers and students and other employees of the college to walk a runway with each other. I am actually looking forward to next years show, said Wilkens. The fashion had plenty of seat-ing, good music and a relaxed feel to it. The audience seemed to enjoy the show and the models seemed to have a lot of fun. They are also looking for models for next years show.

Story and Photos by Chris Peatrowsky

Reporter

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 7

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 8

Cinco de Mayo Festival Brings Fun for All

Stages, dance floors, and vendors filled Victor Valley College for the an-nual Cinco De Mayo celebration on May 7. The celebration started at 10 a.m. and grew as the day went on. Many vendors from the high desert came out and lined their tents around the lake in honor of the Mexican holiday. The tents were filled with various food vendors, Universities, local sponsors and companies along with many activities for the young children that attended the event. There were many things around the lake for the entire family to enjoy. There was a castle bounce house and slide for the kids and a rock wall for all ages. When the kids got tired of jumping and climbing there were also tents where many got their face painted or got an artist to sketch a picture of them. Along with the many tents there was three different stages set up as well. Some of the events that took place on the stages were Danza Azteca Coat-laxupe, authentic Aztec dancers, Latin Express, a premier hometown band and various other dance and singing groups. The VVC Spanish club also had a ta-ble set up for the event. The club at-tended the event to help set everything up, bring awareness to the club and to play a part in celebrating Hispanic cul-ture. As well as spreading the word about the club, they also wanted to help spread the knowledge of Cinco de Mayo and provide games for the kids that attended the event. VVC student and Spanish Club mem-ber Nathalie Aguilar attended the event and said the best part of the day was seeing how everyone got together in helping celebrate an important part of Mexican History. Overall Aguilar stated that it means a lot to me how people still have an appre-ciation for other cultures and I hope that it continues. The Sponsors for the event included Wal-Mart, Victorville Motors, Desert Valley Medical Group, LA Poderosa, City of Victorville, HDHCC and VVC ASB.

Story and Photos by Samuel Mullen

Reporter

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 9

May 13, 2011 Page 10 RamPage VVC

Firefighters Hold Car Wash to Raise Donations

The Victor Valley College 35th Fire Academy held a car wash at the corner of Bear Valley Road and Apple Valley Road on April 30. I passed by taking my daughter to school and I was going to get my car washed anyway, so I would rather do-nate the money to the fire academy, said Bobby Rieger. The event was put on to support inci-dental supplies expenses related to the Academys graduation. Seeing the students who go through the academy end up with a position in the San Bernardino County Fire Depart-ment and it feels good for me to look around and see familiar faces working right alongside of me, said Captain Dave Mathis There are 34 cadets in the 35th acad-emy are set to graduate on May 15. Its been great. I got to meet a lot of new people and the academy is run by some really great people. Its very or-ganized, said Cadet Devin Rechtin.

Story and Photos by Roderick Allen Gray Jr.

Special Projects Editor

May 13, 2011 Page 11 RamPage VVC

May 13, 2011 Page 12 RamPage VVC

Campus Diversity: Concurrent Enrollment Students

In the Fall 2010 semester there were 752 Victor Valley College students un-der the age of 18, according to the VVC website. Most, if not all, of the students at VVC under the age of 18 are still in high school and a part of a program called concurrent enrollment. A program that allows high school students to make-up credits in order to graduate or allows them to take college general education classes while still in high school, concurrent enrollment works with students on both ends of the academic spectrum. There are different reasons that con-current enrollment students attend here. One is theyre trying to get ahead. But also I think there are other concurrent enrollment students here who are trying to remediate because they failed a sub-ject thats required for their diploma so theyre here trying to make up for that course, VVC transfer center counselor Lorena Dorn said. For students like Chelsea Faustino the concurrent enrollment program has al-lowed her, at 16 years old, to already be about a year into her general education requirements. I started it because I needed language, so I decided to take it here. And after-wards I realized I could start getting college credit for certain classes and now Im starting to earn my AA, Faustino said. Faustino attends the Academy for Aca-demic Excellence, and plans on major-ing in neurology after graduating high school. The high school junior says because she has a better feel of the real world due to her concurrent enrollment status she is more self-reliant and it has taught her about herself. I think Ive always been ambitious but the fact that now that I have college classes and I have to be there on my own time makes me more independent, Faustino said. I think its a lot of pres-sure right now, and by the time I get into college I kinda understand how I deal with pressure or stress in this kind of situation, she continued.

