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T R U T H • L I B E R T Y • I N T E G R I T Y

Chabot College Thursday, October 15, 2009 chabotspectator.com

The

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I-Chapter hits Chabot

The Parking Devils strike back! Another innocent victim talks...

How good does winning feel? Just ask the Gladiators.

Everyone’s favorite childhood book comes to the big screen.

A look into Chabot’s latest theater show, Our Lady of 121st Street.

Is Chabot keeping up with modern technology?

Veteran Charley Trujillo recounts his Vietnam days.

Look for GSA coming out day.www.chabotspectator.com

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The Chabot College Bookstore’s newest enterprise, “I-Chapters” coupled with E-Books, is helping to make Chabot’s students access to their learning materials more convenient than ever. Kathleen Kaser, the bookstore’s manager, has made it her mission to make the texts necessary for Chabot’s classes accessible through every available alternative.

The “I-Chapter” feature allows students to purchase a digital download of the book or select chapters needed for classes instead of buying expensive bulky textbooks to tote back and forth to class. Students are able to purchase the book for up to a year, during which they can view it in a dual screened format (almost as if the book were right in front of you).

“People don’t realize that this isn’t available everywhere, I wanted to make sure that students can get the materials they need for their classes by every possible means”, Kaser said.

The innovative “I-Chapters” is a convenient and significantly cheaper way for students to get the materials necessary for success in their classes. All students have to do is go to the bookstore’s web site

(chabotbookstore.com) and click the “I-Chapters” link at the left side of Chabot Bookstore’s home page. There, students are able to simply browse through the list to find the class they need and select the “Buy at I-Chapter” link.

It’s simple, convenient, and it even offers a cool incentive: the first download is free. This makes it an attractive buy for students who are waiting on their financial aid or simply don’t have the money to purchase books, who often fall behind and sometimes end up having to drop the class as a result.

“The total cost of my books last semester came to about four hundred dollars, and half the time, the teachers didn’t even really use the book, just certain

chapters. I wish I had known about I-Chapters sooner so I could have saved a little bit of money and just bought what I needed,” said Chabot student Shawn Jackson.

Further, I-Chapters allows the student to search comprehensively for specific information needed when studying for tests instead of having to tediously flip through the pages.

“It’s really a greener alternative to textbooks. Just think of all the trees and paper that goes in to printing these books for the thousands of college students in the world!” commented Kaser.

While book purchases prices vary, E-Books and I-Chapters are as little as half the price

of bookstore texts. I-Chapters makes getting access to course materials a hop, skip, and a click away.

By ElizaBEth akintomidE

copY EdIToR

Student assessment woesBy ana navarro

cHIEf copY EdIToR

In fall 2008, 85 percent of students who took the English assessment test at Chabot needed pre-college (basic skills) English courses and 81 percent of those who took the math assessment test needed basic skills math courses. Chabot has seen similar percentages for years.

Chabot assessment tests have been created to predict whether or not a student will succeed in college-level courses.

The Dean of Language Arts Marcia Corcoran recommends a new program for students.

“The Jump Start program, which is a pilot this year, requires assessment, places student in English 102 their first semester, puts them in a math refresher diagnostic class to make sure they get placed into the correct math course, and requires them to take a Psychology Counseling class about how to succeed in college. During these past two years we have had great efforts

in student services to make sure that new students persist to the spring.”

“When students are referred to basic skills English, they have a choice of taking English 101A, which is a two-semester sequence (you also take 101B) to prepare for college-level English 1A, or English 102, which is an accelerated one-semester course to prepare for college-level English 1A,” said Corcoran.

“Our research is showing

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photo by jack barNwell

Bookstore Manager Kathleen Kaser

A new download service helps students avoid the high costs of textbooks

NewsThe specTaTor • Thursday, ocTober 15, 2009

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NEWSLINEPink Ribbon DayThe Chabot Student Health Center is promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Tuesday, Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Cafeteria Lobby. There will be pink ribbons, information materials and brochures and other prizes.

Chicano Latin Education Association (CLEA)The association is having its Fourth Annual Tamalada Fundraiser on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 at Celia’s Reaturant across the street. Tickets are $25 and all monies go to scholarships. For tickets visit Rachel Aziminia in Room 219, or Philomena Franco in the Financial Aid Office. For questions contact Patricia Molina, (510) 723-6733.

