The Chabot Forensics Team looks promising this season with both returning contenders and students new to forensics. After going to Nationals last season, the students are eager to go to Nationals again this season.

Forensics is an umbrella term that covers speech and debate, which can be broken down even further. Colleges all over the country compete with each other in teams and individually in the different forensics events.

One debate event the Chabot College Forensics Team participates in is Lincoln-Douglas debate. Lincoln-Douglas debates are one-on-one person debates that have a topic for a whole season. This season’s topic is the actions of Cyber Command in the realm of cyber community.

Another debate event is the parliamentary debate which is a team debate with teams of two. Unlike Lincoln-Douglas debates, the topic for parliamentary debates changes every round. Each team has 20 minutes to prepare for the topic, usually about current events.

“I’m completely confident in my ability,” Stated Joel Brown, Captain of the Forensics Team. “I love both, [Lincoln-Douglas and parliamentary debates] that’s why I do both,” Joel answered when asked about which debate event he prefers more.

While Joel participates in both Lincoln-Douglas debates, he also participates in Parliamentary debates with his debate partner DaCobi Anderson. “With Joel and me, I think we have beautiful chemistry together. It’s like mixing sugar and spice, and we’re making everything nice.” DaCobi stated.

Within the speech category of forensics is the persuasive speech. Where the speaker tries to convince the audience to do something such as change their viewpoint or change a law.

“I feel pretty confident. My speech is about at-risk youth, and why they are at-risk youth. I came from that background, and I am trying to do something better.” Danny Muñoz stated when asked about this season.

Another speech event is prose interpretation. This is a speech event where the speaker speaks for 10 minutes, and the contents of their speech are from a book to tell a story.

“The simplest stories can be, so heart-wrenching, so heartbreaking, and if you perform it correctly, it’s beautiful. This year I’m doing a prose interpretation on a teacher who was in a school shooting, and his wife dies during the school shooting.” Kivraj Singh recalls when asked what his favorite speech event was.

The Chabot Forensics Team is strong this year, beating teams from both community colleges as well as four-year universities. The team is eager to keep winning and head to nationals again.

The season for forensics starts in the fall and ends in the spring. Students that take the forensics class this semester continue the season in spring as well under the class Comm 48.

“The forensics community is tremendous in its ability to produce high level, in-depth education and knowledge production about a variety of different topics. For those here at Chabot who are interested, who are passionate, about social justice or public policymaking: Forensics is a great way to engage in that passion,” stated Joel for those interested in Forensics.

On October 25, Chabot College held an event for Disability Awareness, with many vendors and entertainment. The focus of the event was mostly about what resources there are for those who need a little extra help, and those who help someone else.

The Disabled Students Resource Center (DSRC) offers a wide range of services and accommodations for students with a documented disability. “We get a lot of students coming to us who have accepted their disability, but a lot of people are nervous about being labeled, or, like in the deaf community, they don’t see it as a disability, but if they don’t come to us, they can’t get an interpreter or note taker. A lot of teachers come to learn more about what they can do for their students as well.” said Alise Smith, an assistant counselor at the DSRC

“Using blocks or a strap in a yoga pose isn’t cheating, it’s actually going to help you get the most out of a pose,” explained Mariella Morales, a yoga teacher at Chabot. The same can be said for many services and accommodations in disability programs. For many, getting a little help when it’s really needed, benefits you much more in the long run, and could prepare you to succeed without that help later on.

“I talked to DSRC my first day on campus, they definitely helped me, but I was nervous at first, I didn’t know what to expect. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been determined to be more independent, I’m in a wheelchair most of the time, my doctors don’t want me to put pressure on my legs right now. When I learned more about what resources they gave to students, I was more comfortable, and I have appreciated having test accommodations.” said Jorge Duarte, Radio & TV broadcasting major at Chabot.

“Back when this started, it was called ‘Dare to be Aware’ because most people aren’t aware of disabilities until something happens to them, or a family member. So you want to bring awareness to students and others campuswide, as to just what is out there, so we can create an equal playing field. That’s possible now with some of the newer technology that’s out there.” said Richard Blair-Keeney, Counselor at Chabot’s DSRC.

Blair-Keeney has worked at Chabot for over 26 years, and plans to retire soon, he was honored at this year’s event. When asked to clarify the goal of the event, Blair-Keeney agreed, “The event is about raising awareness for some of the many programs that can help with accessibility, and resources for anyone who needs a little, or a lot of help.”