Not all concurrent enrollment students are as ambitious as Faustino. The second type of concurrent students is the stu-dents who, instead of striving to get ahead, are trying to play catch up. For example, (a high school) senior who failed the first semester of English if they can get into an acceptable level of English to meet high school require-ments, they would run over here to VVC

and take that class. So thats one way for them to make up those units, K-16 Bridge Director Chris Peircy said. Although concurrent enrollment stu-dents fall into the same category, Faustino believes the differences be-tween the two types are huge. Im taking classes so I can help my-self in the future. While, for (the other) kids right now (they) are taking them to just get by, Faustino said. Nonetheless both types of concurrent enrollment students have restrictions under VVC admission and records rules. Concurrent students are only allowed to take up to 11 units in fall and spring semesters and up to 8 units in summer and winter terms; this prevents them from becoming full-time college stu-dents. The concurrent enrollment program works with the Bridge Program. The Bridge Program aims to help students transition into college after high school.

Peircy says the Bridge program and concurrent enrollment work well with each other because it allows high school students to become more comfortable with the college atmosphere. You do have a group of kids that get way ahead, but the other thing that con-current does is gets them used to the idea of coming here to the college. High school and college are completely differ-ent environments, completely different, Peircy said. Although the concurrent enrollment does aid high school students in getting ahead, taking both high school and col-lege courses is no easy feat. Faustino admitted to being over-whelmed a lot of the time because of her workload. Between her high school and college classes the young student also participates in school sponsored events, and she just ran a marathon this year, too. Right now were doing AP testing, so its really stressful, because were study-ing for really hard tests and then we have a lot of tests here and research pa-pers and essays and it does get pretty frustrating, Faustino said. Now, because of community college cutbacks, the struggles concurrent en-rollment students face are only going to get more difficult for the time being. As more and more classes get cut from the VVC curriculum it will be harder for concurrent enrollment students to even get into classes as they are on the bottom registration totem pole. In the current state of the state of California the concurrent students are going to be less, because they enroll last if you look at the blocks. And the way things are going theyre going to have a very hard time trying to enroll in classes, Peircy said. Both Faustino and Peircy said the con-current program gives high school stu-dents a unique look into what life is like after high school. Peircy believes its unfortunate that the because of commu-nity college cutbacks the concurrent students are going to be so negatively affected. Concurrent allows kids to get a view of whats coming, Peircy said. Its an interesting program, but its going to be hard for those kids. I dont see how theyre going to get classes.

Story and Photo by Adreana Young Managing Editor

Concurrent enrollment student Chelsea Faustino.

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 13

8th Annual Academic Challenge Brings Friendly Competition

Victor Valley College's 8th annual Academic Challenge brought together a group of enthusiastic and competitive scholars this past Friday May 6 in the Student Activities Center. They com-peted in a diverse set of events which included raw spaghetti tower building, which was intended to shelter water bal-loons, completing frustrating squiggle puzzles, naming popular tunes, building buckyball structures and even a blazing challenge, which involved eating hot wings faster than your opponent. The victors were awarded Super Soakers, pillows and movies. Its such a great and positive event that gets everyone interacting and doing things that are not just book work, said participant and VVC student, Christo-p h e r D u s t i n . The SAC was packed and full of great energy as competitors hollered their an-swers and spectators enjoyed the festivi-ties and catering provided by Buffalo Wild Wings. ASB Adviser Robert Sewell acted as MC for the evening and gave the event a sense of fluidity and organization. The group of participants was not just limited to VVC students, but staff including Superintendent/President Christopher O'Hearn and Marc Zacovich, several alumni including Christina Zimbrano and Leif Kofford and even ASB Activities Senator Angela Perdomo's daughter.

My favorite event is Name That Tune, besides the spaghetti tower. This is why I love coming back, said Zim-brano. A large group of competitors included the 35th Fire Acad-emy who re-ceived a $250 donation to their program for their enthu-siastic participa-t i o n . By the end of t h e e v e n t , scores were tallied and pro-duced f i rs t place winners "All the Presi-dent's Men" consisting of Joey Ciulla, Roderick Gray, Matthew Woods, Tris-tian Woods and Carlos Garcia. There was an overall sense of accomplishment as even 6th place winners were given prizes. It brings a sense of comradery, brings about smiles and the sense to create and is a great bonding ex-per ience , sa id Sewell in regards to the success of the e v e n t .