Chabot College Foundation EventThe foundation is holding its fall fundraiser Chabot goes Zydeco at the Starlight Club. The event will be held at the Hayward City Hall Rotunda on Saturday, Oct. 31 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Cajun Appetizers by Horatio’s, a wine bar, tarot and palm readings, live music, dancing, a chocolate dessert fountain and a silent auction will all be included in the $75 ticket fee. For faculty and staff, tickets cost $50. All proceeds go to campus programs. For more information contact Heidi Finberg at (510) 723-6936.

Congratulations to the Forensics Team This past weekend, Oct. 10, the team traveled to Santa Rosa Junior College for the second tournament of the year. Even with half of the team having the flu, and not being present, Chabot still placed fourth among all community colleges.

Associated Students of Chabot College Halloween Event This will be celebrated Thursday, Oct. 29 at noon in the Ceasar Chavez Courtyard. It may be moved to the cafeteria for weather reasons. Any clubs that want to participate in the event need to reserve tables and chairs by Oct.23 Contact Inter-club Council Allan Samson for information, (408) 607-3677.

ObituariesTwo former Chabot administrators recently died. Arthur L. Vargas, 79, was the public information officer at Chabot in the 1980s . Bill O’Mahoney, 65, was the interim Dean of Academic Services. O’Mahoney’s funeral service will be held this Friday in Las Vegas.

that students of all test scores are doing just as well in 102 as in 101A/101B, and they are more likely to make it to and succeed in English 1A, because they don’t have so much time to drop out.

“We can’t tell by test scores which students need the two semesters of preparation, so students should decide for themselves whether they want to try the more accelerated course.”

All English and math classes at Chabot are for college credit, but not all remedial courses give transferable credit. Still it isn’t wise for students to skip pre-college courses. They will be less prepared to succeed if they do.

“We see too many students fail”, said Dean Corcoran, “because they did not take the English and math courses that would have prepared them for work in the other college

courses.”An interview with Chabot

student Jose Valenzuela gave some fresh insight on how assessment tests impact an individual’s attitude. He was grateful to the assessment team, because they made it easy and convenient by going to his high school, James Logan, instead of requiring students to take the tests at the Chabot Assessment Center. He believes that if they did not put the effort in to reach students at their high school, he ‘’would not have gone to Chabot at all. I wouldn’t have known how to apply.’’

As far as his results on the assessment test, Jose was pretty optimistic. ‘’The math was accurate. I can’t complain.’’

He successfully transitioned from that subject, but felt upset his assessment test led him into English 102. In his interview, Jose said his 102 English

class was extremely crowded. Luckily, the class emptied out due to a lot of the students dropping the course. It was a completely different experience from his English 1 class where “hardly anyone dropped from 1A.”

So many students come out of high school unprepared for a college course in English and math, but Chabot is improving ways to help incoming students succeed. It may be that the high schools need more preparation for college, however, college life is a major transition that a lot of students struggle to adapt to.

A good idea is for students to take the assessment test early so that more classes are available and this gives them a head start. In the end, success depends on the student. How much students prepare and how much information they gather for the future is in their hands.

continued from page 1

photo by elias pasillas

Chabot’s assessment center, where students come to get placed in their appropriate math or English classes.

FocusThe specTaTor • Thursday, ocTober 15 2009

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The number of reports in the news about deaths among young adults ages 18 through 24 in the United States is astonishing, mostly because in previous years such numbers were lower.

It’s no mystery that young adults are under more pressure now than they were a couple of years ago, with the stress of money, relationships, school, work, and even living situations.

No matter when it happens, the death of a young adult will always be shocking.

According to statisticstop10.com, the top three leading causes of death among young adults are accidents, homicide and suicide. The top three leading causes accounted for 73.3 percent of all deaths among college-age young adults in 2002, accidents being number one took 8,275 lives.

Cbsnews.com states that substance abuse is taking more extreme and dangerous forms, with higher rates of alcohol and drug use that contribute to these deaths. Young adults have higher rates of abuse, and often no sense of limits.