A few of the organizations at the event were:

• 211 — Offering nonemergency help, in urgent situations. 211.org is the website, but you can dial 211 on your phone to connect to a free, confidential advice line on finding services to help with domestic violence, housing problems, health, financial, if you need help, they can probably point you in the right direction.
• IHSS — They work together with Medicare and Medi-Cal, if you are caring for an older person, or a disabled person, they can subsidize your time, i.e. pay you for caring for your grandparent. (510) 577-3517 gettingthemostoutoflife.org
• Beyond Emancipation — Designed to help foster kids and teens become independent, offer housing and job opportunities, and offer some support outside the system. (510) 667-7694 beyondemancipation.org
• Echo — The Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity, designed to promote fairness in housing, they offer services to provide housing assistance, tenant/landlord counseling, and other counseling related to renting and housing. (510) 581-9380 www.echofairhousing.org
• Ability Tools — Offering short-term device loans, or low-cost used devices for disabled Californians, tools to make life easier. 800-390-2699 www.abilitytools.org
• Futures Explored — A vocational program to assist individuals with developmental disabilities with learning film production, multimedia development, and supporting role skills for positions which can help lead to employment in the Film and Media Industry. (916) 416-5487
• CRIL — Community Resource for Independent Living is a peer-based organization advocating for and providing resources for people with disabilities to improve quality of life, and make communities fully accessible. (510) 881-5743 www.crilhayward.org

Easy Does It — Initially began as emergency services for Berkeley residents, for those who are disabled, who need immediate help, but not an ambulance. They now also provide casework and logistical and technical support for people with disabilities and seniors so that they can live their lives with dignity and liberty. (510) 845-5513 www.easydoesitservices.org

Could you have ever imagined that one day it would be possible that you would be able to eat a burger made by a machine? Well, folks, the day has finally come, you can say that you have eaten a burger made entirely by a “robot” at Creator.

Creator is the concept of Alex Vardakostas, CEO & Co-founder of this newly established burger restaurant. Located in the heart of San Francisco, off the corner of Folsom Street and 3rd Street, this new burger spot is the hot new topic in the city.

Creator makes its burger entirely by machine, with the exception of human help for any technical difficulties along the way.

Karina Sanchez, a resident of Castro Valley, praised the burger stating, “This is the best burger I have ever eaten. It is very flavorful and it is cooked just right. Better than any fast food restaurant.”

This establishment is only open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., so get there fast for lunch and get your 6 dollar burger before doors close and it’s too late.  

Also known as stir-fried ice cream, Thai rolled ice cream is the freshest ice cream preparation available, and it’s becoming popular in the Bay Area.

We visited two shops to compare this unusual style of ice cream. The process starts as liquid sweet milk and is mixed on a specially made, negative 20-degree steel surface right in front of you. They mix in the flavors, fresh fruits, tea, or whatever flavor you desire, and it freezes as they mix and spread it on the cold table.

“The rolled ice cream reminds me of the Thai snow shaved ice, it’s a light flavor.” Susan Luker said, at Freezing Point Creamery in Oakland. Susan Luker continued, “I didn’t eat breakfast so I would have room for this ice cream. I really like it.”

“It’s really creamy and very very cold. The Thai tea flavor seems to be the strongest one, of the ones I’ve tried so far.” Isaac Mirviss said, “It could bother your teeth if they’re sensitive to the cold.”

“There are two distinct flavors,” said Susan Luker, when comparing Icicles rolled ice cream to Freezing Point Creamery, “I think Icicles is more like a frozen yogurt shop, the flavors are very bold, and it tastes more like custard, and they have a lot more toppings you can add on top. Whereas [Freezing Point] had a lighter, and fresher flavor, they also had some options I don’t think you’d find anywhere else, like chrysanthemum.”

Icicles carries a much larger menu, as well as a toppings bar to choose from. Icicles also enjoys keeping their flavors relevant, with puns such as “Bae-sic,” “Cereal Killer,” and “Butterface.”

Freezing Point Creamery has flavor options such as Ube, Thai Tea, chrysanthemum, and Green Tea, along with more traditional fruit flavors like banana, strawberry, and mango. Both shops prepare the specialty rolled ice cream in full view of the customers, allowing you to see the whole process.

“Icicles is more American or Western-style, and Freezing Point just seems more Asian in their options, and also the atmosphere.” Sarina Luker said, after visiting both.

Susan Luker told us, “I usually judge ice cream on their vanilla, you can taste the consistency as well as the flavor and fat content.”