Story and Photos by Lili Berni

Copy Editor

Peter Allan, Jeremiah Brosowske, Mark Zacovic, Christopher OHearn at the Academic Challenge.

Some of the Fire Academy members participating tin the Academic Challenge.

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 14

73-Year-Old Woman Comes to College for First Time

Elfriede Hilliard was enrolled in Vic-tor Valley College this spring, attending a campus for the first time in her life at the age of 73. Taking Computer Literacy and English Grammar ESL classes, she is one of the oldest stu-dents to enroll at VVC. Elfriede recently moved to Hesperia after her husband passed away a year ago. They used to manage a senior mobile home park as a team. Originally from Kaiserslautern, Germany where she graduated from high school at the age of 18, Hilliard met her husband Earl, who was stationed in Ramstein while he was in the Army. She moved to the US and married to a mili-tary man. Being a mom to four kids, she was busy preoccupied with family and moving around a lot. He has encouraged her to take some aptitude tests to see what her interests are, and meet with a career counselor for some direction. Hilliard loves school,

yet is unsure as to what her educational goals are. "I explained to her that they offer all kinds of classes at the college, from sew-ing or painting to real estate. You can learn anything you want, said her son James Hilliard.

Hilliards son had been urging her for years to go to school, and that it is never too late to start. James Hil-liard is very optimistic that she will continue to go. She is an exam-ple to people every-where that it is never too late to get an edu-cation. "She seems excited and very motivated to

succeed in the classes she's taking. She gets 100s on her tests. She goes to school and works on her assignments even when she doesn't need to be there! I'm surprised she's so eager. I thought she might never go. But I'm very proud and happy for her. When I first went with her to get enrolled, for a brief mo-ment I pictured my mom graduating with a degree and I got tears in my eyes," said James Hilliard. Its very interesting to learn all that. I don't want to add more to my plate right now, said Hilliard.

Story and Photo by James Hilliard

Contributing Writer

Elfriede Hilliard (left) gets help in her class.

Universal Health Care: Opposing Viewpoints edited by Susan Hunnicutt RA 412.2 U55 2010 The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Jonathan Schneer DS 1215.5 S366 2010 The Invisible Gorilla and Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons BF 321 C43 2010 Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone by Nadine Cohodas ML 420 S5635 C65 2010 Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment by David Kirby TD 195 A34 K57 2010

Women over 50 Documentary Screened at VVC

Beauty, grace, wisdom and joy are found in maturity as seen in the docu-mentary Women Over 50 that played as an encore presentation on May 4. Two years in the making, it all started as a pictorial museum exhibit that even-tually evolved into a one-hour documen-tary. Regina Weatherspoon-Bell producer and director of the Women Over 50 pro-

ject, always found older women very interesting, as a little girl and now she still loves to hear their conversations and stories. Weatherspoon-Bell had the idea for years to develop something that was artistic and special featuring women sharing their stories. As she matured and crossed into the 50 Club, she wanted to create a statement that says some of us are not trying to recapture our youth but mature into our next phase with the best of what youth has taught us, Weather-spoon-Bell said. Twenty ladies participated in the styl-ized one-on-one dialogue with the film-maker, with two questions asked to them: what was the greatest lesson you ever learned and what was the greatest lesson you ever taught? 63 year-old Caroll Yule, one of the women featured in the documentary, stated that the best life lesson was to let people surprise you.

Continued in Women on Page 18

Story and Photo by Abbey Mullen

Reporter

Regina Weatherspoon-Bell, Producer and Director of Women Over 50.

Entertainment RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 15

Welcome to the Ark. The once safe haven became a blood bath of chaos and destruction as two factions battle for power. The Ark was created to save peo-ple from worldly dangers, but everyone quickly realizes you cant run from your trou-bles no matter where you go. The Ark was previously built on the ground, however, due to the ocean rising and coving the land; it now floats as its own island. The people on the Ark are dy-ing from poverty, disease and lack of resources such as fresh water; the civil-ians have formed a resistance to the se-curity controlling the Ark. The security decided to push for stability for the fu-ture of the Ark. The resistance is fight-ing to escape the Ark for a better life. The settings for this game have beauti-ful, bright and vibrant colors. The voice acting is some of the best work for any first person shooter genre up to date. The weapon design is very detailed and crea-tive in terms of variance from other first person shooters. Brink doesnt support a stable story line in the actual campaign. However, you participate in random objective to complete a bigger task. The characters in Brink are fully cus-tomizable to the players liking. The player can change the characters body type and tattoos to clothes and accesso-ries. Classes are a big factor in Brink; for example, if you choose a heavy body type, your health meter would be at the maximum level. The movement of your character will be very slow and an easy target to opposing players. The light