In commemoration of Latino Heritage Month, Chicano veteran of the Vietnam War Charley Trujillo shared the trauma of his combat experience with a Chabot audience last Thursday.

Author and director of a memoir titled “Soldados: Chicanos in Vietnam,” Trujillo fought in the 25th Infantry of the 196th Air Division and received both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star medals. He was born in the small farming labor town of Corcoran in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

When Trujillo was 18 he joined the U.S. Army. He quickly found out that the Army was demanding and commanding in a physical capacity.

One day when Trujillo was ‘humping’ through the rice patties, one of the farmers grabbed him by the arm and put his own arm next to Trujillo’s and said, “Same, just the same see?” He had to fight racist attitudes as well as the North Vietnamese enemy.

Trujillo said that one day on combat patrol, a friend warned him, “better be extra careful Charley. From the behind you look just like a gook.” Trujillo said his nickname in Vietnam was “Fat Rat.”

Trujillo recounts the experience of another Chicano Miguel Gastelo.

Miguel Gastelo, of Company B 3rd Battalion 160th Light Infantry Brigade recalled “‘We were so casual about death, one day someone stabbed a villager and threw the corpse around and

I got the brains of the corpse on me and we laughed… we just busted up laughing because the villager’s brains were on me.’” He continued, “That is when I began to think ‘what is happening to me’?”

In his eight months in Vietnam Trujillo served in the infantry and reached the rank of sergeant.

One day, a grenade exploded and a piece of shrapnel landed in his right eye. At that moment Trujillo said he “promised God I would just pick cotton for the rest of my life if he let me live.”

Still alive Trujillo returned to California where he and his Chicano compadres found comfort in sharing their war stories. Trujillo found it hard to revert to a nonviolent state. “It’s hard to turn around programming when you are programmed to be violent and you go home and they expect you to just be non-violent,” Trujillo said. He and his fellow soldiers found that when they arrived home they could not sleep and did not want to talk about their experience in Vietnam to anyone, not even family.

Trujillo believes that goals can help soldiers to get back into civilian life. Trujillo feeks that it’s important to recognize what was done and forgive yourself. This is a step in the coping process.

“There is nothing glorious about war,” Gastelo remarks in Soladados.

Gastelo truly hits at the heart of the Chicano experience in Vietnam when he observed that, “The hard part is living with what you did.”

By Margaret Wilson

Staff Writer

Vietnam veteran Charley Trujillo celebrates Latino heritagePhoto by Margaret Wilson

By Jose rios

Chabot Life editor

Suicides stalk college-age students

War veteran shares his emotional story

graPhic by naya Duran

College-age young adults look to alcohol and drugs to shake their daily stress away. Yet, most college-age students push the limits each

time, and they don’t seem to know how much intake is too much.

Alcohol and drugs

contribute to depression, giving you short bursts of happiness but in the long run feed the depression that can eventually leads one to suicide.

News-medical.net agreed, “The harm caused by alcohol consumption among college students may exceed previous estimates of the problem. Researchers report that unintentional fatal injuries related to alcohol increased from about 1,500 in 1998 to more than 1,700 in 2001 among U.S. college students aged 18-24.”

The only solution would be to learn how to control stress, or find other ways to relax.

Mindtools.com teaches how to control stress, understanding how stress works and what causes it. The top three tools to help with stress are being positive, planning ahead, and physical activity.

The solution to help young adults live happier, healthier, and longer lives doesn’t come easy. What it takes is the willpower to see what is the right choice to make. It is good

to inform the public and see that there are other forms to prevent such deaths, being there to save more lives.

Chabot The specTaTor • Thursday, ocTober 15, 2009

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Chabot behind in never-ending tech race

VOICESWhat can we do to improve

education in America?

COMPILED AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY LEE PASILLAS

AnAlysis By Jose Rios

chabot life editor

“Stop funding wars based on lies!”

Kevin Muller

“Books cost too much! Lower prices and have 50 Cent give a motivational

speech.”

Lawrence Cornelius Sweeney III

“Don’t keep firing teachers or instructors,

and also lower the cost of books and units.”

Matt Smetana

“Hire qualified teachers that understand the needs

of students.”