“We should have gotten a vanilla, to test the most basic flavor.” Isaac Mirviss said.

Freezing Point Creamery in Oakland opened about two years ago and maybe the closest option for Chabot students who want to give rolled ice cream a try. They have very fresh, and light flavors. Icicles in Pleasanton could be more familiar for some, as their flavors are more bold and sugary.

Burger King is no stranger to special Halloween sandwiches meant to draw in more customers, such as the Halloween A1 Whopper. This year Burger King is seeking to truly make the burger of your nightmares with the Nightmare King.

The Nightmare King sandwich is based on the Bacon King sandwich. The sandwich consists of a whopper patty, breaded chicken breast, cheese, bacon, topped with onions and mayonnaise, hurled between a green bun.

The “nightmare” in the Nightmare King is not referring to the green dough that the Sandwich calls a bun. It comes from Burger King’s desire to give the patron nightmares in the spirit of Halloween.

The Nightmare King tastes less like nightmares and more like teenage anxiety. The sandwich contains a flavor that can be bought any day, not just on a special holiday, leaving me craving a taste of Halloween spirit. The Nightmare King tastes like most of the chicken sandwiches that Burger King sells all year round.

The patty itself adds nothing to the sandwich except maybe some extra foodstuffs to fill your stomach. As far as chicken sandwiches go, since that is what it tastes like, I feel it was pretty bland and overly salted. There are definitely better chicken sandwiches with a more interesting flavor than the Nightmare King, cheaper too.

The green bun, which feels like it’s just a scare tactic to be off-putting, is really just a dough that was dyed green with an extract made from watermelon rinds. This doesn’t help the final presentation because green dough that is baked can still brown in the oven making the outside look more like the bun is caramel apple flavored.

Despite the main selling point of the sandwich, the promise of a night filled with terror, my dreams were as sweet and sugary as riding a unicorn through a magical meadow. Although I couldn’t actually finish the sandwich, but not because of the size.

“The burger was all right. It looked appetizing, but tasted about like I thought it would, which was just a chicken sandwich.” conveyed Ariel Buckingham, a student at Chabot College.

“The burger was not very appetizing. The cheese was incredibly overpowering on top of everything else, the onions gave it no flavor, the bacon was just there, The chicken was really big and it didn’t leave enough room for any other flavors in the burger.” Christian Hernandez, a Chabot College student, said after eating the Nightmare King.

“While I still don’t regret it, it did finally hit my system the next day and wreaked havoc on my stomach. Other than that, I felt the chicken and beef complemented each other flavor-wise. Everything worked taste-wise.” stated Greg Durocher a patron of Burger King

As with all fast food, the location, time of day, and staff all impact whether the burger will be better or worse than my experience. If you feel that you want to take a Halloween risk and battle the “King of Nightmares,” I can’t really say I recommend it. Even for those who love Halloween more than any other time of the year.

Chabot had their usual Food Pantry event on Wednesday, October 10, to distribute food and other resources like clothing to people who need them.

The food pantry started in the summer of 2017 and has been pretty successful since. Student Maria Garcia and former student Sofia Sanchez, who were volunteers for the event, said, “Chabot hosts the event to increase access to food and other resources.”

When asked who supplies the food she stated, “[the] food comes from the Alameda County food bank.”

When asked about how many people volunteer for this cause she said, “[about] 10-15 people volunteer for this event.”

Food pantry events are a big help for a student or anyone who’s struggling as many are, with working while also trying to go to school full time, especially in the bay area.

When asked on how the food pantry has helped her, Phuong Ha, a student at Chabot College told us, “I think it’s really helpful for students because some of us have big families and every week we go to the grocery store it’s really expensive like two or three hundred dollars so this really helps me and my family out.”

Student, Malcolm Roi, also gave us his opinion on the food pantry, “I think it’s a good thing that they’re doing this, it provides food for people that are in need, they’re providing resources for those less fortunate.”

Student, Cedric White, talked about the money this event helps students save as we know that’s very important in the bay area especially for college students, “I think it’s great, I mean those bags of onions for example and the fruit, you’re already saving people like 5 to 15 dollars right there so it’s a big help.”

It was another successful event as many students showed up to get food, it’s a noble act that Chabot is holding this event as all the students interviewed said, they are saving students money, opening up resources for people who might be going through hard times, etc.

All in all, we can see the appreciation that students have for this event and the sense of community that is felt right away throughout it. For those wanting to take advantage of this event, it is held every month at the Cesar Chavez Plaza, you can get more information by sending an email to [email protected].