body type has the least amount of health, but enables you to move quickly and jump over and on walls while running. The movement is very similar to the game Mirrors Edge in terms of run-ning, sliding or jumping over obstacles in your path. However, you need to earn experience points to unlock appearance options for your character. Furthermore, you dont need to spend any points, or any type of currency, on clothing for your character.

In addition to your customizing options, you will have to complete online chal-lenges to unlock attachments for weap-ons. The rating you receive after complet-ing the challenge determines what at-tachments are available to you. The stronger your weapons are means the better your chances are to surviving each mission. Contrary to beliefs, Brink isnt made to stand there and shoot your opponents for the scoreboard. The object in Brink is to move more than you shoot in order to last longer to complete tasks. If youre familiar with the title Left 4 Dead, the campaign are designed the same way. Each individual mission consists of two factors, completing the objective also completing the objective within the time limit. Brink will give you one main task and a time limit assigned to that particular task. If you succeed then another objec-tive will surface and a new time limit will arise to complete it in. In one single mission, you could have one objective to do or up to eight depending on the tide of war.

One plus side to shooting, are the iron sights have neon lights on them. So its easier to line up shots on opposing play-ers. During game play you can interact with consoles called command posts. The purpose for the command posts is to change class type to complete the neces-sary objective. There are four different class types such as; medic, operative, soldier and engineer. The different classes support one an-other on the battlefield because the game

is based on team effort. For exam-ple, the soldier class can distrib-ute ammunition to teammates; how-ever, the medic class can give health and revive other players when shot down. If you are not a soldier class, you cant pick up ammo unless a soldier gives it to

you. If you are an operative you can hack computers and disguise as the op-posite team. On the other hand, the engi-neer can repair and remove objects from the battlefield. Teamwork is essential in Brink to complete mission and be successful; however, its not wise to always change classes and attempt to do everything on your own. Attempts like that would most likely result in dying many times. This game is arcade based game play like in Unreal Tournament; players have unlim-ited number of respawns based on the trial and error factor. The style of FPS Brink has to offers is a fun and enjoyable one, but not to be taken seriously. The ability to sync sin-gle player with multiplayer without gaming interruptions is pretty cleaver, but Brink shows more of a multiplayer game by default. If you have online ca-pabilities, Brink is a great game to own; however, just playing single player can be very tiresome and frustrating. The repetition and short campaign is the real gaming flaws of Brink because most all the missions consist of the same process.

Good Multiplayer Saves Brink From Boring Campaign Review by

Jonathan Brown Entertainment Editor

Photo courtesy of the Brink official website.

Sophomore Height: 52 Weight: 135lbs Born: September 23, 1991 in Laguna Beach Bats: Right Throws: Right

Sports RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 16

Athlete of the Issue: Tiffany Cole

Tiffany Cole #15 Pitcher/Second Baseman

V V C

R A M S

G W L ERA K CG

26 16 8 1.41 112 18

Pitching Statistics

AVG RBI SB

.370 18 12

Batting Statistics

Mini Bio Made All-Conference Second Team Will make Academic All-American Team Has a 4.0 GPA Favorite MLB Team: Dodgers or Angels (either one) Favorite Quote: One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. - Helen Keller

Tiffany Cole is a starting pitcher and second baseman for the Victor Valley College Rams softball team. She holds an overall winning re-cord of 16 wins and 8 losses with a 1.41 earned run average in 26 games started. Cole began playing softball around the age of 7 after trying out many different sports. She stuck with softball because its a lot more mental and you have a lot more control over what you do just by investing more time into it. Cole played for her high school team in Big Bear Lake and was

noticed by VVCs softball coach Donell Thomas. Thomas expressed interest in her, which was the first time she thought that she could continue playing softball in college. Cole also balances her athletic responsibilities with her work in the classroom. When asked about the importance of academics, Cole re-sponded very important, I put it first. She expressed that time man-agement is the most important part in being a student athlete. For her efforts on the field and in the classroom, Cole made All-Conference Second Team, and she will also make the Academic All-American Team. Its cool that they recognize that I have put in a lot of hard work. said Cole with a smile.