Araceli Orozco

I definitely think that public schools should have teachers that are much more qualified”

Sarany Hassas

It has become increasingly noticeable over the past few years that Chabot College is behind on technology, based on the simple fact that we lack hardware that other schools in the Bay Area have. While it doesn’t necessarily mean that Chabot is a bad college, it does reflect poorly on he school’s ability to keep up with the changes in technology. With the technological demands of Chabot’s current and new students, it is important, now more than ever, that Chabot updates its technology.

Better technology saves time and energy not only for students, but also for teachers who have students on their back asking for work they missed. It makes classrooms friendlier and makes class time run smoother, without wasting time.

“What we need is piling up, [even] something simple as recording lectures and being able to see them online,” said Chabot instructor and technology committee member Scott Hildreth. “Online high speed data takes time and money, something that we also need.”

It’s true that Chabot needs

money, and more importantly, time to make things run smoothly. Without money things will continue to pile up, and these necessities will not be accommodated.

Skyline College, as well as many other schools, has a fully wireless campus with it’s own Wi-Fi printing. This brings up a good question. Why don’t we

have Wi-Fi everywhere on campus? Although we do have Wi-Fi on some parts of campus, what we’re missing is an umbrella for all rooms. Hildreth says that Chabot has talked to the district and they have responded, but Chabot is still working on making this happen.

Something that is equally important are the computers, which is what students get the most usage out of. However, not all of the computers in the various labs on campus are up to

par with the ones in the library. Chabot is run on a four-year cycle, meaning that Chabot is due for new computers on the entire campus.

“I’m not to sure how Chabot compares to other schools, but other schools have different things going on,” said Gordon Watt, a Chabot computer support technician. “We don’t want to be

the leading edge, mostly because we don’t have the money. We just want things to work well and do their job.”

It seems that what we have does

work well, at least according

to students. The Spectator recently asked students how Chabot

met their technology needs. Most said that

Chabot met their needs, and only one student noted that Chabot needs new stuff.

Scott Hildreth ended by saying, “ We’re significantly far behind, but I know other campuses aren’t as far as we are. Also, it depends on what we need, or what’s more important.”

Though these things might not be first on the “must-get” list, they are important, and we eventually have to upgrade. Technology never stops growing, why should we?

The SceneThe specTaTor • Thursday, ocTober 15, 2009

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Photos by jack barnwell

Our Lady of 121st StreetChabot’s theater arts department’s fall play is sure to bring the audience an insane performance

Sister Rose died in New York City.

Coming together for the first time in a long time are citizens of this community and former members from out of town. Every one of them in attendance have been taught in some way by Sister Rose, which is why they are all surprised when they discover that the body has been stolen.

This didn’t really happen but this is the premise for this fall semester’s mainstage, Our Lady of 121st Street, originally written by Stephen Adly Guirguis and directed by Chabot College’s theater arts instructor Joel Mullennix.

According to Mullennix, the play was chosen based on the great language that is to him profane, funny and passionate. The language was composed of a very strong beat.

This mainstage is very consistent with Mullenix’ style of story telling. Mullenix directed The Word for Word production of last spring, a production where every actor had their own story to tell.

“Each actor gets a lot to do,”

said Mullenix, “every character has an arc in the mist of this crisis regarding Sister Rose and it is amazing how Guirguis interweaves these ideas of personal struggles together.”

The characters in this play have a very strong connection with one another even after years apart. These characters to Mullennix embody the strength of most human connections. Every character is dealing with a different type of guilt and disappointment said Mullenix. Each of these funeral attendants is in a sort of transitional phase.

“They are close to their middle ages and they are out of excuses,” said Mullenix, “they are not kids anymore.”

Rooftop played by Jim Lockett; he is a DJ who has come all the way from L.A. to view the body. Besides that, Rooftop is looking for retribution from Father Lux, feeling guilty about the things that he left behind in New York, family, friends and an ex-wife that still has a grudge against him. Rooftop earned his name by the location of where he is known for laying down his women.

“Rooftop is the most dominating presence in this feature,” said Lockett.

Rino Hadzisehic was The

Duke in last spring’s Measure for Measure. This fall Hadzisehic is Father Lux, a priest who hasn’t left the rectory since he transferred over to this church nine months ago.