Cole is also a firm believer in God, and she labels Him as her big-gest inspiration in her overall suc-cess. I have a lot of faith in God, and Hes gotten me to where I am said Cole. Cole is looking to continue play-ing softball after she leaves VVC by pitching for a small college in Nebraska through an athletic schol-arship. She describes playing soft-ball as the opportunity to come together with other people that you would normally not hang out with, and forming a family. Cole plans on continuing her edu-cation by majoring in art and even-tually forming a career in 3D ani-mation.

Story and Photo by Stephen Boyce

Reporter

Rams Baseball Season Ends, but Hopeful for Next Season

The Victor Valley Rams baseball team ended a forgettable season of 8-24 over-all and 4-20 in the foothill conference, but they are hoping to do better next year. They did finish strong though with their last three games, winning two out of three against Cerro Coso, and showed that we could be in store for something good next season. It was a tough task for Coach Jesus Beltran coming into the new baseball season as he tried to teach his players new things, with the players already being use to the old coachs plays, game-plans, etc. As well as having coaches leave just before the season and a sched-ule mix up, it was quite the ride for him in his first year. The first game of the season already made it seem like it would be a tough year for the Rams as they would lose 0-

Story by Mario Gonzalez

Reporter

10 against the Irvine Valley Lasers, but would bounce right back with two straight wins against Imperial Valley. From there on out, it seemed as if the Rams baseball team could not get any-thing going as they went on big losing streaks with their highest win streak be-ing one. There isnt much room for improve-ment for this Rams team next season, coach Beltran believes the most impor-tant aspects they need to work on is pitching and defense. Right now I am recruiting for next year, I have a lot of new guys coming in, but my main focus is pitching and I have about eight pitch-ers coming in but hoping for more since we only had four this year and you really cant go far with just four pitchers, said Beltran. Indeed the pitching seemed to lack this year for the Rams as their of-fense managed to stay in close games, but the opposing teams managed to come up with big plays off VVCs pitch-ers to come up with the win. As Beltran is already recruiting for the next up and coming season with high

expectations, it seems that many of his players will be returning as well. Players like short-stop Zac Bilsland, catcher Kevin Hogan, catcher Thomas McCarty, first baseman and pitcher Brian Lane, infielder Robert Vindiola, and outfielder Billy Epp. This would bring much ex-perience back to the team with new play-ers coming in also. Even though they had a bad season, there is plenty to look forward to going into next year. This year being his first year coaching for VVC, it was more of a learning experience for him and already he seems poised and ready in making the team better. He did very well espe-cially in the circumstances he was under and its hard to come to a team when coaches leave right before the season and everything gets thrown on him, I feel like he did really well said Zac Bilsland. If you have any questions for Jesus Beltran about try outs or any other ques-tions you can reach him at (760) 245-4271 ext. 2269 or you can email him at jesus.beltran@vvc.edu.

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 17

Comic by Carlos Garcia, Reporter

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 18

May 20, 21, 22 VVC Dance Department Presents Back to Future, Celebrating 50 Years of Dance Location: VVC Performing Arts Center- May 20, 21 7:30p.m. May 22, 2:30 p.m.

May 23 How to Transfer Workshop Location: Bldg. 55 Counseling and Administration- 1:30p.m.

May 25 Universities Visiting the VVC Transfer Center Location: Bldg. 55 Counseling and Administration- 10:00a.m.University of Phoenix, 10:00a.m., Cal State San Bernardino, 3:00p.m. Majoring in Library Sciences. If you are planning to transfer, check out these Universities!

May 26 Second Annual Transfer Celebration Location: Bldg. 54 Performing Arts Center Starts at 12:30p.m. Celebrating the 2011-2012 University Admits. Students will be given recognition through ceremony, meet students who are transferring as well, attend an infor-mation session on next steps to transferring. For more info, call (760)245-4271 ext. 2139 or 2713.

May 26 VVC Musical Department Presents a Free Musical Recital Location: PAC 7:30 p.m.

News In Brief

Tiandra Bullock, Reporter

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From Women from Page 14 Yule went on to talk about how every-one has something unique and wonder-ful, as stated in the documentary. Arlene Gulck another woman featured in the film believes you are who you are, and its silly to try and be someone else. Gluck has chosen to embrace 50 by saying Im not finished this is the begin-ning. The oldest of the 20 women in the film is 83 year-old Cleatrice Bell. A mother of nine kids and 41 grand-children and great grandchildren, Bell taught her kids to work hard and take care of their family, which she stated in the film as the greatest lesson she has taught. God means everything. He is first and everything else is second, Bell said in the documentary. The filmmaking team of Regina Weatherspoon-Bell, Michael Kernan, and Benn Johnston captured the women and their experiences. The Women Over 50 photography exhibit is being held in the lobby of the VVC Performing Arts Center now through June. For more information on the documentary and involvement, please call (760) 242-2487 or email gigi@verizon.net.

Your feedback is always appreciated:

vvcrampage@gmail.com

RAMPAGE STAFF

Editor-in-Chief: Joseph Ciulla Managing Editor: Adreana Young Copy Editor: Lili Berni News Editors: Micah Raimo, Wyketta Wilfong Features Editors: Reyna Arvizu, Anna Vivar Entertainment Editors: Racheal Rickman, Jonathan Brown Sports Editors: Shaun Canady, Arvin Sulikhanyan Photo, Video and Web Editor: Roscoe Esparza Special Projects: Roderick Allen Gray Jr. Adviser/Instructor: Judith Pfeffer

Reporters: Jason Becker, Stephen Boyce, Tiandra Bullock, Charaye Franklin, Carlos Garcia, Mario Gonzalez, Rueben Heagens, Lisa Johnson, Garrett Johnston, Sky Martinez, Tracy Martinez, Valente Molinar, Abbey Mullen, Samuel Mullen, Christopher Peatrowsky, Phillip Phan, Robert Rust, Cassandra Ulrich

Administration/Faculty/Staff Mentors: Carl A. Durheim III, Jennifer Fowlie Patty Golder, Bev Huiner, Tim Isbell, Scott Mulligan, Deanna Murphy, Christopher OHearn, Robert Sewell, Shirley Snell-Gonzalez, P.J. Teel, Paul Williams

Printing: Victor Valley College Campus Print Shop

CONTACT INFORMATION VVC RamPage, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville, CA 92395 Phone: (760) 245-4271 Extension 2773 Fax: (760) 241-5723 Email: vvcrampage@gmail.com or email Judith Pfeffer via GroupWise or at ______judithpfeffer@yahoo.com Website: http://www.vvc.edu/offices/rampage http://www..issuu.com/vvcrampage

GENERAL INFORMATION The RamPage is a newspaper published as an educational exercise and First Amendment Public Forum by students at Victor Valley College in Victorville, Calif. Issues come out approximately twice a month in the two full-length semesters, generally each February, March, April, May, September, October, November and December, for a total of 14 issues each calendar year. The views expressed by the RamPage are not necessarily those of VVC, its board of trustees, its administration, its faculty, its staff, its Associated Student Body Council or its students. The RamPage welcomes press releases, story ideas, letters to the editor, guest articles and guest editorials. Submit proposed items to the on-campus mailbox of RamPage Adviser Judith Pfeffer clearly marked as being submitted for publication. Or, email them to vvcrampage@gmail.com or mail information to RamPage, Victor Valley College, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville, CA 92395 or leave a message at 760-245-4271 extension 2773. VVCs journalism program belongs to the Associated Collegiate Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the Journalism Association of Community Colleges. ADVERTISING The RamPage generally accepts as advertising only 8 1/2 - by -11-inch flyers as inserts. The cost is $100, which covers insertion/distribution of 1,500 copies. The cost and responsibility of designing, reproducing and delivering the 1,500 flyers to the RamPage is borne by the advertiser. To discuss display advertising options or to purchase any form of advertisement, call Assistant Director of Auxiliary Services Deanna Murphy at 760-245-4271 extension 2707. Acceptance of any advertisement in the RamPage does not constitute endorsement by the paper, college, district, board, council or student body. The RamPage reserves the right to reject any material advertising or editorial that it deems to be not in keeping with the standards of the paper.

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 19

How do you feel about the new ASB President?

Fine, I guess. - Juan Ochoa I think hes gonna do a fine job with meeting students needs. - Theresa Lopez

Hes got pretty big shoes to fill and I wish him luck. - Greg Harbor

Lili Berni, Copy Editor

Heard Around the Lake

RamPage VVC May 13, 2011 Page 20

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