While trying to put up with Rooftop’s irritating confessional, Father Lux is a bitter Korean War veteran who lost his legs in that fight and is still in a bad state of moonlighting.

“This priest has doubt, problems and he doesn’t like to go outside his vestments,” said Hadzisehic. “While he doesn’t know all of the funeral attendants personally, he has heard of each and every one of them.”

Brian Davis is Flip, a former resident of New York who moved to Wisconsin to become a lawyer, which was where he met Gail. Youssef Riahi is Gail, a homosexual, an alcoholic who thinks he is a good actor.

Flip has brought Gail with him to the funeral. Gail does not know Sister Rose or anyone that Flip grew up with. Members of Flip’s community do not know Flip as gay so Gail’s flamboyance annoys Flip and it makes him self-conscious.

“Gail is what his partner Flip refers to as a ‘gay theater housewife,” said Riahi.

Rooftop grew up with

By Jesse Prado

staff writer

“You won’t be human. You’ll just be a mammal!” shouts actor Sam Chaires (left) at Teresa Guewell as they get into character for a photo call on the Little Theater stage.

Balthazar played by Sam Chaires. Today Balthazar is a New York detective and according to Chaires seems to be the most hurt by his losses.

Balthazar is an angry alcoholic who is dealing with the loss of Sister Rose and all of his friends that have left him over the years. At rock bottom, Balthazar carries a long list of

demons that he hasn’t let go of yet.

“This is the only character that truly embodies this sense of loss,” said Chaires. “This play is about honesty, these characters coming to terms with their losses.”

Our Lady of 121st Street will be running in Chabot’s Little Theater Oct. 29 through Nov. 8.

Chabot students Sam Chaires (at left) and Teresa Guewell perform their lines during a brief rehearsal of the upcoming main stage play Our Lady of 121st St in the college’s Little Theater.

enjoy reading at a young age and Comic Inc. always caters to the children of their community by participating in such events as National Comic book day where you can go in and pick up a series of comic books for free provided by such comic book companies as: Marvel, Dark Horse, DC, and Bongo.

Also, a couple times a year Lennie and Comic Inc. invites over the 501st Legion, the Star Wars fan club all dressed up in their suits ready for battle. It is truly a sight to see and experience.

You can check out Comic Inc.’s fall sale on Oct. 17 where the 501st Legion will be present for a meet and greet. Comic Inc. is located at:7980 Amador Valley Blvd. Dublin, California

The Scene6The specTaTor • Thursday, ocTober 15, 2009

Comic book stores a thing of the past?Local store in Dublin sure to prove that comic book stores are here to stay

Have you ever wanted to relive your childhood or have your kid experience what you did as a kid?

Today with the Internet and other sources, comic books have become something that you watch and play not something you read.

Comic book movies bring the page to life but also take out the artists and writers of the comic books themselves. The comic book companies have had to go the route of movies and video games but still are sure to publish the books themselves. This is the key factor to knowing your roots and proving that printed books are not just a thing of the past.

Today’s generations have an infatuation with the comic book world that stems from their childhood, and they will carry it onto their children. This shown by exponential growth to San Diego’s Comic-Con, hosting almost half a million people.

Comic book culture is something that everyone has their hand in one way or another. It is almost cool to be a geek or a nerd these days.

Comic Inc. in Dublin is one of the few comic book shops in the Bay Area and is one of the best. The owner/operator of the store Lennie Chancey greets every customer with a smile and always enjoys sharing his endless knowledge of comic book life both old and new.

Chancey took over the store about five and a half years ago when he retired from insurance. He just was not ready to sit around the house and took on the comic book store. Chancey explains, “I have collected comics for 35 years and thought this would be a great way to meet and talk to fellow collectors while haveing some fun in life while I earn a living.”

Comic Inc. is making it possible for the younger generation to have that comic book store to spend all of their well-earned chore money after a long week. Comic books are a great way to get children to

By Thomas Jurich

the scene editor

By casey casimiro

focUs editor

The highly anticipated film based on the well-known and beloved book “Where the Wild Things Are” hits the silver screen this week on Oct. 16. It is a whimsical tale of childhood and imagination, which is sure to pull on moviegoers’ heartstrings while taking you back to your own youth.

The movie, directed by Spike Jonze, tells the story of a young boy named Max played by new and talented young actor Max Records. It is a modern-day story of a child living in a single-parent home. With a loving mother who must work to support her two kids and an older sister who is at the age where friends are more important than her little brother, young Max clearly feels a sense of loneliness and isolation from the beginning.

After a few unfortunate events that lead Max to throw a temper tantrum and literally bite his mother on the shoulder, he sprints out of his home running nowhere, yet he runs as fast as he can. Clothed in his wolf outfit, Max runs through the wilderness and finds a boat, which he takes through tumultuous waters and eventually ends up in the land of the wild things.

There he meets a group of monsters, which he convinces that he is a king with powers. They make him their king and in return he promises to give them everything they could ever want and most importantly, to make them happy again.

The monsters, at least nine feet high,

are both realistic, but animated. The costumes are huge and furry and appear to be giant puppets. But once they speak, the movements their faces make look completely real and no one can object to the fact that the monsters are masterfully done. They are funny looking monsters that have a penchant for howling, barking, and sleeping in giant piles together. But ultimately, they are a family who tries hard to stay together.

Max befriends them all, but forms the closest bond with Carol, who also has his own feelings of loneliness. Max and his monsters embark on a mission to build a fort complete with underground tunnels and the ability to sail as well.

Although actor Max Records is only 12 and fairly new in the industry, his emotions are authentic and raw. He plays Max to the tee. Jonze creatively shows the world of a child through a child’s eyes. The audience seemed to have felt what Max was feeling.

Though the movie is wonderful and imaginative, it feels as though it is more of a movie about children for adults, rather than a movie for actual children. The timing is quite mellow and slow, which will probably leave some very young children feeling tired or bored. There are some dark scenes where the monsters get angry and arms get pulled off, which could leave some of the really young ones feeling scared.

Overall, “Where the Wild Things Are” is a visually appealing film, true to the book and sure to bring to your attention your own wild self.

Director Spike Jonze takes on the huge task of bringing the award-winning book Where the WIld Things Are to the real-life big screen.

courtesy of warner brothers Pictures

graPhic/Photo thomas jurich

Stormtoopers will be in attendance at Comic Inc.’s annual fall sale.

The Spectator’s article this week about student assessment brings up a startling statistic. Eighty-five percent of students entering Chabot for the first time need to take remedial English classes, and eighty-one percent need to take remedial math classes.

It makes one wonder how there can possibly be so many

EditorialThe specTaTor • ocTober 15, 2009

7the

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Education: a broken system

By Jesse Prado

Staff writer

all i needed was a parking permit

The parking vendors at Chabot look nice but they don’t work well in the rain.

The first rain of this fall semester proved that this past Tuesday.

All four were down in Lot G, where which one of them just took my dollar.

The one closest to the Children’s Center and staff parking was the only one out of three working in Lot E.

And the two closer to the staff spaces were working in Lot A.

The Spectator gave me $8 to go try all 12 of these parking vendors which was surprisingly enough because only three of them worked.

The reason for this assignment started with one parking vendor in Lot G that wasn’t working that morning. Good thing they installed those call boxes, with one push of a button, there was dial tone coming from the speaker.

“Chabot Dispatchers Office,” said an operator.

“The vendor in Lot G, across from The School of The Arts Department is messed up,” I said. “It won’t take my dollar.”

“Did you try any of the other ones?”

“The green light is on the one I tried, it just won’t take any paper.”

“Well,” she said, “go get change from the bookstore.”

I hung up. That’s funny. They usually send someone

right down. Did she hear me when I said I was in Lot G? The bookstore is in Lot A. That is on the other side of campus and there was water in my shoes now. They must’ve been shorthanded.

I didn’t have an umbrella. Water sloshed into my shoes with every step that I took to that bookstore.

The walk took around 10 minutes, tops. The clerk wasn’t too excited about breaking my two dollars, however he did and he was much happier to do it than the clerk in the cafeteria because she wouldn’t do it at all. I used these coins 10 minutes later in Lot G.

The vendor wouldn’t accept my coins now. I found myself back at the call box, listening to dial tone, ready and waiting for round two.

“Chabot Dispatcher’s Office,” said a new voice.

“The Vendor has taken my quarters.”

“I’m on my way out,” said the voice.

The security vehicle pulled up, rolled down his window and scribbled the date on one of his cards, ‘Earnest C. Knox # 101 Campus Safety Officer’ and handed it to me.

“Throw that on your windshield.”

I said thanks and like that he vanished. My clothes were soaked after 30 minutes outside and that is not any kind of state of mind to be in a math class.

Uncomfortable, I had to go home and change before my next meeting, so I left before math let out.

I advise those without a

parking permit to either get one or settle for the streets on rainy days like Tuesday because you can’t take your chances with these machines. Maybe they were all built by Satan and he just put good men like us to work installing them.

It is things like these parking vendors that make people late for class.

students who aren’t ready for college level courses.

According to a 2006 study by the Program for International Student Assessment, 15-year-olds in the United States rank 17th in science and 24th in math internationally. Clearly, our elementary schools and high schools are not keeping up with those in the rest of the world.

It doesn’t matter if a student is accepted to one of the most prestigious universities in the country, or goes a community college like Chabot. As long as high schools leave students unprepared for higher education, the United States will always be behind the rest of the world in education.

The assessment tests do help students at Chabot get the necessary preparation for college courses and increase their chances of passing these courses. And it seems Chabot is doing everything it can do for students at the point that they enter the college. But assessments are really just like putting a band-aid on the real problem, which occurs much earlier.

Many have suggested ways to fix this problem.

Most recently, President Obama suggested that school in the U.S. be held year-round, as it is in most other developed countries.

We think this is a good idea, at least in theory. The practice of not having school in the summer dates back to times when children needed to help their families on the farm during the summer. Having school year round would also eliminate the need for teachers to review things that students already learned, but didn’t practice or remember over the long break.

However, the question of money plagues all suggestions of reform in America, and education reform is no exception. Regardless, the editors of the Spectator insist that education is one of the most important issues, and should be a top priority when it comes to deciding where

Graphic by chloe waldrep

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Current programs used to help students succeed are equivalent to putting band-aids on a gaping wound.

The specTaTor • Thursday, ocTober 15, 2009

SportS8

Winning never felt so goodChabot lays a 52-35 beat down on College of the Redwoods at the Homecoming game

sean jones/staff photo

By DaviD BermuDez

SportS Editor

The Gladiators finally came back to their winning ways on Saturday with a 52-35 victory over the College of the Red-woods Corsairs. It was an im-pressive and a much needed win for the Chabot football team who prior to Saturday’s homecom-ing game, has lost three straight. Chabot quarterback Antoine Young put it best when he said, “We needed this win.”

After a disappointing loss 31-0 loss to Foothill College, Chabot went into the bye week hoping to figure things out and get some players back healthy. “We went back to the fundamen-tals of football, have people be at their right spots, and try to get back into winning,” said head coach Danny Calcagno. That is exactly what went out and did on Saturday.

The first half belonged to the Gladiators as they seemed to score on every other possession. The defense was fired up and the offense had a three-headed monster with Young, running backs Tyler Mason and Brandon Thompson. For Thompson it was his first home game since being injured last year against San Mateo. “It feels good to be back and playing at home,” said

Thompson. On the Gladiators first pos-

session, Mason was able to break a couple of tackles and easily walked in for the touchdown and put Chabot up 7-0. On a punt by the Corsairs, Austin Stafford was able to sack the punter and retain possession for Chabot. The Gladiators scored right away. Young threw a perfectly placed ball to Nick Blunt who made a great jumping catch and put Chabot up 14-0.

The Corsairs finally got on the board in the second quarter. Redwoods went for it on fourth down twice in order to score. Since the run and option plays have been a problem for the Gladiators all year, the Corsairs were able to score on a draw play for the quarterback. Chabot answered back.

Stuck on their own 20, Young called his own number and took it 80 yards for the touchdown and put Chabot up 21-7. On the next Gladiator pos-session, Thompson scored his first touchdown of the day and made the score 28-7. Just before the end of the half, the Corsairs went down the field and on a play action, the Corsairs found the end zone again. As time expired, John Garcia kicked a 30 yard field goal. Chabot’s lead was now 31-14 at half time.

In the second half, the game seemed to slow down a bit. In the third quarter the Corsairs were able to score three times to put a little scare to Chabot. Chabot held on strong, by answering with touchdowns of their own. Thompson scored his second six of the day and at the end of the third quarter it was 45-35. The fourth quarter was even slower.

The Corsairs kept on going three and out. The Gladiators on the other hand, had full control of time of possession.

Chabot scored their final touchdown with a quarterback draw by Young. Mason, Young, and Thompson, racked up the yards against the College of the Redwoods defense. “It is big having all of those guys,” said

Calcagno about Young, Mason, and Thompson. “They make big plays for us.”

With Thompson back and rotating with Mason a lot dur-ing the game, it didn’t bother Thompson. “I like seeing every-one else do good, I don’t worry so much about me. Mason and I click, we call each other brother, and support each other.”

At far right, Brandon Thompson and Tyler Mason celebrate another score in Chabot’s 52-35 win.

Stephen Jackson is being un-Warrior-listicBy DaviD BermuDez

SportS Editor

If you have watched any of the Golden State Warriors game over the past few years, you might have seen a familiar face. He is always talking to the refs. He throws up a bad shot in the final two minutes of the game. And he dribbles the ball in hor-rific fashion. If you know these things, then you know Stephen Jackson

Jackson recently stepped down as one of the captains of the Warriors, stating that it was overrated. He was also suspend two exhibition games for picking up five fouls in 10 minutes on Friday against the Los Angels Lakers.

Before all of this, in the summer, Jackson told Dime Magazine and reiterated during the Warriors media day that he wants to be traded to a contend-ing team and win a champion-ship. This led him to being fined $25,000 by the NBA.

This would all make sense, since the Warriors are one of the youngest teams in the NBA, and they are in the process of rebuilding again. And Jackson is 31 years-old and feels his time is

running out. But the big problem is that

last season, Jackson signed a three-year contract extension worth $28 million, and he was already under contract for two. This contract signing makes him practically un-tradeable. No one wants to trade for that type of contract.

To make matters worse, Jackson is not even the Warrior’s best player. He is about the fourth best behind, Monta Ellis, Anthony Randolph, and Andris Biedrins. As much as the War-riors want to trade Jackson, an-other problem is that they wont be able to get value in return.

It might seem like Jackson is being a big baby in all of this, but fault not only has to be laid on Jackson, but on the Warriors front office as well.

Warriors president Robert Rowell, was the man who gave Jackson the contract extension before he even had to. Rowell and the organization felt happy about having Jackson and be a leader for the next several years of this young team. A lot of blame should be placed on Rowell if by the end of the trade deadline Jackson is still Warrior.

Jackson is not a bad guy,

he smiles on the court, has fun, comes through at times in clutch situations. Now he is making the team all about him. All the atten-tion will be on him. When people watch the games, people will look at him and see what is he going to do. Is he going to play his tail off like he said he would? Will he go out and get a techni-cal foul at every opportunity that he can? Jackson seems to want his own Terrell Owens moment. Well he got his wish.

Winning will cure every-thing, and if the Warriors jump off to a great start, maybe Jack-son will have a change of heart. But that’s being very optimistic.

The Warriors will probably win no more then 35 games with the roster they have. Don’t get me wrong, I hope the Warriors do great since I’m a Warrior fan and they are fun to watch. But playing the small ball basket-ball they play won’t win you a championship unless you play some defense. The Warriors get killed on the rebounding end, and don’t have a legit point guard or another rebounder to help Biedrins.

Jackson is one of the only players on the Warriors who does play tough defense and is will-

ing to take on players like Kobe Bryant. Yet he is a hot head. He plays with a lot of emotion and his attitude now could be a cancer to the locker room.

Jackson is being quoted in the Daily Review as saying, “Being a captain was overrated to me, anyway, You didn’t do anything but go at the beginning to talk to the refs, and I didn’t want to do that. Being a captain is overrated.” He said that he is not going to help out his young

teammates and get their game going.

Basketball is a team sport and the Warriors need to get rid of Jackson before his thoughts affect the younger players. He is isolating himself and making him the center of attention.

The faster the Warriors get rid of Jackson, the better off the team will be. The Warriors have a lot of other issues to work on but this will be a step forward instead of a huge step back.